“I suppose I had unconscious faith in you, Irene,” he whispered, “and that is why I cried your name. But no more talking now. Rapid, silent movement alone can save us.”
They had not gone twenty yards beneath the trees when some one hissed, “Visé!”
“Liège, you lump!” retorted Dalroy.
“Monsieur, I——”
“Shut up! Hold mademoiselle’s hand, and lead on.”
He did not ask whither they were going. The path led diagonally to the left, and that was what he wanted—a way to a flank.
Maertz, however, soon faltered and stopped in his tracks.
“The devil take all woods at night-time!” he growled. “Give me the highroad and a wagon-team, and I’ll face anything.”
“Are you lost?” asked Dalroy.