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diff --git a/old/68172-0.txt b/old/68172-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e67bcde..0000000 --- a/old/68172-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9321 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The man in grey, by Baroness Emmuska -Orczy - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The man in grey - Being episodes of the Chovan conspiracies in Normandy during the - First Empire. - -Author: Baroness Emmuska Orczy - -Release Date: May 25, 2022 [eBook #68172] -[Last updated: July 3, 2022] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN IN GREY *** - - - - - - - - The Man In Grey - - - Being Episodes of the Chovan Conspiracies in - Normandy During the First Empire. - - - By BARONESS ORCZY - - - AUTHOR OF - "Lord Tony's Wife," "Leatherface" - "The Bronze Eagle," etc. - - - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - Publishers New York - - Published by arrangement with GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - - _Copyright, 1918, - By George H. Doran Company_ - - - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - -PROEM - -CHAPTER - -I Silver-Leg - -II The Spaniard - -III The Mystery of Marie Vaillant - -IV The Emeralds of Mademoiselle Philippa - -V The Bourbon Prince - -VI The Mystery of a Woman's Heart - -VII The League of Knaves - -VIII The Arrow Poison - -IX The Last Adventure - - - - -THE MAN IN GREY - - -PROEM - -It has been a difficult task to piece together the fragmentary -documents which alone throw a light--dim and flickering at the -best--upon that mysterious personality known to the historians of the -Napoleonic era as the Man in Grey. So very little is known about -him. Age, appearance, domestic circumstances, everything pertaining -to him has remained a matter of conjecture--even his name! In the -reports sent by the all-powerful Minister to the Emperor he is -invariably spoken of as "The Man in Grey." Once only does Fouché -refer to him as "Fernand." - -Strange and mysterious creature! Nevertheless, he played an -important part--_the_ most important, perhaps--in bringing to justice -some of those reckless criminals who, under the cloak of Royalist -convictions and religious and political aims, spent their time in -pillage, murder and arson. - -Strange and mysterious creatures, too, these men so aptly named -Chouans--that is, "chats-huants"; screech-owls--since they were a -terror by night and disappeared within their burrows by day. A world -of romance lies buried within the ruins of the châteaux which gave -them shelter--Tournebut, Bouvesse, Donnai, Plélan. A world of -mystery encompasses the names of their leaders and, above all, those -of the women--ladies of high degree and humble peasants alike--often -heroic, more often misguided, who supplied the intrigue, the -persistence, the fanatical hatred which kept the fire of rebellion -smouldering and spluttering even while it could not burst into actual -flame. D'Aché, Cadoudal, Frotté, Armand le Chevallier, Marquise de -Combray, Mme. Aquet de Férolles--the romance attaching to these names -pales beside that which clings to the weird anonymity of their -henchmen--"Dare-Death," "Hare-Lip," "Fear-Nought," "Silver-Leg," and -so on. Theirs were the hands that struck whilst their leaders -planned--they were the screech-owls who for more than twenty years -terrorised the western provinces of France and, in the name of God -and their King, committed every crime that could besmirch the Cause -which they professed to uphold. - -Whether they really aimed at the restoration of the Bourbon kings and -at bolstering up the fortunes of an effete and dispossessed monarchy -with money wrung from peaceable citizens, or whether they were a mere -pack of lawless brigands made up of deserters from the army and -fugitives from conscription, of felons and bankrupt aristocrats, will -for ever remain a bone of contention between the apologists of the -old régime and those of the new. - -With partisanship in those strangely obscure though comparatively -recent episodes of history we have nothing to do. Facts -alone--undeniable and undenied--must be left to speak for themselves. -It was but meet that these men--amongst whom were to be found the -bearers of some of the noblest names in France--should be tracked -down and brought to justice by one whose personality has continued to -be as complete an enigma as their own. - - - - -CHAPTER I - -SILVER-LEG - - -I - -"Forward now! And at foot-pace, mind, to the edge of the -wood--or----" - -The ominous click of a pistol completed the peremptory command. - -Old Gontran, the driver, shook his wide shoulders beneath his heavy -caped coat and gathered the reins once more in his quivering hands; -the door of the coach was closed with a bang; the postilion scrambled -into the saddle; only the passenger who had so peremptorily been -ordered down from the box-seat beside the driver had not yet climbed -back into his place. Well! old Gontran was not in a mood to fash -about the passengers. His horses, worried by the noise, the -shouting, the click of firearms and the rough handling meted out to -them by strange hands in the darkness, were very restive. They would -have liked to start off at once at a brisk pace so as to leave these -disturbers of their peace as far behind them as possible, but Gontran -was holding them in with a firm hand and they had to -walk--walk!--along this level bit of road, with the noisy enemy still -present in their rear. - -The rickety old coach gave a lurch and started on its way; the -clanking of loose chains, the grinding of the wheels in the muddy -roads, the snorting and travail of the horses as they finally settled -again into their collars, drowned the coachman's muttered -imprecations. - -"A fine state of things, forsooth!" he growled to himself more -dejectedly than savagely. "What the Emperor's police are up to no -one knows. That such things can happen is past belief. Not yet six -o'clock in the afternoon, and Alençon less than five kilomètres in -front of us." - -But the passenger who, on the box-seat beside him, had so patiently -and silently listened to old Gontran's florid loquacity during the -early part of the journey, was no longer there to hear these -well-justified lamentations. No doubt he had taken refuge with his -fellow-sufferers down below. - -There came no sound from the interior of the coach. In the darkness, -the passengers--huddled up against one another, dumb with fright and -wearied with excitement--had not yet found vent for their outraged -feelings in whispered words or smothered oaths. The coach lumbered -on at foot-pace. In the affray the head-light had been broken; the -two lanterns that remained lit up fitfully the tall pine trees on -either side of the road and gave momentary glimpses of a mysterious, -fairy-like world beyond, through the curtain of dead branches and the -veil of tiny bare twigs. - -Through the fast gathering gloom the circle of light toyed with the -haze of damp and steam which rose from the cruppers of the horses, -and issued from their snorting nostrils. From far away came the cry -of a screech-owl and the call of some night beasts on the prowl. - -Instinctively, as the road widened out towards the edge of the wood, -Gontran gave a click with his tongue and the horses broke into a -leisurely trot. Immediately from behind, not forty paces to the -rear, there came the sharp detonation of a pistol shot. The horses, -still quivering from past terrors, were ready to plunge once more, -the wheelers stumbled, the leaders reared, and the team would again -have been thrown into confusion but for the presence of mind of the -driver and the coolness of the postilion. - -"Oh! those accursed brigands!" muttered Gontran through his set teeth -as soon as order was restored. "That's just to remind us that they -are on the watch. Keep the leaders well in hand, Hector," he shouted -to the postilion: "don't let them trot till we are well out of the -wood." - -Though he had sworn copiously and plentifully at first, when one of -those outlaws held a pistol to his head whilst the others ransacked -the coach of its contents and terrorised the passengers, he seemed -inclined to take the matter philosophically now. After all, he -himself had lost nothing; he was too wise a man was old Gontran to -carry his wages in his breeches pocket these days, when those -accursed Chouans robbed, pillaged and plundered rich and poor alike. -No! Gontran flattered himself that the rogues had got nothing out of -him: he had lost nothing--not even prestige, for it had been a case -of twenty to one at the least, and the brigands had been armed to the -teeth. Who could blame him that in such circumstances the sixty-two -hundred francs, all in small silver and paper money--which the -collector of taxes of the Falaise district was sending up to his -chief at Alençon--had passed from the boot of the coach into the -hands of that clever band of rascals? - -Who could blame him? I say. Surely, not the Impérial Government up -in Paris who did not know how to protect its citizens from the -depredations of such villains, and had not even succeeded in making -the high road between Caen and Alençon safe for peaceable travellers. - -Inside the coach the passengers were at last giving tongue to their -indignation. Highway robbery at six o'clock in the afternoon, and -the evening not a very dark one at that! It were monstrous, -outrageous, almost incredible, did not the empty pockets and -ransacked valises testify to the scandalous fact. M. Fouché, Duc -d'Otrante, was drawing a princely salary as Minister of Police, and -yet allowed a mail-coach to be held up and pillaged--almost by -daylight and within five kilomètres of the county town! - -The last half-hour of the eventful journey flew by like magic: there -was so much to say that it became impossible to keep count of time. -Alençon was reached before everyone had had a chance of saying just -what he or she thought of the whole affair, or of consigning M. le -Duc d'Otrante and all his myrmidons to that particular chamber in -Hades which was most suitable for their crimes. - -Outside the "Adam et Ève," where Gontran finally drew rein, there was -a gigantic clatter and din as the passengers tumbled out of the -coach, and by the dim light of the nearest street lantern tried to -disentangle their own belongings from the pile of ransacked valises -which the ostlers had unceremoniously tumbled out in a heap upon the -cobble stones. Everyone was talking--no one in especial seemed -inclined to listen--anecdotes of former outrages committed by the -Chouans were bandied to and fro. - -Gontran, leaning against the entrance of the inn, a large mug of -steaming wine in his hand, watched with philosophic eye his former -passengers, struggling with their luggage. One or two of them were -going to spend the night at the "Adam et Ève": they had already filed -past him into the narrow passage beyond, where they were now deep in -an altercation with Gilles Blaise, the proprietor, on the subject of -the price and the situation of their rooms; others had homes or -friends in the city, and with their broken valises and bundles in -their hands could be seen making their way up the narrow main street, -still gesticulating excitedly. - -"It's a shocking business, friend Gontran," quoth Gilles Blaise as -soon as he had settled with the last of his customers. His gruff -voice held a distinct note of sarcasm, for he was a powerful fellow -and feared neither footpads nor midnight robbers, nor any other -species of those _satané_ Chouans. "I wonder you did not make a -better fight for it. You had three or four male passengers -aboard----" - -"What could I do?" retorted Gontran irritably. "I had my horses to -attend to, and did it, let me tell you, with the muzzle of a pistol -pressing against my temple." - -"You didn't see anything of those miscreants?" - -"Nothing. That is----" - -"What?" - -"Just when I was free once more to gather the reins in my hands and -the order 'Forward' was given by those impudent rascals, he who had -spoken the order stood for a moment below one of my lanterns." - -"And you saw him?" - -"As plainly as I see you--except his face, for that was hidden by the -wide brim of his hat and by a shaggy beard. But there is one thing I -should know him by, if the police ever succeeded in laying hands on -the rogue." - -"What is that?" - -"He had only one leg, the other was a wooden one." - -Gilles Blaise gave a loud guffaw. He had never heard of a highwayman -with a wooden leg before. "The rascal cannot run far if the police -ever do get after him," was his final comment on the situation. - -Thereupon Gontran suddenly bethought himself of the passenger who had -sat on the box-seat beside him until those abominable footpads had -ordered the poor man to get out of their way. - -"Have you seen anything of him, Hector?" he queried of the postilion. - -"Well, now you mention him," replied the young man slowly, "I don't -remember that I have." - -"He was not among the lot that came out of the coach." - -"He certainly was not." - -"I thought when he did not get back to his seat beside me, he had -lost his nerve and gone inside." - -"So did I." - -"Well, then?" concluded Gontran. - -But the puzzle thus propounded was beyond Hector's powers of -solution. He scratched the back of his head by way of trying to -extract thence a key to the enigma. - -"We must have left him behind," he suggested. - -"He would have shouted after us if we had," commented Gontran. -"Unless----" he added with graphic significance. - -Hector shook himself like a dog who has come out of the water. The -terror of those footpads and of those pistols clicking in the dark, -unpleasantly close to his head, was still upon him. - -"You don't think----" he murmured through chattering teeth. - -Gontran shrugged his shoulders. - -"It won't be the first time," he said sententiously, "that those -miscreants have added murder to their other crimes." - -"Lost one of your passengers, Gontran?" queried Gilles Blaise blandly. - -"If those rogues have murdered him----" quoth Gontran with an oath. - -"Then you'd have to make a special declaration before the chief -commissary of police, and that within an hour. Who was your -passenger, Gontran?" - -"I don't know. A quiet, well-mannered fellow. Good company he was, -too, during the first part of the way." - -"What was his name?" - -"I can't tell. I picked him up at Argentan. The box-seat was empty. -No one wanted it, for it was raining then. He paid me his fare and -scrambled up beside me. That's all I know about him." - -"What was he like? Young or old?" - -"I didn't see him very well. It was already getting dark," rejoined -Gontran impatiently. "I couldn't look him under the nose, could I?" - -"But _sacrebleu_! Monsieur le Commissaire de Police will want to -know something more than that. Did you at least see how he was -dressed?" - -"Yes," replied Gontran, "as far as I can recollect he was dressed in -grey." - -"Well, then, friend Gontran," concluded Gilles Blaise with a jovial -laugh, "you can go at once to Monsieur le Commissaire de Police, and -you can tell him that an industrious Chouan, who has a wooden leg and -a shaggy beard but whose face you did not see, has to the best of -your belief murdered an unknown passenger whose name, age and -appearance you know nothing about, but who, as far as you can -recollect, was dressed in grey---- And we'll see," he added with a -touch of grim humour, "what Monsieur le Commissaire will make out of -this valuable information." - - -II - -The men were cowering together in a burrow constructed of dead -branches and caked mud, with a covering of heath and dried twigs. -Their heads were close to one another and the dim light of a dark -lanthorn placed upon the floor threw weird, sharp shadows across -their eager faces, making them appear grotesque and almost -ghoulish--the only bright spots in the surrounding gloom. - -One man on hands and knees was crouching by the narrow entrance, his -keen eyes trying to pierce the density of the forest beyond. - -The booty was all there, spread out upon the damp earth--small coins -and bundles of notes all smeared with grease and mud; there were some -trinkets, too, but of obviously little value: a pair of showy gold -ear-rings, one or two signets, a heavy watch in a chased silver case. -But these had been contemptuously swept aside--it was the money that -mattered. - -The man with the wooden leg had counted it all out and was now -putting coins and notes back into a large leather wallet. - -"Six thousand two hundred and forty-seven francs," he said quietly, -as he drew the thongs of the wallet closely together and tied them -securely into a knot. "One of the best hauls we've ever had. 'Tis -Madame who will be pleased." - -"Our share will have to be paid out of that first," commented one of -his companions. - -"Yes, yes!" quoth the other lightly. "Madame will see to it. She -always does. How many of you are there?" he added carelessly. - -"Seven of us all told. They were a pack of cowards in that coach." - -"Well!" concluded the man with the wooden leg, "we must leave Madame -to settle accounts. I'd best place the money in safety now." - -He struggled up into a standing position--which was no easy matter -for him with his stump and in the restricted space--and was about to -hoist the heavy wallet on to his powerful shoulders, when one of his -mates seized him by the wrist. - -"Hold on, Silver-Leg!" he said roughly, "we'll pay ourselves for our -trouble first. Eh, friends?" he added, turning to the others. - -But before any of them could reply there came a peremptory command -from the man whom they had called "Silver-Leg." - -"Silence!" he whispered hoarsely. "There's someone moving out there -among the trees." - -At once the others obeyed, every other thought lulled to rest by the -sense of sudden danger. For a minute or so every sound was hushed in -the narrow confines of the lair save the stertorous breathing which -came from panting throats. Then the look-out man at the entrance -whispered under his breath: - -"I heard nothing." - -"Something moved, I tell you," rejoined Silver-Leg curtly. "It may -only have been a beast on the prowl." - -But the brief incident had given him the opportunity which he -required; he had shaken off his companion's hold upon his wrist and -had slung the wallet over his shoulder. Now he stumped out of the -burrow. - -"Friend Hare-Lip," he said before he went, in the same commanding -tone wherewith he had imposed silence awhile ago on his turbulent -mates, "tell Monseigneur that it will be 'Corinne' this time, and -you, Mole-Skin, ask Madame to send Red-Poll over on Friday night for -the key." - -The others growled in assent and followed him out of their -hiding-place. One of the men had extinguished the lanthorn, and -another was hastily collecting the trinkets which had so -contemptuously been swept aside. - -"Hold on, Silver-Leg!" shouted the man who had been called Hare-Lip; -"short reckonings make long friends. I'll have a couple of hundred -francs now," he continued roughly. "It may be days and weeks ere I -see Madame again, and by that time God knows where the money will be." - -But Silver-Leg stumped on in the gloom, paying no heed to the -peremptory calls of his mates. It was marvellous how fast he -contrived to hobble along, winding his way in and out in the -darkness, among the trees, on the slippery carpet of pine needles and -carrying that heavy wallet--six thousand two hundred francs, most of -it in small coin--upon his back. The others, however, were swift and -determined, too. Within the next minute or two they had overtaken -him, and he could no longer evade them; they held him tightly, -surrounding him on every side and clamouring for their share of the -spoils. - -"We'll settle here and now, friend Silver-Leg," said Hare-Lip, who -appeared to be the acknowledged spokesman of the malcontents. "Two -hundred francs for me out of that wallet, if you please, ere you move -another step, and two hundred for each one of us here, or----" - -The man with the wooden leg had come to a halt, but somehow it seemed -that he had not done so because the others held and compelled him, -but because he himself had a desire to stand still. Now when -Hare-Lip paused, a world of menace in every line of his gaunt, -quivering body, Silver-Leg laughed with gentle irony, as a man would -laugh at the impotent vapourings of a child. - -"Or what, my good Hare-Lip?" he queried slowly. - -Then as the other instinctively lowered his gaze and mumbled -something between his teeth, Silver-Leg shrugged his shoulders and -said with kind indulgence, still as if he were speaking to a child: - -"Madame will settle, my friend. Do not worry. It is bad to worry. -You remember Fear-Nought: he took to worrying--just as you are doing -now--wanted to be paid out of his turn, or more than his share, I -forget which. But you remember him?" - -"I do," muttered Hare-Lip with a savage oath. "Fear-Nought was -tracked down by the police and dragged to Vincennes, or Force, or -Bicêtre--we never knew." - -To the guillotine, my good Hare-Lip," rejoined Silver-Leg blandly, -"along with some other very brave Chouans like yourselves, who also -had given their leaders some considerable trouble." - -"Betrayed by you," growled Hare-Lip menacingly. - -"Punished--that's all," concluded Silver-Leg as he once more turned -to go. - -"Treachery is a game at which more than one can play." - -"The stakes are high. And only one man can win," remarked Silver-Leg -dryly. - -"And one man must lose," shouted Hare-Lip, now beside himself with -rage, "and that one shall be you this time, my fine Silver-Leg. À -moi, my mates!" he called to his companions. - -And in a moment the men fell on Silver-Leg with the vigour born of -terror and greed, and for the first moment or two of their desperate -tussle it seemed as if the man with the wooden leg must succumb to -the fury of his assailants. Darkness encompassed them all round, and -the deep silence which dwells in the heart of the woods. And in the -darkness and the silence these men fought--and fought -desperately--for the possession of a few hundred francs just filched -at the muzzle of a pistol from a few peaceable travellers. - -Pistols of course could not be used; the police patrols might not be -far away, and so they fought on in silence, grim and determined, one -man against half a dozen, and that one halt, and weighted with the -spoils. But he had the strength of a giant, and with his back -against a stately fir tree he used the heavy wallet as a flail, -keeping his assailants at arm's length with the menace of -death-dealing blows. - -Then, suddenly, from far away, even through the dull thuds of this -weird and grim struggle, there came the sound of men approaching--the -click of sabres, the tramp and snorting of horses, the sense of men -moving rapidly even if cautiously through the gloom. Silver-Leg was -the first to hear it. - -"Hush!" he cried suddenly, and as loudly as he dared, "the police!" - -Again, with that blind instinct born of terror and ever-present -danger, the others obeyed. The common peril had as swiftly -extinguished the quarrel as greed of gain had fanned it into flame. - -The cavalcade was manifestly drawing nearer. - -"Disperse!" commanded Silver-Leg under his breath. "Clear out of the -wood, but avoid the tracks which lead out of it, lest it is -surrounded. Remember 'Corinne' for Monseigneur, and that Red-Poll -can have the key for Madame on Friday." - -Once again he had made use of his opportunity. Before the others had -recovered from their sudden fright, he had quietly stumped away, and -in less than five seconds was lost in the gloom among the trees. For -a moment or two longer an ear, attuned by terror or the constant -sense of danger, might have perceived the dull, uneven thud of his -wooden leg against the soft carpet of pine needles, but even this -soon died away in the distance, and over the kingdom of darkness -which held sway within the forest there fell once more the pall of -deathlike silence. The posse of police in search of human quarry had -come and gone, the stealthy footsteps of tracked criminals had ceased -to resound from tree to tree; all that could be heard was the -occasional call of a night-bird, or the furtive movement of tiny -creatures of the wild. - -Silence hung over the forest for close upon an hour. Then from -behind a noble fir a dark figure detached itself and more stealthily, -more furtively than any tiny beast it stole along the track which -leads to the main road. The figure, wrapped in a dark mantle, glided -determinedly along despite the difficulties of the narrow track, -complicated now by absolute darkness. Hours went by ere it reached -the main road, on the very spot where some few hours ago the -mail-coach had been held up and robbed by a pack of impudent thieves. -Here the figure halted for awhile, and just then the heavy rain -clouds, which had hung over the sky the whole evening, slowly parted -and revealed the pale waning moon. A soft light gradually suffused -the sky and vanquished the impenetrable darkness. - -Not a living soul was in sight save that solitary figure by the -roadside--a man, to all appearances, wearing a broad-brimmed hat -casting a deep shadow over his face; the waning moon threw a cold -light upon the grey mantle which he wore. On ahead the exquisite -tower of the church of Notre Dame appeared vague and fairylike -against the deep sapphire of the horizon far away. Then the solitary -figure started to walk briskly in the direction of the city. - - -III - -M. le Procureur Impérial, sitting in his comfortable armchair in the -well-furnished apartment which he occupied in the Rue St. Blaise at -Alençon, was surveying his visitor with a quizzical and questioning -gaze. - -On the desk before him lay the letter which that same visitor had -presented to him the previous evening--a letter penned by no less a -hand than that of M. le Duc d'Otrante himself, Minister of Police, -and recommending the bearer of this august autograph to the good will -of M. de Saint-Tropèze, Procureur Impérial at the tribunal of -Alençon. Nay, more! M. le Ministre in that same autograph letter -gave orders, in no grudging terms, that the bearer was to be trusted -implicitly, and that every facility was to be given him in the -execution of his duty: said duty consisting in the tracking down and -helping to bring to justice of as many as possible of those saucy -Chouans who, not content with terrorising the countryside, were up in -arms against the government of His Impérial Majesty. - -A direct encroachment this on the rights and duties of M. le -Procureur Impérial; no wonder he surveyed the quiet, -insignificant-looking individual before him, with a not altogether -benevolent air. - -M. le préfet sitting on the opposite side of the high mantelpiece was -discreetly silent until his chief chose to speak. - -After a brief while the Procureur Impérial addressed his visitor. - -"Monsieur le Duc d'Otrante," he said in that dry, supercilious tone -which he was wont to affect when addressing his subordinates, "speaks -very highly of you, Monsieur--Monsieur-- By the way, the Minister, I -perceive, does not mention your name. What is your name, Monsieur?" - -"Fernand, Monsieur le Procureur," replied the man. - -"Fernand? Fernand what?" - -"Nothing, Monsieur le Procureur. Only Fernand." - -The little Man in Grey spoke very quietly in a dull, colourless tone -which harmonised with the neutral tone of his whole appearance. For -a moment it seemed as if a peremptory or sarcastic retort hovered on -M. le Procureur's lips. The man's quietude appeared like an -impertinence. - -M. de Saint-Tropèze belonged to the old _Noblesse_. He had emigrated -at the time of the Revolution and spent a certain number of years in -England, during which time a faithful and obscure steward -administered his property and saved it from confiscation. - -The blandishments of the newly-crowned Emperor had lured M. de -Saint-Tropèze back to France. Common sense and ambition had -seemingly got the better of his antiquated ideals, whilst Napoleon -was only too ready to surround himself with as many scions of the -ancient nobility as were willing to swear allegiance to him. He -welcomed Henri de Saint-Tropèze and showered dignities upon him with -a lavish hand; but the latter never forgot that the Government he now -served was an upstart one, and he never departed from that air of -condescension and high breeding which kept him aloof from his more -plebeian subordinates and which gave him an authority and an -influence in the province which they themselves could never hope to -attain. - -M. le préfet had coughed discreetly. The warning was well-timed. He -knew every word of the Minister's letter by heart, and one phrase in -it might, he feared, have escaped M. le Procureur's notice. It -ordered that the bearer of the Ministerial credentials was to be -taken entirely on trust--no questions were to be asked of him save -those to which he desired to make reply. To disregard even the -vaguest hint given by the all-powerful Minister of Police was, to say -the least, hazardous. Fortunately M. de Saint-Tropèze understood the -warning. He pressed his thin lips tightly together and did not -pursue the subject of his visitor's name any farther. - -"You propose setting to work immediately, Monsieur--er--Fernand?" he -asked with frigid hauteur. - -"With your permission, Monsieur le Procureur," replied the Man in -Grey. - -"In the matter of the highway robbery the other night, for instance?" - -"In that and other matters, Monsieur le Procureur." - -"You were on the coach which was attacked by those damnable Chouans, -I believe?" - -"Yes, Monsieur le Procureur. I picked up the coach at Argentan and -sat next to the driver until the vehicle was ordered to halt." - -"Then what happened?" - -"A man scrambled up on the box-seat beside me, and holding a pistol -to my head commanded me to descend." - -"And you descended?" - -"Yes," replied the man quietly. He paused a moment and then added by -way of an explanation: "I hurt my knee coming down; the pain caused -me to lose some measure of consciousness. When I returned to my -senses, I found myself on the roadside--all alone--there was no sign -either of the coach or of the footpads." - -"An unfortunate beginning," said M. de Saint-Tropèze with a distinct -note of sarcasm in his voice, "for a secret agent of His Majesty's -Police sent down to track some of the most astute rascals known in -the history of crime." - -"I hope to do better in the future, Monsieur le Procureur," rejoined -the Man in Grey simply. - -M. de Saint-Tropèze made no further remark, and for a moment or two -there was silence in the room. The massive Louis XIV clock ticked -monotonously; M. de Saint-Tropèze seemed to be dissociating his -well-bred person from the sordid and tortuous affairs of the Police. -The Man in Grey appeared to be waiting until he was spoken to again, -and M. le préfet had a vague feeling that the silence was becoming -oppressive, as if some unspoken enmity lurked between the plebeian -and obscure police agent and the highly connected and influential -Procurator of His Majesty the Emperor. He threw himself blandly into -the breach. - -"Of course, of course," he said genially. "You, -Monsieur--er--Fernand, are lucky to have escaped with your life. -Those rascals stick at nothing nowadays. The driver of the coach -fully believed that you had been murdered. I suppose you saw nothing -of the rogue?" - -But this was evidently not one of the questions which the Man in Grey -had any desire to answer, and M. Vimars did not insist. He turned -obsequiously to M. le Procureur. - -"The driver," he said, "spoke of one having a wooden leg. But the -worthy Gontran was very vague in all his statements. I imagine that -he and all the male passengers must have behaved like cowards or the -rascals would never have got so clean away." - -"The night was very dark, Monsieur le Préfet," observed the Man in -Grey dryly, "and the Chouans were well armed." - -"Quite so," here broke in M. le Procureur impatiently, "and no object -can be served now in recriminations. See to it, my good Vimars," he -continued in a tone that was still slightly sarcastic but entirely -peremptory, "that the Minister's orders are obeyed to the last -letter. Place yourself and all your personnel and the whole of the -local police at Monsieur--er--Fernand's disposal, and do not let me -hear any more complaints of inefficiency or want of good will on your -part until those scoundrels have been laid by the "heel." - - -IV - -M. de Saint-Tropèze paused after his peroration. With an almost -imperceptible nod of his handsome head he indicated both to his -visitor and to his subordinate that the audience was at an end. But -M. le préfet, though he knew himself to be dismissed, appeared -reluctant to go. There was something which M. le Procureur had -forgotten, and the worthy préfet was trying to gather up courage to -jog his memory. He had a mightily wholesome respect for his chief, -had M. Vimars, for the Procureur was not only a man of vast erudition -and of the bluest blood, but one who was held in high consideration -by His Majesty's government in Paris, ay, and, so 'twas said, by His -Majesty himself. - -So M. Vimars hummed and hawed and gave one or two discreet little -coughs, whilst M. le Procureur with obvious impatience was drumming -his well-manicured nails against the arm of his chair. At last he -said testily: - -"You have something you wish to say to me, my good Monsieur Vimars?" - -"Yes, Monsieur le Procureur," hazarded the préfet in reply, "that -is--there is the matter of the burglary--and--and the murder last -night--that is----" - -M. le Procureur frowned: "Those are local matters," he said loftily, -"which concern the commissary of police, my good Vimars, and are -beneath the notice of Monsieur le Ministre's secret agent." - -The préfet, conscious of a reprimand, blushed to the very roots of -his scanty hair. He rose with some haste and the obvious desire to -conceal his discomfiture in a precipitate retreat, when the Man in -Grey interposed in his quiet, even monotone: - -"Nothing is beneath the notice of a secret agent, Monsieur le -Procureur," he said; "and everything which is within the province of -the commissary of police concerns the representative of the Minister." - -M. Vimars literally gasped at this presumption. How anyone dared -thus to run counter to M. le Procureur's orders simply passed his -comprehension. He looked with positive horror on the meagre, -insignificant personage who even now was meeting M. le Procureur's -haughty, supercilious glance without any sign of contrition or of -shame. - -M. de Saint-Tropèze had raised his aristocratic eyebrows, and tried -to wither the audacious malapert with his scornful glance, but the -little Man in Grey appeared quite unconscious of the enormity of his -offence; he stood by--as was his wont--quietly and silently, his eyes -fixed inquiringly on the préfet, who was indeed hoping that the floor -would open conveniently and swallow him up ere he was called upon to -decide whether he should obey the orders of his official chief, or -pay heed to the commands of the accredited agent of M. the Minister -of Police. - -But M. le Procureur decided the question himself and in the only way -possible. The Minister's letter with its peremptory commands lay -there before him--the secret agent of His Majesty's Police was to be -aided and obeyed implicitly in all matters relating to his work; -there was nothing to be done save to comply with those orders as -graciously as he could, and without further loss of dignity. - -"You have heard the wishes of Monsieur le Ministre's agent, my good -Vimars," he said coldly; "so I pray you speak to him of the matter -which exercises your mind, for of a truth I am not well acquainted -with all the details." - -Whereupon he fell to contemplating the exquisite polish on his -almond-shaped nails. Though the over-bearing little upstart in the -grey coat could command the obsequiousness of such men as that fool -Vimars, he must be shown at the outset that his insolence would find -no weak spot in the armour of M. de Saint-Tropèze's lofty -self-respect. - -"Oh! it is very obvious," quoth the préfet, whose only desire was to -conciliate both parties, "that the matter is not one which affects -the graver question of those _satané_ Chouans. At the same time both -the affairs of last night are certainly mysterious and present some -unusual features which have greatly puzzled our exceedingly able -commissary of police. It seems that in the early hours of this -morning the library of Monseigneur the Constitutional Bishop of -Alençon was broken into by thieves. Fortunately nothing of any value -was stolen, and this part of the affair appeared simple enough, until -an hour or two later a couple of peasants, who were walking from -Lonrai towards the city, came across the body of a man lying face -upwards by the roadside. The man was quite dead--had been dead some -time apparently. The two louts hurried at once to the commissariat -of police and made their depositions. Monsieur Lefèvre, our chief -commissary, proceeded to the scene of the crime; he has now the -affair in hand." - -The préfet had perforce to pause in his narrative for lack of breath. -He had been talking volubly and uninterruptedly, and indeed he had no -cause to complain of lack of attention on the part of his hearer. M. -le Ministre's secret agent sat absolutely still, his deep-set eyes -fixed intently upon the narrator. Alone M. le Procureur Impérial -maintained his attitude of calm disdain. He still appeared deeply -absorbed in the contemplation of his finger-nails. - -"At first," resumed the préfet after his dramatic pause, "these two -crimes, the greater and the less, seemed in no way connected, and -personally I am not sure even now that they are. A certain air of -similarity and mystery, however, clings to them both, for in both -cases the crimes appear at the outset so very purposeless. In the -case of the burglary in Monseigneur's palace the thieves were -obviously scared before they could lay hands on any valuables, but -even so there were some small pieces of silver lying about which they -might have snatched up, even if they were in a vast hurry to get -away; whilst in the case of the murder, though the victim's silver -watch was stolen and his pockets ransacked, the man was obviously -poor and not worth knocking down." - -"And is the identity of the victim known to the police?" here asked -the Man in Grey in his dull, colourless voice. - -"Indeed it is," replied the préfet; "the man was well known -throughout the neighbourhood. He was valet to Madame la Marquise de -Plélan." - -M. le Procureur looked up suddenly from his engrossing occupation. - -"Ah!" he said, "I did not know that. Lefèvre did not tell me that he -had established the identity of the victim." - -He sighed and once more gazed meditatively upon his finger-nails. - -"Poor Maxence! I have often seen him at Plélan. There never was a -more inoffensive creature. What motive could the brute have for such -a villainous murder?" - -The préfet shrugged his shoulders. - -"Some private quarrel, I imagine," he said. - -"A love affair?" queried the Man in Grey. - -"Oh no, Monsieur. Maxence was the wrong side of fifty." - -"A smart man?" - -"Anything but smart--a curious, shock-headed, slouchy-looking person -with hair as red as a fox's." - -Just for the space of one second the colourless eyes of the Man in -Grey lit up with a quick and intense light; it seemed for the moment -as if an exclamation difficult to suppress would escape his thin, -bloodless lips, and his whole insignificant figure appeared to be -quivering with a sudden, uncontrollable eagerness. But this -departure from his usual quietude was so momentary that M. le préfet -failed to notice it, whilst M. le Procureur remained as usual -uninterested and detached. - -"Poor Maxence!" resumed M. Vimars after awhile. "He had, as far as -is known, not a single enemy in the world. He was devoted to Madame -la Marquise and enjoyed her complete confidence; he was not possessed -of any savings, nor was he of a quarrelsome disposition. He can't -have had more than a few francs about his person when he was so -foully waylaid and murdered. Indeed, it is because the crime is -ostensibly so wanton that the police at once dismissed the idea that -those abominable Chouans had anything to do with it." - -"Is the road where the body was found very lonely of nights?" asked -the Man in Grey. - -"It is a lonely road," replied the préfet, "and never considered very -safe, as it is a favourite haunt of the Chouans--but it is the direct -road between Alençon and Mayenne, through Lonrai and Plélan." - -"Is it known what business took the confidential valet of Madame la -Marquise de Plélan on that lonely road in the middle of the night?" - -"It has not been definitely established," here broke in M. le -Procureur curtly, "that the murder was committed in the middle of the -night." - -"I thought----" - -"The body was found in the early morning," continued M. de -Saint-Tropèze with an air of cold condescension; "the man had been -dead some hours--the leech has not pronounced how many. Maxence had -no doubt many friends or relations in Alençon: it is presumed that he -spent the afternoon in the city and was on his way back to Plélan in -the evening when he was waylaid and murdered." - -"That presumption is wrong," said the Man in Grey quietly. - -"Wrong?" retorted M. le Procureur frigidly. "What do you mean?" - -"I was walking home from Plélan towards Alençon in the small hours of -the morning. There was no dead body lying in the road then." - -"The body lay by the roadside, half in the ditch," said M. le -Procureur dryly, "you may have missed seeing it." - -"Possibly," rejoined the Man in Grey equally dryly, "but unlikely." - -"Were you looking out for it then?" riposted the Procureur. But no -sooner were the words out of his mouth than he realised his mistake. -The Man in Grey made no reply; he literally appeared to withdraw -himself into an invisible shell, to efface himself yet further within -a colourless atmosphere, out of which it was obviously unwise to try -to drag him. M. le Procureur pressed his thin lips together, -impatient with himself at an unnecessary loss of dignity. As usual -M. le préfet was ready to throw himself into the breach. - -"I am sure," he said with his usual volubility, "that we are wasting -Monsieur le Procureur's valuable time now. I can assure you, -Monsieur--er--Fernand, that our chief commissary of police can give -you all the details of the crime--if, indeed, they interest you. -Shall we go now?--that is," he added, with that same feeling of -hesitation which overcame him every time he encountered the secret -agent's calm, inquiring look, "that is--er--unless there's anything -else you wish to ask of Monsieur le Procureur." - -"I wish to know with regard to the murder, what was the cause of -death," said the Man in Grey quietly. - -"A pistol shot, sir," replied M. de Saint-Tropèze coldly, "right -between the shoulder blades, delivered at short range apparently, -seeing that the man's coat was charred and blackened with powder. -The leech avers that he must have fallen instantly." - -"Shot between the shoulders, and yet found lying on his back," -murmured the Man in Grey. "And was nothing at all found upon the -body that would give a clue to the motive of the crime?" - -"Nothing, my dear sir," broke in the préfet glibly, "nothing at all. -In his breeches' pocket there was a greasy and crumpled sheet of -letter-paper, which on examination was found to be covered with a row -of numerals all at random--like a child's exercise-book." - -"Could I see the paper?" - -"It is at the commissariat of police," explained the Procureur curtly. - -"Where I can easily find it, of course," concluded the Man in Grey -with calm decision. "In the meanwhile perhaps Monsieur le préfet -will be kind enough to tell me something more about the burglary at -the Archbishop's Palace." - -"There's very little to tell, my good Monsieur Fernand," said M. -Vimars, who, far more conscious than was the stranger of the -Procureur's growing impatience, would have given a month's salary for -the privilege of making himself scarce. - -"With what booty did the burglars make off?" - -"With nothing of any value; and what they did get they dropped in -their flight. The police found a small silver candlestick, and a -brass paper weight in the street close to the gate of Monseigneur's -Palace, also one or two books which no doubt the burglars had seized -in the hope that they were valuable editions." - -"Nothing, then, has actually been stolen?" - -"Nothing. I believe that Monseigneur told the chief commissary that -one or two of his books are still missing, but none of any value. So -you see, my good Monsieur--er--Fernand," concluded M. Vimars blandly, -"that the whole matter is quite beneath your consideration. It is a -case of a vulgar murder with only a private grudge by way of -motive--and an equally vulgar attempt at burglary, fortunately with -no evil results. Our local police--though none too efficient, alas! -in these strenuous days, when His Majesty's army claims the flower of -our manhood--is well able to cope with these simple matters, which, -of course, must occur in every district from time to time. You may -take it from me--and I have plenty of experience, remember--that the -matter has no concern whatever with the Chouans and with your mission -here. You can, quite conscientiously, devote the whole of your time -to the case of the highway robbery the other night, and the recovery -of the sixty-two hundred francs which were stolen from the coach, as -well as the tracking of that daring rascal with the wooden leg." - -Satisfied with his peroration, M. Vimars at last felt justified in -moving towards the door. - -"I don't think," he concluded with suave obsequiousness, "that we -need take up any more of Monsieur le Procureur's valuable time, and -with his gracious permission----" - -To his intense relief, M. Vimars perceived that the Man in Grey was -at last prepared to take his leave. - -M. de Saint-Tropèze, plainly at the end of his patience, delighted to -be rid of his tiresome visitors, at once became pleasantly -condescending. To the secret agent of His Majesty's Police he gave a -quite gracious nod, and made the worthy préfet proud and happy by -whispering in his ear: - -"Do not allow that little busybody to interfere with you too much, my -dear Monsieur Vimars. I am prepared to back your skill and -experience in such matters against any young shrimp from Paris." - -The nod of understanding which accompanied this affable speech sent -M. Vimars into an empyrean of delight. After which M. le Procureur -finally bowed his visitors out of the room. - -The little Man in Grey walked in silence beside M. Vimars along the -narrow network of streets which lead to the Hôtel de Ville. The -préfet had a suite of apartments assigned to him in the building, and -once he was installed in his own well-furnished library, untrammelled -by the presence of his chief, and with the accredited agent of His -Majesty's Minister sitting opposite to him, he gave full rein to his -own desire for perfect amity with so important a personage. - -He began by a lengthy disquisition on the merits of M. le Procureur -Impérial. Never had there been a man of such consideration and of -such high culture in the city. M. de Saint-Tropèze was respected -alike by the municipal officials, by the townspeople and by the -landed aristocracy of the neighbourhood--and he was a veritable -terror to the light-fingered gentry, as well as to the gangs of -Chouans that infested the district. - -The Man in Grey listened to the fulsome panegyric with his accustomed -deep attention. He asked a few questions as to M. de Saint-Tropèze's -domestic circumstances. "Was he married?" "Was he wealthy?" "Did he -keep up a luxurious mode of life?" - -To all these questions M. Vimars was only too ready to give reply. -No, Monsieur le Procureur was not married. He was presumably -wealthy, for he kept up a very elegant bachelor establishment in the -Rue St. Blaise with just a few old and confidential servants. The -sources of his income were not known, as Monsieur de Saint-Tropèze -was very proud and reserved, and would not condescend to speak of his -affairs with anyone. - -Next the worthy préfet harked back, with wonted volubility, to the -double outrage of the previous night, and rehearsed at copious length -every circumstance connected with it. Strangely enough, the secret -agent, who had been sent by the Minister all the way from Paris in -order to track down that particular band of Chouans, appeared far -more interested in the murder of Mme. de Plélan's valet and the theft -of a few books out of Monseigneur the Bishop's library than he was in -the daring robbery of the mail-coach. - -"You knew the unfortunate Maxence, did you not, Monsieur le Préfet?" -he asked. - -"Why, yes," replied M. Vimars, "for I have often paid my respects to -Madame la Marquise de Plélan." - -"What was he like?" - -"You can go over to the commissariat of police and see what's left of -the poor man," rejoined the préfet, with a feeble attempt at grim -humour. "The most remarkable feature about him was his red hair--an -unusual colour among our Normandy peasantry." - -Later M. Vimars put the finishing touch to his amiability by placing -his services unreservedly at the disposal of M. le Ministre's agent. - -"Is there anything that I can do for you, my good Monsieur Fernand?" -he asked urbanely. - -"Not for the moment, I thank you," replied Fernand. "I will send to -you if I require any assistance from the police. But in the -meanwhile," he added, "I see that you are something of a scholar. I -should be greatly obliged if you could lend me a book to while away -some of my idle hours." - -"A book? With pleasure!" quoth M. Vimars, not a little puzzled. -"But how did you know?" - -"That you were a scholar?" rejoined the other with a vague smile. -"It was a fairly simple guess, seeing your well-stocked cases of -books around me, and that a well-fingered volume protrudes even now -from your coat-pocket." - -"Ah! Ah!" retorted the préfet ingenuously, "I see that truly you are -a great deal sharper, Monsieur Fernand, than you appear to be. But -in any case," he added, "I shall be charmed to be of service to you -in the matter of my small library. I flatter myself that it is both -comprehensive and select--so if there is anything you especially -desire to read----" - -"I thank you, Sir," said the Man in Grey; "as a matter of fact I have -never had the opportunity of reading Madame de Staël's latest work, -_Corinne_, and if you happen to possess a copy----" - -"With the greatest of pleasure, my dear sir," exclaimed the préfet. -He went at once to one of his well-filled bookcases, and after a -brief search found the volume and handed it with a smile to his -visitor. - -"It seems a grave pity," he added, "that no new edition of this -remarkable work has ever been printed. But Madame de Staël is not in -favour with His Majesty, which no doubt accounts for the publisher's -lack of enterprise." - -A few more words of polite farewell: after which M. Vimars took final -leave of the Minister's agent. The little Man in Grey glided out of -the stately apartment like a ghost, even his footsteps failing to -resound along the polished floor. - - -V - -Buried in a capacious armchair, beside a cheerfully blazing fire, M. -le Procureur Impérial had allowed the copy of the _Moniteur_ which he -had been reading to drop from his shapely hands on to the floor. He -had closed his eyes and half an hour had gone by in peaceful -somnolence, even while M. Lefèvre, chief commissary of police, was -cooling his heels in the antechamber, preparatory to being received -in audience on most urgent business. - -M. le Procureur Impérial never did anything in a hurry, and, on -principle, always kept a subordinate waiting until any officiousness -or impertinence which might have been lurking in the latter's mind -had been duly squelched by weariness and sore feet. - -So it was only after he had indulged in a short and refreshing nap -that M. de Saint-Tropèze rang for his servant, and ordered him to -introduce M. Lefèvre, chief commissary of police. The latter, a -choleric, apoplectic, loud-voiced official, entered the audience -chamber in a distinctly chastened spirit. He had been shown the -original letter of credentials sent to M. le Procureur by the -Minister, and yesterday he had caught sight of the small grey-clad -figure as it flitted noiselessly along the narrow streets of the -city. And inwardly the brave commissary of police had then and there -perpetrated an act of high treason, for he had sworn at the -ineptitude of the grand Ministries in Paris, which sent a pack of -incompetent agents to interfere with those who were capable of -dealing with their own local affairs. - -Monsieur le Procureur Impérial, who no doubt sympathised with the -worthy man's grievances, was inclined to be gracious. - -"Well? And what is it now, my good Monsieur Lefèvre?" he asked as -soon as the commissary was seated. - -"In one moment, Monsieur le Procureur," growled Lefèvre. "First of -all, will you tell me what I am to do about that secret agent who has -come here, I suppose, to poke his ugly nose into my affairs?" - -"What you are to do about him?" rejoined M. de Saint-Tropèze with a -smile. "I have shown you the Minister's letter: he says that we must -leave all matters in the hands of his accredited agent." - -"By your leave," quoth Lefèvre wrathfully, "that accredited agent -might as well be polishing the flagstones of the Paris boulevards, -for all the good that he will do down here." - -"You think so?" queried M. le Procureur, and with a detached air, he -fell into his customary contemplation of his nails. - -"And with your permission," continued the commissary, "I will proceed -with my own investigations of the outrages committed by those -abominable Chouans, for that bundle of conceit will never get the -hang of the affair." - -"But the Minister says that we must not interfere. We must render -all the assistance that we can." - -"Bah! we'll render assistance when it is needed," retorted Lefèvre -captiously. "But in the meantime I am not going to let that -wooden-legged scoundrel slip through my fingers, to please any -grey-coated marmoset who thinks he can lord it over me in my own -district." - -M. de Saint-Tropèze appeared interested. - -"You have a clue?" he asked. - -"More than that. I know who killed Maxence." - -"Ah! You have got the man? Well done, my brave Lefèvre," exclaimed -M. le Procureur, without, however, a very great show of enthusiasm. - -"I haven't got him yet," parried Lefèvre. "But I have the -description of the rascal. A little patience and I can lay my hands -on him--provided that busybody does not interfere." - -"Who is he, then?" queried M. de Saint-Tropèze. - -"One of those damned Chouans." - -"You are sure?" - -"Absolutely. All day yesterday I was busy interrogating witnesses, -who I knew must have been along the road between Lonrai and the city -in the small hours of the morning--workpeople and so on, who go to -and from their work every morning of their lives. Well! after a good -deal of trouble we have been able to establish that the murder was -actually committed between the hours of five and half-past, because -although no one appears actually to have heard the pistol shot, the -people who were on the road before five saw nothing suspicious, -whilst the two louts who subsequently discovered the body actually -heard the tower clock of Notre Dame striking the half-hour at the -very time." - -"Well? And----" - -"No fewer than three of the witnesses state that they saw a man with -a queer-shaped lip, dressed in a ragged coat and breeches, and with -stockingless feet thrust into sabots, hanging about the road shortly -before five o'clock. They gave him a wide berth, for they took him -to be a Chouan on the prowl." - -"Why should a Chouan trouble to kill a wretched man who has not a -five-franc piece to bless himself with?" - -"That's what we've got to find out," rejoined the commissary of -police, "and we will find it out, too, as soon as we've got the -ruffian and the rest of the gang. I know the rogue, mind you--the -man with the queer lip. I have had my eye on him for some time. Oh! -he belongs to the gang, I'll stake mine oath on it: a youngish man -who should be in the army and is obviously a deserter--a -ne'er-do-well who never does a day's honest work and disappears o' -nights. What his name is and where he comes from I do not know. But -through him we'll get the others, including the chief of the -gang--the man with the wooden leg." - -"God grant you may succeed!" ejaculated M. le Procureur -sententiously. "These perpetual outrages in one's district are a -fearful strain on one's nerves. By the way," he added, as he passed -his shapely hand over a number of miscellaneous papers which lay in a -heap upon his desk, "I don't usually take heed of anonymous letters, -but one came to me this morning which might be worth your -consideration." - -He selected a tattered, greasy paper from the heap, fingering it -gingerly, and having carefully unfolded it passed it across the table -to the chief commissary of police. Lefèvre smoothed the paper out: -the writing was almost illegible, and grease and dirt had helped -further to confuse the characters, but the commissary had had some -experience of such communications, and contrived slowly to decipher -the scrawl. - -"It is a denunciation, of course," he said. "The rogues appear to be -quarrelling amongst themselves. 