CHAPTER XII
HOW JEAN LOST HIS ENEMIES
Herrick looked from the priest to the picture, and then again at thechart lying on the table. He bent over it, his finger travelling fromname to name as though he were carefully tracing the descent once moreto satisfy himself that the priest was right. It was a ruse to gaintime, to collect his thoughts, for they had leaped back to his mother,his youth, and his dreams. Now he understood why Vayenne had alwayshad such a fascination for him. He was of it, a part of its life. Thesource of the blood that tingled in his veins lay far back in history.They were his ancestors who had kept Montvilliers inviolate as it wasto-day, his fathers who had fought in the forefront of the battle,thrusting back their foes at the sword's point. Herrick did notremember his grandmother, and had only a faint recollection of hismother, who had died when he was young; but there certainly was a ladywho came into his boyhood's life at intervals, and whom he rememberedwell. Perhaps she was a friend of his mother's or grandmother's, andhe had often sat on her knee while she told him stories which stirredhim, stories of Vayenne, so that the name of the city figured in hisgames of soldiers and doughty deeds, and sank deep down into hisheart. One day he would go to Vayenne had been his determination as hedreamed lad's dreams of life and the future. That day had come. Hisfinger had unconsciously travelled down the chart until it rested onhis grandmother's name.
"There is no flaw," said Father Bertrand, and his voice made Herrickstart, so lost was he in his thoughts. "This chart is no secret; it iscopied from one which is common property, open to all who choose tostudy it, and in which every date is fully given. I am no maker andunmaker of dukes, no mere plotter for place and power. The late Duke,with all his harshness, was a just man in the main. Under his rule thecountry was at peace, and there was prosperity. His son, were healive, would make but a poor ruler. Count Felix would assuredly provea bad one. Is it not right that the reign of the usurping house shouldend here and now? I have only to bring this chart to date thus." Andthe priest took a pencil, and under the name of Herrick's grandmotherdrew a little vertical line, then paused, and said: "What was yourmother's name?"
"Mary."
"Mary, daughter of Marie, and then Mary's son, Roger Herrick." And,perhaps unconsciously, he wrote the name more firmly and a littlelarger.
"And your plans, Father Bertrand?" said Herrick shortly.
"They are a tangled skein. How could they be otherwise until you cameto help in the unravelling? But there are loose ends to catch hold of,and after the first few knots are unfastened, the skein is likely tofall easily apart. The Count moves swiftly; we must work swiftly too.Duke Robert is to be buried without delay. Courtiers and men ofaccount have already been summoned from the country; and they come notonly to a funeral, but to a coronation. Once Felix is crowned, it willbe harder to foster a rising against him. Among those who will come toVayenne is one Gerard de Bornais, a man of wealth, whose friendship Ihave. He will bring a certain retinue with him, and you shall joinyourself to his company. Events must decide our actions. For therest----"
There was a single, sharp knock upon the door, given by the same man,Herrick thought, who had brought him hither. It was evidently anunderstood sign, for the priest did not answer.
"For the present you must be my guest," said Father Bertrand, drawingback the curtain from another door.
"I have friends in Vayenne. I must see them," said Herrick.
"My son, there is danger for you in the streets."
"Am I virtually a prisoner then?"
"If you would oppose Count Felix by the means I have shown you, yes,for yours is too tell-tale a face to be seen at present. If you decidenot to claim your rights, yonder is the door you entered by, and youare free to go."
"I will stay," said Herrick after a moment's reflection. "One friend Ihave whose worth I know, and who may be of value to us among thepeople. Will you find and bring here Jean who is called the dwarf ofSt. Etienne?"
"Would you put your trust in a fool!" exclaimed Father Bertrand.
"There is more wisdom, strength, and cunning in that crooked body thanlies in most of your straight-limbed men. I know. He is a hater of theCount besides."
"I should advise----"
"Either he comes, or I go," said Herrick.
"You quickly learn the part you are to play. You command, I obey. Jeanshall be found." And the priest smiled, and led the way into anotherroom. "I will return to you as soon as possible. In the meanwhileMercier shall attend to your wants. You have forgiven him forattacking you in the Rue de la Grosse Horloge?"
