We will now retrace our steps in order to inform the reader what were
the manoeuvres of this chebec, during the attack on La Ciotat, in which
it took no part. We will also tell how Reine des Anbiez fell into the
power of Erebus.
The Bohemian, after having put the watchman to sleep by means of a
narcotic, descended to the shore, and reached the point of land behind
which the galleys and the chebec of the pirates awaited his arrival,
conformable to the instructions he had sent to Pog-Reis by a second
pigeon.
Hadji, in spite of the cold, bravely plunged into the water and soon
reached the _Red Galleon_, which was resting on her oars a little
distance from the coast.
After a long conversation with Pog-Reis, to whom he gave the necessary
information to assure the success of his descent upon La Ciotat, the
Bohemian, following the orders of Pog, returned on board the chebec
commanded by Erebus.
This vessel was to take no part in the action, but was to approach
Maison-Forte in order to assist in the abduction of Reine des Anbiez.
As soon as the young girl was in the power of Erebus, the chebec had the
order, to give the signal, upon which the galleys of the pirates would
begin their attack upon the city.
During the combat the chebec was to serve as light-ship and cruiser at
large, so as to give the alarm to the pirates if by chance the royal
galleys of the Duke de Brézé appeared in the west.
These plans agreed upon, the chebec, separating herself from the
galleys, and doubling the promontory, under the guidance of the
Bohemian, who was well acquainted with the localities, advanced toward
the belt of rocks which extended at the foot of Maison-Forte.
As a consequence of his conversation with Pog the day before, Erebus had
taken a fit of the most profound sadness.
In one of those frequent and bitter moments of introspection, he had
seen his conduct in its true light; he was moved to pity as he thought
of the misfortunes soon to befall this defenceless city, and when the
posts of action were being distributed, he had formally declared to Pog
that he would take no part in this new deed of robbery.
Pog, who always urged him to evil, did not oppose this resolution,
but even encouraged it, and advised Erebus to take advantage of this
opportunity to abduct Mile, des Anbiez.
As a necessary sequence he left him all liberty of manoeuvre to execute
this project.
Erebus accepted; he had his designs.
Since his first singular meeting with Reine, since, especially, the
report of Hadji had made him believe that he was loved, his passion for
the young girl had increased with each day of his life.
The Bohemian, in praising to him the sweetness, the charms, the mind,
and the loftiness of character possessed by Mlle, des Anbiez, had
aroused in his soul the noblest although the most undefined hopes.
His last conversation with Pog decided him to risk everything to realise
those hopes.
He had often heard Pog give vent to his cruel misanthropy, but never had
the wickedness of the man, the baseness of the motives which instigated
and controlled his actions, been so revealed, and finding he was not
bound to him by any tie which demanded his respect, he resolved to avail
himself of the first opportunity which offered to escape his influence.
He affected, then, some hours before the enterprise which was designed
to lay La Ciotat in ruins, a brutal and licentious gaiety.
Pog was, or appeared to be, the dupe of these demonstrations. As we have
said, he gave Erebus entire liberty to conduct the abduction of Reine,
and Erebus, eager to profit from this permission, confided his plans to
Hadji, from whom he received valuable suggestions.
Doubtless his action was criminal, but the unhappy young man, reared, as
we may say, outside the pale of society, knowing only the intensity
of his own desires, loving passionately and believing himself not
less passionately loved, could not hesitate a moment before this
determination.
As soon as they came in sight of Maison-Forte, the chebec lay to, and
Erebus descended into a small boat with Hadji and four capable rowers.
The Bohemian had profited from his sojourn on the coast, and thus
directed the little craft across the reefs and quicksands until it was
moored under the shelter of a rock.
At this moment the guests of Raimond V. had just left him, the Christmas
feast being ended, and the recorder Isnard, assisted by Captain Georges,
had not arrived to arrest the old gentleman.
Erebus, Hadji, and the four rowers landed and cautiously advanced to the
foot of the embattled walls of Maison-Forte.
It will be remembered that the Bohemian had often scaled these walls in
order to exhibit his agility before the eyes of Stephanette and Reine.
The moon was shining, but the shadow projected by the massive buildings
of Maison-Forte had covered the descent and march of the six pirates.
