There were opposite Bregeac’s house, some empty rooms. Ralph established himself in them. Moreover, since the nurse was in Marescal’s pay, he renewed his acquaintance with the maid and bribed her. Thrice, during the absence of the nurse, this maid took him into Aurelie’s bedroom. Aurelie did not appear to recognize him. She was still so enfeebled by the fever that she could only utter a few incoherent words and close her eyes again. But he had no doubt that she heard him and that she knew who it was who spoke to her in that gentle voice which comforted and soothed her like the passes of an hypnotist. “It is I, Aurelie,” he said. “You see that I am true to my promise and that you may have complete confidence in me. I swear to you that your enemies are not capable of fighting me and that I will set you free. How should it be otherwise? I think of nothing but you. I reconstitute your life, and little by little it grows clearer and clearer to me exactly as it is, simple and honest. I know that you are innocent. I’ve always known it, even when I accused you. The most irrefutable proof seemed false to me: the lady with the green eyes could not be a criminal.” He did not fear to go further in his avowals and say the tenderest words to her, to which she was compelled to listen, for he mixed with his advice: “You are all my life. I have never found so much grace and charm in a woman. Trust yourself to me, Aurelie. I only ask one thing of you, you know, trust. If any one questions you, do not answer. If any one writes to you, do not reply, if any one wishes to take you away from here refuse to go. Trust in me to the very last minute of the cruelest hour. I shall be there. I shall always be there because I live only for you and by you.” The girl’s face filled slowly with a restful quietness. She fell asleep, as if lulled by a happy dream. Then he slipped into the room reserved for the use of Bregeac and sought, vainly enough, papers and information which might guide his actions. He also made domiciliary visits to the flat which Marescal occupied in the Rue de Rivoli and searched them with extraordinary minuteness. Finally he made the most careful inquiries in the offices of the Minister of the Interior in which the two men worked. Their rivalry and hatred of one another were known to all. Both of them, supported by people in high places, were the objects of a struggle both at the Ministry and at the Prefecture of Police, waged by powerful personages who battled above their heads. The service suffered from it. Either of them accused the other openly of serious derelictions from duty. There was talk of calling on them to resign. Which of them would be sacrificed?