Part 82 (1/2)
”We are to meet them at Bellevue at ten,” I replied.
”At ten? Hurrah! then I've still five certain hours of life before me!
Long enough, Damon, to do a world of mischief, if one were so disposed!”
CHAPTER L.
THE DUEL AT BELLEVUE.
We drove straight to Dalrymple's rooms, and, going in with a pa.s.s-key, went up without disturbing the _concierge_. Arrived at home, my friend's first act was to open his buffetier and take out a loaf, a _pate de foie gras_, and a bottle of wine. I could not eat a morsel; but he supped (or breakfasted) with a capital appet.i.te; insisted that I should lie down on his bed for two or three hours; and slipping into his dressing-gown, took out his desk and cash-box, and settled himself to a regular morning's work.
”I hope to get a nap myself before starting,” said he. ”I have not many debts, and I made my will the day after I married--so I have but little to transact in the way of business. A few letters to write--a few to burn--a trifle or two to seal up and direct to one or two fellows who may like a _souvenir_,--that is the extent of my task! Meanwhile, my dear boy, get what rest you can. It will never do to be shaky and pale on the field, you know.”
I went, believing that I should be less in his way; and, lying down in my clothes, fell into a heavy sleep, from which, after what seemed a long time, I woke suddenly with the conviction that it was just ten o'clock. To start up, look at my watch, find that it was only a quarter to seven and fall profoundly asleep again, was the work of only a few minutes. At the end of another half-hour I woke with the same dread, and with the same result; and so on twice or thrice after, till at a quarter to nine I jumped up, plunged my head into a basin of cold water, and went back to the sitting-room.
I found him lying forward upon the table, fast asleep, with his head resting on his hands. Some half-dozen letters lay folded and addressed beside him--one directed to his wife. A little pile of burnt paper fluttered on the hearth. His pistols were lying close by in their mahogany case, the blue and white steel relieved against the crimson-velvet lining. He slept so soundly, poor fellow, that I could with difficulty make up my mind to wake him. Once roused, however, he was alert and ready in a moment, changed his coat, took out a new pair of lavender gloves, hailed a cab from the window, and bade the driver name his own fare if he got us to the terrace at Bellevue by five minutes before ten.
”I always like to be before my time in a matter of this kind, Damon,”
said he. ”It's shabby to be merely punctual when one has, perhaps, not more than a quarter of an hour to live. By-the-by, here are my keys.
Take them, in case of accident. You will find a copy of my will in my desk---the original is with my lawyer. The letters you will forward, according to the addresses; and in my cash-box you will find a paper directed to yourself.”
I bent my head. I would not trust myself to speak. ”As for the letter to Helene--to my wife,” he said, turning his face away, ”will you--will you deliver that with your own hands?”
”I will.”
”I--I have had but little time to write it,” he faltered, ”and I trust to you to supply the details. Tell her how I made the quarrel, and how it ended. No one suspects it to be other than a _fracas_ over a game at _ecarte_. No one supposes that I had any other motive, or any deeper vengeance--not even De Caylus! I have not compromised her by word or deed. If I shoot him, I free her without a breath of scandal. If I fall--”
His voice failed, and we were both silent for some moments
We were now past the Barrier, and speeding on rapidly towards the open country. High white houses with jalousies closed against the sun, and pretty maisonnettes in formal gardens, succeeded the streets and shops of suburban Paris. Then came a long country road bordered by poplars--by-and-by, glimpses of the Seine, and scattered farms and villages far away--then Sevres and the leafy heights of Bellevue overhanging the river.
We crossed the bridge, and the driver, mindful of his fare, urged on his tired horse. Some country folks met us presently, and a wagoner with a load of fresh hay. They all smiled and gave us ”good-day” as we pa.s.sed--they going to their work in the fields, and we to our work of bloodshed!
Shortly after this, the road began winding upwards, past the porcelain factories and through the village of Sevres; after which, having but a short distance of very steep road to climb, we desired the cabman to wait, and went up on foot. Arrived at the top, where a peep of blue daylight came streaming down upon us through a green tunnel of acacias, we emerged all at once upon the terrace, and found ourselves first on the field. Behind us rose a hillside of woods--before us, gla.s.sy and glittering, as if traced upon the transparent air, lay the city of palaces. Domes and spires, arches and columns of triumph, softened by distance, looked as if built of the suns.h.i.+ne. Far away on one side stretched the Bois de Boulogne, undulating like a sea of tender green.
Still farther away on the other, lay Pere-la-Chaise--a dark hill specked with white; cypresses and tombs. At our feet, winding round a ”lawny islet” and through a valley luxuriant in corn-fields and meadows, flowed the broad river, bluer than the sky.
”A fine sight, Damon!” said Dalrymple, leaning on the parapet, and coolly lighting a cigar. ”If my eyes are never to open on the day again, I am glad they should have rested for the last time on a scene of so much beauty! Where is the painter who could paint it? Not Claude himself, though he should come back to life on purpose, and mix his colors with liquid sunlight!”
”You are a queer fellow,” said I, ”to talk of scenery and painters at such a moment!”
”Not at all. Things are precious according to the tenure by which we hold them. For my part, I do not know when I appreciated earth and sky so heartily as this morning. _Tiens!_ here comes a carriage--our men, no doubt.”
”Are you a good shot?” I asked anxiously.
”Pretty well. I can write my initials in bullet-holes on a sheet of notepaper at forty paces, or toss up half-a-crown as I ride at full gallop, and let the daylight through it as it comes down.”
”Thank Heaven!”