And he remembered the Sire de Tancarville, alone, he too, amid the

darkness, who must have shivered at the noise of the stones which he
loosened and sent bounding down the cliff. How the least sound

reverberated through the silence! If one of Daubrecq's guards was
peering into the gloom from the Lovers' Tower, it meant a shot...

and death.
And he climbed... he climbed... He had climbed so long that he ended

by imagining that the goal was passed. Beyond a doubt, he had
slanted unawares to the right or left and he would finish at the

patrol-path. What a stupid upshot! And what other upshot could there
be to an attempt which the swift force of events had not allowed him

to study and prepare?
Madly, he redoubled his efforts, raised himself by a number of yards,

slipped, recovered the lost ground, clutched a bunch of roots that came
loose in his hand, slipped once more and was abandoning the game in

despair when, suddenly, stiffening himself and contracting his whole
frame, his muscles and his will, he stopped still: a sound of voices

seemed to issue from the very rock which he was grasping.
He listened. It came from the right. Turning his head, he thought

that he saw a ray of light penetrating the darkness of space. By what
effort of energy, by what imperceptible movements he succeeded in

dragging himse1f to the spot he was never able exactly to realize. But
suddenly he found himself on the ledge of a fairly wide opening, at

least three yards deep, which dug into the wall of the cliff like a
passage, while its other end, much narrower, was closed by three bars.

Lupin crawled along. His head reached the bars.And he saw...
CHAPTER VIII

THE LOVERS' TOWER
The torture-chamber showed beneath him. It was a large, irregular room,

divided into unequal portions by the four wide, massive pillars that
supported its arched roof. A smell of damp and mildew came from its

walls and from its flags moistened by the water that trickled from
without. Its appearance at any time must have been gruesome. But, at

that moment, with the tall figures of Sebastiani and his sons, with the
slanting gleams of light that fell between the pillars, with the vision

of the captive chained down upon the truckle-bed, it assumed a sinister
and barbarous aspect.

Daubrecq was in the front part of the room, four or five yards down from
the window at which Lupin lurked. In addition to the ancient chains

that had been used to fasten him to his bed and to fasten the bed to an
iron hook in the wall, his wrists and ankles were girt with leather

thongs; and an ingeniousarrangement caused his least movement to set in
motion a bell hung to the nearest pillar.

A lamp placed on a stool lit him full in the face.
The Marquis d'Albufex was standing beside him. Lupin could see his pale

features, his grizzled moustache, his long, lean form as he looked at
his prisoner with an expression of content and of gratified hatred.

A few minutes passed in profound silence. Then the marquis gave an order:
"Light those three candles, Sebastiani, so that I can see him better."

And, when the three candles were lit and he had taken a long look at
Daubrecq, he stooped over him and said, almost gently:

"I can't say what will be the end of you and me. But at any rate I
shall have had some deuced happy moments in this room. You have done

me so much harm, Daubrecq! The tears you have made me shed! Yes, real
tears, real sobs of despair... The money you have robbed me of! A

fortune!... And my terror at the thought that you might give me away!
You had but to utter my name to complete my ruin and bring about my

disgrace!... Oh, you villain!... '
Daubrecq did not budge. He had been deprived of his black glasses, but

still kept his spectacles, which reflected the light from the candles.
He had lost a good deal of flesh; and the bones stood out above his

sunken cheeks.
"Come along," said d'Albufex. "The time has come to act. It seems that

there are rogues prowling about the neighbourhood. Heaven forbid that
they are here on your account and try to release you; for that would

mean your immediate death, as you know... Is the trapdoor still in
working order, Sebastiani?"

Sebastiani came Dearer, knelt on one knee and lifted and turned a ring,
at the foot of the bed, which Lupin had not noticed. One of the

flagstones moved on a pivot, disclosing a black hole.
"You see," the marquis continued, "everything is provided for; and I

have all that I want at hand, including dungeons: bottomless dungeons,
says the legend of the castle. So there is nothing to hope for, no

help of any kind. Will you speak?"
Daubrecq did not reply; and he went on:

"This is the fourth time that I am questioning you, Daubrecq. It is the
fourth time that I have troubled to ask you for the document which you

possess, in order that I may escape your blackmailing proceedings. It
is the fourth time and the last. Will you speak?"

The same silence as before. D'Albufex made a sign to Sebastiani. The
huntsman stepped forward, followed by two of his sons. One of them held

a stick in his hand.
"Go ahead," said d'Albufex, after waiting a few seconds.

Sebastiani slackened the thongs that bound Dauwrists and inserted and
fixed the stick between the thongs.

Shall I turn, monsieur le marquis?"
A further silence. The marquis waited. Seeing that Daubrecq did not

flinch, he whispered:
"Can't you speak? Why expose yourself to physical suffering?"

No reply.
"Turn away, Sebastiani."

Sebastiani made the stick turn a complete circle. The thongs stretched
and tightened. Daubrecq gave a groan.

"You won't speak? Still, you know that I won't give way, that I can't
give way, that I hold you and that, if necessary, I shall torture you

till you die of it. You won't speak? You won't?... Sebastiani, once
more."

The huntsman obeyed. Daubrecq gave a violent start of pain and fell
back on his bed with a rattle in his throat.

"You fool!" cried the marquis, shaking with rage. "Why don't you speak?
What, haven't you had enough of that list? Surely it's somebody else's

turn! Come, speak... Where is it? One word. One word only... and
we will leave you in peace... And, to-morrow, when I have the list,

you shall be free. Free, do you understand? But, in Heaven's name,
speak!... Oh, the brute! Sebastiani, one more turn."

Sebastiani made a fresh effort. The bones cracked.
"Help! Help!" cried Daubrecq, in a hoarse voice, vainly struggling to

release himself. And, in a spluttering whisper, "Mercy... mercy."
It was a dreadful sight... The faces of the three sons were horror-struck.

Lupin shuddered, sick at heart, and realized that he himself could never
have accomplished that abominable thing. He listened for the words that

were bound to come. He must learn the truth. Daubrecq's secret was
about to be expressed in syllables, in words wrung from him by pain.

And Lupin began to think of his retreat, of the car which was waiting for
him, of the wild rush to Paris, of the victory at hand.

"Speak," whispered d'Albufex. "Speak and it will be over."
"Yes... yes... " gasped Daubrecq.

"Well... ?"
"Later... to-morrow... "

"Oh, you're mad!... What are you talking about: to-morrow?... Sebastiani,
another turn!"

"No, no!" yelled Daubrecq. "Stop!"
"Speak!"

"Well, then... the paper... I have hidden the paper... "
But his pain was too great. He raised his head with a last effort,