He had sworn thousands of times that neither
husband nor wife should ever have a penny of the large fortune
which really belonged to them. Believing that a lawsuit was now
inevitable, and wishing to conceal his wealth, he was greatly
embarrassed by the large amount of money he had on hand. What
should he do with it? Where could he hide it? He finally decided
to intrust it to the keeping of M. de Fondege, who was known as an
eccentric man, but whose honesty seemed to be above suspicion.
So, when he left home, on the afternoon of his illness, he took
the package of bank-notes and bonds, which you had noticed in the
escritoire that morning, away with him. We shall never know what
passed between your father and the General--we can only surmise.
But what I do know, and what I shall be able to prove, is that M.
de Fondege accepted the trust, and that he gave an acknowledgment
of it in the form of a letter, which read as follows:
"'MY DEAR COUNT DE CHALUSSE--I hereby acknowledge the receipt, on
Thursday, October 15, 186-, of the sum of two millions, two
hundred and fifty thousand francs, which I shall deposit, in my
name, at the Bank of France, subject to the orders of Mademoiselle
Marguerite, your daughter, on the day she presents this letter.
And believe, my dear count, in the absolute devotion of your old
comrade,
"GENERAL DE FONDEGE.
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