Nevertheless, when the little group from outside approached, and the words: “The captain! the captain!” were heard, all rose, not with the servility of soldiers toward their approaching chief, but with the affectionate deference of strong and intelligent men for one stronger and more intelligent than they. Then Morgan shook his head, raised his eyes, and, passing before Montbar, advanced to the centre of the circle which had formed at his appearance, and said: “Well, friends, it seems you have had some news.” “Yes, captain,” answered a voice; “the police of the First Consul does us the honor to be interested in us.” “Where is the messenger?” asked Morgan. “Here,” replied a young man, wearing the livery of a cabinet courier, who was still covered with mud and dust. “Have you any despatches?” “Written, no, verbal, yes.” “Where do they come from?” “The private office of the minister of police.” “Can they be trusted?” “I’ll answer for them; they are positively official.” (“It’s a good thing to have friends everywhere,” observed Montbar, parenthetically.) “Especially near M. Fouché,” resumed Morgan; “let us hear the news.” “Am I to tell it aloud, or to you privately?” “I presume we are all interested, so tell it aloud.” “Well, the First Consul sent for citizen Fouché at the Louvre, and lectured him on our account.” “Capital! what next?” “Citizen Fouché replied that we were clever scamps, very difficult to find, and still more difficult to capture when we had been found, in short, he praised us highly.” “Very amiable of him. What next?” “Next, the First Consul replied that that did not concern him, that we were brigands, and that it was our brigandage which maintained the war in Vendée, and that the day we ceased sending money to Brittany there would be no more Brittany.” “Excellent reasoning, it seems to me.” “He said the West must be fought in the East and the Midi.” “Like England in India.” “Consequently he gave citizen Fouché full powers, and, even if it cost a million and he had to kill five hundred men, he must have our heads.” “Well, he knows his man when he makes his demand; remains to be seen if we let him have them.” “So citizen Fouché went home furious, and vowed that before eight days passed there should not be a single Companion of Jehu left in France.” “The time is short.” “That same day couriers started for Lyons, Mâcon, Sons-le-Saulnier, Besançon and Geneva, with orders to the garrison commanders to do personally all they could for our destruction; but above all to obey unquestioningly M. Roland de Montrevel, aide-de-camp to the First Consul, and to put at his disposal as many troops as he thought needful.” “And I can add,” said Morgan, “that M. Roland de Montrevel is already in the field. He had a conference with the captain of the gendarmerie, in the prison at Bourg, yesterday.” “Does any one know why?” asked a voice. “The deuce!” said another, “to engage our cells.”