The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3) by Gaston Leroux (best business books of all time txt) 📖
- Author: Gaston Leroux
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Knife And Fork. But, In Justice To Them, That Was The First
Instantaneous Effect. No One Could Learn Like That, All Of A
Sudden, That They Were About To Die In An Indiscriminate Slaughter
Without The Heart Being Stopped For A Little. Ermolai's Words Had
Turned These Amiable Loafers Into Waxen Statues, But, Little By
Little, Their Hearts Commenced To Beat Again And Each Suggested
Some Way Of Preventing The Disaster - All Of Them Sufficiently
Incoherent - While Matrena Petrovna Invoked The Virgin And At The
Same Time Helped Feodor Feodorovitch Adjust His Sword And Buckle
His Belt; For The General Wished To Die In Uniform.
Athanase Georgevitch, His Eyes Sticking Out Of His Head And His Body
Bent As Though He Feared The Nihlists Just Below Him Might Perceive
His Tall Form - Through The Floor, No Doubt - Proposed That They
Should Throw Themselves Out Of The Window, Even At The Cost Of
Broken Legs. The Saddened Councilor Of Empire Declared That Project
Simply Idiotic, For As They Fell They Would Be Absolutely At The
Disposal Of The Nihilists, Who Would Be Attracted By The Noise And
Would Make A Handful Of Dust Of Them With A Single Gesture Through
The Window. Thaddeus Tchitchnikoff, Who Couldn't Think Of Anything
At All, Blamed Koupriane And The Rest Of The Police For Not Having
Devised Something. Why Hadn't They Already Got Rid Of These
Nihilists? After The Frightened Silence They Had Kept At First,
Now They All Spoke At Once, In Low Voices, Hoarse And Rapid, With
Shortened Breath, Making Wild Movements Of The Arms And Head, And
Walked Here And There In The Chamber Quite Without Motive, But Very
Softly On Tiptoe, Going To The Windows, Returning, Listening At The
Doors, Peering Through The Key-Holes, Exchanging Absurd Suggestions,
Full Of The Wildest Imaginings. "If We Should ... If ... If,"
Part 1 Chapter 13 (The Living Bombs) Pg 174- Everybody Speaking And Everybody Making Signs For The Others To
Be Quiet. "Lower! If They Hear Us, We Are Lost." And Koupriane,
Who Did Not Come, And His Police, Who Themselves Had Brought Two
Assassins Into The House, And Were Not Able Now To Make Them Leave
Without Having Everybody Jump! They Were Certainly Lost. There
Was Nothing Left But To Say Their Prayers. They Turned To The
General And Matrena Petrovna, Who Were Wrapped In A Close Embrace.
Feodor Had Taken The Poor Disheveled Head Of The Good Matrena
Between His Hands And Pressed It Upon His Shoulders As He Embraced
Her. He Said, "Rest Quietly Against My Heart, Matrena Petrovna.
Nothing Can Happen To Us Except What God Wills."
At That Sight And That Remark The Others Grew Ashamed Of Their
Confusion. The Harmony Of That Couple Embracing In The Presence
Of Death Restored Them To Themselves, To Their Courage, And Their
"Nitchevo." Athanase Georgevitch, Ivan Petrovitch And Thaddeus
Tchitchnikoff Repeated After Matrena Petrovna, "As God Wills."
And Then They Said "Nitchevo! Nitchevo!* We Will All Die With
You, Feodor Feodorovitch." And They All Kissed One Another And
Clasped One Another In Their Arms, Their Eyes Dim With Love One For
Another, As At The End Of A Great Banquet When They Had Eaten And
Drunk Heavily In Honor Of One Another.
___________________________________________________________________
*"What Does It Matter!"
___________________________________________________________________
"Listen. Someone Is Coming Up The Stairs," Whispered Matrena, With
Her Keen Ear, And She Slipped From The Restraint Of Her Husband.
Breathless, They All Hurried To The Door Opening On The Landing,
But With Steps As Light "As Though They Walked On Eggs." All Four
Of Them Were Leaning Over There Close By The Door, Hardly Daring
To Breathe. They Heard Two Men On The Stairs. Were They Koupriane
And Rouletabille, Or Were They The Others? They Had Revolvers In
Their Hands And Drew Back A Little When The Footsteps Sounded Near
The Door. Behind Them Trebassof Was Quietly Seated In His Chair.
The Door Was Opened And Koupriane And Rouletabille Perceived These
Death-Like Figures, Motionless And Mute. No One Dared To Speak Or
Make A Movement Until The Door Had Been Closed. But Then:
"Well? Well? Save Us! Where Are They? Ah, My Dear Little
Domovoi-Doukh, Save The General, For The Love Of The Virgin!"
"Tsst! Tsst! Silence."
Rouletabille, Very Pale, But Calm, Spoke:
"The Plan Is Simple. They Are Between The Two Staircases, Watching
The One And The Other. I Will Go And Find Them And Make Them Mount
The One While You Descend By The Other."
"Caracho! That Is Simple Enough. Why Didn't We Think Of It Sooner?
Because Everybody Lost His Head Except The Dear Little Domovoi-Doukh!"
Part 1 Chapter 13 (The Living Bombs) Pg 175
But Here Something Happened Rouletabille Had Not Counted On. The
General Rose And Said, "You Have Forgotten One Thing, My Young
Friend; That Is That General Trebassof Will Not Descend By The
Servants' Stairway."
His Friends Looked At Him In Stupefaction, And Asked If He Had Gone
Mad.
"What Is This You Say, Feodor?" Implored Matrena.
