In another moment they took their places. Neither of them said a word.
Silently the Abbé groped in the pocket of the coach, and drew out a
traveler’s leather pouch with three divisions in it; thence he took a
hundred Portuguese moidores, bringing out his large hand filled with
gold three times.
“Father, I am yours,” said Lucien, dazzled by the stream of gold.
“Child!” said the priest, and set a tender kiss on Lucien’s forehead.
“There is twice as much still left in the bag, besides the money for
traveling expenses.”
“And you are traveling alone!” cried Lucien.
“What is that?” asked the Spaniard. “I have more than a hundred thousand
crowns in drafts on Paris. A diplomatist without money is in your
position of this morning--a poet without a will of his own!”
As Lucien took his place in the calèche beside the so-called Spanish
diplomatist, Eve rose to give her child a draught of milk, found the
fatal letter in the cradle, and read it. A sudden cold chilled the damps
of morning slumber, dizziness came over her, she could not see. She
called aloud to Marion and Kolb.
“Has my brother gone out?” she asked, and Kolb answered at once with,
“Yes, Montame, pefore tay.”
“Keep this that I am going to tell you a profound secret,” said Eve. “My
brother has gone no doubt to make away with himself. Hurry, both of you,
make inquiries cautiously, and look along the river.”
Eve was left alone in a dull stupor, dreadful to see. Her trouble was
at its height when Petit-Claud came in at seven o’clock to talk over
the steps to be taken in David’s case. At such a time, any voice in the
world may speak, and we let them speak.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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