"There is not a minute to
be lost!"
And as he stretched out his arms in the darkness to clasp her again, she
said tenderly:
"Oh, I implore you to listen to me! If you die I shall die also! In an
hour it will be light. I want you to go at once."
Then rapidly she explained her plan. The iron ladder descended to the
mill wheel; there he could climb down the buckets and get into the boat
which was hidden away in a nook. Afterward it would be easy for him to
reach the other bank of the river and escape.
"But what of the sentinels?" he asked.
"There is only one, opposite, at the foot of the first willow."
"What if he should see me and attempt to give an alarm?"
Francoise shivered. She placed in his hand a knife she had brought with
her. There was a brief silence.
"What is to become of your father and yourself?" resumed Dominique.
"No, I cannot fly! When I am gone those soldiers will, perhaps, massacre
you both! You do not know them. They offered me my life if I would
consent to guide them through the forest of Sauval. When they discover
my escape they will be capable of anything!"
The young girl did not stop to argue. She said simply in reply to all
the reasons he advanced:
"Out of love for me, fly! If you love me, Dominique, do not remain here
another moment!"
Then she promised to climb back to her chamber.
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