"Indeed, I have not."
"I petition that you do," said Father Bertrand. "I know him. He willbe useful to us. A duke should grant so humble a petition when it isthe first made to him."
"Send this Mercier. I will not harm him," said Herrick. "If I canmount the throne as easily as I grant the petition, we have no verythorny path to travel."
The dwarf, however, was not to be found that day, although FatherBertrand looked for him in St. Etienne and Mercier sought him at allthe haunts he knew of. Jean remained in the house by the wall, andthat night again crossed the river to make inquiry of the farmer. Awagoner was at the farm that night, and chancing to hear that he hadbeen to Vayenne that day, Jean questioned him.
"Ay; sure they were on the lookout at the gate," he answered, "but Ihad seen no soldier or priest, as I told them."
He was an honest fellow, and remembering the coins in his pocket, heldhis tongue.
It was toward dusk the next day that Jean entered St. Etienne. Lightswere burning dimly in one of the chapels where vespers were beingsaid, and as he stood in the shadows of one of the great pillars,Father Bertrand, who was about to leave the church, saw him.
"Jean, there is a friend of yours at my house who wishes to see you."
"What friend? I have hundreds in Vayenne."
"The one who broke from the South Tower."
"What does he in your house, father?"
"For the present he hides, and waits for you. Go to him at once."
The dwarf shuffled down the long aisle. In the porch he paused, halfexpecting the priest to follow him. Was this a trap? Had Jean known ofany way in which his capture could help Father Bertrand, he certainlywould not have gone; and as it was, he stood before the small door inthe Rue St. Romain for some time before he knocked. The door wasopened almost immediately, and the man in the cassock stood back tolet him enter, which Jean did, one hand upon his knife under the foldsof his loose tunic.
The man closed the door, and bade the dwarf follow him. He led himupstairs, and at the end of a passage knocked at a door. The dwarfentered the room, and waited until the man had closed the door againand the sound of his retreating footsteps had ceased. Then he lookedat Herrick, who had risen from his chair.
"They don't lock you in?" he said in astonishment.
"No."
"Why stay then?"
"I asked them to bring you here that I might tell you what hashappened," said Herrick.
"Strange happenings, surely, to bring you to this place, friendRoger!" And as Herrick sat down again, Jean doubled his legs under himand squatted on the floor.
Herrick told him all that had occurred to the time Mercier had met himand brought him to the Rue St. Romain.
"Then the pale scholar is not dead," said Jean. "In Vayenne theybelieve he is."
"He was not dead when the robbers carried him away, and they wouldcertainly do their best to keep him alive. How he will fare with thoseto whom he is sold I cannot say."
Jean expressed no opinion.
"And now, friend Roger, what happens now? You have come to tell thetruth to the Count, and have fallen into the fox's hole on the way."
"Wait, Jean; let us consider the position for a moment. Had I goneboldly to the castle, what would my fate have been, do you suppose?"
"A dangle at the end of a rope over the great gate as likely as not,"the dwarf answered.
"Exactly--and perhaps without a chance of see
ing Count Felix at all,"said Herrick. "Now Father Bertrand has promised to get me into thecastle in the suite of one De Bornais, who comes to the Duke'sfuneral. In this way I shall attract no attention, and shall be readywhen the moment for action arrives."
"What action?"
"That must depend on circumstances; but it shall be some action thatshall prevent Count Felix being crowned Duke of Montvilliers."
"Friend Roger, you have proved yourself a brave man, but here is atask that would make a body of giants ponder and turn pale."
"Since we parted across the river yonder, I have learned strangethings, Jean; so strange that I dare not speak of them yet. They willstir the very heart of Vayenne, and the Count himself shall beafraid."
"From whence heard you these things? From Father Bertrand?"
"Partly."
Jean shook his head.
"The fox enters the poultry run with a smile on his face and an air ofharmlessness, but he brings death and destruction all the same."
"Listen, Jean. I am not trusting Father Bertrand without knowing thatwhat he says is true," said Herrick earnestly. "Now I want to know whoare my friends, whom I can trust; so I sent for you."
"The only friend you have in Vayenne," said Jean.
