e crushed it into a thousand pieces.

"Monsieur!" said the governor.

And he stooped down to see if he could not save the unknown object which
La Mole wished to hide from him; but the miniature was literally ground
to powder.

"The King wished for this jewel," said La Mole, "but he had no right to
the portrait it contained. Now, here is the medallion; you may take it."

"Monsieur," said Beaulieu, "I shall complain of you to the King."

And without taking leave of his prisoner by a single word he went out,
so angry that without waiting to preside over the task, he left to the
turnkey the care of closing the doors.

The jailer turned to leave, but seeing that Monsieur de Beaulieu had
already started down the stairs:

"Faith! monsieur," said he, turning back, "I did well to ask you to give
me the hundred crowns at once for which I am to allow you to speak to
your companion; for had you not done so the governor would have taken
them from you with the three hundred others, and my conscience would not
have allowed me to do anything for you; but as I was paid in advance, I
promised that you should see your friend. So come. An honest man keeps
his word. Only, if it is possible, for your sake as much as for mine, do
not talk politics."

La Mole left his apartment and found himself face to face with Coconnas,
who was walking up and down the flags of the intermediate room.

The two friends rushed into each other's arms.

The jailer pretended to wipe the corner of his eye, and then withdrew to
watch that the prisoners were not surprised, or rather that he himself
was not caught.

"Ah! here you are!" said Coconnas. "Well, has that dreadful governor
paid his visit to you?"

"Yes, as he did to you, I presume?"

"Did he remove everything?"

"And from you, too?"

"Ah! I had not much; only a ring from Henrietta, that was all."

"And money?"

"I gave all I had to the good jailer, so that he would arrange this
interview for us."

"Ah!" said La Mole, "it seems that he had something from both of us."

"Did you pay him too?"

"I gave him a hundred crowns."

"So much the better."

"One can do everything with money, and I trust that we shall not lack
for it."

"Do you know what has happened to us?"

"Perfectly; we have been betrayed."

"By that scoundrelly Duc d'Alencon. I should have been right to twist
his neck."

"Do you think our position serious?"

"I fear so."

"Then there is likelihood of the tortur