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<= o:p>
The Lady Of The Mount=
b>
By
Frederic Stewart Isham
Contents
CHAPTER
I - A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
CHAPTER II - AN ECHO OF THE PAST.
CHAPTER III - A SUDDEN RESOLUTION..
CHAPTER IV - A DANCE ON THE BEACH..
CHAPTER VI - A MESSENGER FOR MY LADY
CHAPTER VII - A DISTANT MENACE.
CHAPTER VIII - THE OLD WATCH-TOWER.
CHAPTER X - THE CLOISTER IN THE AIR
CHAPTER XI - THE GOVERNOR IS SURPRISED
CHAPTER XIII - THE SEETHING OF THE SEA
CHAPTER XV - THE VOICE FROM THE GROUP
CHAPTER XVI - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE PEOPLE
CHAPTER XVI - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE PEOPLE
CHAPTER XVII - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE HUNCHBACK
CHAPTER XVIII - THE MOUNTEBANK AND MY LADY
CHAPTER XIX - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE GOVERNOR
CHAPTER XX - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE SOLDIER
CHAPTER XXI - THE STAIRWAY OF SILVER
CHAPTER XXII - THE WHIRLING OF THE WHEEL
CHAPTER XXIII - AT THE VERGE OF THE APERTURE
CHAPTER XXIV - THE HALL OF THE CHEVALIERS
CHAPTER XXV - THE UNDER WORLD..
CHAPTER XXVII - A STROLL ON THE STRAND
CHAPTER XXVIII - THE HESITATION OF THE MARQUIS
CHAPTER XXIX - THE MARQUIS INTERVENES
CHAPTER XXXI - THE ATTACK ON THE MOUNT
CHAPTER XXXII - NEAR THE ALTAR.
CHAPTER XXXIII - ON THE SANDS.
CHAPTER XXXIV - SOME TIME LATER.
THE LADY OF THE MOUNT
CHAPTER I - A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
"Don't you know, boy, you ought not to
get in my way?"
The tide was at its ebb; the boats stranded
afar, and the lad addressed had started, with a fish--his wage--in one hand=
, to
walk to shore, when, passing into the shadow of the rampart of the Governor=
's
Mount, from the opposite direction a white horse swung suddenly around a co=
rner
of the stone masonry and bore directly upon him. He had but time to step aside; as =
it
was, the animal grazed his shoulder, and the boy, about to give utterance t=
o a
natural remonstrance, lifted his eyes to the offender. The words were not forthcoming;
surprised, he gazed at a tiny girl, of about eleven, perched fairy-like on =
the
broad back of the heavy steed.
"Don't you know you ought not to get =
in
my way?" she repeated imperiously.
The boy, tall, dark, unkempt as a young
savage, shifted awkwardly; his black eyes, restless enough ordinarily,
expressed a sudden shyness in the presence of this unexpected and dainty
creature.
"I--didn't see you," he half sta=
mmered.
"Well, you should have!" And again the little lady frowned,=
shook
her disordered golden curls disapprovingly and gazed at him, a look of cens=
ure
in her brown eyes. "But
perhaps you don't know who I am," she went on with a lift of the patri=
cian
doll-like features. "I d=
on't think
you do, or you wouldn't stand there like a booby, without taking off your
hat." More embarrassed, =
he
removed a worn cap while she continued to regard him with the reverse of
approval. "I am the Comt=
esse
Elise," she observed; "the daughter of the Governor of the Mount.=
"
"Oh!" said the boy, and his glan=
ce
shifted to the most important and insistent feature of the landscape.
Carrying its clustered burden of houses and
palaces, a great rock reared itself from the monotony of the bare and blind=
ing
sands. Now an oasis in the de=
sert,
ere night was over he knew the in-rushing waters would convert it into an
island; claim it for the sea! A
strange kingdom, yet a mighty one, it belonged alternately to the land and =
to the
ocean. With the sky, however,=
it
enjoyed perpetual affiliation, for the heavens were ever wooing it; now win=
ding
pretty ribbons of light about its air-drawn castles; then kissing it with t=
he
tender, soft red glow of celestial fervor.
"Yes; I live right on top among the
clouds, in a castle, with dungeons underneath, where my father puts the bad
people who don't like the nobles and King Louis XVI. But where," categorically, &q=
uot;do
you live?"
His gaze turned from the points and turrets
and the clouds she spoke of--that seemed to linger about the lofty summit--=
to
the mainland, perhaps a mile distant.
"There!" he said, and specifical=
ly
indicated a dark fringe, like a cloud on the lowlands.
"In the woods! How odd!" She looked at him with faint
interest. "And don't the=
bears
bother you? Once when I wante=
d to
see what the woods were like, my nurse told me they were filled with terrib=
le
bears who would eat up little girls.
I don't have a nurse any more," irrelevantly, "only a
governess who came from the court of Versailles, and Beppo. Do you know Beppo?"
"No."
"I don't like him," she
confided. "He is always
listening. But why do you liv=
e in
the woods?"
"Because!" The reason failed him.
"And didn't you ever live anywhere
else?"
A shadow crossed the dark young face. "Once," he said.
"I suppose the bears know you," =
she
speculated, "and that is the reason they let you alone. Or, perhaps, they are like the wol=
f in
the fairy-tale. Did you ever =
hear
of the kind-hearted wolf?"
He shook his head.
"My nurse used to tell it to me. Well, once there was a boy who was=
an orphan
and everybody hated him. So h=
e went
to live in the forest and there he met a wolf. 'Where are you going, little boy?'=
said
the wolf. 'Nowhere,' said the boy; 'I have no home.' 'No home!' said the kind-hearted w=
olf;
'then come with me, and you shall share my cave.' Isn't that a nice
story?"
He looked at her in a puzzled manner. "I don't know," he began=
, when
she tossed her head.
"What a stupid boy!" she exclaim=
ed
severely. A moment she studie=
d him tentatively
through her curls, from the vantage point of her elevated seat. "That's a big fish," she
remarked, after the pause.
"Do you want it?" he asked quick=
ly,
his face brightening.
"You can give it to Beppo when he
comes," she said, drawing herself up loftily. "He'll be here soon. I've run away from him!" A sudden smile replaced her brief
assumption of dignity. "=
He'll
be so angry! He's fat and ugly," more confidentially. "And he's so amusing when he's
vexed! But how much do you as=
k for
the fish?"
"I didn't mean--to sell it!"
"Why not?"
"I--don't sell fish."
"Don't sell fish!" She looked at the clothes, frayed =
and
worn, the bare muscular throat, the sunburned legs. "You meant to give it to me?&=
quot;
"Yes."
The girl laughed. "What a funny boy!"
His cheek flushed; from beneath the matted
hair, the disconcerted black eyes met the mocking brown ones.
"Of course I can't take it for
nothing," she explained, "and it is very absurd of you to expect
it."
"Then," with sudden stubbornness,
"I will keep it!"
Her glance grew more severe. "Most people speak to me as '=
my
Lady.' You seem to have forgotten.
Or perhaps you have been listening to some of those silly persons who
talk about everybody being born equal.&nbs=
p;
I've heard my father, the Governor, speak of them and how he has put
some of them in his dungeons. You'd
better not talk that way, or he may shut you up in some terrible dark hole
beneath the castle."
"I'm not afraid!" The black eyes
shone.
"Then you must be a very wicked boy.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> It would serve you right if I was =
to
tell."
"You can!"
"Then I won't! Besides, I'm not a telltale!"=
She tossed her curls and went on.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "I've heard my father say the=
se
people who want to be called 'gentilhomme' and 'monsieur' are low and ignor=
ant;
they can't even read and write."
Again the red hue mantled the boy's
cheek. "I don't believe =
you
can!" she exclaimed shrewdly and clapped her hands. "Can you now?" He did not answer. "'Monsieur'! 'Gentilhomme'!" she repeated.=
He stepped closer, his face dark; but what=
ever
reply he might have made was interrupted by the sound of a horse's hoofs and
the abrupt appearance, from the direction the child had come, of a fat, ira=
scible-looking
man of middle age, dressed in livery.
"Oh, here you are, my Lady!" His tone was far from amiable; as =
he spoke
he pulled up his horse with a vicious jerk. "A pretty chase you've led
me!"
She regarded him indifferently. "If you will stop at the inn,=
Beppo--"
The man's irate glance fell. "Who is this?"
"A boy who doesn't want to sell his
fish," said the girl merrily.
"Oh!" The man's look expressed a quick
recognition. "A fine day=
's work
is this--to bandy words with--"
Abruptly he raised his whip. "What do you mean, sirrah, by stop=
ping
my Lady?"
A fierce gleam in the lad's eyes belied the
smile on his lips. "Don'=
t beat
me, good Beppo!" he said in a mocking voice, and stood, alert, lithe, =
like
a tiger ready to spring. The =
man
hesitated; his arm dropped to his side.&nb=
sp;
"The very spot!" he said, looking around him.
A moment the boy waited, then turned on his
heel and, without a word, walked away.&nbs=
p;
Soon an angle in the sea-wall, girdling the Mount, hid him from view=
.
"Why didn't you strike him?" Quietly the child regarded the man=
. "Were
you afraid?" Beppo's ans=
wering
look was not one of affection for his charge. "Who is he?"
"An idle vagabond."
"What is his name?"
"I don't know."
"Don't you?"
A queer expression sprang into his eyes. "One can't remember every pea=
sant
brat," he returned evasively.
She considered him silently; then: "W=
hy
did you say: 'The very spot'?" she asked.
"Did I? I don't remember. But it's time we were getting back=
. Come, my Lady!" And Beppo struck his horse smartly=
.
CHAPTER II - AN ECHO OF THE PAST
Immovable on its granite base, the great r=
ock,
or "Mount," as it had been called for centuries, stood some dista=
nce
from the shore in a vast bay on the northwestern coast of France. To the right, a sweep of sward and=
marsh
stretched seaward, until lost in the distance; to the left, lay the dense
Desaurac forest, from which an arm of land, thickly wooded, reached out in
seeming endeavor to divide the large bay into two smaller basins. But the ocean, jealous of territory
already conquered, twice in twenty-four hours rose to beat heavily on this =
dark
promontory, and, in the angry hiss of the waters, was a reminder of a persi=
stent
purpose. Here and there, thro=
ugh
the ages, had the shore-line of the bay, as well as the neighboring curvatu=
res
of the coast, yielded to the assaults of the sea; the Mount alone, solidly =
indifferent
to blandishment or attack, maintained an unvarying aspect.
For centuries a monastery and fortress of =
the
monks, at the time of Louis XVI the Mount had become a stronghold of the
government, strongly ruled by one of its most inexorable nobles. Since his appointment many years b=
efore
to the post, my lord, the Governor of the rock, had ever been regarded as a=
man
who conceded nothing to the people and pursued only the set tenure of his
way. During the long period o=
f his
reign he committed but one indiscretion; generally regarded as a man confir=
med in
apathy for the gentler sex, he suddenly, when already past middle age,
wedded. Speculation concernin=
g a
step so unlooked for was naturally rife.
In hovel and hut was it whispered the bride
Claire, only daughter of the Comtesse de la Mart, had wept at the altar, but
that her mother had appeared complacent, as well she might; for the Governo=
r of
the Mount and the surrounding country was both rich and powerful; his ships
swept far and wide, even to the Orient, while the number of metayers, or pe=
tty
farmers that paid him tribute, constituted a large community. Other gossips,
bending over peat fires within mud walls, affirmed--beneath their breath, l=
est
the spies of the well-hated lord of the North might hear them!--that the mo=
re
popular, though impoverished Seigneur Desaurac had been the favored suitor =
with
the young woman herself, but that the family of the bride had found him und=
esirable. The Desaurac fortune, once large, =
had so
waned that little remained save the rich, though heavily encumbered lands, =
and,
in the heart of the forest, a time-worn, crumbling castle.
Thus it came to pass the marriage of the l=
ady
to the Governor was celebrated in the jeweled Gothic church crowning a medl=
ey
of palaces, chapels and monastery on the Mount; that the rejected Seigneur =
Desaurac,
gazing across the strip of water--for the tide was at its full--separating =
the
rocky fortress from the land, shrugged his shoulders angrily and
contemptuously, and that not many moons later, as if to show disdain of
position and title, took to his home an orphaned peasant lass. That a simple church ceremony had
preceded this step was both affirmed and denied; hearsay described a marria=
ge
at a neighboring village; more malicious gossip discredited it. A man of rank! A woman of the soil! Feudal custom forbade belief that =
the
proper sort of nuptial knot had been tied.
Be this as it may, for a time the sturdy, =
dark
brown young woman presided over the Seigneur's fortunes with exemplary care=
and
patience. She found them in a chaotic condition; lands had either been allo=
wed
to run to waste, or were cultivated by peasants that so long had forgotten =
to
pay the metayage, or owner's due, they had come to regard the acres as their
own--a delusion this practical helpmate would speedily have dispelled, save
that the Seigneur himself pleaded for them and would not permit of the
"poor people" being disturbed.&n=
bsp;
Whereupon she made the best of an anomalous situation, and all conce=
rned
might have continued to live satisfactorily enough unto themselves, when un=
fortunately
an abrupt break occurred in the chain of circumstances. In presenting the
Seigneur with a child, half-peasant, half-lord, the mother gave up her own =
life
for his posterity.
At first, thereafter, the Seigneur remaine=
d a
recluse; when, however, a year or two had gone by, the peasants--who had
settled in greater numbers thereabouts, even to the verge of the
forest--noticed that he gradually emerged from his solitude, ventured into =
the
world at large, and occasionally was seen in the vicinity of the Mount. This predilection for lonely walks
clearly led to his undoing; one morning he was found stabbed in the back, on
the beach at the foot of the Mount.
Carried home, he related how he had been s=
et
upon by a band of miscreants, which later, coming to the Governor's ears, l=
ed
to an attempt to locate the assailants among the rocky isles to the northwe=
st,
haunts of privateersmen, rogues and those reformers who already were beginn=
ing to
undermine the peace of Louis XVI's northern provinces. In the pursuit of these gentry, the
Governor showed himself in earnest.
Perhaps his own sorrow at the rather sudden death of his lady, occur=
ring
about this time, and leaving him, a morose widower, with a child, a little
girl, led him to more relentless activities; perhaps the character of the
crime--a noble stabbed!--incensed him.
Certainly he revenged himself to the full;=
not
only raked the rocks for runagates, but dragged peasants, inclined to sulle=
nness,
from their huts; clapped some in dungeons and hanged the rest. In the popular mind his name became
synonymous with cruelty, but, on his high throne, he continued to exercise =
his
autocratic prerogative and cared not what the people thought.
Meanwhile, the Seigneur Desaurac, recoveri=
ng,
became a prey to greater restlessness; no sooner was he able to get about,
than, accompanied by a faithful servant, Sanchez, he left the neighborhood,
and, for a number of years, led a migratory existence in continental capita=
ls. The
revolt of the colonies in America and the news of the contemplated departur=
e of
the brave Lafayette for the seat of hostilities, offered, at least, a prete=
xt
to break the fetters of a purposeless life. At once, he placed his sword at La=
fayette's
disposal, and packed himself and servitor--a fellow of dog-like
fidelity--across the ocean. T=
here, at
the seat of war's alarms, in the great conflict waged in the name of libert=
y,
he met a soldier's end, far from the fief of his ancestors. Sanchez, the ma=
n,
buried him, and, having dutifully performed this last task, walked away from
the grave and out of the army.
During this while, the son by the peasant
woman, intrusted to an old fishwife who had been allowed to usurp a patch of
his father's lands, received scanty care and attention, even when the
stipulated fees for his maintenance had continued to come; but when, at the
Seigneur's death, they ceased, any slight solicitude on the caretaker's par=
t soured
to acrimony. An offspring of
dubious parentage, she begrudged him his bread; kept him from her own preci=
ous
brood, and taught them to address him as "brat," "pauper,&qu=
ot;
or by terms even more forcible.
Thus set upon, frequently he fought; but like young wolves, hunting =
in packs,
they worried him to the earth, and, when he continued to struggle, beat him=
to
unconsciousness, if not submission.
One day, after such an experience at the h=
ands
of those who had partaken of the Seigneur's liberality, the boy, all bruised
and aching, fled to the woods, and, with the instinct of an animal to hide,
buried himself in its deepest recesses.&nb=
sp;
Night came; encompassed by strange sounds, unknown terrors, he crept=
to
the verge of the forest, and lying there, looked out across the distance to=
ward
the scattered habitations, visible through the gloom. One tiny yellow dot of light which=
he located
held his glance. Should he
return? That small stone hut,=
squalid
as it was, had been his only remembered home. But the thought of the reception t=
hat
awaited him there made him hesitate; the stars coming out, seemed to lend
courage to his resolution, and, with his face yet turned toward the low long
strip of land, sprinkled with the faint, receding points of light, he fell
asleep.
The earliest shafts of morn, however, awak=
ing
him, sent him quickly back into the dark forest, where all day he kept to t=
he
most shadowy screens and covers, fearing he should be followed, and, perhap=
s, captured. But the second night was like the =
first,
the next like the second, and the days continued to pass with no signs of
pursuit. Pinched by hunger, certain of the berries and roots he ate poisone=
d him,
until in time he profited by his sufferings and learned to discriminate in =
his
choice of the frugal fare about him.
Not that his appetite was ever satisfied, even when he extended his
explorations to the beach at night, digging in the sand with his fingers for
cockles, or prowling about the rocks for mussels.
Yet, despite all, he hugged to his breast a
compensating sense of liberty; the biting tooth of autumn was preferable to=
the
stripes and tongue-lashings of the old life; and, if now frugal repasts were
the rule, hunger had often been his lot in the past. So he assimilated with his surroun=
dings;
learned not to fear the animals, and they, to know him; indeed, they seemed=
to
recognize him by that sharp unsated glint of the eye as one of their kind.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> When the days grew bleaker and the
nights colder, he took refuge in a corner within the gray walls of the
moss-grown castle of his ancestors, the old Seigneurs. No cheerful place, above all at ni=
ght,
when the spirits of the dead seem to walk abroad, and sobs, moans, and fier=
ce
voices fill the air! Then, cr=
eeping
closer to the fire he had started in the giant hearth, wide-eyed he would
listen, only at length through sheer weariness to fall asleep. Nevertheless, it was a shelter, and
here, throughout the winter, the boy remained.
Here, too, Sanchez, the Seigneur's old
servant, returning months later from long wanderings to the vicinity of the
Mount--for no especial reason, save the desire once more to see the place--=
had
found him. And at the sight t=
he man
frowned.
In the later days, the Seigneur Desaurac h=
ad
become somewhat unmindful, if not forgetful, of his own flesh and blood.
CHAPTER III - A SUDDEN RESOLUTION=
span>
After his chance encounter with my lady, t=
he
Governor's daughter, and Beppo, her attendant, the boy walked quickly from =
the
Mount to the forest. His eyes=
were
still bright; his cheeks yet burned, but occasionally the shadow of a smile
played about his mouth, and he threw up his head fiercely. At the verge of the wood he looked=
back,
stood for a moment with the reflection of light on his face, then plunged i=
nto
the shadows of the sylvan labyrinth.
Near the east door of the castle, which presently he reached, he sto=
pped
for an armful of faggots, and, bending under his load, passed through an
entrance, seared and battered, across a great roofless space and up a fligh=
t of
steps to a room that had once been the kitchen of the vast establishment. As he entered, a man, thin, wizene=
d,
though active looking, turned around.
"So you've got back?" he said in=
a
grumbling tone.
"Yes," answered the boy
good-naturedly, casting the wood to the flagging near the flame and brushing
his coat with his hand; "the storm kept us out last night, Sanchez.&qu=
ot;
"It'll keep you out for good some
day," remarked the man.
"You'll be drowned, if you don't have a care."
"Better that than being hanged!"
returned the lad lightly.
The other's response, beneath his breath, =
was
lost, as he drew his stool closer to the pot above the blaze, removed the l=
id
and peered within. Apparently=
his
survey was not satisfactory, for he replaced the cover, clasped his fingers=
over
his knees and half closed his eyes.
"Where's the fish?"
The boy, thoughtfully regarding the flames,
started; when he had left the child and Beppo, unconsciously he had dropped=
it,
but this he did not now explain.
"I didn't bring one."
"Didn't bring one?"
"No," said the boy, flushing
slightly.
"And not a bone or scrap in the
larder! Niggardly fishermen!<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> A small enough wage--for going to =
sea
and helping them--"
"Oh, I could have had what I wanted.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And they are not niggardly! Only--I
forgot."
"Forgot!" The man lifted his hands, but any
further evidence of surprise or expostulation was interrupted by a sudden
ebullition in the pot.
Left to his thoughts, the boy stepped to t=
he
window; for some time stood motionless, gazing through a forest rift at the=
end
of which uprose the top of an Aladdin-like structure, by an optical illusio=
n become
a part of that locality; a conjuror's castle in the wood!
"The Mount looks near to-night,
Sanchez!"
"Near?" The man took from its hook the pot=
and
set it on the table. "Not too near to suit the Governor, perhaps!"=
;
"And why should it suit him?"
drawing a stool to the table and sitting down.
"Because he must be so fond of lookin=
g at
the forest."
"And does that--please him?"
"How could it fail to? Isn't it a nice wood? Oh, yes, I'll warrant you he finds=
it to
his liking. And all the lands=
about
the forest that used to belong to the old Seigneurs, and which the peasants
have taken--waste lands they have tilled--he must think them very fine to l=
ook
at, now! And what a hubbub th=
ere
would be, if the lazy peasants had to pay their metayage, and fire-tax and
road-tax--and all the other taxes--the way the other peasants do--to
him--"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing!" The man's jaw closed like a steel
trap. "The porridge is b=
urned."
And with no further word the meal
proceeded. The man, first to
finish, lighted his pipe, moved again to the fire, and, maintaining a tacit=
urnity
that had become more or less habitual, stolidly devoted himself to the sola=
ce
of the weed and the companionship of his own reflections. Once or twice the boy seemed about=
to
speak and did not; finally, however, he leaned forward, a more resolute lig=
ht
in his sparkling black eyes.
"You never learned to read,
Sanchez?"
At the unexpected question, the smoke puff=
ed
suddenly from the man's lips.
"Not I."
"Nor write?"
The man made a rough gesture. "Nor sail to the moon!" =
he
returned derisively.
"Read? Rubbish! Write? What for? Does it bring more fish to your
nets?"
"Who--could show me how to read and
write?"
"You?" Sanchez stared.
"Why not?"
"Books are the tools of the devil!&qu=
ot;
declared Sanchez shortly.
"There was a black man here to-day with a paper--a 'writ,' I th=
ink
he called it--or a 'service' of some kind--anyhow, it must have been in
Latin," violently, "for such gibberish, I never heard and--"=
The boy rose. "People who can't read and wr=
ite
are low and ignorant!"
"Eh?=
What's come over you?"
"My father was a gentleman."
"Your father!--yes--"
"And a Seigneur!--"
"A Seigneur truly!"
"And I mean to be one!" said the=
boy
suddenly, closing his fists.
"Oh, oh! So that's it?" derisively.
"Who could teach me?" Determined, but with a trace of co=
lor on
his brown cheek, the boy looked down.
"Who?" The man began to recover from his
surprise. "That's not so=
easy
to tell. But if you must
know--well, there's Gabriel Gabarie, for one, a poet of the people. He might do it--although there's t=
alk of
cutting off his head--"
"What for?"
"For knowing how to write."
The lad reached for his hat.
"Where are you going?"
"To the poet's."
"At this late hour! You are in a hurry!"
"If what you say is true, there's no =
time
to lose."
"Well, if you find him writing verses
about liberty and equality, don't interrupt him, or you'll lose your
head," shouted the man.
But when the sound of the boy's footsteps =
had
ceased, Sanchez's expression changed; more bent, more worn, he got up and
walked slowly to and fro. &qu=
ot;A
fine Seigneur!" The mold=
ering
walls seemed to echo the words.
"A fine Seigneur!" he muttered, and again sat brooding by =
the fire.
In the gathering dusk the lad strode brisk=
ly
on. A squirrel barked to the =
right;
he did not look around. A par=
tridge
drummed to the left; usually alert to wood sound or life, to-night he did n=
ot
heed it. But, fairly out of t=
he
forest and making his way with the same air of resolution across the sands
toward the lowland beyond, his attention, on a sudden, became forcibly
diverted. He had but half com=
pleted
the distance from the place where he had left the wood to the objective poi=
nt
in the curvature of the shore, when to the left through the gloom, a great
vehicle, drawn by six horses, could be seen rapidly approaching. From the imposing equipage gleamed=
many
lamps; the moon, which ere this had begun to assert its place in the heaven=
s,
made bright the shining harness and shone on the polished surface of the go=
lden
car. Wondering, the boy pause=
d.
"What is that?"
The person addressed, a fisherman belated,
bending to the burden on his shoulders, stopped, and, breathing hard, looked
around and watched the approaching vehicle intently.
"The Governor's carriage!" he
said. "Haven't you ever =
heard
of the Governor's carriage?"
"No."
"That's because he hasn't used it lat=
ely;
but in her ladyship's day--"
"Her ladyship?"
"The Governor's lady--he bought it for
her. But she soon got tired o=
f it--or
perhaps didn't like the way the people looked at her!" roughly. "=
Mon
dieu! perhaps they did scowl a little--for it didn't please them, I can tell
you!--the sight of all that gold squeezed from the taxes!"
"Where is he going now?"
"Nowhere himself--he never goes far f=
rom
the Mount. But the Lady Elise=
, his
daughter--some one in the village was saying she was going to Paris--"=
"Paris!" The lad repeated the word quickly.=
"What for?"
"What do all the great lords and nobl=
es
send their children there for? To get educated--married, and--to learn the
tricks of the court! Bah!&quo=
t; With
a coarse laugh the man turned; stooping beneath his load, he moved grumblin=
gly
on.
The boy, however, did not stir; as in a dr=
eam
he looked first at the Mount, a dark triangle against the sky, then at the
carriage. Nearer the latter d=
rew,
was about to dash by, when suddenly the driver, on his high seat, uttered an
exclamation and at the same time tugged hard at the reins. The vehicle took a quick turn, lur=
ched
dangerously in its top-heavy pomp, and, almost upsetting, came to a standst=
ill
nearly opposite the boy.
"Careless dog!" a shrill voice
screamed from the inside.
"What are you doing?"
"The lises, your Excellency!"
"Lises--quicksands--"
"There, your Excellency," indica=
ting
a gleaming place right in their path; a small bright spot that looked as if=
it
might have been polished, while elsewhere on the surrounding sands tiny
rippling parallels caressed the eye with streaks of black and silver. "I saw it in time!"
"In time!" angrily. "Imbecile! Didn't you know it was there?"=
;
"Of course, your Excellency! Only I had misjudged a little,
and--" The man's manner showed he was frightened.
"Falsehoods! You have been drinking! Don't answer. You shall hear of this later. Drive around the spot."
"Yes, your Excellency," was the =
now
sober and subdued answer.
Ere he obeyed, however, the carriage door,
from which the Governor had been leaning, swung open. "Wait!" he called out
impatiently, and tried to close it, but the catch--probably from long
disuse--would not hold, and, before the liveried servant perched on the lof=
ty
carriage behind had fully perceived the fact and had recovered himself
sufficiently to think of his duties, the boy on the beach had sprung forwar=
d.
"Slam it!" commanded an irate vo=
ice.
The lad complied, and as he did so, peered
eagerly into the capacious depths of the vehicle.
"The boy with the fish!" exclaim=
ed
at the same time a girlish treble within.
"Eh?" my lord turned sharply.
"An impudent lad who stopped the Lady
Elise!" exclaimed the fat man--surely Beppo--on the front seat.
"Stopped the Lady Elise!" The Governor repeated the words sl=
owly;
an ominous pause was followed by an abrupt movement on the part of the chil=
d.
"He did not stop me; it was I who nea=
rly
ran over him, and it was my fault.
Beppo does not tell the truth--he's a wicked man!--and I'm glad I'm =
not
going to see him any more! An=
d the
boy wasn't impudent; at least until Beppo offered to strike him, and then,
Beppo didn't! Beppo," derisively, "was afraid!"
"My lady," Beppo's voice was soft
and unctuous, "construes forbearance for fear."
"Step nearer, boy!"
Partly blinded by the lamps, the lad obeye=
d;
was cognizant of a piercing scrutiny; two hard, steely eyes that seemed to =
read
his inmost thoughts; a face, indistinguishable but compelling; beyond, some=
thing
white--a girl's dress--that moved and fluttered!
"Who is he?"
"A poor boy who lives in the woods,
papa!"
But Beppo bent forward and whispered, his
words too low for the lad to catch.
Whatever his information, the Governor started; the questioning glan=
ce
on an instant brightened, and his head was thrust forward close to the
boy's. A chill seemed to pass=
over
the lad, yet he did not quail.
"Good-by, boy!" said the child, =
and,
leaning from the window, smiled down at him.
He tried to answer, when a hand pulled her=
in
somewhat over-suddenly.
"Drive on!" Again the shrill tones cut the air=
. "Drive on, I tell you! Diable! What are you standing here for!&qu=
ot;
A whip lashed the air and the horses leaped
forward. The back wheels of t=
he
vehicle almost struck the lad, but, motionless, he continued staring after
it. Farther it drew away, and=
, as
he remained thus he discerned, or fancied he discerned, a girl's face at the
back--a ribbon that waved for a moment in the moonlight, and then was gone.=
Eight years elapsed before next he saw her=
.
CHAPTER IV - A DANCE ON THE BEACH=
span>
The great vernal equinox of April 178-, was
the cause of certain unusual movements of the tide, which made old mariners=
and
coast-fishermen shake their heads and gaze seaward, out of all reckoning. At times, after a tempest, on this
strange coast, the waters would rise in a manner and at an hour out of the
ordinary, and then among the dwellers on the shore, there were those who pr=
ognosticated
dire unhappiness, telling how the sea had once devoured two villages overni=
ght,
and how, beneath the sands, were homes intact, with the people yet in their
beds.
Concerned with a disordered social system =
and
men in and out of dungeons, the Governor had little time and less inclinati=
on
to note the caprices of the tide or the vagaries of the strand. The people! The menacing and mercurial ebb and=
flow
of their moods! The maintenan=
ce of autocratic
power on the land, and, a more difficult task, on the sea--these were matte=
rs
of greater import than the phenomena of nature whose purposes man is powerl=
ess
to shape or curb. My lady, hi=
s daughter,
however, who had just returned from seven years' schooling at a convent and=
one
year at court where the Queen, Marie Antoinette, set the fashion of gaiety,=
found
in the conduct of their great neighbor, the ocean, a source of both
entertainment and instruction for her guests, a merry company transported f=
rom
Versailles.
"Is it not a sight well worth seeing
after your tranquil Seine, my Lords?" she would say with a wave of her
white hand toward the restless sea.
"Here, perched in mid air like eagles, you have watched the 'gr=
and
tide,' as we call it, come in--like no other tide--faster than a horse can
gallop! Where else could you
witness the like?"
"Nowhere. And when it goes out--"
"It goes out so far, you can no longer
see it; only a vast beach that reaches to the horizon, and--"
"Must be very dangerous?"
"For a few days, perhaps; later, not =
at
all, when the petites tides are the rule, and can be depended on. Then are the sands, except for one=
or
two places very well-known, as safe as your gardens at Versailles. But rema=
in,
and--you shall see."
Which they did--finding the place to their
liking--or their hostess; for the Governor, who cared not for guests, but m=
ust
needs entertain them for reasons of state, left them as much as might be to=
his
daughter. She, brimming with =
the
ardor and effervescence of eighteen years, accepted these responsibilities
gladly; pending that period she had referred to, turned the monks' great
refectory into a ball-room, and then, when the gales had swept away, propos=
ed
the sands themselves as a scene for diversion both for her guests and the
people. This, despite the dem=
ur of
his Excellency, her father.
"Is it wise," he had asked, &quo=
t;to
court the attention of the people?"
"Oh, I am not afraid!" she had
answered. "And they are =
going
to dance, too!"
"They!" He frowned.
"Why not? It is the Queen's own idea. 'Let the people dance,' she has sa=
id,
'and they will keep out of mischief.'
Besides," with a prouder poise of the bright head, "why
shouldn't they see, and--like me?"
"They like nothing except themselves,
and," dryly, "to attempt to evade their just obligations."
"Can you blame them?" She made a light gesture. "Obligations, mon pere, are so
tiresome!"
"Well, well," hastily, "have
your own way!" Although =
he
spoke rather shortly, on the whole he was not displeased with his daughter;=
her
betrothal with the Marquis de Beauvillers, a nobleman of large estates,--ar=
ranged
while she was yet a child!--promised a brilliant marriage and in a measure
offered to his Excellency some compensation for that old and long-cherished
disappointment--the birth of a girl when his ambition had looked so strongly
for an heir to his name as well as to his estate.
And so my lady and her guests danced and m=
ade
merry on the sands below, and the people came out from the mainland, or down
from the houses in the town at the base of the rock, to watch. A varied assemblage of gaunt-looki=
ng men
and bent, low-browed women, for the most part they stood sullen and silent;
though exchanging meaning glances now and then as if to say: "Do you n=
ote
all this ostentation--all this glitter and display? Yes; and some day--" Upon brooding brows, in deep-set e=
yes, on
furrowed faces a question and an answer seemed to gleam and pass. Endowed w=
ith
natural optimism and a vivacity somewhat heedless, my lady appeared unconsc=
ious
of all this latent enmity until an unlooked-for incident, justifying in a
measure the Governor's demur, broke in upon the evening's festivities and
claimed her attention.
On the beach, lighted by torches, a dainty
minuet was proceeding gaily, when through the throng of onlookers, a young =
man
with dark head set on a frame tall and powerful, worked his way carefully t=
o a
point where he was afforded at least a restricted view of the animated
spectacle. Absorbed each in his or her way in the scene before them, no one=
noticed
him, and, with hat drawn over his brow, and standing in the shadow of the t=
owering
head-dresses of several peasant women, he seemed content to attract as litt=
le
attention to himself as possible.
His look, at first quick and alert, that of a man taking stock of hi=
s surroundings,
suddenly became intent and piercing, as, passing in survey over the lowly
spectators to the glittering company, it centered itself on the young mistr=
ess
of festivities.
In costume white and shining, the Lady Eli=
se
moved through the graceful numbers, her slender supple figure now poised, n=
ow
swaying, from head to foot responsive to the rhythm of that "pastime of
little steps." Her lips, too, were busy, but such was the witchery of =
her
motion--all fire and life!--the silk-stockinged cavaliers whom she thus reg=
aled
with wit, mockery, or jest, could, for the most part, respond only with adm=
iring
glances or weakly protesting words.
"That pretty fellow, her partner,&quo=
t;
with a contemptuous accent on the adjective, "is the Marquis de
Beauvillers, a kinsman of the King!" said one of the women in the thro=
ng.
"Ma foi! They're well matched. A dancing doll for a popinjay!&quo=
t;
The young man behind the head-dresses, now
nodding viciously, moved nearer the front.=
Dressed in the rough though not unpicturesque fashion of the northern
fisherman, a touch of color in his apparel lent to his bearing a note of
romance the bold expression of his swarthy face did not belie. For a few moments he watched the g=
irl;
the changing eyes and lips, shadowed by hair that shone and flashed like br=
ight
burnished gold; then catching her gaze, the black eyes gleamed. An instant
their eyes lingered; hers startled, puzzled.
"Where have I seen him?" My lady, in turning, paused to swi=
ng
over her shoulders a glance.
"Whom?" asked her companion in t=
he
dance--a fair, handsome nobleman of slim figure and elegant bearing.
"That's just what I can't tell you,&q=
uot;
she answered, sweeping a courtesy that fitted the rhythm of the music. "Only a face I should
remember!"
"Should?" The Marquis' look followed hers.
But the subject of their conversation, as =
if divining
the trend of their talk, had drawn back.
"Oh, he is gone now," she answer=
ed.
"A malcontent, perhaps! One meets them nowadays."
"No, no! He did not look--"
"Some poor fellow, then, your beauty =
has
entrapped?" he insinuated. "Humble admirer!"
"Then I would remember him!" she
laughed as the dance came to an end.
Now in a tented pavilion, servants, richly
garbed in festal costume, passed among the guests, circulating trays, bright
with golden dishes and goblets, stamped with the ancient insignia of the Mo=
unt,
and once the property of the affluent monks, early rulers of the place. Other attendants followed, bearing=
light
delicacies, confections and marvelous frosted towers and structures from the
castle kitchen.
"The patron saint in sugar!" Merry exclamations greeted these
examples of skill and cunning.
"Are we to devour the saint?"
"Ah, no; he is only to look at!"=
"But the Mount in cake--?"
"You may cut into that--though
beware!--not so deep as the dungeons!"
"A piece of the cloister!"
"A bit of the abbey!"
"And you, Elise?"
The girl reached gaily. "A little of the froth of the
sea!"
Meanwhile, not far distant, a barrel had b=
een
broached and wine was being circulated among the people. There, master of ceremonies, Beppo=
dispensed
advice with the beverage, his grumbling talk heard above the light laughter=
and
chatter of the lords and ladies.
"Drink to his Excellency!" As he spoke, the Governor's man, f=
rom
the elevated stand upon which he stood, gazed arrogantly around him. "=
Clods! Sponges that sop without a word of
thanks! Who only think of your
stomachs! Drink to the Govern=
or, I
say!"
"To the Governor!" exclaimed a f=
ew,
but it might have been noticed they were men from the town, directly beneath
the shadow of his Excellency's castle, and now close within reach of the fat
factotum's arm.
"Once more! Had I the ordering of wine, the ba=
rrels
would all be empty ones, but her ladyship would be generous, and--"
Beppo broke abruptly off, his wandering
glance, on a sudden, arrested.
"Hein!" he exclaimed, with eyes
protruding.
A moment he stammered a few words of surpr=
ise
and incredulity, the while he continued to search eagerly--but now in
vain! The object of his start=
led
attention, illumined, for an instant, on the outskirts of the throng, by the
glare of a torch, was no more to be descried. As questioning the reality of a fl=
eeting
impression, his gaze fixed itself again near the edge of flickering lights;
shifted uncertainly to the pavilion where servants from the Mount hurried to
and fro; then back to the people around him. His jaw which had dropped grew sud=
denly
firm.
"Clear a space for the dance!" he
called out in tones impatient, excited.&nb=
sp;
"It is her ladyship's command--so see you step blithely! And you fellows there, with the ta=
mbourin
and hautbois, come forward!"
Two men, clad in sheepskin and carrying ru=
de
instruments, obediently advanced, and at once, in marked contrast to the re=
cent
tinkling measures of the orchestra, a wild, half-barbaric concord rang out.=
But the Governor's man, having thus far
executed the orders he had received, did not linger to see whether or not h=
is
own injunction, "to step blithely," was observed; some concern,
remote from gaillarde, gavotte or bourree of the people, caused him hastily=
to
dismount from his stand and make his way from the throng. As he started at a rapid pace acro=
ss the
sands, his eyes, now shining with anticipation, looked back.
"What could have brought him here?
CHAPTER V - AN INTERRUPTION<=
/a>
"They seem not to appreciate your fete
champetre, my Lady!" At =
the verge
of the group of peasant dancers, the Lady Elise and the Marquis de Beauvill=
ers,
who had left the other guests to the enjoyment of fresh culinary surprises,
paused to survey a scene, intended, yet failing, to be festal. For whether these people were too =
sodden
to avail themselves of the opportunity for merrymaking, or liked not the no=
tion
of tripping together at Beppo's command, their movements, which should have
been free and untrammeled as the vigorous swing of the music, were characte=
rized
only by painful monotony and lagging.
In the half-gloom they came together like shadows; separated aimless=
ly
and cast misshapen silhouettes--caricatures of frolicking peasants--on the
broad surface of the sands beyond.
These bobbing, black spots my lady disapprovingly regarded.
"They seem not in the mood, truly!&qu=
ot;
tapping her foot on the beach.
"Here--and elsewhere!" he laughe=
d.
But the Governor's daughter made an impati=
ent
movement; memories of the dance, as she had often seen it, when she was a c=
hild
at the Mount, recurred to her.
"They seem to have forgotten!" Her eyes flashed. "I should like to show them.&=
quot;
"You? My Lady!"
She did not answer; pressing her red lips,=
she
glanced sharply around. "Stupid people! Half of them are only looking on!<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> When they can dance, they won't,
and--" She gave a slight
start, for near her, almost at her elbow, stood the young seaman she had
observed only a short time before, when the minuet was in progress. His dark eyes were bent on her and=
she
surprised on his face an expression half derisory, half quizzical. Her look changed to one of displea=
sure.
"You are not dancing?" severely.=
"No, my Lady." Too late, perhaps, he regretted his
temerity--that too unveiled and open regard.
"Why not?" more imperiously.
"I--" he began and stopped.
"You can dance?"
"A little, perhaps--"
"As well as they?" looking at the
people.
"Wooden fantoccini!" said the ma=
n, a
flicker of bold amusement returning to his face.
"Fantoccini?" spoke the girl
impatiently. "What know =
you of
them?"
"We Breton seamen sail far, on
occasion."
"Far enough to gain in assurance!&quo=
t;
cried my lady, with golden head high, surveying him disdainfully through
half-closed, sweeping lashes. "But you shall prove your right."
"Right?" asked the fellow, his e=
yes
fixed intently upon her.
"The right of one who does not dance-=
-to
criticize those who do!" she said pointedly, and made, on the sudden, =
an
imperious gesture.
He gave a start of surprise; audacious tho=
ugh
he was, he looked as if he would draw back. "What? With you, my Lady?"
A gleam of satisfaction, a little cold and
scornful, shone from the girl's eyes at this evidence of his discomfiture.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "Unless," she added mali=
ciously,
"you fear you--can not?"
"Fear?" His look shot around; a moment he =
seemed
to hesitate; then a more reckless expression swept suddenly over his dark
features and he sprang to her side.
"At your Ladyship's command!"
My lady's white chin lifted. The presumptuous fellow knew the d=
ance
of the Mount--danced it well, no doubt!--else why such ease and assurance? =
Her
lids veiled a look of disappointment; she was half-minded curtly to dismiss
him, when a few words of low remonstrance and the sight of my lord's face
decided her. She drew aside h=
er
skirts swiftly; flashed back at the nobleman a smile, capricious and wilful=
.
"They," indicating the peasants,
"must have an example, my Lord!" she exclaimed, and stood, with e=
yes
sparkling, waiting the instant to catch up the rhythm.
But the Marquis, not finding the reason
sufficient to warrant such condescension, gazed with mute protest and
disapproval on the two figures, so ill-assorted: my lady, in robe of satin,
fastened with tassels of silver--the sleeves, wide and short, trimmed at the
elbow with fine lace of Brussels and drawn up at the shoulder with glisteni=
ng knots
of diamonds; the other, clad in the rough raiment of a seaman! The nice,
critical sense of the Marquis suffered from this spectacle of the incongruo=
us;
his eyes, seeking in vain those of the Governor's daughter, turned and rest=
ed
querulously on the heavy-browed peasants, most of whom, drawing nearer, vie=
wed
the scene with stolid indifference.
In the gaze of only a few did that first stupid expression suffer any
change; then it varied to one of vague wonder, half-apathetic inquiry!
"Is he mad?" whispered a clod of
this class to a neighbor.
"Not so loud!" breathed the othe=
r in
a low tone.
