CHAPTER III.
It had nearly ceased raining, but the night, as we have said, was coldand chilly, the sky was still covered with thick clouds, and the air wasfull of thick darkness; to use the expressive words of Scripture, adarkness that could be felt. Bernard de Rohan and his companions pausedfor a moment before the door of the little inn, listening to catch anysounds of the conflict from which the servant seemed so freshly to havecome.
All was silent, however. The rushing sound of the mountain torrents,swelled by the late rains; the sighing of the night winds among thegorges of the mountains and through the deep pine forests; the distantcry of a wolf, and the whirring scream of the night-hawk, as it flittedby, were all heard distinctly; but no human voice mingled with the othersounds.
This silence, however, gave no assurance to the heart of Bernard deRohan that the persons for whom the servant had appealed to his chivalryhad escaped from their assailants. It was well known at that time thatevery part of Savoy was infested with bands of brigands, which hadrather increased than diminished in number since France had takenpossession of the country; so that, unable to put them down, the famousMarechal de Brissac, in order to restrain their indiscriminate ravagesin some degree, had been obliged to give them occasional employment withhis own forces. When not thus employed, however, they were known to laywait in all the principal passes, both of Piedmont and Savoy, and taketoll of all travellers with a strong hand. Enormous barbarities werefrom time to time charged against them; and, if one might judge fromgeneral rumour, no scheme was too wild, no act too violent and desperatefor them to devise and execute. The only conclusion, therefore, whichBernard de Rohan drew from the absence of all sounds of conflict was,that the banditti had prevailed, and either murdered their victims orcarried them off.
"Quick! quick!" he cried, after that momentary pause. "Lead on, lead on,good fellow! Where are your lord and lady? Which is the way?"
"This way, noble sir, this way," cried the man, advancing at once alongthe road which led more immediately into the mountains. "They cannothave gone far: I could hear the voices of the brigands from the inndoor."
Thus saying, he led the way onward with great speed; but, as Bernard deRohan followed with the same quick pace, the clear, deep voice of theman whom the host had called Master Leon sounded in his ear, saying,"There is some mistake here, and I think some villany; but fear not."
"Fear!" replied Bernard de Rohan, turning his head towards him. "Do yousuppose I fear?"
"No, I suppose not," replied the man; "but yet there was no commoninterest in your eye, good youth, when this knave talked of his youngmistress, and one may fear for others, though not for themselves. Buthark! I hear a noise on before. Voices speaking. Some one complaining, Ithink. Quick, quick! Run, Sir Varlet, run!"
At the rapid pace at which they now proceeded they soon heard the soundsmore distinctly before them. There was a noise of horses, and a jinglingas of the bells of mules. The murmuring of a number of voices, too, cameborne upon the air down the pass, and some four or five hundred yardsfarther up the servant, who was now running on as fast as possible,stumbled over a wounded man, who uttered a cry of pain. But the youngman and his companions slackened not their pace, for by this time theycould plainly hear some sharp and angry voices pouring forth oaths andimprecations, and urging what seemed to be a band of prisoners to hurryforward more rapidly. At the same time the light of a torch, or morethan one, was seen gleaming upon the gray rocks and green foliage, andon one occasion it threw upon the flat face of a crag on the other sideof the ravine the shadow of a large body of men with horses and otherbeasts of burden.
"Now out with your swords," cried the personage named Leon, in a tone ofauthority, "for we are gaining on them quick, and I doubt not shall havestout resistance."
Bernard de Rohan's sword was already in his hand before the other spoke,and, hurrying on, the next moment he reached an angle of the rock, fromwhich he could plainly discern the whole party that he was pursuing. Hepaused for an instant as he saw them, and well might that sight make himdo so, for the torchlight displayed to his eyes a body of at leastfifteen or sixteen armed men, some of them mounted, some of them onfoot, driving on in the midst of them two or three loaded horses, andseven or eight men and women, several of them apparently having theirhands tied. The party was about two hundred yards in advance; and,though the torchlight was sufficient to show him the particulars whichwe have mentioned, yet it did no more than display the gleaming of thearms and the fluttering of the women's garments, without at all givingany indication of the rank or station to which the prisoners belonged.
