"Fire! fire! a thousand devils! You're not Frenchmen! Fire, I say!"
called Hulot.
As he shouted these words from the height above, his men and Gudin's
fired a volley, which was fortunately ill-aimed. The marquis reached
the gate of the next field, but as he did so he was almost caught by
Gudin, who was close upon his heels. The Gars redoubled his speed.
Nevertheless, he and his pursuer reached the next barrier together;
but the marquis dashed his musket at Gudin's head with so good an aim
that he stopped his rush. It is impossible to depict the anxiety
betrayed by Marie, or the interest of Hulot and his troops as they
watched the scene. They all, unconsciously or silently, repeated the
gestures which they saw the runners making. The Gars and Gudin reached
the little wood together, but as they did so the latter stopped and
darted behind a tree. About twenty Chouans, afraid to fire at a
distance lest they should kill their leader, rushed from the copse and
riddled the tree with balls. Hulot's men advanced at a run to save
Gudin, who, being without arms, retreated from tree to tree, seizing
his opportunity as the Chouans reloaded. His danger was soon over.
Hulot and the Blues met him at the spot where the marquis had thrown
his musket. At this instant Gudin perceived his adversary sitting
among the trees and out of breath, and he left his comrades firing at
the Chouans, who had retreated behind a lateral hedge; slipping round
them, he darted towards the marquis with the agility of a wild animal.
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