For there, in the midst of the clearing, the farm buildings, one and all, stood enveloped in flames. It was plain, at first sight, that they must have been set on fire in many places at once, for in no other way could the flames have taken such complete and uniform hold.
But where were the inhabitants?
Not a living soul appeared, and the intense heat of the flames forbade closer observation.
And as they stood and gazed helplessly upon the conflagration, the remembrance of the burning of the Monastery came to many minds, and they wondered at the similarity of the circumstances.
"Was this the hand of God?"
At length roof after roof fell in with hideous din. The Normans waited about the spot and explored the neighbourhood, hoping to find, lighted by the lurid flame of the fire, that Roger and his labourers had found shelter somewhere. They searched in vain--they found no one.
Slowly and sadly the party returned homewards to attend to their duties but early next morning the baron and a chosen band rode to the scene again.
Thick clouds of smoke ascended to the skies; a pungent smell overpowered all the sweet odours of the forest; blackened beams and stones, cracked and shivered by the heat, lay all around.
What had caused the fire? Could it have been accidental?
They soon decided that it could not.