he had tossed one of the water barrels into one of
the boats and staved it, the men refused to believe him; and it was
not until he took one of the carronades, weighing some five hundred
weight, from its carriage, and lifted it above his head as if to
hurl it overboard, that their doubts were changed into astonishment.

"I suppose our danger is not over, captain?" the marquis asked.

"No, we have the forts at the mouth of the river to pass, but we
shall be there before it is light. They will send off a horseman
when they get back to the town, but they will not be there for some
time, and the wind is rising fast. I hope we shall be through
before they get news of what has taken place. In any case, at the
speed we shall be going through the water in another hour or two,
no rowboat could stop us."

"I think, Captain Nicolay, it would be as well for you to keep only
as many men as you absolutely want on deck, so that you can say we
only allowed two or three up, and kept watch over you with loaded
pistols."

"It would be better, perhaps," Maitre Nicolay said. "There is sure
to be a nice row about it, and it is always as well to have as few
lies as possible to tell.

"Perhaps mademoiselle will like to go below. My cabin is ready for
her, and I have told the boy to get supper for us all."

The captain's prediction about the rising wind was correct, and in
another hour the Belle Jeanne was tearing down the river at a rate
of speed which, had the road from Nantes to the forts been no
longer than that by water, would have rendered the chance of any
horseman arriving before it slight indeed; but the river was
winding, and although they calculated that they had gained an hour
and a half start, Captain Nicolay acknowledged that it would be a
close thing. Long ere the forts were reached Adele was fast asleep
below, while her father and Rupert paced the deck anxiously.

The night was not a dark one. The moon shone out at times bright
and clear between the hurrying clouds.

"There are the forts," Maitre Nicolay said. "The prospect is
hopeful, for I do not see a light."

The hands were all ordered below as they neared the forts, Maitre
Nicolay himself taking the helm.

All was dark and silent as they approached, and as La Belle Jeanne
swept past them like a shadow, and all was still, a sigh of relief
burst from the marquis and Rupert. Five minutes later the wind
brought down the sound of a drum, a rocket soared into the ai