of Daumon was filled with delight, but he replied,--

"Oh, Marquis! you must remember that we say many things that really have
no special meaning, for between act and intention there is a tremendous
difference. I often speak too freely, and that has more than once got me
into trouble."

Norbert was no fool, in spite of his want of education, and the hot
blood of his ancestors coursed freely through his veins. He now struck
the butt-end of his gun heavily upon the floor.

"You treated me like a simpleton, then, it appears?" remarked he
angrily.

"My dear Marquis--"

"And imagined that you could trifle with me. You managed to learn my
real feelings for your own amusement; but, take care; this may cost you
more than you think."

"Ah, Marquis, can you believe that I would act so basely?"

"What else can I think?"

Daumon paused for a moment, and then said,--

"You will be angry when you hear what I have to say, but I cannot help
speaking the truth."

"I shall not be angry, and you can speak freely."

"I am but a very poor and humble man. What have I to gain by securing
any note, and by encouraging you to brave your father's anger? Just
think what must happen if I opposed the all-powerful Duke de Champdoce;
why, I might find myself in prison in next to no time."

"And for what reason, if you please?" asked Norbert.

"Have you never studied law in the slightest degree, Marquis? Dear me,
how neglectful some parents are! You are not of age, and there is a
certain article, 354 in the code, that could be so worked that a poor
humble creature like me could be locked up for perhaps five years. The
law deals very hardly when any one has dealings with a minor, the more
especially when the father is a man of untold wealth. If the Duke should
ever discover----"

"But how could he ever do so?"

Daumon made no reply, and his silence so plainly showed Norbert that the
Counsellor did not trust him, that he repeated the question in an angry
voice.

"Your blind subservience to your father is too well known."

"You believe that I should confess everything to him?"

"You yourself told me that when his eyes were fixed on yours you could
not avoid yielding to his will."

Norbert's anger gradually died away, as he replied in accents of intense
bitterness,--

"I may be a savage, but I am not likely to become a traitor. If I once
promised to keep a secret, no measures or tortures would tear it from
me. I may fear my fath