Fouquet hastened back to his apartment by the subterraneanpassage, and immediately closed the mirror with the spring.He was scarcely in his closet, when he heard some oneknocking violently at the door, and a well-known voicecrying: - "Open the door, monseigneur, I entreat you, openthe door!" Fouquet quickly restored a little order toeverything that might have revealed either his absence orhis agitation: he spread his papers over the desk, took up apen, and, to gain time, said, through the closed door, - "Who is there?"

"What, monseigneur, do you not know me?" replied the voice.

"Yes, yes," said Fouquet to himself, "yes, my friend I knowyou well enough." And then, aloud: "Is it not Gourville?"

"Why, yes, monseigneur."

Fouquet arose, cast a last look at one of his glasses, wentto the door, pushed back the bolt, and Gourville entered."Ah, monseigneur! monseigneur!" cried he, "what cruelty!"

"In what?"

"I have been a quarter of an hour imploring you to open thedoor, and you would not even answer me."

"Once for all, you know that I will not be disturbed when Iam busy. Now, although I might make you an exception,Gourville, I insist upon my orders being respected byothers."

"Monseigneur, at this moment, orders, doors, bolts, locks,and walls, I could have broken, forced and overthrown!"

"Ah! ah! it relates to some great event, then?" askedFouquet.

"Oh! I assure you it does, monseigneur," replied Gourville.

"And what is this event?" said Fouquet, a little troubled bythe evident agitation of his most intimate confidant.

"There is a secret chamber of justice instituted,monseigneur."

"I know there is, but do the members meet, Gourville?"

"They not only meet, but they have passed a sentence,monseigneur."

"A sentence?" said the superintendent, with a shudder andpallor he could not conceal. "A sentence! - and on whom?"

"Two of your best friends."

"Lyodot and D'Eymeris, do you mean? But what sort of asentence?"

"Sentence of death."

"Passed? Oh! you must be mistaken, Gourville; that isimpossible."

"Here is a copy of the sentence which the king is to signto-day, if he has not already signed it."

Fouquet seized the paper eagerly, read it, and returned itto Gourville. "The king will never sign that," said he.

Gourville shook his head.

"Monseigneur, M. Colbert is a bold councilor: do not be tooconfident!"

"Monsieur Colbert again!" cried Fouquet. "How is it thatthat name rises upon all occasions to torment my ears,during the last two or three days? Thou make so trifling asubject of too much importance, Gourville. Let M. Colbertappear, I will face him; let him raise his head, I willcrush him; but you understand, there must be an outline uponwhich my look may fall, there must be a surface upon whichmy feet may be placed."

"Patience, monseigneur, for you do not know what Colbert is- study him quickly; it is with this dark financier as itis with meteors, which the eye never sees completely beforetheir disastrous invasion; when we feel them we are dead."

"Oh! Gourville, this is going too far," replied Fouquet,smiling; "allow me, my friend, not to be so easilyfrightened; M. Colbert a meteor! Corbleu, we confront themeteor. Let us see acts, and not words. What has he done?"

"He has ordered two gibbets of the executioner of Paris,"answered Gourville.

Fouquet raised his head, and a flash gleamed from his eyes."Are you sure of what you say?" cried he.

"Here is the proof, monseigneur." And Gourville held out tothe superintendent a note communicated by a certainsecretary of the Hotel de Ville, who was one of Fouquet'screatures.

"Yes, that is true," murmured the minister; "the scaffoldmay be prepared, but the king has not signed; Gourville, theking will not sign."

"I shall soon know," said Gourville.

"How?"

"If the king has signed, the gibbets will be sent thisevening to the Hotel de Ville, in order to be got up andready by to-morrow morning."

"Oh! no, no!" cried the superintendent once again; "you areall deceived, and deceive me in my turn; Lyodot came to seeme only the day before yesterday; only three days ago Ireceived a present of some Syracuse wine from poorD'Eymeris."

"What does that prove?" replied Gourville, "except that thechamber of justice has been secretly assembled, hasdeliberated in the absence of the accused, and that thewhole proceeding was complete when they were arrested."

