Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 269: what you’re looking at

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

THE SIEGE OF THE CONVENT. 253 CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE SIEGE OF THE CONVENT. Belle-Rose, Cornelius, and Claudine arrived at Paris without any startling adventure. ‘They had disguised themselves so as not to be recognized, and the very au- dacity of their enterprise protected them. It was almost impossible that Monsieur de Louvois should suppose for one moment that Belle-Rose would dare present himself so goon in France. When Belle-Rose entered Paris, Déroute had already been there fifteen days. ‘The honest sergeant had not lost time. After having prowled around Mon- sieur de Louvois’ hotel, questioning the people who might give him some information concerning the object of his researches, he understood the usefulness of this es- pionage. So many carriages left the court at every hour of the day and night that the neighbors, seeing them all, did not recollect any particular one of them. Déroute turned his batteries in another direction. The prowess of Bouletord, who had made such advances in the minister’s favor, ought, perhaps, to render him the messenger of private commissions. Déroute was so successful as to promptly discover the quartermaster, and no longer quitted him. During three days he traversed the half of Paris, following close upon the heels of Bouletord; but Bouletord, who stopped a little everywhere, did not stop before any convent. Déroute began to ask himself if he would not do well to wait for Bouletord at the corner of some passage, and to force him to confess his secret with a poniard at his thrcat, when one evening Grippard, who had also attached himself to Bouletord, in company with whom he paid a visit to all the cabarets of Paris, came all out of breath to inform him that Bouletord was to carry a dispatch the next day to one of the convents of Paris. ‘*T have it!’’ said Déroute, embracing Grippard. Early the next morning he was at the door of Boule- tord’s barrack, dressed as a lackey. When Bouletord went out, Déroute placed himself on his track and only quitted him at the doorof the convent in the Rue du Cherche-Midi. This convent had an immense extent; its garden even stretched as far as the Rue de Vangirard on one side, and on the other occupied the grounds over which the exterior boulevard has come later on, Déroute GOmIiGcbdoo S =} (E(0)