He
alone heard the following words whispered by the Duc de Guise in the
ear of his brother the cardinal:
"I don't give up all hope of getting the truth out of that little
fellow yet."
When the princes had left the hall the executioners unbound the legs
of their victim roughly and without compassion.
"Did any one ever see a criminal with such strength?" said the chief
executioner to his aids. "The rascal bore that last wedge when he
ought to have died; I've lost the price of his body."
"Unbind me gently; don't make me suffer, friends," said poor
Christophe. "Some day I will reward you--"
"Come, come, show some humanity," said the physician. "Monseigneur
esteems the young man, and told me to look after him."
"I am going to Amboise with my assistants,--take care of him
yourself," said the executioner, brutally. "Besides, here comes the
jailer."
The executioner departed, leaving Christophe in the hands of the
soft-spoken doctor, who by the aid of Christophe's future jailer,
carried the poor boy to a bed, brought him some broth, helped him
to swallow it, sat down beside him, felt his pulse, and tried to
comfort him.
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