I GO TO A PICNIC ON CHOUTEAU'S POND
"Many a youth and many a maid
Dancing in the chequered shade."
The good doctor uttered a sigh of relief as mademoiselle left the
room, followed by madame, who no doubt, in the goodness of her heart,
went out to praise the young lady for having done as she ought, and to
condole with her for being obliged to go to the picnic with a man she
knew so slightly, and knew but to dislike.
The sigh was quickly followed by a frown.
"I wish that my ward had not so strong a will of her own. I scarce
think it safe for her to go to Chouteau's Pond at all if, as I fear,
her enemies are plotting to capture her."
"I will defend her with my life, sir," I hastened to aver, "since you
are so good as to intrust her to me."
The doctor smiled at my boyish ardor, but said kindly:
"I would trust her with you sooner than with most, my lad, for I
believe I have seen enough of you to know that you are brave to a
fault, and entirely trustworthy. But you know not the wiles of these
treacherous Osages, and if this Chevalier Le Moyne is the man I fear
he is, he is a much to be dreaded villain."
"Whom do you fear him to be?" the captain and I uttered in one breath.
The good doctor hesitated a moment and then seemed to take a sudden
determination.
"I am afraid I have no right to be letting you into my confidence, for
it is not mine alone. In what I am about to say to you it is my
country reposing a confidence as well. But our brief acquaintance has
inspired me with trust in you both, and I have need of advice and help
in this emergency, and perhaps of a good sword, if one of you be free
to offer it. It is not the fortunes of a simple maid, such as my
little Pelagie seems to be, that are alone involved, and yet I am not
at liberty to tell you what great issues are at stake. We will say, by
way of illustration, it would be to the advantage of an Orleanist to
get rid of all possible Bourbon claimants to the throne of France,
would it not? Merely by way of further illustration, suppose there
were some young Orleanist, far removed from any pretensions to the
throne, who by marrying a young Bourbon maid much closer to the
throne, but, of course, barred from it by her sex, should prevent her
marrying royalty and so having a son who might succeed to the throne.
Do you follow me?"
We both bowed our comprehension, for we were too eager to interrupt
him by a word. The doctor went on:
"And suppose by such a marriage he removed one more obstacle from the
path of a powerful kinsman in his progress toward the throne. And if
this young Orleanist were penniless and the Bourbon maid rich in
prospect, he would save his kinsman the necessity of providing for
him. And if he were dissolute and unprincipled, he would hesitate at
no means to accomplish his ends. And if he were handsome, after a
fashion, and accomplished in all Parisian arts, there would be
reasonable chance of his success with a young maiden but little versed
in the wiles of the world. Although I have used this merely as an
illustration, this is very much the situation that confronts Pelagie's
friends. You see, I have some reason to feel alarmed, and I fear I
have no right to permit her to go to this picnic. Yet," with a
grimace, "what can I? Where a wilful maiden will, a man is helpless.
"And now, messieurs, you see how fully I have trusted you, not only
with my affairs, but the affairs of France. I am not asking for a
pledge of secrecy, for I feel no such pledge is necessary. Pelagie and
her interests and the interests of her house in France I believe to be
as safe in your hands as in my own."
As the doctor uttered these last words he sprang to his feet, and
betrayed the intensity of his feeling by the mist in his eyes, the
tremor in his voice, and the dramatic clasping of his hands.
By a simultaneous emotion of sympathy, both the captain and I found
ourselves on our feet also. The captain extended his hand, and, like
the straightforward, simple-minded gentleman he is, said only:
"Your trust is not misplaced, Dr. Saugrain; your secret is safe."
I was almost too deeply moved for words; I could only murmur as I
bowed low over the hilt of my sword:
"Safe as my honor!"
I know not with what emotions my captain had listened to this long
recital. As for me, I had been intensely interested. Yet I could not
tell why it should not please me to find that this scornful little
lady was presumptive heiress to wealth and titles, probably even of
royal rank, for so I could not but understand the doctor's
illustration.
"Does Mademoiselle Pelagie know all this?" inquired the captain. "Does
she know her rank and prospects? Is it permitted to speak of them to
her?"
