Major Tempe, accompanied only by two menand by Ralph Barclay, to interpret, if necessarynow went cautiously up to the house. The light was in a room on the ground floor. To this Major Tempe advanced and, looking in, saw the priest sitting reading, alone. He tapped very gently at the window; and the priest, looking up, gave a start upon seeing an armed man looking in at the window.
Major Tempe put his finger to his lips, to enforce the necessity for silence, and made signs to him to open the window. After a moment's hesitation the priest rose from his seat, came to the window, and unfastened it; taking great precautions against noise.
"Are you French?" he asked, in a whisper.
"Yes; a commandant of franc tireurs."
"Hush, then, for your life," the priest said, earnestly. "The village is full of Prussians. The officer, with a soldier as his servant, is upstairs. He arrived in a state of fever; and is, tonight, quite ill. The soldier is up with him. I believe the sergeant, who is at the inn, is in command for to-night. A soldier was dispatched, this evening, to ask for another officer to be sent out.
"What can I do for you?"
"I only want you to tell me in which house the schoolmaster lives. He is a traitor, and has betrayed us to the Prussians. It is owing to him that they are here."
"He has a bad name, in the village," the priest said; "and we had applied to have him removed. He lives in the third house from here, on the same side of the road."
"Has he any Germans quartered upon him?"
"Twenty or thirty men," the priest said. "The schoolroom is full of them."
"Do you know which is his room?" Major Tempe asked. "It would be a great thing, if we could get at him without alarming the enemy. I have thirty men here, but I do not want to have a fight in the village, if I can help it."
"I know his house," the priest said. "The schoolroom is at the side of the house, and his sitting room and kitchen on the ground floor of the house itself. There are three bedrooms over. His room is in front of the house, to the right as you face it."
"Thank you," Major Tempe said. "Have you a ladder?"
"There is one lying on the ground by the wall, to the left. I hope you do not intend to shed blood?"
"No," Major Tempe said, grimly. "I think that I can promise that there will be no blood shedthat is to say, unless we are attacked by the Prussians.
"Good night, and thank you. I need not say thatfor your own sakeyou will not mention, in the morning, having seen us."
The commandant now rejoined his party, and they advanced to the house indicated. He then chose ten men to accompany him; ordering the rest to remain at a distance of twenty yards, with their
rifles cocked, and in readiness for instant action. The ladder was then brought forward by the men selected, and placed against the window.
Major Tempe had, before starting, provided himselffrom the carpenter of the villagewith an auger, a small and fine saw, a bottle of oil, and a thin strip of straight iron. He now mounted the ladder and, after carefully examining the windowwhich was of the make which we call, in England, latticedhe inserted the strip of iron, and tried to force back the fastening. This he failed in doing, being afraid to use much force lest the fastening should give suddenly, with a crash. He had, however, ascertained the exact position of the fastening.
Having, before mounting, carefully oiled the auger and saw, he now applied the former; and made a hole through the framework at the junction of the two sides of the window, just above the fastening. Introducing the saw into this hole, he noiselessly cut entirely round the fastening, with a semi-circular sweep, to the junction of the window below it; and as he did so, the window swung partially open, by its own weight. He now descended the ladder again, took off his boots; and ordered two of the men to do the same, and to put aside all arms, and accouterments, that could strike against anything and make a noise.
Then, taking a coil of strong rope in his hand, and followed by the two men, he again mounted the ladder. The instructions to the men were that one was to enter at once, with him; the other to remain where he was, until he received the signal. The major entered the room noiselessly, and dropped at once on to his hands and knees; and was, a minute after, joined by his follower. He now crawled forwardgroping his way with the greatest caution, so as to make no noiseuntil he found the bed. Then, rising to his feet, he threw himself upon the sleeping man and, in a moment, had him tightly by the throat with one hand, while the other was placed firmly on his mouth.
Paralyzed by the suddenness of the attack, and with his arms tightly kept down by the bedclothes, and the weight of his assailant, the schoolmaster was unable to struggle.
"Now, light the light," Major Tempe said, quietly.
His follower at once struck one of the noiseless German matcheswhich are used almost exclusively, in these parts of Franceand lighted a lamp which was standing upon the table. He then came up to the bed, and assisted the major to securely gag and bind the prisonerwhose looks, when he saw into whose hands he had fallen, betokened the wildest terror.