The Teeth of the Tiger | Page 6

Elizabeth
and her heirs, to her second sister Armande Roussel or her direct heirs;
or, in default of both sisters and their heirs, to their cousin Victor
Roussel or his direct heirs.
"In the event of my dying without discovering the surviving members
of the Roussel family, or of the cousin of the three sisters, I request my
friend Don Luis Perenna to make all the necessary investigations. With
this object, I hereby appoint him the executor of my will in so far as
concerns the European portion of my estate, and I beg him to undertake
the conduct of the events that may arise after my death or in
consequence of my death to consider himself my representative and to
act in all things for the benefit of my memory and the accomplishment
of my wishes. In gratitude for this service and in memory of the two
occasions on which he saved my life, I give and bequeath to the said
Don Luis Perenna the sum of one million francs."
The Prefect stopped for a few seconds. Don Luis murmured:
"Poor Cosmo! ... I should not have needed that inducement to carry out
his last wishes."
M. Desmalions continued his reading:
"Furthermore, if, within three months of my death, the investigations
made by Don Luis Perenna and by Maître Lepertuis have led to no
result; if no heir and no survivor of the Roussel family have come
forward to receive the bequest, then the whole hundred million francs
shall definitely, all later claims notwithstanding, accrue to my friend
Don Luis Perenna. I know him well enough to feel assured that he will
employ this fortune in a manner which shall accord with the loftiness of

his schemes and the greatness of the plans which he described to me so
enthusiastically in our tent in Morocco."
M. Desmalions stopped once more and raised his eyes to Don Luis,
who remained silent and impassive, though a tear glistened on his
lashes. Comte d'Astrignac said:
"My congratulations, Perenna."
"Let me remind you, Major," he answered, "that this legacy is subject
to a condition. And I swear that, if it depends on me, the survivors of
the Roussel family shall be found."
"I'm sure of it," said the officer. "I know you."
"In any case," asked the Prefect of Police of Don Luis, "you do not
refuse this conditional legacy?"
"Well, no," said Perenna, with a laugh. "There are things which one
can't refuse."
"My question," said the Prefect, "was prompted by the last paragraph of
the will: 'If, for any reason, my friend Perenna should refuse this legacy,
or if he should have died before the date fixed for its payment, I request
the Ambassador of the United States and the Prefect of Police for the
time being to consult as to the means of building and maintaining in
Paris a university confined to students and artists of American
nationality and to devote the money to this purpose. And I hereby
authorize the Prefect of Police in any case to receive a sum of three
hundred thousand francs out of my estate for the benefit of the Paris
Police Fund.'"
M. Desmalions folded the paper and took up another.
"There is a codicil to the will. It consists of a letter which Mr.
Mornington wrote to Maître Lepertuis some time after and which
explains certain points with greater precision:

"I request Maître Lepertuis to open my will on the day after my death,
in the presence of the Prefect of Police, who will be good enough to
keep the matter an entire secret for a month. One month later, to the
day, he will have the kindness to summon to his office Maître Lepertuis,
Don Luis Perenna, and a prominent member of the United States
Embassy. Subsequent to the reading of the will, a cheque for one
million francs shall be handed to my friend and legatee Don Luis
Perenna, after a simple examination of his papers and a simple
verification of his identity. I should wish this verification to be made as
regards the personality by Major Comte d'Astrignac, who was his
commanding officer in Morocco, and who unfortunately had to retire
prematurely from the army; and as regards birth by a member of the
Peruvian Legation, as Don Luis Perenna, though retaining his Spanish
nationality, was born in Peru.
"Furthermore, I desire that my will be not communicated to the Roussel
heirs until two days later, at Maitre Lepertuis's office. Finally--and this
is the last expression of my wishes as regards the disposal of my estate
and the method of proceeding with that disposal--the Prefect of Police
will be good enough to summon the persons aforesaid to his office, for
a second time, at a date to be selected by himself, not