De Pean.

The group of girls felt themselves eclipsed and overborne by the queenly
airs of Angelique, and were glad when she moved off, fearing that by
some adroit manoeuvre she would carry off their cavaliers. It needed but
a word, as they knew, to draw them all after her.

Angelique, under the lead of De Pean, rode quickly towards the scene
of confusion, where men were gesticulating fiercely and uttering loud,
angry words such as usually precede the drawing of swords and the rush
of combatants.

To her surprise, she recognized Le Gardeur de Repentigny, very drunk
and wild with anger, in the act of leaping off his horse with oaths of
vengeance against some one whom she could not distinguish in the throng.

Le Gardeur had just risen from the gaming-table, where he had been
playing all night. He was maddened with drink and excited by great
losses, which in his rage he called unfair.

Colonel St. Remy had rooked him at piquet, he said, and refused him the
chance of an honorable gamester to win back some part of his losses. His
antagonist had left the Palace like a sneak, and he was riding round
the city to find him, and horsewhip him if he would not fight like a
gentleman.

Le Gardeur was accompanied by the Sieur de Lantagnac, who, by splendid
dissipation, had won his whole confidence. Le Gardeur, when drunk,
thought the world did not contain a finer fellow than Lantagnac, whom he
thoroughly despised when sober.

At a hint from De Pean, the Sieur de Lantagnac had clung to Le Gardeur
that morning like his shadow, had drunk with him again and again,
exciting his wrath against St. Remy; but apparently keeping his own head
clear enough for whatever mischief De Pean had put into it.

They rode together to the market-place, hearing that St. Remy was at the
sermon. Their object, as Le Gardeur believed, was to put an unpardonable
insult upon St. Remy, by striking him with his whip and forcing him to
fight a duel with Le Gardeur or his friend. The reckless De Lantagnac
asserted loudly, he "did not care a straw which!"

Le Gardeur and De Lantagnac rode furiously through the market, heedless
of what they encountered or whom they ran over, and were followed by a
yell of indignation from the people, who recognized them as gentlemen of
the Grand Company.

It chanced that at that moment a poor almsman of the Bourgeois Philibert
was humbly and quietly leaning on his crutches, listening with bowing
head and smiling lips to the