"Then you came trusting in vain. I regard it not."
"Perhaps you will regard this," said Jean, extending the ring, which he plucked from his little finger.
The Captain looked at the signet, started, and brayed forth—
"That belongs to Noémi! How came you by that? You have murdered her."
"I have not murdered her. If she dies it will be through you. She is my captive."
"I do not understand."
Le Gros Guillem slipped his feet from the pallet to the floor. He could not walk, he could not even stand, as his feet were swathed in rags.
"It is not difficult to enlighten your understanding," said Jean. "You sent away your daughter with two men as her guard. They are all in my power. They are at Le Peuch. Their fate—that is to say, hers—depends on you."
"So—you war against girls!"
"If we do violence to the young and feeble, from whom have we learned the lesson but from you and your ruffians?"