"You behave, as I have said, like a very bad schoolboy, Mr. Halkett——"
He tried vainly to place himself between her and the river, but could not disengage her grasp without hurting her. Then, over his shoulder, he saw three men come out of the river willows.
"You shall not take this risk——" he insisted.
"Please listen——"
"I take no risk worth mentioning. It was you who would have walked out to face their fire—with that smile on your lips and a flower in your hand! Did you think that a Grey Sister would permit that? Soyez convenable, Monsieur. They will not fire while I am walking beside you." She looked over her shoulder. One of the men by the willows was raising a rifle.
They reached the highway at the same moment, and the roadside bank sheltered them. Here she released his arm.
"I beg you to be a little reasonable," she said. "You must leave Saïs at once. Promise me, Mr. Halkett——"
"I cannot."
"Why?"
"Sister, if I am really a soldier, as you suppose me to be, perhaps I have—orders—to remain at Saïs."