“That was a clever trick of yours, young gentleman,” said Bagot, with a broad grin. “But I don’t bear any malice. King’s service, sir. You see, I can take care of you as well as watch.”
“Yes. Thank you,” said Frank coldly; and with a sigh of relief he tore the leaf bearing the sketch out of his pocket-book, and then turned cold, for he felt that he had made a false move. The other man was watching him.
“Spoiled my sketch,” he said, with a half laugh. “Made me start so that my pencil went right across it.”
Fortunately this was quite true, and it carried conviction.
“Don’t tear it up, sir,” said the second man respectfully. “I should like to take that home to please my little girl. She’d know the place. She often comes to feed the ducks.”
The man was human, then, after all, even if he was a spy, and Frank’s heart softened to him a little as he gave him the sketch.
“Thank ye, sir,” said the man, who looked pleased; and the lad stopped and listened to him, feeling that it was giving Drew time to get away.
“I can tell her I saw a young gentleman drawing it. She’s quite clever with her pencil, sir; but she can’t, of course, touch this.”
Frank hesitated for a few moments as to which way he should go, inclination drawing him after his friend; but wisdom suggested the other direction, and he strolled off without looking back till he could do so in safety, making the excuse of throwing in the remains of the biscuit Drew had returned to the ducks.
He had been longing intensely to look back before and see if the men were following his friend; but to his great relief he found that they were not very far from where he now stood.