A sentinel who promenaded the terrace perceived nothing.
The windows in the gallery of the castle flamed with light, but those
belonging to Reine’s oratory were dark.
Hadji thought very naturally that Mlle, des Anbiez had not yet retired
to her apartments.
He proposed to Erebus to wait until Reine should return to her oratory,
then scale the wall, stab the sentinel, and, once masters of the
terrace, climb up to the balcony as he had often done during his stay at
Maison-Forte.
The window could be broken open, and the cries of Mlle, des Anbiez could
be stifled by gagging her. The descent from the window to the terrace
was comparatively easy, and from the terrace to the rocks. The girl
could be carried down by mean of a sort of girdle, contrived for the
landing or embarking of recalcitrant slaves, with which the Bohemian was
provisionally furnished.
In case of alarm, the pirates relied upon their address and intrepidity
to make good their escape to the boat before the inmates of Maison-Forte
could reach them.
The plan was accepted by Erebus, who only opposed the murder of the
sentinel. To that he would not give his consent.
The four pirates then prepared to scale the walls, leaving two rowers in
the boat. The sentinel was walking on the side opposite to that on which
they intended to climb to the terrace.
Hadji, followed by one of his companions, climbed the wall with the aid
of holes which time had worn, and the long branches of ivy which had
taken root in the hollows of the stones.
Having reached the summit of the wall, the pirates perceived, to their
great joy, that the sentry-box stood between them and the sentinel, and
thus hid them from his view.
The moment was critical. They leaped upon the platform of the
fortification. At the instant in which the soldier in his regular march
returned to the sentry-box, Hadji and his companion threw themselves on
him with the rapidity of lightning.
Hadji placed his two hands over the sentinel’s mouth, while his
companion seized his musket; then, by the aid of a gag, called by the
pirates a tap, with which the Bohemian was provided, they soon stopped
his cries, and fastened his limbs firmly with a long cotton cloth, which
they wound around him.
Then Hadji threw a rope ladder to Erebus, who in a moment mounted to the
terrace. It was then about one o’clock in the morning.
Hadji knew that the post would not be relieved until two o’clock.
Suddenly a light shone from the windows of Reine’s oratory.
Hidden in the shadow of the sentry-box, Hadji and Erebus deliberated a
moment upon what they must do, to accomplish their purpose.
The Bohemian proposed to scale the balcony alone, as its length exceeded
by far the breadth of the window-casement, and there to hide and spy
through the glass panes, in order to learn the most propitious moment
for acting, which he would signify to Erebus by a sign.
The latter adopted the plan, but insisted upon taking part in it.
Hadji climbed up the first, threw the rope ladder to Erebus, and both
lay in ambuscade on each side of the casement.
Erebus was just about to look through the panes, when the window-blinds,
which were on the outside, opened softly, and Reine walked out on the
balcony.
Thus Erebus and Hadji found themselves concealed from sight.
The young girl, sad and anxious, wished to enjoy for awhile the beauty
of the night.
Time was precious, and the opportunity favourable, and the same idea
entered the minds of the Bohemian and Erebus.
Quickly closing the window-blinds behind Reine, they seized her before
she was able to utter a cry.
Imagine her fright, her anguish, when she recognised in her ravisher the
stranger of the rocks of Ollioules!
Erebus, in the feeble struggle which occurred between him and the
unhappy girl, employed every possible means to prevent violence or
injury to the one he loved.
In less time than it requires to write it, Mlle, des Anbiez was
surrounded with the girdle, which rendered her incapable of movement.
Erebus, not able to use his hands in descending the rope ladder, since
he carried Reine in his arms, made Hadji fasten a rope around his body;
as he descended each step of the ladder, the Bohemian let the rope slip
softly so as to sustain the ravisher; finally, with Reine in his arms,
Erebus reached the foot of the wall.
Hadji, in his turn, was just about to leave the balcony, when
Stephanette entered the chamber, crying: “Mademoiselle! mademoiselle!
the recorder and his soldiers have come to arrest monseigneur!” For at
that moment Master Isnard and Captain Georges had arrived at the castle.
