With that, Canolles put the whistle in his pocket, listened to the grinding of the bolts, heard the distant rumbling of the carriages over the bridge in the park, and the clattering of many horses' hoofs, growing gradually fainter, until it died away altogether. When everything had disappeared, when there was nothing more to see or hear, heedless of the fact that he was staking his life against a woman's love,--that is to say, against a mere shadow of happiness,--he glided into the second deserted court-yard, and cautiously ascended the staircase leading to his apartment, the darkness being unrelieved by the faintest gleam of light. But, cautious as his movements were, when he reached the corridor he unavoidably stumbled against a person who was apparently listening at his door, and who uttered a muffled cry of alarm. "Who are you? Who are you?" demanded the person in question, in a frightened voice. "_Pardieu!_" said Canolles, "who are you yourself, who prowl about this staircase like a spy?" "I am Pompée." "Madame la Princesse's intendant?" "Yes, yes,-Madame la Princesse's intendant." "Ah! that's a lucky chance; I am Castorin." "Castorin, Monsieur de Canolles' valet?" "Himself." "Ah! my dear Castorin," said Pompée, "I'll wager that I gave you a good fright." "Fright?" "Yes! _Dame!_ when one has never been a soldier--Can I do anything for you, my dear friend?" continued Pompée, resuming his air of importance. "Yes." "Tell me what it is." "You can inform Madame la Princesse immediately that my master desires to speak with her." "At this hour?" "Even so." "Impossible!" "You think so?" "I am sure of it." "Then she will not receive my master?" "No." "By order of the king, Monsieur Pompée! Go and tell her that." "By order of the king!" cried Pompée. "I will go." He ran precipitately downstairs, impelled at once by respect and fear, two greyhounds which are quite capable of making a tortoise run at their pace. Canolles kept on and entered his room, where he found Castorin snoring lustily, stretched out magisterially in a large easy-chair. He resumed his uniform and awaited the result of his latest step. "'Faith!" he said to himself, "if I don't do Monsieur de Mazarin's business very successfully, it seems to me that I don't do badly with my own." He waited in vain, however, for Pompée's return; and after ten minutes, finding that he did not come, nor any other in his stead, he resolved to present himself unannounced. He therefore aroused Monsieur Castorin, whose bile was soothed by an hour's sleep, bade him, in a tone which admitted no reply, to be ready for any thing that might happen, and bent his steps toward the princess's apartments. At the door he found a footman in very ill humor, because the bell rang just as his service was at an end, and he was looking forward, like Monsieur Castorin, to a refreshing slumber after the fatiguing day. "What do you wish, monsieur?" he asked when he saw Canolles.