hich they plied their trade.

At the mouth of one of these streets, only a few yards away from the
wicket, was a small eating-house. It was here that I repaired at
sunset, and calling for a basin of lentil soup sat me down at a rough
table near the door, which commanded a view of the gate. It had rained
that afternoon, a summer shower that passed as quickly as it came, but
the eaves were still dripping, and the water was trickling in
glistening lines down the walls and bubbling in the gutters. There
were three other clients in the house besides myself. One contented
himself, as I had, with some lentil soup, and the other two, sitting
near a great spit, impatiently watched a leg of kid they had brought
with them for their supper being turned thereon by a small dog, now and
then exchanging a word or so with the bare-armed hostess who was
supervising the process. Whilst this was going on my fellow-companion
with the lentil soup kept casting envious glances at the spit, sniffing
the savoury odour of the roasting meat as he slowly ate pieces of black
bread sopped in the thick soup.

The wicket was open, for until compline ingress and egress was free;
nevertheless, there was a sentry on duty, an arquebusier, who paced
slowly up and down whistling the "Rappel d'Aunis," stopping only to
exchange some barrack-room badinage with every serving-wench who, as
she went out or came in, found a moment or so to spare for him. It was
a lax enough watch, and it was clear that guard duty at the wicket was
not so dull a matter as one might have imagined.

One of these passing affairs was rather longer and more interesting
than usual, and he of the lentil soup was chuckling to himself over it,
when we heard the clattering of horses at a trot coming up the road
lying between us and the gate. The girl uttered a little cry and fled
down the walk towards the Louvre, whilst the sentry drew himself up
stiffly.

In another minute a party of about half a dozen horsemen filed up, a
spare horse with them, and judge of my surprise and fear when I saw it
was Simon himself who led them. As the sentry saluted the Vidame he
rode close up to the man, and, bending down from the saddle, said
something in a quick, low voice, but it was too far off for me to hear.
The sentry saluted again, and began a steady pacing backwards and
forwards; whilst Simon, dismounting three of his men, had the horses
taken towards the riding-school, he remaining at the