"I met La Candele on his way from the Place de Petit Pont, and he
has just seen that young girl--you know whom I mean--driving off in a
two-horse Victoria. He followed it, of course. She has been placed in a
gorgeous apartment in the Rue Douai; and from what the porter says, she
must be a rare beauty; and La Candele raved about her, and says that she
has the most magnificent eyes in the world."

"Ah," remarked Hortebise, "then Tantaine was right in his description of
her."

"Of course he was," answered Mascarin with a slight frown, "and this
proves the justice of the objection you made a little time back. A girl
possessed of such dazzling beauty may even influence the fool who has
carried her off to become dangerous."

Beaumarchef touched his master's arm kindly. "If you wish to get rid of
the masher," said he, "I can show you a way;" and throwing himself
into the position of a fencer, he made a lunge with his right arm,
exclaiming, "One, two!"

"A Prussian quarrel," remarked Mascarin. "No; a duel would do us no
good. We should still have the girl on our hands, and violent measures
are always to be avoided." He took off his glasses, wiped them, and
looking at the doctor intently, said, "Suppose we take an epidemic as
our ally. If the girl had the smallpox, she would lose her beauty."

Cynical and hardened as the doctor was, he drew back in horror at this
proposal. "Under certain circumstances," remarked he, "science might aid
us; but Rose, even without her beauty, would be just as dangerous as she