on the second day following that on which madame de cambes presented herself in the guise of a flag of truce at ?le saint-georges, as canolles was making his round upon the ramparts about two in the afternoon, he was informed that a messenger with a letter for him desired to speak with him.
the messenger was at once introduced, and handed his missive to canolles.
evidently there was nothing official about the document; it was a small letter, longer than it was wide, written in a fine, slightly tremulous hand, upon perfumed bluish paper of fine quality.
canolles felt his heart beat faster at the mere sight of the letter.
"who gave it to you?" he asked.
"a man of fifty-five to sixty years of age."
"grizzly moustache and royale?"
"yes."
"slightly bent?"
"yes."
"military bearing?"
"yes."
"that's all."
canolles gave the man a louis, and motioned to him to withdraw at once.
then, with wildly beating heart, he concealed himself in the corner of a bastion, where he could read the letter at his ease.
it contained only these two lines:—
"you are to be attacked. if you are no longer worthy of me, show yourself at least worthy of yourself."
the letter was not signed, but canolles recognized madame de cambes as he had recognized pompée; he looked to see if anybody was looking at him, and blushing like a child over his first love, he put the paper to his lips, kissed it ardently, and placed it upon his heart.
then he mounted the crown of the bastion, whence he could follow the course of the garonne well-nigh a league, and could see the whole extent of the surrounding plain.
nothing was to be seen upon land or water.
"the day will pass like this," he muttered; "they won't come by daylight; they have probably halted to rest on the way, and will begin the attack this evening."
he heard a light step behind him, and turned. it was his lieutenant.
"well, monsieur de vibrac, what news?" said canolles.
"they say, commandant, that the princes' flag will float over ?le saint-georges to-morrow."
"who says that?"
"two of our scouts who have just come in, and have seen the preparations the citizens are making."
"what answer did you make when they said that?"
"i answered, commandant, that it was all the same to me so long as i wasn't alive to see it."
"ah! you stole my answer, monsieur."
"bravo, commandant! we asked nothing better; and the men will fight like lions when they know that that is your answer."
"let them fight like men, that's all i ask. what do they say as to the manner of the attack?"
"general, they are preparing a surprise for us," said de vibrac, with a laugh.
"peste! what sort of a surprise? this is the second warning i have received. who leads the assailants?"
"monsieur de la rochefoucauld the land forces, espagnet, councillor of parliament, the naval forces."
"very good!" said canolles; "i have a little advice to give him."
"whom?"
"the councillor."
"what is it?"
"to re-enforce the urban militia with some good, well-disciplined regiment, who can show the tradesmen how to receive a well-sustained fire."
"he hasn't waited for your advice, commandant; i think he must have been more or less of a soldier before he became a man of the law, for he has enlisted the services of the navailles regiment for this expedition."
"the navailles regiment?"
"yes."
"my old regiment?"
"the same. it has gone over, it seems, bag and baggage, to the princes."
"who is in command?"
"baron de ravailly."
"indeed?"
"do you know him?"
"yes—a fine fellow, and brave as his sword. in that case it will be warmer than i supposed, and we shall have some fun."
"what are your orders, commandant?"
"that the posts be doubled to-night; that the troops retire fully dressed, with loaded muskets within reach. one half will stand guard, while the other half sleeps. those who are on guard will keep out of sight behind the embankment. one moment—have you informed anybody of the news brought by the scouts?"
"nobody."
"good; keep it secret for some little time yet. select ten or twelve of your worst soldiers; you should have some fishermen, or poachers?"
"we have only too many of them, commandant."
"well, as i was saying, select ten of them, and give them leave of absence till to-morrow morning. let them go and throw their lines in the garonne, and set their snares in the fields. to-night espagnet and monsieur de la rochefoucauld will take them and question them."
"i don't understand—"
"don't you understand that it is most essential that the assailants should believe that we are entirely unprepared for them? these men, who know nothing, will take their oaths with an air of sincerity, which will carry conviction because it will not be assumed, that we are sound asleep in our beds."
"ah! excellent!"
"let the enemy approach, let him disembark, let him plant his ladders."
"but when shall we fire on him?"
"when i give the word. if a single shot is fired from our ranks before i order it, the man who fires it shall die, my word for it!"
"the deuce!"
