nothing could be kinder than the reception of the fugitives by madame flambard. she had heard so much of patsey, she said, from her husband, to whom she had been married six months before, that she had quite shared his anxiety about the fate of jean martin, who had more than once been mentioned as being one of the leaders of the vendeans. she soon went off with patsey to put the child to bed and, while they were away, monsieur flambard took leigh into his smoking room.

"before," he said, "i ask you anything about your adventures, i must explain to you the state of things here. until november last bordeaux, and indeed the whole of the gironde, was moderate. all our deputies--who have now, as perhaps you know, either fallen on the scaffold or been hunted down like wild beasts--belonged to that party. they were earnest reformers, and were prominent among the leaders of the revolution. they went with the stream, up to a certain point. they voted for most of the sanguinary decrees, although in time they strove to mitigate the horrors inflicted by the extreme party; but after a long conflict the latter, supported by the mob of paris, obtained the ascendency, and the girondists underwent the same fate that had befallen so many others. for myself, i cannot pity them. they were all men of standing and of intelligence but, without perceiving the terrible results that must follow, they unchained the mob and became its victims.

"up to that time there had been but few executions here, and the power remained in the hands of the moderate party. two months since, however, there was a local insurrection. the party of the terror suddenly rose, seized the members of the council, and threw them into prison. other prominent citizens were seized, and the guillotine began its bloody work in earnest. since that time every citizen of position or standing lives in momentary danger of arrest. not a day passes, but a dozen or so are seized and dragged off. i grant that, at present, there is nothing like the wholesale butchery that goes on at nantes under that fiend carrier; it is only those who have wealth and property that are seized. not only in this town, but in the whole department, the agents of those who assumed power are busy. it is the gironde, and therefore hateful to the party of robespierre; and the proprietors of the land, who have hitherto been left unmolested, are being brought in daily.

"the trial is of course a mere farce. the prisoners are murdered, not because they are moderates, but because they are rich; and their wealth is divided among the members of the council, and the mob who support them. so far i have been unmolested. i have never taken any part in politics, business being sufficient to occupy all my time. another thing is that i employ a considerable number of men, in addition to the crews of some ten vessels which belong to me. i believe that i am popular generally on the wharves, and it is the knowledge that my arrest might promote a tumult, and might reverse the present order of things, that has led to my being left alone so far.

"fortunately my servant, who let you in, has been in the family for the past five-and-thirty years, and is devoted to me. had it been otherwise the position would have been a dangerous one. a report to the council that a young man in the attire of a sailor, accompanied by a lady and child, had arrived, and been at once received, would suffice to set them in motion. i should be accused of having a suspect, probably one of the emigres hidden here, and it would be difficult for me to explain your reception. you must, in the first place, attire yourself in clothes such as are worn by the mate of a privateer. i suppose you have papers, or you would not have been permitted to land."

leigh took out the passes and handed them to him. monsieur flambard glanced through them.

"you must have managed well to have got hold of these passes, and they certainly put the matter on safer ground. however, i should find some difficulty in explaining how i came to show hospitality to two persons who, by a strangely roundabout course, had made their way from arthenay. it is a little unfortunate that your sister kept her own name. had it been otherwise, i might have said that her husband was captain of one of my ships. but he is unfortunately not unknown here. after martin's flight from nantes, a claim was made by the committee of public safety at nantes for the henriette. fortunately your brother-in-law had dated his bill of sale to me a fortnight before he left. the trial took place here and, as in those days law and justice still prevailed in the civic courts, the decision was given in my favour.

"it was urged on the other side that the transaction was invalid, as martin must have parted with his vessel knowing well that he was a traitor to the republic, and that his property would be confiscated. however, we got the best of them. there was no proof whatever that martin was conscious that he was suspected of being disaffected, and we claimed that he had only sold it as, having married, he had decided to give up the sea and to settle upon his estates in la vendee. of course, at that time la vendee had not risen, and it was not a crime worthy of death to own an estate there. still, the case attracted attention, and the fact that my guest was a madame martin might recall the circumstances, and at once awake a suspicion that she was the wife of one of those who had led the insurgents of la vendee; in which case her life and yours would be certainly forfeited, and my receiving you would be regarded as amply sufficient evidence of my connection with the insurgents.

