We might relate a hundred other pieces of knavery, but it must not be supposed that having begun by murder, Derues would draw back and remain contented with theft.  Two fraudulent bankruptcies would have sufficed for most people; for him they were merely a harmless pastime.  Here we must place two dark and obscure stories, two crimes of which he is accused, two victims whose death groans no one heard.

The hypocrite’s excellent reputation had crossed the Parisian bounds.  A young man from the country, intending to start as a grocer in the capital, applied to Derues for the necessary information and begged for advice.  He arrived at the latter’s house with a sum of eight thousand livres, which he placed in Derues’ hands, asking him for assistance in finding a business.  The sight of gold was enough to rouse the instinct of crime in Derues, and the witches who hailed Macbeth with the promise of royalty did not rouse the latter’s ambitious desires to a greater height than the chance of wealth did the greed of the assassin; whose hands, once closed over the eight thousand livres, were never again relaxed.  He received them as a deposit, and hid them along with his previous plunder, vowing never to return them.  Several days had elapsed, when one afternoon Derues returned home with an air of such unusual cheerfulness that the young man questioned him.  “Have you heard some good news for me?” he asked, “or have you had some luck yourself?”

“My young friend,” answered Derues, “as for me, success depends on my own efforts, and fortune smiles on me.  But I have promised to be useful to you, your parents have trusted me, and I must prove that their confidence is well founded.  I have heard to-day of a business for disposal in one of the best parts of Paris.  You can have it for twelve thousand livres, and I wish I could lend you the amount you want.  But you must write to your father, persuade him, reason with him; do not lose so good a chance.  He must make a little sacrifice, and he will be grateful to me later.”

In accordance with their son’s request, the young man’s parents despatched a sum of four thousand livres, requesting Derues to lose no time in concluding the purchase.

Three weeks later, the father, very uneasy, arrived in Paris.  He came to inquire about his son, having heard nothing from him.  Derues received him with the utmost astonishment, appearing convinced that the young man had returned home.  One day, he said, the youth informed him that he had heard from his father, who had given up all idea of establishing him in Paris, having arranged an advantageous marriage for him near home; and he had taken his twelve thousand livres, for which Derues produced a receipt, and started on his return journey.

One evening, when nearly dark, Derues had gone out with his guest, who complained of headache and internal pains.  Where did they go?  No one knew; but Denies only returned at daybreak, alone, weary and exhausted, and the young man was never again heard of.