"You had, sire, but the conditions were urgent, and see, I have sought Captain de Mouret without arms, so no breach could occur between us."
"Fortunately, M. le Chevalier, Captain de Mouret has consented to leave this colony to-night, and before the day dawns he will doubtless be many miles away."
The Chevalier heard like one dumb and undecided, a great doubt tugging at his heart. He departed unsteadily in the direction of the barracks.
"Here, my good fellow, hast seen Captain de Mouret?" he inquired of a straggler.
The man saluted.
"Yes, sire, he but lately went the path towards the Bay."
"How long since?"
"A bare quarter of an hour. He was dressed for the forest and went alone."
During this while I, Placide de Mouret, stranger and outcast, sat upon a grassy hillock awaiting Pachaco with his boat. The echoes of my horn had died away in the night, and soon after I caught the sound of running feet, and heard a man's voice calling my name as he ran. To my utter astonishment it was the Chevalier, breathless from his speed.
"Is it you—Captain de Mouret?"