looking over the entrance and seeming to debate.
Immediately after, two bodies shot down upon him from the cavern, and he
found himself face to face with the big man and the Admiral. They
sprang upon him in concert, and while the former held him, the second
sped off up the gorge and was lost to sight. The robber captain detained
him with a grip of immense power, until three more slid down and made
off. Then, hearing the shouts of the gamekeepers close at hand, he
sprang towards the opposite cliff, climbed straight up it from ledge to
ledge with miracles of muscle, and disappeared over the top. Three
wretches who were still in the cave were secured, fighting savagely. One
was la Tour.

CHAPTER XI

THE COURT

A week or so later, Germain sent his mother the following letter:--

"THE PALACE, FONTAINEBLEAU,
_8th September, 1786_.

"MY DEAR MOTHER,--My good fortune is inexpressible. The whole of your
dreams for me are fulfilled: can you believe it, your son has--but I
will not anticipate. I can scarcely trust it myself to be true. I
informed you in mine of three days ago, which goes in the same mail as
this, of our capture of the gentry of the cavern. It left me pretty
scratched.

"The morning following, a courier in a grand livery came riding to the
chateau to bear me a command to attend the King's hunt. This command, or
invitation, is conveyed by a great card, which I have before me,
engraved in a beautiful writing surrounded by a border exquisitely
representing hounds, deer, and winding-horns with their straps. It
begins: '_From the King_.' Above are the arms of France, the signature
is that of the chamberlain. You may think into what ecstasy it threw me
when my valet handed me these. (You know everybody in society must have
a valet here). My limbs seemed to lose their bruises, and I hastened to
the Chevalier, who was much pleased with this testimony of the credit I
appeared to have brought him, for, with the greatest affection and
generosity, he continues to consider me in the light of a son. He told
me how to act at the ceremonies and the hunt, and to take care not to
ride across the path of the King, for that is a thing which makes his
Majesty very angry. We talked it over perfectly. The only point to which
he took objection was that the card was addressed to "Monsieur de
Repentigny."

"'I hope,' he said, 'there will be no trouble about this. There was a
Repentigny in the army of Canada. We must try t