More than an hour had passed after the sounding of the _reveille_, when
two countrywomen, who were carrying their butter and eggs to market,
presented themselves at the gate of the fortress.
They declared that while passing through the fields at the base of the
precipitous cliff upon which the citadel was built, they had discovered
a rope dangling from the side of the rock. A rope! Then one of the
condemned prisoners must have escaped. The guards hastened to Baron
d'Escorval's room--it was empty.
The baron had fled, taking with him the man who had been left to guard
him--Corporal Bavois, of the grenadiers.
The amazement was as intense as the indignation, but the fright was
still greater.
There was not a single officer who did not tremble on thinking of
his responsibility; not one who did not see his hopes of advancement
blighted forever.
What should they say to the formidable Duc de Sairmeuse and to the
Marquis de Courtornieu, who, in spite of his calm and polished manners,
was almost as much to be feared. It was necessary to warn them, however,
and a sergeant was despatched with the news.
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