An unexplainable instinct seemed to tell her that the papers were in that case.  Her eyes were riveted on it, as if fascinated.  An awful terror held her enthralled for one second more, whilst her thoughts, her longings, her desires were all centred on the safety of that one thing.

The nex instant she had seized it and thrown it upon the sofa.  Then seating herself beside it, with the gesture of a queen and the grace of a Parisienne, she had spread the ample folds of her skirts over the compromising case, hiding it entirely from view.

Merlin in the hall was ordering two men to stand one on each side of Deroulede, and two more to follow him into the room.  Now he entered it himself, his narrow eyes trying to pierce the semi-obscurity, which was rendered more palpable by the briljant light in the hall.

He had not seen Juliette’s gesture, but he had heard the frou-frou of her skirts, as she seated herself upon the sofa.

“You are not alone Citizen-Deputy, I see,” he said, with a sneer, as his snakelike eyes lighted upon the young girl.

“My guest, Citizen Merlin,” replied Deroulede as calmly as he could—­ “Citizen Juliette Marny.  I know that it is useless, under these circumstances, to ask for consideration for a woman, but I pray you to remember, as far as is possible, that although we are all Republicans, we are also Frenchmen, and all still equal in our sentiment of chivalry towards our mothers, our sisters, or our guests.”

Merlin chuckled, and gazed for a moment ironically at Juliette.  He had held, between his talon-like fingers, that very morning, a thin scrap of paper, on which a schoolgirlish hand had scrawled the denunciation against Citizen-Deputy Deroulede.

Coarse in nature, and still coarser in thoughts, this representative of the people had very quickly arrived at a conclusion in his mind, with regard to this so-called guest in the Deroulede household.

“A discarded mistress,” he muttered to himself.  “Just had another scene, I suppose.  He’s got tired of her, and she’s given him away out of spite.”

Satisfied with this explanation of the situation, he was quite inclined to be amiable to Juliette.  Moreover, he had caught sight of the valise, and almost thought that the young girl’s eyes had directed his attention towards it.

“Open those shutters!” he commanded, “this place is like a vault.”

One of the men obeyed immediately, and as the briljant August sun came streaming into the room, Merlin once more turned to Deroulede.

“Information has been laid against you, Citizen-Deputy,” he said, “by an anonymous writer, who states that you have just now in your possession correspondence or other papers intended for the Widow Capet:  and the Committee of Public Safety has entrusted me and these citizens to seize such correspondence, and make you answerable for its presence in your house.”