CHAPTER VII. THE PROFILE OF NAPOLEON
Soon as the prefect of police, the chief of the criminal-investigationdepartment and the examining-magistrates had left Daubrecq's house,after a preliminary and entirely fruitless inquiry, Prasville resumedhis personal search.
He was examining the study and the traces of the struggle which hadtaken place there, when the portress brought him a visiting-card, with afew words in pencil scribbled upon it.
"Show the lady in," he said.
"The lady has some one with her," said the portress.
"Oh? Well, show the other person in as well."
Clarisse Mergy entered at once and introduced the gentleman with her, agentleman in a black frock-coat, which was too tight for him and whichlooked as though it had not been brushed for ages. He was shy in hismanner and seemed greatly embarrassed how to dispose of his old, rustytop-hat, his gingham umbrella, his one and only glove and his bodygenerally.
"M. Nicole," said Clarisse, "a private teacher, who is acting as tutorto my little Jacques. M. Nicole has been of the greatest help to me withhis advice during the past year. He worked out the whole story of thecrystal stopper. I should like him, as well as myself--if you seeno objection to telling me--to know the details of this kidnappingbusiness, which alarms me and upsets my plans; yours too, I expect?"
Prasville had every confidence in Clarisse Mergy. He knew her relentlesshatred of Daubrecq and appreciated the assistance which she had renderedin the case. He therefore made no difficulties about telling her whathe knew, thanks to certain clues and especially to the evidence of theportress.
For that matter, the thing was exceedingly simple. Daubrecq, who hadattended the trial of Gilbert and Vaucheray as a witness and who wasseen in court during the speeches, returned home at six o'clock. Theportress affirmed that he came in alone and that there was nobody in thehouse at the time. Nevertheless, a few minutes later, she heard shouts,followed by the sound of a struggle and two pistol-shots; and from herlodge she saw four masked men scuttle down the front steps, carryingDaubrecq the deputy, and hurry toward the gate. They opened the gate.At the same moment, a motor-car arrived outside the house. The four menbundled themselves into it; and the motor-car, which had hardly had timeto stop, set off at full speed.
"Were there not always two policemen on duty?" asked Clarisse.
"They were there," said Prasville, "but at a hundred and fifty yards'distance; and Daubrecq was carried off so quickly that they were unableto interfere, although they hastened up as fast as they could."
"And did they discover nothing, find nothing?"
"Nothing, or hardly anything... Merely this."
"What is that?"
"A little piece of ivory, which they picked up on the ground. There wasa fifth party in the car; and the portress saw him get down while theothers were hoisting Daubrecq in. As he was stepping back into the car,he dropped something and picked it up again at once. But the thing,whatever it was, must have been broken on the pavement; for this is thebit of ivory which my men found."
"But how did the four men manage to enter the house?" asked Clarisse.
"By means of false keys, evidently, while the portress was doing hershopping, in the course of the afternoon; and they had no difficulty insecreting themselves, as Daubrecq keeps no other servants. I have everyreason to believe that they hid in the room next door, which is thedining-room, and afterward attacked Daubrecq here, in the study. Thedisturbance of the furniture and other articles proves how violent thestruggle was. We found a large-bore revolver, belonging to Daubrecq,on the carpet. One of the bullets had smashed the glass over themantel-piece, as you see."
Clarisse turned to her companion for him to express an opinion. But M.Nicole, with his eyes obstinately lowered, had not budged from his chairand sat fumbling at the rim of his hat, as though he had not yet found aproper place for it.
Prasville gave a smile. It was evident that he did not look uponClarisse's adviser as a man of first-rate intelligence:
"The case is somewhat puzzling, monsieur," he said, "is it not?"
"Yes... yes," M. Nicole confessed, "most puzzling."
"Then you have no little theory of your own upon the matter?"
"Well, monsieur le secretaire-general, I'm thinking that Daubrecq hasmany enemies."
"Ah, capital!"
