LIBRARY 
 
 Universfcy of 
 
 IRVINE
 
 The King s Henchman
 
 The King s Henchman 
 
 A Chronicle of the Sixteenth Century 
 
 Brought to light and Edited by 
 
 William Henry Johnson 
 
 Boston 
 
 Little, Brown, and Company 
 MDCCCXCVIII
 
 Copyright, 1S97, 
 BY WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSON. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 3-7 
 
 PRKSSWORK BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 
 CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.
 
 The Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION ,. i 
 
 CHAPTER THE FIRST ....... 13 
 
 How Jean Fourcade Found a Friend and Made an 
 Enemy. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SECOND ...... 30 
 
 How Jean Fourcade Chanced into a Peaceful Haven. 
 
 CHAPTER THE THIRD 39 
 
 Sophie Roberval. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FOURTH 50 
 
 Jean Fourcade Tells the Story of his Life. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FIFTH ....... 55 
 
 The Course of True Love. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SIXTH 62 
 
 Catherine s Flying Squadron Meets its Match. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SEVENTH ...... 72 
 
 How a Pair of Bright Eyes Lost Us a Town. 
 
 CHAPTER THE EIGHTH 78 
 
 How Jean Fourcade Went in Search of Sophie. 
 
 CHAPTER THE NINTH 89 
 
 What Jean Fourcade Saw in a Cavern by the Sea. 
 
 V
 
 The Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER THE TENTH 105 
 
 How Jean Fourcade Took Part in a Notable Achieve 
 ment. 
 
 CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH 114 
 
 Jean Fourcade Receives a Second Letter from Sophie. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWELFTH 120 
 
 The Lovers War and the Taking of Cahors. 
 
 CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH 128 
 
 How Jean Fourcade Met an Old Foe in a New Guise. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH 142 
 
 How the Found was Lost Again. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH 148 
 
 How Jean Fourcade Received Strange Tidings. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH 157 
 
 To the Rescue. 
 
 CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH . . . . .172 
 Hard on the Enemy s Heels. 
 
 CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH 185 
 
 A Bride of Christ. 
 
 CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH 195 
 
 A Memorable Night in the Mountains. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH 215 
 
 How Jean Fourcade Fell into a Trap. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST 234 
 
 Coutras. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND 244 
 
 A Great Victory that Led to Nothing. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD . . . . .251 
 Jean Fourcade has the Long-Deferred Interview with 
 Sophie s Father, and the Latter is Fully Satisfied. 
 
 vi
 
 The Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FOURTH 258 
 
 From Sunlight to Blackest Darkness. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIFTH ..... 276 
 How Sophie, Unwittingly, became Jean Fourcade s 
 Accuser. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SIXTH . . . . . 282 
 How Jean Fourcade Envied Another s Misery. 
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH .... 290 
 Jean Fourcade amid the Scenes of his Childhood. 
 
 VII
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A SULTRY summer day was closing with a threat 
 JT\. of violent storm. Rolling up from the sea, with 
 ominous peals of thunder and incessant lightning, a 
 dense black cloud was fast overspreading the sky. 
 As I rode from my plantation through interminable 
 pine woods to the little hamlet where I was wont to 
 spend the hot months, I had reached a spot that 
 offered a refuge. Before me were five good miles to 
 be covered, without the shelter of a single roof, and I 
 was debating whether I should stop where I was or 
 take the risks of going on. 
 
 I had paused before a gate hanging on one hinge 
 and standing ajar, its end resting on the ground. Be 
 yond was a broad avenue, bordered with lordly old 
 live-oaks trailing festoons of silver-gray Spanish moss 
 almost to the earth, but neglected and overgrown with 
 grass and weeds, the road obliterated by time and 
 disuse. It led through an untilled field, covered with 
 broom-sedge and young pines, to an old mansion, 
 which closed the view with high wooden pillars, dingy 
 and spectral. The whole scene was a melancholy 
 picture of unthrift and decay.
 
 Introduction. 
 
 I hesitated to enter, though I knew the place well. 
 Indeed, its owner and occupant, Pierre Fourcade, was 
 a remote kinsman. He was the last representative of 
 one branch of our family. Through my mother, I 
 was the only scion of a second line. There was yet 
 another group of Fourcades, representatives of a 
 third branch. 
 
 Just how nearly these three several lines were re 
 lated, I never knew. The tradition was, that they 
 descended from three brothers who came to America 
 together in the great Huguenot immigration, received 
 grants of land in the same neighborhood, and there 
 perpetuated their blood. In the struggle incident to 
 frontier life in the early colonial days, little attention 
 was paid to matters of genealogy. At a later time j 
 family records were easily lost in the confusion, or 
 destroyed in the frequent house-burnings of the Revo 
 lutionary War, during which that region suffered 
 grievously at the hands of the British. So it hap 
 pened that the Fourcades of my boyhood knew little, 
 and for the greater part cared less, about the original 
 relationship of the three lines of that name. They 
 contented themselves with the general tradition of a 
 common ancestry. 
 
 To this apathy Pierre Fourcade formed a notable 
 exception. The passion of his life, sole and consum 
 ing, was family pride. It was generally known that 
 he had collected a vast deal of curious information as 
 to the earlier story of the Fourcades, and it was be 
 lieved that he possessed authentic documents which 
 would throw interesting light on the whole subject. 
 
 2
 
 Introduction. 
 
 Unfortunately, the habit of many years had so cut him 
 off from his fellows, that his knowledge seemed des 
 tined to die with him. Occasional efforts to draw him 
 out on the subject which was known to interest him 
 most in the world, had met with rebuke so quick and 
 stern that the attempt was not likely to be renewed. 
 
 A moody, reserved man, he had chosen to live a 
 recluse life on his plantation, with no active interests 
 beyond its management, and rarely any companion 
 ship but that of his books. Such he was, when, as a 
 child, I first knew him. A solitary old man, his deter 
 mined attitude of self-isolation was fully accepted. 
 But I was told that in his younger days he had been 
 quite another man. No gayer or more rollicking 
 blade lived in the neighborhood. There were tales 
 still current of his wild doings in bacchanalian moods. 
 Withal he exhibited from the first that trait which 
 deepened and grew into the master passion of his life 
 an overweening and consuming pride of family. 
 Fiery at the best, he was on all points that concerned 
 the family name sensitive to the verge of the ludicrous. 
 Of a sudden, how or wherefore nobody ever knew, 
 his character and habits underwent a change, complete 
 as it was swift. His jovial temper gave way to a 
 sullen and impenetrable reserve. He denied himself 
 to visitors, cut his old friends, withdrew from all social 
 functions, and in a single day began that recluse 
 existence which he led to the hour of his death. This 
 mysterious metamorphosis of a boon companion into 
 a hermit provoked no end of curious speculation ; but 
 it remained to the last an enigma. 
 3
 
 Introduction. 
 
 In my boyhood I alone seemed to be favored with 
 some little place in the old man s regard. Undoubt 
 edly our relationship, whatever it was, commended me 
 to him, and he treated me with a friendliness which 
 he showed to nobody else. Quite as marked as his 
 liking for me was his deep detestation of the other 
 family of our name. He never alluded to their 
 existence, and once, when I chanced to speak of 
 them in his presence, he vehemently exclaimed, " Not 
 Fourcades, boy, not Fourcades! Call those people 
 ragamuffins, scullions, or what you will, only not 
 Fourcades." But when I tried to ascertain the 
 ground of this violent antipathy, not one word could 
 I elicit. The sudden impulse past, he guarded the 
 same rigid reserve as before. 
 
 Now, I knew nothing against these Fourcades, 
 either in the present or in the past. They certainly 
 seemed unobjectionable people, well thought of by 
 the neighbors. Therefore it became a fixed impres 
 sion in my mind, that it must be some fact in their 
 earlier history, known only to him, which made the 
 old man so despise them. I came to fancy him the 
 sole custodian of some dark secret, and this circum 
 stance made him doubly interesting to me. 
 
 When the war came, I went into the army, along 
 with the youth of the South. On my return to my 
 home, after four years of service, I found Pierre Four- 
 cade sadly changed for the worse. He had suffered 
 sorely. His plantation had been harried, his slaves 
 carried away, his cattle slaughtered, his house repeat 
 edly pillaged, and himself despitefully used. His land 
 4
 
 Introduction. 
 
 had become almost valueless. From comparative 
 opulence he had fallen, in his old age, into indigence. 
 As a consequence, his peculiarities had become more 
 marked than ever. His moody temper had deepened 
 into moroseness. The real poverty which had over 
 taken him was exaggerated by his imagination into a 
 condition threatening actual want. In his proud re 
 serve he grew parsimonious. Abandoning to decay 
 the greater part of the old mansion, he retired to one 
 wing and there lived, attended by a faithful old negro, 
 Hector by name, whom no inducement could move 
 to leave him. 
 
 When I went to see the lonely old man in his 
 poverty, his manner showed no trace of his former 
 friendly interest. Withal I got the impression that 
 some deep, corroding trouble was preying on his mind, 
 and I unavoidably connected this circumstance with 
 the discovery which I had long ago fancied that I had 
 made. If there was some sinister episode in the family 
 history, so sensitive was he on that point, he would 
 feel it more keenly than the sting of want. So strange 
 was his manner now, that I was forced to believe that, 
 through incessant brooding on one fixed idea, his mind 
 had become unbalanced. Altogether I went away 
 deeply saddened by the pitiful spectacle of the old 
 man in his lonely misery. Subsequent attempts to 
 renew the former friendly relations failed signally, 
 and I abandoned the effort. 
 
 Now I found myself at his gate, hesitating whether 
 or not to enter. My doubts were quickly resolved 
 by a few big drops, forerunners of a heavy downpour. 
 5
 
 Introduction. 
 
 I galloped up the avenue, tied my horse under the wide 
 piazza, and sprang up the creaking steps, just as, with a 
 crash of thunder, the cloud burst into a torrent of rain. 
 
 In the gloom the old place seemed more than ever 
 melancholy. Ruin was apparent everywhere. I 
 opened the front door and entered a wide, high- 
 pitched hall, once the very focus of the family life, 
 but now sombre and silent, without sign of life or 
 sound, save the echo of my footsteps and the roaring 
 of the storm without. Thence I turned to the wing 
 into which the solitary owner of the place had retired, 
 and passed through a great dining-room. Here his 
 fathers dispensed a generous hospitality, and in his 
 younger days it had been the scene of wild revel ; but 
 now it was empty and dark. On the farther side was 
 the door of the only room which, in all this great 
 house, Pierre Fourcade now occupied. 
 
 I knocked. There was no reply. I knocked a 
 second time, with no better success. Then I opened 
 the door and looked within. In the almost total dark 
 ness I could see nothing, until a vivid flash of light 
 ning, shining through an open window, showed me 
 the old man sleeping peacefully in a chair, his head 
 sunk on his chest. I groped my way across the floor 
 and laid my hand on his shoulder, to arouse him. But 
 I started back horrified. He was dead. 
 
 So easily and painlessly had life slipped away no 
 doubt while he slept that he sat there, one hand 
 hanging, still limp, by his side, the other resting on the 
 arm of his chair, like one who had but sunk into a 
 deep slumber. 
 
 6
 
 Introduction. 
 
 I thought at once of calling Hector. But the rain 
 was coming down in a flood, and it seemed sheer 
 cruelty to summon the faithful old servitor from the 
 outbuilding which he inhabited. What mattered a 
 little delay? There was nothing that he could do; 
 his master was beyond the help of man. I lighted a 
 candle and seated myself opposite the dead. In the 
 dim yellow light how ghastly he looked! The 
 shrunken form enveloped in threadbare garments a 
 world too wide, the parchment-like skin drawn tight 
 over the features, the sunken cheeks, the drooping 
 jaw, the unkempt beard straggling over the shirt, 
 frayed, yellow, and soiled ; all about him the evidences 
 of a parsimony little short of miserly what a picture 
 of the wretchedness of his last years! And this 
 shriveled anatomy, amid surroundings almost squalid, 
 was all that remained in his line of an ancient and 
 proud ancestry! 
 
 With this thought another flashed into my mind 
 the secret of his trouble. If there was written evi 
 dence of it, surely that evidence was now within my 
 reach! I should not need to seek far. Within the 
 walls of that one room the old man had gathered all 
 the earthly belongings that he cared for. I did not 
 doubt that, if there were, as I fully believed there 
 were, documents relating to the subject nearest his 
 heart, I should find them in the antique secretary which 
 was a conspicuous part of the furniture of the room. 
 
 The occasion was propitious. Until the storm 
 should cease, I was secure from interruption. Why 
 need I hesitate? There was no human being who 
 7
 
 Introduction. 
 
 had so good a right as I. For, if there was any person 
 in existence to whom Pierre Fourcade, living, would 
 have been willing to unburden himself, I surely was 
 that one. Now that he was dead, I was morally en 
 titled to whatever documentary evidence there might 
 have been in his possession. Was I not a kinsman 
 and a party interested? 
 
 In one of the old man s pockets I found his keys 
 and hastened to try them. The first drawer which I 
 opened contained nothing of any promise. The 
 second was full of papers legal documents, receipted 
 bills, and the like. Then my eye lighted on a small 
 box of japanned tin, an old-fashioned affair, securely 
 fastened with a little brass padlock. I lifted it out. 
 It was very heavy. Here, I was confident, if any 
 where, I should find what I sought. 
 
 With eager haste I tried the keys, until I found the 
 one which fitted the padlock. I lifted the lid and 
 found the box solidly packed with documents care 
 fully arranged and tied together in bundles. At a 
 glance I saw the value of my discovery. The papers 
 were yellow with age, closely covered with writing by 
 different hands, but of the same general type, cramped 
 and crabbed. When I attempted to decipher a line, 
 I found that the language was old French, so un 
 familiar, that at my first hasty effort I could catch only 
 here and there a word that conveyed any meaning. 
 It was an exciting thought, that, in all probability, 
 these records were made by the hands of ancestors of 
 mine, actors in a great world-drama, and had been 
 brought by their children to America. Moreover, I
 
 Introduction. 
 
 did not doubt that I held in my hands the clue to the 
 mystery of Pierre Fourcade s life. 
 
 I hastily replaced the papers and locked the box. 
 It was mine now. I had no hesitation in taking it. 
 For, while Pierre Fourcade lived, the merest suggestion 
 of those precious papers falling into the hands of the 
 other Fourcades would have been sufficient to arouse 
 his fierce wrath. 
 
 My decision was quickly made. The storm had 
 passed over and the rain had nearly ceased. Look 
 ing out of the back window, I saw through the open 
 door of Hector s cabin the reflection of a bright fire 
 and the old man s shadow, as he moved about the 
 hearth, no doubt preparing his master s evening meal. 
 At any moment he might enter the house. I did not 
 hesitate, but, taking from the bunch the key which 
 I wanted, I replaced the remainder in the dead 
 man s pocket, blew out the candle, groped my way 
 through the dark and silent house to the open air, 
 mounted my horse and rode away, carrying my 
 precious treasure and leaving no trace of my visit. 
 
 When I had reached my home, I scarcely took the 
 time for a hurried meal, before shutting myself up to 
 examine my acquisition at my leisure. The box I 
 found to contain a number of documents of various 
 ages, carefully assorted and marked in the hand 
 writing of Pierre Fourcade with numerals indicating 
 their chronological order. 
 
 I opened first the package designated as No. i. 
 As I untied it, there fell out a small morocco-leather 
 case, much worn. On pressing a spring, the lid flew 
 9
 
 Introduction. 
 
 open and revealed a miniature painted on ivory. It 
 represented a face of marvelous beauty and sweetness 
 and of infinite sadness. Large, dark eyes, of a liquid 
 softness, met mine with a gaze that at once inspired 
 confidence and enlisted sympathy. Masses of dark- 
 brown hair, rolled back from the temples, framed the 
 oval face in a setting of sombre beauty. The whole 
 expression was that of a deep melancholy. To my 
 excited fancy, Tragedy seemed to look out from the 
 great, sad eyes. 
 
 I could not doubt that the original was, in some 
 way, closely associated with the record contained in 
 the manuscript with which I found the picture tied 
 up. Further, what was more likely than that she was 
 one of the personages, perhaps the central figure, of 
 some story with which Pierre Fourcade had become 
 acquainted through these writings? I was convinced 
 that I held in my hands the key of the mystery which 
 had so darkened his later years. 
 
 I resolved to set myself in serious earnest to the 
 task of deciphering the manuscript. This proved to 
 be no light work. It was a voluminous document, 
 closely written, in many parts so faded as to be well- 
 nigh illegible, and couched in language so archaic 
 as to words, spelling, idioms, and general construction, 
 that I soon became aware that I must make a thor 
 ough study of it, if I would master its contents. For 
 many weeks all my leisure was devoted to this labor 
 of love. As I advanced in my undertaking, I forgot 
 its difficulties in the surpassing interest of the story. 
 
 At the end of several weeks I had read the entire 
 10
 
 Introduction. 
 
 manuscript, and my original impression had been fully 
 confirmed. I had penetrated the secret of Pierre Four- 
 cade s life. I knew the story of the unfortunate lady 
 who was, beyond a doubt, the original of the miniature. 
 
 At the first, out of deference to the old man whose 
 heir I had constituted myself, I had no other thought 
 than that of locking up the manuscript in its receptacle 
 and the secret in my own bosom, and so letting it die 
 with me, as he would fain have had it perish with him. 
 But mature reflection has determined me to act other 
 wise. For, after all, was not Pierre Fourcade s feeling 
 morbid and overstrained ? Was it not the supersensi- 
 tiveness of an almost insane pride, rather than the 
 facts of the story itself, that made him shrink from 
 making known a record which can disturb no property 
 rights, nor smirch any living person s honor? 
 
 I have decided to publish the record as it stands, in 
 its naive frankness. Perchance discriminating readers 
 will find in it much to kindle their admiration, as I 
 have found in it not a little to justify my pride. It 
 is a plain, straightforward story, written by a hand 
 more familiar with the sword than with the pen. It 
 has, in my estimation, this unique value, that it in 
 cidentally portrays a famous character, not as he has 
 been pictured by historians of the romantic school, 
 but as he was seen in his most familiar relations by 
 one who was his daily companion through long years. 
 It is a bit of historical realism. If we regard it as a 
 picture of the times, where shall we find a more down 
 right, frank recital of things as they befell in the daily 
 life of those who appear on the scene? 
 ii
 
 Introduction. 
 
 In doing my work of editing I have suppressed 
 nothing essential. True, I have endeavored to 
 modernize the style by breaking up the interminably 
 long periods, involved with numerous parentheses, 
 into a simpler, directer construction. And in some 
 passages I have softened the exceedingly frank terms 
 of the original. Otherwise I have changed nothing. 
 
 The reader will doubtless be prepared to make much 
 allowance in a narrative coming down from a ruder 
 time for details which the taste of our day would ex 
 clude. He will remember that this story carries 
 him back into the heart of the sixteenth century 
 a period in which human life was held cheap, and 
 the Ten Commandments in light esteem ; a crude, 
 violent age, in which men of action were men of 
 blood ; an age in which the passions of men and 
 women often ran wild riot, unchecked by conven 
 tional restraints, which impose a certain outward 
 sobriety, even when they are powerless to bind the 
 hidden springs of action ; an age so coarse in speech, 
 that the biographer of even the lovely and unfortunate 
 Lady Jane Grey feels himself obliged to apologize for 
 gross indelicacies in some of her letters. 
 
 Yet, after all, if the reader shall fail to discern 
 amid the rude license of that older day the sure 
 promise and potency of the better modern time, I 
 hold that he will have read to little purpose. 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
 12
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 CHAPTER THE FIRST. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE FOUND A FRIEND AND MADE 
 
 AN ENEMY. 
 
 IT was on a night late in the winter of 1577. The 
 moon was not long risen in a clear, frosty sky. 
 Two men were riding sharply on a road leading west 
 ward out of Limoges. Their horses hoofs beat the 
 frozen earth with a metallic ring. It was the only 
 sound that broke the dead stillness of the forest, whose 
 leafless and spectral trees seemed to flee by them like 
 an army of ghosts, as they galloped swiftly. 
 
 After a while they drew rein, and, turning into a 
 by-road, proceeded with evident caution. Soon the 
 outlines of a chateau standing on the brow of a hill 
 became visible. The two horsemen halted, dis 
 mounted, and tethered their animals in the deep 
 shadows of a thick clump of trees. Then they ad 
 vanced carefully and silently toward the dwelling. 
 The coast seemed clear, and they passed through a 
 wicket-gate into the inclosure surrounding it. 
 
 Judging from its appearance, one would say that 
 the chateau had been built in the time of Francis I., 
 probably for a country residence, by some wealthy
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 courtier of that pleasure-loving monarch. But it 
 looked neglected and ill-kept. The shrubbery, which 
 had once been closely trimmed and cut into fantastic 
 shapes, was now overgrown and unsightly. The 
 walks, once neatly graveled, had become grass- 
 covered. The great trees standing about had littered 
 the ground profusely with their leaves, which still lay 
 where they had fallen the previous autumn, only swept 
 by the wintry winds into heaps at the foot of the tall 
 trunks. On the whole, the appearance of the place 
 was fairly indicative of a long period of civil strife, 
 during which pleasure and ornament had been sub 
 ordinated to military needs. To meet these changed 
 conditions, the building had been strengthened for 
 defense, and the lower windows were heavily grated, 
 imparting a prison-like aspect strangely out of keep 
 ing with the general character of the structure. 
 
 The smaller and slighter of the two men now took the 
 lead and went straight toward a certain portion of the 
 building. No light was visible, nor was there any 
 sign of life about the place ; but he did not hesitate. 
 Stooping, he gathered up a handful of gravel, and 
 threw it against the casement of a second-story win 
 dow so lightly, that none but a waiting ear would have 
 caught the slight rattling sound. In a moment the 
 shutter was noiselessly opened, showing a light burn 
 ing within and the outlines of two feminine figures 
 peering down. Apparently, the result of their recon 
 naissance was satisfactory, for the next moment a 
 slender cord came down, swaying in the night wind. 
 Then the larger of the two men produced from 
 H
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 under his cloak a small package, which he handed to 
 the other, who unfastened and shook it out, revealing 
 a light silken ladder. To this he attached the end 
 of the cord, which was quickly drawn up again. 
 
 When he had ascertained that the ladder was 
 secure at the top, he placed his foot upon it, and, 
 after a whispered word or two to his companion, 
 mounted the frail support, with the confidence of an 
 expert in such matters. So soon as he had climbed 
 through the window, the ladder was drawn up after 
 him, the shutter closed, and the only sign of life about 
 the habitation was the man waiting below. 
 
 I have been able to describe thus minutely the 
 movements of this pair, because I, Jean Fourcade, 
 was the man who remained outside on guard, in the 
 nipping air of that frosty night. 
 
 My companion I must not venture to thrust so 
 bluntly upon the reader s acquaintance, but must do 
 myself the honor of presenting him more formally, at 
 a fitting time. 
 
 Had the situation in which I found myself been 
 new in my experience, perhaps its romantic interest 
 might have reconciled me to its discomforts. But it 
 had none of the charm of novelty to counteract the 
 keenness of the wintry air. Indeed, I question whether, 
 under the most favorable conditions, the outdoor role 
 in such a performance ever arouses enthusiasm. In 
 my case, at all events, there was all the staleness of 
 familiarity. 
 
 In no cheerful or sympathetic mood, then, I drew 
 my cloak closely about me and set myself to finding 
 
 15
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 a place where I might keep my watch with the least 
 degree of discomfort. As I prowled around, I soon 
 discovered a garden-seat from which I could com 
 mand a full view of my post. Here I ensconced my 
 self and soon sank into a train of sombre reflections. 
 
 I thought of my companion s career, sullied by 
 reckless libertinism. Still I could not too severely 
 condemn him, for I knew both his ancestry and his 
 environment. I had witnessed the death of his father, 
 when a mistress was obtrusively and defiantly present 
 by the dying man s side. I had heard the stories 
 which were in every one s mouth about remoter an 
 cestors, male and female. I had lived with him 
 familiarly for years amid circles in which profligacy 
 was an admired accomplishment and chastity was 
 counted akin to meanness. 
 
 I had myself been drawn into the whirlpool of dis 
 sipation. But now these memories were distasteful. 
 I hated myself for my past weakness. I was in an 
 anchorite mood. But I was young, and love wooed 
 me irresistibly. There rose before my fancy the vision 
 of a fair and beautiful womanhood, at once tender 
 and chaste. If ever a soul thirsted, mine thirsted that 
 night for enduring love, while I kept watch over a 
 criminal assignation. Yes, I craved it as a man per 
 ishing for water in a desert has visions, not of goblets 
 brimming with feverish wine, but of crystal springs 
 bubbling forth from the heart of Nature, living, life- 
 giving, satisfying. 
 
 So utterly did these emotions absorb me, that I was 
 unaware of any one s approach, until the rustle of a 
 16
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 light step on the dry leaves caused me to spring to my 
 feet in alarm and clap my hand on my sword. Then 
 I saw that the intruder was by no means formidable. 
 It was a woman, a young woman, who was already 
 within a few paces of me. 
 
 " Good evening, Monsieur," she said. " I fear you 
 find it cold here, and I have come to ask you within, 
 where you may sit by a fire while you wait." Her 
 voice, which sounded not unfamiliar, was musical and 
 inviting. By the moonlight I caught the coquettish 
 glance of black eyes and the dazzling whiteness of her 
 teeth. The rounded curves of her figure were set off 
 by a cloak, which she drew tightly around her. And 
 the general effect of easy allurement was heightened 
 by a page s cap, which rested jauntily on her head. 
 
 I was instantly conscious of being a man of flesh 
 and blood. My breath came a bit quicker, and a little 
 thrill passed through me, as I thanked her for her 
 courtesy. Still I said some half-hearted words about 
 my duty of staying where I was. 
 
 " Oh, but, Monsieur," she eagerly urged, " there is 
 no need of your remaining here in the cold. There 
 is absolutely no danger. The Baron is away from 
 home, attending the Estates-General at Blois. The 
 household are all asleep. There is absolutely no dan 
 ger. Come inside without fear and warm yourself." 
 
 So saying she came nearer. As she did so, both of 
 us started in amazement. Our recognition was mutual 
 and simultaneous. She was Marie Roseau, one of my 
 intimates in that gay Parisian life which I had but now 
 been recalling with more or less of self-reproach. She
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 was at that time maid to a lady who, as Mademoiselle 
 de Rouet, had been the constant companion of the 
 late King of Navarre, and after his death had married 
 Montesquieu, captain of the Duke of Anjou s body 
 guard, the same who, at Jarnac, blew out Conde s 
 brains, as he sat on the ground, wounded and a 
 prisoner. She was a coarse-natured Gascon girl, 
 with the strong, bold speech and broad accent of her 
 province, passionate in her love and fierce in her hate. 
 Attendance on her superiors had somewhat tamed her 
 manners by imposing something of the self-restraint 
 of well-bred persons. But beneath this outward 
 decorum smouldered her native fire. 
 
 " In Heaven s name, Marie, what are you doing 
 here? " I cried. 
 
 " I have changed my mistress. The other scolded 
 too much. That is all," she answered, shrugging her 
 shoulders. " And you? " 
 
 " Oh, it is the same old story," I answered, jerk 
 ing my thumb in the direction of the window through 
 which my comrade had disappeared ; whereupon both 
 of us laughed, for of old his escapades had been 
 proverbial. 
 
 "But, Marie," I resumed, "how wearisome you 
 must find this dull old chateau after Paris!" 
 
 "Ah, but how do you know that I have not my 
 distractions? " she answered with a coquettish toss of 
 her head. 
 
 " No doubt, no doubt," I replied ; " else you would 
 not be Marie Roseau. But tell me, is your mistress 
 Parisian? " 
 
 18
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Parisian ? By no means ! She is country -born 
 and country-bred. She hoped, when she married the 
 Baron, who is much older than she, that he would 
 take her to see the beautiful city and the court. But 
 he keeps her shut up in this old pile. In my opinion, 
 he is afraid of the gay gallants." 
 
 "Indeed!" I answered; "and, notwithstanding, 
 one of the gay gallants has found the Baron s hidden 
 treasure. How did they chance to meet? " 
 
 " God alone knows. My belief is, these affairs are 
 planned in Heaven or somewhere. You can t hinder 
 them. At all events, they are losing no time, while the 
 Baron is away attending the Estates- General. Oh, 
 let me tell you the strangest thing! She does not 
 know who he really is. I nearly split my sides with 
 laughing, when she said to me, I want you to sit up 
 with me, Marie. The Count de Chambord comes 
 to-night. " 
 
 "Ah! Count de Chambord is it this time? " I ex 
 claimed. "My faith! one must ha". e a better 
 memory than mine to keep the run of his names. 
 But you enlightened your mistress? " 
 
 "Enlightened her! Par Dieu, no! He slipped 
 two pistoles no doubt he could not give more into 
 my hand the first time he came. And, after all, it is 
 no affair of mine. Madame takes her own risks." 
 
 By this time we had drawn very near together. 
 My arm had somehow got about her waist, and she 
 was leaning on me. In the presence of this warm 
 creature close beside me, my self-reproachful feelings 
 of a few minutes ago had quite gone. My blood
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 went through my veins like a mill-race. Pleasure had 
 taken the helm and thrown care and trouble over 
 board. 
 
 " Come, Jean," said the girl, " why do we lose time 
 gossiping, like two old women, in the cold ? " And she 
 drew me toward the house with a merry laugh. 
 
 With a faint show of resistance I said, " I dare not. 
 I am here on guard, you know." 
 
 "Bah! what nonsense the boy talks!" she said 
 banteringly. " Have I not told you, silly fellow, 
 there is absolutely no danger? The Baron is away at 
 Blois ; the household are all asleep ; and if there were 
 danger, surely you could learn it more quickly within 
 than outside." 
 
 There was no resisting this reasoning. And who 
 could withstand such persuasive pleadings, enforced 
 by sparkling eyes and a hand drawing me toward the 
 house? 
 
 I yielded, with seeming reluctance, but with real 
 delight. Fate, it seemed, had decreed me a good 
 fortune that night, whether I sought it or not, and I 
 bowed to her will. 
 
 As we bent our steps toward the chateau I said : 
 " Ah ! what a lucky dog I am to find you here, Marie ! 
 But, pray, by what providence did you know that I 
 was waiting outside? " 
 
 This question I asked in good faith, forgetting at 
 the moment that our meeting was seemingly as un 
 expected to her as it certainly was to me. 
 
 " Oh, dame! " she answered lightly, " I knew that 
 where he was you were likely to be." 
 20
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Then I remembered that she had at first accosted 
 me as if I were a stranger. At once something com 
 pounded of suspicion, jealousy, and disgust rose 
 within me. 
 
 " Yet," said I, coldly, withdrawing my arm from 
 her, " you spoke to me as if I were a stranger. You 
 were surprised, when you recognized me." 
 
 " Oh, you believed that! That was all a pretense. 
 I knew, before I left the house, who was outside. 
 When I looked down from Madame s window and 
 saw two men, I knew surely that one was you." 
 
 The falsehood seemed palpable. The girl had cer 
 tainly come out, I believed, in ignorance that I was 
 there. By this time, besides, a complete revulsion had 
 taken place in my feelings. My former sentiments 
 had returned in full force. 
 
 "Why don t you cease your lies?" I retorted 
 haughtily. Then I added scornfully, " Confess the 
 truth. You were mousing, like an owl flitting about 
 in the night, and to the owl one mouse is as good as 
 another." 
 
 "Jean Fourcade," she replied angrily, "are you 
 bent on insulting me? Men have been killed for less 
 than you have said to me." And there was a fierce 
 ring in her voice that showed her in dead earnest. 
 
 " Little I care whether or not you are offended," I 
 retorted loftily. " You said, a little while since, that 
 you have your diversions. Probably mousing by 
 night is one of them." 
 
 For a moment or two the girl was speechless with 
 rage. With her bosom heaving, her eyes rolling and 
 
 21
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 flashing, and her teeth set, she was a picture of a Fury. 
 Then by a powerful effort she regained her self-con 
 trol. After a little, her manner almost incredibly 
 changed, she said coaxingly, " Come, let us forget 
 these foolish words. We are old friends. Come 
 inside and warm yourself." 
 
 "Never!" I answered haughtily. "I have done 
 with you." 
 
 " Then you don t care for me any more? " and her 
 voice actually quavered as she uttered the words. 
 
 "Care for you!" I flung out scornfully. "When 
 did I ever care for you ? It was but a pastime." 
 
 At this her anger began to rise again ; but she was 
 struggling bravely with it. With her voice low and 
 hoarse with suppressed feeling, she said, " Ah, you 
 love another!" 
 
 "My faith! you take much upon you, when you 
 talk thus," was my haughty reply. " What if I love 
 another? Do I belong to you? " 
 
 There was silence for a moment. The girl hesi 
 tated in the great struggle to control her feelings. 
 Meanwhile something was tugging at my heart and 
 bidding me relent and be kindly and human ; but 
 some perverse impulse urged me on the wilful course 
 I had taken. 
 
 Marie came forward timidly now, laid her hand on 
 my arm, and said pleadingly, as if she were studiously 
 putting out of mind my harsh words and trying to win 
 me over, " Won t you come with me, Jean? " 
 
 If, at that moment, I had taken her in my arms, I 
 should have done what I was strongly moved to do ; 
 22
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 and how different would have been the course of this 
 story ! Alas ! the demon of perverse self-will was up 
 within me. I threw her off roughly, saying, " Be 
 gone, ! You have no need of me. Lovers are 
 
 never lacking to one who seeks them." 
 
 Scarcely were the cruel words spoken, when I was 
 deeply ashamed of the unmanly insult and would 
 gladly have recalled it. But it was too late. Marie 
 Roseau stood for a moment, a picture of impotent 
 rage. Then, hissing out a horrible oath and shaking 
 her clenched hand at me, she almost shrieked, " Dog! 
 You shall pay for this," and swept away like a whirl 
 wind. 
 
 A moment later I was standing at the door of the 
 chateau, gently tapping, hoping she would hear me 
 and open it ; but there was no response, and I dared 
 not knock aloud, for fear of arousing some sleeping- 
 inmate. 
 
 How I longed to see Marie open that door! I 
 should have thrown myself into her arms, nay, at her 
 feet, and implored forgiveness; for I was over 
 whelmed with shame at my brutality. Certainly the 
 girl had been good to me in her way. Undoubtedly 
 she was fond of me. And this I had requited with 
 a wanton insult. Besides, was it not quite likely that, 
 though she had not known me to be outside, she had 
 thought it very probable and had come out on the 
 chance? 
 
 I would have given my hand to see her come forth 
 and to have the opportunity of atoning for my 
 cowardly offense. Then, if she had accepted my 
 23
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 contrition, what ? Ah, well! It was of little use to 
 think of that now, when a locked door separated us. 
 
 Bitterly I reproached myself for what I had said 
 and done. I had not even the Pharisee s satisfaction 
 in the self-complacent sense of righteousness. For 
 well enough I knew in my heart that it was not even 
 a spasm of virtue that had moved me, but a mere wil 
 ful caprice such an assumption of lordly superiority 
 as men are apt to put on, when women woo. 
 
 So I remained in the sharp night air, a prey to my 
 keen self-reproaches. Even the material side of the 
 subject was not to be forgotten. There I was in the 
 eager and nipping night air, my hands and feet tingling 
 with cold, while, had I acted reasonably and as my 
 former relations with Marie Roseau warranted her in 
 expecting that I would, I should have been com 
 fortably ensconced before a bright fire, with her by 
 my side and with a flagon of good red wine before me. 
 
 So the time wore slowly away. It seemed to me 
 interminable. At last the sash was stealthily raised, 
 the ladder was let down, and my companion de 
 scended. The homeward ride was swift and silent. I 
 was in no mood for conversation. Still less did I think 
 of relating my little adventure. I should have been 
 laughed at for a fool, and, as I felt, with too good 
 reason. After caring for our horses, I crept into my 
 bed, cold, comfortless, and bitter. 
 
 The next morning my companion appeared bright 
 
 and smiling as usual, full of gay repartee, and, as soon 
 
 as the business of the day was despatched, rode off 
 
 with a hunting-party. That man of steel frame never 
 
 24
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 knew fatigue. After marching all the day, he was 
 ready to dance all the night, or, when he had money, 
 to gamble till daylight, or, leaving the ball-room, to 
 lead a surprise party to strike some outpost of the 
 enemy. 
 
 Two days later, when my comrade notified me to 
 be in readiness to ride that night, I was overjoyed. 
 I longed to have an opportunity of making amends 
 to Marie Roseau for my brutality. Now I should 
 have the chance, and I was confident of my ability 
 to regain her affection. Then, when she had ac 
 cepted my penitent confession ah! let the future 
 take care of itself. 
 
 But how was the interview to be brought about ? 
 Certainly, Marie would not seek me. That was not 
 to be dreamed of. I must open the communication. 
 There was but one way : I must send her a note by 
 my companion, when he entered the chateau. I 
 wrote a few lines, in which I imploded her to meet 
 me and give me an opportunity of seeking her forgive 
 ness. I signed the note, " Yours forever, J. F." 
 
 This I handed to my companion, as we rode toward 
 Bonrepos that night, and I asked him to deliver it. 
 " Ah, you sly dog! " he exclaimed laughingly. Then 
 he began to catechize me, and at last he drew from 
 me the whole story of the meeting. When he heard 
 how it ended, he turned in his saddle, looked at me 
 in amazement, and gave a long whistle. 
 
