"
"I am a courier," I answered, trying to rise. "I ran so fast that I might
soon reach Nerac with this letter for your majesty."
And I held the letter out to King Henri of Navarre.
CHAPTER VII.
HOW HE ANNOYED MONSIEUR DE LA CHATRE
I had never seen Henri of Navarre, before, but had often heard him
described, and no other man exactly fitted his description. His favorite
oath confirmed my recognition.
He took the letter, saying, "It looks as if it had been through fire
and flood"
"I had to swim the Seine with it," I said.
He read it, sitting on his horse in the middle of the road, I standing
beside the horse, the other six riders eyeing me curiously.
Having finished it, he looked at me with some interest and approval. "And
what made you run from us?" he asked.
"Sire, there were seven horsemen left in the party that has been chasing
me for some days past. Counting seven in your group, I too quickly
assumed that it was the same."
The King of Navarre laughed, and ordered one of the lackeys to give me
his horse and proceed afoot to the nearest town. When I was mounted, he
asked me to ride beside him.
"The speed at which you rode excited our curiosity," he explained, "and
that is why we gave chase."
I learned, later, that Henri and three of his gentlemen, with three
valets, had been inspecting the defences of one of his Gascon towns, and
were now returning to Nerac.
Pages:
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149