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diff --git a/old/reter10.txt b/old/reter10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..690d587 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/reter10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10280 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etext of In The Reign Of Terror, by G. A. Henty +#4 in our series by G. A. Henty + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the laws for your country before redistributing these files!!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. + +Please do not remove this. + +This should be the first thing seen when anyone opens the book. +Do not change or edit it without written permission. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.06/12/01*END* +[Portions of this header are copyright (C) 2001 by Michael S. Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + + + + + +This etext was produced by Ted Robb (tedrobb@tedrobb.com) +and Martin Robb (MartinRobb@ieee.org). + + + + + +IN THE REIGN OF TERROR +The Adventures of a Westminster Boy. + +by G. A. Henty + + + + +PREFACE. + + +MY DEAR LADS, + +This time only a few words are needed, for the story speaks for +itself. My object has been rather to tell you a tale of interest +than to impart historical knowledge, for the facts of the dreadful +time when "the terror" reigned supreme in France are well known to +all educated lads. I need only say that such historical allusions as +are necessary for the sequence of the story will be found correct, +except that the Noyades at Nantes did not take place until a somewhat +later period than is here assigned to them. + +Yours sincerely, + +G.A. HENTY. + + + +CHAPTER I A Journey to France + + +"I don't know what to say, my dear." + +"Why, surely, James, you are not thinking for a moment of letting +him go?" + +"Well, I don't know. Yes, I am certainly thinking of it, though I +haven't at all made up my mind. There are advantages and disadvantages." + +"Oh, but it is such a long way, and to live among those French people, +who have been doing such dreadful things, attacking the Bastille, +and, as I have heard you say, passing all sorts of revolutionary +laws, and holding their king and queen almost as prisoners in +Paris!" + +"Well, they won't eat him, my dear. The French Assembly, or the +National Assembly, or whatever it ought to be called, has certainly +been passing laws limiting the power of the king and abolishing +many of the rights and privileges of the nobility and clergy; but +you must remember that the condition of the vast body of the French +nation has been terrible. We have long conquered our liberties, +and, indeed, never even in the height of the feudal system were the +mass of the English people more enslaved as have been the peasants +of France. + +"We must not be surprised, therefore, if in their newly-recovered +freedom they push matters to an excess at first; but all this will +right itself, and no doubt a constitutional form of government, +somewhat similar to our own, will be established. But all this is +no reason against Harry's going out there. You don't suppose that +the French people are going to fly at the throats of the nobility. +Why, even in the heat of the civil war here there was no instance +of any personal wrong being done to the families of those engaged +in the struggle, and in only two or three cases, after repeated +risings, were any even of the leaders executed. + +"No; Harry will be just as safe there as he would be here. As to +the distance, it's nothing like so far as if he went to India, for +example. I don't see any great chance of his setting the Thames +on fire at home. His school report is always the same - 'Conduct +fair; progress in study moderate' - which means, as I take it, that +he just scrapes along. That's it, isn't it, Harry?" + +"Yes, father, I think so. You see every one cannot be at the top +of the form." + +"That's a very true observation, my boy. It is clear that if there +are twenty boys in a class, nineteen fathers have to be disappointed. +Still, of course, one would like to be the father who is not +disappointed." + +"I stick to my work," the boy said; "but there are always fellows +who seem to know just the right words without taking any trouble +about it. It comes to them, I suppose." + +"What do you say to this idea yourself, Harry?" + +"I don't know, sir," the boy said doubtfully. + +"And I don't know," his father agreed. "At anyrate we will sleep +upon it. I am clear that the offer is not to be lightly rejected." + +Dr. Sandwith was a doctor in Chelsea. Chelsea in the year 1790 +was a very different place to Chelsea of the present day. It was a +pretty suburban hamlet, and was indeed a very fashionable quarter. +Here many of the nobility and personages connected with the court +had their houses, and broad country fields and lanes separated it +from the stir and din of London. Dr. Sandwith had a good practice, +but he had also a large family. Harry was at Westminster, going +backwards and forwards across the fields to school. So far he had +evinced no predilection for any special career. He was a sturdy, +well-built lad of some sixteen years old. He was, as his father +said, not likely to set the Thames on fire in any way. He was as +undistinguished in the various sports popular among boys in those +days as he was in his lessons. He was as good as the average, but +no better; had fought some tough fights with boys of his own age, +and had shown endurance rather than brilliancy. + +In the ordinary course of things he would probably in three or four +years' time have chosen some profession; and, indeed, his father +had already settled in his mind that as Harry was not likely to +make any great figure in life in the way of intellectual capacity, +the best thing would be to obtain for him a commission in his +Majesty's service, as to which, with the doctor's connection among +people of influence, there would not be any difficulty. He had, +however, said nothing as yet to the boy on the subject. + +The fact that Harry had three younger brothers and four sisters, +and that Dr. Sandwith, who was obliged to keep up a good position, +sometimes found it difficult to meet his various expenses, made +him perhaps more inclined to view favourably the offer he had +that morning received than would otherwise have been the case. Two +years before he had attended professionally a young French nobleman +attached to the embassy. It was from him that the letter which +had been the subject of conversation had been received. It ran as +follows: - "Dear Doctor Sandwith, - Since my return from Paris +I have frequently spoken to my brother, the Marquis of St. Caux, +respecting the difference of education between your English boys +and our own. Nothing struck me more when I was in London than your +great schools. With us the children of good families are almost +always brought up at home. They learn to dance and to fence, but +have no other exercise for their limbs, and they lack the air of +manly independence which struck me in English boys. They are more +gentil - I do not know the word in your language which expresses +it - they carry themselves better; they are not so rough; they are +more polite. There are advantages in both systems, but for myself I +like yours much the best. My brother is, to some extent, a convert +to my view. There are no such schools to which he could send his sons +in France, for what large schools we have are under the management +of the fathers, and the boys have none of that freedom which is +the distinguishing point of the English system of education. Even +if there were such schools, I am sure that madame my sister-in-law +would never hear of her sons being sent there. + +"Since this is so, the marquis has concluded that the best thing +would be to have an English boy of good family as their companion. +He would, of course, study with them under their masters. He would +play and ride with them, and would be treated as one of themselves. + +They would learn something of English from him, which would +be useful if they adopt the diplomatic profession. He would learn +French, which might also be useful to him; but of course the great +point which my brother desires is that his sons should acquire +something of the manly independence of thought and action which +distinguishes English boys. + +"Having arranged this much, I thought of you. I know that you have +several sons. If you have one of from fourteen to sixteen years, +and you would like him to take such a position for two or three +years, I should be glad indeed to secure such a companion for my +nephews. If not, would you do me the favour of looking round among +your acquaintances and find us a lad such as we need. He must be +a gentleman and a fair type of the boy we are speaking of. I may +say that my brother authorizes me to offer in his name, in addition +to all expenses, two thousand francs a year to the young gentleman +who will thus benefit his sons. I do not think that the political +excitement which is agitating Paris need be taken into consideration. +Now that great concessions have been made to the representatives +of the nation, it is not at all probable that there will be any +recurrence of such popular tumults as that which brought about the +capture of the Bastille. But in any case this need not weigh in +the decision, as my brother resides for the greater part of the +year in his chateau near Dijon in Burgundy, far removed from the +troubles in the capital." + +The more Dr. Sandwith thought over the matter the more he liked it. +There were comparatively few Englishmen in those days who spoke the +French language. It was, indeed, considered part of the education +of a young man of good family to make what was called the grand +tour of Europe under the charge of a tutor, after leaving the +university. But these formed a very small proportion of society, +and, indeed, the frequent wars which had, since the Stuarts lost the +throne of England, occurred between the two countries had greatly +interfered with continental travel. + +Even now the subjects of France and England were engaged in a +desperate struggle in India, although there was peace between the +courts of Versailles and St. James's. A knowledge of the French +language then would be likely to be of great utility to Harry if +he entered the army; his expenses at Westminster would be saved, +and the two hundred and forty pounds which he would acquire during +his three years' stay in France would be very useful to him on +his first start in life. After breakfast next morning Dr. Sandwith +asked Harry to take a turn in the garden with him, for the holidays +had just begun. + +"What do you think of this, Harry?" + +"I have not thought much about it one way or the other, sir," +Harry said, looking up with a smile. "It seemed to me better that +you should do the thinking for both of us." + +"I might perhaps be better able to judge whether it would +be advantageous or otherwise for you to accept the offer, but you +must be the best judge as to whether you would like to accept it +or not." + +"I can't quite make up my mind as to that, sir. I like school very +much and I like being at home. I don't want to learn Frenchified +ways, nor to eat frogs and snails and all sorts of nastiness; +still, it would be fun going to a place so different to England, +and hearing no English spoken, and learning all their rum ways, +and getting to jabber French." + +"It might be very useful to you in the army, Harry;" and then the +doctor stopped suddenly. + +"The army!" Harry exclaimed in a tone of astonished delight. "Oh, +sir, do you really think of my going into the army? You never said +a word about that before. I should like that immensely" + +"That slipped out, Harry, for I did not mean to say anything about +it until you had left school; still, if you go to France I do not +know why you should not keep that before you. I don't think the army +is a very good profession, but you do not seem to have any marked +talent for anything else. You don't like the idea of medicine or +the church, and you were almost heart-broken when I wanted you to +accept the offer of your uncle John of a seat in his counting-house. +It seems to me that the army would suit you better than anything +else, and I have no doubt that I could get you a commission. Now, +whenever we fight France is sure to be on the other side, and I +think that it would be of great advantage to you to have a thorough +knowledge of French - a thing which very few officers in our army +possess. If you accept this offer you will have the opportunity of +attaining this, and at the same time of earning a nice little sum +which would pay for your outfit and supply you with pocket-money +for some time." + +"Yes, sir, it would be first rate!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "Oh, +please, accept the offer; I should like it of all things; and even +if I do get ever so skinny on frogs and thin soup, I can get fat +on roast beef again when I get back." + +"That is all nonsense, Harry, about frogs and starving. The French +style of cookery differs from ours, but they eat just as much, and +although they may not, as a rule, be as broad and heavy as Englishmen, +that is simply a characteristic of race; the Latin peoples are of +slighter build than the Teutonic. As to their food, you know that +the Romans, who were certainly judges of good living, considered +the snail a great luxury, and I dare say ate frogs too. A gentleman +who had made the grand tour told me that he had tasted them in Paris +and found them very delicate eating. You may not like the living +quite at first, but you will soon get over that, and once accustomed +to it you will like it quite as well as our solid joints. My +principal objection to your going lies quite in another direction. +Public opinion in France is much disturbed. In the National Assembly, +which is the same as our Parliament, there is a great spirit +of resistance to the royal authority, something like a revolution +has already been accomplished, and the king is little more than a +prisoner." + +"But that would surely make no difference to me, sir!" + +"No, I don't see that it should, Harry. Still, it would cause your +mother a good deal of anxiety." + +"I don't see it could make any difference," Harry repeated; "and +you see, sir, when I go into the army and there is war, mother +would be a great deal more anxious." + +"You mean, Harry," the doctor said with a smile, "that whether her +anxiety begins a little sooner or later does not make much difference." + +"I don't think I quite meant that, sir," Harry said; "but yes," +he added frankly, after a moment's thought, "I suppose I did; but +I really don't see that supposing there were any troubles in France +it could possibly make any difference to me; even if there were a +civil war, such as we had in England, they would not interfere with +boys." + +"No, I don't see that it would make any difference, and the chance +is so remote that it need not influence our decision. Of course if +war broke out between the two countries the marquis would see that +you were sent back safely. Well, then, Harry, I am to consider that +your decision is in favour of your accepting this appointment." + +"If you please, sir. I am sure it will be a capital thing for me, +and I have no doubt it will be great fun. Of course at first it +will be strange to hear them all jabbering in French, but I suppose +I shall soon pick it up." + +And so Mrs. Sandwith was informed by her husband that after talking +it over with Harry he had concluded that the proposed arrangement +would really be an excellent one, and that it would be a great pity +to let such an opportunity slip. + +The good lady was for a time tearful in her forebodings that Harry +would be starved, for in those days it was a matter of national +opinion that our neighbours across the Channel fed on the most meagre +of diet; but she was not in the habit of disputing her husband's +will, and when the letter of acceptance had been sent off, she +busied herself in preparing Harry's clothes for his long absence. + +"He ought to be measured for several suits, my dear," she said to +her husband, "made bigger and bigger to allow for his growing." + +"Nonsense, my dear! You do not suppose that clothes cannot be +purchased in France! Give him plenty of under-linen, but the fewer +jackets and trousers he takes over the better; it will be much +better for him to get clothes out there of the same fashion as +other people; the boy will not want to be stared at wherever he +goes. The best rule is always to dress like people around you. I +shall give him money, and directly he gets there he can get a suit +or two made by the tailor who makes for the lads he is going to be +with. The English are no more loved in France than the French are +here, and though Harry has no reason to be ashamed of his nationality +there is no occasion for him to draw the attention of everyone +he meets to it by going about in a dress which would seem to them +peculiar." + +In due time a letter was received from Count Auguste de St. Caux, +stating that the marquis had requested him to write and say that +he was much gratified to hear that one of the doctor's own sons +was coming over to be a companion and friend to his boys, and that +he was sending off in the course of two days a gentleman of his +household to Calais to meet him and conduct him to Paris. On young +Mr. Sandwith's arrival at Calais he was to go at once to the Hotel +Lion door and ask for M. du Tillet. + +During the intervening time Harry had been very busy, he had to +say good-bye to all his friends, who looked, some with envy, some +with pity, upon him, for the idea of a three years' residence in +France was a novel one to all. He was petted and made much of at +home, especially by his sisters, who regarded him in the light of +a hero about to undertake a strange and hazardous adventure. + +Three days after the arrival of the letter of the marquis, Dr. +Sandwith and Harry started by stage for Dover, and the doctor put +his son on board the packet sailing for Calais. The evening before, +he gave him much good advice as to his behaviour. + +"You will see much that is new, and perhaps a good deal that you +don't like, Harry, but it is better for you never to criticize or +give a hostile opinion about things; you would not like it if a +French boy came over here and made unpleasant remarks about English +ways and manners. Take things as they come and do as others do; +avoid all comparisons between French and English customs; fall in +with the ways of those around you; and adopt as far as you can the +polite and courteous manner which is general among the French, and +in which, I must say, they are far ahead of us. If questioned, you +will, of course, give your opinion frankly and modestly; it is the +independence of thought among English boys which has attracted the +attention and approval of Auguste de St. Caux. + +"Be natural and simple, giving yourself no airs, and permitting +none on the part of the lads you are with; their father says you +are to be treated as their equal. But, upon the other hand, do not +be ever on the lookout for small slights, and bear with perfect +good temper any little ridicule your, to them foreign, ways and +manners may excite. I need not tell you to be always straightforward, +honest, and true, for of those qualities I think you possess a fair +share. Above all things restrain any tendency to use your fists; +fighting comes naturally to English boys, but in France it is +considered as brutal and degrading - a blow is a deadly insult, +and would never be forgiven. + +"So, whatever the provocation, abstain from striking anyone. Should +you find that in any way your position is made intolerable, you +will of course appeal to the marquis, and unless you obtain redress +you will come home - you will find no difficulty in travelling +when you once understand the language - but avoid anything like +petty complaints. I trust there will be no reason for complaints at +all, and that you will find your position an exceedingly pleasant +one as soon as you become accustomed to it; but should occasion +arise bear my words in mind." + +Harry promised to follow his father's advice implicitly, but in +his own mind he wondered what fellows did when they quarrelled if +they were not allowed to fight; however, he supposed that he should, +under the circumstances, do the same as French boys, whatever that +might be. + +As soon as the packet was once fairly beyond the harbour Harry's +thoughts were effectually diverted from all other matters by the +motion of the sailing boat, and he was soon in a state of prostration, +in which he remained until, seven hours later, the packet entered +Calais harbour. + +Dr. Sandwith had requested the captain to allow one of his men +to show Harry the way to the Lion door. Harry had pulled himself +together a little as the vessel entered the still water in the +harbour, and was staring at the men in their blue blouses and wooden +shoes, at the women in their quaint and picturesque attire, when +a sailor touched him on the shoulder: + +"Now, young sir, the captain tells me I am to show you the way to +your hotel. Which is your box?" + +Harry pointed out his trunk; the sailor threw it on his shoulder, +and Harry, with a feeling of bewilderment, followed him along the +gangway to the shore. Here he was accosted by an officer. + +"What does he say?" he asked the sailor. + +"He asks for your passport." + +Harry fumbled in his breast pocket for the document which his father +had obtained for him from the foreign office, duly viseed by the +French ambassador, notifying that Henry Sandwith, age sixteen, +height five feet eight, hair brown, eyes gray, nose short, mouth +large, was about to reside in France in the family of the Marquis +de St. Caux. The officer glanced it over, and then returned it to +Harry with a polite bow, which Harry in some confusion endeavoured +to imitate. + +"What does the fellow want to bow and scrape like that for?" he +muttered to himself as he followed his guide. "An Englishman would +just have nodded and said 'All right!' What can a fellow want more, +I should like to know? Well I suppose I shall get accustomed to +it, and shall take to bowing and scraping as a matter of course." + +The Lion door was close at hand. In reply to the sailor's question +the landlord said that M. du Tillet was within. The sailor put +down the trunk, pocketed the coin Harry gave him, and with a "Good +luck, young master!" went out, taking with him, as Harry felt, +the last link to England. He turned and followed the landlord. The +latter mounted a flight of stairs, knocked at a door, and opened +it. + +"A young gentleman desires to see M. du Tillet," he said, and Harry +entered. + +A tall, big man, whose proportions at once disappointed Harry's +preconceived notions as to the smallness and leanness of Frenchmen, +rose from the table at which he was writing. + +"Monsieur-Sandwith?" he said interrogatively. "I am glad to see +you. + +Harry did not understand the latter portion of the remark, but he +caught the sound of his name. + +"That's all right," he said nodding. "How do you do, M. du Tillet?" + +The French gentleman bowed; Harry bowed; and then they looked +at each other. There was nothing more to say. A smile stole over +Harry's face, and broke into a frank laugh. The Frenchman smiled, +put his hand on Harry's shoulder, and said: + +"Brave garcon!" and Harry felt they were friends. + +M. du Tillet's face bore an expression of easy good temper. He wore +a wig with long curls; he had a soldier's bearing, and a scar on +his left cheek; his complexion was dark and red, his eyebrows black +and bushy. After a pause he said: + +"Are you hungry?" and then put imaginary food to his mouth. + +"You mean will I eat anything?" Harry translated. "Yes, that I +will if there's anything fit to eat. I begin to feel as hungry as +a hunter, and no wonder, for I am as hollow as a drum!" + +His nod was a sufficient answer. M. du Tillet took his hat, opened +the door, and bowed for Harry to precede him. + +Harry hesitated, but believing it would be the polite way to do as +he was told, returned the bow and went out. The Frenchman put his +hand on his shoulder, and they went down stairs together and took +their seats in the salon, where his companion gave an order, and +in two or three minutes a bowl of broth was placed before each of +them. + +It fully answered Harry's ideas as to the thinness of French soup, +for it looked like dirty water with a few pieces of bread and some +scraps of vegetables floating in it. He was astonished at the piece +of bread, nearly a yard long, placed on the table. M. du Tillet +cut a piece off and handed it to him. He broke a portion of it into +his broth, and found, when he tasted it, that it was much nicer +than it looked. + +"It's not so bad after all," he thought to himself. "Anyhow bread +seems plentiful, so there's no fear of my starving." He followed +his companion's example and made his way steadily through a number +of dishes all new and strange to him; neither his sight nor his taste +gave him the slightest indication as to what meat he was eating. + +"I suppose it's all right," he concluded; "but what people can want +to make such messes of their food for I can't make out. A slice of +good roast beef is worth the lot of it; but really it isn't nasty; +some of the dishes are not bad at all if one only knew what they +were made of." M. du Tillet offered him some wine, which he tasted +but shook his head, for it seemed rough and sour; but he poured +himself out some water. Presently a happy idea seized him; he +touched the bread and said interrogatively, "Bread?" M. du Tillet +at once replied "Pain," which Harry repeated after him. + +The ice thus broken, conversation began, and Harry soon learned the +French for knife, fork, spoon, plate, and various other articles, +and felt that he was fairly on the way towards talking French. +After the meal was over M. du Tillet rose and put on his hat, and +signed to Harry to accompany him. They strolled through the town, +went down to the quays and looked at the fishing-boats; Harry was +feeling more at home now, and asked the French name for everything +he saw, repeating the word over and over again to himself until he +felt sure that he should remember it, and then asking the name of +some fresh object. + +The next morning they started in the post-waggon for Paris, and +arrived there after thirty-six hours' travel. Harry was struck +with the roads, which were far better tended and kept than those in +England. The extreme flatness of the country surprised him, and, +except in the quaintness of the villages and the variety of the +church towers, he saw little to admire during the journey. + +"If it is all like this," he thought to himself, "I don't see that +they have any reason for calling it La belle France." + +Of Paris he saw little. A blue-bloused porter carried his trunk what +seemed to Harry a long distance from the place where the conveyance +stopped. The streets here were quiet and almost deserted after the +busy thoroughfares of the central city. The houses stood, for the +most part, back from the street, with high walls and heavy gates. + +"Here we are at last," his guide said, as he halted before a large +and massive gateway, surmounted by a coat of arms with supporters +carved in stone work. He rang at the bell, which was opened by a +porter in livery, who bowed profoundly upon seeing M. du Tillet. +Passing through the doorway, Harry found himself in a spacious +hall, decorated with armour and arms. As he crossed the threshold +M. du Tillet took his hand and shook it heartily, saying, "Welcome!" +Harry understood the action, though not the words, and nodded, +saying: + +"I think I shall get on capitally if they are all as jolly as you +are." + +Then they both laughed, and Harry looked round wondering what was +coming next. + +"The marquis and his family are all away at their chateau near +Dijon," his companion said, waving his hand. "We shall stay a day +or two to rest ourselves after our journey, and then start to join +them." + +He led Harry into a great salon magnificently furnished, pointed +to the chairs and looking-glasses and other articles of furniture, +all swathed up in coverings; and the lad understood at once that +the family were away. This was a relief to him; he was getting on +capitally with M. du Tillet, but shrank from the prospect of meeting +so many strange faces. + +A meal was speedily served in a small and comfortably-furnished +apartment; and Harry concluded that although he might not be able +to decide on the nature of his food, it was really nice, and that +there was no fear whatever of his falling away in flesh. M. du +Tillet pressed him to try the wine again, and this he found to be +a vast improvement upon the vintage he had tasted at Calais. + +After breakfast next morning they started for a walk, and Harry +was delighted with the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Palais Royal, and +other public buildings, which he could not but acknowledge were +vastly superior to anything he had seen in London. Then he was +taken to a tailor's, the marquis having commissioned his guide to +carry out Dr. Sandwith's request in this matter. M. du Tillet looked +interrogatively at Harry as he entered the shop, as if to ask if +he understood why he was taken there. + +Harry nodded, for indeed he was glad to see that no time was +to be lost, for he was already conscious that his dress differed +considerably from that of French boys. Several street gamins had +pointed at him and made jeering remarks, which, without understanding +the words, Harry felt to be insulting, and would, had he heard them +in the purlieus of Westminster, have considered as a challenge to +battle. He had not, however, suffered altogether unavenged, for +upon one occasion M. du Tillet turned sharply round and caught one +offender so smartly with his cane that he ran howling away. + +"They are awful guys!" Harry thought as he looked at the French boys +he met. "But it's better to be a guy than to be chaffed by every +boy one meets, especially if one is not to be allowed to fight." +It was, therefore, with a feeling of satisfaction that he turned +into the tailor's shop. The proprietor came up bowing, as Harry +thought, in a most cringing sort of way to his companion. M. du +Tillet gave some orders, and the tailor unrolled a variety of pieces +of cloth and other materials for Harry's inspection. + +The lad shook his head and turned to his guide, and, pointing to +the goods, asked him to choose the things which were most suitable +for him; M. du Tillet understood the appeal and ordered four suits. +Two of these were for ordinary wear; another was, Harry concluded, +for the evening; and the fourth for ceremonial occasions. + +The coats were cut long, but very open in front, and were far too +scanty to button; the waistcoats were long and embroidered; a white +and ample handkerchief went round the throat and was tied loosely, +with long ends edged with lace falling in front; knee-breeches, +with white stockings, and shoes with buckles, completed the costume. + +Harry looked on with a smile of amusement, and burst into a hearty +laugh when the garments were fixed upon, for the idea of himself +dressed out in these seemed to him ludicrous in the extreme. + +"How they would laugh at home," he thought to himself, "if they +could see me in these things! The girls would give me no peace. +And wouldn't there be an uproar if I were to turn up in them in +Dean's Yard and march up school!" + +Harry was then measured. When this was done he took out his purse, +which contained fifty guineas; for his father had thought it probable +that the clothes he would require would cost more than they would +in London, and he wished him to have a good store of pocket-money +until he received the first instalment of his pay. M. du Tillet, +however, shook his head and motioned to him to put up his purse; +and Harry supposed that it was not customary to pay for things in +France until they were delivered. Then his companion took him into +another shop, and pointing to his own ruffles intimated that Harry +would require some linen of this kind to be worn when in full dress. +Harry signified that his friend should order what was necessary; +and half a dozen shirts, with deep ruffles at the wrist and breast, +were ordered. This brought their shopping to an end. + +They remained three days in Paris, at the end of which time Harry's +clothes were delivered. The following morning a carriage with the +arms of the marquis emblazoned upon it came up to the door, and +they started. The horses were fat and lazy; and Harry, who had no +idea how far they were going, thought that the journey was likely +to be a long one if this was the pace at which they were to travel. + +Twelve miles out they changed horses at a post-station, their own +returning to Paris, and after this had relays at each station, and +travelled at a pace which seemed to Harry to be extraordinarily +rapid. They slept twice upon the road. + +The third day the appearance of the country altogether changed, and, +instead of the flat plains which Harry had begun to think extended +all over France, they were now among hills higher than anything he +had ever seen before. Towards the afternoon they crossed the range +and began to descend, and as evening approached M. du Tillet pointed +to a building standing on rising ground some miles away and said: + +"That is the chateau." + + + +CHAPTER II A Mad Dog + + +It was dark before the carriage drove up to the chateau. Their +approach had been seen, for two lackeys appeared with torches at +the head of the broad steps. M. du Tillet put his hand encouragingly +on Harry's shoulder and led him up the steps. A servant preceded +them across a great hall, when a door opened and a gentleman came +forward. + +"Monsieur le Marquis," M. du Tillet said, bowing, "this is the +young gentleman you charged me to bring to you. + +"I am glad to see you," the marquis said; "and I hope you will make +yourself happy and comfortable here." + +Harry did not understand the words, but he felt the tone of kindness +and courtesy with which they were spoken. He could, however, only +bow; for although in the eight days he had spent with M. du Tillet +he had picked up a great many nouns and a few phrases, his stock +of words was of no use to him at present. + +"And you, M. du Tillet," the marquis said. "You have made a good +journey, I hope? I thank you much for the trouble you have taken. +I like the boy's looks; what do you think of him?" + +"I like him very much," M. du Tillet said; "he is a new type to +me, and a pleasant one. I think he will make a good companion for +the young count." + +The marquis now turned and led the way into a great drawing-room, +and taking Harry's hand led him up to a lady seated on a couch. + +"This is our young English friend, Julie. Of course he is strange +at present, but M. du Tillet reports well of him, and I already +like his face." + +The lady held out her hand, which Harry, instead of bending over +and kissing, as she had expected, shook heartily. For an instant +only a look of intense surprise passed across her face; then she +said courteously: + +"We are glad to see you. It is very good of you to come so far to +us. I trust that you will be happy here." + +"These are my sons Ernest and Jules, who will, I am sure, do all +in their power to make you comfortable," the marquis said. + +The last words were spoken sharply and significantly, and their +tone was not lost upon the two boys; they had a moment before been +struggling to prevent themselves bursting into a laugh at Harry's +reception of their mother's greeting, but they now instantly composed +their faces and advanced. + +"Shake hands with him," the marquis said sharply; "it is the custom +of his country." + +Each in turn held out his hand to Harry, who, as he shook hands +with them, took a mental stock of his future companions. + +"Good looking," he said to himself, "but more like girls than boys. +A year in the fifth form would do them a world of good. I could +polish the two off together with one hand." + +"My daughters," the marquis said, "Mesdemoiselles Marie, Jeanne, +and Virginie." + +Three young ladies had risen from their seats as their father +entered, each made a deep curtsy as her name was mentioned, and +Harry bowed deeply in return. Mademoiselle Marie was two years at +least older than himself, and was already a young lady of fashion. +Jeanne struck him as being about the same age as his sister Fanny, +who was between fourteen and fifteen. Virginie was a child of ten. +Ernest was about his own age, while Jules came between the two +younger girls. + +"Take M. Sandwith to the abbe," the marquis said to Ernest, "and do +all in your power to set him at his ease. Remember what you would +feel if you were placed, as he is, among strange people in a strange +country. + +The lad motioned to Harry to accompany him, and the three boys left +the room together. + +"You can go to your gouvernante," the marquise said to the two +younger girls; and with a profound curtsy to her and another to the +marquis, they left the room. Unrestrained now by their presence, +the marquise turned to her husband with a merry laugh. + +"But it is a bear you have brought home, Edouard, a veritable bear +- my fingers ache still - and he is to teach manners to my sons! +I always protested against the plan, but I did not think it would +be as bad as this. These islanders are savages." + +The marquis smiled. + +"He is a little gauche, but that will soon rub off. I like him, +Julie. Remember it was a difficult position for a boy. We did not +have him here to give polish to our sons. It may be that they have +even a little too much of this at present. The English are not +polished, everyone knows that, but they are manly and independent. +That boy bore himself well. He probably had never been in a room +like this in his life, he was ignorant of our language, alone among +strangers, but he was calm and self-possessed. I like the honest +straightforward look in his face. And look at the width of the +shoulders and the strength of his arms; why, he would break Ernest +across his knee, and the two boys must be about the same age." + +"Oh, he has brute strength, I grant," the marquise said; "so have +the sons of our peasants; however, I do not want to find fault with +him, it is your hobby, or rather that of Auguste, who is, I think, +mad about these English; I will say nothing to prevent its having +a fair trial, only I hope it will not be necessary for me to give +him my hand again." + +"I do not suppose it will until he leaves, Julie, and by that time, +no doubt, he will know what to do with it; but here is M. du Tillet +waiting all this time for you to speak to him." + +"Pardon me, my good M. du Tillet," the marquise said. "In truth +that squeeze of my hand has driven all other matters from my mind. +How have you fared? This long journey with this English bear must +have been very tedious for you." + +"Indeed, Madame Ia Marquise," M. du Tillet replied, "it has been no +hardship, the boy has amused me greatly; nay, more, he has pleased +me. We have been able to say little to each other, though, indeed, +he is quick and eager to learn, and will soon speak our language; +but his face has been a study. When he is pleased you can see that +he is pleased, and that is a pleasure, for few people are pleased +in our days. Again, when he does not like a thing you can also +see it. I can see that he says to himself, I can expect nothing +better, these poor people are only French. When the gamins in Paris +jeered him as to his dress, he closed his hands and would have flown +at them with his fists after the manner of his countrymen had he +not put strong restraint on himself. From the look of his honest +eyes I shall, when he can speak our language, believe implicitly +what he says. That boy would not tell a lie whatever were the +consequences. Altogether I like him much. I think that in a very +little while he will adapt himself to what goes on around him, and +that you will have no reason ere long to complain of his gaucheries." + +"And you really think, M. du Tillet, that he will be a useful +companion for my boys?" + +"If you will pardon me for saying so, madam, I think that he will +- at any rate I am sure he can be trusted to teach them no wrong." + +"You are all against me," the marquise laughed. "And you, Marie?" + +"I did not think of him one way or the other," the girl said coldly. +"He is very awkward; but as he is not to be my companion that does +not concern me. It is like one of papa's dogs, one more or less +makes no difference in the house so long as they do not tread upon +one's skirt." + +"That is the true spirit of the French nobility, Marie," her father +said sarcastically. "Outside our own circle the whole human race is +nothing to us; they are animals who supply our wants, voila tour. +I tell you, my dear, that the time is coming when this will not +suffice. The nation is stirring; that France which we have so long +ignored is lifting its head and muttering; the news from Paris is +more and more grave. The Assembly has assumed the supreme authority, +and the king is a puppet in its power. The air is dark as with a +thunder-cloud, and there may be such a storm sweep over France as +there has not been since the days of the Jacquerie." + +"But the people should be contented," M. du Tillet said; "they have +had all the privileges they ever possessed given back to them." + +"Yes," the marquis assented, "and there lies the danger. It is one +thing or the other. If as soon as the temper of the third estate +had been seen the king's guards had entered and cleared the place +and closed the door, as Cromwell did when the parliament was +troublesome to him in England, that would have been one way. Paris +would have been troublesome, we might have had again the days of +the Fronde, but in the end the king's party would have won. + +"However, that was not the way tried. They began by concessions, +they go on with concessions, and each concession is made the ground +for more. It is like sliding down a hill; when you have once begun +you cannot stop yourself, and you go on until there is a crash; +then it may be you pick yourself up sorely wounded and bruised, +and begin to reclimb the hill slowly and painfully; it may be that +you are dashed to pieces. I am not a politician. I do not care much +for the life of Paris, and am well content to live quietly here on +our estates; but even I can see that a storm is gathering; and as +for my brother Auguste, he goes about shaking his head and wringing +his hands, his anticipations are of the darkest. What can one +expect when fellows like Voltaire and Rousseau were permitted by +their poisonous preaching to corrupt and inflame the imagination +of the people? Both those men's heads should have been cut off the +instant they began to write. + +"The scribblers are at the root of all the trouble with their +pestilent doctrines; but it is too late now, the mischief is done. +If we had a king strong and determined all might yet be well; but +Louis is weak in decision, he listens one moment to Mirabeau and the +next to the queen, who is more firm and courageous. And so things +drift on from bad to worse, and the Assembly, backed by the turbulent +scum of Paris, are masters of the situation." + +For some time Harry lived a quiet life at the chateau. He found +his position a very pleasant one. The orders of the marquis that +he should be treated as one of the family were obeyed, and there +was no distinction made between himself and Ernest. In the morning +the two boys and himself worked with the abbe, a quiet and gentle +old man; in the afternoon they rode and fenced, under the instructions +of M. du Tillet or one or other of the gentlemen of the marquis +establishment; and on holidays shot or fished as they chose on +the preserves or streams of the estate. For an hour each morning +the two younger girls shared in their studies, learning Latin and +history with their brothers. Harry got on very well with Ernest, +but there was no real cordiality between them. The hauteur and +insolence with which the young count treated his inferiors were a +constant source of exasperation to Harry. + +"He thinks himself a little god," he would often mutter to himself. +"I would give a good deal to have him for three months at Westminster. +Wouldn't he get his conceit and nonsense knocked out of him!" + +At the same time he was always scrupulously polite and courteous to +his English companion - much too polite, indeed, to please Harry. +He had good qualities too: he was generous with his money, and +if during their rides a woman came up with a tale of distress he +was always ready to assist her. He was clever, and Harry, to his +surprise, found that his knowledge of Latin was far beyond his own, +and that Ernest could construct passages with the greatest ease +which altogether puzzled him. He was a splendid rider, and could +keep his seat with ease and grace on the most fiery animals in his +father's stables. + +When they went out with their guns Harry felt his inferiority +keenly. Not only was Ernest an excellent shot, but at the end of +a long day's sport he would come in apparently fresh and untired, +while Harry, although bodily far the most powerful, would be +completely done up; and at gymnastic exercises he could do with +ease feats which Harry could at first not even attempt. In this +respect, however, the English lad in three months' time was able +to rival him. His disgust at finding himself so easily beaten by a +French boy nerved him to the greatest exertions, and his muscles, +practised in all sorts of games, soon adapted themselves to the +new exercises. + +Harry picked up French very rapidly. The absolute necessity there was +to express himself in that language caused him to make a progress +which surprised himself, and at the end of three months he was able +to converse with little difficulty, and having learned it entirely +by ear he spoke with a fair accent and pronunciation. M. du Tillet, +who was the principal instructor of the boys in their outdoor +exercises, took much pains to assist him in his French, and helped +him on in every way in his power. + +In the evening there were dancing lessons, and although very far +from exhibiting the stately grace with which Ernest could perform +the minuet or other courtly dances then in fashion, Harry came +in time to perform his part fairly. Two hours were spent in the +evening in the salon. This part of the day Harry at first found the +most tedious; but as soon as he began to speak fluently the marquis +addressed most of his conversation to him, asking him questions +about the life of English boys at school and about English manners +and customs, and Harry soon found himself chatting at his ease. + +"The distinction of classes is clearly very much less with you in +England than it is here," the marquis said one day when Harry had +been describing a great fight which had taken place between a party +of Westminster boys and those of the neighbourhood. "It seems +extraordinary to me that sons of gentlemen should engage in a +personal fight with boys of the lowest class. Such a thing could +not happen here. If you were insulted by such a boy, what would +you do, Ernest?" + +"I should run him through the body," Ernest said quietly. + +"Just so," his father replied, "and I don't say you would be wrong +according to our notions; but I do not say that the English plan is +not the best. The English gentleman - for Monsieur Sandwith says +that even among grown-up people the same habits prevail - does not +disdain to show the canaille that even with their own rough weapons +he is their superior, and he thus holds their respect. It is a +coarse way and altogether at variance with our notions, but there +is much to be said for it." + +"But it altogether does away with the reverence that the lower +class should feel for the upper," Ernest objected. + +"That is true, Ernest. So long as that feeling generally exists, so +long as there is, as it were, a wide chasm between the two classes, +as there has always existed in France, it would be unwise perhaps +for one of the upper to admit that in any respect there could be +any equality between them; but this is not so in England, where a +certain equality has always been allowed to exist. The Englishman +of all ranks has a certain feeling of self-respect and independence, +and the result is shown in the history of the wars which have been +fought between the two nations. + +"France in early days always relied upon her chivalry. The horde of +footmen she placed in the field counted for little. England, upon +the other hand, relied principally upon her archers and her pikemen, +and it must be admitted that they beat us handsomely. Then again in +the wars in Flanders, under the English general Marlborough their +infantry always proved themselves superior to ours. It is galling +to admit it, but there is no blinking the facts of history. It seems +to me that the feeling of independence and self-respect which this +English system gives rise to, even among the lowest class, must +render them man for man better soldiers than those drawn from a +peasantry whose very lives are at the mercy of their lords." + +"I think, du Tillet," the marquis said later on on the same evening, +when the young people had retired, "I have done very well in taking +my brother Auguste's advice as to having an English companion +for Ernest. If things were as they were under the Grand Monarque, +I do not say that it would have been wise to allow a young French +nobleman to get these English ideas into his head, but it is +different now. + +"We are on the eve of great changes. What will come of it no one +can say; but there will certainly be changes, and it is a good thing +that my children should get broader ideas than those in which we +were brought up. This lad is quiet and modest, but he ventures to +think for himself. It scarce entered the head of a French nobleman +a generation back that the mass of the people had any feelings or +wishes, much less rights. They were useful in their way, just as +the animals are, but needed no more consideration. They have never +counted for anything. + +"In England the people have rights and liberties; they won them +years ago. It would be well for us in the present day had they +done so in France. I fancy the next generation will have to adapt +themselves to changed circumstances, and the ideas that Ernest and +Jules will learn from this English lad will be a great advantage +to them, and will fit them for the new state of things." + +It was only during lessons, when their gouvernante was always +present, at meal times, and in the salon in the evening, that +Harry had any communication with the young ladies of the family. If +they met in the grounds they were saluted by the boys with as much +formal courtesy as if they had been the most distant acquaintances, +returning the bows with deep curtsies. + +These meetings were a source of great amusement to Harry, who could +scarcely preserve his gravity at these formal and distant greetings. +On one occasion, however, the even course of these meetings was +broken. The boys had just left the tennis-court where they had +been playing, and had laid aside the swords which they carried when +walking or riding. + +The tennis-court was at some little distance from the house, and +they were walking across the garden when they heard a scream. At +a short distance was the governess with her two young charges. She +had thrown her arms round them, and stood the picture of terror, +uttering loud screams. + +Looking round in astonishment to discover the cause of her terror, +Harry saw a large wolf-hound running towards them at a trot. Its +tongue was hanging out, and there was a white foam on its jaws. He +had heard M. du Tillet tell the marquis on the previous day that +this dog, which was a great favourite, seemed strange and unquiet, +and he had ordered it to be chained up. It had evidently broken +its fastening, for it was dragging a piece of chain some six feet +long behind It. + + +It flashed across him at once that the animal was mad, but without +an instant's hesitation he dashed off at full speed and threw himself +in front of the ladies before the dog reached them. Snatching off +his coat, and then kneeling on one knee, he awaited the animal's +attack. Without deviating from its course the hound sprang at him +with a short snarling howl. Harry threw his coat over its head and +then grasped it round the neck. + +The impetus of the spring knocked him over, and they rolled together +on the ground. The animal struggled furiously, but Harry retained +his grasp round its neck. In vain the hound tried to free itself +from its blinding encumbrance, or to bite his assailant through +it, and struggled to shake off his hold with its legs and claws. +Harry maintained his grasp tightly round its neck, with his head +pressed closely against one of its ears. Several times they rolled +over and over. At last Harry made a great effort when he was +uppermost, and managed to get his knees upon the animal's belly, and +then, digging his toes in the ground, pressed with all his weight +upon it. + +There was a sound as of cracking of bones, then the dog's struggles +suddenly ceased, and his head fell over, and Harry rose to his +feet by the side of the dead hound just as a number of men, with +pitch-forks and other weapons, ran up to the spot from the stables, +while the marquis, sword in hand, arrived from the house. + +The gouvernante, too, paralysed by fear, had stood close by with +her charges while the struggle was going on. Ernest had come up, and +was standing in front of his sisters, ready to be the next victim +if the dog had overpowered Harry. Less accustomed to running than +the English boy, and for a moment rooted to the ground with horror +at his sisters' danger, he had not arrived at the spot until the +struggle between Harry and the dog was half over, and had then seen +no way of rendering assistance; but believing that the dog was sure +to be the conqueror, he had placed himself before his sisters to +bear the brunt of the next assault. + +Seeing at a glance that his daughters were untouched, the marquis +ran on to Harry, who was standing panting and breathless, and threw +his arms round him. + +"My brave boy," he exclaimed, "you have saved my daughters from a +dreadful death by your courage and devotion. How can I and their +mother ever thank you? I saw it all from the terrace - the speed +with which you sprang to their assistance - the quickness of thought +with which you stripped off your coat and threw it over its head. +After that I could see nothing except your rolling over and over +in a confused mass. You are not hurt, I trust?" + +"Not a bit, sir," Harry said. + +"And you have killed it - wonderful!" + +"There was nothing in that, sir. I have heard my father, who is a +doctor, say that a man could kill the biggest dog if he could get +it down on its back and kneel on it. So when I once managed to get +my knees on it I felt it was all right." + +"Ah, it is all very well for you to speak as if it were nothing!" +the marquis said. "There are few men, indeed, who would throw +themselves in the way of a mad dog, especially of such a formidable +brute as that. You too have behaved with courage, my son, and I +saw you were ready to give your life for your sisters; but you had +not the quickness and readiness of your friend, and would have been +too late." + +"It is true, father," Ernest said in a tone of humility. "I should +have been too late, and, moreover, I should have been useless, for +he would have torn me down in a moment, and then fallen upon my +sisters. "M. Sandwith," he said frankiy, "I own I have been wrong. +I have thought the games of which you spoke, and your fighting, rough +and barbarous; but I see their use now. You have put me to shame. +When I saw that dog I felt powerless, for I had not my sword with +me; but you - you rushed to the fight without a moment's hesitation, +trusting in your strength and your head. Yes, your customs have +made a man of you, while I am a boy still." + +"You are very good to say so," Harry said; "but I am quite sure that +you would be just as quick and ready as me in most circumstances, +and if it had been a matter of swords, very much more useful; but I +am glad you see there is some advantage in our rough English ways." + +The marquis had put his hand approvingly upon Ernest's shoulder +when he addressed Harry, and then turned to his daughters. The +governess had sunk fainting to the ground when she saw that the +danger was over. Virginie had thrown herself down and was crying +loudly; while Jeanne stood pale, but quiet, beside them. + +The marquis directed one of the men to run up to the chateau and +bid a female servant bring down water and smelling-salts for the +governess, and then lifted Virginie up and tried to soothe her, +while he stretched out his other hand to Jeanne. + +"You are shaken, my Jeanne," he said tenderly, "but you have borne +the trial well. I did not hear you cry out, though madame, and the +little one screamed loudly enough." + +"I was frightened enough, father," she said simply, "but of course +I wasn't going to cry out; but it was very terrible; and oh, how +noble and brave he was! And you know, papa, I feel ashamed to think +how often I have been nearly laughing because he was awkward in +the minuet. I feel so little now beside him." + +"You see, my dear, one must not judge too much by externals," her +father said soothingly as she hid her face against his coat, and he +could feel that she was trembling from head to foot. "Older people +than you often do so, and are sorry for it afterwards; but as I am +sure that you would never allow him to see that you were amused no +harm has been done." + +"Shall I thank him, papa?" + +"Yes, presently, my dear; he has just gone off with Ernest to see +them bury the dog." + +This incident caused a considerable change in Harry's position in +the family. Previously he had been accepted in consequence of the +orders of the marquis. Although compelled to treat him as an equal +the two boys had in their hearts looked upon him as an inferior, +while the girls had regarded him as a sort of tutor of their +brothers, and thus as a creature altogether indifferent to them. +But henceforth he appeared in a different light. Ernest acted up to +the spirit of the words he had spoken at the time, and henceforth +treated him as a comrade to be respected as well as liked. He tried +to learn some of the English games, but as most of these required +more than two players he was forced to abandon them. He even asked +him to teach him to box, but Harry had the good sense to make +excuses for not doing so. He felt that Ernest was by no means his +match in strength, and that, with all his good-will, he would find +it difficult to put up good-naturedly with being knocked about. He +therefore said that it could not be done without boxing-gloves, and +these it would be impossible to obtain in France; and that in the +next place he should hardly advise him to learn even if he procured +the gloves, for that in such contests severe bruises often were +given. + +"We think nothing of a black eye," he said laughing, "but I am +sure madame your mother would not be pleased to see you so marked; +besides, your people would not understand your motive in undertaking +so rough an exercise, and you might lose somewhat of their respect. +Be content, Count Ernest; you are an excellent swordsman, and +although I am improving under M. du Tillet's tuition I shall never +be your match. If you like; sometime when we are out and away +from observation we can take off our coats, and I can give you a +lesson in wrestling; it is a splendid exercise, and it has not the +disadvantages of boxing." + +Little Jules looked up to Harry as a hero, and henceforth, when +they were together, gave him the same sort of implicit obedience +he paid to his elder brother. The ceremonious habits of the age +prevented anything like familiarity on the part of the younger +girls; but Jeanne and Virginie now always greeted him with a smile +when they met, and joined in conversation with him as with their +brothers in the evening. + +The marquise, who had formerly protested, if playfully, against +her husband's whim in introducing an English boy into their family +circle, now regarded him with real affection, only refraining from +constant allusions to the debt she considered she owed him because +she saw that he really shrank from the subject. + +The marquis shortly after this incident went to Paris for a fortnight +to ascertain from his friends there the exact position of things. +He returned depressed and angry. + +The violence of the Assembly had increased from day to day. The +property of all the convents had been confiscated, and this measure +had been followed by the seizure of the vast estates of the church. +All the privileges of the nobility had been declared at an end, +and in August a decree had been passed abolishing all titles of +nobility. This decree had taken effect in Paris and in the great +towns, and also in some parts of the country where the passions of +the people were most aroused against the nobility; but in Burgundy +it had remained a dead letter. The Marquis de St. Caux was popular +upon his estates, and no one had ever neglected to concede to +him and to the marquise their titles. He himself had regarded the +decree with disdain. "They may take away my estates by force," he +said, "but no law can deprive me of my title, any more than of the +name which I inherited from my fathers. Such laws as these are mere +outbursts of folly." + +But the Assembly continued to pass laws of the most sweeping +description, assuming the sovereign power, and using it as no +monarch of France had ever ventured to do. Moderate men were shocked +at the headlong course of events, and numbers of those who at the +commencement of the movement had thrown themselves heart and soul +into it now shrank back in dismay at the strange tyranny which was +called liberty. + +"It seems to me that a general madness has seized all Paris," the +marquis said to his wife on his return, "but at present nothing can +be done to arrest it. I have seen the king and queen. His majesty is +resolved to do nothing; that is, to let events take their course, +and what that will be Heaven