Not finding her mistress in her chamber, and seeing the window open,
Stephanette ran thither.
The Bohemian, seeing the danger to which he was exposed by the presence
of Stephanette, hid himself again.
The girl, astonished not to find her mistress, went out on the balcony.
The Bohemian softly shut the window behind her, and put his hand over
her mouth.
Although surprised and frightened, Stephanette made bold efforts to
deliver herself from the pirate, who, scarcely able to hold her, cried
in a low voice to Erebus:
“Help! help! This she devil is as strong as a little demon; she bites
like a wildcat If she cries, all is lost!”
Erebus, not willing to leave Reine, ordered the other pirate to go to
the help of Hadji.
In fact, Stephanette, much more robust than her mistress, and having
habits calculated to develop her strength, made a heroic and vigorous
resistance; she even succeeded in making use of her pretty teeth, to
make Hadji relinquish his prize, and in uttering a few cries.
Unfortunately, the window was closed and her calls for help were not
heard.
The second pirate came to the aid of the Bohemian, and, in spite of her
efforts, the betrothed of the worthy Captain Trinquetaille shared the
fate of her mistress, and was lowered down to the terrace with much less
ceremony.
Having gained the platform of the rampart, the enterprise met with no
other serious difficulty, and the two young girls were carried down
the length of the wall with the same means and precautions which
accomplished their descent from the balcony.
Erebus and Hadji gained the long-boat which awaited them, and the two
captives were on board the chebec without a suspicion having entered the
thought of a single inmate of Maison-Forte.
All, up to that time, had transpired according to the will of Erebus.
Reine and Stephanette, released from their bonds, were respectfully
deposited in the cabin of the chebec, which Erebus had arranged with the
most scrupulous care.
The first feeling of alarm and amazement past, Reine recovered her
wonted firmness and dignity of character.
Stephanette, on the contrary, after having valiantly resisted, yielded
to a grief which was nothing less than desperate.
When Erebus presented himself, she threw herself on her knees before
him, weeping in anguish.
Reine preserved a gloomy silence, and did not deign even to look at her
captor.
Erebus then began to be frightened at the success of his venture. He
was still under the influence of good and bad instincts which struggled
within him for mastery. He was not an audacious ravisher; he was a timid
child.
The sullen silence, the dignified and grieved manner of Reine, impressed
him and pained him at the same time.
Hadji, during the whole time of their fatal expedition, had constantly
repeated to Erebus that Reine loved him passionately, and that the first
moment of shame and anger past, he would find the young girl full
of tenderness and even gratitude. Making one courageous effort, he
approached Reine with an insolent ease of manner and said to her:
“After the storm, the sunshine. To-morrow you will think only of the
song of the emir, and my love will dry your tears.”
As he said these words, he tried to take one of Reine’s hands, which
she kept over her face.
“Wretch! do not come near me!” cried she, repulsing him with horror,
and looking at him so disdainfully that Erebus did not dare take another
step.
A veil fell from his eyes. The accent, the emotion, the indignation of
Reine were so sincere that, in an instant, he lost all hope. He saw, or
rather believed, that he had been grossly deceived, that the young girl
had no affection for him.
In his painful surprise, he fell on his knees before Reine and, with
clasped hands, cried, in a pathetic voice:
“You do not love me then?”
“You--you---”
“Oh, forgive me, forgive me, mademoiselle,” continued Erebus, on his
knees, with his hands clasped, and he added with charming ingenuousness:
“My God! forgive me, I thought you loved me. Ah, well! no, no, do
not be angry! I believed it,--the Bohemian told me so; if he had not, I
should never have done what I have done.”
But for the gravity of the occasion, one would have laughed to see this
young pirate, lately so bold, so resolute, trembling and lowering his
eyes before the angry glance of Reine.
Stephanette, struck with this contrast, in spite of her grief, could not
help saying:
“Why, to hear him, one would think it was the waggish trick of a page,
about some stolen ribbon or bouquet! Fie, fie, sir, you are a pagan, a
monster!”
“Ah, how dreadful--how dreadful! And my father, my poor father!”
cried Reine, bursting into tears.
