Part 59 (2/2)
”It is de Batz and some of his friends; but what can they do? What can Percy hope for now?”
But of Percy she could hear and see nothing The darkness and the silence had drawn their impenetrable veil between his unseen presence and her own consciousness She could see the coach in which he was, but Heron's hideous personality, his head with its battered hat and soiled bandage, had see out froe that Percy was there not fifty yards away frorow in her that presently the awful dread seized upon her that he was no longer there; that he was dead, worn out with fatigue and illness brought on by terrible privations, or if not dead that he had swooned, that he was unconscious--his spirit absent froe and hate which Heron had uttered a few o Had the brute vented his fury on his helpless, weakened prisoner, and stilled forever those lips that, uerite could not guess She hardly knehat to hope Vaguely, when the thought of Percy lying dead beside his ene brain, she was alht that at least he would be spared the pain of the final, inevitable cataclysm
CHAPTER XLVII THE CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
The sergeant's voice broke in upon her ent had ordered, and had closely exaue, black looates in front, closed but not locked, rusty key in the lock, which turns quite easily; no s or door in the rear”
”You are quite sure?”
”Quite certain, citizen; it is plain, solid stone at the back, and the only possible access to the interior is through the iron gate in front”
”Good”
Marguerite could only just hear Heron speaking to the sergeant Darkness enveloped every form and deadened every sound Even the harsh voice which she had learned to loathe and to dread sounded curiously subdued and unfae, or to curse The e, had apparently cooled his tethened his determination, and forced his voice down to a little above a whisper He gave his orders clearly and firs of the ith strange distinctness, borne to her ears by the darkness itself, and the hush that lay over the wood
”Take half a dozen eant,” she beard him say, ”and join citizen Chauvelin at the chateau You can stable your horses in the farests and run to hiet the best of a handful of ht prowlers; you are well armed and they only civilians Tell citizen Chauvelin that I in the lishman I shall put in irons and lock up inside the chapel, with five uard hiht to Crecy hat is left of the escort You understand?”
”Yes, citizen”
”We ht, but directly I arrive I will send citizen Chauvelin further reinforcements, which, however, I hope may not necessary, but which will reach hi Even if he is seriously attacked, he can, with fourteen h the night Tell him also that at dao prisoners ill be with uard-house at Crecy, but that whether he has got hold of Capet or not he had best pick up the Englishht to Crecy, where I shall be awaiting him ready to return to Paris You understand?”
”Yes, citizen”
”Then repeat what I said”
”I am to take six men with me to reinforce citizen Chauvelin now”
”Yes”
”And you, citizen, will drive straight back to Crecy, and will send us further reinforce”
”Yes”
”We are to hold the chateau against those unknown marauders if necessary until the reinforce routed thelish guard commanded by Corporal Cassard, and join you forthwith at Crecy”
”This, whether citizen Chauvelin has got hold of Capet or not”
”Yes, citizen, I understand,” concluded the sergeant imperturbably; ”and I am also to tell citizen Chauvelin that the two prisoners will be shot at dawn in the courtyard of the guard-house at Crecy”
”Yes That is all Try to find the leader of the attacking party, and bring hilishman; but unless they are in very small numbers do not trouble about the others Now en avant; citizen Chauvelin lad of your help And--stay--order all the men to dismount, and take the horses out of one of the coaches, then let thewith you each lead a horse, or even two, and stable thes I shall not need them, and could not spare any of my men for the work later on Remember that, above all, silence is the order When you are ready to start, come back to me here”