'If,' says the writer of the -epistle, 'M. le Procureur will send his police to-night between the -hours of ten and twelve to the Cache-Renard woods and they follow the -directions given below, they will come across the money and valuables -which were taken from the mail-coach last Wednesday, and also those -who robbed the coach and murdered Mme. de Plélan's valet. Strike the -first bridle-path on the right after entering the wood by the main -road, until you come to a fallen fir tree lying across another narrow -path; dismount here and follow this track for a further three hundred -mètres, till you come to a group of five larches in the midst of a -thicket of birch and oak. Stand with your back to the larch that is -farthest from you, and face the thicket; there you will perceive -another track which runs straight into the depths of the wood, follow -it until you come to a tiny clearing, at the bottom of which the -thicket will seem so dense that you would deem it impenetrable. -Plunge into it boldly to where a nest of broken branches reveals the -presence of human footsteps, and in front of you you will see a kind -of hut composed of dead branches and caked mud and covered with a -rough thatch of heather. In that hut you will find that for which -you seek.' - -"Do you think it worth while to act upon this anonymous -denunciation?" queried M. Saint-Tropèze when Lefèvre had finished -reading. - -"I certainly do," replied the commissary. "In any case it can do no -harm." - -"You must take plenty of men with you." - -"Leave that to me, Monsieur le Procureur," rejoined Lefèvre, "and -I'll see that they are well armed, too." - -"What about the secret agent?" - -Lefèvre swore. - -"That worm?" was his sole but very expressive comment. - -"Will you see him about the matter?" - -"What do you think?" - -"I suppose you must." - -"And if he gives me orders?" - -"You must obey them, of course. Have you seen him this morning?" - -"Yes. He had ordered me to come to his lodgings in the Rue de -France." - -"What did he want?" - -"The scrap of paper which we had found in the breeches' pocket of -Maxence." - -"You gave it to him?" - -"Of course," growled Lefèvre savagely. "Haven't we all got to obey -him?" - -"You left him in his lodgings, then?" - -"Yes." - -"Doing what?" - -"Reading a book." - -"Reading a book?" exclaimed M. de Saint-Tropèze with a harsh laugh. -"What book?" - -"I just noticed the title," replied Lefèvre, "though I'm nothing of a -scholar and books don't interest me." - -"What was the title?" - -"_Corinne_," said the commissary of police. - -Apparently M. le Procureur Impérial had come to the end of the -questions which he desired to put to the worthy M. Lefèvre, for he -said nothing more, but remained leaning back in his chair and gazing -straight out of the window beside him. His pale, aristocratic -profile looked almost like chiselled marble against the purple damask -of the cushions. He seemed absorbed in thought, or else supremely -bored; M. Lefèvre--nothing of a psychologist, despite his -calling--could not have said which. - -The ticking of the massive Louis XIV clock upon the mantelpiece and -the sizzling of damp wood on the hearth alone broke the silence which -reigned in the stately apartment. Through the closed window the -manifold sounds which emanate from a busy city came discreet and -subdued. - -Instinctively M. Lefèvre's glance followed that of his chief: he, -too, fell to gazing out of the window where only a few passers-by -were seen hurrying homewards on this late dreary October afternoon. -Suddenly he perceived the narrow, shrinking figure of the little Man -in Grey gliding swiftly down the narrow street. The commissary of -police smothered the savage oath which had risen to his lips: he -turned to his chief, and even his obtuse perceptions were aroused by -what he saw. M. le Procureur Impérial was no longer leaning back -listlessly against the damask cushions: he was leaning forward, his -fine, white hands clutching the arms of his chair. He, too, had -apparently caught sight of the grey-clad figure, for his eyes, wide -open and resentful, followed it as it glided along, and on his whole -face there was such an expression of hatred and savagery that the -worthy commissary felt unaccountably awed and subdued. Next moment, -however, he thought he must have been dreaming, for M. de -Saint-Tropèze had once more turned to him with that frigid urbanity -which became his aristocratic personality so well. - -"Well, my good Lefèvre," he said, "I don't really think that I can -help you further in any way. I quite appreciate your mistrust of the -obtrusive stranger, and personally I cannot avoid a suspicion that he -will hamper you by interfering at a critical moment to-night during -your expedition against the Chouans. He may just be the cause of -their slipping through your fingers, which would be such a terrible -pity now that you have gathered the net so skilfully around them." - -Lefèvre rose, and with firm, deliberate movements tightened the belt -around his portly waist, re-adjusted the set of his tunic, and -generally contrived to give himself an air of determination and -energy. - -"I'll say nothing to the shrimp about our expedition to-night," he -said with sullen resolution. "That is, unless you, Monsieur le -Procureur, give me orders to do so." - -"Oh, I?" rejoined M. de Saint-Tropèze carelessly. "I won't say -anything one way or the other. The whole matter is out of my hands -and you must act as you think best. Whatever happens," he added -slowly and emphatically, "you will get no blame from me." - -Which was such an extraordinary thing for M. le Procureur to say--who -was one of the most pedantic, censorious and autocratic of men--that -the good Lefèvre spoke of it afterwards to M. le préfet and to one or -two of his friends. He could not understand this attitude of -humility and obedience on the part of his chief: but everyone agreed -that it was small wonder M. le Procureur Impérial was upset, seeing -that the presence of that secret police agent in Alençon was a direct -snub to all the municipal and departmental authorities throughout the -district, and M. de Saint-Tropèze was sure to resent it more than -anyone else, for he was very proud, and acknowledged to be one of the -most capable of highly-placed officials in the whole of France. - - -VI - -The night that followed was unusually dark. Out in the Cache-Renard -woods the patter of the rain on the tall crests of the pines and the -soughing of the wind through the branches of the trees drowned every -other sound. In the burrow built of dead branches, caked mud and -dried heather, five men sat waiting, their ears strained to the -crackling of every tiny twig, to the fall of every drop of moisture -from the over-laden twigs. Among them the dark lantern threw a dim, -flickering light on their sullen, glowering faces. Despite the cold -and the damp outside, the atmosphere within was hot to suffocation; -the men's breath came panting and laboured, and now and again they -exchanged a few whispered words. - -"In any case," declared one of them, "if we feel that he is playing -us false we shall have to do for him to-night, eh, mates?" - -A kind of muffled assent went round the circle, and one man murmured: - -"Do you really mistrust him, Hare-Lip?" - -"I should," replied Hare-Lip curtly, "if I thought he knew about -Red-Poll." - -"You don't think that he suspects?" queried another. - -"I don't see how he can. He can't have shown his face, or rather his -wooden leg inside Alençon since the mail-coach episode. The police -are keen after him. But if he did hear rumours of the death of -Red-Poll he will also have heard that the murder was only an ordinary -case of robbery--watch and money stolen--and that a sheet of -letter-paper covered with random numerals was found in the breeches' -pocket of the murdered man." - -One of the men swore lustily in the dark. - -"The paper covered with numerals!" he muttered savagely under his -breath. "You clumsy fool to have left that behind!" - -"What was the use----" began another. - -But Hare-Lip laughed, and broke in quietly: - -"Do ye take me for a fool, mates? I was not going to take away that -original sheet of paper and proclaim it to our chiefs that it was one -of us who killed Red-Poll. No! I took the sheet of letter-paper -with me when I went to meet Red-Poll. After he fell--I shot him -between the shoulders--I turned him over on his back and ransacked -his pockets; that was a blind. Then I found the paper with the -figures and copied them out carefully--that was another blind--in -case Silver-Leg heard of the affair and suspected us." - -One or two of the others gave a growl of dissent. - -"You might have been caught while you were playing that silly game," -said one of the men, "which would not deceive a child." - -"Silver-Leg is no gaby," murmured another. - -"Well, he'll be here anon," concluded Hare-Lip lightly. "If you -think he means to play a dirty trick, he can go and join Red-Poll, -that's all." - -"He may not come, after all." - -"He must come. I had his message to meet him here to-night without -fail. The chiefs have planned another attack: on the Orleans coach -this time. Silver-Leg wants us to be of the party." - -"We ought to have got hold of the last booty before now!" - -"Impossible! Mole-Skin and I have not figured out all the directions -from the book and the numerals yet. It is not an easy task, I tell -you, but it shall be done soon, and we can take you straight to the -spot as soon as we have the directions before us." - -"Unless Silver-Leg and Madame remove the booty in the meanwhile," -grunted one of the party caustically. - -"I sometimes wonder----" said another. But he got no further. A -peremptory "Hush!" from Hare-Lip suddenly silenced them all. - -With a swift movement one of them extinguished the lanthorn, and now -they cowered in absolute darkness within their burrow like so many -wild beasts tracked to earth by the hunters. The heat was -suffocating: the men vainly tried to subdue the sound of their breath -as it came panting from their parched throats. - -"The police!" Hare-Lip muttered hoarsely. - -But they did not need to be told. Just like tracked beasts they knew -every sound which portended danger, and already from afar off, even -from the very edge of the wood, more than a kilomètre away, their -ears, attuned to every sound, had perceived the measured tramp of -horses upon the soft, muddy road. They cowered there, rigid and -silent. The darkness encompassed them, and they felt safe enough in -their shelter in the very heart of the woods, in this secret -hiding-place which was known to no living soul save to them. The -police on patrol duty had often passed them by: the nearest track -practicable on horseback was four hundred mètres away, the nearest -footpath made a wide detour round the thicket, wherein these skulking -miscreants had contrived to build their lair. - -As a rule, it meant cowering, silent and motionless, inside the -burrow whilst perhaps one posse of police, more venturesome than -most, had dismounted at the end of the bridle-path and plunged afoot -into the narrower track, scouring the thicket on either side for -human quarry. It involved only an elementary amount of danger, -distant and intangible, not worth an accelerated heart-beat, or even -a gripping of knife or pistol wherewith to sell life and liberty at a -price. - -And so, for the first five minutes, while the tramp of horses' hoofs -drew nearer, the men waited in placid silence. - -"I hope Silver-Leg has found shelter," one of the men murmured under -his breath. - -"He should have been here by now," whispered another. - -Then they perceived the usual sound of men dismounting, the rattle of -chains, the champing of bits, peremptory words of command. Even then -they felt that they had nothing to fear: these were all sounds they -had heard before. The thicket and the darkness were their allies; -they crouched in silence, but they felt that they were safe. Their -ears and senses, however, were keenly on the alert: they heard the -crackling of dried twigs under the heavy footsteps of the men, the -muttered curses that accompanied the struggle against the density of -the thicket, the clashing of metal tools against dead branches of -intervening trees. Still they did not move. They were not -afraid--not yet! But somehow in the obscurity which held them as in -a pall their attitude had become more tense, their breathing more -laboured, and one or two strong quivering hands went out -instinctively to clutch a neighbouring one. - -Then suddenly Hare-Lip drew in his breath with a hissing sound like -that of an angry snake. He suppressed an imprecation which had -forced itself to his lips. Though the almost imperceptible aperture -of the burrow he had perceived the flicker of lanthorns: and sounds -of broken twigs, of trampling feet, of moving, advancing humanity -appeared suddenly to be strangely near. - -"By Satan!" he hissed almost inaudibly; "they are in the clearing!" - -"They are attacking the thicket," added Mole-Skin in a hoarse whisper. - -Never before had the scouring posse of police come so near to the -stronghold of these brigands. It was impossible to see how many of -them there were, but that they were both numerous and determined -could not for a moment be disputed. Voices now became more distinct. - -"This way!" "No--that!" "Here, Marcel, where's your pick?" "Lend us -your knife, Jules Marie; the bramble has got into my boots." - -Some of the men were joking, others swearing lustily. But there were -a great number of them, and they were now desperately near. - -"They are on us!" came in a husky murmur from Hare-Lip. "They know -their way." - -"We are betrayed!" was the stifled response. - -"By Silver-Leg!" ejaculated Hare-Lip hoarsely, and with such an -intensity of vengeful hatred as would have made even the autocratic -wooden-legged chief of this band of brigands quake. "The accursed -informer! By all the demons in hell he shall pay for his treachery!" - -Indeed, there was no longer any doubt that it was not mere chance -which was guiding the posse of police to this secret spot. They were -making their way unhesitatingly by the dim light of the dark lanterns -which their leaders carried before them. One of the men suddenly hit -upon the almost imperceptible track, which led straight to the -burrow. There was no mistaking the call which he gave to his -comrades. - -"I have it now, mates!" he shouted. "Follow me!" - -The sharp report of a pistol came by way of a reply from the -lurking-hole of the Chouans, and the man who had just uttered the -call to his mates fell forward on his face. - -"Attention, my men!" commanded the officer in charge. "Close the -lanterns and put a charge of powder into the brigands' den." - -Once more the report of a pistol rang out through the night. But the -men of the police, though obviously scared by the mysterious foe who -struck at them out of the darkness, were sufficiently disciplined not -to give ground: they fought their way into line, and the next moment -a terrific volley of gunfire rent the echoes of the wood from end to -end. In front of the men now there was a wide clearing, where the -undergrowth had been repeatedly broken and trampled upon. This they -had seen, just before the lanthorns were closed, and beyond it the -burrow with its thatch of heather and its narrow aperture which -revealed the muzzle of two or three muskets, and through the aperture -several pairs of glowing eyes and shadowy forms vaguely discernible -in the gloom. - -"Up with the lights and charge!" commanded the officer. - -The lanterns were opened, and three sharp reports came in immediate -answer from the lair. - -One or two men of the police fell amidst the bed of brambles; but the -others, maddened by this resistance and by the fall of their -comrades, rushed forward in force. - -Dividing their line in the centre, they circled round the clearing, -attacking the stronghold from two sides. The commissary of police, -leaving nothing to chance, had sent half a company to do the work. -In a few seconds the men were all over the burrow, scrambling up the -thatch, kicking aside the loose walls of dead branches, and within -two minutes they had trampled every fragment of the construction -under foot. - -But of the gang of Chouans there remained only a few traces, and two -or three muskets abandoned in their hasty flight: they had succeeded -in making good their escape under cover of the darkness. The -sergeant in command of the squad of police ordered the debris of the -den to be carefully searched. Very little of importance was found -beyond a few proofs that the robbery of the mail-coach the other -night, the murder of Maxence, and the abortive burglary in -Monseigneur's Palace were the work of the same gang. One or two -watches and pocket-books were subsequently identified by the -passengers of the coach that had been held up; there was the silver -watch which had belonged to the murdered valet, and a couple of books -which bore Monseigneur the Bishop of Alençon's book-plate. - -But of the man with the wooden leg and his rascally henchmen, or of -the sixty-two hundred francs stolen from the coach there was not a -sign. - -The chief commissary of police swore lustily when his men returned to -the bridle-path where he had been waiting for them, and the sergeant -reported to him that the rogues had made good their escape. But even -his wrath--violent and wordy as it was--was as nothing to the white -heat of anger wherewith M. le Procureur Impérial received the news of -the dire failure of the midnight raid in the Cache-Renard woods. - -Indeed, he appeared so extraordinarily upset at the time that his -subsequent illness was directly attributable to this cause. The -leech vowed that his august patient was suffering from a severe shock -to his nerves. Be that as it may, M. de Saint-Tropèze, who was -usually in such vigorous health, was confined to his room for some -days after the raid. It was a fortnight and more ere he again took -his walks abroad, as had been his wont in the past, and his friends, -when they saw him, could not help but remark that something of M. le -Procureur's elasticity and proud bearing had gone. He who used to be -so upright now walked with a decided stoop; his face looked at times -the colour of ashes; and now and again, when he was out in the -streets, he would throw a look around him almost as if he were afraid. - -On the other hand, the secret agent of His Impérial Majesty's Police -had received the news of the escape of the Chouans with his habitual -quietude and equanimity. - -He did not make any comment on the commissary's report of the affair, -nor did he offer the slightest remonstrance to M. le Procureur -Impérial for having permitted the expedition without direct -instructions from the official representative of the Minister. - -Nothing was seen of the little Man in Grey for the next two or three -weeks: he appeared absorbed in the books which M. le préfet so -graciously lent him, and he did not trouble either the latter, or M. -le Procureur, or the commissary of police with many visits. - -The matter of the highway robbery, as well as that of the murdered -valet Maxence, appeared to be already relegated to the growing list -of the mysterious crimes perpetrated by those atrocious Chouans, with -which the police of His Impérial Majesty were unable to cope. The -appearance of the enigmatic person in grey had had no deterrent -effect on the rascals, nor was it likely to have any, if he proved as -inept as the local officials had been in dealing with such flagrant -and outrageous felony. - - -VII - -And once again the silence of the forest was broken in the night by -the sound of human creatures on the prowl. Through the undergrowth -which lies thickest at the Lonrai end of the woods, to the left of -the intersecting main road, the measured tread of a footfall could be -faintly perceived--it was a strange and halting footfall, as of a man -walking with a stump. - -Behind the secular willow, which stands in the centre of the small -clearing beside the stagnant pool in the very heart of this dense -portion of the forest, a lonely watcher crouched, waiting. He had -lain there and waited night after night, and for hours at a stretch -the surrounding gloom held him in its close embrace: his ears and -senses were strained to hear that uneven footfall, whenever its faint -thud broke the absolute silence. To no other sound, no other sight, -did he pay any attention, or no doubt he would have noticed that in -the thicket behind him another watcher cowered. The stalker was -stalked in his turn: the watcher was watched. Someone else was -waiting in this dense corner for the man with the wooden leg--a small -figure rapped in a dark mantle, a silent, furtive creature, more -motionless, more noiseless than any beast in its lair. - -At last, to-night, that faint, uneven thud of a wooden stump against -the soft carpet of the woods reached the straining ears of the two -watchers. Anon the feeble flicker of a dark lanthorn was vaguely -discernible in the undergrowth. - -The man who was crouching behind the willow drew in his breath with a -faint, hissing sound; his hand grasped more convulsively the pistol -which it held. He was lying flat upon his stomach, like a creeping -reptile watching for its prey; his eyes were fixed upon the tiny -flickering light as it slowly drew near towards the stagnant pool. - -In the thicket behind him the other watcher also lay in wait: his -hand, too, closed upon a pistol with a firm and determined grip; the -dark mantle slid noiselessly down from his shoulders. But he did not -move, and not a twig that helped to give him cover, quivered at his -touch. - -The next moment a man dressed in a rough blouse and coarse breeches -and with a woollen cap pulled over his shaggy hair came out into the -clearing. He walked deliberately up to the willow tree. In addition -to the small dark lantern which he held in one hand, he carried a -spade upon his shoulder. Presently he threw down the spade and then -proceeded so to arrange the lantern that its light fell full upon one -particular spot, where the dry moss appeared to have been recently -disturbed. The man crouching behind the willow watched his every -movement; the other behind the thicket hardly dared to breathe. - -Then the newcomer did a very curious thing. Sitting down upon the -soft, sodden earth, he stretched his wooden stump out before him: it -was fastened with straps to the leg which was bent at the knee, the -shin and foot beyond appearing like a thick and shapeless mass, -swathed with bandages. The supposed maimed man, however, now set to -work to undo the straps which bound the wooden stump to his leg, then -he removed the stump, straightened out his knee, unwound the few -mètres of bandages which concealed the shape of his shin and foot, -and finally stood up on both legs, as straight and hale as nature had -originally made him. The watcher behind the willow had viewed all -his movements with tense attention. Now he could scarcely repress a -gasp of mingled astonishment and rage, or the vengeful curse which -had risen to his lips. - -The newcomer took up his spade and, selecting the spot where the moss -and the earth bore traces of having been disturbed, he bent to his -task and started to dig. The man behind the tree raised his pistol -and fired: the other staggered backwards with a groan--partly of -terror and partly of pain--and his left hand went up to his right -shoulder with a quick, convulsive gesture. But already the assassin, -casting his still smoking pistol aside, had fallen upon his victim; -there was a struggle, brief and grim, a smothered call for help, a -savage exclamation of rage and satisfied vengeance, and the wounded -man fell at last with a final cry of horror, as his enemy's grip -fastened around his throat. - -For a second or two the murderer stood quite still contemplating his -work. With a couple of vigorous kicks with his boot he turned the -body callously over. Then he picked up the lanthorn and allowed the -light to play on the dead man's face; he gave one cursory glance at -the straight, marble-like features, and at the full, shaggy beard and -hair which disfigured the face, and another contemptuous one at the -wooden stump which still lay on the ground close by. - -"So dies an informer!" he ejaculated with a harsh laugh. - -He searched for his pistol and having found it he tucked it into his -belt; then putting his fingers to his lips he gave a cry like that of -a screech-owl. The cry was answered by a similar one some little -distance away; a minute or two later another man appeared through the -undergrowth. - -"Have you done for him?" queried this stranger in a husky whisper. - -"He is dead," replied the other curtly. "Come nearer, Mole-Skin," he -added, "you will see something that will amaze you." - -Mole-Skin did as his mate ordered; he, too, stood aghast when -Hare-Lip pointed to the wooden stump and to the dead man's legs. - -"It was not a bad idea!" said Hare-Lip after a while. "It put the -police on a wrong scent all the time: while they searched for a man -with one leg, he just walked about on two. Silver-Leg was no fool. -But," he added savagely, "he was a traitor, and now he'll neither -bully nor betray us again." - -"What about the money?" - -"We'd best get that now. Didn't I tell you that Silver-Leg would -come here sooner or later? We lost nothing by lying in wait for him." - -Without another word Mole-Skin picked up the spade, and in his turn -began to dig at the spot where Silver-Leg had toiled when the bullet -of his betrayed comrade laid him low. There was only the one spade -and Hare-Lip kept watch while his comrade dug. The light from the -dark lantern revealed the two miscreants at their work. - -While Hare-Lip had thus taken the law into his own hands against the -informer, the watcher in the thicket had not stirred. But now he, -also, began to crawl slowly and cautiously out of his hiding-place. -No snake, or lizard, or crawling, furtive beast could have been more -noiseless than he was; the moss beneath him dulled the sound of every -movement, till he, too, had reached the willow tree. - -The two Chouans were less than thirty paces away from him. Intent -upon their work they had been oblivious of every other sound. Now -when the tracker of his human quarry raised his arm to fire, Hare-Lip -suddenly turned and at once gave a warning call to his mate. But the -call broke upon his lips, there came a sharp report, immediately -followed by another--the two brigands, illumined by the lanthorn, had -been an easy target, and the hand which wielded the pistol was steady -and unerring. - -And now stillness more absolute than before reigned in the heart of -the forest. Summary justice had been meted out to a base informer by -the vengeful arm of the comrades whom he had betrayed, and to the two -determined criminals by an equally relentless and retributive hand. - -The man who had so inexorably accomplished this last act of -unfaltering justice waited for a moment or two until the last -lingering echo of the double pistol shot had ceased to resound -through the woods. Then he put two fingers to his lips and gave a -shrill prolonged whistle; after which he came out from behind the -willow. He was small and insignificant-looking, with a pale face and -colourless eyes. He was dressed in grey and a grey cap was pulled -low down over his forehead. He went up to where the two miscreants -whom he had shot were lying, and with a practised eye and hand -assured himself that they were indeed dead. He turned the light of -the dark lantern first on the man with the queer-shaped lip and then -on the latter's companion. The two Chouans had at any rate paid for -some of their crimes with their lives; it remained for the Almighty -Judge to pardon or to punish as they deserved. The third man lay, -stark and rigid, where a kick from the other man had roughly cast him -aside. His eyes, wide open and inscrutable, had still around them a -strange look of authority and pride; the features appeared calm and -marble-like; the mouth under the obviously false beard was tightly -closed, as if it strove even in death to suppress every sound which -might betray the secret that had been so jealously guarded throughout -life. Near by lay the wooden stump which had thrown such a cloud of -dust into the eyes of good M. Lefèvre and his local police. - -With slow deliberation the Man in Grey picked up the wooden stump, -and so replaced it against the dead man's leg that in the feeble -light and dense black shadows it looked as real as it had done in -life--a support for an amputated limb. A moment or two later, the -flickering light of a lantern showed through the thicket, and soon -the lusty voice of the commissary of police broke in on the watcher's -loneliness. - -"We heard three distinct shots," explained M. Lefèvre, as soon as he -reached the clearing and caught sight of the secret agent. - -"Three acts of justice," replied the Man in Grey quietly, as he -pointed to the bodies of the three Chouans. - -"The man with the wooden leg!" exclaimed the commissary in tones -wherein astonishment and unmistakable elation struggled with a -momentary feeling of horror. "You have got him?" - -"Yes," answered the Man in Grey simply. "Where are your men?" - -"I left them at the junction of the bridle-path, as you ordered me to -do," growled the commissary sullenly, for he still felt sore and -aggrieved at the peremptory commands which had been given to him by -the secret agent earlier on that day. - -"Then go back and send half a dozen of them here with improvised -stretchers to remove the bodies." - -"Then it was you, who----" murmured Lefèvre, not knowing, indeed, -what to say or do in the face of this puzzling and grim emergency. - -"What else would you have had me do?" rejoined the Man in Grey, as, -with a steady hand, he removed the false hair and beard which -disguised the pale, aristocratic face of M. de Saint-Tropèze. - -"Monsieur le Procureur Impérial!" ejaculated Lefèvre hoarsely. -"I--I--don't understand--you--you--have killed him--he--oh, my God!" - -"The Chouans whom he betrayed killed him, my good Lefèvre," replied -the Man in Grey quietly. "He was their chief and kept the secret of -his anonymity even from them. When he was amongst them and led them -to their many nefarious deeds he was not content to hide his face -behind a tangle of false and shaggy hair, or to appear in rough -clothes and with grimy hands. No! His artistry in crime went a step -farther than that; he strapped a wooden leg to his own whole one and -while you scoured the countryside in search of a Chouan with a wooden -leg, the latter had resumed his personality as the haughty and -well-connected M. de Saint-Tropèze, Procureur at the tribunal of -Alençon to His Majesty the Emperor. Here is the stump," added the -Man in Grey, as with the point of his boot he kicked the wooden stump -aside, "and there," he concluded, pointing to the two dead Chouans, -"are the men who wreaked their vengeance upon their chief." - -"But how----" interjected Lefèvre, who was too bewildered to speak or -even to think coherently, "how did you find out--how----" - -"Later I may tell you," broke in the Man in Grey shortly, "now we -must see to the removal of the bodies. But remember," he added -peremptorily and with solemn earnestness, "that everything you have -seen and heard to-night must remain for ever a secret within your -breast. For the honour of our administration, for the honour of our -newly-founded Empire, the dual personality and countless crimes of -such a highly placed official as M. de Saint-Tropèze must never be -known to the public. I saved the hangman's work when I killed these -two men--there is no one living now, save you and I, who can tell the -tale of M. de Saint-Tropèze's double entity. Remember that to the -public who knew him, to his servants, to your men who will carry his -body in all respect and reverence, he has died here by my side in the -execution of his duty--disguised in rough clothes in order to help me -track these infernal Chouans to their lair. I shall never speak of -what I know, and as for you----" - -The Man in Grey paused and, even through the gloom, the commissary -felt the strength and menace of those colourless eyes fixed -steadfastly upon him. - -"Your oath, Monsieur le Commissaire de Police," concluded the secret -agent in firm, commanding tones. - -Awed and subdued--not to say terrified--the chief commissary gave the -required oath of absolute secrecy. - -"Now go and fetch your men, my good Lefèvre," enjoined the Man in -Grey quietly. - -Mechanically the commissary turned to go. He felt as if he were in a -dream from which he would presently awake. The man whom he had -respected and feared, the Procurator of His Majesty the Emperor, -whose authority the whole countryside acknowledged, was identical -with that nefarious Chouan with the wooden leg whom the entire -province loathed and feared. - -Indeed, the curious enigma of that dual personality was enough to -addle even a clearer intellect than that of the worthy commissary of -police. Guided by the light of the lanthorn he carried he made his -way back through the thicket whence he had come. - -Alone in the forest, the Man in Grey watched over the dead. He -looked down meditatively on the pale, aristocratic face of the man -who had lied and schemed and planned, robbed and murdered, who had -risked so much and committed such villainies, for a purpose which -would henceforth and for ever remain an unfathomable mystery. - -Was passionate loyalty for the decadent Royalist cause at the root of -all the crimes perpetrated by this man of culture and position--or -was it merely vulgar greed, vulgar and insatiable worship of money, -that drove him to mean and sordid crimes? To what uses did he put -the money wrung from peaceable citizens? Did it go to swell the -coffers of a hopeless Cause, or to contribute to M. de -Saint-Tropèze's own love of luxury? - -The Man in Grey pondered these things in the loneliness and silence -of the night. All such questions must henceforth be left unanswered. -For the sake of officialdom, of the government of the new Empire, the -memory of such a man as M. de Saint-Tropèze must remain for ever -untarnished. - -Anon the posse of police under the command of a sergeant arrived upon -the scene. They had improvised three stretchers; one of these was -reverently covered with a mantle, upon which they laid the body of M. -le Procureur Impérial, killed in the discharge of his duty whilst -aiding to track a gang of desperate Chouans. - - -VIII - -In the forenoon of the following day the chief commissary of police, -having seen M. le Préfet on the subject of the arrangements for the -public funeral of M. de Saint-Tropèze, called at the lodgings of the -secret agent of His Impérial Majesty's Police. - -After the usual polite formalities, Lefèvre plunged boldly into the -subject of his visit. - -"How did you find out?" he asked, trying to carry off the situation -with his accustomed bluff. "You owe me an explanation, you know, -Monsieur--er--Fernand. I am chief commissary of this district, and -by your own statement you stand convicted of having killed two men. -Abominable rogues though they were, the laws of France do not -allow----" - -"I owe you no explanation, my good Lefèvre," interrupted the Man in -Grey in his quiet monotone, "as you know. If you would care to take -the responsibility on yourself of indicting me for the wilful murder -of those two men, you are of course at liberty to do so. But----" - -The commissaire hastened to assure the secret emissary of His Majesty -that what he had said had only been meant as a joke. - -"Only as a spur," he added affably, "to induce you to tell me how you -found out the secret of M. de Saint-Tropèze." - -"Quite simply," replied the Man in Grey, "by following step by step -the series of crimes which culminated in your abortive expedition -against the Chouans. On the evening of the attack on the coach on -the 10th of October last, I lay hidden and forgotten by the roadside. -The coach had driven away; the footpads were making off with their -booty. I followed them. I crawled behind them on my hands and -knees, till they came to their burrow--the place where you made that -foolish and ill-considered attack on them the other night. I heard -them quarrelling over their loot; I heard enough to guess that sooner -or later a revolt would break out amongst them and that the man whom -they called Hare-Lip meant to possess himself of a large share of the -spoils. I also heard the man with the wooden leg say something about -a book named 'Corinne' which was to be mentioned to 'Monseigneur,' -and a key which would be sent to 'Madame' by the intermediary of -Red-Poll. - -"Within two days of this I learned that a man who had red hair and -was valet to Madame la Marquise de Plélan had been murdered, and that -a sheet of note-paper covered with random numerals was found upon his -person; at the same time a burglary had been committed in the house -of Monseigneur the Bishop of Alençon and all that had been stolen -were some books. At once I recognised the hand of Hare-Lip and his -gang. They had obviously stolen the book from Monseigneur's library -and then murdered Red-Poll, in order to possess themselves of the -cipher, which I felt sure would prove to be the indication of the -secret hiding-place of the stolen booty. It was easy enough to work -out the problem of the book and the key. The numerals on the sheet -of note-paper referred to pages, lines and words in the book--a -clumsy enough cipher at best. It gave me--just as I expected--clear -indications of the very place, beside the willow tree and the pool. -Also--just as I anticipated--Silver-Leg, the autocratic chief, had in -the meanwhile put his threat into execution and punished his -rebellious followers by betraying them to the police." - -"Great God!" exclaimed Lefèvre, recollecting the anonymous letter -which M. le Procureur had handed to him. - -"I dare say you recollect this phase of the episode," continued the -Man in Grey. "Your expedition against the Chouans nearly upset all -my plans. It had the effect of allowing three of them to escape. -However, let that pass for the moment. I could not help but guess, -when I heard of the attack, that Hare-Lip and his mates would wish to -be revenged on the informer. Their burrow was now known to the -police, but there was still the hiding-place of the booty, to which -sooner or later I knew that Silver-Leg must return. - -"You remember the orders I gave you a full month ago; to be prepared -to go on any day and at an instant's notice with a dozen of your men -to a certain point on the main road at the Lonrai end of the wood -which I had indicated to you, whenever I sent you a peremptory -message to do so, and there to wait in silence and on the alert until -a shrill whistle from me brought you to my side. Well! in this -matter you did your duty well, and the Minister shall hear of it. - -"As for me, I was content to bide my time. With the faithful -henchman whom you placed at my disposal I lay in wait for Monsieur de -Saint-Tropèze in the Rue St. Blaise during all those weary days and -nights when he was supposed to be too ill to venture out of his -house. At last he could refrain no longer; greed or perhaps sheer -curiosity, or that wild adventurous spirit which made him what he -was, drove him to lend a deaf ear to the dictates of prudence and to -don once again the shaggy beard, the rough clothes and wooden stump -of his lawless and shady life. - -"I had so placed your man that from where he was he could not see -Monsieur le Procureur, whenever the latter came out of his house, nor -did he know whom or what it was that I was watching; but as soon as I -saw Monsieur de Saint-Tropèze emerging stealthily from his side gate, -I dispatched your man to you with the peremptory message to go at -once to the appointed place, and then I started in the wake of my -quarry. - -"You, my good Lefèvre, have no conception what it means to -track--unseen and unheard--one of those reckless Chouans who are more -alert than any wild beast. But I tracked my man; he came out of his -house when the night was at its darkest and first made his way to -that small derelict den which no doubt you know and which stands just -off the main road, on the fringe of the Cache-Renard wood. This he -entered and came out about a quarter of an hour later, dressed in his -Chouan rig-out. I must own that for a few seconds he almost deceived -me, so marvellous was his disguise; the way he contrived that wooden -leg was positively amazing. - -"After that he plunged into the woods. But I no longer followed him; -I knew whither he was going and was afraid lest, in the depths and -silence of the forest, he would hear my footfall and manage to give -me the slip. Whilst he worked his way laboriously with his wooden -stump through the thicket and the undergrowth, I struck boldly along -the main road, and plunged into the wood at the point which had been -revealed to me by the cipher. I had explored the place many a time -during the past month, and had no difficulty in finding the stagnant -pool and the willow tree. Hare-Lip and his mate were as usual on the -watch. No sooner had Silver-Leg appeared on the scene than the -others meted out to him the full measure of their vengeful justice. -But I could not allow them to be taken alive. I did not know how -much they knew or guessed of their leader's secret, or how much they -might reveal at their first interrogation. The gallows had already -claimed them for its own; for me they were a facile prey. I shot -them both deliberately and will answer to His Majesty's Minister of -Police alone for my actions." - -The Man in Grey paused. As he completed his narrative Lefèvre stared -at him, dumbfounded at the courage, the determination, the dogged -perseverance which alone could have brought this amazing undertaking -to its grim and gruesome issue. - -"After this, my good Lefèvre," remarked the secret agent more -lightly, "we shall have to find out something about 'Madame' and -quite a good deal about 'Monseigneur.'" - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE SPANIARD - - -I - -The man with the wooden leg was still at large, and M. le Procureur -Impérial had died a hero's death whilst helping to capture a gang of -desperate Chouans in the Cache-Renard woods. This was the public -version of the tragic epilogue to those three mysteries, which had -puzzled and terrified the countryside during the early days of -October, 1809--the robbery of the mail-coach, the burglary in the -Palace of Monseigneur the Constitutional Bishop of Alençon, and the -murder of Mme. Marquise de Plélan's valet, Maxence. - -The intelligent section of the public was loud in its condemnation of -the ineptitude displayed by the police in the matter of those -abominable crimes, and chief commissary Lefèvre, bound by oath--not -to say terror--to hold his tongue as to the real facts of the case, -grumbled in his beard and muttered curses on the accredited -representative of the Minister of Police--ay, and on M. le Duc -d'Otrante himself. - -On top of all the public unrest and dissatisfaction came the outrage -at the house of M. de Kerblay, a noted advocate of the Paris bar and -member of the Senate, who owned a small property in the neighbourhood -of Alençon, where he spent a couple of months every year with his -wife and family, entertaining a few friends during the shooting -season. - -In the morning of November the 6th, the neighbourhood was horrified -to hear that on the previous night, shortly after ten o'clock, a -party of those ruffianly Chouans had made a descent on M. de -Kerblay's house, Les Ormeaux. They had demanded admittance in the -name of the law. All the servants had gone to bed with the exception -of Hector, M. de Kerblay's valet, and he was so scared that he -allowed the _scélérats_ to push their way into the house, before he -had realised who they were. Ere he could call for help he was set -upon, gagged, and locked up in his pantry. The Chouans then -proceeded noiselessly upstairs. Mme. de Kerblay was already in bed. -The Senator was in his dressing-room, half undressed. They took him -completely by surprise, held a pistol to his head, and demanded the -immediate payment of twenty-five thousand francs. Should the Senator -summon his servants, the rogues would shoot him and his wife and even -his children summarily, if they were stopped in their purpose or -hindered in their escape. - -M. de Kerblay was considerably over sixty. Not too robust in health, -terrorised and subdued, he yielded, and with the muzzle of a pistol -held to his head and half a dozen swords gleaming around him, he -produced the keys of his secretaire and handed over to the Chouans -not only all the money he had in the house--something over twenty -thousand francs--but a diamond ring, valued at another twenty -thousand, which had been given to him by the Emperor in recognition -of signal services rendered in the matter of the affairs of the -ex-Empress. - -Whereupon the wretches departed as silently as they had come, and by -the time the hue and cry was raised they had disappeared, leaving no -clue or trace. - -The general consensus of opinion attributed the outrage to the man -with the wooden leg. M. Lefèvre, chief commissary of police, who -knew that that particular scoundrel was reposing in the honoured -vault of the Saint-Tropèze family, was severely nonplussed. Since -the sinister episode of the dual personality of M. de Saint-Tropèze -he realised more than ever how difficult it was to deal with these -Chouans. Here to-day, gone to-morrow, they were veritable masters in -the art of concealing their identity, and in this quiet corner of -Normandy it was impossible to shake a man by the hand without -wondering whether he did not perchance belong to that secret gang of -malefactors. - -M. de Kerblay, more distressed at the loss of his ring than of his -money, offered a reward of five thousand francs for its recovery; but -while M. Lefèvre's zeal was greatly stimulated thereby, the Man in -Grey appeared disinclined to move in the matter, and his quiet, -impassive attitude grated unpleasantly on the chief commissary's -feelings. - -About a week after the outrage, on a cold, wet morning in November, -M. Lefèvre made a tempestuous irruption into the apartments in the -Rue de France occupied by the secret agent of the Minister of Police. - -"We hold the ruffians!" he cried, waving his arms excitedly. "That's -the best of those scoundrels! They are always quarrelling among -themselves! They lie and they cheat and betray one another into our -hands!" - -The Man in Grey, as was his wont, waited patiently until the flood of -M. Lefèvre's impassioned eloquence had somewhat subsided, then he -said quietly: - -"You have had the visit of an informer?" - -"Yes," replied the commissary, as he sank, panting, into a chair. - -"A man you know?" - -"By sight. Oh, one knows those rogues vaguely. One sees them about -one day--they disappear the next--they have their lairs in the most -inaccessible corners of this cursed country. Yes! I know the man by -sight. He passed through my hands into the army a year ago. A -deserter, of course. Though his appearance does not tally with any -of the descriptions we have received from the Ministry of War, we -know that these fellows have a way of altering even their features on -occasions, and this man has 'deserter' written all over his ugly -countenance." - -"Well! And what has he told you?" - -"That he will deliver to us the leader of the gang who broke into -Monsieur de Kerblay's house the other night." - -"On conditions, of course." - -"Of course," - -"Immunity for himself?" - -"Yes." - -"And a reward?" - -"Yes." - -"You did not agree to that, I hope," said the Man in Grey sternly. - -M. Lefèvre hummed and hawed. - -"There must be no question of bribing these men to betray one -another," resumed the secret agent firmly, "or you'll be falling into -one baited trap after another." - -"But there's Monsieur de Kerblay's offer of a reward for the recovery -of the ring, and in this case----" protested Lefèvre sullenly. - -"In no case," broke in the Man in Grey. - -"Then what shall I do with the man?" - -"Promise him a free pardon for himself and permission to rejoin his -regiment if his information proves to be correct. Keep him in the -police-cells, and come and report to me directly you have extracted -from him all he knows, or is willing to tell." - -The chief commissary of police was well aware that when the -Minister's secret agent assumed that quiet air of authority, neither -argument nor resistance was advisable. He muttered something between -his teeth, but receiving no further response from the Man in Grey he -turned abruptly on his heel and stalked out of the room, murmuring -inaudible things about "officiousness" and "incompetence." - - -II - -The man who had presented himself that morning at the commissariat of -police offering valuable information