This sincere sorrow tore the heart of Erebus; he felt the whole extent
of his crime.
“Oh! for pity--for pity’s sake, do not weep so!” cried he, his own
eyes full of tears. “I see my wrongs now. Tell me, what do you wish
me to do to expiate them? I will do it,--command me,’--my life is
yours.” “Then send me back to my father, this very instant. My
father, my father! if he knows of this capture, what a terrible blow
for him! It is a crime for which you will always have to reproach
yourself.”
“Spurn me,--I deserve it,--but at least do not forget that I saved the
life of your father.”
“And what matters that, since you have saved it only to make him so
wretched now? I shall think of you henceforth, not to bless you, but to
curse you--”
“No, no!” cried Erebus, rising to his feet. “No, you will not
curse me! You will say, yes, you will soon say that your words have
snatched an unhappy soul from the abyss which was about to engulf it for
ever. Listen to me. This city is now happy and peaceful. The pirates
are near: let the signal be given from this chebec,--death, pillage, and
flames will desolate this coast--”
“My God! my God! oh, my father!” cried Reine.
“Take courage, that signal shall not be given. I will save this city.
You are in my power, and this very hour, I will have you carried back
to land. Ah, well, then say--oh, say, if I do that,” implored Erebus,
with profound sadness, “will you think of me sometimes without anger
and without contempt?”
“I will never thank God, for having restored me to my father, without
thinking with gratitude of the saviour of the Baron des Anbiez,” said
Reine, with dignity.
“And Erebus shall be worthy of your remembrance!” cried the young
pirate. “I am going now to prepare for your departure, and I shall
return for you.”
He went up on deck in haste. The chebec was lying to. The two galleys
could be seen in the distance. Although the chebec belonged to Pog-Reis,
Erebus had commanded the vessel for three years. He believed that he had
won the affection of the whole crew. When he reached the deck, he saw
Hadji in the act of lighting a fuse, the signal agreed upon between Pog
and Erebus, to announce that Mlle, des Anbiez was on board the chebec,
and therefore the attack on La Ciotat could begin.
“Stop,” said Erebus to Hadji, “do not give the signal yet. For
a long time you have been devoted to me; today, especially, you have
served me faithfully. Listen to me now.”
“Speak quickly, Lord Erebus, for Pog-Reis is waiting for the signal,
and if I delay to give it, he will make me ride the chase-gun on his
galley, with a ball on each foot to hold me in position.”
“If you obey me, you will have nothing to fear. This life of murder
and robbery is hateful to me; the men that I command are less brutal
than their companions; they love me; they have confidence in me; I can
propose to them to abandon the galleys. The chebec is superior to
the galleys in speed. After the expedition of which I will tell you
presently, we will set sail for the East,--the Grecian Archipelago; when
we arrive at Smyrna, we will put ourselves in the pay of the bey, and
instead of being pirates, we will become soldiers; instead of cutting
the throats of merchants on the deck of their vessels, we will fight
men. Will you second me?” Hadji had kept the lighted match in
his hand; holding it to his mouth, he brightened the flame with
imperturbable coolness, and said to Erebus:
“Are those all the plans you have, Lord Erebus?”
“No, they are not all. To prevent the new crimes contemplated by
Pog-Reis, we are going to approach the galleys under full sail, and cry
with fright that we have just seen, on the horizon, the fires of the
king’s galleys. They know that the galleys of the King of France are
at Marseilles, and dread their coming, and so will easily believe
us. Pog-Reis will take flight before these superior forces, and this
unfortunate city will escape, at least for this time, the horrible
fate which threatens it. Ah, well, what do you say to my plan? You have
influence over the crew, second me.”
Hadji blew his match again, looked at Erebus steadily, and for reply,
before the latter could prevent it, set fire to the fuse which was to
serve as a signal for the attack of the pirates.
The fatal light darted into space like a meteor.
“Wretch!” cried Erebus, throwing himself on Hadji with rage.
