CHAPTER VIII.
WITHIN THE WALLS OF QUEBEC.
To be in front of Quebec was one thing, but to be inside of it wasanother. Dick could only bide in patience, depending on the doings ofthose in authority, and on circumstance, for his hoped-for entrance intothe city and meeting with Catherine de St. Valier.
There was neither any visible sign of the army from the province of NewYork, nor any news from it. Dick was promptly assigned to duty with aparty sent to look for boats, that the army might at the chosen timecross from Point Levi, near which it camped, to the Quebec side of theriver. Neither Dick nor any of his comrades found craft of any kind;instead, they got, from the _habitans_, the information that the Britishat Quebec had recently removed or destroyed all the boats about PointLevi. So the coming of the American army had been expected! Theinference from this fact, and from the non-arrival of word from the NewYork army, was that Arnold's Indian messengers had betrayed his purposeto the enemy in Quebec, and time proved this conclusion true. There wasnaught to do but remain at Point Levi and search the riverside afar forboats.
In a short time this quest resulted in the assembling of forty birchcanoes, obtained from Canadians and Indians, with forty Indians tonavigate them. But now came windy, stormy weather, in which theroughness of the river made impossible a crossing in such fragile craft.
During this period of discomfort in the camp, intelligence began tocome, through the inhabitants, of the state of affairs in Quebec.General Carleton, the governor, was away, up the St. Lawrence, perhapsdirecting movements against the army from New York, somewhere in thevicinity of Montreal. But the defences were being strengthened and thegarrison reinforced, under the direction of the lieutenant-governor,Caramhe, and of the veteran Colonel Maclean, who had returned from Sorelwith the Royal Highland Emigrants, three hundred Scotchmen enlisted byhim at Quebec. Recruits had come also from Nova Scotia and elsewhere.Quebec had observed the colonial troops camped between woods and river,and the military and official people despised and laughed at them. Themerchants and business folk disliked Governor Carleton for hisaffiliation exclusively with the official and military classes and theold French aristocracy, but would nevertheless stand stanchly forEnglish rule and the defence of the city. The French seigneurs,reconciled to the treaty of 1763, had no reason to desire a change ofgovernment, and it was likely that the priesthood, the artisans, and thepeasants would be neutral save when favoring the winning side.
Such reports helped to furnish camp talk, and Dick was as interested init as any one was, but the walled town that loomed high across the wideriver had for him another interest. He would stand gazing at it by thehour, wondering in what part of it she was, and what would be the mannerof his first sight of her. When he saw young Burr, of Arnold's staff,set forth in a sledge, and in a priest's disguise, from a friendlymonastery, at a distance from the camp, with a guide, Dick promptlyguessed the mission, the bearing of word from Arnold to the New Yorkarmy; and for once Dick did not envy another a task of peril, for Dickpreferred now to remain near Quebec.
Four days after the army's arrival at Point Levi, there came at last amessenger from General Montgomery, whom Schuyler's illness had left insupreme command of the expedition from New York Province. His news setthe camp cheering. The town of St. John's, which the British had retakenafter Arnold's capture of it, had fallen to Montgomery on the 3d ofNovember, after a siege of seven weeks. The New York general was to haveproceeded thence to Montreal, capture that town, and come down the riverto join Arnold. On top of these inspiriting tidings, came the joyfullyexciting orders to make ready for an immediate crossing of the river.
At about ten o'clock that night, Monday, November 13th, the troopsparaded noiselessly on the beach near a mill at Point Levi. Dick's heartexulted as he found himself still in the van when the riflemen, directedin the gloom by the low-spoken orders of Morgan, stepped into the canoesthat awaited them at the edge of the dark river. Silently, at the word,each boat pushed off, the Indians dipped their paddles, and the menfound themselves in the swift current. Dick looked over the shoulder ofold Tom towards the distant frowning heights, and recalled the story ofhow Wolfe, traversing the same river towards those same heights, on thatfateful night sixteen years before, to find death and immortal fame onthe morrow, had recited some lines from Gray's "Elegy in a CountryChurchyard" and said he would rather be their author than take Quebec.Dick's emotion on realizing that he was where great history had beenmade, mingled presently with the one image that dominated his mindwhenever his eyes or thoughts were on Quebec.
