The Chevalier De Maison Rouge (8 page)

ures. More severe inspections than had previously taken

place were made in a number of suspected houses, but

with the exception of some female emigrants who allowed

themselves to be taken, and some old men whose few re-

maining days they did not trouble themselves to dispute

with the executioner, their researches produced no other

result.

The sections, as may be imagined, were after this event

much occupied for several days, and, consequently, the

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 49

secretary of the section Lepelletier, one of the most in-

fluential in Paris, had little time to think of his unknown fair one. At first, as he had resolved on quitting La

Rue Vieille St. Jacques, he had tried to forget her, but,

as his friend Louis had observed to him :

"Alas ! endeavoring to forget

But makes us recollect the more."

Maurice, however, neither said nor confessed anything.

He buried in his heart all the details of that adventure

which he had been able to conceal from the scrutiny of

his friend. But he who knew Maurice to be of a joyous

and hilarious nature, and now saw him constantly sad

and thoughtful, seeking solitude, doubted not, to use his

own expression, that the rogue Cupid had passed that

way.

It is remarkable that, during its eighteen centuries of

monarchy, France had had few years so mythological as

the year of our Lord 1793. In the meantime, the cheva-

lier was not taken, and he was no more spoken of. The

widowed queen, cruelly robbed of her child, contented

herself by weeping, in company with her sister and

daughter. The young dauphin was consigned to the

care of " Simon the Shoemaker," this poor little martyr who, in the short space of three years, was reunited to

his father. There was a moment's calm. The Montagu-

ard volcano rested before devouring the Girondins.

Maurice felt the weight of this calm, as the heaviness

of the atmosphere is felt in stormy weather, and not

knowing how to dispose of his leisure, abandoned himself

entirely to the ardor of a sentiment, which, if not actually love itself, bordered closely upon it. He reread his

letter, again kissed his beautiful sapphire ring, and re-

eolved, notwithstanding his oath, to make one more at-

tempt, promising himself this should indeed be the last.

The young man had first thought he would go to the

section of the Jardin des Plantes, and there make in-

quiry from the secretary, his colleague. But the first

idea (and, we may add, which he still retained) that the

C DUMAS VOL. XI.

60 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

beautiful unknown was mixed up in some political plot,

still restrained him, as the thought that any indiscretion

on his part might be the means of sending this lovely

woman to La Place de la Revolution, and his head to the

block, caused his blood to curdle and freeze in his veins.

He, therefore, determined on seeking this adventure

alone, and without any further information. His plan,

besides, was very simple. The catalogue of names in-

scribed on each door would certainly afford him some

clew, and then, by interrogating the porter, he might be

able to solve the mystery.

In his capacity of secretary of La Rue Lepelletier, he pos-

sessed full and entire right to make all inquiries. Besides, Maurice, ignorant of the name of the unknown, was able to

judge of it by analogy. It was impossible so lovely a crea-

ture should not possess a name in harmony with her form,

some name appertaining to sylph, fairy, or angel, since

her arrival on earth must have been hailed as that of a

superior and supernatural being. This name would then

most infallibly guide him.

Maurice then dressed himself in a blouse of a dark-brown

cloth, adorned his head with the " bonnet rouge/' worn on great occasions, and set out on his voyage of discovery

alone. He had in his hand one of those knotted cudgels

called " une Constitution," which, wielded by his vigorous hand, was powerful as the club of Hercules, and in

his pocket he placed his commission as secretary of the

section of Lepelletier. These were at once his physical

security and his moral guarantee.

lie prepared himself to review afresh La Rue St.

Victor, La Rue Vieille St. Jacques, reading by light of

the declining day all those names, inscribed in a hand more or less practised, upon the panels of every door.

Maurice had reached the hundredth house, and conse-

quently, read the hundredth list, and nothing had yet

occurred to induce him to imagine that he was in the

least degree upon the trail of the unknown, when a good-

natured shoemaker, noticing the anxiety and impatience

depicted on the young man's countenance, came out with

THE. CHEVALIER DE MAISOX ROUGE. (ft

his strap of leather and his punch, and looking at Maurice

over his spectacles :

"Do you wish any information respecting the tenants

of this house, citizen ?" said he ; " if so, I shall be happy to give it to you."

"Thanks, citizen," stammered Maurice ; " I am looking for the name of a friend."

' Tell me the name, citizen ; I know everybody in this

quarter. Where does this friend live ? "

" He lives, I think, in the Old Rue Jacques, but I fear he has removed."

" But how is he named ? I must know that."

Maurice, taken thus unawares, hesitated for a moment,

then pronounced the first name that presented itself to

his memory.

"Rene," said he.

" And what trade ? "

Maurice was surrounded by tanneries.

" A working tanner," said he.

" In that case," said a burgess, who stopped and regarded Maurice with a certain good nature not totally

exempt from distrust, " it is necessary to address yourself to his muster."

"That is true," said the doorkeeper, '-'it is quite right, the masters know the names of these workmen ;

there is the Citizen Dixmer. who is manager of a tannery,

has more than fifty workmen in his yard ; he will perhaps

tell you."

Maurice turned round and saw a burgess of command-

ing figure, with a mild countenance, the richness of whose

attire denoted opulence.

" Only, as the citizen porter observes, it is necessary I should know the family name."

"I have told you Rene."

" Rene is his baptismal name ; it is the family name I require. All my workmen sign their family name."