The young cavalier, it must be remembered, was accompanied by only fivepersons, and the greater part of those five were, like himself, butlightly armed. His momentary pause, however, was only to reconnoitre theenemy, without the slightest hesitation as to what his own conduct wasto be. He knew the effect of a sudden and unexpected attack, andcalculated upon some assistance also from the prisoners themselves; but,had he had nothing but his own courage in his favour, his conduct wouldhave been the same. He was again hurrying on, when the powerful grasp ofthe man named Leon was laid upon his arm, and stayed him.
"Hush!" he said: "do not be too quick! Do you not see that these men areno brigands, as you thought?"
"How should I see that?" demanded Bernard de Rohan, turning sharply uponhim. "Who but brigands would commit an act like this?"
"Think you that brigands would have torches with them?" said hiscompanion, calmly. "Pause a moment, pause a moment: let them get roundyon point of the rock; for, if they hear us coming, and see how few weare, we shall be obliged to do things that we had better not. Beyond therock they will be cooped up in a little basin of the hills, where theycan be attacked with advantage."
"You seem to know the country well," said Bernard de Rohan, gazing uponhim with some suspicion, as the light of the torches, faintly reflectedfrom the other side of the valley, served partially to display his darkbut fine countenance.
"Ay! I do know it well!" replied the other: "so well, that from the footof that rock which they are now turning, I will guide you up by a pathover the shoulder of the hill till we meet them in front, at the sametime that some of your people attack them in the rear."
Bernard de Rohan did now hesitate, but it was only for a moment. Hismind was not naturally a suspicious one; and, of course, had theproposal been made by any one whom he knew, the advantages of such aplan would have instantly struck him, and he would have followed it atonce. But the man who suggested it was unknown to him: nay, more, therewas something in his tone, his manner, in his whole appearance, which,to say the best, was strange and unusual. His garb, as far as it hadbeen seen, was unlike that of the peasantry of Savoy; and, in short,there was that about him which naturally tended to create a doubt as tohis ordinary pursuits and occupations.
Bernard de Rohan hesitated then, but it was with the hesitation of onlyone moment. He had been accustomed to deal with and to command fierceand reckless men; and, though his years were not sufficient to havegiven what may be called the _insight of experience_, he had by naturethat clear discernment of the human character which is the meed of somefew, and may be called the _insight of instinct_.
During his momentary pause, then, he saw that the dark eye of hiscompanion was fixed upon him as if reading what was passing in his mind.The jovial priest also seemed to penetrate his thoughts, and said, in alow voice, "You may trust him! You may trust him! He never betrayed anyone."
"I do trust him," cried Bernard de Rohan, turning round and grasping thestranger's hand; "I trust him entirely. You and I," he continued, "willgo over the hill alone. If I judge right, we have both been in many ahot day's strife, and can keep that narrow road without much assistance.It is better that there should be a show of more people behind."
As he spoke, the faint flash of the receding torches showed him a smileupon his companion's countenance. "Come on slowly," said Corse de Leon,"and keep near the rock; we shall soon get up with th
em, for they areencumbered, and we are free."
Thus saying, he led the way, remaining, as far as possible, under theshadow of the crags till the last of the party before them had turnedthe angle beyond, and the whole valley was again in darkness. Thecavalier and those who were with him then hurried their pace till theyreached a spot where a point of rock jutted out into the valley. Therethe stranger paused, bidding the attendants of the young nobleman pursuetheir way along the road till they came up with the rear of the otherparty, and then attack them as suddenly and vehemently as possible."Make all speed," he said, "for we shall be there before you, cuttingoff the corner of the hill. Here, priest!" he continued, "here's apistol and a dagger for you. You'll need something to work with. Nowquick on your way, for the moon will be out in a few minutes, if one mayjudge by the paleness of that cloud's edge, and her light would betrayour scanty numbers. Follow me, baron! Here! Upon this rock! Catch bythat bough! Another step, and you are in the path!"
