Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 353: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE SPRING OF 1672. 335 upon the grass. When they were at the end, they stretched themselves out flat upon their stomachs in a ditch and waited, with eyes fixed upon the lackey whom they looked at through the brush wood. ‘The lackey came up slowly; when he was three steps from them, believing himself alone, he drew a pencil from his pocket and traced some lines upon a slip of paper. He had his foot upon a tree- stump, the paper upon his knee, and his body inclined for- ward. Déroute and Grippard rose slowly and pounced upon the lackey, who found himself taken without having time to move. ‘If you cry out, you are a dead man,’’ Déroute said to him, making him feel the point of his poniard in the neck. The frightened lackey was silent, and they bound him with ends of cord, of which the sergeant’s pockets were full. ‘‘This makes one!’’ said Deroute, after the lackey was stretched out upon the grass, with feet and hands tied. A whistle was heard. ‘*That makes two!’’ exclaimed he. He ran in the direction from which the whistle came, and found Belle-Rose and Cornelius securing the second lackey. The two prisoners were transported to a safe place and undressed. ‘There are two more,’’ said the sergeant to Belle-Rose, “and we will charge ourselves with those two, will we not, Grippard?’”’ ‘*Parbleu!’’ said the corporal, who was already dressing himself. Large drops of rain began to fall, and the day was draw- ing to a close when the little troop quitted the building oo the two lackeys had been placed under lock and ey. Déroute and Grippard proceeded to the stables. Of the two lackeys who remained, one, fatigued py the warmth of this stifling evening, had gone to sleep under a shed; the other was strolling around the stables. The latter saw Déroute and Grippard coming; and from their costume, he took them for his two comrades. ‘*Come on!’’ he exclaimed; ‘‘we must get the horses and carriages ready.”’ Déroute followed the lackey, who entered under the coach-house; Grippard did not quit him. Atasign from the sergeant, he threw himself upon the lackey, making the blade of a poniard shine at two inches from his face. The lackey resigned himself at once; they despoiled him GOMmIGcbDoo 3