10 A MOUSETRAP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
The invention of the mousetrap does not date from our days; as soon associeties, in forming, had invented any kind of police, that policeinvented mousetraps.
As perhaps our readers are not familiar with the slang of the Rue deJerusalem, and as it is fifteen years since we applied this word for thefirst time to this thing, allow us to explain to them what is amousetrap.
When in a house, of whatever kind it may be, an individual suspected ofany crime is arrested, the arrest is held secret. Four or five men areplaced in ambuscade in the first room. The door is opened to all whoknock. It is closed after them, and they are arrested; so that at theend of two or three days they have in their power almost all theHABITUES of the establishment. And that is a mousetrap.
The apartment of M. Bonacieux, then, became a mousetrap; and whoeverappeared there was taken and interrogated by the cardinal's people. Itmust be observed that as a separate passage led to the first floor, inwhich d'Artagnan lodged, those who called on him were exempted from thisdetention.
Besides, nobody came thither but the three Musketeers; they had all beenengaged in earnest search and inquiries, but had discovered nothing.Athos had even gone so far as to question M. de Treville--a thing which,considering the habitual reticence of the worthy Musketeer, had verymuch astonished his captain. But M. de Treville knew nothing, exceptthat the last time he had seen the cardinal, the king, and the queen,the cardinal looked very thoughtful, the king uneasy, and the redness ofthe queen's eyes donated that she had been sleepless or tearful. Butthis last circumstance was not striking, as the queen since her marriagehad slept badly and wept much.
M de Treville requested Athos, whatever might happen, to be observant ofhis duty to the king, but particularly to the queen, begging him toconvey his desires to his comrades.
As to d'Artagnan, he did not budge from his apartment. He converted hischamber into an observatory. From his windows he saw all the visitorswho were caught. Then, having removed a plank from his floor, andnothing remaining but a simple ceiling between him and the room beneath,in which the interrogatories were made, he heard all that passed betweenthe inquisitors and the accused.
The interrogatories, preceded by a minute search operated upon thepersons arrested, were almost always framed thus: "Has Madame Bonacieuxsent anything to you for her husband, or any other person? Has MonsieurBonacieux sent anything to you for his wife, or for any other person?Has either of them confided anything to you by word of mouth?"
"If they knew anything, they would not question people in this manner,"said d'Artagnan to himself. "Now, what is it they want to know? Why,they want to know if the Duke of Buckingham is in Paris, and if he hashad, or is likely to have, an interview with the queen."
D'Artagnan held onto this idea, which, from what he had heard, was notwanting in probability.
In the meantime, the mousetrap continued in operation, and likewised'Artagnan's vigilance.
On the evening of the day after the arrest of poor Bonacieux, as Athoshad just left d'Artagnan to report at M. de Treville's, as nine o'clockhad just struck, and as Planchet, who had not yet made the bed, wasbeginning his task, a knocking was heard at the street door. The doorwas instantly opened and shut; someone was taken in the mousetrap.
D'Artagnan flew to his hole, laid himself down on the floor at fulllength, and listened.
Cries were soon heard, and then moans, which someone appeared to beendeavoring to stifle. There were no questions.
"The devil!" said d'Artagnan to himself. "It seems like a woman! Theysearch her; she resists; they use force--the scoundrels!"
In spite of his prudence, d'Artagnan restrained himself with greatdifficulty from taking a part in the scene that was going on below.
"But I tell you that I am the mistress of the house, gentlemen! I tellyou I am Madame Bonacieux; I tell you I belong to the queen!" cried theunfortunate woman.
"Madame Bonacieux!" murmured d'Artagnan. "Can I be so lucky as to findwhat everybody is seeking for?"
The voice became more and more indistinct; a tumultuous movement shookthe partition. The victim resisted as much as a woman could resist fourmen.
"Pardon, gentlemen--par--" murmured the voice, which could now only beheard in inarticulate sounds.
"They are binding her; they are going to drag her away," criedd'Artagnan to himself, springing up from the floor. "My sword! Good, itis by my side! Planchet!"
"Monsieur."
"Run and seek Athos, Porthos and Aramis. One of the three will certainlybe at home, perhaps all three. Tell them to take arms, to come here, andto run! Ah, I remember, Athos is at Monsieur de Treville's."