"Oh, no, no, no!" uttered the doctor, rapidly, with vigorous
protestations of head and hands. "Pelagie knows nothing but that
almost longer ago than she can remember she lived in a beautiful house
with many servants, and with a father and mother who idolized her, but
who went away from her one day never to return. Of course she knows
now why they never returned, but that is all. She has lived with us in
America nearly ten years, and I think she has learned to love Madame
Saugrain and me almost as if we were indeed her father and mother, and
we could not love child of our own more tenderly.
"And so you see, my dear young sir," regarding me with affectionate
concern, "what a weighty responsibility I have put upon your young
shoulders. If the burden is too great for you, I absolve you from
your offer as escort, and Pelagie shall stay at home whether she will
or not. I think it would be far the better way."
"Oh, no, no, sir!" I protested eagerly. "I am proud you think me
worthy such a responsibility. I will never let her out of my sight for
one moment, and I promise to bring her back to you in safety."
"Thank you," said the doctor, gravely; "that is what I would wish. Do
not let her out of your sight if it is possible. Even if she seems to
be fretted by your espionage I hope you will bear with her
temper,--which I know to be a royal one,--and persist in your
watchfulness. I shall be deeply grateful to you."
By the time the day of the picnic arrived, I flattered myself I had
made some slight progress in Mademoiselle Pelagie's regard. Very
slight, to be sure, yet I thought she did not treat me with quite the
disdain she had shown at first. Indeed, I even thought I sometimes
detected that she was listening with interest when Madame Saugrain or
the good doctor was questioning me about my life at home in
Philadelphia.
Twice a day at least we were brought together at the table, for the
captain and I had taken up our abode at Dr. Saugrain's. It was not
without much demur that we had, at last, accepted the doctor's urgent
invitations to do so. To be sure, there was no hostelry in the
village, except the low tavern where the disreputable Indians and
rough river-men congregated, and we would have been obliged to accept
some of the many hospitable invitations extended us by the Chouteaus,
the Papins, the Cerrés, indeed by nearly every leading citizen of St.
Louis, all eagerly vying with one another for the privilege of
entertaining General Clarke's brother. I think the captain's hesitancy
arose from the feeling that he ought to accept Émile Yosti's or Manuel
Lisa's hospitality, since his business was chiefly concerned with
them; but with me it was the feeling that it would be intolerable to
dwell under the same roof with my Lady Disdain, and be subjected to
countless little ignominies at her hands. Yet when the doctor
presented it to us as a very great favor to him at this time, when he
might need our assistance as well as our advice in protecting
Mademoiselle Pelagie, we could object no further, and I, at least, was
as eager to stay as I had before been unwilling. To me it seemed the
more reasonable that he might easily need what assistance our swords
could give him, if there were really on foot a plan to capture
mademoiselle, because the doctor's house was set in a large garden, at
the extreme borders of the village, next to the stockade and with no
neighbor within hearing.
The day of the picnic rose clear and bright, changing soon to the
purple haze and soft air of a day in late November. Breakfast was
hardly over when the picnickers began to pass the house, some of them
walking in merry groups, some in little French carts drawn by oxen or
small, hardy ponies, but many of them, I noted with a beating heart,
on horseback carrying double, the maiden on a pillion holding fast
with her arm around her escort's waist. Was it thus my Lady Disdain
expected to be carried to the picnic, I wondered, and could not tell
for the life of me whether I most hoped it or dreaded it.
But my hopes and fears were alike vain. I sat smoking on the shady
gallery, and was beginning to wonder when my lady would see fit to
start, for by now the procession had thinned out to almost none, only
a straggling couple occasionally hurrying by as if they feared they
were late and must hasten to be in time for the sport. I began to
think it possible she had changed her mind and would stay at home
rather than go with an undesired escort.
I had risen early, and though I had made an unusually careful toilet,
calling Yorke to my aid to see that every lacer was fresh and securely
tied, and my buckles shining, yet I had made much haste also, not
knowing at what hour mademoiselle proposed starting, and fearing
greatly to annoy her by being one moment tardy. So here had I sat
smoking on the shady gallery a good two hours awaiting my lady's
pleasure, and beginning inwardly to fume, for my temper was not such
as to bear meekly even the caprices of a beautiful maiden--no, not
though she might be also some great lady in disguise.
But when I had for the tenth time started up to stride angrily up and
down the gallery, I heard the creaking of wheels, and around the
corner of the house came a little French charrette, its wooden wheels
making a great noise, drawn by one ox and Narcisse walking beside it,
driving. I was filled with dismay, for to me it seemed not a mode of
conveyance suited to the dignity of the son of one of the proudest
families of Philadelphia, to say nothing of Mademoiselle Pelagie.
