They answered that they were holding back nothing that belonged to the Emperor.
The bailiff then said gravely and sadly:
“The charges against you being serious and the accusation well sustained, you must needs, if you do not confess, undergo the question.”
“Spare the widow,” said Ulenspiegel. “The fishmonger has bought up everything.”
“Poor lad,” said Soetkin, “men cannot endure pain as women can.”
Seeing Ulenspiegel pale as the dead because of her, she said again:
“I have hate and force.”
“Spare the widow,” said Ulenspiegel.
“Take me in his stead,” said Soetkin.
The bailiff asked the executioner if he had in readiness the implements and all things needful to discover the truth.