"We need not indulge in unnecessary words," he said. "I will at once come to the point. When Captain d'Haumont left his gold-digging business in Guiana, it was in a particularly prosperous state, so that he was able to bring to Europe with him something like two million francs' worth of gold dust. Arrived in France, Captain d'Haumont married wealth. Madame d'Haumont brought him as her marriage portion, to begin with, her personal fortune which was left to her by her maternal great-aunt, amounting to seven hundred thousand francs."
"Allow me," broke in the Joker. "You have made a slight mistake. To begin with, this personal fortune amounts to"—and he turned the pages of a report until he came to a figure—"exactly seven hundred and forty-five thousand francs. But this fortune was made up of six hundred thousand francs left to Madame d'Haumont by her great-aunt, who disinherited Madame d'Haumont's mother for conduct of which she disapproved; and one hundred and forty-five thousand francs, which came to Madame d'Haumont from M. de la Boulays' brother, who left the remainder of his wealth, amounting to four hundred thousand francs, to M. de la Boulays"—fresh reference to the papers—"to be exact, four hundred and thirty-two thousand, eight hundred francs, free of legacy duty, which four hundred and thirty-two thousand, eight hundred francs and the interest accruing thereon during five years, the amount of which can easily be ascertained, were given by M. de la Boulays absolutely to his daughter. The dowry amounted, therefore, to a grand total of one million, one hundred and seventy-seven thousand, eight hundred francs, without counting the interest in question."
"A very fine wedding present," said M. de Saynthine. "We have only mentioned Madame d'Haumont's fortune to show how matters stand, and to prove that Captain d'Haumont will not be reduced to beggary on the day when he hands over his own property, worth two million francs, to his old companions who worked with him for so many long years, and but for whose devoted and entirely discreet assistance he would be nothing to-day."
Having spoken, M. de Saynthine leaned towards Didier, who maintained a gloomy silence.
"I don't know if I have made myself sufficiently clear," he said.
"Yes," returned Captain d'Haumont. "Unfortunately you have made yourself only too clear."
A pause ensued. The Burglar broke it by remarking:
"We ought to have foreseen it. He's going to bargain."
"No," returned M. de Saynthine, "Captain d'Haumont is not going to bargain. He will reflect that it might have cost him a great deal more. He will appreciate the delicacy which we have shown in allowing him to pay his debt to us without having to lay hands on his wife's property."
"Mlle. de la Boulays' property," interposed Didier, who dared not say Madame d'Haumont, "does not belong to me. I will not touch a sou of Mlle. de la Boulays' money."