"What! are they, then, arrested?"

"No doubt they are."

"But where, when, and how have they been arrested?"

"Lyodot, yesterday at daybreak; D'Eymeris, the day beforeyesterday, in the evening, as he was returning from thehouse of his mistress; their disappearance had disturbednobody; but at length M. Colbert all at once raised themask, and caused the affair to be published; it is beingcried by sound of trumpet, at this moment in Paris, and, intruth, monseigneur, there is scarcely anybody but yourselfignorant of the event."

Fouquet began to walk about his chamber with an uneasinessthat became more and more serious.

"What do you decide upon, monseigneur?" said Gourville.

"If it really were as you say, I would go to the king,"cried Fouquet. "But as I go to the Louvre, I will pass bythe Hotel de Ville. We shall see if the sentence is signed."

"Incredulity! thou art the pest of all great minds," saidGourville, shrugging his shoulders.

"Gourville!"

"Yes," continued he, "and incredulity! thou ruinest, ascontagion destroys the most robust health, that is to say,in an instant."

"Let us go," cried Fouquet; "desire the door to be opened,Gourville."

"Be cautious," said the latter, "the Abbe Fouquet is there."

"Ah! my brother," replied Fouquet, in a tone of annoyance,"he is there, is he? he knows all the ill news, then, and isrejoiced to bring it to me, as usual. The devil! if mybrother is there, my affairs are bad, Gourville; why did younot tell me that sooner: I should have been the more readilyconvinced."

"'Monseigneur calumniates him," said Gourville, laughing,"if he is come, it is not with a bad intention."

"What, do you excuse him?" cried Fouquet; "a fellow withouta heart, without ideas; a devourer of wealth."

"He knows you are rich."

"And would ruin me."

"No, but he would like to have your purse. That is all."

"Enough! enough! A hundred thousand crowns per month, duringtwo years. Corbleu! it is I that pay, Gourville, and I knowmy figures." Gourville laughed in a silent, sly manner."Yes, yes, you mean to say it is the king pays," said thesuperintendent. "Ah, Gourville, that is a vile joke; this isnot the place."

"Monseigneur, do not be angry."

"Well, then, send away the Abbe Fouquet; I have not a sou."Gourville made a step towards the door. "He has been a monthwithout seeing me," continued Fouquet, "why could he not betwo months?"

"Because he repents of living in bad company," saidGourville, "and prefers you to all his bandits."

"Thanks for the preference! You make a strange advocate,Gourville, to-day - the advocate of the Abbe Fouquet!"

"Eh! but everything and every man has a good side - theiruseful side, monseigneur."

"The bandits whom the abbe keeps in pay and drink have theiruseful side, have they? Prove that, if you please."

"Let the circumstance arise, monseigneur, and you will bevery glad to have these bandits under your hand."

"You advise me, then, to be reconciled to the abbe?" saidFouquet, ironically.

"I advise you, monseigneur, not to quarrel with a hundred ora hundred and twenty loose fellows, who, by putting theirrapiers end to end, would form a cordon of steel capable ofsurrounding three thousand men."

Fouquet darted a searching glance at Gourville, and passingbefore him, - "That is all very well, let M. l'Abbe Fouquetbe introduced," said he to the footman. "You are right,Gourville."

Two minutes after, the Abbe Fouquet appeared in the doorway,with profound reverences. He was a man of from forty toforty-five years of age, half churchman half soldier, - aspadassin, grafted upon an abbe; upon seeing that he had nota sword by his side, you might be sure he had pistols.Fouquet saluted him more as an elder brother than as aminister.

"What can I do to serve you, monsieur l'abbe?" said he.

"Oh! oh! how coldly you speak to me, brother!"

"I speak like a man who is in a hurry, monsieur."

The abbe looked maliciously at Gourville, and anxiously atFouquet, and said, "I have three hundred pistoles to pay toM. de Bregi this evening. A play debt, a sacred debt."

