mains of a cold capon, some bread, and wine.
You and your attendant had better eat something, while we are
saddling the horses and preparing for a start."

Four hours later they halted, three miles from Saint Amboise;
taking refuge in a wood near the road, where they could see Pierre
as he returned. Half an hour later he rode up. Philip went down the
road to meet him.

"Well, Pierre, what success?"

"I have heard of a place where I think Mademoiselle de Valecourt
would be safe, for the present. It is the chateau of Monsieur de
Landres. It lies some five-and-twenty miles away, and is in the
forest, at a distance from any town or large village. It is a small
place, but is strong. Monsieur de Landres is with the army in the
west, but he has only taken a few of his men with him; and forty,
they say, have been left to guard the tower. As most of the
Catholics round here have obeyed the king's summons, and are either
with the royal army in the west, or with the two dukes at Metz,
there seems no chance of any attack being made upon Landres."

"That will do excellently, Pierre. No doubt the lady will be happy
to receive Mademoiselle de Valecourt, whose father is a well-known
nobleman and, at present, in the same army as the lady's husband.
At any rate, we will try that to begin with."

They started without delay and, riding briskly, reached Landres in
four hours; having had a good deal of difficulty in finding the
way. As soon as they issued from the forests into a cleared space,
half a mile across, in the centre of which stood the fortalice, a
horn was heard to sound, and the drawbridge was at once raised.
Philip saw, with satisfaction, that Pierre had not been
misinformed. The castle was an old one and had not been modernized
and, with its solid-looking walls and flanking towers, was capable
of standing a siege.

Halting the others, when halfway across to the tower, he rode on
alone. As he approached, a lady appeared on the battlements over
the gate; while the parapet was occupied with armed men, with
spears and crossbows. Philip removed his cap.

"Madame," he said, "I am a soldier belonging to the army of the
Prince of Navarre, and am riding on the business of Admiral
Coligny. On my way hither, I had the good fortune to save a
Huguenot congregation, and the daughter of the Count de Valecourt,
from massacre by the people of La Chatre. My business is urgent,
and I am unable to turn back to conduct her to her father,