The Chevalier d'Auriac

  CHAPTER VII

  POOR NICHOLAS!

  From the oak to the spot where our horses were tethered was close uponfifty paces, and never, I think, was ground covered at a speedier rateby men running for their lives. I was bursting with anger, and knownot what restrained me from pistolling Nicholas, so furious was I atthe blind folly of the man. As we reached the horses, we could hearthe dogs splashing through the spill-water at the edge of the lake,and someone fired a third shot at us from horseback--a shot in thedark which whistled through the branches overhead.

  'Quick! quick, monsieur! 'gasped Nicholas, and with a turn of his handhe freed Couronne, and sprang to her back--the great mare standingsteady as a rock.

  'Quick!' he called out again more loudly, and I made a vain effort toloosen my beast, which, startled by the shots, the baying of the dogs,and our haste and hurry, plunged and kicked as though it weredemented.

  'Damn you!' I hissed, half at the horse, half at the crop-eared idiotwho had caused this disaster, and, managing somehow to scramble to thesaddle, cut the halter with a draw of my dagger. At this moment thedogs reached us; a dark object sprang up from the ground, and,fastening on the jaws of my horse, brought him to his knees, whilstthe other beast flew at my companion. Nicholas' pistol rang out to nopurpose, the report was echoed by a chorus of shouts from the troopersfollowing us, and Couronne, swinging round, lashed out with her heelsat the hound that was baying her. Leaning forward with one arm halfround the neck of my snorting horse, I thrust twice at the houndhanging to him, the first time sliding off his metal collar, but atthe second blow my blade slipped to the hilt into something soft, itseemed of its own accord, and as the dead dog fell suddenly back,bearing my poniard with it, my freed horse rose to its feet, and madwith pain dashed forwards into the teeth of our pursuers. I let himgo--one might as well have tried to stop the rush of a mad bull. By amiracle I escaped being torn off by the overhanging branches, and aswe raced into the open, Nicholas at my heels shouting 'To the north!to the north!' we were not twenty paces away from the troopers. Myfrantic horse went straight at them, and, driving my spurs home, Imade him leap at the foremost horseman. His animal swerved off--apiece of good luck for both of us. Then my pistol missed fire, and Iwas in the midst of them. The quarters were so close, and theconfusion so great, that at first only those on the outside could usetheir weapons, and in their hurry to do so some of these perhapsstruck at each other. One man, however, shortened his sword, and wouldhave run me through had I not luckily seen the flash of the blade andgiven him the heavy iron-bound butt of my pistol on the forehead. Hewas probably much hurt, but although he lurched backwards senseless,so close was the press that he was held in his saddle. The butt of thepistol was broken off by the blow, and for the moment I was disarmed.I dared not call out to Nicholas for fear of being recognised; but atthis juncture horse and man on my right seemed to be dashed to earth,and Nicholas was at my elbow, striking right and left with the heavyhilt of his sword. Profiting by the relief, I drew out my secondpistol and shot the man before me. Pressing against his mount with mybrave little nag, who was now in hand again, I got clear, and, with ashout to Nicholas to follow, dashed off towards the north. It was atthis moment that three other riders galloped up, and I heard deGomeron call out, '_Sangdieu!_ They are off. After them, dogs,' andclapping spurs to his beast he rode after us. We had, however, gaineda full twenty yards' start, which was more than trebled by the fewseconds' delay before the troopers could recover themselves andfollow. My horse was going at racing pace; but Couronne kept by hisside with a long and effortless stride. De Gomeron was at our heels,and with a sudden rush ranged alongside of Nicholas. The sergeantpossibly did not recognise his assailant, and managed somehow to parrythe cut aimed at him, and the next moment de Gomeron's horse stumbledand went down; but the man himself, who was a rare horseman, fell onhis feet like a cat. It was, however, a moment more of respite, andNicholas, with a wild cheer, dashed into the forest, riding recklesslythrough the trees. We both leaned forward to the necks of our horses,and as far as I was concerned I made no attempt to guide my beast, butlet him follow Couronne, who, surefooted as a stag, turned and twistedamongst the trees with almost human forethought. The single hound thatwas left strained bravely behind us; but, mindful probably of the fatethat had overtaken his brother, made no direct attack. As we dashedinto the wood the troopers attempted to follow; but it was with arelaxed speed, and every moment we were distancing them, and theircries, shouts, and curses became fainter and more faint. I began tothink if we could but be rid of the sleuthhound, we would get off withwhole skins. The beast was, however, not to be shaken off, and,avoiding the heels of the horses, came with a _lop_, _lop_, throughthe leaves alongside my nag, just out of reach of the point of mysword, which I had managed to draw. As he snapped and growled, myhorse, already once wounded, and still smarting with pain, shied offfrom him, bruising my leg against a tree trunk, in the bark of whichmy spur remained, and all but unseating me. Another shy amongst thetrees would have finished my business, for the pain of the bruise atthe moment was exquisite; but, leaping a fallen log, Nicholas burstthrough a juniper bush, and my horse following him, we came on to anopen stretch which sloped down to the river.

