kely.
Madame Bellegarde had driven to the villa. She had been allowed to
enter, and came out with a basket of flowers. As no one went in with
her, it was pretty sure that they trusted some one within to watch
her.

Merton said: "And now, Alphonse, have you any plan, any means by which
we can enter that house at night and get away safe without violent
methods?"

"If there was no one within."

"But we do not know, and that we must risk."

"It would be necessary," said Alphonse, "to get the police away from
the gate for a time, and, if I am not mistaken, their orders will be
capture, dead or alive. They believe your papers are still hidden in
that house and that an effort may be made to secure them. You observe,
monsieur, that all this care would never be taken in an ordinary case.
If monsieur proposes to enter the house and take away certain papers,
the guard may resist, and in that case--"

"In that case," laughed Merton, "circumstances--"

"Monsieur does not desire me to enter the house."

I said promptly that we did not. Alphonse seemed relieved, and Merton
went on to state with care his own plan. Alphonse listened with the
joy of an expert, adding suggestions and twice making very good
comments on our arrangements. It would be necessary he thought, to
wait for a stormy night, but already it was overclouded.

Alphonse went away to see his mother and to make his own preparations
for the share assigned to him in an adventure to which I looked
forward with keen interest and with small satisfaction.

Not so Merton. When the valet left us, the captain said: "We are
utterly in the hands of that man."

"Yes," I returned thoughtfully.

"If he knew," said Merton, "he might--"

"No. That he did not want to know what these papers are was an
expression of his own doubt concerning the extent to which he might
trust himself. I think we must trust him."

"Yes," returned the captain. "Whether or not we have been wise to use
him, I rather doubted, but now I do not. The limitations of the moral
code of a man like Alphonse are strange enough. It is hard to guess
beforehand what he will do and what he will not. However, we are in
for it. You have a revolver?"

"No."

"I will lend you mine."

I said I should be glad to borrow it, but I may say that I took care,
before we set out, to see that the barrels were not loaded. I might
use it to threaten, but was resolute not to fire on any one, even if
not to do so involved