He heard a light step behind him, and turned. It was his lieutenant.
"Well, Monsieur de Vibrac, what news?" said Canolles.
"They say, commandant, that the princes' flag will float over Île Saint-Georges to-morrow."
"Who says that?"
"Two of our scouts who have just come in, and have seen the preparations the citizens are making."
"What answer did you make when they said that?"
"I answered, commandant, that it was all the same to me so long as I wasn't alive to see it."
"Ah! you stole my answer, monsieur."
"Bravo, commandant! we asked nothing better; and the men will fight like lions when they know that that is your answer."
"Let them fight like men, that's all I ask. What do they say as to the manner of the attack?"