Suddenly a tremendous light illuminated the horizon in the direction of La Ciotat, and the bells of the convent and the church began to sound the alarm. The first idea that entered the baron’s mind was that the city was on fire. “Fire!” cried he, “La Ciotat is on fire! Captain, you have my word, I am your prisoner, but let us run to the city. You with your soldiers, I with my people, we can be useful there.” “I am at your orders, monseigneur.” At that moment the prolonged, reverberating sound of artillery made the shore tremble with its echoes, and shook the windows of Maison-Forte. “Cannon! Those are the pirates! The watchman to the devil for allowing us to be surprised! The pirates! To arms, captain! to arms! These demons are attacking the city. Laramée, my sword! Captain, to horse! to horse! You can take me prisoner to-morrow, but to-night let us run to defend this unfortunate city.” “But, monseigneur, your house--” “The devil take them if they venture here! Laramée and twenty men could defend it against an entire army. But this unfortunate city is surprised. Quick! to horse! to horse!” The roar of the artillery became more and more frequent. All the bells were ringing,--a deep rumbling sound reached as far as Maison-Forte,--and the flames increased in number and intensity. Laramée, in all haste, brought the baron’s helmet and cuirass. Raimond V. took the helmet, but would not hear of the cuirass. “Manjour! what time have I to fasten that paraphernalia? Quick, bring Mistraon to me,” cried he, running to the stable. He found Mistraon bridled, but, seeing that it required some time to saddle him, he mounted the horse barebacked, told Laramée to keep twenty men for the defence of Maison-Forte, commended his daughter to his care, and took, in hot haste, the road to La Ciotat. CHAPTER XXXI. THE DESCENT As the baron and the captain approached the city, they saw the whirlwind of flames more distinctly. The bells continued to ring at random; a thousand cries, more or less distinct, mingled with the bursts of musketry and the roar of artillery from the galleys. When they arrived behind the walls of the Ursuline convent, situated at the extreme end of the city, Raimond V. said: “Captain, let us halt here a moment to collect our people and agree upon operations. Manjour! I feel young again; the blood thickens in my veins. I have not felt that since the wars of Piedmont; it is because a pirate is worse than a foreigner, and in the civil wars, a man’s heart is oppressed in spite of himself. Silence!” said the baron to his troops as he turned around. “Let us hear where the firing comes from.” After listening closely for some minutes, he said to the captain: “Will you listen to my counsel?” “I will follow your orders, monseigneur, for I am not well acquainted with La Ciotat.”