as to the whereabouts of the -leaders of his own gang, appeared as the regular type of the unkempt, -out-at-elbows, down-at-heels, unwashed Chouan who had of a truth -become the pest and terror of the countryside. He wore a long shaggy -beard, his hair was matted and tousled, his blouse and breeches were -in rags, and his bare feet were thrust into a pair of heavy leather -shoes. During his brief sojourn in the army, or in the course of his -subsequent lawless life, he had lost one eye, and the terrible gash -across that part of his face gave his countenance a peculiarly -sinister expression. - -He stood before the commissary of police, twirling a woollen cap -between his grimy fingers, taciturn, sullen and defiant. - -"I'll say nothing," he repeated for the third time, "unless I am paid -to speak." - -"You are amenable to the law, my man," said the chief commissary -dryly. "You'll be shot, unless you choose to earn a free pardon for -yourself by making a frank confession of your misdeeds." - -"And what's a free pardon to me," retorted the Chouan roughly, "if I -am to starve on it?" - -"You will be allowed to at once rejoin your regiment." - -"Bah!" - -The man spat on the ground, by way of expressing his contempt at the -prospect. - -"I'd as lief be shot at once," he declared emphatically. - -M. Lefèvre could have torn his scanty hair with rage. He was furious -with the Chouan and his obstinacy, and furious with that tiresome man -in the grey coat who lorded it over every official in the district, -and assumed an authority which he ought never to have been allowed to -wield. - -The one-eyed Chouan was taken back to the police-cells, and M. -Lefèvre gave himself over to his gloomy meditations. Success and a -goodly amount of credit--not to mention the five thousand francs' -reward for the recovery of the ring--appeared just within his reach. -A couple of thousand francs out of the municipal funds to that -wretched informer, and the chiefs of one of the most desperate gangs -of Chouans would fall into M. Lefèvre's hands, together with no small -measure of glory for the brilliant capture. It was positively -maddening! - -It was not till late in the afternoon that the worthy commissary had -an inspiration--such a grand one that he smacked his high forehead, -marvelling it had not come to him before. What were two thousand -francs out of his own pocket beside the meed of praise which would -fall to his share, if he succeeded in laying one or two of those -Chouan leaders by the heels? He need not touch the municipal funds. -He had a couple of thousand francs put by and more; and, surely, that -sum would be a sound investment for future advancement and the -recognition of his services on the part of the Minister himself, in -addition to which there would be his share in M. de Kerblay's reward. - -So M. Lefèvre sent for the one-eyed Chouan and once more interrogated -him, cajoling and threatening alternately, with a view to obtaining -gratis the information which the man was only prepared to sell. - -"I'll say nothing," reiterated the Chouan obstinately, "unless I am -paid to speak." - -"Well! What will you take?" said the commissary at last. - -"Five thousand francs," replied the man glibly. - -"I'll give you one," rejoined M. Lefèvre. "But mind," he added with -uncompromising severity, "you remain here in the cells as hostage for -your own good faith. If you lie to me, you will be shot--summarily -and without trial." - -"Give me three thousand and I'll speak," said the Chouan. - -"Two thousand," rejoined the commissary, "and that is my last word." - -For a second or two the man appeared to hesitate; with his one eye he -tried to fathom the strength of M. le Commissaire's determination. -Then he said abruptly: - -"Very well, I'll take two thousand francs. Give me the money now and -I'll speak." - -Without another superfluous word M. Lefèvre counted out twenty -one-hundred franc notes, and gave them into the Chouan's grimy hand. -He thought it best to appear open-handed and to pay cash down; the -man would be taken straight back to the cells presently, and if he -played a double game he would anyhow forfeit the money together with -his life. - -"Now," said Lefèvre as soon as the man had thrust the notes into the -pocket of his breeches, "tell me who is your chief, and where a posse -of my police can lay hands upon him." - -"The chief of my gang," rejoined the Chouan, "is called 'the -Spaniard' amongst us; his real name is Carrera and he comes from -Madrid. We don't often see him, but it was he who led the expedition -to the house of Monsieur de Kerblay." - -"What is he like?" - -"A short man with dark, swarthy skin, small features, keen, jet-black -eyes, no lashes, and very little eyebrow, a shock of coal-black hair -and a square black beard and moustache; he speaks French with a -Spanish accent." - -"Very good! Now tell me where we can find him." - -"At Chéron's farm on the Chartres road between la Mesle and Montagne. -You know it?" - -"I know the farm. I don't know Chéron. Well?" - -"The Spaniard has arranged to meet a man there--a German Jew--while -Chéron himself is away from home. The idea is to dispose of the -ring." - -"I understand. When is the meeting to take place?" - -"To-night! It is market day at Chartres and Chéron will be absent -two days. It was all arranged yesterday. The Spaniard and his gang -will sleep at the farm; the following morning they will leave for -Paris, en route some of them, so 'tis said, for Spain." - -"And the farmer--Chéron? What has he to do with it all?" - -"Nothing," replied the Chouan curtly. "He is just a fool. His house -stands isolated in a lonely part of the country, and his two farm -hands are stupid louts. So, whenever the Spaniard wants to meet any -of his accomplices privately, he selects a day when Chéron is from -home, and makes use of the farm for his own schemes." - -"You owe him a grudge, I suppose," sneered Lefèvre, who had taken -rapid notes of all the man had told him. - -"No," replied the Chouan slowly, "but those of us who helped to work -the coup at Monsieur de Kerblay's the other night, were each to -receive twenty francs as our share of the spoils. It was not enough!" - -The commissary of police nodded complacently. He was vastly -satisfied with the morning's work. He had before now heard vague -hints about this Spaniard, one of those mysterious and redoubtable -Chouan leaders, who had given the police of the entire province no -end of trouble and grave cause for uneasiness. Now by -his--Lefèvre's--own astuteness he stood not only to lay the villain -by the heels and earn commendation for his zeal from the Minister -himself, but, if this one-eyed scoundrel spoke the truth, also to -capture some of his more prominent accomplices, not to mention the -ring and M. de Kerblay's generous reward. - -Incidentally he also stood to put a spoke in the wheel of that -over-masterful and interfering man in the grey coat, which would be a -triumph not by any means to be depreciated. - -So the Chouan was taken back to the cells and the chief commissary of -police was left free to make his arrangements for the night's -expedition, without referring the matter to the accredited agent of -His Majesty's Police. - - -III - -Lefèvre knew that he was taking a grave risk when, shortly after -eight o'clock on that same evening, he ordered a squadron of his -police to follow him to Chéron's farm on the Chartres road. At the -last moment he even had a few misgivings as to the wisdom of his -action. If the expedition did not meet with the measure of success -which he anticipated, and the accredited agent of the Minister came -to hear of it, something exceedingly unpleasant to the over-zealous -commissary might be the result. However, after a few very brief -moments of this unworthy hesitation, M. Lefèvre chid himself for his -cowardice and started on his way. - -Since his interview with the one-eyed Chouan he had been over to the -farm in order to get a thorough knowledge of the topography of the -buildings and of their surroundings. Disguised as a labourer he had -hung about the neighbourhood, in the wet and cold until he felt quite -sure that he could find his way anywhere around the place in the dark. - -The farm stood a couple of kilomètres or so from the road, on the -bank of a tiny tributary of the Mayenne, surrounded by weeping -willows, now stripped of their leaves, and flanked by a couple of -tumble-down heather-thatched sheds. It was a square building, devoid -of any outstanding architectural features, and looking inexpressibly -lonely and forlorn. There was not another human habitation in sight, -and the wooded heights which dominated the valley appeared to shut -the inhabitants of the little farm away from the rest of mankind. As -he looked at the vast and mournful solitude around, Lefèvre easily -recognised how an astute leader, such as the Spaniard appeared to be, -would choose it as headquarters for his schemes. Whenever the house -itself became unsafe the thicket of willow and chestnut close by, and -the dense undergrowth on the heights above, would afford perfect -shelter for fugitive marauders. - -It was close on ten o'clock of an exceptionally dark night when the -posse of police, under the command of the chief commissary, -dismounted at the "Grand Duc," a small wayside inn on the Chartres -road, and, having stabled their horses, started on foot across -country at the heels of their chief. The earth was sodden with -recent rains and the little troop moved along in silence, their feet, -encased in shoes of soft leather, making no sound as they stealthily -advanced. - -The little rivulet wound its sluggish course between flat banks -bordered by waste land on either side. Far ahead a tiny light -gleamed intermittently, like a will-o'-the-wisp, as intervening -groups of trees alternately screened it and displayed it to view. - -After half an hour of heavy walking the commissary called a halt. -The massive block of the farmhouse stood out like a dense and dark -mass in the midst of the surrounding gloom. M. Lefèvre called softly -to his sergeant. - -"Steal along, Hippolyte," he whispered, "under cover of those willow -trees, and when you hear me give the first command to open, surround -the house so that the rascals cannot escape either by the door or the -windows." - -Silently and noiselessly these orders were executed; whilst the -commissary himself stole up to the house. He came to a halt before -the front door and paused a moment, peering anxiously round about him -and listening for any sound which might come from within. The house -appeared dark and deserted; only from one of the windows on the -ground floor a feeble light filtered through the chinks of an -ill-fitting shutter, and a mingled murmur of voices seemed to travel -thence intermittently. But of this the eager watcher could not be -sure. The north-westerly wind, soughing through the bare branches of -the trees behind him, also caused the shutters to creak on their -hinges and effectually confused every other sound. - -The chief commissary then rapped vigorously against the door with the -hilt of his sword. - -"Open!" he called peremptorily, "in the name of the law!" - -Already he could hear the sergeant and his men stealing out from -under the trees; but from the stronghold of the Chouans there came no -answer to his summons; absolute silence reigned inside the farmhouse; -the dismal creaking of a half-broken shutter and the murmur of the -wind in the leafless willows alone roused the dormant echoes of the -old walls. - -Lefèvre rapped once more against the massive panels. - -"Open!" he called again, "in the name of the law!" - -The men following their sergeant had now reached the open. In an -instant, from somewhere in the gloom behind them, there came the -report of two musket shots in rapid succession. Someone was hit, for -there was the sound of a groan and a curse; but in the darkness it -was impossible to see who it was. - -The men halted irresolute. - -"Run to the back of the house, some of you!" commanded the -commissary, "and in Heaven's name do not allow a single ruffian to -escape." - -The men obeyed as quickly as the darkness would allow, and again two -musket shots rang out from among the trees; this time the sergeant -fell forward on his face. - -"Corporal Crosnier, are you there?" cried Commissary Lefèvre. - -"Present, my commandant!" was the quick reply. - -"Take Jean Marie and Dominique and two or three others with you, and -put up the game that is lurking under those willows." - -Crosnier obeyed; he called half a dozen men to him and marched them -up towards the thicket. The cowering enemy lay low; only from time -to time shots rang out simultaneously out of the darkness. Sometimes -they made a hit, but not often--one or two of the men received a -stray bullet in their shoulder or their leg--a random shot which came -from out of the gloom and to which they could not reply, for it was -impossible to see whence it had come. Presently even that -intermittent fire ceased. It seemed as if the thicket had finally -swallowed up the lurking quarry. - -In the meantime Lefèvre had ordered two or three of his picked men to -use the butt-end of their muskets against the door. - -"Batter it in, my men," he commanded, "and arrest everyone you find -inside the house." - -Strangely enough, considering the usually desperate tactics of these -Chouan gangs when brought to bay, no resistance was offered from the -interior of their stronghold. Whether the rascals were short of -ammunition and were saving it for a hand-to-hand fight later, or -whether they were preparing some bold coup, it was impossible to say. -Certain it is that the vigorous attacks against the front door were -met by absolute silence--so absolute, indeed, as vaguely to -disconcert the commissary of police. - -Still the men continued to pound away with their muskets against the -panels of the door; but the latter was extraordinarily massive in -comparison with the want of solidity of the rest of the house. It -resisted every onslaught for some time, until at last it fell in with -a terrific crash, and Lefèvre, leaving half a dozen men on guard -outside, took another half-dozen with him and entered. - -He had picked his men from among those whom he knew to be most -intrepid, for he had expected a desperate resistance on the part of -the Chouans; he was prepared to be greeted with a volley of -musket-fire as he and his men crossed the threshold; he was prepared -for a hand-to-hand fight across that battered door. In fact, M. -Lefèvre, chief commissary of police, had been prepared for everything -excepting the death-like stillness which he encountered by way of -welcome. - -Darkness and silence held undisputed sway everywhere. The men, with -dark lanterns fixed to their belts and holding loaded muskets in -their hands, paused for one moment irresolute. Then they started to -make a thorough search of the place; first the ground floor, then the -entrance hall and staircase, then the cellars. They explored every -nook and cranny where human quarry might find shelter, but there was -not a sign, hardly a trace of any Chouans, save in one small room on -the ground floor which certainly appeared as if it had been recently -occupied; the chairs had been hastily pushed aside, on the centre -table were half a dozen mugs and two or three jugs, one of which was -still half filled with wine, a handful of ashes smouldered in the -hearth, and the lamp which hung from the ceiling above was alight. -But for this, Lefèvre might have thought that he must have been -dreaming when he stood by the front door and saw the narrow stream of -light through the chink of a shutter. - -Indeed, there was something unspeakably dreary and desolate in this -dark and empty house, in which undoubtedly a gang of malefactors had -lately held revel; and when the men went upstairs in order to explore -the floor above, they were, every one of them, conscious of the quick -sense of unreasoning terror when a weird and intermittent sound -suddenly reached their ear. - -The sound came from over their heads--it was like a wail, and was -piteous and disconcerting in the extreme. - -"Like someone groaning," said one of the men in a hoarse whisper. - -Soon their momentary feeling of dread passed away, and two or three -of the men had already scaled the narrow, ladder-like stairs which -led to a loft that ran the whole length and breadth of the house -under the sloping roof. - -But here an extraordinary sight met their gaze. Huddled up against a -large supporting beam were an old man, a woman and two young girls. -They had been tied together by ropes to the beam. Each of the -unfortunates was in acute distress or bodily pain. The atmosphere of -the place was both stuffy and bitterly cold. Incessant moaning came -from the woman, sobbing from the girls; the man appeared stunned and -dazed. When the light from one of the dark lanterns fell upon him, -he blinked his eyes and gazed vacantly on the men who were already -busy with the ropes, freeing him and the woman from their bonds. - -They all appeared in the last stage of exhaustion and clung to one -another for support and warmth, when Lefèvre with kindly authority -ordered them to move. Fortunately one of the men recollected the jug -of wine which had been left in the room on the ground floor. He ran -to fetch it, and returned very soon jug and glasses in hand. In the -meanwhile Lefèvre had remained staring at the wretched people and -trying to extract a few words of explanation from them. - -So far he had only been able to elicit the information that four -members of the farmer Chéron's family, his father, his wife and his -two daughters stood before him in this pitiable plight. It was only -after they had drunk a little wine that they were able to speak -coherently. In short, jerky sentences and with teeth still -chattering with cold and terror, the old man tried to reply to the -commissary's questions. - -"How in the world came you to be up here," M. Lefèvre asked, "tied -like cattle to a beam in your son's house?" - -"My son is away at Chartres, Monsieur le Commissaire," replied the -old man; "he won't return till to-morrow. We should have perished of -hunger and cold if you had not come to our rescue." - -"But where are those blackguardly Chouans? And who in the devil's -name fired on us from under your trees?" - -"Those execrable Chouans took possession of my son's house this -morning, Monsieur le Commissaire, soon after his departure," answered -the old man dolefully. "They seized me and my daughter-in-law and my -two grandchildren, forced us to give up the little bit of money which -my son had left for our use, stole food from the larder and wine from -the cellar; and when we protested they dragged us up here--as you -say--like cattle, tied us to a beam and left us to perish unless my -son should chance to come home." - -Lefèvre would have liked to say that twenty-four hours spent in a -draughty loft does not necessarily mean starvation, but on the whole -he refrained from badgering the poor people, who had suffered quite -enough, with further expostulation. - -"But what has happened to the Chouans?" he reiterated with a hearty -curse. - -"Gone, Monsieur le Commissaire," here interposed the woman woefully. -"Gone! They caroused all day, and left about a couple of hours ago; -since then the house has been as silent as the grave." - -Lefèvre said nothing very coherent for the moment; he was mentally -embracing the Chouans, the lying informer and his own folly in one -comprehensive curse. - -"But my men were fired on from behind the trees," he urged feebly -after a while. - -"I heard the firing, too, Monsieur le Commissaire," rejoined the old -man. "It terrified us, for the Chouans had threatened to shoot us -all if they were attacked by the police; and these two young -girls--think of it, Monsieur le Commissaire--at the mercy of those -brutes. I suppose," he added with a shudder, "that while the leaders -of the gang made good their escape, they left a couple of men behind -to cover their retreat." - -Nothing more could be got out of these poor people. They had been -set upon quite early in the day by the Chouans, and knew little or -nothing of what had gone on in the house while they were prisoners in -the loft. They did not know how many of the ruffians there were--six -or eight they thought. The chief was a man with swarthy skin and a -long black beard, who spoke French with a strange foreign accent. - -The commissary of police went nearly mad with rage. He set his best -men to search the farm-house through and through, in the hope that -some of the rascals might still be lurking about the place. But the -men ransacked the house in vain. They found neither trap-door nor -secret panel, nor slinking quarry, and after a couple of hours' hunt -were forced to own themselves defeated. - - -IV - -M. Lefèvre returned to Alençon with his posse of police in the small -hours of the morning. He dismissed the men at the commissariat, and -sought his own lodgings in the Rue Notre Dame, his mind a prey to the -bitterest feeling of disappointment--not unmixed with misgivings at -thought of M. le Ministre's agent, should he get wind of the -miscarriage. - -To his terror and amazement, no sooner had he entered the house than -the concierge came out of his lodge to tell him that a gentleman was -upstairs in his rooms, waiting for him. - -"Who is it?" he asked sharply. "You have no right to admit anyone to -my rooms at this hour of the night." - -"I could not help myself," retorted the concierge sullenly. "He -exhibited some sort of order from the Ministry of Police, and was so -high-handed and peremptory that I dared not refuse." - -Filled with vague apprehension M. Lefèvre ran quickly up to his -rooms. He was greeted in the ante-chamber by the Man in Grey. - -"I was unfortunately too late to catch you before you started," said -the latter as soon as Lefèvre had closed the door. He spoke in his -even monotone--his face was calm and expressionless, but there was -something about his attitude which jarred unpleasantly on the -commissary's nerves. - -"I--that is----" he stammered, despite his stern effort to appear -confident and at his ease. - -"You have disobeyed the Minister's orders," interposed the secret -agent quietly. "But there is no time now to discuss your conduct. -The blunder which you have just committed is mayhap beyond repair; in -which case----" - -He broke off abruptly and M. Lefèvre felt a cold shiver running down -his spine. - -"There was no time to consult you----" he began. - -"I said that I would not discuss that," interposed the Man in Grey -quietly. "Tell me where you have been." - -"To Chéron's farm on the Chartres road," replied the commissary -sullenly. - -"The informer gave you directions?" - -"Yes." - -"That you would find his leader there?" - -"Yes, the man whom they call 'the Spaniard,' and some of his -accomplices. The informer----" - -"The informer escaped from the cells during your absence this -evening," said the Man in Grey curtly. - -"Malediction!" - -"Do not curse, my good man," advised the other dryly. "The rascal's -escape may be the means of retrieving your blunder, since it gave me -the knowledge of the whole affair." - -"But how did it happen?" - -"Surveillance slackened while you went off on your wild-goose chase. -Your prisoner used some of the money wherewith you had bribed -him--against my express command, remember--to bribe his warder in his -turn. Your sergeant-in-charge came to me in his distress when he -found that his bird had flown." - -Lefèvre had no longer the strength to argue or even to curse. He -hung his head in silent dejection. - -"I sent for you," continued the Man in Grey mercilessly. "When I -found that you had gone no one knew whither, and that you had taken a -posse of your men with you, I guessed the whole extent of your -damnable blunder. I have waited here for you ever since. - -"What can I do now?" murmured Lefèvre gloomily. - -"Collect ten or twelve of the men whom you can most confidently -trust, and then pick me up at my lodgings in the Rue de France. -We'll go back to Chéron's farm--together." - -"But there is no one there," said Lefèvre with a dejected sigh, "only -Chéron's father, his wife and two daughters." - -"I know that well enough, you fool," exclaimed the Man in Grey, -departing for the first time from his habitual calm, and starting to -pace up and down the narrow room like a caged and fretting animal; -"and that every proof against the villains who robbed Monsieur de -Kerblay has no doubt vanished whilst you were getting the wrong sow -by the ear. To bring the crime home to them now will be very -difficult. 'Tis red-handed we ought to have caught them, with the -Jew there and the ring and the Spaniard bargaining, whereas now----" - -Suddenly he paused and stood quite still; the anger and impatience -died out of his face, leaving it pale and expressionless as was its -wont; only to Lefèvre who was watching him with keen anxiety it -seemed as if for one fraction of a second a curious glitter had lit -up his colourless eyes. - -"In Heaven's name!" he resumed impatiently after a while, "let us get -to horse, or I may be tempted to tell you what I think of your folly." - -The commissary, trounced like a recalcitrant schoolboy and not a -little terrified at the consequences of his blunder, was only too -ready to obey. Within half an hour he was in the saddle. He had -Corporal Crosnier with him and half a dozen picked men, and together -they went to the Rue de France where the Minister's agent was waiting -for them. - - -V - -It was close upon five o'clock of a raw, damp morning when the little -party drew rein once more at the wayside inn on the Chartres road. -The men appeared tired out and were grateful for the hot coffee which -a sleepy ostler hastily prepared for them; but the Man in Grey seemed -indefatigable. Wrapped to the chin in a long, dark mantle, he had -ridden the whole way by the side of the commissary, plying him with -questions the while. Bit by bit he had extracted from him the full -history of the futile expedition, the description of the house, its -situation and structure, and of the members of the Chéron family. -Now, whilst sipping his coffee, he made Lefèvre give him final and -minute directions how to reach the farm-house. - -Ten minutes later he started on his way--alone and on foot. - -"Follow me in about five minutes," were his last commands to the -commissary. "Then lie low under the trees. When you hear a pistol -shot from inside the house rush in and seize every man, woman, or -child whom you find; if you meet with any resistance order your men -to use their muskets. Leave the Corporal with a strong guard outside -the house, both back and front, and bid him shoot on sight anyone who -attempts to escape." - -After he had walked on through the darkness for a couple of mètres or -so, he threw off his mantle and hat and kicked off his shoes. The -commissary of police, had he been near him now, would of a truth have -been staggered at his appearance. He wore a pair of ragged breeches -and a stained and tattered blouse; his hair was unkempt, and his feet -and legs were bare to the knees. - -"Now for a little bit of luck," he murmured as he started to run. -His bare feet squelched through the wet earth and spattered him with -mud from head to foot, and as he ran the perspiration streamed down -his face and mingled with the grime. Indeed, it seemed as if he took -a special delight in tiring himself out, in getting breathless and -hot, and by his active exercise making himself look even dirtier and -more disreputable than he had been before. - -When he reached the river side and the row of willow trees, he -halted; the house, he knew, must be quite close now on the right, and -as he peered into the darkness he perceived a tiny streak of light -glimmering feebly through the gloom some way off. Throwing himself -flat upon his stomach, he bent his ear to the ground; it was attuned -to the slightest sound, like that of the Indian trackers, and he -heard at a distance of four hundred mètres behind him the measured -tramp of Lefèvre's men. Then he rose to his feet and, stealthily as -a cat, crept up to the house. - -The slender streak of light guided him and, as he drew nearer, he -heard a confused murmur of voices raised in merriment. The occupants -of the house were apparently astir; the light came through a -half-open shutter on the ground floor as did the sound of the voices, -through which presently there rang a loud and prolonged peal of -laughter. The secret agent drew a deep sigh of satisfaction; the -birds--thank goodness--had not yet flown. Noiselessly he approached -the front door, the battered and broken appearance of which bore -testimony to Lefèvre's zeal. - -A bright patch of light striking through an open door on the right -illumined a portion of the narrow hall beyond, leaving the rest in -complete darkness. The Man in Grey stepped furtively over the -threshold. Immediately he was challenged: "Who goes there?" and he -felt rather than saw a gun levelled at his head. - -"A friend," he murmured timidly. - -At the instant the challenge had resounded through the house the -light in the inner room on the right was suddenly extinguished; -deathly silence had succeeded the debauch. - -"What's your business?" queried a muffled voice peremptorily. - -Before the Man in Grey could reply there was a commotion in the inner -room as of chairs hastily thrust aside, and presently another -voice--one both gruff and commanding--called out: "What is it, -Pierre?" - -A dark lantern was flashed about, its light fell full on the -miserable apparition of the Man in Grey. - -"What do you want?" queried the commanding voice out of the partial -gloom. "Speak, or I fire!" - -"A friend!" reiterated the Man in Grey timidly. - -"Your name?" - -"Nicaise, sir, from Mauger's farm on the Mayenne road. I was asleep -under a haystack, when a stranger comes to me and shakes me roughly -by the shoulder. 'Run,' he says to me, 'to Chéron's up by the -Chartres road. Run as fast as your legs will take you. Walk in -boldly; the door is open. You will find company inside the farm. -Tell them the police are coming back in force. Someone will give you -a silver franc for your pains if you get there in time.' So I took -to my heels and ran." - -While he spoke another man and a woman had entered. Their vague -forms were faintly discernible through the darkness; the light from -the lantern still struck full on the Man in Grey, who looked the -picture of woebegone imbecility. - -From the group in the doorway there came a murmur: "The police!" - -"A stranger, you say?" queried the man with the commanding voice. -"What was he like?" - -"I could not say," replied the secret agent humbly. "It was very -dark. But he said I should get a silver franc for my pains, and I am -a poor man. I thought at first it was a hoax, but when I crossed the -meadow just now I saw a lot of men in hiding under the willow trees." - -"Malediction!" muttered the man, as he turned, undecided, towards his -companions. "Oh, that I had that one-eyed traitor in my power!" he -added with a savage oath. - -"Did you speak to the men of the police?" asked a woman's voice out -of the darkness. - -"No, madame," replied the secret agent. "They did not see me. I was -crawling on my hands and knees. But they are all round the house, -and I heard one man calling to the sergeant and giving him orders to -watch the doors and windows lest anyone tried to escape." - -The group in the doorway was silent; the man who had been on guard -appeared to have joined them, and they all went back into the room -and held a hurried consultation. - -"There is nothing for it," said one man, "but to resume our former -roles as members of the Chéron family, and to do it as naturally as -before." - -"They suspect us now," said another, "or they would not be here again -so soon." - -"Even so; but if we play our parts well they can only take us back to -the commissariat and question us; they must release us in the end; -they have no proof." - -In the meanwhile someone had relighted the lamp. There appeared to -be a good deal of scurrying and scrambling inside the room; the Man -in Grey tiptoed up to the doorway to see what was going on. -Evidently, disguises which had hastily been put aside had been -resumed; the group stood before him now just as Lefèvre had -originally described them: the old man, the woman, the two young -girls; the latter were striding about the room and holding their -skirts up clumsily with both hands, as men are wont to do when they -don women's clothes; the old man, on whom grey locks and -well-stencilled wrinkles were the only signs of age, was hastily -putting these to rights before a mirror on the wall. - -But it was the woman's doings which compelled the attention of the -Man in Grey. She was standing on a chair with her back to him, -intent on manipulating something up the huge open chimney. - -"It will be quite safe there," she said. - -She appeared to be closing some heavy iron door which fell in its -place with a snap. Then she turned to her companions and slowly -descended from the chair. "When the present storm has blown over," -she said, "we'll come and fetch it. Chéron will never guess; at any -rate, we are sure the police cannot discover this most excellent -hiding-place." - -She was a short, square-built woman, with a dark, almost swarthy -skin, keen jet-black eyes which appeared peculiarly hard and -glittering owing to the absence of lashes, a firm, thin-lipped mouth, -square chin, and low forehead crowned by a shock of thick, black hair -cut short like a boy's. The secret agent kept his eyes fixed upon -her while she spoke to her friends. He noted the head so full of -character, and the strength and determination expressed in every line -of the face; he marvelled why the features--especially those -glittering jet-black eyes--appeared familiar, as something he had -known and heard of before. And, suddenly, it all came to him in a -flash; he remembered the informer's description of the leader named -"the Spaniard": a dark, swarthy skin, jet-black hair, keen dark eyes -with no lashes to soften their glitter, the beard, the man's attire, -the foreign accent. Soh! these marauding Chouans slipped in and out -of their disguises and changed even their sex outwardly as easily as -men change their coats; whilst the very identity of their leader was -more often unknown to them than known. - -As the secret agent's practised glance took in during these few -seconds the whole personality of the woman before him, he knew that -his surmises--based on intuition and on reasoning--were correct. It -was the Spaniard who stood before him now, but the Spaniard was a -woman. And as he gazed on her, half in pity because of her sex, and -half in admiration for her intrepidity, she turned, and their glances -met. She looked at him across the narrow room, and each knew that -the other had guessed. - -The woman never flinched; she held the agent's glance and did not -utter either word or cry whilst with a slow, deliberate movement, she -drew a pistol from beneath her kerchief. But he, as quick and -resourceful, had instantly stepped back into the hall. He seized the -door, and, with a loud bang, closed it to between himself and the -Chouans. Then, with lightning rapidity, he pushed the heavy bolt -home. - -The report of a pistol rang out. It came from inside the room. The -Man in Grey was leaning his full weight against the door, wondering -whether Lefèvre and his men would come to his assistance before the -trapped Chouans had time to burst the panels. - -He heard Lefèvre's call outside and the heavy tramp of the men. A -few seconds of agonising suspense, whilst he literally felt the -massive door heaving behind him under the furious onslaught of the -imprisoned Chouans, and the commissary with the men of the police -burst into the hall. The door fell in with a terrific crash. - -The Chouans, caught like foxes run to earth, offered a desperate -resistance. But the odds were too great; after a grim struggle -across the threshold, which lasted close on ten minutes and left -several men of the police bleeding or dead upon the floor, the gang -was captured, securely bound and locked in one of the cellars -underneath the house, where they were left in charge of half a dozen -men until such time as they could be conveyed to Alençon and thence -to Bicêtre to await their trial. - - -VI - -It has been impossible, owing to the maze of records, to disentangle -the subsequent history of three of these Chouans. The Spaniard, -however, was, we know, kept in prison for over five years until, -after the Restoration, her friends succeeded in laying her petition -of release before the King and she was granted a free pardon and a -small pension from the privy purse, "in consideration of the services -she had rendered to His Majesty and the martyrdom she had suffered in -his cause." On the official list of pensioners in the year 1816 her -name appears as "Caroline Mercier, commonly called the Spaniard." - -But at Chéron's farm, when all was still, the men of the police gone -and the prisoners safely under lock and key, the Man in Grey and the -commissary returned to the little room which had been the scene of -the Chouans' final stand. A broken chair was lying by the side of -the tall, open chimney, wherein the woman with the swarthy skin and -jet-black eyes had concealed the stolen treasure. The accredited -agent had no difficulty in finding the secret hiding-place; about a -foot up the chimney an iron door was let into the solid wall. A -little manipulation of his deft fingers soon released the secret -spring, and the metal panel glided gently in its grooves. - -M. de Kerblay's precious ring and some twenty thousand francs in -money gladdened the sight of the worthy commissary of police. - -"But how did you guess?" he asked of the Man in Grey, when, half an -hour later, the pair were ambling along the road back towards Alençon. - -"While you were getting ready for our second expedition, my dear -Monsieur Lefèvre," replied the Man in Grey, "I took the simple -precaution of ascertaining whether the farmer Chéron had a wife, a -father, and two daughters. Your own records at the commissariat -furnished me with this information. From them I learned that though -he had a wife, he had no father living, and that he had three -grown-up sons, long ago started out into the world. After that, -everything became very simple." - -"I suppose," quoth the commissary ruefully, "that I ought to have -found out about the man Chéron and his family before I went off on -that fool's errand." - -"You ought, above all, to have consulted me," was the Man in Grey's -calm reproof. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE MYSTERY OF MARIE VAILLANT - - -I - -After the capture of the Spaniard at Chéron's farm on that dark -night, M. Lefèvre realised that when M. le Duc d'Otrante sent down -that insignificant-looking little man in the grey coat to help in the -hunt after the astute but infamous Chouans, he had acted--as he -always did--with foresight and unerring knowledge of human nature and -human capacity. - -Henceforward M. Lefèvre became the faithful panegyrist and henchman -of the Minister's anonymous agent. He haunted the latter's -apartments in the Rue de France, he was significantly silent when the -Man in Grey was sneered and jeered at in the higher official circles, -and, what is more, when M. Leblanc, sous-préfet of Bourg-le-Roi, had -such grave misgivings about his children's governess, it was the -commissary who advised him to go for counsel and assistance to the -mysterious personage who enjoyed the special confidence and favour of -M. le Duc d'Otrante himself. - -M. Leblanc, who had an inordinate belief in his own perspicacity, -fought for some time against the suggestion; but, after a while, the -mystery which surrounded Mademoiselle Vaillant reached such a -bewildering stage, whilst remaining outside the scope of police -interference, that he finally decided to take his friend's advice, -and, one morning, about the end of November, he presented himself at -the lodgings in Alençon occupied by the accredited agent of His -Majesty's Minister of Police. - -Of a truth M. Leblanc was singularly agitated. His usually correct, -official attitude had given place to a kind of febrile excitement -which he was at great pains to conceal. He had just left Madame -Leblanc in a state of grave anxiety, and he himself, though he would -not have owned to it for the world, did not know what to make of the -whole affair. But he did not intend that his own agitation should -betray him into a loss of dignity in the presence of the little -upstart from Paris; so, after the formal greetings, he sat down and -plunged into a maze of conversational subjects--books, the theatres, -the war, the victories of the Emperor and the rumoured alliance with -the Austrian Archduchess--until the Man in Grey's quiet monotone -broke in on the flow of his eloquence with a perfectly polite query: - -"Has Monsieur le Sous-Préfet, then, honoured me with a visit at this -early hour for the purpose of discussing the politics of the day?" - -"Partly, my good Monsieur Fernand, partly," replied the sous-préfet -airily. "I desired that we should become more closely -acquainted--and," he added, as if with an after-thought, "I desired -to put before you a small domestic matter which has greatly perturbed -Madame Leblanc, and which, I confess, does appear even to me as -something of a mystery." - -"I am entirely at Monsieur le Sous-Préfet's service," rejoined the -Man in Grey without the ghost of a smile. - -"Oh! I dare say," continued M. Leblanc in that offhand manner which -had become the rule among the officials of the district when dealing -with the secret agent, "I dare say that when I think the matter over -I shall be quite able to deal with it myself. At the same time, the -facts are certainly mysterious, and I doubt not but that they will -interest you, even if they do not come absolutely within the sphere -of your province." - -This time the Man in Grey offered no remark. He waited for M. le -Sous-Préfet to proceed. - -"As no doubt you know, Monsieur Fernand," resumed M. Leblanc after a -slight pause, "I own a small house and property near Bourg-le-Roi, -some eight kilomètres from this city, where my wife and children live -all the year round and where I spend as much of my leisure as I can -spare from my onerous duties here. The house is called Les -Colombiers. It is an old Manor, which belonged to the Comtes de -Mamers, a Royalist family who emigrated at the outset of the -Revolution and whose properties were sold for the benefit of the -State. The Mamers have remained--as perhaps you know--among the -irreconcilables. His Majesty the Emperor's clemency did not succeed -in luring them away from England, where they have settled; and I, on -the other hand, have continued in undisputed possession of a charming -domain. The old moated house is of great archæological and -historical interest. It stands in the midst of a well-timbered park, -is well secluded from the road by several acres of dense coppice, and -it is said that, during the religious persecutions instituted by -Charles IX at the instigation of his abominable mother, Les -Colombiers was often the refuge of Huguenots, and the rallying-point -for the followers of the proscribed faith. As I myself," continued -M. Leblanc with conscious pride, "belong to an old Huguenot family, -you will readily understand, my good Monsieur Fernand, that I feel an -additional interest in Les Colombiers." - -Pausing for a moment, the sous-préfet readjusted the set of his -neckcloth, crossed one shapely leg over the other and added with an -affable air of condescension: - -"I trust that I am not trespassing upon your valuable time, my dear -friend, by recounting these seemingly irrelevant, but quite necessary -details." - -"On the contrary, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," rejoined the Man in Grey -quietly, "I am vastly and, I may say, respectfully interested." - -Thus encouraged, M. Leblanc boldly continued his narrative. - -"My household," he said, "consists, I must tell you, of my wife and -myself and my two children--a boy and a girl--Adèle, aged fourteen, -and Ernest, just over twelve. I keep a couple of men and two maids -indoors, and three or four men in the garden. Finally, there is my -children's governess, Marie Vaillant. She came to us last summer -warmly recommended by Monseigneur the Constitutional Bishop of -Alençon, and it is her conduct which of late has so gravely -disquieted Madame Leblanc and myself. - -"But you shall judge. - -"At first my wife and I had every reason to congratulate ourselves on -having secured such a competent, refined and charming woman to -preside over the education of our children. Marie Vaillant was gay, -pretty and full of spirits. The children loved her, especially -Ernest, who set his entire childish affections upon his young and -attractive governess. During the summer lessons were done out of -doors, and long expeditions were undertaken in the woods, whence -Ernest and Adèle would return, hot, tired and happy. They had played -at being explorers in virgin forests, so they told their mother. - -"It was only when the evenings waxed longer," continued the -sous-préfet, in a tone of growing embarrassment, now that he was -nearing the climax of his story, "that Mademoiselle Vaillant suddenly -changed. She developed a curious proclivity for promiscuous -coquetry." - -"Coquetry?" broke in the secret agent with a smile. - -"Yes! Marie began to flirt--shamelessly, openly, with every man she -came across, visitors, shop-keepers, friends and gardeners. She -exercised an almost weird fascination over them; one and all would -anticipate her slightest wish; in fact, the men about the house and -grounds of Les Colombiers appeared to be more her servants than ours. -Moreover, she made an absolute fool of our butler, Lavernay--a -middle-aged man who ought to have known better. He has not only -pursued Mademoiselle Vaillant with his attentions but also with his -jealousy, until Madame Leblanc felt that her whole household was -becoming the laughing-stock of the neighbourhood." - -"And have you or Madame Leblanc done anything in the matter?" asked -the Man in Grey, while M. le Sous-Préfet paused to draw breath. - -"Oh, yes! Madame spoke to the girl and I trounced Lavernay. Marie -was humble and apologetic and Lavernay very contrite. Both promised -to be discreet and sensible in future. At the same time I confess -that I was not at all reassured. Within a fortnight we heard through -the gossip of a busybody that Marie Vaillant was in the habit of -stealing out of the house in the evenings, at an hour when -respectable people should be in bed, and after five minutes' start -she was usually followed on these peregrinations by the butler. -There was no doubt about the whole thing: even our sergeant of police -had witnessed these clandestine meetings and had reported the matter -to the local commissary. - -"There was nothing for it now but to dismiss the flirtatious -governess as quickly as possible. I may say that Madame Leblanc, who -had been genuinely fond of the girl, acquitted herself of the task -with remarkable tact and gentleness. Marie Vaillant, indeed, belied -her name when she received the news of her dismissal. She begged and -implored my wife's forgiveness, swore by all she could think of that -she had only erred from ignorance; she had no thought of doing wrong; -she was innocent of anything but the merest flirtation. Fond of -breathing the midnight air which was so balmy and sweet in the woods, -she had lately got into the habit of strolling out when she could not -sleep and sitting for an hour or so dreaming among the trees. She -admitted that once or twice she had been followed by Lavernay, had -been very angry with him, and had seriously rebuked him; but it -should never, never happen again--she vowed and swore it should -not--if only Madame would forgive her and not send her away from Les -Colombiers which was like a home to her, and from Ernest and Adèle -whom she loved as if they were her brother and sister. - -"But Madame Leblanc was inexorable. Perhaps she felt that quite so -much ignorance of the ways of the world and the decorum prescribed to -every well educated woman was not altogether credible; perhaps she -thought that the lady did protest too much. Certain it is that -though she went back on her original pronouncement that the girl must -leave the house within twenty-four hours, she refused to consider the -question of allowing her to remain permanently. - -"It was finally agreed that Marie Vaillant should leave Les -Colombiers at the end of the month: but that at the slightest -transgression or repetition of the old offence she would be dismissed -with contumely and turned out of the house at an hour's notice. - -"This happened exactly a fortnight ago," went on M. Leblanc, who was -at last drawing to the end of what had proved a lengthy soliloquy; -"and I may tell you that since then Mademoiselle Vaillant has grown -the model of all the proprieties. Sober, demure, well-conducted, she -has fulfilled her duties with a conscientiousness which is beyond -praise. When those heavy rains set in a week ago, outdoor life at -once became impossible. Adèle and Ernest took seriously to their -books and Mademoiselle devoted herself to them in a manner which has -been absolutely exemplary. She has literally given up her whole time -to their welfare, not only--so Madame Leblanc tells me--by helping -with their clothes, but she has even taken certain menial tasks upon -herself which are altogether outside her province as a governess. -She has relieved the servants by attending to the children's bedroom; -she had been making their beds and even washing their stockings and -pocket handkerchiefs. She asked to be allowed to do these things in -order to distract her mind from the sorrow caused by Madame's -displeasure. - -"Of course, I gave Lavernay a stern scolding; but he swore to me that -though he had followed Mademoiselle during her evening walks, he had -done it mostly without her knowledge and always without her consent; -a fit of his former jealousy had seized him, but she had reprimanded -him very severely and forbidden him ever to dog her footsteps again. -After that he, too, appeared to turn over a new leaf. It. seemed as -if his passion for Marie was beginning to burn itself out, and that -we could look forward once again to the happy and peaceful days of -the summer." - - -II - -M. le Sous-Préfet had talked uninterruptedly for a quarter of an -hour; his pompous, somewhat laboured diction and his loud voice had -put a severe strain upon him. The Man in Grey had been an ideal -listener. With his eyes fixed on M. Leblanc, he had sat almost -motionless, not losing a single word of the prolix recital, and even -now when the sous-préfet paused--obviously somewhat exhausted--he did -not show the slightest sign of flagging interest. - -"Now, my good Monsieur Fernand," resumed M. Leblanc, with something -of his habitual, condescending manner, "will you tell me if there is -anything in what I have just told you--I fear me at great -length--that is not perfectly simple and even stereotyped? A young -and pretty girl coming into a somewhat old-fashioned and dull -household and finding a not altogether commendable pleasure in -turning the heads of every susceptible man she meets! Indiscretions -follow and the gossips of the neighbourhood are set talking. -Admonished by her mistress, the girl is almost broken-hearted; she -begs for forgiveness and at once sets to work to re-establish herself -in the good graces of her employers. I dare say you are surprised -that I should have been at such pains to recount to you a series of -commonplace occurrences. But what to an ordinary person would appear -in the natural order of things, strikes me as not altogether normal. -I mistrust the girl. I do not believe in her contrition, still less -in her reformation. Moreover, what worries me, and worries Madame -Leblanc still more, is the amazing ascendency which Marie Vaillant -exorcises over our boy Ernest. She seems to be putting forth her -fullest powers of fascination--I own that they are great--to -cementing the child's affection for her. For the last few weeks the -boy has become strangely nervy, irritable and jealous. He follows -Marie wherever she goes, and hangs upon her lips when she speaks. So -much so that my wife and I look forward now with dread to the day of -parting. When Marie goes I do verily believe that Ernest, who is a -very highly-strung child, will fall seriously ill with grief." - -Again M. Leblanc paused. A look of genuine alarm had overspread his -otherwise vapid face. Clearly he was a man deeply attached to his -children and, despite his fatuous officiousness, was not prepared to -take any risks where their welfare was concerned. He mopped his face -with his handkerchief, and for the first time since the beginning of -the interview he threw a look of almost pathetic appeal on the agent -of the Minister of Police. - -"Otherwise, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," said the latter, meeting that -look of appeal with a quiet smile, "has nothing occurred to justify -your mistrust of Mademoiselle Vaillant's good intentions?" - -"Nothing at all," replied M. Leblanc with a nervous hesitation which -belied