Volume I Part 18 (1/2)
”Certainly The courageous aniht have noticed, I srease, in consequence of which our shrewd rat has spent all his spare nawed through”
”Ah! then we are to escape by swi?” asked Benedetto, surprised
”Have you finally found out? You are not afraid, are you?”
”No, no!” exclaimed Benedetto hastily ”Freedoo now and take up our work again before our absence is noticed”
”One word ht of everything Trust in me”
The convicts returned to their work, but soon after the weather became so bad that the jailers stopped work and formed the prisoners in columns to return them to the pontoons The storm broke with such fury that the masts snapped and the sails flew about A piece of a mast knocked a convict overboard, and when he was fished up his skull was found to be fractured A cry of terror ran through the lines and the jailers hastened to bring the columns to the pontoons Benedetto and Anselmo cowered in their corners and listened to the roar of the mistral The louder it became, the more their hearts beat with joy
”Are you ready?” whispered Anselmo to his comrade
”Yes”
”Then forward! It is a question of life or death”
They both lay flat on the ground and Ansele wrapped in sail cloth ”Here, take this package,” the ex-priest told his coive it to me as soon as I anawed through? Well, it can be shoved aside, and by that e come to a cave where instruments and nails are kept In this cave is a door, to which I have the key which locks it
Now pay attention; I ah the open door Anseled and roared Benedetto handed hilided likewise into the river, and while the pontoon creaked and groaned, torn by the force of the storm, the two convicts disappeared in the darkness
CHAPTER XVII
IN THE MOUNTAIN Pass OF OLIOLLES
Madalars had returned to the inn and asked feverishly for fresh horses, so as to be able to drive to Beaussuet The innkeeper politely assured her it was ilars, without changing a muscle, looked steadily at the , and she therefore opened her purse, and placing five hundred francs on the table, asked once more for fresh horses The innkeeper immediately remembered that there was a man in Toulon ould risk his own and his horses' lives forhours passed before the ht a favorable answer Father Jacob, that was the ood horses
”Who is this Father Jacob?” asked Madalars of the innkeeper
”Oh, he is a forave a suggestive glance in the direction of the Bagnio
Madalars shuddered
”Does he kno to drive?” she asked
”Like Satan He used to be a driver of therobbers to plunder the ood, honest man, and you can safely trust yourself to his care”
What was the baroness to do? She patiently sat down, and breathed more freely when the clock struck four, and the expected coachman arrived with two splendid horses