He appeared to be oblivious of their presence.
Meanwhile, Captain Spade, while being careful not to excite suspicion, had been minutely examining the immediate surroundings of the pavilion and the end of the park in which it was situated.

From the top of the sloping alleys he could easily distinguish the peak of a mast which showed above the wall of the park.

He recognized the peak at a glance as being that of the _Ella_, and knew therefore that the wall at this part skirted the right bank of the Neuse.
The Count d'Artigas' whole attention was concentrated upon the French inventor.

The latter's health appeared to have suffered in no way from his eighteen months' confinement; but his queer attitude, his incoherent gestures, his haggard eye, and his indifference to what was passing around him testified only too plainly to the degeneration of his mental faculties.
At length Thomas Roch dropped into a seat and with the end of a switch traced in the sand of the alley the outline of a fortification.

Then kneeling down he made a number of little mounds that were evidently intended to represent bastions.