"Larry and I will try to make up, as far as we can, for their want of bravery," I said. "Thank you, my friends; you will be a host in yourselves. Now let us see about preparing to give the insurgents a warm reception should they attack the chateau." On descending from the tower, La Touche entered the supper room singing and laughing. "There is not much to be afraid of, so you need not be anxious, _ma chere mere_; or you either, Sophie," he said in a cheerful tone of voice. "We are going to shut the doors and windows in case any of the rabble may try to creep in at them. You can retire to your rooms or stay here, as you think best. You will oblige me, however, by keeping the women quiet, or they may be running about and interfering with our proceedings." "We will do more than keep them quiet," exclaimed Sophie; "we will make them useful by setting them an example; only tell us what you want us to do." "The best thing you can do is to close all the shutters and windows looking to the front in the upper storey, and to place chests of drawers and bedding against them, so that if bullets are fired they will do no harm." "That we will do, my son," said Madame La Touche, rising from her seat; and she hurried off, accompanied by Sophie. La Touche at once summoned his _maitre d'hotel_ and the other servants. "My friends," he said, "I have no intention of letting the insurgents destroy my chateau, as they have done those of other persons, and I will trust to you to defend it to the last." A party of Englishmen would have cheered. They, however, merely said, "_Oui! oui! monsieur_; we are ready to do what you tell us." Among the servants came Larry. I told him what we expected would happen, and what he was to do. "Shure we'll be after driving the `spalpeens' back again," he answered. "I was little thinking that we should have this sort of fun to amuse us when we came to France." We lost no more time in talking, but immediately set to work to shut all the doors on the ground floor, and to nail pieces of timber and strong planks against them. The windows were closed with such materials as could be obtained. There were more forthcoming than I expected; and La Touche acknowledged that he had laid in a store some time before. He then summoned the _maitre d'hotel_ and two other servants, and led the way--accompanied by Larry and me--down a steep flight of stone steps to a vault beneath the house. Opening the door of what was supposed to be a wine cellar, he showed us a stand of twenty muskets, with pistols and pikes, several casks of powder and cases of bullets. Larry, at once fastening a belt round his waist, and tucking a couple of muskets under each arm, hurried off, the servants following his example. La Touche and I each took as many more, and returned to the hall. His first care was to place his men two and two at each of the parts of the building likely to be attacked.