hat, by dint of
patient perseverance, I had succeeded in filing through the bars of my
port-hole and I could have escaped that way, only, though I am a good
swimmer, I soon grow tired. I had therefore to choose a moment when the
yacht was not too far from the land. It was not until yesterday that,
perched on my chair, I caught sight of the coast; and, in the evening,
at sunset, I recognized, to my astonishment, the outlines of the
Chateau de Sarzeau, with its pointed turrets and its square keep. I
wondered if this was the goal of my mysterious voyage. All night long,
we cruised in the offing. The same all day yesterday. At last, this
morning, we put in at a distance which I considered favourable, all the
more so as we were steaming through rocks under cover of which I could
swim unobserved. But, just as I was about to make my escape, I noticed
that the shutter of the hatch, which they thought they had closed, had
once more opened of itself and was flapping against the partition. I
again pushed it ajar from curiosity. Within arm's length was a little
cupboard which I managed to open and in which my hand, groping at
random, laid hold of a bundle of papers. This consisted of letters,
letters containing instructions addressed to the pirates who held me
prisoner. An hour later, when I wriggled through the port-hole and
slipped into the sea, I knew all: the reasons for my abduction, the
means employed, the object in view and the infamous scheme plotted
during the last three months against the Duc de Sarzeau-Vendome and his
daughter. Unfortunately, it was too late. I was obliged, in order not to
be seen from the yacht, to crouch in the cleft of a rock and did not
reach land until mid-day. By the time that I had been to a fisherman's
cabin, exchanged my clothes for his and come on here, it was three
o'clock. On my arrival. I learnt that Angelique's marriage was
celebrated this morning."

The old duke had not spoken a word. With his eyes riveted on the
stranger's, he was listening in ever-increasing dismay. At times, the
thought of the warnings given him by the prefect of police returned to
his mind:

"They're nursing you, monsieur le duc, they are nursing you."

He said, in a hollow voice:

"Speak on ... finish your story.... All this is ghastly.... I don't
understand it yet ... and I feel nervous...."

The stranger resumed:

"I am sorry to say, the story is easily pieced together and is summed up
in a few sentences. It