erately sized room very sparsely furnished in all
except the bed, which was large enough for three men to have slept in
side by side. Next, lighting a taper which looked as though it might
burn ten minutes but not longer, he gruffly bade St. Georges
"Good-night," and, saying that he should be called before daybreak, he
strode away, while the other heard his heavy footfall gradually grow
fainter and fainter until, at last, there was no further sound in the
house except the banging of a door now and again.

"_Nom d'un chien!_" exclaimed the soldier, as he unbuckled his spurs,
drew off his long riding boots, and, unsheathing his sword, laid it
along the side of the bed nearest the wall, "this is a pleasant hole
for a man to find himself in." And throwing himself on the bed, and
discovering that, as he drew the counterpane up about his shoulders,
it was so short that it did not reach below his knees, he wrapped up
the lower part of his body in the great cloak in which he had carried
the child all day, and so, shivering with cold, went at last to sleep.

Down below, while this had been going on, Pierre had rejoined his
master, and, standing before him, was answering several questions put
with great rapidity.

"Your horse is sound?" the bishop asked, as now he partook of a glass
out of the second bottle.

"Ay, it is sound," replied the other. "It has not left the stable for
three days."

"You can, therefore, ride forth to-morrow."

"Further than he can, weather permitting."

"Good. Therefore ride ahead of him until you meet the Marquis de
Roquemaure. Then you can deliver to him a message somewhat similar to
the one he will deliver to the mother of the noble marquis."

"What is the message?"

"The message he will deliver to madame la marquise--if he is fortunate
enough to see her--is the word '_Yes_.' The message you will deliver
to her son, whom you _must_ see, is also '_Yes_.' And, if you can
remember, you may also say to the marquis, 'It is the man.' _Can_ you
remember?"

"Without doubt I can. The words are: 'Yes. It is the man.'"

"Those are the words."

CHAPTER IV.

"HER LIFE STANDS IN THE PATH OF OTHERS' GREED."

Awakened in the dark of the morning by a loud knocking on the door,
St. Georges sprang off the bed and called lustily to know who was
there?

"It is near dawn," a female voice answered. "Monsieur was to be
awakened."

"Where is the man called Pierre?" asked St. Georges, perceiving t