MAJOR DE L'OURSIÈRE.
Had it been possible for Count de Barmont to notice through the thick
oak planks, lined with iron, that formed the door of his prison, the
face of the governor on leaving him, he would not have chanted victory
so loudly, or believed himself so near his deliverance.
In fact, so soon as the Major had no longer cause to dread his
prisoner's clear-sighted glance, his features immediately assumed an
expression of cynical malice impossible to render; his half-closed eyes
flashed with a gloomy fire beneath his grey eyelids and an ironical
smile raised the corners of his pale thin lips.
It was twilight; night was beginning to fall, and confound all objects,
by burying them in a dark pall, which momentarily grew denser.
The Major returned to his apartments, put a heavy cloak on his
shoulders, pulled his hat over his eyes, and sent for his lieutenant.
The latter presented himself at once.
He was a man of about forty, with a delicate and intelligent face,
whose features were imprinted with gentleness and even kindness.
"I am starting this moment, sir," the governor said to him, "for
Antibes, whither important business summons me; my absence will
probably be prolonged for several days. While I remain absent from the
castle, I invest you with the command; watch over its safety, and guard
against any attempted escape on the part of the prisoner, though I
doubt his making it. Such attempts, though they do not succeed, injure
the reputation of a fortress, and the character of its governor."
"I will watch with the greatest care, sir!"
"I am certain of that, sir. Is there any fishing boat in the roads?
I should prefer not using the boat belonging to the fortress, as the
garrison is so weak."
"The fishing boat you generally use, sir, and which is commanded by one
Michael, I think, was alongside the quay hardly an hour ago, but he has
probably started to fish outside the reef, as he usually does."
"Hum," said the Major, "even were he still there, I should scruple at
making the poor fellow lose so much time in putting me ashore. These
fishermen are not rich, and every minute you take from them makes them
lose a part of the trifling profit of a long and hard night's work."
The officer bowed, apparently sharing his chief's philanthropic ideas,
although his face evidenced the surprise which the expression of such
sentiments by a man like the Major caused him.
"Are there no other boats here?" the Major asked, affecting an air of
indifference.
"I beg your pardon, sir, a smuggling lugger is just about putting out
to sea."
"Very good; warn the master that I wish him to take me on board. Be
good enough to make haste, sir, for I am in a hurry."
The officer withdrew to carry out the order given him; the Major took
some papers, doubtless important, from an iron casket, hid them under
his coat, wrapped himself in his cloak, and left the castle, under the
salute of the sentries who presented arms as he passed.
"Well?" he asked the officer who came to meet him.
"I have spoken to the master, sir, he awaits you," the other replied.
"I thank you, sir; now, return to the castle, and watch carefully over
its safety till my return."
The officer took leave, and the Major proceeded toward a sort of small
quay, where the lugger's yawl was waiting for him.
So soon as the governor was aboard, the smuggler let go the hawser, and
set sail.
When the light vessel was well under weigh, the master respectfully
walked up to the Major.
"Where are we to steer?" he asked, as he doffed his woollen nightcap.
"Ah, ah! is it you, Master Nicaud?" the governor said; for, accustomed
to have dealings with the smugglers, he knew most of them by their
names.
"Myself, at your service, if I can do anything, Mr. Governor," the
master answered politely.
"Tell me," said the Major, "would you like to earn ten louis?"
The sailor burst into a hearty laugh.
"You are joking with me, of course, Mr. Governor," he said.
"Not at all," the Major went on, "and the proof is, here they are,"
he added, as he drew from his pocket a handful of gold, which he
carelessly tossed in his hand; "I am therefore awaiting your answer."
"Hang it, Mr. Governor, you are well aware that ten louis forms a very
fine lump of money for a poor fellow like me; I am most willing to earn
the canaries, what must I do for them?"
"Well, a very simple thing! take me to St. Honorat, where I feel
inclined for a stroll."
"At this time of night?" the master remarked in surprise.
The Major bit his lips on perceiving that he had made a foolish remark.
"I am very fond of the picturesque, and wish to enjoy the effect of the
convent ruins in the moonlight."
"That is an idea like any other," the skipper answered; "and as you pay
me, Mr. Governor, I can have no objection."
"That is true. Then you will take me to Saint Honorat, land me in your
boat, and stand off and on while waiting for me. Is that agreed?"
"Perfectly."
"Ah! I have a decided taste for solitude, and hence I must insist on
none of your men landing on the island while I am there."
"The whole crew shall remain on board, I promise you."
"All right, I trust to you, here is the money."
"Thanks," said the skipper, pocketing it; then he said to the steerer,
"down with the helm," and added, "Hilloh, my lads, brace the sheets to
larboard."
The vessel quickly came up to the wind, and leaped over the waves in
the direction of Saint Honorat, whose black outlines stood out on the
horizon.
It is but a short passage between Saint Marguerite and Saint Honorat,
especially for such a clipper as the smuggling lugger.
The vessel was soon off the island.
The master lay to, and ordered a boat to be let down.
