Not until we were well out of the village and cantering briskly toward the south with a clear road behind us, did I feel at ease. Then I took my chin from my shoulder and directed an admiring gaze at my companion--would I ever acquire such an air? He caught my glance and smiled. “Where had you intended spending the night, M. de Tavernay?” he inquired. “At Châtellerault,” I said. “But you cannot hope to reach Châtellerault to-day,” he protested, “after the delay which I have caused you. You must be my guest to-night. My château is just beyond Dange. I will see you on your way at daybreak to-morrow, and you can reach Poitiers with ease by sunset. I hope you will accept, my friend,” he went on, seeing that I hesitated, “if only that I may feel you have wholly forgiven me. Besides,” he added, with an air of finality, “it is folly to travel unattended in this country after nightfall. It is overrun with brigands who shout for liberty, equality, fraternity, only to conceal their crimes.” Truth to tell, I needed no urging. I tried to stammer something of the pleasure the invitation gave me, but he stopped me with a kind little wave of the hand. “For the past month I have been in the Bocage,” he went on, when that was settled. “Ah, if you would see true heroism, my friend, you must go there. A devoted people, fighting for their homes and for their faith, under leaders the most heroic that army ever had. It is against those peasants of La Vendée that this cursed carnival of slaughter will wreck itself.” His face was alight with enthusiasm, his eyes shining with deep emotion. “They are carrying all before them,” he went on, more calmly. “To-day, they are mere scattered peasants, working in their fields. To-morrow, they are an army of fifty thousand, springing from the very ground to smite the enemy. They shoot him down from behind their hedges, they put him to the sword, they send him staggering back to his barracks, all but annihilated. Then the next day, if there is no more fighting, they are back again with their flocks and herds. It recalls that golden age of Greece when every man was eager to give his life for his country.” “But surely,” I objected, “trained troops should be able easily to stand against them.”