visions fade. Luxury and
notoriety, high-stepping horses, yellow-haired mistresses, all vanished.
He pictured himself reduced to a mere pittance, and held in check and
domineered over by a brutal father. "Ah! I understand your game," he
hissed through his set teeth. "If you would only quietly assert your
rights, everything could be arranged privately, and I should have time
to put the property out of my father's reach before he could claim it.
Instead of doing that--as you hate me--you compel me to make the affair
public, so that my father will hear of it and defraud me of everything.
But you won't play this trick on me. You are going to write at once, and
make known your claim to your brother's estate."

"No."

"Ah! you won't? You refuse----" He approached threateningly, and
caught hold of her arm. "Take care!" he vociferated; "take care! Do not
infuriate me beyond endurance----"

As cold and rigid as marble, Madame d'Argeles faced him with the
undaunted glance of a martyr whose spirit no violence can subdue. "You
will obtain nothing from me," she said, firmly; "nothing, nothing,
nothing!"

Maddened with rage and disappointment, M. Wilkie dared to lift his hand
as if about to strike her. But at this moment the door was flung open,
and a man sprang upon him. It was Baron Trigault.

Like the other guests, the baron had seen the terrible effect produced
upon Madame d'Argeles by a simple visiting card. But he had this
advantage over the others: he thought he could divine and explain the
reason of this sudden, seemingly incomprehensible terror. "The poor
woman has been betrayed," he thought; "her son is here!" Still, while
the other players crowded around their hostess, he did not leave the
card-table. He was sitting opposite M. de Coralth, and he had seen the
dashing viscount start and change color. His suspicions were instantly
aroused, and he wished to verify them. He therefore pretended to be more
than ever absorbed in the cards, and swore lustily at the deserters who
had broken up the game. "Come back, gentleman, come back," he cried,
angrily. "We are wasting precious time. While you have been trifling
there, I might have gained--or lost--a hundred louis."

He was nevertheless greatly alarmed, and the prolonged absence of Madame
d'Argeles increased his fears each moment. At the end of an hour he
could restrain himself no longer. So taking advantage of a heavy loss,
he rose from the table, swearing that the beas