The Lady of the Mount
Page 31
CHAPTER XXXI
THE ATTACK ON THE MOUNT
The rock loomed black before them, as the troopers, escorting theGovernor's daughter, rode up to the Mount. Entering the town, at itsbase, dark walls on either side of them shut out the broad map of theheavens and left but a narrow open space above; few lights werevisible, so that many of the houses seemed tenantless; even at thetavern, unwonted stillness prevailed. Apparently was the returnwell-timed; in twisting street and tortuous byway, where hostile faceshad been prone to frown upon the soldiers of his Excellency, emergingfrom, or ascending to, the stronghold of the summit, now only chilldrafts of air swept down to greet them; passed on with shrillwhisperings, and died away in the distance.
Nearing the massive portals that opened wide into his Excellency'srealm, my lady suppressed a shiver; but the Marquis, in a low toneventured to jest on the depressing and melancholy aspect of the Mountat that hour. To these light remarks she returned no answer, and hehad just begun to rally her on a certain quietness of spirits, apparenton the beach and irreconcilable with the circumstances of the moment,when a sharp exclamation fell from the girl's lips.
In front of them, between the soldiers and the entrance to that upperpart of the Mount, many dark forms had suddenly darted forth; at thesame time from near-by houses came unmistakable sounds of life andactivity; doors were thrown open and windows raised. The town theythought asleep had merely been watching; now showed its bright eyes ina multitude of menacing lights around them; below, where likewise amysterious marshaling had occurred, from alleys, corners, and hovels,immediately after the passing of the Governor's party!
"What does it mean?" Again she heard the Marquis' tones, lessconfident now, as he turned to the commandant.
"Treachery!" The commandant's voice rang out. "They've broken faithwith us!"
"Dogs!" My lord gazed uncertainly ahead; dubiously behind. "What arewe going to do?"
"Do?" The commandant suppressed an imprecation. "Push on to the uppergates!"
"To the gates!" cried the Marquis; then wheeled quickly. "Butyou--Elise!"
"Never mind me!" she returned, with steady lips and eyes.
There was no time for further words; a sharp order from the commandantand the troopers spurred forward toward the entrance in the wall andthose whose purpose it was to oppose them.
What happened thereafter the girl was but vaguely cognizant of; reportsof guns, flashing of steel surrounded her; the clattering of hoofsmingled with the loud shouts of men.
"The Bastille of the North! Down with it!"
This was their battle-cry; on every side she heard it, though hardlyrealizing the purport of the words; confused, she listened to herfather's name--her own--bandied about. She wondered why those on thewall, the soldiers within, did not fire and repel all these people.
Then almost at once came the answer. The troopers' comrades were mixedin the melee without; she and they, too--so adroitly had the moment forstriking been planned--might be swept down in the volleys from theramparts. A cannon boomed above; but its deafening reverberations wereanswered only with laughter and jeers-- _Mon dieu_! Did hisExcellency think to frighten them with sound, as if they were timidchildren fleeing from thunder? Was his Excellency aiming at stars?
And again that cry: "The Bastille of the North! We, too, will take ourBastille!"--dominated the clashing of arms and the tumult of strife.
For what seemed an interminable period, the Governor's daughter saw,through flashes of light, men struggling, striking; then launchedsuddenly forward, by an irresistible movement of the horses, foundherself within the gates. The Marquis who had early been separatedfrom her in the strife, was nowhere in sight. Behind now sounded thefray; a short distance from the wall, and she looked back; fiercer thanever, soldiers and people contended within the entrance; beneath theportals. As she strove to restrain her horse she heard the voice ofher father.
"_Mon pere_! _Mon pere_!" she cried eagerly, divining his face in thelight of lamps on that side of the wall. He answered only with alaconic command to go at once to the palace; and, regarding hisfeatures, tragically appealing to her at the moment--so strange anddifferent they seemed!--she prepared to obey. But ere turning: "Youthink the soldiers can hold the gate?" she asked.
"Yes; yes!" he replied sharply, as if annoyed at the question.
"But if--"
"There is no 'if'!" said the Governor, and as the girl rode away, hislook, hard, steely, shifting to the soldiers, made quick mental note;they were holding the gates. Satisfied with the front his menpresented, and, delivering a few brief orders to the commandant whosevalor in rallying his forces had been commendable, his Excellencywalked toward the great stairway leading up to the open space near thechurch. Arrived at this high point from which the town unfolded itselfin the starlight and flicker of lamps, he sought, as best he might, toacquaint himself further with the situation; to judge the numbers ofthe assailants and the extent of their preparations.
The scene that met his eyes was not so reassuring as he had expected;that which until now he had considered but a spasmodic outbreak of acomparatively few townspeople, excited by the news of the Bastille andbent on any petty mischief, resolved itself into more than anorderless, desultory uprising. To his startled gaze the rock, like anant-hill disturbed, seemed swarming with life. Even as he peered down,new relays of men poured upward from dark byways to the reinforcementof those already gathered at the portals, and, for the first time, hisconfidence, bred of contempt for the commonalty, became slightlyshaken. Fate, which had struck him sharply in the capture of hisdaughter and the enforced negotiations leading to the release of one hewould have dealt with after his own fashion, now gripped him closer.What did it portend? Whence came all these people?
