Stanley J. Weyman

“ My second thought turned on the question how they had come where I had found them, among the powdered spice and perfumes in Mademoiselle de Cocheforêt’s sachet.
A minute’s reflection enabled me to come very near the secret, and at the same time shed a flood of light on several dark places. What Clon had been seeking on the path between the house and the village, what the goodwife of the inn had sought among the sweepings of yard and floor, I knew now,—the sachet. I knew, too, what had caused the marked and sudden anxiety I had noticed at the Château—the loss of this sachet. ”

“ And indeed the gems were so fine that I doubt not some indifferently honest men would have sold salvation for them. But a Berault his honour? No! I was tempted, but not for long. Thank God, a man may be reduced to living by the fortunes of the dice, and may even be called by a woman spy and coward without becoming a thief! The temptation soon left me—I take credit for it—and I fell to thinking of this and that plan for making use of them. Once it occurred to me to take the jewels to the Cardinal and buy my pardon with them; again, to use them as a trap to capture Cocheforêt ”

“ I stood looking, also, for half a minute, perhaps; then the man’s eye, raised for a single second to the doorway, met mine. He started, muttered something to his wife, and, quick as thought, he kicked the light out, leaving the shed in darkness. Cursing him for an ill-conditioned fellow, I walked back to the fire, laughing. In a twinkling he followed me, his face dark with rage.
‘Ventre saint gris!’ he exclaimed, thrusting himself close to me. ‘Is not a man’s house his own?’
‘It is, for me,’ I answered coolly, shrugging my shoulders. ”

“ The poor oil-lamp, casting weird shadows from wall to wall, served only to discover the darkness. The room, with its low roof and earthen floor, and foul clothes flung here and there, reeked of stale meals and garlic and vile cooking. ”

“ In certain moods, however, a man is obstinate about small things, and I moved the taper nearer. As I did so a point of light, a flashing sparkle that shone for a second among the dirt and refuse on the floor, caught my eye. ”

“ Leaning with both his hands on the table he thrust his rugged face and blood-shot eyes close to mine. His moustachios bristled,; his beard trembled. ‘Hark ye, Sirrah!’ he muttered, with sullen emphasis—‘be content! I have my suspicions. And if it were not for my lady’s orders I would put a knife into you, fair or foul, this very night. You would lie snug outside, instead of inside, and I do not think anyone would be the worse. But as it is, be content. Keep a still tongue; and when you turn your back on Cocheforêt to-morrow keep it turned.’
‘Tut! ”