On the morning arranged, the cavalcade started from Versailles.
The baron had instructed the stable keeper, where the carriage and
horses had been placed, to notify the Vicomte de Tulle that he
held them at his disposal. The woman, who had been brought to
Versailles, had been dismissed, after having made before a
magistrate a deposition, stating how Mademoiselle de Pointdexter
had been held a close prisoner, and that, with the exception of
herself, no one whatever had entered her apartment, except that
the Vicomte de Tulle had paid her a visit, of some five minutes'
duration, on the morning after she was brought there. A copy of
this was left in the magistrate's hands for safekeeping, while the
original was kept by the baron, who regarded it as a most
important document, concerning, as it did, the honour of his
daughter.
Anne had travelled to Paris in the family coach, and she again,
with her maid, took her place in it. The baron, Monsieur de la
Vallee, and Desmond rode on horseback behind it, two armed
retainers rode in front, and two others, with Mike, took their
places behind. The old servitor sat on the front seat, by the side
of the coachman.
"I do not think, Desmond," Philip de la Vallee said, as the baron
fell back to talk for a while with his daughter, "that he has the
slightest thought of our being attacked by any of the agents of
the vicomte; but I have made a good many enquiries about the
fellow, in the past few days, and from what I have heard I am
still more convinced that, before long, he is likely to renew his
attempt to get possession of Anne. I hear that his circumstances
are well-nigh desperate. He has mortgaged the income of his
estates, which, of course, he is unable to sell, as they go with
the title to the heir. He is pressed by many creditors, who, now
that he has lost the favour of the king, will give him no further
grace. Indeed, I understand that the king, who is always liberal,
and who not infrequently makes considerable gifts to the gentlemen
of the court, to enable them to support the necessary expenses,
has already assisted him several times, and that it was only by
such aid that he has been able to hold on as long as he has done.
"He is, in fact, a desperate man, and his only hope is in making a
wealthy alliance. Therefore, putting aside his pique and anger at
having failed, the temptation to again obtain possession of Anne
is great, indeed. Once married to her he could, even if the king
kept him in banishment, well maintain his position as a country
magnate."
"But Mademoiselle de Pointdexter cannot come into the estates
until her father's death."
"Not his estates, but those of her mother, who was also a wealthy
heiress, and of which she will enter into possession either on
coming of age or on marrying. So, you see, he can afford to
disregard the enmity of her father, as well as the displeasure of
the king, which probably would soon abate after the marriage took
place. If I had known, when I left home, what had happened, and
that if she was found we should be returning home, I would have
brought with me a dozen stout fellows from my own estate. As it
is, I sent off a messenger, yesterday, with an order to my
majordomo to pick out that number of active fellows, from among
the tenantry, and to start with the least possible delay by the
route that we shall follow, of which I have given him particulars.
He is to ride forward until he meets us, so that when he joins us,
we shall be too strong a party for any force that the vicomte is
likely to gather to intercept us."
"A very wise precaution, Philip; but we shall be far upon our way,
before this reinforcement can come up."
"We shall be some distance, I admit. My messenger will take fully
five days in going. He will take another day to gather and arm the
tenants, so that they will not start until two days afterwards.
Then, however, they will travel at least twice as fast as we
shall, hampered as we are by the carriage. I should have suggested
that Anne should ride on a pillion, behind me or her father, but I
did not do so, because it would have been necessary to explain to
him my reasons for suggesting the change; and, moreover, I felt
sure that he would not agree to it, had I done so. Baron
Pointdexter is one of the largest landowners in Languedoc, and
although one of the kindest and best of men, he has his full share
of family pride, and would consider that it was derogatory to his
position for his daughter to be riding about on a pillion, like
the wife or daughter of some small landed proprietor or tenant
farmer, instead of in a carriage, as becomes her station.
Therefore, I must accept the situation, carriage and all, and I
can only hope that this villain will not attempt to interfere with
us before my men join us.
