Then, hot, weary, hatless, his coat showing several rents, Harry followed the wounded colonel into the house.
"Monsieur," said Adèle, meeting him, "the general insists on seeing you. He was with difficulty restrained from rising and taking part in the fray. You are weary; a cup of wine will refresh you."
Harry gladly quaffed at the cup she presented to him. Then he followed her into the dining-room. The general frowned when he saw him.
"I want to see the leader," he exclaimed testily.
"This is he, Monsieur," said Ad<ble.
"You, Monsieur!—Mademoiselle, a youth, a boy—absurd!"
"It has been my good fortune, Monsieur," said Harry.
The general looked blank with astonishment. He half-raised himself on his cushions, sinking back with a groan.
"They would tell me nothing, save that the French were discomfited. Explain, from the beginning."
Harry gave a rapid narrative of the late events. He spoke always of "we", seeming to include Adèle, the general himself, and even Madame de Vaudrey, who had joined them, among those who had planned the ruse. Every now and then the general broke into his story with exclamations of surprise and pleasure and praise.