Every moment was of value; the execution of the crime was fixed for that night.  Hiley, Courceuil, and Boislaurier led and placed their men.  Hiley hid in ambush with Minard, Cabot, and Bruce at the right of the Chesnay forest; Boislaurier, Grenier, and Horeau took the centre; Courceuil, Herbomez, and Lisieux occupied the ravine to the left of the wood.  All these positions are indicated on the ground-plan drawn by the engineer of the government survey-office, which is here subjoined.

The diligence, which had left Mortagne about one in the morning, was driven by one Rousseau, whose conduct proved so suspicious that his arrest was judged necessary.  The vehicle, driven slowly, would arrive about three o’clock in the forest of Chesnay.

  A single gendarme accompanied the diligence, which would stop for
  breakfast at Donnery.  Three passengers only were making the trip,
  and were now walking up the hill with the gendarme.

The driver, who had driven very slowly to the bridge of Chesnay at the entrance of the wood, now hastened his horses with a vigor and eagerness remarked by the passengers, and turned into a cross-road, called the road of Senzey.  The carriage was thus out of sight; and the gendarme with the three young men were hurrying to overtake it when they heard a shout:  “Halt!” and four shots were fired at them.

The gendarme, who was not hit, drew his sabre and rushed in the direction of the vehicle.  He was stopped by four armed men, who fired at him; his eagerness saved him, for he ran toward one of the three passengers to tell him to make for Chesnay and ring the tocsin.  But two brigands followed him, and one of them, taking aim, sent a ball through his left shoulder, which broke his arm, and he fell helpless.

The shouts and firing were heard in Donnery.  A corporal stationed there and one gendarme ran toward the sounds.  The firing of a squad of men took them to the opposite side of the wood to that where the pillage was taking place.  The noise of the firing prevented the corporal from hearing the cries of the wounded gendarme; but he did distinguish a sound which proved to be that of an axe breaking and chopping into cases.  He ran toward the sound.  Meeting four armed bandits, he called out to them, “Surrender, villains!”

They replied:  “Stay where you are, or you are a dead man!” The corporal sprang forward; two shots were fired and one struck him; a ball went through his left leg and into the flank of his horse.  The brave man, bathed in blood, was forced to give up the unequal fight; he shouted “Help! the brigands are at Chesnay!” but all in vain.

The robbers, masters of the ground thanks to their numbers, ransacked the coach.  They had gagged and bound the driver by way of deception.  The cases were opened, the bags of money were thrown