But now and then an incident occurred to disturb his contemplations.The canoe behind him upset, and there was excitement, with loss of time,in rescuing its occupants, some of whom had to cross the river halfsubmerged in the chill water, each holding to the stern of a canoe.Dick's boat, overcrowded, spilt a few of its passengers without entirelyoverturning, but no man was lost. The course lay between two of theenemy's war-vessels, a frigate and a sloop, yet the riflemen passedundiscovered. The transit seemed interminable, much to Dick's wonder,for from Point Levi the opposite shore had not appeared to be half asfar as it was.
At last the canoe glided along the shore of Wolfe's Cove, at the base ofa steep ascent a mile and a half from the town, and Dick leaped ashoreafter Lieutenant Simpson, on the spot where the English general hadlanded on that September night in '59. The little landing-place was soonthronged with the dark figures of the men from the first boats, andDick, ere he had taken time to look around, was stealthily scurrying upthe slanting path, one of a party quickly sent in different directionsby Morgan to reconnoitre the town's approaches.
Clambering up the way by which Wolfe's army had ascended, he looked backand saw the dark river dotted in a long line with the boats of thecrossing army. The continued silence testified either to the skill orgood luck of his comrades, or to the blindness of the watches on theBritish vessels and on the guard-boats that patrolled the river.Reaching the top of the precipice and standing at last on the Plains ofAbraham, Dick made sure that the head of the ascent was unguarded, andhe thereupon, in obedience to his orders, descended back to thelanding-place, and reported. More of the army had now arrived, and in anuninhabited house at the Cove a fire had been made, at which Dick wentto warm himself and found old Tom.
At four o'clock in the morning, a sudden angry booming in the riverproclaimed that the British had discovered the boats then crossing. Butthe bark was not followed by a bite, and at last the entire army wassafe on land at the Cove. The men were in eager expectation of animmediate attack, which Captain Morgan openly showed himself to favor;but Colonel Arnold probably supposed from the firing that the garrisonwould be on the alert, and so, with guards set, the troops passed thenight, as best they could, at the Cove.
On Tuesday the gaunt army marched up the precipice and stood whereWolfe's regiments had formed on the day they took Quebec from France.Far in front lay the town, behind its walls and bastions, and by themcut off upon its promontory. Old Tom knew the place from description,and pointed out, to Dick, Cape Diamond at the right, and the citadelcrowning that height; at the left, close to a bastion, the open gate ofSt. John's, where Montcalm fell; between these two, the St. Louis Gate,the towers of churches, and the roofs of official residences. Thesoldiers waited, while the officers held council.
Suddenly, from the wall-encircled city, came the sound of drums beatingto arms, and soon the walls became thronged with troops and citizens. Atthe same time the gate of St. John's was closed. Colonel Arnoldthereupon marched his men towards the town and paraded them within ahundred yards of the walls, ordering them to give three cheers, whichthey did heartily, Dick tingling with the expectation of battle.
But the enemy stayed behind his walls, even though presently theAmericans fired a few taunting volleys at him; and, after awhile, theirdemonstration being answered from the ramparts by a large piece ofartillery, they marched back to a safe distance and encamped. Thatevening Colonel Arnold sent a flag, demanding surrender, but th
eHighlanders guarding the city gate fired on it. Then ensued more days ofwaiting.
The officers quartered in some now abandoned country residences andfarmhouses, and many of the men were lodged in peasants' cottages andbarns. During these days of inaction, riflemen were sent to thesuburbs, outside the walls, to annoy the enemy, as they had annoyed himin Boston from the hills about Cambridge. While engaged in this, in thesuburb of St. John's, Dick and MacAlister, by crawling away betimes onknees and elbows, narrowly escaped the capture that befell one of theVirginians who lay concealed with them in a thicket, a party of theenemy having made a sortie from the gate.
