"What can you do, my poor boy?" he said.

"I will go and see the marquis, and let you know afterwards,"
Rupert said. "I shall do something, you may be sure."

"If you do, you will want to escape from Lille. I will see about
the arrangements for that. There is no time to be lost. It is the
10th today."

Rupert's conversation with the Marquis de Pignerolles was long and
interesting. The marquis chafed at being confined to a sick bed and
permitting Rupert to run the risk, which was immense, of the
attempt alone. However, as he could not move, and as Rupert was
determined to do something, the marquis entered into all the plans
he had drawn up, and intended to follow when such an emergency
occurred. He gave him a letter for Adele, and then they parted.

At his room Rupert found Louis.

"Quick," he said, "there is no time to lose. At ten o'clock a
convoy of wounded leave for Paris. The doctor in charge is a friend
of mine and a capital fellow. I have just seen him. All is
arranged. Come along to my quarters, they are on the line that the
convoy goes to the gate. Jump in bed, then I will bandage up your
head with plaisters so that not more than space to see and breathe
out of will be left. When the convoy arrives at the door, he will
have an empty litter ready, will bring up four men who will lift
you in, supposing you to be a wounded French officer, carry you
down, and off you go with the convoy, not a soul save the doctor,
you, and I, the wiser. He has got a pass to leave the city with
forty-eight sick and ten soldiers, and he has only to tell one of
those marked to go that he is not well enough to be moved, and will
go with the next convoy. The messenger who brought the letter has
started again, and has taken with him a led horse of mine. He will
be at the hostelry of Henri the 4th, at the place where you will
stop tonight. He will not know who you are, I have told him that a
friend of mine will call for the horse, which I had promised to
send him.

"When you halt for the night, the doctor will order you to be
carried into his own room. You will find two or three suits of
clothes in the litter, a lackey's suit of our livery which may be
useful, a country gentleman's, and one of mine. When you are alone
with the doctor and all is safe, get up, put on the country
gentleman's suit, say goodbye to him and go straight to the stables
at the Henri the 4th. You are the Sire de Nadar. I have written a
note here, telling