He and Weber sat awhile in the little smoking-room talking in low tones of their journey.  Most of the time they were alone, a waiter merely passing through now and then, and they had no fear of being overheard.

“Weber,” he said, “I’ve learned from the innkeeper that a mountain road leads from here toward Switzerland and I feel sure already that your suggestion about our escaping into that country is good.  You, of course, when you reach the border will do as you choose, as you will want to continue the dangerous work upon which you’re engaged.  But you may be sure that if we do get through, Mademoiselle Lannes and I will never forget the help that you have given us.”

“All that I do I do gladly,” said Weber.  “You may not have spoken to each other but it is easy for me to tell how matters stand between Mademoiselle Lannes and you.”

John was silent but his color deepened.

“You must not mind my saying these things,” said Weber, speaking easily.  “I’m older than you and the times are unusual.  When you reach Paris you and Mademoiselle Lannes will be married.”

John was still silent.

“And you will take her to America for the present, or at least Until the war is over.  Ah, well!  You’re a happy man!  Youth and the springtime!  Beauty and love!  Kings can procure no more and seldom as much!  I think I’ll walk in the air a little and have a smoke.”

“And I,” said John, “will go to sleep.  I’ve a tiny room on the ground floor, but it’s big enough to hold me.  Good night.”

“Good night, Mr. Scott.”

There was only a single window in John’s little room, but before undressing he opened it and stood there to breathe the cool night air for a while.  It looked upon the forest that ran up the slope of the mountain, and the odor of the pines was very pleasant.  Looking idly at the trunks and the foliage he saw a shadow pass into the depths of the forest and something, a pulse in his temple, perhaps, struck a warning note.

A shiver ran down his back and his hair lifted, as if touched with electric sparks.  Acting at once under impulse he touched the pistol inside the pocket of his jacket to see that it was all right, and slipped out of the room.

He had marked the point at which the shadow disappeared in the forest and he followed it on light foot.  He had been awakened as if a stroke of lightning had blazed suddenly before his eyes, and now his brain was seething with fierce thoughts, called up by a long chain of incidents, all at once made complete.

His hand slipped again to the revolver and he drew it forth, holding it ready for instant use.  Then he went forward swiftly again on noiseless steps, and once more he caught a glimpse of the flitting shadow straight ahead.  He increased his speed and the shadow resolved itself into the figure of a man, a figure that seemed familiar to him.

Two or three times the man stopped and looked back, but John had shrunk behind a tree and no pursuit was visible.  Then he resumed his rapid flight up the steep slope, and young Scott persistently followed, never once losing sight of the active figure.