"But it may please me to pardon you. Tell me, in that case, what you would do?"
"Accomplish my purpose," replied Staps, calmly. "I have sworn to kill you. I must fulfil my oath or die!"
"Ah, you have either a morbid mind or a morbid body!" exclaimed Napoleon, vehemently.
"No, I have neither one nor the other," replied Staps, composedly; "my mind is healthy, and so is my body."
"Send for Corvisart," ordered the emperor, turning to his suite. "But let no one dare tell him what is transpiring here."
An adjutant hastened out, and Napoleon turned again to Staps. "Are you a freemason or one of the Illuminati?"
"Neither."
"Did you ever hear of Moreau and Pichegru?"
"I did."
"And what do you think of these men, who tried to take my life?"