Cinq Mars read on. "Don Cleofas and his fair Matilda descended the staircase in the city walls; but before they reached the gate, the alarm was given, and by the time they had mounted their horses, all the garrison was armed for their pursuit. Flights of arrows followed them from the ramparts as they fled, and a body of horse kept close upon their track. But still Don Cleofas pursued his way, the bridle of Matilda's horse thrown over his arm, and his right hand ready to grasp his sword, should the Moors overtake them. It was up the ascent of a steep hill that he took his way, and at the top he reined in his horse, on the edge of the crags which looked down into a peaceful valley below. Don Cleofas sprang to the ground, gave one look to the Moors who were following fast behind, and, as a last resource, catching Matilda in his arms, he leaped from the brink, bounding from rock to rock in the descent, with the agility of an izzard, till at length he reached the deepest part of the valley below."--All this was told at full length in the romance. The terrors of Matilda, the daring of the Knight, the angry gestures of the Moors, the steepness of the descent, and the calm beauty of the valley, were all dilated upon and described with the utmost minuteness and accuracy; which very much delighted Cinq Mars, but took him a long time to read; so that just at the moment he had got them safely to near the end of their journey, the door of the King's apartments again opened, and Chavigni passed through the room on his return. Perceiving this to be the case, Cinq Mars thought that he might as well go on with his book: which he had just begun to do, when Fontrailles entered the saloon and interrupted him. "In the name of Heaven, Cinq Mars," exclaimed he, "what are you about?" "I am waiting till the King is ready," answered the Master of the Horse composedly, scarcely taking his eyes from the romance. "And is it possible," asked Fontrailles in a tone of angry astonishment, "that you have lain here reading that drivelling book, and suffered Chavigni to be again so long with the King?" "Again!" said Cinq Mars, becoming more attentive; "he only passed once that I saw." "And ought he to have been there once, if that were all?" asked Fontrailles. "But let me tell you, Cinq Mars, he was there last night for more than an hour. Oh, Cinq Mars! Cinq Mars! is this a time, when our lives, our fortunes, and our country's weal are at stake, to sit there dozing over a romance, and see our bitterest enemy have access to the King's ear, but too easy to be abused? Depend on it, something more will come of this." "But why did you not let me know," demanded the Master of the Horse, "that he had seen the King last night?" "I learned it but this moment," replied Fontrailles. "But here comes a Page from the King's apartments. A message to you, Cinq Mars, on my life."