"You are to account for your frequent absence during the last two months—for the mystery which surrounds you—for refusing, as you do, once or twice weekly, to join our nightly meetings. We confess, Gaston, all this has made us uneasy; by a word you can reassure us."
"You see, monsieur, that you are proved guilty by hiding, instead of pursuing your course."
"I did not pursue my course, because my horse was wounded; you may see the stains of blood upon the road."
"But why did you hide?"
"Because I wished to know first who was pursuing me. Have I not the fear of being arrested, as well as yourselves?"
"And where are you going?"
"If you had followed my steps as you have done hitherto, you would have found that my path did not lead to Clisson."
"Nor to Paris."
"I beg," said De Chanlay, "that you will trust me, and respect my secret—a secret in which not only my own honor, but that of another, is concerned. You do not know, perhaps—it may be exaggerated—how extreme is my delicacy on this point."
"Then it is a love-secret," said Montlouis.——"Yes, and the secret of a first love," replied Gaston.