He understood my perplexity.
“Quite so!” he said, answering my unexpressed thought. “Quite so! Just a step or two! This way, Monsieur, if you please!”
His voice had now a soft, caressing gentleness; though I sensed an imperious order in his words—a command I could only obey.
When he turned to go, I followed him.
XIII
Easily, lightly, rapidly, over the jumbled rocks and through the tangled underbrush, the hoary old man made his way, beating his cane to right and left to open a path before us. I kept carefully to his foot-prints, really exerting myself, however, to maintain his rate of progress.
Fully a quarter of an hour it must have been that we walked thus in file one behind the other. Then my guide stopped of a sudden, turned toward me, and said:
“Monsieur, you will be careful!”