Who is the assailant?
And did the rake belong to him or to some one else?
Was it really with this that these women were hurt?
Or was it, I repeat, with a blunt instrument?
Do they wish to lodge a complaint?
What do you think about it, Monsieur le commissaire ?" The victims said little, remarking only that they suffered great pain; so they were given over night to decide whether or not they wished to seek redress by law.

The young girl could hardly speak, and the old woman's ideas were muddled, seeing that she was drunk, according to what the neighbours intimated,--a fact which explained her insensibility when we had endeavoured to relieve her suffering.
After they had looked at us as keenly as they could in order to ascertain who we were, the authorities of Pont-l'Abbe bade us good night and thanked us for the services we had rendered the community.

We put our things back into our satchel, and the _commissaire_ departed with the _garde_, the _garde_ with his sword, and the justice of the peace with the rake..