When they got back to camp, they learned that fresh news had come fromMontgomery,--that Montreal had capitulated to him on the 12th, but thatGovernor Carleton had contrived to elude him and was supposed to havefled down the river, bound for Quebec. Orders were now given to be inreadiness to march, it having been decided to retire up the river toPoint aux Trembles, to await Montgomery at greater distance from theenemy. Dick's heart fell at thought of going, even for a short time anda score of miles, further from Quebec. Before he had time to brood overthe matter, he was summoned to wait on Captain Hendricks, whom he foundsitting with Colonel Arnold and Captain Morgan at a table in the chiefroom of a stone farmhouse. Hendricks returned his salute with a friendlylook, Morgan with an approving one, and Arnold with a pleasant butpiercing gaze and the words: "How would you like to go into Quebec, andlearn the exact strength of each battery there and of each force of menin the garrison?"
When Dick grasped the full sense of this question, which he was delayedin doing by his mental notice of the present harmony between Arnold andMorgan after an open quarrel over the short allowance of flour to theriflemen, he waited a moment for breath, then answered:
"I should be delighted, sir!"
"It is necessary," Arnold went on, "that we have information morereliable than the reports we are getting from the inhabitants, for notwo of these reports agree. There is a method just now by which a shrewdman may easily enter the city, without arousing suspicion there. Thismethod requires that our man shall play a part. I am told you haveability in that direction."
Dick recalled his Boston escapes, and bowed.
"Here," said Arnold, handing Dick a sealed missive from the table, "is aletter from General Carleton, who is now somewhere up the river, toColonel Maclean in Quebec. The messenger who carried it has fallen intoour hands. It was so carelessly sealed that we were able to open andrefasten it without seeming to have broken the wax. You are to personatethe messenger, carry the letter to Colonel Maclean, get the informationwe want, and send it in a way I shall tell you of,--for you willprobably be kept in the city, and any failure in your own attempt toget away might keep your information from reaching us. After that, youmay escape when you best can. You understand, your report to me is notto be put to the risk that your body will doubtless undergo in gettingback from the enemy."
"I understand."
"As General Carleton's message doesn't contain any description of thebearer, but merely tells Maclean to enroll him into service, you mayassume what character you please. The messenger was a Tory hunter, fromthe province of New York, dressed much like you. So it may be well topretend that character, wearing your own clothes. Captain Hendrickstells me you know enough of Montreal and the intervening country, fromdescription, to answer knowingly if you should be questioned about it.Sit yonder, and read this letter from General Montgomery to me, and thiscopy of General Carleton's message to Colonel Maclean. They will let youknow how matters were at Montreal, and with General Carleton, when themessenger left."
Dick glanced down at the papers pushed towards him, and resumed heed ofArnold's instructions, which continued while the speaker now and thenjotted down a word or two on a piece of paper:
"You will leave the camp with this pass, on the side farthest from thetown, so it may appear you are going to reconnoitre up the river; foryour destination must of course be a secret, lest some informant of theenemy's might follow and expose you. You will go around the camp byland, and reach the city after dark. The letter you carry will get youadmittance without delay. Once within the walls, obtain the informationas you are best able to. Put it in writing, and take it to a womancalled Mere Frappeur, who keeps a wine shop in the upper town, near thePalace Gate. She is an Irish woman, the widow of a French fish-monger,and she has a boat in which she sometimes goes fishing herself. When youmeet her, if no one else is about, whistle 'Molly, my Treasure,'--do youknow the tune?"
Dick, who had heard Tom fiddle it a thousand times, softly whistled theopening part. Arnold nodded, and went on:
"If you look at her in such a manner as to show that the tune is asignal, she will soon come to an understanding with you. You will askher, in my name, to take your written message, in her boat, at night,close to the shore immediately on this side of the British stockade nearthe foot of Cape Diamond. There she will whistle 'Molly, my Treasure,'and will be answered with the same tune by a man whom I shall have inwaiting there each night, from to-morrow. She will give him the messageand afterwards report to you. When you are sure the information is safein that man's hands, you may escape and report to me, when you findopportunity or create it. I have made some notes here, that you will fixin mind before you start; but destroy that paper and my pass, as soon asyou are clear of the camp, so that you will carry no papers to Quebecother than General Carleton's letter."