"You forget Mademoiselle de Liancourt and Captain Lemasle."
"Who are not in Vayenne, friend Roger, however friendly they may be.There are orders to arrest Captain Lemasle."
"Treachery must be met with cunning, and the time is short," saidHerrick. "By this they are no doubt safe within the city. I will tellyou the whole story soon, but there is no time now; there is work todo to-night."
Jean shook his head, one eye shut the while.
"Cannot you trust me?" Herrick asked.
"Not your wisdom. You talk of using cunning, but many as wise a man asyou are has thought himself cunning, and been the victim all the time.I have no relish for pulling an oar in the same boat with FatherBertrand. I've been in Vayenne longer than you have, friend Roger, andknow him better than you do."
"Listen, Jean. It is Father Bertrand who has told things to me, not Ito him," said Herrick. "He does not know the whole story of the attackin the forest as I have told it to you; he does not know what hashappened to Duke Maurice, nor of Mademoiselle, nor of Captain Lemasle.He knows nothing of what I want you to do to-night."
The dwarf was on his feet in an instant.
"Good, friend Roger, good! I see the smile of the fox on your facenow. What is the work? I am content to hear the rest of your storyanother time."
"Do you know the house of the Countess Elisabeth?" asked Herrick.
"The outside of it."
"You must get in on some pretext, and see Mademoiselle de Liancourt."
"Faith! She has chosen as strange a hiding-place as you have."
"It was of her own choosing," said Herrick. "See her. Say you comefrom me. Say that she must remain in hiding until I send to her again;that Count Felix must be allowed to believe that Duke Maurice is dead.Tell her that since leaving her in the forest I have learned thatwhich makes me certain that Count Felix will never be crowned. Can youremember the message?"
Jean repeated it, marking each item off on his fingers.
"And what have I to say to Captain Lemasle?" he asked.
"Tell him to wait for a message from me," said Herrick.
"You must have impressed him greatly, friend Roger, to command him inthis fashion. He's a man more easily led than driven."
"And one thing more," said Herrick, who was too busy thinking of allit was necessary to tell to notice the dwarf's comment. "You will notsay where I am. They do not know what has happened since I left them.They might not understand my being in Father Bertrand's house."
"Then we are all in the dark until it pleases friend Roger to open thedoor," said Jean. "Well, since you undertake giants' work, it ishardly strange you should set about it in queer fashion. For all oursakes I pray your wisdom is as great as your courage."
At Herrick's summons the man in the cassock came and took Jean to thestreet door again, closing it gently behind him without a word.
It was quite dark now, and the dim lamps at intervals only served tocast deep, gloomy shadows across the Rue St. Romain. The dwarf stoodstill for some moments, looking up and down the street, and his sharpeyes searched the shadows. He was not certain, but one particular spotdid not satisfy him; he thought a man stood there. He expected to bewatched and followed, for he had little faith in Father Bertrand. Jeanwas even surprised with himself for believing Roger Herrick so easily,for he placed small reliance on any man's disinterestedness. He movedaway slowly, and was soon aware that he had not been mistaken, that hewas being followed.
"He must know Vayenne well if he hopes to keep me in sight," chuckledthe dwarf to himself as he turned sharply into a narrow alley andbegan the task of losing his enemy. For half an hour he dodged roundcorners, up dark alleys, and across small streets, returning at theend of that time to a spot close to the Rue St. Romain; and hechuckled to think of the dance he had led his follower.
Mercier did know Vayenne well, however, he was perhaps the very lastman in the city to be deceived by such tactics, and no sooner had thedwarf set out on a more direct route, than he came from a turning andwent after him.
Jean was crossing one of the larger streets, which was well lighted,on his way to the Place Beauvoisin, when half a dozen soldierssuddenly caught sight of him.
"Well met, Jean," cried one, grasping his arm. "Where have you beenroosting? The Count has been sending everywhere to find you to-day andyesterday."
"For what?"
"Nobody knows why--maybe to make a captain of you. But this we know,that he's promised silver enough to the man that finds you to pay fora merry night at the tavern. So you must come with us."
"That's certain," answered one of his companions, taking Jean's otherarm.
