my shoulders once more.

One minute--two minutes--three minutes of this, then we heard a long deep
groan, and everybody sprang up and stood, with his legs quaking. It came
from that little dungeon. There was a pause, then we herd muffled
sobbings, mixed with pitiful ejaculations. Then there was a second voice,
low and not distinct, and the one seemed trying to comfort the other; and
so the two voices went on, with moanings, and soft sobbings, and, ah, the
tones were so full of compassion and sorry and despair! Indeed, it made
one's heart sore to hear it.

But those sounds were so real and so human and so moving that the idea of
ghosts passed straight out of our minds, and Sir Jean de Metz spoke out
and said:

"Come! we will smash that wall and set those poor captives free. Here,
with your ax!"

The Dwarf jumped forward, swinging his great ax with both hands, and
others sprang for torches and brought them.

Bang!--whang!--slam!--smash went the ancient bricks, and there was a hole
an ox could pass through. We plunged within and held up the torches.

Nothing there but vacancy! On the floor lay a rusty sword and a rotten
fan.

Now you know all that I know. Take the pathetic relics, and weave about
them the romance of the dungeon's long-vanished inmates as best you can.

Chapter 20 Joan Makes Cowards Brave Victors

THE NEXT day Joan wanted to go against the enemy again, but it was the
feast of the Ascension, and the holy council of bandit generals were too
pious to be willing to profane it with bloodshed. But privately they
profaned it with plottings, a sort of industry just in their line. They
decided to do the only thing proper to do now in the new circumstances of
the case--feign an attack on the most important bastille on the Orleans
side, and then, if the English weakened the far more important fortresses
on the other side of the river to come to its help, cross in force and
capture those works. This would give them the bridge and free
communication with the Sologne, which was French territory. They decided
to keep this latter part of the program secret from Joan.

Joan intruded and took them by surprise. She asked them what they were
about and what they had resolved upon. They said they had resolved to
attack the most important of the English bastilles on the Orleans side
next morning--and there the spokesman stopped. Joan said:

"Well, go on."

"There is nothing more. That is all."

"Am I to belie