My consternation was naturally extreme, and Levasseur laughed immensely at the terror he excited. "_Soyez tranquille_," he said at last, at the same time ringing the bell, "I shall not hurt you." He ordered some wine, and after the waiter had fulfilled the order, and left the room, said, "Those notes of Mr. Trelawney's will of course be stopped in the morning, but I think I once heard you say you knew of a market for such articles?"
I hesitated, coyly unwilling to further commit myself. "Come, come," resumed Levasseur, in a still low but menacing tone, "no nonsense. I have you now; you are, in fact, entirely in my power: but be candid, and you are safe. Who is your friend?"
"Stuff--humbug! I have myself some notes to change. There, now we understand each other. What does he give, and how does he dispose of them?"
"He gives about a third generally, and gets rid of them abroad. They reach the Bank through _bonâ-fide_ and innocent holders, and in that case the Bank is of course bound to pay."
"Is that the law also with respect to bills of exchange?"
"And is _amount_ of any consequence to your friend?"
"Well, then, you must introduce me to him."
"No, that I can't," I hurriedly answered. "He won't deal with strangers."
"You _must_, I tell you, or I will call an officer." Terrified by this threat, I muttered that his name was Levi Samuel.
"That," I replied, "I _can not_ tell; but I know how to communicate with him."
Finally, it was settled by Levasseur that I should dine at Oak Cottage the next day but one, and that I should arrange with Samuel to meet us there immediately afterward. The notes and bills he had to dispose of, I was to inform Samuel, amounted to nearly twelve thousand pounds, and I was promised £500 for effecting the bargain.
"Five hundred pounds, remember, Williams," said Levasseur, as we parted; "or, if you deceive me, transportation. You can prove nothing regarding _me_, whereas, I could settle _you_ offhand."
The superintendent and I had a long and rather anxious conference the next day. We agreed that, situated as Oak Cottage was, in an open space away from any other building, it would not be advisable that any officer except myself and the pretended Samuel should approach the place. We also agreed as to the probability of such clever rogues having so placed the notes and bills that they could be consumed or otherwise destroyed on the slightest alarm, and that the open arrest of Levasseur, and a search of Oak Cottage, would in all likelihood prove fruitless. "There will be only two of them," I said, in reply to a remark of the superintendent as to the somewhat dangerous game I was risking with powerful and desperate men, "even should Le Breton be there; and surely Jackson and I, aided by the surprise and our pistols, will be too many for them." Little more was said, the superintendent wished us luck, and I sought out and instructed Jackson.