"Irretrievably lost."
"And why?"
"Just now, at the inn, after having learnt about the kidnaping of Montfaucon, I sent my three other boys to the nearest farms to bring all the peasants they met."
He sneered:
"By the time they've got together a troop of peasants, I shall be a long way off."
"They are nearly here. I'm certain of it."
"Too late, my pretty dear. If I'd had the slightest doubt, I'd have had you carried off by my men."
"By your men? No...."
"What is there to prevent it?"
"You are afraid of them, in spite of your airs of wild-beast tamer. They're asking themselves whether you didn't stay here to take advantage of the secret you have stolen and get hold of the diamonds. They would find an ally in me. You would not dare to take the risk."