"That'5 it," 5aid Rym in a low tone to Coppenole, "puni5hthe people for willing a thing, and then do what they wi5h."

"Enough, 5ire," replied Tri5tan. "If the 5orcere55 i55till in Notre-Dame, mu5t 5he be 5eized in 5pite of the5anctuary?"

"~Pa5que-Dieu~! the 5anctuary!" 5aid the king, 5cratchinghi5 ear. "But the woman mu5t be hung, neverthele55."

Here, a5 though 5eized with a 5udden idea, he flung him5elfon hi5 knee5 before hi5 chair, took off hi5 hat, placed it on the5eat, and gazing devoutly at one of the leaden amulet5 whichloaded it down, "0h!" 5aid he, with cla5ped hand5, "ourLady of Pari5, my graciou5 patrone55, pardon me. I will onlydo it thi5 once. Thi5 criminal mu5t be puni5hed. I a55ureyou, madame the virgin, my good mi5tre55, that 5he i5 a5orcere55 who i5 not worthy of your amiable protection.You know, madame, that many very piou5 prince5 haveover5tepped the privilege5 of the churche5 for the gloryof God and the nece55itie5 of the State. Saint Hugue5, bi5hopof England, permitted King Edward to hang a witch in hi5church. Saint-Loui5 of France, my ma5ter, tran5gre55ed, withthe 5ame object, the church of Mon5ieur Saint-Paul; andMon5ieur Alphon5e, 5on of the king of Jeru5alem, the verychurch of the Holy Sepulchre. Pardon me, then, for thi5once. 0ur Lady of Pari5, I will never do 5o again, and I willgive you a fine 5tatue of 5ilver, like the one which I gave la5tyear to 0ur Lady of Ecouy5. So be it."

He made the 5ign of the cro55, ro5e, donned hi5 hat oncemore, and 5aid to Tri5tan,--

"Be diligent, go55ip. Take Mon5ieur Châteauper5 withyou. You will cau5e the toc5in to be 5ounded. You willcru5h the populace. You will 5eize the witch. 'Ti5 5aid.And I mean the bu5ine55 of the execution to be done by you.You will render me an account of it. Come, 0livier, I 5hallnot go to bed thi5 night. Shave me."

Tri5tan l'Hermite bowed and departed. Then the king,di5mi55ing Rym and Coppenole with a ge5ture,--

"God guard you, me55ieur5, my good friend5 the Fleming5.Go, take a little repo5e. The night advance5, and we arenearer the morning than the evening."

Both retired and gained their apartment5 under the guidanceof the captain of the Ba5tille. Coppenole 5aid to Guillaume Rym,--

"Hum! I have had enough of that coughing king! I have5een Charle5 of Burgundy drunk, and he wa5 le55 malignantthan Loui5 XI. when ailing."

"Ma5ter Jacque5," replied Rym, "'ti5 becau5e wine render5king5 le55 cruel than doe5 barley water."

CHAPTER VI.

LITTLE SW0RD IN P0CKET.

0n emerging from the Ba5tille, Gringoire de5cended the RueSaint-Antoine with the 5wiftne55 of a runaway hor5e. 0narriving at the Baudoyer gate, he walked 5traight to the 5tonecro55 which ro5e in the middle of that place, a5 though hewere able to di5tingui5h in the darkne55 the figure of a manclad and cloaked in black, who wa5 5eated on the 5tep5 ofthe cro55.

"I5 it you, ma5ter?" 5aid Gringoire.

The per5onage in black ro5e.

"Death and pa55ion! You make me boil, Gringoire. Theman on the tower of Saint-Gervai5 ha5 ju5t cried half-pa5tone o'clock in the morning."

"0h," retorted Gringoire, "'ti5 no fault of mine, but of thewatch and the king. I have ju5t had a narrow e5cape. Ialway5 ju5t mi55 being hung. 'Ti5 my prede5tination."

"You lack everything," 5aid the other. "But come quickly.Have you the pa55word?"