Part 40 (1/2)

Certainly, even at a distance, her brother's er of being seen He cowered in the darkness, tried to avoid the circles of light thrown by the lauerite felt that shenoould lead hied to let hi sure that he would recognise her voice, she h the door of which the wardress had already disappeared, and called out as loudly as she dared:

”Good-night, citizeness!”

But Armand--who surely must have heard--did not pause at the sound

Rather was he walking on now more rapidly than before In less than athe spot where Chauvelin stood waiting for Marguerite That end of the corridor, however, received no light frouerite could see nothing now either of Chauvelin or of Ar only to reach Armand, and to warn him to turn back before it was too late; before he found himself face to face with the most bitter enemy he and his nearest and dearest had ever had But as she at last ca with the exertion of running and the fear for Ar there alone and i waited patiently for her She could only diuish his face, the sharp features and thin cruel mouth, but she felt--more than she actually saw--his cold steely eyes fixed with a strange expression of n, and she--poor soul!--had difficulty in not betraying the anxiety which she felt for her brother Had the flagstones sed hiave on the corridor at this point; it led to the concierge's lodge, and thence out into the courtyard Had Chauvelin been drea for her, and had Ar past hih that door to safety that lay beyond these prison walls?

Marguerite,what to think, looked someild-eyed on Chauvelin; he smiled, that inscrutable, ht else that I can do for you, citizeness? This is your nearest way out No doubt Sir Andreill be waiting to escort you ho either to reply or to question--walked straight up to the door, he hurried forward, prepared to open it for her But before he did so he turned to her once again:

”I trust that your visit has pleased you, Lady Blakeney,” he said suavely ”At what hour do you desire to repeat it to-ue, absent e incident of Arht

”Yes You would like to see Sir Percy again to-ladly pay him a visit from tiue, citizen Heron, on the other hand, calls on him four times in every twenty-four hours; he does so a fewwith Sir Percy until after the guard is changed, when he inspects thethem All the men are personally known to hiain at eleven, and then again at five and eleven in the evening My friend Heron, as you see, is zealous and assiduous, and, strangely enough, Sir Percy does not seem to view his visit with any displeasure Now at any other hour of the day, Lady Blakeney, I pray you corant you a second intervieith the prisoner”

Marguerite had only listened to Chauvelin's lengthy speech with half an ear; her thoughts still dwelt on the past half-hour with its bitter joy and its agonising pain; and fighting through her thoughts of Percy there was the recollection of Aruely listened to what Chauvelin was saying, she caught the drift of it

Madly she longed to accept his suggestion The very thought of seeing Percy on theheart; it could feed on hope to-night instead of on its own bitter pain But even during this briefcried out for this joy that her eneloom ahead of her she seemed to see a vision of a pale face raised above a crowd of swaying heads, and of the eyes of the drea for her ohilst the last sublime cry of perfect self-devotion once more echoed in her ear:

”Reiven him, that would she fulfil The burden which he had laid on her shoulders she would try to bear as heroically as he was bearing his own Aye, even at the cost of the supreain in the haven of his aruish so terrible that she could not i, she wished above all to safeguard that final, attenuated thread of hope which ound round the packet that lay hidden on her breast

She wanted, above all, not to arouse Chauvelin's suspicions by ain--suspicions thatsearched once more and the precious packet filched from her

Therefore she said to him earnestly now:

”I thank you, citizen, for your solicitude on my behalf, but you will understand, I think, that my visit to the prisoner has been almost more than I could bear I cannot tell you at this moment whether to-morrow I should be in a fit state to repeat it”

”As you please,” he replied urbanely ”But I pray you to re, and that is--”

He paused a moment while his restless eyes wandered rapidly over her face, trying, as it were, to get at the soul of this wohts, which he felt were hidden from him

”Yes, citizen,” she said quietly; ”what is it that I am to remember?”

”That it rests with you, Lady Blakeney, to put an end to the present situation”

”How?”