Besides, I had had visions of the fine figure I was to cut before the
St. Louis beaus and belles on my prancing and curveting Fatima, whose
glossy coat was like satin this morning from the extra rubbing I had
ordered Yorke to give her.
But as Narcisse passed me and pulled off his hat with an amiable grin,
I saw a great hamper in the charrette, and from a spicy whiff borne to
my nostrils by a passing breeze I knew he was conveying our dinner to
the picnic-grounds, and I was duly thankful that neither Fatima nor I
was to be hampered ('tis a poor pun, and my father hath ever taught me
'tis the lowest form of wit) with clumsy packages dangling from saddle
and arm.
In a moment more, around the corner of the house again came a black,
leading a small Indian horse gaily caparisoned, and fitted with a
lady's pillion, and immediately behind, Yorke, leading my own Fatima.
I knew then we were about to start, and my heart began once more its
silly thumpings. Yet would I not move from my seat, where I had
assumed an attitude of indifference, until I suddenly heard behind me
a cool and haughty voice:
"Are you not ready, sir? It is high time, I should think, we were on
our way, or we will be too late for the déjeuner."
Now was I in wrath indeed, to be spoken to in tones of reproach when I
had every reason to expect at least an excuse, if not an apology, for
having been kept so long waiting. I rose to my feet in leisurely
fashion and made mademoiselle a most elaborate bow, as I replied in a
voice as cool and haughty as her own:
"Had I been informed at what hour mademoiselle would require my
presence, I should have been belted and hatted and not have detained
your ladyship for even a moment, to say nothing of having wasted two
good hours of my own time in idle waiting."
As I spoke I stooped to pick up my sword-belt from the floor beside my
chair, and began slowly to buckle it on. My eyes were on my belt, but
not so closely but that I could see a little smile hover around
mademoiselle's lips, and I thought she was not displeased to find I
had a little spirit of my own and was not always to be cowed by her
scornful airs. I was so elated by the discovery that I, foolishly,
prolonged the buckling beyond all possible necessity, and
mademoiselle's good humor was quickly exhausted. She tapped her little
foot impatiently for a moment and then spoke as icily as before:
"Since monsieur finds difficulty with his belt, I will ask Yorke to
put me on my horse and then send him to your assistance."
All my foolish elation was gone in a moment, and, between my
mortification and my impatient haste, I fumbled in earnest. I was in
desperate haste; for not for a moment did I intend to let Yorke put
her upon her horse: yet so swiftly had she swept down the long gallery
and the steps to the driveway a little distance off, and so slow had I
been with my buckle, that I reached her side just in time to hear her
say:
"Yorke, put me on my horse, and then go at once and buckle your
master's belt. We are like to be all day getting to Chouteau's Pond."
"Yes, missy," said Yorke, and flinging Fatima's reins to Narcisse,
prepared to obey her, though he could only have comprehended by
intuition, for not a word of her tongue did he understand.
I was restored at once to my equanimity by her impatient tones, and I
spoke to Yorke with a calm authority he dared not disobey:
"Take care of Fatima, Yorke; I will attend to mademoiselle," and
without giving her time to object I coolly lifted her to her horse.
She was only a feather's weight, but I think she liked not that
fashion of mounting, and was minded for a moment to kick and scream
like an angry child. But she thought better of it, and though the
quick flame sprang into her cheek, she bowed her thanks in stately
fashion, and I springing on Fatima's back and bidding Yorke to follow
at once, we set forth at a round pace.
Not a word did she speak as we galloped side by side down the
driveway, through the gate, and along the short bit of road that
extended to the stockade. When we had passed through, there was not
much more than a rough foot-path, that began to descend very soon from
the high bluffs, sometimes by a gentle incline, sometimes by a steep
and rocky descent, to the valley of La Petite Rivière.
The path was no longer wide enough for two horses, and we were
compelled to ride in Indian fashion. Fatima was ahead and was picking
her way daintily and surely, but slowly. The little Indian horse,
being much more used to such rough paths, would have gone on more
rapidly, and fretted at being kept back by Fatima. So, no doubt, did
his rider, for presently, in her formal way, she said:
"If monsieur will permit, I will take the lead. I think my pony knows
the path better and can show you the way."
