champion. Lesage tapped his fingers upon his teeth, and smiled
indulgently at the earnestness of his companion.

'Rule 13! Rule 13!' he kept repeating, in that exasperating voice of
his.

'I will take all responsibility.'

'I'll tell you what, mister,' said Toussac, in his savage voice.
'There's another rule besides Rule 13, and that's the one that says that
if any man shelters an offender he shall be treated as if he was himself
guilty of the offence.'

This attack did not shake the serenity of my champion in the least.

'You are an excellent man of action, Toussac,' said he calmly; 'but when
it comes to choosing the right course, you must leave it to wiser heads
than your own.'

His air of tranquil superiority seemed to daunt the fierce creature who
held me. He shrugged his huge shoulders in silent dissent.

'As to you, Lucien,' my friend continued, 'I am surprised, considering
the position to which you aspire in my family, that you should for an
instant stand in the way of any wish which I may express. If you have
grasped the true principles of liberty, and if you are privileged to be
one of the small band who have never despaired of the republic, to whom
is it that you owe it?'

'Yes, yes, Charles; I acknowledge what you say,' the young man answered,