 "You fool!" he said deliberately. "I do many 
 silly things, but never anything like that." Then he 
 went on to lecture me roundly. " Do you know," 
 25
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 he concluded, "what you have done? You have 
 wounded that girl s pride and made an enemy of her. 
 It is ten to one she won t so much as read your note. 
 And, let me tell you, there is no enemy so bitter as a 
 woman scorned. You will hear from her, when you 
 least expect it. Trust me for that. Else I know 
 nothing of womankind." 
 
 The night was moonless, starless, and intensely 
 cold, with a threat of snow. With difficulty, owing 
 to the darkness, we made our way through the miles 
 of forest which we must traverse; but at last we 
 reached our destination. 
 
 As before, we tethered our horses at some distance 
 and then cautiously approached the mansion. My 
 companion made his presence known in the same 
 manner as on the former occasion, and there was the 
 same evidence of his being expected. As before, two 
 persons appeared at the window. The ladder was 
 made fast. As he was about to mount it, I implored 
 him in a whisper, for God s sake, not to tarry long, 
 else I should freeze. He promised that he would re 
 join me in a half-hour. 
 
 It was too cold to sit still. Therefore I did not 
 occupy the bench on which I had lately sat, but saun 
 tered moodily about the grounds, littered with leaves 
 fallen from the great trees, anxiously awaiting Marie s 
 appearance. Would she come? Once I paused in 
 my walk and was leaning against one of the trees, 
 when, in the breathless stillness, I heard a rustling 
 sound. I was on the alert at once. Evidently some 
 object was moving stealthily over the dry leaves, quite 
 26
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 otherwise than Marie would have come. I kept my 
 post behind the tree and waited to see what it was. 
 Presently two men crept by, within a few feet, toward 
 the garden-seat, which was perhaps two rods away. 
 It flashed across me that they were seeking me. To 
 alarm my comrade was impossible, since they were 
 between me and the house; but it occurred to me, 
 that if I left the spot for a time, and they failed to 
 find me, they would conclude that I had gone away 
 and would abandon their attempt. I seized the op 
 portunity, therefore, while the rustling of their move 
 ments would drown whatever sound I might make, 
 and swiftly stole away in the opposite direction, made 
 a little circuit, and reached the horses. Then I 
 mounted my own and rode away, hoping that if my 
 pursuers, failing to find me, should come upon my 
 comrade s horse alone, they would infer that I had 
 escaped them and would give up their attempt. 
 
 I durst not, however, go far or remain away long, 
 lest my companion, coming from the house without 
 warning, might fall unexpectedly into their hands. 
 Therefore, after riding about aimlessly for a while, I 
 cautiously returned to the spot where I had left the 
 other horse, my pistols loosened in the holsters, in 
 readiness for an emergency. The two animals neighed 
 to each other, but there was no other sound and no 
 sign of an enemy near. I fastened my own beast 
 once more. 
 
 It was now high time for my comrade to appear, 
 if he kept his word. " But how much is a lover s 
 promise to be trusted?" I bitterly thought. Still I 
 27
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 must get near to the house to warn him of possible 
 danger. Not knowing what ambuscade might be 
 awaiting me, I made my approach very slowly and 
 cautiously, reconnoitring every step, a pistol in the 
 right hand, my drawn sword in the left. The coast 
 seemed clear. Soon, to my great relief, I saw the 
 window opened and my comrade descend. Just as 
 I hastened forward to meet him, from behind a tree 
 a man sprang forth on my left and struck at me with 
 a dagger, while, at the same moment, a second rushed 
 at me from the opposite side. The attack was so swift 
 and sudden, that I could not turn quickly enough to 
 bring my pistol to bear, but could only by a quick 
 movement of my body escape the direct force of the 
 blow, so that the steel, which was aimed at my heart, 
 glanced along a rib and plowed a furrow in my side 
 and back. In an instant I shot the villain dead. 
 At the same time my comrade intercepted the other, 
 who immediately turned and fled. 
 
 " We must away quickly," cried my companion, and 
 we hastened to the horses. But, even as we left the 
 spot, glancing back, we saw torches moving toward 
 the scene of the late encounter. Evidently the house 
 hold had been alarmed by the report of my pistol. 
 
 We rode as fast as the darkness would allow, not 
 knowing but that pursuit might be at our heels. 
 Meanwhile I felt my clothes becoming saturated with 
 blood, and I was growing faint. My comrade, who 
 did not know of my wound, rode well in front. He 
 was mounted on a fine Sardinian horse, which he had 
 lately bought from Rosny, who is a keen jockey and 
 28
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 is incessantly trafficking with his brother officers. 
 Therefore it was hard for me to keep him in sight. 
 Then, just when we were passing near a house a little 
 retired from the road, in an upper chamber of which 
 a light was burning, my horse stumbled and floun 
 dered for a few paces. I barely had strength to keep 
 my seat. When the animal had recovered himself, my 
 companion, still galloping on, was out of sight. Dizzy, 
 and conscious that I could not keep the saddle longer, 
 my one thought was to summon him to my aid. With 
 a last effort I stopped my horse, pulled the remain 
 ing pistol from the holster, and fired it in the air. 
 Then, essaying to dismount ere I should fall from the 
 saddle, I lurched over and sank unconscious on the 
 ground. 
 
 29
 
 CHAPTER THE SECOND. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE CHANCED INTO 
 A PEACEFUL HAVEN. 
 
 I AWOKE in a room warm and well lighted. I 
 lay in a comfortable bed between sheets of clean 
 linen. My clothing had been taken off; my wound 
 had been dressed and the bleeding stopped. With 
 returning consciousness, how unutterably sweet and 
 homelike seemed my surroundings! A cheerful fire 
 crackled on the hearth, and its flickering light was 
 reflected on the ceiling. Sunk in a delicious languor, 
 I lay motionless, enjoying the delightful transition 
 from the cold and discomfort, the excitement and 
 peril, I had so lately experienced. I dreaded to break 
 the spell by a single word or movement, and when I 
 became aware of a grave figure hovering about me, I 
 closed my eyes and soon sank again into a dreamless 
 sleep. 
 
 When I next awoke, the room was filled with the 
 gray light of a wintry morning, and through the panes 
 of a window from which the curtains were drawn back, 
 I saw snowflakes falling fast. I reflected, with deep 
 thankfulness, that, but for the friendly hands that had 
 30
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 rescued me, they would doubtless have covered my 
 corpse. Instead, how secure and comfortable I was! 
 
 Seated by the fire was an elderly woman, plainly a 
 domestic. I was glad of her presence. It did not 
 call upon me for any explanation of the mishap which 
 had made me an inmate of that room. But, with re 
 turning self -recollection, I became aware that I must 
 be prepared to give some credible account of myself. 
 Naturally my unknown friends would inquire as to the 
 manner in which I had received my wound. What 
 should I say? To tell the truth was clearly impossible. 
 The well-being and reputation of others were at stake. 
 
 On the other hand, the difficulties of the situation 
 were very great. Any story which I might invent was 
 liable to be discredited by some circumstance un 
 known to me. For instance, I did not know where 
 my comrade was, and whether or not he was an inmate 
 of the same house with me. Had he or had he not 
 responded to my signal? Should my story include 
 mention of him or not? 
 
 The likeliest tale to receive credence was one of 
 having been set upon by robbers. And perchance, 
 if I succeeded in eliciting first from my hosts some 
 recital of the circumstances of my rescue, I might 
 catch a clue which would guide me in my own narra 
 tive. Accordingly, I determined to take the initiative 
 by asking the first questions. And the rustic-looking 
 domestic seated by the fire would be a good subject 
 to begin with. Perhaps I could draw from her enough 
 information to make up a plausible tale, ere I should 
 meet more critical persons.
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 I coughed slightly. Immediately the woman rose 
 and came to my bedside. She was a plain, motherly 
 creature. I looked up, pleased and grateful, and said, 
 "Ah, I am so happy and so thankful! How came 
 I here?" 
 
 At once the full flood of her kindliness and feminine 
 volubility was turned loose. Monsieur Roberval, her 
 master, was sitting up late reading, for he was a 
 great student, was Monsieur, when he heard the 
 galloping of horses in the road, then a pistol-shot. 
 He had run out with a lantern to see what was amiss. 
 Thereupon a man who was bending over me, had 
 mounted a horse and galloped away. Then he had 
 come upon me, poor young gentleman! lying, as it 
 were dead, in the road. He had hastened back and 
 summoned a man-servant, and with his help had 
 brought me into the house. Then he had found that 
 I was only in a swoon. He and the good Mistress 
 had tenderly cared for me and dressed my wound, for 
 he was as good as a surgeon himself, was the Master. 
 Until near daylight he had sat by me, and now she 
 had taken his place, while he rested. 
 
 Then came a volley of questions, which I quickly 
 checked by feigning even greater weakness than I 
 felt. But I dropped a remark about having been at 
 tacked by a robber, which satisfied the good soul and 
 drew from her an exclamation of wrath against the 
 villain. I hoped that I should be equally successful 
 with her master and mistress in accounting for myself ; 
 and there was no reason why I should not, unless some 
 report should reach them from the scene of my late 
 32
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 adventure. At all events, I had learned enough from 
 my nurse to be able to invent a fairly passable story. 
 
 Clearly, my comrade had ridden back, on hearing 
 my pistol-shot. But why had he absconded so quickly, 
 when a third person appeared on the scene ? No 
 doubt he dreaded recognition. 
 
 I was thankful, however, that he had acted thus. 
 It gave ample color to the story which I purposed 
 telling. The man who had been seen stooping over 
 me should figure as my assailant, and his cowardly 
 flight, so soon as a light appeared, was in keeping with 
 his alleged attempt to murder and rob me. All seemed 
 easy enough, if only the true story did not come to 
 the knowledge of these good people. I dreaded 
 being exposed to them as an impostor, but I must 
 take my chances. 
 
 In this situation the one thing that sustained me 
 was the consciousness that I was an innocent sufferer. 
 What comfort there was in that thought ! 
 
 After a time the mistress of the house appeared, a 
 matronly lady of singularly kind appearance and 
 manner. She was dressed well, but simply, as be 
 came the wife of a well-to-do burgher or tradesman, 
 and a rosary about her neck showed her to be a 
 Catholic. When she found me awake and doing well, 
 she was full of the warmest interest and of delight in 
 my well-being. All the motherliness of her heart 
 overflowed toward me. With true delicacy, she asked 
 not a question as to the circumstances which had 
 brought me under her roof. But when I volunteered 
 an explanation, she listened with breathless interest. 
 33
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 I related that I was making a journey of great 
 urgency, which necessitated traveling by night, when 
 I was overtaken by a man riding up furiously behind 
 me and summoning me to halt. I had endeavored 
 to avoid an encounter by the speed of my horse, re 
 serving my pistol for an emergency, and should have 
 eluded my assailant, had not my animal stumbled. As 
 I reined him up, the villain, dashing by, lunged at me 
 with his dagger and wounded me. I had immediately 
 fired my pistol at him, but had evidently missed my 
 aim, and I had then fainted and fallen from my 
 saddle. 
 
 All this agreed perfectly with what her husband had 
 witnessed. The man whom he had seen bending over 
 me was undoubtedly on the point of robbing me, when 
 he was frightened away. Nothing could be more 
 natural. So far all was well. 
 
 The good lady by her kindly interest soon put me 
 at my ease. Had I a mother ? When I told her 
 that I had one whom I dearly loved, a strong tie was 
 at once established between us. 
 
 By the time the master of the house appeared, two 
 or three hours later, I was already on an assured foot 
 ing. He congratulated me warmly on my narrow 
 escape from death, and spoke of my adventure, of 
 which he had heard the recital from his wife. I was 
 deeply thankful that my story had been so readily be 
 lieved, and I fervently prayed that nothing might 
 come to the ears of these good people which should 
 discredit it. 
 
 I learned that Monsieur Roberval was a Catholic 
 34
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 burgher, of retiring disposition and studious habits. 
 Originally a resident of Rochelle, he had withdrawn 
 from that city, because the Protestant ascendancy was 
 repugnant to him, and the disturbed state of the popu 
 lation harassed him. He had fixed his home in this 
 rural neighborhood, remote, as he hoped, from the 
 turmoil of war. It was a source, therefore, of no 
 little chagrin to him, that the King of Navarre had 
 recently established himself with his forces in this 
 region. He did not doubt that my assailant belonged 
 in the Huguenot camp, and I was very well content 
 to leave him under this impression. 
 
 My observations filled me with admiration for this 
 family s tolerant spirit. Calling myself Paul Sabatier, 
 of Orleans, a name which I chose because of its well- 
 known Protestant affiliations, I was at once designated 
 as a Huguenot in belief. But no question was ever 
 asked me on that point. The kindness of my host 
 was not marred by the faintest intrusion upon my per 
 sonal reserve. Each day it became more and more 
 evident that I had fallen among people of a religious 
 type quite new to me. I had heard of moderate 
 Catholics. I had been told that the Chancellor 
 L Hopital had died broken-hearted, when his efforts 
 to bring about religious freedom had ended in the 
 St. Bartholomew s massacre. But I had never met 
 such persons. And my idea of the faith had been 
 formed from the conduct of its votaries whom I had 
 familiarly known. To combine unbounded profligacy 
 with a certain sort of superstitious devotion seemed to 
 be their conception of religion. 
 35
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 On the other hand, I had not seen much better 
 reason to be well pleased with my co-religionists. My 
 early belief in the necessarily elevating influence of 
 the Reformed faith had been rudely shaken by a wider 
 experience of the world. I had observed too often 
 the same discrepancy between profession and practice 
 as among the Catholics whom I had met. 
 
 It was openly declared by the ministers in their 
 sermons that the greatest hindrance to the success of 
 our arms was, that our leaders constantly angered God 
 by their loose morals and disorderly behavior. The 
 great body of our people were, as they are to-day, 
 middle-class folk, merchants and artisans in the towns 
 and cities, who were, for the greater part, quiet, 
 earnest, faithful Christians, neither bigoted nor licen 
 tious. But it was my misfortune to be thrown with the 
 extreme sorts the fanatical ministers and the plea 
 sure-loving nobles. I had almost come to despair of 
 religion and to distrust it altogether. 
 
 In the family of Monsieur Roberval I found all the 
 deep earnestness of my own early home, but joined 
 with a degree of education and refinement to which 
 my plain parents were strangers. For my host was a 
 student as well as a gentleman, and possessed a 
 scholarship which one would have rarely found among 
 the rural gentry. While he was a Catholic, he always 
 acted and spoke as one would who felt the truth of 
 religion to be something larger than that which was 
 expressed by any creed. I did not wonder, there 
 fore, that he had found Rochelle, under the domination 
 of zealous Huguenot ministers, an intolerable abode. 
 36
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 My days passed delightfully in this peaceful haven. 
 Only one little incident occurred to ruffle the placid 
 surface of my happy life. When I had been about a 
 week in the house of Monsieur Roberval, he handed 
 me, one day, without comment or question, a letter 
 which he said had been left at the door by a man who 
 immediately rode away. It bore the simple and some 
 what remarkable superscription, " To the Wounded 
 Young Man," in a handwriting familiar enough to 
 me. Within were these lines, hurriedly scrawled : 
 
 " MY DEAR JEAN : My heart is torn by the thought 
 of your wound and your suffering, and that I cannot 
 be near you. But I have learned that you are in the 
 hands of kind people and are doing well. Take all 
 the time that you need for your recovery. I miss you 
 greatly, but nothing is stirring here. 
 
 " I was compelled to leave you, much against my 
 will. Our affair has kept itself marvelously quiet ; no 
 whisper of it. Only, some have asked me where you 
 are. I would send you money, if I had any. But you 
 know all that. By the way, I had no chance of de 
 livering your note. She did not show herself. Can t 
 you guess who sent those ruffians after you? What 
 did I tell you? 
 
 " Yours always, 
 
 " HENRY." 
 
 How vividly this missive called up the writer before 
 me ardent, impulsive, and fickle, both generous and 
 niggardly! Doubtless he had no money. But had 
 37
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 his pocket been full, it would have been in his nature 
 to requite the most devoted services with warm words, 
 rather than with hard coin. Some such bitter reflec 
 tion rose in my mind. Here was I, wounded, my life 
 lately in peril, for this man s guilty intrigue. And here 
 was he, leaving me in the hands of strangers as his 
 scapegoat, and scrawling a few lines, as if we were 
 equal partners in " our affair." 
 
 How different, too, was the tranquil, homelike 
 existence I was now leading, from that of the camp, 
 which this letter called up before my mind, with its 
 tumult and disorder, its perfervid preaching on the 
 one side, and its rude license on the other! Yet so 
 was I bound to that career, that there was no way of 
 escape from a return to it. 
 
 This incident of the letter was annoying, too, be 
 cause it inevitably threw suspicion on my statement, 
 that I was a stranger merely traveling through those 
 parts. It showed that I had in the neighborhood a 
 friend who knew my whereabouts. But since I could 
 not explain it away, I resolved to ignore it. This 
 proved to be wise. Whatever impression was left on 
 their minds, no reference was ever made to the matter 
 by my courteous hosts. 
 
 For another reason the letter disturbed me. My 
 companion evidently believed what I already strongly 
 suspected that the villains who would have taken 
 my life were instigated by Marie Roseau. Else why 
 was I singled out? So she was my enemy now an 
 enemy capable of taking such a revenge!
 
 CHAPTER THE THIRD. 
 
 SOPHIE ROBERVAL. 
 
 ONE day I sat, wrapped in a warm woolen dress 
 ing-gown of Monsieur Roberval,my feet incased 
 in a pair of his slippers, before a low fire on the 
 hearth. The winter was breaking up, and the mild 
 ness of the air seemed to penetrate my chamber with 
 the promise of spring. All Nature looked radiant and 
 rejoicing, and I, too, felt peaceful and happy. 
 
 Madame Roberval entered the room. " Monsieur 
 Sabatier," said she, with her motherly smile, "you 
 have not yet met my daughter, of whom you have 
 heard me speak. Now it is time that you should 
 know each other. May I bring her here? " 
 
 I had heard of this young lady with more than a 
 passing interest. Now that it was proposed to me to 
 meet her, I began to stammer out my thanks, when 
 the good lady cut them short by stepping out of the 
 room and immediately returning, followed by her 
 daughter. 
 
 With the entrance of Sophie Roberval it was as if 
 the dreamy visions of feminine goodness and loveli 
 ness that had floated through my mind, had all at once 
 39
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 taken bodily form before my eyes. To see was to 
 trust her. In her large, dark, lustrous eyes intelligence 
 and tenderness were met in a rare union and chal 
 lenged instinctive confidence. Her hair, of a deep 
 brown, full of golden reflections, was rolled back from 
 her temples in a way that admirably framed her oval 
 features, something after the manner of an antique 
 medallion, and showed to advantage her high fore 
 head. 
 
 My first experience as I encountered her clear, 
 steadfast eyes was one of a sort of guilty confusion. 
 My whole past stood rebuked and self-convicted. But 
 this wore away, and I became entirely at my ease, 
 when I found how utterly simple and friendly she 
 was. The uppermost feeling which she inspired at 
 the first meeting was trust. No one could doubt 
 those truthful eyes. Guile and suspicion seemed 
 equally foreign to her. There was withal an air of 
 cheerfulness about her that seemed to diffuse itself 
 through the room, and a certain movement of the 
 
 O 
 
 corners of her mouth showed that laughter lurked 
 there. I felt that here was a fresh, sweet, wholesome 
 nature a girl who, if she loved a man, would shine 
 into his life like a perpetual sun, and be loyal, too, as 
 the sun is true to his orbit. 
 
 Moreover, what helped me to regain my self-pos 
 session was the memory of that scene under the walls 
 of the chateau of Bonrepos. Often, during the inter 
 vening days, my mind had reverted to that occurrence 
 which had led to so momentous consequences ; and 
 always I had found myself uncertain about it some- 
 40
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 times regretting it and reviling myself for it, sometimes 
 glad of it. I knew that it was simply an impulsive 
 act, not the expression of any clear principle. I did 
 not know how to interpret myself. Now, in the pres 
 ence of Sophie Roberval, all was clear. I knew that 
 it was the unconscious effort of my nature yearning 
 for something better than animal pleasures. Her first 
 glance seemed to reveal me to myself. Her second 
 gave me hope, by lighting up possibilities within me 
 that had slumbered in the dark. From henceforth I 
 was consecrated to the ideal, for the ideal had now 
 become concrete. And the consciousness of that 
 purpose imparted calmness in her society. What 
 hindered but that I should make my future worthy of 
 her and of such as she was, since I had already be 
 gun aright ? And how thankful I was for that caprice 
 that had both set me on the right road and had led 
 to my knowing Sophie Roberval! 
 
 Our conversation was trivial enough, but for me at 
 the least it was like a ripple on the surface of deep 
 waters stirred to their very bed. When Sophie and 
 her mother retired, promising that they would visit me 
 again the next day, my thoughts were busy recalling 
 every look and every inflection of her voice. 
 
 I shall not dwell on the details of the happy days 
 that followed. To me, by contrast with the years 
 that preceded them, they were an experience of 
 paradise. Every day Madame Roberval brought 
 her daughter to sit with me, and that daily visit of 
 the lovely Sophie filled my life to the brim, first with 
 happy anticipations, then with delightful memories.
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 When I was sufficiently recovered to leave my 
 chamber, a new happiness opened before me, for now 
 I shared the family life. I ate at their table. By 
 their fireside I took part in their familiar conversation. 
 I sat for hours with Madame Roberval and her 
 daughter, as they sewed or embroidered. In their 
 friendly estimation, I was an agreeable reader, and 
 they often called on me to exercise my talent of this 
 kind for their entertainment. I had seen more of life 
 than these simple, friendly folk. And something, it 
 might be, in my manner and conversation showed my 
 acquaintance with a larger world than theirs. At all 
 events, there was an unmistakable deference in all 
 their friendliness. Perhaps the mystery of my coming 
 enhanced it. For, after all, they were women and 
 shared their sex s love for the romantic. 
 
 Here was a thing, however, that troubled me 
 deeply. The scant items of information about my 
 self which I had imparted could hardly be supposed 
 to satisfy reasonably prudent people. By mutual con 
 sent, nothing was asked on one side, nor said on the 
 other, as to my history, my occupation, my family, 
 and other such matters. Clearly, however satisfac 
 tory this arrangement might be as the basis of a 
 friendly courtesy, it could not possibly be the ground 
 of a final and complete understanding. Before I 
 could take a permanent place, as I hoped that I 
 should, in the regard of the Robervals, I must secure 
 their confidence. While I remained an unknown 
 stranger in their midst, I could not expect more than 
 the hospitable friendliness which they continually 
 42
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 evinced. Meanwhile, their attitude of careful ab 
 stinence from a single inquiry seemed a tacit invita 
 tion to me to declare myself. 
 
 It pressed heavily upon me, that, when I longed 
 above all things to be taken into their entire confi 
 dence. I occupied a false and anomalous position in 
 their eyes. Though not consciously an impostor, I 
 felt deeply ashamed that my coming into their fam 
 ily circle had been accompanied and explained by 
 a falsehood, which must certainly some day be con 
 fessed. But how could I reveal the truth, when 
 its consequences would be so fraught with evil to 
 others? 
 
 No doubt because of this mystery surrounding me, 
 I was never left alone with Sophie. Cordial and 
 gracious as she was, Madame Roberval was still the 
 careful mother. If some domestic occasion called 
 her momentarily from the room where I sat with her 
 daughter and herself, she quickly returned. I knew 
 that she was right. What mother of ordinary prudence 
 would throw her young daughter alone in the com 
 pany of a stranger, whose silence as to all that con 
 cerned him was a most provoking puzzle? 
 
 When I was permitted to go out of doors, what a 
 delight it was to drink in the fresh air once more! 
 The spring was by this time well begun. Ah, those 
 happy days, when I strolled in the grounds at the rear 
 of the house, under the trees covering themselves with 
 young leafage, or basked on a bench in the genial 
 sunlight! Those were halcyon days indeed, and life 
 was rich for me. Within doors it was filled with the 
 43
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 sunny presence of Sophie, out of doors with the con 
 stant thought of her. 
 
 I deeply felt that this gentle, pure, lovely girl had 
 taken complete possession of my whole nature. I 
 gloried in the fact. It had lifted me out of myself 
 and given me a hope and an aspiration new in my 
 experience. 
 
 How could I consent to drop out of her life, as I 
 had by accident dropped into it? And yet to this 
 fate I must resign myself, unless I was prepared to 
 avow myself for what I was. Could I expect a girl, 
 however trustful, to give her love to a stranger who 
 withheld from her his confidence? All her life was 
 open before me in its beautiful simplicity. Could I 
 do less than reveal mine, such as it was? 
 
 What emphasized these considerations was the 
 imminent necessity of my departure. I was now 
 able to travel. There was no excuse for my longer 
 stay. Go I must right soon ; but go I would not 
 without, at the least, such a partial explanation as 
 would give me some assured footing in the estimation 
 of the Robervals some right, I hoped, to call them 
 my friends. But how could it be done? There was 
 my perplexity. 
 
 One morning I seated myself on the garden-bench 
 in the warm sunlight. Here I sank into a train of 
 thought so absorbing, that I was not aware of the 
 change, when the sky became overcast and a chill 
 wind sprang up. Presently there was a light step 
 near me, and, looking up, I saw Sophie Roberval 
 approaching with a cloak in her hand. 
 44
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Monsieur Sabatier," she said, " the air has grown 
 so chill, that I feared you might take cold, and I have 
 brought you this covering." 
 
 "Ah, Mademoiselle," I cried, " how good you are! " 
 Then, by an irresistible impulse, I seized her hand, as 
 she extended it with the cloak, and for a single in 
 stant pressed it under the folds of the garment. Was 
 it fancy or reality, that her soft hand lingered for a 
 moment in mine? Emboldened to utter what was 
 swelling up in my heart, I said in low tones, " How 
 cruel is my fate, that I must so soon leave you! Shall 
 I be remembered? Ah, Mademoiselle, my heart and 
 soul are wholly yours! If I might know that you 
 cared for me even a little! " 
 
 She said nothing, but her eyes met mine with a look 
 full of tenderness and sadness. My love fed on it 
 long afterward. In an instant she was gone. 
 
 That incident brought me to a rapid decision. I 
 resolved that I would, at all hazards, avow myself to 
 her parents in my true character and position, and ask 
 their consent to my return to visit them and woo their 
 daughter. This done, I would take my departure. 
 
 At noon I met the family at dinner. Never did 
 Sophie seem to me so lovely the more, perhaps, be 
 cause there was about her an unmistakable air of ab 
 straction and of sadness. Was she thinking of what 
 I had said to her as to my intended departure and my 
 feelings? A lover could not believe otherwise; and 
 that thought gave color to my hopes. 
 
 That afternoon I sat again on the bench in the 
 garden, pondering on what I should say in the inter- 
 45
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 view which I purposed seeking that evening with her 
 parents. On the next day, whatever might be the de 
 cision of Monsieur and Madame Roberval, I would 
 take my departure. I looked forward to the momen 
 tous occasion half in hope, half in fear. 
 
 The house occupied by the Robervals stood on the 
 edge of a great wood. On the other side were open 
 waste lands, sloping to a fen. The whole was part 
 of the wide estate of the Baron of Bonrepos, to whom 
 my hosts were tenants. This circumstance, when I 
 learned it, naturally interested me deeply. 
 
 As I sat in deep thought, I was roused by the dis 
 tant cry of a hawker. Instantly I sprang to my feet 
 and hastened to the garden wall. Clambering up 
 half-way, and securing a foothold on a projecting 
 stone, I looked forth. Coming up from the fens at a 
 gallop was a party, the leader of which was calling and 
 whistling to a falcon, which was flying toward the 
 wood beyond the Robervals house, in a course lead 
 ing directly toward me. At the prospect of the bird s 
 escape, the horseman in front put forth his utmost 
 efforts to reclaim it, while he alternately whistled and 
 called, using all the arts familiar to the craft. My 
 interest riveted me to the spot where I stood. 
 
 At last the bird faltered, as if hesitating, then 
 wheeled and began to circle. The sportsman re 
 doubled his exertions to allure it. By this time the 
 party had halted within a short distance, but so ab 
 sorbed in their pursuit, that they took no note of me, 
 standing with my body half exposed above the wall. 
 Several times the falcon wheeled above their heads. 
 46
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Then she began slowly to descend in a spiral flight. 
 At last she dropped straight on the extended wrist of 
 her master, who stroked and caressed and then quickly 
 hooded her. "Bravo! bravo!" went up from the 
 attendants, and I incontinently joined in the cry. 
 
 Just then one of the men, catching sight of me, rode 
 up close to the leader and said something to him, 
 whereupon he turned quickly and gave me a piercing 
 look. He was a powerfully built, swarthy man in 
 middle life, with grizzled hair and with strong aquiline 
 features and an imperious air. A scar, which seamed 
 his right cheek from a little below the eye down to 
 the roots of his pointed beard, gave added grimness 
 to his harsh features. 
 
 At once it flashed into my mind, that this was 
 doubtless the Baron of Bonrepos. Still, having 
 shown myself, I could not now retreat without 
 creating suspicion. I remained where I was, facing 
 the party with all the indifference of manner I could 
 assume. There was a hurried consultation between 
 the leader and his attendants. Then the former 
 turned again and faced me squarely with a black 
 look full of suspicion. I stood my ground and met 
 his stare with firmness. 
 
 A moment more and the whole party rode off to 
 ward the front of the house and were lost to my view, 
 as they passed around it. 
 
 This incident disquieted me not a little. What was 
 the meaning of that look and of the remarks of which 
 I was plainly the subject? It must be, that I was 
 recognized; but how and by whom? 
 47
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 A few moments later, glancing toward the house in 
 my anxiety, I saw at one of the rear windows of the 
 second floor some one eagerly beckoning to me. I 
 hurried forward. It was Sophie. When I had come 
 near enough, I saw that she held a paper in her hand. 
 In a moment it came fluttering down. On it was 
 scrawled : " Fly this instant. Your life is in danger. 
 Do not enter the house. Lead your horse out by the 
 wicket and escape through the woods. Farewell!" 
 
 There was no time to be lost. Clearly, the danger 
 was pressing. Waving my acknowledgments to So 
 phie, who still lingered watching me, I hastened to 
 the stable. I had more than once visited my horse, 
 and I knew where his equipments were. To saddle 
 and lead him out was a moment s work. As I came 
 out from the stable and turned toward the wicket 
 close by, I cast a last glance toward the house, and 
 saw a white hand waving to me a signal to begone. 
 
 A by-path through the wood led me, after going a 
 short distance, into the road to Limoges. My horse 
 was fresh, and, fearing that I might be pursued, I rode 
 at a sharp gallop, which soon removed all danger of 
 my being overtaken. As I neared my destination, I 
 drew rein and took time for thought. 
 
 What a situation mine was! I found myself sud 
 denly snatched away from the girl whom I loved, and 
 without having uttered a word of the indispensable 
 explanations! Moreover, a new complication had 
 arisen in the appearance of the Baron of Bonrepos. 
 In what way this was connected with the danger of 
 which Sophie had given me warning, I could easily 
 48
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 surmise. Thus my position with the Robervals was 
 now certainly compromised. I could only determine 
 to seek them, at the earliest occasion, and vindicate 
 myself by telling the truth. 
 
 This is perhaps a suitable time for giving to the 
 reader such an account of myself as it was my in 
 tention to offer, in brief, to Monsieur and Madame 
 Roberval. 
 
 49
 
 CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 
 
 JEAN FOURCADE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS LIFE. 
 
 I WAS born in a cottage near the castle at Pau, in 
 Beam, in which dwelt the old King of Navarre 
 with his daughter, Queen Jeanne d Albret. To the 
 latter s infant son my mother, Jeanne Fourcade, was 
 nurse. I was five years old, when the little prince was 
 born. So it happened that I, being much with my 
 mother in the nursery at the castle, was often set to 
 rock the hope of Navarre in his cradle, which, by the 
 way, was the quaintest in the world a huge turtle- 
 shell. When he began to walk, I guided his tottering 
 steps, and as he grew older and shared the life of the 
 country folk, mixing freely with them and living on 
 coarse fare, for it was his grandfather s wish that the 
 boy should be reared rugged and vigorous, I was his 
 constant companion and, in a measure, his guardian. 
 Being older, and displaying, it would seem, some 
 discretion for my years, I came to be held responsible 
 for him in a way, much as an older brother would have 
 been. Together we roamed the hillsides with goat 
 herds, we climbed precipitous heights, we swam in the 
 swift Gave, and later we hunted and fenced together. 
 50
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 So it came about that I, a mere peasant lad, be 
 came the inseparable companion of him who was first 
 known as Prince of Beam, and now as the King of 
 Navarre. 
 
 I shared his opportunities of education, too, so far 
 as this, that I overheard all the instruction given him, 
 being permitted to sit by while he was with his tutor, 
 Master La Gaucherie. Thus insensibly I was acquir 
 ing a degree of education superior to that of the gen 
 erality of young nobles. 
 
 As time passed by, it was more and more evident 
 how much my queen relied on me as a companion 
 for her son. This was especially apparent, when, 
 owing to the death of his uncle, the Prince of Conde, 
 at the battle of Jarnac, the lad was summoned to take 
 the field as the nominal head of the Huguenot forces, 
 the real command being exercised by the great 
 Admiral, Coligny. Ere we started on our first cam 
 paign, my mistress called me to her, and solemnly 
 bound me to watch over and care for her son. She 
 made me place my two hands within hers and sacredly 
 swear to stand by him, through weal or woe, so long 
 as we both should live. It was a weighty undertak 
 ing, and I little dreamed how much its faithful 
 performance would cost me in the years that were 
 to come. 
 
 The solemnity of my oath first came upon me in 
 all its force, when my queen suddenly died. Then I 
 felt as if my princely foster-brother had been com 
 mitted to my lifelong care, and I was bound, what 
 ever he might do, and into whatever follies he might
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 plunge, not to desert him, but to continue his faithful 
 guardian, so far as I was permitted to be. The situa 
 tion was all the more serious, because I was already 
 beginning to learn a lesson which future years would 
 bring home to me with desperate force. I became 
 aware that I was inextricably bound to share the ex 
 periences of another, whose exalted position exposed 
 him to various powerful temptations, while over his 
 conduct I could not exercise even the faintest con 
 trol. 
 
 This was the frame of mind in which I found my 
 self at the period at which this story opens. I had 
 begun to realize that, whereas I was bound to share 
 the fortunes of my young master, and to share them 
 in a very peculiar and intimate way, I was impotent 
 to mould them ; I must be content to suffer dumbly ; 
 and this exasperated me. 
 
 In the meantime strange things had happened. 
 During an interval of peace, Catherine de Medici had 
 made the amazing proposition of giving in marriage 
 her daughter, Marguerite of Valois, sister of the reign 
 ing king, to my young master, and it had been ac 
 cepted. It was fondly hoped that this union of a 
 daughter of the royal house of France with the leader 
 of the Huguenot party would heal the miserable 
 divisions which rent the country with civil wars, and 
 would bring about a lasting peace. Therefore the 
 prospect of it was hailed by the oppressed party, the 
 Huguenots, with intense delight. For them it was 
 full of bright promise. But by zealous Catholics it 
 was looked upon with exceeding disfavor. They ill 
 52
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 brooked the proposed marriage of their king s sister 
 with the leader of the heretics. 
 
 In furtherance of this union, it became necessary 
 for my mistress to journey to Paris. Thither I accom 
 panied her, as one of her attendants, and it was my 
 sad privilege to witness her sudden and mysterious 
 death in the great city full of those who hated her. 
 Undeterred by this ominous occurrence, my young 
 master pushed the preparations for his nuptials. I 
 was in his train, when he rode to Paris for the great 
 occasion, accompanied by a brilliant following of five 
 hundred Protestant gentlemen. I had my deep mis 
 givings as to the outcome of the union, when I heard 
 whispers, widely current, of the prospective bride s 
 supposed relations with the Duke of Guise. I wit 
 nessed the sullen discontent of the Parisian populace 
 at the presence in their midst of so many jubilant 
 heretics ; I participated in the gorgeous ceremonies of 
 the royal marriage; and, alas! I beheld one of the 
 ghastliest spectacles that the world has ever looked 
 upon, when the rage of the populace burst forth in the 
 massacre of St. Bartholomew s Day, deluging Paris 
 with blood. Scores of my friends perished, but I 
 escaped through the protection of the King s old 
 nurse, who was a Huguenot. My master s life was 
 spared, because he was a prince of the blood ; mine 
 went unscathed, apparently, because I was too obscure 
 for any one to take note whether I lived or died. 
 
 I shared, also, my master s four years captivity at 
 the French court, being only too often his unwilling 
 attendant in the escapades in which he indulged. I 
 53
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 fled with him in 1576, when he took the field as the 
 leader of the Huguenot forces, and later established 
 his quarters at Limoges, with a view to keeping his 
 eye on the Estates-General in session at Blois. It was 
 while we sojourned at this place, that I had the experi 
 ences related in the opening chapters of this book. 
 
 54
 
 CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 
 
 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE. 
 
 T^ROM the narrative contained in the foregoing 
 X chapter it will readily be understood, that when I 
 left the home of Monsieur Roberval, in consequence 
 of the warning given me by Sophie, I went straight 
 to the King of Navarre, and that he was the principal 
 actor in the affair in which I was wounded. 
 
 He was delighted to welcome me back. My com 
 ing, too, was most timely, for I found our little force 
 in the midst of hurried preparations for an instant 
 march. Tidings had come that the enemy had 
 invested Marans, and the garrison stood in need of 
 immediate succor, else the place would surely fall. 
 
