Courcelles was growing desperate and determined as a last hope of overcoming his antagonist to try the _coup de Marsac_. This consisted in beating up the adversary’s weapon by sheer force and lunging under his upthrown arm. Gathering himself together for the effort, the Frenchman struck John’s sword with all the strength he could command, but the act was anticipated by our hero, whose rapier yielded but a few inches to the blow. The next instant the point of it had rapidly described a semi-circle around and under Courcelles’ blade, throwing it out of the line of his opponent’s body. It was a last effort. Chill fear seized the Frenchman’s heart as with the waning of his strength he realized that he was at the mercy of the youth he had so heartlessly robbed. With difficulty he maintained a feeble guard whilst he felt a menacing pressure from the other’s weapon. John advanced leisurely upon the older man, whose eyes plainly betrayed his growing terror. He was as helpless as a child and might have been spitted like a fowl without resistance, but although our hero was made of stern stuff there was nothing cruel in his composition and he began to pity the cringing wretch who retreated before him. He had no thought, however, of letting the rascal off without a reminder that might furnish a lesson to him. With that thought he pricked Courcelles upon the breast accompanying the thrust with the remark: “That for your friend Nelie, if you please!” Almost immediately he repeated the action, saying: “And that for your friend Montferrat!” “For your master, the Lord De Preau, I beg your acceptance of that,” continued John, running his rapier through the fleshy part of the other’s shoulder. The terrified Frenchman dropped his sword and fell upon his knees with upraised hands. “Mercy for the love of heaven!” he cried. “Slay me not unshriven with my sins upon my head.” “Maybe we can find a priest to prepare thee for the journey to a better land,” replied John, not unwilling that the robber should suffer a little more. “Ho, there!” to a group of rustics who had been attracted by the sounds of the conflict. “Know’st any holy father confessor living in these parts?” The peasants declared that a priest resided within a mile of the spot and one of them departed in haste to fetch him to the scene. As we know, John had no intention of killing Courcelles, nor did he desire to await the return of the shriver, so finding that the Frenchman had no means of making restitution for the theft of his goods, he left him. But before doing so, he extorted from the apparently repentant man a promise to live an honest life in future.