Consternation and fear spread through the town; the silence of death
made itself felt on every side; the streets were deserted, and the doors
and shutters of every house were closed.
At last, as three o'clock sounded, the gates of the fortress were opened
to give passage to fourteen doomed men, each accompanied by a priest.
Fourteen! for seized by remorse or fright at the last moment, M de
Courtornieu and the Duc de Sairmeuse had granted a reprieve to six of
the prisoners and at that very hour a courier was hastening toward Paris
with six petitions for pardons, signed by the Military Commission.
Chanlouineau was not among those for whom royal clemency had been
solicited.
When he left his cell, without knowing whether or not his letter had
availed, he counted the condemned with poignant anxiety.
His eyes betrayed such an agony of anguish that the priest who
accompanied him leaned toward him and whispered:
"For whom are you looking, my son?"
"For Baron d'Escorval."
"He escaped last night."
"Ah! now I shall die content!" exclaimed the heroic peasant.
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