only knows. The Assembly has taken +all power into its hands, the king is already a mere cipher, the +violence of the leaders of these men is beyond all bounds; the +queen is by turns hot and cold, at one moment she agrees with her +husband that the only hope lies in conceding everything; at another +she would go to the army, place herself in its hands, and call on +it to march upon Paris. + +"At anyrate there is nothing to be done at present but to wait. +Already numbers of the deputies, terrified at the aspect of affairs, +have left France, and I am sorry to say many of the nobles have +also gone. This is cowardice and treachery to the king. We cannot +help him if he will not be helped, but it is our duty to remain +here ready to rally round him when he calls us to his side. I am +glad that the Assembly has passed a law confiscating the estates +of all who have emigrated." + +Although the marquise was much alarmed at the news brought by her +husband she did not think of questioning his decision. It did not +seem to her possible that there could be danger for her and hers +in their quiet country chateau. There might be disturbance and +bloodshed, and even revolution, in Paris; but surely a mere echo +of this would reach them so far away. + +"Whenever you think it is right to go up and take your place by +the king I will go and take mine by the queen," she said quietly. +"The children will be safe here; but of course we must do our duty." + +The winter passed quietly at the chateau; there was none of the +usual gaiety, for a deep gloom hung over all the noble families +of the province; still at times great hunting parties were got up +for the chase of the wolves among the forests, for, when the snow +was on the ground, these often came down into the villages and +committed great depredations. + + + +CHAPTER III The Demon Wolf + + +Upon the first of these occasions Harry and Ernest were in high +spirits, for they were to take part in the chase. It was the first +time that Ernest had done so, for during the previous winter the +marquis had been in attendance on the court. At an early hour the +guests invited to take part in the chase began to assemble at the +chateau. Many who lived at a distance had come overnight, and +the great court-yard presented a lively aspect with the horses +and attendants of the guests. A collation was spread in the great +hall, and the marquise and her eldest daughter moved about among +the guests saying a few words of welcome to each. + +"Who is that young man who is talking to mademoiselle your sister, +Ernest?" Harry asked, for since the adventure with the mad dog the +ceremonious title had been dropped, and the boys addressed each +other by their Christian names. + +"That is Monsieur Lebat; he is the son of the Mayor of Dijon. I +have not see him here before, but I suppose my father thinks it is +well in these times to do the civil thing to the people of Dijon. +He is a good-looking fellow too, but it is easy to see he is not +a man of good family." + +"I don't like his looks at all," Harry said shortly. "Look what a +cringing air he puts on as he speaks to madame Ia marquise. And yet +I fancy he could be insolent when he likes. He may be good-looking, +but it is not a style I admire, with his thick lips and his +half-closed eyes. If I met him at home I should say the fellow was +something between a butcher and a Jew pedlar." + +"Well done, monsieur the aristocrat!" Ernest said laughing. "This +is your English equality! Here is a poor fellow who is allowed to +take a place our of his station, thanks to the circumstances of +the time, and you run him down mercilessly!" + +"I don't run him down because he is not a gentleman," Harry said. +"I run him down because I don't like his face; and if he were the +son of a duke instead of the son of a mayor I should dislike it +just as much. You take my word for it, Ernest, that's a bad fellow." + +"Poor Monsieur Lebat!" Ernest laughed. "I daresay he is a very +decent fellow in his way. + +"I am sure he is not, Ernest; he has a cruel bad look. I would not +have been that fellow's fag at school for any money. + +"Well, it's fortunate, Harry, that you are not likely to see much +of him, else I should expect to see you flying at his neck and +strangling him as you did the hound." + +Harry joined in the laugh. + +"I will restrain myself, Ernest; and besides, he would be an awkward +customer; there's plenty of strength in those shoulders of his, and +he looks active and sinewy in spite of that indolent air he puts +on; but there is the horn, it is time for us to mount." + +In a few minutes some thirty gentlemen were in the saddle, the +marquis, who was grand louvetier of the province, blew his horn, +and the whole cavalcade got into motion, raising their hunting +caps, as they rode off, to the marquise and her daughters, who were +standing on the step of the chateau to see them depart. The dogs +had already been sent forward to the forest, which was some miles +distant. + +On arriving there the marquis found several woodmen, who had been +for the last two days marking the places most frequented by the +wolves. They had given their reports and the party were just starting +when a young forester rode up. + +"Monsieur le marquis," he said, "I have good news for you; the demon +wolf is in the forest. I saw him making his way along a glade an +hour since as I was on my way thither. I turned back to follow him, +and tracked him to a ravine in the hills choked with undergrowth." + +The news created great excitement. + +"The demon wolf!" the marquis repeated. "Are you sure?" + +"Quite sure, monsieur. How could I mistake it! I saw him once four +years ago, and no one who had once done so could mistake any other +wolf for him." + +"We are in luck indeed, gentlemen," the marquis said. "We will see +if we can't bring this fellow's career to an end at last. I have +hunted him a score of times myself since my first chase of him, +well-nigh fifteen years ago, but he has always given us the slip." + +"And will again," an old forester, who was standing close to Harry, +muttered. "I do not believe the bullet is cast which will bring +that wolf to earth." + +"What is this demon wolf?" Harry asked Ernest. + +"It is a wolf of extraordinary size and fierceness. For many years +he has been the terror of the mothers of this part of France. He +has been known to go into a village and boldly carry off an infant +in mid-day. Every child who has been killed by wolves for years is +always supposed to have been slain by this wolf. Sometimes he is +seen in one part of the province, and sometimes in another. + +"For months he is not heard of. Then there is slaughter among the +young lambs. A child going to school, or an old woman carrying +home a faggot from the forest is found torn and partly devoured, +and the news spreads that the demon wolf has returned to the +neighbourhood. Great hunts have over and over again been got up +specially to slay him, but he seems to lead a charmed life. He has +been shot at over and over again, but he seems to be bullet-proof. + +"The peasants regard him not as an ordinary wolf but as a demon, +and mothers quiet their children when they cry by saying that if +they are not good the demon wolf will carry them off. Ah, if we +could kill him to-day it would be a grand occasion!" + +"Is there anything particular about his appearance?" + +"Nothing except his size. Some of those who have seen him declare +that he is as big as three ordinary wolves; but my father, who has +caught sight of him several times, says that this is an exaggeration, +though he is by far the largest wolf he ever saw. He is lighter in +colour than other wolves, but those who saw him years ago say that +this was not the case then, and that his light colour must be due +to his great age." + +The party now started, under the guidance of the forester, to the +spot where he had seen the wolf enter the underwood. + +It was the head of a narrow valley. The sides which inclosed it +sloped steeply, but not too much so for the wolf to climb. During +the last halt the marquis had arranged the plan of action. He +himself, with three of the most experienced huntsmen, took their +stations across the valley, which was but seventy or eighty yards +wide. Eight of the others were to dismount and take post on either +side of the ravine. + +"I am sorry, gentlemen, that I cannot find posts for the rest of +you, but you may have your share of the work. Over and over again +this wolf has slipped away when we thought we had him surrounded, +and what he has done before he may do again. Therefore, let each of +you take up such a position as he thinks best outside our circle, +but keeping well behind trees or other shelter, so as to cover +himself from any random shot that may be fired after the wolf. Do +you, on your part, fire only when the wolf has passed your line, +or you may hit some of us." + +The two lads were naturally among those left out from the inner +circle. + +"What do you think, Ernest; shall we remain on our horses here in +the valley or climb the hills?" + +"I should say wait here, Harry; in the first place, because it +is the least trouble, and in the second, because I think he is as +likely to come this way as any other. At any rate we may as well +dismount here, and let horses crop that piece of fresh grass until +we hear the horn that will tell us when the dogs have been turned +into the thicket to drive him out." + +It was half an hour before they heard the distant note of the horn. + +"They have begun," Ernest exclaimed; "we had better mount at once. +If the brute is still there he is just as likely, being such an +old hand at the sport, to make a bolt at once, instead of waiting +until the dogs are close to him." + +"What are we to do if we see him?" Harry asked. + +"We are to shoot him if we can. If we miss him, or he glides past +before we can get a shot, we must follow shouting, so as to guide +the rest as to the direction he is taking." + +"My chance of hitting him is not great," Harry said. "I am not a +very good shot even on my feet; but sitting in my saddle I do not +think it likely I should get anywhere near him." + +A quarter of an hour passed. The occasional note of a dog and the +shouts of the men encouraging them to work their way through the +dense thicket could be heard, but no sound of a shot met their +ears. + +"Either he is not there at all, or he is lying very close," Ernest +said. + +"Look, look!" Harry said suddenly, pointing through the trees to +the right. + +"That is the wolf, sure enough," Ernest exclaimed. "Come along." + +The two lads spurred their horses and rode recklessly through the +trees towards the great gray beast, who seemed to flit like a shadow +past them. + +"Mind the boughs, Ernest, or you will be swept from your saddle. +Hurrah! The trees are more open in front." + +But although the horses were going at the top of their speed they +scarcely seemed to gain on the wolf, who, as it seemed to them, +kept his distance ahead without any great exertion. + +"We shall never catch him," Harry exclaimed after they had ridden +for nearly half an hour, and the laboured panting of the horses +showed that they could not long maintain the pace. + +Suddenly, ten yards ahead of the wolf, a man, armed with +a hatchet, stepped out from behind a tree directly in its way. He +was a wood-cutter whose attention being called by the sound of the +galloping feet of the horses, had left his half-hewn tree and stepped +out to see who was coming. He gave an exclamation of surprise and +alarm as he saw the wolf, and raised his hatchet to defend himself. +Without a moment's hesitation the animal sprang upon him and +carried him to the ground, fixing its fangs into his throat. There +was a struggle for a few moments, and then the wolf left its lifeless +foe and was about to continue its flight. + +"Get ready to fire, Harry," Ernest exclaimed as the wolf sprang +upon the man, "it is our last chance. If he gets away now we shall +never catch him." + +They reined in their horses just as the wolf rose to fly. Harry +fired first, but the movement of his panting horse deranged his aim +and the bullet flew wide. More accustomed to firing on horseback, +Ernest's aim was truer, he struck the wolf on the shoulder, and +it rolled over and over. With a shout of triumph the boys dashed +forward, but when they were within a few paces the wolf leapt +to its feet and endeavoured to spring towards them. Harry's horse +wheeled aside so sharply that he was hurled from the saddle. + +The shock was a severe one, and before he could rise to his +feet the wolf was close upon him. He tried as he rose to draw his +hunting-sword, but before he could do so, Ernest, who had, when he +saw him fall, at once leaped from his horse, threw himself before +him, and dealt the wolf a severe blow on the head with his weapon. + +Furious with rage and pain the wolf sprang upon him and seized +him by the shoulder. Ernest dropped his sword, and drawing his +hunting-knife struck at it, while at the same moment Harry ran it +through the body. + +So strong and tenacious of life was the animal that the blows +were repeated several times before it loosed its hold of Ernest's +shoulder and fell dead. + +"Are you hurt, my dear Ernest?" was Harry's first exclamation. + +"Oh, never mind that, that's nothing," Ernest replied. "Only think, +Harry, you and I have killed the demon wolf, and no else had a hand +in it. There is a triumph for us." + +"The triumph is yours, Ernest," Harry said. "He would have got away +had you not stopped him with your bullet, and he would have made +short work of me had you not come to my rescue, for I was half +stunned with the fall, and he would have done for me as quickiy as +he did for that poor fellow there." + +"That is true, Harry, but it was you who gave him his mortal wound. +He would have mastered me otherwise. He was too strong for me, and +would have borne me to the ground. No, it's a joint business, and +we have both a right to be proud of it. Now let us fasten him on my +horse; but before we do that, you must bind up my shoulder somehow. +In spite of my thick doublet he has bit me very sharply. But first +let us see to this poor fellow. I fear he is dead." + +It was soon seen that nothing could be done for the woodman, who +had been killed almost instantly. Harry, therefore, proceeded to +cut off Ernest's coat-sleeve and bathed the wound. The flesh was +badly torn, and the arm was so useless that he thought that some +bones were broken. Having done his best to bandage the wound, +he strapped the arm firmly across the body, so as to prevent its +being shaken by the motion of the riding. It was with the greatest +difficulty that they were able to lift the body of the wolf, but +could not lay it across the horse, as the animal plunged and kicked +and refused to allow it to be brought near. Ernest was able to +assist but little, for now that the excitement was over he felt +faint and sick with the pain of his wound. + +"I think you had better ride off, Harry, and bring some one to our +assistance. I will wait here till you come back." + +"I don't like to do that," Harry said. "They must be seven or eight +miles away, and I may not be able to find them. They may have moved +away to some other part of the forest. Ah! I have an idea! Suppose +I cut a pole, tie the wolf's legs together and put the pole through +them; then we can hoist the pole up and lash its ends behind the +two saddles. The horses may not mind so much if it's not put upon +their backs." + + +"That might do," Ernest agreed; "but you mustn't make the pole more +than six or seven feet long, or we shall have difficulty in riding +between the trees. + +The pole was soon cut and the wolf in readiness to be lifted, but +the horses still refused to stand steady. + +"Blindfold them, Harry," Ernest said suddenly, "and tie them up to +two trees a few feet apart." + +This was soon done, and the boys then patted and soothed them until +they became quiet. The pole was now lifted, and this time they +managed to lay it across the saddles and to lash it securely to +the cantles. Then they mounted, and taking the bandages off the +horses' eyes set out on their way. The horses were fidgety at first, +but presently fell into a quiet walk. + +For upwards of an hour they heard nothing of the huntsmen. Not a +sound broke the stillness of the forest; the sun was shining through +the leafless trees, and they were therefore enabled to shape their +course in the direction in which they had come. Presently they +heard the sound of a shot, followed by several others, and then +the bay of hounds. The sound came from their left. + +"They have been trying a fresh place," Ernest said, "and I expect +they have come upon two wolves; one they have shot, the hounds are +after the other." + +They turned their horses' heads in the direction of the sounds, +and presently Harry said: + +"They are coming this way." + +Louder and louder grew the sounds of the chase; then the deep tones +of the hounds were exchanged for a fierce angry barking. + +"The wolf is at bay!" Ernest exclaimed. + +A minute later some notes were sounded on the horn. + +"That is the mort, Harry. We shall arrive before they move on +again." + +Five minutes later they rode into a glade where a number of horsemen +were assembled. There was a shout as they were seen. + +"Why, Ernest," the marquis called as they approached, "we thought +you had lost us. You have missed some rare sport; but what's the +matter with your arm, and what have you got there?" + +"We have got the demon wolf," Ernest replied; "so you haven't had +all the sport to yourselves." + +There was a general exclamation of surprise and almost incredulity, +and then every one rode over to meet them, and when it was seen +that the object slung between the two horses was really the demon +wolf there was a shout of satisfaction and pleasure. Again the +notes of the mort rang out through the woods, and every one crowded +round the lads to congratulate them and to examine the dead monster. +Ernest was lifted from his horse, for he was now reeling in +the saddle, and could not have kept his seat many minutes longer. +His wound was carefully examined, and the marquis pronounced +the shoulder-bone to be broken. A litter was made and four of +the foresters hoisted him upon their shoulders, while four others +carried the wolf, still slung on its pole, behind the litter. While +the preparations were being made Harry had given the history of the +slaying of the wolf, saying that he owed his life to the quickness +and courage of Ernest. + +"And I owe mine to him," Ernest protested from the bank where he +was lying. "The wolf would have killed me had he not slain it. I +was lucky in stopping it with a ball, but the rest was entirely a +joint affair." + +The slaying of the demon wolf was so important an event that no +one thought of pursuing the hunt further that day. The other two +wolves were added to the procession, but they looked small and +insignificant beside the body of that killed by the boys. Harry +learned that no one had suspected that they had gone in pursuit of +the wolf. A vigilant look-out had been kept all round the thicket, +while the dogs hunted it from end to end, but no signs had been seen +of it, and none were able to understand how it could have slipped +between the watchers unseen. + +After the ravine had been thoroughly beaten the party had moved +off to another cover. On their way there the marquis had missed +the two boys. No one had seen them, and it was supposed that they +had loitered behind in the forest. Two or three notes of recall had +been blown, and then no one had thought more of the matter until +they rode into the glade when the second wolf had just been pulled +down by the pack. + +It was afternoon when the hunting party arrived at the chateau. +Before they started homewards the marquis had sent off two horsemen; +one to Dijon to bring a surgeon with all speed to the chateau, +the other to tell the marquise that Ernest had been hurt, and that +everything was to be got in readiness for him; but that she was not +to make herself uneasy, as the injury was not a serious one. The +messengers were charged strictly to say nothing about the death of +the demon wolf. + +The marquise and her daughters were at the entrance as the party +arrived. The sight of the litter added to the anxiety which Ernest's +mother was feeling; but the marquis rode on a short distance ahead +to her. + +"Do not be alarmed, Julie," he said; "the lad is not very seriously +hurt. He has been torn a bit by a wolf, and has behaved splendidly." + +"The messenger said he had been hurt by a wolf, Edouard; but how +came he to put himself in such peril?" + +"He will tell you all about it, my dear. Here he is to speak for +himself." + +"Do not look so alarmed, mother," Ernest said as she ran down to +the side of the litter. "It is no great harm, and I should not have +minded if it had been ten times as bad." + +"Bring up the wolf," the marquis said, "and Harry, do you come +here and stand by Ernest's side. Madam la marquise," he went on, +"do you see that great gray wolf? That is the demon wolf which has +for years been the terror of the district, and these are its slayers. +Your son and M. Sandwith, they, and they alone, have reaped the +glory which every sportsman in Burgundy has been so long striving +to attain; they alone in the forest, miles away from the hunt, +pursued and slew this scourge of the province." + +He put his horn to his lips. The others who carried similar +instruments followed his example. A triumphant traralira was blown. +All present took off their hunting-caps and cheered, and the hounds +added their barking to the chorus. + +"Is it possible, Edward," the marquise said, terrified at the +thought of the danger her son must have run in an encounter with +the dreaded beast, "is it possible that these two alone have slain +this dreadful wolf?" + +"It is quite possible, my dear, since it has been done, though, +had you asked me yesterday, I should almost have said that it could +not be; however, there it is. Ernest and his brave young friend +have covered themselves with glory; they will be the heroes of the +department. But we must not stay talking here. We must get Ernest +into bed as soon as possible. A surgeon will be here very shortly. +I sent a messenger on to Dijon for one at the same time I sent to +you." + +The marquis stayed outside for a few minutes while the domestics +handed round great silver cups full of spiced wine, and then bidding +good-bye to his guests entered the chateau just as the surgeon rode +up to the entrance. + +"Please tell us all about it," his daughters asked him when, +having seen the surgeon set the broken bone and bandage the wound, +operations which Ernest bore with stoical firmness, he went down +to the salon where his daughters were anxiously expecting him. "All +about it, please. We have heard nothing, for Harry went upstairs +with Ernest, and has not come down again." + +The marquis told the whole story, how the wolf had made his escape +unseen through the cordon round his lair, and had passed within the +sight of the two boys some distance away, and how they had hunted +it down and slain it. The girls shuddered at the story of the death +of the wood-cutter and the short but desperate conflict with the +wolf. + +"Then Ernest has the principal honour this time," the eldest girl +said. + +"It is pretty evenly divided," the marquis said. "You see Ernest +brought the wolf to bay by breaking its shoulder, and struck the +first blow as it was flying upon Harry, who had been thrown from +his horse. Then, again, Ernest would almost certainly have been +killed had not Harry in his turn come to his assistance and dealt +it its mortal blows. There is not much difference, but perhaps the +chief honours rest with Ernest." + +"I am glad of that, papa," Mademoiselle de St. Caux said; "it is +only right the chief honour should be with your son and not with +this English boy. He has had more than his share already, I think." + +"You would not think so if he had saved your life, sister," Jeanne +broke in impetuously. "It was very brave of them both to kill the +wolf; but I think it was ever, ever so much braver to attack a +great mad dog without weapons. Don't you think so, papa?" + +"I don't think you should speak so warmly to your elder sister, +Jeanne," the marquis said; "she is a grown-up young lady, and you +are in the school-room. Still, in answer to your question, I admit +that the first was very much the braver deed. I myself should have +liked nothing better than to stand before that great wolf with my +hunting sword in my hand; but although if I had been near you when +the hound attacked you, I should doubtless have thrown myself before +you, I should have been horribly frightened and should certainly +have been killed; for I should never have thought of or carried so +promptly out the plan which Harry adopted of muzzling the animal. +But there is no need to make comparisons. On the present occasion +both the lads have behaved with great bravery, and I am proud that +Ernest is one of the conquerors of the demon wolf. It will start +him in life with a reputation already established for courage. +Now, come with me and have a look at the wolf. I don't think such +a beast was ever before seen in France. I am going to have him +stuffed and set up as a trophy. He shall stand over the fireplace +in the hall, and long after we have all mouldered to dust our +descendants will point to it proudly, telling how a lad of their +race, with another his own age, slew the demon wolf of Burgundy" + +Ernest was confined to his bed for nearly a month, and during +this time Harry often went long rides and walks by himself. In the +evening the marquis frequently talked with him over the situation +of the country and compared the events which had taken place with +the struggle of the English parliament with the king. + +"There was one point of difference between the two cases," he said +one evening. "In England the people had already great power in +the state. The parliament had always been a check upon the royal +authority; and it was because the king tried to overrule parliament +that the trouble came about. Here our kings, or at least the ministers +they appointed, have always governed; often unwisely I admit, but +is it likely that the mob would govern better? That is the question. +At present they seem bent on showing their incapacity to govern +even themselves." + +The Marquis de St. Caux had, in some respects, the thoughts and +opinions of the old school. He was a royalist pure and simple. As +to politics, he troubled his head little about them. These were a +matter for ministers. It was their business to find a remedy for +the general ills. As to the National Assembly which represented +only the middle class and people, he regarded it with contempt. + +"Why it was from the middle class," he said, "that the oppressors +of the people were drawn. It is they who were farmers -general, +collectors, and officials of all kinds. It is they who ground +down the nation and enriched themselves with the spoil. It is not +the nobles who dirtied their hands with money wrung from the poor. +By all means let the middle class have a share in the government; +but it is not a share they desire. The clergy are to have no voice; +the nobility are to have no voice; the king himself is to be a +cipher. All power is to be placed in the hands of these men, the +chosen of the scum of the great towns, the mere mouthpieces of the +ignorant mob. It is not order that these gentry are organizing, it +is disorder." + +Such were the opinions of the marquis, but he was tolerant of other +views, and at the gatherings at the chateau Harry heard opinions +of all kinds expressed. + +During his rambles alone he entered as much as he could into +conversation with the peasants, with woodcutters, foresters, and +villagers. He found that the distress which prevailed everywhere +was terrible. The people scarcely kept life together, and many +had died of absolute starvation. He found a feeling of despair +everywhere, and a dull hatred of all who were above them in the +world. Harry had difficulty in making them talk, and at first could +obtain only sullen monosyllables. His dress and appearance showed +him to belong to the hated classes, and set them against him at +once; but when he said that he was English, and that in England +people were watching with great interest what was passing in France, +they had no hesitation in speaking. + +Harry's motives in endeavouring to find out what were the feelings +of the people at large, were not those of mere curiosity. He was +now much attached to the marquis and his family; and the reports +which came from all parts of France, as well as from Paris, together +with the talk among the visitors at the chateau, convinced him that +the state of affairs was more serious than the marquis was inclined +to admit. The capture of the Bastille and the slaughter of its +defenders - the massacres of persons obnoxious to the mob, not only +in the streets of Paris but in those of other great towns, proved +that the lower class, if they once obtained the upper hand, were +ready to go all lengths; while the number of the nobility who were +flocking across the frontier showed that among this body there +existed grievous apprehensions as to the future. + +Harry had read in a book in the library of the chateau an account +of the frightful excesses perpetrated by the Jacquerie. That dreadful +insurrection had been crushed out by the armour-clad knights of +France; but who was to undertake the task should such a flame again +burst out? The nobles no longer wore armour, they had no armed +retainers; they would be a mere handful among a multitude. The +army had already shown its sympathy with the popular movement, and +could not be relied upon. That the marquis himself should face out +any danger which might come seemed to Harry right and natural; but +he thought that he was wrong not to send his wife and daughters, and +at any rate Jules, across the Rhine until the dangers were passed. + +But the marquis had no fears. Some one had mentioned the Jacquerie +in one of their conversations, but the marquis had put it aside as +being altogether apart from the question. + +"The Jacquerie took place," he said, "hundreds of years ago. The +people then were serfs and little more than savages. Can we imagine +it possible that at this day the people would be capable of such +excesses?" + +The answer of the gentleman he addressed had weighed little with +the marquis, but Harry thought over it seriously. + +"Civilization has increased, marquis, since the days of the Jacquerie, +but the condition of the people has improved but little. Even now +the feudal usages are scarce extinct. The lower class have been +regarded as animals rather than men; and the increase of civilization +which you speak of, and from which they have received no benefit, +makes them hate even more bitterly than of old those in position +above them. + +"I am a reformer; I desire to see sweeping changes; I want a good, +wise, and honest government; and I desire these things because +I fear that, if they do not come peacefully they will come in a +tempest of lawlessness and vengeance." + +"Well, they are getting all they want," the marquis said peevishly. +"They are passing every law, however absurd, that comes into their +hands. No one is opposing them. They have got the reins in their +own hands. What on earth can they want more? There might have been +an excuse for rebellion and riot two years since - there can be +none now. What say you, abbe?" + +The abbe seldom took part in conversations on politics, but, being +now appealed to, he said mildly: + +"We must allow for human nature, monsieur. The slave who finds +himself free, with arms in his hands, is not likely to settle down +at once into a peaceful citizen. Men's heads are turned with the +changes the last two years have brought about. They are drunk with +their own success, and who can say where they will stop? So far +they find no benefit from the changes. Bread is as dear as ever, +men's pockets are as empty. They thought to gain everything - they +find they have got nothing; and so they will cry for more and more +change, their fury will run higher and higher with each disappointment, +and who can say to what lengths they will go? They have already +confiscated the property of the church, next will come that of the +laity." + +"I had no idea you were such a prophet of evil, abbe," the marquis +said with an uneasy laugh, while feelings of gloom and anxiety fell +over the others who heard the abbe's words. + +"God forbid that I should be a prophet!" the old man said gravely. +"I hope and trust that I am mistaken, and that He has not reserved +this terrible punishment for France. But you asked me for my opinion, +marquis, and I have given it to you." + +Despite these forebodings the winter of 1790 passed without +disturbance at the chateau. + +In the spring came news of disorder, pillage, and acts of ruffianism +in various parts. Chateaux and convents were burned and destroyed, +and people refused to pay either their taxes or rents to their +landlords. In the south the popular excitement was greater than in +other parts. In Burgundy there was for the most part tranquility; +and the marquis, who had always been regarded as an indulgent +seigneur by the people of his estate, still maintained that these +troubles only occurred where the proprietors had abused their +privileges and ground down the people. + + + +CHAPTER IV The Clouds Gather + + +Occasionally and at considerable intervals Harry received letters +from his father. The latter said that there was great excitement +in England over the events which had taken place in France, and +that his mother was rendered extremely anxious by the news of the +attacks upon chateaux, and the state of tumult and lawlessness +which prevailed. They thought he had better resign his situation +and return home. + +Harry in his replies made light of the danger, and said that after +having been treated so kindly it would be most ungrateful of him +to break the engagement he had made for three years, and leave his +friends at the present moment. Indeed, he, like all around him, +was filled with the excitement of the time. In spite of the almost +universal confusion and disorder, life went on quietly and calmly +at the chateau. The establishment was greatly reduced, for few of +the tenants paid their rents; but the absence of ceremonial brought +the family closer together, and the marquis and his wife agreed that +they had never spent a happier time than the spring and summer of +1791. + +The news of the failure of the king's attempt at flight on the +2Oth of June was a great shock to the marquis. "A king should never +fly" he said; "above all, he should never make an abortive attempt +at flight. It is lamentable that he should be so ill-advised." At +the end of September the elections to the Legislative Assembly as +it was now to be called, resulted in the return of men even more +extreme and violent than those whom they succeeded. + +"We must go to Paris," the marquis said one day towards the end of +October. "The place for a French nobleman now is beside the king." + +"And that of his wife beside the queen," the marquise said quietly. + +"I cannot say no," the marquis replied. "I wish you could have stayed +with the children, but they need fear no trouble here. Ernest is +nearly seventeen, and may well begin, in my absence, to represent +me. I think we can leave the chateau without anxiety, but even were +it not so it would still be our duty to go." + +"There is another thing I want to speak to you about before we +start," the marquise said. "Jeanne is no longer a child, although +we still regard her as one; she is fifteen, and she is graver +and more earnest than most girls of her age. It seems ridiculous +to think of such a thing, but it is clear that she has made this +English lad her hero. Do you not think it better that he should +go? It would be unfortunate in the extreme that she should get to +have any serious feelings for him." + +"I have noticed it too, Julie," the marquis said, "and have smiled +to myself to see how the girl listens gravely to all he says, but +I am not disposed to send him away. In the first place, he has done +a great deal of good to the boys, more even than I had hoped for. +Ernest now thinks and speaks for himself, his ideas are broader, his +views wider. He was fitted before for the regime that has passed; +he is rapidly becoming fit to take his part in that which is to +come. + +"In the next place, my dear, you must remember the times have +changed. Mademoiselle Jeanne de St. Caux, daughter of a peer and +noble of France, was infinitely removed from the son of an English +doctor; but we seem to be approaching the end of all things; +and although so far the law for the abolition of titles has been +disregarded here, you must prepare yourself to find that in Paris +you will be no longer addressed by your title, and I shall be +Monsieur de St. Caux; or may be they will object both to the de +and the St., and I shall find myself plain Monsieur Caux." + +"Oh, Edouard!" the marquise exclaimed aghast. + +"I am quite in earnest, my dear, I can assure you. You will say +she is still the heiress of a portion of our estates, but who can +say how long the estates will remain after the title is gone? Just +as the gentlemen of the pave object to titles because they have +none themselves, so being penniless they will object to property, +and for aught I know may decree a general division of lands and +goods." + +"Impossible, Edouard!" + +"Not at all impossible, Julie. The beggars are on horseback, and +they intend to ride. Last week I called in from my bankers, all +the cash at my disposal, about five thousand louis, and to-morrow +du Tillet is going to start for Holland. He will hand it over to +a banker there to forward to Dr. Sandwith, to whom I have written +asking him to undertake the charge. If you will take my advice you +will forward at the same time all your jewelry. If things go wrong +it will keep us in our old age and furnish a dot for our daughters. + +"The jewels of the St. Caux have always been considered as equal +to those of any family in France, and are certainly worth half a +million francs even to sell. Keep a few small trinkets, and send +all the others away. But I have wandered from my subject. Under +these circumstances I think it as well that we should not interfere +in the matter you speak of. Personally one could not wish for a +better husband for one of our daughters than this young Englishman +would make. + +"His father is a gentleman, and so is he, and in such times as +are coming I should be glad to know that one of my girls had such +a protector as he would make her; but this is, as you said at first, +almost ridiculous. He is two years older than she is, but in some +respects she is the elder; he regards her as a pretty child, and +all his thoughts are given to his studies and his sports. + +"He has something of the English barbarian left in him, and is +absolutely indifferent to Jeanne's preference. A French lad at his +age would be flattered. This English boy does not notice it, or if +he notices it regards it as an exhibition of gratitude, which he +could well dispense with, for having saved her life. + +"You can leave them with a tranquil heart, my dear. I will answer +for it that never in his inmost heart has the idea of his ever +making love to Jeanne occurred to this English lad. Lastly I should +be sorry for him to leave, because his good spirits and cheerfulness +are invaluable at present. Ernest is apt to be gloomy and depressed, +and cheerfulness is at a premium in France at present. Moreover, +should there be any difficulty or danger while we are absent I trust +very much to that lad's good sense and courage. That incident of +the dog showed how quick he is to plan and how prompt to carry his +plans into effect. It may seem absurd when there are several of +our staunch and tried friends here to rely in any way on a lad, +but I do so. Not, of course, as before our faithful friends, but +as one whose aid is not to be despised." + +Thus it happened that on the same day that the marquis started for +Paris, M. du Tillet set out from the chateau taking with him some +trunks and packages which appeared but of little value and were +not likely to attract attention, but which contained a considerable +sum of money and the famous St. Caux jewels. + +Life at the chateau was dull after the departure of its heads. They +had few visitors now; the most frequent among them being Victor +de Gisons. The estates of the duke, his father, adjoined those of +the marquis, and between him and Marie a marriage had long before +been arranged by their parents. For once the inclination of the +young people agreed with the wishes of the elders, and they were +warmly attached to each other. No formal betrothal, however, had +as yet taken place, the troubles of the times having caused its +postponement, although formerly it had been understood that in the +present autumn the marriage should be celebrated. + +The young count had at the assembly of the States General been +a prominent liberal, and had been one of those who had taken his +seat with the third estate and had voted for the abolition of the +special privileges of the nobility, but the violence of the Assembly +had alarmed and disgusted him, and in the winter he had left Paris +and returned to his father's estates. + +Ernest and Harry studied with the abbe, and fenced and rode as usual +with M. du Tillet after his return from Holland. The ever-darkening +cloud weighed upon their spirits, and yet life at the chateau was +pleasant. The absence of their parents and the general feeling of +anxiety knit the rest of the family closer together. Much of the +ceremonial observance which had, on his first arrival, surprised +and amused Harry was now laid aside. Marie, happy in the visits +of her lover and at the prospect of her approaching marriage, did +her best to make the house cheerful. Harry, who had not much liked +her at first, now found her most pleasant and agreeable, and the +younger girls walked in the grounds with their brothers and chatted +when they were gathered in the evening just as Harry's sisters had +done at home. Jeanne was, if the group broke up, generally Harry's +companion. Ever since the affair of the mad dog she had treated +him as her special friend, adopting all his opinions and falling +in with any suggestion he might make with a readiness which caused +Ernest one day to say laughingly to Harry: + +"One would think, Harry that you were Jeanne's elder brother, not +I. She listens to you with a good deal more deference than she does +to me." + +The winter came and went. From time to time letters arrived from +Paris, but the news was always in the same strain. Things were going +worse and worse, the king was little more than a prisoner in the +hands of the people of Paris. The violence of the Assembly was +ever on the increase, the mob of Paris were the real masters of +the situation, the greater part of the nobility had fled, and any +who appeared in the streets were liable to insult. + +The feeling in the provinces kept pace with that in Paris. Committees +were formed in every town and village and virtually superseded the +constituted authorities. Numbers of chateaux were burned, and the +peasants almost universally refused any longer to pay the dues to +their seigneurs. But at present none dreamt of personal danger. +The nobles who emigrated did so because they found the situation +intolerable, and hoped that an army would be shortly raised and +set in motion by foreign powers to put down the movement which +constituted a danger to kings, nobles, and property all over Europe. +But as yet there was nothing to foreshadow the terrible events +which were to take place, or to indicate that a movement, which +began in the just demand of an oppressed people for justice and +fair treatment, would end in that people becoming a bloodthirsty +rabble, eager to destroy all who were above them in birth, education, +or intellect. + +Therefore, although the Marquis de St. Caux foresaw the possibility +of confiscation of the property and abolition of all the privileges +of the nobility, he was under no uneasiness whatever as to the +safety of his children. His instructions were precise: that if a +small party of peasants attacked the chateau, and it was evident +that a successful resistance could be made, M. du Tillet should +send word down to the mayor of Dijon and ask for help, and should, +with the servants of the chateau, defend it; if it was attacked by +a large mob, no resistance was to be offered, but he was to abandon +it at once and journey to Paris with the children. But the time +went on without disturbance. In Dijon as elsewhere a committee +had been formed and had taken into its hands the entire control of +the management of the town. At its head was the son of the mayor, +Monsieur Lebat. + +"I do not understand that young fellow," M. du Tillet said one day +on his return from Dijon. "I do not like him; he is ambitious and +pushing, he is the leader of the advanced party in Dijon, and is +in communication with the most violent spirits in Paris, but I am +bound to say that he appears most anxious to be of service to the +family. Whenever I see him he assures me of his devotion to the +marquis. To-day, Mademoiselle Marie, he prayed me to assure you +that you need feel no uneasiness, for that he held the mob in his +hand, and would answer for it that no hostile movement should be +made against the chateau, and in fact I know, for I have taken the +precaution of buying the services of a man who is upon the committee, +that Lebat has actually exerted himself to benefit us. + +"It has several times been urged by the most violent section that +the mob should be incited to attack the chateau, but he has each +time successfully opposed the proposition. He has declared that while +no one is more hostile than himself to the privileges of seigneury, +and while he would not only abolish the nobles as a class but +confiscate their possessions, he considers that in the case of the +marquis nothing should be done until a decree to that effect is +passed by the Assembly. + +"Until that time, he argues, the people should discriminate. The +chateaux of tyrants should be everywhere levelled to the ground, +but it would be unworthy of the people to take measures of vengeance +against those who have not notably ground down those dependent upon +them, and that, as the marquis has not pushed the privilege of his +class to the utmost, his chateau and property should be respected +until the Assembly pass a decree upon the subject." + +"I am sure we are much indebted to this Monsieur Lebat," Marie +said. "He was here at the hunting party and seemed a worthy young +man of his class. Of course he was out of place among us, but for +a man in his position he seemed tolerable." + +"Yes," Monsieur du Tillet agreed, but in a somewhat doubtful tone +of voice. "So far as assurances go there is nothing to be desired, +and he has, as I said, so far acted loyally up to them, and +yet somehow I do not like him. It strikes me that he is playing a +game, although what that game is I cannot say. At anyrate I do +not trust him; he speaks smoothly but I think he has a double face, +and that he is cruel and treacherous." + +"That is not like you, Monsieur du Tillet," Marie laughed, "you +who generally have a good word for everyone. It seems to me that +you are hard upon the young man, who appears to be animated by +excellent sentiments towards us." + +Spring came again. M. du Tillet learned that the mob of Dijon were +becoming more and more violent, and that spies and watchmen had +been told off to see that none of the family attempted to fly for +the frontier. He therefore wrote to the marquis urging that it +would be better that the family should move to Paris, where they +would be in no danger. In reply he received a letter begging him +to start as soon as the roads were fit for travel. + +About the same time Victor de Gisons received a summons from his +father to join him in Paris. + +The messenger who brought the letter to M. du Tillet brought one +also for Marie from the marquise, saying that the heads of both +families were of opinion that the marriage must be still further +postponed, as in the present state of affairs all private plans and +interests must be put aside in view of the dangers that surrounded +the king. Marie acquiesced in the decision, and bade her lover +adieu calmly and bravely. + +"They are quite right, Victor; I have felt for some time that when +France was on the verge of a precipice it was not the time for her +nobles to be marrying. Noblesse oblige. If we were two peasants +we might marry and be happy. As it is we must wait, even though we +know that waiting may never come to an end. I have a conviction, +Victor, that our days of happiness are over, and that terrible +things are about to happen." + +"But nothing that can happen can separate us, Marie." + +"Nothing but death, Victor," she said quietly. + +"But surely, Marie, you take too gloomy a view. Death, of course, +may separate all lovers; but there seems no reason that we should +fear him now more than at other times. A few farmers-general and +others who have made themselves obnoxious to the mob have been +killed, but what is that! There should at least be no hostility +to our order. Many of the nobles have been foremost in demanding +reforms. All have cheerfully resigned their privileges. There is +no longer the slightest reason for hostility against us." + +"My dear Victor," Marie said quietly, "you do not ask a wild beast +about to rend his prey, what is the reason for his actions. I hope +I may be wrong; but at least, dear, we shall see each other again +before long, and, whatever troubles may come, will share them. My +mother in her letter yesterday said that she and the marquis had +determined that we should join them in Paris; for that although the +disorders have abated somewhat they are anxious at the thought of +our being alone here, and in the present position of things they +have no hope of being able to leave the king. She says my father +is very indignant at the great emigration of the nobility that +is going on. In the first place, he holds that they are deserting +their post in the face of the enemy; and in the second place, by +their assemblage across the frontier and their intrigues at foreign +courts against France they are causing the people to look with +suspicion upon the whole class." + +"You have kept your good news till the last, Marie," Victor said. +"Here have we been saying good-bye, and it seems that we are going +to meet again very shortly." + +"I have been bidding farewell," Marie said, "not to you, but to +our dream of happiness. We shall meet soon, but I fear that will +never return." + +"You are a veritable prophet of ill to-day, Marie," Victor said +with an attempt at gaiety. "Some day, I hope, dear, that we shall +smile together over your gloomy prognostication." + +"I hope so, Victor - I pray God it may be so!" + +A week later three carriages arrived from Paris to convey the +family there; and upon the following day the whole party started; +the girls, the gouvernante, the abbe, and some of the female servants +occupying the carriages, Monsieur du Tillet, the boys, and several +of the men riding beside them as an escort. + +They met with no interruption on the road, and arrived in Paris +on the last day of April, 1792. Harry was glad at the change. The +doings at Paris had been the subject of conversation and thought for +nearly two years, and he had caught the excitement which pervaded +France. He was tired of the somewhat monotonous life in the country, +and had for some time been secretly longing to be at the centre +of interest, and to see for himself the stirring events, of which +little more than a feeble echo had reached them at the chateau. + +The change of life was great indeed; the marquis had thrown himself +into the thick of all that was going on, and his salon was crowded +every evening with those of the nobility who still remained In +Paris. But he was regarded as by no means a man of extreme views, +and many of the leaders of the party of the Gironde with whose names +Harry was familiar were also frequent visitors - Roland, Vergniaud, +Lanjuinais, Brissot, Guader, Lebrun, and Condorcer. + +Harry was struck with the variety of conversation that went on at +these meetings. Many of the young nobles laughed and chatted with +the ladies with as much gaiety as if the former state of things +were continuing undisturbed; and an equal indifference to the public +state of things was shown by many of the elders, who sat down and +devoted themselves to cards. Others gathered apart in little groups +and discussed gloomily and in low tones the events of the day; +while others who were more liberal in their views gathered round the +deputies of the Gironde and joined in their talk upon the meetings +of the Assembly and the measures which were necessary to consolidate +the work of reform, and to restore peace and happiness to France. + +The marquis moved from group to group, equally at home with all, +chatting lightly with the courtiers, whispering gravely with the +elders, or discussing with the tone of the man of the world the +views and opinions of the deputies. Victor de Gisons was constantly +at the house, and strove by his cheerfulness and gaiety to dissipate +the shade of melancholy which still hung over Marie. + +Towards the end of July the Marquis de St. Caux and the little +body of royalists who still remained faithful to the king became +more and more anxious; the position of the royal family was now +most precarious; most of the troops in Paris had been sent to the +frontier, and those left behind were disorganized and ready to join +the mob. Two out of the three Swiss battalions had been sent away +and but one remained at the Tuileries. Of the National Guard only +the battalion of Filles St. Thomas and part of the battalion of +the Saints Pares could be trusted to defend the king. The rest were +opposed to him, and would certainly join the populace. + +On the 14th of July a large number of National Guards from the +provinces had arrived in Paris; and the battalion from Marseilles, +the most violent of all, had, immediately that it arrived in the +city, come into collision with one of the loyal battalions. + +The royalists were wholly without organization, their sole aim +being to defend the king should he be in danger, and if necessary +to die by his side. + +On the evening before the 10th of August the tocsin was heard to +sound and the drums to beat to arms. All day there had been sinister +rumours circulating, but the king had sent privately to his friends +that the danger was not imminent and that he had no need of them; +however, as soon as the alarm sounded the marquis snatched up a +sword and prepared to start for the palace. He embraced his wife, +who was calm but very pale, and his children. Ernest asked to be +allowed to go with him, but the marquis said: + +"No, my son,, my life is the king's; but yours at present is due +to your mother and sisters." + +It was twenty-four hours before he returned. His clothes were torn, +his head was bound up, and one of his arms disabled. The marquise +gave a cry of delight as he entered. No one had slept since he +left, for every hour fresh rumours of fighting had arrived, and +the sound of cannon and musketry had been heard in the early part +of the day. + +"It is all over, wife!" he said. "We have done our best, but the +king will do nothing. We cannot say we have lost the battle, for +we have never tried to win it; but it would be the same thing in +the long run." + +Before hearing what had passed the marquise insisted upon her husband +taking refreshment and having his wounds bound up and attended to. +When he had finished his meal the marquis began: + +"We had a good deal of difficulty in getting into the Tuileries, +for the National Guard tried to prevent our passing. However, we +most of us got through; and we found that there were about a hundred +assembled, almost all men of family. The Marshal de Mailly led us +into the king's apartment. + +"'Sire,' he said, 'here are your faithful nobles, eager to replace +your majesty on the throne of your ancestors.' The National Guard +in the palace withdrew at once, leaving us alone with the Swiss. + +"We formed in the courtyard; and the king, with his hat in his hand, +walked down our ranks and those of the Swiss. He seemed without +fear, but he did not speak a word, and did nothing to encourage us. +Several of our party, in trying to make their way to the palace, +had been murdered, and the mob cut off their heads and put them on +pikes; and these were paraded in the streets within sight of the +windows. Roederer, the procureur-general of the department of Paris, +came to the king and pressed him to leave the Tuileries. + +"'There are not five minutes to lose, sire,' he said. 