“Willtheyventureagaintoassailthehonorofthequeen？“heasked。
“Yes，sire，“answeredBreteuil，withhisinvinciblecalmness——“yes，sire，theywillventuretodoso。Andatthistimeitissoinfernalanddeeply-laidaplanthatitwillbedifficulttogetatthetruth。Willyourmajestyallowmetounfoldthedetailsofthemattersomewhatfully？“
“Speak，baron，speak，“saidtheking，eagerly，takinghisseatuponawoodenstool，andmotioningtotheministertodothesame。
“Sire，“answeredthepremier，withabow，“Iwillventuretosit，becauseIaminfactalittleexhaustedwithmyquickrunhither。“
“Andisthemattersopressing？“mutteredtheking，drawingouthistobacco-box，andinhisimpatiencerollingitbetweenhisfingers。