The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3), Gaston Leroux [best pdf ebook reader TXT] 📗
- Author: Gaston Leroux
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Little Black Spot Jumped From It Like A Flea. Koupriane Recognized
The Little Black Spot As Kathanna. She Was Safe. Now He Could Not
Reach Her. It Would Be Useless To Search The Maze Of The Bohemian
Quarter, Where Her Country-People Lived In Full Control, With
Customs And Privileges That Had Never Been Infringed. The Entire
Bohemian Population Of The Capital Would Have Risen Against Him.
It Was Prince Galitch Who Had Made Him Fail. One Of His Men Came
Part 1 Chapter 10 (A Drama In The Night) Pg 142To Him:
"No Luck," Said He. "We Have Not Found Katharina, But She Has Been
Here Nevertheless. She Met Prince Galitch For Just A Minute, And
Gave Him Something, Then Went Over The Other Side Into A Canoe."
"Very Well," And The Prefect Shrugged His Shoulders. "I Was Sure Of
It."
He Felt More And More, Exasperated. He Went Down Along The River
Edge And The First Person He Saw Was Rouletabille, Who Waited For
Him Without Any Impatience, Seated Philosophically On A Bench.
"I Was Looking For You," Cried The Prefect. "We Have Failed. By
Your Fault! If You Had Not Thrown Yourself Into My Arms -"
"I Did It On Purpose," Declared The Reporter.
"What! What Is That You Say? You Did It On Purpose?"
Koupriane Choked With Rage.
"Your Excellency," Said Rouletabille, Taking Him By The Arm, "Calm
Yourself. They Are Watching Us. Come Along And Have A Cup Of Tea
At Cubat's Place. Easy Now, As Though We Were Out For A Walk."
"Will You Explain To Me?"
"No, No, Your Excellency. Remember That I Have Promised You General
Trebassof's Life In Exchange For Your Prisoner's. Very Well; By
Throwing Myself In Your Arms And Keeping You From Reaching Katharina,
I Saved The General's Life. It Is Very Simple."
"Are You Laughing At Me? Do You Think You Can Mock Me?"
But The Prefect Saw Quickly That Rouletabille Was Not Fooling And
Had No Mockery In His Manner.
"Monsieur," He Insisted, "Since You Speak Seriously, I Certainly
Wish To Understand -"
"It Is Useless," Said Rouletabille. "It Is Very Necessary That You
Should Not Understand."
"But At Least..."
"No, No, I Can't Tell You Anything."
"When, Then, Will You Tell Me Something To Explain Your Unbelievable
Conduct?"
Rouletabille Stopped In His Tracks And Declared Solemnly:
"Monsieur Koupriane, Recall What Natacha Feodorovna As She Raised Her
Lovely Eyes To Heaven, Replied To Her Father, When He, Also, Wished
To Understand: 'Never.'"
Part 1 Chapter 11 (The Poison Continues) Pg 143At Ten O'clock That Morning Rouletabille Went To The Trebassof
Villa, Which Had Its Guard Of Secret Agents Again, A Double Guard,
Because Koupriane Was Sure The Nihilists Would Not Delay In Avenging
Michael's Death. Rouletabille Was Met By Ermolai, Who Would Not
Allow Him To Enter. The Faithful Servant Uttered Some Explanation
In Russian, Which The Young Man Did Not Understand, Or, Rather,
Rouletabille Understood Perfectly From His Manner That Henceforth
The Door Of The Villa Was Closed To Him. In Vain He Insisted On
Seeing The General, Matrena Petrovna And Mademoiselle Natacha.
Ermolai Made No Reply But "Niet, Niet, Niet." The Reporter Turned
Away Without Having Seen Anyone, And Walked Away Deeply Depressed.
He Went Afoot Clear Into The City, A Long Promenade, During Which
His Brain Surged With The Darkest Forebodings. As He Passed By The
Department Of Police He Resolved To See Koupriane Again. He Went
In, Gave His Name, And Was Ushered At Once To The Chief Of Police,
Whom He Found Bent Over A Long Report That He Was Reading Through
With Noticeable Agitation.
"Gounsovski Has Sent Me This," He Said In A Rough Voice, Pointing
To The Report. "Gounsovski, 'To Do Me A Service,' Desires Me To
Know That He Is Fully Aware Of All That Happened At The Trebassof
Datcha Last Night. He Warns Me That The Revolutionaries Have
Decided To Get Through With The General At Once, And That Two Of
Them Have Been Given The Mission To Enter The Datcha In Any Way
Possible. They Will Have Bombs Upon Their Bodies And Will Blow
The Bombs And Themselves Up Together As Soon As They Are Beside The
General. Who Are The Two Victims Designated For This Horrible
Vengeance, And Who Have Light-Heartedly Accepted Such A Death For
Themselves As Well As For The General? That Is What We Don't Know.
That Is What We Would Have Known, Perhaps, If You Had Not Prevented
Me From Seizing The Papers That Prince Galitch Has Now," Koupriane
Finished, Turning Hostilely Toward Rouletabille.
Rouletabille Had Turned Pale.
"Don't Regret What Happened To The Papers," He Said. "It Is I Who
Tell You Not To. But What You Say Doesn't Surprise Me. They Must
Part 1 Chapter 11 (The Poison Continues) Pg 144Believe That Natacha Has Betrayed Them."
