by G. A. Henty
Chapter 10: Preparations For A Rescue.
"I have no accommodation for you here, citizens," a voice said, asJean Martin and Leigh rode into the little courtyard, and a manwith a wooden leg came out from the side door of the inn.
"I think you might be able to manage for us, Brenon," Jean said.
"Mon Dieu! it is--"
Jean held up his hand sharply.
"Yes, it is I, Citizen Gallon, from Vallet. It is not often that Istir so far from home, but I had business here."
"Well, well, I will see what I can do for you, comrade; but as youknow, I don't profess to take in horses. My clients come from thewaterside, and generally my stable is full of their baskets andropes. However, I will see what I can do. I will tie them up inthat shed, for the present, and then clear out a stall for themafterwards."
The horses were led to a shed, encumbered with fishing gear of allsorts.
"What madness has seized you, mon capitaine, to put your head intothis lion's den?"
"I will tell you presently, Brenon, when we get inside. I am gladthat you are able to take the horses in. We don't want to be staredat, or talked about. We have come along the river bank and, so far,we have been quite unnoticed."
"All the better, all the better; to be noticed here means to haveone's head cut off. Now, I will take you to a little room upstairs,where there is no chance of anyone seeing you."
"Get us up, if you can, without our being noticed by your servants,Brenon. We shall be differently dressed when we come down again."
The man nodded.
"The boy is in the front room," he said. "There are three or fourfishermen there, having their morning glass. I have no otherservants. My wife does what is needful, for I was obliged todischarge the girl we had, everything has been so slack of late."
He led them up to a chamber looking on to the quay. Jean waspuzzled at the man's manner, for he spoke in a confused andhesitating way. When he closed the door behind him, he stoodrubbing his hands together nervously.
"Have you heard lately from Nantes, Monsieur Jean?"
"No, it is five weeks since I had any news; except, of course, whatwas known about the troops that were here. What is it, old friend?Is there bad news?"
"There is terrible news," Brenon said, "so bad that I don't knowhow to tell you."
"Speak out, old friend. I have had one blow so heavy that I canscarcely be hurt more than I am."
"Well, then, monsieur, your father has been arrested and is in theprison; and you know what that means!"
"Father arrested!" Jean exclaimed; "on what grounds? He neverexpressed an opinion as to public affairs. That at heart he hatedwhat has been going on, I know; but he never spoke strongly, evento me, and when I have heard his opinion asked, he has alwaysreplied that he was a trader, and that a man could not give hisattention to business if he worried himself over politics. Heattended to his trade, and left it to those who liked, to managethe government of the country.
"What of my mother and sister?"
"They are safe, monsieur. He sent them off a fortnight before, indisguise, to La Rochelle; at least, so I have heard from thefishermen. And as the Henriette was lying there at the time, andsailed two days after, there is not much doubt but that they sailedin her for England.
"Your father was denounced before the committee of public safety asone who was hostile to the Convention. He was accused of havingsent large sums of money to England, and was believed to have senthis wife and daughter there also, with the intention, of course, offollowing them; and the fact that you were known to be fighting inthe ranks of the brigands, as they call the Vendeans, was alsomentioned as an additional crime on his part."
"Then we have a double task to carry out, Leigh," Jean said grimly.
"Now I will tell you what we came here for, Brenon. Six days ago asmall party of the Blue cavalry came, at night, to my chateau. Iwas away, but they carried off my wife as a prisoner, and burnt thehouse to the ground. So we have come here to see if we cannot gether out of prison.''
"You have thought of such a thing as that?" the man exclaimed insurprise. "Ah, monsieur! It is well nigh an impossibility that youhave undertaken. The villains know that there are hundreds of men,friends of the prisoners with whom they have crowded the jails, whowould tear them down stone by stone, if they had the power; but inaddition to the prison warders--not the men that used to be there,but men taken from the lowest class in the town--the prisons arewatched by what they call the volunteers, fifteen hundred menbelonging to the scum of the city--the men from the slaughterhouses,the skinners', and the tan yards Some of these are ever on guardround the prisons, night and day.
