I was up and watchful early the next morning; for although I had now
obtained as much information in regard to my worthy guide's purposes
as was necessary to enable me to shape my own plans thereby, I thought
it better to prevent him, as far as possible, from organizing his
scheme more completely with the landlord, and providing against
contingencies. By seeing a bespattered horse standing in the yard, and
the complacent countenances both of the groom and the landlord, I
divined that their messenger had returned from Rennes, or from
whatever other town they had sent to in search of officers to
apprehend me, and that all their arrangements had hitherto been
successful. Trusting, however, that they would find that such
calculations, formed without the consent of so principal a party as
myself, would be more difficult to execute than they anticipated, I
took my breakfast in great tranquillity, and as soon as the horses
were ready, paid my score and set out.
The groom was in great glee, which continued uninterrupted for four
good miles of our morning's ride; but at length I began to see before
us the division of the roads, with the finger-post that directed weary
travellers towards their destination, and I now prepared myself for
the execution of my design. Not knowing whether I might not have a
severe struggle to effect it, I felt that my pistols were free in the
holsters, and as we came to the carrefour, drew in my rein, and gazed
up at the finger-post. There, written in large characters, certainly
appeared RENNES! PARIS! pointing either way to the road towards which
our horses' heads were turned, or to that which we had just travelled.
On the right-hand board, however, was written ST. MALO, and as the
groom was quietly riding on in the direction of Rennes, I shouted,
"Holla! where are you going, good Pierre?"
He came back with a sweet complacent countenance, and told me that he
had been going on the road to Rennes, which was the only one we could
follow; but I took the liberty of differing with him in opinion,
stating, that I thought the road to St. Malo would do just as well. He
assured me that I was mistaken; that it would lead me at least ten
miles to the right of the spot towards which my steps ought to be
directed; that it was so bad our horses could not travel it; that it
was infested by robbers of the worst description; and, in short, that
every sort of evil under the sun awaited the unfortunate travellers
who obstinately pursued that road.
I listened to the whole detail as calmly and attentively as possible;
and then, much to his surprise, I informed him, that I loved robbers,
delighted in bad roads, enjoyed a roundabout more than a
straightforward track, and was contented to undergo all the evils that
he threatened, for the sake of following the path to which I had a
fancy. As the matter had now become serious, and the success or
failure of his scheme depended upon the next ten steps, the worthy
groom took it up _en cavalier_, put on a blustering aspect, stood up
in the stirrups with the frown of a Sylla, and told me that he would
submit to such whims no longer, but that go I must on the way which he
thought right.
In reply to this I reminded him of one or two things which had
occurred to me since I had become attached to Monsieur de Villardin,
and in which my opponents had generally been worsted, when our
contention came to manual operations. I believe, indeed, that I had
established a very tolerable reputation for never suffering anything
of the kind that I undertook to remain unfinished or imperfect; and,
as I was both better armed and mounted than himself, my companion was
easily convinced that it would be wiser to abandon every thing like
compulsory measures towards me. He declared, however, that although he
should certainly not attempt to force me to do what he thought right,
he would take very good care not to follow me on such a road as that
which I was determined to pursue.
Under some circumstances I might not have been very profoundly grieved
at the idea of losing his company; for in general I had fully
sufficient reliance on myself to be perfectly at my ease when I was
quite alone. In the present case, however, as I strongly suspected
that his design was not to deprive me of his society for long, but
rather to restore it, augmented by the company of the officers from
Rennes, I determined to entreat his stay with me; and, as the
strongest inducement that I could hold out to him, I took one of the
pistols from my saddle-bow, and levelling it at his head, with the
distance of about ten yards between us, I ordered him to turn his
horse up the St. Malo road without more ado, or I would shoot him on
the spot. Though I saw him turn very pale at this intimation, he
affected to laugh, declaring that I must be in jest; and I thought I
perceived that he hesitated, whether to obey or to take his chance,
and set spurs to his horse. The clicking of the lock of the pistol,
judiciously timed, brought his doubts to a conclusion, and gave the
preponderance to obedience. He said that he would obey, of course, if
I positively directed him, for that the Duke had given him strict
orders to follow my commands implicitly.
