CHAPTER XIV. AN UNPLEASANT COMMISSION
The hunt was over, darkness was falling, and it was now a question ofreturning to the chateau. The horses were nearby; they could hear themneighing impatiently. They seemed to be asking if their courage was sodoubted that they were not allowed to share in the exciting drama.
Edouard was bent upon dragging the boar after them, fastening it to thesaddle-bow, and so carrying it back to the chateau; but Roland pointedout that it was simpler to send a couple of men for it with a barrow.Sir John being of the same opinion, Edouard--who never ceased pointingto the wound in the head, and saying, "That's my shot; that's where Iaimed"--Edouard, we say, was forced to yield to the majority. The threehunters soon reached the spot where their horses were tethered, mounted,and in less than ten minutes were at the Chateau des Noires-Fontaines.
Madame de Montrevel was watching for them on the portico. The poormother had waited there nearly an hour, trembling lest an accident hadbefallen one or the other of her sons. The moment Edouard espied her heput his pony to a gallop, shouting from the gate: "Mother, mother! Wekilled a boar as big as a donkey. I shot him in the head; you'll see thehole my ball, made; Roland stuck his hunting knife into the boar's bellyup to the hilt, and Sir John fired at him twice. Quick, quick! Send themen for the carcass. Don't be frightened when you see Roland. He's allcovered with blood--but it's from the boar, and he hasn't a scratch."
This was delivered with Edouard's accustomed volubility while Madame deMontrevel was crossing the clearing between the portico and the road toopen the gate. She intended to take Edouard in her arms, but he jumpedfrom his saddle and flung himself upon her neck. Roland and Sir Johncame up just then, and Amelie appeared on the portico at the sameinstant.
Edouard left his mother to worry over Roland, who, covered as he waswith blood, looked very terrifying, and rushed to his sister with thetale he had rattled off to his mother. Amelie listened in an abstractedmanner that probably hurt Edouard's vanity, for he dashed off to thekitchen to describe the affair to Michel, who was certain to listen tohim.
Michel was indeed interested; but when, after telling him where thecarcass lay, Edouard gave him Roland's order to send a couple of menafter the beast, he shook his head.
"What!" demanded Edouard, "are you going to refuse to obey my brother?"
"Heaven forbid! Master Edouard. Jacques shall start this instant forMontagnac."
"Are you afraid he won't find any body?"
"Goodness, no; he could get a dozen. But the trouble is the time ofnight. You say the boar lies close to the pavilion of the Chartreuse?"
"Not twenty yards from it."
"I'd rather it was three miles," replied Michel scratching his head;"but never mind. I'll send for them anyway without telling them whatthey're wanted for. Once here, it's for your brother to make them go."
"Good! Good! Only get them here and I'll see to that myself."
"Oh!" exclaimed Michel, "if I hadn't this beastly sprain I'd go myself.But to-day's doings have made it worse. Jacques! Jacques!"
Jacques came, and Edouard not only waited to hear the order given, butuntil he had started. Then he ran upstairs to do what Roland and SirJohn were already doing, that is, dress for dinner.
The whole talk at table, as may be easily imagined, centred upon theday's prowess. Edouard asked nothing better than to talk about it, andSir John, astounded by Roland's skill, courage, and good luck, improvedupon the child's narrative. Madame de Montrevel shuddered at eachdetail, and yet she made them repeat it twenty times. That which seemedmost clear to her in all this was that Roland had saved Edouard's life.
"Did you thank him for it?" she asked the boy. "Thank whom?"
"Your brother."
"Why should I thank him?" retorted Edouard. "I should have done the samething."
"Ah, madame, what can you expect!" said Sir John; "you are a gazelle whohas unwittingly given birth to a race of lions."
Amelie had also paid the closest attention to the account, especiallywhen the hunters spoke of their proximity to the Chartreuse. From thattime on she listened with anxious eyes, and seemed scarcely to breathe,until they told of leaving the woods after the killing.
