Other People's Money [159]
"I must find him. And, by thunder! wherever he may be hid, I shall find him."
M. de Traggers was watching M. Saint Pavin with a scrutinizing eye.
"You have a great interest in finding him, then?" he said.
The other stopped short.
"I have the interest," he replied, "of a man who thought himself shrewd, and who has been taken in like a child, - of a man to whom they had promised wonders, and who finds his situation imperilled, - of a man who is tired of working for a band of brigands who heap millions upon millions, and to whom, for all reward, they offer the police-court and a retreat in the State Prison for his old age, -in a word, the interests of a man who will and shall have revenge, by all that is holy!"
"On whom?"
"On the Baron de Thaller, sir! How, in the world, has he been able to compel Favoral to assume the responsibility of all, and to disappear? What enormous sum has he given to him?"
"Sir," interrupted Maxence, "my father went off without a sou."
M. Saint Pavin burst out in a loud laugh.
"And the twelve millions?" he asked. "What has become of them? Do you suppose they have been distributed in deeds of charity?"
And without waiting for any further objections,
"And yet," he went on, "it is not with money alone that a man can be induced to disgrace himself, to confess himself a thief and a forger, to brave the galleys, to give up everything, - country, family, friends. Evidently the Baron de Thaller must have had other means of action, some hold on Favoral"
M. de Traggers interrupted him.
"You speak," he said, "as if you were absolutely certain of M. de Thaller's complicity."
Of course."
"Why don't you inform on him, then?"
The editor of "The Pilot" started back. "What!" he exclaimed, "draw the fingers of the law into my own business! You don't think of it! Besides, what good would that do me? I have no proofs of my allegations. Do you suppose that Thaller has not taken his precautions, and tied my hands? No, no! without Favoral there is nothing to be done."
"Do you suppose, then, that you could induce him to surrender himself?"
"No, but to furnish me the proofs I need, to send Thaller where they have already sent that poor Jottras."
And, becoming more and more excited,
"But it is not in a month that I should want those proofs," he went on, "nor even in two weeks, but to-morrow, but at this very moment. Before the end of the week, Thaller will have wound up the operation, realized, Heaven knows how many millions, and put every thing in such nice order, that justice, who in financial matters is not of the first capacity, will discover nothing wrong. If he can do that, he is safe, he is beyond reach, and will be dubbed a first-class financier. Then to what may he not aspire! Already he talks of having himself elected deputy; and he says everywhere that he has found, to marry his daughter, a gentleman who bears one of the oldest names in France, - the Marquis de Tegars."
"Why, this is the Marquis de Tregars!" exclaimed Maxence, pointing to Marius.
For the first time; M. Saint Pavin took the trouble to examine his visitor; and he, who knew life too well not to be a judge of men, he seemed surprised.
"Please excuse me, sir," he uttered with a politeness very different from his usual manner, "and permit me to ask you if you know the reasons why M. de Thaller is so prodigiously anxious to have you for a son-in-law."
"I think," replied M. de Traggers coldly, "that M. de Thaller would not be sorry to deprive me of the right to seek the causes of my father's ruin.
But he was interrupted by a great noise of voices in the adjoining room; and almost at once there was a loud knock at the door, and a voice called,
"In the name of the law!"
The editor of "The Pilot" had become whiter than his shirt.
"That's what I was afraid of," he said. "Thaller has got ahead of me; and perhaps I may be lost."
Meantime he did not lose his wits. Quick as thought he took out of a drawer a package of letters, threw them into the fireplace, and
M. de Traggers was watching M. Saint Pavin with a scrutinizing eye.
"You have a great interest in finding him, then?" he said.
The other stopped short.
"I have the interest," he replied, "of a man who thought himself shrewd, and who has been taken in like a child, - of a man to whom they had promised wonders, and who finds his situation imperilled, - of a man who is tired of working for a band of brigands who heap millions upon millions, and to whom, for all reward, they offer the police-court and a retreat in the State Prison for his old age, -in a word, the interests of a man who will and shall have revenge, by all that is holy!"
"On whom?"
"On the Baron de Thaller, sir! How, in the world, has he been able to compel Favoral to assume the responsibility of all, and to disappear? What enormous sum has he given to him?"
"Sir," interrupted Maxence, "my father went off without a sou."
M. Saint Pavin burst out in a loud laugh.
"And the twelve millions?" he asked. "What has become of them? Do you suppose they have been distributed in deeds of charity?"
And without waiting for any further objections,
"And yet," he went on, "it is not with money alone that a man can be induced to disgrace himself, to confess himself a thief and a forger, to brave the galleys, to give up everything, - country, family, friends. Evidently the Baron de Thaller must have had other means of action, some hold on Favoral"
M. de Traggers interrupted him.
"You speak," he said, "as if you were absolutely certain of M. de Thaller's complicity."
Of course."
"Why don't you inform on him, then?"
The editor of "The Pilot" started back. "What!" he exclaimed, "draw the fingers of the law into my own business! You don't think of it! Besides, what good would that do me? I have no proofs of my allegations. Do you suppose that Thaller has not taken his precautions, and tied my hands? No, no! without Favoral there is nothing to be done."
"Do you suppose, then, that you could induce him to surrender himself?"
"No, but to furnish me the proofs I need, to send Thaller where they have already sent that poor Jottras."
And, becoming more and more excited,
"But it is not in a month that I should want those proofs," he went on, "nor even in two weeks, but to-morrow, but at this very moment. Before the end of the week, Thaller will have wound up the operation, realized, Heaven knows how many millions, and put every thing in such nice order, that justice, who in financial matters is not of the first capacity, will discover nothing wrong. If he can do that, he is safe, he is beyond reach, and will be dubbed a first-class financier. Then to what may he not aspire! Already he talks of having himself elected deputy; and he says everywhere that he has found, to marry his daughter, a gentleman who bears one of the oldest names in France, - the Marquis de Tegars."
"Why, this is the Marquis de Tregars!" exclaimed Maxence, pointing to Marius.
For the first time; M. Saint Pavin took the trouble to examine his visitor; and he, who knew life too well not to be a judge of men, he seemed surprised.
"Please excuse me, sir," he uttered with a politeness very different from his usual manner, "and permit me to ask you if you know the reasons why M. de Thaller is so prodigiously anxious to have you for a son-in-law."
"I think," replied M. de Traggers coldly, "that M. de Thaller would not be sorry to deprive me of the right to seek the causes of my father's ruin.
But he was interrupted by a great noise of voices in the adjoining room; and almost at once there was a loud knock at the door, and a voice called,
"In the name of the law!"
The editor of "The Pilot" had become whiter than his shirt.
"That's what I was afraid of," he said. "Thaller has got ahead of me; and perhaps I may be lost."
Meantime he did not lose his wits. Quick as thought he took out of a drawer a package of letters, threw them into the fireplace, and