"Fortunately, even if a courier take the vicomte word that the
baron and his daughter have made their adieus to His Majesty, the
fellow cannot hear of it for two days, however fast the messenger
may travel. Of course, Tulle is nigh a hundred miles nearer Paris
than Pointdexter, which lies between Florac and Sainte Afrique,
both of which towns lie within the circle of the estate. I admit
that, foreseeing the baron is likely to return to his estates
without delay, the vicomte may have made his preparations, and be
ready to start as soon as he gets the news. Nevertheless, he will
have a ride of some eighty miles to strike the road on which we
shall be travelling. He may then move north, until he finds some
suitable place for a surprise; but, even allowing for his
exercising the greatest speed, we should be halfway from Paris
before we can possibly meet him, and my men should join us by that
time."
"You have forgotten one contingency, which would entirely alter
the state of things."
"What is that?" Monsieur de la Vallee asked sharply.
"We give this villain noble credit for resource and enterprise.
What more likely than that he has left a couple of his retainers
at Versailles, with orders that, should any messenger be sent off
by a southern road from the baron, his journey is to be cut short,
and any paper or letter found upon him carried with all speed to
Tulle? In that case, the chances of our being met by a reinforcement
are very small."
"Peste! You are right, Desmond. I never gave the matter a thought.
Now that you mention it, nothing is more probable. It was the
servant who accompanied me whom I sent off, but, as de Tulle would
have been notified of my arrival, and the man started from the
baron's house, it would be deemed certain that he was either going
to Pointdexter or my own estate, and that the message he carried
was a somewhat urgent one. Well, all we can do is to hope that the
fellow has not thought of our taking such a precaution, and that
my messenger will arrive unmolested. Still, I acknowledge that the
idea makes me anxious, and I fear that we shall not get through
without serious trouble. There are so many disbanded soldiers, and
other knaves, in the forests that de Tulle would have no
difficulty in hiring any number of them, and carrying his scheme
out without the assistance or knowledge of his own tenants. The
heavy taxation necessary to keep up the expenses of the court has
driven numbers of people to despair, and many hitherto law-abiding
folk are being forced to leave their holdings, and to take to
unlawful courses.
"However, it is of no use our telling the baron our fears. He is
obstinate, when he has once made up his mind to a thing, and
nothing short of a royal command would induce him either to change
his route, or to stop at one of the towns that we shall pass
through, and wait until my band arrives. He would, indeed,
consider his honour greatly attainted by allowing himself to make
a change of plans, on the mere chance that our suspicions were
justified."
Six days passed without anything occurring. Impatient as Philip de
la Vallee and Desmond were to get forward, they could not hurry
the slow pace at which they travelled. Mademoiselle Pointdexter
was now suffering from the reaction after her month of captivity
and anxiety. The baron therefore travelled with provoking
slowness. Obtaining, as he did, relays of horses at each post,
they could without difficulty have travelled at almost double the
rate at which they actually proceeded, but stoppages were made at
all towns at which comfortable accommodation could be obtained.
Indeed, in some places the roads were so bad that the carriage
could not proceed at a pace beyond a walk, without inflicting a
terrible jolting upon those within it.
"There is one comfort," Philip said, when he had been bewailing
the slowness of their pace, "my men should reach us at Nevers, at
the latest, and you may take it as tolerably certain that any
attempt to interfere with us will take place considerably south of
that town. I should guess that it would be somewhere between
Moulins and Thiers. If our escort does not come before we reach
Moulins, I shall begin to think that your suggestion was correct,
and that my messenger has indeed been intercepted and slain."
Desmond could not gainsay the truth of his friend's calculation,
but he said:
"Possibly, Philip, instead of being attacked by the way, de
Tulle's agents might rob him of his letter at one of the inns at
which he put up. Did he know its contents?"
"Yes. I told him that it contained an order for the majordomo to
ride, with a troop of twelve men, to meet us, and that he was to
give what aid he could in getting them together as quickly as
possible; so that, even if robbed of the letter, he might still be
able to fulfil his mission. Not, I own, that I thought of that at
the time, for the idea that he might be stopped never once entered
my mind."
At Nevers, Desmond went round to all the inns in the town, to
enquire if any body of men had put up at that place, but without
success. When he related his failure to obtain any news to Philip,
the latter said:
"Well, we must hope that we shall meet them before we arrive at
Moulins. If not, I shall no longer have any hope that my messenger
got through safely, and then we shall have to consider whether it
will not be necessary to inform the baron of our fears, and to get
him to change his route and make a detour, cross the Loire at
Bourbon, make for Maison, and then journey down on the other bank
of the Saone as far as Pont Saint Esprit, and thence over the
mountains to Florac."
