The Crystal Stopper Read online

  CHAPTER VIII. THE LOVERS' TOWER

  The torture-chamber showed beneath him. It was a large, irregular room,divided into unequal portions by the four wide, massive pillars thatsupported its arched roof. A smell of damp and mildew came from itswalls and from its flags moistened by the water that trickled fromwithout. Its appearance at any time must have been gruesome. But, atthat moment, with the tall figures of Sebastiani and his sons, with theslanting gleams of light that fell between the pillars, with the visionof the captive chained down upon the truckle-bed, it assumed a sinisterand barbarous aspect.

  Daubrecq was in the front part of the room, four or five yards down fromthe window at which Lupin lurked. In addition to the ancient chains thathad been used to fasten him to his bed and to fasten the bed to an ironhook in the wall, his wrists and ankles were girt with leather thongs;and an ingenious arrangement caused his least movement to set in motiona bell hung to the nearest pillar.

  A lamp placed on a stool lit him full in the face.

  The Marquis d'Albufex was standing beside him. Lupin could see his palefeatures, his grizzled moustache, his long, lean form as he looked athis prisoner with an expression of content and of gratified hatred.

  A few minutes passed in profound silence. Then the marquis gave anorder:

  "Light those three candles, Sebastiani, so that I can see him better."

  And, when the three candles were lit and he had taken a long look atDaubrecq, he stooped over him and said, almost gently:

  "I can't say what will be the end of you and me. But at any rate I shallhave had some deuced happy moments in this room. You have done me somuch harm, Daubrecq! The tears you have made me shed! Yes, real tears,real sobs of despair... The money you have robbed me of! A fortune!...And my terror at the thought that you might give me away! You had butto utter my name to complete my ruin and bring about my disgrace!... Oh,you villain!..."

  Daubrecq did not budge. He had been deprived of his black glasses, butstill kept his spectacles, which reflected the light from the candles.He had lost a good deal of flesh; and the bones stood out above hissunken cheeks.

  "Come along," said d'Albufex. "The time has come to act. It seems thatthere are rogues prowling about the neighbourhood. Heaven forbid thatthey are here on your account and try to release you; for that wouldmean your immediate death, as you know... Is the trapdoor still inworking order, Sebastiani?"

  Sebastiani came nearer, knelt on one knee and lifted and turned aring, at the foot of the bed, which Lupin had not noticed. One of theflagstones moved on a pivot, disclosing a black hole.

  "You see," the marquis continued, "everything is provided for; and Ihave all that I want at hand, including dungeons: bottomless dungeons,says the legend of the castle. So there is nothing to hope for, no helpof any kind. Will you speak?"

  Daubrecq did not reply; and he went on:

  "This is the fourth time that I am questioning you, Daubrecq. It is thefourth time that I have troubled to ask you for the document which youpossess, in order that I may escape your blackmailing proceedings. It isthe fourth time and the last. Will you speak?"

  The same silence as before. D'Albufex made a sign to Sebastiani. Thehuntsman stepped forward, followed by two of his sons. One of them helda stick in his hand.

  "Go ahead," said d'Albufex, after waiting a few seconds.

  Sebastiani slackened the thongs that bound Daubrecq's wrists andinserted and fixed the stick between the thongs.

  "Shall I turn, monsieur le marquis?"

  A further silence. The marquis waited. Seeing that Daubrecq did notflinch, he whispered:

  "Can't you speak? Why expose yourself to physical suffering?"

  No reply.

  "Turn away, Sebastiani."

  Sebastiani made the stick turn a complete circle. The thongs stretchedand tightened. Daubrecq gave a groan.

  "You won't speak? Still, you know that I won't give way, that I can'tgive way, that I hold you and that, if necessary, I shall torture youtill you die of it. You won't speak? You won't?... Sebastiani, oncemore."

  The huntsman obeyed. Daubrecq gave a violent start of pain and fell backon his bed with a rattle in his throat.

  "You fool!" cried the marquis, shaking with rage. "Why don't you speak?What, haven't you had enough of that list? Surely it's somebody else'sturn! Come, speak... Where is it? One word. One word only... and we willleave you in peace... And, to-morrow, when I have the list, you shall befree. Free, do you understand? But, in Heaven's name, speak!... Oh, thebrute! Sebastiani, one more turn."