"But he," regarding with dull awe
the young fisherman, "doesn't care! Look! What foolhardiness! He's going to dance with her!"=
;
"Witchcraft! That's what I call it!"
"Hush!"
My lady extended the tips of her fingers.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "Attack well!" runs the =
old Gallic
injunction to dancers; the partner she had chosen apparently understood its
significance. A lithe muscula=
r hand
closed on the small one; whirled my lady swiftly; half back again. It took away her breath a little, =
so
forcible and unceremonious that beginning!=
Then, obeying the mad rhythm of the movement, she yielded to the
infectious measure. An arm quickly encircled her waist; swept the slender f=
orm here,--there. Never had she had partner so vigor=
ous,
yet graceful. One who understood so well this song of the soil; its wild
symbolism; the ancient music of the hardy Scandinavians who first brought t=
he dance
to these shores.
More stirring, the melodies
resounded--faster--faster. In=
a
rapid turn, the golden hair just brushed the dark, glowing face. He bent lower; as if she had been =
but a
peasant maid, the bold eyes looked now down into hers; nay, more--in their
depths she might fancy almost a warmer sparkle--of mute admiration! And her face, on a sudden, changed=
; grew
cold.
"Certes, your Ladyship sets them an
example!" murmured the audacious fellow. "Though, pardi!--one not easy=
to
imitate!"
She threw back her head, proudly, imperiou=
sly;
the brown eyes gleamed, and certain sharp words of reproof were about to sp=
ring
from her lips, when abruptly, above the sound of the music, a trumpet call,
afar, rang out. My lady--not =
sorry
perhaps of the pretext--at once stopped.
"I thank your Ladyship," said the
man and bowed low.
But the Governor's daughter seemed, or
affected, not to hear, regarding the other dancers, who likewise had come t=
o a
standstill--the two musicians looking up from instruments now silent. A moment yet the young fisherman
lingered; seemed about once more to voice his acknowledgments, but, catching
the dull eye of a peasant, stepped back instead.
"Sapristi! They might, at least, have waited =
until
the end of the dance!" he muttered, and, with a final look over his
shoulder and a low laugh, disappeared in the crowd.
"Where are the enemy?" It was the Marquis who spoke--in a=
ccents
he strove to make light and thereby conceal, perhaps, possible annoyance. C=
oming
forward, he looked around toward the point whence the sound had proceeded.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "If I mistake not," a no=
te of
inquiry in his tone, "it means--a call to arms!"
My lady bit her lips; her eyes still gleam=
ed
with the bright cold light of a topaz.&nbs=
p;
"Why--a call to arms?" she asked somewhat petulantly, rais=
ing
her hand to her hair, a little disarranged in the dance.
"Perhaps, as a part of the military
discipline?" murmured the Marquis dubiously. "See!" With sudden interest, he indicated=
a
part of the Mount that had been black against the star-spangled sky, now
showing sickly points of light.
"It does mean something!
They are coming down!"
And even as the Marquis spoke, a clatter of
hoofs on the stone pavement leading from the Mount to the sand ushered a
horseman into view. He was fo=
llowed
by another and yet another, until in somewhat desultory fashion, owing to t=
he
tortuous difficulties of the narrow way that had separated them above, an a=
rray
of mounted men was gathered at the base of the rock. But only for a moment; a few words=
from
one of their number, evidently in command, and they dispersed; some to ride
around the Mount to the left, others to the right.
"Perhaps Elise will enlighten
us?" Of one accord her g=
uests
now crowded around the girl.
"Does the Governor intend to take us
prisoners?"
"You imply it is necessary to do that=
--to
keep you?" answered my lady.
"Then why--"
Her expression, as perplexed as theirs,
answered.
"Beppo!" She waved her hand.
The Governor's servitor, who was passing, =
with
an anxious, inquiring look upon his face, glanced around.
"Beppo!" she repeated, and becko=
ned
again.
The man approached. "Your Ladyship wishes to spea=
k with
me?" he asked in a voice he endeavored to make unconcerned.
"I do." In her manner the old antipathy sh=
e had
felt toward him as a child again became manifest. "What do the soldiers want? Why have they come down?"
His eyes shifted. "I--my Lady--" he stamme=
red.
The little foot struck the strand. "Why don't you answer? You heard my question?"
"I am sorry, my Lady--" Again he hesitated: "Le Seign=
eur
Noir has been seen on the beach!"
"Le Seigneur Noir?" she repeated=
.
"Yes, my Lady. He was caught sight of among the
peasants, at the time the barrels were opened, in accordance with your
Ladyship's command. I assure =
your
Ladyship," with growing eagerness, "there can be no mistake,
as--"
"Who," interrupted my lady sharp=
ly,
"is this Black Seigneur?"
Beppo's manner changed. "A man," he said solemnl=
y,
"his Excellency, the Governor, has long been most anxious to
capture."
The girl's eyes flashed with impatience, a=
nd
then she began to laugh. "Saw you ever, my Lords and Ladies, his equal=
for
equivocation? You put to him =
the
question direct, and he answers--"
The loud report of a carbine from the other
side of the Mount, followed by a desultory volley, interrupted her. The laughter died on her lips; the=
color
left her cheek.
"What--" The startled look in her eyes comp=
leted
the sentence.
Beppo rubbed his hands softly. "His Excellency takes no
chances!" he murmured.
CHAPTER VI - A MESSENGER FOR MY LADY
"So you failed to capture him, Monsie=
ur
le Commandant?"
The speaker, the Marquis de Beauvillers,
leaned more comfortably back in his chair in the small, rather barely furni=
shed
barracks' sitting-room in which he found himself later that night and langu=
idly
surveyed the florid, irate countenance of the man in uniform before him.
"No, Monsieur le Marquis," said =
the
latter, endeavoring to conceal any evidence of mortification or ill humor in
the presence of a visitor so distinguished; "we didn't. But," as if to turn the
conversation, with a gesture toward a well-laden table, "I should feel
honored if--"
"Thank you, no! After our repast on the beach--how=
ever,
stand on no ceremony yourself. Nay,
I insist--"
"If Monsieur le Marquis
insists!--" The commanda=
nt
drew up his chair; then, reaching for a bottle, poured out a glass of wine,
which he offered his guest.
"No, no!" said the Marquis. "But as I remarked before, st=
and on
no ceremony!" And dainti=
ly
opening a snuff-box, he watched his host with an expression half-amused,
half-ironical.
That person ate and drank with little reli=
sh;
the wine--so he said--had spoiled; and the dishes were without flavor; it w=
as
fortunate Monsieur le Marquis had no appetite--
Whereupon the Marquis smiled; but, conside=
ring
the circumstances, in his own mind excused the commandant, who had only just
come from the Governor's palace, and who, after the interview that undoubte=
dly
had ensued, could hardly be expected to find the pate palatable, or the win=
e to
his liking. This, despite the
complaisance of the young nobleman whom the commandant had encountered, whi=
le
descending from the Governor's abode, and who, adapting his step to the oth=
er's
had accompanied the officer back to his quarters, and graciously accepted an
invitation to enter.
"Well, you know the old saying,"=
the
Marquis closed the box with a snap, "'There's many a slip'--but how,&q=
uot;
airily brushing with his handkerchief imaginary particles from a long lace
cuff, "did he get away?"
"He had got away before we were down =
on
the beach. It was a wild-goose
chase, at best. And so I told=
his
Excellency, the Governor--"
"A thankless task, no doubt! But the shots we heard--"
"An imbecile soldier saw a shadow; fi=
red
at it, and--"
"The others followed suit?" laug=
hed
the visitor.
"Exactly!" The commandant's face grew red; fi=
ercely
he pulled at his mustache.
"What can one expect, when they make soldiers out of every dund=
erpate
that comes along?"
"True!" assented the Marquis. I confess," languidly, "=
to a
mild curiosity."
"He's a privateersman and an outlaw, =
and
has done enough to hang himself a dozen times--"
"When you capture him!" interpos=
ed
the visitor lightly. A moment=
he studied
the massive oak beams of the ceiling.
"Why do they call him the Black Seigneur? An odd sobriquet!"
"His father was a Seigneur--the last =
of
the fief of Desaurac. The Sei=
gneurs
have all been fair men for generations, while this fellow--"
"Then he has noble blood in
him?" The Marquis showed
surprise. "Where is the
fief?"
"The woods on the shore mark the
beginning of it."
"But--I don't understand. The father was a Seigneur; the
son--"
Bluntly the commandant explained; the son =
was
a natural child; the mother, a common peasant woman whom the former Seigneur
had taken to his house--
"I see!" The young nobleman tapped his knee=
. "And that being the case--&qu=
ot;
"Under the terms of the ancient grant, there being no legal heir, the lands were confiscated to the crown. His Excellency, however, had alrea= dy bought many of the incumbrances against the property, and, in view of this,= and his services to the King, the fief, declared forfeited by the courts, was subsequently granted and deeded, without condition, to the Governor."<= o:p>
"To the Governor!" repeated the
Marquis.
"Who at once began a rare clearing-ou=
t;
forcing the peasants who for years had not been paying metayage, to meet th=
is
just requirement, or--move away!"
"And did not some of them object?&quo=
t;
"They did; but his Excellency found
means. The most troublesome w=
ere arrested
and taken to the Mount, where they have had time to reflect--his Excellency
believes in no half-way measures with peasants."
"A rich principality, no doubt!"
half to himself spoke the Marquis.
"I have heard," blurted the
commandant, "he's going to give it to the Lady Elise; restore the old
castle and turn the grounds surrounding it into a noble park."
The visitor frowned, as if little liking t=
he
introduction of the lady's name into the conversation. "And what did the Black Seign=
eur do
then," he asked coldly, "when he found his lands gone?"
"Claimed it was a plot!--that his mot=
her
was an honest woman, though neither the priest who performed the ceremony n=
or
the marriage records could be found.
He even resisted at first--refused to be turned out--and, skulking a=
bout
the forest with his gun, kept the deputies at bay. But they surrounded him at last; d=
rove
him to the castle, and would have captured him, only he escaped that night,=
and
took to the high seas, where he has been making trouble ever since!"
"Trouble?"
"He has seriously hampered his
Excellency's commerce; interfered with his ships, and crippled his trade wi=
th
the Orient."
"But--the Governor has many boats, ma=
ny
men. Why have they failed to =
capture
him?"
"For a number of reasons. In the first place he is one of th=
e most
skilful pilots on the coast; when hard pressed, he does not hesitate to use
even the Isles des Rochers as a place of refuge."
"The Isles des Rochers?" queried=
the
nobleman.
"A chevaux-de-frise on the sea, my
Lord!" continued the commandant; "where fifty barren isles are
fortified by a thousand rocks; frothing fangs when the tide is low; sharp t=
eeth
that lie in wait to bite when the smiling lips of the treacherous waters ha=
ve
closed above! There, the Gove=
rnor's
ships have followed him on several occasions, and--few of them have come
back!"
"But surely there must be times when =
he
can not depend on that retreat?"
"There are, my Lord. His principal harbor and resort is=
a
little isle farther north--English, they call it--that offers refuge at any
time to miscreants from France.
There may they lie peacefully, as in a cradle; or go ashore with
impunity, an they like. Oh, h=
e is
safe enough there. Home for French exiles, they designate the place. Exiles! Bah! It was there he first found means =
to get
his ship--sharing his profits, no doubt, with the islander who built her. There, too, he mustered his crew--=
savage
peasants who had been turned off the lands of the old Seigneur; fisher-folk=
who
had become outlaws rather than pay to the Governor just dues from the sea; =
men
fled from the banalite of the mill, of the oven, of the wine-press--"<=
o:p>
"Still must he be a redoubtable fello=
w,
to have done what he did to-night; to have dared mingle with the people, un=
der
the Governor's very guns!"
"The people! He has nothing to fear from them.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> An ignorant, low, disloyal lot!
"An insurrection?" The Marquis' delicate features exp=
ressed
ironical protest; he dismissed the possibility with an airy wave of the han=
d. "One
should never anticipate trouble, Monsieur le Commandant," he said ligh=
tly
and rose. "Good night.&q=
uot;
"Good night, Monsieur le Marquis,&quo=
t;
returned the officer with due deference, and accompanied his noble visitor =
to
the door.
At first, without the barracks, the Marquis
walked easily on, but soon the steepness of the narrow road, becoming more
marked as it approached the commanding structures at the top of the Mount,
caused his gait gradually to slacken; then he paused altogether, at an upper
platform.
From where he stood, by day could be seen,
almost directly beneath, the tiny habitations of men clinging like limpets =
to
the precipitous sides of the rocks at the base; now was visible only a void=
, an
abysm, out of which swam the sea; so far below, a boat looked no larger tha=
n a
gull on its silver surface; so immense, the dancing waves seemed receding t=
o a
limit beyond the reach of the heavens.
"You found him?" A girl's clear voice broke suddenl=
y upon
him. He wheeled.
"Elise! You!"
"Yes! why not? You found him? The commandant?"
"At your command, but--"
"And learned all?"
"All he could tell."
"It is reported at the castle that the
man escaped!" quickly.
"It is true. But," in a voice of languid
surprise, "I believe you are glad--"
"No, no!" She shook her head. "Only," a smile curved h=
er
lips, "Beppo will be so disappointed!=
Now," seating herself lightly on the low wall of the giant ramp=
art,
"tell me all you have learned about this Black Seigneur."
The Marquis, considered; with certain
reservations obeyed. At the c=
onclusion
of his narrative, she spoke no word and he turned to her inquiringly. Her brows were knit; her eyes
down-bent. A moment he regard=
ed her
in silence; then she looked up at him suddenly.
"I wonder," she said, her face
bathed in the moonlight, "if--if it was this Black Seigneur I danced
with?"
"The Black Seigneur!" My lord started; frowned. "Nonsense! What an absurd fancy! He would not have dared!"
"True," said the girl quickly. "You are right, my Lord. It is absurd. He would not have
dared."
CHAPTER VII - A DISTANT MENACE
But guests come and guests go; pastimes dr=
aw
to a close, and the hour arrives when the curtain falls on the masque. The friends of my lady, however
reluctantly, were obliged at last to forgo further holiday-making, depart f=
rom
the Mount, and return to the court.
An imposing cavalcade, gleaming in crimson and gold, they wended down
the dark rock; laughing ladies, pranked-out cavaliers who waved their perfu=
med
hands with farewell kisses to the grim stronghold in the desert, late their
palace of pleasure, and to the young mistress thereof.
"Good-by, Elise!" The Marquis was last to go.
"Good-by."
He took her hand; held it to his lips. On the whole, he was not ill-pleas=
ed. His wooing had apparently prospere=
d;
for, although the marriage had been long arranged, my lady's beauty and
capriciousness had fanned in him the desire to appear a successful suitor f=
or
her heart as well as her hand. If
sometimes she laughed and thus failed to receive his delicate gallantries in
the mood in which they were tendered, the Marquis' vanity only allowed him =
to
conclude that a woman does not laugh if she is displeased. It was enough that she found him d=
iverting;
he served her; they were friends and had danced and ridden through the spri=
ng
days in amicable fashion.
"Good-by," he repeated. "When are you coming to court
again? The Queen is sure to
ask. I understand her Majesty=
is
planning all manner of brilliant entertainments, yet Versailles--without yo=
u,
Elise!"
"Me?" arching her finely penciled
brows. "Oh, I'm thinking=
of
staying here, becoming a nun, and restoring the Mount to its old religious =
prestige."
"Then I'll come back a monk," he
returned in the same tone.
"If you come back at all!"
provokingly. "There, go!=
The others will soon be out of
sight!"
"I, too--alas, Elise!"
He touched his horse; rode on, but soon lo=
oked
back to where, against a great, grim wall, stood a figure all in white glea=
ming
in the sunshine. The Marquis stopped; drew from his breast a deep red rose,
and, gazing upward, gracefully kissed the glowing token. Beneath the aureole of golden hair=
my
lady's proud face rewarded him with a faint smile, and something--a tiny
handkerchief--fluttered like a dove above the frowning, time-worn rock. At that, with the eloquent gesture=
of a troubadour,
he threw his arm backward, as if to launch the impress on the rose to the
crimson lips of the girl, and then, plying his spurs, galloped off.
And as he went at a pace, headlong if not
dangerous and fitting the exigencies of the moment, my lord smiled. Truly had he presented a perfect, =
dainty
and gallant figure for any woman's eyes, and the Lady Elise, he fancied, was
not the least discerning of her sex.
And had he seen the girl, when an unkind angle of the wall hid him f=
rom
sight, his own nice estimate of the situation would have suffered no
change. The Mount, which form=
erly
had resounded to the life and merriment of the people from the court, on a
sudden to her looked cold, barren, empty.
"Heigh-ho!" she murmured, stretc=
hing
her arms toward that point where he--they--had vanished. "I shall die of ennui, I am
sure!" And thoughtfully
retraced her steps to her own room.
But she did not long stay there; by way of
makeshift for gaiety, substituted activity. The Mount, full of early recollect=
ions
and treasure-house mystery, furnished an incentive for exploration, and for=
several
days she devoted herself to its study; now pausing for an instant's
contemplation of a sculptured thing of beauty, then before some closed door
that held her, as at the threshold of a Bluebeard's forbidden chamber.
One day, such a door stood open and her
curiosity became cured. She h=
ad
passed beneath a machicolated gateway, and climbing a stairway that began i=
n a
watch-tower, found herself unexpectedly on a great platform. Here several m=
en,
unkempt, pale, like creatures from another world, were walking to and fro; =
but
at sight of her, an order was issued and they vanished through a trap--all =
save
one, a misshapen dwarf who remained to shut the iron door, adjust the faste=
ning
and turn a ponderous key. For=
a
moment she stood staring.
"Why did you do that?" she asked
angrily.
"The Governor's orders," said the
man, bowing hideously. "=
They
are to see no one."
"Then let them up at once! Do you hear? At once!"
And as he began to unlock the door, walked
off. After that, her interest=
in
the rock waned; the Mount seemed but a prison; she, herself, desired only to
escape from it.
"Have my saddle put on Saladin,"=
she
said to Beppo the next day, toward the end of a long afternoon.
"Very well, my Lady. Who accompanies your Ladyship?&quo=
t;
"No one!" With slight emphasis. "I ride alone."
Beppo discretely suppressed his surprise.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "Is your Ladyship going far? =
If so,
I beg to remind that to-night is the change of the moon, and the 'grand,' n=
ot
the 'little' tide may be coming in."
"I was already aware of it, and shall
keep between the Mount and the shore.
Have my horse sent to the upper gate," she added, and soon afte=
rward
rode down.
The town was astir, and many looked after =
her
as she passed; not kindly, but with the varying expressions she had of late
begun to notice. Again was she
cognizant of that feeling of secret antagonism, even from these people whose
houses clung to the very foundations of her own abode, and her lips set
tightly. Why did they hate
her? What right had they to h=
ate
her? A sensation, almost of r=
elief,
came over her, when passing through the massive, feudal gate, she found her=
self
on the beach.
Still and languorous was the day; not a br=
eath
stirred above the tiny ripples of the sand; a calm, almost unnatural, seeme=
d to
wrap the world in its embrace. The
girl breathed deeper, feeling the closeness of the air; her impatient eyes
looked around; scanned the shore; to the left, low and flat--to the right,
marked by the dark fringe of a forest. Which way should she go? Irresolutely she turned in the dir=
ection
of the wood.
Saladin, her horse, seemed in unusually fi=
ne
fettle, and the distance separating her from the land was soon covered; but
still she continued to follow the shore, swinging around and out toward a p=
oint
some distance seaward. Not un=
til
she had reached that extreme projection of land, where the wooing green cre=
pt
out from the forest as far as it might, did she draw rein. Saladin stopped, albeit with prote=
st, tossing
his great head.
"You might as well make an end of tha=
t,
sir!" said the girl, and, springing from the saddle, deftly secured
him. Then turning her back to=
ward
the Mount, a shadowy pyramid in the distance, she seated herself in the gra=
ss
with her eyes to the woods.
Not long, however, did my lady remain thus;
soon rising, she walked toward the shadowy depths. At the verge she paused; her brows=
grew thoughtful;
what was it the woods recalled?
Suddenly, she remembered--a boy she had met the night she left for
school so long ago, had told her he lived in them. She recalled, too, as a child, how=
the
woman, Marie, who had been maid to her mother, had tried to frighten her ab=
out
that sequestered domain, with tales of fierce wild animals and unearthly
creatures, visible and invisible, that roamed within.
She had no fear now, though faint rustlings
and a pulsation of sound held her listening. Then, through the leafy interstice=
, a
gleaming and flashing, as if some one were throwing jewels to the earth, lu=
red
her on to the cause of the seeming enchantment--a tiny waterfall!
The moment passed; still she lingered. Around the Mount's high top, her o=
wn
home, only transcendent silence reigned; here was she surrounded by babbling
voices and all manner of merry creatures--lively little squirrels; winged
insects, romping in the twilight shade; a portly and well-satisfied appeari=
ng
green monster who regarded her amicably from a niche of green. A butterfly, poised and waving its=
wings,
held her a long time--until she was suddenly aroused by the wood growing
darker. Raising her eyes, she=
saw
through the green foliage overhead that the bright sky had become sunless.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> At the same time a rumbling detona=
tion,
faint, far-off, broke in upon the whisperings and tinklings of that wood
nook. Getting up, she stood f=
or a
moment listening; then walked away.
Near the verge of the sand, Saladin greeted
her with impatience, tossing his head toward the darkening heavens. Nor did he wait until she was fair=
ly
seated before starting back at a rapid gait along the shore. But the girl offered no protest; h=
er
face showed only enjoyment. A
little wild he might be at times, as became one of rugged ancestry, but nev=
er
vicious, only headstrong! And=
she
didn't mind that--
Already had he begun to slack that first
thundering pace when something white--a veil, perhaps, dropped from the
cavalcade of lords and ladies some days before on the land and wafted to the
beach--fluttered like a live thing suddenly before him. In his tense mood, Saladin, affrig=
hted,
sprang to one side; then wheeling outright, madly took the bit in his
teeth. Perforce his mistress
resigned herself, sitting straight and sure, with little hands hard and fir=
m at
the reins. Saladin was behaving very badly, but--at least he was superb, wo=
rth conquering,
if--
A brief thrill of apprehension seized her =
as,
again drawing near the point of land, he showed no signs of yielding; resis=
ted
all her attempts to turn, to direct him to it. With nostrils thrust forward and
breathing strong, he continued to choose his own course; to whirl her on; p=
ast
the promontory; around into the great bay beyond--now a vast expanse, or de=
sert
of sand, broken only, about half-way across, by the small isle of Casque. Toward this rocky formation, a pyg=
my to
the great Mount from which it lay concealed by the intervening projection of
land, the horse rushed.
On, on!&n=
bsp;
In vain she still endeavored to stop him; thinking uneasily of stori=
es
the fishermen told of this neighboring coast; of the sands that often shift=
ed
here, setting pitfalls for the unwary.&nbs=
p;
She saw the sky grow yet darker, noted the nearer flashings of light,
and heard the louder rumblings that followed. Then presently another danger she =
had long
been conscious of, on a sudden became real.
She saw, or thought she saw, a faint strea=
k,
like a silver line drawn across the sky where the yellow sands touched the
sombrous horizon. And Saladin seemed to observe it, too; to detect in it ca=
use
for wonder; reason for hesitation.
At any rate, that headlong speed now showed signs of diminishing; he
clipped and tossed the sand less vigorously, and looked around at his mistr=
ess
with wild, uneasy eyes. Again she spoke to him; pulled with all her strengt=
h at
the reins, and, at once, he stopped.
None too soon! Great drops of rain had begun to f=
all,
but the girl did not notice them.
The white line alone riveted her attention! It seemed to grow broader; to acqu=
ire an
intangible movement of its own; at the same time to give out a sound--a
strange, low droning that filled the air.&=
nbsp;
Heard for the first time, a stranger at the Mount would have found it
inexplicable; to the Governor's daughter, the menacing cadence left no room=
for
doubt as to its origin.
The girl's cheek paled; her gaze swung in =
the
opposite direction, toward the point of land, now so distant. Could they reach it? She did not believe they could; in=
deed,
the "grand" tide coming up behind on the verge of the storm, fast=
er
than any horse could gallop, would overtake them midway. And Saladin seemed to know it also;
beneath her, he trembled. Yet=
must
they try, she thought, and had tightened the reins to turn, when looking ah=
ead
once more, she discerned a break in the forbidding cliffs of the little isl=
and
of Casque, and, back of the fissure, a shining spot which marked a tiny cov=
e.
A moment she hesitated; what should she
do? Ride toward the isle and =
the
white danger, or toward the point of mainland and from it? Either alternative was a desperate=
one,
but the isle lay much nearer; and quickly, the brown eyes gleaming with sud=
den
courage, she decided; touched her horse and pressed him forward.
But fast as she went the "grand"
tide came faster; struck with a loud, menacing sound the seaward side of the
isle and swung hungrily around. My lady cast over her shoulder a quick glan=
ce;
the cove, however, was near; only a line of small rocks, jutting from the s=
and,
separated her from it. If they
could but pass, she thought; they had passed, she told herself joyfully, wh=
en
of a sudden the horse stumbled; fell. Thrown violently from his back, a mom=
ent
was she cognizant of a deafening roar; a riotous advance of foam; above, a
hundred birds that screamed distractedly; then all these sounds mingled;
darkness succeeded, and she remembered no more.
CHAPTER VIII - THE OLD WATCH-TOWER<=
/span>
A wall!&n=
bsp;
A window--a prison-like interior!&n=
bsp;
As her eyes opened, the Governor's daughter strove confusedly to
decipher her surroundings. The wall seemed real; the narrow window, too, hi=
gh
above, framing, against a darkening background, a slant of fine rain! Again she closed her eyes, only to=
be
conscious of a gentle languor; a heaviness like that of half-sleep; of bodi=
ly
heat, and also a little bodily pain.
For an indefinite period, really a moment or two, she resigned herse=
lf
to that dreamy torpor; then, with an effort, lifted her lashes once more.
As she gazed before her, something bright
seemed leaping back and forth; a flame--that played on the wall; revealing =
the
joints between the stones of massive masonry; casting shadows, but to wipe =
them
out; paling near a small window, the only aperture apparent in the cell-lik=
e place. Turning from the flickerings, her =
glance
quickly sought their source--a fire in a hearth, before which she lay--or
half-sat, propped against a stone.
But why?&=
nbsp;
The spot was strange; in her ears sounded a buzzing, like the murmur=
of
a waterfall. She remembered n=
ow;
she had lingered before one--in the woods; and Saladin had run away, madly,
across the sands, until--my lady raised her hand to her brow; abruptly let =
it
fall. In the shadow on the ot=
her
side of the hearth some one moved; some one who had been watching her and w=
ho
now stepped out into the light.
"Are you better?" said a voice.<= o:p>
She stared. On the bold, swarthy features of a=
young
man now standing and looking down at her, the light flared and gleamed; the
open shirt revealed a muscular throat; the down-turned black eyes were stea=
dy, solicitous. His appearance was unexpected, yet=
not
quite strange; she had seen him before, but, in the general surprise and
perplexity of the moment, did not ask herself where. The interval between what she last=
remembered
on the beach--the rush and swirl of water--and what she woke to, absorbed t=
he
hazy workings of her mind.
The young man stopped; stirred the fire, a=
nd
after a pause, apparently to give her time to collect her thoughts, repeated
his question: "Are you better, now?"
"Oh, yes," she said, with an eff=
ort,
half sitting up. And then irr=
elevantly,
with rather a wild glance about her: "Isn't--isn't it storming
outside?"
"A little--not much--" A smile crossed the dark features.=
"I remember," she added, as if
forcing herself to speak, "it had just begun to, on the beach, when
it--the 'grand' tide--" =
The
words died away; mechanically she lifted her hand, brushed back the shining
waves of hair.
"Why think of it now?" he interp=
osed
gently.
"But," uncertainly she smoothed =
her
skirt; it was damp and warm; "I suppose this is the island of
Casque?"
"Yes."
"And this place?"
"The old watch-tower."
"But how--" Then she noticed that his hands, l=
ong,
brown and well-formed, were cut and bruised; bore many jagged marks as from=
a fierce
struggle. "How did you h=
urt
your hands?"
He thrust them into his pockets.
"Was it from the rocks--and the
waves? How did I get here?&qu=
ot;
"Oh, I was standing on the cliff,&quo=
t;
he answered carelessly, "and--saw your horse running away!"
"You did? And then--came down?"
"What else was there to do?" he =
said
simply.
Her gaze returned to the fire. "But the tide was rushing
in--rushing! it was right upon me!"
She looked again toward the pockets into w=
hich
his hands were thrust; observed his shirt, torn at the shoulder; then arose
unsteadily. "I know--it =
was
not so easy!" she said.
"It was brave of you--"
"Your Ladyship is no coward!" he
interrupted, a sparkle in his eyes. "When you turned the horse toward =
the
tide, I was watching; hoping you would dare, and you did!"
About to reply, she became once more aware=
she
was still very dizzy from the fall on the sand; the shapely figure swayed a=
nd
she put out her hand with a gesture of helplessness. At the same time, the man reached
forward quickly and caught her. A
moment was she conscious of a firm grasp; a dark, anxious gaze bent upon he=
r;
then, slid gently back to the stone seat.
A brief interval, and gradually she began =
to
see again more distinctly--a man's face, not far from hers; a face that drew
back as her own look cleared. At a
respectful distance he now stood, his bearing at once erect and buoyant, and
more curiously she regarded him. A distinct type, here pride and intelligen=
ce
stamped themselves strongly on the dark, handsome features; courage and dar=
ing
were written on the bold, self-reliant brow. And with this realization of somet=
hing
distinctive, compelling, in his personality, came another.
"I have seen you--spoken with you
before! On the beach--the nig=
ht of the
dance!"
The young man turned. "Your Ladyship so far honored
me--as to dance with me!" he said, in his eyes a touch of that brightn=
ess
that had caused her to regard him imperiously, as he had swung her to the m=
easure
of the music, on the occasion in question.
"Started to!" She corrected him, straightening
suddenly at the recollection of that evening, when humility and modesty were
virtues conspicuously wanting in his demeanor.
"Your Ladyship is right," he said
quietly. "An alarm from =
the
Mount interrupted."
She glanced at him quickly. His eyes met hers with a look of
unconcern.
"Are you--a fisherman?" she asked
abruptly.
"On occasions."
"And when you are not one--what are y=
ou
then?"
"At times--a hunter."
"Ah!" Her eye lingered on something brig=
ht on
the ledge beneath the window.
"And that is the reason you have--pistols?"
"Exactly, my Lady!"
She continued to regard the weapons, of fi=
nest
workmanship, inlaid with a metal that gleamed dully, like gold, in the light
from the fire. His glance fol=
lowed
hers; she was about to speak, when quickly he interrupted.
"Has your Ladyship thought how she is
going to get back to the Mount?"
My lady's questioning, along the line of
personal inquiry, ceased; the Governor's daughter looked a little blank.
"Not here."
"Then you walked over?"
He neither affirmed, nor denied.
"And the tide will not be out for
hours!" Her look showed =
consternation;
she glanced toward the opening in the wall. "Isn't it becoming dark now?&=
quot;
"Yes, my Lady."
"Of course, it was almost sundown
when-- But I must return at o=
nce! Don't
you understand?"
He regarded her silently; the beautiful,
impatient eyes; the slim, white fingers that tapped restlessly, one against
another. "I will do what=
I
can!" he said at last slowly.
"But what?" she demanded. "What can you do?"
He did not answer; my lady made a gesture.=
"How ridiculous! A prisoner on an island!"
"There may be a way," he began.<= o:p>
"My horse?" she said quickly.
"He was swept away by the tide!"=
Into the proud eyes came a softer light--of
regret, pain.
"Your Ladyship should remember it mig=
ht
have been worse," he added, in tones intended to reassure her. "After all, it was only a
horse--"
"Only a horse!" she exclaimed
indignantly. "But, I sup=
pose
you can't understand--caring for a horse!"
"I can understand caring for a
ship!" he answered quickly, a flash of amusement, hardly concealed, in=
his
bold, dark eyes.
"A ship!" scornfully; "dead=
wood
and iron."
"Live wood and iron! Beautiful as--" The simile failed him; he looked a=
t my
lady. "Something to be
depended on, with a hand to the wheel, and an eye keen for mad dancings and
curvetings."
"I might appreciate them better,"
she interrupted dryly, with delicate brows uplifted, "an they brought =
me
nearer to the Mount. That, an=
d not idle
opinions," in accents that conveyed surprise at the temerity of one in=
his
position to express them, "is of most moment!"
He accepted the reproof with a readiness t=
hat
further surprised her. "Your Ladyship is right," he said. "I will see what may be done.=
The storm has passed. There is yet daylight, and"--=
an
expression, almost preoccupied, came to his features--"a boat may be
sighted."
"To be sure!" At the prospect, all other
considerations passed from my lady's mind.=
"A boat may be sighted!
Why did you not think of it before?=
Come! Too much time has
already been lost." And =
she
rose.
"One moment!" His voice was quie=
t;
respectful; although, she fancied, constrained. "I had better go alone. The way to the cliff is rough, and=
--"
"I shall not mind that!"
"Besides, your clothes--"
"Are dry!"
"No!" She flushed at the abrupt
contradiction. "I mean, I
don't see how they could be!" he went on hurriedly, "and," h=
is
tone assumed a certain obduracy, "I assure your Ladyship, it will be
best."
"Best?" She looked at him more sharply.
"Why?" A trace of embarrassment, for an
instant, crossed his dark features.
"What other reason, my Lady?"
"That I know not!" quickly, assu=
red
her words had struck home.
"Only I am certain there is one!"
"Then, if your Ladyship must know,&qu=
ot;
he spoke slowly. "I did =
not
wish to alarm you. But this i=
s a
rough coast, with--many rough people about--smugglers, privateersmen--"=
;
"Whom you, perhaps, are expecting?&qu=
ot;
she cried suddenly.
"I!" with a careless laugh. "A fisherman! Your Ladyship is imaginative--&quo=
t; he
began, when a sudden, hasty footstep clinked on the stones without; a hand
caught at the fastenings of the door; flung it open.
"I thought I should find you here,
Seigneur!" exclaimed a voice. "Since--"
The young man made a movement and the spea=
ker
stopped; caught sight of my lady, just beyond, in the fading light. And at the picture--her figure beh=
ind
that other one--the fine, patrician features, framed by the disordered gold=
en
hair, the widely opened eyes, bright, expectant, the intruder started back.=
"The Governor's daughter! You, Seigneur!" he stammered,=
and,
raising his hand, involuntarily crossed himself.
"Why did you do that?" It was Lady Elise who now spoke, l=
ifting
her head haughtily to regard the new-comer, as she stepped toward him. &quo=
t;Cross
yourself, I mean?"
"This good fellow, my Lady, is surpri=
sed
to see you here, and small wonder he forgets his manners!" said the yo=
ung
man coolly, speaking for the other.
"But he is honest enough--and--intends no disrespect!"
"None whatever!" muttered the
intruder, a thin, wizened, yet still active-looking person.
My lady did not reply; her gaze, in which
suspicion had become conviction, again met the young man's, whose black eyes
now gleamed with a sudden, challenging light.
"With your permission, my Lady, I will
speak with this fellow," he said, and abruptly strode from the tower;
walked a short distance away, followed by the man, when he stopped.
"Certes, your tongue betrayed you that
time, Sanchez!" he said confronting the other.
The man made a rough gesture. "C'est vrai!"
regretfully. "But when I=
saw
you two together I thought I had seen a--" He stopped. "She is so like--"
"Nay; I don't blame you; the sight was
certainly unexpected! I had t=
hought
to come down and prepare you, but--'tis done!"
"And I knew what it meant." The old servant looked over his sh=
oulder
toward the tower.
"Call it magic!" with a short la=
ugh.
"Diablerie!" muttered the other.=
"Well, have your way! Why," abruptly, "did you=
not
meet me here last night at high tide, as we had planned?"
"The priest came not in time; fearing=
he
was watched, waited until night to leave his hiding-place at Verranch."=
;
"And after missing me last night, you
thought to find me here to-day?"
"I knew you were most anxious to see =
him;
that upon him depended your chance to undo some of his Excellency, the Gove=
rnor's,
knavery! And, then, to find y=
ou
here with the daughter of the man who has wrought you so much wrong; robbed=
you
of your lands--your right to your name!" A cloud shadowed the listener's bo=
ld
brow. "I know not how it=
came about,
Seigneur, but be assured, no good can come of it!"
From where she stood, at the distance to t=
he
tower, the Governor's daughter saw now the two men descend; she perceived,
also, at a turn in the path, coming up slowly, as one whose years had begun=
to
tell upon him, another figure, clad in black; a priest. This last person and the Black Sei=
gneur
accosted each other; stopped, while the other man, who had crossed himself =
at
sight of her, drew aside. At
length, somewhat abruptly, they separated, the priest and Sanchez going down
the hill and the young man starting to walk up. Then quickly leaving the ancient,
circular structure for observation, she stepped toward the cliff, not far to
the right; and in an attitude of as great unconcern as she could summon,
waited.
Below the ocean beat around the rock, and =
her
eyes seemed to have rested an interminable period on the dark surface of the
water, when at length she heard him; near at hand; directly behind. Still she did not stir; he, too, b=
y the
silence, stood motionless. Ho=
w long? The little foot moved restlessly; =
why
did he not speak? She knew he=
was
looking at her--the Governor's daughter who had inadvertently looked into a=
forbidden
chamber; was possessed of dangerous knowledge.
Again she made a movement. When was he going to speak? It was intolerable that he should =
stand
there, studying, deducing! Th=
at
she, accustomed to command; to be served; to have her way at court and Moun=
t,
should now be judged, passed upon, disposed of, by--whom? Quickly she looked
around; the flashing brown eyes met the steady black ones.
"Well?"
"The man will take you back."
"Back! Where?" She could not conceal her surprise=
.
"To the Mount."
For the moment she did not speak; she had =
not
known what to expect--certainly not that.
"Why not?" A smile, slightly forced, crossed =
his
face. "Does your Ladyship
think I make war on women? On=
ly,
before your Ladyship departs, it will be necessary for you to agree to a li=
ttle
condition."
"Condition?" She drew her breath quickly.
"That you will say nothing to incrimi=
nate
him. He is an old servant of =
mine;
has broken none of the laws of the land," with a somewhat contemptuous
accent, "works his bit of ground; pays metayage, and a tax on all the =
fish
he brings in. Only in a certa=
in
matter to-day has he served me."
"You mean I must say nothing about
meeting him? You?"
"For his sake!"
"And your own!"
"Mine?" He made a careless gesture. "I should not presume! For myself I should exact, or expe=
ct,
from your Ladyship no promise. To-night I shall be far away. But this good fellow remains behin=
d; should
be allowed to continue his peaceful, lowly occupation. I would not have anything happen t=
o him
on my account."
"And if I refuse to promise?" she
asked haughtily. "To ent=
er
into any covenant with--you!"
"But you will not!" he said
steadily. "Your Ladyship=
, for
her own sake, should not force the alternative."
"Alternative?"
"Why speak of it?"
"What is the alternative?" she
demanded.
"If your Ladyship refuses to promise,=
it
will be necessary for the man to return alone."
"You mean," in spite of herself,=
she
gave a start, "you would make me--a prisoner?"
"It should not be necessary."
"But you would not dare!"
indignantly.
"Not dare! Your Ladyship forgets--"
"True!" with a scornful glance.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> After a pause: "But suppose I=
did promise? Are you not reposing a good deal of
confidence in me?"
"Not too much!"
"I presume," disdainfully, "=
;I
should feel flattered in being trusted by--" She did not finish the sentence.
But the young man apparently had not
heard. "I'll take the ch=
ance
on your own words," he added unexpectedly.
"My words?"
"That you are no telltale."
The girl started. "Telltale?" she repeated=
.
"You once told me you were not!"=
"I--told you!" She stared at him=
.
"Told me you were no telltale," =
he
repeated. "And--when Bep=
po
lied, you told the truth--about a ragged vagabond of a boy."
"Beppo!" The look in her eyes deepened;
cleared. "I remember
now," she said slowly.
"You were the boy with the fish, who said he lived in the
woods. I met you while riding=
, and
again that night, as a child, leaving for Paris; but I did not know, then, =
you
would become--"
The young man's face changed. "An outlaw!" he said coo=
lly.
"Yes; an outlaw," she repeated
firmly. Angered by his unflin=
ching gaze,
she went on: "Who dares not fly the flag of his king! Who dares not come openly into any
honest port!"
She ended, her brown eyes flashing. His own darkened; but he only rema=
rked
coldly; "My Lady, at any rate, dares much!"
"Oh, I've no doubt you don't care to
hear--"
"From you!" He looked at her oddly, from the g=
olden
hair to the small, dainty foot.
"From your Ladyship!" he repeated, as if amused. An instant he regarded her silentl=
y,
intently; but his voice when at length he again spoke was cool and slightly
mocking: "My Lady speaks, of course, from the standpoint of her own
world--a very pretty world! A park of plaisance, wherein, I can vouch for i=
t,
my Lady dances very prettily."
She started; a flush of resentment glowed =
and
faded on her cheek; a question his words suggested trembled on her lips.
"Why did you come to the beach that n=
ight
of the dance? How dared you, =
knowing
that if--"
"Why?" His eyes lost their ironical light=
. "Why?" he repeated; then=
laughed
with sudden recklessness. &qu=
ot;I
wished to see your Ladyship."
"Me?" She shrank back.
"You!" he repeated, his gaze
fastened on the startled, proud face. "Though I looked not forward to a
dance--with your Ladyship!"
The black eyes glowed.
"Pardi! It was wo=
rth
the risk." A moment he w=
aited;
then his manner changed. &quo=
t;I
will leave your Ladyship now," he said quietly. "You will have opportunity to
consider"--she did not answer--"whether you will give me your
promise, or not," he added, and, wheeling abruptly, walked away.
Some time later, in the fast-gathering
darkness, from the cove a small boat put out, with Sanchez, gloomy and sull=
en,
in the stern; at the bow, the Governor's daughter. As the isle receded and the point =
of land
loomed bigger before them, the girl gazed straight ahead; but the man looked
back: to the sands of the little cove, a pale simitar in the dragon-like mo=
uth
of the rock; toward the tower, near which he fancied he could see a figure,
turned from them--seaward--where, far out, a ship might just be discerned, a
dim outline on the horizon.
CHAPTER X - THE CLOISTER IN THE AIR=
Irrespective of environment, the cloister =
of
the Mount would have been a delight to the eye, but, upheld in mid air, with
the sky so near and the sands so far below, it seemed more an inspiration of
fancy than a work of hand. Da=
inty,
delicate, its rose-colored columns of granite appeared too thin for tangible
weight; the tympan's sculptured designs, fanciful as the carvings in some
palace of a poet's dreams. De=
spite,
however, this first impression of evanescence, it carried a charm against t=
he
ravages of time, and ethereal though it was, had rested like a crown on the
grim head of the rock through the ages.
Once a place for quiet meditation, the
cloister had, through a whirligig of change, become the favorite resort of =
the
Governor, for dejeuner, or after-dinner dram, and, on occasions, for the tr=
ansaction
of much profane though necessary labor pertaining to his office and private
concerns. He busied himself t=
here
now; or had been busying himself, but paused to look up from the large book
before him, whose pages were inscribed with items and figures. His finger, following the mental
computation, remained stationary.
