usand francs."

"What?" exclaimed the man, in utter astonishment, but his eyes shone
with greed.

"Ten thousand francs," Gurn repeated calmly, "and by to-morrow morning.
Fifteen hundred of those are for you; I will go away to-morrow evening."

There was a tense silence; the warder seemed doubtful, and Gurn turned
the whole of his will power upon him to persuade him.

"Suppose they suspect me?" said Nibet.

"Idiot!" Gurn retorted; "all you will do will be to make a slip in your
duty: I don't want you to be an accomplice. Listen: there will be
another five thousand francs for you, and if things turn out awkwardly
for you, all you will have to do will be to go across to England, and
live there comfortably for the rest of your days."

The warder was obviously almost ready to comply.

"Who will guarantee me?" he asked.

"The lady, I tell you--the lady of the boulevard Arago. Here, give her
this," and he tore a leaf out of his pocket-book and, scribbling a few
words on it, handed it to Nibet.

"Well," said the warder hesitatingly: "I don't say 'no.'"

"You've got to say 'yes,'" Gurn retorted.

The two looked steadily in each other's eyes; then the warder blenched.

"Yes," he said.

Nibet was going away, and was already almost in the corridor when Gurn
calmly called him back.

"You will evolve a plan, and I will start to-morrow. Don't forget to
bring me a time-table; the Orleans Company time-table will do."

* * * * *

The murderer was not disappointed in his expectations. The next morning
Nibet appeared with a mysterious face and eager eyes. He took a small
bundle from underneath his jersey and gave it to Gurn.

"Hide that in your bed," he said, and Gurn obeyed.

The morning passed without further developments; numerous warders came
and went in the corridor, attending to the prisoners, and Gurn could get
no private talk with Nibet, who contrived, however, to come into his
cell several times on various pretexts and assure him with a nod or a
word that all was going well. But presently, when walking in the
exercise yard, the two men were able to have a conversation.

Nibet manifested an intelligence of which his outer appearance gave no
indication; but it seems to be an established fact that the inventive
faculties, even of men of inferior mental quality, are sharpened when
they are engaged in mischief.

"For the last three weeks," he said, "about a score of masons have bee