It is full time to return to one of the most important personages of
this narrative, whom we shall find riding an excellent horse along the
road from Paris to Bordeaux, with five companions, whose eyes sparkled
at every sound that came from a bag filled with gold crowns, hanging
at Ferguzon's saddle-bow. The melody rejoiced and refreshed the little
troop, as the music of the drum and fife imparts renewed life to the
soldier on the march.
"Never mind, never mind," one of the men was saying; "ten thousand
livres is a pretty little sum."
"You might say," rejoined Ferguzon, "that it is a magnificent sum,
if it owed nothing to anybody; but it owes a company to Madame la
Princesse. _Nimium satis est_, as the ancients used to say; which may
be translated thus: 'Nothing less than too much is enough. Now, my dear
Barrabas, we haven't that desirable _enough_ which is equivalent to
_too much._"
"How much it costs to appear to be an honest man!" said Cauvignac; "all
that we took from the royal tax-gatherer has gone into equipments,
doublets, and trimming. We cut as fine a figure as any nobleman, and we
carry luxury so far as to have purses; to be sure, there's nothing in
them. Oh, appearances!"
"Speak for us, captain, and not for yourself," said Barrabas. "You have
the purse and ten thousand livres to boot."
"My good fellow," said Cauvignac, "did you not hear, or did you
misunderstand what Ferguzon just said touching our obligation to Madame
la Princesse? I am not of those who promise one thing and do another.
Monsieur Lenet paid over ten thousand livres to me to raise a company,
and if I don't raise it may the devil fly away with me! On the day when
it is raised he will owe me forty thousand more. When that time comes,
if he doesn't pay the forty thousand livres we will see."
"With ten thousand livres!" cried four satirical voices in chorus; for
Ferguzon, whose confidence in his leader's resources was unbounded,
seemed to be the only one of the troop convinced that Cauvignac would
attain the promised result; "with ten thousand livres you will raise a
company?"
"Yes," said Cauvignac, "when some one thinks fit to add something to
it."
"Who is there, pray, to add anything to it?" asked a voice.
"Not I," said Ferguzon.
"Who, then?" Barrabas asked.
"_Pardieu!_ the first comer. Stay, I see a man yonder on the road. You
will see--"
"I understand," said Ferguzon.
"Is that all?" queried Cauvignac.
"And admire."
"Yes," said one of the horsemen, drawing nigh Cauvignac, "yes, I
understand that you can always be depended on to keep your promises,
captain; but we may lose by being too honest. To-day we are necessary;
but if the company is raised to-morrow, officers in the confidence
of the princes will be assigned to it, and we, who have had all the
trouble of raising it, shall be dismissed."
"You are an idiot, in five letters, my dear Carrotel, and this isn't
the first time I have told you so," said Cauvignac. "The pitiful logic
you have just perpetrated deprives you of the rank I proposed to give
you in the company; for it is evident that we shall be the six officers
of this nucleus of an army. I should have appointed you sub-lieutenant
at the outset, Carrotel; now you will be only a sergeant. Thanks to the
nonsense you just heard, Barrabas, you, who have held your tongue, will
hold that position until, Ferguzon having been hanged, you are promoted
to the lieutenancy by right of seniority. But let us not lose sight of
my first recruit, whom I see yonder."
"Have you any idea who the man is, captain?" Ferguzon asked.
"Not the slightest."
"He should be a tradesman; he wears a black cloak."
"Are you sure?"
"Look when the wind raises it; do you see?"
"If he wears a black cloak, he's a wealthy citizen; so much the better.
We are recruiting for the service of the princes, and it is important
that the company should be made up of good men. If it were for that
wretch of a Mazarin, anything would be good enough; but for the
princes, deuce take me!--Ferguzon, I have an idea that my company will
do me honor, as Falstaff says."
The whole troop spurred forward to overtake the citizen, who was riding
peaceably along in the middle of the road.
When the worthy man, who was mounted upon a sleek mule, observed the
magnificently arrayed horsemen galloping up behind him, he rode off to
the side of the road with due respect, and saluted Cauvignac.
"He is well-mannered," said that worthy; "that's a great point. He
doesn't know the military salute, but we will teach him that."
He returned the salute, then rode up beside the traveller.
"Monsieur," he began, "be good enough to tell us if you love the king."
"_Parbleu!_ yes," was the reply.
"Admirable!" said Cauvignac, rolling his eyes in delight. "And the
queen?"
"The queen! I have the greatest veneration for her."
"Excellent! and Monsieur de Mazarin?"
"Monsieur de Mazarin is a great man, monsieur, and I admire him."
"Perfect! In that case, we have had the good fortune to fall in with a
faithful servitor of his Majesty?"
"I pride myself upon it, monsieur."
"And are prepared to prove your zeal for him?"
"On every occasion."
"How luckily this comes about! such meetings as this never happen
except on the high-road."
"What do you mean?" queried the tradesman, beginning to eye Cauvignac
with some uneasiness.
"I mean, monsieur, that you must come with us."
The tradesman almost leaped out of his saddle in surprise and terror.
"Go with you! Whither, monsieur, in God's name?"
"I am not altogether sure, myself; wherever we go."
