“The goodness of my request we will leave out of question for the moment,” said he, darkly, and M. de Chabrillane laughed.  Andre-Louis thought him easily moved to mirth, and almost envied him the faculty.

“But I am grateful,” Philippe insisted, “that you should condescend to hear me plead their cause.”

The Marquis stared at him over his shoulder.  “Whose cause?” quoth he.

“Why, the cause of the widow and orphans of this unfortunate Mabey.”

The Marquis looked from Vilmorin to the Chevalier, and again the Chevalier laughed, slapping his leg this time.

“I think,” said M. de La Tour d’Azyr, slowly, “that we are at cross-purposes.  I asked you to come here because the Chateau de Gavrillac was hardly a suitable place in which to carry our discussion further, and because I hesitated to incommode you by suggesting that you should come all the way to Azyr.  But my object is connected with certain expressions that you let fall up there.  It is on the subject of those expressions, monsieur, that I would hear you further — if you will honour me.”

Andre-Louis began to apprehend that there was something sinister in the air.  He was a man of quick intuitions, quicker far than those of M. de Vilmorin, who evinced no more than a mild surprise.

“I am at a loss, monsieur,” said he.  “To what expressions does monsieur allude?”

“It seems, monsieur, that I must refresh your memory.”  The Marquis crossed his legs, and swung sideways on his chair, so that at last he directly faced M. de Vilmorin.  “You spoke, monsieur — and however mistaken you may have been, you spoke very eloquently, too eloquently almost, it seemed to me — of the infamy of such a deed as the act of summary justice upon this thieving fellow Mabey, or whatever his name may be.  Infamy was the precise word you used.  You did not retract that word when I had the honour to inform you that it was by my orders that my gamekeeper Benet proceeded as he did.”

“If,” said M. de Vilmorin, “the deed was infamous, its infamy is not modified by the rank, however exalted, of the person responsible.  Rather is it aggravated.”

“Ah!” said M. le Marquis, and drew a gold snuffbox from his pocket.  “You say, ‘if the deed was infamous,’ monsieur.  Am I to understand that you are no longer as convinced as you appeared to be of its infamy?”

M. de Vilmorin’s fine face wore a look of perplexity.  He did not understand the drift of this.

“It occurs to me, M. le Marquis, in view of your readiness to assume responsibility, that you must believe justification for the deed which is not apparent to myself.”