“‘I begin to recognize the locality now,’ he said; ‘we have come to the great tower, which is used as a prison. There can be no prisoners in it, for the door is open. If we go down into the cells below, I answer for it that they will have some trouble in finding us there.’
“With that he was going down, but the idea of burying ourselves in those subterranean dungeons, which are said to be so gloomy and terrible, frightened Margaret, and she begged him to stop.
“‘No, no,’ she said; ‘don’t go any further; stay at the entrance. Here is a recess in the wall, almost built up; let us go in there, and don’t talk, for you know there are spies in this game, whose duty it is to wander about and listen, so as to tell the others where we are.’
“We did as Margaret wished; but scarcely were we in our hiding-place when we heard some one coming; and, thinking they were already on our track, we repressed our laughter, and scarcely even ventured to breathe. Then we heard the very words that I am going to repeat to you. They were spoken by two men who came out of the tower, and went through the long gallery that had brought us there. They were talking low, but they stopped for a few moments at the door of the tower, to have an explanation, and this is what they said:
“‘Are you going to put me with the party detailed to guard the Italian again? I am tired of that sort of service.’
“‘No, you are to come with us to the old chateau. The Italian is one of ourselves, at present!’
“‘So; and what is to be done over there?’
“I cannot tell you what the other said, for we did not understand it. It was slang talk, it seems, such as robbers use; but they repeated the name of Christian Waldo several times, and they spoke, also, of the lawyer.
“‘The lawyer,’ one said, ‘oh, he will be of no account. A lawyer always runs away.’”
“That remains to be seen!” cried M. Goefle. “And what then?”