“So he has been. I have found him out at last. He is paid by the Governor-Earl to betray us, and he must die for it. If you will kill him you shall have his place. Will you do it?”
“You have but to command. Shall I ahead and do it now?”
“No, no,” he said quickly, laying his hand on my arm. “There are three of them; besides, this must be done secretly. To-morrow, at nine o’clock exactly, Louis and I shall set out for the Hanging Rock. Be there to meet us. When we are done with him I have a secret to introduce you to in the chamber beneath the rock.”
“I shall be there in waiting, master.”
“Good. Be punctual. Now drop back and do not show yourself in the meantime. I shall join those ahead.”
With that he quickened his step and was soon swallowed in the darkness, while I stood counting his dwindling footsteps.
CHAPTER XIX
I MEET THE PATROON AGAIN
It is pleasant to indulge the habit of speculation, and to this day I never weary of wondering how it is that a person can perform acts in a moment of excitement that he could do at no other time; or why it is that one often collapses with fear the moment all cause for anxiety is gone.
The latter was my case when the patroon left me to rejoin his companions. Ever since my arrival at the manor-house, I had known myself in great danger. The alertness required, the readiness to defend my life at a moment’s notice had caused an almost continuous strain upon my nerves that was well nigh unendurable. But, in spite of the two bold attempts on my life, I had borne up bravely and had not flinched.
The moment the patroon left me, however, I felt my courage slipping after him. As I counted his footsteps, as they became fainter and fainter in the distance, I began to fear that he would return. Instead of joy at my narrow escape, I feared lest it should not prove an escape at all. Suppose Louis should tell him who I was. I had every reason in the world to believe in the dwarf’s honesty; the very fact that I began to suspect him at the moment he had delivered me from such imminent danger shows the power of the reaction that had taken hold of me.