is, if you will
walk with me afterwards to my lodgings."

Even amidst the exciting circumstances surrounding her, Edith recognized
the absolute necessity there was to maintain the credibility of her
previous narrative.

Unquestionably Dubois and the lady intended to embark on one of the
fishing boats. They hastened to the further end of the harbour, through
whose tiny entrance Edith could now see the dark waters of the bay
beyond, for the night was beautifully clear and fine, and the bright
stars of the south lent some radiance to the scene, when the girls
quitted the deep shadow of the houses.

A solitary boat, a decked fishing-smack of some forty tons, was lying by
the side of the quay, apart from the others. Edith, who knew something
about yachting, recognized that her gearing was not fastened in the trim
manner suggestive of a craft laid by for the night. At the same instant,
too, she caught sight of a third form--that of a man who had been seated
on a fixed capstan, and who now strode forward to peer at the
newcomers.

Some few words passed between the three, but it was impossible for the
girls to hear a syllable. Instantly the sailor assisted Dubois and
Mademoiselle Beaucaire to step down from the quay on board the smack. He
followed them, and three other men, who appeared out of the chaos of
sails and ropes, commenced to labour with a large pole in order to shove
the sturdy vessel out into the harbour.

"Quick!" murmured Edith, in an agony lest the opportunity should slip.
"Tell me what vessel it is."

"I think," said Marie, "it is the _Belles Soeurs_. Anyhow, we can
easily make certain. All we have to do is to go back around the top of
the harbour, walk down the Quai du Port, and watch her as she passes
under the lighthouse of the Fort St. Jean. They will hoist her sail then
and we shall see her number."

"Oh, come," cried Edith, "let us run!"

"We can run if you like," replied Marie coolly, "but there is no need.
They have to get out by using the sweeps, and we will be underneath the
lighthouse at least a minute or two before they pass, even if we walk
slowly."

Whilst they were talking the three girls put their words into practice,
and Edith found herself battling with a logical dilemma. Dubois was
evidently escaping from France--making out from Marseilles at this late
hour on a vessel capable of sailing to almost any point of the
Mediterranean.

What could she do? Was it possible to invoke the