"Mr. Governor," he said respectfully, doffing his cap, and stopping the
governor, who was walking up and down in the stern; "we are all ready,
and the boat waits for you."
"Already! All the better," the latter answered.
At the moment when he was going to get into the boat, the skipper
arrested him.
"Have you pistols?" he asked him.
"Pistols?" he said as he turned round, "What for? is not this island
deserted?"
"Entirely."
"Hence I can run no risk."
"Not the slightest; hence that is not the reason why I asked you the
question."
"What is it then?"
"Hang it, it is as black as in the fiend's oven; there is no moon, you
cannot distinguish an object ten yards from you. How shall I know when
you want to come on board again, unless you warn me by a signal?"
"That is true; what had I better do?"
"Here is a pistol, it is not loaded, but there is powder in the pan,
and you can squib it."
"Thanks," said the Major, taking the pistol, and thrusting it through
his girdle.
He got into the boat, which was dancing on the waves, and sat down in
the stern sheets; four vigorous sailors bending over the oars made her
fly through the water.
"A pleasant trip," the skipper shouted.
It appeared to the Major as if this wish had been uttered with a very
marked ironical tone by Master Nicaud, but he attached no further
importance to it, and turned his eyes toward land, which was gradually
looming larger.
Ere long the boat's bows grated on the sand; they had arrived.
The Major went ashore, and after ordering the sailors to return aboard,
he drew his cloak over his face, went off with long steps, and soon
disappeared in the darkness.
However, instead of obeying the injunction given them, three of the
sailors landed in their turn, and followed the Major at a distance,
while careful to keep themselves out of sight. The fourth, who remained
to keep the boat, hid the latter behind a point, secured it to a
projecting rock, and leaping ashore, fusil in hand, he remained on the
watch with his eyes fixed on the interior of the island.
The Major, in the meanwhile, continued to advance hurriedly in the
direction of the ruins, whose imposing outline was already beginning
to present itself to his eyes, borrowing from the surrounding gloom a
still more imposing aspect.
The Major, convinced that his orders had been punctually carried out,
for he had no motive to distrust Master Nicaud, whom he had ever and
under all circumstances found willing and faithful, walked on without
turning his head, or even taking precautions, which he considered
unnecessary, as he was far from suspecting that several men were
following his footsteps, and watching his movements.
It was easy to see from the deliberate manner in which he walked, and
the facility with which he evaded obstacles and found his way in the
darkness, that this was not the first time the Major had come to this
spot, though it appeared so solitary and deserted.
After entering the ruins, M. de l'Oursière passed through a cloister,
encumbered with shapeless fragments, and forcing his way between
stones and brambles, he entered the chapel, a magnificent specimen of
the purest Roman style, whose crumbling roof had fallen in under the
incessant efforts of time, and only the choir and apse still remained
intact amid broken columns and desecrated altars.
The Major passed through the choir, and reached the apse, where he
halted.
After carefully examining for a moment the surrounding objects, as if
he expected to find someone or something he did not perceive, he at
length resolved to clap his hands thrice.
At the same moment a man rose scarce two paces from him.
This sudden apparition, though he fully expected it, made the Major
start, and he fell back a step, laying his hand on his sword.
"Ah, ah, my master," the stranger said, in a mocking voice, "pray do
you take me for a spectre, that I cause you such terror?"
The man was wrapped up in a thick cloak, whose folds concealed his
shape, while a broad leafed plumed hat entirely covered his face and
rendered him completely unrecognizable. Only the end of his cloak
raised by the scabbard of a long rapier, proved that whoever the man
might be, he had not come unarmed to this gloomy rendezvous.
"I am at your orders, sir," the Major said, raising his hand to his
hat, but without removing it.
"And ready to serve me, no doubt," the stranger resumed.
"That depends," the Major remarked roughly, "times are no longer the
same."
"Ah, ah," the stranger continued still sarcastically, "what news is
there? I shall be delighted to learn it of you."
"You know it as well as I do, sir."
"No matter, tell me all the same what the great news is, that thus
produces modifications in our relations which have hitherto been so
amicable?"
"It is useless to jeer thus, sir; I have served you, you have paid me,
and we are quits."
"Perhaps so, but go on. I presume you wish to propose a new bargain to
me?"
"I have nothing to propose; I have merely come because you expressed a
desire to see me, that is all."
"And your prisoner, are you still satisfied with him?"
"More than ever. He is a charming gentleman, who does not at all
deserve the melancholy fate thrust on him; I really feel an interest in
him."
"Confound it, that comes expensive, I did not take that interest into
account, and I was wrong, I see."
"What do you mean, sir?" the Major protested with an indignant air.
"Nothing but what I say to you, my dear sir. Hang it, you amuse me with
your scruples, after taking money from all parties during the last
eighteen months; the Cardinal is dead and the King is on the point of
following him, that is what you wished to tell me, is it not? A new
reign is preparing, and it is probable that, if only through a spirit
of contradiction, the new government will upset everything done by
the one that preceded it, and that its first care will be to open the
prison doors; you also wished to tell me that Count de Barmont, who
possesses warm friends at court, who will not fail to employ their
influence on his behalf, cannot fail to be set at liberty ere long.
