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PR[CE Copyright, l()02y by THOMAS Y. CROWELL Sf CO. I ^2f ;ii«3K.. CONTENTS CRAPTK* I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. FAGB In the Depths of Old France . . . • i How the Owls hooted in the Daytime . . I3 " Je suis le G^n^ral Bim-Bam-Boum ! " . • 26 How the Breakfast cooked for Those was eaten by These 4^ How Angelot made an Enemy . . • 59 How La Belle H^l^ne took an Evening Walk 78 The Sleep of Mademoiselle Moineau . . 95 How Monsieur Joseph met with Many Annoy- ances . "* How Common Sense fought and triumphed . 129 How Angelot refused what had not been offered ^47 How Monsieur Urbain smoked a Cigar . . 160 How the Prefect's Dog snapped at the General 173 How Monsieur Simon showed himself a little too Clever '^7 In which Three Words contain a Good Deal of Information 2°^ How Henriette read History to Some Purpose 223 How Angelot played the Fart of an Owl in an Ivy-bush 242 How Two Soldiers came Home from Spain . 266 iii iv CONTENTS CMAprmii PACE XVIII. How Captain Georges paid a Visit of Cere- mony 285 XIX. The Treading of the Grapes . . . 299 XX. How Angelot climbed a Tree . . . 309 XXI. How Monsieur Joseph found himself Master of the Situation 324 XXII. The Lighted Windows of Lancilly . . 340 XXIII. A Dance with General Ratoneau . . . 353 XXIV. How Monsieur de Sainfoy found a Way Out 369 XXV. How the Curd acted against his Conscience . 385 XXVI. How Angelot kept his Tryst ... 398 XXVII. How Monsieur Joseph went out into the Dawn . , 416 XXVIII. How General Ratoneau met his Match . 437 XXIX. The Disappointment of Monsieur Urbain . 456 ANGELOT a 5tor2 of tfif Jfixst Empire CHAPTER I IN THE DEPTHS OF OLD FRANCE " Drink, Monsieur Angelot," said the farmer His wife had brought a bottle of the soarkling white wine of the country, and two tall old treas- ures of cut glass. The wine slipped out in a merry foam. Angelot lifted his glass with a smile and bow to the mistress. "The best wine in the country," he said as he set It down. The hard lines of her face, so dark, so worn with perpetual grief and M*], softened suddenly as she looked at him, ar/ e farmer from his solemn height broke into a uugh. " Martin's wine," he said. " That was before they took him, the last boy. But it is still rather new, Monsieur Angelot. though you are so amiable. Ah, but it is the last good wine I shall ever have here at La Joubardiere. I am growing ANGELOT old — see my white hair — I cannot work or make other men work as the boys did. Our vin- tage used to be one of the sights of the country — I needn't tell you, for you know — but now the vines don't get half the care and labour they did ten years ago; and they feel it, like children, they feel it. Still, there they emain, and give ms what fruit they can — but the real children, Mon- sieur Angelot, thei. life-blood runs to waste in far-away lands. It does not enrich France. Ah, the vines of Spain will grow the better for it, per- haps — " "Hush, hush, master!" muttered the wife, for the old man was not laughing now; his last words were half a sob. and tears ran suddenly down. " I tell you always," she said, " Martin will come back. The good God cannot let our five boys die, one after the other. Madame your mother thinks so too," she said, nodding at Angelot. " I spoke to her very plainly. I said, 'They cannot be unjust — and surely, to take all the five children of a poor little farmer, and to leave not one, not even the youngest, to do the work oi ihe farm — come, what sort of -.;suce is that!' And she said: 'Listen, maitresse: the good God will bring your Martin back to you He cannot be unjust, as you say. If my Angelot had to go to the war — and I always fear it — I should expect him back as surely as I expect my husband back from Lancilly at this moment ' " Angelot smiled at her. " Yes, yes, Martin will IN THE DEPTHS OF FRANCE, 3 come back," he said Ri,f i,^ u would not have said .r. , P'^'I^^opher, oppressive, was ^; J ^^I^', ^ n^C^Fra:"^ under her briUiant leader fi "'^'^'"ST i^ ranee, magnificent nation the wo i^^H'^^'f^'.^'"'' waved the tricoln„r h.f , ^ """''' ^ave have counted over Lk ;'•'"'' "" ^^^'^^ ™"W .one ho^e , happened l^l": J™'- 1? and Napo/eon t to lalV" ''\^'^"'"°^'' fai^ in Madame and ..Julrff Go^ ^"^"' braiThlSrrth'e^r ^^T ^°°^-^^'^' '^'' » 'he gn^y darkness on :■ ^an 1^' ™' '™" da3^ling sunshine of that Sel '" '"'° '"' The old vvhif, t September morning, it. -na: 's r.:ra'.r:^«""^ ^■^'■^ =">-' loolced fairly pro pZ4 „ .r''''^^''?" '"? ago, fresh «3rl,; ■: P^™"^ '" "s untidiness. The staclcs of corn were golden still; poultry ANGELOT made a great clatter, a flock of geese on their way out charging at the two men -'s they left the house. An old peasant was hammering at barrels, in preparation for the vintage; a wild girl with a stick and a savage-looking brindled dog was starting off :.o fetch the cows in from theii morn- ing graze. All the place was bathed in crystal air and golden light, fresh and life-giving. It stood high on the edge of the moors, the ground falling away to the south aiid east into a wild yet fertile valley ; vineyards, cornfields ot long reaped, small woods, deep and narrow lanes, then tall hedges studded with trees, green rich meadows by the streams far below. On the slope, a mile or two away, there was a church spire with a few grey roofs near it, and the larger roofs, half-hidden by trees, of the old manor of La Mariniere, Angelot's home. On the opposite slope of the valley, rising from the stream, another spire, another and larger village; and above it, commanding the whole country side, with great towers and shining roofs, solid lengths of wall gleaming in newly restored whiteness, lines of windows still gold in the morn- ing sun, stood the old chateau of Lancilly, backed by the dark screen of forest that came up close about it and in old days had surrounded it alto- gether. Twenty years of emptiness; twenty years, first of revolution and