THE TOOL
I
A moment or two later Laurent returned closely followed by Leroux.
Fernande instinctively turned to look at the man whom she had last seen
in the factory, covered with grime and smoke and sweat, threatening by
foul words and furtive gestures the master who had controlled and
punished him.
Of a truth, she scarcely recognized him. Paul Leroux, actuated both by
greed and by the desire to free himself from present constituted
authority, had played his part over well. From the surly,
ill-conditioned jail-bird of twelve months ago, he had succeeded in
eliminating every unpleasant aspect, save that of the eyes, which had
remained shifty and glowering as before. But he wore the cloth coat and
corduroy breeches of a well-to-do artisan now; his hair was combed and
oiled and held back in the nape of the neck with a tidy piece of ribbon.
He wore neckcloth, stockings and shoes with buckles. His hands were
almost clean.
De Puisaye and the others surveyed this new recruit to the Royalist
cause with genuine satisfaction. Except for that shifty look in the
eyes, which perhaps these men, unaccustomed to psychological analysis,
failed to note, Paul Leroux looked a well-conditioned, reliable,
well-fashioned tool, ready for any guiding hand.
"Well now, Leroux," began Joseph de Puisaye, with a sort of
condescending gruffness which he thought suitable for the occasion,
"Madame la Marquise de Mortain has been telling me that you have
resolved to become once more a loyal and independent subject of His
Majesty King Louis the Eighteenth by the grace of God, and that you are
ready to throw off your allegiance to the adventurer who has dared to
set himself upon the throne of France. That is so--is it not?"
"If by all that talk," retorted the man surlily, "you mean that I and my
mates are heartily sick of de Maurel and of the tyranny of his minions,
and that we don't mind throwing in our lot with you for a consideration
... then you are right. I am your man."
De Puisaye threw his head back and laughed, and even solemn Prigent
could not suppress a smile.
"Well said, my good Leroux," riposted de Puisaye unconcernedly. "You put
things bluntly, but that certainly is the proposition. Let me put it
quite as bluntly to you. We have eight hundred men between this and
Avranches, ready to march on La Frontenay on a given night. We want to
obtain possession of the factories, the foundries and the armament
works. Can you help us to them?"
"I can and I will," replied the man gruffly, "if you'll give me ten
thousand francs for my pains, and a hundred francs apiece for my mates."
"We have already agreed to that," rejoined de Puisaye, "and I pledge you
my word of honour that you shall have the money on the day when I myself
walk into the foundries of La Frontenay as their master. Now how do you
propose to do what we want?"
For one instant Leroux' shifty eyes had flared up beneath their flaccid
lids, as the Comte Joseph de Puisaye pledged himself to pay that ten
thousand francs for which Leroux would readily have sold his soul to the
devil.
"Will you explain to these seigneurs, Leroux," commanded M. de Courson,
"the plan which we have agreed on? They would prefer to hear it from
your own lips, so that we can all be assured that you thoroughly
understand all that you will have to do."
"Am I not to sit down?" queried Leroux roughly.
The gentlemen looked at one another in some consternation. Here was a
problem which, simple as it seemed, nevertheless embodied a good many of
the puzzles which would inevitably confront the old régime when it did
succeed in re-establishing itself above the ruins and the ashes of
Equality and of Fraternity. For a man in Leroux' position to dare think
of sitting down in the presence of his seigneurs was, indeed, an
unheard-of possibility in the days before the proletariat had ventured
to assert its rights to live like human beings rather than like beasts
of burden. Now, of course, things were very different; the theory of
social levelling--which had found expression in the title of "citizen"
applied equally to the whilom aristocrat and to the vagrant in the
street--made even de Puisaye marvel if he dared impose upon a man like
Leroux those conventions which in the past would have been as natural to
him as the indrawing and exhaling of his breath, but which now might
arouse his resentment and turn him, headstrong and wrathful, against the
project wherein his co-operation was of such vital importance.
Compromise that did not grate upon the susceptibilities on either side
was obviously the only wise course to adopt under the circumstances, and
de Puisaye, keeping an air of haughty condescension that satisfied
himself, said in a pleasant tone intended to conciliate Leroux: "If the
ladies have no objection, my man, you certainly may sit."
Madame la Marquise nodded approval, and Leroux, muttering something
which fortunately remained inaudible, sat down.
II
"Well, now," resumed de Puisaye after a while, "will you tell these
ladies and gentlemen here as clearly as you can what plan you can adopt
in order to deliver the Maurel factories into our hands? Then we shall
be able to see how best we can co-operate with you in the matter."
"I can manage things all right for you," said Leroux roughly. "I am
chief overseer of the powder factory now--what?--so I have my quarters
inside the precincts. I live in the Lodge--you know it--it stands in the
centre of the group of work-sheds over against the powder magazine. What
I can do is this: I can keep half a hundred of my mates--those that I
know I can rely on--to work overtime one evening. They can easily
slacken work during the day, and I should then have the right to keep
them back for two or three hours in the sheds."
"They will form the main garrison inside the precincts," explained M. de
Courson. "On their quick and efficient work will depend our success."
"Yes, I quite understand that," assented de Puisaye. "Now, how is that
garrison going to work for us? I presume that there are night-watchmen
about in the various sheds and throughout the works."
"There are," replied Leroux briefly, "two in every shed, and Mathurin,
the chief overseer of the foundries, sleeps in one of the main
buildings, too. At night--if it is necessary--the alarm is given by
ringing the bell in one of the clock towers. There are two of these
towers in the precincts of the works, one in the main building of the
foundries, the other above the Lodge in the powder factory, where I
sleep."
"Therefore," commented Prigent dryly, "the first thing that you and your
garrison will have to do, my man, will be to hold the two clock towers,
and then to surprise and overpower the various night-watchmen as
simultaneously as possible ... as silently as may be."
