The stranger drew a jewel from his finger.

Diantre, how the diamond flashed in the ray of the lamp! Value each head of your eighty at a thousand francs, and the jewel is more worth than all! The jailer paused, and the diamond laughed in his dazzled eyes.

O thou Cerberus, thou hast mastered all else that seems human in that fell employ! Thou hast no pity, no love, and no remorse.

But Avarice survives the rest, and the foul heart's master-serpent swallows up the tribe.
Ha! ha! crafty stranger, thou hast conquered! They tread the gloomy corridor; they arrive at the door where the jailer has placed the fatal mark, now to be erased, for the prisoner within is to be reprieved a day.

The key grates in the lock; the door yawns,--the stranger takes the lamp and enters..