Fouage--tax upon fires; banvin--duties on wine; vingtain--the lord's
right to his share of the produce; minage--his due from each mine or half s=
etier
of coin--consideration of these usually all-important matters seemed for the
moment to have been forgotten.
He leaned back, and as he sat thus, the li=
ght
and shadow playing on him, the dark, steely eyes looked the more sunken, the
hard, cynical lips beneath the white mustache, the more cruel, the spare fi=
gure
the more alert and ready, as if to grapple with some hidden danger.
"J'arrive en ce pays De Basse Normandie--"
At
one of the apertures looking out to the barren waste of sand stood the Lady
Elise; the words of the old Norman chant she was singing in desultory fashi=
on
rang softly, oddly, in that spot, where black-clad brethren for centuries h=
ad
been wont to tread. Mechanica=
lly
the Governor listened, but the voice soon ceased abruptly and again, after =
the
manner of one of orderly habits, he bent over the big book; once more the
curving finger slid up and down, and parsimony, the vice of the aged, had b=
egun
to shine from his pinched features, when a footstep rang on the marble
pavement.
"Your Excellency sent for me?" The commandant stood respectfully =
near.
The Governor closed the book with
deliberation; lifted his eyes.
"The prisoners that were taken last night are safely housed?&qu=
ot;
"Housed? Yes, your Excellency! But we have little room. The upper cells are all occupied; =
the dungeons,
fairly full! Even the In-pace=
and
Les Deux Jumeaux have been pressed into service."
"Hum!" The long hand tapped restlessly a
moment; the cold eyes gleamed, then shot an inquiring look. "There are no new particulars=
about
last night's encounter with this--Black Seigneur?"
"None, your Excellency, except,"=
the
commandant drew a paper from his breast pocket, "I have here in writing
the detailed account of the officer in charge of your Excellency's boat, who
was wounded himself in the encounter."
"Read it."
The commandant obeyed. "'Our schooner, belonging to =
his
Excellency, the Governor, was returning last night to the Mount with troops=
--reinforcements
for the garrison from St. Dalard--when it happened quite by accident near a
ship, maneuvering at a respectful distance from the island of Casque. The night was dark and cloudy, but=
our
men got a look at her and suspecting who she was and knowing her armament,
against our will, we felt obliged to bear away. She, having no reason to think us =
other than
a fishing schooner, or that we were freighted with troops instead of cod, d=
id
not follow and we had passed out of sight, and were rounding the island whe=
n we
ran into two small sail-boats that had just set out from there.'"
"To join the ship of this outlaw!&quo=
t;
interposed the Governor. &quo=
t;Go
on!" shortly.
"'We hailed; their answer was
unsatisfactory; we ordered them to halt, whereupon they tried to sail
away. We followed and overtak=
ing
them, commanded them to surrender.
Their leader, who was the Black Seigneur himself, refused, and we
attacked'--"
"Bien! 'We attacked!' But what then? Eh, what then?"
"'With fury they responded; in spite =
of
their inferiority of numbers tried to board us. Bravely our men repulsed them; yet=
still
they persisted; led by their captain, the Black Seigneur, had gained the de=
ck
when a chance shot struck him. As
he fell back, the others tried to escape; one boat was sunk'--"
"And the other, bearing their leader,=
got
away!" interrupted the Governor harshly.
"In the confusion--yes, your
Excellency."
The Governor waved his hand impatiently.
"'By this time the ship of the Black
Seigneur had drawn nearer and our men put about and made for the Mount with=
a
number of prisoners. Several shots were sent after us, but we managed to re=
ach
port.'"
"The officer in charge of the troops
thinks this fellow, their leader, was wounded severely--fatally perhaps?&qu=
ot;
"He thinks it most probable, your
Excellency."
For some time the Governor, with frowning
brows, sipped silently from a glass of liquor at his elbow, and, stiff,
motionless, the commandant waited; close at hand, a dove plumed itself on t=
he
roof of the cloister walk; beyond, the girl again began to sing fitfully.
Out of the corner of his eye the commandant
dared look at her, leaning now against the wall, the clear-cut, white featu=
res
outlined against an illimitable blue background.
"Les amours--"
Involuntarily
he started to raise a hand to his warlike mustache, when abruptly was his
wandering attention recalled.
"The man ashore I spoke to you about, has been taken into
custody?"
"Yes, your Excellency; and is now at =
the
barracks."
"Send him here. One moment--" The commandant paused, vaguely con=
scious
the girl had moved away from the wall.&nbs=
p;
"You spoke of there being a lack of room--these new prisoners m=
ust
be confined in the dungeons; if necessary, crowd more of the others in the
upper cells, and--there is still the Devil's Cage."
"The Devil's Cage?" Through the rose-tinted columns, a=
bove
the Governor's head, the commandant could discern the figure of the Lady El=
ise,
who had approached and now was gazing inquiringly at them. "Your
Excellency would use that? On=
e can
neither lie down in it, nor sit in it, upright?"
"Well," the cold eyes flashed,
"it is not intended for upright people! But the man you were ordered to
arrest!" with sudden sharpness; "the man from the shore! Send him to me!"
"At once, your Excellency!" And responding promptly to his
superior's mood, the commandant saluted briskly, and retired.
"What man?" The drapery of her gown drawn back=
, the
Lady Elise stood poised on the court's low coping between the fairy-like
pillars.
"No one you know, my dear."
"Which means--it is none of my
concern?"
"Not at all." His voice was now perfunctory; and=
his
expression, as he surveyed her, slightly questioning. "You are looking somewhat pal=
e to-day?"
"Am I?" carelessly. "I--I feel very well." As she spoke, she went to him and =
leaned
over the back of his chair.
"Mon pere, won't you do something for me?"
"What?"
"Promise first." With her hand on his shoulder.
He reached up; the long, cold fingers stro=
ked
the shapely, warm ones. "One should never leap into the dark with a
promise," he answered. "Especially to a woman."
"Not even when that woman is one's own
daughter?" she asked, sliding to the arm of the chair.
He regarded the bright face now thoughtful;
the lips, usually laughing, set sensitively. "Is it another trip to the co=
urt,
or do you wish to turn this stern old Mount again into a palace of
pleasure? To invite once more=
the
Paris lords and ladies--the King, himself, perhaps? It would not be the first time a m=
onarch
has been entertained at the Mount--or a Marquis, either, eh? Shall we ask the Marquis?"
She made an impatient movement. "I want you to promise to bre=
ak up
the terrible iron cage, and--"
"Tut!" Jocosely he pinched the fair cheek=
. "A girl's thoughts should be =
of the
court and the cavaliers."
She turned away her head. "You treat me like a child,&q=
uot;
she said with a flash in her eyes.
"No, no! Like a woman," he laughed.
"You ride this afternoon?" he as=
ked.
"I had not thought of it."
"If you do I desire that some one
accompany you." Her face
changed; she looked at him quickly, and half turned. "Remember Saladin as well, an=
d--keep
closer to the Mount in the future."
"Poor Saladin!" she breathed, wi=
th
averted glance.
"He got his deserts!" answered t=
he
Governor harshly. "An ug=
ly
trick that of his--to bolt and leave you stranded at the extreme point of t=
he mainland
where the bay swings around!"
"The 'grand' tide--it came in so
fast--and made so much noise--"
"It frightened him! Well, fortunate it was, indeed, yo=
u were
not on his back; that you had already reached the point, and had had time t=
o dismount! An unpleasant experience,
nevertheless--with the water separating you from the Mount, and a great cur=
ve
of land to be walked before you could arrive at a human habitation!"
"I--it wasn't a very comfortable
feeling," she acknowledged, flushing.
"And if the fisherman hadn't subseque=
ntly
seen you and taken you across in his little boat, you would have been more
uncomfortable later. You rewa=
rded
him well, I trust?"
"He--wouldn't take anything."
"And you neglected to inquire his
name?"
"I--did not think."
"You were so glad to get back?"
remarked the Governor, regarding her closely. "What sort of man was he?&quo=
t;
abruptly.
"Old."
"And--"
"That--is all I remember."
"Hum! Not very lucid. No doubt you were too overwrought,=
my
dear, to be in an observant mood."&nb=
sp;
His voice sank absently; his fingers sought among the papers, and, as
his glance fell, the girl walked away.&nbs=
p;
Again she leaned on the parapet, and once more regarded the barren w=
aste
below--the figures of the cockle-seekers, mere specks, the shadow of the Mo=
unt,
stamped on the sand, with the saint, a shapeless form, holding up a tapering
black line--a sword--at the apex.
"She is keeping back something. What?" Above an official-looking document=
the
Governor watched her, his lips compressed, his eyes keen; then shrugged his
shoulders and resumed his occupation.
The death-like hush of an aerial region surrounded them; the halcyon
peace of a seemingly chimerical cloister; until suddenly broken by an
indubitable clangor--harsh, hard!--of a door, opening; shutting. The Governor lifted his head in
annoyance; the dove on the roof of the cloister-walk flew away, and a short,
fat man, breathing hard, appeared.
"Pardon, your Excellency! But the drafts! They seem sometimes to sweep up fr=
om the
very dungeons themselves, and--"
"Well?"
Beppo cut short excuse, or explanation.
The Governor considered a moment with
down-bent brows. "You ma=
y show
him in, but first," he glanced up with a frown, "I have a questio=
n to
put to you."
"Your Excellency?"
"This morning you thought fit to appr=
ise
me," Beppo looked uncomfortable, "in view of the events of last
night--that you saw yesterday this fellow, Sanchez, setting out in a sail-b=
oat,
accompanied by a priest--a fact that might have been of great service to me,
had I been aware of it in season!"&nb=
sp;
The Governor paused to allow the full weight of his disapproval to be
felt. "At what hour did =
you
see them start out?"
"About dusk, the time of the 'grand'
tide," was the crestfallen answer. "I was following the shore,
feeling anxious on account of the Lady Elise, who, I knew, had gone in the
direction of the forest, when I saw them, some distance out, but not too fa=
r to
recognize this fellow's boat and in it two men, one of them in the black ro=
bes
of a priest. I attached no
importance to the incident until--"
The Governor interrupted. "You may send the prisoner
in," he said shortly.
"No--wait!" =
Toward
the spot where the girl had been standing the Governor glanced quickly, but
that post of observation was now vacant, and his Excellency more deliberate=
ly
looked around; caught no sight of her.&nbs=
p;
"You may send him in here," he said, "alone. I will speak with the prisoner in
private."
CHAPTER XI - THE GOVERNOR IS SURPRISED
But the Lady Elise had not gone. Passing from the cloister through t=
he great
arched doorway leading to the high-roofed refectory, she had stopped at the
sight of a number of people gathered near the entrance. At first she had me=
rely
glanced at them; then started, as, in the somewhat dim light prevailing the=
re,
her eyes became fixed upon one of their number.
Obviously a prisoner, he stood in the cent=
er
of the group, with head down-bent, a hard, indifferent expression on his
countenance. Amazed, the girl=
was
about to step forward to address him--or the commandant--when Beppo appeared
from the cloister, walked toward the officer, and, in a low ill-humored ton=
e,
said something she could not hear.
Whatever it was, the commandant caused him to repeat it; made a gest=
ure
to the soldiers, who drew back, and spoke himself to the prisoner.
The latter did not reply nor raise his eye=
s,
and the commandant laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, whereupon the prisoner
moved forward mechanically, through the doorway.
"You are sure his Excellency said 'al=
one'?"
asked the commandant.
"As sure as I have ears," answer=
ed
Beppo. "But her
ladyship--see! She is walking=
after
him."
Beppo shrugged his shoulders. "She always does what she ple=
ases;
no orders apply to her."
In the shadow of the cloister roof, at a
corner where the double row of pillars met, the girl paused; looked out thr=
ough
the columns, her hand at her breast.
The Governor was unconcernedly writing; not even when the prisoner
stepped forward did he turn from his occupation; at his leisure dotted an
"i" and crossed a "t"; sprinkled sand lightly over the
paper; waited a moment; then tapped the fine particles from the letter. For his part, the prisoner display=
ed
equal patience, standing in an attitude of stolid endurance.
"Your name is Sanchez?" At length the Governor seemed to n=
otice
the other's presence.
"Yes."
"And you formerly served the Seigneur
Desaurac? Followed him to Ame=
rica?"
"As your Excellency knows." The servant's tone was veiled defi=
ance.
A trace of pink sprang to the Governor's b=
row,
though the eyes he lifted were impassive.&=
nbsp;
"You will answer 'yes' or 'no'!" He reached for a stick of wax, hel=
d it
up to the tiny flame of a lamp; watched the red drops fall. "When you returned, it was to=
live
in the forest with--a nameless brat?"
"My master's son!"
"By a peasant woman, his--"
"Wife!"
The Governor smiled; applying a seal, pres=
sed
it hard. "The courts fou=
nd
differently," he observed in a mild, even voice, as speaking to himself
and extolling the cause of justice.
"The courts! Because the priest who married the= m had been driven from Brittany! Be= cause he could not be found then! Because--" The ma= n's indignation had got the better of his taciturnity, but he did not finish the sentence.<= o:p>
"Either," said the Governor quie=
tly,
"you are one of those simple-minded people who, misguided by loyalty,
cherish illusions, or you are a scheming rogue. No matter which, unfortunately,&qu=
ot; in
crisp tones, "it is necessary to take time to deal with you."
"At your Excellency's service!"<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And the man folded his arms but, a=
gain turning
to his table, the Governor apparently found some detail of employment there=
of
paramount importance; once more kept the prisoner waiting.
The silence lengthened; in the dim light of
the walk noiselessly the girl drew nearer; unseen, reached the old abbot's
great granite chair with its sheltering back to the court and close to the
Governor's table. Into the
capacious depths of this chilly throne, where once the high and holy dignit=
ary
of the church had been accustomed to recline while brethren laved his feet =
from
the tiny stone lavatorium before it, she half sank, her cheek against one of
its cold sides; in an attitude of expectation breathlessly waited. Why was it so still? Why did not her father speak? She could hear his pen scratch, sc=
ratch!
They were again speaking; more eagerly she
bent forward; listened to the hard, metallic voice of the Governor.
"You left the castle at once when the
decree of the court, ordering it vacated, was posted in the forest?"
"My master told me to, pretending he =
was
going, but--"
"Remained to resist; to kill." The Governor's tones, without bein=
g raised,
were sharper. "And when,=
after
the crime against these instruments of justice, he escaped to the high seas,
why did you not go with him?"
"He wouldn't have it."
"Thinking you would be more useful
here? A spy?"
"He said he would be held an outlaw; a
price put on him, and--he dismissed me from his service."
"Dismissed you? An excellent jest! But," with sudden incisivenes=
s, "what
about the priest, eh? What ab=
out
the priest?"
The man straightened. "What priest?" he said i=
n a
dogged tone.
"You are accused of harboring and
abetting an unfrocked fellow who has long been wanted by the government, a
scamp of revolutionary tendencies; you are accused of having taken him to
sea," the prisoner started, "to some rendezvous--a distant isle--=
to
meet some one; to wait for a ship; to be smuggled away--?"
The man did not reply; with head sunk
slightly, seemed lost in thought.
"Speak--answer!"
"Who accuses me?"
From the stone chair the girl sprang; look=
ed
out. Her face white, excited,
peering beneath the delicate spandrils and stone roses, seemed to come as an
answer.
"Have I not told you--" began the
Governor sternly, when--
"Bah!" burst from the prisoner
violently. "Why should I=
deny
what your Excellency so well knows?
I told my master not to trust her; that she would play him false; and
that once out of his hands--"
"Her? Whom do you mean?" The Governor's eyes followed the m=
an's; stopped. "Elise!"
"I think," her eyes very bright,=
the
girl walked quickly toward them, "I think this man means me."
"Elise!" the Governor repeated.<= o:p>
"Forgive me, mon pere; I didn't inten=
d to
listen, but I couldn't help it--because--"
"How long," said the Governor,
"have you been there?"
"Ever since--he came in. I suppose," proudly turning t=
o the
man, "it is useless to say that I did not play this double role of whi=
ch
you accuse me, and that I did keep, in every particular, the promise I made=
--"
"Oh, yes; you could say it, my
Lady!" with sneering emphasis.
"But you reserve to yourself the right
not to believe me? That is wh=
at you
mean?" The man's stubbor=
n,
vindictive look answered.
"Then I will deny nothing to you; nothing! You may think what you will."=
His face half-covered by his hand, the
Governor gazed at them; the girl, straight, slender, inflexibly poised; the
prisoner eying her with dark, unvarying glance.
"Dieu!" he muttered. "What is this?" and conc=
ern
gave way to a new feeling. Her
concern for something--somebody--held him.=
A promise! "You can step back a few moments, my man!" to
Sanchez. "A little farth=
er--to
the parapet! I'll let you kno=
w when
you're wanted." And the
prisoner obeyed, moving slowly away to the wall, where he stood out of
ear-shot, his back to them.
"You spoke of a promise?" the Governor turned to his
daughter. "To whom?"=
;
A suggestion of color swept her face, thou=
gh
she answered at once without hesitation: "To the Black Seigneur."=
The slight form of the Governor stirred as=
to
the shock of a battery.
"There is no harm in telling now,&quo=
t;
hurriedly she went on. "=
He
saved me from the 'grand' tide--for I was on Saladin's back when he bolted =
and ran. I had not dismounted, though I all=
owed
you to infer so, and he had carried me almost to the island of Casque when =
we
heard and saw the water coming in.
The nearest place was the island--not the point of the mainland, as I
felt obliged to lead you to think, and we started for it; we might have rea=
ched
the cove, had not Saladin stumbled and thrown me. The last I remembered the water ca=
me
rushing around, and when I awoke, I was in a watch-tower, with him--the Bla=
ck
Seigneur!"
The Governor looked at her; did not speak.=
"I--I at first did not know who he
was--not until this man came--and the priest! And when he, the Black Seigneur, s=
aw I
had learned the truth, he asked me to promise--not for himself--but because=
of
this man!--to say nothing of having met him there, or the others! And I did promise, and--he sent me=
back--and
that is all--"
"All!" Did the Governor speak the word? He sat as if he had hardly compreh=
ended;
a deeper flush dyed her cheek.
"You--you can not blame me--after wha=
t he
did. He saved me--saved my li=
fe. You are glad of that, mon pere, ar=
e you
not? And it must have been ha=
rd
doing it, for his clothes were torn, and his hands were bleeding--he can't =
be
all bad, mon pere! He knew wh=
o I
was, yet trusted me--trusted!"
The Governor looked at her; touched a bell;
the full-toned note vibrated far and near.
"What are you going to do?" Something in his face held her.
Again the tones startled the stillness.
"Your Excellency?" Across the court appeared Beppo, m=
oving
quickly toward them. "Yo=
ur
Excellency?"
"One moment!" The servant stepped back; the Gove=
rnor
looked first at the girl; then toward the entrance of the cloister.
"You want me to go?" Her voice was low: strained; in it=
, too,
was a hard, rebellious accent.
"But I can't--can't--until--"
"What?"
"You promise to set him free! This man who brought me back! Don't you see you must, mon pere?<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Must!" she repeated.
His thin lips drew back disagreeably; he
seemed about to speak; then reached among the papers and, turned them over
absently. "Very well!&qu=
ot; he
said at length without glancing up.
"You promise," her voice express=
ed
relief and a little surprise, "to set him free?"
"Have I not said so?" His eyelids veiled a peculiar look=
. "Yes, he shall be liberated--=
very
shortly."
"Thank you, mon pere." A moment she bent over him; the pr=
oud,
sweet lips brushed his forehead.
"I will go, then, at once." And she started toward the door. Near the threshold she paused; loo=
ked
back to smile gratefully at the Governor, then quickly went out.
CHAPTER XII - AT THE COCKLES=
A rugged mass of granite, rent by giant
fissures, and surrounded by rocks and whirlpools, the Norman English isle,
so-called "Key to the Channel," one hundred miles, or more, north=
west
of the Mount, had from time immemorial offered haven to ships out of the pa=
le
of French ports. Not only a haven, but a home, or that next-best accommodat=
ion,
an excellent inn. Perched in =
the
hollow of the mighty cliff and reached by a flight of somewhat perilous sto=
ne
stairs, the Cockles, for so the ancient tavern was called, set squarely tow=
ard
the sea, and opened wide its shell, as it were, to all waifs or stormy petr=
els
blown in from the foamy deep.
Good men, bad men; Republicans, royalists;
French-English, English-French, the landlord--old Pierre Laroche, retired
sea-captain and owner of a number of craft employed in a dangerous, but
profitable, occupation--received them willingly, and in his solicitude for
their creature comforts and the subsequent reckoning, cared not a jot for t=
heir
politics, morals, or social views.
It was enough if the visitor had no lenten capacity; looked the
fleshpots in the face and drank of his bottle freely.
The past few days the character of old
Pierre's guests had left some room for complaint on that score. But a small number of the crew of =
the
swift-looking vessel, well-known to the islanders, and now tossing in the
sea-nook below, had, shortly after their arrival toward dusk of a stormy da=
y,
repaired to the inn, and then they had not called for their brandy or wine =
in
the smart manner of seamen prepared for unstinted sacrifice to Bacchus. On the contrary, they drank quietl=
y, talked
soberly, and soon prepared to leave.
"Something has surely gone wrong,&quo=
t;
thought their host. "Why=
did
not your captain come ashore?" he asked. "Not see his old friend, Pier=
re Laroche,
at once! It is most unlike
him."
And on the morrow, the islanders, or
English-French, more or less privateersmen themselves, were equally
curious. Where had the ship c=
ome
from? Where was it going? And how many tons of wine, bales o=
f silk
and packages of tobacco, or "ptum," as the weed was called, had i=
t captured? Old Pierre would soon find out, for
early that day, despite the inclemency of the weather, he came down to the
beach, and, followed by a servitor, got into a small boat moored close to t=
he
shore.
"He is going aboard!"
"Who has a better right? His own vessel!"
"No; Andre Desaurac--the Black
Seigneur's! They say he long =
ago
paid for it from prizes wrested from the Governor of the Mount."
"At any rate, old Pierre entered into=
a
bargain to build the boat for him--"
"And added to his wealth by the
transaction."
Later that morning the old man came ashore,
but, according to habit, preserved a shrewd silence; in the afternoon a sma=
ll
number of the crew landed to take on stores and ammunition--of which there =
was
ever a plentiful supply at this base; that night, however, all, including t=
heir
master, betook themselves to the Cockles.
"Glad to see you ashore, mon
capitaine!" Pierre Laroche, standing at the door, just beyond reach of=
the
fierce driving rain, welcomed the Black Seigneur warmly; but the young man,=
one
of whose arms seemed bound and useless, cut short his greetings; tossed bru=
skly
aside his dark heavy cloak, and called for a room where he might sit in pri=
vate
with a companion. This person=
the
landlord eyed askance; nevertheless, with a show of bluff heartiness, he led
the way to a small chamber, somewhat apart, but overlooking the long low
apartment, the general eating and drinking place of the establishment, now
filled by the crew and a number of the islanders.
"Your capitaine has been hurt? How?" A strapping, handsome girl, clad i=
n red
and of assured mien, passing across the room, paused to address a man of
prodigious girth, who drank with much gusto from a huge vessel at his elbow=
.
"Did not your father, Pierre Laroche,
tell you?"
"He?=
No; all he thinks of is the money."
"Then must le capitaine speak for
himself, Mistress Nanette."
"You are not very polite, Monsieur
Gabarie," she returned, tossing her head; "but I suppose there is=
a
reason; you have been beaten. In an
encounter with the Governor's ships?
Did you sink any of them? It
would be good news for us islanders."
"You islanders!" derisively.
"Yes, islanders!" she answered d=
efiantly. "But tell me; a number of you=
wear
patches, which make you look very ugly.&nb=
sp;
They were acquired--how?"
"In a little clerical argument!"
growled the poet.
She glanced toward the secluded apartment;=
its
occupants--the subject of their conversation, and a priest, a feeble-looking
man of about seventy, whose delicate, sad face shone white and out-of-keepi=
ng
in that adventuresome company.
"At any rate, the Black Seigneur hasn't lost his good looks!&qu=
ot;
"Take care you don't lose your
heart!"
"Bah!" Her strong bold eyes swept back. "Much good it would do me!&qu=
ot;
"And for that reason--"
"Messieurs!" the landlord's voice
broke in upon them; "behold!" it seemed to say, as pushing through
the company, he preceded a lanky lad who bore by their legs many plucked fo=
wls
and birds--woodcock, wild duck, cliff pigeons--and made his way to the great
open fireplace at one end of the room.&nbs=
p;
There, bending over the glowing embers, the landlord deliberately
stirred and spread them; then, reaching for a bar of steel, he selected a
poulet from the hand of the lanky attendant and prepared to adjust it; but
before doing so, prodded it with his finger, surveyed it critically, and he=
ld
it up for admiring attention.
"Who says old Pierre Laroche doesn't =
know
how to care for his friends? What think you of it, my masters?"
"Plump as the King's confessor,"
muttered the poet.
"Or your King himself!" said one=
of
the islanders.
"On with the King! Skewer the King!" exclaimed a
fierce voice.
"And then we'll eat him!" laughed
the girl, showing her white teeth.
"Thoughtless children!" From his place at the table in the=
small
room adjoining, the priest, attracted by the grim merriment of the islander=
s,
looked down to regard them; the red fire; the red gown.
"Here, at least, will you find a safe
asylum, Father," said his companion, the Black Seigneur, in an absent
tone; "a little rough, perhaps, to suit your calling--"
"The rougher, the more suitable--as I=
've
often had occasion to learn since leaving Verranch."
"Since being driven from it, you
mean!" shortly.
"Ah, those revolutionary
documents--placed in my garden!"
"To make you appear--you, Father!--a
sanguinary character!" B=
ut the
other's laugh rang false.
"Alas, such wickedness! But I was too content; the rose-co=
vered cottage
too comfortable; its garden, an Eden!
It was more meet I should be driven forth; go out into the highways,
where I found--such misery! I
reproached myself I had not sought it sooner--voluntarily. From north to so=
uth
peasants dying, women and children starving, no one to administer the last
rites--on every side, work, work for the outcast priest! For ten years it has occupied him-=
-a
blessed privilege--"
"And then," the young man, who h=
ad
seemed absorbed in other thoughts, hardly listening, looked mechanically up,
"you came back?"
"A weakness of age! To see the old place once more!
"But not," the young man's demea=
nor
at once became intent; his eyes gleamed with sudden fierce lights, "for
what followed!"
The priest sighed. "Shall I ever forget it? The terrible night, the troop-ship=
, the
killed and wounded. And the p=
oor
fellows taken prisoners! I ca=
n not
but think of them and their fate.
What will it be?"
The other did not answer; only impatiently
moved his injured arm and, regarding him, the down-turned, dark countenance,
the knit brows, quickly the priest changed the subject of conversation.
In the large room some one began to play, =
and
before the fire, where now the birds were turning and the serving-lad, with=
a
long spoon was basting, the dark-browed girl started to dance. At the side of the hearth old Pier=
re
smoked stolidly, gazed at the coals, and dreamed--perhaps of the past, and
dangers he had himself encountered, or of the present, and his ships
scattered--where?--on profitable, if precarious errands. Somberly, in no freer mood than on=
the
occasion of their first visit to the inn, the crew looked on; but a tall, s=
avage-appearing
islander soon matched her step; a second took his place; from one partner to
another she passed--wild, reckless men whose touch she did not shun; yet it
might have been noticed her eyes turned often, through wreaths of smoke,
mist-like in the glare and glimmer of dips and torches, toward the Black
Seigneur.
Why--her gaze seemed to say--did he not jo=
in
them, instead of sitting there with a priest? She whirled to the threshold; her
flushed face looked in. "=
;Are
you saying a mass for the souls of your men who were captured?"
"I see," he returned quietly,
"you have been gossiping."
"A woman's privilege!" she flash=
ed
back. "But how did it
happen? And not only your
arm," more sharply regarding him, "but your head! I fancy if I were to push back a f=
ew
locks of that thick hair I should discover--it must have been a pretty blow=
you
got, my Seigneur Solitude!" He
made no reply and she went on.
"You, who I thought were never beaten! By a mere handful of troops, too!<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Did you have to run away very fast=
? If I were a man--"
"Your tongue would be less sharp,&quo=
t;
he answered coolly, the black eyes indifferent.
"Much you care for my tongue!" s=
he
retorted.
"No?"
"No!" she returned mockingly, wh=
en
above the din of voices, the crackling of the fire, and the wild moaning of=
the
wind in the chimney, a low, but distinct and prolonged call was heard,--from
somewhere without, below.
"What is that?" Quickly Nanette turned; superstiti=
ous,
after the fashion of most of her people, a little of the color left her che=
ek. Again
was it wafted to them, nearer, plainer!&nb=
sp;
"The voices of dead men from the sea!"
"More like some one on the steps who
would like to get in--some fisherman who has just got to shore!" said =
old
Pierre Laroche, waking up and emptying his pipe. "Throw open the door. The stones are slippery--the night
dark--"
One of the crew obeyed, and, as the wind
entered sharply, and the lights flickered and grew dim, there half staggere=
d,
half rushed from the gloom, the figure of a man, wild, wet, whose clothes w=
ere
torn and whose face was freshly cut and marked with many livid signs of
violence.
"Sanchez!" From his place the Black Seigneur =
rose.
The others looked around wonderingly; some
with rough pity. "What's=
the
matter, man?" said one.
"You look as if you had had a bad fall."
"Fall!" Standing in the center of the room,
where he had come to a sudden stop, the man gazed, bewildered, resentful, a=
bout
him; then above the circle of questioning faces, his uncertain look lifted;=
caught
and remained fixed on that of the Black Seigneur. "Fall?" he repeated,
articulating with difficulty.
"No; I had--no fall--but I will speak--with my master--alone!&q=
uot;
CHAPTER XIII - THE SEETHING OF THE SEA
"'I have concluded to deal leniently =
with
you,' said the Governor; 'set you free!'&n=
bsp;
I could not believe."
Alone in the little chamber, the door of w=
hich
now was closed, shutting them from sight of the company in the general eati=
ng
and drinking room adjoining, Sanchez and the Black Seigneur sat together. Before them the viands that had be=
en
placed on the table were untouched; the filled glasses, untasted. As he spoke, the man bent forward,=
his
words disjointed; his eyes gleaming.
"'But,' the Governor added, 'the crim=
inal
must be taught not to forget'; then turned to his soldiers. 'Beat me this fellow from the Moun=
t!' he
commanded."
"What!" The blood sprang to the dark face =
of the
listener; he half started from his chair.&=
nbsp;
"And they did! A =
merry
chase, down the streets, across the sands!=
I, an old soldier!" His
voice choked. "Beaten like a dog!"
For some moments the young man looked at h=
im;
then again sank back; stared straight ahead. Without, the laughter and harsh vo=
ices
of the islanders had become louder; within the little chamber, the only sou=
nd now
was the hard, persistent ticking of the clock on the shelf.
"But how," at length Desaurac ma=
de a
movement, "did he--"
"Learn!" violently. "The way I told you he would!=
"
"You mean--"
"That I was betrayed and you were--by=
the
Lady Elise--"
"Impossible!" the Black Seigneur
exclaimed with sudden violence.
"Because she has a pretty face!"
sneered the other.
"Silence! Or--"
"That is it!" The servant's voice rose
stridently. "Beaten at o=
ne end,
threatened at the other!"
The arm the young man had reached out fell=
to
his side. "Hush! You're mad; you don't know what yo=
u're
saying!"
"And you did not know what you were
doing! Oh, I dare say it--I t=
ell you
now I little liked the task of taking her back; expecting some sort of
treachery, and, when it came, was not surprised! Any more than, when they had broug=
ht me
before the Governor, I saw her at the cloister--watching, hiding--"
"Hiding!"
"Behind the coping to listen when he,=
her
father, was questioning me! And, when I looked up and caught her, she walke=
d out--to
show me I might as well confess!"
"She did that?"
"Then tried to cozen me into believin=
g it
was not through her," went on the man bitterly, as if speaking to
himself. "But I know the=
lying
blood--none better--and when she saw it was no use," he paused and loo=
ked
up, the marks of the stripes on his face seeming suddenly to burn and grow
livid, "she acknowledged it to my face! 'I won't deny.' Those were her
words! And when she left the =
place,
she turned around to look back at me--and laugh--"
"You are not mistaken?"
"Perhaps," said the man, a venom=
ous
light in his obstinate eyes, "it was all a fancy; or--I am lying!"=
;
Outside, the wind, blowing sharper, whistl=
ed
about the eaves, beat at the window and shook the blinds angrily; far below=
, a
steady monotone to those other sounds, could be heard the rush and breaking=
of
the surf.
"Why did I cross myself that day on t=
he
island, when I saw her--behind you?"&=
nbsp;
Sanchez's taciturnity--the reticence of years--suddenly burst its
bonds. "Because she made=
me
think of the former lady of the Mount--the Governor's wife--who betrayed the
Seigneur, your father! I prom=
ised
him to keep the secret--he would have it, for the sake of the lady; but now=
--to
you! Your father was stabbed =
at the
foot of the Mount by the Governor!--"
"Stabbed! By him!"
"It was given out," sourly, &quo=
t;by
rogues--again to shield her!"
"But--"
"That same day he had a letter--from
her. As evening fell he walke=
d near
the Mount--was followed by the Governor, who sprang, struck in the back and
left him for dead! I found hi=
m and
took him home. But before he
recovered, it was reported my lady had died--"
"How?"
"I know not; a punishment, perhaps! She was always delicate--or liked =
to be
considered such--a white-faced, pretty, smiling thing whose beauty and
treachery this other one, the daughter, inherits. It was the ghost of herself lookin=
g over
your shoulder that day on the island, with the same bright, perfidious
eyes--"
"Enough!" Angrily the Black Seigneur brought=
down
his hand. "I will hear no
more!"
"Because she has caught your fancy! Because you--"
"No more, I say! Think you I would not avenge your =
wrongs
at once, were it possible? Th=
at I
would not strike for you, on the instant? But now? My hands are tied. Another matter--of life, or death-=
-presses
first!"
Sanchez looked at him quickly; said no mor=
e;
between them, the silence grew. The
servant was the first to move; turning to the table, he began to eat; at fi=
rst
mechanically; afterward faster, with the ravenous zest of one who has not
tasted food for many hours. T=
he other,
for his part, showed no immediate desire to disturb that occupation; for so=
me
time waited; and it was not until the servant stopped; reached out his arm =
for
a glass, to drink, that the young man again spoke.
"The palace? The plan of the Mount? Did you notice? Tell me something of it--how it is=
laid
out--"
Sanchez swallowed; set down the glass
hard. "Yes, yes! I saw much--a great deal!" he
answered with eager zest. &qu=
ot;Oh,
I kept my eyes open, although I seemed not to, and was mindful of learning =
all
I could!"
"Here!" From his pocket the young man took=
a
note-book; pencil. "Set =
it
down; everything! I know some=
thing,
already, from the old monks--the rough diagrams in their books. You entered where? Take the pencil and--"
The minutes passed and still Sanchez trace=
d;
seemed almost to forget his injuries in his interest in the labor. Plan after plan was made; torn up;=
one
finally remained in the hand of the Black Seigneur.
"You think--" Anxiously the servant watched his
master's face; but the latter, straight, erect, with keen eyes fixed, did n=
ot
answer.
"You think--" again began the man
when the ancient time-piece, beating harshly the hour, interrupted.
"Eleven o'clock! High tide!" The Black Seigneur pushed back his=
chair
and rose.
"Good!" Sanchez's alacrity indicated a qui=
ck
comprehension of what the movement portended.
"You--had better remain here!"
shortly.
"Me?" said the servant with a ho=
arse
laugh. "Me?"
"Have you not had enough of my family=
--my
service?" the young Seigneur demanded bitterly.
"Bah!" muttered the other. "The dog that's beaten spring=
s at
the chance to bite! You go to
rescue your comrades. I--will=
go
with you!"
"In which case, death--not
vengeance--will most likely be your reward!"
"I care not!" stubbornly.
A moment the Black Seigneur regarded him; =
then
made a gesture.
"Well, have your way!" He listened. "The wind is in the west.&quo=
t;
"A little south of west," answer=
ed
the man.
"A rough night for your boat to have =
crossed!"
"Oh, I was bound to come! And if you hadn't been here, I'd h=
ave
gone on, on,--till I found you--"
The hand of the young man touched the othe=
r's
shoulder. "Come!" h=
e said,
and threw open the door.
"You are going in the storm?"
The Black Seigneur nodded shortly.
"It must be an important mission to t=
ake
you to sea on such a night. Why don't you stay where it's warm and
comfortable? Or," with a
laugh, "at least until Monsieur Gabarie," indicating the corpulent
figure intrenched behind a barricade of dishes and bottles on a small table=
near
the fire, "has finished the little puppet play he is writing."
"It is finished!" As he spoke, the poet rose. "I had but written 'curtain' =
when
you spoke. Your wine, fair Na=
nette,
hath a rarely inspiring quality!"
"Oh, I care not for your
compliments!" she returned.
"Your capitaine," again studying the Black Seigneur with d=
ark
sedulous eyes, "has not found it so much to his liking! He has neither asked for more, nor=
drunk
what he ordered; and now would venture out--"
Unmindful of her words the young man calle=
d to
old Pierre.
"Well," she went on, throwing ba=
ck
her head, "if you lose your ship, come to me, and--I'll see you have
another!"
Above in his chamber at the inn, not long
thereafter, the priest, looking out of the window, saw a line of men file d=
own
the narrow stairs; embark in the small boats from the sheltered nook where =
they
lay, and later, in the light of the moon, breaking from between scudding cl=
ouds
and angry vapors, a ship that got under way--glided like a phantom craft fr=
om
the haven and set seaward through the foam.
CHAPTER XIV - THE PILGRIMAGE=
From far and near the peasants and the peo=
ple
of the towns and villages, joined in the customary annual descent upon--or
ascent to--the Mount. None wa=
s too
poor, few too miserable, to undertake the journey. A pilgrimage, was the occasion cal=
led;
but although certain religious ceremonies were duly observed and entered in=
to
by some with fanatical warmth, many there were, who, obliged to pay tithes,=
nourished
the onerous recollection of the enforced "ecclesiastical tenth" to
the exclusion of any great desire to avail themselves of the compensating
privilege of beholding and bowing before the sacred relics. To these recalcitrant spirits, lic=
ense
and a rough sort of merrymaking became the order of the hour.
Early in the morning the multitude began to
arrive--in every manner of dilapidated vehicle, astride starved-looking don=
keys
and bony horses, or on foot. =
Many
who had camped out the night before, by wayside or in forest, brought with =
them
certain scanty provisions and a kitchen pot in which to boil thin soup, or =
some
poor makeshift mess; others came empty-handed, "pilgrims" out at =
the
elbow and shoeless, trusting to fortune for their sustenance, and looking
capable even of having poached in one of the wide forests they had traverse=
d,
despite a penalty, severe and disproportionate to the offense, for laying h=
and
on any lord's wild birds or rabbits.
Savage men; sodden men--good, bad and
indifferent! Like ants throng=
ing about
the hill, they straightway streamed to the Mount; took possession of it, or=
as
much as lay open to them; for around the top, chosen abode of the Governor,
extended a wall; grim, dark and ominous; bristling with holes which seemed =
to
look blackly down; to watch, to listen and to frown. Without that pretentious line of
encircling masonry, the usual din, accompaniment to the day and the presenc=
e of
so many people, prevailed; within, reigned silence, a solemn hush, unbroken=
by
even a sentinel's tread.
"I shall be glad when it's all
over!" Standing at the w=
indow
of her chamber the Lady Elise had paused in dressing to look out upon the t=
hrong--a
thousand clots upon the sand, dark moving masses in the narrow byways, and
motionless ones near the temporary altars.
"Oh, my Lady!" Her companion, and former nurse, a=
woman
about fifty years of age, ventured this mild expostulation.
"There, Marie! You can go!"
"Yes, your Ladyship--"
"One moment!" The slender figure
turned. "This
fastening--"
In an instant the woman was by her side.
"Have you heard anything more about t=
he
prisoners, Marie?" abruptly. "Those who were tried, I mean?"=
"Nothing--only Beppo said they are to=
be
hanged day after to-morrow--when the pilgrimage is over."
"Day after to-morrow!" The brown eyes looked hard and bri=
ght;
the small white teeth pressed her lip.&nbs=
p;
"And the man my fa--the Governor had--whipped from the Mount--y=
ou
have heard nothing more of him--where he has gone?"
"No, my Lady; he seems to have
disappeared completely; fled this country, perhaps, for those islands where=
so
many like him," half bitterly, "have gone before!"
The girl looked up in a preoccupied
manner. "Poor Marie! Your only sister died there, didn't
she?"
"Yes, my Lady; I never saw her after =
she
left France with her husband and baby girl. He was an unpatriotic fellow--Pier=
re
Laroche!"
"No doubt," said the Governor's
daughter absently, as the other prepared to leave the room.
Alone, the girl remained for several momen=
ts
motionless before the great Venetian mirror; then mechanically, hardly look=
ing
at the reflection the glass threw back at her, she finished her toilet. This task accomplished, still she =
stood
with brows closely drawn; afar the flute-like voices of the choir-boys arose
from different parts of the Mount, but she did not seem to hear them; made a
sudden quick gesture and walked toward the door in the manner of one who has
arrived at some resolution.
Passing down a corridor, she reached an ar=
ched
opening whose massive door swung easily to her touch, and let herself out b=
y a
private way, which had once been the ancient abbot's way, to an isolated co=
rner
of a small secluded platform. From
this point a stairway led up to a passage spanning a great gulf. Below and aside, where the red-til=
ed houses
clung to the steep slope of the rock, fluttered many flags; yet the girl did
not pause either to contemplate or admire.=
Only when her glance passed seaward and rested on the far-away ocean=
's
rim of light, did she stop for an instant--mid-way on the bridge--then,
compressing her lips, moved on the faster; down the incline on the other si=
de;
up winding stairs between giant columns, reaching, at length, that bright a=
nd
grateful opening, the cloister.
With an unvarying air of resolution she stepped forward; looked in; =
the
place was empty--silent save for the tinkling of the tiny fountain in the
center.
"Are you looking for some one, my
Lady?"
The voice was that of Beppo, who was regar=
ding
her from an angle in the cloister walk.
"I am looking for his Excellency. I suppose he is--"
"In the apartments of state, my
Lady. But--"
The girl frowned.
"But, but!" she said. "But what?"
"His Excellency has left word--he was
expecting a minister from Paris--that no one else was to be admitted; the
matter was so important that he wished no interruptions."
She had already turned, however; moved on =
past
him without answer. At the in=
ner
entrance to the "little castle" or chatelet, which presently she
reached, the girl stopped. He=
re,
without, in the shadow of two huge cylindrical towers, that crowned the feu=
dal
gate-house, a number of soldiers, seated on the steps, clinked their swords=
and
talked; within, beneath the high-vaulted dome of the guard-room lolled the =
commandant
and several officers on a bench before a large window. Immediately on her
appearance they rose, but, merely bowing stiffly, she started toward a port=
al
on the left. Whereupon the
commandant started forward, deferentially would have spoken--stopped her, w=
hen
at the same moment, the door she was approaching opened, and the Governor h=
imself
appeared. At the sight of her=
he
started; a shade of annoyance crossed his thin features, then almost
immediately vanished; his cold eyes met hers expectantly.