emigration, then of efforts to restore an old family, which the power- ful aid of a faithful cousin and friend had made IN THE DEPTHS OF FRANCE 5 successful; and now the Comte do Sainfoy and his family were at last able to live again at Lan- cilly m their old position, though there was much yet to be done by way of restoration and buy- ing back lost bits of property. But all this could not be in better hands than those of Urbain de la Alarm.ere, the cousin, the friend, somewhat despised among the old splendours of a former regime, and thought the less of because of the opinions which kept him -safe and sound on French soil all through the Revolution, enabling h.m both to save Lancilly for iis rightful owners and to Keep a place in the old and loved ccnmcry for his own elder brother Joseph, a far more con- iustent Royalist than Herve de Sainfoy with all his grand traditions. For the favour of the Emperor had been made one great step to the restoration of these noble emigrants. Therefore in this sn .11 square of Angevin earth there were great divi- sions of opinion : but Monsieur Urbain. the un- prejudiced, the lover of both liberty and of glory and of poetry and philosophy beyond either, who had passed on with France herself from the Com- mitter of Public Safety to the Directory, and then into the arms of First Consul and Emperor- Monsieur Urbain. the cousin, the brother, whose wite was an ardent Royalist and devout Cat! olic whose young son was the favourite companion of his uncle Joseph, a more than suspected Chouan --Monsieur Urbain, Angelot's father, was every- body s friend, everybody's protector, everybody's m-m ANGELOT adviser, a/id the one peacemaker among them all. And naturally, in such a case. Monsieur Urbain's hardest task was the management of his own wife — but of this more hereafter. " Your father's work, Monsieur Angelot," said old Joubani, pointing across the valley to Lan- cilly, there in the blaze of the sun. Angelot lifted his sleepy eyelids, his long lashes like a girl's, and the glance that shot from be- neath them was halfcarelesj. half uneasy. " We have done without them pretty well for twenty years," the farmer went on, " but I sup- pose we must be glad to see them back. Is it true that they are coming to-day ? " " I believe so." " Your uncle Joseph won't be glad to s^e them. The Emperor's people : they may disturb certain quiet little games at Les Chouettes." " That is my uncle's affair, Maitre Joubard." " I know. Well, a still tongue is best for me. Monsieur Urbain is i good landlord — and I've paid for my place in the Empire, dame, yes, five times over. Yet, if I could choose my flag at this time of day, I should not care for a variety of colours. Mind you, your father is a wise man and knows best, I dare say. I am only a poor peasant. But taking men and their opinions all round. Monsieur Angelot, and though some who think themselves wise call him a fool, — with re- spect I say it, — your dear little uncle is the man for me. Yes — I would back Monsieur Joseph IN THE DEPTHS OF FRANCE 7 against all his brother's wisdom and his cousin's fine a.rs and 1 an> sorry these Sain^ov people arc coni.ng back to trouble him and to spoil his pretty I'ttle plots, which do n.. harm to any one " Angelot laughed outright. "My uncle would not care to hear that," he said. "Nevertheless. y,H. may tell him old Joubard Ihmks he same, or he would not let you live half your life at Les Chouettes." " He has other things to think of " recko?w!tl''^^^~"'''''^'^"^^''"^"-^^-^° a Jin^'" ' W T'^'''''" ^^'^ Angelot. laughing again. VVeh. I must go, for my uncle is ex- pectmg me to breakfast." "Ah! and he has other guests. I saw them nding over from the south, half an hour ago " you have a watch-tower here. You com- mand the country." n..n'^"" Z"^'' f ^^' '"' ^ ^^'''^'' ''S^''' ^^'d the old man. Good-day, dear boy. Give my duty to Monsieur Joseph." ^ Angelot started lightly on his way over the rough moorland road. The high ridge of table- land extended far to the north; the landcs, pur- pie and gold with the low heather and furze which w3 ^'^^";'."-'-'tered-by any tree, except where crossed in even lines by pollard oaks of im- mense age, their great round heads so thick with leaves that a man might well hide in them. These » 1 8 ANGELOT truisscs. ait tvtry few years, were the peasants' store of firewood. Their long prcjcessions gave a curious look of human life to the lonely moor, only inhabited by game, of which Angelot saw plenty. But he did not shoot, his game-bag being already stuffed with birds, but marched along with gun on shoulder and dog at heel over the yellow sandy track, loudly whistling a country tune. There was not a lighter heart than Ange- lot's in all his native province, nor a handsomer face. He only wanted height to be a splendid fellow. His daring mouth and chin seemed to contradict the lazy softness of his dark eyes. With a clear, brown skin and straight figure, and dressed in brown linen and heavy shooting boots, he was the picture of a healthy sportsman. A walk of a mile or two across the landes brought him into a green lane with tall wild hedges, full of enormous blackberries, behind which were the vineyards, rather weedy as to soil, but loaded with the small black and white grapes which made the good pure wine of the country. A'^gelot turned in and looked at the grapes and ate a few ; this was one of his father's vineyards. The yellow grapes tasted of sunshine and the south. Angelot went on eating them all the way down the lane; he was thirsty, in spite of Jou- bard's sparkling wine, after tramping with dog and gun since six o'clock in the morning. The green lane led to another, very steep, rough, and stot y. Corners of red and white rock stood out w.mm'^s^^ i IN THE DEPTHS OF FRA.VCE 9 in it; such a surface would have jr>he(l a strong cart to pieces, but Les Chouettes had no Ijetter approach on this side. " I want no fine ladies to visit me." M.msieur Joseph would