Havinglearnedthatbesidesthedoorbywhichtheyhopedtoeffectanentrance,themillpossessedonlyoneother,whichopenedonabridgeovertheVistre,hedespatchedtendragoonsandfiveSwisstooccupythisbridge,whilstheandtherestofthetroopsboredownonthemainentrance。AssoonasthefourCamisardsperceivedtheapproachofthesoldiers,theirfirstthoughtwastoescapebythebridge,butoneofthemhavinggoneuptotherooftomakesurethatthewaywasclear,camedownexclaimingthatthebridgewasoccupied。Onhearingthis,thefourfeltthattheywerelost,butneverthelessresolvedtodefendthemselvesasvaliantlyandtoselltheirlivesasdearlyaspossible。Assoonastheroyalswerewithinmusketrangeofthemill,fourshotswerefired,andtwodragoons,oneSwiss,andonehorse,fell。M。deVallathereuponorderedthetroopstochargeatfullgallop,butbeforethemilldoorwasreachedthreeothershotswereheard,andtwomoremenkilled。Nevertheless,seeingtheycouldnotlongholdoutagainstsuchnumbers,Francezetgavethesignalforretreat,callingout,\"Sauvequipetit！\"atthesameinstanthejumpedoutofalatticewindowtwentyfeetfromtheground,followedbyBrun。Neitherofthembeinghurt,bothsetoffacrosscountry,onetrustingtohisstrengthandtheothertohisfleetnessoffoot。
ThetwootherCamisards,whohadtriedtoescapebythedoor,werecaptured。
Thesoldiers,horseandfoot,beingnowfreetogivealltheirattentiontoBrunandFrancezet,awonderfulracebegan;forthetwofugitives,beingstrongandactive,seemedtoplaywiththeirpursuers,stoppingeverynowandthen,whentheyhadgainedsufficientheadway,toshootatthenearestsoldiers;whenFrancezet,provingworthyofhisreputation,nevermissedasingleshot。Then,resumingtheirflightandloadingtheirweaponsastheyran,theyleapedriversandditches,takingadvantageofthelessdirectroadwhichthetroopswereobligedtofollow,tostopandtakebreath,insteadofmakingforsomecoverwheretheymighthavefoundsafety。
TwoorthreetimesBrunwasonthepointofbeingcaught,buteachtimethedragoonorSwisswhohadgotuptohimfell,struckbyFrancezet\'sunerringbullet。Thechaselastedfourhours,duringwhichtimefiveofficers,thirtydragoons,andfiftySwisswerebaffledbytwomen,oneofwhomFrancezetwasalmostaboy,beingonlytwentyyearsold！ThenthetwoCamisards,havingexhaustedtheirammunition,gaveeachotherthenameofavillageasarendezvous,andeachtakingadifferentdirection,boundedawaywiththelightnessofastag。FrancezetraninthedirectionofMilhaudwithsuchrapiditythathegainedonthedragoons,althoughtheyputtheirhorsesatfullspeed。Hewaswithinaninchofsafety,whenapeasantnamedLaBastide,whowashoeinginafield,whencehehadwatchedthecontestwithinterestfromthemomenthehadfirstcaughtsightofit,seeingthefugitivemakeforanopeninginawall,ranalongatthefootofthewallontheotherside,and,justasFrancezetdashedthroughtheopeninglikeaflashoflightning,struckhimsuchaheavyblowontheheadwithhishoethattheskullwaslaidopen,andhefellbathedinblood。
Thedragoons,whohadseeninthedistancewhathadhappened,nowcameup,andrescuedFrancezetfromthehandsofhisassailant,whohadcontinuedtorainblowsuponhim,desiringtoputanendtohim。