his emphatic words, "except a vague sense of uneasiness--the -unnatural quiet which came so quickly in the wake of the storm of a -fortnight ago; and, as I say, the extraordinary pains which the girl -has taken to captivate the boy: so much so in fact that, thinking -perhaps Marie still entertained hopes of our complete forgiveness and -thought of using the child as an intermediary with us to allow her to -remain, Madame Leblanc at my suggestion spoke yesterday very firmly -to the girl, and told her that whatever happened our determination -was irrevocable. We felt that we could trust her no longer and go -she must." - -"And how did Mademoiselle Vaillant take this final decision?" asked -the police agent. - -"With extraordinary self-possession. Beyond a humble 'Very well, -Madame,' she never spoke a word during the brief interview. But in -the evening, long after the children should have been in bed, -Anne--my wife's confidential maid--happened to be in the passage -outside Mademoiselle's room, the door of which was ajar. She -distinctly heard Marie's voice raised in almost passionate -supplication: 'Ernest, my darling little Ernest!' she was saying, -'will you always love me as you do now?' And the child answered -fervently: 'I will always love you, my darling Marie. I would do -anything for you--I would gladly die for you----' and so on--just the -sort of _exalté_ nonsense which a highly-strung, irresponsible child -would talk. Anne did not hear any more then, but remained on the -watch in a dark corner of the passage. Quite half an hour later, if -not more, she saw Ernest slipping out of the governess's room clad -only in his little night-gown and slippers and going back to his own -room. This incident, which Anne reported faithfully to her mistress -and to me, has caused my wife such anxiety that I determined to -consult someone whom I could trust, and see whether the whole affair -struck an impartial mind with the same ominous significance which it -bears for me. My choice fell upon you, my dear Monsieur Fernand," -concluded the sous-préfet with a return to his former lofty -condescension. "I don't like to introduce gossiping neighbours into -my private affairs and I know enough about you to be convinced of -your absolute discretion, as well as of your undoubted merits." - -The Man in Grey accepted M. Leblanc's careless affability with the -same unconcern that he had displayed under the latter's somewhat -contemptuous patronage. He said nothing for a moment or two, -remaining apparently absorbed in his own thoughts. Then he turned to -his visitor and in a quiet, professional manner, which nevertheless -carried with it an unmistakable air of authority, intimated to him, -by rising from his chair, that the interview was now at an end. - -"I thank you, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," he said, "both for the -confidence which you have reposed in me, and for your clear exposé of -the present situation in your household. For the moment I should -advise you to leave all your work in the city, which is not of -national importance, and go straight back to Les Colombiers. Madame -Leblanc should not be left to face alone any difficulties which may -arise. At the same time, should any fresh development occur, I beg -that you will either send for me or come to me at once. I place -myself entirely at your disposal." - -He did not hold out his hand, only stood quietly beside his desk; but -there was no mistaking the attitude, or the almost imperceptible -inclination of the head. M. Leblanc was dismissed, and he was not -accustomed to seeing himself and his affairs set aside so summarily. -A sharp retort almost escaped him; but a glance from those enigmatic -eyes checked the haughty words upon his lips. He became suddenly and -unaccountably embarrassed, seeking for a phrase which would disguise -the confusion he felt. - -"My good Monsieur Fernand----" he began haltingly. - -"My time is valuable, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," interposed the Man in -Grey; "and at Les Colombiers your son's welfare is perhaps even now -at stake." - -M. Leblanc--awed and subdued despite himself--had no choice but to -make as dignified an exit as was possible in the circumstances. - - -III - -It was barely eight o'clock the next morning when M. Leblanc made an -excited and noisy irruption into the apartments of the secret agent -of the Minister of Police. The Man in Grey had risen betimes; had -brewed himself a cup of coffee and partaken of breakfast. The tray -stood on a table beside him, and he was at the moment engaged in the -perusal of the newest copy of the _Moniteur_. - -At sight of his visitor he quietly folded and put down his paper. M. -Leblanc had literally staggered into the room. He wore riding -breeches and boots and his clothes were covered with mud; he had -ridden hard and fast, and though his face was deathly pale it was -covered with perspiration. His lips were quivering and his eyes had -a look of horror and fear which almost resembled madness. - -The Man in Grey led him, firmly and gently, to a seat. Without a -word he went to a cupboard, took out a flask and a mug and forced a -few drops of brandy down the sous-préfet's throat. The latter's -teeth were chattering and, through his trembling lips, there came a -few hoarsely whispered words: - -"My son--my child--he has gone--Oh, my God!" - -After he had drunk the brandy, he became a little more composed. He -lay back in his chair, with eyes closed, and for a moment it seemed -as if he had lost consciousness, for his lips were bloodless and his -face was the colour of dead ashes. Presently he opened his eyes and -rested them on the small grey figure which stood, quietly expectant, -before him. - -"My son," he murmured more distinctly. "Ernest--he has gone!" - -"Try to tell me coherently what has happened," said the Man in Grey -in a quiet tone, which had the effect of further soothing M. -Leblanc's overstrung nerves. - -After a great effort of will the unfortunate man was able to pull -himself together. He was half demented with grief, and it was blind, -unreasoning instinct that had led him to seek out the one man who -might help him in his trouble. With exemplary patience, the police -agent dragged from the unfortunate man, bit by bit, a more or less -intelligible account of the extraordinary sequence of events which -had culminated a few hours ago in such a mysterious and appalling -tragedy. - -Matters, it seemed, had been brought to a climax through the agency -of feminine gossip, and it was Ma'ame Margot, the wife of one of the -labourers, who did the washing for the household at Les Colombiers, -who precipitated the catastrophe. - -Ma'ame Margot had brought the washing home on the previous afternoon -and stopped to have a cup of coffee and a chat in the kitchen of the -house. In the course of conversation she drew the attention of Anne, -Madame Leblanc's maid, to the condition of Monsieur Ernest's -underclothes. - -"I have done my best with it," she said, "but I told Mademoiselle -Vaillant that I was afraid the stains would never come out. She had -tried to wash the things herself before she thought of sending them -to me. Whoever heard," added the worthy soul indignantly, "of -letting a child of Monsieur Ernest's age go running about like that -in the wet and the mud? Why, he must have been soaked through to his -waist to get his things in that state." - -Later Anne spoke to Mme. Leblanc of what the laundrywoman had said. -Madame frowned, greatly puzzled. She had positively forbidden the -children to go out while the heavy rains lasted. She sent for Ma'ame -Margot, who was bold enough to laugh outright when Madame told her -that she did not understand about Monsieur Ernest's things being so -stained with wet and mud, as the children had not been out since the -heavy rains had started. - -"Not been out?" ejaculated Ma'ame Margot, quite as puzzled as her -lady. "Why! my man, when he was looking after the sick cow the other -night, saw Monsieur Ernest out with the governess. It was past -midnight then and the rain coming down in torrents, and my man, he -says to me----" - -"Thank you, Ma'ame Margot," broke in Madame Leblanc, "that will do." - -She waited quietly until the laundrywoman was out of the house, then -she sent for Mademoiselle Vaillant. This time no prayers, no -protestations would avail. The girl must leave the house not later -than the following morning. What her object could have been in -dragging her young pupil with her on her nocturnal expeditions Madame -Leblanc could not of course conjecture; did she take the child with -her as a chaperon on her meetings with Lavernay, or what? Well, -whatever her motive, the girl was not a fit person to be in charge of -young children and go she must, decided Madame definitely. - -This occurred late yesterday afternoon. Strangely enough, Marie -Vaillant took her dismissal perfectly calmly. She offered neither -explanation nor protest. Beyond a humble "Very well, Madame!" she -never said a word during this final interview with her employer, who, -outraged and offended at the girl's obstinacy and ingratitude, -ordered her to pack up her things and leave the house early next -morning, when a carriage would be ready to take her and her effects -to Alençon. - -Early this morning, not two hours ago in fact, Anne had come running -into Madame Leblanc's room with a scared white face, saying that -Monsieur Ernest was not in his room and was nowhere to be found. He -appeared to have slipped on the clothes which he had worn the -previous night, as these were missing from their usual place. - -Terribly alarmed, M. Leblanc had sent Anne to bring Mademoiselle -Vaillant to him immediately; but Anne returned within a couple of -minutes with the news that Mademoiselle had also disappeared. The -house was scoured from attic to cellar, the gardens were searched, -and the outdoor labourers started to drag the moat. Madame Leblanc, -beside herself with dread, had collapsed, half fainting, in the hall, -where Anne was administering restoratives to her. Monsieur Leblanc -had ordered his horse, determined at once to inform the police. He -was standing at his dressing-room window, putting on his riding -clothes when he saw Marie Vaillant running as fast as ever she could -across the garden towards the house. Her dress clung wet and muddy -round her legs, her hair was streaming down her back, and she held -out her arms in front of her as she ran. Indeed, she looked more mad -than sane, and there was such a look of fear and horror in her face -and about her whole appearance, that the servants--stupid and -scared--stood by gaping like gabies, not attempting to run after her. -In a moment M. Leblanc--his mind full of horrible foreboding--had -flung out of his dressing-room, determined to intercept the woman and -to wring from her an admission of what she had done with the boy. - -He ran down the main staircase, as he had seen Marie make straight -for the chief entrance hall, but, presumably checked in her wild -career, the girl had suddenly turned off after she had crossed the -bridge over the moat, and must have dashed into the house by one of -the side doors, for at the moment that M. Leblanc reached the hall he -could hear her tearing helter-skelter up the uncarpeted service -stairs. No one so far had attempted to stop her. M. Leblanc now -called loudly to the servants to arrest this mad woman in her flight; -there was a general scrimmage, but before anyone could reach the top -landing, Marie had darted straight into her employers' bedroom and -had locked and bolted the heavy door. - -"You may imagine," concluded the unfortunate sous-préfet, who had -been at great pains to give his narrative some semblance of -coherence, "that I was the first to bang against the bedroom door and -to demand admittance of the wretched creature. At first there was no -reply, but through the solid panelling we could hear a distinct and -steady hammering which seemed to come from the farther end of the -room. All the doors in the old house are extraordinarily heavy, but -the one that gives on my wife's and my bedroom is of unusually -massive oak with enormous locks and bars of iron and huge iron -hinges. I felt that it would be futile to try to break it open, and, -frankly, I was not a little doubtful as to what the wretched woman -might do if brought to bay. The windows of the bedroom as well as -those of the dressing-room adjoining give directly on the moat, which -at this point is over three mètres deep. Placing two of the -men-servants on guard outside the door, with strict orders not to -allow the woman to escape, I made my way into the garden and took my -stand opposite the bedroom windows. I had the width of the moat -between me and the house. The waters lapped the solid grey walls and -for the first time since I have lived at Les Colombiers the thought -of the old Manor, with its lurking holes for unfortunate Huguenots, -struck my heart with a sense of coldness and gloom. Up above Marie -Vaillant had already taken the precaution of fastening the shutters; -it was impossible to imagine what she could be doing, locked up in -that room, or why she should refuse to come out, unless----" - -The stricken father closed his eyes as he hinted at this awful -possibility; a shiver went through him. - -"A ladder----" suggested the Man in Grey. - -"Impossible!" replied M. Leblanc. "The moat on that side is over -eight mètres wide. I had thought of that. I thought of everything; -I racked my brains. Think of it, sir! My boy Ernest gone, and his -whereabouts probably only known to that mad woman up there!" - -"Your butler Lavernay?" queried the Man in Grey. - -"It was when I realised my helplessness that I suddenly thought of -him," replied the sous-préfet; "but no one had seen him. He too had -disappeared." - -Then suddenly the full force of his misery rushed upon him. He -jumped to his feet and seized the police agent by the coat sleeve. - -"I entreat you, Monsieur Fernand," he exclaimed in tones of pitiable -entreaty, "do not let us waste any more time. We'll call at the -commissariat of police first and get Lefèvre to follow hard on our -heels with a posse of police. I beg of you to come at once!" - -Gently the Man in Grey disengaged his arm from the convulsive grasp -of the other. "By your leave," he said, "we will not call in a posse -of police just yet. Remember your own fears! Brought to bay, Marie -Vaillant, if indeed she has some desperate deed to conceal, might -jump into the moat and take the secret of your boy's whereabouts with -her to her grave." - -"My God, you are right!" moaned the unfortunate man. "What can I do? -In Heaven's name tell me what to do." - -"For the moment we'll just go quietly to Les Colombiers together. I -always keep a horse ready saddled for emergencies at the 'Trois Rois' -inn close by. Do you get to horse and accompany me thither." - -"But----" - -"I pray you, sir, do not argue," broke in the police agent curtly. -"Every minute has become precious." - -And silently M. Leblanc obeyed. He had all at once grown as -tractable as a child. The dominating personality of that little Man -in Grey had entire possession of him now, of his will and -understanding. - - -IV - -The first part of the cross-country ride was accomplished in silence. -M. Leblanc was in a desperate hurry to get on; he pushed his horse -along with the eagerness of intense anxiety. For awhile the police -agent kept up with him in silence, then suddenly he called a -peremptory "Halt!" - -"Your horse will give out, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," he said. "Allow -him to walk for awhile. There are two or three questions I must put -to you, before we arrive at Les Colombiers." - -M. Leblanc obeyed and set his horse to a walk. Of a truth he was -more worn-out than his steed. - -"Firstly, tell me what kind of fireplace you have in your bedroom," -said the other abruptly, and with such strange irrelevance that the -sous-préfet stared at him. - -"Why," he replied submissively, "there is a fine old chimney, as -there is in every room in the house." - -"You have had a fire in it lately?" - -"Oh, every day. The weather has been very cold." - -"And what sort of bed do you sleep in?" - -"An old-fashioned fourpost bedstead," replied M. Leblanc, more and -more puzzled at these extraordinary questions, "which I believe has -been in the house for two or three hundred years. It is the only -piece of the original furniture left; everything else was sold by -Monsieur de Mamers' agent before the State confiscated the house. I -don't know why the bedstead was allowed to remain; probably because -it is so uncommonly heavy and is also screwed to the floor." - -"Thank you. That is interesting," rejoined the police agent drily. -"And now, tell me, what is the nearest house to yours that is of -similar historical interest?" - -"An old sixteenth-century house, you mean?" - -"Yes." - -"There is none at Bourg-le-Roi. If you remember, the town itself is -comparatively modern, and every traveller will tell you that Les -Colombiers is the only interesting piece of mediæval architecture in -the neighbourhood. Of course, there are the ruins at Saut-de-Biche." - -"The ruins at Saut-de-Biche?" - -"Yes. In the woods, about half a kilomètre from Les Colombiers. -They are supposed to be the remains of the old farmhouse belonging to -the Manor; but only two or three walls are left standing. A -devastating fire razed the place to the ground some ten years ago; -since then the roof has fallen in, and the town council of -Bourg-le-Roi has been using some of the stone for building the new -town hall. The whole thing is just a mass of debris and charred -wood." - -While the two men were talking the time had gone by swiftly enough. -Alençon was soon left far behind; ahead, close by, lay the coppice -which sheltered Les Colombiers. Some twenty minutes later the two -men drew rein in the fine old courtyard of the ancient Manor. At a -call from M. Leblanc one of his men rushed out of the house to hold -the horses and to aid his master to dismount. The Man in Grey was -already on his feet. - -"What news?" he asked of the man. - -The latter shrugged his shoulders. There was no change at Les -Colombiers. The two labourers were still on sentry guard outside the -bedroom door, whilst the indoor servant, with the head gardener, had -remained down below by the side of the moat, staring up at the -shuttered windows, and revelling in all the horrors which the aspect -of the dark waters and of the windows above, behind which no doubt -the mad woman was crouching, helped to conjure up before their -sluggish minds. - -Madame Leblanc was still lying on a couch in the hall, prostrate with -grief. No one had caught sight of Marie Vaillant within her -stronghold, and there was no sign either of M. Ernest or of the -butler Lavernay. - -Without protest or opposition on the part of the master of the house, -the Man in Grey had taken command of the small army of scared -domestics. - -"Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," he said, "before I can help you in this -matter, I must make a hurried inspection of your domain. I shall -require three of your men to come with me. They must come armed with -a stout joist, with pickaxes and a few heavy tools. You yourself and -your women servants must remain on guard outside the bedroom door. -Should Marie Vaillant attempt a sortie, seize her and, above all, see -she does not do herself an injury. Your head gardener and indoor man -must remain by the moat. I presume they can swim." - -"Swim?" queried M. Leblanc vaguely. - -"Why, yes! There is still the possibility of the girl trying to -drown herself and her secret in the moat." - -M. Leblanc promised most earnestly that he would obey the police -agent's commands to the letter, and the Man in Grey, followed by the -three labourers who carried their picks, a bag of tools and a stout -joist, started on his way. Swiftly crossing the bridge over the -moat, he strode rapidly across the park and plunged into the coppice. -Then only did he ask the men to precede him. - -"Take me straight to the ruins at Saut-de-Biche," he said. - -The men obeyed, not pausing to reflect what could be the object of -this little man in the grey coat in going to look at a pile of broken -stone walls, while M. le Sous-Préfet was half demented with anxiety -and a mad woman might either set fire to the whole house or do -herself some terrible injury. They walked on in silence closely -followed by the accredited representative of His Impérial Majesty's -Minister of Police. - -Within ten minutes the ruined farmhouse came in sight. It stood in -the midst of a wide clearing; the woods which stretched all round it -were so dense that even in mid-winter they screened it from the road. -There was but little of the original structure left; a piece of wall -like a tall arm stretching upwards to the skies, another forming an -angle, some loose pieces of stone lying about in the midst of a -medley of broken and charred wood, cracked tiles and twisted pieces -of metal. The whole place had an aspect of unspeakable desolation. -All round the ruined walls a forest of brambles, dead gorse and broom -had sprung up, rendering access to the house very difficult. For a -moment or two the Man in Grey paused, surveying the surroundings with -a keen, experienced eye. At a slight distance from him on the right, -the gorse and bramble had apparently been hacked away in order to -make a passage practicable to human feet. Without hesitation -Fernand, ordering the three men to follow him, struck into this -narrow track which, as he surmised, led straight to the ruins. He -skirted the upstanding wall, until an opening in the midst of the big -masses of stone enabled him to reach what was once the interior of -the house. Here progress became very difficult; the debris from the -fallen roof littered the ground and there was grave danger of a -hidden chasm below, where the cellars may have been. - -The Man in Grey peered round him anxiously. Presently an exclamation -of satisfaction rose to his lips. He called to the men. A few feet -away from where he was standing the whole debris seemed to have been -lately considerably augmented. Right in the midst of a pile of -burned wood, tiles and metal, a large stone was embedded. It had -evidently been very recently detached from the high upstanding wall, -and had fallen down amidst a shower of the decayed mortar, wet earth, -and torn lichen and moss, which littered the place. - -In obedience to the commands of the Man in Grey, the labourers took -up their picks, and set to work to clear the debris around the fallen -stone, the police agent standing close by, watching them. They had -not done more than bury their tools once in the litter of earth and -mortar, when their picks encountered something soft. - -"Drop your tools," commanded the Man in Grey. "Your hands will -suffice to unearth what lies below." - -It was the body of a man crushed almost past recognition by the -weight of the fallen masonry. The labourers extricated it from the -fragments of wood and metal and dragged it into the open. - -"By his clothes," said one of the men, in answer to a peremptory -query from the Man in Grey, "I guess he must be the butler, Francois -Lavernay." - -The secret agent made no comment. Not a line of his pale, colourless -face betrayed the emotion he felt--the emotion of the sleuth-hound -which knows that it is on the track of its quarry. He ordered the -body to be decorously put on one side and took off his own loose -mantle to throw over it. Then he bade the men resume their work. -They picked up their tools again and tried to clear the rubbish all -round the fallen stone. - -"We must move that stone from its place," the man in the grey coat -had said, and the labourers, impelled by that air of assurance and -authority which emanated from the insignificant little figure, set to -with a will. Having cleared the debris, they put their shoulders to -the stone, helped by the secret agent whose strength appeared out of -all proportion to his slender frame. By and by the stone became -dislodged and, with another effort, rolled over on its flat side. -After that it was easy to move it some three or four feet farther on. - -"That will do!" commanded the Man in Grey. - -Underneath the stone there now appeared a square flat slab of granite -embedded into the soil with cement and concrete. One piece of this -slab had seemingly been cut or chiselled away and then removed, -displaying a cavity about a foot and a half square. In the centre of -the slab was an iron ring to which a rope was attached, the other end -being lost within the cavity. - -The labourers were staring at their find open-mouthed; but the secret -agent was already busy hauling up the rope. The end of it was formed -into a loop not large enough to pass over a man's shoulders. - -"Just as I thought," he muttered between his teeth. - -Then he lay down on his stomach and with his head just over the small -cavity he shouted a loud "Hallo!" From down below there came no -answer save a dull, resounding echo. Again and again the Man in Grey -shouted his loud "Hallo!" into the depths, but, eliciting no reply, -at last he struggled to his feet. - -"Now then, my men," he said, "I am going to leave you here to work -away at this slab. It has got to be removed within an hour." - -The men examined the cement which held the heavy stone in its place. - -"It will take time," one of them said. "This cement is terribly -hard; we shall have to chip every bit of it away." - -"You must do your best," said the Man in Grey earnestly. "A human -life may depend on your toil. You will have no cause to grumble at -the reward when your work is done. For reasons which I cannot -explain, I may not bring any strangers to help you. So work away as -hard as you can. I will return in about an hour with Monsieur le -Sous-Préfet." - -He waited to see the men swing their picks, then turned on his heel -and started to walk back the way he came. - -It was nearly two hours before the slab of granite was finally -removed from its place. M. le Sous-Préfet was standing by with the -Man in Grey when the stone was hoisted up and turned over. It -disclosed a large cavity with, at one end of it, a flight of stone -steps leading downwards. - -"Now then, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," said the police agent quietly, -"will you follow me?" - -M. Leblanc's face was ghastly in its pallor. The sudden hope held -out to him by the Man in Grey had completely unnerved him. "Are you -sure----" he murmured. - -"That we shall find Monsieur Ernest down there?" broke in the other, -as he pointed to the hollow. "Well, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet, I wish -I were equally sure of a fortune!" - -He had a lighted lantern in his hand and began to descend the stone -stairs, closely followed by the sous-préfet. The labourers above -were resting after their heavy toil. They could not understand all -they had seen, and their slow wits would probably never grasp the -full significance of their strange adventure. While in the depths -below the Man in Grey, holding M. le Sous-Préfet by the arm and -swinging the lantern in front, was exploring the mediæval -lurking-holes of the Huguenots, the three labourers were calmly -munching their bread and cheese. - - -V - -The searchers found the boy lying unconscious not very far from the -stairs. A dark lantern had fallen from his hand and been -extinguished. A large heavy box with metal handles stood close -behind him; a long trail behind the box showed that the plucky child -had dragged it along by its handle for a considerable distance. How -he had managed to do so remained a marvel. Love and enthusiasm had -lent the puny youngster remarkable strength. The broken-hearted -father lifted his unconscious child in his arms. Obviously he had -only fainted--probably from fright--and together the little -procession now worked its way back into the open. - -"Can you carry your boy home, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," asked the Man -in Grey, "while we attend to your unfortunate butler?" - -But he had no need to ask. Already M. Leblanc, closely hugging his -precious burden, was striding bravely and manfully through the -coppice beyond. - -The Man in Grey arrived at Les Colombiers a quarter of an hour after -the sous-préfet had seen his boy snugly laid in his mother's arms. -The child was far too weak and too highly strung to give a clear -account of the events which had landed him alone and unconscious -inside the disused hiding-place, with his only means of exit cut off. -But the first words he spoke after he had returned to consciousness -were: "Tell my darling Marie that I did my best." - -Afterwards the Man in Grey graphically recounted to the sous-préfet -how he came to seek for Ernest beneath the ruins of Saut-de-Biche. - -"I followed Marie Vaillant's machinations in my mind," he said, "from -the moment that she entered your service. Not a word of your -narrative escaped me, remember! Recommended by the Bishop of -Alençon, I guessed her to be a Royalist who had been placed in your -house for some purpose connected with the Cause. What that purpose -was it became my business to learn. It was a case of putting the -proverbial two and two together. There was, on the one hand, an old -moated Manor, once the refuge of persecuted Huguenots and therefore -full of secret corners and hiding-places, and, on the other, an -émigré Royalist family who had fled the country, no doubt leaving -hidden treasures which they could not take away in their flight. Add -to these facts a young girl recommended by the Bishop of Alençon, one -of the most inveterate Royalist intriguers in the land, and you have -as fine a solution of all that has puzzled you, Monsieur, as you -could wish. Marie Vaillant had been sent to your house by the -Royalist faction to secure the treasure hidden by the Comte de Mamers -in one of the lurking-holes of Les Colombiers. - -"With this certainty firmly fixed in my mind, I was soon able to -explain her every action. The open-air life in the summer meant that -she could not gain access to the hiding-place inside the house and -she must seek an entrance outside. This manoeuvre suggested to me -that the secret place was perhaps a subterranean passage which led -from some distant portion of the domain to the house itself. There -are a number of such passages in France, of mediæval structure. -Often they run under a moat. - -"Then came the second phase: Marie Vaillant's coquetry. She either -could not find or could not open the hiding-place; she needed a man's -help. Lavernay, your butler, appeared susceptible--her choice fell -on him. Night after night they stole out together in order to work -away at the obstacle which blocked the entrance to the secret -passage. Then they were discovered. Marie was threatened with -dismissal, even before she had found the hidden treasure. She -changed her tactics and inveigled your boy into her service. Why? -Because she and Lavernay were too weak and clumsy. They had only -succeeded in disclosing one small portion of the entrance to the -secret lair; a portion not large enough to allow of the passage of an -adult. So your boy was cajoled, endeared, fascinated. Highly strung -and nervous, he was ready to dare all for the sake of the girl whom -he loved with the ardour of unawakened manhood. He is dragged -through the woods and shown the place; he is gradually familiarised -with the task which lies before him. Then once more discovery falls -on Marie Vaillant like a thunderbolt. - -"There is only one more night wherein she can effect her purpose. -Can you see them--she and Lavernay and your boy--stealing out at dead -of night to the ruins; the boy primed in what he has to do, lowered -by a cord into the secret passage, dark lantern in hand? Truly the -heroism of so young a child passes belief! Lavernay and Marie -Vaillant wait above, straining their ears to hear what is going on -below. The underground passage, remember, is over half a kilomètre -in length. I explored it as far as I could. It goes under the moat -and I imagine has its other entrance in your bedroom at Les -Colombiers. Ernest had to go some way along it ere he discovered the -box which contained the treasure. With truly superhuman strength he -seizes the metal handle and drags his burden wearily along. At last -he has reached the spot where the cord still dangles from above. He -gives the preconcerted signal but receives no reply. Distracted and -terror-stricken, he calls again and again until the horror of his -position causes him to lose consciousness. - -"Above the tragedy is being consummated. Loosened by recent heavy -rains, a large piece of masonry comes crashing down, burying in its -fall the unfortunate Lavernay and hopelessly blocking the entrance to -the secret passage. Picture to yourself Marie Vaillant pitting her -feeble strength against the relentless stone, half-crazed with the -thought of the child buried alive beneath her feet. An oath to her -party binds her to secrecy! She dares not call for help. Almost -demented, blind instinct drives her to the one spot whence she might -yet be able to render assistance to the child--your bedroom, where -I'll wager that either inside the chimney or behind the head of the -old-fashioned bedstead you will find the panel which masks the other -entrance to the secret passage." - -The Man in Grey suspended his story and, guided by his host, made his -way upstairs to the landing outside the bedroom door. - -"Call to the poor woman, Monsieur le Sous-Préfet," he commanded. -"Tell her that the child is safe and well. Perhaps she will come out -of her own accord. It were a pity to break this magnificent door." - -Presently Marie Vaillant, summoned by her employer, who assured her -repeatedly that Ernest was safe and well, was heard to unlock the -door and to draw the bolts. Next moment she stood under the heavy -oak lintel, her face as white as a shroud, her eyes staring wildly -before her, her gown stained, her hands bleeding. She had bruised -herself sorely in a vain endeavour to move the massive bedstead which -concealed the secret entrance to the underground passage. - -One glance at M. Leblanc's face assured her that all was well with -her valiant little helpmeet and that the two men before her were -moved more by pity than by wrath. She broke down completely, but the -violent fit of weeping eased her overburdened heart. Soon she became -comforted with the kindly assurance that she would be allowed to -depart in peace. Even the sous-préfet felt that the wretched girl -had suffered enough through the tortuous intrigues of her fanatic -loyalty to the cause of her party, whilst the Man in Grey saw to it -that in the matter of the death of Lavernay His Majesty's Police were -fully satisfied. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE EMERALDS OF MADEMOISELLE PHILIPPA - - -I - -At first there was a good deal of talk in the neighbourhood when the -de Romaines returned from England and made their home in the -tumbledown Lodge just outside St. Lô. The Lodge, surrounded by a -small garden, marked the boundary of the beautiful domain of -Torteron, which had been the property of the de Romaines and their -ancestors for many generations. M. le Comte de Romaine had left -France with his family at the very outset of the Revolution and, in -accordance with the decree of February, 1792, directed against the -Emigrants, his estates were confiscated and sold for the benefit of -the State. The château of Torteron, being so conveniently situated -near the town of St. Lô, was converted into a general hospital, and -the farms and agricultural lands were bought up by various local -cultivators. Only the little Lodge at the park gates had remained -unsold, and when the Emigrés were granted a general amnesty, the de -Romaines obtained permission to settle in it. Although it was -greatly neglected and dilapidated, it was weatherproof, and by the -clemency of the Emperor it was declared to be indisputably their own. - -M. le Comte de Romaine, worn out by sorrow and the miseries of exile, -had died in England. It was Mme. la Comtesse, now a widow, who came -back to Torteron along with M. le Comte Jacques, her son, who had -never set foot on his native soil since, as a tiny lad, he had been -taken by his parents into exile, and Mademoiselle Mariette, her -daughter, who, born in England, had never been in France at all. - -People who had known Madame la Comtesse in the past thought her -greatly aged, more so in fact than her years warranted. She had gone -away in '91 a young and handsome woman well on the right side of -thirty, fond of society and show; now, nineteen years later, she -reappeared the wreck of her former self. Crippled with rheumatism, -for ever wrapped up in shawls, with weak sight and impaired hearing, -she at once settled down to a very secluded life at the Lodge, waited -on only by her daughter, a silent, stately girl, who filled the -duties of maid of all work, companion and nurse to her mother, and -her brother. - -On the other hand, young M. le Comte de Romaine was a regular -"gadabout." Something of a rogue and a ne'er-do-well, he seemed to -have no defined occupation, and soon not a café or dancing hall in -St. Lô, but had some story to tell of his escapades and merry living. - -M. Moulin, the préfet, had received an order from the accredited -agent of the Minister of Police to keep an eye on the doings of these -returned Emigrants, but until now their conduct had been above -suspicion. Mme. la Comtesse and Mlle. Mariette went nowhere except -now and again to the church of Notre Dame; they saw no one; and for -the nonce the young Comte de Romaine devoted his entire attention to -Mademoiselle Philippa, the charming dancer who was delighting the -audiences of St. Lô with her inimitable art, and dazzling their eyes -with her showy dresses, her magnificent equipage and her diamonds. - -The préfet, in his latest report to the secret agent, had jocularly -added that the lovely dancer did not appear at all averse from the -idea of being styled Mme. la Comtesse one of these days, or of -regilding the faded escutcheon of the de Romaines with her plebeian -gold. - -There certainly was no hint of Chouannerie about the doings of any -member of the family, no communication with any of the well-known -Chouan leaders, no visits from questionable personages. - -Great therefore was the astonishment of M. Moulin when, three days -later, he received a summons to present himself at No. 15 Rue Notre -Dame, where the agent of His Majesty's Minister of Police had arrived -less than an hour ago. - -"I am here in strict incognito, my dear Monsieur Moulin," said the -Man in Grey as soon as he had greeted the préfet, "and I have brought -three of my men with me whom I know I can trust, as I am not -satisfied that you are carrying out my orders." - -"Your orders, Monsieur--er--Fernand?" queried the préfet blandly. - -"Yes! I said my orders," retorted the other quietly. "Did I not bid -you keep a strict eye on the doings of the Romaine family?" - -"But, Monsieur Fernand----" - -"From now onwards my men and I will watch Jacques de Romaine," broke -in the secret agent in that even tone of his which admitted of no -argument. "But we cannot have our eyes everywhere. I must leave the -women to you." - -"The old Comtesse only goes to church, and Mademoiselle Mariette goes -sometimes to market." - -"So much the better for you. Your men will have an easy time." - -"But----" - -"I pray you do not argue, my good Monsieur Moulin. Mademoiselle -Mariette may be out shopping at this very moment." - -And when the accredited agent said "I pray you," non-compliance was -out of the question. - -Later in the day the préfet talked the matter over with M. Cognard, -chief commissary of police, who had had similar orders in the matter -of the Romaines. The two cronies had had their tempers sorely -ruffled--by the dictatorial ways of the secret agent, whom they hated -with all the venom that indolent natures direct against an energetic -one. - -"The little busybody," vowed M. Moulin, "sees conspirators in every -harmless citizen and interferes in matters which of a truth have -nothing whatever to do with him." - - -II - -Then in the very midst of the complacency of these two worthies came -the memorable day which, in their opinion, was the most turbulent one -they had ever known during their long and otiose careers. - -It was the day following the arrival of the secret agent at St. Lô, -and he had come to the commissariat that morning for the sole -purpose--so M. Cognard averred--of making matters uncomfortable for -everybody, when Mademoiselle de Romaine was announced. Mademoiselle -had sent in word that she desired to speak with M. le Commissaire -immediately, and a minute or two later she entered, looking like a -pale ghost in a worn grey gown, and with a cape round her shoulders -which was far too thin to keep out the cold on this winter's morning. - -M. Cognard, fussy and chivalrous, offered her a chair. She seemed to -be in a terrible state of mental agitation and on the verge of tears, -which, however, with characteristic pride she held resolutely in -check. - -"I have come, Monsieur le Commissaire," she began in a voice hoarse -with emotion, "because my mother--Madame la Comtesse de Romaine--and -I are desperately anxious--we don't know--we----" - -She was trembling so that she appeared almost unable to speak. M. -Cognard, with great kindness and courtesy, poured out a glass of -water for her. She drank a little of it, and threw him a grateful -look, after which she seemed more tranquil. - -"I beg you to compose yourself, Mademoiselle," said the commissaire. -"I am entirely at your service." - -"It is about my brother, Monsieur le Commissaire," rejoined -Mademoiselle more calmly, "Monsieur le Comte Jacques de Romaine. He -has disappeared. For three days we have seen and heard nothing of -him--and my mother fears--fears----" - -Her eyes became dilated with that fear which she dared not put into -words. M. Cognard interposed at once, both decisively and -sympathetically. - -"There is no occasion to fear the worst, Mademoiselle," he said -kindly. "Young men often leave home for days without letting their -mother and sisters know where they are." - -"Ah, but, Monsieur le Commissaire," resumed Mademoiselle with a -pathetic break in her voice, "the circumstances in this case are -exceptional. My mother is a great invalid, and though my brother -leads rather a gay life he is devoted to her and he always would come -home of nights. Sometimes," she continued, as a slight flush rose to -her pale cheeks, "Mademoiselle Philippa would drive him home in her -barouche from the theatre. This she did on Tuesday night, for I -heard the carriage draw up at our door. I saw the lights of the -lanthorns; I also heard my brother's voice bidding Mademoiselle good -night and the barouche driving off again. I was in bed, for it was -long past midnight, and I remember just before I fell asleep again -thinking how very quietly my dear brother must have come in, for I -had not heard the opening and shutting of the front door, nor his -step upon the stairs or in his room. Next morning I saw that his bed -had not been slept in, and that he had not come into the house at -all--as I had imagined--but had driven off again, no doubt, with -Mademoiselle Philippa. But we have not seen him since, and----" - -"And--h'm--er--have you communicated with Mademoiselle Philippa?" -asked the commissary with some hesitation. - -"No, Monsieur," replied Mariette de Romaine gravely. "You are the -first stranger whom I have consulted. I thought you would advise me -what to do." - -"Exactly, exactly!" rejoined M. Cognard, highly gratified at this -tribute to his sagacity. "You may rely on me, Mademoiselle, to carry -on investigations with the utmost discretion. Perhaps you will -furnish me with a few details regarding this--er--regrettable -occurrence." - -There ensued a lengthy period of questioning and cross-questioning. -M. Cognard was impressively official. Mademoiselle de Romaine, -obviously wearied, told and retold her simple story with exemplary -patience. The Man in Grey, ensconced in a dark corner of the room, -took no part in the proceedings; only once did he interpose with an -abrupt question: - -"Are you quite sure, Mademoiselle," he asked, "that Monsieur le Comte -did not come into the house at all before you heard the barouche -drive off again?" - -Mariette de Romaine gave a visible start. Clearly she had had no -idea until then that anyone else was in the room besides herself and -the commissary of police, and as the quaint, grey-clad figure emerged -suddenly from out the dark corner, her pale cheeks assumed an even -more ashen hue. Nevertheless, she replied quite steadily: - -"I cannot be sure of that, Monsieur," she said; "for I was in bed and -half asleep, but I am sure my brother did not sleep at home that -night." - -The Man in Grey asked no further questions; he had retired into the -dark corner of the room, but--after this little episode--whenever -Mariette de Romaine looked in that direction, she encountered those -deep-set, colourless eyes of his fixed intently upon her. - -After Mademoiselle de Romaine's departure, M. Cognard turned somewhat -sheepishly to the Man in Grey. - -"It does seem," he said, "that there is something queer about those -Romaines, after all." - -"Fortunately," retorted the secret agent, "you have complied with my -orders, and your men have never once lost sight of Mademoiselle or of -Madame her mother." - -M. Cognard made no reply. His round face had flushed to the very -roots of his hair. - -"Had you not better send at once for this dancer--Philippa?" added -the Man in Grey. - -"Of course--of course----" stammered the commissary, much relieved. - - -III - -Mademoiselle Philippa duly arrived, in the early afternoon, in her -barouche drawn by two magnificent English horses. She appeared -dressed in the latest Paris fashion and was greeted by M. Cognard -with the gallantry due to her beauty and talent. - -"You have sent for me, Monsieur le Commissaire?" she asked somewhat -tartly, as soon as she had settled herself down in as becoming an -attitude as the office chair would allow. - -"Oh, Mademoiselle," said the commissary deprecatingly, "I did so with -deep regret at having to trouble you." - -"Well? And what is it?" - -"I only desired to ask you, Mademoiselle, if you have seen the Comte -de Romaine recently." - -She laughed and shrugged her pretty shoulders. - -"The young scamp!" she said lightly. "No, I haven't seen him for two -days. Why do you ask?" - -"Because the young scamp, as you so pertinently call him, has -disappeared, and neither his mother nor his sister knows what has -become of him." - -"Disappeared?" exclaimed Mademoiselle Philippa. "With my emeralds!" - -Her nonchalance and habitual gaiety suddenly left her. She sat bolt -upright, her small hands clutching the arms of her chair, her face -pale and almost haggard beneath the delicate layer of rouge. - -"Your emeralds, Mademoiselle?" queried M. Cognard in dismay. - -"My emeralds!" she reiterated with a catch in her voice. "A -necklace, tiara and earrings--a gift to me from the Emperor of Russia -when I danced before him at St. Petersburg. They are worth the best -part of a million francs, Monsieur le Commissaire. Oh! Monsieur de -Romaine cannot have disappeared--not like that--and not with my -emeralds!" - -She burst into tears and M. Cognard had much ado to re-assure her. -Everything would be done, he declared, to trace the young scapegrace. -He could not dispose of the emeralds, vowed the commissary, without -being apprehended and his booty being taken from him. - -"He can dispose of them abroad," declared Mademoiselle Philippa, who -would not be consoled. "He may be on the high seas by now--the -detestable young rogue." - -"But how came Mademoiselle Philippa's priceless emeralds in the hands -of that detestable young rogue?" here interjected a quiet, even voice. - -Mademoiselle turned upon the Man in Grey like a young tiger-cat that -has been teased. - -"What's that to you?" she queried. - -He smiled. - -"Are we not all trying to throw light on a mysterious occurrence?" he -asked. - -"Monsieur de Romaine wanted to show my emeralds to his mother," -rejoined Mademoiselle, somewhat mollified and not a little -shamefaced. "I had promised to be his wife--Madame la Comtesse had -approved--she looked upon me as a daughter--I had been up to her -house to see her--she expressed a wish to see my emeralds--and so on -Tuesday I entrusted them to Monsieur de Romaine--and--and----" - -Once more her voice broke and she burst into tears. It was a -pitiably silly story, of course--that of the clumsy trap set by a -fascinating rogue--the trap into which hundreds of thousands of women -have fallen since the world began, and into which as many will fall -again so long as human nature does not undergo a radical change. - -"And when you drove Monsieur de Romaine home on that Tuesday night," -continued the Man in Grey; "he had your emeralds in his possession?" - -"Yes," replied Mademoiselle through her tears. "He had them in the -inside pocket of his coat. I took leave of him at the Lodge. He -waved his hand to me and I drove off. That is the last I have seen -of him--the scamp!" - -Mademoiselle Philippa was evidently taking it for granted that -Jacques de Romaine had stolen her emeralds, and she laughed -derisively when M. Cognard suggested that mayhap the unfortunate -young man had been waylaid and robbed and afterwards murdered by some -malefactor who knew that he had the jewels in his possession. - -"Well!" commented the dancer with a shrug of her shoulders, "'tis for -you, my good Commissaire, to find either my emeralds for me or the -murdered body of Monsieur le Comte de Romaine." - -After which parting shot Mademoiselle took her departure, leaving an -atmosphere of cosmetics and the lingering echo of the frou-frou of -silken skirts. - - -IV - -The commissary accompanied Mademoiselle Philippa to the door. He was -not looking forward with unadulterated pleasure to the next -half-hour, when of a surety that fussy functionary from Paris would -set the municipal authorities by the ears for the sake of an affair -which, after all, was not so very uncommon in these days--a handsome -rogue, a foolish, trusting woman, valuable jewellery. The whole -thing was very simple and the capture of the miscreant a certainty. -"How was he going to dispose of the emeralds," argued M. Cognard to -himself, "without getting caught?" As for connecting such a mild -affair with any of those daring Chouans, the idea was preposterous. - -But when M. Cognard returned to his office, these specious arguments -froze upon his lips. The Man in Grey was looking unusually stern and -uncompromising. - -"Let me have your last reports about Mademoiselle de Romaine," he -said peremptorily. "What did she do all day yesterday?" - -The commissary, grumbling in his beard, found the necessary papers. - -"She only went to church in the morning," he said in an injured tone -of voice, "with Madame la Comtesse. It was the feast of St. -Andrew----" - -"Did either of the women speak to anyone?" - -"Not on the way. But the church was very crowded--both ladies went -to confession----" - -The Man in Grey uttered an impatient exclamation. - -"I fear we have lost the emeralds," he said, "but in Heaven's name do -not let us lose the rogue. When brought to bay he may give up the -booty yet." - -"But, Monsieur Fernand----" protested the commissary. - -The other waved aside these protestations with a quick gesture of his -slender hand. - -"I know, I know," he said. "You are not at fault. The rascal has -been too clever for us, that is all. But we have not done with him -yet. Send over to the Lodge at once," added the secret agent firmly, -"men whom you can trust, and order them to apprehend Monsieur le -Comte Jacques de Romaine and convey him hither at once." - -"To the Lodge?" - -"Yes! Mariette de Romaine lied when she said that her brother had -not been in the house since Tuesday. He is in the house now. I had -only been in St. Lô a few hours, but I had taken up my stand outside -the Lodge that night, when Mademoiselle Philippa's barouche drew up -there and Jacques de Romaine stepped out of it. I saw him wave his -hand and then turn to go into the house. The next moment the door of -the Lodge was opened and he disappeared within it. Since then he has -not been outside the house. I was there the whole of that night with -one of my men, two others have been on the watch ever since--one in -front, the other at the back. The sister or the mother may have -passed the emeralds on to a confederate in church yesterday--we don't -know. But this I do know," he concluded emphatically, "that Jacques -de Romaine is in the Lodge at this moment unless the devil has -spirited him away up the chimney." - -"There's no devil that will get the better of my men," retorted the -commissary, carried away despite himself by the other's energy and -sense of power. "We'll have the rogue here within the hour, Monsieur -Fernand, I pledge you the honour of the municipality of St. Lô! And -the emeralds, too," he added complacently, "if the robbers have not -yet disposed of them." - -"That's brave!" rejoined the Man in Grey in a tone of kindly -encouragement. "My own men are still on the spot and will lend you a -hand. They have at