Pagina 496 di 788

Meanwhile the Major had given orders to drag up the beams that

were drying near the yard, and in each beam to cut with an axe

semicircular notches; into these notches he thrust the legs of

the prisoners and closed them with another beam. The two logs,

nailed together at the ends, fastened upon the legs like the jaws

of a bulldog; with cords they tied the arms of the gentry still

more tightly behind their backs. The Major for their further

torment had already had their caps pulled from their heads, and

from their backs their cloaks, their kontuszes, and even their

jackets-even their tunics. Thus the gentry, fastened in the

stocks, sat in a row, chattering their teeth in the cold and the

rain, for the drizzle kept increasing. In vain Sprinkler fumed

and struggled.