He
would be tracked by Chauvelin's emissaries, followed until he reached
that mysterious hut where the fugitives were waiting for him, and
there the trap would be closed on him and on them.
There was but one hour--the hour's start which Marguerite and
Sir Andrew had of their enemy--in which to warn Percy of the imminence
of his danger, and to persuade him to give up the foolhardy
expedition, which could only end in his own death.
But there WAS that one hour.
"Chauvelin knows of this inn, from the papers he stole," said
Sir Andrew, earnestly, "and on landing will make straight for it."
"He has not landed yet," she said, "we have an hour's start on
him, and Percy will be here directly. We shall be mid-Channel ere
Chauvelin has realised that we have slipped through his fingers.
She spoke excitedly and eagerly, wishing to infuse into her
young friend some of that buoyant hope which still clung to her heart.
But he shook his head sadly.
"Silent again, Sir Andrew?" she said with some impatience.
"Why do you shake your head and look so glum?"
"Faith, Madame," he replied, "`tis only because in making your
rose-coloured plans, you are forgetting the most important factor.
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