As soon as he had led Suzette out of the room, her brother returned, and approaching her husband--who stood gazing upon me in sullen silence, from which I augured no very hospitable treatment--he turned his face full upon me also, when, not a little to my surprise, I recognised in Suzette's brother my old acquaintance, Captain Hubert, of whose achievements in the forest I had been a witness, and nearly a victim. He was, evidently, not much slower in his recognition than myself, and although I had given him sufficient proofs of my discretion in regard to one of his professions, yet the exclamation of "Diable!" which broke from him before he was aware, showed me that he did not yet feel safe, and would willingly have avoided any fresh rencontre with such an inconvenient acquaintance. The prospects which my situation afforded were certainly not very consolatory at that moment. There I lay, incapable of offering resistance or of attempting escape, in the presence of two men, one of whom hated me with a good old inveterate enmity, which was quite sufficiently mature to bear fruits of as bitter a--kind as heart could desire; while the other knew his life and reputation to be in my power the moment that I issued forth from those walls. I had also enjoyed the means of learning by experience that neither of these worthy personages were very scrupulous as to their actions; and, certainly, if ever I calculated fully and seriously upon having my throat cut in cold blood, it was at that moment. I took good care, however, not to make the matter quite certain by claiming any acquaintance with Captain Hubert, while at the same time I resolved to treat Gaspard de Belleville, whom I looked upon, after all, as the worst of the two, in the same manner that I would have treated any other officer in the service of the Prince de Condé. "Monsieur de Belleville," I said, after having given him plenty of time to speak, without his uttering one word, "I claim your protection and hospitality, as an officer and a gentleman; and I beg, also, that you will have the goodness, if the armies are in this vicinity, to send a trumpet to Monsieur de Villardin, or to Monsieur de Turenne, informing either of them that I am a prisoner in your hands, and requesting them to negotiate my liberation." The impudence of the request seemed to strike him dumb; and, after staring at me for a minute longer, with a curling lip and contracted brow, he turned upon his heel, and taking his brother-in-law by the arm, walked out of the room without saying one word, shutting and locking the door behind him.