“Somewhere to the south, I believe; but the Admiral keeps his plans close.  But you may be sure he isn’t going to offer Anjou battle.  We scarcely number three thousand, counting the handful of infantry.”

“Not a large number with which to conquer a kingdom!” laughed Roger.

“We shall get more,” said Felix, who had recovered his spirits, and was as sanguine as ever.  “Coligny’s name alone will attract men to the standard.  Why, surely that must be Jacques!” as my servant approached.  “Jacques, you rascal, I thought you had deserted us at Montcontour!”

“I think it was the other way about, monsieur,” replied Jacques slily.  “I stayed at Montcontour.”

“Ah, a good thrust!” cried my comrade merrily, “a good thrust!  But whichever way it is I am glad to see you again, Jacques.  We are sadly in need of strong arms and stout hearts.”

“Well, monsieur, I have been round the camp, and certainly I think the Admiral is quite equal to commanding a larger army.”

“You should not regard mere numbers, Jacques; it is the quality that tells.  Three thousand picked men are worth ten thousand ordinary troops.  And then our chief is as good as an army in himself!”

To those who had fought at Roche Abeille, our camp presented a somewhat sorry spectacle.  As Felix had said, we numbered barely three thousand men, and one missed a host of familiar faces.  I thought with pity of the noble St. Cyr, and many others of our best and bravest who had already laid down their lives for the Cause.

We retired to rest early, and soon after daybreak were roused by the bugles.  Tents were struck, prayers said, and about nine o’clock we moved off the ground in the direction of the Dordogne.

It would be tedious to relate in detail the incidents of that southern journey.  The weather was bitterly cold and rainy, much sickness set in, and we suffered numerous hardships.  Still we pushed steadily forward, through Guienne, Ronergue, and Quercy, passed the Lot below Cadence, and halted at Montauban.  Here we were cheered by the arrival of Montgomery, with two thousand Bearnese, a welcome addition to our scanty force.

Smaller bodies of troops had already joined us, and after leaving Montauban we picked up several more.  Felix, of course, was in excellent spirits, and talked as if we had the whole kingdom at our feet.

“But where are we going?” I asked in bewilderment, “and what are we going to do?”

“I do not know, my dear Edmond,” he replied gaily.  “It is enough for me that Coligny leads.  I warrant he has some brilliant scheme in his head.”

From Montauban we marched up the Garonne to Toulouse, and finally found ourselves at Narbonne, where we went into winter quarters.  Roger was, of course, with his own troop, but Felix and I were billeted in the same house, much to our satisfaction.

After our long and painful march, the comfort which we met with at Narbonne was exceedingly welcome, and week after week glided rapidly away.  Toward the end of the winter several hundred men came in from the surrounding districts, and our army began to present quite a respectable appearance.