'There is no +safety for your majesty but in the National Assembly.' + +"The queen resisted; but upon Roederer saying that an enormous +crowd with cannon were coming, and that delay would endanger the +lives of the whole of the royal family, he went. But he thought of +us, and asked what was to become of us. Roederer said that, as we +were not in uniform, by leaving our swords behind us we could pass +through the crowd without being recognized. The king moved on, +followed by the queen, Madam Elizabeth, and the children. The crowd, +close and menacing, lined the passage, and the little procession +made their way with difficulty to the Assembly. + +"We remained in the palace, and every moment the throng around +became more and more numerous. The cannon they brought were turned +against us. The first door was burst open, the Swiss did not fire, +the populace poured in and mixed with us and the soldiers. Some +one fired a gun. Whether it was one of the Swiss or one of the mob +I know not, but the fight began. The Swiss in good order marched +down the staircase, drove out the mob, seized the cannon the +Marseillais had brought, and turning them upon their assailants +opened fire. The mob fled in terror, and I believe that one battalion +would have conquered all the scum of Paris, had not the king, at +the sound of the first shot, sent word to the Swiss to cease firing. +They obeyed, and although the mob kept firing upon them from the +windows, the great part of them marched calm, and without returning +a shot, to the Assembly, where, at the order of the king, they laid +down their arms and were shut up in the church of the Feuillants. + +"A portion of the Swiss had remained on guard in the Tuileries when +the main body marched away. The instant the palace was undefended +the mob burst in. Every Swiss was murdered, as well as many of +the servants of the queen. The mob sacked the palace and set it on +fire. When the Swiss left we had one by one made our way oua by a +back entrance, but most of us were recognized by the mob and were +literally cut to pieces. I rushed into a house when assaulted, +and, slamming the door behind me, made my way out by the back and +so escaped them, getting off with only these two wounds; then I +hurried to a house of a friend, whom I had seen murdered before my +eyes, but his servants did not know of it, and they allowed me to +remain there till dark, and you see here I am." + +"But what has happened at the Assembly and where is the king?" the +marquise asked, after the first exclamation of horror at the tale +they had heard. + +"The king and his family are prisoners in the Temple," the marquis +said. "The Commune has triumphed over the Assembly and a National +Convention is to be the supreme power. The king's functions are +suspended, but as he has not ruled for the last three years that +will make little difference. A new ministry has been formed with +Danton, Lebrun, and some of the Girondists. He and his family are +handed over to the care of the Commune, and their correspondence is +to be intercepted. A revolutionary tribunal has been constituted, +when, I suppose, the farce of trying men whose only crime is loyalty +to the king is to be carried out. + +"We must be prepared, my love, to face the worst. Escape is now +impossible, and, indeed, so long as the king and queen are alive I +would not quit Paris; but we must prepare for sending the children +away if possible." + + + +CHAPTER V The Outburst + + +"Monsieur le Marquis," M. du Tillet exclaimed, hurrying into the +salon, in which the marquis with his family were sitting, on the +evening of the 21st of August, "I hear that it is rumoured in the +street that all the members of noble families are to be arrested." + +The room was lit up as if to receive company, but the crowd which +had thronged it a fortnight before were gone. The Girondists had +first withdrawn, then the nobles had begun to fall off, for it had +become dangerous for them to show themselves in the streets, where +they were liable to be insulted and attacked by the mob. Moreover, +any meeting of known Royalists was regarded with suspicion by the +authorities, and so gradually the gatherings had become smaller +and smaller. + +The only constant visitor now was the Count de Gisons, but he +to-night was absent. The news was not unexpected. The violence of +the extremists of the Mountain had been increasing daily. At the +Cordeliers and Jacobin Clubs, Danton, Robespierre, and Marat had +thundered nightly their denunciations against the aristocrats, and +it was certain that at any moment the order for their arrest might +be given. Such bad news had been received of the state of feeling +in the provinces, that it was felt that it would be more dangerous +to send the young ones away than to retain them in Paris, and the +marquise had been a prey to the liveliest anxiety respecting her +children. It seemed impossible that there could be any animosity +against them, but the blind rage of the mob had risen to such a +height that it was impossible to say what might happen. Now that +she heard the blow was about to fall she drew her younger girls +instinctively to her, as if to protect them, but no word passed +her lips. + +"It might still be possible to fly," M. du Tillet went on. "We have +all the disguises in readiness." + +"A Marquis de St. Caux does not fly from the canaille of Paris," +the marquis said quietly. "No, Du Tillet; the king and queen are +in prison, and it is not for their friends to leave their post here +in Paris because danger threatens them; come when they may, these +wretches will find us here ready for them." + +"But the children, Edouard!" the marquise murmured. + +"I shall stand by my father's side," Ernest said firmly. + +"I do not doubt your courage, my son. I wish now that I had long +ago sent you all across the frontier; but who could have foreseen +that the people of France were about to become a horde of wild +beasts, animated by hate against all, old and young, in whose veins +ran noble blood. However, although it is the duty of your mother +and I to stay at our posts, it is our duty also to try and save +our house from destruction; therefore, Du Tillet, I commit my two +sons to your charge. Save them if you can, disguise them as you will, +and make for the frontier. Once there you know all the arrangements +we have already made." + +"But, father," Ernest remonstrated. + +"I can listen to no argument, Ernest," the marquis said firmly. +"In this respect my will is law. I know what your feelings are, +but you must set them aside, they must give way to the necessity +of saving one of the oldest families of France from perishing." + +"And the girls?" the marquise asked, as Ernest bent his head in +sign of obedience to his father's orders. + +"I cannot think," the marquis said, "that they will be included in +the order for our arrest. They must go, as arranged, in the morning +to the house of our old servant and remain quietly there awaiting +the course of events. They will pass very well as three of her +nieces who have arrived from the country. You had better send a +trusty servant to prepare her for their coming. You, Harry, will, +of course, accompany my sons. + +"Pardon, marquis," Harry said quietly, "I am firmly resolved to +stay in Paris. I may be of assistance to your daughters, and there +will be no danger to me in remaining, for I have no noble blood in +my veins. Besides, my travelling with M. du Tillet would add to +his danger. He will have difficulty enough in traversing the country +with two boys; a third would add to that difficulty." + +"I cannot help that," the marquis said. "I ought long ago to have +sent you home, and feel that I have acted wrongly in allowing you +to remain so long. I must insist upon your accompanying my sons." + +"I am sorry to disobey you, monsieur le marquis," Harry said quietly +but firmly; "but from the moment of your arrest I shall be my own +master and can dispose of my actions. I am deeply sensible of all +your goodness to me, but I cannot yield, for I feel that I may be +of some slight use here. There are so many strangers in Paris that +there is little fear of my attracting any notice. A mouse may help +a lion, monsieur, and it may be that though but a boy I may be able +to be of service to mesdemoiselles." + +"Do not urge him further, Edouard," the marquise said, laying a +hand on her husband's arm as he was again about to speak. "Harry +is brave and thoughtful beyond his years, and it will be somewhat +of a comfort to me to think that there is some one watching over +our girls. I thank you, Harry, for your offer, and feel sure that +you will do all that can possibly be done to protect my girls. You +will be freer to do so than any of our friends, for they are likely +to become involved in our fate, whatever that may be. Marie, you +will view our English friend as joint guardian with yourself over +your sisters. Consult him should difficulty or danger arise as if +he were your brother, and be guided by his advice. And now, girls, +come with me to my room, I have much to say to you. + +"I am glad my wife decided as she did, Harry," the marquis said, +putting his hand on his shoulder when his wife and daughters left +the room, "for I too shall feel comfort in knowing that you are +watching over the girls. Now leave us, for I have much to arrange +with Monsieur du Tillet." + +After a prolonged talk with M. du Tillet the marquis sent for +Ernest. As soon as he entered the lad said: + +"Of course, sir, I shall obey your commands; but it seems to me an +unworthy part for your son to play, to be flying the country and +leaving a stranger here to look after your daughters." + + +"He is hardly a stranger, Ernest," the marquis replied. "He has been +with us as one of the family for two years, and he risked his life +for your sisters. You could not stay here without extreme risk, for +if your name is not already included in the warrant for arrest it +speedily will be so, and when they once taste blood these wolves +will hunt down every one of us. He, on the other hand, might proceed +openly through the streets without danger; nevertheless, I would +not have kept him if he would have gone; but I have no power +of controlling him, and as he chooses to devote himself to us I +thankfully accept his devotion. + +"And now, my son, it may be that after our parting to-morrow we +shall not meet again, for God alone knows what fate is in store for +us. I have, therefore, some serious advice to give you. If anything +happens to me, you will, I know, never forget that you are the +head of the family, and that the honour of a great name is in your +keeping; but do not try to strive against the inevitable. Adapt +yourself to the new circumstances under which you will be placed, +and lay aside that pride which has had much to do with the misfortunes +which are now befalling us. + +"As to your sisters, Marie is already provided for, that is if +De Gisons is not included in the order for arrest. I have already +sent off a message to him to warn him; and as it has already been +arranged between us that while his father will stay and face whatever +will come, it is his duty, like yours, to escape the danger which +threatens our class, I trust that he will at once endeavour to +leave the country; but I imagine that he will stop in Paris until +some means are devised for getting your sisters away. + +"As to the others, if you all reach England and settle down there +do not keep up the class distinctions which have prevailed here. +Marry your sisters to men who will protect and make them happy. +That these must be gentlemen goes without saying; but that is +sufficient. For example, if in future time a gentleman of the rank +of our English friend here, of whose character you can entirely +approve, asks for the hand of either of your younger sisters, do +not refuse it. Remember that such a suit would have the cordial +approval of your mother and myself." + +A look of great surprise passed over Ernest's face. It had seemed +to him so much a matter of course that the ladies of his house should +marry into noble families that the idea of one of them being given +to a gentleman belonging to the professional class was surprising +indeed. + +"Do you really mean, sir, that if my friend Harry were some day to +ask for Jeanne's hand you would approve of the match?" + +"That is exactly what I do mean, Ernest. In the stormy times in +which we are living I could wish no better protector for her. Were +he a Frenchman, in the same position of life, I own that I might +view the matter in a different light; but, as I have said, in +England the distinction of classes is much less marked than here; +and, moreover, in England there is little fear of such an outbreak +of democracy as that which is destroying France." + +A few minutes later Monsieur du Tillet entered with the clothes which +had been prepared for the boys. They were such as would be worn by +the sons of workmen; he himself was attired in a blue blouse and +trousers. Jules was aroused from the couch on which he had for the +last hour been asleep, and he and Ernest retired to dress themselves +in their new costume, M. du Tillet accompanying them to assist in +their toilet. Both boys had the greatest repugnance to the change, +and objected still further when M. du Tillet insisted it was +absolutely necessary that they should cut their hair and smear +their faces and hands with dirt. + +"My dear Monsieur Ernest," he said, "it would be worse than useless +for you to assume that attire unless at the same time you assumed +the bearing and manners appropriate to it. In your own dress we +might for a short time walk the street without observation; but if +you sallied out in that blouse with your white hands and your head +thrown back, and a look of disdain and disgust on your face, the +first gamin who met you would cry out, 'There is an aristocrat in +disguise!' + +"You must behave as if you were acting in a comedy. You are +representing a lad of the lower orders. You must try to imitate +his walk and manner. Shove your hands deep in your pockets, shuffle +your feet along carelessly; let your head roll about as if it were +uneasy on your neck, round your shoulders, and slouch your head +forward. As to you Jules, your role should be impertinence. Put +your cap on the wrong way; hold your nose in the air; pull your +short hair down over your forehead, and let some of it spurt +out through that hole in your cap. To be quite correct, you ought +to address jeering remarks to every respectable man and woman you +meet in the streets; but as you know nothing of Parisian slang, +you must hold your tongue. See how thoroughly I have got myself +up. You would take me for an idle out-of-elbows workman wherever +you met me. I do not like it; but, as I have to disguise myself, +I try to do it thoroughly." + +It was, however, with a feeling of humiliation that the boys presented +themselves before the marquis. He looked at them scrutinizingly. + +"You will do, my boys," he said gravely. "I should have passed +you in the street without knowing you. Now come in with me and say +good-bye to your mother and sisters. The sooner you are out of this +house the better, for there is no saying at what hour the agents +of the canaille may present themselves." + +The parting was a sad one indeed, but it was over at last, and +Monsieur du Tillet hurried the two boys away as soon as their father +returned with them. + +"God bless you, du Tillet!" the marquis said as he embraced his +friend. "Should aught happen to us, you will, I know, be a father +to them." + +"Now, Harry," the marquis said when he had mastered the emotion +caused by the parting, which he felt might be a final one, "since +you have chosen to throw in your lot with ours, I will give you a +few instructions. In the first place, I have hidden under a plank +beneath my bed a bag containing a thousand crowns. It is the middle +plank. Count an even number from each leg and the centre one covers +the bag. + +"You will find the plank is loose and that you can raise it easily +with a knife; but wax has been run in, and dust swept over it, so +that there is no fear of its being noticed by any who may pillage +the house, which they will doubtless do after we are arrested. I +have already sent an equal sum to Louise Moulin. Here is her address; +but it is possible that you may need money, and may be unable to +communicate with my daughters at her house; at any rate do you keep +the bag of money in your charge. + +"You had best attire yourself at once in the oldest suit of clothes +you have got. My daughters will be ready in a few minutes. They are +already dressed, so that they can slip out at the back entrance. +Should we be disturbed before morning I shall place them under your +escort; for although I hope that all the servants are faithful, one +can answer for no one in these times. I would send them off now, +but that the sight of females moving through the streets at this +time of night would be likely to attract attention on the part of +drunken men, or of fellows returning from these rascally clubs, +which are the centre and focus of all the mischief that is going +on. + +"I can give you no further advice. You must be guided by +circumstances. If, as I trust, the girls can live undisturbed and +unsuspected with their mother's old nurse, it were best that they +should remain there until the troubles are finally over, and France +comes to her senses again. If not, I must leave it to you to act for +the best. It is a great trust to place in the hands of a youth of +your age; but it is your own choosing, and we have every confidence +in you. + +"I will do my best to deserve it, sir," Harry said quietly; "but I +trust that you and madame Ia marquise will soon be able to resume +your guardianship. I cannot believe that although just at present +the populace are excited to fury by agitators, they can in cold +blood intend to wreak their vengeance upon all the classes above +them." + +"I hope you may be right," the marquis said; "but I fear that it +is not so. The people are mad so far. All that has been done has +in no way mitigated their sufferings, and they gladly follow the +preachings of the arch scoundrels of the Jacobin Club. I fear that +before all this is over France will be deluged with blood. And +now, when you have changed your clothes, lie down, ready to rise +at a moment's notice. Should you hear a tumult, run at once to +the long gallery. There my daughters will join you prepared for +flight. Lead them instantly to the back entrance, avoiding, if +possible, any observation from the domestics. As these sleep on +the floor above, and know nothing of the dangers which threaten us, +they will not awake so quickly, and I trust that you will be able +to get out without being seen by any of them. In that case, however +closely questioned no one will be able to afford a clue by which +you can be traced." + +When he had changed his clothes Harry extinguished all the lights in +the salon, for the marquis had long before ordered all the servants +to retire to rest. Then he opened the window looking into the street +and took his place close to it. Sleep under the circumstances was +impossible. + +As the hours passed he thought over the events of the last few +days. He was fully aware that the task he had undertaken might be +full of danger; but to a healthy and active English lad a spice of +danger is by no means a deterrent. He could, of course, have left +his employment before the family left their chateau; but after +his arrival in Paris it would have been difficult for him to have +traversed the country and crossed the frontier, and he thought that +the danger which he now ran was not much greater than would have +been entailed by such a step. + +In the next place he was greatly attached to the family of the +marquis; and the orgies of the mob had filled him with such horror +and disgust that he would have risked much to save any unfortunate, even +a stranger, from their hands; and lastly, he felt the fascination +of the wild excitement of the times, and congratulated himself +that he should see and perhaps be an actor in the astonishing drama +which was occupying the attention of the whole civilized world. + +As he sat there he arranged his own plans. After seeing his charge +in safety he would take a room in some quiet locality, alleging +that he was the clerk of a notary, and would, in the dress of one +of that class, or the attire of one of the lower orders, pass his +days in the streets, gathering every rumour and watching the course +of events. + +Morning was just breaking when he heard the sound of many feet +coming along the street, and looking out saw a crowd of men with +torches, headed by two whose red scarfs showed them to be officials. +As they reached the entrance gate the men at the head of the +procession stopped. Harry at once darted away to the long gallery, +and as he did so, heard a loud knocking at the door. + +Scarcely had he reached the gallery when a door at the further end +opened, and three figures, the tallest carrying a lamp, appeared. +The girls, too, had been keeping watch with their father and +mother. They were dressed in the attire of respectable peasant +girls. Virginie was weeping loudly, but the elder girls, although +their cheeks bore traces of many tears they had shed during the +night, restrained them now. When they reached Harry, the lad, +without a word, took the lamp from Marie's hand, and led the way +along the corridor and down the stairs towards the back of the +house. + +Everything was quiet. The knocking, loud as it was, had not yet +aroused the servants, and, drawing the bolt quietly, and blowing +out the lamp, Harry led the way into the garden behind the house. +Then for a moment he paused. There was a sound of axes hewing down +the gate which led from the garden into the street behind. + +"Quick, mesdemoiselles!" he said. "There is no time to lose." + +He took they key out of the door, and closed and locked it after +him. Then throwing the key among the shrubs he took Virginie's hand, +and led the way rapidly towards the gate, which was fortunately a +strong one. + +"In here, mesdemoiselles," he said to Marie, pointing to some shrubs +close to the gate. "They will rush straight to the house when the +gate gives way, and we will slip out quietly." + +For nearly five minutes the gate, which was strongly bound with iron, +resisted the attack upon it. Then there was a crash, and a number +of men with torches, and armed with muskets and pikes, poured in. +Virginie was clinging to Marie, who, whispering to her to be calm +and brave, pressed the child closely to her, while Jeanne stood +quiet and still by the side of Harry, looking through the bushes. + +Some twenty men entered, and a minute later there was the sound of +battering at the door through which the fugitives had sallied out. + +"Now," Harry said, "let us be going." Emerging from the shelter, a +few steps took them to the gate, and stepping over the door, which +lay prostrate on the ground, they turned into the lane. + +"Let us run," Harry said; "we must get out of this lane as soon as +possible. We are sure to have the mob here before long, and should +certainly be questioned." + +They hurried down the lane, took the first turning away from the +house, and then slackened their pace. Presently they heard a number +of footsteps clattering on the pavement; but fortunately they +reached another turning before the party came up. They turned down +and stood up in a doorway till the footsteps had passed, and then +resumed their way. + +"It is still too early for us to walk through the streets without +exciting attention," Harry said. "We had better make down to the +river and wait there till the town is quite astir." + +In ten minutes they reached the river, and Harry found a seat for +them at the foot of a pile of timber, where they were partially +screened from observation. Hitherto the girls had not spoken a +word since they had issued from the house. Virginie was dazed and +frightened by the events of the night, and had hurried along almost +mechanically holding Marie's hand. Marie's brain was too full to +talk; her thoughts were with her father and mother and with her +absent lover. She wondered that he had not come to her in spite of +everything. Perhaps he was already a captive; perhaps, in obedience +to his father's orders, he was in hiding, waiting events. That +he could, even had his father commanded him, have left Paris as a +fugitive without coming to see her, did not even occur to her as +possible. + +With these thoughts there was mingled a vague wonder at her own +position. A few weeks since petted and cared for as the eldest +daughter of one of the noblest families of France, now a fugitive +in the streets under the sole care of this English boy. She had, +the evening before, silently sided with Ernest. It had seemed to +her wrong that he should be sent away, and the assertion of Harry +that he intended to stay and watch over her and her sisters seemed +at once absurd and presumptuous; but she already felt that she had +been wrong in that opinion. + +The decision and coolness with which he had at once taken the +command from the moment he met them in the gallery, and the quickness +with which he had seized the only mode of escape, had surprised +and dominated her. Her own impulse, when on opening the door she +heard the attack that was being made on the gate, was to draw back +instantly and return to the side of her parents, and it was due to +Harry only that she and her sisters had got safely away. + +Hitherto, although after the incident of the mad dog she had exchanged +her former attitude of absolute indifference to one of cordiality +and friendliness, she had regarded him as a boy. Indeed she had +treated and considered him as being very much younger than Ernest, +and in some respects she had been justified in doing so, for in +his light-hearted fun, his love of active exercise, and his entire +absence of any assumption of age, he was far more boyish than +Ernest. But although her thoughts were too busy now to permit her +to analyse her feelings, she knew that she had been mistaken, and +felt a strange confidence in this lad who had so promptly and coolly +assumed the entire command of the party, and had piloted them with +such steady nerve through the danger. + +As for Jeanne, she felt no surprise and but little alarm. Her +confidence in her protector was unbounded. Prompt and cool as he +was himself, she was ready on the instant to obey his orders, and +felt a certain sensation of pride at the manner in which her previous +confidence in him was being justified. + +After placing the girls in their shelter Harry had left them and +stood leaning against the parapet of the quay as if carelessly +watching the water, but maintaining a vigilant look-out against +the approach of danger. The number of passers-by increased rapidly. +The washerwomen came down to the boats moored in the stream and +began their operation of banging the linen with wooden beaters. +Market-women came along with baskets, the hum and stir of life +everywhere commenced, and Paris was fairly awake. + +Seeing that it was safe now to proceed, Harry returned to his + +companions. He had scarcely glanced at them before, and now looked +approvingly at their disguises, to which the marquise had, during +the long hours of the night, devoted the most zealous attention. +Marie had been made to look much older than she was. A few dark +lines carefully traced on her forehead, at the corners of her eyes +and mouth, had added many years to her appearance, and she could +have passed, except to the closest observer, as the mother of +Virginie, whose dress was calculated to make her look even younger +than she was. The hands and faces of all three had been slightly +tinged with brown to give them a sun-burnt aspect in accordance +with their peasant dresses, and so complete was the transformation +that Harry could scarcely suppress a start of surprise as he looked +at the group. + +"It would be safe now, mademoiselle," he said to Marie, "for us to +proceed. There are plenty of people about in the streets; but as +the news has, no doubt, already been spread that the daughters of +the Marquis de St. Caux had left the house before those charged +with their father's arrest arrived, it will be better for you not +to keep together. + +I would suggest that you should walk on with Virginie. I will +follow with Jeanne a hundred yards behind, so that I can keep you +in sight, and will come up if anyone should accost you. + +Marie at once rose, and taking the child's hand set out. They had +to traverse the greater part of Paris to reach their destination. +It was a trial for Marie, who had never before been in the streets +of Paris except with her mother and closely followed by two domestics, +and even then only through the quiet streets of a fashionable +quarter. However, she went steadily forward, tightly holding +Virginie's hand and trying to walk as if accustomed to them in the +thick heavy shoes which felt so strangely different to those which +she was in the habit of wearing. + +From time to time she addressed an encouraging word to Virginie +as she felt her shrink as they approached groups of men lounging +outside the wine-shops, for there was but little work done in Paris, +and the men of the lower class spent their time in idleness, in +discussions of the events of the day, or in joining the mobs which, +under one pretext or another, kept the streets in an uproar. + +Fortunately Marie knew the way perfectly and there was no occasion +for her to ask for directions, for she had frequently driven with +her mother to visit Louise Moulin. The latter occupied the upper +floor of a house in a quiet quarter near the fortifications in the +north-western part of the town. A message had been sent to her the +night before, and she was on the look-out for her visitors, but +she did not recognize them, and she uttered a cry of surprise as +Marie and Virginie entered the room. + +"Is it you, mademoiselle?" she exclaimed in great surprise. "And +you, my little angel? My eyes must be getting old, indeed, that I +did not recognize you; but you are finely disguised. But where is +Mademoiselle Jeanne?" + +"She will be here in a moment, Louise; she is just behind. But you +must not call me mademoiselle; you must remember that we are your +nieces Marie and Jeanne, and that you are our aunt Louise Moulin, +whom we have come to stay with." + +"I shall remember in time," the old woman said. "I have been +talking about you to my neighbours for the last week, of how your +good father and mother have died, and how you were going to journey +to Paris under the charge of a neighbour, who was bringing a waggon +load of wine from Burgundy, and how you were going to look after +me and help me in the house since I am getting old and infirm, and +the young ones were to stop with me till they were old enough to +go out to service. Ah, here is Mademoiselle Jeanne!" + +"Here is Jeanne," Marie corrected; "thank God we have all got here +safely. This, Louise, is a young English gentleman who is going to +remain in Paris at present, and to whom we are indebted for having +got us safely here." + +"And your mother," Louise Moulin exclaimed, "the darling lamb +I nursed, what of her and your father? I fear, from the message I +got last night, that some danger threatens them." + +"They have, I fear, been arrested by the sans culottes," Marie said +mournfully as she burst into tears, feeling, now that the strain +was over, the natural reaction after her efforts to be calm. For +her mother's sake she had held up to the last, and had tried to +make the parting as easy as possible. + +"The wretches!" the old woman said, stamping her foot. "Old as I am +I feel that I could tear them to pieces. But there I am chattering +away, and you must be faint with hunger. I have a nice soup ready +on the fire, a plate of that will do good to you all. And you too, +monsieur, you will join us, I hope?" + +Harry was nothing loth, for his appetite was always a healthy one. +When he had finished he said: + +"Madame Moulin, I have been thinking that it would be an advantage +if you would take a lodging for me. If you would say that a youth +whose friends are known to you has arrived from Dijon, to make his +way in Paris, and they have asked you to seek a lodging for him; +it will seem less strange than if I went by myself. I should like +it to be near, so that you can come to me quickiy should anything +out of the way occur. I should like to look in sometimes to see that +all is well. You could mention to your neighbours that I travelled +up with the same waggon with your nieces. + +"I will do that willingly," the old woman said; "but first, my dears, +you must have some rest; come in here." And she led the way to the +next room. "There is a bed for you, Mademoiselle Marie, and one for +the two young ones. The room is not like what you are accustomed +to, but I dared not buy finer things, though I had plenty of money +from your mother to have furnished the rooms like a palace; but you +see it would have seemed strange to my neighbours; but, at least, +everything is clean and sweet. + +Leaving the girls, who were worn out with weariness and anxiety, +to sleep, she rejoined Harry. + +"Now, monsieur, I will do your business. It is a comfort to me to +feel that some one will be near of whom I can ask advice, for it is +a terrible responsibility for an old woman in such dreadful times +as these, when it seems to me that everyone has gone mad at once. +What sort of a chamber do you want?" + +"Quite a small one," Harry answered, "just such a chamber as a +young clerk on the look-out for employment and with his pocket very +slenderly lined, would desire." + +"I know just such a one," the old woman said. "It is a house a +few doors away and has been tenanted by a friend of mine, a young +workwoman, who was married four days ago - it is a quiet place, +and the people keep to themselves, and do not trouble about their +neighbours' affairs." + +"That will just suit me," Harry said. "I suppose there is no porter +below, so that I can go in or out without being noticed." + +"Oh, we have no porters in this quarter, and you can go in and out +as you like." + +Half an hour later the matter was settled, and Harry was installed +in his apartment, which was a little room scantily furnished, at +the top of the house, the window looking into the street in front. + + + +CHAPTER VI An Anxious Time + + +Harry and the girls had brought bundles of clothes with them +in their flight, as it would have looked strange had they arrived +without any clothes save those they wore. Harry had brought with him +only underlinen, as he had nothing else which would be of service +to him now. No sooner had Louise Moulin left him than he went out +and purchased, at a second-hand shop, a workman's suit. This he +carried home, and dressing himself in it descended the stairs again +and set out to retrace his steps across Paris. + +When he reached the mansion of the marquis he found a crowd of +people going in and out. Those leaving the house were laden with +articles of furniture, clocks, pictures, bedding, and other things. +A complete sack of the mansion was indeed taking place. The servants +had all fled after the arrest of the marquis and his wife, and +the mob had taken possession of the house. The lofty mirrors were +smashed into fragments, the costly hangings torn down, and after +they had destroyed much of the elaborate furniture, every man and +woman began to lay hands upon whatever they fancied and the mansion +was already stripped of the greater part of its belongings. + +With his hands in his pockets, whistling carelessly, Harry wandered +from room to room watching the proceedings. Several barrels of wine +had been brought up into the salon, and round these were gathered +a number of already drunken men, singing, shouting, and dancing. + +"Drink, drink, my garcon," a woman said, holding a silver goblet +full of wine towards him, "drink confusion to the tyrants and +liberty and freedom to the people." + +Harry drank the toast without hesitation, and then, heartsick +at the destruction and ruin, wandered out again into the streets. +Knowing the anxiety which Marie would be suffering as to the safety +of her lover he next took his way to the mansion of the Duke de +Gisons. The house was shut up, but groups of men were standing in +the road opposite talking. + +Sauntering along Harry stopped near enough to one of these to hear +what they were saying. He learned that the duke had been arrested +only that morning. It had been effected quietly, the doors had +again been locked before those in the neighbourhood knew what was +going on, and a guard had been left inside, partly, it was said, in +order that the mansion might be preserved from pillage and be used +for public purposes, partly that the young count, who was absent, +might be arrested when he returned. + +As Harry knew that the duke had estates in the neighbourhood of +Fontainebleau he thought it probable that Victor might have gone +thither, and he at once proceeded towards the gate by which he would +enter on his return thence. He sat down a short distance outside +the gate and watched patiently for some hours until he perceived a +horseman approaching at a gallop and at once recognized Victor de +Gisons. Harry went forward on to the road and held out his arms. +The young count, not recognizing him, did not check his horse and +would have ridden him down had he not jumped aside, at the same +time shouting to him by name to stop. + +"What do you want, fellow?" Victor exclaimed, reining in his horse. + +"You do not recognize me!" Harry said. "I am Harry Sandwith, count, +and I am here to warn you of the danger of proceeding." + +"Why, what has happened?" Victor exclaimed anxiously; "and why are +you in disguise, Monsieur Sandwith?" + +"A great number of arrests have taken place in the night, among them +that of the Marquis de St. Caux and your father. Men are waiting +inside your house to arrest you as you enter. + +Victor uttered an exclamation of anger. + +"That is why I have been sent away," he said. "My father had no +doubt received a warning of what was about to happen, and yesterday +at noon he requested me to ride to his estate and have an interview +with the steward as to the rents. I wondered at his sending me +so suddenly, and, feeling uneasy, rode there post-haste, saw the +steward last night, and started again on a fresh horse this morning. +This accounts for it. He knew that if I were there nothing would +have induced me to separate myself from him, while by sending me +away he left it to me to do as I thought fit afterwards, trusting +that when I found that he was already imprisoned I might follow the +counsel he had urged upon me, to make my escape from the country. +And how about the ladies, how about Marie?" + +"The marquise was conveyed to prison with the marquis. The three +young ladies are all safe with their mother's old servant, Louise +Moulin; this is her address. They are in disguise as peasants, and +no suspicion will, I hope, arise as to their real position. Not +that the marquis thought it probable they would be included in +the order of arrest, but he said there was no knowing now to what +lengths the mob might go and he thought it better that they should +disappear altogether for the present. Ernest and Jules went away +in disguise with Monsieur du Tillet. After seeing the young ladies +in safety this morning I went down to see what had happened at your +father's mansion, in order to assuage Mademoiselle de St. Caux's +anxiety respecting your safety, and found, as I expected, that +the duke had been arrested, and learned that a party were inside +waiting to arrest you on your return. + +"I thank you indeed," Victor said, "and most warmly. I do not +know what to do. My father is most anxious that I should cross the +frontier, but I cannot go so long as he and Marie are in danger." + +"If you enter Paris as you are," Harry said, "you are certain to +be arrested. Your only chance would be to do as I have done, namely +to disguise yourself and take a small lodging, where you might live +unsuspected." + +"And in that way I can see Marie sometimes," Victor said. + +"You could do so," Harry agreed, in a somewhat hesitating way, "but +it would greatly add to her danger, and, were you detected, might +lead to the discovery of her disguise. Besides, the thought that +you were liable to arrest at any time would naturally heighten the +anxiety from which she is suffering as to the fate of her father +and mother." + +"But I cannot and will not run away and leave them all here in +danger," Victor said passionately. + +"I would not advise you to do so," Harry replied. "I would only +suggest, that after seeing Mademoiselle de St. Caux once, you +should lead her to believe that you have decided upon making for +the frontier, and she will therefore have the happiness of believing +that you are safe, while you are still near and watching over her." + +"That is all very well," Victor said; "but what opinion would she +have of me if she thought me capable of deserting her in that way?" + +"You would represent that you were obeying the duke's orders; and +besides, if you did suffer in her opinion it would be but temporarily, +for when she learned the truth, that you had only pretended to +leave in order that her position might be the safer and that her +mind might be relieved, she could only think more highly of you. +Besides, if necessary, you could at any time again present yourself +before her." + +"Your counsel is good, Monsieur Sandwith, and I will, at anyrate +for a time, follow it. As you say, I can at anytime reappear. +Where are you lodging? I will take a room near, and we can meet +and compare notes and act together." + +Harry gave him his address. + +"You have only to walk upstairs to the top story. My room is the +one directly opposite the top of the stairs." + +"I will call on you to-morrow morning," Victor said. "I will ride +my horse a few miles back and turn him loose in some quiet place, +and buy at the first village a blouse and workman's pantaloons." + +"I think," Harry said, "that would be unwise, count; it would look +strange in the extreme for a gentleman dressed as you are to make +such a purchase. You might be at once arrested, or a report of the +circumstance might be sent into Paris and lead to your discovery. +If you will wait here for half an hour I will go back and buy you +the things you want at the first shop I come to and bring them out +to you. Then you can ride back and loose the horse as you propose; +but I should advise you to hide the saddle and bridle, as well as +the clothes you are now wearing, most carefully. Whoever finds your +horse will probably appropriate it and will say nothing about it, +so that all clue to your movements will be lost, and it will be +supposed that you have ridden to the frontier." + +"Peste, Monsieur Sandwith! You seem to have a head ready for all +emergencies. I know what a high opinion the marquis had of you, +and I perceive that it is fully justified, and consider myself as +fortunate indeed in having you for a friend in such a time as the +present." + +"We have need of all our wits," Harry said quietly. "The marquis +was good enough to accept my offer to do all that I could to look +after the safety of mesdemoiselles, and if I fail in my trust it +will not, I hope, be from any lack of care or courage. + +The meeting had taken place at a point where it could not be observed +from the gate, and the count withdrew a few hundred yards farther +away while Harry went back into Paris. The latter had no difficulty +in purchasing the clothes required by the count and returned with +them in little over a quarter of an hour, and then, having seen +De Gisons ride off, he sauntered back into Paris and made his way +towards the heart of the city. + +Crossing the river he found a vast crowd gathered in front of the +Hotel de Ville. The news of the wholesale arrests which had been +made during the night had filled the populace with joy, and the air +was full of shouts of "Down with the Aristocrats!" "Vive Danton! +Vive Marat! Vive Robespierre!" Hawkers were selling, in the crowd, +newspapers and broadsheets filled with the foulest attacks, couched +in the most horrible language, upon the king, the queen, and the +aristocracy. + +At various points men, mounted upon steps or the pedestals of +statues, harangued the mob while from time to time the crowd opened +and made way for members of the city council, who were cheered or +hooted according to their supposed sentiments for or against the +cause of the people. After remaining there for some time Harry +made his way to the entrance to the Assembly. A crowd was gathered +here, and a tremendous rush was made when the doors were opened. +Harry managed to force his way in and sat for some hours listening to +the debate, which was constantly interrupted by the people in the +galleries, who applauded with frenzy the speeches of their favourite +orators, the deputies of the Mountain, as the bank of seats occupied +by the Jacobin members was named, and howled and yelled when the +Girondists ventured to advocate moderation or conciliation. + +It was late in the evening before the sitting was over, and Harry +was unable to leave his place earlier. Then he went and had supper +at a wineshop, and after sauntering on the Boulevards until the +streets began to be deserted he again crossed the river and made +his way to the mansion. Not a light was to be seen in the windows +and all was still and quiet. The great door stood open. The work +of destruction was complete; the house was stripped of everything +that could be carried away. + +Harry made his way up to the bedroom of the marquis. The massive +bedstead still stood in its place, having defied the efforts +of destruction which had proved successful with the cabinets and +other furniture. Sitting down on the floor Harry counted the boards +beneath the bed, and then taking out a strong knife which he had +purchased during the day he inserted it by the side of the middle +board and tried to raise it. It yielded without difficulty to his +effort. + +As soon as it was lifted he groped in the cavity below it, and his +hand soon came in contact with the heavy bag. Taking this out and +putting it beneath his blouse he replaced the board and made his +way downstairs. He felt too fatigued to walk across Paris again, +and therefore made his way down to the river and curled himself +up for the night at the foot of the wood pile where the girls had +found shelter in the morning, and, in spite of the novelty of his +situation, fell instantly asleep. + +It was broad daylight when he woke, and an hour later he regained +his lodgings, stopping by the way to breakfast at a quiet estaminet +frequented by the better class of workmen. As when he had sallied +out the day before, he was fortunate in meeting no one as he made +his way up the stairs to his room. His first step was to get up +a board and to deposit beneath it the bag of money. Then, having +changed his clothes, he went out and made a variety of purchases +for housekeeping, as he did not wish to be obliged to take his +meals at places where anyone sitting at the table with him might +enter into conversation. + +His French was quite good enough to pass in the salon of the +marquis, but his ignorance of the Parisian slang spoken among the +working-classes would have rendered it difficult for him to keep +up his assumed character among them, and would have needed the +fabrication of all sorts of stories as to his birthplace and past +history. + +Although in the position in which he was placed Harry felt that it +would be impossible always to adhere to the truth, he shrank from +any falsehoods that could possibly be avoided. + +His first duty in order to carry out the task he had undertaken was +to keep up his disguise, and this must be done even at the cost of +telling lies as to his antecedents; but he was determined that he +would avoid this unpleasant necessity as far as lay in his power. + +At nine o'clock he made his way to the apartments of Louise Moulin. +His entry was received with a cry of satisfaction from the girls. + +"What is the news, Harry?" Jeanne exclaimed. "We expected you here +yesterday evening, and sat up till ten o'clock." + +"I was over the other side of the river discharging a mission your +father had confided to me, and did not get back till this morning." + +"I knew he was prevented by something," Jeanne said triumphantly. +"I told you so, Marie - didn't I?" + +"Yes, dear, I was wrong to be impatient; but you will forgive me, +Harry? You can guess how I suffered yesterday." + +"It was natural you should expect me, mademoiselle. I was sorry +afterwards that I did not tell you when I left you that I should +not be able to come in the evening, but indeed I did not think of +it at the time." + +"And now for your news, Harry," Jeanne asked impatiently; "have +you learned anything about our father and mother?" + +"I am sorry to say I have not, except that they, with many others, +were taken to the prison of Bicetre. But I have good news for you, +Mademoiselle Marie. After going first to the house and finding it in +the possession of a hideous mob, who were plundering and drinking, +I went to see what had taken place at the hotel of the Duc de +Gisons. I found that he had, like your father, been arrested in +the night. I learned that the count was absent, and that a party +were inside in readiness to arrest him on his return. Thinking +it probable that he might have gone down to their estate near +Fontainebleau, I went out beyond the gate on that road and waited +for him. I had the good fortune to meet him, to warn him of his +danger, and to prevent his returning to town. He rode away with a +suit of workman's clothes I had procured for him, and was to enter +Paris in that disguise in the evening. He is to call on me at ten +o'clock, and I will then conduct him hither. I thought it best to +come in before to let you know that he was coming." + +Marie burst into tears of happiness at hearing that her lover had +escaped from the danger which threatened. Worn out by the fatigue +and anxiety of the previous night, she had slept for some hours +after reaching the shelter of the old nurse's roof, but she had +lain awake all night thinking over the danger of all those dear to +her. She was now completely overcome with the revulsion of feeling. + +"You are a dear boy, Harry!" Jeanne said with frank admiration, +while Marie sobbed out exclamations of gratitude. "You do seem to +think about everything; and now Marie knows that Victor is safe, I +do hope she is going to be more like herself. As I tell her, they +cannot hurt father or mother. They have done no wrong, and they +must let them out of prison after a time. Mamma said we were to +be brave; and at anyrate I try to be, and so does Virginie, though +she does cry sometimes. And now I hope Marie will be cheerful too, +and not go about the rooms looking so downcast and wretched. It +seems to me a miserable thing being in love. I should have thought +Marie would have been the last person to be downcast, for no one +is prouder of being a St. Caux than she is." + +"I shall be better now, Jeanne," Marie said smiling, as she wiped +away her tears. "You shall not have any reason to complain of me +in future. + +"But do you not think, Harry," she went on with a return of her +anxiety, "that it is very dangerous for Victor to come back into +Paris? I know that his father has long been praying him to make +for the frontier." + +"I do not think it is very dangerous at present, mademoiselle, +although it may be later, if this rage against the aristocrats +increases; but I hope that when he has once seen you, which is +his principal object in returning to Paris, he will carry our his +father's wishes and make for the frontier, for his presence here +can be of no possible utility." + +"Oh, I hope so," Marie said, "for I am sure Victor would soon +be found out, he could never make himself look like one of these +canaille." + +"Why shouldn't he?" Jeanne said indignantly. "Harry does, and he +is just as good-looking as Victor." + +Marie burst into a fit of laughter. + +"What a champion you are, child, to be sure! But you are quite +right. Clothes, after all, do go a long way towards making a man. +Still, although I think that it is dangerous for Harry, I think it +will be more dangerous for Victor; because, you see, he is a man +and he has the manner of his race, and would find it more difficult +to pass himself off as a workman than Harry, who has got something +of English" - and she hesitated. + +"Roughness," Harry put in laughing. "You are quite right, mademoiselle. +I can assure you that with these thick shoes on I find it quite +natural for me to slouch along as the workmen do; and it will be +much more difficult for the count, who always walks with his head +thrown back, and a sort of air of looking down upon mankind in +general." + +Marie laughed this time. + +"That is a fair retort. Victor certainly has the grand manner. +However, I shall order him to go; and if he won't obey his father's +wishes, he will have to give way to mine." + +"I think, mademoiselle, that it would be wiser for Monsieur de Gisons +to meet you elsewhere than here. The arrival of three relations to +stop with Madame Moulin is sure to attract some little attention +among her neighbours just at first. You will be the subject of talk +and gossip. My visit will no doubt be noticed, and it will be as +well that there should not be more material for talk. The less we +attract attention the better. No doubt many have escaped arrest, +and there will be a sharp look-out, for, as they will call us, +suspicious persons. I should propose, if you have no objection to +such a course, that you should stroll out with your sisters and +Louise through the fields to St. Denis. The count will be in my +room in a few minutes. We can keep a look-out from my window and +follow you at a distance until we get clear from observation beyond +the gates." + +Marie looked at Madame Moulin, who nodded. + +"That would be the best plan, my dear. What Monsieur Sandwith +says is very true. The less we give the neighbours to gossip about +the better; for though your disguises are good, if sharp eyes are +watching you they may note something in your walk or air that may +excite suspicion." + +"That being arranged then you must excuse me, for it is just the +time when the count was to arrive, and I fancy that he will be +before rather than behind time." + +Indeed, upon reaching the door of his room Harry found the young +count standing there. + +"Oh, it is you, friend Harry! I have been here ten minutes, and I +began to be afraid that something might have happened to you and +to imagine all sorts of things." + +"It is still three or four minutes before the time we agreed upon, +Victor," Harry said in a loud voice, for at this moment one of the +other doors opened, and a woman came out with a basket in her arms. + +"I have been looking about as usual, but without luck so far. I +suppose you have had no better fortune in your search for work?" +He had by this time unlocked his door, and the two entered together. + +"I must call you by your Christian name, count, and will do so, if +you don't mind, when alone as at other times, otherwise the title +might slip out accidentally. Will you, on your part, call me Henri? +As you know the marquis and his family called me Harry, which is +the ordinary way in England of calling anyone whose name is Henry, +that is unless he is a soft sort of fellow; but I must ask them to +call me Henri now, Harry would never do here." + +"Have you seen them?" was the count's first question. + +"I have just left them, Victor, and if you look out from that window +into the street you will in a few minutes see them also; they are +just going for a ramble towards St. Denis, and we will follow them. +I thought it safer not to attract attention by going to the house, +and I also thought that it would be more pleasant for you to talk +to Mademoiselle de St. Caux out there in the fields, than in a +little room with us present. + +"Much more pleasant; indeed, I was wondering whether I should get +an opportunity for a few minutes' talk alone with her." + +They both took their places at the open window and leaned out +apparently chatting and carelessly watching what was passing in +the street. + +A quarter of an hour later they saw Louise Moulin and the girls +come out of their house. + +"We had better come away from the window now," Harry said; "Virginie +might look up and nod, we can't be too careful." + +They waited three or four minutes to allow the others to get well +ahead and then started out after them; they walked fast until they +caught sight of the others, and then kept some distance behind +until the party had left the town and were out among the fields +which lay between Paris and St. Denis. They then quickened their +pace and were soon up with them. + +The greeting between the lovers was a silent one, few words were +spoken, but their faces expressed their joy at meeting again after +the perils through which they had passed; there was a little pause, +and then Harry, as usual, took the lead. + +"I will stroll on to St. Denis and back with Jeanne and Virginie; +Madame Moulin can sit down on that log over there, and go on with +her knitting; you, Victor, can ramble on with mademoiselle by that +path through the field; we will agree to meet here again in an +hour." + +This arrangement was carried out; Jeanne and Virginie really enjoyed +their walk; the latter thought their disguise was great fun, and, +being naturally a little mimic, imitated so well the walk and +manner of the country children she had seen in her walks near the +chateau that her sister and Harry were greatly amused. + +"I like this too, Harry," Jeanne said. "It would not be nice to be +a peasant girl for many things; but it must be joyful to be able +to walk, and run, and do just as you please, without having a +gouvernante always with you to say, Hold up your head, Mademoiselle +Jeanne; Do not swing your arms, Mademoiselle Jeanne; Please walk +more sedately, Mademoiselle Jeanne. Oh, it was hateful! Now we +might run, mightn't we, Harry?" + +"Oh, by the way, Jeanne, please call me Henri now; Harry is English, +and people would notice directly if you happened to say it while +anyone is near." + +"I like Harry best," Jeanne said; "but, of course, I should not +say it before the people; but may we run just for once?" + +"Certainly you may," Harry laughed; "you and Virginie can have a +race to the corner of that wall." + +"Come on, Virginie," Jeanne cried as she started, and the two +girls ran at full speed to the wall; Jeanne, however, completely +distancing her younger sister. They were both laughing when Harry +came up. + +"That is the first time I have run a race," Jeanne said. "I have +often wanted to try how fast I could run, but I have never ventured +to ask mademoiselle; she would have been horrified; but I don't +know how it is Virginie does not run faster." + +"Virginie has more flesh," Harry said smiling. "She carries weight, +as we should say in England, while you have nothing to spare. + +"And she is three years older," Virginie put in. "Jeanne is just +sixteen, and I am not thirteen yet; it makes a difference." + +"A great deal of difference," Harry agreed; "but I don't think you +will ever run as fast as she does. That will not matter, you know," +he went on, as Virginie looked a little disappointed, "because it +is not likely that you will ever race again; but Jeanne looks cut +out for a runner - just the build, you see - tall, and slim, and +active." + +"Yes," Virginie agreed frankly, "Jeanne has walked ever so far and +never gets tired, while I get dreadfully tired; mamma says sometimes +I am quite a baby for my age." + +"Here are some people coming," Harry said; "as we pass them please +talk with a little patois. Your good French would be suspicious." + +All the children of the marquis, from their visits among the peasants' +cottages, had picked up a good deal of the Burgundian patois, and +when talking among themselves often used the expressions current +among the peasantry, and they now dropped into this talk, which +Harry had also acquired, as they passed a group of people coming +in from St. Denis. + +They walked nearly as far as that town, and then turned and reached +the point where the party had separated, a few minutes before the +expiration of the appointed hour. + +The two girls ran away to Louise Moulin, and chatted to her gaily, +while Harry walked up and down until, a quarter of an hour later, +the count and Marie made their appearance. The party stood talking +together for a few minutes; then adieus were said with a very pale +face, but with firmness on Marie's part, and then the girls, with +Louise, turned their faces to Paris, while Harry and Victor remained +behind until they had got well on their way. + +"It was hard to deceive her," Victor said; "but you were right. +She insisted that I should go. I seemed to resist, and urged that +it was cowardly for me to run away and to leave her here alone, +but she would not listen to it. She said it was a duty I owed to my +father and family to save myself, and that she should be wretched +if she thought I was in Paris in constant danger of arrest. Finally, +I had to give way to her, but it went against the grain, for even +while she was urging me she must have felt in her heart it would be +cowardly of me to go. However, she will know some day that Victor +de Gisons is no coward." + +"I am sure it is better so," Harry said. "She will have anxiety +enough to bear as to her father and mother; it is well that her +mind should be at ease concerning you." + +"In reality," Victor said, "I shall be safer here than I should be +journeying towards the frontier. The papers this morning say that +in consequence of the escape of suspected persons, and of the +emigration of the nobles to join the enemies of France, orders +have been sent that the strictest scrutiny is to be exercised on +the roads leading to the frontier, over all strangers who may pass +through. All who cannot give a perfectly satisfactory account of +themselves and produce their papers en regle, are to be arrested +and sent to Paris. Therefore, my chance of getting through would be +small indeed, whereas while remaining in Paris there can be little +fear of detection." + +"Not much risk, I hope," Harry agreed; "but there is no saying what +stringent steps they may take as time goes on." + +Victor had taken a lodging a few houses from that of Harry. Every +day the excitement in Paris increased, every day there were fresh +arrests until all the prisons became crowded to overflowing. It +was late in August; the Prussians were advancing and had laid siege +to Verdun, and terror was added to the emotions which excited to +madness the population of Paris. Black flags were hung from the +steeples, and Danton and his allies skilfully used the fear inspired +by the foreign enemy to add to the general hatred of the Royalists. + +"We Republicans," he said in the rostrum of the Assembly, "are +exposed to two parties, that of the enemy without, that of the +Royalists within. There is a Royalist directory which sits secretly +at Paris and corresponds with the Prussian army. To frustrate it +we must terrify the Royalists." + +The Assembly decreed death against all who directly or indirectly +refused to execute or hindered the orders given by the executive +power. Rumours of conspiracy agitated Paris and struck alarm into +people's minds, while those who had friends within the prison walls +became more and more alarmed for their safety. + +On the 28th of August orders were issued that all the inhabitants +of Paris were to stay in their houses in order that a visit might +be made by the delegates of the Commune to search for arms, of which +Danton had declared there were eighty thousand hidden in Paris, and +to search for suspected persons. As soon as the order was issued, +Harry and Victor went to their lodgings, and telling their landlords +that they had obtained work at the other end of town, paid their +rent and left the city, and for the next two days slept in the +woods. + +They passed most of their time discussing projects for enabling +their friends to escape, for from the stringency of the steps taken, +and the violence of the Commune, they could no longer indulge in +the hopes that in a short time the prisoners against whom no serious +charge could be brought, would be released. At the same time they +could hardly persuade themselves that even such men as those who +now held the supreme power in their hands, could intend to take +extreme measures against so vast a number of prisoners as were now +in custody. + +Victor and Harry knew that their friends had at first been taken to +the prison of Bicetre, but whether they were still confined there +they were of course ignorant. Still there was no reason to suppose +that they had been transferred to any of the other jails. + +The Bicetre was, they had discovered, so strongly guarded that +neither force nor stratagem seemed available. The jailers were the +creatures of Danton and Robespierre, and any attempt to bribe them +would have been dangerous in the extreme. Victor proposed that, +as he as well as Harry was well provided with funds, for he had +brought to Paris all the money which the steward of the estates +had collected, they should recruit a band among the ruffians of the +city, and make a sudden attack upon the prison. But Harry pointed +out that a numerous band would be required for such an enterprise, +and that among so many men one would be sure to turn traitor before +the time came. + +"I am ready to run all risks, Victor, but I see no chance of success +in it. The very first man we spoke to might denounce us, and if +we were seized there would be no one to look after the safety of +Mademoiselle de St. Caux and her sisters. My first duty is towards +them. I gave my promise to their father, and although it is not +probable that I can be of any use to them, I will at any rate, if +possible, be at hand should occasion arise. + +On the evening of the 30th they returned to Paris, and took two +fresh apartments at a distance from their former quarters. + +They were greatly anxious as to the safety of the girls, and Harry +at once hastened there, but found that all was well. The deputies, +learning from the landlord that only an old woman and her nieces +inhabited the upper story, and having a heavy task before them, +had only paid a short visit to the room, and had left after asking +Louise one or two questions. + +The girls, however, were in a state of terrible anxiety as to +their parents, although Louise had avoided repeating to them the +sinister rumours which came to her ears when she was abroad doing +her marketing, for she now went out alone, thinking it better that +the girls should appear as little as possible in the streets. + +"It is terrible," Marie said. "I think night and day of our father +and mother. Can nothing be done? Surely we might devise some means +for their escape." + +"I can think of nothing," Harry said. "The prison is too strong to +be taken without a considerable force, and it would be impossible +to get that together." + +"Could we not bribe these wretches?" + +"I have thought over that too," Harry replied; "but, you see, it +would be necessary to get several men to work together. One might, +perhaps, bribe the man who has charge of the cell, but there would +be other warders, and the guard at the gate, and the latter are +changed every day. I do not see how that could possibly be done." + +"Would it be any use, do you think, were I to go to Danton or +Robespierre and plead with them for their lives? I would do that +willingly if you think there would be the slightest chance of +success." + +"It would be like a lamb going to plead with a wolf. You would only +attract attention to them." + +"Could you not get hold of one of these wretches and force him to +sign an order for their release?" Jeanne suggested. + +"Eh!