"now, for our sakes, as well as yours, i think that it would be strongly advisable that you should take up your abode elsewhere. believe me that it is no want of hospitality, but a measure of precaution, both for your sake and ours. tomorrow morning i should have to send in a statement that two guests have arrived here, and it is therefore most desirable that you should move without delay. fortunately the wives of two or three of my captains live here; one of these especially, an excellent woman, has a house much larger than she needs, and takes in lodgers, generally captains whose families do not reside here, when their ships are in port. therefore the fact that a sailor, with a sister and her child, have taken rooms there will excite no suspicion, whatever. she will, as a matter of course, send in your name to the police of the town, together with your passes. they will be marked and returned without, probably, being glanced at."

"i think that that will be an excellent arrangement, sir," leigh said, "and i quite see that our stay here might be awkward for you, as well as us."

"i will at once go with you; that is, as soon as you have told your sister the reason why it will be better for you to establish yourselves elsewhere than here. i may tell you that i, myself, have been quietly making preparations for flight; but it is not all my captains whom i can trust. the henriette, which i expect here shortly, has been delayed; but on her arrival i propose that we shall all cross the channel together. i hear the ladies' voices in the next room. it were best that we got this painful business over, at once."

madame flambard was greatly distressed, when leigh gave his sister an account of the conversation they had had, and the resolution at which they had arrived; but patsey at once saw that it was most desirable that the change should be made, and assured her hostess that she fully recognized that their safety would be imperilled by staying at their house.

"it would be a cruel kindness, on your part, to insist upon our stopping here, madame flambard. we know that it is from no lack of hospitality that we are leaving, but that you are making a real sacrifice, in order to procure our safety.

"shall i put on my things at once, monsieur?"

"by no means. i will go with your brother, first, to see if madame chopin has other lodgers. if so, i will go to the wife of one of my clerks, who also lets a portion of a house; or, if you would not mind poor accommodation, to another of the captains' wives as, in your brother's character of a sailor, it would be more natural for you to go to such a lodging, which may very well have been recommended to you by the skipper of the lugger in which you came here. when we have arranged things, we will return. it is but a quarter of an hour's walk, for the house stands near the river, above the bridge."

he at once set out with leigh. on arriving at the house, they found that there were at present no lodgers there.

"this young sailor has brought a letter of recommendation to me, madame chopin. he has a married sister and her child with him, and i am sure that you will make them very comfortable, and can supply them with what they may require. they have just arrived by sea, from havre; the length of their stay is uncertain. this young man is looking for a berth as mate, and shall have the first vacancy on one of my vessels. his sister may stop with you for some time, as she is hoping that her husband will return here, though he is so long overdue that i fear his ship has been either lost or captured by the english."

"i will do my best to make them both comfortable, monsieur flambard, and thank you for recommending them to me."

leigh saw the rooms, which consisted of two bedrooms, and a third room which was similarly furnished; but madame chopin said that she would take down the bed and put some other furniture into it, so that they could use it as a sitting room.

"we should prefer that, madame; for my sister at times is greatly depressed, and we should prefer being alone."

"i can quite understand that," the woman said. "well, you will not be troubled with society here, as i have only these three rooms to let so that, unless my husband comes home before you go, we shall be quite alone."

"i shall return with my sister in an hour's time," leigh said; "that will not be too late for you?"

"no, monsieur, it is little past eight o'clock yet, and it will take me fully two hours to get everything straight and tidy."

"very well, then, we will say ten o'clock," monsieur flambard said. "i will keep monsieur porson, as he has news to give me concerning the friend who recommended him to me."

on their return to the merchant's, they sat chatting for an hour over the adventures through which leigh and his sister had passed, and the manner in which they were separated from jean martin.