As he spoke, he himself sprang up, seeming well acquainted with everystock and every stone in the way; Bernard de Rohan followed with lessknowledge of the path, but all the agility of youth and strength, andthey had soon nearly reached the brow of the hill.
"Out upon the pale moon!" cried Bernard de Rohan's companion, pausingand gazing up towards the sky. "She shines at the very moment she shouldnot. See how she is casting away those clouds, as if she were openingthe hangings of her tent! We may go slow, for we shall be far beforethem."
He now led the way onward with a slower pace; and, after ascending forsomewhat more than a quarter of a mile, the path began to descend againas if to rejoin the road. Every step was now clear, for the moon wasshining brightly; and though no one, probably, could see Bernard deRohan and his companion as they took their way among the rhododendronsand junipers which were thickly mingled with the fragments of rockaround, yet they themselves, from time to time, caught a distinct viewof the valley. An occasional flash of light upon their left hand, too,but a good deal in the rear, soon showed Bernard de Rohan that his guidehad told him the truth in regard to the shortness of the path he hadtaken, though he could not absolutely see the road, or those who weretravelling along it. At length, however, they reached a spot where thepath which they were following wound along within ten yards of the chiefroad itself, and, choosing a small break nearly surrounded with tallshrubs and broken masses of crag, Corse de Leon stopped, saying, "Itwill be well to stay for their coming here. They will take full tenminutes to reach this place. You wait for them here; I will climb alittle farther up, to watch them as they come, and will be back again intime."
If Bernard de Rohan entertained any suspicion in regard to his guide'spurposes, he knew that it would be vain to show it, and therefore hemade no opposition to the plan that his companion proposed, but let himdepart without a word; and then, choosing a spot among the trees wherehe could see without being seen, he gazed down into the little basinformed by the surrounding hills. The clear light of the moon was nowstreaming bright and full into the valley, only interrupted from time totime for a single moment by fragments of the clouds driven across by thewind; but at first Bernard de Rohan could see nothing of the party whichhe was pursuing; for the road, as usual, wound in and out along theirregular sides of the mountain, being raised upon a sort of terracesome two hundred feet above the bottom of the valley. In a moment ortwo, however, he caught sight of them again, coming slowly on, but withtheir torches now extinguished, and presenting nothing but a dark mass,brightened here and there by the reflection of the moon's light fromsome steel cap or breastplate.
The time seemed long, and their advance slow, to Bernard de Rohan; for,although he had lain in many an ambush against the foe, and had takenpart in many an encounter where the odds against him were scarcely lessthan those which were now presented, yet, of course, he could not butfeel some emotion in awaiting the result--that deep and thrillinginterest, in fact, which has nothing to do with fear, and approachesperhaps even nearer to joy--the interest which can only be felt in theanticipation of a fierce but noble strife, where, knowing the amount ofall we risk, we stake life and all life's blessings upon the success ofsome great and generous endeavour. He felt all this, and all theemotions which such a state must bring with it; and thus, longing tothrow the die, he found the moments of expectation long.
Now seen and now lost to his sight, the party continued to advance, andyet his strange companion did not make his appearance. The youngnobleman judged that he could not be far, indeed, for once or twice heheard the bushes above him rustle, while a stone or two rolled down intothe bottom of the valley; and he thought he distinguished Leon's voicemurmuring also, as if talking to himself. At length there was a clearfootfall heard coming down the steepest part of the mountain, and inanother moment the stranger stood once more by Bernard de Rohan's side.As he came near, he threw off the cloak which he had hitherto worn, andcast it into one of the bushes, saying to it as he did so, "I shall findyou, if I want you, after this is over."
