He
was tired of the baffling struggle.
"Open the door!" he shouted noisily, and the cry stirred Villon to a
more vehement assault. He sprang like a cat at the giant, flashed
the lantern dazzlingly in his eyes, and as Thibaut, furious, made a
wild lunge at him, Villon dexterously swung his lantern on to his
enemy's sword point and in another second had driven his own blade
into Thibaut's side.
"Not so fast, rat-catcher!" he shouted exultantly, and as Thibaut
fell with a heavy crash of rattling armour on the floor, the door
was dashed open and the armed watch poured in with blazing torches,
filling the room with light and armoured men. Fran?ois, after a
moment's glance of triumph at the fallen giant, sprang round and
glanced up at the gallery.
Katherine, standing, leaned over the balustrade and flung a knot of
ribbon to her champion, who caught it as it skimmed through the air,
pressed it to his lips and thrust it into the bosom of his jerkin.
In another moment Katherine had disappeared and Villon found himself
roughly held in the strong grasp of two soldiers, while the captain
of the watch surveyed the scene with some astonishment, and the
rogues were overawed by the bills of the new-comers.
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