"You are to be attacked. If you are no longer worthy of me,
show yourself at least worthy of yourself."
The letter was not signed, but Canolles recognized Madame de Cambes as
he had recognized Pompée; he looked to see if anybody was looking at
him, and blushing like a child over his first love, he put the paper to
his lips, kissed it ardently, and placed it upon his heart.
Then he mounted the crown of the bastion, whence he could follow the
course of the Garonne well-nigh a league, and could see the whole
extent of the surrounding plain.
Nothing was to be seen upon land or water.
"The day will pass like this," he muttered; "they won't come by
daylight; they have probably halted to rest on the way, and will begin
the attack this evening."
He heard a light step behind him, and turned. It was his lieutenant.
"Well, Monsieur de Vibrac, what news?" said Canolles.
"They say, commandant, that the princes' flag will float over Île
Saint-Georges to-morrow."
"Who says that?"
"Two of our scouts who have just come in, and have seen the
preparations the citizens are making."
"What answer did you make when they said that?"
"I answered, commandant, that it was all the same to me so long as I
wasn't alive to see it."
"Ah! you stole my answer, monsieur."
"Bravo, commandant! we asked nothing better; and the men will fight
like lions when they know that that is your answer."
"Let them fight like men, that's all I ask. What do they say as to the
manner of the attack?"
"General, they are preparing a surprise for us," said De Vibrac, with a
laugh.
_"Peste!_ what sort of a surprise? this is the second warning I have
received. Who leads the assailants?"
"Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld the land forces, Espagnet, councillor of
Parliament, the naval forces."
"Very good!" said Canolles; "I have a little advice to give him."
"Whom?"
"The councillor."
"What is it?"
"To re-enforce the urban militia with some good, well-disciplined
regiment, who can show the tradesmen how to receive a well-sustained
fire."
"He hasn't waited for your advice, commandant; I think he must have
been more or less of a soldier before he became a man of the law,
for he has enlisted the services of the Navailles regiment for this
expedition."
"The Navailles regiment?"
"Yes."
"My old regiment?"
"The same. It has gone over, it seems, bag and baggage, to the princes."
"Who is in command?"
"Baron de Ravailly."
"Indeed?"
"Do you know him?"
"Yes--a fine fellow, and brave as his sword. In that case it will be
warmer than I supposed, and we shall have some fun."
"What are your orders, commandant?"
"That the posts be doubled to-night; that the troops retire fully
dressed, with loaded muskets within reach. One half will stand guard,
while the other half sleeps. Those who are on guard will keep out of
sight behind the embankment. One moment--Have you informed anybody of
the news brought by the scouts?"
"Nobody."
"Good; keep it secret for some little time yet. Select ten or twelve of
your worst soldiers; you should have some fishermen, or poachers?"
"We have only too many of them, commandant."
"Well, as I was saying, select ten of them, and give them leave of
absence till to-morrow morning. Let them go and throw their lines in
the Garonne, and set their snares in the fields. To-night Espagnet and
Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld will take them and question them."
"I don't understand--"
"Don't you understand that it is most essential that the assailants
should believe that we are entirely unprepared for them? These men, who
know nothing, will take their oaths with an air of sincerity, which
will carry conviction because it will not be assumed, that we are sound
asleep in our beds."
"Ah! excellent!"
"Let the enemy approach, let him disembark, let him plant his ladders."
"But when shall we fire on him?"
"When I give the word. If a single shot is fired from our ranks before
I order it, the man who fires it shall die, my word for it!"
"The deuce!"
"Civil war is war twice over. It is important, therefore, that it be
not carried on like a hunting party. Let Messieurs les Bordelais laugh,
and laugh yourselves if it amuses you; but don't laugh until I give
the word."
The lieutenant retired to transmit Canolles' commands to the other
officers, who looked at one another in amazement. There were two men in
the governor,--the courteous gentleman, and the implacable soldier.
Canolles returned to take supper with Nanon; but the supper was put
ahead two hours, as he had determined not to leave the ramparts from
dusk till dawn. He found Nanon running through a pile of letters.
"You can defend the place with confidence, dear Canolles," said she,
"for it won't be long before you are re-enforced. The king is coming,
Monsieur de La Meilleraie is coming with his army, and Monsieur
d'Épernon is coming with fifteen thousand men."
