an," repeated Rene, but in so low a tone that the president scarcely
heard him.

"Why did this figure of a man have on a mantle and a crown?"

"Because it represented a king."

"Infamous liar!" cried Coconnas, infuriated.

"Keep still, Coconnas, keep still," interrupted La Mole, "let the man
speak; every one has a right to sell his own soul."

"But not the bodies of others, by Heaven!"

"And what was the meaning of the needle in the heart of the figure, with
the letter 'M' on a small banner?"

"The needle was emblematical of the sword or the dagger; the letter 'M'
stands for _mort_."

Coconnas sprang forward as though to strangle Rene, but four guards
restrained him.

"That will do," said the Attorney Laguesle, "the court is sufficiently
informed. Take the prisoners to the waiting-room."

"But," exclaimed Coconnas, "it is impossible to hear one's self accused
of such things without protesting."

"Protest, monsieur, no one will hinder you. Guards, did you hear?"

The guards seized the two prisoners and led them out, La Mole by one
door, Coconnas by another.

Then the attorney signed to the man whom Coconnas had perceived in the
shadow, and said to him:

"Do not go away, my good fellow, you shall have work this evening."

"Which shall I begin with, monsieur?" asked the man, respectfully
holding his cap in his hand.

"With that one," said the president, pointing to La Mole, who could
still be seen disappearing in the distance between the two guards. Then
approaching Rene, who stood trembling, expecting to be led back to the
cell in which he had been confined:

"You have spoken well, monsieur," said he to him, "you need not worry.
Both the King and the queen shall know that it is to you they are
indebted for the truth of this affair."

But instead of giving him strength, this promise seemed to terrify Rene,
whose only answer was a deep sigh.

CHAPTER LVIII.

THE TORTURE OF THE BOOT.

It was only when he had been led away to his new cell and the door was
locked on him that Coconnas, left alone, and no longer sustained by the
discussion with the judges and his anger at Rene, fell into a train of
mournful reflections.

"It seems to me," thought he, "that matters are turning against us, and
that it is about time to go to the chapel. I suspect we are to be
condemned to death. It looks so. I especially fear being condemned to
death by sentences pronounced behind closed doors, in a fortified
c