“But, sir”--
“Perhaps you dislike telling a falsehood?”
“You see--I cannot, I fear. It would not be easy to lie so as to deceive
Mrs. Chevassat.”
“Ah, madam, you must! it cannot be helped. If you admit the absolute
necessity, you may succeed in misleading her. Remember that we must
fight the enemy with his own weapons.”
“Well, then, I will try, sir.”
“So be it. The rest, you will see, is a small matter. As soon as night
falls, you will dress, and watch for the moment when the concierge, as
usually, goes about the house lighting the gas. As soon as you see him
on the great staircase; you will make haste and run down. I shall take
measures to have the woman Chevassat either kept engaged, or out of
the house; and you will thus find it easy to slip out without being
perceived. Once in the street, you will turn to the right. At the corner
of the street, in front of the great Auction-Mart, you will see a cab
standing, with a plaid handkerchief like this hanging out of the window.
Get into it boldly; I’ll be inside. I do not know if I have made it all
clear to you?”
“Oh, perfectly, sir!”
“Then we understand each other. Do you feel strong enough?”
“Yes, sir. You may rely on me.”
Every thing passed off just as the old dealer had foreseen; and
Henrietta played her part so well, that at night, when her disappearance
was discovered, Mrs. Chevassat was neither much surprised nor troubled.
“She was tired of life, the girl!” she said to her husband. “I saw it
when I was up there. We’ll see her again at the Morgue. As the charcoal
did not do the work, she has tried the water.”