. Here are ten thousand
francs: take them, and run for your life. It is time yet to take the
train for Brussels.'

"But he rose, and said,--

"'No! There is nothing left for me but to die. May my blood come upon
you!'

"And he rushed out, pursued by the insulting laugh of the wretches."

Amazed at the inconceivable boldness of this atrocious plot, Daniel and
Henrietta were shuddering with horror. As to Mrs. Bertolle, she had sunk
into a chair, trembling in all her limbs. The old gentleman, however,
continued with evident haste,--

"Whether Malgat did, or did not, commit suicide, he was never heard of
again. The trial came on, and he was condemned _in contumaciam_ to ten
years' penal servitude. Sarah, also, was examined by a magistrate; but
she made it a success.

"And that was all. And this crime, one of the most atrocious ever
conceived by human wickedness, went to swell the long list of unpunished
outrages. The robbers triumphed impudently in broad daylight. They had
four hundred thousand francs. They could retire from business.

"No, indeed! Twenty thousand francs a year was far too little for their
immoderate desires! They accepted this fortune as an installment on
account on the future, and used it to wait patiently for new victims to
be stripped.

"Unfortunately, such victims would not show themselves. The house was
mounted upon a most expensive footing. M. de Brevan had, of course,
claimed his share; Sir Thorn was a gambler; Sarah loved diamonds; and
grim Mrs. Brian had her own vices. In short, the hour came when danger
was approaching; but, just at that moment, Sarah, looking around, met
with the unlucky victim she needed.

"This one was a handsome young man, almost a child yet, kind, generous,
and chivalrous. He was an orphan, and came up from his province, his
heart full of illusions, and in his pockets his entire fortune,--a sum
of five hundred thousand francs. His name was Charles de Kergrist.

"Maxime managed to bring him to the house in Circus Street. He saw
Sarah, and was dazzled. He loved her, and was lost.

"Ah! The poor fellow did not last long. At the end of five months, his
half million was in the hands of Sarah. And, when he had not a cent
left, she well-nigh forced him to write her three forged drafts,
swearing, that, on the day on which they became due, she would take them
up herself. But when the day came, and he called in Circus Street, he
was received as Malgat had been received.