I should be forced to tell a lie, which is difficult indeed with so sly and treacherous a man; he would lay traps for me.

But enough of my own miseries; let us think of yours.
The forty thousand francs you want would be, of course, a mere nothing to Ferdinand, who handles millions with that fat banker, Baron de Nucingen.

Sometimes, at dinner, in my presence, they say things to each other which make me shudder.

Du Tillet knows my discretion, and they often talk freely before me, being sure of my silence.

Well, robbery and murder on the high-road seem to me merciful compared to some of their financial schemes.