The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3) by Gaston Leroux (readera ebook reader txt) 📕
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- Author: Gaston Leroux
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Affairs That Do Not Concern My Country,' To Which My Editor Replied,
'You Do Not Have To Take Part. You Must Go To Russia To Make An
Inquiry Into The Present Status Of The Different Parties. You Will
Commence By Interviewing The Emperor.' I Said, 'Well, Then, Here
Goes,' And Took The Train."
"And You Have Interviewed The Emperor?"
"Oh, Yes, That Has Not Been Difficult. I Expected To Arrive Direct
At St. Petersburg, But At Krasnoie-Coelo The Train Stopped And The
Grand-Marshal Of The Court Came To Me And Asked Me To Follow Him.
It Was Very Flattering. Twenty Minutes Later I Was Before His
Majesty. He Awaited Me! I Understood At Once That This Was
Obviously For Something Out Of The Ordinary."
"And What Did He Say To You?"
"He Is A Man Of Genuine Majesty. He Reassured Me At Once When I
Explained My Scruples To Him. He Said There Was No Occasion For Me
To Take Part In The Politics Of The Matter, But To Save His Most
Faithful Servant, Who Was On The Point Of Becoming The Victim Of
The Strangest Family Drama Ever Conceived."
Madame Matrena, White As A Sheet, Rose To Her Feet.
"Ah," She Said Simply.
But Rouletabille, Whom Nothing Escaped, Saw Her Hand Tremble On The
Back Of The Chair.
He Went On, Not Appearing To Have Noticed Her Emotion:
"His Majesty Added These Exact Words: 'It Is I Who Ask It Of You;
I And Madame Trebassof. Go, Monsieur, She Awaits You'"
He Ceased And Waited For Madame Trebassof To Speak.
She Made Up Her Mind After Brief Reflection.
"Have You Seen Koupriane?"
"The Chief Of Police? Yes. The Grand-Marshal Accompanied Me Back
To The Station At Krasnoie-Coelo, And The Chief Of Police
Accompanied Me To St. Petersburg Station. One Could Not Have Been
Better Received."
"Monsieur Rouletabille," Said Matrena, Who Visibly Strove To Regain
Her Self-Control, "I Am Not Of Koupriane's Opinion And I Am Not"
- Here She Lowered Her Trembling Voice - " Of The Opinion His
Majesty Holds. It Is Better For Me To Tell You At Once, So That
You May Not Regret Intervening In An Affair Where There Are - Where
There Are - Risks - Terrible Risks To Run. No, This Is Not A Family
Drama. The Family Is Small, Very Small: The General, His Daughter
Natacha (By His Former Marriage), And Myself. There Could Not Be A
Part 1 Chapter 1 (Gayety And Dynamite) Pg 6Family Drama Among Us Three. It Is Simply About My Husband,
Monsieur, Who Did His Duty As A Soldier In Defending The Throne Of
His Sovereign, My Husband Whom They Mean To Assassinate! There Is
Nothing Else, No Other Situation, My Dear Little Guest."
To Hide Her Distress She Started To Carve A Slice Of Jellied Veal
And Carrot.
"You Have Not Eaten, You Are Hungry. It Is Dreadful, My Dear Young
Man. See, You Must Dine With Us, And Then - You Will Say Adieu.
Yes, You Will Leave Me All Alone. I Will Undertake To Save Him All
Alone. Certainly, I Will Undertake It."
A Tear Fell On The Slice She Was Cutting. Rouletabille, Who Felt
The Brave Woman's Emotion Affecting Him Also, Braced Himself To Keep
From Showing It.
"I Am Able To Help You A Little All The Same," He Said. "Monsieur
Koupriane Has Told Me That There Is A Deep Mystery. It Is My
Vocation To Get To The Bottom Of Mysteries."
"I Know What Koupriane Thinks," She Said, Shaking Her Head. "But
If I Could Bring Myself To Think That For A Single Day I Would
Rather Be Dead."
The Good Matrena Petrovna Lifted Her Beautiful Eyes To Rouletabille,
Brimming With The Tears She Held Back.
She Added Quickly:
"But Eat Now, My Dear Guest; Eat. My Dear Child, You Must Forget
What Koupriane Has Said To You, When You Are Back In France."
"I Promise You That, Madame."
"It Is The Emperor Who Has Caused You This Long Journey. For Me,
I Did Not Wish It. Has He, Indeed, So Much Confidence In You?" She
Asked Naively, Gazing At Him Fixedly Through Her Tears.
"Madame, I Was Just About To Tell You. I Have Been Active In Some
Important Matters That Have Been Reported To Him, And Then Sometimes
Your Emperor Is Allowed To See The Papers. He Has Heard Talk, Too
(For Everybody Talked Of Them, Madame), About The Mystery Of The
Yellow Room And The Perfume Of The Lady In Black."
Here Rouletabille Watched Madame Trebassof And Was Much Mortified
At The Undoubted Ignorance That Showed In Her Frank Face Of Either
The Yellow Room Or The Black Perfume.
"My Young Friend," Said She, In A Voice More And More Hesitant,
"You Must Excuse Me, But It Is A Long Time Since I Have Had Good
Eyes For Reading."
