“Good-night, then,” and casting another glance around the apartment to assure himself that all was right, he withdrew. I heard him giving some orders outside the door, a bolt was thrown, and all was still. The six guards in my apartment continued marching up and down without saying a word. I realized that nothing could be done that night, and appreciating the value of sleep in clearing the brain and steadying the nerves, I undressed and went to bed. As I entered the smaller room two of the guards took their station at its open door, where they could observe my every movement, and I smiled to myself at the thought that Hérault must indeed consider me formidable.
CHAPTER XIV
THE GAME OF PRISONER’S CHASE
I am fond of lying in bed in the morning and thinking over the situation in which I find myself, as the reader doubtless knows already if he has had the patience to come thus far with me, and when I awoke in the house of M. Hérault I was in no hurry to arise. I was able to see quite clearly all the workings of this trap which had been set for Richelieu. He would arrive at Paris in the evening and would proceed to his hotel. There he would find the note from Mlle. de Valois awaiting him. Hérault could easily find a way to deliver it without exciting suspicion. Richelieu might wonder at my absence, but I knew him well enough to know that suspicion or even certainty of foul play would not for a moment deter him from keeping the appointment which she had given him. He would, then, at ten o’clock, proceed to the house in the Rue Jean Tison, the third from the end, on the right-hand side. He would rap three times and would be admitted, and a moment later Hérault’s men would break open the door, overwhelm him, and carry him off to the Bastille. This time there would be no escape, and I shuddered as I thought what the end would be.
I bounded out of bed. The clothes were suffocating me. It was time for action.
Two guards stood at my door watching me closely. Four others were in the outer room.
“Good-morning, gentlemen,” I said, reflecting that I could lose nothing by being on good terms with these men. “You must have had a weary time of it watching all night.”
“We went on duty only an hour ago, monsieur,” said one of them, who seemed to be in command. “The watches were changed while you slept.”
“And how long will you be on duty?” I asked, carelessly.
“Twelve hours, or until ten o’clock to-night, monsieur,” he answered.
“Ah, you have long hours.”