CHAPTER VI. THE WINDMILL
There was between Nantes and Rennes an established service of threestage-coaches weekly in each direction, which for a sum of twenty-fourlivres--roughly, the equivalent of an English guinea--would carry you theseventy and odd miles of the journey in some fourteen hours. Once a weekone of the diligences going in each direction would swerve asidefrom the highroad to call at Gavrillac, to bring and take letters,newspapers, and sometimes passengers. It was usually by this coachthat Andre-Louis came and went when the occasion offered. At present,however, he was too much in haste to lose a day awaiting the passing ofthat diligence. So it was on a horse hired from the Breton arme that heset out next morning; and an hour's brisk ride under a grey wintry sky,by a half-ruined road through ten miles of flat, uninteresting country,brought him to the city of Rennes.
He rode across the main bridge over the Vilaine, and so into the upperand principal part of that important city of some thirty thousandsouls, most of whom, he opined from the seething, clamant crowds thateverywhere blocked his way, must on this day have taken to the streets.Clearly Philippe had not overstated the excitement prevailing there.
He pushed on as best he could, and so came at last to the Place Royale,where he found the crowd to be most dense. From the plinth of theequestrian statue of Louis XV, a white-faced young man was excitedlyaddressing the multitude. His youth and dress proclaimed the student,and a group of his fellows, acting as a guard of honour to him, kept theimmediate precincts of the statue.
Over the heads of the crowd Andre-Louis caught a few of the phrasesflung forth by that eager voice.
"It was the promise of the King... It is the King's authority theyflout... They arrogate to themselves the whole sovereignty in Brittany.The King has dissolved them... These insolent nobles defying theirsovereign and the people..."
Had he not known already, from what Philippe had told him, of the eventswhich had brought the Third Estate to the point of active revolt, thosefew phrases would fully have informed him. This popular display oftemper was most opportune to his need, he thought. And in the hope thatit might serve his turn by disposing to reasonableness the mind of theKing's Lieutenant, he pushed on up the wide and well-paved Rue Royale,where the concourse of people began to diminish. He put up his hiredhorse at the Come de Cerf, and set out again, on foot, to the Palais deJustice.
There was a brawling mob by the framework of poles and scaffoldingsabout the building cathedral, upon which work had been commenced a yearago. But he did not pause to ascertain the particular cause of thatgathering. He strode on, and thus came presently to the handsomeItalianate palace that was one of the few public edifices that hadsurvived the devastating fire of sixty years ago.
He won through with difficulty to the great hall, known as the Salledes Pas Perdus, where he was left to cool his heels for a full half-hourafter he had found an usher so condescending as to inform the god whopresided over that shrine of Justice that a lawyer from Gavrillac humblybegged an audience on an affair of gravity.
That the god condescended to see him at all was probably due to thegrave complexion of the hour. At long length he was escorted up thebroad stone staircase, and ushered into a spacious, meagrely furnishedanteroom, to make one of a waiting crowd of clients, mostly men.
There he spent another half-hour, and employed the time in consideringexactly what he should say. This consideration made him realize theweakness of the case he proposed to set before a man whose views of lawand morality were coloured by his social rank.
At last he was ushered through a narrow but very massive and richlydecorated door into a fine, well-lighted room furnished with enough giltand satin to have supplied the boudoir of a lady of fashion.
It was a trivial setting for a King's Lieutenant, but about the King'sLieutenant there was--at least to ordinary eyes--nothing trivial. At thefar end of the chamber, to the right of one of the tall windows thatlooked out over the inner court, before a goat-legged writing-table withWatteau panels, heavily encrusted with ormolu, sat that exalted being.Above a scarlet coat with an order flaming on its breast, and a billowof lace in which diamonds sparkled like drops of water, sprouted themassive powdered head of M. de Lesdiguieres. It was thrown back to scowlupon this visitor with an expectant arrogance that made Andre-Louiswonder almost was a genuflexion awaited from him.
Perceiving a lean, lantern-jawed young man, with straight, lank blackhair, in a caped riding-coat of brown cloth, and yellow buckskinbreeches, his knee-boots splashed with mud, the scowl upon that augustvisage deepened until it brought together the thick black eyebrows abovethe great hooked nose.
"You announce yourself as a lawyer of Gavrillac with an importantcommunication," he growled. It was a peremptory command to make thiscommunication without wasting the valuable time of a King's Lieutenant,of whose immense importance it conveyed something more than a hint. M.de Lesdiguieres accounted himself an imposing personality, and he hadevery reason to do so, for in his time he had seen many a poor devilscared out of all his senses by the thunder of his voice.