 This circumstance dashed my hopes of speedily 
 visiting the Robervals and clearing myself of any 
 imputation which might have been made against me 
 by Bonrepos. I was compelled to content myself 
 with sending Monsieur Roberval a brief letter, in 
 which I thanked him for his hospitality and the gen 
 erous confidence of his family, and deplored the 
 necessity which I had been under of taking a false 
 name and remaining under his roof in an assumed 
 55
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 character. I assured him that, at the earliest day 
 which my duties would allow, I should visit him and 
 make such explanations as would put me in a proper 
 light. In the meantime -I begged him to hold me 
 guiltless of any such wrong-doing as might seem to 
 be justly inferred from the fact of my disguise. This 
 letter I signed with my true name and dated from 
 the headquarters of the King of Navarre. 
 
 When I wrote it, I had no doubt that our expedition 
 for the relief of Marans would be quickly ended, and 
 that we should then speedily return to our quarters at 
 Limoges. In this expectation I was doomed to dis 
 appointment. After raising the siege of Marans, we 
 found ourselves involved in a series of petty opera 
 tions, unimportant, but rendered necessary by the 
 activity of the royalist army under Biron. This 
 officer, while he was one of the most skilful soldiers 
 of the day, seemed to have no desire to terminate the 
 war immediately. He was even suspected of having 
 no sympathy with the objects of the all-powerful 
 Catholic League. 
 
 At all events, whatever were the grounds of his 
 policy, the campaign degenerated into a series of petty 
 manoeuvres, hardly worthy of being called warfare. 
 The most that was accomplished on either side was 
 the occasional seizure of some castle or town, either 
 by artifice or by open assault, and these were the 
 only occasions on which there was any serious en 
 counter. 
 
 This species of partizan activity kept us on the alert 
 and moving from point to point all the summer, while 
 56
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 it produced no satisfactory results for either cause. 
 The only good effect which I could observe was, that 
 for my master it was a valuable school. In it he 
 rapidly developed the soldierly qualities of quick 
 perception, prompt decision, and rapid execution. 
 Thanks to these, he was able to hold the field with 
 our small force against the veteran Biron, at the head 
 of a much larger army. It was his first campaign as 
 a leader, and the manner in which he conducted it 
 showed to the friends of our cause that we had a 
 champion who could neither be overawed nor out 
 witted. Huguenot veterans who had followed Coligny 
 in the earlier wars, when the great Admiral was the 
 friend and counselor of the Queen of Navarre, said 
 that the son inherited the courage and skill and readi 
 ness of resource with which the mother had held our 
 little Beam against a host of enemies. 
 
 At last the patience of the court was worn out by 
 the dilatory tactics of Biron and the adroit manoeuvre- 
 ing of his small force by the King of Navarre. If he 
 could not be crushed, he must be cajoled. The King 
 of France felt himself humiliated by the obstinate re 
 fusal of his brother-in-law to treat, except on his own 
 terms, while the growing ascendancy of the League, 
 clamorously demanding the suppression of heresy, 
 made his own position ever more and more precarious, 
 unless he should succeed in quickly bringing the King 
 of Navarre to submission. 
 
 Then Catherine undertook to deal with her rebel 
 lious son-in-law, not doubting that her familiar methods, 
 which had proved themselves effective with his father, 
 57
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 would be equally potent with the son. She forgot, how 
 ever, that she was dealing with the offspring not only 
 of Antony of Bourbon, but of Jeanne d Albret ; and 
 she had yet to learn that the atmosphere of freedom 
 and the responsibility of command were rapidly trans 
 forming the supple and despised dependent of the 
 Louvre into a personality more consistent with his 
 position and with his manhood. 
 
 Accordingly, she took the field with her customary 
 following, the select young women on whom she 
 relied for success, when men were to be won, and came 
 to visit the King of Navarre. 
 
 In the interview between her and my master, she ex 
 perienced a discomfiture which was the more notable, 
 because it was unexpected, not alone by her, but by 
 many who dreaded the kind of influence which she 
 would certainly endeavor to exert, and to which his 
 former life at the court of France rendered him so 
 peculiarly susceptible. 
 
 The meeting lasted a long time, and at every point 
 she found her antagonist courteous, but inflexible, in 
 sisting on the same terms, not to be turned by either 
 argument or cajolery, " asking more," she said, " with 
 a handful of men at his back, than Coligny had ever 
 dared to demand, at the head of seventy thousand." 
 One point only of the interview I particularly recall. 
 Catherine, worn out by the obstinate insistence of her 
 son-in-law, asked wearily, " What, then, do you want, 
 my son? " 
 
 " Nothing, Madame, that you have to offer," he re 
 plied, at the same time casting toward the attendant 
 58
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 bevy of fair young women a droll look, that conveyed 
 a world of meaning in its sly suggestion. Her efforts 
 availed nothing, and Catherine went away discomfited, 
 realizing that in her son-in-law there was a toughness 
 of fibre which she had never dreamed of. 
 
 In another particular, too, the Protestant world was 
 agreeably surprised by qualities now displayed for the 
 first time by my master. The public papers which he 
 put forth, from time to time, stating the grievances of 
 the Reformers in the frequent violations of the pledged 
 faith of the crown, and arguing and defending their 
 position, were marked by consummate ability. These 
 documents were drawn, as to their substance, by my 
 master s wise counselor, Duplessis-Mornay ; but it was 
 himself who inspired them and who gave them that 
 force and directness which are so marvelous in his 
 letters. 
 
 Altogether the summer of 1577 closed satisfactorily 
 for us. In the field my master had baffled a far 
 superior force, led by the best general of the crown. 
 In spite of most inadequate resources and of the diffi 
 culties caused by the jealous distrust of his stern cousin 
 Conde, who always held himself aloof and spoke 
 of the King of Navarre as "lost in depravity and 
 worldly lusts," he had held his own against both the 
 forces and the insidious overtures of the court. He 
 had impressed upon friends and enemies alike the 
 conviction, that he was not a contemptible weakling, 
 as had been scornfully declared on one side and 
 feared on the other. 
 
 Early in the following winter we went into quarters, 
 59
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 not again at Limoges, but at Agen. I took the first 
 opportunity of securing leave of my master to visit the 
 Robervals. As I approached the scene of so exquisite 
 happiness for me, I found my heart fluttering between 
 hope and fear. Eight months had elapsed since I had 
 last seen Sophie. During that time I had received 
 no word or sign from her or from any one connected 
 with her. It seemed presumptuous to build so much 
 on the slight tokens of friendly interest which she had 
 shown. How far, too, might not her feeling for me 
 have been the outgrowth of pity? Or, again, how 
 had she been affected by the discovery, that I had be 
 come known to her under a false name? To make 
 matters worse, too, I had been silent through all the 
 intervening months, except the single letter which I 
 had sent to her father ; for I had preferred waiting 
 until I could see her. Certainly the force of appear 
 ances was strong against me. 
 
 On the other hand, there was in the nature of Sophie 
 that which whispered hope. So absolute confidence 
 had I in her gentle trustfulness and in her sweet loyalty, 
 that I could not bring myself to think of her as sepa 
 rated from me by the mere force of outward circum 
 stances, which at the earliest opportunity I could 
 surely explain and clear up. I did not believe her 
 capable of condemning me unheard. 
 
 Moreover, what gave me added confidence was the 
 happy consciousness of loyalty to her. Since I had 
 come to know her, she had reigned alone in my heart 
 and supreme over my conduct. During the months 
 of our separation, her image had been my constant 
 60
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 companion and inspiration, and I rejoiced in knowing 
 that I had lived not unworthily of my love. 
 
 Full of these thoughts and feelings, I approached 
 the house. Whom should I first meet? How should 
 I be received? 
 
 When I came in sight of it, a chill seized me. 
 Every shutter was closed tightly. There was no sign 
 of life or human habitation. I rode around the 
 house. There was only silence and solitude. The 
 trees, already nearly leafless, while their dead foliage 
 lay drifted in heaps against the walls of the house, 
 added to the mournful desolation of the scene. I 
 dismounted, in utter heaviness of heart, and seated 
 myself on the door-step, while the shadows of even 
 ing gathered about me, and the leaves came rustling 
 down upon the neglected flower-beds which Sophie 
 had been wont to tend. 
 
 At last I bethought me that perchance I might find 
 in the neighborhood somebody who might know 
 whither the Robervals had gone. It was a vain 
 hope. The peasants of the vicinity could tell me no 
 more than that they were long since gone six 
 months perhaps. 
 
 Nothing was left to me but to take my way back, 
 in utter dejection, to Agen, and await such opportu 
 nity as chance might throw in my way, if ever, of learn 
 ing what I so much longed to know. 
 
 61
 
 CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 
 
 CATHERINE S FLYING SQUADRON MEETS ITS MATCH. 
 
 IT was now a year and a half since my master had 
 effected his escape from imprisonment. Almost 
 from the beginning, he had repeatedly asked that his 
 wife be allowed to join him. At the first, this demand 
 was met with ridicule and contempt. At one time his 
 messenger was told, that if the King of Navarre would 
 have his consort live with him, he must be reconverted 
 to Catholicism ; at another his envoy was repulsed 
 with actual violence. 
 
 The lady herself was by no means eager to be re 
 united to her husband. She had no ill-will toward 
 him. Indeed, she was an excellent friend and in 
 valuable correspondent, keeping him constantly in 
 formed of all that transpired at the court which might 
 affect his interests. But she had no desire for any 
 closer relations. The life at the Louvre afforded 
 ample opportunities for the freest indulgence of that 
 disposition of which she has herself given us the key 
 in a memorable saying : " If you wish to cease to love, 
 possess the loved object." 
 
 If her affairs of the heart, as may be inferred from 
 62
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 this maxim, were not long-lived, they were varied and 
 frequent. It was this fact, perhaps, which scandalized 
 the King, together with the incessant quarrels between 
 the present incumbent of her affections, Bussy d Am- 
 boise, and the royal favorites, Quelus, Megrim, and 
 Maugiron, that moved her brother to think of send 
 ing her to her husband. She succeeded in postpon 
 ing the evil day, by feigning an illness which required 
 the waters of Spa for its cure. On her way to this 
 famous resort she journeyed leisurely through the Low 
 Countries, doing everything in her power for the 
 interests of her brother Alengon, who had ambitious 
 projects in that direction, and added to her list of 
 vanquished knights Don John of Austria, Philip of 
 Spain s natural brother. He has left on record his 
 estimate of her seductive charms in this sentence : 
 " Although the beauty of this queen be more divine 
 than human, it is better calculated to ruin and damn 
 men than to save them." 
 
 But Henry III. was by this time fully resolved to 
 send his sister to her husband. Perhaps he had begun 
 to suspect that she was doing more for the cause of 
 Navarre, as an inmate of the Louvre, than she could 
 do for it in Gascony or Guyenne. At all events, on 
 the pretext of her daring misdemeanors, she received 
 orders to prepare to join her husband. 
 
 The Queen-Mother thereupon announced that she 
 would escort her daughter to the court of Navarre. 
 In appearance it was a most delicate maternal atten 
 tion ; but my master was too well schooled in his 
 mother-in-law s methods not to understand that her 
 63
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 real object was to win whom she could of his follow 
 ers and divide his party. Unconsciously, however, 
 Catherine brought with her an unfailing antidote for 
 the subtle poison which she proposed to introduce 
 into the Navarrese court. The two queens arrived, 
 attended each by a train of facile and obedient 
 beauties. While these daughters of joy mingled 
 freely with one another in gay intercourse and, to out 
 ward appearance, formed one band, they were in fact 
 hostile forces, destined to be used for opposite 
 purposes. 
 
 A conspicuous figure in Catherine s following was a 
 certain large-eyed, languishing Mademoiselle d Ayelle, 
 a Greek, who had escaped from the taking of Cyprus. 
 This fair Cyprian inherited, perchance, some of that 
 charm which was possessed of old by that goddess- 
 queen of Cyprus who condescended to become the 
 mother of the mortal .^Eneas. At all events, she 
 quickly vanquished my master, who became her 
 obedient slave. The next in importance of our 
 leaders, Turenne, for the stern Conde kept himself 
 aloof from this gay court, fell an easy victim to 
 Cupid s arrow directed by Mademoiselle La Vernay. 
 So far Catherine s cohort seemed to sweep the field. 
 But at this crisis the fine strategy of the Queen of 
 Navarre showed itself. Catherine, besides her femi 
 nine escort of honor, had strengthened her cause, as 
 she fondly hoped, by bringing with her a certain Mon 
 sieur de Pibrac, famous for his eloquent periods, who 
 was expected to exercise his persuasive powers upon 
 the Huguenot deputies of the sterner type. Upon 
 64
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 this Pibrac, as the most formidable foe, the Queen 
 of Navarre directed her own fascinations, while she 
 assigned to her attendant damsels subordinate parts 
 in the great work of keeping the Huguenot leaders 
 loyal, and with so good effect, that his eloquent 
 tongue was soon paralyzed for all purposes but that of 
 praising the Queen of Navarre s beauty and goodness. 
 
 So the merry war went on, the young ladies on one 
 side languishing and ogling for Catholicism, while the 
 opposing cohort smiled and coquetted for Protestan 
 tism, all generously disregarding such personal con 
 victions as they might have. At last, after a campaign 
 which had continued a year and a half, and was utterly 
 barren of the results which she had anticipated, the 
 elder general, defeated by the younger, whom she had 
 herself trained, drew off her forces, outraged, she de 
 clared, at the long delays, which had been purposely 
 planned in order that the Huguenot chiefs "might 
 enjoy the society of her maids of honor." 
 
 When her mother went away, the Queen of Navarre 
 remained, and then began a sort of idyllic existence, 
 which more nearly realized the imaginary delights 
 pictured by my master s grandmother in her " Hep- 
 tameron " than anything else that I have ever wit 
 nessed in real life. The time was spent in agreeable 
 alternations of church-going and love-making, with 
 an occasional interlude of hunting or a short military 
 excursion. The Queen of Navarre has written a brief 
 account of this Arcadian existence. According to 
 her account, the court at Nerac was so delightful that 
 nobody had cause to regret that of France. She says : 
 65
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Nothing was heard of diversity of religion. The 
 King, my husband, and madame the princess, his 
 sister, went to the preaching, and I and my train went 
 to the mass in a chapel in the park. The remainder 
 of the day was passed in innocent amusements, and 
 the afternoon and evening in dancing." The same 
 mutual tolerance which was shown toward each 
 other s religious observances was extended to other 
 matters even more personal. The husband s weak 
 nesses and those of the wife accommodated them 
 selves to each other without friction or unfriendly 
 criticism. The only discordant note was struck by 
 the Huguenot ministers, who from time to time de 
 nounced licentiousness, and once publicly declared 
 that they would not administer the Lord s Supper, 
 until the court should mend its ways. But nobody 
 seemed disturbed by these fulminations. 
 
 My master at this time seemed very happy. For 
 several days, it is true, after the departure of Made 
 moiselle d Ayelle with the Queen-Mother, he ap 
 peared inconsolable. Then it fell to the good fortune 
 of Mademoiselle de Rebours, who had long had as 
 pirations in that direction, to succeed in solacing 
 him. This delicate duty she discharged for some 
 time with great acceptance. 
 
 The court was at this time sojourning at Pau ; but 
 this residence did not please the Queen. She had 
 taken a great dislike to " this little Geneva of a Pau," 
 as she called it, and she urgently begged to be taken 
 elsewhere to live. The court, therefore, returned to 
 N6rac. 
 
 66
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 This change of residence produced another change 
 also, for Mademoiselle de Rebours remained behind, 
 ill. In consequence of this separation, my master fell 
 deeply in love with Mademoiselle de Montmorency, 
 daughter of the Baron de Fosseux. Of this young 
 lady Queen Marguerite has recorded that she con 
 ducted herself at the first with great virtue, and 
 allowed her admirer " only such familiarities as might 
 with all propriety be permitted." But how could a 
 dependent girl long resist her sovereign? Soon a 
 doggerel lampoon became current at court, celebrat 
 ing a certain king who " got all his wife s maids of 
 honor into trouble, but was matched by the good lady, 
 who well knew how to avenge herself." 
 
 Amid these scenes of gaiety I alone was heavy- 
 hearted. All wide France held for me but one 
 woman, and in all wide France I knew not where to 
 seek her. When I contrasted my Sophie with the 
 giddy butterflies who fluttered constantly in the sun 
 shine of pleasure, they seemed to me too frivolous to 
 be worth a moment s thought. They indeed looked 
 on me as a churl destitute of common feeling. To 
 my master it was simply incomprehensible, that a man 
 should be so devoted to the image of one woman, 
 whom he would perhaps never see again, as to be 
 insensible to the attractions of all others. It seemed 
 to him a morbid and alarming symptom, verging on 
 insanity. He expostulated with me gravely and 
 kindly on the danger to my health in this sentimental 
 devotion to an ideal, and insisted that what I needed 
 was something which would keep my blood in vigor- 
 67
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 ous circulation by stimulating my heart. These dis 
 courses had always one text " Take a mistress " ; and 
 he seemed to think that he had produced an irresisti 
 ble argument, when he pointed to the example of the 
 grave Sully, who had already adopted this course, and, 
 under the teaching of Queen Marguerite, was learning 
 to dance, and even was in danger of forgetting his 
 absorbing passion of amassing a fortune. I could 
 only reply that the remedy was little to my liking, and 
 that I was happier in my loneliness than any woman 
 but one could make me. 
 
 As to himself, he soon began to have an experience 
 which might make him feel that the sovereign remedy 
 which he recommended so enthusiastically, was not 
 free from its disadvantages. Mademoiselle de Fos- 
 seux, or Fosseuse (Dimplecheek), as my master chose 
 to call the name, soon began to put on such airs, in 
 consequence of her influence over her lover, as were 
 intolerable to her mistress. The latter, however 
 leniently she dealt with moral irregularities, never 
 forgot that she was " the daughter of a king, the sister 
 of a king, and the wife of a king," and the insolence 
 of one of her maids of honor was on no account to 
 be borne. In consequence, a growing irritation be 
 tween her husband and herself threatened to termi 
 nate the court of love which was in continuous session 
 at Ne"rac. 
 
 At the very time that I witnessed this unhappy 
 
 result of illicit love, an incident occurred that revived 
 
 my hope. A stranger knocked at my door. His 
 
 appearance indicated that he had lately arrived from 
 
 68
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 a long journey. Without comment or explanation, 
 he handed me a letter, and, saying that he would 
 call on the morrow for my answer, went away. The 
 missive was addressed to me in a delicate handwrit 
 ing unknown to me. " It is some prank," I thought, 
 " of one of the giddy girls about the court." I care 
 lessly tore it open. I copy it now as it lies before 
 me, yellow and creased and worn by being long car 
 ried about my person. 
 It runs thus : 
 
 " MONSIEUR : I know not whether I am doing an 
 unmaidenly thing in addressing you, but it seems to 
 me I follow only the dictates of a trustful friendship. 
 A long time has passed since we parted. No word 
 has come from you, save the letter which you sent to 
 my father, promising to make certain explanations. 
 Had it been your purpose to keep that promise, as I 
 doubt not that it was, you would have been hindered 
 by our removal from our former residence. I dare 
 not let you know where we now are, for my father 
 has not only strictly forbidden any communication 
 with you, but your name is not even to be mentioned 
 among us. But I cannot longer endure this suspense. 
 Friendship demands that I give you some opportu 
 nity of making to me such explanation as you would 
 have made to my father. I will not dwell on some 
 thing that you said to me shortly before we parted. 
 Perhaps it was only the idle word of one accustomed 
 to say pleasant things to ladies on fitting occasions. 
 I am a simple girl, unschooled in the ways of the 
 69
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 world. Yet I should be happy in knowing that you 
 are not such as my parents have told me that you 
 are, unworthy of being remembered among us. I 
 know not what it all means, but dreadful suspicions 
 surround you. You came to us under a false name. 
 You had been wounded by some unknown hand. 
 The lord of the manor, so soon as he discovered you 
 here, sought your life. 
 
 " One question haunts me night and day. Only 
 you can answer it. Were you indeed connected 
 with those dreadful occurrences at the neighboring 
 chateau, of which I have heard some rumor ? 
 
 " If you care aught for my continued trust and 
 friendship, my messenger will bring me a letter from 
 you. But I beg you, on your honor, not to seek, by 
 questioning or by following him, to ascertain our 
 present abode. 
 
 " If you can, in all honor and truth, remove the 
 dark suspicions which hang about you, then I am 
 still your friend, 
 
 "S. R." 
 
 Blessed girl! What beautiful trustfulness! In 
 spite of the damnably suspicious circumstances that 
 seemed to infold me, she still had faith and would 
 not condemn me unheard. And while she wrote only 
 of friendship, might I not hope that a tenderer feel 
 ing inspired her letter? 
 
 I wrote to her, protesting my innocence of any 
 wrong-doing. I assured her that my assumption of 
 a false name, and the whole train of circumstances 
 70
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 involving me in apparent condemnation, were due to 
 my desire to shield another. I promised that, if she 
 would procure me an interview with her father, I 
 should make such explanations to him as could not 
 fail to fully acquit me. I implored her to write to me 
 again and to open the way for communication be 
 tween us. And I poured out the utterance of my 
 passionate love, telling her how, during our separa 
 tion, her image had been present with me always, and 
 the thought of her had been my guardian angel. 
 
 What a load her letter lifted off my mind, in the 
 knowledge that she still trusted and cared for me! 
 What sweet hopes it revived! 
 
 When her messenger came on the following morn 
 ing, my letter was ready for him. His eyes glistened 
 when I put in his hand five pistoles and said, " Bring 
 me soon another letter from the same person, and I 
 will give you twice as much."
 
 CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 
 
 HOW A PAIR OF BRIGHT EYES LOST US A TOWN. 
 
 MY master s reputation for repartee was no less 
 well founded than his renown as a gallant. He 
 had an odd, brusque sort of humor that was very 
 effecive in silencing an opponent, by the unexpected 
 turn which he was wont to give to the dialogue. 
 Once, when we had taken Mirande, the mayor of the 
 town came out to meet him with a formal address, 
 which, kneeling, he began to read. My master, 
 hungry and more concerned for his dinner than for 
 hearing a pedantic discourse, listened impatiently to 
 a stilted exordium. Then came the sentence, " I ac 
 knowledge, sire, that this town is yours by civil law, 
 but" 
 
 " Ventre-saint-gris, by canon (cannon) law, too," 
 was the quick rejoinder, and he spurred his horse on 
 and left the astonished official kneeling in the road 
 way. 
 
 This easy bonhomie is one of the things that have 
 made my master beloved among the people. They 
 are wont to say he has a heart for them. 
 
 His fun-loving humor, however, came near to hav- 
 72
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 ing a disastrous consequence on one occasion about 
 this time. One of the towns of security granted to 
 the Huguenots by the Treaty of Poitiers, which closed 
 the war of 1577, was La Reole. Catherine was very 
 desirous of regaining it. But this could be done, if at 
 all, only by treachery, for the town was strongly gar 
 risoned, and commanded by a veteran officer, who 
 had been assigned to this post as a reward for his 
 long and faithful services to the cause, in the course 
 of which he had received numerous and most disfig 
 uring wounds. The Marquis of Ussac was old, and 
 honored as he was brave, and his integrity was 
 deemed incorruptible. 
 
 But one unhappy day the grizzled veteran, lame, 
 and scarred until his face was a veritable patchwork 
 of seams, came to court to wait upon my master. 
 The festivities were then at their height, and this an 
 tique, war-worn figure seemed strangely out of place 
 amid the gallants and beauties of Nerac. 
 
 "Who is this Huguenot Apollo?" asked Cathe 
 rine. So soon as she learned that he was the governor 
 of La Reole, he became an important personage in 
 her eyes. It was not long before I saw her convers 
 ing most affably with him. I watched her manoeu 
 vres with curious interest. Presently she took aside 
 one of her maids of honor, Mademoiselle de Fleury, 
 whispered something in her ear, then brought her for 
 ward and introduced her with great cordiality to her 
 new acquaintance. The young lady took her cue 
 with zest, and soon was engaged in animated con 
 versation with the veteran Huguenot. She drew him 
 73
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 on to tell of his varied experiences in the field and in 
 deadly breaches, to all which she listened with a show 
 of rapt interest, and with many an "Oh!" and 
 "Ah!" meanwhile making effective play with her 
 fine eyes. The poor old man doubtless thought her 
 a most amiable and ingenuous young lady. Not 
 many days later Ussac reappeared at court ; but how 
 transformed ! His white locks were modishly trimmed 
 and frizzled ; his grizzled beard was cut down to a 
 fashionable point, and his mustaches were waxed 
 and curled ; his weather-stained doublet, chafed by 
 his cuirass, had given place to a cherry-colored vel 
 vet suit of the latest cut. So far as the tailor and 
 the barber could rejuvenate him, he was a new man 
 from the crown of his head to the points of his shoes. 
 Poor old Ussac! It was pitiful to see him dragging 
 his lame and halting limbs, covered with their un 
 wonted finery, through the gay crowd, in faithful 
 attendance on the Fleury. As for the young lady, 
 sure of her conquest, she was now as airy and capri 
 cious as she had at the first been alluring. She was 
 leading him a merry dance, to the great entertain 
 ment of all the frivolous crowd. 
 
 One evening, as he approached to converse with 
 her, she said to a group of young men surrounding 
 her, " Make room for my patriarch, my battered 
 Adonis." If the old man did not hear the words, he 
 did not fail to note the titter which followed the re 
 mark, and the grimaces of the courtiers directed at 
 him. Without a word, he turned and limped away. 
 Perhaps the old soldier would have gone back to his 
 74
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 post cured of his folly by this humiliation. But, by ill 
 fortune, as he was passing out of the ball-room, he 
 met my master, who was in one of his most boister 
 ous moods. 
 
 " Come, Monsieur d Ussac," he cried, slapping the 
 old soldier familiarly on the shoulder, " how youth 
 ful you look ! You are always adding to your laurels 
 by new conquests. They tell me that Mademoiselle 
 de Fleury is hopelessly enamoured of you. Let me 
 beg you not to be too difficult. Even an old soldier 
 may bend to love." 
 
 The veteran frowned. " Your Majesty is pleased 
 to be facetious," he said, bowing stiffly, and passed 
 on. 
 
 I followed him at a little distance, not so much 
 from curiosity as because I felt a genuine esteem for 
 the proud old man. He called hoarsely for his lackey 
 and ordered his horse. 
 
 Three days later the court was entertained at a 
 brilliant festival at Auch. During the day there was 
 a. fete champetre in a grove near by, and in the even 
 ing the castle was illuminated for a grand ball. 
 While the revels were at their height, I stood in the 
 doorway of the great hall, looking on at the dancers, 
 when a man plucked my sleeve. I turned and saw 
 Horry, one of the officers of the garrison of La Reole. 
 Evidently he had come on no errand of pleasure, for 
 he wore his riding-boots, which were bespattered with 
 mud, and he was covered with dust and sweat. 
 
 " Fourcade," he said quickly, " I must speak with 
 the King immediately." 
 
 75
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 I went and whispered his message to my master. 
 He excused himself to his partner and followed me 
 to Horry. As the latter told his story, I saw my 
 master start and strike his forehead with his clenched 
 hand. A moment later he came to me, gripped me 
 almost fiercely by the arm, and hissed out, " What 
 think you? Ussac is turned traitor! Swears that 
 he will no longer serve under a heretic king. Abjures 
 Protestantism. Has called in Duras, opened the 
 gates to him by night, and delivered up La Reole. 
 Horry got wind of what was going on just in time to 
 escape and bring me the news." 
 
 I recalled the spectacle of poor old Ussac going 
 away with his pride wounded by a giddy butterfly of 
 a girl and by my master s untimely jest. And now 
 his honorable career was ended in a base treachery! 
 Before I could collect my thoughts sufficiently to 
 make any remark, my master continued vehemently, 
 " We must have reprisals, and that immediately. Do 
 you go and get my equipments ready. Collect all 
 the men that you can, prepared to ride within an 
 hour. I will give a hint to Turenne, Sully, Aubigne, 
 and the rest. By to-morrow morning I shall have an 
 equivalent for La Reole." 
 
 Half an hour later I returned to report to my mas 
 ter. I found him dancing as gaily as if nothing had 
 happened. Nobody would have suspected that he 
 had any other thought than that of passing a merry 
 night. I whispered to him that I could find no more 
 than thirty-five men, the most of our force being at 
 Nerac. 
 
 76
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " It is enough," he answered. 
 
 At midnight we met. I had the men-at-arms ready, 
 and the leaders had slipped out, like my master, and 
 put on their accoutrements. By this time I under 
 stood that Fleurance was our destination. We rode 
 hard all the night and reached the neighborhood of 
 the town before daybreak. There we halted in a 
 grove, resting our horses and waiting for the opening 
 of the gates. 
 
 The garrison did not suspect that an armed enemy 
 was nearer than Nerac, and took no more than the 
 usual precautions. With the opening of the gates we 
 dashed in, cut down the sentinel, before he could give 
 an alarm, and reached the market-place unopposed. 
 The only fighting took place at the castle, which we 
 carried with a rush. Its garrison had caught the 
 alarm and rallied to the walls, and we lost five or six 
 men in taking it. We remained at Fleurance until 
 the second day, having meanwhile sent to Nerac for 
 a force sufficient to hold the place. 
 
 This kind of partizan warfare went on continually, 
 without interrupting the harmony which prevailed, 
 and was not considered a violation of the truce. 
 
 77
 
 CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE WENT IN SEARCH OF SOPHIE. 
 
 OEVERAL months had now passed since the re- 
 O ceipt of the letter from Sophie, and I had waited 
 from day to day in the vain hope of receiving another. 
 None had come, and I was still unable to write to 
 her, because of the care with which the secret of her 
 residence was guarded. It was not difficult to sur 
 mise reasons for my failure to hear from her. Per 
 haps her father had discovered our correspondence 
 and had taken measures to stop it. What I was less 
 inclined to admit, perhaps my letter had not proved 
 satisfactory on the main point, or even, possibly, I 
 had offended her by the too ardent avowal of my 
 love. Perhaps she had simply failed in securing the 
 means of communicating with me. 
 
 But these surmises, however reasonable they might 
 be, could not reconcile me to Sophie s continued 
 silence. At last I could no longer endure the sus 
 pense. I resolved to try to end it by going in search 
 of her. I would seek out the Robervals, if it was 
 possible for me to find them, and plead my cause in 
 person before her father. There was nothing in honor 
 78
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 to hinder me from doing this. Sophie had, it is true, 
 enjoined me in her letter from taking any steps to 
 ascertain the place of her abode from her messenger, 
 either directly or indirectly ; but I was in no way de 
 barred from any independent efforts which I might 
 make in that direction. 
 
 It had been much in my mind that Rochelle, since 
 it was their former abode, was of all towns the like 
 liest in which the Robervals would take up their 
 residence, after leaving the place in which I had be 
 come acquainted with them. At all events, should I 
 not find them there, what could be more probable 
 than that among the Catholic families of that city I 
 should gain some clue to their present abode? To 
 Rochelle, therefore, I determined to go. My master 
 readily gave me a leave of absence for ten days, and 
 I started. It would be idle to relate the details of the 
 journey. Enough to say that it was fruitless. I did 
 indeed, without much difficulty, find friends of the 
 Robervals who had known them well during their 
 long residence in that city ; but none of these had any 
 knowledge of them so recent even as my own. Noth 
 ing remained for me but to return, baffled and dis 
 heartened, to Nerac. 
 
 Having reluctantly come to this conclusion, I sat 
 disconsolate in my lodging, at the close of the third 
 day spent in searching the city for any tidings of my 
 Sophie. Surely mine was a hard fate, and bitterly I 
 arraigned Providence, which involved my pure love 
 for an innocent girl in the consequences of another s 
 wrong-doing, while he who had caused all our trouble, 
 79
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 went on his way unpunished. Was this a well-ordered 
 world, in which virtue must suffer the penalties of 
 crime? Or was, perchance, my expiation not yet 
 complete for the follies of earlier days, ere Sophie had 
 come into my life and given it a worthy purpose? 
 
 Moodily pondering these problems, I contemplated 
 my return to the frivolous court, now more than ever 
 hateful to me, in view of my bitter disappointment. 
 How I loathed its inane gaiety and its soulless 
 "loves" ! Loves indeed! 
 
 My sombre reverie was broken by a low knock at 
 my door. I strode across the room and opened it. 
 Before me stood a man, whose hat, drawn well down 
 over his eyes, completely hid his features in shadow, 
 while a long cloak wrapped about him equally con 
 cealed his person. 
 
 " With your permission, Monsieur Fourcade, I shall 
 enter," he courteously said, and without more ado 
 stepped into the room. 
 
 A hope leaped up in my heart that my disguised 
 visitor brought me some tidings of Sophie. I closed 
 the door and drew a chair for him, eagerly listening 
 for the words which would give me some ray of light 
 in my gloom. 
 
 The stranger deliberately laid aside his cloak, 
 throwing it over the chair on which he was about to 
 sit, and then, seating himself, removed his hat. He 
 was a square-built man in middle life, with features 
 denoting singular resoluteness, and a face tanned by 
 much exposure to the sun. He was dressed in fine, 
 but well-worn clothing, of grave color and cut. In 
 80
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 short, his whole appearance betokened the Huguenot 
 gentleman of the more serious type, and, one would 
 say, a soldier by profession. Such he was, in fact. 
 
 " Pardon me, Monsieur Fourcade, this unexpected 
 visit," he said. " When I have stated its object, you 
 will recognize it as a compliment to your soldierly 
 qualities." 
 
 At these words my heart sank, for evidently his 
 errand had nothing to do with the subject which just 
 then filled my thoughts. 
 
 The stranger continued : " Though you do not 
 know me, I know you, because of having once seen 
 you in attendance on the King of Navarre, and, let 
 me add, still better by reputation, as a brave soldier 
 of the good cause. Perchance you have heard my 
 name mentioned Cassar, Count d Aurigny." 
 
 I bowed, both in acknowledgment of the compli 
 ment and in recognition of a gallant gentleman, whose 
 fame had reached me, but whom I had never chanced 
 to meet, because he served under Conde, whose dis 
 trust and disapproval of my master kept him con 
 stantly at a distance from our court. 
 
 Aurigny then proceeded to state the object of his 
 visit. He had that day seen and recognized me on 
 the street, but had not made himself known, because 
 he was endeavoring to conceal his presence in 
 Rochelle. He had, however, learned the place of 
 my abode, and had now come to ask me to take 
 part in a secret expedition which he was organizing. 
 
 The circumstances were these : The town of Les 
 Sables d Olonne, on the sea-coast, about thirteen 
 81
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 leagues to the north of Rochelle, was formerly a 
 stronghold which we greatly prized because of its 
 almost impregnable citadel, built on high cliffs over 
 looking the ocean. On its landward side, this fortress 
 was as strong as art could make it. To seaward, 
 Nature had rendered it stronger still, for it was 
 guarded by a precipice which it was impossible to 
 scale, while the sea incessantly breaking at its foot 
 would dash to pieces any boat which might approach 
 too near. This seeming Gibraltar had been lost to us 
 during the summer of 1577, partly through the neg 
 ligence of its commandant, and partly through treach 
 ery of some of the garrison, whereby a picked body 
 of royalists had secured an entrance, after dusk, in 
 the disguise of packmen. Thereupon they had im 
 mediately blown up the gates, and their comrades, 
 rushing in, had seized the place, despite a brave re 
 sistance of its surprised defenders. 
 
 All this I had heard, and I had not forgotten the 
 name of the Count d Aurigny as the second in com 
 mand of the garrison. I remembered, too, how 
 deeply incensed my master was, when the evil tidings 
 of this great loss reached him, and what bitter re 
 proaches he wrote to the unfortunate officers, who 
 shortly after the occurrence recovered their liberty by 
 the payment of heavy ransoms. 
 
 These circumstances my visitor recalled to my rec 
 ollection, and I could not but feel with him in the 
 humiliation under which the gallant officer still smarted 
 at the reproaches which, he considered, had been un 
 justly heaped upon him for a misfortune for which, 
 82
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 not being in command, he was not answerable. He 
 added that he had taken a solemn oath that never, 
 so long as he lived, would he rest content, until he 
 had vindicated himself by retaking the post. 
 
 " I have thought by day and dreamed by night, 
 of nothing else," he continued ; " and since regaining 
 my freedom I have wrought secretly, but incessantly, 
 toward that end, slowly maturing my plans. Now 
 all is ready for their execution. The enterprise is 
 perilous in the extreme, but for brave men I believe 
 its success assured. But one man is lacking of the 
 number to which I must limit my force. I want one 
 who is not only true and devoted to the good cause, 
 but capable of being a leader. To-day as I walked 
 the streets, not knowing where I should find such a 
 one, I espied you. On the instant I felt that Provi 
 dence was befriending me. Monsieur Fourcade," 
 and he looked me steadily in the eye, " will you, in 
 the name of God and our religion, and for soldierly 
 honor, aid me in this enterprise? " 
 
 Without a word I rose and, for a moment or two, 
 paced the apartment. This, I felt, was the proposal 
 of a desperate man. His expedition, I did not doubt, 
 would lead to the death certainly to the capture 
 of all concerned ; for it was known that the fortress, 
 since its seizure by the enemy, was strongly garrisoned, 
 under command of a veteran officer. Any thought 
 of its recapture was deemed scarcely less than insane. 
 On the other hand, the proposition appealed to me 
 strongly, by reason of its very desperateness. What 
 was life to me without Sophie? And of her it seemed 
 83
 
 , The King s Henchman. 
 
 that I had lost all trace. To live amid the giddy 
 frivolities of Nerac, where all seemed happy in their 
 soulless way, would be a bitterer doom than ever, after 
 my bootless search. 
 