say. with his sweet smile. *' My friends will travel over any road." Down plungr ' the lane, with a thick low w<* 12 ANGELOT not coming," she said. " There are four of them in the salon with papa, and I was afraid to go in till you came." " What ! Mademoiselle Riette afraid of any- thing on earth — and especially of four old gen- tlemen!" " They are not very old, and they look so fierce and secret this morning. But come, come, you must put down your game-bag and wash your hands, and then we will go in together." I i a CHAPTER II HOW THE OWLS HOOTED IN THE DAYTIME The sun poured into the little salon, all pol- ished wood and gay-coloured chintz, where Mon- sieur Joseph de la Mariniere and his four friends were talking at the top of their voices. The four guests sat in more or less tired atti- tudes round the room; the host stood poised on !u T'n:'"^' ^ '^^'^' ^^"^y ^'"'e gentleman With a bnlhant smile. He had a way of balancing himself on one foot and slightly extending both arms, as if he were going to fly ofif into space. This and his gentle, attractive manner, sometimes touched with melancholy, gave him a sort of an- gelic, spiritual air. It was difficult to imagine him cither a soldier or a conspirator, yet he had been one and was still the other. More than once only a politic indulgence not often extended by Napoleon's administrators, and the distin- guished merits of his younger brother, had saved Monsieur Joseph from sharing the fate of some of his friends at Joux, Ham, or Vincennes These fortress prisons held even now many men of good family whom only the Restoration was to set free. They, as well as plenty of inferior pris- ma 14 ANGELOT oners, owed their captivity in most cases to a se- cret meeting betrayed, a store of arms discovered, a discontented letter opened, or even to an expres- sion of opinion, such as that France had been bet- ter off under the Bourbons. Napoleon kept France down with an iron hand, while the young men and lads in hundreds of thousands shed their blood for him, the women wept, and the old men sometimes raged : but yet France as a whole submitted. The memory of the Terror made this milder tyranny bearable. And genius commands, as long as it is victorious, and till this year of the Spanish war, there had been no -'^eck to Napo- 'eon. He had not yet set out to extinguish the flame of his glory in Russian snows. The police all over France obeyed his orders only too well — " Surveilles tout le monde, ex- cepte moi! " To a great degree it was necessary, for French society, high and low, was honey- combed with Royalist plots, some of them hardly worthy of a cause which called itself religious as well as royal. Leaders like Cadoudal and Frotte were long dead ; some of their successors in conspiracy were heroes rather of scandal than of loyalty, and many a tragic legend lingers in French society concerning the men and women of those days. To a great extent, the old families of La Vendee, the La Rochejacqueleins at their head, refrained from mixing themselves up in the smaller plots against the Empire in which hun- 'm^w^m^^Ks^ismjiiwmirmmmJmmik HOW THE OWLS HOOTED IS dreds of Chouans, noble and peasant, men and women, were constantly involved during these years with probable loss of life and liberty. It was not till later that the general feeling became inten- sified so that Napoleon had to weaken his army, in the Waterloo campaign, by sending some thou- sands of men against a new insurrection in the West, under Louis de la Rochejaquelein, a second La Vendee war, only stopped by the final return of the Bourbons. Monsieur Joseph's gay little room looked like anything but a haunt of conspirators; but his friends were earnestly discussing with him the possibility of raising the country, arming the peasants, marching on the chief to\ -^ t^- de- partment, capturing the Prefect, as wen -, the General in command of the division, and holding them as hostages while the insurrection went on spreading through Anjou and the neighbouring provinces. The most eager, the most original of the plot- ters was the Baron d'Ombre, a dark, square young man with frowning brows. He turned quite fiercely on a milder-looking person, a Monsieur de Bourmont, a distant cousin of the well-known leader of that name, who doubted whether the peasants would rise as readily as Cesar d'Ombre expected. " I tell you," he said, " they hate, they detest the Empire. Look at their desolate homes, their deserted fields! I tell you, the women of France i6 ANGELOT alone, if they had a leader, would drive the usurper out of the country." " There is your mission, then, dear Cesar," said the Vicomte des Barres, a delicate, sarcastic-look- ing man of middle age. " March on Paris with your phalanx of Amazons." " Cesar is right, nevertheless, gentlemen," growled the Comte d'Ombre, the young man's father, the oldest of the party. " It is energy, it is courage, that our cause wants. And I go far- ther than my son goes. Take the Prefect and the General by all means — excellent idea — " " If you can catch them — " murmured Mon- sieur des Barres, and was frowned upon furiously by Cesar d'Ombre. The Comte was rather deaf. "What? What?" he asked sharply, being aware of the interruption. "Nothing, monsieur, nothing!" cried their host, with one spring from the fireplace to the old man's chair — " and what would you do, mon- sieur, with the Prefect and the General? I am dying of curiosity." Monsieur d'Ombre stared up into the sweet, birdlike face, which bent over him with flashing eyes and a delighted smile. "Do? I should shoot them on the spot," he said. " They are traitors : I would treat all traitors the same. Yes, I know the Prefect is a friend of your brother's — of your own, possibly. I know my son and I are your guests, too. Never HOW THE OWLS HOOTED 17 mind! Any other conduct would be cowardly and abominable. No member of my family would ever be guilty of opportunism, and remain in my family. Those two men have done