THE SURPRISE.
Rutler continued: "The maneuvers of your emissaries were crowned with
perfect success, my lord, and it was due to the merest chance that your
existence was revealed to my master, some two months since, and in order
to inform him that without your knowledge, or without your full consent,
they would make, my lord, a dangerous instrument of you."
"Of me? an instrument of me? and what kind of an instrument, sir?"
"Your grace knows that as well as I do; the policy of the cabinet at
Versailles and of the papal court at Saint-Germain recoils before no
means; it matters little to them that civil war shall lay waste an
unhappy country provided their plans succeed. I have no need to say
more, my lord."
"Yes, sir, yes. I desire that you tell me everything; I would see to
what point your credulity has been abused. Explain, sir."
"The proof that my credulity has not been abused, my lord, is that my
mission has for its end the ruin of the projects of an emissary from
France, who, with or without the co-operation of your grace, may arrive
at any moment at this island."
"I give you my word of honor, sir, that I am ignorant of the arrival of
this French emissary."
"I must believe you, my lord. However, certain rumors have caused the
king to think that your grace, forgetting his old resentment against
James Stuart, your uncle, had written to this dethroned king to offer
him his services."
"James Stuart, being dethroned," said Croustillac, with an accent full
of dignity, "changes entirely the face of things, and I should have been
able to condescend in regard to my uncle to proceedings which my pride
would never have permitted me before."
"Then, my lord, from your point of view, your resolve would not have
lacked generosity."
"Doubtless I could perfectly well, without compromitting myself, have
been reconciled to a dethroned king," replied Croustillac courageously;
"but I have not done so; I swear it on the honor of a gentleman."
"I believe you, your grace."
"Well, then, your mission has no further object."
"You understand, my lord, that, in spite of this guarantee,
circumstances may change, and your resolve change with circumstances.
The hope of ascending the throne of England causes one to forget many
promises and to evade many agreements. Far be it from me to wish to
reproach you for the past, but your grace knows what must be sacrificed
when one lays audacious hands upon the crown of three kingdoms."
"Zounds!" said Croustillac to himself; "it seems that my hand is not
dead, and that I am, clearly, a courageous fellow to be well caged. If I
only knew how all this would end I should be very much amused."
"The king can never forget, my lord, that you have your own aspirations
to the throne."
"Ah, well, that is true," cried Croustillac, with an expression of
frankness--"it is true, I do not deny. But what would you have?
ambition, glory, the vigor of youth! But believe me, sir," continued he
with a sigh and speaking in a melancholy tone, "age robs us of all that
and makes us wise; with added years, ambition is extinguished and one
becomes content with very little in one's retreat. Once safely in port,
we can cast a philosophical glance on the storms of passion and
cultivate the paternal lands, if one has such, or at least look upon the
tide of life placidly when about to be swallowed up in the ocean of
eternity. In a word, you understand, sir, that if in our first youth we
have let ourselves go at an audacious pace it does not follow that in
our ripe age we should not realize that all is vanity. I live obscurely
and peacefully in the bosom of my retreat, with a young and lovely
wife; loved by those about me and doing some good. Ah, sir, this is the
only life that I desire; I do not hesitate, then, in confirmation of
these words, to swear to you that I will never raise the slightest
pretension to the throne of England; on the word of a gentleman, I have
not the slightest desire to."
"Unhappily, my lord, I am not at liberty to take your oath; the king,
alone, could receive it, and accept it if it seemed well to him, as a
sufficient guarantee against fresh troubles. As for me, I have been
ordered to conduct your grace to London, and I must fulfill my orders."
"You are very persistent, sir. When you have an idea, you keep to it."
"At whatever cost, my lord, I must carry out the orders given me. You
can see by the perfectly calm interview between us that I do not doubt
the success of my undertaking; your grace fully understands the motives
that influence me; and I do not doubt that you will follow me without
the slightest resistance."
Croustillac had prolonged this interview as far as he could; he had
decided either to follow the colonel or to tell him the whole truth. He
then said to Rutler, "And suppose, sir, that I consent to follow you
willingly, what will be the order of our march, as they say?"
"Your grace, though your hands are tied, permit me to offer you my left
arm; I shall hold my dagger in my right hand, ready at any moment to
plunge it into you, in case of a surprise, and we will proceed to your
house."
"And then, sir?"
