eleven o'clock
Please send for that benzine right away . '' Smith was dispatched forthwith on what he knew to be a fool 's errand , since both he and Marigny were practically sure of their ground . The nearest petrol was to be found at Langford , two miles along the Bristol road from the fork , and four miles in the opposite direction to that taken by Smith , who , when he returned empty-handed an hour later , must make another long journey to Langford . The Du Vallon was now anchored immovably until eleven o'clock , and it was well that the girl could not realize the true nature of the ordeal before her , or events might have taken an awkward twist . The Frenchman meant no real harm by his rascally scheme , for Cynthia Vanrenen , daughter of a well-known American citizen , was not to be wooed and won in the fashion that commended itself to unscrupulous lovers in by-gone days . Yet his design blended subtlety and daring in a way that was worthy of ancestors who had ruffled it at Versailles with the cavaliers of old France . He trusted implicitly to the effect of a somewhat exciting adventure on the susceptible feminine heart .