"civil war is war twice over. it is important, therefore, that it be not carried on like a hunting party. let messieurs les bordelais laugh, and laugh yourselves if it amuses you; but don't laugh until i give the word."
the lieutenant retired to transmit canolles' commands to the other officers, who looked at one another in amazement. there were two men in the governor,—the courteous gentleman, and the implacable soldier.
canolles returned to take supper with nanon; but the supper was put ahead two hours, as he had determined not to leave the ramparts from dusk till dawn. he found nanon running through a pile of letters.
"you can defend the place with confidence, dear canolles," said she, "for it won't be long before you are re-enforced. the king is coming, monsieur de la meilleraie is coming with his army, and monsieur d'épernon is coming with fifteen thousand men."
"but, meanwhile, they have a week or ten days before them. nanon," added canolles, with a smile, "?le saint-georges is not impregnable."
"oh! while you are in command i have no fear."
"yes; but just because i am in command i may be killed. nanon, what would you do in that case? have you thought about it?"
"yes," replied nanon, smiling back at him.
"very good! have your boxes ready. a boatman will be waiting at a certain spot; if you have to take to the water, four of my people who are good swimmers will be at hand, with orders not to leave you, and they will take you ashore."
"all precautions are useless, canolles; if you are killed i shall need nothing."
supper was announced. ten times, while they sat at table, canolles rose and went to the window, which looked upon the river, and before the end of the repast he left the table altogether; night was beginning to fall.
nanon would have followed him.
"nanon," said he, "go to your room, and give me your word that you will not leave it. if i knew that you were outside, exposed to the slightest danger, i would not answer for myself. nanon, my honor is at stake; do not trifle with my honor."
nanon offered canolles her carmine lips, more brilliant in hue from the pallor of her cheeks, and went to her room, saying:—
"i obey you, canolles; i choose that enemies and friends alike should know the man i love; go!"
canolles left the room. he could not withhold his admiration from this strong nature, so quick to comply with his wishes, so responsive to his will. he had hardly reached his post ere the night came down, threatening and awe-inspiring, as it always is when it conceals in its dark depths a bloody secret.
canolles took up his position at the end of the esplanade, which overlooked the course of the stream and both its banks. there was no moon; a veil of dark clouds overhung the earth. there was no danger of being seen, but it was almost impossible to see.
about midnight, however, it seemed to him that he could distinguish dark masses moving upon the left bank, and gigantic shapes gliding along the surface of the stream. but there was no other noise than the moaning of the night wind among the branches.
the masses ceased to move, the shapes became stationary at some distance. canolles thought that he must have been mistaken, but he redoubled his watchfulness; his eager eyes pierced the darkness, his ear was awake to the slightest sound.
the clock on the fortress struck three, and the slow, mournful reverberation died away in the darkness.
canolles was beginning to think that the warning he had received was a hoax, and he was on the point of retiring, when lieutenant de vibrac, who stood beside him, suddenly placed one hand upon his shoulder and pointed with the other toward the river.
"yes, yes," said canolles, "there they are; we have no time to lose. go and wake the men who are off duty, and station them behind the wall. you told them, didn't you, that i would kill the first man who fired?"
"yes."
"well, tell them again."
by the first streaks of dawn long boats laden with men, who were laughing and talking in low tones, could be seen approaching the island, and there was a very pronounced eminence on the bank, which did not exist the night before. it was a battery of six guns which monsieur de la rochefoucauld had set up during the night, and the men in the boats had delayed their arrival because the battery was not ready to begin operations.
canolles asked if the weapons were loaded, and upon being answered in the affirmative, bade the troops reserve their fire.
the boats came nearer and nearer, and there was soon light enough for canolles to distinguish the cross-belts and peculiar hats worn by the navailles regiment, to which, as we know, he formerly belonged. in the prow of one of the foremost boats was baron de ravailly, who had succeeded him in command of his company, and at the stern the lieutenant, who was his foster brother, a great favorite among his comrades because of his joyous nature, and his inexhaustible store of jokes.
"you will see," said he, "that they won't stir, and monsieur de la rochefoucauld will have to wake them up with his cannon. peste! how they sleep at saint-georges; i'll surely come here when i'm ill."
"dear old canolles plays his r?le of governor like a paterfamilias," said ravailly; "he's afraid his men will take cold if he makes them mount guard at night."
