“ ’Tis plaguy unlucky that my comrades who drove the coach should be those unacquainted with our confederacy! But never fear, friend Baptiste. An hour will bring me to the cavern; it is now but ten o’clock, and by twelve you may expect the arrival of the band. By the by, take care of your wife: you know how strong is her repugnance to our mode of life, and she may find means to give information to the lady’s servants of our design.”

“Oh! I am secure of her silence; she is too much afraid of me, and fond of her children, to dare to betray my secret. Besides, Jacques and Robert keep a strict eye over her, and she is not permitted to set a foot out of the cottage. The servants are safely lodged in the barn; I shall endeavour to keep all quiet till the arrival of our friends. Were I assured of your finding them, the strangers should be dispatched this instant; but as it is possible for you to miss the banditti, I am fearful of being summoned to produce them by their domestics in the morning.”

“And suppose either of the travellers should discover your design?”