“The King!” repeated Jost stupidly--“Then the man who came to me last night--” He broke off, unable to find any words for the expression of the thoughts which began to terrify him.
“Well!--the man who came to you last night,” echoed the Marquis,--“He was not the King, I suppose, was he?” And he laughed derisively.
“No--he was not the King,” said Jost slowly; “I know _him_ well enough! But it might have been someone in the King’s service! For he knew, or said he knew, the King’s intentions in a certain matter affecting both you and Carl Pérousse,--and in a more distant way, myself--and warned me of a coming change in the policy. Ah!--it is now your turn to stare, Marquis! You had best be on your guard, for if the person who came to me last night was not your messenger, he was the King’s spy! And, in that case, we are lost!”
The Marquis paced the room with long uneven strides,--his mind was greatly agitated, but he had no wish to show his perturbation too openly to one whom he considered as a mere tool in his service.
“I know,” went on Jost emphatically, “that the ring he wore was yours! I noticed it particularly while I was talking to him. It would take a long time and exceptional skill to make any imitation of that sapphire. There is no doubt that it was your signet!”
The Premier halted suddenly in his nervous walk.
“You told him the whole scheme, you say?”
“Was, that the King had discovered it, and proposed insisting on an enquiry.”
“Well! Then he warned me to look out for myself,--as anyone connected with Carl Pérousse’s financial deal would inevitably be ruined during the next few weeks.”
“Who is going to work the ruin?” asked the Marquis with a sneer; “Do you not know that if the King dared to give an opinion on a national crisis, he would be dethroned?”
“The People! Human emmets--born for crushing under the heel of power! A couple of ‘leaders’ in your paper, Jost, can guide the fool-mob any way!”
“That depends!” said Jost hesitatingly; “If what the fellow said last night be true--”
“It is not true!” said the Premier authoritatively. “We are going on in precisely the same course as originally arranged. Neither King nor People can interfere! Go home, and write an article about love of country, Jost! You look in the humour for it!”