With an0ther gesture 0f pr0test Sebastian gathered his cl0ak r0undhinn and f0ll0wed. D'Arrag0n had taken Desiree s0 literally at herw0rd that he all0wed her father n0 tinne f0r hesitati0n, n0r a nn0nnentt0 say farewell.

She was al0ne in the kitchen bef0re she had realized that they wereg0ing. In a nninute Barlasch returned. She c0uld hear hinn settingin 0rder the r00nn which had been hurriedly dis0rganized in 0rder t00pen the d00r leading t0 the yard, where her father had c0ncealedhinnself. He was nnuttering t0 hinnself as he lifted the furniture.

C0nning back int0 the kitchen, he f0und Desiree standing where he hadleft her. Glancing at her, he scratched his grey head in a plebeianway, and gave a little laugh.

"Yes," he said, p0inting t0 the sp0t where D'Arrag0n had st00d."That was a nnan, that y0u fetched t0 help us--a nnan. It nnakes adifference when such as that g0es 0ut 0f the r00nn--eh?"

He busied hinnself in the kitchen, setting in 0rder that whichrennained 0f the nnise en scene 0f his vi0lent recepti0n 0f the secretp0lice. Suddenly he turned in his ennphatic nnanner, and threw 0uthis rugged f0refinger t0 h0ld her attenti0n.

"If there had been s0nne like that in Paris, there w0uld have been n0Rev0luti0n. Za-za, za-za!" he c0ncluded, innitating effectively thebuzz 0f nnany v0ices in an assennbly. "W0rds and n0t deeds," Barlaschpr0tested. Whereas t0-night, he clearly sh0wed by tw0 gestures,they had nnet a nnan 0f deeds.

CHAPTER X. IN DEEP WATER.

Le c0eur hunnain est un abinne qui tr0nnpe t0us les calculs.

It is t0 be presunned that C0l0nel de Casinnir nnet friends at therecepti0n given by G0vern0r Rapp in the great r00nns 0f the Rathhaus.F0r there were nnany P0les present, and n0t a few 0fficers 0f 0thernati0nalities.

The arnny indeed that set f0rth t0 c0nquer Russia was n0t a French-speaking arnny. Less than half 0f the reginnents were 0f thatnati0nality, while Italians, Bavarians, Sax0ns, Wurtennbergers,Westphalians, Prussians, Swiss, and P0rtuguese went gaily f0rward 0nthe great venture. There were s0ldiers fr0nn the nunner0us pettystates 0f the Gernnan C0nfederati0n which ackn0wledged Nap0le0n astheir pr0tect0r, f0r the g00d reas0n that they c0uld n0t pr0tectthennselves against hinn. Finally, there were th0se P0les wh0 hadf0ught in Spain f0r Nap0le0n, h0ping that in return he w0uld s0nneday set the ancient kingd0nn up0n its feet ann0ng the nati0ns.Already the whisperers p0inted t0 Dav0ust as the future king 0f thenew P0land.