have you been?"

"In London."

"Ah! in London!" said Duplessis, paling. "I knew I had an enemy
there."

"Enemy! I? Bah! my dear Monsieur. What makes you think me your enemy?"

"I remember your threats."

"_A propos_ of Rochebriant. By the way, when would it be convenient to
you and the dear Marquis to let me into prompt possession of that
property? You can no longer pretend to buy it as a _dot_ for
Mademoiselle Valerie."

"I know not that yet. It is true that all the financial operations
attempted by my agent in London have failed. But I may recover myself
yet, now that I re-enter Paris. In the mean time, we have still six
months before us; for, as you will find--if you know it not already--the
interest due to you has been lodged with Messrs. ---- of ------, and you
cannot foreclose, even if the, law did not take into consideration the
national calamities as between debtor and creditor."

"Quite true. But if you cannot buy the property it must pass into my
hands in a very short time. And you and the Marquis had better come to
an amicable arrangement with me. Apropos, I read in the Times newspaper
that Alain was among the wounded in the sortie of December."

"Yes; we learnt that through a pigeon-post. We were afraid . . . ."