alousy and of hate the destinies of
nations must often hang. From our situation we could not help but hear
all that passed between Madame and her caller. The maid withdrew, in
the slow hurry of a truant on his way to school, but hastened at a sign
of annoyance from Madame.

"Monsieur de Valence, you are full ten minutes early. You know I bade
you be always exactly punctual," was Madame's petulant greeting of the
handsome man who bore himself so meekly in her presence.

No tone was ever colder, no demeanor more haughty than hers, and this
proud man who bent before no storm, who held the fortunes of many
within his grasp, bowed like an obedient child to her whim.

"Yes, Celeste, I know, but--"

"Madame de Chartrain," she corrected. (I use the name de Chartrain,
though it was not her own.)

"Yes--Madame, I know, but, it is so hard to wait; do you not understand
how I count the minutes every day until--"

"Yes, yes, I've heard all those fine excuses before. To your business.
The other can wait, business first, then--"

"Pleasure?" he supplemented with an eagerness strangely at variance
with the rigid self-control he had hitherto shown.

"I did not say pleasure," she gravely broke in, "your business."

The man submitted with the patience of one quite accustomed, yet not
wholly resigned to such a reception, and spread numerous papers upon
the table before her. Selecting one he began to explain:

"Your wishes in regard to this matter have been carried out; I had the
man detained in the city where he is at your command. He suspects
nothing, though fretful at the restraint."

"Very good. And the other?"

"Yes, here it is. You see this has been so arranged that the Duke
quite naturally selected Menezes to bear these dispatches. You may
remind him that Menezes is a brother of the man Perrault, whom he had
hanged some years ago. Here is the man's history, which you can look
over at leisure. The Duke has forgotten all this in his impatience to
remedy the Yvard fiasco. It will serve, however, to make him think you
even more clever and devoted to him."

I listened closely at the name "Yvard."

"Well, now so far so good. And the question of finance? That is of
more importance."

"And of more difficulty. The Madame often dabbles herself in these
dealings involving money, and she is harder to deceive. However she is
not accurate at figures, clever though she be otherwise. Look over
this; this calculat