"Madame," said the captain, presenting the knife to the princess, "to whom is your Highness pleased to grant the honor of putting the stag to death?" "I reserve it for myself, monsieur," said the princess; "a woman of my station should accustom herself to the touch of steel and the sight of blood." "Namur," said the captain to the arquebusier, "be ready." The arquebusier stepped forward, arquebuse in hand, and took up his position within twenty feet of the animal. This manœuvre was intended to ensure the princess's safety if the stag, driven to despair, as sometimes happens, should attack her instead of waiting meekly to be killed. Madame la Princesse dismounted, and with sparkling eyes, glowing cheeks, and lips slightly parted, walked toward the animal, who was almost entirely buried under the dogs, and seemed to be covered with a carpet of a thousand colors. Doubtless the animal did not believe that death was to come to him from the hand of the lovely princess, from which he had eaten many and many a time; he had fallen upon his knees, and he tried to rise, letting fall from his eyes the great tear-drop which accompanies the death agony of the stag and the deer. But he had not time; the blade of the knife, glistening in the sun's rays, disappeared to the hilt in his throat; the blood spurted out into the princess's face; the stag raised his head, and, casting a last reproachful glance at his beautiful mistress, fell forward and died. At the same instant all the horns blew the death-blast, and a mighty shout arose: "_Vive_ Madame la Princesse!" while the young prince stood up in his saddle and clapped his little hands in high glee. Madame la Princesse withdrew the knife from the animal's throat, glanced around with the look of an Amazon in her eyes, handed the dripping knife to the captain of the hunt, and remounted. Lenet thereupon drew nigh. "Does Madame la Princesse wish me to tell her," said he, with a smile, "of whom she was thinking when she cut the poor beast's throat a moment since?" "Yes, Lenet, I should be glad to have you tell me." "She was thinking of Monsieur de Mazarin, and would have been glad to have him in the stag's place." "Yes," cried the princess, "that is quite true, and I would have cut his throat without pity, I swear to you: but really, Lenet, you are a sorcerer!" She turned to the rest of the company. "Now that the hunt is at an end, messieurs," said she, "please follow me. It is too late now to start another stag, and besides, supper awaits us." Cauvignac acknowledged this invitation by a most graceful bow. "Pray, what are you doing, captain?" queried Ferguzon. "_Pardieu_ I am accepting! Didn't you hear Madame la Princesse invite us to supper, as I promised you that she would?" "Cauvignac, you may take my advice or not, but if I were in your place I would make for the breach in the wall."