murmuring: "I
entreat you, marquis--continue. It is very interesting--very interesting
indeed."

M. de Valorsay resumed his narrative. "The husband was incontestably an
artless fellow: but he was also, it appears, a man of remarkable energy
and determination. Having somehow ascertained that his wife had given
birth to a child in his absence, he moved heaven and earth not only to
discover the child, but its father also. He had sworn to kill them both;
and he was a man to keep his vow unmoved by a thought of the guillotine.
And if you require a proof of his strength of character, here it is:
He said nothing to his wife on the subject, he did not utter a single
reproach; he treated her exactly as he had done before his absence.
But he watched her, or employed others to watch her, both day and night,
convinced that she would finally commit some act of imprudence which
would give him the clue he wanted. Fortunately, she was very shrewd. She
soon discovered that her husband knew everything, and she warned M. de
Chalusse, thus saving his life."

It is not at all remarkable that the Marquis de Valorsay should have
failed to see any connection between his narrative and the baron's
agitation. What possible connection could there be between opulent Baron
Trigault and the poor devil who went to seek his fortune in America?
What imaginable connection could there be between the confirmed gambler,
who was Kami-Bey's companion, Lia d'Argeles's friend, and the husband
who for ten long years had pursued the man who, by seducing his wife,
had robbed him of all the happiness of life? Another point that would
have dispelled any suspicions on the marquis's part was that he had
found the baron greatly agitated on arriving, and that he now seemed to
be gradually regaining his composure. So he continued his story in his
customary light, mocking tone. It is the perfection of good taste and
high breeding--"proper form," indeed, not to be astonished or moved
by anything, in fact to sneer at everything, and hold one's self quite
above the emotions which disturb the minds of plebeians.

Thus the marquis continued: "I am necessarily compelled to omit many
particulars, my dear baron. The count was not very explicit when he
reached this part of his story; but, in spite of his reticence, I
learned that he had been tricked in his turn, that certain papers had
been stolen from him, and that he had been defrauded in many ways by his
inamorata. I also kn