CHAPTER XXV.
I Miss a Grand Opportunity.
For several weeks now I stayed idly at Bruhl, having nothing to dobeyond an occasional turn of duty, which was really more a matter ofform than of aught else.
Underneath the peaceful surface there were, to shrewd observers, signsof a stirring agitation. Couriers came and went by night and day;noblemen of high rank made mysterious visits, stayed a few hours, andthen disappeared; a rumour arose that the Cardinal had actually beenrecalled to Court. It was even said that the order was contained inthe letter I had carried from Paris, but on that point I was still inignorance. By degrees, however, it became plain that the Cardinal hadresolved to return and I learned from Belloc that Marshal Hocquincourtwas busy raising an army to conduct him across France.
No one was more pleased to receive this news than Pillot, who could notlive happily without excitement. He uttered no complaint, but I knewhe was longing to be back in his loved Paris, from which he had neverbefore been so long absent. To Pillot the walls of the capital boundedthe one oasis in a desert world.
One evening, early in December, Belloc ordered me to be ready for astart the next morning. The die was cast; Mazarin had made up hismind, and I was to form one of the advance-guard in the journey toSedan.
"Bravo!" cried Pillot, joyfully; "it is time we moved, monsieur. I ambeginning to forget what Paris is like."
During the evening he was in a state of excitement, polishing myweapons and setting them in order, running to the stables to attend tothe animals, and packing food for consumption on the march. As forsleeping, I am nearly sure that he did not close his eyes all night.
The advance-guard formed a goodly cavalcade. Most of my comrades wereeither sons of noblemen, or at least cadets of some distinguishedhouse. They were well-mounted and richly dressed, and all wore thegreen scarf of Mazarin. Like Pillot, they were delighted at the ideaof returning to Paris again, and gave no thought to the fact that manyof them would never reach the city walls.
M. Belloc remained with the Cardinal, but I had made several newfriends, and the journey, though full of peril, was pleasant enough.We youngsters laughed and joked, formed plans for the future, defeatedConde many times over--in imagination--and, I think, each of ussecretly felt sure of becoming a Marshal of France. The older onesshook their heads, foretelling a long and difficult campaign, but wepaid scant heed to their melancholy prophecies.
Pillot, who travelled with the attendants, made me an object of envy tomy comrades. Never was there such a capital servant or one so full ofcontrivances. Once, through some stupid mistake, we were compelled tohalt for the night on a dreary, barren waste. It was bitterly cold,being almost mid-winter; we had no tents, and indeed no other shelterthan our cloaks.
The young nobles stamped about in high dudgeon, bidding theirattendants light fires and bring food, though there was no wood to beseen, and the last of the provisions had been eaten in the morning.The poor lackeys raced about here and there endeavouring to accomplishwhat was quite out of the question, but the exercise at least kept themwarm. I did not call Pillot, and, indeed, two minutes after the orderto halt he had vanished. I thought it odd, but made no remark, anddismounting like the others walked about briskly to restore thecirculation in my numbed limbs.
Presently some one nudged my elbow, and a voice whispered softly, "Letmonsieur choose three of his friends and follow me."
Rather astonished, I sought out three of my comrades and we followedthe dwarf, who led us perhaps two hundred yards, and stopped at asheltered gully.
"Those who come first get the best seats," said he, and going down onhis knees fumbled about for a time, till at last we broke into anexclamation of delight.
"A fire!" cried one.
"Pillot, you are a genius!" said I, and the other two declared he oughtto be made a nobleman.
How he managed it was a mystery, but there was the fire blazingcheerfully, and in another moment a fowl spitted on a pike was roastingin the flames. We overwhelmed Pillot with thanks, and what heconsidered more to the purpose--gave him a share of the bird. It wasrather tough and very stringy, but when one is hungry these defectspass as trifles.
Before long our fire attracted general attention, and as many as couldcrowded around it. Then, not wishing to be selfish, we vacated ourseats in favour of others, and, wrapped in our mantles, lay down in theshelter of the hollow. This was our worst hardship, and at length wereached Sedan, where Mazarin, who arrived the next day, took up hisabode with Marshal Fabert.
