ce and resentful.

"I listen," said St. Genis curtly.

And Clyffurde began after a slight pause: "At the time that you fell
upon me with such ill-considered vigour, M. de St. Genis," he said, "did
you know that but for my abominable outrage upon the persons whom you
honour, the money which they would gladly have guarded with their life
would have fallen into the hands of Bonaparte's agents?"

"In theirs or yours, what matters?" retorted St. Genis savagely, "since
His Majesty is deprived of it now."

"That is where you are mistaken, my young friend," said the other
quietly. "His Majesty is more sure of getting the money now than he was
when M. le Comte de Cambray with his family and yourself started on that
quixotic if ill-considered errand this morning."

St. Genis frowned in puzzlement:

"I don't understand you," he said curtly.

"Isn't it simple enough? You and your friends credited me with
friendship for de Marmont: he is hot-headed and impetuous, and words
rush out of his mouth that he should keep to himself. I knew from
himself that Bonaparte had charged him to recover the twenty-five
millions which M. le prefet Fourier had placed in the Comte de Cambray's
charge."

"Why did you not warn the Comte then?" queried St. Genis, who, still
mistrustful, glowered at his antagonist.

"Would he have listened to me, think you?" asked the other with a quiet
smile. "Remember, he had turned me out of his house two nights before,
without a word of courtesy or regret--on the mere suspicion of my
intercourse with de Marmont. Were you too full with your own rage to
notice what happened then? Mlle. Crystal drew away her skirts from me as
if I were a leper. What credence would they have given my words? Would
the Comte even have admitted me into his presence?"

"And so . . . you planned this robbery . . . you . . ." stammered St.
Genis, whose astonishment and puzzlement were rendering him as
speechless as his rage had done. "I'll not believe it," he continued
more firmly; "you are fooling me, now that I have found you out."

"Why should I do that? You are in my hands, and not I in yours.
Bonaparte is victorious at Grenoble. I could take the money to him and
earn his gratitude, or use the money for mine own ends. What have I to
fear from you? What cause to fool you? Your opinion of me? M. le Comte's
contempt or goodwill? Bah! after to-night are we likely to meet again?"

St. Genis said nothing in reply. Of a truth there wa