Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 376: what you’re looking at

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

358 THE RUE DE L’ARBRE-SEC. smile wandered over his lips. Monsieur de Louvois took the letter, and Monsieur de Charny went out. A moment after a lackey presented himself with Belle-Rose’s note. Monsieur de Charny, who was watching in the anteroom, walked up to the lackey. ‘‘Give me that letter; I charge myself with it,’’ said he. The lackey, who knew Monsieur de Charny, handed it to him without hesitation. Déroute and Grippard had re- mained in the court, waiting for the return of Belle-Rose. Déroute wore an air of triumph; he went and came with the pride of a captainin that court where some time pre- vious he had wandered about under a thousand disguises. He would have willingly related the exploits of his master to every person he came across, and he looked people in the face with the air of a man who feels himself protected. by the favor of the king. As to Grippard, he had sat down upon a block of stone and gone to sleep in the sunshine. An hour after Monsieur de Charny appeared in the court. Déroute still wore his triumphant air; from time to time he looked at Grippard and shrugged his shoulders, think- ing him a man who had no sentiment of his dignity. At sight of Monsieur de Charny, Déroute frowned, but it seemed to him that this man thrice conquered was not worthy of his hatred, and he smiled with a magnificent air. Monsieur de Charny paid no attention to Déroute and. leaped into a carriage which had been prepared for him. ‘*Barriére St. Denis,’’ said he. The team left at a rapid trot. CHAPTER LIITI. THE RUE DE L’ARBRE-SEC. Meanwhile, at the end of an hour or two’s waiting, Dé- route began to find the time very long. Belle-Rose’s delay in reappearing seemed inexplicable to him; he made twenty times the tour of the court, awoke Grippard two or three times to distract himself, but Grippard had no sooner opened his eyes than he closed them again; finally, no longer restraining himself, he took the part of mount- ing himself to Monsieur de Louvois’ apartments. An usher whom he questioned informed him that Belle-Rose was in the minister’s cabinet engaged in writing the offi- cial statement of the passage of the Rhine. As he was coming down again, almost tranquillized, Déroute sud- > (oy hy (E(0) (eo) : ee nie ee “7 RA a