They
have broken into his secret cabinet--and stripped it of all its
valuables that could be of use to them, and have not left one of his
hidden hoards unvisited."
"Hell's curses upon them!" exclaimed Mompesson, with irrepressible rage.
"May they all swing upon the gibbet!"
"The chief among them--a rascally Alsatian, known as Captain
Bludder--has been captured," pursued Luke Hatton. "And a large sum,
together with a rich casket of jewels, has been found upon him; and it
is to be hoped that the officers will succeed in finding the others.
Will your Highness interrogate Bludder?"
"Not now," replied Charles. "Let him be taken to the Fleet. But there
were other matters of more importance than the treasures--the deeds and
legal instruments. These, as being useless to the robbers, were probably
left untouched."
"They were so, your Highness," replied Luke Hatton.
"Would they had burned them!" ejaculated Mompesson. "Would all had been
destroyed!"
And he gave utterance to such wild exclamations of rage, accompanied by
such frenzied gestures, that the halberdiers seized him, and dragged him
out of the room. The old usurer was removed at the same time.
"And now," said Charles, rising from his chair, "one thing only remains
to be done ere I depart, and it will he pleasanter to me than aught that
has preceded it. I must again address myself to you, Sir Jocelyn
Mounchensey, ay, and to you, also, fair Mistress Aveline.
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