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "Jeanne, you have the best +head of us all. That idea never occurred to me. Yes, that might be +possible. How stupid of me not to think of it!" + +"Do not run into any danger, Harry," Marie said earnestly. "Such +a scheme could hardly succeed." + +"I don't know, mademoiselle. I think it might. I will think it over. +Of course there are difficulties, but I do not see why it should +not succeed." + +"Certainly it will succeed if Harry undertakes it," Jeanne said, +with implicit trust in his powers. + +Harry laughed, and even Marie, anxious as she was, could not help +smiling. + +"I will try and deserve your confidence, Jeanne; but I am not a +magician. But I will talk it over with" - and he hesitated - "with +a young fellow who is, like myself, a Royalist, and in disguise. +Luckily, we ran against each other the other day, and after a +little conversation discovered each other. He, too, has relatives +in prison, and will, I am sure, join me in any scheme I may undertake. +Two heads are better than one, and four are much better than two +when it comes to acting. And now I must say good-night. I hope +when I see you again I shall be able to tell you that I have formed +some sort of plan for their release." + + + +CHAPTER VII The 2d of September + + +Victor de Gisons was, as usual, waiting near the door when Harry +left Louise Moulin's. + +"What is the news, Henri? Nothing suspicious, I hope? You are out +sooner than usual." + +"Yes, for I have something to think of. Here have we been planning +in vain for the last fortnight to hit upon some scheme for getting +our friends out of prison, and Jeanne has pointed out a way which +you and I never thought of." + +"What is that, Henri?" + +"The simplest thing in the world, namely, that we should seize one +of the leaders of these villains and compel him to sign an order +for their release." + +"That certainly seems possible," Victor said. "I wonder it never +occurred to either of us. But how is it to be done?" + +"Ah, that is for us to think out! Jeanne has given us the idea, and +we should be stupid if we cannot invent the details. In the first +place we have got to settle which of them it had better be, and +in the next how it is to be managed. It must be some one whose +signature the people at the prison would be sure to obey." + +"Then," Victor said, "it must be either Danton or Robespierre." + +"Or Marat," Harry added; "I think he is as powerful as either of +the others." + +"He is the worst of them, anyhow," Victor said. "There is something +straightforward about Danton. No doubt he is ambitious, but I think +his hatred of us all is real. He is a terrible enemy, and will +certainly stick at nothing. He is ruthless and pitiless, but I do +not think he is double-faced. Robespierre is ambitious too, but +I think he is really acting according to his principles, such as +they are. He would be pitiless too, but he would murder on principle. + +"He would sign unmoved the order for a hundred heads to fall if he +thought their falling necessary or even useful for the course of +the Revolution, but I do not think he would shed a drop of blood +to satisfy private enmity. They call him the 'incorruptible.' He is +more dangerous than Danton, for he has no vices. He lives simply, +and they say is fond of birds and pets. I do not think we should +make much of either Danton or him, even if we got them in our power. + +"Danton would be like a wild beast in a snare. He would rage with +fury, but I do not think that he would be intimidated into signing +what we require, not do I think would Robespierre. Marat is a +different creature altogether. He is simply venomous. He hates the +world, and would absolutely rejoice in slaughter. So loathsome is +he in appearance that even his colleagues shrink from him. He is a +venomous reptile whom it would be a pleasure to slay, as it would +be to put one's heel upon a rattlesnake. Whether he is a coward +or not I do not know, but I should think so. Men of his type are +seldom brave. I think if we had him in our hands we might frighten +him into doing what we want." + +"Then Marat it shall be," Harry said; "that much is settled. Tomorrow +we will find out something about his habits. Till we know about +that we cannot form any plan whatever. Let us meet at dinner-time +at our usual place. Then we will go outside the Assembly and wait +till he comes out. Fortunately we both know him well by sight. He +will be sure to go, surrounded, as usual, by a mob of his admirers, +to the Jacobin Club. From there we can trace him to his home. No +doubt anyone could tell us where he lives, but it would be dangerous +to ask. When we have found that out we can decide upon our next +step." + +They were, however, saved the trouble they contemplated, for they +learned from the conversation of two men among the mob, who cheered +Marat as he entered the Assembly, what they wanted to know. + +"Marat is the man for me," one of them said. "He hates the aristocracy; +he would bathe in their blood. I never miss reading his articles +in the Friend of the People. His cry is always 'Blood! Blood!' He +does not ape the manner of the bourgeois. He does not wash his face +and put on clean linen. He is a great man, but he is as dirty as +the best of us. He still lives in his old lodgings, though he could +move if he liked into any of the fine houses whose owners are in +the prisons. He wants no servants, but lives just as we do. Vive +Marat!" + +"Where does the great citizen live?" Victor asked the men in a +tone of earnest entreaty. On learning the address they took their +way to the dirty and disreputable street where Marat lodged. + +"The citizen Marat lives in this street, does he not?" Victor asked +a man lounging at the door of a cabaret. + +"Yes, in that house opposite. Do you want him?" + +"No; only I was curious to see the house where the friend of the +people lives, and as I was passing the end of the street turned +down. Will you drink a glass?" + +"I am always ready for that," the man said, "but in these hard +times one cannot do it as often as one would like." + +"That is true enough," Victor said as they took their seats at +a table. "And so Marat lives over there; it's not much of a place +for a great man." + +"It is all he wants," the other said carelessly; "and he is safer +here than he would be in the richer quarters. There would be a plot +against him, and those cursed Royalists would kill him if they had +the chance; but he is always escorted home from the club by a band +of patriots." + +In the evening Harry and Victor returned to the street and watched +until Marat returned from the Jacobin Club. His escort of men with +torches and bludgeons left him at the door, but two or three went +upstairs with him, and until far in the night visitors came and +went. Then the light in the upper room was extinguished. + +"It is not such an easy affair," Victor said as they moved away; +"and you see, as that man in the wine-shop told us, there is an +old woman who cooks for him, and it is much more difficult to seize +two people without an alarm being given than one." + +"That is so," Harry agreed; "but it must be done somehow. Every +day matters grow more threatening, and those bands of scoundrels +from Marseilles have not been brought all this way for nothing. +The worst of it is, we have such a short time to act. Marat does +not seem to be ever alone from early morning until late at night. +Supposing we did somehow get the order of release from him at night +we could not present it till the morning, and before we could +present it some one might arrive and discover him fastened up, and +might take the news to the prison before we could get them out." + +"Yes, that is very serious," Victor agreed. "I begin to despair, +Henri." + +"We must not do that," Harry rejoined. "You see we thought it +impossible before till Jeanne gave us the idea. There must be some +way out of it if we could only hit upon it. Perhaps by to-morrow +morning an idea will occur to one of us. And there is another thing +to be thought of; we must procure disguises for them. It would be +of no use whatever getting them out unless we could conceal them +after they are freed. It would not do for them to go to Louise +Moulin's. She has three visitors already, and the arrival of more +to stay with her would be sure to excite talk among the neighbours. +The last orders are so strict about the punishment of anyone giving +shelter to enemies of the republic, that people who let rooms will +all be suspicious. The only plan will be to get them out of the city +at once. It will be difficult for them to make their way through +France on foot, for in every town and village there is the strictest +look-out kept for suspected persons. Still, that must be risked; +there is no other way." + +"Yes, we must see about that to-morrow, Henri; but I do not think +the marquise could support a journey, for they would have to sleep +in the fields. Moreover, she will probably elect to stay near her +children until all can go together. Therefore I think that it will +be best for her to come either to you or me. We can take an additional +room, saying that our mother is coming up from the country to keep +house for us." + +"Yes, that would be much the best plan, Victor. And now here we +are close home. I hope by the time we meet in the morning one of +us may have hit upon some plan or other for getting hold of this +scoundrel." + +"I have hit upon an idea, Victor," Harry said when they met the +next morning. + +"I am glad to hear it, for though I have lain awake all night I +could think of nothing. Well, what is your idea?" + +"Well, you see, Marat often goes out in the morning alone. He is +so well known and he is so much regarded by the lower class that +he has no fear of any assault being made upon him during the day. + +"My plan is that we should follow him till he gets into some street +with few people about. Then I would rush upon him, seize him, and +draw a knife to strike, shouting, 'Die, villain!' You should be +a few paces behind, and should run up and strike the knife out of +my hand, managing at the same moment to tumble over Marat and fall +with him to the ground. That would give me time to bolt. I would +have a beard on, and would have my other clothes under the blouse. +I would rush into the first doorway and run up stairs, pull off +my beard, blouse, and blue pantaloons, and then walk quietly down. +You would, of course, rush up stairs and meet me on the way. I +should say I had just met a fellow running up stairs, and should +slip quietly off." + +"It would be a frightful risk, Henri, frightful!" + +"No, I think it could be managed easily enough. Then, of course, +Marat would be very grateful to you, and you could either get him +to visit your lodgings or could go up to his, and once you had +been there you could manage to outsit his last visitor at night, +and then we could do as we agreed." + +"But, you know, we thought we should hardly have time in the morning, +Henri!" + +"No, I have been thinking of that, and I have come to the conclusion +that our best plan would be to seize him and hold a dagger to his +heart, and threaten to kill him instantly if he did not accompany +us. Then we would go down with him into the street and walk arm in +arm with him to your lodging. We could thrust a ball of wood into +his mouth so that he could not call out even if he had the courage +to do so, which I don't think he would have if he were assured that +if he made the slightest sound we would kill him. Then we could +make him sign the order and leave him fastened up there. It would +be better to take him to your lodgings than mine, in case my visits +to Louise Moulin should have been noticed, and when he is released +there will be a hue and cry after his captors." + +"The best plan will be to put a knife into his heart at once the +minute you have got the order signed," Victor said savagely; "I +should have no more hesitation in killing him than stamping on a +snake." + +"No, Victor; the man is a monster, but we cannot kill him in cold +blood; besides, we should do more harm than good to the cause, for +the people would consider he had died a martyr to his championship +of their rights, and would be more furious than ever against the +aristocracy." + +"But his account of what he has gone through will have just the +same effect, Henri." + +"I should think it probable he would keep the story to himself. +What has happened once may happen again; and besides, his cowardice +in signing the release of three enemies of the people in order to +save his life would tell against him. No, I think he would keep +silence. After we have got them safe away we can return and so +far loosen his bonds that he would be able, after a time, to free +himself. Five minutes' start would be all that we should want." + +But the plan was not destined to be carried out. It was the morning of +the 2d of September, 1792, and as they went down into the quarter +where the magazines of old clothes were situated, in order to +purchase the necessary disguises, they soon became sensible that +something unusual was in the air. Separating, they joined the groups +of men at the corners of the streets and tried to learn what was +going on, but none seemed to know for certain. All sorts of sinister +rumours were about. Word had been passed that the Jacobin bands +were to be in readiness that evening. Money had been distributed. +The Marseillais had dropped hints that a blow was to be struck at +the tyrants. Everywhere there was a suppressed excitement among +the working-classes; an air of gloom and terror among the bourgeois. + +After some time Harry and Victor came together again and compared +their observations. Neither had learned anything definite, but both +were sure that something unusual was about to take place. + +"It may be that a large number of fresh arrests are about to be +made," Harry said. "There are still many deputies who withstand +the violence of the Mountain. It may be that a blow is going to be +struck against them." + +"We must hope that that is it," Victor said, "but I am terribly +uneasy." + +Harry had the same feeling, but he did his best to reassure his +friend, and proposed that they should at once set about buying +the disguises, and that on the following morning they should carry +into effect their plan with reference to Marat. The dresses were +bought. Two suits, such as a respectable mechanic would wear on +Sundays or holidays, were first purchased. There was then a debate +as to the disguise for the marquise; it struck them at once that it +was strange for two young workmen to be purchasing female attire, +but, after some consultation, they decided upon a bonnet and long +cloak, and these Victor went in and bought, gaily telling the +shopkeeper that he was buying a birthday present for his old mother. + +They took the clothes up to Harry's room, agreeing that Louise could +easily buy the rest of the garments required for the marquise as +soon as she was free, but they decided to say nothing about the +attempt that was about to be made until it was over, as it would +cause an anxiety which the old woman would probably be unable to +conceal from the girls. + +Victor did not accompany Harry to his room; they had never, indeed, +visited each other in their apartments, meeting always some little +distance away in order that their connection should be unobserved, +and that, should one be arrested, no suspicion would follow the +other. As soon as he had deposited the clothes Harry sallied out +again, and on rejoining Victor they made their way down to the +Hotel de Ville, being too anxious to remain quiet. They could learn +nothing from the crowd which was, as usual, assembled before the +Hotel. + +There was a general impression that something was about to happen, +but none could give any definite reason for their belief. All day +they wandered about restless and anxious. They fought their way +into the galleries of the Assembly when the doors opened, but for +a time nothing new took place. + +The Assembly, in which the moderates had still a powerful voice, +had protested against the assumption of authority by the council of +the Commune sitting at the Hotel de Ville. But the Assembly lacked +firmness, the Commune every day gained in power. Already warrants +of arrest were prepared against the Girondists, the early leaders +of the movement. + +Too restless to remain in the Assembly, Victor and Harry again +took their steps to the Hotel de Ville. Just as they arrived there +twenty-four persons, of whom twenty-two were priests, were brought +out from the prison of the Maine by a party of Marseillais, who +shouted, + +"To the Abbaye!" These ruffians pushed the prisoners into coaches +standing at the door, shouting: "You will not arrive at the prison; +the people are waiting to tear you in pieces." But the people looked +on silently in sullen apathy. + +"You see them," the Marseillais shouted. "There they are. You are +about to march to Verdun. They only wait for your departure to +butcher your wives and children." + +Still the crowd did not move. The great mass of the people had no +share in the bloody deeds of the Revolution; these were the work of +a few score of violent men, backed by the refuse of the population. +A few shouts were raised here and there of, "Down with the priests!" +But more of the crowd joined in the shouts which Victor and Harry +lustily raised of, "Shame, down with the Marseillais!" Victor would +have pressed forward to attack the Marseillais had not Harry held +his arm tightly, exclaiming in his ear: + +"Restrain yourself, Victor. Think of the lives that depend upon +ours. The mob will not follow you. You can do nothing yourself. +Come, get out of the crowd." + +So saying he dragged Victor away. It was well that they could not +see what was taking place in the coaches, or Victor's fury would +have been ungovernable, for several of the ruffians had drawn their +swords and were hacking furiously at their prisoners. + +"We will follow them," Harry said, when he and Victor had made +their way out of the crowd; "but you must remember, Victor, that, +come what may, you must keep cool. You would only throw away your +life uselessly; for Marie's sake you must keep calm. Your life +belongs to her, and you have no right to throw it away." + +"You are right, Henri," Victor said gloomily; "but how can one look +on and see men inciting others to massacre? What is going to take +place? We must follow them." + +"I am ready to follow them," Harry said; "but you must not go +unless you are firmly resolved to restrain your feelings whatever +may happen. You can do no possible good, and will only involve +yourself in the destruction of others." + +"You may trust me," the young count said; "I will be calm for +Marie's sake." + +Harry had his doubts as to his friend's power of self-control, but +he was anxious to see what was taking place, and they joined the +throng that followed the coaches. But they were now in the rear, +and could see nothing that was taking place before them. When the +carriages reached the Abbaye the prisoners alighted. Some of them +were at once cut down by the Marseillais, the rest fled into the +hall, where one of the committees was sitting. Its members, however, +did nothing to protect them, and looked on while all save two were +massacred unresistingly. Then the Marseillais came out brandishing +their bloody weapons and shouting, "The good work has begun; down +with the priests! Down with the enemies of the people!" + +The better class of people in the crowd assembled at the Hotel de +Ville had not followed the procession to the Abbaye. They had been +horror-struck at the words and actions of the Marseillais, and +felt that this was the beginning of the fulfilment of the rumours +of the last few days. + +The murder of the first prisoner was indeed the signal for every +man of thought or feeling and of heart to draw back from the +Revolution. Thousands of earnest men who had at first thought that +the hour of life and liberty commenced with the meeting of the +States-General, and who had gone heart and soul with that body in +its early struggles for power, had long since shrunk back appalled +at the new tyranny which had sprung into existence. + +Each act of usurpation of power by the Jacobins had alienated a +section. The nobles and the clergy, many of whom had at first gone +heartily with the early reformers, had shrunk back appalled when +they saw that religion and monarchy were menaced. The bourgeoisie, +who had made the Revolution, were already to a man against it; the +Girondists, the leaders of the third estate, had fallen away, and +over their heads the axe was already hanging. The Revolution had +no longer a friend in France, save among the lowest, the basest, +and the most ignorant. And now, by the massacres of the 2d of +September, the republic of France was to stand forth in the eyes +of Europe as a blood-stained monster, the enemy, not of kings +only, but of humanity in general. Thus the crowd following the +Marseillais was composed almost entirely of the scum of Paris, +wretches who had long been at war with society, who hated the rich, +hated the priests, hated all above them - men who had suffered +so much that they had become wild beasts, who were the products +of that evil system of society which had now been overthrown. The +greater proportion of them were in the pay of the Commune, for, +two days before, all the unemployed had been enrolled as the army +of the Commune. Thus there was no repetition before the Abbaye of +the cries of shame which had been heard in front of the Maine. The +shouts of the Marseillais were taken up and re-echoed by the mob. +Savage cries, curses, and shouts for vengeance filled the air; +many were armed, and knives and bludgeons, swords and pikes, were +brandished or shaken. Blood had been tasted, and all the savage +instincts were on fire. + +"This is horrible, Henri!" Victor de Gisons exclaimed. "I feel as +if I were in a nightmare, not that any nightmare could compare in +terror to this. Look at those hideous faces - faces of men debased +by crime, sodden with drink, degraded below the level of brutes, +exulting in the thought of blood, lusting for murder; and to think +that these creatures are the masters of France. Great Heavens! What +can come of it in the future? What is going to take place now?" + +"Organized massacre, I fear, Victor. What seemed incredible, +impossible, is going to take place; there is to be a massacre of +the prisoners." + +They had by this time reached the monastery of the Carmelites, now +converted into a prison. Here a large number of priests had been +collected. The Marseillais entered, and the prisoners were called +by name to assemble in the garden. + +First the Archbishop ofArles was murdered; then they fell upon the +others and hewed them down. The Bishops of Saintes and Beauvais +were among the slain, and the assassins did not desist until the +last prisoner in the Carmelites had been hacked to pieces. Graves +had already been dug near the Barrier Saint Jacques and carts were +waiting to convey the corpses there, showing how carefully the +preparations for the massacre had been made. + +Then the Marseillais returned to the Abbaye, and, with a crowd +of followers, entered the great hall. Here the bailiff Maillard +organized a sort of tribunal of men taken at random from the +crowd. Some of these were paid hirelings of the Commune, some were +terrified workmen or small tradesmen who had, merely from curiosity, +joined the mob. The Swiss officers and soldiers, who were, with the +priests, special objects of hatred to the mob, were first brought +out. They were spared the farce of a trial, they were ordered to +march out through the doors, outside which the Marseillais were +awaiting them. Some hesitated to go out, and cried for mercy. + +A young man with head erect was the first to pass through the fatal +doors. He fell in a moment, pierced with pikes. The rest followed +him, and all save two, who were, by some caprice of the mob, +spared, shared his fate. The mob had crowded into the galleries +which surrounded the hall and applauded with ferocious yells the +murder of the soldiers. In the body of the hall a space was kept +clear by the armed followers of the Commune round the judges' table, +and a pathway to the door from the interior of the prison to that +opening into the street. + +When the Swiss had been massacred the trial of the other prisoners +commenced. One after another the prisoners were brought out. They +were asked their names and occupations, a few questions followed, +and then the verdict of "Guilty." One after another they were +conducted to the door and there slain. Two or three by the wittiness +of their answers amused the mob and were thereupon acquitted, +the acquittals being greeted by the spectators as heartily as the +sentences of death. + +Victor and Harry were in the lowest gallery. They stood back from +the front, but between the heads of those before them they could see +what was going on below. Victor stood immovable, his face as pale +as death. His cap had fallen off, his hair was dank with perspiration, +his eyes had a look of concentrated horror, his body shook with +a spasmodic shuddering. In vain Harry, when he once saw what was +going to take place, urged him in a low whisper to leave. He did +not appear to hear, and even when Harry pulled him by the sleeve +of his blouse he seemed equally unconscious. Harry was greatly +alarmed, and feared that every moment his companion would betray +himself by some terrible out-burst. + +After the three or four first prisoners had been disposed of, +a tall and stately man was brought into the hall. A terrible cry, +which sounded loud even above the tumult which reigned, burst from +Victor's lips. He threw himself with the fury of a madman upon those +in front of him, and in a moment would have bounded into the hall +had not Harry brought the heavy stick he carried with all his force +down upon his head. Victor fell like a log under the blow. + +"What is it? What is it?" shouted those around. + +"My comrade has gone out of his mind," Harry said quietly; "he +has been drinking for some days, and his hatred for the enemies +of France has turned his head. I have been watching him, and had +I not knocked him down he would have thrown himself head-foremost +off the gallery and broken his neck." + +The explanation seemed natural, and all were too interested in +what was passing in the hall below to pay further attention to so +trivial an incident. It was well that Harry had caught sight of the +prisoner before Victor did so and was prepared for the out-break, +for it was the Duc de Gisons who had thus been led in to murder. +Harry dragged Victor back against the wall behind and then tried +to lift him. + +"I will lend you a hand," a tall man in the dress of a mechanic, +who had been standing next to him, said, and, lifting Victor's body +on to his shoulder, made his way to the top of the stairs, Harry +preceding him and opening a way through the crowd. In another minute +they were in the open air. + +"Thank you greatly," Harry said. "I do not know how l should have +managed without your aid. If you put him down here I will try and +bring him round." + +"I live not far from here," the man said. "I will take him to my +room. You need not be afraid," he added as Harry hesitated, "I have +got my eyes open, you can trust me." + +So saying he made his way through the crowd gathered outside. He +was frequently asked who he was carrying, for the crowd feared lest +any of their prey should escape; but the man's reply, given with +a rough laugh - "It is a lad whose stomach is not strong enough to +bear the sight of blood, and I tell you it is pretty hot in there," +- satisfied them. + +Passing through several streets the man entered a small house and +carried Victor to the attic and laid him on a bed, then he carefully +closed the door and struck a light. + +"You struck hard, my friend," he said as he examined Victor's head. +"Ma foi, I should not have liked such a blow myself, but I don't +blame you. You were but just in time to prevent his betraying +himself, and better a hundred times a knock on the head than those +pikes outside the door. I had my eye on him, and felt sure he would +do something rash, and I had intended to choke him, but he was too +quick for me. How came you to be so foolish as to be there?" + +"We had friends in the prison, and we thought we might do something +to save them," Harry answered, for he saw that it would be his best +policy to be frank. "It was his father whom they brought out." + +"It was rash of you, young sir. A kid might as well try to save his +mother from the tiger who has laid its paw upon her as for you to +try to rescue any one from the clutches of the mob. Mon Dieu! To +think that in the early days I was fool enough to go down to the +Assembly and cheer the deputies; but I have seen my mistake. What +has it brought us? A ruined trade, an empty cupboard, and to be +ruled by the ruffians of the slums instead of the king, the clergy, +and the upper classes. I was a brass-worker, and a good one, though +I say it myself, and earned good wages. Now for the last month +I haven't done a stroke of work. Who wants to buy brass-work when +there are mansions and shops to pillage? And now, what are you +going to do? My wife is out, but she will probably be back soon. +We will attend to this young fellow. She is a good nurse, and I +tell you I think he will need all we can do for him." + +"You don't think I have seriously injured him?" Harry said in a +tone of dismay. + +"No, no; don't make yourself uneasy. You have stunned him, and +that's all; he will soon get over that. I have seen men get worse +knocks in a drunken row and be at work again in the morning; but +it is different here. I saw his face, and he was pretty nearly mad +when you struck him. I doubt whether he will be in his right senses +when he comes round; but never fear, we will look after him well. +You can stay if you like; but if you want to go you can trust him +to us. I see you can keep your head, and will not run into danger +as he did." + +"I do want to go terribly," Harry said, "terribly; and I feel +that I can trust you completely. You have saved his life and mine +already. Now you will not be hurt at what I am going to say. He +is the son of the Duc de Gisons, the last man we saw brought out +to be murdered. We have plenty of money. In a belt round his waist +you will find a hundred louis. Please do not spare them. If you +think he wants a surgeon call him in, and get everything necessary +for your household. While you are nursing him you cannot go out +to work. I do not talk of reward; one cannot reward kindness like +yours; but while you are looking after him you and your wife must +live." + +'Agreed!" the man said, shaking Harry by the hand. "You speak +like a man of heart. I will look after him. You need be under no +uneasiness. Should any of my comrades come in I shall say: 'this +is a young workman who got knocked down and hurt in the crowd, and +whom, having nothing better to do, I have brought in here."' + +"If he should recover his senses before I come back," Harry said, +"please do not let him know it was I who struck him. He will +be well-nigh heart-broken that he could not share the fate of his +father. Let him think that he was knocked down by some one in the +crowd." + +"All right! That is easily managed," the man said. "Jacques Medart +is no fool. Now you had best be off, for I see you are on thorns, +and leave me to bathe his head. If you shouldn't come back you can +depend upon it I will look after him till he is able to go about +again." + + + +CHAPTER VIII Marie Arrested + + +On leaving Victor in the care of the man who had so providentially +came to his aid, Harry hurried down the street towards the Abbaye, +then he stopped to think - should he return there or make his way +to the Bicetre. He could not tell whether his friends had, like +the Duc de Gisons, been removed to the Abbaye. If they had been +so, it was clearly impossible for him to aid them in any way. They +might already have fallen. The crowd was too great for him to regain +the gallery, and even there could only witness, without power to +avert, their murder. Were they still at the Bicetre he might do +something. Perhaps the assassins had not yet arrived there. + +It was now nine o'clock in the evening. The streets were almost +deserted. The respectable inhabitants all remained within their +houses, trembling at the horrors, of which reports had circulated +during the afternoon. At first there had been hopes that the Assembly +would take steps to put a stop to the massacre, but the Assembly +did nothing. Danton and the ministers were absent. The cannon's +roar and the tocsin sounded perpetually. There was no secret as to +what was going on. The Commune had the insolence to send commissioners +to the bar of the Assembly to state that the people wished to break +open the doors of the prisons, and this when two hundred priests +had already been butchered at the Carmelites. + +A deputation indeed went to the Abbaye to try to persuade the murderers +to desist; but their voices were drowned in the tumultuous cries. +The Commune of Paris openly directed the massacre. Billaud-Varennes +went backwards and forwards to superintend the execution of his +orders, and promised the executioners twenty-four francs a day. +The receipt for the payment of this blood-money still exists. + +On arriving in front of the Bicetre Harry found all was silent +there, and with a faint feeling of hope that the massacre would not +extend beyond the Abbaye, he again turned his steps in that direction. + +The bloody work was still going on, and Harry wandered away into +the quiet streets to avoid hearing the shrieks of the victims and +the yells of the crowd. A sudden thought struck him, and he went +along until he saw a woman come out of a house. He ran up to her. + +"Madam," he said, "I have the most urgent need of a bonnet and +shawl. Will you sell me those you have on? The shops are all shut, +or I would not trouble you. You have only to name your price, and +I will pay you." + +The woman was surprised at this proposition, but seeing that a good +bargain was to be made she asked twice the cost of the articles +when new, and this Harry paid her without question. + +Wrapping the shawl and bonnet into a bundle, he retraced his steps, +and sat down on some doorsteps within a distance of the Abbaye +which would enable him to observe any general movement of the crowd +in front of the prison. At one o'clock in the morning there was a +stir, and the body of men with pikes moved down the street. + +"They are going to La Force," he said, after following them for some +distance. "Oh, if I had but two or three hundred English soldiers +here we would make mincemeat of these murderers!" + +Harry did not enter La Force, where the scenes that were taking +place at the Abbaye - for, in spite of the speed with which the mock +trials were hurried through, these massacres were not yet finished +there, so great was the number of prisoners - were repeated. + +At La Force many ladies were imprisoned, among them the Princess de +Lamballe. They shared the fate of the male prisoners, being hewn +to pieces by sabres. The head of the princess was cut off and stuck +upon a pike, and was carried in triumph under the windows of the +Temple, where the king and queen were confined, and was held up to +the bars of the room they occupied for them to see. Marie Antoinette, +fearless for herself, fainted at the terrible sight of the pale +head of her friend. + +Harry remained at a little distance from La Force, tramping +restlessly up and down, half-mad with rage and horror, and at his +powerlessness to interfere in any way with the proceedings of the +wretches who were carrying on the work of murder. At last, about +eight o'clock in the morning, a boy ran by. + +"They have finished with them at the Abbaye," he said with fiendish +glee. "They are going from there to the Bicetre." + +Harry with difficulty repressed his desire to slay the urchin, and +hurried away to reach the prison of Bicetre before the band from the +Abbaye arrived there. Unfortunately he came down by a side street +upon them when they were within a few hundred yards of the prison. +His great hope was that he might succeed in penetrating with the +Marseillais and find the marquise, and aid her in making her way +through the mob in the disguise he had purchased. + +But here, as at the other prisons, there was a method in the work +of murder. The agents of the Commune took possession of the hall +at the entrance and permitted none to pass farther into the prison, +the warders and officials bringing down the prisoners in batches, +and so handing them over for slaughter. In vain Harry tried to +penetrate into the inner part of the prison. He was roughly repulsed +by the men guarding the door; and at last, finding that nothing +could be done, he forced his way out again into the open air, and +hurrying away for some distance, threw himself on the ground and +burst into a passion of tears. + +After a time he rose and made his way back to the house where he +had left Victor de Gisons. He found him in a state of delirium, +acting over and over again the scene in the Abbaye, cursing the +judge and executioners, and crying out he would die with his father. + +"What does the doctor think of him?" he asked the woman who was +sitting by Victor's bed. + +"He did not say much," the woman replied. "He shook his head, and +said there had been a terrible mental shock, and that he could not +answer either for his life or reason. There was nothing to do but +to be patient, to keep his head bandaged with wet cloths, and to +give him water from time to time. Do not be afraid, sir; we will +watch over him carefully." + +"I would stay here if I could," Harry said; "but I have others +I must see about. I have the terrible news to break to some young +ladies of the murder of their father and mother." + +"Poor things! Poor things!" the woman said, shaking her head. "It +is terrible! My husband was telling me what he saw; and a neighbour +came in just now and said it was the same thing at all the other +prisons. The priest, too - our priest at the little church at the +corner of the street, where I used to go in every morning to pray +on my way to market - he was dragged away ten days ago to the +Carmelites, and now he is a saint in heaven. How is it, sir, that +God allows such things to be?" + +"We cannot tell," Harry said sadly. "As for myself, I can hardly +believe it, though I saw it. They say there are over four thousand +people in the prisons, and they will all be murdered. Such a thing +was never heard of. I can hardly believe that I am not in a dream +now." + +"You look almost like one dead yourself," the woman said pityingly. +"I have made a bouillon for Jacques' breakfast and mine. It is +just ready. Do take a mouthful before you go out. That and a piece +of bread and a cup of red wine will do you good." + +Harry was on the point of refusing; but he felt that he was utterly +worn and exhausted, and that he must keep up his strength. Her +husband, therefore, took her place by Victor's bedside in readiness +to hold him down should he try to get up in his ravings, while +the good woman ladled out a basin of the broth and placed it with +a piece of bread and some wine on the table. Harry forced himself +to drink it, and when he rose from the table he already felt the +benefit of the meal. + +"Thank you very much," he said. "I feel stronger now; but how I +am to tell the story I do not know. But I must make quite certain +before I go to these poor girls that their parents were killed. +Three or four were spared at the Abbaye. Possibly it may have been +the same thing at the Bicetre." + +So Harry went back and waited outside the prison until the bloody +work was over; but found on questioning those who came out when +all was done that the thirst for blood had increased with killing, +and that all the prisoners found in the Bicetre had been put to +death. + +"Ma foi!" the man whom he was speaking to said; "but these accursed +aristocrats have courage. Men and women were alike; there was not +one of them but faced the judges bravely and went to their death +as calmly as if to dinner. There was a marquis and his wife - the +Marquis de St. Caux they called him. They brought them out together. +They were asked whether they had anything to say why they should +not be punished for their crimes against France. The marquis laughed +aloud. + +"'Crimes!' he said. 'Do you think a Marquis de St. Caux is going +to plead for his life to a band of murderers and assassins? Come, +my love.' + +"He just gave her one kiss, and then took her hand as if they were +going to walk a minuet together, and then led her down between the +lines of guards with his head erect and a smile of scorn on his +face. She did not smile, but her step never faltered. I watched +her closely. She was very pale, and she did not look proud, but +she walked as calmly and steadily as her husband till they reached +the door where the pikemen were awaiting them, and then it was +over in a minute, and they died without a cry or a groan. They are +wretches, the aristocrats. They have fattened on the life-blood of +the people; but they know how to die, these people." + +Without a word Harry turned away. He had told himself there was no +hope; but he knew by the bitter pang he felt now that he had hoped +to the last. Then he walked slowly away to tell the news. + +There were comparatively few people about the streets, and these +all of the lower order. Every shop was closed. Men with scared faces +stood at some of the doors to gather the news from passers-by, and +pale women looked timidly from the upper windows. When he reached +the house he could not summon courage to enter it, but stood for a +long time outside, until at last he saw Louise Moulin put her head +from the window. He succeeded in catching her eye, and placing his +finger on his lips signed to her to come down. A minute later she +appeared at the door. + +"Is it all true, Monsieur Sandwith? They say they are murdering +the prisoners. Surely it must be false! They could never do such +a thing!" + +"It is true, Louise. I have seen it myself. I went with a disguise +to try and rescue our dear lady, even if I could not save the +marquis; but I could not get to her - the wretches have murdered +them both." + +"Oh, my dear lady!" the old woman cried, bursting into tears. "The +pretty babe I nursed. To think of her murdered; and the poor young +things upstairs - what shall I do! - what shall I do, Monsieur +Sandwith!" + +"You must break it to them, Louise. Do they know how great the +danger is?" + +"No. I have kept it from them. They can see from the window that +something unusual is going on; everyone can see that. But I told +them it was only that the Prussians were advancing. They are anxious +- very anxious - but they are quite unprepared for this." + +"Break it gradually, Louise. Tell them first that there are rumours +that the prisons have been attacked. Come down again presently as +if to get more news, and then tell them that there are reports that +the prisoners have been massacred, and then at last tell them all +the truth." + +"But will you not come up, Monsieur Sandwith - they trust you so +much? Your presence will be a support to them." + +"I could do nothing now," Harry said sadly. "God only can console +them. They had best be by themselves for awhile. I will come in this +evening. The first burst of grief will be over then, and my talk +may aid them to rouse themselves. Oh, if we had but tried to get +them out of prison sooner. And yet who could have foreseen that here +in Paris thousands of innocent prisoners, men and women, would be +murdered in cold blood!" + +Finding that she could not persuade Harry to enter, Louise turned +to perform her painful duty; while Harry, thoroughly exhausted with +the night of horrors, made his way home, and throwing himself on +the bed, fell asleep, and did not wake until evening. His first step +was to plunge his head into water, and then, after a good wash, to +prepare a meal. His sleep had restored his energy, and with brisk +steps he made his way through the streets to Louise Moulin. He +knocked with his knuckles at the outer door of her apartments. The +old nurse opened it quietly. + +"Come in," she said, "and sit down. They are in their room, and +I think they have cried themselves to sleep. My heart has been +breaking all day to see them. It has been dreadful. Poor little +Virginie cried terribly, and sobbed for hours; but it was a long +time before the others cried. Marie fainted, and when I got her +round lay still and quiet without speaking. Jeanne was worst of +all. She sat on that chair with her eyes staring open and her face +as white as if she were dead. She did not seem to hear anything I +said; but at last, when Virginie's sobs were stopping, I began to +talk to her about her mother and her pretty ways when she was a +child, and then at last Jeanne broke down, and she cried so wildly +that I was frightened, and then Marie cried too; and after a while +I persuaded them all to lie down; and as I have not heard a sound +for the last hour I hope the good God has sent them all to sleep." + +"I trust so indeed, Louise. I will stay here quietly for an hour, +and then if we hear nothing I will go home, and be back again in +the morning. Sleep will do more for them than anything I can say." + +At the end of an hour all was still quiet, and Harry with a somewhat +lightened heart took his departure. + +At nine o'clock next morning he was again at the house. When he +entered Virginie ran to him, and throwing her arms round his neck +again burst into a passion of tears. Harry felt that this was the +best thing that could have happened, for the others were occupied +for some time in trying to soothe her, crying quietly to themselves +while they did so. At last her sobs became less violent. + +"And now, Harry," Marie said, turning to him, "will you tell us +all about it?" + +"I will tell you only that your dear father and mother died, as +you might be sure they would, calmly and fearlessly, and that they +suffered but little. More than that I cannot tell you now. Some day +farther on, when you can bear it, I will tell you of the events of +the last forty-eight hours. At present I myself dare not think of +it, and it would harm you to know it. + +"Do not, I pray you, ask me any questions now. We must think of +the future. Fortunately you passed unsuspected the last time they +searched the house; but it may not be so another time. You may be +sure that these human tigers will not be satisfied with the blood +they have shed, but that they will long for fresh victims. The +prisons are empty now, but they will soon be filled again. We must +therefore turn our thoughts to your making your escape from the +city. I fear that there is peril everywhere; but it must be faced. +I think it will be useless for us to try and reach the frontier +by land. At every town and village they will be on the look-out +for fugitives, and whatever disguise you might adopt you could not +escape observation. I think, then, that we must make for the sea +and hire a fishing-boat to take us across to England. + +"But we must not hurry. In the first place, we must settle all +our plans carefully and prepare our disguises; in the next place, +there will be such tremendous excitement when the news of what has +happened here is known that it would be unsafe to travel. I think +myself it will be best to wait a little until there is a lull. That +is what I want you to think over and decide. + +"I do not think there is any very great danger here for the next +few days. For a little time they will be tired of slaying; and, +from what I hear, the Girondists are marked out as the next victims. +They say Danton has denounced them at the Jacobin Club. At any +rate it will be better to get everything in readiness for flight, +so that we can leave at once if we hear of any fresh measures for +a search after suspects." + +Harry was pleased to find that his suggestion answered the purpose +for which he made it. The girls began to discuss the disguises +which would be required and the best route to be taken, and their +thoughts were for a time turned from the loss they had sustained. +After an hour's talk he left them greatly benefited by his visit. + +For the next few days Harry spent his time for the most part by +the bedside of Victor de Gisons. The fever was still at its height, +and the doctor gave but small hopes of his recovery. Harry determined +that he would not leave Paris until the issue was decided one way +or the other, and when with the girls he discouraged any idea of +an immediate flight. This was the more easy, for the news from the +provinces showed that the situation was everywhere as bad as it +was at the capital. + +The Commune had sent to all the committees acting in connection with +them in the towns throughout the country the news of the execution +of the enemies of France confined in the prisons, and had urged +that a similar step should at once be taken with reference to all +the prisoners in their hands. The order was promptly obeyed, and +throughout France massacres similar to those in Paris were at once +carried out. A carnival of murder and horror had commenced, and the +madness for blood raged throughout the whole country. Such being +the case, Harry found it by no means difficult to dissuade the +girls from taking instant steps towards making their escape. + +He was, however, in a state of great uneasiness. Many of the moderate +deputies had been seized, others had sought safety in flight, and +the search for suspected persons was carried on vigorously. Difficult +and dangerous as it would be to endeavour to travel through France +with three girls, he would have attempted it without hesitation +rather than remain in Paris had it not been for Victor de Gisons. + +One day a week after the massacres at the prisons he received +another terrible shock. He had bought a paper from one of the men +shouting them for sale in the street, and sat down in the garden of +the Tuileries to read it. A great portion of the space was filled +with lists of the enemies of the people who had been, as it was +called, executed. As these lists had formed the staple of news for +several days Harry scarce glanced at the names, his eye travelling +rapidly down the list until he gave a start and a low cry. Under +the heading of persons executed at Lille were the names of Ernest +de St. Caux, Jules de St. Caux, Pierre du Tillet - "aristocrats +arrested, August 15th, in the act of endeavouring to leave +France in disguise. " + +For some time Harry sat as if stunned. He had scarce given a thought +to his friends since that night they had left, the affairs of the +marquis and his wife, of their daughters, and of Victor de Gisons, +almost excluding everything else. When he thought of the boys it +had been as already in England, under the charge of du Tillet. + +He had thought, that if they had been arrested on the way he +should have been sure to hear of it; and he had such confidence in +the sagacity of Monsieur du Tillet that he had looked upon it as +almost certain he would be able to lead his two charges through +any difficulty and danger which might beset them. And now he knew +that his hopes had been ill founded - that his friends had been +arrested when almost within sight of the frontier, and had been +murdered as soon as the news of the massacres in Paris had reached +Lille. + +He felt crushed with the blow. A warm affection had sprung up between +him and Ernest, while from the first the younger boy had attached +himself to him; and now they were dead, and the girls were alone +in the world, save for himself and the poor young fellow tossing +with fever! It was true that if his friends had reached England +in safety they could not have aided him in the task he had before +him of getting the girls away; still their deaths somehow seemed +to add to his responsibilities. + +Upon one thing he determined at once, and that was, that until his +charges were safely in England they should not hear a whisper of +this new and terrible misfortune which had befallen them. + +In order to afford the girls some slight change, and anxious at their +pale faces, the result of grief and of their unwonted confinement, +Louise Moulin had persuaded them to go out with her in the early +mornings when she went to the markets. The fear of detection was +small, for the girls had now become accustomed to their thick shoes +and rough dress; and indeed she thought that it would be safer to +go out, for the suspicions of her neighbours might be excited if +the girls remained secluded in the house. Harry generally met them +soon after they started, and accompanied them in their walk. + +One morning he was walking with the two younger girls, while Marie +and the old nurse were together a short distance in front of them. +They had just reached the flower-market, which was generally the +main object of their walks - for the girls, having passed most +of their time in the country, were passionately fond of flowers - +when a man on horseback wearing a red sash, which showed him to be +an official of the republic, came along at a foot-pace. His eyes +fell upon Marie's face and rested there, at first with the look of +recognition, followed by a start of surprise and satisfaction. He +reined in his horse instantly, with the exclamation: + +"Mademoiselle de St. Caux!" + +For a moment she shrank back, her cheek paler even than before; +then recovering herself she said calmly: + +"It is myself, Monsieur Lebat." + +"Citizen Lebat," he corrected. "You forget, there are no titles now +- we have changed all that. It goes to my heart," he went on with +a sneer, "to be obliged to do my duty; but however unpleasant it +is, it must be done. Citizens," he said, raising his voice, "I want +two men well disposed to the state." + +As to be ill disposed meant danger if not death, several men within +hearing at once came forward. + +"This female citizen is an aristocrat in disguise," he went on, +pointing to Marie; "in virtue of my office as deputy of Dijon and +member of the Committee of Public Safety, I arrest her and give +her into your charge. Where is the person who was with her? Seize +her also on a charge of harbouring an enemy of the state!" + +But Louise was gone. The moment Lebat had looked round in search +of assistance Marie had whispered in Louise's ear: "Fly, Louise, +for the sake of the children; if you are arrested they are lost!" + +Had she herself been alone concerned, the old woman would have stood +by Marie and shared her fate; but the words "for the sake of the +children" decided her, and she had instantly slipped away among +the crowd, whose attention had been called by Lebat's first words, +and dived into a small shop, where she at once began to bargain +for some eggs. + +"Where is the woman?" Lebat repeated angrily. + +"What is she like?" one of the bystanders asked. + +But Lebat could give no description whatever of her. He had noticed +that Marie was speaking to some one when he first caught sight of +her face; but he had noticed nothing more, and did not know whether +the woman was young or old. + +"I can't tell you," he said in a tone of vexation. "Never mind; we +shall find her later on. This capture is the most important." + +So saying he set out, with Marie walking beside him, with a guard +on either hand. In the next street he came on a party of four of +the armed soldiers of the Commune, and ordered them to take the +place of those he had first charged with the duty, and directed +them to proceed with him to the Maine. + +Marie was taken at once before the committee sitting en permanence +for the discovery and arrest of suspects. + +"I charge this young woman with being an aristocrat in disguise. +She is the daughter of the ci-devant Marquis de St. Caux, who was +executed on the 2d of September at Bicetre." + +"Murdered, you mean, sir," Marie said in a clear haughty voice. +"Why not call things by their proper name?" + +"I am sorry," Lebat went on, not heeding the interruption, "that +it should fall to my lot to denounce her, for I acknowledge that +in the days before our glorious Revolution commenced I have visited +at her father's chateau. But I feel that my duty to the republic +stands before any private considerations." + +"You have done perfectly right," the president of the committee +said. "As I understand that the accused does not deny that she +is the daughter of the ci-devant marquis, I will at once sign the +order for her committal to La Force. There is room there still, +though the prisons are filling up again fast." + +"We must have another jail delivery," one of the committee laughed +brutally; and a murmur of assent passed through the chamber. + +The order was made out, and Marie was handed over to the armed +guard, to be taken with the next batch of prisoners to La Force. + +Harry was some twenty yards behind Marie and her companion when +Lebat checked his horse before her. He recognized the man instantly, +and saw that Marie's disguise was discovered. His first impulse +was to rush forward to her assistance, but the hopelessness of any +attempt at interference instantly struck him, and to the surprise +of the two girls, who were looking into a shop, and had not noticed +what was occurring, he turned suddenly with them down a side street. + +"What are you doing, Harry? We shall lose the others in the crowd +if we do not keep them in sight," Jeanne said. + +"I know what I am doing, Jeanne; I will tell you presently." He walked +along several streets until he came to an unfrequented thoroughfare. + +"There is something wrong, Harry. I see it in your face!" Jeanne +exclaimed. "Tell us at once. + +"It is bad news," Harry said quietly. "Try and nerve yourselves, +my dear girls, for you will need all your courage. Marie is captured." + +"Oh, Harry!" Virginie exclaimed, bursting into tears, while Jeanne +stood still and motionless. + +"Why are you taking us away?" she said in a hard sharp voice which +Harry would not have recognized as hers. "Our place is with her, +and where she goes we will go. You have no right to lead us away. +We will go back to her at once." + +"You can do her no good, Jeanne, dear," Harry said gently. "You +could not help her, and it would only add to her misery if Virginie +and you were also in their hands. Besides, we can be of more use +outside. Trust to me, Jeanne; I will do all in my power to save +her, whatever the risk." + +"You could not save our father and mother," Jeanne said with a +quivering lip. + +"No, dear; but I would have saved them had there been but a little +time to do so. This time I hope to be more successful. Courage, +Jeanne! Do not give way; I depend on your clear head to help me. +Besides, till we can get her back, you have to fill Marie's place +and look after Virginie." + +The appeal was successful, and Jeanne burst into a passion of +tears. Harry did not try to check them, and in a short time the +sobs ceased and Jeanne raised her head again. + +"I feel better now," she said. "Come, Virginie, and dry your eyes, +darling; we shall have plenty of time to cry afterwards. Are we to +go home, Harry? Have they taken Louise?" + +"I do not know, Jeanne; that is the first thing to find out, for +if they have, it will not be safe for you to return. Let us push on +now, so that if she has not been taken we shall reach home before +her. We will place ourselves at the corner of your street and wait +for an hour; she may spend some time in looking for us, but if she +does not come by the end of that time I shall feel sure that it +is because she cannot come, and in that case I must look out for +another place for you." + +They hurried on until they were nearly home, the brisk walk having, +as Harry had calculated it would do, had the effect of preventing +their thoughts from dwelling upon Marie's capture. They had not +been more than a quarter of an hour at their post when Harry gave +an exclamation of satisfaction as he saw Louise Moulin approaching. +The two girls hurried to meet her. + +"Thank God you are both safe, dears!" she exclaimed with tears +streaming down her cheeks. "I thought of you in the middle of it +all; but I was sure that Monsieur Sandwith would see what was being +done and would get you away." + +"And you, Louise," said Harry, who had now come up, "how did you +get away? I have been terribly anxious, thinking that they might +seize you too, and that would have been dreadful." + +"So they would have done," the old woman said; "but when that evil +man looked away for a moment, mademoiselle whispered, 'Fly, Louise, +for the children's sake!' and I slipped away into the crowd without +even stopping to think, and ran into a shop; and it was well I did, +for he shouted to them to seize me too, but I was gone, and as I +don't think he noticed me before, they could not find me; and as +soon as they had all moved away I came out. I looked for you for +some time, and then made up my mind that Monsieur Sandwith had come +on home with you." + +"So I did, you see," Harry said; "but I did not dare to go in until +we knew whether you had been taken too. If you had not come after +a time we should have looked for another lodging, though I knew +well enough that you would not tell them where you lived." + +"No, indeed," the old woman said. "They might have cut me in pieces +without getting a single word from me as to where I lived. Still +they might have found out somehow, for they would have been sure to +have published the fact that I had been taken, with a description +of me. Then the neighbours would have said, 'This description is +like Louise Moulin, and she is missing;' and then they would have +talked, and the end of it would have been you would have been +discovered. Will you come home with us, Monsieur Sandwith?" + +"I will come after it's dark, Louise. The less my visits are noticed +the better." + +"This is awful!" Harry said to himself as he turned away. "The +marquis and his wife massacred, Ernest and Jules murdered, Marie +in prison, Victor mad with fever, Jeanne and Virginie with no one +to trust to but me, my people at home in a frightful state of mind +about me. It is awful to think of. It's enough to drive a fellow +out of his senses. Well, I will go and see how Victor is going on. +The doctor thought there was a change yesterday. Poor fellow! If +he comes to his senses I shall have hard work to keep the truth +about Marie from him. It would send him off again worse than ever +if he had an idea of it." + +"And how is your patient to-day, madame?" he asked, as Victor's +nurse opened the door to him. + +"He is quieter, much quieter," she replied. "I think he is too weak +to rave any longer; but otherwise he's just the same. He lies with +his eyes open, talking sometimes to himself, but I cannot make out +any sense in what he says. The doctor has been here this morning, +and he says that he thinks another two days will decide. If he does +not take a turn then he will die. If he does, he may live, but even +then he may not get his reason again. Poor young fellow! I feel +for him almost as if he were my son, and so does Jacques." + +"You are both very good, madame," Harry said, "and my friend is +fortunate indeed to have fallen into such good hands. I will sit +with him for three or four hours now, and you had better go and +get a little fresh air." + +"That I will, monsieur. Jacques is asleep. He was up with him all +last night, and I had a good night. He would have it so." + +"Quite right!" Harry said. "You must not knock yourself up, madame. +You are too useful to others for us to let you do that. Tomorrow +night I will take my turn." + + + +CHAPTER IX Robespierre + + +After dark Harry presented himself at Louise Moulin's. + +"Have you thought of anything, Harry?" was Jeanne's first question. +She was alone, for Louise was cooking, and Virginie had lain down +and cried herself to sleep. + +"I have thought of a number of things," he replied, for while he +had been sitting by Victor's bedside he had turned over in his mind +every scheme by which he could get Marie out of prison, "but at +present I have fixed upon nothing. I cannot carry out our original +plan of seizing Marat. It would require more than one to carry +out such a scheme, and the friend whom I relied upon before can no +longer aid me." + +"Who is it?" Jeanne asked quietly. "Is it Victor de Gisons?" + +"What! Bless me, Jeanne!