Collected works Author:Emile Gaboriau Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: chamber, and in a loud whisper called, "Come iu, Hortebise. He has gone." A man obeyed the summons at once, and hurriedly drew up a chair to the fire. "My fee... more »t are almost frozen," exclaimed he; "I should not know it if any one was to chop them off. Your room, my dear Bap- tiste, is a perfect refrigerator. Another time, please, have a fire lighted in it." This speech, however, did not disturb Mascarin's line of thought. " Did you hear all ? " asked he. " I saw and heard all that you did." "And what do you think of the lad?" " I think that Daddy Tantaine is a man of observation and powerful will, and that he will mould this child between his fingers like wax." CHAPTER III. THE OPINION OF DR. HORTEBISE. Dr. Hortebise, who had addressed Mascarin so familiarly by his Christian name of Baptiste, was about fifty-six years of age, but he carried his years so well, that he always passed for forty-nine. He had a heavy pair of red, sensual-looking lips, his hair was untinted by gray, and his eyes still lustrous. A man who moved in the best society, eloquent in manner, a brilliant conversationalist, and vivid in his perceptions, he concealed under the veil of good-humored sarcasm the utmost cynicism of mind. He was very popular and much sought after. He had but few faults, but quite a catalogue of appalling vices. Under this Epicureanexterior lurked, it was reported, the man of talent and the celebrated physician. He was not a hard-working man, simply because he achieved the same results with, out toil or labor. He had recently taken to homoeopathy, and started a medical journal, which he named The Globule, which died at its fifth number. His conversion made all society laugh, and he joined in the ridicule, thus showing the sincerity of his views, for he was never able...« less