El Dorado: An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel

  CHAPTER XXXVII. CHAUVELIN'S ADVICE

  Citizen Chauvelin had drawn his colleague with him to the end of thecell that was farthest away from the recess, and the table at which theprisoner was sitting.

  Here the noise and hubbub that went on constantly in the guard roomwould effectually drown a whispered conversation. Chauvelin called tothe sergeant to hand him a couple of chairs over the barrier. These heplaced against the wall opposite the opening, and beckoning Heron to sitdown, he did likewise, placing himself close to his colleague.

  From where the two men now sat they could see both into the guard-roomopposite them and into the recess at the furthermost end of the cell.

  "First of all," began Chauvelin after a while, and sinking his voice toa whisper, "let me understand you thoroughly, citizen Heron. Do you wantthe death of the Englishman, either to-day or to-morrow, either in thisprison or on the guillotine? For that now is easy of accomplishment; ordo you want, above all, to get hold of little Capet?"

  "It is Capet I want," growled Heron savagely under his breath. "Capet!Capet! My own neck is dependent on my finding Capet. Curse you, have Inot told you that clearly enough?"

  "You have told it me very clearly, citizen Heron; but I wished to makeassurance doubly sure, and also make you understand that I, too, wantthe Englishman to betray little Capet into your hands. I want that moreeven than I do his death."

  "Then in the name of hell, citizen, give me your advice."

  "My advice to you, citizen Heron, is this: Give your prisoner now justa sufficiency of food to revive him--he will have had a few moments'sleep--and when he has eaten, and, mayhap, drunk a glass of wine, hewill, no doubt, feel a recrudescence of strength, then give him pen andink and paper. He must, as he says, write to one of his followers, who,in his turn, I suppose, will communicate with the others, bidding themto be prepared to deliver up little Capet to us; the letter must makeit clear to that crowd of English gentlemen that their beloved chiefis giving up the uncrowned King of France to us in exchange for his ownsafety. But I think you will agree with me, citizen Heron, that it wouldnot be over-prudent on our part to allow that same gallant crowd to beforewarned too soon of the pro-posed doings of their chief. Therefore,I think, we'll explain to the prisoner that his follower, whom he willfirst apprise of his intentions, shall start with us to-morrow on ourexpedition, and accompany us until its last stage, when, if it is foundnecessary, he may be sent on ahead, strongly escorted of course, andwith personal messages from the gallant Scarlet Pimpernel to the membersof his League."

  "What will be the good of that?" broke in Heron viciously. "Do you wantone of his accursed followers to be ready to give him a helping hand onthe way if he tries to slip through our fingers?

  "Patience, patience, my good Heron!" rejoined Chauvelin with a placidsmile. "Hear me out to the end. Time is precious. You shall offer whatcriticism you will when I have finished, but not before."

  "Go on, then. I listen."

  "I am not only proposing that one member of the Scarlet Pimpernel Leagueshall accompany us to-morrow," continued Chauvelin, "but I would alsoforce the prisoner's wife--Marguerite Blakeney--to follow in our train."

  "A woman? Bah! What for?"

  "I will tell you the reason of this presently. In her case I should notlet the prisoner know beforehand that she too will form a part of ourexpedition. Let this come as a pleasing surprise for him. She could joinus on our way out of Paris."

  "How will you get hold of her?"

  "Easily enough. I know where to find her. I traced her myself a few daysago to a house in the Rue de Charonne, and she is not likely to havegone away from Paris while her husband was at the Conciergerie. But thisis a digression, let me proceed more consecutively. The letter, asI have said, being written to-night by the prisoner to one of hisfollowers, I will myself see that it is delivered into the right hands.You, citizen Heron, will in the meanwhile make all arrangements forthe journey. We ought to start at dawn, and we ought to be prepared,especially during the first fifty leagues of the way, against organisedattack in case the Englishman leads us into an ambush."

  "Yes. He might even do that, curse him!" muttered Heron.

  "He might, but it is unlikely. Still it is best to be prepared. Takea strong escort, citizen, say twenty or thirty men, picked and trainedsoldiers who would make short work of civilians, however well-armed theymight be. There are twenty members--including the chief--in that ScarletPimpernel League, and I do not quite see how from this cell the prisonercould organise an ambuscade against us at a given time. Anyhow, that isa matter for you to decide. I have still to place before you a schemewhich is a measure of safety for ourselves and our men against ambush aswell as against trickery, and which I feel sure you will pronounce quiteadequate."

  "Let me hear it, then!"

  "The prisoner will have to travel by coach, of course. You can travelwith him, if you like, and put him in irons, and thus avert all chancesof his escaping on the road. But"--and here Chauvelin made a long pause,which had the effect of holding his colleague's attention still moreclosely--"remember that we shall have his wife and one of his friendswith us. Before we finally leave Paris tomorrow we will explain tothe prisoner that at the first attempt to escape on his part, at theslightest suspicion that he has tricked us for his own ends or isleading us into an ambush--at the slightest suspicion, I say--you,citizen Heron, will order his friend first, and then Marguerite Blakeneyherself, to be summarily shot before his eyes."

  Heron gave a long, low whistle. Instinctively he threw a furtive,backward glance at the prisoner, then he raised his shifty eyes to hiscolleague.

  There was unbounded admiration expressed in them. One blackguard had metanother--a greater one than himself--and was proud to acknowledge him ashis master.

  "By Lucifer, citizen Chauvelin," he said at last, "I should never havethought of such a thing myself."

  Chauvelin put up his hand with a gesture of self-deprecation.

  "I certainly think that measure ought to be adequate," he said with agentle air of assumed modesty, "unless you would prefer to arrest thewoman and lodge her here, keeping her here as an hostage."

  "No, no!" said Heron with a gruff laugh; "that idea does not appealto me nearly so much as the other. I should not feel so secure on theway.... I should always be thinking that that cursed woman had beenallowed to escape.... No! no! I would rather keep her under my owneye--just as you suggest, citizen Chauvelin... and under the prisoner's,too," he added with a coarse jest. "If he did not actually see her,he might be more ready to try and save himself at her expense. But, ofcourse, he could not see her shot before his eyes. It is a perfect plan,citizen, and does you infinite credit; and if the Englishman trickedus," he concluded with a fierce and savage oath, "and we did not findCapet at the end of the journey, I would gladly strangle his wife andhis friend with my own hands."

  "A satisfaction which I would not begrudge you, citizen," said Chauvelindryly. "Perhaps you are right... the woman had best be kept under yourown eye... the prisoner will never risk her safety on that, I wouldstake my life. We'll deliver our final 'either--or' the moment thatshe has joined our party, and before we start further on our way. Now,citizen Heron, you have heard my advice; are you prepared to follow it?"

  "To the last letter," replied the other.

  And their two hands met in a grasp of mutual understanding--two handsalready indelibly stained with much innocent blood, more deeply stainednow with seventeen past days of inhumanity and miserable treachery tocome.