It may be imagined how I felt on hearing this; for although I
might have thought nothing of the matter before my suspicions
were aroused--since any man might visit such a place out of
curiosity--now, my mind being disturbed, I was quick to conceive
the worst, and saw with horror my beloved master already
destroyed through my carelessness. I questioned La Trape in a
fury, but could learn nothing more. He had seen the man slip
out, and that was all.
"But did you not go in yourself?" I said, restraining my
impatience with difficulty.
"Afterwards? Yes, my lord."
"And made no discovery?"
He shook his head.
"Was anything prepared for his Majesty?"
"There was sherbet; and some water."
"You tried them?"
La Trape grinned. "No, my lord," he said. "But I gave some to
Maignan."
"Not explaining?"
"No, my lord."
"You sacrilegious rascal!" I cried, amused in spite of my
anxiety. "And he was none the worse?"
"No, my lord."
Not satisfied yet, I continued to press him, but with so little
success that I still found myself unable to decide whether the
Spaniard had wandered in innocently or to explore his ground.
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