"A demon, monsieur, a downright demon!" "An angel!" murmured Canolles, whose thoughts, whenever they recurred to Claire, recurred to her with transports of adoration,--"an angel!" "Does she live here some of the time?" he inquired, raising his voice. "Rarely, monsieur; but she did live here for a long while. Her husband left her here, and as long as she remained, her presence was a blessing to the whole countryside. Now she is said to be with the princess." The carriage, having reached the top of the hill, was ready to go down again on the other side; the driver made a motion with his hand to ask permission to resume his place upon the box, and Canolles, who feared that he might arouse suspicion by continuing his questions, drew his head back into the lumbering vehicle, which started down hill at a slow trot, its most rapid gait. After a quarter of an hour, during which time Canolles, still under the eye of Barrabas, was absorbed in gloomy reflection, the wagon halted again. "Do we stop here for breakfast?" Canolles asked. "We stop here altogether, monsieur. We have reached our destination. Yonder is Île Saint-Georges. We have only the river to cross now." "True," muttered Canolles; "so near and yet so far!" "Monsieur, some one is coming to meet us," said Barrabas; "be good enough to prepare to alight." The second of Canolles' keepers, who was sitting on the box beside the driver, climbed down and unlocked the door, to which he had the key. Canolles removed his eyes from the little white château, upon which he had kept them fixed, to the fortress which was to be his abode. He saw in the first place, on the other side of a swiftly flowing arm of the river, a ferry-boat, and beside it a guard of eight men and a sergeant. Behind them were the outworks of the citadel. "Ah!" said Canolles to himself, "I am expected, it seems, and due precautions are taken.--Are those my new guards?" he asked Barrabas, aloud. "I would be glad to answer monsieur's question intelligently; but really I have no idea." At that moment, after exchanging signals with the sentinel on duty at the entrance to the fortress, the eight soldiers and the sergeant entered the ferry-boat, crossed the Garonne, and stepped ashore just as Canolles stepped to the ground. Immediately the sergeant, seeing an officer, approached him and gave the military salute. "Have I the honor of addressing Monsieur le Baron de Canolles, captain in the Navailles regiment?" he asked. "Himself," replied Canolles, marvelling at the man's politeness. The sergeant turned to his men, ordered them to present arms, and pointed with the end of his pike to the boat. Canolles took his place between his two guards, the eight men and the sergeant embarked after him, and the boat moved away from the shore, while Canolles cast a last glance at Cambes, which was just passing out of sight behind some rising ground.