"Nothing beyond my words, your Honour, Have I your permission to retire?"

"No, remain; you are pretending not to understand."

"I do not understand these insinuations so covertly made."

Monsieur de Lamotte rose, exclaiming--

"Insinuations! What more can I say to compel you to answer? My wife and
son have disappeared. It is untrue that, as you pretend, they have been
at Versailles. You deceived me at Buisson-Souef, just as you are
deceiving me now, as you are endeavouring to deceive justice by inventing
fresh lies. Where are they? What has become of them? I am tormented by
all the fears possible to a husband and father; I imagine all the most
terrible misfortunes, and I accuse you to your face of having caused
their death! Is this sufficient, or do you still accuse me of covert
insinuations?"

Derues turned to the magistrate. "Is this charge enough to place me in
the position of a criminal if I do not give a satisfactory explanation?"

"Certainly; you should have thought of that sooner."

"Then," he continued, addressing Monsieur de Lamotte, "I understand you
persist in this odious accusation?"

"I certainly persist in it."

"You have forgotten our friendship, broken all bonds between us: I am in
your eyes only a miserable assassin? You consider my silence as guilty,