"I Say," Insisted The General, "That I Have Had Enough Of This
Comedy, And That Since Monsieur Koupriane Has Not Been Able To
Arrest These Men, And Since, On Their Side, They Don't Seem To
Decide To Do Their Duty, I Shall Go Myself And Put Them Out Of My
House."
He Started A Few Steps, But Had Not His Cane And Suddenly He
Tottered. Matrena Petrovna Jumped To Him And Lifted Him In Her
Arms As Though He Were A Feather.
"Not By The Servants' Stairway, Not By The Servants' Stairway,"
Growled The Obstinate General.
"You Will Go," Matrena Replied To Him, "By The Way I Take You."
And She Carried Him Back Into The Apartment While She Said Quickly
To Rouletabille:
"Go, Little Domovoi! And God Protect Us!"
Rouletabille Disappeared At Once Through The Door To The Main
Staircase, And The Group Attended By Koupriane, Passed Through The
Dressing-Room And The General's Chamber, Matrena Petrovna In The
Lead With Her Precious Burden. Ivan Petrovitch Had His Hand
Already On The Famous Bolt Which Locked The Door To The Servants'
Staircase When They All Turned At The Sound Of A Quick Step Behind
Them. Rouletabille Had Returned.
"They Are No Longer In The Drawing-Room."
"Not In The Drawing-Room! Where Are They, Then?"
Rouletabille Pointed To The Door They Were About To Open.
"Perhaps Behind That Door. Take Care!"
All Drew Back.
"But Ermolai Ought To Know Where They Are," Exclaimed Koupriane.
"Perhaps They Have Gone, Finding Out They Were Discovered."
"They Have Assassinated Ermolai."
Part 1 Chapter 13 (The Living Bombs) Pg 176
"Assassinated Ermolai!"
"I Have Seen His Body Lying In The Middle Of The Drawing-Room As I
Leaned Over The Top Of The Banister. But They Were Not In The Room,
And I Was Afraid You Would Run Into Them, For They May Well Be Hidden
In The Servants' Stairway."
"Then Open The Window, Koupriane, And Call Your Men To Deliver Us."
"I Am Quite Willing," Replied Koupriane Coldly, "But It Is The
Signal For Our Deaths."
"Well, Why Do They Wait So To Make Us Die?" Muttered Feodor
Feodorovitch. "I Find Them Very Tedious About It, For Myself.
What Are You Doing, Ivan Petrovitch?"
The Spectral Figure Of Ivan Petrovitch, Bent Beside The Door Of The
Stairway, Seemed To Be Hearing Things The Others Could Not Catch,
But Which Frightened Them So That They Fled From The General's
Chamber In Disorder. Ivan Petrovitch Was Close On Them, His Eyes
Almost Sticking From His Head, His Mouth Babbling:
"They Are There! They Are There!"
Athanase Georgevitch Open A Window Wildly And Said:
"I Am Going To Jump."
But Thaddeus Tchitchnikofl' Stopped Him With A Word. "For Me, I
Shall Not Leave Feodor Feodorovitch."
Athanase And Ivan Both Felt Ashamed, And Trembling, But Brave, They
Gathered Round The General And Said, "We Will Die Together, We Will
Die Together. We Have Lived With Feodor Feodorovitch, And We Will
Die With Him."
"What Are They Waiting For? What Are They Waiting For?" Grumbled
The General.
Matrena Petrovna's Teeth Chattered. "They Are Waiting For Us To
Go Down," Said Koupraine.
"Very Well, Let Us Do It. This Thing Must End," Said Feodor.
"Yes, Yes," They All Said, For The Situation Was Becoming
Intolerable; "Enough Of This. Go On Down. Go On Down. God, The
Virgin And Saints Peter And Paul Protect Us. Let Us Go."
The Whole Group, Therefore, Went To The Main Staircase, With The
Movements Of Drunken Men, Fantastic Waving Of The Arms, Mouths
Speaking All Together, Saying Things No One But Themselves
Understood. Rouletabille Had Already Hurriedly Preceded Them, Was
Down The Staircase, Had Time To Throw A Glance Into The Drawing-Room,
Stepped Over Ermolai's Huge Corpse, Entered Natacha's Sitting-Room
Part 1 Chapter 13 (The Living Bombs) Pg 177And Her Chamber, Found All These Places Deserted And Bounded Back
Into The Veranda At The Moment The Others Commenced To Descend
The Steps Around Feodor Feodorovitch. The Reporter's Eyes Searched
All The Dark Corners And Had Perceived Nothing Suspicious When, In
The Veranda, He Moved A Chair. A Shadow Detached Itself From It
And Glided Under The Staircase. Rouletabille Cried To The Group
On The Stairs.
"They Are Under The Staircase!"
Then Rouletabille Confronted A Sight That He Could Never Forget All
His Life.
At This Cry, They All Stopped, After An Instinctive Move To Go Back.
Feodor Feodorovitch, Who Was Still In Matrena Petrovna's Arms, Cried:
"Vive Le Tsar!"
And Then, Those Whom The Reporter Half Expected To See Flee,
Distracted, One Way And Another, Or To Throw Themselves Madly From
The Height Of The Steps, Abandoning Feodor And Matrena, Gathered
Themselves Instead By A Spontaneous Movement Around The General,
Like A Guard Of Honor, In Battle, Around The Flag. Koupriane
Marched Ahead. And They Insisted Also Upon Descending The Terrible
Steps Slowly, And Sang The Bodje Tsara Krani, The National Anthem!
With An Overwhelming Roar, Which Shocked Earth And Sky And The Ears
Of Rouletabille, The Entire House Seemed
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