by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XV -- A RESCUE
Guy had found his mornings hang heavy on his hands, as of course he hadbeen obliged to give up attending the fencing-school. Going down to theriver now, he sat there watching the passing boats until nearly oneo'clock, and then returned to the fair. Before reaching the booth Katarinajoined him.
"I have been watching for you, Monsieur Guy. Father said it was as wellthat you should not, twice in a day, be seen entering his place. He bademe tell you that the three gentlemen have been to him and will not re-enter Paris."
"Did you see Simon this morning?"
"Yes, he only told me that the market men would have an interview with theDuke of Aquitaine to-morrow, and would demand the arrest of those whom theDuke of Burgundy had pointed out as his enemies. He said that they wouldgo in such force that the duke would be unable to refuse their request.Although it was so early, I think that the man had been drinking. Myfather, when I told him, said I should go no more to meet him."
"I am very glad to hear it," Guy said. "He is a low scoundrel, and thoughI say not but that the information obtained from him may have been of someadvantage, for indeed it was the means of my being enabled to save ourlives and those of my Burgundian friends, I like not the thought of yourgoing to meet him; and I am sure that if he were to take the idea into histhick head that it was not for the advantage of the Duke of Burgundy thatthe information he had given was being used, he is capable of denouncingyou."
"I did not mind meeting him,", the girl said. "I never went into the roughquarters, but always met him in one of the better squares or streets.Still, I am glad that I have not to go again. I think that he had beendrinking all night, and with his unwashed face and his bloodshot eyes andhis foul attire I was ashamed even in my present dress to speak with him."
"I hope that I have done with him too," Guy said. "Of course, for mymistress's sake, I shall go again if there be aught to be learnt by it,but as it seems he is now no longer to be trusted it is not likely thatany advantage is to be gained by visiting him. However, I shall hear whatyour father thinks this evening."
Upon talking over the matter with the astrologer the latter at once saidthat he thought that it would be better for him not to go to Simon'sagain.
"When he finds that my daughter meets him no more he will feel aggrieved.I myself shall go in disguise to-morrow to meet him in the Place de Greve,and tell him that for the present there will be no occasion for him tocome to the rendezvous, as the events of the meeting which will have takenplace before I see him show that there can be no doubt that the butchersare ready to go all lengths against the Orleanist party; but that if anychange should occur, and private information be required, you would go tohis lodging again, I shall make no allusion to his having given me none ofthe names save those furnished by the duke, or remark on the strangenessthat, having been at the meeting, he should have heard nothing of themeasures proposed against the others; his own conscience will no doubttell him that his failure is one of the causes of my no longer desiringany messages from him. I have other means of gaining information, as Ihave one of the medical students who follow that cracked-brained fellow,John de Troyes, in my pay. Hitherto I have not employed him largely, butshall now, if need be, avail myself of his services. But I do not thinkthat I shall have any occasion to do so. After the demand by the Parisiansfor so many nobles and gentlemen to be arrested, it will be clear to alladhering to Orleans that Paris is no longer a place for them, and even thefollowers of Burgundy will see that those the duke regarded as hisservants have become his masters, and there will be but few persons ofquality remaining in Paris, and therefore, save when some citizen wishesto consult me, I shall have little to do here save to carry on my work asa quack outside the gates. Even this I can drop for a time, for the peopleof Paris will not be inclined for pleasure when at any moment there may befierce fighting in the streets. I shall be well content to look on for atime. I have been almost too busy of late. And it was but yesterday that Ireceived news from a Carthusian monk,--whom I thought it as well to engageto let me know what is passing,--that there have been debates among someof the higher clergy upon reports received that persons, evidentlydisguised, call upon me at late hours, and that I practise diabolic arts.A determination has been arrived at that an inquisition shall be made intomy doings, my house is to be searched, and myself arrested and tried bythe judge for having dealings with the devil. This news much disturbed me;however, when you told me that the Archbishop of Bourges was among thoseon the list of accused, and also Boisratier, confessor to the queen, it isevident that these good ecclesiastics will have ample matter of anothersort to attend to, and are not likely to trouble themselves about sorceryat present."
