Nemours' hand fell to his own hilt, but the watchful Willet saw.
"Be careful," the hunter said in a menacing tone.

"Obey the rules or I'll know the reason why." Nemours' hand fell away from the hilt, and he and Le Moyne exchanged glances, but stood helpless.

De Mezy had been driven backward in an almost complete circle.

His wrist and arm ached to the shoulder, and always he saw before him the leaping steel and the smiling mask of a face.

He caught a glimpse of the blue sky and the shining river, and then his eyes came back to the one that held his fate.