XVII
IN THE STRONGHOLD OF THE ENEMY
The curtain with its pictured red cock was down, lights were up in themodern Cinema Concert Hall, rue des Poissonniers. Most of thespectators were on the move. An old white-bearded man ofpoverty-stricken appearance rose from his seat beside a pretty,red-haired girl, elegantly dressed. He murmured:
"I am going out for a smoke."
The girl nodded. She stared at the spectators with indifferent eyes.They were mostly women and girls. There was a mingled odour of hotcoffee and orange peel. Drinks and refreshments, for the good of thehouse, were now the order of the evening.
The odd-looking old fellow, with a shabby accordion slung over hisbent shoulders, making his way to the exit, was detective Juve,Juve-Vagualame in fact. He had kept the appointment made withBobinette a week ago. This cinema entertainment in an unfashionablequarter suited his purpose exactly. In such an audience his appearancewould attract but little attention, and the long intervals of darknesswere all in his favour. Bobinette must not have her suspicionsaroused.
Juve-Vagualame marched up and down outside the hall, rubbing his handswith satisfaction. Things were going well. Bobinette had been with himless than an hour, but she had given him an almost complete account ofher doings during the past week. She announced that her trip to thefrontier had been crowned with success: that the plan arranged withCorporal Vinson had proved astonishingly successful. She could notpraise this wonderful Vinson enough. How intelligent he was? Say buthalf a word and he understood everything. As cynical as you please,he would stick at nothing, declaring himself ready for anything,regardless of consequences!
From this, Juve-Vagualame gathered that Corporal Vinson was a daringtraitor, was the most out-and-out scoundrel imaginable.
Bobinette also told her supposed chief that the moment for the greatstroke was at hand. She whispered low: "To-morrow Vinson will be inParis!"
Juve had already learned that Vinson was stationed at Verdun, wasgranted frequent leave, and that on the morning of December 1st hewould be in Paris. This was the evening of November 30th! Bobinettehad not said exactly what he was coming to do, and Juve feared to askquestions that might arouse the red-haired girl's suspicions.
A shrill-sounding bell warned spectators that the interval was over.Juve-Vagualame returned to his seat. He was saying to himself:
"I must know exactly what Vinson is coming to Paris for."
After several attempts, he drew an important statement from Bobinette.He played the part of sceptic. The more enthusiastically convincedBobinette was that the "great affair" would be successful, the moresceptical he grew.
She committed herself to a statement of extreme importance.
"Don't I tell you, old unbeliever that you are, that Corporal Vinsonis to bring the plan of the piece in question?"
"The plan!" objected Juve-Vagualame. "That is good, as far as it goes;but that is not sufficient!"
Bobinette shrugged her plump shoulders. She was exasperated. The noiseof the orchestra covered the sound of her imprudently loud answers.
"Since I tell you I have in my hands the piece of the gun which is togo to the Havre agent! I expect you have forgotten the detailsconcerning this object? The manufacture of it is so complicated that,without the design for its construction, the piece would be much likeany other.... We have the piece--I tell you it is in our hands....To-morrow we shall possess the design of it, thanks to Vinson--can wepossibly expect anything more complete than that?"
There was a pause. Then Bobinette announced:
"If, after that, you do not pay me what you owe me, you can be sure Ishall not serve you ever again!"
Juve-Vagualame promised immediate payment.
"But," said he to himself, "her remuneration will not take the formshe expects!"
To mislead the curious, the serious talk of this incongruous pair waspunctuated by loud-voiced remarks having no connection with the realmatter in hand.
Juve's one idea now was to see this piece of a gun for himself. WhenBobinette, at last, grasped this, she stared at him with bewilderedeyes.
"But what are you thinking of, Vagualame? I do not carry the thingabout with me."
"I think, on the contrary, that you keep it well hidden in your ownroom."
"Assuredly," confirmed Bobinette.
"I mean to see it. I expect you to agree to that," declaredJuve-Vagualame.
"You intend to come to?"... Bobinette looked terrified.
"Exactly."
"But when? Do you recollect, Vagualame, that I shall have to hand itover early to-morrow morning?"
"There is time for me to see it between then and now! See it, I must!Examine it, hold it in my hands, I will! I have my most excellentreasons for this!"
Juve meant to seize the piece of a gun and arrest the guilty girl.
Bobinette dared not openly kick against her chief's irondetermination; but she made another attempt to turn him from hispurpose.
"You know quite well that I am living in the Baron de Naarboveck'shouse. The least noise, an alarm raised, and I would not answer forthe consequences: we should almost certainly be caught!"
"We have nothing to fear. An hour from now I wish to be in yourroom!"
"But--how shall you get into it?" asked Bobinette, who was giving waybefore this persistent attack.
"You will return alone. You will go up to your room. I knowwhereabouts it is: you will leave the window half open. I will enteryour room by the window."
Bobinette saw this was possible, though risky. A large gutter pipe ranup the whole height of the house; it was fastened to the wall byprojecting clamp-hooks of solid iron. For an agile man this was simplya staircase. Bobinette was aware of this. In the course of heradventurous life, she had been initiated into all sorts of tricks andstratagems; she was practiced in every form of gymnastic exercise.Vagualame could and would reach her room by the gutter-pipe ladder, itwas not too difficult; but it was a risky undertaking, for, andparticularly from the Esplanade des Invalides, a climber might beseen, an alarm raised, and the police would intervene.
* * * * *
Juve-Vagualame and Bobinette left the "movies" hall at half-past ten.In a taxi they discussed how best to effect an entrance into the deNaarboveck mansion. Juve-Vagualame stuck to his original idea.
The taxi drew up at the bridge. Juve-Vagualame paid the driver.Bobinette hurried away, slipped into the house, and went straight upto her room. She busied herself with the preparations agreed on,whereby Vagualame could the more easily effect an entrance in histurn.
Safe in her room, Bobinette experienced a strange, a penetratingemotion. She felt as though something around her in which she hadmoved safely, was cracking; with a sudden and terrible lucidity shesaw herself marching forward, powerless to draw back, marchinghelplessly towards an abyss--an abyss which was about to engulf her!She trembled, trembled violently. She was encompassed by vague andagonizing terrors.
* * * * *
Out in the night Juve, wandering restlessly, awaited his hour! Thistime! Ah, this time! He murmured:
"I shall be in the stronghold of the enemy at last!"