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Then, on going to Vendome, you will stop at the Hotel de Porte." "Hotel de Porte," repeated Catenac, as he made a note of the name. "Upon the day of your arrival at Vendome," continued Mascarin, "you could do very little. Your time would be taken up in resting after your journey, and perhaps you may make a few preliminary inquiries.
The name of Catenac seemed to irritate Mascarin so much, that calm, and self-contained as he usually was, he pulled off his cap and dashed it on his desk. "Are you speaking seriously?" said he angrily. "Why should I not be in earnest?" Mascarin removed his glasses, as though without them he could the more easily peer into the depths of the soul of the man before him.
"This blow would be comparatively trifling, if I had not so much on hand, but I have Paul to look after. The Champdoce affair must be pressed on, for Catenac, the traitor, has put the Duke and Perpignan into communication. I must see Perpignan and discover how much has been told him, and how much he has guessed. I will also see Caroline Schimmel, and extract something from her.
To the shawl I have added a handkerchief and a few other articles belonging to Clarisse, which will render it an easy matter to fix the guilt on you." Catenac was absolutely stunned, and had lost all power of defending himself. The few incoherent words that he uttered showed his state of utter despair.
This lady will tell you that she does not know the address of her former master, but that he used to live at 57, Rue de la Harpe. From the Rue de la Harpe you will be sent to the Rue Jacob, and from thence to the Rue Montmartre, at the corner of the Rue Joquelet." Mascarin paused, drew a long breath, and chuckled inwardly, as though at some excellent joke. "Be comforted, Catenac," said he.
Catenac and Hortebise were waiting for me with the utmost anxiety. You remember that day, my friends. Marquis, my story is especially intended for you. As soon as I entered the room, my friends ran up to me, delighted at seeing me return in safety, but I thrust them aside.
"Do you propose to bring Catenac into this affair?" asked Hortebise in great surprise. "Assuredly." "Why have you changed your plan?" "Simply because I have recognized the fact that, if we dispensed with his services, we should be entirely at the mercy of a shrewd man of business, because " He broke off, listened for a moment, and then said, "Hush! I can hear his footstep."
I have found him; only as it is impossible for me to appear in the matter, I shall delegate to you and Perpignan the happiness of restoring the lost son to his father's arms." Catenac glanced from Mascarin to Hortebise, and from them to Paul, and seemed to wish to be certain that he was not being made an object of ridicule.
The cold calmness of the lawyer had vanished, and Catenac only displayed the zealous eagerness of the man who, admitted at a late hour into an enterprise which he imagines will be lucrative, burns to do as much as he can to further it. "But," added he, as an after-thought, "how can we be certain that there is no one to recognize Paul?"
Catenac began to utter protestations and denials, but Mascarin cut him short with an imperative gesture, and, after a long pause, he again commenced, "You must understand that my inquisitors have had but little to do in this affair, for my work has chiefly consisted in putting fragments together. I am sure that some of the phrases must have struck you considerably."
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