The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3) by Gaston Leroux (readera ebook reader txt) 📕

Self: There Is Clockwork Somewhere,  Just About To Reach The

Death-Tick - And Not To Know Where,  Not To Know Where!  When The

Police Were Here I Made Them All Listen,  And I Was Not Sure Even

When They Had All Listened And Said There Was No Tick-Tack.  It Is

Terrible To Hear It In My Ear Any Moment When I Least Expect It.

Tick-Tack!  Tick-Tack!  It Is The Blood Beating In My Ear,  For

Instance,  Hard,  As If It Struck On A Sounding-Board.  Why,  Here

Are Drops Of Perspiration On My Hands!  Listen!"

"Ah,  This Time Someone Is Talking - Is Crying," Said The Young Man.

"Sh-H-H!"  And Rouletabille Felt The Rigid Hand Of Matrena Petrovna

On His Arm.  "It Is The General.  The General Is Dreaming!"

She Drew Him Into The Dining-Room,  Into A Corner Where They Could

No Longer Hear The Moanings.  But All The Doors That Communicated

With The Dining-Room,  The Drawing-Room And The Sitting-Room

Remained Open Behind Him,  By The Secret Precaution Of Rouletabille.

He Waited While Matrena,  Whose Breath He Heard Come Hard,  Was A

Little Behind.  In A Moment,  Quite Talkative,  And As Though She

Wished To Distract Rouletabille's Attention From The Sounds Above,

The Broken Words And Sighs,  She Continued:

"See,  You Speak Of Clocks.  My Husband Has A Watch Which Strikes.

Well,  I Have Stopped His Watch Because More Than Once I Have Been

Startled By Hearing The Tick-Tack Of His Watch In His

Waistcoat-Pocket.  Koupriane Gave Me That Advice One Day When He

Was Here And Had Pricked His Ears At The Noise Of The Pendulums,

To Stop All My Watches And Clocks So That There Would Be No Chance

Of Confusing Them With The Tick-Tack That Might Come From An

Infernal Machine Planted In Some Corner.  He Spoke From Experience,

My Dear Little Monsieur,  And It Was By His Order That All The Clocks

At The Ministry,  On The Naberjnaia,  Were Stopped,  My Dear Little

Friend.  The Nihilists,  He Told Me,  Often Use Clockworks To Set Off

Their Machines At The Time They Decide On.  No One Can Guess All

The Inventions That They Have,  Those Brigands.  In The Same Way,

Koupriane Advised Me To Take Away All The Draught-Boards From The

Fireplaces.  By That Precaution They Were Enabled To Avoid A

Terrible Disaster At The Ministry Near The Pont-Des-Chantres,  You

Know,  Petit Demovoi?  They Saw A Bomb Just As It Was Being Lowered

Into The Fire-Place Of The Minister's Cabinet.*  The Nihilists Held

It By A Cord And Were Up On The Roof Letting It Down The Chimney.

One Of Them Was Caught,  Taken To Schlusselbourg And Hanged.  Here

You Can See That All The Draught-Boards Of The Fireplaces Are

Cleared Away."

____________________________________________________________________

*Actual Attack On Witte.

____________________________________________________________________

"Madame," Interrupted Rouletabille (Matrena Petrovna Did Not Know

That No One Ever Succeeded In Distracting Rouletabille's Attention),

"Madame,  Someone Moans Still,  Upstairs."

"Oh,  That Is Nothing,  My Little Friend.  It Is The General,  Who Has

Bad Nights.  He Cannot Sleep Without A Narcotic,  And That Gives Him

A Fever.  I Am Going To Tell You Now How The Third Attack Came About.

And Then You Will Understand,  By The Virgin Mary,  How It Is I Have

Yet,  Always Have,  The Tick-Tack In My Ears.

"One Evening When The General Had Got To Sleep And I Was In My Own

Room,  I Heard Distinctly The Tick-Tack Of Clockwork Operating.  All

The Clocks Had Been Stopped,  As Koupriane Advised,  And I Had Made

An Excuse To Send Feodor's Great Watch To The Repairer.  You Can

Understand How I Felt When I Heard That Tick-Tack.  I Was Frenzied.

