he priest.'

Then he suddenly sprang backwards, with a shriek, for the old man,
swinging his stick with all his strength, had just broken it over his
back. Retreating yet a little further, Archangias picked from a heap of
stones beside the road a piece of flint twice the size of a man's fist,
and threw it at Jeanbernat. It would surely have split the other's
forehead open if he had not bent down. He, however, now likewise crossed
over to a heap of stones, sheltered himself behind it, and provided
himself with missiles; and from one heap to the other a terrible combat
began, with a perfect hail of flints. The moon now shone very brightly,
and their dark shadows fell distinctly on the ground.

'Yes, yes, you set that hussy on to ruin him!' repeated the Brother,
wild with rage. 'Ah! you are astonished that I know all about it! You
hope for some monstrous result from it all. Every morning you make the
thirteen signs of hell over that minx of yours! You would like her to
become the mother of Antichrist. You long for Antichrist, you villain!
But may this stone blind you!'

'And may this one bung your mouth up!' retorted Jeanbernat, who was
now quite calm again. 'Is he cracked, the silly fellow, with all those
stories of his?... Shall I have to break your head for you, before I can
get on my way? Is it your catechism that has turned your brain?'

'Catechism, indeed! Do you know what catechism is taught to accursed
ones like you? Ah! I will show you how to make the sign of the
cross.--This stone is for the Father, and this for the Son, and this
for the Holy Ghost. Ah! you are still standing. Wait a bit, wait a
bit. Amen!' Then he threw a handful of small pebbles like a volley of
grape-shot. Jeanbernat, who was struck upon the shoulder, dropped the
stones he was holding, and quietly stepped forwards, while Brother
Archangias picked two fresh handfuls from the heap, blurting out:

I am going to exterminate you. It is God who wills it. God is acting
through my arm.'

'Will you be quiet!' said the old man, grasping him by the nape of the
neck.

Then came a short struggle amidst the dust of the road, all bluish with
moonlight. The Brother, finding himself the weaker of the two, tried
to bite. But Jeanbernat's sinewy limbs were like coils of rope which
pinioned him so tightly that he could almost feel them cutting into
his flesh. He panted and ceased to struggle, meditating some act of
treachery.

The old man, having got th