had fallen across her shoulders, and knelt down to superintend the work.
Very carefully they removed the dark shawl and laid it aside, disclosing a box roughly fashioned like a cage, containing four pigeons. The frightened birds fluttered about wildly for a moment, then settled down cooing softly. When they had become accustomed to the daylight, Jacqueline opened one side of the box, thrust in her arm, and drew toward her a young pigeon of magnificent coloring, whose iridescent neck glittered as if hung with jewels. The girl cuddled the bird gently under her chin, and with one finger stroked his handsome head.
“Let us send ‘William of Orange,’ first,” she said. “He is the finest, strongest and wisest, and will lead the way. I am glad we named him after our great leader.”
“But the message!” Gysbert reminded her. “We must not forget that, or good Vrouw Voorhaas will never know whether
