The clock on the Capucines Church, which could be heard at the Hôtel de Mongarcin, struck four. Valentine had been for a long time in a state of the most intense impatience; she could not stay in one place; she wandered hither and thither; took up a book and threw it down again in a moment; attempted to play on her zither, but let the instrument fall from her hands; and exclaimed continually: "He will not come! Four o'clock, and he went out early this morning! And a solicitor keeps such clerks in his employ! Ah! how quickly I would dismiss such fellows if I were in his place!--Suppose I should intrust to Miretta the execution of my plan? But, no! no woman can perform such a commission; besides, she is in my service--she would be recognized, and I do not want to be compromised; I want to be revenged! but in such wise that no one will know from what quarter the vengeance comes." Valentine had abandoned all hope of seeing the solicitor's clerk that day, when the door of the room in which she was sitting was suddenly thrown open, and Miretta announced: "Monsieur Bahuchet." At a sign from her mistress she admitted the little man, who confounded himself in reverences to Mademoiselle de Mongarcin. "Here you are at last, monsieur! that is most fortunate!" cried Valentine; "it seems that it is very difficult to have speech with you.--Stay, Miretta, stay; I have no secrets from you, as you know.--When you go out for an hour, monsieur le clerc, does it mean that you will not return during the day?" "A thousand pardons, mademoiselle!" replied Bahuchet, trying to assume a graceful attitude; "most certainly, if I had known, if I had been able to guess, that mademoiselle wished to speak with me, I would have returned to the office much sooner; and yet, mademoiselle, I am very excusable this time. I did not pass my time, as I often do, watching the open-air exhibitions of Turlupin and Gauthier-Garguille, or Brioché's Marionettes. No, indeed! The news was too interesting to-day; it had to do with so serious an event, accompanied by such mysterious circumstances, that--I give you my word, mademoiselle--the least inquisitive man could not have resisted the desire to see what I saw." "Some new amourette, I suppose? some nocturnal rendezvous that you surprised?" "No, mademoiselle; this is no question of amourettes, but of a murder committed last night. When I say _last night_, I am wrong; it was perhaps a fortnight ago, perhaps longer; but the victim was not discovered until last night." "A murder! and you witnessed it?" "No, thank God! When I say _thank God_, I do not mean that I am not very curious to know how it came about. But, no, although I am very brave, there are things that make one shudder simply to think of them!" "Come, monsieur, pray explain to us what you have learned that is so shocking?"