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09 - In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy by G A Henty · In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy

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Speaker 1: Alfred Henty, Chapter eight. Marie arrested. On leaving Victor in
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Speaker 1: the care of the man who had so providentially come
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Speaker 1: to his aid. Harry hurried down the street toward the abbey.
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Speaker 1: Then he stopped to think, should he return there or
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Speaker 1: make his way to the beset. He could not tell
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Speaker 1: whether his friends had, like the Duc de Guison, been
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Speaker 1: removed to the abbey. If they had been so, it
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Speaker 1: was clearly impossible for him to aid them in any way.
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Speaker 1: They might already have fallen. The crowd was too great
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Speaker 1: for him to regain the gallery, and even there he
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Speaker 1: could only witness, without power to avert their murder. Were
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Speaker 1: they still at the beset, he might do something. Perhaps
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Speaker 1: the assassins have not yet arrived there. It was now
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Speaker 1: nine o'clock in the evening. The streets were almost deserted.
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Speaker 1: The respectable inhabitants all remained within their houses, trembling at
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Speaker 1: the horrors of which reports had circulated during the afternoon.
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Speaker 1: At first, there had been hopes that the Assembly would
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Speaker 1: take steps to put a stop to the massacre, but
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Speaker 1: the Assembly did nothing. Dant and the ministers were absent.
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Speaker 1: The cannon's roar and the Tocsin sounded perpetually. There was
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Speaker 1: no secret as to what was going on. The Commune
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Speaker 1: had the insolence to send commissioners to the bar of
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Speaker 1: the Assembly to state that the people wished to break
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Speaker 1: open the doors of the prison, and this when two
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Speaker 1: hundred priests had already been butchered at the Carmelites. A
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Speaker 1: deputation indeed went to the abbey to try to persuade
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Speaker 1: the murderers to desist, but their voices were drowned in
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Speaker 1: the tumultuous cries. The Commune of Paris openly directed the massacre.
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Speaker 1: Billo Varennes went backwards and forwards to superintend the execution
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Speaker 1: of his orders, and promised the executioners twenty four francs
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Speaker 1: a day. The receipt for the payment of this blood
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Speaker 1: money still exists. On arriving in front of the besette,
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Speaker 1: Harry found that all was silent there, and, with a
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Speaker 1: faint feeling of hope that the massacre would not extend
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Speaker 1: beyond the abbey, he again turned his steps in that direction.
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Speaker 1: The bloody work was still going on, and Harry wandered
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Speaker 1: away in the quiet streets to avoid hearing the shriek
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Speaker 1: of the victims and the yells of the crowd. A
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Speaker 1: sudden thought struck him, and he went along until he
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Speaker 1: saw a woman come out of a house. He ran
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Speaker 1: up to her, Madame, He said, I have the most
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Speaker 1: urgent need of a bonnet and shawl. Will you sell me?
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Speaker 1: Those you have on the shops are all shut or
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Speaker 1: I would not trouble you. You have only to name your
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Speaker 1: price and I will pay you. The woman was surprised
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Speaker 1: at this proposition, but seeing that a good bargain was
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Speaker 1: to be made, she asked twice the cost of the
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Speaker 1: articles when new, and this Harry paid her without question,
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Speaker 1: Wrapping the shawl and bonnet into a bundle. He retraced
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Speaker 1: his steps and sat down on some door steps within
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Speaker 1: distance of the abbe, which would enable him to observe
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Speaker 1: any general movement of the crowd. In front of the prison.
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Speaker 1: At one o'clock in the morning, there was a stir
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Speaker 1: and the body of men with pikes moved down the street.
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Speaker 1: They are going to La Force, he said, after following
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Speaker 1: them for some distance. Oh, if I had but two
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Speaker 1: or three hundred English soldiers here, we would make mincemeat
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Speaker 1: of these murderers. Harry did not enter La Force, where
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Speaker 1: the scenes that were taking place at the Abay. For
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Speaker 1: in spite of the speed with which the mock trials
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Speaker 1: were hurried through, these massacres were not yet finished there,
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Speaker 1: so great was the number of prisoners or repeated. At
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Speaker 1: La Force. Many ladies were imprisoned, among them the Princess
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Speaker 1: de Lambald. They shared the fate of the male prisoners,
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Speaker 1: being hewn to pieces by sabers. The head of the
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Speaker 1: princess was cut off and stuck on a pike, and
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Speaker 1: was carried in triumph under the windows of the temple
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Speaker 1: where the King and Queen were confined, and was held
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Speaker 1: up to the bars of the room they occupied for
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Speaker 1: them to see. Marie Antoinette, fearless for herself, fainted at
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Speaker 1: the terrible sight of the pale head of her friend.