Dick took the sheet handed to him, and read the words: "Strength of eachbattery,--number men in each force,--Mere Frappeur,--wine shop nearPalace Gate,--Molly, my Treasure,--boat,--each night,--shore this sidestockade near foot Cape Diamond." While the three officers discussed inlow tones at one end of the table, Dick sat at the other end, andmemorized every circumstance mentioned in the letters of Montgomery andCarleton. He then rose, and, being noticed by Colonel Arnold, returnedthose two letters, and took his leave, retaining the pass, Arnold'sbrief notes, and the genuine letter from Carleton to Maclean. He wasfollowed from the room by the kindly smile of Captain Hendricks.
It was now almost nightfall. Dick returned to his quarters, in a barnloft, put from his pockets and attire whatever might betray him, and sawwith satisfaction that his clothes, now mended by old Tom andreplenished from the stock of a dead comrade, no longer bore strikingevidence of his march through Maine. He assured himself for thethousandth time that the miniature was still in its hiding-place; made ahasty supper with his mess on the barn floor below; called MacAlisteraside and told of his coming absence on reconnoitring duty; shook theold fellow's hand, and was gone.
"Guid luck, and a merry meeting in this waurld or some ither!" was oldTom's farewell.
Dick tore up his pass as soon as it had been honored at last by theoutermost picket; for in his zeal to respect his commander's every wishhe was determined to make so wide a detour in rounding the camp that hecould not possibly come near another sentry. The night was well advancedwhen he strode finally between the colonial army and the frowning city.Skulking past Mount's Tavern, giving a wide berth to every farmhouse orsuburban residence that might perchance shelter some American force onspecial duty, he stood at last between the suburb of St. Louis and thatof St. John's, and hesitated as to which gate to approach. He chose thatof St. John's, and, hastening up to it with an air of importance andfatigue, was challenged at some distance by a sentry on the wall. Hisprompt account of himself got him speedily through the wicket, and soona guard officer was escorting him to Colonel Maclean, who was for thetime quartered in a house near the bastion of La Potasse, in order to beclose to the barracks and St. John's Gate.
Maclean sat in a room on a level with the street, holding vigil withsome officers. Dick faced him across a table on which were a candelabra,writing materials, and a great mass of papers. The British commander,Scotchiest of the Scotch, was rugged, frowning, and sharp-speaking, butseemed to have a solid substratum of good-nature. He read Carleton'sletter in silence, then scrutinized Dick with gray eyes as hard asgranite, and
pelted him with a succession of gruff questions, to whichDick replied with quiet readiness and a steady return of look. Thequestions were all on matters covered by the letter, which, Dick couldeasily see, the sagacious Scot did not suspect of having been opened.Dick's answers evidently convinced the colonel that the letter had notchanged bearers since leaving General Carleton's hand. For the colonel'saddress was a little less gruff, when he presently asked:
"What is your name, my guid mon?"
"Tammas MacAlister," replied Dick, under a prompt inspiration, andadded, in imitation of the Fiddler's manner of speech, "Ye maun haekenned my fayther, and his fayther afore him, that baith piped ahint theheels of Charlie Stuart in '45, though the present generation is loyal,soul and body, to the powers that be. I oft heard them tell of theMacleans, and what a grand family they are,--begging your pardon."
"I dare say," answered the colonel, his face having lost its rigor."Though I don't mind at the moment, I maun hae kenned your forebears indays lang syne. 'Tis strange I didn't heed your Scottish tongue sooner.Ye're the build and face of a true Caledonian, and ye'll mak' a brawrecruit for the Royal Emigrants. Captain, let MacAlister mess andquarter with your company for the time being, and see that he reports tome to-morrow at ten o'clock." The officer addressed sent an attendantfor a sergeant, in whose charge Dick was placed, and by whom he was soonassigned to a bunk in the adjacent barracks, his mind in a whirl ofemotions, thoughts, and plans, all regarding his military mission andhis intended visit to Catherine de St. Valier.
