"There is the little fellow. But the strangest part is that the two ci-devants are related to each other."
Here the rider listened attentively, while the innkeeper continued:—
"One is a young man, and the other an old one. It is the grand-nephew fighting against his great-uncle. The uncle is a Royalist, while the nephew is a patriot; the uncle commands the Whites, the nephew the Blues. Ah! they will show no mercy to each other, you may be sure! It is a war to death!"
"Death?"
"Yes, citizen. Perhaps you might like to see the polite speeches they fling at each other's head. Here is a placard, which the old man has managed to post on all the houses and trees, and which I found had been stuck on my very door."
The host held up his lantern to a square bit of paper glued upon one of the panels of his door, and as it was written in very large characters, the rider was able to read it as he sat in his saddle:—
"The Marquis de Lantenac has the honor to inform his grand-nephew the Viscount Gauvain that if the Marquis is so fortunate as to take him prisoner, M. le Viscount may rest assured that he will be speedily shot."
"And here is the reply," continued the innkeeper.
He turned so as to throw the light of his lantern upon a second placard on the other panel of the door, directly opposite the first one.
"Gauvain warns Lantenac that if he catches him he will have him shot."