"You may. We shall be in Paris in a month." Boisberthelot thought a moment, and then added: "At the latest,--so Mr. Windham told Lord Hood." "Then, commander, I take it affairs are not going so very badly?" "All would go well, provided that the Breton war were well managed." De Vieuville shook his head. "Commander," he said, "are we to land the marines?" "Certainly, if the coast is friendly, but not otherwise. In some cases war must force the gates; in others it can slip through them. Civil war must always keep a false key in its pocket. We will do all we can; but one must have a chief." And Boisberthelot added thoughtfully,-- "What do you think of the Chevalier de Dieuzie, La Vieuville?" "Do you mean the younger?" "Yes." "For a commander?" "Yes." "He is only good for a pitched battle in the open field. It is only the peasant who knows the underbrush." "In that case, you may as well resign yourself to Generals Stofflet and Cathelineau." La Vieuville meditated for a moment; then he said,-- "What we need is a prince,--a French prince, a prince of the blood, a real prince." "How can that be? He who says 'prince'--" "Says 'coward.' I know it, commander. But we need him for the impression he would produce upon the herd." "My dear chevalier, the princes don't care to come." "We will do without them." Boisberthelot pressed his hand mechanically against his forehead, as if striving to evoke an idea. He resumed,-- "Then let us try this general." "He is a great nobleman." "Do you think he will do?" "If he is one of the right sort," said La Vieuville. "You mean relentless?" said Boisberthelot. The count and the chevalier looked at each other. "Monsieur Boisberthelot, you have defined the meaning of the word. Relentless,--yes, that's what we need. This is a war that shows no mercy. The bloodthirsty are in the ascendant The regicides have beheaded Louis XVI.; we will quarter the regicides. Yes, the general we need is General Relentless. In Anjou and Upper Poitou the leaders play the magnanimous; they trifle with generosity, and they are always defeated. In the Marais and the country of Retz, where the leaders are ferocious, everything goes bravely forward. It is because Charette is fierce that he stands his ground against Parrein,--hyena pitted against hyena." Boisberthelot had no time to answer. Vieuville's words were suddenly cut short by a desperate cry, and at the same instant they heard a noise unlike all other sounds. This cry and the unusual sounds came from the interior of the vessel. The captain and the lieutenant rushed to the gun-deck, but were unable to enter. All the gunners came running up, beside themselves with terror. A frightful thing had just happened. IV. TORMENTUM BELLI. [Illustration 011] One of the carronades of the battery, a twenty-four pound cannon, had become loose.