. Had he ransacked his ample vocabulary of the French
language he could scarcely have hit upon another set of syllables
offering similar difficulties to the foreigner. It was quite evident
that his accurate pronunciation startled the accomplices. Each arrived
at the same conclusion, though by different channels; this man was no
mere chauffeur, and the fact rendered his marked hostility all the
more significant.

Nevertheless, for the moment, Marigny concealed his uneasiness: by a
display of good humor he hoped to gloss over the palpable absurdity of
his earlier statements to Cynthia.

"I seem to have bungled this business very badly," he said airily.
"Please don't be too hard on me. I shall make the _amende_ when I see
you in Bristol. _Au revoir, cheres dames!_ Tell them to keep me some
dinner. I may not be so very far behind, since you ladies will take
some time over your toilette, and I shall--what do you call it--scorch
like mad after I have found that careless scoundrel, Smith."

Cynthia had suddenly grown dumb, so Mrs. Devar tried once more to
relax the tension.

"Do be careful, Count Edouard," she cried; "this piece of road is
dreadfully dangerous, and, when all is said and done, another half
hour is now of no great consequence."

"If your chauffeur has really gone to Blagdon, he will not be back
under an hour at least," broke in Medenham's disdainful voice. "Unless
you wish to wreck your car you will not attempt to follow him."

With that he bent over the head lamps, and their radiance fell
unexpectedly on Marigny's scowling face, since the discomfited
adventurer could no longer pretend to ignore the Englishman's menace.
Still, he was powerless. Though quivering with anger and balked
desire, he dared not provoke a scene in Cynthia's presence, and her
continued silence already warned him that she was bewildered if not
actually suspicious. He forced a laugh.

"Explanations are like swamps," he said. "The farther you plunge into
them the deeper you sink. So, good-bye! To please you, Mrs. Devar, I
shall crawl. As for Miss Vanrenen, I see that she does not care what
becomes of me."

Cynthia weakened a little at that. Certainly she wondered why her
model chauffeur chose to express his opinions so bluntly, while
Marigny's unwillingness to take offense was admirable.

"Is there no better plan?" she asked quickly, for Medenham had started
the engine, and his hand was on the reversing lever.

"For what?" he de