Belle-Rose — page 112: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

2 ae THE AGONY. — 101 _ the edge of the wood, Belle-Rose fired his pistol at him, but the ball was lost in the trunk of a birch, and the fugi- tive disappeared through the little door in the park wall. At the moment Belle-Rose arrived before this door, the gallop of a horse made him understand that the murderer was now vreyond his reach. The murderer had fled, but his victim was undoubtedly stretched upon the ground in the elade; who was that unfortunate whose life cut short by an assassination had saved his own? Belle-Rase hastened to the glade. ~<A naked sword shone in the grass. Belle- Rose knelt down near the body. The blood came from two . gaping wounds, one in the throat, the other full in the breast. At sight of that motionless body, whose mournful slance was turned toward heaven, Belle-Rose shivered from head to foot; he leaned over, and raising the victim in his arms, he exposed his head to the moon’s pale rays. A cry of horror burst from his lips—he had just recognized Monsieur d’Assonville. CHAPTER XIV. THE AGONY. The pistol shot fired by Belle-Rose had awakened some guards; they ran up and found him whom they called Monsieur de Verval engaged in stanching the flow of blood from aman who seemed already dead, so cold and immovable he was. ‘T'wo of them placed the wounded man on a litter, another ran to seek the surgeon, and Belle- Rose, as pale as Monsieur d’Assonville, had him deposited. in that same pavilion where, on the night of the fire, he had first revealed his love to Madame de Chateaufort. Some convulsive tremblings alone indicated that Mon- sieur d’Assonville was not yet dead. The transporting of him had reopened the wounds, and the blood flowed over the satin of the sofa. The grief of Belle-Rose was calm, but frightful-to see. Some tears fell drop by drop from his eyes. He who would have sacrificed his life to save Monsieur d’Assonville, saw him expiring under his eyes and for him. Meanwhile Monsieur d’Assonville, however, slowly regained his senses; light entered once again his eyes; powerful cordials had returned to the blood its nat- ural circulation. He turned his gaze toward the assembly, saw Belle-Rose, smiled, and extended him his hand. Belle- Rose took it and fell upon his knees, blessing God, Gomicbooks (E()