we all know, he is not minded to kill the king unless he can, before or soon after, kill you also, sir. Now, sir, I have spoken the truth, as God is my witness, and I pray you to shield me from the vengeance of Duke Michael; for if, after he knows what I have done, I fall into his hands, I shall pray for one thing out of all the world—a speedy death, and that I shall not obtain from him!"
The fellow's story was rudely told, but our questions supplemented his narrative. What he had told us applied to an armed attack; but if suspicions were aroused and there came overwhelming force—such, for instance, as I, the king, could bring—the idea of resistance would be abandoned. The king would be quietly murdered and slid down the pipe. And—here comes the ingenious touch—one of the Six would take his place in the cell, and on the entrance of the searchers loudly demand release and redress; and Michael, being summoned, would confess to hasty action, but he would say the man had angered him by seeking the favor of a lady in the castle (this was Antoinette de Mauban), and he had confined him there, as he con-