On the following morning some twelve thousand White Hoods marched to theHotel de St. Pol, and the leaders, on being admitted, found all the greatlords assembled. After making various propositions they presented a rollto the Duke of Aquitaine containing the names of those they charged withbeing traitors. He at first refused to take it; but so many of theirfollowers at once poured into the great hall that he was obliged to do so,and to read out the names. Twenty of those mentioned in the list were atonce, in spite of the protest of the duke, arrested and carried off; aproclamation was made by sound of trumpet in all the squares of Parissummoning the other forty named to appear within a few days, under penaltyof having their property confiscated. A week later the king, havingrecovered his health, went to the church of Notre Dame, he and all thenobles with him wearing white hoods. Four days later the Parisians roseagain, seized the gates, drew up the bridges, placed strong guards at eachpoint, and a cordon of armed men outside the walls all round the city, toprevent any from escaping by letting themselves down from the walls.
Parties of ten armed men were placed in every street, and the sheriffs andother leaders marched a large body of men to the Hotel de St. Pol andsurrounded it by a line three deep. They then entered and found the king,dukes, and nobles all assembled in the great hall.
They then ordered a Carmelite friar, named Eustace, to preach to the king.He took for his text, "_Except the Lord keep the city, the watchmanwaketh but in vain_," and upon this discoursed on the bad state of thegovernment of the kingdom, and of the crimes committed. The Chancellor ofFrance demanded of the friar when he had concluded who were those who hadincited him thus to speak, and the leaders at once said they had done so,and called up a number of other leaders, who on bended knees declared tothe king that Father Eustace had spoken their sentiments; that they hadthe sincerest love for the king and his family, and that what they haddone had been for the welfare of himself and the kingdom. While this wasgoing on, the Duke of Burgundy, at once indignant and alarmed at thisinsolence of the Parisians, had gone out, and, finding the lines of armedmen surrounding the hotel, had earnestly entreated them to retire, sayingthat it was neither decent nor expedient that the king, who had but justrecovered from his illness, should thus see them drawn up in battle arrayround his abode. Those he addressed replied like the leaders within, thatthey were there for the good of the kingdom, and then gave him a roll,saying that they should not depart until those written on it weredelivered up to them.
With the names of Louis of Bavaria, five knights, an archbishop andpriest, were those of nine ladies of high rank, including the eldestdaughter of the constable. The duke found that neither his authority norpowers were of the slightest avail, and returning to the queen, showed herthe list. She was greatly troubled, and begged him to go with the Duke ofAquitaine and beg the Parisians in her name to wait for eight days, andthat she would at the end of that time allow them to arrest her brother.The two dukes went out to the Parisians, but they positively refused togrant the request, and declared that they would go up to the queen'sapartments and take those named by force, even in her or the king'spresence, unless they were given up. On their return to the queen theyfound Louis of Bavaria and the king with her. On their report of theParisians' demands the Duke of Bavaria went out and begged them to takehim into custody,
and that if he were found guilty they could punish him,but that if found innocent he should be allowed to go back to Bavaria,under a promise not to return to France again. He begged them to becontent with taking him a prisoner, and to arrest no others.
They would not, however, abate one jot of their pretensions, and the wholeof those demanded were at once brought out, including the ladies. Theywere put two and two on horseback, each horse escorted by four men-at-arms, and were carried to various prisons. The Duke of Burgundy now, withhis usual craft, professed to be well satisfied with what the Parisianshad done, and handed over to them the Duke of Bar and the other prisonersconfined in the Louvre, for whose security he had solemnly pledgedhimself. The Parisians then obliged the king to appoint twelve knights,nominated by themselves, and six examiners, to try the prisoners andpunish all found guilty, while the dukes were obliged to draw up astatement and send it to the University for their seal of approval of whathad been done.
The University, however, to their honour, stood firm; and while king andnobles had quailed before the violence of the crowd, they declared in fullcouncil before the king that they would in nowise intermeddle or advise inthe business; and that so far from having advised the arrests of the dukesand other prisoners, they were much displeased at what had taken place.The University was a power; its buildings were strong, and the studentswere numerous, and at all times ready to take part in brawls against theParisians; and even the butchers, violent as they were, were afraid totake steps against it.