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Speaker 1: Harry remained at a little distance from La Force, tramping
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Speaker 1: restlessly up and down, half mad with rage and horror,
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Speaker 1: and at his powerlessness to interfere in any way with
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Speaker 1: the proceedings of the wretches who were carrying on the
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Speaker 1: work of murder. At last, about eight o'clock in the morning,
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Speaker 1: a boy ran by. They have finished with them at
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Speaker 1: the abbey, he said, with fiendish glee, they are going
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Speaker 1: from there to the Besett. Harry, with difficulty, repressed his
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Speaker 1: desire to slay these urchin, and hurried away to reach
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Speaker 1: the prison of Besset before the man from the Abbe
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Speaker 1: arrived there. Unfortunately, he came down by a side street
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Speaker 1: to pawn them when they were within a few hundred
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Speaker 1: yards of the prison. His great hope was that he
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Speaker 1: might succeed in penetrating with the Marseilles and find the
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Speaker 1: Marquise and aid her in making her way through the
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Speaker 1: mob in the disguise he had purchased. But here, as
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Speaker 1: at the other prisons, there was a method in the
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Speaker 1: work of murder. The agents of the commune took possession
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Speaker 1: of the hall at the entrance and permitted none to
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Speaker 1: pass further into the prison, the warders and officials bringing
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Speaker 1: down the prisoners in batches and so handing them over
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Speaker 1: for slaughter. In vain, Harry tried to penetrate into the
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Speaker 1: inner part of the prison. He was roughly repulsed by
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Speaker 1: the men guarding the door, and at last, finding that
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Speaker 1: nothing could be done, he forced his way out again
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Speaker 1: into the open air, and, hurrying away for some distance,
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Speaker 1: threw himself on the ground and burst into a passion
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Speaker 1: of tears. After a time, he rose and made his
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Speaker 1: way back to the house where he had left Victor
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Speaker 1: de Guaison. He found him in a state of delirium,
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Speaker 1: acting over and over again the scene in the abbe,
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Speaker 1: cursing the judge and the executioners, and crying out that
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Speaker 1: he would die with his father. What does the doctor
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Speaker 1: think of him, he asked the woman who was sitting
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Speaker 1: by Victor's bed. He did not say much, the woman replied.
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Speaker 1: He shook his head and said there had been a
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Speaker 1: terrible mental shock, and that he could not answer either
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Speaker 1: for his life or reason. There was nothing to do
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Speaker 1: but to be patient, to keep his head bandaged with
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Speaker 1: wet claws, and to give him water from time to time.
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Speaker 1: Do not be afraid, sir. We will watch over him carefully.
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Speaker 1: I would stay here if I could, Harry said, but
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Speaker 1: I have others I must see about. I have the
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Speaker 1: terrible news to break to some young ladies of the
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Speaker 1: murder of their father and mother. Poor things, poor things,
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Speaker 1: the woman said, shaking her head. It is terrible. My
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Speaker 1: husband was telling me what he saw, and a neighbor
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Speaker 1: came in just now and said it was the same
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Speaker 1: thing at all the other prisons. The priest too, our
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Speaker 1: priest at the little church at the corner of the
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Speaker 1: street where I used to go in every mining to
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Speaker 1: prey on my way to market. He was dragged away
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Speaker 1: ten days ago to the Carmelites, and now he's a
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Speaker 1: saint in heaven. How is it, sir, that God allows
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Speaker 1: such things to be? We cannot sell, Harry said sadly.
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Speaker 1: As for myself, I can hardly believe it, though I
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Speaker 1: saw it. They say there are over four thousand people
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Speaker 1: in the prisons and they will all be murdered. Such
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Speaker 1: a thing was never heard of. I can hardly believe
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Speaker 1: that I am not in a dream. Now you look
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Speaker 1: almost like one dead yourself. The woman said pityingly. I
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Speaker 1: have made a bayond for Jacque's breakfast and mine. It
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Speaker 1: is just ready to take a mouthful before you go out.
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Speaker 1: That and a piece of bread and a cup of
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Speaker 1: red wine will do you good. Harry was on the
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Speaker 1: point of refusing, but felt that he was utterly worn
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Speaker 1: and exhausted, and that he must keep up his strength.
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Speaker 1: Her husband therefore took her place by Victor's bedside, in
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Speaker 1: readiness to hold him down should he try to get
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Speaker 1: up in his ravings, while the good woman laddled out
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Speaker 1: a basin of the broth and placed it with a
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Speaker 1: piece of bread and some wine on the table. Harry
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Speaker 1: forced himself to drink it, and when he rose from
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Speaker 1: the table he already felt the benefit of the meal.
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Speaker 1: Thank you very much, he said, I feel stronger now.
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Speaker 1: But how I am to tell the story I do
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Speaker 1: not know. But I must make quite certain before I
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Speaker 1: go to these poor girls that their parents were killed.
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Speaker 1: Three or four were spared at the abbe. Possibly it
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Speaker 1: may have been the same thing at the beset. So
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Speaker 1: Harry went back and waited outside the prison until the
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Speaker 1: bloody work was over, but found, on questioning those who
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Speaker 1: came out when all was done, that the thirst for
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Speaker 1: blood had increased with killing, and that all the prisoners
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Speaker 1: found in the beset had been put to death. Ma Fois,
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Speaker 1: the man whom he was speaking to, said, but these
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Speaker 1: a cursed aristocrats have courage, men and women alike. There
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Speaker 1: was not one of them, but faced the judges bravely
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Speaker 1: and went to their death as calmly as if to dinner.