"There have been great changes here. A year ago, almost everyonethought that the Assembly was going to do wonderful things. No oneknew exactly what. According to what they said, everyone was to beable to eat meat, seven days a week, to wear good clothes, and todo just as much work as pleased him and no more. Even the fishermenand sailors were fools enough to believe it.
"But there is a great change now. At first they approved of cutting offthe heads of those who, they were told, were the cause of all miseryand poverty; but when, every day, fresh prisoners were brought in, andit was not the nobles only but quiet citizens--tradesmen, manufacturers,doctors, and advocates--and every morning a score were carried out to beguillotined, men began to change their opinion; especially when theyfound that the more heads were cut off, the less work there was and thepoorer they became. They began to talk among themselves and, when itcame to executing women and children, as well as men, they turned roundaltogether.
"More than once the fishermen and sailors have tried to rescueprisoners on their way to execution. The commissioners of therepublic have been hooted in the streets and, if they had had armsin their hands, our men would have turned the tables; but the townis full of troops now and, worse than all, they have enrolled thiscorps of volunteers, who are the terror of the place. They havespies everywhere, and no one dares whisper a word against thecommissioners or the executions for, if but two or three men arestanding by, the chances are that one of them is a spy."
"But surely my brother might have prevented my father's arrest,Brenon? He was one of the leading men at that Jacobin Club."
"He is still one of the leading men of the party," Brenon saidgloomily. "He is established in your father's house, now, and is onthe most intimate terms with the commissaries of the Convention."
"Is Monsieur Desailles still here? He was a young advocate, and amember of the Jacobin Club."
"Yes, he is a member still: but he is not in good odour with theextreme party. He is at the head of what they call the moderates.They say that sometimes these try to defend accused persons, andthat is considered a terrible offence by the others. I should neverbe surprised to hear that he himself, and those with him, have beendenounced as enemies of the state. This is an awful time, monsieur,and Heaven only knows what we shall come to.
"Now, is there anything that I can do for you, captain? You knowwell that you have but to say the word and that, whatever it is, Iwould do it, even if I were cut to pieces the minute afterwards."
"Thank you, old friend. It was because I knew that you were trustyand true that I came here. Now, the first thing that we want isfishermen's clothes. We only disguised ourselves in those things inorder to pass safely through the Blues, and be able to cross theferry. For the present they have done their work, and now we want adisguise that we can go about in, unnoticed. Of course, we don'twant new things."
"I can get them easily enough, monsieur. My customers are all hardup. I know pretty well which are true men, and which are not."
"In the next place, I should like to buy or hire a boat to be at mydisposal, as long as I stay here."
"There are boats and to spare, captain. Fishing goes on because menmust live; though it can hardly be called living, for the prices ofeverything are fixed by law, now, and are fixed so low that the mencan scarce earn enough to buy bread for themselves, and theirfamilies.
Still, there are boats in plenty. Men have come down fromtowns and villages higher up, for they say that the troops areunder no control and, when the boats come in after a night'sfishing, they come down and help themselves and, if a man venturesto grumble, he gets a musket ball to pay him for his fish. The menhere, at first, were against their fishing between this place andthe sea; but the authorities stepped in, and said that the morefood, the better for the people; and as the price was fixed, themen here saw that it made no difference to them. Still, like ourown men, they are doing badly enough, and one could buy a boat fora mere song."
"It would be better to buy one from those men, Brenon, because thefact of our being strangers would not then be noticed. I want onerowing boat, as fast a craft as you can pick out.
"I also want to hire a boat with a cabin that will hold us both. Ofcourse it will be a sailing boat, say of three or four tons burden.I intend that we shall live on board. It might be noticed if twostrange sailors were often coming in and out of your place;whereas, if we were in a boat moored against the bank, no one wouldnotice us. If you can get hold of such a boat, with a couple of menwho seem to you to be honest fellows, strangers to the place, itwill be a great thing; and we could occasionally go down the river,and do a little fishing."
"All that can be managed easily enough, captain. I know of oneboat, just such a size; owned by two men, Rouget and Medart, whosailed in the Henriette for years, and only left her when you did,as they had wives and families here, and knew that she would notput in again for a long time. You could trust them as you do me."
"That would be the very thing. Make arrangements with them, on anyterms they like. I will take her by the week. She carries a boat, Isuppose?"
"Of course, monsieur, they could not do without one."