more harm in this province than Napoleon Buonaparte and all his laws and police. They never tried to make his government popular. The Prefect, at least, has done this — I know nothing about the General " A wooden image of his master," said Mon- sieur des Barres. Monsieur Joseph returned, rathe'- sobered, to his hearth rug. " Shoot them, well, well ! " he muttered. " A strong measure, but possibly pol- itic. It ,s what one would like to do, of course, officially. Not personally -no -though Mon- sieur d Ombre may be right. It is a crime, no doubt, to make the Empire popular. I am afraid my poor brother has tried to do the same, and suc- ceeded — yes, succeeded a little." " My father is quite wrong," Cesar d'Ombre muttered in the ear of Monsieur de Bourmont who listened with a superior smile. " Such mad ' violence would ruin the cause altogether. Now as hostages, those two men would be invaluable." " Time enough to discuss that when you have got them," said Monsieur de Bourmont. "To me, I must confess, this plan of a rising sounds premature and unpractical. What we want first is money -money from England, and stronger support, too — as well as a healthier public opin- ion all through this part of the country " W'fj^i^Tm'^aifsm^sMiiL'r^m^Tf^'^imamsmBi P4?r^ , ■; i8 ANGELOT " Ah ! but none of 30ur waiting games for me," cried the young Baron. " ' De I'audace ' — you know — that is the mctto for Frenchmen." " Boldness and rashness need not be the same thing," said Monsieur de Bourmont, drily. " And remember whom you are quoting, my dear Cesar. A dangerous person, to say the least." A grim smile lightened d'Ombre's hard face. " It was the right thing to say, if the devil said it," he answered. The Vicomte des Barres rose from his chair and lounged into the middle of the room. " To be practical, friends," he said, " the feel- ing among the peasants is the question. In this country side, Monsieur de la Mariniere ought to know pretty well what it is. And I fear he will tell us that a £ood deal of exertion will be neces- sary, before they will take up their guns and pikes, and march where they are led. It goes without saying that he, himself, is the one man to lead them. I believe, though he chooses to live like a hermit, he is the most popular man in Anjou." " But no — no, dear Vicomte," said Monsieur Joseph, shaking his head violently. " It is true there are some of them who love me — but their interest, you see, is on the other side. My brother is more popular than I am, and he deserv^es it, in spite of his lamentable opinions." '* Ah, monsieur, forgive me, but do you under- stand your peasants?" cried Cesar d'Ombre. " Are you doing them justice ? Would they set a iiii:«'#*ff«'i«:*!«'-^r^ ;5^' HOW THE OWLS HOOTED .9 good farm against their king, their reheion ih, .a vat,„n of their c...,ryf\,^ai„,t2 mo,evU '°"7""' "''^ """^ »-e o money and corn-stacks and vintages than „f .1. .rue peace and freedon, which can ™, W >™n bv dnvtng „u, tyranny? Nobody wants to pu, hem a^:Von: -\7 >r7 '^^^ '^^--'"'- g ic we nave given up our rights and there IS an end of if k.,* "fe"i». ana again, and we w ~ « for T"' °" T" "'"«' breathe and .0 let Lrw:,„;taT%Ve """ '" be rid r^f fu- >vvjuiius neai. \Ve want to h^r'iffe; ood^ TuT: T''' :"' " '"'"'"^ fee] most ^',h ^'^ " "'''" "'^ P^^^^nts t"v are If • " '"■""S'y '' "' do. But t.'ey are of course uneducated. They need stir nng uj. drilling, leading. And I can\ard1y b" he otir I'T^' '"" "" ^"^^^ °f ™e ma'n f„ ingu led b n;:'''" °' ^™^ '^"™'' ™<1 dis- ■ npislied brother — would outweigh all ,1,. Claims o faith and affection and loyTy Li' am:^%:^"''^'----'- Trust Vp:as- " You may be right — I hope vou are " „-^ Mons,e„. Joseph, more gravely' th» usua^ " B^ r^, brother will not now be alone in the left-hand And no., with Herv.i%^:,oX;tr!!^- father r " ^'"' '''°"'^^'' « ^°^" ^^om his father, a gnmace of disgust from Monsieur de Bourmont, who had reason for hi. -^"' ^or ins own cousin, 20 ANGEI.OT once a Chouan, was now an Imperial officer — a laugh from Monsieur des Barres ; all this greeted the name of the owner of Lancilly. " Although that renegade is your cousin, mon- sieur," old d'Ombre growled, " I hope the country side may soon be made too hot to hold him." Monsieur Joseph chrugged his sl.oulders, smiled, looked on the floor. He did not take up the old m^n's words ; he could not very well have done so. But there was something about him which reminded his guests that the slender little boyish man was a dead shot and a perfect swords- man, and that once, long ago, in old La Vendee days, he had challenged a man who had said something insulting of his brother Urbain, and after one or two swift passes had laid him dead at his feet. There was a moment of rather awkward si- lence. Then Monsieur des barres took up the word again. " To be practical, my friends " he repeated, " the first step to action, it seems to me, is to sound and encourage the peasants. Each of us must be responsible for his own neighbourhood." " We will answer for ours," said Cesar d'Om- bre. Monsieur de Bourmont, the most cautious of the party, murmured something to the same ef- fect, and Monsieur Joseph nodded gravely. The Vicomte's eyes dwelt on him, a little anxiously. It seemed as if that word " renegade," ^^^;^^«au HOW THE OWLS HOOTED a, appried to his cousin and neighbonr, might have a endency to s„ck in his .hroat. Des Barres, who adm,red and love,! the Ht.le gentleman, was .