His appearance now, however, left Bernard de Rohan scarcely a doubt inregard to the nature of his usual occupation. When his cloak was thusthrown off, his chest and shoulders were seen covered with that peculiarsort of corslet or brigantine, which originally gave name to the bandscalled Brigands. His arms were free, and unencumbered with any defensivearmour; and over his right shoulder hung a buff baldric, suspending hislong, heavy sword. This was not all, however; another broad leather beltand buckle went round his waist, containing, in cases made on purposefor them, a store of other weapons if his sword blade should chance tofail; among which were those long and formidable knives which, in thewars of the day, were often employed by foot soldiers to kill thechargers of their mounted adversaries. Daggers of various lengths werethere also, together with the petronel or large horse pistol, which wasso placed, however, as to give free room for his hand to reach the hiltof his sword.
In this guise he approached Bernard de Rohan, saying, "You see, baron, Iam better prepared for this encounter than you are. You have nothing butyour sword: you had better take one of these," and he laid his fingerupon the butt of a petronel.
"My sword will not fail me," replied Bernard de Rohan, with a smile. "Isee, indeed, you were better qualified to judge whether these werebrigands or not than I was."
"They are no brigands," replied the other; "brigands know better whatthey are about;" and, as he spoke, he threw away his hat, and tied uphis long black hair, which fell over his ears and shoulders, with apiece of riband. "I cannot very well understand," he continued, in thesame low tone, "what has become of your people and the priest: I couldsee nothing of them from the height, and I almost fear that thesevillains, fearing pursuit, have broken down the little wooden bridgebehind them, at what we call the Pas de Suzzette, where the stream fallsinto the river."
"Hark!" said Bernard de Rohan. "They are coming up;" and, grasping hissword, he took a step forward.
"Wait," said the brigand, laying hold of his arm. "Give your people thelast minute to attack them in the rear. By Heavens, they ought to havebeen here by this time."
The sound of horses' feet and human voices now became distinct frombelow, and oaths and imprecations were still heard loud and vehemently,as the captors hurried on their prisoners.
"Get you on, get you on!" exclaimed one voice: "don't you see howquietly your lord is going."
"He is not my lord," cried another, in a faint tone. "I am wounded andhurt, and cannot go faster."
"Get on, get on, villain!" reiterated the other voice. "You would fainkeep us till the fools behind mend the bridge and come up with us. Geton, I say! If he do not walk faster, prick him with your dagger,Bouchart. We will skin him alive when we get to the end of the march!Drive it into him!"
A sharp cry succeeded: Bernard de Rohan could bear no more, but,bursting away from the hand of the brigand, he sprang into the road.Leon followed him at once; but, even before he was down, the youngcavalier's sword had stretched one of the advancing party on the ground
,and was crossed with that of another.
"Hold, hold!" shouted the loud voice of the brigand. "Hold, and throwdown your arms! Villains, you are surrounded on all sides!"
For a moment their opponents had drawn back; but the scanty number ofthe assailants was seen before Corse de Leon uttered what seemed soempty a boast.
"Cut him down," cried a voice from behind, "cut him down!" and one ofthe horsemen spurred on towards him. Another, at the same moment, aimeda blow at the head of Bernard de Rohan from behind, which struck him onthe shoulder and brought him on his knee, while a shot was fired at thebrigand, which struck his cuirass, but glanced off harmless.
"It is time we should have help," said Corse de Leon, in a cool tone;and while, with his right hand, he drew a pistol from his girdle,levelled it at the head of one of those who were contending with Bernardde Rohan, fired, and saw the man fall over into the valley below, withthe left he applied a small instrument to his lips, producing a loud,long, shrill whistle, which those who have heard it will never forget.It is like the scream of a bird of prey, but infinitely louder; and themoment it proceeded from the lips of the brigand, similar sounds echoedround and round from twenty different points above, below, and on theopposite side.
When Bernard de Rohan staggered up from his knee, the scene wascompletely changed. Corse de Leon stood no longer alone, but with threestout men by his side armed to the teeth. The fragments of rock andlarge stones that were rolling from above showed that rapid footstepswere coming down the side of the mountain. Up from the rocky bed of thestream five or six other men were seen climbing with the activity of thechamois or the izzard, and, to complete the whole, the whistle was stillheard prolonged up the valley, while, from the same side, the ear coulddistinguish the galloping of horse coming down with furious speed.
