ture affixed thereto,
and close beside it the copy which M. de Marsan had only half
finished--the ink on it was still wet. Hesitation, Sir, would have
been fatal. I did not hesitate; not one instant. Three seconds had
scarcely elapsed before I picked up the document, together with M. de
Marsan's half-finished copy of the same, and a few loose sheets of
Chancellerie paper which I thought might be useful. Then I slipped the
lot inside my blouse. The bogus letter and parcel I left behind me, and
within two minutes of my entry into the room I was descending the
service staircase quite unconcernedly, and had gone past the concierge's
lodge without being challenged. How thankful I was to breathe once more
the pure air of heaven. I had spent an exceedingly agitated five
minutes, and even now my anxiety was not altogether at rest. I dared not
walk too fast lest I attracted attention, and yet I wanted to put the
river, the Pont Neuf, and a half dozen streets between me and the
Chancellerie of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No one who has not gone
through such an exciting adventure as I have just recorded can conceive
what were my feelings of relief and of satisfaction when I at last found
myself quietly mounting the stairs which led to my office on the top
floor of No. 96 Rue Daunou.

3.

Now, I had not said anything to Theodore about this affair. It was
certainly arranged between us when he entered my service as
confidential clerk and doorkeeper that in lieu of wages, which I could
not afford to pay him, he would share my meals with me and have a bed
at my expense in the same house at Passy where I lodged; moreover, I
would always give him a fair percentage on the profits which I derived
from my business. The arrangement suited him very well. I told you
that I picked him out of the gutter, and I heard subsequently that he
had gone through many an unpleasant skirmish with the police in his
day, and if I did not employ him no one else would.

After all, he did earn a more or less honest living by serving me. But
in this instance, since I had not even asked for his assistance, I
felt that, considering the risks of New Caledonia and a convict ship
which I had taken, a paltry four hundred francs could not by any
stretch of the imagination rank as a "profit" in a business--and
Theodore was not really entitled to a percentage, was he?

So when I returned I crossed the ante-chamber and walked past him with
my accustomed dign