"Is that your opinion, Catherine?"
"Certainly," exclaimed the old dame, whose features expressed an inflexible tenacity.
Then Hullin, in a firmer tone, explained his plan:—"The Falkenstein is our point of retreat. It is our arsenal; it is there that we have our ammunition; the enemy knows it; he will attempt an attack on that side, therefore all of us here present must make an effort to defend it, so that the whole country may see us and say, 'Catherine Lefèvre, Jérome, Materne and his boys, Hullin, and Doctor Lorquin are there. They will not lay down their arms.' This idea will give fresh courage to all manly hearts. Besides, Piorette will remain in the woods; his troops will grow more numerous day by day: the country will be filled with Cossacks and marauders of every description; when the enemy's army shall have entered Lorraine I will signal to Piorette; he will throw himself between the Donon and the highway, so that all the laggers behind scattered over the mountains will be caught as in a trap. We shall also be able to profit by favorable chances to carry off the convoys of the Germans, to harass their reserves, and, if fortune aids us, as we must hope it will, and all these 'kaiserlichs' are beaten in Lorraine by our army, then we can cut off their retreat."
Everybody got up, and Hullin going into the kitchen, pronounced this simple address to the mountaineers:—"My friends, we have decided that we must push our resistance to the end. Nevertheless, every one is free to do as he likes; to lay down his arms and return to his village; but let those who wish to revenge themselves join us; they will share our last morsel of bread and our last cartridge."
Colon, the old wood-floater, arose and said, "Hullin, we are all with thee; we began to fight together, and so will we finish."
"Yes, yes!" they all shouted.
"Have you all decided? Well, listen. Jérome's brother will take the command."
"My brother is dead," interrupted Jérome; "he lies on the slopes of the Grosmann."
There was a moment's pause; then in a loud voice Hullin continued: "Colon, thou wilt take the command of all those that remain, with the exception of the men who formed Catherine Lefèvre's escort, and whom I shall keep with me. Thou wilt go and rejoin Piorette in the valley of Blanru, passing by the 'Two Rivers.'"
"And the ammunition?" said Marc Divès.