"Oh, no! No, father! One of my leudes shall take horse, ride to my burg, and bring the slave to you on the crupper." The deed of the donation was signed and duly witnessed by the bishop's servant and one of the count's leudes. It provided that Neroweg, count of the King of Auvergne and the city of Clermont, donated to the Church, represented by Cautin, and in remission of his sins, a hundred acres of meadow land, twenty gold sous, and a spinner female slave, fifteen years old, named Odille. After the ceremony of signing was concluded the bishop gave the Frankish count absolution for the murder of his brother and offered him three full cups of wine to comfort him. "Sigefrid," said the count to his leude, smothering a last sigh of regret, "be a good friend to me; ride to my burg; take Odille the spinner girl on the crupper of your horse and bring her here." CHAPTER III. AT THE CHAPEL OF ST. LOUP. The Vagres arrived near the episcopal villa. "Ronan, the gates are solid, the windows high, the walls thick--how shall we penetrate into the place and reach the bishop?" asked the Master of the Hounds. "You promised to lead us to the very heart of the house. As for me, I'm off to the heart of the bishopess." "Brothers, do you see yonder, at the foot of the hill, that little structure surrounded by pillars?" "We see it--the night is clear!" "That building was formerly a warm water bath. The warm spring lay in the mountain. The bath is reached from the villa by a long underground gallery. The bishop had the stream turned away, and transformed the former bath into a chapel that he consecrated to St. Loup. Now, then, my sturdy Vagres, we will penetrate to the very heart of the episcopal villa by that underground gallery, without need of boring holes through walls or breaking doors or windows. If I promised, did I keep?" "As always, Ronan! You promised and kept!" The troop entered the former warm water bath, now chapel of St. Loup. It was dark as a pocket. A voice was heard saying: "Is that you, Ronan?" "I and mine. Lead, Simon, you good servant of the episcopal villa! Lead on, we follow." "We shall have to wait." "Why delay?" "Count Neroweg is still with the bishop, with his leudes." "All the better! We shall capture a fox and a wild-boar at once! A superb hunt!" "The count has with him twenty-four well armed leudes." "We are thirty! That is fifteen Vagres more than enough for such a raid. Lead on, Simon, we follow." "The passage is not yet free." "Why is not the passage free that leads underground into the banquet hall?"