At this moment the chaplain of the chateau entered the hall; the
family instantly surrounded him and led him to Juanito. Victor, unable
to endure the scene any longer, made a sign to Clara, and went away,
determined to make one more attempt upon the general.
He found him in fine good-humour, in the midst of a banquet, drinking
with his officers, who were growing hilarious.
* * * * *
An hour later, one hundred of the leading inhabitants of Menda
assembled on the terrace, according to the orders of the general, to
witness the execution of the Leganes family. A detachment of soldiers
were posted to restrain the Spaniards, stationed beneath the gallows
on which the servants had been hanged. The heads of the burghers
almost touched the feet of these martyrs. Thirty feet from this group
was a block, and on it glittered a scimitar. An executioner was
present in case Juanito refused his obedience at the last moment.
Soon the Spaniards heard, in the midst of the deepest silence, the
steps of many persons, the measured sound of the march of soldiers,
and the slight rattle of their accoutrements.
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