"But, my dear Maubreuil, can't you see how difficult that would be?..." "I can quite see that; but it must be thus or not at all." "Then you wish to see M. de Talleyrand?" "I wish to see M. de Talleyrand and to receive my orders _direct_ from him." "Oh! oh!" said the lawyer, striking his friend on the chest, "one might think you were afraid!" "I am not afraid, but I wish to see M. de Talleyrand." "Very well, so be it," said Roux-Laborie: "you shall see him, and since you demand his guarantee, you shall be satisfied. Wait a few minutes in this salon." And he went in to M. de Talleyrand. A moment later, he came out. "M. de Talleyrand is going out; M. de Talleyrand will make you a sign with his hand; M. de Talleyrand will smile upon you. Will that satisfy you?" "Hum!" returned Maubreuil; "never mind! we will see." M. de Talleyrand passed out, made the prearranged gesture, and smiled graciously upon Maubreuil. It is Maubreuil, be it understood, who relates all this. The gesture seduced Maubreuil, the smile carried him away; but Maubreuil wanted something else--he wanted 200,000 francs. They hesitated, they chaffered, they had not the money--there were so many betrayals to pay for! But, thanks to the decree of the 9th, they made a haul of 13 millions--the private moneys of Napoleon. They did it conscientiously, not leaving anything to Marie-Louise, either money or jewellery: she was reduced to the point of being obliged to borrow a little china and silver from the bishop, with whom she stayed. So they had 13 millions--without reckoning the 10 millions in bullion deposited in the cellars of the Tuileries, on which they had already laid violent hands. This made 23 millions they had already borrowed of Napoleon. What the deuce did it matter? They were quite justified in taking two hundred thousand francs from this sum in order to assassinate him! So they took two hundred thousand francs, and they gave them to Maubreuil. Maubreuil rushed off to a gambling-house and lost a hundred thousand francs that night. Was he going to assassinate Napoleon for a hundred thousand francs? Not he, indeed!... It was not enough. He had recourse to M. A----. M. A---- was a man of imagination. An idea came into his head. "The Queen of Westphalia is following in Napoleon's wake ...?" "Yes." "We may suppose that the Queen of Westphalia carries the crown jewels with her?" "Yes." "Well, then, seize what she has and you will have a good catch." "Yes, but I want authority to do that." "Authority? What do you mean?" "A written order." "Signed by whom?" "Signed by you." "Oh, if that is all, here goes!" And M. A---- took a pen and signed the following order. "Pardon me, you say, who is M. A----?" Good gracious! you have but to read, the signature is at the foot of the order:-- "OFFICE OF THE POLICE