let fall in her
fright, but before she could do so our escort stooped down and handed it
to her with a--

"_Permettez moi, madame._"

At the same time he kicked out under the table, muttering an oath as he
did so, and the hunchback returned to his seat by the fire and nursed
his knees with his sinister grin.

Mother began to apologise for her little scream.

"I am very tired," she said, addressing the old woman; "and if it will
not inconvenience you, my daughter and I would much like to retire for
the night, as we wish to be up early to continue our journey."

The old woman lighted a candle, looking at our escort as she did so.

"Which room?" she asked.

He gave a jerk of his head indicating a room above the one we were in;
and then he opened the door very politely for us, and hoped we'd have a
pleasant night.

I could not resist the inclination to look back at the hunchback. He had
left off nursing his knees, but his whole body was convulsed with silent
laughter, and he was holding up close to his eyes a gold coin.

The room the old woman conducted us to was a long one, with half-a-dozen
steps leading up to it. She bade us good night and closed the door,
leaving us with the lighted candle.

The minute the door closed upon her, I darted to it. But horrors! there
was no key, no bolt, nothing to fasten ourselves in. I looked at mother.
She was sitting on the bed, and beckoned me with her finger to come
close. I did so. She whispered,--

"Phyllis, be brave for my sake. I have done a foolish thing in bringing
you to this house. I distrust these people."

"So do I," I whispered back.

"That purse of mine that fell--they saw what was in it."

"Did it fall open?"

"Yes, and a napoleon rolled out--that hunchback picked it up and put it
into his pocket. He did not think I saw him."

"How much money have you got altogether?"

"Twenty napoleons, and a few francs."

"And they saw all that?"

"I am afraid so. Of course they could not tell how much there was. They
saw a number of coins. If they attempt to rob us of it all to-night we
shall have nothing to continue our journey to-morrow. And how we can
keep it from them I don't know."

Mother's face was white and drawn. Father and Norah would not have
recognised her.

"We shall hide it from them," I answered as bravely as I could. I would
not let mother see that I was nervous.

The room was bare of everything but just the necessary furniture. A more
diff