第84章

"Natacha is the friend of these precious men and we will see them disembark hand in hand.""Your men, then, haven't studied the traces of the struggle that 'these precious men' have had on the banks of the Neva before they carried away Natacha?""Oh, they haven't been hoodwinked.As a matter of fact, the struggle was quite too visible not to have been done for appearances' sake.

What a child you are! Can't you see that Natacha's presence in the datcha had become quite too dangerous for that charming young girl after the poisoning of her father and step-mother failed and at the moment when her comrades were preparing to send General Trebassof a pleasant little gift of dynamite? She arranged to get away and yet to appear kidnapped.It is too simple."Rouletabille raised his head.

"There is something simpler still to imagine than the culpability of Natacha.It is that Priemkof schemed to pour the poison into the flask of vodka, saying to himself that if the poison didn't succeed at least it would make the occasion for introducing his dynamite into the house in the pockets of the 'doctors' that they would go to find."Koupriane seized Rouletabille's wrist and threw some terrible words at him, looking into the depths of his eyes:

"It was not Priemkof who poured the poison, because there was no poison in the flask."Rouletabille, as he heard this extraordinary declaration, rose, more startled than he had ever been in the course of this startling campaign.

If there was no poison in the flask, the poison must have been poured directly into the glasses by a person who was in the kiosk!

Now, there were only four persons in the kiosk: the two who were poisoned and Natacha and himself, Rouletabille.And that kiosk was so perfectly isolated that it was impossible for any other persons than the four who were there to pour poison upon the table.

"But it is not possible!" he cried.

"It is so possible that it is so.Pere Alexis dedared that there is no poison in the flask, and I ought to tell you that an analysis I had made after his bears him out.There was no poison, either, in the small bottle you took to Pere Alexis and into which you yourself had poured the contents of Natacha's glass and yours; no trace of poison excepting in two of the four glasses, arsenate of soda was found only on the soiled napkins of Trebassof and his wife and in the two glasses they drank from.""Oh, that is horrible," muttered the stupefied reporter; "that is horrible, for then the poisoner must be either Natacha or me.""I have every confidence in you," declared Koupriane with a great laugh of satisfaction, striking him on the shoulder."And I arrest Natacha, and you who love logic ought to be satisfied now."Rouletabille hadn't a word more to say.He sat down again and let his head fall into his hands, like one sleep has seized.

"Ah, our young girls; you don't know them.They are terrible, terrible!" said Koupriane, lighting a big cigar."Much more terrible than the boys.In good families the boys still enjoy themselves; but the girls - they read! It goes to their heads.

They are ready for anything; they know neither father nor mother.

Ah, you are a child, you cannot comprehend.Two lovely eyes, a melancholy air, a soft, low voice, and you are captured - you believe you have before you simply an inoffensive, good little girl.Well, Rouletabille, here is what I will tell you for your instruction.There was the time of the Tchipoff attack; the revolutionaries who were assigned to kill Tchipoff were disguised as coachmen and footmen.Everthing had been carefully prepared and it would seem that no one could have discovered the bombs in the place they had been stored.Well, do you know the place where those bombs were found? In the rooms of the governor, of Wladmir's daughter! Exactly, my little friend, just there! The rooms of the governor's daughter, Mademoiselle Alexeieiv.Ah, these young girls! Besides, it was this same Mademoiselle Alexeieiv who, so prettily, pierced the brain of an honest Swiss merchant who had the misfortune to resemble one of our ministers.If we had hanged that charming young girl earlier, my dear Monsieur Rouletabille, that last catastrophe might have been avoided.A good rope around the neck of all these little females - it is the only way, the only way!"A man entered.Rouletabille recognized the driver of the telega.

There were some rapid words between the Chief and the agent.The man closed the shutters of the room, but through the interstices they would be able to see what went on outside.Then the agent left;Koupriane, as he pushed aside the table that was near the window, said to the reporter:

"You had better come to the window; my man has just told me the boat is drawing near.You can watch an interesting sight.We are sure that Natacha is still aboard.The yacht, after the explosion at the datcha, took up two men who put off to it in a canoe, and since then it has simply sailed back and forth in the gulf.We have taken our precautions in Finland the same as here and it is here they are going to try to disembark.Keep an eye on them."Koupriane was at his post of observation.Evening slowly fell.