CHAPTER VI
SIMON AND I MEET AGAIN
The stars were yet shining as we skirted the heights of Charenton, butit was day when we saw Villaneuve St. Georges on its wooded hill.Here, where the Yeres wound between banks covered with willows andpoplars, I first drew rein, and taking the King's letter from my pockettore it into a hundred fragments. Some I let drift down the stream,and the remainder I scattered to the winds. I may say at once thatthis was in accordance with the Queen's instructions. The letter wasmerely intended to enable me to free the gates, and after that it wasto be destroyed. It had served its purpose, and now went its way.Needless to add, I had no intention to touch at Fontainebleau ordisturb the _petit couvert_ of the King. At Melun, therefore, wherehorse and man were refreshed, I crossed the bridge, and took the roadto Etampes. Half way, where the little town of Alais lies on theEssonne, I turned due south, and entered the Orleannois by Malesherbes.
There was many a league yet between me and Montluc, and though I had toride hard I had yet to husband the horses, lest they should break down,or in case of emergency.
By avoiding the main roads and large towns and keeping to by-paths Ilessened the chance of danger as much as possible. At Candes, whichlies at the junction of the Loire and the Vienne, I heard that theGuidon of Montpensier was hard at hand, and, knowing well thereputation of this person, I bade Pierrebon saddle up, and we startedwithout a meal, though we had ridden far and fast. In a short time weentered the forest of Fontevrault, and my spirits rose high at thethought that in a brief space I would be in Poitiers, where Montluclay, and my mission accomplished.
So far so good; but towards midday I began to feel the need of rest,and splashing across a ford of the Negron I called a halt on theopposite bank and looked around me; whilst Pierrebon, who was a littlestiff, jumped from his hackney, and began to mop his brow and stretchhis legs.
We were in the heart of the forest, and to the north, south, east, andwest of us there was nothing but trees and dense underwood, with hereand there a long, shimmering glade or an open space, through which asmall streamlet hummed, its banks gay with flowers.
But I confess that at the moment I had no eyes for the scene--for theyellow mary-buds, the blue of the wild hyacinth, or the white stars ofthe wind-flowers; for leaf and shade, and all the enchantment of thewoodland. In brief, I was famished, and would have given a gold Henrito have seen a signboard swinging in the air. And, besides, it wasdawning upon me that somehow we had missed the track.
"Pierrebon," I said, "do you know how far it is to Marcay?"
Pierrebon shook his head dolefully, saying as he did so that he did noteven know where we were.
"Then, my friend, we are lost in Fontevrault Forest."
Pierrebon made no answer to this, but mounted his hackney. And,touching my nag with the spur, we cantered along a lean glade, trustingthat the track which ran along it would hap to be the right one. Nowand again as we sped onwards a startled deer would break cover and rushthrough brake and bramble, and once an evil-tempered old boar, feedingunder an older oak, glared savagely at us as we passed, grinding histusks in senseless rage till the foam flecked his brindled sides.
We were in the deeps of the forest now, and, high noon as it was, itwas grey as twilight. Here, as we eased up for a moment, a dog-wolfcrossed our path, and with snarling lip and shining fangs slunk intothe thorn. Oh, for a leash of hounds now! But on we went, catching aglimpse of a grim head peering after us through the thorn--a head withblazing, angry eyes, that almost seemed to speak. It was lucky it wasnot winter-tide, or that gentleman there would not be alone, but, witha hundred or so of his fellows, would have made rare sport with us,according to his lights.
Still we went on through the endless woods, which closed in deeper anddeeper around us, until at last the track died utterly away in thetanglewood, and the horses began to give sign that they were beaten.
I saw that it was necessary to rest the beasts, and as I came to thisconclusion we came upon a little natural clearing, where, around aclump of enormous elms, the turf was green as emerald and spangled witha hundred flowers. Immediately behind the trees the ground rose,forming a low hill covered with wild juniper and white thorn, and alittle stream bustled by it, whilst from the leafy shades above thevoices of many birds warbled sweet and low.
