第26章

"Yes, you are right," said he, "and there are many besides myself who have vowed to have revenge on the Duke, and their time will come, have no fear.A quiet shot in the woods in the dusk of the evening would settle many a long account.It has been tried, but the old man seems to have the luck of the evil one; and if the gun did not miss fire, the bullets flew wide of the mark.A judge might take a very serious view of such a matter, and term a crime what was merely an act of justice.Who can say whether the death of the Duke de Champdoce might not save him from the commission of many acts of tyranny and oppression and render many deserving persons happy?"The face of Diana de Laurebourg turned deadly pale as she listened to these specious arguments.

"As things go," continued Daumon, "the Duke may go on living to a hundred; he is wealthy and influential, and to a certain degree looked up to.He will die peacefully in his bed, there will be a magnificent funeral, and masses will be sung for the repose of his soul."While he spoke the Counsellor had taken the little bottle from beside his account books and was turning it over and over between his fingers.

"Yes," murmured he, thoughtfully; "the Duke is quite likely to outlive us all, unless, indeed----"He took the cork from the bottle, and poured a little of the contents into the palm of his hand.A few grains of fine white powder, glittering like crystal, appeared on the brown skin of the Counsellor.

"And yet," he went on, in cold, sinister accents, "let him take but a small pinch of this, and no one need fear his tyranny again in this world.No one is much afraid of a man who lies some six feet under ground, shut up in a strong oak coffin, with a finely carved gravestone over his head."He stopped short, and fixed his keen eyes upon the agitated girl, who stood in front of him.For at least two minutes the man and the girl stood face to face, motionless, and without exchanging a word.Through the dead, weird silence, the pulsations of their hearts were plainly audible.It seemed as if before speaking again each wished to fathom the depths of guilt that lay in the other's heart.It was a compact entered into by look and not by speech; and Daumon so well understood this, that at length, when he did speak, his voice sank to a hoarse whisper, as though he himself feared to listen to the utterance of his own thoughts.

"A man taking this feels no pain.It is like a heavy, stunning blow on the forehead--in ten seconds all is over, no gasp, no cry, but the heart ceases to beat forever; and, best of all, it leaves no trace behind it.A little of this, such a little, in wine or coffee, would be enough.It is tasteless, colorless, and scentless, its presence is impossible to be detected.""But in the event of a /post-mortem/ examination?""By skilful analysts in Paris or the larger towns, there would be a chance; but in a place like this, never! Never, in fact, anywhere, unless there had been previous grounds for suspicion.Otherwise only apoplectic symptoms would be observed; and even if it was traced there comes the question, By whom was it administered?"He stopped short, for a word rose to his lips which he did not dare utter; he raised his hands to his mouth, coughed slightly, and went on,--"This substance is not sold by chemists; it is very rarely met with, difficult to prepare, and terribly expensive.The smallest quantity might be met with in the first-class laboratories for scientific purposes, but it is most unlikely for any one in these parts to possess any of this drug, or even to know of its existence.""And yet you----"

"That is quite another matter.Years ago, when I was far away from here, it was in my power to render a great service to a distinguished chemist, and he made me a present of this combination of his skill.It would be impossible to trace this bottle; I have had it ten years, and the man who gave it to me is dead.Ten years? No, I am wrong, it is now twelve.""And in all these years has not this substance lost any of its destructive powers?""I tried it only a month ago.I threw a pinch of it into a basin of milk and gave it to a powerful mastiff.He drank the milk and in ten seconds fell stark and dead.""Horrible!" exclaimed Diana, covering her face with her hand, and recoiling from the tempter.

A sinister smile quivered upon the thin lips of the Counsellor.

"Why do you say horrible?" asked he; "the dog had shown symptoms of /rabies/, and had he bitten me, I might have expired in frightful torture.Was it not fair self-defence? Sometimes, however, a man is more dangerous than a dog.A man blights the whole of my life; Istrike him down openly, and the law convicts me and puts me to death;but I do not contemplate doing so, for I would suppress such a man secretly."Diana placed her hands on the man's mouth and stopped a further exposition of his ideas.

"Listen to me," said she.But at this moment a heavy step was heard outside."It is Norbert," gasped she.

"Impossible! It is more likely his father.""It is Norbert," cried Mademoiselle de Laurebourg, and snatching the little bottle from the Counsellor's hands, she thrust it into her bosom.The door flew open, and Norbert appeared on the threshold.

Diana and the Counsellor both uttered a shriek of terror.His livid countenance seemed to indicate that he had passed through some terrible scene; his gait was unsteady, his clothes torn and disordered, and his face stained with blood, which had flowed from a cut over his temple.Daumon imagined that some outrage had taken place.

"You have been wounded, Marquis?" said he.

"Yes, my father struck me."

"Can it be possible?"

"Yes, he struck me."

Mademoiselle Diana had feared this, and she trembled with the terror of her vague conjectures as she made a step towards her lover.

"Permit me to examine your wound," said she.

She placed both her hands at the side of his head and stood on tip-toe, the better to inspect the cut.As she did so, she shuddered; an inch lower, and the consequences might have been fatal.