“Oh, they will seize him! They will tear him in pieces!” cried Afra.
“He cannot—no, he never can get away!” exclaimed Euphrosyne.
“And he gave me the sweetest smile as he was going out!” said the weeping gouvernante.
“There! Bravo! Bravo!” cried Monsieur Pascal; and Pierre echoed “Bravo!”
“What is it? What is it?” cried the girls.
“He is safe! He and his party—they are all safe! Not in the barge—that is upset. You see those two green boats, now pulling off. They are there. They leaped into those boats just in time.”
“Oh, look, look! what dreadful confusion!” cried Euphrosyne, covering her eyes with her hands.
“It is not so sure that they are safe yet,” observed Pierre. “See how the blacks are pouring into the water!”
“And carrying the ladies and children with them, I fear,” said Monsieur Pascal, gazing anxiously through his glass.
In fact, the negroes had no idea of giving up the pursuit because they had reached the water. Hundreds plunged in; and their heads were seen bobbing about all the surface of the bay. The rowers, however, pulled well, and presently left the greater number behind, to find satisfaction in the coolness of the element.