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "How did +you guess that?" + +"I felt sure it was Victor all along," the girl said. "In the first +place, I never believed that he had gone away. Marie told me she +had begged and prayed him to go, and that he had only gone to please +her. She seemed to think it was right he should go, but I didn't +think so. A gentleman would not run away and leave anyone he liked +behind, even if she told him. It was not likely. Why, here are +you staying here and risking your life for us, though we are not +related to you and have no claim upon you. And how could Victor +run away? But as Marie seemed pleased to think he was safe, I said +nothing; but I know, if he had gone, and some day they had been +married, I should never have looked upon him as a brother. But I +felt sure he wouldn't do it, and that he was in Paris still. Then, +again, you did not tell us the name of the friend who was working +with you, and I felt sure you must have some reason for your +silence. So, putting the two things together, I was sure that it +was Victor. What has happened to him? Is he in prison too?" + +"No, he is not in prison, Jeanne," Harry said, "but he is very +ill." And he related the whole circumstances of Victor's fever. +"I blamed myself awfully at first for having hit him so hard, as +you may suppose, Jeanne; but the doctor says he thinks it made no +difference, and that Victor's delirium is due to the mental shock +and not in any way to the blow on the head. Still I should not like +your sister to know it. I am very glad you have guessed the truth, +for it is a comfort to talk things over with you." + +"Poor Marie!" Jeanne said softly. "It is well she never knew about +it. The thought he had got safely away kept her up. And now, tell +me about your plans. Could I not take Victor's place and help you to +seize Marat? I am not strong, you know; but I could hold a knife, +and tell him I would kill him if he cried out. I don't think I +could, you know, but he wouldn't know that." + +"I am afraid that wouldn't do, Jeanne," Harry said with a slight +smile, shaking his head. "It was a desperate enterprise for two of +us. Besides, it would never do for you to run the risk of being +separated from Virginie. Remember you are father and mother and +elder sister to her now. The next plan I thought of was to try and +get appointed as a warder in the prison, but that seems full of +difficulties, for I know no one who could get me such a berth, and +certainly they would not appoint a fellow at my age unless by some +extraordinary influence. Then I thought if I let out I was English +I might get arrested and lodged in the same prison, and might +help her to get out then. From what I hear, the prisoners are not +separated, but all live together." + +"No, no, Harry," Jeanne exclaimed in a tone of sharp pain, "you +must not do that of all things. We have only you, and if you are +once in prison you might never get out again; besides, there are +lots of other prisons, and there is no reason why they should send +you to La Force rather than anywhere else. No, I will never consent +to that plan." + +"I thought it seemed too doubtful myself," Harry said. "Of course, +if I knew that they would send me to La Force, I might risk it. I +could hide a file and a steel saw about me, and might cut through +the bars; but, as you say, there is no reason why they should send +me there rather than anywhere else. I would kill that villain who +arrested her - the scoundrel, after being a guest at the chateau! +- but I don't see that would do your sister any good, and would +probably end in my being shut up. The most hopeful plan seems to +me to try and bribe some of the warders. Some of them, no doubt, +would be glad enough to take money if they could see their way to +letting her out without fear of detection." + +"But you know we thought of that before, Harry, and agreed it would +be a terrible risk to try it, for the very first man you spoke to +might turn round on you." + +"Of course there is a certain risk, Jeanne, anyway. There is no +getting a prisoner out of La Force without running some sort of +risk; the thing is to fix on as safe a plan as we can. However, we +must think it out well before we do try. A failure would be fatal, +and I do not think there is any pressing danger just at present. +It is hardly likely there will be any repetition of the wholesale +work of the 2nd of September; and if they have anything like a trial +of the prisoners, there are such numbers of them, so many arrested +every day, that it may be a long time before they come to your +sister. I do not mean that we should trust to that, only that +there is time for us to make our plans properly. Have you thought +of anything?" + +"I have thought of all sort of things since you left us this morning, +Harry, but they are like yours, just vague sort of schemes that +do not seem possible when you try to work them out. I do not know +whether they let you inside the prisons to sell everything to the +prisoners, because if they did I might go in with something and +see Marie, and find out how she could be got out." + +Harry shook his head. + +"I do not think anyone would be allowed in like that, but if they +did it would only be a few to whom the privilege would be granted." + +"Yes, I thought of that, Harry; but one of them might be bribed +perhaps to let me take her place." + +"It might be possible," Harry said, "but there would be a terrible +risk, and I don't think any advantage to compensate for it. Even if +you did get to her and spoke to her, we should still be no nearer +to getting her out. Still we mustn't be disheartened. We can hardly +expect to hit upon a scheme at once, and I don't think either of +our heads is very clear to-day; let us think it over quietly, and +perhaps some other idea may occur to one of us, I expect it will be +to you. Now, good-night; keep your courage up. I rely very much +upon you, Jeanne, and you don't know what a comfort it is to me that +you are calm and brave, and that I can talk things over to you. I +don't know what I should do if I had it all on my own shoulders." + +Jeanne made no answer, but her eyes were full of tears as she put +her hands into Harry's, and no sound came from her lips in answer +to his good-night. + +"That girl's a trump, and no mistake," Harry said to himself as +he descended the stairs. "She has got more pluck than most women, +and is as cool and calm as if she were twice her age. Most girls +would be quite knocked over if they were in her place. Her father +and mother murdered, her sister in the hands of these wretches, +and danger hanging over herself and Virginie! It isn't that she +doesn't feel it. I can see she does, quite as much, if not more, +than people who would sit down and howl and wring their hands. She +is a trump, Jeanne is, and no mistake. And now about Marie. She +must be got out somehow, but how? That is the question. I really +don't see any possible way except by bribing her guards, and +I haven't the least idea how to set about that. I think to-morrow +I will tell Jacques and his wife all about it; they may know some +of these men, though it isn't likely that they do; anyhow, three +heads are better than one." + +Accordingly, next morning he took the kind-hearted couple into his +counsel. When they heard that the young lady who had been arrested +was the fiance of their sick lodger they were greatly interested, +but they shook their heads when he told them that he was determined +at all hazards to get her out of prison. + +"It isn't the risk so much," Jacques said, "that I look at. Life +doesn't seem of much account in these days; but how could it be +done? Even if you made up your mind to be killed, I don't see that +would put her a bit nearer to getting out of prison; the place is +too strong to break into or to break out of." + +"No, I don't think it is possible to succeed in that sort of way; +but if the men who have the keys of the corridors could be bribed, +and the guard at the gate put soundly to sleep by drugging their +drink, it might be managed." + +Jacques looked sharply at Harry to see if he was in earnest, and +seeing that he was so, said drily: + +"Yes, if we could do those things we should, no doubt, see our way; +but how could it be managed?" + +"That is just the point, Jacques. In the first place it will be +necessary to find out in which corridor Mademoiselle de St. Caux +is confined; in the second, to let her know that we are working +for her, and to learn, if possible, from her whether, among those +in charge of her, there is one man who shows some sort of feeling +of pity and kindness; when that is done we should, of course, try +to get hold of him. Of course he doesn't remain in the prison all +day. However, we can see about that after we have found out the +first points." + +"I know a woman who is sister to one of the warders," Elise Medart +said. "I don't know whether he is there now or whether he has been +turned out. Martha is a good soul, and I know that sometimes she +has been inside the prison, I suppose to see her brother, for before +the troubles the warders used to get out only once a month. What +her brother is like I don't know, but if he is like her he would, +I think, be just the man to help you." + +"Yes," Jacques assented, "I didn't think of Martha. She is a good +soul and would do her best, I am sure." + +"Thank you both," Harry said; "but I do not wish you to run any +risks. You have already incurred the greatest danger by sheltering +my friend; I cannot let you hazard your lives farther. This woman +may, as you say, be ready to help us, but her brother might betray +the whole of us, and screen his sister by saying she had only +pretended to enter into the plot in order to betray it." + +"We all risk our lives every day," Jacques said quietly. "I am +sure we can trust Martha, and she will know whether she can rely +completely upon her brother. If she can, we will set her to sound +him. Elise will go and see her to-day, and you shall know what she +thinks of it when you come this evening for your night's watching." + +Greatly pleased with this unexpected stroke of luck, Harry went off +at once to tell Jeanne that the outline of a plan to rescue Marie +had been fixed upon. + +The girl's pale face brightened up at the news. + +"Perhaps," she said, "we may be able to send a letter to her. I +should like to send her just a line to say that Virginie and I are +well. Do you think it can be done?" + +"I do not know, Jeanne. At any rate you can rely that, if it is +possible and all goes well, she shall have it; but be sure and give +no clue by which they might find you out, if the letter falls into +wrong hands. Tell her we are working to get her free, and ask if +she can suggest any way of escape; knowing the place she may see +opportunities of which we know nothing. Write it very small, only +on a tiny piece of paper, so that a man can hide it anwhere, slip +it into her hand, or put it in her ration of bread." + +Jeanne wrote the little note - a few loving words, and the message +Harry had given her. + +"Do not sign your name to it," Harry said; "she will know well +enough who it comes from, and it is better in case it should fall +into anyone else's hands." + +That evening Harry learned that the woman had consented to sound +her brother, who was still employed in the prison. She had said she +was sure that he would not betray her even if he refused to aid in +the plan. + +"I am to see her to-morrow morning," Elise said. "She will go +straight from me to the prison. She says discipline is not nearly +so strict as it used to be. There is a very close watch kept over +the prisoners, but friends of the guards can go in and out without +trouble, except that on leaving they have to be accompanied by +the guard at the door, so as to be sure that no one is passing out +in disguise. She says her brother is good-natured but very fond +of money. He is always talking of retiring and settling down in a +farm in Brittany, where he comes from, and she thinks that if he +thought he could gain enough to do this he would be ready to run +some risk, for he hates the terrible things that are being done +now." + +"He seems just the man for us," Harry said. "Will you tell your +friend, when you see her in the morning, that I will give her twenty +louis and her brother a hundred if he can succeed in getting Marie +out?" + +"I will tell them, sir. That offer will set his wits to work, I +have no doubt." + +Harry then gave her the note Jeanne had written, for the woman +to hand to her brother for delivery if he proved willing to enter +into their plan. Harry had a quiet night of watching, for Victor +lay so still that his friend several times leant over him to see +if he breathed. The doctor had looked in late and said that the +crisis was at hand. + +"To-morrow your friend will either sink or he will turn the corner. +He is asleep now and will probably sleep for many hours. He may +never wake again; he may wake, recognize you for a few minutes, +and then go off in a last stupor; he may wake stronger and with a +chance of life. Here is a draught that you will give him as soon +as he opens his eyes; pour besides three or four spoonfuls of soup +down his throat, and if he keeps awake do the same every half hour." + +It was not until ten o'clock in the morning that Victor opened his +eyes. He looked vaguely round the room and there was no recognition +in his eyes as they fell upon Harry's face, but they had lost the +wild expression they had worn while he had lain there, and Harry +felt renewed hope as he lifted his head and poured the draught +between his lips. Then he gave him a few spoonfuls of soup and had +the satisfaction of seeing his eyes close again and his breathing +become more and more regular. + +The doctor, when he came in and felt Victor's pulse, nodded approval. + +"The fever has quite left him," he said; "I think he will do now. +It will be slow, very slow, but I think he will regain his strength; +as to his mind, of that I can say nothing at present." + +About mid-day Elise returned. + +"I have good news, monsieur," she said at once. "I waited outside +the prison till Martha came out. Her brother has agreed to help if +he can, but he said that he did not think that it would be at all +possible to get mademoiselle out. There are many of the men of the +faubourgs mixed up with the old warders, and there is the greatest +vigilance to ensure that none escape. There would be many doors to +be opened, and the keys are all held by different persons. He says +he will think it over, and if it is any way possible he will risk +it. But he wishes first of all to declare that he does not think +that any way of getting her out can be discovered. He will give +her the note on the first opportunity, and get an answer from her, +which he will send to his sister as soon as he gets a chance." + +"That is all we can expect," Harry said joyfully. "I did not expect +that it would be an easy business, or that the man would be able +to hit upon a scheme at once; but now that he has gone so far as +to agree to carry notes, the thought that he may, if he succeeds, +soon have his little farm in Brittany, will sharpen his wits up +wonderfully." + +It was three days before an answer came from Marie. Jacques handed +it to Harry when he came to take his turn by Victor's bedside. +Victor was better; he was no longer unconscious, but followed with +his eyes the movements of those in the room. Once he had said, "Where +am I?" but the answer "You are with friends; you have been ill; +you shall hear all about it when you get stronger," had apparently +satisfied him. At Harry he looked with doubtful recognition. He +seemed to remember the face, but to have no further idea about it, +and even when Harry said cheerfully: + +"Don't you remember your friend Harry, Victor?" he had shaken his +head in feeble negative. + +"I expect it will all come back to him," Jacques said, "as he gets +stronger; and after all it is much better that he should remember +nothing at present. It will be quite time enough for that when he +is better able to stand it." + +"I agree with you there," Harry said, "and I am really glad that he +did not remember me, for had he done so the past might have come +back at once and, feeble as he is, that would have completely +knocked him over." + +Upon the receipt of Marie's note Harry at once started off at full +speed and soon had the satisfaction of handing it to Jeanne. + +She tore it open. + +"Do you not know what it is, Harry?" + +"How could I?" Harry replied. "As you see the letter is addressed +to you. Of course I should not think of looking at it." + +"Why not? You are as much interested in it as I am. Sit down between +me and Virginie and let us read it together. Why, it is quite a +long epistle." + +It was written in pencil upon what was evidently a fly-leaf of a +book, and ran as follows: + +"My darling Jeanne and Virginie, you can imagine what joy I felt +when I received your little note to-day and heard that you were +still safe. I could hardly believe my senses when, on opening the +little ball of paper which one of our guards thrust into my hand, I +found that it was from you, and that you were both safe and well. +I am writing this crouched down on the ground behind Madame de +Vigny, and so hidden from the sight of our guards, but I can only +write a few lines at a time, lest I should be detected. Tell our +good friend that I fear there is little chance of escape. We are +watched night and day. We are locked up at night, three or four +together, in little cells, but in the day we are in a common hall. + +"It is a strange mixture. Here are many of the best blood in France, +together with deputies, advocates, and writers. We may talk together +as much as we like, and sometimes even a joke and a laugh are heard. +Every day some names are called out, and these go and we never see +them again. Do not fret about me, my dear sisters, we are all in +God's hands. If it is his will, we shall be saved; if not, we must +face bravely whatever comes. + +"It is a day since I wrote last. A strange thing has happened which +will make your blood boil, Jeanne, as it has made mine. I was called +out this morning to a little room where questions are sometimes +asked us, and who do you think was there? M. Lebat, the son of the +Maire of Dijon - the man who denounced and arrested me. What do +you think the wretch had the insolence to say? That he loved me, +and that if I would consent to marry him he could save me. He said +that his influence would suffice, not only to get me free, but to +obtain for me some of our estates, and he told me he would give me +time to consider his offer, but that I must remember that nothing +could save me if I refused. What do you think I did, Jeanne? +Something very unladylike, I am afraid. I made a step closer to +him, and then I gave him a slap on the face which made my fingers +tingle, then I made him a deep curtsy and said, 'That is my answer, +Monsieur Lebat,' and walked into the great hall again. + +"But do not let me waste a line of this last precious letter that +I may be able to write to you by saying more about this wretch. I +can see no possible way of escape, dears, so do not buoy yourselves +up with hope. I have none. Strange as it may seem to you we are +not very unhappy here. There are many of our old friends and some +of the deputies of the Gironde, who used to attend our salon. We +keep up each other's courage. We talk of other things just as if +we were in a drawing-room, and when the list is called out of a +morning, those who are named say good-bye bravely; there is seldom +a tear shed. + +"So do not think of me as wretched or unhappy in these last days. +And now, my sisters, I must say adieu. You must trust yourselves +entirely to our brave English friend, as you would trust a brother. +He will do all that is possible to take you out of this unhappy land +and conduct you to England, where you will find Victor, Monsieur +du Tillet, and your brothers, who have, I trust, weeks ago arrived +there in safety. Thank our friend from me and from our dead parents +for his goodness and devotion. That your lives may be happy, my +dear sisters, will be the last prayer of your loving Marie." + +Inside the letter was another tiny note addressed for Jeanne, +"Private." Having read the other Jeanne took the little note and +walking to the window opened it. As she did so a burning flush +of colour swept across her face to her very brow. She folded it +carefully again and stood looking through the window silently for +another quarter of an hour before she came back to the table. + +"What is it, Jeanne?" Virginie asked; "have you been crying, Jeanne +dear? You look so flushed. You must not fret. Harry says we must +not give up hope, for that he believes he may hit upon some plan +for saving Marie yet. He says it's only natural that she should +think there was no means of getting away, but it was only what he +expected. It is we who must invent something." + +"Yes, dear, we will try," Jeanne said with a quiver in her lip, +and then she suddenly burst into tears. + +"You mustn't give way, Jeanne," Harry said, when she recovered +herself a little. "You know how much I trust to your advice; if +you were to break down I should lose heart. Do not think of Marie's +letter as a good-bye. I have not lost hope yet, by a long way. Why, +we have done wonders already in managing to get a letter in to her +and to have her reply. I consider half the difficulty is over now +we have a friend in there." + +"I will try not to break down again," Jeanne said; "it is not often +I give way, but to-day I do not feel quite myself, and this letter +finished me. You will see I shall be all right to-morrow." + +"I hope so," Harry said as he rose to leave; "but I think you had +better ask Louise to give you something - your hands are hot and +your cheeks are quite flushed, and you look to me as if you were +feverish. Good night, dears!" + +"I do hope Jeanne is not going to break down," Harry said as he +walked towards his lodging. "If she were to get laid up now that +would be the finishing touch to the whole affair; but perhaps, as +she says, she will be all right in the morning. No doubt in that +note Marie wrote as if she were sure of dying, and such a letter +as that would be enough to upset any girl, even such a plucky one +as Jeanne. + +"However, it is of Marie I must think now. It was a brave letter of +hers; it is clear she has given up all hope. This is a bad business +about the scoundrel Lebat. I used to wonder why he came so often +to the chateau on business that could have been done just as well +by a messenger. He saw how things were going, and thought that when +the division of the estates came he might get a big slice. However, +it's most unfortunate that he should have had this interview with +Marie in the prison. If it had not been for that it might have been +months before her turn came for trial. As it is, no doubt Lebat will +have her name put down at once in the list of those for trial, if +such a farce can be called a trial, and will see that no time is +lost before it appears on that fatal list for execution. + +"He will flatter himself, of course, that when the last moment +comes, and she sees that there is no hope whatever, she will change +her mind. There is one thing, if she is murdered I will kill him +as I would a dog, for he will be her murderer just as much as if +he had himself cut her throat. I would do it at once if it were not +for the girls. I must not run any unnecessary risks, at any rate +I need not think of him now; the one thing at present is to get +Marie out." + +Turning this over in his mind, he walked about for some hours, +scarce noticing where he was going. It seemed to him that there +must be some way of getting Marie out if he could only hit upon +it. He turned over in his mind every escape he had ever read of, +but in most of these the prisoner had been a man, capable of using +tools passed in to him to saw through iron bars, pierce walls, or +overcome jailers; some had been saved by female relatives, wives +or daughters, who went in and exchanged clothes and places with +them, but this was not feasible here. This was not a prison where +relatives could call upon friends, for to be a relative or friend +of a prisoner was quite sufficient in the eyes of the terrorists +to mark anyone as being an enemy of the republic. + +He was suddenly roused from his reverie by a cry, and beneath the +dim light of a lantern, suspended over the narrow street, he saw a +man feebly defending himself against two others. He sprang forward +just as the man fell, and with his stick struck a sharp blow on +the uplifted wrist of one of the assailants, sending the knife he +was holding flying through the air. The other turned upon him, but +he drew the pistol which he always carried beneath his clothes, and +the two men at once took to their heels. Harry replaced his pistol +and stooped over the fallen man. + +"Are you badly hurt?" he asked. + +"No, I think not, but I do not know. I think I slipped down; but +they would have killed me had you not arrived." + +"Well, let me get you to your feet," Harry said, holding out +his hands, but with a feeling of some disgust at the abject fear +expressed in the tones of the man's voice. He was indeed trembling +so that even when Harry hauled him to his feet he could scarcely +stand. + +"You had better lean against the wall for a minute or two to +recover yourself," Harry said. "I see you have your coat cut on the +shoulder, and are bleeding pretty freely, but it is nothing to be +frightened about. If you will give me your handkerchief I will bind +it up for you." + +Harry unbuttoned the man's coat, for his hands shook so much that +he was unable to do so, pulled the arm out of the sleeve, and tied +the bandage tightly round the shoulder. The man seemed to belong +to the bourgeois class, and evidently was careful as to his attire, +which was neat and precise. His linen and the ruffles of his shirt +were spotlessly white and of fine material. The short-waisted coat +was of olive-green cloth, with bright metal buttons; the waistcoat, +extending far below the coat, was a light-buff colour, brocaded +with a small pattern of flowers. When he had bound the wound Harry +helped him on with his coat again. He was by this time recovering +himself + +"Oh these aristocrats," he murmured, "how they hate me!" + +The words startled Harry. What was this? He had not interfered, as +he had supposed, to prevent the robbery of some quiet citizen by +the ruffians of the streets. It was a political assassination that +had been attempted - a vengeance by Royalists upon one of the men +of the Revolution. He looked more closely at the person whose life +he had saved. He had a thin and insignificant figure - his face was +pale and looked like that of a student. It seemed to Harry that he +had seen it before, but where he could not say. His first thought +was one of regret that he had interfered to save one of the men +of the 2d of September; then the thought flashed through his mind +that there might be some benefit to be derived from it. + +"Young man," the stranger said, "will you give me your arm and +escort me home? You have saved my life; it is a humble one, but +perhaps it is of some value to France. I live but two streets away. +It is not often I am out alone, for I have many enemies, but I was +called suddenly out on business, though I have no doubt now the +message was a fraudulent one, designed simply to put me into the +hands of my foes." + +The man spoke in a thin hard voice, which inspired Harry, he knew +not why, with a feeling of repulsion; he had certainly heard it +before. He offered him his arm and walked with him to his door. + +"Come up, I beg you," the stranger said. + +He ascended to the second floor and rang at the bell. A woman with +a light opened it. + +"Why, my brother," she exclaimed on seeing his face, "you are ill! +Has anything happened?" + +"I have been attacked in the street," he said, "but I am not hurt, +though, had it not been for this citizen it would have gone hardly +with me. You have to thank him for saving your brother's life." + +They had entered a sitting-room now. It was plainly but very neatly +furnished. There were some birds in cages, which, late though the +hour was, hopped on their perches and twittered when they heard +the master's voice, and he responded with two or three words of +greeting to them. + +"Set the supper," he said to his sister; "the citizen will take a +meal with us. You know who I am, I suppose?" he said to Harry. + +"No," Harry replied. "I have a recollection of your face and voice, +but I cannot recall where I have met you." + +"I am Robespierre," he said. + +Harry gave a start of surprise. This man whom he had saved was he +whom he had so often execrated - one of the leaders of those who +had deluged France with blood - the man who, next only to Marat +was hated and feared by the Royalists of France. His first feeling +was one of loathing and hatred, but at the same moment there flashed +through his mind the thought that chance had favoured him beyond +his hopes, and that the comedy which he had planned with Victor +to carry out upon the person of Marat had come to pass without +premeditation, but with Robespierre as the chief actor. + +But so surprised and so delighted was he that for a minute he sat +unable to say a word. Robespierre was gratified at the effect which +his name had produced. His was a strangely-mixed character - at +once timid and bold, shrinking from personal danger, yet ready to +urge the extremest measures. Simple in his tastes, and yet very vain +and greedy of applause. Domestic and affectionate in his private +character, but ready to shed a river of blood in his public capacity. +Pure in morals; passionless in his resolves; incorruptible and +inflexible; the more dangerous because he had neither passion nor +hate; because he had not. like Danton and Marat, a lust for blood, +but because human life to him was as nothing, because had he +considered it necessary that half France should die for the benefit +of the other half he would have signed their death-warrant without +emotion or hesitation. + +"You are surprised, young man," he said, "but the ways of fate are +inscrutable. The interposition of a youth has thwarted the schemes +of the enemies of France. Had you been but ten seconds later I should +have ceased to be, and one of the humble instruments by which fate +is working for the regeneration of the people would have perished." + +While Robespierre was speaking Harry had rapidly thought over the +role which it would be best for him to adopt. Should he avow his +real character and ask for an order for the liberation of Marie as +a recompense for the service he had rendered Robespierre, or should +he retain his present character and obtain Robespierre's confidence? +There was danger in an open appeal, for, above all things, Robespierre +prided himself upon his incorruptibility, and he might consider +that to free a prisoner for service rendered to himself would be +a breach of his duty to France. He resolved, therefore, to keep +silence at present, reserving an appeal to Robespierre's gratitude +for the last extremity. + +"Pardon me, monsieur," he said, after he had rapidly arrived at +this conclusion; "my emotion was naturally great at finding that +I had unwittingly been the means of saving the life of one on whom +the eyes of France are fixed. I rejoice indeed that I should have +been the means of preserving such a life." + +This statement was strictly true, although not perhaps in the sense +in which Robespierre regarded it. + +"We will talk more after supper," he said. "My sister is, I see, +ready with it. Indeed it is long past our usual hour, and we were +just sitting down when I was called out by what purported to be an +important message from the Club." + + + +CHAPTER X Free + + +Robespierre chatted continuously as the meal went on, and Harry +asked himself in astonishment whether he was in a dream, and if +this man before him, talking about his birds, his flowers, and his +life before he came to Paris, could really be the dreaded Robespierre. +After the meal was over his host said: + +"As yet I am ignorant of the name of my preserver." + +"My name is Henry Sandwith," Harry replied. + +"It is not a French name," Robespierre said in surprise. + +"I am of English parentage," Harry said quietly, "but have been +resident for some years in France. I was for some time in the service +of the ci-devant Marquis de St. Caux; but since the break-up of his +household I have been shifting for myself as best I could, living +chiefly on the moneys I had earned in his service, and on the +look-out for any employment that may offer." + +"England is our enemy," Robespierre said, raising his voice angrily; +"the enemy of free institutions and liberty." + +"I know nothing about English politics," Harry replied with a smile; +"nor indeed about any politics. I am but little past eighteen, and +so that I can earn my living I do not ask whether my employer is a +patriot or an aristocrat. It is quite trouble enough to earn one's +living without bothering one's head about politics. If you can put +me in the way of doing so I shall consider that I am well repaid +for the little service I rendered you." + +"Assuredly I will do so," Robespierre said. "I am a poor man, you +know. I do not put my hand into the public purse, and I and my +sister live as frugally as we did when we first came to Paris from +Arras. My only gains have been the hatred of the aristocrats and +the love of the people. But though I have not money, I have influence, +and I promise to use it on your behalf. Until I hear of something +suitable you can, if you will, work here with me, and share what +I possess. My correspondence is very heavy. I am overwhelmed with +letters from the provinces begging me to inquire into grievances +and redress wrongs. Can you read and write well?" For from Harry's +words he supposed that he had held some menial post in the household +of the Marquis de St. Caux. + +"Yes, I can read and write fairly," Harry said. + +"And are you acquainted with the English tongue?" + +"I know enough of it to read it," Harry said. "I spoke it when I +was a child." + +"If you can read it that will do," Robespierre said. "There are +English papers sent over, and I should like to hear for myself +what this perfidious people say of us, and there are few here who +can translate the language. Do you accept my proposal?" + +"Willingly," Harry said. + +"Very well, then, come here at nine o'clock in the morning. But +mind you are only filling the post of my secretary until I can find +something better for you to do." + +"The post will be a better one some day, Monsieur Robespierre. +Ere long you will be the greatest man in France, and the post of +secretary will be one which may well be envied." + +"Ah, I see you know how to flatter," Robespierre said with a smile, +much gratified nevertheless with Harry's words. "You must remember +that I crave no dignities, that I care only for the welfare of +France." + +"I know, monsieur, that you are called 'Robespierre the Incorruptible,"' +Harry said; "but, nevertheless, you belong to France, and France +will assuredly see that some day you have such a reward as you +richly merit." + +"There was no untruth in that," Harry said to himself as he made +his way down stairs. "These human tigers will meet their doom when +France comes to her senses. He is a strange contrast, this man; +but I suppose that even the tiger is a domestic animal in his own +family. His food almost choked me, and had I not known that Marie's +fate depends upon my calmness, I should assuredly have broken out +and told this dapper little demagogue my opinion of him. But this +is glorious! What news I shall have to give the girls in the morning! +If I cannot ensure Marie's freedom now I should be a bungler +indeed. Had I had the planning of the events of this evening they +could not have turned out better for us." + +It was the first time that Harry had called at Louise Moulin's as +early as eight o'clock in the morning, and Jeanne leaped up as he +entered. + + +"What is it, Harry? You bring us some news, don't you?" + +"I do indeed, Jeanne; capital news. Whom do you think I had supper +with last night?" + +"Had supper with, Harry!" Jeanne repeated. "What do you mean? How +can I guess whom you had supper with?" + +"I am sure you cannot guess, Jeanne, so I will not puzzle your +brain. I had supper with Robespierre." + +"With Robespierre!" the two girls repeated in astonishment. "You +are not joking, Harry?" Jeanne went on. "But no, you cannot be +doing that; tell us how you came to have supper with Robespierre." + +"My dear Jeanne, I regard it as a special providence, as an answer +from God to your prayers for Marie. I had the good fortune to save +his life." + +"Oh, Harry," Jeanne exclaimed, "what happiness! Then Marie's life +will be saved." + +"I think I can almost promise you that, Jeanne, though I do not know +yet exactly how it's to be done. But such a piece of good fortune +would never have been sent to me had it not been intended that we +should save Marie. Now, sit down quietly, both of you, and you too, +Louise, and let me tell you all about it, for I have to be with +Robespierre again at nine o'clock." + +"Oh, that is fortunate indeed!" Jeanne exclaimed when he had +finished. "Surely he cannot refuse any request you may make now." + +"If he does, I must get it out of him somehow," Harry said cheerfully. +"By fair means or foul I will get the order for her release." + +"But you don't think he can refuse, Harry?" Jeanne asked anxiously. + +"I think he may refuse, Jeanne. He is proud of his integrity and +incorruptibility, and I think it quite possible that he may refuse +to grant Marie's release in return for a benefit done him personally. +However, do not let that discourage you in the least. As I said, +I will have the order by fair means or foul." + +At nine o'clock Harry presented himself in readiness for work, and +found that his post would be no sinecure. The correspondence which +he had to go through was enormous. Requests for favours, letters +of congratulation on Robespierre's speeches and motions in the +Assembly, reports of scores of provincial committees, denunciations +of aristocrats, letters of blame because the work of rooting out +the suspects did not proceed faster, entreaties from friends of +prisoners. All these had to be sorted, read, and answered. + +Robespierre was, Harry soon found, methodical in the extreme. He +read every letter himself, and not only gave directions how they +were to be answered, but read through the answers when written, +and was most careful before he affixed his signature to any paper +whatever. When it was time for him to leave for the Assembly he +made a note in pencil on each letter how it should be answered, +and directed Harry when he had finished them to leave them on the +table for him on his return. + +"I foresee that you will be of great value to me, Monsieur Sandwith," +he said, "and I shall be able to recommend you for any office that +may be vacant with a feeling of confidence that you will do justice +to my recommendation; or if you would rather, as time goes on, +attach your fortunes to mine, be assured that if I should rise to +power your fortune will be made. When you have done these letters +your time will be your own for the rest of the day. You know our +meal hours, and I can only say that we are punctual to a second." + +When Harry had finished he strolled out. He saw that the task of +getting an order for Marie's release would be more difficult than +he had anticipated. He had hoped that by placing it with a batch of +papers before Robespierre he would get him to sign it among others +without reading it, but he now saw that this would be next to +impossible. One thing afforded him grounds for satisfaction. Among +the papers was a list of the prisoners to be brought up on the +following day for trial. To this Robespierre added two names, and +then signed it and sent it back to the prison. There was another +list with the names of the prisoners to be executed on the following +day, and this, Harry learned, was not sent in to the prison authorities +until late in the evening, so that even they were ignorant until +the last moment which of the prisoners were to be called for by +the tumbrils next morning. Thus he would know when Marie was to go +through the mockery of a trial, and would also know when her name +was put on the fatal list for the guillotine. The first fact he +might have been able to learn from his ally in the prison, but the +second and most important he could not have obtained in any other +way. + +The work had been frequently interrupted by callers. Members of the +Committee of Public Safety, leaders of the Jacobin and Cordeliers +Clubs, and others, dropped in and asked Robespierre's advice, +or discussed measures to be taken; and after a day or two Harry +found that it was very seldom, except when taking his meals, that +Robespierre was alone while in the house; and as his sister was in +and out of the room all day, the idea of compelling him by force to +sign the order, as they had originally intended to do with Marat, +was clearly impracticable. + +Each day after his work was over, and this was generally completed +by about one o'clock, Harry called to see how Victor was getting +on. He was gaining strength, but his brain appeared to make far +less progress than his bodily health. He did not recognize Harry in +the least, and although he would answer questions that were asked +him, his mind appeared a blank as to the past, and he often lay for +hours without speaking a word. After leaving him Harry met Louise +and the two girls at a spot agreed upon the day before, a fresh +meeting-place being arranged each day. He found it difficult to +satisfy them, for indeed each day he became more and more doubtful +as to his ability to get the order of release from Robespierre. +Towards the man himself his feelings were of a mixed kind. He +shuddered at the calmness with which, in his letters to the provincial +committees, he advocated wholesale executions of prisoners. He +wondered at the violence with which, in his shrill, high-pitched +voice, he declaimed in favour of the most revolutionary measures. +He admired the simplicity of his life, his affection for his sister +and his birds, his kindness of heart in all matters in which politics +were not concerned. + +Among Robespierre's visitors during the next three weeks was Lebat, +who was, Harry found, an important personage, being the representative +on the Committee of Public Safety of the province of Burgundy, and +one of the most extreme of the frequenters of the Jacobin Club. He +did not recognize Harry, whom he had never noticed particularly on +the occasion of his visits to the chateau, and who, in the somewhat +threadbare black suit which he had assumed instead of the workman's +blouse, wrote steadily at a table apart, taking apparently no notice +of what was going on in the apartment. + +But Harry's time was not altogether thrown away. It was his duty +the first thing of a morning to open and sort the letters and lay +them in piles upon the table used by Robespierre himself, and he +managed every day to slip quietly into his pockets several of the +letters of denunciation against persons as aristocrats in disguise +or as being suspected of hostility to the Commune. When Robespierre +left him to go to the Club or the Assembly Harry would write short +notes of warning in a disguised hand to the persons named, and +would, when he went out, leave these at their doors. Thus he had +the satisfaction of saving a considerable number of persons from +the clutches of the revolutionists. He would then, two or three +days later, slip the letters of denunciation, very few of which +were dated, among the rest of the correspondence, satisfied that +when search was made the persons named would already have shifted +their quarters and assumed some other disguise. + +February had come and Harry was still working and waiting, busy +for several hours each day writing and examining reports with +Robespierre, striving of an evening to keep up the courage and +spirits of the girls, calling in for a few minutes each day to see +Victor, who, after passing through a long and terrible fever, now +lay weak and apparently unconscious alike of the past and present, +his mind completely gone; but the doctor told Harry that in this +respect he did not think the case was hopeless. + +"His strength seems to have absolutely deserted him," he said, +"and his mind is a blank like that of a little child, but I by no +means despair of his gradually recovering; and if he could hear the +voice of the lady you tell me he is engaged to, it might strike a +chord now lying dormant and set the brain at work again." + +But as to Marie, Harry could do nothing. Do what he would, he +could hit upon no plan whatever for getting her out of prison; and +he could only wait until some change in the situation or the appearance +of her name in the fatal list might afford some opportunity for +action. It was evident to him that Lebat was not pushing matters +forward, but that he preferred to wait and leave the horror of +months in prison to work upon Marie's mind, and so break her down +that she would be willing enough to purchase her life by a marriage +with him. + +There had been some little lull in the work of blood, for in +December all eyes had been turned to the spectacle of the trial of +the king. From the 1 0th of August he had remained a close prisoner +in the Temple, watched and insulted by his ruffian guards, and +passing the time in the midst of his family with a serenity of mind, +a calmness, and tranquility which went far to redeem the blunders +he had made during the preceding three years. The following is the +account written by the princess royal in her journal of the manner +in which the family passed their days: "My father rose at seven +and said prayers till eight; then dressing himself he was with my +brother till nine, when he came to breakfast with my mother. After +breakfast my father gave us lessons till eleven o'clock; and then +my brother played till midday, when we went to walk together, +whatever the weather was, because at that hour they relieved guard +and wished to see us to be sure of our presence. Our walk was +continued till two o'clock, when we dined. After dinner my father +and mother played at backgammon, or rather pretended to play, in +order to have an opportunity of talking together for a short time. + +"At four o'clock my mother went up stairs with us, because the king +then usually took a nap. At six o'clock my brother went down, and +my father gave us lessons till supper at nine. After supper my +mother soon went to bed. We then went up stairs, and the king went +to bed at eleven. My mother worked much at tapestry and made me +study, and frequently read alone. My aunt said prayers and read +the service; she also read many religious books, usually aloud." + +But harmless as was the life of the royal family, Danton and the +Jacobins were determined upon having their lives. The mockery of +the trial commenced on the 1Oth of December. Malesherbes, Tronchet, +and Deseze defended him fearlessly and eloquently, but it was +useless - the king was condemned beforehand. Robespierre and Marat +led the assault. The Girondists, themselves menaced and alarmed, +stood neutral; but on the 15th of January the question was put to +the Assembly, "Is Louis Capet, formerly King of the French, guilty +of conspiracy and attempt against the general safety of the state?" + +With scarcely a single exception, the Assembly returned an affirmative +answer, and on the 1 7th the final vote was taken. Three hundred +and sixty-one voted for death, two for imprisonment, two hundred +and eighty-six for detention, banishment, or conditional death, +forty-six for death but after a delay, twenty-six for death but +with a wish that the Assembly should revise the sentence. + +Sentence of death was pronounced. After a sitting which lasted for +thirty-seven hours there was another struggle between the advocates +of delay and those of instant execution, but the latter won; and +after parting with noble resignation from his wife and family, the +king, on the 21st, was executed. His bearing excited the admiration +even of his bitterest foes. + +France looked on amazed and appalled at the act, for Louis had +undoubtedly striven his best to lessen abuses and to go with the +people in the path of reform. It was his objection to shed blood, +his readiness to give way, his affection for the people, which had +allowed the Revolution to march on its bloody way without a check. +It was the victims - the nobles, the priests, the delicate women and +cultured men - who had reason to complain; for it was the king's +hatred to resistance which left them at the mercy of their foes. +Louis had been the best friend of the Revolution that slew him. + +The trial and execution of the king had at least the good effect of +diverting the minds ofJeanne and Virginie from their own anxieties. +Jeanne was passionate and Virginie tearful in their sorrow and +indignation. Over and over again Jeanne implored Harry to try to +save the king. There were still many Royalists, and indeed the bulk +of the people were shocked and alienated by the violence of the +Convention; and Jeanne urged that Harry might, from his connection +with Robespierre, obtain some pass or document which would enable +the king to escape. But Harry refused to make any attempt whatever +on his behalf. + +"In the first place, Jeanne, it would be absolutely impossible for +the king, watched as he is, to escape; and no pass or permit that +Robespierre could give would be of the smallest utility. You must +remember, that although all apparently unite against the king, there +is a never-ending struggle going on in the Convention between the +various parties and the various leaders. Robespierre is but one +of them, although, perhaps, the most prominent; but could I wring +a pass from him even if only to see the king, that pass would not +be respected. + +"In the next place, Jeanne, I have nothing to do with these struggles +in France. I am staying here to do what little I can to watch over +you and Virginie, for the sake of your dear parents and because I +love you both; and I have also, if possible, to rescue Marie from +the hands of these murderers. The responsibility is heavy enough; +and could I, by merely using Robespierre's name, rescue the king +and queen and their children and pass them across the frontier, I +would not do it if the act in the slightest degree interfered with +my freedom of action towards you and Marie." + +"But Virginie and I would die for the king!" Jeanne said passionately. + +"Happily, Jeanne," Harry replied coolly, "your dying would in no +respect benefit him; and as your life is in my eyes of a thousand +times more consequence than that of the king, and as your chances +of safety to some extent depend upon mine, I do not mean to risk +one of those chances for the sake of his majesty. Besides, to tell +you the truth, I have a good deal of liking for my own life, and +have a marked objection to losing my head. You see I have people +at home who are fond of me, and who want to see me back again with +that head on my shoulders." + +"I know, Harry; I know," Jeanne said with her eyes full of tears. +"Do not think that I am ungrateful because I talk so. I am always +thinking how wrong it is that you should be staying here risking +your life for us instead of going home to those who love you. I +think sometimes Virginie and I ought to give ourselves up, and then +you could go home." And Jeanne burst into tears. + +"My dear Jeanne," Harry said soothingly, "do not worry yourself +about me. It would have been just as dangerous at the time your +father was taken prisoner for me to have tried to escape from +the country as it was to stay here - in fact I should say that it +was a good deal more dangerous; and at present, as Robespierre's +secretary, I am in no danger at all. It is a little disagreeable +certainly serving a man whom one regards in some respects as being +a sort of wild beast; but at the same time, in his own house, I +am bound to say, he is a very decent kind of man and not at all a +bad fellow to get on with. + +'As to what I have done for you, so far as I see I have done nothing +beyond bringing you here in the first place, and coming to have a +pleasant chat with you every evening. Nor, with the best will in +the world, have I been able to be of the slightest assistance to +Marie. As we say at home, my intentions are good; but so far the +intentions have borne no useful fruit whatever. Come, Jeanne, dry +your eyes, for it is not often that I have seen you cry. We have +thrown in our lot together, and we shall swim or sink in company. + +"You keep up my spirits and I keep up yours. Don't let there be any +talk about gratitude. There will be time enough for that if I ever +get you safely to England. Then, perhaps, I may send in my bill +and ask for payment." + +Harry spoke lightly, and Jeanne with a great effort recovered her +composure; and after that, although the trial and danger of the +king were nightly discussed and lamented, she never said a word as +to any possibility of the catastrophe being averted. + +One day towards the end of February Harry felt a thrill run through +him as, on glancing over the list of persons to be tried on the +following day, he saw the name of Marie, daughter of the ci-devant +Marquis de St. Caux. Although his knowledge of Robespierre's character +gave him little ground for hope, he determined upon making a direct +appeal. + +"I see, citizen," he said - for such was the mode of address universal +at that time - "that among the list of persons to be tried is the +name of Marie de St. Caux." + +"Say Marie Caux," Robespierre said reprovingly. "You know de and St. +are both forbidden prefixes. Yes; what would you say about her?" + +"I told you, citizen, upon the first night when I came here, that +I had been in the service of the father of this female citizen. +Although I know now that he was one of those who lived upon the +blood of the people, I am bound to say that he always treated his +dependants kindly. His daughter also showed me many marks of kindness, +and this I would now fain return. Citizen, I did you some service +on the night when we first met; and I ask you now, as a full +quittance for that aid, that you will grant me the freedom of this +young woman. Whatever were the crimes of her father, she cannot have +shared in them. She is young, and cannot do harm to any; therefore +I implore you to give me her life." + +"I am surprised at your request," Robespierre said calmly. "This +woman belongs to a race who have for centuries oppressed France, +and it is better that they should perish altogether. If she can +convince the tribunal that she is innocent of all crime, undoubtedly +she will be spared; but I cannot, only on account of the obligation +I am under to you, interfere on her behalf; such an act would be +treason to the people, and I hope you know me well enough by this +time to be aware that nothing whatever would induce me to allow my +private inclinations to interfere with the course of justice. Ask +of me all I have, it is little enough, but it is yours; but this +thing I cannot grant you." + +For a moment Harry was on the point of bursting out indignantly, +but he checked himself and without a word went on with his writing, +although tears of disappointment for a time almost blinded him; but +he felt it would be hopeless to urge the point further, and that +did he do so he might forfeit the opportunity he now had of learning +what was going on. + +Another month passed before the name appeared on the fatal list. In +the meantime Harry had corresponded regularly with Marie by means +of the warder, and had even once seen her and exchanged a few +words with her, having been sent by Robespierre with a letter to +the governor of the prison. + +Marie was greatly changed: her colour had faded away, the former +somewhat haughty air and carriage had disappeared, and there was +an expression of patient resignation on her face. Harry had only +the opportunity to whisper to her "Hope always, all is not lost +yet." He had spent hours each day in his lodging imitating the +signature of Robespierre, and he had made up his mind that, should +all other efforts fail, he would boldly present himself at the prison +with an order for Marie's release, with Robespierre's signature +forged at the bottom. + +He thought he could write it now plainly enough for it to pass; his +fear was that the prison authorities would not act upon it, unless +presented by a well-known official personage, without sending to +Robespierre to have it verified. + +Still but little change had taken place in Victor de Gisons' condition. +He remained in a state almost of lethargy, with an expression of +dull hopelessness on his face; sometimes he passed his hand wearily +across his forehead as if he were trying to recollect something he +had lost; he was still too weak to stand, but Jacques and his wife +would dress him and place him on a couch which Harry purchased for +his use. The worthy couple ran no risk now, for the sharpest spy +would fail to recognize in the bowed-down invalid with vacant face, +the once brilliant Victor de Gisons. + +Harry had many talks with Jeanne concerning him. "What should we +do, Harry," the girl said over and over again, "if we could get +Marie away and all get safe together to England, which I begin to +despair now of our ever doing, but if we should do it what should +we say to Marie? She thinks Victor is safe there. Only the other +day, as you know, she sent us out a letter to him. What would she +say when she learned on her arrival in England that Victor has all +this time been lying broken down and in suffering in Paris?" + +To this question Harry, for a long time, could give no answer. At +last he said, "I have been thinking it over, Jeanne, and I feel +that we have no right to take Marie away without her knowing the +truth about Victor. His misfortunes have come upon him because he +would stop in Paris to watch over her. I feel now that she has the +right, if she chooses, of stopping in Paris to look after him." + +"Oh, Harry, you would never think of our going away and leaving +her!" + +"I don't know, Jeanne, if it would not be best. She could stay +in the disguise of a peasant girl with Jacques and his wife; they +would give out that she was Victor's sister who had come to nurse +him. I have great hopes that her voice and presence would do what +we have to do, namely, awaken him from his sad state of lethargy. +They could stay there for months until these evil days are over. +Jacques' workmen friends are accustomed now to Victor being with +him, and thcre is no chance of any suspicion arising that he is +not what he seems to be, a workman whom Jacques picked up injured +and insensible on that terrible night. It would seem natural that +his sister or his fiance - Marie could pass for whichever she chose +- should come and help take care of him." + +"Then if she can stop in Paris with Victor, of course we can stop +with Louise?" + +"I am afraid not," Harry said. "Every day the search for suspects +becomes stricter; every day people are being seized and called upon +to produce the papers proving their identity; and I fear, Jeanne, +there is no hope of permanent safety for you save in flight." + +It was just a month from the mock trial, at which Marie had been +found guilty and sentenced to death, that Harry received a double +shock. Among the letters of denunciation was the following: "Citizen, +I know that you watch over the state. I would have you know that +for more than seven months two girls have been dwelling with one +Louise Moulin of 15 Rue Michel; there were three of them, but the +eldest has disappeared. This, in itself, is mysterious; the old +woman herself was a servant in the family of the ci-devant Marquis +de St. Caux. She gives out that the girls are relatives of hers, +but it is believed in the neighbourhood that they are aristocrats +in disguise. They receive many visits from a young man of whom no +one knows