nife, monsieur, and slit the lining. Do you feel a
packet? 'Tis a small one. Ah, that is it. Look, monsieur, at the
address."

"The Admiral!" said my father with a start of surprise, "and he is at
Tanlay. Man, it will be a month before you can reach Tanlay; and the
packet is marked 'All speed!' Do you know the purport of the message?"

"It conveys a warning, monsieur, and it will arrive too late. The
Guises and the Queen-Mother have laid their plans; the Loire is guarded
along its banks, and the troops are collecting for a swoop on Tanlay."

"And Conde is at Noyers!"

"The Prince is included, monsieur. 'Let us take off the heads of the two
leaders,' is what the Italian woman says, 'and there will be no more
Huguenots.' And the chiefs at Rochelle chose me to carry the warning.
'There is none braver or more prudent than Ambroise Devine,' they said.
Monsieur, I would rather have lost my right hand!"

"Cheer up, man. I warrant you have no cause for reproach. Guise has his
spies in Rochelle, and they would follow you on the chance of picking up
some information. When were you attacked?"

"At the close of the afternoon, monsieur, in the wood a few miles to the
west. They sprang out upon me suddenly--there were three of them--and I
was taken unawares. But it was a good fight," and, in spite of his pain
and distress of mind, his face lit up with a smile of satisfaction.
"There is one trooper the less in Guise's ranks, and another who won't
earn his pay for months to come."

"And best of all, the papers are safe," my father observed. "Now, what
is to be done? That is the important point. The Admiral must have them
without loss of time, and you cannot carry them to him. My duties keep
me here, but I could send Jacques----"

"Jacques?" said the sick man questioningly.

"He is a trusty servant; I will vouch for his loyalty."

Devine shook his head. It was plain he did not welcome the proposal.

"Trust the papers to me," I said, on a sudden impulse, "and I will take
Jacques for company."

"'Tis a long journey, Edmond, and full of danger," said my father. "I
fear an older head than yours is needed."

"Jacques can supply the older head, and I will take charge of the
papers."

"You are only a boy," objected Devine.

"So much the better: no one will suspect I am engaged on an errand of
importance."

"There is something in that, but this is no child's game; 'tis an affair
of life and death. You must travel day and nig