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“Verygood，——Sens，“repliedthehideousclerk。“There’sanarchbishopatSens，andIdon’tobjecttodevotion；alittlehypocrisyandthereyouare，onthewaytofortune。Besides，thegirlispious，andshe’llsucceedatSens。“
“Itistobefullyunderstood，“continuedMinoret，“thatIshallnotpaythemoneytillyoumarrymycousin，forwhomIwishtoprovide，outofconsiderationformydeceaseduncle。“
“Whynotformetoo？“saidGoupilmaliciously，instantlysuspectingasecretmotiveinMinoret’sconduct。“Isn’titthroughinformationyougotfrommethatyoumaketwenty-fourthousandayearfromthatland，withoutasingleenclosure，aroundtheChateauduRouvre？ThefieldsandthemilltheothersideoftheLoingmakesixteenthousandmore。
Come，oldfellow，doyoumeantoplayfairwithme？“
“Yes。“
“IfIwantedtoshowmyteethIcouldcoaxMassintobuytheRouvreestate，park，gardens，preserves，andtimber——“
“You’dbetterthinktwicebeforeyoudothat，“saidZelie，suddenlyintervening。
“IfIchoose，“saidGoupil，givingheraviperishlook；“Massinwouldbuythewholefortwohundredthousandfrancs。“
“Leaveus，wife，“saidthecolossus，takingZeliebythearm，andshovingheraway；“Iunderstandhim。Wehavebeensoverybusy，“hecontinued，returningtoGoupil，“thatwehavehadnotimetothinkofyou；butIrelyonyourfriendshiptobuytheRouvreestateforme。“
“Itisaveryancientmarquisate，“saidGoupil，maliciously；“whichwillsoonbeworthinyourhandsfiftythousandfrancsayear；thatmeansacapitalofmorethantwomillionsasmoneyisnow。“
“MysoncouldthenmarrythedaughterofamarshalofFrance，orthedaughterofsomeoldfamilywhoseinfluencewouldgethimafineplaceunderthegovernmentinParis，“saidMinoret，openinghishugesnuff-
boxandofferingapinchtoGoupil。
“Verygood；butwillyouplayfair？“criedGoupil，shakinghisfingers。
Minoretpressedtheclerk’shandsreplying:——
“Onmywordofhonor。“
Likeallcraftypersons，Goupil，fortunatelyforMinoret，believedthattheproposedmarriagewithUrsulawasonlyapretextonthepartofthecolossusandZelieformakingupwithhim，nowthathewasopposingthemwithMassin。
“Itisn’the，“thoughtGoupil，“whohasinventedthisscheme；IknowmyZelie，——shetaughthimhispart。Bah！I’llletMassingo。InthreeyearstimeI’llbedeputyfromSens。“JustthenhesawBongrandonhiswaytotheoppositehouseforhiswhist，andherushedhastilyafterhim。
“YoutakeagreatinterestinMademoiselleMirouet，mydearMonsieurBongrand，“hesaid。“Iknowyouwillnotbeindifferenttoherfuture。
Herrelationsareconsideringit，andthereistheprogramme；sheoughttomarryanotarywhosepracticeshouldbeinthechieftownofanarrondisement。Thisnotary，whowouldofcoursebeelecteddeputyinthreeyears，shouldsettleonadowerofahundredthousandfrancsonher。“
“Shecandobetterthanthat，“saidBongrandcoldly。“MadamedePortenduereisgreatlychangedsincehermisfortunes；troubleiskillingher。Savinienwillhavesixthousandfrancsayear，andUrsulahasacapitaloffortythousand。IshallshowthemhowtoincreaseitalaMassin，buthonestly，andintenyearstheywillhavealittlefortune
