"What has he done?" "He escaped last night." "And he hasn't been caught again?" "No, not yet." "I am glad of that. He was a friend of my father's, and I was very fond of him also." "Don't boast of that here." "And what about my two compatriots?" "Messieurs Ballu and Dumont?" "Yes, why did they stay, since the man they came to rescue has escaped?" "He is to be tried for contumacy, and they expect to defend him in his absence as they would have done had he been here." "Ah!" murmured the child, "now I understand citizen Tétrell's advice." Then he said aloud: "Can I see them to-night?" "Who?" "Citizens Dumont and Ballu." "Certainly you can see them if you wish to wait, but they have gone to the club called the 'Rights of Man,' and will not be home until two in the morning." "I can't wait for them, I am too tired," replied the boy. "But you can give them a note from me when they come in, can't you?" "Of course." "To them alone, into their own hands?" "To them alone, into their own hands." "Where can I write it?" "In the office, if you are warm now." "I am." Madame Teutch took a lamp from the table and carried it to a desk placed in a little closet similar to the ones used in aviaries. The boy followed her. There, upon a slip of paper bearing the stamp of the hotel, he wrote as follows: "A fellow-countryman, who knows on good authority that you are in immediate danger of being arrested, begs you to leave for Besançon at once." Then he folded the note, sealed it and handed it to Madame Teutch. "But you have not signed it!" exclaimed the hostess. "That is not necessary. You can tell them who sent it." "I won't fail to do so." "If they are still here to-morrow morning, don't let them go until I have seen them." "Don't worry." "There! that's finished," said Gretchen, coming in with a clatter of sabots. "Is the bed made?" asked Madame Teutch. "Yes, mistress," replied Gretchen. "And the fire lighted?" "Yes." "Then heat the warming-pan and show citizen Charles to his room. I am going to make his porridge." Citizen Charles was so tired that he followed Gretchen and the warming-pan without a word. Ten minutes after he was in bed Madame Teutch entered his room with the milk porridge in her hand. She forced Charles, who was already half asleep, to drink it, gave him a little tap on each cheek, tucked in the sheets in a maternal fashion, bade him good-night, and went out carrying the light with her. But the wishes of good Madame Teutch were only granted in part, for at six o'clock in the morning all the guests in the Hôtel de la Lanterne were awakened by the sound of voices and arms; the butt-ends of muskets clashed noisily upon the ground, while hasty steps ran through the corridors and doors were opened and shut with a bang. The noise awakened Charles and he sat up in bed.