"Well," the King whispered in my ear, "what do you make of that,
my friend?"
I muttered that it must be a beggar's trick.
"They would not earn a crown in a month," he answered. There
must be something more than that at the bottom of it."
Beginning to share his curiosity, I was about to propose that we
should sally out and see if the boy would repeat his overture to
us, when I caught the sound of footsteps coming along the street.
"Is it Maignan?" the King whispered, looking out cautiously.
"No, sire," I said. "He is in yonder doorway."
Before Henry could answer, the appearance of two strangers coming
along the roadway confirmed my statement. They paused opposite
the boy, and he advanced to them. Too far off to hear precisely
what passed, we were near enough to be sure that the dialogue was
in the main the same as that in which we had taken part. The men
were cloaked, too, as were we, and presently they went in, as we
had gone in. All, in fact, happened as it had happened to us,
and after the necessary interval we saw and heard the shutter
closed.
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