us matters which may affect your future life in this
place."

"I am listening; let us sit down on this bench here."

"Monsieur le comte, when you dismissed Gaubertin, he had to find some
employment, for he was not rich--"

"Not rich! when he stole twenty thousand francs a year from this
estate?"

"Monsieur le comte, I don't pretend to excuse him," replied Sibilet. "I
want to see Les Aigues prosperous, if it were only to prove Gaubertin's
dishonest; but we ought not to abuse him openly for he is one of the
most dangerous scoundrels to be found in all Burgundy, and he is now in
a position to injure you."

"In what way?" asked the general, sobering down.

"Gaubertin has control of nearly one third of the supplies sent to
Paris. As general agent of the timber business, he orders all the work
of the forests,--the felling, chopping, floating, and sending to market.
Being in close relations with the workmen, he is the arbiter of prices.
It has taken him three years to create this position, but he holds it
now like a fortress. He is essential to all dealers, never favoring one
more than another; he regulates the whole business in their interests,
and their affairs are better and more cheaply looked after by him
than they were in the old time by separate agents for each firm. For
instance, he has so completely put a stop to competition that he has
absolute control of the auction sales; the crown and the State are
both dependent on him. Their timber is sold under the hammer and falls
invariably to Gaubertin's dealers; in fact, no others attempt now to
bid against them. Last year Monsieur Mariotte, of Auxerre, urged by
the commissioner of domains, did attempt to compete with Gaubertin. At
first, Gaubertin let him buy the standing wood at the usual prices; but
when it came to cutting it, the Avonnais workmen asked such enormous
prices that Monsieur Mariotte was obliged to bring laborers from
Auxerre, whom the Ville-aux-Fayes workmen attacked and drove away. The
head of the coalition, and the ringleader of the brawl were brought
before the police court, and the suits cost Monsieur Mariotte a great
deal of money; for, besides the odium of having convicted and punished
poor men, he was forced to pay all costs, because the losing side had
not a farthing to do it with. A suit against laboring men is sure to
result in hatred to those who live among them. Let me warn you of this;
for if you follow the course you propose, you will h