  Sebastiani made a fresh effort. The bones cracked.

  "Help! Help!" cried Daubrecq, in a hoarse voice, vainly struggling torelease himself. And, in a spluttering whisper, "Mercy... mercy."

  It was a dreadful sight... The faces of the three sons werehorror-struck. Lupin shuddered, sick at heart, and realized that hehimself could never have accomplished that abominable thing. Helistened for the words that were bound to come. He must learn the truth.Daubrecq's secret was about to be expressed in syllables, in words wrungfrom him by pain. And Lupin began to think of his retreat, of the carwhich was waiting for him, of the wild rush to Paris, of the victory athand.

  "Speak," whispered d'Albufex. "Speak and it will be over."

  "Yes... yes..." gasped Daubrecq.

  "Well...?"

  "Later... to-morrow..."

  "Oh, you're mad!... What are you talking about: to-morrow?...Sebastiani, another turn!"

  "No, no!" yelled Daubrecq. "Stop!"

  "Speak!"

  "Well, then... the paper... I have hidden the paper..."

  But his pain was too great. He raised his head with a last effort,uttered incoherent words, succeeded in twice saying, "Marie... Marie..."and fell back, exhausted and lifeless.

  "Let go at once!" said d'Albufex to Sebastiani. "Hang it all, can wehave overdone it?"

  But a rapid examination showed him that Daubrecq had only fainted.Thereupon, he himself, worn out with the excitement, dropped on thefoot of the bed and, wiping the beads of perspiration from his forehead,stammered:

  "Oh, what a dirty business!"

  "Perhaps that's enough for to-day," said the huntsman, whose rough facebetrayed a certain emotion. "We might try again to-morrow or the nextday..."

  The marquis was silent. One of the sons handed him a flask of brandy. Hepoured out half a glass and drank it down at a draught:

  "To-morrow?" he said. "No. Here and now. One little effort more. Atthe stage which he has reached, it won't be difficult." And, taking thehuntsman aside, "Did you hear what he said? What did he mean by thatword, 'Marie'? He repeated it twice."

  "Yes, twice," said the huntsman. "Perhaps he entrusted the document to aperson called Marie."

  "Not he!" protested d'Albufex. "He never entrusts anything to anybody.It means something different."

  "But what, monsieur le marquis?"

  "We'll soon find out, I'll answer for it."

  At that moment, Daubrecq drew a long breath and stirred on his couch.

  D'Albufex, who had now recovered all his composure and who did not takehis eyes off the enemy, went up to him and said:

  "You see, Daubrecq, it's madness to resist... Once you're beaten,there's nothing for it but to submit to your conqueror, instead ofallowing yourself to be tortured like an idiot... Come, be sensible."

  He turned to Sebastiani:

  "Tighten the rope... let him feel it a little that will wake him up...He's shamming death..." Sebastiani took hold of the stick again andturned until the cord touched the swollen flesh. Daubrecq gave a start.

  "That'll do, Sebastiani," said the marquis. "Our friend seems favourablydisposed and understands the need for coming to terms. That's so,Daubrecq, is it not? You prefer to have done with it? And you're quiteright!"

  The two men were leaning over the sufferer, Sebastiani with his handon the stick, d'Albufex holding the lamp so as to throw the light onDaubrecq's face: "His lips are moving... he's going to speak. Loosenthe rope a little, Seba
stiani: I don't want our friend to be hurt... No,tighten it: I believe our friend is hesitating... One turn more... stop!... That's done it! Oh, my dear Daubrecq, if you can't speak plainerthan that, it's no use! What? What did you say?"

  Arsene Lupin muttered an oath. Daubrecq was speaking and he, Lupin,could not hear a word of what he said! In vain, he pricked up his ears,suppressed the beating of his heart and the throbbing of his temples:not a sound reached him.

  "Confound it!" he thought. "I never expected this. What am I to do?"

  He was within an ace of covering Daubrecq with his revolver andputting a bullet into him which would cut short any explanation. But hereflected that he himself would then be none the wiser and that it wasbetter to trust to events in the hope of making the most of them.

  Meanwhile the confession continued beneath him, indistinctly,interrupted by silences and mingled with moans. D'Albufex clung to hisprey:

  "Go on!... Finish, can't you?..."