«,rry He wanted to remind him how the old Contie d Ombre was universally known for bad man- liked .IT '• '"'! r'"^'- "' »™"' '-« .ked to reason w,th him, too. on the subject of hatcousm, and to poim ou- kindly, as a fnend how Monsieur de Sainfoy had had al^ olu ely no real and goo^'^r HOW THE OWLS HOOTED 23 the young fellow's snlutuion. The son of Ur- ham c e la Marinic-re. a notorious example of wo ochous tlnn^s. republicanism and opportun- -m!tl.n„uual affection of him and hTun^ Joseph only made him more of a ,>ossible dang To Mons.eur d Ombre Angelot seemed like a spy m the camp. His son. however, knew bet- er. and so did the other two. Angelot's parent- Tolh • T ' '^'^'^ °"^- ^^"^' Monsieur Josephs judgment, though romantic, was sel- dom wrong. ' Gigot, the dark-faced valet, having kicked off ^he saints which covered his felt shL. b^ sUH wear.ng h,s large apron, set open the door into the long narrow hall which ran through the back of the house, widening in the middle where the tower and staircase branched from it. " Monsieur est servi ! " The hungry guests marched willingly to the dmmg room, their heavy boots creaking^ t'he noise "You do not join us, mademoiselle?" said gered behmd in the drawing-room. "No monsieur," the child answered, " Mv father thinks I am too young to listen. Besides I am the guctteuse. It is our business to watch — the dogs and I." :::i3^uMy •.?";'v'<^i^ i 24 ANGELOT I " Indeed ! Is that how you spend your life? A curious employment for a young lady ! " " When there is danger abroad, I am more to be trusted than any one else." " I quite believe it. You know, then, that our visit to-day is not entirely one of pleasure? Monsieur your father has taken you so far into his confidence, though you are too young to lis- ten?" " I know everything, monsieur," said Hen- riette. " Then we may eat in peace. We are safe in your care. That is charming, mademoiselle." " Yes, monsieur. I will let you know at once, if Monsieur le Prefet and his gendarmes are rid- ing down the lane." " Good heavens, what an idea ! I have not the smallest wish to meet Monsieur le Prefet. I be- lieve that gentleman keeps a black book, in which I am quite sure my name is written. Yes in- deed, mademoiselle, if he should happen to pass, send him a little farther. Tell him he will find a nest of Chouans at Vaujour, or anywhere else your fancy suggests." Henriette laughed and nodded. " Trust me, monsieur," she said. "Your little >.jusin is charming," said Mon- sieur des Barres to Angelot, who was politely waiting for him in the hall. The six men were soon sitting at Monsieur Joseph's hospitable round table. As they dis- w^. HOW THE OWLS HOOTED 25 patched their plates of steaming soup they saw the sl.m blue figure of Henriet.e, with two dogs at er heels, fl„ past the win» P™ • vVhere are mv nJc toisr stammered th^ ^m t- . ^ "v P'S- understand the slLtiL ""'' "^^""'"^ '° sid«°trrie:;i"'".'-^''^<'«"''-e held his scornful X" ^Me '" °™ " '"° '"^^ '"<' Whisked glassy Lnd^at^s'fnd d"f "" °"''''' board, pushed back cha r. « t' '"•" => <^"P- ='way every si™ „f l ^1'"'' *' «">"■ "^k In the m dstTall th T" "'=" J"^' ^^P-n. said , f. / " '='^"='' Monsieur Toseoh said a few words with eawr n„,i "'^. Joseph Monsieur de Bo„r™„ . ? , ' ""'^ *'8"s «» old man by eafh " m led V ','"^'.'™' '^"'"^ "-e the west side of^'housr ^"^"^ °- '°-ds h.-s"ne;'hX! wh^rs'li'st"'' '"""'"' ^"^^ '» Cesar 'd'Omb*': Zi'^r^ '' " '-''-"<' '° He'tL:^d;™Lr:s7;L^"^^'°' ■^^-'-'^ loot, as If he meant to be obeyed. w^mmm^^^r,^ 28 ANGELOT U\ Angelot had never seen him in such a state of ar xiety and excitement, or heard such words as r.is sincerely pious mouth had let fall two minutes before — in Riette's presence, too ! Old Joubard was wrong: these plots were not exactly to be laughed at. Angelot, realising that the Prefect and* the General were really in danger of their lives from men like the Messieurs d'Ombre, thought rather seriously of his own father. At the same time, he longed to punish Cesar for what he had dared to say about betrayal. Yes, he was his father's son; and so the sight of him was enough to make these wild Chouans suspect far better Royalists than themselves. There was an account to settle with Monsieur des Barres, too. His polite manners were all very well, but his words to Henriette just now were insulting. Angelot was angry with his uncle's guests, and not particularly inclined to help them out of their present predicament. He stood gloomily, without actempting to obey his uncle, till Henriette came up to him sud- denly. •'Ange — the horses into the hiding-place! Do you hear — quick, quick ! " It might be possible to hesitate in obeying Uncle Joseph, but Cousin Henriette was a far more autocratic person. And then her good sense never failed, and was always convincing; she was never in doubt as to her own right course or ether people's : and Angelot, who had no sis- "msmmmww^Si^- \wmm 1 " LE GfeNfeRAL BIM-BAM-BOUM f " 29 She had hardly spoken when he was out of the wando a„, ,,,h a few strides across te! sliine had disap,,eared into the dark anrl .1 ernous archway of the stables ' '"'■ Henriette turned to the t^^o remaining guests " F°"o>v me; gentlemen," said the child " I know u-^ere my papa i. „ai.n,g f„. ,::^ ' Mademo.selle. we are in vour han' '"ok of Clever dog; h.s eyes were everywhere. " H„'^''v" !' "'" ''""''"■' " =he said to herself wa"gLl"^';i1?"'"^''*°"«''''^--^^^ -blff^lothltTsraLtr^T-'''^ tha.^ ignorant Tobie, w; Zt Z:'V^7,l: that s sure FI» f t^fl.-^' ht • "- ^'-" at last, ■•ng to him Bu; If "'"'"• '^''?"'" •»"'- must be tTe Pre e^t T"^ " " '""-•-^- That better than the St . / ""' "'^ ^^^ ''^ '^ She ran to the door again and looked out. An- ^^M'MS^r<^t^^M!Si'^w^%^fmmmkasB^^ 32 ANGELOT IM geloi, cool and quiet, had come out of the stable and met the gendarme face to fa.e, returning his salutation with indifference. "It is Monsieur le Prefet? Certainly, my uncle is at home," he said. " I am not sure that he is in the house," and he walked on towards the grou]) of horsemen. "Not in the house!" breathed the cook. " They are hiding, then ! They must have heard or seen them coming — ah, how stupid I am! I saw mademoiselle run past the window." Angelot came bareheaded, smiling, to repre- sent his uncle in welcoming the Prefect to Les Chouettes. He would not have been his father's son if the droll side of the situation had not struck him. He thought it exquisite, though he was sorry for his uncle's annoyance. The Chouan guests had irritated him, and that they should lose their breakfast seemed a happy retribution, though he would have done all he could to save them from further penalties. Angelot looked up at the Prefect, his handsome sleepy eyes alight with laughter. " Do my uncle the pleasure of coming in, mon- sieur," he said. "He will be here immediately; he has been out shooting. It is exactly breakfast time." " We shall be very grateful for your uncle's hospitality ; we have had a long ride in the heat," said the Prefect. His eyes as they met Angelot's were very keen, '^«''^y'V' ^^jrimM^SLK^^,^^''^yiBmi!i3H^wvM "LE GfiNfiRAL BI.