"i think you have every reason to hope, madame," monsieur flambard said cheerfully. "jean is not the sort of fellow to let himself be caught in a hole; and i expect that, when he found that he could not rejoin you, he at once struck north, either for dunkirk or calais, and has probably managed to be taken over in a fishing boat or a smuggler and, if he failed in doing so, he would probably make off in a boat single handed. i think that you have every reason to hope that you will find him at poole, when you arrive there; but even should he not be there, there will be no reason for despair. he may have had difficulty in getting away. he may have been impressed for the naval service. at any rate, i have great faith that he will turn up, sooner or later. certainly, when he has once managed to get a seafaring outfit, he will be safe from any fear of detection as one of the terrible vendean insurgents."

at a quarter to ten little louis was taken out of bed, wrapped up in a cloak, and carried by leigh. monsieur flambard insisted on again accompanying them. the streets were now almost deserted, and they soon arrived at madame chopin's.

"i quite forgot to ask if you would want anything, before going to bed; but i can make you a cup of good coffee, if you would like it."

"thank you, but we have eaten but an hour ago."

saying goodnight to monsieur flambard, they went up to their rooms, their hostess leading with a candle. she had made the most of her time, since leigh left the house. white curtains had been put up at the windows, and everything looked beautifully clean; and patsey uttered an exclamation of pleasure when she entered the room.

"this does indeed look fresh and homelike," she said. "thank you for taking so much trouble, madame."

the next morning leigh procured a jacket and waistcoat, with brass buttons; and a cap with a gold band. he then sauntered along the wharves and went aboard the trois freres, and told the skipper that no news had been received of his sister's husband. it had been agreed that it was best that they should not go to monsieur flambard's house, but that the merchant should call at the lodging, after dark. when leigh returned to the midday meal, he found that the papers had come back from the mairie, duly stamped and countersigned, and that as no one had been to the house to make inquiries, it was evident that no suspicion had been excited.

during the next four or five days leigh went but little into the town, contenting himself with keeping near the wharves, watching the vessels loading or discharging cargo, and spending much of his time on board the trois freres. on the afternoon of the fifth day he saw a lugger approaching and as it came near, he made out, to his great delight, that it was the henriette. as soon as she dropped anchor in the stream, her boat rowed to the wharves. lefaux was sitting in the stern and, as soon as he landed, went off in the direction of monsieur flambard's office.

leigh did not go near him. he thought that it would be better that the honest sailor should learn that he and his sister were there from the merchant, before he spoke to him; as any imprudent remark on the sailor's part might be caught up by one of the spies of the committee, and lead to trouble. as he expected, monsieur flambard came round with lefaux, that evening.

"i am heartily glad to see you again, madame," he said, as patsey shook him by the hand; "and you too, monsieur stansfield. i began to think that i never should do so, and i only wish that monsieur jean was here, too. still, i feel confident that he has got safely away; trust a sailor for getting out of a scrape. you must have gone through a lot, madame, but you don't look any the worse for it."

"except anxiety for my husband, i have gone through nothing to speak of. i had a horse to ride, and generally a shelter to sleep under, and for myself i had little to complain of; but it was terrible to see the sufferings of the peasant women and children, and of the many men broken down by sickness. and there was, too, the anxiety as to the safety of my husband and brother, in each battle that took place. but of hardship to myself there was very little."

"well, madame, i hope that i shall soon have the pleasure of sailing into poole again, with you and monsieur leigh on board; and also with my good master, monsieur flambard, and his wife."

"when will you be off again?" patsey asked eagerly.

"that is what i have come to talk with you about, madame martin," monsieur flambard said. "i have pretty good information as to what passes, at the meetings of the wretches who call themselves the committee of public safety, and i hear that there will very shortly be a seizure of a number of prominent citizens, and my name has been mentioned. they are only hanging back until they can decide upon what shall be the pretext, since none of those named have taken any part in politics here. all those who have done so have been already seized. however, the blow may come at any moment.

"the henriette has already begun to discharge her cargo. fortunately, there is not much of it. the moment that she has finished she will drop down below the rest of the shipping, and be ready to start at any moment. if we find that the matter is not absolutely pressing, we will go quietly on board as soon as she is ready, and sail at once; as there will then be no fear of her being stopped.

"if, however, i find that the order for our arrest is on the point of being issued, i will send her down and let her lie beyond fort medoc and blaye. if it were discovered that i was missing, a few hours after she had started, it would be suspected at once that i had gone in the henriette. mounted messengers would carry the news down to both forts, and the boat would be forced to heave to, as she passed between them.