Tears, At Last, Ran Down Her Cheeks.
Part 1 Chapter 1 (Gayety And Dynamite) Pg 7
Rouletabille Could Not Restrain Himself Any Further. He Saw In One
Flash All This Heroic Woman Had Suffered In Her Combat Day By Day
With The Death Which Hovered. He Took Her Little Fat Hands, Whose
Fingers Were Overloaded With Rings, Tremulously Into His Own:
"Madame, Do Not Weep. They Wish To Kill Your Husband. Well Then,
We Will Be Two At Least To Defend Him, I Swear To You."
"Even Against The Nihilists!"
"Aye, Madame, Against All The World. I Have Eaten All Your Caviare.
I Am Your Guest. I Am Your Friend."
As He Said This He Was So Excited, So Sincere And So Droll That
Madame Trebassof Could Not Help Smiling Through Her Tears. She Made
Him Sit Down Beside Her.
"The Chief Of Police Has Talked Of You A Great Deal. He Came Here
Abruptly After The Last Attack And A Mysterious Happening That I
Will Tell You About. He Cried, 'Ah, We Need Rouletabille To Unravel
This!' The Next Day He Came Here Again. He Had Gone To The Court.
There, Everybody, It Appears, Was Talking Of You. The Emperor
Wished To Know You. That Is Why Steps Were Taken Through The
Ambassador At Paris."
"Yes, Yes. And Naturally All The World Has Learned Of It. That
Makes It So Lively. The Nihilists Warned Me Immediately That I
Would Not Reach Russia Alive. That, Finally, Was What Decided Me
On Coming. I Am Naturally Very Contrary."
"And How Did You Get Through The Journey?"
"Not Badly. I Discovered At Once In The Train A Young Slav Assigned
To Kill Me, And I Reached An Understanding With Him. He Was A
Charming Youth, So It Was Easily Arranged."
Rouletabille Was Eating Away Now At Strange Viands That It Would
Have Been Difficult For Him To Name. Matrena Petrovna Laid Her Fat
Little Hand On His Arm:
"You Speak Seriously?"
"Very Seriously."
"A Small Glass Of Vodka?"
"No Alcohol."
Madame Matrena Emptied Her Little Glass At A Draught.
"And How Did You Discover Him? How Did You Know Him?"
"First, He Wore Glasses. All Nihilists Wear Glasses When Traveling.
Part 1 Chapter 1 (Gayety And Dynamite) Pg 8And Then I Had A Good Clew. A Minute Before The Departure From
Paris I Had A Friend Go Into The Corridor Of The Sleeping-Car, A
Reporter Who Would Do Anything I Said Without Even Wanting To Know
Why. I Said, 'You Call Out Suddenly And Very Loud, "Hello, Here Is
Rouletabille."' So He Called, 'Hello, Here Is Rouletabille,' And
All Those Who Were In The Corridor Turned And All Those Who Were
Already In The Compartments Came Out, Excepting The Man With The
Glasses. Then I Was Sure About Him."
Madame Trebassof Looked At Rouletabile, Who Turned As Red As The
Comb Of A Rooster And Was Rather Embarrassed At His Fatuity.
"That Deserves A Rebuff, I Know, Madame, But From The Moment The
Emperor Of All The Russias Had Desired To See Me I Could Not Admit
That Any Mere Man With Glasses Had Not The Curiosity To See What
I Looked Like. It Was Not Natural. As Soon As The Train Was Off
I Sat Down By This Man And Told Him Who I Thought He Was. I Was
Right. He Removed His Glasses And, Looking Me Straight In The Eyes,
Said He Was Glad To Have A Little Talk With Me Before Anything
Unfortunate Happened. A Half-Hour Later The Entente-Cordiale Was
Signed. I Gave Him To Understand That I Was Coming Here Simply On
Business As A Reporter And That There Was Always Time To Check Me
If I Should Be Indiscreet. At The German Frontier He Left Me To
Go On, And Returned Tranquilly To His Nitro-Glycerine."
"You Are A Marked Man Also, My Poor Boy."
"Oh, They Have Not Got Us Yet."
Matrena Petrovna Coughed. That _Us_ Overwhelmed Her. With What
Calmness This Boy That She Had Not Known An Hour Proposed To Share
The Dangers Of A Situation That Excited General Pity But From Which
The Bravest Kept Aloof Either From Prudence Or Dismay.
"Ah, My Friend, A Little Of This Fine Smoked Hamburg Beef?"
But The Young Man Was Already Pouring Out Fresh Yellow Beer.
"There," Said He. "Now, Madame, I Am Listening. Tell Me First
About The Earliest Attack."
"Now," Said Matrena, "We Must Go To Dinner."
Rouletabille Looked At Her Wide-Eyed.
"But, Madame, What Have I Just Been Doing?"
Madame Matrena Smiled. All These Strangers Were Alike. Because
They Had Eaten Some Hors-D'ceuvres, Some Zakouskis, They Imagined
Their Host Would Be Satisfied. They Did Not Know How To Eat.
"We Will Go To The Dining-Room. The General Is Expecting You.
They Are At Table."
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