"Only," continued De Wardes, triumphantly, "was it really worth while, tell me, to throw this affair of Bragelonne's upon my shoulders?
But, take care, my dear fellow: in bringing the wild boar to bay, you enrage him to madness; in running down the fox, you give him the ferocity of the jaguar.

The consequence is, that, brought to bay by you, I shall defend myself to the very last." "You will be quite right in doing so." "Yes; but take care; I shall work more harm than you think.

In the first place, as a beginning, you will readily suppose that I have not been absurd enough to lock up my secret, or your secret rather, in my own breast.

There is a friend of mine, who resembles me in every way, a man whom you know very well, who shares my secret with me; so, pray understand, that if you kill me, my death will not have been of much service to you; while, on the contrary, if I kill you--and everything is possible, you know--you understand ?" De Guiche shuddered.

"If I kill you," continued De Wardes, "you will have secured two mortal enemies to Madame, who will do their very utmost to ruin her." "Oh! monsieur," exclaimed De Guiche furiously, "do not reckon upon my death so easily.