Page:Marquis de Sade - Adelaide of Brunswick.djvu/70

 women drew back in horror on seeing this frightful monster. They knew, however, that there was no point in protesting.

"Stolbach," said Schinders, "not only will you watch these women, but you will see to it that they work hard. I am anxious to have them turned back to nature, that never should have let them come on the earth."

With that the man turned and went out slamming the iron door.

"I imagine that your hope has now disappeared," said Adelaide when Stolbach had gone out.

"No more than before, Milady. The circumstances have not changed, why should hope diminish?"

"You mean that this terrible looking guardian does not alter our hopes for escape?"

"Not at all. Perhaps we will be able to influence this one easier than we could the other. For you must realize that we cannot escape without help. You know that we two alone could never accomplish that."

"That is right, but you can be assured that we will never get anything from this Stolbach. The face is the mirror of the soul, and so what hope can we have from this creature?"

Two weeks passed in uneasiness and tears when Adelaide, enervated by sadness and despair, felt her forces grow weak. One morning she felt so ill that she had to stay in bed and asked Bathilda to work alone. At the lunch hour, Stolbach made Bathilda go into the garden with him saying that he had to talk to her.

"Come back quickly," said Adelaide to her, "for I am feeling very ill."

Bathilda left assuring her that she would return as soon as the man had told her the motive of the tête-à-tête that he wanted to have. After about ten minutes the man came rushing out of the little garden and left hurriedly. Adelaide waited for almost an hour and then fearing that something had happened to her companion, she painfully got out of bed and made her way outside. She found Bathilda in tears and sobbing as though her heart would break.

"Oh, my dear Mistress," she said holding out her arms. "I have failed you completely. That creature offered to give us