bove all,
was greatly afraid of her husband, who was not over kind. What did she
do? She purchased a brat from a woman, who happened to be passing;
and, never having noticed his child, the count has never known the
difference."

"But the assassination!"

"That's very simple. When the woman saw her brat in such a nice berth,
she bled him finely, and has kept up a system of blackmailing all along.
The viscount had nothing left for himself. So he resolved at last to put
an end to it, and come to a final settling with her."

"And the other, who is up there, the dark fellow?"

The orator would have gone on, without doubt, giving the most
satisfactory explanations of everything, if he had not been interrupted
by the entrance of M. Lubin, who came from the Palais in company of
young Joseph. His success, so brilliant up to this time, was cut short,
just like that of a second-rate singer when the star of the evening
comes on the stage. The entire assembly turned towards Albert's valet,
all eyes questioning him. He of course knew all, he was the man they
wanted. He did not take advantage of his position, and keep them
waiting.

"What a rascal!" he exclaimed at first. "What a villainous fellow is
this Albert!"

He entirely did away with the "Mr." and the "Viscount," and met with
general approval for doing so.

"However," he added, "I always had my doubts. The fellow didn't
please me by half. You see now to what we are exposed every day in our
profession, and it is dreadfully disagreeable. The magistrate did not
conceal it from me. 'M. Lubin,' said he, 'it is very sad for a man
like you to have waited on such a scoundrel.' For you must know, that,
besides an old woman over eighty years old, he also assassinated a young
girl of twelve. The little child, the magistrate told me, was chopped
into bits."

"Ah!" put in Joseph; "he must have been a great fool. Do people do those
sort of things themselves when they are rich, and when there are so many
poor devils who only ask to gain their living?"

"Pshaw!" said M. Lubin in a knowing tone; "you will see him come out of
it as white as snow. These rich men can do anything."

"Anyhow," said the cook, "I'd willingly give a month's wages to be a
mouse, and to listen to what the count and the tall dark fellow are
talking about. Suppose some one went up and tried to find out what is
going on."

This proposition did not meet with the least favour. The servants
knew by experience t