proved him to be a man of war. The aspect of this personage made a
spectator uneasy in the first place, and then inclined him to respect.
We respect a man who respects himself. Though short and deformed, his
manners instantly redeemed the disadvantages of his figure. The ice
once broken, he showed a lively rapidity of decision, with an
indefinable dash and fire which made him seem affable and winning. He
had the blue eyes and the curved nose of the house of Navarre, and the
Spanish cut of the marked features which were in after days the type
of the Bourbon kings.

In a word, the scene now assumed a startling interest.

"Well," said Chaudieu, as young Lecamus ended his speech, "this
boatman is La Renaudie. And here is Monsiegneur the Prince de Conde,"
he added, motioning to the deformed little man.

Thus these four men represented the faith of the people, the spirit of
the Scriptures, the mailed hand of the soldier, and royalty itself
hidden in that dark shadow of the bridge.

"You shall now know what we expect of you," resumed the minister,
after allowing a short pause for Christophe's astonishment. "In order
that you may make no mistake, we feel obliged to initiate you into the
most important secrets of the Reformation."

The prince and La Renaudie emphasized the minister's speech by a
gesture, the latter having paused to allow the prince to speak, if he
so wished. Like all great men engaged in plotting, whose system it is
to conceal their hand until the decisive moment, the prince kept
silence--but not from cowardice. In these crises he was always the