ver shall
be!"

"No matter!" said Charles, "but you must know, Henry, that I consider
all this very strange."

"Sire," said the King of Navarre, firmly, "God forgive me, but one would
say that I were undergoing an examination."

"And if I should tell you that you were, what would you answer?"

"That I am a king like yourself, sire," replied Henry, proudly, "for it
is not the crown but birth that makes royalty, and that I would gladly
answer any questions from my brother and my friend, but never from my
judge."

"And yet," murmured Charles, "I should really like to know for once in
my life how to act."

"Let Monsieur de Mouy be brought out," said D'Alencon, "and then you
will know. Monsieur de Mouy must be among the prisoners."

"Is Monsieur de Mouy here?" asked the King.

Henry felt a moment's anxiety and exchanged glances with Marguerite; but
his uneasiness was of short duration.

No voice replied.

"Monsieur de Mouy is not among the prisoners," said Monsieur de Nancey;
"some of our men think they saw him, but no one is sure of it."

D'Alencon uttered an oath.

"Well!" said Marguerite, pointing to La Mole and Coconnas, who had heard
all that had passed, and on whose intelligence she felt she could
depend, "there are two gentlemen in the service of Monsieur d'Alencon;
question them; they will answer."

The duke felt the blow.

"I had them arrested on purpose to prove that they do not belong to me,"
said he.

The King looked at the two friends and started on seeing La Mole again.

"Ah! that Provencal here?" said he.

Coconnas bowed graciously.

"What were you doing when you were arrested?" asked the King.

"Sire, we were planning deeds of war and of love."

"On horseback, armed to the teeth, ready for flight!"

"No, sire," said Coconnas; "your Majesty is misinformed. We were lying
under the shade of a beech tree--_sub tegmine fagi_."

"Ah! so you were lying under the shade of a beech tree?"

"And we might easily have escaped had we thought that in any way we had
roused your Majesty's anger. Now, gentlemen, on your honor as soldiers,"
continued Coconnas, turning to the light-horse, "do you not think that
had we so wished we could have escaped?"

"The fact is," said the lieutenant, "that these gentlemen did not even
attempt to run."

"Because their horses were too far away," said the Duc d'Alencon.

"I humbly beg monseigneur's pardon," said Coconnas; "but I was on mine,
and my friend the