"True; the time for thieves to be abroad has passed."
"Poor Léodgard!"
"Messieurs, see that man walking so fast across the bridge. Ah! this time it is he! it is our friend!"
"Victory! it must be that he has carried the day!"
All the young men ran to meet Léodgard, for it was really he who was approaching. As they drew near him they were struck by his pallor and by the sinister gleam of his eyes, which avoided theirs.
"Well, comte, did you win the fight?"
"Or did you fail to find the brigand?"
"Oh! messieurs, they fought; for, see, Léodgard has blood on his clothes!"
"Ah! Giovanni has ceased to live!"
"You are mistaken," murmured Léodgard, in an altered voice; "it is true that I fought with the brigand; I wounded him, for his blood spurted on me. But it seems that his wound was of trifling consequence, for it did not prevent him from running away, and it was impossible for me to overtake him! He disappeared behind the hedges, and I saw him no more."