A ready answer sprang to my lips, but I checked it. D'Arçy had evidently only a passing acquaintance with my cousin, but this man might know him well; in which case the trick would be discovered.
"Peleton is always suspecting some one," laughed D'Arçy, "and generally without cause."
"Well, if anything goes wrong, remember I warned you!" growled the other.
"Peace!" cried a third man, stepping from the shadow of a doorway. "Small wonder the Cardinal wins, when we spend our time in squabbling between ourselves. De Lalande, you are late, but now you have come, let us begin the business without more delay. Mazarin is still in the house, and our men are waiting. The horses are harnessed, and directly you give the signal the carriage will be at the door. I need not warn you to take care of yourself."
"Three knocks, remember," said D'Arçy. "We will stand here in the shadow; the others are in their places, and keeping a sharp look-out."
"One minute!" I whispered to him. "There is just a trifling matter I wish done. If I don't return—and that seems not unlikely—will you go straight back to La Boule d'Or? You will find a man in my room tied up and gagged; set him at liberty."
D'Arçy gave a low whistle of surprise, but without asking for an explanation he promised to go.
"If we succeed I can attend to him myself," I added. "Now stand back."
"Don't forget," said the third man, "that if the Cardinal slips through your fingers your own neck will be in danger."
"Good luck," cried D'Arçy softly, as I crossed the road to the astrologer's house.