The party of the adversary, however, was large. All were well armed; allevidently accustomed to strife and danger; and had all apparently madeup their minds to struggle to the last. They accordingly made a fiercecharge along the road, in order to force their way on; and the strifenow became hand to hand, and man to man, while, above the contest, theloud voice of the brigand leader was heard shouting, "Tie them! Tiethem! Do not kill them if you can help it!"
Nor was his assumption of certain success unjustified. Every momentfresh numbers were added to the party of Corse de Leon. The adversarieswere driven back along the road, dragging the prisoners with them someway, but were stopped by fresh opponents, dropping, as it were, from themountains, and cutting them off in their retreat. They were stillstruggling, however, when at length eight or nine horsemen, the sound ofwhose approach had been heard before, reached the scene of combat; andthen, seeing that farther resistance was vain, several of them uttered acry of "Quarter! quarter! We will throw down our arms."
"Here, take my sword, Doland," said the brigand leader to one of hismen. "Wipe it well, and go back for my hat and cloak, which I left amongthe bushes by the cross of St. Maur. Well, baron," he continued, turningto Bernard de Rohan, "I am afraid you have to regret the want of yourarmour: that was a bad blow on your head."
"No, it struck my shoulder," replied Bernard de Rohan, "where my buffcoat is doubled. There is no great harm done."
"You had better keep behind," continued Corse de Leon, in a low voice."I wished not to have displayed my men at all had it been possible toavoid it, but it could not be helped. However, you had better not showyourself with us. It may make mischief."
"But the lady," said Bernard de Rohan, "the lady: let me go and speak toher and set her free: I have no fear of being seen."
"Leave it to me, leave it to me," said the brigand. "You shall haveopportunity enough to speak with her, and she shall know who is herdeliverer. Will you not trust me after all this night's work?"
"Entirely," replied Bernard de Rohan; "but it is natural, when one aidsa lady in scenes like these, to wish to speak with her, to sooth andtranquillize her."
"Especially when one loves her," replied the brigand, laughing. "But youshall speak with her in a moment, only keep back for the present."
Bernard de Rohan had neither the will nor the power to resist. Thebrigand, indeed, might well assume the tone of command, for at thatmoment there could be no successful opposition to his will; but, besidesthis consideration, there were other feelings in the bosom of the youngcavalier which inclined him to yield at once.
Everything that he had seen was calculated to surprise and perplex him.The knowledge which his strange companion seemed to have of his historyand circumstances; the state of active preparation in which he had foundhim, as if he had been aware, long before, of all that was about tooccur, and had taken measures to meet every contingency; the interestwhich he had shown in an enterprise that seemed not to concern him atall, and the active and vehement opposition he had evinced to personsapparently engaged in the same trade of violence with himself, were allunaccountable to Bernard de Rohan; and he paused with some anxiety tosee what would be the next act in the strange drama in which he himselfwas bearing a part.
While the brief conversation which I have narrated took place betweenthe brigand and the young cavalier, the successful party had drawncloser and closer round their adversaries, and were busily disarming andtying them. This operation, being carried on with great dexterity andrapidity, had advanced considerably, when Leon again strode forward intothe midst of them to give farther directions.
"Not so tight! not so tight, Antoine!" he said: "you'll cut his wristswith those thongs. Take off his corslet, Pierre. You cannot get it offwhen his arms are tied. If he resists, pitch him over into the stream.That horse will break away and be lost. Some of you come and untie myLord of Masseran and his people. Noble signior," he continued, andBernard de Rohan thought that he heard a good deal of bitter mockery inhis tone, "I pray you tell me what is to be done with these insolentvillains, who have dared to lay violent hands upon you and your ladywife's fair daughter. Shall we either put them to death on thespot--which, perhaps, would be the wisest plan, as the dead are verysilent--or shall we send them, bound hand and foot, to your chateau,that you may give them your own directions as to what they are to sayand do?"
