Chicot began to breathe; the door creaked on its hinges, and opened, and Chicot saw liberty through it.
"Adieu! monsieur," said he, advancing.
"Adieu! M. Chicot, a pleasant journey.—But stay, one moment; I have forgotten to ask for your pass," cried he, seizing Chicot by the sleeve to stop him.
"How! my pass?"
"Certainly, M. Chicot; you know what a pass is? You understand that no one can leave a town like Nerac without a pass, particularly when the king is in it."
"And who must sign this pass?"
"The king himself; so if he sent you he cannot have forgotten to give you a pass."
"Ah! you doubt that the king sent me?" cried Chicot, with flashing eyes, for he saw himself on the point of failing, and had a great mind to kill the officer and sentinel, and rush through the gate.
"I doubt nothing you tell me, but reflect that if the king gave you this commission—"
"In person, monsieur."