their fingers' ends all that there is to know on -the subject of secret burrows and hiding-places. All that you have -to remember is that Jacques de Romaine is inside the Lodge and that -you must bring him here. Now go and make your arrangements; I will -be at the Lodge myself within the hour." - - -V - -It was quite dark when the Minister's agent arrived at the Lodge. M. -Cognard met him outside the small garden gate. As soon as he caught -sight of the slender, grey-clad figure he ran to meet it as fast as -his portliness would allow. - -"Nothing!" he said breathlessly. - -"How do you mean--nothing?" retorted the secret agent. - -"Just what I say," replied the commissaire. "We have searched this -tumbledown barrack through and through. The women are there--in -charge of my men. They did not protest; they did not hinder us in -any way. But I tell you," added M. Cognard, as he mopped his -streaming forehead, "there's not a cat or a mouse concealed in that -place. We have searched every hole and corner." - -"Bah!" said the Man in Grey with a frown. "Some secret hiding-place -has escaped you!" - -"Ask your own trusted men," retorted the commissaire. "They have -worked with ours." - -"Have you questioned the women?" - -"Yes! They adhere to Mademoiselle's story in every point." - -"Do they know that I--a member of His Majesty's secret police -force--saw Jacques de Romaine enter this house on Tuesday night, and -that I swear he did not leave it the whole of that night; whilst my -own men are equally ready to swear that he has not left it since?" - -"They know that." - -"And what is their answer?" - -"That we must demand an explanation from the man who was lurking -round here in the dark when Jacques de Romaine had priceless jewels -in his possession," replied the chief commissary. - -The stern features of the Man in Grey relaxed into a smile. - -"The rogues are cleverer than I thought," he said simply. - -"Rogues?" growled M. Cognard. "I for one do not believe that they -are rogues. If Jacques de Romaine entered this house on Tuesday -night and has not left it since, where is he now? Answer me that, -Monsieur Fernand!" - -"Do you think I have murdered him?" retorted the secret agent calmly. - -Then he went into the house. - -He found Mme. la Comtesse de Romaine entrenched within that barrier -of lofty incredulity which she had set up the moment that she heard -of the grave suspicion which rested upon her son. - -"A Comte de Romaine, Monsieur," she said in her thin, cracked voice -in answer to every query put to her by the Man in Grey, "who is also -Seigneur de Mazaire and a peer of France, does not steal the jewels -of a dancer. If, as that wench asserts, my son had her trinkets that -night about his person, then obviously it is for you who were lurking -around my house like a thief in the night to give an account of what -became of him." - -"Your son entered this house last Tuesday night, Madame," answered -Fernand firmly, "and has not been out of it since." - -"Then I pray you find him, Sir," was Madame de Romaine's rejoinder. - -Mademoiselle Mariette's attitude was equally uncompromising. She -bore every question and cross-question unflinchingly. But when the -secret agent finally left her in peace to initiate a thorough search -inside that house which so bafflingly refused to give up its secret, -she turned to the chief commissary of police. - -"Who is that anonymous creature," she queried with passionate -indignation, "who heaps insults and tortures upon my dear mother and -me? Why is he not being questioned? Whose is the hidden hand that -shields him when retribution should be marking him for its own?" - -Whose indeed? The commissary of police was at his wits' end. Even -the Man in Grey--resolute, systematic and untiring--failed to -discover anything suspicious in the Lodge. It had often been said of -him that no secret hiding-place, no secret panel or lurking-hole -could escape his eagle eye, and yet, to-day, after three hours' -persistent search, he was forced to confess he had been baffled. - -Either his men had relaxed their vigilance at some time since that -fateful Tuesday night, and had allowed the rogue to escape, or the -devil had indeed spirited the young Comte de Romaine up the chimney. - -Public opinion at once went dead against the authorities. -Mademoiselle de Romaine had taken good care that the story of the man -lurking round the Lodge on the night her brother disappeared should -be known far and wide. That that man happened to be a mysterious and -anonymous member of His Majesty's secret police did not in any way -allay the popular feeling. The worthy citizens of St. Lô loudly -demanded to know why he was not brought to justice. The préfet, the -commissary, the procureur, were all bombarded with correspondence. -Indignation meetings were held in every parish of the neighbourhood. -Indeed, so tense had the situation become that the chief departmental -and municipal officials were tendering their resignations wholesale, -for their position, which already was well-nigh intolerable, -threatened to become literally dangerous. Sooner or later the public -would have to be told that the Man in Grey, on whom so grave a -suspicion now rested, had mysteriously vanished, no one knew whither, -and that no one dared to interfere with his movements, on pain of -having to deal with M. le Duc d'Otrante, His Majesty's Minister of -Police, himself. - - -VI - -Towards the end of December Mme. la Comtesse de Romaine announced her -intention of going abroad. - -"There is no justice in this country," she had declared -energetically, "or no power on earth would shield my son's murderer -from the gallows." - -Of Jacques de Romaine there had been no news, nor yet of the Man in -Grey. The procureur imperial, feeling the sting of Madame's -indignation, had been over-courteous in the matter of passports, and -everything was got ready in view of the de Romaines' departure. -Madame had decided to go with Mademoiselle Mariette to Rome, where -she had many friends, and the first stage of the long journey had -been fixed for the 28th, when the two ladies proposed to travel by -private coach as far as Caen, to sleep there, and thus be ready in -the early morning for the mail-coach which would take them to Paris. - -A start was to be made at midday. In the morning Mademoiselle de -Romaine went to High Mass at Notre Dame, it being the feast of the -Holy Innocents. The church was very crowded, but Mariette had -arrived early, and she had placed her _prie-dieu_ behind the shelter -of one of the pillars, where she sat quite quietly, fingering her -rosary, while the large congregation filed in. But all the while her -thoughts were plainly not at her devotions. Her dark eyes roamed -restlessly over every face and form that gathered near her, and there -was in her drawn face something of the look of a frightened hare, -when it lies low within its form, fearful lest it should be seen. - -It was a bitterly cold morning, and Mariette wore a long, full cape, -which she kept closely wrapped round her shoulders. Anon a verger -came round with foot-warmers which he distributed, in exchange for a -few coppers, to those who asked for them. One of these he brought to -Mariette and placed it under her feet. As he did so an imperceptible -look of understanding passed from her to him. Then the priests -followed in, the choir intoned the Introit, the smoke of incense rose -to the exquisitely carved roof, and everyone became absorbed in -prayer. - -Mariette de Romaine, ensconced behind the pillar, sat still, until, -during the Confiteor, when all heads were buried between clasped -hands, she stooped and apparently rearranged the position of her -foot-warmer. Anyone who had been closely watching her would have -thought that she had lifted it from the ground and was hugging it -tightly under her cloak. No doubt her hands were cold. - -Just before the Elevation a man dressed in a rough workman's blouse, -his bare feet thrust into shabby shoes of soft leather, came and -knelt beside her. She tried to edge away from him, but the pillar -was in the way and she could not retreat any farther. Then suddenly -she caught the man's glance, and he--very slowly--put his grimy hand -up to the collar of his blouse and, just for an instant, turned it -back: on the reverse side of the collar was sewn a piece of white -ribbon with a fleur-de-lys roughly embroidered upon it--the device of -the exiled Bourbon princes. A look of understanding, immediately -followed by one of anxious inquiry, spread over Mariette de Romaine's -face, but the man put a finger to his lips and gave her a scarcely -perceptible reassuring nod. - -After the conclusion of the service and during the usual noise and -bustle of the departing congregation the man drew a little nearer to -Mariette and whispered hurriedly: - -"Do not go yet--there are police spies outside." - -Mariette de Romaine was brave, at times even reckless, but at this -warning her pale cheeks became almost livid. She hugged the bulky -thing which she held under her cloak almost convulsively to her -breast. - -"What am I to do?" she whispered in response. - -"Wait here quietly," rejoined the man, "till the people have left. I -can take you through the belfry and out by a postern gate I know of." - -"But," she gasped hoarsely, for her throat felt dry and parched, -"afterwards?" - -"You can come to my lodgings," he replied. "We'll let Madame -know--and then we shall have to think what best to do." - -"Can you find White-Beak?" she asked. - -"What for?" - -"I could give him the----" - -"Hush!" he broke in quickly. - -"I should like Monsieur le Chanoine to keep them again; we shall have -to make fresh arrangements----" - -"Hush!" he reiterated more peremptorily. "We can do nothing for the -moment except arrange for your safety." - -The man spoke with such calm and authority that instinctively -Mariette felt reassured. The bustle round them, people coming and -going, chairs creaking against the flagstones, had effectually -drowned the whispered colloquy. Now the crowd was thinning: the man -caught hold of Mariette's cloak, and she, obediently, allowed him to -lead her. He seemed to know his way about the sacred edifice -perfectly, and presently, after they had crossed the belfry and gone -along a flagged corridor, he opened a low door, and she found herself -in the open in the narrow passage behind the east end of the church. -Her guide was supporting her by the elbow and she, still hugging her -precious burden, walked beside him without further question. He led -her to a house in a street close by, where he appeared to be at home. -After climbing three flights of steps, he knocked vigorously at a -door which was immediately opened by a man also dressed in a rough -blouse, and ushered Mariette de Romaine into an apartment of the type -usually inhabited by well-to-do artisans. After crossing a narrow -hall she entered a sitting-room wherein the first sight that greeted -her tired eyes was a bunch of roughly fashioned artificial white -lilies in the centre of a large round table. Fully reassured, though -thoroughly worn out with the excitement of the past few minutes, the -girl sank into a chair and threw open the fastening of her cloak. -The bulky parcel, cleverly contrived to look like a foot-warmer, lay -upon her lap. - -"Now we must let Madame la Comtesse know," said the man who had been -her guide, in a quiet, matter-of-fact tone. "Oh, it will be quite -safe," he added, seeing a look of terror had spread over Mariette de -Romaine's face. "I have a comrade here, Hare's-Foot--you know him, -Mademoiselle?" - -She shook her head. - -"He is well known in St. Lô," continued the man simply. "Supposed to -be harmless. His real name is Pierre Legrand. The police spies have -never suspected him--the fools. But he is one of us--and as intrepid -as he is cunning. So if you will write a few words, Mademoiselle, -Hare's-Foot will take them at once to Madame la Comtesse." - -"What shall I say?" asked Mariette, as she took up pen and paper -which her unknown friend was placing before her. - -"Only that you became faint in church," he suggested, "and are at a -friend's house. Then request that Madame la Comtesse should come to -you at once: the bearer of your note will guide her." - -Obediently the girl wrote as he advised, the man watching her the -while. Had Mariette de Romaine looked up she might have seen a -strange look in his face--a look that was almost of pity. - -The letter was duly signed and sealed and handed over to -Hare's-Foot--the man who had opened the door of the apartment--and he -at once went away with it. - -After that perfect quietude reigned in the small room. Mariette -leaned her head against the back of her chair. She felt very tired. - -"Let me relieve you of this," said her companion quietly, and without -waiting for her acquiescence he took the bulky parcel from her and -put it on the table. Then Mariette de Romaine fell into a light -sleep. - - -VII - -She was aroused by the sound of her mother's voice. Madame la -Comtesse de Romaine was in her turn being ushered into the apartment, -and was already being put in possession of the facts connected with -her daughter's letter which had summoned her hither. - -"I guessed at once that something of the sort had happened," was -Madame's dry and unperturbed comment. "Mariette was not likely to -faint while she had those emeralds in her charge. You, my men," she -added, turning to her two interlocutors, "have done well by us. I -don't yet know how you came to render us and our King's cause this -signal service, but you may be sure that it will not go unrewarded. -His Majesty himself shall hear of it--on the faith of a de Romaine." - -"And now, Madame la Comtesse," rejoined the man in the rough blouse -quietly, "I would suggest that Mademoiselle and yourself don a -suitable disguise, while Hare's-Foot and I arrange for a safe -conveyance to take you out of St. Lô at once. We have most -effectually given the police spies the slip, and while they are still -searching the city for you you will be half way on the road to Caen, -and there is no reason why the original plans for your journey to -Rome should be in any way modified." - -"Perfect! Perfect!" exclaimed Madame enthusiastically. "You are a -jewel, my friend." - -There was nothing of the senile invalid about her now. She had cast -off her shawl and her bonnet, and with them the lank, white wig which -concealed her own dark hair. The man in the rough blouse smiled as -he looked on her. - -"My mate and I have a number of excellent disguises in this wardrobe -here, Madame la Comtesse," he said, as he pointed to a large piece of -furniture which stood in a corner of the room, "and all are at your -service. I would suggest a peasant's dress for Mademoiselle, and," -he added significantly, "a man's attire for Madame, since she is so -very much at home in it." - -"You are right, my man," rejoined Madame lightly. "I was perfectly -at home in my son's breeches, and I shall never cease to regret that -Jacques de Romaine must remain now as he is--vanished or dead--for as -long as I live." - -The two men then took their leave, and the ladies proceeded to select -suitable disguises. Silently and methodically they proceeded in -their task, Mariette de Romaine making herself look as like a -labourer's wench as she could, whilst Mme. la Comtesse slipped into a -rough suit of coat and breeches with the ease born of constant habit. -Her short dark hair she tied into a knot at the nape of her neck and -placed a shabby three-cornered hat jauntily upon it. Her broad, -unfeminine figure, her somewhat hard-marked features and firm mouth -and chin made her look a handsome and dashing cavalier. - -When a few moments later the sound of voices in the hall proclaimed -the return of the men, Mme. la Comtesse was standing expectant and -triumphant facing the door, ready for adventure as she had always -been, a light of daring and of recklessness in her eyes, love of -intrigue and of tortuous paths, of dark conspiracies and even of -unavowable crimes glowing in her heart--all for the sake of a King -whom France with one voice had ejected from her shores, and a régime -which the whole of France abhorred. - -The door was opened: a woman's cry of joy and astonishment rang out. - -"Why Jacques, you young scamp!" exclaimed Mademoiselle Philippa who, -dressed in a brilliant dark green silk, with feathered hat and -well-rouged cheeks, was standing under the lintel of the narrow door -like a being from another world. "Where have you been hiding all -this while?" - -But her cry of mingled pleasure and petulance had already been -followed by a double cry of terror. Mme. la Comtesse, white now to -the lips, had fallen back against the table, to which she clung, -whilst Mariette de Romaine, wide-eyed like a tracked beast at bay, -was gazing in horror straight before her, where, behind Philippa's -flaring skirts, appeared the stern, colourless face of a small man in -a grey coat. - -"It was for the mean spies of that Corsican upstart," she exclaimed -with passionate indignation, "to have devised such an abominable -trick." - -Already the Man in Grey had entered the room. Behind him, in the -dark, narrow hall, could be seen the vague silhouettes of three or -four men in plain clothes. - -"Trick for trick, Mademoiselle, and disguise for disguise," said the -secret agent quietly. "I prefer mine to the one which deceived and -defrauded Mademoiselle Philippa here of close on a million francs' -worth of jewels." - -"A trick?" exclaimed the dancer, who was looking the picture of utter -confusion and bewilderment. "My jewels?--I don't understand----" - -"Madame la Comtesse de Romaine, otherwise Jacques, your fiancé and -admirer, Mademoiselle, has time to explain. The private coach which -will convey her to Rennes will not be here for half an hour. In the -meanwhile," he added, as he took up the parcel of jewels which still -lay upon the table, "you will find these at the commissariat of -police whenever you care to call for them. Monsieur Cognard will -have the privilege of returning them to you." - -But Mademoiselle Philippa was far too much upset to wait for -explanations. At the invitation of the Minister's accredited agent, -she had followed him hither, for he had told her that she would see -Jacques de Romaine once more. The disappointment and mingled horror -and excitement when she realised what an amazing trick had been -played upon her literally swept her off her nimble feet. It was a -month or more before she was well enough to fulfill her outstanding -engagements. - -The de Romaines--mother and daughter--offered no resistance. Indeed, -resistance would have been futile, and theirs was not the temperament -to allow of hysterics or undignified protestations. Every courtesy -was shown to them on their way to Rennes, where they were tried and -condemned to five years' imprisonment. But twelve months later the -Impérial clemency was exercised in their favour, and they were -released; after the Restoration they were handsomely rewarded for -their zeal in the service of the King. - -The Comte Jacques de Romaine who, as a little lad, had been taken -over to England, never came to France till after Waterloo had been -fought and won. At the time that his mother impersonated him so -daringly and with such sinister results, he was serving in the -Prussian Army. Mariette de Romaine subsequently married the Vicomte -de Saint-Vaast. She and her husband emigrated with Charles X in -1830, and their son married an Englishwoman, and died in a house at -Hampstead in the early 'seventies. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE BOURBON PRINCE - - -I - -"I don't see how I can be of any assistance to you, my good Monsieur -Moulin. I quite agree with you that it would be a real calamity if a -member of the ex-Royal family were to effect a landing in our -province, but----" And Monseigneur the Constitutional Bishop of -Alençon shrugged his shoulders in token of his inability to deal with -the matter. - -He was sitting in a small room of his splendid private château, which -was situated near Granville. Through the tall window on his left, -the magnificent panorama of the rugged coast of Normandy and of the -turbulent English Channel beyond was displayed in its limitless -glory. The point of Carolles still gleamed beneath the last rays of -the cold, wintry sun, but the jagged Dog's Tooth rocks were already -wrapped in twilight gloom. - -"And it is for our people themselves to realise," continued -Monseigneur, with his slow, somewhat pompous delivery, "how much -happier they would be if they discarded for ever their misguided -allegiance to those degenerate Bourbons, and became law-abiding -citizens like the rest of France." - -"They'll have no chance to do that," growled the préfet moodily, -"once we get one of those Bourbons sowing rebellion and discontent -all over the place. The landing of the Comte d'Artois must be -prevented at all costs or we shall have the devil to pay. Those -Chouans have been difficult enough to deal with, God knows, but -hitherto their want of organisation, their lack of responsible -leadership and of co-ordination have been our salvation. With the -Comte d'Artois at their head, and a deal of fictitious enthusiasm -aroused by him for the exiled Royal family over the water, we shall -have bloodshed, misery, and civil war rife again in this corner of -France." - -"Monsieur le Ministre," rejoined Monseigneur blandly, "has plenty of -spies here. Surely, even if the Comte d'Artois effect a landing, he -cannot escape capture at the hands of your well-organised police. -His death inside your circuit, my dear préfet, would be a fine -feather in your cap." - -"Oh, we don't want another martyred Bourbon just yet!" retorted the -préfet gruffly. "He'd better die in England, or on the high seas -rather than in this part of Normandy. We should be accused of -murdering him." - -M. le préfet was distinctly perturbed and irritable. A denunciation -from some anonymous quarter had reached him that morning: a number of -rough fellows--marauding Chouans--had, it appeared, halted at a -wayside inn somewhere on the Caen road, and openly boasted that M. le -Comte d'Artois, own brother to His Majesty the King, was about to -land on the shores of France, and that a numerous and enthusiastic -army was already prepared to rally round his flag, and to sweep the -upstart Emperor from his throne, and all the myrmidons of the -mushroom Empire from their comfortable seats. - -The Bishop had listened to the story of the anonymous denunciation -and to the préfet's wails of woe most benignly and untiringly for -close upon an hour. But he was at last showing signs of growing -impatience. - -"I think, my dear Monsieur Moulin," he said with some acerbity, "you -must yourself admit that this affair in no way concerns me. -Granville is not even my official residence. I came here for a -much-needed rest and, though my support and advice are always at your -disposal, I really must leave you and the chief commissary of police -to deal with these Chouans as best you can, and with any Bourbon -prince who thinks of paying France an unwelcome visit." - -He put up his delicate, beringed hand to his mouth, politely -smothering a yawn. He appeared absent and thoughtful all of a -sudden, bored no doubt by the fussy man's volubility. He was gazing -out of the window, seemingly in rapt contemplation of the beautiful -picture before him--the setting sun over the Channel, the gorgeous -coast scenery, the glowing splendour of the winter twilight. - -The préfet felt that he was dismissed. Respect for Monseigneur -warred with his latent irritability. - -"I won't intrude any longer," he said ruefully, as he prepared to go. - -The Bishop, much relieved, became at once more affable. - -"I wish I could be of service to you," he said benignly; "but from -what I hear you have a very able man at your elbow in the newly -accredited agent of His Majesty's Minister. The préfet of Alençon -has spoken very highly about him to me, and though he was -unsuccessful in the matter of the burglary in my Palace at Alençon -last October, I believe he has rendered very able assistance to the -chief commissary of police in bringing some of those redoubtable -Chouans to justice." - -"He may have done that," quoth the préfet drily, "but I have not much -faith in the little grey fellow myself. The problem confronting us -here is a deeper one than he can tackle." - -A few minutes later the préfet had finally bowed himself out of -Monseigneur's presence. - -The Bishop remained seated at his desk, absorbed and almost -motionless, for some time after his visitor had departed. He -appeared to be still wrapped up in the contemplation of the sunset. -The hurried footsteps of the préfet resounded on the great flagged -hall below; there had been the usual commotion attendant on the -departure of a guest: lackeys opening and closing the entrance doors, -a call for Monsieur le Préfet's horse, the clatter of hoofs upon the -stone-paved courtyard, then nothing more. - -The dignified quietude of a well-ordered, richly appointed household -again reigned in the sumptuous château. After a while, as the shades -of evening drew in, a footman entered with a lighted lamp, which he -set upon the table. But still Monseigneur waited, until through the -tall window by his side there appeared nothing but an impenetrable -veil of blackness. Then he rose, carefully re-adjusted the crimson -shade over the lamp and threw a couple of logs upon the cheerful -fire. He went up to the window and opened it and, stepping out on to -the terrace, peered intently into the night. - -The north-westerly wind was soughing through the trees of the park, -and not half a kilomètre away the breakers were roaring against the -Dog's Tooth rocks; but, even through these manifold sounds, -Monseigneur's keen ear had detected a soft and furtive footfall upon -the terrace steps. The next moment a man emerged out of the gloom. -Breathless and panting, he ran rapidly across the intervening -forecourt and, almost colliding with the Bishop, staggered and fell -forward into the room. - -Monseigneur received him in his arms, and with a swiftly murmured, -"Thank God!" led him to a chair beside the hearth. Then he closed -the window, drew the heavy damask curtains closely together and -finally came up to the newcomer who, shivering with cold and terror, -wet to the skin and scant of breath, was stooping to the fire, trying -to infuse warmth into his numbed fingers. - -"Someone is on my track," were the first words which fell from his -quivering lips. - -He was a man verging on middle age, short and stout of build, with a -white, flabby skin and prominent, weak-looking eyes. His clothes had -almost been torn off his back by the frolic of the gale; he was -hatless, and his hair, matted and dank, clung to his moist forehead. - -The Bishop had remained standing before him in an attitude of -profound respect. "Will your Highness deign to come up to my room?" -he said. "Dry clothes and a warm bath have been prepared." - -"I'll go in a moment," replied His Highness. He had still some -difficulty in recovering his breath, and spoke irritably like a -wayward sick child. "But let me tell you at once that our movements -have been watched from the moment that we set foot on these shores. -The crossing was very rough. The gale is raging furiously. The -skipper has put into Avranches. He put me off at the Goat's Creek -and left me there with de Verthamont and du Roy. As soon as we -started to come hither we realised that there was someone on our -track. We consulted together and decided that it would be best to -separate. De Verthamont went one way and du Roy another, and I ran -all the way here." - -"Was your Highness shadowed after that?" asked the Bishop. - -"I think not. I heard no one. But then the wind kept up an -incessant din." - -"And did Sébastien meet your Highness?" - -"Yes! In the Devil's Bowl. He followed me at a distance as far as -your gates. He thought that he, too, had been shadowed all day. -Early this morning he reconnoitred as far as Coutances, and there he -heard that a couple of regiments of cavalry and a battery of -artillery had arrived from St. Lô." - -The Bishop made no further comment. His enthusiasm and excitement of -a moment ago appeared to have fallen away from him; his finely -chiselled face had become serene and pale; only in his deep-set eyes -there seemed to smoulder a dull fire, as if with the prescience of -impending doom. - -A moment or two later he persuaded the Comte d'Artois to come up to -his own private apartments. Here a warm bath, dry clothes and a -well-cooked supper restored to the unfortunate Prince a certain -measure of courage. - -"What's to be done?" he asked with a querulous tone in his hoarse -voice. - -"For the moment," replied the Bishop earnestly, "I would respectfully -beg of your Highness to remain in these apartments, which have the -infinite advantage of a secret hiding-place which no police agent -will ever discover." - -"A hiding-place?" muttered the Prince petulantly. "I loathe the very -idea of lurking behind dusty panels like a sick fox." - -The Bishop did not venture on a reply. He went up to the fine -mantelpiece at the opposite end of the room, and his hand wandered -over the elaborate carving which adorned the high wainscoting. He -pressed with one finger on a portion of the carving, and at once some -of the woodwork moved silently upon unseen hinges, and disclosed a -cavity large enough for a man to pass through. - -"It would only be an hour or so at a time, your Highness," he said -with respectful apology; "in case a posse of police makes a descent -upon the house." - -He explained to his august visitor the mechanism of the secret panel. -M. le Comte d'Artois, weary after a long sea journey, fretful and -irritable, kept up a constant stream of mutterings _sotto voce_: - -"You and the party wished me to come. I never thought that it would -be safe, and if I have to remain in hiding in this rat hole, I might -just as well be sitting comfortably in England." - -Monseigneur, however, never departed for a moment from his attitude -of almost reverential deference. With his own hands he ministered to -every bodily comfort of the exalted personage who had found refuge -under his roof and only left him when he saw the prince comfortably -stretched out upon the bed, and was fully assured that he understood -the working of the secret panel. - -Then after a deep obeisance he finally bowed himself out of the room. -Slowly he descended the dimly lighted stairs which led to his study -on the floor below. The pallor of his face appeared more marked than -before. A vague feeling of anxiety, not unmixed with disappointment, -caused a deep frown to settle between his brows. - -The situation, though tense always, had become well-nigh desperate -now. With M. le Comte d'Artois under his roof and his movements -known to a spy of the Impérial police, every hour, every minute, had -become fraught with deadly danger, not only to him but to every one -of his adherents. - -Hundreds of men and women around the neighbourhood at this hour were -preparing to meet the Prince--the brother of their uncrowned -King--for whose sake they were willing to risk their lives. One -false move, one act of cowardice or carelessness, and the death of a -Bourbon prince would once more sully the honour of France, whilst -countless adherents of the Royal cause would again fall victims to -their hot-headed loyalty. - -And as the Bishop re-entered his study he gave a short bitter sigh, -for memory had swiftly conjured up the vision of that unheroic figure -which slept contentedly in the room above, and on whose energy and -courage depended the lives of those who still believed in him, and -who saw in him only the ideal of a monarchy, the traditions of old -France and of the glorious days that were gone. - - -II - -Monseigneur, on entering the study, saw a man standing there waiting -for him. - -"Sébastien!" he exclaimed eagerly. - -The man had the bearing and appearance of a good-class domestic -servant--one of those who enjoy many privileges as well as the -confidence of their employer. But to a keen psychologist it would -soon become obvious that the sombre, well-cut clothes and stiff, -conventional demeanour cloaked a more vigorous and more individual -personality. The face appeared rugged even beneath the solid mask, -and the eyes had a keen, searching, at times furtive expression in -them. They were the eyes of a man accustomed to feel danger dogging -his footsteps, to hold his life in his own hands and to take risks -which would make the pusillanimous quake. - -"How long have you been here?" asked the Bishop quickly. - -"Half an hour, Monseigneur. I did not dare follow His Highness too -closely. The town and its neighbourhood are bristling with spies. I -have had the greatest difficulty throughout the day in giving at -least two prowlers the slip and drawing them off His Highness's -tracks." - -Monseigneur uttered an exclamation of horror. - -"I thought I had one at my heels a moment ago," continued Sébastien; -"just inside the gates. Someone, I felt, was dogging my footsteps. -I fired a random shot into the night, and as luck would have it, I -brought down my man." - -"Brought down your man?" exclaimed Monseigneur eagerly. "Then----" - -"Unfortunately it was not a police spy whom I shot," said Sébastien -carelessly, "but Grand-Cerf, one of your keepers." - -Monseigneur uttered a cry of horror. - -"Grand-Cerf! I had posted him just inside the gates to watch for -possible prowlers." - -"I didn't know that, and I shot him," repeated Sébastien grimly. - -"You killed him?" - -Sébastien nodded. The matter did not appear to him to have any -importance. - -"Now if it had been that accursed spy----" he murmured. Then he -added more earnestly: "You will have a posse of police over from -Granville to-morrow, Monseigneur--they'll search this house. Somehow -or other someone has got wind of the affair--I'd stake my life on it." - -"Let them come," retorted the Bishop shortly. "Monsieur le Comte -d'Artois will be safe behind the secret panel." - -Sébastien shrugged his shoulders. - -"For half an hour, yes! But if, as I believe, it is that confounded -grey chap from Paris who has shadowed us, then no hiding-place or -secret panel will screen us from his prying eyes. It is he who -tracked down the Spaniard last November, who laid Monsieur de -Saint-Tropèze low, who thwarted Mademoiselle Vaillant. Oh!" added -the old Chouan, "if I only had him here between my hands----" - -His powerful fingers twitched convulsively. Monseigneur shrugged his -shoulders. - -"That miserable little Man in Grey," he said drily, "has had the luck -so far, I own, but it was because his wits were only opposed to brute -force. Monsieur de Saint-Tropèze was clumsy, the Spaniard reckless, -the girl Vaillant hysterical. Now we have to defend Monsieur le -Comte d'Artois himself--but not with our lives, my good -Sébastien--'tis our wits which are going to win the day, right under -the very nose of the confounded Man in Grey." - - -III - -An hour or two later, in a small dingy room in one of the most -squalid portions of the town, the accredited agent of His Impérial -Majesty's Minister of Police was hastily demolishing the remnants of -a meagre, cold supper. He appeared footsore and cold. M. Moulin, -préfet of St. Lô, sat opposite to him at the table. He seemed -gravely agitated and anxious. - -"We have done all we really could, Monsieur Fernand," he said -fretfully, "with the material at our command. Monsieur le Duc -d'Otrante's spies have been very active, and I don't think that we -have any cause to complain of the results." - -"Well, let's hear the results," said the Man in Grey curtly. - -A sharp retort hovered on the préfet's tongue. He did not like the -dictatorial ways of this emissary from Paris, and had it not been for -M. le Duc d'Otrante's express orders, the Minister's secret agent -would have fared ill at the hands of this hidebound official. - -"There has been," he resumed with some bitterness, "great activity -among the Chouans that are known to us in this neighbourhood. Our -spies have discovered that the Comte d'Artois landed on this coast in -the early dawn this morning. Unfortunately, they cannot be -everywhere, and up to half an hour ago we had found no trace of him -that we can rely on: at the same time we have intercepted a -letter----" - -"Pshaw!" ejaculated the Man in Grey impatiently. "And did your spies -inform you by any chance that three strangers were landed by the brig -_Delphine_ in the Goat's Creek at dawn this morning?" - -"Our informant did not say," remarked the préfet drily. - -"I dare say not," rejoined the Man in Grey. "Nor did he tell you, -perhaps, that the three strangers were met at the Devil's Bowl by -Sébastien, who is, if I mistake not, confidential valet to the -Constitutional Bishop of Alençon." - -"That is false!" broke in Monsieur le Préfet emphatically. "The -loyalty of Monseigneur is beyond question." - -"Perhaps," retorted the other with a grim smile. "At any rate, -Sébastien guided the three strangers through intricate passes among -the cliffs as far as the Dog's Tooth. Here the party separated: one -man went one way, another the other. Sébastien and one of the -strangers waited about the cliffs until dusk, then they made their -way along as far as the outskirts of Monseigneur's property----" - -"I protest!" ejaculated the préfet hotly. - -But the Man in Grey put up his slender hand with a commanding gesture. - -"One moment, I beg," he said quietly. "The stranger lurked about on -the outskirts of the park until it was quite dark, then he slipped in -through the gates, with Sébastien close at his heels. The gates were -at once drawn to and closed. The stranger disappeared in the night. -A few minutes later the report of a musket rang out through the -darkness, then the soughing of the gale drowned every other sound." - -"Some thief," exclaimed the préfet gruffly, "lurking round the -château. No doubt Sebastian suspected him, dogged his footsteps and -shot him. It is all as clear as daylight----" - -"So clear, indeed," observed the Man in Grey calmly, "that you, -Monsieur le Préfet, will at once communicate with the chief -commissary of police. I want a squadron of mounted men to surround -Monseigneur's château and a vigorous search made both inside and -outside the house." - -"What! Now?" gasped Monsieur Moulin. - -"Yes; now!" - -"But it is past ten o'clock!" he protested. - -"A better hour could not be found." - -"But Monseigneur will look upon this as an insult!" exclaimed the -préfet, who was deadly pale with agitation. - -"For which we'll apologise if we have wronged him," retorted the -secret agent quietly. "Stay!" he added, after a moment's reflection. -"I pray you at the same time to tell Monsieur le Commissaire that I -shall require a closed barouche, with a strong pair of horses and a -mounted guard of half a dozen men, to be ready for me in the -stable-yard of Monseigneur's château. Is that understood?" - -It was. To have even thought of disobedience would have been -madness. The very way in which the Man in Grey uttered his "I pray -you" sent a cold shiver down M. Moulin's spine, and he still had in -the inner pocket of his coat the letter written in the all-powerful -Minister's own hand. In this letter M. le Duc d'Otrante gave orders -that his agent was to be obeyed--blindly, implicitly, -unquestioningly--whatever he might command, whomsoever he might bid -to execute his orders. One look in that pale, colourless face -sufficed to show that he knew the power which had been placed in his -hands and would use it to punish those who strove to defy his might. - - -IV - -M. Fantin, commissary of police of Granville, was preparing to -execute the agent's orders as transmitted by the préfet. The whole -matter was unutterably distasteful to him. Monseigneur the -Constitutional Bishop of Alençon was a prelate of such high integrity -and proven loyalty, that to put such an insult upon him was, in the -opinion of the commissary, nothing short of an outrage. He was -pacing up and down the uncarpeted floor of his office in a state of -great agitation. In a corner of the room, beside the small iron -stove, sat the secret agent of His Majesty's Minister. Calm, -unperturbed by the mutterings of the commissary, he only exhibited a -slight sign of impatience when he glanced at the clock and noted the -rapid flight of time. The squadron of mounted police requisitioned -by him was making ready to get to horse. It was then close on eleven -o'clock. - -A moment later one of the police sergeants entered the office with -the news that a mounted courier had just arrived from the château, -with a message from Monseigneur to the commissary of police. - -"I'll see him at once," said the latter, half hoping that this fresh -incident would even now prevent the abominable insult to the Bishop. - -"What is it, Gustave?" he asked, for he knew the man as one of the -grooms in Monseigneur's service. - -"An attempt at impudent robbery, Monsieur le Commissaire," replied -the man, "which has resulted in a man's death. Monseigneur has sent -me over to notify you at once and to ask what he should do in the -matter." - -M. Fantin threw a look of triumph at the little figure in grey that -sat huddled beside the iron stove. The commissary had also advanced -the theory of an attempted burglary at the château, and was highly -elated to see his deductions justified. - -"A robbery?" he exclaimed. "How? When?" - -"An hour or two ago, Monsieur le Commissaire," replied Gustave. -"Monseigneur will explain. I know nothing of the details except that -the rascal overturned a lamp. He was burned to death and nearly set -fire to the château. I was sent hither post-haste to see Monsieur le -Commissaire----" - -"Very good," rejoined the commissary. "Ride straight back to the -château and tell Monseigneur that I will be there anon." - -As soon as the man had gone, M. Fantin turned complacently to the Man -in Grey. - -"As you see, my dear Monsieur Fernand," he began, "there is no need -to----" - -"As your squadron is ready, Monsieur le Commissaire," quoth the agent -quietly, "'twere a pity not to give them the exercise. And remember -the barouche," he added sharply, "and the mounted guard. Do not on -any account leave them behind. My orders are in no way modified." - -The commissary swallowed the retort which was hovering on his lips; -but he threw a look that was almost vicious at the meagre grey-clad -figure. - -"Do you accompany us?" he asked with a sneer. - -"I will meet you at the château," replied the secret agent simply. - -Half an hour later Monseigneur was making the commissary of police -welcome at the château. He appeared more upset than he cared to -admit by the tragedy enacted inside his house. He was not a young -man, and his nerves were severely shaken. When his visitors entered, -he was sitting in a large armchair beside the fire in his bedroom; he -had a glass in his hand, half filled with some sweet-smelling -restorative. One of his male servants was in attendance upon him, -bathing his master's forehead with vinegar and water. - -Preceded by Sébastien and accompanied by the secret agent and two men -of the police, M. Fantin then went to view the scene of the tragedy. -The two men remained on guard outside the dining-room, where the -drama had taken place. The room still presented a disordered -appearance; nothing had been touched, Sébastien declared, in view of -M. le Commissaire's visit. But the lamp which hung from the ceiling -had been lighted, and by its light the whole extent of what might -have been a measureless disaster was revealed to M. Fantin's -horrified gaze. - -In the centre of the room on the floor, close to the large -dining-table, there lay a shapeless mass, obviously a human body, -charred beyond identification. Only the lower part, the heavy cloth -breeches and high leather boots, though badly scorched, were still -recognisable. Beside the body, the rich damask table-cloth lay in a -burned and tangled heap, where the wretched man had dragged it down -in his fall; and a foot or so away was the heavy lamp which had -caused the conflagration. It was lying on its side, with bowl, shade -and chimney broken, just as it had rolled out of the man's hand. A -narrow streak of oil ran from it to the edge of the mantel-kerb. The -rich Oriental carpet was burned in several places, and the table -itself was severely scorched, while heat and smoke had begun their -work of destruction everywhere on the priceless furniture, until -water had rendered their work complete. - -Sébastien's account of the tragedy was brief and clear. He had had -his suspicions aroused during the day by seeing an ill-clad ruffian -sneaking around the park gates, and in the evening, feeling anxious, -he made a special tour of the château to see that everything was -safe. On entering the dining-room he saw a man standing beside the -open window, through which he had evidently just made his way. -He--Sébastien--at once drew his pistol, and the man turned to fly; -but the aim was good and the man appeared to be hit. He gave a snarl -like a wild animal, sprang back into the room, apparently with a view -to throwing himself upon his assailant, when his strength failed him. -With one hand he clutched at the table, but he tottered and fell, -dragging with him both the cloth and the table-lamp, which came down -with a crash on the top of him, scattering the oil all over his body. -His clothing at once caught fire, and Sébastien, realising the danger -to the entire house, instantly ran for the buckets of water, which -were always kept in the passage for the purpose, and shouted for -assistance. - -Within a few moments he and another lackey got the fire under, and no -great harm was done, save the shock to Monseigneur's nerves, damage -to valuable furniture, and the complete obliteration of the felon's -identity. - -The commissary of police asked Sébastien a few questions for form's -sake. He also took some perfunctory notes. He felt irritable and -gravely annoyed with the secret agent for having placed him in such -an awkward position vis-à-vis of Monseigneur. - -"A squadron of police to investigate a common attempt at burglary," -he growled savagely, as Sébastien finally showed him out of the room. -"We shall be the laughing-stock of the countryside!" - -Sébastien laughed. - -"'Tis the Chouans who will be pleased, Monsieur le Commissaire," he -said. "They have you safely occupied to-night and can go about their -nefarious business unmolested, I am thinking." - -The Man in Grey was about to follow, but turned for a moment on his -heel. - -"By the way, my good Sébastien," he said, "at what time did the -tragedy take place which you have so graphically described to us?" - -For a second or two Sébastien appeared to hesitate. - -"Oh," he replied, "somewhere about six or seven o'clock, Monsieur. I -couldn't say exactly." - -"What made you wait so long, then, before you sent to Monsieur le -Commissaire?" - -"There was a little confusion in the house, Monsieur will understand. -Monseigneur had given orders at once to send a courier over, but the -grooms were at their supper, and it took a little time--we meant to -send at once--the delay was unintentional." - -"I am sure it was," broke in the commissary, who was still within -earshot. "And now, Monsieur Fernand," he added, "I pray you excuse -me. The hour is getting late, and I must make my apologies to -Monseigneur." - -"One moment, Monsieur le Commissaire," rejoined the Man in Grey. -"Will you not at least question the other servants who came to -Monsieur Sébastien's assistance?" - -"No one came to my assistance," Sébastien assured him. "The whole -affair was over in a moment." - -"But when the shot was fired----" - -"By the time some of the domestics arrived upon the scene, I had put -out the fire. Then I locked the dining-room door. I knew Monsieur -le Commissaire would not wish anything touched." - -"Quite right!--quite right!" said M. Fantin querulously. "Now, -Monsieur Fernand, will you come?" - -"One moment, Monsieur le Commissaire," said the secret agent, and -suddenly his whole manner changed to one of commanding authority. -"There will be plenty of time for excuses presently. For the nonce -you will order your captain to make a thorough search of this château -and of the grounds around. You will question every one of the -domestics; and remember that I shall be about somewhere--probably -unseen--but present, nevertheless, to see that the investigation is -minute and thorough. Sébastien will remain in the meanwhile in the -custody of these two men here, until I have need of him again." - -"By Heaven!" protested the Commissaire roughly. - -"By Heaven!" retorted the Man in Grey loudly, "you'll obey my orders -now, Monsieur le Commissaire, or I shall send you straight to -Monsieur the Minister to report upon your own misconduct!" - -M. Fantin, at the threat and at the manner in which it was uttered, -became as white as a sheet. But he obeyed--at once and without -another word. Sébastien's rugged face had shown no sign of emotion -as, at a curt word from the secret agent, the two men of the police -closed up on either side and marched him into an adjoining room. - -The commissary had taken the threat of the Minister's all-powerful -agent very much to heart. His men searched the château through and -through, just as if it had been the stronghold of some irreconcilable -rebel. The secret agent himself appeared and disappeared, while the -search was going on, like some grey will-o'-the-wisp--now in one -room, now in another, now a passage, now half-way upstairs, just -where least expected. The search took over three hours. During that -time Monseigneur himself sat in his room in front of the fire, the -very picture of silent and offended dignity. He listened--motionless -and dignified--to the commissary's profuse apologies, only now and -then accepting the ministrations of the lackey who remained with him -throughout, bathing his forehead with vinegar, or mixing a fresh -glass of orange-flower water. Of the grey-clad figure which -flittered unceremoniously in and out of his private apartments, he -took no more notice than if he were a fly. - -When presently the police actually invaded his own bedroom, -Monseigneur's attitude remained one of unapproachable reserve. Even -when the agent passed his hands over the wainscoting and presently -found the button that worked the secret spring, Monseigneur showed -neither interest nor emotion. The hiding-place itself was found to -be empty; the Man in Grey walked into it and out again, in a -matter-of-fact, impassive manner, as if he were performing a -mechanical and useless job. Neither here nor inside the house, nor -in the grounds, nor in any other hiding-place was anyone or anything -found to impeach Monseigneur's well-known loyalty. - -The unfortunate commissary was covered with confusion. He would -gladly have strangled the meddlesome official who had placed him in -such an awkward position, or even have relieved his feelings by -hurling anathema upon him. But the secret agent appeared indifferent -both to the wrath of M. Fantin and to the silent disapprobation of -the Bishop. When he was satisfied that the search was done, and well -done, he took his leave, but not before. - -Monseigneur did not vouchsafe him even a look. But he was quite -affable with M. le Commissaire, when the latter finally was allowed -to depart. - -"Have you any further orders, Monsieur Fernand?" queried M. Fantin -with bitter sarcasm, when he had bowed his way out of the presence of -the outraged prelate. - -"Yes," replied the other; "but I will give them to you outside. And -stay," he added as the commissary turned on his heel, silent with -pent-up rage, "take Sébastien with you and keep him at the -commissariat until further orders." - -No chronicler could make a faithful record of all that M. Fantin said -to himself and to his sergeant even whilst he executed these orders -punctually. Fortunately for his feelings on the way home, the Man in -Grey did not elect to accompany him. After he had given his final -orders he disappeared in the darkness, and M. Fantin was only too -thankful to be rid of that unpleasant presence. - - -V - -In and around the château again reigned that perfect silence and -orderliness which pertain to an aristocratic household. The squadron -of police had long since departed: even the sound of their horses' -hoofs, the clang of metal and rattle of swords and muskets had ceased -to echo through the night. For a little while longer soft murmurings -and stealthy movements were still heard inside the house as the -servants went to bed, and, whilst they undressed, indulged in -comments and surmises about the curious happenings of the night. -Then, even these sounds were stilled. Monseigneur, however, did not -go to bed. He had risen from the armchair, and in it he had -installed the man who, for several hours had been diligently -ministering to him with vinegar and orange-flower water. - -"Your Highness is none the worse for the experience, I trust," he -said, as he stooped and threw a log or two into the blaze. - -"Tired and anxious," replied the Comte d'Artois querulously. - -"A night's rest will soon restore your Royal Highness," rejoined the -Bishop with deep respect. - -"It was a dangerous game to play," continued the prince peevishly. -"At any moment one of those men might have suspected." - -"It was the only possible game to play, your Royal Highness," -rejoined the Bishop earnestly. "The moment those spies were on your -track and mine, the search was bound to follow. Think if the police -had come here whilst you were in hiding in this room or even behind -the secret panel! Nay! 