"That would certainly be the safest plan, always providing that we
have not been watched ever since we left Paris. The vicomte might
well take this precaution, in case we should deviate from the
regular route."
"Sapriste! Desmond, you are always full of evil prognostications.
Still, as usual, I cannot but allow that there is reason in them."
"You see, Philip, we have plenty of time, as we travel at a
snail's pace, and in the evening when we stop, to think over the
affair in every light. I always put myself in the position of the
Vicomte de Tulle, and consider what steps I should take to ensure
success in my next attempt to carry off Mademoiselle de
Pointdexter."
"Then I am very glad that you are not in the position of de Tulle,
for, if you were, I should consider that all was lost, and that
there was not a chink or crevice by which we could escape. It is
monstrous that a nobleman cannot travel from Paris to his estate,
without being obliged to take as many precautions as the general
of an army would have to do, against the attack of an active and
formidable enemy."
"And will you tell the baron, Philip?"
"I hardly know what to do in that respect, for after all, we have
no solid foundation whatever for our uneasiness, beyond the fact
that the men I sent for have not met us. All our apprehensions are
due solely to the fact that this fellow is utterly unscrupulous,
and that his whole future depends on his carrying out his insolent
designs successfully. If we had any solid facts to work on, I
would urge the baron to change his route, but I fear that he would
not only scoff at our views that there may be danger, but might be
angry at my taking the step of sending for a party of my
retainers, without his being in any way consulted in the matter.
At any rate, I feel sure that he would refuse to change his route,
without some very much stronger reason than we can give him."
"Then we must let matters go on as they are, Philip. It may be
that really we have been alarming ourselves without sufficient
cause. If the worst comes to the worst, we can make a good fight
for it."
"It is certainly hard on you. You have performed one brave action
for us, at the risk of your life, and now you are thrust into
another danger, perhaps even greater than the first, and this in a
quarrel in which you have no concern whatever."
Desmond laughed.
"Do you not see, Philip, that the adventure is good training for a
soldier, and that, if I am on duty in command of a company, I
shall be all the more useful an officer for having served a sort
of apprenticeship in surprises, ambuscades, and alarms. The
journey has been vastly more interesting than it would have been
under other circumstances. We should have found it dull, without
such matter of interest as this affair has given us, and, even
should nothing whatever come of it, it will have served its
purpose by beguiling our journey, which, in truth, riding at so
slow a pace, would otherwise scarce have been amusing."
"Well, then, it seems that the only thing that we can do is to see
that the servants all keep their pistols charged, and are prepared
to do their duty in case of sudden attack. Of course, at present
they have no idea that any special danger threatens us; but I
shall tell them, before I start in the morning, that we fear the
road is dangerous owing to a band of robbers reported to be in the
forest, and that they must hold themselves in readiness for
action, in case we fall in with any of them. Old Eustace and the
coachman have both got arquebuses. I shall tell them that, should
they be attacked, they are to fire at once, and then the coachman
is to whip up his horses and drive at full speed, while we
endeavour to keep off the assailants."
"That would be of use, if the assailants should be for the most
part on foot, but I think it more likely that they will be
mounted, and however fast this lumbering carriage might go, they
could easily keep up with it. Fight as hard as we may, the
carriage must be overtaken if they are in sufficient force to
overpower us. I should think that it would be well that you should
warn Mademoiselle de Pointdexter that we hear the road is not very
safe, and that, if there is trouble, she is on no account to
attempt to leave the carriage. As long as she remains there she
will run but little risk, for you may be sure that de Tulle will
have issued the strictest orders that no pistol is to be fired in
its direction. I have also little doubt that he has ordered the
baron's life to be respected, because his death would greatly add
to the anger that would be excited by the attack, and would also
put a barrier between him and mademoiselle, who would naturally
regard him with even more hostility than before, as the author of
her father's death. Therefore, I trust that in any case his life
and hers will not be endangered, however numerous our assailants
might be."
"Yes, I have no doubt that that is so, Desmond, though I am sure
that, were I wounded and on the point of death, I would rather
know that Anne had fallen by a chance shot, than that she was in
the power of this villain."
