"We go to—"
"On a journey, monsieur, a dangerous one, but with a good end to it, I hope. Let me help you to dress in this coat and wig."
"I care not how I go, so that the journey leads me to—to my desire," said Barrington.
"That's the road we all try to travel," Dubois returned, as he helped Seth fit his wig and tied the sash round him.
"It's a long road and few reach the end of it," Seth remarked, "but with a sword to hand I find my courage rising."
"Let me touch your face with a little black from the stove," said Mercier. "You are a little too pale, Monsieur Barrington."
"It is no wonder. It seems an age since I felt the wind on my cheeks."
"That is better," said Mercier, as with some skill he tinted Barrington's face and then treated Seth in the same fashion. "Now listen. You, Monsieur Barrington, are Citizen Roche, your man here is Citizen Pinot. You are both officers of the Convention under the leadership of Citizen Mercier, a trusted servant of the Convention. Remember these names, Roche, Pinot;—think of no others. I have papers with me in which you are so named. Leave the speaking to me. You are glum fellows lusting only for the work you have been given to do."
"But where do we go?" asked Barrington.
"You must trust me, monsieur. I have my instructions from Citizen Latour. It may be that I do not know the whole of his purpose. May I trust you to follow my instructions to the letter? for truly, if you presently ask questions and show curiosity, my head is as good as in Madame Guillotine's basket."