number be killed before laying hands on
royalty."

"Fine royalty, in truth, which has no kingdom."

"Madame," said Maurevel, "it is not the kingdom which makes the king: it
is birth."

"Very well," said Catharine; "do as you please. Only I must warn you
that I do not wish you to leave the Louvre."

"But, madame, to get my men together?"

"Have you not a sort of sergeant whom you can charge with this duty?"

"I have my lackey, who not only is a faithful fellow, but who has even
occasionally aided me in this sort of thing."

"Send for him, and confer with him. You know the chamber hung with the
King's arms, do you not? Well, your breakfast shall be served there; and
from there you shall give your orders. The place will aid you to collect
your wits in case they are scattered. Then when my son returns from the
hunt, you are to go into my oratory, and wait until the time comes."

"But how are we to get into the room? Probably the king suspects
something, and he will shut himself up in it."

"I have a duplicate key to every door," said Catharine, "and the bolts
have been removed from Henry's room. Adieu, Monsieur de Maurevel, for a
while. I will have you taken to the King's armory. Ah! by the way!
remember that the order of a King must be carried out before anything
else. No excuse is admissible; a defeat, even a failure, would
compromise the honor of the King. It is a serious matter."

And Catharine, without giving Maurevel time to answer, called Monsieur
de Nancey, the captain of the guards, and ordered him to conduct
Maurevel to the king's armory.

"My God!" exclaimed Maurevel as he followed his guide, "I have risen to
the hierarchy of assassination; from a simple gentleman to a captain,
from a captain to an admiral, from an admiral to a king without a crown.
Who knows if I shall not some day be a king with a crown!"

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE HUNT.

The outrider who had turned aside the boar and who had told the King
that the animal had not left the place was not mistaken. Scarcely were
the bloodhounds put on the trail before it plunged into the thickets,
and from a cluster of thorn bushes drove out the boar which the outrider
had recognized by its track. It was a recluse; that is, the strangest
kind of animal.

It started straight ahead and crossed the road fifty feet from the King,
followed only by the bloodhound which had driven it back. The first
relay of dogs was at once let loose, twenty in numbe