The next morning, they started very early for Moulins, for the
journey would be a longer one than usual, and the road through the
forest would probably be so rough, that the pace must necessarily
be very slow. At two o'clock, the men riding ahead noticed that a
tree had fallen across the road, and one of them galloped back and
informed the baron of it.
"That is strange," the latter said. "There have been no storms for
the past two days. It must have fallen quite recently, for
otherwise the news would have been taken to the nearest commune,
whose duty it would be to see at once to its removal."
Philip de la Vallee had, as the servant was speaking, glanced at
Desmond. To both, it seemed that this obstacle could scarcely be
the result of an accident.
"I will see how large the tree is," the baron said. "Whatever be
its size, it is hard if eight men and four horses cannot drag it
off the road."
So saying, he cantered forward, followed by the retainer, whose
comrade also fell in as they passed him.
"Look to your arquebuses," Philip said to the two men on the box,
and at the same time called up Mike and the two men, from behind.
"A tree has fallen across the road," he said to them, "and it is
possible that this may be an ambush, and that we may be attacked,
so hold yourselves in readiness, look to your pistols, and see
that the priming is all right in the pans."
Then they went to the door of the carriage.
"It is just possible that we are going to have trouble, Anne,"
Philip said. "Remember what I told you last night, and on no
account move from your seat, whatever may take place."
As he spoke, there was a discharge of firearms in front, and at
the same moment a score of horsemen broke from the trees, and rode
down upon the carriage. Their leader was masked.
As they came up, the coachman and Eustace discharged their
arquebuses, emptying two saddles. Then, drawing their swords, both
leapt to the ground. In the meantime Philip, Desmond, and the
three men dashed at their assailants. Philip made for their
leader, who, he doubted not, was the Vicomte de Tulle, but the
latter drew a pistol and fired, when he was within a horse's
length of him. The young man swayed in his saddle, and fell
heavily to the ground, while a piercing cry from the carriage rose
in the air.
Desmond, after cutting down the first man he encountered, turned
his horse and attacked the masked figure, who met him with a fury
that showed he was animated by personal animosity. His skill in
fencing, however, gave him but slight advantage in such an
encounter, while Desmond's exercise with the sabre, in the
regimental salle d'armes, was now most useful to him. Enraged at
the fall of his friend, and seeing that there was but a moment to
spare, for already some of the other assailants were coming to the
assistance of their chief, he showered his blows with such
vehemence and fury that his opponent had enough to do to guard his
head, without striking a blow in return.
Seeing in a moment that he would be surrounded, Desmond made a
last effort. The vicomte's weapon shivered at the stroke, but it
somewhat diverted the direction of the blow, and instead of
striking him full on the head, the sword shore down his cheek,
inflicting a ghastly wound, carrying away an ear as well as the
cheek from the eye to the chin. Then, wheeling his horse, he
dashed at two men who were riding at him.
The attack was so sudden that one of their horses swerved, and
Desmond, touching his charger's flank with a spur, rode at him and
hurled horse and rider to the ground. A backhanded blow struck his
other opponent full in the throat, and then he dashed into the
wood, shouting to Mike to follow him.
The two servitors had both fallen, and the greater part of the
assailants were gathered round the carriage. Mike was engaged in a
single combat with one of the horsemen, and had just run his
opponent through when Desmond shouted to him; so, turning, he
galloped after his master.
They were not pursued. The fall of their leader had, for the
moment, paralysed the band, and while three or four of them
remained by the carriage--whose last defender had fallen--the
others, dismounting, ran to where the vicomte was lying.
"That has been a tough business, your honour," Mike said, as he
joined his master. "It is right you were, sir, when you told me
that you were afraid that rascal would try and hinder us on our
way. Sure it has been a bad business, altogether. Monsieur Philip
is killed, and the baron, too, I suppose, and all the others, and
Miss Anne has fallen into the hands of that villain again."
"I do not think that the baron has been hurt, Mike. I expect the
orders were only to take him prisoner."
"Where are we going, your honour?" Mike asked, for they were still
galloping at full speed.
"I am going to get into the road again, and try to find help, at
Moulins, to recover the young lady. There is one thing, she is not
likely to be molested by that fellow for some little time."
"Then you did not kill him, your honour?"
