Part 141 (2/2)
”At these words he blew a whistle; the globe of fire which lighted the room reascended and disappeared. I found myself again in complete darkness. The same noise of a door opening and shutting was repeated the instant afterward; the flaming globe descended afresh, and I was completely alone.
”This moment was frightful; if I had any doubts as to my misfortune, these doubts had vanished in an overwhelming reality. I was in the power of a man whom I not only detested, but despised--of a man capable of anything, and who had already given me a fatal proof of what he was able to do.”
”But who, then was this man?” asked Felton.
”I pa.s.sed the night on a chair, starting at the least noise, for toward midnight the lamp went out, and I was again in darkness. But the night pa.s.sed away without any fresh attempt on the part of my persecutor. Day came; the table had disappeared, only I had still the knife in my hand.
”This knife was my only hope.
”I was worn out with fatigue. Sleeplessness inflamed my eyes; I had not dared to sleep a single instant. The light of day rea.s.sured me; I went and threw myself on the bed, without parting with the emanc.i.p.ating knife, which I concealed under my pillow.
”When I awoke, a fresh meal was served.
”This time, in spite of my terrors, in spite of my agony, I began to feel a devouring hunger. It was forty-eight hours since I had taken any nourishment. I ate some bread and some fruit; then, remembering the narcotic mixed with the water I had drunk, I would not touch that which was placed on the table, but filled my gla.s.s at a marble fountain fixed in the wall over my dressing table.
”And yet, notwithstanding these precautions, I remained for some time in a terrible agitation of mind. But my fears were this time ill-founded; I pa.s.sed the day without experiencing anything of the kind I dreaded.
”I took the precaution to half empty the carafe, in order that my suspicions might not be noticed.
”The evening came on, and with it darkness; but however profound was this darkness, my eyes began to accustom themselves to it. I saw, amid the shadows, the table sink through the floor; a quarter of an hour later it reappeared, bearing my supper. In an instant, thanks to the lamp, my chamber was once more lighted.
”I was determined to eat only such things as could not possibly have anything soporific introduced into them. Two eggs and some fruit composed my repast; then I drew another gla.s.s of water from my protecting fountain, and drank it.
”At the first swallow, it appeared to me not to have the same taste as in the morning. Suspicion instantly seized me. I paused, but I had already drunk half a gla.s.s.
”I threw the rest away with horror, and waited, with the dew of fear upon my brow.
”No doubt some invisible witness had seen me draw the water from that fountain, and had taken advantage of my confidence in it, the better to a.s.sure my ruin, so coolly resolved upon, so cruelly pursued.
”Half an hour had not pa.s.sed when the same symptoms began to appear; but as I had only drunk half a gla.s.s of the water, I contended longer, and instead of falling entirely asleep, I sank into a state of drowsiness which left me a perception of what was pa.s.sing around me, while depriving me of the strength either to defend myself or to fly.
”I dragged myself toward the bed, to seek the only defense I had left--my saving knife; but I could not reach the bolster. I sank on my knees, my hands clasped round one of the bedposts; then I felt that I was lost.”
Felton became frightfully pale, and a convulsive tremor crept through his whole body.
”And what was most frightful,” continued Milady, her voice altered, as if she still experienced the same agony as at that awful minute, ”was that at this time I retained a consciousness of the danger that threatened me; was that my soul, if I may say so, waked in my sleeping body; was that I saw, that I heard. It is true that all was like a dream, but it was not the less frightful.
”I saw the lamp ascend, and leave me in darkness; then I heard the well-known creaking of the door although I had heard that door open but twice.
”I felt instinctively that someone approached me; it is said that the doomed wretch in the deserts of America thus feels the approach of the serpent.
”I wished to make an effort; I attempted to cry out. By an incredible effort of will I even raised myself up, but only to sink down again immediately, and to fall into the arms of my persecutor.”
”Tell me who this man was!” cried the young officer.
Milady saw at a single glance all the painful feelings she inspired in Felton by dwelling on every detail of her recital; but she would not spare him a single pang. The more profoundly she wounded his heart, the more certainly he would avenge her. She continued, then, as if she had not heard his exclamation, or as if she thought the moment was not yet come to reply to it.
”Only this time it was no longer an inert body, without feeling, that the villain had to deal with. I have told you that without being able to regain the complete exercise of my faculties, I retained the sense of my danger. I struggled, then, with all my strength, and doubtless opposed, weak as I was, a long resistance, for I heard him cry out, 'These miserable Puritans! I knew very well that they tired out their executioners, but I did not believe them so strong against their lovers!'
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