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Speaker 1: There was a marquis and his wife, the Marquis de
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Speaker 1: sant Call. They called him. They brought them out together.
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Speaker 1: They were asked whether they had anything to say why
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Speaker 1: they should not be punished for their crimes against France.
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Speaker 1: The marquis laughed aloud. Crimes, he said, do you think
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Speaker 1: the Marquis de sant call is going to plead his
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Speaker 1: life to a band of murderers and assassins? Come, my love.
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Speaker 1: He gave her just one kiss, and then took her hand,
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Speaker 1: as if they were going to walk a minuette together,
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Speaker 1: and then led her down between the lines of guards,
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Speaker 1: with his head erect and a smile of scorn on
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Speaker 1: his face. She did not smile, but her step never faltered.
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Speaker 1: I watched her closely. She was very pale, and she
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Speaker 1: did not look proud, but she walked as calmly and
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Speaker 1: steadily as her husband till they reached the door where
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Speaker 1: the pipe men were awaiting them. And then it was
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Speaker 1: over in a minute, and they died without a cry
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Speaker 1: or a groan. They are wretches, the aristocrats. They have
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Speaker 1: fattened on the life blood of the people, but they
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Speaker 1: know how to die these people without a word. Harry
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Speaker 1: turned away. He had told himself there was no hope,
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Speaker 1: but he knew by the bitter pang. He felt now
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Speaker 1: that he had hoped to the last. Then he walked
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Speaker 1: slowly away to tell the news. There were comparatively few
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Speaker 1: people about in the streets, and these all of the
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Speaker 1: lower order. Every shop was closed. Men with scared faces
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Speaker 1: stood at some of the windows to gather the news
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Speaker 1: from passers by, and pale women looked timidly from the
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Speaker 1: upper windows. When he reached the house, he could not
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Speaker 1: summon courage to enter it, but stood for a long
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Speaker 1: time outside, until at last he saw Louise Molin put
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Speaker 1: her head out through the window. He succeeded in catching
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Speaker 1: her eye, and placing his finger on his lips, signed
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Speaker 1: her to come down. A minute later she appeared at
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Speaker 1: the door. Is it all true, Monsieur Saintuys. They say
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Speaker 1: they are murdering the prisoners. Surely it must be false.
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Speaker 1: They could never do such a thing. It is true, Louise.
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Speaker 1: I have seen it myself. I went with the disguise
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Speaker 1: to try and rescue our dear lady, even if I
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Speaker 1: could not save the marquis. But I could not get
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Speaker 1: to her. The wretches have murdered them both, Oh my
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Speaker 1: dear lady. The old woman cried, bursting into tears. The
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Speaker 1: pretty babe I nursed to think of her murdered, and
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Speaker 1: the poor young thing's upstairs. What shall I do? What
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Speaker 1: shall I do, Monsieur Santuis. You must break it to them, Louise,
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Speaker 1: Do they know how great the danger is? No? I
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Speaker 1: have kept it from them. They and see from the
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Speaker 1: window that something unusual is going on. Every one can
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Speaker 1: see that. But I told them it was only the
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Speaker 1: Prussians that were advancing. They are anxious, very anxious, but
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Speaker 1: they are quite unprepared for this. Break it gradually, Louise.
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Speaker 1: Tell them first that there are rumors that the prisons
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Speaker 1: have been attacked, come down again presently, as if to
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Speaker 1: get more news, and then tell them that there are
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Speaker 1: reports that the prisoners have been massacred. And then at
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Speaker 1: last tell them all the truth. But will you not
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Speaker 1: come up, Monsieur Santwyth. They trust you so much. Your
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Speaker 1: presence will be a support to them. I could do
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Speaker 1: nothing now, Harry said, sadly. God only can console them.
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Speaker 1: They had best be by themselves for a while. I
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Speaker 1: will come in the evening. The first burst of grief
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Speaker 1: will be over then, and my talk may aid them
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Speaker 1: to rouse themselves. Oh, if we had but tried to
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Speaker 1: get them out of prison sooner. And yet who could
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Speaker 1: have foreseen that here in Paris, thousands of innocent prisoners,
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Speaker 1: men and women would be murdered in cold blood. Finding
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Speaker 1: that she could not persuade Harry to enter, Louise turned
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Speaker 1: to perform her painful duty, while Harry, thoroughly exhausted with
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Speaker 1: the night of horrors, made his way home and, throwing
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Speaker 1: himself on the bed, fell asleep and did not wake
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Speaker 1: until evening. His first step was to plunge his head
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Speaker 1: into water, and then, after a good wash, to prepare
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Speaker 1: a meal. His sleep had restored his energy, and with
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Speaker 1: brisk steps he made his way through the streets to
11:21
Speaker 1: Louise Milan. He knocked with his knuckles at the outer
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Speaker 1: door of her apartments. The old nurse opened it quietly.
