''Fool! fool that I was,' she exclaimed, 'why did I select in such an
enterprise a man worn down by sickness and disease?'

'The look she cast on Arthur, rapid as it was, was so full of menace
and reproach, that it startled me.

''Well, Arthur,' she said, laying her hand on his arm; 'do you feel ill
again?'

'Roused by the sound of her voice, Arthur placed his hand on his heart,
and mutely plead excuse for the silence which his sufferings imposed on
him.

'As for me, I spoke no word, but mentally consigned my mysterious
neighbors to a distant port, whence consignments never return.

''My dear sir,' I replied at length, 'Pepito's treachery, which appears
so deeply to affect you, is not yet carried into execution, it is only
contemplated. I will give you word for word what transpired.'

'When I had concluded my narrative, to which they listened with
breathless attention, Adéle exclaimed:

''Our hopes are not yet crushed, the case is not utterly desperate; but
alas! it is evident our secret is suspected, if not known. Arthur,' she
continued, 'now is the time to display all our energy. We have some
enemy to dread, as I have long suspected. If we do not at once steal a
march on him, then farewell forever to all our dreams of happiness, of
wealth, or even of subsistence.'