Chapter 6 - Page 2

proclaimed that he
granted everything that she wished and admitted himself vanquished.
Then she said, always with that adorable gaze upon him, "This
evening!" He replied, "Yes, yes. This evening! This evening!"
upon which Natacha withdrew her hand and made a sign to the officer
to leave, which he promptly obeyed. Natacha remained there still a
long time, plunged in thought. Rouletabille had already taken the
road back to the villa. Matrena Petrovna was watching for his
return, seated on the first step of the landing on the great
staircase which ran up from the veranda. When she saw him she ran
to him. He had already reached the dining-room.

"Anyone in the house?" he asked.

"No one. Natacha has not returned, and ..."

"Your step-daughter is coming in now. Ask her where she has been,
if she has seen the orderlies, and if they said they would return
this evening, in case she answers that she has seen them."

"Very well, little domovoi doukh. The orderlies left without my
seeing when they went."

"Ab," interrupted Rouletabille, "before she arrives, give me all
her hat-pins."

"What!"

"I say, all her hat-pins. Quickly!"

Matrena ran to Natacha's chamber and returned with three enormous
hat-pins with beautifully-cut stones in them.

"These are all?"

"They are all I have found. I know she has two others. She has
one on her head, or two, perhaps; I can't find them."

"Take these back where you found them," said the reporter, after
glancing at them.

Matrena returned immediately, not understanding what he was doing.

"And now, your hat-pins. Yes, your hat-pins."

"Oh, I have only two, and here they are," said she, drawing them
from the toque she had been wearing and had thrown on the sofa when
she re-entered the house.

Rouletabille gave hers the same inspection.

"Thanks. Here is your step-daughter."

Natacha entered, flushed and smiling.

"Ah, well," said she, quite breathless, "you may boast that I had
to search for you. I made the entire round, clear past the Barque.
Has the promenade done papa good?"

"Yes, he is asleep," replied Matrena. "Have you met Boris and
Michael?"

She appeared to hesitate a second, then replied:

"Yes, for an instant."

"Did they say whether they would return this evening?"

"No," she replied, slightly troubled. "Why all these questions?

She flushed still more.

"Because I thought it strange," parried Matrena, "that they went
away as they did, without saying goodby, without a word, without
inquiring if the general needed them. There is something stranger
yet. Did you see Kaltsof with them, the grand-marshal of the court?"