"Once having reached your house, my lord, you will order one of your
slaves at once to direct your negro fishermen to get their boat in
readiness; it will suffice to transport us to Barbadoes. In that place
we will find a man-of-war which awaits us, and on board which, my lord,
you will be transported to London, and placed in the custody of the
governor of the Tower."
"And you seriously believe, sir, that I will myself give the order to
prepare for my own abduction?"
"Yes, my lord, and for a very simple reason; your grace will feel the
point of this dagger."
"Yes, doubtless; you always go back to that, you repeat it often, sir."
"We Dutchmen have little imagination; what would you have? There is
nothing more churlish than our manner of acting; but to resume, what is
more to the point, this blade of steel will suffice, for if you refuse
to obey my slightest injunction, my lord, I have already said by way of
warning that I shall kill you without mercy."
"I have also said to you, sir, that your manner of proceeding does not
lack originality; but I have slaves--friends, sir--and you see that, in
spite of your bravery----"
"My God! your grace, if I kill you it is evident that I shall be killed
in turn, either by your slaves or your familiars, the filibuster or the
buccaneer, or by the French authorities, who would do perfectly right in
shooting me because I come from England, and I have come to this island,
which is considered as a stronghold in time of war."
"You perceive, then, sir, that my death will not go unpunished?"
"In accepting this charge I made, in advance, the offering of my life.
All that I desire, my lord, is that you shall no longer be the source of
fear to my master, a source of trouble for England. King William does
not love bloodshed, but he hates civil war. Your perpetual imprisonment
or your death alone can reassure him; choose, then, my lord, between the
dagger or prison; it must be one; you must become my prisoner or my
victim. Moreover, if you were not absolutely in my power I would not say
to you, at the price of my life, what I will now say."
"Speak, sir."
"This confidence, while showing you the evil which you can do to
England, my lord, also will show you what interest King William has that
an enemy like yourself should be rendered powerless to act; the
companions of your rebellion, who saw you beheaded before their own
eyes, cherish still for you the dearest memories."
"Truly? This does not surprise me in them, and it is the more
disinterested in that they all believe that I can never thank them for
it." Then Croustillac said to himself, "It must be that this Dutchman,
who otherwise is reasonable enough, has a craze on this point--a fixed
idea concerning my execution."
The colonel continued, "Ah, my lord, you pay dearly for your influence."
"Very dearly, too dearly, sir, if this be so."
"Why do you wish to deny it, when your enemies remember? when it is
known that your followers cherish portions of your clothing, stained
with your blood, as if holy relics, and each day lament your death? What
would be the result if you should suddenly appear before their eyes?
What enthusiasm would you not arouse? I repeat to you, my lord, it is
because your influence might be fatal in these troublous times, that it
must be neutralized at any cost."
"To stab a man or imprison him for life is what you call _neutralizing
his influence_," said Croustillac. "Ah, well, this is probably a
political view of it. After all, I understand the distrust that I
inspire you with, for I am an incorrigible conspirator. They cut off my
head before my partisans, believing that thus I will be reformed. Not at
all! instead of taking warning by this paternal admonition, I conspire
still further. It is evident that this ends by making your master
impatient. Ah, well, sir, he is unnecessarily moved; for the last time,
I solemnly declare, before heaven, that I shall conspire no more; he can
rest in peace on his throne, and his crown does not excite in me the
slightest covetousness. Is this plain enough, sir?"
"Very plain, and well put, my lord; but I must carry out the commands of
the king. When we shall have arrived at your house, I shall have the
honor to transmit to you an autograph letter of His Majesty King
William, which will leave you in no doubt as to the purpose and
authority of the mission with which I am intrusted. Come, my lord,
resign yourself; it is the fortune of war. Beside, if you hesitate, I
can count upon a powerful ally."
"And that is----"
"Informed by me of the fate which menaces you, you proceed under the
touch of my dagger."
"Always his eternal dagger! he is insufferable with his dagger," thought
Croustillac. "He has but one word on his tongue."
"The duchess," continued Rutler, "would far rather see you a prisoner
than killed; it is well known how she loves you, how devoted she is to
you. She would give her life for you. She will aid, then, I am sure, in
making you face your position wisely. Meanwhile, my lord, choose; either
summon some of your people, if they can hear you, or show me to your
house yourself, for your departure must be hastened."