\I-BAM-BOUM!" 33 lar > goo, -l„„|,„,^ „,„,, .,,,,1 ,.„ |_.^ S f-"y. lis manners >vere ihosc of ,|,e ^ " „ world; he was one of ,he nohles, and . ..«, «!^ he ^torTof K ""'^ '""• ^'"""''""■^ 8'"i"^ »'' tne gtory of France were one " ^'°nsi"'r le General." he sai.i, turning to his compan,on. " le, „e present Monsieur Ange 'let Mann,ere, the son of Monsieur Urbain^ < L Mar,n,=re one of my truest friends in the d^ partmeit. The rough and mocking voice that answered Happy to make his acquaintance"- The Prefect, who for reasons of his own watched the lad curiously, saw the change the aid und:\ !^"^' ^'"" '^^"'^ ^-^^ -'^eny and understood ,t pretty well. The new military commander, r,sen from the ranks in every sense^ had nothmg to Justify his position except cour-' age a talent for commanding, and devotion to the Emperor. That he was not now fighting in Spam was due partly to quarrels with other gen- erals, partly to wounds received in the last Aus- trian campaign, which unfitted him for the time for active service. In sending him to this Royalis! provmce of the West, Napoleon might have Led at providmg the Prefect with an effective foil to his own character and connections. The great ^^mifi^ssm^smsmtm^i'^mA h'WS^i 34 ANGELOT •m Emperor by no means despised the trick of set- ting his servants to watch one another. One personal pecuHarity this General possessed, which had both helped and hindered him in his career. As Monsieur des Barres said, he was ex- ceedingly like his master. A taller, heavier man, his face and head were a coarse likeness of Na- poleon's. There were the lines of beauty without the sweetness, the strength without the genius, the ingrained selfishness unveiled by any mask, even of policy. General Ratoneau was repulsive where Napoleon was attractive. He had fought under Napoleon from the beginning, and had risen by his own efforts, disliked by all his supe- riors, even by the Empe/or, to whom the strange likeness did not recommend him. But it had a great effect on the men who fought under him. Though he was a brutal leader, they were ready to follow him anywhere, and had K nown to call him le gros caporal, so strong and obvious was this likeness. He was a splendid soldier, though ill-tempered, cruel, and overbearing. He was a man to be reckoned with, and so the amiable Pre- fect found. Having himself plenty of scruples, plenty of humanity, and a horror of civil war, he found a colleague with none of these difficult to manage. Nothing, for instance, was further from the Prefect's wish than to spy upon his Royalist neighbours and to drive them to desperation. The very word Chouan represented to General Ratoneau a wild beast to be trapped or hunted. k rVlt-i ' ■*!- . I. > '^■'ma^^wsmkmiBf^''''Jsmmrr'M^j,^':^tj^mc- .sft/Tt^.' "LE GfiNfiRAL BIM-BAM-BOUM!" 35 ' .,f^"^f"' ',?''"' "' "■'' ™"' ="«l from the first glan« hated him. There was so„,ething i„«,e„ m the stare of those Ih,I,I "ands. on one of Monsieur Joseph's old Lotus Qmnz. cha.rs vvh.ch seemed hardly fit to bear h.s weight The dehcate atmosphere of old France was ail about h.m Angelot and his uncle were incarna- .ons of u, even m their plain shooting clothes- and the Prefect, the Baron de Alauves. was' worthy m looks and manners of the old regime romvv^h,ch he sprang. The other man was 's^n W.th h,s ghttermg uniform, h.s look of a coarse Roman, he was the very type of military tvranny at Its worst, without even the good manners of pa^s^t days to soften the frank insolence of a sol- himr^'f ''^"'^!''' ^ "^'"''^ "^>' ^^'^'' ^°"Id see him ! Angelot thought. Monsieur Joseph looked at his nephew His sweet smile had faded, a sudden shadow of anx! lety taking its place. How would Angelot bear with his man ? Would he remember that in spite of all provocation he must be treated civilly? The Prefect also glanced up a little nervously at AngeJot as he stood. Had the handsome, attrac- tive boy any share at all of his father's wisdom and faultless temper? Angelot was conscious of both these warnings. 38 ANGELOT '! 1 He answered the little uncle's with a smile, and said easily — " It is possible — I cannot tell. As to th > wine — I will ask your opinion after break- fast, monsieur." The Prefect's face cleared up suddenly. Ange- lot was a worthy son of his father. " It is quite unnecessary, my dear friend," he said to Monsieur Joseph, " for you to attempt to alarnj us about our breakfast. Your cook can work miracles. This is not the first time, remem- ber, that I have taken you by surprise." " And you are always welcome, my dear Baron," Monsieur Joseph answered gently, but a little dreamily. " I shall now have a fresh attraction in this country," the Prefect said. " With your cousin, De Sainfoy, at Lancilly, your neighbourhood will indeed leave nothing to be desired." " Herve is an agreeable man," said Monsieur Joseph. " I have not seen him for many years ; I do not know his wife and family. My brother is charmed to welcome them all." "Of course, and they must feel that they owe everything to him. Monsieur your brother is a benefactor to his country and species," said the Prefect, with a smile at Angelot. " Madame de Sainfoy is an exceedingly pretty woman. .She made quiti a sensation at Court in the spring, and I should think there will not be much difficulty in her getting the appointment I understand she wishes — lady in waiting to the Empress. Only "LEg6n6rALBIM-BAM-BOUM!'' 39 SalnfoT ''fi' t\E-P-- ^oes not quite trust De Woy - finds him a little half-hearted." gently " ''"^'^^'" ^^'^ ^^^-^ Meph, " Well, it is a pity," said the Prefect " Tf vn„ accept the new reeime at =,11 I , ^ " loyally." ^ ^"' >'''" ^^^"Jd do it "My cousin has a son fighting- in Soain Thof ought to be placed to his credit " ^ ^^* ^He^HasnothLhr^rghl^u'^^^^^^^^^ you know aLady ? " '" ''""^ ^°" "^^* Not at all, monsieur. I havp h»n..