CHAPTER III. BOOT AND SADDLE.
As was natural, I meditated deeply and far into the night on thedifficulties of the task, entrusted to me. I saw that it fell intotwo parts: the release of the lady, and her safe conduct to Blois, adistance of sixty leagues. The release I thought it probable I couldeffect single-handed, or with one companion only; but in the troubledcondition of the country at this time, more particularly on both sidesof the Loire, I scarcely saw how I could ensure a lady's safety on theroad northwards unless I had with me at least five swords.
To get these together at a few hours' notice promised to be no easytask; although the presence of the Court of Navarre had filled St. Jeanwith a crowd of adventurers. Yet the king's command was urgent, andat some sacrifice, even at some risk, must be obeyed. Pressed by theseconsiderations, I could think of no better man to begin with thanFresnoy.
His character was bad, and he had long forfeited such claim as he hadever possessed--I believe it was a misty one, on the distaff side--togentility. But the same cause which had rendered me destitute I meanthe death of the prince of Conde--had stripped him to the last rag; andthis, perhaps, inclining me to serve him, I was the more quick to seehis merits. I knew him already for a hardy, reckless man, very capableof striking a shrewd blow. I gave him credit for being trusty, as longas his duty jumped with his interest.
Accordingly, as soon as it was light, having fed and groomed the Cid,which was always the first employment of my day, I set out in search ofFresnoy, and was presently lucky enough to find him taking his morningdraught outside the 'Three Pigeons,' a little inn not far from the northgate. It was more than a fortnight since I had set eyes on him, and thelapse of time had worked so great a change for the worse in him that,forgetting my own shabbiness, I looked at him askance, as doubting thewisdom of enlisting one who bore so plainly the marks of poverty anddissipation. His great face--he was a large man--had suffered recentill-usage, and was swollen and discoloured, one eye being as good asclosed. He was unshaven, his hair was ill-kempt, his doublet unfastenedat the throat, and torn and stained besides. Despite the cold--for themorning was sharp and frosty, though free from wind--there were half adozen packmen drinking and squabbling before the inn, while the beaststhey drove quenched their thirst at the trough. But these men seemedwith one accord to leave him in possession of the bench at which he sat;nor did I wonder much at this when I saw the morose and savageglance which he shot at me as I approached. Whether he read my firstimpressions in my face, or for some other reason felt distaste for mycompany, I could not determine. But, undeterred by his behaviour, I satdown beside him and called for wine.
He nodded sulkily in answer to my greeting, and cast a half-shamed,half-angry look at me out of the corners of his eyes. 'You need not lookat me as though I were a dog,' he muttered presently. 'You are not sovery spruce yourself, my friend. But I suppose you have grown proudsince you got that fat appointment at Court!' And he laughed out loud,so that I confess I was in two minds whether I should not force the jestdown his ugly throat.
However I restrained myself, though my cheeks burned. 'You have heardabout it, then,' I said, striving to speak indifferently.
'Who has not?' he said, laughing with his lips, though his eyes were farfrom merry. 'The Sieur de Marsac's appointment! Ha! ha! Why, man--'
'Enough of it now!' I exclaimed. And I dare say I writhed on my seat.'As far as I am concerned the jest is a stale one, sir, and does notamuse me.'
'But it amuses me,' he rejoined with a grin.
'Let it be, nevertheless,' I said; and I think he read a warning in myeyes. 'I have come to speak to you upon another matter.'
He did not refuse to listen, but threw one leg over the other, andlooking up at the inn-sign began to whistle in a rude, offensive manner.Still, having an object in view, I controlled myself and continued. 'Itis this, my friend: money is not very plentiful at present with eitherof us.'
Before I could say any more he turned on me savagely, and with a loudoath thrust his bloated face, flushed with passion, close to mine. 'Nowlook here, M. de Marsac!' he cried violently, 'once for all, it is nogood! I have not got the money, and I cannot pay it. I said a fortnightago, when you lent it, that you should have it this week. Well,'slapping his hand on the bench, I have not got it, and it is no goodbeginning upon me. You cannot have it, and that is flat!'
