15.At night Toinette arrived，according to promise，at the forest.She was delighted at the thought of her friend‘s being no longer exposed to the inclemency of the weather，and deprived of the necessaries of life.They left the ruined cottage together，traversed the paths of the wood in silence，and at last arrived，without having been seen，at the mill.Here Monsieur Passot was immediately shaved，and being dressed in a suit of the miller’s clothes，obtained the new name of “Nicholas，”and took his seat at the table between Maturin and his daughter.A few glasses of good wine recruited his spirits，and he had soon the pleasure of stretching his weary limbs on a comfortable bed，after lying for six weeks exposed to the dew and the rain，upon thecold，damp floor of the ruined cottage.
16.During the few succeeding days，wholesome and plentiful food，and above all，the tranquillity of his mind，served to recruit the strength of the stranger；and，one morning，he informed his good host of his previous adventures and his melancholy story.He had been denounced，he said，and condemned to death，without being permitted to speak，or being even asked for a defense，by the revolutionary committee of the town of Bressuiere，where he resided.A friend who knew his danger，and to whom he had once shown a trifling kindness，gave him information of his impending fate，in time to permit him to make his escape，under the disguise of a beggar.During his flight，he traversed each night the high-roads of the department，and during the day，lay concealed in the woods among the lonely hills，where he happened to find himself.By these means he had reached the forest near the mill，and had hid himself in the ruins where Toinette first discovered him.“But even here，”continued he，“I should soon have perished from cold and exhaustion，had it not been for the arrival of your dear child；since the terror of falling into the hands of my enemies seldom permitted me to go beyond the walls of my retreat，and I was fast sinking under the pains of hunger，when Toinette came in time to render me assistance，and to save my life.”
17.One morning，soon after this conversation had taken place，Toinette came running in，out of breath，to say that four soldiers，armed with sabers and muskets，and of a very ferocious appearance，were approaching the mill from the high-road.Monsieur Passot eagerly inquired where he could hide himself.“That would be impossible，”said Maturin，“for if they search the mill，as it is likely they will，they would be sure to find you，and your fate would be inevitable.You must now put a bold face on the matter；summon up all your hardihood，and leave it to me to deceive them.”
18.Two minutes after，the soldiers entered the mill.“Good morrow，citizen，”said they，striking Maturin on the shoulder，“here we are，four worthy fellows，sadly fatigued with following an aristocrat，（the name given by the revolutionists to those who supported the party of the government and the nobility，）who has unfortunately eluded our pursuit.Come，what can you give us to eat？”
19.“The best in my house，to be sure，”replied the miller.“Go，Toinette，put a clean napkin on the table，fetch down that piece of ham which was left from yesterday‘s dinner；and you，Nicholas，off to the cellar，and bring up four bottles of the primest Burgundy for these worthy citizens：quick，blockhead！”he added，pushing him rudely by the shoulder；and Monsieur Passot hastened to do as he was directed.It took some minutes to perform his errand，and on his re-appearance with the wine，Maturin again seemed very angry with Nicholas for presuming to make them wait so long.He appeared，in fact，ready to strike him，and in such a passion，that the soldiers interfered to appease him，and observed that Nicholas seemed really an honest sort of a fellow，though somewhat too much of a simpleton.
20.The miller seated himself at table beside them；pressed them again and again to do honor to his provisions，and supplied them plentifully with wine；and then inquired what was passing in the world，or what news they were charged with.“War，”said they，“goes on against all who oppose the progress of the revolution.The prisons are still overflowing with criminals，in spite of the daily execution of thousands，and we are at this moment in pursuit of one of the most decided aristocrats in France，a man called Passot，who lived at Bressuiere，and was condemned by the tribunal；some traitor gave notice of his sentence，and he escaped from the city；but we know that he is at this moment not far distant from the spot where we sit，and we are in hope of soon having him in our custody.There are five hundred crowns proclaimed as a reward for him，which we are determined to earn，if possible.”They then asked for another bottle of wine，and when they had finished it，they proposed searching the mill.To thisproceeding the miller offered no resistance；but，on the contrary，ordered Nicholas to go for the keys，and to throw open all the doors in the house.
21.When this was done，Toinette took the hand of her father，and accompanied him through the mill；every door was opened，and the soldiers，having inspected every corner，were about to retire，when one of them recollected that they had not searched the cellar，where，he said，a dozen of traitors might be concealed.Nicholas was accordingly again summoned，and the cellar was visited in due form.On coming up they expressed themselves perfectly satisfied；they then drank another glass of wine to the health of Robespierre，and departed well pleased with the reception they had met with from the miller，his daughter，and the stupid Nicholas.
