Part 112 (2/2)
”But whence does he come? Why have we received no news of him?”
”I do not know. He has been here only five minutes. Poor boy! after I told him that his father was safe, his first words were: 'And Marie-Anne?' He loves her more devotedly than ever. He comes with his heart full of her, confident and hopeful; and I tremble--I fear to tell him the truth.”
”Oh, terrible! terrible!”
”I have warned you; be prudent--and now, come in.”
They entered the room together; and Maurice and the old soldier greeted Jean with the most ardent expressions of friends.h.i.+p.
They had not seen each other since the duel on the Reche, which had been interrupted by the arrival of the soldiers; and when they parted that day they scarcely expected to meet again.
”And now we are together once more,” said Maurice, gayly, ”and we have nothing to fear.”
Never had the unfortunate man seemed so cheerful; and it was with the most jubilant air that he explained the reason of his long silence.
”Three days after we crossed the frontier,” said he, ”Corporal Bavois and I reached Turin. It was time, for we were tired out. We went to a small inn, and they gave us a room with two beds.
”That evening, while we were undressing, the corporal said to me: 'I am capable of sleeping two whole days without waking.' I, too, promised myself a rest of at least twelve hours. We reckoned without our host, as you will see.
”It was scarcely daybreak when we were awakened by a great tumult. A dozen rough-looking men entered our room, and ordered us, in Italian, to dress ourselves. They were too strong for us, so we obeyed; and an hour later we were in prison, confined in the same cell. Our reflections, I confess, were not _couleur de rose_.
”I well remember how the corporal said again and again, in that cool way of his: 'It will require four days to obtain our extradition, three days to take us back to Montaignac--that is seven days; it will take one day more to try me; so I have in all eight days to live.'”
”Upon my word! that was exactly what I thought,” said the old soldier, approvingly.
”For five months,” continued Maurice, ”instead of saying 'good-night' to each other, we said: 'To-morrow they will come for us.' But they did not come.
”We were kindly treated. They did not take away my money; and they willingly sold us little luxuries; they also granted us two hours of exercise each day in the court-yard, and even loaned us books to read.
In short, I should not have had any particular cause to complain, if I had been allowed to receive or to forward letters, or if I had been able to communicate with my father or with Marie-Anne. But we were in the secret cells, and were not allowed to have any intercourse with the other prisoners.
”At length our detention seemed so strange and became so insupportable to us, that we resolved to obtain some explanation of it, cost what it might.
”We changed our tactics. Up to that time we had been quite submissive; we suddenly became violent and intractable. We made the prison resound with our cries and protestations; we were continually sending for the superintendent; we claimed the intervention of the French amba.s.sador. We were not obliged to wait long for the result.
”One fine afternoon, the superintendent released us, not without expressing much regret at being deprived of the society of such amiable and charming guests.
”Our first act, as you may suppose, was to run to the amba.s.sador. We did not see that dignitary, but his secretary received us. He knit his brows when I told my story, and became excessively grave. I remember each word of his reply.
”'Monsieur,' said he, 'I can swear that the persecution of which you have been the object in France had nothing whatever to do with your detention here.'
”And as I expressed my astonishment:
”'One moment,' he added. 'I shall express my opinion very frankly. One of your enemies--I leave you to discover which one--must exert a very powerful influence in Turin. You were in his way, perhaps; he had you imprisoned by the Piedmontese police.'”
With a heavy blow of his clinched fist, Jean Lacheneur made the table beside him reel.
”Ah! the secretary was right!” he exclaimed. ”Maurice, it was Martial de Sairmeuse who caused your arrest----”
<script>