"Extremely well you have obeyed!" cried I; "but, without farther
words, turn your horse up the road, for I am not to be trifled with
any longer."
"Well, well," he replied, as he slowly drew his bridle in the
direction that I pointed out, "it was only for your own good I spoke;
and if you will take a bad and dangerous road, the consequence be upon
your own head."
As I thought that there was no use in driving him to desperation, I
did not choose to let him know how intimately acquainted I was with
the good designs he entertained in my favour; but pausing, pistol in
hand, till I saw him fully launched upon the St. Malo road, I then
wheeled my horse and followed, determined to keep all my discoveries
to my own breast till such time as I could confide them to Monsieur de
Villardin. As soon as I became sure that retreat was impossible, and
that my companion must go forward on the road which I pointed out, I
dropped my hostile attitude, replaced my pistol in the holster, and
joining him again, endeavoured to enter into conversation as if
nothing had happened to disturb our equanimity; but, I believe, in
this I expected more from human nature than human nature could afford;
the man was disappointed of a good thousand crowns, besides what he
had called the pickings of my saddle-bags; and he likewise laboured
under the mortification of having been outwitted and bullied by a mere
boy; so that he well might be, what he really was, savage and sullen
for many miles of the road. In addition to his other causes of wrath,
I soon perceived that he was not without some apprehension that I had
discovered his designs; and I doubted not, that if he could have made
himself perfectly sure that such was the case, he would have soon
brought the matter between us to a struggle for life. I was accustomed
to such things, however, and I did not make myself at all uneasy on
that account; but keeping constantly on my guard,--for there is never
any telling what may happen next in such affairs, I rode on, taking
care that an interval of two or three yards should always exist
between his hand and my bridle-rein; and where the road was not
sufficiently wide enough for that purpose, I made him go on before,
and followed a few steps behind.
That road, however, deserves a fuller description, for it was as
pleasant a road as ever I travelled in my life, excepting a few spots,
of each a mile or a mile and a half in length, where a sandy soil
rendered it heavy and fatiguing. A little beyond the place where we
first entered upon it, a low stone wall marked the ancient boundary of
a forest. Even at that time, however, the large trees had retreated
more than a mile from the extreme limit of the wood; and the space
that intervened between the wall and the real forest, was covered
entirely with the sort of brushwood, or, as the French call it,
_taillis_, which rises on the cutting down of larger timber. This gave
us a fair view of the kind of ground over which the forest extended,
which was of so broken and irregular a nature--full of pits, dells,
banks, and ravines, that it would have required infinite labour to
render it productive of aught but that which then covered it. After
the road began to wind in amongst the higher trees, some of which
appeared of great antiquity, we lost all sight of the surrounding
country, except where, every now and then, the ground had been cleared
by some accidental circumstance, or where the track that we were
pursuing ascended to some commanding height. On these occasions,
indeed, we sometimes obtained a very splendid view beyond the forest,
over tracks of rich and cultivated land; and as I was beginning about
that time to find out that the face of nature was a very beautiful
thing, and to enjoy the aspect of a fine country with a sort of
romantic delight, I often paused to gaze for a moment on any prospect
that thus caught my eye. While thus engaged, my companion generally
rode on in sulky silence; but I never suffered him to go far without
my society, lest any of the roads which intersected the forest, and
which I could not, of course, be expected to know, should afford him
an opportunity of deviating from the prescribed track before I thought
fit to permit him to do so.
I had just made one of these pauses, and my companion had just ridden
on, in the manner which I have described, when, on looking after him
to see how far he had proceeded, I thought I perceived a brighter
gleam of sunshine than usually enlivened the gloom of the wood,
streaming across the road a little beyond the point at which he had
arrived. Suspecting that it might be shining down a cross road, I set
spurs to my horse, and was nearly up with him before he reached the
little brake. I had just time, however, to gain a more accurate
knowledge of the spot, and to perceive that it was a gap, but not a
road, down which the light was streaming, when there came a quick,
bright flash from the wood, and at the same moment the groom fell
headlong to the ground, while his horse dashed on, masterless, along
the track before us, and my charger, after rearing violently, rolled
over, dyeing the sand with its blood.
