signature in his
pocket, but also he carried the weapon or the poison with which he
already had attempted and was resolved to reach the father of her whom
he believed was assuredly to be his wife."

"You speak now of a paper, very precious, that I regret not to possess,
monsieur," said the Tsar coldly, "because that paper alone would have
proved to me the innocence of your protegee."

"If you have not it, Sire, you know well that it is because I have
wished you to have it. The corpse had been searched by Katharina, the
little Bohemian, and I, Sire, prevented Koupriane from finding that
signature in Katharina's possession. In saving the secret I have saved
General Trebassof's life, who would have preferred to die rather than
accept such an arrangement."

The Tsar stopped Rouletabille in his enthusiastic outburst.

"All that would be very beautiful and perhaps admirable," said he, more
and more coldly, because he had entirely recovered himself, "if Natacha
had not, herself, with her own hand, poisoned her father and her
step-mother!--always with arsenate of soda."

"Oh, some of that had been left in the house," replied Rouletabille.
"They had not given me all of it for the analysis after the first
attempt. But Natacha is innocent of that, Sire. I swear it to you. As
true as that I have certainly escaped being hanged."

"How, hanged?"

"Oh, it has not amounted to much now, Your Majesty."

And Rouletabille recounted his sinister adventure, up to the moment
of his death, or, rather, up to the moment when he had believed he was
going to die.

The Emperor listened to the young reporter with complete stupefaction.
He murmured, "Poor lad!" then, suddenly:

"But how have you managed to escape them?"

"Sire they have given me twenty-four hours for you to set Natacha at
liberty, that is to say, that you restore her to her rights, all her
rights, and she be always the recognized heiress of Trebassof. Do you
understand me, Sire?

"I will understand you, perhaps, when you have explained to me how
Natacha has not poisoned her father and step-mother."

"There are some things so simple, Sire, that one is able to think of
them only with a rope around one's neck. But let us reason it out. We
have here four persons, two of whom have been poisoned and the other two
with them have not been. Now, it is certain that, of the four persons,
the general has not wished to poison himself, that his wife has not
wished to poison the g