the Captain hoped by this neglect to reduce me the
sooner to a yielding state. But I was even glad to have to undergo some
of the discomforts which the Countess must needs be enduring. I gave up
hope of her life or my own, and, leaning forward so as to get some
relief of position, I fell into a kind of drowsy lassitude.

Suddenly, through my window, which overlooked the court-yard, I heard a
low call at the gate, which was answered. Presently I heard the gate
close, and assumed it had been opened to let in the man who had uttered
the call. About a minute after that, there was a considerable noise in
the yard, as of men hastily assembling. Then came the voice of the
Captain, apparently addressing the whole company. When he finished,
there was a general movement of feet, as of men dispersing about the
yard, and this was followed by complete silence.

The men in the passage were now joined by a comrade, who spoke to them
rapidly in a low tone. They whispered to one another in some excitement,
but did not leave their places nor take their eyes from me.

The next sound I heard was of the tread of horses approaching. My
curiosity now aroused, I strained my ears. The hoof-beats came to the
gate, and then I heard a loud knock, followed by no other sound than of
the pawing and snorting of the horses as they stood. There must have
been at least a score of them.

Presently the unheeded knock was repeated, and then a quick, virile
voice called out:

"Hola, within there! Open the gate, in the name of the King!"

My heart leaped. The voice was that of the royal guardsman who had saved
the Countess from the robbers the previous evening. But his party was
now evidently much larger than before.

No answer was given to his demand. The red Captain's intent apparently
was to make these newcomers believe the place deserted. I had an impulse
to shout the truth, but I saw my guards watching me, their hands on
their weapons, and knew that my first word would be the signal for my
death. So I kept silence.

"If you do not open the gate at once," the guardsman cried, "we will
open it for ourselves, in our own way."

I now heard footsteps shuffling across the yard, and then one of the
robbers spoke, in the quavering tones of an old man:

"Pardon, Monsieur. Pardon, I pray, but it is impossible for me to open.
I am all alone here in charge of this place, which is empty and
deserted, and I'm forbidden to open the gate to anybody but the ma