Or, rather, there are
some of us who know nothing. But I--if I knew who, I should know
all. Who?--Who?--Not knowing who, I must remain silent, out of
pity for her. For there is no doubt that she knows how he escaped
from The Yellow Room, and yet she keeps the secret. When I know
who, I will speak to him--to him!"
"She looked at us now--with a far-away look in her eyes--as if we
were not in the chamber. Monsieur Stangerson broke the silence.
He declared that, henceforth, he would no more absent himself from
his daughter's apartments. She tried to oppose him in vain. He
adhered firmly to his purpose. He would install himself there this
very night, he said. Solely concerned for the health of his
daughter, he reproached her for having left her bed. Then he
suddenly began talking to her as if she were a little child. He
smiled at her and seemed not to know either what he said or what he
did. The illustrious professor had lost his head. Mademoiselle
Stangerson in a tone of tender distress said: 'Father!--father!'
Daddy Jacques blows his nose, and Frederic Larsan himself is obliged
to turn away to hide his emotion.
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