And in the second place, had I not returned he would not have known whether his message had reached the garrison, and so might have hurried on his preparations more hastily than he otherwise would have done, and might, in his fear that the garrison would surrender, have made the attempt before he had collected sufficient food to last them until he was in a position to raise the siege." "Your reasons are good ones; but certainly, with shelter and warmth close at hand--for the sentry would speedily have passed the word along, and as soon as it was ascertained that you were indeed a French officer, and alone, the gates would have been opened for you--it must have required no small effort to turn away and to face the danger of passing the sentries and scaling the walls, of possibly having to swim the Po, and of certainly having no chance of getting a change of clothes until you arrived here, for you could not have calculated upon finding the shed, much less those sacks, with the snow falling heavily." "That was a piece of good fortune, indeed.

If we had not found it, we should have gone on walking until we got here.

Still, we had had little sleep the night before, and were heartily glad that we had no farther to go.

And now, sir, with your permission we will start for Susa at once." "Your escort returned yesterday, but I will send a troop of cavalry with you." "Thank you, sir, but I do not think that there is any necessity for it.
We are very well mounted, and should we see any party of the enemy's cavalry I think that we ought to be able to outdistance them.

I shall be glad, colonel, if you and your officers will say nothing about the manner in which I communicated with the garrison, as doubtless the enemy have spies here; and if the story comes out and reaches the ears of the authorities at Turin, I should have no chance whatever of making my way in, in the same manner, should the general entrust me with another mission to communicate with the citadel." A quarter of an hour later Hector and Paolo mounted and rode out of the town.