"Blessed be God!" he cried. "Blessed be God! Come in, my children! come in! All is safe here. I always make my house doubly strong. Ah! bless your sweet face, lady, you look pale, and well you may; but the boat will save you. It is close to the shore; in the little creek I had made to unload my merchandise. I owe my life to the good lord, your lover, there!" "My husband!" said Louise, in a tone that I shall never forget; and, casting herself upon my bosom, she wept. Her tears were soon dried, however, and we hurried down to the bank. As it was probable that we might be fired upon, some large piles of fagots were given us to make a sort of screen on either side, and also to give the barge the appearance of merely a wood-boat. A large bag of money was placed in my hands by Martin Vern; Miriam brought down some rich cushions for Louise to lie upon; the Jew himself added wine and provisions; and Moric Endem, doing his best to assume the appearance of a common boatman, aided another of the men to push away from the shore and get into the middle of the river. As we slowly made our way along, the horrid sounds from the centre of the town began to decrease; but, just in passing near the walls, the guards first called out to stop, and then fired upon us. But their shot did us no harm, and, ere they could load and fire again, we were out of reach. We passed the suburb, too, in safety; and oh! how strange was the sensation, when we felt the boat gliding on through the calm, noiseless scenes of the country, and saw the calm morning light glowing warmly in the east! Our horses and the rest of my followers, with good Dame Marguelette, had been stationed at a little cabaret not a hundred yards from the river, and Moric, who knew the spot, engaged to land us, and lead us thither at once. He was not one to mistake, and we put ourselves entirely under his guidance. When the boat touched the shore, however, I thought I heard many persons talking at a distance, and landed first to see. As I approached the rendezvous, I saw, by the gray dawn, a much larger body of horse than that which I expected, and, pausing, I was on the eve of returning to the barge, when I perceived a young man dismounted, and pacing eagerly backward and forward, but every now and then pausing to look up the road. I thought that I could not be mistaken in the figure, and, advancing a little nearer, the face of the prince dauphin became more distinct. At the same moment he caught a sight of me, and, darting forward, he caught me by the hand, saying, "Thank God! but oh, De Cerons, you are surely not alone!"