The condemned woman was still sleeping in her cell, ignorant of what was about to occur.
Those charged with awakening her, gloomy and timid, were marching in line through the corridors of the jail, bumping into one another in their nervous precipitation.
The door was opened.

Under the regulation light Freya was on her bed, with closed eyes.

Upon opening them and finding herself surrounded by men, her face was convulsed with terror.
"Courage, Freya!" said the prison warden.

"The appeal for pardon has been denied." "Courage, my daughter," added the priest of the establishment, starting the beginning of a discourse.
Her terror, due to the rude surprise of awakening with the brain still paralyzed, lasted but a few seconds.

Upon collecting her thoughts, serenity returned to her face.
"I must die ?" she asked.