  And he punctuated the sentences with exclamations of approval:

  "Good!... Capital!... Oh, how funny!... And no one suspected?... Noteven Prasville?... What an ass!... Loosen a bit, Sebastiani: don't yousee that our friend is out of breath?... Keep calm, Daubrecq... don'ttire yourself... And so, my dear fellow, you were saying..."

  That was the last. There was a long whispering to which d'Albufexlistened without further interruption and of which Arsene Lupin couldnot catch the least syllable. Then the marquis drew himself up andexclaimed, joyfully:

  "That's it!... Thank you, Daubrecq. And, believe me, I shall neverforget what you have just done. If ever you're in need, you have onlyto knock at my door and there will always be a crust of bread for you inthe kitchen and a glass of water from the filter. Sebastiani, look aftermonsieur le depute as if he were one of your sons. And, first of all,release him from his bonds. It's a heartless thing to truss one'sfellow-man like that, like a chicken on the spit!"

  "Shall we give him something to drink?" suggested the huntsman.

  "Yes, that's it, give him a drink."

  Sebastiani and his sons undid the leather straps, rubbed the bruisedwrists, dressed them with an ointment and bandaged them. Then Daubrecqswallowed a few drops of brandy.

  "Feeling better?" said the marquis. "Pooh, it's nothing much! In afew hours, it won't show; and you'll be able to boast of having beentortured, as in the good old days of the Inquisition. You lucky dog!"

  He took out his watch. "Enough said! Sebastiani, let your sons watch himin turns. You, take me to the station for the last train."

  "Then are we to leave him like that, monsieur le marquis, free to moveas he pleases?"

  "Why not? You don't imagine that we are going to keep him here to theday of his death? No, Daubrecq, sleep quietly. I shall go to yourplace tomorrow afternoon; and, if the document is where you told me,a telegram shall be sent off at once and you shall be set free. Youhaven't told me a lie, I suppose?"

  He went back to Daubrecq and, stooping over him again:

  "No humbug, eh? That would be very silly of you. I should lose a day,that's all. Whereas you would lose all the days that remain to you tolive. But no, the hiding-place is too good. A fellow doesn't inventa thing like that for fun. Come on, Sebastiani. You shall have thetelegram to-morrow."

  "And suppose they don't let you into the house, monsieur le marquis?"

  "Why shouldn't they?"

  "The house in the Square Lamartine is occupied by Prasville's men."

  "Don't worry, Sebastiani. I shall get in. If they don't open the door,there's always the window. And, if the window won't open, I shallarrange with one of Prasville's men. It's a question of money, that'sall. And, thank goodness, I shan't be short of that, henceforth!Good-night, Daubrecq."

  He went out, accompanied by Sebastiani, and the heavy door closed afterthem.

  Lupin at once effected his retreat, in accordance with a plan which hehad worked out during this scene.

  The plan was simple enough: to scramble, by means of his rope, to thebottom of the cliff, take his friends with him, jump into the motor-carand attack d'Albufex and Sebastiani on the deserted road that leads toAumale Station. There could be no doubt about the issue of the contest.With d'Albufex and Sebastiani prisoners; it would be an easy matter tomake one of them speak. D'Albufex had shown him how to set about it; andClarisse Mergy would be inflexible where it was a question of saving herson.

  He took the rope with which he had provided himself and groped about tofind a jagged piece of rock round which to pass it, so as to leave twoequal lengths hanging, by which he could let himself down. But, when hefound what he wanted, instead of acting swiftly--for the business wasurgent--he stood motionless, thinking. His scheme failed to satisfy himat the last moment.

  "It's absurd, what I'm proposing," he said to himself. "Absurd andillogical. How can I tell that d'Albufex and Sebastiani will not escapeme? How can I even tell that, once they are in my power, they willspeak? No, I shall stay. There are better things to try... much betterthings. It's not those two I must be at, but Daubrecq. He's done for; hehas not a kick left in him. If he has told the marquis his secret, thereis no reason why he shouldn't tell it to Clarisse and me, when we employthe same methods. That's settled! We'll kidnap the Daubrecq bird."And he continued, "Besides, what do I risk? If the scheme miscarries,Clarisse and I will rush off to Paris and, together with Prasville,organize a careful watch in the Square Lamartine to prevent d'Albufexfrom benefiting by Daubrecq's revelations. The great thing is forPrasville to be warned of the danger. He shall be."

