90 LOUISE DE LA VALHERE, not quit each other under any circumstances, and may con- sequently fire muzzle to muzzle." "Agreed." "Three shots and no more will do, I suppose?" "Quite sufficient, I think. Here are powder and balls for your pistols; measure out three charges, take three balls; I will do the same; then we will throw the rest of the powder and the balls away." "And we will solemnly swear," said De Wardes, "that we have neither balls nor powder about us?" "Agreed; and I swear it," said De Guiche, holding his hand toward heaven, a gesture which De Wardes imitated. "And now, my dear comte," said De Wardes, "allow me to tell you that I am in no way your dupe. You already are, or soon will be, the accepted lover of madame. I have de- tected your secret, and you are afraid I shall tell others of it. You wish to kill me to insure my silence; that is very clear; and in your place, I should do the same." De Guiche hung down his head. "Only," continued De Wardes triumphantly, "was it really worth while, tell me, to throw this affair of Bragelonne's upon my shoulders? But take care, my dear fellow, in bringing the wild boar to bay, you enrage him to madness; in running down the fox, you give him the ferocity of the jaguar. The consequence is that, brought to bay by you, I shall defend myself to the very last." "You will be quite right in doing so." "Yes; but take care; I shall work more harm than you think. In the first place, as a beginning, you will readily suppose that I have not been absurd enough to lock up my secret, or your secret rather, in my own breast. There is a friend of mine, who resembles me in every way, a man whom you know very well, who shares my secret with me; so, pray understand that if you kill me, my death will not have been of much service to you; while, on the contrary, if I kill you — and everything is possible, you know — you understand?" De Guiche shuddered. "If I kill you," continued De Wardes, "you will have secured two mortal enemies to madame, who will do their very utmost to ruin her." "Oh! monsieur," exclaimed De Guiche furiously, "do not reckon upon my death to easily. Of the two enemies you speak of, I trust most heartily to dispose of one imme- diately, and the other at the earliest possible opportunity." The only reply De Wardes made was a burst of laughter.