Hadji, with strength superior to that of the young man, wrested himself
from his hands, and said to him, with mingled irony, respect, and
affection:
“Listen, Lord Erebus; neither I nor these brave men have any desire to
exchange our liberty for the discipline of the bey’s soldiers. The sea
in all its immensity is ours; we would be the proud courser that has the
limitless desert for his career, rather than the blindfolded horse
that turns the machinery to draw water from a well. Now the service of
beyliks, compared to our adventurous life, is nothing more. In a word,
we are devils, and we are not old enough yet to become hermits, as the
Christians say. Our trade pleases us. We will not give up liberty for a
prison.”
“So be it; you are a hardened villain, I believed you had nobler
sentiments. But so much the worse for you; the crew is attached to me,
they will listen to me and will give me a strong hand to get rid of you,
if you dare oppose my plans.”
“By Eblis! what are you saying, Lord Erebus?” cried the Bohemian,
with an ironical air. “You treat me so, I, who, to serve you, sang to
your lady-love the song of the emir! I, who demeaned myself to the low
trade of a tinker! I, who defiled myself by helping Dame Dulceline raise
a sort of altar to the God of the Christians! I, who, to serve you, set
the foot of the greyhound belonging to Raimond V. and even consented to
shoe the old sot’s horse!”
“Be silent, you scoundrel! not a word more of that unhappy father to
whom I have given such a cruel blow! Reflect well, I am going to speak
to the crew, whatever it may cost me; there is still time for you to
rally to my aid and become an honest man.”
“Listen, my Lord Erebus; you propose to me to become an honest man.
I shall reply to you as a poet and a tinker. When for years a thick and
corrosive rust has accumulated on a copper vase, and this rust has been
bronzed by fire, you may rub a thousand years and more without giving
back to this vase its original purity and brilliancy, and at last
succeed in making it a little less black only than the wings of Eblis!
Ah, well! such as we, I and my companions, we are bronzed by evil.
Do not try to entice us to good. You will be neither understood nor
obeyed.”
“I shall not be understood, perhaps, but I shall be obeyed.”
“You will not be obeyed if your orders are contrary to certain
instructions given by Pog-Reis to the crew before departing from
Port-Cros.”
“Instructions? You lie like a dog!”
“Listen, my Lord Erebus,” said Hadji, with unalterable coolness;
“although I do not wish to enter into the good road, I love you in my
fashion, and I would wish to prevent your taking a false step. Pog-Reis,
after a certain conversation with you, which he told me, distrusts you.
A little while ago, when on the height of Cape l’Aigle, where I put
the old watchman to sleep, I saw our galleys coming, I descended to
the shore and went on board the _Red Galleon_, and there I had a secret
conversation about you with Pog-Reis.” “Traitor! why have you
concealed that from me?” “The wise man hides three things for every
two he tells. Pog-Reis told me he had informed the crew, and he did
inform me that the orders which he had given you were these: carry off
the young girl, give a signal that the abduction has been successful,
then cruise around La Ciotat while the galleys are attacking that swarm
of fat citizens; lastly, watch that our men are not surprised by the
galleys of the King of France, coming from the west,--is that true?”
“That is true.”
“Ah, well, then, Lord Erebus, I tell you that if the orders you are
going to give are contrary to those, they will not listen to you.”
“That is a lie!”
“Try it.”
“This very instant,” said Erebus, and turning to the steersman and
sailors who awaited his orders, he commanded them to make a manoeuvre
which would bring the chebec nearer to Maison-Forte.
What was his astonishment when, instead of executing his orders, he
saw the steersman and sailors, at a sign from Hadji, make a contrary
manoeuvre, which brought the chebec nearer the place of action.
“You refuse to obey me!” cried Erebus.
“Ah, well! Lord Erebus, what did I tell you?”
“Not a word from you, scoundrel!”
Erebus tried in vain to shake the fidelity of the sailors; whether from
terror, or the habit of passive obedience, or from the love of their
gross and licentious life, they remained faithful to the orders they had
received.
Erebus bowed his head in despair.
“Since you are the commander of this chebec,” said he to Hadji, with
a bitter smile, “then I address you to have the sails put back, and
have the long-boat which is in tow brought to the side of the vessel.”
“You are the captain here, Lord Erebus; order, without going contrary
to the commands of Pog-Reis,--and I will be the first to haul the
rigging or turn the helm.”
“A truce to words; then have the long-boat manned with four men.”
