XIV
At seven in the morning I sent a guarded note to our chief, and ateight he appeared. I need not dwell upon his surprise as he listenedto the full relation of my encounter with Le Moyne, about which andour subsequent difficulty he already knew something. When I quietlytold him the rest of the story and, untying the ribbon, laid the dustypackage on the table, he became grave. He very evidently did notapprove of our method of securing the papers, but whatever he mayhave felt as to the right or wrong of what we had done was lost inastonishment as he saw before him the terribly plain revelationof all we had been so long dreading. Here was the hatching of aninternational conspiracy. As he sat, his kindly face grew stern whileI translated to him the emperor's comments.
"It is evident," he said, "that a resume of certain of these papersshould go to Berlin and Russia in cipher, but this may wait. Theoriginals must as soon as possible reach our minister in London."
While Mr. Dayton considered the several questions involved, the firstsecretary, who had been sent for, arrived. The minister at once setbefore him the startling character of the papers on the table, and mystory was briefly retold. Upon this there was a long consultationconcerning the imminence of the crisis they suggested, and in regardto the necessity of the originals being placed as soon as possible inthe hands of Mr. Adams, our able representative at the court of St.James. No one for a moment seemed to consider the documents as otherthan a lawful prize. We could not burn them. To admit of our havingthem was to convict Madame Bellegarde; and not to use them was almosttreason to our country. So much I gathered from the rapid interchangeof opinions. When the method of sending them to Mr. Adams came beforeus, the first secretary said shrewdly enough:
"If they were sure these papers were in the villa,--and they were, Ifancy,--I wonder they did not accidentally burn the house."
"That would have been simple and complete," said the chief, smiling,"but there are original letters here which it was very desirable tokeep, and I presume them to have felt sure soon or late of recoveringthem."
"Yes," said the first secretary, "that is no doubt true. Now the wholeaffair is changed. I am certain that the house will have been searchedand the scattered ashes seen. They will then feel sure that we havethe papers."
I had to confess that, in my haste, I had taken no pains aboutrestoring the ashes. My footprints in the garden soil and my want ofcare would help to make plain that the papers had been removed, andany clever detective would then infer what had been the purpose of thepistol-shots. I had been stupid and had to agree with the secretarythat they would now know they had been tricked and see that the gameso far had been lost. The legation and all of us would be still moreclosely watched, and I, for one, was also sure that the messenger toEngland would never see London with the papers still in hispossession.
Meanwhile, as the secretary and our chief discussed the question, mymind was on Merton. About ten, to my relief, he sent in his card. Heentered smiling.
"Good morning, Mr. Dayton. All right, Greville?"
I said: "Yes, the papers are here. These gentlemen all know. Had youany trouble?"
"A little. When I fired shot after shot in the air and our man wasscreaming murder, they all ran toward us like ducks to a decoy. I ran,too, and Alphonse. As I crossed a road, I came upon a big gendarme. Iam afraid I hurt him. Oh, not much. After that I had no difficulty.And now perhaps I am in the way." He rose as he spoke.
The minister said: "No. Sit down, captain."
He resumed his seat, and sat a quiet listener to our statement ofdifficulties. At last he said: "Will you pardon me if I make asuggestion?"
"By all means," said the chief. "It is almost as much your concern asours."
"I suppose," said Merton, "the despatches to Berlin and St. Petersburgmay go in cipher by trusty messengers or any chance tourist, and thatthere is no need for haste."
"Yes, that is true."
There was a moment's pause in this interesting consultation, thecaptain evidently waiting to be again invited to state his opinion. Atlast our chief said: "You have never seen these papers?"
"No, sir."
"Then I had better make clear to you, in strict confidence, that theyreveal to us urgent pressure on the part of the emperor to induceEngland to intervene with France in our sad war. The English cabinet,most fortunately, is not unanimously hostile, and Lord John Russell ishesitating. Our friends are the queen and the great middle class ofdissenters, and, strange to say, the Lancashire operatives. Thearistocracy, the church, finance, and literature are all our enemies,and at home, you know, things are not altogether as one could wish.Just now no general, no, not the President, is of such moment to usas our minister in London. He has looked to us for information. Wecould only send back mere echoes of his own fears. And now"--he struckthe pile of papers with his hand--"here is the whole story. Mr. Adamsmust have these without delay. I should like to see his interview withLord John. You seemed to me to have in mind something further to say.I interrupted only to let you feel the momentous character of thisrevelation."
"As I understand it," replied Merton, "you assume that the ForeignOffice here will be sure these papers are in your hands."
