El Dorado: An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel

  CHAPTER XX. THE CERTIFICATE OF SAFETY

  "You can leave de Batz and his gang alone, citizen Heron," saidChauvelin, as soon as he had closed the door behind him; "he had nothingto do with the escape of the Dauphin."

  Heron growled out a few words of incredulity. But Chauvelin shrugged hisshoulders and looked with unutterable contempt on his colleague. Armand,who was watching him closely, saw that in his hand he held a small pieceof paper, which he had crushed into a shapeless mass.

  "Do not waste your time, citizen," he said, "in raging against anempty wind-bag. Arrest de Batz if you like, or leave him alone an youplease--we have nothing to fear from that braggart."

  With nervous, slightly shaking fingers he set to work to smooth out thescrap of paper which he held. His hot hands had soiled it and pounded ituntil it was a mere rag and the writing on it illegible. But, such asit was, he threw it down with a blasphemous oath on the desk in front ofHeron's eyes.

  "It is that accursed Englishman who has been at work again," he saidmore calmly; "I guessed it the moment I heard your story. Set your wholearmy of sleuth-hounds on his track, citizen; you'll need them all."

  Heron picked up the scrap of torn paper and tried to decipher thewriting on it by the light from the lamp. He seemed almost dazed nowwith the awful catastrophe that had befallen him, and the fear that hisown wretched life would have to pay the penalty for the disappearance ofthe child.

  As for Armand--even in the midst of his own troubles, and of his ownanxiety for Jeanne, he felt a proud exultation in his heart. The ScarletPimpernel had succeeded; Percy had not failed in his self-imposedundertaking. Chauvelin, whose piercing eyes were fixed on him at thatmoment, smiled with contemptuous irony.

  "As you will find your hands overfull for the next few hours, citizenHeron," he said, speaking to his colleague and nodding in the directionof Armand, "I'll not trouble you with the voluntary confession thisyoung citizen desired to make to you. All I need tell you is that heis an adherent of the Scarlet Pimpernel--I believe one of his mostfaithful, most trusted officers."

  Heron roused himself from the maze of gloomy thoughts that were againparalysing his tongue. He turned bleary, wild eyes on Armand.

  "We have got one of them, then?" he murmured incoherently, babbling likea drunken man.

  "M'yes!" replied Chauvelin lightly; "but it is too late now for a formaldenunciation and arrest. He cannot leave Paris anyhow, and all that yourmen need to do is to keep a close look-out on him. But I should send himhome to-night if I were you."

  Heron muttered something more, which, however, Armand did notunderstand. Chauvelin's words were still ringing in his ear. Was he,then, to be set free to-night? Free in a measure, of course, sincespies were to be set to watch him--but free, nevertheless? He could notunderstand Chauvelin's attitude, and his own self-love was not a littlewounded at the thought that he was of such little account that these mencould afford to give him even this provisional freedom. And, of course,there was still Jeanne.

  "I must, therefore, bid you good-night, citizen," Chauvelin was sayingin his bland, gently ironical manner. "You will be glad to return toyour lodgings. As you see, the chief agent of the Committee of GeneralSecurity is too much occupied just now to accept the sacrifice of yourlife which you were prepared so generously to offer him."

  "I do not understand you, citizen," retorted Armand coldly, "nor do Idesire indulgence at your hands. You have arrested an innocent woman onthe trumped-up charge that she was harbouring me. I came here to-nightto give myself up to justice so that she might be set free."

  "But the hour is somewhat late, citizen," rejoined Chauvelin urbanely."The lady in whom you take so fervent an interest is no doubt asleep inher cell at this hour. It would not be fitting to disturb her now.She might not find shelter before morning, and the weather is quiteexceptionally unpropitious."

  "Then, sir," said Armand, a little bewildered, "am I to understand thatif I hold myself at your disposition Mademoiselle Lange will be set freeas early to-morrow morning as may be?"

  "No doubt, sir--no doubt," replied Chauvelin with more than hisaccustomed blandness; "if you will hold yourself entirely at ourdisposition, Mademoiselle Lange will be set free to-morrow. I thinkthat we can safely promise that, citizen Heron, can we not?" he added,turning to his colleague.

  But Heron, overcome with the stress of emotions, could only murmurvague, unintelligible words.

  "Your word on that, citizen Chauvelin?" asked Armand.

  "My word on it an you will accept it."

  "No, I will not do that. Give me an unconditional certificate of safetyand I will believe you."

  "Of what use were that to you?" asked Chauvelin.

  "I believe my capture to be of more importance to you than that ofMademoiselle Lange," said Armand quietly.

  "I will use the certificate of safety for myself or one of my friends ifyou break your word to me anent Mademoiselle Lange."

  "H'm! the reasoning is not illogical, citizen," said Chauvelin, whilst acurious smile played round the corners of his thin lips. "You are quiteright. You are a more valuable asset to us than the charming lady who, Ihope, will for many a day and year to come delight pleasure-loving Pariswith her talent and her grace."

  "Amen to that, citizen," said Armand fervently.

  "Well, it will all depend on you, sir! Here," he added, coolly runningover some papers on Heron's desk until he found what he wanted, "is anabsolutely unconditional certificate of safety. The Committee of GeneralSecurity issue very few of these. It is worth the cost of a human life.At no barrier or gate of any city can such a certificate be disregarded,nor even can it be detained. Allow me to hand it to you, citizen, as apledge of my own good faith."

  Smiling, urbane, with a curious look that almost expressed amusementlurking in his shrewd, pale eyes, Chauvelin handed the momentousdocument to Armand.

  The young man studied it very carefully before he slipped it into theinner pocket of his coat.

  "How soon shall I have news of Mademoiselle Lange?" he asked finally.

  "In the course of to-morrow. I myself will call on you and redeem thatprecious document in person. You, on the other hand, will hold yourselfat my disposition. That's understood, is it not?"

  "I shall not fail you. My lodgings are--"

  "Oh! do not trouble," interposed Chauvelin, with a polite bow; "we canfind that out for ourselves."

  Heron had taken no part in this colloquy. Now that Armand prepared togo he made no attempt to detain him, or to question his colleague'sactions. He sat by the table like a log; his mind was obviously a blankto all else save to his own terrors engendered by the events of thisnight.

  With bleary, half-veiled eyes he followed Armand's progress throughthe room, and seemed unaware of the loud slamming of the outside door.Chauvelin had escorted the young man past the first line of sentry, thenhe took cordial leave of him.

  "Your certificate will, you will find, open every gate to you.Good-night, citizen. A demain."

  "Good-night."

  Armand's slim figure disappeared in the gloom. Chauvelin watched him fora few moments until even his footsteps had died away in the distance;then he turned back towards Heron's lodgings.

  "A nous deux," he muttered between tightly clenched teeth; "a nous deuxonce more, my enigmatical Scarlet Pimpernel."