Leaving the dungeon, he walked out before them all, leaning on the farmer and the country boy.
After Gilbert's first impulse of gratitude and friendship, a second had established the first distance between him and the subordinates.
At the door, Gilbert stopped, dazzled by the sunshine.
He stopped, folded his arms, and said as he gazed upwards:
"Hail, beautiful Liberty! I saw you spring into life in the New World, and we are old friends and battlefield comrades. Hail!"
The smile he wore showed that the cheers of a free people were not a novelty to him.
"Billet," he said, after collecting his thoughts, "Have the people overcome despotism?"
"They have."
"And you came to liberate me? how did you know of my arrest?"
"Your son told me this morning."