"Certainly," said he, with a twirl of his moustache.
"Then I "d better leave it to you and go home at once."
The inference was not quite what the Captain had desired. But he accepted it with a tolerably good grace. When a man has once resisted temptation there is little to be gained, and something perhaps to be risked, by prolonging the interview.
"I suppose so," said he. "I "ll escort you as far as the village. But what"s the time?"
He took out his watch and held it down to the flame of the candle; the lady rose and looked, not over his shoulder, but just round his elbow.
"Ah, that"s curious," observed the Captain, regarding the hands of his watch. "How quickly the time has gone!"
"Very. But why is it curious?" she asked.
He glanced down at her face, mischievously turned up to his.
"Well, it"s not curious," he admitted, "but it is awkward."
"It"s only just seven."
"Precisely the hour of my appointment with Paul de Roustache."
"With Paul de Roustache?"
"Don"t trouble yourself. All will be well."
"What appointment? Where are you to meet him?"
"By the Cross, on the road outside there."
"Heavens! If I were to meet him! He must n"t see me!"
"Certainly not," agreed the Captain with cheerful confidence.
"But how are we to avoid--?"
"Ah, you put no real trust in me," murmured he in gentle reproach, and, it must be added, purely for the sake of gaining a moment"s reflection.
"Could n"t we walk boldly by him?" she suggested.
"He would recognise you to a certainty, even if he didn"t me."
"Recognise me? Oh, I don"t know. He does n"t know me very well."
"What?" said the Captain, really a little astonished this time.
"And there "s the rain and--and the night and--and all that," she murmured in some confusion.
"No man who has ever seen you--" began the Captain.
"Hush! What"s that?" whispered she, grasping his arm nervously. The Captain, recalled to the needs of the situation, abandoned his compliment, or argument, whichever it was, and listened intently.
There were voices outside the hut, some little way off, seeming to come from above, as though the speakers were on the crest of the hill. They were audible intermittently, but connectedly enough, as though their owners waited from time to time for a lull in the gusty wind before they spoke.
"Hold the lantern here. Why, it"s past seven! He ought to be here by now."
"We "ve searched every inch of the ground."
"That"s Paul de Roustache," whispered the Captain.
"Perhaps he "s lying down out of the storm somewhere. Shall we shout?"
"Oh, if you like--but you risk being overheard. I "m tired of the job."
"The ground dips here. Come, we must search the hollow. You must earn your reward, M. de Roustache."
The lady pressed Dieppe"s arm. "I can"t go now," she whispered.
"I "m willing to earn it, but I "d like to see it."
"What"s that down there?"
"You don"t attend to my suggestion, M. Sevier."
"Sevier!" muttered the Captain, and a smile spread over his face.
"Call me Guillaume," came sharply from the voice he had first heard.
"Exactly," murmured Dieppe. "Call him anything except his name. Oh, exactly!"
"It looks like--like a building--a shed or something. Come, he may be in there."
"Oh!" murmured the lady. "You won"t let them in?"
"They sha"n"t see you," Dieppe rea.s.sured her. "But listen, my dear friend, listen."
"Who "s the other? Sevier?"
"A gentleman who takes an interest in me. But silence, pray, silence, if you--if you "ll be guided by me."
"Let"s go down and try the door. If he "s not there, anyhow we can shelter ourselves till he turns up."
There was a pause. Feet could be heard climbing and slithering down the slippery gra.s.s slope.
"What if you find it locked?"
"Then I shall think some one is inside, and some one who has discovered reasons for not wishing to be met."
"And what will you do?" The voices were very near now, and Paul"s discontented sneer made the Captain smile; but his hand sought the pocket where his revolver lay.