I had, meanwhile, arranged with the landlord to furnish us with a second horse, and now suggested that Jacques should take a couple of hours’ rest before starting.  Against this he protested vigorously, declaring he had slept well during the night, and that it was I who needed rest.

At last he persuaded me to lie down, while he sat in the room facing the road, with a loaded pistol in one hand and another by his side.  Nothing happened however, during the time I slept, and at the end of the second hour Jacques wakened me.

The food and rest had made new men of us, and, having settled accounts with the landlord, we mounted our horses, and set off cheerfully in the direction of Le Blanc.  For the time being the danger had passed.  It was broad daylight, and every yard forward brought us nearer to my friends.

But there were several things in the adventure to worry me, and that evening, after we had safely reached home, I called Jacques into my room to discuss the matter.

“I don’t pretend to understand it, monsieur,” he said, “but I feel sure these fellows were in the lawyer’s pay.  Who else would set a trap for you?”

“I cannot think.  Cordel is my only enemy, and yet before concluding it was he who planned the assault there are one or two questions to answer.  Casimir, for instance, was he in league with our assailants?  If so, he played his part marvellously well, and blinded me effectually.”

“So he did me; but he was in league with them, for all that.  Remember how he shot at a man in the wood, when no man was there.”

“I certainly neither saw nor heard one.”

“Nor did Casimir.  The shot was a signal to his comrades, and told them that his trick had succeeded.  And then his fear about being dragged into your quarrel!  That was a blind, monsieur, meant to throw you off your guard.”

“It certainly succeeded,” I was forced to admit.

“And the fuss he made about foundering his horse!  It was a mere trick to delay us on the road; there was nothing the matter with the beast.”

“Do you think,” I asked, “he behaved so rudely to those horsemen through fear that they might upset the plot?”

“No, monsieur,” replied Jacques, with a shake of the head; “I cannot see through it clearly, but in my opinion that was all a part of the scheme.  I believe they were the fellows who rode out on you while I was lying stunned.”

“But why should they join us?”

“There is no telling, monsieur.  It might have been to learn from Casimir if it was safe to carry out their plot.  He was a crafty rogue.  I had no suspicion of the truth until he began to make his horse plunge and rear.  Then I knew he meant to kill me—­by accident!” he concluded grimly.

“And in the confusion it would have been an easy matter to settle my account!”

“A very easy matter,” agreed Jacques.

“The facts fit in well with your idea,” I said, after a pause; “but if you are right, the puzzle becomes worse than ever.”