"Ah! Monsieur Goutran!" exclaimed Fanfar, "I have just been to your rooms, and am thankful to meet you here. I am anxious to consult with you."
"You know, then, what is going on?" cried Goutran.
"I think I do; but let us go up-stairs; before we begin the fray, it is well to understand the battlefield, and to become familiar with it."
As he said this, Fanfar entered the vestibule, but the Swiss hurried after him.
"But, sir," he said, in some confusion, "in the absence of the Count and his son, I really cannot—"
"Shut yourself up in your room, and pay no heed to what is going on here," Fanfar replied, sternly, showing, as he spoke, a ring that he wore on his finger.
It belonged to Monte-Cristo, and had been entrusted to Fanfar by the Count when he went away. This ring was well known to every one of the Count's people. The man bowed low.
"I beg your pardon, sir. Shall I call the footman?"
"No; and on your life do not admit a living creature. You understand me?"