"Exactly," rejoined Leroux curtly.
"Well," added de Puisaye eagerly, "having disposed of the
night-watchmen, what would you do next?"
"Some of us will stay behind on guard in the different sheds, and a
score or so will march on the compound, where the rest of our mates are
penned up as if they were savage beasts that must be kept in cages."
"Aha! That means another hundred and fifty of you?"
"Yes, another hundred and fifty. There are sentries at the gates of the
compound, but we can easily overpower those. The watch will not be quite
so strict now that the General has come home."
"Ah!" ejaculated de Puisaye, "matters slacken up at the works when the
master is home--what?"
"Not exactly," replied Leroux. "But those military overseers have been
absolute brutes. Things cannot be quite so bad now they have gone."
"M. de Maurel is more easy-going, or more indifferent--which?"
Leroux shrugged his shoulders, then said gruffly:
"The General has altered a good deal since he has been away."
"At any rate," here interposed Madame la Marquise impatiently, "Laurent
and I can vouch for the fact that the watch round the compounds is not
over strict just now. We went past there last night. There were only a
couple of sentries at the gates."
"Even so you will have to be careful, my good Leroux," added M. de
Courson, "so as not to raise the alarm."
"No, we won't do that," rejoined Leroux. "We can deal with the sentry
easily enough."
"And do you think that a couple of hundred men can march from the
compound back to the works without being seen or heard."
"Oh, yes! if they are determined not to make a noise. It is not far to
the factories. Less than a kilomètre. The roads are soft under foot.
We'll be careful not to be seen or heard, you may be sure of that."
"And once you are all back at the works?" queried M. d'Aché.
"We'll just wait there, ready to let you in when you come," replied the
man simply.
"What about arms?"
"There are thousands in the stores and in the cellars below the
buildings! Enough to equip an army!"
"Splendid! splendid!" exclaimed de Puisaye with enthusiasm. "This man is
a jewel! what say you, gentlemen?--and well deserves the money which I
have pledged mine honour to place into his hands. Ten thousand francs
for the brain that devised the scheme, a hundred francs apiece for those
who carry it through. That's it, is it not, my brave Leroux?"
"Yes, that's it," replied the ex-convict with a leer.
"Very well," concluded de Puisaye, "then we'll call that settled. All
that we need do now is to decide on the night when we do our coup."
"The sooner the better," said Leroux; "it is dangerous to leave a thing
like that hanging about. It may be blown upon at any time. I have had to
warn some of my mates that there was something in the wind. Any one of
them may be a blackleg, for aught I know."
"The man is right," said M. de Courson decisively; "delays are always
dangerous. Moreover, there is no cause for procrastination. The next
four-and-twenty hours ought to see us fully prepared."
"I shall have just to think things over," interposed de Puisaye who,
throughout his adventurous career, never failed for want of caution, but
rather from too much indecision. "In a couple of days I could name the
day--or rather the night--when I shall be quite ready--but not before."
"Surely, my dear M. de Puisaye ..." hazarded Madame la Marquise.
"Madame, I entreat you," he rejoined, "to trust to me in this. I have
to make my dispositions as carefully as may be. May I suggest that we
dismiss this man for the moment, with orders to report here for duty the
day after to-morrow?"
"I don't see why we should wait all that time," muttered Leroux.
"There are many things, no doubt, my man," said M. de Courson haughtily,
"many things in the councils of your betters that escape your
comprehension. As far as arguing goes, we none of us think of
quarrelling with the decisions of our chief. We all work for the same
cause, and you must learn obedience, the same as we have done, or," he
added significantly, "you will have to forfeit the ten thousand francs
and your own liberty, which are to be your reward if you serve us as we
desire. Now is that clearly understood?"
"But what do you want me to do, _enfin_?" growled Leroux, on whom the
magic mention of money at once acted as a sedative to his surly temper.
"We want you to go on quietly," said M. de Courson, "just as you have
done hitherto--trying to win M. de Maurel's confidence just as you
succeeded in winning that of the military overseers. It is only a matter
of a couple of days at most. Do not let more of your mates into the
secret for the present, above all, remember to report for duty here the
day after to-morrow at three o'clock in the afternoon. Now you can go."
Leroux would have liked to stay and argue for a while longer. Though he
had fully made up his mind to do exactly as he was told, both for the
sake of the reward and for the sake of getting even with life, as he
would put it, by striking a big blow at constituted authority, he was
far too conscious of his own importance, far too puffed up with pride,
to take such peremptory orders without a protest. But neither de Puisaye
nor any of the others were in a mood to waste time by useless arguings.
While Leroux was busy drawing upon his stock of impudence with a view
to letting these "aristos" know that he had them in his power, and would
stand no domineering ways from them, they had already coolly turned
their backs on him and were deep in whispered consultation together.
This haughty ignoring of his personality had the effect of damping the
ex-convict's arrogance. He rose and gazed somewhat sheepishly on the
array of backs turned so resolutely upon him. He twiddled his hat
between his fingers, fidgeted first on one leg, then on the other. At
last he was driven to acquiescence and said roughly:
"I'll be here at three o'clock the day after to-morrow. And if you are
wise, all of you," he added significantly, "you'll arrange for matters
to come to a head that same night or there'll be trouble. _Foi de_ Paul
Leroux!"
Then he turned on his heel and strode out of the room.
But just as he was about to bang the door behind him, he happened to
turn back again, and he encountered Mademoiselle de Courson's blue eyes
fixed upon him with such an expression of loathing, that much against
his will, and quite understandably, a hot flush of anger--or was it of
shame?--rose right up to his forehead and to the roots of his hair.