de Tregars could see
almost the whole of the large one reflected in the mirror over the
mantelpiece of the little parlor. A man of suspicious appearance,
and wearing wretched clothes, was standing in it.

And, the more M. de Tregars examined him, the more it seemed to
him that he had already seen somewhere that uneasy countenance,
that anxious glance, that wicked smile flitting upon flat and thin
lips.

But suddenly the man bowed very low. It was probable that Mme. de
Thaller, who had gone around through the hall to reach the grand
parlor, must be coming in; and in fact she almost immediately
appeared within the range of the glass. She seemed much agitated;
and, with a finger upon her lips, she was recommending to the man
to be prudent, and to speak low. It was therefore in a whisper,
and such a low whisper that not even a vague murmur reached the
little parlor, that the man uttered a few words. They were such
that the baroness started back as if she had seen a precipice yawning
at her feet; and by this action it was easy to understand that she
must have said,

"Is it possible?"

With the voice which still could not be heard, but with a gesture
which could be seen, the man evidently replied,

"It is so, I assure you!"

And leaning towards Mme. de Thaller, who seemed in no wise shocked
to feel this repulsive personage's lips almost touching her ear,
he began speaking to her.

The surprise which this species of vision caused to M. de Tregars
was great, but did not keep him from reflecting what could be the
meaning of this scene. How came this suspicious-looking man to
have obtained access, without difficulty, into the grand parlor?
Why had the baroness, on receiving his card, turned whiter than the
laces on her dress? What news had he brought, which had made such
a deep impression? What was he saying that seemed at once to
terrify and to delight Mme. de Thaller?

But soon she interrupted the man, beckoned to him to wait,
disappeared for a minute; and, when she came in again, she held in
her hand a package of bank-notes, which she began counting upon
the parlor-table.

She counted twenty-five, which, so far as M. de Tregars could judge,
must have been hundred-franc notes. The man took them, counted them
over, slipped them into his pocket with a grin of satisfaction, and
then seemed disposed to retire.

The baroness detained him, however; and it was she now, who, leaning
towards him, commenced to ex