His story resembled many others; conscription was repugnant to these peasants of ancient France, who could not resign themselves to losing sight of their clock tower; they were brave enough and ready to fight, but to them, the immediate enemy was the gendarmes, the “Bleus,” whom they saw in their villages carrying off the best men, and they felt no animosity against the Prussians and Austrians who only picked a quarrel with Bonaparte.

As he came with an offer of work to be well paid for, Allain was well received by Mme. Harel, who with her children was reduced to extreme poverty.  It was a question, he said, “of a surveying operation authorised by the government.”  Harel came out of hiding in the evening, and eagerly accepted his old chief’s proposition, and as the latter needed some strong pole-carriers, Harel presented two friends to the “General” under the names of “Grand-Charles” and “Coeur-le-Roi.”  Allain completed his party by the enrollment of three others, Le Hericey, called “La Sagesse”; Lebree, called “Fleur d’Epine”; and Le Lorault, called “La Jeunesse.”  They drank a cup of cider together, and left the same evening, Allain and Flierle leading them.

In six stages they arrived at Caen, and Allain took them to Le Chevalier’s house in the Rue Saint Sauveur.  They had to stay there three weeks.  They were put in the loft on some hay, and Chalange, Le Chevalier’s servant, who took them their food, always found them sleeping or playing cards.  In order not to awaken the suspicions of the usual tradespeople, Lerouge, called “Bornet,” formerly a baker, undertook to make the bread for the house in the Rue Saint-Sauveur.  One day he brought in his bread cart four guns procured by Lefebre; Harel cleaned them, took them to pieces, and hid them in a bundle of straw.  Then the guns were put on a horse which Lerouge led out at night from the cellar which opened on the Rue Quimcampoix at the back of the house.  The men followed, and under Allain’s guidance crossed the town; when they reached the extremity of the Faubourg de Vaucelles they stopped and distributed the arms.  Lerouge went back to town with the horse, and the little troop disappeared on the highroad.

At about five leagues from Caen, after having passed Langannerie, where a brigade of gendarmerie was stationed, the Falaise road traverses a small but dense thicket called the wood of Quesnay.  The men stopped there, and passed a whole day hidden among the trees.  The following night Allain led them a three hours’ march to a large abandoned house, whose doors were open, and installed them in the loft on some hay.  This was the Chateau of Donnay.