'Hollo!' he cried in a sing-song tone.
'Well,' my companion answered, drawing rein impatiently. 'What
is it?'
'There are soldiers in the village.'
'Soldiers" Antoine cried incredulously.
'Ay, devils on horseback,' the lad answered, spitting on the
ground. 'Three score of them. From Auch.'
Antoine turned to me, his face transformed with fury.
'Curse you!' he cried. 'This is some of your work. Now we are
all undone. And my mistresses? SACRE! if I had that gun I
would shoot you like a rat.'
'Steady, fool,' I answered roughly. 'I know no more of this than
you do.'
Which was so true that my surprise was at least as great as his,
and better grounded. The Cardinal, who rarely made a change of
front, had sent me hither that he might not be forced to send
soldiers, and run the risk of all that might arise from such a
movement. What of this invasion, then, than which nothing could
be less consistent with his plans? I wondered. It was possible
that the travelling merchants, before whom I had played at
treason, had reported the facts; and that on this the Commandant
at Auch had acted.
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