He waited now to see the same thing happen to this youthful lawyer fromGavrillac. But he waited in vain.
Andre-Louis found him ridiculous. He knew pretentiousness for themask of worthlessness and weakness. And here he beheld pretentiousnessincarnate. It was to be read in that arrogant poise of the head, thatscowling brow, the inflexion of that reverberating voice. Even moredifficult than it is for a man to be a hero to his valet--who haswitnessed the dispersal of the parts that make up the imposing whole--isit for a man to be a hero to the student of Man who has witnessed thesame in a different sense.
Andre-Louis stood forward boldly--impudently, thought M. de Lesdiguieres.
"You are His Majesty's Lieutenant here in Brittany," he said--and italmost seemed to the august lord of life and death that this fellow hadthe incredible effrontery to address him as one man speaking to another."You are the dispenser of the King's high justice in this province."
Surprise spread on that handsome, sallow face under the heavily powderedwig.
"Is your business concerned with this infernal insubordination of thecanaille?" he asked.
"It is not, monsieur."
The black eyebrows rose. "Then what the devil do you mean by intrudingupon me at a time when all my attention is being claimed by the obviousurgency of this disgraceful affair?"
"The affair that brings me is no less disgraceful and no less urgent."
"It will have to wait!" thundered the great man in a passion, andtossing back a cloud of lace from his hand, he reached for the littlesilver bell upon his table.
"A moment, monsieur!" Andre-Louis' tone was peremptory. M. deLesdiguieres checked in sheer amazement at its impudence. "I can stateit very briefly..."
"Haven't I said already..."
"And when you have heard it," Andre-Louis went on, relentlessly,interrupting the interruption, "you will agree with me as to itscharacter."
M. de Lesdiguieres considered him very sternly.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Andre-Louis Moreau."
"Well, Andre-Louis Moreau, if you can state your plea briefly, I willhear you. But I warn you that I shall be very angry if you fail tojustify the impertinence of this insistence at so inopportune a moment."
"You shall be the judge of that, monsieur," said Andre-Louis, and heproceeded at once to state his case, beginning with the shooting ofMabey, and passing thence to the killing of M. de Vilmorin. But hewithheld until the end the name of the great gentleman against whom hedemanded justice, persuaded that did he introduce it earlier he wouldnot be allowed to proceed.
He had a gift of oratory of whose full powers he was himself hardlyconscious yet, though destined very soon to become so. He told his storywell, without exaggeration, yet with a force of simple appeal that wasirresistible. Gradually the great man's face relaxed from its forbiddingseverity. Interest, warming almost to sympathy, came to be reflected onit.
"And who, sir, is the ma
n you charge with this?"
"The Marquis de La Tour d'Azyr."
The effect of that formidable name was immediate. Dismayed anger, and anarrogance more utter than before, took the place of the sympathy he hadbeen betrayed into displaying.
"Who?" he shouted, and without waiting for an answer, "Why, here'simpudence," he stormed on, "to come before me with such a charge againsta gentleman of M. de La Tour d'Azyr's eminence! How dare you speak ofhim as a coward...."
"I speak of him as a murderer," the young man corrected. "And I demandjustice against him."
"You demand it, do you? My God, what next?"
"That is for you to say, monsieur."
It surprised the great gentleman into a more or less successful effortof self-control.
"Let me warn you," said he, acidly, "that it is not wise to makewild accusations against a nobleman. That, in itself, is a punishableoffence, as you may learn. Now listen to me. In this matter ofMabey--assuming your statement of it to be exact--the gamekeeper may haveexceeded his duty; but by so little that it is hardly worth comment.Consider, however, that in any case it is not a matter for the King'sLieutenant, or for any court but the seigneurial court of M. de La Tourd'Azyr himself. It is before the magistrates of his own appointing thatsuch a matter must be laid, since it is matter strictly concerning hisown seigneurial jurisdiction. As a lawyer you should not need to be toldso much."
"As a lawyer, I am prepared to argue the point. But, as a lawyer I alsorealize that if that case were prosecuted, it could only end in theunjust punishment of a wretched gamekeeper, who did no more than carryout his orders, but who none the less would now be made a scapegoat,if scapegoat were necessary. I am not concerned to hang Benet on thegallows earned by M. de La Tour d'Azyr."
M. de Lesdiguieres smote the table violently. "My God!" he cried out, toadd more quietly, on a note of menace, "You are singularly insolent, myman."
