GiletmetCaptainPotel，whowaslookingforhim，andseemedalmostbesidehimself。
“What’sthematterwithyou，Potel？“
“Mydearfellow，theImperialGuardisbeingblack-guardedalloverthetown！Theseciviliansarecryingyoudown！anditgoestothebottomofmyheart。“
“Whataretheycomplainingof？“askedMax。
“Ofwhatyoudoatnight。“
“Asifwecouldn’tamuseourselvesalittle！“
“Butthatisn’tall，“saidPotel。
Potelbelongedtothesameclassastheofficerwhorepliedtotheburgomasters:“Eh！yourtownwillbepaidfor，ifwedoburnit！“SohewasverylittletroubledaboutthedeedsoftheOrderofIdleness。
“Whatmore？“inquiredGilet。
“TheGuardisagainsttheGuard。Itisthatthatbreaksmyheart。
Bridauhassetallthesebourgeoisonyou。TheGuardagainsttheGuard！no，itoughtnottobe！Youcan’tbackdown，Max；youmustmeetBridau。Ihadagreatmindtopickaquarrelwiththelowscoundrelmyselfandsendhimtotheshades；IwishIhad，andthenthebourgeoiswouldn’thaveseenthespectacleoftheGuardagainsttheGuard。Inwartimes，Idon’tsayanythingagainstit。TwoheroesoftheGuardmayquarrel，andfight，——butatleasttherearenocivilianstolookonandsneer。No，IsaythatbigvillainneverservedintheGuard。Aguardsmanwouldneverbehaveashedoestoanotherguardsman，undertheveryeyesofthebourgeois；impossible！Ah！it’sallwrong；
theGuardisdisgraced——andhere，atIssoudun！whereitwasoncesohonored。“
“Come，Potel，don’tworryyourself，“answeredMax；“evenifyoudonotseemeatthebanquet——“
“What！doyoumeanthatyouwon’tbetherethedayafterto-morrow？“
criedPotel，interruptinghisfriend。“Doyouwishtobecalledacoward？andhaveitsaidyouarerunningawayfromBridau？No，no！TheunmountedgrenadiersoftheGuardcannotdrawbackbeforethedragoonsoftheGuard。Arrangeyourbusinessinsomeotherwayandbethere！“
“Onemoretosendtotheshades！“saidMax。“Well，IthinkIcanmanagemybusinesssoastogetthere——For，“hethoughttohimself，“thatpowerofattorneyoughtnottobeinmyname；asoldHeronsays，itwouldlooktoomuchliketheft。“
Thislion，tangledinthemeshesPhilippeBridauwasweavingforhim，mutteredbetweenhisteethashewentalong；heavoidedthelooksofthosehemetandreturnedhomebytheboulevardVilatte，stilltalkingtohimself。
“IwillhavethatmoneybeforeIfight，“hesaid。“IfIdie，itshallnotgotoPhilippe。ImustputitinFlore’sname。Shewillfollowmyinstructions，andgostraighttoParis。Oncethere，shecanmarry，ifshechooses，thesonofsomemarshalofFrancewhohasbeensenttotheright-about。I’llhavethatpowerofattorneymadeinBaruch’sname，andhe’lltransferthepropertybymyorder。“
Max，todohimjustice，wasnevermorecoolandcalminappearancethanwhenhisbloodandhisideaswereboiling。Nomaneverunitedinahigherdegreethequalitieswhichmakeagreatgeneral。IfhiscareerhadnotbeencutshortbyhiscaptivityatCabrera，theEmperorwouldcertainlyhavefoundhimoneofthosemenwhoarenecessarytothesuccessofvastenterprises。Whenheenteredtheroomwherethehaplessvictimofallthesecomicandtragicsceneswasstillweeping，Maxaskedthemeaningofsuchdistress；seemedsurprised，pretendedthatheknewnothing，andheard，withwell-actedamazement，ofFlore’sdeparture。HequestionedKouski，toobtainsomelightontheobjectofthisinexplicablejourney。
“Madamesaidlikethis，“Kouskireplied，“——thatIwastotellmonsieurshehadtakentwentythousandfrancsingoldfromhisdrawer，thinkingthatmonsieurwouldn’trefuseherthatamountaswagesforthelasttwenty-twoyears。“
“Wages？“exclaimedRouget。
“Yes，“repliedKouski。“Ah！Ishallnevercomeback，“shesaidtoVedieasshedroveaway。“PoorVedie，whoissoattachedtomonsieur，remonstratedwithmadame。’No，no，’sheanswered，’hehasnoaffectionforme；heletshisnephewtreatmelikethelowestofthelow’；andshewept——oh！bitterly。“
“Eh！whatdoIcareforPhilippe？“criedtheoldman，whomMaxwaswatching。“WhereisFlore？howcanwefindoutwheresheis？“
“Philippe，whoseadviceyoufollow，willhelpyou，“saidMaxcoldly。
“Philippe？“saidtheoldman，“whathashetodowiththepoorchild？
Thereisnoonebutyou，mygoodMax，whocanfindFlore。Shewillfollowyou——youcouldbringherbacktome——“
“Idon’twishtoopposeMonsieurBridau，“observedMax。
“Asforthat，“criedRouget，“ifthathindersyou，hetoldmehemeanttokillyou。“
“Ah！“exclaimedGilet，laughing，“wewillseeaboutit！“
“Myfriend，“saidtheoldman，“findFlore，andIwilldoallshewantsofme。“
