Part 10 (1/2)
On the third of September, 1792, about eleven o'clock in the morning, a tall, stalwart man, with an energetic face and sunburned hands, and accompanied by a young woman, might have been seen approaching the Barriere du Trone. Both were clad in the garb worn by the peasantry of southern France. The young woman wore the costume of a Provencale peasant girl, and carried upon her arm a short, dark cloak, which she used as a protection against the cool night air, but which she did not require now in the heat of the day. The man wore a suit of black fustian, a foxskin cap, blue stockings and heavy shoes. The expression of weariness imprinted upon their features and the dust that covered their garments proved that their journey had been long. As they neared the gateway, the man, who was carrying a heavy valise in his hand, paused to take breath. His companion followed his example, and, as they seated themselves by the roadside, she cast an anxious glance at the city.
”Do you think they will allow us to pa.s.s?” she murmured, frightened already at the thought of being subjected to the examination of the soldiers who guarded the gate.
”Are not our pa.s.sports all right?” demanded her companion. ”If we wished to leave Paris it would be quite another matter; but as we merely desire to enter the city, there will be no difficulty. Have no fears, Mademoiselle; they will not detain us long at the gate.”
”Coursegol, stop calling me Mademoiselle. Call me your daughter. If you do not acquire the habit of doing so, you will forget some day and then all will be discovered.”
”I know my role, and I shall play it to perfection when we are before strangers, but, when we are alone, I cannot forget that I am only your servant.”
”Not my servant; but my friend, my father. Have you not always felt for me the same affection and solicitude you would have entertained for your own daughter?”
Coursegol responded only by a look; but this look proved that Dolores had spoken the truth and that the paternal love, of which he had given abundant proofs in the early part of this history, had suffered no diminution.
”If you had only been willing to listen to me,” he remarked, after a few moment's silence, ”we should have remained in the village where the coach stopped. There we could have awaited a more propitious opportunity to reach our journey's end.”
”I was too eager to reach the city. It seems to me that, in approaching Paris, I am nearing Philip and Antoinette. If they are still living, we shall certainly find them in Paris.”
”Oh! they are living; I am sure of it; but is it not likely that they have emigrated? In that case, why should we remain in a city that is so full of danger for us?”
”We can lead a quiet and retired life there! No one will know us and we shall have better facilities for obtaining news in Paris than in a village. My heart tells me that we are not far from our friends.”
”G.o.d grant it, my child,” responded Coursegol; ”and if, as I hope, Bridoul has not forgotten his friend of former days, we shall soon be safe in his house.”
”Are you not sure of his friends.h.i.+p?” inquired Dolores, anxiously.
”Can we place implicit confidence in any one as times are now?” returned Coursegol. ”Bridoul was my comrade in the army. He loved me, and he was devoted to Monsieur Philip, our captain. But to-day the remembrance of such a friends.h.i.+p is a crime. It must be forgotten; and fear sometimes renders the bravest hearts cowardly and timorous. Still, I do not believe Bridoul has changed. But we shall soon know. Now, let us go on, my dear daughter, and show no anxiety if they question us at the gate.”
”Have no fear, father,” replied Dolores, with a smile.
Coursegol picked up his valise, and boldly approached the gate. Dolores followed him, striving to quiet the throbbings of her heart; she was more troubled in mind now than she had been during the whole of the long journey. As they were pa.s.sing through the gateway, a sentinel stopped them and made them enter a small house occupied by the detachment of the National Guard, which was deputized to watch over the safety of Paris from this point. The post was commanded by a young lieutenant, a mere boy with a beardless face. On seeing a beautiful girl enter, followed by an aged man, he rose, and turning to his soldiers:
”What is the meaning of this?” he inquired.
”I wish to enter the city, lieutenant,” volunteered Coursegol, without waiting to be questioned.
”Enter Paris! You have chosen a nice time! There are many people in it who would be only too glad to make their escape. Who is this citoyenne?”
added the officer, pointing to Dolores.
”That is my daughter.”
”Be seated, citoyenne,” said the lieutenant, politely offering Dolores his own chair.
She accepted it, and the examination continued.
”From whence do you come?”
”From Beaucaire.”
”Afoot?”
”No, citizen; we left the coach at Montgeron. The driver had no other pa.s.sengers, and, when he heard of the troubles in Paris, he declared he would wait there until they were over. His coach was loaded with merchandise, and he feared it would be taken from him.”