"How many of them?" asked Bell shortly.
"Two," she said quietly. She looked at him, her large eyes entirely calm and grave.
"Give me the package," said Bell briefly. "They'll be more anxious to get it back than to bother you. And I'll either knock them cold or hold them in a scrap until you get away."
She reached in her pocket and handed him a small thick envelope. He stuffed it in the side pocket of his coat.
"I will walk away," he observed, "and they'll follow me. Can you arrange to give me some sign that you're safe?"
"By the gateway," she told him. "My handkerchief. I shall start as soon as you have vanished. If I am followed, I will drop this handkerchief, as it is. If I am not followed, I will tie a knot. But what can you do?"
"I'll do something," said Bell coldly. "Something!"
he smiled, with the same odd bitterness her father had shown.