'Damn the money!' I cried.
'What?' he exclaimed, scarcely believing his ears.
'Let the money be!' I repeated fiercely. 'Do you hear? I have not comeabout it, I am here to offer you work--good, well-paid work--if you willenlist with me and play me fair, Fresnoy.'
'Play fair!' he cried with an oath.
'There, there,' I said, 'I am willing to let bygones be bygones if youare. The point is, that I have an adventure on hand, and, wanting help,can pay you for it.'
He looked at me cunningly, His eye travelling over each rent and darnin my doublet. 'I will help you fast enough,' he said at last. 'But Ishould like to see the money first.'
'You shall,' I answered.
'Then I am with you, my friend. Count on me till death!' he cried,rising and laying his hand in mine with a boisterous frankness which didnot deceive me into trusting him far. 'And now, whose is the affair, andwhat is it?'
'The affair is mine,' I said coldly. 'It is to carry off a lady.'
He whistled and looked me over again, an impudent leer in his eyes. 'Alady?' he exclaimed. 'Umph! I could understand a young spark going infor such--but that's your affair. Who is it?'
'That is my affair, too,' I answered coolly, disgusted by the man'svenality and meanness, and fully persuaded that I must trust him nofarther than the length of my sword. 'All I want you to do, M. Fresnoy,'I continued stiffly, 'is to place yourself at my disposal and under myorders for ten days. I will find you a horse and pay you--the enterpriseis a hazardous one, and I take that into account--two gold crowns a day,and ten more if we succeed in reaching a place of safety.'
'Such a place as--'
'Never mind that,' I replied. 'The question is, do you accept?'
He looked down sullenly, and I could see he was greatly angered by mydetermination to keep the matter to myself. 'Am I to know no more thanthat?' he asked, digging the point of his scabbard again and again intothe ground.
'No more,' I answered firmly. 'I am bent on a desperate attempt to mendmy fortunes before they fall as low as yours; and that is as much asI mean to tell living man. If you are loth to risk your life with youreyes shut, say so, and I will go to someone else.'
But he was not in a position, as I well knew, to refuse such an offer,and presently he accepted it with a fresh semblance of heartiness. Itold him I should want four troopers to escort us, and these he offeredto procure, saying that he knew just the knaves to suit me. I bade himhire two only, however, being too wise, to put myself altogether in hishands; and then, having given him money to buy himself a horse--I madeit a term that the men should bring their own--and named a rendezvousfor the first hour after noon, I parted from him and went rather sadlyaway.
For I began to see that the king had not underrated the dangers of anenterprise on which none but desperate men and such as were down in theworld could be expected to embark. Seeing this, and also a thing whichfollowed clearly from it--that I should have as much to fear from myown company as from the enemy--I looked forward with little hope to ajourney during every day and every hour of which I must bear a growingweight of fear and responsibility.
It was too late to turn back, however, and I went about my preparations,if with little cheerfulness, at least with steadfast purpose. I hadmy sword ground and my pistols put in order by the cutler over whom Ilodged, and who performed this last office for me with the same goodwillwhich had characterised, all his dealings with me. I sought out andhired a couple of stout fellows whom I believed to be indifferentlyhonest, but who possessed the advantage of having horses; and besidesbought two led horses myself for mademoiselle and her woman. Such otherequipments as w
ere absolutely necessary I purchased, reducing my stockof money in this way to two hundred and ten crowns. How to dispose ofthis sum so that it might be safe and yet at my command was a questionwhich greatly exercised me. In the end I had recourse to my friendthe cutler, who suggested hiding a hundred crowns of it in my cap, anddeftly contrived a place for the purpose. This, the cap being lined withsteel, was a matter of no great difficulty. A second hundred I sewedup in the stuffing of my saddle, placing the remainder in my pouch forpresent necessities.