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Speaker 1: Come in, she said, and sit down. They are in
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Speaker 1: their room, and I think they have cried themselves to sleep.
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Speaker 1: My heart has been breaking all day to see them.
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Speaker 1: It has been dreadful. Poor little Virginie cried terribly and
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Speaker 1: sobbed for hours. It was, but it was a long
11:44
Speaker 1: time before the others cried. Marie fainted, and when I
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Speaker 1: got her round, lay quite still and quiet, without speaking.
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Speaker 1: Jean was the worst of all. She sat on that
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Speaker 1: chair with her eyes staring open, and her face as
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Speaker 1: white as if she were dead. She did not seem
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Speaker 1: to hear anything I said. But at last, when Virginie's
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Speaker 1: sobs were stopping, I began to talk to her about
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Speaker 1: her mother and her pretty ways when she was a child.
12:07
Speaker 1: And then at last Jean broke down, and she cried
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Speaker 1: so wildly that I was frightened. And then Marie cried too,
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Speaker 1: And after a while I persuaded them all to lie down.
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Speaker 1: And as I have not heard a sound for the
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Speaker 1: last hour, I hope the Good God has sent them
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Speaker 1: all to sleep. I trust so indeed, Louise, I will
12:24
Speaker 1: stay here quietly for an hour, and then if we
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Speaker 1: hear nothing, I will go home, and to be back
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Speaker 1: again in the morning. Sleep will do more for them
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Speaker 1: than anything I can say. At the end of an hour,
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Speaker 1: all was quiet, and Harry, with a somewhat lightened heart,
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Speaker 1: took his departure. At nine o'clock next morning, he was
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Speaker 1: again at the house. When he entered, Virginie ran to him, and,
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Speaker 1: throwing her arms around his neck, burst again into a
12:47
Speaker 1: passion of tears. Harry felt that this was the best
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Speaker 1: thing that could have happened, for the others were occupied
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Speaker 1: for some time in trying to soothe her, crying quietly
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Speaker 1: to themselves while they did so. At last her sobs
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Speaker 1: became less violent. And now, Harry, Marie said, turning to him,
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Speaker 1: will you tell us all about it? I will tell
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Speaker 1: you only that your dear father and mother died, as
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Speaker 1: you might be sure they would, calmly and fearlessly, and
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Speaker 1: that they suffered. But little more than that I cannot
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Speaker 1: tell you now. Some day further on, when you can
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Speaker 1: bear it, I will tell you of the events of
13:19
Speaker 1: the last forty eight hours. At present, I myself dare
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Speaker 1: not think of it, and it would harm you to
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Speaker 1: know it. Do not, I pray you ask me any questions.
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Speaker 1: Now we must think of the future. Fortunately you passed
13:31
Speaker 1: unsuspected the last time they searched the house, but it
13:33
Speaker 1: may not be so another time. You may be sure
13:36
Speaker 1: that these human tigers will not be satisfied with the
13:39
Speaker 1: blood they have shed, but that they will long for
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Speaker 1: fresh victims. The prisons are empty now, but they will
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Speaker 1: soon be filled again. We must therefore turn our thoughts
13:47
Speaker 1: to making your escape from the city. I fear there
13:50
Speaker 1: is peril everywhere, but it must be faced. I think
13:53
Speaker 1: it will be useless for us to try and reach
13:54
Speaker 1: the frontier by land. At every town and village they
13:57
Speaker 1: will be on the lookout for fugitives, and what never
14:00
Speaker 1: disguise you might adopt, you could not escape observation. I
14:03
Speaker 1: think then that we must make for the sea and
14:06
Speaker 1: hire a fishing boat to take us across to England.
14:09
Speaker 1: But we must not hurry in the first place. We
14:11
Speaker 1: must settle all our plans carefully and prepare our disguises.
14:15
Speaker 1: In the next place. There will be such a tremendous
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Speaker 1: excitement when the news of what has happened here is known,
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Speaker 1: that it would be unsafe to travel. I think myself
14:22
Speaker 1: it will be best to wait a little until there
14:24
Speaker 1: is a lull. That is what I want you to
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Speaker 1: think over and decide. I do not think there is
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Speaker 1: any very great danger here for the next few days.
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Speaker 1: For a little time, they will be tired of slaying.
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Speaker 1: And from what I hear, the Girondists are marked out
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Speaker 1: as the next victims. They say Dantins has denounced them
14:40
Speaker 1: at the Jacobin Club. At any rate, it will be
14:43
Speaker 1: better to get everything in readiness for flight, so that
14:46
Speaker 1: we can leave at once if we hear of any
14:47
Speaker 1: fresh measures for search after suspects. Harry was pleased to
14:52
Speaker 1: find that his suggestion answered the purpose for which he
14:54
Speaker 1: had made it. The girls began to discuss the disguises
14:57
Speaker 1: which would be required and the best route to be taken,
15:00
Speaker 1: and their thoughts were for a time turned from the
15:03
Speaker 1: loss they had sustained. After an hour's talk, he left
15:07
Speaker 1: them greatly benefited by his visit. For the next few days,
15:11
Speaker 1: Harry spent his time, for the most part by the
15:13
Speaker 1: bedside of Victor Quisson. The fever was still at its height,
15:17
Speaker 1: and the doctor gave but small hopes of his recovery.
