ace he had to
cross to reach Belleville. A hundred yards from the town he paused, for
here the trail separated again; two of the six travellers had turned to
the right, that is to say, they had struck away from the river, the
four others to the left, continuing on their way to Belleville. At the
outskirts of the town, another secession had taken place; three of the
riders had gone round the town, one had entered it.

Roland followed the latter, sure that he could recover the traces of the
others. The one who had entered the town and followed the main street
had stopped at a pretty house between court and garden, numbered 67. He
had rung and some one had let him in; for through the iron grating could
be seen traces of footsteps, and beside them the tracks of a horse being
led to the stable.

It was quite evident that one, at least, of the Companions of Jehu
had stopped there. By going to the mayor of the town, exhibiting his
authority, and asking for gendarmes, Roland could have arrested him at
once. But that was not his object; he did not wish to arrest a solitary
individual; he wanted to catch the whole company in a trap.

He made a note in his mind of No. 67, and continued on his way. He
crossed the entire town and rode a few hundred paces beyond it without
meeting any fresh traces. He was about to return, when it occurred to
him that, if the tracks of the three riders reappeared anywhere, it
would be at the head of the bridge. And there, sure enough, he found the
hoof-prints of three horses, which were undoubtedly those he sought, for
one of them paced.

Roland galloped in pursuit. On reaching Monceaux--same precaution,
the riders had skirted the village; but Roland was too good a scout to
trouble himself about that. He kept on his way, and at the other end of
Monceaux he recovered the fugitives' tracks. Not far from Chatillon one
of the three horses had left the highroad, turning to the right toward
a little chateau, standing on a hill a short distance from the road
between Chatillon and Trevoux. This time the three remaining riders,
evidently believing they had done enough to mislead any one who might be
following, had kept straight on through Chatillon and taken the road to
Neuville.

The direction taken by the fugitives was eminently satisfactory to
Roland; they were undoubtedly on their way to Bourg; if they had not
intended to go there they would have taken the road to Marlieux. Now,
Bourg was the headqua