MISTAKEN
Before Robeckal had consented to play the part of a regicide, he had
made his conditions, and not before they were accepted had he undertaken
the job. He had been told that he would be condemned to death _pro
forma_, and set free at the right moment. He would then be given an
amount necessary for him to go to England or America and live there.
Notwithstanding these promises, Robeckal felt a cold shudder run down
his back when he heard the death sentence, and when he was taken back to
jail again he impatiently awaited further developments. He thought it
very strange that he should be left to his fate, and when hour after
hour had passed and neither Simon nor any one else came to his cell, he
began to feel seriously uneasy.
Suppose they no longer remembered the compact?
Cold drops of perspiration stood on the wretch's forehead, and his hands
clinched nervously as these thoughts ran through his mind, and he tried
to banish them. No, that must not be done to him. The rescue must
come--he had not committed the fatal act for nothing. At last, the heavy
iron door swung open, and Vidocq, the great detective, entered his
cell. Robeckal knew him, and breathed more freely. Vidocq, no doubt,
came to release him.
"Thank God you have come, Monsieur Vidocq," cried Robeckal to the
official; "the time was becoming rather long for me."
"I am sorry that I have kept you waiting," replied Vidocq, quietly; "but
there were certain formalities to be settled, and I--"
"Ah! no doubt in regard to the money?" said Robeckal, laughing. "Have
you brought the yellow birds along?"
"Slowly, slowly--first let me inform you that the death sentence has
been torn up."
"Really? I did not expect anything else."
"You do not say so," observed the official, ironically. "Then you
already know your fate?"
"Yes, I am going to England and from there to America."
"I don't know anything about that; my information is that you will not
leave France."
Robeckal's face became a shade paler, still he did not lose courage.
"Where am I to be sent?" he hastily asked.
"For the present to the south of France."
"To--the--south--of--France," repeated Robeckal.
"To Toulon."
"To Toulon?" cried the wretch, in terror. "That is impossible!"
"And why should it be impossible?" asked Vidocq, smiling maliciously.
"Because--because," stammered Robeckal, faintly, "the sentence--"
"Was death by strangulation. Thanks to the efforts of your friends, it
has been commuted to the galleys for life, and I think you ought to be
satisfied with the change."
"But--the--promise?" whined the criminal. "But, come, now, you are only
joking?"
"I never joke," said the detective, earnestly; "besides, you must have
been very innocent to imagine any one would make a compact with a
scoundrel like you. It would be a crime against society to allow you to
continue your bad course. No, thank God, the judges in France know their
duty."
With these words, Vidocq beckoned to four muscular men to enter the
cell. They seized Robeckal and put handcuffs and chains on him, in spite
of his cries and entreaties. As the wretch continued to shout louder, a
gag was put in his mouth, and in less than a quarter of an hour he was
on the way to Toulon, which place he never left alive.