THE END OF L'EGLISE GUILLEM.
THE exultation of the peasants at having taken "the Church of Guillem"
would have resulted in a sack and insubordination but for two causes:
one, that the spoil of the robbers had not been recovered; and the
other, the great firmness of Jean del' Peyra and his father.
The pillaged goods must be found. None had much hesitation in saying
where they were. Everything worth preserving had been stowed away in the
rock-hewn chamber above the castle, in the face of the cliff, and this
was now very difficult of access.
The roof of the castle from which it was reached was broken in, portions
had been consumed, other portions were so charred as to be dangerous.
The peasants had begun to throw down the walls, to demolish every
portion of the structure that was artificial, but Jean stayed them.
"If you do this," said he, "how shall we reach the treasury above?"
The day had broken but the sun had not yet risen. The slope below the
Church and the Church itself presented a strange spectacle.
The incline was strewn with smouldering fragments of wood, of faggots,
the bind of which had been burst by the flames, and had released sticks
that had not been ignited, of rafters from the castle blackened by the
fire, of long streams of pitch that had fallen and run and had ceased to
flame. In the midst of the road by the river-brim stood a cask on its
bottom, emitting volumes of black smoke. Amid the wreckage lay the
corpses of the men who had been made to leap to their death. When
daylight came, it was perceived that one alone had not died instantly.
He had been seen to stir an arm and raise his head, and a peasant had
run down and dispatched him.
The face of the cliff, wherever reached by the flames, had become
decomposed. Chalk will not endure the touch of fire, and the white,
scaly surface had flaked off and exposed yellow patches like sandstone.
Scales, moreover, were continually falling from the blistered scar.
A portion of the floor of the main chamber of the castle that projected
beyond the face of the cliff remained unconsumed, and sustained the
beams of the wall that formed the screen in front. Many of the stones
that had been inserted between the rafters had fallen out; nevertheless,
sufficient remained to make it possible for an agile man to reach the
charred and ruinous roof.
"Let some go to the cliff-edge overhead," said Jean, "and tie the end of
a rope to a tree, and let it down in front of the chamber in the rock.
Then I can, I believe, climb to it, and see! I will thrust this piece of
torn red silk through the roof at the end of a pike, as a token where to
lower the cord."
An hour elapsed before the rope end with a heavy stone attached to it
came down through the shattered roof. This was now left hanging, and
Jean del' Peyra began to climb. He bade the men undo the stone as soon
as he was aloft, and in its place attach a large basket to the cord,
which he would draw up and fill with whatever he found in the chamber.
Knowing, however, how little the peasants could be trusted, he required
his father to keep guard, and take possession of what he lowered, the
whole to be retained undisturbed till each could claim his own goods,
and of those unclaimed a distribution would be made later among such as
had assisted in taking the stronghold.
Nimbly as a cat Jean ascended among the beams. He had to use extreme
caution, as some of them were smoking, and he had to beware of putting
his hand on fire that was unobservable by daylight, and of resting his
foot on cross pieces that had been reduced to charcoal. The stones
shaken by him as he mounted, and loosely compacted among half-burnt
beams, and themselves split and powdered with heat, came down in
volleys; but as this portion of the castle overhung the precipice from
seven to ten feet, they did not jeopardise those who were in the
cavernous part of the chamber.
Jean rapidly swung himself to the rafters of the roof, and, after
testing which would bear his weight, crept along one till he touched the
cord. Then, by this aid, he was able to creep up the face of the rock,
that, however, came down on him in dust where crumbled by the heat; and
in a couple of minutes he was in the cave.
A rapid glance round assured him that it was untenanted, and that it
contained all the booty that had been accumulated by the _routiers_ in
many excursions.
In lockers cut in the native rock, and furnished with wooden shelves,
were gold chalices and reliquaries of Limoges enamel, silver-tipped
drinking-horns, and a richly bound volume of poetry, the interminable
metrical romance of Guerin de Montglane. In chests were silks and
velvets; in boxes the jewellery of ladies. Besides these costly articles
were many of inferior value, garments, boots, gloves, caps, of every
sort and quality. Of money there was not much, save one bag that
contained a hundred livres--it was the ransom of the seven men, the
plunder of the Jew Levi.
As soon as Jean had passed everything down to the men below by means of
his basket, that travelled frequently up and down, he took hold of the
rope and easily swung himself to the rafters, and let himself down into
the chamber of the castle. Here his father had disposed of the booty in
parcels, and had arranged that all was to be carried down the hill and
deposited in the Church of Ste. Soure, where division would be made in
three days' time. Then every claimant should be satisfied. Those sacred
vessels which had come from churches would be restored to the churches,
and notice would be issued to all sufferers in the country round to come
and retake whatsoever they could show was legitimately their own.
"And now, father," said Jean, "it seems to me that we are but at the
beginning of our troubles. We have taken this outpost and destroyed a
handful of our oppressors. But behind this stands Domme, and in it is a
garrison. The Captain has slipped through our fingers. He will never
consent to abide without an attempt to recover what is lost and to
revenge his humiliation. It is my advice that we utterly destroy this
castle, so that it can never be occupied again. Then, that we should
send out spies to observe the movements of the enemy, and report if he
be on his way to make reprisals. Lastly, that we hold ourselves in
readiness to encounter him when he sets forth. Let us choose our own
ground, and that is half-way to success."
"You are right, Jean," said the old man. "We will take council at noon
and prepare. Now, lads! down with the walls, rip up the floors, down
with everything! Remember this--a first advantage is a sure prelude to a
final disaster unless followed up. Do you know why we have taken and
destroyed this 'Church'? Because the ruffians had surprised us and made
easy spoil at Ste. Soure. They sat down here to eat and drink and lay
down to sleep in full confidence that we were overawed. Now we have
surprised them. Take care lest what chanced to them chance also to us.
At noon meet in the Ste. Soure church. Now to work. Down with the rest
of the twigs of this vultures' nest!"
With a cheer the men set to work to demolish the castle that had so long
menaced the country. There were many willing hands employed, and the
work was already half done; it needed little more than some shaking to
throw the entire structure to pieces. Only here and there was there
solid wall; that here and there was where there was solid shelf on which
to build. Elsewhere all was wooden framework filled with stones.
Thus was L'Eglise Guillem destroyed. At the same time some great thing
was won. The people, spasmodically, had exerted its power, and had
acquired consciousness of its strength; it held up for a moment the head
that had been for so many centuries bowed under the feet of its tyrants.
It had looked military power in the face, and had not winced.