"What next?" said Fouquet bravely, for he comprehended thatthe Abbe Fouquet would not have disturbed him for such awant.

"A thousand to my butcher, who will supply no more meat."

"Next?"

"Twelve hundred to my tailor," continued the abbe; "thefellow has made me take back seven suits of my people's,which compromises my liveries, and my mistress talks ofreplacing me by a farmer of the revenue, which would be ahumiliation for the church."

"What else?" said Fouquet.

"You will please to remark," said the abbe, humbly, "that Ihave asked nothing for myself."

"That is delicate, monsieur," replied Fouquet; "so, as yousee, I wait."

"And I ask nothing, oh! no, - it is not for want of need,though, I assure you."

The minister reflected a minute. "Twelve hundred pistoles tothe tailor; that seems a great deal for clothes," said he.

"I maintain a hundred men," said the abbe, proudly; "that isa charge, I believe."

"Why a hundred men?" said Fouquet. "Are you a Richelieu or aMazarin, to require a hundred men as a guard? What use doyou make of these men? - speak."

"And do you ask me that?" cried the Abbe Fouquet; "ah! howcan you put such a question, - why I maintain a hundredmen? Ah!"

"Why, yes, I do put that question to you. What have you todo with a hundred men? - answer."

"Ingrate!" continued the abbe, more and more affected.

"Explain yourself."

"Why, monsieur the superintendent, I only want one valet dechambre, for my part, and even if I were alone, could helpmyself very well; but you, you who have so many enemies - ahundred men are not enough for me to defend you with. Ahundred men! - you ought to have ten thousand. I maintain,then, these men in order that in public places, inassemblies, no voice may be raised against you, and withoutthem, monsieur, you would be loaded with imprecations, youwould be torn to pieces, you would not last a week; no, nota week, do you understand?"

"Ah! I did not know you were my champion to such an extent,monsieur l'abbe."

"You doubt it!" cried the abbe. "Listen, then, to whathappened, no longer ago than yesterday, in the Rue de laHochette. A man was cheapening a fowl."

"Well, how could that injure me, abbe?"

"This way. The fowl was not fat. The purchaser refused togive eighteen sous for it, saying that he could not affordeighteen sous for the skin of a fowl from which M. Fouquethad sucked all the fat."

"Go on."

"The joke caused a deal of laughter," continued the abbe;"laughter at your expense, death to the devils! and thecanaille were delighted. The joker added, `Give me a fowlfed by M. Colbert, if you like! and I will pay all you ask.'And immediately there was a clapping of hands. A frightfulscandal! you understand; a scandal which forces a brother tohide his face."

Fouquet colored. "And you veiled it?" said thesuperintendent.

"No, for it so happened I had one of my men in the crowd; anew recruit from the provinces, one M. Menneville, whom Ilike very much. He made his way through the press, saying tothe joker: `Mille barbes! Monsieur the false joker, here's athrust for Colbert!' `And one for Fouquet,' replied thejoker. Upon which they drew in front of the cook's shop,with a hedge of the curious round them, and five hundred ascurious at the windows."

"Well?" said Fouquet.

"Well, monsieur, my Menneville spitted the joker, to thegreat astonishment of the spectators, and said to the cook:- `Take this goose, my friend, it is fatter than yourfowl.' That is the way, monsieur," ended the abbe,triumphantly, "in which I spend my revenues; I maintain thehonor of the family, monsieur." Fouquet hung his head. "AndI have a hundred as good as he," continued the abbe.

"Very well," said Fouquet, "give the account to Gourville,and remain here this evening."

"Shall we have supper?"

"Yes, there will be supper."

"But the chest is closed."

"Gourville will open it for you. Leave us, monsieur l'abbe,leave us."

"Then we are friends?" said the abbe, with a bow.

Oh yes. friends. Come Gourville."

"Are you going out? You will not stay to supper, then?"

"I shall be back in an hour; rest easy, abbe." Then aside toGourville - "Let them put to my English horses," said he,"and direct the coachman to stop at the Hotel de Ville deParis."