  '_Ouf!_ Out of it at last!' I gasped out to Nicholas.

  'It's a mile yet to the river, monsieur,' he answered, slackening paceslightly to allow me to get alongside of him.

  The dog, however, was not yet shaken off, and kept steadily beside myhorse. In the bright moon I could see him running freely and easily;and, much as I cursed his presence there, I could not help but admirethe gallant beast. He seemed to know perfectly the danger that lay inthe long shining sword, that thrust out at him like a snake's tonguewhenever he came too near.

  I, however, owed him one for the bruise, and it was not a time towaste in admiring things. So I called to Nicholas.

  'Slacken pace a little more. I want to be rid of the dog.'

  'We can kill him in the river,' answered the sergeant.

  'Better stop him here,' and Nicholas obeyed.

  Seeing us slacken, the hound tried to head the horses. This wasexactly what I wanted; and shortening the reins, I pulled round my nagsuddenly, right upon the dog, and, stooping low, gave him a couple ofinches in the quarters as he attempted to double. It was not a woundthat would kill. I had no intention, unless forced to, of doing that;but it had the desired effect, and he fled back howling with pain.

  'Adieu, monsieur!' I cried out after him with a laugh, and joining thesergeant we cantered on through the clearing towards the river.

  The ill-will I felt towards Nicholas had gone by this time. He hadborne himself like a brave man, as he was; and, after all, if I hadbeen in his position I would perhaps have done the same, and let driveat de Gomeron at sight. My little nag, however, at this time began toshow signs of distress, and I turned my attention from the sergeant tohusbanding the poor beast's strength--patting him on his foam-coveredneck to encourage him, and speaking to him in the manner that horseslove. _Pardieu!_ If men only knew it, there are moments when a touchof the hand and a kind word are better than four-inch spurs.

  We came to a narrow patch now, and rode down this, the river being insight, winding like a silver ribbon thrown carelessly down. On theopposite bank it was overhung with willows, whose drooping boughsswung low to the very surface of the water. Here and there the stumpof a felled tree stood up like a sentinel. In the distance, behind us,we could hear one or two of the troopers, who had by this time managedto get through the wood, yelling and shouting as they urged theirhorses towards the river. Doubtless more would soon follow, and Icursed them loudly and heartily. Nicholas looked back.

  'But fifteen yards of a swim, monsieur, and we are safe.'

  'Not exactly. See there?'

  The sergeant followed my outstretched blade, and swore too. Rightbefore us two men galloped out of a strip of coppice that stretched tothe water's edge and cut us off from the
stream.

  '_Sacrebleu!_ How did they know that cut? Have at them, monsieur.'

  And we did.

  It had to be a matter of moments only. The troopers behind were comingon, and, if once they reached us, we could not well hope to escapeagain; the odds were too many. I did not, therefore, waste time, butwent straight for my man, and, to do him justice, he seemed nothingloath to meet me. He cut over the shoulder, and, receiving this on myforte, I gave him the point in the centre of his breastplate, makingit ring like a bell. Only a Milanese corselet could have saved him asit did. My nag went on, but turned on its haunches to the reins, andbefore he could well recover himself I was at him again, anddiscovered that he wore a demi-mask on his face.

  'Monsieur, shall I prick your mask off before killing you?' I mocked,suiting the words to a thrust that all but effected the object, andripped him on the cheek.

  He was a good swordsman, but this made him beside himself withpassion, and this frantic state, and the sound of his voice as he keptcursing me, told me that my opponent was none other than Bironhimself. Now came a serious difficulty, which I had to consider likelightning. Did I kill him, and he was an infant in my hands, therecould be no hope for me--he was too great--too highly placed for me tohave any chance if I compassed his death. Therefore, as I pressed him,I called out loud enough for him to hear, 'Marshal, you are mad--goback--you are known to me.'

  He thrust at me for answer; but I could stand no more nonsense, and,getting within his guard, struck him off his horse with a blow fromthe hilt of my sword, and, wasting not a second more on him, turned tothe assistance of Nicholas.