But I had been specially warned to keep ever in advance, and it did
not add to mademoiselle's good humor that I was compelled to refuse
her the _pas_. I was beginning to feel that my task was a thankless
one, and the picnic on Chouteau's Pond did not look to me quite so
alluring as it had looked a few days before. Perhaps my face betrayed
my feeling; for when we reached the foot of the incline and our path
broadened out as it turned to follow the windings of the little river
toward the pond, mademoiselle rode up beside me, and with a very
pretty air indeed, half arch, half shy, wholly sweet, she said:
"I pray monsieur will not think me ungrateful. I do not forget that
but for his courtesy I could not have gone to my fête."
Then she added roguishly:
"But I will make amends. I will introduce you to many St. Louis
belles, the fascinating Pelagie Chouteau, Émilie Gratiot, who dances
like a fairy, and Marguerite and Marie Papin, the beautiful sisters.
And there are many more just as beautiful."
I bowed gravely:
"I thank you, mademoiselle. I have heard much of the beauty of the
St. Louis demoiselles, and have desired much to meet them. You
remember it was largely for that inducement I consented to undertake
the difficult task of looking after your ladyship."
Pelagie pouted.
"Why do you persist in calling me 'your ladyship'? I am only
mademoiselle."
"Indeed!" I said, with affected surprise: "your manner has led me to
suppose you marquise at least, if not duchesse."
Mademoiselle reddened, but spoke very seriously and very sweetly,
"I am afraid I have very bad manners, and a very bad temper. But I
intend to be good now, and to remind me I give you permission when I
am haughty or disagreeable to call me comtesse."
The sycamores and cottonwoods that bordered our path had lost more
than half their leaves, and the soft haze of the late November sun
filtering through flecked mademoiselle with pale gold. It touched her
dark hair and turned it to burnished bronze, it brought a faint rose
to the warm white of her cheek, and made little golden lights dance in
the shadows of her eyes uplifted to mine. The mysterious fragrance of
late autumn, of dying leaves and bare brown earth, and ripening nuts
and late grapes hanging on the vines, and luscious persimmons on the
leafless trees, rose like incense to my nostrils and intoxicated me. I
hardly knew how I answered as I looked deep into her shadowy eyes, and
I was almost glad that, our way crossing the little river by a steep
path leading down to a shallow ford, I was compelled once more to
take the lead.
Half-way across we stopped to let our horses dip their noses in the
cool water dashing merrily over the stones. Fatima only played with
it, swashing her muzzle well, and flinging the bright drops over
mademoiselle's horse, who drank steadily. The opposite bank was more
heavily wooded, and I became aware, as I sat idly flecking the foam
from Fatima's flanks with my riding-whip, that I had for some time
been hearing a whippoorwill calling and its mate replying. The woods
looked dense enough to be the haunts of the lonely birds, but,
nevertheless, I felt uneasy and began to listen--for rarely, indeed,
does one hear a whippoorwill in the daytime. I knew birds well, and I
soon became convinced that these whippoorwills were like none I had
ever heard. They were too deliberate in their calls and replies, and
the varying number of each sounded like a system of signals. I began
to wish mademoiselle had not been so tardy in starting, that we might
have had company on our way, and I strained my ears if I might hear
anything of Yorke, who should be not far behind.
But there were no signs of Yorke; and mademoiselle's horse had
finished drinking, and there was no excuse for our delaying longer. I
would not alarm mademoiselle with my suspicions, yet I wanted my
firearms ready to my hand. I drew my pistol from its holster and laid
it across my saddle-bow, saying carelessly that if I caught a glimpse
of that whippoorwill in the woods I should shoot it for my aunt in
Paris, who was making a collection of American birds.
Mademoiselle Pelagie accepted my explanation without comment, and I
led the way up the steep bank opposite. Once up, I saw, to my
satisfaction, that the path was still wide enough for two. I put
mademoiselle on the side nearest La Petite Rivière, and I rode next
the woods; and though mademoiselle had suddenly grown talkative, and
was full of a saucy French wit, I fear I must have seemed very stupid
to her, for all the while I was trying to keep up my share of repartee
and quip I was listening, listening. Mademoiselle noticed at last that
I was somewhat distrait.
"Why do you keep your eyes turned upon the woods, monsieur? In France
we are taught that it is polite to look at a lady when she speaks."
"Pardon, mademoiselle," I stammered. "I am looking for that
whippoorwill."
