led before the romantic crimes of passion
and had allowed her to fall alone?

At dinner Desiderius related to Topandy what he had said at Sarvoelgyi's.
His face beamed like that of some young student who was glorying in his
first duel.

But he could not understand the effect his narration had caused.
Topandy's face became suddenly more determined, more serious; he gazed
often at Lorand.

Once Desiderius too looked up at his brother, who was wiping his
tear-stained eyes with his handkerchief.

"You are weeping?" inquired Desiderius.

"What are you thinking of? I was only wiping my brow. Continue your
story."

When they rose from table Topandy called Lorand aside.

"This young fellow knows nothing of what I related to you?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"So he has not the slightest suspicion that in that moment he plunged
the knife into the heart of his father's murderer?"

"No. Nor shall he ever know it. A double mission has been entrusted to
us, to be happy and to wreak vengeance. Neither of us can undertake both
at once. He has started to be happy, his heart is full of sweetness, he
is innocent, unsuspicious, enthusiastic: let him be happy: God forbid
his days should be poisoned by such agonizing thoughts as will not let
me rest!--I am enough myself for revenge, embittered as I am from head
to foot. The secret is known only to us, to grandmother and the Pharisee
himself. We shall complete the reckoning without the aid of happy men."

CHAPTER XXIII

THE DAY OF GLADNESS

"Let us go back at once to your darling," said Lorand next morning to
his brother. "My affair is already concluded."

Desiderius did not ask "how concluded?" but thought it easy to account
for this speech. It could easily be concluded between Topandy and
Lorand, as the former was the girl's adopted father: Lorand had only to
disclose to him everything about which it had been his melancholy duty
to keep silence until the day of the catastrophe, which he was awaiting,
had arrived.

Nor could Desiderius suspect that the word "concluded" referred to the
visit they had paid together to Sarvoelgyi. How could he have imagined
that Melanie, who had been introduced to him as Gyali's fiancee, had one
week before filled Lorand's whole soul with a holy light.

And that light had indeed been extinguished forever.

Even if they had not succeeded in murdering Lorand they had made a dead
man of him, such a dead man as walks, throws himself into t