 I stopped before my visitor and simply said, 
 " Count d Aurigny, I am with you." 
 
 He caught my extended hand in his and wrung it 
 fervently. Then I sat down beside him, and he un 
 folded his plans. As he proceeded, I was filled with 
 admiration at the sagacity and patience with which 
 he had wrought out the minutest details of a scheme 
 which was the more difficult because it required abso 
 lute secrecy. 
 
 His first step had been to secure confederates in 
 the hostile post, for help from within was indispen 
 sable. With this view, he had sent two trusty follow 
 ers, staunch Huguenots, whom he had thoroughly 
 instructed, to offer themselves for enlistment in the 
 garrison. They had appeared with a plausible story, 
 and had been accepted without suspicion. Thus he 
 had gained his first point. 
 
 I was startled, when he next told me that he pur 
 posed making the attack from the sea. To my ex 
 pression of amazement he answered calmly, " Your 
 very surprise shows that it is from the sea that the 
 post must be assailed, since nobody would dream of 
 an enemy s approach from that quarter, and not a 
 single sentry keeps guard there." 
 
 "But those inaccessible cliffs! " I exclaimed. 
 
 "Listen! " said he. "Remember that I know 
 every foot of ground within those walls, and that, day 
 84
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 after day, and month after month, I have watched the 
 ocean beating at the foot of those rocks. I have 
 noted this point : the sea is shallow for some distance 
 from the shore, so that at ordinary low tide there is 
 but little water below the cliffs. Twice in the year, 
 when the lowest tides occur, with an off-shore wind, 
 a little strip of beach is exposed for a short time. 
 One of these seasons is now at hand. On the second 
 night from this our force will land on that bit of 
 beach." This he said as calmly as he might have 
 spoken of marshaling his men on some parade- 
 ground. 
 
 " But, with cliffs steep as a wall above you, how 
 much nearer will you be to the citadel?" I asked, 
 fairly dazed at the seeming madness of the man. 
 
 "Listen! " he patiently continued. "Above the 
 occasional beach which I have mentioned, a very 
 heavy iron staple has been driven into the rock, for 
 the purpose of securing a line by which provisions 
 might be hauled up from a light-draught vessel, in 
 case the post should be entirely beleaguered on the 
 landward side, and it should be necessary to victual it 
 from the sea. That staple we shall use to effect our 
 entrance into the fortress." 
 
 " How? " I asked in bewilderment. 
 
 " Nothing could be simpler," said Aurigny, with a 
 smile of amusement at my perplexity. " If rumor 
 speaks truly, the King of Navarre sometimes makes 
 use of a rope-ladder. If you have ever seen one 
 employed, you will understand how we shall proceed. 
 My men in the garrison will lower a light cord, to 
 85
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 which we shall attach a strong, thick rope. They will 
 draw it up and make it fast to the staple. And so 
 there you have our ladder, by which we shall mount to 
 victory." This he said with an easy air, and spread 
 ing his hands, as if he were explaining the simplest 
 procedure in the world, instead of what seemed to me 
 the foolhardiest scheme that a sane man could pro 
 pose. " Say, rather, to sure death," I was tempted 
 to say, but I was in no mood to urge objections. I 
 had committed myself to this wild venture, and I was 
 set on following it to the bitter end. 
 
 Aurigny then gave me further details of his plans. 
 Every contingency had been foreseen. With patient 
 secrecy he had gone about the city gathering his men, 
 here one, there another hardy and daring fellows 
 all, fit for such an undertaking. Only two, however, 
 men whom he knew to be as true as steel, had been 
 admitted to his full confidence. The others had been 
 enlisted without any knowledge of their destination. 
 To have given out such information would have been 
 to invite disaster, for about us were many sympathizers 
 with the enemy. 
 
 The whole party was made up of seafaring men. 
 Excepting only Aurigny and me, there was not a man 
 of the thirty-six who had not proved his mettle in 
 bold ventures on the ocean. Two large boats, to con 
 vey us, had been secured and were in readiness. He 
 had even assured himself of the vigilance of his fol 
 lowers within the garrison, by sailing up one night in 
 a fisherman s boat, giving the concerted signal, and 
 holding actual communication with them, bidding 
 86
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 them be in readiness for his early appearance with a 
 force. 
 
 As I listened to Aurigny s account of what he had 
 done, and perceived with what sagacity all his ar 
 rangements had been made, and especially when I 
 learned how much had already been accomplished 
 without detection, I became in some measure in 
 spired with his hopefulness. 
 
 At all events, the undertaking did not seem so in 
 sanely desperate as, at the first, I thought it. 
 
 The next day I spent mainly in making some simple 
 provisions against the probability of my never return 
 ing to my friends. Chiefly, I wrote to Sophie, pro 
 testing once more my whole soul s devotion to her and 
 my innocence of any such wrong as that in which 
 circumstances seemed to involve me. I told her of 
 my deep chagrin at not hearing from her again, since 
 the receipt of the one letter which she had sent me, 
 and of my vain attempt to learn the present abode 
 of her family, in the hope of making to her father 
 such explanations as I believed would not fail to 
 satisfy him that he had misjudged me. And now, I 
 said, in my despair, I was about to embark on an 
 expedition from which it was little likely that I should 
 gain aught else than a soldier s death. I would have 
 her know that my last thought would be of God and 
 her, and I prayed her to hold me ever in kindly re 
 membrance, as one whose only fault, since first I had 
 come to know her, had been in too easily bearing the 
 burden of another s guilt. 
 
 This letter I inclosed within one addressed to my 
 37
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 master, and I implored him, in the event of my death, 
 to see that it was duly forwarded, should any oppor 
 tunity ever occur, as by the coming of a messenger 
 from a person in whom he knew me to be deeply in 
 terested. 
 
 A letter to my mother completed the package, 
 which I then sealed and delivered to the commandant 
 in Rochelle, with the request that he would send it 
 to the King of Navarre, should I not reclaim it with 
 in five days. 
 
 88
 
 CHAPTER THE NINTH. 
 
 WHAT JEAN FOURCADE SAW IN A CAVERN BY 
 THE SEA. 
 
 THE evening was fine and still. Our men were 
 under orders to assemble at ten o clock, since at 
 that hour there would probably not be any one mov 
 ing about the water-side, and the coming together and 
 departure of our company would be unobserved. But 
 so early as nine o clock Aurigny and I were making 
 our way through the crooked streets, already well-nigh 
 deserted, to our rendezvous, the Quai des Pecheurs. 
 He wished to be there in good season, that he might 
 examine the boats, to see that their equipment was 
 complete. 
 
 Soon we left behind us the quarter inhabited by the 
 wealthier citizens and the shop-keepers, and entered 
 that in which the fisherfolk and sailors abode. We 
 must thread our way through dark and narrow pas 
 sages, noisome and fetid, deep in mud, with an oc 
 casional heap of reeking filth, to which the offal of 
 fish gave a distinctive odor, and which the dim light 
 of lanterns suspended on chains scarcely enabled us 
 to avoid. Here and there rose great warehouses of 
 89
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 stone, sombre and iron-barred, in which merchants 
 kept their precious goods under guard ; while, in con 
 trast with these masses of wealth, were numberless 
 low-browed, squalid taverns, from within which came 
 the clamor of many voices, some deep and hoarse, 
 others shrill and feminine, sometimes in furious quar 
 rel, oftener in bursts of ribald song. Much of the 
 population of this region seemed gathered in these 
 repulsive haunts. It was a relief when we came out 
 from this reeking quarter into view of the water, and 
 breathed purer air, though it was laden still with the 
 odor of rotting fish. 
 
 Aurigny speedily found the particular quay which 
 was our rendezvous. Fastened to it were several 
 fishing-boats, and among these two large pinnaces, 
 destined for our party. At some distance from the 
 shore were visible the outlines of several great vessels, 
 and voices were heard shouting from one of these to 
 another. But about the small fishing-craft near us 
 there was no sign of life. Only in the stern-sheets 
 of each of our boats sat a muffled figure. These, at 
 a call from Aurigny, quickly rose and came ashore. 
 
 My companion then introduced me to the men, 
 who, he said, had been his faithful and untiring helpers 
 in organizing and fitting out our expedition. Jean 
 Maillot and Mathieu Gourand were hardy, sober 
 Rochellese fishermen, staunch Huguenots. They had 
 shared the perils and privations of their fellow-citizens, 
 when the good town, after the massacre of St. Bar 
 tholomew s, put itself in a state of defense against the 
 red-handed king and successfully withstood a siege 
 90
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 during which the beleaguering army brought all the 
 resources of warfare and all the wealth of the king 
 dom against its walls. All the while the sturdy 
 burghers, undaunted, stared gaunt famine in the face, 
 with no relief but supplies of fish, which a kind Provi 
 dence seemed to guide within the harbor in unusual 
 abundance. 
 
 In that heroic defense these two men had borne 
 their full share. They were fine specimens of the 
 mass of our people, zealous, stern, and capable of 
 unbounded sacrifices for the cause which they loved. 
 Both of them were owners of fishing-craft and were 
 thoroughly familiar with the neighboring coast. They 
 had even voyaged well-nigh across the ocean and 
 brought home full fares of fish from the great banks 
 of the New Found Island. 
 
 They were old acquaintances of Aurigny, and when 
 he sought them out and confided to them his plans, 
 they threw themselves heart and soul into the enter 
 prise. It was they who had secured the boats and 
 brought to him the men whom he had hired. Au 
 rigny had wisely appointed each coxswain of one of 
 the craft, and made him answerable to himself for its 
 crew and its whole outfit. As for me, I was to serve 
 as his lieutenant, and was put in charge of one boat, 
 while he would lead the way in the other. 
 
 My commander now satisfied himself, by personal 
 examination, that everything in the pinnaces was in 
 due order, and the rope on which so much depended, 
 safely coiled and stowed in the bow of the larger. 
 By this time the men began to arrive in groups of two
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 or three. Some came down the quay singing snatches 
 of rollicking sea-songs, and with a rolling gait that 
 told plainly how they had spent the evening. But, for 
 the greater part, they were a singularly orderly set of 
 fellows, remarkable chiefly for a quiet air of determi 
 nation. I surmised truly that Maillot and Gourand 
 had been at pains to secure men, as far as possible, 
 of their own stamp, that these might have the pre 
 ponderance over the wilder spirits whom a secret and 
 perilous undertaking would inevitably draw together. 
 
 As the men arrived, each was severally inspected, 
 to ascertain that his equipment of sword, dagger, and 
 pistol, was complete and in good order, and assigned 
 his place. At last the number was complete, and we 
 pushed off, the larger boat, with twelve oars, carry-ing 
 twenty men, in the lead. Mine, with Maillot for 
 coxswain, with ten oars, carried sixteen men. 
 
 As noiselessly as possible we pulled out of the har 
 bor, keeping well away from the black hulls lying at 
 anchor. In passing, Maillot pointed out to me the 
 spot where, in the darkness, were the ruins of the 
 great mole which the royalist army, during the mem 
 orable siege, built out into the water, in the vain hope 
 of closing the harbor. 
 
 We were not at all pressed for time, since the attack 
 was not to be made that night. The low tide occur 
 ring early in the evening, it would have been impos 
 sible for us to leave Rochelle after dark and arrive 
 at our destination in good season. The plan was, 
 therefore, that we should put into a certain secluded 
 cove which our guides knew well, and which we 
 92
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 could easily reach before daylight, situated, more 
 over, within less than a league of Les Sables, and 
 spend the following day there in hiding. Then, on the 
 next night, we should sally forth, with our men fresh 
 from their rest, and strike a strong blow for the cause. 
 
 All went well. Easily we pulled along the coast, 
 its rugged outline on our right, until near daybreak, 
 when the leading boat turned into a narrow opening, 
 wheeled short around a high projecting rock, and 
 conducted us to a little, sheltered cove in which the 
 water lay smooth. 
 
 Had pirates or smugglers designed a refuge in 
 which they might securely lie hidden, they could not 
 have planned one better adapted to their purpose. 
 There were traditions, Maillot told me, that it had, in 
 their time, served the convenience of Norse sea- 
 rovers and, later, of Barbary corsairs; while frag 
 ments of packing-cases and of ripped-up bales, strewn 
 about a rude landing, gave ground for the suspicion 
 that our honest Rochellese fishermen knew a quicker 
 way of turning a welcome penny than by seining. 
 From above it was inaccessible, by reason of beetling 
 rocks shutting it in, so that surprise from the land 
 ward side was impossible. At one place there was a 
 cavernous recess, deep and dark, its roof blackened 
 with smoke, and its floor littered with charred rem 
 nants of many fires. Into this evident haunt of out 
 lawry we went, and were soon warming our limbs, 
 cramped by hours of exposure to the chill sea air, 
 around fires of barrel-staves and broken boxes, of 
 which there was a great store. 
 93
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 I had now, for the first time, an opportunity of 
 seeing our men in a body. A motley, rugged, hard- 
 featured crew they were. There were two Portu 
 guese, one Genoese, and three Basques from Santan- 
 der and Bilbao, low-browed, swarthy, sullen-looking 
 fellows, but capable and fearless seamen, I was told. 
 These excepted, all were Frenchmen. Of these a 
 few were Bretons, and a half-dozen, perhaps, hailed 
 from Nantes. The rest, forming the backbone of the 
 party, I was glad to see, were Rochellese and Borde- 
 lais, of the hardy sort which the perils of the Bay of 
 Biscay have always moulded. I had faith in these 
 fellows, of our coxswains type, and of known de 
 votion to our cause. 
 
 Here we spent the day, clustered around our fires, 
 eating the food of which Aurigny had made ample 
 provision, and washing it down with wine, which he 
 caused to be served out in marked moderation. I 
 found endless matter of interest in sauntering from 
 group to group and listening to their talk. 
 
 In one place the Genoese was holding forth on the 
 wonders of a voyage to Iceland, where he heard a 
 tradition, that his great countryman, Christopher 
 Colon, had there gained from old runes his first 
 glimmer of the idea of a western world. He told of 
 a frozen ocean and of boiling springs spouting up 
 amid eternal snows. Later he had sailed and fought 
 in a ship of his own country, when the bold bastard 
 of Austria, Philip of Spain s half-brother, Don John, 
 led the combined fleets of Spain, Venice, and Genoa 
 against the infidels, and at Lepanto shattered the 
 94
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Saracen sea-power and stemmed the tide of Moslem 
 encroachment. 
 
 In one corner an old sea-dog of Bordeaux, tanned 
 to the color of mahogany, scarred and one-eyed, told 
 a marvelous tale of adventures under the fierce sun 
 of the far southern seas. Sailing in a French ship, to 
 fetch a cargo of rare woods from Spanish America, 
 he had fallen into the hands of buccaneers, who had 
 spared him and a comrade, on condition of service 
 with them. On account of his suspicious leniency 
 at the sack of a town, he had been marooned on a 
 desert key. Through the special mercy of God, by 
 scooping the sand he had found a tiny spring of 
 water, and so, with raw eggs of sea-turtles, he had 
 kept himself alive, until one day a fleet hove in sight. 
 Waving his shirt on a stick, he had signaled and sig 
 naled, until hope of rescue had almost died in him, 
 as the swift keels swept on, when suddenly the hind 
 most went about, stood in to the shore, and sent a 
 boat for him. The commander of the fleet was Sir 
 Francis Drake, bent on " singeing the Spaniards 
 beard." Under him he had taken part in the cap 
 ture of Nombre de Dios and in the looting and burn 
 ing of many another Spanish town. He had been 
 one of the force which that intrepid sea-rover led 
 across the narrow neck of the continent, when Eng 
 lishmen first set eyes on the great Still Sea. And 
 he had come back with the slender remnant, stag 
 gering under loads of silver heavier than they could 
 bear, throwing it away like dross, their tongues hang 
 ing out with the fierce heat and raging thirst, some 
 95
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 falling by poisoned arrows, others with deadlier fever 
 drying up their blood. 
 
 When he had finished his story, he drew from his 
 pocket a little clay bowl, of the bigness, it might be, 
 of a small hen s egg, and fitted a reed stem into a 
 hole in its side near the bottom. He then filled the 
 bowl with dried leaves of a weed, which he said he 
 had brought from the New World, and which he car 
 ried in a skin pouch. These leaves he lighted, and 
 drew the smoke therefrom through the reed into his 
 mouth, and breathed it out again in a great cloud. 
 The odor of it was marvelously pungent and aro 
 matic. To the most of us this was a new thing, and 
 we looked on in wonder, while the smoke rolled in 
 clouds from the mouth of the old sailor. Some said 
 that this was a religious rite of the infidels, and was 
 an exorcism against witchcraft and devils. Others 
 declared that it is a common custom among the 
 savages of the New World, who find great joy and 
 peace therein, and prize it most highly as a sovereign 
 remedy for all troubles, especially for the burden of 
 a brawling wife. 
 
 Another, a Breton, with light-blue eyes, a tawny 
 beard, and a face sunburnt to a fiery red, had sailed 
 with Ribault and Laudonniere in their explorations 
 of the New World. He told of wide, smooth, inland 
 waters, covered with wild fowl and teeming with fish ; 
 of peaceful savages ; of a benignant sky and a soil 
 fruitful of food ; of trees laden with grapes ; and of 
 green savannas, extending for miles, level as a table, 
 96
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 with huge, fierce lizards, 1 stout as a horse and long 
 as a whale-boat, with cruel tusks, basking on the river- 
 banks, waiting for their prey. He paused, took a 
 long pull at his flagon, wiped his mouth with the back 
 of his hand, and went on to tell of Port Royal, which 
 the great admiral Coligny founded as a refuge for 
 the oppressed, and how it came to be abandoned. 2 
 He told the story, too, of the settlement of Hugue 
 nots on the shores of the River of May, 3 and how 
 upon this peaceful colony the Spaniard, Menendez 
 de Avila, descended with treachery, and butchered 
 every one, and then set up on the bloody spot a 
 writing, which afterward eyes of other Frenchmen 
 read over the bleached bones of their countrymen : 
 "We do this, not as unto Frenchmen, but as unto 
 heretics." 
 
 Scarcely had he finished his tale, when up rose an 
 other of our company, a hardy Rochellese, and cried, 
 exultantly, " Par Dieu / I can better that story. For 
 it chanced that I was one of the band whom the 
 brave seigneur, Dominique de Gourgues, led to that 
 same spot he who had sworn that he would never eat 
 white bread, nor trim his hair or beard, until he had 
 avenged his countrymen s slaughter. So he equipped 
 and manned a ship, at his own charges, and sailed for 
 
 1 Alligators, i.e., el lagarto (Spanish), the lizard. EDITOR. 
 
 2 Little could the writer have dreamed that these words of 
 his would be read, after many generations, by one of his de 
 scendants, born and living amid these very scenes. EDITOR. 
 
 3 The St. John s River EDITOR. 
 
 97
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 the River of May. We fell on the Spaniards as 
 ruthlessly as they had fallen on our people, but not, 
 like them, with treachery. Not one did we spare. 
 We made a shambles of that settlement. When all 
 was done, our leader took down the old writing, and 
 in its place put up one which said, We do this, not 
 as unto Spaniards, but as unto assassins. 1 Then we 
 sailed away. But when we had come back to France, 
 brave Dominique needed to keep himself long in 
 hiding, for there was then peace with Spain, and our 
 king was Catholic, and these were Catholics whom 
 we had slain." 
 
 This tale was greeted with loud applause. Only, 
 I noticed that the two Portuguese and the three 
 Basques, who formed a group apart, were dumb and 
 scowled back and forth as black as night. But this 
 circumstance did not disturb the general harmony, nor 
 interrupt the stream of talk, which flowed on in the 
 same strain. This interchange would have a happy 
 effect, I thought, in cementing our men together and 
 in bracing them for daring deeds ; for I confess that 
 these tales of perils in strange lands thrilled me. 
 How poor and tame, in comparison, seemed the little 
 which I had seen of adventure! 
 
 I called Aurigny s attention to the conduct of the 
 five foreigners. " Yes," he said ; " we must keep an 
 eye on those fellows. By what evil chance we hired 
 them, I know not. Would they were well away! " 
 
 As the day waned, he caused the wine to be served 
 
 1 I was interested in reading this first recital of an incident 
 which has become familiar history. EDITOR. 
 98
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 more freely, and tongues wagged faster and more 
 furiously than ever. Then, when all seemed ripe for 
 the announcement, he shouted, "Attention! " Im 
 mediately there was utter silence, for all knew that 
 some momentous word was about to be spoken. 
 
 " Comrades," said Aurigny, " a great opportunity 
 is before us. Within less than a league is the strong 
 fortress at Les Sables d Olonne, which, through 
 treachery, is in the hands of the enemy. I have 
 sworn to win it back at all costs, and have chosen 
 you, as tried men of valor, to share in this noble 
 enterprise. All arrangements are duly made. Before 
 this night is far gone, we shall land there. Success 
 is assured. If there is any man who has no heart for 
 this undertaking for God and the true faith of His 
 Son, let him freely speak his mind. But, if it pleases 
 you, give me your voices in its favor." 
 
 He had well calculated the temper of his audience, 
 for his appeal was received with vociferous cheers. 
 No doubt many had already surmised the object of 
 the expedition. At all events, its announcement 
 struck the very key-note of the men s excited feeling, 
 and they crowded around their leader with boisterous 
 pledges of devotion. The only exception was the 
 group of foreigners. The Genoese was a Catholic, 
 too, but a genuine free companion, and had no 
 scruples. He would sail and fight as cheerfully under 
 one flag as another ; and now he was shouting lustily 
 with the rest. 
 
 Not so the Basques and Portuguese. The wine 
 which they had drunk seemed only to have embol- 
 99
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 dened them in their opposition and changed their 
 sullen silence into open rebellion. They talked freely 
 and excitedly among themselves ; and when Aurigny, 
 all the while watching them out of the corner of his 
 eye, opened a great rough drawing which he had 
 made of the interior of the fortress, and, holding it 
 aloft, pointed out to the men crowding thickly around 
 him, how each crew should proceed, the five glanced 
 at it only with scorn and fury in their eyes. 
 
 The coxswains next distributed badges to the men, 
 to distinguish them from the enemy broad white 
 scarfs, to be worn across the body, and white bands 
 for the hats. Then the mutinous spirit of the for 
 eigners broke out in earnest. They threw the badges 
 on the ground and, appealing to Aurigny, declared 
 that they had not taken service to fight against the 
 Holy Church. 
 
 In an instant the cavern was filled with the clamor 
 of angry voices. " Down with the idolaters! Down 
 with the worshipers of the mass! " was the cry. And 
 straightway there was a rush for the foreigners, who 
 backed up against the walls and glared defiance, 
 while on both sides swords leaped from their scab 
 bards. 
 
 "Peace! " shouted our leader. "Let not a man 
 touch them! I will have none follow me but those 
 who are willing." And he threw himself between 
 the would-be combatants. Still, he had much ado 
 to hinder a deadly strife. Our men reluctantly re 
 turned their weapons, throwing curses at the Catho 
 lics, while a savage light blazed in the eyes of these, 
 100
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 as if they would have sold their lives dear for their 
 faith. 
 
 It was but a short truce. A little while later, as we 
 were busied in other matters, there was a sudden out 
 cry and a rush. The quarrel had broken out afresh, 
 and in earnest. Before Aurigny and I could reach 
 the front of the rioting mass, there was the clash of 
 swords, and a pistol-shot was followed by a hideous 
 groan. 
 
 " Shame on you! " shouted our leader, forcing him 
 self through the struggling bodies of his followers. 
 " Will you fight men who are but five to your thirty? " 
 And, with my aid and that of Maillot and Gourand, 
 he quelled the fray. 
 
 Short as it was, it had been deadly. One of the 
 Bordeaux sailors, shot through the abdomen, weltered 
 in his blood, groaning horribly, in the agonies of 
 death. A comrade had quickly avenged him, by 
 running his sword through the Basque, who lay grimly 
 dying, still clutching his smoking pistol. One of his 
 countrymen had received a deep sabre-cut over the 
 head, from which the blood was streaming copiously. 
 
 This time Aurigny placed six men on guard between 
 the combatants, with orders to kill the first man who 
 moved to renew the fray. 
 
 It was now night. The men once more settled 
 down around the fires. And a strange, wild scene it 
 was that the cavern presented, the ruddy blaze re 
 flected from the rocky roof lighting up the rugged 
 features and savage countenances of the men. Their 
 religious passions had been aroused, and they were 
 101
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 full of vengeful ire. The merry jest and the thrilling 
 tale of adventure had given place to sullen talk about 
 the Catholics. One, who had been in Paris during 
 the St. Bartholomew s massacre, told of the atrocities 
 which he had witnessed. Many had taken part in the 
 defense of Rochelle, and bitterly recalled its horrors. 
 Some spoke of the Catholic League, which, they 
 said, now ruled the throne and was laboring to turn 
 France into a province of Spain and a footstool of 
 the Pope. Then there were more fierce glances cast 
 at the group of foreigners. These sat in grim silence, 
 a striking picture ; the wounded fellow, his head rudely 
 bandaged by his comrade, his face livid, and his 
 shaggy hair, matted with blood, overhanging his low 
 brow, like a penthouse, beneath which his deep-set 
 eyes gleamed with a yellow, wolfish light. Indeed, 
 he and his countryman, in their unreasoning, savage 
 stubbornness, were not unlike ferocious beasts, driven 
 to bay. But the two Portuguese had a distinct look 
 of fright. They were weakening. 
 
 "My faith! " remarked Aurigny to me, in a low 
 tone, "we have lost six men from our number. I 
 would not have given that poor Bordelais fellow for 
 the whole five. Yet, we have gained something, too. 
 Do you mark how fierce our men look? You will 
 see that they will fight like demons, now their blood 
 is up. There will be no quarter given, I warrant you. 
 Certes! One has only to touch men on their differ 
 ences of belief, to make raging devils of them. Prot 
 estant or Catholic, it is all the same. The backbone 
 of each one s faith is hatred of the other faith." 
 102
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 "What do you mean to do with these mutineers? " 
 I asked. 
 
 "Bah! there is but one thing to be done. That 
 is, to leave them here," he answered, with a meaning 
 look. Clearly, that signified death by starvation and 
 thirst, unless some unforeseen chance should release 
 them; for outlet there was none from that natural 
 dungeon. 
 
 Our coxswains now told us it was time to prepare 
 for embarking. It was a welcome notice, for it 
 brought relief to our overstrained feelings. Amid the 
 bustle of the men putting on their equipments, look 
 ing to the priming of their pistols, buckling their belts, 
 and making all the preparations for departure, Aurigny 
 espied the poor Bordelais and his foe, both dead now. 
 "Take those bodies, " he ordered, "and throw them 
 into the sea." Four of his comrades lifted their 
 countryman and almost tenderly lowered his body 
 into the water; while two others seized the Basque 
 by his feet, dragged him to the brink, and pushed 
 him off with their feet. The body fell with a sullen 
 plunge, to rest beside that of his victim in the same 
 watery grave. 
 
 This brutal procedure increased the terror of the 
 Portuguese. They knew well what it meant to be 
 abandoned in that dreadful place, and they were 
 deathly pale with fright. 
 
 " Seigneur," cried one of them, hoarsely, " in God s 
 name, let us go with you. My comrade, Sanchez, 
 and I will swear to serve you faithfully. We have 
 repented, and implore your pardon." 
 103
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 "What say you? " asked Aurigny of me. " Shall 
 we take them ? " 
 
 " Oh, give the poor devils a chance, I say," I an 
 swered. " They are but two and can t do any harm, 
 if they would. But let us separate them. Do you 
 take one, and I the other." 
 
 It was so ordered, and the two fellows came for 
 ward sheepishly and joined our men, who eyed them 
 with disdain. Now all hands took their places in the 
 boats, and the crews bent to the oars. As we turned 
 the projecting rock which screened the entrance of 
 the cove, I cast a glance backward. Against the 
 dark background of the cavern the firelight showed 
 two figures grim and immovable as statues. 
 
 104
 
 CHAPTER THE TENTH. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE TOOK PART IN A NOTABLE 
 ACHIEVEMENT. 
 
 IT was a lowering night. To seaward, a black and 
 ragged mass of cloud was piled on the horizon, 
 brightening ever and anon with fitful lightning, while 
 the muttering of distant thunder came rumbling over 
 the black waters. 
 
 Maillot looked anxiously to that quarter. " It will 
 be a wild night," he said, "when the storm bursts. 
 But by the time it comes we shall have a roof over 
 our heads. Or," he said, sinking his voice to 
 whisper in my ear, " we shall be forever past caring 
 for storms." 
 
 Now a long line of white over our left bow showed 
 where the sea was breaking on the shoals which give 
 their name to that locality. Between these and the 
 rocky shore we steered our way, the oars muffled, 
 and every voice hushed in utter silence, as we neared 
 our goal. Over the right bow I descried dimly the 
 outline of a high cliff. To this Maillot pointed and 
 nodded. 
 
 Soon the leading boat came to a stop, and we did
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 likewise. Then a torch was held aloft and slowly 
 waved from side to side, for a minute or two, then 
 held still, then waved again. Meanwhile we all 
 watched, in utter stillness, while the boats rose and 
 fell with the motion of the sea, and there was not a 
 sound but that of the ocean moaning and lashing 
 itself on the long bar. 
 
 Ah ! there is the answer ! Up, on the brow of the 
 cliff, a light flared for a moment, then was quickly 
 extinguished. In reply, ours was waved again and 
 again violently, to signify "Action." Then it, too, 
 disappeared. At once the leading boat shot forward 
 silently into the darkness. The hour had come. 
 
 " Now, my boys, give way," said Maillot, in low, 
 earnest tones. " In a few moments we shall ex 
 change oars for steel. Then we shall see who are 
 men." 
 
 With long, steady sweep of the oars, the stout 
 sailors sent the boat like an arrow toward the foot of 
 the cliff towering overhead. A moment more, and 
 our keel grated on the shingle, a few yards away from 
 the other boat, from which the crew was already land 
 ing. There was no beach ; the wind, blowing fresh 
 from seaward all the day, had kept the tide from 
 falling to the lowest point. But what mattered wading 
 ashore knee-deep to men who had taken their lives 
 in their hands in such an enterprise? 
 
 Now we stood clustered together at the foot of the 
 
 rock. Already a cord had come down, and Gourand 
 
 was fastening it to the end of our rope. Now up 
 
 went the ladder by which we were to mount to 
 
 106
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 what? A very few moments would decide that 
 point. 
 
 But few words were spoken, and those in whispers. 
 It was a time for action only. Aurigny had ordered 
 that I should lead in the ascent, followed first by my 
 crew, then by his. He would come last of all, to 
 see that none lagged behind. 
 
 As soon as the ladder was secure, I began to climb 
 it. It was novel work for a landsman ; but pride 
 nerved me to do my best. At that point the cliff 
 overhung the shore, so that the rope swung clear. 
 At intervals of a few yards, knots had been made, 
 and short sticks pushed through these, to afford 
 resting-places ; for it was a long climb. Somehow I 
 reached the top. Two stout hands seized me and 
 pulled me up on the level. These were our two 
 confederates, lying flat on their bellies, to give help. 
 "All goes well," one of them whispered to me. 
 
 Now the men began to appear in quick succession, 
 for a dozen or more were on the rope at once. Then 
 there was a pause. Crouching on my hands and 
 knees, I peered over, to ascertain the cause. The 
 topmost man had stopped some distance below and 
 blocked the way. I could hear voices, low, but eager 
 and angry, it seemed. Then there were quick gasps, 
 as of men struggling together. I heard the breath 
 sobbing between their teeth, as they agonized for life 
 or death. It was a gruesome thing, under the black 
 sky, over the sea whitening and thundering ever 
 louder and louder, as it lashed itself in fury with the 
 whistling wind, these two human beings fighting, like 
 107
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 demons, in mid-air. "Ah!" cried one, quick and 
 sharp. Then, with a half-uttered moan, a body shot 
 down into the foaming water. A moment more and 
 a man emerged on the level, panting from his recent 
 struggle, his dagger between his teeth. As he wiped 
 the weapon, he whispered to me, " Lieutenant, it was 
 one of those damned Portuguese. His teeth were 
 chattering in his head, and he would not budge. 
 When I told him to move on, he said God would 
 damn his soul forever, if he lifted his hand against 
 the Church. I tried to pull him loose and throw him 
 down ; but he clung on like a leech. The time was 
 short, and I gave him short shrift." 
 
 Then I saw another awesome thing. Our boats 
 were tossing on the waves and drifting away with 
 the current. Aurigny had pushed them afloat. There 
 was to be no retreat possible. It was to be either 
 victory or death. 
 
 Last of all appeared our leader, calm as ever, 
 wiping off with a white handkerchief a gout of blood 
 that had dropped on his face. There was not a 
 moment to be lost. As yet the post was wrapped 
 in profound stillness. The ramparts and the low 
 buildings, in which the men lodged, were at a lit 
 tle distance away ; and the blackness of the night, 
 with the increasing roar of the sea, had favored 
 us. But at any moment an alarm might summon 
 the defenders to arms. Then our chances of suc 
 cess would be small indeed. Everything depended 
 on surprise. 
 
 "Forward! " commanded our leader; and in a 
 108
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 run we started across the parade-ground, led by our 
 confederates, in two diverging lines, so as to strike 
 the barracks at both ends at the same time. 
 
 It would be hard to tell what followed, so quick 
 and confused was it all. There was a sharp chal 
 lenge, "Who goes there?" from a sentry on the 
 ramparts, followed by the discharge of his harquebus. 
 Before the startled sleepers could gain their feet, our 
 men were among them, shouting, cutting, thrusting, 
 and firing their pistols at short range with deadly 
 effect, as they rushed through the quarters. 
 
 At the first alarm the officers, sleeping in a separate 
 building, had rushed out, but only to find themselves 
 confronted by Aurigny, with a part of his band, which 
 he had detailed for that purpose. Cut off from their 
 men, almost naked as they were, they threw them 
 selves upon their assailants with desperate, but un 
 availing, valor. They were cut or shot down, to a 
 man not unavenged, however, for brave Aurigny 
 and two of his followers fell. 
 
 Meanwhile the soldiers, without a leader, without 
 a plan of defense, confounded by the clamor which 
 our men purposely made, imagining themselves at 
 tacked by an immense force, were throwing down 
 the weapons they had seized and crying for quarter 
 on every side. The first attempt at resistance quickly 
 changed into a wild reign of terror, in which each 
 sought to save himself as best he could. 
 
 Our fellows were in no merciful mood. " Remem 
 ber the Bartholomew s! " "Remember the trenches 
 of Rochelle!" they called one to another. Then 
 109
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 some poor wretch, dragged out from his hiding-place, 
 would feel their fury and their steel. 
 
 It was all quickly over, so far as any fighting on 
 the part of the garrison was concerned. But the 
 killing of single fugitives continued for some time. 
 Again and again the shout of eager pursuit, the cry 
 of anguish, or the shriek of despair was heard from 
 some part of the ramparts or scattered buildings. 
 
 Dreading lest our men might become too much 
 dispersed, and the survivors of the garrison, learning 
 the smallness of our numbers, might rally and take 
 us at a disadvantage, I despatched messengers in 
 every direction, to summon our men together ; for 
 there was not with us a bugler to sound a recall. 
 
 Then I hastened to look after Aurigny. He lay 
 where he had fallen, resting propped on his hand, 
 and listening eagerly to the shouts of his victorious 
 followers. A few great drops betokened the bursting 
 of the storm, and, with help, I quickly lifted him into 
 the late commandant s apartment, where a light was 
 burning, and laid him on a couch. 
 
 A moment s examination showed that his wound 
 was mortal. The pallor of death already overspread 
 his countenance. But it was bright with the proud 
 sense of a great achievement. 
 
 Feebly reaching out his hand, he took mine and 
 said, Fourcade, you are a brave soldier and a true 
 comrade. You have fulfilled all that I expected of you. 
 Take this " his voice faltered" and send it to her to 
 whom it belongs." It was a packet, sealed and ad 
 dressed to his wife, in anticipation of this contingency. 
 no
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 A little time passed before he quite recovered his 
 composure. Then he said firmly and proudly, " I 
 turn over to your command this post of the Hugue 
 not army. May God keep it ours until the good 
 cause triumphs ! Present it, with the humble duty of 
 Ccesar d Aurigny, to the King of Navarre." Then, 
 even with the shadows of death gathering about him, 
 the memory of his great wrong came uppermost in 
 his mind, and he added bitterly, " Perchance now he 
 will find leisure from the weightier matters of love 
 and women to do justice to an old soldier and clear 
 his name of dishonor." 
 
 Not a word more did he speak, but slowly breathed 
 out his life. Already the body of the late comman 
 dant, his gray beard dabbled and his shirt steeped in 
 blood, had been brought in and laid upon the bed, 
 decently covered with his military cloak. Now they 
 lay, conquered and conqueror alike, vanquished by 
 the last enemy of all. 
 
 The storm was now beating down in wild fury ; 
 but I must take precautions against disaster. Our 
 men, diminished in numbers by several losses, were 
 gathered in the barracks. I divided them into two 
 watches, under Maillot and Gourand, one of which 
 should keep guard under arms all the time. As for 
 myself, I durst not sleep, knowing the peril of our 
 situation, but spent the night sitting by a fire and 
 planning for the morrow. 
 
