She can hardly be
cruel enough (he thinks) to joke with a man in his miserable plight.
Will she say plainly what this perfectly easy thing is, the doing
of which will meet with such a magnificent reward?
'The Countess answers that question by confiding her project
to the Courier, without the slightest reserve.
'Some minutes of silence follow when she has done. The Courier
is not weak enough yet to speak without stopping to think first.
Still keeping his eyes on the Countess, he makes a quaintly
insolent remark on what he has just heard. "I have not hitherto
been a religious man; but I feel myself on the way to it.
Since your ladyship has spoken to me, I believe in the Devil."
It is the Countess's interest to see the humorous side of this
confession of faith. She takes no offence. She only says,
"I will give you half an hour by yourself, to think over my proposal.
You are in danger of death. Decide, in your wife's interests, whether you
will die worth nothing, or die worth a thousand pounds."
'Left alone, the Courier seriously considers his position--
and decides. He rises with difficulty; writes a few lines on a leaf
taken from his pocket-book; and, with slow and faltering steps,
leaves the room.
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