'I suspected that it was you the instant that I set eyes upon you,' said
he. 'I am old enough to remember your father when he was a young
gallant, and you are his very double--though I may say, without
flattery, that where there is a difference it is in your favour.
And yet he had the name of being one of the handsomest men betwixt Rouen
and the sea. You must bear in mind that I was expecting you, and that
there are not so many young aristocrats of your age wandering about
along the coast. I was surprised when you did not recognise where you
were last night. Had you never heard of the secret passage of
Grosbois?'
It came vaguely back to me that in my childhood I had heard of this
underground tunnel, but that the roof had fallen in and rendered it
useless.
'Precisely,' said my uncle. 'When the castle passed into my hands, one
of the very first things which I did was to cut a new opening at the end
of it, for I foresaw that in these troublesome times it might be of use
to me; indeed, had it been in repair it might have made the escape of
your mother and father a very much easier affair.
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