"Believe me, I will take every precaution. It is not likely that
there will long be need for it, for none can doubt that military
operations will soon begin on a large scale, and we are not
likely, if that is the case, to be kept in garrison in Paris."

When Desmond arrived that evening at the barracks, he found that
the story of the rescue of Mademoiselle de Pointdexter was already
known, and also that the Vicomte de Tulle had been the abductor,
and had, in consequence, been banished from court. The baron had
indeed related the circumstances to some of his intimate friends,
but the story had varied greatly as it spread, and it had come to
be reported that an officer had brought a strong body of soldiers,
who had assaulted the house where she was confined, and, after a
desperate conflict, had annihilated the guard that had been placed
over her.

Desmond laughed, as this story was told to him, when he entered
the room where the officers were gathered. The narrator concluded:

"As you have been to Versailles, Kennedy, doubtless you will have
heard all the latest particulars. Have you learnt who was the
officer, what regiment he belonged to, and how came he to have a
body of soldiers with him, outside the town? For they say that the
house where she was confined was a mile and a half beyond the
walls."

There was no longer any reason for concealment. The matter had
become public. The baron would certainly mention his name, and
indeed his visit to the palace, and the private audience given to