'twas a mercy Sébastien shot Grand-Cerf in -mistake for a spy. It enabled us to invent that marvellous comedy -which so effectually hoodwinked not only the police but even that -astute agent of the Minister himself. And now," added Monseigneur, -as a deep sigh of exultation and triumph rose from his breast, "we -can work with a free hand. After to-night's work, this house will -never again be suspected. We can make it the headquarters of your -Highness's staff. It shall be the stepping-stone to your royal -brother's reconquered throne." - -The words were scarcely out of his mouth when, in an instant, he -paused, his whole attitude one of rigid and terror-filled expectancy. -Loud and firm footsteps had resounded upon the flagged terrace, -though muffled by the heavy damask curtain which hung before the -window. A second or two later the footsteps halted, the mullion was -struck with something that clanked, and a voice called out loudly and -peremptorily: - -"Open, in the name of the law!" - -The Comte d'Artois had smothered a cry of horror. He clung to his -chair with hands that trembled as if with ague, his face became -deathly white, and he stared with wild, wide-open eyes in the -direction of the window, whence that peremptory call had come. He -was in a state of acute physical terror bordering on collapse. -Monseigneur, however, had not lost his presence of mind: "Quick, the -secret panel!" he said, and already the slender hand was manipulating -the hidden spring. The Comte d'Artois tottered to his feet; the next -moment there was a terrific crash of broken glass, the damask curtain -was roughly torn aside, and the agent stepped into the room. - -"Resistance were futile, Monseigneur," he said quietly, for with a -rapid movement the Bishop had reached the bell-pull. "I have half a -squadron of police outside, and six men at my heels." - -He came further into the room, and as he did so he called to two of -his men to stand on either side of Monseigneur. Then he turned to -Monsieur le Comte d'Artois: - -"I have a barouche and a mounted guard ready to convey your Highness -to Avranches, where the brig _Delphine_ with her new skipper is at -your disposal for an immediate return trip to England. His Majesty -the Emperor deprecates revenge and bloodshed. He might punish, but -he prefers to put the culprit out of the way. If Monsieur le Comte -d'Artois will offer no resistance, every respect will be shown to his -person." - -Resistance would, indeed, have been worse than useless. Even -Monseigneur replied to his Highness's look of appeal with one of -resignation. He picked up a mantle which lay upon the bed and -silently put it round the Prince's shoulders, then he took the hand -which His Highness held out to him and kissed it fervently. Half a -dozen men closed in around the Prince, and the latter walked with a -firm step over the threshold of the window, his footsteps and those -of his escort soon ceasing to echo through the night. - -"You have won, Monsieur," said the Bishop coldly, when he found -himself alone with the Man in Grey. "I am in your hands." - -"Did I not say, Monseigneur, that His Majesty deprecated revenge?" -said the secret agent quietly. "You have an estate in the South, a -château finer than this one, so I'm told. You are free to go thither -for an indefinite period, for the benefit of your health." - -"Exile!" said the Bishop bitterly. - -"Do you not deserve worse?" retorted the Man in Grey coldly. - -"I nearly outwitted you, though," exclaimed the Bishop. - -"Very nearly, I admit. Unfortunately for your clever comedy, I -happened to know that your valet Sébastien shot a man just outside -your gates early in the afternoon. When he told me the elaborate -story of the attempted burglary I knew that he lied, and, with that -knowledge, I was able to destroy the whole fabric of your -machinations. As you see, I bided my time. And the moment that you, -thinking that you were alone with the Comte d'Artois, threw down your -mask I was ready to strike. Let me bid you farewell, Monseigneur," -he added in conclusion, and, without a touch of irony. "You can have -twenty-four hours to prepare for your journey South, and you will -remain in your château there awaiting His Majesty's pleasure." - -The next moment the Man in Grey was gone, even as the Bishop's -parting words struck upon his unheeding ear: - -"Awaiting the return of His Majesty Louis XVIII, by the Grace of God, -King of France," Monseigneur called out at the top of his voice. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE MYSTERY OF A WOMAN'S HEART - - -I - -The letter dropped from Mme. de Plélan's thin, white hand. She -looked across at her daughter with eyes full of tears. - -"And now that Monseigneur has gone," she said mournfully, "I feel as -if I had lost the very mainstay of our valiant little party." - -The girl sighed, somewhat impatiently. - -"Monseigneur," she said, "would be the first to bid you smother your -regrets for the past, maman, and to concentrate your thoughts on the -dangers that still lie ahead." - -She was busy at a desk that stood open before her, glancing at a -number of papers, classifying some, throwing a great number into the -fire which crackled cheerfully in the hearth, whilst others she tied -together and put into a small tin box that stood close to her hand. - -"It was kind and gracious of Monseigneur," continued Madame la -Marquise dolefully, "to think of sending me a courier when he must -have been so busy with his preparations for his sudden departure. -Oh, that departure!" she added, as once again tears of wrath as well -as of sorrow welled up to her eyes. "The shame of it! The -humiliation as well as the bitter, bitter disappointment!" - -Constance de Plélan made no comment this time on her mother's -lamentations. She had apparently completed the work on which she had -been engaged, for now she rose, closed the desk and locking the small -tin box with a key which she selected from a bunch at her belt she -took it up under her arm. Then she turned to her mother: - -"Will you tell me, maman," she said, "just what Monseigneur says in -his letter?" - -Constance stood there in the grey light of the winter afternoon, with -the flicker of the firelight playing on her tall, graceful figure, -her arm extended, holding the metal box, her small head carried with -the stately dignity of a goddess. - -"Those devils will be here directly," continued the girl; and as she -spoke the delicate lines of her face were distorted by an expression -of intense and passionate hatred. "But we are ready for them. I -have only this box to put away in its usual hiding-place--after -which, let them come!" - -Mme. de Plélan again took up the letter, the perusal of which had -caused her so much sorrow. It had arrived by courier a few minutes -ago; now, at her daughter's request, she began to read it aloud: - -"This is what Monseigneur the Bishop writes," she said. "'My dear -friend, immediately on receipt of this missive, set to work at once -to destroy any compromising papers you may have in the house. I have -no doubt that the posse of police which has just ransacked my place -will pay you a visit also. My friendship for you is well known, and -your name may appear in one or two of the letters which those brutes -have confiscated. Alas! the landing of Monsieur le Comte d'Artois on -these shores has ended in disaster. The spies of the Corsican -upstart were on his track from the first. They followed His Royal -Highness to my Palace, kidnapped him as if he were a bale of goods -and shipped him straight back to England. My life and liberty are, -it seems, to be spared, but I have been ordered into exile at my -château in the Dauphiné. God guard and preserve you all! We must -wait for happier times!" - -Constance said nothing for a moment or two. She stood staring into -the fire, her lips tightly pressed. - -"And all," she mused after a while, speaking slowly and dreamily, -"through the machinations of that extraordinary man, who is said to -be a secret agent of Bonaparte's most powerful Minister." - -"A man without a name!" added the Marquise, bitter scorn ringing -through every word she spoke. "A meagre, insignificant creature, -grey and colourless as his coat." - -"But clever--and relentless," said the girl. "That Man in Grey is -killing our hopes one by one." - -"I loathe the brute!" ejaculated Madame fervently. - -"Monsieur de Saint-Tropèze is dead," continued Constance in the same -dreary, monotonous voice. "The Spaniard is a prisoner; Marie -Vaillant a failure; Monseigneur an exile; and still that Man in Grey -is allowed to live. Oh, it is monstrous!" she said, her whole body -suddenly quivering with passion. "Monstrous and cowardly! Are there -no men amongst us who will rid the King of such a pestilential foe?" - -Mme. de Plélan started as if she had been struck. She stared at her -daughter, trying to fathom all that was going on behind that smooth -young brow and within the depths of those passion-filled eyes. - -"You mean----?" she murmured. - -The girl nodded. "Why not?" she retorted quite calmly. - -"Oh, if we could!" replied Madame. "But he is so cautious, so -wary--and lately he has always had two or three spies at his heels." - -"There are ways----" - -"Oh, as to that, there are a number of our own men who would -willingly take every risk in order to rid us of the brute. But in -cases of that kind," she added slowly, "failure always means such -terrible reprisals--the death of two or three more of our leaders on -the guillotine--and we can ill spare them just now." - -"I did not mean anything so clumsy," explained Constance quietly. -"An attempted murder from behind a hedge is, as you say, foredoomed -to failure. From what one knows of the Man in Grey he is not likely -to fall a victim to such an artless trap." - -"Then what did you mean, Constance?" asked Madame coldly. - -"Men have been decoyed before now," replied the girl, as she looked -her mother straight between the eyes; "and have of their own will -walked into traps from which there was no escape. The man in the -grey coat may be surrounded by spies, his precious life may be -watched over by an army of myrmidons, but he is the most astute as -well as the most relentless enemy of our King--and what other women -have done before now, surely we can do again." - -Mme. la Marquise made no immediate reply. She was gazing almost with -awe upon her daughter, who, flushed with ardour, quivering with -excitement, appeared the very embodiment of that reckless patriotism -which had already sent Charlotte Corday to the scaffold. - -"Constance, in God's name," she murmured, "tell me what you mean----" - -But before the girl could reply, the words died upon her lips. From -the other side of the château there had come the sound of a great -commotion, the clatter of horses' hoofs upon the flagged forecourt, -the clanging of metal, the champing of bits, and finally loud and -peremptory words of command. - -"The police!" exclaimed Madame la Marquise in a hoarse whisper. - -"Those devils!" ejaculated the girl with savage intensity of hate. - -But neither of the women showed the slightest sign of fear, or even -of agitation. They were made of that firm nerve which is always -ready to meet danger in whatever form, at whatever hour it may -present itself. Conspiracy and intrigue were in their blood. They -had never become reconciled to the new régime that had sent their -King and Queen to the guillotine and kept their present uncrowned -King in exile. They had never bowed their necks to the democratic or -the military yoke. They still fought tooth and nail for the -restoration of a system which they believed was based upon divine -right--caring little that that system had been rejected by the entire -people of France. And since they could no longer fight in the -open--for their party had dwindled to vanishing-point and lacked both -men and materials--they plotted in the dark, in secret, but with -unswerving loyalty to their King and unbounded belief in ultimate -victory. - -So now with a posse of police at their gates they did not lose their -heads. On the contrary, Madame la Marquise de Plélan's attitude -became if anything more dignified and more calm. She arranged her -silk dress in prim folds around her, readjusting the set of her lace -coif, and took up a piece of knitting wherewith she busied her -perfectly steady fingers. Constance, still carrying the metal box, -turned to go out of the room. - -"I will return," she said, "when I have disposed of this box." - -"What have you kept in it?" asked Madame rather anxiously. "From -what I hear, secret hiding-places stand but little chance when that -grey-coated ferret is about." - -Apparently, however, the young girl had not heard her mother's query, -for even as the usual ominous "Open, in the name of the law!" rang -out through the silence of the château, she had run out of the room -and was speeding down the long corridor towards her own apartments. - - -II - -The Man in Grey, quiet and perfectly deferential, stood before Mme. -la Marquise de Plélan and in a few words explained the duty that lay -before him. - -"By order of His Majesty's Minister of Police," he added firmly. - -Mme. la Marquise waived aside his explanations with a quick gesture -of her slender, aristocratic hand. - -"I know, Monsieur, I know," she said calmly. "French men and women -now are little better than slaves. Their very homes, their privacy, -have ceased to be sacred in the eyes of the State which should be -their protector, rather than their tyrant." - -A search in a private house in those days was no small matter. -Ordered by the Minister of Police or his accredited representative, -it consisted in a thorough and rigid examination of every nook and -cranny, of every corner wherein compromising papers might be hidden. -The high-born gentlemen and ladies, suspected of furthering the Cause -of the exiled Bourbon princes by aiding and abetting the Chouans in -their nefarious practices, were known to be past masters in the art -of concealing every proof of their own guilt or that of their -friends; the women especially, who reckoned on a certain amount of -chivalry on the part of police officers, were the chief custodians of -the papers and records belonging to those organised bands of -marauding freebooters. - -Madame la Marquise had only thrown one glance on the hated enemy when -first he entered the room, but already she had appraised him in her -mind: "Relentless in the exercise of duty," she thought. "Cold and -dispassionate; no mercy or consideration could be expected from him. -If only Constance has burned everything that was compromising--there -was the tin box and papers which related to the agency at Jersey--and -many more records which might mean the guillotine for some of us if -they were found----" - -Madame noticed that the moment the agent entered the room he cast one -rapid look in the direction of the hearth, where the fire was -half-smothered beneath a heap of burned paper. On this, however, he -made no comment; only his glance appeared to harden and the orders to -his men became more peremptory and more sharp. He asked Madame for -her keys. She took a bunch from her basket and gave them up to him -without remark beyond the curt statement: - -"My daughter has the others." - -The Man in Grey opened the desk and the drawers of other pieces of -furniture in the room, then he left his men to do their work. Madame -sat beside the fire, quietly knitting. When she was respectfully -asked to move she did so with lips tightly pressed, as if determined -not to give vent to her indignation. Cushions and stuffings of -chairs and sofas were searched through and through; three men were -busy in this room, others were dispersed throughout the house. They -tested the wainscotings and the window recesses; they climbed up the -chimneys and tapped on the ceilings and the walls. The calm, -colourless eyes of the Man in Grey appeared to be everywhere. Even -Mme. la Marquise felt a hot flush rising to her pale cheeks when she -encountered that searching gaze, which seemed to probe her very -thoughts. - -"If only Constance would return!" she sighed to herself impatiently. - -The shades of evening were beginning to draw in. The police were now -busy in other parts of the house; only the secret agent was still in -the room. His fingers were wandering over the elaborate carving of -the wainscoting. Madame was silent, her ear strained to catch the -sound of Constance's footfall on the corridor outside. - -Suddenly she heard the familiar light footstep, and, strangely -enough, the young girl's voice, clear as a bird's and exquisitely -trained, singing an old French _chanson_. The next moment the door -was opened and Constance stood under the lintel. She had changed her -plain morning dress for a clinging gown of soft silk, embroidered in -tiny, coloured rosebuds; her neck and arms were bare, and round her -shoulders she had wound a diaphanous scarf of old lace. Her golden -hair was dressed high in the prevailing fashion of the day; her -cheeks and lips were slightly rouged, her eyes shone with intense -excitement. It was obvious that she had been at pains to enhance her -great personal attraction. Even the perfume of sweet peas which -emanated from her was intended to intoxicate, and of a truth she -presented an altogether adorable picture of youth and beauty, as well -as of gay and childlike spirits. - -Madame smothered the exclamation of astonishment which at sight of -her daughter had risen to her lips, whilst the Man in Grey turned -from his engrossing occupation and was gazing at the exquisite -apparition in the doorway, offering it that tribute of silent -admiration which no man--however hidebound--will ever grudge to a -beautiful woman. - -"Ah, Monsieur!" said Constance gaily, as with perfect unconcern she -stepped into the room and turned a pair of appealing blue eyes to the -impassive secret agent, "I entreat you, come to the rescue! Your -sergeant insists that he must turn out all the things in my bedroom. -Oh, he is a very worthy man!" she added, and a light of saucy -mischief began to dance in her eyes; "but he--he tells me that he is -not a married man, and--and he is too young--Monsieur, I pray -you--must he look over my things?--my--my--you understand? Why, it -is not _convenable_! Is it, maman?" - -"Constance!" came involuntarily from Madame, together with a look of -horror and reproach. - -Even the Man in Grey appeared slightly embarrassed. The young girl -ran up to him and suddenly linking her hands around his arm tried to -drag him towards the door. - -"Monsieur," she entreated and, under the charm of her gaiety and her -girlishness, the icy reserve of the police agent already seemed to -thaw. "I can trust you--I don't know if you are married, but--but I -feel that you are more respectable than your sergeant--I entreat you, -come! If my--my--you understand--are to be turned over by rough -masculine hands, I feel that I could endure it if those hands were -yours." - -"Mademoiselle," protested the Man in Grey, who was making somewhat -feeble efforts to disengage his arm, "I----" - -"Oh, you won't refuse!" she pleaded with tender reproach. - -Her lovely face was very close to his; the subtle scent of sweet peas -rose to his nostrils and somewhat clouded his usually cool and -discerning mind. Moreover, no male creature living could have -withstood for long the appeal of those shimmering blue eyes. After -all, she was not asking very much. Only that he should himself -perform a duty which the clumsy sergeant might perhaps not have -performed quite efficiently. - -She was still clinging to his arm, still pleading with her eyes. -After a brief hesitation, more assumed than real, he assented coldly. - -"I am at Mademoiselle's service." - -She gave a cry of pleasure, and he followed her out of the room. - -Madame la Marquise was left bewildered, half-thinking that she must -have been asleep and dreaming when she saw that dainty and puzzling -apparition just now--Constance, her daughter, putting forth her -powers of fascination to please that odious and vulgar creature! It -was unbelievable! - -Charles, the footman, entered with the lamp. Madame did not speak; -she was wrapt in moody contemplation. Gradually a strange expression -of disquietude and then of weird misgiving spread over her pale face, -and once or twice she put a handkerchief to her lips as if to crush a -cry. - -Gradually the commotion in the house became stilled. A while ago -Madame had heard the tramp of those hateful police creatures going -down the stairs in the direction of the offices and servants' -quarters; then for a time all was still in that part of the château. -But presently, as Madame sat pondering and listening, she heard a -sound which--though familiar and reassuring enough--caused her to -jump to her feet in an access of abject horror. Her knees shook -under her--she could hardly stand. - -"My God!" she murmured. "Not that---- Don't let her do that----" - -All that the Marquise had heard was the soft strain of a spinet and a -young girl's pure, fresh voice singing an old French ditty. - -Mme. de Plélan stood rigid, as if turned to stone. The dim light of -the lamp shone upon her face, which was the colour of pure snow. -Then she slowly went to the door and out of the room. She walked -along the corridor and up the stairs. Her daughter's rooms gave on -the landing immediately above. Madame had to cling to the banisters -as she went up, or she would have fallen. An icy horror gripped her -heart; she was only conscious of a wild desire to interfere, to place -herself at once and by any means athwart those schemes taking shape -in Constance's turbulent brain. - -The door of Mademoiselle de Plélan's boudoir was wide open. Opposite -the door was the spinet at which the young girl sat, playing and -singing. The light from the lamp gleamed through the soft tendrils -of her golden hair, and the pure lines of her delicate profile were -silhouetted against the glow. Not far from her stood the agent of -His Impérial Majesty's Minister of Police, the most bitter enemy her -friends and kindred had ever known. Constance was looking at him as -she sang, and his deep-set eyes, usually so colourless, were fixed -with a gaze of ardent admiration on the beautiful singer. On a table -at his elbow was the tin box, with its lid thrown open. Only a few -papers remained at the bottom of the box; the others he had in his -hand. - -Mme. de Plélan tottered as if ready to fall. An extraordinary -emotion, born of a nameless terror, was paralysing her limbs. In -trying to cross the landing she felt faint and all but measured her -length on the ground. A weak cry escaped her lips. In an instant -Constance ceased playing and, seeing her mother, ran to her side. -The next moment her arms were round Madame's shoulders, and she -almost carried her back into the room. - -The Man in Grey had also made a movement as if to run to Madame's -assistance; then he stood by, looking confused and awkward, as men -are apt to do when women are ill. However, he helped Constance -presently to lead Madame to a chair, and the girl immediately threw -him a grateful look. - -"Maman is over-fatigued," she said softly. "She has gone through a -great deal this afternoon." - -Her tone of tender reproach and the glance which she cast him from -the depths of her blue eyes completed the confusion of the Man in -Grey. He stammered an apology, feeling that he was an unmitigated -brute. At once Constance stretched out her hand to him. - -"I did not mean to complain," she said gently. "You have been so -kind--so considerate--I----" - -Her voice broke in a sob. The secret agent, deeply moved, took her -hand and pressed it to his lips. Then, hurriedly, he gathered up the -remaining papers out of the tin box, slipped them into his pocket and -left the room. - -By and by his firm voice was heard giving orders to his men to mount. - -But as soon as his slim, grey-clad figure had disappeared across the -landing, Constance ran to the door and closed it with a bang. For a -moment she stood quite still, gazing in the direction whence came the -sound of the enemy's retreating footsteps. An unmistakable look of -triumph and satisfaction filled her eyes. The next instant, however, -she was down on her knees beside her mother, half-sobbing, -half-laughing, her cheeks flushed even beneath the rouge. "There was -nothing in the tin box, maman," she cried somewhat wildly. "Only a -few worthless letters, with nothing in them to compromise any of us -seriously. Oh, but I have got him, maman! I have got him as surely -as he got Monsieur de Saint-Tropèze. In a month from now I shall be -able to twist him round my little finger--and then--and then----" - -But Mme. de Plélan did not hear the girl's strange, half-hysterical -ravings. She was lying unconscious, her pale face looking ghostlike -against the silk cushion of her chair. - - -III - -Less than a month later, on a clear, cold afternoon early in -February, a woman, wrapped from head to foot in a dark mantle, was -making her way along the main road which cuts straight through the -Cache-Renard woods between Alençon and Plélan. She came from the -direction of the château and walked briskly, holding her mantle -closely round her shoulders. - -When she arrived at the clearing where crossroads met and intersected -the main one, she paused for a moment, listened intently for a second -or two, then struck into the wood along a side track on her left. -She followed this track for two hundred mètres or so, then suddenly -plunged into the thicket. - -The undergrowth here was very dense. Overhead the grey light of the -late winter's afternoon filtered through the branches of the trees, -guiding the woman on her way. Suddenly, out of the thicket, a gruff -voice called out, "Who goes there?" and the woman without hesitation -replied, "One who has courage and courts success." - -Immediately a dark form detached itself from out the undergrowth. - -"Is it you, Blue-Heart?" asked the woman sharply. - -"At your service, Mademoiselle," said the rough voice which first had -challenged her. - -"It is all right," said Mademoiselle. "Are you prepared?" - -"Oh, I am prepared right enough!" retorted the man whom she had -called Blue-Heart. "My musket has been ready for that vermin this -past fortnight. I've been here every afternoon," he continued, -"since first I had my orders." - -"It couldn't be managed sooner, my friend," answered Mademoiselle. -"The fox was wary; he would not walk into the trap." - -"It was baited often enough for him." - -"Oh, yes! He met me in the town. He walked with me through the -streets or along the river bank. He even came to church with me once -or twice," she added with a strained laugh. "But, unlike a beast of -prey, he would not come out of nights." - -"Did he suspect you, Mademoiselle?" asked Blue-Heart; "or Madame?" - -"Oh, no!" replied the girl. "Instinctive caution has saved him so -far; nothing more." - -"Think you he will come?" - -"I am sure," she replied decisively. "You'll hear our voices--mine -you will recognise. You'll not miss him?" she added with a strange -quiver in her voice. - -"Miss him?" retorted the man with a savage oath. "Ever since he -killed Hare-Lip and Mole-Skin last November not a hundred mètres from -this very spot, I have prayed that a bullet from my musket might lay -him low." - -The girl said nothing more. The man grasped his musket more firmly -and cowered into the thicket, and she turned and went back towards -the cross roads. - -At this very moment a man was walking rapidly towards the same cross -roads, but from the opposite direction. He, too, held his cloak -wrapped closely up to his chin, for the air was cold. But soon he -paused, threw back his mantle and unfolded a scrap of paper he had -been holding tightly squeezed in his hand. Once again he read the -lines which were so familiar to him, and when he had finished reading -he pressed the precious scrap of paper once or twice to his lips. -Then he continued on his way. - -Some time before he reached the cross roads, he saw Constance de -Plélan coming towards him. A moment or two later he was by her side, -confused and shy, hardly able to speak owing to the overwhelming -sense of happiness. - -He tried to take her in his arms, but she evaded him, slipping away -from him like a mischievous elf of the woods. - -"Let us walk a little," she said. - -He was ready to do anything she wished. His calm, reserved demeanour -appeared in strange contrast to her exuberant vitality. He hardly -could believe in the reality of this supreme moment, and he moved -along beside her like a sleepwalker in a dream. He tried to lead the -way towards the cross roads. - -"There is a side-track there," he said, "sheltered against the wind -and carpeted with moss. We should be more lonely there." - -But she demurred and, with a laugh, clung to his arm and made him -turn back towards the city. She talked at random, almost wildly, -about irrelevant things, whilst he wished to speak of nothing but of -his love for her--born on that afternoon when she had sung to him and -with her own white hands had given him the tin box. The papers it -contained were worthless, perhaps; but he had been deeply moved by -her trust in him and his admiration had quickened into love. Since -then he had dreamed of the happy time when she would trust him more -fully and allow him to walk by her side and to sit with her, -untrammelled by the presence of strangers. Hitherto she had been -very shy and reticent, though at times she met him in the town when -she was up for a day's shopping or to see her friends. Once or twice -she had sent him a treasured little note, telling him that she would -be going to church alone. - -These had been happy times, and his love had grown in intensity with -every meeting. But still he longed to have her all to himself. -Timidly he ventured to suggest a walk in the woods or in the park of -the château. And this morning the measure of his happiness appeared -complete. She sent him word that she would walk in the woods as far -as the cross roads close to the château, and would meet him there in -the late afternoon. He was too unsophisticated and unversed in the -usages of Society to marvel at Mademoiselle de Plélan's agreeing to a -clandestine meeting with a man far beneath her in station and at an -hour when only flirts were wont to walk abroad. He was far too -infatuated by this time to see in this unconventional act aught but -graciousness on her part. - -But now, somehow, he felt disappointed. She insisted on keeping to -the main road, where, at this hour, there were many passers-by. The -Caen-Alençon coach had only just rattled past with much blowing of -horn and clanging of metal chains. And there was such a beautiful -side-track he knew of, if only he could induce her to follow him -thither! - -The time went by all too quickly. Constance de Plélan appeared -anxious to go home. - -"I have arranged to meet Annette," she said, "my mother's maid. Her -mother lives in the cottage on the road to Plélan. Annette has been -spending the afternoon with her, and we have agreed to walk back to -the château together. I would not wish her to see you." - -And the police agent, smothering a sigh of regret, escorted her back -as far as the edge of the wood. He would have liked to walk on with -her to the château, but this she resolutely forbade him to do. - -"We must not be seen together by Annette," she reiterated somewhat -tartly. - -Fernand had not yet earned the right to insist. The parting was more -disappointing than even the meeting had been. Constance de Plélan -now appeared desperately anxious to be rid of him. He tried to take -her hand, but even this privilege was denied him. - -"The cottage is just round the bend of the road," she said with -forced gaiety. "Annette may appear before us at any moment." - -Whereupon she turned and left him standing alone and disconsolate, -his longing eyes watching her graceful figure as she moved swiftly -along and soon disappeared round a sharp bend in the road. - -Then, with another bitter sigh, he, too, turned on his heel and -started to walk back through the wood. - - -IV - -Constance de Plélan had walked on very rapidly, only looking back now -and again to see whether the police agent had followed her. The road -was now quite lonely; not even a belated passer-by was in sight. -After a few minutes, the girl halted where a side-track, inches deep -in mud, struck at right angles and, cutting across an intervening -meadow, plunged into a dense part of the wood at some distance from -the road. For a few seconds Constance appeared to hesitate; she -pressed her trembling hands against her heart, which was beating so -furiously that she felt sick and faint. Next moment, however, she -started to run down the side-track as fast as the muddy ooze would -allow her. A few minutes later she had reached the margin of the -wood and, no longer hesitating, boldly entered the thicket. - -The road along which the police agent was striding with his habitual -quick and firm step wound in and out of thick masses of coppice; the -footpath which Constance de Plélan followed so unerringly led by a -direct short cut straight to the thicket where Blue-Heart lay in wait. - -The shades of evening were falling fast; the wintry sunset had long -since ceased to glimmer among the trees. Blue-Heart was cowering in -his hiding-place, grasping his musket and marvelling why Mademoiselle -had not yet led her quarry into the trap which had been so carefully -prepared. The hated police agent had not yet come. But Blue-Heart -was patient and content to bide his time. He knew that the hatred he -felt for the Man in Grey had its counterpart in the heart of -Constance de Plélan. The secret agent had only been in the province -four months, and already the Chouans had felt the weight of his -relentless courage, his astuteness and his power. M. le Comte -d'Artois, brother and messenger of the uncrowned King, had been sent -back to England with ignominy through the instrumentality of this one -man, and when Mademoiselle de Plélan had asked for a volunteer to lay -this powerful enemy low, Blue-Heart had offered himself, heart and -soul, ready to strike and take every risk. If only the quarry would -come, Blue-Heart's musket was not likely to err. - -Suddenly the Chouan drew in his breath. His whole attitude grew at -once more rigid and more tense. Cowering in the thicket, he -shouldered his musket. The road stretched out before him, through a -veil of coppice, for a length of some thirty feet or so, and at a -distance of less than twenty paces from the spot where he crouched, -on the alert, holding his breath now that his keen ear had detected -the sound of approaching footsteps. - -Soon these footsteps drew nearer and Blue-Heart muttered an -imprecation: "Malediction!" came between his clenched teeth. -"Mademoiselle said that the devil would come alone!" - -But his rough, nervy hands grasped the musket with undiminished -vigour. If that hated police agent came escorted with a whole posse -of his own men, Blue-Heart was not going to be done out of his -vengeance. - -Then suddenly the footsteps stopped and the melancholy call of a -screech-owl pierced the silence of the night. - -"White-Beak!" muttered the crouching Chouan as he lowered his musket. -"What is he doing here at this hour?" - -He, too, raised his fingers to his mouth, and the cry of a -screech-owl rang shrilly through the wood. Next moment three or four -men pushed their way cautiously through the thicket. - -"Well, is it done?" queried the foremost amongst them, as soon as he -had become conscious of Blue-Heart's presence close by. - -"Done? No!" growled the latter. "What have you come for?" - -"To lend you a hand," replied White-Beak, "with the body of the -vermin." - -"Too soon! I haven't got him yet." - -"No hitch, I hope," broke in one of the others. - -"None." - -"Then we can give you a hand now as well as later. The fox may be -armed." - -"He may," rejoined Blue-Heart. "Go to the other side of the road," -he added, "so as to intercept him in the rear. You have your musket?" - -"No." - -"Then you can hold him while I use mine. It will make assurance -doubly sure." - -They spoke in whispers scarcely audible above the manifold murmurs of -the wood. Now, like creeping, furtive beasts of prey, White-Beak and -his companions crawled on hands and knees through the thicket and -across the road, and thence under cover once more. The trap was -indeed well set for the quarry which could not fail to walk into it -very soon. Indeed, less than five minutes later there came from some -little way down the road the sound of a measured and firm footfall. - -With rapid steps the hated police agent was drawing nearer. A grim -chuckle escaped the lips of the old Chouan as he once more shouldered -his musket. The evening gloom was gradually enfolding the wood in -its embrace. On either side of the road the miscreants in their -hiding-place were peeping through the undergrowth, watching for the -approach of their prey. Presently they could discern the vague -outline of his slender figure walking unhesitatingly towards them. -Within a few seconds he would be passing right in front of them, at a -distance of less than twenty paces. Blue-Heart thought that he would -wait and take no risks and only pull the trigger when the victim was -quite near, the aim sure, and the fast gathering darkness not likely -to play him any illusive trick. Not a sound, not the flutter of a -dead leaf nor the crackling of a twig would have revealed to an -untrained ear the presence of a band of assassins, and for another -minute or so the police agent walked along, wary and alert as was his -wont but as yet unsuspicious. His footstep sounded unhesitating and -firm. - -Then suddenly he paused and threw a quick, searching look around him. - -"Who goes there?" he called in a loud and firm voice. - -Hie ear, attuned to the faintest breath which might be drawn around -him, had warned him, all at once, of the danger which awaited him if -he continued on his path; it had betrayed to his keen consciousness -the presence of human beings, living, breathing, close by--somewhere -in the thicket--hiding and crouching in the darkness; obviously with -evil intent. - -Next moment something definite stirred in the thicket not twenty -paces from where he stood; there was a faint click which to a trained -ear was unmistakable. In a twinkling Fernand had drawn a pistol from -his pocket, and with a swift and sudden spring, he threw himself -against a tall beech which bordered the road; and here he stood, with -his back against the massive trunk, pistol in hand and his keen eyes -searching the darkness around him. - -There was a moment of tense suspense and of absolute silence, and in -an instant the Man in Grey felt his arm seized from behind, the -pistol was knocked out of his hand, a rough fist was thrust into his -face, and he found himself pinioned against the tree, whilst a hoarse -voice shouted lustily: - -"You can shoot now, friend Blue-Heart. No chance of missing the -vermin in the dark. We've got him tight." - -Then it all happened in a second. A musket-shot rang through the -evening air; its sharp report came simultaneously with a loud and -piercing cry which rang right through and above it. The cry -proceeded from a woman's lips; it was immediately followed by a -violent imprecation from one of the Chouans. The Man in Grey, dazed, -bewildered, not understanding, had only heard that cry, straight in -front of him, right from out the thicket whence had come the report -and flash of the assassin's musket. The rough hands that held him -relaxed, and there was a wild confusion of cries and oaths and a -scrambling and scrimmage in the undergrowth behind him. - -What had happened within the depths of the shadows in front of him he -did not know, but at a bound he cleared the intervening width of the -road, and Constance de Plélan fell staggering in his arms. - -"Constance!" he exclaimed, still mystified by the turn of events, -"you are hurt!" - -"No, no!" she said in a strange, hoarse whisper. "I am not hurt. -Only save yourself---- Go, in God's name, ere I forget that I am a -woman and again think of you only as the enemy of my King." - -"You have saved my life!" he said, as the horror of the situation -rose with staggering vividness before his mind, "and at risk of your -own." - -But already she had disengaged herself from his arms. She struggled -to her feet and, as he tried to assist her, pushed him with amazing -strength away from her. - -"Go, I tell you!" she said, and she tried to steady her voice, which -came feeble and panting from her throat. "The hand that fired the -first shot might fire another ere I could prevent it--and the others -might come back." - -"I'll not go," he rejoined firmly, "until I am sure that you are not -hurt." - -"Hush!" she retorted hurriedly. "I am not hurt, I say. And even if -I were, you must go now--at once. Have I not said that I might -repent? Behind that thicket lurks the man whom I employed to kill -you--I came back here to gloat over his work. Yet, somehow, when the -time came, and I saw you in the grip of those assassins, I could not -bear to see you die--not like that--five against one--it was too -horrible, too cowardly. But you must go. And you and I must never -meet again, unless indeed you set your spies on us to-morrow and send -us all to the guillotine." - -"How you hate me, Constance!" he protested with passionate reproach. - -"Perhaps I do," she rejoined softly. "I do not know. But believe me -that the guillotine would have no terror for me. I have betrayed a -great trust, for you are the enemy of my kindred and my King, and I -ought not to have failed when the choice lay betwixt your life and -theirs." - -She tottered, and he thought she would fall. - -"You are hurt!" he cried hoarsely. - -"Even if I were dying," she parried feebly, "I would not have you -help me now. If we did not part at this hour, perhaps--who knows?--I -might become even a blacker traitor than I am. You and I, Fernand, -can have nothing in common. Our ways must for ever lie as far apart -as are our ideals. The man who at my bidding would have been your -murderer will carry me home and minister to my needs. He and I have -everything in common--faith, friendship, community of ideals and -disappointments of hopes and of sorrows. He is rough, uncultured, a -potential assassin; but he and I strive for the same Cause and weep -over the same failures. In thought he is my friend--you can never be -aught but an enemy." - -And suddenly, without giving him another look, she plunged into the -thicket. For a few seconds only it seemed to the Man in Grey that he -could see her slender form moving among the undergrowth and that he -heard the crackling of dead twigs beneath her feet. She had gone for -comfort and protection to the assassin who was still in hiding. She -went to him because, as she had said, with those savage Chouans she, -the irreconcilable Royalist, had everything in common. - -Whereas with him, the stranger, the plebeian police agent, the -obscure adherent of the newly-founded Empire, she could have nothing -to do. Nay, she had actually persuaded an assassin to shoot -him--vilely--in the back, when, at the fateful minute of crisis, a -thought of womanly compassion had prompted her to save him from his -doom. And, on his part, what was there for him to do but mourn the -only illusion of his life? It served him right for being a visionary -and a fool! - -And with a bitter sigh of enduring regret, the police agent turned on -his heel and went back the way he came. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE LEAGUE OF KNAVES - - -I - -One of the letters written to the Man in Grey by Fouchée, Duc -d'Otrante, is preserved in the Archives of the Ministry of Police. -It is dated February 17th, 1810, and contains the following passage: - -"Do not let those official asses meddle with the affair, my good -Fernand, for they are sure to mismanage it completely. That man de -Livardot is an astute brigand and a regular daredevil. To apprehend -or to deport him would not be of the slightest use to us; he has -escaped out of three different prisons already, and has come back -once--none the worse--from Cayenne. To murder him from behind a -thicket would be more useful, but for the fact that he has many -secrets of that damnable Chouan organisation in his keeping, which -would be of incalculable value to us, if we could get hold of them. -At any rate, see what you can do, my dear Fernand. I rely on your -skill and discretion. De Livardot has left England for Jersey; he is -at St. Helier now. I'd stake my life that he is on his way to -France. The Emperor will be at Caen within the next month. Remember -Cadoudal and his infernal machine, and for the love of Heaven keep an -eye on de Livardot!" - -For obvious reasons the Man in Grey did not communicate the actual -contents of the letter to the préfet of Caen, M. Laurens, a typical -official of not too assured loyalty, or to M. Carteret, chief -commissary of the district. But both these worthies had had news, -through police spies, of the arrival of de Livardot in Jersey, and -were alive to the fact that the wily Chouan leader was probably -meditating a secret landing on the shores of France. - -Everyone was on tenter-hooks, with nerves on edge at the prospect of -the visit of the Emperor, who in less than a month would be spending -half a day and a whole night at the house of Marshal Cormier, lately -created Duc de Gisors in recognition of magnificent services rendered -during the last Austrian campaign. - -The Man in Grey, as was his wont, listened unmoved and in silence to -the many expressions of loyal fears, anxieties and unswerving -resolutions which flowed so freely from the lips of the various -official personages who visited M. le Préfet that morning. But when -the last caller had departed, and only he and the commissary were -left to take their leave, he said quietly but significantly: - -"I shall leave you a free hand for a few days, Monsieur le Préfet. -You have the list of persons on whom I have enjoined you and Monsieur -le Commissaire to keep a watchful eye. I pray you do not slacken -your vigilance during my absence." - -"You are going away, Monsieur Fernand?" queried the préfet, who tried -to show some concern, even though in his heart he could not but -rejoice at the prospect of being so soon rid of this interfering and -dictatorial nincompoop from Paris. - -"I am going to meet de Livardot when he lands," replied the Man in -Grey simply. - -"But you don't know where to find him!" exclaimed the commissary with -a complacent laugh. - -"I daresay I shall contrive to find that out," rejoined the secret -agent with a smile. "In any case," he added with deliberate -solemnity, "remember while I am gone to double the number of your -spies and not to slacken your vigilance either day or night. The -most precious life in the whole world will be in your keeping for -close on twenty-four hours, and France will hold you answerable for -its safety." - -There was something curiously impressive about the small, colourless, -grey-clad figure while this solemn warning crossed his usually silent -lips. Both the préfet and the commissary, despite their covert -antagonism to this obscure personage who had so authoritatively been -placed above their heads, were conscious of a sense of respect and -awe. - -"But you will be back here in time for the Emperor's visit, Monsieur -Fernand?" rejoined the commissary, trying to speak lightly. - -"Such is my intention," replied the secret agent. "But we are all -going to be at grips with a man who is both resourceful and utterly -unscrupulous--and one never knows. If I do not return, you must take -it that de Livardot has proved the stronger of us two." - -"But you are not going alone?" interjected the préfet, throwing a -quick glance at the slender form and delicate hands of this -mysterious creature who, of a truth, appeared more of a dreamer than -a man of action. - -The Man in Grey laughed. - -"The last time," he said carelessly, "that de Livardot landed in -France, our friend Carteret here had a whole squadron of police ready -to arrest him--we all know with what results. Murder, pillage, -robbery, endless intrigues went on for three whole months, after -which our crafty brigand disappeared as cunningly as he had come. -Well, we are not going to repeat that blunder, are we, Monsieur le -Préfet?" He added more seriously, "This time I go to meet de -Livardot--and I go alone." - -The next moment he was gone, leaving the two worthies puzzled, -wrathful and contemptuous. - -"And de Livardot will do for you," growled the commissary after him -with an oath. "And serve you right, too, you interfering, impudent -shrimp, you!" - - -II - -In the narrow, sparsely furnished room, dimly lighted by tallow -candles fixed in pewter sconces, the men sat waiting. - -It was a cold but brilliant night; a small fire smouldered in the -little iron stove in one corner of the room. The window beyond was -open, as was the communicating door, and from time to time violent -gusts of wind would blow the flame of the candles about and cause the -grease to trickle and splutter upon the unpolished table-top. Every -now and again one of the men would get up, go through to the other -room, and, leaning out of the window, peer up and down the dark and -narrow street. Then he would rejoin his comrades, who sat listlessly -round the table, sipping wine out of pewter mugs. - -"I think we had best make up our minds," said one of them after a -while. - -"I've feared it all along," said another. - -"The moment White-Beak returned with the news that that accursed -grey-coated ferret was lurking in the neighbourhood of the Goat's -Creek," continued he who had first spoken, "I for one----" He -shrugged his shoulders, leaving the sentence unfinished. But the -others understood. There was no need to put into words the fear that -was uppermost in their minds. - -One of the men took up the metal snuffers and with studied care cut -the wick of the smoking candle. - -"Why White-Beak did not put a bullet through the grey fox, I cannot -imagine," he said slowly. - -"I would have done so if I could," retorted he who was called -White-Beak because his lips appeared absolutely bloodless; "but he -never came within range of my gun. And when I tried to creep closer -he disappeared." - -"That cursed spy bears a charmed life," growled the other. - -"Methought de Livardot should have broken the spell," here interposed -a third. - -"De Livardot may have been detained in Jersey," suggested another. -"And the weather in the Channel has been very dirty of late." - -"Bah! From what I hear, Livardot is not like to be detained by bad -weather. By all accounts he is a regular daredevil," assented -White-Beak with a laugh. - -"Blue-Heart here says that, even as a lad, he had the pluck of Satan." - -"Tell us some more about him, Blue-Heart," added White-Beak. "The -chiefs say we've got to do as he tells us, and we've all got a mighty -lot at stake now. We ought to know something of the man who is going -to lord it over us. What is he like?" - -"Well," replied Blue-Heart after a moment's thought, "I used to see -him when he was a lad and Monsieur le Chevalier his father lived in -the house yonder, which now belongs to Marshal Cormier. It's because -de Livardot comes from these parts, and knows the house so well, that -the chiefs are sending him over from England to help us in our work." - -"But if he hasn't seen the place since he was a lad----" - -"Even so! There are plans of the house and----" - -"Hush!" broke in White-Beak peremptorily. - -A sudden silence fell upon them. From away down the narrow street -had come the weird and mysterious hooting of a screech-owl calling -through the night. - -Blue-Heart jumped to his feet and in a trice was over the threshold -in the other room. He strode across to the window and, leaning out, -peered up and down the street. - -Before him, about a kilomètre outside the city, the pointed roofs and -tall chimneys of Les Acacias peeped above the low houses opposite. -It was the residence of Marshal Cormier, Duc de Gisors, and here the -Emperor and his suite would sleep on the following night. The wintry -moon picked out the metal ornaments of the roofs and the crests of -the tall, encircling trees with shimmering lines of silver. - -Blue-Heart uttered a comprehensive curse. - -"Without de Livardot," he muttered between his teeth, "we shall fail!" - -He was about to close the window, thinking that once again his -comrades' ears and his own had been deceived, when a solitary -pedestrian at the far end of the street arrested his attention--a man -walking very slowly, as if he were infinitely weary. He wore an -old-fashioned three-cornered hat, and a voluminous mantle was wrapped -closely round his shoulders. Blue-Heart waited, breathless, while -the pedestrian came leisurely down the street. Presently he paused -and, with nose in the air, studied the outside aspect of the houses. -Then he put the fingers of both hands to his lips and once more the -melancholy call of the screech-owl rang out through the night. - -Blue-Heart was holding his breath. His companions behind him had -jumped to their feet and stood in a compact knot in and around the -communicating doorway. Blue-Heart with his hand motioned them to be -still; then he leaned still farther out of the window and, in a voice -scarcely above a whisper, said, as he looked straight down on the -passer-by: - -"The fearful wild-fowl is abroad." - -And the other, raising his head, gave reply: - -"And the wild duck comes with a feather in her mouth." - -"De Livardot!" exclaimed the men excitedly. - -Helter-skelter some of them ran down the stairs to greet the leader -whom their chiefs were sending to command them, whilst the others -placed a fresh jar of wine, some meat and a hunk of bread upon the -table. A moment or two later the stranger entered. - - -III - -To those who had so eagerly expected him, de Livardot appeared as a -short, spare man, prematurely grey, with face drawn, eyes sunk and -cheeks wan with obvious fatigue verging on exhaustion. He sank into -a chair beside the iron stove and eagerly drank the wine offered him. - -"I have been three weeks on the road," he murmured hoarsely; "and -haven't tasted food for two days." - -He dragged his chair to the table and they allowed him to eat and -drink in peace, after which he felt better and answered the inquiring -glances of the men with an encouraging nod. - -"That cursed police-spy nearly did for me," he said. - -"We thought something of the sort had happened," muttered Blue-Heart -with a savage oath. - -"The Captain of the _Foam_ put me off at the Goat's Creek," continued -de Livardot in a steadier voice. "Then he left me there to make my -way inland, as I intended to do. I knew my way well enough, and my -intention was to walk by night and to lie hidden by day where and how -I could. I had no misgivings, but nevertheless my eyes and ears were -on the watch for spies. I had climbed to the top of the Dog's Tooth; -the coast seemed deserted--not a soul was in sight and the night had -set in dark and stormy. I was standing on the edge of the cliff and -at my feet the breakers were dashing themselves against the rocks two -hundred feet below. All at once something sprang on me from behind a -boulder. The attack was so violent and so sudden that, even as I -veered round and closed with my assailant, I felt I was doomed. He -was small and spare like myself, but he had unusual strength. We -fought desperately--both of us--for our lives. Fortunately," -continued de Livardot lightly, "I have spent my best years in -England, where the art of self-defence is at its best. With a -dexterous movement which I had learnt from a champion wrestler, I -slipped out of his grip; the next moment he lost his footing. For a -second or two his hands clawed the air, and then with a piercing -shriek he fell, two hundred feet on to the rocks below. - -"_Et voilà!