probably the true state of the case, but did it please them
to pose as royalists? He took a long chance after a quick prayer
because he wanted to live not so much for himself as for the woman.

"I am deserting the Emperor," he said. "I am for the king."

"No king could have brought us to worse straits than we are now in,"
said the leader, lowering his pistol uncertainly, but still keeping the
young man covered.

"Right, my friend," continued Marteau exultantly, realizing that he had
made the right choice. "Bonaparte is beaten, Bluecher is marching on
Paris, Schwarzenberg has the Emperor surrounded. I thought I might as
well save myself while I had the chance, so I stole this Russian coat
to keep myself from freezing to death, and here I am. I belong to
Aumenier."

"You'll join us, then?"

"With pleasure. Who do you serve?"

"Ourselves," laughed the leader grimly. "We're from Fere-Champenoise
way. We're all of the village and countryside that the Cossacks and
the Prussians have left of our families. We're hungry, starving,
naked. Do you hear? We were hiding in the woods hard by to-day.
There was a wagon-train. A regiment of Cossacks surprised it, killed
its defenders, brought it here. We saw it all."

"And where are the Cossacks gone?" asked the young man, coolly picking
up his pistol from the floor and nonchalantly sitting upon the nearest
table in a careless way which certainly belied the beating of his
heart. He took careful notice of the men. They were ignorant fellows
of the baser sort, half-mad, starving, ferocious peasants, little
better than brute beasts, made so by the war.

"An order came for them. They marched away, leaving a company of other
soldiers like those yonder." He pointed to the men on the floor.

"And what became of them?"

"There was an attack from the woods at night--a little handful of
French soldiers. They beat them off and followed them down the road.
They have been gone half an hour. We heard the firing. We came out
thinking to plunder the train. We opened wagon after wagon but found
nothing but arms. We can't eat steel or powder. We killed two
sentries, made prisoners of the officers. We'll set fire to the house
and leave them presently. As for this man, we'll kill him, and as for
this woman----"

He laughed meaningly, basely, leering at the girl in hideous
suggestiveness that made her shudder; and which his wretched companions
found highly amusing.