CHAPTER IV.
THE MAN IN BLUE GLASSES.
The nocturnal adventure caused quite an excitement in the house, andvery little else was talked of at lunch-time. Aunt Anne had askedMademoiselle Belvoir if she would rather nothing was said about theaffair; but the girl said it was impossible to keep it quiet, asseveral people had heard the bustle in the night, and were anxious toknow all about it. So Miss Britton found that she and her niece wereobjects of general interest, and they both struggled nobly to describethe adventure intelligibly to the others, though Barbara knew that shegot horribly mixed in her French tenses, and was not quite sure whethershe understood all the questions the French people put to her. Thesolicitor annoyed her most--he was so superior.
"Why did you not rush upon the fellow and scream for help?" he said.
"I was far too frightened to do anything of the kind," Barbara answeredindignantly. "I would never have dared to fling myself upon a darkfigure like that. If I had seen him, I shouldn't have minded so much."
"So you did not see his face?" said the solicitor.
"Of course I didn't," and Barbara spoke rather crossly. "If I had, Ishould have gone and described him to the police the first thing thismorning."
She felt inclined to add that it was a pity he could not inculcate hisown children with some of his apparent courage, for they both seemedfar more frightened than interested in the story, and the son's eyeslooked as if they would jump out of his head. Perhaps the poor youthwas scolded for his timidity afterwards, for when Barbara passed theirroom in going upstairs to get ready to go out, she heard the fatherspeaking in very stern tones, and the boy murmuring piteously, "Oh,father! oh, father!"
Miss Britton was in a hurry to get out; but, as often happens, itproved a case of "more haste, less speed," for they had just got intothe street when Barbara remembered she had left her purse behind, andhad to run back for it.
What was her astonishment on opening the bedroom door to see thesolicitor's son standing near the window. She had come upstairs verysoftly, and he had not heard her till she was in the room; then heturned round suddenly, and sprang back with a face filled with terror.
"What _are_ you doing here?" she exclaimed in astonishment, and atfirst he could not answer for fright.
"I--I--came to look at the place where the man was last night," hegasped at last, "and to see how he could get out of the window."
"Well, I think your curiosity has run away with your politeness,"Barbara said. "You might have seen from the garden that the balcony isquite close enough to the tree for any one to get out easily. Is thereanything else you would like to examine?"
She need hardly have asked, for he had hurried round to the door beforeshe had half finished speaking, and, only murmuring, "I'm sorry," fledprecipitately. She was really rather sorry for him; he looked soabjectly miserable. Nevertheless, she took the precaution of lockingthe door and putting the key under the mat. She went downstairs moreslowly than she had come up, for the boy's visit had made her feelrather queer.
The way he shrank back into the window when she came in had remindedher so much of the manner in which the black figure had acted in thenight, and she felt there was something uncanny about the whole thing.However, she made up her mind to say nothing to her aunt just then incase of spoiling her afternoon's pleasure, but she was quite determinedto make some rather pointed remarks to the solicitor that evening whenno one else was listening, and see how he took them.
Unfortunately, however, she had no opportunity of doing so, for whenthey went down to dinner, none of the solicitor's family were visible,and Mademoiselle Belvoir remarked that they had all gone out to thetheatre, and would not be back till late. The remarks, Barbarasupposed, must be postponed till the morrow; but, alas! she never had achance of making them, for early on the morrow the whole house learnedthat the solicitor, with his son and daughter, had gone, withapparently no intention of returning.
Mademoiselle Belvoir and her brother had waited up till long after thetime they should have returned, and then the brother had hurried to the_prefecture_ to report the matter. He had been growing very suspiciousof late, as the solicitor had not paid anything for three weeks:"Waiting for his cheque-book, which had been mislaid," he had said.But the suspicions had been acted on too late, and his mother wascheated out of ever so much money. Every one was highly indignant, andMiss Britton and her niece really felt very grieved that they shouldhave been _British_ subjects who had behaved so badly.
Aunt Anne said she almost felt as if she ought to pay for them and savethe honour of their country, but Barbara thought that would be tooquixotic. At first Mademoiselle Belvoir thought there might besomething inside the man's trunks that would repay them a little forthe money lost; but, on being opened, there proved to be nothing but afew old clothes, and Mademoiselle and her brothers remembered that theboy had often gone out carrying parcels, which they used to laugh at.
When all this was being discussed, Barbara thought she might as welltell about finding the boy in her room, and she mentioned hersuspicions that he and the nocturnal visitor were one and the sameperson, and found to her surprise that the Belvoirs had thought thesame. Poor things! Barbara was heartily sorry for them, for it was anunpleasant occurrence to happen in a _pension_, and might make adifference to them in future, apart from the fact that they could hearnothing of the lost money, nor yet of the runaways.
Barbara felt that hitherto her adventures in France had been quite likea story-book, and knew that when her brother Donald heard of them hewould be making all kind of wonderful plans for the discovery of themiscreants.
"He would fancy himself an amateur detective at once," she said to heraunt. Whereupon that lady returned grimly she would gladly become adetective for the time being if she thought there was any chance offinding the wretches, but that such people usually hid their tracks toowell. Nevertheless, Barbara noticed that she eyed her fellow-men withgreat suspicion, and one day she persisted in pursuing a stoutgentleman with blue glasses, whom she declared was the solicitor indisguise, till he noticed them and began to be nervously agitated.
"I'm sure it isn't he, aunt," Barbara whispered, after they hadfollowed him successfully from Notre Dame to St. Etienne, and fromthere to Napoleon's Tomb. "He speaks French--I heard him. Besides, heis too stout for the solicitor."
"He may be padded," Aunt Anne said wisely. "People of that kind can doanything. There is something in his walk that assures me it _is_ he,and I _must_ see him without his spectacles."
Barbara followed rather unwillingly, though she could not help thinkingwith amusement how the family would laugh when she wrote and describedher aunt in the role of a detective. She was not to be verysuccessful, however, for, as they were sauntering after him down one ofthe galleries of the Museum, the blue-spectacled gentleman suddenlyturned round, and in a torrent of French asked to what pleasure he owedMadame's close interest, which, if continued, would cause him to callup a _gendarme_. "If you think to steal from me, I am far too wellprepared for that," he concluded.
"Steal!" Aunt Anne echoed indignantly. "_We_ are certainly notthieves, sir, whatever _you_ may be." Barbara was thankful thatapparently his knowledge of English was so slight that he did notunderstand the remark. It was not without difficulty that sheprevailed upon her aunt to pass on and cease the wordy argument, which,she pointed out, was not of much good, as neither understood theother's language sufficiently well to answer to the point.
"We shall have all the visitors in the Museum round us soon," sheurged, with an apprehensive glance at the people who were curiouslydrawing near, "and shall perhaps be turned out for making adisturbance."
"Then I should go at once to the English ambassador," Aunt Anne saidwith dignity. "But, as I have now seen his eyes and am assured he is_not_ the man we want, we can pass on," and with a stately bow, and theremark that if he annoyed her in future she would feel compelled tocomplain, she moved away, Barbara following, crimson with mingledamusemen
t and vexation.
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