"If she is fast, well and good. If not, tell them to buy thefastest they can find. They can sell their own boat in partpayment, or they can get her up on the quay and let her lie there,until we have gone, when they can either sell her or the new one.
"However, the clothes are the first thing. We cannot venture out inthese, in the first place, because we might be questioned; andsecondly, because we might be recognized; whereas in a fisherman'sdress, with a wide oilskin hat and our faces dirtied somewhat, Idon't think that anyone could know us."
They remained quiet until evening, and then sallied out in thedisguises Brenon had obtained for them. Their first visit was tothe house of Jean's friend, Desailles. It was arranged that Leighshould not go in, as Desailles would probably speak more freely toJean, if alone. Jean had written his name on a piece of paper,folded it up, and carefully sealed it and, when he reached thehouse, he handed this to the woman who opened the door.
"This is for Citizen Desailles," he said. "I will wait. He may wantto see me."
In a minute the servant returned, and requested him to come in. Hewas shown into a room where Desailles was sitting, with some papersbefore him. He did not speak until the servant closed the door.Then he leapt up, and held out both hands to his visitor.
"My dear Jean," he said, "what imprudence, what madness for you toventure here!"
"I don't think there is any fear of my being discovered. Even you,yourself, would scarcely know me."
"I know you, now you have taken that hat off; but I own that I didnot recognize you before, and thought for the moment that you werebut a messenger.
"Please do not talk loud. For aught I know, my servant has beenbribed to act as a spy upon me, and may have her ear at thekeyhole. To tell you the truth, Jean, things are coming to a crisisat the club. The violent party get more violent every day, and I amheartily sick of this butchers' work. I feel that, at any moment, Imay be denounced."
"Then why on earth do you stay here, Jules? Why don't you come andthrow in your lot with us?"
"I should have laughed at the idea, a year ago," he said; "for atthat time, although I objected strongly to the doings in Paris, Iyet believed that much good would come of the changes. Now I knowthat nothing has come of them but murder and misery, and themadness increases rather than diminishes. Hopeless as I own yourstruggle seems, to me, I would at least rather be killed in battlethan executed here; but I would rather still get to England, if Icould. As you know, I can play the violin well, and might be ableto support myself, by its aid, if nothing else turned up."
"If you are thinking of going, Desailles, I will give you a letterto my father-in-law, at Poole. I hear that my mother and sisterhave escaped, and they have doubtless gone there, so you will notfind yourself friendless.
"And now for the purpose that has brought me here. I had no idea,until I arrived, that these wretches had imprisoned my father; whois the last man to interfere in politics, and has, I am sure, neveruttered a word of enmity against the Convention. I came toendeavour to rescue my wife who, as no doubt you have heard, hasbeen seized and carried off in my absence, and my house laid inashes. I suppose she has been brought here."
"Yes, I am aware of it," Jules said. "The party of horse who did itwere specially sent from here. Of course you were the principalobject of the expedition, but the officer was ordered to bring her,too--in the first place as your wife, in the second as anEnglishwoman and therefore, of course, an enemy of France. You weredenounced to the club; and as you were known to be one of thegentlemen who had joined the insurrection, and were fighting withCathelineau and others, I knew that it would be useless to raise avoice on your behalf; having the satisfaction of feeling sure thatyou would be away from home when they got there, and hoping thatyour wife would receive notice of their coming, before they enteredthe house."
"Has she been brought here yet?"
"Yes, she arrived three days ago. She is in the old city prison,where your father is also confined."
"So far that is fortunate," Jean said.
"Now, how about my father? I should have thought that Jacques'influence would have been sufficient to protect him."
The young advocate smiled bitterly.
"Monsieur Jacques Martin poses as a Brutus, Jean. When your fatherwas denounced in the club, he rose and said that he should take nopart in the deliberations, that he was before all other things apatriot, and that he would not permit private affection tointerfere with his duty as a citizen. In fact, my dear Jean,painful as it must be for you to hear, my opinion is that yourbrother has all along been playing a deep game, and that his objecthas been to grasp the whole of your father's business and property.It was a friend of his who denounced you at the club, when I beforegave you warning; it was members of his clique who stirred theauthorities up to send a small body of cavalry to capture you, andit was they also who denounced your father. Your brother is by farthe most powerful of the committee of safety, as well as in theclub. He assumes an air of perfect disinterestedness, and of apassionate love for the republic. His vote is always given fordeath. I think he takes Saint Just as his model, and repeats hisassertion, that it is only by the destruction of the enemies ofFrance that France can be freed.
