The Vicomte de Bragelonne

by Alexandre Dumas

  CHAPTER CV.

  THE SILVER DISH.

  The journey passed off pretty well. Athos and his son traversed Franceat the rate of fifteen leagues per day; sometimes more, sometimes less,according to the intensity of Raoul's grief. It took them a fortnight toreach Toulon, and they lost all traces of D'Artagnan at Antibes. Theywere forced to believe that the captain of the musketeers was desirousof preserving an incognito on his route, for Athos derived from hisinquiries an assurance that such a cavalier as he described hadexchanged his horse for a well-closed carriage on quitting Avignon.Raoul was much affected at not meeting with D'Artagnan. His affectionateheart longed to take a farewell and receive consolation from that heartof steel. Athos knew from experience that D'Artagnan became impenetrablewhen engaged in any serious affair, whether on his own account or in theservice of the king. He even feared to offend his friend, or thwart himby too pressing inquiries. And yet when Raoul commenced his labor ofclassing the flotilla, and got together the chalands and lighters tosend them to Toulon, one of the fishermen told the comte that his boathad been laid up to refit since a trip he had made on account of agentleman who was in great haste to embark. Athos, believing that thisman was telling a falsehood in order to be left at liberty to fish, andso gain more money when all his companions were gone, insisted uponhaving the details. The fisherman informed him that six days previously,a man had come in the night to hire his boat, for the purpose ofvisiting the island of St. Honorat. The price was agreed upon, but thegentleman had arrived with an immense carriage case, which he insistedupon embarking, in spite of all the difficulties which opposedthemselves to that operation. The fisherman had wished to retract. Hehad even threatened, but his threats had procured him nothing but ashower of blows from the gentleman's cane, which fell upon his shoulderssharp and long. Swearing and grumbling, he had recourse to the syndic ofhis brotherhood at Antibes, who administer justice among themselves andprotect each other; but the gentleman had exhibited a certain paper, atthe sight of which the syndic, bowing to the very ground, had enjoinedobedience from the fisherman, and abused him for having been refractory.They then departed with the freight.

  "But all this does not tell us," said Athos, "how you have injured yourboat."

  "This is the way. I was steering toward St. Honorat as the gentleman haddesired me; but he changed his mind, and pretended that I could not passto the south of the abbey."

  "And why not?"

  "Because, monsieur, there is in front of the square tower of theBenedictines, toward the southern point, the bank of the Moines."

  "A rock?" asked Athos.

  "Level with the water, and below the water; a dangerous passage, but oneI have cleared a thousand times; the gentleman required me to land himat St. Marguerite's."

  "Well?"

  "Well, monsieur!" cried the fisherman, with his Provencal accent, "a manis a sailor, or he is not; he knows his course, or he is nothing but afresh-water lubber. I was obstinate, and wished to try the channel. Thegentleman took me by the collar, and told me quietly he would strangleme. My mate armed himself with a hatchet, and so did I. We had theaffront of the night before to pay him out for. But the gentleman drewhis sword, and used it in such an astonishingly rapid manner, that weneither of us could get near him. I was about to hurl my hatchet at hishead, and I had a right to do so, hadn't I, monsieur? for a sailoraboard is master, as a citizen is in his chamber; I then, inself-defense, to cut the gentleman in two, when all at once--believe meor not, monsieur--the great carriage case opened of itself, I don't knowhow, and there came out of it a sort of a phantom, his head covered witha black helmet and a black mask, something terrible to look upon, whichcame toward me threatening with its fist."

  "And that was--?" said Athos.

  "That was the devil, monsieur; for the gentleman, with great glee, criedout on seeing him: 'Ah! thank you, monseigneur!'"

  "A strange story!" murmured the comte, looking at Raoul.

  "And what did you do?" asked the latter of the fisherman.

  "You must know, monsieur, that two poor men, such as we are, could be nomatch for two gentlemen; but when one of them is the devil we had nochance! My companion and I did not stop to consult one another; we madebut one jump into the sea, for we were within seven or eight hundredfeet of the shore."

  "Well, and then?"

  "Why, and then, monseigneur, as there was a little wind from thesouthwest, the boat drifted into the sands of Sainte-Marguerite's."

  "Oh!--but the two travelers?"

  "Bah! you need not be uneasy about them! It was pretty plain that onewas the devil, and protected the other; for when we recovered the boat,after she got afloat again, instead of finding these two creaturesinjured by the shock, we found nothing, not even the carriage or thecase."

