ng
this dangerous conversation.

"I want to have you meet some one, Henriot, and you shall give me your
opinion."

"I am at your Majesty's orders."

"To the right! to the right! We will take the Rue des Barres."

The two kings, followed by their escort, had passed the Rue de la
Savonnerie, when in front of the Hotel de Conde they saw two men,
wrapped in large cloaks, coming out of a secret door which one of them
noiselessly closed behind him.

"Oh! oh!" said the King to Henry, who as usual had seen everything, but
had not spoken, "this deserves attention."

"Why do you say that, sire?" asked the King of Navarre.

"It is not on your account, Henriot. You are sure of your wife," added
Charles with a smile; "but your cousin De Conde is not sure of his, or
if so, he is making a mistake, the devil!"

"But how do you know, sire, that it is Madame de Conde whom these
gentlemen have been visiting?"

"Instinct tells me. The fact that the men stood in the doorway without
moving until they saw us; then the cut of the shorter one's cloak--by
Heaven! that would be strange!"

"What?"

"Nothing. An idea I had, that is all; let us go on."

He walked up to the two men, who, seeing him, started to walk away.

"Hello, gentlemen!" cried the King; "stop!"

"Are you speaking to us?" asked a voice which made Charles and his
companion tremble.

"Well, Henriot," said Charles, "do you recognize the voice now?"

"Sire," said Henry, "if your brother the Duc d'Anjou was not at La
Rochelle, I would swear it was he speaking."

"Well," said Charles, "he is not at La Rochelle, that is all."

"But who is with him?"

"Do you not recognize his companion?"

"No, sire."

"Yet his figure is unmistakable. Wait, you shall see who he is--hello,
there! I tell you," cried the King, "do you not hear, by Heaven?"

"Are you the watch, that you order us to stop?" said the taller of the
two men, freeing his arm from the folds of his cloak.

"Pretend that we are the watch," said the King, "and stop when we tell
you to do so."

Leaning over to Henry's ear, he added:

"Now you will see the volcano send forth its fire."

"There are eight of you," said the taller of the two men, this time
showing not only his arm but his face, "but were you a hundred, pass
on!"

"Ah! ah! the Duc de Guise!" said Henry.

"Ah! our cousin from Lorraine," said the King; "at last you will meet!
How fortunate!"

"The King!" cried the duke.

At these words