he town, and then discharge him. As
I am not in any way associated with you, even if inquiries are
made, our movements will throw no light upon yours."

The conversation took place in the bedroom where Madame Flambard
was, with her husband, packing up a few necessaries.

"As we go downstairs," he went on, "I shall make some remark about
our going straight on board. That will put them on the wrong scent,
and they will waste a lot of time searching all the craft in the
river. I do it principally because I want them to believe that you
have been rescued by a party of sailors. You heard me say that, as
sailors, they would be accustomed to tie the knots tightly; and of
course my uniform will help to lead them astray. The men with me
were really some of your cellarmen, under Lefranc."

"We shall be ready in three minutes. Fortunately we have not much
beyond my wife's jewels that we want to save. Like your wife's
brother, I have already made provision in England for this."

"I will be off as soon as I see the servants tied up."

He ran downstairs again. The two men and the maids willingly
suffered themselves to be tied up, when Leigh explained to them the
reasons for which it was done.

"Mind," he said, "if questioned, you say you believe that the men
who rushed in and fastened you up were sailors."

Before the work was done Monsieur Flambard came down and, standing
at the door which communicated with the cellars, shook hands with
his rescuers as they went out; and thanked them most heartily, in
the name of himself as well as his wife, for the service that they
had rendered. The men, before they passed through the door, took
off their masks. It had already been arranged that they should at
once scatter, and return quietly to the places where they had been
at work, and in so large a place it was not likely that their
absence had been noticed, as it would be supposed that they had
gone to another part of the cellar, and it was not above twenty
minutes since they had left it.

As soon as they had gone out, the door was locked on the inside.
Leigh and the Flambards went out at the back entrance into another
street, and there separated, Leigh hurrying back to his lodgings.
Madame Chopin opened the door.

"Madame," he said, "I have good news for my sister. I hope that we
shall be able to obtain news of her husband at Blaye; for he may,
if my information is correct, have sailed up the Dordogne, and we
may catch him as he