"Well?" said Canalis, "to the point,--quick!"
"Monsieur le baron, I heard a conversation about Monsieur Mignon,
which I encouraged as far as I could; for no one, of course, knew that
I belong to you. Ah! monsieur, judging by the talk of the quays, you
are running your head into a noose. The fortune of Mademoiselle de La
Bastie is, like her name, modest. The vessel on which the father
returned does not belong to him, but to rich China merchants to whom
he renders an account. They even say things that are not at all
flattering to Monsieur Mignon's honor. Having heard that you and
Monsieur le duc were rivals for Mademoiselle de La Bastie's hand, I
have taken the liberty to warn you; of the two, wouldn't it be better
that his lordship should gobble her? As I came home I walked round the
quays, and into that theatre-hall where the merchants meet; I slipped
boldly in and out among them. Seeing a well-dressed stranger, those
worthy fellows began to talk to me of Havre, and I got them, little by
little, to speak of Colonel Mignon. What they said only confirms the
stories the fishermen told me; and I feel that I should fail in my
duty if I keep silence.
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