anything." + +Harry felt the colour leave his cheeks, and his hand shook as +he hastily abstracted the note, and he could scarcely master the +meaning of the next few letters he opened. + +This was a sudden blow for which he was unprepared. He could not +even think what was best to be done. However, saying to himself +that he had at any rate a few days before him, he resolutely put the +matter aside, to be thought over when he was alone, and proceeded +with his work. After a time he came to the list of those marked +out for execution on the following day, and saw with a fresh pang +the name of Marie de St. Caux. + +So the crisis had arrived. That night or never Marie must be rescued, +and his plan of forging Robespierre's signature must be put into +effect that day. He opened the next few papers mechanically, but +steadied himself upon Robespierre asking him a question. For a time +he worked on; but his brain was swimming, and he was on the point +of saying that he felt strangely unwell, and must ask to be excused +his work for that day, when he heard a ring at the bell, and a +moment later Lebat entered the room. + +"I have just come from the tribunal, citizen," he said, "and have +seen the list for to-morrow. I have come to you, as I know you are +just, and abhor the shedding of innocent blood. There is among the +number a young girl, who is wholly innocent. I know her well, for +she comes from my province, and her father's chateau was within a +few miles of Dijon. Although her father was a furious aristocrat, +her heart was always with the people. She was good to the poor, and +was beloved by all the tenants on the estate. It is not just that +she should die for the sins of her parents. Moreover, henceforth, +if pardoned, she will be no longer an aristocrat. I respond for +her; for she has promised to marry me, the delegate of Burgundy +to the Commune. The young woman is the daughter of the man called +the Marquis de St. Caux, who met his deserved fate on the 2d of +September." + +"You are willing to respond for her, citizen?" Robespierre said. + +"I am. The fact that she will be my wife is surely a guarantee?" + +"It is," Robespierre said. "What you tell me convinces me that I +can without damage to the cause of the people grant your request. +I am the more glad to do so since my secretary has also prayed +for her life. But though he rendered me the greatest service, and +I owe to him a debt of gratitude, I was obliged to refuse; for +to grant his request would have been to allow private feeling to +interfere with the justice of the people; but now it is different. +You tell me that, except by birth, she is no aristocrat; that she +has long been a friend of the people, and that she is going to be +your wife; on these grounds I can with a good conscience grant her +release." + +Lebat had looked with astonishment at Harry as Robespierre spoke. + +"Thank you, citizen," he said to Robespierre. "It is an act of justice +which I relied upon from your well-known character. I promise you +that your clemency will not be misplaced, and that she will become a +worthy citizen. May I ask," he said, "how it is that your secretary, +whose face seems familiar to me, is interested in this young woman +also?" + +"It is simple enough," Robespierre replied. "He was in the service +of her father." + +"Oh, I remember now," Lebat said. "He is English. I wonder, citizen, +that you should give your confidence to one of that treacherous +nation." + +"He saved my life," Robespierre replied coldly; "a somewhat good +ground, you will admit, for placing confidence in him." + +"Assuredly," Lebat said hastily, seeing that Robespierre was offended. +"And now, citizen, there is another matter of importance on which +I wish to confer with you." + +Harry rose. + +"Citizen, I will ask you to excuse me from further work to-day. +My head aches badly, and I can scarce see what I am writing." + +"I thought you were making some confusion of my papers," Robespierre +said kindly. "By all means put aside your work." + +On leaving the room Harry ran up to the attic above, which he had +occupied since he had entered Robespierre's service, rapidly put on +the blue blouse and pantaloons which he had formerly worn, pulled +his cap well down over his eyes, and hurried down stairs. He +stationed himself some distance along the street and waited for +Lebat to come out. Rapidly thinking the matter over, he concluded +that the man would not present himself with the order of release until +after dark, in order that if Marie struggled or tried to make her +escape it would be unnoticed in the street. Lebat had calculated, +of course, that on the presentation of the order the prison officials +would at once lead Marie to the gates whether she wished it or not, +and would, at his order, force her into a vehicle, when she would +be completely in his power, and he could confine her in his own +house or elsewhere until she consented to be his wife. + +A quarter of an hour later Lebat came out of the house and walked +down the street. Harry followed him. After walking for some distance +Lebat came to a stand of hackney-coaches and spoke to one of the +drivers. When he had gone on again Harry went up to the man. + +"Comrade," he said, "do you wish to do a good action and earn a +couple of gold pieces at the same time?" + +"That will suit me admirably," the coachman replied. + +"Let one of your comrades look after your horse, then, and let us +have a glass of wine together in that cabaret." + +As soon as they were seated at a small table with a measure of wine +before them Harry said: + +"That deputy with the red sash who spoke to you just now has engaged +you for a job this evening?" + +"He has," the coachman said. "I am to be at the left corner of the +Place de Carrousel at eight this evening." + +"He is a bad lot," Harry said; "he is going to carry off a poor +girl to whom he has been promising marriage; but of course we know +better than that. She is a friend of mine, and so were her parents, +and I want to save her. Now what I want to do is to take your place +on the box this evening. I will drive him to the place where he +is to meet her, and when he gets her to the door of his lodging I +shall jump off and give my citizen such a thrashing as will put a +stop to his gallivanting for some time. I will give you ten crowns +for the use of your coach for an hour." + +"Agreed!" the coachman said. "Between ourselves, some of these +fellows who pretend to be friends of the people are just as great +scoundrels, ay, and worse, than the aristocrats were. We drivers +know a good many things that people in general don't; but you must +mind, citizen, he carries a sword, you know, and the beating may +turn out the other way." + +"Oh, I can get a comrade or two to help," Harry said laughing. +"There are others besides myself who will not see our pretty Isabel +wronged." + +"And where shall I get my coach again?" + +"At the end of the Rue St. Augustin. I expect I shall be there by +nine o'clock with it; but I am sure not to be many minutes later. +Here is a louis now. I will give you the other when I change places +with you. Be at the Place de Carrousel at half-past seven. I shall +be on the look-out for you. + +"I won't fail," the coachman said; "you may rely upon that." + +Harry now hurried away to his friend Jacques, and rapidly gave an +account of what had taken place. + +"In the first place, Jacques, I want your wife to see her friend +and to get her to take a note instantly to the warder, for him +to give to Mademoiselle de St. Caux. It is to tell her to make +no resistance when Lebat presents the order for her release, but +to go with him quietly; because if she appeals to the warders and +declares that she would rather die than go with him, it is just +possible that they might refuse to let him take her away, saying +that the order was for her release, but not for her delivery to him. +I don't suppose they would do so, because as one of the members of +the Committee of Public Safety he is all-powerful; still it would +be as well to avoid any risk whatever of our scheme failing. I +will drive to the Rue Montagnard, which, as you know, is close to +La Force. It is a quiet street, and it is not likely there will be +anybody about at half-past eight. Will you be there and give me a +hand to secure the fellow?" + +"Certainly I will," Jacques said heartily. "What do you propose to +do with him?" + +"I propose to tie his hands and feet and gag him, and then drive +to the Rue Bluert, which is close by, and where there are some +unfinished houses. We can toss him in there, and he will be safe +till morning. + +"It will be the safest plan to run him through at once and have +done with him," Jacques said. "He will be a dangerous enemy if he +is left alive; and as he would kill you without mercy if he had a +chance, I don't see why you need be overnice with him." + +"The man is a scoundrel, and one of a band of men whom I regard as +murderers," Harry said; "but I could not kill him in cold blood." + +"You are wrong," Jacques said earnestly, "and you are risking +everything by letting him live. Such a fellow should be killed like +a rat when you get him in a trap." + +"It may be so," Harry agreed; "but I could not bring myself to do +it." + +Jacques was silent, but not convinced. It seemed to him an act of +the extremest folly to leave so dangerous an enemy alive. + +"He would hunt us all down," he said to himself, "Elise and I, +this poor lad and the girl, to say nothing of the Englishman and +the girl's sisters. Well, we shall see. I am risking my head in +this business, and I mean to have my say." + +Having made all his arrangements, Harry returned to his attic and +lay down there until evening, having before he went in purchased a +sword. At seven o'clock he placed his pistols in his bosom, girded +on his sword, which would attract no attention, for half the +rabble of Paris carried weapons, and then set out for the Place de +Carrousel. At half-past seven his friend the coachman drew up. + +"Ah, here you are!" he said. "You had better take this big cape of +mine; you will find it precious cold on the box; besides he would +notice at once that you are not the coachman he hired if you are +dressed in that blouse." + +Harry took off his sword and placed it on the seat, wrapped himself +in the great cape, wound a muffler round the lower part of his +face, and waited. A few minutes after the clock had struck eight +Lebat came along. + +"Here we are, citizen," Harry said in a rough voice, "I am glad you +have come, for it's no joke waiting about on such nights as this. +Where am I to drive you to?" + +"The prison of La Force," Lebat said, taking his seat in the coach. + +Harry's heart beat fast as he drove towards the prison. He felt +sure that success would attend his plans; but the moment was an +exciting one. It did not seem that anything could interpose to prevent +success, and yet something might happen which he had not foreseen +or guarded against. He drove at a little more than a footpace, +for the streets a short distance from the centre of town were only +lighted here and there by a dim oil lamp, and further away they +were in absolute darkness, save for the lights which gleamed through +the casements. At last he reached the entrance to the prison. Lebat +jumped out and rang at the bell. + +"What is it, citizen?" the guard said looking through a grille in +the gate. + +"I am Citizen Lebat of the Committee of Public Safety, and I have +an order here, signed by Citizen Robespierre, for the release of +the female prisoner known as Marie Caux." + +"All right, citizen!" the man said, opening the gate. "It is late +for a discharge; but I don't suppose the prisoner will grumble at +that." + +Ten minutes later the gate opened again and Lebat came out with +a cloaked female figure. She hesitated on the top step, and then +refusing to touch the hand Lebat held out to assist her, stepped +down and entered the coach. + +"Rue Fosseuse No. 18," Lebat said as he followed her. + +Harry drove on, and was soon in the Rue Montagnard. It was a dark +narrow street; no one seemed stirring, and Harry peered anxiously +through the darkness for the figure of Jacques. Presently he heard +a low whistle, and a figure appeared from a doorway. Harry at once +checked the horse. + +"What is it?" Lebat asked, putting his head out of the window. + +Harry got off the box, and going to the window said in a drunken +voice: + +"I want my fare. There is a cabaret only just ahead, and I want a +glass before I go further. My feet are pretty well frozen." + +"Drive on, you drunken rascal," Lebat said furiously, "or it will +be worse for you." + +"Don't you speak in that way to me, citizen," Harry said hoarsely. +"One man's as good as another in these days, and if you talk like +that to me I will break your head in spite of your red sash." + +With an exclamation of rage Lebat sprang from the coach, and as his +foot touched the ground Harry threw his arms round him; but as he +did so he trod upon some of the filth which so thickly littered +the thoroughfare, and slipped. Lebat wrenched himself free and drew +his sword, and before Harry could have regained his feet he would +have cut him down, when he fell himself in a heap from a tremendous +blow which Jacques struck him with his sword. + +"Jump inside," Jacques said to Harry. "We may have some one out to +see what the noise is about. He will be no more trouble." + +He seized the prostrate body, threw it up on the box, and taking +his seat drove on. + +"Marie," Harry said as he jumped in, "thank God you are safe!" + +"Oh, Harry, is it you? Can it be true?" And the spirit which had +so long sustained the girl gave way, and leaning her head upon his +shoulder she burst into tears. Harry soothed and pacified her till +the vehicle again came to a stop. + +"What is it, Jacques?" Harry asked, putting his head out of the +window. + +"Just what we agreed upon," the man said. "Here are the empty +houses. You stop where you are. I will get rid of this trash." + +Harry, however, got out. + +"Is he dead?" he asked in a low voice. + +"Well, considering his head's cut pretty nigh in two, I should think +he was," Jacques said. "It could not be helped, you know; for if +I hadn't struck sharp it would have been all over with you. Anyhow +it's better as it is a hundred times. If you don't value your neck, +I do mine. Now get in again. I sha'n't be two minutes. + +He slipped off the red sash and coat and waistcoat of the dead +man, emptied his trouser pockets and turned them inside out, then +lifting the body on his shoulder he carried it to one of the empty +houses and threw it down. + +"They will never know who he is," he said to himself "In this +neighbourhood the first comer will take his shirt and trousers. They +will suppose he has been killed and robbed, no uncommon matter in +these days, and his body will be thrown into the public pit, and +no one be any the wiser. I will burn the coat and waistcoat as soon +as I get back." + + + +CHAPTER XI Marie and Victor + + +"Are you taking me to the girls, Harry?" + +"No," Harry said. "It would not be safe to do so. There are already +suspicions, and they have been denounced." + +Marie gave a cry of alarm. + +"I have managed to suppress the document, Marie, and we start with +them in a day or two. Still it will be better for you not to go +near them. I will arrange for you to meet them to-morrow." + +"Where am I going, then?" + +"You are going to the house of a worthy couple, who have shown +themselves faithful and trustworthy by nursing a friend of mine, +who has for nearly six months been lying ill there. You will be +perfectly safe there till we can arrange matters." + +"But if Robespierre has signed my release, as they said, I am safe +enough, surely, and can go where I like." + +"I think you will be safe from re-arrest here in Paris, Marie, because +you could appeal to him; but outside Paris it might be different. +However, we can talk about that to-morrow, when you have had a good +night's rest." + +Harry did not think it necessary to say, that when Lebat was missed +it would probably be ascertained that he was last seen leaving La +Force with her, and that if inquiries were set on foot about him +she might be sought for. However, Marie said no more on the subject, +quite content that Harry should make whatever arrangements he +thought best, and she now began to ask all sorts of questions about +her sisters, and so passed the time until they were close to the +Place de Carrousel; then Harry called Jacques to stop. + +"Will you please get out, Marie, and wait with our good friend here +till I return. I shall be back in five minutes. I have to hand the +coach over to its owner. + +Jacques threw Lebat's clothes over his arm and got down from the +box. Harry took his seat and drove into the Place, where he found +the coachman awaiting him. + +"Have you managed the job?" + +"That we have," Harry said. "He has a lesson, and Isabel has gone +off to her friends again. Poor little girl, I hope it will cure her +of her flightiness. Here is your cape and your money, my friend, +and thank you." + +"You are heartily welcome," the driver said, mounting his box. "I +wish I could do as well every day; but these are bad times for us, +and money is precious scarce, I can tell you." + +Harry soon rejoined Jacques and Marie. There were but few words said +as they made their way through the streets, for Marie was weakened +by her long imprisonment, and shaken by what she had gone through. +She had not asked a single question as to what had become of Lebat; +but she had no doubt that he was killed. She had grown, however, +almost indifferent to death. Day after day she had seen batches +of her friends taken out to execution, and the retribution which +had fallen upon this wretch gave her scarcely a thought, except a +feeling of thankfulness that she was freed from his persecutions. +Completely as she trusted Harry, it was with the greatest difficulty +that she had brought herself to obey his instructions and to place +herself for a moment in the power of her persecutor, and appear to +go with him willingly. + +When Lebat told her triumphantly that he had saved her from death, +and that she was to have formed one of the party in the tumbril +on the following morning had he not obtained her release, she had +difficulty in keeping back the indignant words, that she would have +preferred death a thousand times. When he said that he had come to +take her away, she had looked round with a terrified face, as if +to claim the protection of the guards; but he had said roughly: + +"It is no use your objecting, you have got to go with me; and +if you are a wise woman you had better make the best of it. After +all I am not very terrible, and you had better marry me than the +guillotine." + +So, trembling with loathing and disgust, she had followed him, +resolved that if Harry's plan to rescue her failed she would kill +herself rather than be the wife of this man. + +When they reached the house Elise opened the door. + +"So you have come, poor lamb!" she said. "Thanks to the good God +that all has turned out well. You will be safe here, my child. We +are rough people, but we will take care of you as if you were our +own." + +So saying she led the girl to the little sitting-room which they +had prepared for her, for they had that afternoon taken the other +two rooms on the floor they occupied, which were fortunately to +let, and had fitted them up as a bed-room and sitting-room for her. +There was already a communication existing between the two sets +of apartments, and they had only to remove some brickwork between +the double doors to throw them into one suite. Telling Marie to +sit down, Elise hurried off and returned with a basin of bouillon. + +"Drink this, my dear, and then go straight to bed; your friend will +be here in good time in the morning, and then you can talk over +matters with him." She waited to see Marie drink the broth, and +then helped her to undress. + +"She will be asleep in five minutes," she said when she rejoined +her husband and Harry. "She is worn out with excitement, but a +night's rest will do wonders for her. Don't come too early in the +morning, Monsieur Sandwith; she is sure to sleep late, and I would +not disturb her till she wakes of herself." + +"I will be here at nine," Harry said, "and will go round before +that and tell her sisters. They will be wondering they have seen +nothing of me to-day, but I was afraid to tell them until it was +all over. The anxiety would have been too great for them." + +It was fortunate that Robespierre went out early on the following +morning to attend a meeting at the Jacobins, and Harry was therefore +saved the necessity for asking leave to absent himself again. At +eight o'clock he was at Louise Moulin's. + +"What is it, Harry?" Jeanne exclaimed as he entered. "I can see +you have news. What is it?" + +"I have news," Harry said, "and good news, but you must not excite +yourselves." + +"Have you found a way for getting Marie out?" + +"Yes, I have found a way." + +"A sure, certain way, Harry?" Virginie asked. "Not only a chance?" + +"A sure, certain way," Harry replied. "You need have no more fear; +Marie will certainly be freed." + +The two girls stood speechless with delight. It never occurred to +them to doubt Harry's words when he spoke so confidently. + +"Have you told us all, Harry?" Jeanne asked a minute later, looking +earnestly in his face. "Can it be? Is she really out already?" + +"Yes," Harry said, "thank God, dears, your sister is free." + +With a cry of delight Virginie sprang to him, and throwing her +arms round his neck, kissed him in the exuberance of her happiness. +Louise threw her apron over her head and burst into tears of +thankfulness, while Jeanne put her hand on his shoulder and said: + +"Oh, Harry, how can we ever thank you enough for all you have done +for us?" + +Six months back Jeanne would probably have acted as Virginie did, +but those six months had changed her greatly; indeed, ever since +she received that note from Marie, which she had never shown even +to Virginie, there had been a shade of difference in her manner to +Harry, which he had more than once noticed and wondered at. + +It was some little time before the girls were sufficiently composed +to listen to Harry's story. + +"But why did you not bring her here, Harry?" Virginie asked. "Why +did you take her somewhere else?" + +"For several reasons, Virginie. I have not told you before, but there +is no reason why you should not know now, that Victor is still in +Paris." + +Virginie uttered an exclamation of wonder. + +"He stopped here to look after you all, but he has had a very bad +illness, and is still terribly weak, and does not even know me. +Marie will nurse him. I have great hopes that he will know her, +and that she may be able in time to effect a complete cure. In the +next place I think it would be dangerous to bring her here, for we +must leave in a very few days." + +"What, go without her?" + +"Yes, I am afraid so, Virginie. I have learned, Louise, that +some of your neighbours have their suspicions, and that a letter +of denunciation has already been sent, so it will be absolutely +necessary to make a move. I have suppressed the first letter, but +the writer will probably not let the matter drop, and may write to +Danton or Marat next time, so we must go without delay. You cannot +change your lodging, for they would certainly trace you; besides, +at the present time the regulations about lodgers are so strict that +no one would dare receive you until the committee of the district +have examined you and are perfectly satisfied. Therefore, I think +we must go alone. Marie is wanted here, and I think she will be +far safer nursing Victor than she would be with us; besides, now +she has been freed by Robespierre's orders, I do not think there +is any fear of her arrest even if her identity were discovered. +Lastly, it would be safer to travel three than four. Three girls +travelling with a young fellow like me would be sure to attract +attention. It will be difficult enough in any case, but it would +certainly be worse with her with us." + +"But we are to see her, Harry?" Jeanne said. "Surely we are not to +go away without seeing Marie!" + +"Certainly not, Jeanne; I am not so cruel as that. This evening, +after dark, we will meet in the gardens of the Tuileries. Louise, +will you bring them down and be with them near the main entrance? +I will bring Marie there at six o'clock. And now I must be off; I +have to break the news to Marie that Victor is in the same house +with her and ill. I did not tell her last night. She will be better +able to bear it after a good night's sleep." + +Marie was up and dressed when Harry arrived, and was sitting by +the fire in the little kitchen. + +"I have just left your sisters, Marie," Harry said, "and you may +imagine their delight at the news I gave them. You are to see them +this evening in the gardens of the Tuileries." + +"Oh, Harry, how good you are! How much you have done for us!" + +Harry laughed lightly. + +"Not very much yet; besides, it has been a pleasure as well as a +duty. The girls have both been so brave, and Jeanne has the head +of a woman." + +"She is nearly a woman now, Harry," Marie said gently. "She is some +months past sixteen, and though you tell me girls of that age in +England are quite children, it is not so here. Why, it is nothing +uncommon for a girl to marry at sixteen." + +"Well, at anyrate," Harry said, "Jeanne has no time for any thought +of marrying just at present. But there is another thing I want to +tell you about. I have first a confession to make. I have deceived +you." + +"Deceived me!" Marie said with a smile. "It can be nothing very +dreadful, Harry. Well, what is it?" + +"It is more serious than you think, Marie. Now you know that when +the trouble began I felt it quite out of the question for me to +run away, and leave you all here in Paris unprotected. Such a thing +would have been preposterous." + +"You think so, Harry, because you have a good heart; but most people +would have thought of themselves, and would not have run all sorts +of risks for the sake of three girls with no claim upon them." + +"Well, Marie, you allow then that a person with a good heart would +naturally do as I did." + +"Well, supposing I do, Harry, what then?" + +"You must still further allow that a person with a good heart, and +upon whom you had a great claim, would all the more have remained +to protect you." + +"What are you driving at, Harry, with your supposition?" she said, +her cheek growing a little paler as a suspicion of the truth flashed +upon her. + +"Well, Marie, you mustn't be agitated, and I hope you will not +be angry; but I ask you how, as he has a good heart, and you have +claims upon him, could you expect Victor de Gisons to run away like +a coward and leave you here?" + +Marie had risen to her feet and gazed at him with frightened eyes. + +"What, is it about him that you deceived me! Is it true that he +did not go away? Has anything happened to him? Oh, Harry, do not +say he is dead!" + +"He is not dead, Marie, but he has been very, very ill. He was with +me at La Force on that terrible night, and saw his father brought +out to be murdered. The shock nearly killed him. He has had brain +fever, and has been at death's door. At present he is mending, but +very, very slowly. He knows no one, not even me, but I trust that +your voice and your presence will do wonders for him." + +"Where is he, Harry?" Marie said as she stood with clasped hands, +and a face from which every vestige of colour had flown. "Take me +to him at once." + +"He is in the house, Marie; that is why I have brought you here. +These good people have nursed and concealed him for five months." + +Marie made a movement towards the door. + +"Wait, Marie, you cannot go to him till you compose yourself. It +is all-important that you should speak to him, when you see him, +in your natural voice, and you must prepare yourself for a shock. +He is at present a mere wreck, so changed that you will hardly know +him." + +"You are telling me the truth, Harry? You are not hiding from me +that he is dying?" + +"No, dear; I believe, on my honour, that he is out of danger now, +and that he is progressing. It is his mind more than his body that +needs curing. It may be a long and difficult task, Marie, before he +is himself again; but I believe that with your care and companionship +he will get round in time, but it may be months before that." + +"Time is nothing," Marie said. "But what about the girls?" + +"They must still be under my charge, Marie. I shall start with +them in a day or two and try to make for the sea-shore, and then +across to England. Suspicions have been aroused; they have already +been denounced, and may be arrested at any time. Therefore it is +absolutely necessary that they should fly at once; but I thought +that you would consider it your first duty to stay with Victor, +seeing that to him your presence is everything, while you could do +nothing to assist your sisters, and indeed the fewer of us there +are the better." + +"Certainly it is my duty," Marie said firmly. + +"You will be perfectly safe here under the care of Jacques and his +wife. They have already given out to their neighbours that Victor's +fiance is coming to help nurse him, and even if by any possibility +a suspicion of your real position arises, you have Robespierre's +pardon as a protection. This state of things cannot last for +ever; a reaction must come; and then if Victor is cured, you will +be able to escape together to England." + +"Leave me a few minutes by myself, Harry. All this has come so +suddenly upon me that I feel bewildered." + +"Certainly," Harry said. "It is best that you should think things +over a little. No wonder you feel bewildered and shaken with all +the trials you have gone through." + +Marie went to her room and returned in a quarter of an hour. + +"I am ready now," she said, and by the calm and tranquil expression +of her face Harry felt that she could be trusted to see Victor. + +"I have a feeling," she went on, "that everything will come right +in the end. I have been saved almost by a miracle, and I cannot +but feel that my life has been spared in order that I might take +my place here. As to the girls, it was a shock at first when you +told me that fresh danger threatened them, and that I should not +be able to share their perils upon their journey; but I could not +have aided them, and God has marked out my place here. No, Harry, +God has protected me so far, and will aid me still. Now I am ready +for whatever may betide." + +"One moment before you enter, Marie. You are prepared, I know, +to see a great change in Victor, but nevertheless you cannot but +be shocked at first. Do not go up to him or attract his attention +till you have overcome this and are able to speak to him in your +natural voice. I think a great deal depends upon the first impression +you make on his brain. Your voice has a good deal changed in the +last six months; it would be strange if it had not; but I want you +to try and speak to him in the bright cheerful tone he was accustomed +to hear." + +Marie nodded. "One moment," she said, as she brushed aside the tears +which filled her eyes, drew herself up with a little gesture that +reminded Harry of old times, and then with a swift step passed +through the door into Victor's room. Whatever she felt at the sight +of the wasted figure lying listlessly with half-closed eyes on the +couch, it only showed itself by a swift expression of pain which +passed for a moment across her face and then was gone. + +"Victor," she said in her clear ringing voice, "Victor, my well +beloved, I am come to you." The effect upon Victor was instantaneous. +He opened his eyes with a start, half rose from his couch and held +out his arms towards her. + +"Marie," he said in a faint voice, "you have come at last. I have +wanted you so much." + +Then, as Marie advanced to him, and kneeling by his side, clasped +him in her arms, Elise and Harry stole quietly from the room. It +was nearly an hour before Marie came out. There was a soft glow of +happiness on her face, though her cheeks were pale. + +"Not yet!" she said, as she swept past them into her own room. + +In a few minutes she reappeared. + +"Pardon me," she said, holding out her hands to Harry and Elise, +"but I had to thank the good God first. Victor is quite sensible +now, but oh, so weak! He remembers nothing of the past, but seems +to think he is still in Burgundy, and has somehow had an illness. +Then he spoke of the duke and my dear father and mother as being +still alive, and that he hoped they would let me come to him +now. I told him that all should be as he wished as soon as he got +stronger, but that he must not think of anything now, and that +I would nurse him, and all would be well. He seemed puzzled about +my dress" - for Marie had already put on the simple attire which +had been prepared for her - "but I told him that it was fit for a +sick-room, and he seemed satisfied. He has just dozed off to sleep, +and I will go in and sit with him now till he wakes." + +"When he does, mademoiselle, I will have some broth and a glass of +good burgundy ready for him," Elise said. + +"Thank you; but please call me Marie in future. There are no +mesdemoiselles in France now, and I shall call you Elise instead +of Madame. And Harry, would you mind telling the girls that I will +meet them to-morrow instead of this evening. I long to see them, oh +so, so much; but I should not like to leave him for a moment now. +I fear so that his memory might go again if he were to wake and +miss me." + +"I was going to propose it myself, Marie," Harry said. "It is +all-important to avoid any agitation now. To- morrow, I hope, it +will be safer, and the doctor will give him a sleeping-draught, so +that he shall not wake while you are away. But, Marie, remember it +will be a farewell visit, for I dare not let them stay more than +another day. They may be denounced again at any hour, for the man +who wrote to Robespierre, if he finds that nothing comes of it, +may go to the local committee, and they will not lose an hour, you +may be sure." + +"I must see them this evening, then," Marie said hurriedly. "The doctor +will be here, you say, soon. Victor must have his sleeping-draught +this afternoon instead of to- morrow. They must go at once. I +should never forgive myself if, by putting off our parting for +twenty-four hours, I caused them to fall into the hands of these +wretches; so please hurry on all the arrangements so that they may +leave the first thing to-morrow morning." + +"It will be best," Harry said, "if you will do it, Marie. I own +that I am in a fever of apprehension. I will go there at once to +tell them that all must be in readiness by to-night. They will be +glad indeed to hear that your presence has done such wonders for +Victor. They will be able to leave you with a better heart if +they feel that your stay here is likely to bring health to him and +happiness to both of you." + +"A week since," Marie said, "it did not seem to me that I could +ever be happy again; but though everything is still very dark, the +clouds seem lifting." + +The girls were greatly rejoiced when they heard the good news that +Victor had recognized Marie, and that Harry had now hopes that he +would do well. + +"And now we must talk about ourselves," Harry said. "We must not +lose another hour. Now, Louise, you must take part in our council. +We have everything to settle, and only a few hours to do it in. I +should like, if possible, that we should not come back here this +evening after you have once left the house. The man who denounced +you will expect that something would be done to-day, and when he +sees that nothing has come of his letter he may go this evening +to the local committee, and they would send men at once to arrest +you. No doubt he only wrote to Robespierre first, thinking he would +get credit and perhaps a post of some sort for his vigilance in the +cause. But if Louise thinks that it cannot possibly be managed, I +will write a letter at once to him in Robespierre's name, saying +that his letter has been noted and your movements will be closely +watched, and thanking him for his zeal in the public service." + +"No, I think we are ready," Jeanne said. "Of course we have +been talking it over for weeks, and agreed it was better to be in +readiness whenever you told us it was time to go. Louise will tell +you all about it." + +"The disguises are all ready, Monsieur Sandwith; and yesterday +when you said that my dear mademoiselle could not go with them, +I settled, if you do not see any objection, to go with the dear +children." + +"I should be very glad," Harry said eagerly, for although he had +seen no other way out of it, the difficulties and inconveniences +of a journey alone with Jeanne and Virginie had been continually +on his mind. The idea of taking the old woman with them had never +occurred to him, but now he hailed it as a most welcome solution +of the difficulty. + +"That will be a thousand times better in every way, for with you +with us it would excite far lees remark than three young people +travelling alone. But I fear, Louise, that the hardships we may +have to undergo will be great." + +"It matters little," the old woman said. "I nursed their mother, +and have for years lived on her bounty; and gladly now will I +give what little remains to me of life in the service of her dear +children. I know that everything is turned topsy-turvy in our poor +country at present, but as long as I have life in my body I will +not let my dear mistress's children be, for weeks perhaps, wandering +about with only a young gentleman to protect them, and Mademoiselle +Jeanne almost a woman too." + +"Yes, it is better in every way," Harry said. "I felt that it would +be a strange position, but it seemed that it could not be helped; +however, your offer gets us out of the embarrassment. So your +disguises are ready?" + +"Yes, monsieur," Louise said; "I have a boy's suit for Mademoiselle +Virginie. She did not like it at first, but I thought that if +mademoiselle went with you it would be strange to have three girls +journeying under the charge of one young man." + +"I think it a very good plan, Louise, but you must get out of the +way of calling me monsieur or else it will slip out before people. +Now what I propose is, that when we get fairly away we shall buy a +horse and cart, for with you with us we can go forward more boldly +than if we were alone. + +"You will be grandmother, and we shall be travelling from a farm +near Etampes to visit your daughter, who is married to a farmer near +Nantes. That will be a likely story now, and we can always make a +detour to avoid towns. It will be dark when you go out this evening, +so you can take three bundles of clothes with you. The only thing +is about to-night. The weather is bitterly cold, and it is out of +the question that you should stop out all night, and yet we could +not ask for a lodging close to Paris. + +"Oh, I see now! The best plan will be for you all to sleep to-night +at Jacques'. The good people will manage somehow; then we can +start early in the morning. Yes, and in that way it will not be +necessary for Marie to go out and leave Victor." + +"That will certainly be the best way," Louise said. "I have been +wondering ever since you said we must start this evening, what +would become of us to-night. When we once get fairly away from +Paris it will be easier, for the country people are kind-hearted, +and I think we shall always be able to get shelter for the night; +but just outside Paris it would be different. Then where shall we +meet this evening?" + +"I will be at the end of the street," Harry said. "It is quite +dark by five, so do you start a quarter of an hour later; hide your +bundles under your cloaks, for if that fellow is on the look-out he +might follow you if he thought you were leaving. Draw your blinds +up when you leave, Louise, so that the room will look as usual, +and then it may be some time before anyone suspects that you have +left; and if I were you I would mention to some of your neighbours +this afternoon that you have had a letter from your friends in +Burgundy, and are going away soon with your nieces to stay with +them for a while. You had better pay your rent for three months +in advance, and tell your landlord the same thing; saying that you +may go suddenly anytime, as a compere who is in Paris, and is also +going back, is going to take charge of you on the journey, and that +he may call for you at any time. Thus when he finds that you have +left, your absence will be accounted for; not that it makes much +difference, for I hope that when you have seen the girls safely to +England you will make your home with them there." + +"Yes, I shall never come back here," the old woman said, "never, +even if I could. Paris is hateful to me now, and I have no reason +for ever wanting to come back." + +"In that case," Harry said smiling, "we may as well save the three +months' rent." + +"Oh, how I long to be in England," Virginie exclaimed, "and to see +dear Ernest and Jules again! How anxious they must be about us, not +having heard of us all this long time! How shall we know where to +find them?" + +"You forget, Virginie," Jeanne said, "it was arranged they should +go to Harry's father when they got to England, and he will know +where they are living; there is sure to be no mistake about that, +is there, Harry?" + +"None at all," Harry said. "You may rely upon it that directly you +get to my father you will hear where your brothers are. And now I +will go and tell Marie that there is no occasion for Victor to take +a sleeping draught." + +Marie was delighted when she heard that she was going to have her +sisters with her for the whole evening and night, and Elise busied +herself with preparations for the accommodation of her guests. +Harry then went back to his attic, made his clothes into a bundle, +and took up the bag of money from its hiding-place under a board +and placed it in his pocket. + +He had, since he had been with Robespierre, gradually changed the +silver for gold in order to make it more convenient to carry, and +it was now of comparatively little weight, although he had drawn +but slightly upon it, except for the payment of the bribe promised +to the warder. His pistols were also hidden under his blouse. + +He went down stairs and waited the return of Robespierre. + +"Citizen," he said when he entered, "circumstances have occurred +which render it necessary for me to travel down to Nantes to escort +a young girl, a boy, and an old woman to that town; they cannot +travel alone in such times as these, and they have a claim upon me +which I cannot ignore." + +"Surely, friend Sandwith," Robespierre said, "the affairs of France +are of more importance than private matters like these." + +"Assuredly they are, citizen; but I cannot flatter myself that +the affairs of France will be in any way injured by my temporary +absence. My duty in this matter is clear to me, and I can only +regret that my temporary absence may put you to some inconvenience. +But I have a double favour to ask you: the one is to spare me for +a time; the second, that you will give me papers recommending +me, and those travelling with me, to the authorities of the towns +through which we shall pass. In these times, when the enemies of +the state are travelling throughout France seeking to corrupt the +minds of the people, it is necessary to have papers showing that +one is a good citizen." + +"But I have no authority," Robespierre said. "I am neither a minister +nor a ruler." + +"You are not a minister, citizen, but you are assuredly a ruler. It +is to you men look more than to any other. Danton is too headstrong +and violent. You alone combine fearlessness in the cause of France +with that wisdom and moderation which are, above all things, +necessary in guiding the state through its dangers." + +Robespierre's vanity was so inordinate that he accepted the compliment +as his due, though he waved his hand with an air of deprecation. + +"Therefore, citizen," Harry went on, "a letter from you would be +more powerful than an order from another." + +"But these persons who travel with you, citizen - how am I to be +sure they are not enemies of France?" + +"France is not to be shaken," Harry said, smiling, "by the efforts +of an old woman of seventy and a young boy and girl; but I can +assure you that they are no enemies of France, but simple inoffensive +people who have been frightened by the commotion in Paris, and long +to return to the country life to which they are accustomed. Come, +citizen, you refused the first boon which I asked you, and, methinks, +cannot hesitate at granting one who has deserved well of you this +slight favour." + +"You are right," Robespierre said. "I cannot refuse you, even if +the persons who accompany you belong to the class of suspects, of +which, mind, I know nothing, though I may have my suspicions. I +have not forgotten, you know, that you asked for the life of the +daughter of the ci-devant Marquis de St. Caux; and for aught I know +these children may be of the same breed. But I will not ask you. +Did I know it, not even the obligation I am under to you would you +induce me to do what you ask; for although as children they can +do no harm, they might do so were they allowed to grow up hating +France. All children of suspects are, as you know, ordered to be +placed in the state schools, in order that they may there learn +to love the people of France and to grow up worthy citizens. Now, +how shall I word it?" he said, taking up a pen; and Harry dictated: + +"I hereby recommend Citizen Henri Sandwith, age 19, who has been +acting as my confidential secretary, to all public authorities, +together with Citoyenne Moulin and her two grandchildren, with whom +he is travelling." + +To this Robespierre signed his name and handed the paper to Harry. + +"How long will you be before you return?" he asked. + +"I cannot say exactly," Harry replied; "as after I have seen them +to their destination I may stop with them for a few weeks." + +Robespierre nodded and held out his hand. + +"I shall be glad to have you with me again, for I have conceived +a strong friendship for you, and think none the worse of you for +your showing your gratitude to the family in whom you are interested." + +Harry then went into the kitchen, where Robespierre's sister was +preparing the next meal, and said good-bye to her. + +She had taken a fancy to her brother's young secretary, and expressed +a hope that his absence would be but a short one, telling him that +Robespierre had said only the day before how much work he had saved +him, and that he was determined to push his fortunes to the utmost. + +Having thus paved the way for an appeal to Robespierre should he +find himself in difficulties on the road, Harry proceeded to Jacques' +house and waited there until it was time to go up to meet Louise +and the girls. + +Victor did not wake until the afternoon. The doctor had called +as usual, but had not roused him. He had been told what had taken +place, and had held out hope to Marie that Victor's improvement +would he permanent, and that he would now make steady progress +towards recovery. + +At the appointed hour Harry was at his post to meet the party. They +came along within a few minutes of the time named, but instead of +stopping to greet him they walked straight on, Jeanne saying as +she passed him: + +"I think we are followed." + +Harry at once drew back and allowed them to go fifty yards on before +he moved after them. As there were many people about, it was some +little time before he could verify Jeanne's suspicions; then he +noticed that a man, walking a short distance ahead of him, followed +each turning that the others took. + +Harry waited until they were in a quiet street, and then quickened +his pace until he was close behind the man. Then he drew one of +his pistols, and, springing forward, struck him a heavy blow on +the head with its butt. He fell forward on his face without a cry; +and Harry, satisfied that he had stunned him, ran on and overtook +the others, and, turning down the first street they came to, was +assured that they were safe from pursuit. + +"We had noticed a man lounging against the house opposite all the +afternoon," Jeanne said, "and came to the conclusion that he must +be watching us; so we looked out for him when we came out, and +noticed that as soon as we went on he began to walk that way too. +So I told Louise to walk straight on without stopping when we came +up to you. I was sure you would manage somehow to get rid of him." + +Harry laughed. + +"I fancy he will spend to-morrow in bed instead of lounging about. +Perhaps it will teach him to mind his own business in future and to +leave other people alone. I am very glad that he did follow you; +for I felt that I owed him one, and was sorry to leave Paris without +paying my debt. Now I think we are pretty well square." + +The meeting between the sisters was indeed a happy one. They fell +on each other's necks, and for some time scarce a word was spoken; +then they stood a little apart and had a long look at each other. + +"You are changed, Marie dear," Jeanne said; "you look pale, but +you look, too, softer and prettier than you used to." + +"All my airs and graces have been rubbed off," Marie said with a +slight smile. "I have learned so much, Jeanne, and have been where +noble blood has been the reverse of a recommendation. You are changed +too - the six months have altered you. Your gouvernante would not +call you a wild girl now. You are quite a woman. + +"We have suffered too, Marie," Jeanne said as tears came to her eyes +at the thought of the changes and losses of the last few months. +"We have thought of you night and day; but Louise has been very good +to us, and as for Harry, we owe everything to him. He has always +been so hopeful and strong, and has cheered us up with promises +that he would bring you to us some day." + +Marie smiled. + +"You are right, Jeanne. I used to laugh a little, you know, at your +belief in your hero, and little thought that the time would come +when I should trust him as implicitly as you do. You have a right +to be proud of him, Jeanne. What thought and devotion and courage +he has shown for us! And do you know, he saved Victor too. Jacques +has told me all about it - how Victor saw his father brought out +to be murdered; and how, half-mad, he was springing out to stand +beside him, when Harry as quick as thought knocked him down before +he could betray himself; and then Jacques, who was standing by saw +it, helped him carry him here. Oh, my dear, how much we owe him! + +"And now, Virginie," she said, turning to the youngest, "I must +have a good look at you, little one - but no, I mustn't call you +little one any longer, for you are already almost as tall as I am. +My child, how you have been growing, and you look so well! Louise +must have been feeding you up. Ah, Louise, how much we all owe to +you too! And I hear you are going to leave your comfortable home +and take care of the girls on their journey. It was such a comfort +to me when Harry told me!" + +"I could not let them go alone, mademoiselle," the old woman said +simply; "it was only my duty. Besides, what should I do in Paris +with all my children in England?" + +"Now, my dears, take your things off," Marie said. "I will just +run in and see how Victor is getting on. Harry went straight in to +him, and I want to know whether Victor recognized him." + + + +CHAPTER XII Nantes + + +Harry was very pleased to see a look of recognition on Victor's +face as he came up to the side of his couch. + +"Well, Victor," he said cheerfully, "I am glad to see you looking +more yourself again." + +Victor nodded assent, and his hand feebly returned the pressure of +Harry's. + +"I can't understand it," he said after a pause. "I seem to be in +a dream; but it is true Marie is here, isn't it?" + +"Oh yes! She is chatting now with her sisters, Jeanne and Virginie, +you know." + +"And why am I here?" Victor asked, looking round the room. "Marie +tells me not to ask questions." + +"No. There will be plenty of time for that afterwards, Victor. It +is all simple enough. You were out with me, and there was an accident, +and you got hurt. So I and a workman who was passing carried you +into his house, and he and his wife have been taking care of you. +You have been very ill, but you are getting on better now. Marie +has come to nurse you, and she won't leave you until you are quite +well. Now, I think that's enough for you, and the doctor would be +very angry if he knew I had told you so much; because he said you +were not to bother yourself about things at all, but just to sleep +as much as you can, and eat as much as you can, and listen to Marie +talking and reading to you, and not trouble your brain in any way, +because it's your brain that has gone wrong, and any thinking will +be very bad for it." + +This explanation seemed satisfactory to Victor, who soon after +dozed off to sleep, and Harry joined the party in Marie's sitting-room. + +"Oh, if I could but keep them here with me, Harry, what a comfort +it would be!" + +"I know that it would, Marie; but it is too dangerous. You know they +were denounced at Louise Moulin's. Already there is risk enough in +you and Victor being here. The search for Royalists does not relax, +indeed it seems to become more and more keen every day. Victor's +extreme illness is your best safeguard. The neighbours have heard +that Jacques has had a fellow-workman dangerously ill for some long +time, and Victor can no longer be looked upon as a stranger to be +suspected, while your coming here to help nurse him will seem so +natural a step that it will excite no comment. But any fresh addition +of numbers would be sure to give rise to talk, and you would have +a commissary of the Commune here in no time to make inquiries, and +to ask for your papers of domicile." + +"Yes, I know that it would be too dangerous to risk," Marie agreed; +"but I tremble at the thought of their journey." + +"I have every hope that we shall get through safely," Harry said. +"I have some good news I have not yet told you. I have received a +paper from Robespierre stating that I have been his secretary, and +recommending us all to the authorities, so that we can dispense +with the ordinary papers which they would otherwise ask for." + +"That is good news, indeed, Harry," Marie said. "That relieves me +of half my anxiety. Once on the sea-coast it will be comparatively +easy to get a passage to England. My dear Harry, you surprise me +more every day, and I am ashamed to think that when our dear father +and mother first told me that they had accepted your noble offer +to look after us, I was inclined in my heart to think that such +protection would be of little use. You see I confess, Harry; and +you know that is half-way to forgiveness." + +"There is nothing either to confess or forgive," Harry said with +a smile. "It was perfectly natural for you to think that a lad +of eighteen was a slender reed to lean on in the time of trouble +and danger, and that it was only by a lucky accident - for saving +Robespierre's life was but an accident - that I have been enabled +to be of use to you; and that I have now a pass which will enable +me to take your sisters with comparative safety as far as Nantes. +Had it not been for that I could have done little indeed to aid +you." + +"You must not say so, Harry. You are too modest. Besides, was it +not your quickness that saved Victor? No, we owe you everything, and +disclaimers are only thrown away. As for me, I feel quite jealous +of Jeanne's superior perspicacity, for she trusted you absolutely +from the first." + +"It has nothing to do with perspicacity," Jeanne said. "Harry saved +my life from that dreadful dog, and after that I knew if there was +danger he would be able to get us out of it. That is, if it were +possible for anyone to do so." + +"I hope I shall be able to justify your trust, Jeanne, and arrive +safely with you at my father's house. I can promise you the warmest +of welcomes from my mother and sisters. I fear they must long since +have given me up for dead. I shall be like a shipwrecked mariner +who has been cast upon an island and given up as lost. But my father +always used to say, that if I was a first-rate hand at getting +into scrapes, I was equally good at getting out of them again; and +I don't think they will have quite despaired of seeing me again, +especially as they know, by the last letters I sent them, that +you all said I could speak French well enough to pass anywhere as +a native." + +"How surprised they will be at your arriving with two girls and +Louise!" Virginie said. + +"They will be pleased more than surprised," Harry replied. "I have +written so much about you in my letters that the girls and my mother +will be delighted to see you." + +"Besides," Jeanne added, "the boys will have told them you are +waiting behind with us, so they will not be so surprised as they +would otherwise have been. But it will be funny, arriving among +people who don't speak a word of our language." + +"You will soon be at home with them," said Harry reassuringly. +"Jenny and Kate are just about your ages, and I expect they will +have grown so I shall hardly know them. It is nearly three years +now since I left them, and I have to look at you to assure myself +that Jenny will have grown almost into a young woman. Now I shall +go out for a bit, and leave you to chat together. + +"You need not fidget about Victor, Marie. Elise is with him, and +will come and let you know if he wakes; but I hope that he has gone +off fairly to sleep for the night. He knew me, and I think I have +put his mind at rest a little as to how he came here. I have told +him it was an accident in the street, and that we brought him in +here, and he has been too ill since to be moved. I don't think he +will ask any more questions. If I were you I would, while nursing, +resume the dress you came here in. It will be less puzzling to him +than the one you are wearing now." + +The little party started the next morning at day-light, and at the +very first village they came to, found how strict was the watch upon +persons leaving Paris, and had reason to congratulate themselves +upon the possession of Robespierre's safe-conduct. No sooner had +they sat down in the village cabaret to breakfast than an official +with a red scarf presented himself, and asked them who they were +and where they were going. The production of the document at once +satisfied him; and, indeed, he immediately addressed the young man +in somewhat shabby garments, who had the honour of being secretary +to the great man, in tones of the greatest respect. + +Virginie at present was shy and awkward in her attire as a boy, and +indeed had there been time the night before to procure a disguise +for her as a girl it would have been done, although Harry's opinion +that it would attract less attention for her to travel as a boy +was unchanged; but he would have given way had it been possible to +make the change. As any delay, however, would certainly be dangerous, +the original plan was adhered to. + +Marie had cut her sister's hair short, and no one would have +suspected from her appearance that Virginie was not what she seemed, +a good-looking boy of some thirteen years old. With their bundles +in their hands they trudged along the road, and stopped for the +night at a village about twelve miles out of Paris. After having +again satisfied the authorities by the production of the pass, +Harry made inquiries, and the next morning went two miles away to +a farm-house, where there was, he heard, a cart and horse to be +disposed of. + +After much haggling over terms - since to give the sum that was +first asked would have excited surprise, and perhaps suspicion - +Harry became the possessor of the horse and cart, drove triumphantly +back to the village, and having stowed Louise and the two girls on +some straw in the bottom of the cart, proceeded on the journey. + +They met with no adventure whatever on the journey to Nantes, which +was performed in ten days. The weather was bitterly cold. Although +it was now well on in March the snow lay deep on the ground; but +the girls were well wrapped up, and the cart was filled with straw, +which helped to keep them warm. Harry walked for the most part by +the side of the horse's head, for they could only proceed at foot-pace; +but he sometimes climbed up and took the reins, the better to chat +with the girls and keep up their spirits. There was no occasion for +this in the case of Jeanne, but Virginie often gave way and cried +bitterly, and the old nurse suffered greatly from the cold in spite +of her warm wraps. + +On arriving at Nantes Harry proceeded first to the Maine, and on +producing Robespierre's document received a permit to lodge in the +town. He then looked for apartments in the neighbourhood of the +river, and when he had obtained them disposed of the horse and cart. +The statement that he was Robespierre's secretary at once secured +for him much attention from the authorities, and he was invited to +become a member of the Revolutionary Committee during his stay in +the town, in order that he might see for himself with what zeal +the instructions received from Paris for the extermination of the +Royalists were being carried out. + +This offer he accepted, as it would enable him to obtain information +of all that was going on. Had it not been for this he would gladly +have declined the honour, for his feelings were daily harrowed by +arrests and massacres which he was powerless to prevent, for he +did not venture to raise his voice on the side of mercy, for had he +done so, it would have been certain to excite suspicion. He found +that, horrible as were the atrocities committed in Paris, they +were even surpassed by those which were enacted in the provinces, +and that in Nantes in particular a terrible persecution was raging +under the direction of Carrier, who had been sent down from Paris +as commissioner from the Commune there. + +Harry's next object was to make the acquaintance of some of the +fishermen, and to find out what vessels were engaged in smuggling +goods across to England; for it was in one of these alone that he +could hope to cross the Channel. This, however, he found much more +difficult than he had expected. + +The terror was universal. The news of the execution of the king +had heightened the dismay. Massacres were going on all over France. +The