Part 15 (2/2)
”Oh, I think not very, in view of your dealings with my portfolio.”
”I 'm in a devil of a hole,” admitted the Captain, candidly.
”Time's up,” announced M. Guillaume, slowly raising the barrel of his revolver, and taking aim at the Captain. For the candle still burnt, although dimly and fitfully, and still there was light to guide the bullet on its way.
”It's all up!” said the Captain. ”But, deuce take it, it's hardly the way to treat a gentleman!” Even as he spoke the light of the candle towered for a second in a last shoot of flame, and then went out.
At the same moment the Captain rolled down the incline of straw on which he had been resting, rose on his knees an instant, seized the truss and flung it at Guillaume, rolled under the next truss, seized that in like manner and propelled it against the enemy, and darted again to shelter. ”Stop, or I fire,” cried Guillaume; he was as good as his word the next minute, but the third truss caught him just as he aimed, and his bullet flew against and was buried in the planking of the roof. By now, the Captain was escaping from under the fourth truss, and making for the fifth. Guillaume, dimly seeing the fourth truss not thrown, but left in its place, discharged another shot at it.
The fifth truss caught him in the side and drove him against the wooden block. He turned swiftly in the direction whence the missile came, and fired again. He was half dazed, his eyes and ears seemed full of the dust of the straw. He fired once again at random, swearing savagely; and before he could recover aim his arm was seized from behind, his neck was caught in a vigorous garotte, and he fell on the floor of the hut with Captain Dieppe on the top of him--Dieppe, dusty, dirty, panting, bleeding freely from a bullet graze on the top of the left ear, and with one leg of his trousers slit from ankle to knee by a rusty nail, that had also ploughed a nasty furrow up his leg. But now he seized Guillaume's revolver, and dragged the old fellow out of the hut. Then he sat down on his chest, pinning his arms together on the ground above his head.
”You enjoyed playing your mouse just a trifle too long, old cat,” said he.
Guillaume lay very still, exhausted, beaten, and defenceless. Dieppe released his hands, and, rising, stood looking down at him. A smile came on his face.
”We are now in a better position to adjust our accounts fairly,” he observed, as he took from his pocket M. Guillaume's portfolio.
”Listen,” he commanded; and Guillaume turned weary but spiteful eyes to him. ”Here is your portfolio. Take it. Look at it.”
Guillaume sat up and obeyed the command.
”Well?” asked Dieppe, when the examination was ended.
”You have robbed me of twenty-five thousand francs.”
The Captain looked at him for a moment with a frown. But the next instant he smiled.
”I must make allowances for the state of your temper,” he remarked.
”But I wish you would carry all your money in notes. That draft, now, is no use to me. Hence”--he shrugged his shoulders regretfully--”I am obliged to leave your Government still no less than twenty-five thousand francs in debt to me.”
”What!” cried Guillaume, with a savage stare.
”Oh, yes, you know that well. They have fifty thousand which certainly don't belong to them, and certainly do to me.”
”That money 's forfeited,” growled Guillaume.
”If you like, then, I forfeit twenty-five thousand of theirs. But I allow it in account with them. The debt now stands reduced by half.”
”I 'll get it back from you somehow,” threatened Guillaume, who was helpless, but not cowed.
”That will be difficult. I gave it to Paul de Roustache to discharge a claim he had on me.”
”To Paul de Roustache?”
”Yes. It 's true he lent me five thousand again; but that 's purely between him and me. And I shall have spent it long before you can even begin to take steps to recover it.” He paused a moment and then added, ”If you still hanker after your notes, I should recommend you to find your friend and accomplice, M. Paul.”
”Where is he?”
<script>