to hold me any longer;
upon my soul, I can't stand it!"

M. Verduret occupied himself in repairing his toilet, become disarranged
by lying down.

When he had finished, he threw himself in an easy-chair, and said to
Joseph Dubois, who remained respectfully standing, cap in hand, like a
soldier awaiting orders:

"Explain yourself, my boy, and quickly, if you please; no
circumlocution."

"It is just this, patron. I don't know what your plans are, or what line
you are taking now; but I can just tell you this: that you will have to
wind up the affair pretty quickly."

"That is your opinion, Master Joseph?"

"Yes, patron, because if you wait any longer, good-by to our covey: you
will certainly find an empty cage, and the birds flown. You smile? Yes,
I know you are clever, and can accomplish anything; but they are cunning
blades, and as slippery as eels. They know that they are watched, too."

"The devil they do!" cried M. Verduret. "Who has been committing
blunders?"

"Oh! nobody has done anything wrong," replied Joseph. "You know, patron,
that they suspected something long ago. They gave you a proof of it, the
night of the fancy ball; that ugly cut on your arm was the beginning.
Ever since, they have had one eye open all the time. They had begun to
feel easier, when all of a sudden, yesterday, _ma foi_, they began to
smell a rat!"

"Was that the cause of your telegrams?"

"Of course. Now listen: yesterday morning when my master got up, about
ten o'clock, he took it into his head to arrange the papers in his desk;
which, by the way, has a disgusting lock which has given me a deal of
trouble. Meanwhile, I pretended to be fixing the fire, so as to remain
in the room to watch him. Patron, the man has an eye like a Yankee! At
the first glance he saw, or rather divined, that his papers had been
meddled with, he turned livid, and swore an oath; Lord, what an oath!"

"Never mind the oath; go on."

"Well, how he discovered the little attentions I had devoted to
his letters, I can't imagine. You know how careful I am. I had put
everything in perfect order; just as I found things I left them, when,
lo and behold! my noble marquis picks up each paper, one at a time,
turns it over, and smells it. I was just thinking I would offer him a
magnifying-glass, when all of a sudden he sprang up, and with one kick
sent his chair across the room, and flew at me with his eyes flashing
like two pistols. 'Somebody has been at my paper