"Doubtless you did," replied Albert Maurice; "doubtless you did! What do you here?"
"We seek to discover if there be any testamentary paper," replied the Prevot, who perceived that the doorway, which opened into the saloon, was full of people, amongst whom he recognised none of his own band.
"And what right have you, sir, to seek for such papers?" demanded the President. "Is it a part of your office? Is it a part of your duty? You seem to consider your functions wonderfully enlarged of late. Advance, Maitre Pierre," he continued, turning to one of the eschevins of the city, who had accompanied him thither. "You will do your duty in sealing up the effects of the Lord of Neufchatel. As for these papers which I have in my hand, I hold them to be necessary to the state, having seen them before, by the consent of the Lord of Neufchatel, while awaiting in this chamber of his house, an examination before the council of the princess on a charge brought against me by yon Prevot. It is my intention, therefore, to keep them in my possession. But I beseech you, in the first instance, to envelop them carefully, sealing them with your own seal, after which I will be answerable for them to whatever person may prove to be the legal heir of the nobleman deceased."
Ganay's face, always pale, became cadaverous, as he heard these words; and both Albert Maurice and the Prevot believed that the only feeling of his heart, at that moment, was terror. The words he muttered to himself, however, were--"Fool! he has destroyed himself!" and they might have served to show, had they been overheard, that the predominant passion of his soul, revenge, was still uppermost, and even overbore both consternation and surprise.
The eschevin, according to the desire of the President, sealed up the papers in an envelope, and returned them to him; and Albert Maurice, whose stern eye had turned severely from the countenance of the one culprit to the other, with an expression which made them at first believe that he meditated to exert his authority for their immediate punishment, now once more addressed the magistrate, saying, "I must myself leave you, sir, to pursue this business alone, for it will require hard riding to overtake the troops; but I have every confidence that you will examine this suspicious affair most strictly and carefully. You know how far, according to the laws, such conduct as we have seen to-day is just or unjust, and you will take measures, without fear or favour, to see that justice be not evaded. But you will be pleased especially to cause the body of the deceased nobleman, of which we had but a casual glance, to be carefully examined by competent persons, in order to ascertain the cause of death. My speedy return will prevent the necessity of your employing any means but those of precaution, till we meet again. In the meantime, farewell."
Thus saying, Albert Maurice, without taking any further notice either of Ganay or the Prevot, quitted the chamber; and, leaving a sufficient number of persons behind to enforce the authority of the eschevin, he proceeded to the court-yard, and, mounting his horse, galloped off.
Things that appear very extraordinary in themselves, are often brought about by the simplest means; and such had been the case in regard to the interruption which Ganay and the Prevot had met with in the execution of their design. Albert Maurice had been prevented, by some casual business, from setting out himself at the hour he at first proposed, but in order that the troops might not be delayed, he suffered them to begin their march from Ghent, under their inferior officers, well knowing that, with the number of swift horses he had at his command, he could overtake them before they had advanced many miles. His way lay past the hotel of the Lord of Neufchatel; and as he was riding hastily on with a few attendants, he saw a boy drop from one of the casements, and run across the street in breathless speed. From some vague suspicion, Albert Maurice stopped him, with inquiries into the cause of his haste; and the boy at once replied, "The old lord is dead, and the Prevot and the druggist have shut all the varlets up in the hall, while they seal up the papers. So they sent me to tell the squires and men-at-arms in the other lodging."
Such tidings, joined to the previous knowledge that he possessed, was quite sufficient for Albert Maurice; and, sending instantly for one of the eschevins who lived close by, he proceeded at once to the hotel, and, with his own followers, the retainers he found on the premises, and those who rapidly came over from the other side of the street, he obliged the Prevot's guard to quit the place. He then at once turned his steps to the chamber of the dead man, and after a hasty examination of the corpse, which excited still stronger suspicions than before, he led the way silently to the room in which he knew that the papers referring to Ganay were usually kept.
All that ensued we have already seen, and, without pursuing any further the events which took place in Ghent, we shall beg leave to follow the young citizen on his journey.