"Ah, Then You Admit At Last That She Really Is Their Accomplice?"
"I Haven't Said That And I Don't Admit It. But I Know What I Mean,
And You, You Can't. Only, Know This One Thing, That At The Present
Moment I Am The Only Person Able To Save You In This Horrible
Situation. To Do That I Must See Natacha At Once. Make Her
Understand This, While I Wait At My Hotel For Word. I'll Not Leave
It."
Rouletabille Saluted Koupriane And Went Out.
Two Days Passed, During Which Rouletabille Did Not Receive Any Word
From Either Natacha Or Koupriane, And Tried In Vain To See Them.
He Made A Trip For A Few Hours To Finland, Going As Far As Pergalovo,
An Isolated Town Said To Be Frequented By The Revolutionaries, Then
Returned, Much Disturbed, To His Hotel, After Having Written A Last
Letter To Natacha Imploring An Interview. The Minutes Passed Very
Slowly For Him In The Hotel's Vestibule, Where He Had Seemed To Have
Taken Up A Definite Residence.
Installed On A Bench, He Seemed To Have Become Part Of The Hotel
Staff, And More Than One Traveler Took Him For An Interpreter.
Others Thought He Was An Agent Of The Secret Police Appointed To
Study The Faces Of Those Arriving And Departing. What Was He
Waiting For, Then? Was It For Annouchka To Return For A Luncheon
Or Dinner In That Place That She Sometimes Frequented? And Did He
At The Same Time Keep Watch Upon Annouchka's Apartments Just Across
The Way? If That Was So, He Could Only Bewail His Luck, For
Annouchka Did Not Appear Either At Her Apartments Or The Hotel, Or
At The Krestowsky Establishment, Which Had Been Obliged To Suppress
Her Performance. Rouletabille Naturally Thought, In The Latter
Connection, That Some Vengeance By Gounsovski Lay Back Of This,
Since The Head Of The Secret Service Could Hardly Forget The Way He
Had Been Treated. The Reporter Could See Already The Poor Singer,
In Spite Of All Her Safeguards And The Favor Of The Imperial Family,
On The Road To The Siberian Steppes Or The Dungeons Of Schlusselbourg.
"My, What A Country!" He Murmured.
But His Thoughts Soon Quit Annouchka And Returned To The Object Of
His Main Preoccupation. He Waited For Only One Thing, And For That
As Soon As Possible - To Have A Private Interview With Natacha. He
Had Written Her Ten Letters In Two Days, But They All Remained
Unanswered. It Was An Answer That He Waited For So Patiently In
The Vestibule Of The Hotel - So Patiently, But So Nervously, So
Feverishly.
When The Postman Entered, Poor Rouletabille's Heart Beat Rapidly.
On That Answer He Waited For Depended The Formidable Part He Meant
To Play Before Quitting Russia. He Had Accomplished Nothing Up To
Now, Unless He Could Play His Part In This Later Development.
Part 1 Chapter 11 (The Poison Continues) Pg 145
But The Letter Did Not Come. The Postman Left, And The Schwitzar,
After Examining All The Mail, Made Him A Negative Sign. Ah, The
Servants Who Entered, And The Errand-Boys, How He Looked At Them!
But They Never Came For Him. Finally, At Six O'clock In The Evening
Of The Second Day, A Man In A Frock-Coat, With A False Astrakhan
Collar, Came In And Handed The Concierge A Letter For Joseph
Rouletabille. The Reporter Jumped Up. Before The Man Was Out The
Door He Had Torn Open The Letter And Read It. The Letter Was Not
From Natacha. It Was From Gounsovski. This Is What It Said:
"My Dear Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille, If It Will Not Inconvenience
You, I Wish You Would Come And Dine With Me To-Day. I Will Look
For You Within Two Hours. Madame Gounsovski Will Be Pleased To Make
Your Acquaintance. Believe Me Your Devoted Gounsovski."
Rouletabille Considered, And Decided:
"I Will Go. He Ought To Have Wind Of What Is Being Plotted, And As
For Me, I Don't Know Where Annoucbka Has Gone. I Have More To Learn
From Him Than He Has From Me. Besides, As Athanase Georgevitch Said,
One May Regret Not Accepting The Head Of The Okrana's Pleasant
Invitation."
From Six O'clock To Seven He Still Waited Vainly For Natacha's
Response. At Seven O'clock, He Decided To Dress For The Dinner.
Just As He Rose, A Messenger Arrived. There Was Still Another
Letter For Joseph Rouletabille. This Time It Was From Natacha, Who
Wrote Him:
"General Trebassof And My Step-Mother Will Be Very Happy To Have
You Come To Dinner To-Day. As For Myself, Monsieur, You Will Pardon
Me The Order Which Has Closed To You For A Number Of Days A Dwelling
Where You Have Rendered Services Which I Shall Not Forget All My
Life."
The Letter Ended With A Vague Polite Formula. With The Letter In
His Hand The Reporter Sat In Thought. He Seemed To Be Asking
Himself, "Is It Fish Or Flesh?" Was It A Letter Of Thanks Or Of
Menace? That Was What He Could Not Decide. Well,
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