"I have been told you were very busy,=
yet
I must see you; it is very important--"
A fraction of a moment he seemed to hesita=
te;
then with an absent air: "Certainly, I was very busy; nevertheless--&q=
uot;
he stepped aside; permitted her to pass, and softly closed the door. With the same preoccupied air he w=
alked
to his table before one of the large fireplaces whose pyramidal canopies me=
rged
into the ribs of the vaulting of a noble chamber, and, seating himself in a
cushioned chair, looked down at a few embers.
"I came," standing, with her fin=
gers
straight and stiff on the cold marble edge of the table, the girl began to
speak hurriedly, constrainedly, "I wanted to see you--about the
prisoners--"
He did not answer. Gently stroking his wrist, as if t=
he dampness
from some subterranean place had got into it, he evinced no sign he had hea=
rd;
and this apathy and his apparent disregard of her awoke more strongly the
feeling she had experienced so often since that day in the cloister, when he
had promised to set free the servant of the Black Seigneur; had kept his wo=
rd,
indeed, but--
"Can't you see," she forced hers=
elf
to continue, "after what the man Sanchez thought--suspected about me, =
what
he said that day at the Mount, after what he, the Black Seigneur, did for
me"--the Governor started--"that you, if you care for me at
all," he looked at her strangely, "at least, should--"
"As I told you the other day," h=
is
accents were cold, "why concern yourself about outlaws and peasants
clamoring for 'rights'!"
"But it is my concern," she said
passionately. "Unless--&=
quot;
"Neither yours nor mine," he
answered in the same tone.
"Only the law's!"
"The law's!" she returned. "You are the law--"
"Its servant!" he corrected.
"But--you could spare their lives!
"The law is explicit. In the King alone rests the power
to--"
"The King! But before word could reach him--&=
quot;
"Exactly!" As he spoke, the Governor rose.
"You will not hear me?"
"If there is anything else--"
Her figure straightened. "Why do you hate him so?"=
; she
asked passionately. "You=
have
hastened their trial, and would carry out the sentence before there is time=
for
justice. And the man whom tha=
t day you
ordered whipped from the Mount--after letting me think him safe! After all =
that
his master did for me! Why wa=
s he
lashed? Because of him he ser=
ved or
of the old Seigneur before that? I
heard you ask about him--of his having gone to America? Why did you care about that?"=
"You seem to have listened to a great
deal!"
"And why did he go to America?" =
she
went on, unheeding. "Did=
you
hate him, too? What for?"=
;
"If you have nothing else to talk
about--" He glanced at t=
he
door.
"And the lands!" she said. "They were his; now they are
yours--"
"Unjustly, perhaps you think."
"No, no!" she cried. "I didn't mean--I didn't imply
that. Of course not! Only," putting out her hands,
"I try to understand, and--you have never taken me into your confidenc=
e,
mon pere! You have been indul=
gent;
denied me nothing, but--I don't want to feel the way I have felt the last w=
eek,
as if--" quickly she stopped.
"No doubt there are reasons--although I have puzzled; and if I
knew! Can't you," abrupt=
ly, "treat
me as one worthy of your confidence?"
"You!" he said with quiet
irony. "Who--listen!&quo=
t;
The girl flushed. "I had to, because--"
"And who misrepresent facts, as in the
case of--Saladin!"
"But--"
"How long," standing over her,
"were you on the island?"
"I--don't know!"
"You don't?" His voice implied disbelief.
"Part of the time I was
unconscious--"
"In the watch-tower with him!"
She made a gesture. "Would you rather--"
"What did he say?"
The girl's eyes, that had been so steadfas=
t,
on a sudden wavered. "Nothing--much."
"And you? Nothing, too? Then how was the deception devised=
--the
pact entered into--"
Her figure stiffened. "There was no pact."
"Treason, then? The law holds it treason to--"=
;
"You are cruel; unjust!" she
cried. "To me, as you we=
re to
him. That old man you had
whipped! I wonder," impe=
tuously,
"if you are so to all of them, the people, the peasants. And if that is the reason they hav=
e only
black looks for me--and hatred? As
if they would like to curse us!"
He turned away. "I am very busy."
"Mon pere!"
He walked to the door.
"Then you won't--won't spare them?&qu=
ot;
He opened wide the door. Still she did not move, until the =
sight
of the commandant without, the curious glance he cast in their direction, d=
ecided
her. Drawing herself up, she =
walked
toward the threshold, and, bowing perfunctorily, with head held high, cross=
ed
it.
CHAPTER XV - THE VOICE FROM THE GROUP
"No one from the household is allowed
through without an order!"
"You will, however, let me pass."=
;
"Because you have a pretty
face?" The sentinel at t=
he
great gate separating the upper part of the Mount from the town, answered
roughly. "Not you, my girl, or--"
But she who importuned raised the sides of=
the
ample linen head-dress and revealed fully her countenance.
"My Lady!" Half convinced, half incredulous, =
the
soldier looked; stared; at features, familiar, yet seeming different, with =
the rebellious
golden hair smoothed down severely above; the figure garbed in a Norman pea=
sant
dress, made for a costume dance when the nobles and court ladies had visited
the Mount.
"You do not doubt who I am?" Imperiously regarding him.
"No, my Lady; only--"
"Then open the gate!" she comman=
ded.
The man pushed back the ponderous bolts;
pressed outward the mass of oak and iron, and, puzzled, surprised, watched =
the
girl slip through. Of course it was none of his affair, my lady's caprice, =
and
if she chose to go masquerading among the people on such a day, when all th=
e idle
vagabonds made pretext to visit the Mount, her right to do so remained
unquestioned; but, as he closed the heavy door, he shook his head. Think of the risk! Who knew what might happen in the =
event
of her identity being revealed to certain of those in that heterogeneous co=
ncourse
without? Even at the moment t=
hrough
an aperture for observation in the framework to which he repaired upon
adjusting the fastenings, he could see approaching a procession of noisy
fanatics.
The apprehension of the soldier was, howev=
er,
not shared by the girl, who, glad she had found a means to get away from the
chilling atmosphere of her own world, experienced now only a sense of freed=
om and
relief. In her tense mood, the
din--the shouting and unwonted sounds--were not calculated to alarm; on the
contrary, after the oppressive stillness in the great halls and chambers of=
the
summit, they seemed welcome. =
Her
pulses throbbed and her face still burned with the remembrance of the inter=
view
with her father, as she eyed unseeingly the approaching band, led by censer-
and banner-bearers.
"Vierge notre esperance--" Caught up as they swept along, she=
found
herself without warning suddenly a part of that human stream. A natural desire to get clear from=
the
multitude led her at first to struggle, but as well contend with the
inevitable. Faces fierce, hal=
f-crazed,
encompassed her; eyes that looked starved, spiritually and physically, glea=
med
on every side. Held as in a v=
ise,
she soon ceased to resist; suddenly deposited on a ledge, like a shell toss=
ed
up from the sea, she next became aware she was looking up toward a temporar=
y altar,
garish with bright colors.
"Etends sur nous--" Louder rose the voices; more
uncontrollable became the demeanor of the people, and quickly, before the
unveiling of the sacred relics had completely maddened them, she managed to=
extricate
herself from the kneeling or prostrate throng; breathless, she fled the
vicinity.
Down, down! Into the heart of the village; thr=
ough
tortuous footpaths, where the pandering, not pietistic, element held sway;
where, instead of shrines and altars, had been erected booths and stands be=
fore
which vendors of nondescript viands or poor trumpery vented their loquacity=
on
the pilgrims:
"All hot! All hot!"
"A la barque! A l'ecaille!"
"La vie! Two drinks for a liard!"
"Voila le plaisir des dames!"
The Mount, in olden times a glorious and
sacred place for royal pilgrimages, where kings came to pray and seek
absolution, seemed now more mart than holy spot. But those whom the petty traders s=
ought
to entice--sullen-looking peasants, or poorly clad fishermen and their fami=
lies--for
the most part listened indifferently, or with stupid derision.
"Bah!" scoffed one of them, a wo=
man
dressed in worn-out costume of inherited holiday finery. "Where think you we can get s=
ous
for gew-gaws?"
"Or full stomachs with empty
pockets?" said another.
"The foul fiend take your Portugals!"
The nomadic merchants replied and a rough
altercation seemed impending, when, pushing through the crowd, the girl hur=
ried
on.
Down, down, she continued; to the base of =
the
rock where the sand's shining surface had attracted and yet held many of the
people. Thither they still
continued to come--in bands; processions; little streams that, trickling in,
mingled with and augmented the rabble.&nbs=
p;
An encampment for the hour--until the "petite" tide should
break it up, and drive it piecemeal to the shore or up the sides of the
Mount--it spread out and almost around the foundations of the great rock. Only the shadows it avoided--the
chilling outlines of pinnacles and towers; the cold impress of the saint,
holding close to the sunlit strand and basking in its warmth.
Some, following the example of their
sea-faring fellows, dug half-heartedly in the sands in the hope of eking out
the meager evening meal with a course, salt-flavored; others, abandoning
themselves to lighter employment, made merry in heavy or riotous fashion, b=
ut
the effect of these holiday efforts was only depressing and incongruous.
"Won't you join?" Some one's arm abruptly seized my =
lady.
"No, no!"
Unceremoniously he still would have drawn =
her
into the ring, but with a sudden swift movement, she escaped from his grasp=
.
"My child!" The voice was that of a wolfish fa=
lse
friar who, seeing her pass quickly near by, broke off in threat, solicitati=
on
and appeal for sous, to intercept her.&nbs=
p;
"Aren't you in a hurry, my child?"
"It may be," she answered steadi=
ly,
with no effort to conceal her aversion at sight of the gleaming eyes and
teeth. "Too much so, to =
speak
with you, who are no friar!"
"What mean you?" His expression, ingratiating befor=
e, had
darkened, and from his mean eyes shot a malignant look; she met it with
fearless disdain.
"That you make pretext of this holy d=
ay
to rob the people--as if they are not poor enough!"
"Ban you with bell, book and candle!<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Your tongue is too sharp, my girl!=
"
he snarled, but did not linger long, finding the flashing glance, the
contemptuous mien, or the truth of her words, little to his liking. That he profited not by the last,
however, was soon evident, as with amulets and talismans for a bargain, aga=
in
he moved among the crowd, conjuring by a full calendar of saints, real and
imaginary, and professing to excommunicate, in an execrable confusion of
monkish gibberish, where the people could not, or would not, comply with hi=
s demands.
"So they are--poor enough!" Leaning on a stick, an aged fishwi=
fe who
had drawn near and overheard part of the dialogue between the thrifty rogue=
and
the girl, now shook her withered head.&nbs=
p;
"Yet still to be cozened!
Never too poor to be cozened!" she repeated in shrill falsetto
tones.
"And why," sharply my lady turne=
d to
the crone, "why are they so poor? The lands are rich--the soil
fertile."
"Why?" more shrilly. "You must come from some far-=
off
place not to know. Why? Don't you, also, have to pay metay=
age to
some great lord? And banalite=
here,
and banalite there, until--"
"But surely, if you applied to your g=
reat
lord, your Governor; if you told him--"
"If we told him!" Brokenly the woman laughed. "Yes; yes; of course; if--&qu=
ot;
"I don't understand," said the
Governor's daughter coldly.
Muttering and chuckling, the woman did not
seem to hear; had started to hobble on, when abruptly the girl stopped her.=
"Where do you live?"
"There!" A claw-like finger pointed. "On the old Seigneur's lands-=
-a little
distance from the woods--"
"The old Seigneur? You knew him?"
"Knew him! Who better?" The whitened head wagged. "And the Black Seigneur? Wasn't he left, as a child, with m=
e,
when the old Seigneur went to America?&nbs=
p;
And," pursing her thin lips, "didn't I care for him, and b=
ring
him up as one of my own?"
"But I thought--I heard that he, the
Black Seigneur, when a boy, lived in the woods."
"That," answered the old creatur=
e,
"was after. After the ye=
ars he
lived with us and shared our all!
Not that we begrudged--no, no!
Nor he! For once when =
I sent
word, pleading our need, that we were starving, he forgave--I mean, remembe=
red
me--all I had done and," in a wheedling voice, "sent
money--money--"
"He did?" Swiftly the girl reached for her o=
wn
purse, only to discover she had forgotten to bring one. "But of course," in a to=
ne of disappointment
at her oversight, "he couldn't very well forget or desert one who had =
so
generously befriended him."
"There are those now among his friend=
s he
must needs desert," the crone cackled, wagging her head.
A shadow crossed the girl's brow. "Must needs?" she repeat=
ed.
"Aye, forsooth! His comrades--taken prisoners near=
the
island of Casque? His Excelle=
ncy
will hang them till they're dead--dead, like some I've seen dangling from t=
he
branches in the wood. He, the=
Black
Seigneur, may wish to save them; but what can he do?"
"What, indeed?" The girl regarded the Mount almost
bitterly. "It is impregn=
able."
"Way there!" At that moment, a deep, strong voi=
ce
from a little group of people, moving toward them, interrupted.
CHAPTER XVI - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE PEOPL=
E
In the center walked a man, dressed as a
mountebank, who bent forward, laden with various properties--a bag that
contained a miscellany of spurious medicines and drugs, to be sold from a
stand, and various dolls for a small puppet theater he carried on his
back. It was not for the Gove=
rnor's
daughter, or the old woman, however, his call had been intended. "Way there!" he repeated=
to
those in front of him.
But they, yet seeking to detain, called ou=
t:
"Give the piece here!"
CHAPTER XVI - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE PEOPL=
E
In the center walked a man, dressed as a
mountebank, who bent forward, laden with various properties--a bag that
contained a miscellany of spurious medicines and drugs, to be sold from a
stand, and various dolls for a small puppet theater he carried on his
back. It was not for the Gove=
rnor's
daughter, or the old woman, however, his call had been intended. "Way there!" he repeated=
to
those in front of him.
But they, yet seeking to detain, called ou=
t:
"Give the piece here!"
Like a person not lightly turned from his
purpose, he, strolling-player as well as charlatan, pointed to the Mount, a=
nd,
unceremoniously thrusting one person to this side and another to that,
stubbornly pushed on. As long=
as
they were in sight the girl watched, but when with shouts and laughter they=
had
vanished, swallowed by the shifting host, once more she turned to the
crone. That person, however, =
had walked
on toward the shore, and indecisively the Governor's daughter gazed after.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The woman's name she had not inqui=
red,
but could find out later; that would not be difficult, she felt sure.
Soon, with no definite thought of where she
was going, she began to retrace her steps, no longer experiencing that earl=
ier over-sensitive
perception for details, but seeing the picture as a whole--a vague impressi=
on
of faces; in the background, the Mount--its golden saint ever threatening to
strike!--until she drew closer; when abruptly the uplifted blade, a dominant
note, above color and movement, vanished, and she looked about to find hers=
elf
in the shadow of one of the rock's bulwarks. Near by, a scattering approach of
pilgrims from the sands narrowed into a compact stream directed toward a lo=
wer
gate, and, remembering her experience above, she would have avoided the gen=
eral
current; but no choice remained. At
the portals she was jostled sharply; no respecters of persons, these men ma=
de
her once more feel what it was to be one of the great commonalty; an atom in
the rank and file! At length
reaching the tower's little square, many of them stopped, and she was suffe=
red
to escape--to the stone steps swinging sharply upward. She had not gone far, however, when
looking down, she was held by a spectacle not without novelty to her.
In the shadow of the Tower of the King sto=
od
the mountebank she had seen but a short time before on the sands. Now facing the people before his l=
ittle
show-house, which he had set up in a convenient corner, he was calling
attention to the entertainment he proposed giving, by a loud beating on a d=
rum.
Rub-a-dub-dub! "Don't crowd too close!"
Rub-a-dub-dub! "Keep ord=
er and
you will see--"
"Some trumpery miracle mystery!"
called out a jeering voice.
"Or the martyrdom of some saint!"
cried another.
"I don't know anything about any
saint," answered the man, "unless,"--rub-a-dub-dub!--"y=
ou
mean my lord's lady!"
And truly the piece, as they were to disco=
ver,
was quite barren of that antique religious flavor to which they objected and
which still pervaded many of the puppet plays of the day. The Petit Masque of the Wicked Pea=
sant
and the Good Noble, it was called; an odd designation that at once interest=
ed
the Lady Elise, bending over the stone balustrade the better to see. It interested, also, those officia=
l
guardians of the peace, a number of soldie=
rs
and a few officers from the garrison standing near, who, unmindful of the g=
irl,
divided their attention between the pasteboard center of interest and the
people gathered around it.
Circumspectly the little play opened; a sc=
ene
in which my lord, in a waistcoat somewhat frayed for one of his station,
commands the lazy peasant to beat the marsh with a stick that the croaking =
of
the frogs may not disturb at night the rest of his noble spouse, seemed
designed principally to show that obedience, submission and unquestioning
fealty were the great lord's due.
On the one hand, was the patrician born to rule; on the other, the
peasant, to serve; and no task, however onerous, but should be gladly welco=
med
in behalf of the master, or his equally illustrious lady. The dialogue, showing the disincli=
nation
of the bad peasant for this simple employment and the good lord's noble sol=
icitude
for the nerves of his high-born spouse, was both nimble and witty; especial=
ly
those bits punctuated by a cane, and the sentiment: "Thus all bad peas=
ants
deserve to fare!" and culminating in an excellent climax to the lesson=
--a
tattoo on the peasant's head that sent him simultaneously, and felicitously,
down with the curtain.
"What think you of it?" At my lady's elbow one of the offi=
cers
turned to a companion.
"Amusing, but--" And his glance turned dubiously to=
ward
the people. Certainly they did not now show proper appreciation either for =
the literary
merits of the little piece or the precepts it promulgated in fairly sounding
verse.
"The mountebank!" From the crowd a number of discont=
ented
voices rose. "Come out, Monsieur Mountebank!"
"Yes, Monsieur Mountebank, come out; =
come
out!"
With fast-beating heart the Lady Elise gaz=
ed;
as in a dream had she listened--not to the lines of the puppet play; but to=
a voice--strangely
familiar, yet different--ironical; scoffing; laughing! She drew her breath
quickly; once more studied the head, in its white, close-fitting clown's
covering; the heavy, painted face, with red, gaping mouth. Then, the next moment, as he bowed
himself back--apparently unmindful of a missile some one threw and which st=
ruck
his little theater--the half-closed, dull eyes met hers; passed, without si=
gn
or expression!--and she gave a nervous little laugh. What a fancy!
"Act second!" the tinkling of a =
bell
prefaced the announcement, and once more was the curtain drawn, this time
revealing a marsh and the bad peasant at work, reluctantly beating the wate=
r to
the Song of the Stick.
"Beat! beat! At his lordship's command; For if there's a =
croak,
For you'll be the strok=
e, From no gentle
hand."
A
merry little tune, it threaded the act; it was soon interrupted, however,
during a scene where a comical-looking devil on a broomstick, useful both f=
or
transportation and persuasion, came for something which he called the peasa=
nt's
soul. Again the bad peasant
protested; would cheat even the devil of his due, but his satanic Majesty w=
ould
not be set aside.
"You may rob your master," he sa=
id,
in effect; "defraud him of banalite, bardage and those other few taxes
necessary to his dignity and position; but you can't defraud Me!" Whereupon he proceeded to wrest wh=
at he
wanted from the bad peasant by force--and the aid of the
broomstick!--accompanying the rat-a-tat with a well-rhymed homily on what w=
ould
certainly happen to every peasant who sought to deprive his lord of feudal
rights. At this point a growi=
ng restiveness
on the part of the audience found resentful expression.
"That for your devil's stick!"
"To the devil with the devil!"
"Down with the devil!"
The cry, once started, was not easy to sto= p; men in liquor and ripe for mischief repeated it; in vain the mountebank pleaded: "My poor dolls! My poor theater!" Unceremoniously they tumbled it an= d him over; a few, who had seen nothing out of the ordinary in the little play to= ok his part; words were exchanged for blows, with many fighting for the sake of fighting, when into the center of this, the real stage, appeared soldiers.<= o:p>
"What does it mean?" Impressive in gold adornment and
conscious authority, the commandant himself came down the steps. "Who dares make riot on a day
consecrated to the holy relics? But
you shall pay!" as the soldiers separated the belligerents. "Take those men into custody =
and--who
is this fellow?" turning to the mountebank, a mournful figure above the
wreckage of his theater and poor puppets scattered, haphazard, like victims=
of
some untoward disaster.
"It was his play that started the tro=
uble,"
said one of the officers.
"Diable!" the commandant
frowned. "What have you =
to say
for yourself?"
"I," began the mountebank,
"I--" he repeated, when courage and words alike seemed to fail hi=
m.
The commandant made a gesture. "Up with him! To the top of the Mount!"
"No, no!" At once the fellow's voice came ba=
ck to
him. "Don't take me ther=
e,
into the terrible Mount! Don'=
t lock
me up!"
"Don't lock him up!" repeated so=
me
one in the crowd, moved apparently by the sight of his distress. "It wasn't his fault!"
"No; it wasn't his fault!" said
others.
"Eh?" Wheeling sharply, the commandant g= azed; at the lowering faces that dared question his authority; then at his own soldiers. On the beach he mig= ht not have felt so secure, but here, where twenty, well-armed, could defend a pass and a mob batter their heads in vain against walls, he could well afford a confident front. "Up with you!" he cried sternly and gave the mountebank a contemptuous thrust.<= o:p>
For the first time the man's apathy seemed=
to
desert him; his arm shot back like lightning, but almost at once fell to his
side, while an expression, apologetically abject, as if to atone for that
momentary fierce impulse, overspread his dull visage. "Oh, I'll go," he said i=
n accents
servile. And proceeded hurrie=
dly to
gather up the remains of his theater and dolls. "I'm willing to go."
CHAPTER XVII - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE
HUNCHBACK
Up the Mount with shambling step, head
down-bent and the same stupid expression on his face, the mountebank went d=
ocilely,
though not silently. To one o=
f the
soldiers at his side he spoke often, voicing that dull apprehension he had
manifested when first ordered into custody.
"Do you think they'll put me in a
dungeon?"
"Dungeon, indeed!" the man answe=
red
not ill-naturedly. "For =
such
as you! No, no! They'll keep the oubliettes, calot=
tes,
and all the dark holes for people of consequence--traitors, or your fine ge=
ntry
consigned by lettres de cachet."
"Then what do you think they will do =
with
me?"
"Wait, and find out!" returned t=
he
soldier roughly, and the mountebank spoke no more for some time; held his h=
ead
lower, until, regarding him, his guardian must needs laugh. "Here's a craven-hearted
fellow! Well, if you really w=
ant to
know, they'll probably lock you up for the night with the rest of
rag-tag," indicating the other prisoners, a short distance ahead, &quo=
t;in
the cellar, or almonry, or auberge des voleurs; and in the morning, if you'=
re
lucky and the Governor has time to attend to such as you, it may be you'll =
escape
with a few stripes and a warning."
"The auberge des voleurs!--the thieve=
s'
inn!" said the man. &quo=
t;What
is that?"
"Bah! You want to know too much! If now your legs only moved as fas=
t as
your tongue--" And the s=
peaker
completed the sentence with a significant jog on the other's shoulder. Whereupon the mountebank quickened=
his
footsteps, once more ceased his questioning. It was the soldier who had not yet
spoken, but who had been pondering a good deal on the way up, who next broke
the silence.
"How did it end, Monsieur
Mountebank?--the scene with the devil, I mean."
The man who had begun to breathe hard, as =
one
not accustomed to climbing, or wearied by a long pilgrimage to the Mount, at
the question ventured to stop and rest, with a hand on the granite balustra=
de
of the little platform they had just reached. "In the death of the peasant,=
and a
comic chorus of frogs," he answered.
"A comic chorus!" said the
soldier. "That must be v=
ery
amusing."
"It is," the mountebank said, at=
the
same time studying, from where he stood, different parts of the Mount with
cautious, sidelong looks; "but my poor frogs!--all torn! trampled!&quo=
t;
"Well, well!" said the other not
unkindly. "You can mend =
them
when you get out."
"'When!' If I only knew when that would be!=
What if I should have to stay here=
like
some of the others?--pour etre oublie!--to be forgotten?"
"If you don't get on faster," sa=
id
the soldier who had first spoken, "you won't be buried alive for some =
time
to come, at least!"
"Pardon!" muttered the mounteban=
k. "The hill--it is very steep.&=
quot;
"You look strong enough to climb a do=
zen
hills, and if you're holding back for a chance to escape--"
"No, no!" protested the man. "I had no thought--do I not k=
now
that if I tried, your sword--"
"Quite right. I'd--"
"There, there!" said the other
soldier, a big, good-natured appearing fellow. "He's harmless enough, and,&q=
uot;
as once more they moved on, "that tune of yours, Monsieur
Mountebank," abruptly; "it runs in my head. Let me see--how does =
it
go? The second verse, I
mean--"
"Beat! beat! Mid marsh-muck and mire, For if any note <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Escapes a frog's throat, Beware my lord's
ire!"
"Yes;
that's the one. Not bad!"
humming--
"For if any note =
Escapes a frog's throat Beware my lord's
ire!"
"Are
the verses your own?"
"Oh, no! I'm only a poor player," said=
the
mountebank humbly. "But =
an honest
one," he added after a pause, "and this thieves' inn, Monsieur?&q=
uot;
returning to the subject of his possible fate, "this auberge des voleu=
rs--that
sounds like a bad place for an honest lodging."
"It was once under the old monks, who
were very merry fellows; but since the Governor had it restored, it has bec=
ome
a sober and quiet place. It i=
s true
there are iron bars instead of blinds, and you can't come and go, as they u=
sed
to, but--"
"Is that it--up there?" And the
mountebank pointed toward a ledge of rock, with strong flanking buttresses,=
out
jutting beneath a mysterious-looking wall and poised over a sparsely-wooded=
bit
of the lower Mount. "The=
gray
stone building you can just see above the ramparts, and that opening in the
cliff to the right, with something running down--that looks like
planking--"
"Oh, that is for the wheel--"
"The wheel?"
"The great wheel of the Mount! It was built in the time of the mo=
nks, and
was used for--"
"Hold your tongue!" said the oth=
er
soldier, and the trio entered the great gate, which had opened at their
approach, and now closed quickly behind them.
For the first time in that isolated domain=
of
the dreaded Governor, the mountebank appeared momentarily to forget his fea=
rs
and gazed with interest around him.
On every side new and varying details unfolded to the eye; structures
that from below were etched against the sky in filmy lines, here resolved
themselves into vast, solid, but harmonious masses.
Those ribbons of color that had seemed to =
fall
from the wooing sky, to adorn these heights, proved, indeed, fallacious; mo=
re
somber effects, the black touches of age, confronted the eye everywhere, sa=
ve
on one favored front--that of a newer period, an architectural addition who=
se intricate
carvings and beautiful roses of stone invited and caught the warmer rays; w=
hose
little balcony held real buds and flowers, bright spots of pink dangling fr=
om,
or nestling at, the window's edge.
"Yonder looks like some grand lady's
bower," as he followed his captors past this more attractive edifice, =
the
mountebank ventured to observe. "Now, perhaps, lives there--"
"Hark you, my friend," one of the
soldiers bruskly interrupted; "a piece of advice! His Excellency likes not babblers,
neither does he countenance gossip; and if you'd fare well, keep your tongu=
e to
yourself!"
"I'll--I'll try to remember," sa=
id
the mountebank docilely, but as he spoke, looked back toward the balcony; at
the gleaming reflection full on its windows; then a turn in the way cut off=
the
pleasing prospect, and only the grim foundations of the lofty, heavier
structure on one hand and the massive masonry of the ramparts on the other
greeted the eye.
For some distance they continued along the
narrow way, the mountebank bending lower under his load and observing the
injunction put upon him, until the path, broadening, led them abruptly on t=
o a
platform where a stone house of ancient construction barred their further p=
rogress. But two stories in height, this
building, an alien edifice amid loftier piles, stood sturdily perched on a
precipitous cliff. The rough =
stonework
of its front, darkened by time, made it seem almost a part of the granite
itself, although the roof, partly demolished and restored, imparted to it an
anomalous distinctness, the bright new tile prominent as patches on some
dilapidated garment. In its
doorway, beneath a monkish inscription, well-nigh obliterated, stood a dwar=
f,
or hunchback, who, jingling a bunch of great keys, ill-humoredly regarded t=
he
approaching trio.
"What now?" The little man's welcome, as mount=
ebank
and soldiers came within earshot, was not reassuring. "Isn't it enough to make pris=
oners of
all the scamps in Christendom without taking vagabond players into custody?=
"
"Orders, good Jacques!" said one=
of
the soldiers in a conciliatory tone.
"The commandant's!"
"The commandant!" grumbled the
grotesque fellow. "It is=
all
very well," mimicking: "'Turn them over to Jacques. He'll find room.' If this keeps on, we'll soon have =
to
make cages of confessionals, or turn the wine-butts in the old cellar into
oubliettes."
"If any of the ancient flavor lingers=
in
the casks, your guests would have little reason to complain!" returned=
the
other soldier. "But this=
fellow,
he'll make no trouble--"
"Oh, I suppose we'll have to take car=
e of
him!" muttered the dwarf. "In the thieves' inn there's always room
for one more!" Obeying t=
he gesture,
at once menacing and imperious, that accompanied these words, the mounteban=
k,
who had been eying his prospective host not without visible signs of misgiv=
ing,
reluctantly entered.
But as he did so, he looked back; toward t=
he
soldier who had displayed half-friendly interest in the play.
"If you care to know more about the
piece--" he began, when the maledictions and abuse of the misshapen ke=
eper
put a stop to further conversation and sent the mountebank post-haste into =
the
darkness of the cavern-like hall intersecting the ground floor.
On either side closed doors, vaguely
discerned, hinted at the secrets of the chambers they guarded; the atmosphe=
re,
dark and close, proclaimed the sunlight long a stranger there. At the end of the hall the dwarf, =
who
had walked with the assurance of one well acquainted with that musty interi=
or
and all it contained, paused; shot sharply a bolt and threw open a door.
Cries of disappointment and rage followed,
and, facing the company that crowded the dingy little room almost to
suffocation, the latest comer found himself confronted by unkempt people who
shook their fists threateningly and execrated in no uncertain manner. A few, formerly spectators of his =
little
play, inclined again to vent their humor on him, but he regarded them as if
unaware of their feeling; pushed none too gently to a tiny window, and,
depositing his burden on the stone floor, seated himself on a stool with his
back to the wall.
As a squally gust soon blows itself out, so
their temper, mercurial, did not long endure; from a ragged coat one produc=
ed
dice, another cards, and, although there were few sous to exchange hands, t=
he
hazard of tossing and shuffling exercised its usual charm and held them.
"Not much chance to get out that
way," observed a fellow prisoner. "What did you see?"
"Only a chasm and the sands."
"The sands!" said the man. "Cursed the day I set foot on
them!"
To this malediction the other did not answ=
er;
stepped down and, again seated in his corner, waited, while the light that =
had
grudgingly entered the narrow aperture grew fainter. With the growing darkness the atmo=
sphere
seemed to become closer, more foul; but although he breathed with difficult=
y,
the mountebank suffered no sign of impatience or concern to escape him; only
more alertly looked, and listened--to a night bird cleaving the air without=
; to
muttered sounds, thieves' patois, or snatches of ribald mirth within; and, =
ere
long, to new complainings.
"Our supper! What of our supper?"
"The foul fiend take the auberge des
voleurs and its landlord?"
"Vrai dieu! Here he comes!" as footsteps =
were
heard without.
And the door, opening, revealed, indeed, in
the rushlight, now dimly illuminating the hall, the hunchback; not laden,
however, with the longed-for creature comforts, but empty-handed; at his ba=
ck
the commandant and a number of soldiers.
"You fellow with the dolls!" Bli=
nking
in the glare of the torches, the dwarf peered in. "Where are you? Come along!" as the mountebank
rose, "you are wanted."
"Wanted?" repeated the player,
stepping forward.
"Where?"
"At the palace," said the
commandant.
"The palace!" stopping short.
"Who?" The dwarf made a
grimace. "Who?" he
repeated mockingly.
"Her ladyship," said the command=
ant,
with a reproving glance at the jailer.
"Her ladyship!"
"Haven't you ears, my man?" The commandant frowned and made an=
impatient
gesture. "Come, bestir
yourself! The Governor's daug=
hter has
commanded your presence."
CHAPTER XVIII - THE MOUNTEBANK AND MY LADY=
"The Governor's daughter!" Had the light been stronger they m=
ust
have seen the start the mountebank gave.&n=
bsp;
"Impossible!"
"Eh?=
What?" Surprised =
in
turn, the officer gazed at him.
"You dare--out with him!"=
To the soldiers.
But in a moment had the mountebank recover=
ed
his old demeanor, and, without waiting for the troopers to obey the
commandant's order, walked voluntarily toward the door and into the passage=
.
"Our supper! Our supper!" A number of the prisoners, crowdin=
g forward,
began once more to call lustily, when again was the disk-studded woodwork s=
wung
unceremoniously to, cutting short the sound of their lamentations.
"Dogs!" Malevolently the dwarf gazed back.=
"To want to gorge themselves =
on a
holy day!"
"Pious Jacques!" murmured the
commandant. "But I alway=
s said
you made a model landlord!"
"When not interfered with!" grum=
bled
the other.
"At any rate he doesn't seem to
appreciate his good fortune," with a glance at the mountebank.
"No," jeering. "A gallant cavalier to step
blithely at a great lady's command!
'Your Ladyship overwhelms me!'" bowing grotesquely. "'Your Ladyship's
condescension'--"
"Why, then, need you take me?"
interposed the mountebank quickly.
"Can you not tell her ladyship I am not fit to appear in her
presence--an uncouth clown--"
"Bah! I've already done that," answ=
ered
the commandant.
"But how came her ladyship to know of=
me--here--?"
"How indeed?"
"And what does she want of me?"<= o:p>
"That," roughly, "you will =
find
out!" and stepped down the hall, followed by the soldiers, mountebank =
and
dwarf, the last of whom took leave of them at the door.
Clear was the night; the stars, like liquid
drops about to fall, caressed with silvery rays the granite piles. In contrast to the noisome atmosph=
ere of
the prison, faint perfumes, borne from some flowery slope of the distant sh=
ore,
swept languorously in and out the open aisles and passages of the Mount.
"Here we are!" The officer stopped. At the same time upon a near-by ba=
lcony
a nightingale began to sing, tentatively, as if trying the scope and qualit=
y of
its voice. "You are to go
in!" he announced abruptly.
"Such a fine palace! I--I would rather not!" mutte=
red
the fellow, as they crossed an outer threshold and proceeded to mount some
polished stairs.
"Stubborn dolt! Now in you march," pausing be=
fore a
door. "But, hark you!
A look from the commandant completed the
sentence.
Alone, in an apartment of the palace, some moments later, the mountebank's demeanor underwent a quick change; he glanc= ed hastily toward the door the commandant had closed in leaving, and then, wit= h sudden brightening gaze, around him, as if making note of every detail of his surroundings. Set with column= s of warm-hued marble, relieved with ornate carvings and designs, the spacious chamber presented an appearance at once graceful and charming. Nor were its furnishings at varian= ce with its architectural elegance; on every hand soft colors met the eye, in = rugs of ancient pattern; in tapestries, subdued; in the upholstering of Breton oak. A culminating note was i= n the center of the room, where a great bunch of roses opened wide their petals.<= o:p>
But briefly, however, the clown permitted
himself to survey, or study, these details of refinement and luxury; the sw=
ift
eager interest that had shone from the dark eyes gave way to an expression,
lack-luster and stupid; his countenance once more resumed its blank, stolid
aspect. As if unconscious of =
the
anomalous figure he presented, mechanically had he seated himself; was gazi=
ng
down, when through a doorway, opposite the one by which the commandant had
left, a slender form appeared. Under the heavy, whitened lids a slight move=
ment
of the clown's eyes alone betrayed he was aware of that new presence. A moment the girl stood there, her
glance resting on the grotesque, bent figure before her; then with a quizzi=
cal
lift of the delicate brows she entered.
"You believe, no doubt, in making
yourself at home?"
Crossing to the table, once more she stopp=
ed;
her figure, sheathed in a gown of brocade of rose, glowed bright and distin=
ct in
contrast to the faint, vari-colored tints of ancient embroideries on the
wall. Above, the light threw a
shimmer on the deep-burnished gold of her hair; the sweeping lashes veiled =
the
half-disdainful, half-amused look in her brown eyes. "Or, perhaps, you are one of =
those
who think the peasants will some day sit, while the lords and ladies
stand?"
"I don't know," he managed to
answer, but got up, only to appear more awkward.
"You do not seem to know very much,
indeed!" she returned, her tone changing to one of cold severity. "Not enough, perhaps, to perc=
eive the
mischief you may cause! That =
play
of yours, which I witnessed to-day--"
"You! To-day? Your Ladyship was--"
"Yes," imperiously, "I was
there! And heard and saw the =
effect
it had on the people; how it stirred all their baser passions! But you, of course, could not know=
--or
care, thinking only of the sous!--that, instead of teaching a lesson, the p=
iece
would only move them to anger, or resentment."
"I--your Ladyship--great lords have
commended the play--"
"Great lords!" she began, but
stopped; regarded her listener and shrugged her shoulders.
A few moments silence lasted, the fellow
apparently not knowing what to say, or if he was expected to say anything,
while, for her part, the girl no longer looked at him, but at the flowers,
taking one, which she turned in her fingers.
"Your Ladyship would command me--&quo=
t;
"To give the play no more!"
"But--" Expostulation shone from his look.=
"In which event you shall be suffered=
to
go free to-morrow."
"But my livelihood! What shall I do, if I am forbidden=
to
earn--"
She gave him a colder look. "I have spoken to the command=
ant;
told him what I had seen, and that I did not think you intended to make
trouble. Your case will, therefore, not be reported to his Excellency. Only," with a warning flash,
"if you are again caught giving the play, you must expect to receive y=
our
deserts."
"Of course! If your Ladyship commands!"
dejectedly.
"I do! But, as an offset to the coppers y=
ou
might otherwise receive, I will give you a sum of money sufficient to
compensate you."
"Your Ladyship is so generous!"<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He made an uncouth gesture of grat=
itude
and covetousness. "May I=
ask
your Ladyship how much--"
"How much?" scornfully. "But I suppose--"
The words died away; her glance fell; ling=
ered
on the hand he had extended.
Muscular, shapely, it seemed not adapted to the servile gesture; was
most unlike the hand of clod or clown.&nbs=
p;
Moreover, it was marked with a number of wounds, half-healed, which
caught and held her look.
"Of course, I am so poor, your
Ladyship--" he began, in yet more abject tone, but stopped, attracted =
in
turn by the direction of her gaze; then, meeting it, quickly withdrew the h=
and
and thrust it into his pocket. Not
in time, however, to prevent a startled light, a swift gleam of recollection
from springing into her eyes! The
very movement itself--ironically enough!--was not without precedent.
"You!" She recoiled from him. "The Black--"
As a man who realizes he has betrayed hims=
elf,
he bit his lips; but attempted no further subterfuge. The shambling figure straightened;=
the
dull eyes grew steady; the bold self-possession she remembered well on anot=
her
occasion again marked his bearing.
"Your Ladyship has discerning eyes,&q=
uot;
he remarked quietly, but as he spoke glanced and moved a little toward the
window.
My lady stood as if dazed. He, the Black Seigneur, there, in =
the palace! Mechanically she raised her hand t=
o her
breast; she was very pale. On=
the
balcony the nightingale, grown confident, burst into a flood of variations;=
a
thousand trills and full-throated notes filled the room.
"I understand now," at length she
found voice, "why that fancy came to me below, when I was listening to=
the
play on the platform. But why=
have
you come--to the very Mount itself?"&=
nbsp;
Her voice trembled a little. "You! On the beach the people tried to s=
top
you--"
"You saw that, too?"
"And you knew the play would make
trouble! You wanted it to,&qu=
ot; quickly. "For what purpose? To get into the upper part of the =
Mount?
To have them arrest--bring you here?"=
She looked at him with sudden terror. "My father! Was it to--"
A low, distinct rapping at the door she had
entered, interrupted them. She started and looked fearfully around. At the same time the mountebank st=
epped
back to the side of a great bronze in front of the balcony, where, standing=
in
the shadow, he was screened.
"Elise!" a voice called out.
The flower the girl had been holding, fell=
to
the floor.
"My--" she began, when the door
opened and the Governor stood on the threshold.
CHAPTER XIX - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE GOVER=
NOR
In his hand the Governor held a paper; his
usually austere face wore a slightly propitiatory expression, while the eye=
s he
turned upon her, as slowly he entered the room, suggested a respite of
differences. Pausing, he toyed with the missive, turning it around and arou=
nd
in his fingers, as if something in his thoughts were revolving with it. Had he been more watchful of her, =
less
bent on some matter uppermost in his mind, he could not have failed to mark=
the
pallor of her face, or the agitation written there. As it was, his glance swept without
studying.
"I hoped to find you here," he b=
egan
complacently; "hoped that you had not yet retired."
She made some faint response, but her voic=
e,
despite herself, wavered. Whereupon his look sharpened; then almost immedia=
tely
relapsed; constraint on her part could easily be accounted for; not many ho=
urs had
elapsed since their last interview.
"Yes," he continued, "I have
here to consider," indicating a paper he held, "a rather important
matter." He waited a mom=
ent
before adding: "A matter that concerns--you!"
"That concerns me?" Her hands tightened.
"Yes."
"Since it is important," she said
hastily, "would it not--shall we not leave it until to-morrow? I--I am rather tired to-night,
and--"
"What?" he returned in the same
unruffled tone. "Would y=
ou
postpone considering the command of the King!"
"Command!" she repeated
nervously. "Of the King?=
"
"Or request," he said, "whi=
ch
is the same."
"But--" she began, and stopped; =
held
by a sound, as of some one moving, near the window.
"Shall I read it, or--"
She had started to look behind her; but
abruptly caught herself, and seemed about to frame some irrelevant response,
when his voice went on: "The King desires to change the date set for y=
our
marriage with his kinsman, the Marquis de Beauvillers."
"Change?" she echoed.
"Yes; to hasten it." If the Governor had expected from =
her
hostility, or perverseness, he was agreeably disappointed; the girl evinced=
neither
pleasure nor disapproval; only stood in the same attitude of expectancy, wi=
th
head half turned.
"His Majesty's reasons for this
step--"
"Can't we--can't we, at least, postpo=
ne
considering them?"
Again he regarded her more closely. "What better time than the pr=
esent?"
"But I don't want--"
"Elise!" A slight frown appeared on his
brow. "His Majesty,"=
; once
more looking at the paper, "hints at an important political appointmen=
t he
desires to confer on the Marquis de Beauvillers which would take him abroad;
but whether as ambassador, or as governor in the colonies, his Majesty does=
not
disclose. Obviously, however,=
the
bestowing of the honor--a high one, no doubt!--depends on his early marriag=
e,
and a wife to grace the position. =
span>The
letter," weighing it, "is a tentative one; the courteous precurso=
r of
a fuller communication when he has learned our--your--pleasure."
She did not at once express it; indeed, at=
the
moment, seemed scarcely to have comprehended; her glance, which had swept
furtively behind when he was studying the document, returned more uneasily =
to
his, but not before he had caught the backward look.
"Well?" he said with a touch of
asperity. "Well?" he
repeated, when his gaze, following the direction hers had taken, paused.
