“Theyareallsly，“thoughtZelie，——“everyoneofthem！Theywanttodeceiveus。ThatoldpriestandtheoldjusticeandthatyoungscampSavinienhavegotsomeplanintheirheads。Dreams！nomoredreamsthantherearehairsonthepalmofmyhand。“
Withtwostiff，curtbowsshelefttheroom。
“IknowwhySavinienwenttoFontainebleau，“saidUrsulatotheabbe，tellinghimabouttheduelandbegginghimtousehisinfluencetopreventit。
“DidMadameMinoretofferyouherson’shand？“askedtheabbe。
“Yes。“
“Minorethasnodoubtconfessedhiscrimetoher，“addedthepriest。
MonsieurBongrand，whocameinatthismoment，wastoldofthesteptakenbyZelie，whosehatredtoUrsulawaswellknowntohim。Helookedattheabbeasiftosay:“Comeout，IwanttospeaktoyouofUrsulawithoutherhearingme。“
“SavinienmustbetoldthatyourefusedeightythousandfrancsayearandthedandyofNemours，“hesaidaloud。
“Isit，then，asacrifice？“sheanswered，laughing。“Aretheresacrificeswhenonetrulyloves？Isitanymerittorefusethesonofamanwealldespise？Othersmaymakevirtuesoftheirdislikes，butthatoughtnottobethemoralityofagirlbroughtupbyadeJordy，andtheabbe，andmydeargodfather，“shesaid，lookingupathisportrait。
BongrandtookUrsula’shandandkissedit。
“DoyouknowwhatMadameMinoretcameabout？“saidthejusticeassoonastheywereinthestreet。
“What？“askedthepriest，lookingatBongrandwithanairthatseemedmerelycurious。
“Shehadsomeplanforrestitution。“
“Thenyouthink——“begantheabbe。
“Idon’tthink，Iknow；Ihavethecertainty——andseethere！“
Sosaying，BongrandpointedtoMinoret，whowascomingtowardsthemonhiswayhome。
“WhenIwasalawyerinthecriminalcourts，“continuedBongrand，“I
naturallyhadmanyopportunitiestostudyremorse；butIhaveneverseenanytoequalthatofthisman。Whatgiveshimthatflaccidity，thatpallorofthecheekswheretheskinwasonceastightasadrumandburstingwiththegoodsoundhealthofamanwithoutacare？Whathasputthoseblackcirclesroundhiseyesanddulledtheirrusticvivacity？Didyoueverexpecttoseelinesofcareonthatforehead？
Whowouldhavesupposedthatthebrainofthatcolossuscouldbeexcited？Themanhasfelthisheart！Iamajudgeofremorse，justasyouareajudgeofrepentance，mydearabbe。ThatwhichIhavehithertoobservedhasdevelopedinmenwhowereawaitingpunishment，orenduringittogetquitswiththeworld；theywereeitherresigned，orbreathingvengeance；buthereisremorsewithoutexpiation，remorsepureandsimple，fasteningonitspreyandrendinghim。“
ThejudgestoppedMinoretandsaid:“DoyouknowthatMademoiselleMirouethasrefusedyourson’shand？“
“But，“interposedtheabbe，“donotbeuneasy；shewillpreventtheduel。“
“Ah，thenmywifesucceeded？“saidMinoret。“Iamveryglad，foritnearlykilledme。“
“Youare，indeed，sochangedthatyouarenolongerlikeyourself，“
remarkedBongrand。
Minoretlookedalternatelyatthetwomentoseeifthepriesthadbetrayedthedreams；buttheabbe’sfacewasunmoved，expressingonlyacalmsadnesswhichreassuredtheguiltyman。
“Anditisthemoresurprising，“wentonMonsieurBongrand，“becauseyououghttobefilledwithsatisfaction。YouarelordofRouvreandallthosefarmsandmillsandmeadowsand——withyourinvestmentsintheFunds，youhaveanincomeofonehundredthousandfrancs——“
“Ihaven’tanythingintheFunds，“criedMinoret，hastily。
“Pooh，“saidBongrand；“thisisjustasitwasaboutyourson’sloveforUrsula，——firsthedeniedit，andnowheasksherinmarriage。
AftertryingtokillUrsulawithsorrowyounowwantherforadaughter-in-law。Mygoodfriend，youhavegotsomesecretinyourpouch。“
Minorettriedtoanswer；hesearchedforwordsandcouldfindnothingbetterthan:——
“You’reveryqueer，monsieur。Good-day，gentlemen“；andheturnedwithaslowstepintotheRuedesBourgeois。
“HehasstolenthefortuneofourpoorUrsula，“saidBongrand，“buthowcanweeverfindtheproof？“
“Godmay——“
“Godhasputintousthesentimentthatisnowappealingtothatman；
butallthatismerelywhatiscalled’presumptive，’andhumanjusticerequiressomethingmore。“
