"What's that?" was Monsieur de Braguelonne's sharp retort,--for he considered himself a very great man indeed. "I refer to the great personages of the Reformed religion," the advocate made haste to explain. "However, they began by keeping everything from me; but they were whispering together all day long, and writing day and night; visits they received every minute. I watched and listened; in short, I guessed at the beginning of the plot, so that they were obliged to tell me everything,--their meeting at Nantes, their great conspiracy; in fact, all this that you know, and which they thought so carefully concealed. But since that revelation I have not been able to sleep or eat; I have just existed. Every time that anybody came to my house--and God knows how often people have come there!--I would imagine that they had come to carry me before the judges. During the night, in my rare moments of feverish sleep, I dreamed of nothing but courts and scaffolds and executioners, and I would awake bathed in a cold perspiration, to begin again my unceasing attempts to foresee and estimate the risk I was running." "The risk you were running, did you say?" said Monsieur de Braguelonne. "Why, prison in the first place--" "And torture in the second," added Démocharès. "To be followed probably by hanging," said the lieutenant. "Or the stake, possibly," continued the grand inquisitor. "The wheel has been known to be used in such cases," the lieutenant put in, as a suitably effective end to the list. "Imprisoned! tortured! hanged! burned alive! broken on the wheel!" Poor Des Avenelles repeated every word as if he had actually undergone each of the punishments they enumerated. "_Dame_! You are an advocate, and should know the law," retorted Monsieur de Braguelonne. "Indeed, I know it only too well!" cried Des Avenelles. "Therefore, after three days of mortal anguish, I could restrain myself no longer: I felt that such a secret was too heavy a burden for my responsibility, and I came to deposit it in your hands, Monsieur le Lieutenant de Police." "That was the safest course to pursue," replied Monsieur de Braguelonne; "and although, as you see, your revelation is of no great service to us, still we will take your good intentions into consideration." He talked for some moments in a low tone with De Mouchy, who seemed to be urging him, not without much resistance, to adopt a certain course of action. "Before everything, I beg you, for mercy's sake," said Des Avenelles, imploringly, "not to betray my defection to my former--accomplices; for, alas! they who murdered President Minard might well do me an ill turn also." "We will keep your secret," replied the lieutenant of police. "But you propose to keep me a prisoner, do you not?" said Des Avenelles, with a very humbled and frightened air. "No; you may return freely to your own house at any moment," replied De Braguelonne.