15:20
Speaker 1: Harry determined that he would not leave Paris until the
15:23
Speaker 1: issue was decided one way or the other, and when
15:25
Speaker 1: with the girls, he discouraged any idea of an immediate flight.
15:29
Speaker 1: This was the more easy for the news from the
15:31
Speaker 1: provinces showed that the situation was everywhere as bad as
15:34
Speaker 1: it was of the capital. The Commune had sent to
15:37
Speaker 1: all of the committees acting in connection with them in
15:40
Speaker 1: the towns throughout the country. The news of the execution
15:43
Speaker 1: of the enemies of France confined in the prisons, and
15:45
Speaker 1: had urged that a similar step should at once be
15:47
Speaker 1: taken with reference to all the prisoners in their hands.
15:50
Speaker 1: The order was promptly obeyed, and throughout France massacres similar
15:54
Speaker 1: to those in Paris were at once carried out. A
15:57
Speaker 1: carnival of murder and horror had commenced, and the madness
16:00
Speaker 1: for blood raged throughout the whole country. Such being the case,
16:04
Speaker 1: Harry found it by no means difficult to dissuade the
16:06
Speaker 1: girls from taking instant steps towards making their escape. He was, however,
16:11
Speaker 1: in a state of great uneasiness. Many of the moderate
16:14
Speaker 1: deputies had been seized, others had sought safety in flight,
16:18
Speaker 1: and the search for suspected persons was carried on vigorously.
16:22
Speaker 1: Difficult and dangerous as it would be to endeavor to
16:24
Speaker 1: travel through France with three girls, he would have attempted
16:27
Speaker 1: it without hesitation, rather than remain in Paris, had it
16:30
Speaker 1: not been for Victor de Guisson. One day, a week
16:33
Speaker 1: after the massacres at the prisons, he received another terrible shock.
16:37
Speaker 1: He had bought a paper from one of the men
16:39
Speaker 1: shouting them for sale in the street, and sat down
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Speaker 1: in the garden of the Touirese to read it. A
16:44
Speaker 1: great portion of the space was filled with lists of
16:46
Speaker 1: the enemies of the people who had been, as it
16:48
Speaker 1: was called, executed. As these lists had formed the staple
16:52
Speaker 1: of news for several days, Harry scarcely glanced at the names,
16:55
Speaker 1: his eyes traveling rapidly down the list, until he gave
16:58
Speaker 1: a start and a low cry. Under the heading of
17:00
Speaker 1: the persons executed at Lille were the names of Ernest
17:03
Speaker 1: de Saint Crans, Jewels de Saint Crans, Pierre d'utiers, aristocrats
17:08
Speaker 1: arrested August fifteenth in the act of endeavoring to leave
17:11
Speaker 1: France in disguise. For some time, Harry sat as if stunned.
17:15
Speaker 1: He had scarce given a thought to his friends since
17:18
Speaker 1: the night they had left. The affairs of the Marquis
17:20
Speaker 1: and his wife, of their daughters, and of Victor de
17:22
Speaker 1: Gascon had almost excluded everything else. When he thought of
17:26
Speaker 1: the boys, it had been as already in England under
17:28
Speaker 1: the charge of Dutier. He had thought that if they
17:31
Speaker 1: had been arrested on the way, he should have been
17:33
Speaker 1: sure to hear of it, And he had such confidence
17:35
Speaker 1: in the sagacity of Monsieur de Tier, that he looked
17:38
Speaker 1: upon it almost as a certainty that he would be
17:40
Speaker 1: able to lead his two charges through any difficulty and
17:42
Speaker 1: danger which might beset them. And now he knew that
17:45
Speaker 1: his hopes had been ill founded, that his France had
17:47
Speaker 1: been arrested when almost within sight of the frontier, and
17:50
Speaker 1: had been murdered. As soon as the news of the
17:52
Speaker 1: massacres in Paris had reached Lelle. He felt crushed with
17:56
Speaker 1: the blow. A warm affection had sprung up between him
17:59
Speaker 1: and Earnest All from the first the younger boy had
18:01
Speaker 1: attached himself to him, And now they were dead, and
18:04
Speaker 1: the girls were alone in the world save for himself
18:06
Speaker 1: and the poor young fellow tossing with fever. It was
18:09
Speaker 1: true that if his friends had reached England in safety,
18:11
Speaker 1: they could not evaded him in the task he had
18:13
Speaker 1: before him of getting the girls away. Still, their deaths
18:16
Speaker 1: seemed somehow to add to his responsibilities. Upon one thing
18:20
Speaker 1: he determined at once, and that was that until his
18:23
Speaker 1: charges were safe in England, they should not hear a
18:25
Speaker 1: whisper of this new and terrible misfortune which had befallen them.
