"Swear to me--that you will reveal to no one that you found here the sword of my friend Eustace." "You, his victim--and you wish to save him!" "Promise me, Schanvoch, that you will do as I ask you--" "Save the monster from condign punishment! Never! No, a thousand times no!" "Schanvoch, I implore you--" "Your murder shall be avenged--" "Be, then, yourself accursed! You who say 'No!' to the prayer of an expiring man--to the prayer of an old soldier--who weeps--you see it. Is it agony?--is it weakness?--I know not, but I weep--" And large drops of tears rolled down his face that gradually grew more livid. "Good Marion, your kindheartedness distresses me! You, imploring mercy for your murderer!" "Who else would take an interest in the unhappy fellow--if I did not?" he answered with an expression of ineffable mercifulness. "Oh! Marion, those words are worthy of the young man of Nazareth, whom my ancestress Genevieve saw put to death in Jerusalem!" "Friend Schanvoch--mercy--you will say nothing--I rely upon your promise--" "No! No! Your celestial mercifulness only renders the crime more atrocious. No pity for the monster who slew his friend!" "Go away from me!" feebly murmured Marion, sobbing. "It is you who harrow my last moments! Eustace only slew my body--but you, pitiless before my agony, you torture my very soul!" "Your despair distresses me--and yet listen, Marion. It is not merely the friend, the old friend that the assassin struck at--" "For twenty-three years we never left each other's side, Eustace and I," Marion mumbled moaning. "No, it is not the friend only that the monster struck in striking you, it was also, and perhaps especially, the Chief of Gaul and general of the army that he aimed at. The mysterious cause of this crime may be of deep interest to the country's future. The mystery must be fathomed, uncovered--" "Schanvoch, you do not know Eustace. He cared little, I know, whether or not I was Chief of Gaul or general of the army. Moreover, what does that concern me--now, when I am about to live in yonder new worlds? All I ask of you is that you grant me this last request--do not denounce my friend Eustace. I implore you with clasped hands--" "Granted! I shall keep the secret, but under one condition, that you inform me how the crime was committed." "How can you have the heart to drive such a bargain--the peace of mind--a dying man--" "The welfare of Gaul may be at stake, I tell you! Everything points to an infernal plot in this dark affair, the first victims of which were Victorin and his son. That is why I insist upon learning from you the details of this atrocious murder." "Schanvoch--a minute ago I could still distinguish your face--the color of your clothes--now I see before me only a vague shape. Make haste, make haste!" "Answer--how was the crime committed? By Hesus, tell me, and I swear to you I shall keep the secret--not otherwise." "Schanvoch--my good friend--"