None of the others took the least notice of the girl's entrance.

Nearly all of them were as well-born as the young Austrian, but to them
she was simply a comrade, a fellow, worker, not a woman.

She gave him a little friendly gesture and went quietly to a seat
against the wall, where she sat in one of her characteristic attitudes,
her feet crossed, and showing under her short dark blue skirt.

Emile had made her buy this one plain and unnoticeable garment for use
on these occasions.

After she had been in the room a minute, Sobrenski turned from the man
to whom he had been talking in a careful under-tone, and bolted the
door.

"Listen, all of you," he said. "We have received information that this
house will be watched to-night. Whether the spy is one who was
formerly one of us, we do not know--yet. It appears that it is Poleski
who is the suspect. They have some evidence against him that is
dangerous. If he is seen coming in here to-night, they will arrest
him. The next time we will change the place, but for the present all
that can be done is to warn him against coming here. Fortunately he
will be later than usual, because he does not leave the Cafe Colomb
till after midnight. Someone must be sent there to stop him. It will
not do for any of us to be seen coming out, so she"--he indicated
Arithelli--"must go."

Arithelli wasted no time in response. She was only too eager to get
out of the abominable place, and was already half way to the door when
Sobrenski stopped her.

"Not that way!" he said. "What are you thinking of? You will walk
straight into the arms of the spies who are probably watching the house
by this time. No, you must go by the window at the back; the rest of
us will stay here all night."

"This house gives on the quay by a lucky chance," remarked one of the
older men; "we should be well trapped otherwise. There are several
feet between it and the water."

Vardri's eyes had never moved from the girl's face. He knew that her
heart was affected, and she had told him once that she would never
attempt to go on the tight-rope or trapeze because the mere thought of
a height always terrified her.

In answer to Sobrenski's gesture, she moved towards the window, which
another of the conspirators was cautiously opening.

Vardri pushed himself forward into the group. "She can't go down
there," he said hoarsely, "It's not safe--look at the height!"

"She'll go down well enough if