18:29
Speaker 1: In order to afford the girls some slight change, and
18:32
Speaker 1: anxious at their pale faces the result of grief and
18:34
Speaker 1: of their unwanted confinement, Louise Milla had persuaded them to
18:38
Speaker 1: go out with her in the early mornings when she
18:39
Speaker 1: went to the markets. The fear of detection was small,
18:43
Speaker 1: for the girls had now become accustomed to their thick
18:45
Speaker 1: shoes and rough dress, and indeed she thought that it
18:47
Speaker 1: would be safer to go out, for the suspicion of
18:50
Speaker 1: her neighbors might be excited if the girls remained secluded
18:52
Speaker 1: in the house. Harry generally met them soon after they
18:55
Speaker 1: started and accompanied them in their walk. One morning, he
18:59
Speaker 1: was walking with the two younger girls while Marie and
19:02
Speaker 1: the old nurse were together a short distance in front
19:04
Speaker 1: of them. They had just reached the flower market, which
19:07
Speaker 1: was generally the main object of their walks, for the girls,
19:10
Speaker 1: having passed most of their time in the country, were
19:12
Speaker 1: passionately fond of flowers. When a man on horseback wearing
19:15
Speaker 1: a red sash which showed him to be an official
19:17
Speaker 1: of the republic, came along at a foot pace, his
19:20
Speaker 1: eyes fell upon Marie's face and rested there at first
19:23
Speaker 1: with the look of recognition, followed by a start of
19:26
Speaker 1: surprise and satisfaction. He reined in his horse instantly with
19:29
Speaker 1: the exclamation Mademoiselle de Saint corr for a moment, she
19:33
Speaker 1: shrank back, her cheek paler even than before. Then recovering herself,
19:37
Speaker 1: she said, calmly, it is myself, monsieur lebar, citizen le bar,
19:43
Speaker 1: he corrected, you forget there are no titles. Now we
19:47
Speaker 1: have changed all that. It goes to my heart. He
19:51
Speaker 1: went on, with a sneer, to be obliged to do
19:53
Speaker 1: my duty. But however unpleasant it is, it must be done. Citizens,
19:59
Speaker 1: he said, raising his voice, I want two men well
20:02
Speaker 1: disposed to the state, as to be ill disposed meant danger,
20:06
Speaker 1: if not death. Several men within hearing at once came forward.
20:10
Speaker 1: This female citizen is an aristocrat in disguise, he went on,
20:14
Speaker 1: pointing to Marie, in virtue of my office as Deputy
20:17
Speaker 1: of de Jon and member of the Committee of Public Safety.
20:20
Speaker 1: I arrest her and give her into your charge. Where
20:24
Speaker 1: is the person who was with her? Seize her also
20:26
Speaker 1: on a charge of harboring an enemy of the state.
20:29
Speaker 1: But Louise was gone the moment Laba had looked round
20:33
Speaker 1: in search of assistance. Marie had whispered in Louise's ear, fly, Luise,
20:37
Speaker 1: for the sake of the children. If you are arrested,
20:39
Speaker 1: they are lost. Had she herself been alone concerned, the
20:42
Speaker 1: old woman would have stood by marine and shared her fate.
20:45
Speaker 1: But the words for the sake of the children decided her,
20:48
Speaker 1: and she had instantly slipped away among the crowd whose
20:50
Speaker 1: attention had been called by Laba's first words, and dived
20:53
Speaker 1: into a small shop, where she at once began to
20:55
Speaker 1: bargain for some eggs. Where is the woman, the repeated angrily.
21:01
Speaker 1: What is she like? One of the bystanders asked, But
21:04
Speaker 1: la Ba could give no description whatever of her. He
21:07
Speaker 1: had noticed that Marie was speaking to some one when
21:09
Speaker 1: he first caught sight of her face, but he had
21:11
Speaker 1: noticed nothing more and did not know whether the woman
21:14
Speaker 1: was young or old. I can't tell you, he said,
21:17
Speaker 1: in a tone of vexation. Never mind, we shall find
21:20
Speaker 1: her later on. This capture is the most important, so saying,
21:25
Speaker 1: he set out, with Marie walking beside him, with a
21:28
Speaker 1: guard on either hand. In the next street, he came
21:31
Speaker 1: on a party of four armed soldiers of a commune,
21:33
Speaker 1: and ordered them to take the place of those he
21:35
Speaker 1: had first charged with the duty, and directed them to
21:38
Speaker 1: proceed with him to the main. Marie was taken at
21:41
Speaker 1: once before the committee setting in permanence for the discovery
21:44
Speaker 1: and arrest of suspects. I charge this young woman with
21:48
Speaker 1: being an aristocrat in disguise. She is the daughter of
21:51
Speaker 1: the Sie Devont Marquis de Saintsan, who was executed on
21:54
Speaker 1: the second of September at Besset Murder. Do you mean, sir,
21:59
Speaker 1: Marie said, in a clear, haughty voice, why not call
22:01
Speaker 1: things by their proper name? I am sorry. La Ba
22:05
Speaker 1: went on, not heeding the interruption, that it should fall
22:08
Speaker 1: to my lott to denounce her, for I acknowledge that
22:11
Speaker 1: in the days before our glorious revolution commenced, I had
22:14
Speaker 1: visited at her father's chateau. But I feel that my
22:17
Speaker 1: duty to the republic stands before any private considerations. You
22:22
Speaker 1: have done perfectly right, the president of the committee said,
22:25
Speaker 1: as I understand that the accused does not deny that
22:28
Speaker 1: she is the daughter of the Sie de mont Marquis,
22:30
Speaker 1: I will at once sign the order for her committal
22:32
Speaker 1: to La Horse. There is room there still, though the
22:35
Speaker 1: prisons are filling up fast. We must have another jail delivery,
22:39
Speaker 1: one of the committee laughed brutally, and a murmur of
22:41
Speaker 1: assent passed through the chamber. The order was made out
22:45
Speaker 1: and Marie was handed over to the armed guard to
22:47
Speaker 1: be taken with the next batch of prisoners to la Horse.
