The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1913-02-20


There was no time for further
words; a sharp order from the COM
mandant and the troopers spurred for,
ward toward the entrance in the wall
and those whose purpose it was to
oppose them.
What happened thereafter the girl
was but vaguely cognizant Of; reports
of guns. flashing of steel surrounded
her; the Gathering OF hoofs mingled
with the loud shouts of men.
THE Bastile of the North! Down
with it,"
This was their battie-cry; on every
side she heard it, though hardly real,
izing the purport of the words; con.
fused, she listened to her fathers name
her own-bandied about. She won
dered why those on the wall, the sol.
diers within, did not fire and repel all
these people.
Then almost at once came the an.
swer. The troopers comrades were
mixed in the melee without; she and
they, too-so adroitly had the moment
for striking been planned-might be
swept down in the volleys from the
ramparts. A cannon doomed above;
but it's deafening reverberations were
answered only with laughter and jeers
Mon dieu! Did his Excellency
think to frighten them with sound, as
if they were timid children fleeing
from thunder? Was his Excellency
aiming at stars?"
And again that cry: THE Bastile Of
the North! We, too, will take our
Bastile! "-dominated the clashing of
arms and the tumult Of strife.
For what seemed an interminable
period, the Governors daughter saw,
through flashes of light, men strug-
Cling, striking; then launched sudden
ly forward, by an irresistible move.
ment of the horses, found herself with.
in the gates. The Marquis who had
early been separated from her in the
strife, was nowhere in sight. Behind
now sounded the fray; a short dis.
lance from the wall, and she looked
back; fiercer than ever, soldiers and
people contended within the entrance:
beneath the portals. AS she strove to
restrain her horse she heard the voice
of her father.
Mon pere! Mon PEREZ" she cried
eagerly, divining his face in the light
Of lamps on that side of the wall. He
answered only with a laconic command
to go at once to the palace; and, re-
garding his features. tragically appeal
ing to her at the moment-so strange
and different they seemed!-she pre-
pared to obey. But ere turning: you
think the soldiers can hold the gate?"
she asked
yes; yes!" he replied sharply, as
if annoyed at the question.
But if"
There is no if," said the Cover.
nor, and as the girl rode away, his
look, hard, steely, shifting TO the sol.
diers, made quick mental note; they
were holding the gates Satisfied with
the front his men presented, and, de-
fvering a few brie: orders to the
commandant whose valor in rallying
his forces had been commendable, his
EXcellency walked toward the great
stairway leading up 10 the open space
near the church. Arrived at this high
point from which the town unfolded
itself in the starlight and flicker of
lamps, he sought, as best he might,
to acquaint himself further with the
situation; to judge the numbers of the
assailants and the extent of their prep
arations.
The scene that met his eyes was not
SO reassuring as he had expected; that
which until now he had considered but
q spasmodic outbreak of a compare
lively few townspeople, excited by the
news of the Bastile and bent on any
petty mischief, resolved itself into
more than an orderless, desultory up
rising. To his startled gaze the rock,
like an ant-hill disturbed, seemed
swarming with life Even as he peered
down, new relays Of men poured up
ward from the dark byways 10 the re-
enforcement of those already gathered
at the portals, and, for the first time,
his confidence, bred Of contempt for
the commonalty, became slightly shak-
en-. Fate, which had struck him
sharply in the capture of his daugh-
ter and the enforced negotiations lead
ing to the release Of one he would
- .Sslt with after r.s ossn f.s..s.s...----.-
now gripped him closer. What did
1t portend? Whence came all these
people?
Not all Of them from the immediate
neighborhood! Voices, among the as
sailants, had called out in what was
surely the Partisan dialect of the
rabble; here to propagate the revolu-
ton; extend the circle of flame! And
they had seen that arms were not
wanting! Muskets, pixies, swords,
must have been kept concealed for
some time in the town at the base of
the Mount or on the shore. In his
minds eye. too late perhaps, his Ex-
cellency could see now how the as
sault had long been planned, how all
these people had only been waiting.
For what? The opportunity afforded
by treacherous word! Spoken by
whom?
But a moment these reflections