CHAPTER XXI.
A MELANCHOLY MASHER.
When Mascarin spoke of suppressing the man who stood in his way aseasily as if he was alluding to extinguishing a candle, he was notaware that there was one circumstance which considerably enhanced thedifficulty of his task, for Andre had been forewarned, and this note ofwarning had been sounded on the day on which he had received thatletter from Sabine, in which she spoke in such despairing terms of herapproaching marriage, which she had been compelled to agree to tosave the honor of her family. This feeling was strengthened by a longconversation he had had with M. de Breulh-Faverlay and the Viscountessde Bois Arden, in which it was unanimously decided that the Countand Countess de Mussidan were victims of some plot of which Henri deCroisenois was certainly one of the promoters. He had no conception onwhat side to look for the danger, but he had an instinctive feeling thatit was impending. He prepared, therefore, to act on the defensive. Itwas not only his life that was in danger, but his love and his futurehappiness. M. de Breulh-Faverlay had also serious apprehensions for thesafety of a man for whom he entertained so great a respect and regard.
"I would lay a heavy wager," said he, "that we have to do with somevillainous blackmailers, and the difficulty of the business is, thatwe must do the work ourselves, for we dare not invite the aid of thepolice. We have no proof to offer, and the police will not stir a footon mere suppositions, and we should not earn the thanks of those we aredesirous of assisting if we called the attention of the law to certainacts in their past lives; for who can say what the terrible secret is,that some vile wretch holds over the heads of M. and Madame de Mussidan?And it is quite on the cards that the Count and the Countess might becompelled to join the blackmailers and oppose us. We must act with thegreatest prudence and caution. Remember, that if you are out at night,you must avoid dark corners, for it would be the easiest thing in theworld to put a knife into your back."
The conclusion that was arrived at, at this interview, was that forthe present Andre and De Breulh should cease to see each other sofrequently. They felt convinced that a watch had been set on them, andthat their intimacy would certainly be notified to De Croisenois; and ofcourse they had every desire to cause him to imagine that they werenot acting in any way together. The arrangement, therefore, that theyentered into was that each should act from his own point of vantageagainst Henri de Croisenois, and that when necessary they should meetin the evening to compare notes in a small _cafe_ in the Champs Elysees,not far from the house in which Andre was at work.
His courage was still as high as ever, but the first symptoms ofrashness had vanished. He was a born diplomatist, and fully realizedthat cunning and treachery must be met by similar weapons. He must notbreak his engagement to M. Gandelu; but how could he superintend theworkmen and keep an eye on Croisenois at the same time? Money wasabsolutely necessary, and yet he felt a strange disinclination to accepta loan from M. de Breulh. If he were to throw up his work, it wouldnaturally create suspicion.
M. Gandelu had a shrewd head, and Andre, remembering the old man'skindness to him on all occasions, determined to confide the matter tohim, and with this object he called on him the next morning as theclock was striking nine. His surprise was extreme when he saw Gaston deGandelu in the courtyard. He was just the same looking Gaston, the loverof Madame de Chantemille, to the outward eye, but some grave calamityhad evidently entirely changed the inner man. He was smoking his cigarwith an air of desperation, and seemed to be utterly weary of the worldand its belongings.
At the moment Andre entered the young man caught sight of him.
"Halloo!" said he; "here is my artistic friend. I lay ten to one thatyou have come to ask my father to do you a favor."
"You are quite right; is he at home?"
"The governor is in the sulks; he has shut himself up, and will not seeme."
"You are joking."
"Not I; the old man is a regular despot, and I am sick of everything."
Noticing that one of the grooms was listening, Gaston had sufficientsense to draw Andre a little on one side.
"Do you know," asked he, "that the governor has docked my screw and vowsthat he will advertise himself as not responsible for the debts of yourstruly; but I cannot think he will do so, for that would be a regularsmash-up for me. You haven't such a trifle as ten thousand francs aboutyou that you could lend me, have you? I'd give twenty thousand for theaccommodation when I came of age."
"I must say--," began Andre.
"All right; never mind; I understand. If you had the ready, you wouldn'tbe hanging about here; but for all that, I must have the cash. Hang itall, I signed bills to that amount payable to Verminet. Do you know thefellow?"
"Not at all."
"Where were you dragged up? Why, he is the head of the Mutual LoanSociety. The only nuisance is, that to make matters run a bit smooth, Iwrote down the wrong name. Do you tumble, eh?"
"But, great heavens! that is forgery," said Andre, aghast.
"Not a bit, for I always intended to pay; besides, I wanted the money tosquare Van Klopen. You know _him_, I suppose?"
"No."
"Well, he is the chap to dress a girl. I had those costumes for Zorafrom him; but it is out and out the governor's fault. Why did hedrive me to desperation? Yes, it is all the old man's doing. He wasn'tsatisfied with pitching into me, but he collared that poor, helplesslamb and shut her up. She never did him any harm, and I call it a rightdown cowardly and despicable act to hurt Zora."
"Zora," repeated Andre, who did not recognize the name.
"Yes, Zora; you know; you had a feed with us one day."
"Yes, yes; you mean Rose."
"That's it; but I don't like any one to call her by that ugly, commonname. Well, the governor has gone mad about her, and filed a complaintagainst her of decoying a minor, as if I was a fellow any one coulddecoy. Well, the end of it was, that she is now in the prison of St.Lazare."
The tears started to the young man's eyes as he related this grievance.
"Poor Zora," he added; "I was never mashed on a woman like I was on her.And then what a splendid form she has! Why, the hairdresser said he hadnever seen such hair in his life; and she is at St. Lazare. As soon asthe police came for her, her first thoughts were of me, and she shriekedout, 'Poor Gaston will kill himself when he hears of this.' The cooktold me this, and added that her mistress's sufferings were terrible.And she is at St. Lazare. I tried to see her, but it was no go;" andhere the boy's voice broke into a sob.
"Come," said Andre, "keep up your spirits."
"Ah! you shall see if, as soon as I am twenty-one, I don't marry her.I don't put all the blame on the old man. He has been advised by hislawyer, a beast by the name of Catenac. Do you know _him_?"
"No."
"You don't seem to know any one. Well, I shall send him a challengeto-morrow. I have got my seconds all ready. By the way, would you liketo act for me? I can easily get rid of one of the others."
"I have had no experience in such matters."
"Ah, then you would be of no use. My seconds must put him into a regularblue funk."
"In that case--"
"No; I know what you are going to say: you mean that I had best look outfor a military swell; but, after all, the matter lies in a nutshell. Iam the insulted party, and draw pistols at ten paces. If that frightenshim, he will make the governor drop all this rubbish."
Had his mind not been so much occupied, this rhodomontade on Gaston'spart would have amused Andre very much, but now he asked himself whatwould be the quickest way to escape from him.
Just at this moment a servant emerged from the house.
"Sir," said he, addressing Andre, "my master has seen you from hiswindow, and begs that you will go up to him at once."
"I will be with him immediately," answered Andre; and, holding out hishand to Gaston, he took leave of him with a few words of encouragement.