“Really, I do not think so. I can quite understand his desire to kill me. If he succeeded it would be but just. All the same I do not wish to die. I have escaped him for three years, and I propose to go on escaping. But here I babble of my own affairs and do not even thank you for having saved my life. You have done me a great service, mademoiselle—a very great service. I shall not forget it.”
At this I laughed. “It is not a very great matter. Indeed, it is hardly worth thanks.”
“You shall not find me ungrateful. But I must not inflict myself upon you longer than is necessary. If the coast is clear now, I can get away with safety. Might I ask you to inspect from the window once more?”
I went to the window and turned back to him. “It is no good,” I said, “your brother has come back again. He is standing on the opposite side of the road.”
“He saw you?”
“Yes, I think so. Indeed, I am sure of it.”
“Then he saw, as I did, that you gave a little start. Possibly he also saw you watching at the window when he passed the first time. He is rather a clever man, and he can make deductions. I fear, mademoiselle, that in a few moments you will be troubled with a visit from my brother.”
“But you,” I said, “what about you?”
“If I got through the window of the room at the back of this flat where should I be?”
“You would drop into the little yard of the flat below this. It is at present untenanted, and you might make your way into it, or else climb the wall and get——”