They foresaw, however, that the position taken up by the University mightlead some day to an inquiry into their conduct, and therefore obtainedfrom the king an edict declaring that all that had been done was done byhis approval and for the security of his person and the state, and thatthe arrests and imprisonments were therefore to be considered and regardedas having been done for the true honour and profit of the crown, and thathe accordingly commanded all his councillors, judges, and officers toproclaim that this was so in all public places. This was signed by theking in council, the Dukes of Berri and Burgundy, and several other noblesand ecclesiastics, by the Chancellor of Burgundy, and other knightsattached to the duke.
Many nobles quitted Paris at once, either openly or in disguise, includingmany of the Burgundian party, who were to the last degree indignant atwhat was going on; for the mock trials were at once commenced, and many ofthe prisoners, without regard to sex, were daily either put to death inprison or drowned in the Seine. Some of the bodies were exhibited ongibbets, the heads of others were fixed on lances, and some of them werebeheaded in the market-place. During this time Paris remained in a stateof terror, bands of armed butchers parading the streets were loud in theirthreats as to what would be done to all who did not join heartily withthem. None of the better class ventured from their houses, and the mobwere absolute masters of the city. The leaders, however, maintained forthe time a certain degree of order. For the time they were anxious toappear in the light of earnest friends of the king, and as carrying out inhis name the punishment of his enemies. But many tumults, murders, andconflagrations occurred in the city, and the country in general soonperceived the real nature of their doings. It was known that the Orleanistforces were marching against the city. The Count d'Eu had left Paris andreturned to his estates, where he raised two thousand men-at-arms andmarched to Verneuil, where the Dukes of Orleans, Brittany, and Bourbonwere assembled, with a number of great lords, among whom were the Countsof Vettus and D'Alencon, the king's sons. The former had made his escapefrom Paris, and brought letters from the Duke of Aquitaine declaring thathe himself, with the king and queen, were prisoners in the hands of theParisians.
All these nobles met in a great assembly, and letters were written to theking, his great council, and to the Parisians, ordering them to allow theDuke of Aquitaine to go wherever he pleased, and to set at liberty theDukes of Bar and Bavaria and all other prisoners. Should they refuse tocomply, they declared war against the town of Paris, which they declaredthey would destroy, with all within it except the king and the princes ofroyal blood. The Parisians compelled the king to send a friendly answer,putting them off with excuses, and in the meantime to despatchcommissaries to all the towns and baronies of France assuring them thatthe trials and executions of the traitors had been fairly conducted andtheir guilt proved, and calling upon the country to take up arms to aidParis against various nobles who were traitorously advancing against it.
During this time Guy remained quietly in his lodging with the fourretainers, seldom stirring abroad. The men were now regarded by all theirneighbours as honest carpenters, and they shared the indignation of thegreat body of the craft at this usurpation by the market men of thegovernment of France, and at the murders of knights and ladies that weredaily taking place. At present, however, the opponents of the butchersdared not resort to arms. So great had been the fear that they excitedthat most men, however much at heart opposed to them, had been constrainedto appear to side with and agree with them, and as there was no means ofknowing who could be counted upon to join the carpenters were these totake up arms, the latter could not venture alone to enter the listsagainst the armed host of the other party.
One evening Guy, who had not been near the Italian's for over a fortnight,received a message from Dame Margaret to say that she wished to speak tohim, for that she had determined, if any way of escape could be decidedon, to quit Paris, and to endeavour to make her way to Villeroy. He wasgreatly pleased at the news. He had himself ventured to urge this step onthe day after the Duke of Bar and his companions were seized, pointing outthat it was evident that the Duke of Burgundy had neither the power northe inclination to thwart the Parisians, and that although both partieswere now nominally hostile to the English, neither were likely, at socritical a time, to give so much as a thought to Villeroy. Dame Margarethad agreed to this, but considered the difficulties of getting out ofParis and traversing the intervening country were so great that shepreferred to wait until some change took place in the situation of Paris.But it was now too evident that the changes were entirely for the worse,and that if discovered the butchers would undoubtedly add her and herchildren to their long list of victims.
His companions were equally glad when Guy told them the news.