"That is not my intention, sir, I assure you. I am a lawyer, pleading acase--the case of M. de Vilmorin. It is for his assassination that I havecome to beg the King's justice."
"But you yourself have said that it was a duel!" cried the Lieutenant,between anger and bewilderment.
"I have said that it was made to appear a duel. There is a distinction,as I shall show, if you will condescend to hear me out."
"Take your own time, sir!" said the ironical M. de Lesdiguieres, whosetenure of office had never yet held anything that remotely resembledthis experience.
Andre-Louis took him literally. "I thank you, sir," he answered,solemnly, and submitted his argument. "It can be shown that M. deVilmorin never practised fencing in all his life, and it is notoriousthat M. de La Tour d'Azyr is an exceptional swordsman. Is it a duel,monsieur, where one of the combatants alone is armed? For it amounts tothat on a comparison of their measures of respective skill."
"There has scarcely been a duel fought on which the same trumperyargument might not be advanced."
"But not always with equal justice. And in one case, at least, it wasadvanced successfully."
"Successfully? When was that?"
"Ten years ago, in Dauphiny. I refer to the case of M. de Gesvres,a gentleman of that province, who forced a duel upon M. de la RocheJeannine, and killed him. M. de Jeannine was a member of a powerfulfamily, which exerted itself to obtain justice. It put forward justsuch arguments as now obtain against M. de La Tour d'Azyr. As you willremember, the judges held that the provocation had proceeded of intentfrom M. de Gesvres; they found him guilty of premeditated murder, and hewas hanged."
M. de Lesdiguieres exploded yet again. "Death of my life!" he cried."Have you the effrontery to suggest that M. de La Tour d'Azyr should behanged? Have you?"
"But why not, monsieur, if it is the law, and there is precedent for it,as I have shown you, and if it can be established that what I state isthe truth--as established it can be without difficulty?"
"Do you ask me, why not? Have you temerity to ask me that?"
"I have, monsieur. Can you answer me? If you cannot, monsieur, I shallunderstand that whilst it is possible for a powerful family like thatof La Roche Jeannine to set the law in motion, the law must remain inertfor the obscure and uninfluential, however brutally wronged by a greatnobleman."
M. de Lesdiguieres perceived that in argument he would accomplishnothing against this impassive, resolute young man. The menace of himgrew more fierce.
"I should advise you to take yourself off at once, and to be thankfulfor the opportunity to depart unscathed."
"I am, then, to understand, monsieur, that there will be no inquiry intothis case? That nothing that I can say will move you?"
"You are to understand that if you are still there in two minutes itwill be very much the worse for you." And M. de Lesdiguieres tinkled thesilver hand-bell upon his table.
"I have informed you, monsieur, that a duel--so-called--has been fought,and a man killed. It seems that I must remind you, the administrator ofthe King's justice, that duels are against the law, and that it isyour duty to hold an inquiry. I come as the legal representative of thebereaved mother of M. de Vilmorin to demand of you the inquiry that isdue."
The door behind Andre-Louis opened softly. M. de Lesdiguieres, pale withanger, contained himself with difficulty.
"You seek to compel us, do you, you impudent rascal?" he growled. "Youthink the King's justice is to be driven headlong by the voice of anyimpudent roturier? I marvel at my own patience with you. But I give youa last warning, master lawyer; keep a closer guard over that insolenttongue of yours, or you will have cause very bitterly to regret itsglibness." He waved a jewelled, contemptuous hand, and spoke to theusher standing behind Andre. "To the door!" he said, shortly.
Andre-Louis hesitated a second. Then with a shrug he turned. This wasthe windmill, indeed, and he a poor knight of rueful countenance. Toattack it at closer quarters would mean being dashed to pieces. Yet onthe threshold he turned again.
"M. de Lesdiguieres," said he, "may I recite to you an interesting factin natural history? The tiger is a great lord in the jungle, and wasfor centuries the terror of lesser beasts, including the wolf. The wolf,himself a hunter, wearied of being hunted. He took to associatingwith other wolves, and then the wolves, driven to form packs forself-protection, discovered the power of the pack, and took to huntingthe tiger, with disastrous results to him. You should study Buffon, M.de Lesdiguieres."
"I have studied a buffoon this morning, I think," was the punning sneerwith which M. de Lesdiguieres replied. But that he conceived himselfwitty, it is probable he would not have condescended to reply at all. "Idon't understand you," he added.
"But you will, M. de Lesdiguieres. You will," said Andre-Louis, and sodeparted.