at her belt, sprang toward it,
snatched it from its shagreen case encrusted with silver, and rushed
from the room to strike down Henry of Anjou wherever he might meet him.
But on reaching the hall, his strength, excited beyond human endurance,
suddenly left him. He put out his arm, dropped the sharp weapon, which
stuck point downwards into the wood, uttered a piercing cry, sank down,
and rolled over on the floor.

At the same instant a quantity of blood spurted forth from his mouth and
nose.

"Jesus!" said he. "They kill me! Help! help!"

Catharine, who had followed, saw him fall. For one instant she stood
motionless, watching him. Then recollecting herself, not because of any
maternal affection, but because of the awkwardness of the situation, she
called out:

"The King is ill! Help! help!"

At the cry a crowd of servants, officers, and courtiers gathered around
the young King. But ahead of them all a woman rushed out, pushed aside
the others, and raised Charles, who had grown as pale as death.

"They kill me, nurse, they kill me," murmured the King, covered with
perspiration and blood.

"They kill you, my Charles?" cried the good woman, glancing at the group
of faces with a look which reached even Catharine. "Who kills you?"

Charles heaved a feeble sigh, and fainted.

"Ah!" said the physician, Ambroise Pare, who was summoned at once, "ah!
the King is very ill!"

"Now, from necessity or compulsion," said the implacable Catharine to
herself, "he will have to grant a delay."

Whereupon she left the King to join her second son, who was in the
oratory, anxiously waiting to hear the result of an interview which was
of such importance to him.

CHAPTER XLI.

THE HOROSCOPE.

On leaving the oratory, in which she had just informed Henry all that
had occurred, Catharine found Rene in her chamber. It was the first time
that the queen and the astrologer had seen each other since the visit
the queen had made to his shop at the Pont Saint Michel. But the
previous evening she had written him, and Rene had brought the answer to
her note in person.

"Well," said the queen, "have you seen him?"

"Yes."

"How is he?"

"Somewhat better."

"Can he speak?"

"No, the sword traversed his larynx."

"I told you in that case to have him write."

"I tried. He collected all his strength, but his hand could trace only
two letters. They are almost illegible. Then he fainted. The jugular
vein was cut and the bl