s as we walked
along; "I believe you would dance on the edge of a mine."

"Till the explosion occurred!" laughed Raoul. "Did you notice the
folks in that carriage, Albert? One was your friend Lautrec; he still
follows Conde's fortunes. Ah! there goes Marshal Turenne!"

"A fine general!" remarked Humphreys. "Why doesn't the Queen give him
the command of the army? He would make short work of Conde."

"Wait till the prince draws the sword," said Raoul, "and we shall see.
Have you forgotten that at present we are all friends?"

The Englishman declared it was scarcely worth remembering, as, in a day
or two, we were just as likely to be enemies, and I thought there was a
considerable amount of truth in his remark.

We wandered along slowly, chatting together, but scanning the faces of
the passers-by and keeping a sharp look-out for Pillot. There was,
however, no sign of him, and I had just suggested going straight to the
inn, when Raoul, suddenly taking a man by the arm, exclaimed,
"Francois? How lucky! Why, you are just the fellow we want!" and
turning round I saw that he was addressing the amiable spy of the Rue
Crillon.

Francois gazed at us with a beaming smile. He was not a bad-hearted
fellow, and bore no malice in spite of all that had passed.

"Where are your friends?" asked Raoul. "You should not be alone on
such a night as this. Where have you left Pillot?"

"Pillot?" echoed Francois wonderingly. "I have not seen him for weeks;
he is in the country somewhere."

"Oh, now, Francois, you are making fun of us! We know that our friend
Pillot is in Paris."

"Monsieur is wiser than I, then!" replied Francois. "They say, down in
our quarter, that he went to bury his master and has not returned. I
assure monsieur that not one of his old friends has set eyes on him for
a long time past."

The man spoke so straightforwardly that even Raoul believed he was
telling the truth, though it seemed strange, if Pillot were really back
again, that none of his acquaintances should be aware of it. Why had
he kept himself hidden all this time?

"We want to find him," said Raoul after a pause, "but not to do him any
injury. Suppose he has returned to Paris--if he ever went away--where
is he most likely to be? I assure you, Francois, that he has nothing
to fear from us."

"I cannot tell, monsieur. I think you must have made a mistake. If he
were inside the walls I should have seen him. He has not been back