doubt it after she had given her word that it was true. The men were
evidently amazed and impressed to hear her say such a thing in such a
sure and confident way, for prophecies boldly uttered never fall barren
on superstitious ears. Yes, this speech certainly impressed them, but her
closing remark impressed them still more. It was for the ringleader, and
Joan said it sorrowfully:

"It is a pity that you should plot another's death when you own is so
close at hand."

That man's horse stumbled and fell on him in the first ford which we
crossed that night, and he was drowned before we could help him. We had
no more conspiracies.

This night was harassed with ambuscades, but we got through without
having any men killed. One more night would carry us over the hostile
frontier if we had good luck, and we saw the night close down with a good
deal of solicitude. Always before, we had been more or less reluctant to
start out into the gloom and the silence to be frozen in the fords and
persecuted by the enemy, but this time we were impatient to get under way
and have it over, although there was promise of more and harder fighting
than any of the previous nights had furnished. Moreover, in front of us
about three leagues there was a deep stream with a frail wooden bridge
over it, and as a cold rain mixed with snow had been falling steadily all
day we were anxious to find out whether we were in a trap or not. If the
swollen stream had washed away the bridge, we might properly consider
ourselves trapped and cut off from escape.

As soon as it was dark we filed out from the depth of the forest where we
had been hidden and began the march. From the time that we had begun to