It was
done; and even as Montsoreau's horsemen, borne on the bosom of a second
and more formidable throng, swept raging into the already crowded square,
and the cry went up for "a ram! a ram!" to batter in the gates, Tavannes,
hurling his little party before him, dashed out at the back, and putting
to flight a handful of rascals who had wandered to that side, cantered
unmolested down the lane to the ramparts. Turning eastward at the foot
of the frowning Castle, he followed the inner side of the wall in the
direction of the gate by which he had entered the preceding evening.
To gain this his party had to pass the end of the Rue Toussaint, which
issues from the Place Ste.-Croix and runs so straight that the mob
seething in front of the inn had only to turn their heads to see them.
The danger incurred at this point was great; for a party as small as
Tavannes' and encumbered with women would have had no chance if attacked
within the walls.
Count Hannibal knew it. But he knew also that the act which he had
committed rendered the north bank of the Loire impossible for him.
Neither King nor Marshal, neither Charles of Valois nor Gaspard of
Tavannes, would dare to shield him from an infuriated Church, a Church
too wise to forgive certain offences. His one chance lay in reaching the
southern bank of the Loire--roughly speaking, the Huguenot bank--and
taking refuge in some town, Rochelle or St.
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