^ .1 • Of it When „, cousins Hve a U„ ^,^17 H^Lt » M "°' "'" ™"^' "■« Mademoiselle He lene was old enough to be married. And what match IS arranged for her ' " "None that I know of. Her father's action h,c ^ZrT-r' ^^'"™' ' understand h: ha Mmply refused to consider one or two sueeestd Josept""Hrl '•"'''• ' ^"PP°'''" -i" Monsieur Joseph. He has my cordial sympathy." chaTr' It ""'^''"'- "■' ^'""^i scraped his chatr^ Angelot nearly laughed aloud. You will find it very agreeable to have yoar m 40 ANGELOT cousins at Lancilly," the Prefect said, looking at him kindly. " I don't know, monsieur," Angelot answered. " Young girls are hardly companions for me." " Indeed! As to that — " began the Prefect, still smiling as he looked at the lad ; but his re- mark was cut short and his attention pleasantly distracted. Gigot, with unshaken solemnity, set open the doors for the second time that morning. '* Monsieur est servi ! " li, ^ MS^-ii CHAPTER IV HOW THE BREAKFAST COOKED FOR THOS-. WAS EATEN BY THESE The Prefect and the General enjoyed their breakfast thoroughly. They sat over it long: so long that Angelot, his hunger satisfied, began to suffer ,n nis young limbs from a terrible restless- ness. It was as much as he could do to sit still listemng first to the Prefect's political and so^ ciety talk then to stories of the General's cam- pai^s. Under the influence of the despised wine of Anjou, Monsieur de Mauves, whose temper needed no sweetening, became a little sleepy, prosv and long-winded. General Ratoneau on his side was mightily cheered, and showed quite a new animation: long before the meal ended, he was talking more than the other three put together It was he who had been the hero of Eylau of FriecHand, of Wagram; the Emperor and 'the Marshals were nowhere. All the great move- ments v-re in consequence of his advice >\nd then his personal courage ! The men he had killed with his own hand ! As to the adventures which had fallen to his lot in storming and plundering towns, burning villages, quartering his men on 41 42 ANGELOT country houses, these often belonged so much to the very seamiest side of war that Monsieur Jo- seph, soldier as he was, listened with a frown, and the Prefect coughed and glanced more than once at Angelot. For some of these stories were hardly suited to young and innocent ears, and Angelot looked, and indeed was, younger than his age. He was listening, not curiously, but with a kind of unwilling impatience. The man seemed to impress him in spite of himself, in spite of dis- gust at the stories and dislike of the teller. Once or twice he laughed, and then General Ratoneau gave him a stare, as if just reminded of his ex- istence, and went on to some further piece of coarse bragging. Monsieur Joseph became paler and graver, An- gelot more restless, the Prefect sleepier, as the rough voice talked on. Angelot thought break- fast would never be over, and that this brute would never have done boasting of his fine deeds, such as hanging up six brothers in a row r utside their own house, and threatening the mother and sisters with the same fate unless they showed htm the way to the cellar, where he knew they had hidden plate and jewellery, as well as a quantity of good wine. " You would not have done it, monsieur ? " said Angelot, quickly. The General assured him with oaths that he certainly would. HOW rare BREAKFAST WAS EATEN 43 he sa d. We d,d not hurt them, as it happened We stnpped the house, and left them to bufy ,1,1^: men ,f they chose. What had they ,0 eL« ' Fortune of war, my boy ! " "^ Angelot shrugged his shoulders. You should send that nephew of yours to earn a few things in the army," the GeneTsa H o Monsieur Joseph, when th^y at la^^^ n'd nnVv \ ^"^"'■°'""- ""<= ™"' grow up keep^h,m down here among your woods much "I am not his father," Monsieur Tosenh an -vered wtth some dryness. " He is / fri „'d of" Wm M ■ /°" "" '"'"y «>nonstrate with nim, Monsieur e General r.,* . about young Ange He ;, I =^"""«="'«" J- uiig /Ynge. He is neither a ^ rl nor p baby, but a very gallant young fellow in hu -ane and innocent, of course-! but yl'ur tories might pierce a thicker skin; I fancy " at le h^T^'r '2"f "^ "'°'"^' '' '"'y ="•""'1 out shile "' '""'^ "'° *' ^f''™°™ ^"n- helH'"'"?"' H *"*" *■'' "■' "Sht to talk," he said I need not tell a man who knows the world, hke you, that I should never have hanged those women - poor country rubbish though th^ were, and ugly ,00, I remember. But the met had^^ed .0 resist, and martial ,aw ^tt S 44 ANGELOT I I l< i Some reassurance of the same kind was given to Angelot by the Prefect, who lingered behind with him. " And our conscripts go for this, monsieur ! " Angelot said. " My dear boy," said Monsieur de Mauves, lazily, "you must take these tales cum grano. P'or instance, if I know the Emperor, he would have shot the man who hanged those women. And our friend Ratoneau knew it." Les Chouettes seemed stiller than ever, the sun hotter, the atmosphere more sleepy and peaceful. The dogs were lying in various directions at full length on the sand. The sleeping forms of the Prefect's gendarmes were also to be seen, stretched on the grass under the southern belt of fir trees. One moving figure came slowly into sight on the edge of the opposite wood, and strolled into the sunshine, stooping as she came to pick the pale purple crocuses of which the grass was full — lit- tle Henriette, a basket on her arm, her face shaded by a broad straw bonnet. The General shaded his eyes with