and his fears unwarranted, if he had not seen,
a little before sunset, a thing which opened his eyes.

Two women and some children came out of a house not far from the
bastion. They passed towards the Tertasse Gate, and he watched them.
Before they came to the Royaumes' house, the children paused, flung
their cloaks over their heads, and, thus protected, ran past the house.
The women followed, more slowly, but gave the house a wide berth, and
each passed with a flap of her hood held between her face and the
windows; when they had gone by they exchanged signals of abhorrence. The
sight was no more than of a piece with the outrage on Anne; but, coming
when it did, coming when he was beginning to think that he had been
mistaken, when he was beginning to hope, it depressed Claude dismally.

For comfort he looked forward to the hour when it would be dark. "By
hook or by crook," he muttered, "I shall enter then."

He had barely finished the sentence, when he observed moving along the
ramparts towards him a figure he knew. It was Grio. There was nothing
strange in the man's presence in that place, for he was an idler and a
sot; but Claude did not wish to meet him, and debated in his mind
whether he should retreat before the other came up. Pride said one
thing, discretion another. He wanted no fracas, and he was still hanging
doubtful, measuring the distance between them, when--away went his
thoughts. What was Grio doing?

The Spaniard had come to a stand, and was leaning on the wall, looking
idly into the fosse. The posture would have been the most natural in the
world on a warm day. On that day it caught Claude's attention; and--was
he mistaken, or were the hands that, under cover of Grio's cloak,
rested on the wall busy about something?

In any case he must make up his mind whether he moved or stayed. For
Grio was coming on again. Claude hesitated a moment. Then he determined
to stay. The next he was glad he had so determined, for Grio after
strolling on in seeming carelessness to a point not twenty yards from
him, and well commanded from his seat, leant again on the wall, and
seemed to be enjoying the view. This time Claude was sure, from the
movement of his shoulders, that his hands were employed.

"In what?" The young man asked himself the question; and noted that
beside Grio's left heel lay a piece of broken tile of a peculiar colour.
The next moment he had an inspiration. He drew up his feet on the seat,
drew his