The robber who had fired the first shot , vaulted over the bar and tore open the cash till . The other two assailants seized her , one on each arm and yanked her up from the floor and tossed her like a rag doll onto one of the tables , their intentions clear . They tore the front of her blouse to the waist , leering and pawing at her . She screamed as she searched desperately for a utensil left from the supper hour , a mug or a pitcher that she might reach . An arm reached around her throat to choke her and she bit down on it as hard as she could . A smack across the face and the ensuing dizziness were her reward .
At that moment , the door to the inn burst open , and several of the townsfolk , alerted by the discharge of the firearms , came streaming into the tavern and quickly overwhelmed the three thieves . Within fifteen minutes their lifeless bodies swung from ropes over a sturdy bough in one of the oaks at the edge of the village . In the morning the bodies were cut down and buried in shallow , unmarked graves .
Lisle remained in the village and took on managing the inn and tavern herself . She became a solid businesswoman , respected throughout the community . Though many of the townsmen tried to woo her , she made it clear that Tomas , had been her one true love , and she had no intent to re-marry . After a time , they stopped trying and she lived her life , as would a nun in a country convent , abstaining from the ways of the flesh .
Tomas had been dead three years . Lisle , though more mature , was still one of the most beautiful women in the region . Winter was coming on . Days grew shorter and business had fallen off sharply . There were few if any
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