r, weary woman, broken in spirit, and half
frantic with the bitterness of her disappointment, receiving on her
knees the BANAL gallantries of her deadly enemy.

Her senses were leaving her; half choked with the tight grip round her
mouth, she had no strength to move or to utter the faintest sound. The
excitement which all along had kept up her delicate body seemed at once
to have subsided, and the feeling of blank despair to have completely
paralyzed her brain and nerves.

Chauvelin must have given some directions, which she was too dazed to
hear, for she felt herself lifted from off her feet: the bandage round
her mouth was made more secure, and a pair of strong arms carried her
towards that tiny, red light, on ahead, which she had looked upon as a
beacon and the last faint glimmer of hope.

CHAPTER XXIX TRAPPED

She did not know how long she was thus carried along, she had lost
all notion of time and space, and for a few seconds tired nature,
mercifully, deprived her of consciousness.

When she once more realised her state, she felt that she was placed with
some degree of comfort upon a man's coat, with her back resting against
a fragment of rock. The moon was hidden again behind some clouds, and
the darkness seemed in comparison more intense. The sea was roaring some
two hundred feet below her, and on looking all round she could no longer
see any vestige of the tiny glimmer of red light.

That the end of the journey had been reached, she gathered from the fact
that she heard rapid questions and answers spoken in a whisper quite
close to her.

"There are four men in there, citoyen; they are sitting by the fire, and
seem to be waiting quietly."

"The hour?"

"Nearly two o'clock."

"The tide?"

"Coming in quickly."

"The schooner?"

"Obviously an English one, lying some three kilometers out. But we
cannot see her boat."

"Have the men taken cover?"

"Yes, citoyen."

"They will not blunder?"

"They will not stir until the tall Englishman comes, then they will
surround and overpower the five men."

"Right. And the lady?"

"Still dazed, I fancy. She's close beside you, citoyen."

"And the Jew?"

"He's gagged, and his legs strapped together. He cannot move or scream."

"Good. Then have your gun ready, in case you want it. Get close to the
hut and leave me to look after the lady."

Desgas evidently obeyed, for Marguerite heard him creeping away along
the stony cliff, then she felt t