"And that several of those enemies, who are interested in hisdisappearance, must have banded themselves against him."
"Capital, capital!" said Prasville, with satirical approval. "Capital!Everything is becoming clear as daylight. It only remains for you tofurnish us with a little suggestion that will enable us to turn oursearch in the right direction."
"Don't you think, monsieur le secretaire-general, that this broken bitof ivory which was picked up on the ground..."
"No, M. Nicole, no. That bit of ivory belongs to something which wedo not know and which its owner will at once make it his business toconceal. In order to trace the owner, we should at least be able todefine the nature of the thing itself."
M. Nicole reflected and then began:
"Monsieur le secretaire-general, when Napoleon I fell from power..."
"Oh, M. Nicole, oh, a lesson in French history!"
"Only a sentence, monsieur le secretaire-general, just one sentencewhich I will ask your leave to complete. When Napoleon I fell frompower, the Restoration placed a certain number of officers on half-pay.These officers were suspected by the authorities and kept underobservation by the police. They remained faithful to the emperor'smemory; and they contrived to reproduce the features of their idol onall sorts of objects of everyday use; snuff-boxes, rings, breast-pins,pen-knives and so on."
"Well?"
"Well, this bit comes from a walking-stick, or rather a sort of loadedcane, or life-preserver, the knob of which is formed of a piece ofcarved ivory. When you look at the knob in a certain way, you end byseeing that the outline represents the profile of the Little Corporal.What you have in your hand, monsieur le secretaire-general, is a bit ofthe ivory knob at the top of a half-pay officer's life-preserver."
"Yes," said Prasville, examining the exhibit, "yes, I can make out aprofile... but I don't see the inference..."
"The inference is very simple. Among Daubrecq's victims, among thosewhose names are inscribed on the famous list, is the descendant of aCorsican family in Napoleon's service, which derived its wealth andtitle from the emperor and was afterward ruined under the Restoration.It is ten to one that this descendant, who was the leader of theBonapartist party a few years ago, was the fifth person hiding in themotor-car. Need I state his name?"
"The Marquis d'Albufex?" said Prasville.
"The Marquis d'Albufex," said M. Nicole.
M. Nicole, who no longer seemed in the least worried with his hat, hisglove and his umbrella, rose and said to Prasville:
"Monsieur le secretaire-general, I might have kept my discovery tomyself, and not told you of it until after the final victory, that is,after bringing you the list of the Twenty-seven. But matters are urgent.Daubrecq's disappearance, contrary to what his kidnappers expect, mayhasten on the catastrophe which you wish to avert. We must therefore actwith all speed. Monsieur le secretaire-general, I ask for your immediateand practical assistance."
"In what way can I help you?" asked Prasville, who was beginning to beimpressed by his quaint visitor.
"By giving me, to-morrow, those particulars about the Marquis d'Albufexwhich it would take me personally several days to collect."
Prasville seemed to hesitate and turned his head toward Mme. Mergy.Clarisse said:
"I beg of you to accept M. Nicole's services. He is an invaluable anddevoted ally. I will answer for him as I would for myself."
"What particulars do you require, monsieur?" asked Prasville.
"Everything that concerns the Marquis d'Albufex: the position of hisfamily, the way in which he spends his time, his family connections, theproperties which he owns in Paris and in the country."
P
rasville objected:
"After all, whether it's the marquis or another, Daubrecq's kidnapperis working on our behalf, seeing that, by capturing the list, he disarmsDaubrecq."
"And who says, monsieur le secretaire-general, that he is not working onhis own behalf?"
"That is not possible, as his name is on the list."
"And suppose he erases it? Suppose you then find yourself dealing with asecond blackmailer, even more grasping and more powerful than the firstand one who, as a political adversary, is in a better position thanDaubrecq to maintain the contest?"
The secretary-general was struck by the argument. After a moment'sthought, he said:
"Come and see me in my office at four o'clock tomorrow. I will give youthe particulars. What is your address, in case I should want you?"
