“Well, madame, where are these gentlemen?” asked Fraisier, admitted to audience.

“They are gone.  They advise me to give up,” said Mme. de Marville.

“Give up!” repeated Fraisier, suppressed fury in his voice.  “Give up! . . .  Listen to this, madame:—­

“‘At the request of’ . . . and so forth (I will omit the formalities) . . .  ’Whereas there has been deposited in the hands of M. le President of the Court of First Instance, a will drawn up by Maitres Leopold Hannequin and Alexandre Crottat, notaries of Paris, and in the presence of two witnesses, the Sieurs Brunner and Schwab, aliens domiciled at Paris, and by the said will the Sieur Pons, deceased, has bequeathed his property to one Sieur Schmucke, a German, to the prejudice of his natural heirs: 

“’Whereas the applicant undertakes to prove that the said will was obtained under undue influence and by unlawful means; and persons of credit are prepared to show that it was the testator’s intention to leave his fortune to Mlle. Cecile, daughter of the aforesaid Sieur de Marville, and the applicant can show that the said will was extorted from the testator’s weakness, he being unaccountable for his actions at the time: 

“’Whereas as the Sieur Schmucke, to obtain a will in his favor, sequestrated the testator, and prevented the family from approaching the deceased during his last illness; and his subsequent notorious ingratitude was of a nature to scandalize the house and residents in the quarter who chanced to witness it when attending the funeral of the porter at the testator’s place of abode: 

  “’Whereas as still more serious charges, of which applicant is
  collecting proofs, will be formally made before their worships the
  judges: 

“’I, the undersigned Registrar of the Court, etc., etc., on behalf of the aforesaid, etc., have summoned the Sieur Schmucke, pleading, etc., to appear before their worships the judges of the first chamber of the Tribunal, and to be present when application is made that the will received by Maitres Hannequin and Crottat, being evidently obtained by undue influence, shall be regarded as null and void in law; and I, the undersigned, on behalf of the aforesaid, etc., have likewise given notice of protest, should the Sieur Schmucke as universal legatee make application for an order to be put into possession of the estate, seeing that the applicant opposes such order, and makes objection by his application bearing date of to-day, of which a copy has been duly deposited with the Sieur Schmucke, costs being charged to . . . etc., etc.’

“I know the man, Mme. le Presidente.  He will come to terms as soon as he reads this little love-letter.  He will take our terms.  Are you going to give the thousand crowns per annum?”

“Certainly.  I only wish I were paying the first installment now.”