He afterwards told us that the body of a gendarme had been found in the wood, no doubt murdered by the prisoners, and that the body was stripped naked.

"I wonder," continued he, "whether one of the prisoners put on his clothes, and passed as a gendarme." "Peter," said O'Brien, "are we to murder this man or not ?" "I should say not: pretend to trust him, and then we may give him the slip." This was said during the time that the gendarme stopped a moment behind us.
"Well, we'll try; but first I'll put him off his guard." When the gendarme came up with us, O'Brien observed, that the English prisoners were very liberal; that he knew that a hundred Napoleons were often paid for assistance, and he thought that no corporal's rank was equal to a sum that would in France make a man happy and independent for life.
"Very true," replied the gendarme; "and let me only look upon that sum, and I will guarantee a positive safety out of France." "Then we understand each other," replied O'Brien; "this boy will give two hundred--one half shall be yours, if you will assist." "I will think of it," replied the gendarme, who then talked about indifferent subjects, until we arrived at a small town, called Acarchot, where we proceeded to a cabaret.

The usual curiosity passed over we were left alone, O'Brien telling the gendarme that he would expect his reply that night or to-morrow morning.

The gendarme said, to-morrow morning.
O'Brien requesting him to take charge of me, he called the woman of the cabaret to show him a room; she showed him one or two, which he refused, as not sufficiently safe for the prisoner.

The woman laughed at the idea, observing, "What had he to fear from a _pauvre enfant_ like me ?" "Yet this _pauvre enfant_ escaped from Givet," replied O'Brien; "these Englishmen are devils from their birth." The last room showed to O'Brien suited him, and he chose it--the woman not presuming to contradict a gendarme.