"M. Nicole, 25, Place de Clichy. I am staying at a friend's flat, whichhe has lent me during his absence."
The interview was at an end. M. Nicole thanked the secretary-general,with a very low bow, and walked out, accompanied by Mme. Mergy:
"That's an excellent piece of work," he said, outside, rubbing hishands. "I can march into the police-office whenever I like, and set thewhole lot to work."
Mme. Mergy, who was less hopefully inclined, said:
"Alas, will you be in time? What terrifies me is the thought that thelist may be destroyed."
"Goodness gracious me, by whom? By Daubrecq?"
"No, but by the marquis, when he gets hold of it."
"He hasn't got it yet! Daubrecq will resist long enough, at any rate,for us to reach him. Just think! Prasville is at my orders!"
"Suppose he discovers who you are? The least inquiry will prove thatthere is no such person as M. Nicole."
"But it will not prove that M. Nicole is the same person as ArseneLupin. Besides, make yourself easy. Prasville is not only beneathcontempt as a detective: he has but one aim in life, which is to destroyhis old enemy, Daubrecq. To achieve that aim, all means are equallygood; and he will not waste time in verifying the identity of a M.Nicole who promises him Daubrecq. Not to mention that I was brought byyou and that, when all is said, my little gifts did dazzle him to someextent. So let us go ahead boldly."
Clarisse always recovered confidence in Lupin's presence. The futureseemed less appalling to her; and she admitted, she forced herself toadmit, that the chances of saving Gilbert were not lessened by thathideous death-sentence. But he could not prevail upon her to return toBrittany. She wanted to fight by his side. She wanted to be there andshare all his hopes and all his disappointments.
The next day the inquiries of the police confirmed what Prasville andLupin already knew. The Marquis d'Albufex had been very deeply involvedin the business of the canal, so deeply that Prince Napoleon was obligedto remove him from the management of his political campaign in France;and he kept up his very extravagant style of living only by dint ofconstant loans and makeshifts. On the other hand, in so far as concernedthe kidnapping of Daubrecq, it was ascertained that, contrary to hisusual custom, the marquis had not appeared in his club between six andseven that evening and had not dined at home. He did not come back untilmidnight; and then he came on foot.
M. Nicole's accusation, therefore, was receiving an early proof.Unfortunately--and Lupin was no more successful in his own attempts--itwas impossible to obtain the least clue as to the motor-car, thechauffeur and the four people who had entered Daubrecq's house. Werethey associates of the marquis, compromised in the canal affair likehimself? Were they men in his pay? Nobody knew.
The whole search, consequently, had to be concentrated upon the marquisand the country-seats and houses which he might possess at a certaindistance from Paris, a distance which, allowing for the average speedof a motor-car and the inevitable stoppages, could be put at sixty toninety miles.
Now d'Albufex, having sold everything that he ever had, possessedneither country-houses nor landed estates.
They turned their attention to the marquis' relations and intimatefriends. Was he able on this side to dispose of some safe retreat inwhich to imprison Daubrecq?
The result was equally fruitless.
And the days passed. And what days for Clarisse Mergy! Each of thembrought Gilbert nearer to the terrible day of reckoning. Each ofthem meant twenty-four hours less from the date which Clarisse hadinstinctively fixed in her mind. And she said to Lupin, who was rackedwith the same anxiety:
"Fifty-five days more... Fifty days more... What can one do in so fewdays?... Oh, I beg of you... I beg of you..."
What could they do indeed? Lupin, who would not leave the task ofwatching the marquis to any one but himself, practically lived withoutsleeping. But the marquis had resumed his regular life; and, doubtlesssuspecting something, did not risk going away.
Once alone, he went down to the Duc de Montmaur's, in the daytime. Theduke kept a pack of boar-hounds, with which he hunted the Forest ofDurlaine. D'Albufex maintained no relations with him outside the hunt.