"But where are you going, monsieur, where are you going?"
"I am going down by the window, in order to be there the sooner," criedd'Artagnan. "You put back the boards, sweep the floor, go out at thedoor, and run as I told you."
"Oh, monsieur! Monsieur! You will kill yourself," cried Planchet.
"Hold your tongue, stupid fellow," said d'Artagnan; and laying hold ofthe casement, he let himself gently down from the first story, whichfortunately was not very elevated, without doing himself the slightestinjury.
He then went straight to the door and knocked, murmuring, "I will gomyself and be caught in the mousetrap, but woe be to the cats that shallpounce upon such a mouse!"
The knocker had scarcely sounded under the hand of the young man beforethe tumult ceased, steps approached, the door was opened, andd'Artagnan, sword in hand, rushed into the rooms of M. Bonacieux, thedoor of which, doubtless acted upon by a spring, closed after him.
Then those who dwelt in Bonacieux's unfortunate house, together with thenearest neighbors, heard loud cries, stamping of feet, clashing ofswords, and breaking of furniture. A moment after, those who, surprisedby this tumult, had gone to their windows to learn the cause of it, sawthe door open, and four men, clothed in black, not COME out of it, butFLY, like so many frightened crows, leaving on the ground and on thecorners of the furniture, feathers from their wings; that is to say,patches of their clothes and fragments of their cloaks.
D'Artagnan was conqueror--without much effort, it must be confessed, foronly one of the officers was armed, and even he defended himself forform's sake. It is true that the three others had endeavored to knockthe young man down with chairs, stools, and crockery; but two or threescratches made by the Gascon's blade terrified them. Ten minutessufficed for their defeat, and d'Artagnan remained master of the fieldof battle.
The neighbors who had opened their windows, with the coolness peculiarto the inhabitants of Paris in these times of perpetual riots anddisturbances, closed them again as soon as they saw the four men inblack flee--their instinct telling them that for the time all was over.Besides, it began to grow late, and then, as today, people went to bedearly in the quarter of the Luxembourg.
On being left alone with Mme. Bonacieux, d'Artagnan turned toward her;the poor woman reclined where she had been left, half-fainting upon anarmchair. D'Artagnan examined her with a rapid glance.
She was a charming woman of twenty-five or twenty-six years, with darkhair, blue eyes, and a nose slightly turned up, admirable teeth, and acomplexion marbled with rose and opal. There, however, ended the signswhich might have confounded her with a lady of rank. The hands werewhite, but without delicacy; the feet did not bespeak the woman ofquality. Happily, d'Artagnan was not yet acquainted with such niceties.
While d'Artagnan was examining Mme. Bonacieux, and was, as we have said,close to her, he saw on the ground a fine cambric handkerchief, which hepicked up, as was his habit, and at the corner of which he recognizedthe same cipher he had seen on the handkerchief which had nearly causedhim and Aramis to cut each other's throat.
From that time, d'Artagnan had been cautious with respect tohandkerchiefs with arms on them, and he therefore placed in the pocketof Mme. Bonacieux the one he had just picked up.
At that moment Mme. Bonacieux recovered her senses. She opened h
er eyes,looked around her with terror, saw that the apartment was empty and thatshe was alone with her liberator. She extended her hands to him with asmile. Mme. Bonacieux had the sweetest smile in the world.
"Ah, monsieur!" said she, "you have saved me; permit me to thank you."
"Madame," said d'Artagnan, "I have only done what every gentleman wouldhave done in my place; you owe me no thanks."
"Oh, yes, monsieur, oh, yes; and I hope to prove to you that you havenot served an ingrate. But what could these men, whom I at first tookfor robbers, want with me, and why is Monsieur Bonacieux not here?"
"Madame, those men were more dangerous than any robbers could have been,for they are the agents of the cardinal; and as to your husband,Monsieur Bonacieux, he is not here because he was yesterday eveningconducted to the Bastille."
"My husband in the Bastille!" cried Mme. Bonacieux. "Oh, my God! Whathas he done? Poor dear man, he is innocence itself!"
And something like a faint smile lighted the still-terrified features ofthe young woman.
