every day."

"I am very pleased with you, Beaumarchef," said Mascarin, rubbing his
hands joyously.

Beaumarchef seemed highly flattered, but continued,--

"This is not all."

"What else is there to tell?"

"I met La Candele on his way from the Place de Petit Pont, and he
has just seen that young girl--you know whom I mean--driving off in a
two-horse Victoria. He followed it, of course. She has been placed in a
gorgeous apartment in the Rue Douai; and from what the porter says, she
must be a rare beauty; and La Candele raved about her, and says that she
has the most magnificent eyes in the world."

"Ah," remarked Hortebise, "then Tantaine was right in his description of
her."

"Of course he was," answered Mascarin with a slight frown, "and this
proves the justice of the objection you made a little time back. A girl
possessed of such dazzling beauty may even influence the fool who has
carried her off to become dangerous."

Beaumarchef touched his master's arm kindly. "If you wish to get rid of
the masher," said he, "I can show you a way;" and throwing himself
into the position of a fencer, he made a lunge with his right arm,
exclaiming, "One, two!"

"A Prussian quarrel," remarked Mascarin. "No; a duel would do us no
good. We should still have the girl on our hands, and violent measures
are always to be avoided." He took off his glasses, wiped them, and
looking at the doctor intently, said, "Suppose we take an epidemic as
our ally. If the girl had the smallpox, she would lose her beauty."

Cynical and hardened as the doctor was, he drew back in horror at this
proposal. "Under certain circumstances," remarked he, "science might aid
us; but Rose, even without her beauty, would be just as dangerous as she
is now. It is _her_ affection for Paul that we have to check, and not
_his_ for her; and the uglier a woman is, the more she clings to her
lover."

"All this is worthy of consideration," returned Mascarin; "meanwhile we
must take steps to guard ourselves from the impending danger. Have you
finished that report on Gandelu, Beaumarchef? What is his position?"

"Head over ears in debt, sir, but not harassed by his creditors because
of his future prospects."

"Surely among these creditors there are some that we could influence?"
said Mascarin. "Find this out, and report to me this evening; and
farewell for the present."

When again alone, the two confederates remained silent for some time.
The decisive moment