k looked, I can tell you, as he went off to
give the message, and came back in a minute, asking Thompson to follow
him. We all dismounted. Two of the troopers stopped to look after the
horses, and the others with drawn swords followed Thompson and me. We
were shown into the prior's room, which was fit for a prince. The prior
looked mighty pale, and so did two or three other chaps who were with
him.

"'Look here,' Thompson said in an angry tone of voice, 'I am the Earl of
Peterborough, and I hear from this man, Sergeant Edwards, of the king's
regiment of grenadiers, that he was basely and treacherously made a
prisoner by you; that he was confined in an underground cell and fed
with bread and water for a week, and then handed over to the French.
Now, sir, I give you an hour to clear out with all your gang from this
convent, which I intend to destroy. You will remain in the courtyard as
prisoners. You will then be tried for this treacherous act against one
of the King of England's guards, and all found to have had a hand in the
proceeding will be hung.'

"Well, sir, you may just guess the fright they were in. They knew that
the earl was just the sort of man to carry his threat into execution,
and they thought their last day was come. You never saw such a set of
cowardly wretches in your life. I am blessed if they didn't go down on
their knees and howl. At last Thompson began to think he had worked them
up enough, and he said stern:

"'Well, I am disposed to have mercy, and if in half an hour you pay down
the sum of five thousand pounds as a ransom for the convent and your
wretched lives I will be merciful.'

"Then there was a fresh howling. They swore by all the saints that such
a sum as five thousand pounds was never heard of. Thompson gradually
dropped his demands to three thousand; still they swore they hadn't got
it, and he said sternly to one of the troopers:

"'Ride back and fetch up the regiment which is a mile outside the
village.'

"Then there was more howling, and at last they offered to give seven
hundred pounds, which was all the money which they had in the treasury,
and to make it up in precious stones. After a deal of haggling Thompson
consented, and I believe if he had stood out for three times as much
he would have got it, for the convent was rich in relics, and no end of
precious offerings were stored away in their chests; however, he didn't
wish to push matters too far, and in half an hour they bro