' And then,' the Chairman remarked acidly, ' instead of remaining to give such aid as you could to these compatriots you had injured, you ran off into the sea, leaving them, perhaps, to bleed to death.'
' There was no question of their bleeding to death,' Roger cried indignantly. 'The one was shot only in the shoulder and the other had but a bloody nose. Besides, their comrades came up with them no more than two minutes later. It was the thudding of the patrol's footsteps on the sand as they came charging towards me that caused me to act as I did. Had I remained beside the men I had wounded, their comrades would not have waited to listen to any explanations but would have struck me down where I stood and made an end of me. My only hope of preserving my life lay in an immediate flight and the hope that their resentment against me would have cooled a little by the time I gave myself up.'
The Prosecutor made no attempt to sum up, neither did the magistrates leave the Court to debate the evidence in private. No further evidence being offered, they began openly to discuss the case among themselves. The Chairman asked his two colleagues for their opinions and the little man with the ruddy cheeks, who had not so far spoken, said:
' He is a Frenchman. There can be no doubt about that. And he has an answer for everything. One must admit that his account of himself is entirely plausible.'
' Except about the Cherry Brandy,' put in the innkeeper. '1 am convinced that he was lying about that.'
'If so,' commented the Chairman, ' he was then lying to us on other matters. If he obtained the bottle from Grove Place that means he did contact his relatives at the house. His doing so would greatly increase the probability that he is Sir Brook's son rather than a French cousin who could not readily have accounted for his presence in England and who, on disclosing himself, would almost certainly have been detained.'
At that, Tardieu jumped to his feet and cried, ' He is lying, Citizen Chairman; and I can prove it. When I woke him this morning and charged him with being Admiral Sir Brook's son, his first words were, '' Admiral Brook? I've never heard of him." Yet now he declares himself to be a French relative of the Admiral and tells us that he spent several years of his youth in the Admiral's house. He cannot have it both ways.'
Shaken as Roger was by this bolt from the blue, he rallied all his resources to meet it. Leaning out of the dock, he pointed at Tardieu and shouted indignantly, ' It is the Lieutenant who is lying! I said no such thing! What I said was that I had not seen Admiral Brook since the war started. He has twisted my words because he is disgruntled. Having convinced himself this morning that I am a spy, he feels that I made a fool of him last night and that his men must be laughing at him for having accepted my statement that I am Colonel Breuc and an aide-de-camp to General Bonaparte.'
' Lies! More lies! ' shouted Tardieu. '1 swear to what I have said.'
' Then you should be charged with perjury,' Roger shouted back.
' Silence! ' cried the Chairman. ' Silence! ' and banged hard on the table with his gavel. When quiet was restored he went on:
' The Court has taken notice of the Lieutenant's statement, also of the prisoner's denial, although I can hardly credit that the reason he suggests constitutes sufficient grounds to have caused the Lieutenant to commit perjury. If we accept his statement it shows how anxious the prisoner was to conceal the truth about his activities while in Lymington and throws the gravest doubt on a great part of what he has said about himself.'
'1 told you he was lying about that Cherry Brandy,' the innkeeper declared in a self-satisfied voice. ' Displaying stolen liquor in a coffee room, indeed! Is it likely? '
Roger needed no telling that since Tardieu's intervention things were beginning to look black for him; but the little man with the ruddy face created a diversion by remarking, ' Whatever the truth may be about what he was up to in Lymington, I'll nofc believe that he's an Englishman. As my Citizen colleagues know, up till the Revolution I'd lived all my life in Paris, and it would be hard to find a man with a more definite Parisian accent.'
The Chairman nodded. ' On consideration, I think you are right, Citizen colleague, and the seaman's evidence, which is all we have to go on about that, was inconclusive. He must be a Frenchman or, at least, have French blood in his veins. From his statement, too, it can hardly be doubted that he has lived for a great part of his life in France. But pven if, as he says, he was born here, that is no guarantee that he is a loyal Frenchman. Every country has its quota of traitors, and in recent years France has suffered far more in that respect than others, owing to the thousands of emigres who now live abroad and intrigue against her.'
