"the beggar blusheth scarlet red,
and straight againe as pale as lead,
she was in such amaze."
with her terror almost forgotten in the memory of her mistress's caress, penelophon ran down into the garden, and kept on bravely till she came to the little door which led out into the street. here she paused; for so great was the horror she felt for the world outside ever since the terrible night on which the king had rescued her, that it was all she could do to find courage enough to open it.
she could not persuade herself that the eyes were not waiting to glare at her on the other side; but at last she hardened her poor fluttering heart to lift the latch and look out. it was very dark. there was no light but what the stars gave, and a dim old oil lamp that swung groaning on a chain across the road. she could see nothing of what she dreaded, and this gave her heart to step out into the street to find the man who was to receive the note. in her anxiety to[pg 186] get her painful duty over, she went as far as where the street turned round the corner of the garden to see if he were coming. not a trace of any one could she detect; so, putting the note into her bosom, she flitted back, to wait a little within the shelter of the door.
she had hardly reached it when she stopped, frozen with horror. the door was shut, and out of the dark recess where it was the thing she dreaded was looking at her. that was all she could see. if the glaring presence had any form, it was hidden in the black shadow of the doorway. only the two eyes burned, with a dim and terrible glow which paralysed her. she knew not what to do. she dared not approach the thing for fear it would take hold of her, and her limbs refused to fly.
at last there was a low hoarse chuckle of satisfied greed, which made the blood fly to her face, as it recalled a memory of her day of terror. she found the light of the lamp was falling full on her, so that the eyes could see her well, and that suddenly gave her strength to turn and run.
the thing sprang out after her with another coarse chuckle; but she ran on bravely. soon she heard the deep-drawn breath of her pursuer sounding hoarsely behind. closer and closer it drew, and made her feet feel like lead. she was like one in a fevered dream, when at the critical moment the[pg 187] limbs refused their office. with the blank dread we only know in distempered slumber, she fancied she was falling, when the hoarse breath all at once was at her ear, and the thing seized her. she tried to scream; but her despairing cry was choked by a hood that was drawn tightly over her face. the monster's arms clasped her about roughly, and she felt herself hurried along in spite of her frantic struggles to escape.
turbo had her safely at last. he laughed to himself, and cracked coarse jokes to his burden as he limped hastily along. he was a strong man in spite of his deformity, and penelophon soon desisted from her hopeless resistance, so that it was not long before he reached the street in which his own house stood. his fiendish glee increased as he saw himself so near his end; but suddenly he stopped, and a low curse hissed on his snarling lips. for even as he entered the street the cheerful clatter of horses' feet at the other end of it fell on his ear.
what could they be? there were many together, and that was a sound that was never heard in the capital at night. still they were coming towards him, whatever they were; and he hurried on, hoping to reach his own door before they would see him. there was plenty of time if he made haste; but all at once it seemed that the same sounds had reached his burden's ear, for she began struggling again desperately.
[pg 188]
he could hold her no longer, and was obliged to put her down. now he could hear the clink of steel as well as the tramp of hoofs; and, uttering furious threats beneath his breath, he tried to drag penelophon along; but his anger and frantic efforts were useless. all he could do was to get with his charge against the wall of his garden, when he was surrounded by some dozen horsemen.
then he cursed himself again; for he knew he had encountered the first detachment of the frontier gendarmerie, whom, by his own encouragement, kophetua had ordered to be concentrated on the capital. it had been arranged that they were to enter the city by night as quietly as possible, in order that the beggars might take no alarm. that had been his own suggestion; and here was the end of it. still he determined to brave it through, and cried out to them to know what they did hustling an honest man and his child at that time of night.
"soho! my night-hawk," cried the officer of the party, in a round laughing voice; "is that your note? 'sblood! then we'll sing a chorus, for 'tis ours too."
the troopers all laughed together at their leader's wit, and turbo eyed his man to see what stuff was in him. it was too dark to make out his face under the high-plumed helmet which he seemed to wear so jauntily, but the chancellor could see he was a tall[pg 189] fellow, who sat his horse with a defiant air. his toes were stretched out impudently in the stirrups, and his right arm was well bowed, and rested knuckles down on his thigh, with quite a splendid swagger. altogether he looked formidable enough as he sat laughing on his tall horse, with the brilliant uniforms and glittering accoutrements of his men faintly discernible in a semicircle at his back.
"my note is low enough," said the chancellor, with affected humility, when his inspection and the laughter were done. "i only ask to pass on quietly with my daughter."
"so you shall, my bully, when we know why you tie up pretty faces in hoods, and why pretty figures struggle in your arms. so come, my bully night-hawk, unhood, unhood!"
"i tell you it is but my daughter!" cried turbo angrily. "let me pass, or the king shall hear of it!"
"ho-ho!" cried the officer, as merrily as ever. "will a beggar out of bounds try to frighten the king's own gendarmerie of the guard with the king's own name. no, no, my joker; come, give her up."
penelophon gave a start as she heard the officer's words, and tried to tear the hood from her head. turbo dragged her roughly behind him, and stood confronting the officer, who spurred his horse forward.
[pg 190]
"stand back!" cried turbo; "stand back, at your peril! i am the chancellor. can you not see? stand back! i command you."
