'To what purpose?'he retorted,stroking his small moustache haughtily,'We look at the thing from opposite points.You,are going about your business,which appears to be the rescuing of ladies who are--may I venture to say it?so unfortunate as to entrust themselves to your charge.I,M.de Marsac,am more deeply interested.More deeply interested,'he repeated lamely.
'I--in a word,I am prepared,sir,to do what others only talk of--and if I cannot follow otherwise,would follow on my feet!'
'Whom?'I asked curtly,stung by this repetition of my own words.
He laughed harshly and bitterly.'Why explain?or why quarrel?'
he replied cynically.'God knows,if I could afford to quarrel with you,I should have done so fifty hours ago.But I need your help;and,needing it,I am prepared to do that which must seem to a person of your calm passions and perfect judgment alike futile and incredible--pay the full price for it.'
'The full price for it!'I muttered,understanding nothing,except that I did not understand.
'Ay,the full price for it!'he repeated.And as he spoke he looked at me with an expression of rage so fierce that I recoiled a step.That seemed to restore him in some degree to himself,for without giving me an opportunity of answering he turned hastily from me,and,striding away,was in a moment lost in the darkness.
He left me amazed beyond measure.I stood repeating his phrase about 'the full price'a hundred times over,but still found it and his passion inexplicable.To cut the matter short,I could come to no other conclusion than that he desired to insult me,and aware of my poverty and the equivocal position in which Istood towards mademoiselle,chose his words accordingly.This seemed a thing unworthy of one of whom I had before thought highly;but calmer reflection enabling me to see something of youthful bombast in the tirade he had delivered,I smiled a little sadly,and determined to think no more of the matter for the present,but to persist firmly in that which seemed to me to be the right course.
Having settled this,I was about to enter the house,when Maignan stopped me,telling me that the plague had killed five people in it,letting only the man we had seen;who had,indeed,been seized,but recovered.This ghastly news had scared my company to such a degree that they had gone as far from the house as the level ground permitted,and there lighted a fire,round which they were going to pass the night.Fanchette had taken up her quarters in the stable,and the equerry announced that he had kept a shed full of sweet,hay for M.d'Agen and myself.Iassented to this arrangement,and after supping off soup and black bread,which was all we could procure,bade the peasant rouse us two hours before sunrise;and so,being too weary and old in service to remain awake thinking,I fell asleep,and slept;soundly till a little after four.
My first business on rising was to see that the men before mounting made a meal,for it is ill work fighting empty.I went round also and saw that all had their arms,and that such as carried pistols had them loaded and primed.Francois did not put in an appearance until this work was done,and then showed a very pale and gloomy countenance.I took no heed of him,however,and with the first streak of daylight we started in single file and at a snail's pace up the valley,the peasant,whom I placed in Maignan's charge,going before to guide us,and M.d'Agen and Iriding in the rear.By the time the sun rose and warmed our chilled and shivering frames we were over the worst of the ground,and were able to advance at some speed along a track cut through a dense forest of oak-trees.
Though we had now risen out of the valley,the close-set trunks and the undergrowth round them prevented our seeing in any direction.For a mile or more we rode on blindly,and presently started on finding ourselves on the brow of a hill,looking down into a valley,the nearer end of which was clothed in woods,while the farther widened into green sloping pastures.From the midst of these a hill or mount rose sharply up,until it ended in walls of grey stone scarce to be distinguished at that distance from the native rock on which they stood.
'See!'cried our guide.'There is the castle!'
Bidding the men dismount in haste,that the chance of our being seen by the enemy--which was not great--might be farther lessened,I began to inspect the position at leisure;my first feeling while doing so being one of thankfulness that I had not attempted a night attack,which must inevitably have miscarried,possibly with loss to ourselves,and certainly with the result of informing the enemy of our presence.The castle,of which we had a tolerable view,was long and narrow in shape,consisting of two towers connected by walls,The nearer tower,through which lay the entrance,was roofless,and in every way seemed to be more ruinous than the inner one,which appeared to be perfect in both its stories.This defect notwithstanding,the place was so strong that my heart sank lower the longer I looked;and a glance at Maignan's face assured me that his experience was also at fault.For M.d'Agen,I clearly saw,when I turned to him,that he had never until this moment realised what we had to expect,but,regarding our pursuit in the light of a hunting-party,had looked to see it end in like easy fashion.His blank,surprised face,as he stood eyeing the stout grey walls,said as much as this.
'Arnidieu!'Maignan muttered,'give me ten men,and I would hold it against a hundred!'
'Tut,man,There is more than one way to Rome!'I answered oracularly,though I was far from feeling as confident as Iseemed.'Come,let us descend and view this nut a little nearer.'