"Your apology is more than sufficient, monsieur," in her haughtiest
tones. "There will, no doubt, be no other opportunity so suitable for
adding to your aunt's collection."
I had kept my eyes fixed on the woods even while speaking to her, not
daring to turn them away, but at her tone I turned quickly toward her.
"Pardon, mademoiselle la comtesse," I began saucily, but went on
seriously. "Permit me, I beg, to seem rude, though it is farthest from
my desire to appear so. It is more than the whim of my aunt that is at
stake. Some day I will explain to you."
Even as I spoke I was startled by a sharp crackle followed by a
stealthy rustle, as if some one had inadvertently stepped upon a dry
twig and had then glided quickly away. I turned at once to the woods,
and could almost have sworn I caught a fleeting glimpse of a
copper-colored hand, and the flash of a rifle-barrel. But as I gazed
longer I saw nothing but the dense foliage of the low scrub-oaks that
grew under the tall forest trees, and I hoped I was mistaken.
A level bit of road stretched ahead of us.
"Will you race with me, mademoiselle, to yonder tree?"
The quicker we got to Chouteau's Pond the better, I thought, and the
faster we left the whippoorwills behind the better also.
"I will race you and beat you," she said gaily; "my little La Bette is
fleet of foot. But what shall be the prize?"
"If I win," I said boldly, "the first dance to-day."
I thought a shadow of annoyance passed over her face, but it cleared
and she answered slyly:
"And if I win, I claim the first whippoorwill you shoot; the second
may go to your aunt."
"Done!" I said grimly. "Are we off?"
It was evident that fleet as La Bette might be, Fatima was far
fleeter. But not for worlds would I have left mademoiselle behind; so,
while seeming to urge Fatima forward, I was, in reality, giving her
the constant little touch that meant a check. Still I was mindful of
my prize, and when we were not more than twenty yards from the tree,
and I thought we were safe, I gave Fatima the rein and passed the tree
a full length ahead.
I felt a little more comfortable now, for I thought if I had really
seen a redskin with a gun lurking among the bushes, we must have left
him well behind, and we fell into a comfortable little jog-trot, side
by side again. Suddenly I heard once more the ominous crackle of a dry
twig, and turning quickly, I looked full into a pair of dark eyes
peering through the bushes. I hesitated not a moment, but raising my
pistol, leveled it straight at the eyes, and would have fired but that
a voice called to me in good English:
"Hold, monsieur! Do not fire!"
And from behind the clump of bushes sprang a more elaborately dressed
man than any I had yet seen in St. Louis. In truth, I thought him too
foppishly arrayed for the woods, for there were fine ruffles at wrist
and knee, and beneath his leathern doublet peeped the edges of a satin
waistcoat, canary-colored. His hair was long and curled and tied with
a ribbon, but it was not powdered, and over his forehead it fell in
short, black curls that made his skin look very white and pink;
indeed, I was not at all sure but the pink of his cheeks and the red
of his lips were more of art's cunning than nature's mingling. A soft,
dark mustache on his upper lip, carefully trained and curled, proved
him a Parisian of the latest mode, and I at once felt an instinctive
dislike and distrust of him. I had never seen him before, but I was
not at all surprised when mademoiselle addressed him as Chevalier Le
Moyne and paid me the compliment of presenting him to me.
There was just a little disapproval in mademoiselle's manner, for the
chevalier had certainly been caught spying, if nothing worse; and he
had the grace to be embarrassed, and hastened to make his apologies in
voluble French, which he seemed to take for granted I did not
understand.
"I missed mademoiselle from the fête, and I sauntered out to see if
there were any signs of her approach. Mademoiselle must know that it
is no fête for me when the queen is away, and the day is _triste_
indeed that is not lighted by her eyes. I was not sure it was
mademoiselle when I heard voices, and so I looked through the bushes
to see before addressing her."
"You spoke just in time," mademoiselle replied. "Monsieur took you for
a whippoorwill, and a moment more," with an arch glance at me, "he
might have added you to his aunt's collection."
I thought at first my lady must be heartless indeed to make a jest of
a very narrow escape from death, but as I glanced at her, I saw little
tongues of flame leaping in and out of her cheeks, and a great pulse
beating in her throat, and I knew the light manner was only a mask.