  It was much needed, for the sergeant's opponent was none other than deGomeron himself, who had remounted after his fall, and, by cutting offa corner, intercepted us, almost with complete success. How Nicholasheld his own against this finished swordsman for even so long a periodas a half-minute I am unable to say. It was doubtless due to thestrength of his bitter hatred, and his fury for revenge. Even as itwas, I was too late. As I dashed towards him, Nicholas fairly screamedout:

  'Leave him to me--he is--a--ah!'

  He never finished, for de Gomeron saw his chance and passed his swordthrough the sergeant's throat, and he fell limply from Couronne a deadman.

  Before, however, the free-lance could recover himself I was on him,and, standing in my stirrups, cut at him with the full swing of mysword. He parried like lightning, but the force of the blow beat downhis guard, and although my blade fell flat upon his steel cap, he wentdown like an ox.

  Poor Nicholas was gone! I knew that thrust, and once received therewas nothing for it but masses for the soul. A half-dozen troopers werenot two hundred yards away, and life lay on the other side of theEure. I went straight on, and jumped my horse into the stream. It wasrunning high and deep, and as I fell into the water with a splash andhiss of white foam around me, I heard another heavy plunge close to myshoulder, and, in the glance I cast towards the sound, saw that it wasthe now riderless Couronne, who had followed her companion of thenight. To ease the horse, I slipped from the saddle, and, hanging onto the pommel, was towed along by him as the good beast breasted thestream bravely. _Pardieu!_ How the yellow water grumbled and foamedand bubbled around us. The current set towards the opposite bank, andthe force of it carried us down, it seemed in a moment, fully fiftyyards from the spot where we had plunged in, to within a few feet ofthe opposite shore. Here, however, the river ran strong and swiftly,the bank was high, and the horses could make no headway, but keptdrifting down. By this time the troopers had reached the scene of thefight, and I could hear them howling with anger as they gatheredaround their fallen leaders, and, without a head to guide them,hesitated what to do, each moment of delay giving me precious time,and bringing me closer to a shelving bank a few yards to the left. Notone of the troopers dared the stream, and they had apparently emptiedtheir arquebuses after us in pursuit, for none fired, although theycalled to each other, 'Shoot him down--shoot him down!'

  A couple of men galloped down stream a little below me, and,dismounting, began to load hurriedly, it being evidently theirintention to pick me off as I drifted past. For the moment I gavemyself up for lost; but, determining to make a last effort to savemyself, made a snatch at the willows that overhung the bank andbrushed us with their wet and dripping leaves as we struggledunderneath. As I did this, I loosed my hold of the saddle, and thehorses slid past me, and I was dragged by the current right into thebank. The willows were tough, and I held on to them like a leech, andthe troopers, who had seen what I was about, began to laugh at me, andadjure me to hold on tight as they would be ready to shoot in amoment. The fools! They gave me the moment's time I wanted, and,digging my boot into the soft bank, I laid hold of the stem of awillow and with an effort reached the shore. I rolled over at fulllength, and then lay flat on my face, whilst the troopers with manycurses ran forward a few feet and let off their arquebuses, on the offchance of bringing me down. They aimed truly enough, and had I notlain to earth as I did, I should infallibly have been killed, for thebullets whizzed past, it seemed, but a few inches above me. I let outa yell as if I was mortally hurt, and then rising, ran down streambehind the willows as fast as my bruised leg would allow me, to see ifI could not get back one or both the horses. My stratagem had thedesired effect, for on my cry of 'I am dead--I am dead,' two others ofthe men who had run up let off their pieces where I was supposed tobe, and they all shouted, 'We have him; he is down.'

  '_Morbleu!_ Not yet,' I could hardly refrain from chuckling to myself,as I hobbled along the bank, and to my joy saw them in a little bay,about a hundred paces from me, moving slowly in the shallow water. Onebehind the other, towards the land. A spur had been thrown out here,evidently with the object of protecting the bank, and it had cast themain stream on the opposite shore, and given the beasts a chance oflanding.

  I felt my leg at each step I took; but went on at a round pacesomehow, and came up to Couronne just as she was stepping out of thewater. Catching her by the bridle, I mounted, although with somedifficulty, and slipping my hands through the reins of my own nag,trotted off under cover of the trees, leaving M. de Gomeron, who haddoubtless recovered by this time, and his men to make a target of thedarkness. I had come through somehow, but I was sick and sore atheart, as I urged Couronne from a trot to a gallop, when I thought ofpoor Nicholas lying dead by the banks of the Eure.