But I was not satisfied. I called the mains and
won his crowns--he was a mere baby at the game--but half my mind
was elsewhere. There was something here that I did not
understand; some influence at work on which I had not counted;
something moving under the surface as unintelligible to me as the
soldiers' presence. Had the Captain repudiated my commission
altogether, and put me to the door or sent me to the guard-house,
I could have followed that. But these dubious hints, this
passive resistance, puzzled me. Had they news from Paris, I
wondered? Was the King dead? Or the Cardinal ill? I asked
them, but they said no, no, no to all, and gave me guarded
answers. And midnight found us still playing; and still fencing.
CHAPTER IX
THE QUESTION
Sweep the room, Monsieur? And remove this medley? But M. le
Capitaine--'
'The Captain is in the village,' I replied Sternly. 'And do you
move. Move, man, and the thing will be done while you are
talking about it. Set the door into the garden open--so.'
'Certainly, it is a fine morning. And the tobacco of M. le
Lieutenant--But M.
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