"But, meanwhile, they have a week or ten days before them. Nanon,"
added Canolles, with a smile, "Île Saint-Georges is not impregnable."
"Oh! while you are in command I have no fear."
"Yes; but just because I am in command I may be killed. Nanon, what
would you do in that case? Have you thought about it?"
"Yes," replied Nanon, smiling back at him.
"Very good! have your boxes ready. A boatman will be waiting at a
certain spot; if you have to take to the water, four of my people who
are good swimmers will be at hand, with orders not to leave you, and
they will take you ashore."
"All precautions are useless, Canolles; if you are killed I shall need
nothing."
Supper was announced. Ten times, while they sat at table, Canolles rose
and went to the window, which looked upon the river, and before the
end of the repast he left the table altogether; night was beginning to
fall.
Nanon would have followed him.
"Nanon," said he, "go to your room, and give me your word that you will
not leave it. If I knew that you were outside, exposed to the slightest
danger, I would not answer for myself. Nanon, my honor is at stake; do
not trifle with my honor."
Nanon offered Canolles her carmine lips, more brilliant in hue from the
pallor of her cheeks, and went to her room, saying:--
"I obey you, Canolles; I choose that enemies and friends alike should
know the man I love; go!"
Canolles left the room. He could not withhold his admiration from
this strong nature, so quick to comply with his wishes, so responsive
to his will. He had hardly reached his post ere the night came down,
threatening and awe-inspiring, as it always is when it conceals in its
dark depths a bloody secret.
Canolles took up his position at the end of the esplanade, which
overlooked the course of the stream and both its banks. There was no
moon; a veil of dark clouds overhung the earth. There was no danger of
being seen, but it was almost impossible to see.
About midnight, however, it seemed to him that he could distinguish
dark masses moving upon the left bank, and gigantic shapes gliding
along the surface of the stream. But there was no other noise than the
moaning of the night wind among the branches.
The masses ceased to move, the shapes became stationary at some
distance. Canolles thought that he must have been mistaken, but he
redoubled his watchfulness; his eager eyes pierced the darkness, his
ear was awake to the slightest sound.
The clock on the fortress struck three, and the slow, mournful
reverberation died away in the darkness.
Canolles was beginning to think that the warning he had received was a
hoax, and he was on the point of retiring, when Lieutenant de Vibrac,
who stood beside him, suddenly placed one hand upon his shoulder and
pointed with the other toward the river.
"Yes, yes," said Canolles, "there they are; we have no time to lose. Go
and wake the men who are off duty, and station them behind the wall.
You told them, didn't you, that I would kill the first man who fired?"
"Yes."
"Well, tell them again."
By the first streaks of dawn long boats laden with men, who were
laughing and talking in low tones, could be seen approaching the
island, and there was a very pronounced eminence on the bank, which did
not exist the night before. It was a battery of six guns which Monsieur
de La Rochefoucauld had set up during the night, and the men in the
boats had delayed their arrival because the battery was not ready to
begin operations.
Canolles asked if the weapons were loaded, and upon being answered in
the affirmative, bade the troops reserve their fire.
The boats came nearer and nearer, and there was soon light enough for
Canolles to distinguish the cross-belts and peculiar hats worn by
the Navailles regiment, to which, as we know, he formerly belonged.
In the prow of one of the foremost boats was Baron de Ravailly, who
had succeeded him in command of his company, and at the stern the
lieutenant, who was his foster brother, a great favorite among his
comrades because of his joyous nature, and his inexhaustible store of
jokes.
"You will see," said he, "that they won't stir, and Monsieur de La
Rochefoucauld will have to wake them up with his cannon. _Peste!_ how
they sleep at Saint-Georges; I'll surely come here when I'm ill."
"Dear old Canolles plays his rôle of governor like a paterfamilias,"
said Ravailly; "he's afraid his men will take cold if he makes them
mount guard at night."
"Upon my soul," said another, "there's not a sentinel to be seen!"
"_Holà!_" cried the lieutenant, stepping ashore, "wake up, up there,
and lend us a hand to come up."
Shouts of laughter arose along the whole line at this last pleasantry,
and while three or four boats pulled toward the harbor, the rest of the
force disembarked.
