"'A pretty tale; I have half a mind to kill you,' said the Duke.
"'Pray the Lord keep the other half!' cried the thief.
"Upon this I heard my mother exclaim: 'No, no; let him come down.'
"'If you fire, I shall be dead, but your pistol will call these scoundrels. I have stolen only this bag of gold. Take it, sir. So saying, he let it fall on the head of this our Duke Henri, who, having crept near to listen, set up a dismal howl, because of the weight of a hundred gold louis.
"I heard the Duke, his father, call out, 'Idiot, hold your tongue! The animal is right. Come down, you rascal. I would not deny the foul fiend a refuge from these villains.'
"'Sir, you will never regret this good deed,' said the thief, and instantly two long legs were through the opening, as I stepped down to make way for our new lodger. The Duke was about to close the trap when the thief said, 'Permit me, sir,' and set about cleverly arranging the staves on the half-closed trap-door, in order that, as he let it fall, they might cover it at least in part.
"After this he descended, and, bowing in an awkward way, said, 'I am your humble servant, Madam'; and to the Duke, 'You have saved my life. It is a cheap article nowadays, but still—'
"'Enough, master thief; here am I, the Duke de St. Maur, and Madame, my friend's wife, and the baby, and these boys. Put out your lantern. God knows when we shall get out, or how this adventure will end; but, until it is over, you are a stranger within our gates, and we will feed you while our food lasts.' It seemed to me queer to be so near to a thief, but I heard my mother say something, and some one muttered an 'Ave'; it might have been the thief.
"After a little, the Duke asked him a question as to how he entered our house, and then my mother inquired if he had seen my father. He seemed a merry fellow, our thief, and so well pleased to be cared for and let live that by and by he laughed outright until the Duke bade him have a care. Nor was this at all a needless caution, because the next day, quite early on the sixth morning, we could too easily hear feet above us on the floor of the wine-vault. I heard the Duke's 'Hist!' and we were all as still as mice, except that the Duke, as before, gave me a pistol and went up the ladder to be ready. I, following him, waited a little further down. It must have been that they were making free with the wine, because some of it was spilled and ran through the trap and down my neck. It quite scared me, but in peril and in darkness a little thing will do that. One man fell over the staves, but, as the Duke told us later, he swore as if hurt, and so, I fancy, did not chance to see our trap-door. All day long we prayed and listened and watched. When, at nightfall, all sounds were over, we resolved that the Duke should take a look outside, not knowing what to do or how otherwheres to find an exit we might think to use."
"And then," said the Duke to Des Illes, as he paused in his story.