Philip had
almost decided to start for Versailles to die, if need be, in the
service of his sovereign; but Coursegol succeeded in convincing him that
his presence was a necessity at Chamondrin, and that he could not go
away without leaving the Marquis and Antoinette exposed to the gravest
peril. Coursegol had several reasons for dissuading his young master
from his purpose, the chief of which was that he did not wish to go
himself. In case of actual danger, he could be of great service to the
Marquis. Thanks to his plebeian origin, to his many acquaintances and to
his reputation as a good fellow in Nimes and in Beaucaire, he could
mingle with the crowd, converse with the peasantry, question the
artisans and discover their temper and plans. In case the chateau was
attacked, he would also be able to make many friends for the Marquis and
call quite a number of defenders to his aid. Then, too, he could not
endure the thought of going so far from Arles while Dolores was there,
alone and defenceless, and might need his protection at any moment.

So Philip did not go, but together with his father and Coursegol he
began to make arrangements for the defence of the chateau. They
augmented their force by the addition of three or four men upon whose
fidelity they could implicitly rely. Coursegol was also promised the
services of several peasants. The Marquis frequently visited the little
town of Remoulins, that lay a few miles from the chateau on the other
side of the Gardon, and he still had a few warm friends there, some of
whom had desired to send him to the Etats Generaux. They, too, promised
to come to his assistance in case of an attack on the castle. If the
former masters of Chamondrin had been tyrants this was now forgotten.
The large possessions which would have endowed them with feudal rights
were theirs no longer. For several years Dolores and the Marquise de
Chamondrin had endeavored to obliterate the memory of the past by
visiting the poor and the sick around them, and Antoinette de Mirandol
had perpetuated the memory of their good deeds by imitating their
example.

Hence they had nothing to apprehend from those in their immediate
neighborhood; but they had every reason to fear the many lawless bands
that were now scouring that region of country, ostensibly attracted
there by the fair that was to be held at Beaucaire in the month of
July--bands of armed and desperate men, who plundered and pillaged and
lived by rapin