第75章

RINGING THE CHANGES.

Andre, who was gifted with plenty of intelligence, at once judged of the kind of business done by the Mutual Loan Society by the dinginess of the brass plate on the door and the generally dilapidated aspect of the house.

"I don't like the look of it at all," said he.

"It does not go in for show," answered Gaston, affecting an air of wisdom, "but it is deemed handy sometimes.It does all sorts of business that you would never think of.A real downy card is Verminet."Andre could easily believe this, for, of course, there could be but one opinion concerning the character of a man who could have induced a mere simpleton like Gaston to affix a forged signature to the bills which he had discounted.He made no remark, however, but entered the house, with the interior arrangements of which Gaston appeared to be perfectly familiar.They passed through a dirty, ill-smelling passage, went across a courtyard, cold and damp as a cell, and ascended a flight of stairs with a grimy balustrade.On the second floor Gaston made a halt before a door upon which several names were painted.They passed through into a large and lofty room.The paper on the walls of this delectable chamber was torn and spotted, and a light railing ran along it, behind which sat two or three clerks, whose chief occupation appeared to be consuming the breakfast which they had brought with them to the office.The heat of the stove, which was burning in one corner of the room, the general mouldiness of the atmosphere, and the smell of the coarse food, were sufficient to turn the stomach of any one coming in from the fresh air.

"Where is M.Verminet?" asked Gaston authoritatively.

"Engaged," replied one of the clerks, without pausing to empty his mouth before he replied.

"Don't you talk to me like that.What do I care whether he is engaged or not? Tell him that Gaston de Gandelu desires to see him at once."The clerk was evidently impressed by his visitor's manner, and, taking the card which was handed to him, made his exit through a door at the other end of the room.

Gaston was delighted at this first victory, and glanced at Andre with a triumphant smile.

The clerk came back almost at once."M.Verminet," cried he, "has a client with him just now.He begs that you will excuse him for a few minutes, when he will see you"; and evidently anxious to be civil to the gorgeously attired youths before him, he added, "My master is just now engaged with M.de Croisenois.""Aha," cried Gaston; "I will lay you ten to one that the dear Marquis will be delighted to see me."Andre started on hearing this name, and his cheek crimsoned.The man whom he most hated in this world; the wretch who, by his possession of some compromising secret, was forcing Sabine into a detested marriage;the villain whom he, M.de Breulh, and Madame de Bois Arden had sworn to overreach, was within a few paces of him, and that now he should see him face to face.Their eyes would meet, and he would hear the tones of the scoundrel's voice.His rage and agitation were so intense that it was with the utmost difficulty that he concealed it.Luckily for him, Gaston was not paying the slightest attention to his companion; for having, at the clerk's invitation, taken a chair, he assumed an imposing attitude, which struck the shabby young man behind the railing with the deepest admiration.

"I suppose," said he, in a loud voice, "that you know my dear friend, the Marquis?"Andre made some reply, which Gaston interpreted as a negative.

"Really," said he, "you know /no/ one, as I told you before.Where have you lived? But you must have heard of him? Henri de Croisenois is one of my most intimate friends.He owes me over fifty louis that Iwon of him one night at baccarat."

Andre was now certain that he had estimated Verminet's character correctly, and the relations of the Marquis de Croisenois with this very equivocal personage assumed a meaning of great significance to him.He felt now that he had gained a clue, a beacon blazed out before him, and he saw his way more clearly into the difficult windings of this labyrinth of iniquity which he knew that he must penetrate before he gained the secret he longed for.

He felt like a child playing the game called "Magic Music," when, as the seeker nears the hiding place of the article of which he is in search, the strains of the piano swell higher and higher.He now found that the boy whose master he had become, knew, or said he knew, a good deal of this marquis.Why should he not gain some information from him?

"Are you really intimate with the Marquis de Croisenois?" asked he.

"I should rather think I was," returned Gandelu the younger."You will see that precious sharp.I know all about him, and who the girl is that he is ruining himself for, but I mustn't talk about that; mum's the word, you know."At that moment the door opened, and the Marquis appeared, followed by Verminet.

Henri de Croisenois was attired in the most fashionable manner, and formed an utter contrast to the flashy dress of Gaston.He was smoking a cigar, and mechanically tapping his boots with an elegant walking cane.In a moment the features and figure of the Viscount were indelibly photographed upon Andre's brain.He particularly noticed his eyes, which had in them a half-concealed look of terror, and his face bore the haunted expression of a person who expects some terrible blow to fall upon him at any moment.

At a little distance the Marquis still seemed young, but a closer inspection showed that the man looked even older than he really was, so worn and haggard were his mouth and eyes.Nights at the gaming-table and the anxiety as to where the fresh supplies should come from to furnish the means to prolong his life of debauchery had told heavily upon him.To-day, however, he seemed to be in the best temper imaginable, and in the most cheerful manner he addressed a few words to Verminet, in conclusion of the conversation that had been going on in the inner office.