"It is hardly likely," said Prasville, "that the Duc de Montmaur, anexceedingly wealthy man, who is interested only in his estates andhis hunting and takes no part in politics, should lend himself to theillegal detention of Daubrecq the deputy in his chateau."
Lupin agreed; but, as he did not wish to leave anything to chance,the next week, seeing d'Albufex go out one morning in riding-dress, hefollowed him to the Gare du Nord and took the same train.
He got out at Aumale, where d'Albufex found a carriage at the stationwhich took him to the Chateau de Montmaur.
Lupin lunched quietly, hired a bicycle and came in view of the house atthe moment when the guests were going into the park, in motor-cars ormounted. The Marquis d'Albufex was one of the horsemen.
Thrice, in the course of the day, Lupin saw him cantering along. Andhe found him, in the evening, at the station, where d'Albufex rode up,followed by a huntsman.
The proof, therefore, was conclusive; and there was nothing suspiciouson that side. Why did Lupin, nevertheless, resolve not to be satisfiedwith appearances? And why, next day, did he send the Masher to findout things in the neighbourhood of Montmaur? It was an additionalprecaution, based upon no logical reason, but agreeing with hismethodical and careful manner of acting.
Two days later he received from the Masher, among other information ofless importance, a list of the house-party at Montmaur and of all theservants and keepers.
One name struck him, among those of the huntsmen. He at once wired:
"Inquire about huntsman Sebastiani."
The Masher's answer was received the next day:
"Sebastiani, a Corsican, was recommended to the Duc de Montmaur by theMarquis d'Albufex. He lives at two or three miles from the house, in ahunting-lodge built among the ruins of the feudal stronghold which wasthe cradle of the Montmaur family."
"That's it," said Lupin to Clarisse Mergy, showing her the Masher'sletter. "That name, Sebastiani, at once reminded me that d'Albufex is ofCorsican descent. There was a connection..."
"Then what do you intend to do?"
"If Daubrecq is imprisoned in those ruins, I intend to enter intocommunication with him."
"He will distrust you."
"No. Lately, acting on the information of the police, I ended bydiscovering the two old ladies who carried off your little Jacques atSaint-Germain and who brought him, the same evening, to Neuilly. Theyare two old maids, cousins of Daubrecq, who makes them a small monthlyallowance. I have been to call on those Demoiselles Rousselot; rememberthe name and the address: 134 bis, Rue du Bac. I inspired them withconfidence, promised them to find their cousin and benefactor; and theelder sister, Euphrasie Rousselot, gave me a letter in which she begsDaubrecq to trust M. Nicole entirely. So you see, I have taken everyprecaution. I shall leave to-night."
"We, you mean," said Clarisse.
"You!"
"Can I go on living like this, in feverish inaction?" And she whispered,"I am no longer counting the days, the thirty-eight or forty days thatremain to us: I am counting the h
ours."
Lupin felt that her resolution was too strong for him to try to combatit. They both started at five o'clock in the morning, by motor-car. TheGrowler went with them.
So as not to arouse suspicion, Lupin chose a large town as hisheadquarters. At Amiens, where he installed Clarisse, he was onlyeighteen miles from Montmaur.
At eight o'clock he met the Masher not far from the old fortress,which was known in the neighbourhood by the name of Mortepierre, and heexamined the locality under his guidance.
On the confines of the forest, the little river Ligier, which has dugitself a deep valley at this spot, forms a loop which is overhung by theenormous cliff of Mortepierre.
"Nothing to be done on this side," said Lupin. "The cliff is steep, overtwo hundred feet high, and the river hugs it all round."
Not far away they found a bridge that led to the foot of a path whichwound, through the oaks and pines, up to a little esplanade, where stooda massive, iron-bound gate, studded with nails and flanked on eitherside by a large tower.
"Is this where Sebastiani the huntsman lives?" asked Lupin.
"Yes," said the Masher, "with his wife, in a lodge standing in the midstof the ruins. I also learnt that he has three tall sons and that all thefour were supposed to be away for a holiday on the day when Daubrecq wascarried off."
