For an instant the crowd fell back before the commanding figure. But behind, the crowd surged and shouted, as though they struggled to get to the front.
"False priest! Betrayer of his country! Traitor."
The cries were sharp and fierce, and then one man, a soldier, sprang forward, and struck twice at the priest's breast. For an instant he swayed, his arms flung upward, the fingers wide outspread, and then he fell prone across the threshold. But there was no forward rush into the church. The body of the murdered priest guarded it. That was a barrier they dared not pass.
Nor was it those at the back of the crowd seeking to press forward to the front which caused the surging and shouting there; it was Herrick and his men fighting their way to the priest's rescue. Even as the man stepped back after striking the second blow, Herrick was upon him, and cut him down.
Silence fell suddenly upon the crowd, and then another soldier who had been leading the mob pointed to his dead comrade; and said:
"Sir, is that justice? Did you not say that there were vipers in Vayenne that must be crushed?"
[CHAPTER XXVII]
ONLY THE FOOL