"There is a cold bloodedness about him that sets my nervestingling. I believe, myself, that the discovery that your fatherhad largely reduced his stocks, and had sent the proceeds toEngland, decided him in either agreeing to, or bringing about, thisdenunciation; and that he deferred it only until he found that yourmother and sister had escaped. That freed his hands, to someextent. Had they remained here, he would have been in a difficultposition. Even in these days, when we are sated with horrors, hecould hardly have permitted his mother and sister to be executedwhen, as everyone knew, he had power to save them. On the otherhand, if they had remained they would have been obstacles to thesuccess of his plan. As it is now, your father's house and allproperty belonging to him were declared confiscated; but thecommittee of safety passed a vote that, seeing the inestimableservice rendered to the state by his eldest son, they would bebestowed upon him as a token of gratitude for his well doing."
"You scarcely surprise me," Jean said gloomily. "I never liked mybrother--we had not a feeling in common, and fo
r years he has neverseemed to belong to the family; and certainly, since the troublesbegan, he has not set foot in my father's house. Still, I hardlybelieved that he would be such a scoundrel. I abhorred hisopinions, but believed that he was at least sincere. I did not seewhat he could gain by a revolution. Now I understand his characterbetter, and can see how cleverly he has played his cards. I cannotreckon myself with the scoundrel, deeply as he has wronged me andmy father; but I should welcome the news that retribution hadfallen upon him, by some other hand.
"And now, Jules, can you give me any advice whatever as to how toset about my scheme of getting them both out of prison?"
Jules shook his head.
"I fear, my poor friend, that that is impossible. The prison is, asyou know, strong. There are, I should say, some forty warders, allruffians and scoundrels. Any attempt to bribe even one of themwould, almost to a certainty, be denounced; and it would probablybe necessary to have at least half a dozen in the plot. As toforce, it is out of the question. The building is very strong.There are always some twenty or thirty of the volunteers on guardoutside, and an alarm would bring up five hundred in a quarter ofan hour, to say nothing of the troops. What force could you bringthat could have even a remote chance of success?"
"I have Leigh with me. You know him well, Jules. I rely much moreupon him than I do on myself. He is full of plans and contrivances,and has rendered extraordinary services during the war. He has withhim, or rather will have in the course of a day or so, a band offorty lads, of whom he is the captain, who have acted as scouts toCathelineau. They will be in hiding, a mile or two out of thetown."
Jules lifted his eyebrows.
"I am afraid that such a force as that would be of very little useto you, Jean--in fact, of no use whatever. If you had five hundredmen, and could gather them for a sudden attack on the jail, and hada couple of cannon to blow in the gate, I should say it might bepossible; and even then the chance of its being all done, and thefugitives got safely away, before the arrival of some threethousand troops would be very doubtful."
At this moment the servant brought in a note.
"Who brought this?" Monsieur Desailles asked.
"It was a woman, monsieur. She did not wait for an answer."
The advocate opened it. It was written in pencil.
"Dear Jules, Martin is on his feet denouncing you. Hostile votecertain. Escape at once."
After reading it, he handed it to Jean.
"That settles it," he said. "I am with you. Where are you staying?"
Martin told him, and said:
"It will never do for you to stay there. But I have arranged for aboat, with a cabin. We shall go on board at once. You can come withus. I had better go out first."
"It is better that we should not go together for, if the womanreports that I went off with a fisherman, a search might be made inall the boats. I will join you on the quay opposite the inn youspeak of. I shall need a quarter of an hour to burn some papers. Ihave already a valise packed, with a couple of thousand francs,which is all the money I could obtain without creating suspicion. Ihave seen this coming for some time, and had no intention of makinga martyr of myself, when my doing so would be of no advantage."
"Don't delay too long, Jules. I shall be in a fever until you joinme."
