The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3), Gaston Leroux [best pdf ebook reader TXT] 📗

Part 1 Chapter 10 (A Drama In The Night) Pg 130

"Ask Your Daughter,  General."

 

Feodor Turned Toward Natacha,  Who Burned Koupriane With Her Gaze,

Trying To Learn What This News Was He Brought - The Truth Or A Ruse.

 

"You Know The Man Who Wished To Kill Me,  Natacha?"

 

"No," She Replied To Her Father,  In Accents Of Perfect Fury.  "No,

I Don't Know Any Such Man."

 

"Mademoiselle," Said Koupriane,  In A Firm,  Terribly Hostile Voice,

"You Have Yourself,  With Your Own Hands,  Opened That Window To-Night;

And You Have Opened It To Him Many Other Times Besides.  While

Everyone Else Here Does His Duty And Watches That No Person Shall Be

Able To Enter At Night The House Where Sleeps General Trebassof,

Governor Of Moscow,  Condemned To Death By The Central Revolutionary

Committee Now Reunited At Presnia,  This Is What You Do; It Is You

Who Introduce The Enemy Into This Place."

 

"Answer,  Natacha; Tell Me,  Yes Or No,  Whether You Have Let Anybody

Into This House By Night."

 

"Father,  It Is True."

 

Feodor Roared Like A Lion:

 

"His Name!"

 

"Monsieur Will Tell You Himself," Said Natacha,  In A Voice Thick

With Terror,  And She Pointed To Koupriane.  "Why Does He Not Tell

You Himself The Name Of That Person?  He Must Know It,  If The Man

Is Dead."

 

"And If The Man Is Not Dead," Replied Feodor,  Who Visibly Held Onto

Himself,  "If That Man,  Whom You Helped To Enter My House This Night,

Has Succeeded In Escaping,  As You Seem To Hope,  Will You Tell Us His

Name?"

 

"I Could Not Tell It,  Father."

 

"And If I Prayed You To Do So?"

 

Natacha Desperately Shook Her Head.

 

"And If I Order You?"

 

"You Can Kill Me,  Father,  But I Will Not Pronounce That Name."

 

"Wretch!"

 

He Raised His Stick Toward Her.  Thus Ivan The Terrible Had Killed

His Son With A Blow Of His Boar-Spear.

 

But Natacha,  Instead Of Bowing Her Head Beneath The Blow That

Part 1 Chapter 10 (A Drama In The Night) Pg 131

Menaced Her,  Turned Toward Koupriane And Threw At Him In Accents Of

Triumph:

 

"He Is Not Dead.  If You Bad Succeeded In Taking Him,  Dead Or Alive,

You Would Already Have His Name."

 

Koupriane Took Two Steps Toward Her,  Put His Hand On Her Shoulder

And Said:

 

"Michael Nikolajevitch."

 

"Michael Korsakoff!" Cried The General.

 

Matrena Petrovna,  As If Revolted By That Suggestion,  Stood Upright

To Repeat:

 

"Michael Korsakoff!"

 

The General Could Not Believe His Ears,  And Was About To Protest

When He Noticed That His Daughter Had Turned Away And Was Trying To

Flee To Her Room.  He Stopped Her With A Terrible Gesture.

 

"Natacha,  You Are Going To Tell Us What Michael Korsakoff Came Here

To Do To-Night."

 

"Feodor Feodorovitch,  He Came To Poison You."

 

It Was Matrena Who Spoke Now And Whom Nothing Could Have Kept Silent,

For She Saw In Natacha's Attempt At Flight The Most Sinister

Confession.  Like A Vengeful Fury She Told Over With Cries And

Terrible Gestures What She Had Experienced,  As If Once More Stretched

Before Her The Hand Armed With The Poison,  The Mysterious Hand Above

The Pillow Of Her Poor Invalid,  Her Dear,  Rigorous Tyrant; She Told

Them About The Preceding Night And All Her Terrors,  And From Her

Lips,  By Her Voluble Staccato Utterance That Ominous Recital Had

Grotesque Emphasis.  Finally She Told All That She Had Done,  She

And The Little Frenchman,  In Order Not To Betray Their Suspicions

To The Other,  In Order To Take Finally In Their Own Trap All Those

Who For So Many Days And Nights Schemed For The Death Of Feodor

Feodorovitch.  As She Ended She Pointed Out Rouletabille To Feodor

And Cried,  "There Is The One Who Has Saved You."

 

Natacha,  As She Listened To This Tragic Recital,  Restrained Herself

Several Times In Order Not To Interrupt,  And Rouletabille,  Who Was

Watching Her Closely,  Saw That She Had To Use Almost Superhuman

Efforts In Order To Achieve That.  All The Horror Of What Seemed To

Be To Her As Well As To Feodor A Revelation Of Michael's Crime Did

Not Subdue Her,  But Seemed,  On The Contrary,  To Restore To Her In

Full Force All The Life That A Few Seconds Earlier Had Fled From Her.

Matrena Had Hardly Finished Her Cry,  "There Is The One Who Has

Saved You," Before Natacha Cried In Her Turn,  Facing The Reporter

With A Look Full Of The Most Frightful Hate,  "There Is The One Who

Has Been The Death Of An Innocent Man!"  She Turned To Her Father.

"Ah,  Papa,  Let Me,  Let Me Say That Michael Nikolaievitch,  Who Came

Part 1 Chapter 10 (A Drama In The Night) Pg 132

Here This Evening,  I Admit,  And Whom,  It Is True,  I Let Into The

House,  That Michael Nikolaievitch Did Not Come Here Yesterday,  And

That The Man Who Has Tried To Poison You Is Certainly Someone Else."

