"Your duty is to despoil us?"
"My duty is to collect all the articles for necessary conviction in the
trial of Hadgi-Stavros."
"He will then be tried?"
"Since we have taken him."
"It seems to me that our jewels and our money would serve nothing, and
that you have sufficient testimony to hang him. First of all, he
captured two Englishwomen; what more is necessary?"
"It is necessary, Madame, that the forms of justice be observed."
"But, dear sir, among the articles which you demand there are some which
I prize highly."
"The more reason, Madame, to confide them to my care."
"But if I had no watch I should never----"
"Madame, it will always give me pleasure to tell you the hour."
Mary-Ann observed in her turn that it was disagreeable to her to be
obliged to give up her ear-rings.
"Mademoiselle," the gallant Captain replied, "you are beautiful enough
not to need jewels. You can do better without gems than your gems can do
without you."
"You are very good, Monsieur, but my silver dressing case or necessaire
is an indispensable article. What one calls a necessaire is a thing with
which one cannot dispense."
"You are a thousand times right, Mademoiselle. So I beg of you not to
insist upon that point. Do not add to the regret with which I have
already legally despoiled two so distinguished persons. Alas!
Mademoiselle, we military men, we are the slaves of orders, instruments
of the law, men of duty. Deign to accept my arm, I will do myself the
honor of conducting you to your tent. There, we will proceed to the
inventory, if you will be good enough to permit it."
I lost not one word of this conversation, and I kept silent to the end;
but when I saw this rascal of an officer offer his arm to Mary-Ann in
order to politely plunder her, I became enraged, and I marched up to him
to tell him what I thought of him. He must have read in my eyes the
exordium of my discourse, because he threw a menacing look at me, left
the ladies at the staircase of their chamber, placed a sentinel there,
and returned to me, saying:
"Between us two!"
He drew me, without adding a word, to the rear of the King's cabinet.
There, he seated himself before me, looked me straight in the eyes, and
said:
"Monsieur, you understand English?"