"Oho!" said Lupin. "The coincidence is worth remembering. It seemslikely enough that the business was done by those chaps and theirfather."
Toward the end of the afternoon Lupin availed himself of a breach to theright of the towers to scale the curtain. From there he was able to seethe huntsman's lodge and the few remains of the old fortress: here,a bit of wall, suggesting the mantel of a chimney; further away, awater-tank; on this side, the arches of a chapel; on the other, a heapof fallen stones.
A patrol-path edged the cliff in front; and, at one of the ends of thispatrol-path, there were the remains of a formidable donjon-keep razedalmost level with the ground.
Lupin returned to Clarisse Mergy in the evening. And from that time hewent backward and forward between Amiens and Mortepierre, leaving theGrowler and the Masher permanently on the watch.
And six days passed. Sebastiani's habits seemed to be subject solelyto the duties of his post. He used to go up to the Chateau de Montmaur,walk about in the forest, note the tracks of the game and go his roundsat night.
But, on the seventh day, learning that there was to be a meet and thata carriage had been sent to Aumale Station in the morning, Lupin tookup his post in a cluster of box and laurels which surrounded the littleesplanade in front of the gate.
At two o'clock he heard the pack give tongue. They approached,accompanied by hunting-cries, and then drew farther away. He heard themagain, about the middle of the afternoon, not quite so distinctly; andthat was all. But suddenly, amid the silence, the sound of gallopinghorses reached his ears; and, a few minutes later, he saw two ridersclimbing the river-path.
He recognized the Marquis d'Albufex and Sebastiani. On reaching theesplanade, they both alighted; and a woman--the huntsman's wife, nodoubt--opened the gate. Sebastiani fastened the horses' bridles to ringsfixed on a post at a few yards from Lupin and ran to join the marquis.The gate closed behind them.
Lupin did not hesitate; and, though it was still broad daylight, relyingupon the solitude of the place, he hoisted himself to the hollow ofthe breach. Passing his head through cautiously, he saw the two men andSebastiani's wife hurrying toward the ruins of the keep.
The huntsman drew aside a hanging screen of ivy and revealed theentrance to a stairway, which he went down, as did d'Albufex, leavinghis wife on guard on the terrace.
There was no question of going in after them; and Lupin returned to hishiding-place. He did not wait long before the gate opened again.
The Marquis d'Albufex seemed in a great rage. He was striking the leg ofhis boot with his whip and mumbling angry words which Lupin was able todistinguish when the distance became less great:
"Ah, the hound!... I'll make him speak... I'll come back to-night...to-night, at ten o'clock, do you hear, Sebastiani?... And we shall dowhat's necessary... Oh, the brute!"
Sebastiani unfastened the horses. D'Albufex turned to the woman:
"See that your sons keep a good watch... If any one attempts to deliverhim, so much the worse for him. The trapdoor is there. Can I rely uponthem?"
"As thoroughly as on myself, monsieur le marquis," declared thehuntsman. "They know what monsieur le marquis has done for me and whathe means to do for them. They will shrink at nothing."
"Let us mount and get back to the hounds," said d'Albufex.
So things were going as Lupin had supposed. During these runs,d'Albufex, taking a line of his own, would push off to Mortepierre,without anybody's suspecting his trick. Sebastiani, who was devoted tohim body and soul, for reasons connected with the past into which it wasnot worth while to inquire, accompanied him; and together they went tosee the captive, who was closely watched by the huntsman's wife and histhree sons.
"That's where we stand," said Lupin to Clarisse Mergy, when he joinedher at a neighbouring inn. "This evening the marquis will put Daubrecqto the question--a little brutally, but indispensably--as I intended todo myself."
"And Daubrecq will give up his secret," said Clarisse, already quiteupset.
"I'm afraid so."
"Then..."
"I am hesitating between two plans," said Lupin, who seemed very calm."Either to prevent the interview..."
"How?"