  The church-clock in a neighbouring village struck twelve. That gaveLupin six or seven hours to put his new plan into execution. He set towork forthwith.

  When moving away from the embrasure which had the window at the bottomof it, he had come upon a clump of small shrubs in one of the hollowsof the cliff. He cut away a dozen of these, with his knife, and whittledthem all down to the same size. Then he cut off two equal lengths fromhis rope. These were the uprights of the ladder. He fastened the twelvelittle sticks between the uprights and thus contrived a rope-ladderabout six yards long.

  When he returned to this post, there was only one of the three sonsbeside Daubrecq's bed in the torture-chamber. He was smoking his pipe bythe lamp. Daubrecq was asleep.

  "Hang it!" thought Lupin. "Is the fellow going to sit there all night?In that case, there's nothing for me to do but to slip off..."

  The idea that d'Albufex was in possession of the secret vexed himmightily. The interview at which he had assisted had left the clearimpression in his mind that the marquis was working "on his own" andthat, in securing the list, he intended not only to escape Daubrecq'sactivity, but also to gain Daubrecq's power and build up his fortuneanew by the identical means which Daubrecq had employed.

  That would have meant, for Lupin, a fresh battle to wage against a freshenemy. The rapid march of events did not allow of the contemplation ofsuch a possibility. He must at all costs spike the Marquis d'Albufex'guns by warning Prasville.

  However, Lupin remained held back by the stubborn hope of some incidentthat would give him the opportunity of acting.

  The clock struck half-past twelve.

  It struck one.

  The waiting became terrible, all the more so as an icy mist rose fromthe valley and Lupin felt the cold penetrate to his very marrow.

  He heard the trot of a horse in the distance:

  "Sebastiani returning from the station," he thought.

  But the son who was watching in the torture-chamber, having finished hispacket of tobacco, opened the door and asked his brothers if they hada pipeful for him. They made some reply; and he went out to go to thelodge.

  And Lupin was astounded. No sooner was the door closed than Daubrecq,who had been so sound asleep, sat up on his couch, listened, put onefoot to the ground, followed by the other, and, standing up, totteringa little, but firmer on his legs than one would have expected, tried hisstrength.

  "Well" said Lupin, "the beggar doesn't take lo
ng recovering. He can verywell help in his own escape. There's just one point that ruffles me:will he allow himself to be convinced? Will he consent to go with me?Will he not think that this miraculous assistance which comes to himstraight from heaven is a trap laid by the marquis?"

  But suddenly Lupin remembered the letter which he had made Daubrecq'sold cousins write, the letter of recommendation, so to speak, which theelder of the two sisters Rousselot had signed with her Christian name,Euphrasie.

  It was in his pocket. He took it and listened. Not a sound, except thefaint noise of Daubrecq's footsteps on the flagstones. Lupin consideredthat the moment had come. He thrust his arm through the bars and threwthe letter in.

  Daubrecq seemed thunderstruck.

  The letter had fluttered through the room and lay on the floor, at threesteps from him. Where did it come from? He raised his head toward thewindow and tried to pierce the darkness that hid all the upper partof the room from his eyes. Then he looked at the envelope, without yetdaring to touch it, as though he dreaded a snare. Then, suddenly, aftera glance at the door, he stooped briskly, seized the envelope and openedit.

  "Ah," he said, with a sigh of delight, when he saw the signature.

  He read the letter half-aloud:

  "Rely implicitly on the bearer of this note. He has succeeded in discovering the marquis' secret, with the money which we gave him, and has contrived a plan of escape. Everything is prepared for your flight.

  "EUPHRASIE ROUSSELOT"

  He read the letter again, repeated, "Euphrasie... Euphrasie..." andraised his head once more.

  Lupin whispered:

  "It will take me two or three hours to file through one of the bars. AreSebastiani and his sons coming back?"

  "Yes, they are sure to," replied Daubrecq, in the same low voice, "but Iexpect they will leave me to myself."

  "But they sleep next door?"

  "Yes."

  "Won't they hear?"

  "No, the door is too thick."

  "Very well. In that case, it will soon be done. I have a rope-ladder.Will you be able to climb up alone, without my assistance?"

  "I think so... I'll try... It's my wrists that they've broken... Oh, thebrutes! I can hardly move my hands... and I have very little strengthleft. But I'll try all the same... needs must..."