"I know their way, Jean. There will be a half a dozen speeches,each vying with the other in abusing me. My friends will see theuselessness of trying to defend me, when the terrorists are threeto one against them. If my friend slipped out, as is probable,directly your brother rose, I can calculate on a good hour.Actually, the club have no power whatever to order arrests, butthey are so closely allied now with the committee of safety thatthey do not stand upon legalities, except in cases likely toattract a great deal of public attention."
Jules went to the door and let his visitor out. Jean joined Leigh.
"Desailles is going to join us. He has just been denounced, andwill be with us in a quarter of an hour, on the wharf. It is verylucky that Brenon completed the arrangements today for the boat,and that Rouget and Medart will be expecting us this evening. Itold them that I might not come until tomorrow morning, but thissettles it. There will be a sharp search for Desailles, as soon asit is found that he is gone; and it is just as well that we shouldbe off, too. I am very glad that I had the boat taken from herusual berth to a spot half a mile higher up, because there are sureto be inquiries whether any fishing boats put out during thenight."
They walked fast back to the inn. Brenon, on being told what hadhappened, agreed that it would certainly be safest for them to goon board.
"I have two friends living here," he said, "both of whom arecarriers, and keep eight or ten horses. Tomorrow morning, early, Iwill take one of your horses to one and the second to the other. Noone will notice them there, whereas if a search is made--and I haveno doubt a search will be made of the houses near the river--theywill light upon them in my shed, and they would not believe mystory that I had two citizens from Vallet living here--in the firstplace because it is an unlikely place to put them up, and in thesecond because no such citizens would be forthcoming. It is luckythat you told the men to get a cask of wine and a store ofprovisions on board, before starting.
"Well, you know, captain, that whenever you choose to land again,my house is at your disposal; and I will carry out what wearranged, that I should get together a score of men I can trust,and to each of whom I can promise a hundred francs, for a night'swork in a good cause."
They packed up their former disguises, which might come in usefulagain. Their pistols they had already about them. They then wentout on to the wharf again and, a few minutes later, were joined byJules Desailles.
"I have been nervous ever since I left you," Jean Martin said, ashis friend shook hands with Leigh. "I was afraid that a quarter ofan hour's delay might be fatal."
"I lost no time. But I feel sure that it will be an hour beforeanyone is down after me; they are all too fond of listening totheir own voices to close any discussion, in less than an hourafter the proposer has sat down. I hope the boat is not far off,for this portmanteau of mine is heavy, I can assure you."
Martin took it up and swung it on to his shoulder.
"No, my dear Jean, I won't have it."
"Nonsense, Jules. The weight is nothing to me though, no doubt, toa man who never takes any exercise it would feel heavy."
"To say the truth, it is heavier than I expected. I went on packingup everything that I did not like to leave behind, until the thingwas crammed full; and after I had locked it, and went to lift it, Iwas thunderstruck with the weight."
"Did your servant see you go out?"
"No; I rang for her, and told her that I was going out, and did notsuppose that I should be back till late, and that she could go tobed when she liked--which I knew would be a few minutes after shegot permission. She is a sort of human dormouse and, nineteen timesout of twenty, I have had to wait for my breakfast. I was in afright as I walked down here, lest some one who knew me might runagainst me, but happily I saw no one."
"They would not recognize you, if they had seen you," Jean laughed."The idea of Monsieur Desailles, advocate, a gentleman somewhatparticular as to his attire, dragging a portmanteau weighing ahundred pounds through the streets, would seem an impossibility."
"I have left that phase of my existence behind me," Jules laughed;"henceforth I am a man of war, a rebel, a brigand, as they callyou, prepared for any desperate adventure, ready to rush up to acannon's mouth."
"That is right, Desailles. I am glad to see that you take things socheerfully."
"My dear Jean, I feel as if I walk on air since you have taken myportmanteau. I have been living in a state of suspense for months,hating these wretches and their ways; and knowing that I wasgradually falling into bad odour with them, and that the blow wouldcertainly fall, ere long. Over and over again I have thought ofmaking my escape from it all; but you see, I am not a man ofaction, as you are. I did not see how the matter was to beeffected
--where to go or what to do. I was like a boy shivering atthe edge of the bank, and afraid to plunge in; then another comesbehind him and pushes him into the water, and he strikes out, andfinds that it is not as cold as he expected, and forthwith enjoysit. I have cut loose from the past. I have become a rover and awaif, and I feel as lighthearted as a boy.
