“Ah!  M. Henri,” said the little Chevalier, “it is a great honour to fight for one’s King; one fears nothing then:  a single royalist should always drive before him ten republicans.”

Henri now returned and joined de Lescure, who was in possession of the town, though the citadel was still in the hands of General Quetineau, who held the command of the garrison.  It was not till the cousins had embraced each other, that Henri saw that de Lescure was wounded.

“Yes,” said de Lescure, “I have at length acquired the privilege of shedding my blood in the cause; but it is only a broken arm; Victorine will have a little trouble with me when I return to Clisson.”

“And Adolphe, my brave Adolphe, you are wounded, too?” said Henri.

Denot muttered something, and turned away; he did not dare to look his friends in the face.

“He envies me my honour,” said de Lescure; “but it might have been his chance as well as mine, for he was not two feet from me when I was wounded.”  This was true, for de Lescure had been struck after Denot had crossed the bridge with the other men.

A flag of truce was now sent out by General Quetineau to the royalists, with a proposal that he would give up the castle, and lay down his arms, on being allowed to march out with all his men, and take the road to Angers; but this proposition was not acceded to.

“No!” said de Lescure to the General’s messenger:  “tell M. Quetineau that the Vendeans cannot accede to those terms—­we cannot allow his soldiers to march to Angers, and to return within a week to inflict new cruelties on our poor peasants.  M. Quetineau must surrender without any terms:  the practices of our army must be his only guarantee, that his men will not be massacred in cold blood, as the unfortunate royalists are massacred when they fall into the hands of the republicans.”

The republicans were not in a condition to insist upon anything; as M. de Lescure had said, the practices of the Vendeans were a guarantee that no blood would be unnecessarily shed, and relying on this assurance alone, M. Quetineau surrendered the castle and gave up his sword.  De Lescure took possession of it till he should be able to hand it over to his General, and the Vendeans found themselves complete masters of Saumur.

There was, however, still a very strong detachment of republican troops on the heights of Bournan, who were watched on one side by Foret and his detachment, and on the other by a portion of M. d’Elbee’s army.  These men had done some execution, as they covered with their cannon a portion of the road over which the Vendeans had passed, but they had taken no active part whatever in the engagement.  What made this the more singular, was that the garrison at Bournan was composed of the very best soldiers of the French republican army.  They were under the command of General Coustard, who kept his position during the whole attack, inactive and unmolested; had he attacked