  "Very strange! very strange!" repeated the comte. "But since that, whathave you done, my friend?"

  "I made my complaint to the governor of Sainte-Marguerite's, who broughtmy finger under my nose by telling me if I plagued him with such sillystories he would have me flogged."

  "What! did the governor say so?"

  "Yes, monsieur; and yet my boat was injured, seriously injured, for theprow is left upon the point of Sainte-Marguerite's, and the carpenterasks a hundred and twenty livres to repair it."

  "Very well," replied Raoul; "you will be exempted from the service. Go."

  "We will go to Sainte-Marguerite's, shall we?" said the comte toBragelonne, as the man walked away.

  "Yes, monsieur, for there is something to be cleared up; that man doesnot seem to me to have told the truth."

  "Nor to me neither, Raoul. The story of the masked man and the carriagehaving disappeared, may be told to conceal some violence these fellowshave committed upon their passenger in the open sea, to punish him forhis persistence in embarking."

  "I formed the same suspicion; the carriage was more likely to containproperty than a man."

  "We shall see to that, Raoul. This gentleman very much resemblesD'Artagnan; I recognize his mode of proceeding. Alas! we are no longerthe young invincibles of former days. Who knows whether the hatchet orthe iron bar of this miserable coaster has not succeeded in doing thatwhich the best blades of Europe, balls, and bullets, have not been ableto do in forty years?"

  That same day they set out for Sainte-Marguerite's, on board achasse-maree come from Toulon under orders. The impression they felt onlanding was a singularly pleasing one. The isle was full of flowers andfruits. In its cultivated part it served as a garden for the governor.Orange, pomegranate, and fig trees bent beneath the weight of theirgolden or purple fruits. All around this garden, in the uncultivatedparts, the red partridges ran about in coveys among the brambles andtufts of junipers, and at every step of the comte and Raoul a terrifiedrabbit quitted his thyme and heath to scuttle away to his burrow. Infact, this fortunate isle was uninhabited. Flat, offering nothing but atiny bay for the convenience of embarkation, and under the protection ofthe governor, who went shares with them, smugglers made use of it as aprovisional entrepot, at the expense of not killing the game ordevastating the garden. With this compromise, the governor was in asituation to be satisfied with a garrison of eight men to guard hisfortress, in which twelve cannons accumulated their coats of mouldygreen. The governor was a sort of happy farmer, harvesting wines, figs,oil, and oranges, preserving his citrons and cedrats in the sun of hiscasemates. The fortress, encircled by a deep ditch, its only guardian,arose like three heads upon turrets connected with each other byterraces covered with moss.

  Athos and Raoul wandered for some time round the fences of the gardenwithout finding any one to introduce them to the governor. They ended bymaking their own way into the garden. It was at the hottest time of theday. Everything sought shelter beneath grass or stone. The heavensspread their fiery veils as if to stifle all noises, to envelop allexistences; the rabbit under the broom, the fly under the leaf, slept asthe wave did beneath the heavens. Athos saw nothing living but asoldier, upon the terrace beneath the second and
third court, who wascarrying a basket of provisions on his head. This man returned almostimmediately without his basket, and disappeared in the shade of hissentry-box. Athos supposed this man must have been carrying dinner tosome one, and, after having done so, returned to dine himself. All atonce, they heard some one call out, and raising their heads, perceivedin the frame of the bars of the window something of a white color, likea hand that was waved backward and forward--something shining, like apolished weapon struck by the rays of the sun. And before they were ableto ascertain what it was they saw, a luminous train, accompanied by ahissing sound in the air, called their attention from the donjon to theground. A second dull noise was heard from the ditch, and Raoul ran topick up a silver plate which was rolling along the dry sand. The handwhich had thrown this plate made a sign to the two gentlemen and thendisappeared. Athos and Raoul, approaching each other, commenced anattentive examination of the dusty plate, and they discovered, incharacters traced upon the bottom of it with the point of a knife, thisinscription:

  "_I am the brother of the king of France--a prisoner to-day--a madmanto-morrow. French gentlemen and Christians, pray to God for the soul andthe reason of the son of your masters._"

  The plate fell from the hands of Athos while Raoul was endeavoring tomake out the meaning of these dismal words. At the same instant theyheard a cry from the top of the donjon. As quick as lightning Raoul bentdown his head, and forced down that of his father likewise. A musketbarrel glittered from the crest of the wall. A white smoke floated likea plume from the mouth of the musket, and a ball was flattened against astone within six inches of the two gentlemen.