The next morning, at breakfast, Dick studied carefully each man of themess. Pretending to a previous knowledge acquired through a seafaringuncle, he asked an old Quebec man whether there were any St. Valiersstill in the city. He soon learned that Gerard and Catherine were thelast of their branch of the family, that it was an impoverished branch,and that they were now living with their unmarried uncle in the latter'shouse in Palace Street, near the street that led from the St. John'sGate.
Dick next, observing that a certain prating corporal affected expertknowledge of the town's defences, and had a truly Scotch tenacity ofassertion, lured him subtly into an argument regarding the present stateof Quebec as compared with that in Wolfe's time; and thus elicited, asto the disposition of artillery, a statement so exact and full that, tobe relied on, it required only to agree with some report from anothersource. Dick secretly assigned each section of a piece of biscuit torepresent some particular post named by the corporal, and on thatsection he made tiny finger-nail scratches equal in number to the cannonsaid to be at the post. Being under orders to remain with the sergeant,he found, by using his eyes skilfully while about the barracks, that thecorporal's account was correct as far as concerned certain guns in thevicinity of St. John's Gate.
During the morning there came to the barracks a barber who had customersamong soldiers stationed at different parts of the town. Now that thetroops remained near their posts when off duty, ready to respond in caseof sudden attack, this practitioner, instead of keeping shop as usually,made the rounds to visit the customers who could not visit him. Dick wasshaved by him, and, during the operation, led him to discourse uponthose parts of the city to which duty called him. The observant barberincidentally let fall numerous bits of information that confirmed, ifthey did not augment, certain details of the knowing corporal'sdisclosures.
This barber and the corporal had the knack possessed by small boys anddogs, of nosing into every opening whence anything might be seen, andhad come by far more and far other information than they were properlyentitled to possess. Dick had begun the day with the knowledge, won inhis own experience, that in every score of people there are two or threesuch investigating persons. Keen observation had enabled him to singleout the two such from the host of men he met in the barracks, and by theclosest attention he had picked out, from the chaff of their talk, thefew grains that were to his purpose. It was not, therefore, mere goodluck that had brought him so promptly a better approximate account ofthe city's heavy armament than he could have obtained in hours ofsuspicious loitering around the various batteries.
At ten o'clock he reported to Colonel Maclean at the latter's temporaryheadquarters. He had to give an account of his supposed journey fromMontreal and of how he had contrived to pass the American camp. Macleansaid it would be useless to send him back with a message to GeneralCarleton, as the latter's whereabouts would doubtless remain unknownuntil his arrival at Quebec, which might occur at any time. He proposed,therefore, that Dick should enlist in the Royal Highland Emigrants.
Dick, who had borne in mind from the first that his task must be doneere the arrival of Carleton, as the governor would know him from thegenuine messenger, replied that to serve in the Emigrants was theambition of his life. The colonel asked Dick what soldiering he hadseen. Dick replied, "Nane, afore the fighting between the Lakes andMontreal. But, considering the stock I'm of, I should tak' well to theprofession, seeing that I hae done weel at most things I've put a handto, from the rifle to the quill pen." At the last words, the colonellooked at the mass of papers on his table, as Dick had designed heshould do, and said, "If ye have skill at pen waurk, there's a task ofcopying ye might set to, before we mak' a Royal Emigrant of ye. Mysecretary is more useful at the new fortifications these times, havingthe gift of construction in works as well as in words; yet I'm sorewishful for a copy of these letters, for my ain keeping."
Dick repressed his elation, and it was soon arranged that he shouldforthwith write out a copy of some correspondence that the colonel setbefore him. Maclean then left the office, to make his usual rounds, andDick was left alone with an adjutant, a door-attendant, and two guardsat the entrance. The adjutant sat writing at one side of the table,Dick at the opposite side, both using ink from the same receptacle.