It must be said to Croustillac's credit, that, learning that Blue Beard
was the wife of an invisible lord whom she loved passionately, and that
he had been taken for this grand lord, he generously resolved to be of
some use to this young wife by prolonging as far as possible the
mistaken identity of which he was the victim, and to allow himself to be
carried off in place of the unknown duke. Happy at the thought that
Angela would be under a great obligation, the Gascon resigned himself
courageously to submit to all the consequences of the position which he
had accepted, only he did not know in what manner he could leave Devil's
Cliff without the discovery of his stratagem.
"My lord, I am at your service; it is absolutely imperative that we
depart at once," said the colonel impatiently.
"It is I who am at your service," replied the chevalier, who viewed with
some disquiet the approach of the critical moment of this interview.
A brilliant idea struck Croustillac; he saw a means of escaping from
this danger and of saving the mysterious husband of Blue Beard. "Listen,
sir," said the adventurer, assuming an impressive manner. "I give you my
word as a gentleman that I will follow you willingly wherever you lead
me, but I desire that my wife, the duchess, shall not be informed of my
arrest until I have gone."
"How, my lord, you are willing to thus abandon your wife without telling
her of your sad situation?"
"Yes, because of reasons known to me alone, and then I would spare
myself farewells, which must always be distressing."
"My orders concern you alone, my lord," said the colonel; "you are free
to act as seems best to yourself, as far as the duchess is concerned.
Nothing could be easier, it seems to me, than to do what you propose. If
your wife is astonished at your departure, you can plead the imperative
necessity of a journey of some days' duration to St. Pierre. As to my
presence here, you can easily explain that. We will go, and your boat
will take us to the Barbadoes."
"Doubtless, doubtless," said the embarrassed Gascon, for he saw a number
of dangers in the proposition which the colonel made. "Doubtless my
departure might be easily explained so, but to give my orders to the
negroes, to cause a commotion in the house, would attract my wife's
attention. She is extremely timid and is alarmed at everything. Your
presence here would arouse her suspicions, and they would necessarily
lead up to the painful scene which I would avoid at all cost."
"But, then, my lord, what shall we do?"
"There is a sure way, sir; however dangerous may have been the road by
which you have arrived, let us follow it; we will leave the island by
the same method by which you reached it. Once at the Barbadoes I will
inform my wife of my abduction--the cruel abduction which separates me
forever from her; and you will swear to me that she shall not be
disturbed after my departure."
"Unfortunately, my lord, what you propose is impossible."
"How is that?"
"I came by way of the pearl diver's cavern, my lord."
"Well, can we not leave by the pearl diver's cavern?"
"Is it possible that you are ignorant, my lord, of the secret
communication which exists between this cavern and the abyss which
surrounds your park?"
"I am entirely ignorant as to it, but if this communication exists, can
we not use it to leave by?"
"That is impossible, my lord; no one can enter the cavern except by
allowing the waves to precipitate him to the bottom of a subterranean
lake, after having descended a cataract."
"And in order to get out of this cavern?"
"You must ascend a waterfall twenty feet in height."
"That is too much for me. So, the vessel that brought you to the outside
of this cavern----"
"Has already left for the Barbadoes, my lord. It could approach this
island in spite of the French cruisers only because this coast is
inaccessible."
"I thought that this road was impenetrable," said the chevalier,
overcome.
"If you will believe me, my lord, you will limit yourself to announcing
to madame the duchess that you will be absent for several days only. I
have faith in your word as a gentleman that you will make no attempt to
escape from my hands."
"I have given you my word, sir."
"I believe you, my lord, and my dagger answers to me for its
fulfillment."
"I should have been very much astonished if the dagger had not
reappeared," thought Croustillac. "He trusts implicitly in my word; that
does not prevent his trusting as much to his dagger. Zounds! what
distrust! But that is not what concerns me. What shall I do? The duchess
is not prepared; the slaves will not obey me if I give them orders. It
is no use; behold me at the end of my falsehoods."
Croustillac had forced himself to become resigned to his assumption. He
regretted sincerely that he was not to be permitted to devote himself
more efficaciously to the service of Blue Beard; for he did not doubt
that his ruse would be discovered the moment he put foot in the house.
He had shortly another apprehension. The Caribbean, seeing Croustillac
return accompanied by a stranger armed to the teeth, would attack the
colonel. Now, the latter had assured the adventurer that at the first
attack he would be compelled to kill him without mercy.
The chevalier began to find his role less diverting and to curse the
stupid curiosity, the imprudent heedlessness which had thrown him into a
position as complicated as it was dangerous.