As he was speaking the abbé opened the telegram addressed to him. He handed it to Felix, saying:
"And I, too, shall have time to repent."
"The minister has resigned; the emperor has accepted his resignation; the whole system is to be changed."
"Good-bye to the bishop's mitre, to the cardinal's hat; good-bye to the velvet arm-chair in the House of Peers."
They read the third telegram together. It contained these words:
"Explosion in the Bondavara colliery. The whole mine is on fire."
"This is indeed a blow," said Felix, as he let the telegram fall from his hand. The three telegrams had come like three flashes of lightning. The last was the worst.
When the news reached Prince Waldemar he would let the bears loose with a vengeance. Something must be done to avert the imminent danger—but what?
If there was only time allowed to float the papal loan such small things as the Bondavara shares and the burning of mines would be of little consequence. But could the enemy be reduced to silence?