He had determined therefore to open trenches and lay siege to the place in due form, when he spied the advance guard of the Duc d'Épernon's army, which had effected its junction with his own, so that the royal forces were doubled. This put an entirely different face upon the affair. It was at once decided to undertake with twenty-four thousand men what they dared not undertake with twelve thousand, and to make an assault on the following day. By the cessation of work upon the trenches, by the new dispositions which were seen to be in progress, and above all by the appearance of strong reinforcements, Richon understood that the besiegers proposed to give him no rest; and apprehending an assault upon the morrow, he called his men together, in order to make sure of the state of feeling among them, although he had no reason to doubt their zeal, in view of the manner in which they had supported him in the defence of the outworks. His astonishment knew no bounds, therefore, when he discovered the change in the attitude of the garrison. His men gazed gloomily and uneasily at the royal army, and threatening murmurs arose in the ranks. Richon had no patience with pleasantry in war-time, especially pleasantry of that sort. "Who's muttering there?" he demanded, turning toward the spot where the sounds were most distinct. "I!" replied one man, bolder than his fellows. "You?" "Yes, I." "Come forward, and answer my questions." The man left the ranks and approached his chief. "What do you lack that you dare to complain?" said Richon, folding his arms and fixing his eyes sternly upon the malcontent. "What do I lack?" "Yes, what do you lack? Have you your ration of bread?" "Yes, commandant." "Your ration of wine?" "Yes, commandant." "Are your quarters unsatisfactory?" "No." "Are any arrears due you?" "No." "Tell me, then, what you want? What do these murmurs mean?" "They mean that we are fighting against our king, and that comes hard to the French soldier." "So you sigh to be in his Majesty's service?" "_Dame!_ yes." "And you wish to join your king?" "Yes," said the soldier, who was deceived by Richon's calm manner, and supposed that the affair would end with his simple exclusion from the garrison. "Very well," said Richon, seizing the man by his baldric; "but as the gates are closed, you must take the only road that is left open to you." "What is that?" queried the terrified soldier. "This," retorted Richon, lifting him with his herculean arm, and tossing him over the parapet. The soldier, with a yell of terror, dropped into the moat, which, luckily for him, was full of water. This energetic action was greeted with gloomy silence. Richon believed that he had crushed the sedition, and turned to his men with the air of a gambler who risks everything to gain everything. "Now," said he, "if there are any partisans of the king here, let them say so, and they will be allowed to go and join him by the same road."