"Indeed," was all Elise vouchsafed in reply, but she looked a little uncomfortable.
"I might tell you of an order of arrest that was not carried out; of a château burned; of the midnight flight of two women and the arrival at La Haye of a woman and her younger brother; all this I might tell you, with the assurance that these secrets are safe in the keeping of a friend."
"How will you prove that you are a friend?" Elise said in a low voice with apparent unconcern, although she felt her heart beating with fear.
"The fact that I have just told you what I know and shall tell no one else, should be one proof," he said. Elise did not answer, but looked at him with a keen expression as if she would read his thoughts.
He had a frank, open face, the very plainness of which bespoke the honesty of the man.
"Suppose I should say that I came from Hagenhof in Prussia and that I was sent here by friends of your brother who have gone there. Suppose I should say that they wanted you to join them and that I could take you there with little risk to yourselves, would you be inclined to trust me then?"
"What risk do we incur by remaining where we are?" inquired Elise, without answering his question.
"You will always run the risk of discovery while in France," he replied. "But tell me, are you inclined to trust me?"
"Yes," answered Elise, stopping and looking him full in the face. "I am."
"Good," he cried, setting down the pail and extending his hand.