The innkeeper gave a snort. ' Ah, now you've hit on it, Citizen. Look at those fine hands of his. He's an aristo, I'll be bound, and has never done an honest day's work in his life. An emigre, that's what he is, and come here to sell us to our enemies.'
After pursing his thin lips for a moment, the Chairman nodded again. 'Yes, that would explain everything: his impeccable French, the English landing him here and his dread of capture. Well, the law is clear on the subject of emigres. If caught reentering France such traitors are liable to the death penalty. If my Citizen colleagues agree, I am in favour of passing it.'
'1 am not an emigre! ' Roger broke in hotly. '1 am one of General Bonaparte's aides-de-camp and were we in Paris I'd have no difficulty in proving that. The Director Barras, Citizens Tallien, Freron and many other important men would all vouch for me. I met General Bonaparte as far back as the siege of Toulon. I was with him in Paris on 13th Vendemiaire. I-'
' Enough! ' snapped the Chairman, rapping on the desk with his gavel. ' We have given you a fair hearing and have already listened overlong to your lies.'
But Roger was determined to defend himself to the last ditch. Ignoring the interruption, he cried, 'You dare not have me executed! You dare not! My friends, the men I served with in Italy—Junot, Murat, Duroc, Lannes, Berthier and half a dozen other Generals—will exact vengeance on you if you do. Aye, and my great master Bonaparte himself will call you to reckoning. I demand-'
'Silence! Silence! Silence! ' the Chairman shouted, redoubling his banging on the table, and Roger, now white-faced and exhausted, realized the futility of continuing, so ceased his angry threats.
There followed a moment's hush, then the Chairman turned to the innkeeper and asked, ' Do you agree? '
His colleague nodded. 'Yes, he's a spy, right enough. I made up my mind on that as soon as the fool tried to gull us about where he got the Cherry Brandy. Have him taken outside and finished with.'
A sad little smile twitched at Roger's lips. Although there was not an atom of humour in his terrible situation, it had suddenly struck him how incongruous it was that after all the dangers from which he had escaped during his life he was about to be sent to his death because dear old Jim Button had popped a bottle of Cherry Brandy into his valise.
Turning to his other colleague, the Chairman asked, ' And you, Citizen? '
The little man tilted back his head so that the nostrils of the snub nose between the apple cheeks looked like two round holes in his chubby face. Then, in a quiet voice, he appeared to address the ceiling.
' Yes, Citizen Chairman, I agree. Whether or not the man be an emigre, he landed clandestinely on French soil from a British war vessel. He resisted arrest and seriously wounded two of our people. The account he has given of himself lacks the ring of truth, and on several matters there can be no reasonable doubt that he has lied to us. All the evidence points to his having come to France as a secret agent, and in times such as these we cannot afford to take chances. That being so it is our duty to send him to his death.'
For a moment he was silent, then he went on, ' But there is an aspect of this case which I would like my Citizen colleagues to consider. Let us suppose, just suppose, for one moment, that he has told us the truth in one important particular: namely, that he is an aide-de-camp of our national hero, the brilliant young General who has restored the glory of France by his conquest of Italy. Should
we decree this man's execution—what then, Citizen colleagues? General Bonaparte is back in France. In a matter of a few months he has become, after the Directors, the most powerful man in the country. He has only to express a wish and others spring to gratify it. To incur his displeasure might bring about our ruin.'
Roger's eyes had remained riveted on the cherubic, upturned face. His throat seemed to contract and he held his breath in an agony of suspense as he waited to learn if this new development would prove the thread by which hung his life.
