The Conspirators

  CHAPTER II.

  THE MEETING.

  As soon as Lafare, Fargy, and Ravanne saw their adversaries appear atthe corner of the path, they walked to meet them. Arrived at ten pacesfrom each other, they all took off their hats and bowed with thatelegant politeness which was a characteristic of the aristocracy of theeighteenth century, and advanced some steps thus bareheaded with a smileon their lips, so that to the eyes of the passer-by, ignorant of thecause of their reunion, they would have appeared like friends enchantedto meet.

  "Gentlemen," said the Chevalier d'Harmental, to whom the first word byright belonged, "I hope that neither you nor we have been followed; butit is getting late, and we might be disturbed here. I think it would bewise in us to find a more retired spot, where we shall be more at easeto transact the little business which we have in hand."

  "Gentlemen," said Ravanne, "I know one which will suit you, a hundredyards from here--a true cover."

  "Come, let us follow the child," said the captain; "innocence leads tosafety."

  Ravanne turned round, and examined, from head to foot, our friend withthe yellow ribbons.

  "If you are not previously engaged, my strapping friend," said he, in abantering tone, "I claim the preference."

  "Wait a moment, Ravanne," interrupted Lafare; "I have some explanationsto give to Monsieur d'Harmental."

  "Monsieur Lafare," replied the chevalier, "your courage is so wellknown, that the explanations you offer me are a proof of delicacy forwhich I thank you; but these explanations would only delay us uselessly,and we have no time to lose."

  "Bravo!" cried Ravanne, "that is what I call speaking, chevalier. Assoon as we have cut each other's throats, I hope you will grant me yourfriendship. I have heard you much spoken of in good quarters, and havelong wished to make your acquaintance."

  "Come, come, Ravanne," said Fargy, "since you have undertaken to be ourguide, show us the way."

  Ravanne sprang into the wood like a young fawn: his five companionsfollowed. At the end of about ten minutes' walking, during which the sixadversaries had maintained the most profound silence, either from fearof being heard, or from that natural feeling which makes a man in themoment of danger reflective for a time, they found themselves in themidst of a glade, surrounded on all sides by a screen of trees.

  "Well," said Ravanne, looking round him in a satisfied manner, "what doyou say to the locality?"

  "I say that if you boast of having discovered it," said the captain,"you are a strange kind of Christopher Columbus. If you had told me itwas here you were coming, I could have guided you with my eyesshut."----"Well," replied Ravanne, "we will endeavor that you shallleave it in the same manner."

  "It is with you that my business lies, Monsieur de Lafare," saidD'Harmental, throwing his hat on the ground.

  "Yes, monsieur," replied the captain of the guards, following theexample of the chevalier; "and at the same time I know that nothingcould give me more honor and more pain than a rencontre with you,particularly for such a cause."

  D'Harmental smiled as a man on whom this flower of politeness was notlost, but his only answer was to draw his sword.

  "It appears, my dear baron," said Fargy, addressing himself to Valef,"that you are on the point of setting out for Spain."

  "I ought to have left last night; and nothing less than the pleasure Ipromised myself in seeing you this morning would have detained me tillnow, so important is my errand."

  "Diable! you distress me," said Fargy, drawing, "for if I should havethe misfortune to retard you, you are the man to bear me deadly malice."

  "Not at all. I should know that it was from pure friendship, my dearcount," replied Valef; "so do your best, I beg, for I am at yourorders."

  "Come, then, monsieur," said Ravanne to the captain, who was folding hiscoat neatly, and placing it by his hat, "you see that I am waiting foryou."

  "Do not be impatient, my fine fellow," said the old soldier, continuinghis preparations with the phlegm natural to him; "one of the mostessential qualities in arms is sang-froid. I was like you at your age;but after the third or fourth sword-blow I received, I understood that Iwas on the wrong road, and I returned to the right path. There," addedhe, at last drawing his sword, which I have said was of extreme length.

  "Peste!" said Ravanne, throwing a glance on his adversary's weapon,"what a charming implement you have there! It reminds me of the greatspit in my mother's kitchen; and I am grieved that I did not order themaitre-d'hotel to bring it me, as a match to yours."

  "Your mother is a worthy woman, and her 'cuisine' is a good one; I haveheard both spoken of with great praise, Monsieur le Chevalier," repliedthe captain with an almost paternal manner; "I should be grieved to takeyou from one or the other for a trifle like that which procures me thehonor of crossing swords with you. Suppose, then, that you are onlytaking a lesson from your fencing-master, and keep the distance."

  The recommendation was useless. Ravanne was exasperated by hisadversary's calmness, to which, in spite of his courage, his young andardent blood did not allow him to attain. He attacked the captain withsuch fury that their swords engaged at the hilt. The captain made a stepback.

  "Ah! you give ground, my tall friend."