"and i, sink me!" cried the officer, drawing his sabre, "am the king, and the general, and the beggar emperor all in one; so let her go, and take that for your insolent lie."
as he uttered the word, he gave the chancellor a wringing blow across the shoulders with the flat of his sabre. turbo drew back; but the officer spurred on to repeat the chastisement. "let her go, you scurvy hound! let her go, i say! or, 'sblood! you shall have the edge."
turbo saw but one way to escape the now infuriated soldier. in a frenzy of passion to be so balked again, he brutally thrust the blinded girl before the restive horse, so that to avoid trampling on her the officer had to curb it on to its haunches. with ungainly activity the chancellor took advantage of the delay to spring along the wall towards the spot where, as in all the houses in the city, a door gave him admission into his own garden.
"stop the cur! stop him!" cried the officer. "cut him down, or anything. zounds! will you let him laugh at our noses like this?"
two men wheeled like hawks at the hurrying chancellor with uplifted sabres. in another instant it seemed he must be slashed with the gleaming blade that was nearest him, when suddenly he stopped and turned.[pg 191] there was a flash, a sharp report, a cloud of smoke, and the gendarme threw up his hands with a choking cry. the officer dashed to his side to seize the assassin; but as he cleared the smoke he found the man he sought had vanished.
at the door which he fancied he had heard shut he drew rein. it was there he suspected the man had escaped him, and leaping from his saddle, he applied his head to the keyhole and listened intently. the sound of halting footsteps within fell faintly on his ear, and he shifted his attitude to hear better. presently he drew back into the middle of the street, carefully surveyed the premises, and after giving a long low whistle to himself, he returned to the wounded man with a very serious air. three or four saddles were empty, and a sergeant who was kneeling by a motionless body looked up as his commander drew near.
"is he hurt?" asked the officer.
the sergeant did not answer, but slowly removed his helmet. the officer and all the men did the same, and stood round in silence, till the dying man gave a shudder and then lay quite still.
"right lung, sir," said the sergeant laconically.
"well, get him across his saddle," said the officer, "while i look to the girl."
she was still lying motionless where she had fallen, as though she had been struck[pg 192] with the horse's feet, or else was stifled with the hood that muffled her face. first he felt her pulse, and having ascertained that she was still alive, uncovered her head to let her breathe freely. she opened her eyes almost directly, and the officer gazed at her pale face with great interest. as he examined her attentively by the light of a lantern which the sergeant now brought, his eye fell upon the note which still remained where penelophon had placed it. he took it quietly, and read the address by the lantern light.
"to his excellency the high chancellor." with no more show of interest than another low whistle betokened, he put it deliberately into his sabretache, and proceeded to revive his patient. she seemed to come round very slowly; so he gave the word to fall in, mounted his horse, and ordered penelophon to be lifted up in front of him. he had excellent reasons for taking charge of her himself.
as soon as they were started again, the motion of the horse seemed to revive the fainting girl; but still she sat quite quiet, nestling with complete confidence in the officer's arms, and leaning her head upon his breast. presently she gave a long sigh of contentment, and looked up in his face with her big dark eyes.
"did you not say you were trecenito's soldier?" she asked.
[pg 193]
"yes, pretty one. what of that?" answered the soldier.
"ah! i thought i remembered that," she replied dreamily. "i knew you would come!"
"the devil you did, child!" exclaimed the soldier.
"yes; i knew trecenito would send you to take me away from that thing."
"he is always kind, and loves his people," said the officer vaguely, to humour her.
"is he? i don't know. but he is always kind to me, and loves me. so i knew he would send you if he could not come himself, as he did before."
"did he come himself before?" asked the officer, in incredulous astonishment.
"yes; and he will be so pleased with you when he knows you have saved me."
the soldier could only give another long whistle, which seemed a habit with him. he began to find himself the possessor of a very mysterious case, which might turn out to his immense credit, or the reverse, and he felt the necessity of care and his utmost detective ability.
"are you taking me back to my mistress," asked penelophon, after a pause.
"who is your mistress?"
"mlle de tricotrin. she who will be 'trecenita.'"
"no; i cannot take you to her," answered the officer, for whom this new complication[pg 194] was almost overwhelming; "but i will take you to a safe place till trecenito tells me what to do."
"very well," said penelophon contentedly, and she laid her head down on his broad breast again. he was sorely tempted to kiss the delicate face just once. it was so quiet and peaceful and childlike; but somehow she was so trusting and mysterious that he took a better view and refrained. yet it must be said that he was not sorry when, after a half-hour's ride, they reached an old hunting lodge in a remote part of the royal park, which was to be their quarters. here he put temptation out of his way by locking her in a little room which had been prepared for his own use, and giving the key to the sergeant to keep. nor did he regret his cautious action, when shortly afterwards he took an opportunity of opening the note of which he had taken possession. it seemed entirely to confirm the girl's words and his own impression—that somewhere there was some foul play to the advantage of the chancellor, whom he did not like, and to the detriment of kophetua, to whom he was devoted.
then a serious crime had been committed, which must inevitably become public. one of the gendarmes of the guard had been assassinated. he had noticed windows opening after the pistol-shot. the whole affair was almost sure to leak out. to hush[pg 195] the matter up until he could receive personal instructions from the king was probably impossible. but then, on the other hand, there were circumstances which told him that a discreet secrecy was the line of conduct which would be most likely to commend him to all the parties implicated, and to lead to promotion. at a loss what course to take, he finally, like the sensible fellow he was, determined to do his plain duty, and report the whole affair to the commander-in-chief the first thing on the following morning.
