"No, it won't," said Ivan. "There is no coward's blood in Elinor.
Wherever she is, she will know we will find her sooner or later. She
will be looking out for us every minute. And no one will hurt her.
You know people don't take the trouble to drag children off just to
kill them. If the three I saw took those girls, they will be careful
enough of them, you may be sure. I would rather have them there than
with soldiers. The only thing I am hoping is that we can trace them
before they leave the city. But I don't believe anyone, even with the
best credentials, can get away for the next few days."

"If we had anything for a clue," said Warren. "Can't you even remember
what they looked like?"

"Not particularly," said Ivan regretfully. "I would know them if I
should see them again. One of the men had a very peculiar walk, but I
couldn't describe it to you. It wasn't a limp; just a queer way of
using his feet. I don't know whether I would know the woman or not.
She looked like hundreds of the sort I have seen down in the open
markets, some of them looking a little more so and some less."

"How more so?" asked Warren.

"Why, perhaps fatter, or thinner, or dirtier, but all lawless and no
account.
I tell you, Warren," he said earnestly, "when I get to be a man, if
our house is still in power then, I shall spend my time cleaning up the
streets and people of Warsaw. Those old holes and rookeries down by
the river, and the streets leading to the wharves have got to be
cleaned out or wiped out."