"Oh! now I remember you well," I replied at once. "You are the young gentleman who made so gallant a charge against us when we were pursuing the other day. I rather imagine you would have given me some trouble," I continued, smiling, "if your horse had not fallen with you." The young man coloured with pleasure, and the duke replied for him. "You speak too flatteringly, Monsieur de Cerons; but he is a brave youth, too, and he told me, the moment he came back, what had occurred, and how generously you had behaved to him." "God forbid, sir," I said, "that I should strike one blow at a gallant young gentleman when he is down." "But," said the duke, "You might have made him prisoner, and his ransom would have been no slight sum. We cannot, therefore, thus rest your debtors, Monsieur de Cerons, and I brought him here this day, that we might both acquit ourselves to you of that which we owe you." "You are both more than acquitted already, my lord," I replied. "The thanks which you have been pleased to give me are sufficient recompense; and let it be remembered always, that this young gentleman neither surrendered nor demanded quarter; that what was done was my doing; and perhaps the time may come, on some future day, when the little kindness I showed may be returned by some other. Will you allow me," I added, in order to change the subject, "To inquire whether any of the relations of Mademoiselle de Blancford are with your company above?" "No," replied the duke. "The truth is, Monsieur de Cerons, that the Baron de Blancford has been somewhat enraged by a letter from the Prince de Condé to the Duke of Anjou respecting him, and by one which, I understand, you wrote to him yourself. I therefore undertook the task of meeting you here, to prevent any unpleasant collision. I wished his two sons to have accompanied me; but he replied, that if he did not go himself, none of his family should go. But that I have full authority to receive the young lady, you may believe." "I doubt it not in the least, my lord," I replied; "but I was in hopes that the two boys were there, who have been brought up beside me from their infancy, but whom I have not seen for a long time. However, Mademoiselle de Blancford shall be delivered into your hands immediately, and I pray you to do your best to induce her father to look differently upon my letter, and to believe that, when I gave you the little _alèrte_ the other night, my only view was to rescue him, if, as I suspected, he was detained as a prisoner." "What, then, it was you," said the duke, "Who roused us in such a manner, and who carried off one of the cornets. Take care how you come in the way of Martigues, Monsieur de Cerons, for he has not forgotten the loss of that cornet."