Castles in the Air
Page 24
3.
A moment or two later M. Ernest Berty, or whatever his real name mayhave been, entered the room. Whether he had encountered his exquisitesister on the corridor or the stairs, I could not tell; his face, inthe dim light of the hanging lamp, looked impenetrable and sinister.
"This way, M. Barrot," he said curtly.
Just for one brief moment the thought occurred to me to throw myselfupon him with my whole weight--which was considerable--and make a wilddash for the front door. But it was more than probable that I shouldbe intercepted and brought back, after which no doubt I would be anobject of suspicion to these rascals and my life would not be worth anhour's purchase. With the young girl's warnings ringing in my ears, Ifelt that my one chance of safety and of circumventing these criminalslay in my seeming ingenuousness and complete guileless-ness.
I assumed a perfect professional manner and followed my companion upthe stairs. He ushered me into a room just above the one where I hadbeen waiting up to now. Three men dressed in rough clothes weresitting at a table on which stood a couple of tankards and four emptypewter mugs. My employer offered me a glass of ale, which I declined.Then we got to work.
At the first words which M. Berty uttered I knew that all my surmiseshad been correct. Whether he himself was M. Aristide Fournier, oranother partner of that firm, or some other rascal engaged innefarious doings, I could not know; certain it was that through themedium of cipher words and phrases which he thought wereunintelligible to me, and which he ordered me to interpret intoEnglish, he was giving directions to the three men with regard to theconvoying of contraband cargo over the frontier.
There was much talk of "toys" and "babies"--the latter were to take awalk in the mountains and to avoid the "thorns"; the "toys" were to besecurely fastened and well protected against water. It was obviously acase of mules and of the goods, the "thorns" being the customsofficials. By the time that we had finished I was absolutely convincedin my mind that the cargo was one of English files or razors, for itwas evidently extraordinarily valuable and not at all bulky, seeingthat two "babies" were to carry all the "toys" for a considerabledistance. The men, too, were obviously English. I tried the few wordsof Russian that I knew on them, and their faces remained perfectlyblank.
Yes, indeed, I was on the track of M. Aristide Fournier, and of one ofthe most important hauls of enemy goods which had ever been made inFrance. Not only that. I had also before me one of the most brutishcriminals it had ever been my misfortune to come across. A bully, afiend of cruelty. In very truth my fertile brain was seething withplans for eventually laying that abominable ruffian by the heels:hanging would be a merciful punishment for such a miscreant. Yes,indeed, five thousand francs--a goodly sum in those days, Sir--waspractically assured me. But over and above mere lucre there was thecertainty that in a few days' time I should see the light of gratitudeshining out of a pair of lustrous blue eyes, and a winning smilechasing away the look of fear and of sorrow from the sweetest face Ihad seen for many a day.
Despite the turmoil that was raging in my brain, however, I flattermyself that my manner with the rascals remained consistently calm,businesslike, indifferent to all save to the work in hand. Thesoi-disant Ernest Berty spoke invariably in French, either dictatinghis orders or seeking information, and I made verbal translation intoEnglish of all that he said. The seance lasted close upon an hour, andpresently I gathered that the affair was terminated and that I couldconsider myself dismissed.
I was about to take my leave, having apparently completed my work,when M. Ernest Berty called me back with a curt command.
"One moment, M. Barrot," he said.
"At Monsieur's service," I responded blandly.
"As you see," he continued, "these fellows do not know a word ofFrench. All along the way which they will have to traverse they willmeet friendly outposts, who will report to them on the condition ofthe roads and warn them of any danger that might be ahead. Theirignorance of our language may be a source of infinite peril to them.They need an interpreter to accompany them over the mountains."
He paused for a moment or two, then added abruptly:
"Would you care to go? The matter is important," he went on quietly,"and I am willing to pay you. It means a couple of nights' journey--ahalt in the mountains during the day--and there will be ten thousandfrancs for you if the 'toys' reach St. Claude safely."
I suppose that something in my face betrayed the eagerness which Ifelt. Here was indeed the finger of Providence pointing to the bestmeans of undoing this abominable criminal. Not that I intended to riskmy neck for any ten thousand francs he chose to offer me, but as thetrusted guide of his ingenuous "babies" I could convoy them--not toSt. Claude, as he blandly believed, but straight into the arms ofLeroux and the customs officials.
"Then that is understood," he said in his usual dictatorial manner,taking my consent for granted. "Ten thousand francs. And you willaccompany these gentlemen and their 'babies' as far as St. Claude?"
"I am a poor man, Sir," I responded meekly.
"Of course you are," he broke in roughly.
Then from a number of papers which lay upon the table, he selected onewhich he held out to me.
"Do you know St. Cergues?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied. "It is a short walk from Gex."
"This," he added, pointing to a paper which I had taken from him, "isa plan of the village and of the Pass of Cergues close by. Study itcarefully. At some point some way up the pass, which I have markedwith a cross, I and my men with the 'babies' will be waiting for youto-morrow evening at eight o'clock. You cannot possibly fail to findthe spot, for the plan is very accurate and very minute, and it isless than five hundred metres from the last house at the entrance ofthe pass. I shall escort the men until then, and hand them over intoyour charge for the mountain journey. Is that clear?"
"Perfectly."
"Very well, then; you may go. The carriage is outside the door. Youknow your way."
He dismissed me with a curt nod, and the next two minutes saw meoutside this house of mystery and installed inside the ramshacklevehicle on my way back to my lodgings.
