Stanley J. Weyman

“ He knew, too, that that which might be done in a ruined hamlet might not be done in the square at Guèret, and his knees trembled under him. He muttered that he did not understand; that we must be mistaken. What evidence had we?
"The best!" I answered, grimly. "If you wish to hear it, I will send for it; but witnesses have sometimes loose tongues, Monsieur Bareilles, and he may not stop at the Capitaine Martin."
He started and glared at me. From me his eyes passed to Parabère; then he shuddered, and looked down at the table. ”

“ I directed Colet to unsaddle and bivouac in the garden, and myself lay all night with Parabère and Bareilles in the room in which we had supped, Boisrueil and La Font taking turns to keep the door.
To have betrayed too much haste to begone might have proved as dangerous as a long delay; and our horses needed rest. But an hour before noon next day I gave the order, and we mounted in the square, in the presence of a mixed mob of soldiers and townsfolk, whom it needed but a spark to kindle. ”

“ Are we to fight or fly?"
"Well, for fighting," he replied coolly, "the front gate lies in the road, there are no shutters to half the windows, the door is crazy, and there is a thatched penthouse against one wall."
"And no help nearer than Guèret."
"Three leagues," he assented. "And from that we are cut off. Fifty men in the gorge might hold it against five hundred. Better man the courtyard here than that, tether the horses in the gateway, and fight it out." ”

“ It remained only to unbar the rear gate and see that it opened easily. This being done, as we had done all the rest, stealthily and in darkness, and by men who dared not speak above a whisper, I gave the word to hang the male prisoner and gag and bind the woman. Colet undertook these duties, and with a grim humor of his own hung the rascally host on the threshold where the brigands must run against him when they entered. Then I directed every man to saddle and bridle his nag and stand by it, and so we waited with what patience we might for the dénouement. ”

“ I saw his mistake, and, raising my hand to check those behind, muttered in my beard that all had gone well.
"You got the man?"
"Yes," I said, peering at him through the darkness.
"Good!" he answered. "Then now for Bareilles, supper, and a full purse; and afterwards, for me, the quietest corner of France! The king will make a fine outcry, and I do not trust one gov——"
In a flash Parabère had him by the throat, and dragged him in a grip of iron on to the withers of his horse. ”

“ Colet said.
"Well, man?"
"It is barricaded, and cannot be opened," he answered.
"Well," I said again, "there is nothing wonderful in that. Anyone can see that there has been rough work here. The front gate was stormed, I suppose, and the back one left standing."
"But it is so barricaded that it is not possible to open it," he objected. "And the men have an idea——"
"Well?" I said, seeing that he hesitated.
"That this is a one-eyed house."
Parabère laughed loudly. "Of course it is!" he said. "That strolling rogue saw the gate as well as the woman, and made his profit of them." ”

“ Then, before I could frame a question, he turned from me as abruptly as he had come, and mounting a sorry mare that stood near, stumbled away through the ford.
It required little wit to see that the man was an astrologer, and one whose predictions, if they had not profited his clients more than himself, had been ominous indeed. I was inclined, therefore, to make sport of him, knowing that the pretenders to that art are to the true men as ten to one. ”

“ His messenger had found Bareilles on the point of starting against a band of plunderers who had ravaged the country for a twelvemonth. He had sent me the most civil messages, therefore—but he had not come. "However, he will be at Guèret to-morrow," Parabère added cheerfully.
"Will he?" I said.
"I will answer for it," he answered. "In the meantime, he has done what he can for our comfort."
"How?" I said.
"He bids us not to attempt the last three leagues to Guèret to-night; the road is too bad. But to stay at Saury, where there is a good inn, and to-morrow morning he will meet us there." ”

“ Here, where it was as dark as pitch, we whipped our horses into a canter and made a good pace for half a league, then, drawing rein, let our horses trot until the league was out. By that time we were through the gorge, and I gave the word to pull up, that we might listen and learn whether we were pursued. Before the order had quite brought us to a standstill, however, two figures on a sudden rose out of the darkness before us and barred the way. I was riding in the front rank, abreast of Parabère and La Font, and I had just time to lay my hand on a pistol when one of the figures spoke. ”

“ The latter was of good size, stone-built and tiled, and at first seemed to be empty; but the servants presently unearthed a man and then a boy. Fires were lit, and the horses stabled; and a second room with a chimney being found, Parabère and I, with Colet and my gentlemen took possession of it, leaving the kitchen to my following. ”

“ The roads north and south being occupied, and the river enclosing us on the west, there remained only one direction in which escape seemed possible; but, as we knew nothing of the country, and the brigands everything, the desperate idea of plunging into it blindly, at night, and with pursuers at our heels, was dismissed as soon as formed. ”