in his hands till now."

"He should have thought of that before he uttered an insult," said
Carrier, placing himself _en garde_. "Come on, boy!"

The offensive look and manner in which he spoke so carried me away that
I rushed in, and aimed a cut at his head. He parried it, and came down
with a sharp stroke on my shoulder, exclaiming, "_Ca!_" as he did it.
The same word followed every time that he touched me; nor did it require
the easy impertinence of the glances he gave towards his comrades to
show that he was merely amusing himself; as, at one moment, he covered
my face with blood, and at another disarmed me by a severe wound on the
wrist.

"Enough of this,--too much of it!" cried the captain, as the blood
streamed down my cheeks from a cut on the forehead, and almost blinded
me.

"When _he_ says so, it will be time to stop,--not till then," said
Carrier, as he gave me a sharp cut on the neck.

My rage so overpowered me at this that I lost all control over myself;
and, resolving to finish the struggle at once, I sprang at him, and,
with both hands on my sword, made a cut at his head. The force was such
that the blow broke down his guard and felled him to the earth, with a
tremendous wound of the scalp; and there he lay, stunned and senseless,
while, scarcely more conscious, I stood over him. Passion had up to that
sustained me; but loss of blood and exhaustion now succeeded together,
and I reeled back and fainted.

Though terribly hacked and sorely treated, none of my wounds were
dangerous; and after being bandaged, and stitched, and plastered in
various ways, I was able--or at least insisted that I was able--to
pursue my journey that evening; and away we drove, with no very grateful
recollection of Valence, except, indeed, towards the old captain, who
saw us off, and took a most affectionate leave of us at parting.

Margot had heard from the hostess enough to show her that I had been
her champion and defender, though in what cause she could not possibly
divine. Whatever her anxiety to learn the facts, she never put a single
question to me as we went along, her sole care being to do whatever
might assuage my pain and alleviate my suffering. Thanks to this
kindness, and the cool air of an autumn night, I travelled with
comparatively little uneasiness; and as day was breaking we entered the
quiet street of the little village.

"There, yonder is our house,--the porch with the jasmine over it. Oh,
how the rose