and wounded to the death, as you know now. I was up
there by--by him who swings upon that hellish gibbet; the dawn was at
hand."

"The dawn," St. Georges whispered to himself. "The dawn of five days
ago, when D'Arpajou's horse rode into the town. The day Dorine was
lost."

"Then," the woman continued, "through the coming day I saw him
advancing from the town upon this road, carrying a bundle under his
arm."

"Ah!"

"Yet not so fast but that two others who had left the gate behind him
came swifter than he. One, a man, young and supple, clad in the De
Roquemaure russet--no need of that to tell me that devil had a hand in
what was to be done; the other, a woman, all in sombre black, a mask
upon her face."

"A woman in it!"

"Ho!" said the peasant, "doubt not! He has his women, too, at his beck
and call. Easy enough to find one of the scourings of Troyes--perhaps
an innocent girl once, before she knew him!--to do his bidding."

"Go on."

"Swiftly they came behind him, yet silently, too, the man ahead of the
woman, each on different sides of the way, the former outstripping the
latter, so fast did he come. Then, at last, the hunted one, this dead
one here, knew that it was so; he turned and saw he was pursued. At
first he made as though about to run for it; then, because, may be,
the burden he bore was heavy, he paused. Next he placed the child upon
the ground--for now I knew, I saw, what it was as he did so--and he
drew his sword with one hand, took a pistol from his belt and held it
in the other, and so awaited his pursuer."

Again St. Georges said beneath his breath, "Go on."

"The other came swiftly up, paused once himself--perhaps he feared the
doubly armed man--then looked round at the masked woman, who seemed to
say something. Doubtless she urged him on, and again he came forward
until he and the fugitives were face to face."

"Yes," came from St. Georges's close-set lips.

"What they said I know not; I was too far away. But their action was
swift. De Roquemaure's man made as though he would seize upon the
child lying at the roadside--the disguised woman creeping ever
nearer--when the other fired his pistol at him, and missed. I saw that
as the smoke cleared away, for when it had done so they were closely
engaged with their swords. Some passes they made; once it seemed as if
the fugitive won upon the other, for I saw his blade go through his
left sleeve; then, ere he could recover himself, the other h