s to communicate with them,
but without success. Some of the messengers we sent never returned,
and were, doubtless, detected and killed. Others came back and reported
their failure, saying that every avenue to the citadel was so closely
watched that it was impossible to get through."

"Have you any objection, general, to my mentioning this matter to
my boy? I am absolutely convinced that he is thoroughly faithful and
trustworthy."

"You may do so if you like, Campbell, though it is hardly likely that
he will be able to suggest any method of communication with the garrison
that has not already been tried."

"Thank you, sir."

The general shortly afterwards went out to wait upon the duchess; in two
hours he returned, and as soon as he did so Hector entered his room.

"What is it?" Turenne asked.

"I have been thinking about what you said about the garrison of Turin.
I have been talking it over with Paolo, and have come to offer to do my
best to deliver a letter from you to the garrison if you will do me the
great honour to entrust the mission to me. We both think that two boys
would be much more likely to succeed than men. No one would regard them
with suspicion; and they could creep and crawl more easily. I do not say
that we should succeed, but I think that we should have some chance of
doing so. At any rate I am willing to try."

"It would be a very dangerous expedition," Turenne said gravely.

"Not more dangerous than going into a battle, viscount. Not a quarter as
dangerous as storming a breach."

Turenne smiled. "The idea has passed through my mind," he said, "but I
should not have proposed it had you not first spoken. It is the sort of
mission in which I thought you could be made useful, but it is a rough
adventure to begin with, and you must not minimize the danger. It is the
duty of a soldier to run the risk of being killed in battle, but it
lies beyond his duty to go into the enemy's camp to obtain news. He
may volunteer for it, but with a knowledge that if detected he would
assuredly be hanged."

"I do not think, general, that the risk of detection would be great,
but the risk of failure would be so. If when we get there we can see no
possible means of passing through the line of sentries, there would be
nothing to do but to come back, and I own that in talking it over the
thought that I might be obliged to return and to tell you that I had
failed occupied a much larger portion of my thoughts than