“Why, captain,” cried the man at M. Etienne’s elbow, “this is no Comte de Mar!  The Comte de Mar is fair-haired; I’ve seen him scores of times.”

“The Comte de Mar answers to the name of Etienne, and so does this fellow,” the captain answered.  He took the candle from one of the lamps and held it in M. Etienne’s face.  Then he put out a sudden hand, and pulled the wig off.

“Good for you, captain!” cried the men.  We were indeed unfortunate to encounter an officer with brains.

“We’ll take your gag off too, M. le Comte, in the coach,” the captain told him.

“Will you bring the lass along, captain?”

“Not exactly,” the leader laughed.  “A fine prison it would be, could a felon have his bonnibel at his side.  No, I’ll leave the maid; but she needn’t give the alarm yet.  Do you stay awhile with her, L’Estrange; you’ll not mind the job.  Keep her a quarter of an hour, and then let her go her ways.”

They bundled my lord into the coach, box and all, the captain and two men with him.  The fourth clambered up beside Louis as he cracked his whip and rattled smartly down the street.

My guardian stole a loving arm around my waist and marched me down the quiet lane between the garden walls.  He was clutching my right wrist, but my left hand was free, and I fumbled at my gag.  In the middle of the deserted lane he halted.

“Now, my beauty, if you’ll be good I’ll take that stopper off.  But if you make a scream, by Heaven, it’ll be your last!”

I shook my head and squeezed his hand imploringly, while he, holding me tight in one sinewy arm, plucked left-handedly at the knot.  I waited, meek as Griselda, till the gag was off, and then I let him have it.  Volleying curses, I hammered him square in the eye.

It was a mad course, for he was armed, I not.  But instead of stabbing, he dropped me like a hot coal, gasping in the blankest consternation: 

“Thousand devils!  It’s a boy!”

A second later, when he recollected himself, I was tearing down the lane.

I am a good runner, and then, any one can run well when he runs for his life.  Despite the wretched kirtle tying up my legs, I gained on him, and when I had reached the corner of our house, he dropped the pursuit and made off in the darkness.  I ran full tilt round to the great gate, bellowing for the sentry to open.  He came at once, with a dripping torch, to burst into roars of laughter at the sight of me.  My wig was somewhere in the lane behind me; he knew me perfectly in my silly toggery.  He leaned against the wall, helpless with laughing, shouting feebly to his comrades to come share the jest.  I, you may well imagine, saw nothing funny about it, but kicked and shook the grilles in my rage and impatience.  He did open to me at length, and in I dashed, clamouring for Vigo.  He had appeared in the court by this, as also half a dozen of the guard, who surrounded me with shouts of astonished mockery; but I, little heeding, cried to the equery: