s, flowered waistcoat, bag,
wig, and all. She introduced him as _Mon Oncle_. He at once began to
talk with Paul, and soon became communicative.

"I once had two brave boys," he said. "I have lost both of them. One
perished at sea; the other has been desperately wounded fighting in a
cause he detests; yet he was dragged away without the power of escaping.
I scarcely expect to see him again; but if he recovers, my prayer is
that he may be taken prisoner, for I am sure that he will be kindly
treated by the brave English people. That is one of the reasons that I
desire to help you. I have other reasons. One is, that I hope through
the English the cause I espouse may triumph. I am sorry to say,
however, that my chateau is no longer a safe abode for you. It will be
subject to frequent visits from the police, and I myself may be dragged
away with all my domestics, when you must either starve or be
discovered."

The midshipmen agreed to the wisdom of this, and Paul, after thanking
the old gentleman again and again for the refuge he had afforded them,
said that they thought with him that it would be wise for them to start
immediately on their journey to the north. They had consulted with
Rosalie how they were to proceed, and they thought with her that they
might make their way dressed as country lads from some place in the
south of France where a patois was spoken scarcely known in the north;
that he, Paul, was to act as spokesman, and that O'Grady was to pretend
to be deaf and dumb. As a reason for their journey, Paul was to state
that their father was a sailor, and that they had heard he was lying
wounded at some place on the coast, and wanted to see them before he
died.

This story, it must be understood, was concocted by Miss Rosalie, whose
active fingers had been engaged night and day for nearly a week in
making the costumes for the two midshipmen. They had reason to be
thankful to her. The day was spent in preparing for the journey. The
clothes fitted beautifully. Rosalie said that she did not know she was
so good a tailor. The difficulty was to make them look sufficiently
worn. Rosalie suggested, however, that they were to be the grandsons of
a small farmer of a respectable class, by whom they had been brought up,
and that therefore they would be well clothed, with some little money in
their pockets. She had also fastened up in two belts some gold and
silver coins, all the little money she possessed,