"How long were they here?"
"I cannot tell, Jean. It seemed a century. It may have been an hour."
"They have carried off seven men."
"Yes, to Domme, or to the church. I cannot say where. And we must send the ransom in fourteen days, or Le Gros Guillem swears he will return them all to us tied on the backs of mules, treated as he has treated Rossignol. He said he left us Rossignol as a refresher."
"But what has he done to Rossignol?"
"Hamstrung him. He can never walk again. From his thighs down he is powerless—helpless as a babe in arms."
Jean uttered an exclamation of horror.
"Father, there must be an end put to these things! We must rouse the country."
"We must pay the ransom first, or all those poor fellows will be sent back to us like as is Rossignol."
"Let us go into the house," said Jean, and threw open the door. "We must do something for these unhappy creatures."