Although well lighted in the center by a g=
reat
Venetian candelabrum, the far ends of the spacious hall lay somewhat in
obscurity; notably the space adorned with tropical plants and a life-size
bronze before the entrance to the balcony.=
It was on this dim recess the Governor permitted his eye to rest; at
first casually; then with a sudden appearance of interest.
"Eh?" he muttered, and before my
lady could prevent him, if she had been mindful so to do, walked quickly
forward; but as he advanced, a white figure stepped boldly out from behind =
that
partial screen. With a sharp
exclamation, which found a startled echo from the girl, the Governor stoppe=
d;
stepped back as far as the table.
"What mummery is this?" His lips shaped the words uncertai=
nly; his
hand, reaching out with that first startled instinct of danger, touched the
bell.
"Your Ladyship rang?" On the opposite side of the room w=
as the
door thrown suddenly open. Th=
e look
of expectancy on the face of the commandant, who had so promptly appeared, =
gave
way to one of surprise; consternation.&nbs=
p;
"His Excellency!" he muttered, and mechanically saluted.
Over the Governor's visage a faint trace of
relief flitted; dryly he looked from the mountebank, now erect and motionle=
ss,
to the girl; but the face was averted and his Excellency could not see the
sudden whiteness of her cheek; again he regarded the officer.
"You answer our summons with
alacrity," he observed to this last subject of his scrutiny.
The commandant reddened. "I--your Excellency--the trut=
h is,
I was waiting without, at the door."
"What you have just stated,"
returned the Governor, "is patent; what I should like to know,
however," with subtle change of tone, "is why you were stationed
there."
"To take this mountebank player away,=
when
it pleased her Ladyship to--"
"Yes; to take him away!" interru=
pted
the lady in hurried tones, the agitation of which she strove to conceal.
The Governor continued to address the
commandant. "You brought=
him here?"
incisively.
"Yes; your Excellency; a stupid fello=
w we
arrested below for making trouble with his dolls, and--but with her ladyshi=
p's
permission--" awkwardly turning to the Governor's daughter, "I wi=
ll
explain."
To this appeal the girl, however, made no
answer; as if fascinated, watched them, the commandant, her father, the sti=
ll,
white figure at one side--not far away!
"I think," the Governor spoke
softly, "you will do that, anyway!"
"Exactly, your Excellency! It happened in this wise," an=
d not
without evidence of constraint and hesitation, the officer slowly related t=
he story
of the disturbance on the platform; the taking into custody of the rogues a=
nd
knaves, and my lady's interest in the vagabond clown whose play had occasio=
ned
the riot.
"Because it was seditious, designed to
set authority at naught?" interrupted the listener, grimly eying for an
instant the motionless form of the mountebank.
"On the contrary, your Excellency!&qu=
ot;
quickly. "Her ladyship a=
ssured
me it was the loyal and faithful sentiments of the play that caused the unr=
uly
rascallions to make trouble, and that the clown deserved no punishment, bec=
ause
he had intended no mischief."
"Her ladyship?" The Governor's brows went suddenly
up. "How," he asked=
at
length in a voice yet softer, "should her ladyship have known about the
'loyal and faithful sentiments' of a piece, given in the town, before a cro=
wd
of brawlers?"
"Because I was a spectator!" said
his daughter, a red spot now on her cheek; changing lights in her eyes.
"A spectator?" repeated, in mild
surprise, the Governor.
"I will explain--after!" she add=
ed
in tones, low, constrained.
"Hum!" His Excellency's glance swept to t=
he
commandant.
"Her ladyship was so good," murm=
ured
the latter in some embarrassment and yet feeling obliged to speak, with that
bright insistent gaze of the high official of the Mount fastened upon him,
"as to inform me that, desiring to mingle with the people, and, knowin=
g it
might not be expedient to do so--in her own proper character--her ladyship =
saw
fit to assume a humbler costume--that of a Norman peasant maid--"
From the Governor's lips fell an ejaculati=
on;
he seemed about to speak sternly, but the words failed on his lips; instead,
"Continue!" he said curtly.
"That, I believe, is all, your Excell=
ency,
except that her ladyship expressed the desire the stupid fellow be set at
liberty on the morrow, as not worth the keeping--and--"
The mountebank started, as expecting now t=
he
Lady Elise to speak; to denounce him, perhaps; but it was his Excellency who
interrupted.
"You were going to do so? To set him at liberty?"
"I, your Excellency? The auberge des voleurs is so full= of the scum of the sands, there is hardly room for them to squirm; but if your= Excellency wishes all these paltry ragamuffins and beggars brought before you--"<= o:p>
"Well, well!" The Governor looked down; his hand
crushed impatiently the paper he held.&nbs=
p;
"Here is much ado about nothing! Have you," to his daughter,
"aught to add?"
She lifted her head. Standing in a careless pose, appar=
ently regardless
of what was taking place, the mountebank, at the Governor's question, shot a
quick glance from him to her.
Although but an instant his look met my lady's, in that brief interv=
al
she read all that was lost on the other two; the sudden, desperate purpose,=
the
indubitable intention, his warning glance conveyed. At the same time she noticed, or f=
ancied
she did, the hand thrust into his breast, as if grasping some weapon concea=
led
there, draw out a little, while simultaneously, lending emphasis to the fac=
t,
he moved a shade nearer the Governor, her father!
"Nothing," said the girl hastily;
"nothing!"
"Then," his Excellency waved a t=
hin,
aristocratic hand, "take him away!"
"And your--her ladyship's
instructions?" murmured the commandant.
"Are to be obeyed, of course!"
answered the Governor, complacently regarding his letter.
"You hear, fool?" said in a low
voice the commandant, as he approached the clown. "Thank his Excellency! Don't you know enough? Clod! Dolt!"
But the man made at first no effort to obe=
y;
immovable as a statue, seemed not to see the speaker, and once more, the
officer half whispered his injunction.
"Eh?" The Governor turned.
"I thank your Excellency! Your Excellency is most kind!"=
; said
the mountebank in a loud, emphatic tone.
"And her ladyship?" prompted the
officer.
The clown looked at the girl; her breath c=
ame
fast through her parted lips.
"Speak, fool! To her ladyship you also owe much.=
"
"Much!" repeated the clown, a sp=
ark
in the dull gaze still fastened upon her.
"Is that all you can say?"
"Take him away!" My lady spoke almost wildly.
"Yes; take him away!" With a querulous gesture his Excel=
lency
put an end to the matter. &qu=
ot;Am
I to be interrupted in important affairs by every miserable farceur, or
buffoon, you pick up on the beach?
To the devil with the fellow!"
When the door had closed on the mountebank=
and
the commandant, he turned to his daughter.=
"A madcap trick!"
Frowningly his Excellency regarded her. "To have gone into the town a=
nd
mingled with the rabble! But," shaking his head and then suffering that
expression of disapproval to relax into severity, "say no more about
it! Here," indicating the
letter, "is something of greater moment, to be attended to and
answered!"
CHAPTER XX - THE MOUNTEBANK AND THE SOLDIE=
R
As the mountebank walked out of the apartm=
ent
of the Governor's daughter, he drew himself up with an air of expectancy, l=
ike
a man preparing for some sudden climax.&nb=
sp;
Once beyond the threshold, his eyes glanced furtively back at the cl=
osed
door, and, descending the stairs to the floor below, he carried his head a
little forward, as if intent to catch unwonted sound or outcry. But no raised voice or unusual noi=
se
reached his ear, and his footsteps, as the party issued forth into the stre=
et,
responded briskly to the soldiers' pace.&n=
bsp;
Still with the same air of strained attention, now mingled with a tr=
ace
of perplexity, he followed his guard until called upon to stop.
"You are to sleep here!" As he spoke, the commandant opened=
the
door of what seemed a low out-building, not very far from the general barra=
cks,
and motioned the mountebank to enter.
The latter, after glancing quickly at the speaker and the soldiers
behind, bent to step across the dark threshold, and, still stooping, on acc=
ount
of the low roof, looked around him.
By the faint glimmer of light from a lantern one of the soldiers hel=
d,
the few details of that squalid place were indistinctly revealed: A single
stall whose long-eared occupant turned its head inquiringly at the abrupt
appearance of a companion lodger; bits of harness and a number of traps han=
ging
from pegs on the wall, and, near the door, on the ground, a bundle of grass,
rough fodder from the marshes close by the shore. This last salt-smelling heap, the =
officer,
peering in with a fastidious sniff, indicated.
"That's your bed! A softer one than you would have h=
ad but
for the Lady Elise!"
The prisoner returned no answer, and in the
voice of a man whose humor was not of the best, the commandant uttered a br=
ief
command. A moment or two the =
light
continued to pass fitfully about the stable; then it and the moving shadows
vanished; a key grated in the door, and the sound of the officer's receding
footsteps was followed by the diminishing clatter of men's heels on the fla=
gging
stone. Not until both had fai=
rly
died away in the distance and the silence was broken only by certain
indications of restiveness from the stall, did the prisoner move.
First, to the door, which he tried and sho=
ok;
then, avoiding the pile of fodder, to the wall, where, feeling about the ro=
ugh
masonry with the energy of one who knew he had no time to spare, his hands,=
ere
long, encountered the frame of a small window. Any gratification, however, he mig=
ht
have experienced thereat found its offset in the subsequent discovery that =
the
window had heavy iron blinds, closed and fastened, and was further guarded =
by a
single strong bar set in the middle, dividing the one inconsiderable apertu=
re
into two spaces of impassable dimensions.&=
nbsp;
But as if spurred by obstacles to greater exertions, fiercely the man
grasped the metallic barrier, braced himself, and put forth his strength. In its setting of old masonry, the=
rod
moved slightly; then more and more, and the prisoner, breathing a moment ha=
rd,
girded himself anew. A wrench=
, a
tug, and the bar, partly disintegrated, snapped in the middle, and holding =
the
pieces, the prisoner fell somewhat violently back. Armed now with an implement that w=
ell
might serve as a lever, he, nevertheless, paused before endeavoring to force
the formidable fastenings of the blinds; paused to tear off the tight-fitti=
ng
clown's cap; to doff the costume of the mountebank covering the rough, dark
garments beneath, and vigorously to rub his face with some mixture he took =
from
his pocket. He had made but a=
few
passes to remove the distinguishing marks of paint and pigment, when a sound
without, in the distance, caused him to desist.
Footsteps, that grew louder, were coming h=
is
way, and, gripping his bar tighter the prisoner grimly waited; but soon his
grasp relaxed. The sound was =
that
of a single person, who now paused before the entrance; fumbled at the lock,
and, with an impatient exclamation, set something down. At the same time the prisoner drop=
ped
his weapon and stooped for the discarded garments; in the dark, they escaped
him and he was still searching, when the bolt, springing sharply back, caus=
ed
him to straighten.
"Are you there, Monsieur
Mountebank?" The door sw=
ung
open; an uncertain light cast sickly rays once more within, and beneath the=
lantern,
raised above his head, innocent of the danger he had just escaped, the round
visage of the good-natured soldier who had escorted the mountebank to the
auberge des voleurs looked amicably and inquiringly into the darksome hovel=
.
"Yes; what do you want?" the ans=
wer
came more curt than courteous.
"What do I want?" the fellow
repeated with a broad smile.
"Now that's good!
Perhaps it would be more to the point to ask what do you want? And
here," indicating a loaf and jug in his hand, "I've got them, tho=
ugh
why the commandant should have cared, and ordered them brought--"
"He did?" said the prisoner, wit=
h a
flash of quick surprise.
"Well, I'm not hungry, but you can leave them."
"Not hungry?" And the soldier, who seemed a litt=
le the
worse for liquor, but more friendly in consequence, walked in. "I don't wonder, though,"=
; he
went on, closing the door, hanging his lantern above and placing the jug on=
the
ground; "in such a foul hole!
What you need, comrade, is company, and," touching significantly
his breast, "something warmer than flows from the spring of St.
Aubert."
"I tell you," began the mounteba=
nk,
when the soldier, staring, got a fair look at the other for the first time =
and
started back.
"Eh?=
What's this?"
"Oh, I took them off! You don't suppose I'd sleep in my =
white
clothes in such a dirty--"
"Right you are, comrade!" return=
ed
the other, seating himself before the door on a three-legged stool he found=
in
a corner. "But for the m=
oment
you gave me a start. I though=
t you
some other person."
"What--person?"
"No one in particular. You might," unbuttoning his c=
oat to
draw forth a bottle, "have been any one! But I dare say you have had them o=
ff in worse
places than this--which, after all, is not bad, compared to some of the roo=
ms
for guests at the Mount!"
"You mean?" The mountebank looked first at the
closed blinds; then at the door, and a sudden determination came to his eye=
s.
"Those especially prepared for the
followers of the Black Seigneur, taken prisoners near Casque, for
example!"
"They are dungeons?"
"With Jacques for keeper! The little sexton, we call him, be=
cause
the prisoners go generally from the cells to the pit, and the quicklime is =
the
hunchback's graveyard!"
"This Jacques--" A growing impatience shone ominous=
ly
from the prisoner's glance; his attention, that of a man straining to catch
some expected sound without, focused itself on the speaker. "This Jacques--what sort of
quarters has he?"
"Oh, he lives anywhere; everywhere! Sometimes at the thieves' inn; aga=
in in
one of the storehouses near the wheel.&nbs=
p;
They say, though, he is not a great hand to sleep, but passes most of
his time like a cat, prowling in and out the black passages and tunnels of =
the
Mount. But," abruptly br=
eaking
off, "the play--that's what I want to know about! The end! How did it end?"
"I'm in no mood for talking."
"Take the bottle, an' it'll loosen yo=
ur
tongue!"
"No."
"What! you refuse?"
"Yes."
"Then," philosophically, "m=
ust
I drink alone."
"Not here!"
"Eh?"
"Will you get out, or--" and the mountebank stepped toward the other with apparently undisguised intention.<= o:p>
"So that's your game?" Quickly the soldier sprang to his
feet. "I must teach you a
little politeness, my friend--how we deal with uncivil people in the
army!" And throwing off =
his
coat, as ready for a bout at fisticuffs as for an encounter of words, the
soldier confronted the clown.
"When I'm done, you'll sing that song of the stick out of the o=
ther
side of the mouth, and think your wicked peasant received a coddling from h=
is
master in comparison!"
But the mountebank did not answer--with
words--and the soldier was still threatening, and painting dire prophetic
pictures of what he intended doing, when a strong arm closed about him; fin=
gers
like iron gripped his throat, and, for some moments thereafter, although of=
unusual
size and vigor, the man was more concerned in keeping his feet than in
searching his vocabulary for picturesque imagery. Then, in spite of his struggles an=
d best
endeavors to free himself, he felt his head forced backwards; the grasp on =
his
neck tightened. Still he coul=
d not
shake off that deadly hold, and, aware that consciousness was gradually lea=
ving
him, his efforts relaxed. Aft=
er
that, for an interval, he remembered nothing; but with returning realization
and a vague sense of stiffness in his throat, in a rough sort of way was pr=
epared
to accept defeat; acknowledge the other's supremacy, and seal that
acknowledgment over the bottle.
Only the mountebank afforded him no
opportunity thus to toast the "best man"; with a long strap of
leather snatched from one of the pegs, he had already bound the hands and f=
eet
of his bulky antagonist, and was just rising to survey his handiwork, when =
the
other opened his eyes.
"Here! What do you mean?" exclaimed =
the
soldier, when even the power vocally to express further surprise or indigna=
tion
was denied him, in consequence of something soft being thrust between his
teeth; and mute, helpless, he could but express in looks the disgusted inqu=
iry
his lips refused to frame.
"No! it's no joke," answered the
mountebank, rapidly passing an end of the strap, binding the soldier, about=
a
post of the stall and securing it, sailor-wise. "A poor return for hospitalit=
y, yet
needs must, when the devil drives!" quickly seizing a handful of marsh
grass from the ground and rubbing it over his face. "Anyhow, you'll be none the w=
orse on
the morrow," stepping toward the lantern, "while I--who can say?<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He laughs best--" About to blow out the flame, he st=
opped,
attracted by something his foot had thrust aside; a garment; the
soldier's! A moment he survey=
ed it;
stooped; picked it up. "=
Unless
I am mistaken," casting aside his own coat, slipping on that of the
soldier, and then donning the latter's cap, which had fallen in the struggl=
e,
"we are about of a size. And
this sword," unfastening the belt from the prostrate jailer, "sho=
uld
go with the coat." A mom=
ent
his words, tense, reckless, continued to vibrate in the soldier's ears, the=
n: "I'll
leave you the lantern!" =
And
darkness fell over the place.
Boldly, a little uncertainly, as the soldi=
er
had walked, the mountebank, now, to all appearance, a man of the ranks in t=
he
service of his Excellency, the Governor, strode down the wide, stone-paved =
way separating
the outhouses and a number of desultory ancient structures from the officer=
s'
quarters, hard against the ramparts.
In the sky's dome the stars still shone, although a small mottled pa=
tch
of cloud obscured the moon; on either side no lights appeared in windows, a=
nd friendly
shadows favored him, until he approached at the end of the way the broad, o=
pen
entrance between the soldiers' barracks and the officers' row. There, set in the stone above the =
key of
the time-worn arch, flared a smoky lamp, dimly revealing the surrounding
details; but the young man did not stop; had drawn quite close to the medie=
val structure,
when unexpectedly another tread, on the soldiers' side of the entrance, min=
gled
with his own; rang for a moment in unison; then jingled out of time. He who approached came to a sudden
standstill; cast a quick glance over his shoulder, only to be brought to an
abrupt realization that it was now too late to retreat. A black silhouette, suddenly
precipitated across the pavement, preceded a dark figure that stepped quick=
ly
out and barred the way, while at the same time, a voice, loud and incisive,
challenged.
CHAPTER XXI - THE STAIRWAY OF SILVER
The stillness of the moment that followed =
was
tense; then thickly the young man answered something irrelevant about a clo=
wn,
a bottle and a loaf; with cap drawn down and half-averted face, he lurched a
little forward in the darkness, and the sentinel's weapon fell. "Oh, that's you, is it,
Henri?" he said in a different tone, stepping back. "How did you leave the
fellow?"
"Eating the bread and calling for
more!" As he spoke, the =
other stopped,
swaying uncertainly; above the arch, the wick, ill-trimmed, brightened and
darkened to the drafts of air through break and slit of the old lamp; and
briefly he awaited a favorable moment, when the flame blew out until almost
extinguished; then with hand near sword-hilt, somewhat over-briskly, but in
keeping with the part, he stepped toward the arch; through it, and quickly =
past
the sentinel.
"You seem to have been feasting and
drinking a little yourself, to-night, comrade?" called out the latter
after him. "I noticed it=
when
you went in, and-- But aren't=
you
taking the wrong way?" A=
s the other,
after starting toward the barracks, straightened, and then abruptly wheeled
into the road, running up the Mount.
"Bah!" A moment the young man paused. "Can't a soldier,"
articulating with difficulty, "go to see his sweetheart without--"=
;
"Eh bien!" The sentinel shrugged his
shoulders. "It isn't my =
business. I think, though, I know where they=
'll
put you to-morrow, when they find out through the guard at the barracks.&qu=
ot;
To this ominous threat the other deigned no
response, only, after the fashion of a man headstrong in insobriety, as wel=
l as
in affairs of gallantry, continued his upward way; at first, speedily;
afterward, when beyond hearing of the man below, with more stealth and as
little noise as possible, until the road, taking a sudden angle, brought hi=
m abruptly
to an open space at the foot of a great flight of stone stairs.
Broad, wide, broken by occasional platform=
s,
these steps, reaching upward in gradual ascent, had designedly, in days gone
by, been made easy for broken-down monarchs or corpulent abbots. Also they had been planned to sati=
sfy
the discerning eye, jealous of every addition or alteration at the Mount. My lord, the ancient potentate,
leisurely ascending in ecclesiastical gown, while conscious of an earthly p=
ower
reaching even into England, could still fancy he was going up a Jacob's lad=
der
into realms supernal. Saint L=
ouis,
with gaze benignly bent toward the aerial escalier de dentelle of the chape=
l to
the left, might well exclaim no royal road could compare with this inspiring
and holy way; nor is it difficult to understand a sudden enchantment here, =
or
beyond, that drew to the rock on three pilgrimages that other Louis, more
sinner than saint, the eleventh of his name to mount the throne of France.<=
o:p>
But those stones, worn in the past by the
footsteps of the illustrious and the lowly, were deserted now, and, for the=
moment,
only the moon, which had escaped from the cloud, exercised there the right =
of
way; looking squarely down to efface time's marks and pave with silver from=
top
to bottom the flight of stairs. It
played, too, on facades, towers and battlements on either side, and, at the
spectacle--the disk directly before him--the Black Seigneur, about to leave=
the
dark and sheltering byway, involuntarily paused. Angels might walk unseen up and do=
wn in
that effulgence, as, indeed, the old monks stoutly averred was their habit;=
but
a mortal intrusion on the argent way could be fraught only with visibility.=
To reach the point he had in mind, however=
, no
choice remained; the steps had to be mounted, and, lowering his head and
looking down, deliberately he started.&nbs=
p;
As he proceeded his solitary figure seemed to become more distinct; =
his
presence more obtrusive and his echoing footsteps to resound louder. No indication he had been seen or =
heard,
however, reached him; to all appearances espionage of his movements was wan=
ting,
and only the saint with the sword at the top of the steeple--guardian spiri=
t of
the rock--looked down, as if holding high a gleaming warning of that unwont=
ed
intrusion.
Yet, though he knew it not, mortal eye had
long been on him, peering from a window of the abbot's bridge spanning the =
way
and joining certain long unused chambers, next to the Governor's palace, wi=
th
my lady's abode. Against the =
somber
background of that covered passage of granite, the face looking out would s=
till
have remained unseen, even had the young man, drawing near, lifted his
glance. This, however, he did=
not
do; his eyes, with the pale reflections dancing in them, had suddenly faste=
ned
themselves lower; toward another person, not far beyond the bridge; some one
who had turned in from a passage on the other side of the overhead
architectural link, and had just begun to come down. An old man, with flowing beard, fr=
om
afar the new-comer looked not unlike one of the ancient Druids that, in days
gone by, had lighted and watched the sacred fires of sacrifice on the
rock. He, too, guarded his li=
ght;
but one set in the tall, pewter lamp of the medieval watchman.
"Twelve o'clock and all's--" he
began when his glance, sweeping down, caught sight of the ascending figure,
and, pausing, he leaned on his staff with one hand and shaded his eyes with=
the
other.
A half-savage exclamation of disappointment
was suppressed on the young man's lips; had he only been able to attain that
parallelogram of darkness, beneath the abbot's passage, he would have been
better satisfied, his own eyes, looking ahead, seemed to say; then gleamed =
with
a bolder light.
"A sw=
ord
and blade A dra=
b and
a jade; All's one to the
King's men of the army!"
he began to hum softly, as with a more
reckless swing, quickly he went up in the manner of a man assigned some easy
errand. At the same time the
patriarch slowly and rather laboriously resumed his descent, and just below=
the
bridge, without the bar of shadow, the two came together.
"Think you it is too late for his
Excellency, the Governor, to receive a message?" at once spoke up the
younger, breaking off in that dashing, but low-murmured, song of the barrac=
ks.
"That you may learn from the guard at=
the
palace," was the deliberate answer, as, raising his lamp, the watchman
held it full in his questioner's face.
"Thanks! I was going to inquire." As he answered, at the old abbot's=
window
in the bridge above, the face, looking out, bent forward more intently; then
quickly drew back. "Good
night!"
But the venerable guardian of the inner
precinct was not disposed thus lightly to part company. "I don't seem to know you, yo=
ung
man," he observed, the watery, but keen and critical eyes passing
deliberately over the other's features.
"No?" Unflinching in the bright glare of= the lamp, the seeming soldier smiled. "Do you, then, know all at the Mount--even the soldiers?"<= o:p>
"I should remember even them," w=
as
the quiet reply.
"Those, too, but lately brought from =
St.
Dalard?"
"True, true! There may be some of those--"
uncertainly.
"No doubt! So if you will lower your lamp, wh=
ich
smells rather vilely--"
"From the miscreants it has smelled
out," answered the old man grimly, but obeyed; stood as if engrossed in
the recollections his own response evoked; then turned; walked on, and, a f=
ew
moments later, his call, suddenly remembered, rang, belated, in the drowsy =
air:
"Twelve o'clock and all's well!
A new day, and St. Aubert guard us all!"
"A sword and a blade; A drab and a jade--"
The words, scarcely begun, above his breat=
h,
died away on the seeming soldier's lips, as the watcher on the bridge, look=
ing
down to follow first the departing figure of the old custodian, crossed qui=
ckly
to the opposite window, and, from this point of vantage, gazed up after the=
young
man rapidly vanishing in the track of the moonlight. A moment the onlooker stood motion=
less;
then, ere the figure, so vividly defined in shine and shimmer, had reached =
the
top of the stairway, made an abrupt movement and swiftly left the window and
the passage.
At the head of the steps, which without
further incident or interruption, he reached, the Black Seigneur, stepping =
to
the shadow of a small bush against the wall, glanced about him; with knit b=
rows
and the resolute manner of one who has come to some definite conclusion, he=
left
the spot for observation, almost the apex of the Mount, and plunged divergi=
ng
to the right. From glint and
shimmer to darkness unfathomable!
For some time he could only grope and feel his way, after the fashio=
n of
the blind; fortunately, however, was the path narrow; although tortuous, fa=
irly
well paved, and no serious mishap befell him, even when he walked forward
regardlessly, in feverish haste, beset with the conviction that time meant =
all
in all, and delay the closing of the toils and the failure of a desperate
adventure. Several times he struck against the stones; once fell hard, but
picked himself up; went on the faster, only, after what seemed an intermina=
ble period,
to stop.
"Am I, can I be mistaken?"
But the single star he could see plainest =
from
the bottom of the deep alley, and to which he looked up, answered not the
fierce, half-muttered question; coldly, enigmatically it twinkled, and, hal=
f running,
he continued his way, to emerge over-suddenly into a cooler well of air,
and--what was more to be welcomed!--an outlook whereof the details were in a
measure dimly shadowed forth.
On one side the low wall obscured not the
panorama below--a ghost-like earth fading into the mist, and nearer, the ro=
of
of the auberge des voleurs, a darkened patch on the slope of the rock; but =
in
this direction the man hardly cast a glance. Certain buildings ahead, austere, =
Norman
in outline, absorbed his attention to the exclusion of all else, and toward
them, with steps now alert and noiseless, he stole; past a structure that
seemed a small salle des gardes whose window afforded a view of four men
nodding at a table within; across a space to another passage, and thence to=
a
low door at the far corner of a little triangular spot, alongside the walk =
and
near a great wall. At once the
young man put out his hand to the door; tried it; pushed it back and
entered. Before him a wide op=
ening
looked out at the sky, framing a multitude of stars, and from the bottom of
this aperture ran a strand, or rope, connecting with an indistinct object--a
great wheel, which stood at one side!
CHAPTER XXII - THE WHIRLING OF THE WHEEL=
span>
As old as church or cloister, the massive
wheel of the Mount had, in the past, played prominent part in the affairs of
succeeding communities on the rock.
It, or the hempen strand it controlled, had primarily served as a li=
nk
between the sequestered dwellers, and the flesh-pots and material comforts =
of
the lower world. Through its =
use had
my lord, the abbot, been ever enabled to keep full the mighty wine-butts of=
his
cellars; to provide good cheer for the tables of the brethren, and to brigh=
ten
his cold stone interiors with the fresh greens of Flemish tapestry, or the
sensuous hues of rugs and fabrics from seraglio or mosque. Times less ancient had likewise cla=
imed
its services, and even in recent years, by direction of his Excellency, the=
Governor,
had it occasionally been used for the hoisting of goods, wares, or giant ca=
sks,
overcumbersome for men or mules.
Toward this simple monkish contrivance, the
summit's rough lift, or elevator, wherein serfs or henchmen had walked like
squirrels in a cage to bring solace to generations of isolated dwellers, the
Black Seigneur had at first stepped impetuously; then stopped, hardly breat=
hing,
to look over his shoulder at the door that had been left unfastened. An involuntary question flashing t=
hrough
his brain--the cause of this seeming carelessness--found almost immediate
answer in his mind, and the certainty that he stood not there alone--a
consciousness of some one else, near, became abruptly confirmed.
"What are you doing, soldier?" A voice, rough, snarling, drew swi=
ftly his
glance toward a presence, intuitively divined; an undersized, grotesque fig=
ure
that had entered the place but a few moments before and now appeared from
behind boxes and casks where he had been about to retire to his mattress in=
a
corner.
"What do you want?" repeated this
person, the anger and viciousness on his distorted features, revealed in the
moonlight from the large opening, like that of some animal unwarrantedly
disturbed.
"You, landlord of the thieves'
inn!" And inaction givin=
g way
to movement on the intruder's part, a knife that had flashed back in the ha=
nd
of the hunchback, with his query, was swiftly twisted from him and kicked
aside, while a scream of mingled pain and rage became abruptly suppressed.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Struggling and writhing like a wil=
dcat,
Jacques proved no mean antagonist; with a strength incredible for one of his
size, supplemented by the well-known agility of his kind, he scratched, kic=
ked,
and had managed to get the other's hand in his mouth, when, making an effor=
t to
throw off that clinging burden, the Black Seigneur dashed the dwarf's head
violently against the wooden support of the place. At once all belligerency left the
hunchback, and, releasing his hold, he sank to the ground.
An instant the intruder regarded the inert
form; then, going to the door, latched and locked it with a key he found
inside. Having thus in a meas=
ure
secured himself from immediate interruption without--for any one trying the
door would conclude the wheel-room vacant, or that the dwarf slept there or=
in
the store-house beyond--the Black Seigneur walked to the aperture, and reac=
hing
up, began to pay out the rope from a pulley above. As he did so, with feet braced, he
leaned over to follow in its descent a small car along the almost perpendic=
ular
planking from the mouth of the wheel-room to the rocks, several hundred feet
below.
A sudden slackening of the rope--assurance
that the car, at the end of the line, had reached the loading-spot below
without the fortifications--and the young man straightened; in an attitude =
of attention,
stood listening. But the stil=
lness,
impregnated only with a faint underbreath, the far-away murmur of water, or=
the
just audible droning of insects near the fig-trees on the rocks, continued
unbroken. An impatient frown gathered on his brow; more eagerly he bent for=
ward
to gaze down, when through the air a distant sound--the low, melancholy hoo=
t of
an owl--was wafted upward.
Upon him at the aperture, this night-call,
common to the Mount and its environs, acted in magical manner, and swiftly =
had
he stepped toward the wheel, when an object, intervening, stirred; started =
to
stagger to its feet. At once =
was
the young man's first impelling movement arrested; but, thus forcibly drawn
from his purpose, he did not long pause to contemplate; his hand, drawing t=
he
soldier's sword, held it quickly at the hunchback's throat.
"A sound, and you know what to
expect!"
With the bare point at his flesh, Jacques,
dully hearing, vaguely comprehending, could, indeed, guess and the fingers =
he
had involuntarily raised to push the bright blade aside, fell, while at the=
same
time any desire to attempt to call out, or arouse the guard, was replaced b=
y an
entirely different emotion in his aching brain. Never before had he actually felt =
that
sharp touch--the prelude to the final thrust. At the sting of it, a tremor ran t=
hrough
him, while cowardice, his besetting quality, long covered by growl and egot=
ism
in his strength and hideousness to terrify, alone shone from his unpreposse=
ssing
yellow features.
"You were brave enough with the soldi=
ers
at your beck!" went on a determined voice whose ironical accents in no
wise served to alleviate his panic.
"When you had only a mountebank to deal with! But get up!" contemptuously.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "And," as the hunchback
obeyed, his crooked legs shaking in the support of his misshapen frame,
"into the wheel with you!"
"The wheel!" stammered the
dwarf. "Why--what--"=
;
"To take a little of your own
medicine! Pardi! What a voluble fellow! In with you, or--"
With no more words the hunchback, staggeri=
ng,
hardly knowing what he did, entered the ancient abbot's machine for
hoisting. But as he started t=
o walk
in the great wheel at the side of his captor, a picture of the past--the ti=
mes
he, himself, had forced prisoners to the wheel, stimulating with jeer and
whip--arose mockingly before him, and the incongruous present seemed, in
contrast, like a black waking dream.
That it was no dream, however, and that the
awakening would never occur, he well knew, and malevolently though fearfull=
y he
eyed the rope, coming in over the pulley at the aperture; to be wound around
and around by a smaller wheel, attached to the larger, and--drawing up what=
?
An inkling of the sort of merchandise to be
expected, under the circumstances, could but flash through his mind, togeth=
er
with a more vivid consciousness of the only course open for him--to cry out=
, regardless
of consequences! Perhaps he m=
ight
even have done so, but at that instant--as if the other had read the
thought--came the cold touch of a bare blade on his neck; and with a sudden
chill, the brief heroic impulse passed.
More stealthily now he began to study his
companion in the wheel, while a question, suddenly occurring, reiterated it=
self
in his brain. This man--who w=
as
he? And what did he know of t=
he
mountebank, or his, Jacques', dealings with the clown? That his captor was no soldier of =
the
rock, or belonged there, the hunchback felt by this time assured, and a gro=
wing
suspicion of the other's identity brought home with new force to the dwarf =
the
thankless part chance, perhaps, had assigned to him in that night's work. And at the full realization of the=
consequences,
should his surmise prove correct--what must ultimately happen to himself in
that event, when unwilling cooperation at the wheel should become known--al=
most
had he again reached the desperate point of calling out; but at that moment=
a
turn in the wheel brought to the level of the aperture, the car. In it, or clinging thereto, were a=
number
of figures who, as soon as the rope stopped, sprang noiselessly to the
platform.
"Seigneur, we hardly dared hope--&quo=
t;
"We obeyed orders, but--"
Gazing through the spokes of the wheel, and
listening to their whispered exclamations, any lingering doubt as to who his
captor was could no longer be entertained by the hunchback. These new-comers took no pains to
conceal it; even when the dwarf's presence became known to them and
unceremoniously was he dragged forth--they displayed a contemptuous disrega=
rd
of him as a factor to interfere, not calculated to dull the edge of his
apprehension! Too late now mi=
ght he
regret that pusillanimity that had caused him to draw back from an immortal=
role;
already was the car again descending!
It came up loaded; went down once more,
reappeared. On the little pla=
tform
now were more than a dozen men assembled, but to Jacques this force looked
multiplied. Amid the confusio=
n of his
thoughts, vaguely could he hear orders given; caught something about the ne=
ed
for quiet, haste, overpowering the guard; then saw the door open, and the m=
en, like
shadows, go out; leaving him alone.
No; with two black figures; ominous; armed. He could see the glitter of their
weapons, and ventured to move his thick tongue, when, fiercely silenced, he
crouched down; waited, with hands clenched, an interminable period; until f=
aintly
from afar sounded the note of a night-bird.
Roughly jerked to his feet, between them he
walked to the door; heard it close; stepped out into the night. Many times had he made his way bet=
ween
wheel-room and guard-house, but now the route seemed strange, and, looking
around near the structures at the entrance to his dungeons Jacques shook his
head as if to rid his brain of some fantasy. But the scene did not change; the
guard-house remained--familiar; unlike, with unknown faces peering from it,=
and
an imperious voice issuing commands to him, once unquestioned commander her=
e!
And comprehending what was being said, he
struck his breast violently; with curses would have answered that the keys =
were
his own; the dungeons, too, and what they held, and that he would never lead
them there; never open those doors!
But this grim, savage, determined band beat down his arms, and his
courage; and, with the shadow of the grave again before him, the dwarf walk=
ed
on; past the stable into the guard-house, where familiar forms once had been
seated, and into the passage leading to the dungeons beyond.
CHAPTER XXIII - AT THE VERGE OF THE APERTU=
RE
The footfall of the Black Seigneur, near t=
he
guard-house of the dungeons, was measured, yet noiseless, as he stepped on =
the
soft earth, alongside the stone walk, now toward the passage in the directi=
on
of the wheel-room, then back into the little square. That his thoughts, however, moved =
not in
accord with that deliberate stride, the brows impatiently knit, and the qui=
ck
glances he continued to cast over his shoulder, bore testimony.
Stopping at length near the Tour Bernard, =
he
looked fixedly down at the town, wrapped in a stillness that should have
reassured him. Nevertheless he appeared not satisfied; and had stepped out =
into
the court again, when some sound he heard, or fancied, sent him quickly to =
an
embrasure in the wall. From t=
his
opening--formerly for cannon in defense of the fenils, and the poulain, or
planking for the hoisting of goods--he leaned far out, his glance instincti=
vely
turning toward the barracks, some distance to the right and far below. As he stood thus, that which had f=
irst
attracted his attention--the sound of a voice giving orders--was repeated; =
at
the same time where had been only darkness now shone many windows, while to=
the
left, near the entrance he had passed after leaving the stable, lights bega=
n to
dance like fireflies.
At these signs of activity and the sounds
breaking the general quietude, an exclamation fell from his lips; then, pau=
sing
only a moment to listen and observe, he sprang toward the guard-house. Cros=
sing
the threshold, defined by a faint glimmer from a distant corner, he made his
way past several motionless forms, into a low passage beyond. Here he called out impatiently; bu=
t from
those depths, leading down into the dungeons where his comrades had gone, no
answer was returned. His voic=
e,
hollow, mocking, seemed stifled in a tomb; more loudly he shouted; walked
farther in, when an indistinct response was followed by a pin-point of ligh=
t,
and, ere long, by the bearer of a little lamp, Sanchez.
"The others?" At the head of a dark stairway into
which he would inadvertently have plunged, had he gone farther, the Black
Seigneur confronted the man, as he approached.
"They will soon be here," said t=
he
old servant, springing up the steps and walking after his master, who had
already turned back toward the guard-room.=
"Jacques--curse him!"--putting out his light in obedience =
to a
gesture from the other--"fumbled with the keys; pretended he couldn't =
find
the right ones! So it took lo=
nger
to open the doors."
"The prisoners?"
"I left our men working at the last
dungeon to come on ahead--to let you know you might soon expect them."=
"Soon," ironically, "may be=
too
late."
"You mean--?"
"The hue and cry is out! I have long been expecting it; I d=
o not understand
why it didn't come before; unless a mountebank, locked up, was considered s=
afe
enough for the night--"
"Then some one knew--?"
"Some one?" A bitter laugh was quickly suppres=
sed on
the young man's lips.
"Hark! Listen!&qu=
ot;
"Sounds below! the soldiers!" ex=
claimed
Sanchez, and started toward the window to look out, only to fall quickly ba=
ck.
"What is it?" With his hand on the other's shoul=
der,
the Black Seigneur whispered the question.
"A face! At the window!"
"So soon? The hounds are quicker than I thou=
ght! Or," drawing his sword, "=
;it
may be only one or two in advance.
In that case--"
But no enemy, single or plural, met their
view, either in front, or at the side of the guard-house; only the darkness,
void, empty, and the bare rampart wall winding around the head of the Mount
like a monster guardian dragon, asleep at his post.
"Here is no one!"
"No one! Yet am I sure I saw--"
"A shadow!" answered the other.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "And we have nothing worse to
fight!"
"Some one was there, Seigneur,"
stubbornly, "and fled!"
"Eh bien! He's gone!"
"He?=
It looked like a--"
"Back with you, quick! Is this a time for talk? Call those who can come--if they w=
ould
save their necks!"
"Here they are now," exclaimed t=
he
servant, and, as he spoke, the first of their men, blowing out the light he
carried, ran quickly across the guard-chamber and into the open air. Others hastily followed, until the
gathering, swelled by those brought with them from the dungeons, stood
expectantly before the little stone structure.
"All the prisoners are here?"
"All!"
"To the wheel-house, then!"
But as they hastened across the square and into the narrow way, the Black Seigneur again spoke to the man just ahead:<= o:p>
"The hunchback?"
"We left him below, locked up in the
Devil's Cage!"
"The Devil's Cage! Quelle bonne plaisanterie! Although," looking back, &quo=
t;it
may cost us dear!"
And indeed, behind the sound of pursuit ca=
me
nearer; the clatter of soldiers' feet grew louder, until, reaching the litt=
le
square and the guard-house, all tumult suddenly ceased. A momentary silence, strange, omin=
ous,
was broken by a din of voices, as the flaring here and there of torches thr=
ew
grotesque reflections high against the grim background of black masonry.
To those now within the wheel-room, the ca=
use
of that abrupt clamor was not difficult to divine; his Excellency's soldiers
had found the sentinels overpowered in the guard-house! Would the former stop to investiga=
te;
search first those subterranean passages?&=
nbsp;
Already had the prisoners, the weaker of the Black Seigneur's men,
filled the car, or hung clinging to the rope above; already was the wheel
turning--almost before the key had turned in the lock at the entrance.
"Seigneur!"
"Sanchez?"
"When we left the wheel-room, we clos=
ed
the door."
"When we got back, it--"
A footfall without interrupted, followed by
the sound of a hand at the door, and other steps drawing near.
"Jacques!" An expectant voice spoke; waited; =
called
louder. Then those outside
listened; some one exclaimed, and hurried footsteps retreated toward the
guard-house.
As they died away, in the wheel-room the c=
ar
came up for the second time empty, and inquiringly the men there looked from
one to the other; but, even in that moment of danger, not one of them moved=
, or
made sign of impatience. Some=
must
go; others remain, and stoically they awaited the word of their leader.
"Down with all of you! I'll let you out the line," t=
aking
a turn with the rope around a stanchion near the wall, "and then come =
down
myself."
The command was unexpected; for the first =
time
those that had never questioned their leader's authority, hesitated, and mo=
re
sharply was the order repeated; whereupon they obeyed; all save one.
"I'll let it out myself," said
Sanchez.
"Get in!"
"No!" was the obdurate reply, wh=
en the
Black Seigneur made a sign; hands reached up, seized Sanchez, and a moment
later the car started down. T=
he
line strained; as it played out, now running free about the stanchion, then
stopping with jerks, the man in the wheel-house almost looked to see it
part. The hempen strand, howe=
ver,
proved sound; held its human freight; but another danger pressed near.
Scarcely had the car begun its downward
journey than an attack, indications of whose approach had not been wanting,
manifested itself without. Be=
neath
a sudden, savage assault, the door shook; yet engrossed at the line, every
muscle strained, the man at the stanchion heeded not. Swiftly, mechanically he worked,
apparently as unconscious of the clamorous soldiers without as of a silent
presence within--some one that had been concealed in the little store-room
adjoining, opening into the wheel-house, and now peered out; but at once dr=
ew
back, as, with a crash, the door fell in.
At first, in the comparative darkness, with
only the sky at the aperture staring them in the face, the in-rushing black
figures paused, uncertain; lights soon were pushed forward, however, and th=
en
could they see the great wheel going round, unwinding the rope; the man at =
the
stanchion.
"The prisoners! He's letting them down."
"Cut the line!"
Some one with a knife rushed forward, seve=
red
the strand; but at that moment the car touched the bottom. Then did the solitary man at the r=
ope
for the first time awaken to his own situation; with a backward sweep of the
arm he struck so fiercely the foremost of those to rush at him that the fel=
low
fell, hitting hard the stone floor.
Those nearest stumbled, and drawing his sword, with a thrust of poin=
t or
blow of hilt, the Black Seigneur, for a moment withstood the first confused=
on-coming;
then extricated himself and leaped to the narrow space behind the wheel.
