word to the king, who ordered him to be taken to the chateau de
Loches. After a year's imprisonment, d'Aygaliers, who had just entered
on his thirty-fifth year, resolved to try and escape, preferring to die
in the attempt rather than remain a prisoner for life. He succeeded in
getting possession of a file with which he removed one of the bars of
his window, and by means of knotting his sheets together, he got down,
taking the loosened bar with him to serve, in case of need, as a weapon.
A sentinel who was near cried, "Who goes there?" but d'Aygaliers stunned
him with his bar. The cry, however, had given the alarm: a second
sentinel saw a man flying, fired at him, and killed him on the spot.

Such was the reward of the devoted patriotism of Baron d'Aygaliers!

Meantime Roland's troops had increased greatly in number, having
been joined by the main body of those who had once been commanded by
Cavalier, so that he had, about eight hundred men at his disposal. Some
distance away, another chief, named Joanny, had four hundred; Larose, to
whom Castanet had transferred his command, found himself at the head of
three hundred; Boizeau de Rochegude was followed by one hundred, Saltet
de Soustel by two hundred, Louis Coste by fifty, and Catinat by forty,
so that, in spite of the victory of Montrevel and the negotiations of
M. de Villars, the Camisards still formed an effective force of eighteen
hundred and ninety men, not to speak of many single troopers who
owned no commander but acted each for himself, and were none the less
mischievous for that. All these troops, except these latter, obeyed
Roland, who since the defection of Cavalier had been recognised as
generalissimo of the forces. M. de Villars thought if he could separate
Roland from his troops as he had separated Cavalier, his plans would be
more easy to carry out.

So he made use of every means within his reach to gain over Roland, and
as soon as one plan failed he tried another. At one moment he was almost
sure of obtaining his object by the help of a certain Jourdan de Mianet,
a great friend of his, who offered his services as an intermediary,
but who failed like all the others, receiving from Roland a positive
refusal, so that it became evident that resort must be had to other
means than those of persuasion. A sum of 100 Louis had already been set
on Roland's head: this sum was now doubled.

Three days afterwards, a young man from Uzes, by name Malarte, in whom
Rol