"The sooner the better, Master Guy," Long Tom said. "I own that I shouldlike to have a tussle with these rascals before I go; their doings are sowicked that every honest man must want to get one fair blow at them.Still, I don't see any chance of that, for although the good fellows roundhere grumble under their breath, there does not seem any chance of theirdoing anything. There is not an hour passes that my heart is not in mymouth if I hear a step on the stairs, thinking that they may have foundout where my lady is hidden."
Guy had just turned into the street where the astrologer dwelt when heheard loud voices from a little group in front of him. Four armed men,whose white hoods showed that they were one of the butchers' patrols, werestanding round a slight figure.
"It is well you stopped him, comrade," a voice said, that Guy recognizedat once as being that of Simon Bouclier. "I know the young fellow; he hasbeen to me many a time on the part of a knave who professed to be an agentof Burgundy's, making inquiries of me as to the doings in our quarter. Ihave found out since that the duke employed no such agent, and this mattermust be inquired into. We will take him with us to the market; they willsoon find means of learning all about him and his employer."
Guy felt at once that if Katarina were carried to the butchers, not onlywould the consequences to herself be terrible, but that she would beforced to make such disclosures as would lead to the arrest of the count,and to the discovery of Dame Margaret. He determined at all hazards to gether out of these men's hands. The girl made a sudden attempt to freeherself, slipped from the grasp that one of the men had of her shoulder,dived between two others, and would have been off had not Simon seized herby the arm. Guy sprung forward and threw himself on the butcher, and withsuch force that Simon rolled over in the gutter.
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br /> "Run, run!" he shouted at the same moment to Katarina, who darted down alane to the left, while he himself ran forward and turned down the firstlane to the right with the three men in hot pursuit of him. Young, active,and unencumbered by armour, he gained on them rapidly; but when he nearedthe end of the lane he saw some five or six White Hoods, whose attentionhad been called by the shouts of his pursuers, running to meet him. Heturned and ran back till close to those who had been following him, andthen suddenly sprung into a doorway when they were but three or four pacesfrom him. They were unable to check their speed, and as they passed hebrought his sword down on the neck of the one nearest, and as he fell tothe ground Guy leapt out and ran up the street again. He had gone but tenpaces when he met Simon, who rushed at him furiously with an uplifted axe.Springing aside as the blow descended he delivered a slashing cut on thebutcher's cheek, dashed past him, and kept on his way. He took the firstturning, and then another, leading, like that in which he had beenintercepted, towards the river. His pursuers were fifty yards behind him,but he feared that at any moment their shouts would attract the attentionof another patrol. More than once, indeed, he had to alter his directionas he heard sounds of shouts in front of him, but at last, after tenminutes' running, he came down on to the main thoroughfare at the pointwhere the street leading to the bridge across to the island issued fromit.
"GUY DELIVERED A SLASHING BLOW ON THE BUTCHER'S CHEEK, ANDDASHED PAST HIM."]
His pursuers were still but a short distance away, for fresh parties whohad joined them had taken up the chase, and Guy was no longer running atthe speed at which he had started. His great fear was that he should bestopped at the gate at the end of the bridge; but as there was no fear ofattack this had been left open, so as not to interfere with the trafficbetween that quarter of the city on the island and those on the oppositebanks. Guy was now again running his hardest, in order to get across farenough ahead of his pursuers to enable him to hide himself, when a strongpatrol of some twenty White Hoods issued from the gate at the other sideof the bridge. Without a moment's hesitation he climbed the parapet andthrew himself over. It would, he knew, be as bad for his mistress were hecaptured as if Katarina had fallen into their hands, for if caught he feltsure that tortures would be applied to discover who he was and where hismistress was hidden, and he had made up his mind that if he was overtakenhe would fight until killed rather than be captured.