A small rain was falling in the streets when, a little after noon, Istarted with my two knaves behind me and made for the north gate. Somany were moving this way and the other that we passed unnoticed, andmight have done so had we numbered six swords instead of three. When wereached the rendezvous, a mile beyond the gate, we found Fresnoy alreadythere, taking shelter in the lee of a big holly-tree. He had fourhorsemen with him, and on our appearance rode forward to meet us, cryingheartily, 'Welcome, M. le Capitaine!'
'Welcome, certainly,' I answered, pulling the Cid up sharply, andholding off from him. 'But who are these, M. Fresnoy?' and I pointedwith my riding-cane to his four companions.
He tried to pass the matter off with a laugh. 'Oh! these?' he said.'That is soon explained. The Evangelists would not be divided, so Ibrought them all--Matthew Mark, Luke, and John--thinking it likelyyou might fail to secure your men. And I will warrant them for four asgallant boys as you will ever find behind you!'
They were certainly four as arrant ruffians as I had ever seen beforeme, and I saw I must not hesitate. 'Two or none, M. Fresnoy,' I saidfirmly. 'I gave you a commission for two, and two I will take--Matthewand Mark, or Luke and John, as you please.'
''Tis a pity to break the party,' said he, scowling.
'If that be all,' I retorted, 'one of my men is called John. And we willdub the other Luke, if that will mend the matter.'
'The Prince of Conde,' he muttered sullenly, 'employed these men.'
'The Prince of Conde employed some queer people sometimes, M. Fresnoy,'I answered, looking him straight between the eyes, 'as we all must. Atruce to this, if you please. We will take Matthew and Mark. The othertwo be good enough to dismiss.'
He seemed to waver for a moment, as if he had a mind to disobey, butin the end, thinking better of it, he bade the men return; and as Icomplimented each of them with a piece of silver, they went off, aftersome swearing, in tolerably good humour. Thereon Fresnoy was for takingthe road at once, but having no mind to be followed, I gave the word towait until the two were out of sight.
I think, as we sat our horses in the rain, the holly-bush not beinglarge enough to shelter us all, we were as sorry a band as ever set outto rescue a lady; nor was it without pain that I looked round and sawmyself reduced to command such people. There was scarcely one wholeunpatched garment among us, and three of my squires had but a spurapiece. To make up for this deficiency we mustered two black eyes,Fresnoy's included, and a broken nose. Matthew's nag lacked a tail,and, more remarkable still, its rider, as I presently discovered, wasstone-deaf; while Mark's sword was innocent of a scabbard, and hisbridle was plain rope. One thing, indeed, I observed with pleasure. Thetwo men who had come with me looked askance at the two who had come withFresnoy, and these returned the stare with interest. On this divisionand on the length of my sword I based all my hopes of safety and ofsomething more. On it I was about to stake, not my own life only--whichwas no great thing, seeing what my prospects were--but the life andhonour of a woman, young, helpless, and as yet unknown to me.
Weighed down as I was by these considerations, I had to bear theadditional burden of hiding my fears and suspicions under a cheerfuldemeanour. I made a short speech to my following, who one and allresponded by swearing to stand by me to the death. I then gave the word,and we started, Fresnoy and I leading the way, Luke and John with theled horses following, and the other two bringing up the rear.
The rain continuing to fall and the country in this part being drearyand monotonous, even in fair weather, I felt my spirits sink still loweras the day advanced. The responsibility I was going to incur assumedmore serious proportions each time I scanned my following; whileFresnoy, plying me with perpetual questions respecting my plans, was asuneasy a companion as my worst enemy could have wished me.
'Come!' he grumbled presently, when we had covered four leagues orso, 'you have not told me yet, sieur, where we stay to-night. You aretravelling so slowly that--'
'I am saving the horses,' I answered shortly. 'We shall do a long dayto-morrow.'
