l home," said
the lieutenant, who had never before been at Les Aigues, and who was
glancing over a glass of champagne at the circling nymphs that supported
the ceiling.

"We intend to defend it to the death," said Blondet.

"If I say that," continued the lieutenant, looking at his sergeant as
if to enjoin silence, "it is because the general's enemies are not only
among the peasantry--"

The worthy man was quite moved by the excellence of the breakfast, the
magnificence of the silver service, the imperial luxury that surrounded
him, and Blondet's clever talk excited him as much as the champagne he
had imbibed.

"Enemies! have I enemies?" said the general, surprised.

"He, so kind!" added the countess.

"But you are on bad terms with our mayor, Monsieur Gaubertin," said
the lieutenant. "It would be wise, for the sake of the future, to be
reconciled with him."

"With him!" cried the count. "Then you don't know that he was my former
steward, and a swindler!"

"A swindler no longer," said the lieutenant, "for he is mayor of
Ville-aux-Fayes."

"Ha, ha!" laughed Blondet, "the lieutenant's wit is keen; evidently a
mayor is essentially an honest man."

The lieutenant, convinced by the count's words that it was useless
to attempt to enlighten him, said no more on that subject, and the
conversation changed.

CHAPTER VI. THE FOREST AND THE HARVEST

The scene at Conches had, apparently, a good effect on the peasantry;
on the other hand, the count's faithful keepers were more than ever
watchful that only dead wood should be gathered in the forest of Les
Aigues. But for the last twenty years the woods had been so thoroughly
cleared out that very little else than live wood was now there; and this
the peasantry set about killing, in preparation for winter, by a simple
process, the results of which could only be discovered in the course of
time. Tonsard's mother went daily into the forest; the keepers saw her
enter; knew where she would come out; watched for her and made her open
her bundle, where, to be sure, were only fallen branches, dried chips,
and broken and withered twigs. The old woman would whine and complain at
the distance she had to go at her age to gather such a miserable bunch
of fagots. But she did not tell that she had been in the thickest part
of the wood and had removed the earth at the base of certain young
trees, round which she had then cut off a ring of bark, replacing the
earth, moss, and d