The voice of the Marquis broke the silence.
"My friends, all is over," he said.
Then, after a pause, he added,—
"Grand-Francoeur will for the time being resume the duties of the Abbé Turmeau."
All knelt, rosary in hand. The sounds of the butt-ends of the besiegers' guns came nearer and nearer.
Grand-Francoeur, bleeding from a gunshot wound which had grazed his skull and torn away his hairy leathern cap, raised a crucifix in his right hand; the Marquis, a thorough sceptic, knelt on one knee.
"Let each one confess his sins aloud. Speak, Monseigneur."
And the Marquis replied, "I have killed my fellow-men."
"And I the same," said Hoisnard.
"And I," said Guinoiseau.