"None, dear."
"Then—then—madame, I suppose it was my tears that blinded me for the moment."
"No doubt it was your tears."
But each said in her heart that it was not tears; each said: "Let not this thing come, O God!" Presently, with a caress, the elder woman left the room; but the girl remained to watch that gloomy thing upon the Hill of Pains.
As she stood there, with her fingers clasped upon a letter she had drawn from her pocket, a voice from among the palms outside floated towards her.
"He escaped last night; the Semaphore shows that they have got upon his track. I suppose they'll try to converge upon him before he gets to Pascal River. Once there he might have a chance of escape; but he'll need a lot of luck, poor devil!"
Marie's fingers tightened on the letter.
Then another voice replied, and it brought a flush to the cheek of the girl, a hint of trouble to her eyes. It said: "Is Miss Wyndham here still?"
"Yes, still here. My wife will be distressed when she leaves us."
"She will not care to go, I should think. The Hotel du Gouverneur spoils us for all other places in New Caledonia."