At once the soldiers sprang forward, when,
seizing the wheel, the man behind, with a savage jerk, set it in motion.
Momentarily disconcerted, the others
hesitated. "In the fiend=
's
name, fear ye one man?" shouted an authoritative voice.
"A devil!"
"'Tis the Black Seigneur! I had a good sight of him."
"Beat! beat! 'Mid
marsh-muck and mire--"
came in mocking tones from behind the whee=
l.
"The mountebank!"
"Sacre tonnerre! But mountebank, or outlaw, you sha=
ll
pay! This way!" And at the unprotected side of the=
wheel
the commandant sought to bring the issue to a conclusion. One blade the Black Seigneur struck
down, while his own weapon retorted with more effect, though as it did so,
another soldier made a lunge, and his sword entered the shoulder of the man
behind the wheel. A shout of
triumph that fell from the lips of the Governor's trooper was, however,
abruptly checked; lurching forward with the stroke, ere he could recover,
something heavy--a brass hilt--beat like a hammer on his head and he droppe=
d to
his knees. The others pressed
closer; but with the desperation of a man resolved to sell his life dearly,=
the
Black Seigneur fought on; regardless of cut and thrust, was holding the nar=
row
entrance, when from the rear, somewhere, came the report of a firearm.
"Back! Stand back!"
Those nearest the wheel, not unwilling,
perhaps, to desist, drew away; other detonations followed and smoke filled =
the
place, obscuring the gaze. In=
the
yellow fog they waited; until first it was swept aside close to the opposite
wall by a draft of air from the aperture of the adjoining store-room, and t=
he
commandant, in an effort to see, moved impatiently forward. Ere, however, he could reach the w=
heel,
near the threshold of the store-room, he felt his arm suddenly seized.
"Look, listen!"
The warning cry--a girl's voice--rang thro=
ugh
the wheel-room; but the commandant did not at once heed it; at that abrupt
touch he had involuntarily wrested his arm away; he stared, not in the
direction she who had called out pointed, but at her! The white, drawn face, the eyes
dilated--
"You, my Lady! Here?" he stammered. But she only made a wild movement;=
again
grasped, drew him forward.
"Quick, or--" And suddenly was he brought to a
realization of what she wished him to see: a figure drawing itself along,
slowly, painfully, toward the verge--
"Don't you see? Rather than be taken, he's going to
throw himself over!"
The excited, admonishing sound of her voice
aroused the commandant. He ga=
ve a
sharp order and the soldiers sprang forward; laid roughly hold of the prost=
rate
form; drew it back. The Black
Seigneur yet struggled, but not for long!&=
nbsp;
A moment, and his eyes turned to the Governor's daughter.
"Ma foi! I must needs yield--to your Ladysh=
ip! Yet, what matter, since I have done=
what
I came to do!"
His gaze, darkly glowing, seemed to envelo=
pe
the shrinking figure whose cloak only partly concealed the gay, rich gown
beneath; lifted to the brilliant affrighted brown eyes. "Your Ladyship has bright eye=
s, forsooth!" An ironical laugh burst from his
lips. "But sharper than =
their
swords!" He strove to sp=
eak
further, when a hand holding a weapon fell heavily. At that a cry escaped the girl's l=
ips.
"No, no; you shall not!"
The Black Seigneur lay still.
"Ciel! It's fortunate we got him,"
ruefully the commandant gazed around.
"It would have made a pretty tale, if--" he turned to the =
Governor's
daughter, "I have your Ladyship to thank--" he began, and stopped=
.
My lady's figure had at that moment relaxed
and fallen to the ground!
CHAPTER XXIV - THE HALL OF THE CHEVALIERS<=
/span>
The report of the capture of the Black
Seigneur spread from Mount to town; from rock to shore. Pilgrims repeated, peasants circul=
ated
it; many credited; a few disbelieved.
Like shadows had his comrades and the escaped prisoners vanished,
leaving no trace, save one--an over-turned car and severed rope at the foot=
of
the poulain, without the fortifications.&n=
bsp;
And flocking to that point, of greater interest now than shrine or s=
anctuary,
the pilgrims gazed around; down the rocks; up the almost perpendicular plan=
king
to what looked like a mere pigeon-hole in the side of the cliff. Then ominous grumblings escaped th=
em;
some shook their fists at the black wall; others scoffed at distant sounds =
of
priestly hallelujahs. Had the
soldiers that day appeared in the town or on the beach, serious trouble wou=
ld
have ensued. For the time, ho=
wever,
they remained discreetly housed, while supplies for pilgrims' needs were, by
the commandant's orders, so curtailed, many of the indigent multitude, urge=
d by
pinched stomachs, began, ere night, to wend their way from strand to
shore. But as they left the
vicinity of the Mount, they turned last looks of hatred toward the rock.
His Excellency, the Governor, wasted no ti=
me
considering the humor of the masses; their resentment, or displeasure,
signified nothing; his own complacency left little room for speculation on =
that
score. He was undeniably sati=
sfied;
even the escape of the prisoners and the loss of the soldiers at the
guard-house, or in the wheel-room, was overshadowed by the single capture.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> This contentment, however, he kept=
to
himself; instigated a rigorous inquiry, and prepared to punish certain offe=
nders. But the principal of these he coul=
d not
reach; when released from the iron cage, the hunchback, knowing he would be
called upon to answer for his part in the night's work, had made the best u=
se of
his short legs to place a long distance between himself and the Mount.
The sentinel that allowed the Black Seigne=
ur
to pass through the entrance near the barracks; the watchman encountered on=
the
stairway, and the soldier that had been overpowered in the stable, his
Excellency could, however, lay hands on, and promptly ordered into custody =
to await
his official attention. For t=
his
last culprit, the commandant--mindful, perhaps, of bolstering his own posit=
ion--interceded;
pointing out that the man had to get the gag from his mouth and give the al=
arm;
also, that the mountebank's appearance and acting had been calculated to
deceive even one of the Governor's discernment. Which remark his Excellency had re=
ceived
with sphinx-like, and not altogether reassuring, gravity; had reserved his =
verdict,
and continued, after his own fashion, to collect the details of the affair.=
This searching process should have led him
almost at once to his daughter--a puzzling figure in the maze of events; but
the Governor exhibited no haste in approaching that important witness. Only when he had marshaled his oth=
er
testimony and put it in order did the scope of his sifting extend to the
girl. And then had his manner=
been
strictly judicial: maintaining an imperturbable mask, he professed not to
notice the pallor of her face, the unnatural brightness of her glance.
"When you sent for the mountebank to = come to your apartments, did you know who he was?" the Governor had asked.<= o:p>
"No."
"When did you find out?"
"When you entered the room."
"Why did you not give the alarm
then?"
"Because," she hesitated; her fa=
ce
changed, "he would have killed you, I think--if I had!"
"Was that solicitude for me the only
reason?"
"Why, what other could there be?"=
;
"What other truly? And after he left with the
commandant--why did you not, then, inform me?"
"You remember you had something impor=
tant,
from the King, to consider!" hastily.
"More important than this?"
"He was going to be locked up," =
was
the best reply she could make.
"And in the morning set free!"
She did not answer.
"And yet, you gave the word that enab=
led
us to capture him at the wheel-house!
How, by the way, came you there--in the wheel-house?"
"I saw him from the abbot's bridge; h=
eard
him tell the watchman he had a message to deliver at your palace, and
followed."
"Again feeling solicitude for me?&quo=
t;
"I did not know--he would dare much; =
and
what does it matter now?" almost wildly. "You have captured him, shut =
him up
somewhere in some terrible, deep dungeon, where--"
"He is safe? True; that is the main
consideration."
Thereafter had the subject of the Black
Seigneur been dropped between them; the pilgrimage over, the Mount resumed =
its
normal aspect, but only for a little while! One day about a week later, a brig=
ht
cortege whose appearance was in marked contrast to that of the beggarly mul=
titude,
late visitors to the rock, came riding down the road through the forest to =
the
sea; at the verge of the sands, stopped for a first distant impression of t=
he
rock.
"Noble monument, I salute you!"<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Smiling, debonair, the Marquis de =
Beauvillers
removed his hat.
"And the noble mistress thereof?"
suggested one of his train.
"She, of course!" he said, still
surveying a scene different from that final memory he had carried away with
him. Then had the rock reared=
itself
in all the glamour of a sunny day; now was the sky overcast, while through a
sullen mist the Mount loomed like a shadow itself.
"A cold place for our gay
Elise!" One or two who v=
iewed
the sight for the first time looked disappointed; even the Marquis appeared=
for
the instant more sober; but immediately regained his lively demeanor.
"Wait until you have seen it at its
best," he retorted carelessly, and set the pace across the sands.
Midway, where once on the sands the men of
Brittany had engaged in fierce conflict the ancient abbot's forces, were the
new-comers met by an imposing guard; escorted with due honor through the ga=
tes,
and up the narrow street of the town.
As he climbed the winding highway, my lord,
the Marquis, bestowed approving nod and smile this way and that; it may be =
that
he already felt a nearer affiliation with these people; for his glance,
gracious, condescending in passing, was that of a man armed with the knowle=
dge that
he, kinsman of the King, might some day be called upon to govern here. But to these advances, the townspe=
ople
responded ill, and the young noble's brow went delicately up, as if a little
amused! Mon dieu! did not
unfriendly eyes peer from every lurking place around the royal palaces and
pleasure grounds near Paris; and had they not encountered them all the way =
to
the sea? People were the same=
everywhere;
must be treated like bad children, and, with relays of troops from the capi=
tal
to the sea, from the strand to the Mount's high top, one could afford to sm=
ile
at their petty humors. Above =
all,
when one had more momentous matter for consideration! And my lord lifted his head higher,
toward a rampart, where some one had once bid him au revoir, and where he m=
ight
yet in fancy see a fluttering ribbon wave a bright adieu!
But to-day my lady, the Princess of the Ro=
ck,
was not there; waited above, with her father, to receive him--then--in the
great Hall of the Chevaliers. Until
that morning she had not known of the coming of the Marquis, an impatient
suitor, following the courier and the perfumed missive acquainting her with=
the
noble's near approach. Certai=
nly
had she shown surprise; but whether she was pleased or not, his Excellency =
could
not tell.
He was still uncertain; standing, near the
raised gallery, in the ancient salle des chevaliers, from time to time rega=
rded
her furtively! Often had she =
looked
from one of the round windows, commanding a view of the shore and the sands;
many times turned away. At first sight of the company on the beach, the
Governor had seen the girl's face alter and noted the involuntary start she=
had
given. Whereupon, moving toward one of the giant fireplaces, had he sought =
for the
sake of diplomacy and the end in view, to turn their conversation into a
channel that should have interested her; spoke of plans to be made;
preparations for festivities and merrymaking commensurate with the
circumstances. But to these
suggestions of gaieties, the prelude to a stately ceremony, had she hardly
listened; paused absently before the blazing logs; once or twice seemed abo=
ut
to say something and stopped.
She was silent now, a slender figure benea=
th
that great canopy of stone designed for the shelter of a score of knights;
nervously twining and intertwining her fingers, she looked out at the shado=
ws
moving between the columns, playing around the bases, or melting in the
vaulting.
"They should be almost here now,"
observed his Excellency, again seeking to break that spell of constraint, w=
hen
suddenly she stepped to him.
"Mon pere," her voice sounded
strained, unnatural, "it was you who wanted this marriage?"
"Yes," he had answered in some
surprise; "yes."
"And I have not opposed you--the
King--"
"Opposed? No!
Of course not!"
"Then," more hurriedly, "mu=
st
you do something in return for me!
I do not want my--the wedding festivities--marred by anything
unpleasant! Promise that nothing will happen to him, the Black Seigneur, un=
til after--"
"Impossible!" The sudden virulence her unexpected
request awoke could not be concealed.
"Very well!" Before the anger in his gaze, her =
own
eyes flashed like steel. &quo=
t;In
that case, you can send the Marquis back!&=
nbsp;
For I will not see him--to-day, to-morrow or any time again!"
Long he looked at her; the white face; the
tightly compressed lips; the eyes that would not flinch! They reminded him of another's--we=
re of the
same hue--so like, and yet so different!&n=
bsp;
Unlike, in bespeaking a will he could not break! What he said, matters not; his fac=
e wore
an ashy shade. She did not an=
swer
in words; but he felt, with strange bitterness, a revulsion; she seemed alm=
ost
suddenly to have become hostile to him.
Gay voices sounded without; nearer; she wa=
lked
to a door opposite the entrance their visitors were approaching. An instant, and she would have pas=
sed
out, when the Governor spoke.
But the Marquis, stepping quickly in a few
moments later, noted nothing amiss between them. "Your Excellency!" With filial respect he greeted the
Governor. "My Lady!"=
; Gaily, approvingly, his eye passed=
over
her; then in that hall dedicated to chivalry, a graceful figure, he sank to=
his
knee; raised a small cold hand, and pressed it to his lips.
CHAPTER XXV - THE UNDER WORLD
A coterie of brilliant folk soon followed =
in
the wake of my lord, the Marquis' retinue; holy-day banners were succeeded =
by
holiday ribbons; the miserere of the multitude by paeans of merriment. Hymen, Io Hymen! In assuming the leading role to wh=
ich
circumstances now assigned her, the Governor's daughter brought to the task
less energy than she had displayed on that other occasion when visitors had=
sojourned
at the rock. Her manner was
changed--first, lukewarm; then, almost indifferent; until, at length, one d=
ay
she fairly waived the responsibility of planning amusements; laid before th=
em
the question: What, now, would they like to do?
"Devise a play," said one.
"With shepherds and shepherdesses!&qu=
ot;
The Marquis, however, qualified the
suggestion. "A masque! t=
hat is
very good; but, for this morning--I have been talking with the commandant--=
and
have another proposal--"
"Which is?"
"To visit the dungeons."
"The dungeons?" My lady's face changed.
"And incidentally inspect their latest
guest! Some of you heard of h=
im when
we were here before--Le Seigneur Noir--the Black Seigneur!"
"Le Seigneur Noir!" They clapped their hands. "Yes, let us see him! Nothing=
could
be better. What do you say,
Elise?"
She started to speak, but for the instant =
her
lips could frame no answer; with a faint, strained smile, confronted them, =
when
some one anticipated her reply--
"Did she not leave it to us? It is we who decide."
And a merry party, they swept along, beari=
ng
her with them; up the broad stairway, cold, gray in the morn; beneath the
abbot's bridge--black, spying span!--to the church, and thence to the isola=
ted space
before the guard-house to the dungeons.&nb=
sp;
Here, at the sound of their voices, a man, carrying a bunch of keys-=
-but
outwardly the antithesis to the hunchback--peered from the entrance.
"Unless I am mistaken, the new
jailer!" With a wave of =
his
hand, the Marquis indicated this person.&n=
bsp;
"The commandant was telling me his Excellency had engaged one--=
from
Bicetre, or Fort l'Eveque, I believe?"
"Bicetre, my Lord!" said the man
gravely. "And before tha=
t, the
Bastille."
"Ah!" laughed the nobleman. "That pretty place some of the
foolish people are grumbling about!
As if we could do without prisons any more than without palaces! But we have come, my good fellow, =
to
inspect this lower world of yours!"
The man's glance passed over the paper the
Marquis handed him; then silently he moved aside, and unlocked the iron doo=
rs.
"Are you not coming?" At the threshold the Marquis looked
back. When first they had
approached the guard-house, involuntarily had the Governor's daughter drawn
aside to the ramparts; now, with face half-averted, stood gazing off.
"Coming?" Surprised, the Marquis noted her
expression; the fixed brightness of her eyes and her parted lips. "Oh, yes!" And turning abruptly, she hastened=
past
him.
Would they have to be locked in?--the
half-apprehensive query of one of the ladies caused the jailer at first to
hesitate and then to answer in the negative. He would leave the doors from the =
outer
room open, and himself await there the visitors' return. With which reassuring promise, he
distributed lights; called a guardsman, familiar with the intricate undergr=
ound
passages, and consigned them to his care.
One of the gay procession, the Lady Elise
stepped slowly forward; the guide proved a talkative fellow, and seemed anx=
ious
to answer their many inquiries concerning the place. The salle de la question? Yes, it existed; but the ancient t=
orture
devices for the "interrogatory ordinary" and the "interrogat=
ory
extraordinary" were no longer pressed into service; the King had order=
ed
them relegated to the shelves of the museum. The cabanons, or black holes? Louis XI built them; the carceres =
duri
and vade in pace, however, dated from Saint Mauritius, fourth abbot of the
Mount.
"And the Black Seigneur? How have you accommodated him?&quo=
t;
"In the petit exil; just to the
left! We are going there now.=
"
"I--am going back!" A hand touched the arm of the Marq=
uis,
last of the file of visitors, and, lifting his candle, he held it so that t=
he yellow
glimmer played on the face of the Governor's daughter. Her eyes looked deeper; full of dr=
ead,
as if the very spirit of the subterranean abode had seized her. He started.
"Surely you, Elise, are not afraid?&q=
uot;
"I prefer the sunlight," she said
hurriedly in a low tone.
"It--it is not cheerful down here! No; do not call to the guide--or l=
et the
others know. I'll return alon=
e,
and--wait for you at the guard-house."
He, nevertheless, insisted upon accompanyi=
ng
her; but, indicating the not distant door through which they had come, she
professed to make light of objections, and when he still clung to the point,
replied with a flash of spirit, sudden and passionate. It compelled his acquiescence; lef=
t him
surprised for a second time that day; a little hurt, too, perhaps, for
heretofore had their intimacy been maintained on a strictly ethical and
charming plane. But he had no=
time
for analysis; the others were drawing away to the left, into a side passage;
and, with a last backward glance toward the retreating figure, the Marquis
reluctantly followed the majority.
Despite, however, her avowed repugnance for
that under-world, my lady showed now no haste to quit it; for scarcely had =
the
others vanished than she stopped; began slowly to retrace her way in the
direction they had taken. Whe=
n the
narrow route to the petit exil connected with the main aisle, a sudden draf=
t of
air extinguished her light; yet still she went on, led by the voices, and a
glimmer afar, until reaching a room, low, massive, as if hewn from the solid
rock, again she paused. Drawing behind a heavy square pillar, she gazed at =
the
lords and ladies assembled in the forbidding place; listened to a voice that
ran on, as if discoursing about some anomalous thing. Again was she cognizant of their
questions; a jest from my lord, the Marquis; she saw that several stole
forward; peered, and started back, half afraid.
But, at length, they asked about the
oubliettes, and, chatting gaily, left.&nbs=
p;
Their garments almost touched the Governor's daughter; lights played
about the gigantic pillars, and like will-o'-the-wisps whisked away. Now, staring straight ahead toward=
the
chamber they had vacated, my lady's attention became fixed by a single dot =
of
yellow--a candle placed in a niche by the jailer's assistant. It seemed to fascinate; to draw her
forward; across the portals--into the room itself!
How long she stood there in the faint
suggestion of light, she did not realize; nor when she approached the
iron-barred aperture, and what she first said! Something eager, solicitous, with =
odd
silences between her words, until the impression of a motionless form, and =
two
steady, cynical eyes fastened on her, brought her to an abrupt pause. It was some time before she contin=
ued,
more coherently, an explanation about her apprehension on account of her
father, which had entirely left her when she had peered through the window =
of
the guard-house.
"You thought me, then, but a common
assassin?" a satirical voice interposed.
"My father hates you, and you--"=
"My Lady has, perhaps, a standard of =
her
own for judging!"
Unmindful of ironical incredulity, she rel=
ated
how she had been forced to take refuge in the wheel-house; how, when Sanchez
had seen her, alarmed she had fled blindly down the passage; waited, then
hearing them all coming, at a loss what else to do, had opened the wheel-ho=
use door;
run into the store-room! What=
she
had seen from there, disconnectedly, also she referred to; his rescue of the
others; his remaining behind to bear the brunt--as brave an act as she knew=
of!
Her tone became tremulous.
"Who betrayed me?" His voice, bold and scoffing,
interrupted.
She answered. It was like speaking to some one i=
n a
tomb. "The soldier you b=
ound
gave the alarm."
From behind the bars came a mocking laugh.=
"You don't believe me?" She caught her breath.
"Believe? Of course."
"You don't!" she said, and clung
tighter to the iron grating.
"And I can't make you!"
"Why should your Ladyship want to?
"But it does matter!" wildly.
"Your Ladyship would deny?"
"That I betrayed you at Casque? Here? Yes, yes!"
"Or at the wheel-house when you calle=
d to
warn the soldiers?"
"You were about to--to throw yourself
over!" she faltered.
"And your Ladyship was apprehensive l=
est
the Black Seigneur should escape?"
"Escape?" she cried. "It was death!"
"And the alternative? My Lady preferred to see the outlaw
taken--die like a felon on the gallows!"
"No; no! It was not that."
"What then?" His eyes gleamed bright; her own t=
urned;
shrank from them. A moment she
strove to answer; could not. =
Within
the black recess a faint light from the flickering candle played up and
down. So complete the stillne=
ss, so
dead the very air, the throbbings of her pulses filled the girl with a
suffocating sense of her own vitality.
"I spoke to my father to try to get y=
our
cell changed," she at last found herself irrelevantly saying; "but
could do nothing."
"I thank your Ladyship! But your Ladyship's friends will b=
e far
away. Your Ladyship may miss something amusing!"
"I did not bring them--did not want t=
hem
to come!"
"No?"
Her figure straightened.
"Perhaps, even, they are not aware you
are here?"
"They are not, unless--"
"Elise!" From afar a loud call interrupted;
reverberating down the main passage, was caught up here and there. "Elise! Elise!" The whole under-world echoed to the
name.
"I promised to meet them at the
guard-house," she explained hurriedly. And hardly knowing what she did,
put out her hand, through the bars, toward him. In the darkness a hand seized hers=
; she
felt herself drawn; held against the bars.=
They bruised her shoulder; hurt her face. The chill of the iron sent a shudd=
er
through her; though the pain she did not feel; she was cognizant only of a
closer view of a figure; the chains from him to the wall; the bare, damp
floor--then, of a voice low, tense, that now was speaking:
"Your Ladyship, indeed, found means to
punish a presumptuous fellow, who dared displease her. But ma foi! she should have confin=
ed her
punishment to the offender. T=
hose
stripes inflicted on him, my old servant!&=
nbsp;
Think you I knew not it was my Lady's answer to the outlaw, who had =
the
temerity to speak words that offended--"
"You dream that! You imagine that!"
The warmth of his hand seemed to burn hers;
her fingers, so closely imprisoned, to throb with the fierce beating of his
pulses.
"I do not want you to think--I can't =
let
you think," she began.
"Elise!" The searchers were drawing nearer.=
She would have stepped back, but the finge=
rs
tightened on her hand.
"They will be here in a moment--"=
;
Still he did not relinquish his hold; the =
dark
face was next hers; the piercing, relentless eyes studied the agitated brown
ones. The latter cleared; met=
his
fully an instant.
"Believe!" that imploring wild glance seemed to say. Did his waver for a moment; the ha=
rshness
and mockery soften on his face?
"Elise!" From but a short distance came the=
voice
of the Marquis.
A moment the Black Seigneur's hand gripped=
my
lady's harder with a strength he was unaware of. A slight cry fell from her lips, a=
nd at once,
almost roughly, he threw her hand from him.
"Bah!" again he laughed
mockingly. "Go to your
lover."
Released thus abruptly she wavered,
straightened, but continued to stand before the dungeon as if incapable of
further motion.
"Elise! Are you there?"
"There!" Caverns and caves called out.
"There!" gibed voices amid a
labyrinth of pillars, and mechanically she caught up the candle; fled.
"Here she is!" Coming toward her quickly out of t=
he
darkness, the Marquis uttered a glad exclamation. "We have been looking for you=
everywhere. Did I not say you should not have
attempted to return alone? Mon
dieu! you must have been lost!"
CHAPTER XXVI - A NEW ARRIVAL=
Thrice had the old nurse, Marie, assisting=
her
mistress that night for the banquet, sighed; a number of times striven to h=
old
my lady's eye and attention, but in vain.&=
nbsp;
Only when the adorning process was nearly completed and the nurse kn=
elt
with a white slipper, did she, by a distinctly detaining pressure, succeed =
in
arresting, momentarily, the other's bright strained glance.
"Is anything the matter?" My lady's absent tone did not invi=
te confidences.
"My Lady--" the woman hesitated;=
yet
seemed anxious to speak.
"I--my Lady," she began again; with sign of encouragement =
from
the Governor's daughter, would have gone on; but the latter, after waiting a
moment, abruptly withdrew the silken-shod foot.
"The banquet! It is past the hour!"
An instant she stood, not seeing the other=
or
the expression of disappointment on the woman's countenance; then quickly w=
alked
to the door. Nor, as the Gove=
rnor's
daughter moved down the long corridor, with crimson lips set hard, was she
cognizant of another face that looked out from one of the many passages of =
the
palace after her--the face of a younger woman whose dark, spying eyes glowed
and whose hands closed at sight of the vanishing figure!
The sound of gay voices, however, as she
neared the banqueting hall, perforce recalled my lady to a sense of her
surroundings; at the same time a figure in full court dress stepped from the
widely opened doors. An adequate degree of expectancy on his handsome
countenance, my lord, the Marquis, who had been waiting, lover-fashion, for=
the
first glimpse of his mistress that evening, now gallantly tendered his
greetings.
Seldom, perhaps, had the ancient banqueting
hall presented a more festive appearance.&=
nbsp;
Fruits and flowers made bright the tables; banners medieval, trophie=
s of
many victories, trailed from the ceiling; a hundred lights were reflected f=
rom
ornaments of crystal and dishes of gold.&n=
bsp;
On every hand an almost barbaric profusion impressed the guests with=
the
opulence of the Mount; that few could sit in more state than this pale lord=
of
the North, or few queens preside over a scene of greater splendor than their
fair hostess, his daughter!
With feverish semblance of spirit, she took
her place; beneath the keen eyes of his Excellency responded to sallies of =
wit,
and only when between courses the music played, did her manner relax. Then, leaning on her elbow, with c=
heeks
aflame and downcast eyes, she professed to listen to dainty strains--the
sighing of the old troubadours, as imitated by a group of performers in cos=
tume
on a balcony at one end of the hall.
"Charming!" The voice was the Marquis'; she lo=
oked
at him, though her eyes conveyed but a shadowy impression. "You have quite recovered fro=
m your
trip to the dungeons?"
"Quite!" With a sudden lift of the head.
"The dungeons?" His Excellency's gaze was on them.=
"I understand," looking =
at
Elise, "you had a slight adventure?"
The glow on her cheek faded. "Yes." She seemed to speak with difficult=
y. "It--was too stupid!"
"To get lost? Say, rather, it was venturesome to=
have
attempted to return alone."
"Just what I said to the Lady
Elise!" broke in the Marquis.
"And to have left us at a most interesting moment!"
"Interesting?" The Governor's steel-gray eyes reg=
arded
the speaker inquiringly.
"We were about to visit the Black
Seigneur!"
"Ah!" A look flashed from his Excellency=
to
his daughter; her glance failed to meet it.
Yet paler, she turned over-hurriedly to the
Marquis. "What is that a=
ir they
are playing now?" His re=
sponse
she heard not, was only conscious that, across the board, the eyes of her
father still scrutinized; studied!
At length, however, the evening wore away;=
a
signal from his Excellency, and of one accord they rose and crossed to the =
star-illumined
cloister adjoining. There at =
the
entrance, my lady, who toward the last had listened with an air of distract=
ion,
hardly concealed, to her noble suitor's graceful speeches, held back, and, =
as the
others went in, quickly effected her escape and hastened to her own apartme=
nts.
"At last!" She threw back her arms; breathed
deeper. "Ah, mon pere, y=
ou are
hard--unyielding as the iron doors and bars of your dungeons!" She pre=
ssed
her hand to her forehead. &qu=
ot;And
I can do nothing--nothing!" she repeated; stood for a moment motionless
and then mechanically moved toward the bell-rope at the other end of the
chamber. But the hand she sta=
rted
to raise was arrested; through the slightly opened door to the adjoining
apartment, she heard voices; words that caused her involuntarily to listen.=
"I have made up my mind to tell her
ladyship, Nanette!" The =
old
nurse was speaking, in tones that betrayed excitement and anxiety. "It is, to say the least,
embarrassing for me--your coming here!&nbs=
p;
You, the daughter of Pierre Laroche, who emigrated to the English
Isles! Who has always shown
disloyalty for the monarchy at home!"
My lady, surprised, drew nearer; caught the
answer, which came in tones, deep and strong.
"At least, aunt, you are frank!"=
"I must be! Under ordinary circumstances, I sh= ould be glad; of course, the child of my dead sister ought to be welcome."<= o:p>
"So I thought," dryly, "whe=
n I
stopped off a few days ago to see you, on my way to Paris."
"If you had let me know, it is I who
would have gone somewhere, near by, to have seen you!" was the troubled
reply. "His Excellency--=
what would
he say if he knew? Pierre Lar=
oche,
who has been called friend of privateersmen, perhaps even of the Black
Seigneur, himself! I should h=
ave
gone to his Excellency at once and asked if he objected, only you begged me
not, and--"
"Were you so anxious to be rid of
me?" quickly.
"I shouldn't speak as I do now, perha=
ps,
only--"
"Only?"
"Your conduct, since you have been
here--"
"What do you mean?" The other's tone had a sudden defi=
ant
ring.
"It is not seemly for a girl of your =
age
and condition to be out alone so late, nights!"
"I just went down into the town to get
something," was the careless response, "and the sands looked so
attractive--"
"That's no excuse! And now," the old nurse's voi=
ce
showed a trace of embarrassment, "we've had our visit, and you had bet=
ter
carry out your plan of going to Paris."
"You want me to leave here--at
once?" The girl drew her
breath sharply.
"Perhaps it would be as well."
"You treat me as if--I were a spy!&qu=
ot;
angrily.
"I don't wish to do that," retur=
ned
the woman in a constrained tone. "But now, after so many years of serv=
ice
with her ladyship! And her mo=
ther,
the former lady of the Mount! If I
should incur the Governor's displeasure--" the words died away. "If I can be of any help to y=
ou, if
you need assistance--money--"
"Money!" Nanette's derisive laugh rang out;=
was
suddenly hushed by the tinkling of a bell!
"Her ladyship!"
For a few moments the Governor's daughter,=
now
standing in the center of her apartment, heard no sound from the other room;
then a timid footstep approaching the door was followed by an indecisive ra=
p.
"Your Ladyship rang?" inquired
Marie, turning a half-guilty glance on her mistress.
"Yes! Did I hear voices, as I came in?&q=
uot;
"Did your Ladyship? I mean, I was going to speak to yo=
ur
Ladyship. It's my niece!" suddenly.&n=
bsp;
"On her way to Paris!"
"Your niece!" The Governor's daughter looked at =
the
other. "And you--are
pleased?"
"Your Ladyship--" The woman flushed.
"Of course, though, you must be! She is out there? Show her in!" quickly.
"But--"
"At once!"
"Very well, my Lady!" Marie's manner, however, was depre=
ssed,
as, stepping to the threshold, reluctantly she beckoned.
Erect, with mien almost antagonistic, Nane=
tte
entered and stood before the Lady Elise.&n=
bsp;
The latter did not at once speak; for a few moments the observant br=
own
eyes passed in quick scrutiny over her visitor; noting the aggressive brows;
the broad, strong face; the self-assertive pose of the well-developed
figure. A woman to do--to
dare!--What?
"You wished to see me?" Nanette
first spoke.
Marie lifted an expostulatory hand. What bad manners, thus to dare! Bu=
t my
lady did not seem to notice.
"You are from one of the islands?" she began.
"Yes."
"Say 'my Lady'!" broke in the old
nurse. "I trust your Lad=
yship
will pardon--"
"Never mind, Marie!" with a quick
gesture. "Your aunt tell=
s me
you are on your way to Paris?"
"Yes--my Lady!" with the slighte=
st
hesitation before the last two words.
"To seek a situation as lady's maid!"
"When are you leaving?"
"To-morrow morning, your Ladyship!&qu=
ot;
interposed Marie quickly.
"So soon?" My lady continued to address the
girl. "You have had expe=
rience?"
"No, my Lady!"
"Then how can you secure what you
wish?"
"How? At least, I can try!"
"To be sure! You can try." My lady's eyes fell; she seemed to=
be thinking. "Still, it may be difficult; =
Paris
is far away. And if you should
fail," her fingers tapped nervously on the chair, "we are very bu=
sy
at the Mount just now," she added suddenly, directing her glance full =
upon
the other, "and there may be something here--"
"Here! Your Ladyship will keep me here!&q=
uot;
Marie made a movement as if to speak, but =
her
niece intercepted her.
"I will do my best, my Lady!"
"Very well! Then shall you have a trial!"=
"Your Ladyship!" interposed Mari=
e.
The Governor's daughter got up quickly.
The old nurse murmured a dejected response;
turned away.
"I thank your Ladyship!" The girl's last look was one of
indubitable satisfaction ere she followed her aunt from the room.
My lady stared after them. "'Daughter of Pierre Laroche!=
Friend of the Black
Seigneur!'" Marie's words
continued to ring in her ears. She threw herself into a chair; sat long very
still, her eyes bent straight before her, on either cheek now a bright spot=
of
color.
CHAPTER XXVII - A STROLL ON THE STRAND
"You are in a hurry, Monsieur
Beppo?" arms akimbo, Nanette, standing in an embrasure of the rampart,
called out to the Governor's man as he passed by.
"Ah, Mistress Nanette," Beppo st=
opped
readily enough, "I didn't see you at first."
"Because you have more important matt=
ers
to think of," she laughed, showing her strong white teeth.
The fat old man looked pleased; a few days
before, Nanette had flashed a radiant smile at him from her casement, and, =
ever
since, he had been inclined to regard her with favor.
"Not more important, but duties that =
must
be attended to! The wedding h=
our
draws near." The island =
girl
half turned her head; a shadow seemed to pass over the bold, sunburned feat=
ures. "And her ladyship gives to-mo=
rrow a
riding party for her guests--a last celebration before she is led to the
altar. I am on my way now to
arrange about the escort."
"A riding party!" Nanette spoke quickly. "You mean on horseback?"=
"How else?" said Beppo. "It is a pastime her ladyship=
has
always been very fond of, even as a child.=
In those days," not without an accent of self-importance, "=
;it
was my privilege--"
"Do they ride far?" interrupted
Nanette with ill-suppressed eagerness.
"To the old Monastery St. Ranulphe; an
imposing ruin of tenth century architecture, my dear," he added pompou=
sly.
"And where is it?"
"Off the Paris highway, some ten miles
from the Mount."
"Ten miles? And the country is beautiful? Not open; sandy, like the shore?&q=
uot;
"It partakes of a rugged grandeur.&qu=
ot;
"With forests around?" quickly.<= o:p>
"Yes," indulgently. "You like forests, Mistress
Nanette?"
"When they are thick and wild--"=
"Then would you like these!"
The girl asked no further questions; yet s=
till
Beppo lingered, his glance seeming loath to withdraw from this exuberant
specimen of vigorous young womanhood.
"Which way were you going, good Mistress Nanette?" he asked
finally. "On second thou=
ghts,
I have a little time to spare and will walk along."
Nanette, looking down from the rampart tow=
ard
the sands and the shore, did not answer, and, more insinuatingly, Beppo
repeated his proposal. Nanette started.
"La, Monsieur Beppo! I--I'm afraid it wouldn't do. There's my aunt," tossing her=
head,
"that careful of me! Won=
't
even let me go walking on the beach alone!=
Do you ever go walking on the beach, Monsieur Beppo?" she inqui=
red
suddenly, regarding him with an eloquent look.
"I--it has not been my custom," =
he
murmured. "But," the
fishy eyes growing brighter, "with you--if I might accompany you--&quo=
t;
"Oh, I didn't mean that! No; no! Of course not! And I couldn't think of it. My aunt--"
But when a few moments later, she turned, =
to
walk quickly away, the round and shining face of Beppo, watching her disapp=
ear,
wore not the look of a man who had allowed himself to be rebuffed.
Out of his sight, Nanette's expression cha=
nged
to one of somber thoughtfulness; it lingered as she entered the palace, with
free swing, mounted the steps to her mistress' apartments; was still there,
when she took a bit of embroidery from a table, and seating herself at the =
window
of an antechamber, bent over her task.&nbs=
p;
Soon, however, she stopped, to sweep abruptly cloth and colored silks
from her lap to the floor, and, leaning forward, her firm, brown hands clas=
ped
over her knees, she seemed to be asking herself questions, or weighing some=
problem.
"Yes; it is our only chance."
"I came to tell you supper is
ready," said Marie quietly.
At the table with her aunt the girl's mann=
er
was subdued and deferential; she observed the nicest proprieties, and besto=
wed
on the other's slightest word a meed of attention calculated to soften the =
old woman's
attitude and suspicions. And
possibly succeeded; or, it may be, Marie's own conscience had begun to repr=
oach
her; for a number of days had passed and nothing had as yet occurred to jus=
tify
the early apprehensions she had entertained. Under the circumstances the meal w=
as a
little prolonged; the first shafts of twilight had entered the courtyard and
had begun to steal into the narrow chamber with darkening effect, ere of an
accord the two women pushed back their chairs.
"It gets dark early," said the g=
irl,
"or time has passed quicker than I thought. Perhaps it was what you were telli=
ng me
of the former lady of the Mount.
She must have been very beautiful!"
"She was," answered the woman;
"and as good as beautiful!"
"Heigh-ho!" Nanette sighed; through the window
watched the shadows that like dark, trailing figures seemed creeping up the
ancient wall to caress and linger on green leaves of vines, bright flowers =
and
other living things. "Bu=
t I
suppose she had everything she wanted." The girl stirred restlessly. "What sort of a man is Monsie=
ur
Beppo, aunt?"
"Beppo?" Recalled as from a long train of
recollections, the woman did not seem to notice the abruptness of the
inquiry. "Oh, he is an o=
ld and
faithful servant. For almost =
as
many years as I have been here," with an accent of pride, "has he
served at the Mount!"
"And his moral character, aunt?"
demurely.
"Monsieur Beppo has a reputation for
piety, no doubt deserved!" returned the woman, with an accent of surpr=
ise.
"At any rate, he seldom =
misses
a mass. But why do you ask?&q=
uot;
"Because I met him to-day and he invi=
ted
me to walk with him this evening."
"He did?" Marie's mouth grew firmer. "And you?"
"I didn't exactly know how to refuse;
he--looked so old and respectable!
I thought, too, you wouldn't mind and--I'm glad you think so well of
him, aunt."
In the gathering gloom the listener's face
seemed suddenly to grow graver; her eyes, which had returned to the girl's,
expressed once more doubt and misgiving.&n=
bsp;
With her glance lifted upward, however, Nanette did not seem to noti=
ce
this quick change. A star--fa=
int
forerunner of a multitude of waiting orbs--peeping timorously down from abo=
ve
the gray, gaunt mass of stone, alone absorbed the girl's gaze and attention=
.
"Where were you thinking of going?&qu=
ot;
after a silence of some length the older woman asked.
"I don't recall that Monsieur Beppo
mentioned," was the low-murmured response. "But, of course, aunt, if you
object--"
"I do not know that I do," said =
the
other slowly. "Only,&quo=
t; as
if the thought had suddenly come to her, "what were you writing at her=
ladyship's
desk when I went to call you?"
"Writing?" Nanette regarded her
blankly. "I don't unders=
tand
you, aunt."
"Weren't you writing something that y=
ou
hid in your dress when I came?"
"No!" The girl looked full at the other;
denied point-blank the accusation.
"Now that you speak of it, I believe I did step to the desk,&qu=
ot;
she answered glibly, "to look at some ornament; but as for writing, or
daring to, I should not have presumed."
A low discreet rap at the door interrupted,
and, with a whispered "There he is now!" Nanette cut short further
argument by rising.
"She is not telling the truth!"<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> For some time the woman stood look=
ing down
in gloomy thought after the two had gone.&=
nbsp;
"What does it mean?" Moving to a peg, she took down a
shawl. "What can it
mean?" she asked herself again, and, wrapping the garment about her he=
ad
and shoulders, left the room.
Half an hour later, at Beppo's side, on the
beach, Nanette measured her steps to his; listened to the old man's platitu=
des,
and even turned a not unwilling ear to sundry hints and innuendos of a tend=
erer
nature. The girl was in her most complaisant mood, and, in his role of disc=
reet
gallant to young and blooming womanhood, the fat factotum strove to make the
most of the opportunity. He s=
ighed;
bethought him of a sentimental tale, and carped of the beauty of the moon, =
then
gilding the edge of the Mount's high towers! She answered; looked; but soon her
eloquent glance swerved to the sands, dotted by desultory seekers of cockle=
s,
or belated stragglers from the shore, and fastened itself on a jutting poin=
t of
the Mount.
Near it, before a large rock of peculiar
shape, a man was engaged in that common nocturnal labor of the locality,
digging! As the couple drew n=
ear,
quickly he raised his gaze; almost at once let it fall; engrossed in his wo=
rk,
continued to toss the sand and stoop over it searchingly. But when they had gone by, once mo=
re he
straightened, and, at the same time, the girl looked back. Stalwart, black-bearded, a sailor =
by his
dress, the fellow made a sign, and, apparently any doubt as to who he was
vanished from Nanette's mind; for from the fingers of the free hand she held
behind her, something fluttered to the beach.
Leaning to his implement, the man regarded=
the
paper, but not until the girl's low laugh was heard, as she and Master Beppo
vanished in the darkness, did he step forward and secure it.
"So!=
That was it!"
Breathless, indignant, Marie, standing in the black shade of one of =
the
Mount's projections, watched the fellow read and regard carefully the messa=
ge
in his hand; then tearing it, crumple the bits and thrust them toward his
pocket as he walked off.
"Brazen huzzy! Bu=
t her
ladyship shall know; and if she doesn't pack you off, bag and baggage--Eh?<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> What is that?" And springing forward, the woman p=
ounced
upon something that lay on the sand.
CHAPTER XXVIII - THE HESITATION OF THE MAR=
QUIS
The day of my lady's riding party dawned; =
in
the east a tender flame burned, and, vanishing, left the heavens an unbroken
blue. Shoreward the mists rol=
led
up, until only in the neighborhood of the forest did the white, soft vapor
linger. On the Mount itself
sunshine held sway; it radiated from the fortifications, "cuirass of t=
he
rock," and gleamed on the church, "tiara of its majesty."
But my lady, mistress of the Mount, seemed=
not
to feel its beneficent touch; standing in the full glow and looking from her
casement she shivered a little.
Already was she dressed, and her habit of dark green, fitting close,
served to accentuate the whiteness of her cheek which general absence of co=
lor,
in turn, made the more manifest certain dark lines beneath the restless, br=
ight
eyes.
"Your Ladyship!" After knocking in vain, Marie had
entered the room and set down the small tray she carried. "There is something your Lady=
ship
ought to know!" with an air of excitement. The Governor's daughter half
turned. "What now,
Marie?" she said sharply.
"It's about Nanette!" My lady made a quick movement of
annoyance, impatience. "=
I did
not tell your Ladyship, but I was averse to having her remain here. Your Ladyship does not understand,=
of
course, and--"
"I do understand," said my lady
unexpectedly. "And--you =
need
not explain. I overheard you
talking with her that night of the banquet!"
"Your Ladyship!" startled.
"And I heard you speak of her father,
Pierre Laroche, friend of the Black Seigneur."
"And engaged her--after that!"