22:51
Speaker 1: Harry was some twenty yards behind Marie and her companion
22:53
Speaker 1: when Lava checked his horse before her. He recognized the
22:56
Speaker 1: man instantly and saw that Marie's disguise was discovered. His
23:00
Speaker 1: first impulse was to rush forward to her assistance, but
23:03
Speaker 1: the hopelessness of any attempt at interference instantly struck him,
23:06
Speaker 1: and to the surprise of the two girls, who were
23:08
Speaker 1: looking into a shop and had not noticed what was occurring.
23:11
Speaker 1: He turned suddenly with them down the side street. What
23:14
Speaker 1: are you doing, Harry. We shall lose the others in
23:16
Speaker 1: the crowd if we do not keep them in sight,
23:18
Speaker 1: jeanque said, I know what I am doing. Jean, I
23:20
Speaker 1: will tell you presently. He walked along several streets until
23:23
Speaker 1: he came to an unfrequented thoroughfare. There is something wrong, Harry,
23:27
Speaker 1: I see it in your face, Jean exclaimed, tell us
23:30
Speaker 1: at once. It is bad news. Harry said quietly. Try
23:34
Speaker 1: and nerve yourselves, my dear girls, for you will need
23:37
Speaker 1: all your courage. Marie is captured. Oh, Harry, Virginie exclaimed,
23:42
Speaker 1: bursting into tears, while Jean stood motionless and still. Why
23:46
Speaker 1: are you taking us away? She said, in a hard,
23:49
Speaker 1: sharp voice which Harry would not have recognized as hers.
23:52
Speaker 1: Our place is with her, and where she goes, we
23:54
Speaker 1: will go. You have no right to leave us away.
23:56
Speaker 1: We will go back to her at once. You can
23:58
Speaker 1: do her no good, Jean dede, Harry said gently. You
24:01
Speaker 1: could not help her, and it would only add to
24:03
Speaker 1: her misery if you and Virginie were also in their hands. Besides,
24:07
Speaker 1: we can be of more use outside. Trust to me, Jean,
24:11
Speaker 1: I will do all in my power to save her,
24:12
Speaker 1: whatever the risk. You could not save our father and mother,
24:16
Speaker 1: Jean said, with a quivering lip, No, dear, but I
24:19
Speaker 1: would have saved them had there been but a little
24:21
Speaker 1: more time to do so. This time I hope to
24:23
Speaker 1: be more successful. Courage, Jean, do not give way. I
24:27
Speaker 1: depend on your clear head to help me. Besides, till
24:30
Speaker 1: we can get her back, you have to fill Marie's
24:31
Speaker 1: place and look after Virginie. The appeal was successful, and
24:36
Speaker 1: Jean burst into a passion of tears. Harry did not
24:39
Speaker 1: try to check them, and in a short time the
24:41
Speaker 1: sobs ceased, and Jean raised her head again. I feel
24:44
Speaker 1: better now, she said, Come Virginie and dry your eyes, darling.
24:48
Speaker 1: We shall have plenty of time to cry afterwards. Are
24:51
Speaker 1: we to go home, Harry? Have they taken Louise? I
24:54
Speaker 1: do not know, Jean. That is the first thing to
24:56
Speaker 1: find out, for if they have, it will not be
24:58
Speaker 1: safe for you to return. Let us push on now,
25:00
Speaker 1: so that if she has not been taken, we shall
25:02
Speaker 1: reach home before her. We will place ourselves at the
25:05
Speaker 1: corner of your street and wait for an hour. She
25:07
Speaker 1: may spend some time in looking for us, but if
25:09
Speaker 1: she does not come home by the end of that time,
25:12
Speaker 1: I feel sure that it is because she cannot come,
25:14
Speaker 1: and in that case I must look out for another
25:16
Speaker 1: place for you. They hurried on until they were nearly home.
25:20
Speaker 1: The brisk walk, having, as Harry had calculated it, wood,
25:23
Speaker 1: had an effect of preventing their thoughts from dwelling upon
25:26
Speaker 1: Maurice's capture. They had not been more than a quarter
25:29
Speaker 1: of an hour at their post when Harry gave an
25:31
Speaker 1: exclamation of satisfaction as he saw Louise Mila approaching. The
25:35
Speaker 1: two girls hurried to meet her. Thank God, you are
25:37
Speaker 1: both safe, DearS, she exclaimed, with tears streaming down her cheeks.
