"It is your handiwork, my good friend," I replied. "It was well it didn't go through my body."
"Indeed, indeed!" he cried, rubbing his hands; and I must say I never saw a person more heartily rejoiced at anything in my life than he was that he had given me the wound under which I was then suffering. "Well," he added at length, "I suppose I must forgive you for tying my hands, after such a wound as that; and now tell me, at what ransom do you intend to put me?"
"I know who you are," I replied, "and all about you; and I must say you have shown yourself a gallant soldier, though somewhat rash withal. You know of what consequence you are as well as I do, or better, and therefore I shall leave you to name your own ransom; so now let us see what you value yourself at."
I was not wrong in my calculation. To say the truth, I had been very much puzzled at what rate to fix his ransom myself; but, in trusting to his vanity to do it, I knew I could not be very far wrong. He hesitated, however, and said, "If you know who I am and all about me, you had better fix it."
"I know so far about you," I replied, "That you are the Seigneur de Blaye; and the old and ordinary custom is, that a lord's ransom is one year's revenue, besides what his captor may think fit to exact on account of the prisoner's reputation in arms. You know your revenues better than I do, and your reputation in arms better than I do, and I therefore leave it to you to fix it yourself, being sure that so brave a man must be a man of honour."
"I see, sir," he said, "that I have fallen into the hands of a gentleman, and therefore will deal frankly with you. My revenues are four thousand crowns a year; but since my uncle's death I have somewhat hurt my means. I trust you will, therefore, take the four thousand without exacting anything more."
So surprised, so astounded, I may say, I was at the very name and idea of receiving such a sum, in consequence of my first day's actual service in arms, that I could not reply for some minutes. I had heard such things occasionally recounted, and I knew that the famous Montluc had gained, or was likely to have gained, some few years before, no less than eighty thousand crowns as the ransom of a young Italian nobleman; but when it came home to myself, I could hardly believe it, with difficulty concealing my astonishment.
He mistook my silence, it would seem, for discontent, and was going to add something in regard to his condition and inability to pay a larger sum, when I stopped him, saying, "It is enough, Monsieur de Blaye; it is enough. As an honourable man, I do not doubt your word; and I have heard that it is a common saying of one of the bravest captains on your own side, I mean Monsieur Montluc, that it is not the custom to skin one's prisoners in the present day. I have your word of honour as a gentleman; and you will accordingly remain in the camp and be my guest until such time as your ransom can arrive."
"Oh! as soon as the city falls," he replied, "I will pay it you; and, in the mean time, thank you for your hospitality."
"Then you calculate upon the city falling very soon," I said, with a laugh.