In the early part of the year 1652, we moved once more, and, crossingthe frontier, re-entered France in triumph. Every day now added to ourstrength. We were joined by Marshal Hocquincourt, who commanded 5000soldiers, each wearing the green scarf of the Cardinal. Here and therea number of officers rode up decorated with the same colours; townafter town opened its gates at the first summons, and Mazarin mightwell have imagined that his period of exile was over.
"Well, Pillot," said I one evening, "what do you think of all this?"
"It is a fresh act in a comedy, monsieur, in which the next is not yetwritten."
"Not even thought out, perhaps."
"There is no thinking, monsieur, or the play would become a tragedy.As to your Mazarin, he may be flying for his life again to-morrow."
"I hardly think so; he has the young King on his side now."
"Well, well, monsieur, it matters little as long as we enter Paris.After all that is the chief thing."
I did not answer him, but my mind turned to the frightful misery of thedistrict through which we were passing. The country lay unfilled formiles; the woods swarmed with robbers; the peasants were dying ofstarvation; the towns were filled with people who had neither work norfood. Everything except fighting was at a standstill: trade was dead,manufactures had ceased, and no one cared to sow the seed when otherswould eat the crops.
A young officer in Hocquincourt's army informed us that affairs wereequally bad in Paris. Rendered desperate by hunger, the citizens wereup in arms, and no one's life was safe for a day. By a stroke of goodfortune the Queen-Mother had escaped from the city, and was now withthe young King at Poitiers. Of Raoul I could learn nothing, but theDuke of Orleans was still see-sawing; now helping Conde, and againendeavouring to make terms with the King. In these circumstances Ihalf expected to find my old comrade at Poitiers, where it was almostcertain John Humphreys would be.
Meanwhile we marched peacefully through the country, and the friends ofConde, if the rebel prince possessed any friends in these parts,remained very quiet, and most of the people cheered Mazarin as loudlyas they had before hooted him. At Poitiers itself we had a magnificentreception. We marched along with drums beating and banners flying; theroad was lined with throngs of excited people cheering madly for thearmy of the Cardinal, and presently a loud cry announced the coming ofthe King.
Thunders of applause arose on all sides, and people screamed themselveshoarse shouting, "_Vive le Roi!_" "_Vive Mazarin!_"
I caught a glimpse of the boy king and his young brother as they joinedthe Cardinal, and rode with him to the town, where the Queen waited ata window to see him pass. It must have been a proud moment for the manwho had once been ignominiously expelled from France.
As soon as the procession broke up, I instructed Pillot where to stablethe horses, and went about seeking Raoul and John Humphreys. The townwas filled with soldiers and officers of the Court, while thousands ofthe troops were quartered in the neighbouring villages. I met severalold friends, but not Raoul, when suddenly I heard a hearty, "How areyou, De Lalande?" and there was the smiling face of an officer of theQueen's Guards.
"John Humphreys!" I exclaimed, and then grasping the meaning of his newuniform, "you have received a commission? Splendid! I knew from thefirst it must come. Presently, my dear fellow, you must tell me allabout it, but first, do you know anything of Raoul Beauchamp? Is hestill at the Luxembourg, or has he joined the King?"
"Turenne
has given him a commission in the royal army, and he isquartered in one of the villages near. If you are not on duty we willvisit him."
"With all my heart! I have nothing in particular to do before themorning."
"Very well; it is not far; we can walk easily."
The district round Poitiers had the appearance of a huge camp, and thewhite scarves of the King mingled with the green ones of the Cardinal.We moved with some difficulty, until, at last, getting clear of thecrowd, we reached the road, or rather cart-track leading to the village.
"There he is!" cried Humphreys presently. "Just returned, I warrant,from visiting his troopers; he looks after them well," and, glancingahead, I observed my old comrade about to enter the village inn.
