at a quick pace towards their lodgings;
Tim occasionally glancing a puzzled look at him. By the time they
reached the room, Ralph had stained his face and hands, and was
busy dressing in his disguise. His back was to the door, when they
entered; but he had heard the Irishman's voice on the stair.

"Well, Tim, how are you?" he said, turning round.

"Holy Vargin!" ejaculated Tim, dropping into a chair, and crossing
himself with great fervor "Sure, I'm bewitched. Here's an ould
gentleman, wid a wonderful head of hair, has been staleing Mister
Ralph's voice."

The two boys went off in a shout of laughter at Tim's genuine
terror.

"Sure, I'm bewitched, entirely," he went on. "He laughs for all the
world like Mister Ralph. Did ye iver see the like?

"What is it all, Mister Percy dear?"

Percy had by this time taken off his cap; and Tim, as he looked him
fairly in the face, gave another start.

"By the mother of Moses!" he exclaimed, in terror, "we're all
bewitched. Mister Ralph's turned into an ould man, with a furze
bush of hair; and Mister Percy's beautiful hair has all turned
black, and shriveled itself up. Am I turning, myself, I wonder?"
and he looked into the glass, to see if any change had taken place
in his own abundant crop of red hair.

The boys were laughing so that they could not speak for some time,
and Tim sat gazing at them in speechless bewilderment. At last
Percy, by a great effort, recovered himself; and explained to him
the whole circumstances of the case. The Irishman's astonishment
ceased now, but his dismay was as great as ever.

"Then is it alone you're going?" he said, at last. "Are you going
into danger again, without taking me with you? You'd never do that,
surely, Mister Ralph?"

"I am very sorry, Tim, to be separated from you," Ralph said; "but
it is quite impossible for you to go with us. If you understood
French and German as well as we do, the case would be different;
but as it is, the thing is absolutely impossible. You know how
great a trouble it was to disguise you, before; and it would treble
our anxieties and difficulties. Not only that; but even if, in the
face of every possible danger, we got you into Paris with us, there
would be great difficulty in getting you out. Gambetta will give
orders for us to be allowed to come out, in the first balloon; but
it is by no means easy to get places in balloons, and it is
unlikely in the extreme that we should be able to bring you out