“I am a friend of Lieutenant Duquesne, the man whom you seek, and also have a letter from him which he has asked me to take to the man whose name is Cromillian. Here, look at this and you will see that I have spoken the truth.”
He took the letter from his pocket and showed it to the men.
“Is that all right?” asked one of the men, turning to the other. “You know I cannot read.”
The second man took the letter and scanned it closely.
“Yes,” he said, “that’s the name on the letter—Cromillian. What do you want us to do? To take the letter to Cromillian?”
“No,” said Jack, “I gave my word to Lieutenant Duquesne that I would deliver it to Cromillian myself. What better proof can you have of my good faith than my willingness to go with you?”
“That’s so,” said one of the men, and the other one nodded his assent. They sheathed their stilettos.
“When can you go?” asked one of them.
“At once,” replied Jack.
“Come along then,” was the command. “Are you good for a six-mile tramp over a rough road?”