ul was no more averse than
Dieppe from taking a good chance. The production of the portfolio was
the signal for a rapid series of decisive actions; for was not Dieppe
inside the hut, and might not Dieppe share or even engross the contents
of the portfolio? With the promptness of a man who has thoroughly
thought out his plans, Paul had flung away the lantern, hit Guillaume
on the forehead with the butt of his revolver, snatched the portfolio
from his hand, and bolted up the slope that led from the hut to the
summit; thence he ran down the road, not enjoying leisure to examine
his prize, but sure that it contained more than the bare ten thousand
francs for which he had modestly bargained. A humane man, he
reflected, would stay by Guillaume, bathe his brow, and nurse him back
to health; for with a humane man life is more than property; and
meanwhile the property, with Paul as its protector, would be far away.
But now--well, in the first place, Dieppe was evidently not a humane
man, and in the second, here was this pestilent river flooded to the
edge of its banks, and presenting the most doubtful passage which had
ever by the mockery of language been misnamed a ford. He was indeed
between the devil and the deep sea--that devil of a Dieppe and the deep
sea of the ford on the road from Sasellano. What was to be done?

The days of chivalry are gone; and the days of hanging or beheading for
unnecessary or unjustified homicide are with us, to the great detriment
of romance. Paul, like the Captain, did not desire a duel, although,
like the Captain, he proposed to keep his revolver handy. And, after
all, what was called a ford must be at least comparatively shallow.
Give it a foot of depth in ordinary times. Let it be three or four
now. Still he could get across. With one last look at the Captain,
who advanced steadily, although very slowly, Paul de Roustache essayed
the passage. The precious portfolio was in an inner pocket, the hardly
less precious revolver he grasped in one hand; and both his hands he
held half outstretched on either side of him. The Captain watched his
progress with the keenest interest and a generous admiration, and
quickened his own pace so as to be in a position to follow the daring
pioneer as rapidly as possible.

As far as depth was concerned, Paul's calculation was not far out. He
travelled a third of his way and felt the ground level under him. He
had reached the bottom of the river-bed,