Mr. Dangerfield, or shall we say the villain, Charles Archer, with characteristic promptitude and coolness, availed himself of the interval to try every influence he could once have set in motion, and as it were to gather his strength for a mighty tussle with the king of terrors, when his pale fingers should tap at his cell door.

… to be sold at auction for sixty gold francs.

I've got my beady eye on you, so don't try any monkey business.

Astragalus membranaceus (aka Huang ch'i) has been used widely for thousands of years throughout the Orient to stimulate the immune system.