Part 18 (1/2)
He gave up all for lost He drew in his legs, shut his eyes, and coiled hi that O'Grady would do the saainst the tree, as if looking in Fortunately a cloud at that moment passed across the sun, and prevented thethe holes
”No, they are not here--they one the other way,” shouted the soldier
”Then the sailor e--theycould not have happened at any other spot on the road”
”Very glad that we did not ht Paul
”Reuben, too, has not yet been taken--that's a coet out of their holes, lest their eneth, the wheels of a cart were heard in the distance Paul, by cliher, could look out It was a covered cart, driven by a ht,” he said; ”we must be prepared to jump in”
The cart came slower They slid down, and a quick pair of eyes alone could have detected them as they ran across the road, and, without a word, leaped into the cart The driver did not even look behind him, but, as soon as he heard Paul whisper _Nous sommes ici_, he lashed his horse and drove on faster than ever
”Miss Rosalie is a brick,” whispered O'Grady, as he and Paul crept under some sheepskins which the cart contained ”Hasn't she done the thing beautifully?”
They drove on rapidly for htest notion where they were going Paul was chiefly anxious about Reuben, while O'Grady feared, as they were going so far away, that they ht not h rather hot under the sheepskins They would, however, have gone through greater inconvenience for the sake of gaining their liberty At last, passing through a forest, the trees of which had lost most of their branches, lopped off for firewood, they reached an old grey chateau, with high pointed slate roof, and no end of towers and turrets, and gable ends, and excrescences of all sorts The cart drove into a paved court-yard, on two sides of which were outhouses or offices The entrance-gate was then shut, and the driver backed the cart against a small door on one side Not a soul appeared, and he did not shout for any one to co out the skins, he whispered, _Descendez,O'Grady by the arh the open door Had any curious eyes been looking out of any of the s of the chateau, they could scarcely have been seen They were in a passage, leading on one side to a sort of store-rooo on till they came to a door, where they were to wait till soh
”What fun,” whispered O'Grady ”I delight in an adventure, and this will prove one and nous up in an apple-loft or a ghost-haunted chaet to the coast, and so up every day I wouldn't haveon in this style when the door opened, and Miss Rosalie herself appeared, with a countenance which showed how pleased she felt at the success of her arrange her, and then very nearly bestowed a kiss and an eht Whether she would have found great fault with him it is impossible to say; she merely said, ”I must not stop to listen here to what you have to tellto where we shall not be interrupted, and then I will gladly hear all that has happened”
She forthwith led the stair to the top of one of the towers, where there was a small room with very narros
”There you will be safe enough,” she remarked, ”for if you were to look out of the casement, no one could see you fro shut up in a cellar or a lumber-room, where, if anybody came to search the chateau, they would be sure to look for you
See, too,” she added, ”there are furtheryourselves--for we cannot be too cautious in these sad times Here is a panel It slides on one side, and within you will find a ladder, which leads to a space between the ceiling and the roof You e to exist for some days--not very pleasantly, but securely at all events”
The ceiling was pointed the shape of the roof, and it was difficult to suppose that there could be space sufficient between the two to admit a person Rosalie, however, pulled aside the panel and showed the ladder, that there ed theht betray theh, you would not be surprised at my caution,” she remarked
She then inquired about the sailor they hoped would have accompanied them Paul told her that he believed Reuben had escaped fro about in the sahbourhood
”We will send and try to find him,” she answered at once ”Our faithful old servant will undertake the work Here, write on a slip of paper that he is to follow the bearer and do whatever he is told It is irowing hungry, co-place in search of food, and be discovered I will tell our worthy Jaques to sing out his na, and perhaps that may draw him from his lair What is it?”
Paul told her ”Oh, that is a very good name to pronounce,--Rubicole!
Rubicole! Jaques can cry out that very well”
So away she went, leaving the midshi+pmen to their own reflections-- O'Gradyto do, they looked through the , and saw the cart which had brought the rapidly away Rosalie came back soon afterwards with a very nice dinner on a tray She said that she alone would attend on theh she could safely trust the people in the house, the feho knew that they were there the better The chateau, she told theentleman, who had nearly lost his life in the Revolution She had coed, to attend on her uncle, as ill, and would, therefore, be unable to see them, but hoped to do so before their departure She concluded that they were in no great hurry to be off
”Not in the slightest, tell her,” exclaimed O'Grady, when Paul explained what she had said: ”we are as happy as bees in a sugar-bason”
Rosalie did not object to stay and talk with the midshi+pmen, but she had her uncle to attend on She told them that she would close a door at the bottom of the turret steps; when opened, it would cause a s in the room, and that the instant they should hear it, they were to retreat by the panel and take refuge in the roof She again cautioned theht betray the of water, a bottle of wine, and some bread and cheese in the recess, she carefully brushed up the crumbs, and carried the tray with her down-stairs
”Well, she is first-rate,” cried O'Grady; ”she's so sensible and pretty
I don't care who knows it--I say she'll make a capital wife”