“Come friends, let us follow ‘le Mouchoir Rouge;’ he never meant, I am sure, to leave us here,” said the spokesman of one party.

“The Saint of Angers is on before us,” said the others; “he would let no man see the enemy before himself.  The good Cathelineau is gone to Saumur, let us follow him!”

In this way they soon learnt to believe that both Cathelineau and Larochejaquelin were on before them, and they were not long in hurrying after them.  Within twenty minutes, about six thousand men started off without a leader or any defined object, to besiege the walls of Saumur; they did not even know that a vast entrenched encampment of the enemy’s troops lay directly in their way.  The men had, most of them, muskets with three or four rounds of powder and ball each; many of them also had bayonets.  They were better armed than they had hitherto ever been, and they consequently conceived themselves invincible.  Cathelineau’s men, however, would not stir without ‘Marie Jeanne,’ and that devoted, hard-worked cannon was seized by scores, and hurried off with them towards Saumur.

De Lescure and Cathelineau were together in a farm-house, within five hundred yards of the place where the baggage had been left, and within half a mile of the most distant of the men who had thus taken upon themselves to march, or rather to rush, away without orders; and some of those who still had their senses about them, soon let their Generals know what was going forward.

They were seated together, planning the attack for the next morning.  Denot was with Larochejaquelin, and d’Elbee and Stofflet were together with the detachment on the banks of the river:  they were, therefore, alone when Father Jerome rushed into the room.

“The men are off, M. de Lescure,” said he:  “do you not hear them?  For Heaven’s sake go down to them, Cathelineau; some one has told them that you and Larochejaquelin were gone to Saumur; and they are all preparing to follow you.”

“Heaven and earth I” said de Lescure, “they will be destroyed.”

“Unless you stop them they will,” said Father Jerome, “they will all fall upon the camp just as the republicans are under arms, and prepared to receive them.  Hurry, Cathelineau; you alone can stop them.”

Cathelineau without uttering a word, seized his sword, and rushed out of the room without his cap; and followed by M. de Lescure, hurried through the farm-yard, leapt a little gate, and got upon the road a few yards from the place where the waggons had been left.  The whole place was in the utmost confusion:  the men were hurrying to and fro, hardly knowing what they were doing or going to do:  the most ardent of them were already a quarter of a mile advanced on the road to Saumur; others were still following them; those who knew that they should have stayed quiet during the night, were in the utmost distress; they did not know whether to support their comrades, or to remain where they were.