"Raoul!" I shouted, "Raoul!" and at the sound he turned back to meet us.
"I told you that De Lalande would come to no harm!" exclaimed Humphreyswith a laugh.
"He was as anxious as I, Albert," said Raoul. "We discovered that youhad escorted the ladies to Aunay, but after that no one could guesswhat had become of you. Naturally, we expected to find you with thearmy."
"Instead of which I was at Bruhl with the Cardinal. I concludedHumphreys would guess what the secret service was."
"Come to my room," said Raoul; "we must hear your story."
As there could be no harm in mentioning the matter now, I related whathad passed, and they were much amused by Pillot's trick at Verdu.
"But you must keep out of Courcy's way for a time," said Raoul. "Iknow him well, and he is a tremendous fire-eater. I expect he hasjoined Conde in the field by now."
"Where is D'Arcy?"
"At the Luxembourg, and thoroughly miserable. He hates the idea ofsupporting Conde against the King, but imagines he ought not to desertthe Duke of Orleans. Most of his comrades came with me, but he wouldnot. 'I am for Orleans,' he said, 'no matter whom he is against.' Ofcourse, he is right in a way."
"Not at all," declared Humphreys. "Conde is a rebel, and has assistedthe enemies of his own country. Every man should regard him as atraitor."
"Well," said Raoul frankly, "it was his trafficking with the Spaniardsthat decided me to fight against him. I am for France, whoever rulesthe country."
"I am for the King," said Humphreys. "My father taught me to say, 'ForGod and the King!' as soon as I could talk. That was my earliestlesson."
"And yet your people cut off their king's head!"
"A set of sour knaves," he cried, "but the finest fighting men in theworld! You should have seen them at Naseby with their leader,Cromwell! Old Noll we call him; he rules the country now, while PrinceCharles, the rightful king, is here in exile."
"When our own troubles are settled we will set your prince on histhrone," laughed Raoul. "Mazarin will provide him with an army, andAlbert and I will obtain commissions in it. Then we shall see yourcountry for ourselves."
"Ah," exclaimed Humphreys, "you do not understand the English any morethan I understand your Parisians. If Prince Charles crossed the waternow with a French army, he would never be king; his own friends wouldfight against him. He must wait awhile till his people have recoveredtheir senses, then they will beg him to return."
"By the way," said I, "you have not told me yet how you won yourcommission."
"A lucky accident; a mere trifle; what you call a bagatelle."
"Have you not heard?" inquired Raoul. "I must relate the story myself,as our friend here is as modest as brave. The affair occurred atMontrond, and the whole camp talked of it."
"Things were very dull just then," interrupted Humphreys.
"We were besieging the town," continued Raoul, "and one night the enemymade a sortie. It took us by surprise; our outposts were rushed, adozen officers fell, and the troops were panic-stricken. GeneralPallnau was with the Court, and the next in command lost his head. Asit chanced our friend was staying with me that night, and he stoppedthe rout."
"No, no," said the Englishman, with a smile; "he is making too much ofit altogether."
"He saved the army at least. My quarters happened to be on a hill.Conde's troops were pouring towards it; half our men had scattered, andthe others were wavering, when Humphreys sprang to the front, callingus to rally. A few of us ran up, and only just in time. The enemy,perceiving we held the key to the position, swarmed to the attack. We,knowing how much depended on every minute's delay, stood our ground.Once we rolled them back, but they came again. Our men fell fast, butHumphreys was a host in himself, and through him we held on till therunaways had time to re-form. Every one declared he had saved thearmy, and he received his commission on the field."
"And the credit was as much Raoul's as mine," said Humphreys, "butthings go like that in this world. I suppose, now that Mazarin'stroops have reinforced us, we shall march south and fight Conde."
"It is possible, though there is a whisper that we are to move onAngers. I wish we three could keep together."
"It would be splendid," said Raoul, "but we must make the most of ouropportunities," which, as long as the army remained in theneighbourhood of Poitiers, we did.