"What has he done, madame?" said d'Artagnan. "I believe that his onlycrime is to have at the same time the good fortune and the misfortune tobe your husband."
"But, monsieur, you know then--"
"I know that you have been abducted, madame."
"And by whom? Do you know him? Oh, if you know him, tell me!"
"By a man of from forty to forty-five years, with black hair, a darkcomplexion, and a scar on his left temple."
"That is he, that is he; but his name?"
"Ah, his name? I do not know that."
"And did my husband know I had been carried off?"
"He was informed of it by a letter, written to him by the abductorhimself."
"And does he suspect," said Mme. Bonacieux, with some embarrassment,"the cause of this event?"
"He attributed it, I believe, to a political cause."
"I doubted from the first; and now I think entirely as he does. Then mydear Monsieur Bonacieux has not suspected me a single instant?"
"So far from it, madame, he was too proud of your prudence, and aboveall, of your love."
A second smile, almost imperceptible, stole over the rosy lips of thepretty young woman.
"But," continued d'Artagnan, "how did you escape?"
"I took advantage of a moment when they left me alone; and as I hadknown since morning the reason of my abduction, with the help of thesheets I let myself down from the window. Then, as I believed my husbandwould be at home, I hastened hither."
"To place yourself under his protection?"
"Oh, no, poor dear man! I knew very well that he was incapable ofdefending me; but as he could serve us in other ways, I wished to informhim."
"Of what?"
"Oh, that is not my secret; I must not, therefore, tell you."
"Besides," said d'Artagnan, "pardon me, madame, if, guardsman as I am, Iremind you of prudence--besides, I believe we are not here in a veryproper place for imparting confidences. The men I have put to flightwill return reinforced; if they find us here, we are lost. I have sentfor three of my friends, but who knows whether they were at home?"
"Yes, yes! You are right," cried the affrighted Mme. Bonacieux; "let usfly! Let us save ourselves."
At these words she passed her arm under that of d'Artagnan, and urgedhim forward eagerly.
"But whither shall we fly--whither escape?"
"Let us first withdraw from this house; afterward we shall see."
The young woman and the young man, without taking the trouble to shutthe door after them, descended the Rue des Fossoyeurs rapidly, turnedinto the Rue des Fosses-Monsieur-le-Prince, and did not stop till theycame to the Place St. Sulpice.
"And now what are we to do, and where do you wish me to conduct you?"asked d'Artagnan.
"I am at quite a loss how to answer you, I admit," said Mme. Bonacieux."My intention was to inform Monsieur Laporte, through my husband, inorder that Monsieur Laporte might tell us precisely what had taken placeat the Louvre in the last three days, and whether there is any danger inpresenting myself there."
"But I," said d'Artagnan, "can go and inform Monsieur Laporte."
"No doubt you could, only there is one misfortune, and that is thatMonsieur Bonacieux is known at the Louvre, and would be allowed to pass;whereas you are not known there, and the gate would be closed againstyou."
"Ah, bah!" said d'Artagnan; "you have at some wicket of the Louvre aCONCIERGE who is devoted to you, and who, thanks to a password, would--"
Mme. Bonacieux looked earnestly at the young man.
"And if I give you this password," said she, "would you forget it assoon as you used it?"
"By my honor, by the faith of a gentleman!" said d'Artagnan, with anaccent so truthful that no one could mistake it.
"Then I believe you. You appear to be a brave young man; besides, yourfortune may perhaps be the result of your devotedness."
"I will do, without a promise and voluntarily, all that I can do toserve the king and be agreeable to the queen. Dispose of me, then, as afriend."
"But I--where shall I go meanwhile?"
"Is there nobody from whose house Monsieur Laporte can come and fetchyou?"
"No, I can trust nobody."
"Stop," said d'Artagnan; "we are near Athos's door. Yes, here it is."
"Who is this Athos?"
"One of my friends."
"But if he should be at home and see me?"
"He is not at home, and I will carry away the key, after having placedyou in his apartment."
"But if he should return?"
"Oh, he won't return; and if he should, he will be told that I havebrought a woman with me, and that woman is in his apartment."
"But that will compromise me sadly, you know."
"Of what consequence? Nobody knows you. Besides, we are in a situationto overlook ceremony."