  "To give ground is not to fly, my little chevalier," replied thecaptain; "it is an axiom of the art which I advise you to consider;besides, I am not sorry to study your play. Ah! you are a pupil ofBerthelot, apparently; he is a good master, but he has one great fault:it is not teaching to parry. Stay, look at this," continued he, replyingby a thrust in "seconde" to a straight thrust; "if I had lunged, Ishould have spitted you like a lark."

  Ravanne was furious, for he had felt on his breast the point of hisadversary's sword, but so lightly that he might have taken it for thebutton of a foil. His anger redoubled at the conviction that he owed hislife to the captain, and his attacks became more numerous and morefurious than ever.

  "Stop, stop," said the captain; "now you are going crazy, and trying toblind me; fie! fie! young man; at the chest, morbleu! Ah! at the faceagain; you will force me to disarm you. Again! Go and pick up yoursword, young man; and come back hopping on one leg to calm yourself."

  And with a sudden twist he whipped Ravanne's sword out of his hand andsent it flying some twenty paces from him. This time Ravanne profited bythe advice. He went slowly to pick up his sword, and came back quietlyto the captain; but the young man was as pale as his satin vest, onwhich was apparent a small drop of blood.

  "You are right, captain," said he, "and I am still but a child; but thismeeting will, I hope, help to make a man of me. Some passes more, if youplease, that it may not be said you have had all the honors."

  And he put himself on guard. The captain was right; the chevalier onlyrequired to be calm to make him a formidable adversary: thus, at thefirst thrust of this third engagement, he saw that he must attend solelyto his own defense; but his superiority in the art of fencing was toodecided for his young adversary to obtain any advantage over him. Thematter ended as it was easy to foresee. The captain disarmed Ravanne asecond time; but this time he went and picked up the sword himself, andwith a politeness of which at first one might have supposed himincapable.

  "Monsieur le Chevalier," said he, extending his hand to Ravanne, "youare a brave young man; but believe in an old frequenter of schools andtaverns, who was at the Flemish wars before you were born, at theItalian when you were in your cradle, and at the Spanish while you werea page; change your master. Leave Berthelot, who has already taught youall he knows, and take Bois-Robert; and may the devil fly away with me,if in six months you are not as good a fencer as myself."

  "Thanks for your lesson," said Ravanne, taking the hand of the captain,while two tears, which he could not restrain, flowed down his cheeks; "Ihope it will profit me."

  And, receiving his sword, he did what the captain had alreadydone--sheathed it. They then both cast their eyes on their companions tosee how things were going. The combat was over. Lafare was seated on theground, with hi
s back leaning against a tree: he had been run throughthe body, but happily the point of the sword had struck against a rib,and had glanced along the bone, so that the wound seemed at first worsethan it really was; still he had fainted--the shock had been so violent.D'Harmental was on his knees before him, endeavoring to staunch theblood with his handkerchief. Fargy and Valef had wounded each other atthe same moment. One was struck in the thigh, the other run through thearm; both had apologized, promising to be friends for the future.

  "Look, young man," said the captain, showing Ravanne these differentepisodes of the field of battle. "Look on that, and meditate. There isthe blood of three brave gentlemen flowing--probably for a folly."

  "Faith, captain," answered Ravanne, quite calmed down, "I believe youare right, and that you are the only one of us all that has got commonsense."

  At that moment Lafare opened his eyes and recognized D'Harmental in theman who was tending him.

  "Chevalier," said he, "take a friend's advice; send me a kind of surgeonwhom you will find in the carriage, and whom I brought with me in caseof accident. Then gain Paris as fast as possible. Show yourself to-nightat the opera ball, and if they ask you about me, say that it is a weeksince you have seen me. As to me, you may be quite easy. Your name shallnot pass my lips; and if you get into any unpleasant discussion with thepolice, let me know at once, and we will manage so that the affair shallhave no consequences."

  "Thanks, Monsieur le Marquis," answered D'Harmental, "I quit you becauseI leave you in better hands than mine; otherwise, believe me, nothingshould have separated me from you until I had seen you in your bed."

  "Pleasant journey, my dear Valef," said Fargy, "for I do not think thatscratch will hinder your going. On your return, do not forget that youhave a friend at No. 14, Place Louis-le-Grand."

  "And you, my dear Fargy, if you have any commission for Madrid, you havebut to say so, and you may rely upon its being executed with theexactitude and zeal of a true comrade."

  And the two friends shook hands as if nothing had passed.

  "Adieu, young man, adieu," said the captain to Ravanne; "do not forgetthe advice which I have given you. Give up Berthelot, and take toBois-Robert. Be calm--give ground when it is necessary--parry in time,and you will be one of the best fencers in the kingdom of France. Myimplement sends its compliments to your mother's great spit."

  Ravanne, in spite of his presence of mind, could not find anything toreply to the captain; so he contented himself with bowing and going upto Lafare, who appeared to be the most seriously wounded.

