"All Paris has heard of it," said he; "but pardon me if I say that to-night's folly will not make the king's task any the easier."
"Surely you do not expect us to see our leader murdered without protest!" exclaimed Felix.
"Not at all; but there is such a thing as being over hasty. It would have paid better to show, or to appear to show, some trust in the king."
"Pshaw!" cried my comrade, "for all we know Charles himself is responsible for the deed!"
"At all events," I said, "the plot must have been known beforehand in the palace!"
"If you think that, because I warned you to remove your sister from Paris, you are mistaken. Your surprise this morning was not greater than my own. I believe that scarcely any one inside the palace knew of what was going on."
"But you yourself expected trouble of some kind!"
"True; and now I am sure of it. How can it be avoided? Each side is suspicious of the other: you are angry, and justly angry, at the assault on your chief, and you threaten vengeance even on the king. I believe he wishes to be your friend, and you are driving him into the arms of your enemies. Do you fancy he will care to trust himself in your hands after to-night's mad freak? But the hour grows late, and the streets are not safe; I will walk a short distance with you."
"The citizens are still abroad!" I remarked after a time. "Listen! they are cheering for Guise!"
"And there lies the trouble," he said. "But, monsieur, I have a private word for you. Etienne Cordel is in Paris; he can read the signs as well as most men, and if there is a disturbance he will take advantage of it. You are doubly in danger—first as a Huguenot and a friend of Coligny's; next as the owner of Le Blanc. You will have to steer skilfully to avoid both dangers!"