"Come, then, let us go to your friend's house. Where does he live?"
"Rue Ferou, two steps from here."
"Let us go!"
Both resumed their way. As d'Artagnan had foreseen, Athos was notwithin. He took the key, which was customarily given him as one of thefamily, ascended the stairs, and introduced Mme. Bonacieux into thelittle apartment of which we have given a description.
"You are at home," said he. "Remain here, fasten the door inside, andopen it to nobody unless you hear three taps like this;" and he tappedthrice--two taps close together and pretty hard, the other after aninterval, and lighter.
"That is well," said Mme. Bonacieux. "Now, in my turn, let me give youmy instructions."
"I am all attention."
"Present yourself at the wicket of the Louvre, on the side of the Rue del'Echelle, and ask for Germain."
"Well, and then?"
"He will ask you what you want, and you will answer by these two words,'Tours' and 'Bruxelles.' He will at once put himself at your orders."
"And what shall I command him?"
"To go and fetch Monsieur Laporte, the queen's VALET DE CHAMBRE."
"And when he shall have informed him, and Monsieur Laporte is come?"
"You will send him to me."
"That is well; but where and how shall I see you again?"
"Do you wish to see me again?"
"Certainly."
"Well, let that care be mine, and be at ease."
"I depend upon your word."
"You may."
D'Artagnan bowed to Mme. Bonacieux, darting at her the most lovingglance that he could possibly concentrate upon her charming littleperson; and while he descended the stairs, he heard the door closed anddouble-locked. In two bounds he was at the Louvre; as he entered thewicket of L'Echelle, ten o'clock struck. All the events we havedescribed had taken place within a half hour.
Everything fell out as Mme. Bonacieux prophesied. On hearing thepassword, Germain bowed. In a few minutes, Laporte was at the lodge; intwo words d'Artagnan informed him where Mme. Bonacieux was. Laporteassured himself, by having it twice
repeated, of the accurate address,and set off at a run. Hardly, however, had he taken ten steps before hereturned.
"Young man," said he to d'Artagnan, "a suggestion."
"What?"
"You may get into trouble by what has taken place."
"You believe so?"
"Yes. Have you any friend whose clock is too slow?"
"Well?"
"Go and call upon him, in order that he may give evidence of your havingbeen with him at half past nine. In a court of justice that is called analibi."
D'Artagnan found his advice prudent. He took to his heels, and was soonat M. de Treville's; but instead of going into the saloon with the restof the crowd, he asked to be introduced to M. de Treville's office. Asd'Artagnan so constantly frequented the hotel, no difficulty was made incomplying with his request, and a servant went to inform M. de Trevillethat his young compatriot, having something important to communicate,solicited a private audience. Five minutes after, M. de Treville wasasking d'Artagnan what he could do to serve him, and what caused hisvisit at so late an hour.
"Pardon me, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, who had profited by the momenthe had been left alone to put back M. de Treville's clock three-quartersof an hour, "but I thought, as it was yet only twenty-five minutes pastnine, it was not too late to wait upon you."
"Twenty-five minutes past nine!" cried M. de Treville, looking at theclock; "why, that's impossible!"
"Look, rather, monsieur," said d'Artagnan, "the clock shows it."
"That's true," said M. de Treville; "I believed it later. But what can Ido for you?"
Then d'Artagnan told M. de Treville a long history about the queen. Heexpressed to him the fears he entertained with respect to her Majesty;he related to him what he had heard of the projects of the cardinal withregard to Buckingham, and all with a tranquillity and candor of which M.de Treville was the more the dupe, from having himself, as we have said,observed something fresh between the cardinal, the king, and the queen.
As ten o'clock was striking, d'Artagnan left M. de Treville, who thankedhim for his information, recommended him to have the service of the kingand queen always at heart, and returned to the saloon; but at the footof the stairs, d'Artagnan remembered he had forgotten his cane. Heconsequently sprang up again, re-entered the office, with a turn of hisfinger set the clock right again, that it might not be perceived thenext day that it had been put wrong, and certain from that time that hehad a witness to prove his alibi, he ran downstairs and soon foundhimself in the street.
Les trois mousquetaires. English Page 11