"Who ordered them to fire?"
"I did, general. I was bound to go to your rescue."
"Ten thousand thunders! Can't you see that I rescued myself?" said the old soldier. Then, shaking his head, he added, "Monsieur, remember this: to shed blood in civil war is worse than a crime; it is a blunder."
An officer galloped into the courtyard.
"General," he said, "the rioters are flying in all directions. The chasseurs are here. Shall we pursue them?"
"Not a man is to stir," said the general. "Leave the National Guard to manage the affair. They are friends; they'll settle it."
A second discharge of musketry proved that the militia and the peasantry were indeed settling it. This was the firing heard at La Logerie by Baron Michel.
"Ah!" said the general, "now we must see what profit we can get out of this melancholy business." Pointing to Jean Oullier, he added, "We have but one chance, and that is that no one but this man is in the secret. Did he have any communication with any one after you arrested him, gendarmes?"
"No, general, not even by signs, for his hands were bound."
"Didn't he make any gestures with his head, or say a word to anybody? You know very well that a nod or a single word is enough with these fellows."