  As to D'Harmental, Valef, and the captain, they rapidly gained the path,where they found the coach, and inside, the surgeon, who was enjoying anap. D'Harmental woke him; and showing him the way he must go, told himthat the Marquis de Lafare and the Comte de Fargy had need of hisservices. He also ordered his valet to dismount and follow the surgeonin order to aid him; then, turning toward the captain--

  "Captain," said he, "I do not think that it would be prudent to go andeat the breakfast which we have ordered; therefore receive my thanks forthe assistance you have rendered me, and in remembrance of me, as itseems you are on foot, will you accept one of my two horses? you cantake one by chance; they are both good, and neither will fail you if youhave need to go eight or ten leagues in the hour."

  "Faith, chevalier," answered the captain, casting a look on the horsewhich had been so generously offered to him, "there was no need forthat. Their blood and their purses are things which gentlemen lend eachother every day; but you make the offer with so good a grace that I knownot how to refuse you. If you ever have need of me, for anythingwhatever, remember that I am at your service."

  "If that case should occur, where should I find you, monsieur?" saidD'Harmental, smiling.

  "I have no fixed residence, chevalier, but you may always hear of me bygoing to La Fillon's and asking for La Normande, and inquiring of herfor Captain Roquefinette."

  And as the two young men mounted their horses, the captain did the same,not without remarking to himself that D'Harmental had left him the bestof the three. Then, as they were near a four-cross road, each one tookhis own way at a gallop.

  The Baron de Valef re-entered by the Barriere de Passy, and returnedstraight to the arsenal to receive the commissions of the Duchesse deMaine, to whose establishment he belonged, and left the same day forSpain.

  Captain Roquefinette made two or three tours round the Bois de Boulogne,walking, trotting, and galloping, in order to appreciate the differentqualities of his horse; and having satisfied himself that it was, asthe chevalier had told him, a fine and pure-blooded animal, he returnedto Durand's hotel, where he ate, all alone, the breakfast which had beenordered for three. The same day, he took his horse to a dealer and soldit for sixty louis. It was about half what it was worth; but one must beprepared to make sacrifices, if one wishes to realize promptly.

  As to the Chevalier d'Harmental, he took the road to La Muette, enteredParis by the great avenue of the Champs-Elysees, and on returning to hishome in the Rue de Richelieu, found two letters waiting for him. One ofthese letters was in a handwriting so well known to him that he trembledfrom head to foot as he looked at it, and after having taken it up withas much hesitation as if it had been a burning coal, he opened it with ahand whose shaking betrayed the importance he attached to it. It read asfollows:

  "MY DEAR CHEVALIER--No one is master of his own heart--you know that; and it is one of the misfortunes of our nature not to be able to love the same person, or the same thing, long at a time. As to myself, I wish at least to have, beyond other women, the merit of never deceiving the man who has been my lover. Do not come, then, at your accustomed hour, for you will be told that I am not at home; and I am so scrupulous that I would not willingly endanger the soul even of a valet or a waiting-maid by making them tell so great a lie.

  "Adieu, my dear chevalier. Do not retain too unkind a remembrance of me, and behave so that ten years hence I may still think what I think now--that is to say, that you are one of the noblest gentlemen in France.

  "SOPHIE D'AVERNE."

  "Mon Dieu!" cried D'Harmental, striking his fist on a beautiful buhltable, which he smashed to bits, "if I have killed that poor Lafare Ishall never forgive myself."

  After this outburst, which comforted him a little, the poor fellow beganto walk backward and forward between the door and the window in amanner that showed that he still wanted more deceptions of the same sortin order to arrive at the perfection of moral philosophy which thefaithless beauty preached to him. Then, after two or three turns, he sawthe other letter, which he had entirely forgotten, lying on the floor.He passed it once or twice, looking at it with a supreme indifference.At last, seeming to think that it would make some diversion on thefirst, he picked it up disdainfully, opened it slowly, looked at thewriting, which was unknown to him, searched for the signature, but therewas none; and then, led on by the mysterious air of it, he read asfollows:

  "CHEVALIER--If you have in your mind a quarter of the romance, or in your heart half the courage, that your friends give you credit for, some one is ready to offer you an enterprise worthy of you, and the result of which will be at the same time to avenge you on the man you hate most in the world, and to conduct you to a goal more brilliant than you can have hoped for in your wildest dreams. The good genius who will lead you thither by an enchanted road, and in whom you must trust entirely, will expect you this evening at ten o'clock at the opera ball. If you come there unmasked, he will come to you; if you come masked, you will know him by the violet ribbon which he will wear on his left shoulder. The watch-word is 'open sesame;' speak boldly, and a cavern will open to you as wonderful as that of Ali Baba."

  "Bravo!" said D'Harmental; "if the genius in the violet ribbons keepsonly half his promise, by my honor he has found his man!"