There were seven of us passengers, more than enough to fill one
compartment, so we did not travel together. My lord very liberally
provided first-class tickets for the whole of the party, but the
Colonel took his own and paid for the gendarmes. He refused to travel
in the same carriage with the noble Earl, saying openly and impudently
that he preferred the society of honest old soldiers to such a crew as
ours. L'Echelle, still sitting on the hedge, as I fancied, got in with
the Colonel and his escort.
On reaching Aix-les-Bains, we found the omnibus that did the _service
de la ville_, but the Colonel refused to enter it, and declared he
would walk; he cared nothing for the degradation of appearing in the
public streets as a prisoner marching between a couple of gendarmes.
He gloried in it, he said; his desire was clearly to turn the whole
thing into ridicule, and the passers-by laughed aloud at this
well-dressed gentleman, as he strutted along with his hat cocked, one
hand on his hip, the other placed familiarly on the sergeant's arm.
He met some friends, too,--one was a person rather like himself, with
the same swaggering high-handed air, who accosted him as we were
passing the corner of the square just by the Hôtel d'Aix.
"What ho! Basil my boy!" cried the stranger. "In chokey? Took up by
the police? What've you done? Robbed a church?"
"Come on with us and you'll soon know. No, really, come along, I may
want you. I'm going before the beak and may want a witness as to
character."
"Right oh! There are some more of us here from the old shop--Jack
Tyrrell, Bobus Smith--all Mars and Neptune men. They'll speak for a
pal at a pinch. Where shall we come?"
"To the town hall, the _mairie_," replied the Colonel, after a brief
reference to his escort. "I've got a particular appointment there with
Monsieur le Commissaire, and the Right Honourable the Earl of
Blackadder."
"Oh! that noble sportsman? What's wrong with him? What's he been
doing to you or you to him?"
"I punched his head, that's all."
"No doubt he deserved it; anyhow, Charlie Forrester will be pleased.
By-by, you'll see me again, and all the chaps I can pick up at the
Cercle and the hotels near."
Then our procession passed on, the Colonel and gendarmes leading,
Tiler and I with l'Echelle close behind.
We found my lord awaiting us. He had driven on ahead in a _fiacre_ and
was standing alone at the entrance to the police office, which is
situated on the ground floor of the Hôtel de Ville, a pretty
old-fashioned building of gray stone just facing the Etablissement
Thermale, the home of the far-famed baths from which _Aix-les-Bains_
takes its name.
"In here?" asked my lord; and with a brief wave of his hand he would
have passed in first, but the officers of the law put him rather
rudely aside and claimed precedence for their prisoner.
But when M. le Commissaire, who was there, seated at a table opposite
his _greffier_, rose and bowed stiffly, inquiring our business, my
lord pushed forward into the front and began very warmly, in passable
French:
"I am an aggrieved person seeking justice on a wrong-doer. I--demand
justice of you--"
"_Pardon, monsieur, je vous prie._ We must proceed in order, and first
allow me to assure you that justice is always done in France. No one
need claim it in the tone you have assumed."
The Commissary was a solemn person, full of the stiff formality
exhibited by members of the French magistracy, the juniors especially.
He was dressed in discreet black, his clean-shaven, imperturbable face
showed over a stiff collar, and he wore the conventional white tie of
the French official.
"Allow me to ask--" he went on coldly.
"I will explain in a few words," began my lord, replying hurriedly.
"Stay, monsieur, it is not from you that I seek explanation. It is the
duty of the officers of the law now present, and prepared, I presume,
to make their report. Proceed, sergeant."
"But you must hear me, M. le Commissary; I call upon and require you
to do so. I have been shamefully ill-used by that man there." He
shook his finger at the Colonel. "He has violently assaulted me. I am
Lord Blackadder, an English peer. I am entitled to your best
consideration."
"Every individual, the poorest, meanest, is entitled to that in
republican France. You shall have it, sir, but only as I see fit to
accord it. I must first hear the story from my own people. Go on,
sergeant."
"I protest," persisted my lord. "You must attend to me--you shall
listen to me. I shall complain to your superiors--I shall bring the
matter before the British ambassador. Do you realize who and what I
am?"
"You appear to be a gentleman with an uncontrollable temper, whose
conduct is most improper. I must ask you to behave yourself, to
respect the _convenances_, or I shall be compelled to show you the
door."
"I will not be put down in this way, I will speak; I--I--"
"Silence, monsieur. I call upon you, explicitly, to moderate your tone
and pay proper deference to my authority." With this the commissary
pulled out a drawer, extracted a tricolour sash and slowly buckled it
round his waist, then once more turned interrogatively to the
sergeant:
"It is nothing very serious, M. le Commissaire," said the treacherous
gendarme. "A simple brawl--a blow struck, possibly returned--a mere
_rixe_."
"Between gentlemen? _Fi donc!_ Why the commonest _voyous_, the
_rôdeurs_ of the _barrière_, could not do worse. It is not our French
way. Men of honour settle their disputes differently; they do not come
to the _police correctionnelle_."
"Pray do not think it is my desire," broke in the Colonel, with his
customary fierceness. "I have offered Lord Blackadder satisfaction as
a gentleman, and am ready to meet him when and how he pleases."
"I cannot listen to you, sir. Duels are in contravention of the Code.
But I recommend you to take your quarrels elsewhere, and not to waste
my time."
"This is quite unheard of," cried my lord, now thoroughly aroused.
"You are shamefully neglecting your duty, M. le Commissaire, and it
cannot be tolerated."