To his disappointment, Dick found the correspondence to concern a bygonequestion of misappropriated supplies, and hence to be of no value asinformation for his commander. While he wrote, his eye ranged the table,at intervals, and took in every visible bit of writing thereon, makingnote of such sheets, wholly or partly in view, as contained matterarranged in columns. He acquainted himself with the exact location ofthree such sheets among the countless others that encumbered the table.He then waited the opportunity that would come with the adjutant'sdeparture from the room.
But the adjutant, whose work was behind, through his having acceptedmore than his regular duties, continued to write. Shortly after noon,the colonel returned, with some of his staff, and had dinner in theadjoining room. Dick was sent to dine with his mess. He made short workof dinner, and hastened back, hoping he might arrive at the office tablebefore the adjutant, who was to have dined with the colonel's staff. ButDick found the adjutant already at work, an odor of wine about himtelling that he had finished his dinner. The colonel and the otherofficers presently went out, as they had done in the forenoon. Theafternoon passed on as the forenoon had, with the difference that,outside the window, snow began to fall. Dick utilized some of the timeby transcribing, on a bare sheet of paper, the statement he had recordedon his piece of biscuit, which he now set before him on the table as ifintending presently to eat it. He then adroitly slipped the sheet ofpaper from the table to his lap and thrust it carefully beneath hisjacket with his left hand while continuing to write with the other.
When the gray afternoon began to darken, Dick resolved on a desperatemeasure. As if his hunting-knife galled him, he took it from his beltand placed it on the table, with its point thrust under the inkstand. Afew minutes later, as if to remove it out of the way of his paper, helifted it suddenly in such manner that it overturned the inkstand,deluging one of the adjutant's hands with ink. That officer arose withan expression of disgust, darted an angry look at Dick, called theattendant to mop up the ink, and went into a closet to wash his hand.
Dick, with a pretence of rescuing the papers from the spreading pool ofink, swiftly grasped the three sheets he had singled out and placedthem, each on top of a different pile, within range of his eye. Theadju
tant, returning to his delayed work, did not notice whatrearrangement Dick had made of the papers. While the two wrote silentlyon, Dick scanned the farthest of the three papers. He soon saw that itwas a list of provisions, and of trivial consequence. The next one ofthe three turned out to be a statement of arms needed to complete theequipment of a certain militia company. Dick turned his eye, withdiminishing hopes, to the third and last. This is what he saw there, andcopied in feverish haste, with trembling fingers:
In garrison at Quebec, November 17th.
70 Royal Fusileers. 230 Royal Emigrants. 22 Artillery, fire-workers, etc. 330 British militia. 543 Canadians. 400 Seamen. 50 Masters and men of vessels. 35 Marines. 120 Artificers. ------ 1800
The copy of this return, deluged with sand in Dick's impatience to drythe ink, followed the artillery account to concealment, and Dick,casting a peculiar smile across the table at the busily writingadjutant, went on copying the colonel's correspondence.
Presently candles were lighted by the attendant. Then in came ColonelMaclean, shaking off the snow and blustering at the cold, andaccompanied by two officers, one of whom said, hastening to thefireplace:
"I'll wager this is the kind of weather they've been waiting for,though, to be sure, one never knows when they may melt away in thenight, as--who the devil's that?"
The colonel turned to look where the speaker did, but saw only a flyingfigure that darted through the door, plunged past the guards, and wasgone in the falling snow and gathering gloom. The figure was Dick's, forthe man who had spoken was Lieutenant Blagdon.
Dick had been minded for an instant to stay and outface him. But on theheels of that impulse had come the thought that Blagdon knew sufficientthat differed from the name and nationality and other particulars Dickhad given Maclean, to prove the imposture, and that the word of awell-known British officer would of course be taken against Dick's.Hence the timely bolt for the street.
