Adventure, August 3, 1919 — page 57: what you’re looking at

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

jn their possession, citizen, are receipts for _ - money, for bribes paid to various mei 1 ‘of the Committee of Public Safety by royal- ist agents for the overthrow of our glorious _ republic. You know all about them, do ; you not?” : While Chauvelin spoke, a look of furtive terror had crept into Lebel’s eyes; his 4 cheeks became the color of lead. But even so he tried to keep up an air of incredulity and of amazement. “7?” he exclaimed. ‘What do you mean, Citizen Chauvelin? What should _ I know about it?” “Some of those receipts are signed with your name, Citizen Lebel,” riposted Chau- velin forcefully. “Bah!”’ he added, and a tone of savage contempt crept into his even, calm voice now. ‘“Henriot, Foucquier, Ducros and the whole gang of you are in it up to the neck: trafficking with our enemies, trading with England, taking _ bribes from every quarter for working t against. the safety of the republic. Ah, if I had my way, I would let the hatred of those aristos take its course. I would let the Montorgueils and the whole pack _ of royalist agents publish those infamous _ proofs of your treachery and of your base- __ ness to the entire world, and send the whole _ lot of you to the guillotine!” He had spoken with so much concen- trated fury and the hatred and contempt expressed in his pale eyes were so fierce, that an involuntary ice-cold shiver ran down the length of Lebel’s spine. But _-even so he would not give in; he tried to sneer and to keep up something of his _ former surly defiance. “Bah!” he exclaimed, and with a lower- _ Ing glance he gave hatred for hatred and _ contempt for contempt. “What can you do? An I am not mistaken, there is no _ more discredited man in France today than the unsuccessful tracker of the Scarlet The taunt went home. It was Chauve- lin’s turn now to lose countenance, to pale _ to the lips. The glow of virtuous indig- | acted out of his eyes; his look became furtive and shamed. | “You are right, Citizen Lebel,”’ he said calmly after a while. ‘“Recriminations be- _ tween us are out of place. I am a dis- credited man, as you say. Perhaps it | have been better if the Committee ad sent me long ago to expiate my failures : % ‘ .. ee e - hat - ‘J ‘on the guillotine. I should at least not have suffered, as I am suffering now, daily, hourly, humiliation at thought of the triumph of an enemy whom I hate with a passion that consumes my very soul. But do not let us speak of me,” he went on quietly. ‘There are graver affairs at stake just now than mine own.” Lebel said nothing more for the moment. Perhaps he was satisfied at the success of his taunt, even though the terror within his craven soul still caused the cold shiver to course up and down his spine. Chauvelin had once more turned to the window; his gaze was fixed upon the distance far away. The window gave on the north. That way, in a straight line, lay Calais, Boulogne, England—where he had been made to suffer such bitter humiliation at the hands of his elusive enemy. Far out to the west lay Nantes, the scene of his latest defeat, and immediately before him was Paris, where the very walls seemed to echo that mocking laugh of the darmg Englishman which would haunt him even to his grave. Lebel, unnerved by his colleague’s silence, broke in gruffly at last: “Well then, citizen,” he said with a feeble attempt at another sneer, “if you are not thinking of sending us all to the guillotine just yet, perhaps you will be good enough to explain just how the matter stands?” “Fairly simply, alas!’ replied Chauvelin dryly. “The two Montorgueils, father and son, under assumed names, were the royalist agents who succeeded in suborning men such as you, citizen, and the whole gang of you. We have tracked them down to this district, have confiscated their Jands and ransacked the old chateau for valuables and so on. Two days later the first of a series of pestilential anonymous letters reached the Committee of Public Safety, threatening the publication of a whole series of compromising documents if the Marquis and the Vicomte de Montor- gueil were in any way molested and if all the Montorgueil property is not immedi- ately restored.”’ “I suppose it is quite certain that those receipts and documents do exist?’ sug- gested Lebel. _“Perfectly~certain. One of the receipts, signed by Henriot, was sent as a specimen.”