“Someonemusthaveseenherasshepassedthroughthetown，“saidMaxencetoKouski。“Servedinner；puteverythingonthetable，andthengoandmakeinquiriesfromplacetoplace。Letusknow，bydessert，whichroadMademoiselleBrazierhastaken。“
Thisorderquietedforatimethepoorcreature，whowasmoaninglikeachildthathaslostitsnurse。AtthismomentRouget，whohatedMax，thoughthistormentoranangel。ApassionlikethatofthismiserableoldmanforFloreisastonishinglyliketheemotionsofchildhood。Atsixo’clock，thePole，whohadmerelytakenawalk，returnedtoannouncethatFlorehaddriventowardsVatan。
“Madameisgoingbacktoherownpeople，that’splain，“saidKouski。
“WouldyouliketogotoVatanto-night？“saidMax。“Theroadisbad，butKouskiknowshowtodrive，andyou’llmakeyourpeacebetterto-
nightthanto-morrowmorning。“
“Letusgo！“criedRouget。
“Putthehorseinquietly，“saidMaxtoKouski；“manage，ifyoucan，thatthetownshallnotknowofthisnonsense，forMonsieurRouget’ssake。Saddlemyhorse，“headdedinawhisper。“Iwillrideonaheadofyou。“
MonsieurHochonhadalreadynotifiedPhilippeofFlore’sdeparture；
andthecolonelrosefromMonsieurMignonnet’sdinner-tabletorushtotheplaceSaint-Jean；forheatonceguessedthemeaningofthiscleverstrategy。WhenPhilippepresentedhimselfathisuncle’shouse，KouskiansweredthroughawindowthatMonsieurRougetwasunabletoseeanyone。
“Fario，“saidPhilippetotheSpaniard，whowasstationedintheGrande-Narette，“goandtellBenjamintomounthishorse；itisall-
importantthatIshallknowwhatGiletdoeswithmyuncle。“
“Theyarenowputtingthehorseintothecaleche，“saidFario，whohadbeenwatchingtheRougetstable。
“IftheygotowardsVatan，“answeredPhilippe，“getmeanotherhorse，andcomeyourselfwithBenjamintoMonsieurMignonnet’s。“
“Whatdoyoumeantodo？“askedMonsieurHochon，whohadcomeoutofhisownhousewhenhesawPhilippeandFariostandingtogether。
“Thegeniusofageneral，mydearMonsieurHochon，“saidPhilippe，“consistsnotonlyincarefullyobservingtheenemy’smovements，butalsoinguessinghisintentionsfromthosemovements，andinmodifyinghisownplanwhenevertheenemyinterfereswithitbysomeunexpectedaction。Now，ifmyuncleandMaxdriveouttogether，theyaregoingtoVatan；MaxencewillhavepromisedtoreconcilehimwithFlore，who“fugitadsalices，“——themanoeuvreisGeneralVirgil’s。Ifthat’sthelinetheytake，Idon’tyetknowwhatIshalldo；Ishallhavesomehourstothinkitover，formyunclecan’tsignapowerofattorneyatteno’clockatnight；thenotarieswillallbeinbed。If，asIratherfancy，MaxgoesoninadvanceofmyuncletoteachFloreherlesson，——
whichseemsnecessaryandprobable，——therogueislost！youwillseethesortofrevengeweoldsoldierstakeinagameofthiskind。Now，asIneedahelperforthislaststroke，ImustgobacktoMignonnet’sandmakeanarrangementwithmyfriendCarpentier。“
ShakinghandswithMonsieurHochon，PhilippewentoffdownthePetite-
NarettetoMignonnet’shouse。Tenminuteslater，MonsieurHochonsawMaxrideoffataquicktrot；andtheoldmiser’scuriositywassopowerfullyexcitedthatheremainedstandingathiswindow，eagerlyexpectingtohearthewheelsoftheolddemi-fortune，whichwasnotlongincoming。Jean-Jacques’simpatiencemadehimfollowMaxwithintwentyminutes。Kouski，nodoubtunderordersfromhismaster，walkedthehorsethroughthetown。
“IftheygettoParis，allislost，“thoughtMonsieurHochon。
Atthismoment，aladfromthefaubourgdeRomecametotheHochonhousewithaletterforBaruch。Thetwograndsons，muchsubduedbytheeventsofthemorning，hadkepttheirroomsoftheirownaccordduringtheday。Thinkingovertheirprospects，theysawplainlythattheyhadbetterbecautiouswiththeirgrandparents。BaruchknewverywelltheinfluencewhichhisgrandfatherHochonexertedoverhisgrandfatherandgrandmotherBorniche:MonsieurHochonwouldnothesitatetogettheirpropertyforAdolphineifhisconductweresuchastomakethempintheirhopesonthegrandmarriagewithwhichhisgrandfatherhadthreatenedhimthatmorning。BeingricherthanFrancois，Baruchhadthemosttolose；hethereforecounselledanabsolutesurrender，withnootherconditionthanthepaymentoftheirdebttoMax。AsforFrancois，hisfuturewasentirelyinthehandsofhisgrandfather；hehadnoexpectationsexceptfromhim，andbytheguardianshipaccount，hewasnowhisdebtor。Thetwoyoungmenaccordinglygavesolemnpromisesofamendment，promptedbytheirimperilledinterests，andbythehopeMadameHochonheldout，thatthedebttoMaxshouldbepaid。