"No. I cut through his guard, but it turned my sword. But I laid
his face open, and it will be some time before he will be fit to
show himself to a lady. If, as I expect, I can get no help at
Moulins, I shall ride on to Monsieur de la Vallee's place, gather
some men there, and try to cut the party off before they get to
Tulle. If I am too late, I shall see what I can do to rescue them.
From la Vallee I shall go to Pointdexter. I have no doubt that we
can get together a force, there, large enough to besiege de
Tulle's castle."
After an hour's ride, they arrived at Moulins, and Desmond rode at
once to the mairie. Being in uniform, he was received with every
respect by the mayor, who, however, on hearing his story, said
that he did not see how he could interfere in the matter. It
seemed to be a private quarrel between two nobles, and, even if he
were ready to interpose, he had no force available; "but at the
same time, he would send out four men, with a cart, to bring in
any they might find with life in them."
"Very well, sir," Desmond said, indignantly. "You know your duty,
I suppose, and I know mine, and I shall certainly report to the
king your refusal to give any assistance to punish these ill
doers."
So saying, he left the room, and at once rode to some stables.
Leaving his horse and Mike's there, he hired others, and then
continued his journey south at full speed, and before evening rode
into Roanne. He knew that it was useless, endeavouring to stir up
the authorities here, as they would naturally say that it was the
business of the mayors at Nevers and Moulins, since the attack had
taken place between those towns. Ordering fresh horses to be got
ready, he said to Mike:
"Do you go to all the inns on the left of the main street--I will
go to all those on the right--and enquire if a troop of mounted
men have come in. I am afraid there is no chance of it, but it is
at least worth the trial."
At the first four or five places he visited, the answer was that
no such party had arrived; then, seeing one of the civic guards,
he asked him if he had seen or heard of a troop of men passing
through the town.
"Such a troop arrived an hour ago, Monsieur l'officier. They
stopped, as they passed me, and asked if Monsieur le Baron
Pointdexter, accompanied by a carriage and some servants, had
passed through the town. They put up at the Soleil, and I should
think that they are there now, for they had evidently made a long
journey, and their horses were too worn out to go farther."
Delighted at the unexpected news, Desmond hurried to the inn. It
was a second-class establishment, and evidently frequented by
market people, as there were large stables attached to it. The
landlord was standing at the door. He bowed profoundly, for it was
seldom that guests of quality visited the inn.
"What can I do for monsieur?" he enquired.
"You have a party of travellers, who arrived an hour ago. I have
business with them."
"You will find them in this room, monsieur," the landlord said,
opening a door.
There were some twelve men inside. The remains of a repast were on
the table. Some of the men were still sitting there, others were
already asleep on benches. One, who was evidently their leader,
was walking up and down the room impatiently. He looked up in
surprise when Desmond entered.
"You are the intendant of Monsieur de la Vallee, are you not?"
"I am, sir," the man said, still more surprised.
"I am a friend of your master. We have been expecting to meet you,
for the past four or five days. He was travelling south with the
Baron de Pointdexter and his daughter. We were attacked, this
afternoon, on the other side of Moulins. The baron and his
daughter were, I believe, carried off; the servants all killed. I
saw your master fall, but whether mortally wounded or not I cannot
say.
"I and my servant cut our way through the assailants, who were led
by the Vicomte de Tulle, who had before carried off Mademoiselle
de Pointdexter. I was on my way south to la Vallee, with but faint
hope of meeting you on the road."
"This is bad news indeed, sir," the intendant said. "I trust that
my master is not killed, for we all loved him. As to Mademoiselle
Pointdexter, it was an understood thing that she, one day, would
be our mistress.
"It is not our fault that we are so late. Our master's messenger
was attacked, near Nevers, and was left for dead on the road. The
letter he bore, and his purse, were taken from him. The night air
caused his wounds to stop bleeding, and he managed to crawl to
Moulins. Having no money, he was unable to hire a horse, and
indeed could not have sat one. He went to an inn frequented by
market people, and there succeeded in convincing an honest
peasant, who had come in with a cart of faggots, that his story
was a true one, and promised him large pay on his arrival at la
Vallee.
"The pace was, as you may imagine, a slow one, but two days ago he
arrived home, and told me the story. I had the alarm bell at the
castle rung at once, and in half an hour the tenants came in, and
I chose these twelve, and started an hour later. Fortunately, the
master had told the messenger what was the purport of his letter,
and we have ridden night and day since. I am at your service,
monsieur."
