In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster BoyHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799 -- Fiction; Historical fiction
"Of course there is a certain risk, Jeanne, anyway. There is no
getting a prisoner out of La Force without running some sort of
risk; the thing is to fix on as safe a plan as we can. However, we
must think it out well before we do try. A failure would be fatal,
and I do not think there is any pressing danger just at present.
It is hardly likely there will be any repetition of the wholesale
work of the 2nd of September; and if they have anything like a trial
of the prisoners, there are such numbers of them, so many arrested
every day, that it may be a long time before they come to your
sister. I do not mean that we should trust to that, only that
there is time for us to make our plans properly. Have you thought
of anything?"
"I have thought of all sort of things since you left us this morning,
Harry, but they are like yours, just vague sort of schemes that
do not seem possible when you try to work them out. I do not know
whether they let you inside the prisons to sell everything to the
prisoners, because if they did I might go in with something and
see Marie, and find out how she could be got out."
Harry shook his head.
"I do not think anyone would be allowed in like that, but if they
did it would only be a few to whom the privilege would be granted."
"Yes, I thought of that, Harry; but one of them might be bribed
perhaps to let me take her place."
"It might be possible," Harry said, "but there would be a terrible
risk, and I don't think any advantage to compensate for it. Even if
you did get to her and spoke to her, we should still be no nearer
to getting her out. Still we mustn't be disheartened. We can hardly
expect to hit upon a scheme at once, and I don't think either of
our heads is very clear to-day; let us think it over quietly, and
perhaps some other idea may occur to one of us, I expect it will be
to you. Now, good-night; keep your courage up. I rely very much
upon you, Jeanne, and you don't know what a comfort it is to me that
you are calm and brave, and that I can talk things over to you. I
don't know what I should do if I had it all on my own shoulders."
Jeanne made no answer, but her eyes were full of tears as she put
her hands into Harry's, and no sound came from her lips in answer
to his good-night.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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