done enough for my share; it is your turn now."

"'Pardieu', that is quite my opinion," cried the abbe; and rushing back
to the house, he flung himself into the room at the moment when the
women, lifting the marquise with great difficulty, for she was so weak
that she could no longer help herself, were attempting to carry her to
bed. The abbe pushed them away, and arriving at the marquise, put his
pistol to her heart; but Madame Brunel, the same who had previously given
the marquise a box of orvietan, lifted up the barrel with her hand, so
that the shot went off into the air, and the bullet instead of striking
the marquise lodged in the cornice of the ceiling. The abbe then took
the pistol by the barrel and gave Madame Brunet so violent a blow upon
the head with the butt that she staggered and almost fell; he was about
to strike her again, but all the women uniting against him, pushed him,
with thousands of maledictions, out of the room, and locked the door
behind him. The two assassins, taking advantage of the darkness, fled
from Ganges, and reached Aubenas, which is a full league away, about ten
in the evening.

Meanwhile the women were doing all they could for the marquise. Their
first intention, as we have already said, was to put her to bed, but the
broken sword blade made her unable to lie down, and they tried in vain to
pull it out, so deeply had it entered the bone. Then the marquise herself
showed Madame Brunei what method to take: the operating lady was to sit
on the bed, and while the others helped to hold up the marquise, was to
seize the blade with both hands, and pressing her--knees against the
patient's back, to pull violently and with a great jerk. This plan at
last succeeded, and the marquise was able to get to bed; it was nine in
the evening, and this horrible tragedy had been going on for nearly three
hours.