of the gentry
in this neighbourhood. Do you know him?"

"No, I cannot say that I do, Raoul; though I, too, seem to have a
recollection of his face. It is a sort of face one remembers, too.
I should think his family must belong to the north, for you do not
often see men of that complexion about here. He looks very young,
not above nineteen or twenty; but there is a look of earnestness
and resolution, about his face, that would point to his being some
years older."

Dismissing the matter from his mind, Raoul joined in the
conversation round him. Presently he grasped his cousin's arm.

"I know where we saw the face now, Louis. He was one of the four
fellows we stopped, two days since, near Bazas."

"Impossible, Raoul! Those men were peasants, though two of them had
served for a time in the army; the others--" and he stopped.

"You see it yourself, Louis. One of the others was a dark, active
man. The other was but a lad--a tall, well-built young fellow, with
fair complexion and gray eyes. I thought of it afterwards, and
wondered where he got that skin and hair from. I put it down that
it was a trace of English blood, of which there is a good deal
still left in Guyenne, and some of the other provinces they held,
long ago."

"I certainly see the likeness, now you mention it, Raoul; but it
can hardly be the same. This is a gentleman. He is certainly that,
whoever he may be. How could a gentleman be masquerading about as a
peasant?"

"That is what I am going to find out, Louis. He may have been a
Huguenot, making his way down to join the Queen of Navarre at Nerac
He may be one of her train there, who had gone out, in disguise, to
reconnoitre the country and see what forces of ours were in the
neighbourhood, and where posted. That may be his mission, here; but
this time he has chosen to come in his proper attire."

"That can hardly be his attire, if he is one of Jeanne of Navarre's
followers. He may have got a suit for the purpose, but assuredly
the colours are too gay for a Huguenot in her train. For my part, I
see nothing suspicious about his appearance. There, he is paying
his reckoning, and going."

"And I am going after him," Raoul said, rising. "There is something
strange about the affair, and there may be some plot. Do you come
with me, Louis.

"Monsieur D'Estanges, I have a little matter of business on hand.
Will you come with me?"

Chapter 12: An Escape From Prison.

Glancing half round, as he tu