lver, was so heavy that it took three men to
hoist it on to the back of a horse; Gousset himself, in spite of his
bandaged eyes, was invited to lend a hand and obeyed gropingly. They
were smashing the second chest when the cry, "To arms!" interrupted
them. Allain rallied his men, and lined them up along the road.

Morin, on arriving at Langannerie had only found the corporal and one
other gendarme there; they mounted immediately and galloped to the wood
of Quesnay. It was almost night when they reached the edge of the wood.
A volley of shots greeted them; the corporal was hit in the leg, and his
horse fell mortally wounded; his companion, who was deaf, did not know
which way to turn. Seeing his chief fall, he thought it best to retreat;
and ran to the hamlet of Quesnay to get help. The noise of the firing
had already alarmed the neighbourhood; the tocsin sounded at Potigny,
Ouilly-le-Tesson and Sousmont; peasants flocked to each end of the wood,
but they were unarmed and dared not advance. Allain had posted five of
his men as advance-guard who fired in the thicket at their own
discretion, and kept the most determined of the enemy at bay. Behind
this curtain of shooters the noise could be heard of axes breaking open
chests, planks torn apart and oaths of the brigands in haste to complete
their pillage. This extraordinary scene lasted nearly an hour. At last,
at a call, the firing ceased, the robbers plunged into the thicket, and
the steps of the heavily-laden horse, urged on by the men, were heard
disappearing on the crossroad.

They took the road to Ussy, with their booty and the carrier Gousset,
still with his eyes bandaged and led by Grand-Charles. They travelled
fast, at night--to avoid pursuit. Less than half a league from Quesnay
the road they followed passed the hamlet of Aisy, on the outskirts of
Sousmont, whose mayor had a chateau there. He was called M. Dupont
d'Aisy, and had this very evening entertained Captain Pinteville,
commander of the gendarmerie of the district. The party had been broken
up by the distant noise of shooting. M. Dupont at once sent his servants
to give the alarm at Sousmont; in less than an hour he had mustered
thirty villagers and putting himself at their head with Captain
Pinteville he marched towards Quesnay. They had not gone a hundred paces
when they encountered Allain's men, and the fight began. The brigands
kept up a well-sustained fire, which produced no other effect than to
disp