The agent held the tumbler to her lips, and
made her drink a little of the water, entreating her very
earnestly to take courage and listen to him. He then sat down,
and referred again to the entry, every word he uttered seeming to
burn itself in forever (as she expressed it) on her memory and
her heart.
He said: "It has been ascertained beyond the possibility of doubt
that there is no mistake about the name in the lines you have
just read. And it is as certain as that we are here, that there
is only _one_ Baron Franval now alive. The question, therefore,
is, whether the passenger by the _Berenice_ is the true baron,
or--I beg you most earnestly to bear with me and to compose
yourself--or the husband of your sister. The person who arrived
last week at Havre was scouted as an impostor by the ladies at
the chateau, the moment he presented himself there as the
brother, returning to them after sixteen years of absence. The
authorities were communicated with, and I and my assistants were
instantly sent for from Paris.
"We wasted no time in questioning the supposed impostor. He
either was, or affected to be, in a perfect frenzy of grief and
indignation. We just ascertained, from competent witnesses, that
he bore an extraordinary resemblance to the real baron, and that
he was perfectly familiar with places and persons in and about
the chateau; we just ascertained that, and then proceeded to
confer with the local authorities, and to examine their private
entries of suspected persons in their jurisdiction, ranging back
over a past period of twenty years or more.
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