Jeanne of the Marshes

Princess declared. "I

dear De la Borne, must indeed have loved adventure, if th

ered. "The expedition is

declared. "I want to see whe

upright. The roof is six feet high all the way. You must tread

patches, like illuminated salt stains, and queer fungi started out from unexpected places. Sometimes their footsteps fell on the rock, awaking strange echoes down the gallery. Sometimes they sank deep into the

re the stuff was hidden. It was used for more than twenty years, and the C

of daylight from an opening somewhere in the roof, partially lit the place. Here, too, the walls were damp and the odour appalling.

n to the end

hey made their way

er now," he said. "You h

opped

t?" she aske

rst, but growing more distinct at every s

wered. "We are getti

louder the sound seemed to become, un

"It sounds as though the sea

hook hi

und comes from the air-hole there. We

e gallery, they saw a faint glimmering of light.

you can see through the chinks. There is the sea just be

breaking upon the rocks and sending a tor

ut this way, th

ok his

ladder," he said, "and a

" Jeanne answered.

t a few minutes later with a

. I think, Mr. De la Borne, that smuggling, though it was a

l no

we. Coarse brutes, most of them, I imagine," he added, lighting a cigarette. "Drank beer for bre

all I should think that absinthe and cigarettes are more destruc

eton was there. Forrest and the Princess w

we are fairly free from eavesdroppers here. Now

. "I didn't like his insisting upon cutting

shrugged he

course he knows that you are the best player. There is no reason why he should be willing

t that is all?

ncess answered. "What

ghtfully, "whether he had heard

s frowned i

Nigel!" she declared. "If you give way lik

t only because he preferred to play with me to playing against me. What is

incess

are so good at card tricks that you should be able to get an ac

I ran it pretty fine last night, when for the second time I gave you a three or a four, and d

ard the house. She had see

ilgrimage," she remarked. "Have you anything de

a," Forrest said, "in whic

that?" she

nk we could ge

as silent for

dangerous, I am

you can do just what you like with him. He seems to me to be just one of those pulpy sort

ss said thoughtfully, "and see how he takes it.

on drop two thousand playing baccarat one night, and

sound him. I think we had better go back now. We are a little old for

they retraced their steps. "I'll call in and hear if

d the hall, and Cecil at once dr

e world. For years I have not known what it was like to be hungry. Hot cakes, please! And, Jeanne, please make

e lau

ry smelly," she said. "I think