from the mouth. It saves time, and you will baffle your foes. Oh, I know
all. The faithful Hedwig, whose clothes I have borrowed, is a daughter
of a tenant on my father's estate. She means well, but she has no brains
for these steps out of her even tenor, and she was glad to have me
replace her in her mission. Help me up!"

There was no denying her anything. The horse had appeared to greet her
with pleasure, though it was probably the clothes of Hedwig that he
recognized with the whinny after a sonorous sniff.

As she held out her hand, he offered his and, like a fawn clearing a
hedge, she bounded up, just touched with a winged foot the iron step,
and cleared the seat with a second leap. Crouching down within the
hood, she began merrily but spoke with gravity before she had finished:

"Drive on after turning."

He turned the horse and vehicle. At the same moment a shrill whistle
sounded in the opposite direction.

"That's the gendarmes," she said. "The watchman's horn in the old town;
the military whistle without. They are keeping good guard for you--but
we shall cheat them, I tell you again!"

She laughed that purely feminine laugh at the prospect of somebody being
deceived.

"Take the northern fork, although you would seem to be going very
different to your aim. At the lane I spoke of, stop--but I shall be at
your elbow to prompt you."