He had turned naturally in the direction that led towards Palace Street,at which thoroughfare he arrived without having attracted attention, hisrapid pace being that which a soldier might use in carrying a hurriedorder. He knew Palace Street by its width and the rich appearance of itshouses. Not looking back to see whether a pursuit had yet been started,he turned leftward and hastened on, now changing his gait from a run toa rapid stride. Duty required that he should first make safe hisinformation by finding Mere Frappeur and entrusting it to her. He askedan artisan where her wine shop was, but the artisan was French and shookhis head in sign of not understanding. A short distance farther on, Dickpicked out an English face among the snow-pelted passers-by, andrepeated his question.
"About the fifth or sixth house in the second little street to theright," replied the Englishman, who had the look of a merchant's clerk;"the street that turns off beyond the St. Valier house,--the house withthe large garden."
The St. Valier house! Dick would have to pass it, then, on his way toMere Frappeur's wine shop! He sprang forward, barely taking time tothank his informant, and ran plump into a begowned priest, who, thrownfrom his balance, uttered a rapid series of words, as to which Dick didnot know whether they were Latin ejaculations or French execrations.Dick was further impeded on his way by having to make room for a squadof soldiers, and to pass round a sledge that had come to a standstillwhere streets crossed. He now cast a look backward, from a slighteminence, and saw a half dozen troops turn into Palace Street where hehad turned into it. One of them carried a lantern, held close to thesnow. Dick knew what that meant,--they were tracing him by hisfootprints in the snow. He blamed himself now for having, in his desireto avoid collisions, kept so clear of other walkers.
At last he reached the street indicated by his informant. He readilyrecognized, by its location and the great garden in whose midst it wasset, the St. Valier residence. Through the half-open gate in the wall,he saw a light in the two windows at one side of the wide front door;and the momentary sound of confused voices told him that a numerousassemblage was within. He turned into the little street that ran by thelong side wall of the garden. Presently he passed a smaller gate, whichalso stood open and which led to the rear of the grounds. Just acrossthe street from this gate, there was a crowd looking excitedly inthrough the open door of a narrow one-story house, in whose lightedwindow appeared the inscription, "C. Frappeur, Vins."
"The wine shop," thought Dick, and, as he ran across the street towardsthe crowd, he asked himself how he should go about transacting hisbusiness with Mere Frappeur in the presence of so many people and in thebrief time before the arrival of the troops on his track. He edged intothe crowd and elbowed his way towards the door, but so great was thecuriosity of the people to see what was within, that he had considerablestrife to enter the shop. The crowd resented his forcible passage, andjabbered noisily in French. The throng in the shop was as great as thatwithout. Dick laboriously pushed his way to the front. "What the devilare you doing?" quoth the first English voice that Dick had heardhere,--that of a burly subaltern of militia.
"I must see Mere Frappeur," cried Dick.
"See her, then," replied the subaltern, shoving Dick forward, andpointing to a bench, on which she lay,--a priest at her head, a surgeonat her feet. Mere Frappeur was dead from the accidental discharge of amilitia captain's pistol, whose owner had been getting drunk in her wineshop.
It took Dick a few seconds to comprehend the truth and to consider whatnext to do. He turned and struggled out of the shop and through thecrowd in the street. As he came finally free of contact, he glancedtowards Palace Street, and saw the soldiers with the lantern, comingaround the corner of the St. Valier garden. He dashed immediatelythrough the gate in the side wall, crossed an open space betweensnow-covered evergreens, and bounded up a half dozen steps to the rearporch of the St. Valier mansion. From this porch a large door led intothe house. Dick boldly gave four quick, loud knocks. As the lantern'slight appeared at the gateway in the side wall, the door of the housegaped wide, and Dick stepped at once into a dim, spacious hallway, whichled to several rooms and a staircase. While the servant closed the waybehind Dick, and looked inquiringly at him, a door near the farther endof the hallway opened, admitting from a brilliant parlor a noise ofmerry conversation, and then a woman, who stopped in the centre of thehall, and looked at Dick with the surprise due to his sudden intrusion.It was Catherine de St. Valier.