"The Falkenstein is our point of retreat. It is our arsenal; it is there that we have our ammunition; the enemy know it, and will attempt to storm it. To prevent that, we must all of us here present hasten thither to its defence; all the country round must see us, so that they may be able to say--Catherine Lefévre, Jerôme, Materne and his sons, Hullin, Doctor Lorquin, are there. They will not lay down their arms! This thought will reanimate the courage of all honest people. At the same time, Piorette will hold himself in readiness in the woods; his followers will increase every day. The country will soon be over-run with Cossacks--with robbers of every description. As soon as the enemy shall have entered Lorraine, I will make a signal to Piorette; he will throw himself between the Donon and the road, and all the stragglers scattered over the mountain will be caught, as in a net. We may also profit by favourable chances to carry off the convoys of the Germans, harass their reserves, and, if fortune favours us as we must hope, and all these kaiserlicks should be beaten in Lorraine by our army, we shall then be able to cut off their retreat." Every one rose, and Hullin, entering the kitchen, made this simple address to the mountaineers: "My friends, we have just decided to resist to the very last. At the same time, every one is free to do as he likes, to lay down his arms, to return to his village; but let those who desire to avenge themselves assemble with us; they shall share our last bit of bread and our last cartridge." The old bargeman Colon rose and said: "Hullin, we are all with you; we have begun to fight all together, and we shall finish all together." "Yes, yes!" cried out all the others. "You have all decided, then? Very well! listen to me. Jerôme's brother will take the command." "My brother is dead," interrupted Jerôme; "he is lying on the side of the Grosmann." There was a moment's silence; then, in a firm voice, Hullin continued: "Colon, you will take the command of all those who are left, with the exception of the men who formed the escort of Catherine Lefévre, and whom I shall retain with me. You will go and rejoin Piorette in the valley of the Blanru by the way of the Two Rivers." "And the ammunition?" inquired Marc Divès. "I have brought back my waggon," said Jerôme; "Colon can make use of it." "Let the sleigh be got ready as well," exclaimed Catherine; "when the Cossacks come they will plunder everything. We must not let our people go away empty-handed; let them take away the oxen, the cows, and the goats; let them carry off everything; it is so much lost for the enemy."