lowest ruffians in all the great towns were now their masters, +and under pretended accusations were wreaking their hate upon the +respectable inhabitants. Private enmities were wiped out in blood. +None were too high or too low to be denounced as Royalists, and +denunciation was followed as a matter of course by a mock trial +and execution. Every man distrusted his neighbour, and fear caused +those who most loathed and hated the existing regime to be loudest +in their advocacy of it. There were spies everywhere - men who +received blood-money for every victim they denounced. + +Thus, then, Harry's efforts to make acquaintances among the +sailors met with very slight success. He was a stranger, and that +was sufficient to cause distrust, and ere long it became whispered +that he had come from Paris with special authority to hasten on the +work of extirpation of the enemies of the state. Soon, therefore, +Harry perceived that as he moved along the quay little groups of +sailors and fishermen talking together broke up at his approach, the +men sauntering off to the wine-shops, and any he accosted replied +civilly indeed, but with embarrassment and restraint; and although +any questions of a general character were answered, a profound +ignorance was manifested upon the subject upon which he wished to +gain information. The sailors all seemed to know that occasionally +cargoes of spirits were run from the river to England, but none +could name any vessel engaged in the trade. Harry soon perceived +that he was regarded with absolute hostility, and one day one of +the sailors said to him quietly: + +"Citizen, I am a good sans-culotte, and I warn you, you had best +not come down the river after dark, for there is a strong feeling +against you; and unless you would like your body to be fished out +of the river with half a dozen knife-holes in it, you will take my +advice." + +Harry began to feel almost crushed under his responsibilities. His +attendance at the Revolutionary Committee tried him greatly. He +made no progress whatever in his efforts to obtain a passage; and +to add to his trouble the old nurse, who had been much exhausted +by the change from her usual habits, and the inclemency of the +weather on her journey, instead of gaining strength appeared to be +rapidly losing it, and was forced to take to her bed. The terrible +events in Paris, and the long strain of anxiety as to the safety +of the girls and the fate of Marie, had completely exhausted her +strength, and the last six months had aged her as many years. Harry +tried hard to keep up his appearance of hopefulness, and to cheer +the girls; but Jeanne's quick eye speedily perceived the change in +him. + +"You are wearing yourself out, Harry," she said one evening as they +were sitting by the fire, while Virginie was tending Louise in the +next room. "I can see it in your face. It is of no use your trying +to deceive me. You tell us every day that you hope soon to get +hold of the captain of a boat sailing for England; but I know that +in reality you are making no progress. All those months when we +were hoping to get Marie out of prison - though it seemed next to +impossible - you told us not to despair, and I knew you did not +despair yourself; but now it is different. I am sure that you do +in your heart almost give up hope. Why don't you trust me, Harry? +I may not be able to do much, but I might try to cheer you. You +have been comforting us all this time. Surely it is time I took my +turn. I am not a child now." + +"I feel like one just at present," Harry said unsteadily with +quivering lips. "I feel sometimes as if - as we used to say at school +- I could cry for twopence. I know, Jeanne, I can trust you, and +it isn't because I doubted your courage that I have not told you +exactly how things are going on, but because it is entirely upon +you now that Louise and Virginie have to depend, and I do not wish +to put any more weight on your shoulders; but it will be a relief +to me to tell you exactly how we stand." + +Harry then told her how completely he had failed with the sailors, +and how an actual feeling of hostility against him had arisen. + +"I think I could have stood that, Jeanne; but it is that terrible +committee that tries me. It is so awful hearing these fiends marking +out their victims and exulting over their murder, that at times I +feel tempted to throw myself upon some of them and strangle them." + +"It must be dreadful, Harry," Jeanne said soothingly. "Will it not +be possible for you to give out that you are ill, and so absent +yourself for a time from their meetings? I am sure you look ill - +ill enough for anything. As to the sailors, do not let that worry +you. Even if you could hear of a ship at present it would be of no +use. I couldn't leave Louise; she seems to me to be getting worse +and worse, and the doctor you called in three days ago thinks +so too. I can see it by his face. I think he is a good man. The +woman whose sick child I sat up with last night tells me the poor +all love him. I am sure he guesses that we are not what we seem. +He said this morning to me: + +"' I cannot do much for your grandmother. It is a general break-up. +I have many cases like it of old people and women upon whom the +anxiety of the times has told. Do not worry yourself with watching, +child. She will sleep quietly, and will not need attendance. If +you don't mind I shall have you on my hands. Anxiety affects the +young as well as the old.' + +"At anyrate, you see, we cannot think of leaving here at present. +Louise has risked everything for us. It is quite impossible for +us to leave her now, so do not let that worry you. We are all in +God's hands, Harry, and we must wait patiently what He may send +us." + +"We will wait patiently," Harry said. "I feel better now, Jeanne, +and you shall not see me give way again. What has been worrying me +most is the thought that it would have been wiser to have carried +out some other plan - to have put you and Virginie, for instance, +in some farmhouse not far from Paris, and for you to have waited +there till the storm blew over." + +"You must never think that, Harry," Jeanne said earnestly. "You +know we all talked it over dozens of times, Louise and all of us, +and we agreed that this was our best chance, and Marie when she +came out quite thought so too. So, whatever comes, you must not +blame yourself in the slightest. Wherever we were we were in danger, +and might have been denounced." + +"I arranged it all, Jeanne. I have the responsibility of your being +here." + +"And to an equal extent you would have had the responsibility of +our being anywhere else. So it is of no use letting that trouble +you. Now, as to the sailors, you know I have made the acquaintance +of some of the women in our street. Some of them are sailors' wives, +and possibly through them I may be able to hear about ships. At +anyrate I could try." + +"Perhaps you could, Jeanne; but be very, very careful what questions +you put, or you might be betrayed." + +"I don't think there is much fear of that, Harry. The women are +more outspoken than the men. Some of them are with what they call +the people; but it is clear that others are quite the other way. +You see trade has been almost stopped, and there is great suffering +among the sailors and their families. Of course I have been very +careful not to seem to have more money than other people; but +I have been able to make soups and things - I have learned to be +quite a cook from seeing Louise at work - and I take them to those +that are very poor, especially if they have children ill, and I +think I have won some of their hearts." + +"You win everyone's heart who comes near you, Jeanne, I think," +Harry said earnestly. + +Jeanne flushed a rosy red, but said with a laugh: + +"Now, Harry, you are turning flatterer. We are not at the chateau +now, sir, so your pretty speeches are quite thrown away; and now +I shall go and take Virginie's place and send her in to you." + +And so another month went by, and then the old nurse quietly +passed away. She was buried, to the girls' great grief, without +any religious ceremony, for the priests were all in hiding or had +been murdered, and France had solemnly renounced God and placed +Reason on His throne. + +In the meantime Jeanne had been steadily carrying on her work among +her poorer neighbours, sitting up at night with sick children, and +supplying food to starving little ones, saying quietly in reply to +the words of gratitude of the women: + +"My grandmother has laid by savings during her long years of +service. She will not want it long, and we are old enough to work +for ourselves; besides, our brother Henri will take care of us. So +we are glad to be able to help those who need it." + +While she worked she kept her ears open, and from the talk of the +women learned that the husbands of one or two of them were employed in +vessels engaged in carrying on smuggling operations with England. +A few days after the death of Louise one of these women, whose +child Jeanne had helped to nurse through a fever and had brought +round by keeping it well supplied with good food, exclaimed: + +"Oh, how much we owe you, mademoiselle, for your goodness!" + +"You must not call me mademoiselle," Jeanne said, shaking her head. +"It would do you harm and me too if it were heard." + +"It comes so natural," the woman said with a sigh. "I was in service +once in a good family before I married Adolphe. But I know that +you are not one of those people who say there is no God, because I +saw you kneel down and pray by Julie's bed when you thought I was +asleep. I expect Adolphe home in a day or two. The poor fellow +will be wild with delight when he sees the little one on its feet +again. When he went away a fortnight ago he did not expect ever +to see her alive again, and it almost broke his heart. But what +was he to do? There are so many men out of work that if he had +not sailed in the lugger there would have been scores to take his +place, and he might not perhaps have been taken on again." + +"He has been to England, has he not?" Jeanne asked. + +"Yes; the lugger carries silks and brandy. It is a dangerous trade, +for the Channel is swarming with English cruisers. But what is he +to do? One must live." + +"Is your husband in favour of the new state of things?" Jeanne +asked. + +"Not in his heart, mademoiselle, any more than I am, but he holds +his tongue. Most of the sallors in the port hate these murdering +tyrants of ours; but what can we do?" + +"Well, Marthe, I am sure I can trust you, and your husband can help +me if he will." + +"Surely you can trust me," the woman said. "I would lay down my +life for you, and I know Adolphe would do so too when he knows what +you have done for us." + +"Well, then, Marthe, I and my sister and my brother Henri are anxious +to be taken to England. We are ready to pay well for a passage, +but we have not known how to set about it." + +"I thought it might be that," Marthe said quietly; "for anyone who +knows the ways of gentlefolk, as I do, could see with half an eye +that you are not one of us. But they say, mademoiselle, that your +brother is a friend of Robespierre, and that he is one of the +committee here." + +"He is only pretending, Marthe, in order that no suspicion should +fall upon us. But he finds that the sailors distrust him, and he +cannot get to speak to them about taking a passage, so I thought +I would speak to you, and you can tell me when a boat is sailing +and who is her captain." + +"Adolphe will manage all that for you, never fear," the woman +said. "I know that many a poor soul has been hidden away on board +the smuggler's craft and got safely out of the country; but of +course it's a risk, for it is death to assist any of the suspects. +Still the sailors are ready to run the risk, and indeed they haven't +much fear of the consequences if they are caught, for the sailor +population here are very strong, and they would not stand quietly +by and see some of their own class treated as if they had done +some great crime merely because they were earning a few pounds by +running passengers across to England. Why they have done it from +father to son as far as they can recollect, for there has never +been a time yet when there were not people who wanted to pass from +France to England and from England to France without asking the +leave of the authorities. I think it can be managed, mademoiselle, +especially, as you say, you can afford to pay, for if one won't take +you, another will. Trade is so bad that there are scores of men +would start in their fishing-boats for a voyage across the Channel +in the hope of getting food for their wives and families." + +"I was sure it was so, Marthe, but it was so difficult to set about +it. Everyone is afraid of spies, and it needs some one to warrant +that we are not trying to draw them into a snare, before anyone +will listen. If your husband will but take the matter up, I have +no doubt it can be managed." + +"Set your mind at ease; the thing is as good as done. I tell you +there are scores of men ready to undertake the job when they know +it is a straightforward one." + +"That is good news indeed, Jeanne," Harry said, when the girl +told him of the conversation. "That does seem a way out of our +difficulties. I felt sure you would be able to manage it, sooner +or later, among the poor people you have been so good to. Hurry it +on as much as you can, Jeanne. I feel that our position is getting +more and more dangerous. I am afraid I do not play my part sufficiently +well. I am not forward enough in their violent councils. I cannot +bring myself to vote for proposals for massacre when there is any +division among them. I fear that some have suspicions. I have been +asked questions lately as to why I am staying here, and why I have +come. I have been thinking for the last few days whether it would +not be better for us to make our way down to the mouth of the river +and try and bribe some fishermen in the villages there who would +not have that feeling against me that the men here have, to take +us to sea, or if that could not be managed, to get on board some +little fishing-boat at night and sail off by ourselves in the hopes +of being picked up by an English cruiser." + +Harry indeed had for some days been feeling that danger was +thickening round him. He had noticed angry glances cast at him by +the more violent of the committee, and had caught sentences expressing +doubt whether he had really been Robespierre's secretary. That +evening as he came out from the meeting he heard one man say to +another: + +"I tell you he may have stolen it, and perhaps killed the citizen +who bore it. I believe he is a cursed aristocrat. I tell you I shall +watch him. He has got some women with him; the maire, who saw the +paper, told me so. I shall make it my business to get to the bottom +of the affair, and we will make short work with him if we find +things are as I believe." + +Harry felt, therefore, that the danger was even more urgent than +he had expressed it to Jeanne, and he had returned intending to +propose immediate flight had not Jeanne been beforehand with her +news. Even now he hesitated whether even a day's delay might not +ruin them. + +"Have you told me all, Harry?" Jeanne asked. + +"Not quite all, Jeanne. I was just thinking it over. I fear the +danger is even more pressing than I have said;" and he repeated +the sentence he had overheard. "Even now," he said, "that fellow +may be watching outside or making inquiries about you. He will hear +nothing but praise; but that very praise may cause him to doubt +still more that you are not what you seem." + +"But why can we not run away at once?" Virginie said. "Why should +we wait here till they come and take us and carry us away and kill +us?" + +"That is what I was thinking when I came home, Virginie; but the +risk of trying to escape in a fishing-boat by ourselves would be +tremendous. You see, although I have gone out sailing sometimes on +the river in England, I know very little about it, and although we +might be picked up by an English ship, it would be much more likely +that we should fall into the hands of one of the French gunboats. +So I look upon that as a desperate step, to be taken only at the +last moment. And now that Jeanne seems to have arranged a safe plan, +I do not like trying such a wild scheme. A week now, and perhaps +all might be arranged; but the question is - Have we a week? Have +we more than twenty-four hours? What do you think, Jeanne?" + +"I do not see what is best to do yet," Jeanne said, looking steadily +in the fire. "It is a terrible thing to have to decide; but I see +we must decide." She sat for five minutes without speaking, and +then taking down her cloak from the peg on which it hung she said; +"I will go round to Marthe Pichon again and tell her we are all +so anxious for each other, that I don't think we can judge what is +really the best. Marthe will see things more clearly and will be +able to advise us." + +"Yes, that will be the best plan." + +It was three-quarters of an hour before she returned. + +"I can see you have a plan," Harry said as he saw that there was +a look of brightness and hope on Jeanne's face. + +"Yes, I have a plan, and a good one; that is to say, Marthe has. I +told her all about it, and she said directly that we must be hidden +somewhere till her husband can arrange for us to sail. I said, of +course, that was what was wanted, but how could it be managed? So +she thought it over, and we have quite arranged it. She has a sister +who lives in a fishing-village four miles down the river. She will +go over there to-morrow and arrange with them to take us, and will +get some fisher-girls' dresses for us. She says she is sure her +sister will take us, for she was over here yesterday and heard +about the child getting better, and Marthe told her all sorts of +nonsense about what I had done for it. She thinks we shall be quite +safe there, for there are only six or seven houses, and no one but +fishermen live there. She proposes that you shall be dressed up in +some of her husband's clothes, and shall go out fishing with her +sister's husband. What do you think of that, Harry?" + +"Splendid, Jeanne! Can the husband be trusted too?" + +"Oh, yes, she says so. He is an honest man, she says; and besides, +they are very poor, and a little money will be a great help to them. +She says she would not propose it unless she was quite, quite sure +of them, for if anything happened to us she would be a wretched +woman all her life." + +"Thank God," Harry said fervently, "that one sees daylight at last! +I have felt so helpless lately! Dangers seemed to be thickening +round you, and I could do nothing; and now, Jeanne, you have found +a way out for us where I never should have found one for myself." + +"It is God who has done it, not me," Jeanne said reverently. "I did +not begin to go about among the poor people here with any thought +of making friends, but because they were so poor and miserable; but +He must have put it into my heart to do it, in order that a way of +escape might be made for us." + + + +CHAPTER XIII In the Hands of the Reds + + +The next morning Harry went out, as usual, immediately after +breakfast, for a walk for two or three hours. This he did partly +to allow the girls to tidy the rooms, an office which had naturally +fallen to them since the commencement of their old nurse's illness; +partly because in active exercise he found some relief from the +burden of his anxieties. To-day he felt more anxious than ever. The +conversation with Marthe Pichon had afforded good grounds of hope +that in a day or two a fair prospect of escape would be open to them; +but this only seemed to make the present anxiety all the sharper. +The woman had promised to get disguises, and make the arrangements +with her friends at the village below during the course of the day, +and by night, if all went well, they might start. He told himself +that he had no reason for supposing that the vague suspicions which +were, he knew, afloat would suddenly be converted into action. He +determined to take his place that afternoon with the committee as +usual, and endeavour to allay their doubts by assuming a violent +attitude. He felt, however, that the day would be more trying than +any he had passed, and that he would give a great deal if the next +twenty-four hours were over. Scarcely heeding where he walked he +was out longer than usual, and it was nearly three hours after he +started before he approached the town again by the road along the +river bank. Just when he came to the first houses a woman, who was +standing there knitting, came up to him. + +"You are the citizen who lives with his two sisters next door to +La Mere Pichon, are you not?" + +Harry assented hurriedly, with a strange presentiment of evil. + +"La Mere Pichon bids me tell you," the woman said, "that half an +hour after you started this morning six men, with an official with +the red scarf, came to the house and arrested your sisters and +carried them off. They are watching there for your return." + +Harry staggered as if struck with a blow. + +"Poor young man," the woman said compassionately, seeing the ghastly +pallor of his face, "but I pity you. The street is furious that +these wretches should have carried off that sweet young creature, +who was so good to everyone; but what could we do? We hissed the men, +and we would have pelted them had we not been afraid of striking +your sisters. When they had gone La Mere Pichon said to some of +us, 'The best thing we can do for that angel is to save her brother +from being caught also. So do one of you post yourself on each +road leading to the house, and warn him in time. He generally walks +beyond the town. I heard one of his sisters say so.' So some of +us came out on all the roads, and two remained, one at each end of +the street, in case we should miss you. La Mere said, whoever met +you was to tell you to be on this road, by the river, just outside +the town, after dark, and she would bring you some clothes, and +take you where you would be safe; but till then you were to go away +again, and keep far from the town. Do you understand?" she asked, +laying her hand on his arm, for he seemed dazed and stupid with +the shock he had received. + +"I understand," he said in a low voice. "Thank you all for your +warning. Yes, I will be here this evening." + +So saying he turned and moved away, walking unsteadily as if he +were drunk. The woman looked after him pityingly, and then, shaking +her head and muttering execrations against the "Reds," she made +her way home to tell Mere Pichon that she had fulfilled her mission. + +Harry walked on slowly until some distance from the town, and then +threw himself down on a bank by the road and lay for a time silent +and despairing. At last tears came to his relief, and his broad +shoulders shook with a passion of sobbing to think that just at +the moment when a chance of escape was opened - just when all the +dangers seemed nearly past - the girls should have fallen into +the hands of the enemy, and he not there to strike a blow in their +defence. To think of Jeanne - his bright, fearless Jeanne - and +clinging little Virginie, in the hands of these human tigers. It +was maddening! But after a time the passion of weeping calmed down, +and Harry sat up suddenly. + +"I am a fool," he said as he rose to his feet; "a nice sort of fellow +for a protector, lying here crying like a girl when I had begun to +fancy I was a man; wasting my time here when I know the only hope +for the girls is for me to keep myself free to help them. I need +not lose all hope yet. After Marie has been saved, why shouldn't +I save my Jeanne? I am better off than I was then, for we have +friends who will help. These women whose hearts Jeanne has won will +aid if they can, and may get some of their husbands and brothers +to aid. The battle is not lost yet, and Jeanne will know I shall +move heaven and earth to save her." + +Harry's fit of crying, unmanly as he felt it, had afforded him an +immense relief, for he hardly knew himself how great the strain +had been upon him of late, and with a more elastic step he strode +away into the country, and for hours walked on, revolving plan +after plan in his mind for rescuing the girls. Although nothing +very plausible had occurred to him he felt brighter in mind, though +weary in body, when, just after nightfall, he again approached the +spot where he had that morning received so heavy a blow. He was +not disheartened at the difficulty before him, for he knew that he +should have some time yet to hit upon a a plan, and the jails were +so crowded with prisoners that he might fairly reckon upon weeks +before there was any actual necessity for action. Marthe Pichon +was waiting for him. + +"Ah, Monsieur," she began, "but this is a terrible day! Oh, if I +had but known a day or two earlier they could have moved in time, +and now they are in the power of those wolves; but we will try +to save them. We have been talking it over. We will all go to the +tribunal, and we will take our husbands and our children with us, +and we will demand their release. We will not let them be murdered. +And now here are the clothes, but you need not put them on now. +There will be a boat here in a few minutes. We have told some of +the sailors how they misjudged you, and they are sorry, now it is +too late, that they would not listen when you spoke to them. However, +they will do all they can for you. I have sent a message by a boy +to my sister to say that I shall be down this evening, so they will +be expecting us. Ah, here is the boat!" + +The splash of oars was heard, and a boat rowed along close to the +bank. + +"Is that you, Pierre?" + +"It is us, sure enough, Mere Pichon. Is all right?" + +"Yes, we are both here." + +In another minute the boat was rowed alongside, and Harry and the +woman got on board. There were few words spoken as the two men rowed +vigorously down stream. In three quarters of an hour some lights +were seen on the opposite bank, and the boat was headed towards +them and soon reached a little causeway. + +"I shall not be more than twenty minutes," Mere Pichon said as she +got out. + +"All right, we will wait!" was the reply, and mounting the causeway +La Mere Pichon led the way to the farthest cottage in the little +fishing-village. A light was burning within, and lifting the latch +she entered, followed by Harry. A fisherman and his wife were +sitting by the fire. + +"Here, sister Henriette and brother Pierre," Marthe said; "you +have heard from me how a dear angel, who lived next door to me, has +nursed and tended my little Julie, and by blessing of the Virgin +brought her round from her illness; and those wretches, the Reds, +have carried her off to-day with her sister, and you know what it +is to fall into their hands. This is her brother, and I am going +to ask you to give him shelter and let him stay here with you. I +have brought him a suit of clothes with me, and no one will guess +that he is not the son of some comrade of yours. He will pay you +well for sheltering him till we can put him on board Adolphe's +lugger and send him across the water. If it had not been that the +Reds had come to-day I should have brought his sisters with him. I +was just starting to arrange it with you when those wretches came +and took them away, and it may be that they would pay a hundred +crowns to you, and that is not a sum to be earned every day." + +"No, indeed," her sister said briskly; "that will buy Pierre a new +boat, and a good one, such as he can go out to sea in; besides, as +you say, after what his sister did for Julie we are bound to help +them. What do you say, Pierre?" + +Pierre's face had expressed anything but satisfaction until the +money was mentioned, but it then changed entirely. The times were +bad - his boat was old and unseaworthy - a hundred crowns was a +fortune to him. + +"I have risked my life often," he said, "to earn five crowns, +therefore I do not say no to the offer. Monsieur, I accept; for a +hundred crowns I will run the risk of keeping you here, and your +sisters too if they should come, until you can cross the water." + +"Very well then," Marthe Pichon said. "That's settled, now I shall +be off at once. They will be watching the street for monsieur, and +to-morrow, when they find he has not come back, they will be asking +questions, so the sooner I am back the better." + +"We cannot give you much accommodation, monsieur," the fisherman +said. "There is only the loft upstairs, and, for to-night, the sails +to sleep on; but we will try and make you more comfortable to-morrow." + +"I care nothing for comfort," Harry answered, "so make no change +for me. Just treat me as if I were what I shall seem to be - a young +fisherman who has come to work with you for a bit. I will row with +you and help you with your nets. Your sister has promised to send +a boy every day with all the news she can gather. Now, if you have +a piece of bread I will gladly eat it, for I have touched nothing +since breakfast." + +"We can do better than that for you," the woman replied, and in a +few minutes some fish were frying over the fire. Fortunately the +long hours he had been on his feet had thoroughly tired Harry out, +and after eating his supper he at once ascended to the loft, threw +himself on the heap of sails, and in a few minutes was sound asleep. +The next morning he dressed himself in the fisherman's clothes with +which he had been provided, and went down stairs. + +"You will do," Pierre said, looking at him; "but your hands and face +are too white. But I was tanning my sails yesterday, and there is +some of the stuff left in the boiler; if you rub your hands and +face with that you will do well." + +Harry took the advice, and the effect was to give him the appearance +of a lad whose face was bronzed by long exposure to the sea and +air. + +"You will pass anywhere now," Pierre said approvingly. "I shall give +out that you belong to St. Nazaire, and are the son of a friend of +mine whose fishing-boat was lost in the last gale, and so you have +come to work for a time with me; no one would ask you any more. +Besides, we are all comrades, and hate the Reds, who have spoilt +our trade by killing all our best customers, so if they come asking +questions here they won't get a word out of anyone." + +For ten days Harry lived with the fisherman. Adolphe had returned +in his lugger the day after his arrival there, and came over the +next evening to see him. He said that it would be some little time +before the lugger sailed again, but that if he was ready to start +before she sailed he would manage to procure him a passage in some +other craft. He said that he had already been talking to some of +the sailors on the wharves, and that they had promised to go to +the Tribunal when the girls were brought up before it, and that he +would manage to get news from a friend employed in the prison when +that would be. + +Harry frequently went up in a boat to Nantes with Pierre with the +fish they had caught. He had no fear of being recognized, and did +not hesitate to land, though he seldom went far from the boat. +Adolphe was generally there, and he and two or three of his comrades, +who were in the secret, always hailed him as an old acquaintance, +so that had any of the spies of the Revolutionists been standing +there, no suspicion that Harry was other than he seemed would have +entered their minds. + +One evening, three weeks after Harry's arrival at the hut, Adolphe +came in with his head bound up by a bandage. + +"What is the matter, Adolphe?" Harry exclaimed. + +"I have bad news for you, monsieur. I learned this morning that +mesdemoiselles were to-day to be brought before the Tribunal, and +we filled the hall with women and two or three score of sailors. +Mesdemoiselles were brought out. The young one seemed frightened, +but the elder was as calm and brave as if she feared nothing. They +were asked their names, and she said: + +"'I am Jeanne de St. Caux, and this is my sister Virginie. We have +committed no crime.' + +"Carrier himself was there, and he said: + +"'You are charged with being enemies of France, with being here +in disguise, and with trying to leave France contrary to the laws +against emigration, and with being in company with one who, under +false pretenses, obtained admission to the Committee of Safety +here, but who is an enemy and traitor to France. What do you say?' + +"'I do not deny that we were in disguise,' she said in her clear +voice. 'Nor do I deny that we should have escaped if we could. And +as you treat us as enemies, and our lives are in danger, I cannot +see that we were to blame in doing so. I deny that we are enemies +of France, or that the gentleman who was with us was so either. He +did not obtain a place on the committee by fraud, for he was really +the secretary of Monsieur Robespierre, and he could not refuse the +post when it was offered to him.' + +"Then we thought it was time to speak, and the women cried out +for mercy, and said how good she had been to the poor; and we men +cried out too. And then Carrier got into a passion, and said they +were traitors and worthy of death, and that they should die. And +we shouted we would not have it, and broke into the Tribunal and +surrounded mesdemoiselles, and then the guards rushed in and there +was a fight. We beat them off and got outside, and then a regiment +came up, and they were too strong for us, though we fought stoutly, +I can tell you, for our blood was up; but it was no use. The dear +ladies were captured again, and many of us got severe wounds. But +the feeling was strong, I can tell you, among the sailors when the +news spread through the town, for some of the women got hurt, too, +in the melee, and I think we could get five hundred men together +to storm the jail." + +Harry was bitterly disappointed, for he had hoped that the +intercession of the women might have availed with the judges, and +doubtless would have done so had not Carrier himself been present. +However, he thanked the sailor warmly for the efforts he had made +and gave him some money to distribute among the wounded, for he +always carried half his money concealed in a belt under his clothes. +The other half was hidden away under a board in his lodgings, +so that in case of his being captured the girls would still have +funds available for their escape. As to the prospects of storming +the jail he did not feel sanguine. It was strongly guarded, and +there were three regiments of troops in the town, and these could +be brought up before the fishermen could force the strong defences +of the jail. However, as a last resource, this might be attempted. + +Two days later Adolphe again returned, and was obliged to confess +in answer to Harry's inquiries that he feared the sailors as a body +would not join in the attempt. + +"I can hardly blame them, monsieur. For though I myself would risk +everything, and some of the others would do so too, it is a terrible +thing for men with wives and families to brave the anger of these +monsters. They would think nothing of putting us all to death. +It isn't the fighting we are afraid of, though the odds are heavy +against us, but it's the vengeance they would take afterwards, +whether we happened to win or whether we didn't." + +"I cannot blame them," Harry said. "As you say, even if they succeeded +there would be a terrible vengeance for it afterwards. No; if the +girls are to be rescued it must be by some other way. I have been +quiet so long because I hoped that the intercession of the women +would have saved them. As that has failed I must set to work. I +have thought of every method, but bribery seems the only chance. +Will you speak to the man you know in the prison, and sound him +whether it will be possible to carry out any plan in that way?" + +"I will speak again to him," Adolphe said. "But I have already +sounded him, and he said that there were so many guards and jailers +that he feared that it would be impossible. But I will try again." + +The next day, soon after dinner, Adolphe came again, and there was +a white scared look upon his face which filled Harry with alarm. + +"What is it, Adolphe? What is your news?" + +"Monsieur, I can hardly tell it," Adolphe said in a low awe-stricken +voice. "It is too awful even for these fiends." + +"What is it, Adolphe? Tell me. If they have been murdered I will +go straight to Nantes and kill Carrier the first time he leaves +his house, though they may tear me to pieces afterwards." + +"They are not murdered yet," Adolphe said; "but they are to be, and +everyone else." And this time the sailor sat down and cried like +a child. + +At last, in answer to Harry's entreaties, he raised his head and +told the story. The Revolutionary Committee had that day been down +at the wharf, and had taken for the public service four old luggers +past service which were lying on the mud, and they had openly +boasted that an end was going to put to the aristocrats; that the +guillotine was too slow, that the prison must be cleared, and that +they were going to pack the aristocrats on board the luggers and +sink them. + +Harry gave a cry of horror, in which the fisherman and his wife +joined, the latter pouring out voluble curses against Carrier and +the Reds. + +After his first cry Harry was silent; he sank down on to a low chair, +and sat there with his face hidden in his hands for some minutes, +while the fisherman and his wife poured question after question upon +Adolphe. Presently Harry rose to his feet, and saying to Adolphe, +"Do not go away, I shall be back presently, I must think by myself," +went out bareheaded into the night. + +It was half an hour before he returned. + +"Now, Adolphe," he said, "I can think again. Now, how are they to +be saved?" + +"I cannot say, monsieur," Adolphe said hesitatingly. "It does not +seem to me -" + +"They have to be saved," Harry interrupted him in a grave, steady +voice. "The question is how?" + +"Yes, monsieur," Adolphe agreed hesitatingly, "that is the question. +You can rely upon me, monsieur," he went on, "to do my best whatever +you may decide; but I have no head to invent things. You tell me +and I will do it." + +"I know I can rely upon you, Adolphe. As far as I can see there +are but two ways. One is for me to go to Carrier's house, find the +monster, place a pistol at his head, compel him to order them to +be released, stand with him at the prison door till they come out, +embark with him and them in a boat, row down the river, and put to +sea." + +"And then, monsieur?" Adolphe asked after a pause, seeing that +Harry was speaking to himself rather than to him. + +"Yes, that is the question that I cannot answer," Harry replied. +"I can see all the rest as if it were passing. I can feel Carrier +trembling in my grasp, and shrinking as the pistol touches his +forehead. I can hear him giving his orders, I can see the crowd +falling back as I walk with him through the street, I can hear him +crying to the people to stand aside and let us pass, I can see us +going down the river together; but what am I to do in a boat with +two ladies at sea?" + +"Could you not embark in a lugger?" Adolphe exclaimed, carried +away by the picture which Harry seemed to be describing as if he +saw it. "Why not start in a lugger at once? I might have the Trois +Freres ready, and the men will all stand by you; and when we are +once outside the river we will throw Carrier over to the fishes +and make for England." + +"Thank you, Adolphe. If the other plans seem impossible we will +try that, but only as a last resource; for I know the chances are +a hundred to one against its success. I should have no fear as to +Carrier himself, but as I went through the streets some one else +might place a musket at the back of my head and shoot me. If I +could get him alone it would be different. You could go with me; +I would force him to sign the order of release; you could take it; +and I would stand over him till you had time to embark with them; +then I would blow out his brains and make my way down to the river. +But there would be no chance of finding him alone. Monsters like +this are always fearful of assassination." + +"And what is monsieur's other plan?" + +"The other plan is to get on board the boat in which they are to be +placed - you might find out which it is from your friend in prison +- hide down in the hold until the guards leave her; then join them; +and when she sinks fasten them to a spar and drift down the river +with them till out of sight of the town, when Pierre could row off +and pick them up." + +"They say there are to be soldiers on each side of the river," +Adolphe said despondently, "to shoot down any who may try to swim +to shore. But there would not be many who would try. Most of them, +they say, will be women and children; but the heads would be seen +as you drifted down." + +"Yes; but we must think of something, Adolphe - think, man, think +- and you, Pierre, think; if you were in a sinking ship, and you +wanted something which would hide you from the eyes of people a +hundred yards away, what would you take?" + +"But you would be seen on anything you climbed on to or clung to, +monsieur. + +"But we need not climb on to it," Harry said. "I can take pieces +of cork with me and wrap round them so as to keep their faces just +afloat. I should only want something that would hide their faces." + +"A hatch might do," Pierre said. + +"The very thing!" Harry exclaimed with a fresh ring of animation +and hopefulness in his voice. "The very thing! Of course there +would be a hatchway to the forecastle of the lugger. We might get +that loosened beforehand, so that it would float off. What is the +size of such a hatch?" + +"Some four feet square, monsieur." + +"That will be enough," Harry said; "but how high would a hatch +float out of water, because there must be room between the top of +the water for us to breathe as we lie on our backs. Four inches +would be enough. Are the sides buoyant enough to keep the top that +much out of water?" + +"I do not think so, monsieur," Pierre said with a shake of the +head. "It would float nearly level with the water." + +"But see here, monsieur," Aldolphe said eagerly; "I have an idea! +The hatches are covered with tarpaulin. If you could hide in the +forecastle during the night you might cut away all the top underneath +the tarpaulin and prop it up, so that if anyone trod on it in the +morning they would not notice what had been done. Then when they +have pushed off you could knock away the props, the board would +tumble down, and there would be only the tarpaulin cover on the +sides. It would float then quite four inches out of the water, and +that in the middle of the stream would look almost level with it." + +"I will try it," Harry said; "there is a chance of success." + +"It is a terrible risk, monsieur," Pierre said. + +"I know it," Harry replied; "but it is just possible. The chances +are a hundred to one against it, but it may succeed. Well, Pierre, +do you be with your boat on the river just below the point where +the town can be seen. If you see a hatch floating down row to it. +If we are beneath it, well and good; if not -" + +"If not, monsieur," the fisherman's wife said solemnly, "we will +pray for your souls." + +"Adolphe will send down to you in the morning the two fisher-girls' +dresses his wife had prepared for the ladies. Have some brandy in +the boat and your little charcoal stove, and keep water boiling. +They will want it. And now good-bye, my good friends! Pray for us +to-night. Now, Adolphe, let us hasten back to the town, for there +is much to be done. And first of all you must see your friend in +the prison; find out if mesdemoiselles are on the list of those +to be murdered. I have no doubt they will be, for after the emeute +there has been about them they are almost sure to be among the +first victims. But above all, find out, if you can, which vessel +they are to be placed in. + +"But if I cannot find that out, monsieur; if there is no arrangement +made at all - though I should think there would be, for the butchers +will like to have everything done in order -" + +"Then I will get you to find a dozen men you can trust to volunteer +to row the boats to put them on board. And you must be sure to take +the boat in which they are to the lugger we have prepared." + +"I will try," Adolphe said, "though I would rather cut off my hand +than pull an oar to take these poor creatures out to be murdered. +But I will do it, monsieur. But except for that I warrant me they +will not get a sailor in Nantes to put his hand to an oar to aid +their accursed work." + +It was four o'clock when they arrived at Nantes. Adolphe went +straight to the prison, while Harry walked along the quay. When +he came abreast the centre of the town a number of sailors and +fishermen were standing talking in low tones, and looking with +horror at four luggers moored in a line in the centre of the river. +A number of men drawn from the scum of the town were painting them +white, while a strong body of troops were drawn up on the quay in +readiness to put a summary stop to any demonstration of hostility +on the part of the sailors. These did not indeed venture to express +openly their detestation of the proceedings, but the muttered +execrations and curses that rose from the little group showed how +deep were their feelings. + +Harry joined a little knot of three or four men who had been, with +Adolphe, in the habit of greeting him when he landed. + +"All is lost, you see!" one of them said in a tone of deep +commiseration. "There is nothing left but vengeance - we will take +that one of these days - but that is a poor consolation for you +now." + +"All is not quite lost," Harry said. "I have yet one hope." + +"We dare not try force," one of the other men said. "They have marched +three more regiments of Reds in to-day. What can we do against them +without arms? I could cry to think that we are so helpless in the +face of these things." + +"No; I know force is useless," Harry said. "Still I have just one +hope left. It is a desperate one, and I cannot tell you what it is +now; but to-night, maybe, Adolphe may ask you to help us. I expect +him here soon. + +In half an hour Adolphe returned, and Harry at once joined him. + +"I have got the news I wanted," he said. "Mesdemoiselles are to be +in the first batch brought out. Boats have already been bought by +the Reds to row them out, and men hired. They were forced to buy +the boats, for not a man would let his craft for such a purpose. +It would be accursed ever afterwards, no sailor would ever put a +foot on board. The first boats will go to the ship lying lowest in +the stream; then they will come back and take the next batch out +to the vessel next above; and so until all are on board. There will +be fifty placed on board each lugger; and I hear, monsieur, that +is only the first of it, and that the drownings will go on until +the prisons are cleared." + +"Thank God we know that much, Adolphe! Now, in the first place, +I want you to get me some tools - a sharp saw, a chisel, a large +screw-driver, and half a dozen large screws; also, two beams of +wood to fasten across the hatchway and keep the boards up after I +have sawn through them; also, I want three bundles of cork - flat +pieces will be the best if you can get them, but that doesn't matter +much. I may as well have an auger too. When you go back to your +house will you go in next door and ask our landlady, Mere Leflo -" + +"She died three days ago," the man said. + +"Then go into the house without asking, and in the farthest corner +to the right-hand side of the kitchen scratch away the earth, and +you will find a little bag of money. If I fail to-morrow, keep it +for yourself; if I succeed, bring it to me at Pierre's. When does +your lugger sail for England?" + +"In three days, monsieur. I have already sounded the captain, and +I think he will take you. And what shall I do next?" + +"At nine o'clock this evening have a boat with the things on board +half a mile below the town. Give a low whistle, and I will answer +it. Wrap some flannel round the rowlocks to muffle the sound. It +will be a dark night, and there's a mist rising already from the +river. I do not think there's much chance of our meeting any boats +near those vessels." + +"No, indeed," Adolphe agreed. "It makes me shiver to look at them. +There will be no boat out on the river to-night except ours. Will +you not come home with me, monsieur, until it is time to start? +You will need supper, for you must keep up your strength." + +Harry accepted the sailor's invitation; and after partaking of +a meal with Adolphe and his wife, who was informed of the attempt +which was about to be made, he sat looking quietly into the fire, +arranging in his mind all the details of the enterprise, uttering +many a silent but fervent prayer that he might be permitted to save +the lives of the two girls. + +Adolphe went in and out making his preparations. At half-past eight +he said, touching Harry on the shoulder: "It is time to start, +monsieur. I have got the bag of money. Everything is in the boat, +and I saw the men start with it. It is time for us to go and meet +them." + +Marthe burst into tears as she said good-bye to Harry. + +"I shall spend all night on my knees," she said, "praying God and +the Holy Virgin to aid you and save those dear angels. Here is +a packet, monsieur, with some food for you to eat in the morning, +and a bottle of good wine. You will want strength for your adventure." + +Three or four minutes after Harry and Adolphe had gained +the appointed spot they heard a low whistle on the water. Adolphe +whistled in return, and in another minute a dark object appeared +through the mist. They took their places in the stern, and the boat +rowed quietly off again. So well were the oars muffled that Harry +could hear no sound save an almost imperceptible splash each time +they dipped into the water. + +The town was very still and scarce a sound was heard. The awe +of the horrible event which was about to take place hung over the +town, and although there was drinking and exultations among the +ruffians in the back lanes, even these instinctively avoided the +neighbourhood of the river. + +So thick was the fog that they were some little time before they +found the white luggers. When they did so they rowed to that moored +lowest down the stream and made fast alongside. Noiselessly the +tools and beams were handed on board. Then Harry said: + +"That is all, Adolphe." + +"Not at all, monsieur. We are not going to leave you till the work +is done. We have settled that four sets of hands can work better +than one, and besides, we may hit on some idea. No one can say." + +Finding it useless to remonstrate, Harry let the good fellows have +their way. The men had already removed their boots, and noiselessly +made their way to the hatch of the forecastle. + +"Ah, it is just as well I brought a file with me," Adolphe said in +a low voice, as he knelt down and felt the hatch. "It is fastened +down with a staple and padlock. They are old, but you might have +some trouble in breaking them. But let us see first. No, it moves. +Now, a wrench all together." + +As he spoke the staple came up through the rotten wood of the deck. +The hatch was then lifted. + +"Lower it down corner-ways into the fo'castle," Adolphe said. "We +can work all the better at it there. Jacques, do you get that sail +up out of the boat and throw it over the hatch. It isnt likely +anyone will come out here through the fog; but it's just as well +not to run any risk." + +As soon as all were below, and the sail spread over the opening +above, Adolphe produced a dark lantern from the great pocket of his +fisherman's cloak, together with two or three candles. These were +lit at the lantern, and the party then set to work. + +Two saws had been brought on board, and a piece three feet square +was cut out of the top of the hatch, leaving six inches of wood +all round. Great pains were taken not to saw through the tarpaulin +cover. + +"Now, the next thing to do," Harry said, "is to fix the beams so +as to hold the wood in its place again." Four pieces of wood, each +three inches long, were screwed against the combing of the hatchway +in such a position that when the beams were placed upon them they +were exactly level with the top, and supported the piece cut out +from the hatchway in its original position. + +"That will do rarely," Adolphe said, when it was finished and the +hatchway experimentally placed in its position. "Now, all you have +to do is just to knock the ends of the beams off their ledges. The +bit we have cut out will fall down, and you will be able easily +enough to lift the hatchway from its place. It is no great weight +now. + +"It will do capitally," Harry agreed, "and when it floats the +tarpaulin will certainly be three inches above the water. Yes, I +have no fear of that part of the adventure going wrong. You don't +think that it will be noticed from the shore, Adolphe?" + +"Not it," Adolphe answered confidently. "Why, from the shore it +will look awash with the water. No one will ever dream that there +could be a soul alive underneath it. I begin to think you will do +it, monsieur. At first it seemed hopeless. Now I really do think +there is a chance. I should feel pretty confident if it was you +and two of us who had to do it; but the difficulty will be to get +the young ladies under it, and then to get them to lie quiet there." + +"That is the difficulty," Harry admitted. "I am sure of the eldest. +Her nerves are as good as mine; what I fear is about the younger." + +"I'll tell you what, monsieur," one of the other men said; "if you +take my advice you will have a piece of rope in readiness and tie +it round her arms so as to prevent her struggling." + +"That would be the best way," Harry agreed. "Yes, if I see she +won't be calm and do as I tell her, that is what I will do." + +"Now, monsieur, I will bore a couple of auger-holes through the +bulkhead here so that you can see what is going on in the hold. +They have got the hatch off there. I suppose it wasn't padlocked, +and they will no doubt go down to bore the holes the last thing. +Like enough they have bored them already, and will only have to +knock out the plugs. I will just go and see anyhow. If that is so +you may set your mind at rest that none of them will come down here +in the morning. + +So saying, taking the dark lantern he climbed up on deck, and +descended the hold. + +"That's it," he said when he returned; "there are six holes bored +with plugs in them, so they won't be coming down here. When we +go up we will put the staple into its hole again, so that it will +look all right. Now, monsieur, we will just have one nip of brandy +apiece out of this bottle, and then we will be off. It's just +gone midnight, and it were best we should leave you to sleep for a +few hours. You will want your strength in the morning, unless, of +course, you would rather we stopped with you for a bit." + +"No, thank you, Adolphe, I don't think I shall sleep; I shall sit +and think out every detail." + +"Then good night, monsieur. May the good God bless you and aid you +to-morrow, and I think he will! I do think you are the bravest man +I ever met." + +"I am not brave for myself, Adolphe, but for them." + +The three men shook hands with Harry, and one after another in +husky voices gave him their good wishes. Then they ascended to the +deck, put on the hatch, pressed the staple down through its holes +in the deck, got into the boat, cast off the head-rope, and got +out the oars. + +"Mon Dieu, what courage!" one of them exclaimed. "His hand is as +steady, and his voice as firm as if he were going fishing to-morrow." + +"I think he will succeed;" Adolphe said, "anyhow, we will have our +boat out below the bend of the river, and lend a hand to Pierre to +get them out." + + + +CHAPTER XIV The Noyades + + +When left alone Harry blew out the other candles, but left that +in the lantern burning, and threw himself down on the locker and +thought over every detail of the work for the next day. As he had +said, the great danger was of Virginie struggling and being too +frightened to follow his instructions. Certainly he could fasten a +rope round her, but even then it might be difficult to manage her. +The next danger was, that other persons might cling to the hatchway. +Harry felt the long knife which was concealed in his breast. + +"God grant I may not have to use it!" he said. "But, if it must be, +I shall not hesitate. They would simply destroy us without saving +themselves, that is certain; therefore, I am justified in defending +the girls, as I would against any other enemy." + +He knelt down and prayed for some time. Then he replaced the piece +they had cut out from the hatch, and fixed the beams beneath it, +and then lay down again. He was worn out by the excitement of the +day, and in spite of his anxiety about the morrow he presently fell +off to sleep. + +It was long before he woke. When he did so, he looked through one +of the auger-holes into the hold and saw the light streaming down +the open hatchway, and could tell that the sun was already up. + +He ate the food which Marthe had put into his pocket just as he +was starting; saw that the bundles of corks were ready at hand, and +the ropes attached to them so placed that they could be fastened on +in an instant. Then there was nothing to do but to wait. The time +passed slowly. Presently he heard the sound of drums and bugles, and +knew that the troops were taking up their positions on the quays. +At last - it seemed many hours to him - he heard the splash of oars, +and presently a slight shock as a boat ran alongside the lugger. +Then there were voices, and the sound of feet above as persons +mounted on to the deck. There was a scraping noise by the lugger's +side, and immediately afterwards another bump as the second boat +took the place of the first. + +This, as far as Harry could hear, did not leave the lugger. There +was a great hum of talking on deck, principally in women's voices, +and frequently persons stepped on the hatch, and Harry congratulated +himself that the beams gave a solid support to it. + +Half an hour passed, as well as Harry could judge, then the boom +of a cannon was heard, and immediately two men leapt down into the +hold, knocked the six plugs out of their place, and climbed up on +deck again. There was again the scraping noise, and Harry knew the +boat had pushed off this time for good. He watched as if fascinated +the six jets of water for a minute or two. Then, saying to himself, +"It is time," he knocked the beams from their ledges, allowed +the square of wood to fall, lifted the hatch, and pushed it off +its combing, and then clambered on to the deck with the corks and +ropes. There were some fifty persons on board, for the most part +women and children, but with two or three men among them. They were +gathered near the stern, and were apparently watching the scene +ashore with astonishment. He hurried aft, having no fear that at +this distance from the shore his figure would be recognized from +the rest, and, if it were, it mattered not. Two or three turned +round as the supposed sailor came aft, exclaiming: + +"What does this mean? Why are we put here on board these white +ships? What are they going to do with us?" + +"Alas, ladies," he said, "they have put you here to die; they have +bored holes in the ships' bottoms, and in a few minutes they will +sink. It is a wholesale execution. + +As he began to speak one of the ladies in the stern pushed her way +through the rest. + +"Oh, Harry, is it you!" she exclaimed as he finished. "Is it true, +are we to die together?" + +"We are in God's hands, Jeanne, but there is hope yet. Bring Virginie +forward with me." + +At Harry's first words a panic had seized all around; one or two +ran to the hatchway and looked down into the hold, and screamed +out that the water was rushing in; then some cried to the distant +crowd to send to save them; others ran up and down as if demented; +while some threw themselves on their knees. But the panic soon +passed away; all had for weeks looked death in the face, and though +the unexpected form in which it appeared had for the moment shaken +them, they soon recovered. Mothers clasped their daughters to their +breasts for a last farewell, and then all with bowed heads kneeled +and listened in silence to an old man who began to pray aloud. + +Jeanne, without another word, had taken Virginie's hands and +accompanied Harry forward to the fore part of the deck. + +"Jeanne, I am going to try to save you and Virginie, but everything +depends upon your being cool and brave. I need not urge you, because +I am sure of you. Virginie, will you try to be so for Jeanne's sake +and your own? If you do not we must all die together." + +"What are we to do, Harry?" Jeanne said steadily, while Virginie +clung to her sister sobbing bitterly. + +"Fasten this bundle of corks between Virginie's shoulders high +up-yes, there." + +While Jeanne was doing this, Harry fastened a rope to a ring in the +side of the hatch, then he tied the corks on to Jeanne's shoulders, +and adjusted the third bundle to his own. "Now, Jeanne," he said, +"I will tell you what we are going to do. You see this hatch; when +the vessel sinks it will float, and we must float on our backs with +our faces underneath it so that it will hide us from the sight of +the wretches on shore; and even if they put out in boats to kill +any who may be swimming or clinging to spars, they will not suspect +that there is anyone under this. We may not succeed; an accident +may betray us, but there is a possibility. At anyrate, dear, we +shall live or die together." + +"I am content," Jeanne said quietly. + +"You know, Jeanne," Harry said, putting his hands on the girl's +shoulders, "that I love you; I should never have told you so until +I got you home if it hadn't been for this; but though I have never +said it, you know I love you." + +"I know, Harry, and I love you too with all my heart; so much that +I can feel almost happy that we are going to die together. We are +affianced now, dear, come what will." And she lifted her face to +his. + +He gave her one long kiss, then there was a crash. Impatient at +the length of time the vessels were in sinking, those ashore had +opened fire with cannons upon them, and the shot had struck the +lugger just above the water. + +With a little cry Virginie fell senseless on the deck. + +"That's the best thing that could have happened," Harry said as +Jeanne stooped over