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Show 144 Til£ LII,T liND TilE TOTEM. These sensible suggestions quiC'tcd tlJC pnrti cs, and each proCC! cdcd to report progress. One made a return of the men ho hnd got O\"Cr, :motlJCr of tho arms in possession, and a ll1ird of ammunitirm. Dut the question finally scH\cd down upon the fate of Laudounicrc, and a few of his particubr friends, the young , D' Erlach being the first among them. On tbis subj ect, thCl conspirators not only all spoke, but they all spoke together. They were vehement enough, willing to destroy their enemy, but their words rather declared th eir an.~cr, than any particular mode of cff~cting their object. At length )?ourncaux n_g3in spoke. 11 11/essieurs," said he," you nll seem agreed upon two things; the first is, that, before we can do a.nytl1ing, La.udonnicrc nnd that yonng devil, D'Erlnch, must be dispos:::d of; the second, that this is rather a difficult matter. It is understood tl!at they may rally a. sufficient force to defeat us-that we nrc not. in the majority yet, though we hope to be so; and that a great number who arc now slow to join us, will be ready enough, if the blow were once struck successfully. In this, I think, you all perfcwtly agree." "A y-ay! There you nrc ri,;;ht--that'l! it;" 'vas tho response of Lc Genre and Stephen J~c Genevois. "V cry well ; now, as it is doubtful who arc certainly tho friC'nds of J~audonni 2rc, it is agreed that we must move agninst him secretly. Is there any difficulty in this? ~'h e re nrc sc\'cral ways of getting rid of nn enemy without lifting dagger or pistol. Is not the magician here- the chemist, Ln. Hoquettc ?-has he no knowl cdg~ of certain poisons, which, one~ min,g:l ~d in tho drink of a captain, can shut l1is eyes as effuctunlly as if it were done with bullet or steel? And if this fuils, nrc there not other modes of contriving an accident? I have a plan now, which, with your leave, I think tho very tl1ing for our purpo~Jo, Laudoqniorc's TilE CONSPIRACY OF LE CENn~. 145 quarters, as you all know, stand apart from all the rest, with tho cxcqJtion of the littlll building occupied by the di1'ision of Le GcnrC1 with wl1ich it is connected by the old bath-room. This bath-room is abandoned ~i n ec Laudonuic1·e has taken to the river. Suppose Lc CcmC here should, for safc-kcc]ling, put a keg of gu npowder under the c:1ptain's quarters? and su ppose fartLer, that , by the merest mischaucc, ho should su!fcr a train of powder to follow l1is footsteps, as he crawls from one apartment to tho other ; and suppose again, that, while Lnudonnicrc elccps, some carcbss person should suffer a coal of fire to r est, only for a moment, upon the train in the bath house. lly my life, 1 think such an accident would spare us the necessity of attempting the life of our beloved captain. It would be a. so1·t of J>rovidcntinl interposition." "Say no more ! It shall be done!" snid Lc GcnrC. "I will do it!" "Ay, should the otl1cr measure fail; but I nm for trying the poison first;" s.'l.id Fourncaux, "for such an explosion would send a few f!'agm cnts of timber about other cars than those of the captain. He tak es his coff..le at sunrise. Can we not drug it ?" "L~t that be my ta~k ;" said old Bon Pre, who had hitherto tak~n Jit~b part in this conference. "You nrc the very man," said Fourncaux. "He takes his coffJc from your hands. J~all.oquctto will provide the poison." "When shall tl1is be done?" demanded Lo GcnrC. "W c can do nothing to-night. Jt will require limo to-morrow to prepare the trnin." "Ay, that i>J your pnrt; but may not Bon Pre do his to-morrow? and should ho fail-" |