Part 62 (2/2)
”Yes! you de idiot,” said Blakeney merrily, ”you nearly upsetoutside the chapel gates”
”I wanted to get to you, Percy I thought those brutes had got you there inside that building”
”Not they!” he exclaied, and whom my amiable friend M Cha By Gad! I would go back if only for the pleasure of hearing Heron curse when first the gag is taken from his mouth”
”But hoas it all done, Percy? And there was de Batz--”
”De Batz was part of the scheme I had planned for mine own escape before I knew that those brutes ood behaviour What I hoped then was that under cover of a tussle or a fight I could soers It was a chance, and you know my belief in bald-headed Fortune, with the one solitary hair Well, I rab that hair; and at the worst I could but die in the open and not caged in that awful hole like some noxious vermin I knew that de Batz would rise to the bait I told him in my letter that the Dauphin would be at the Chateau d'Ourde this night, but that I feared the revolutionary Govern an ar the lad away This letter Ffoulkes took to hiet the Dauphin into his hands, and that during the scuffle that one hair on Fortune's head would for one second only, mayhap, come within my reach I had so planned the expedition that ere bound to arrive at the forest of Boulogne by nightfall, and night is always a useful ally But at the guard-house of the Rue Ste Anne I realised for the first tihter corner than I had pre-conceived”
He paused, and once again that look of recklessness swept over his face, and his eyes--still hollow and circled--shone with the excitement of past memories
”I was such a weak, uerite's appeal ”I had to try and build up soe--I had unwittingly risked your precious life, dear heart, in that blind endeavour to savevehicle with that noisome wretch beside me for sole company; yet I ate and I drank and I slept for three days and two nights, until the hour when in the darkness I struck Heron froed him, and finally slipped into his filthy coat and put that loathsoe across ave when first I attacked him made every horse rear--you must remember it--the noise effectually drowned our last scuffle in the coach Chauvelin was the only one on ahead, and bald-headed Fortune had passed by rab its one hair After that it was all quite easy The sergeant and the soldiers had seen very little of Heron and nothing of reat effort to deceive theht was my most faithful friend His raucous voice was not difficult to ies every tone Anyway, it was not likely that those loutish soldiers would even re played on theent's orders were proht to wonder that after insisting on an escort of twenty he should drive off with two prisoners and only two uard them If they did wonder, it was not theirs to question Those two troopers are spending an uncone, each tied to a tree, and soaily, ”en voiture, ues to Le Portel, and we must be there before dawn”
”Sir Andrew's intention was to make for Calais first, there to open communication with the Day-Dreauerite; ”after that he meant to strike back for the Chateau d'Ourde in search of me”
”Then we'll still find him at Le Portel--I shall kno to lay hands on hiet aboard the Day-Dream at once, for Ffoulkes and I can always look after ourselves”
It was one hour after uerite, Aruerite was standing in the doorway ready to go Percy and Ar
”Percy,” whispered Aruerite does not know?”
”Of course she does not, you young fool,” retorted Percy lightly ”If you try and tell her I think I would s ht of ood Armand--not of that anyway Only think of the woood, woo her and win her--not just now, for it were foolish to go back to Paris after her, but anon, when she cootten--then love her as much as you can, Armand Learn your lesson of love better than I have learnt uish which ht, Armand, when you said that I do not kno to love!”
But on board the Day-Dreauerite felt that he did