  He stopped, listened and, with his finger to his mouth, whispered:

  "Hush!"

  When Sebastiani and his sons entered the room, Daubrecq, who had hiddenthe letter and lain down on his bed, pretended to wake with a start.

  The huntsman brought him a bottle of wine, a glass and some food:

  "How goes it, monsieur le depute?" he cried. "Well, perhaps we didsqueeze a little hard... It's very painful, that thumbscrewing. Seemsthey often did it at the time of the Great Revolution and Bonaparte...in the days of the chauffeurs. [*] A pretty invention! Nice and clean...no bloodshed... And it didn't last long either! In twenty minutes, youcame out with the missing word!" Sebastiani burst out laughing. "By theway, monsieur le depute, my congratulations! A capital hiding-place. Whowould ever suspect it?... You see, what put us off, monsieur le marquisand me, was that name of Marie which you let out at first. Youweren't telling a lie; but there you are, you know: the word was onlyhalf-finished. We had to know the rest. Say what you like, it's amusing!Just think, on your study-table! Upon my word, what a joke!"

  * The name given to the brigands in the Vendee, who tortured their victims with fire to make them confess where their money was hidden.--Translator's Note.

  The huntsman rose and walked up and down the room, rubbing his hands:

  "Monsieur le marquis is jolly well pleased, so pleased, in fact, that hehimself is coming to-morrow evening to let you out. Yes, he has thoughtit over; there will be a few formalities: you may have to sign a chequeor two, stump up, what, and make good monsieur le marquis' expense andtrouble. But what's that to you? A trifle! Not to mention that, from nowon, there will be no more chains, no more straps round your wrists; inshort, you will be treated like a king! And I've even been told--lookhere!--to allow you a good bottle of old wine and a flask of brandy."

  Sebastiani let fly a few more jests, then took the lamp, made a lastexamination of the room and said to his sons:

  "Let's leave him to sleep. You also, take a rest, all three of you. Butsleep with one eye open. One never can tell..." They withdrew.

  Lupin waited a little longer and asked, in a low voice:

  "Can I begin?"

  "Yes, but be careful. It's not impossible that they may go on a round inan hour or two."

  Lupin set to work. He had a very powerful file; and the iron of thebars, rusted and gnawed away by time, was, in places, almost reduced todust. Twice Lupin stopped to listen, with ears pricked up. But it wasonly the patter of a rat over the rubbish in the upper story, or theflight of some night-bird; and he continued his task, encouraged byDaubrecq, who stood by the door, ready to warn him at the least alarm.

  "Oof!" he said, giving a last stroke of the file. "I'm glad that's over,for, on my word, I've been a bit cramped in this cursed tunnel... to saynothing of the cold..."

  He bore with all his strength upon the bar, which he had sawn frombelow, and succeeded in forcing it down sufficiently for a man's body toslip between the two remaining bars. Next, he had to go back to the endof the embrasure, the wider part, where he had left the rope-ladder.After fixing it to the bars, he called Daubrecq:

  "Psst!... It's all right... Are you ready?"

  "Yes... coming... One more second, while I listen... All right...They're asleep... give me the ladder."

  Lupin lowered it and asked:

  "Must I come down?"

  "No... I feel a little weak... but I shall manage."

  Indeed, he reached the window of the embrasure pretty quickly and creptalong the passage in the wake of his rescuer. The open air, however,seemed to make him giddy. Also, to give himself strength, he had drunkhalf the bottle of wine; and he had a fainting-fit that kept him lyingon the stones of the embrasure for half an hour. Lupin, losing patience,was fastening him to one end of the rope, of which the other end wasknotted round the bars and was preparing to let him down like a bale ofgoods, when Daubrecq woke up, in better condition:

  "That's over," he said. "I feel fit now. Will it take long?"

  "Pretty long. We are a hundred and fifty yards up."

  "How was it that d'Albufex did not foresee that it was possible toescape this way?"

  "The cliff is perpendicular."

  "And you were able to..."

  "Well, your cousins insisted... And then one has to live, you know, andthey were free with their money."

  "The dear, good souls!" said Daubrecq. "Where are they?"

  "Down below, in a boat."

  "Is there a river, then?"

  "Yes, but we won't talk, if you don't mind. It's dangerous."

