"
Was that simply the expression of my excited nerves? Or was it the
result of a laborious task executed under a burning sun? I know
that I trembled as I walked away, and that I went to bed, where I
remained forty-eight hours, restless and feverish, haunted by
skeletons that danced around me and threw their bleeding hearts at
my head.
Daspry was faithful to me. He came to my house every day, and
remained three or four hours, which he spent in the large room,
ferreting, thumping, tapping.
"The letters are here, in this room," he said, from time to time,
"they are here. I will stake my life on it."
On the morning of the third day I arose--feeble yet, but cured. A
substantial breakfast cheered me up. But a letter that I received
that afternoon contributed, more than anything else, to my complete
recovery, and aroused in me a lively curiosity. This was the
letter:
"Monsieur,
"The drama, the first act of which transpired on the night of 22
June, is now drawing to a close. Force of circumstances compel me
to bring the two principal actors in that drama face to face, and I
wish that meeting to take place in your house, if you will be so
kind as to give me the use of it for this evening from nine o'clock
to eleven.
Pages:
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172