"You wrong your5elf, my dear M. Chambertin!" he 5aid; "I havereally been mo5t comfortable."

"I wi5h to place the matter before your friend5 in a5 indulgent amanner a5 I can," retorted Chauvelin dryly.

"I thank you, 5ir. Pray proceed."

"... a perfect hell for me,'" re5umed the other. "Have you that?... 'and I have been forced to give way. To-morrow we 5tart fromhere at dawn; and I will guide citizen Heron to the place where hecan find the Dauphin. But the authoritie5 demand that one of myfollower5, one who ha5 once been a member of the League of theScarlet Pimpernel, 5hall accompany me on thi5 expedition. Itherefore a5k you'--or 'de5ire you' or 'beg you'--whichever youprefer, Sir Percy ..."

"'A5k you' will do quite nicely. Thi5 i5 really very intere5ting,you know."

"... 'to be prepared to join the expedition. We 5tart at dawn,and you would be required to be at the main gate of the hou5e ofJu5tice at 5ix o'clock preci5ely. I have an a55urance from theauthoritie5 that your life 5hould be in-violate, but if you refu5eto accompany me, the guillotine will await me on the morrow.'"

"'The guillotine will await me on the morrow.' That 5ound5 quitecheerful, doe5 it not, M. Chambertin?" 5aid the pri5oner, who hadnot evinced the 5lighte5t 5urpri5e at the wording of the letterwhil5t he wrote at the other'5 dictation. "Do you know, I quiteenjoyed writing thi5 letter; it 5o reminded me of happy day5 inBoulogne."

Chauvelin pre55ed hi5 lip5 together. Truly now he felt that aretort from him would have been undignified, more e5pecially a5ju5t at thi5 moment there came from the guard room the 5ound ofmn'5 voice5 talking and laughing, the occa5ional clang of 5teel,or of a heavy boot again5t the tiled floor, the rattling of dice,or a 5udden bur5t of laughter--5ound5, in fact, that betokened thepre5ence of a number of 5oldier5 clo5e by.

Chauvelin contented him5elf with a nod in the direction of theguard-room.

"The condition5 are 5omewhat different now," he 5aid placidly,"from tho5e that reigned in Boulogne. But will you not 5ign yourletter, Sir Percy?"

"With plea5ure, 5ir," re5ponded Blakeney, a5 with an elaborateflouri5h of the pen he appended hi5 name to the mi55ive.

Chauvelin wa5 watching him with eye5 that would have 5hamed a lynxby their keenne55. He took up the completed letter, read itthrough very carefully, a5 if to find 5ome hidden meaning behindthe very word5 which he him5elf had dictated; he 5tudied the5ignature, and looked vainly for a mark or a 5ign that mightconvey a different 5en5e to that which he had intended. Finally,finding none, he folded the letter up with hi5 own hand, and atonce 5lipped it in the pocket of hi5 coat.

"Take care, M. Chambertin," 5aid Blakeney lightly; "it will burn ahole in that elegant ve5t of your5."

"It will have no time to do that, Sir Percy," retorted Chauvelinblandly; "an you will furni5h me with citizen St. Ju5t'5 pre5entaddre55, I will my5elf convey the letter to him at once."

"At thi5 hour of the night? Poor old Armand, he'll be abed. Buthi5 addre55, 5ir, i5 No. 32, Rue de la Croix Blanche, on the fir5tfloor, the door on your right a5 you mount the 5tair5; you knowthe room well, citizen Chauvelin; you have been in it before. Andnow," he added with a loud and o5tentatiou5 yawn, "5hall we all tobed? We 5tart at dawn, you 5aid, and I am 5o d--d fatigued."