“Suppose you find them, what would you do with them?” asked Madame La Roche.
“No doubt send them to prison. They are enemies of France, and it would not be wise when we can catch them to allow such to wander at large and commit mischief.”
“Very true, very true, Monsieur Sergeant,” said the old lady. “But that does not excuse you for accusing me of harbouring them, and coming to my house as if I were a traitress.”
The sergeant, however, was evidently persuaded, notwithstanding Madame La Roche’s evasion, that the fugitives had been at the house, if they were not there still, and he insisted, with due respect to her, that it was his duty to make a thorough search.
“As you desire it, pray obey your orders,” said Madame La Roche. “My maître d’hôtel will show you round the house and outbuildings, and wherever you wish to go. You must excuse me on account of my age, as also my daughters from their youth and delicate nerves from accompanying you.”
The sergeant bowed, and said something with a laugh which Rayner did not hear, and the old lady, calling François, bade him conduct the sergeant and his gendarmes through the house. “And take care that he looks into every corner, under the beds and in them, if he likes, so that he may be thoroughly satisfied,” she added.
“Oui, madame,” answered François with perfect gravity. “Come along, Monsieur Sergeant. If you do not find these Englishmen of whom you speak, do not blame me.”
Rayner heard them retire from the room. He now began to breathe more freely, hoping, for the sake especially of Madame La Roche, that the sergeant would be satisfied when they were not found in the house.
The ladies went on working and talking as if nothing were happening, though their countenances betrayed their anxiety. The gendarmes had been absent a sufficient time to make a thorough search through the whole of the building when Rayner heard them coming back. Suddenly the sergeant stopped, and asked, in a loud voice, “What is the object of this ladder, my friend?”
“To reach the roof from the verandah, or to enable the inmates to descend should the house be on fire,” answered François, promptly.