“You have taken Brissach?” said the Prince, with an eager glance.
The Governor flushed.
“After a stubborn fight we were driven out, your Highness.”
“You were inside the gate?”
“Yes.”
“Details. Briefly!” And the Prince rapped the lid of his snuff-box sharply.
The Governor told what the reader has already learned.
Several times during the brief narrative the Prince’s thumb, dipped into the box, and small showers of snuff fell on his doublet.
“How many were inside the gate when the rascal with the stick came up?”
“About forty, your Highness.”