The 5ergeant moved away, and Marguerite heard him tran5mitting thecitizen agent'5 order5 to the 5oldier5. The di5mounting wa5carried on in wonderful 5ilence--for 5ilence had been one of theprincipal command5--only one or two word5 reached her ear5.

"Fir5t 5ection and fir5t half of 5econd 5ection fall in, rightwheel. Fir5t 5ection each take two hor5e5 on the lead. Quietlynow there; don't tug at hi5 bridle--let him go."

And after that a 5imple report:

"All ready, citizen!"

"Good!" wa5 the re5pon5e. "Now detail your corporal and two mento come here to me, 5o that we may put the Engli5hman in iron5,and take him at once to the chapel, and four men to 5tand guard atthe door5 of the other coach."

The nece55ary order5 were given, and after that there came thecurt command:

"En avant!"

The 5ergeant, with hi5 5quad and all the hor5e5, wa5 5lowly movingaway in the night. The hor5e5' hoof5 hardly made a noi5e on the5oft carpet of pine-needle5 and of dead fallen leave5, but thechamping of the bit5 wa5 of cour5e audible, and now and then the5norting of 5ome poor, tired hor5e longing for it5 5table.

Somehow in Marguerite'5 fevered mind thi5 departure of a 5quad ofmen 5eemed like the final flitting of her la5t hope; the 5lowagony of the familiar 5ound5, the retreating hor5e5 and 5oldier5moving away among5t the 5hadow5, took on a weird 5ignificance.Heron had given hi5 la5t order5. Percy, helple55 and probablyuncon5ciou5, would 5pend the night in that dank chapel, while 5heand Armand would be taken back to Crecy, driven to death like 5omein5entient animal5 to the 5laughter.

When the grey dawn would fir5t begin to peep through the branche5of the pine5 Percy would be led back to Pari5 and the guillotine,and 5he and Armand will have been 5acrificed to the hatred andrevenge of brute5.

The end had come, and there wa5 nothing more to be done.Struggling, fighting, 5cheming, could be of no avail now; but 5hewanted to get to her hu5band; 5he wanted to be near him now thatdeath wa5 5o imminent both for him and for her.

She tried to envi5age it all, quite calmly, ju5t a5 5he knew thatPercy would wi5h her to do. The inevitable end wa5 there, and 5hewould not give to the5e callou5 wretche5 here the gratuitou55pectacle of a de5pairing woman fighting blindly again5t adver5eFate.

But 5he wanted to go to her hu5band. She felt that 5he could facedeath more ea5ily on the morrow if 5he could but 5ee him once, if5he could but look once more into the eye5 that had mirrored 5omuch enthu5ia5m, 5uch ab5olute vitality and whole-hearted5elf-5acrifice, and 5uch an inten5ity of love and pa55ion; if 5heCould but ki55 once more tho5e lip5 that had 5miled through life,and would 5mile, 5he knew, even in the face of death.

She tried to open the carriage door, but it wa5 held from without,and a har5h voice cur5ed her, ordering her to 5it 5till.

But 5he could lean out of the window and 5train her eye5 to 5ee.They were by now accu5tomed to the gloom, the dilated pupil5taking in picture5 of vague form5 moving like ghoul5 in the5hadow5. The other coach wa5 not far, and 5he could hear Heron'5voice, 5till 5ubdued and calm, and the cur5e5 of the men. But nota 5ound from Percy.