maud, for whom he had at
first conceived such a hatred and who now was all his hope.
Grimaud seemed to him an Antinous. It is needless to say that this
transformation was visible only to the prisoner's feverish imagination.
Grimaud was still the same, and therefore he retained the entire
confidence of his superior, La Ramee, who now relied upon him more than
he did upon himself, for, as we have said, La Ramee felt at the bottom
of his heart a certain weakness for Monsieur de Beaufort.

And so the good La Ramee made a festivity of the little supper with
his prisoner. He had but one fault--he was a gourmand; he had found the
pates good, the wine excellent. Now the successor of Pere Marteau
had promised him a pate of pheasant instead of a pate of fowl, and
Chambertin wine instead of Macon. All this, set off by the presence of
that excellent prince, who was so good-natured, who invented so droll
tricks against Monsieur de Chavigny and so fine jokes against Mazarin,
made for La Ramee the approaching Pentecost one of the four great feasts
of the year. He therefore looked forward to six o'clock with as much
impatience as the duke himself.

Since daybreak La Ramee had been occupied with the preparations, and
trusting no one but himself, he had visited personally the successor
of Pere Marteau. The latter had surpassed himself; he showed La Ramee a
monstrous pate, ornamented with Monsieur de Beaufort's coat-of-arms. It
was empty as yet, but a pheasant and two partridges were lying near it.
La Ramee's mouth watered and he returned to the duke's chamber rubbing
his hands. To crown his happiness, Monsieur de Chavigny had started on a
journey that morning and in his absence La Ramee was deputy-governor of
the chateau.

As for Grimaud, he seemed more sullen than ever.

In the course of the forenoon Monsieur de Beaufort had a game of tennis
with La Ramee; a sign from Grimaud put him on the alert. Grimaud, going
in advance, followed the course which they were to take in the evening.
The game was played in an inclosure called the little court of the
chateau, a place quite deserted except when Monsieur de Beaufort was
playing; and even then the precaution seemed superfluous, the wall was
so high.

There were three gates to open before reaching the inclosure, each by a
different key. When they arrived Grimaud went carelessly and sat down by
a loophole in the wall, letting his legs dangle outside. It was evident
that there the rope la