_" concluded the Chouan leader as he threw a look of -triumph on his breathless hearers. "But that accursed spy, whom -Satan now hath in his keeping, managed to dislocate my knee ere he -went to join his colleagues in hell, with the result that I have been -very slow in coming. Oft times in the last three weeks, as I dragged -my weary limbs along those interminable roads, I feared I would be -just too late to be in at the death of the Corsican." - -"Thank God, you are here now!" ejaculated one of the men fervently. - -"All our work is ready," added Blue-Heart. "But if you hadn't come -we shouldn't have known what to do--afterwards." - -De Livardot rose and, holding his mug of wine aloft, said firmly: - -"Afterwards we'll proclaim his gracious Majesty Louis XVIII, King of -France. We'll assemble here and march in triumph to the Hôtel de -Ville at the break of dawn, with banners flying, singing a Te Deum. -Then by the time the city is astir the Fleur-de-Lys will be waving -above every public building, and the worthy bourgeois of Caen will -realise that France has awakened from her nightmare and that her -lawful King sits upon his throne again." - -He sat down amidst loud applause from the group of ill-kempt, -unwashed, surly-looking brigands around him. Mugs were re-filled and -deep draughts of wine drunk to do honour to the toast. - -"And now to work, my friends!" continued de Livardot briskly. - -"To work!" exclaimed White-Beak. "I thought you were dog-tired." - -"So I was," he replied gaily, "till we drank that toast." - -He took out a bundle of papers from the pocket of his coat and -glanced rapidly through them. - -"I shan't want all these in future," he said. "And the less of this -sort of thing one has about one, the safer for the rest of us." - -He turned to the iron stove which was close to his hand and, -selecting some of the papers, dropped them into the fire one by one, -keeping up a running comment on their contents the while. - -"Here goes the list of your names, you fellows," he said. -"Blue-Heart, whom I haven't seen since I was five; White-Beak, I knew -you at once; Great-Fang, Green-Eye--I recognised you all. The chiefs -spoke to me about you. And here goes our pass-phrase. I had such -trouble to commit it to memory. But now I feel that I shall never -forget it again! Would you fellows have admitted me if I had made a -mistake?" he added with a light-hearted laugh. - -"No," replied Blue-Heart curtly. Then he said more quietly, as if to -atone for the bluntness of his negative: "Think of all that we have -at stake----" - -"I know, of course," rejoined de Livardot earnestly. "I only wished -to test the measure of your caution. And now," he continued, "here -is the plan of Les Acacias, just as it was in my father's time." - -He drew his chair in closer to the table and spread the map out -before him. He bent over it, shielding his face with his hand. The -flickering light of the candles threw into bold relief the grim and -sinister faces of the Chouans as they pressed eagerly round their new -leader. - -"Now tell me what you've all done!" said de Livardot. - -"We followed closely the instructions you sent us from Jersey," -Blue-Heart explained, as his grimy forefinger wandered along the -surface of the map. "Great-Fang obtained work in the garden of Les -Acacias and soon located the disused shaft you spoke of, quite close -to the house. It had, just as you said, been used at one time for -lowering wine barrels into the cellar. It was no trouble to -Great-Fang, in the course of his work, when no one was about, to -loosen the stone which closed the mouth of the shaft, and after that -matters were quite easy." - -"I used to leave the postern gate on the latch," interpolated -Great-Fang; "and the others took it in turns, two by two, to steal -into the grounds by night. We very soon found the trap-door at the -bottom of the shaft which gave directly on the cellars underneath the -house, and when we had removed that our work was practically done." - -"Now we've got two kilogrammes of gunpowder stored down there," added -the man who as called Green-Eye. - -"We carried it over, keg by keg, of nights," interposed Blue-Heart. - -"Our time-fuse is set," quoth White-Beak. - -"Even if you hadn't come, we should have fired it," concluded -another. "We were not going to have our work for nothing." - -They all spoke at once, eager to have their say, anxious that the -leader lately come from England should know the share everyone had in -the dastardly work which was to rid France of her Emperor. - -"Thank Heaven I am in time, then," concluded de Livardot fervently. -"When does the Corsican arrive?" - -"To-morrow afternoon," replied Blue-Heart. - -"And he sleeps at Les Acacias?" - -"For the one night." - -"There is to be a big fête in the evening. Marshal Cormier has -issued hundreds of invitations," added White-Beak. - -"Nothing could be better!" exclaimed de Livardot. "And of course we -wait till the guests have departed, and everyone in Les Acacias, -including the Upstart, has gone to bed. Yours, Blue-Heart," he -continued, "will be the honour of firing the time-fuse, which will -send Napoleon Bonaparte to a tea-party among the stars. In the -meanwhile all of you men must spend the best part of to-morrow in -seeking out the friends you know of, who are at one with us in this -great undertaking, and convene them in my name to a meeting in this -house directly after the event. In fact, the explosion itself shall -be the signal by which we'll all rally together for that glorious -proclamation of our lawful King and our triumphal march to the Hôtel -de Ville. Is that understood?" - -"Perfectly!" they cried with one accord. - -The next half-hour was devoted to the discussion and copying out of -the names of various personages, whom the Chouans suggested as having -been chiefly concerned in the present affair--men and women in and -around the city who were ardent Royalists and would not shrink from a -direct attack on the man whom they deemed a usurper; men and women -for the most part who had countenanced if not directly participated -in many of those hideous crimes which had already sullied the Cause -they professed to uphold, and who would see in the base murder of the -Emperor whom they hated, nothing but an act of lofty patriotism. - -Wary and cunning, they had hitherto escaped apprehension; though many -of them were suspected, few had ever been confronted with proofs of -actual conspiracy. They were wise enough to employ men like -Blue-Heart or White-Beak to do their dirtiest work for them, men who -had neither scruples nor conscience, and who hid their deeds of -darkness behind weird masks of anonymity. - -It was long past midnight ere the party round that table was broken -up. De Livardot was the first to go; he had given his orders and he -knew he would be obeyed. - -"You will see nothing of me all day," he said when he finally took -leave of his comrades. "I am too well known in these parts to dare -show my face in the open. At dusk we shall meet here for a final -word. Until then let our password be as before: 'The fearful wild -fowl is abroad,' and the counterpass: 'And the wild duck comes with a -feather in her mouth.' I have not forgotten it this time!" he -concluded with a hearty laugh, which found its echo in the grim -chuckle of his men. - - -IV - -The visit of the Emperor had sent Caen wild with enthusiasm. All day -the streets leading towards Les Acacias were thronged with people -eager to keep in sight the roofs and chimneys of the house which -sheltered the Emperor. The town itself was magnificently beflagged, -and all day the cheering was both constant and deafening. In the -evening there was a popular fête with display of fireworks in the -grounds of the Old Château on the north side of the town, whilst the -rout given at Les Acacias by the Duc de Gisors to the notabilities of -the neighbourhood, at which His Majesty himself was graciously -pleased to be present, was the most brilliant affair the province had -ever known. People had journeyed from far and wide to attend the -rout; many who came from a distance had taken lodgings in the town -for the occasion. Never had Caen been so full of strangers of -quality. - -On the great night the stream of equipages which set down the guests -at Les Acacias extended for close on a kilomètre from the park gates -to the confines of the city, and those who were not watching the -fireworks at the Old Château stood about on the road, in spite of the -cold, to see the gorgeous liveries, the painted coaches and -caparisoned horses which were a regular feast for the eyes. For -hours the streets were thronged. Only the narrow little Rue aux -Juifs on the outskirts of the city appeared dark, solitary and -unfestive. It consisted for the most part of tumble-down, -half-derelict houses, the owners of which had been out of France for -many years. And to-night, when the rest of Caen was out to make -merry, only one of the low, grim-faced houses showed any sign of -life. Here a feeble light shone dimly through the cracks of an -ill-fitting shutter on one of the floors above, and anyone who had -taken the trouble to be on the watch would have seen dark forms, -wrapped to the chin, gliding furtively in and out of the door. - -But the military, the police and the municipal servants were alike -engaged in keeping watch over Les Acacias, the stately residence -which sheltered the most precious life in Europe. - -The rout was kept up till the small hours of the morning. It was two -o'clock before the last equipage drove through the monumental gates -of Les Acacias, and these were finally closed upon the departing -guests. But for an hour after that the roads around the house were -still thronged with people too excited to go to bed. They swarmed -around the encircling wall, above which they could only see the -glimmer of lights behind the shuttered windows, and tried to peer -through the wrought-iron gates, happy to see how completely their -Emperor trusted them, and that he disdained the usual paraphernalia -of military guards and sentinels--the relics of bygone times. The -house was lighted up; no doubt a number of lackeys would be astir -keeping watch over the illustrious guest, but there was no glimmer of -fixed bayonets within the gates, no tramp of martial feet up and down -the circular drive. - -Only at three o'clock did the citizens of Caen finally decide to go -to bed. By half-past three the approaches to Les Acacias, as well as -the streets, were at last deserted; the houses in the city had closed -down their lights; only in the distance the house in which the -Emperor slept was illuminated from within; but it, too, now appeared -absolutely still. - -Then suddenly the slumbering city was awakened by an awful sound--a -terrific crash which broke the window panes of hundreds of houses, -and which reverberated for many kilomètres around. Fragments of wood -and stone and tiles appeared to rain down from the skies like -death-dealing projectiles, crashing through the roofs of some houses -on the confines of the city and causing much damage, fortunately -without any loss of life. - -There was hardly a citizen inside the town who did not immediately -jump out of bed, with beating heart and blanched cheeks and lips that -quivered with horror, as he murmured the ominous words: - -"Les Acacias! The Emperor! My God!" - -Within a few minutes the garrison was astir. The whole sky was now -suffused with a weird and lurid glow. In the direction of St. -Martin, where stood Les Acacias, vivid tongues of flame were seen to -leap intermittently into the night. The streets leading thither soon -became crowded with people, clad in promiscuous garments, all running -in the one direction, and headed by a company of infantry and a -squadron of cavalry, rushing along with buckets, pumps and ladders, -in the wake of the hastily summoned official fire-brigade. The -confusion threatened to grow serious. The city police were quite -unable to cope with it, and the military alone were in a measure able -to enforce some semblance of order. - -Only the Rue aux Juifs, with its crazy houses, remained as before, -silent and comparatively deserted. The distant conflagration lit up -with a weird glow the ramshackle façades which lined the narrow -thoroughfare. Neither the police, nor the military, nor yet the few -sight-seers who drifted down the street in search of a short cut to -the scene of excitement, had a mind to notice the sombrely clad -passers-by who halted outside the door of one of these grim-faced -abodes, about half-way down the street. - -Two men, dressed in rough blouses, and with wide-brimmed hats pulled -over their eyes, appeared to be on guard at the door, and as each -person passed from the street into the house, one of these men -uttered a whispered challenge: "The fearful wild fowl is abroad." -And instantly was heard the equally whispered reply: "And the wild -duck comes with a feather in her mouth." - -After which the gloom beyond appeared to swallow up the newcomer. -But a number of these, as they went by, added a quick and eager query: - -"Has he come?" - -And one of the men invariably replied: - -"Yes! Last night. Just escaped being murdered by one of those -accursed spies." - -Outside were noise, bustle, wild excitement, made up partly of -horror, partly and mainly of eager curiosity. Folk rushed aimlessly -hither and thither: the military charged the populace with loud -commands to make way; the police shouted and used their swords to cut -a passage through the crowd for the firemen; everybody shouted or -screamed; some women fainted; on everyone's lips was the one agonised -query: "The Emperor! Is he dead?" - -But inside the derelict house in the Rue aux Juifs a dignified hush -reigned. The narrow double room on the floor above was filled with a -throng as passionately excited as was the one which shouted itself -hoarse in the streets; but the men and women assembled here only -spoke in whispers, even though the query which was on everyone's lips -was not a whit less eager: "De Livardot! Is he here?" - -"He and Blue-Heart fired the fuse," said White-Beak in reply. "No -doubt they are held up by the crowd. They will be here soon." - -A score or so of men and women wandered about aimlessly from room to -room, or sat on the gimcrack chairs and the steps of the rickety -stairs. They talked in whispers, communicating their excitement to -one another. Only now and then a young voice would be raised in -sudden, half-hysterical laughter. - -The shutters were hermetically closed so that no sound should filter -through. The usurper was dead, but his sycophants were still abroad -and his paid minions still in power, and the populace was still -intoxicated with the glamour which Austerlitz and Wagram, Jena and -Rivoli had cast over the hated Corsican's name. Therefore the -conspirators, though certain of victory, still went about with bated -breath, whilst an air of mystery still clung to the shabby, -tumbledown house in the Rue aux Juifs. - -White-Beak and his mates, who had prepared the foul crime which had -just achieved its grim culmination, stood apart from the rest of the -company, in the narrow hall below--at respectful distance from the -noble ladies and gentlemen who had paid them to do their cowardly -task. - -But, noble and peasant alike, all these Chouans to-night--a veritable -league of knaves--were here assembled in order to proclaim their -triumphant exultation at the cold-blooded murder of the Emperor, and -to hail the return of their rightful King. - -Despite the cold outside, the rooms and staircase felt overpoweringly -hot. The tallow candles flickered and guttered in their sconces; -weariness warring with excitement was depicted on every face. - -Then suddenly a woman's voice rang out buoyantly: - -"Why should we wait for de Livardot ere we drink the health of His -Majesty the King?" - -"Why, indeed?" came in lusty response from every side. - -The effect of the suggestion was electrical. In a moment mugs and -flagons were produced. The gentlemen poured out the wine, whilst -everyone crowded round the table in the centre of the room. It -seemed as if a load of anxiety had been lifted from every shoulder; -the younger people began to laugh aloud; weariness fled as if by -magic. The shutters were flung wide open. Of a truth, what cause -was there now for fear or mystery. Perish the last misgivings, that -unshakable sense of impending doom! Let there be noise and revelry -and gaiety! The usurper is dead! Long live the King! And let every -passer-by, an he would, pause to hear the rousing, loyal toast: - -"The usurper is dead. Long live His Majesty Louis XVIII, by the -grace of God, King of France!" - -And the echo of the enthusiastic cry reverberated from attic to -cellar of the old house. White-Beak and his mates in the hall below -joined in the acclamation with a rollicking shout. The veil and -gloom of doubt had lifted; spirits ran high, laughter rang from end -to end of the narrow, fusty rooms. - -It was when these transports of delight were at their highest that -the street door was suddenly thrown open, and Blue-Heart, panting, -half-exhausted, with shaking knees and trembling hands, staggered -into the narrow hall and fell headlong in the arms of his comrades. - -"We are betrayed!" he gasped. "They are on us! Sauve qui peut!" - -"We are betrayed!" The awful, ever-recurring cry of the conspirator, -of the man who concocts deeds of evil under cover of darkness, and -who mistrusts every hand he grasps! All these men, accustomed as -they were to this ever-present danger--a danger which hung over them, -even when they felt most secure--paused neither to question nor to -reflect; they scarcely paused to warn the noble ladies and gentlemen -above, who were still engaged in toasting the triumph of their Cause. - -"We are betrayed! Sauve qui peut!" they shouted and, not waiting to -hear whether the warning were heeded, scrambled for the door. - -"Too late!" gasped Blue-Heart, as with trembling hands he strove to -detain his struggling mates. "They were on my heels!" - -"They? Who?" queried the others hoarsely. - -"The police!" - -"Bah! The police!" exclaimed White-Beak in a feeble attempt at -swagger. "The Corsican is dead. We have no cause to fear his -police!" - -But already a nameless terror, like a pale, mysterious ghost, had -floated upwards through the house. It had reached a small group of -young men and women gaily chattering at the head of the stairs. - -"We are betrayed!" - -"Did you hear that?" queried someone, and suddenly excitement died -away as if stricken down by a poisonous breath, and within a second -or two the whisper was on every lip: "We are betrayed!" - -"Who said it?" - -"The men below!" - -There was a swift rush for the stairs, while one man hastily -re-closed the shutters. Another was leaning over the banisters, -trying to learn the truth. - -"White-Beak!" he called. "Is that you? What does it mean?" - -"That the police are on us!" was the gruff reply. - -"The police!" shouted those above. "Why, the Corsican is dead -and----" - -"Hark!" came peremptorily from the men. - -And all the conspirators held their breath, listening. The sound was -unmistakable; a number of men were outside the door. Quick words of -command could be heard; the clanging of steel and the snorting and -pawing of horses. - -"But the usurper is dead!" glided as a reassuring cry from a woman's -lips. - -"He is not dead!" retorted Blue-Heart firmly. - -"Not dead? But the explosion--the fire----" - -As if to confirm these words, a gigantic sheet of flame in the -direction of Les Acacias suddenly lit up the whole sky again, with -such brilliancy that, despite the closed shutters, a lurid glow -penetrated into the house, throwing for a moment into bold relief the -pale, haggard faces, and illumining them with a light which was the -colour of blood. - -At the same moment, in the distance was heard the sound of prolonged -cheering. Louder and louder it grew as it seemed to spread to every -corner of the town, till it became absolutely deafening. A wild -medley of sounds filled the air with clamorous din; people rushed -excitedly to and fro, shouting "Vive l'Empereur!" and singing the -"Marseillaise." Horses galloped by at breakneck speed; the roll of -coach-wheels went thundering along the cobblestones; from the château -close by came the echo of bugle calls. - -And in the derelict house of the Rue aux Juifs there reigned silence -as if of the dead, though well nigh two score men and women were -there, huddled together in one common and agonising fear. What had -happened no one could as yet even conjecture; all they knew was that -Napoleon had escaped by a miracle and that the police were at the -door. - -"And de Livardot? Where is he?" was one of the many questions on -trembling lips. - -But to this query even Blue-Heart could give no conclusive reply. He -had been with de Livardot until after they had fired the time-fuse -together, then de Livardot ordered him to go back to the Rue aux -Juifs and there to wait for him till he arrived, and in the meanwhile -to tell all the friends to drink and make merry. He--Blue-Heart--had -walked rapidly for a time, then curiosity had mastered him and he -waited until the terrifying explosion rent the air and gave him -assurance that his task was indeed accomplished. Then he turned back -towards the city. - -When he reached the Rue aux Juifs he saw that it swarmed with -police-spies. He heard words and whispered commands which left no -doubt in his mind that somehow or other the conspiracy had been -betrayed, and that a descent on the Chouan meeting-place was in -contemplation. At first he made light of the affair. Was not the -Corsican dead? And he--Blue-Heart--and his friends, were they not -triumphant? What cause had they to fear the minions of an Empire -that was now defunct? Nevertheless, he hung about the street under -the shadows of doorways, on the _qui vive_. Then suddenly the rumour -spread throughout the town that the Emperor was safe. He had left -Marshal Cormier's house along with his host and the latter's family -and entire staff of servants and retainers, directly after the last -guest had departed. - -Not a soul was left at Les Acacias when the explosion occurred. -Blue-Heart, realising that the plot must have been discovered and -that the deadliest danger now threatened all his friends, contrived -to reach the door of the meeting-place undetected, and to sound the -note of warning which, alas! had already come too late. - -The house was surrounded. The police were swarming everywhere. The -Chouans--save for a few of the gentlemen who wore their swords and -one or two who carried pistols--were practically unarmed. They put -up a certain measure of resistance, however; some of the men fired -pistol shots through the windows, and there was a mêlée on the -stairs, in the course of which several of the police were wounded; -but these were armed with swords and muskets, and from the first the -Chouans knew that they were doomed. After a struggle which lasted -less than a quarter of an hour, they were forced to surrender; they -were doing neither themselves, nor their Cause, nor the women who -were with them, any good by senseless resistance. - -When the last of them was disarmed and men and women alike were -marched as prisoners down the stairs, a whisper went round among them -which was not destined for the ears of their captors: - -"Thank God," they said, "that at any rate de Livardot has escaped!" - -Blue-Heart and his comrades, who were in the fore-front, walking -under strong escort--as they had offered by far the most determined -and most savage hostility--caught the whisper and, pointing down in -the hall where a man in a grey mantle and wearing a three-cornered -hat stood in the midst of a group of police officers, one of them -said with a grim oath: - -"Escaped? Not he! There he is, like the rest of us, already -half-way to Bicêtre." - -"Livardot? Where?" came in an eager query from his fellow prisoners. - -"Why, there!" said Blue-Heart, once more pointing to the man below. - -"That's not Livardot!" retorted one of the prisoners emphatically, -whilst the police laughed grimly, as at an excellent joke. - -"Of course it's not de Livardot," added one of the women. "You are -dreaming, Blue-Heart. That's that beastly spy, whom we all know to -our cost as the Man in Grey." - -"But," stammered Blue-Heart who, bewildered and utterly -uncomprehending, was staring down before him like a man suddenly -brought up against a measureless abyss; "the police-spy was killed by -de Livardot on the Dog's Tooth rocks----" - -At this moment the Man in Grey looked up and caught Blue-Heart's -glowering eyes and those of his mates fixed almost crazedly upon him. - -"Nay! friend Blue-Heart," he said quietly--in the weird silence which -had fallen upon the throng--"the police-spy, as you call him, arrived -safely in the Rue aux Juifs, just in time to learn the details of the -plot which you and these gentlemen and ladies were so confidently -hatching. Your friend de Livardot, whom I certainly met face to face -on the Dog's Tooth rocks, is quietly awaiting his friends in Bicêtre." - -Then, while a string of muttered imprecations fell from the lips of -the miscreants whom he had so cunningly outwitted, he gave the final -word of command. - -"Forward! March! The carriages for the ladies are in the front; -those for the men in the rear. Guard your prisoners well, my men!" -he added. "They are as crafty as a tribe of foxes. Forward now, and -may God always protect the Emperor!" - - -V - -Napoleon thanked the Man in Grey personally for the superb way in -which he had not only saved his Emperor's life, but had also -succeeded in gathering so many Chouans into his net. - -"How was it done, my good Monsieur Fernand?" His Majesty asked -graciously. - -"Quite easily, sire," replied the Man in Grey. "Your Majesty's spies -in Jersey gave us warning some time ago that de Livardot was making -preparations to embark for France. My business then was to find out -where he would land. This I did by watching the best-known Chouans -in the district. One of them led me to the Goat's Creek, which I -then kept in observation. A week later de Livardot did land there. -I had him waylaid and arrested, and took possession of his papers. -One of these gave me a pass phrase and the address in the Rue aux -Juifs, another was a map of the house and grounds of Les Acacias. - -"It was not difficult to imagine a connection between that map and -your Majesty's visit; nor would it, I hoped, be difficult to assume -the personality of a man whom, presumably, they had not seen for -years (I mean de Livardot), and to learn the whole of the plot -against your Majesty's life. At any rate I chose to take the risk. -From one or two of the papers I had gathered that he was being -recommended by certain Chouan chiefs to a number of their followers -who did not know him by sight. I went to the address in the Rue aux -Juifs and there obtained full details of the infamous plot. My hope, -of course, was not only to frustrate that plot, but also to bring the -conspirators to justice. This I was able to do through your -Majesty's gracious co-operation in leaving Les Acacias secretly at my -suggestion, together with your host and retinue; and also through -Monsieur le Duc de Gisors' lofty patriotism in allowing his -magnificent mansion to be sacrificed. The explosion I knew was to be -the signal for the rallying of the _infâmes_ who schemed in secret, -while they left their humbler followers to do the poisonous work for -them. Now the trap has closed on them all and your Majesty's -clemency alone can save them from the gallows." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE ARROW POISON - - -I - -When the secret agent of His Majesty's Minister of Police selected -Hippolyte Darnier to be his messenger for the occasion, he knew he -had a man whom he could trust. - -Darnier was married: he was a man of middle age, who had served the -Republic first, then the Consulate and finally the Emperor with -unswerving loyalty, in circumstances which more often than not -entailed grave personal risks. He had always extricated himself from -difficult and dangerous positions with marvellous coolness and -acumen, and it was but natural that when the autograph letter signed -by M. de Trévargan--which implicated the noble Marquis and his family -in the late abortive conspiracy against the life of the Emperor--had -to be sent to M. le Duc d'Otrante, the latter's secret agent should -choose a man of proven courage and address for the purpose. - -The Man in Grey took leave of his messenger at his lodgings in the -Rue de Bras, and at the very last moment of the leave-taking gave him -the precious letter, which Darnier immediately secreted in the inside -breast pocket of his coat. Then he was ready for the journey. - -In those days the Paris diligence started from the Hôtel du Portugal -in Caen every morning at eight o'clock, reaching Lisieux--the first -stage--at five in the afternoon. Darnier had secured his seat on the -banquette by the side of the driver, for although the day was cold, -he felt that he would be safer there than huddled up between other -passengers in the interior, some of whom might be unpleasantly -light-fingered. There was a fair number of travellers that morning. -An elderly pair of bourgeois on their way to Evreux and a well-to-do -shopkeeper's wife going to Paris to visit her son, who was employed -in the new aerial telegraphs, had secured the _coupé_ in front. Two -or three commercial travellers, a couple of young officers on leave -from the war, a portly fishwife from Caen and a round-cheeked country -wench occupied the interior. At the small posting inn of the "Mouton -Noir," just outside the city, another woman got in. She had no -luggage and apparently she had not booked her place, for she had to -be content with one on the narrow back seat of the inside, wedged in -between the round-faced country wench and the fishwife from Caen. -However, the newcomer seemed quite satisfied with her surroundings: -she sat down placidly and, pulling her hood well over her face, took -up a book and thereafter remained absorbed in reading, looking -neither to right nor left, and taking no part in the vapid -conversation, engendered by boredom, which was carried on around her. -Her fellow-travellers put her down as belonging to some sort of -religious community, for she wore a voluminous black cloak with a -hood which only allowed the point of her chin to peep out below it. - -At Mézidon, where halt was made for dinner, everyone trooped into the -coffee-room of the "Cheval Blanc." Hippolyte Darnier asked to have -his meal served in a private room, and as he was provided with -special credentials bearing the seal of the Ministry of Police, his -wishes were at once acceded to, and he was served both promptly and -obsequiously, in a small room adjoining the one where the other -passengers were dining together. - -The woman in the black cloak had been the last to leave the -diligence. She had remained in her seat, immersed in her book till -everyone had scrambled out of the coach. Then she, too, got out, and -walked very slowly in the wake of the jovial party ahead. But she -did not appear to be in any hurry to join her fellow-travellers, for -while they settled down with noise and bustle at the well-spread -table, she strolled away in the direction of the river. - -The dinner was over and coffee had been handed round when she entered -the coffee-room. The wine had been good, and everyone was hilarious. -As she closed the door behind her, she was greeted with jovial calls. - -"Here, reverend sister, come and sit down." - -"You must be famished!" - -"This roasted gigot is positively excellent!" - -But the woman paid no heed to these well-meant suggestions, beyond a -few whispered "Thank you's." Her hood still covered her face, all -but the point of her chin, after the manner adopted by professed nuns -of cloistered orders when men are about. She crossed the coffee-room -rapidly to the door of the private room beyond, where Hippolyte -Darnier was having his solitary dinner. - -The serving-maid tried to stop her. - -"There's a gentleman in there," she said, "who wishes to be alone." - -"Oh!" said the woman quietly, "that is quite all right. I am -travelling in his company." - -With that she opened the door and went into the inner room. - -There was so much noise going on in the coffee-room at the time that -no one was able to state positively afterwards how Darnier greeted -the intruder, and whether or no her statement was true that she was -travelling in his company. Certain it is that, after a quarter of an -hour or so, she came out again, as quietly, as silently as she had -come, re-crossed the coffee-room, and went out, leaving this time a -curious, almost uncanny air of mystery behind her. - -"I have never been fond of these female _callotins_ myself," said one -of the young officers after a while. - -"I cannot stand people who make no noise when they walk," asserted -the worthy bourgeois of Evreux. - -The well-to-do farmer's wife, conscious of undisputed respectability, -added with some acidity: - -"Strange that a professed nun should be travelling alone in a man's -company." - -After that comments on the occurrence became freer and more ribald, -and very soon the absentee had not a shred of reputation left in the -minds of the worthy but intensely bored people congregated around the -festive board of the "Cheval Blanc." - -At two o'clock the ostler in charge announced that the diligence was -ready to start. Jean Baptiste, the jocund host of the "Cheval -Blanc," was going round the table, collecting payment for the good -déjeuner which had been served to his well-satisfied clients. - -"What shall I do about the gentleman in there?" asked the serving -maid, pointing to the door of the private room. "He was asleep the -last time I went in." - -"Wake him up," replied Jean Baptiste. - -"I have done all I could to wake him," answered the wench. "He -doesn't seem inclined to move." - -"He'll have to move," rejoined Jean Baptiste with a laugh; "or the -diligence will go without him." - -With that he strode across to the door of the private room, kicked it -open with his foot, and called out in his lusty voice which, as -someone remarked, was loud enough to wake the dead: - -"Now then, Monsieur, 'tis time to wake up! The diligence is about to -start. You'll never get to Paris at this rate." - -The door had remained wide open. The travellers in the coffee-room -could see the figure of M. Darnier sitting huddled in a chair, and -half-leaning against the table, like one who is in a drunken sleep. - -"Give him a good shake, papa Baptiste!" called one of the young -officers waggishly. "Your good wine has been too much for him." - -Jean Baptiste stooped and gave the huddled figure a good shake. Then -suddenly he uttered a horrified "Oh, mon Dieu!" - -"What is it?" queried the travellers anxiously. - -"The man is dead!" - - -II - -Never had the Paris diligence been so late in starting from Mézidon; -and when finally, with much cracking of whip and rattling of chains, -it thundered along the cobblestones of the Grande Rue, it was without -its full complement of passengers. - -M. le Commissaire de Police had ordered the detention of most of them -as witnesses of the occurrences which culminated in the death of -Hippolyte Darnier, who was known to the commissaire as an employé on -the police staff at Caen. - -It was no use grumbling. No one who had seen or spoken to the woman -in the black cloak could be allowed to leave the city until M. le -Procureur Imperial in Caen had granted them leave to do so. - -In the meanwhile M. le Sous-Préfet, who was quite hopelessly out of -his depth, interrogated the witnesses without eliciting more than a -noisy and confused account of the events of the past few hours -wherein the weather, the bad state of the roads, and the good wines -of the "Cheval Blanc" vied in importance with the doings of a -so-called mysterious nun, of whom nothing had been seen by anybody -save the point of a chin and a voluminous black cloak and hood. By -the time that the sous-préfet had jotted down these miscellaneous -depositions, it was discovered that the mysterious personage in -question had disappeared. Whereupon search parties were sent abroad -in every direction, with strict orders to bring any woman who was -seen wearing any kind of a black cloak forthwith before M. le -Commissaire, whilst the sous-préfet, freely perspiring under the -effort, wrote out a detailed and wholly unintelligible report of the -incidents, which he dispatched by mounted courier to his chief at -Caen. - -The search parties, after two or three hours' diligent scouring of -the neighbourhood, brought back an inoffensive farm servant, who was -trudging home from her milking, wrapped in a black shawl; the kitchen -wench from the Hôtel de Madrid, who had gone out to meet her -sweetheart and had borrowed her mistress's black cloak for the -occasion; and old Madame Durand, the caretaker at the church of St. -Pierre, who always wore a black gown as an outward symbol of her -official position and responsible calling. - -One lad, more intelligent than the rest, while wandering along the -tow-path of the river, had espied a black cloak and hood floating -down-stream until its progress was arrested by a clump of rushes. -The lad fished for the cloak with a barge-pole and succeeded in -landing it. He brought it in triumph to Mézidon, where he became the -hero of the hour. - -Late in the evening M. Laurens, préfet of Caen, received his -subordinate's report. At once he communicated with M. Carteret, the -chief commissary of police. The two, fearing that the officious -secret agent would keep them out of their beds for the next two -hours, with God knows what orders to proceed to Mézidon in the middle -of the night, decided to say nothing to him until the morning. After -all, the matter was not of such paramount importance. Darnier, they -argued, had had too much to drink and had a fit of apoplexy in an -overheated room. - -But next morning, when the chief commissary did present himself -before the Minister's agent with the Mézidon report, he for one felt -that he would far sooner have sacrificed a night's rest than endure -the icy reprimand and the coolly worded threats wherewith the -insufferable little man had greeted his news. - -"By your culpable negligence," the Minister's agent had said in his -quiet monotone which made every official conscious of some unavowed -peccadillo shiver, "you have given the murderer an added chance of -escape." - -"The murderer!" protested M. Carteret, with a feeble attempt at -swagger. "What in the world makes you think that Darnier has been -murdered? Why, the leech----" - -"Because an ignorant country apothecary finds no sign of violence -upon a dead body," retorted the Man in Grey coldly, "unanswerable -logic must not be deemed at fault." - -"But what motive could anyone have for murdering poor Darnier?" -argued the commissary with a shrug of his wide shoulders. - -"You forget that he was the bearer of an important report from me to -the Minister," replied the Man in Grey. - -The commissary gave a long, low whistle. He certainly had forgotten -that all-important fact for the moment. - -"And you think," he said, "that the woman in the black cloak was an -emissary of those cursed Chouans, and that she murdered Darnier in -order to steal that report----" - -"Together with the autograph letter of Monsieur le Marquis de -Trévargan which implicates him and his family in the plot against the -Emperor," broke in the secret agent. "I should have thought it was -self-evident." - -He wasted no further argument on the commissary, who, bewildered and -helpless, solemnly scratched his head, as if to extricate therefrom a -solution of the weird mystery. - -An hour or so later Madame Darnier, the widow of the murdered man, -called at the prefecture in answer to a hurried summons. As someone -must break the terrible news to her, the Man in Grey undertook the -task, speaking as sympathetically and as gently as he could. She was -a delicate-looking woman, still in the prime of life, and with -justified pretensions to good looks. She took the news badly, for, -as she explained later when she was calmer, she had been devoted to -her husband and he to her, and they had only been married five years. -She had no children, she said, in answer to the secret agent's kindly -inquiries, and her dear husband's death left her practically without -means of support. The assurance that His Majesty's Minister of -Police would provide generously for the widow of a man who had died -in the service of the State gave her some small measure of comfort, -and when she finally took her leave, she appeared, if not more -consoled, at any rate more tranquil. - -Madame Darnier had been unable to furnish the police with any clue -which might guide them in their investigations. She was quite sure -that her husband had no enemies, and whilst she had been aware that -his work often entailed grave personal risks, she knew nothing about -the work itself, nor, in this case, had he told her anything beyond -the fact that he was going to Paris and would be absent about ten -days. She repudiated with indignation the suggestion that he had -been travelling in the company of some woman unknown to herself, and -of her own accord threw out the suggestion that some of those -_méchant_ Chouans--knowing her husband's connection with the -police--had not scrupled to slay him. - - -III - -The Château de Trévargan, situated upon a lonely piece of coast -midway between the mouths of the Orne and the Dives and about ten or -a dozen miles from Caen, had remained one of the beauty spots of the -neighbourhood. Though its owners had emigrated at the outbreak of -the Revolution and their domain had become the property of the State, -it had been bought nominally by a man named Leclerc, who had been the -Marquis's agent, and who held it thenceforward and administered it -with unswerving loyalty, in the name of his former master. Leclerc -with his wife and family had settled down in the château, and -together they looked after the house, the park and the estate during -the Marquis's prolonged absence abroad. They always appeared -plentifully supplied with money, which no doubt came to them through -one of the many agencies in Jersey, and when M. le Marquis returned -to France some five years ago he found his house in perfect order; -and it is supposed that he rewarded his faithful steward generously, -for the latter retired with his family to a little estate close by, -where they continued to live in undiminished affluence. - -M. le Marquis de Trévargan had obviously not brought a fortune back -from exile; nevertheless, he and Madame la Marquise kept up a good -deal of style at the château. They also went to Paris and made their -obeisance to the Emperor at Versailles, and hitherto not the -slightest suspicion of disloyalty to the new régime had attached to -them. - -The discovery of the outrageous plot against the life of the Emperor -during the latter's visit to Caen the previous month, had left the -Trévargans unscathed, even though close upon a score of their -personal friends were implicated in the affair. It was only three -weeks later that M. le Marquis learned that the one foolish letter he -had written in the whole course of his cautious career had fallen -into the hands of the police. He had written to his friend the Comte -de Romorantin, urging him to keep aloof from the conspirators until -he was sure that the Corsican had really been sent to Hades. - -"Madame la Marquise and myself do not intend to appear at Caen until -we know for certain that the coup has been successful. We have done -our share in the matter of providing funds, but we prefer to let -Blue-Heart, White-Beak and the other ruffians do the work for us. We -shall be ready to proclaim His Majesty King Louis XVIII in the Hôtel -de Ville as soon as we know that all fear of failure or discovery is -at an end. I entreat you to do likewise and to destroy this letter -as soon as read." - -Unfortunately, M. de Romorantin had not destroyed the letter. He had -it in his pocket at the very moment when the police made the raid on -the house in the Rue aux Juifs and arrested the Chouan conspirators -red-handed. The letter was seized, together with every other paper -which happened to be in the possession of the prisoners, and it was -that same highly compromising letter which Hippolyte Darnier was -taking to Paris when he died so mysteriously in the private room of -the "Cheval Blanc" at Mézidon. - -Investigation at the château on the day following the discovery of -the plot had led to no result. M. le Marquis watched with lofty -indifference and disdain the turning over of his private papers and -belongings by the heedless hands of the police. Except for that one -letter, he had never committed an indiscretion or written an -unguarded word in his life. But there was the letter! And it was -this very search which, coming as a bolt from the blue, had assured -him that he was no longer immune from suspicion. - -The day following the death of Hippolyte Darnier, M. le Marquis de -Trévargan received another visit from the police, this time in the -person of M. Carteret, the commissary, whom he knew personally, and -who came accompanied by a small, insignificant-looking personage -dressed in grey. Once more, secure in the knowledge that nothing -that could in any way compromise him existed inside his château, the -Marquis received his visitors with condescending hauteur. - -"Ah, ça, my good Carteret," he said to the commissary somewhat -tartly, "when am I and Madame la Marquise to be free from this -insolent interference? Since when are the loyal subjects of His -Majesty to be treated as if they were criminals?" - -The worthy M. Carteret felt hot and cold all over. He had an -enormous regard for M. le Marquis de Trévargan and a wholesome terror -of the Minister's secret agent, and between the two he did not know -to which saint he should pray for protection. - -"Loyalty is a matter of degree," here interposed the Man in Grey in -his usual monotone; "as Monsieur le Marquis well knows." - -"I only know, Monsieur," retorted the Marquis haughtily, "that -certain aspersions have been cast upon my good name, chiefly on the -strength of a forged letter----" - -"A forged letter, Monsieur le Marquis?" interposed the Man in Grey -with a smile. "Monsieur de Romorantin has owned to its authenticity." - -"Monsieur de Romorantin was scared out of his wits," rejoined the -Marquis, "or he never would have been taken in by such a clumsy -forgery. And," he added haughtily, "I challenge you to produce it, -so that at least I might have a chance of proving the truth of what I -say." - -"It is just because the letter has been stolen," stammered M. -Carteret, "and the messenger murdered that we are here to-day, -Monsieur le Marquis." - -While he spoke a door at the farther end of the room opened, and a -tall, handsome woman appeared upon the threshold. When the -commissary finished speaking, she broke into a ringing laugh. - -"A pretty story indeed!" she said harshly. "A monstrous accusation -hurled at Monsieur le Marquis de Trévargan! And when he demands to -be confronted with proofs of his guilt, these proofs are said to be -destroyed, whilst a vague hint of murder goes to swell the iniquitous -charge. A pretty pass, indeed!" she continued, as with stately steps -she advanced into the room. "Fortunately His Majesty has some -friendship for Monsieur le Marquis and myself, and we can appeal to -him to punish those who have put this affront upon us." - -"Your pardon, Madame la Marquise," answered the Man in Grey, as soon -as she had finished her impassioned tirade. "Monsieur le Commissaire -said that the letter had been stolen; he did not say that it had been -destroyed." - -An almost imperceptible shadow seemed to pass as in a flash over the -Marquise's handsome face; but the very next second she shrugged her -handsome shoulders and said flippantly: - -"The same thing, my good man." - -"I trust not, Madame la Marquise," rejoined the Man in Grey. - -"Oh, we all know," here interrupted M. le Marquis with a sneer, "that -in your unavowable profession, Monsieur, you are bound to send a -certain number of unfortunates to what you call justice, whether they -are guilty or not, or you would lose your highly lucrative -employment. Isn't that so?" - -"Our employment, Monsieur le Marquis," replied the Man in Grey -imperturbably, "is not likely to find favour in your sight." - -"Well!" rejoined Madame with a harsh laugh, "so long as you don't -trump up a charge of murder against some poor innocent this time----" - -"Murder, Madame la Marquise!" queried the secret agent with a look of -mild astonishment in his colourless eyes. "Who spoke of murder?" - -"I thought," parried the Marquise airily, "that some spy or other of -yours was murdered and robbed of the forged letter, which was -supposed to convict Monsieur le Marquis de Trévargan and myself of -disloyalty." - -"One of our men was certainly robbed of a letter written by Monsieur -le Marquis de Trévargan to Monsieur de Romorantin on the eve of the -conspiracy against the Emperor," said the Man in Grey, "but I am -happy to say that he is alive at the present moment----" - -A terrific crash of broken china drowned the rest of his speech. The -table against which Madame la Marquise had been leaning fell over, -scattering precious _bibelots_ in every direction. - -"How clumsy of me!" exclaimed Madame in some confusion, whilst the -commissary of police, agitated and obsequious, crawled about on his -hands and knees, trying to collect the fragments of priceless china -which littered the carpet. "Do not trouble, I pray you, Monsieur le -Commissaire," said the Marquise with affable condescension. "The -servant will clear away the rubbish." - -She sank into a chair, as if tired out with the interminable -interview, and put her aristocratic hand up to her mouth, smothering -a yawn. - -"As you were saying, Monsieur--er----" she drawled wearily. - -"I was not saying anything, Madame la Marquise," rejoined the Man in -Grey, smiling. - -"Your spy or messenger, whatever he was----" interposed the Marquis -impatiently. "You were saying something about him." - -"Oh! nothing that would interest Monsieur le Marquis," replied the -secret agent. "He was stabbed in the hand with a pin steeped in a -deadly arrow poison, which in ordinary circumstances