"In the first place, let your men have a sleep. It is eight
o'clock now. I will give them seven hours. At three in the
morning, we will mount. There are not beds enough here, but if you
get some clean straw scattered down in one of the sheds, the men
can lie there. In the meantime, I will go round and hire fresh
horses, leaving your own in pledge for their safe return.
"You had better pick out two of your men to ride on to Moulins.
The mayor there promised to send out a cart, to fetch in any
wounded who might be found at the scene of the conflict. If, on
their arrival, they find that Monsieur de la Vallee is not among
these, they must ride on till they get there--it is some three
leagues from the town--and bring in his body, together with those
of his servants. They must arrange to give them Christian burial
there, but your master's body they will, of course, take on to la
Vallee.
"His last wish, of course, would be that Mademoiselle de
Pointdexter should be rescued from the power of the villain noble
who has carried her off. Starting in the morning so early, we
shall have no difficulty in cutting him off long before he arrives
at Tulle. He will probably cross the Alier at the ferry at Saint
Pierre le Moutier. I must look at a map, and see the road that he
is likely to follow, but it is probable that he will make by
country tracks till he strikes the main road from Moulins."
"Well, I should think, sir, that he would cross it near Aubusson,
and then pass over the mountains by the road through Felletin, and
come down upon Meimac, when he will be only two leagues from his
castle near Correze. There is a good road from here to Aubusson,
and we might take post on the road between that town and Felletin.
At least, sir, we can avenge the murder of our dear master, though
we have arrived too late to save him; and can rescue Mademoiselle
de Pointdexter and her father."
The men, who had roused themselves and listened to the
conversation with many ejaculations of fury and regret, now
exclaimed that they were ready to ride on at once.
"There is no occasion for that, my friends," Desmond said. "The
coach with mademoiselle can travel but slowly, especially along
country roads."
"Perhaps the vicomte may take her on the saddle behind him," the
intendant suggested.
"That he will not do," Desmond said. "In the fight I wounded him
so sorely that he will, I think, have to be carried in a litter,
and he will be in no condition for fast or long travelling, so
that they certainly are not, at the present time, many leagues
from the spot where they attacked us, and cannot reach Aubusson
until the day after tomorrow. We might cut them off before they
arrive there, but we do not know what road they may follow, and
might miss them; whereas, from what you say, there can be no doubt
that they would pass through Felletin."
"I think that he would be sure to come that way, sir, for if he
followed the road on to Limoges questions might be asked. At any
rate, sir, we might post a man at Aubusson, and another at Pont
Gibaut, as he might make from that town to Felletin through the
village of Croc. How many men has he with him?"
"That I cannot tell you. Some twenty mounted men, under his own
leading, attacked the carriage. Two were shot by Eustace and the
coachman. I disposed of two more, and my soldier servant of
another. The two mounted men and the two servants probably killed
two or three more, at least, before they themselves fell, so that
the vicomte would only have some twelve mounted men with him. But
there was another party in ambush, and I cannot say how strong
they were; but probably, altogether, there would be twenty.
"There are ten of your men, after sending two off to Moulins. Now
there is yourself, my servant, and I, so we shall be thirteen.
With the advantage of surprise, I think that we may calculate upon
an easy victory, especially as I imagine that the men employed in
the affair are not de Tulle's own retainers, but some robber band
that he hired for the purpose; and these, having no special
interest in the matter beyond earning the pay, are not likely to
make any very determined resistance."
Desmond now went back to the hotel where he had put up his horse.
He found Mike awaiting him there, and the latter was delighted
when he heard the news of the arrival of the party from la Vallee.
Desmond's purse was but lightly furnished, and as he saw that the
expenses might be heavy, he went to a jeweller's.
"I want to borrow fifty louis," he said, "on this ring. It is, I
imagine, worth a good deal more, since it was a present to me from
the king."
The jeweller examined the ring carefully.
"It is a valuable one, indeed, sir," he said, "and I would
willingly lend you double as much upon it."
"Well, we will say seventy-five, then," Desmond said. "I think
that will be ample for my purpose."
Having received the money, he returned to the inn, accompanied by
Mike; and went round to the various stables in the town, where he
hired fifteen horses. These were to be taken to the Soleil, at
three in the morning, and the men who brought them were to take
back the tired horses as security.