I watched the chevalier narrowly as she spoke of the whippoorwill, and
I saw him look quickly at her with a startled glance, but her evident
innocence reassured him. I spoke to him in his own tongue, partly to
show him I understood it very well and he must be careful what he said
before me, and partly because I was not sure he understood mine.
Indeed, I had many times been thankful that my French was almost as
natural to me as my English, for in this French-and Spanish-speaking
town there was almost no one could speak my tongue. Once in a great
while (but not often) mademoiselle attempted it, either to practise
her English or out of compliment to my captain, who was not quite so
fluent with his French as I. (And when she did, her pretty broken
accents made our rough language sweet as the song of birds.)
"Monsieur was fortunate to speak so soon," I said. "I am looking for
whippoorwills, and I took you for one. A moment more would have been
too late."
But as I spoke I looked straight into his eyes with a meaning he could
not misunderstand. His glance fell, and a deep red slowly mounted from
beneath the artificial pink of his cheeks and spread over his face. He
recovered himself in a moment, however, and answered me gaily:
"Thanks, monsieur, for a narrow escape. 'Tis the luck of the Le
Moynes. Perhaps you know the motto of our house?--'By hairbreadth
escapes we _always win_.'"
And this time he looked straight into my eyes, and conveyed by his
glance a haughty challenge.
I bowed a mute acceptance of it; and mademoiselle, conscious from our
manner we were not particularly amiable toward each other, hastened to
avert any threatening unpleasantness.
"I think the chevalier will excuse us if we hasten on. We are already
late, and I fear we will keep déjeuner waiting."
The chevalier bowed low, with his hand on his heart, and stepped aside
to allow us to pass.
It was but a five minutes' ride till we left the woodland path and the
merry company of the little river and stood on the shores of
Chouteau's Pond. I had not expected to find such a beautiful woodland
lake, and at my exclamation of delighted surprise, mademoiselle looked
pleased indeed.
"We are proud of our pond, which Mr. Auguste Chouteau has made for
us," she said. "Is it not as beautiful as your Pennsylvania lakes?"
"I have never seen a more beautiful!" I ejaculated fervently, and I
spoke truly.
We had drawn rein on a point of high land, and at our feet the waters
of the little river, in foaming rapids and tumbling cascades,
stretched up to the foot of a high dam, where the waters of the lake
poured over in a silver flood. To the right, embowered in trees, were
the vine-covered stone towers of Chouteau's mill, and beyond, gentle
grassy slopes, with drooping trees dipping their branches in the
water. To the left rose high banks with overarching foliage, and then
for a mile or two the lake wound from one embowered cove to another,
till it was lost in the hazy distance. Directly below us, it lay a
glorious topaz in the soft November sun, for which the dark porphyry
of oaks, the tawny gold of cottonwoods, and the emerald of turf and
darker green of cedars made a jeweled setting richer and more
harmonious than would have been the flaming scarlet and gold of our
Eastern woods. On the bosom of the little lake a white sail was
floating lazily, for there was but little breeze, and two or three
canoes were darting swiftly from shore to shore, the dip of their
paddles breaking the lake to flashing silver.
There were no other signs of life, and now mademoiselle took the lead
and we followed the right shore of the lake behind the stone mill,
along the shady, grassy slopes, until, after several windings, we came
out on a little cove where a silvery fountain bubbled up and flowed
down in a tiny rivulet to the lake. Around the fountain was soft green
turf, with natural seats of rock, shaded by lofty trees, where the
deep forest came down to the shores of the cove, and here we found our
party of merry revelers. Horses, ponies, and oxen were all tethered
deep in the forest, while young men and maidens were running to and
fro, arranging tempting piles of broiled fowl, venison, and game
pasties on the white cloth, spread on the green grass. A delicious
odor of coffee came from a great caldron, hung over a stone fireplace
on an improvised crane, and two young men were mixing, in a great
bowl, a spicy compound of spring water, ratafia, sweet spices, and
raspberry wine.
They hailed the arrival of mademoiselle with delight, and young Josef
Papin came running up, and took hold of her horse's bridle-rein, and
led her to the head of the table, where they had made a throne for the
queen of the fête out of a flat rock, covered with bright-colored
capotes, and wreathed with garlands of bright-leaved vines.