I was worn out with fatigue and excitement, and I imagine that I sleptmost of the way. Certain it is that the journey home was not nearly solong as the outward one had been. The rain was still coming downheavily, but I cared nothing about the weather, nothing about fatigue.My path to fame and fortune had been made easier for me than in mywildest dreams I would have dared to hope. In the morning I would seeLeroux and make final arrangements for the capture of those impudentsmugglers, and I thought the best way would be for him to meet me andthe "babies" and the "toys" at the very outset of our journey, as Idid not greatly relish the idea of crossing lonely and dangerousmountain paths in the company of these ruffians.
I reached home without adventure. The vehicle drew up just outside mylodgings, and I was about to alight when my eyes were attracted bysomething white which lay on the front seat of the carriage,conspicuously placed so that the light from the inside lanthorn fellfull upon it. I had been too tired and too dazed, I suppose, to noticethe thing before, but now, on closer inspection, I saw that it was anote, and that it was addressed to me: "M. Aristide Barrot,Interpreter," and below my name were the words: "Very urgent."
I took the note feeling a thrill of excitement running through myveins at its touch. I alighted, and the vehicle immediatelydisappeared into the night. I had only caught one glimpse of thehorses, and none at all of the coachman. Then I went straight into myroom, and by the light of the table lamp I unfolded and read themysterious note. It bore no signature, but at the first words I knewthat the writer was none other than the lovely young creature who hadappeared to me like an angel of innocence in the midst of that den ofthieves.
* * * * *
"Monsieur," she had written in a hand which had clearly been tremblingwith agitation, "you are good, you are kind; I entreat you to bemerciful. My dear mother, whom I worship, is sick
with terror andmisery. She will die if she remains any longer under the sway of thatinhuman monster who, alas! is my own brother. And if I lose her Ishall die, too, for I should no longer have anyone to stand between meand his cruelties.
"My dear mother has some relations living at St. Claude. She wouldhave gone to them before now, but my brother keeps us both virtualprisoners here, and we have no means of arranging for such a perilousjourney for ourselves. Now, by the most extraordinary stroke of goodfortune, my brother will be absent all day to-morrow and the followingnight. My dear mother and I feel that God Himself is showing us theway to our release.
"Will you, can you help us, dear M. Barrot? Mother and I will be atGex to-morrow at one hour after sundown. We will lie perdu in thelittle Taverne du Roi de Rome, where, if you come to us, you will findus waiting anxiously. If you can do nothing to help us, we must returnbroken-hearted to our hated prison; but something in my heart tells methat you can help us. All that we want is a vehicle of some sort andthe escort of a brave man like yourself as far as St. Claude, whereour relatives will thank you on their knees for your kindness andgenerosity to two helpless, miserable, unprotected women, and I willkiss your hands in unbounded gratitude and devotion."
* * * * *
It were impossible, Monsieur, to tell you of the varied emotions whichfilled my heart when I had perused that heart-rending appeal. All myinstincts of chivalry were aroused. I was determined to do my duty tothese helpless ladies as a man and as a gallant knight. Even before Ifinally went to bed I had settled in my mind what I meant to do.Fortunately it was quite possible for me to reconcile my duties to myEmperor and those which I owed to myself in the matter of the rewardfor the apprehension of the smugglers, with my burning desire to bethe saviour and protector of the lovely creature whose beauty hadinflamed my impressionable heart, and to have my hands kissed by herin gratitude and devotion.
The next morning Leroux and I were deep in our plans, whilst we sippedour coffee outside the Crane Chauve. He was beside himself with joyand excitement at the prospective haul, which would, of course,redound enormously to his credit, even though the success of the wholeundertaking would be due to my acumen, my resourcefulness and mypluck. Fortunately I found him not only ready but eager to render mewhat assistance he could in the matter of the two ladies who hadthrown themselves so entirely on my protection.
"We might get valuable information out of them," he remarked. "In theexcess of their gratitude they may betray many more secrets andnefarious doings of the firm of Fournier Freres."
"Which further proves," I remarked, "how deeply you and Monsieur leMinistre of Police are indebted to me over this affair."
He did not argue the point. Indeed, we were both of us far too muchexcited to waste words in useless bickerings. Our plans for theevening were fairly simple. We both pored over the map whichFournier-Berty had given me, until we felt that we could reachblindfolded the spot which had been marked with a cross. We thenarranged that Leroux should betake himself thither with a strong posseof gendarmes during the day, and lie hidden in the vicinity until suchtime as I myself appeared upon the scene, identified my friends of thenight before, parleyed with them for a minute or two, and finallyretired, leaving the law in all its majesty, as represented by Leroux,to deal with the rascals.
In the meantime I also mapped out for myself my own share in thisnight's adventurous work. I had hired a vehicle to take me as far asSt. Cergues; here I intended to leave it at the local inn, and thenproceed on foot up the mountain pass to the appointed spot. As soon asI had seen the smugglers safely in the hands of Leroux and thegendarmes, I would make my way back to St. Cergues as rapidly as Icould, step into my vehicle, drive like the wind back to Gex, andplace myself at the disposal of my fair angel and her afflictedmother.
Leroux promised me that at the customs station on the French frontierthe officials would look after me and the ladies, and that a pair offresh horses would be ready to take us straight on to St. Claude,which, if all was well, we could then reach by daybreak.
Having settled all these matters we parted company, he to arrange hisown affairs with the Commissary of Police and the customs officials,and I to await with as much patience as I could the hour when I couldstart for St. Cergues.