And really it was not necessary to make a long study of Mme. Giry's
excited features to understand what could be got out of that fine
intellect with the two words "ghost" and "empress."
But who pulled the strings of that extraordinary puppet? That was the
question.
"You have never seen him; he speaks to you and you believe all he
says?" asked Moncharmin.
"Yes. To begin with, I owe it to him that my little Meg was promoted
to be the leader of a row. I said to the ghost, 'If she is to be
empress in 1885, there is no time to lose; she must become a leader at
once.' He said, 'Look upon it as done.' And he had only a word to say
to M. Poligny and the thing was done."
"So you see that M. Poligny saw him!"
"No, not any more than I did; but he heard him. The ghost said a word
in his ear, you know, on the evening when he left Box Five, looking so
dreadfully pale."
Moncharmin heaved a sigh. "What a business!" he groaned.
"Ah!" said Mme. Giry. "I always thought there were secrets between the
ghost and M. Poligny. Anything that the ghost asked M. Poligny to do
M. Poligny did. M. Poligny could refuse the ghost nothing."
"You hear, Richard: Poligny could refuse the ghost nothing."
"Yes, yes, I hear!" said Richard. "M. Poligny is a friend of the
ghost; and, as Mme. Giry is a friend of M. Poligny, there we are! ...
But I don't care a hang about M. Poligny," he added roughly. "The only
person whose fate really interests me is Mme. Giry... Mme. Giry, do
you know what is in this envelope?"
"Why, of course not," she said.
"Well, look."
Mine. Giry looked into the envelope with a lackluster eye, which soon
recovered its brilliancy.
"Thousand-franc notes!" she cried.
"Yes, Mme. Giry, thousand-franc notes! And you knew it!"
"I, sir? I? ... I swear ..."
"Don't swear, Mme. Giry! ... And now I will tell you the second reason
why I sent for you. Mme. Giry, I am going to have you arrested."
The two black feathers on the dingy bonnet, which usually affected the
attitude of two notes of interrogation, changed into two notes of
exclamation; as for the bonnet itself, it swayed in menace on the old
lady's tempestuous chignon. Surprise, indignation, protest and dismay
were furthermore displayed by little Meg's mother in a sort of
extravagant movement of offended virtue, half bound, half slide, that
brought her right under the nose of M. Richard, who could not help
pushing back his chair.
"HAVE ME ARRESTED!"
The mouth that spoke those words seemed to spit the three teeth that
were left to it into Richard's face.
M. Richard behaved like a hero. He retreated no farther. His
threatening forefinger seemed already to be pointing out the keeper of
Box Five to the absent magistrates.