"Now, let me get hold of one end of that trunk, again."
"I have got it all right and, as you see, I have not yet changedshoulders. And if I want help, it is to Leigh I should turn, andnot to you. After three months' campaigning, it may be that youwill be able to hold up an end as well as he can, but you certainlycannot do so now. In another hundred yards we shall be at the boat,and they must be on the lookout for us."
In a short time they saw a fishing craft, with a boat astern ofher. A man was standing on the deck.
"It is a dark night, my friends," he said.
"It will be lighter in the morning," Jean replied.
The man leapt ashore.
"Ah, captain, I am glad, indeed, to see you. Brenon did not tellus, until after he had made a bargain with us, who wanted our boat,or we should not have talked about payment. Not likely, afterhaving sailed with you since you were a boy of fourteen."
"No, indeed," said another man, who had just raised his head out ofthe cabin hatch; "and we are not going to take it, either."
"We will talk about that afterwards," Jean said, as he stepped onboard.
"I doubted whether it was you, captain, for Brenon had only spokento us of two; and when I saw three of you, I thought that you mustbelong to one of the boats higher up. There are two or three ofthem, a bit farther on."
"I did not know, myself, until half an hour ago. This is my friendMonsieur Desailles, who is in the same danger from these butchersof the Convention as I am. First pass this box down, and then wewill follow it."
They gathered in the little cabin. It was but some seven feet long.
"It will be close work, captain," Rouget said.
"It will do very well," Jean said cheerfully. "There is room fortwo of us to sleep on the lockers, and one on the floor. You havegot the small boat behind you, I see."
"She is there," the man said, "and a good boat she is. We boughther from two fishermen, who had come down from Saint Florent. Sheis very well for up there, but she is scarce fit for fishing farbelow Nantes."
"I am glad that she did not belong to this place," Martin said."The fishermen might have been surprised to see two strange men ina boat they knew; but so many have come down here, from the townsabove, that we shall excite no attention. Now, the first thing todo is to get up sail, and drop down two miles past the town; thenyou can go about your fishing as usual. Only one of us will showupon deck at a time.
"Now, as to the matter on which we are here. Brenon told you thatit was a dangerous business for which you would be required?"
"He told us that it was to hide two gentlemen whom the committee ofpublic safety would be glad to get hold of; and I knew, of course,that to do such a thing was dangerous, but we did not like it anythe worse for that. All honest men are horrified at the way thesecommissioners from Paris are carrying things on, and would be gladenough to aid in getting anyone out of their hands."
"But the danger is greater, in our case, than ordinary," Jean wenton. "You heard that my father had been imprisoned?"
"We heard it, captain, and savage it made us, as you may guess.Everyone spoke well of him and, being your father, of course wefelt it all the more."
"But that is not all, lads. A party of their cavalry went to mychateau in my absence, burnt it down, and brought my wife here aprisoner. Now, it is absolutely certain that they will both of thembe condemned, for they have a personal enemy on the committee ofpublic safety, and they will be murdered, unless we can get themout; and I and my brother Leigh, whom you all know, have come forthat purpose."
"Well, captain, you can count upon both of us, heart and soul. ButI don't see how it is going to be done. The prison is a strongplace, and well guarded. I have no doubt that we could count ongetting twenty stout men, along the wharf, but that would not bemuch use. They have more than that on guard and, before we couldget into the prison, they would come swarming down, any number ofthem."
"We have forty young fellows from my neighbourhood, who will bytomorrow be hidden away in the wood, a mile and a half higher upthe river."
"That will be a help, sir; but even with two hundred we should notbe able to do much."
"We shall have plenty of time to talk it over, afterwards. Get thesail up and drop down the river. Keep close to the opposite bank.It is important that we should not be noticed, as we pass thetown."
"Well, sir, there is hardly air enough to fill the sails. I shouldsay that we had best tow her across to the other side, in the smallboat; and then drift till we are fairly beyond the town. We aresafe not to be seen then."
"Perhaps that will be the best plan, Rouget."
The men went out and, in two or three minutes, the sound of theoars could be heard.
