by the hand which he held as in a vice. "I am hated, but I choose to
be rich and powerful, and I must have Gondreville. Listen to me; I
don't cling to life; sell me that place or I'll blow your brains
out!--"

"But do give me time to get off my bargain with Malin; he's
troublesome to deal with."

"I'll give you twenty-four hours. If you say a word about this matter
I'll chop your head off as I would chop a turnip."

Marion and Malin left the chateau in the course of the night. Marion
was frightened; he told Malin of the meeting and begged him to keep an
eye on the bailiff. It was impossible for Marion to avoid delivering
the property to the man who had been the real purchaser, and Michu did
not seem likely to admit any such reason. Moreover, this service done
by Marion to Malin was to be, and in fact ended by being, the origin
of the former's political fortune, and also that of his brother. In
1806 Malin had him appointed chief justice of an imperial court, and
after the creation of tax-collectors his brother obtained the post of
receiver-general for the department of the Aube. The State Councillor
told Marion to stay in Paris, and he warned the minister of police,
who gave orders that Michu should be secretly watched. Not wishing to
push the man to extremes, Malin kept him on as bailiff, under the iron
rule of Grevin the notary of Arcis.

From that moment Michu became more absorbed and taciturn than ever,
and obtained the reputation of a man who was capable of committing a
crime. Malin, the Councillor of State (a function which the First
Consul raised to the level of a ministry), and a maker of the Code,