Part 51 (2/2)

”You will present yourself at the main entrance of the house of Justice at six o'clock this ”

”I will not fail you”

”A coach will be provided for you You will follow the expedition as hostage for the good faith of your chief”

”I quite understand”

”H'm! That's brave! You have no fear, citizen St Just?”

”Fear of what, sir?

”You will be a hostage in our hands, citizen; your life a guarantee that your chief has no thought of playing us false Noas thinking of--of certain events--which led to the arrest of Sir Percy Blakeney”

”Ofh his face had suddenly become pale as death ”Of the da my honour, and made me what I am--a creature scarce fit to walk upon this earth”

”Oh!” protested Chauvelin blandly

”The damnable lie,” continued Armand more vehemently, ”that hath oaded e was already free”

”Free--but not safe”

”A lie, man! A lie! For which you are thrice accursed Great God, is it not you that should have cause for fear? Methinks were I to strangle you now I should suffer less of re your ex-chief but a sorry service,” interposed Chauvelin with quiet irony ”Sir Percy Blakeney is a dying man, citizen St Just; he'll be a dead man at dawn if I do not put in an appearance by six o'clock thisbetween citizen Heron and reed to it before I came to see you”

”Oh, you take care of your own h! But you need not be afraid of me--I take my orders from my chief, and he has not ordered me to kill you”

”That was kind of him Then we may count on you? You are not afraid?”

”Afraid that the Scarlet Pimpernel would leaveI have done to him?” retorted Armand, proud and defiant in the name of his chief ”No, sir, I aht in praying to God that iven for his”

”H'ranted, citizen; prayers, I iine, so very seldom are; but I don't know, I never pray myself In your case, now, I should say that you have not the slightest chance of the Deity interfering in so pleasant a manner Even were Sir Percy Blakeney prepared to wreak personal revenge on you, he would scarcely be so foolish as to risk the other life which we shall also hold as hostage for his good faith”

”The other life?”

”Yes Your sister, Lady Blakeney, will also join the expedition to-morrow This Sir Percy does not yet know; but it will cohtest suspicion of false play on Sir Percy's part, at his slightest attempt at escape, your life and that of your sister are forfeit; you will both be summarily shot before his eyes I do not think that I need befor himself, for his crime which had been the precursor of this terrible situation, filled his soul to the verge of sheer physical nausea A red fil face of the inhu

It seeht, above the feeble, flickering flaroup of devils were surrounding hi, ”Kill him! Kill him now!

Rid the earth of this hellish brute!”

No doubt if Chauvelin had exhibited the slightest sign of fear, if he had moved an inch towards the door, Ar re at his enemy's throat and crushed the life out of him as he would out of a venomous beast But the man's calm, his immobility, recalled St Just to hiain, found strength to drive the ene, an adh harm, God knows, had been done by tempestuous passion already And God alone knehat terrible consequences its triu on Ar ears Chauvelin's words ca echo: