“Then listen to me.”
He took from his pocket a little book of which he tore out one of the last pages. But, altering his mind:
“No, I had better copy it—”
He seized a large sheet of paper and tore it in such a way as to leave only a small rectangular space, on which he copied five lines of dots, letters and figures from the printed page. Then, after burning the latter, he folded the manuscript sheet in four, sealed it with red wax, and gave it to the officer.
“Monsieur, after my death, you must hand this to the Queen and say to her, ‘From the King, madame—for Your Majesty and for your son.’ If she does not understand—”
“If she does not understand, sire—”
“You must add, ‘It concerns the secret, the secret of the Needle.’ The Queen will understand.”
When he had finished speaking, he flung the book into the embers glowing on the hearth.
He ascended the scaffold on the 21st of January.
It took the officer several months, in consequence of the removal of the Queen to the Conciergerie, before he could fulfil the mission with which he was entrusted. At last, by dint of cunning intrigues, he succeeded, one day, in finding himself in the presence of Marie Antoinette.