"therefore i shall have a light carriage, with two fast horses, kept in readiness a quarter of a mile outside the town; and a relay of horses fifteen miles on, which is about halfway, and join the ship below the forts. if, as may possibly happen, i am suddenly arrested in the streets, i shall have my servant near me. he will have his orders, which will be to hurry back home to tell his mistress to put on the disguise of a peasant woman, that has already been prepared for her, and to go with her at once to the carriage; and another man, whom i can also thoroughly trust, is to come here and say to you, 'it is a bad day.'

"then you and your sister and the child will at once start to join my wife. she has most reluctantly consented to carry out this plan for, as i tell her, it will add to my sufferings a hundredfold, were she also to be arrested."

by dint of great exertions the henriette was unloaded by the following evening and, half an hour after her last bale was ashore, she dropped down the river with the tide. she was to anchor off a small village, two miles beyond fort medoc; and if inquiry was made as to why she stopped there, lefaux was to say that he was to take in some wine that monsieur flambard had bought from a large grower in that district, and that the lugger was then going to charente to fill up with brandy for havre.

leigh had, the day before, gone with the merchant into the extensive cellars which adjoined the house.

"there is not a man here," monsieur flambard said, "who would not do all in his power for me. some of them have been with the firm nearly all their lives. i treat them well, and i am happy to say that not one of them has taken any part in our last troubles. indeed, i am told that is one of the matters that, if i am arrested, will be brought against me. it will be said that it was a proof of my enmity to the convention that none of my people took the side of the patriots.

"however, it tells both ways. i have over forty men here. they have, of course, friends among the porters and others working on the wharves; and a disturbance might take place, were i arrested. however, the scoundrels have now got such absolute power that, no doubt, they feel that they could disregard any local rising and, indeed, with the plunder of my store before them, they could reckon on the devotion of the greater part of the mob of the town."

on the morning after the henriette had sailed, the merchant took leigh down to a little wayside inn, half a mile below the town, where he had placed his carriage and horses; and gave instructions to his coachman that he was to place himself under leigh's orders.

"at whatever hour of the day or night he comes, you will start at once with him, and the lady and child who accompany him. you will know in that case that i am not coming, but have been arrested."

"but, master--"

"it must be as i say, pierre. once i am arrested--and it is almost certain my wife would be arrested with me--nothing can be done to help, and it would be a great satisfaction to me to know that my friends have escaped. there will be in that case no need of extreme haste, for no one knows that they are in any way connected with me, and there will be no inquiries for them."

leigh told patsey that afternoon that, in the event of the flambards being arrested, he might possibly, instead of coming himself, send a messenger to her; and that she must then start at once, and await his coming in front of the church, at the end of the street in which the merchant's house stood.

"you had better have a letter written to our landlady, inclosing the sum due to her and a week's rent in advance; and say that we are hastily called away to blaye, but may return in a few days, and begging her to keep the rooms vacant for a week, for which you leave the money. you had better write the letter at once, so that if you get my message you can leave instantly. there is nothing like being prepared for everything. of course the arrest of the flambards would not really affect us in any way, or add to our danger; but if the coachman were to hear of it before we got there, he might disregard his master's orders, and return at once with the carriage."

leigh had in his mind the very short notice that desailles had had of his danger, and how narrowly he escaped being arrested, although he had a friend who kept him acquainted with what was going on. he thought that it was still more likely that the arrest of the flambards would take place suddenly. it would probably be decided upon by two or three of the men, who were the leaders of the party of terror; and no word would get about as to their intentions until the arrest had been absolutely made, in which case the captives would be lodged in prison before the matter would be known, and all fear of an emeute be thereby prevented. he had therefore decided upon what was the best course to pursue, and posted himself in the street, where he could observe anyone who entered or left flambard's house.

it was already getting dusk when he saw two commissaries of the committee, with six armed men, stop before the door and knock. it was opened. two of the men remained outside, and the rest entered. he ran to the stores. the head cellarman had gone round the place with him and his master, and leigh at once went to him.

"lefranc," he said, "your master and mistress have just been arrested. two commissaries and six armed men have gone into the house. there is time to save them yet. they have a carriage in waiting, a short distance away; and if we can overpower these men and tie them up, so that they cannot give the alarm until morning, monsieur flambard and his wife will get safely away. they have a vessel waiting for them in readiness, down the river."

