y had better still why it should not be themselves. Others,
again, condemned the whole idea as insane; among these, as ill-luck
would have it, a seaman of the fleet; who was the most dispiriting of
all. The height, he reminded us, was greater than the tallest ship's
mast, the rope entirely free; and he as good as defied the boldest and
strongest to succeed. We were relieved from this deadlock by our
sergeant-major of dragoons.

"Comrades," said he, "I believe I rank before you all; and for that
reason, if you really wish it, I will be the first myself. At the same
time, you are to consider what the chances are that I may prove to be
the last as well. I am no longer young--I was sixty near a month ago.
Since I have been a prisoner, I have made for myself a little _bedaine_.
My arms are all gone to fat. And you must promise not to blame me, if I
fall and play the devil with the whole thing."

"We cannot hear of such a thing!" said I. "M. Laclas is the oldest man
here; and, as such, he should be the very last to offer. It is plain we
must draw lots."

"No," said M. Laclas; "you put something else in my head! There is one
here who owes a pretty candle to the others, for they have kept his
secret. Besides, the rest of us are only rabble; and he is another
affair altogether. Let Champdivers--let the noble go the first."

I confess there was a notable pause before the noble in question got his
voice. But there was no room for choice. I had been so ill-advised, when
I first joined the regiment, as to take ground on my nobility. I had
been often rallied on the matter in the ranks, and had passed under the
by-names of _Monseigneur_ and _the Marquis_. It was now needful I
should justify myself and take a fair revenge.

Any little hesitation I may have felt passed entirely unnoticed, from
the lucky incident of a round happening at that moment to go by. And
during the interval of silence there occurred something to set my blood
to the boil. There was a private in our shed called Clausel, a man of a
very ugly disposition. He had made one of the followers of Goguelat; but
whereas Goguelat had always a kind of monstrous gaiety about him,
Clausel was no less morose than he was evil-minded. He was sometimes
called _the General_, and sometimes by a name too ill-mannered for
repetition. As we all sat listening, this man's hand was laid on my
shoulder, and his voice whispered in my ear: "If you don't go, I'll have
you hanged, Marquis!"