"Some one is running in," cried Marianne Picaut, rushing from the window to the door, which she opened quickly. "Is it you, nephew?"
"Yes, aunt; yes!" cried the boy, out of breath.
"What is it?"
"Oh, aunt! aunt! the soldiers! They are coming up; they surprised and killed the man who was on the watch."
"The soldiers?" cried Joseph Picaut, who from his own door heard the cry of his boy.
"What can we do?" asked Bonneville.
"Wait for them," said the young peasant-woman.
"Why not attempt to escape?"
"If Courtin, the man who was here just now, sends them or brings them, they have surrounded the house."
"Who talks of escaping?" asked the Widow Picaut.