When he came to the surface of the water Guy turned on his back andsuffered himself to float down until he recovered his breath. When he didso he raised his head and, treading the water, listened attentively. Hewas now nearly a quarter of a mile below the bridge. There was no sound ofshouting behind him, but he felt sure that the pursuit was in no wayabandoned. Already torches were flashing on the quay between the wall andthe river, and in a short time others appeared on his left. On both sidesthere were dark spaces where the walls of the great chateaux of the noblesextended down to the water's side, and obliged those pursuing him alongthe quays to make a detour round them to come down again to the bank. Hecould hardly succeed in reaching one of these buildings without beingseen, for the light of the torches on the opposite shore would be almostcertain to betray his movements as soon as he began to swim, and even ifhe did reach the shore unseen he might at once be handed over to the WhiteHoods by those in the hotel. He therefore remained floating on his back,and in twenty minutes was beyond the line of the city wall. He could nowswim without fear of being discovered, and made for the southern shore.
It was now the middle of June, and the water was fairly warm, but he wasglad to be out of it. So far as Guy had heard he had not been caught sightof from the moment that he had sprung from the bridge. It might well besupposed that he had been drowned. Climbing up the bank he gained, afterwalking a quarter of a mile, the forest that surrounded Paris on allsides. Going some distance into it he threw himself down, after firsttaking off his doublet and hanging it on a bush to dry. He had escaped thefirst pressing danger, that of being taken and tortured into confession,and the rest was now comparatively easy. He had but to obtain anotherdisguise of some sort and to re-enter Paris; he would then be in nogreater danger than before, for in the sudden attack on Simon, and in thesubsequent flight through the ill-lighted streets, he was certain thatbeyond the fact that he was young and active, and that he was evidentlynot a noble, no one could have noted any details of his dress, andcertainly no one could have had as much as a glance at his face.
He started at daybreak, walked through the woods up to Meudon, and thenceto Versailles, which was then little more than a village. By the time thathe reached it his clothes had thoroughly dried on him, and being of a darkcolour they looked little the worse, save that his tight pantaloons hadshrunk considerably. The stalls were just opening when he arrived there,and he presently came upon one where garments of all sorts were hanging.The proprietor's wife, a cheery-looking woman, was standing at the door.
"I have need of some garments, madame," he said.
"You look as if you did," she said with a smile, glancing at his ankles."I see that you are an apprentice, and for that sort of gear you will haveto go to Paris; we deal in country garments."
"That will suit me well enough, madame. The fact is that, as you see, I aman apprentice; but having been badly treated, and having in truth nostomach for the frays and alarms in Paris (where the first man one meetswill strike one down, and if he slays you it matters not if he but shoutloud enough that he has killed an Orleanist), I have left my master, andhave no intention of returning as an apprentice. But I might be stoppedand questioned at every place I pass through on my way home did I travelin this 'prentice dress, and I would, therefore, fain buy the attire of ayoung peasant."
The woman glanced up and down the street.
"Come in," she said. "You know that it is against the law to give shelterto a runaway apprentice, but there are such wild doings in Paris that formy part I can see no harm in assisting anyone to escape, whether he be anoble or an apprentice, and methinks from your speech that you are as liketo be the former as the latter. But," she went on, seeing that Guy wasabout to speak, "tell me naught about it. My husband, who ought to behere, is snoring upstairs, and I can sell what I will; therefore, lookround and take your choice of garments, and go into the parlour behind theshop and don them quickly before anyone comes in. As to your own I willpay you what they are worth, for although those pantaloons are all tootight for those strong limbs of yours they may do for a slighter figure."
Guy was soon suited, and in a few minutes left the shop in a peasant'sdress, and made his way along the village until beyond the houses. Then heleft the road, made a long detour, and returned to Sevres. Here he firstpurchased a basket, which he took outside the place and hid in a bush.Then he went down into the market and bargained for vegetables, makingthree journeys backwards and forwards, and buying each time of differentwomen, until his basket was piled up. Then he got a piece of old rope fortwo or three sous, slung the basket on his shoulders, crossed the ferry,and made for Paris. He felt strange without his sword, which he haddropped into the water on landing; for although in Paris every one nowwent armed, a sword would have been out of character with his dress, inthe country, and still more so in the disguise in which he had determinedto re-enter the town. He passed without question through the gate, andmade his way to his lodgings. As he entered Long Tom leapt up with a cryof joy.