After dinner, word was brought that Jacques had returned with twopeasants from Montagnac. They wanted exact directions as to where thehunters had left the animal. Roland rose, intending to go to them, butMadame de Montrevel, who could never see enough of her son, turnedto the messenger and said: "Bring these worthy men in here. It is notnecessary to disturb M. Roland for that."
Five minutes later the two peasants entered, twirling their hats intheir hands.
"My sons," said Roland, "I want you to fetch the boar we killed in theforest of Seillon."
"That can be done," said one of the peasants, consulting his companionwith a look.
"Yes, it can be done," answered the other.
"Don't be alarmed," said Roland. "You shall lose nothing by yourtrouble."
"Oh! we're not," interrupted one of the peasants. "We know you, Monsieurde Montrevel."
"Yes," answered the other, "we know that, like your father, you'renot in the habit of making people work for nothing. Oh! if all thearistocrats had been like you, Monsieur Louis, there wouldn't have beenany revolution."
"Of course not," said the other, who seemed to have come solely to echoaffirmatively what his companion said.
"It remains to be seen now where the animal is," said the first peasant.
"Yes," repeated the second, "remains to be seen where it is."
"Oh! it won't be hard to find."
"So much the better," interjected the peasant.
"Do you know the pavilion in the forest?"
"Which one?"
"Yes, which one?"
"The one that belongs to the Chartreuse of Seillon."
The peasants looked at each other.
"Well, you'll find it some twenty feet distant from the front on the wayto Genoud."
The peasants looked at each other once more.
"Hum!" grunted the first one.
"Hum!" repeated the other, faithful echo of his companion.
"Well, what does this 'hum' mean?" demanded Roland.
"Confound it."
"Come, explain yourselves. What's the matter?"
"The matter is that we'd rather that it was the other end of theforest."
"But why the other end?" retorted Roland, impatiently; "it's nine milesfrom here to the other end, and barely three from here to where we leftthe boar."
"Yes," said the first peasant, "but just where the boar lies--" And hepaused and scratched his head.
"Exactly; that's what," added the other.
"Just what?"
"It's a little too near the Chartreuse."
"Not the Chartreuse; I said the pavilion."
"It's all the same. You know, Monsieur Louis, that there is anunderground passage leading from the pavilion to the Chartreuse."
"Oh, yes, there is one, that's sure," added the other.
"But," exclaimed Roland, "what has this underground passage got to dowith our boar?"
"This much, that the beast's in a bad place, that's all."
"Oh, yes! a bad place," repeated the other peasant.
"Come, now, explain yourselves, you rascals," said Roland, who wasgrowing angry, while his mother seemed uneasy, and Amelie visibly turnedpale.
"Beg pardon, Monsieur Louis," answered the peasant; "we are not rascals;we're God-fearing men, that's all."
"By thunder," cried Roland, "I'm a God-fearing man myself. What ofthat?"
"Well, we don't care to have any dealings with the devil."
"No, no, no," asserted the second peasant.
"A man can match a man if he's of his own kind," continued the firstpeasant.
"Sometimes two," said the second, who was built like a Hercules.
"But with ghostly beings phantoms, spectres--no thank you," continuedthe first peasant.
"No, thank you," repeated the other.
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"Oh, mother, sister," queried Roland, addressing the two women, "inHeaven's name, do you understand anything of what these two fools aresaying?"
"Fools," repeated the first peasant; "well, possibly. But it's not theless true that Pierre Marey had his neck twisted just for looking overthe wall. True, it was of a Saturday--the devil's sabbath."
"And they couldn't straighten it out," affirmed the second peasant, "sothey had to bury him with his face turned round looking the other way.
"Oh!" exclaimed Sir John, "this is growing interesting. I'm very fond ofghost stories."
"That's more than sister Amelie is it seems," cried Edouard.
"What do you mean?"
"Just see how pale she's grown, brother Roland."
"Yes, indeed," said Sir John; "mademoiselle looks as if she were goingto faint."