"Why not? I could watch--and I have! But you were wrong, Marie." My lady's manner was feverish. "Your suspicions were
ridiculous. There has been
nothing--nothing! And day aft=
er
to-morrow is the wedding celebration, and the next day, he, the Black
Seigneur--" She broke of=
f abruptly.
Had Marie been less wrought up, less excit=
ed,
less concerned with the information she had to impart, she could not have
failed to notice the odd break in her young mistress' voice; something unus=
ual,
almost akin to despair, in her manner.&nbs=
p;
As it was, that which weighed on the old nurse's mind precluded close
observation of the other.
"But something has happened, my
Lady!" the woman half stammered.
"Comment!" The girl turned to her sharply.
Disconnectedly, the woman launched into a
narration of the events of the night before; my lady listened closely, with=
an
interest and excitement she strove to conceal, half turning so that the oth=
er
saw no longer her face.
"And here," ended Marie, extendi=
ng a
crumpled fragment of paper, "is a piece of the note she dropped on the
beach. The man tore it up, bu=
t in thrusting
the bits of paper into his pocket this fell out, and, after he walked away,=
I
picked it up myself from the sand.
I can't read, as your Ladyship knows, and there isn't much on it--on=
ly a
word or two! But it may tell something."
My lady's face was now composed; the hand =
she
extended, steady; for several moments she regarded the fragment.
"What does it say?" asked the wo=
man
anxiously. "Is it--is it=
important?"
Her mistress did not at once answer; twist=
ing
the bit of paper in her fingers, stood as if in thought, and the old nurse
repeated her question.
"This note might have been intended f=
or
some admirer!" said, at length, the Governor's daughter slowly.
"He looked more like an old
privateersman!" murmured the woman.&n=
bsp;
"And there may be some plot--some plan!"
"Privateersman!" The girl's manner underwent a chan=
ge;
she shrugged her shoulders.
"What could they hope to do at the Mount! You are imaginative, Marie!"
lightly. "Nanette is
good-looking, and what little is here would seem to signify a rendezvous. There may be no great harm in
that."
"I am sorry, my Lady, to seem to think
ill of my own kin," muttered the woman dejectedly, "but--"
"Think no more of it! You have done your duty. Now leave the matter to me, and--t=
hank
you, Marie!"
When, however, the old nurse had gone, all
pretense of lightness faded from the face of the Governor's daughter, and,
opening the bit of paper, once more she scrutinized it swiftly, intently.
"To-morrow--Monastery St. Ranu--"
she read. "Yes; it must =
mean
St. Ranulphe--where we are going.
And where Beppo knew we were going! Beppo, she went down on the beach
with!" Again she studied=
the fragment,
striving to make out a word that had been blotted and was almost
illegible. She frowned as she
endeavored to decipher it.
"Lady E." Sh=
e gave
an exclamation. "That re=
fers,
of course, to-- But why?"=
; She
kept asking herself the question.
"Why?" she repeated, when suddenly the brown eyes
widened--changed; a new light shone in their depths. "It must be they intend to--w=
hat
else?"
The sound of horns--signal for the party to
gather--broke upon the air, and, nervously crushing in her palm the piece of
the message, she stepped to the table, to the untasted breakfast. Like one in a dream, who yet feels=
the
need for haste, she poured out the coffee; with unsteady hand raised the cup
and drank; started to serve herself again; as if forgetful of the impulse,
paused.
"And I?" she said with deeper
breath. "To ride to the =
ambush
they have so cleverly planned?
Allow myself to be taken prisoner by these desperate men? No; no; I could not! And yet--" A trampling of horses' hoofs in the
court below interrupted. &quo=
t;They
are ready to start!"
Uncertainly she lifted her head; looked around her; then mechanically
stepped forward and left the room.
A scene of animation greeted her in the co=
urt,
alive with lords and ladies, for the most part already in the saddle and
waiting.
"Hail to Diana, who will lead us in t=
he
forests!"
"Fair nymph, let us away!" and t=
he
Marquis extended his hand.
With a seemingly merry nod she acknowledged
their greetings; put out a foot, and lightly sprang to her place on the bac=
k of
the nervous thoroughbred. But=
ere
giving the signal to start, the girl's glance swung around to a window
opposite, where stood an austere figure, imperturbably looking down to watch
them ride off.
"Au revoir, mon pere!" Her voice rose with an odd, unusual
thrill. "Au revoir!" she repeated, when a mistiness in her eyes
suddenly blurred sight of him, and she tightened the reins. Yet hesitating to go, her gaze cle=
ared,
and swerving, was abruptly arrested by another and more interested spectato=
r,
who, partly concealed by flowers and plants, peered with anxious expectancy
from her own balcony. As Nane=
tte's
eyes met those of the Governor's daughter, they wavered half guiltily; sudd=
enly
became steady, held by something--a flash of impelling intelligence in the
other's gaze. A moment or two=
, my
lady continued to regard the girl; then touching her horse, wheeled sharply=
, and
set a pace downward not easy to follow.
At the base of the Mount they were met by a
numerous guard bright in holiday trappings, and, under the care of the
commandant, with flourish of horse, the party swept gaily from sands to sho=
re.
"A gallant company, Monsieur le
Commandant!" observed the Marquis to the officer in charge, as they re=
ached
the green line at the yellow basin's edge.=
"Now if we were to meet an enemy--"
"He would find us prepared, my
Lord!" the officer declared.
"True!" And the nobleman complacently touc=
hed
the jeweled hilt of his own blade, accompanying the action with a tender gl=
ance
at the Lady Elise.
She, however, a little ahead, appeared not=
to
hear; spoke suddenly to her horse, and, as they swung from the sward, start=
ed
at a brisk gallop down the road.
Laughing, the others came after, lords and ladies first; behind, with
tumult and clatter, the commandant and his men. As they advanced, on either side t=
he way
thick trunks of moss-grown monarchs uplifted their gnarled and hoary branch=
es,
to meet overhead; through leafy interstices bright flashes of sunlight shot=
downward,
danced on fine garments and accoutrements, and then whisked elfishly away.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> In dim recesses finches and sparro=
ws
sang; beyond, murmured streams and rivulets, while at the feet of the rider=
s,
gay restless flowers nodded, as if in accompaniment to the glad music of the
morn.
"Small wonder his Excellency should h=
ave
desired to add this fair principality to his own!" muttered the Marqui=
s,
looking around. "Of the =
seven
forests of Brittany, none will compare with this, the Desaurac woods. What think you, Elise?" spurr=
ing
his horse near his betrothed's.
"Are you not taken by its beauties?"
She looked at him with a start; since leav=
ing
the sands she had not spoken, and now, tugging at the reins, only said
abruptly: "My saddle! I believe it is loose."
"Loose!" repeated the nobleman.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "Careless lackeys! Let us see!" And grasping the bridle of her hor=
se,
pulled in his own, and drew both animals to a standstill at the side of the
road.
As he dismounted to examine straps and
fastenings, the others dashed up; my lady lightly motioned them on. "We'll soon overtake you! Don't wait!" Unquestioning, they obeyed; though=
the
commandant, to whom a few moments later she delivered a similar injunction,
brought his men to a halt and proffered his services. Whereupon the Marquis repeated the
girl's words more sharply; reddening, the officer wheeled and started to ri=
de
on.
"I can't find anything wrong
here!" Puzzled, the Marq=
uis
straightened.
But her eyes were directed ahead and she
pointed with her whip to a break in the woody barrier to the right--a path
that, springing from the roadside, seemed to plunge into the very heart of =
the
labyrinth.
"Look! the short cut!--that would bri=
ng
us half an hour before them to the ruins!&=
nbsp;
Let us take it!"
A light seemed suddenly to break on her
companion, and he sprang airily to his saddle. "As my Lady wills!" gall=
antly.
"Then call to the commandant, and tell
him we'll meet them there!"
The Marquis obeyed, and, without awaiting
answer, or demur from the officer in charge of the guard, the girl flicked =
her
horse and sent him over a low bush into the narrow way.
Fairly in the path, she rode fast, and
pressing hard behind, my lord soon found reason for doubt as to the
advisibility of that route, and a suspicion of regret at his own hasty asse=
nt
to the departure from the main thoroughfare. As their surroundings grew wilder =
and
the slender green figure flitted more and more recklessly before him, he ev=
en ventured
to voice his misgivings--advise greater care. A shake of the fair head was all he
received for answer and, regardless of the increasing roughness of the way,=
she
continued to sweep on, now uphill, then down, avoiding by a quick turn one
obstacle here, leaping another there!
From a black ambush, a branch like the arm of a Titan reached out to
seize, but adroitly she swayed from its grasp and only the twigs and leaves
touched lightly the bent figure.
My lord, however, they struck sharply, and=
at
the sudden smart and a quick realization of falling behind, frowningly he d=
rove
his horse harder. The tete-a-=
tete
he had naturally expected from her request to pursue the lonelier way promi=
sed
now not to materialize; the idea that she was fleeing, he pursuing, possess=
ed
him. The forest, a tangle of =
shrubs
and strange creepers, was the scene of the idyl; she, a sprite of the
greenwood, danced illusively through the maze. At length when my lord had begun t=
o grow
weary of vainly endeavoring to overtake her, fate favored his efforts; brou=
ght
to a standstill, at the edge of a torrent, the object of his pursuit.
"Are you mad, Elise?" A shadow on his brow, the Marquis =
rode
down.
She made no reply; regarded only the water=
.
"I hope it is not in your mind to att=
empt
to cross," he went on, a shade of petulance in his accents.
She urged her horse forward; it stopped.
"Elise! I beg of you! It is dangerous; better go back, a=
nd
around!"
But the girl set her red lips, raised her
whip, and brought it down hard. The
animal sprang into the foam; breasting the current, it slipped once or twic=
e,
recovered, and, after an effort, managed to reach the bank opposite. My lord--less blithely than he had=
first
embarked on the adventure--followed; the cold waters surged around, and he
almost expected to be swept away.
At length, however, chilled by the icy touch of the torrent and some=
what
more out of humor, he found himself on the other side. Near the top of the bank, where th=
e Governor's
daughter had now the grace to await him, he rejoined her, disapproval on his
face, reproach in his eyes. Y=
et
still did the girl remain unconscious of her lover's wounded sensibilities;=
her
own eyes, like stars beneath the flurry of hair, were turned, not to the yo=
ung man,
but away, toward a gaunt-looking ruin that had suddenly uplifted itself, as=
if
by magic, through a rift in the forest.&nb=
sp;
But a few hundred yards distant, the black crumbling walls bristled =
with
rough, jagged edges--big, broken teeth that snarled at the rim of the ever-=
young
wood. The very brightness of =
the
day seemed only to emphasize the ominous aspect of the place; to reveal more
plainly the solitary character of its wildness.
"The monastery, I suppose?"
following the direction of her gaze, the Marquis, after a pause, grudgingly
vouchsafed.
"Yes," said the girl in a low to=
ne;
"yes!"
"Shall we go on?"
Her eyes, passing over a tangle of shrubs,
bushes and thick, natural screens, slowly settled on a spot, not far away,
where a wild bird, about to alight, fled off with a scream.
"Shall we go on?"
With a start the girl turned; the clear-cu=
t features
were very grave; in her gaze shone sudden compunction. She raised her hand. "My veil!" she said
quickly. "I--dropped it.=
Do you mind? You--you will find it on this side=
of
the stream--a little way down."
"Mind?" He regarded her doubtfully a momen=
t;
then moved by the irresistible appeal in her eyes, rather abruptly he wheel=
ed,
and as he did so, she gathered up the reins. Ere proceeding farther upon this e=
rrand
of gallantry, my lord looked around.
"You seem to set great store on this
veil," he, observed suspiciously. "And I believe you were about to
ride off!" he added, noting her expression, when, before she had time =
for
pretext or answer, a heavy body stirred in the bushes, near at hand, and a
gruff voice called out.
"Stand where you are!"
The nobleman's face changed; his gaze, as =
if
fascinated, now rested on a score of rough figures who, following the order=
, so
unexpected and startling, sprang simultaneously from neighboring thicket or
covert, and advanced to surround them.&nbs=
p;
Held by their grim aspect--the desperate determined visages; the bla=
ck,
threatening looks--in the surprise of the moment, too late my lord's hand
sought the sword at his side.
Roughly plucked from his horse, he found himself flung to the sward;
unceremoniously pinioned, and heard the voice of my lady raised in his beha=
lf.
CHAPTER XXIX - THE MARQUIS INTERVENES
The evening of the same day, his Excellenc=
y,
in the seclusion of a small private chamber adjoining the salle du
gouvernement, stood looking down at his desk on which were strewn papers and
messages containing the latest news from Paris and received at the Mount bu=
t a few
hours before. That the charac=
ter of
this information, political and social, was little to his liking, seemed
manifest from his manner; he stared at the missives resentfully; then frown=
ed
and threw down the pen he had been using to mark, or make note of, their
contents.
"Versailles--a mob! Sugar-plums to placate them! Sugar-plums!" he repeated; an=
d,
impatiently turning away, walked to the window. There for some time he stood peeri=
ng
out, when, the current of his thoughts slowly changing, he took from his po=
cket
a watch, and examined the jeweled face.&nb=
sp;
"Time they were back!"&nb=
sp;
About to return to his table and task, a loud knocking arrested the =
impulse,
and testily the Governor called out; glanced toward the threshold and surve=
yed
the intruder.
"A message from the commandant, your
Excellency!" said the man, a trooper of the Mount, with a respectful,
though nervous salute.
"Why," returned the Governor in a
dry tone, "didn't he bring it himself?"
"Because," the trooper shifted;
looked away; "because Monsieur le Commandant is engaged in scouring the
country for miscreants, your Excellency."
"Miscreants!" sharply. "What miscreants?"
"Monsieur le Commandant hopes to over=
take
those who have carried off the Lady Elise," said the messenger hurried=
ly,
in the tone of one anxious to be done with his task.
"Carried off!" The thin figure wavered as if stru=
ck by
a cold breath. "Carried off!" he repeated, laying his hand on the
back of the chair.
"By a band of the Black Seigneur's
men! His lordship, the Marqui=
s, they
left behind bound and secured, but the Lady Elise they took with them."=
;
For some time his Excellency said nothing;
like a ghost of himself, leaned hard against his support and looked at the
trooper.
"But how could it have happened?"=
; at
length in a voice, low, intense, he inquired. "Monsieur le Commandant! The guard--you--all are alive?&quo=
t;
Stumblingly, as best he could, the soldier
explained, and when he had done, his Excellency made no sign that he had he=
ard.
"Monsieur le Commandant further order=
ed
me to say he had no doubt he would return with the Lady Elise," added =
the
messenger hastily.
"Monsieur le Commandant!" The Governor's eyes suddenly blaze= d; swiftly he put question after question, and, having probed to the core the = consistency of the tale, with a gesture, brusk and contemptuous, dismissed the bearer.<= o:p>
But whatever feeling the lord of the Mount
might entertain toward his chief officer, no course at the moment seemed op=
en
save to await the return of that person and the Marquis. So, curbing his impatience as best=
he
might, his Excellency kept vigil; and not alone! Tidings of what had happened sprea=
d at
the top of the rock; sifted through closed gates and thick walls into the
town. The late arrival at the=
Mount
of the lords and ladies, companions of the Governor's daughter for the day,=
but
added to the questionings of the multitude. All night life and expectancy reig=
ned;
lights gleamed from high places; responded in low ones.
"Is it true, my dear, what we hear ab=
out
the Lady Elise?" the landlady of the inn on the Mount near the strand
called out to a stalwart, dark young woman, hurrying down the narrow way
shortly after the Paris contingent had gone up.
"I've heard no more than you have,&qu=
ot;
came the curt answer of this person--none other than Nanette--who carried a
small bundle and seemed anxious to move on.
"Oh, I didn't know but you came from =
the
palace!" observed the mistress of the inn, and returned to her custome=
rs,
drinking and nodding with heads close together.
On the morrow, however, all doubts were
removed and speculations put at rest; for hardly had the sun set its seal in
the sky than from the forests the appearance of a body of troops rewarded t=
he
watchers. From hovel to hut t=
he
word went, and men, women and children, unkempt and curious, ran down to the
beach to await the approach of the guard. Proudly had it departed, with wav=
ing
of plumes; slowly it returned, a bedraggled procession of staggering horses=
and
heavy-eyed men. Had it come b=
ack a
little earlier, the dark might have kept the truth from the people; now the
pitiless red glare revealed to the full the plight of the troopers. It told, too, the disappointment of
Monsieur le Commandant, who looked neither to the right nor to the left; and
the despair of my lord, the Marquis, pale counterfeit of his debonair self.=
"Her ladyship!" "They haven't brought her
back!" Low murmurs arose=
; grew
louder; some one laughed. But
sullenly, without answer, the soldiers dragged by, into the town, and
laboriously up to the top of the Mount.
At the gate his Excellency waited; cast one
glance at the company--their leader--and silently turned. Later, however, was he closeted wi=
th both
the commandant and the Marquis--a brief period with the former who departed,
carrying a look eloquent of the unpleasantness of the interview.
"And now," said the Governor in
tones somewhat strained, as the officer's dejected footfall died in the dis=
tance,
"we've got rid of that dolt, let us consider, my Lord, the purport of =
this
outrage."
"Purport?" repeated the Marquis
petulantly, stretching his stiff legs. "Did they not tell me that if
anything happened to the Black Seigneur, they would hold her, Elise, answer=
able
for it? You see they had lear=
ned,"
bitterly, "of your intention to hang him after the wedding!"
"From which you infer?"
"They will keep her as hostage! Indeed, they said as much, when--&=
quot;
"They bound you, my Lord?"
The color came to the young man's face.
"Still was it very ill-advised--a gre=
at
mistake--to have taken the shorter way through the forest alone."
"The proposal did not originate with
me! Elise suggested it. She seemed in a wild, headstrong m=
ood;
nothing would stop her. Now,&=
quot; moodily
he rose, "mon dieu! What=
has
she brought upon herself? Where is she now?"
His Excellency did not stir; his face, lik=
e a
pale mask, was turned aside.
"I do not think," he said slowly, as arguing to convince h=
imself,
"she is in any immediate danger."
But my lord caught irritably at the word.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "No danger! She is surrounded by it. And we? what are we to do? Sit idly here? Give me a ship, your Excellency, a=
nd I
will follow the boat of this Black Seigneur, and, when I find it, force them
to--"
"What?" The Governor's eyes swerved dully.=
"Have you forgotten their thr=
eat? Their last words to you that if we
attempted to follow, to rescue--that, rather than give her up--"
"They would not dare!" cried my =
lord
with sparkling glance.
But his Excellency shook his head. "No; no; it won't do! And now," again looking away,
"leave me, my Lord, to consider." With which, the interview, as unsa=
tisfactory
to the one as the other, terminated.
Several days that passed were not calculat=
ed
either to alleviate his Excellency's anxiety, or the Marquis' impatience; f=
or
during that period of waiting came no word of my lady, or news of her capto=
rs. Mysteriously
as a phantom ship had the boat that had carried the Governor's daughter away
appeared on the coast and vanished, and from none of the Governor's vessels=
, or
any of the fishing craft could be gleaned information of its whereabouts. My lord, the Marquis, annoyed at w=
hat
seemed but fruitless delay, was still for setting forth and inviting battle;
but of this his Excellency would not hear, arguing, no doubt, to himself th=
at
in temporizing lay greater assurance of safety to his daughter than in prec=
ipitate
action. So the situation grew=
hourly
more trying, until--as if it already were not intolerable enough!--a new
concern added ironical weight to present perplexities.
My young lord, between whom and the master=
of
the Mount had been growing a more strained relationship, sought the Governor
one day, and, in excited tones, announced he had just learned that the
prisoner, the Black Seigneur, was ill and probably would survive but a short
time longer in the dungeon where he was confined. As his Excellency knew, the fellow=
had
been wounded, and now with scanty nourishment, want of air, and close quart=
ers,
was generally in a bad way.
His Excellency heard; moistened his lips a=
nd
seemed about to speak, but was silent, while more anxiously the young man w=
ent on. Of course under different conditio=
ns,
with care and attention--a well-lighted room and excellent food--they might
hope to restore their prisoner's strength; at least, preserve for a time on=
e so
precious to themselves, upon the thread of whose life hung my lady's!
His Excellency still answered no word; only
looked down, and, knitting his brows, the young nobleman restlessly
waited. At length, with an ex=
pression
on his face the Marquis had never before seen there, his Excellency rose, m=
oved
like an automaton to the bell, and called for the jailer.
"Monsieur le Marquis has a few
instructions to give you." The
Governor's voice, but a breath, told what the words cost him.
The man responded gravely, looking from on=
e to
the other.
"Use your own judgment in the matter,=
my
Lord," went on his Excellency, and left them together.
After that, a change, subtle but deep-root=
ed,
came over the Governor; a silent man always, now his taciturnity became most
marked. Under stress of untow=
ard
circumstances, all the guests at the Mount, save the young noble, departed;=
but
his Excellency appeared hardly to notice their going; drawing his cloak of
reserve closer about him, seemed only to ask for that solitude, not difficu=
lt
to find in his aerial kingdom. Sometimes for a long while he would stand in=
the
cloister, gazing seaward; again wander in the church, look at the monuments,
always to pass one of them quickly.
Only on a single occasion, when the Marquis, who was daily becoming =
more
nervous, sought him, with a favorable report of his prisoner-patient, did t=
he
Governor give sign that beneath this apparent apathy yet stirred malevolence
and rancor.
"Yes, yes," he returned, a spark=
of
ill-concealed venom in his glance; "he is doing well, no doubt! I am sure he will do well. But well or ill, I wish to hear no=
more
of him! No more, Monsieur le
Marquis!" His voice vibrated; surprised, the kinsman of the King stare=
d,
then stiffly turned away.
So matters stood, when one day, alone in t=
he
cloister, his Excellency was disturbed by a rough-looking fellow who brough=
t a
letter and said he would await the reply at the tavern in the town.
Deliberately the Governor took the missive,
tore open the envelope, and surveyed the small bit of paper it contained. Whatever the brief message told hi=
m, his
Excellency's face did not change, and he was still coldly, carefully studyi=
ng
sentences and words, after his fashion, when through the door my lord, the
Marquis, stepped in some haste.
Lifting his eyes, the Governor had no difficulty in reading the ques=
tion
on the young man's countenance. For
a moment they looked at each other, and then the long, white fingers of his
Excellency again sought the letter.
"They," his voice seemed to clip=
the
words, "propose an exchange of prisoners, and give me three days to
consent to it!"
CHAPTER XXX - A SOUND AFAR=
a>
About midway in the curve of one of the
numerous bays, marking the coast-line, and several hours distant from the
Mount, stands a stone cross erected by an English marauder to indicate the =
place
of his landing. The symbol is
visible on all sides from afar, for before it are the sands and the sea, and
behind stretches the land barren of wood--low, level, covered only with mar=
sh
grass. Toward this monument of
man's conquest--most prominent object in a prospect, dreary and monotonous-=
-rode,
late one afternoon, a band of horsemen.&nb=
sp;
At their head galloped my lord, the Marquis; in the center could be =
seen
a man with bound arms whose horse was led by one of the others. This person--a prisoner, thin, hag=
gard,
yet still muscular of frame--from time to time gazed about; a look of inqui=
ry
or calculation in the black undaunted eyes.
"What prison are you taking me to
now?" once he asked the trooper who held the reins of his horse. "And why do you go in this
direction? Is it you dare not=
ride
along main highways on account of the people?"
"Never you mind!" came the gruff
answer. "And as for the
people, they'd better look out!"
"Bah!" laughed the prisoner. "You can put some of them in =
cells,
but not all!"
"There may be something worse than a =
cell
waiting for you!" was the malicious retort.
"No doubt!" said the other
stoically.
But as his eyes again swept the horizon, f=
rom
the opposite direction appeared another band of riders. At first the prisoner, regarding t=
hem,
looked puzzled; then as the new-comers rode straight and rapidly on toward =
the
cross, his countenance expressed a faint understanding. A fresh relay of me=
n,
he concluded; one his present guard would consign him to, and then themselv=
es
return to the Mount. Still wa=
s the meeting-place
an odd one, and the demeanor of the two bodies of men not entirely consiste=
nt
with his conclusions; for, as they drew nearer, both parties slackened their
pace, suspiciously to scrutinize each other.
"Twenty--the number agreed upon!"
muttered the Marquis, and spurring on fast, led his troops nearer the cross=
.
Not many paces distant the word was given =
to
halt, and, as they obeyed, on the other side of the monument the strange men
likewise drew rein. At the same moment, there flashed on the captive's mind=
a
discovery. These faces, looking so grimly out over the marshy field at them,
were not the wooden visages of paid soldiers, but of men he knew--his men! =
Across
the space separating the two parties he could read their quick looks-their
satisfaction--their complacency! He
watched them with eyes in which pride and tenderness mingled. And then, for the first time, did =
he
observe they had brought some one with them--a woman, or a girl--the Govern=
or's
daughter!
The bold black eyes of the prisoner regard=
ed
her fixedly. What did it mean=
? said
his keen gaze. Colorless as m=
arble,
my lady held herself very erect on her horse; then while his glance yet pro=
bed
her, the proud face slowly changed; on the cold cheek youth's bright banner=
flared
high. The young man turned;
following the direction of her gaze, looked at the Marquis; my lord's featu=
res
radiated felicitations; his eyes shone with welcome. And a fuller understanding came ov=
er the
prisoner; in some mysterious manner had the Lady Elise been made captive, a=
nd
now had the nobleman come to escort his betrothed back to the palace.
Even as the Black Seigneur reached this
conclusion, he become cognizant his bonds had been loosened; the reins plac=
ed
in his hands. "You are f=
ree,"
said a voice and mechanically he rode toward his comrades.
Thus, near the crumbling and time-worn cro=
ss,
was the exchange of prisoners effected; the girl whirled away by my lord, w=
ho
seemed fearful of treachery, and the Black Seigneur left to the greetings o=
f his
men.
"Now, by the tuneful Nine,"--the
poet, Gabriel Gabarie, pushing his burly form to the front, was the first to
extend a hand--"but, from your looks, the Governor looks ill to the
welfare of his lodgers!"
"And had we not captured my lady,&quo=
t;
spoke up another, gazing after the party of the Marquis, "he would have
looked yet worse to the welfare of one of them, no doubt!"
"Drink this, Seigneur!" cried a
third; "you must drink this--a special bottle we brought for the
occasion!"
"Sent by old Pierre when he heard we =
were
coming for you!" added the poet.
"Your drinking-cups, lads!&nbs=
p;
Unfasten the skin for yourselves! To mon capitaine!"--
Once, twice, deeply they drank--toast and
vintage alike to their taste; then straightening, looked at the Black Seign=
eur
whose eyes yet burned in the direction my lady had gone. With a start he seemed to recall h=
imself
to the demands of the moment; his first questions they expected; the
ship--where did she lie? Snug=
and
trim in a neighboring cove, ready to slip out, if occasion required and dan=
ger
pressed--which contingency they did not just then expect, since at the mome=
nt
was his Excellency more concerned with affairs on the land than matters per=
taining
to the sea. What these paramo=
unt
interests were, the young man, on whose thin cheek now burned a little colo=
r,
did not at once ask; only gazed inquiringly over the group, where one, whom=
he
might have expected, was absent.
"Sanchez--he is not with you?"
A look of constraint appeared for an insta=
nt
on the poet's face.
"No, he's with the people, I expect.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> You see," he went on, "t=
hings have
been happening since you elected to enact the mountebank. The bees have been busy, and this =
little
hive they call France is now full of bother and bustle. The bees that work have been buzzi=
ng
about those that don't; they made a great noise at Versailles, but the King
Drone only listened; did not try to stop it, fearing their sting. They hummed at the door of the Bas=
tille,
until the parasite bees, not liking the music, opened the doors, let them a=
ll
in--"
"The Bastille has fallen?" The listener's voice rang out; his=
eyes,
searching sharply the features of the bard, seemed to demand only the truth,
plain, unadorned.
"It has," answered the other
gravely. "And the tune s=
ung in
and around Paris has kept on spreading until now it is everywhere! You may hear it in the woods; alon=
g the
marshes; out over the strand! The
very Mount, immovable, seems to listen.&nb=
sp;
When will the storm break?
To-day? To-morrow? It =
needs
but a word from Paris, and then--"
The poet broke off, and silently the Black
Seigneur seemed to be weighing the purport of the news; for some moments st=
ood
as a man deep in thought; then, arousing himself, spoke a few words, and ga=
ve a
brief order. Swiftly the ride=
rs
swept away in the direction from which they had come, and only when they had
gone some distance did the young man once more turn to the poet with a
question. Whereupon the latte=
r, spurring
his horse nearer his chief, launched into eloquent explanation.
"And then," ended the bard,
"the Governor's daughter walked into our ambush as unsuspectingly as a
mouse into a trap!"
"The Governor's daughter cozened by
Nanette!"
"That she was! A clever wench and a brave one,
Nanette! Although," the =
poet's
jovial eyes studied the dark face, "unless I am mistaken, she found the
task to her liking!"
"You treated her, the Governor's
daughter, well?" said the other abruptly.
"Gave her your cabin, mon capitaine,
where," chuckling, "she ruled like a despot. Not once did she whimper, or beg
favor--for herself! For the Marquis, it is true, she did plead--that day we
took them!"
"He's her betrothed!" said the y=
oung
man shortly.
"A marionette!" gibed the poet.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "Some of the men were for mak=
ing
short shrift of him, and they might have--only for her!"
"They will soon be safe enough togeth=
er
now!" remarked the Black Seigneur.
Again a peculiar, half-questioning express=
ion
shaded the poet's eyes, while furtively he regarded the young man. "Yes, they ought to be!"=
"The terms of exchange--what were
they?"
"You for her! That was our demand. After the place had been agreed up=
on,
his Excellency asked to name the hour, and further interjected a condition,
binding both parties to secrecy in the matter, that the people might not
know. They acted badly when t=
he
soldiers returned to the Mount without his daughter; they might behave wors=
e,
no doubt he thinks, when they come back with her."
"So will she be safely returned in the
darkness! A wise provision!&q=
uot;
"That," murmured the poet, study=
ing
the horizon, "was evidently his thought. But," as the Black Seigneur,
relaxing his pace, drew rein at a fork in the pathway, "yonder lies our
cove, mon capitaine, and--"
"Do you and the men go there!"
commanded the other, and gave a few further instructions.
"See that the ship is kept in
readiness!" he ended. &q=
uot;As
for me--" He made a vague
gesture.
That evening found the Black Seigneur in t=
he
Desaurac forest; where, as a boy, he had fled for shelter, now some instinc=
t,
or desire he did not strive to analyze, drew him. As slowly he made his way through =
the wood,
on every hand familiar outlines and details, seen vaguely in the last light=
of
day, invited him to pause; but without stopping he moved on to the castle, =
and
up to the chamber, where Sanchez, returning from America, had found him, a
vagabond lad. Through the win=
dow
the same unobstructed view of the Mount dimly unfolded itself in the dusk, =
and for
some moments he regarded it--august, majestic; glossing its heart's black s=
ecrets
with specious and well-composed bearing!&n=
bsp;
As he looked, there suddenly came to him the remembrance of another
impression; the same picture, seen through the eyes of a boy--standing wher=
e he
was now! Then had the Mount s=
eemed
a marvelous series of structures, air-drawn, magical--home of a small and
fairy-like creature, with hair of shining gold. Dusk turned to night; in the dista=
nce
the Mount vanished, and through the break in the forest only the stars
twinkled.
Then lighting his fire, the young man sat =
down
at the side; with faculties alert, listened to the wind; looked at the flam=
es. Demon-like
they leaped before his eyes, as when he had waited and watched for the
emissaries of his Excellency; and mechanically he placed his weapons on the
same spot he had been wont to lay them in those days. There was little likelihood they w=
ould
seek him now, however; the Governor was fully occupied elsewhere, looking t=
o interests
more important to himself and to--
Her ladyship! the fire leaped wildly, as
laughing at fate's foolish prank.
Her life for his! What
irony! If she had betrayed
him? "If?" His laugh
crushed possibility for supposition; but almost at once itself died away! Indissolubly associated with the
thought, a scene in a dungeon must needs recur; her denials; the touch of a
hand; the appeal of light fingers thrust through the bars! Why? The questions he had asked then, w=
ere
reiterated now; the hand that had gripped hers opened, closed; once more he
seemed to see the steadfast, unswerving eyes; once more seemed to read in t=
heir
depths, "Believe!"
The pine branches continued to crackle as =
with
merriment; but his gaze was somber.
How glad she must have been to see the end of her captivity! The sudden leaping of yonder flame=
was
like the quick, bright flush that had mantled her cheek at sight of her lie=
ge
lord to be! They should have
arrived at the Mount ere now; about this time were entering the gates! He could see her, the Marquis at h=
er
side--
A sudden sharp detonation afar dissipated =
the
picture. Other explosions fol=
lowed,
like volley of muskets; and, springing to the window, the Black Seigneur lo=
oked
toward the Mount; from it, flashes of light gleamed and glimmered. Then the loud report of a cannon r=
everberated
in the distance.
CHAPTER XXXI - THE ATTACK ON THE MOUNT
The rock loomed black before them, as the
troopers, escorting the Governor's daughter, rode up to the Mount. Entering the town, at its base, da=
rk
walls on either side of them shut out the broad map of the heavens and left=
but
a narrow open space above; few lights were visible, so that many of the hou=
ses
seemed tenantless; even at the tavern, unwonted stillness prevailed. Apparently was the return well-tim=
ed; in
twisting street and tortuous byway, where hostile faces had been prone to f=
rown
upon the soldiers of his Excellency, emerging from, or ascending to, the
stronghold of the summit, now only chill drafts of air swept down to greet
them; passed on with shrill whisperings, and died away in the distance.
Nearing the massive portals that opened wi=
de
into his Excellency's realm, my lady suppressed a shiver; but the Marquis, =
in a
low tone ventured to jest on the depressing and melancholy aspect of the Mo=
unt at
that hour. To these light rem=
arks
she returned no answer, and he had just begun to rally her on a certain
quietness of spirits, apparent on the beach and irreconcilable with the
circumstances of the moment, when a sharp exclamation fell from the girl's
lips.
In front of them, between the soldiers and=
the
entrance to that upper part of the Mount, many dark forms had suddenly dart=
ed
forth; at the same time from near-by houses came unmistakable sounds of life
and activity; doors were thrown open and windows raised. The town they thought asleep had m=
erely
been watching; now showed its bright eyes in a multitude of menacing lights
around them; below, where likewise a mysterious marshaling had occurred, fr=
om
alleys, corners, and hovels, immediately after the passing of the Governor's
party!
"What does it mean?" Again she heard the Marquis' tones=
, less
confident now, as he turned to the commandant.
"Treachery!" The commandant's voice rang out. "They've broken faith with
us!"
"Dogs!" My lord gazed uncertainly ahead;
dubiously behind. "What =
are we
going to do?"
"Do?" The commandant suppressed an
imprecation. "Push on to=
the
upper gates!"
"To the gates!" cried the Marqui=
s;
then wheeled quickly. "B=
ut you--Elise!"
"Never mind me!" she returned, w=
ith
steady lips and eyes.
There was no time for further words; a sha=
rp
order from the commandant and the troopers spurred forward toward the entra=
nce
in the wall and those whose purpose it was to oppose them.
What happened thereafter the girl was but
vaguely cognizant of; reports of guns, flashing of steel surrounded her; the
clattering of hoofs mingled with the loud shouts of men.
"The Bastille of the North! Down with it!"
This was their battle-cry; on every side s=
he
heard it, though hardly realizing the purport of the words; confused, she
listened to her father's name--her own--bandied about. She wondered why those on the wall=
, the
soldiers within, did not fire and repel all these people.
Then almost at once came the answer. The troopers' comrades were mixed =
in the
melee without; she and they, too--so adroitly had the moment for striking b=
een
planned--might be swept down in the volleys from the ramparts. A cannon boomed above; but its dea=
fening
reverberations were answered only with laughter and jeers-- Mon dieu! Did his Excellency think to fright=
en
them with sound, as if they were timid children fleeing from thunder? Was his Excellency aiming at stars=
?
And again that cry: "The Bastille of =
the
North! We, too, will take our=
Bastille!"--dominated
the clashing of arms and the tumult of strife.
For what seemed an interminable period, the
Governor's daughter saw, through flashes of light, men struggling, striking;
then launched suddenly forward, by an irresistible movement of the horses,
found herself within the gates. The
Marquis who had early been separated from her in the strife, was nowhere in
sight. Behind now sounded the=
fray;
a short distance from the wall, and she looked back; fiercer than ever,
soldiers and people contended within the entrance; beneath the portals. As she strove to restrain her hors=
e she
heard the voice of her father.
"Mon pere! Mon pere!" she cried eagerly,
divining his face in the light of lamps on that side of the wall. He answered only with a laconic co=
mmand
to go at once to the palace; and, regarding his features, tragically appeal=
ing
to her at the moment--so strange and different they seemed!--she prepared to
obey. But ere turning: "=
You think
the soldiers can hold the gate?" she asked.
"Yes; yes!" he replied sharply, =
as
if annoyed at the question.
"But if--"
"There is no 'if'!" said the Gov=
ernor,
and as the girl rode away, his look, hard, steely, shifting to the soldiers,
made quick mental note; they were holding the gates. Satisfied with the front his men p=
resented,
and, delivering a few brief orders to the commandant whose valor in rallying
his forces had been commendable, his Excellency walked toward the great
stairway leading up to the open space near the church. Arrived at this high point from wh=
ich
the town unfolded itself in the starlight and flicker of lamps, he sought, =
as
best he might, to acquaint himself further with the situation; to judge the
numbers of the assailants and the extent of their preparations.
The scene that met his eyes was not so
reassuring as he had expected; that which until now he had considered but a
spasmodic outbreak of a comparatively few townspeople, excited by the news =
of
the Bastille and bent on any petty mischief, resolved itself into more than=
an orderless,
desultory uprising. To his st=
artled
gaze the rock, like an ant-hill disturbed, seemed swarming with life. Even as he peered down, new relays=
of
men poured upward from dark byways to the reinforcement of those already
gathered at the portals, and, for the first time, his confidence, bred of
contempt for the commonalty, became slightly shaken. Fate, which had struck him sharply=
in
the capture of his daughter and the enforced negotiations leading to the
release of one he would have dealt with after his own fashion, now gripped =
him
closer. What did it portend? =
Whence
came all these people?
Not all of them from the immediate
neighborhood! Voices, among t=
he assailants,
had called out in what was surely the Parisian dialect of the rabble; here =
to
propagate the revolution; extend the circle of flame! And they had seen that arms were n=
ot
wanting! Muskets, pikes, swor=
ds,
must have been kept concealed for some time in the town at the base of the
Mount or on the shore. In his
mind's eye, too late perhaps, his Excellency could see now how the assault =
had
long been planned, how all these people had only been waiting. For what? The opportunity afforded by a
treacherous word! Spoken by w=
hom?
But a moment these reflections surged thro=
ugh
his brain; an instant, and his gaze swung around, at towers--turrets--as a
magician might apprehensively survey a fabulous architectural creation,
handiwork of his dark craft, threatened, through an influence beyond his
control, with destruction; then with a quick start, his Excellency wheeled;=
walked
toward the stairway. About to
descend, the sight of a figure coming up, caused him, however, to pause; in=
the
flare of the light below, something in the manner of the man's advance
impressed the governor as peculiar.
The movements of this person, who was
under-sized, wiry, were agile and cat-like; first would he stop, look around
him and listen; afterward spring forward a few steps as not quite sure of h=
is
course. But still he came on,
keeping as closely as might be to the cover of shadows, until a growing
impression he had seen the fellow before resolved itself into positiveness =
in
his Excellency's mind. And wi=
th the
conviction and a sudden remembrance of the place and the character of their
previous meeting, a definite disinclination to encountering the figure on t=
he
stairs caused the Governor abruptly to draw into the entrance of the
church. There, concealed,
impatiently he waited for the man to pass on, thus affording him the
opportunity to slip by and return to the gate.
Meanwhile, the Lady Elise had repaired to =
the
palace; a prey to harassing doubts her father's words had failed to remove,=
she
listened to those sounds of the strife she no longer saw. But that she wished to obey her fa=
ther
unquestioningly now--at, perhaps, a supreme moment for both of them!--she c=
ould
not have remained where she was.
Never had the palace looked so blank and deserted; she rang her bell=
; no
one answered. The servants had
apparently all left--gone, it might be, to look down on and behold this gue=
rre
a la mort waged near the gates. Or, perhaps, had they all, except the old
nurse, fled from the palace, never to return?
As she asked herself these questions, in t=
he
distance the noise of the conflict grew louder; the shouts of the people mo=
re
distinct, nearer! With a sudden premonition of disaster close at hand, the
desire to see what was happening--to know the worst--seized her. No longer could she remain in her
apartments; she must return to the ramparts--to her father; and then, if ne=
ed
be-- The thought drove some o=
f the
color from her cheek, but in a moment her braver instincts spoke; there awo=
ke within
her the courage and the spirit of her Norman ancestry.
Pale, yet determined, she hastened down the
long, dimly lighted corridor, and was nearing the door leading to the street
when it suddenly opened and a man, tall and dark, showing in his appearance=
many
signs of the fray, stepped in. At
sight of her a quick exclamation fell from his lips; his bold, anxious eyes
lighted. "My Lady!"=
"You!" Her startled glance met his.
"I heard the firing; hastened to the
Mount--here! I trust not too =
late!"
"Too late!" she repeated
wildly. "Where else shou=
ld the
Black Seigneur be than here, at the Mount--at such a moment!"
"True!" he returned quietly. "Where else?"
She noted not the accent; behind him, thro=
ugh
the open space a bright fork of flame, in the direction of the soldiers'
barracks, shot into the air, and, at the same time, she saw that the office=
rs'
quarters and out-buildings glowed red.&nbs=
p;
The knowledge of what it meant--that her apprehensions had been
realized, sent a shudder through her, and quickly as the door closed, shutt=
ing
out the sight, she ran toward the threshold, one thought in her mind--her
father, and where she had last seen him!&n=
bsp;
That she was seized, held, restrained, seemed but a natural, though
terrible, incident of the moment.
"Pardon, my Lady! In a moment they will be here, and=
they
will not spare you! Your fath=
er is
not at the gate; he left before the soldiers gave way! Believe me, or not--it is the
truth! As true as that, if yo=
u go
out, they will kill you!"
And did he not want that; why else was he
here? The young man's face da=
rkened;
he made an impatient gesture. They
were but wasting time; already were the people close without; one of the
assailants, a woman, had been shot in the assault; the others? Her Ladyship would understand; if =
she
wished to save herself? His t=
ones
vibrated with strange eagerness.
The palace had a rear entrance, of course? Then had they better flee upward t=
o some
place of concealment, and, later, when the people were concerned most in pi=
llage,
endeavor to find a way to leave the Mount.=
After that, it would be easy; his ship was waiting-- Her wild words interrupted; her
father--she would go only to him!
She would never leave him now!
That which she proposed was impossible,
quickly the young man answered. The mob--the terrible mob! Did she realize to what she would =
expose
herself? Did she know the ter=
rible
danger? More plainly he told =
her. As
for her going, it was not to be thought of; he must see she did not persist=
in
her purpose.