"Thank God that you are safe, Master Guy! We have been grievouslydisturbed for your safety, for the count came here early this morning indisguise to ask if we had heard aught of you. He said that his daughterhad returned last night saying that you had rescued her from the hands ofthe White Hoods, and that beyond the fact that they had followed you inhot pursuit she had no news of you, and that the countess was greatlyalarmed as to your safety. The other three men-at-arms started at once tofind out if aught could be learned of you. I would fain have gone also,but the count said that I must bide here in case you should come, and thatthere was trouble eno
ugh at present without my running the risk of beingdiscovered. An hour since Robert Picard returned; he had been listening tothe talk of the White Hoods, and had learned that one of their number hadbeen killed and another sorely wounded by a man who had rescued a prisonerfrom the hands of a patrol. He had been chased by a number of them, andfinally threw himself off the bridge into the Seine to avoid falling intotheir hands. The general idea was that he was one of the nobles indisguise, of whom they were in search, and that the capture would havebeen a very important one.
"All agreed that he could never have come up alive, for there were bandsof men with torches along both banks, and no sign of him had beenperceived. However, they are searching the river down, and hope to comeupon his body either floating or cast ashore. Robert went out again to tryand gather more news, leaving me well-nigh distraught here."
"The story is true as far as it goes, Tom. I did catch one of them a back-handed blow just under his helmet as he ran past me, and I doubt not thatit finished him; as to the other, I laid his cheek open. It was a hotpursuit, but I should have got away had it not been that a strong patrolcame out through the gate at the other end of the bridge just as I was inthe middle, and there was no course but to jump for it. I thrust my swordinto the sheath, and went over. It added somewhat to my weight in thewater, and it sunk my body below the surface, but with the aid of my handspaddling I floated so that only my nose and mouth were above the water; sothat it is little wonder that they could not make me out. I landed on theother bank a quarter of a mile beyond the walls, slept in the forest,started this morning from Versailles, where I got rid of my other clothesand bought these. I purchased this basket and the vegetables at Sevres,then walked boldly in. No one could have seen my face in the darkness, andtherefore I am safe from detection, perhaps safer than I was before."
"Well done, Master Guy; they would have killed you assuredly if they hadcaught you."
"It was not that that I was afraid of--it was of being taken prisoner. Yousee, if they had captured me and carried me before the butchers in orderto inquire who I was before cutting my throat, they might have put me tothe torture and forced me to say who I was, and where my mistress was inhiding. I hope if they had, that I should have stood out; but none can saywhat he will do when he has red-hot pincers taking bits out of his flesh,and his nails, perhaps, being torn out at the roots. So even if I couldnot have swam a stroke I should have jumped off the bridge."
"You did well, Master Guy," the archer said admiringly; "for indeed theysay that the strongest man cannot hold out against these devilishtortures."
At this moment a step was heard on the stairs, and Jules Varoy entered.
"The saints be praised!" he exclaimed as he recognized Guy. "I thoughtthat you were drowned like a rat, Master Guy; and though Tom here told usthat you could swim well, I never thought to see you again."
Guy told him in a few words how he had escaped, and begged him to carrythe news to his mistress. He was about to give him the address--for uptill now he had refrained from doing so, telling them that it was from nodoubt of their fidelity, but that if by any chance one of them fell intothe hands of the White Hoods they might endeavour to wring from them thesecret, and it was therefore best that they should not be burdened withit--but the man stopped him.
"The count told us that he would be at his booth at the fair at eleveno'clock, and that if any of us obtained any news we were to take it to himthere. He said that there were several parties of White Hoods in thestreets, and that as he went past he heard them say that the boy of whomthey were in search was a messenger of some person of importance at court,and that doubtless the man who had rescued him was also in the plot, andthat a strict watch was to be kept on the quarter both for the boy and forthe man, who was said to be tall and young. Simon, who had been wounded byhim, had declared that he knew him to be connected with the boy; that hewas a young man with dark hair, and was in the habit of using disguises,sometimes wearing the dress of an apprentice, and at other times that of abutcher's assistant. He said that he was about twenty-three."
Guy smiled. He understood that the butcher, who was a very powerful man,did not like to own that the man who had killed one of his comrades andhad severely wounded himself was but a lad.
"As you go, Jules," he said, "will you see Maitre Leroux and ask him if hecan come hither, for I would consult him on the matter."