THE DEPARTURE.
The spirit of Croustillac was too mercurial and too adventurous to
remain long under the weight of fear or sadness. He reasoned as follows:
To-day, as heretofore, I have little or nothing to lose; if I decide to
go out from this house, I continue to pass for the duke, and I am
treated like a prince until some one discovers the imposition; then I
shall become big John as heretofore, and I shall have rendered a great
service to this pretty little Blue Beard, who has mocked at me, but who
enchants me, for she interests me more than I wish, more than she merits
perhaps, for, in spite of her love for this invisible husband, she
appears to me madly tender with the buccaneer and that other brute, the
cannibal. Well, what does it matter if it is my caprice to devote myself
to this little woman? I am surely my own master; yes! but if, on the
other hand, I do not leave this place? Suppose the Caribbean mixes
himself in the affair, this would spoil all; it is clear that I shall be
killed like a dog by this thick-headed Belgian. How, then, can I escape
such a catastrophe? Say at once to the man with the dagger that I am not
the duke? This might save me, perhaps, but no! this would be cowardice,
and useless cowardice; for, to prevent my alarming the house, this
beer-drinker would dispatch me at once. Yes, yes, in spite of my word as
a gentleman not to seek to escape, he presses near me. Zounds! this man
with his dagger is absurd! Bah! his dagger! he can only kill me once,
after all. Come, then, courage! courage! Croustillac! and above all do
not deliberate--this brings you sorrow; you never commit greater
stupidities or more tremendous mistakes than when you deliberate.
Commend yourself to your lucky star, shut your eyes, as usual, and go
ahead.
Reassured by this excellent logic, the chevalier said aloud, "Well, sir,
as we must absolutely pass the house in order to get out of this, let us
go on."
"Sir," said the colonel, after a moment's reflection, "you have given me
your word as a gentleman not to escape."
"Yes, sir."
"But your people will wish to free you?"
"My life is in your hands, sir; you have my word; I can do no more."
"That is true, my lord; but then, in your interest, warn your slaves
that the slightest act against me, on their part, will cost your life,
for I have sworn, also, that I will carry you away, dead or living."
"It will not be my fault, sir, if you do not keep your word; come on."
And the chevalier and the colonel advanced toward the house.
Rutler held the arm of Croustillac under his left arm, and had his hand
constantly on his dagger; not that he doubted the word of his prisoner,
but the slaves at Devil's Cliff might wish to rescue their master.
Croustillac and Rutler were not more than a few steps from the house
when from an obscure path a woman advanced dressed in white. The colonel
stopped, pressed firmly the arm of his prisoner, and said aloud, "Who is
this? My lord, warn this woman not to cry out."
"It is Blue Beard! I am lost; she will scream like a peacock, and all
will be discovered," thought Croustillac. To his great astonishment the
woman paused and did not speak. The Gascon said, "Who is it, then?"
"Is it so dark that my lord cannot recognize Mirette?" said the
well-known voice of Blue Beard.
Croustillac was speechless with astonishment. Blue Beard also called him
my lord, and assumed the name of Mirette! "Zounds!" he said to himself,
"I understand nothing, nothing at all; all becomes more and more
obscure; all the same, hold steady and play out the game."
"Who is this woman?" said the colonel, in a low tone.
"She is the confidential maid of my wife," responded the chevalier.
Angela spoke: "My lord, I come to say to your grace that my lady retired
not feeling very well; but she is asleep now."
"All is in our favor, sir," said the colonel, in a low voice to
Croustillac. "Madame the duchess is asleep; you can depart without her
knowing anything about it."
Angela, who had approached, said with a frightened manner, and
retreating a few steps, "Heavens! your grace is not alone, then?"
"My lord," said the colonel, "if she gives a cry it is all over with
you."
"Do not be afraid, Mirette," said the chevalier; "while you were with my
wife this gentleman arrived; he came from Fort Royal on pressing
business; it is necessary that I should accompany him back."
"So late, my lord, but you must not think of it! I will go and inform
madame."
"No! no! I forbid it; but I shall have need at once of the negro
fishermen and their canoe; go and notify them."
"But, my lord----"
"Obey."
"That is not hard; to-morrow morning they fish in the open sea; the
negroes must be nearly ready to go; in order to be before dawn at the
Creek of Caymans, where their boat is moored."
"My lord, all favors us; you see it; let us go," said the colonel in a
low voice.