'Yours looks fit for a week of days,' he sneered, with an evil look atmy Sardinian, which was, indeed, in better case than its master. 'It issleek enough, any way!'
'It is as good as it looks,' I answered, a little nettled by his tone.
'There is a better here,' he responded.
'I don't see it,' I said. I had already eyed the nags all round, andassured myself that, ugly and blemished as they were, they were up totheir work. But I had discerned no special merit among them. I lookedthem over again now, and came to the same conclusion--that, except theled horses, which I had chosen with some care, there was nothing amongthem to vie with the Cid, either in speed or looks. I told Fresnoy so.
'Would you like to try?' he said tauntingly.
I laughed, adding, 'If you think I am going to tire our horses by racingthem, with such work as we have before us, you are mistaken, Fresnoy. Iam not a boy, you know.'
'There need be no question of racing,' he answered more quietly. 'Youhave only to get on that rat-tailed bay of Matthew's to feel its pacesand say I am right.'
I looked at the bay, a bald-faced, fiddle-headed horse, and saw that,with no signs of breeding, it was still a big-boned animal with goodshoulders and powerful hips. I thought it possible Fresnoy might beright, and if so, and the bay's manners were tolerable, it might do formademoiselle better than the horse I had chosen. At any rate, if we hada fast horse among us, it was well to know the fact, so bidding Matthewchange with me, and be careful of the Cid, I mounted the bay, andsoon discovered that its paces were easy and promised speed, while itsmanners seemed as good as even a timid rider could desire.
Our road at the time lay across a flat desolate heath, dotted here andthere with, thorn-bushes; the track being broken and stony, extendedmore than a score of yards in width, through travellers straying to thisside and that to escape the worst places. Fresnoy and I, in making thechange, had fallen slightly behind the other three, and were ridingabreast of Matthew on the Cid.
'Well,' he said, 'was I not right?'
'In part,' I answered. 'The horse is better than its looks.'
'Like many others,' he rejoined, a spark of resentment in his tone--'menas well as horses, M. de Marsac. But What do you say? Shall we canter ona little and overtake the others?'
Thinking it well to do so, I assented readily, and we started together.We had ridden, however, no more than a hundred yards, and I was onlybeginning to extend the bay, when Fresnoy, slightly drawing rein, turnedin his saddle and looked back. The next moment he cried, 'Hallo! what isthis? Those fellows are not following us, are they?'
I turned sharply to look. At that moment, without falter or warning, thebay horse went down under me as if shot dead, throwing me half a dozenyards over its head; and that so suddenly that I had no time to raise myarms, but, falling heavily on my head and shoulder, lost consciousness.
I have had many falls, but no other to vie with that in utterunexpectedness. When I recovered my senses I found myself leaning, giddyand sick, against the bole of an old thorn-tree. Fresnoy and Matthewsupported me on either side, and asked me how I found myself; while theother three men, their forms black against the stormy evening sky, sattheir horses a few paces in front of me. I was too much dazed at firstto see more, and this only in a mechanical fashion; but gradually, mybrain grew clearer, and I advanced from wondering who the strangersround me were to recognising them, and finally to remembering what hadhappened to me.
'Is the
horse hurt?' I muttered as soon as I could speak.
'Not a whit,' Fresnoy answered, chuckling, or I was much mistaken. 'I amafraid you came off the worse of the two, captain.'
He exchanged a look with the men on horseback as he spoke, and in a dullfashion I fancied I saw them smile. One even laughed, and another turnedin his saddle as if to hide his face. I had a vague general sense thatthere was some joke on foot in which I had no part. But I was too muchshaken at the moment to be curious, and gratefully accepted the offer ofone, of the men to fetch me a little water. While he was away the reststood round me, the same look of ill-concealed drollery on their faces.Fresnoy alone talked, speaking volubly of the accident, pouring outexpressions of sympathy and cursing the road, the horse, and the wintrylight until the water came; when, much refreshed by the draught, Imanaged to climb to the Cid's saddle and plod slowly onwards with them.