  "One word more. Had you been there long when you threw me the letter?"

  "No, no. A quarter of an hour or so. I'll tell you all about it...Meanwhile, we must hurry."

  Lupin went first, after recommending Daubrecq to hold tight to the ropeand to come down backward. He would give him a hand at the difficultplaces.

  It took them over forty minutes to reach the platform of the ledgeformed by the cliff; and Lupin had several times to help his companion,whose wrists, still bruised from the torture, had lost all theirstrength and suppleness.

  Over and over again, he groaned:

  "Oh, the swine, they've done for me!... The swine!... Ah, d'Albufex,I'll make you pay dear for this!..."

  "Ssh!" said Lupin.

  "What's the matter?"

  "A noise... up above..."

  Standing motionless on the platform, they listened. Lupin thought of theSire de Tancarville and the sentry who had killed him with a shot fromhis harquebus. He shivered, feeling all the anguish of the silence andthe darkness.

  "No," he said, "I was mistaken... Besides, it's absurd... They can't hitus h
ere."

  "Who would hit us?"

  "No one... no one... it was a silly notion..."

  He groped about till he found the uprights of the ladder; then he said:

  "There, here's the ladder. It is fixed in the bed of the river. A friendof mine is looking after it, as well as your cousins."

  He whistled:

  "Here I am," he said, in a low voice. "Hold the ladder fast." And, toDaubrecq, "I'll go first."

  Daubrecq objected:

  "Perhaps it would be better for me to go down first."

  "Why?"

  "I am very tired. You can tie your rope round my waist and hold me...Otherwise, there is a danger that I might..."

  "Yes, you are right," said Lupin. "Come nearer."

  Daubrecq came nearer and knelt down on the rock. Lupin fastened therope to him and then, stooping over, grasped one of the uprights in bothhands to keep the ladder from shaking:

  "Off you go," he said.

  At the same moment, he felt a violent pain in the shoulder:

  "Blast it!" he said, sinking to the ground.

  Daubrecq had stabbed him with a knife below the nape of the neck, alittle to the right.

  "You blackguard! You blackguard!"

  He half-saw Daubrecq, in the dark, ridding himself of his rope, andheard him whisper:

  "You're a bit of a fool, you know!... You bring me a letter from myRousselot cousins, in which I recognize the writing of the elder,Adelaide, but which that sly puss of an Adelaide, suspecting somethingand meaning to put me on my guard, if necessary, took care to sign withthe name of the younger sister, Euphrasie Rousselot. You see, I tumbledto it! So, with a little reflection... you are Master Arsene Lupin, areyou not? Clarisse's protector, Gilbert's saviour... Poor Lupin, I fearyou're in a bad way... I don't use the knife often; but, when I do, Iuse it with a vengeance."

  He bent over the wounded man and felt in his pockets:

  "Give me your revolver, can't you? You see, your friends will know atonce that it is not their governor; and they will try to secure me...And, as I have not much strength left, a bullet or two... Good-bye,Lupin. We shall meet in the next world, eh? Book me a nice flat, withall the latest conveniences.

  "Good-bye, Lupin. And my best thanks. For really I don't know what Ishould have done without you. By Jove, d'Albufex was hitting me hard!It'll be a joke to meet the beggar again!"

  Daubrecq had completed his preparations. He whistled once more. A replycame from the boat.

  "Here I am," he said.

  With a last effort, Lupin put out his arm to stop him. But hishand touched nothing but space. He tried to call out, to warn hisaccomplices: his voice choked in his throat.

  He felt a terrible numbness creep over his whole being. His templesbuzzed.

  Suddenly, shouts below. Then a shot. Then another, followed by atriumphant chuckle. And a woman's wail and moans. And, soon after, twomore shots.

  Lupin thought of Clarisse, wounded, dead perhaps; of Daubrecq, fleeingvictoriously; of d'Albufex; of the crystal stopper, which one or otherof the two adversaries would recover unresisted. Then a sudden visionshowed him the Sire de Tancarville falling with the woman he loved. Thenhe murmured, time after time:

  "Clarisse... Clarisse... Gilbert..." A great silence overcame him;an infinite peace entered into him; and, without the least revolt, hereceived the impression that his exhausted body, with nothing now tohold it back, was rolling to the very edge of the rock, toward theabyss.