"I see how it is," said Ravailly; "Canolles prefers to have it appear
that he was taken by surprise in order not to get into trouble at
court. Let us return him courtesy for courtesy, messieurs, and kill no
one. Once in the fort, mercy for all, except for the women, who may not
ask it, _sarpejeu!_ Don't forget that this is a war between friends,
boys; I '11 run through the first man who unsheathes his sword."
The merriment broke out afresh at this command, which was given with
true French gayety, and the soldiers joined in with the officers.
"Ah! my friends," said the lieutenant, "it does one good to laugh,
but we mustn't let it interfere with what we have to do. Ladders and
grappling-hooks!"
The soldiers thereupon drew forth long ladders from the boats, and
advanced toward the wall.
At that, Canolles rose with his cane in his hand, and his hat on his
head, like a man who was taking the fresh morning air for pleasure, and
approached the parapet, which reached only to his waist.
It was light enough for him to be recognized.
"Ah! good-morning, Navailles," he said to the regiment; "good-morning,
Ravailly; good-morning, Remonenq."
"Look, it's Canolles!" exclaimed the young officers; "are you awake at
last, baron?"
"Why, yes! what would you have? we live like the King of Yvetot
here,--early to bed, and late to rise; but what the devil are you doing
at this time of night?"
"_Pardieu!_" said Ravailly, "I should think that you might see. We are
here to besiege you, that's all."
"Well, why are you here to besiege me?"
"To take your old fort."
Canolles began to laugh.
"Come," said Ravailly, "you surrender, don't you?"
"But I must know first to whom I am surrendering. How happens it that
Navailles is serving against the king?"
"Faith, my dear fellow, because we have turned rebels. On thinking it
over we concluded that Mazarin was a downright rascal, unworthy to be
served by gallant gentlemen; so we went over to the princes. And you?"
"My dear fellow, I am an enthusiastic Épernonist."
"Pshaw! leave your people there and come with us."
"Impossible--Ho! hands off the drawbridge chains down there! You know
that those things are to be looked at from a distance, and it brings
bad luck to touch them. Ravailly, bid them not touch the chains, or
I'll fire on them," continued Canolles, frowning; "and I warn you,
Ravailly, that I have some excellent marksmen."
"Bah! you are joking!" rejoined the captain. "Let yourself be taken;
you are not in force."
"I am not joking. Down with the ladders! Ravailly, beware, I beg you,
for it's the king's house you are besieging!"
"Saint-Georges the king's house!"
"_Pardieu!_ look up and you will see the flag on the crown of the
embankment. Come, push your boats off into the water, and put the
ladders aboard, or I fire. If you want to talk, come alone or with
Remonenq, and we will breakfast together, and talk as we eat. I have an
excellent cook at Île Saint-Georges."
Ravailly began to laugh, and encouraged his men with a glance.
Meanwhile another company was preparing to land.
Canolles saw that the decisive moment had arrived; and, assuming the
firm attitude and serious demeanor befitting a man burdened with so
heavy a responsibility as his, he cried:--
"Halt there, Ravailly! A truce to jesting, Remonenq! not another word
or step, or I fire, as truly as the king's flag is above, and as your
arms are raised against the lilies of France."
Suiting the action to the threat, he overturned with his strong arm the
first ladder that showed its head over the stones of the rampart.
Five or six men, more eager than their fellows, were already on the
ladder, and were overturned with it. They fell, and a great shout of
laughter arose from besiegers and besieged alike; one would have said
they were schoolboys at play.
At that moment a signal was given to indicate that the besiegers had
passed the chains drawn across the mouth of the harbor.
Ravailly and Remonenq at once seized a ladder and prepared to go down
into the moat, shouting:--
"This way, Navailles! Escalade! escalade! up! up!"
"My poor Ravailly," cried Canolles, "I beseech you to stop where you
are."
But at the same instant the shore battery, which had kept silent
hitherto, flashed and roared, and a cannon-ball ploughed up the dirt
all around Canolles.
"Go to!" said Canolles, extending his cane, "if you will have it so!
Fire, my lads, fire all along the line!"
Thereupon, although not a man could be seen, a row of muskets appeared,
pointing down at the parapet, a girdle of flame enveloped the crown of
the wall, while the detonation of two huge pieces of artillery answered
Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld's battery.
Half a score of men fell; but their fall, instead of discouraging
their comrades, inspired them with fresh ardor. The shore battery
replied to the battery on the rampart; a cannon-ball struck down the
royal standard, and another killed one of Canolles' lieutenants, named
D'Elboin.
