“Are the republicans all bald then?” said Agatha.

“We shaved all we caught at Saumur, at any rate.  We did not leave a hair upon one of them,” said Arthur, rejoicing.  “The red scarfs are fine barbers, when a republican wants shaving.”

“Is Charles badly wounded?” asked Agatha.

“His arm is broken, and he remained in action for eight hours after receiving the wound, so that it was difficult to set; but now it is doing well,” said Henri.

“I should have offered him my services before this:  at any rate I will do so now; but Henri I have a thousand things to say to you; do not expect to go to bed tonight, till you have told me everything just as it happened,” and Agatha hurried away, to give her sweet woman’s aid to her wounded cousin, while Henri went into his father’s room.

“Welcome, my hero! welcome, my gallant boy!” said the old man, almost rising from his chair, cripple as he was, in his anxiety to seize the hand of his beloved son.

“I have come home, safe, father,” said Henri, “to lay my sword at your feet.”

“You must not leave it there long, Henri, I fear, you must not leave it there long; these traitors are going to devour us alive; to surround us with their troops and burn us out of house and home; they will annihilate the people they say, destroy the towns, and root out the very trees and hedges.  We shall see, Henri—­we shall see.  So they made a bad fight of it at Saumur?”

“They had two men to one against us, besides the advantage of position, discipline and arms, and yet they marched the best part of their troops off in the night without striking a blow.”

“Thanks be to the Lord, we will have our King again; we will have our dear King once more, thanks be to the Almighty,” said the old man, eager with joy.  “And they fled, did they, without striking a blow!”

“Some of them did, father; but some fought well enough; it was desperate sharp work when poor Charles was wounded.”

“God bless him!  God bless him!  I didn’t doubt it was sharp work; but even with valour, or without valour, what could sedition and perjury avail against truth and loyalty! they were two to one; they had stone walls and deep rivers to protect them; they had arms and powder, and steel cuirasses; they had disciplined troops and all the appanages of war, and yet they were scattered like chaff; driven from their high walls and deep moats, by a few half-armed peasants; and why? why have our batons been more deadly than their swords? because we have had truth and loyalty on our side.  Why have our stuff jackets prevailed against their steel armour; because they covered honest hearts that were fighting honestly for their King.  His Majesty shall enjoy his own again, my boy.  Vive le Roi!  Vive le Roi!”

“I trust he may, father; but, as you say, we shall have some hard work to do first.  Cathelineau and Charette will be before Nantes in a week’s time.  I should have been with them had we not heard that a strong body of republican troops is to be stationed at Parthenay.  They say that Santerre is to command a party of Marseillaise, commissioned to exterminate the Vendeans.”