'A bad beginning,' Fresnoy said presently, stealing a sly glance atme as we jogged along side by side, Chize half a league before us, anddarkness not far off.
By this time, however, I was myself again, save for a little humming isthe head, and, shrugging my shoulders, I told him so. 'All's well thatends well,' I added. 'Not that it was a pleasant fall, or that I wish tohave such another.'
'No, I should think not,' he answered. His face was turned from me, butI fancied I heard him snigger.
Something, which may have been a vague suspicion, led me a moment laterto put my hand into my pouch. Then I understood. I understood too well.The sharp surprise of the discovery was such that involuntarily I drovemy spurs into the Cid, and the horse sprang forward.
'What is the matter?' Fresnoy asked.
'The matter?' I echoed, my hand still at my belt, feeling--feelinghopelessly.
'Yes, what is it?' he asked, a brazen smile on his rascally face.
I looked at him, my brow as red as fire. 'Oh! nothing--nothing,' I said.'Let us trot on.'
In truth I had discovered that, taking advantage of my helplessness, thescoundrels had robbed me, while I lay insensible, of every gold crownin my purse! Nor was this all, or the worst, for I saw at once thatin doing so they had effected something which was a thousandfold moreominous and formidable--established against me that secret understandingwhich it was my especial aim to prevent, and on the absence of which Ihad been counting. Nay, I saw that for my very life I had only my friendthe cutler and my own prudence to thank, seeing that these rogues wouldcertainly have murdered me without scruple had they succeeded in findingthe bulk of my money. Baffled in this, while still persuaded that I hadother resources, they had stopped short of that villany--or this memoirhad never been written. They had kindly permitted me to live until amore favourable opportunity of enriching themselves at my expense shouldput them in possession of my last crown!
Though I was sufficiently master of myself to refrain from complaintswhich I felt must be useless, and from menaces which it has neverbeen my habit to utter unless I had also the power to put them intoexecution, it must not be imagined that I did not, as I rode on byFresnoy's side, feel my position acutely or see how absurd a figureI cut in my dual character of leader and dupe. Indeed, the reflectionthat, being in this perilous position, I was about to stake another'ssafety as well as my own, made me feel the need of a few minutes'thought so urgent that I determined to gain them, even at the riskof leaving my men at liberty to plot further mischief. Coming almostimmediately afterwards within sight, of the turrets of the Chateau ofChize, I told Fresnoy that we should lie the night at the village;and bade him take the men on and secure quarters at the inn. Attackedinstantly by suspicion and curiosity, he demurred stoutly to leaving me,and might have persisted in his refusal had I not pulled up, and clearlyshown him that I would have my own way in this case or come to an openbreach. He shrank, as I expected, from the latter alternative, and,bidding me a sullen adieu, trotted on with his troop. I waited untilthey were out of sight, and then, turning the Cid's head, crossed asmall brook which divided the road from the chase, and choosing aride which seemed to pierce the wood in the direction of the Chateau,proceeded down it, keeping a sharp look-out on either hand.
It was then, my thoughts turning to the lady who was now so near, andwho, noble, rich, and a stranger, seemed, as I approached her, not theleast formidable of the embarrassments before me--it was then that Imade a discovery which sent a cold shiver through my frame, and ina moment swept all memory of my paltry ten crowns from my head.Ten crowns! Alas! I had lost that which was worth all my crowns puttogether--the broken coin which the King of Navarre had entrusted tome, and which formed my sole credential, my only means of persuadingMademoiselle de la Vire that I came from him. I had put it in my pouch,and of course, though the loss of it only came home to my mind now, ithad disappeared with the rest.
I drew rein and sat for some time motionless, the image of despair.The wind which stirred the naked boughs overhead, and whirled thedead leaves in volleys past my feet, and died away at last among thewhispering bracken, met nowhere with wretchedness greater, I believe,than was mine at that moment.