 The day dawned clear and crisp after the storm. 
 No sooner was it light, than I started a provost 
 marshal with a guard to patrol the post and bring in 
 in
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 all the prisoners they could find. Not a few of the 
 late garrison had escaped into the town. Still, we 
 soon found ourselves with a score or more of prisoners 
 on our hands. 
 
 At the same time, I despatched a mounted mes 
 senger in all haste to the commandant of Rochelle, 
 urging him to send a reinforcement immediately, since 
 my little party was quite inadequate to holding the 
 post against a strong assailing force, and an officer 
 who should relieve me in the charge, until such 
 time as my master should appoint a permanent com 
 mandant. 
 
 That was an anxious day, when I held our new 
 acquisition with the remnant of our party, and with 
 as many prisoners under my care as there were men 
 at my disposal. But the second day brought relief 
 in the arrival of the expected troops. 
 
 Right glad I was to turn over my command to my 
 temporary successor, Huger by name, and to start 
 for Rochelle on the late commandant s horse. I did 
 not forget, before my departure, to send a fishing- 
 boat to fetch away the two Basques from their prison, 
 for the picture of them grimly awaiting death by 
 starvation haunted me. 
 
 Arrived at Rochelle, I found the commandant, 
 who was no other than the famous Duke de Bouillon, 
 evidently divided between rejoicing at the great 
 victory for our cause, and chagrin that the expedition 
 had been organized without his aid, or even his 
 knowledge ; and his congratulations were tinged, it 
 seemed, with envy. But that was no affair of mine. 
 
 112
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 After receiving from him the letters which I had 
 left in his keeping, I mounted my own horse and 
 started for Nerac, hastening to carry to my master 
 the first tidings of our great success. 
 
 So ended this memorable adventure. I had not, 
 indeed, found Sophie ; but it was some solace to a 
 soldier to have had part in such a triumph.
 
 CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. 
 
 JEAN FOURCADE RECEIVES A SECOND LETTER 
 FROM SOPHIE. 
 
 ON my return to the court, the first tidings that 
 greeted me was, that my master had gone away 
 for an indefinite time. I reported myself to the 
 Queen of Navarre and asked whether I might follow 
 him, eager as I was to give him the important intel 
 ligence which I had brought. 
 
 " Oh, no," she answered laughingly. " Men have 
 nothing to do with this affair. To him it is vastly 
 more interesting than any matter of forts and towns. 
 It is a party of women, and your master has gone as 
 a squire of dames. Fosseux made the discovery that 
 she needed to drink the waters of Aigues-Chaudes for 
 what she calls her indigestion. Probably, a few 
 months will show that her trouble is of another kind. 
 Your master came to me and most earnestly pleaded 
 her cause, urging me to go. But I had no stomach 
 for such a scandalous excursion. And I told him 
 he might consult his pleasure in the matter; but as 
 for me, I should be excused from accompanying him. 
 He will have his hands full, however, for Rebours is 
 of the party. She is dying to oust Fosseux and regain 
 114
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 her old place, and she will scruple at nothing. To 
 give the affair an air of respectability, they have taken 
 along the poor governess, also. She will be expected 
 to keep her eyes and ears shut, and to open her mouth 
 only when she eats." 
 
 After this frank disclosure by the Queen of the 
 domestic situation, with its interesting complications, 
 I was about going out, when she called after me : 
 " Stay, Jean. Here is something for you which I 
 well-nigh forgot. Three or four days ago, a man 
 came here, asking for you. When he learned that 
 you were away, he inquired for your master; and 
 after he was told that he, too, was absent, he came 
 to me with this letter, which he wished to leave in 
 my keeping. He said that you had promised him 
 ten pistoles, when he should bring you a letter from 
 a certain person. I thought it a high price for a 
 love-letter. Nobody thinks of paying so much for 
 one hereabouts. Even the writers, I am told, rarely 
 come so high. But you are different, they say. So, 
 I gave the man the money he asked." 
 
 A letter from Sophie! And coming through such 
 a channel, the Queen of Navarre! What could she 
 know of a love like ours, or, rather, mine? for as yet 
 it was but a hope that Sophie returned it. I thanked 
 my mistress and took away the letter, to devour its 
 contents in secret. 
 
 It ran thus : 
 
 " MONSIEUR FOURCADE : A longer time than I in 
 tended has passed since the receipt of your letter, 
 "5
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 without my replying to it. Great difficulties beset me, 
 and it is not easy for me to communicate with you. 
 
 " Your letter has lifted a great load off my mind. 
 I believe what you have written, and I live in the 
 trust, that, in due time, you will be able to make 
 good to my father the assertion of your innocence 
 which you have made to me, and which I fully accept. 
 Perchance I am too confiding. I know not. I am 
 unfamiliar with the ways of the great world. But 
 my heart trusts you. "When you were an inmate of 
 our house, I learned to think of you as a man of truth 
 and honor. And through all that has since happened, 
 my trust has not wavered, even when it seemed to 
 live in the face of evidence strong enough to kill it. 
 Your letter has come to strengthen it, and I pledge 
 you my full confidence, until you shall some day 
 prove it well founded to others. 
 
 " I will not deny that your words of love have 
 touched me deeply. On this point I may not speak 
 now. You must be content to wait until you have 
 shown my confidence well-grounded. When you 
 have convinced my father of the injustice of his 
 suspicions, the only obstacle will have been removed 
 from your path. Until then, live in the knowledge 
 of my unshaken trust and of my prayers ever follow 
 ing you. My messenger will bring me your reply ; 
 and if it contain the assurance of your readiness to 
 meet my father, I will endeavor to arrange a plan for 
 you to obtain an interview with him, and I will inform 
 you in another letter. Farewell. 
 
 " Ever your friend, S. R." 
 116
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 What incredible good fortune, that I had a letter 
 from Sophie, and such a letter! And by what stroke 
 of malign fate was I deprived of the opportunity of 
 answering it and, so, of securing the interview with 
 her father? I inwardly cursed the free-handed good 
 nature of my mistress, in paying the messenger and 
 letting him go. Had she but withheld the promised 
 wage, the fellow would undoubtedly have awaited 
 my return. As matters stood, I should be compelled 
 to possess my soul in such patience as I could com 
 mand, trusting in Providence and Sophie. 
 
 Now almost daily I heard from my mistress some 
 thing of what was going on at Aigues-Chaudes. The 
 Rebours, it seemed, was manoeuvring in dead earnest 
 for her old position, by endeavoring to win our mis 
 tress to her side. To effect this, it was essential that 
 she should prejudice her strongly against the Fosseuse. 
 With this in view, she continually wrote of her rival s 
 insolent airs, and expressed her own conviction that 
 the end for which the other was working was nothing 
 else than to share the throne with my master. It 
 was her belief, that the ambition of the Fosseuse was 
 to bear a son. In this case, since kings must have 
 heirs, and my mistress was childless, she would have 
 a good hope of bringing about a dissolution of the 
 existing marriage and herself becoming my master s 
 lawful wife. 
 
 This was the tenor of the almost daily letters which 
 came to my mistress from the Rebours, of the con 
 tents of which she spoke to me with the same freedom 
 with which she has since written of them. The 
 117
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 object of these harassing communications was plain 
 enough. The writer was anxious to secure our mis 
 tress aid in supplanting the Fosseuse, and was 
 shrewdly playing on her jealousy of her royal position 
 the only jealousy which she was capable of feeling. 
 So matters went on, until, after a few weeks, the party 
 returned from Aigues-Chaudes. Apparently, the 
 Fosseuse was no better of her "indigestion," but 
 worse, rather. Nor had she gained in humility during 
 her absence ; so that the old irritations, growing out 
 of her arrogant airs and my master s infatuation, 
 coming in conflict with our mistress* sense of her 
 dignity as Queen, were renewed, to the great scandal 
 of the whole court, whose lynx-eyed observation none 
 of these things escaped. 
 
 The Queen has since written that she offered to 
 play the mother to the Fosseuse by taking her to 
 some quiet country house and keeping her there, 
 until all this trouble should have blown over; but 
 that the young lady indignantly declined the proposal, 
 and said that she would give the lie to those who 
 slandered her by their false representations. She adds 
 that her husband took the same high tone and made 
 light of the whole business. 
 
 Of all this I know nothing, and I write only what 
 came within my knowledge. 
 
 Two or three months after my master s return to 
 Nerac, one night I was awakened by some one rap 
 ping hastily on my door. No sooner did I open it, 
 than the court physician, pushing by me without a 
 word, passed through the antechamber in which I 
 118
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 slept, and knocked on the inner door. My master 
 answered the summons himself. There was a hurried 
 colloquy between them in low tones, during which I 
 caught the Fosseuse s name. After this the physican 
 hastened away, leaving the communicating door ajar. 
 Then followed a conversation between my master and 
 my mistress. He spoke low and earnestly. Appa 
 rently he made some appeal to her, to which she re 
 sponded in good part, for I caught such phrases as, 
 "act like a mother to her," and, "remove her as 
 quickly as possible from the room of the maids of 
 honor." 
 
 Very soon afterward the Queen went out of her 
 room and returned no more that night. 
 
 It was scarcely daylight, when my master called 
 me and bade me make preparations to go hunting 
 immediately, which we did. 
 
 In spite of all this mutual complaisance, the gossips 
 of the court found endless food for talk in this in 
 cident. 
 
 119
 
 CHAPTER THE TWELFTH. 
 
 THE LOVERS WAR AND THE TAKING OF CAHORS. 
 
 NEVER was there, to outward seeming, a more 
 causeless procedure, of equal seriousness, than 
 what is known as the " Lovers War." In appearance, 
 it originated in a mere court scandal. The King of 
 France, who was nothing, unless he was malicious 
 and mischief-making, was desirous of creating a breach 
 between my master and his wife. He therefore wrote 
 him a letter in which he descanted at great length 
 on the notoriety of the relations between the Queen 
 of Navarre and Turenne. 
 
 When my master had read this extraordinary mis 
 sive, without the least apparent concern he handed 
 it to the Queen, saying : 
 
 " Here, Margot. This is your affair, not mine." 
 She read it and turned crimson. Though nothing 
 more was said just then, it soon transpired what was 
 the purport of the letter. All the lovers at the court, 
 that is to say, nearly all the people there, were highly 
 incensed at the King of France, while the publicity 
 given to their affair rendered Turenne and Marguerite 
 furious. 
 
 I2O
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 To some, however, it was a matter of no little sur 
 prise, that the King of Navarre, after, at the first, 
 showing the greatest indifference both to the letter 
 and its subject, now took up the matter most warmly 
 and made it a pretext for threatening hostilities. The 
 most serious-minded of the Huguenots severely con 
 demned his course, and some even refused to take 
 arms in a war inaugurated on so trivial grounds. 
 
 This was, however, only the outside of the matter. 
 The affair of Marguerite and Turenne was simply used 
 as a cloak of political intrigue by both of the mon- 
 archs concerned. Henry of France very well knew 
 that his sister and her lover were trying to incite the 
 Huguenots to an uprising. He hoped, by the step 
 which he took, to create a breach between her hus 
 band and Turenne, and, by thus sowing dissension 
 between the leaders, to divide the Huguenot body. 
 Henry of Navarre played a deeper game. He saw 
 the other s purpose and promptly defeated it, by 
 making his wife s cause his own. A war would be 
 the most effectual means of uniting his followers, while 
 it might serve to improve his own position. 
 
 It is but truth to add, however, that political con 
 siderations were less potent in my master s mind than 
 certain personal influences. His accommodating 
 consort made habitual use of the methods for mould 
 ing men which she had learned from her mother. 
 The Flying Squadron of the Louvre had its counter 
 part at our little court of Nerac, and she now used 
 it to incite a war. The batteries of bright eyes were 
 turned in all their force upon the King of Navarre, to 
 
 121
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 stir him up to hostile measures. Above all, when once 
 Mademoiselle de la Fosseuse had declared for war, it 
 was no longer doubtful how her lover would decide. 
 
 The objective point upon which my master s eye 
 was fixed was Cahors. This city formed part of his 
 wife s dowry and should long since have been turned 
 over to him. But his repeated demands for its sur 
 render had been refused, and it was still held in ad 
 verse possession. He was now determined to have 
 it, at all costs. It was likely to prove expensive 
 enough, for it was well fortified, manned with two 
 thousand men, a stronger force than we could pos 
 sibly bring against it, and commanded by De Vezins, 
 an officer renowned for his reckless intrepidity. The 
 odds were, certainly, fearfully against us ; and, had 
 my master listened to the counsels of some of his 
 most experienced captains, he would have desisted 
 from the undertaking. But he would heed no dis 
 suasions. 
 
 After a forced march, we neared Cahors by night, 
 on the 2yth of May. Happily, a thunder-storm 
 covered our approach, and the garrison had no idea 
 of an enemy s being near. While the elements were 
 raging, we sheltered ourselves in a grove near the 
 walls. Meanwhile a picked body, with the King at 
 its head, crept forward, unobserved, to the city gates. 
 
 In the lead were two intrepid men, Huguenin and 
 Gaillard by name, who were to discharge two ma 
 chines, of a kind just then invented, and regarded as 
 very ingenious. Everybody who has heard or read 
 of war knows that a petard is a small cannon, as it 
 122
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 were, of iron or brass, heavily charged with powder, 
 and fastened in front to a madrier, or plank. This 
 is secured against the wall or gate to be breached, 
 the machine is fired by means of a fuse at its rear 
 end, and the force of the blast is expended against 
 the object in front. To us this engine of war was 
 then new, and we awaited the results of its employ 
 ment with mingled uncertainty and hope. 
 
 It was midnight when the garrison were aroused 
 from their sleep by the noise of two explosions. They 
 sprang to arms and came rushing to the defense. The 
 breaches made by the petards, as it proved, were 
 quite small, so that our foremost men could only 
 creep through, one at a time, until the openings were 
 enlarged with axes. 
 
 Thus, at the first, only a very few of us gained an 
 entrance within the walls, whereas the defenders came 
 rushing in great numbers to repel us. Only the fact 
 that we were hemmed in against the wall, enabled us 
 to stand our ground, while the very desperateness of 
 the situation lent us valor. 
 
 Foremost among the defenders was the intrepid 
 commandant, Vezins, who, at the first alarm, leaped 
 out of his bed, seized his sword, and, without stop 
 ping to put on his clothes, came running in his shirt 
 to the fray. Throwing himself with fury upon us, 
 he was among the first killed. His death inspired 
 us with the hope of success. 
 
 A terrible fire of harquebuses was opened upon us 
 from the street, while the citizens, climbing out on 
 their roofs, showered stones and tiles on our heads. 
 123
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 The King of Navarre would not hear to a retreat. 
 He vowed that he would take the city, or die in the 
 attempt. All that we could do was to shelter ourselves, 
 as best we might, and hold our ground, firing with our 
 harquebuses. Happily, our force was steadily in 
 creased by more of our men coming in, until, having 
 demolished the gates with axes, we had a clear pas 
 sage for as many as could find room within. When 
 daylight came, our whole force was inside the walls. 
 But the chance of advancing farther seemed hopeless. 
 We were incessantly under fire, though, happily, the 
 houses gave us some shelter. 
 
 The fight lasted all the day. By night we had 
 gained a little ground. We durst not, however, quit 
 our arms, to sleep, but rested as we might, wherever 
 we chanced to be, not knowing at what moment we 
 might be attacked ; and we ate hungrily such food as 
 was brought to us by those in the rear. 
 
 When daylight came, we found a barricade erected 
 in front of us. We charged and took it, only to find 
 another facing us. 
 
 Not only must we fight the garrison, but the whole 
 citizenship seemed arrayed against us, in a sort of 
 martial furor. While the soldiery obstructed our 
 advance in the streets behind barricades, which they 
 defended with obstinate valor, the townspeople turned 
 every building of any size into a citadel, which needed 
 to be stormed, ere we could pass beyond it. So slow 
 was our progress, again and again some of our officers 
 argued and pleaded with the King of Navarre to 
 retire, urging that it would be no disgrace to fail in 
 124
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 a so desperate enterprise. But he would heed neith/sr 
 argument nor entreaty. I had more than once ob 
 served in him a singular sort of fatalism which, on 
 occasions of great emergency, made him feel that he 
 was an instrument in the hands of Providence. Now, 
 pointing to the skies, he said, " It is written up there, 
 what the issue is to be. And I have sworn that there 
 is but one way that I will leave this town untaken ; 
 and that is with the breath gone out of my body." 
 And this, although he was already wounded. 
 
 That which made the garrison and citizens so 
 desperate in their resistance was the certain hope of 
 reinforcement. We had, however, the advantage of 
 holding the gate, and the enemy s succors would need 
 to force an entrance into the town. In due time, 
 the expected reinforcement arrived, and we were on 
 the point of being assailed in the rear, when a great 
 huzza went up from our men about the gate, and 
 word was passed to us in front, that the forces of 
 Turenne, under Chouppes, were at hand. They had 
 come by a forced march, and just in time to save us 
 from being placed in a still more perilous situation. 
 
 The new-comers burst in with a great cheer and 
 mightily strengthened us. 
 
 Still, the defenders held manfully every foot of 
 ground. First we needed to storm the town house, 
 then the college, then the monasteries. 
 
 Four days now we had been fighting incessantly, 
 resting at night as best we could, weapons in hand. 
 On the fifth .morning, there was still a barricade in 
 front of us, the enemy s last. 
 125
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 My master, his wounded left arm in a sling, formed 
 a column of assault and placed himself in the middle 
 of the front rank. I was close beside him. Then, at 
 the word, we rushed forward. A terrible fire of har 
 quebuses met us, and a number of our men fell. Still, 
 we pressed on and came up to the barricade, its de 
 fenders standing up stoutly behind it. 
 
 Among them, I saw a man whom I at once recog 
 nized as the Baron of Bonrepos. He had already 
 seen me, and that he knew me, was evident from the 
 expression of his countenance, which was fairly livid 
 with hate. By a common impulse, we made for each 
 other and crossed swords over the barrier, which was 
 here about four feet high. It was unchancy fighting, 
 with a wall between us. But neither could attempt 
 to mount it, without giving a cruel advantage to his 
 adversary. So, we continued chopping and lunging 
 at each other in this awkward fashion, without damage 
 done on either side ; for it is no difficult matter to 
 defend yourself against a man, when he can come 
 at you from the upper guard only, and neither party 
 can advance a foot. 
 
 In the meanwhile, our veteran harquebusiers had 
 come up to the barricade and were pouring a deadly 
 fire over it into the crowded ranks of the enemy. 
 That settled the day. 
 
 " Give me a chance to cross the barricade, and I 
 will meet you on a fair field," cried Bonrepos to me. 
 
 "Done!" I answered; "climb over. Nobody 
 shall molest you in crossing." 
 
 " Come away, madman! " shouted two of his com- 
 126
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 rades, and they seized and dragged him back. In 
 deed, it was none too early, for the whole line was 
 breaking in retreat. Still glaring toward me, Bonrepos 
 was pulled along by his friendly captors. 
 
 By the time that we had surmounted the barrier, 
 the enemy was at a distance, scurrying pell-mell to 
 reach an exit from the town, and my late antagonist 
 soon disappeared in the throng of fugitives. 
 
 At last the most desperate resistance we had ever 
 encountered came to an end. The town yielded us 
 an immense booty. There were few who did not find 
 some valuable treasure. Rosny, whose scent for 
 plunder is as keen as that of a crow for carrion, took 
 a small iron chest, which was found to contain four 
 thousand gold crowns. This will go far toward that 
 great fortune which is his constant dream. 
 
 127
 
 CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE MET AN OLD FOE 
 IN A NEW GUISE. 
 
 /^AHORS was won, but the town was still by no 
 \~s means safe. A large part of the enemy had 
 escaped, when they found their case to be desperate. 
 Others had been captured. Still others were secreted 
 in the houses, awaiting their opportunity of doing 
 mischief or of slipping away. Thus, there was need 
 of the greatest vigilance ; and we posted guards at 
 several points, to repress such disorders as might 
 easily break out in such a situation. 
 
 As I was returning from stationing some detach 
 ments, my sleeve was twitched, and I turned, to find 
 myself confronted by an old woman. Almost before 
 I could recognize her as Jacqueline, the servant who 
 nursed me at the Robervals , she made a sign to me, 
 to be silent and follow her. The old woman led me 
 a short distance along the street, and then turned into 
 a dark and narrow archway, which opened into a 
 small, dingy court, apparently deserted. The houses 
 fronting on it were tumble-down rookeries and showed 
 no signs of human habitation. A vile odor of rot- 
 128
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 tenness pervaded the place, and the overhanging roofs 
 so effectually shut out the daylight, that even then, 
 while the sun was still high, twilight filled the gloomy 
 nook. 
 
 Here Jacqueline stopped and exchanged cordial 
 greetings with me. The old woman seemed over 
 joyed to see me, and my delight at meeting her was 
 indescribable, when I learned that she had come with 
 a message from her young mistress. 
 
 Sophie was in Cahors and wished to see me! It 
 was soon arranged that, an hour after dark, we three 
 should meet at the same spot. 
 
 How my heart bounded at the thought of seeing 
 the true-hearted girl whose love had clung to me and 
 sustained me through more than three years of sepa 
 ration ! 
 
 Long before the appointed time, I slipped away 
 quietly from my comrades and hastened to the ren 
 dezvous. As I passed through the archway, it was 
 already so dark, that I needed to grope my way 
 along, by feeling the wall on either side. The foul 
 odor and pitchy blackness of the little court fitted it 
 rather for a meeting-place of robbers or murderers 
 than a trysting-place of Christian lovers. So I 
 thought, as I cautiously advanced into it. But, 
 looking up to the little patch of clear sky visible 
 between the roofs, I saw a single star shining serenely. 
 A symbol it seemed of Sophie, whose presence could 
 make a heaven of that reeking court. I had some 
 time to wait. It seemed interminable. Once I heard 
 a slight sound, as of some movement in the doorway 
 129
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 of one of the ruinous houses near me. I called, " Who 
 is there?" There was no answer. Rats, I con 
 cluded, or a prowling dog. But what a place was 
 this for Sophie to visit, and attended only by an old 
 woman! It was a perilous undertaking, at such an 
 hour and in such a town. It must have been, that 
 Jacqueline had chosen this place for our meeting 
 because of its secrecy. 
 
 In due time, I heard the shuffling of steps hesitat 
 ingly entering the archway. I called in an undertone, 
 "Is it you, Jacqueline?" "Yes, Monsieur," she 
 answered. Reassured by my voice, the visitors came 
 on confidently. Then a soft hand met mine, and, 
 before I was conscious of my own audacity, I had 
 folded Sophie in my arms, and her head was on my 
 shoulder, while our lips met in a long kiss a long, 
 long kiss of youth and love. 
 
 The moments flew swiftly by, as I held her to my 
 heart and told how my love had upheld and inspired 
 me during our long separation, and she, in turn, re 
 newed the assurance of her absolute confidence in my 
 honor and faithfulness. Alas, that we must so soon 
 part! For she had but stolen away from her home 
 for a few moments, and dreaded lest her absence be 
 discovered by her parents. I had no time tq learn, 
 even, by what happy chance she found herself in 
 Cahors, still less to inquire into the cause of the 
 strangely unfriendly attitude of her parents toward 
 me. But she promised that, on the next evening, 
 she would so arrange matters at home, that she would 
 be able to spend a longer time with me. Here she 
 130
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 appealed to Jacqueline, who agreed that she and 
 her mistress would devise a plan by which they might 
 gain an hour the next evening. 
 
 So, with a final embrace, we parted. I led the way 
 through the arch, and then followed them, as a pro 
 tector, so long as they would allow me. For Sophie 
 held it a point of honor, to observe the letter of her 
 father s prohibition and not permit me to approach 
 their domicile. 
 
 All the next day, my thoughts were busy with plans 
 to secure an interview with her parents, that I might, 
 as I hoped, remove whatever grounds of disapproval 
 they might entertain against me, and seek the right 
 to become their daughter s accepted suitor. 
 
 Once I noticed a man, a particularly ill-looking 
 fellow, who seemed to be dogging me. I no sooner 
 turned to accost him, than he slipped away through 
 a group of soldiers and was quickly out of sight. 
 
 It was later than usual, when my master and his 
 officers sat down to supper that evening. I scarcely 
 tasted the food, then quickly slipped away from my 
 seat near the foot of the board and hastened to the 
 appointed place of meeting. 
 
 I had groped my way through the arch. As I 
 emerged from it, I was seized by men who sprang 
 upon me from both sides and gripped my arms. In 
 vain I made a prodigious effort to shake them off. 
 Then I shouted, "Navarre! Navarre to the res 
 cue!" 
 
 Before I could make further outcry, a cloak was 
 wrapped quickly around my head. At the same
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 time my feet were jerked off the ground, and, still 
 struggling vainly, I was carried along, a man to each 
 limb. My captors did not go many steps, before 
 I was aware that they were ascending a flight of 
 creaking, rickety, narrow stairs, squeezing me fright 
 fully in doing so. Evidently, I was in one of the 
 houses fronting on the court. At once the thought 
 of Sophie s coming there flashed into my mind and 
 filled me with horror. I was taken into a room at 
 the head of the stairs and tumbled rudely enough on 
 the floor. I unwrapped the cloak from my head and 
 rose to my feet. In a minute or two, a man came 
 in, bringing a candle, which he set on a table, the 
 only furniture of the room, save a rickety stool and a 
 pallet spread on the floor. 
 
 In the man who brought in the candle, and whom 
 the others obeyed as their leader, I recognized the 
 fellow whom I had detected dogging my steps that 
 day. He produced a cord from his pocket and se 
 curely tied together my hands and feet. The precau 
 tion was scarcely necessary against possible escape, 
 for the solitary window, its panes grimy with dirt 
 and thickly coated with dust, was heavily barred. 
 The whole place had the look of not having been 
 tenanted for years. As to the villainous quartet who 
 had brought me thither, I judged from their appear 
 ance that they were hangers-on of the departed 
 Catholic army who had taken temporary possession 
 of this old rookery, as a safe hiding-place. What 
 was their object in treating me in this fashion, I could 
 not guess. Had it been either robbery or murder, or 
 132
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 both, it might have been effected without so much 
 trouble as they had taken. 
 
 I had not long to speculate on this point. Shortly 
 after my captors had withdrawn, leaving me seated 
 on the rickety stool, surveying my dingy cell and 
 wondering what would come next, the door opened, 
 and a female figure entered. The woman planted 
 herself in front of me, her arms akimbo, and stared 
 sardonically at me, without a word. So dull was the 
 light of the candle, it was some time before I recog 
 nized in the coarse, slatternly creature the trim lady s- 
 maid of the chateau of Bonrepos, Marie Roseau. 
 Following the camp, I imagined, hard living, wine, 
 and debauchery had made fearful inroads on her good 
 looks, while they had brought out her latent devilish- 
 ness. 
 
 So soon as she saw that I knew her, she began 
 wagging her head and dropping her words slowly 
 between her half-closed teeth. 
 
 " So, you remember me, Jean Fourcade, do you? " 
 
 I answered not a word. 
 
 "You recall what I told you? I have kept my 
 word. I have paid you back your insult many times 
 over already. And now I am going to make a finish 
 of it. But all in good time. There is no need of 
 haste. You might have been stuck like a pig, as you 
 are, in that black archway. But you would never 
 have known what hand sent the blow. I ordered 
 you brought here, that I might let you know " 
 
 Bang! bang! came a thundering knock on the 
 door below, while a man shouted from without, 
 133
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 "Open, in the King s name! " 
 
 "Your King to hell! " was the hoarse answer from 
 within. 
 
 Instantly there came the crash of ponderous blows 
 against the rotten old door, which immediately began 
 to crack and split. Then followed the discharge of 
 firearms and the clash of steel. 
 
 The woman, at the first sound, had sprung out into 
 the hall, listening intently. Now she shouted down 
 the stairs, her voice ringing shrilly above the din at 
 the door, "Simon, Simon, out by the back way! I 
 follow quickly." Then she darted back toward me, 
 at the same time drawing something from her bosom. 
 Intuitively I knew what she was at and, hobbled as 
 I was, unable to take a step, I rose on my feet and 
 threw up my tied hands, thus warding off the blow 
 of her dagger. Before she could repeat it, I had 
 gripped her by the throat with my right hand. With 
 this I held her at arm s-length, choked her and shook 
 her from side to side, so that, striking out with blind 
 fury, she could but graze my shoulder. So I man 
 aged to keep the fiend at bay with my one hand. 
 
 All the while, fighting was going on below. But 
 it did not last long. The ruffians were quickly over 
 powered by the greater force of their assailants, and 
 a familiar voice shouted, "Jean! Jean! where are 
 you ? " 
 
 " Here! " I yelled, at the top of my voice. 
 
 Then there were heavy steps on the stairs, and my 
 master burst into the little room, with a half-dozen 
 men at his heels crowding the doorway. In a mo- 
 134
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 ment, he had disarmed the woman, flung her, panting 
 glaring and cursing, against the wall, and, with her 
 dagger cut the cords that bound my hands and feet, 
 Then, instantly changing to that jesting manner which 
 sometimes covered his most serious moods, he said, 
 " So, a pretty scrape with a jealous woman you have 
 got into!" And he burst into laughing, as if the 
 whole affair was a capital joke. 
 
 Ignoring his jocularity, I told him, in a few hurried 
 words, of my seizure, and how the woman, when she 
 saw me on the point of being rescued, tried to stab 
 me. He looked from me to her and from her to 
 me, with a puzzled air. Then, seeing blood on my 
 sleeve, he asked, "Are you much hurt? " 
 
 " Only a scratch or two." 
 
 " It is a wonder that she did not kill you, with 
 your hands and feet tied. Do you know who she 
 is?" 
 
 " Yes, Sire, I have known her." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "In Paris and at the chateau of Bonrepos." 
 
 At the mention of this name he looked somewhat 
 crestfallen, but scanned the woman closely. She, 
 disheveled and still panting, returned his look with 
 one of fierce defiance. Evidently he recognized her, 
 for he asked sternly, 
 
 " Where is your mistress? " 
 
 " I have no mistress. I am a mistress." This, 
 with a proud toss of her head. 
 
 " Oh, I understand," he laughed sardonically. 
 "Whose?"
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Mistress of a better man than you or that booby 
 there," with a scornful glance at me. 
 
 "What s his name?" 
 
 " Oh, names are nothing. Men count." This, 
 with a shrug of the shoulders and an air as if she 
 were talking with boys. 
 
 " I asked you where the Baroness is," resumed the 
 King, with a manner which should have warned her 
 against further insolence. 
 
 " In Hell, no doubt. You did your best to send 
 her there. Her husband locked her up, on bread 
 and water " 
 
 " Take this lying hag," cried my master, with fury 
 blazing from his eyes, " and guard her safe till morn 
 ing. Then we shall see how she will talk." With a 
 menancing glance at the woman, still scowling de 
 fiance, he strode from the room. 
 
 Down-stairs the light of torches fell upon the 
 bodies of two of the ruffians, lying with upturned 
 faces. The others were prisoners. We paused to 
 look at the corpses, and I pointed out one of them 
 as that of the leader. Just then Marie Roseau was 
 led down by the guard. When her eyes fell on the 
 face of the ruffian, she gave an unearthly cry, some 
 thing nearer the roar of an enraged lioness than any 
 human sound I have ever heard. Then she struggled 
 wildly with the soldiers to break loose from them and 
 throw herself upon his body, while she wailed out, 
 "O my God! My Simon, my beautiful Simon, 
 dead! " He was as ill-favored a scoundrel as ever 
 thrust a dagger in the dark, and the least likely, one 
 136
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 would have said, to arouse the sentiment of a wo 
 man s nature. Yet, here was this raging creature, 
 breaking her heart over his coarse, ugly clay, now in 
 wild lamentations, now in blasphemous curses on 
 those who slew him, now in hysterical outbursts, 
 strangely like the laugh of a hyena. This she- 
 brute loved! and her wild grief was more terrible 
 than her murderous rage. 
 
 " Take her back to the up-stairs room and guard 
 her securely until morning," commanded the King ; 
 and we went away. 
 
 When we stepped out into the courtyard, an anxious 
 voice from out the darkness asked, " Is Monsieur 
 Sabatier safe? " 
 
 " Yes, Jacqueline," I eagerly cried, " I am well ; 
 and Mademoiselle Sophie, where is she? " 
 
 " She is not far hence, waiting for tidings of you." 
 
 " I must escort you home." 
 
 " I dare not let you, Monsieur. It would sorely 
 displease my young lady. But we are in no danger." 
 We had drawn near to each other, and this colloquy 
 had been held in undertones. Now the old woman, 
 dropping her voice to a whisper, added, " She bids me 
 tell you, she hopes to meet you to-morrow evening." 
 
 Brave Sophie! How her courage and hopefulness 
 rose over all difficulties! 
 
 " So, Mr. Innocence," cried my master, in his 
 bantering way, when I rejoined him, " after all, there 
 is a woman in the case. I knew it." 
 
 " Not in the sense that you mean, Sire. This 
 young lady is very different from the court dames." 
 137
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " H m! so much the worse," was all his answer. 
 
 As we walked along, he told me the story of the 
 rescue. " I was at table," he said, " when word was 
 brought, that an old woman implored leave to see me 
 immediately. Aubigne laughed and said, His Ma 
 jesty is not interested in old women, but perhaps 
 Then all fell to laughing immoderately. I sent word, 
 Tell her to come to-morrow. But she persisted 
 that it was a matter of life and death to one of my 
 officers. I had her brought in. She told her story 
 quickly and straight. One of my officers Monsieur 
 Sabatier she called him had been seized and carried 
 off. She had followed to the house where he was 
 conveyed. I knew of no Sabatier. But the thing 
 seemed likely enough, in the existing state of affairs 
 here. Then all looked around the table, to see who 
 was missing, and some one cried, Where is Four- 
 cade? Another said, I saw him go out shortly 
 after dark. Fearing that it might be you, I would 
 lose no time, but called the guard and quickly fol 
 lowed the old woman. When we stepped out into 
 the courtyard, another woman, slender in figure, but 
 completely muffled, joined the old one, and they two 
 led us to the house where we found you. And we 
 arrived none too early ; for that hag would have made 
 short work of you, with those scoundrels to do her 
 bidding. 
 
 "Now, Jean," he continued, "did I not tell you 
 
 truly, that you were a fool to repulse that girl at 
 
 Bonrepos? Not to mention what you lost, twice it 
 
 has nearly cost you your life. Monsieur Damours 
 
 138
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 might do that sort of thing, but a soldier bah! Of 
 what stuff are you made? " 
 
 " Sire," I replied, " I would not, for all the world, 
 have done otherwise than I did." 
 
 " You are a strange fellow," he muttered. Then 
 he tried to draw me out about Sophie. But by this 
 time we had reached our quarters. My wounds, 
 too, needed attention, and I was too sore at the dis 
 appointment of not meeting Sophie to care to talk. 
 So, I pleaded weariness and escaped further ques 
 tioning. 
 
 The next morning, after despatching business with 
 his officers, my master called me aside and said, " Now 
 let us two go and see what we can find out from that 
 she-devil." I was willing enough, for I longed to 
 learn something of the means which this woman had 
 employed against me. I knew that to her I owed 
 the unfriendliness of Monsieur Roberval, as well as 
 the enmity of the Baron of Bonrepos. In some way 
 she had influenced the one through the other. 
 
 We repaired to the scene of my last night s adven 
 ture. The place looked worse than ever. The 
 shattered door stood open, and a half-dozen soldiers 
 lounged about it. The two corpses had been dragged 
 out into the court, where they still lay, a cur licking 
 their blood. The men stood back, as we advanced, 
 and the officer came out to meet us. 
 
 " How fares your prisoner? " asked the King. 
 
 " Quiet as a lamb, your Majesty. At first she 
 shrieked and moaned and threw herself about so vio 
 lently, that I feared she would do herself an injury 
 139
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 and I caused her to be tied. After a time, her noise 
 ceased. Then I let her be unloosed, and since then 
 she has been quiet asleep, no doubt." 
 
 At a sign from the King, he led the way up the 
 stairs and opened the door. 
 
 When our eyes had become accustomed to the 
 darkness, a ghastly spectacle met us. The wretched 
 woman hung against the wall, dead. Her garters, 
 knotted together and caught over a hook, had been 
 the means of her self-murder. Evidently, she had 
 stood upon the stool and had pushed it from under 
 her feet. She had suffered frightfully, and her fingers 
 were crooked like talons, as if, in her last agony, she 
 had tried to clutch the cord and release herself. Her 
 features, fearfully swollen, were black with congested 
 blood. Her lustreless eyes, almost burst from their 
 sockets, stared with the stony gaze of death. The 
 mouth stood agape, and the swollen tongue hung 
 out, as if in a hideous leer. It was evident, too, 
 that another life had ended with hers. 
 
 A dead silence fell upon both of us. Whatever 
 thoughts of vengeance the King had entertained he 
 never expressed. In the face of the frightful thing 
 hanging there, how impotent seemed all human re 
 tribution ! 
 
 Without a word, we turned away and descended 
 the stairs. 
 
 While returning to our quarters, we were met by 
 
 Aubigne on horseback, escorting a rider, splashed 
 
 with mud, whose animal, panting and foam-covered, 
 
 showed that he had ridden furiously. The messenger 
 
 140
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 delivered to the King a letter, which he had no sooner 
 read, than he bade Aubigne" go and order the bugles 
 to sound for the immediate assembling of the troops. 
 Marshal Biron, who had been laying waste Armagnac, 
 was now in a position in which he might be struck a 
 deadly blow, and his new forces scattered, if no time 
 were lost. 
 
