"'They are twenty in number, you say?' asked Chateaunoir.
"'Exactly twenty, mein herr,' replied the old servant, wiping his hunting-knife on the grass with grim care before he sheathed it.
"'Then ten of us are enough for them,' replied our heroic young colonel; 'let the ten gentlemen next me dismount and take their pistols with them. You are sure, my friend, that your young mistress is still among them?'
"'Sure as I live, mein herr,' replied the boor.
The baron groaned.
"'See!' exclaimed a Mousquetaire, 'there is a white dress amid their circle.
"'Christi kreutz! it is my young lady!' whispered the servant, in a breathless voice.
"I placed my gloved hand on the baron's mouth lest he might utter a cry, and spoil all.
"'Where—where?' asked Chateaunoir.
"'At the foot of that elm-tree, and, mein Gott! she is tied to it with a cord.'