That heretic dog behind is a Picard, and I bring him to Amiens that he may perish there as a warning to his countrymen." "So ?" said Gaspard, and at the word the Huguenot's horse, pricked stealthily by Champernoun's sword, leaped forward and dashed in fright up the hill, its rider sitting stiff as a doll in his bonds.

The Jacobin cried out and the soldiers made as if to follow, but Gaspard's voice checked them.

"Let be.

The beast will not go far.

I have matters of importance to discuss with this reverend father." The priest's face sharpened with a sudden suspicion.