ted partisans of
the prince, assure himself of their support in announcing to them that
the duke had been saved, thanks to him. But an honorable scruple
withheld him; this secret was not his own; it did not belong to him to
betray the mysteries which had concealed and protected the existence of
the duke, and might still protect him.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE CHASE.

When the captain intimated anew to Croustillac the order to reveal all
he knew about the duke, the adventurer responded, this time with a
firmness full of dignity:

"I have nothing to say on this subject, captain; this secret is not
mine."

"Thunder and blood!" cried Mortimer, "the torture shall make you speak.
Light two bunches of tow dipped in sulphur. I will myself place them
under his chin; that will loosen his tongue--and we shall know where our
James is. Ah! I had indeed a presentiment that I should never see him
again."

"I ought to say to you," said the captain to the Gascon, "that if you
obstinately maintain a culpable silence, you will thus compromite in the
gravest manner the interests of the king and of the state, and we shall
be forced to have recourse to the harshest means in order to make you
speak."

These quiet words, calmly pronounced by a man with a venerable
countenance, who since the beginning of the scene had endeavored to
moderate the violence of the adversaries of Croustillac, made on the
latter a lively impression; he shivered slightly, but his resolution was
not shaken; he answered with a steady voice: "Excuse me, captain, I have
nothing to say, I will say nothing."

"Captain," cried De Chemerant, "in the name of the king, by whom I am
empowered, I formally declare that the silence of this criminal may be
the occasion of grave prejudice to the interests of his majesty and the
state. I found this man in the very domain of my lord the Duke of
Monmouth, provided even with precious objects belonging to that
nobleman, such as the sword of Charles II., a box with a portrait, etc.
All concurs, in fine, to prove that he has the most precise information
concerning the existence of his grace the Duke of Monmouth. Now this
information is of the highest importance relative to the mission with
which the king has charged me. I demand therefore that the accused
should immediately be constrained to speak by all the means possible."

"Yes! yes! the torture," cried the noblemen.

"Reflect well, accused," said the captain, again. "Do