his hand, and stared at her. "Who is that young girl, monsieur?" he asked. The question itself seemed impertinent enough, but the insolence of the tone and the manner sent a quiver through Monsieur Joseph's nerves. His face twitched and his eyes flashed dangerously. At that moment he would have forgiven any rash- i HOW THE BREAKFAST WAS EATEN 45 ness on the part of his Chouan friends ; he would have hked to see Monsieur d'Ombre's pistol w.th>n a few inches of the (General's head, and if It had gone off, so much the better. He wondered vvhy he had not encouraged Cesar d'Ombre's idea of making these men prisoners. Perhaps he was nght after all; the boldest policy might have been the best. Perhaps it was a splendid oppor- tunity lost. Anyhow, the imperial officials would have been none the worse for coolin^r their heels and starving a little, the fate of the Royalists now. As to the consequences. Monsieur Joseph in his present mood might have made short work of them had it not been for that young girl in the meadow. " It is my daughter, Monsieur le General " A person with finer instincts could not have failed to notice the angry shortness of the reply But the General was in high good humour, for hmi, and he coolly went on adding to his offences. "Your daughter, is it! I did not know you were married. I understood from Monsieur le i^refet that you were a lonely hermit. Is there a Madame de la Mariniere hidden away some- where? and possibly a few more children? This house is a kind of beehive. I dare say - " he walked on to the grass, and turned to stare at the windows. " Was madame afraid to enter- tain us? My stories would have been too strong for her, perhaps? but I assure you, monsieur, 46 ANGELOT I know how to behave to women ! " and he laughed. " I hope so, monsieur, especially as you are not now in Germany," said Monsieur Joseph, thinking very earnestly of his own sword and pistols, ready for use in his ov/n room. He need only step in at that window, a few yards ofif. A fierce word, a blow, would be a suitable beginning — and then — if only Riette were out of sight, and the Prefect would not in- terfere — there could not be a better ground than the sand here by the house. Must one wait for all the formalities of a duel, with the Prefect and Angelot to see fair play ? However, he tried hard to restrain himself, at least for the moment. " My wife is dead, monsieur, and I have but that one child," he said, forcing the words out with difficulty: it was a triumph of the wise and gentle Joseph over the fiery and passionate Joseph. He thought of Urbain, when he wanted to conquer that side of himself; Urbain, who by counsel and influence had made it safe for him to live under the Empire, and who now, hating vul- garity and insolence as much as he did himself, would have pointed out that General Rato- neau's military brutality was not worth resent- ing; that there were greater things at stake than a momentary annoyance; that the man's tongue had been loosened, his lumbering spirit quickened, by draughts of sparkling wine of -I HOW THE BREAKFAST WAS EATEN 47 Anjou. and that liis horrible ct.riosity carried no nt m,onal msult with it. Indeed, as Monsieur Joseph perceive** nnniediately. with a kind of uonder. the man fancied that he was making himself agreeable to his host. ani f *'' '^P'"'^^'- ^ ^"^ '^^ry for you, monsieur, and for the young lady too." he said. " I am no marned myself _ but the loss of wife and mother must be a dreadful thing. Excuse a soldier's tongue, monsieur." Monsieur Joseph accepted the apology with a quick movement of head and hand, being as placable as he was passionate. The General con- tinued to stare at Henriette, who moved slowly seemmg to think of nothing, to see nothing, but the wdd flowers and the crowd of flitting butter- flies m the meadow. During this little interlude, one of the gen- darmes, who had seemed asleep, got up and moved owards the Prefect, who turned to speak to him, and after the first word walked . =th him a fe^ yards .^^ •- be out of hearing of the others. Angelot, who had been standing beside the Pre- fect glanc.d after them with a touch of anxiety het, "VlV'^Vr"'' '' *'^^ ^^"^'^™' though specially dangerous. He walked forward a few steps and stood beside his uncle. Suppose the mee ing of that morning, risky if not unlawful, were to come to the Prefect's knowledge; sup- pose his uncle's dangerous friends were ferreted 'W 48 ANGELOT out of their hiding-place in the -vood ; what then was he, his father's son, to do? His mother's son, though far enough from sharing her en- thusiasms, had an answer ready: whj tever it might cost, he must stand by the little uncle and Riette. " Your daughiT is still young," — it was the General's hoarse voice — " too young yet to be repor'' ^^ ^he t!, M •"'•''"'^ '^'' '''^'' "^^"^ " I ''«ve been telling Monsieur de la Mariniere that one of these days^ you will report his daughter to the Em- The Prefect looked angry and annoyed. His handsome face flushed. With an involuntary movement he laid his hand on Monsieur Joseph's shoulder; their eyes met. and both men smiled " thnVT^'Tr.'^""^'"'"'^ ^^°'^^'^"'- ^^ Mauves. Fran ^^^T'' ^'""^ "°^ >'^^ ^"'*^ ^^o^ France. His ideas have great spirit and orig- mahty but they are not always ver^ practical '' arn \7.u ^'^ ^^^"^'•^"y put into practice," growled the General. "Yes — but I do not think this one will go j|^ 50 ANGELOT far. Certainly, it will have died out long before Mademoiselle de la Mariniere is grown up." "But explain, my dear friend!" cried Mon- sieur Joseph, "is the Emperor going to raise a regiment of Amazons, to fight Russia? 1 am dying with curiosity." " Some people would find your idea less dis- .

■ «"cle has been f«lish, ^ h,^e I, and -^'^i ■.umr%<: 64 ANGELOT I will share the consequences with him. But as to to-day, monsieur ? " " I know all," the Prefect said. " Your uncle had visitors this morning, who were spirited away out of our sight. Their horses were hi