are very small."

"Peste! You are right, Desmond. I never gave the matter a thought.
Now that you mention it, nothing is more probable. It was the
servant who accompanied me whom I sent off, but, as de Tulle would
have been notified of my arrival, and the man started from the
baron's house, it would be deemed certain that he was either going
to Pointdexter or my own estate, and that the message he carried
was a somewhat urgent one. Well, all we can do is to hope that the
fellow has not thought of our taking such a precaution, and that
my messenger will arrive unmolested. Still, I acknowledge that the
idea makes me anxious, and I fear that we shall not get through
without serious trouble. There are so many disbanded soldiers, and
other knaves, in the forests that de Tulle would have no
difficulty in hiring any number of them, and carrying his scheme
out without the assistance or knowledge of his own tenants. The
heavy taxation necessary to keep up the expenses of the court has
driven numbers of people to despair, and many hitherto law-abiding
folk are being forced to leave their holdings, and to take to
unlawful courses.

"However, it is of no use our telling the baron our fears. He is
obstinate, when he has once made up his mind to a thing, and
nothing short of a royal command would induce him either to change
his route, or to stop at one of the towns that we shall pass
through, and wait until my band arrives. He would, indeed,
consider his honour greatly attainted by allowing himself to make
a change of plans, on the mere chance that our suspicions were
justified."