her sister. "Lie down on the deck, dear, or +you may be struck; they are firing with muskets now. I am going to +lie down too," he said in answer to her look, "but I shall first +twist this cord round Virginie so as to keep her arms by her side, +otherwise when the water touches her she may come to her senses +and struggle. That's all right." + +Then he lay down on the deck between the girls with his head against +the hatch, and holding the rope. + +"Put your head on my shoulder, Jeanne, and I will put my arm round +you; I will hold Virginie the same way the other side. Hold tight +by me for a moment as we sink, I may have to use my arms to get +the hatch over our faces. Do not breathe while you are under the +water, for we shall, no doubt, go down with the lugger, although +I shall try to keep you afloat; when you are under the hatch you +will find you will float with your mouth well out of the water, +and will be able to breathe, the corks will keep you up." + +"I understand, Harry; now let us pray until the time comes." + +Shot after shot struck the lugger, then Harry felt her give a sudden +lurch. There was a wild cry and the next moment she went down stern +first. She was so nearly even with the water when she sank, that +there was less downward suck than Harry had expected, and striking +out with his feet his head was soon above the surface. The cord +had kept the hatch within a couple of feet of him, and with some +difficulty, owing to the buoyancy of the corks, he thrust himself +and the girls under it. The tarpaulin was old and rotten, and the +light penetrated in several places, and Harry could see that, in +the position in which they were lying, the faces of both girls were +above the water. + +It was useless to speak for their ears were submerged; but a slight +motion from Jeanne responded to a pressure of his arm, and he knew +that she was sensible although she had not made the slightest motion +from the moment the vessel sank. Virginie had not, as he feared +would be the case, recovered her senses with the shock of the +immersion, but lay insensible on his shoulder. He could see by the +movement of Jeanne's lips that she was praying, and he too thanked +God that He had given success to the plan so far, and prayed for +protection to the end. + +With every minute that passed, his hopes rose; everything had +answered beyond his expectation. The other victims had apparently +not even noticed what he was doing, and therefore had not, as he +feared might be the case, interfered with his preparations, nor +had any of them striven to gain a hold on the hatchway. The sinking +of the vessels, and the tearing up of the water by the shot, would +render the surface disturbed and broken, and decrease the chances +of the floating hatch attracting attention. After ten minutes had +passed he felt certain that they must be below the point where the +troops were assembled. + +The tide was running out strong, for the time for the massacre had +been fixed at an hour which would ensure the bodies being swept down +to sea. Half an hour would, he thought, take them past the bend, +where their friends would be waiting for them. The time seemed +endless, for although Harry felt the coldness of the water but little +for himself, he knew that it must be trying indeed for Jeanne. As +far as he could see her face it was as white as her sister's; but +he had hold of one of her hands now, and knew that she was still +conscious. + +At last he heard the sound of oars. It might not be one of the +friendly boats; but the probability was that it was one or other +of them. Had they seen any other fisherman's boat near the point +they would have rowed high up so as to intercept the hatch before +it reached the stranger. Harry could not hear voices; for although +the water had conveyed the sound of the oars a considerable distance, +he could hear no sound in the air. + +The oars came nearer and nearer, and by the quickness with which +the strokes followed each other he knew that two boats were at +hand. Then the hatch was suddenly lifted, and as Harry raised his +head above water there was a loud cheer, and he saw Adolphe and +Pierre, one on each side, stretch out their arms to him. The girls +were first lifted into Pierre's boat, for Jeanne was as incapable +of movement as her sister, then Harry was dragged in, the rough +sailors shaking his hand and patting him on the shoulder, while +the tears ran down their cheeks. + +"Give them some hot brandy and water," were his first words. Pierre +had a kettle boiling. A glass of hot liquor was placed to Jeanne's +lips. + +At first she could not swallow, but after a few drops had passed +her lips she was able to take a sip, and would then have stopped, +but Harry insisted upon her drinking the whole contents of the +glass. + +"You must do as you are told, Jeanne," he said in her ear. "You +belong to me now, you know. It can do you no harm chilled as you +are, and may save you from illness." + +In the meantime Pierre had poured several spoonfuls of nearly neat +brandy between Virginie's lips. Adolphe, and one of the men with +him, had changed over into Pierre's boat, and were rowing lustily +down the river. + +As soon as Jeanne was able to sit up she began to chafe one of +Virginie's hands, while Harry took the other. + +"Take off her shoes, Pierre, and soak a swab with the hot water +and put it to her feet." + +But with all these efforts it was not until they were close to +Pierre's village that Virginie opened her eyes. When they arrived +at the little causeway the two girls were wrapped up in the peasants +cloaks which Pierre had brought with him. Jeanne took Harry's arm, +while Adolphe lifted Virginie and carried her up. Henriette was +standing at the door as Jeanne staggered in with Harry. + +"That is right, mademoiselle. Thank God who has brought you straight +through the danger. Now, do not stop a moment, but come in here +and get into bed, it is all ready for you. The blankets have been +before the fire until the moment you landed; they will soon give +you warmth. Hurry in, mademoiselle; I will undress your sister. +And do you, Monsieur Sandwith, hurry up to the loft and get on dry +clothes." + +Harry soon reloined the party in the kitchen. The strong glass of +hot spirits he had drunk had sent the blood quickly through his +veins, and he felt in a glow of warmth. + +"Now," he said, "my friends, I can thank you all for the aid you +have given us. It is to you we owe our lives, for without your aid +I never should have succeeded." + +"Say nothing about it, monsieur. We are happy to have saved such a +brave young man, and to have rescued two victims from those monsters." + +"Do you think there is any danger of anyone here taking the news +of our landing to the town?" Harry asked. "They must have seen us +come up to the cottage." + +"There is no fear," Pierre said confidently. "There is not a man +or woman here who would not tear the scelerats to pieces if they +had the chance. Have they not spoiled our market by killing all +our best customers? And now how are we to earn our living, I should +like to know? Why, not even the poorest beggar in Nantes would buy +fish out of the river for months after this. No, you need have no +fear of them. They may guess who you are, but it is no business of +theirs, and they will hold their tongues." + +"At anyrate, Pierre, you had better distribute a few crowns among +them, to help them live till the fishing is good again." + +"That I will do, monsieur. It is quite safe; but it is as well to +make it even safer." + +In half an hour Pierre's wife came in from the inner room, and said +that both girls were sound asleep. + +"Now, Adolphe, it only remains for you to arrange with your captain +for our passage." + +"That I will do this afternoon," Adolphe said confidently. "Consider +it as good as done." + +After Adolphe had started for the town, Harry was persuaded by +Pierre to lie down for a bit; but he soon gave up the idea of going +to sleep. His brain was in a whirl from the events of the last +twenty-four hours, and above all he felt so brimming over with +happiness that the girls had been saved that he soon found it +impossible to lie still. He therefore went down again and joined +Pierre, who was doing some repairs to his boat. + +"It is no use my trying to sleep, Pierre. I am too delighted that +everything has turned out right. I want to break out into shouting +and singing." + +"I can understand, monsieur. Yes, yes. After great trouble great +joy. I know it myself. I was once adrift in a boat for three weeks. +I was on a voyage to Guadaloupe when we were blown in a hurricane +on a 'key,' as they call the low sandy islands out there. It was +in fact no more than a sand-bank. More than half of those on board +were drowned; but eight of us got ashore, and we managed to haul +up a woman with her child of two years old in her arms. + +"We thought at first the mother was dead, but she came round. +The ship went to pieces and we saved nothing. The currents swept +everything away but a boat, which had been thrown up beyond the reach +of the waves. For two days we had no food or water, and suffered +terribly, for the sun had shone down straight on our heads, and we +envied those who had died at once. The woman set us a good example. +She spent her time tending her child and praying to God; and we +sailors, who are rough, you know - but who know that God protects +us, and never go for a long voyage without going to the chapel and +paying for a mass for our safety - we prayed too, and the third +morning there were three turtles asleep on the shore. We turned them +over on their backs, and there was meat for us for a long time. + +"We killed one and drank the blood, and ate our first meal raw. +Then we cut up the rest of the flesh and hung it up in the sun to +dry. That very night we saw the clouds banking up, and knew it +was going to rain. + +"'Now,' our mate said, 'if we had but a barrel we could catch water +and start in our boat, but without that the water will last only a +day or two; for if we kill all the turtles and fill their shells, +it will evaporate in a day under this hot sun, and it may be weeks +before there is rain again, and we might as well have died at once. + +"'For shame,' the woman said. 'You are doubting the good God again, +after he has saved your life and has sent you food and is now going +to send you water. Do you think he has done all this for nothing? +There must be some way out of the difficulty if we could but think +of it.' + +"She sat looking at the turtle for two or three minutes, and then +said: + +"'It is easy. Why have you not thought of it? See there. Cut off +one of their heads, and then you can get your arm in, if you take +the biggest. Then cut out all the meat and bones piece by piece, +and there is a great bottle which will hold gallons.' + +"We shouted for joy, for it was as she had said, though I am sure +none of us would ever have thought of it if God had not given her +the idea. We soon set to work and got the shell ready. The rain +storm came quickly. We had turned the boat over, the oars had been +washed away, but the mast and sail were lashed to the thwarts. We +made a little hollow in the sand and stretched out the sail, and by +the time this was done and the men were ready with the turtle-shell +the rain came. When it rains in those parts it comes down in +bucketfuls, and we soon had enough in the sail to drink our fill +and to fill up the turtle-shell to the top. + +"The next morning we got the boat afloat, put the other turtle +in, with our stock of dried flesh and our shell of water, and set +sail. But our luck seemed gone. We lay for days scarce moving +through the water, with the sail hanging idle and the sun blazing +down upon us. We had not been careful enough of the water at first, +making sure that in three or four days we should sight land, and +when after three days we put ourselves on short rations, there was +scarce a gallon of water left. + +"It was a week after that before we saw a sail. Two of the men had +jumped overboard raving mad, the rest were lying well-nigh senseless +in the bottom of the boat. Only the woman was sitting up, holding +her child in her arms. She was very weak, too; but she had never +complained, never doubted for a moment. Her eyes went from the +child's face over the sea to look for the help she felt would come, +and back again, and at last she said quite quiet and natural: + +"'There is the ship. I knew it must come to-day, for my child could +not live through another night.' + +"We thought she was dreaming or off her head. But one of us made +a shift to stand up and look, and when he screamed out 'A sail! A +sail!' two of us who were strong enough looked out also. There she +was and sailing, as we could soon see, on a line as directly for +us as if they had our bearings, and had been sent to fetch us. + +"It was not until evening that she came up, though she was bringing +a light breeze along with her. And when we were lifted on to her +deck, and had water held to our lips, and knew that we were safe, +we felt, I expect, much the same as you do now, monsieur, that it +was the good God himself who had assuredly saved us from death. +That was my last voyage, for Henriette was waiting for me at home, +and I had promised her that after we had gone to church together I +would go no more to distant countries, but would settle down here +as a fisherman." + +"That was a narrow escape indeed, Pierre," Harry said as he worked +away with the tar brush. "That idea of the turtle was a splendid +one, and you may well say that God put it into the woman's head, +for without it you could never have lived till the ship found you." + +In the meantime Henriette had made her rounds to the cottage to see +what remarks had been made as to the coming of her visitors. She +saw that everyone had guessed that the girls who had been picked +up by Pierre were victims of the massacre, but no one supposed that +it was the result of intention. + +"Ah, Mere Gounard, but your good man was fortunate to-day," one +of the women said. "My man did not go out. We heard what was doing +at Nantes, and he had not the heart to go; besides, who would buy +fish caught to-day? If he had thought of it he would have gone too, +and perhaps he would have picked up somebody, as you have done. +Poor things, what an escape for them!" + +"It is wonderful that they have come round," Henriette said. "It +was lucky my husband had some brandy in the boat. He thought for a +time he would never bring the youngest round. They are only young +girls. What harm could they have done that those monsters at Nantes +should try to murder them? There is no fear, I hope, that any in +the village will say a word about it." + +"What!" the woman said indignantly. "Do you think that anyone +here would betray a comrade to the Reds? Why, we would tear him to +pieces." + +"No, no," Henriette said; "I never thought for a moment that anyone +would do it intentionally; but the boys might let slip a word +carelessly which might bring them down upon us." + +"We will take care of that," the woman said. "Make your mind easy. +Not a soul outside the village will ever know of it." + +"And," Henriette added, "one of them has some money hidden upon her, +and she told me just before I came out, when I was saying that the +village would have a bad time now the fishing was spoiled - that +as she hoped to cross to England in a few days, and would have +no need of the money, for it seems that she can get plenty over +there, she will give five crowns to each house in the village as +a thank-offering." + +"Well, that is not to be despised," the woman said. "We shall have +a hard time of it for a bit, and that will carry us on through it. +You are sure she can spare it; because we would rather starve than +take it if she cannot." + +Henriette assured her that her visitor said she could afford it +well. + +"Well, then, it's a lucky day for the village, Mere Gounard, that +your husband picked them up." + +"Well, I will go back now," Henriette said. "Will you go round the +village and tell the others about silencing the children? I must +get some broth ready by the time these poor creatures wake." + +The next morning Jeanne appeared at breakfast in her dress as +a fish-girl, but few words were spoken between her and Harry, for +the fisherman and his wife were present. + +"How is Virginie?" he asked. + +"She's better, but she is weak and languid, so I told her she must +stop in bed for to-day. Do not look anxious. I have no doubt that +she will be well enough to be up to-morrow. She has been sleeping +ever since she went to bed yesterday, and when she woke she had +a basin of broth. I think by to-morrow she will be well enough to +get up. But it will be some time before she is herself again. It +is a terrible strain for her to have gone through, but she was very +brave all the time we were in prison. She had such confidence in +you, she felt sure that you would manage somehow to rescue us." + +Alter breakfast Jeanne strolled down with Harry to the river-side. + +"I feel strange with you, Harry," she said. "Before you seemed +almost like a brother, and now it is so different." + +"Yes; but happier?" Harry asked gently. + +"Oh, so much happier, Harry! But there is one thing I want to tell +you. It might seem strange to you that I should tell you I loved you +on my own account without your speaking to the head of the family." + +"But there was no time for that, Jeanne," Harry said smiling. + +"No," Jeanne said simply. "I suppose it would have been the same +anyhow; but I want to tell you, Harry, that in the first letter +which she sent me when she was in prison, Marie told me, that as +she might not see me again, she thought it right I should know that +our father and mother had told her that night we left home that +they thought I cared for you. You didn't think so, did you, Harry?" +she broke off with a vivid blush. "You did not think I cared for +you before you cared for me?" + +"No, indeed, Jeanne," he said earnestly. "It never entered my mind. +You see, dear, up to the beginning of that time I only felt as a +boy, and in England lads of eighteen or nineteen seldom think about +such things at all. It was only afterwards, when somehow the danger +and the anxiety seemed to make a man of me, when I saw how brave +and thoughtful and unselfish you were, that I knew I loved you, and +felt that if you could some day love me, I should be the happiest +fellow alive. Before that I thought of you as a dear little girl +who inclined to make rather too much of me because of that dog +business. And did you really care for me then?" + +"I never thought of it in that way, Harry, any more than you did, +but I know now that my mother was right, and that I loved you all +along without knowing it. My dear father and mother told Marie +that they thought I was fond of you, and that, if at any time you +should get fond of me too and ask for my hand, they gave their +approval beforehand, for they were sure that you would make me +happy. + +"So they told Marie and Ernest, who, if ill came to them, would be +the heads of the family, that I had their consent to marry you. It +makes me happy to know this, Harry." + +"I am very glad, too, dear," Harry said earnestly. + +"It is very satisfactory for you, and it is very pleasant to me to +know that they were ready to trust you to me. Ah!" he said suddenly, +"that was what was in the letter. I wondered a little at the time, +for somehow after that, Jeanne, you were a little different with +me. I thought at first I might somehow have offended you. But I did +not think that long," he went on, as Jeanne uttered an indignant +exclamation, "because if anything offended you, you always spoke +out frankly. Still I wondered over it for some time, and certainly +I was never near guessing the truth." + +"I could not help being a little different," Jeanne said shyly. "I +had never thought of it before, and though I am sure it made me +happy, I could not feel quite the same with you, especially as I +knew that you never thought of me like that." + +"But you thought of me so afterwards, Jeanne?" + +"Sometimes just for a moment, but I tried not to think of it, +Harry. We were so strangely placed, and it made it easier for you +to be a brother, and I felt sure you would not speak till we were +safely in England, and I was in Ernest's care. But," she said +with a little laugh, "you were nearly speaking that evening in the +cottage when you felt so despairing." + +"Very nearly, Jeanne; I did so want comfort." + +And so they talked happily together for an hour. + +"I wonder Pierre does not come down to his boat," Harry said at +last. "There were several more things wanting doing to it. Why, +there he is calling. Surely it can never be dinner-time; but that's +what he says. It doesn't seem an hour since breakfast." + +Jeanne hurried on into the hut. + +"Why, Pierre," Harry said to the fisherman, who was waiting outside +for him, "I thought you were going on with your boat." + +"So I was, monsieur, but Henriette told me I should be in the way." + +"In the way, Pierre!" Harry repeated in surprise. + +"Ah, monsieur," Pierre said with a twinkle in his eye, "you have +been deceiving us. My wife saw it in a moment when the young lady +came to breakfast. + +"'Brother!' she said to me when you went out; 'don't tell me! +Monsieur is the young lady's lover. Brother and sister don't look +at each other like that. Why, one could see it with half an eye.' + +"Your wife is right, Pierre; mademoiselle is my fiance. I am really +an Englishman. She and her sister had their old nurse with them, +till the latter died some three weeks since; but I have always been +called their brother, because it made it easier for her." + +"Quite right, monsieur; but my wife and I are glad to see that it +is otherwise, and that, after all you have risked for that pretty +creature, you are going to be happy together. My wife was not +surprised. Women are sharper than men in these matters, and she +said to me, when she heard what you were going to do to save them, +'I would wager, Pierre, that one of these mesdemoiselles is not +monsieur's sister. Men will do a great deal for their sister, but +I never heard of a man throwing away his life as he is going to do +on the mere chance of saving one.'" + +"I should have done just the same had it been one of my sisters," +Harry said a little indignantly. + +"Perhaps you would, monsieur, I do not say no," the fisherman said, +shaking his head; "but brothers do not often do so." + +A stop was put to the conversation by Henriette putting her head +outside the door and demanding angrily what they were stopping +talking there for when the fish was getting cold. + +In the evening Adolphe and his wife came in. + +"Ah, mademoiselle," the woman said as she embraced Jeanne with tears +in her eyes, "how thankful I am to see you again! I never thought +I should do so. My heart almost stopped beating yesterday when +I heard the guns. I and my little one were on our knees praying +to the good God for the dear lady who had saved her life. Adolphe +had spoken hopefully, but it hardly seemed to me that it could be, +and when he brought back the news that he had left you all safely +here, I could hardly believe it was true." + +"And I must thank you also, mademoiselle," Adolphe said, "for saving +the life of my little one. I never expected to see her alive again, +and when the lugger made fast to the wharf I was afraid to go home, +and I hung about till Marthe had heard we were in and came down +to me with Julie in her arms, looking almost herself again. Ah, +mademoiselle, you cannot tell how glad I was when she told me that +there was a way of paying some part of my debt to you." + +"You have been able to pay more than your debt," Jeanne said gently; +"if I saved one life you have helped to save three." + +"No, we shall be only quits, mademoiselle, for what would Marthe's +life and mine be worth if the child had died? + +"There are fresh notices stuck up," he went on, "warning all +masters of ships, fishermen, and others, against taking passengers +on board, and saying that the penalty of assisting the enemies of +France to escape from justice is death." + +"That is rather serious," Harry said. + +"It is nothing," Adolphe replied confidently. "After yesterday's +work there is not a sailor or fisherman in the port but would do all +he could to help people to escape from the hands of the butchers, +and once on board, it will help you. You may be sure the sailors +will do their best to run away if they can, or to hide any on +board, should they be overhauled, now they know that they will be +guillotined if anyone is found. However, our captain has made the +agreement, and he is a man of his word; besides, he hates the Reds. +I have been helping ship the casks to-day, and we have stowed them +so as to leave space into which your sisters can crawl and the +entrance be stopped up with casks, if we should be overhauled. As +for you, monsieur, you will pass anywhere as one of the crew, and +we have arranged that one of the men shall at the last moment stay +behind, so that the number will be right, and you will answer to +his name. We have thought matters over, you see, and I can tell +you that the captain does it more because he hates the Reds than +for the money. The day before, he would give me no answer. He said +he thought the risk was too great; but when I saw him last night he +was a different man altogether. His face was as white as a sheet, +and his eyes seemed on fire, and he said, 'I will take your friends, +Adolphe. I would take them without a penny. I should never sleep +again if, owing to me, they fell into the hands of these monsters.' +So you see he is in it heart and soul." + +After half an hour's talk Adolphe and Marthe took their leave. Both +refused the reward which Harry had promised, but Harry insisted, +and at last Jeanne said: + +"You can refuse for yourselves, but you will make me unhappy if +you do not take it. Put it by for Julie; it will help swell her dot +when she marries, and will set her husband up in a good fishing-boat +if she takes to a sailor." + +So it was arranged, and Adolphe and his wife went off invoking +blessings on the heads of the fugitives. At daybreak the party took +their places in the boat with the fishermen. Virginie was still +weak, but was able to walk with Harry's help. Half an hour later +a lugger was seen coming down with the wind and tide. She carried +a small white flag flying on the mizzen. + +"That is her," the fisherman said; "that is the signal." + +He rowed out into the middle of the river. In a few minutes the +lugger came dashing along, her course took her within a few feet +of the boat, a rope was thrown, and in an instant the boat was +tearing through the water alongside her. Half a dozen hands were +stretched out, the girls and Harry sprang on board, the rope was +cast off, and the fisherman, with a cheery "God speed you," put +out his oars again and rowed to shore. + + + +CHAPTER XV England + + +"Go below, mesdemoiselles," the captain of the lugger said as soon +as they had put foot on the deck. "If anyone on the shore were to +see us as we ran down, and notice women on deck, he would think it +strange. At anyrate it's best to be on the safe side." + +So saying he led the way to his cabin below. + +"It is a rough place, mesdemoiselles," he said, removing his cap, +"but it is better than the prisons at Nantes. I am sorry to say +that when we get down near the forts I shall have to ask you to +hide down below the casks. I heard last night that in future every +boat going out of the river, even if it is only a fishing-boat, +is to be searched. But you needn't be afraid; we have constructed +a hiding-place, where they will never find you unless they unloaded +the whole lugger, and that there is no chance of their doing." + +"We do not mind where we hide, captain," Jeanne said. "We have been +hiding for the last six months, and we are indeed grateful to you +for having consented to take us with you." + +"I hope that you will not be the last that the Trois Freres will +carry across," the captain said. "Whatever be the risk, in future +I will take any fugitives who wish to escape to England. At first +I was against the government, for I thought the people were taxed +too heavily, and that if we did away with the nobles things would +be better for those who work for their living, but I never bargained +for bloodshed and murder, and that affair I saw yesterday has +sickened me altogether; and fond as I am of the Trois Freres, I +would myself bore holes in her and sink her if I had Carrier and +the whole of his murderous gang securely fastened below hatches. +This cabin is at your disposal, mesdemoiselles, during the voyage, +and I trust you will make yourselves as comfortable as you can. +Ah, here is the boy with coffee. Now, if you will permit me, I will +go on deck and look after her course." + +In the meantime Harry was chatting with Adolphe, who introduced +him to the crew, whom he had already told of the services Jeanne +had rendered, and as several of them lived in the same street they +too had heard from their wives of the young woman who lodged with +Mere Leflo, and had done so much for those who were suffering. He +was therefore cordially received by the sailors, to each of whom +the captain had already promised double pay for the voyage if they +got through safely. + +"You will remember," Adolphe said, "that you are Andre Leboeuf. +Andre had to make a cold swim of it this morning, for there was the +commissary on the wharf when we started, and he had the captain's +list of the crew, and saw that each man was on board and searched +high and low to see that there was no one else. So Andre, instead +of slipping off home again, had to go with us. When we were out of +sight of the town the captain steered as near the bank as he could +and Andre jumped over and swam ashore. It is all the better as it +has turned out, because the commissary signed the list of the crew +and put a seal to it." + +In four hours the Trois Freres was approaching the forts at the +mouth of the river, and the captain came down to the cabin, in +which Harry was chatting with the two girls. + +"Now, mesdemoiselles," he said, "it is time for you to go to your +hiding-place, for it will take us nearly half an hour to close it +up again. As soon as the Reds have left us we will let you out." + +The hatch was lifted and they descended into the hold of the +vessel, which was full of kegs to within three feet of the deck. +The captain carried a lantern. + +"Please follow me, mesdemoiselles, you must crawl along here." + +The girls followed him until they were close to the bulkhead dividing +the hold from the forecastle. Two feet from this there was a vacant +space. + +"Now, mesdemoiselles, if you will give me your hands I will lower +you down here. Do not be afraid - your feet will touch the bottom; +and I have had some hay put there for you to sit upon. Adolphe, +you had better go down first with that lantern of yours to receive +them." + +The girls were lowered down and found themselves in a space of five +feet long and two feet wide. One side was formed by the bulkhead, +on the other there were kegs. Four feet from the bottom a beam of +wood had been nailed against the bulkhead. The captain now handed +down to Adolphe some short beams; these he fixed with one end +resting on the beam, the other in a space between the kegs. + +"This is to form the roof, mesdemoiselles," he said. "I am going +up now, and then we shall place three tiers of kegs on these beams, +which will fill it up level with the rest above. I think you will +have plenty of air, for it can get down between the casks, and the +captain will leave the hatchway open. Are you comfortable?" + +"Quite," Jeanne said firmly, but Virginie did not answer; the +thought of being shut up down there in the dark was terrible to +her. However, the warm, steady pressure of Jeanne's hand reassured +her, and she kept her fears to herself. The kegs were lowered into +their places, and all was made smooth just as one of the men called +down the hatchway to the captain: + +"There is a gunboat coming out from the port, captain." + +After a last look round the captain sprang on to the deck and +ordered the sails to be lowered, and in a few minutes the gunboat +ran alongside. + +"Show me your papers," an officer said as he leaped on board followed +by half a dozen sailors. The captain went down into his cabin and +brought up the papers. + +"That is all right," the officer said glancing at them; "now, where +is the list of your crew?" + +"This is it," the captain said taking it from his pocket; "a +commissary at Nantes went through them on starting and placed his +seal to it, as you see." + +"Form the men up, and let them answer to their names," the officer +said. The men formed in line and the officer read out the names; +Harry answering for Andre Leboeuf. "That is all right, so far," +the officer said. "Now, sir, I must, according to my orders, search +your vessel to see that no one is concealed there." + +"By all means," the captain said, "you will find the Trois Freres +carries nothing contraband except her cargo. I have already taken +off the hatch, as you see, in order to save time." + +The forecastles and cabin were first searched closely. Several of +the sailors then descended into the hold. Two lanterns were handed +down to them. + +"It looks all clear, sir," one of the sailors said to their officer. +The latter leaped down on to the kegs and looked round. + +"Yes, it looks all right, but you had better shift some of the kegs +and see that all is solid." + +Some of the kegs were moved from their position, and in a few places +some of the second tier were also lifted. The officer himself +superintended the search. + +"I think I can let you go on now, Captain Grignaud," he said. +"Your men can stow the cargo again. A good voyage to you, and may +you meet with no English cruisers by the way." + +The captain at once gave orders for the sails to be run up again, +and by the time the officer and his men had climbed over the bulwarks +into the gunboat the Trois Freres had already way upon her. The +captain then gave the order for the men to go below and stow the +casks again. Adolphe and Harry were the first to leap down, and +before the vessels were two hundred yards apart they had removed +the two uppermost tiers of kegs next to the bulkhead, and were able +to speak to the girls. + +"Are you all right down there, Jeanne?" Harry asked. + +"Yes, quite right, Harry, though the air is rather close. Virginie +has fainted; she was frightened when she heard them moving the +kegs just over our heads; but she will come round as soon as you +get her on deck." + +The last tier was removed, and Harry lowered himself into the hold; +he and Jeanne raised Virginie until Adolphe and one of the other +sailors could reach her. Jeanne was lifted on to the cross beams, +and was soon beside her sister, and Harry quickly clambered up. + +"They must not come on deck yet," the captain said, speaking down +the hatchway. "We are too close to the gunboat, and from the forts +with their glasses they can see what is passing on our deck. Don't +replace the kegs over the hole again, Adolphe; we may be overhauled +again, and had better leave it open in case of emergencies." + +Virginie was carried under the open hatchway; some water was handed +down to Jeanne, who sprinkled it on her face, and this with the +fresh air speedily brought her round. When the lugger was a mile +below the forts, the captain said that they could now safely come +up, and they were soon in possession of the cabin again. Before +evening the lugger was out of sight of land. The wind was blowing +freshly, and she raced along leaving a broad track of foam behind +her. The captain and crew were in high spirits at having succeeded +in carrying off the fugitives from under the noses of their enemies, +and at the progress the lugger was making. + +"We shall not be far from the coast of England by to-morrow night," +the captain said to Harry, "that is if we have the luck to avoid +meeting any of the English cruisers. We don't care much for the +revenue cutters, for there is not one of them that can overhaul +the Trois Freres in a wind like this. They have all had more than +one try, but we can laugh at them; but it would be a different +thing if we fell in with one of the Channel cruisers; in a light +wind we could keep away from them too, but with a brisk wind like +this we should have no chance with them; they carry too much sail +for us. There is the boy carrying in the supper to your sisters; +with their permission, you and I will sup with them." + +The captain sent in a polite message to the girls, and on the +receipt of the answer that they would be very pleased to have the +captain's company, he and Harry went down. The meal was an excellent +one, but the girls ate but little, for they were both beginning to +feel the effects of the motion of the vessel, for they had, when +once fairly at sea, kept on deck. The captain perceiving that they +ate but little proposed to Harry that coffee should be served on +deck, so that the ladies might at once lie down for the night. + +"Now, captain," Harry said as the skipper lit his pipe, "I daresay +you would like to hear how we came to be fugitives on board your +ship." + +"If you have no obligation to tell me, I should indeed," the captain +replied; "I have been wondering all day how you young people escaped +the search for suspects so long, and how you came to be at Nantes, +where, as Adolphe tells me, your sister was an angel among the poor, +and that you yourself were a member of the Revolutionary Committee; +that seemed to me the most extraordinary of all, but I wouldn't +ask any questions until you yourself volunteered to enlighten me." + +Harry thereupon related the whole story of their adventures, +concealing only the fact that the girls were not his sisters; as +it was less awkward for Jeanne that this relationship should be +supposed to exist. + +"Sapriste, your adventures have been marvellous, monsieur, and I +congratulate you heartily. You have a rare head and courage, and +yet you cannot be above twenty." + +"I am just nineteen," Harry replied. + +"Just nineteen, and you succeeded in getting your friend safely +out of that mob of scoundrels in the Abbaye, got your elder sister +out of La Force, you fooled Robespierre and the Revolutionists +in Nantes, and you carried those two girls safely through France, +rescued them from the white lugger, and got them on board the Trois +Freres! It sounds like a miracle." + +"The getting them on board the Trois Freres was, you must remember, +my sister's work. I had failed and was in despair. Suspicions were +already aroused, and we should assuredly have been arrested if it +had not been that she had won the heart of Adolphe's wife by nursing +her child in its illness." + +"That is so," the captain agreed; "and they must have good courage +too that they didn't betray themselves all that time. And now I +tell you what I will do, monsieur. If you will write a letter to +your sister in Paris, saying that you and the other two have reached +England in safety, I will when I return send it by sure hand to +Paris. To make all safe you had better send it to the people she +is staying with, and word it so that no one will understand it if +they were to read it. Say, for example: + +"'My dear Sister, You will be glad to hear that the consignment of +lace has been safely landed in England,' Then you can go on saying +that 'your mother is better, and that you expect to be married +soon, as you have made a good profit out of the lace,' and so on; +and just sign your name - 'Your brother Henri.' + +"I can trust the man who will deliver it in Paris, but it is just +as well always to be on the safe side. If your letter is opened and +read, anyone will suppose that it is written by a sailor belonging +to one of the Nantes luggers." + +Harry thanked the captain warmly for the offer, and said that the +letter would indeed be an immense comfort to his sister and friend. + +"I will tell the man that he is to ask if there is any answer," the +captain said. "And if your sister is as sharp as you are she will +write the same sort of letter, and I will bring it across with me +to England the first voyage I make after I get it." + +Harry slept down in the forecastle with the crew, the captain +keeping on deck all night. He was awoke by an order shouted down +the forecastle for all hands to come on deck; and hurrying up with +the rest found that the sun had just risen. The day was beautifully +fine, and to Harry's surprise he found that those on deck had +already lowered the great lugsails. + +"What is it, captain?" he asked. + +"There is a sail there I don't like," the captain said. "If I am +not mistaken that is an English frigate." + +There were several sails in sight, but the one to which the captain +pointed was crossing ahead of the lugger. Her hull could not be +seen, and indeed from the deck only her topsails and royals were +visible above the water. + +"I hope she will not see us," the captain said. "We are low in the +water, and these stump masts could not be seen at that distance +even by a look-out at the mast-head. + +"We are already somewhat astern of her, and every minute will take +her further away. If she does not see us in a quarter of an hour, +we shall be safe. If she does, there is nothing for it but to run +back towards the French coast. We should have such a long start +that with this wind she would never catch us. But she may fire her +guns and bring another cruiser down upon us and cut us off. There +are a dozen of them watching on different parts of the coast." + +Harry kept his eye anxiously upon the ship, but she sailed steadily +on; and in half an hour the sails were again hoisted and the Trois +Freres proceeded on her way. She passed comparatively near several +merchantmen, but these paid no attention to her. She was too small +for a privateer, and her object and destination were easily guessed +at. The girls soon came on deck, and the captain had some cushions +placed for them under shelter of the bulwark; for although the sun +was shining brightly the wind was keen and piercing. + +"Are we beyond danger?" was Virginie's first question as Harry took +his seat by her. + +"Beyond all danger of being overtaken - that is to say, beyond all +danger of meeting a French vessel-of-war. They very seldom venture +to show themselves many miles from port, except, of course, as a +fleet; for single vessels would soon get picked up by our cruisers. +Yes, I think we are quite out of danger. There is only one chance +against us." + +"And what is that, Harry?" Jeanne asked. + +"It is not a serious one," Harry replied; "it is only that we may +be chased by English revenue cutters and forced to run off from the +English coast again. But even then we should soon return. Besides, +I have no doubt the captain would let us have a boat, so that we +could be picked up by the cutter in pursuit of us." + +"I don't think that would be a good plan," Jeanne said; "because +they might not stop to pick us up, and then we might have a long +way to reach the shore. No, I think it will be better to stay on +board, Harry; for, as you say, if she does have to run away for a +time, she is sure to come back again to unload her cargo. But of +course do whatever you think best." + +"I think your view is the best, Jeanne. However, I hope the +opportunity will not occur, and that the Trois Freres will run her +cargo without interference. The captain tells me he is making for +a point on the Dorsetshire coast, and that he is expected. Of course +he could not say the exact day he would be here. But he told them +the day on which, if he could get his cargo on board, he should +sail, and they will be looking out for him." + +Before sunset the English coast was visible. + +"We could not have timed it better," the captain said. "It will be +getting dark before they can make us out even from the cliffs." + +Every sail was now scrutinized by the captain through his glass, +but he saw nothing that looked suspicious. At nine o'clock in the +evening the lugger was within three miles of the coast. + +"Get ready the signal lanterns," the captain ordered. And a few +minutes later three lanterns were hoisted, one above the other. +Almost immediately two lights were shown in a line on top of the +cliff. + +"There is our answer," the captain said. "There is nothing to be +done to-night. That means 'The revenue men are on the look-out; +come back to-morrow night."' + +"But they are always on the look-out, are they not?" Harry asked. + +"Yes," the captain said; "but when our friends on shore know we are +coming they try to throw them off the scent. It will be whispered +about to-morrow that a run is likely to be made ten miles along +the coast, and they will take care that this comes to the ears of +the revenue officer. Then to-morrow evening after dusk a fishing-boat +will go out and show some lights two miles off shore at the point +named, and a rocket will be sent up from the cliff. That will +convince them that the news is true, and the revenue officers will +hurry away in that direction with every man they can get together. +Then we shall run here and land our cargo. There will be plenty of +carts waiting for us, and before the revenue men are back the kegs +will be stowed safely away miles inland. Of course things go wrong +sometimes and the revenue officers are not to be fooled, but in +nine cases out of ten we manage to run our cargoes without a shot +being fired. Now I must get off shore again." + +The orders were given, and the Trois Freres was soon running out +to sea. They stood far out and then lowered the sails and drifted +until late in the afternoon, when they again made sail for the +land. At ten o'clock the signal lights were again exhibited, and +this time the answer was made by one light low down by the water's +edge. + +"The coast is clear," the captain said, rubbing his hands. "We'll +take her in as close as she will go, the less distance there is to +row the better." + +The Trois Freres was run on until within a hundred yards of the +shore, then a light anchor was dropped. The two boats had already +been lowered and were towed alongside, and the work of transferring +the cargo at once began. + +"Do you go in the first boat, monsieur, with the ladies," the +captain said. "The sooner you are ashore the better. There is no +saying whether we may not be disturbed and obliged to run out to +sea again at a moment's notice." + +"Thank God!" he exclaimed, as after wading through the shallow +water he stood on the shore, while two of the sailors carried the +girls and put them beside him. "Thank God, I have got you safe on +English soil at last. I began to despair at one time." + +"Thank God indeed," Jeanne said reverently; "but I never quite +despaired, Harry. It seemed to me He had protected us through so +many dangers, that He must mean that we should go safely through +them all, and yet it did seem hopeless at one time." + +"We had better stand on one side, girls, or rather we had better +push on up the cliff. These people are all too busy to notice us, +and you might get knocked down; besides, the coastguard might arrive +at any moment, and then there would be a fight. So let us get well +away from them." + +But they had difficulty in making their way up the cliff, for the +path was filled with men carrying up tubs or coming down for more +after placing them in the carts, which were waiting to convey them +inland. At last they got to the top. One of the carts was already +laden, and was on the point of driving off when Harry asked the man +if he could tell him of any farmhouse near, where the two ladies +who had landed with him could pass the night. + +"Master's place is two miles away," the man said; "but if you like +to walk as far, he will take you in, I doubt not." + +The girls at once agreed to the proposal, and in three quarters of +an hour the cart drew up at a farmhouse. + +"Is it all right, Bill?" a man asked, opening the door as the cart +stopped. + +"Yes, it be all right. Not one of them revenue chaps nigh the place. +Here be the load of tubs; they was the first that came ashore." + +"Who have you got here?" the farmer asked as Harry came forward +with the girls. + +"These are two young ladies who have crossed in the lugger," Harry +replied. "They have narrowly escaped being murdered in France by +the Revolutionists, and have gone through a terrible time. As they +have nowhere to go to-night, I thought perhaps you would kindly +let them sit by your fire till morning." + +"Surely I will," the farmer said. "Get ye in, get ye in. Mistress, +here are two young French ladies who have escaped from those +bloody-minded scoundrels in Paris. I needn't tell you to do what +you can for them." + +The farmer's wife at once came forward and received the girls most +kindly. They had both picked up a little English during Harry's +residence at the chateau, and feeling they were in good hands, Harry +again went out and lent his assistance to the farmer in carrying +the tubs down to a place of concealment made under the flooring of +one of the barns. + +The next day the farmer drove them in his gig to a town some miles +inland. Here they procured dresses in which they could travel without +exciting attention, and took their places in the coach which passed +through the town for London next day. + +That evening Harry gently broke to the girls the news of their +brothers' death, for he thought that it would otherwise come as a +terrible shock to them on their arrival at his home. Virginie was +terribly upset, and Jeanne cried for some time, then she said: + +"Your news does not surprise me, Harry. I have had a feeling all +along that you knew something, but were keeping it from me. You +spoke so very seldom of them, and when you did it seemed to me that +what you said was not spoken in your natural voice. I felt sure +that had you known nothing you would have often talked to us of +meeting them in London, and of the happiness it would be. I would +not ask, because I was sure you had a good reason for not telling +us; but I was quite sure that there was something." + +"I thought it better to keep it from you, Jeanne, until the danger +was all over. In the first place you had need of all your courage +and strength; in the next place it was possible that you might never +reach England, and in that case you would never have suffered the +pain of knowing anything about it." + +"How thoughtful you are, Harry!" Jeanne murmured. "Oh how much +we owe you! But oh how strange and lonely we seem - everyone gone +except Marie, and we may never see her again!" + +"You will see her again, never fear," Harry said confidently. "And +you will not feel lonely long, for I can promise you that before +you have been long at my mother's place you will feel like one of +the family." + +"Yes; but I shall not be one of the family," Jeanne said. + +"Not yet, Jeanne. But mother will look upon you as her daughter +directly I tell her that you have promised to become so in reality +some day." + +Harry's reception, when with the two girls he drove up in a hackney +coach to the house at Cheyne Walk, was overwhelming, and the two +French girls were at first almost bewildered by the rush of boys +and girls who tore down the steps and threw themselves upon Harry's +neck. + +"You will stifle me between you all," Harry said, after he had +responded to the embraces. "Where are father and mother?" + +"Father is out, and mother is in the garden. No, there she is" - +as Mrs. Sandwith, pale and agitated, appeared at the door, having +hurried in when one of the young ones had shouted out from a back +window: "Harry has come!" + +"Oh, my boy, we had given you up," she sobbed as Harry rushed into +her arms. + +"I am worth a great many dead men yet, mother. But now let me +introduce to you Mesdemoiselles Jeanne and Virginie de St. Caux, +of whom I have written to you so often. They are orphans, mother, +and I have promised them that you and father will fill the place +of their parents." + +"That will we willingly," Mrs. Sandwith said, turning to the girls +and kissing them with motherly kindness. "Come in, my dears, and +welcome home for the sake of my dear boy, and for that of your +parents who were so kind to him. Never mind all these wild young +people," she added, as the boys and girls pressed round to shake +hands with the new-comers. "You will get accustomed to their way +presently. Do you speak in English?" + +"Enough to understand," Jeanne said; "but not enough to speak much. +Thank you, madame, for receiving us so kindly, for we are all alone +in the world." + +Mrs. Sandwith saw the girl's lip quiver, and putting aside her +longing to talk to her son, said: + +"Harry, do take them all out in the garden for a short time. They +are all talking at once, and this is a perfect babel." + +And thus having cleared the room she sat down to talk to the two +girls, and soon made them feel at home with her by her unaffected +kindness. Dr. Sandwith soon afterwards ran out to the excited +chattering group in the garden, and after a few minutes' happy talk +with him, Harry spoke to him of the visitors who were closeted with +his mother. + +"I want you to make them feel it is their home, father. They will +be no burden pecuniarily, for there are money and jewels worth a +large sum over here." + +"Of course I know that," Dr. Sandwith said, "seeing that, as you +know, they were consigned to me, and the marquis wrote to ask me +to act as his agent. The money is invested in stock, and the jewels +are in the hands of my bankers. I had begun to wonder what would +become of it all, for I was by no means sure that the whole family +had not perished, as well as yourself." + +"There are only the three girls left," Harry said. + +"In that case they will be well off, for the marquis inclosed me a +will, saying that if anything should happen to him, and the estates +should be altogether lost, the money and proceeds of the jewels +were to be divided equally among his children. You must have gone +through a great deal, old boy. You are scarcely nineteen, and you +look two or three and twenty." + +"I shall soon look young again, father, now I have got my mind +clear of anxiety. But I have had a trying time of it, I can tell +you; but it's too long a story to go into now, I will tell you all +the whole yarn this evening. I want you to go in with me now to +the girls and make them at home. All this must be just as trying +for them at present as the dangers they have gone through." + +The young ones were all forbidden to follow, and after an hour +spent with his parents and the girls in the dining-room, Harry +was pleased to see that the latter were beginning to feel at their +ease, and that the strangeness was wearing off. + +That evening, before the whole circle of his family, Harry related +the adventures that they had gone through, subject, however, to a +great many interruptions from Jeanne. + +"But I am telling the story, not you, Jeanne," he said at last. +"Some day when you begin to talk English quite well you shall give +your version of it." + +"But he is not telling it right, madame," Jeanne protested, "he +keep all the best part back. He says about the dangers, but he says +noting about what he do himself" Then she broke into French, "No, +madame, it is not just, it is not right; I will not suffer the tale +to be told so. How can it be the true story when he says no word +of his courage, of his devotion, of the way he watched over us and +cheered us, no word of his grand heart, of the noble way he risked +his life for us, for our sister, for our parents, for all? Oh, +madame, I cannot tell you what we all owe to him;" and Jeanne, who +had risen to her feet in her earnestness, burst into passionate +tears. This put an end to the story for the evening, for Mrs. +Sandwith saw that Jeanne required rest and quiet, and took the two +girls up at once to the bed-room prepared for them. + +From this Jeanne did not descend for some days. As long as the +strain was upon her she had borne herself bravely, but now that it +was over she collapsed completely. + +After the young ones had all gone off to bed, Harry said to his +father and mother: + +"I have another piece of news to tell you now. I am afraid you will +think it rather absurd at my age, without a profession or anything +else, but I am engaged to Jeanne. You see," he went on, as his +parents both uttered an exclamation of surprise, "we have gone +through a tremendous lot together, and when people have to look +death in the face every day it makes them older than they are; and +when, as in this case, they have to depend entirely on themselves, +it brings them very closely together. I think it might have been +so had these troubles never come on, for somehow we had taken very +much to each other, though it might have been years before anything +came of it. Her poor father and mother saw it before I knew +it myself, and upon the night before they were separated told her +elder sister and brother that, should I ever ask for Jeanne's hand, +they approved of her marrying me. But although afterwards I came +to love her with all my heart, I should never have spoken had it +not been that I did so when it seemed that in five minutes we should +neither of us be alive. If it hadn't been for that I should have +brought her home and waited till I was making my own way in life." + +"I do not blame you, Harry, my boy," his father said heartily. "Of +course you are very young, and under ordinary circumstances would +not have been thinking about a wife for years to come yet; but I +can see that your Jeanne is a girl of no ordinary character, and it +is certainly for her happiness that, being here with her sister alone +among strangers, she should feel that she is at home. Personally she +is charming, and even in point of fortune you would be considered +a lucky fellow. What do you say, mother?" + +"I say God bless them both!" Mrs. Sandwith said earnestly. "After +the way in which Providence has brought them together, there can +be no doubt that they were meant for each other." + +"Do you know I half guessed there was something more than mere +gratitude in Jeanne's heart when she flamed out just now; did not +you, mother?" + +Mrs. Sandwith nodded and smiled. "I was sure there was," she said. + +"I did not say anything about it when we came in," Harry said, +"because I thought it better for Jeanne to have one quiet day, and +you know the young ones will laugh awfully at the idea of my being +engaged." + +"Never you mind, Harry," his father said; "let those laugh that +win. But you are not thinking of getting married yet, I hope." + +"No, no, father; you cannot think I would live on Jeanne's money." + +"And you still intend to go into the army, Harry?" + +"No, father; I have had enough of bloodshed for the rest of my life. +I have been thinking it over a good deal, and I have determined to +follow your example and become a doctor." + +"That's right, my boy," Dr. Sandwith said heartily. "I have always +regretted you had a fancy for the army, for I used to look forward +to your becoming my right hand. Your brothers, too, do not take to +the profession, so I began to think I was going to be alone in my +old age. You have made me very happy, Harry, and your mother too, +I am sure. It will be delightful for us having you and your pretty +French wife settled by us; will it not, mother?" + +"It will indeed," Mrs. Sandwith said in a tone of deep happiness. +"You are certainly overworked and need a partner terribly, and who +could be like Harry?" + +"Yes, I have been thinking of taking a partner for some time, but +now I will hold on alone for another three years. By that time +Harry will have passed." + +The next morning the young ones were told the news. The elder girls +were delighted at the thought of Jeanne becoming their sister, but +the boys went into fits of laughter and chaffed Harry so unmercifully +for the next day or two that it was just as well that Jeanne was +up in her room. By the time she came down they had recovered their +gravity. Mrs. Sandwith and the girls had already given her the +warmest welcome as Harry's future wife, and the boys received her +so warmly when she appeared that Jeanne soon felt that she was +indeed one of the family. + +Three years later, on the day after Harry passed his final examination, +Jeanne and he were married, and set up a pretty establishment +close to Cheyne Walk, with Virginie to live with them; and Harry, +at first as his father's assistant, and very soon as his partner, +had the satisfaction of feeling that he was not wholly dependent +on Jeanne's fortune. + +They had received occasional news from Marie. Victor had steadily +recovered his strength and memory, and as soon as the reign of terror +had come to an end, and the priests were able to show themselves +from their hiding-places in many an out-of-the-way village in the +country, Marie and Victor were quietly married. But France was at +war with all Europe now, and Victor, though he hated the revolution, +was a thorough Frenchman, and through some of his old friends who +had escaped the wave of destruction, he had obtained a commission, +and joined Bonaparte when he went to take the command of the army +of Italy. He had attracted his general's attention early in the +campaign by a deed of desperate valour, and was already in command +of a regiment, when, soon after Jeanne's marriage, Marie came over +to England by way of Holland to stay for a time with her sisters. +She was delighted at finding Jeanne so happy, and saw enough before she +returned to France to feel assured that before very long Virginie +would follow Jeanne's example, and would also become an Englishwoman, +for she and Harry's next brother Tom had evidently some sort of +understanding between them. It was not until many years later that +the three sisters met again, when, after the fall of Napoleon, +Jeanne and Virginie went over with their husbands and stayed for +some weeks with General De Gisons and his wife at the old chateau +near Dijon. This the general had purchased back from the persons +into whose hands it had fallen at the Revolution with the money +which he had received as his wife's dowry. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of In The Reign Of Terror, by G. A. Henty + diff --git a/old/reter10.zip b/old/reter10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5d518a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/reter10.zip |