"Yes, serpent," murmured Chicot.
"Well! the king loves you so much, he did not wish to lose you."
"And you knew, and never told me?"
"Oh! M. Chicot, impossible! It was a state secret."
"But I paid you, knave."
"Oh! dear M. Chicot, the secret was worth more than ten pistoles."
Chicot returned to his room in a rage.