For a full minute, with a frown of uncertainty on his thin, bony face, the Chairman stared at his small, plump colleague, then he said, ' You are right, Citizen, in that it might go hard with us did we make an enemy of General Bonaparte; but I count the risk of our doing so exceedingly small. We are all convinced that the prisoner is unquestionably a liar, so it is improbable that he has ever even set eyes on the General.'
' Maybe, maybe,' replied the other. ' But why should we take any risk at all? '
' Ventre du Rape!' exclaimed the innkeeper. ' Surely you do not suggest that we should let the rogue go free to spy on us and sell our secrets to the accursed English; or that we should even send him to a prison from which he might in time escape and still do the Republic some serious injury? '
' Besides,' the Chairman argued, ' you say yourself that it is our duty to pass sentence of death upon him, and that being so-'
'1 did not say that,' retorted the little man, suddenly sitting up. '1 said that it was our duty to send him to his death. It does not follow that we should make ourselves responsible for his execution; and I, for one, will have no hand in it.'
The innkeeper banged his great fist on the table and cried angrily, ' What in hell's name do you mean by that? '
Simultaneously, the Chairman shook his head and said in a testy voice, ' You talk in riddles, Citizen colleague. Put a plain meaning on what you have in mind.'
' It is quite simple,' came the smooth reply.' In calling for water and washing his hands before sending the Nazarene to be executed, Pontius Pilate set us an admirable example. The prisoner declares himself to be a Colonel in the Army of France. Moreover, spies are normally court-martialled, as this one would have been had he been caught by a patrol of soldiers instead of by Coastguards. Therefore, in a double sense, this is a military matter. Let us send him to the senior officer in the district, with a message to the effect that after giving him a fair trial we came to the unanimous conclusion that he is a spy and probably an emigre, and so deserving of death; but that on consideration we decided that he should never have been brought before this Court, so we are handing him over for them to deal with as they see fit.'
The innkeeper gave a great bellow of laughter. The Chairman smiled, patted the little man on the shoulder and said, ' Most ingenious, my dear Citizen colleague. We will most certainly adopt your admirable suggestion.'
He then said to Tardieu, 'Citizen Lieutenant, the Court is returning the prisoner to you. I charge you to deliver him safely into the hands of General Desmarets at his headquarters outside the town.' Turning to the Prosecutor, he added, 'You, Citizen Corbiel, will accompany the Lieutenant, inform the General of the Court's reasons for sending the prisoner to him and give him a full account of all that has taken place here.'
Having so delivered himself, he gave the table one sharp rap with his gavel and declared the Court adjourned.
As Roger stepped from the dock a sigh of relief escaped him. He was not, after all, fated to be led out right away to be hanged, or to face a firing party. Yet he could not disguise from himself that his reprieve was only a temporary postponement of the issue. It was, too, an unnerving thought that he was to be brought before General Desmarets, of whom he had never heard, as a spy who had already been tried and convicted. Even so, he felt that his chances of living out the day v/ere considerably better now that he was to be handed over to the Military. They would surely give a more considerate hearing to a man who claimed to be General Bonaparte's aide-de-camp and, vast as the French Army was, these must be officers or soldiers in the camp to which he was being taken who could, if only they could be found, vouch for it that he was Colonel Breuc.
The strain of the trial upon him had been appalling, as he had not dared to relax for an instant in case he missed an opportunity to make some point that would have counted in his favour. Now he was so terribly exhausted that he stumbled several times when being escorted out to the small covered cart in which he had been brought to the Court.
His hands were again tied behind him and he was bundled into the cart. There was a slight delay while Citizen Prosecutor Corbiel was provided with a horse, then the little cavalcade set off.
Just before Roger had been bundled into the cart he had caught a glimpse of the Town Hall clock and had been amazed to see that it was still a few minutes before eleven. It seemed to him as though many hours had passed since Tardieu had roused him in the farmhouse bedroom that morning. While the trial had been in progress his mind had been so desperately concentrated on its twists and turns, for and against himself, that he had been only vaguely conscious of cold and hunger; but now, as the cart trundled out of the town, he began to shiver and could hear his stomach rumbling. Miserably, while the jolting of the cart again bruised his limbs against the hard floorboards, he longed for food, warmth and comfort, at the same time endeavouring to convince himself that the most dangerous stage in his ordeal was over.
