eless woman--and
an old one at that."

De Marmont laughed aloud. "Bully Mme. la Duchesse d'Agen?" he exclaimed.
"_Sacre tonnerre!_ what do you take me for. I shall not bully her. Fifty
soldiers don't bully a defenceless woman. We shall treat Mme. la
Duchesse with every consideration: we shall only remove five and twenty
millions of stolen money from her carriage, that is all."

"You may be mistaken about the money, de Marmont. It may be anywhere
except in the keeping of Mme. la Duchesse."

"It may be at the Chateau de Brestalou in the keeping of M. le Comte de
Cambray: and this I shall find out first of all. But I must not stand
gossiping any longer. I must see Colonel de la Bedoyere and get the men
I want. What are your plans, my dear Clyffurde?"

"The same as before," replied Bobby quietly. "I shall leave Grenoble as
soon as I can."

"Let the Emperor send you on a special mission to Lord Grenville, in
London, to urge England to remain neutral in the coming struggle."

"I think not," said Clyffurde enigmatically.

De Marmont did not wait to ask him to what this brief remark had
applied; he bade his friend a hasty farewell, then he turned on his
heel, and gaily whistling the refrain of the "Marseillaise," stalked out
of the hotel.

Clyffurde remained standing in the narrow panelled hall, which just then
reeked strongly of stewed onions and of hot coffee; he never moved a
muscle, but remained absolutely quiet for the space of exactly two
minutes; then he consulted his watch--it was then close on midday--and
finally went back to his room.

V

An hour after dawn that self-same morning the travelling coach of M. le
Comte de Cambray was at the perron of the Chateau de Brestalou.

At the last moment, when M. le Comte, hopelessly discouraged by the
surrender of Grenoble to the usurper, came home at a late hour of the
night, he decided that he too would journey to Paris with his sister and
daughter, taking the money with him to His Majesty, who indeed would
soon be in sore need of funds.

At that same late hour of the night M. le Comte discovered that with the
exception of faithful Hector and one or two scullions in the kitchen his
male servants both indoor and out had wandered in a body out to Grenoble
to witness "the Emperor's" entry into the city. They had marched out of
the chateau to the cry of "Vive l'Empereur!" and outside the gates had
joined a number of villagers of Brestalou who were bent on the same