Lagardere turned towards him, fiercely. "Liar! assassin!" he cried, and advanced towards Gonzague, but was stopped by Bonnivet. The king looked at him sternly. "Sir, you have made charges you could not prove, promises you could not keep. You shall answer for this before your judges." Bonnivet made as if to arrest Lagardere, but Lagardere held up his hand. "Stop!" he cried; "let no man dare to touch me. I have here your majesty's safe-conduct, signed and sealed--'free to come, free to go'--that was your promise, sire." Gonzague protested. "A promise won by a trick does not count." The king shook his head. "I have given my word. The man has forty-eight hours to cross the frontier." Lagardere bowed to the king. "I thank you, sire. You are a true and honorable gentleman. But, sire, I give you back your word." As he spoke he tore the safe-conduct in two and flung it at his feet. "I ask but four-and-twenty hours to unmask the villain who now triumphs over truth and justice, and to give back a daughter to her mother. Nevers shall be avenged! Make way for me!" As he spoke he turned upon his heel and passed rapidly from the king's presence, the amazed and bewildered guests giving ground before him as he passed. Instantly Gonzague turned and whispered to Peyrolles: "He must not leave this place alive." And Peyrolles answered, confidently: "He shall not. Every gate is guarded by my spies." The king rose gravely and addressed the assembly. "Let us disperse, friends. What we have seen and heard leaves us in little mood for merrymaking." Then he gave his hand to the now weeping princess, and, followed by his immediate escort, quitted the tent. It was soon deserted; it was soon empty. The king departed in the direction of his palace. News that the ball was ended spread rapidly, and in a short while the gardens that had been so thronged and brilliant became deserted and desolate. The departing guests found that every exit was guarded by soldiers, and that their faces were carefully scanned before they were suffered to leave the precincts of the Palais Royal. Gonzague remained alone in the solitude by the Fountain of Diana, waiting for Peyrolles, who presently joined him. "Well?" Gonzague asked, anxiously. Peyrolles looked disappointed. "He has not left by any of the gates. He must be hiding in the gardens." Gonzague commanded, sharply: "Bid your men seek till they find, and kill when they find." Peyrolles bowed. "Yes, your excellency," he said, and disappeared down one of the silent alleys. As he departed, the hunchback emerged from the shadow of a tree and approached Gonzague noiselessly. Gonzague started a little as he suddenly became aware of the hunchback's presence. The hunchback bowed. "Is your highness content with the night's work?" "So far, yes," Gonzague replied. "We have got the girl and got the papers safe in my palace." "Ah! And Lagardere?" the hunchback asked.