 The King now exhibited that preternatural energy 
 which he was wont to show at times of urgent need. 
 A sufficient garrison was detailed to hold Cahors, and 
 we were soon ready to march. 
 
 Thus, again, I was cruelly disappointed of the ex 
 pected meeting with Sophie. To cheer me, I had 
 only the memory of the few happy moments I had 
 spent with her. There was but time for me to scrawl 
 a hasty note, telling her that my duty called me away, 
 and imploring her to intercede for me with her father, 
 in order that, when I should return to Cahors, I might 
 have an interview with him and seek to win his ap 
 proval. This I intrusted to Porcher, a friend of mine 
 and an officer of the garrison, begging him to wait on 
 the spot which I described, at the hour appointed for 
 my interview with Sophie, and, when he should see 
 her and her attendant approach, to deliver it in my 
 name. 
 
 141
 
 CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 HOW THE FOUND WAS LOST AGAIN. 
 
 OUR operations in the region of Montauban led 
 to nothing especially interesting. We failed to 
 catch Biron and only succeeded in dispersing some 
 new levies which he was trying to gather. It was a 
 brief campaign of rapid marches and skirmishes, but 
 effective in its way. 
 
 Returning to our headquarters at Montauban, I was 
 alarmed by tidings of serious disorders at Cahors. 
 The garrison of that city had taken advantage of 
 the absence of the King of Navarre and, in spite 
 of his express prohibition, had sacked and pillaged 
 the churches and monasteries. The Catholic popu 
 lation had offered strenuous resistance to these out 
 rages, and in consequence there had been riots and 
 bloodshed. Armed bands of Catholics from without 
 had seized the opportunity of entering the town. 
 Severe fighting had followed, and Cahors had nearly 
 been retaken from us. I was greatly disturbed for 
 the safety of the Robervals, and asked leave of my 
 master to visit the place, to look after their well- 
 being. He readily granted permission, though not 
 142
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 without a little jesting at my expense. My serious 
 love-affair afforded him constant entertainment. 
 
 Cahors I found far more ruined than after our 
 capture. My first inquiry was for Poacher. He had 
 been killed, in the course of the rioting. In trying 
 to protect a monastery against a rabble of our own 
 men, he had fallen a victim to their fury. 
 
 What should I do? The only possible channel of 
 information about the Robervals was closed. Then 
 it occurred to me to make inquiry among the Cath 
 olic residents. But even this would be diffcult, 
 owing to the breaking up of the religious houses and 
 the dispersion of their inmates. 
 
 While I was pondering where to begin, a Francis 
 can monk passed me. I accosted him. 
 
 " Good Father," I said, " I am in a distress of mind 
 from which it may be that you can relieve me. I 
 have friends here who are Catholics, and I have 
 journeyed a long distance, for their good." 
 
 The man eyed me silently and suspiciously for a 
 moment and then asked cautiously, 
 
 " What has led you to seek them? " 
 
 " I have been told that great disorders have pre 
 vailed here, and the Catholic population has been 
 subjected to great indignities and wrongs." 
 
 " You are a Huguenot? " 
 
 " Yes, I follow the King of Navarre." 
 
 " We have not been accustomed to look for much 
 consideration from that quarter." 
 
 "The acts of violence," I replied, "which I de 
 plore, were committed in direct violation of my 
 143
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 master s orders. You will bear me witness that, 
 while he was here, the persons and property of the 
 Catholic citizens were scrupulously protected." 
 
 " That is true. What is the name of those whom 
 you seek? " 
 
 " Monsieur Paul Roberval and his family." 
 
 " I know of none of that name." 
 
 " That is not surprising. They have, perhaps, not 
 been long here. They left Rochelle because of the 
 Protestant domination." 
 
 " I fear that I cannot help you in your quest," he 
 said, and was turning away, when I detained him. 
 
 " Hold! " I cried. " Father, this is a serious mat 
 ter. It deeply concerns the welfare of these friends. 
 Take this " I slipped into his hand a gold crown 
 "as an earnest of my good faith. If you will seek 
 them and bring me sure tidings of their whereabouts, 
 I will add as much more." 
 
 The monk paused a moment, in deep thought, then 
 said, " Meet me here to-morrow, an hour after sunrise. 
 I will bring you a man who knows everything. If 
 they are here, he either knows it or can soon find it 
 out." 
 
 So we parted. The next morning, I was early on 
 the spot appointed for our meeting. Soon my monk 
 came, bringing with him another, of the same order. 
 The new-comer s appearance, certainly, seemed to 
 justify all that had been said of his penetration and 
 knowledge. 
 
 Fixing upon me his deep-set eyes, which seemed 
 to read my thoughts, he said abruptly, 
 144
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 "You are seeking friends who are Catholics? " 
 
 " Yes, Father." 
 
 " I have seen them." 
 
 " That is well. Describe them." 
 
 As if ignoring the suspicion implied in my de 
 mand, he answered promptly, " A middle-aged man, 
 quiet and scholarly in appearance ; his wife, kindly 
 and portly, a good soul, one would say ; a daugh 
 ter, of not much more than twenty years perhaps, 
 very fair"; here the monk suddenly transfixed me 
 with one of his penetrating glances, then continued, 
 as if not observing my embarrassment, "an elderly 
 serving-woman; one male domestic. Is that right? " 
 
 "You have described them truly. Now, where 
 are they? " 
 
 " That I can t tell. Not in Cahors." 
 
 " Not in Cahors! What do you mean? " 
 
 "They are gone hence." 
 
 "Impossible! " I exclaimed. "How could they 
 travel? All horses have been seized by one or the 
 other army." 
 
 " They had friends." 
 
 "What friends? " I asked, while a pang of some 
 thing like jealousy shot through me. 
 
 The monk looked impenetrable. I remembered 
 that I had not yet paid the promised fee. I took out 
 the coin and ostentatiously added another. Then I said, 
 
 " I will give you the double of what I promised, if 
 you will tell me all you know." 
 
 The monk slipped the money into his girdle ; then, 
 with the air of a father counseling a son, he said, 
 
 145
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Young man, you are engaged in a vain quest. 
 Those whom you seek are far beyond your reach. 
 They have mighty friends. When the tumult was at 
 its height, and some of the Catholic troops had re 
 turned hither, a band of armed men took the family 
 whom you seek under their protection, mounted them 
 and escorted them out of the town." 
 
 This was startling news indeed. Who could this 
 party be? I knew of no friends of the Robervals. 
 They had always seemed to me singularly isolated 
 people, cut off from their kindred by their removal 
 from their early home. What should I think of this 
 sudden appearance on the scene of a person interested 
 and powerful enough to protect them from harm and 
 take them away? 
 
 " Did you know any of this party their leader, 
 for instance? " I asked. 
 
 "They were disguised," answered the monk eva 
 sively. 
 
 " Ah! but you knew the leader? " 
 
 " Perhaps I did. What then? " 
 
 " You have promised to tell me all you know." 
 
 " Young man, I have kept my engagement. I 
 promised to tell you of your friends, not of mine. I 
 have sufficiently informed you of those whom you 
 inquire for, to let you know that you will not find them 
 here. Further I have nothing to say." 
 
 Before I could think how to answer him or push 
 my inquiries further 
 
 146
 
 [At this point occurs a most exasperating break in the manu 
 script. Ninety-three pages are missing. The reader will be 
 compelled to fill up the interval from his knowledge or from his 
 imagination. So far as the course of history is concerned, we 
 know that these years were employed by Henry of Navarre in 
 a species of desultory warfare, unmarked by any notable occur 
 rence, and enlivened only by his habitual gallantries. THE 
 EDITOR.]
 
 CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE RECEIVED STRANGE TIDINGS. 
 
 [The manuscript resumes thus :] 
 
 EADING his jaded horse, he took me to a safe 
 distance and then drew from his bosom a packet, 
 which he handed to me. 
 
 I opened it and found within a letter. That hand 
 writing! Can it indeed be Sophie s? I tore the 
 missive open and devoured its contents. It reads 
 thus, for it lies before me now, yellow and creased 
 and worn, but treasured still : 
 
 " MY JEAN, for my heart tells me that you are 
 still mine, as I am yours, though a cruel fate has 
 separated us through these bitter years, I cannot 
 write much. I dare not put on paper all I wish you 
 to know, lest it fall into other hands than yours. But 
 this trusted messenger can tell you what you will most 
 need to know. Only this : come, come quickly, with 
 force enough, if you would save me from a fate worse 
 than death that daily threatens me. 
 
 " Yours for life and eternity, 
 
 "SOPHIE." 
 148
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 In a fever of excitement I questioned the old man 
 and learned the following particulars. His name 
 was Armand Lesesne. He was a tenant on the estate 
 of Bonrepos. It had long been known among the 
 country folk of the neighborhood, that there were 
 strangers living at the chateau some said as guests, 
 others said as prisoners; at all events, so carefully 
 watched, that they were never seen abroad. One 
 day he observed an old woman making her way to 
 him, as he was in his field, and, on her nearer ap 
 proach, he was surprised to recognize Jacqueline 
 Dupre, his wife s cousin, whom he had not seen 
 within several years, not since Monsieur Paul Rober- 
 val and his family had gone away. They knew each 
 other well and trusted each other. 
 
 She soon told her story. She was with her master 
 and his family, in the chateau of Bonrepos. They 
 had been there since the fall of Cahors, but so jeal 
 ously watched, that they were unable to hold any 
 communication with the outer world. During the 
 height of the riots which followed the departure of 
 the King of Navarre, the Baron had suddenly ap 
 peared with an armed following in Cahors. He had 
 offered to her master a refuge in his chateau, and the 
 offer had been gladly accepted. 
 
 No sooner, however, did the party reach Bonrepos, 
 than they found that they were prisoners, rather than 
 guests. If ever they attempted to pass beyond the 
 grounds, the armed escort who invariably attended 
 them out of doors, interposed his master s strict orders. 
 In short, they found themselves most rigidly watched 
 149
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 and cut off from communication with their friends, 
 even by letter, as effectually as if they were prisoners 
 of state in the Bastille. 
 
 The Baron s object soon became apparent, when 
 he began to pay the most annoying attentions to her 
 young mistress. To escape these, she kept herself 
 always near her parents and in every manner possi 
 ble avoided his presence. Her only relief was found 
 in her tormentor s long absences from his castle, when 
 he was with the army. There was, also, a respite of 
 a whole year, during which he was engaged in the 
 Duke of Anjou s campaign in Flanders. But there 
 was never any relaxation of the vigilance with which 
 they were guarded and all their movements watched. 
 
 At last matters had reached such a pass, that Jac 
 queline, dreading some act of violence, with her 
 young mistress devised a plan by which she escaped 
 for a brief time from the chateau, with the connivance 
 of one of the guards whom she had bribed, and made 
 her way to Armand Lesesne. He had promised his 
 aid, and two days later she had stolen out again, 
 bringing the letter which he had delivered to me. 
 
 Jacqueline had charged him to ride with all des 
 patch to the King of Navarre s quarters, to seek me 
 (by this time she knew my real name) and urge me 
 to lose no time in effecting a rescue, by some means, 
 for she believed the Baron capable of any desperate 
 villainy, and she lived in daily dread. 
 
 I needed no spur. Sophie s letter was sufficiently 
 alarming to fire my heart with a desperate resolve to 
 accomplish her deliverance at all hazards.
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 But how was it to be done? The situation was 
 truly desperate. Bonrepos lay well within the enemy s 
 country. To reach it, under any circumstances, would 
 be perilous, now tenfold more, since every road was 
 alive with the Catholic gentry flocking to the royal 
 armies bearing down upon us and vowing death to 
 every Huguenot. 
 
 The first thing to be done was, to lay the case be 
 fore my master. 
 
 I hastily told him the outlines of the story which 
 had just reached me. He was well aware of the 
 mysterious disappearance of Sophie from Cahors, and 
 how keenly I had felt it. 
 
 In a moment his love of romantic adventure was 
 fired. 
 
 " Ventre-saint-gris ! " he cried. "I will go with 
 you, Jean. We will take a handful of picked men, 
 storm the chateau, rescue your lady-love, hang that 
 scoundrel Bonrepos over his own door, and burn his 
 damned old robbers nest." 
 
 But scarcely had he littered the words, when he 
 saw the wild impossibility of such a scheme. 
 
 In very truth, his own situation, with that of the 
 Huguenot army, at that juncture was perilous in the 
 extreme. Never had the cause been in greater 
 jeopardy. Whether there would even be a vestige 
 of our forces left, was soon to be decided. Zealous 
 Catholics swore by every saint that there would not 
 be an armed Huguenot alive within a month. 
 
 And their boasting seemed reasonable enough. 
 With the King of France making common cause
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 with the turbulent Catholic League; with all the 
 forces of the kingdom in arms, to deliver one crush 
 ing blow to the heretics ; with three royal armies in 
 the field, our cause seemed desperate. There was 
 fipernon on the eastern frontier, blocking the road of 
 the Protestant German army coming to our relief. 
 There was Marshal Matignon leading a heavy column 
 southward against us. There was the Duke of Joy- 
 euse hastening, on another line, with a third army, to 
 win glory for himself and the troop of hot-headed 
 gallants who followed him from the court. Rumor 
 reported him breathing out threatenings and slaughter, 
 meanwhile marking every mile of his march with the 
 corpses of murdered Huguenots and swearing that 
 he would kill any man who should spare a heretic. 
 If we should be caught between these two columns 
 as was their purpose, we should be ground between 
 the upper and the nether millstone. 
 
 Never had I seen my master exhibit the cool in 
 trepidity of the born soldier as he now did. 
 
 With all Catholic France in arms and moving to the 
 destruction of his little army, hemmed into a corner 
 of the kingdom, with hostile Spain at his back and 
 the ocean on his left flank, retreat effectually cut off, 
 he was cheerfully waiting and watching his opportu 
 nity to strike the first blow. Nothing disturbed his 
 serenity, and only the sheer necessity of remaining 
 at his post with the army hindered him from embark 
 ing with me in the knightly adventure of rescuing 
 Sophie. 
 
 One thing was plain. We could not effect our
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 purpose by an open show of force. All the country 
 to our northward was swarming with armed bands. 
 Nothing less than the whole Huguenot army could 
 march to Limoges and Bonrepos ; and that would 
 mean an inevitable encounter with one or the other 
 of the royal columns on ground of the enemy s 
 choosing. The safety of the cause could not be so 
 rashly imperiled. Sophie must be rescued, at any 
 personal hazard, but it could be done only by some 
 skilful stratagem. On this point my master and I 
 were fully agreed. 
 
 At last we thought out a plan. Helpers I must 
 have, of course. But the fewer, the better. My 
 confederates and I must make our way northward 
 singly. To attempt to go in a body through the 
 debatable region, where every one was on the alert, 
 would mean certain death to ourselves, with conse 
 quent failure of our undertaking. Once well over 
 the border, we might come together and move for 
 ward with comparative safety, because we should 
 then be less liable to suspicion. 
 
 " Choose your men," cried my master, with his 
 wonted energy of execution, "not more than six or 
 eight. You may have the pick of my army. Get 
 them together at once and arrange your plans. See 
 that the horses are as good as the men. Then be 
 gone without delay. My God! that I were but a 
 simple gentleman, that I might ride with you on this 
 adventure! Hold! Jean," he cried, as I was turning 
 to go ; " take this purse you will need it." 
 
 Rarely had I seen him so stirred. It was some-
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 thing to know that he requited my long service with 
 his affection. 
 
 I quickly made choice of my comrades. First, Guy 
 Huguenin. Small of stature, broad-shouldered, ruddy- 
 cheeked, with fiery gray eyes and a tawny peaked 
 beard, a dear lover of good wine and fair women, he 
 was as fearless a soul as ever led a charge or scaled 
 a breach. Once, as we were obliged to fall back from 
 Niort, driven out by an overwhelming force, he was 
 with difficulty dragged away from a small magazine 
 where he had ensconced himself, calmly waiting, 
 pistol in hand, until the oncoming enemy should 
 crowd over it, when he would fire his pistol into a 
 powder-bag and send himself, with a score or two of 
 the victors, into eternity. Ours was a desperate en 
 terprise and needed men to whom fear was unknown. 
 
 Huguenin I appointed my lieutenant and informed 
 him fully of my plans, directing that, in case of mis 
 fortune befalling me, he should take command and 
 carry out our purpose. The rest were Louis Mani- 
 gault, Claude Ravenel, Henri de Saussure, Jacques 
 Verdier, Pierre Bonneau, and Jean Gourdin fearless 
 soldiers all, men of coolness and discretion, every 
 one a born gentleman, but willing to serve under a 
 plain man, such as I, through good comradeship, and 
 eager for this enterprise because of their devotion to 
 honorable womanhood and their thirst for deeds of 
 knightly adventure. 
 
 Meanwhile I had given Lesesne a hearty meal 
 and had started him on his return, mounted on a fresh 
 horse, with instructions to make his way as quickly as 
 54
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 possible to his home and open communication at once 
 with Jacqueline, through the domestic who had been 
 gained. If he could not see the old woman alone, he 
 must slip a few lines to Sophie which I had scrawled, 
 into some package to be delivered to her. I cau 
 tioned him strenuously against giving the note into 
 the hands of any third person, other than Jacqueline. 
 
 To Sophie I wrote that I was hastening with brave 
 comrades to her rescue, and begged her to keep a 
 light every night in the window of her chamber (I 
 already knew from Lesesne in what part of the 
 chateau it was situated), and to be prepared, at a 
 given signal, the hooting of an owl three times, to 
 lower a cord. 
 
 My plan was, to take a rope-ladder, as a part of 
 our equipment. If all went well, this would give us 
 an entrance into the chateau. With the advantage 
 of being on the inside and of a surprise, I hoped that 
 we should be able to overcome any resistance that 
 we might encounter. It was not likely that the force 
 within Bonrepos was very large, at a time when no 
 enemy was known to be near, and when all men of 
 arms were eagerly hastening to join the royal armies 
 and have a part in the expected slaughter of heretics. 
 
 But, lest this plan for gaining admission to the 
 chateau should in any way fail, I purposed taking 
 along a couple of petards. With the use of these 
 Huguenin was familiar. He was, in fact, one of the 
 two intrepid men who had advanced under the walls 
 of Cahors and by this means shattered its gates and 
 opened a passage for our soldiers.
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 When our party came together, we discussed our 
 plans. It was agreed that it would be useless to 
 start before the next morning, since we must allow 
 Lesesne time to carry my message to my imprisoned 
 friends, the success of our measures greatly depend 
 ing on their cooperation. The storming of the castle 
 was regarded as the last resort of desperation. 
 
 It was settled that we should meet at daybreak, 
 ride together a few miles northward, until we should 
 enter the debatable region, on the borders of Guyenne 
 and Limousin, then disperse and make our way singly, 
 as best each one could, to the rendezvous. After 
 meeting, we should take the road to Bonrepos and 
 make our way to Lesesne s cottage, which he had 
 carefully described to me. 
 
 When we should have learned from him how he 
 had fared on his mission, our future movements would 
 be determined accordingly. If he had failed in de 
 livering my note, we must have recourse to the pe 
 tards to open a passage for us. 
 
 Having settled these points, our council broke up, 
 to complete our preparations for the hazardous jour 
 ney and to obtain such rest as we might. As for me, 
 sleep was impossible. The thought of Sophie s peril 
 banished slumber. 
 
 156
 
 CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH. 
 
 TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 r I A HE dawn was faintly streaking the eastern sky 
 -L when I stood by my horse, accoutred and 
 equipped, ready for the road. Soon my comrades 
 began to appear, each, like myself, having his arms 
 concealed under a peaceful disguise of some kind. 
 Huguenin laughingly pointed to a pack of seeming 
 merchandise which he and Manigault each carried, 
 strapped behind the saddle. These harmless-looking 
 bales concealed the petards, his "little boys," as he 
 called them. We rode northward, until, on the borders 
 of my master s government of Guyenne, we passed an 
 outpost of our army. The officer in command, De 
 Leisseleine, laughed heartily at our various disguises. 
 But when I showed him the permit from the King of 
 } Navarre for us to proceed beyond the lines, and told 
 him that we had a secret mission in Limousin, he shook 
 his head gravely and said we should never return. We 
 were not to be daunted at the outset of our enterprise 
 and, lightly bidding him " Au revoir," we rode on. 
 
 Before breaking up our party, to take our several 
 roads, we agreed that the likeliest account each could
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 give of himself, if he should be questioned, was, that 
 he was journeying northward, to seek enlistment in 
 the royal army. 
 
 Now we were about to encounter the first danger, 
 in penetrating the hostile country. With a final 
 agreement to die, every one, rather than fail, we 
 parted. We had reached a point where three roads 
 came together. One led directly to Limoges ; the 
 other two diverged, one leading northeasterly, the 
 other northwesterly, but both would bring a traveler 
 circuitously to the same destination. I took the 
 middle route, Huguenin the eastern, and Gourdin the 
 western. After a short interval, three more of the 
 party should proceed similarly; and after another 
 interval the last two should set out. Our rendezvous 
 was to be a small tavern, about a half-league to the 
 west of Limoges. We all knew the place well, hav 
 ing had our quarters near it for some time, in that 
 memorable winter in which I first met Sophie. 
 
 It had been agreed among us that two hours after 
 nightfall should be allowed for our assembling, and 
 that, if any one failed to appear within that limit, the 
 rest should go on without him, since it was of the 
 last importance to avail ourselves of the darkness for 
 putting our plans into execution. 
 
 Our ruse, of traveling singly, succeeded admirably 
 in my case, at all events. Though I encountered 
 several parties, I was not hindered. At a royal out 
 post my simple statement, that I was on my way to 
 join the army, was sufficient. Once well within the 
 enemy s country, my apprehensions were at an end,
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 and I rode on boldly. It was twilight when I reached 
 Limoges, and by dark I was at our rendezvous. 
 Within an hour Gourdin and Huguenin arrived. 
 
 As the tavern was full of people, I took no notice 
 of my comrades, as they came in, and they, taking 
 the hint, ignored me. After a while I slipped out, 
 with a sign to them to follow. We met outside and 
 there awaited the coming of our companions. 
 
 Within the set time our friends came dropping in. 
 The most had some story of experiences on the road, 
 but none had encountered any serious hindrance. 
 Only Verdier did not appear. We waited for him 
 an hour beyond the limit, but in vain. Nor was 
 he ever heard of again. Undoubtedly, the poor 
 fellow came to grief by the way. 
 
 It was near midnight, when we reached the vicinity 
 of Bonrepos. Following the directions given me by 
 Lesesne, I had no difficulty in finding his cottage. 
 He was on the alert, and the first knock on his door 
 brought him out. He reported that he had reached 
 his home in the morning, and had gone up to the 
 chateau, with a basket of fruit, in which was hidden 
 the note for Sophie. This he purposed giving to 
 Jacqueline, as a present from his wife. He had met 
 the domestic who was in Jacqueline s confidence in 
 the kitchen ; but the man, with a significant look, 
 for they were not alone, had told him that the old 
 woman was sick and could not be seen. Afraid of 
 arousing suspicion by bringing away his basket, he 
 intrusted it to the fellow, on the assurance that it 
 would be delivered at once.
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 This circumstance disturbed me greatly ; but there 
 was no remedy. Another piece of disquieting news 
 was, that the Baron was in the chateau. He had 
 gone away, it was supposed, for some time ; but he 
 had suddenly reappeared, and was engaged in prepa 
 rations for joining the army. I had hoped that our 
 attempt might be made at a time when his absence 
 would weaken the force within the chateau. Now 
 the thought of him and his devilish machinations 
 filled me with an even more intense desire to release 
 Sophie, as early as possible, from her hateful deten 
 tion under his roof. 
 
 Lesesne guided us by the shortest way. The sky 
 had become overcast, and the night was pitchy dark. 
 At a safe distance, we tethered our horses and stole 
 forward noiselessly, taking the petards with us. The 
 stillness was intense, broken only by the fitful rustling 
 of the trees in a passing breeze. As we crept up 
 under the black mass of the chateau, how vividly 
 came back to me that last and most memorable oc 
 casion which had found me under those same walls! 
 But how different was this errand! Then I came as 
 the unwilling abettor of another s intrigue, and my 
 position shamed me. Now I had the best right there 
 the right which a true love alone could give. And 
 that thought inspired me with courage. 
 
 Still guided by Lesesne, we passed around a wing 
 of the building. 
 
 There, thank God! In Sophie s window a faint 
 light is burning. 
 
 Our party clustered together under the trees, in- 
 160
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 tently watching, I give the signal, once, twice, 
 thrice. It was a cherished accomplishment of my 
 boyhood. Often some deluded owl had answered 
 what he took to be the call of his mate. Now, at the 
 third note, the sash is stealthily raised, and two figures 
 are dimly visible at the window. We advance under the 
 walls, and a white cord is lowered to us. All is well ! 
 
 Immediately we produced our ladder and fastened 
 it to the end of the cord. It was then drawn up, 
 and, having found it secure, I mounted, my com 
 panions to follow in turn. 
 
 When I reached the level of the window and looked 
 into the room, I was surprised that no one was visible. 
 The chamber was very obscure, for there was no 
 light in it, except that which came from the corridor, 
 through an open door. I cautiously climbed in and 
 advanced toward the middle of the room. But 
 scarcely had I made three steps, wondering what this 
 singular reception meant, when two men rose from 
 behind a bed and seized me on either side. By a 
 prodigious effort I succeeded in throwing them off 
 and planted myself with my back to the wall, sword 
 in hand. One of them then sprang to the window 
 and cut the fastening of the ladder. At the same 
 moment, three or four more rushed into the room, 
 while in the doorway appeared the Baron, holding in 
 his hand a candle which lighted up his countenance, 
 livid with hate. 
 
 "Remember!" he cried, "no killing. Seize the 
 accursed canaille. He shall not die a soldier s death," 
 he added between his teeth. 
 161
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 But I was not easily seized. With my back against 
 the wall, I swept with my sword a wide half-circle, 
 within which his men seemed not eager to venture, 
 while my left hand grasped my pistol, in readiness for 
 closer quarters. 
 
 While this combat was going on, the report of 
 firearms came roaring through the corridors of the 
 chateau. No doubt some of the inmates were firing 
 on my friends from the windows. But in the pitchy 
 darkness there was little danger of their doing any 
 execution. 
 
 I was still holding off my assailants, while the Baron 
 glared with ever-increasing rage. " Curse you, for 
 cowards!" he cried to his men. "Do you let one 
 man baffle you? Run in under his guard." 
 
 Just then came a tremendous double explosion, 
 shaking the walls and resounding through the build 
 ing. Bonrepos and his men stood still, aghast. Then 
 a cheer of " Navarre! Navarre! " ringing through the 
 corridors, brought me the welcome assurance that 
 my comrades had won an entrance. 
 
 "Down to the door!" shouted Bonrepos to his 
 followers. " I will take care of this fine fellow." 
 
 With this, he set the candle down on a table 
 and drew his sword as deliberately as for a duel. 
 I could have shot him dead or spitted him -like 
 a hare; but no such thought entered my mind. 
 Deadly hate inspired both, and we eyed each other 
 as men who set everything at stake on the issue of 
 that single combat ; but one, at the least, would take 
 no mean advantage. 
 
 162
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 With flaming eyes, we faced each other and crossed 
 swords. At the first, each fought cautiously, until 
 he should gauge his adversary. I soon found that 
 I had to deal with a wary and skilful swordsman, 
 who took no chances, nor let his passion betray him 
 into the least indiscretion. Then I attacked, sending 
 my thrusts and showering my cuts so swiftly and 
 furiously, that he was kept busy defending himself. 
 Again and again I drove him around the room, in 
 sistently pressing my advantage and giving him no 
 opportunity for anything but to guard and parry. 
 Suddenly, in backing away from me, he came in con 
 tact with the table on which stood the candle. Over 
 it went, extinguishing the light and leaving us in total 
 darkness. 
 
 At once I drew back a step or two and lowered my 
 point, expecting my antagonist to attempt rushing 
 in under my guard. To my amazement, he did 
 nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard his retreating 
 steps, as he groped his way out of the door and down 
 the passage. What did this mean? That he was 
 simply afraid and was stealing away from me in the 
 dark, I did not for a moment believe. 
 
 While our single combat had been going on, the 
 sounds of fighting had continually come from below. 
 Very shortly after the Baron retreated, these, too, 
 suddenly ceased. Again, what did this mean? 
 
 Bewildered and baffled by the intense darkness, 
 
 not knowing the passages of the house, I had been 
 
 blindly groping about, vainly seeking some way of 
 
 reaching my comrades below, having no guide but 
 
 163
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 the uproar. Now, when this came to an end, I found 
 myself in a quandary. Cut off from my companions, 
 in pitchy darkness, in a house in which I had never 
 set foot, surrounded by enemies, what had I to ex 
 pect, but some artful stratagem? So far as the rescue 
 of Sophie was concerned, I was utterly helpless. My 
 whole thought was, how I might reach my comrades 
 and devise some plan of action. 
 
 I shouted at the top of my voice. I called by name 
 one after another. To my intense relief, I heard an 
 answering shout. Then began a slow process of 
 coming together, by feeling our way, for they, too, 
 evidently were in darkness. Calling back and forth 
 to one another, we groped our way, frequently taking 
 wrong turns, then retracing our steps. I all the while 
 moved cautiously, pistol in hand, not knowing at what 
 moment I might stumble upon a concealed foe. There 
 was the danger, too, of falling headlong down some 
 flight of stairs. But at last we came together on the 
 landing-place of the great stairway. All this while 
 we heard distant movements in another part of the 
 chateau; but it was impossible to guess what they 
 meant. 
 
 My first inquiry, as we met, was, how they had 
 fared in the encounter. 
 
 "All well," cried the cheery voice of Huguenin, 
 "but poor Gourdin. He was shot dead by one of 
 the villains, as we burst in. And Manigault has a 
 wound in the arm. We killed two of them and drove 
 the others like sheep. How are you? " 
 
 " I am unhurt ; but Bonrepos has escaped me. 
 164
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 We were fighting singly, and I was pushing him hard, 
 when the light was upset and extinguished. I ex 
 pected to continue the fight in the dark ; but he fled." 
 
 "Ah, the coward! We were driving his men 
 back, when he came on the scene, and before we 
 could guess what he was up to, suddenly every light 
 went out." 
 
 " Some new villainy is afoot, be sure," I answered. 
 
 The situation certainly was a strange one. We 
 were masters of the chateau, apparently, but rendered 
 utterly helpless by the simple trick which had been 
 played upon us. Where were the Robervals? or how 
 could we find them? To get a light was the first 
 necessity. 
 
 Our men, in their eager haste to burst in the doors 
 of the chateau, when they found that I was entrapped, 
 had dropped the flint and steel with which they had 
 ignited the fuses of the petards. If we could only 
 find them, we might get a light and search the castle. 
 Undoubtedly, our imprisoned friends were hidden 
 somewhere within it. 
 
 Hurriedly we made our way to the open air and, 
 on hands and knees, began searching the ground 
 about the door, inch by inch, by the sense of touch. 
 
 My God ! how slow all this seemed, when I was in 
 a fever of anxiety to learn how our poor friends were 
 faring! For I doubted not that the sudden disap 
 pearance of Bonrepos and his followers meant some 
 deep scheme. Perhaps they were barricading them 
 selves in some part of the castle. 
 
 Then one cried out, "Here is the steel!" The 
 165
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 cold metal had betrayed itself to the touch. But the 
 flint could nowhere be found. 
 
 Unable longer to endure the suspense, I cried, 
 " Come with me, Huguenin and Bonneau. We will 
 explore the castle as best we can. Do you others 
 continue the search for the flint." 
 
 We reentered the hall and felt our way to the foot 
 of the great staircase. Then I shouted at the top of 
 my voice, " Sophie! Sophie! " 
 
 No answer ; only the echo of my own voice ; then 
 utter stillness. Again I shouted. Still no answer. 
 I was almost frenzied with vague dread of some 
 horror. My comrades shared my feeling. At that 
 moment we three, in our desperation, would have 
 faced an army and would have deemed the encounter 
 a happy relief from the pitchy blackness and the dead 
 stillness of that accursed mansion. What hellish se 
 crets might be locked up in its dismal recesses? 
 
 We three joined hands and pressed forward. We 
 climbed the staircase. We felt our way into one of 
 the corridors. Then, once more, I shouted with the 
 full force of my voice, "Sophie! Sophie Roberval!" 
 Ah! what is that murmur, heard beneath the echo 
 sounding through the long passages? An instan 
 taneous thrill passed through us, and we clutched 
 one another s hands more tightly, for each had caught 
 the same indistinct response. We pressed on as fast 
 as we could, I calling, from time to time, and the 
 faint reply coming to us ever more distinctly. Down 
 a flight of stairs. Then I call again, and the an 
 swering voice guides us to the left. We find ourselves 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 in a narrow passage. I shout once more, and the 
 response comes from within a room a few feet from 
 us : " It is I, Paul Roberval. Who are you? " 
 
 " Friends, come to your rescue." 
 
 "Thank God!" was the fervent response, and I 
 heard women s voices within the chamber. My heart 
 bounded with joy at the thought that Sophie was 
 there. By this time we had felt our way to the door 
 and found it locked. I knocked and cried, " Open. 
 It is I, Jean Fourcade, with brave comrades." 
 
 " We cannot ; the door is locked, and the key taken 
 away." 
 
 I pushed with all my strength. In vain ; the door 
 resisted my utmost efforts. Burly Bonneau, stalwart 
 as an ox, threw himself against it with all his weight. 
 Still in vain. Then we three clasped ourselves to 
 gether and dashed our united weight against it. The 
 fastenings of the lock gave way, and the door flew 
 open. Light at last! 
 
 My God! where was Sophie? I glanced around 
 the little group, Monsieur Roberval, his wife, and 
 Jacqueline, in mute inquiry. 
 
 The old woman was first to find her speech. " Ah ! 
 Monsieur," she wailed, wringing her hands helplessly, 
 "if you could have reached us earlier! They have 
 carried away my poor young mistress." Then the 
 two women burst into sobs and moans, while the father 
 sat in speechless woe. 
 
 For a moment or two, I was paralyzed. My fac 
 ulties seemed benumbed by the shock of the tidings. 
 I sank dumbly into a chair and stared idiotically 
 
 ,6,
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 before me. Sophie carried away, helpless and friend 
 less, into the black night by that fiend! 
 
 This, then, was the meaning of Bonrepos s with 
 drawal from our single combat. It was, that he might 
 take a vengeance deadlier far than my death would 
 have been. Indeed, to have killed me would have 
 robbed his devilish revenge of half its sweetness. 
 And this was the purpose of the retreat he had 
 ordered. While we were helplessly groping in the 
 dark, they were dragging my poor friends to the rear 
 of the chateau, locking them up, and bearing my 
 Sophie away. Whither? To what fate? 
 
 It was a little thing, that we were left in possession 
 of the chateau. Six men could not possibly hold it, 
 in the midst of a hostile country, when hundreds 
 could be brought against it, at short notice. One 
 day s occupation would seal our fate. 
 
 I sat bereft, as it seemed, of the power of thought. 
 Those moments were hours in the intensity of their 
 dull anguish. Then I was roused from my stupor by 
 Huguenin, roughly shaking me and saying, " Come! 
 there is no time to be lost." 
 
 " For what? " I stolidly asked. 
 
 " To pursue the hounds," he answered fiercely. 
 
 His fiery energy revived my manhood, and I sprang 
 to my feet. 
 
 At once we began to take counsel, how we might 
 proceed with the best hope of success. Clearly, the 
 first thing to be done was to ascertain what course 
 the scoundrels had taken. 
 
 Having now a light, we began a search of the castle. 
 168
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Not a living being could we find in any of its apart 
 ments. Even the female domestics either had fled or 
 had been driven away. At last we went to the stables. 
 The stalls were empty ; every horse had been removed. 
 
 Just as we were turning away, one of my comrades, 
 holding a lantern aloft, espied a figure crouching be 
 hind some sacks of grain, and quickly dragged forth 
 a terrified old man, his teeth chattering and his eyes 
 staring in a frenzy of fear. 
 
 Questioned sharply as to the movements of the 
 Baron and his party, he knew nothing, he swore by 
 the saints and no doubt truly, for fear utterly para 
 lyzed him. At last, when he learned that we would 
 not harm him, he somewhat recovered his senses. 
 Upon our asking him whether he had witnessed the 
 departure of the Baron and his men, he admitted that 
 he had. 
 
 " Did you hear him say where he was going? " 
 
 " No, M sieur," he stammered. 
 
 "Think well," said Huguenin, "and I will help 
 you to think. This is yours," exhibiting a silver 
 piece, "if you can tell us what we want to know. 
 Did any of the men drop any word about their jour 
 ney about where they were going? " 
 
 The old creature eyed the coin furtively, hesitating 
 between avarice and dread of his master. Greed won 
 the day. He cautiously stammered out, " I heard 
 one of the men say, It is a long stretch to Clinchy. " 
 
 "Where is Clinchy?" 
 
 " Oh! ah! it is my master s other estate, is it not? " 
 evasively. 
 
 169
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Where is it? I asked you," roared Huguenin. 
 
 " I know not, M sieur. How should a poor old man 
 know, who has never been away from this barony? " 
 
 " See here, old man," cried his interrogator, with 
 assumed ferocity, seizing him by the throat and rat 
 tling his sword in its scabbard, "if you don t know 
 where Clinchy is, I will quickly send you to Hell, to 
 find out." 
 