"I am not responsible to you, sir, and will account for my action _à
qui de droit_, to those who have the right to question me. The case
is dismissed. Gendarmes, release your prisoner, and let everyone
withdraw."
We all trooped out into the square, where a number of persons had
assembled, evidently the Colonel's friends, for they greeted him
uproariously.
"The prisoner has left the court without a stain upon his character,"
the Colonel shouted in answer to their noisy inquiries.
"But what was it? Why did they run you in?" they still asked.
"I refer you to this gentleman, Lord Blackadder. Perhaps some of you
know him. At any rate you've heard of him. We had a difference of
opinion, and I was compelled to administer chastisement." A lot of
impudent chaff followed.
"Oh! really, pray introduce me to his lordship," said one. "Does your
lordship propose to make a long stay in Aix? Can we be of any use to
you?" "You mustn't mind Basil Annesley; he's always full of his
games." "Hope he didn't hurt you. He didn't mean it really;" and I
could see that the Earl could hardly contain himself in his rage.
Then, suddenly muttering something about "bounders" and "cads," he
forced his way through and hurried off, shouting his parting
instructions to us to join him as soon as possible at the Hôtel
Hautecombe on the hill.
We followed quickly, and were ushered at once into his private
apartment. It was essential to confer and decide upon some plan of
action; but when I asked him what he proposed to do next, he received
my harmless request with a storm of invective and reproach.
"You miserable and incompetent fools! Don't expect me to tell you your
business. Why do I pay you? Why indeed? Nothing you have done has been
of the very slightest use; on the contrary, through your beastly
mismanagement I have been dragged into this degrading position, held
up to ridicule and contempt before all the world. And with it all, the
whole thing has failed. I sent you out to recover my child, and what
have you done? What has become of that abominable woman who stole it
from under your very noses? Blackguards! Bunglers! Idiots! Fat-headed
asses!"
"Nay, my lord," pleaded Tiler humbly, for I confess I was so much
annoyed by this undeserved reprimand I could not bring myself to
speak civilly. "I think I can assure your lordship that matters will
soon mend. The situation is not hopeless, believe me. You may rely on
us to regain touch with the fugitives without delay. I have a clue,
and with your lordship's permission will follow it at once."
I saw clearly that he was set upon the absurd notion he had conceived
that the lady had gone westward, and I felt it my duty to warn the
Earl not to be misled by Tiler.
"There is nothing in his clue, my lord. It is pure assumption, without
any good evidence to support it."
"Let me hear this precious clue," said his lordship. "I will decide
what it is worth."
Then Tiler propounded his theory.
"It might be good enough," I interjected, "if I did not know the exact
contrary. The lady with her party was seen going in exactly the
opposite direction. I know it for a fact."
"And I am equally positive of what I saw," said Tiler.
His lordship looked from one to the other, plainly perplexed and with
increasing anger.
"By the Lord Harry, it's pleasant to be served by a couple of such
useless creatures who differ so entirely in their views that they
cannot agree upon a common plan of action. How can I decide as to the
best course if you give me no help?"
"Perhaps your lordship will allow me to make a suggestion?" I said
gravely, and I flatter myself with some dignity, for I wished to show
I was not pleased with the way he treated us.
"Whether the lady has gone north or south, east or west, may be
uncertain; and although I am satisfied in my own mind as to the
direction she took, I am willing to await further developments before
embarking on any further chase. To my mind the best clue, the real,
the only clue, lies here, in our very hands. If we have only a little
patience, this Colonel Annesley will act as a sign-post."
"You think that some communication will reach him from the fugitives?"
"Most decidedly I do. I firmly believe that the lady relies upon him
greatly, and will in all probability call him to her, or if not that
she will wish to let him know how she has got on."
For the first time in this unpleasant interview his lordship looked
at me approvingly. He quite changed his tone and dropped his
aggressive manner.
"I believe you are entirely right, Falfani, and cordially agree with
your suggestion," he said with great heartiness. "Let it be adopted at
once. Take immediate steps, if you please, to set a close watch on
this pestilent villain Annesley; keep him continually under your eye."
"We've got to find him first," objected Tiler gruffly and
despondently.
"It ought not to be difficult, seeing that he was here half an hour
ago, and we can hunt up l'Echelle, who will surely know, and who I
have reason to hope is on our side."
"Do it one way or another. I look to you for that, and let me know the
result without loss of time. Then we will confer again and arrange
further. Leave me now."
I accepted my dismissal and moved towards the door, but Tiler hung
behind, and I heard him say timidly:
"May I crave your lordship's pardon--and I trust you rely on my entire
devotion to your lordship's service--but there is one thing I most
earnestly desire to do."
"Go on."
"And that is to follow my own clue, at least for a time. It is the
right one I firmly believe, and I am satisfied it would be wrong,
criminal even to neglect it. Will you allow me to absent myself if
only for a few days? That should suffice to settle the point. If I
fail I will return with all speed. If, as I hope and believe, I strike
the scent, assuredly you will not regret it."
"There's something in what you say. At any rate that line ought to be
looked up," said his lordship. "I am willing to wait a day or two
until you return or report, or unless something more definite turns up
in the other direction. I suppose he can be spared, Falfani?"
"He will be no manner of use here, it will be better to let him go;
let him run after his red herring, he'll precious soon find out his
mistake."
"We shall see," said Tiler, elated and cocksure, and I freely confess
we did see that he was not quite the fool I thought him.