And a day or two later Rochelle was ringing with his name. Men lauded
his courage and prowess, speaking of him almost as if he were our
beloved leader himself.

Heading a body of troops in the early morning, he had sallied forth,
destroyed a big gun, and driven the besiegers pell-mell from the
trenches. Anjou had scowled angrily, but King Charles was reported to
have declared it a most brilliant feat of arms.

It was a proud day for all of us, but our joy was shortly changed to
mourning. Coligny, with most of his attendants, had left Rochelle for
Saintes; the rest of us, with two hundred troopers, were to depart the
next day. I had spent the evening at home, and accompanied by Felix had
returned to the hotel.

"Is that you, Le Blanc?" cried one of my comrades. "What means this
treasonable correspondence with the enemy?" and he handed me a sealed
packet.

"For me?" I exclaimed, taking it in surprise. "Where does it come from?"

"Ah," said he, laughing merrily, "that is a nice question to ask! One of
Monseigneur's rascals brought it under a flag of truce to the officer at
the gate, and he sent it here. I should have put you under arrest, and
forwarded the correspondence to the Admiral."

I looked at the letter curiously, and with a vague feeling of
uneasiness. It bore my name, but the handwriting was unfamiliar. "One of
Anjou's troopers!" I muttered.