They accordingly repaired to the exact spot and began to procure information.

On the highroad there had been found dead and wounded.

A man had been seen going by at a gallop, carrying a woman in distress on his saddle; he had soon left the beaten track and plunged across country.

A peasant coming home from working in the fields had seen him appear and vanish again like a shadow, taking the direction of a lonely house.

An old woman declared that she had seen him go into this house.