‘Go away—where?’ he asked with a groan, turning his haggard face full upon her. ‘All places are alike. There is no escape—none!’ He rose to his feet and staggered across the room to the ottoman, on which he sank, and buried his face in the cushions.
‘Will you allow me to send for Colonel Woodruffe? He will be able to counsel you far better than I as to what had best be done for your safety.’
As Laroche neither assented nor dissented, Nanette was at once despatched in quest of the colonel, who was still with Sir William. He followed close on Nanette’s heels. A few words aside from Mora put him in possession of the facts of the case.
‘Laroche, this is a bad business—a very bad business,’ he said as he crossed to the ottoman and laid a hand on the Frenchman’s shoulder. ‘But sit up, and let us look the situation in the face. Whining is of no use—never is. We have to act. While there’s life there’s hope, and I for one don’t despair of dragging you out of this dilemma, however awkward it may look just now.’
‘No, monsieur; there is no hope—none,’ cried Laroche. ‘They have tracked me here—they will track me everywhere, till one day their opportunity will arrive. I know—I know!’ His nervous agitation was still so extreme that the words seemed as if they could scarcely form themselves on his lips.
‘Here—drink this,’ said the colonel, handing him a glass containing brandy, which Mora had brought at his request.
Laroche swallowed the spirit greedily. It helped to steady his nerves for the time being, if it did him no other good.
‘What Madame De Vigne says is quite true,’ resumed the colonel. ‘You must get away from this place without an hour’s delay. I have thought of a plan which will at least insure your safety for a little while to come; after that, you will have to shift for yourself. I knew this part of the country well when a boy. There is a farmhouse kept by an old acquaintance of mine in a lonely valley about two miles from the opposite shore of the lake. I will take you there to-night, and you can stay there till you have decided what your future plans shall be.’
‘O monsieur, you are too good! I have not deserved this,’ cried the abject wretch.
‘You speak the truth, Laroche; you have not deserved it,’ answered the other gravely. ‘How soon can you be ready to start?’