e
centime."

"What are you about to do? What has happened?"

"The mine is loaded, nephew, and I am awaiting an opportunity to set
fire to it."

Louis de Clameran relied upon making his rival, Prosper Bertomy, furnish
him this ardently desired opportunity.

He loved Madeleine too passionately to feel aught save the bitterest
hate toward the man whom she had freely chosen, and who still possessed
her heart.

Clameran knew that he could marry her at once if he chose; but in what
way? By holding a sword of terror over her head, and forcing her to be
his. He became frenzied at the idea of possessing her person, while her
heart and soul would always be with Prosper.

Thus he swore that, before marrying, he would so cover Prosper with
shame and ignominy that no honest person would speak to him. He had
first thought of killing him, but, fearing that Madeleine would enshrine
and worship his memory, he determined to disgrace him.

He imagined that there would be no difficulty in ruining the unfortunate
young man. He soon found himself mistaken.

Though Prosper led a life of reckless dissipation, he preserved order
in his disorder. If in a state of miserable entanglement, and obliged to
resort to all sorts of make-shifts to escape his creditors, his caution
prevented the world from knowing it.

Vainly did Raoul, with his pockets full of gold, try to tempt him to
play high; every effort to hasten his ruin failed.

When he played he did not seem to care whether he lost or won; nothing
aroused him from his cold indifference.

His friend Nina Gypsy was extravagant, but her devotion to Prosper
restrained her from going beyond certain limits.

Raoul's great intimacy with Prosper enabled him to fully understand the
state of his mind; that he was trying to drown his disappointment in
excitement, but had not given up all hope.

"You need not hope to beguile Prosper into committing any piece of
folly," said Raoul to his uncle; "his head is as cool as a usurer's. He
never goes beyond a certain degree of dissipation. What object he has in
view I know not. Perhaps, when he has spent his last napoleon, he will
blow his brains out; he certainly never will descend to any dishonorable
act. As to tampering with the money-safe intrusted to his keeping----"

"We must force him on," replied Clameran, "lead him into extravagances,
make Gypsy call on him for costly finery, lend him plenty of money."

Raoul shook his head, as if convin