CHAPTER LI.
HOW PEOPLE DO NOT ALWAYS LOSE THEIR TIME BY SEARCHING EMPTY DRAWERS.
The scene which the duke had just had with the king made himregard his position as desperate. The minions had not allowed himto be ignorant of what had passed, and he had heard the peoplecry, "Vive le roi!" He felt himself abandoned by the other chiefs,who had themselves to save. In his quarrels with his brotherCharles he had always had for confidants, or rather dupes, thosetwo devoted men, Coconnas and La Mole, and, for the first timein his life, feeling himself alone and isolated, he felt a kindof remorse at having sacrificed them. During that time his sisterMarguerite loved and consoled him. How had he recompensed her?
He had recently had near him a brave and valiant heart andsword--Bussy, the brave Bussy. And he had offended him to pleaseMonsoreau, who had his secret, with which he always threatened him,and which was now known to the king. He had therefore quarreledwith Bussy gratuitously, and, above all, uselessly, which as agreat politician once said, "was more than a crime, it was amistake!" How he would have rejoiced in his present situation,to know that Bussy was watching over him; Bussy the loyal, Bussythe universal favorite. It would have been probable liberty andcertain vengeance.
But as we have said, Bussy, wounded to the heart, kept away fromthe prince, so the prisoner remained fifty feet above the ground,with the four favorites in the corridor, without counting thecourt full of Swiss. Besides this, one or other of the young menentered from time to time, and, without seeming even to noticethe prince, went round the room, examined the doors and windows,looked under the beds and tables, and glanced at the curtainsand sheets.
"Ma foi!" said Maugiron, after one of these visits, "I have done;I am not going to look after him any more to-night."
"Yes," said D'Epernon, "as long as we guard him, there is no needof going to look at him."
"And he is not handsome to look at," said Quelus.
"Still," said Schomberg, "I think we had better not relax ourvigilance, for the devil is cunning."
"Yes, but not cunning enough to pass over the bodies of four menlike us."
"That is true," said Quelus.
"Oh!" said Schomberg, "do you think, if he wants to fly, he willchoose our corridor to come through? He would make a hole inthe wall."
"With what?"
"Then he has the windows."
"Ah! the windows, bravo, Schomberg; would you jump forty-fivefeet?"
"I confess that forty-five feet----"
"Yes, and he who is lame, and heavy, and timid as----"
"You," said Schomberg.
"You know I fear nothing but phantoms--that is an affair of thenerves."
"The last phantom was," said Quelus, "that all those whom he hadkilled in duels appeared to him one night."
"However," said Maugiron, "I have read of wonderful escapes; withsheets, for instance."
"Ah! that is more sensible. I saw myself, at Bordeaux, a prisonerwho escaped by the aid of his sheets."
"You see, then?"
"Yes, but he had his leg broken, and his neck, too; his sheetswere thirty feet too short, and he had to jump, so that whilehis body escaped from prison, his soul escaped from his body."
"Besides," said Quelus, "if he escapes, we will follow him, andin catching him some mischief might happen to him."
So they dismissed the subject. They were perfectly right thatthe duke was not likely to attempt a perilous escape. From timeto time his pale face was at the window which overlooked thefosses of the Louvre, beyond which was an open space about fifteenfeet broad, and then the Seine rolled calm as a mirror. On theother side rose, like a giant, the tower of Nesle.
He had watched the sunset and the gradual extinction of all thelights. He had contemplated the beautiful spectacle of old Paris,with its roofs gilded by the last rays of the sun, and silveredby the first beams of the moon; then little by little he wasseized with a great terror at seeing immense clouds roll overthe sky and announce a storm. Among his other weaknesses, the Ducd'Anjou was afraid of thunder, and he would have given anythingto have had his guardians with him again, even if they insultedhim. He threw himself on his bed, but found it impossible tosleep. Then he began to swear, and break everything near him.It was a family failing, and they were accustomed to it at theLouvre. The young men had opened the door to see what the noisemeant, and seeing that it was the duke amusing himself, they hadshut it again, which redoubled his anger. He had just brokena chair, when a crashing of glass was heard at the window, andhe felt a sharp blow on his thigh. His first idea was that hewas wounded by some emissary of the king's.
"Ah! I am dead!" he cried, and fell on the carpet. But as hefell his hand came in contact with a larger and rougher substancethan a ball.
"Oh! a stone," thought he, and feeling his leg, he found ituninjured. He picked up the stone and looked at it, and saw thatit was wrapped in a piece of paper. Then the duke's ideas beganto change. Might not this stone come from a friend as well asan enemy. He approached the light, cut the silk which tied thepaper round the stone and read,--
"Are you tired of keeping your room? Do you love open air andliberty? Enter the little room where the Queen of Navarre hidyour poor friend, M. de la Mole, open the cupboard, and, bydisplacing the lowest bracket, you will find a double bottom; inthis there is a silk ladder; attach it yourself to the balcony,two vigorous arms will hold it at the bottom. A horse, swift asthought, will lead you to a safe place.
"A FRIEND."
"A friend!" cried the prince; "oh! I did not know I had a friend.Who is this friend who thinks of me?" And the duke ran to thewindow, but could see no one.
"Can it be a snare?" thought he; "but first let me see if thereis a double bottom and a ladder."
The duke then, leaving the light where it was for precaution,groped his way to the cabinet, which he knew so well. He openedit, felt for the bottom shelf, and, to his great joy, found whathe looked for. As a thief escapes with his booty, the duke rushedinto the next room with his prey. Ten o'clock struck; the dukethought of his hourly visitors, and hid his ladder under a cushion,on which he sat down. Indeed, five minutes had not passed beforeMaugiron appeared in a dressing-gown, with a sword in one handand a light in the other. As he came in one of his friends saidto him, "The bear is furious, he was breaking everything justnow; take care he does not devour you, Maugiron."
Maugiron made his usual examination; he saw a broken window, butthought the duke had done it in his rage.
"Maugiron!" cried Schomberg, from outside, "are you already eatenthat you do not speak? In that case, sigh, at least, that wemay know and avenge you."
The duke trembled with impatience.
"No, no," said Maugiron, "on the contrary, my bear is quiteconquered."
And so saying he went out and locked the door. When the key hadceased to turn in the lock the duke murmured,--
"Take care, gentlemen, or the duke will be too much for you."