 " Oh, spare me, master," gasped the miserable 
 wretch, dropping on his knees; "I have heard the 
 men who have gone to Clinchy mention Orleans 
 and Chartres. Is it not near to Chartres? 
 
 " But my master will surely kill me," he added, 
 as his original dread came back with renewed force. 
 
 We further learned from him that the Baron s 
 party consisted of himself and nine men, besides the 
 lady. Then we left him, to solace his uncertain fears 
 with his certain gain. It was a comfort to know 
 that Bonrepos s destination was Clinchy. He would 
 not be likely to attempt any violence, before reaching 
 the security of his own estate. Immediately we be 
 gan our preparations for pursuit. But, in our igno 
 rance of the country, it would be idle to start before 
 daylight. Meanwhile we had our hungry men and 
 horses to feed. The animals were brought in and 
 cared for, and the men found the materials of a 
 bountiful repast in the larder. I had no stomach for 
 food, and I spent the brief interval in consulting with 
 Monsieur Roberval. The present emergency was 
 too pressing, however, to allow of any conversation 
 on the past. 
 
 170
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 The note which I had sent through Lesesne hav 
 ing, evidently, fallen into Bonrepos s hands, through 
 the treachery of the servant who had undertaken its 
 delivery to Jacqueline, our coming was totally unex 
 pected by those whom it most nearly concerned. 
 That evening Sophie had received orders to leave 
 her chamber for one in another part of the chateau. 
 The reason of this procedure they could not even 
 guess. The noise of fighting in the chateau and the 
 explosion of the petards gave to our friends the first 
 intimation that help was at hand and raised a hope 
 that was doomed to what cruel disappointment ! 
 
 The body of poor Gourdin we had laid decently 
 on a bed, covered with his own cloak. I begged 
 Monsieur Roberval, now that he was at liberty, to 
 hire some of the neighboring peasants to bury it in 
 some secluded spot ; and this he willingly promised. 
 
 It was determined that our party would not, in any 
 case, return to Bonrepos. Undoubtedly, the Baron 
 would take steps to send a large force to recapture it 
 and seize us. Our return to Montauban must be 
 effected by another route than that by which we had 
 come. 
 
 Therefore Monsieur Roberval solemnly charged 
 me, if I should succeed in rescuing Sophie, to place 
 her in the nearest convent, whence he might receive 
 notice of her safety. With this promise and with the 
 assurance that if six mortal men could accomplish it, 
 we should deliver his daughter from her abductors, 
 I took leave of the almost heartbroken group. 
 
 171
 
 CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 HARD ON THE ENEMY S HEELS. 
 
 IT was early dawn, when my comrades and I went 
 to the stables, to saddle our horses and start on 
 our way. 
 
 Not an animal was there! Left unguarded, be 
 cause we did not dream of danger in that quarter, 
 they had been stolen. Probably, the old man from 
 whom we had obtained our information had sought 
 to make his peace with his conscience and with his 
 lord by betraying us, and had roused some of the 
 tenants of the estate, who had struck us a deadly 
 blow by removing our horses. 
 
 Blank consternation fell upon us. What should 
 we do? 
 
 At once we set out to search the neighborhood, but 
 with little hope of success. For those who had been 
 shrewd enough to do such a thing would not be so 
 foolish as to take the risk of remaining in the vicinity. 
 
 One of the party suggested that we go around 
 
 among the tenantry and seize as many horses as we 
 
 needed. But though we might succeed in picking 
 
 up here and there a single beast, they would be 
 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 heavy plow-cattle and in poor condition, utterly unfit 
 for our purpose. 
 
 "I have it! " cried Huguenin, always fertile in 
 resources. " We will turn highwaymen and provide 
 ourselves with horses at the expense of travelers." 
 
 The suggestion was immediately adopted. We 
 repaired to the highway, chose a spot where the road 
 was narrow and wound between woods and rocks, 
 and hid ourselves on both sides. After some time a 
 well-mounted traveler, a peaceful merchant evidently, 
 came riding leisurely along. When he found himself 
 suddenly surrounded by six men with swords and 
 pistols in hand, he made no attempt to escape or 
 resist. We took his horse and sent him on his way, 
 wondering no doubt why we spared his purse. 
 
 It was more than an hour before another victim 
 appeared. This was a gay gallant, riding briskly 
 and humming a ballad. When he was halted by a 
 jerk at the bit that threw his horse on its haunches, 
 he was furious. But two pistols pointed at his head 
 made a strong appeal to his reason, and, with much 
 bravado and many oaths, he dismounted and went 
 his way, glad enough, no doubt, that he had come 
 off with a whole skin. He walked off vowing that 
 he would demand reparation from the lord of the 
 manor, the Baron of Bonrepos. 
 
 We were fortunate in our prizes. We had two 
 good, fresh horses. But this was a slow method 
 of mounting ourselves. We might lose the whole 
 day thus, not to mention the danger we ran by 
 lingering in the neighborhood. For, unquestion- 
 173
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 ably, the Baron would not leave this region without 
 taking some measures against us. At almost any 
 hour, a much stronger force than ours might be ex 
 pected to appear in search of us. Besides, my im 
 patience would not brook delay. 
 
 "See here! " I said to my comrades, "we are 
 losing precious time. That villain has already fully 
 eight hours start of us. Huguenin and I will take 
 the two horses and ride ahead, as scouts. We will 
 try to overtake Bonrepos and his gang and keep them 
 in sight. Do you stay here, mount yourselves as 
 speedily as possible, take the road for Orleans, and 
 follow us. When you come up, we shall be strong 
 enough to venture an attack. If the enemy come 
 upon you, scatter yourselves or do whatever seems 
 best. I leave you to your own discretion." 
 
 This course seemed so plainly the wisest under the 
 circumstances, that it was immediately adopted without 
 dissent. Huguenin and I at once took our departure, 
 enjoining on our comrades to overtake us as speedily 
 as possible, since we could do nothing without them. 
 
 My heart bounded, when, after all the vexatious 
 delays, I found myself on the road, with a good horse 
 under me, hastening after Sophie. 
 
 We met our first encouragement when we heard 
 at Bellac of the party we were pursuing. The de 
 scription was so complete, that it left in our minds 
 no doubt of being on the right track. From time to 
 time we continued to hear of them, and it was evident 
 that we were closing upon them. At nightfall we 
 reached a village where they had dined, six hours 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 before. We had gained about two hours. By 
 cautious inquiries we learned from the landlord that 
 they would spend the night at Chateauroux, at the 
 inn of the Rose Blanche. 
 
 Tired as our horses were, we must push on, for the 
 thought of Sophie alone and friendless at the mercy 
 of that brute was unendurable. So, after a halt long 
 enough to give our jaded animals food and some 
 rest, we pressed on. 
 
 All this time we had hoped that our comrades 
 would overtake us ; but there was no sign of them. 
 Our tired and stiff horses moved so slowly, that we 
 were a long time in accomplishing this stage. At 
 last, after midnight, we came into Chateauroux and 
 with difficulty found our way to the Rose Blanche. 
 
 The inn was dark and silent. We knocked, at first 
 without effect. At length, after repeated summons, 
 a head in a nightcap was thrust out of a window, and 
 we were angrily bidden begone. We answered that 
 we were seeking a night s lodging. It was impossible, 
 we were told ; a large party had arrived that evening, 
 and every room was filled. We begged and pleaded 
 for accommodation for our horses only; we were 
 willing to sleep in any corner we could find. In vain ; 
 the drowsy landlord would not listen to any such 
 arrangement. The stable, he declared, was full. " Go 
 to the Belle Etoile," he shouted angrily, and shut the 
 window with a bang. 
 
 But where was the Belle fitoile? It was a weary 
 business, on our jaded beasts, at that unseasonable 
 hour, and in a sleeping town, to go in search of an- 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 other hostelry. And what a bitter disappointment, 
 after having come on, in the expectation of being 
 near Sophie, not to be able to gain admittance even 
 to the house where she was! Still, there was no 
 remedy. We must go seek lodging elsewhere. 
 
 For some time we wandered about aimlessly, in 
 the vain hope of encountering a patrol by whom we 
 might be directed. At last we made bold to knock 
 at a door. No wonder the good citizen who re 
 sponded from his bedroom window was testy, when 
 he found that we were simply seeking directions. 
 Still, we got what we wanted. Up the street to the 
 second crossing, then to the left, and we should know 
 the Belle fitoile by a pump in front of it. 
 
 At the sign of the Beautiful Star we found the 
 lodging of which both ourselves and our tired beasts 
 were sorely in need. But, weary as I was, I was able 
 to sleep but little. The thought of Sophie, in her dis 
 tress, in the same town and near me, while I was 
 helpless to aid her, troubled me waking and haunted 
 my fitful sleep with terrible dreams. 
 
 In the morning, Huguenin and I agreed that it 
 was not advisable for us to take the road too early, 
 since we did not wish to press too close on the heels 
 of Bonrepos s party. Starting later, we should only 
 need to ride later, in order to come to the same stop 
 ping-place for the night. There was no doubt that 
 Bonrepos would make Bourges the end of that day s 
 stage, and I was firmly resolved that we should reach 
 the same destination in time to secure lodging in the 
 same inn. 
 
 176
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 But, being now very near to the party which we 
 were following, some chance encounter might ex 
 pose us to recognition. To avoid such a mishap, 
 we determined to make use of the couple of hours 
 longer stay at Chateauroux, to disguise ourselves as 
 effectually as we might. We first went to a barber. 
 Huguenin s pointed, tawny beard was shaven off 
 clean, while I, who wore only a mustache, supple 
 mented it with a heavy beard, trimmed square, of 
 a style much affected by grave men of the middle 
 class. We next provided ourselves with two long 
 stuff cloaks, his blue, mine brown, and changed our 
 head-gear for flat caps of velvet, such as are com 
 monly worn by substantial middle-class citizens. So 
 transformed, we should easily pass for two merchants 
 on their travels. 
 
 Then we took the road again, and more than once 
 before night we were within sight of Bonrepos s cav 
 alcade. As evening drew on, we closed up the dis 
 tance between us and followed them at a very short 
 interval into Bourges. 
 
 Here I was happy in opening communication with 
 Sophie through a chambermaid. Having won her 
 aid by a liberal fee, I placed in her hands a note and 
 a small parcel, to be delivered to the young lady. 
 In the first I said to her that I was near in disguise, 
 constantly following her and planning some mode of 
 rescue. I bade her guard herself against any outcry 
 or sign of alarm at my sudden appearance in any 
 unexpected form. The little parcel contained a small 
 bow-knot of red ribbon, which I had bought for the 
 177
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 purpose, and which I begged her to wear on her right 
 shoulder, as a token of having received my note and 
 of an understanding between us. I retained its coun 
 terpart, I wrote her, and its exhibition at any moment 
 would assure her that, under whatever disguise, I 
 was at hand. The next morning, I stationed myself 
 where, without being observed, I could see their party 
 start. When all was in readiness, Sophie was led out 
 by the Baron and assisted to a pillion behind one of 
 the men. Thank God! she wore my bow-knot. 
 
 We were now nearing the end of our journey. That 
 night the Baron s party would sleep at Orleans, at the 
 Boule d Or, as we had ascertained. One more stage 
 would bring them to Chartres. This would, doubt 
 less, be the last stopping-place on the road to his 
 estate. 
 
 Whatever was to be done must, therefore, be done 
 quickly. Once within his own stronghold, our chance 
 of effecting anything would be slight indeed. 
 
 All this while, we had continued to hope that we 
 might be overtaken by our comrades and have a 
 force strong enough for an open attack. But, by this 
 time, it was evident that we must abandon this hope. 
 Unless our companions should come up with us 
 before that night, which was extremely improbable, 
 we must devise some scheme by which our purpose 
 might be effected by cunning. It was our last hope. 
 
 All the day we rode, following our usual plan, of 
 keeping ourselves in the rear of the enemy, having 
 them in sight from time to time. 
 
 Now the afternoon was wearing away, and still 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 there was no sign of help coming. By nightfall we 
 should be in Orleans. 
 
 Then I took a desperate resolve. Sophie must, if 
 possible, be secured that night. Should that hope 
 fail, we should still have the chance of the stop at 
 Chartres to fall back upon. A plan was forming 
 itself in my brain, but so wild, it seemed to me, that 
 I would not venture as yet to broach it to Huguenin. 
 
 " Come," I said to him, " I have an idea. What 
 if we should get into Orleans ahead of these villains? 
 We know where they will spend the night. We can, 
 at the least, reconnoitre the ground and see what 
 opportunity it may offer for something to be done." 
 He took up the suggestion so quickly, that I then 
 told him I was casting about for a plan of rescuing 
 Sophie that night, and we must be guided in the de 
 tails by what we should ascertain as to the facilities 
 which the place might afford. 
 
 The very boldness of the scheme commended it to 
 him, and he readily fell in with it. 
 
 We watched our opportunity of passing the Baron s 
 party without attracting attention, and, for this pur 
 pose, we lessened the distance between us. Our 
 chance came when they stopped at a trough, in front 
 of a tavern, to water their horses, and some of the 
 men entered to drink. 
 
 As we cantered by briskly, the masked face of the 
 lady was turned toward us. Did she see the little 
 bow-knot fastened to the head-stall of my bridle? 
 
 We rode on sharply. All the time that we could 
 gain would favor us in making our dispositions. It 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 was agreed, that, should we succeed in securing 
 possession of Sophie, it would be folly to return by 
 the route we had come, since pursuers would certainly 
 seek us on that road. We must go either eastward 
 or westward. The westward route would bring us 
 into the line of march of the royal armies. The 
 eastward was the only safe one. We decided, there 
 fore, that we must direct ourselves toward Auxerre, 
 southeast from Orleans ; and it would be part of 
 Huguenin s work to ascertain the road thither, so 
 that we should be in no danger of missing it in the 
 dark. 
 
 Coming into Orleans near sunset, we struck into 
 the Rue Bannier and followed it to the Place de 
 Jeanne d Arc. By the way I stopped at a shop and 
 bought a long piece of light, strong rope, which I 
 wound around my body, so that my cloak effectually 
 hid it. Huguenin looked on without a word ; he be 
 gan to comprehend my plan. 
 
 Hard by the Place de Jeanne d Arc we found the 
 inn of the Golden Ball, easily distinguished by its sign. 
 We dismounted and entered. 
 
 I immediately called for some wine and invited the 
 landlord to join us in a glass. He was immensely 
 pleased with our condescension and showed himself 
 very affable and communicative. Then I told him 
 that I purposed returning that way shortly with my 
 wife, who was very fastidious about her accommoda 
 tion. Had he a room suitable for a lady? 
 
 "Oh, certainly, M sieur," with an air of being 
 wounded by such a question. 
 180
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Many rooms for ladies? " 
 
 "No, M sieur," with a shrug of the shoulders. 
 " What would you have? It is not often that a lady 
 traveling stops at an inn. We have one beautiful 
 chamber for a lady. It is enough ; is it not? " 
 
 " And it is vacant now? " 
 
 " Yes, M sieur. Stop! You shall see it yourself." 
 Then, putting his head through a doorway behind him, 
 he called, "Rosalie! Rosalie! " 
 
 The landlady bustled into the room. 
 
 " Rosalie," said her husband, " here is a gentle 
 man who comes this way shortly with his wife, and 
 wishes to see our lodging for a lady. Show him the 
 blue room." 
 
 While Huguenin kept the landlord closely engaged 
 in talk over his wine, I had ample opportunity, fol 
 lowing the voluble hostess, discoursing on the con 
 veniences of her house, to take note of the situation 
 of the room in which Sophie would undoubtedly be 
 lodged. It was up a flight of stairs and at the end 
 of a short corridor. I noticed with pleasure that the 
 door was not locked, but stood ajar. We entered the 
 apartment, and I surveyed it leisurely, while the land 
 lady pointed out its advantages, among others a deep 
 wardrobe, where Madame might hang her garments. 
 
 While she still ran on with commercial garrulity, I 
 stepped to the window, opened it, and looked out. 
 Below, at a distance of fifteen or eighteen feet, was 
 the courtyard, across which was the stable. I thanked 
 the hostess for her trouble and descended to the 
 common room, where Huguenin and the landlord 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 were in animated conversation. I told the latter that 
 I was well pleased with the appearance of the cham 
 ber. Then I proposed to my comrade that we 
 should look after our horses. We strolled out toward 
 the stable. 
 
 So soon as we were out of hearing, I whispered, 
 " Our time is short. Mark that second-story window 
 at the corner of the house. That is the window from 
 which Sophie will escape this night, if I live. Do 
 you have everything in readiness below. When all 
 is quiet in the house, give me a signal, and she and 
 I will come down to you. So soon as we go back 
 into the house, I shall slip away. If my absence is 
 observed, say that I am gone to visit a friend in the 
 town, and that I shall not return till morning. You 
 understand? " He nodded. 
 
 We walked back into the house. Taking the first 
 opportunity, when the landlord s attention was drawn 
 in another direction, I stole out, hurried up the stairs, 
 happily meeting nobody, entered the blue room, laid 
 my little token on the bureau, and ensconced myself 
 in the wardrobe. I had noticed, when the landlady 
 showed it to me, that it had a double door, and that 
 she opened only one, the other being fastened at the 
 bottom. I drew myself up in the corner behind the 
 closed side and waited, trusting to good Providence 
 and the gathering darkness to favor my concealment. 
 
 My dispositions were not made too early. I had 
 
 waited not more than a quarter of an hour, when I 
 
 heard the landlady say, " Here, Mademoiselle, is your 
 
 room." She proceeded to expatiate on its advan- 
 
 182
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 tages, running on volubly, as she had done with me. 
 Then she interrupted herself to exclaim, "Ah! what 
 is this? Some bit of Madeleine s finery, I suppose. 
 The foolish wench! Oh, see! it is just like the one 
 which Mademoiselle wears. I did not know that 
 Madeleine had so good taste." 
 
 "I should like a little fire, Madame; I am chilled 
 by riding in the evening air," said a voice which I 
 knew as Sophie s. She was anxious, no doubt, to 
 divert the landlady s attention from the bow-knot. 
 
 The good woman immediately assented and bustled 
 off to order the fire. 
 
 Thn I heard some one enter the chamber and, 
 shortly afterward, the crackling of logs on the hearth. 
 Then came the preparations for Sophie s supper, which 
 was served to her in the chamber. So the evening 
 wore away slowly. Meanwhile I was undiscovered, 
 and Sophie knew that I was at hand. 
 
 At last the table had been cleared, the landlady 
 had come in to ascertain whether Mademoiselle de 
 sired anything and to bid her good night, and now 
 everything was quiet. Sophie was probably resting 
 by the fire. I began to think of coming out from 
 my hiding-place, but judged it more prudent to wait 
 a while longer. Happily, for after a little time there 
 came a heavy tread, a knock at the door, and the 
 voice of the Baron of Bonrepos, saying, " I have 
 called to ask whether you have been well served, 
 Mademoiselle, and whether you wish anything." 
 
 " I have been well served, Monsieur le Bar.on, and 
 I wish nothing," was the frigid reply. 
 183
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Then I have the honor of wishing you a good 
 night, Mademoiselle." 
 
 " Stop, Monsieur le Baron. I wish to ask you once 
 more, what is the meaning of this procedure? " 
 
 "That will appear in good season, Mademoiselle," 
 was the haughty answer. 
 
 " Is there no honor, no manhood " 
 
 " I bid you good evening, Mademoiselle," and the 
 door was closed and locked. 
 
 I heard Sophie throw herself down with a deep sigh. 
 Well she might, poor girl! in the power of that cold 
 blooded brute. She little dreamed how near I was. 
 
 I tapped lightly on the door of the wardrobe. I 
 could hear her start. 
 
 I tapped again and whispered her name through 
 the door. 
 
 In an instant we were in each other s arms. 
 
 I shall not attempt to give any account of that 
 blissful hour. How the time flew by, I know not. 
 Strange that, in all the years of our love, this was 
 the first hour of free intercourse we had ever enjoyed! 
 I only know that, as we sat by the glowing fire, ex 
 changing sweet confidences in low whispers, I dreaded 
 the signal which would summon us to the world with 
 out. So happy we were in our reunion, we should 
 have welcomed death, if it had taken us both at once. 
 
 After a time, how long, I know not, something 
 brushed lightly against the window-panes. I knew 
 that it was Huguenin s signal, that all was in readi 
 ness. Opening the window softly, I peered out and 
 descried his muffled figure waiting below. 
 184
 
 CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 A BRIDE OF CHRIST. 
 
 SOPHIE S preparations for flight were brief. I 
 made a loop in the rope, placed it under her 
 arms, and lowered her gently to the ground. With 
 the end of the rope fastened to the bedstead, I then 
 let myself down. 
 
 Huguenin led us to the corner of the courtyard, 
 where, in the deep shadow of the stable, he had three 
 horses in waiting. With the readiness of resource of 
 an old campaigner, he had so befuddled the hostler 
 that he had been able to steal out one of Bonrepos s 
 beasts, while the stable-man was gone to drink, and 
 our own two he had brought out, before the stable 
 was locked, on the ground that we purposed continu 
 ing our journey within an hour or two. 
 
 Now everything was silent about the courtyard. 
 We led our beasts out singly, mounted, and rode 
 away, without attracting attention. Not until we 
 had left the sleeping town behind us, and were fairly 
 in the open country on the road to Auxerre, did we 
 breathe quite freely. Then what an inexpressible 
 sense of relief we felt! To Sophie, it was a new ex- 
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 perience to sit a man s saddle. But, with a friend 
 on either side, she had no fear, while love and hope 
 inspired her, and she rode confidently. All night we 
 pushed on, our horses being fairly fresh after their 
 rest of some hours and a good feed. 
 
 When daylight came, we had put many a league 
 between us and Orleans. Having in mind my 
 promise to Sophie s father, to place her in a convent, 
 we discussed the expediency of seeking such a refuge 
 for her in the nearest town. But she was loath to 
 part with us so soon and longed, moreover, to put a 
 greater distance between herself and her hated per 
 secutor. We settled it, therefore, that we should 
 push on to Auxerre, which, without mishap, we could 
 reach that night, and should there seek a haven for 
 her. It occurred to us, however, that, now it was 
 light, our party made a somewhat conspicuous ap 
 pearance, since it was not usual to see a woman 
 traveling on a man s saddle. We had altogether too 
 much the appearance of runaways. And some chance 
 traveler, journeying toward Orleans, hearing there of 
 our escape, might give such a report of us as would 
 put the pursuit on the right track. It was important 
 to disguise Sophie as completely as possible. 
 
 There was but one thing to be done : she must as 
 sume a man s garb. 
 
 We halted, therefore, in a wood near the outskirts 
 of a village, while Huguenin entered it to secure the 
 necessary apparel. He reappeared shortly, with a 
 page s half- worn outfit, which he had bought from a 
 tailor. Sophie retired behind the shelter of a friendly 
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 rock, to make the change, and soon emerged, habited 
 boy-fashion and blushing beautifully. 
 
 Then arose a question as to her long tresses. I 
 protested against any desecration of them; but my 
 inexorable lieutenant produced a pair of shears, which 
 he had provided for the purpose, and announced his 
 intention of playing the barber; there must be no 
 half-way work, he said. Sophie took his side; her 
 hair, she argued, might render futile all our efforts at 
 disguise. So, reluctantly, I consented and saw her 
 beautiful locks fall under Huguenin s ruthless shears. 
 When this was done, she made a very presentable 
 page. 
 
 I, also, discarded my false beard, and we rolled up 
 our bourgeois-looking cloaks and resumed, as much 
 as possible, our usual appearance. Sophie s feminine 
 apparel, done up in a bundle, was secured at the back 
 of her saddle, to be resumed at the earliest safe op 
 portunity. 
 
 So we rode into the village and went to an inn, to 
 refresh ourselves and bait our tired beasts. Though 
 we had little fear of pursuit, we judged it best to push 
 on with all convenient speed, until Sophie should be 
 placed in safety. Accordingly, after a rest of two 
 hours, we resumed our journey. 
 
 That evening we reached Auxerre. After taking 
 a last meal together, which was saddened by the 
 prospect of our near separation, we set out to find a 
 religious house in which Sophie might have a tem 
 porary home, until her father should be notified of 
 her whereabouts and take steps for her further safety. 
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 It was the more desirable that she should have a 
 secure refuge, since Monsieur Roberval s future abode 
 was altogether uncertain. That he would not remain 
 at Bonrepos longer than necessity compelled, was 
 sure. But in the disturbed state of the country, owing 
 to the imminence of a battle between the opposing 
 armies, it would be difficult to decide upon a place 
 of residence, since any portion of the southwest might, 
 at any time, become the centre of operations. That 
 Sophie should be safe and removed from these un 
 certainties, was highly desirable and would be a great 
 relief to her parents. 
 
 These considerations alone reconciled me to part 
 ing with her and leaving her so far away from the 
 field of my own duties. Moreover, the struggle about 
 to take place between the Catholic forces and ours 
 was portentous beyond all precedent. The whole 
 hostile strength of France was massed against us. I 
 deeply realized the tremendous nature of the contest 
 and its doubtful issue. Should we lose the field, 
 and all the odds were against us, it was publicly 
 proclaimed that " the Huguenotry would be exter 
 minated." Doubtless there would be such a slaughter 
 of our people, women and children, as well as soldiers, 
 as never had been seen since the Great Massacre. 
 All the southwest would be harried and devastated. 
 There would be no safety anywhere, even for good 
 Catholics, when a licentious soldiery should be turned 
 loose, to work its pleasure on a defenseless people. 
 
 Mine, too, was the uncertain lot of a soldier. 
 Whether I should survive the forthcoming battle, 
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 only Providence could determine. Should I fall, it 
 would solace my last moments to know that Sophie 
 was in a place of safety, removed from the theatre of 
 war. 
 
 But, while these considerations measurably recon 
 ciled me to the thought of parting with her, it was 
 plain that they had not the same weight with her, 
 and that she was sorely reluctant to be left behind. 
 Plainly, nothing but her sense of propriety and of 
 duty to her father led her to consent to the proposed 
 arrangement. Who could wonder that, so long a 
 prisoner, now that she had tasted, for a brief day, the 
 sweets of freedom, she was loath to put herself again 
 in restraint? Or could a lover resent it, that the 
 woman he loved, united to him, after years of separa 
 tion, and thrown upon his protection, persistently 
 clung to him? 
 
 There was a famous convent of Gray Sisters at 
 Auxerre. To this we three went, to apply for ad 
 mission for our charge. I confess that, as we neared 
 the gloomy pile, more forbidding still in the gathering 
 shadows of evening, my heart sank at the thought of 
 leaving my Sophie there, it might be forever, so far 
 as I should be concerned, at the best, for a separa 
 tion of indefinite duration. How cruel was the fate 
 that was about to sunder us, so lately united! 
 
 Even my buoyant lieutenant shared our depression, 
 and it was with heavy hearts that we stood before 
 the door of the cheerless structure. 
 
 With a trembling hand I struck the great knocker. 
 The blow reechoed, as in some wide, empty hall. In 
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 a moment or two, a little slide in the door was pushed 
 aside, and through a tiny grated window a sister, 
 herself scarcely visible, surveyed us and inquired our 
 business. I asked to see the Mother Superior. The 
 nun retired for a few moments. Then followed a 
 drawing of bolts and unfastening of chains. The 
 heavy door swung back noiselessly, and we were 
 admitted into a broad, flagged hall, destitute of fur 
 niture, cold and cheerless as the forbidding exterior 
 of the building. 
 
 A chill struck through me, as we crossed the gloomy 
 portal, and I thought of the life of its inmates, the 
 life to which Sophie was to be indefinitely consigned, 
 my Sophie, who loved sunshine and flowers and 
 the song of birds, and who, that day, as we rode 
 along, even weary, hunted fugitive as she was, had 
 again and again drunk in with delight great draughts 
 of the pure breath of Heaven and cried, " How sweet 
 is the air of freedom! How restful are these woods 
 and fields!" In this gloomy mansion of the living 
 dead we were to part, it might be, to meet no more! 
 
 From the hall we turned into a spacious reception- 
 room, its counterpart, except in shape: the same 
 cold cheerlessness, the same bareness, which a few 
 chairs, ranged against the walls, made more conspicu 
 ous, rather than relieved. 
 
 The sister who had admitted us brought in a soli 
 tary candle, which no more than made visible the 
 dreary gloom of the apartment. She was speedily 
 followed by the Mother Superior. We had seated 
 ourselves, in depressed silence. On her entrance, we 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 rose to meet her. She neither asked us to resume 
 our seats, nor took one herself, but, with the quick 
 decisiveness of one accustomed to rule, asked, " What 
 is your business? " 
 
 She was a tall, spare woman, of a certain nobility 
 of countenance, but with a natural hauteur, which an 
 ascetic life and the habit of receiving implicit obedi 
 ence had exaggerated. So gaunt was she, that in the 
 pale light of the candle, striking her wan countenance 
 and her features sharpened by years of austerity, she 
 might easily have been mistaken for a visitor from 
 the world of the disembodied. A deep, unfeminine 
 voice, almost sepulchral, heightened this effect. 
 
 I began my story, purposing to tell, in as few words 
 as possible, and without any mention of Bonrepos and 
 his persecution, how I was intrusted by Catholic 
 parents with the care of their daughter, whom they 
 wished delivered into her charge. She cut me short 
 with the brusque inquiry, "You have, you say, a young 
 woman to place in my keeping. Where is she? " 
 
 " Here she is," I answered, pointing to Sophie. 
 
 "What! that" She checked herself, ere the in 
 jurious word could pass her lips. Sophie winced 
 visibly, under the cruel imputation of her tone and 
 the insult of her look. Innocent soul! She had not 
 dreamed that her boyish garb, assumed under the 
 pressure of necessity, would subject her to merciless 
 misconstruction from a bride of Christ. 
 
 The Superior resumed : " She comes, then, as a 
 penitent? " 
 
 " Penitent for what? " I indignantly replied. " No 
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 sister of this house is purer than she. She comes 
 only as a fugitive from wrong, to seek the shelter of 
 the Church s charity." 
 
 A cold, sardonic smile flickered for an instant on 
 the pallid features of the ecclesiastic, like moonlight 
 on an icicle, and as quickly vanished. Then, as one 
 might speak to a child, she said, " Young man, it may 
 be even as you say, but much experience of the 
 world and of its wiles breeds caution. A young 
 woman who comes hither without her parents, in the 
 company of two strange men, and disguised in boy s 
 apparel, can enter these doors only as a penitent. 
 God forbid that the Church should deny even to the 
 vilest" 
 
 "Madame! " I cried, blazing with anger and for 
 getful of all prudence, "surely you forget that you 
 have not even heard this young lady s story. She 
 comes hither to escape the brutal persecution of one 
 of your great Catholic lords." 
 
 "Ah! then you are Calvinists? " 
 
 " She is of your Church, but we two men are Prot 
 estants," I answered proudly, " and follow the King 
 of Navarre." 
 
 Never have I seen a transformation so sudden and 
 so complete. The fire of bigotry, burning below the 
 icy coldness of the ecclesiastic, flashed up in an in 
 stant, as she hissed out, "The King of Navarre! I 
 might have known it. He, too, is a famous protec 
 tor of friendless damsels." Then, turning quickly, 
 she commanded, "Sister Therese," the pale nun, 
 with eyes never lifted, appeared instantly, "light 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 these persons out." And therewith she vanished in 
 the darkness. 
 
 The sister, with the silent movement of a machine, 
 took up the candle and preceded us. Without a 
 word on either side, the fastenings were withdrawn, 
 and the great door swung open for us and shut us out. 
 
 I was the first to break the silence of our sullen 
 anger. 
 
 "Whither now?" I asked dejectedly. 
 
 " Nowhither," said Sophie in a tone that was new 
 to me, and thrust her hand through my arm. " Never 
 again" and her voice quivered with anger "will 
 I subject myself to such humiliation. Our duty is 
 done, and you have kept your word to my father. 
 We have sought the Church s protection for me, and 
 the Church has spurned me from her doors. Now, 
 Jean, I cast my lot with you. I place my life and 
 honor in your keeping. I will go with you to your 
 own country, and your people shall be my people. 
 And you, too," turning to Huguenin, "you will be a 
 brother to me, will you not? " 
 
 Who could resist an appeal at once so tender and 
 so brave ? 
 
 " I swear it, Mademoiselle, on the honor of a 
 soldier," blurted out my impetuous lieutenant, while 
 I pressed the hand that rested so confidingly on my 
 arm, in an ecstasy of delight. 
 
 The die was cast. The considerations of prudence 
 that had reconciled me reluctantly to resigning Sophie, 
 were swept away by the breath of trustful love. 
 Henceforth, come weal or woe, she was mine.
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 We returned to the inn, as light-hearted as we had 
 left it dejected. Two adjoining rooms were found, 
 in one of which Hugue"nin and I could rest near our 
 precious charge. How sweetly we slept that night! 
 As for me, overpowered as I was with fatigue, I 
 awoke more than once, in the blissful conscious 
 ness of a happiness the greater because it had come 
 so unexpectedly. 
 
 The next day we continued our journey. With 
 the resolve we had taken, it was like a holiday ex 
 cursion, so merrily did we travel. 
 
 194
 
 CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH. 
 
 A MEMORABLE NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 IT was clear, brisk October weather. We were 
 passing through an upland region, and as we 
 climbed some eminence, there rolled out, on either 
 hand, a panorama of hill and dale, fading, in the dis 
 tance, into a thin blue veil of haze. And Sophie, the 
 dread of a new separation removed, was blithe as a 
 bird. She fairly reveled in the fine air, the wide 
 landscapes, and the quiet beauty of the varied scenery. 
 Evening brought us to Bourbon, another good day s 
 journey behind us. 
 
 Clermont was the destination to which we aimed 
 for our third stop. It was a short stage, and we were 
 glad to ride leisurely, in preparation for the longest 
 and hardest part of our journey, that from Clermont 
 to Alby. So we traveled with light hearts, enjoying 
 to the utmost the bright present. This day was a 
 repetition of the one which preceded it, except that 
 the scenery had grown more rugged. We turned the 
 flank of a mountain-spur on our right, and all the rest 
 of the day the serrated outline of a lofty range was 
 in view. 
 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 The next day we started bright and early, for a 
 long and toilsome road was before us. We had now 
 come into mountainous Auvergne, and our road lay 
 through the foot-hills of the Cevennes. Again and 
 again we passed the blackened ruins of a farmstead. 
 The appearance of the region was desolate in the 
 extreme. In these valleys was the birthplace of 
 French Protestantism. For here, three hundred years 
 before Luther and Calvin, a pious people worshiped 
 God in the utmost simplicity of a pure faith, until 
 their rejection of the papacy drew upon them fierce 
 persecution. A yet crueler fate befell them, when 
 Francis I., seeking to atone to the Church by his de 
 votion as a king for his profligacy as a man, sent an 
 army against them. The inoffensive inhabitants were 
 harried and hunted into the recesses of the mountains, 
 where numbers perished from cold and exposure, and 
 their homes were plundered and burned. Thousands 
 fell by the sword, and thousands more were deported. 
 The land had never recovered from that infernal des 
 olation. It was still a wasted and ruined region. 
 
 Our progress was slow, for in that sparsely peopled 
 district the roads were rough and ill-kept. Making 
 all the speed we could, we had, near sunset, but 
 reached the hardest part of our journey. This was 
 the crossing of the mountains at a point where, taking 
 a sudden sweep to the southeast, they throw a barrier 
 athwart the highway. 
 
 We had reached the foot of the pass, when, looking 
 back, we descried a party of horsemen approaching. 
 This was not necessarily alarming, but it put us on 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 our guard. Huguenin dropped behind, to reconnoitre 
 the strangers. Presently he came up. " I do not 
 like this," he cried. "Those fellows, whoever they 
 are, since catching sight of us, are pushing on at the 
 top of their speed. They will soon overtake us, and 
 we are too few to make a stand against them. Do 
 you two ride on as quickly as you can. I will stop 
 behind and meet this party. At the least, I can 
 delay them, if they are enemies, and give you time to 
 conceal yourselves." 
 
 It seemed the only thing to be done. Sophie and 
 I urged our horses forward. But the poor beasts, tired 
 with a hard day s work, failed to respond. They had 
 reached the limit of their strength, and, now that the 
 road began to rise steadily toward the summit of the 
 pass, they could not go out of a walk. 
 
 Our only safety lay in leaving the highway and 
 hiding ourselves. We took a faint track, probably 
 once a cart-road, which led away amid the woods 
 and rocks on our left, and plunged into the shadows. 
 For a considerable distance we followed the windings 
 of the trail, until we judged it safe to stop, there being 
 no evidence of pursuit. The sombre masses of trees 
 meeting overhead threw about us a deep twilight, and 
 not a sound disturbed the awful stillness of the forest. 
 Here, then, we waited, listening intently, in the vain 
 hope of hearing something from Huguenin. I durst 
 not shout, lest my voice should betray us to those 
 whom we wished to avoid, should they still be near. 
 
 Then we realized that we had thrown, not only our 
 supposed pursuers, but our comrade, off our track. 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 To get back to the highway as speedily as possible, 
 was the immediate necessity. But we found that this 
 was no easy task. When we tried to retrace the track 
 by which we had come, it was indistinguishable in 
 the gathering darkness. 
 
 It was not long before we were wandering aim 
 lessly in the dense forest. We had made so many 
 turns in following the trail, winding among rocks and 
 around huge boulders, that it was impossible to guess 
 in what direction lay the highway. All our efforts 
 ended in leaving us only in pitiable bewilderment. 
 
 With the prospect before us of spending the night 
 in the forest, without food or shelter, I still durst not 
 shout, through fear of betraying ourselves. So, the 
 only possible method of deliverance was barred. 
 
