He was an obscure officer of a lost cause.

There would not be any too rigorous an inquiry into what disposition the Marquis made of him.
Nobody would care after it was all over.

There remained nothing for him, therefore, but to die like a soldier, and--he smiled bitterly at the thought--almost a gentleman! He had been informed that any reasonable request he made would be granted.

He would fain see a priest of his Church, but later, and endeavor to make his peace with man after the time-honored custom of his religion, and thus insure his peace with God.

Meanwhile, a request for a brief interview with the woman he loved had trembled on his lips, but it had found no utterance.