But Croisette took up the thought with ardour. "From Bezers?"
he cried, his face aglow. "Ay, true! So we must! But then we
will draw lots, who shall fight him and kill him."

I extinguished him by a look. "We shall fight him in turn," I
said, "until one of us kill him. There you are right. But your
turn comes last. Lots indeed! We have no need of lots to learn
which is the eldest."

I was turning from him--having very properly crushed him--to look
for something which we could use to force the door, when he held
up his hand to arrest my attention. We listened, looking at one
another. Through the window came unmistakeable sounds of voices.
"They have discovered our flight," I said, my heart sinking.

Luckily we had had the forethought to draw the curtain across the
casement. Bezers' people could therefore, from their window, see
no more than ours, dimly lighted and indistinct. Yet they would
no doubt guess the way we had escaped, and hasten to cut off our
retreat below. For a moment I looked at the door of our room,
half-minded to attack it, and fight our way out, taking the
chance of reaching the street before Bezers' folk should have
recovered from their surprise and gone down. But then I looked
at Madame. How could we ensure her safety in the struggle?
While I hesitated the choice was taken from us. We heard voices
in the house below, and heavy feet on the stairs.

We were between two fires. I glanced irresolutely round the bare
garret, with its sloping roof, searching for a better weapon. I
had only my dagger. But in vain. I saw nothing that would