ost-Marshal which at this moment rallied
my failing spirits. I remembered that until the mystery of his presence
here in alliance with Bruhl was explained there was no need to despair;
and turning briskly to the king I begged him to favour me by standing
with the women in a corner which was not visible from the door. He
complied mechanically, and in a manner which I did not like; but lacking
time to weigh trifles, I turned to the grille and opened it without more
ado.

The appearance of my face at the trap was greeted with a savage cry of
recognition, which subsided as quickly into silence. It was followed
by a momentary pushing to and fro among the crowd outside, which in its
turn ended in the Provost-Marshal coming to the front. 'In the king's
name!' he said fussily.

'What is it?' I replied, eyeing rather the flushed, eager faces which
scowled over his shoulders than himself. The light of two links, borne
by some of the party, shone ruddily on the heads of the halberds, and,
flaring up from time to time, filled all the place with wavering, smoky
light. 'What do you want?' I continued, 'rousing my lodging at this time
of night?'

'I hold a warrant for your arrest,' he replied bluntly. 'Resistance will
be vain. If you do not surrender I shall send for a ram to break in the
door.'

'Where is your order?' I said sharply. 'The one you held this morning
was cancelled by the king himself.'

'Suspended only,' he answered. 'Suspended only. It was given out to me
again this evening for instant execution. And I am here in pursuance of
it, and call on you to surrender.'

'Who delivered it to you?' I retorted.

'M. de Villequier,' he answered readily. 'And here it is. Now, come,
sir,' he continued, 'you are only making matters worse. Open to us.'

'Before I do so,' I said drily, 'I should like to know what part in the
pageant my friend M. de Bruhl, whom I see on the stairs yonder, proposes
to play. And there is my old friend Fresnoy,' I added. 'And I see one or
two others whom I know, M. Provost. Before I surrender I must know among
other things what M. de Bruhl's business is here.'

'It is the business of every loyal man to execute the king's warrant,'
the Provost answered evasively. 'It is yours to surrender, and mine to
lodge you in the Castle. 'But I am loth to have a disturbance. I will
give you until that torch goes out, if you like, to make up your mind.
At the end of that time, if you do not surrender, I shall