"Yes, my boys, never fear; before an hour we shall be at it."
"Ah, so much the better!"
"Yes, but take care to aim at the breast: do not hurry, and show yourselves no more than you can help."
"You may rest assured, Master Jean-Claude."
He passed on; but everywhere he met with a like reception.
"Do not forget," said he, "to stop firing when Lagarmitte sounds his horn: it would be only powder lost."
Coming up to old Materne, who commanded all these men—numbering about two hundred and fifty—he found him smoking his pipe, his nose fiery red, and his beard stiffened with the cold.
"At, it is thou, Jean-Claude."
"Yes, I have come to shake your hand."
"In good time. But why are they so slow in coming—tell me that? Are they going to march off in another direction?"