Very soon, however, we advanced on Angers, and having captured thattown removed to Saumur. Here we were joined by Marshal Turenne, andbeing too weak to reduce the important town of Orleans proceeded toGien. Raoul was quartered with his regiment some miles away, butHumphreys and I were both stationed in the town. I was spending anhour with him one evening when Pillot, in a tremendous hurry, came witha message that M. Belloc wished to see me immediately.
"It must be something important, monsieur," said the dwarf, "as M.Belloc ordered me to saddle the horses."
I found my old friend in a state of great agitation, and without givingme time to speak he asked, "Do you know where Conde is?"
"In Guienne, monsieur."
"So we all thought, but it is a mistake. He is hurrying to takecommand of the army of the Loire. A courier has just arrived with theinformation, and we are despatching parties to capture him, dead oralive. He is travelling with six companions, and will endeavour toreach Chatillon. If he can be caught, we shall finish the war in aweek. You are well acquainted with the prince?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"Take half a dozen troopers; ride to the bridge at Chatillon, and letno one pass till I send permission."
"Very good, monsieur," and within ten minutes I was tearing along atthe head of my men as fast as my horse could gallop.
It was still fairly light when we arrived at the spot, and, leaving twoof the troopers on the bank to look after the horses, I ambushed theothers, and took up my own position so that no one could pass withoutbeing challenged. Soon the light faded, the air grew chill, a graymist rose from the river. The men crouched silently in their hidingplaces; the only sounds were the melancholy lapping of the water, andthe mournful cry of an occasional night-bird. M. Belloc's commissionwas certainly an honour, but this watching was dreary work, and Ithought with regret of my cosy quarters.
It must have been an hour past midnight when Pillot, who had kept mecompany, whispered softly, "Listen, monsieur! Do you hear the beat ofhoofs? I should say there are a couple of horsemen coming this way."
"Or more. No, there is only one."
"The others have stopped."
"Perhaps there was only one in the first instance. He is drawingnearer now. Listen, he has reached the bridge. Stand well behind me,so that he cannot observe you."
The horseman had approached at a trot; now he slowed down to a walkingpace, and advanced carelessly, humming a tune as if there was no suchthing as danger in the world.
With a loud "_Qui Vive?_" I sprang from my hiding-place and clutchedhis horse's bridle.
"An officer of the King," he replied coolly, and the white scarf on hisarm showed up in the darkness. "I have come from the Marshal to askfor your report. I can testify at least that you keep an excellentwatch."
The man's voice sounded familiar, but concluding we had met at theCourt, I was in all innocence ab
out to answer when Pillot, touching melightly, whispered "Captain Courcy!"
In a flash I remembered, but it was too late. The captain's sharp earshad caught the words; with a violent wrench he twisted my arm from thebridle, and turning his horse's head dashed back at headlong speed.
"Stop him!" I yelled, "stop him!" but the rascal knocked over two of mymen like rabbits, and disappeared along the bank of the river.
"Conde is not far off," said Pillot; "he feared a trap and sent thecaptain on in advance."
"Mount, and ride after them. Take a man with you, keep on their trackand pick up all the King's friends you meet. Say it is the order ofMarshal Turenne. Two of you fellows get your horses and cross to theother side of the river. Keep your eyes open and spread the news thatConde is hiding in the neighbourhood. There is a fortune for the manwho captures him."
The troopers mounted and galloped off; Pillot had already disappeared,and I was left with one man to attend to my wounded troopers.Fortunately they were not seriously hurt, though of little more usethat night. As it chanced, however, nothing further occurred, and whenBelloc sent to relieve us, I rode back feeling that I had missed agrand opportunity. My troopers accomplished nothing, but Pillot, whodid not return for several hours, brought the certain news that Conde,accompanied by several gentlemen, had crossed the river.
"Never mind," said M. Belloc kindly, "you did your best, and no one cando more. Besides, even if you had caught this Captain Courcy, theprince would have escaped," which was quite true, though the reflectiondid not make my feelings any the more friendly towards the daringcaptain.