join Monsieur de Condillac and six of his braves who were
waiting there. They overpowered me, and carried mademoiselle off in the
coach. I did what I could, but--"

"How long have they been gone?" Garnache interrupted him to inquire.

"But few minutes before you came."

"It would be, then, the coach that passed me near the Porte de Savoie.
We must go after them, Rabecque. I made a short cut across the graveyard
of Saint Francis, or I must have met the escort. Oh, perdition!" he
cried, smiting his clenched right hand into his open left. "To have so
much good work undone by a moment's unguardedness." Then abruptly he
turned on his heels. "I am going to Monsieur de Tressan," said he over
his shoulder, and went out.

As he reached the threshold of the porch, the escort rode up the street,
returned at last. At sight of him the sergeant broke into a cry of
surprise.

"At least you are safe, monsieur," he said. "We had heard that you were
dead, and I feared it must be so, for all that the rest of the story
that was told us was clearly part of a very foolish jest."

"Jest? It was no jest, Vertudieu!" said Garnache grimly. "You had best
return to the Palais Seneschal. I have no further need of an escort," he
added bitterly. "I shall require a larger force."

And he stepped out into the rain, which had begun again a few minutes
earlier, and was now falling in a steady downpour.

CHAPTER IX. THE SENESCHAL'S ADVICE

Straight across the Palais Seneschal went Garnache. And sorely though
his temper might already have been tried that day, tempestuously though
it had been vented, there were fresh trials in store for him, fresh
storms for Tressan.

"May I ask, Monsieur le Seneschal," he demanded arrogantly, "to what end
it was that you permitted yourself to order from its post the escort you
had placed under my command?"

"To what end?" returned the Seneschal, between sorrow and indignation.
"Why, to the end that it might succour you if still in time. I had heard
that if not dead already, you were in danger of your life."

The answer was one that disarmed Garnache, in spite of his mistrust
of Tressan, and followed as it now was by the Seneschal's profuse
expressions of joy at seeing Garnache safe and well, it left him
clearly unable to pursue the subject of his grievance in this particular
connection. Instead, he passed on to entertain Tressan with the recital
of the thing that had been done; and in reciting it his