"You?" My lady flashed him a glance. "You!" she repeated. "Whose men broke faith--"=
;
"That may be!" His voice rang bitterly. "Yet," with stubborn res=
olution,
"your Ladyship must not go!"
"Must not! And you presume--dare tell me that=
! You, the--"
"I would there were no need to cross =
you,
my Lady," he returned, when behind him the door, leading from the stre=
et,
suddenly opened; closed.
"Elise!" The voice of the Marquis, who had
hurriedly entered, rang out; changed.
"Mon dieu! What is
this?" In the dim light,=
an instant
my lord stared hard at the man before him; then with drawn blade threw hims=
elf
upon him.
CHAPTER XXXII - NEAR THE ALTAR
"Morbleu! Here's a madman!" Ere the Black Seigneur could unshe=
athe his
sword, that of the Marquis had pierced slightly his shoulder. "Put up your blade, my
Lord!" As quickly spring=
ing
back and drawing his own, he held himself in an attitude of defense. "In this matter are we, or sh=
ould
we be--of a mind!"
"We!" My lord's weapon played in fierce =
curves
and flashes; he laughed derisively.
"I am here to serve her ladyship--if I
can!"
"You!" A rapid coup de tierce was the Mar=
quis'
reply. "You! Whose outlaws carried her off
before! You are pleased to je=
st,
Monsieur Bandit!"
"No jest, my Lord!" coolly. "Moreover, it is you who serv=
e her ladyship
ill at such a moment in--"
"Mon dieu! You instruct!"
"I have no wish for this combat, Mons=
ieur
le Marquis!" As he spoke=
, the
Black Seigneur retreated slowly toward the door. "But if you press too close--=
"
"Ma foi! You talk very brave, but I notice =
your
legs take you backward. Howev=
er, it
will not serve; you shall not escape."
"No?" His back now against the door, the=
Black
Seigneur defended himself with his right hand, the while his left felt behi=
nd
for a bolt which it found; shot into place. "Then let us remove temptatio=
n by locking
the door!"
"What! You did not, then, intend--"<= o:p>
A sudden fierce pounding from without on t=
he
door, interrupted.
"It was necessary to keep them out--b=
ut
it will be only for the moment. So
put up your blade!" peremptorily.&nbs=
p;
"There is no time to lose."
"You are right!" The Marquis' face expressed scorn =
and
unreasoning anger; his sword leaped to an accelerated tempo. "There is no time to lose.
The Black Seigneur leaped forward; but the
stroke his adversary, now disarmed, expected, fell not on him; directed tow=
ard
a lamp overhead, sole source of illumination of the corridor, the weapon st=
ruck
hard. Shattered by the blow, the ornamental contrivance crashed to the floo=
r; the
place was plunged in darkness.
"Save yourself, my Lord!" said a
calm voice, and my lady, standing now as it were, in the center of a vortex=
of
wildly rushing figures, felt her waist suddenly clasped; herself swept on!<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Once or twice she struggled; resis=
ted,
hardly knowing what she did; but the sound of a low, determined voice, not
unfamiliar to her, and the consciousness of a physical force--or was it all
physical?--that seemed to beat down her will, left no choice but to obey.
Darkness gave way to waves of light;
reflections of flame surrounded them; black trails of smoke coiled around.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The girl's strength went; her brea=
th
came faster. A thick cloud ch=
oked
her; she wished only to stop, when arms closed about her.
Upward!&n=
bsp;
Still upward! By windi=
ng
stairs, through passages and doorways, vaguely she felt herself borne, unti=
l a
cold breath of air, blowing suddenly in her face, revived her; awoke her to=
a
confused realization of the place they had at last reached--the upper platf=
orm at
the head of the long, open stairway of granite. And with that consciousness, she a=
gain
sought to free herself; but, for an instant the arms held her tighter, whil=
e a
dark face bent close, scanning her features, then abruptly he released her.=
"Your Ladyship is uninjured?"
"Yes: yes!"
"One moment!" Turning, he left her, and walking =
to the
verge of that open space, searched quickly the waste of darkness below, far=
out
to sea. The girl's glance fol=
lowed
him; wavered; her first apprehension awoke anew. Her father! Where was he? She clasped her hands despairingly=
as
she gazed down the Mount; then around her.=
Suddenly, a bright patch of light--open doorway to the church--caught
her eye and she started. At t=
he
picture, framed by the masonry, which the glow revealed, a low exclamation =
fell
from her lips, and crossing the platform, and descending a few steps, she r=
an
to the entrance of the sacred edifice.
"Eh, your Excellency; has your Excell=
ency
any orders?" sounded a voice.
There, before an altar, in the dim flicker=
of
candles and the variegated gleaming from the ancient stained-glass windows,=
she
saw at last him she sought; in one of the chapels, near the white marble mo=
nument
to her mother, was his Excellency; but, not alone! Before him stood, or half crouched=
, the
man Sanchez, who now was speaking.
"Shall I ring for your Excellency's
servants and have the noise stopped?"=
Grotesquely he bowed, the while watching like an animal studying its
prey. "Beppo! Where are you--fat rascal? Consign these swine to the gibbets!=
What! You can't obey because your ears h=
ave been
cut off and your throat slit?
That's too bad!"
Fiercely the man laughed; then waved his arm toward the window, as if
calling the Governor's attention to the sounds of demolition; the abrupt
breaking of glass!
"Patter! Patter!<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Merry little bullets, presents fro=
m the people,
your Excellency! Metayage, yo=
ur
Highness!"
Still the other said no word; a figure, so
motionless and white, it seemed but a wraith pausing at the side of its own
"narrow house." A l=
ouder
clamor without; a more vivid brightness of the red, yellow and purple hues,
like a sudden wealth of strange flowers strewn on the marble floor, and aga=
in
Sanchez laughed.
"Too bad! But 'tis I who must pay first! Who owe so much! Has your Excellency his strong box=
with
him? Ah, he leans on it! Such a fine one, all of marble!
Held to the spot by the abrupt terror and
fascination of the scene, the Governor's daughter had made no sound, fearfu=
l of
hastening the inevitable; but at the moment the man, with a last taunting w=
ord,
launched forward, a cry, half articulate, burst from her lips. It was drowned by another voice, l=
oud
and commanding, which rang out from the entrance to the church.
"Sanchez!"
Perhaps the call disconcerted him; robbed = the old servant's eye of its certitude; his arm of its sureness, for the blow a= imed at his Excellency the latter was enabled to evade. At the same time, as with singular agility he moved aside to save himself, the hand the Governor had been hold= ing to his breast, shot out like an adder.&nbs= p; It struck viciously; stung deep--full in the side of his tormentor.<= o:p>
"That for your metayage!"
But a momentary expression of satisfaction
was, however, permitted his Excellency; the petty tragedy became overshadow=
ed
by the greater!
"The Bastille! Our Bastille!"
And again a shower of bullets, directed in
hatred, fell upon the church, because its windows were priceless; shone with
saints of inestimable value! =
In the
chapel, an aumbry and a piscina were struck; around the Governor, glass beg=
an
to clatter and break into bits on the pavement, when suddenly he wavered; h=
is
hand sought his heart, then felt for and clung to the monument, as if abrup=
tly
seeking support.
"Why did you do it, Seigneur?" As my lady, exclaiming wildly, ran=
to her
father, Sanchez, from where he lay, looked up to his master.
"Call out, I mean? Not that it matters much now!"=
; His implacable glance, swerving to=
the
Governor, lighted with satisfaction.
"The people have paid.
And 'twas I--showed them the way!"
"It was you, then--who broke faith in=
the
negotiations for the exchange of prisoners?"
A smile came to the face of the old
servant. "I had to,"=
; he
said simply. "I alone am=
to
blame. No one knew; except,
perhaps, the poet, who may have surmised!&=
nbsp;
It was treachery for treachery!" with sudden fierceness. "You could not have done it, =
nor
your father, nor any of the seigneurs before him!" The young man seemed scarcely to h=
ear;
his glance had again sought my lady.
"But I am only a servant---and in dealing with a viper I used i=
ts
own tricks! Did you think I h=
ad forgotten
those stripes? Or the blow he=
gave
your father--in the back?" A
moment Sanchez's hand fumbled at his coat; drew out a bag of oilskin. "Here is something that belon=
ged to
your father. I took it from h=
is
breast the day he died, thinking some time--I can't tell what--only it cont=
ains
a letter from the former lady of the Mount! When my master got it, he told =
me
to pack a few belongings--that we were going--never to return!"
Sanchez's voice broke off; again he strove=
to
speak; could not; put out his hand.
Mechanically the Black Seigneur's closed on that of the old servant;
even as it did so, the latter's fingers clutched suddenly; ceased to move.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> In the church now all was silent, =
but
without arose discordant sounds, cries, harsh and vengeful, for the Governo=
r!
Starting, the Black Seigneur gazed about,
toward him they were clamoring for, now lying still, at the base of the
monument. Then releasing the
fingers, that seemed yet to hold him, the young man sprang forward, as my l=
ady
threw herself wildly, protectingly, over her father. At that touch, the Governor's eyes
opened; met hers; the Black Seigneur's!
Nearer the door, now rang the shouts. His Excellency seemed to listen; to
realize what they meant; to him--his daughter--
"The Governor! The Governor!"
"Trembles tyrans! Trembles!"
An ironical flash lit up, for an instant, =
the
dying eyes. He, soon, would be
beyond reach of these dogs--canaille!
But she? His gaze again
rested on the Black Seigneur; in that tense, fleeting second, seemed reading
his very soul!
"Et la belle comtesse, sa fille!"
cried the menacing voices.
A tremor crossed the Governor's face; his =
pale
lips moved. "Forget! Save
her!" An instant his eyes
lingered persistently on the young man; then passed to his daughter; as they
did so, slowly the light, more human and appealing than any that had ever s=
hone
there before, went out of them. My
lady's fair head drooped until it lay on her father's breast; unconscious, =
she
seemed yet to shield him with figure inert. But only for a moment!
"Et la belle comtesse!"
Stooping, the Black Seigneur snatched the
slender form to his breast; ran back to the altar. There, looking around him, as one =
who
made himself familiar with the place, his glance apparently found what it s=
ought--a
small stairway, entrance to the crypt.&nbs=
p;
At the same time he started to descend, the people swept into the
church.
CHAPTER XXXIII - ON THE SANDS
A man, bearing in his arms the motionless =
form
of a woman, paused later that night in the shadow of a low stone hovel, near
the lower gate of the Mount. =
As he
crouched beneath the thatch projecting like the rim of an old hat above him=
his
eyes, eager, fierce, studied the distance he had yet to traverse from the e=
nd
of the narrow alley, where he had stopped, to the open entrance at the base=
of
the rock to the sands. The goal was not far; but a few moments would have
sufficed to reach it; only between him and the point he had so long been
striving to attain, an obstacle, or group of obstacles, intervened. Before a bonfire of wreckage of
stuff--furniture and household goods--several ragged, dissolute fellows sat
with bottles before them, drinking hard and quarreling the while over a num=
ber
of glittering gems, gold snuff-boxes and trinkets of all kinds.
"This bit of ivory for the white
stone!"
"Add the brooch!"
"Not I! Look at the picture! Her ladyship, perhaps!"
"They have not found her?"
"No; for all the searching! But she is somewhere; can't have e=
scaped
from the Mount. And when the =
drabs
and trulls lay hands on her!"
"Ay, when!" casting the dice.
The man, peering from the alley, hesitated=
no
longer; behind sounded the footsteps of others, and gathering his burden mo=
re
firmly, he strode boldly forth toward the group and the gate. At his approach, their talk--a jar=
gon of
"thieves' Latin" that smacked more of the cabarets of Paris than
those of the coast--momentarily ceased; beneath lowering brows, they stared
hard.
"What have you there, comrade?" =
said
one.
"Look and see!" answered the man=
in
a rough tone.
"Poor booty! A woman!" quoted another with=
a
harsh laugh. "You're eas=
ily
pleased. As if wenches were n=
ot
plentiful enough on other occasions, without wasting time on a night like t=
his,
when diamonds and gold are to be had for the searching!"
"And silver plates and watches and ra=
re
liquors!" cried a third in knaves' argot. "Every one, however, to his
taste! An you prefer a light-=
of-love
to light such as these have," juggling with the gems, "you but st=
amp
yourself a fool."
"You're welcome to your opinion, my
friend!" The man with the
burden spoke bruskly. "G=
ood
night!"
"Stay; why such haste? You seem not a bad fellow. Set the wench down. We'll have sig=
ht of
her, and, perhaps," with coarse expletives, "if she's a pretty fa=
ce,
and a taste for this fiery liquor the old monks laid down, we'll find a gew=
gaw
or two to her liking!"
But the man made no answer; was about to p=
ass
on, when the speaker noticed for the first time the woman's hand, white and
small, hanging limply. "=
What's
this? More jewels?" His exclamation was caught up by t=
he
others. "Not so fast,
comrade! This puts a differen=
t face
to the matter. Set down the b=
ooty,
and," springing to his feet, "we'll see what it's worth."
"I'll not stop!" The man looked at him steadily.
"Pardi!" softly. "Here's one dares speak his
mind!"
"I speak plainly," in a tone of
authority, "and you would do well to heed!"
"Perhaps," interposing. "What say you, comrades?"=
;
Evil smiles illumined evil faces; they, who
had just been on the point of blows among themselves, now regarded one anot=
her
with common understanding. One
weighed tentatively that delicate weapon, a spontoon; a second stroked his
halberd, as liking to feel the smoothness of the shaft, while a third reach=
ed
for a gleaming "Folard's Partizan." And in the glare of the fire every
implement showed sign it had been used that night. The point of the spontoon was as s=
teel crusted
o'er; the ax of the halberd might have come from a boucherie; the blade of =
the
"Partizan" resembled a great leaf at autumn-time. This last waver=
ed
perilously near the unconscious burden; had the man made a movement to resi=
st,
would have struck; but the black eyes, only, combated--held the blood-shot
ones. Though not for long; ag=
ain
the weapon seemed about to dart forth; the man about to hurl himself and his
burden desperately aside, when, from above, came the sound of hoarse laughi=
ng
and singing, and simultaneously a number of peasants, Bretons by their dres=
s,
burst into view.
"Eh, cockatoo, what now!"
Many of these new-comers were hurt; few fr=
ee
from cuts; but none thought of stanching their wounds. Their principal concern seemed for=
articles
they carried--heavy, light; valuable, paltry--spoils from the high! Two staggered beneath a great chest
stamped with the arms of the Mount and its motto, and appeared anxious to
hurry--perchance toward the forest on the shore where they might bury their
treasure. Others had in their=
arms
imposing pieces of silver; vases and a massive surtout de table that had on=
ce
belonged to the Cardinal Dubois. A woman,
gaunt, toothless, wore a voluminous bonnet a l'Argus, left at the Mount by =
one
of the ladies of the court; and waved before her a fan, set with jewels.
"Eh, cockatoo!" shrilly. "Who would you be killing?&qu=
ot;
"A selfish fellow that refuses to
share!" answered he of the halberd, as if little pleased at the
interruption.
"Refuses to share, does he?" she
repeated, and, swaggering down, peered forward; only to start back. "The Black Seigneur!"
"The Black Seigneur!"
Those who accompanied her--a rough rabble =
from
field and forest--gazed, not without surprise, or uncouth admiration, at one
whose name and fame were well-known on that northern coast; but these evide=
nces
of rough approval were not shared by the alien rogues. On my lady's finger the gem still
sparkled: held their eyes like a lure.&nbs=
p;
Black Seigneur, or not, they muttered sullenly, what knew they of he=
r he
had with him; whose hand was not that of cinder-wench or scullery maid? Let them look at her face! She might be a great lady--she mig=
ht
even be the Governor's daughter herself!
"The Governor's daughter!" All, alike, caught at the word.
"An if she were!" fiercely the B=
lack
Seigneur confronted them.
While, hesitating, they sought for a reply,
quickly he went on. Who had a
better right to her? The Black
Seigneur! The Lady Elise! Har=
shly
he laughed. Was it not fair
spoil? His Excellency's enemy=
; his
Excellency's daughter. Did th=
ey
think treasure sweeter than revenge?
Let them try to rob him of it!
As for the ring? Contemptuously he took it from my lady's hand; thre=
w it
among them.
A few scrambled, others were still for finishing the tragedy then. T= he people versus the lords and their spawn. "Kill at once!" the injunction had gone forth from Paris.<= o:p>
As he spoke, one of the fiercest put out h=
is
hand; touched my lady, when the fingers of the Black Seigneur gripped hard =
his
throat; hurled him so violently back, he lay still. Companions sprang to his aid; cert=
ain of
the peasants interfered.
"Let him alone!"
"He speaks fair!"
"Bah! To-night are all equal."
"Your Black Seigneur no better than
others!"
"You lie!" In a high tone the woman with the =
great
lady's hat broke in. "At=
them,
my chickens! Beat well these =
Paris
rogues, who come only for the picking!"
"Yes; beat them well!"
But the runagates of the great city were n=
ot
of a kind to submit lightly; curses and blows were exchanged; knives gleamed
and swords flashed. Amid a sc=
ene of
confusion, the cause of it stayed not to witness the outcome; running down =
the
sloping way, soon found himself on the sands; then keeping to the shadows,
passed around the corner of the wall.
Here, for the time concealed was he safe; =
none
followed, and, leaning against the damp blocks of masonry, breathing hard, =
as a
man weak from fatigue, loss of blood, he sought to recover his strength.
"Pardi!" he muttered, a flush on=
his
face. "Am I, then, like =
the others--pillagers,
thieves?"
Several moments he yet stood, breathing de=
ep;
then, starting away, set himself to the task of crossing the vast stretch of
beach between the Mount and the distant lights of a ship.
The sandy plain had never seemed so
interminable; before him, his shadow and that of my lady danced ever illusi=
vely
away; behind, the great rock gave forth a hundred shooting flames, while, as
emblematic of the demolition of so much that was beautiful, higher than sai=
nt
with helpless sword on cathedral top, a cloud of smoke belched up; waved si=
dewise
like a monstrous funeral plume. A
symbol, it seemed to fill the sky; to move and nod and flaunt its ominous
blackness from this majestic outpost of the land. Walking in a vivid crimson glow, t=
he Black
Seigneur gazed only ahead, where now, on that monotonous desert, the rim of=
the
sea on a sudden obtruded. As =
he
advanced, sparkles red as rubies--laughing lights--leaped in the air; at the
same time a seething murmur broke upon the stillness.
Toward those leaping bright points and the
source of that deep-sounding cadence, the young man stumbled forward more
rapidly, less cautiously, also, it may be; for while he was yet some distan=
ce
from the water's rim, his feet fell on sand that gave way beneath them. He would have sprung back, but felt
himself sinking; strove to get out, only to settle the deeper! The edge of the lise, with safety
beyond, well he could see, where the satin-like smoothness of the treachero=
us
slough! merged into a welcome silk-like shimmering of the trustworthy sands=
. That
verge, however, was remote; out of reach of effort of his to attain; his ve=
ry
endeavors caused him to become the more firmly imbedded. Had he cast my lady aside, possibly
could he have extricated himself; but with her, an additional weight, weigh=
ing
him down--
Loudly he called out; only the sea
answered. Now were the clingi=
ng particles
at his waist; he lifted my lady higher; clear of them! Once more raised his voice--this t=
ime
not in vain!
"Mon capitaine! Where are you?"
"Here!"
"We don't see you."
"You won't soon, unless--"
The end of a line struck the sand.
The
night had almost passed; its last black hour, like a pall, lay over the sea,
where, far from the Mount, a ship swayed and tossed. In the narrow confines of her mast=
er's
cabin, the faint glimmering of a lamp revealed a man bending over a paper,
yellow and worn; the lines so faint and delicate, they seemed almost to esc=
ape
him!
"How
strange, after all these years, the sight of your handwriting!--and now, to=
be
writing you! Yet is it meet--=
to say
farewell! For that which you =
have
heard, mon ami, is true. I am=
going
to die. You say, you heard I =
was
not well; I answer what really you heard; the question, mon ami, beneath yo=
ur
words! ... And, dying, it is =
well
with me. I have wronged no so=
ul on
earth--except you, my friend, and you forgive me.... I had hoped the years would efface=
that
old memory. You say they have
not.... It is wise you are go=
ing away."
The
reader paused; listened to the sea; the moaning and sighing, like voices on=
the
wings of the storm.
"You
speak in your letter about 'trickery'--used to estrange us! Think no more of it, I beg you.
CHAPTER XXXIV - SOME TIME LATER
The little Norman isle, home of Pierre
Laroche, so wild and bleak-looking many months of the year, resembles a
flowering garden in the spring; then, its lap full of buds and blossoms,
smiling, redolent, it lifts itself from the broad bosom of the deep. And all the light embellishments o=
f the
golden time it sets forth daintily; fringing the black cliffs with clusters=
of
sea campion, white and frothy as the spray, trailing green ivy from precipi=
tous
heights to the verge of the wooing waters, whose waves seem to creep up
timorously, peep into the many caves, bright with sea-anemones, and retreat
quickly, as awed by a sudden glimpse of fairyland.
Near the entrance of one of these magical
chambers, abloom with strange, scentless flowers, sat, a certain afternoon =
in
April, a man and a woman, who, looking out over the blue sea, conversed in
desultory fashion.
"From what your father tells me, Mist=
ress
Nanette," the man, an aged priest, was speaking, "the Seigneur
Desaurac should be here to-day?"
"My father had a letter from him a few
days ago to that effect," answered the young woman somewhat shortly.
"Let me see," apparently the old=
man
did not notice the change in his companion's manner, "he has been away=
now
about a year? It was in July =
he
brought the Governor's daughter to the island one day and sailed the next!&=
quot; Nanette made a movement. "How time flies!" he
sighed. "Let us hope it
assuages grief, as they say! =
You
think she is contented here?"
"The Lady Elise? Why not? At least, she seems so; has with h=
er,
her old nurse, my aunt, who fortunately escaped from the Mount--"
"But the death of her father? It must have been a terrible blow-=
-one not
easy to forget!"
"Of course," said Nanette slowly,
"she has felt his loss."
The old man gazed down. "I have sometimes wondered wh=
at she
knows about the causes of the enmity that existed between his Excellency an=
d the
Black Seigneur?"
The other's eyes lifted keenly. "When last did you see her,
Father?"
"She comes often to my cottage to walk
and--"
"Talk?"
"Well, yes!" The fine spiritual face expressed a
twinge of uneasiness.
"About the past?"
The priest shifted slightly. "Sometimes! An old man lives much in the past =
and it
is natural to wander on a bit aimlessly at times, and--"
"Confess, Father, she has learned much
from you?" Nanette laugh=
ed.
"No, no; I trust--"
"Surmised, then!" said the
girl. "She is one not ea=
sily
deceived. Clever is my lady! =
And
you talk, she says nothing, but leads you on! If there's aught she wishes to
learn that you know, be assured she's found out from your lips."
"Nay; I'll not believe--'tis true onc=
e or
twice I've let a word slip. But she noticed not--"
"No doubt!" The island girl's voice expressed =
a fine
scorn. "However, it matt=
ers
little. Speaks she ever of the
Black Seigneur?" suddenly.
"No.=
Why?"
"Why not?" Nanette's tone was enigmatic.
"I don't understand."
"At any rate, she is better off here =
than
yonder in France, if tidings be true," said the other irrelevantly.
"Ah, ma belle France!" murmured =
the
old man regretfully. "Ho=
w she
is torn within--threatened from without!&n=
bsp;
But fortunately she has her defenders," his voice thrilled,
"brave men who have thronged to her needs. I suppose," he continued abru=
ptly,
"it's to arrange about the new ship that brings the Seigneur once more=
to
the island?"
"I suppose so," assented the oth=
er
briefly.
"A true Frenchman, Pierre Laroche, yo=
ur
father, has shown himself, in giving one of his best ships to the cause!
"Yourself, for example, Father, who
helped him in the courts to establish his right to his name," said the
young woman quickly.
"And you, Mistress Nanette," the
kindly eyes lighting with a curious, indulgent look, "who went to the
Mount alone, unaided, to--"
A frown gathered on the dark, handsome fac=
e of
the girl. "Unaided?"=
; she
said, staring at the sparkles on the waves before her.
"Oh, the people never weary of talking
about it! and how you--"
"Yon's a sail!" Abruptly the young woman rose; with
skirts fluttering behind her, gazed out to sea.
Several hours later, just before dusk, a s=
hip
ran into the harbor, dropped anchor, and sent a boat to the shore. In the small craft sat a number of=
men,
and the first of these to spring to the beach and mount the stone stairway =
to
the inn, was met at the top; warmly greeted, by old Pierre himself! Mon dieu! To see the new-comer was=
like
old times! Only now, the land=
lord
observed jestingly, the profits would be small! But a fig to parsimony, in these d=
ays
when men's patriotism should be large; do what he, the Black Seigneur, would
with the new ship, even if he sunk her, provided it was in good company, an=
d he
went not down with her himself! To
which protestations the other answered; presented his companions, and greet=
ed
the assembled company within.
Busy at a great board, laden with comestib=
les
interspersed with flagons of wines, Nanette welcomed him briefly, and again=
his
glance--keen and assured, that of a man the horizon of whose vision had
widened, since last he stood there--swept the gathering. But apparently, one he looked for =
was
not present, and he had again turned to the young woman, a question on his
lips, when on the garden side of the house a door opened. It revealed a flowering background=
, a
plateau, yellow in the last rays of the sun; it framed, also, the slender,
black-clad figure of a girl, above whose white brow the waving hair shone l=
ike
threads of gold.
"An old friend of yours, my Lady!&quo=
t;
called out blunt Pierre.
A moment the clear, brown eyes seemed to w=
aver;
then became steady, as schooled to some purpose. She came forward composedly; gave =
the
Black Seigneur her hand.
"I--am always glad to see old
friends!" said my lady, with a lift of the head, over-conscious, perha=
ps,
of the concentrated gaze of the company.
He looked at her; made perfunctory answer;=
she
seemed about to speak again, when the hand he let fall was caught by anothe=
r.
"Elise!" From among those who had come asho=
re, a
man in fashionable attire sprang forward, a little thinner than when last s=
he
had seen him, and more cynical-looking, as slightly soured by world-contact=
and
the new tendencies of society.
"My Lord!" Certainly was my lady taken unawar=
es; a
moment looked at the Marquis as if a little startled; then at the Black
Seigneur:
"A pleasant surprise for you, my
Lady!" said the latter.
"But you owe me no thanks!&nbs=
p;
An order from the chief of the Admiralty, properly signed and
countersigned, directing me to transport the Marquis de Beauvillers hither,=
was
not to be disregarded!"
"A somewhat singular dispensation of
Providence, nevertheless!" observed the nobleman dryly. "After our--what shall we cal=
l it?--little
passage of arms? You must
acknowledge, however, that in truth the Lady Elise and myself had some reas=
on
to discredit your assurances that night--"
"Far be it from me to dispute it, my
Lord," and the Black Seigneur turned, while the Marquis, slightly
shrugging his shoulders, addressed my lady.
Half blithely, then half bitterly, relapsi=
ng
occasionally from the old, debonair manner he had assumed, he spoke of his
escape from the Mount; months of hiding in foul places, amid fields and for=
est,
with no word of her; his success, at last, in reaching Paris, and, through
rumor, learning where she was, and hastening to her--
A bluff voice interrupted further explanat=
ions
and avowals; the steaming flesh-pots, it informed the company, awaited not =
soft
words and honied phrases; monarch in his own dining-room, ostentatiously co=
nscious,
perhaps, of his own unwonted prodigality, Pierre Laroche waved them to their
places--where they would!--so that they waited not!
Quizzically my lord lifted his brow; truly
here was a Republican fellow who appreciated not an honor when it was besto=
wed
upon him, nor saw anything unusual in a Marquis' presence beneath that humb=
le
roof. Something of this he murmured to my lady, in a tone others might have=
heard;
but she answered not; took her place, with red lips the firmer, as if to
conceal some weakness to which they sought to give way.
Not without constraint the meal passed; the
host, desirous to learn the latest political news, looked at the Marquis and
curbed a natural curiosity, until a more favorable moment when he and the B=
lack
Seigneur should be alone. My =
lady,
although generally made to feel welcome and at home there, seemed now, perh=
aps,
to herself, a little out of place, like a person that has wandered from a w=
orld
of her own and strayed into another's.&nbs=
p;
Cross-currents, long at strife in her breast, surged and flowed fast;
the while she seemed to listen to my lord, who appeared now in lighter, more
airy humor. And as she sat th=
us,
with fair head bent a little, she could but hear, at times, above the medle=
y of
tones and the sound of servants' footsteps in clattering wooden shoes, the
voice of the Black Seigneur--now pledging a toast to old Pierre; anon
discussing winds, tides, or ships!
A free reckless voice, that seemed to vibrate from the past--to stir
anew bright, terrible flames.
Daylight slowly waned; lights were brought=
in,
and, the meal over, old Pierre pushed back in his chair. My lady rose quickly; looked a lit=
tle constrainedly
at the company, at the Marquis, then toward the door. Anticipating her desi=
re,
attributing to it, perhaps, a significance flattering to his vanity, the yo=
ung
nobleman expressed a wish for a stroll; a sight of the garden. At once she assented; a slight tin=
t now on
her cheeks, she moved to the door, and my lord followed; as they disappeare=
d,
the Black Seigneur laughed--at one of Pierre's jokes!
"Have I not told it before?" said
the host.
"Have you?" murmured the Black
Seigneur. "Well, a good =
jest,
like an excellent dish, may well be served twice."
"Humph!" observed the landlord
doubtfully.
After a pause: "I suppose he will be
taking her away soon?"
"Her?" The young man rose.
"The Lady Elise!"
"I suppose so," shortly.
"We shall miss her!" grumbled the
landlord as he, too, got up and walked over to the fireplace. "I, who never thought to care=
for
any of the fine folk--I, bluff old Pierre Laroche!--say we shall miss
her."
"Knows she how it fared with his
Excellency's--her father's--estate? That little, or nothing, is left?"=
"Aye."
"And she will agree to the promise I
wrote you about?" quickly.
"That you--now that the right to your
name has been vindicated--are content to accept half the lands in dispute; =
her
ladyship to retain the other half?"
"Yes; in consideration of that which =
his
Excellency expended in taxes--no small sum!--and what it would cost to carr=
y on
vexatious litigation!"
"You are strangely faint-hearted to
pursue your advantage," said old Pierre shrewdly. "But," as the other made=
a
gesture, "I put it to her ladyship as you desired me to, and--"
"She consented?" eagerly.
Pierre shook his head. "No, mon capitaine! She will have none of them. And you had heard her: 'A great wr=
ong
was unintentionally,' she accented the word, 'done the Seigneur Desaurac by=
my
father, which has now been set right!'&nbs=
p;
'It has,' I assented, and would have urged further your proposal, wh=
en
she stopped me. 'Speak no mor=
e of
this matter!' 'Twas all she said; but--you should have seen her face, and h=
ow
her eyes shone!"
The young man, looking down, made no
answer. "An you are not =
satisfied,"
continued Pierre, "broach the question to my lady, yourself."
"I?" A look, half bitter, crossed the o=
ther's
dark face. "Her father's
enemy! Through whose servant,=
all
her misfortunes came about! To revive anew what must so often pass in her
mind?"
"Well, well; no doubt you know best, =
and,
certes, now you remind me, she did turn cold and distant when I spoke of yo=
ur
coming. But let idle prejudic=
es
enter into practical concerns--it's on a par--of all improvidence! Why, 'twas not long ago, she broug=
ht me
a jewel or two; Marie, it seems, had foresight enough to snatch them before
fleeing from the Mount, and begged me to take them for our kindness, she sa=
id; which
I did, seeing she would not have it otherwise--nor let herself be regarded =
as
one who could not pay. But to
business, mon capitaine!"
And thereafter, for some time, they, or
rather, Pierre, talked; the others, save the Marquis, returned to the ship,=
and
only Nanette, busy putting everything to rights, lingered in the room. At length, after papers had been s=
igned
and changed hands, the conversation of the host began to wane; frequently h=
ad
he sipped from a bottle of liqueur at his elbow and now found himself noddi=
ng;
leaned back more comfortably in the great chair and suffered his head to
fall. The clock ticked out the
seconds; the young man continued to sit motionless.
"'A mon beau'--" Nanette's voice,
lightly humming, caused him to look up; with the old mocking expression on =
her
face, the inn-keeper's daughter paused near his chair.
"It was kind of you, mon capitaine, to
bring to my lady her Marquis!" As she spoke, she looked toward the gar=
den.
"Why not?" he asked steadily.
"Were they, indeed?" she said,
tapping the floor with her foot.
"You remain with us a few days; or, as of old, must we be conte=
nt
with a brief visit?" she went on.
"We leave to-morrow."
"To-morrow?" The girl's eyes wor=
e a
tentative expression.
"Late?"
"Early!"
"Oh!=
In that case, perhaps I shan't have time," Nanette paused; look=
ed at
her father; old Pierre's slumbers were not to be broken.
"For what?" asked the Black Seig=
neur
shortly.
"To tell you something!"
"Why not--now?"
"You--are inquisitive?"
"No!"
"Even if it were about--" she lo=
oked
toward the door that led to the garden.
"The Lady Elise?" he said quickl=
y.
"Oh, you are interested? 'A mon beau'--" a moment she
hummed. "You do not urge me?"
"Wherefore," laconically, althou=
gh
his eyes flashed, "when you have made up your mind to tell!"
"You are right!" She threw back her head. "I have made up my mind! How =
well
you understand women! Almost =
as
well," she laughed mockingly, "as a ship!" He made no response. "When you thanked me once, mo=
n capitaine,
for all it pleased you to say I did for you, you may remember," her vo=
ice
was defiant, "I did not once gainsay you!" More curiously he regarded her. 'Nanette did this!--did that!'--wh=
en it
was she who risked--did it all, one might say."
"She? What do you mean?" The black eyes probed hers now with
sudden, fierce questioning.
"That 'twas the Lady Elise saved
you. Went knowingly--willingl=
y--as hostage--"
"The Lady Elise!" he cried, an
abrupt glow on the dark face.
Nanette's eyes noted and fell, but she wen=
t on
hurriedly: "She knew of the ambush in the forest; saw part of the note=
I
dropped on the beach--it was brought to her by my aunt who warned
her." And in a quick rus=
h of
words, as if desirous to be done with it, Nanette told all that had transpi=
red
at the Mount.
Incredulously, eagerly, he listened; when,
however, she had finished, he said nothing; sat like a man bewildered.
"Well?" said the girl
impatiently. Still he looked
down. "Well?" she r=
epeated,
so sharply old Pierre stirred; lifted his head.
"Eh, my dear?"
She went to the mantel; took from it a can=
dle.
"The Seigneur finds you such poor
company," she said, "he desires a light to retire!"
The
dawn smote the heavens with fiery lashes of red; from the east the wind beg=
an
to blow harder, and on the sea the waves responded with a more forcible
sweep. At a window in the inn=
, the
Black Seigneur a moment looked out on the gay flowers and the sea and the w=
orn
grim face of the cliff; then left his room and made his way downstairs. No one was yet, apparently, astir;=
an
hour or so must elapse ere the time set for departure, and, pending the tur=
n of
the tide and adieu to old Pierre, the young man stepped into the garden,
through the gate, and, turning into a rocky path, strode out over the
cliffs. The island was small;=
its
walks limited, and soon, despite a number of difficulties in the way he had
chosen, he found himself at its end--the verge of a great rock that project=
ed
out over the blue, sullen sea. For
some moments he stood there, listening to the sounds in caverns below, watc=
hing
the snow-capped waves, the ever-shifting spots on a vast map, and then, sha=
king
off his reverie, started to return.
"A brisk wind to take us back to
France," he said to himself; but his thoughts were not of possible Apr=
il
storms, or of his ship. His e=
yes, bright,
yet perplexed, as if from some problem whose solution he had not yet found,
were bent downward, only to be raised where the path demanded his closer
attention. As he looked up, he
became suddenly aware of the figure of a girl, who approached from the oppo=
site
direction.
A quick glint sprang to the young man's ey=
es,
and, pausing, he waited; watched.
At that point, the way ran over a neck of rock, almost eaten through=
by
the hungry sea, and she had already started to cross when he first saw
her. The path was not dangero=
us;
nor was it easy; only it called for certainty and assurance on the part of =
the
one that elected to take it. =
My
lady's light footstep was sure; although the wind swept rather sharply ther=
e,
she held herself with confident poise, while from the brown eyes shone a cl=
ear,
steady light.
"I saw you leave the inn," she s=
aid,
drawing near the comparatively sheltered spot, where he stood, "and
knowing you would soon sail, followed.&nbs=
p;
There is something I wanted to say, and--and felt I should have no o=
ther
chance to tell you!"
Had she read what was passing in his brain,
she would not have faced him, so confident; but, ignorant of what he had
learned, the cause of varying lights in his dark eyes, the tender play of
emotion on his strong features, she broached her subject with steadfastness=
of
purpose.
"You went away so suddenly the last t=
ime,
I had no opportunity, then, to thank you for all that you did; and so, I do
now--thank you, I mean! Also," a touch of prouder constraint in her to=
ne,
"I appreciate your over-generous proposal through Pierre Laroche;
although, of course," her figure very straight, "I could not--it =
was
impossible--to entertain it. =
But I
am glad you were able to prove. You
will understand--and," my lady ended quickly, "I thank you!"=
He looked at her long. "It is I who am in your debt!=
"
"You?" Her brows lifted.
"Yes."
"I--don't think I quite
understand." In spite of
herself and her resolution, the proud eyes seemed to shrink from a nameless
something in his gaze.
"Nor I! Nanette was talking with me last
night!"
"Nanette!"
In words, direct, unequivocal, he told her
what he had learned; and although my lady laughed, as at something absurd, =
and
strove to maintain an unvarying mien, his eyes challenged evasion; demanded=
truth! At that moment the space where they
stood seemed, perhaps, too small; to hem her very closely in--too closely--=
as,
drawing back, she touched the hard rocky wall!
"Why?" Still endeavoring to regard him as=
if
the charge could only be preposterous, too unreasonable to answer, she was,
nevertheless, conscious of the flame on her face--tacit refutation of the
denials in her eyes!
"Why?" she repeated.
"That is just what I was asking myself
when I saw you, my Lady."
"And, of course, knowing there could =
be
no--that it was too senseless--"
The words she was searching for failed her; she looked toward the pa=
th
over the neck of rock, but he continued to stand between it and her.
"I have heard the story in all its
details; all that passed at the Mount, while Nanette was there. And," instead of having under=
mined
his belief, she felt she had only strengthened it, "I am sure you went=
to the
Monastery St. Ranulphe, knowing--"
"You are sure!" she interrupted
quickly. "It wasn't long=
ago
you were sure it was I who betrayed you, and--"
"I was wrong, then; but," his ey=
es
continued to meet hers, "I am not wrong now."
Behind her, my lady's hand closed hard on =
the
rock.
"Deny it!" his voice went on.
"Why should I?" She caught her breath quickly. "I denied something to you on=
ce,
and you did not believe."
"I'll believe you now!"
"I should feel very much flattered, I=
am
sure; but after--" A spa=
rk of defiance
began to gleam in her eyes.
"You are sure one moment, and not, the next! You are ready to believe, or not to
believe!" More certain n=
ow,
she lifted her head; she, whose assurance and wit had never failed her at
court, would not be put to confusion by him!
His answer was unexpected; to her; to
himself. Perhaps it was the p=
easant--the
untamed half-peasant--in his blood that caused it; that made a sudden,
unceremonious act, his reply! He
caught both her hands; drew her to him.&nb=
sp;
He knew she could never care for him--she, the beautiful lady! But he forgot himself for the mome=
nt;
thought only of what she had done; her courage, her fineness, her delicate
loveliness! Her life for his. To
pay a fancied debt, perhaps? =
And
all the while he had thought-- Self-reproaches fell from his lips;=
were
followed by bolder, more daring words.&nbs=
p;
All he would have said the night on the beach, when he had borne her
from the fiery rock to the ship, now burst from him; all he had felt when he
had held her in his arms--motionless, unresisting, the still, white face
upturned, offering itself freely to his gaze!
At the neck of the rock, beneath his feet,=
the
waves thundered; near them, wild birds circled, wheeled and were borne on by
the strong breath of the wind. Had
he spoken; what had he said? A
gradual consciousness of the beating of the sea smote his senses, as with r=
hythmical
regularity it arose. He liste=
ned;
slowly in his eyes that light that demanded--claimed, as it were, its own--=
was
replaced by another; his hands released hers. My lady made no sound; her proud l=
ips
trembled. Very pale, she lean=
ed
back.
So silence lengthened. "Pardon, my Lady!" he sa=
id at
last, very humbly. "It h=
ad not
occurred to me my secret was not safe; that I, master of ships and men, sho=
uld
not be master of myself! But =
I had
not expected to be alone with your Ladyship, and," a shadow of a smile=
crossed
the strong, reckless face, "your Ladyship can weigh the provocation! If the excuse will not serve, I ha=
ve
none other to offer. Certainly, will I retract nothing. What's said, is said, and--no lies=
will
unsay it!"
He looked at the water; the tide was nearly
in; he turned. She would neve=
r see
him again, for which she would be very glad, since the sight of him must al=
ways
have been hateful to her. Had=
not
fate decreed--bitterly--she should look upon him only as an enemy? It might be, in time, she would co=
ndone
his presumption, when his presence would no longer vex her! He was going one way; she, another,
soon, with--
"You--you are mistaken,
Monsieur!" My lady's ton=
e was
tremulous.
"Mistaken?"
"The--Marquis de Beauvillers left last
night, on a fishing bark."
"Left!" abruptly he wheeled. "Why?" She did not answer. "You mean?" Before the s=
udden
swift question that shone from his eyes, hers fell.
"Speak!" He seized her hand; his dark, eage=
r face
was near hers now. "You have sent him away? He will never return?" She lifted her head; answered not =
in
words; but a new light in her eyes met the flash of his. "My Lady!" he cried, bew=
ildered
for the moment at what that glance revealed. An instant she seemed once more st=
riving
to combat him, when, drawing her gently toward him, he bent lower; kissed
softly her lips.
"Is it, then, true--"
"You find it so hard to believe?"=
;
"That you love me? That I seem no longer your enemy?&=
quot;
"My enemy? You? Who risked so much--saved my life!=
Ah, no, no! Do you not remember," softly,
"he, too, said--'Forget!'"
"I only remember I have long loved
you! For me have you ever bee=
n the princess--who
dwelt in the clouds--in a palace, enchanted--" Her face changed. "That saddens you! Forgive me!"
"It seems like a dream--that life,
then! All made up of lightnes=
s and gaiety;
courtiers and fine masques, until--"&=
nbsp;
Beneath the bright gold of her hair, my lady's brow knit.
"Until?"
"Nay; I know not until--just when!
My lady stopped. "Go on!" he urged, his v=
oice
eager.
"That is all. At least, all I would acknowledge =
to
myself, then."
"And now?" His arm tightened; he held my lady
close. "Now?"
Her lips lifted; though silent, made answe=
r in
the abandonment of the moment, the past and all its vicissitudes vanished; =
only
the present held them--the present and the future, beautiful as the horizon,
now rosy and glowing beneath the warm touch of the dawn.
The
tide came in and the tide went out.
"Mon capitaine must have changed his
mind," said old Pierre at the inn.&nb=
sp;
And he gazed toward a ship, stranded on the sands of the harbor.
THE
END