"Or the mask of virtue torn from the face of the villain!" he exclaimed, with a terrible outburst: "Is it not that?"
"Yes, indeed, it is."
"And you wait for this second part of the story?"
"I do," the count answered, sternly.
The adventurer sat for two or three minutes with his face buried in his hands, then raised his head haughtily, emptied the glass before him, and then said, in a loud, metallic voice—
"Well, listen, then, for by heaven! I swear to you that what you are going to hear is worth the trouble, this time."
[CHAPTER XXIV.]
THE REVELATION.
There was a rather long silence, during which the guests remained plunged in profound meditations.