"I can't say that the lookout is very hopeful, Leigh."
"I did not think that anyone would think it so, Jean; but it seemsto me that it is just because everyone seems so confident that theprison is safe from attack, that we shall have a chance. The thingthat is troubling me most is where we can get a barrel ofgunpowder. We must have powder to blow open the gate. I expect thatany of the doors we may find locked, inside, will give way if apistol is fired through the keyhole; but to blow in the main gateof the prison we must get powder, and a good deal of it. That,however, is a matter in which we shall find that money will be ofuse.
"There are too many officials in the prison for us to hope to getany one out, without eight or ten being in the plot; and as these,we hear, are all fellows who are heart and soul with theConvention, it is not possible to attempt it in that way. But when,as you know, the Blues succeeded in bribing a Vendean to tamperwith our guns, it ought not to be such a difficult thing to bribeone of these fellows, who is in charge of ammunition, to let ushave a barrel or two of powder."
"That certainly seems to hold out a prospect of success, so far,Leigh. I have never been able to understand your confidence insuccess, but certainly the first indication of your plan seems topromise well. Now, let us hear some more of it."
"Well, this is my idea, Jean. I will choose a windy night, and sendAndre and Pierre, with twenty of the boys, into the worst part ofthe town. Each shall carry a ball of yarn dipped in turpentine,mixed with sulphur and other inflammable things. They shall alsocarry another ball, having but a thin coating of the yarn, andpowder inside so as to explode. When the clock strikes two, we willsay, each of them will smash the window of some store, light bothballs, and put them in. I want the explosion of one ball to scareanyone who may be sleeping there half out of their senses, and makethem rush out of the house; which will leave plenty of time for theother ball to set on fire anything that it may light upon. Twentyfires, starting at once at different spots, will create a fearfulscare. Many of the guards outside the prison--all of whom are drawnfrom the slums--will have come from that quarter and, as they haveno idea of discipline, will, when they see the flames mounting up,leave their posts and rush off to see to the safety of their homes.
"Choosing a windy night, you may be sure that the fires would burnfast, and that the rest of the volunteers, and the National Guard,would soon be so busy that they would not trouble themselves aboutthe prison, one way or the other. Thus I calculate that, of thefifty men on guard round the prison, there would not be twenty leftat the outside; and they would be so busy staring at and talking ofthe fire that, with a sudden surprise, they could all be disposedof without difficulty. Then the gates of the prison would be blownin, and we should rush in, shoot down all the warders wemeet--keeping one only as a guide--make straight for the roomswhere your father and Patsey are confined, release them and as manyothers as the time will allow, telling them to rush down to thewharf and seize boats, or to escape in whichever wa
y they like;while you, with your father and Patsey, would make straight down toour boat; while I, with the boys, would follow you and cover yourretreat, if any of the Blues came up to pursue you."
"Leigh, you are a genius!" Martin exclaimed, bringing his hand downon the lad's shoulder with a force that almost knocked him from hisseat.
"What do you think of that, Desailles, for a plan? I told you thatI relied upon Leigh's head more than my own, and you see I had goodreason for doing so. I doubt whether it could be done with hisforty boys, but if we can get the powder, it seems to me that, withhalf as many sailors to help us, there is no reason why it shouldnot succeed."
"But you might burn half the town down," Desailles said, gravely.
"If I was sure that it would burn the whole of it down, I shouldnot mind," Leigh exclaimed. "But there is not much fear of that. Ifit cleared out the whole of the slums, where the supporters of thegang of murderers they call the committee of public safety live, Ishould rejoice most heartily. As there are several wide streetsbetween them and the business quarters, and as they will have allthe soldiers of the town to assist in fighting the flames, I do notthink that there will be any fear of the fire spreading very far."
"Well, at any rate, Leigh, you have hit on a plan that offers agood chance of success. We shall find out, in a day or two, howmany of the boatmen we can get to aid us, and how far they will bedisposed to go. We must learn, in some way, how long it is likelyto be before it is absolutely necessary to act. If we find thatthere is time, we can send some of the boys off to the army, tobring their fathers and brothers back with them. The sixty mightnot be enough, but with a hundred of our men, I think we should bepretty sure of success."