compromise yourself strangely.'
Providence (as some will have it) came to the aid of the princess and the Abbe d'Aigrigny at this critical juncture. A valet entered the room; his countenance bore such marks of fright and agitation, that the princess exclaimed as soon as she saw him: 'Why, Dubois! what is the matter?'
'I have to beg pardon, your highness, for interrupting you against your express orders, but a police inspector demands to speak with you instantly. He is below stairs, and the yard is full of policemen and soldiers.'
Notwithstanding the profound surprise which this new incident occasioned her, the princess, determining to profit by the opportunity thus afforded, to concert prompt measures with D'Aigrigny on the subject of Adrienne's threatened revelations, rose, and said to the abbe: 'Will you be so obliging as to accompany me, M. d'Aigrigny, for I do not know what the presence of this commissary of police may signify.'
D'Aigrigny followed the speaker into the next room.
CHAPTER XLI. TREACHERY.
The Princess de Saint-Dizier, accompanied by D'Aigrigny, and followed by the servants, stopped short in the next room to that in which had remained Adrienne, Tripeaud and the doctor.
'Where is the commissary?' asked the princess of the servant, who had just before announced to her the arrival of that magistrate.
'In the blue saloon, madame.'
'My compliments, and beg him to wait for me a few moments.'
The man bowed and withdrew. As soon as he was gone Madame de Saint Dizier approached hastily M. d'Aigrigny, whose countenance, usually firm and haughty, was now pale and agitated.
'You see,' cried the princess in a hurried voice, 'Adrienne knows all. What shall we do?—what?'
'I cannot tell,' said the abbe, with a fixed and absent look. 'This disclosure is a terrible blow to us.'
'Is all, then, lost?'
'There is only one means of safety,' said M. d'Aigrigny;—'the doctor.'
'But how?' cried the princess. 'So, sudden? this very day?'
'Two hours hence, it will be too late; ere then, this infernal girl will have seen Marshal Simon's daughters.'
'But—Frederick!—it is impossible! M. Baleinier will never consent. I ought to have been prepared before hand as we intended, after to-day's examination.'
'No matter,' replied the abbe, quickly; 'the doctor must try at any hazard.'
'But under what pretext?'
'I will try and find one.'
'Suppose you were to find a pretext, Frederick, and we could act immediately—nothing would be ready down there.'
'Be satisfied: they are always ready there, by habitual foresight.'
'How instruct the doctor on the instant?' resumed the princess.
'To send for him would be to rouse the suspicions of your niece,' said M. d'Aigrigny, thoughtfully; 'and we must avoid that before everything.'
'Of course,' answered the princess; 'her confidence in the doctor is one of our greatest resources.'
'There is a way,' said the abbe quickly; 'I will write a few words in haste to Baleinier: one of your people can take the note to him, as if it came from without—from a patient dangerously ill.'
'An excellent idea!' cried the princess. 'You are right. Here—upon this table—there is everything necessary for writing. Quick! quick—But will the doctor succeed?'
'In truth, I scarcely dare to hope it,' said the marquis, sitting down at the table with repressed rage. 'Thanks to this examination, going beyond our hopes, which our man, hidden behind the curtain, has faithfully taken down in shorthand—thanks to the violent scenes, which would necessarily have occurred to-morrow and the day after—the doctor, by fencing himself round with all sorts of clever precautions, would have been able to act with the most complete certainty. But to ask this of him to-day, on the instant!—Herminia—it is folly to think of!'—The marquis threw down the pen which he held in his hand; then he added, in a tone of bitter and profound irritation: 'At the very moment of success—to see all our hopes destroyed!—Oh, the consequences of all this are incalculable. Your niece will be the cause of the greatest mischief—oh! the greatest injury to us.'
It is impossible to describe the expression of deep rage and implacable hatred with which D'Aigrigny uttered these last words.
'Frederick,' cried the princess with anxiety, as she clasped her hands strongly around the abbe's, 'I conjure you, do not despair!—The doctor is fertile in resources, and he is so devoted to us. Let us at least, make the attempt.'
'Well—it is at least a chance,' said the abbe, taking up the pen again.
'Should it come to the worst.' said the princess, 'and Adrienne go this evening to fetch General Simon's daughters, she may perhaps no longer find them.
'We cannot hope for that. It is impossible that Rodin's orders should have been so quickly executed. We should have been informed of it.'
'It is true. Write then to the doctor; I will send you Dubois, to carry your letter. Courage, Frederick! we shall yet be too much for that ungovernable girl.' Madame de Saint-Dizier added, with concentrated rage: 'Oh, Adrienne! Adrienne! you shall pay dearly for your insolent sarcasms, and the anxiety you have caused us.'
As she went out, the princess turned towards M. d'Aigrigny, and said to him: 'Wait for me here. I will tell you the meaning of this visit of the police, and we will go in together.'
The princess disappeared. D'Aigrigny dashed off a few words, with a trembling hand.
CHAPTER XLII. THE SNARE.
After the departure of Madame de Saint-Dizier and the marquis, Adrienne had remained in her aunt's apartment with M. Baleinier and Baron Tripeaud.
On hearing of the commissary's arrival, Mdlle. de Cardoville had felt considerable uneasiness; for there could be no doubt that, as Agricola had apprehended, this magistrate was come to search the hotel and extension, in order to find the smith, whom he believed to be concealed there.
Though she looked upon Agricola's hiding-place as a very safe one, Adrienne was not quite tranquil on his account; so in the event of any unfortunate accident, she thought it a good opportunity to recommend the refugee to the doctor, an intimate friend, as we have said, of one of the most influential ministers of the day. So, drawing near to the physician, who was conversing in a low voice with the baron, she said to him in her softest and most coaxing manner: 'My good M. Baleinier, I wish to speak a few words with you.' She pointed to the deep recess of one of the windows.
'I am at your orders, madame,' answered the doctor, as he rose to follow Adrienne to the recess.
M. Tripeaud, who, no longer sustained by the abbe's presence, dreaded the young lady as he did fire, was not sorry for this diversion. To keep up appearances, he stationed himself before one of the sacred pictures, and began again to contemplate it, as if there were no bounds to his admiration.
When Mdlle. de Cardoville was far enough from the baron, not to be overheard by him, she said to the physician, who, all smiles and benevolence, waited for her to explain: 'My good doctor, you are my friend, as you were my father's. Just now, notwithstanding the difficulty of your position, you had the courage to show yourself my only partisan.'
'Not at all, madame; do not go and say such things!' cried the doctor, affecting a pleasant kind of anger. 'Plague on't! you would get me into a pretty scrape; so pray be silent on that subject. Vade retro Satanas!—which means: Get thee behind me, charming little demon that you are!'
'Do not be afraid,' answered Adrienne, with a smile; 'I will not compromise you. Only allow me to remind you, that you have often made me offers of service, and spoken to me of your devotion.'
'Put me to the test—and you will see if I do not keep my promises.'
'Well, then! give me a proof on the instant,' said Adrienne, quickly.
'Capital! this is how I like to be taken at my word. What can I do for you?'
'Are you still very intimate with your friend the minister?'
'Yes; I am just treating him for a loss of voice, which he always has, the day they put questions to him in the
