hat
is to say, if I can manage to make my arrangements."

"May I ask where you are going, master?"

"You will be surprised to hear that I am going to visit my estates in
Poitou."

Paolo looked sharply up to see whether Hector was joking. Seeing that he
looked serious, he said hesitatingly, "But I did not know, master, that
you had estates in Poitou. I never heard you speak of them."

"Because I had them not, Paolo. That box that you are carrying holds the
titles. The fief was granted to me last night by the queen herself, the
Duc d'Enghien and General Gassion having been good enough to make a good
deal more of that night adventure of ours than it deserved. The estates
carry a title with them, and I am now the Baron de la Villar."

Paolo gave an exclamation of delight. "Well, master, I am glad indeed;
but," he went on in a changed tone, "now that you, monsieur, have become
a noble, you will no longer require the services of a lad from Savoy."

"Indeed I shall, Paolo, as long as you choose to remain with me. Why,
have you not shared with me in the adventures, one of which made me a
captain, and the other a colonel and a noble? Of course I shall have
other servants, but you will always be my bodyservant and companion."

"And are you going to leave the army, monsieur?" Paolo asked, after
pouring out his thanks.

"No, I shall still remain in the army. Turenne will be in Paris soon,
and will then go to the Rhine to take the command there, and I hope to
go with my regiment."

"Then you have a regiment, master?"

"Yes; one of the newly formed regiments has been named the regiment of
Poitou, and I am to have the command. Of course, it may be sent either
to him or to Enghien, but I hope that it will be to Turenne; and I
should think so, because from what I hear there is scarcely any army
left on the Rhine, and therefore it is probable that the new regiments
will all be sent there, as Enghien's force is quite sufficient to cope
with any enemy he is likely to meet with in Flanders. Now, I am going
down to the barracks, and for the next two or three hours you can amuse
yourself by taking a look at Paris."

It was not to the barracks that Hector made his way, but to The Scottish
Soldier.

"I did not expect to see you so soon again, colonel. Your man brought me
word that I was not to come this morning, as you would be engaged," the
sergeant said when he entered.

"Yes, but our talk was only postponed, sergeant; now I w