They recognized Corporal Bavois, and paused.
But he, passing them with an air of the utmost indifference, and apparently without observing them, hastily dropped these words:
“I have seen Chanlouineau. Be of good cheer; he promises to save Monsieur d’Escorval!”
CHAPTER XXVII
In the citadel of Montaignac, within the second line of fortifications, stands an old building known as the chapel.
Originally consecrated to worship, the structure had, at the time of which we write, fallen into disuse. It was so damp that it would not even serve as an arsenal for an artillery regiment, for the guns rusted there more quickly than in the open air. A black mould covered the walls to a height of six or seven feet.
This was the place selected by the Duc de Sairmeuse and the Marquis de Courtornieu for the assembling of the military commission.
On first entering it, Maurice and the abbe felt a cold chill strike to their very hearts; and an indefinable anxiety paralyzed all their faculties.
But the commission had not yet commenced its seance; and they had time to look about them.