ents, that ye cite immediately
and peremptorily, without counting any man upon his neighbor, without
discharging the burden any man upon his neighbour, that ye cite before
us or before the Official of our cathedral church, for Monday of the
feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the 19th of September, Gilles,
noble baron de Rais, subject to our puissance and to our jurisdiction;
and we do ourselves cite him by these presents to appear before our bar
to answer for the crimes which weigh upon him. Execute these orders, and
do each of you cause them to be executed.'

"And the next day the captain-at-arms, Jean Labbe, acting in the name of
the duke, and Robin Guillaumet, notary, acting in the name of the
Bishop, present themselves, escorted by a small troop, before the
chateau of Machecoul.

"What sudden change of heart does the Marshal now experience? Too feeble
to hold his own in the open field, he can nevertheless defend himself
behind the sheltering ramparts--yet he surrenders.

"Roger de Bricqueville and Gilles de Sille, his trusted councillors,
have taken flight. He remains alone with Prelati, who also attempts, in
vain, to escape. He, like Gilles, is loaded with chains. Robin
Guillaumet searches the fortress from top to bottom. He discovers bloody
clothes, imperfectly calcinated ashes which Prelati has not had time to
throw into the latrines. Amid universal maledictions and cries of horror
Gilles and his servitors are conducted to Nimes and incarcerated in the
chateau de la Tour Neuve.

"Now this part is not very clear," said Durtal to himself. "Remembering
what a daredevil the Marshal had been, how can we reconcile ourselves to
the idea that he could give himself up to certain death and torture
without striking a blow?

"'Was he softened, weakened by his nights of debauchery, terrified by
the audacity of his own sacrileges, ravaged and torn by remorse? Was he
tired of living as he did, and did he give himself up, as so many
murderers do, because he was irresistibly attracted to punishment?
Nobody knows. Did he think himself above the law because of his lofty
rank? Or did he hope to disarm the duke by playing upon his venality,
offering him a ransom of manors and farm land?

"One answer is as plausible as another. He may also have known how
hesitant Jean V had been, for fear of rousing the wrath of the nobility
of his duchy, about yielding to the objurgations of the Bishop and
raising troops for the pursuit an