"By forestalling d'Albufex. At nine o'clock, the Growler, the Masher andI climb the ramparts, burst into the fortress, attack the keep, disarmthe garrison... and the thing's done: Daubrecq is ours."
"Unless Sebastiani's sons fling him through the trapdoor to which themarquis alluded..."
"For that reason," said Lupin, "I intend to risk that violentmeasure only as a last resort and in case my other plan should not bepracticable."
"What is the other plan?"
"To witness the interview. If Daubrecq does not speak, it will give usthe time to prepare to carry him off under more favourable conditions.If he speaks, if they compel him to reveal the place where the list ofthe Twenty-seven is hidden, I shall know the truth at the same time asd'Albufex, and I swear to God that I shall turn it to account before hedoes."
"Yes, yes," said Clarisse. "But how do you propose to be present?"
"I don't know yet," Lupin confessed. "It depends on certain particularswhich the Masher is to bring me and on some which I shall find out formyself."
He left the inn and did not return until an hour later as night wasfalling. The Masher joined him.
"Have you the little book?" asked Lupin.
"Yes, governor. It was what I saw at the Aumale newspaper-shop. I got itfor ten sous."
"Give it me."
The Masher handed him an old, soiled, torn pamphlet, entitled, on thecover, A Visit to Mortepierre, 1824, with plans and illustrations.
Lupin at once looked for the plan of the donjon-keep.
"That's it," he said. "Above the ground were three stories, which havebeen razed, and below the ground, dug out of the rock, two stories, oneof which was blocked up by the rubbish, while the other... There,that's where our friend Daubrecq lies. The name is significant: thetorture-chamber... Poor, dear friend!... Between the staircase and thetorture-chamber, two doors. Between those two doors, a recess in whichthe three brothers obviously sit, gun in hand."
"So it is impossible for you to get in that way without being seen."
"Impossible... unless I come from above, by the story that has fallenin, and look for a means of entrance through the ceiling... But that isvery risky..."
He continued to turn the pages of the book. Clarisse asked:
"Is there no window to the room?"
"Yes," he said. "From below, from the river--I have just been there--youcan see a little opening, which is also marked on the plan. But it isfifty yards up, sheer; and even then the rock overhangs the water.
Sothat again is out of the question."
He glanced through a few pages of the book. The title of one chapterstruck him: The Lovers' Towers. He read the opening lines:
"In the old days, the donjon was known to the people of the neighbourhood as the Lovers' Tower, in memory of a fatal tragedy that marked it in the Middle Ages. The Comte de Mortepierre, having received proofs of his wife's faithlessness, imprisoned her in the torture-chamber, where she spent twenty years. One night, her lover, the Sire de Tancarville, with reckless courage, set up a ladder in the river and then clambered up the face of the cliff till he came to the window of the room. After filing the bars, he succeeded in releasing the woman he loved and bringing her down with him by means of a rope. They both reached the top of the ladder, which was watched by his friends, when a shot was fired from the patrol-path and hit the man in the shoulder. The two lovers were hurled into space...."
There was a pause, after he had read this, a long pause during whicheach of them drew a mental picture of the tragic escape. So, three orfour centuries earlier, a man, risking his life, had attempted thatsurprising feat and would have succeeded but for the vigilance of somesentry who heard the noise. A man had ventured! A man had dared! A mandone it!
Lupin raised his eyes to Clarisse. She was looking at him... with such adesperate, such a beseeching look! The look of a mother who demanded theimpossible and who would have sacrificed anything to save her son.
"Masher," he said, "get a strong rope, but very slender, so that Ican roll it round my waist, and very long: fifty or sixty yards. You,Growler, go and look for three or four ladders and fasten them end toend."
"Why, what are you thinking of, governor?" cried the two accomplices."What, you mean to... But it's madness!"
"Madness? Why? What another has done I can do."
"But it's a hundred chances to one that you break your neck."
"Well, you see, Masher, there's one chance that I don't."
"But, governor..."
