“We are not near the church, my—why, where are we? I have never seen these houses before. Henry, Henry, call to the driver! He has lost his way. My heavens, be quick!”
It was not necessary to hail the driver, for at that instant the carriage came to a sudden standstill. The door opened quickly, and before the eyes of the astonished occupants loomed the form of a masked man. In his hand he held a revolver.
XX. WITH STRANGE COMPANIONS
“A word, a sound and I fire!” came the cold, hard voice of the man in the mask. He spoke in French. The trio sat petrified, speechless, breathless. So sudden, so stunning was the shock to their senses that they were as graven images for the moment. There was no impulse to scream, to resist; they had no power to da either.
“We will injure no one unless there is an outcry or a struggle. Monsieur, Madame, there is no occasion for alarm; no more is there a chance to escape,” said the mask quietly. Three pairs of eyes looked dumbly into the gleaming holes in the black mask that covered his face.
“The police?” finally whispered Mrs. Garrison, coming slowly out of her stupor.
“Silence, madame! You are not to speak. Faint if you like; we will not object to that and it may be a relief to you,” said the man, sarcastically gallant. “I must ask you to make room for me inside the carriage. We cannot remain here; the police may come this way—I mean those who are not engaged in guarding the grand cathedral to which you were going.” He was inside the carriage and sitting beside Dorothy when he concluded the last observation. With a shudder she drew away from him. “Pardon, Mademoiselle, I must implore you to endure my presence here for a time. We have quite a distance to travel together.”
A nameless dread sent chills to the hearts which had begun to thump wildly in the reaction. What did he mean?
“What are you going to do with us?” groaned the horrified mother. The carriage was now moving rapidly over the pavement.