most anxious of nights will pass; the day succeeding it crawled on, as
even the dreariest of days will crawl; and at last the hour arrived.
When, aided by Hinge on one side and by a stout walking-stick on the
other, I left the hotel, the night was already dark, and once more a
heavy rain was falling. Hinge had secured a vehicle, which carried us
to within a hundred yards of our destination, and was there discharged.
There was a lamp at either end of the brief lane in which the river-side
cottage stood, and we could see that the road was diverted. There was
still a chance that the traitors who were plotting against us might keep
watch, and we slipped into the garden with some little trepidation. Once
within the gate, I made a circuit of the house to assure myself that
there was no chance of our being observed, and finding the whole field
clear, I climbed, with Hinge's aid, onto the balcony. We had found the
whole land in front of the house in darkness, and only a single room on
the river-side was illuminated. Hinge touched me on the elbow, and with
a forward finger indicated the lighted window, and motioned me on. I
went crouching with a stealthy step until I came on a level with the
window, and then, kneeling on the wet boards of the veranda, I found
within eyeshot Brunow, the baroness, Sacovitch, and Constance Pleyel.
The two men were smoking, wine was set out upon the table, and four
glasses were filled. The whole party had an air of Bohemian ease and
jollity. They were talking together, and I could see Sacovitch pacing
the room with great vehemence of gesture; but though I could hear the
deep murmur of his voice, and could even ascertain that he was speaking
in English with a foreign accent, I could not succeed, strain my ears as
I might, in making out the burden of a consecutive sentence. Hinge was
crouching at my side, his shoulder touching mine. The rain dripped from
the upper part of the house onto the shelving roof of the veranda with
a monotonous and incessant noise which drowned the voices within at
critical moments, so that we caught no more than detached words. All
of a sudden I felt Hinge's hand on my wrist, and at that second a step
crunched on the gravel between the gate and the door of the house. Then
a bell tinkled faintly, and we both saw the whole quartet turn with
varying expressions of waiting and attention. Then the door of the room
opened and a servant appeared, explaining in dumb show, so far as w