There was no need to tighten rein. The horses seemed to know of theirown accord that they were to stop, and five minutes later they werecropping the rich forage; whilst I, stretched on the turf, my backagainst a tree, was resting with a sense of repose that would have beendelicious except for the pangs of hunger gnawing at me in a manner thatwould take no denial.
"_Hein_," I grumbled to myself, "nothing to eat but grass! If I werethe good King Nebuchadnezzar, now, I might do very well; but as itis----" And then I heard a chuckle, and saw Pierrebon fumbling withthe valise. He cast a sly look at me, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Monsieur is hungry?"
"Famished."
"And thirsty?"
"Well, I have drank a little"--and I glanced at the streamlet--"but acup of d'Arbois now, or even some white Rochecorbon, would be nectar.Confound my stupidity at losing the way! We should have been at Marcayhours ago; but--what the devil----"
In effect I might well have exclaimed, for Pierrebon had opened thevalise and taken therefrom a bulging wallet; and as I watched him withastonished eyes he rapidly unpacked it, pulling forth a cold chicken,some Mayence ham, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of wine, which last heput down with a little flourish, saying as he did so: "'Tis red Joue,monsieur. Not so good as d'Arbois, nor so bad as Rochecorbon."
But I had already attacked the fowl, and answered, with my mouth full:
"Pierrebon, this is the best service you have ever rendered. Open thewine, and sit down and eat. _Corbleu_! but I will dub you knight, andyou shall bear arms for this--a trussed capon on a field vert."
And then there was a silence, for, with the feast before us, time spentin talking was time wasted. Finally, the capon disappeared, the lastslice of ham was divided with the edge of my dagger, the last dropdrained from the bottle, and restful and contented we lay back in theshade; and Pierrebon slept, whilst I slipped into a waking dream. Howlong this lasted I know not; but I came to myself with a start, andlooked around me.
The shadow had shifted, leaving Pierrebon asleep in the sunshine, hisred face looking straight up at the blue sky. The horses too wereasleep in the purple loosestrife, and there was an intense peace overall things. There as I lay, listening to the splashing of the waterand the song of the birds, a line of deer came out to drink, and,catching sight of us, stopped and gazed, until a sudden panic took alittle speckled fawn, and it dashed away madly through the thicket,followed by its mother and a cluster of startled doe, the stag goinglast at a slow trot.
I rose to my feet and saw how long the shadows were. In truth, it wastime to be up and moving. So, arousing Pierrebon, we were soon mountedand jogging through the woods, with our backs to the west. We madegood way now, for the nags were refreshed; yet we knew not where thenight would bring us, for we were wholly lost.
Farther and farther we rode into the woods, holding desperately on to afaint track that wound and twisted through the endless aisles of theforest. As the hour grew later the sky overhead changed from blue tocrimson and gold, and the sunset, stabbing through the lace-work ofbranches overhead, cast ruddy lights on the trees, deepening theshadows, and giving a ghostly distance to objects around, so that weseemed in a fairy realm of enchantment.
As the sunset began to fade, and the red and gold overhead changedsoftly to purple and grey, over which the silver light of the moonwould soon be cast, we decreased our speed, and now, riding side byside, peered anxiously into the wood for some sign of a humanhabitation; but there was none to be seen.
We rode in silence, for Pierrebon, to say truth, was uneasy at theuncanny stillness, and that awe with which Nature in her lonelygrandeur inspires the dullest of mortals had beg
un to fill us. And sono word was spoken.
In and out the track wound, until at last it brought us to the veryheart of the forest, where the shadows lay black and deep. Around uson every side the huge and aged trees, stretching in long lines ofreceding obscurity, stood like a phantom army of giants guarding somedreadful secret of the past. Twisted, distorted, and bent, with hairy,moss-grown trunks from which the decaying bark peeled like themouldering cement on some old and forgotten ruin, the kings of theforest stood silent and grim, their branches stretched out in grislymenace--giant arms that threatened death to all who approached.
