is had been done in a moment.
To unlock the door, to spring forward with leveled pistol upon his
assailants, was but the work of another moment.

It was now dim morning twilight. The scene outside was plainly
revealed. There were three men dragging away two--those two who had
been wounded by the last shots. On these Obed sprang. One went down
before his shot. The others, with a cry of terror, ran down the
stairs, and out of the house. Obed pursued. They ran wildly up the
road. Again Obed fired, and one wretch fell. Then he put the revolver
in his pocket, and chased the other man. The distance between them
lessened rapidly. At last Obed came up. He reached out his arm and
caught him by the collar. With a shriek of terror the scoundrel
stopped, and fell on his knees, uttering frantic prayers for mercy,
of which Obed understood not one word. He dragged him back to the
house, found a rope in the stable, bound him securely, and put him in
the dining-room. Then he went about to seek the landlord. He could
not be found. Both he and his wife apparently fled. But Obed found
something else.

In the lower room that opened into the dining-room were three men on
two beds, wounded, faint, and shivering with terror. These were the
men that had been wounded at the first attack. In the anguish of
their pain they made gestures of entreaty, of which Obed took no
notice. Upstairs in the hall were those two whom he had stuck with
his last shots. There were no others to be seen.

After finishing his search, Obed went up the road, and carried back
the man whom he had shot. He then informed his family of the result.
In the midst of their horror at this tragedy, and their joy at
escaping from a terrible fate, they felt a certain pity for these
sufferers, wretches though they were. Obed shared this feeling. His
anger had all departed with the end of the fight. He lifted one by
one the wounded wretches, putting them on the beds in the rooms when
he had hired. Then he and his sister dressed their wounds. Thus the
night ended, and the sun at last arose.

About two hours after sunrise it happened that a troop of papal
gendarmerie came along. Obed stopped then, and calmly handed over the
prisoners to their care. They seemed bewildered, but took charge of
them, evidently not at all comprehending of the situation. An hour or
so afterward the valet arrived with a fresh carriage, and after
hearing Obed's story with wonder he was able to explain it t