an officer in uniform, he was able to re-enter the town after the
gates were closed, the rules being by no means strict, as, during
the reign of Louis the 14th, France, though engaged in frequent
wars abroad, was free from domestic troubles.

Presently, he passed a lonely house of some size, standing back
from the road and surrounded by a high wall. As he did so, he
heard a scream in a female voice, followed by angry exclamations
from two male voices, while loudly rose a woman's cries for help.

"There is bad work of some sort going on in there," he said to
Mike. "We had better see what it is all about. Do you go round the
wall by the right, and I will go round by the left, and see if
there is any way by which we can climb over."

They met at the back of the house. The wall was unbroken, save by
the gates in front.

"The wall is too high for us to climb, Mike," Desmond said. "Even
if I stood on your head, I could not reach the top. Let us go
round to the front again."

They returned, and closely scrutinized the gate. It was not so
high as the wall itself, but was fully twelve feet.

"I have got a pistol with me, your honour," Mike said. "I have
seen doors blown in, by firing a gun through the keyhole."

"That would do, if we were sure that there were no bars, Mike; but
the chances are that it is barred, as well as locked. Besides, I