ck. Here is the captain's horse for you; I can
manage the others. Here, Alphonse," and I saw a man at the animals'
heads, "help me to mount, and then vanish. Unless you talk no one will
suspect you. Ready, monsieur? Away then. Ah, they have discovered
part of the trick and are running to the stables. Ho, ho! Captain
Courcy! Captain Courcy!"

There was a shout from the inn; then a pistol shot, and my late
companions ran this way and that in confusion.

"Not a moment later than six, captain," I cried. "Shall I carry a
message to your friends in Mezieres?" and then, with a triumphant
laugh, we clattered off in the darkness.

"We have scored the trick and the game," said Pillot, "though I thought
we were beaten when the captain talked of coming out. However, they
cannot catch us now, before reaching Mezieres, and beyond that they
will not venture."

Nothing more was said for a long time; we rode hard side by side,
Pillot leading the third horse. It was still dark and a high wind had
sprung up, but the rain had ceased. Occasionally we stopped to listen,
but there was no sound of galloping hoofs in the rear, and, indeed, we
hardly expected that the captain and his friends would follow very far.
Pillot reckoned the distance from Verdu to Mezieres at thirty miles,
and with several hours' start it seemed ridiculous to think of pursuit.
Presently we slackened pace, and I asked Pillot if he was sure of the
road.

"I think so; I have been making inquiries. By the way, monsieur must
be very cold without a hat."

"It is not pleasant; but better lose a hat than a head!" I replied with
a laugh.

Pillot proved a good guide, and Mezieres was still half asleep when we
rode into the town and pulled up at the principal inn.

"We can give ourselves two hours' rest," said the dwarf, "and then, in
case of accidents, we had better proceed. After breakfast, monsieur
can provide himself with a fresh hat and cloak."

"I will send for them, which will save time. We must leave nothing to
chance, Pillot. I am much mistaken if this Captain Courcy is the man
to confess himself beaten."

"He is beaten this time, confession or no confession," answered the
dwarf, with a shrug of his shoulders. "Still, it is always well not to
be too confident."

While we waited for breakfast he proceeded to give a brief account of
his doings. Before leaving the inn at Rheims he had slipped into my
horse's feed a powder, which, after a few