A SOUND AFAR
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 marsh 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. 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, haggard, yet still muscular of frame--from
time to time gazed about; a look of inquiry 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, from the opposite direction
appeared another band of riders. At first the prisoner, regarding
them, 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 men, he concluded; one his present guard would consign
him to, and then themselves return to the Mount. Still was the
meeting-place an odd one, and the demeanor of the two bodies of men not
entirely consistent 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 Governor's daughter!
The bold black eyes of the prisoner regarded her fixedly. What did it
mean? said his keen gaze. Colorless as marble, my lady held herself
very erect on her horse; then while his glance yet probed 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 features radiated felicitations;
his eyes shone with welcome. And a fuller understanding came over the
prisoner; in some mysterious manner had the Lady Elise been made
captive, and now had the nobleman come to escort his betrothed back to
the palace.
[Illustration: My lady held herself very erect on her horse]
Even as the Black Seigneur reached this conclusion, he become cognizant
his bonds had been loosened; the reins placed in his hands. "You are
free," said a voice and mechanically he rode toward his comrades.
Thus, near the crumbling and time-worn cross, was the exchange of
prisoners effected; the girl whirled away by my lord, who seemed
fearful of treachery, and the Black Seigneur left to the greetings of
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," 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! 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 Seigneur whose eyes yet burned
in the direction my lady had gone. With a start he seemed to recall
himself 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 danger pressed--which
contingency they did not just then expect, since at the moment was his
Excellency more concerned with affairs on the land than matters
pertaining to the sea. What these paramount interests were, the young
man, on whose thin cheek now burned a little color, 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 instant on the poet's face.
"No, he's with the people, I expect. You see," he went on, "things
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 buzzing 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 Bastille, until the parasite bees, not liking
the music, opened the doors, let them all 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 sung in and around
Paris has kept on spreading until now it is everywhere! You may hear
it in the woods; along the marshes; out over the strand! The very
Mount, immovable, seems to listen. 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 stood as a man deep
in thought; then, arousing himself, spoke a few words, and gave a brief
order. Swiftly the riders 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 latter,
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 young man shortly.
"A marionette!" gibed the poet. "Some of the men were for making short
shrift of him, and they might have--only for her!"
"They will soon be safe enough together now!" remarked the Black
Seigneur.
Again a peculiar, half-questioning expression 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
upon, 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 the soldiers returned to
the Mount without his daughter; they might behave worse, no doubt he
thinks, when they come back with her."
"So will she be safely returned in the darkness! A wise provision!"
"That," murmured the poet, studying 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. "As for me--" He
made a vague gesture.
That evening found the Black Seigneur in the Desaurac forest; where, as
a boy, he had fled for shelter, now some instinct, 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 window 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 secrets with specious and well-composed bearing! As he looked,
there suddenly came to him the remembrance of another impression; the
same picture, seen through the eyes of a boy--standing where he was
now! Then had the Mount seemed 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 distance 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 flames.
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 would seek him now,
however; the Governor was fully occupied elsewhere, looking to
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, were 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 their 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 liege 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 her side--
A sudden sharp detonation afar dissipated the picture. Other
explosions followed, like volley of muskets; and, springing to the
window, the Black Seigneur looked toward the Mount; from it, flashes of
light gleamed and glimmered. Then the loud report of a cannon
reverberated in the distance.