"Jew!" said the girl; "do not delay us and yourself. We will escort you within sight of the lights of the town--when you have paid us the hundred livres." "Hear her, Father Abraham!" cried the unhappy man. "She thinks that I have money, who have only a few lentils on which to feed my wife and me." "I know what you have," said Noémi. "You have all the money paid you by the Tardes." "It is a lie--I have been paid no money; I have been given a sack of lentils instead." "Levi--I was present when it was paid." "You--you are a Tarde! and the Tardes are thieves!" "I am not a Tarde." "You are a Tarde--and these are Tardes' servants, and you will cheat and rob me. I shall appeal to the Bishop!" "Strike a light," said the girl. "Let the man see who we are." With a flint and steel Amanieu produced sparks, and presently held a wisp of dry grass blazing over his head. "Look here," said Noémi. "Do you know this?" She showed the red cross on her arm. "Look at the shoulders of my mates. Do you know who they are? Do you know me? I am Le Gros Guillem's daughter. Open your sack." "Oh, pity me! Pity me!" sobbed the terrified Jew. "One hundred livres--not a denier under, not a denier over," answered the girl. "See, in the Devil's Table are ten saucers; put ten livres into each, and you, Amanieu, and you, Roger, count. Jew, when the last coin is paid, you shall go on with the rest. You do not stir till the sum is paid that I require." The Jew faltered, trembled, stuttered some unintelligible words. "Levi!" said Noémi, "you know how Guillem's men deal with the refractory. Ho! a string here for his thumbs." The ten cups were filled. CHAPTER IX. A SINGED GLOVE. A COMMOTION, suppressed in outward manifestation, agitated Ste. Soure. Very little work was being done in the fields and vineyards. What work was done had little reference to agriculture. Men hurried about, but were cautious not to allow it to be seen by anyone at a distance what their occupation was. In a place like Ste. Soure, in a valley between precipices, nothing was easier than for a spy to observe all that was going on in a village. If on this occasion one commissioned by the Captain of the Free Company that occupied l'Eglise Guillem had stationed himself at a suitable point, he would have seen that Ste. Soure was alive, but would not have been able to distinguish what engaged the inhabitants. He would, indeed, have noticed the peasants bringing together their faggots of vine-prunings, have heard the bleating of sheep that were being killed, and later, had the wind blown his way, have noticed that the air was impregnated with the odour of melted tallow. That the people of Ste. Soure should be in a condition of more liveliness than usual would not have surprised him, after the event of the rush made on the place by the Free Companions, and the capture of some of the householders.