ed La Huriere, "do you not know what is going on?
They are murdering the admiral, and massacring all of our religion.
Hasten to their assistance; come!"

"Ah!" exclaimed De Mouy, "I feared something was plotted for this night.
I ought not to have deserted my worthy comrades. I will come, my
friend,--wait for me."

And without closing the window, through which a frightened woman could
be heard uttering lamentations and tender entreaties, Monsieur de Mouy
got his doublet, his mantle, and his weapons.

"He is coming down! He is coming down!" muttered Maurevel, pale with
joy. "Attention, the rest of you!" he whispered to the Swiss.

Then taking the arquebuse from Coconnas he blew on the tinder to make
sure that it was still alight.

"Here, La Huriere," he added, addressing the innkeeper, who had rejoined
the main body of the company, "here, take your arquebuse!"

"By Heaven!" exclaimed Coconnas, "the moon is coming out of the clouds
to witness this beautiful fight. I would give a great deal if Lambert
Mercandon were here, to serve as Monsieur de Mouy's second."

"Wait, wait!" said Maurevel; "Monsieur de Mouy alone is equal to a dozen
men, and it is likely that we six shall have enough to do to despatch
him. Forward, my men!" continued Maurevel, making a sign to the Swiss to
stand by the door, in order to strike De Mouy as he came forth.

"Oho!" said Coconnas, as he watched these arrangements; "it appears that
this will not come off quite as I expected."

Already the noise made by De Mouy in withdrawing the bar was heard. The
Swiss had left their hiding-place to arrange themselves near the door,
Maurevel and La Huriere were going forward on tiptoe, and Coconnas with
a dying gleam of gentlemanly feeling was standing where he was, when the
young woman who had been for the moment utterly forgotten suddenly
appeared on the balcony and uttered a terrible shriek at the sight of
the Swiss, Maurevel, and La Huriere.

De Mouy, who had already half opened the door, paused.

"Come back! come back!" cried the young woman. "I see swords glitter,
and the match of an arquebuse--there is treachery!"

"Oho!" said the young man; "let us see, then, what all this means."

And he closed the door, replaced the bar, and went upstairs again.

Maurevel's order of battle was changed as soon as he saw that De Mouy
was not going to come out. The Swiss went and posted themselves at the
other corner of the street, and La Huriere, with his