“Perhaps he only saw you at the edge of the clearing and, not being sure how far you had wandered in the forest, thought he would make friendly advances and be on the safe side.”
“To regain our confidence, you mean, in case we had seen him confabing with his gentleman hunter? What a German idea! How dull he must think us.”
“If you’d been a little sharper you’d have said nothing,” Bob grumbled. “You’ve put him on guard against us.”
“No, I haven’t, he was there before. If I were you I’d insist on learning the truth at once. He can’t hold out against you. They’ve primed him with plausible answers up to a certain point. Beyond that he’s muddle-headed and would blurt out anything. Why remain in doubt?”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Bob admitted after a pause. “It is rather silly to let him bother us. But somehow I don’t think it will be easy to find out his secret, whether it’s an innocent or a guilty one. His master has a hard hand, I imagine, when his servants fail him.”
“Gammon!” scoffed Alan. “Why, I wormed some of it out of him this afternoon in five minutes. I’d have got it all if it hadn’t been for Lucy’s pleading glances. Don’t come to England and tell me you never found out what he’s up to, or I’ll say I’m not the only silly ass in the family.”
CHAPTER VIII
FOR ADELHEID
Madame de la Tour and Michelle had lodgings in Badheim village, but Miss Webster, after discovering how useful Michelle promptly made herself at the hospital, assigned them a room in the cottage with Lucy and Miss Pearse, in which to pass the night whenever they chose. And they often chose to remain there, so as to spend the evenings with Armand, who, recovering more slowly than Bob and Alan, loved to have his mother and sister to beguile his lonely hours. Thus it happened that Michelle took part in a night’s incident soon after Lucy’s and Alan’s visit to Franz’ cottage.
Lucy was roused from the sound, dreamless sleep into which she fell after each hard day’s work by a sound of tapping against the window casement beside her cot. She stirred without opening her eyes, for the casement opened outwards, and she vaguely fancied that a branch of the tree shading the window had blown against the pane. But when the sound was sharply repeated she opened her eyes, sat up, and turning to the window saw a woman looking in at her.