not wonder that my nerves were overwrought, and that I surprised myself
in little convulsive gestures, like those of a frightened child.

The chief thought which now filled my mind was what my relations were
with this dangerous man who walked by my side. His conduct and bearing
had filled me with abhorrence. I had seen the depth of cunning with
which he had duped and betrayed his companions, and I had read in his
lean smiling face the cold deliberate cruelty of his nature, as he
stood, pistol in hand, over the whimpering coward whom he had outwitted.
Yet I could not deny that when, through my own foolish curiosity, I had
placed myself in a most hopeless position, it was he who had braved the
wrath of the formidable Toussac in order to extricate me. It was
evident also that he might have made his achievement more striking by
delivering up two prisoners instead of one to the troopers. It is true
that I was not a conspirator, but I might have found it difficult to
prove it. So inconsistent did such conduct seem in this little yellow
flint-stone of a man that, after walking a mile or two in silence, I
asked him suddenly what the meaning of it might be.

I heard a dry chuckle in the darkness, as if he were amused by the
abruptness and directness of my question.

'You are a most amusing person, Monsieur--Monsieur--let me see, what did
you say your name was?'

'De Laval.'

'Ah, quite so, Monsieur de Laval. You have the impetuosity and the
ingenuousness of youth. You want to know what is up a chimney, you jump
up the chimney. You want to know the reason of a thing, and you blurt