“Bring the chebec’s sails back? Nothing prevents that,” said Hadji.
“Watch is kept as well standing still as moving about, and from time
to time the sentinel stops. As to manning the long-boat, that will be
done when I know your intention.”
Erebus stamped his foot impatiently.
“My intention is to conduct these two young girls back to land.”
“Throw back the pearl of the gulf on a savage coast!” cried the
Bohemian, “when she is in your power, when you are loved, when--”
“Be silent and obey! That, I think, is my personal affair, and
Pog-Reis shall not force me to abduct a woman, if I do not wish to do
it.”
“That abduction is a personal affair to Pog-Reis also, Lord Erebus. I
cannot order the long-boat to be manned.”
“What do you mean?” cried the young man, almost in fright.
“Pog-Reis is an old stager, Lord Erebus. He knows that, in spite of
his strength and courage, the tiger can fall, as well as the stupid
buffalo, in the snare that the artful trapper has set for his steps.
Eblis has shaken his wings over La Ciotat; the flames crackle, the
cannon thunder, the musketry flashes; our people are glutting themselves
with pillage and putting the Christians in chains,--that is well. But
suppose Pog-Reis, suppose Trimalcyon-Reis should be surprised and taken
prisoners by these dogs of Christians! Suppose our people should be
obliged to fly back to their galleys and abandon the prisoners, Pog and
Trimalcyon, to be quartered and burned as renegades--”
“Will you finish, say, will you finish?”
“By keeping the pearl of La Ciotat, Reine des Anbiez, as hostage,
until the end of the enterprise, she can be of great help to us, and
be worth to us, by her exchange, the liberty of Pog-Reis, or of
Trimalcyon-Reis. So, then, this young girl and her companion must remain
here until Pog-Reis has decided their fate.”
Erebus was overwhelmed.
Neither threats nor entreaties could shake the determination of Hadji,
or of the crew.
For a moment, in his despair, he was on the point of throwing himself
into the sea and swimming to the coast, that he might be killed by the
pirates; then he remembered that such a course would leave Reine without
a defender. He descended to the cabin in the gloom of despair.
“There is our generous saviour,” cried Reine, rising and walking up
to him. Erebus shook his head sadly, and said:
“I am now a prisoner like you.”
And he related to the two young girls what had just transpired on the
bridge. One moment calmed by a deceitful assurance, the distress of
Reine now burst forth with renewed violence, and notwithstanding the
repentance of Erebus, she accused him, with reason, of being the author
of the misery which oppressed her.
Such was the state of affairs on board the chebec, when, now commanded
by Hadji, since Erebus had joined Reine and Stephanette, it approached
the galleys of Pog and Trimalcyon, which, by dint of oars, were leaving
La Ciotat after their fatal expedition.
The Bohemian stood at the stem of the chebec, when Pog-Reis, hailing it
from his galley, said to him:
“Ah, well! is that girl on board?”
“Yes, Captain Pog, and more, there is a linnet with the dove.”
“And Erebus?”
“Captain Erebus wanted to do what Captain Pog foresaw,” said the
Bohemian, making an intelligent sign.
“I expected it Watch him. Keep the command of the chebec, sail in my
waters, and follow my manoeuvres.”
“You will be obeyed, Captain Pog. But before parting from you, let me
make you a present There are the papers and playthings of love belonging
to a chevalier of Malta. It is, I believe, a story worthy of Ben-Absull.
I got this treasure-trove from the cabin of the watchman. I thought I
had found a diamond, and found only a grain of corn. But it may interest
you, Captain Pog. There is a Maltese cross on the casket; everything
which bears that hated sign returns to you by right.”
As he said these words, Hadji threw at the feet of Pog-Reis the carved
silver casket that he had stolen from the ebony case belonging to
Peyrou. This casket was wrapped in a scarf, designed to protect the
broken cover.
Pog-Reis, little appreciative of the Bohemian’s attention, made a sign
to him to continue his route.
The chebec took her place of headway behind the galley of Pog, and the
three vessels soon disappeared in the east, directing their course with
all possible speed toward the isles of St Honorât, where they intended
to lie in for repairs.