e shot twelve hours afterwards. I think that
instead of sending twenty men with us they might safely have sent only
two, for it would be simply madness to try to escape. If one alone could
manage to slip off there would be some chance for him. There is no doubt
that the Bretons are bitterly opposed to the present state of things,
and have not forgotten how they suffered in their rising early in the
days of the Republic. They would probably conceal a runaway, and might
pass him along through their woods to St. Malo or one of the other
seaports, and thence a passage across might be obtained in a smuggler,
but it would be a hazardous job."

"Too hazardous for me to care to undertake, even if I got the chance to
slip away," Julian said.

"You are right, mate; nothing short of a big reward would tempt any of
the smugglers to run the risk of carrying an escaped prisoner out of the
country; and as I have not a penny in my pocket, and nothing to draw on
at home--for there is only my pay due up to the date we were captured
when we were only eight days out--I should not have the slightest chance
of getting away. No; I shall take whatever comes. I expect we are in for
it to the end of the war, though when that will be is more than any man
can tell."

They were marched into the prison at Angers, where they were provided
with a much more bountiful meal than they had been accustomed to, a good
allowance of straw, and two blankets each. To their great satisfaction
they were not called at daybreak, and on questioning one of the warders
who brought in their breakfast, the first mate learnt that after the
march to Angers it was customary to allow a day's rest to the prisoners
going through. They were ready for the start on the following morning,
and stopped for that night at La Fleche. The next march was a long one
to Vendome, and at this place they again halted for a day. Stopping for
a night at Beaugency, they marched to Orleans, where was a large prison.
Here they remained for a week. The guards who had accompanied them from
Nantes left them here at Orleans and returned by water.

From Orleans they struck more to the north, and after ten days' marching
arrived at Verdun, which was, they learned, their final destination.
Here there were fully a thousand English prisoners, for the most part
sailors. The greater portion of them were lodged in wooden huts erected
in a great courtyard surrounded by a high wall. The food was coarse, but