ust
before I left for England; if you will ask her the question, she will
confirm what I say, and she assured me that it was quite en regle."

But the man only shrugged his shoulders and laughed derisively. The
incident evidently amused him, yet he must have seen many of the same
sort; in the far corner of the tent Marguerite seemed to discern a few
moving forms, soldiers, she thought, for she caught sight of a glint
like that of steel. One or two men stood close behind the official at
the desk, and the sentinels were to the right and left of the tent.

With an instinctive sense of appeal, Marguerite looked round from one
face to the other: but each looked absolutely impassive and stolid,
quite uninterested in this little scene, the exact counterpart of a
dozen others, enacted on this very spot within the last hour.

"He! la! la! petite mere!" said the official in the same tone of easy
persiflage which he had adopted all along, "but we do know how to
concoct a pretty lie, aye! and so circumstantially too! Unfortunately
it was Citizeness Desiree Candeille herself who happened to be standing
just where you are at the present moment, along with her maid, Celine
Dumont, both of whom were specially signed for and recommended as
perfectly trustworthy, by no less a person than Citoyen Chauvelin of the
Committee of Public Safety."

"But I assure you that there is a mistake," pleased Marguerite
earnestly, "'Tis the other woman who lied, I have my passport and..."

"A truce on this," retorted the man peremptorily. "If everything is
as you say, and if you have nothing to hide, you'll be at liberty to
continue your journey to-morrow, after you have explained yourself
before the citizen governor. Next one now, quick!"

Marguerite tried another protest, just as those others had done, whom
she had watched so mechanically before. But already she knew that that
would be useless, for she had felt that a heavy hand was being placed on
her shoulder, and that she was being roughly led away.

In a flash she had understood and seen the whole sequel of the awful
trap which had all along been destined to engulf her as well as her
husband.

What a clumsy, blind fool she had been!

What a miserable antagonist the subtle schemes of a past master of
intrigue as was Chauvelin. To have enticed the Scarlet Pimpernel to
France was a great thing! The challenge was clever, the acceptance of
it by the bold adventurer a forgone conclusion, but th