"If your comrades see him, what would they do?""Not lose sight of him for a moment, and if he showed signs of escape, or any boat came in sight, they would close in on him, and, if necessary, they would shoot: the firing would bring the rest of the patrol to the spot. In any case they would not let the stranger go.""Aye! but I did not want the stranger hurt--not just yet,"murmured Chauvelin, savagely, "but there, you've done your best. The Fates grant that I may not be too late. . . .""We met half a dozen men just now, who have been patrolling this road for several hours.""Well?"
"They have seen no stranger either."
"Yet he is on ahead somewhere, in a cart or else. . .Here!
there is not a moment to lose. How far is that hut from here?""About a couple of leagues, citoyen."
"You can find it again?--at once?--without hesitation?""I have absolutely no doubt, citoyen."
"The footpath, to the edge of the cliff?--Even in the dark?""It is not a dark night, citoyen, and I know I can find my way," repeated the soldier firmly.