"I? Not at all," exclaimed Amelie, wiping the perspiration from herforehead; "only don't you think it seems a little warm here, mother?"
"No," answered Madame de Montrevel.
"Still," insisted Amelie, "if it would not annoy you, I should like toopen the window."
"Do so, my child."
Amelie rose hastily to profit by this permission, and went withtottering steps to a window opening upon the garden. After it wasopened, she stood leaning against the sill, half-hidden by the curtains.
"Ah!" she said, "I can breathe here."
Sir John rose to offer her his smelling-salts, but Amelie declinedhastily: "No, no, my lord. Thank you, but I am better now."
"Come, come," said Roland, "don't bother about that; it's our boar."
"Well, Monsieur Louis, we will fetch your boar tomorrow."
"That's it," said the second peasant, "to-morrow morning, when it'slight."
"But to go there at night--"
"Oh! to go there at night--"
The peasant looked at his comrade and both shook their heads.
"It can't be done at night."
"Cowards."
"Monsieur Louis, a man's not a coward because he's afraid."
"No, indeed; that's not being a coward," replied the other.
"Ah!" said Roland, "I wish some stronger minded men than you would faceme with that argument; that a man is not a coward because he's afraid!"
"Well, it's according to what he's afraid of, Monsieur Louis. Give me agood sickle and a good cudgel, and I'm not afraid of a wolf; give me agood gun and I'm not afraid of any man, even if I knew he's waiting tomurder me."
"Yes," said Edouard, "but you're afraid of a ghost, even when it's onlythe ghost of a monk."
"Little Master Edouard," said the peasant, "leave your brother to do thetalking; you're not old enough to jest about such things--"
"No," added the other peasant, "wait till your beard is grown, my littlegentleman."
"I haven't any beard," retorted Edouard, starting up, "but just the sameif I was strong enough to carry the boar, I'd go fetch it myself eitherby day or night."
"Much good may it do you, my young gentleman. But neither my comrade normyself would go, even for a whole louis."
"Nor for two?" said Roland, wishing to corner them.
"Nor for two, nor four, nor ten, Monsieur de Montrevel. Ten louis aregood, but what could I do with them if my neck was broken?"
"Yes, twisted like Pierre Marey's," said the other peasant.
"Ten louis wouldn't feed my wife and children for the rest of my life,would they?"
"And besides, when you say ten louis," interrupted the second peasant,"you mean really five, because I'd get five, too."
"So the pavilion is haunted by ghosts, is it?" asked Roland.
"I didn't say the pavilion--I'm not sure about the pavilion--but in theChartreuse--"
"In the Chartreuse, are you sure?"
"Oh! there, certainly."
"Have you seen them?"
"I haven't; but some folks have."
"Has your comrade?" asked the young officer, turning to the secondpeasant.
"I haven't seen them; but I did see flames, and Claude Philippon heardchains."
"Ah! so they have flames and chains?" said Roland.
"Yes," replied the first peasant, "for I have seen the flames myself."
"And Claude Philippon on heard the chains," repeated the other.
"Very good, my friends, very good," replied Roland, sneering; "so youwon't go there to-night at any price?"
"Not at any price."
"Not for all the gold in the world."
"And you'll go to-morrow when it's light?"
"Oh! Monsieur Louis, before you're up the boar will be here."
"Before you're up," said Echo.
"All right," said Roland. "Come back to me the day after tomorrow."
"Willingly, Monsieur Louis. What do you want us to do?"
"Never mind; just come."
"Oh! we'll come."
"That means that the moment you say, 'Come,' you can count upon us,Monsieur Louis."
"Well, then I'll have some information for you."
"What about?"
"The ghosts."
Amelie gave a stifled cry; Madame de Montrevel alone heard it. Louisdismissed the two peasants, and they jostled each other at the door intheir efforts to go through together.
Nothing more was said that evening about the Chartreuse or the pavilion,nor of its supernatural tenants, spectres or phantoms who haunted them.