"i am your man, sir, and every one here."

"half a dozen will be enough. pick out that number of strong fellows, whom you can rely upon. let them all take off their aprons, and tear up this black silk handkerchief and, as we leave the cellar, let each man put a piece over his face, to act as a mask. there is a private door leading to the house, is there not?"

"yes, monsieur."

"well, draw the men off quietly, so that the others shall not notice them; and tell them to go to that door, and to put on their masks there. let each man take some weapon, but not a mallet, or anything used in the trade. let them bring some stout rope with them."

the man nodded and hurried away, and leigh went to the end of the stores abutting on the house, and stopped at the door he found there. in a minute the men began to arrive. they had, as he directed, thrown aside their leather aprons and put on blouses; so that they differed in no way, in appearance, from ordinary working men. one or two were armed with hammers, others with long knives. each carried a piece of black handkerchief in his hand, long enough to go from the forehead down to the mouth. leigh tied these on with strings, cutting holes with his knife through which they could see.

when the six men and the foreman had assembled, they entered the house. the old servant was standing in the hall, wringing his hands in distress.

"where are they?" leigh asked.

"in the master's study, sir. they are searching the drawers."

"come on quietly," leigh said to the men. "we must take them by surprise."

the door of the study was standing open, and lights burned within. leigh had already instructed his followers to go at once for the armed men, and to knock them down before they had time to use their muskets. going noiselessly up, they entered the door with a sudden rush.

the two commissaries were engaged in emptying the contents of the table drawers into a basket. the armed ruffians had leant their muskets against the wall, and had seated themselves in comfortable chairs. flambard stood with his arm round his wife, looking disdainfully at the proceedings of the commissaries.

in a moment the scene changed. before the men could even rise from their seats they were knocked down, bits of sacking thrust into their mouths, and their arms tied. leigh had levelled one of the commissaries by a blow in the face, and the foreman had struck down the other with a hammer. these were also securely tied.

the flambards stood, a picture of astonishment. the whole thing had passed so instantaneously that they could scarcely realize what had happened. when they did so, madame flambard, who had hitherto preserved her calmness, burst into tears; while her husband embraced leigh with passionate gratitude.

"now, monsieur," the latter said, "you had better collect at once any money and jewels you wish to take with you, while we are making sure of these ruffians.

"now, my men," he went on, "take these fellows into different rooms; but first let me see that the ropes are securely tied; although, as sailors, you are not likely to make any mistake that way. still, it is as well to be on the safe side."

he himself then examined the fastenings, and added a few more cords.

"now, when you have got them into separate rooms, tie their feet to a heavy piece of furniture. make a slipknot at the end of another rope, put the noose round the neck, and fasten the other end to another piece of furniture, that there may be no chance of their getting loose, till their friends come to their assistance."

he saw all this securely done. then he said:

"there is one more thing to see to. in time those fellows at the door will be getting impatient, and will begin to suspect that all is not right. we must get them inside, and then tie them up with the others. stand back behind the door as they enter and, as i close it, throw yourselves upon them. one of you grip each of them by the throat, and another seize his musket and wrench it from him. the rest will be easy."

the men placed themselves as directed, and leigh then opened the door and said:

"you are to come in. they will take some little time over the papers, and there is plenty of good wine for you to amuse yourselves with."

with an exclamation of satisfaction, the two men entered.

"it is very dark in here," one said, as leigh closed the door. "why didn't you get a light?"

the words were scarcely spoken when there was a rush, a sudden exclamation, the sound of a short struggle, and then silence.

"keep hold of them tightly, while i fetch a candle," leigh said and, running upstairs, soon came down with the light.

the two guards were standing helpless in the hands of their captors, and gripped so tightly that they were unable to utter the least sound.

"now, put the gags into their mouths and truss them up, as you did the others."

leaving the men to carry out his orders, he ran upstairs again.

