there
beheaded; his property shall be confiscated; his woods cut down to the
height of six feet; his castles destroyed, and a post planted there with
a copper plate bearing an inscription of his crime and punishment."

"As for my head," said Coconnas, "I know you will cut that off, for it
is in France, and in great jeopardy; but as for my woods and castles, I
defy all the saws and axes of this most Christian kingdom to harm them."

"Silence!" said the judge; and he continued:

"Furthermore, the aforesaid Coconnas"--

"What!" interrupted Coconnas, "is something more to be done to me after
my head is cut off? Oh! that seems to me very hard!"

"No, monsieur," said the judge, "_before_."

And he resumed:

"Furthermore, the aforesaid Coconnas before the execution of his
sentence shall undergo the severest torture, consisting of ten wedges"--

Coconnas sprang up, flashing a burning glance at the judge.

"And for what?" he cried, finding no other words but these simple ones
to express the thousand thoughts that surged through his mind.

In reality this was complete ruin to Coconnas' hopes. He would not be
taken to the chapel until after the torture, from which many frequently
died. The braver and stronger the victim, the more likely he was to die,
for it was considered an act of cowardice to confess; and so long as the
prisoner refused to confess the torture was continued, and not only
continued, but increased.

The judge did not reply to Coconnas; the rest of the sentence answered
for him. He continued:

"In order to compel the aforesaid Coconnas to confess in regard to his
accomplices, and the details of the plan and conspiracy."

"By Heaven!" cried Coconnas; "this is what I call infamous; more than
infamous--cowardly!"

Accustomed to the anger of his victims, which suffering always changed
to tears, the impassible judge merely made a sign.

Coconnas was seized by the feet and the shoulders, overpowered, laid on
his back, and bound to the rack before he was able even to see those who
did the act.

"Wretches!" shouted he, in a paroxysm of fury, straining the bed and the
cords so that the tormentors themselves drew back. "Wretches! torture
me, twist me, break me to pieces, but you shall know nothing, I swear!
Ah! you think, do you, that it is with pieces of wood and steel that a
gentleman of my name is made to speak? Go ahead! I defy you!"

"Prepare to write, clerk," said the judge.

"Yes, prepare," shou