" Ma foil " said Maurice, growing impatient under this species of interrogation, " the family name ? I do nofe know it."

52 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

11 What," said the burgess, with a smile, in which

Maurice thought he discerned more irony than he wished

to appear, " what, not know the surname of your friend ? "

"No."

" In that case it is not probable you will find him ; "

and the burgess, gravely bowing to Maurice, walked a

short distance and entered a house in the Old Rue St.

Jacques.

" The fact is that if you do not know his surname "

said the porter.

" Well, I do not know it," said Maurice, who would not have been sorry to find some occasion to vent his ill-temper, and was at the moment much inclined to seek a

quarrel. " What have you to say to that ? "

"Nothing, citizen, nothing at all ; only, since you do not know the name of your friend, it is, as Citizen

Dixmer said, more than probable you will not find him."

And the citizen porter went into his lodge, shrugging

his shoulders. Maurice felt a great inclination to thrash

this porter, but he was an old man, and his infirmities

saved him. Besides, the day was drawing to a close, and

he had only a few moments of daylight left. He availed

himself of it by returning to the first street, then to the second, examined every door, searched in every nook,

looked under every palisade, climbed each wall, threw a

glance into the interior of every gateway, looked through

the keyholes, knocked at some deserted warehouses with-

out receiving any reply, till at length nearly two hours

had elapsed in this useless investigation.

Nine o'clock struck ; no more noise was heard, no

movement seen in this deserted quarter, whose life seemed

to have retired with the light of day. Maurice, in

despair, made a retrograde movement, when all at once,

at the winding of a narrow alley, he discerned a light

burning. He immediately ventured into the dark pas-

sage, without remarking that at the moment even where he

had thrust himself, a curious head, which for the last

quarter of an hour, from the midst of a clump of trees,

rising from under the wall, had followed all his movements, THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 53

and then disappeared suddenly behind this wall. A short

time after this head had disappeared, three men came

out from a small door in this same wall, went into the alley, where Maurice had preceded them, while a fourth, for

greater security, locked the door of entrance into this

alley. At the end of this alley, Maurice discovered a

court ; it was on the opposite side of this court the light was burning. He knocked at the door of a poor solitary

house, but at the first sound the light was extinguished.

He redoubled his efforts, but no one answered to his call ; he saw they were determined to make nc reply, so, comprehending that it was only a useless waste of time, he

crossed the court and reentered the alley. At this mo-

ment the door of the house turned softly on its hinges,

three men came out, and then the sound of a whistle was

heard.

Maurice turned round, and saw three shadows within a

short distance. He saw in the darkness also, his eyes hav-

ing become accustomed to this obscurity, the reflection of

three glittering blades. He knew he was hemmed in.

He would have brandished his club, but the alley was so

narrow that it touched the wall on either side. At the

same moment a violent blow on the head stunned him.

This was an unforeseen assault made upon him by the

four men who entered through the door in the Avail.

Seven men at the same time threw themselves upon

Maurice, and notwithstanding a desperate resistance,

overpowered him, and succeeded in binding his hands and

bandaging his eyes.

Maurice hud not even uttered a cry, or called for aid.

Strength and true courage suffer by themselves, and are

tenacious of the help of a stranger. Besides, Maurice

had often heard that no one would enter this deserted

quarter. Maurice was thus, as we have said, thrown down

and bound, but had not uttered a single complaint. He

had reflected as to what would follow that as they had

' bandaged his eyes they did not intend to kill him di-

rectly. At Maurice's age respite becomes hope. He re-

covered his presence of mind, and listened patiently.

54 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

"Who are yon ?" demanded a voice still breathless from the late struggle.

" I am a man they are murdering," replied Maurice.

" "What is more, you are a dead man if you speak so loud, or call for assistance, or even utter the least

cry."

" If I had wished to do so, I need not have waited till the present time."

" Are you ready to answer my questions ?"

" Let me hear them first, I shall then see whether I

ought to reply."

" Who sent you here ? "

"No one."

" You came, then, of your own accord ?"

"Yes."

"You lie."

Maurice made a desperate effort to disengage his hands,

but it was in vain.

" I never lie," said he.

" In either case, whether you came of your own accord

or were sent, you are a spy."

" And you are cowards ! "

" We cowards ?"

"Yon are seven or eight against one man bound, and

you insult that man. Cowards ! cowards ! cowards ! "

This violence on the part of Maurice, instead of en-

raging his adversaries, appeared to produce a contrary

effect. It was even a proof that the young man was not

what they deemed him ; a true spy would have trembled

and begged for mercy.

" There is nothing insulting in that," said a voice, milder yet firmer than any that had previously been

heard ; " in the times we live in, one may be a spy without being a dishonest man, only it is at the risk of one's

life."

" If that is your opinion, you are welcome to question me. I will answer you faithfully."

" Wiat brought you into this quarter ?"

"To search here for a woman."

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 55

An incredulous murmur followed this assertion. The

breeze increased, and became a hurricane.

" You lie ! " said the same voice ; " it is no woman there is no woman in this quarter to follow. Avow your

intentions, or you die ! "

" Well, then," said Maurice, "you surely would not kill me for the mere pleasure of doing so, unless you are

true brigands."

And Maurice made a second effort, more strenuous than

the first, to disengage his arms from the cord which

secured them. It was useless, and at that moment he

experienced a sharp pain in his breast, which made him