"Come, Sir Gaoler, it is not polite to keep your guests waiting," she exclaimed, and I excused myself on the ground of being uncertain whether my presence would be agreeable. "Certainly! we require you as a taster. The Duke of Beaufort was allowed one at Vincennes, and you would not count him of more consequence than two ladies?" "I' faith!" I exclaimed, glancing at the viands, "if I am to play that part, there will be little for those who come after me. The night's ride has given me a wolf's appetite!" "In that case," said Marie laughing, "we will be our own tasters. Sit down, Albert, and let us begin." For some reason best known to herself, or perhaps for no reason at all, Madame Coutance had become reconciled to the situation. I was received into favour again. We laughed and joked merrily, and resumed the journey in the best of good humour. The leathern coverings were fastened back, and I rode beside the open carriage more as an attendant cavalier than as the officer of an escort. This was far more agreeable to me, though I found it rather awkward to answer some of the questions which madame asked concerning the Cardinal. "It is a pity the plot was discovered," she said; "in a day or two at the outside Mazarin would have been lost." "Conde is still in prison," I remarked meaningly. "He will soon be free. The people are rising, and Mazarin will not dare to keep him in captivity. Ah, my friend, the tables will be turned then!" "I wish these useless squabbles were at an end," said Marie. "Have patience, child," exclaimed her aunt, "all will come right in time," and, turning to me, she added, "how long am I expected to remain at Aunay?" "The Cardinal mentioned a month or two." "Good faith!" she exclaimed with a toss of her head, "the Cardinal will be over the borders before then!" "It may be so," I admitted, not anxious to dispute the point. We were still several miles from Aunay, when the sergeant, who rode with two men in the rear, trotted forward briskly, and reining up my horse, I waited for the soldier to speak. "Are we likely to be pursued, monsieur?" asked he. "It is just possible. Why?" "Because there are a score of horsemen on our track. Pierre, who has keen sight, declares they are cavaliers, young bloods most likely, from Paris." In a few minutes they came within sight, and, as they approached more closely, I recognised that Pierre's description was correct. They certainly were not ordinary soldiers, and the only doubt remaining was whether they were friends or foes. The grizzled sergeant decided the question for me. "Frondeurs, monsieur," he announced with the utmost coolness. "Then they intend to rescue our prisoners. Can we throw them off?" "We can try, monsieur, but they will probably overtake us in ten minutes." "Then we must fight, though the odds are terribly against us."