  "Cordieu!" cried Athos. "What, are people assassinated here? Come down,cowards as you are!"

  "Yes, come down!" cried Raoul, furiously shaking his fist at the castle.

  One of the assailants--he who was about to fire--replied to these criesby an exclamation of surprise; and, as his companion, who wished tocontinue the attack, had re-seized his loaded musket, he who had criedout threw up the weapon, and the ball flew into the air. Athos andRaoul, seeing them disappear from the platform, expected they would cometo them, and waited with a firm demeanor. Five minutes had not elapsed,when a stroke upon a drum called the eight soldiers of the garrison toarms, and they showed themselves on the other side of the ditch withtheir muskets in hand. At the head of these men was an officer, whomAthos and Raoul recognized as the one who had fired the first musket.The man ordered the soldiers to "make ready."

  "We are going to be shot!" cried Raoul; "but, sword-in-hand, at leastlet us leap the ditch! We shall kill at least two of these scoundrels,when their muskets are empty." And, suiting the action to the word,Raoul was springing forward, followed by Athos, when a well-known voiceresounded behind them--"Athos! Raoul!"

  "D'Artagnan!" replied the two gentlemen.

  "Recover arms! Mordioux!" cried the captain to the soldiers. "I was sureI could not be mistaken!"

  "What is the meaning of this?" asked Athos. "What! were we to be shotwithout warning?"

  "It was I who was going to shoot you, and if the governor missed you, Ishould not have missed you, my dear friends. How fortunate it is that Iam accustomed to take a long aim, instead of firing at the instant Iraise my weapon! I thought I recognized you. Ah! my dear friends, howfortunate!" And D'Artagnan wiped his brow, for he had run fast, andemotion with him was not feigned.

  "How!" said Athos. "And is the gentleman who fired at us the governor ofthe fortress?"

  "In person."

  "And why did he fire at us? What have we done to him?"

  "Pardieu! You received what the prisoner threw to you?"

  "That is true."

  "That plate--the prisoner has written something on the bottom of it, hashe not?"

  "Yes."

  "Good heavens! I was afraid he had."

  And D'Artagnan, with all the marks of mortal disquietude, seized theplate, to read the inscription. When he had read it, a fearful pallorspread over his countenance. "Oh! Good heavens!" repeated he."Silence!--Here is the governor."

  "And what will he do to us? Is it our fault?"

  "It is true, then?" said Athos, in a subdued voice. "Is it true?"

  "Silence! I tell you!--silence! If he only believes you can read; if heonly suspects you have understood; I love you, my dear friends, I willbe killed for you. But--"

  "But--" said Athos and Raoul.

  "But, I could not save you from perpetual imprisonment, if I saved youfrom death. Silence, then! Silence again!"

  The governor came up, having crossed the ditch upon a plank bridge.

  "Well!" said he to D'Artagnan, "what stops us?"

  "You are Spaniards--you do not understand a word of French," said thecaptain, eagerly, to his friends in a low voice.

  "Well!" replied he, addressing the governor, "I was right; thesegentlemen are two Spanish captains with whom I was acquainted at Ypres,last year; they don't know a word of French."

  "Ah!" said the governor, sharply. "And yet they were trying to read theinscription on the plate."

  D'Artagnan took it out of his hands, effacing the characters with thepoint of his sword.

  "How!" cried the governor--"what are you doing? I cannot read them now!"

  "It is a state secret," replied D'Artagnan, bluntly: "and as you knowthat, according to the king's orders, it is under the penalty of deathany one should penetrate it, I will, if you like, allow you to read itand have you shot immediately afterward."

  During this apostrophe--half serious, half ironical--Athos and Raoulpreserved the coolest, most unconcerned silence.

  "But, is it possible," said the governor, "that these gentlemen do notcomprehend at least some words?"

  "Suppose they do! If they do understand a few spoken words it does notfollow that they should understand what is written. They cannot evenread Spanish. A noble Spaniard, remember, ought never to know how toread."

  The governor was obliged to be satisfied with these explanations, but hewas still tenacious. "Invite these gentlemen to come to the fortress,"said he.

  "That I will willingly do. I was about to propose it to you." The factis, the captain had quite another idea, and would have wished hisfriends a hundred leagues off. But he was obliged to make the best ofit. He addressed the two gentlemen in Spanish, giving them a politeinvitation, which they accepted. They all turned toward the entrance ofthe fort, and the incident being exhausted, the eight soldiers returnedto their delightful leisure, for a moment disturbed by this unexpectedadventure.