He claimed it his due, as giver of the feast, to sit at her right, and
awarded to me, as a courtesy due her escort, the seat on her left. In
the merry scramble for places that followed (there was nothing rude in
it: these French folk are gentle and courteous in their gayest
frolics) the chevalier was forgotten. When he came in, late (somewhat
flushed, as if he might have been running when no man was looking, but
debonair and smiling, with many apologies), there was no place for him
near mademoiselle, and I was not sorry. Neither, I confess, did he
seem to be, for he devoted himself pointedly to Mademoiselle Chouteau,
as fascinating a little coquette as mademoiselle had described her.
Half-way through the meal the chevalier made an excuse for going for a
cup of water to the spring, and, in passing behind mademoiselle, he
stopped a moment to ask her, in a low tone, for the first dance. It
was not so low but that I overheard, and I heard, too, the tone of
regret with which she told him it was already promised. I might have
thought the tone only a tribute to politeness had I not caught her
glance, which said louder than any words, "I had much rather it were
you," and I said to myself, "Either mademoiselle is a most dangerous
coquette, or the chevalier has already succeeded in at least winning
her interest," and for a moment it sprang to the tip of my hasty
tongue to release her from her promise. But I shut my lips firmly
before the words were out.
"Ce garçon-çà! The second, then?"
I turned away my head and did not willingly hear any more, but I could
not quite help overhearing the chevalier once again, in a tone
intended to be quite cutting, and for that reason, no doubt, more
distinct:
"If mademoiselle's dances are not taken for the entire afternoon,
perhaps she will be so kind as to say which one she will graciously
grant me?"
I did not hear her reply; but I heard his joyful response to it:
"A thousand thanks, ma belle reine; au troisième, donc!"
I was in two minds through the rest of the meal: should I hold
mademoiselle to her promise, which was, evidently, irksome to her, or
should I free her from it? I resolved, finally, that the dance was
fairly mine and I would hold her to it. Yet when the music sounded and
the line was forming I was a little late in reaching her side, for I
had been following the chevalier's example and getting my dances
promised ahead, and Mademoiselle Chouteau had been so full of her
little French coquetries I had found it hard to get away in time to
claim mademoiselle's hand. I found her tapping her little foot
impatiently, and an ominous line between her dark eyes. I made my
apologies humbly, but mademoiselle was coldly scornful.
"Had I known monsieur would find it so irksome to keep his engagement
I could have released him. There were others who would have
appreciated the honor, since it is my duty to open the dance."
"It is inexcusable," I murmured, "but it was unavoidable"; and without
waiting for further recriminations I led her to the head of the line.
I had never seen the minuet danced with more grace and spirit. These
Frenchmen have winged feet, and though I knew my steps well and had
not thought myself particularly awkward, yet now it seemed to me
impossible, with my great size, not to seem, to mademoiselle at least,
a clumsy giant. It made me more conscious of my awkwardness that I was
leading the line with mademoiselle, reine de la fête, and a perfect
fairy for grace, and that, opposite us, with Mademoiselle Chouteau,
was the chevalier, full of Parisian airs, which looked a little
ridiculous to me, but were, no doubt, the admiration of all the
maidens.
And if anything could have made me more clumsy it was the accident
that befell me in the sword-figure. It fell to my lot to cross swords
with the chevalier, and I cannot be sure that he did it wilfully, yet
so it seemed to me. By a twist of his wrist he loosened my sword from
its grasp, and it fell clattering to the ground at the very feet of my
lady. Had I been expecting anything more than the usual crossing of
points my grasp would have been firmer, and I really think I was not
to blame. Yet I was covered with confusion, and as I stooped to pick
it up, necessarily delaying the progress of my lady, who was leading
her line of maidens under the arch of swords, I glanced at her face,
expecting nothing less for my gaucherie than the mocking smile I had
learned to dread. To my amazement, my glance was met with the sweetest
of smiles, and it was the chevalier who winced this time.
"I hope monsieur will pardon the chevalier's awkwardness," she said;
"he is, no doubt, more at home in a Parisian ball-room than at a
rustic dance on the turf."
After that, you may be sure, I carried myself proudly, and so elated
was I by her unexpected sweetness that I lost all sense of
awkwardness, and I began to hear murmurs of admiration that I knew
were intended for my ears, and lent wings to my feet, also.
"A handsome pair!" "What grace!" "He carries his head like a grand
seigneur!" and Mademoiselle Chouteau was wicked enough, as we crossed
in the dance, to look up at me and whisper saucily:
"I die with impatience, monsieur, for la troisième!"