I'm on again at six
to-night," and he moved away.

"Everything all right?" Nibet enquired, in a tone he tried to make as
casual as possible, but that trembled a little nevertheless.

"Quite," said Colas, perfectly naturally, and he went away.

* * * * *

Nibet could contain himself no longer, and the next second he threw
caution to the winds: rushing to Gurn's cell he flung the door open.

Gurn was there, sitting on the foot of his bed with his legs crossed and
a note-book on his knees, making notes with the quietest attention: he
scarcely appeared to notice Nibet's violent invasion.

"Oh! So you are there?" stammered the astonished warder.

Gurn raised his head and looked at the warder with a cryptic gaze.

"Yes, I'm here."

All manner of notions crowded through Nibet's brain, but he could find
words for none of them. Had the plot been discovered before Gurn had had
time to get away, or had a trap been laid for himself through the medium
of one of the prisoners to test his own incorruptibility? Nibet went
white, and leaned against the wall for support. At last Gurn spoke
again, reassuring him with a smile.

"Don't look so miserable," he said. "I am here. That is a matter of
absolutely no importance. We will suppose that nothing passed between us
yesterday, and--that's an end to it."

"So you haven't gone, you didn't go?" said Nibet again.

"No," Gurn replied; "since you are so interested, all I need say is that
I was afraid to risk it at the last minute."

Nibet had cast a keen and experienced eye all over the cell; under the
washstand he saw the little bundle of clothes which he had brought the
prisoner the previous day. He rightly opined that the first thing to do
was to remove these dangerous articles, whose presence in Gurn's cell
would appear very suspicious if they happened to be discovered. He took
the bundle and was hurriedly stowing it away under his own clothes, when
he uttered an exclamation of surprise; the things were wet, and he knew
from his own experience that the rain had never ceased throughout the
whole of the night.

"Gurn," he said reproachfully, "you are up to some trick! These things
are soaked. You must have gone out last night, or these things would not
be like this."

Gurn smiled sympathetically at the warder.

"Not so bad!" he remarked; "that's pretty good reasoning for a mere
gaoler." And as Nibet was about to press the matter, Gurn anticipat