"We may take that for granted. They are not stupid, and the matter asit stands is for them, to say the least, awkward."
"Yes, sir, and they will know what a man of sense should do with thesepapers and do at once. I may assume, then, that the whole resourcesof the imperial police will be used, and without scruple, to preventthem from leaving Paris or reaching London."
"Yes," said the chief, "of that we may be certain."
"And if now," said Merton, "some one of note, or two persons, go withthem to London, there is a fair probability of the man or the papersbeing--we may say--mislaid, on the way."
"It is possible," said the minister, "quite possible."
"I think, sir," said I, "that is probable, oh, quite certain, and wecannot accept the least risk of their being lost. No copies willanswer."
"No. As you all are aware--as we all know, Captain Merton, affairs areat a crisis. The evidence must be complete, past doubt or dispute,such as to enable Mr. Adams to speak decisively--and he will."
"May I, sir," said Merton, "venture to further suggest that some one,say the first secretary, take a dummy envelop marked 'Important andconfidential,' addressed to Mr. Adams, and be not too careful of itwhile he crosses the Channel?"
"Well," said the minister, smiling, "what next?"
"He will be robbed on the way, or something will happen. It will neverget there."
"No. They will stop at nothing," said I.
"I ought to tell you," said the minister, "that now Madame Bellegardeis sure to be arrested" (as in fact did occur). "She will be subjectto one of those cruel cross-examinations which are so certain to breakdown a witness. If this should happen before we can act, they will beso secure of what we shall do that--"
Merton interrupted him. "Excuse me. She will never speak. They willget nothing from her. That is an exceptional woman." The minister casta half-smiling glance at him. He was deeply distressed, as I saw, andadded: "You will, I trust, sir, stand by her. They can prove nothing,and she will hold her tongue and resolutely."
"I will do all in my power; rest assured of that. But what next? Thepapers! Mr. Adams!" He was anxious.
"Might I again venture?"
"Pray do."
"I have or can have an errand in Belgium. Give me the papers. Theywill reach their destination if I am alive, and, so far, I at leastmust be entirely unsuspected. My obvious reason for going will leakout and be such as to safeguard my real reason."
"May I ask why you go to Belgium?"
"Yes, I want it known. I have arranged to satisfy a gentleman namedPorthos, who thinks himself injured."
"Porthos!" exclaimed the minister. "Why, that is a character in one ofDumas's novels."
"Yes, I beg pardon; we call him Porthos. Mr. Greville will explainlater. He is the Baron la Garde. An absurd affair."
"I deeply regret it," said the minister. "I hoped it was settled. Butyou may be hurt, and, pardon me, killed."
"In that case my second, Lieutenant West of our navy, will have thepapers and carry them to London. Count le Moyne is one of the baron'sseconds. He will hardly dream that he is an escort of the papers helost. But, sir, one word more. Madame Bellegarde is an American. Youwill not desert her?"
"Not I. Rest easy as to that. We owe her too much."
"Then I am at your service."
"I regret, deeply regret this duel," said our chief, "but it does seemto me, if it must take place, a sure means of effecting our purpose."As he spoke, the secretary gathered up the various papers.
"I think, sir," said Merton, "it will be well if one, or, better, tworesponsible people remain here overnight." This seemed to us a properprecaution.
As we had talked I saw Merton playing with the dusty blue ribbonwhich, when he entered, lay beside the papers. As we rose I missed it,and knew that he had put it in his pocket. After we had arranged forour passports I left with Merton. As we walked away he said:
"I propose that you say at once to the baron's friends that we willleave for Belgium to-morrow. It is not unusual, and I have a right tochoose. You must insist. Porthos is wild for a fight, and--confoundit, don't look so anxious. This affair has hurried things a little; Iwanted more practice. I should be a fool to say I am a match forPorthos, but he is very big. If I can tire him, or get a scratch suchas stops these affairs--somehow it will come to an end, and, at allevents, how better could I risk my life for my country? It must belightly talked about in the clubs to-night." West and I took care thatit was.
The next day early we were at the legation. The first secretary waspreparing the dummy. "Pity," said Merton, "to leave the enclosure ablank." The secretary laughed and wrote on the inside cover:
Trust you will find this interesting,
Yours,
_Uncle Sam._
We went out, Merton and I looking at our passports and talking loudly.At ten that morning the first secretary and an attache started forLondon. To anticipate, he was jostled by two men on the Dover pierthat afternoon, and until a few minutes later did not detect his lossof the papers. It was cleverly done. Of course he made a complaint andthe police proved useless.