“Oh, yes! I know all about the bad faith of you men! Was it no compact then to consent to give me your hairs, you stupid fool? Since men invented baptism, we do not know how to get hold of them, and so, in return for any concessions we make them, we are bound to insist on their relinquishing to us some part of their body on which we can lay hands. You gave us the hairs of your head; they are firmly rooted, as you have proved yourself and will not come away in our grasp.... No, no, Thibault, you have belonged to us ever since, standing on the threshold of the door that was once there, you cherished within you thoughts of deceit and violence.” “And so,” cried Thibault passionately, rising and stamping his foot, “and so I am lost as regards the next world without having enjoyed the pleasures of this!” “You can yet enjoy these.” “And how, I pray.” “By boldly following the path that you have struck by chance, and resolutely determining on a course of conduct which you have adopted as yet only in a halfhearted way; in short, by frankly owning yourself to be one of us.” “And how am I to do this?” “Take my place.” “And what then?” “You will then acquire my power, and you will have nothing left to wish for.” “If your power is so great, if it can give you all the riches that I long for, why do you give it up?” “Do not trouble yourself about me. The master for whom I shall have won a retainer will liberally reward me.” “And if I take your place, shall I also have to take your form?” “Yes, in the night-time; by day you will be a man again.” “The nights are long, dark, full of snares; I may be brought down by a bullet from a keeper, or be caught in a trap, and then good-bye riches, good-bye position and pleasure.” “Not so; for this skin that covers me is impenetrable by iron, lead or steel. As long as it protects your body, you will be not only invulnerable, but immortal; once a year, like all were-wolves, you will become a wolf again for four and twenty hours, and during that interval, you will be in danger of death like any other animal. I had just reached that dangerous time a year ago to-day, when we first met.” “Ah!” said Thibault, “that explains why you feared my Lord Baron’s dogs.” “When we have dealings with men, we are forbidden to speak anything but the truth, and the whole truth; it is for them to accept or refuse.” “You have boasted to me of the power that I should acquire; tell me, now, in what that power will consist?” “It will be such that even the most powerful king will not be able to withstand it, since his power is limited by the human and the possible.” “Shall I be rich?” “So rich, that you will come in time to despise riches, since, by the mere force of your will, you will obtain not only what men can only acquire with gold and silver, but also all that superior beings get by their conjurations.” “Shall I be able to revenge myself on my enemies?”