Not all of them from the immediate neighborhood! Voices, among theassailants, had called out in what was surely the Parisian dialect ofthe rabble; here to propagate the revolution; extend the circle offlame! And they had seen that arms were not wanting! Muskets, pikes,swords, must have been kept concealed for some time in the town at thebase of the Mount or on the shore. In his mind's eye, too lateperhaps, his Excellency could see now how the assault had long beenplanned, how all these people had only been waiting. For what? Theopportunity afforded by a treacherous word! Spoken by whom?
But a moment these reflections surged through his brain; an instant,and his gaze swung around, at towers--turrets--as a magician mightapprehensively survey a fabulous architectural creation, handiwork ofhis dark craft, threatened, through an influence beyond his control,with destruction; then with a quick start, his Excellency wheeled;walked toward the stairway. About to descend, the sight of a figurecoming up, caused him, however, to pause; in the flare of the lightbelow, something in the manner of the man's advance impressed thegovernor as peculiar.
The movements of this person, who was under-sized, wiry, were agile andcat-like; first would he stop, look around him and listen; afterwardspring forward a few steps as not quite sure of his course. But stillhe came on, keeping as closely as might be to the cover of shadows,until a growing impression he had seen the fellow before resolveditself into positiveness in his Excellency's mind. And with theconviction and a sudden remembrance of the place and the character oftheir previous meeting, a definite disinclination to encountering thefigure on the stairs caused the Governor abruptly to draw into theentrance of the church. There, concealed, impatiently he waited forthe man to pass on, thus affording him the opportunity to slip by andreturn to the gate.
Meanwhile, the Lady Elise had repaired to the palace; a prey toharassing doubts her father's words had failed to remove, she listenedto those sounds of the strife she no longer saw. But that she wishedto obey her father unquestioningly now--at, perhaps, a supreme momentfor both of them!--she could not have remained where she was. Neverhad the palace looked so blank and deserted; she rang her bell; no oneanswered. The servants had apparently all left--gone, it might be, tolook down on and behold this
_guerre a la mort_ waged near the gates.Or, perhaps, had they all, except the old nurse, fled from the palace,never to return?
As she asked herself these questions, in the distance the noise of theconflict grew louder; the shouts of the people more distinct, nearer!With a sudden premonition of disaster close at hand, the desire to seewhat was happening--to know the worst--seized her. No longer could sheremain in her apartments; she must return to the ramparts--to herfather; and then, if need be-- The thought drove some of the colorfrom her cheek, but in a moment her braver instincts spoke; there awokewithin her the courage and the spirit of her Norman ancestry.
Pale, yet determined, she hastened down the long, dimly lightedcorridor, and was nearing the door leading to the street when itsuddenly opened and a man, tall and dark, showing in his appearancemany signs of the fray, stepped in. At sight of her a quickexclamation fell from his lips; his bold, anxious eyes lighted. "MyLady!"
"You!" Her startled glance met his.
"I heard the firing; hastened to the Mount--here! I trust not toolate!"
"Too late!" she repeated wildly. "Where else should the Black Seigneurbe than here, at the Mount--at such a moment!"
"True!" he returned quietly. "Where else?"
She noted not the accent; behind him, through the open space a brightfork of flame, in the direction of the soldiers' barracks, shot intothe air, and, at the same time, she saw that the officers' quarters andout-buildings glowed red. The knowledge of what it meant--that herapprehensions had been realized, sent a shudder through her, andquickly as the door closed, shutting out the sight, she ran toward thethreshold, one thought in her mind--her father, and where she had lastseen him! That she was seized, held, restrained, seemed but a natural,though terrible, incident of the moment.
"Pardon, my Lady! In a moment they will be here, and they will notspare you! Your father is not at the gate; he left before the soldiersgave way! Believe me, or not--it is the truth! As true as that, ifyou go out, they will kill you!"
And did he not want that; why else was he here? The young man's facedarkened; he made an impatient gesture. They were but wasting time;already were the people close without; one of the assailants, a woman,had been shot in the assault; the others? Her Ladyship wouldunderstand; if she wished to save herself? His tones vibrated withstrange eagerness. The palace had a rear entrance, of course? Thenhad they better flee upward to some place of concealment, and, later,when the people were concerned most in pillage, endeavor to find a wayto leave the Mount. After that, it would be easy; his ship waswaiting-- Her wild words interrupted; her father--she would go only tohim! She would never leave him now!
That which she proposed was impossible, quickly the young man answered.The mob--the terrible mob! Did she realize to what she would exposeherself? Did she know the terrible danger? More plainly he told her.As for her going, it was not to be thought of; he must see she did notpersist in her purpose.
"You?" My lady flashed him a glance. "You!" she repeated. "Whose menbroke faith--"
"That may be!" His voice rang bitterly. "Yet," with stubbornresolution, "your Ladyship must not go!"
"Must not! And you presume--dare tell me that! You, the--"
"I would there were no need to cross you, my Lady," he returned, whenbehind him the door, leading from the street, suddenly opened; closed.
"Elise!" The voice of the Marquis, who had hurriedly entered, rangout; changed. "_Mon dieu_! What is this?" In the dim light, aninstant my lord stared hard at the man before him; then with drawnblade threw himself upon him.