"everything is arranged now," he said. "the whole of the fellows are bound, and the road is free for you. i should go out by the back way, for there is sure to be a little crowd in front of the house, attracted by the sight of the guard standing outside. i do not think that there is any extraordinary hurry, but in an hour or so, if either of the men who have ordered your arrest is waiting at the prison, he may get impatient, and send down to see what detains the party here.

"i am going, in the first place, to have the servants bound, so that they may not be suspected of having aided in this business. as soon as that is done, i shall hasten to my lodging and bring my sister and the child to the inn where you have your carriage. of course, you will have the horses put in as soon as you get there. i shall not be very long behind you, as i shall take the first fiacre and drive down to that end of the town, and then discharge him. as i am not in any way associated with you, even if inquiries are made, our movements will throw no light upon yours."

the conversation took place in the bedroom where madame flambard was, with her husband, packing up a few necessaries.

"as we go downstairs," he went on, "i shall make some remark about our going straight on board. that will put them on the wrong scent, and they will waste a lot of time searching all the craft in the river. i do it principally because i want them to believe that you have been rescued by a party of sailors. you heard me say that, as sailors, they would be accustomed to tie the knots tightly; and of course my uniform will help to lead them astray. the men with me were really some of your cellarmen, under lefranc."

"we shall be ready in three minutes. fortunately we have not much beyond my wife's jewels that we want to save. like your wife's brother, i have already made provision in england for this."

"i will be off as soon as i see the servants tied up."

he ran downstairs again. the two men and the maids willingly suffered themselves to be tied up, when leigh explained to them the reasons for which it was done.

"mind," he said, "if questioned, you say you believe that the men who rushed in and fastened you up were sailors."

before the work was done monsieur flambard came down and, standing at the door which communicated with the cellars, shook hands with his rescuers as they went out; and thanked them most heartily, in the name of himself as well as his wife, for the service that they had rendered. the men, before they passed through the door, took off their masks. it had already been arranged that they should at once scatter, and return quietly to the places where they had been at work, and in so large a place it was not likely that their absence had been noticed, as it would be supposed that they had gone to another part of the cellar, and it was not above twenty minutes since they had left it.

as soon as they had gone out, the door was locked on the inside. leigh and the flambards went out at the back entrance into another street, and there separated, leigh hurrying back to his lodgings. madame chopin opened the door.

"madame," he said, "i have good news for my sister. i hope that we shall be able to obtain news of her husband at blaye; for he may, if my information is correct, have sailed up the dordogne, and we may catch him as he comes down again. if my information is not correct, we shall return here. i will therefore, if you will allow me, pay you our reckoning at once, and also the rent of the rooms for another week; so that if we return, we may find them unoccupied."

"but you are not going to start this evening, surely, monsieur?"

"yes; i have arranged for a passage on a boat that is on the point of starting, and have not a moment to lose."

he ran upstairs to patsey.

"they have gone on to the carriage," he said. "put on louis's things and your own. i will tell you all about it, as we go."

he then went down again and settled up with his landlady, who was profuse in her exclamations of regret at their departure. in a couple of minutes patsey came down. she had the letter that she had written in her hand. leigh took it from her.

"i have already settled up with our kind hostess," he said. "say goodbye, dear, at once, or the boat may be starting without us."

a minute later they were out of the house. leigh carried louis, and led the way to a spot near, where two or three fiacres were always standing. he took the first, and told the driver to put them down in a street at the lower end of the town, the name of which he had noticed when he went with monsieur flambard to the inn where the carriage was standing.

when he got to the end of the street he told the driver to stop, saying that he was not sure of the number. paying the man his fare, they walked slowly down the street until the fiacre had driven off; and then, returning, took the road leading into the country.

ten minutes' walking brought them close to the little inn. they met the carriage coming along slowly, three hundred yards before they arrived there. it stopped at once.

"you are here sooner than i expected, madame," monsieur flambard said, as he alighted and helped patsey.

as she took her place by the side of madame flambard, the latter threw her arms round her neck.

"thank god this awful time is over!" she said. "it is to your brother we owe it that we are not, both, now in that terrible prison.

"leigh is good at breaking prison," patsey said. "he rescued me from the gaol at nantes."

by this time her husband and leigh had taken their places. louis, still soundly asleep, was transferred to his mother's lap; and the carriage, turning, went back at the full speed of the horses.