possessed the secret of the Fleming; but on the other hand, the latter
could, by his connections, bring about one of the finest acquisitions
that any king of France had ever made; namely, that of the domains of
the house of Burgundy, which the sovereigns of Europe were then
coveting. The marriage of the celebrated Marguerite depended on the
people of Ghent and the Flemings who surrounded her. The gold and the
influence of Cornelius could powerfully support the negotiations now
begun by Desquerdes, the general to whom Louis XI. had given the
command of the army encamped on the frontiers of Belgium. These two
master-foxes were, therefore, like two duellists, whose arms are
paralyzed by chance.

So, whether it were that from that day the king's health failed and
went from bad to worse, or that Cornelius did assist in bringing into
France Marguerite of Burgundy--who arrived at Ambroise in July, 1438,
to marry the Dauphin to whom she was betrothed in the chapel of the
castle--certain it is that the king took no steps in the matter of the
hidden treasure; he levied no tribute from his silversmith, and the
pair remained in the cautious condition of an armed friendship.
Happily for Cornelius a rumor was spread about Tours that his sister
was the actual robber, and that she had been secretly put to death by
Tristan. Otherwise, if the true history had been known, the whole town
would have risen as one man to destroy the Malemaison before the king
could have taken measures to protect it.

But, although these historical conjectures have some foundation so far
as the inaction of Louis XI. is concerned, it is not so as regards
Cornelius Hoogworst. There was no inaction there. The silversmith
spent the first days which succeeded that fatal night in ceaseless
occupation. Like carnivorous animals confined in cages, he went and