'By no means, sir Mac Donalbain,' answered Megret, returning his bow; 'I am not one of the police-officers of this province, and have no official inducement to trouble myself about your pursuits.'
'Death and hell! what mean you by that?' exclaimed Mac Donalbain, springing from his seat,--but Christine pulled him down again and anxiously whispered to him some words of entreaty.
'Forget not, gentlemen,' cried the governor in an authoritative tone of voice, 'that you are both my guests, and that it does not become you to quarrel upon my hearth, where you have both been freely welcomed. I esteem you both and would resign the society of neither, but I have a right to demand that you respect this castle, and seek a more suitable place for the indulgence of the secret enmity which you appear to bear toward each other. This time, colonel, you are in the wrong. I regret to be compelled to say to you that, if sir Mac Donalbain took your remark somewhat too sharply, yet you gave occasion therefor by the scornful tone in which it was made. Therefore you owe it to me and to him to take the first step toward a reconciliation; and you cannot be considered my friend, if you refuse to drink the health of this noble Scot, which I now propose.'
A struggle was now seen in the proud Frenchman, between the hatred he bore his enemy and the respect due from him to the father of Christine. He cast a tiger glance upon Mac Donalbain, which was met by one equally fierce, and not being able to come to a determination what to do, he waited in moody silence, neither accepting nor rejecting the goblet offered to him by the governor.
'Do you hesitate?' earnestly asked the governor. 'As yet neither of you has said any thing to the other which can be considered injurious to the honor of a gentleman. This is only a misunderstanding, which must be completely reconciled. If you refuse this, you thereby confess an intention to offend sir Mac Donalbain, and it will become my duty as host to resent it as if the offence were intended for me.'
Megret seized the goblet, 'The lord of this castle,' said he with suppressed rage to Mac Donalbain, 'calls you a noble Scot. As I have not the pleasure of an intimate acquaintance with you, I am willing to consider the statement which has so noble a voucher as true, and upon that supposition I drink your health.'
'I receive the toast and return it with as much sincerity as it was offered,' answered Mac Donalbain, emptying his glass.
The governor, observing that the anger of the two belligerents still remained, in spite of the constrained and ambiguous reconciliation, thought it prudent to give the signal for retiring.
'That we may be able to start early in the morning,' said he, rising, 'I hope my worthy guests will excuse me if I break up the sitting earlier than usual. I intend to seek my bed betimes, that I may be the better prepared for the fatigues of the journey, and therefore wish you a good night.'
'I shall have the honor to be at the door of your carriage by sunrise, ready for the journey,' said Megret, bowing and retiring.