Theabbemaintainedthesilenceofapriest。Asoftenhappensinsimilarcircumstances，hethoughtmuchoftenerthanhewishedtothinkoftherobbery，nowalmostadmittedbyMinoret，andofSavinien’shappiness，delayedonlybyUrsula’slossoffortune——fortheoldladyhadprivatelyownedtohimthatsheknewshehaddonewronginnotconsentingtothemarriageinthedoctor’slifetime。
Thefollowingday，astheabbewasleavingthealtaraftersayingmass，athoughtstruckhimwithsuchforcethatitseemedtohimtheutteranceofavoice。HemadeasigntoUrsulatowaitforhim，andaccompaniedherhomewithouthavingbreakfasted。
“Mychild，“hesaid，“Iwanttoseethetwovolumesyourgodfathershowedyouinyourdreams——wherehesaidthatheplacedthosecertificatesandbanknotes。“
UrsulaandtheabbewentuptothelibraryandtookdownthethirdvolumeofthePandects。Whentheoldmanopenedithenoticed，notwithoutsurprise，amarkleftbysomeenclosureuponthepages，whichstillkepttheoutlineofthecertificate。Intheothervolumehefoundasortofhollowmadebythelong-continuedpresenceofapackage，whichhadleftitstracesonthetwopagesnexttoit。
“Yes，goup，MonsieurBongrand，“LaBougivalwasheardtosay，andthejusticeofthepeacecameintothelibraryjustastheabbewasputtingonhisspectaclestoreadthreenumbersinDoctorMinoret’shand-writingonthefly-leafofcoloredpaperwithwhichthebinderhadlinedthecoverofthevolume，——figureswhichUrsulahadjustdiscovered。
“What’sthemeaningofthosefigures？“saidtheabbe；“ourdeardoctorwastoomuchofabibliophiletospoilthefly-leafofavaluablevolume。HerearethreenumberswrittenbetweenafirstnumberprecededbytheletterMandalastnumberprecededbyaU。“
“Whatareyoutalkingof？“saidBongrand。“Letmeseethat。GoodGod！“
hecried，afteramoment’sexamination；“itwouldopentheeyesofanatheistasanactualdemonstrationofProvidence！Humanjusticeis，I
believe，thedevelopmentofthedivinethoughtwhichhoversovertheworlds。“HeseizedUrsulaandkissedherforehead。“Oh！mychild，youwillberichandhappy，andallthroughme！“
“Whatisit？“exclaimedtheabbe。
“Oh，monsieur，“criedLaBougival，catchingBongrand’sblueovercoat，“letmekissyouforwhatyou’vejustsaid。“
“Explain，explain！don’tgiveusfalsehopes，“saidtheabbe。
“IfIbringtroubleonothersbybecomingrich，“saidUrsula，forseeingacriminaltrial，“I——“
“Remember，“saidthejustice，interruptingher，“thehappinessyouwillgivetoSavinien。“
“Areyoumad？“saidtheabbe。
“No，mydearfriend，“saidBongrand。“Listen；thecertificatesintheFundsareissuedinseries，——asmanyseriesastherearelettersinthealphabet；andeachnumberbearstheletterofitsseries。Butthecertificateswhicharemadeout’tobearer’cannothavealetter；theyarenotinanyperson’sname。WhatyouseethereshowsthatthedaythedoctorplacedhismoneyintheFunds，henoteddown，first，thenumberofhisowncertificateforfifteenthousandfrancsinterestwhichbearshisinitialM；next，thenumbersofthreeinscriptionstobearer；thesearewithoutaletter；andthirdly，thecertificateofUrsula’sshareintheFunds，thenumberofwhichis23，534，andwhichfollows，asyousee，thatofthefifteen-thousand-franccertificatewithlettering。Thisgoesfartoprovethatthosenumbersarethoseoffivecertificatesofinvestmentsmadeonthesamedayandnoteddownbythedoctorincaseofloss。IadvisedhimtotakecertificatestobearerforUrsula’sfortune，andhemusthavemadehisowninvestmentandthatofUrsula’slittlepropertythesameday。I’llgotoDionis’sofficeandlookattheinventory。Ifthenumberofthecertificateforhisowninvestmentis23，533，letterM，wemaybesurethatheinvested，throughthesamebrokeronthesameday，firsthisownpropertyonasinglecertificate；secondlyhissavingsinthreecertificatestobearernumbered，butwithouttheseriesletter；
thirdly，Ursula’sownproperty；thetransferbookswillshow，ofcourse，undeniableproofsofthis。Ha！Minoret，youdeceiver，Ihaveyou——Motus，mychildren！“