"It is astonishing how Blue Beard anticipates my demands; and how she
facilitates my departure," said Croustillac to himself; "there is
something very strange under this. I was not, perhaps, altogether wrong
in accusing her of magic or necromancy." Then he continued aloud, "You
will go and open the outer gates, Mirette, and tell the blacks to
prepare themselves at once. Well," said Croustillac, seeing the woman
remain motionless, "did you not hear me?"
"Certainly, my lord, but then your grace is determined----"
"'My lord! your grace!' you have repeatedly called me this before a
stranger," said the Gascon with a threatening manner, thinking thus to
make a master stroke. "What would happen if this gentleman were not in
the secret?"
"Oh, I know well that if this stranger is here at this time, it follows
that one may speak before him as before your grace and before madame.
But is it possible, my lord, that you intend to go away?"
"The little fox wishes to have the air of detaining me in order to
better play her part," thought Croustillac. "But who has informed her?
who has designed this role for her so well? Decidedly, there must be
jugglery going on here."
"But, my lord," continued Mirette, "what shall I say to madame?"
"You may say to her," said poor Croustillac, with a tenderness which the
colonel attributed to most natural regrets, "you may say to this dear
and good woman not to be afraid, do you hear, Mirette? not to be afraid;
assure her that the short journey I am going to take is absolutely in
her interest; tell her to think sometimes of me."
"Sometimes, my lord! why madame thinks of you and will think of you
always," replied she, in an agitated voice, for she understood the
hidden sense of Croustillac's words. "Be easy, my lord, madame knows how
you love her, and she never forgets. But you will be here to-morrow,
before she awakens, will you not?"
"Yes," said Croustillac, "certainly, to-morrow morning. Come, Mirette,
hurry and warn the negro fishermen and open the gates; it is necessary
to leave without delay."
"Yes, my lord, and at the same time I will bring your sword and your
mantle in the _salon_, because the night is cold in the mountains. Ah! I
had forgotten; here is your _bonboniere_ which you carry always with
you, and which you left in madame's room." So saying, Angela gave Gascon
the box, warmly pressed his hand and left.
"Heaven be praised, my lord duke, that things are turning out better
than I hoped," said the colonel. "Is the house very far off?"
"No; after we have climbed this last terrace we shall arrive there."
At the end of several minutes, Rutler and his captive entered the
drawing room; the chevalier found Angela, who had put on a large veil
and a long cloak which hid her figure; the young woman offered the
chevalier a cloak which she had placed on a sofa.
"Here are your cloak and sword, my lord," she said to Croustillac,
giving him a magnificent sword. "Now I will go and see if the slaves are
ready." So saying she left the room.
The sword of which we have spoken was as rich in workmanship as curious
in shape; the hilt was of massive gold; the scabbard enameled with the
coat of arms of England; the hilt bore on it a rampant lion whose head,
surmounted by a royal crown, served as a handle; the belt of great
richness, although worn by frequent use, was of red velvet embroidered
with fine pearls, in the midst of which the letters "C. S." were
reproduced repeatedly.
Before putting on his sword Croustillac said to the colonel, "I am your
prisoner, sir; may I retain my sword? I repeat my word not to make any
use of it against you."
Doubtless this historic weapon was known to the colonel, for he replied,
"I knew that this royal sword was in the hands of your grace; I have
been ordered to respect it in case you followed me willingly."
"I understand," said Croustillac to himself. "Blue Beard continues to
act with consummate cunning. She has decorated me with a part of the
outfit of this mysterious duke, in order to clinch the error of this
Flemish bear. My only regret is not knowing my name. I know, it is true,
that my head was cut off; that is something; but that is not sufficient
to prove my identity, as the lawyers say. Finally this will last as long
as God pleases; once I have turned my back, Blue Beard will, doubtless,
put her husband in some safe place. That is the principal thing.
Meanwhile, let me put on his cloak and my disguise will be complete."
The mantle was of peculiar cut and was of blue with a kind of cape of
red cloth trimmed with gold lace; it was easy to see that it had been in
use a long time.
The colonel said to the chevalier, "You are faithful to the memory of
the day at Bridgewater, my lord!"
"Hum, hum--faithful--here or there; that depends on the disposition in
which I find myself."
"Nevertheless, my lord," returned the colonel, "I recognize the mantle
of the red troops who fought so gallantly under your orders on that
fatal day."
"That is what I tell you; whether I am cold or warm, I wear this mantle,
but it is always in commemoration of that battle, when the red troops,
as you say, fought so valiantly under me." The chevalier had placed the
snuff box on the table. He took it up and looked at it mechanically; on
the cover he recognized a very characteristic face which he had several
times seen reproduced in engravings or paintings. After having searched
his memory he remembered that the features were those of Charles II. of
England.
