Yet by pressing their horses
with whip and
spur, and by that awe which the two tall dark cavaliers inspired even in a
mob which had lost its wits, they managed to make their way to the entrance
of the Rue de Bethisy. There they came suddenly upon quiet.
The crowd was held back by mounted men who made a ring around the gate of a
high dark building. Inside its courtyard there were cries and the rumour of
fighting, but out in the street there was silence. Every eye was turned to
the archway, which was bright as day with the glare of fifty lanterns.
The two rode straight to the ring of soldiers.
"Make way," Gaspard commanded, speaking with a foreign accent.
"For whom, monsieur?" one asked who seemed to be of a higher standing than
the rest.
"For the Ambassador of the King of Spain."
The man touched his bonnet and opened up a road by striking the adjacent
horses with the flat of his sword, and the two rode into the ring so that
they faced the archway. They could see a little way inside the courtyard,
where the light gleamed on armour.
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