would have -killed him in less than five minutes. Fortunately for him the -assassin was either inexperienced or clumsy, or perhaps the poison -had become stale by keeping. At any rate, poor Hippolyte Darnier was -nearly killed--but not quite. He is still very ill--half paralysed; -but the leech assures me that he will recover." - -This time there was no mistaking the shadow which once more passed -across the Marquise's handsome face, whilst for the space of a second -or two the somewhat high colour of her cheeks changed to a leaden -hue. The Marquis instinctively came forward a few steps, obtruding -his stately figure between the police agent and his wife. Next -moment, however, Madame had regained her composure. She rose from -her chair, tall, dignified, unspeakably haughty. - -"So much the better for your friend, Monsieur--er--I forget your -name," she said coldly. "And now," she added as she walked -majestically towards the door, "if you or Monsieur le Commissaire -have any more senseless questions to ask, you must be content with -the information Monsieur le Marquis condescends to give you. I -confess to being weary of this folly." - -She pushed open the door and sailed out of the room, as arrogant as -any Queen of the old régime dismissing an importunate courtier. Then -the door fell to behind her and her firm step soon died away along -the marble corridor. - - -IV - -The commissary of police was pining to take his leave, and much to -his relief the Man in Grey put no further questions to M. le Marquis, -and after a few seconds declared himself ready to go. M. de -Trévargan was quite pleasant to poor M. Carteret, who obviously -greatly disapproved of this intrusion on the privacy of the stately -château. - -"The man is a veritable pest!" he contrived to whisper in the -Marquis's ear, behind the back of the secret agent. "I would wish to -assure Monsieur le Marquis----" - -"Do not trouble to do that, my good Monsieur Carteret," interrupted -M. de Trévargan impatiently. "Your assurances are unnecessary. You -were obeying orders: and the man, I suppose, was fulfilling what he -believed to be his duty." - -Somewhat comforted, the commissary went downstairs in the wake of the -Man in Grey, who was waiting for him in the vast entrance hall below, -and was gazing in rapt admiration at the pictures and statuary which -would not have shamed a royal residence. - -"It is a rare treat," he was saying to the pompous majordomo who was -waiting to usher the visitors out, "for art-lovers to have the -opportunity of seeing these priceless treasures. Are they not -sometimes shown to the public?" - -"Oh, no, Monsieur," replied the majordomo sententiously. "As -Monsieur and Madame de Trévargan are in residence, it would not be -seemly to allow strangers to wander about the château." - -"Ah!" said the Man in Grey, "then my sister was lucky indeed. She -saw all these beautiful pictures and statues yesterday!" - -"Yesterday, Monsieur?" queried the man, as haughtily as his master -and mistress would have done. "I do not understand." - -"It's quite simple," rejoined the secret agent. "My sister is the -intimate friend of one of the maids here, and yesterday, as Madame la -Marquise was away all day, this friend smuggled my sister into this -part of the château and showed her all these marvellous art -treasures----" - -"This would be a pretty story, Monsieur," here broke in the majordomo -impatiently, "if it were based on some semblance of truth. Madame la -Marquise did not happen to be away all day yesterday." - -"But surely----" protested the Man in Grey. - -"Madame la Marquise was indeed very much at home," continued the -other with becoming sternness, "seeing that she entertained the -children of the Convent School here to déjeuner at midday and games -all the afternoon." - -The secret agent now appeared overwhelmed with confusion at his -stupid blunder. - -"I am very sorry," he murmured haltingly. "There's some mistake on -my part--I understood my sister to say that she was here -yesterday--it must have been some other day----" - -"Very likely!" retorted the majordomo with a sneer; and giving the -plebeian police agent the supercilious stare which so much -impertinence deserved, he finally closed the monumental doors of the -château upon the unwelcome visitors. - -"Another snub!" remarked the commissary of police as he descended the -steps beside his silent colleague. "And why you trumped up that -story about your sister and a maid, I cannot imagine!" he added with -withering contempt. - -But the Man in Grey apparently did not hear him, He was murmuring -under his breath: - -"Clever enough to have secured an alibi! I might have guessed it! -And such an actress! But, then, how in Heaven's name was it done? -How? And by whom?" - - -V - -The Man in Grey had allowed the commissary of police to return to -Caen, but he seemed to find it impossible to tear himself away from -the neighbourhood of Trévargan. He felt that the lordly château held -a grim secret within its walls, and he could not rest until he had -wrung it from them. - -All day he hung about the approaches of the park and, as soon as -night fell, managed to creep into the depths of the shrubberies -before the gates were closed. Here he remained on the watch, peering -through the thicket at the stately pile, the windows of which soon -became lighted from within, one by one. What he expected to see he -could not have told you, but Night is the great guardian of dark -mysteries and unavowable deeds, and the secret agent hoped that the -gloom would mayhap give him the key to that riddle which had baffled -him in broad light of day. - -From where he was crouching he commanded a view both of the front of -the house and of the path which led to the back. He had been lying -in wait for nearly two hours, and a neighbouring church clock had -just struck ten, when through the darkness he perceived the figure of -a woman, wrapped in a cloak, walking quickly towards the château. At -first he thought it might be one of the maids returning from a walk, -but as the figure passed close to him, something vaguely familiar in -the poise of the head and the shape of the cloak, caused him suddenly -to crawl out of his hiding-place as noiselessly as he could, and to -follow the woman until a bend in the avenue afforded him the -opportunity which he sought. In one second he had taken off his -mantle and, springing on her from behind, he caught her in his arms -and threw the mantle over her head, smothering the cry which had -risen to her lips. Though he was short and slight, he had uncommon -strength, and the woman was small and slender. He lifted her off the -ground and carried her along the avenue and down a side-path, until -he had reached a secluded portion of the park. - -Here he laid his burden down and unwound the mantle which was -stifling her. Then he turned the light of his dark lantern upon her. - -"Madame Darnier!" he murmured. "Just as I thought!" - -Then, as the woman was still lying there almost unconscious, he threw -back her cloak and looked at her hands. There was nothing in them. -He felt for the pockets in her cloak and in her dress; his hands -wandered over the folds of her gown; his ears, attuned to the -slightest sound, listened for the crackling that would reveal the -presence of papers concealed about her person. But there was -nothing, and he frowned in deep puzzlement as he encountered her -large, melancholy eyes, which were following his every movement with -the look of a trapped animal watching its captor. - -"What are you doing here in Trévargan?" he asked sternly. - -"Help me to get up," she replied almost fiercely, "and I may tell -you." - -More puzzled than before, he raised her to her feet. - -"You remember me?" he asked. - -"Of course," she replied. "How could I forget the man who first held -the cup of such bitter sorrow to my lips?" - -"Someone had to tell you," he rejoined more gently, "and your husband -was in my employ." - -"And died in your employ," she answered roughly. - -"Will you believe me," he retorted, "that, had I known of the -terrible risk which he was running, I would have undertaken the -errand myself?" - -"Yes," she said dully, "I know that you are not a coward." - -"Will you tell me why you are here?" he reiterated firmly. - -She looked round her, right into the gloom in the direction where the -lights of the château glimmered feebly through the trees. Then, -turning to the Man in Grey, she said calmly: - -"There was a suspicion gnawing at my heart. I came to see if I could -confirm it, or lull it for ever to rest." - -"You suspect the Trévargans of having had a hand in the outrage -against your husband?" - -"Don't you?" she retorted. - -He made no reply and even through the darkness she could see that he -appeared deeply buried in thought. He had turned off the light of -his lantern, and by the dim light of the moon, partly hidden behind a -veil of clouds, they could only distinguish one another's outline -against the dense background of the shrubberies. - -"Will you allow me to escort you home?" he asked abruptly. - -She nodded in assent, and he, knowing the way, guided her along the -less frequented paths of the park till he came to a locked postern -gate. Asking her to wait a moment and, drawing a small tool from his -pocket, he coolly picked the lock, and a moment or two later he and -Mme. Darnier were walking rapidly down the main road in the direction -of the city. - - -VI - -Next morning, when the Man in Grey arrived at the commissariat of -police, he was greeted with sneers and acid reproaches by M. Carteret -and M. le Préfet. - -"I must say," said the latter with becoming pomposity, "that your -attitude with regard to Monsieur and Madame de Trévargan is -exceedingly reprehensible. You have placed my colleague and myself -in a very awkward position. Monsieur le Marquis is one of the most -influential, as he has always been one of the most loyal, personages -in the province, and I have no doubt that he will visit his -displeasure upon us both, though, Heaven knows! we have done nothing -but follow your foolish lead in the matter." - -"I pray you have patience, my good Monsieur Laurens," said the Man in -Grey with unruffled calm. "The matter to which you refer is on the -point of reaching its culmination." - -"I was alluding to the affair of Hippolyte Darnier," said the préfet. - -"So was I," retorted the Man in Grey. - -"Are you about to discover who murdered him?" queried M. Carteret, -with a touch of taunt. - -"Yes," replied the secret agent. "With the help of Madame Darnier, -whom I have summoned hither." - -The préfet shrugged his shoulders with marked impatience. - -"And I must ask you," added the Man in Grey in his blandest tones -which admitted of no argument, "not to interfere in anything I may -say to Madame Darnier in the course of our interview; to express no -surprise and, above all, not to attempt to contradict. And you know, -Monsieur Laurens, and you, too, Monsieur le Commissaire," he added -sternly, "that when I give an order I intend it to be obeyed." - -Hardly had this peremptory command fallen from his lips than Madame -Darnier was announced. - -She came in, looking even more fragile and more delicate in her deep -mourning than she had done before. Her large, melancholy eyes -sought, as if appealingly, those of the three men who had half-risen -to greet her. The Man in Grey offered her a chair, into which she -sank. - -"You sent for me, Monsieur?" she asked, as she pressed a -black-bordered handkerchief to her quivering lips. - -"Only to give you the best of news, Madame," the secret agent said -cheerily. - -"The best of news?" she murmured. "I do not understand." - -"My friend Hippolyte Darnier," he exclaimed, "your husband, Madame, -is out of danger----" - -She rose suddenly, as if some hidden spring had projected her to her -feet, and stood rigid and tense, her cheeks the colour of yellow wax, -her eyes so dilated that they seemed as black as coal. The préfet -and the commissaire had, indeed, the greatest difficulty to maintain -the attitude of impassivity which the Minister's agent had so rigidly -prescribed. - -"Out of danger," murmured Mme. Darnier after a while. "What do you -mean?" - -"No wonder you are overcome with emotion, Madame," rejoined the -secret agent. "I myself did not dare breathe a word to you of my -hopes at Trévargan last night, for I had not had the leech's final -pronouncement. But I have had hopes all along. We transported your -dear husband's inanimate body to my lodgings after his--er--accident -the other day. He was totally unconscious; it almost seemed as if -_rigor mortis_ had already set in. But I suppose the deadly arrow -poison, which a murderous hand had injected with the aid of a pin, -was either stale or ineffectual. Certain it is that my dear friend -Darnier rallied, that he is alive at this moment, and that I shall -have the pleasure of conducting you to his bedside immediately." - -While he spoke the Man in Grey had kept his eyes fixed steadily upon -the woman. She was still standing as rigid as before and clinging -with one hand to the back of the chair, whilst with the other she -continued to press her handkerchief to her lips. Nor could the other -two men detach their eyes from her face, which appeared like a -petrified presentation of abject and nameless horror. - -"Darnier," continued the Man in Grey relentlessly, "is slowly -regaining consciousness now. The leech desires that the first sight -which greets his eyes should be that of his beloved wife. Come, -Madame, it is a short walk to my lodgings. Let me conduct you---- -Ah!" he suddenly exclaimed, as with his usual agility he literally -threw himself upon the staggering woman. "Drop that, now! Drop it, -I say!" - -But he was too late. Madame Darnier had fallen back into her chair. -From a deep scratch across her hand drops of blood were oozing -freely. The commissaire and the préfet were gazing, horror-stricken -and helpless, upon her face, which was slowly becoming distorted. A -curious, jerky quiver shook her limbs from time to time. - -"She has killed herself with the same poison wherewith she sent her -unfortunate husband to his death," said the secret agent quietly. - -"To his death?" gasped the préfet. "Then the story of Hippolyte -Darnier's recovery----" - -"Was false," broke in the Man in Grey. "It was a trap set to wring -an avowal from the murderer. And we must own," he added earnestly, -"that the avowal has been both full and conclusive." - -He threw his mantle over the wretched woman, who was already past -help. But he dispatched one of the servants of the prefecture for -the nearest leech. - -"But what made you guess----?" queried the commissary, who was -gasping with astonishment. - -"The fact that Madame Darnier was the daughter of the man Leclerc, -who for years devoted himself to the fortunes of the Trévargans. He -and his family are devoted heart and soul to the Marquis and his -cause. The daughter has proved herself a fanatic, a madwoman, I -should say. She killed her husband to save the family she loved." - -"But those accursed Trévargans----" said the préfet. - -"Their punishment will not long be delayed. I sent a copy of the -compromising letter to the Minister--the original is still in my -keeping." - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE LAST ADVENTURE - - -I - -The riders put their horses to a walk. It was getting late in the -afternoon, and the sun, crimson and cheerless, was setting in a sea -of slate-coloured mist. A blustering wind from the south-west blew -intermittent rain showers into the faces of the two solitary -wayfarers. They had ridden hard all day--a matter of over thirty -miles from Evreux--and one of them, at any rate, a middle-aged, -stoutish, official-looking personage, showed signs both of fatigue -and of growing ill-temper. The other, younger, more slender, dressed -in colourless grey from head to foot, his mantle slung lightly from -his shoulders, his keen eyes fixed straight before him, appeared -moved by impatience rather than by the wind or the lateness of the -hour. - -The rain and the rapidly falling dusk covered the distant hills and -the valley beyond with a mantle of gloom. To right and left of the -road the coppice, still dressed in winter garb, already was wrapped -in the mysteries of the night. - -"I shall not be sorry to see the lights of Mantes," said M. Gault, -the commissary of police of Evreux, to his companion. "I am getting -saddle-sore, and this abominable damp has got into my bones." - -The other sighed with obvious impatience. - -"I would like to push on to Paris to-night," he said. "The moon -will be up directly, and I believe the rain-clouds will clear. In -any case the night will not be very dark, and I know every inch of -the way." - -"Another six hours or more in the saddle!" growled the commissaire. -"No, thank you!" - -"I thought you were anxious about those escaped prisoners of yours," -observed the Man in Grey. - -"So I am," retorted M. Gault. - -"And that you desired Monsieur le Ministre to hear of the escape -through your lips, before rumour hath played havoc with the event," -continued the other tartly. - -"So I do--so I do!" grunted the commissary. "But those damned -Chouans only got away last night from Evreux, where they should never -have been brought. They were apprehended at Caen; the outrage, which -you were able to avert, had been planned and was discovered at Caen; -the knaves should have been tried and hanged at Caen. Instead of -which," continued M. Gault wrathfully, "they were marched to Evreux, -on their way to Paris. At Evreux we had neither the facilities nor -the personnel to guard such a _rusé_ gang adequately--they gave us -the slip----" - -"And," interrupted the Man in Grey, in his iciest manner, "the men -who planned to murder the Emperor are now at large, free to concoct a -further outrage, which, this time, may prove successful!" - -"Through no fault of mine!" protested the commissary. - -"That will be for the Minister to decide," concluded the Man in Grey. - -But even this thinly-veiled threat failed to instil new vigour into -M. Gault. Alarmed at the possible effects upon his future career of -what might be deemed official negligence, he had wished to place his -excuses personally before His Majesty's Minister of Police, ere the -latter could hear through outside sources that the desperate gang of -malefactors who had planned the affair of the infernal machine -against the Emperor's life had escaped from Evreux, and that such -astute and reckless criminals as Blue-Heart and White-Beak were again -at large. In spite of M. Gault's anxiety, however, to be the first -to gain the Minister's ear, his whole middle-aged, over-indulged -person protested against any prolongation of what had become -torturing fatigue. - -"You are young, Monsieur Fernand," he added dolefully. "You do not -realise---- Malediction! What was that?" he ejaculated, as his -horse gave a sudden jump to one side and nearly unseated him. The -animal had shied at something not at present visible to its rider. -It was still retreating, with ears set back, nostrils quivering, its -body trembling with fright, so that M. Gault had the greatest -difficulty alike to keep his seat and soothe the poor beast. - -"I wonder what the brute shied at," he said. - -But already the Man in Grey had dismounted. He led his horse across -the road, and then to a spot where, on the farther side of the -intervening ditch, a large, dark mass lay huddled, only vaguely -discernible in the gloom. He peered with anxious eyes into the -darkness; then he called to the commissary. - -"I pray you hold my horse, Monsieur Gault," he said peremptorily. - -"What is it?" queried the latter as--still with some difficulty--he -brought his horse alongside the other and gathered up the reins which -Fernand had thrown to him. - -"That is just what I wish to ascertain," replied the Minister's agent -simply. - -He jumped lightly over the ditch and approached the huddled mass. -This proved to be the body of a young man with fair hair and beard, -dressed in rough peasant's clothes. The linen blouse he wore was -smeared round about his shoulders with stains of a dull crimson -colour, whilst the dead leaves beneath him were soiled in the same -way. In a moment, Fernand had passed his slim, experienced hand over -the face of the man, over his body and his feet, which were bare. -These were cold and rigid, but the stains upon the blouse and upon -the bed of dead leaves were yet dank to the touch. - -"What is it?" queried the commissary again, more impatiently. - -"Murder!" replied the Man in Grey laconically. - -"The high roads are not safe," remarked M. Gault sententiously. "And -even in this district, where those _satané_ Chouans do not ply their -nefarious trade, the police seem unable to ensure the safety of -peaceable travellers." - -He gave an involuntary shiver and gazed anxiously behind him. - -"I pray you, Monsieur Fernand," he said, "do not let us linger here. -This is an affair for the local police, and we must get to Mantes -before dark." - -"You need not linger, Monsieur le Commissaire," rejoined the Man in -Grey. "I pray you, tie my horse to the nearest tree and continue -your journey, if you have a mind." - -He had risen to his feet and appeared to be examining the ground -closely all round the spot where lay the body of the murdered man. -M. Gault uttered one of his favourite oaths. Indeed, he had no mind -to continue his journey alone, with those murdering footpads lurking -in the woods and the road to Mantes lonely and unsafe. - -"What are you looking for now, Monsieur Fernand?" he queried sharply. -"Surely, the police of Mantes can deal with the affair. Are you -looking for traces of the miscreants?" - -"No," replied the other, "I am looking for the murdered man's boots." - -"The murdered man's boots!" exclaimed the commissary crossly. "Why, -the fellow is just a rough peasant, and no doubt he walked barefoot." - -"No doubt," agreed the Man in Grey. - -Nevertheless, he continued his search and even plunged into the -thicket, only to emerge therefrom in a minute or two, as the darkness -made it impossible to distinguish anything that might be hidden in -the undergrowth. - -"I don't know why you should be so obstinate about those boots!" -growled the commissary. - -But to this remark the Man in Grey vouchsafed no reply. He had -resumed his mount and was already in the saddle. - -"I am going on to Paris," he said briefly. - -Poor M. Gault heaved a doleful sigh. - -"To Paris!" he ejaculated pitiably. "But I----" - -"You'll stay at Mantes," enjoined the Minister's agent emphatically, -"and there await my orders or those of Monsieur le Ministre. You are -on no account to leave your post," he added sternly, "on pain of -instant dismissal and degradation." - -With that he put his horse to a sharp trot, heedless whether the -unfortunate commissary followed him or not. - - -II - -The Man in Grey was sitting, travel-stained and weary, in the -dressing-room of M. le Duc d'Otrante, Minister of Police to His -Impérial Majesty. He had ridden all night, only halting now and -again to give his horse a rest, as he could not get a change of mount -during the whole distance between Mantes--where he had obtained a -fresh horse, and where he left M. Gault comfortably installed in the -best hotel of the place--and Paris, where he arrived an hour after -daybreak, stiff, aching in every limb, scarcely able to tumble out of -the saddle. - -But he would not wait even to change his clothes or get a little -rest. Within a quarter of an hour of his arrival in the capital he -was knocking at the monumental gateway of M. le Duc's magnificent -palace. Obviously he was a privileged person as far as access to the -all-powerful Minister was concerned, for no sooner had his name been -mentioned to M. le Duc's confidential valet than he was ushered into -the great man's presence. - -The police agent had the power of concise and rapid diction. Within -a very few minutes the Minister was in possession of all the facts -connected with the mysterious murder of the unknown person on the -highway to Mantes. - -"The man's clothes were rougher and more shabby than his physical -condition suggested," Fernand remarked in conclusion. "His hands -were not those of a peasant; his feet were quite clean though the -roads were muddy. Clearly, then, his boots had been taken off by the -murderers, presumably in the hope that some valuables might have been -concealed inside them. At once my mind jumped to thoughts of a -written message--sent by you, Monsieur le Ministre, perhaps. At any -rate, I left old Gault at Mantes and rode another sixty kilomètres to -ascertain as quickly as possible what my conjectures were worth." - -"Describe the man to me," said the Minister. - -"Age under thirty," replied Fernand; "short, square beard, fair hair -slightly curled----" - -"Hector Duroy," broke in the Minister. - -"Then he was your messenger?" - -"Yes! He started for Evreux early yesterday morning. I wished him -to meet you there." - -"To tell me what, Monsieur le Ministre?" - -"That the Emperor left Versailles incognito yesterday in response to -the usual request from the ex-Empress. You know how he literally -flies to do her behests." - -"Alas!" said the Man in Grey with something of a sigh. "But I don't -understand," he added inquiringly, "if the Emperor has gone to -Malmaison----" - -"Not to Malmaison this time," interposed M. le Duc. "The ex-Empress -is at Chartres, staying at the Hôtel National, and she desired the -Emperor to go to her there. This time she seems to have pleaded -family imbroglios. She is always ready with a pretext whenever she -desires to see him; and with him, as you know, her slightest whim is -law. Enough that he set out for Chartres this morning, in the -strictest incognito, accompanied only by one of his valets--Gerbier, -I think. Fortunately he apprised me yesterday of his project. I -begged him to let me send an escort to guard him, but--well! you know -what he is. The future Empress is already on her way to France; the -Emperor, naturally, guards very jealously the secret of his continued -visits to Josephine. Curtly enough he forbade me to interfere. But, -knowing you to be at Evreux, I sent a courier to you, telling you -what had occurred and suggesting that perhaps you could send a posse -across to Chartres to keep watch quietly and discreetly while the -Emperor was there. He will be there to-night, of course," concluded -the Minister with a weary sigh, "and no doubt he will return -to-morrow. But these incognito visits of his are always a terror to -me, and this time----" - -"This time," concluded Fernand as the Minister paused, hardly daring -to put into words all the anxiety which he felt, "the courier whom -you dispatched to me was waylaid and murdered, and your message, -which, I imagine, gave some details of the Emperor's movements, is in -the hands of a band of Chouans." - -"Chouans?" exclaimed the Minister. "What makes you think----" - -"Some of the rascals whom we arrested at Caen in connection with the -affair of the infernal machine, and who were being conveyed to Paris -in accordance with your instructions, escaped from Evreux prison the -night before last. The commissary of police and I were on our way to -report the matter to you when we came across the body of the murdered -man in the woods outside Mantes." - -"Malediction!" ejaculated the Duc d'Otrante; and though during his -arduous service he had been faced with many and varied dangers which -threatened at different times the life of his Impérial master, his -cheeks became almost livid now, when the vista of horrible -possibilities was thus suddenly conjured up before his mind. Then he -continued more calmly: "Which of the villains have escaped, did you -say?" - -"The Marquis de Trévargan, for one," replied the Man in Grey. - -"And the Marquise?" - -"No. We had not arrested her yet. She was not directly named in the -affair, and we can always lay our hands on her, if occasion demands." - -"Anyone else?" - -"Those two villains they call Blue-Heart and White-Beak, the most -daring and infamous scoundrels in the whole crowd." - -"One of them was paid by Mademoiselle de Plélan to murder you," -remarked the Minister drily. - -To this, however, the Man in Grey made no reply; only his -cheeks--always colourless--became a shade more ashen in hue. M. le -Duc d'Otrante, who knew something and guessed a great deal of this -single romantic episode in the life of his faithful agent, smiled -somewhat maliciously. - -"The last we heard of the Plélans, mother and daughter," he said, -"was that Madame had joined some relatives in the south, but that the -beautiful Constance had remained at Evreux. She is a niece, -remember, of Monsieur de Trévargan, and France does not hold another -conspirator quite so astute and so daring as either of these two. De -Trévargan is a model of caution and Constance de Plélan is -recklessness personified; but both will stake their all for the Cause -of those degenerate Bourbons----" - -"And both are at large," added the Man in Grey somewhat impatiently; -"while the Emperor is travelling without escort upon the high roads." - -"Do you suppose that Constance de Plélan had anything to do with the -escape of the Chouan prisoners at Evreux?" - -"I imagine that she was the prime mover," replied Fernand calmly; and -even the Minister's sharp, probing eyes failed to detect the -slightest sign of emotion in the grave face of the police agent at -this significant mention of Constance de Plélan's name in connection -with the recent Chouan affair. "No doubt she gave Monsieur de -Trévargan and his gang all the help they required from outside, and -shelter afterwards. But time is getting on, Monsieur le Ministre," -he continued eagerly, "and the Emperor, you say, is on his way----" - -"He left Versailles at six o'clock this morning," rejoined the -Minister. "He will be at Chartres by nightfall." - -"He will never reach Chartres," announced the Man in Grey, "if--as I -believe--Blue-Heart and his gang waylay him on the road." - -"That is just what is in my mind," assented the Minister with a -shudder. "It is close on seven o'clock now, and I can have a posse -of police on the way within half an hour; but whether they can reach -the Emperor in time to be of service is very doubtful. According to -arrangement, he will have left Versailles an hour ago. He is -travelling in his private _berline_, harnessed with his four bays, -which, as you know, fly over the ground with almost unbelievable -swiftness. He will get relays on the way and proceed with -undiminished speed. Our men have not the horses wherewith to cover -the ground at such a rate." - -"Let me have a horse out of your stables, Monsieur le Ministre," -rejoined the Man in Grey. "I'll cover the ground fast enough." - -"You, Fernand!" exclaimed M. le Duc. "What can you do--by yourself?" - -"I don't know. I can always take short cuts and gain ground that -way. I know every inch of the district. I can overtake the -Emperor's _berline_ and warn him that assassins are on his track. He -has a postilion, I presume, and Gerbier is with him, you say. Well! -with the coachman, we should be four of us to divert a musket-shot -from the most precious life in France." - -"But, my good Fernand," argued the Minister, "I cannot even tell you -which road the Emperor has taken. As you know, he can either go by -the main Paris--Chartres road--which, of course, is the more direct, -but also the more public--or he can go by way of Houdan and----" - -"Both roads converge at Maintenon, and I can intercept him there by -cutting across fields and meadows, if you will give me your swiftest -horse, Monsieur le Ministre. If you don't know which road the -Emperor is taking," he continued with unanswerable logic, "the -Chouans do not know it either. They also would have to waylay him -somewhere past Maintenon." - -"Unless they are in full force and patrol both roads----" suggested -the Minister. - -"They would hardly have had time to make such elaborate arrangements. -Moreover, both roads are very open and moderately frequented. It is -only after Malmaison that the single road strikes through the woods -and becomes very lonely, especially at nightfall. A horse, Monsieur -le Ministre!" entreated the Man in Grey, his keen, deep-set eyes -glowing with ardour and enthusiasm. "A horse! Ten years of my life -for the swiftest horse in your stables!" - -The Minister said nothing more. He, too, was a man of energy and of -action; he, too, at this hour, was filled with passionate fervour for -the Cause which he was destined so soon to betray, and he knew how to -appreciate the ardent spirit which irradiated the entire personality -of this insignificant little Man in Grey. At once he rang the bell -and gave the necessary orders. Within twenty minutes Fernand was -again in the saddle. Fatigue and weariness both had fallen from him -like a discarded mantle. He had no time to feel tired now. Ahead, -the _berline_ harnessed with the four swift bays was thundering down -the Chartres road, and the most valuable life in France was -threatened by a band of assassins, shrewd enough to have planned a -desperate _coup_. Somewhere on the broad highway the murderers were -lurking, and the Emperor--unguarded, unsuspecting--might even at this -hour be falling into their hands. - -On! On, Fernand! The four splendid bays from the Impérial stables -have two hours' start of you! In the streets of Paris, the life of -the great city is running its usual course. Men are hurrying to -business, women to their marketing, soldiers or officials to their -duties. One and all pause for an instant as the hoofs of a powerful -grey strike showers of glowing sparks from out the stones of the -pavements, and a horse and rider thunder past at breakneck speed on -the way to Versailles. - - -III - -Just before the main Paris-Chartres road plunges into the woods, -about a kilomètre from Maintenon, where two narrow roads which lead, -the one to Houdan and the other to Dreux, branch off from the -diligence route, there stood in this year of grace 1810 an isolated -inn by the wayside. The house itself was ugly enough; square and -devoid of any engaging architectural features, it was built of -mottled brick, but it nestled at the cross roads on the margin of the -wood and was flanked by oak and chestnut coppice, interspersed here -and there with a stately beech or sycamore, and its dilapidated sign -bore the alluring legend, "The Farmer's Paradise." - -The Paris-Chartres road with its intermittent traffic provided the -"Paradise" with a few customers--with some, at least, who were not to -be scared by the uninviting appearance of the house and its not too -enviable reputation. Wayfarers, coming from Houdan or from Dreux on -their way to Chartres, were forced to halt here in order to pick up -the diligence, and would sometimes turn into the squalid inn for a -cup of that tepid, acid fluid which Alain Gorot, the landlord, so -grandiloquently termed "steaming nectar." But during the greater -part of the day the place appeared deserted. The light-fingered -gentry--footpads and vagabonds--who were its chief customers, were -wont to use it as a meeting-place at night, but during the day they -preferred the shelter of the woods, for the police were mostly always -at their heels. - -On this cold winter's afternoon, however, quite a goodly company was -gathered in the coffee-room. A log fire blazed in the open hearth -and lent a semblance of cheeriness and comfort to the bare, ugly -room, in which the fumes of rank tobacco and wet, steaming clothes -vied with the odour of stale food and wine to create an almost -insufferable atmosphere. - -The Paris-Chartres diligence had gone by an hour ago, and had picked -up one solitary passenger at the cross roads. Soon after that a -hired chaise, coming from Dreux, had driven up to the "Farmers -Paradise." A lady and a gentleman had alighted from it and gone into -the house, while the driver sought shelter for his horse in the -tumbledown barn at the back of the house and a warm corner for -himself in the kitchen. - -It was then three o'clock in the afternoon, and the roads and country -around appeared desolate and still. M. le Marquis de Trévargan sat -with his niece, Constance de Plélan, at a trestle-table in a corner -of the coffee-room. It was they who had driven over from Dreux in -the hired chaise. The landlord had served them with soup which, -though unpalatable in other ways, was, at any rate, hot and therefore -very welcome after the long, cold journey in the narrow, rickety -chaise. - -Three or four men--ill-clad, travel-stained and unwashed--were -assembled in the opposite corner of the room, talking in whispers, -and near the door a couple of farm labourers were settling accounts -with mine host, whilst a third, seemingly overcome by papa Gorot's -"nectar," was sprawling across the table with arms outstretched and -face buried between them--fast asleep. - -Gorot, having settled with the two labourers, shook this lout -vigorously by the shoulder. - -"Now, then," he shouted roughly. "Up you get! You cannot stay here -all night, you know!" - -The sleeper raised a puckered, imbecile face to the disturber of his -peace. - -"Can't I?" he said slowly with the deliberateness of the drunkard. -And his head fell down again with a thud upon his arm. - -Gorot swore lustily. - -"Out you get!" he shouted into the man's ear. "You drunken oaf--I'll -put you out if you don't go!" - -Once more the sleeper raised his head and stared with dim, bleary -eyes at his host. - -"I am not drunk," he said thickly and with comical solemnity. "I am -not nearly so drunk as you think I am." - -"We'll soon see about that," retorted Gorot. "Here!" he added, -turning to the three ruffians at the farther end of the room. "One -of you give me a hand. We'll put this lout the other side of the -door." - -There was more than one volunteer for the diverting job. One of the -men without more ado seized the sleeper under the armpits. Gorot -took hold of his legs, and together they carried him out of the room -and deposited him in the passage, where he rolled over contentedly -and settled down to sleep in the angle of the door even whilst he -continued to mutter thickly: "I am not nearly so drunk as you think I -am." - -When the landlord returned to the coffee-room he was summarily -ordered out again by M. de Trévargan, and he, nothing loth, -accustomed as he was to his house being used for every kind of secret -machinations and nameless plottings, shuffled out -complacently--unastonished and incurious--and retired to the purlieus -of the kitchen, leaving his customers to settle their own affairs -without interference from himself. - - -IV - -As soon as the door had closed on Alain Gorot, M. de Trévargan turned -to the crowd of ill-clad loafers in the corner. - -"Now that we are rid of that fellow at last," he said with marked -impatience, "tell me just what you have done." - -"We carried out your orders," replied one of the men, a grim-looking -giant, bearded and shaggy like a frowsy cat. "We strewed more than a -kilo of nails, bits of broken glass and pieces of flint across both -the roads, at a distance of about a kilomètre from here, and then we -covered up the lot with a thin layer of earth." - -The others chuckled contentedly. - -"When the _sacré_ Corsican comes along in his fine chaise," said one -of them with a coarse laugh, "he'll have two or three spanking bays -dead lame as soon as they have pranced across our beautiful carpet." - -M. de Trévargan turned to his niece. - -"We couldn't think of a better plan," he said, "as we could only -muster one musket among us, and that one we owe to your kindness and -foresight." - -Constance de Plélan did not reply at once. She took up an old and -dilapidated musket from the nook behind her and examined it with deft -fingers and a critical eye. - -"It will serve," she said coldly after a while. - -"Serve? Of course it will serve," rejoined M. de Trévargan lightly. -"What say you, Blue-Heart?" - -"That I wish you would let me have it, Monsieur le Marquis," answered -the old Chouan. "I'd guarantee that I would not miss the accursed -Corsican." - -"And I'll not miss him either," said M. de Trévargan, as he rose from -the table and stood before his ruffianly followers the very -embodiment of power and determination. "And I myself desire to have -the honour of ridding France of that pestilential vermin." - -"And now 'tis time we went," he added authoritatively. "Two of you -go up the Paris road--and two up the Dreux road. Take cover in the -thicket, and as soon as one of you perceives the rumble of wheels in -the distance, give the signal. We'll all be on the watch for it and -hurry to the spot ere the first of the bays goes lame." - -M. de Trévargan then once more turned to his niece. - -"If we succeed, Constance," he said, and with sudden impulse he took -her hand and kissed it almost reverently, "the glory of it will be -yours." - -"I only did my duty," she replied coldly. "I am thankful that I -happened to be at Evreux, just when you wanted me most." - -"Nay, dear child," he rejoined earnestly. "You must not belittle the -services you have rendered to me and to the King. If you had not -known how to bribe our warders at Evreux, and how to send us word and -succour, we could not have effected our escape. If you had not given -us shelter we must certainly have been recaptured. If you had not -conveyed me hither, I--in my indifferent state of health--could never -have followed the others across country; and if you had not found -that old musket for us, we could not have done for the Corsican at -this hour, when God Himself is delivering him into our hands. That -is so, is it not, my men?" he concluded, turning to his followers. - -"Ay! Ay!" they replied unanimously. - -"God grant you may succeed!" said Constance de Plélan, as she gently -disengaged her hand from his. - -"We cannot fail," he declared firmly. "One or more of the Corsican's -horses must go dead lame over the carpet of nails and broken glass -and flint. The carriage must then halt, and the coachman and -postilion will get down to see to the injured beasts. That will be -our opportunity. Blue-Heart and the others will fall on the men and -I shall hold Napoleon at the end of my musket, and though it may be -old, I know how to shoot straight and my aim is not likely to err. -And now let us get on," he added peremptorily. "The Corsican's -carriage cannot be far off." - -Constance, without another word, handed him his hat and mantle. The -latter he fastened securely round his shoulders, leaving his arms -free for action. Then he turned to pick up the musket Blue-Heart and -White-Beak were ready to follow. They and the two others strode -towards the door, with backs bent and an eager, furtive look on their -bearded faces, like feline creatures on the hunt. Constance de -Plélan was standing in the middle of the room and her eyes were on -the door, when it was suddenly thrown open. The figure of the -drunken labourer appeared, clear-cut against the dark passage beyond. -In an instant he had stepped into the room, closed the door to behind -him, and was now standing with his back to it and holding a loaded -pistol in his right hand. - -It all happened so quickly that neither M. de Trévargan nor any of -the others had time to realise what had occurred; and for an instant -they stood as if rooted to the spot, staring at the unexpected -apparition. Only Constance de Plélan understood what the presence of -this man, here and at this hour, portended. She was gazing at him -with fixed, dilated pupils, and her cheeks had become livid. - -"You!" came in a hoarse murmur through her bloodless lips. - -Next moment, however, M. de Trévargan had recovered his presence of -mind. - -"Out of the way, you lout!" he cried roughly. - -And he stretched out his hand to grasp the musket, still believing -that this was merely a drunken boor who was feeling quarrelsome and -who could easily be scared away. - -"If you touch that musket, Monsieur le Marquis," said the man at the -door quietly, "I fire." - -Then only did de Trévargan, in his turn, look steadily at him. As in -a flash, remembrance came to him. He recognised that pale, -colourless face, those deep-set grey eyes which once before--at the -Château de Trévargan--had probed his very soul and wrested from him -the secret of Darnier's assassination. - -"That accursed police agent!" he muttered between his teeth. "A moi, -Blue-Heart. Let him fire and be damned to him!" - -But even Blue-Heart and White-Beak, those desperate and reckless -Chouans, who were always prepared to take any and every risk, and who -counted life more cheaply than they did the toss of a coin, paused, -awestruck, ere they obeyed; for the Man in Grey, with one of those -swift and sudden movements which were peculiar to him, had taken one -step forward, seized Constance de Plélan by the wrist, dragged her to -him against the door, and was even now holding the pistol to her side. - -"One movement from any of you," he said with the same icy calm; "one -word, one step, one gesture, and by the living God, I swear that I -will kill her before your eyes!" - -Absolute, death-like silence ensued. M. de Trévargan and the four -Chouans stood there, paralysed and rigid. To say that they did not -stir, that they did not breathe one word or utter as much as a sigh, -would but ill express the complete stillness which fell upon them, as -if some hidden and awful petrifying hand had suddenly turned them -into stone. Constance de Plélan had not stirred either. She also -stood, motionless as a statue, her hand held firmly in a steel-like -grasp, the muzzle of the pistol against her breast. Fearlessly, -almost defiantly, she gazed straight into the eyes of this man who -had so reverently worshipped her and whom she had so nearly learned -to love. - -"From my soul," he whispered, so low that even she could scarcely -hear, "I crave your pardon. From my soul I worship you still. But I -would not love you half so dearly, Constance, did I not love my -Emperor and France more dearly still." - -"You coward!" came after a moment or two of tense suspense, from the -parched lips of M. de Trévargan. "Would you seize upon a woman----?" - -"The Emperor's life or hers," broke in the Man in Grey coldly. "You -give me no other choice. What I do, I do, and am answerable for my -actions to God alone. So down on your knees every one of you!" he -added firmly. "Now! At once! Another movement, another word, and I -fire!" - -"Fire then, in the name of Satan, your friend!" cried Constance de -Plélan loudly. "Oncle Armand, do not hesitate. Blue-Heart, seize -this miscreant! Let him kill me first; but after that you will be -five against one, and you can at last rid us of this deadly foe!" - -"Down on your knees!" came in a tone of frigid calm from the police -agent. "If, ere I count three, I do not see you kneel--I fire!" - -And even before the words were out of his mouth, the five Chouans -dropped on their knees, helpless before this relentless threat which -deprived them of every vestige of will-power. - -"Oh, that I had not stayed Blue-Heart's hand that day in the woods!" -cried Constance de Plélan with a sigh of fierce regret. "He had you -then, as you have us now----" - -"As he and the others would have the Emperor," rejoined the Man in -Grey. "If I allowed my heart to stay my hand." - -And that relentless hand of his tightened its grip on Constance de -Plélan's wrist, till she felt sick and faint and fell back against -the door. She felt the muzzle of the pistol against her side: the -hand which held it neither swerved nor quaked. The keen, grey eyes -which had once radiated the light of his ineffable love for her held -no pity or remorse in them now: they were watching for the slightest -movement on the part of the five Chouans. - -Slowly the afternoon light faded into dusk. The figures of the -Chouans now appeared like dark and rigid ghosts in the twilight. The -ticking of the old clock in the ingle-nook alone broke the deathlike -silence of the room. Minute sped after minute while the conspirators -remained as if under the ban of some evil fairy, who was keeping them -in an enchanted castle in a dreamless trance from which perhaps they -would never wake again. Minute sped after minute, and they lost -count of time, of place, of very existence. They only appeared alive -through the one sense of hearing, which had for them become -preternaturally acute. In the house, too, every sound was hushed. -The landlord and his servants had received their orders from the -accredited agent of His Majesty's Minister of Police, and they were -not likely to risk life and liberty by disobedience. - -Outside, the air was damp and still, so still that through the open -casement there could be heard--very far away--the rumble of carriage -wheels and the patter of horses' hoofs on the muddy road. - -It seemed as if an electrical wave went right through the room at the -sound, and the police agent's grip tightened on Constance's wrist. A -slight tremor appeared to animate those five marble-like statues who -were kneeling on the floor. - -The carriage was drawing nearer: it was less than a hundred mètres -away. The clang of hoofs upon the road, the rattle of metal chains, -the shouts of the postilion, could already be distinctly heard. Then -suddenly the carriage had come to stop. - -A bitter groan went right through the room, like the wail of -condemned spirits in torment. But not one of the Chouans moved. How -could they when a woman's life was the price that would have to be -paid now for the success of their scheme. - -Only a heartrending cry rose from Constance de Plélan's lips: - -"In Heaven's name, Oncle Armand," she entreated, "let the man fire! -Think you I should not be glad to die? Blue-Heart, has your courage -forsaken you? What is one life when there is so much at stake? O -God!" she added in a fervent prayer, "give them the strength to -forget everything save their duty to our King!" - -But not a sound--not a movement came in response to her passionate -appeal. Through the open casement a confused murmur of voices could -be distinctly heard some distance away, up the side-road which ran -from Dreux. The Emperor's carriage was obviously being held up. -One, if not more, of the spanking bays had gone dead lame while -trotting across Blue-Heart's well-laid carpet. The rough, stained -hands of the Chouans opened and closed till their thick knuckles -cracked in an agony of impotence. - - -V - -How long the torture of this well-nigh intolerable suspense lasted -not one of those present could have told. The twilight gradually -faded into gloom; darkness like a huge mantle slowly enveloped those -motionless, kneeling figures in the coffee-room of "The Farmer's -Paradise." - -But if some semblance of hope had crept into the hearts of the -Chouans at sight of the beneficent darkness, it was soon dispelled by -the trenchant warning which came like a blow from a steel-hammer from -the police agent's lips: - -"If I hear the slightest movement through the darkness, one flutter, -one creak, even a sigh--I shall fire," he had said, as soon as the -gloom of the night had begun to creep into the more remote corners of -the room. And even through the darkness the over-strained ears of -the kneeling Chouans caught the sound of a metallic click--the -cocking of the pistol which threatened Constance de Plélan's life. -And so they remained still--held more securely on their knees by that -one threat than by the pressure of giant hands. - -An hour went by. Through the open window the sound of the murmur of -voices had given place to renewed clanking of metal chains, to pawing -of the ground by high-mettled horses, to champing of bits, to -snorting, groaning and creaking, as the heavy travelling chaise once -more started on its way. - -After that it seemed like eternity. - -When once again the silent roads gave forth signs of life and -movement; when, from the direction of Paris there came the sound of a -cavalcade, of a number of horses galloping along at breakneck speed; -when after a while it dawned upon these enchanted statues here that a -posse of police had arrived at "The Farmer's Paradise," and the men -were even now dismounting, almost a sigh of relief rose from five -oppressed breasts. - -They knew the game was up; they knew that all that they had staked -had been swept aside by the ruthless, unerring hand of the man who -had terrorised and cowed and bent them to his will. - -Constance de Plélan was resting against the door in a state of -semi-consciousness. Two or three minutes later the landlord, who, -acting under the orders given him by the secret agent, had gone to -meet the posse of police on the road and guided them to his house, -now led them to the back entrance of the coffee-room. The arrest of -M. de Trévargan and the Chouans was an easy matter. They were, in -fact, too numb and dazed to resist. - -All five were tried for the murder of Hector Duroy, the police -messenger, and for an attempted outrage against the person of the -Emperor, and all five were condemned to penal servitude for life. At -the Restoration, however, M. de Trévargan was publicly absolved of -participation in the murder, and honoured by the King for having made -such a bold, if unsuccessful, attempt to "remove" the Corsican -usurper. - -But Constance de Plélan was never brought to trial. 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