The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 283: what you’re looking at

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

THE YOUNG DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY, 269 letter charges you, Captain Borel, with being a cashiered officer—and you, friend Cailliez, with being a bankrupt merchant——” “ But I honourably got my certificate,” voci- ferated Cailliez. “And if I roasted a few wretched Algerines alive,” added Borel, “I was not the first officer in the army who had done so.” ‘‘At all events,” exclaimed Ponchard, ‘ there was nothing degrading in your failure in business, Cailliez—nor in the cause for which you left the French army, Borel. Perdition takeit! I thought we were all men of honour here!—and if so, we might afford to laugh at the spiteful .outpourings of the Ambassador; and though the game is all up, we might send him an indignant reply. But, death and furies! if there is a veritable felon amongst us, I confess, friends, I for one shall wince and writhe under the terrible taunts contained in that letter!” “Speak, man!” vociferated Karl Petronoff, fixing his flaming eyes upon Mandeville ; ‘is it true that you deserve the-character with which that letter invests you ?” ““ Just as if he would tell the truth in the mat- ter !” said Ivan Zadouski, with a look of sneering contempt at Mandeville. ‘“‘T tell you what, gentlemen,” said the Count, rising from his seat, ‘‘I think I had better leave you. I see you purpose to make a dead set at me ~—and I therefore bid you farewell.” ‘‘Ah, the sooner you get out of the company of honourable men, the better!’ muttered the sur- geon Ponchard, grinding his teeth, and fixing a look of dark sombre menace upon Mandeville. ‘‘'Yes—let him go, in the devil’s name,” said Borel, with a sound like a growl; “or else I shall be inclined to do him a mischief.” Mandeville put on his cloak and hastened to quit the apartment, with the well-assumed air of aman who was glad-to escape from a company in whose presence his character had been exposed. But as he went forth from the house, he chuckled inwardly, as he said to himself, ‘‘It was a mas- terly stroke of policy on my part to make the Ambassador put in that sentence concerning my- self! Never mind what the rascals now think of me! At all events they do not entertain the slightest suspicion that it is by me they have been betrayed.” But let us return to the interior of the room ” which Mandeville had just quitted. ‘‘By heaven !” cried Ponchard, grasping his hair with both hands as if he meant to tear it out of his head,—"I feel as if branded by that terrible letter !” ““ To think that we should have had a forger and a swindler as one of our comrades !” cried Borel, striking his clenched fist violently upon the table. ‘But who the deuce could have betrayed us ?” demanded Karl Petronoff: and his fierce looks wandered suspiciously and mistrustfully around. ‘‘Tam ready to make oath that I am stanch,” said Louis Cailliez. ‘‘And, by heaven !” exclaimed Ponchard, “ if I thought that any man even so much as required from my lips an assurance to that effect, I would teach him a lesson that he should never forget.” “‘ At all events one thing is very certain,” said Borel,—“ and this is, that the game’s up—our plans are knocked on the head—and so far as any of us are concerned, there will be no revolution, and the Citizen King may die safe and comfortable in his own bed.” : “ Right enough,” said Cailliez. ‘‘ And now, it seems that the only thing we can do is to pay whiat is owing for the room, give it up, and separate, wishing each other good luck elsewhere.” ‘‘ What! separate,” cried Karl Petronoff, ‘“S before we satisfy ourselves as to who the traitor was who betrayed us ?” ‘“‘ And whom do you suspect ?” demanded Ivan Zadouski of his fellow-countryman. ‘‘ Why the devil do you rivet your eyes on me? If you had settled them mistrustfully on Mandeville before you let him leave the room, I do not think you would have been far astray of the mark.” “No, no!” cried Ponchard: “ that will not do for amoment. Mandeville is a miserable adven- turer, there can be no doubt : but he is no traitor towards us. If he were, the Ambassador would not have lashed him so frightfully in the letter.” “To be sure not!” interjected Karl Petronoff : “that stands to reason. The letter speaks like- wise of me and my concerns, in addition to men- tioning my name.” ‘‘ And of me too,” gaid Ponchard, ““And if you come to that, it speaks of me too,” said Cailliez. ‘And you will admit, friends,” added Borel, ‘* that the letter has not spared me.” Ivan Zadouski alone remained silent. He was suddenly struck by the fact, avhich in the excite- ment of the scene he had not thought of before, that his name was the only one that was simply mentioned in the letter without any associated slur, charge, or imputation. The same circum- stance simultaneously struck the others present; and their looks were all in a moment concen- trated upon that individual. ‘What the devil do you mean by this, friends ?” said Ivan Zadouski with a fierce air of defiance. “You are spared in that letter ‘” ejaculated Petronoff. ‘‘Well, I know it,” answered Ivan doggedly. * And what then ?” ‘We suspect you, Zadouski!” cried Petronoff. “If you say that, you lie!” retorted Ivan. “What! I lie?”—and it was a: fierce yell of rage, hysna-like and terrible, that burst from the lips of Karl Petronoff. ‘ Villanous traitor !”— and springing forward, he seized Zadouski by the collar. “ Fraitor in your teeth, liar!” exclaimed Ivan : and at the same time he dealt his assailant a ter- rible blow with his clenched fist upon the mouth. Fiercer still was the yell of rage which now escaped from the bleeding lips of Karl Petronoff; and in the excitement of the ungovernable passion which had seized upon him, he caught up the knife from the table—it. gleamed in the gaslight —and the next instant it was plunged deep down into the heart of lvan Zadouski. The blow was fatal—the work was done—Ivan had ceased to exist ! “Good Heavens, Petronoff!” ‘you have killed him!” ‘* And so much the better!” was the murderer’s brutal reply. ‘‘ Was he not a traitor? did he not betray us?” said Cailliez ; COMO oO Colin