“I have not, my unknown friend,” answered the duke.

Max took the bird from Michael and offered it to Charles, who accepted the gift graciously.  I looked toward Hymbercourt and he, understanding my unspoken word, again bent his knee before the duke:—­

“My gracious lord, it is the desire of this young knight that he be presented to you in due form under his own name and title, though he would humbly ask that he be permitted to retain the name by which he is known in Burgundy.  His reasons for so doing are good, though they would not interest Your Grace.  Have I my lord’s permission to present him?”

“In God’s name, yes!” exclaimed the duke, stirred by some irritation, but spurred by curiosity.

“My lord,” said Hymbercourt, speaking to the duke and extending his hand toward Max, “it is my great honor to present to Your Grace his highness, Maximilian, Count of Hapsburg.”

“By the just God, my lord, you certainly have given us a surprise,” said the duke, stepping back and making no offer of his hand to Max.  He passed the falcon to a page, and continued, “What business have these men at my court?”

“None, Your Grace, absolutely none,” answered Max, standing proudly before the duke and steadfastly meeting his gaze.  “It was my desire to see the world and to learn something of its people before I undertook to govern my own.  My country is not rich and fat like this great land of Burgundy.  I have neither the means nor the inclination to travel in state; so my dear friend and instructor, Sir Karl de Pitti, undertook to guide me and teach me in this journey to the outer world.  I would rather have missed seeing all other countries than Burgundy, and of all the princes of the world Your Grace was and is to me the most interesting.  Your hand is the strongest, your courage the bravest, and your land the richest in Europe.  We heard at Metz that you were here in Peronne; and now, my lord, you understand what business I have in Burgundy.”

I had never given the boy credit for so much adroitness.  What the duke’s intentions were, immediately after Hymbercourt presented Max, I could not have told, but his words sounded ominous, and the expression of his face was anything but pleasant.  Max, though not quarrelsome, was not given to the soft answer that turneth away wrath; but on this occasion discretion came to his rescue, and he made the soft answer with a dignity and boldness that won Charles’s respect.  The duke’s face softened into a half-smile,—­if anything so hard as his face can be said to soften,—­and he offered his hand to Max.  He withdrew it almost instantly from Max’s grasp, and said:—­

“Are you sure my armament against Switzerland is no part of the reason for your presence in Burgundy?” Like all highly pugnacious men, he was suspicious.  “I have been told your father is a friend to the Swiss.”

“Does Your Grace mean to ask if I am here in the capacity of a spy, as Calli has charged?” asked Max, lifting his head and looking boldly into the duke’s face.