“There is a carriage on the road,” he said.
They all listened. There were three other men whom the abbé knew by sight and reputation. One by one they rose to their feet and slowly cocked their old-fashioned single-barrelled guns.
“It is the carriage from Olmeta—must be going to Perucca,” reported the boy.
And at the word Perucca, the count scrambled to his feet, only to be dragged back by Jean. The old man's eyes were alight with fear and hatred. He was grasping Jean's gun. The abbé rose and peered down through the bushes. Then he turned sharply and wrenched Jean's firearm from the count's hands.
“They are friends of mine,” he said. “The man who shoots will be shot by me.”
All turned and looked at him. They knew the abbé and the gun. And while they looked, Denise and Mademoiselle Brun drove past in safety.
CHAPTER XXIII. AN UNDERSTANDING.
“Keep cool, and you command everybody.”