At that hour, the party started, and after a ride of some
thirty-five miles reached Clermont, where they stabled the horses
for six hours. Late that evening they arrived at Aubusson, having
accomplished a journey of some seventy miles. One of the men had
been left at Pont Gibaut, with orders to take a fresh horse and
ride on to Aubusson, if the party they were in search of passed
through the town.
At Aubusson, Desmond took a fresh horse and rode back to Pont
Gibaut, enquiring at all the villages along the road whether a
party of twenty men had been seen to cross the road, at any point.
Then he took four hours' sleep, and at daybreak started back
again, making fresh enquiries till he arrived at Aubusson. He was
convinced that the band had not, at that time, crossed the road on
its way south.
At ten o'clock he started out with his party, followed the road by
the side of the Crorrere river--here a mere streamlet--and halted
in a wood about five miles from Felletin.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, a horseman was seen coming along,
and was recognized as the man who had been left at Pont Gibaut.
Desmond went out to meet him. He reported that, at twelve o'clock,
a party of horsemen had come down on to the road a mile to the
west of the town. He had followed at a distance, and they had
turned off by the track leading to Croc. They had with them a
carriage and a horse litter, and were travelling slowly.
Desmond and his men at once shifted their position, and took up a
post on the track between Croc and Felletin. An hour later, the
party of horsemen were seen approaching the wood in which they
were hidden. Desmond drew up the men, all of whom were armed with
pistols, as well as swords, in line among the trees. He waited
until the carriage was abreast of them, and then gave a shout, and
the men at once dashed upon the escort.
Taken completely by surprise, these made but a poor fight of it.
Several were shot down at once. The vicomte, whose head was
enveloped in bandages, leapt into the saddle of a horse whose
rider had been shot, and, drawing his sword, rode at Desmond, who
was making for the door of the carriage. Expecting no such attack,
he would have been taken by surprise had not Mike, who saw his
danger, shouted a warning, and at the same moment discharged his
pistol. The ball struck de Tulle in the forehead, and he fell back
dead.
His fall at once put an end to the conflict. The robbers, who had
lost some eight of their number, at once turned their horses'
heads and rode off at full gallop.
As Desmond drew bridle by the carriage, the door opened, and the
baron leapt out.
"By what miracle have you effected our rescue, my dear Monsieur
Kennedy?" he exclaimed. "My daughter told me that she saw you and
your servant break your way through these brigands, and ride off.
She has been suffering an agony of grief for Philip, whom she saw
shot. Have you any news of him?"
"None, sir. I, too, saw him fall, but whether he was killed, or
only wounded, I am unable to say. I have sent two men to bring him
into Moulins, and I trust they will find that he is only wounded."
"My daughter saw you cut down that villain with a terrible blow.
We have not seen him since, but we know that he was carried on a
horse litter behind the carriage."
"At any rate, he will trouble you no more, Baron. My man shot him
through the head, just as he was riding to attack me from behind."
"Thank God! We are saved from further persecutions! And now, tell
me how you came to be here."
"It was simple enough, Baron. I found twelve men, with Monsieur de
la Vallee's intendant, at Roanne. Philip, who feared that the
vicomte would endeavour to make a further effort to repair his
fortune, by carrying your daughter off on the road, sent a
messenger to his intendant to ride at once, with twelve men, to
meet us; and, had all gone well, they would have joined us fully
two days' journey north of Nevers. The messenger was attacked on
the way, robbed of his letter and purse, and left for dead. He
managed to crawl to Nevers, and there, being too weak and ill to
sit a horse, he hired a peasant's cart and made the journey,
slowly and painfully, to la Vallee. As he knew the purport of the
letter, two hours after his arrival there the intendant started,
and rode, without drawing bridle, to Roanne. There, by great good
fortune, I found them, though men and horses were alike done up.
Knowing, however, that the vicomte, in his wounded state, and
embarrassed with the coach, could proceed but slowly, I let them
have seven hours' sleep, and in the meantime hired fresh horses
for them; and we rode that day to Aubusson, and this morning moved
down to within five miles of Felletin. I left a man on the road to
Pont Gibaut, and he brought us word that you had left the main
road, and were travelling through Croc, so we moved at once to
intercept you; and you know the rest."