called to the host, "see that you help, my man! You
have harboured him, and you shall pay for it if he escapes."

With that he hopped a step nearer; and then, not dreaming of
resistance, sank with another groan--for his foot was immensely swollen
by the journey--into the chair from which I had risen.

A glance showed me that, if I would not be drawn into an unseemly
brawl, I must act; and meeting Maignan's eager eye fixed upon my face,
I nodded. In a second he seized the unsuspecting Gringuet by the neck,
snatched him up from the chair, and flung him half-a-dozen paces away.
"Lie there," he cried, "you insolent rascal! Who told you to sit before
your betters?"

The violence of the action, and Maignan's heat, were such that the
nearest drew back affrighted; and even Gringuet's servants recoiled,
while the market people gasped with astonishment. But I knew that the
respite would last a moment only, and I stood forward. "Arrest that
man," I said, pointing to the collector, who was grovelling on the
ground, nursing his foot and shrieking foul threats at us.

In a second my two men stood over him. "In the King's name," La Trape
cried; "let no man interfere."

"Raise him up," I continued, "and set him before me; and Curtin also,
and Fonvelle, and Philippon; and Lescaut, the corn-dealer, if he is
here."

I spoke boldly, but I felt some misgiving. So mighty, however, is the
habit of command, that the crowd, far from resisting, thrust forward
the men I named. Still, I could not count on this obedience, and it
was with pleasure that I saw at this moment, as I looked over the heads
of the crowd, a body of horsemen entering the square. They halted an
instant, looking at the unusual concourse; while the townsfolk,
interrupted in the middle of the drama, knew not which way to stare.
Then Boisrueil, seeing me, and that I was holding some sort of court,
spurred his horse through the press, and saluted me.

"Let half-a-dozen of your varlets dismount and guard these men," I
said; "and do you, you rogue," I continued, addressing Gringuet,
"answer me, and tell me the truth. How much does each of these knaves
give you to cheat the King, and your master? Curtin first. How much
does he give you?"

"My lord," he answered, pale and shaking, yet with a mutinous gleam in
his eyes, "I have a right to know first before whom I stand."

"Enough," I thundered, "that it is before one who has the right to
question you! answer me, vi