 Some time later the horse is seen galloping past without a rider and the boy finds the officer's corpse near the road.He reports the murder, but not before surreptitiously stealing the man's pistol.At the funeral, the local German commandant coldly informs the village that if the killer doesn't step forward by the next morning, the community's leaders (including Ioan and his wife, the mayor, the town doctor and the notary) will be executed.