"'Where is your master?' he said.
"'I do not know,' she replied. 'He rode away from here ten days ago, and has not been back since.'
"'That is the tale your mistress tells,' he said.
"'It is true, sir. You go into the village and ask any of the women there, they will tell you the same thing. I will swear on the cross that it is so.'
"He seemed very angry, but turned away from her. Presently the mistress came down, under a guard of two soldiers and, as she passed, she said:
"'Goodbye, Marthe. Tell your master that I am thankful, indeed, that he was not here.'
"Then the officers told the men to set fire to the house, in a dozen places. They had all got bundles, having taken everything they thought of value. As soon as they had set fire to the curtains everywhere, and saw that the flames had got a good hold, they mounted and rode off.
"They had not searched the kitchen much, as they had only opened the closets large enough for a man to hide in and, not expecting to find anything worth taking, had not troubled themselves to look into the small ones; so Marthe had only to take the child out. Fortunately it had not awoke. When we found that it was hopeless to try and put the fire out, Marthe took the child over to the farm of Madame Rehan who, as soon as she got the news of the mistress being carried off, had sent her son away on horseback to tell you."
"Thank God, the child has been spared!" Jean Martin said, reverently. "We will go to the cure's.
"The boys will all be back tonight. Give the horses a good feed. We shall set out perhaps tonight, perhaps tomorrow morning."