Deeper and yet more deep we rode into the gloom, though the sunset yetclung in a girdle of fire round the horizon, casting red blades oflight between the tree trunks; and Pierrebon's cheek grew pale, forgoblin and gnome and fay lived to him, and even I, who did not believe,felt if my sword played freely in my sheath. And then I tried to sing.
But so dismal were the echoes, so lowering the aspect of the mightytrees, that seemed, in the quaking shadows, to be instinct with lifeand motion, that "The Three Cavaliers" died away at the first verse;and then, from the woods in front of us, rang out a scream for help, soshrill and sharp in its agony that it froze the blood in our veins.
"'Tis a spirit!" gasped Pierrebon, with pale lips, and half pulled hishorse round; but even as he did so the shriek rang out again--a woman'svoice--and high and shrill in its octave of suffering. It was enoughfor me, and, sword in hand, I galloped for the sound.
A few strides of the good beast, a leap over a fallen tree trunk, andin a wide clearing I saw before me a deed of shame.
There was a man lying dead on the ground. There was a white-robedwoman, screaming and struggling as two men tried to force her on to ahorse; whilst another man, mounted on a white horse, with a white maskon his face, was urging them on to their work, and a long swordglittered in his hand.
I stayed not for a second, but, galloping straight on, made so suddenan assault that one of the knaves was down and twisting on the grasslike a snake with a broken back, and the other had fled with a howlinto the forest almost before my coming was realised.
But as the horse carried me on I felt a felon blow graze my cap, and Ihad but time to half turn and parry another when I found myself face toface with the masked man.
Even as the sparks flew from our swords, and I felt that I had met amaster of fence, I knew it was Simon despite his mask. There lived nota man like him. Tall and thin, with long, bird-like limbs and astooping back, with the features concealed by the white mask all butthe eyes, which glittered like those of an angry asp, he seemed morespirit than man; and I felt as if I were crossing blade with someuncanny phantom of the woods rather than a thing of flesh and blood, asafter a fierce bout we circled round, watching each other warily.
"So, brother, we meet at last," I said. But he made no answer, thoughhis eyes flashed evilly as he came on again with a swift, lightningattack that chance alone enabled me to avoid. And then my life was onmy wrist and eye; but I kept it, and began to slowly force him back.
God forgive me! he was my brother; but he would have slain me therelike a mad dog--and life is dear. He never said a word until he wasbeing driven back, and then an oath broke from him.
'Tis an ill thing to swear with a sword in one's hand. That oath gaveme strength and cooled me to ice.
"Come!" I said, "you would not slay your heir; or are you going to makeroom for me, Simon?" And my sword point ripped his doublet.
The answer was a thrust that ripped my coat in turn, and then followedthe rasp of our blades. It was almost dark above us now, but a lanceheight from the ground the horizon was still flaming red. We couldbarely see each other's blades, but guided ourselves by the littlecircles of light the sword points made as they flashed hither andthither, seeking for an opening, to slip forward like a snake's tongue.
Twice had I been touched. The first time it was a parry _en prime_that saved me; the second time Simon had hit me on my bridle arm. Itwas only a touch; but I felt the warm blood on my sleeve, and Simonlaughed like a devil.
But he mistook his man. Collecting all my strength I made so furiousan attack that I slowly drove him against the belting of trees, andthen there was a lightning thrust in tierce, a quick parry, and areturn over Simon's heart, but the point of my blade glanced from asteel vest he wore. In glancing, however, it slipped upwards, andcatching the mask almost rent it from my brother's face, leaving ithalf hanging, and almost blinding him.
In my fury I followed up the thrust with another, but with the skillthat was his alone he partly parried it, though my blade found hissword arm, just above the elbow joint; but as Simon's now useless handfell to his side he saw his defeat, and, with matchless presence ofmind, drove his spurs into his horse, and dashing off at full speed waslost to view in a moment.
It was useless to follow, though I rode a few yards after him, andthen, restraining myself, I pulled round and came back. Then I heard avoice thank me, and Pierrebon appeared at my horse's head, as though hehad dropped from the clouds, and as I dismounted he burst forth: "Now,praise to St. Hugo of Orrain! We have defeated the bandits."