u to bed!"

But he replied in terror that the Spaniards were come, that they had
set fire to the farm, hanged his mother among the walnut-trees and
bound his nine little sisters to the trunk of a big tree.

The peasants rushed out of the inn, gathered round the child and plied
him with questions. Then he also told them that the soldiers were on
horseback and wore mail, that they had driven away the cattle of his
uncle Petrus Krayer and that they would soon be entering the forest
with the cows and sheep.

All ran to the Golden Sun, where Korneliz and his brother-in-law were
also drinking their pot of ale; and the inn-keeper sped into the
village, shouting that the Spaniards were at hand.

Then there was a great din in Nazareth. The women opened the windows
and the peasants left their houses with lights which they put out as
soon as they reached the orchard, where it was bright as midday,
because of the snow and the full moon.

They crowded round Korneliz and Krayer in the market-place, in front
of the two inns. Several had brought their pitchforks and their rakes
and consulted one another, terror-stricken, under the trees.

But, as they knew not what to do, one of them went to fetch the
parish-priest, who owned Korneliz' farm. He came out of his house with
the sacristan, bringing the keys of the church. All followed him into
the churchyard; and he shouted to them from the top of the tower that
he could see nothing in the fields nor in the forest, but that there
were red clouds in the neighbourhood of his farm, though the sky was
blue and full of stars over all the rest of the country.

After deliberating for a long time in the churchyard, they decided to
hide in the wood through which the Spaniards would have to pass and to
attack them if they were not too many, so as to recover Petrus
Krayer's cattle and the plunder which they had taken from the farm.

They armed themselves with pitchforks and spades; and the women
remained near the church with the priest.

Seeking a suitable spot for their ambuscade, they came to a mill on
the skirt of the forest and saw the farm burning amid the starlight.
Here, under some huge oaks, in front of a frozen pool, they took up
their position.

A shepherd whom they called the Red Dwarf went up the hill to warn the
miller, who had stopped his mill when he saw the flames on the
horizon. He invited the fellow in, however; and the two of them placed
themselves at a window to watch