I Turned My Head In All Directions,  And Decided That The Sound Came

From My Husband's Chamber.  I Ran There.  He Still Slept,  Man That

He Is!  The Tick-Tack Was There.  But Where?  I Turned Here And

There Like A Fool.  The Chamber Was In Darkness And It Seemed

Absolutely Impossible For Me To Light A Lamp Because I Thought I

Could Not Take The Time For Fear The Infernal Machine Would Go Off

In Those Few Seconds.  I Threw Myself On The Floor And Listened

Under The Bed.  The Noise Came From Above.  But Where?  I Sprang To

The Fireplace,  Hoping That,  Against My Orders,  Someone Had Started

The Mantel-Clock.  No,  It Was Not That!  It Seemed To Me Now That

The Tick-Tack Came From The Hed Itself,  That The Machine Was In The

Bed.  The General Awaked Just Then And Cried To Me,  'What Is It,

Matrena?  What Are You Doing?'  And He Raised Himself In Bed,  While

I Cried,  'Listen!  Hear The Tick-Tack.  Don't You Hear The

Tick-Tack?'  I Threw Myself Upon Him And Gathered Him Up In My Arms

To Carry Him,  But I Trembled Too Much,  Was Too Weak From Fear,  And

Fell Back With Him Onto The Bed,  Crying,  'Help!'  He Thrust Me Away

And Said Roughly,  'Listen.'  The Frightful Tick-Tack Was Behind Us

Now,  On The Table.  But There Was Nothing On The Table,  Only The

Night-Light,  The Glass With The Potion In It,  And A Gold Vase Where

I Had Placed With My Own Hands That Morning A Cluster Of Grasses

And Wild Flowers That Ermolai Had Brought That Morning On His Return

From The Orel Country.  With One Bound I Was On The Table And At

The Flowers.  I Struck My Fingers Among The Grasses And The Flowers,

And Felt A Resistance.  The Tick-Tack Was In The Bouquet!  I Took

The Bouquet In Both Hands,  Opened The Window And Threw It As Far

As I Could Into The Garden.  At The Same Moment The Bomb Burst With

A Terrible Noise,  Giving Me Quite A Deep Wound In The Hand.  Truly,

My Dear Little Domovoi,  That Day We Had Been Very Near Death,  But

God And The Little Father Watched Over Us."

And Matrena Petrovna Made The Sign Of The Cross.

"All The Windows Of The House Were Broken.  In All,  We Escaped With

The Fright And A Visit From The Glazier,  My Little Friend,  But I

Certainly Believed That All Was Over."

"And Mademoiselle Natacha?" Inquired Rouletabille.  "She Must Also

Have Been Terribly Frightened,  Because The Whole House Must Have

Rocked."

"Surely.  But Natacha Was Not Here That Night.  It Was A Saturday.

She Had Been Invited To The Soiree Du 'Michel' By The Parents Of

Boris Nikolaievitch,  And She Slept At Their House,  After Supper At

The Ours,  As Had Been Planned.  The Next Day,  When She Learned The

Danger The General Had Escaped,  She Trembled In Every Limb.  She

Threw Herself In Her Father's Arms,  Weeping,  Which Was Natural

Enough,  And Declared That She Never Would Go Away From Him Again.

The General Told Her How I Had Managed.  Then She Pressed Me To

Her Heart,  Saying That She Never Would Forget Such An Action,  And

That She Loved Me More Than If I Were Truly Her Mother.  It Was All

In Vain That During The Days Following We Sought To Understand How

The Infernal Machine Had Been Placed In The Bouquet Of Wild Flowers.

Only The General's Friends That You Saw This Evening,  Natacha And

I Had Entered The General's Chamber During The Day Or In The Evening.

No Servant,  No Chamber-Maid,  Had Been On That Floor.  In The

Day-Time As Well As All Night Long That Entire Floor Is Closed And

I Have The Keys.  The Door Of The Servants' Staircase Which Opens

Onto That Floor,  Directly Into The General's Chamber,  Is Always

Locked And Barred On The Inside With Iron.  Natacha And I Do The

Chamber Work.  There Is No Way Of Taking Greater Precautions.  Three

Police Agents Watched Over Us Night And Day.  The Night Of The

Bouquet Two Had Spent Their Time Watching Around The House,  And The

Third Lay On The Sofa In The Veranda.  Then,  Too,  We Found All The

Doors And Windows Of The Villa Shut Tight.  In Such Circumstances

You Can Judge Whether My Anguish Was Not Deeper Than Any I Had Known

Hitherto.  Because To Whom,  Henceforth,  Could We Trust Ourselves?

What And Whom Could We Believe?  What And Whom Could We Watch?

From That Day,  No Other Person But Natacha And Me Have The Right To

Go To The First Floor.  The General's Chamber Was Forbidden To His

Friends.  Anyway,  The General Improved,  And Soon Had The Pleasure

Of Receiving Them Himself At His Table.  I Carry The General Down

And Take Him To His Room Again On My Back.  I Do Not Wish Anyone

To Help.  I Am Strong Enough For That.  I Feel That I Could Carry

Him To The End Of The World If That Would Save Him.  Instead Of

Three Police,  We Had Ten; Five Outside,  Five Inside.  The Days Went

Well Enough,  But The Nights Were Frightful,  Because The Shadows Of

The Police That I Encountered Always Made Me Fear That I Was Face

To Face With The Nihilists.  One Night I Almost Strangled One With

My Hand.  It Was After That Incident That We Arranged With

Koupriane That The Agents Who Watched At Night,  Inside,  Should Stay

Placed In The Veranda,  After Having,  At The End Of The Evening,

Made Complete Examination Of Everything.  They Were Not To Leave

The Veranda Unless They Heard A Suspicious Noise Or I Called To

Them.  And It Was After That Arrangement That The Incident Of The

Floor Happened,  That Has Puzzled So Both Koupriane And Me."

"Pardon,  Madame," Interrupted Rouletabille,  "But The Agents,  During

The Examination Of Everything,  Never Went To The Bedroom Floor?"

"No,  My Child,  There Is Only Myself And Natacha,  I Repeat,  Who,

Since The Bouquet,  Go There."

"Well,  Madame,  It Is Necessary To Take Me There At Once."

"At Once!"

"Yes,  Into The General's Chamber."

"But He Is Sleeping,  My Child.  Let Me Tell You Exactly How The

Affair Of The Floor Happened,  And You  Will Know As Much Of It As

I And As Koupriane."

"To The General's Chamber At Once."

She Took Both His Hands And Pressed Them Nervously.  "Little Friend!

Little Friend!  One Hears There Sometimes Things Which Are The

Secret Of The Night!  You Understand Me?"

"To The General's Chamber,  At Once,  Madame."

Abruptly She Decided To Take Him There,  Agitated,  Upset As She Was