two young women rode in the same carriage. Occasionally the men
got down out of theirs and walked on either side of them. Whenever an
abrupt turn showed forward, Fitzgerald put his hand in his pocket.
From whichever way it came, he, at least, was not going to be found
unprepared. Sometimes, when he heard M. Ferraud's laughter drift back
from the admiral's carriage, he longed to throttle the aggravating
little man. Yet, his admiration of him was genuine. What a chap to
have wandered round with, in the old days! He began to realize what
Frenchmen must have been a hundred years gone. And the strongest point
in his armor was his humanity; he wished no one ill. Gradually the
weight on Fitzgerald's shoulders lightened. If M. Ferraud could laugh,
why not he?

"Isn't that view lovely!" exclaimed Laura, as the _Capo di Rosso_
glowed in the sun with all the beauty of a fabulous ruby. "Are you
afraid at all, Hildegarde?"

"No, Laura; I am only sad. I wish we were safely on the yacht. Yes,
yes; I _am_ afraid, of something I know not what."

"I never dreamed that he could be dishonest. He was a gentleman,
somewhere in his past. I do not quite understand it all. The money
does not interest my father so much as the mere sport of finding it.
You know it was agreed to divide, his share among the officers and
seamen, and the balance to our guests. It would have been such fun."

And the woman who knew everything must perforce remain silent. With
what eloquence she could have defended him!

"Do you think we shall find it?" wistfully.

"No, Laura."

"How can he find his way back without passing us?"

"For a desperate man who has thrown his all on this one chance, he will
find a hundred ways of returning."

A carriage came round one of the pinnacled _calenches_. It was empty.
M. Ferraud casually noted the number. He was not surprised. He had
been waiting for this same vehicle. It was Breitmann's, but the man
driving it was not the man who had driven it out of Ajaccio. He was an
Evisan. A small butterfly fluttered alongside. M. Ferraud jumped out
and swooped with his hat. He decided not to impart his discovery to
the others. He was assured that the man from Evisa knew absolutely
nothing, and that to question him would be a waste of time. At this
very moment it was not unlikely that Breitmann and his confederate were
crossing the mountains; perhaps with three or four sturdy donkeys,
their panniers packed w