Whatever it was, was behind them now, vanished into the thick night.
There was a sound of talking from the interior of the car, hasty, breathless voices, questioning, exclaiming, and the authoritative terse answer of the guard.

A step came along outside, and Percy sprang to meet it, but, as he laid his hand on the door, it was pushed from without, and to his astonishment the English guard came straight through, closing it behind him.
He stood there, looking strangely at the four priests, with compressed lips and anxious eyes.
"Well ?" cried Percy.
"All right, gentlemen.

But I'm thinking you'd better descend at Paris.

I know who you are, gentlemen--and though I'm not a Catholic---" He stopped again.
"For God's sake, man---" began Percy.
"Oh! the news, gentlemen.

Well, it was two hundred cars going to Rome.
There is a Catholic plot, sir, discovered in London---" "Well ?" "To wipe out the Abbey.