He drew a sigh of relief. I think that my assurance pleased him.
"Tell me now," he said; "you are a man of common sense. Is that fellow a crank, or is he going to pull this thing off?"
I hesitated.
"His scheme is ingenious enough," I said, "and I believe it is quite true that there are a great many people in France who would be glad to see the Monarchy revived. They are a people, too, whom it is easy to catch on the top of a wave of sentiment. But, so far as I can see, there are at least two things against him."
"I trust," Mr. Van Reinberg murmured, "that they are big enough."
"In the first place," I continued, "I doubt whether Mr. de Valentin is a sufficiently heroic figure to fire the imagination of the people. He does not seem to me to have the daring to carry a mob with him, and he will need that. And in the second place—"
"Well?"
I glanced around the room. We were absolutely alone, but I dropped my voice.
"Is this in confidence, Mr. Van Reinberg?" I asked.
"Sure!"