I only paused to tell Moric to place the lad I was carrying on a horse, and take him carefully to the camp, and then obeyed the orders of D'Andelot. The matter was now a mere affair of discipline; the men followed my commands with alacrity; and, choosing the direction which seemed most sheltered from the fire of the garrison, I led them on without loss, and with but little haste and confusion, till, passing the battery which had effected the breach, I took up the same position with them which we had occupied in the morning before the assault began.
I acted altogether as I had learned from the memoirs of various distinguished knights and officers it was right and proper to do on such occasions; and, the moment I had reached the same spot from which we had started, I made the men wheel round again and face the city, as if for a new assault. They were all picked soldiers, and they did it with promptitude and precision; but in the troubled state into which the whole art of warfare had fallen in that day, this little evolution, which never would have been neglected in former times except in case of a complete defeat, excited the surprise of everybody; and a loud shout of applause burst from the regiments around. At the same time, the Prince de Condé, with the admiral and his companions, moved slowly forward to meet D'Andelot, who was now riding up the slope. After conversing with him for a few minutes, they all advanced towards me, and various kind and complimentary things were said, of which I only remember now the words of the Prince de Condé.
"We shall take care, Monsieur de Cerons," he said, "how we put you upon dangerous services any more; for your life will henceforth be so much more precious to us than it seems to you, that we must not suffer you to risk it without much need."
They then inquired closely what I had seen within the breach, which I explained to them as well as I could, expressing my opinion that by a strong effort the town might have been taken. Their better judgment and greater experience, however, showed them that such was not the case; and orders were immediately given for opening a battery in another place, on the heights of St. Ozani. As soon as this was determined, and orders given to that effect, the men were allowed to retire to their quarters; and I hurried down to the hovel assigned me in the hamlet, to see what had become of Moric Endem, my prisoner, and the wounded youth, for whom I felt a considerable degree of anxiety.
CHAPTER VIII.
AT the door of the hovel I found Moric, with one of the men who had been wounded in the arm, and an old woman, who was bandaging up the injured limb. The first exclamation of my worthy lieutenant was, "You will find them both in there, sir; and a good ransom ought you to have for that fair youth. He is the Seigneur de Blays. The old gentleman is with the lad, who is badly hurt, and a surgeon too; but little good will they do him, I fear. He is drilled like a keyhole, and if there was any wind it would whistle through him."
Without questioning him farther, though not comprehending one half of what he meant, I entered the hut; when, to my utter astonishment, I found young Martin Vern stretched upon the straw which had served me during the previous night for a bed, and his uncle standing behind him, with a most anxious and sorrowful countenance, while a surgeon, with a large pair of forceps, was drawing something, which proved to be a bullet, from the wound in his side. The young man bore the operation, which must have been extremely painful, with the utmost fortitude and resolution, shutting his teeth hard, so as to prevent even a groan from escaping.
Martin Vern looked at me as I entered somewhat reproachfully; but at that moment the surgeon, holding up the bullet in his forceps, exclaimed, "Here it is, here it is!" And on my asking some questions concerning the poor youth, he proceeded to pour forth upon me a quantity of barbarous terms, to explain the precise course the ball had taken, and the parts external and internal which had been wounded.
I cut him short as soon as possible, thinking I perceived through all these technicalities that the surgeon had hopes the youth would get better, and wished to give importance to the cure.
"Some better bed," he said, "must be provided for him immediately." And he added that, if we would see for one, he would wait and superintend the movement of the wounded man himself. I immediately turned to see what could be done, and was followed by the merchant himself; who, as soon as we were out of the door, shook his head ruefully at me, saying, "Ah! Monsieur de Cerons, this was not kind of you, when you knew how much I wished to keep that boy from this warlike folly of his."