"By my soul!" he said, when they were near the town, "you have acted like a gallant man, and the blow that you dealt him, which nailed him to the turf, was one of the most beautiful sword thrusts that I have ever heard of. I have never seen its like, and when you have proved to me that poor Sciarra was such a vile wretch as you say, I shall not be sorry to have seen this one. If I had been less pained, I would have congratulated you upon it. But whatever regret or satisfaction I may feel because of this death I declare that you are a superb swordsman, and I would that I were your equal at that sport!"
Our two cavaliers were already on the Pont des Scabinats—now des Cabignats,—riding toward the gate in the fortifications, when Adamas, who had recovered his courage and had duly reflected, overtook them and begged them to listen to him.
"Do you not think, messires," he said, "that the bringing-in of this body will cause a great commotion in the town?"
"Even so," said the marquis, "do you suppose that I wish to conceal the fact that I have avenged my honor and my brother's death?"
"True, monsieur, you may well boast of it as a noble deed, but not until the body has been consigned to the earth; for in these small places a great noise is often made over a small matter, and the spectacle of a gentleman carried across his horse in this way will make these bourgeois of La Châtre open their eyes. You have enemies, monsieur, and at the present moment Monseigneur de Condé is a very devout Catholic. If he should learn that this Spaniard was covered with strings of beads and blessed relics, that he had confessed to Monsieur Poulain, whose housekeeper is lauding him to the skies in the village of Briantes as a perfect Christian——"
"Well, well, what are you coming at with your old woman's gossip, my dear Adamas?" said the marquis, impatiently.
Guillaume interposed.
"Cousin," he said, "Adamas is right. The laws against the duello are respected by nobody; but evil-minded persons can invoke them at any moment. This D'Alvimar had some powerful friends in Paris; and unfriendly reports may, at one time or another, cause this to be used against you and me, especially against you, who are not esteemed a very ardent Catholic. Take my advice therefore, and let us not go into the town but decide upon some other means of ridding ourselves of this dead man. You are sure of your people and I can answer for mine. Let us have no confidants among the churchmen and bourgeois of a small town, all of whom, in this province, are very bitter against men who have opposed the League and served under the late king."
"There is much truth in what you say," replied Bois-Doré; "but it is most distasteful to me to tie a stone around a dead man's neck and toss him into the river like a dog."
"Why, monsieur," said Adamas, "that man was worth less than any dog!"