"Yes, my lads; don't be afraid; before an hour we shall be hard at it."
"Ah! So much the better!"
"Yes, but above all, mind your aim; breast high; don't be in a hurry; and be careful to show no more flesh than is necessary."
"Never fear, Master Jean-Claude."
He went farther on; everywhere he was received in the same way.
"Do not forget," said he, "to stop firing when Lagarmitte sounds his horn. We must have no waste of powder and shot."
When he came up with old Materne, who commanded all these men, to the number of about two hundred and fifty, he found the old huntsman just preparing to smoke a pipe, his nose as red as a live coal, and his beard bristling with cold like a wild boar.
"Ah! is that you, Jean-Claude?"
"Yes, I've come to shake hands with you."
"All right; but tell me—they seem in no hurry to come—if they should happen to pass another way?"