“Here’s the promised ecu.”
The postilion took the coin and stuck it in his eye, as a fop of our day holds his eye-glasses. Morgan divined that this pantomime had a significance.
“Well,” he asked, “what does that mean?”
“That means,” said the postilion, “that, do what I will, I can’t help seeing with the other eye.”
“I understand,” said the young man, laughing; “and if I close the other eye—”
“Damn it! I shan’t see anything.”
“Hey! you’re a rogue who’d rather be blind than see with one eye! Well, there’s no disputing tastes. Here!”
And he gave him a second crown. The postilion stuck it up to his other eye, wheeled the carriage round and took the road back to Servas.
The Companion of Jehu waited till he vanished in the darkness. Then putting the hollow of a key to his lips, he drew a long trembling sound from it like a boatswain’s whistle.
A similar call answered him, and immediately a horseman came out of the woods at full gallop. As he caught sight of him Morgan put on his mask.