Consul's order to the
Prize Court at Le Havre to restore my friend here his ship."

'"Nonsense!" says Boney. "Give away an oak-built brig of two hundred and
seven tons for sentiment? Certainly not! She must be armed into my Navy
with ten--no, fourteen twelve-pounders and two long fours. Is she strong
enough to bear a long twelve forward?"

'Now I could ha' sworn he'd paid no heed to my talk, but that wonderful
head-piece of his seemingly skimmed off every word of it that was useful
to him.

'"Ah, General!" says Talleyrand. "You are a magician--a magician without
morals. But the brig is undoubtedly American, and we don't want to
offend them more than we have."

'"Need anybody talk about the affair?" he says. He didn't look at me,
but I knew what was in his mind--just cold murder because I worried him;
and he'd order it as easy as ordering his carriage.

'"You can't stop 'em," I said. "There's twenty-two other men besides
me." I felt a little more 'ud set me screaming like a wired hare.

'"Undoubtedly American," Talleyrand goes on. "You would gain
something if you returned the ship--with a message of fraternal
good-will--published in the _Moniteur_" (that's a French paper like
the Philadelphia _Aurora_).

'"A good idea!" Boney answers. "One could say much in a message."

'"It might be useful," says Talleyrand. "Shall I have the message
prepared?" He wrote something in a little pocket ledger.

'"Yes--for me to embellish this evening. The _Moniteur_ will publish it
to-night."

'"Certainly. Sign, please," says Talleyrand, tearing the leaf out.

'"But that's the order to return the brig," says Boney. "Is that
necessary? Why should I lose a good ship? Haven't I lost enough ships
already?"

'Talleyrand didn't answer any of those questions. Then Boney sidled up
to the table and jabs his pen into the ink. Then he shies at the paper
again: "My signature alone is useless," he says. "You must have the
other two Consuls as well. Sieyes and Roger Ducos must sign. We must
preserve the Laws."

'"By the time my friend presents it," says Talleyrand, still looking out
of the window, "only one signature will be necessary."

'Boney smiles. "It's a swindle," says he, but he signed and pushed the
paper across.

'"Give that to the President of the Prize Court at Le Havre," says
Talleyrand, "and he will give you back your ship. I will settle for the
cargo myself. You have told me how much it cost. What profit did you
expect