"Hooray!" he cried; "we'll chase these beggars off the face of the earth!"
"Stop! you young monkey," said I. "You'll be swinging soon, perhaps, by your neck instead of by your tail, so keep still, and mind what I tell you. . . . I'm off for Clamecy now by myself, and you must make the best of your way to Dornecy. When you get there, find Magistrate Nicole, our alderman. He thought it prudent to run, I know, but he is kind-hearted, even if he does love himself better than his neighbor, and there are things he prizes still more,—viz.: his goods and chattels, which are in the greatest peril, as you will not fail to tell him.
"When you have seen him, push on to Sardy, to Master Courtignon, the Procurator; you'll find him in his house with a pigeon-cote there; let him know that his mansion in Clamecy, with all it contains, will be burnt to the ground this very night, unless he comes back;—that will fetch him, I promise you! But I don't need to give you lessons in lying, you young rascal! I'll be bound you know well enough what to say to them."
"Oh! I don't mind a lie or two, but the fact is, Master, I would rather not leave you alone."
"As if a snip like you would be of any protec-