"upon my soul," said another, "there's not a sentinel to be seen!"
"holà!" cried the lieutenant, stepping ashore, "wake up, up there, and lend us a hand to come up."
shouts of laughter arose along the whole line at this last pleasantry, and while three or four boats pulled toward the harbor, the rest of the force disembarked.
"i see how it is," said ravailly; "canolles prefers to have it appear that he was taken by surprise in order not to get into trouble at court. let us return him courtesy for courtesy, messieurs, and kill no one. once in the fort, mercy for all, except for the women, who may not ask it, sarpejeu! don't forget that this is a war between friends, boys; i '11 run through the first man who unsheathes his sword."
the merriment broke out afresh at this command, which was given with true french gayety, and the soldiers joined in with the officers.
"ah! my friends," said the lieutenant, "it does one good to laugh, but we mustn't let it interfere with what we have to do. ladders and grappling-hooks!"
the soldiers thereupon drew forth long ladders from the boats, and advanced toward the wall.
at that, canolles rose with his cane in his hand, and his hat on his head, like a man who was taking the fresh morning air for pleasure, and approached the parapet, which reached only to his waist.
it was light enough for him to be recognized.
"ah! good-morning, navailles," he said to the regiment; "good-morning, ravailly; good-morning, remonenq."
"look, it's canolles!" exclaimed the young officers; "are you awake at last, baron?"
"why, yes! what would you have? we live like the king of yvetot here,—early to bed, and late to rise; but what the devil are you doing at this time of night?"
"pardieu!" said ravailly, "i should think that you might see. we are here to besiege you, that's all."
"well, why are you here to besiege me?"
"to take your old fort."
canolles began to laugh.
"come," said ravailly, "you surrender, don't you?"
"but i must know first to whom i am surrendering. how happens it that navailles is serving against the king?"
"faith, my dear fellow, because we have turned rebels. on thinking it over we concluded that mazarin was a downright rascal, unworthy to be served by gallant gentlemen; so we went over to the princes. and you?"
"my dear fellow, i am an enthusiastic épernonist."
"pshaw! leave your people there and come with us."
"impossible—ho! hands off the drawbridge chains down there! you know that those things are to be looked at from a distance, and it brings bad luck to touch them. ravailly, bid them not touch the chains, or i'll fire on them," continued canolles, frowning; "and i warn you, ravailly, that i have some excellent marksmen."
"bah! you are joking!" rejoined the captain. "let yourself be taken; you are not in force."
"i am not joking. down with the ladders! ravailly, beware, i beg you, for it's the king's house you are besieging!"
"saint-georges the king's house!"
"pardieu! look up and you will see the flag on the crown of the embankment. come, push your boats off into the water, and put the ladders aboard, or i fire. if you want to talk, come alone or with remonenq, and we will breakfast together, and talk as we eat. i have an excellent cook at ?le saint-georges."
ravailly began to laugh, and encouraged his men with a glance. meanwhile another company was preparing to land.
canolles saw that the decisive moment had arrived; and, assuming the firm attitude and serious demeanor befitting a man burdened with so heavy a responsibility as his, he cried:—
"halt there, ravailly! a truce to jesting, remonenq! not another word or step, or i fire, as truly as the king's flag is above, and as your arms are raised against the lilies of france."
suiting the action to the threat, he overturned with his strong arm the first ladder that showed its head over the stones of the rampart.
five or six men, more eager than their fellows, were already on the ladder, and were overturned with it. they fell, and a great shout of laughter arose from besiegers and besieged alike; one would have said they were schoolboys at play.
at that moment a signal was given to indicate that the besiegers had passed the chains drawn across the mouth of the harbor.
ravailly and remonenq at once seized a ladder and prepared to go down into the moat, shouting:—
"this way, navailles! escalade! escalade! up! up!"
"my poor ravailly," cried canolles, "i beseech you to stop where you are."
but at the same instant the shore battery, which had kept silent hitherto, flashed and roared, and a cannon-ball ploughed up the dirt all around canolles.
