how this hoard was obtained and where it was concealed. The artful fox,
seeing the king's evident interest, rapidly prepared more lies, and,
speaking to the king and queen, declared that ere he died it would be
better for him to reveal the carefully guarded secret of a conspiracy which
would have resulted in the king's death had it not been for his devotion.

The queen, shuddering at the mere thought of the danger her royal consort
had run, now begged that Reynard might step down from the scaffold and
speak privately to her and to Nobel. In this interview Reynard, still
pretending to prepare for immediate death, told how he discovered a
conspiracy formed by his father, Isegrim the wolf, Brown the bear, and many
others, to slay the king and seize the scepter. He described the various
secret conferences, the measures taken, and his father's promise to defray
all the expenses of the enterprise and to subsidize mercenary troops by
means of the hoard of King Ermenrich, which he had discovered and concealed
for his own use.

Reynard then continued to describe his loyal fears for his beloved
sovereign, his resolve to outwit the conspirators, and his efforts to
deprive them of the sinews of war by discovering and abstracting the
treasure. Thanks to his ceaseless vigilance, he saw his father steal forth
one night, uncover his hoard, gloat over the gold, and then efface the
traces of his search with the utmost skill.

"'Nor could one,
Not having seen, have possibly known. And ere he went onwards
Well he understood at the place where his feet had been planted,
Cleverly backwards and forwards to draw his tail, and to smooth it,
And to efface the trace with the aid of his mouth.'"