 

At These Words Rouletabille Turned Pale,  But He Did Not Let Himself

Lose Self-Control.  He Replied Simply:

 

"No,  Mademoiselle,  It Was The Same Man."

 

And Koupriane Felt Compelled To Add:

 

"Anyway,  We Have Found The Proof Of Michael Nikolaievitch's Relations

With The Revolutionaries."

 

"Where Have You Found That?" Questioned The Young Girl,  Turning

Toward The Chief Of Police A Face Ravished With Anguish.

 

"At Krestowsky,  Mademoiselle."

 

She Looked A Long Time At Him As Though She Would Penetrate To The

Bottom Of His Thoughts.

 

"What Proofs?" She Implored.

 

"A Correspondence Which We Have Placed Under Seal."

 

"Was It Addressed To Him? What Kind Of Correspondence?"

 

"If It Interests You,  We Will Open It Before You."

 

"My God!  My God!" She Gasped.  "Where Have You Found This

Correspondence?  Where?  Tell Me Where!"

 

"I Will Tell You.  `At The Villa,  In His Chamber.  We Forced The

Lock Of His Bureau."

 

She Seemed To Breathe Again,  But Her Father Took Her Brutally By

The Arm.

 

"Come,  Natacha,  You Are Going To Tell Us What That Man Was Doing

Here To-Night."

 

"In Her Chamber!" Cried Matrena Petrovna.

 

Natacha Turned Toward Matrena:

 

"What Do You Believe,  Then? Tell Me Now."

 

"And I,  What Ought I To Believe?" Muttered Feodor.  "You Have Not

Told Me Yet.  You Did Not Know That Man Had Relations With My

Enemies.  You Are Innocent Of That,  Perhaps.  I Wish To Think So.

I Wish It,  In The Name Of Heaven I Wish It.  But Why Did You

Receive Him?  Why?  Why Did You Bring Him In Here,  As A Robber

Or As A..."

Part 1 Chapter 10 (A Drama In The Night) Pg 133

 

"Oh,  Papa,  You Know That I Love Boris,  That I Love Him With All My

Heart,  And That I Would Never Belong To Anyone But Him."

 

"Then,  Then,  Then.  - Speak!"

 

The Young Girl Had Reached The Crisis.

 

"Ah,  Father,  Father,  Do Not Question Me!  You,  You Above All,  Do

Not Question Me Now.  I Can Say Nothing!  There Is Nothing I Can

Tell You.  Excepting That I Am Sure - Sure,  You Understand - That

Michael Nikolaievitch Did Not Come Here Last Night."

 

"He Did Come," Insisted Rouletabille In A Slightly Troubled Voice.

 

"He Came Here With Poison.  He Came Here To Poison Your Father,

Natacha," Moaned Matrena Petrovna,  Who Twined Her Hands In Gestures

Of Sincere And Naive Tragedy.

 

"And I," Replied The Daughter Of Feodor Ardently,  With An Accent Of

Conviction Which Made Everyone There Vibrate,  And Particularly

Rouletabille,  "And I,  I Tell You It Was Not He,  That It Was Not He,

That It Could Not Possibly Be He.  I Swear To You It Was Another,

Another."

 

"But Then,  This Other,  Did You Let Him In As Well?" Said Koupriane.

 

"Ah,  Yes,  Yes.  It Was I.  It Was I.  It Was I Who Left The Window

And Blinds Open.  Yes,  It Is I Who Did That.  But I Did Not Wait For

The Other,  The Other Who Came To Assassinate.  As To Michael

Nikolaievitch,  I Swear To You,  My Father,  By All That Is Most Sacred

In Heaven And On Earth,  That He Could Not Have Committed The Crime

That You Say.  And Now - Kill Me,  For There Is Nothing More I Can

Say."

 

"The Poison," Replied Koupriane Coldly,  "The Poison That He Poured

Into The General's Potion Was That Arsenate Of Soda Which Was On

The Grapes The Marshal Of The Court Brought Here.  Those Grapes

Were Left By The Marshal,  Who Warned Michael Nikolaievitch And

Boris Alexandrovitch To Wash Them.  The Grapes Disappeared.  If

Michael Is Innocent,  Do You Accuse Boris?"

 

Natacha,  Who Seemed To Have Suddenly Lost All Power For Defending

Herself,  Moaned,  Begged,  Railed,  Seemed Dying.

 

"No,  No.  Don't Accuse Boris.  He Has Nothing To Do With It.  Don't

Accuse Michael.  Don't Accuse Anyone So Long As You Don't Know.  But

These Two Are Innocent.  Believe Me.  Believe Me.  Ah,  How Shall I

Say It,  How Shall I Persuade You!  I Am Not Able To Say Anything To

You.  And You Have Killed Michael.  Ah,  What Have You Done,  What

Have You Done!"

 

"We Have Suppressed A Man," Said The Icy Voice Of Koupriane,  "Who

Was Merely The Agent For The Base Deeds Of Nihilism."

Part 1 Chapter 10 (A Drama In The Night) Pg 134

 

She Succeeded In Recovering A New Energy That In Her Depths Of

Despair They Would Have Supposed Impossible.  She Shook Her Fists

At Koupriane:

 

"It Is Not True,  It Is Not True.  These Are Slanders,  Infamies!  The

Inventions Of The Police!  Papers Devised To Incriminate Him.  There

Is Nothing At All Of What You Said You Found At His