"And the others?"
"They took refuge under the stairway; the ceiling fell before they had time to get to us."
"Are they dead?"
"I don't think so; for about an hour after the soldiers left we heard the stones moving and voices. We called to them, but they did not hear."
"It is a lucky chance we came."
"That it is; without you I could never have got through that wall, especially with the young baron in such a state. Ha! I've made a fine campaign of it, faith," muttered Jean Oullier, shaking his head as he looked at Bertha, who, having drawn Michel's head and shoulders on her knees and brought him to his senses, was now expressing to him all the happiness she felt in recovering him.
"And it is not over yet," said Courte-Joie, ignorant of the meaning the old Vendéan gave to his words, and anxiously looking to the east, where a broad purple line announced that the day was breaking.
"What do you mean?" asked Jean Oullier.
"I mean that two hours more of darkness would have mightily helped our safety; a cripple, a fainting man, and a woman are not so easy to man[oe]uvre on a retreat. Besides, the victors in yesterday's fight will swarm upon the roads to-day--if they don't beat the woods."
"Yes; but I'm at ease now. I don't have that roof over my head."