Page:The Story of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux.pdf/224

228 that nothing would content her but to see it put into execution.

"You shall take his place at supper," she repeated, again and agam, "you shall sleep in his bed, and bright and early to-morrow morning you shall make off with his mistress and his money. Ah, richly will you be revenged on both father and son!"

I finally yielded to her persuasions, though my heart was full of secret misgivings, which seemed to augur an unhappy ending to this affair. I went out, intending to ask two or three officers of the Guards, whose acquaintance I had made through Lescaut, to undertake the seizure of G MI found only one of them at home; but he was an adventurous spirit, and had no sooner heard what I wanted done, than he assured me of success; only asking me to give him ten pistoles with which to pay three privates of the Guards whom he proposed to hire and lead himself.

I begged him to lose no time; and he mustered them in less than a quarter of an hour. In the meanwhile, I was waiting for him at his house; and as soon as he returned with his confederates, I led him myself to the corner of the street along which G M must necessarily pass on