Esperance laid Jane again on the sofa, and ran to his assistance. He lifted him from the floor. The banker was dead.
Esperance was as if stunned. The strange events, coming one after the other, affected his reason. He believed himself the victim of a hideous nightmare. He heard a sigh and turned back to Jane, who seemed to be trying to throw off the stupor that had weighed her down. The effect of the narcotic was probably passing off. She raised her hands and pressed them to her forehead. Esperance forgot everything else, and falling at Jane's feet he cried, in an agony of entreaty.
"Oh! Jane, awake! I must take you from this terrible place. Jane, awake!"
The girl's eyes moved.
"Who speaks my name?" she whispered.
"It is I—I, who loves—Esperance!"
Jane opened her eyes quickly.
"Esperance! Oh! not here—it must not be!"
She began to sob convulsively.
"I know all, my beloved!" he answered, soothingly, "I know the snare that was laid for you. But why do you repel me, dearest?"