“Trifles! Do you call the death of a living man a trifle! Bah; but ’tis a shrewd hint, my honest man. I shall reward you with my confidence. I shall not honor the others so. Even Louis does not know what I am going to tell you. That man was Bellamont’s spy.”
“Spy,” I cried.
“Yes, my trusty Barker. A spy sent by the enemy of the Red Band.”
“So perish all her enemies.”
“Do you think so?” asked the patroon in a tone of condescension, as if he really wanted my corroboration. “If you really believe that, heart and soul, I have some work for you that will raise you high as an officer of mine. There is still another spy in the very bosom of the Red Band.”
“Another! Two of them! Who is he?”
“That prancing ape ahead.”
“Louis Van Ramm?”
“Louis Van Ramm.”
“I am astonished. We all thought he was our master’s dearest man.”