"But what do you wish me to do?" I asked suspiciously.
"To soothe your cousin's last moments, monsieur; to close his eyes in death. He calls for you always."
If Pillot was playing a part, he was indeed a superb actor. Yet still I hesitated, so intense was the distrust with which in these days each regarded his neighbour.
"Do you doubt me, monsieur?" he asked. "Do I plead for the dying in vain? This is no trick. Why should I deceive you? We have been on opposite sides, but we have played the game fairly. I have even gone out of my way to serve you. It was I who sent the note warning you against our own trap."
"And saved my life after I had blundered into it!"
The dwarf watched my face as if his own life depended on my decision.
"Pillot," I said at length, "I will trust you. But, if you deceive me, so surely as you stand there I will run you through with my sword."
"Monsieur is welcome in any case," he answered, "if only he will come at once."