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Both misers listened。 A moment after the 〃Hush!〃 uttered by Cornelius;

a noise produced by the steps of several men echoed in the distance on

the other side of the moat of the town。



〃It is the Plessis guard on their rounds;〃 said the sister。



〃Give me the key of the apprentice's room;〃 said Cornelius。



The old woman made a gesture as if to take the lamp。



〃Do you mean to leave us alone; without light?〃 cried Cornelius; in a

meaning tone of voice。 〃At your age can't you see in the dark? It

isn't difficult to find a key。〃



The sister understood the meaning hidden beneath these words and left

the room。 Looking at this singular creature as she walked towards the

door; Philippe Goulenoire was able to hide from Cornelius the glance

which he hastily cast about the room。 It was wainscoted in oak to the

chair…strip; and the walls above were hung with yellow leather stamped

with black arabesques; but what struck the young man most was a match…

lock pistol with its formidable trigger。 This new and terrible weapon

lay close to Cornelius。



〃How do you expect to earn your living with me?〃 said the latter。



〃I have but little money;〃 replied Philippe; 〃but I know good tricks

in business。 If you will pay me a sou on every mark I earn for you;

that will satisfy me。〃



〃A sou! a sou!〃 echoed the miser; 〃why; that's a good deal!〃



At this moment the old sibyl returned with the key。



〃Come;〃 said Cornelius to Philippe。



The pair went out beneath the portico and mounted a spiral stone

staircase; the round well of which rose through a high turret; beside

the hall in which they had been sitting。 At the first floor up the

young man paused。



〃No; no;〃 said Cornelius。 〃The devil! this nook is the place where the

king takes his ease。〃



The architect had constructed the room given to the apprentice under

the pointed roof of the tower in which the staircase wound。 It was a

little room; all of stone; cold and without ornament of any kind。 The

tower stood in the middle of the facade on the courtyard; which; like

the courtyards of all provincial houses; was narrow and dark。 At the

farther end; through an iron railing; could be seen a wretched garden

in which nothing grew but the mulberries which Cornelius had

introduced。 The young nobleman took note of all this through the

loopholes on the spiral staircase; the moon casting; fortunately; a

brilliant light。 A cot; a stool; a mismatched pitcher and basin formed

the entire furniture of the room。 The light could enter only through

square openings; placed at intervals in the outside wall of the tower;

according; no doubt; to the exterior ornamentation。



〃Here is your lodging;〃 said Cornelius; 〃it is plain and solid and

contains all that is needed for sleep。 Good night! Do not leave this

room as THE OTHERS did。〃



After giving his apprentice a last look full of many meanings;

Cornelius double…locked the door; took away the key and descended the

staircase; leaving the young nobleman as much befooled as a bell…

founder when on opening his mould he finds nothing。 Alone; without

light; seated on a stool; in a little garret from which so many of his

predecessors had gone to the scaffold; the young fellow felt like a

wild beast caught in a trap。 He jumped upon the stool and raised

himself to his full height in order to reach one of the little

openings through which a faint light shone。 Thence he saw the Loire;

the beautiful slopes of Saint…Cyr; the gloomy marvels of Plessis;

where lights were gleaming in the deep recesses of a few windows。 Far

in the distance lay the beautiful meadows of Touraine and the silvery

stream of her river。 Every point of this lovely nature had; at that

moment; a mysterious grace; the windows; the waters; the roofs of the

houses shone like diamonds in the trembling light of the moon。 The

soul of the young seigneur could not repress a sad and tender emotion。



〃Suppose it is my last farewell!〃 he said to himself。



He stood there; feeling already the terrible emotions his adventure

offered him; and yielding to the fears of a prisoner who;

nevertheless; retains some glimmer of hope。 His mistress illumined

each difficulty。 To him she was no longer a woman; but a supernatural

being seen through the incense of his desires。 A feeble cry; which he

fancied came from the hotel de Poitiers; restored him to himself and

to a sense of his true situation。 Throwing himself on his pallet to

reflect on his course; he heard a slight movement which echoed faintly

from the spiral staircase。 He listened attentively; and the whispered

words; 〃He has gone to bed;〃 said by the old woman; reached his ear。

By an accident unknown probably to the architect; the slightest noise

on the staircase sounded in the room of the apprentices; so that

Philippe did not lose a single movement of the miser and his sister

who were watching him。 He undressed; lay down; pretended to sleep; and

employed the time during which the pair remained on the staircase; in

seeking means to get from his prison to the hotel de Poitiers。



About ten o'clock Cornelius and his sister; convinced that their new

inmate was sleeping; retired to their rooms。 The young man studied

carefully the sounds they made in doing so; and thought he could

recognize the position of their apartments; they must; he believed;

occupy the whole second floor。 Like all the houses of that period;

this floor was next below the roof; from which its windows projected;

adorned with spandrel tops that were richly sculptured。 The roof

itself was edged with a sort of balustrade; concealing the gutters for

the rain water which gargoyles in the form of crocodile's heads

discharged into the street。 The young seigneur; after studying this

topography as carefully as a cat; believed he could make his way from

the tower to the roof; and thence to Madame de Vallier's by the

gutters and the help of a gargoyle。 But he did not count on the

narrowness of the loopholes of the tower; it was impossible to pass

through them。 He then resolved to get out upon the roof of the house

through the window of the staircase on the second floor。 To accomplish

this daring project he must leave his room; and Cornelius had carried

off the key。



By way of precaution; the young man had brought with him; concealed

under his clothes; one of those poignards formerly used to give the

〃coup de grace〃 in a duel when the vanquished adversary begged the

victor to despatch him。 This horrible weapon had on one side a blade

sharpened like a razor; and on the other a blade that was toothed like

a saw; but toothed in the reverse direction from that by which it

would enter the body。 The young man determined to use this latter

blade to saw through the wood around the lock。 Happily for him the

staple of the lock was put on to the outside of the door by four stout

screws。 By the help of his dagger he managed; not without great

difficulty; to unscrew and remove it altogether; carefully laying it

aside and the four screws with it。 By midnight he was free; and he

went down the stairs without his shoes to reconnoitre the localities。



He was not a little astonished to find a door wide open which led down

a corridor to several chambers; at the end of which corridor was a

window opening on a depression caused by the junction of the roofs of

the hotel de Poitiers and that of the Malemaison which met there。

Nothing could express his joy; unless it be the vow which he instantly

made to the Blessed Virgin to found a mass in her honor in the

celebrated parish church of the Escrignoles at Tours。 After examining

the tall broad chimneys of the hotel de Poitiers he returned upon his

steps to fetch his dagger; when to his horror; he beheld a vivid light

on the staircase and saw Maitre Cornelius himself in his dalmatian;

carrying a lamp; his eyes open to their fullest extent and fixed upon

the corridor; at the entrance of which he stood like a spectre。



〃If I open the window and jump upon the roofs; he will hear me;〃

thought the young man。



The terrible old miser advanced; like the hour of death to a criminal。

In this extremity Philippe; instigated by love; recovered his presence

of mind; he slipped into a doorway; pressing himself back into the

angle of it; and awaited the old man。 When Cornelius; holding his lamp

in advance of him; came into line with the current of air which the

young man could send from his lungs; the lamp was blown out。 Cornelius

muttered vague words and swore a Dutch oath; but he turned and

retraced his steps。 The young man then rushed to his room; caught up

his dagger and returned to the blessed window; opened it softly and

jumped upon the roof。



Once at liberty under the open sky; he felt weak; so happy was he。

Perhaps the extreme agitation of his danger of the boldness of the

enterprise caused his emotion; victory is often as perilous as battle。

He leaned against th

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