He spoke so kindly to me, and with such feeling too, and his condescension seemed to me so infinite in his coming here to wait upon me--(though this was very often his custom, I think, when he wished to see a man or a woman in private)--that I determined to put off my announcement to him that I could no longer be in his service. So first I drew out from my waistcoat the packet I had taken from under my shirt, and put there, while Mr. Chiffinch was away. "Sir;" I said, "I have brought your packet back again. I have had no word from you as to its delivery; and as I must go abroad to-day I dare keep it no longer. Your Majesty, I fear, must find another messenger." His face darkened for an instant as if he could not remember something; but it lightened again as he took the packet from me, and turned it over. "Why; I remember," he said. "It was sealed within and without, was it not?" That seemed to me a strangely irrelevant thing to say but I told him, Yes it was. "And you were to deliver to--eh? what was his name?" "Your Majesty told me that the name would be sent to me." "Why, so I did," said the King, smiling. "Well; let us open the packet and see what is within." He took up a little ivory knife that was on the table by his elbow, and slipped it beneath the folds of the paper, so as to burst open the seals; and when he had done that, there was another wrapper, also sealed. This seal he also scrutinized, still smiling a little; and then he burst that; and when he had taken off that covering, a folded piece of paper fell out. This he unfolded, and spread flat with his fingers; and there was nothing written on that side; then he turned it over, and shewed me how there was nothing written on that either. So the message I had borne about me, was nothing in the world but a piece of blank paper. I drew a long breath when I saw that; for my anger surged up at the way I had been fooled; but before I could think of anything to say, the King spoke. "Mr. Mallock," he said, "you have done very well. You understand it now, eh?" "No, Sir; I do not," I said. "Why; it is a very old trick;" went on His Majesty, "to see if a messenger will be faithful. Your folks did it first, I think, in Queen Bess her reign; so as to risk nothing. And you have kept it all this while!" "I obeyed Your Majesty's commands," I said. "Well; and you have delivered it to the right person." (He tossed the papers altogether upon the table and turned to me again.) "Now, sir; I had no real doubt of you; but others were not so sure; and I consented to this to please them; so now that all has been done, I can use you more freely, if you will: I have more than one mission which must be done for me; and if you like it, Mr. Mallock, you may have the first." "Sir; I must go to France immediately. The hunt is up, after me, too." "What do you mean by that?" he said sharply. "The hunt! What is that?"