Rutler said, "My lord, may your grace pardon me for recalling you from
thoughts it is easy to divine on seeing the portrait on that box--but
time is precious."
Angela entered at this moment and said to Croustillac: "My lord, the
negroes are waiting with torches to light the way."
"Let us go, sir," said the chevalier, taking his hat from the hands of
the young woman, who said to him in a low voice, "Next to my husband, it
is you whom I love most in the world, for you have saved him."
The massive doors of Devil's Cliff closed on the chevalier and the
colonel, and they at once started on their road, preceded by four blacks
carrying torches to light the way.
* * * * *
While the adventurer left Devil's Cliff as Colonel Rutler's prisoner, we
will introduce the reader into a secret apartment belonging to Blue
Beard.
This was a large room very simply furnished; here and there, hung on the
walls, were costly arms. Above a couch was a beautiful portrait of King
Charles II. of England; beyond this was a miniature representing a woman
of most enchanting beauty. In an ebony frame were many studies in
crayon, well designed, and representing always the same people. It was
easy to see that they were drawn as portraits from memory. The frame was
supported by a kind of stand in chased silver, representing funeral
symbols, in the midst of which one might read the date, "July 15, 1685."
This apartment was occupied by a young man in the prime of
manhood--large, supple and robust. His noble proportions recalled
vividly the height and figure of Captain Whirlwind, of the buccaneer
Rend-your-Soul, or of the Caribbean Youmaeale. By coloring the fine
features of the man of whom we speak to the copper-colored tint of the
mulatto, the ruddy color of the Caribbean, or by half-concealing them
under the thick black beard of the buccaneer, one could almost see the
three individuals in the same person.
We will here say to the reader, who has doubtless penetrated this
mystery, that the disguises of the buccaneer, the filibuster, and the
Caribbean, had been successively assumed by the same man, who was none
other than the natural son of Charles II., James, Duke of Monmouth,
_executed_ at London, July 15, 1685, as guilty of high treason. All
historians agree in saying that this prince was very brave, very
affable, and of a very generous nature and a face beautiful and noble.
"Such was the end of a prince," says Hume, in (speaking of Monmouth)
"whose great qualities would have made him an ornament to the court, and
who was capable of serving well his country. The tenderness which his
father, the king, bore for him; the praises of a large faction and the
blind devotion of the populace, drew him into an enterprise beyond his
strength. The love of the people followed him in all the vicissitudes of
fortune; even after his execution, his followers cherished the belief
that they would some day see him at their head."
We will explain later the cause of this singular hope of the prince's
adherents, and how Monmouth had, in effect, survived his execution.
Having removed his disguise as the Caribbean, and the dye which stained
his features, Monmouth wore an ample gown of light blue covered with
orange flowers, and read attentively a large number of papers spread
before him.
In order to explain the mistake of which the chevalier was the voluntary
victim, we must explain that Croustillac, without really resembling
Monmouth, was of the same age, the same height, brown as the other, as
slender, and that the duke had, in common with the Gascon, a nose
decidedly prominent, and a strong chin. Others beside Rutler, a Dutch
officer arrived from the United Provinces in the suite of William of
Orange, would have fallen into the same error, above all, seeing in the
hands of Croustillac certain priceless objects known to have belonged to
the son of Charles II.
As to the choice of Rutler, one must understand that in order to fulfill
such a mission with all its consequences, it needed a man careful,
fearless, blindly devoted, and capable of pushing that devotion even to
assassination. The choice of William of Orange was necessarily
circumscribed by such exigencies; it would have been probably impossible
for him to have found a man who knew Monmouth personally who would not
have recoiled before such terrible extremities as were entailed in this
perilous and cruel undertaking.
Monmouth was deeply absorbed in reading several English journals. All at
once the door of his room opened violently, and Angela threw herself on
his neck, crying, "Saved! saved!"
Then, bursting into tears, laughing and sobbing by turn, kissing his
hands, his forehead, his eyes, she repeated, in a stifled voice, "Saved!
my beloved James! Saved! there is no longer any danger for thee, my
lover, my husband. God be praised, the danger is past! But what terror
has been mine! Alas! I tremble still!"
Startled by the transports of Angela, Monmouth said to her with infinite
tenderness, "What is the matter, child? What do you say?"
Without replying to him, Angela cried, "But this is not all; we must
fly, do you understand? King William of England is on our track;
to-morrow we must quit this island. All will be ready; I have given the
order to one of our negro fishermen to go and say to Captain Ralph to
have the Chameleon ready to set sail; it is anchored at Cayman's Creek;
and in two hours we shall have left Martinique."