y who knows that he is essential to an exacting
princess. He spoke never a word to the footman, who stood by the gate on
the quay, which is always open by day.

"What do you wish? What can I do?" said Madame de San-Esteban in the
lingo agreed upon by this aunt and nephew.

This dialect consisted in adding terminations in ar or in or, or in al
or in i to every word, whether French or slang, so as to disguise it by
lengthening it. It was a diplomatic cipher adapted to speech.

"Put all the letters in some safe place; take out those that are most
likely to compromise the ladies; come back, dressed very poorly, to the
_Salle des Pas-Perdus_, and wait for my orders."

Asie, otherwise Jacqueline, knelt as if to receive his blessing, and the
sham priest blessed his aunt with evengelical unction.

"Addio, Marchesa," said he aloud. "And," he added in their private
language, "find Europe and Paccard with the seven hundred and fifty
thousand francs they bagged. We must have them."

"Paccard is out there," said the pious Marquise, pointing to the
chasseur, her eyes full of tears.

This intuitive comprehension brought not merely a smile to the man's
lips, but a gesture of surprise; no one could astonish him but his
aunt. The sham Marquise turned to the bystanders with the air of a woman
accustomed to give herself airs.

"He is in despair at being unable to attend his son's funeral," said
she in broken French, "for this monstrous miscarriage of justice
has betrayed the saintly man's secret.--I am going to the funeral
mass.--Here, monsieur," she added to the Governor, handing him a purse
of gold, "this is to give your poor prisoners some comforts."

"What slap-up style!" her nephew whispered in approval.

Jacques Collin then followed the warder, who led him back to the yard.

Bibi-Lupin, quite desperate, had at last caught the eye of a real
gendarme, to whom, since Jacques Collin had gone, he had been addressing
significant "Ahems," and who took his place on guard in the condemned
cell. But _Trompe-la-Mort's_ sworn foe was released too late to see
the great lady, who drove off in her dashing turn-out, and whose voice,
though disguised, fell on his ear with a vicious twang.

"Three hundred shiners for the boarders," said the head warder, showing
Bibi-Lupin the purse, which Monsieur Gault had handed over to his clerk.

"Let's see, Monsieur Jacomety," said Bibi-Lupin.

The police agent took the purse, poured out the money