Three-quarters of an hour later he heard a command ring out to halt. The cart pulled up and a soldier poked his head in over the backboard. Withdrawing it, he shouted, 'You may proceed,' and the cart moved on through the gates of a big cantonment, which had been set up on the downs when the numbers of troops garrisoning the coast had become too large to be accommodated in the town barracks.
Five minutes later the cart pulled up again in front of a long, low building facing a parade ground, but only Tardieu and Citizen Prosecutor Corbiel entered it. Another quarter of an hour elapsed before the Lieutenant came out and had his men escort Roger into the building, then along to an office at the back that had a view across distant sand-dunes to the sea.
It then transpired that General Desmarets was absent from the camp and would not be free to attend to any business until he had returned and had his dinner. For the moment, Roger's affair was being dealt with by the General's adjutant, a pleasant-faced young Major, who was lolling behind a desk. When Roger was brought before him he looked at him with lazy interest and said:
' So you are the Englishman and spy? '
'1 am neither,' declared Roger firmly. ' This whole business is a ghastly mistake. I am Colonel Breuc and an aide-de-camp to General Bonaparte.'
The young Major sat back and roared with laughter.
' How dare you laugh! ' Roger cried indignantly. ' This is a very serious matter.' Yet, could he have seen himself, he would have realized that his statement, coupled with his appearance, gave ample grounds for mirth. His unshaven chin was covered with unsightly stubble, his undressed brown hair looked like a bird's nest and his clothes, which had not been pressed since their immersion in the sea, hung as they had rough-dried, in ugly folds and ridges about him. At that moment he could hardly have looked less like the Staff officer to a General-in-Chief that he claimed to be.
Recovering himself, the Major made him a mocking little bow. ' I'm sorry—yes, let us call you " Colonelalthough I gather you would find it mighty difficult to substantiate your claim to that rank.'
' By no means,' Roger replied firmly. ' And I am relying on you, Major, to enable me to do so. In this cantonment there must be many men who served with General Bonaparte in the Army of Italy. I most earnestly request that you will have them sought out and confront me with them. I count it certain that a number of them will readily vouch for my identity. I pray you, too, to give heed to the fact that my life hangs upon your doing as I have asked.'
The young man's face had suddenly become grave. 'Your request would be pointless did you
not expect to vindicate yourself through it. The great majority of the men who fought in General Bonaparte's victorious campaign are still with the Army of Italy. Few of them have been transferred to us here in the north. But I will at once have enquiries set on foot for such as have come to us from Italy.'
After pausing a moment, he went on, 'However, it will take some time to collect them. By then General Desmarets should be available and, no doubt, he will wish to adjudicate in this matter in person. Meanwhile, although it seems possible that I may have the pleasure of welcoming you to our Mess later in the day, for the present I am sure you will appreciate that I have no alternative but to have you confined in the guardroom.'
Roger bowed. ' Major, I am deeply grateful to you for acceding so promptly to my request, and for your courtesy. I have only one more boon to ask. This morning I was given no breakfast; so I am terribly hungry. Could I perhaps be brought something to eat while I am in the guardroom, and a pallet on which to lie, with several blankets, for I am both cold and desperately tired.'
' Certainly you shall be provided with these things,' the Major agreed. Turning to an Orderly Sergeant who was standing by the door, he gave him the necessary instructions.
Under a guard of soldiers, Roger was marched away to the guardroom. Ten minutes later, his hands untied, he was making a hearty meal of stew, followed by bread-and-cheese. He then lay down on a straw-filled mattress and drew a single blanket over himself. There was no need for more, since the room was heated by a roaring brazier.
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