Then,
glad of action, glad of anything that might relieve the tension
of my feelings, I strode to it and pulled it sharply open.
On the threshold, his flushed face lit up by the light behind me,
stood one of the knaves whom I had brought with me to Auch. He
had been running, and panted heavily; but he had kept his wits,
and the instant I, appeared he grasped my sleeve.
'Ah! Monsieur, the very man!' he cried. 'Quick! come this
instant, lose not a moment, and you may yet be first. They have
the secret! The soldiers have found Monsieur!'
'Found him?' I echoed. 'M. de Cocheforet?'
'No; but they know the place where he lies. It was found by
accident. The Lieutenant was gathering his men when I came away.
If we are quick, we may yet be first.'
'But the place?' I said.
'I could not hear,' he answered bluntly. 'We must hang on their
skirts, and at the last moment strike in. It is the only way,
Monsieur.'
The pair of pistols I had taken from the shock-headed man lay on
a chest by the door. Without waiting for more I snatched them up
and my hat, and joined him, and in a moment we were running down
the garden.
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