Confusion, I knew all that as well and even better than you, but what
matter?"
"How, what matter?"
"Certainly, if Count de Barmont has devoted friends, he has implacable
enemies; bear that in mind."
"And the result will be?"
"That in four days at the latest, you will receive an order signed by
Louis XIII. himself."
"To what effect?"
"Oh! Good heaven, no great thing, except that Count de Barmont will
be immediately transferred from St. Marguerite to the Bastille; and
once there," he added in a hollow voice, which made the Major shudder
involuntarily, "a man is eternally erased from the number of the living
or only leaves it a corpse or a maniac. Do you comprehend me now?"
"Yes, I understand you, sir; but who guarantees that the Count will not
have escaped before the four days to which you refer?"
"Oh! With a governor like yourself, Major, such an eventuality seems to
me highly improbable."
"Well, well," the Major observed, "very extraordinary tales are told
about the escape of prisoners."
"That is true; but another thing reassures me against this escape."
"And what is that, sir?"
"Merely that the Count himself declared that he would never consent to
escape, and was not at all anxious about liberty."
"Well, sir, that is the very thing that deceives you; it seems that
he has now changed his opinion, and is eagerly soliciting through his
friends to obtain his liberty."
"Ah! Have we come to that point?" the stranger said, fixing on the
Major a glance which flashed through the gloom.
The governor bowed.
There was a silence, during which no other sound was audible, save that
of the heavy flight of the nocturnal birds in the ruins.
"A truce to further chattering," the stranger resumed in a fierce
voice; "how much do you ask to prevent the prisoner escaping until the
king's order reaches you?"
"Two hundred thousand livres," the Major answered roughly.
"Was I not right in telling you that it would be expensive?" the
stranger said with a grin.
"Dear or not, that is my price, and I shall not bate it."
"Very good, you shall have it."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
"That will be too late."
"What?" the stranger asked haughtily.
"I said it would be too late," the Major repeated imperturbably.
"In that case, when must you have it?"
"At once."
"Do you fancy I carry 200,000 livres about me?"
"I do not say that, but I can accompany you where you are going, and on
reaching Antibes, we will say, you can pay me the amount."
"That is a good plan."
"Is it not?"
"Yes, only there is an obstacle to its success."
"I do not see one."
"But I do."
"What is it, sir?"
"That, if I give you a meeting here, and come disguised and alone, I
have probably an object."
"Of course! You wish to remain incog."
"You are full of penetration, my dear sir; and yet we can come to an
understanding."
"I do not see how, unless you consent to what I ask."
"You are a judge of diamonds, since we have hitherto only bargained in
them."
"That is true, I am a tolerable judge of them."
"Here is one that is worth 100,000 crowns, take it."
And he offered a small case of black shagreen.
The Major eagerly seized it.
"But," he objected, "how can I be certain that you are not deceiving
me?"
"An affecting confession," the stranger observed laughingly.
"Business is business, I risk my soul in serving you."
"As for your soul, my dear sir, reassure yourself; in that quarter you
have nothing to risk. But I will give you the satisfaction you desire."
And taking a dark lanthorn from under his cloak, he let the light play
on the diamond.
The Major only required one glance to assure himself of the value of
the rich reward offered him.
"Are you satisfied?" the stranger asked, as he placed the lanthorn
again under his cloak.
"Here is the proof," the Major answered, as he concealed the box, and
handed him a bundle of papers.
"What is this?" the stranger inquired.
"Papers of great importance for you, in the sense that they will tell
you who the Count's friends are, and the means they can employ to
restore him to liberty."
"Bravo!" the stranger exclaimed, as he eagerly took the bundle of
papers; "I no longer regret having paid so heavy a price for your
assistance. Now we have discussed every point, I think?"
"I think so too."
"In that case, farewell! When I want you, I will let you know."
"Are you going already?"
"What the deuce would you have me do longer in this owl's nest? It is
time for each of us to rejoin the persons waiting for us."
And after giving the Major a slight wave of the hand, he turned away
and disappeared behind the ruins of the high altar.
At the same moment the stranger was suddenly seized by several men, so
that not only was he unable to offer a useless resistance, but found
himself bound and gagged before he had recovered from the surprise this
attack had caused him.
His silent aggressors then left him rolling on the ground with
convulsive bounds of impotent rage, and disappeared in the darkness
without paying any further attention to him.
The Major, after a momentary hesitation, also resolved to leave the
place, and slowly proceeded in the direction of the shore. On arriving
within a certain distance, in obedience to skipper Nicaud's hint, he
cocked his pistol and flashed the powder in the pan; then he continued
to advance slowly.
The boat had doubtless made haste to meet him, for at the same moment
as the Major reached the shore, its bows ran into the sand.
The governor stepped silently into it; twenty minutes after he
found himself on board the lugger, where master Nicaud received him
respectfully cap in hand.
The boat was hauled up to the davits, sail was set on the lugger, and
she stood out to sea before a fresh breeze.