--eh?"

There was silence for a moment, in which Lavilette read the letter over
again with gloating eyes. Presently Castine started and looked round.

"What's that?" he said in a whisper. "I heard nothing."

"I heard the feet of a man--yes."

They both stood moveless, listening. There was no sound; but, at the
same time, the Hon. Mr. Ferrol had the secret of the Rebellion in his
hands.

A moment later Castine and his bear were out in the road. Lavilette
leaned out of the window and mused. Castine's words of a few moments
before came to him:

"That British Colborne will hang us to our barn doors--eh?"

He shuddered, and struck a light.




CHAPTER VII

Mr. Ferrol slept in the large guest-chamber of the house. Above it was
Christine's bedroom. Thick as were the timbers and boards of the floor,
Christine could hear one sound, painfully monotonous and frequent, coming
from his room the whole night--the hacking, rending cough which she had