Simon grinned.

"Ah, monsieur, this is not enough to make me safe. I must have five
thousand francs at least, to carry me away out of the Prefect's reach,
if I tell his little secrets to Monsieur le General."

"Five thousand devils! Do you think I am made of money? What do I want
with your miserable secrets? What are the Chouans to me? The Prefect may
be a Chouan himself, I dare say: stranger things have happened."

Simon shrugged his shoulders. His face was full of cunning and of secret
knowledge.

"If Monsieur le General wants a real hold over Monsieur le Prefet," he
said, with his eyes fixed on Ratoneau's face--"why then, these secrets
of mine are worth the money. Of course, there is another thing for me to
do. I can go to Paris and lay the whole thing before the Minister of
Police or Monsieur le Comte Real. I had thought of that. But--the
Government is generally ungrateful--and if there were any private
service to be done for Monsieur le General, I should like it better.
Besides, it is just possible that I might be doing harm to some of your
friends, monsieur."

"My friends? How?"

"Ah! voila! I can mention no names," said Simon.

The General took out his pocket-book and gave him a note for a thousand
francs.

"Out with it, fellow. I hate mysteries," he said.

"Pardon, Monsieur le General! I said _five_ thousand."

"Well, there are two more. Not another penny till you have explained
yourself. And then, if I am not satisfied, I shall turn you over to my
guard to be flogged for theft and lying. And I doubt if they will leave
much in your pockets."

"You treat me like a Jew, monsieur!"

"You are a Jew. Go on. What are these grand discoveries that Monsieur le
Prefet will have nothing to do with?"

"A Chouan plot, monsieur. The conspirators have met, more than once, I
believe, at Monsieur de la Mariniere's house, Les Chouettes. They were
there that day, when Monsieur le Prefet and Monsieur le General
breakfasted with him. That day when we met a herd of cows in the
lane--"

"Hold your tongue, you scoundrel. You are telling me a pack of lies. The
place was quiet and empty, no one there but ourselves. Why, we strolled
about there the whole afternoon without seeing a single living creature
except a little girl gathering flowers in the meadow."

"Ah, monsieur! See what it is to be an agent de police. To have eyes and
ears, and to know how to use them! Worth a reward, is it not? I had not
been an hour at Le