Argosy, Vol. 1 (December 9, 1882) — page 206: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE QUEEN’S BODY GUARD. 199 close in the rear, and a couple of local gendarmes and several hangers on of the village came panting up to the cart. “Ha, there! Stop!” called out a voice. And Daron obediently pulled in his horse. ‘Have you seen anything of a foreigner with a pointed beard and carry- ing two portmanteaux?”’ demanded one of the gendarmes. “ He 1s wanted for an assault on a lieutenant from Grandpre, and he left the train here.” Jean, with a stolid expression on his face, flecked a fly off his horse with his whip and then scratched his head thoughtfully. “Come, come, man, where are your wits?” cried the gendarme impa- tiently. “Did he wear a soft gray hat?” queried Jean. “Yes, yes,” cried out several voices. ‘‘ That’s the man.” “ Because,” continued Jean slowly, “ if that is the fellow you are looking for, he went down that road “—here he pointed in a direction at right angles to the way they were going. ‘And he was on foot, but walking very rap- idly.” The whole pack turned and went at full speed down the road indicated by Jean, while that worthy called out to the nearly suffocated Cottrell that he might come out of his dusty hiding place, which he did with all alacrity. ‘ “They'll have to go a long way down that road before they find you,” chuckled Daron, as the American took his place beside him. CHapterR IJI.—DE VILLIERS REVEALS His IDENTITY. AFTER they had traveled a couple of miles Jean allowed his horse to come down to a walk, after making sure no one was in pursuit, and in this way they traveled on for about half an hour in silence, each one engrossed in his own thoughts. . Cottrell noticed, from the direction they were taking and from the fact that the air grew stronger and sharper each mile, that they were approach- ing the coast. The sun had already set, and the shadows of evening were creeping up with great rapidity, so that it shortly became impossible to clearly distinguish objects about them. The road grew heavy and sandy and the trees thicker, until presently they were in quite a dense wood with no sign of life anywhere. Cottrell, in spite of himself, felt a bit awed by the strangeness of his. sur- roundings. } ‘Where are we now?” he asked, more to break the silence than for the sake of information. “You are in the park belonging to the Chateau de Frenoir,” was the reply. | ‘It seems to be of considerable extent! ” “Yes, it covers two thousand acres and has a frontage on the sea of about a mile.” “Shall I see Monsieur de Villiers tonight?” inquired Cottrell, after a pause. comiclooolk ceo