These sort of surprises are generally followed by a speedy
explanation; and the appearance of four stout, well-dressed,
good-looking gentlemen, with firelocks in their hands, pistols in
their girdles, and swords by their sides, at once gave me a clear
insight into the whole affair. As my poor horse, panting in the
agonies of death, lay heavy upon my foot and ankle, which he had
crushed beneath him in his fall, I was in no condition to offer any
resistance, even had it been wise to do so against such superior
numbers. The groom, indeed, was still less capable of opposing any
measures that our friends with the firelocks might judge expedient, as
the ball, which was probably intended for his horse, had deviated a
little from its course, and gone right through his head. I lay quite
still also, for in all the many conflicts of one kind or another that
I had witnessed, I had always remarked, that men, in working
themselves up to such an action as that which our assailants had just
committed, engender in their own bosoms a great deal more fury than is
at all necessary to the accomplishment of their exact purpose. This
superabundant energy breaks upon the first object opposed to it; but
it soon evaporates, and those who would stab you the moment after they
have fired the gun, or rushed to the charge, will be a great deal
humanised within five minutes after the struggle is over.
The robbers rushed immediately upon the groom like hungry wolves; and
turning him over, for he had fallen upon his face, took a hurried
glance at his countenance. "Diable!" cried one of our assailants, as
they did so, "we have made a mistake, Messieurs. This is not the
courier, after all. Peste! you have killed him, too, Serjeant. Why the
devil did you fire so high?"
"You have done the same for the other, Hubert," replied the one he
addressed.
"I hope not," said the first; "I had his horse fair enough; but let us
see."
On the assurance of these charitable expressions, I ventured a low
groan, which, indeed, had long wanted utterance; for the pain I
suffered by the horse lying on my leg was most intense, especially as
he more than once made a dying effort to start up, and then fell back
again upon me.
"It is a boy," said the leader of the robbers, as they came near. "Art
thou dead or alive, _mon garcon?_"
"Not quite dead," I replied, "but I cannot get up, for the horse is
upon my leg."
"Ah! so I see, poor boy," said the other. "Help us here, Serjeant, and
let us get him out." This was easily accomplished; and finding that I
could not stand with very great ease to myself, I sat down on the
bank, rubbing my leg with both my hands, to recal it to some
sensation, making up my mind, at the same time, to undergo the
interrogatory which I saw was preparing for me.
The leader of the robbers gazed upon me for a moment or two with a
sort of cynical grin, and then, turning to his companions, he
remarked, "He takes it coolly enough, in all conscience. Come, tell
us, who are you, _mon beau page_? and whither you were going?"
"I am the page of Monsieur de Villardin," replied I, "and was going to
his castle of Prés Vallée."
The captain struck the butt of his firelock against the ground with a
movement of impatient vexation. "This is unlucky enough," he said,
"for I certainly did not want to quarrel with Monsieur de
Villardin,--especially as I am such a near neighbour of his," he
added, with a smile; "and pray who is that?" he asked, the next
moment, pointing to the body of the groom.
"That is one of his grooms," replied I, "sent to guide me on the way."
"Worse and worse," cried the captain. "Why the devil, Serjeant, did
you fire so high?"
"It is no great matter," answered I; "he has only shot a great rogue,
who would have lived to be hanged, and whom I had nearly shot myself
on the high road not an hour ago."
"Pardi! thou art a droll youth," rejoined the captain, "and, if thy
tongue do not belie thee, no true Frenchman."
"No, but what is better," replied I, "a true Englishman."
"The better I deny," answered the captain; "but I blame not your bold
love for your country. However, I must see more of you, my gay lad,
before I determine on letting you go; so you will come along with me.
