"
"Then, sir, being what I am, you may be sure that I shall not stay here
to await Prince Karl of Auersperg, and his unsought honors."
"You are the judge, Julie, after all, and I believed it was the decision
you would make. Yet, it was only fair to lay the full facts before you."
John knew that the attempt to escape southward through the mountains
would be attended by great danger, not only from the Austrians, but
from the risks of the road itself, when the great automobile, slipping
on melting snow and ice, might go crashing at any moment into a gorge.
Yet it must be done. Another day brought home the extreme necessity of
it. All the mountains thundered with the sliding snow, and the prince's
men would certainly come soon.
The garage contained an ample supply of gasoline and extra tires, and
John saw that the machine was in perfect order. He also stored in it
clothing, food for many days, two rifles and many cartridges. It was
thus at once a carriage, a home and a fortress. Then he told Julie that
they must start the next morning. Enough snow was gone to disclose the
road leading southward, and he believed that he could drive the
limousine down the mountain.
"Are you willing to trust yourself to me, Julie?" he asked.
"Through everything," she replied.
Suzanne also was eager to go, and, in her character now as a full member
of the little company, she did not hesitate to say so.
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