expect to rid themselves of him. The prince will use the Huguenots to
protect himself. Why should the son of a furrier get himself into that
fray? When you are married, and when you are councillor to the
Parliament, you will be as prudent as your father. Before belonging to
the new religion, the son of a furrier ought to wait until the rest of
the world belongs to it. I don't condemn the Reformers; it is not my
business to do so; but the court is Catholic, the two queens are
Catholic, the Parliament is Catholic; we must supply them with furs,
and therefore we must be Catholic ourselves. You shall not go out from
here, Christophe; if you do, I will send you to your godfather,
President de Thou, who will keep you night and day blackening paper,
instead of blackening your soul in company with those damned
Genevese."

"Father," said Christophe, leaning upon the back of the old man's
chair, "send me to Blois to carry that surcoat to Queen Mary and get
our money from the queen-mother. If you do not, I am lost; and you
care for your son."

"Lost?" repeated the old man, without showing the least surprise. "If
you stay here you can't be lost; I shall have my eye on you all the
time."

"They will kill me here."

"Why?"

"The most powerful among the Huguenots have cast their eyes on me to
serve them in a certain matter; if I fail to do what I have just
promised to do, they will kill me in open day, here in the street, as