now? Everything comes to those who know how to wait."

However she had already broken the seal, and she was now reading the
letter eagerly, clapping her hands with delight as she finished its
perusal. "He consents!" she exclaimed. "He's frightened--he begs me to
wait a little--look--read!"

But M. Mouchon could not read without his spectacles, and he lost at
least two minutes in searching his pockets before he found them. And
when they were adjusted, the light was so dim that it took him at least
three minutes more to decipher the missive. Chupin had spent this
time in scrutinizing--in appraising the man, as it were. "What is this
venerable gentleman doing here?" he thought. "He's a middle class man,
that's evident from his linen. He's married--there's a wedding-ring
on his finger; he has a daughter, for the ends of his necktie are
embroidered. He lives in the neighborhood, for, well dressed as he is,
he wears a cap. But what was he doing there in that back room in the
dark?"

Meanwhile M. Mouchon had finished reading the letter. "What did I tell
you?" he said complacently.

"Yes, you were right!" answered Madame Paul as she took up the letter
and read it again with her eyes sparkling with joy. "And now what shall
I do?" she asked. "Wait, shall I not?"

"No, no!" exclaimed the elderly gentleman, in evident dismay. "You must
strike the iron while it's hot."

"But he promises me----"

"To promise and to keep one's promises are two different things."

"He wants a reply."

"Tell him----" But he stopped short, calling her attention with a
gesture to the messenger, whose eyes were glittering with intense
curiosity.

She understood. So filling a glass with some liquor, she placed it
before Chupin, and offered him a cigar, saying: "Take a seat--here's
something to keep you from feeling impatient while you wait here."
Thereupon she followed the old gentleman into the adjoining room, and
closed the door.

Even if Chupin had not possessed the precocious penetration he owed to
his life of adventure, the young woman and the old gentleman had said
enough to enable him to form a correct estimate of the situation. He was
certain now that he knew the contents of the letter as perfectly as if
he had read it. M. de Coralth's anger, and his order to make haste, were
both explained. Moreover, Chupin distinctly saw what connection there
was between the letter to the baroness and the letter to Madame Paul. He
understood that o