Overmastered by that which he observed--for the shining splendour of that great sun upon a purple silk ground told him plainly enough who were those men streaming down from the Vosges--overmastered by the certainty of their safety being at last assured, he threw prudence to the winds, and, boldly exposing himself to the Lorrainers below, he shouted:
"Look! Look! Behold! Your hour is past--you have missed your chance. Behold the army of France is in your land."
Whether surprise at seeing him there--for now none could believe that it was De Bois-Vallée himself--prevented one single shot from being fired at him, or whether it was that, as they saw that army streaming down into Lorraine, they became paralyzed with consternation, Andrew could not tell. Yet one of these it must have been, for soon, from all below, there came a babel of shouts and cries, from all their throats there rose the words:
"The army of France! the army of France! Lorraine is lost to all eternity!" And, even as they so cried, they dispersed and sped away. Sped, too, as fast as they could go, for now it was evident that the burning house had been observed by some in the ranks of the advancing cavalry. Already more than one troop had been detached and was breaking off from the main body, and seeking for a road that should bring them to it.
While Clemence, white now to the lips, white as the woman whose face lay once more on her lap, muttered hoarsely:
"What? What does it mean? What portend?"
"It means," replied Andrew, "that Turenne has crossed the Vosges, that your fair Lorraine will be wrenched from out your Duke's hands for ever--that the Imperialists are in a trap. Also--it means that we are saved."
[CHAPTER XXX.]
FREE!
Andrew had divined aright. That was what, in truth, it did mean.