De Berquin again became thoughtful. Then he laughed.
"You mean that you would lead us up to his very den, where we should be
at the mercy of his men," he said.
"I have already said that, with one exception, none of his men shall be
within a league of where you are to meet him."
"I do not see how you are going to bring him so far from his men, if you
do not go for him."
"Leave that to me. I shall take you to a place where he will present
himself unarmed. Excepting the man who will be with him, not one of his
company shall be within a league."
"Where is the place?" asked De Berquin, still smiling ironically.
"Not far from here. It is a place where you can get also wine and food."
"And how am I to know that this place is not a trap into which you wish
to lead me?"
"You shall walk behind me with drawn sword and dagger. At the slightest
suspicious movement or speech that I make, you can easily kill me."
"That is true. Yet I might lose my own life the next moment. Who knows
but that you are merely seeking to sell your life as dearly as possible,
or but that you are aiming to gain time in the hope of some unexpected
occurrence?"
"Monsieur," said I, "we both know that men cannot read the heart. You
cannot be sure whether or not I am lying. You indeed take the risk that I
wish to lead you where you will have to pay for my life with your own,
and that I am trying to gain time; but, at the same time, there is the
chance that I intend to keep my word, that I intend to present the Sieur
de la Tournoire unarmed, and a league away from all his men but one.
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