tell you so."

"But everything there belongs to her; and you have no right--"

"What of that? She will oppose the seizure, no doubt, and I expect her
to do so; but she will make you find the requisite sum. Believe me, you
had best parry the blow. I insist on being paid now. I won't give you
any further delay; because, in three months' time, you will have used
your last resources. It is no use saying 'No,' like that. You are in one
of those conditions that must be continued at any price. You would burn
the wood from your dying mother's bed to warm this creature's feet.
Where did you obtain the ten thousand francs that you left with her the
other evening? Who knows what you will next attempt to procure money?
The idea of keeping her fifteen days, three days, a single day more, may
lead you far. Open your eyes. I know the game well. If you do not leave
Juliette, you are lost. Listen to a little good advice, gratis. You must
give her up, sooner or later, mustn't you? Do it to-day, then."

As you see, our worthy Clergeot never minces the truth to his customers,
when they do not keep their engagements. If they are displeased, so much
the worse for them! His conscience is at rest. He would never join in
any foolish business.

Noel could bear it no longer: and his anger burst forth.

"Enough," he cried decidedly. "Do as you please, M. Clergeot, but have
done with your advice. I prefer the lawyer's plain prose. If I have
committed follies, I can repair them, and in a way that would surprise
you. Yes, M. Clergeot, I can procure twenty-two thousand francs; I could
have a hundred thousand to-morrow morning, if I saw fit. They would
only cost me the trouble of asking for them. But that I will not do.
My extravagance, with all due deference to you, will remain a secret as
heretofore. I do not choose that my present embarrassed circumstances
should be even suspected. I will not relinquish, for your sake, that at
which I have been aiming, the very day it is within my grasp."

"He resists," thought the usurer; "he is less deeply involved than I
imagined."

"So," continued the advocate, "put your bills in the hands of your
lawyer. Let him sue me. In eight days, I shall be summoned to appear
before the Tribunal de Commerce, and I shall ask for the twenty-five
days' delay, which the judges always grant to an embarrassed debtor.
Twenty-five and eight, all the world over, make just thirty-three days.
That is precisely the respite I n