You, Serjeant, bring those saddle-bags; there may be something worth
having within; and you, François and Martin, try if you cannot bury
the man down in the sand-pit yonder; and heave over the horse too, if
you can get it done; but bring up the saddle and bridle, for they are
too good to be lost. Keep a good watch for the courier the while: he
may pass by yet, though it is late. Now, come along, my man," he
continued, turning towards me again; "what, cannot you walk? then,
good faith, you must limp!"
Of course I did as I was directed, and, limping on as well as I was
able, followed my conductor through the wood for nearly a mile; at the
end of which I found myself in the deepest part of the forest, and by
the side of a rapid stream. A little farther up the river, I perceived
the ruins of an antique mill crowning a high bank, with the remains of
the wheel, long broken to pieces, now serving alone to render the
waterfall by which it was formerly turned more picturesque to the eye.
Thither I was led by the robber, and on entering the old building,
found that it was more dilapidated in appearance than in reality; or,
at least, that its present tenants had contrived to render it very
habitable. Three or four more personages, of the same cast as those I
had already encountered, were found within the mill; but still it was
apparent that the man who had conducted me hitherto was captain of the
gang, and he was immediately assailed by a thousand questions
concerning some courier, for whom it was evident these gentlemen had
long been waiting.
My appearance in company with their leader, at first, made them
conclude that the encounter they had been expecting had taken place;
but they were soon undeceived, and my unhappy saddle-bags being
brought in and laid down in the midst, I had the mortification of
seeing more than one rapacious hand thrust into their bowels, while
piece by piece all my wardrobe was drawn forth, and at length my
little store of golden crowns appeared, causing a reflected sparkling
to shine in the robbers' eyes.
"A better day's work than I thought," cried Hubert, their leader;
"now, young gentleman, we are men of honour and humanity, and
therefore we shall let you keep your wardrobe--"
"Except that lace-collar," cried one of his comrades, "which I claim
for myself."--"And that embroidered band," said another, "for which I
have a fancy."--"The pouch for me!" exclaimed a third; and it
certainly seemed that my apparel, as well as my purse, was in a fair
way to change hands. The captain, however, interfered to moderate the
rapacity of his gang, and it was at length determined that not only my
dress, but twenty crowns, which happened to be in my purse, should be
left me. My saddle, bridle, and horse equipments, together with my
silver-mounted pistols, became the property of the captain; and the
only remaining question between us was, in regard to the packet of
letters and orders with which Monsieur de Villardin had charged me for
his farmers and agents in Brittany. These were wrapped up in a skin of
leather to keep them from injury; but as soon as Master Hubert had
satisfied himself that nothing but written papers were to be found
within, he returned the bundle to me, saying, that he would not
interfere with the discharge of my duty.
I was in hopes that this was but a prelude to my being set at liberty;
but the captain did not suffer me to remain long in suspense,
informing me candidly enough that I must stay with them a day or two;
for that they had yet a coup-de-main to perform, which they trusted
would enrich them sufficiently to render it both wise and expedient to
change their lodging. "As soon as that is accomplished," he added, "we
will despatch you upon your journey, but in the meantime we do not
choose to trust to that quick tongue of yours."
As there was no help for it, I of course offered no resistance, very
well understanding that the coup-de-main to which the captain alluded,
was the contemplated attack upon the unfortunate courier from Paris to
St. Malo, whose appearance, I had heard at the last inn, was daily
expected. He did not show himself, however, so soon as had been
anticipated, and I remained several days at the old mill, very well
contented with the treatment I received from my new companions, who
certainly lived upon the fat of the land, and seemed not to suffer any
remembrance of the means by which it was acquired, at all to trouble
its digestion. I acknowledge, too, that if I could have escaped the
honour and reputation of the thing, I would very willingly have shared
in some of their adventures; and I began to think that the profession
of a robber, if properly conducted, might afford a very attractive
sort of life.
