ong the gallant admirers of the beauty
of Devil's Cliff."

"Ah, well, what does it signify----"

"How? What does it signify, Father? But I intend to show these would-be
wits what the blood of a De Croustillac is! Ah! they think to intimidate
me! They do not know this sword which, look you, would move in its
scabbard! whose steel would blush with indignation if I were to renounce
my undertaking!"

"My son, this is madness, sheer madness----"

"And what a coward, what a sheep, would the Chevalier de Croustillac
appear in the eyes of Blue Beard if he were so pusillanimous as to be
daunted by so little!"

"By so little! but two inches higher and you would have been killed!"

"But as it was two inches lower, and I was _not_ killed, I will
consecrate my life to taming the willful heart of Blue Beard and to
vanquishing my rivals, be they ten, twenty, thirty, one hundred or ten
thousand," replied the Gascon, with growing enthusiasm.

"But if this act was the order of the mistress of Devil's Cliff?"

"If it was done by her order, she shall see, the cruel one, that I will
brave the death to which she would send me, in order to reach her heart.
She is a woman; she will appreciate such valor. I do not know if she is
a Venus but I know that without wronging the god Mars I Polypheme Amador
de Croustillac am terribly martial; and from beauty to courage there is
but a step."

One must imagine the exaggeration and Gascon accent of the chevalier to
have an idea of this scene.

Father Griffen hardly knew whether to laugh or to be appalled at the
opinionated resolve of the chevalier. The secret of the confessional
forbade his speaking, from entering into any details concerning Devil's
Cliff; he knew not how to induce the chevalier to renounce his fatal
intention. He had endeavored to do so, but in vain.

"If nothing can withhold you, my son, it cannot be said that I have
been, even indirectly, an accomplice in your mad enterprise. You are
ignorant of the position of Devil's Cliff; neither myself, nor my
slaves, nor, I assure you, any of my parishioners will be your guide. I
have instructed them to refuse. Beside the reputation of Blue Beard is
such that no one would care to infringe my orders."

This declaration of the priest's seemed to make the chevalier reflect.
He bent his head in silence then he began again resolutely: "I know that
Devil's Cliff is some four leagues from this spot; it is situated in the
northern part of