the wall
and long shelves filled with dusty bottles attracted Coursegol's
attention; but he could scarcely understand why Vauquelas had brought
him there if he had nothing else to show him. Suddenly the latter
exclaimed:

"You asked me just now if I had money enough for the enterprise I
proposed to you. You shall judge for yourself, for I am going to reveal
my secret."

As he spoke he seized a spade that stood near by, removed a few shovels
full of earth and disclosed a large white stone slab, in the centre of
which was an iron ring which enabled him to lift it.

"Look!" said he.

Coursegol bent over the opening and looked in. He saw a large iron box
buried in the earth and filled with sacks of gold. The bright metal
gleamed through the meshes of the coarse bags, dazzling the eye of the
beholder with its golden glory. Vauquelas seemed to enjoy Coursegol's
surprise; but it was in vain that he tried to discover the slightest
vestige of envy or avarice in the face of his visitor. Coursegol was
astonished, and perhaps dazzled by the sight of so much wealth, but no
evil thought entered his mind. Vauquelas breathed more freely. He had
just subjected the man upon whom he had bestowed his confidence to a
decisive test, and he had emerged from it victorious.

"There are two millions here," he remarked.

"Two millions! Do they belong to you?"

"They belong to me."

"And you are not satisfied! You wish to acquire more!"

"Oh! it is a question of health to me. If I stopped work I should soon
die; and I wish to live--life is good!"

There was a moment's silence, and Vauquelas looked tenderly at his
treasure.

"Moreover, as I have told you, we shall not only make money, but perform
a most commendable action," he remarked after a little. "We will
purchase some of those fine houses on the Faubourg Saint-Germain, which
have been confiscated by the government in their masters' absence. We
will take good care of them. In some hands, they would soon fall to
ruin; but in ours they will increase in value, and when their former
owners return, they will find their homes in the same condition as when
they left them. They will buy them from us, and they will be ever
grateful to us. Come, my boy, make up your mind. Will you become my
partner in this enterprise?"

"I accept your offer," replied Coursegol. He saw his fortune assured in
a few years, and Dolores forever out of the reach of want.

"Do you know how to write?" Vauquel