rung upon them unawares and in the dark, or Mordieu! they would
have suffered severely for their impudence.

In silence M. le Comte, Mme. la Duchesse and Crystal, followed by
faithful Jeanne, re-entered the carriage. No one had been hurt. M. le
Comte's arms felt a little stiff from the cords which had bound them
behind his back and Jeanne was inclined to be hysterical, but Crystal
felt a fierce resentment burning in her heart. Somehow she had no hope
that Maurice would succeed, even though she threw him at the last a
kindly and encouraging smile. Her one hope was that she had inflicted a
painful if not a deadly wound upon the shameless robber of the King's
money.

Soon the party was once more comfortably settled and the cumbrous
vehicle, after another violent lurch, was once more on its way.

"Farewell, Maurice! good luck!" called M. le Comte at the last.

The young man waited until the heavy carriage swung more easily upon its
springs, then he mounted his horse, turned its head in the opposite
direction and rode slowly back up the road.

Inside the vehicle all was silent for a while, then M. le Comte asked
quietly:

"Did he find everything?"

"Everything," replied Crystal.

"I put in five wallets."

"Yes. He took them all."

"It is curious they should have fallen on us just by that broken
bridge."

"They were lying in wait for us, of course."

"Knowing that we had the money, do you think?" asked the Comte.

"Of course," replied Crystal with still that note of bitter resentment
in her voice.

"But who, besides ourselves and the prefet? . . ." began the Comte, who
clearly was very puzzled.

"Victor de Marmont for one . . ." retorted the girl.

"Surely you don't suppose that he would play the role of a highwayman
and . . ."

"No, I don't," she broke in somewhat impatiently, "he wouldn't have the
pluck for one thing, and moreover the masked man was considerably taller
than Victor."

"Well, then?"

"It is only an idea, father, dear," she said more gently, "but somehow I
cannot believe that this was just ordinary highway robbery. This road is
supposed to be quite safe: travellers are not warned against armed
highwaymen, and marauders wouldn't be so well horsed and clothed. My
belief is that it was a paid gang stationed at the broken bridge on
purpose to rob us and no one else."

"Maurice will soon be after them to-morrow, and I'll see M. le Comte
d'Artois directly we get to Lyons," said the Comte