"No."
"But you are persuaded that the papers in question are hidden there?"
"Look here, haven't I given you proofs enough? Aren't you convinced?"
"Yes, yes," muttered Lupin, "that's where they are hidden . . . there's no doubt about it . . . that's where they are hidden. . . ."
He seemed to see the castle. He seemed to conjure up the mysterious hiding-place. And the vision of an inexhaustible treasure, the dream of chests filled with riches and precious stones could not have excited him more than the idea of those few scraps of paper watched over by the Kaiser's guards. What a wonderful conquest to embark upon! And how worthy of his powers! And what a proof of perspicacity and intuition he had once more given by throwing himself at a venture upon that unknown track!
Outside, the men were "working" at the lock.
Lupin asked of old Steinweg:
"What did the grand-duke die of?"
"An attack of pleurisy, which carried him off in a few days. He hardly recovered consciousness before the end; and the horrible thing appears to have been that he was seen to make violent efforts, between his fits of delirium, to collect his thoughts and utter connected words. From time to time, he called his wife, looked at her in a desperate way and vainly moved his lips."
"In a word, he spoke?" said Lupin, cutting him short, for the "working" at the lock was beginning to make him anxious.