Hubert, the captain of my new friends, was a man of a very intelligent
and inquiring mind; and from the information I could give him in
regard to the state of affairs in Paris, took great pleasure in my
conversation. Nor did his questions alone refer to his own country,
but one night he so besieged me with inquiries concerning England, its
manners, customs, produce, trade, and situation, that I ended by
asking him in return, if he thought of taking a trip to exercise his
abilities in that country.
"Not, at least, in the manner which you suppose," replied he; and
then, looking over his shoulder to see that all his companions were
absent, he added, "you do not think, my boy, that my state of life has
never been different from that which you now witness, or that this
trade is to continue always?"
"No," replied I, quietly, "for it usually ends very speedily--at the
gallows."
"It will not end so with me," answered the captain, somewhat fiercely;
but the next moment his face again took on a smile, and he added,
"this adventure, with what we have amassed already, will make my
fortune sufficient to embark in a different speculation. The fellows
who are with me may carry on their old trade if they like, but, for my
part, I have had enough of it."
"I think you are very right," I replied; "it is always as well to
leave off while the play is good."
"True," answered he; "but I have one warning to give you, my good
youth. If, in the course of your life hereafter, you should ever meet
me in a different station from that in which you now see me--such a
thing may happen you know--and if ever you do, take good care that
your memory be not too retentive, for if, by either word or look, you
pretend to recognise me, I shall certainly remember my old profession
likewise, and take care to keep you silent by sending a ball through
your head."
Though he looked very fierce as he spoke, I only laughed at his
menace, asking him what benefit would accrue to me by betraying him.
"I do not know--I do not know," he replied; "but you are warned; and
so beware."
As we were engaged in such familiar conversation, I would fain have
asked him what sort of connexion could exist between him and Monsieur
de Villardin; but, reflecting that he might think the question
somewhat impertinent, and thence argue no great discretion on my part
for the future, I thought it most prudent to be silent, lest he should
take means to put it out of my power either to ask more questions at
the time, or make any observations at an after period.
Four days more passed without the appearance of the courier; and the
robbers beginning to be apprehensive of his having taken another road,
sent out to obtain intelligence, as their stock of wine and provisions
gave signs of waxing low. Their messengers soon returned, but what
tidings they brought I know not. Most probably their report went to
show that the courier had arrived at the next town, and would be
accompanied through the forest by an escort; for, almost immediately
after their return, the whole band, in all nine men, set off, armed up
to the teeth, taking care, in the first place, to lock me into a room
which had no chimney, and was ventilated merely by a narrow window
through which I certainly could not thrust my head.
They were absent about an hour; and as the wind set from the side of
the high road, in less than twenty minutes after their departure I
heard two smart vollies of musketry, followed by a few dropping shots.
I looked out eagerly as far as my confined casement would allow me,
and at length beheld Hubert with only four of his companions on their
legs, bearing along in their arms a sixth person, who seemed to be
very dangerously wounded. He died, however, before he reached the
mill; and the others, laying him down on the grass, came onward with a
small leathern valise, which, by the manner in which they carried it,
I judged to be very weighty. Their arrival was followed by long and
eager conversations, and a great deal of hurry and noise, but to what
all this bustle referred I do not know, as they did not think fit to
let me out of durance for nearly three hours. During that time, I saw
from the window nine of the horses which they possessed brought out,
of which six were instantly saddled, and loaded with a portion of
their moveables.
As soon as this was complete, to my surprise I beheld the captain come
out, and, after shooting upon the spot the three horses that remained
unsaddled, mount, together with his four men, apparently in order to
depart. My first thought was that they were about to leave me shut up
where I was, and I looked round for the means of forcing open the door
when they were gone; but the moment after, as I turned towards the
casement, in order to observe their further proceedings, Hubert called
to me to draw back from the window; and, as I obeyed, he threw in,
through the aperture, the key of the room in which I was confined. As
I stooped to pick it up, I heard the sound of their horses' feet
galloping away; and before I had opened the door, and arrived at the
bank of the stream, the last horseman of the five was out of sight,
though, with greater consideration than I had any reason to expect,
they had left a horse saddled at the door for my use.