"Is that the trouble?"
"Isn't it enough? Here he gave you, almost a stranger, this apparatus, which is worth a large sum of money. Why didn't he give it to me?"
"I can't answer that question."
"Why did he give it to you?"
"Because I was fortunate enough to save his life this morning."
"You saved his life then that he might die to-night. I was shocked by his sudden death, and that is how it happened that I consented to assist you this evening. Had I thought it over, I should have refused. I might have gone on and given a performance here to-night, and I was the one to do it. I have traveled with him so long that I am perfectly familiar with all his tricks."
"Yes; but without the aid of a trained assistant, you could not have given a good performance. Who could have assisted you?"
"I would have done well enough. Zolverein did not know you could go on and give a performance. How could you have carried out the 'Educated Fly' trick without me?"
"Couldn't," Merry immediately confessed. "And I want to compliment you on the way you made the fly work. It was as natural as life. Now, even if you think you have not been used right by Zolverein, there is no reason why we should quarrel."
But Mazarin would not be pacified.