"Monsieur, I travel only with people whom I know."
"That is quite right, and shows you to be a prudent man; so I will
proceed to tell you who we are."
The tradesman made a gesture, as if to say that he had already
guessed. Cauvignac continued, without seeming to notice the gesture:--
"I am Roland de Cauvignac, captain of a company, which is not present,
it is true, but is worthily represented by Louis-Gabriel Ferguzon,
my lieutenant, by Georges-Guillaume Barrabas, my sub-lieutenant, by
Zéphérin Carrotel, my sergeant, and by these two gentlemen, one of whom
is my quartermaster and the other my sergeant-major. You know us now,
monsieur," continued Cauvignac, with his most benign smile, "and I
venture to hope that you feel no antipathy for us."
"But, monsieur, I have already served his Majesty in the urban guard,
and I pay my taxes, tithes, and so forth, regularly."
"Very good, monsieur," rejoined Cauvignac; "and I do not propose to
enlist you in his Majesty's service, but in that of Messieurs les
Princes, whose unworthy representative you see before you."
"In the service of the princes, the king's enemies!" cried the honest
fellow, more and more amazed; "then why did you ask me if I loved his
Majesty?"
"Because, monsieur, if you did not love the king, if you had accused
the queen or blasphemed against Monsieur de Mazarin, I should not have
dreamed of disturbing you; in that case you would have been sacred to
me as a brother."
"But, monsieur, I am not a slave; I am not a serf."
"No, monsieur, you are a soldier; that is to say, you have it in your
power to become a captain like myself, or a marshal of France like
Monsieur de Turenne."
"Monsieur, I have had a large amount of experience of courts in my
life."
"Ah! so much the worse, monsieur, so much the worse! it's a wretched
habit to get into, this going to law. I never did any of it myself; it
may have been because I studied for the bar."
"But by having so many lawsuits I have learned the laws of the kingdom."
"There are great numbers of them. You know, monsieur, that from the
_Pandects_ of Justinian down to the decree of Parliament, which
provided, apropos of the death of Maréchal d'Ancre, that no foreigner
should ever be first minister of France, there have been eighteen
thousand seven hundred and seventy-two laws, to say nothing of
ordinances; but there are privileged brains which have an astounding
memory; Pico della Mirandole spoke twelve languages at eighteen. What
good has your knowledge of these laws ever done you, monsieur?"
"The good of knowing that people are not to be kidnapped on the
high-road without warrant."
"I have such warrant, monsieur, and here it is."
"From Madame la Princesse?"
"From her Highness in person."
And Cauvignac respectfully raised his hat.
"Then there are two kings in France?" cried the tradesman.
"Even so, monsieur; that is why I do myself the honor of asking you to
accord your preference to mine, and why I deem it my duty to enlist you
in my service."
"Monsieur, I will appeal to the Parliament."
"There's a third king, and you will probably have occasion to serve it
as well. Our politics are built upon broad lines! Forward, monsieur!"
"But it's impossible, monsieur; I have an appointment upon important
business."
"Where?"
"At Orléans."
"With whom?"
"My attorney."
"What is the business?"
"It concerns certain financial transactions."
"The service of the State should be every man's first business,
monsieur."
"Can't the State do without me?"
"We relied upon you, and we should miss you, in good sooth! However,
if, as you say, money matters occasion your visit to Orléans--"
"Yes, monsieur, money matters."
"How much money is concerned?"
"Four thousand livres."
"Which you are going to receive?"
"No, which I am going to pay."
"To your attorney?"
"Even so, monsieur."
"On account of a lawsuit?"
"On account of a lawsuit lost."
"'Pon my word, this deserves consideration. Four thousand livres!"
"Four thousand livres."
"That is just the sum you would pay out in case Messieurs les Princes
would consent that your place should be filled by a mercenary."
"Nonsense! I could procure a substitute for a hundred crowns."
"A substitute of your commanding appearance, a substitute who rides
muleback with his toes turned out like you, a substitute who knows
eighteen thousand seven hundred and seventy-two laws! Go to, monsieur!
for an ordinary man a hundred crowns would certainly be enough; but
if we are to be content with ordinary men, it's not worth while to
enter into competition with the king. We need men of your merit, of
your rank, of your stature. What the devil! don't cry yourself down; it
seems to me that you are worth fully four thousand livres!"
"I see what you are coming at," cried the tradesman; "this is downright
robbery with force and arms."
"Monsieur, you insult us," said Cauvignac, "and we would flay you
alive by way of reparation for the insult, if we were less anxious
to maintain the reputation of the adherents of the princes. No,
monsieur; give me your four thousand livres, but do not look upon it as
extortion, I beg; it is a necessity."
"Who will pay my attorney?"
"We will."
"You?"
"We."
"But will you bring me a receipt?"
"In due form."
"Signed by him?"
"Signed by him."
"That puts a different face on the matter."
"As you see. So you accept?"
"I must, as I can't do otherwise."
"Give us your attorney's address, then, and such other information as
we can't do without."
"I told you that it was a judgment resulting from the loss of a
lawsuit."
"Against whom?"
"Against a certain Biscarros, claimant, as heir of his wife, who was a
native of Orléans."
"Attention!" said Ferguzon.