Why should he be sought for? The wounded sentry must have gatheredsome of his scattered wits and remembered something of the spy'sescape from the South Tower.
"The Count honors me," he said; "and if he makes a captain of me,we'll have merry times. I'll come with you; but at the top of thestreet yonder is the Barbe Noire, where is good liquor, and I have thewherewithal to pay. What say you? The Count is in no such hurry thathe cannot wait another hour after waiting two days."
"The Barbe Noire let it be," they cried; and with Jean in their midst,they went up the street, Mercier following them.
But they drank no ale or wine at the Barbe Noire that night. Within ahundred yards of it there was a side street leading to the oldmarkets, around which there was a perfect network of alleys andbyways. As they came abreast of this street, the dwarf suddenlywrenched his arms free, dropped to the ground, and catching one of thesoldiers by the legs, pitched him over his back among his comrades,and in a moment was rushing along the side street. In anticipation ofthe drink, and believing that the dwarf had no desire to get away fromthem, the soldiers were unprepared for this man[oe]uvre, and wereutterly taken by surprise; so that the dwarf had travelled somedistance before they took up the pursuit. For the second time thatnight Jean's ingenuity was taxed to lose his enemies.
The pursuit was not long confined to the soldiers. Mercier was thefirst to join in it, and then some idlers about the corners of the oldmarkets began to run, until presently a mob of forty or fifty weremaking the streets echo with their hurrying feet.
Jean had not enough advantage in the race to enable him to deliberatewhich way he should take. He had no desire to draw his pursuers intothe Place Beauvoisin where, even if he succeeded in eluding them, theymight watch for a long time, and prevent his gaining entrance to theCountess Elisabeth's house. But presently there seemed no other wayfor him to take with any reasonable hope of safety. He entered thesquare by a narrow thoroughfare close to the high wall whichsurrounded the house, and had a moment's respite before the crowdturned the corner. Adjoining the high wall there was a lower one,surrounding a yard. To run across the square a
nd escape by the otherentrance would carry him into well-lighted streets, where a hundredothers might join in the chase, and where he was almost certain to becaptured. His decision was taken in an instant. With a spring, such assome great ape might make, he was upon this lower wall, and anotherbound took him to the top of the high wall. No light shone upon it,and he lay down along it full length upon his stomach. A moment later,the crowd was rushing past underneath him.
A pause was made when no one was seen flying across the square, and adozen voices began to shout advice. He had done this! He had donethat! He had never entered the square! He had managed to cross itbefore they had got in! It was a babel of tongues, everybody shouting,no one listening.
Jean had seen no one as he sprang on to the wall, but the crowd saw aman in the square, and rushed toward him.
"Which way did he go?" they cried.
Jean ventured to raise his head a little. He could not hear the man'sanswer, but since the crowd did not rush back to the wall, heconcluded that either the man had not noticed him, or had no intentionof betraying him.
There was a moment's silence, and then a voice cried out:
"We've lost the little game, but we catch the larger. It's Lemasle,and there's an order for his arrest!"
In an instant there was a struggling mass of humanity. So closely andso suddenly was Lemasle pressed, that there was no opportunity to useany weapon. The dwarf ached to go to his assistance, but that wouldhave meant the capture of both of them. That would be worse thanuseless. So Jean remained motionless on the wall.
Lemasle said not a word. He struck out right and left for a fewmoments, and one or two had reason enough to regret that they had everjoined in the chase; but numbers overpowered him. Then as theysucceeded in binding his arms, he laughed.
"Tell me," he said, "whom were you hunting when you chanced upon me?"
"That devil of St. Etienne," said a soldier, with an oath.
"Such a devil plays the saint sometimes, and perhaps he'll tell allmy friends where I am. Faith! half the city should be knocking at thecastle for my release before noon to-morrow."
"Maybe you'll swing an hour or two earlier, and then they can haveyour body," said one of the soldiers brutally. He had felt the weightof the captain's arm a few moments earlier.
Lemasle had raised his voice, speaking clearly and distinctly. He hadnot seen Jean, but he guessed that he was not far off, and wouldperchance hear him.
The dwarf lay motionless as the crowd passed along under the wall, andhe understood.