"That's enough, my friends. Meet me in an hour on the river-bank."
The preparations took long in the making. It was difficult to find thematerial for a fifty-foot ladder that would reach the first ledge of thecliff; and it required an endless effort and care to join the differentsections.
At last, a little after nine o'clock, it was set up in the middle ofthe river and held in position by a boat, the bows of which were wedgedbetween two of the rungs, while the stern was rammed into the bank.
The road through the river-valley was little used, and nobody came tointerrupt the work. The night was dark, the sky heavy with movelessclouds.
Lupin gave the Masher and the Growler their final instructions and said,with a laugh:
"I can't tell you how amused I am at the thought of seeing Daubrecq'sface when they proceed to take his scalp or slice his skin into ribbons.Upon my word, it's worth the journey."
Clarisse also had taken a seat in the boat. He said to her:
"Until we meet again. And, above all, don't stir. Whatever happens, nota movement, not a cry."
"Can anything happen?" she asked.
"Why, remember the Sire de Tancarville! It was at the very moment whenhe was achieving his object, with his true love in his arms, that anaccident betrayed him. But be easy: I shall be all right."
She made no reply. She seized his hand and grasped it warmly between herown.
He put his foot on the ladder and made sure that it did not sway toomuch. Then he went up.
He soon reached the top rung.
This was where the dangerous ascent began, a difficult ascent at thestart, because of the excessive steepness, and developing, mid-way, intoan absolute escalade.
Fortunately, here and there were little hollows, in which his feet founda resting-place, and projecting stones, to which his hands clung. Buttwice those stones gave way and he slipped; and twice he firmly believedthat all was lost. Finding a deeper hollow, he took a rest. He was wornout, felt quite ready to throw up the enterprise, asked himself if itwas really worth while for him to expose himself to such danger:
"I say!" he thought. "Seems to me you're showing the white feather,Lupin, old boy. Throw up the enterprise? Then Daubrecq will babble hissecret, the marquis will possess himself of the list, Lupin will returnempty-handed, and Gilbert..."
The long rope which he had fastened round his waist caused him needlessinconvenience and fatigue. He fixed one of the ends to the strap of histrousers and let the rope uncoil all the way down the ascent, so that hecould use it, on returning, as a hand-rail.
Then he once more clutched at the rough surface of the cliff andcontinued the climb, with bruised nails and bleeding fingers. At everymoment he expected the inevitable fall. And what discouraged himmost was to hear the murmur of voices rising from the boat, murmur sodistinct that it seemed as though he were not increasing the distancebetween his companions and himself.
And he remembered the Sire de Tancarville, alone, he too, amid thedarkness, who must have shivered at the noise of the stones whichhe loosened and sent bounding down the cliff. How the least soundreverberated through the silence! If one of Daubrecq's guards waspeering into the gloom from the Lovers' Tower, it meant a shot... anddeath.
And he climbed... he climbed... He had climbed so long that he endedby imagining that the goal was passed. Beyond a doubt, he had slantedunawares to the right or left and he would finish at the patrol-path.What a stupid upshot! And what other upshot could there be to anattempt which the swift force of events had not allowed him to study andprepare?
Madly, he redoubled his efforts, raised himself by a number of yards,slipped, recovered the lost ground, clutched a bunch of roots that cameloose in his hand, slipped once more and was abandoning the game indespair when, suddenly, stiffening himself and contracting his wholeframe, his muscles and his will, he stopped still: a sound of voicesseemed to issue from the very rock which he was grasping.
He listened. It came from the right. Turning his head, he thought thathe saw a ray of light penetrating the darkness of space. By what effortof energy, by what imperceptible movements he succeeded in dragginghimself to the spot he was never able exactly to realize. But suddenlyhe found himself on the ledge of a fairly wide opening, at least threeyards deep, which dug into the wall of the cliff like a passage, whileits other end, much narrower, was closed by three bars.
Lupin crawled along. His head reached the bars. And he saw...
The Crystal Stopper Page 7
