With a brusque nod to the governor, who replied with a most courteous salute, he withdrew.
There was no movement discernible upon the bastion.
Guitaut rejoined the marshal, and reported the result of his mission.
"Let fifty men ride at full speed to yonder village," said the marshal, pointing toward the hamlet of Isson, "and bring hither instantly all the ladders they can find."
Fifty men rode off at a gallop, and very soon reached the village, which was only a short distance away.
"Now, messieurs," said the marshal, "dismount. Half of you, armed with muskets, will cover the other half, as they scale the ramparts."
The command was greeted with joyful shouts. Guards, musketeers, and light-horse were on the ground in an instant, loading their weapons.
Meanwhile the fifty foragers returned with some twenty ladders.
Everything was quiet within the fortification; the sentinel paced up and down, and the ends of the musket-barrels and the peaked hats could still be seen over the parapet.
The king's household marched forward, led by the marshal in person. It was composed of about four hundred men in all, half of whom made ready to carry the outwork by assault, and the other half to cover the operation.