"go to!" said canolles, extending his cane, "if you will have it so! fire, my lads, fire all along the line!"
thereupon, although not a man could be seen, a row of muskets appeared, pointing down at the parapet, a girdle of flame enveloped the crown of the wall, while the detonation of two huge pieces of artillery answered monsieur de la rochefoucauld's battery.
half a score of men fell; but their fall, instead of discouraging their comrades, inspired them with fresh ardor. the shore battery replied to the battery on the rampart; a cannon-ball struck down the royal standard, and another killed one of canolles' lieutenants, named d'elboin.
canolles looked around and saw that his men had reloaded their weapons.
"fire!" he cried, and the order was executed as promptly as before.
ten minutes later not a single pane of glass was left on the island. the stones trembled and burst in pieces; the cannon-balls knocked holes in the walls, and were flattened on the great flags; a dense smoke overhung the fort, and the air was filled with shrieks and threats and groans.
canolles saw that monsieur de la rochefoucauld's artillery was doing the greatest amount of damage. "vibrac," said he, "do you look out for ravailly, and see that he doesn't gain an inch of ground in my absence. i am going to our battery."
he ran to the two pieces which were returning monsieur de la rochefoucauld's fire, and himself attended to loading and sighting them; in an instant three of the six guns on shore were dismounted, and fifty men were stretched on the ground. the others, who were not anticipating such a resistance, began to scatter and fly.
monsieur de la rochefoucauld, trying to rally them, was struck by a fragment of stone, which knocked his sword out of his hands.
canolles, content with this result, left the captain of the battery to do the rest, and ran back to repel the assault, which was continued by the navailles regiment, supported by espagnet's men.
vibrac had maintained his ground, but had received a bullet in his shoulder.
canolles, by his mere presence, redoubled the courage of his troops, who welcomed him with joyful shouts.
"pray pardon me," he cried to ravailly, "for leaving you for a moment, my dear friend; i did it, as you may see, to dismount monsieur de la rochefoucauld's guns; but be of good cheer, here i am again."
as the captain, who was too excited to reply to the jest,—indeed, it may be that he failed to hear it amid the terrific uproar of artillery and musketry,—led his men to the assault for the third time, canolles drew a pistol from his belt, and taking aim at his former comrade, now his enemy, fired.
the ball was guided by a firm hand and sure eye; it broke ravailly's arm.
"thanks, canolles!" he cried, for he saw who fired the shot. "thanks, i will pay you for that."
notwithstanding his force of will, the young captain was forced to halt, and his sword fell from his hands. remonenq ran to him and caught him in his arms.
"will you come into the fort and have your wound dressed, ravailly?" cried canolles. "i have a surgeon who's as skilful in his line as my cook in his."
"no; i return to bordeaux. but expect me again at any moment, for i will come, i promise you. the next time, however, i will select my own hour."
"retreat! retreat!" cried remonenq. "they are running over yonder. au revoir, canolles; you have the first game."
remonenq spoke the truth; the artillery had done tremendous execution among the forces on shore, which had lost a hundred men or more. the naval contingent had fared little better. the greatest loss was sustained by the navailles regiment, which, in order to uphold the honor of the uniform, had insisted upon marching ahead of d'espagnet's citizen soldiers.
canolles raised his pistol.
"cease firing!" said he; "we will let them retreat unmolested; we have no ammunition to waste."
indeed, it would have been a waste of powder to continue the fire. the assailants retired in hot haste, taking their wounded with them, but leaving the dead behind.
canolles mustered his men and found that he had four killed and sixteen wounded. personally he had not received a scratch.
"dame!" he exclaimed, as he was receiving nanon's joyful caresses ten minutes later, "they were not slow, my dear, to make me earn my governor's commission. what absurd butchery! i have killed a hundred and fifty men at least, and broken the arm of one of my best friends, to prevent his being killed outright."
"yes," said nanon, "but you are safe and sound, aren't you?"
"thank god! surely you brought me luck, nanon. but look out for the second bout! the bordelais are obstinate; and, more than that, ravailly and remonenq promised to come again."
"oh, well," said nanon, "the same man will be in command at saint-georges, with the same troops to sustain him. let them come, and the second time they will have a warmer reception than before, for between now and then you will have time to strengthen your defences, won't you?"
"my dear," said canolles, confidentially, "one doesn't get to know a place all at once. mine is not impregnable, i have discovered that already; and if my name were la rochefoucauld, i would have ?le saint-georges to-morrow morning. by the way, d'elboin will not breakfast with us."
"why not?"
"because he was cut in two by a cannon-ball."