Canolles looked around and saw that his men had reloaded their weapons.
"Fire!" he cried, and the order was executed as promptly as before.
Ten minutes later not a single pane of glass was left on the island.
The stones trembled and burst in pieces; the cannon-balls knocked holes
in the walls, and were flattened on the great flags; a dense smoke
overhung the fort, and the air was filled with shrieks and threats and
groans.
Canolles saw that Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld's artillery was doing
the greatest amount of damage. "Vibrac," said he, "do you look out
for Ravailly, and see that he doesn't gain an inch of ground in my
absence. I am going to our battery."
He ran to the two pieces which were returning Monsieur de La
Rochefoucauld's fire, and himself attended to loading and sighting
them; in an instant three of the six guns on shore were dismounted,
and fifty men were stretched on the ground. The others, who were not
anticipating such a resistance, began to scatter and fly.
Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld, trying to rally them, was struck by a
fragment of stone, which knocked his sword out of his hands.
Canolles, content with this result, left the captain of the battery to
do the rest, and ran back to repel the assault, which was continued by
the Navailles regiment, supported by Espagnet's men.
Vibrac had maintained his ground, but had received a bullet in his
shoulder.
Canolles, by his mere presence, redoubled the courage of his troops,
who welcomed him with joyful shouts.
"Pray pardon me," he cried to Ravailly, "for leaving you for a moment,
my dear friend; I did it, as you may see, to dismount Monsieur de La
Rochefoucauld's guns; but be of good cheer, here I am again."
As the captain, who was too excited to reply to the jest,--indeed, it
may be that he failed to hear it amid the terrific uproar of artillery
and musketry,--led his men to the assault for the third time, Canolles
drew a pistol from his belt, and taking aim at his former comrade, now
his enemy, fired.
The ball was guided by a firm hand and sure eye; it broke Ravailly's
arm.
"Thanks, Canolles!" he cried, for he saw who fired the shot. "Thanks, I
will pay you for that."
Notwithstanding his force of will, the young captain was forced to
halt, and his sword fell from his hands. Remonenq ran to him and caught
him in his arms.
"Will you come into the fort and have your wound dressed, Ravailly?"
cried Canolles. "I have a surgeon who's as skilful in his line as my
cook in his."
"No; I return to Bordeaux. But expect me again at any moment, for I
will come, I promise you. The next time, however, I will select my own
hour."
"Retreat! retreat!" cried Remonenq. "They are running over yonder. Au
revoir, Canolles; you have the first game."
Remonenq spoke the truth; the artillery had done tremendous execution
among the forces on shore, which had lost a hundred men or more.
The naval contingent had fared little better. The greatest loss was
sustained by the Navailles regiment, which, in order to uphold the
honor of the uniform, had insisted upon marching ahead of D'Espagnet's
citizen soldiers.
Canolles raised his pistol.
"Cease firing!" said he; "we will let them retreat unmolested; we have
no ammunition to waste."
Indeed, it would have been a waste of powder to continue the fire. The
assailants retired in hot haste, taking their wounded with them, but
leaving the dead behind.
Canolles mustered his men and found that he had four killed and sixteen
wounded. Personally he had not received a scratch.
"_Dame!_" he exclaimed, as he was receiving Nanon's joyful caresses
ten minutes later, "they were not slow, my dear, to make me earn my
governor's commission. What absurd butchery! I have killed a hundred
and fifty men at least, and broken the arm of one of my best friends,
to prevent his being killed outright."
"Yes," said Nanon, "but you are safe and sound, aren't you?"
"Thank God! surely you brought me luck, Nanon. But look out for the
second bout! The Bordelais are obstinate; and, more than that, Ravailly
and Remonenq promised to come again."
"Oh, well," said Nanon, "the same man will be in command at
Saint-Georges, with the same troops to sustain him. Let them come, and
the second time they will have a warmer reception than before, for
between now and then you will have time to strengthen your defences,
won't you?"
"My dear," said Canolles, confidentially, "one doesn't get to know
a place all at once. Mine is not impregnable, I have discovered
that already; and if my name were La Rochefoucauld, I would have
Île Saint-Georges to-morrow morning. By the way, D'Elboin will not
breakfast with us."
"Why not?"
"Because he was cut in two by a cannon-ball."