"Whatever the cost may be, on this subject I am compelled to keep silence." "Beware of what you do; justice will not be satisfied with scruples of conscience." M. Patrigent waited for an answer. None came. "You persist in your obstinacy, do you? Well, we will go on to the next question. You have, during the last year, spent fifty thousand francs. Your resources are at an end, and your credit is exhausted; to continue your mode of life was impossible. What did you intend to do?" "I had no settled plan. I thought it might last as long as it would, and then I----" "And then you would draw from the safe!" "Ah, monsieur, if I were guilty, I should not be here! I should never have been such a fool as to return to the bank; I should have fled." M. Patrigent could not restrain a smile of satisfaction, and exclaimed: "Exactly the argument I expected you to use. You showed your shrewdness precisely by staying to face the storm, instead of flying the country. Several recent suits have taught dishonest cashiers that flight abroad is dangerous. Railways travel fast, but telegrams travel faster. A French thief can be arrested in London within forty-eight hours after his description has been telegraphed. Even America is no longer a refuge. You remained prudently and wisely, saying to yourself, 'I will manage to avoid suspicion; and, even if I am found out, I shall be free again after three or five years' seclusion, with a large fortune to enjoy.' Many people would sacrifice five years of their lives for three hundred and fifty thousand francs." "But monsieur, had I calculated in the manner you describe, I should not have been content with three hundred and fifty thousand francs; I should have waited for an opportunity to steal half a million. I often have that sum in charge." "Oh! it is not always convenient to wait." Prosper was buried in deep thought for some minutes. "Monsieur," he finally said, "there is one detail I forgot to mention before, and it may be of importance." "Explain, if you please."
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