These words were addressed to a tall, graceful man, somewhere betweenforty and fifty years of age, who had appeared as one among theprisoners of the party just overthrown. He seemed not particularly wellpleased with the brigand's speech, and replied in a tone somewhatsullen, "You must do with them as you please, sir, and with us also,though from your words I suppose that you mean us good and not evil."
"Oh, certainly, my good lord," replied the other; "I am here to freeyou, and you shall be safely conducted by my people to your own abode.Am I, by your authority, then, to treat these men as they deserve?"
The Lord of Masseran seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then repliedsharply, "By all means! By all means! They well deserve punishment."
"Oh! spare them! spare them!" cried a lady's voice. "They have doneevil, certainly; but they might have treated us worse. Do not hurt them,sir."
"Lady," replied the brigand, "I will only punish them as they deserve,and you yourself shall hear the sentence. Strip off every man's coat.Take off the bridles of their horses, and therewith flog them down thevalley to Gandelot's inn. When they are there, they will know what to dowith themselves. Now, lady, this is but small measure of retribution forbad acts. Quick, my men, quick. You must take them over the hill, forthe bridge is broken."
He then spoke a few words to one of his companions in a low tone; afterwhich he returned once more to Bernard de Rohan, who had remainedbehind, asked particularly after the wounds he had received, andinquired whether he were fit to escort a lady some two leagues thatnight. He spoke with a smile, and there was no hesitation in the youngcavalier's reply. Before their short conversation was ended, thebrigand's orders in regard to his prisoners were in the act ofexecution; and certain it is that the discipline to which they weresubjected was sufficiently severe, if one might judge by many a piteouscry which echoed up the val
ley for some minutes after they were drivenin a crowd down the road. The young lady covered her eyes with her handsand remained silent; but a grim smile came upon the countenance of theLord of Masseran, as if there was something pleasant to him in the musicof human suffering.
There were still some ten or twelve of Leon's band around, and theirnext task was to untie the hands of such of the Lord of Masseran'speople as were still bound. "Now, sir," continued the brigand, as soonas this was accomplished, "you shall have good escort back to yourchateau. But we must go in separate parties. You and your four servantsunder the careful protection of Elois here, by the mountain path youknow of. The young lady I myself will escort by the longer, but thesmoother road."
"Nay! nay!" exclaimed the Lord of Masseran, quickly. "Why separate us?If you mean well by her, why not let--"
"Because it pleases me not," replied the brigand, in a stern tone. "Whois lord here upon the side of the mountain but I? You are lord in yourchateau, and none dare answer you. But I am lord in the moonlight and onthe hillside, and none shall answer me."
"Oh! in pity, in pity!" exclaimed the young lady, holding out her handswith a gesture of entreaty. But the brigand advanced to her horse'sside, and spoke a word to her in a low tone. She let her hands dropagain without reply, and Bernard de Rohan, who had remained in theshade, while the moonlight fell full upon her, could see her eyessuddenly turn towards the spot where he stood.
"Lead on the Lord of Masseran, Elois," said the voice of Corse de Leon."Leave that poor fellow who seems wounded with the lady, and take therest with you."
There was no reply, and the Savoyard nobleman, with his companions, wasled on by a strong party of the brigands up the valley, and then acrossthe stream. As he passed Bernard de Rohan, he fixed his eyes upon himfor a moment, but made no observation; and, at the same time, thebrigand held up his finger to the young cavalier, as if directing himstill to forbear for a time.
As soon as the hill hid the other party from their sight, Bernard deRohan, unable to bear the restraint any longer, sprang forward to thelady's side, and threw his arms around her. His head was bare, and, ashe looked up towards her, the moonlight fell full upon his face. As ifstill doubtful, however, she gazed wildly and eagerly upon him; partedthe curls of his hair with her hands back from his forehead; then threwher arms round his neck, and, bending her head, wept upon his shoulder.
Corse de Leon; or, The Brigand: A Romance. Volume 1 (of 2) Page 3