25:41
Speaker 1: I had thought up you in the middle of it all,
25:43
Speaker 1: but I was sure that Monsieur Saint Weith would see
25:46
Speaker 1: what was being done and would get you away. And you, Louise, said, Harry,
25:51
Speaker 1: who had come up? How did you get away? I
25:53
Speaker 1: am terribly anxious, thinking that they might seize you too,
25:56
Speaker 1: and that would have been dreadful, So they would have done,
25:59
Speaker 1: the old woman said. But when that evil one man
26:02
Speaker 1: looked away for a moment, Mademoiselle whispered, fly Louise, for
26:05
Speaker 1: the children's sake. And I slipped away into the crowd,
26:08
Speaker 1: without even stopping to think, and ran into a shop.
26:10
Speaker 1: And if was well, I did for he shouted to
26:12
Speaker 1: them to seize me too, but I was gone, and
26:15
Speaker 1: as I don't think he noticed me before, they could
26:17
Speaker 1: not find me. And as soon as they had all
26:19
Speaker 1: moved away, I came out. I looked for you for
26:21
Speaker 1: some time, and then made up my mind that Monsieur
26:24
Speaker 1: Saintuis had come on home with you. So I did
26:27
Speaker 1: you see, Harry said, But I did not dare to
26:29
Speaker 1: go in until we knew whether you had been taken too.
26:32
Speaker 1: If you had not come after a time, we should
26:33
Speaker 1: have looked for another lodging, though I knew well enough
26:36
Speaker 1: that you would not tell them where you lived. No. Indeed,
26:39
Speaker 1: the old woman said, they might have cut me in
26:42
Speaker 1: pieces without getting a single word from me as to
26:44
Speaker 1: where I lived. Still, they might have found out somehow,
26:47
Speaker 1: for they would have been sure to have published the
26:49
Speaker 1: fact that I had been taken with the description of me.
26:52
Speaker 1: Then the neighbors would have said, this description is like
26:54
Speaker 1: Louise ma'la, and she is missing. And then they would
26:57
Speaker 1: have talked, and the end of it would have been
26:59
Speaker 1: you would have been discovered. Will you come home with us,
27:01
Speaker 1: Monsieur Saint Louis. I will come after its dark, Louise.
27:05
Speaker 1: The less my visits are noticed, the better. This is awful,
27:09
Speaker 1: Harry said to himself as he turned away. Marquis and
27:12
Speaker 1: his wife massacred, Ernest and Jewles murdered Marie in prison,
27:15
Speaker 1: Victor mad with fever. Jean and Virginie was no one
27:18
Speaker 1: to trust to but me. My people at home in
27:20
Speaker 1: a frightful state of mind about me. It is awful
27:23
Speaker 1: to think of. It's enough to drive a fellow out
27:25
Speaker 1: of his senses. Well, I will go and see how
27:27
Speaker 1: Victor is going on. The doctor thought there was a
27:30
Speaker 1: change yesterday, poor fellow. If he comes to his senses,
27:33
Speaker 1: I shall have hard work to keep the truth about
27:35
Speaker 1: Marie from him. It would send him off again worse
27:37
Speaker 1: than ever if he had an idea of it. And
27:40
Speaker 1: how is your patient to day, madame, he asked, as
27:42
Speaker 1: Victor's nurse opened the door to him. He is quieter,
27:45
Speaker 1: much quieter, she replied. I think he is too weak
27:48
Speaker 1: to rave any longer. But otherwise he's just the same.
27:51
Speaker 1: He lies with his eyes open, talking sometimes to himself,
27:55
Speaker 1: but I cannot make out any sense in what he says.
27:57
Speaker 1: The doctor has been here this morning, and he said
28:00
Speaker 1: he thinks another two days will decide. If he does
28:02
Speaker 1: not take a turn, then he will die. If he does,
28:05
Speaker 1: he may live, but even then he may not get
28:07
Speaker 1: his reason again. Poor young fellow. I feel for him
28:10
Speaker 1: almost as if he were my son, and so does Jacques.
28:13
Speaker 1: You are both very good, Madam, you are both very good, madame,
28:17
Speaker 1: Harry said, And my friend is fortunate, indeed, to have
28:20
Speaker 1: fallen into such good hands. I will sit with him
28:22
Speaker 1: for three or four hours now, and you had better
28:24
Speaker 1: go and get a little fresh air, If that I will.
28:27
Speaker 1: Monsieur Jacques is asleep. He was up with him all
28:30
Speaker 1: last night, and I had a good night. He would
28:32
Speaker 1: have it so quite right, Harry said, you must not
28:35
Speaker 1: lock yourself up, madame. You are too useful to others
28:38
Speaker 1: for us to let you do that. Tomorrow night I
28:40
Speaker 1: will take my turn. End of Chapter eight