“Little by little doubt invaded the mind of the cardinal, a doubt so tenacious that in the end he decided to keep silent about the matter. The narrative of the Chevalier des Aubes must be considered an old man’s wanderings. It would be dangerous to spread abroad such trash. Therefore he would keep silence. But----” “But?” repeated Ralph, whom such trash interested enormously. “But, before finally making up his mind,” Josephine went on, “he wrote out this memorandum concerning his visit to the Château de Gueures and the events which followed it, and either it got mislaid, or he forgot all about it; and some years after his death it was found in one of his theological books when his library was sold by auction.” “Who found it?” said Ralph sharply. “Beaumagnan.” She had related this story, with her head a little bowed, in the rather monotonous voice of a school-girl reciting a lesson she has learned by heart. When now she raised her eyes, she was astonished by Ralph’s expression. “What on earth’s the matter with you?” she said quickly, staring at him. “I find all this immensely exciting,” he said. “Consider, Josine: step by step, by the confidential information of three old men, who have passed on the torch from one to the other, we go back rather more than a century, and there we come into touch with a legend--what do I say? with a formidable secret rather--which goes back to the Middle Ages. The chain is unbroken. Every link is in its place. And as the last link in this chain behold Beaumagnan. What has Beaumagnan done? Must we declare him worthy of his rôle, or relieve him of it? Am I to ally myself with him or tear the torch from his hand?” Ralph’s exaltation made it quite clear to Josephine that he would not allow her to break off her narrative. She hesitated, however, for the most important words, perhaps--at any rate, the most serious--remained to be spoken, the words which assigned to her her rôle. But he said sharply: “Go on, Josine. The path that lies before us is magnificent. We will tread it together and together we will enjoy the reward which is waiting for us at the end of it.” This was fairly reassuring; and she went on: “Beaumagnan is explained in one word; and that word is ‘ambition.’ From the very beginning he made his religious vocation, which is real enough, the servant of his ambition, which is boundless; and the two of them guided him into the Society of Jesus, in which he holds a post of considerable importance. The discovery of the cardinal’s memorandum made him lose his head. Immense vistas have opened before him. He succeeded in convincing some of his superiors that this treasure really exists, inflamed them with the lust for incalculable wealth, and persuaded them to put at his disposal all the influence which the Jesuits possess, to help him in this enterprise.