this district.
The presence of that fellow"--and again he signed to Marche-a-Terre--"as
good as tells me he is on our back. But they can't teach an old monkey
to make faces; and you've got to help me to get my birds safe into
their cage, and as quick as a flash too. A pretty fool I should be if I
allowed that _ci-devant_, who dares to come from London with his British
gold, to trap me like a crow!"

On learning these secret circumstances, and being well aware that their
leader was never unnecessarily alarmed, the two officers saw the dangers
of the position. Gerard was about to ask some questions on the political
state of Paris, some details of which Hulot had evidently passed over in
silence, but a sign from his commander stopped him, and once more drew
the eyes of all three to the Chouan. Marche-a-Terre gave no sign of
disturbance at being watched. The curiosity of the two officers,
who were new to this species of warfare, was greatly excited by this
beginning of an affair which seemed to have an almost romantic interest,
and they began to joke about it. But Hulot stopped them at once.

"God's thunder!" he cried. "Don't smoke upon the powder-cask; wasting
courage for nothing is like carrying water in a basket. Gerard," he
added, in the ear of his adjutant, "get nearer, by degrees, to that
fellow, and watch him; at the first suspicious action put your sword
through him. As for me, I must take measures to carry on the ball if our
unseen adversaries choose to open it."

The Chouan paid no attention to the movements of the young officer, and
continued to play with his whip, and fling out the lash of it as though
he were fishing in the ditch.

Meantime the commandant was saying to Merle, in a low voice: "Give ten
picked men to a sergeant, and post them yourself above us on the summit
of this slope, just where the path widens to a ledge; there you ought to
see the whole length of the route to Ernee. Choose a position where the
road is not flanked by woods, and where the sergeant can overlook
the country. Take Clef-des-Coeurs; he is very intelligent. This is no
laughing matter; I wouldn't give a farthing for our skins if we don't
turn the odds in our favor at once."

While Merle was executing this order with a rapidity of which he fully
understood the importance, the commandant waved his right hand to
enforce silence on the soldiers, who were standing at ease, and laughing
and joking around him. With another gesture he