 On we stumbled, leading our horses, for it was now 
 too dark for us to ride, only hoping, at the best, to 
 find some suitable and sheltered spot where we might 
 await the dawn. 
 
 After a time, an opening in the tree-tops indicated 
 a clearing. We came out into what was once a field, 
 now long since unfilled and overgrown with under 
 brush and young trees. Within it were the ruins of 
 a farm-house, the goal, no doubt, to which the road 
 once led whose almost obliterated track we had fol 
 lowed. The walls and chimney were still standing, 
 but the roof was gone, save that half-burnt fragments 
 of the joists still remained resting on the stonework. 
 Undoubtedly, it was one of those peaceful homes 
 which the bigotry of Francis had desolated. 
 
 It was a most happy discovery, for here was, at 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 the least, some rude shelter for ourselves, and there 
 was abundance of grass for our animals on the banks 
 of a brook which ran hard by. Here we might 
 pass the night in safety, but what a situation for a 
 girl reared amid the strictest proprieties of home life ! 
 
 " My love," I said, " two days ago you placed your 
 life and your honor in my keeping. Providence has 
 taken you at your word. You see the situation in 
 which we are. Do you accept it cheerfully? " 
 
 " What fortune would I not gladly share with you? " 
 was the brave answer ; and my mind was relieved. 
 
 Happily, after our experience at Bonrepos, I had 
 provided myself with flint and steel and tinder. The 
 half-burnt ends of timbers furnished us with abun 
 dance of dry fuel, and I soon had a fire blazing briskly 
 on the old hearth. Boughs, with my cloak spread 
 over them, formed a rude couch. There, supperless, 
 but happy beyond utterance, we settled ourselves to 
 an hour of sweet converse, in solitude as deep as we 
 could have wished, and amid profound stillness, 
 broken only by the sound of our horses cropping the 
 grass near by. 
 
 While we sat in delightful communion before the 
 broad hearth, and the fire crackled and leaped, light 
 ing up Sophie s dark eyes and her face, bright with 
 love and happiness, and the trees rustled softly in the 
 night wind, and there was no sound of life other than 
 that of our horses grazing near, and the stars looked 
 down upon us between the ruined walls, angels, I 
 thought, might have beheld us and rejoiced, if their 
 heavenly bosoms are touched with the sight of human 
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 happiness. Hunger, fatigue, and discomfort were all 
 forgotten in the supreme felicity of that hour. Time 
 had for us no existence. The universe was simply 
 our two selves. Could we have ordered it so, we 
 should have been well content to prolong that bliss 
 ful hour into eternity. Ah, God! that it had been 
 possible! that it had been possible! 
 
 " How strange it seems," said Sophie, musingly, 
 " that, in all the years of our love, this is the first 
 evening that we have ever spent together alone! 
 Sometimes I have chided myself for surrendering my 
 affection so wholly to one whom I knew so little. I 
 was a simple country girl. You came and capti 
 vated my imagination. Before I knew it, you were 
 my hero. I found myself weaving endless romances 
 about you. Day and night you filled my thoughts. 
 I tried to picture your past and your usual surround 
 ings, to see you among your friends. Sometimes the 
 thought came to me, that in the great world in which 
 you lived there must be some other, some fair and 
 accomplished lady, whom you loved. For why should 
 you care for me? " 
 
 " Ah! love," I cried, interrupting her, " it was your 
 very simplicity that first caught my heart. I had 
 indeed seen something of the great world; and its 
 hollowness had sickened me. I had seen my young 
 master wedded, by his mother s choice, to one whom 
 he did not love and could not respect. Among the 
 great I had seen miserable pretenses worshiped, while 
 what was human and genuine hid itself away, or else 
 showed itself only furtively in forbidden places and 
 200
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 ways. I was weary of the sophisticated and longed 
 for simple reality. I met you, and my heart was 
 glad. You satisfied its cravings. In you I found 
 the dewy freshness and beauty of a summer morning." 
 
 " Do you indeed think and feel such lovely things 
 about me as you utter? " asked Sophie archly. 
 
 " I do indeed, my love," I exclaimed rapturously, 
 pressing her closer to me. " And, oh, darling, what 
 would I not give, if you and I might live out our lives 
 in some solitude like this or, at the least, in a quiet 
 rural home, such as that of my boyhood! There life 
 is simple and real ; hearts are honest and true. Ah ! 
 that detested court! It was always distasteful to 
 me. Since I have known you, I hate it, with its 
 selfish and ambitious men, its frivolous and false 
 women." 
 
 A cloud passed over Sophie s face, and she asked 
 quickly, "Why, then, return to it? Why may not 
 you and I make for ourselves such a peaceful home 
 as you have spoken of? " 
 
 " Alas! " I answered, " it is my destiny. A solemn 
 pledge to one who is dead binds me beyond recall 
 to this life." Then I told her how our Queen, my 
 master s mother, had made me swear never to forsake 
 him, so long as we both should live. 
 
 Sophie heaved a deep sigh. It was evident that 
 my indissoluble connection with the court was a 
 painful revelation to her. She said simply, "Since 
 you have sworn, we must make the best of it. But 
 I have dreamed of quite another kind of life for us. 
 For I will own to you that I dread that court and 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 shrink from the thought of entering it. Has it not 
 been the source of all the unhappiness that has be 
 fallen us? My father distrusted you, so soon as he 
 learned your connection with it. To him it is an 
 embodiment of all that is abominable; and I have 
 had no easy task in maintaining a show of serene 
 confidence, when shall I confess it? sometimes my 
 heart has sunk at the thought of the influences that 
 surround you there. For even we, simple folk, hear 
 rumors such as could not but disquiet me." 
 
 For a while there was silence. Sophie s thoughts 
 were running in a channel in which she could not 
 find, nor could I give her, any cheer. For we were 
 quite agreed in our feeling about the future : she 
 dreaded the court life from rumor ; I detested it from 
 experience. 
 
 After a while she resumed musingly, as if her mind 
 was occupied with a more cheerful theme, "Some 
 times I wonder what my life would have been, had 
 you gone away from our house, without speaking a 
 word to me. Then, when you said to me what you 
 did, do you remember that day, under the trees, 
 when I brought you a cloak, and you pressed my 
 hand? in that moment, I was agonized with joy and 
 pain. I believe that, for my life, I could not have 
 uttered a syllable. If my heart could have spoken, 
 it would have cried out, Do not leave me. Take 
 me with you, to be yours forever. " 
 
 I answered her only by pressing her to me, in a 
 rapture of love. 
 
 She continued : " Then, after those words of yours, 
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 whatever had happened, had you been killed, and 
 had I never seen you again, one thing I know: my 
 life would have been wholly devoted to you. I gave 
 it to you when our hands met, and yours it would 
 have been forever, for life or death." 
 
 As I listened to this artless avowal of a love so 
 genuine, so true, so self-forgetting, my uppermost 
 feeling was one of unworthiness at being its object. 
 But, thank God! such as I was, she was mine. 
 
 With her head pillowed softly on my shoulder, I 
 cried, "Ah! my love, if Heaven were open to me 
 at this moment, and angels appeared beckoning me 
 to a seat there, I should renounce it for my place at 
 your side and in your heart." 
 
 " O Jean," she cried with a start, " do not speak 
 thus, I implore you. You terrify me. It is impious. 
 How can God bless us, if you set me before Him? 
 Do you not believe that He favors our union? As 
 I look up to the stars," and she lifted her eyes 
 reverently to the skies, "and see them shining so 
 brightly upon us, they seem to me to bring us a 
 special silent message of love from the good God." 
 
 For a few moments she seemed lost in devout 
 contemplation. Doubtless, gentle, pious soul, she 
 was praying for us. How earthly and sordid I 
 seemed to myself, in contrast with this saintly being! 
 Yet she was mine. 
 
 We mused a long time in silence. Then Sophie 
 
 spoke again. Taking my hand, she said with tender 
 
 appeal, " Now, my Jean, will you not give me your 
 
 full confidence? Will you not talk to me as I have 
 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 talked to you? I have told you of my life, how you 
 came into it and made it wholly yours. Will you 
 not tell me of your life? For all that I knew not of 
 I have trusted you implicitly. But now, when we 
 are so soon to be made one, you wish to tell me, do 
 you not, of the years before we knew each other? " 
 
 Her eyes sought mine with a strange wistfulness. 
 There was not a shadow of suspicion in those gentle 
 orbs, only a great yearning. She would, as it were, 
 take all my years, past as well as future, into her 
 heart. She longed to know and love me from my 
 very boyhood. 
 
 But as for me, ah ! how could I spread before this 
 guileless soul the record of years of heedless folly, 
 stained with associations which, in her presence, 
 seemed damning in their memory? 
 
 I faltered miserably, " Ah ! my dear, a man s life 
 is not like a woman s such a woman as you are. It 
 runs not in one smooth and even channel. It is 
 made up of all manner of experiences." 
 
 "Oh! " she replied sadly, "you do not answer 
 me. Is there anything that I may not know? " The 
 wistful look was more intense and seemed tinged with 
 fear. 
 
 " Sophie, Sophie," I cried, guilty consciousness 
 disguising itself as passionate vehemence, " what will 
 you have me say? Only think! You have lived a 
 sheltered life, unvexed by storms. Mine has been 
 checkered by the vicissitudes of court and camp. 
 It has been my lot to be thrown with people of all 
 sorts, a few good, many violent and unscrupulous, 
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 not a few depraved. Remember what my surround 
 ings have been." 
 
 " True," she answered sadly. " But still you evade 
 my question. You speak only of your outward life. 
 Does not your heart tell you what alone mine longs 
 to know? Have you ever loved another?" Her 
 eyes sought mine, more than ever filled with deep 
 yearning. 
 
 Would to God that I could have looked into those 
 clear orbs unflinchingly! 
 
 " Never, I swear, my darling," I answered, and 
 answered truthfully, for, in her spiritual sense of the 
 word, love had been unknown to me, till I met her. 
 But certain accusing memories arose within me, and 
 how could I be less than utterly truthful before this 
 guileless soul? I added falteringly, "I never loved, 
 until I met you never, as I love you." 
 
 "Ah! as you love me, " she replied, quickly 
 catching my qualifying words and repeating them 
 with emphasis, at the same time drawing away from 
 me a little. A deep shadow fell over her face, and 
 she was silent for some time. 
 
 After a while she said in an altered voice, out of 
 which the joyous element of her love seemed to have 
 gone, "Perhaps I am a foolish girl; and it may be 
 the common lot of women, that few get in marriage 
 what all are expected to give an unsullied heart. 
 But alas for my dreams! " She began to sob. 
 
 " O Sophie, my darling," I cried passionately, " why 
 will you thus torture me, and yourself not less? Is 
 it generous? When I tell you that, since I first knew 
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 you, I have loved only you, and that neither by word 
 nor deed, nor even by a thought of mine, has any 
 woman so much as cast a shadow on your bright 
 image in my heart, does not that content you? " 
 
 " It must," she answered sadly. After musing a 
 while, she said, " But would to God that it had been 
 otherwise! How happy I should be! Oh, this is 
 folly!" she cried, her manner suddenly changing. 
 " Such as you are, I have accepted you for weal or 
 for woe. I could not withdraw my love from you, 
 if I would. And God knows, I would not. The fault 
 has been mine, in endowing you with an ideal perfec 
 tion. As you are, I thank God for you." So saying, 
 she drew me toward her and kissed me on the fore 
 head, as a mother might kiss an erring, but dearly 
 loved and forgiven child. 
 
 After a while she murmured caressingly, " I have 
 thought it all over. How foolish I am! For, surely, 
 if there are things in your past that you would will 
 ingly obliterate, it must be that you have repented of 
 them, and God has accepted your penitence. Else, 
 He would not have brought us together, after our 
 long separation, and He would not smile on our union, 
 as I firmly believe He does. Would I be more ex 
 acting than He ? " 
 
 What could be sweeter or more reasonable? I 
 caught her to my bosom in a silent ecstasy of grati 
 tude and love. 
 
 But, alas! the end was not yet. When a woman s 
 instinct of proprietorship in her lover is once aroused, 
 it is not so easily laid at rest. After a little Sophie 
 206
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 said, " Let us not, my Jean, make half-way work of 
 this. That were weak and foolish. And this subject 
 would remain a perpetual menace to our happiness. 
 Let us be brave and deal with it thoroughly. Then 
 let us, so to speak, lock it up forever, never to be 
 reopened by word or sign. Only so can our under 
 standing be complete. Is it not so? " 
 
 I assented reluctantly. For too well I saw whither 
 this talk tended. 
 
 "There are things, you know," she resumed, 
 " which I dare not leave untouched questions 
 which, if they remained unasked, would forever 
 haunt me and destroy my peace of mind ; shadowy 
 spectres that would dog me day and night. Is it 
 not so? " 
 
 " Go on," I said. 
 
 " No," she answered quickly ; " that is not the right 
 tone for you to take. All our future depends on our 
 clearing up this subject once for all. Only think! 
 I am about to become your wife. You would not, 
 would you, have me go blindfold into this relation? 
 Surely, a wise wife does not begin by being a fool." 
 
 She paused for me to assent to this undeniable 
 proposition. I merely nodded. 
 
 Sophie continued in a firm voice, " I do not ask 
 you to lay bare all your past life. I have foregone 
 that. It is in the keeping of God. But, indeed, I 
 must know the present ; I must comprehend the cir 
 cumstances that have already so painfully affected 
 my life, as well as yours." 
 
 "What, for example? " I asked. 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Let me remind you," she answered, " that the 
 mystery of your coming among us has never yet been 
 explained. You were not, you have written, the lover 
 of the Chatelaine of Bonrepos, but have suffered for 
 another s wrong-doing. Who that other was, I easily 
 surmise. But how came it that suspicion was fas 
 tened upon you? Why were you attacked? Why 
 was the Baron so fiercely incensed against you, that 
 he would have killed you, and, failing that, sought to 
 wreak his cruel vengeance on me? For well I knew 
 always that his designs against me were the blow that 
 he aimed indirectly at you. And by what represen 
 tations was he able to prejudice my father so bitterly 
 against you my father who is commonly so tolerant 
 and kind? " 
 
 " It was a woman s revenge," I answered sullenly. 
 
 She started, as if she had been struck, and her eyes 
 sought mine with a penetrating look, as she ex 
 claimed, "A woman s revenge! Strange! How was 
 it incurred? " 
 
 Reluctantly and in as few words as possible, I told 
 her the story of my meeting with Marie Roseau and 
 of our quarrel, with its consequences. 
 
 " You knew her, then, this Marie Roseau! " 
 
 I nodded grimly. 
 
 "And, surely, she had she had some claim on 
 you? " 
 
 I nodded again, with my teeth set, and looking 
 stonily before me. 
 
 Sophie moaned, and, looking up, I saw her hands 
 covering her face, while her body swayed back and 
 208
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 forth. For some time I tried in vain to soothe her. 
 I even pleaded my renunciation of Marie Roseau, 
 before meeting her, as evidence of the altered tenor 
 of my life. 
 
 " It is too much, too much ! " she cried. " To think 
 that I owe you to a quarrel with a former and a 
 servant, too! " 
 
 "O my darling! " I cried, in an agony of shame, 
 " why have you wrung from me this wretched avowal? 
 Must you torture me and yourself, too, by dragging 
 to light things that should be buried forever? The 
 wretched woman is dead ; let the story die, too." 
 
 "Dead?" she exclaimed quickly, dropping her 
 hands from her face and eying me keenly. " How 
 do you know it? " 
 
 " Do you recall," I answered, " that incident at 
 Cahors, when I was seized by ruffians, but, through 
 the notice which you sent to my master, was rescued? 
 She it was who instigated that plot to murder me." 
 Then I told her the sequel of that episode, includ 
 ing the wretched woman s miserable end. 
 
 Sophie listened with a set look. When I had con 
 cluded, she was silent for a time. Then she said in 
 a strangely hard voice, " You have been very frank. 
 Let us go on with this subject to the bitter end. You 
 have told me of one woman. There have, perhaps 
 been others in a similar relation? " 
 
 "O my God, yes!" I cried fiercely. "Is this 
 
 your generous forbearance? Will nothing content 
 
 you, but to wring from me a confession of things that 
 
 I loathe to recall? When I tell you, nay, swear to 
 
 209
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 you, that never, since I have known you, has there 
 been anything in my life that I would wish to hide 
 from you, is not that enough? Do you forget that 
 I have lived at a court where your ideas of virtue 
 and mine since I have known you, are derided? " 
 
 " Ah, that wicked court ! " she said, shaking her head 
 mournfully. "How justly my father abhorred it! 
 Yet, he could not have dreamed what sorrow it would 
 bring to his child. It was, then, some lady some 
 ladies, perhaps at the court? " 
 
 " Have it so, if you will," I flung out savagely, 
 though, in fact, the surmise was groundless. Then I 
 added, in better temper, " But let me tell you that I 
 have so lived these last years as to make myself an 
 object of derision to the court dames and gallants. 
 I have been a recluse among them. When you be 
 come my wife, it is not likely that you will ever en 
 counter a single woman who has an} least claim on 
 me. Now, surely, we may, as you said awhile since, 
 lock up this subject, never to be reopened." 
 
 " Forgive me, my love," she answered, with a ten 
 derness that was motherly, "if I have pressed you 
 hard. If you have suffered, I have suffered more. 
 But it is better so. There are now no illusions to be 
 dispelled in the future. As you are, I thank God for 
 you. After all this cruel questioning, do you still 
 love me as much as ever ? " 
 
 Her arms were extended yearningly toward me. 
 
 In a moment they were about me, and the pain of 
 
 the recent ordeal was forgotten in the joy of our 
 
 perfect union of hearts. Nestling against me, Sophie 
 
 210
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 wept softly, under the reaction from her recent emo 
 tions. 
 
 At last, worn out with weariness, my companion 
 fell asleep, resting on my shoulder. I lowered her 
 gently on the couch, her head pillowed on my knee, 
 and my cloak drawn around her form, the stars shining 
 down between the roofless walls our only canopy. 
 
 Then, while the fire burned, I mused. What a 
 creature of destiny is man! These ruins once shel 
 tered a happy household, now gone whither? Once 
 more they look down on human felicity, to last how 
 long? Now the face of fortune smiles propitious on 
 our love ; to-morrow it may wear a frown. It may 
 be that the fate of war will sunder us forever. Per 
 haps I shall never have the proud title of husband to 
 the woman of my love. But has not Providence, 
 superior to the ordinances of men, placed her in my 
 arms? And who is wise but him who, in each pass 
 ing moment, discerns and thankfully follows the 
 divine leadings? Only the ascetic makes for him 
 self an ideal of privation and seeks to force God to 
 his petty standards. 
 
 I looked down upon the sleeping face before me. 
 How sweetly it lay in the flickering firelight, while the 
 bosom, for which the page s velvet doublet was well- 
 nigh too scant, rose and fell with regular rhythm! 
 Adorable Sophie! dearer than ever since the under 
 standing we had reached. My wife to be! how 
 soon? 
 
 The silence was broken by the distant howl of a 
 wolf. Immediately there came into my mind the 
 
 211
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 picture which Virgil draws, when, amid thunder and 
 the flash of lightning, yneas and love-sick Dido take 
 refuge in a cave, and 
 
 " Ulularunt nymphne," etc. 
 
 The wood-nymphs chanted their hymeneal song. 
 Who should sing our nuptial hymn? 
 
 Then, even while I gazed in rapture upon her face, 
 her lips moved, and the light of love seemed to play 
 over her features. I bent over and listened. It was 
 my name she breathed in her sleep. In an ecstasy, 
 I hung over her. Again the wolf howled. 
 
 Then her face suddenly changed. Terror was de 
 picted on it. She moaned, as if trying to cry out, 
 and her hands twitched convulsively. Poor soul! 
 what hideous dream was agonizing her? I threw my 
 arm about her and drew her to me. She awoke, 
 started up, passed her hand before her face, then sank 
 upon my shoulder, crying, " Oh, my love, how thank 
 ful I am that it is you! What a dream of horrors I 
 have had ! First, I was with you ; and we were so 
 happy, just as we were before I fell asleep. Then 
 methought I was separated from you and was wan 
 dering alone through the dark forest, stumbling and 
 lost. Suddenly a great abyss yawned before me ; 
 an unearthly light flashed up and surrounded me, 
 and I was seized about my body by strong arms. I 
 looked down into the face of the fiend who clutched 
 me, and it was the countenance of Bonrepos, only 
 tenfold more hideous with hate and passion. I was 
 helpless with terror. I struggled, but in vain. I tried 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 to scream, but I could make no sound. I seemed 
 to be toppling over into the awful chasm, when I was 
 seized by other arms and borne up. There was a 
 great struggle ; but my rescuer conquered. I looked 
 up into the face of the good angel, and oh, Jean, it 
 was yours. And are you not indeed my good angel, 
 strong to shield me from harm ? " 
 
 My arms enfolded her, and our lips met in a long 
 kiss. 
 
 Once in the night I was awakened by the snorting 
 of the horses, in evident alarm. I remembered the 
 wolf whose howl I had heard. Very gently I raised 
 myself on my elbow. Sophie lay asleep across my 
 left arm ; on no account would I arouse her, without 
 absolute necessity. The fire had burned itself low, 
 and the cabin was in darkness. Only overhead the 
 stars twinkled. I had taken the precaution, before 
 falling asleep, of laying my sword, unsheathed, by 
 my side. With it I pushed the fagots together. 
 Presently they kindled into a little blaze. Then I 
 espied an object in the doorway. It was, I thought, 
 too high for a wolf and too low for a man. I kept 
 my eyes intently fixed on it, while I held my sword 
 firmly grasped, Sophie meanwhile sleeping on, poor 
 soul! wearied out. After a little the fire shot up a 
 brighter blaze, and I distinguished a man crouching, 
 his body hidden behind the wall, while he peered in 
 upon us. 
 
 A man, I have said, but less than human he seemed 
 rather, a famished and frightened wild animal. 
 His matted hair, uncovered, overhung in a huge shock 
 213
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 his gaunt, pinched face, grimy and squalid. From 
 cavernous recesses his eyes looked out, restless and 
 furtive, like those of a wild beast newly caged. About 
 his shoulders hung tattered remnants of a garment. 
 At a mere motion of my sword toward him, this ap 
 parition darted away and vanished into the darkness. 
 What could he be? There was nothing to be 
 feared from him or from such as he. Still, I could 
 sleep no more that night. The knowledge that a 
 wretched fellow-being, bereft, perhaps, of reason, was 
 lurking near, kept me wakeful. 
 
 214
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE FELL INTO A TRAP. 
 
 next morning we had no difficulty in finding 
 -L the old road which we had lost in the dark of 
 the previous evening, and in following it out to the 
 highway. With our horses fresh from their night s 
 pasturage, we pushed on toward the summit of the 
 pass. As we gained it, a magnificent prospect opened 
 before us. On our right the mountains were heaped 
 up in wild and majestic disorder. On the left they 
 stretched in serried array to the horizon. In front 
 the land fell away gradually, with many an alterna 
 tion of hill and dale, to the far-away plain, where the 
 morning s sun glinted on the tiled roofs of Alby. In 
 the foreground the road rose to view here and there, 
 as it mounted some eminence. 
 
 How blissful was that morning s ride, in the crisp 
 October air, and in the undisturbed enjoyment of each 
 other s society, shadowed only by our approaching 
 separation, but lighted by love and hope! 
 
 It was high noon when we rode into Alby. As 
 we made our way to an inn, a man accosted me and 
 asked whether I was Monsieur Fourcade. Then he 
 215
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 delivered a letter to me. It contained good news 
 indeed, for it was from Hugudnin. He had reached 
 Alby late in the night. The party whom we had 
 dreaded as pursuers, proved to be a group of horse 
 men on their way to join the Huguenot forces. See 
 ing us ahead of them, they surmised that we were 
 bound on the same errand, and quickened their speed, 
 in order to overtake our little party. After fruitless 
 efforts to find us in the gathering darkness, Huguenin 
 had continued his journey with them, knowing that 
 Sophie and I would have no difficulty in reaching 
 Alby, now that we were in a friendly country. On 
 account of the proximity to the theatre of war, and 
 our ignorance at what point the great encounter would 
 take place, he urged me to leave Sophie at Alby and 
 to hasten forward with all despatch. Our army, he 
 had learned, was on the point of moving to meet the 
 enemy. He himself would go on with his new com 
 panions. 
 
 It was a great relief to Sophie and me to know 
 that our brave comrade, to whom we owed so much, 
 was safe. We acquiesced, too, in the wisdom of his 
 counsel, that she should await at Alby the issue of 
 the forthcoming struggle. 
 
 Our first need was food, for we had not broken our 
 fast since noon of the previous day. We went to 
 the Red Stag and there ate our last meal together, 
 in almost utter silence, each weighed down with the 
 thought of our approaching separation and the uncer 
 tain issue of the impending battle. The only thing 
 that sustained us was the mutual pledge that, if I 
 216
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 survived it, whatever might be its result, we should 
 be united, and henceforth our fortunes should be 
 one. 
 
 Leaving Sophie to rest at the inn, I went out to 
 seek a temporary home for her. I was well ac 
 quainted with the town, having visited it more than 
 once, and there were several houses where I was a 
 welcome guest. Above all, I prized a family named 
 Boismaison, an elderly widow with two daughters, 
 people so reasonable, so just in their sentiments, and 
 so kind, that I was sure of their sympathy and friend 
 liness. 
 
 I was not disappointed in this expectation. They 
 listened with deep interest to my story and assured 
 me of the heartiest welcome for the woman of my 
 choice. But, in spite of the cordiality with which 
 they greeted her, the poor girl keenly felt the embar 
 rassment of her position. She had, however, availed 
 herself of the opportunity at the inn of resuming her 
 own attire ; and the unfeigned friendliness of Madame 
 Boismaison and her daughters soon put her at her 
 ease. Women so reasonable and so gentle could 
 surely put no harsh construction on the circumstances 
 under which she had come to them. 
 
 I lingered long among these good friends. But 
 the lover must give way to the soldier, and when the 
 sun was already low in the west, I drew Sophie aside, 
 to bid her farewell. My Sophie now! Ah! how 
 could I leave her? How cruel seemed the fate that 
 tore me from my bride! It required all the man 
 hood in me to face my duty. In the trying ordeal 
 217
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 of our parting she showed more fortitude than I, 
 because her faith in an all-wise Providence, ordering 
 all things for good, was stronger than mine. 
 
 " Never fear, my Jean," she said. " Have faith. It 
 is but for a few days, at the most. Then we shall 
 be reunited for, ah! let us hope, long and happy 
 years. Can you for a moment think otherwise? 
 Can you believe but that the good God, who through 
 the long trial of our separation kept us for each other 
 and restored us to one another, still watches over us 
 and wills our happines^s? Without the faith that He 
 has decreed us to be man and wife, and that He 
 smiles on our union, think you that I could have 
 given myself to you, as I have? " Here she hid her 
 lovely face, covered with blushes, on my shoulder, 
 and, in a rapture of love, I folded her in my arms. 
 Was ever bliss greater than mine in the sweet agony 
 of that parting? 
 
 Presently she resumed, with the gentle gaiety which 
 no pressure of adverse circumstances could ever crush, 
 "Ah! my faithless boy, do you begin to rally your 
 courage? Surely, it is time for a soldier. See! here 
 is somewhat for thee. It is a trifle, but I love it. It 
 revived my spirit, in an hour of dark trial ; and it will 
 remind you, when you are disheartened, of your 
 Sophie and of the hope I bid you cherish." 
 
 Here she produced the little red badge which I 
 had caused to be conveyed to her, before her rescue. 
 She had cherished it, dear girl ! as the first visible token 
 she had received, in that awful time, that love and 
 help were at hand. Now she kissed it and then fas- 
 218
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 tened it over my heart. It was secured with a pin 
 which she had added, having for its top the head of 
 a lion, with rubies for eyes, and holding in his open 
 jaws a fiery opal. " Let this," she said, " be to you 
 a symbol of hope. When your courage sinks, let 
 your eyes rest on this. Then look up to God and 
 trust." 
 
 Adorable Sophie! How sweetly she preached 
 her simple gospel of a faith so unswerving that it 
 made her life as constant as the sun and as benign. 
 Well I knew that beneath her cheerful demeanor 
 was a heart overflowing with tenderness, and that she 
 was even now rallying all the strength of her nature 
 to hide her trouble, that she might send me on my 
 way hopeful and brave. The little incident that was 
 passing seemed to me to have all the solemnity of a 
 sacrament. 
 
 Reverently I said, " I receive this token, my 
 Sophie, not only as the symbol of hope, but as the 
 badge of honor. On the battle-field it shall light me 
 on that road or to death." 
 
 Once more I pressed her to my bosom. In spite 
 of her hope and her courage, the tears welled up in 
 her eyes. Was she not a woman, and a woman 
 sending her husband to the field of battle? 
 
 So we parted. 
 
 Late in the night, I came into Montauban. The 
 place was profoundly quiet, our army having already 
 taken up its march in the direction of Rochelle. 
 
 I knew that I was safe in tarrying there, for I had 
 learned that there was still a considerable distance 
 219
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 between the opposing armies, and the expected en 
 counter could not possibly take place before the 
 second day. Thus I should have ample time to join 
 our forces on the morrow. I might safely rest there 
 that night, and I was sorely in need of repose. I 
 drew up at the inn of the White Rose. It was dark 
 and silent, except that a light shone in an upper 
 window. I knocked. Almost immediately there 
 was a light step within, the bolt was withdrawn, the 
 key turned in the lock, the door opened, and Made 
 moiselle de Rebours stood before me. At sight of 
 me she started with surprise and evident disappoint 
 ment, but quickly recovered herself and hastened to 
 greet me with every appearance of cordiality. 
 
 " In the name of Heaven, Monsieur Fourcade, where 
 do you come from?" she cried. "We heard you 
 had gone on some piece of knight-errantry, beyond 
 the lines, and we gave you up for dead. But come 
 in and warm yourself, and tell me where you have 
 been and what you have done." So saying, she locked 
 and bolted the door, set the candle down on a table, 
 and led the way toward the hearth, where red embers 
 lay in a heap. She bustled about with an air of the 
 friendliest interest, stirred the coals, and threw on 
 some fresh wood. 
 
 " Come," she said, drawing up a chair for me, while 
 she took another, " seat yourself and tell me how you 
 have fared in your undertaking of rescuing a young 
 lady you," she added, with a roguish laugh, " whom 
 we have thought impervious to the arrows of Cupid! " 
 
 All this while, I stood reluctant in the middle of 
 220
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 the room. I had hitherto despised the woman for a 
 heartless wanton, capable of any intrigue, whether of 
 gallantry, of politics, or of malice. She belonged to 
 an ancient and proud, but impoverished, family. 
 She had come very young to court, as an attendant 
 of the Queen of Navarre, and had become thoroughly 
 imb.ued with her principles. There was no readier 
 instrument at her mistress disposal than she. Her 
 conquests were numerous, but she aimed high. At 
 last she reached the summit of her ambition, but only 
 to remain on that eminence a short time. After she 
 lost her influence with my master, she spent her ener 
 gies in open and reckless intrigues to regain that post 
 of honor. 
 
 For this young lady, who was as haughty to her 
 inferiors as she was cringing to the powerful, I had 
 great difficulty in showing even the respect which 
 her high station demanded. I was habitually barely 
 civil in my demeanor toward her, while she plainly 
 showed her ill-will toward me by her manner. She 
 was one of those court ladies who gibed at what they 
 called my affectation of virtue. If she had dared, 
 she would have done more ; but my nearness to my 
 master protected me. No doubt she thought that I 
 was a partizan of her successful rival, and that my 
 influence was used against her. If she could not win 
 me to her support, I believed she would seek to crush 
 me at the first opportunity. Intrigue was her vital 
 breath, and she was unusually well equipped for it. 
 Besides considerable beauty, she carried herself like a 
 queen. She possessed, moreover, great fertility of re- 
 
 221
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 source and a ready wit, capable of seizing any chance 
 and turning it to advantage. Of conscience she had 
 long since lost the last vestige. 
 
 In short, she was a woman who, by reason of her 
 bodily and mental endowments, was infinitely dan 
 gerous, and who would not scruple at any means by 
 which she might advance her personal ends or blast 
 an opponent. 
 
 Now, however, her manner was astonishingly 
 friendly, and I found my habitual distrust quickly 
 vanishing in the light of her smiles. The fire was by 
 this time crackling merrily on the hearth. Thanking 
 her, I went close and, standing, warmed myself, for 
 I was chilled by my ride in the frosty air of an Octo 
 ber night. 
 
 The landlord now entered, his clothes huddled on, 
 and still wearing his nightcap, and bade me a sleepy 
 " Good evening, Monsieur." 
 
 " Draw me, mine host, a flagon of your best wine," 
 I said, " and while I am drinking it, get ready a room 
 for me." He seemed surprised at the latter part of 
 my order, but went his way and soon returned, bring 
 ing a large stoup of red wine. 
 
 "That," said he, holding it up proudly, "is good 
 enough for an abbot. The King of Navarre drank 
 of it last night and praised it. To be sure," he mut 
 tered, "he is not particular about what he drinks." 
 Then he bustled off to prepare my room. Soon he 
 came back and announced that it was ready. I set 
 down my cup, half empty, and followed him to a 
 chamber on the same floor. After seeing it, I re- 
 222
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 turned, to finish my wine and to enjoy the warm fire 
 a few moments longer. Meanwhile, the landlord 
 bade me " Good night " and withdrew. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Rebours still sat there, with her 
 feet stretched out and crossed before the fire. The 
 warmth and the wine inclined me to good fellowship. 
 For the time, I forgot my habitual distrust and settled 
 down in the chair which she had drawn for me. 
 
 In the easiest manner my companion drew me on 
 to talk by her questions, full, it seemed, of sincere 
 interest. I began to feel that I had misjudged her. 
 After all, was not there good in the girl? Insensibly 
 I was led to tell of my recent adventure, and this 
 excited me still more. I became confidential ; I spoke 
 of my love. 
 
 And who is the young lady? " asked Mademoi 
 selle de Rebours, with a charming simplicity of 
 manner, as if she were chatting with an old friend. 
 
 " Sophie Roberval is her name," I answered 
 proudly. 
 
 "Roberval! I do not recall having heard it," she 
 said reflectively. She continued, " It is not a noble 
 name ; but you are not noble and would not expect 
 a noble bride." Then she added with winning con 
 descension, "But the good and beautiful are not 
 always noble. It is the heart s love that makes 
 happiness. Is it not so, Monsieur Fourcade?" she 
 asked, looking me ingenuously in the eyes. 
 
 How wisely and feelingly she talked, this woman 
 whom I had thought a heartless coquette! And how 
 handsome she looked by the firelight! How her 
 223
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 reddish-brown hair lighted up in the glow of the fire! 
 What fine eyes! What a figure! 
 
 "Yes," I answered enthusiastically, "and my 
 Sophie is all that a lover could ask." Then I went 
 into raptures about her beauty, her amiability, and 
 her loyalty to me through years of sore trial. 
 
 Mademoiselle de Rebours sighed sympathetically, 
 hung on my words, looked up in my face, drew her 
 chair closer, and let her hand fall softly on my knee. 
 
 " And where is she now? " she asked, her voice low 
 and full of feeling. 
 
 "At Alby," I answered. Then I told her of my 
 reasons for leaving her there, and I spoke of my good 
 friends, Madame Boismaison and her daughters, to 
 whose care I had committed her. 
 
 " You have done wisely," said she. " And you will 
 be married soon?" 
 
 " If God spares my life through this battle, we shall 
 be married immediately afterward," I answered fer 
 vently. At my side there was a deep sigh, and the 
 hand on my knee seemed to tighten and grasp it with 
 a little convulsive tremor. 
 
 Surely there was a devil in that heady wine. I 
 took the hand, and it quivered in mine with an elec 
 tric thrill that sent the blood bounding, until I seemed 
 to feel and hear it throbbing against my brain. 
 
 She leaned toward me, and her head sank on my 
 shoulder. I dropped my eyes. Great God! there, 
 over my heart, where Sophie had pinned it, nestled 
 the little red "badge of honor." Of honor! Her 
 words came ringing through my brain, and, with them, 
 224
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 my response, alas! so nearly forgotten, "It shall 
 lead me on the road to honor or to death." The 
 opal eyed me with sullen, vengeful fire. 
 
 I dropped the hand I held, started up, pushed my 
 chair back, and cried in an altered voice, " Mademoi 
 selle, I must bid you good night. It is late, and I 
 must be astir early to-morrow. I thank you for your 
 good company and your friendly interest." 
 
 "But wherefore so suddenly? " she asked, rising, 
 her cheeks flushed, her hair disheveled, and an ugly 
 light in her eyes. " Oh, see," she exclaimed abruptly, 
 "what a beautiful decoration you have your lady 
 love s gift, no doubt!" And she came close to ex 
 amine it. Filled with the thought of Sophie and of 
 my perilous approach to a lapse from loyalty, I barely 
 suffered her, as she came near, leaned over, and fin 
 gered the badge. 
 
 Before I suspected what she was about, she had 
 unpinned and slipped it out of sight. 
 
 " Good night, Monsieur Fourcade," she said with 
 a sweeping mock courtesy, at the same time taking 
 up the candle. " Commend me to your charming 
 lady-love.." 
 
 In that moment I saw that my bow-knot was gone. 
 " Hold, Mademoiselle! " I cried, as she passed through 
 the door. " You have taken my decoration." 
 
 The woman turned on me fiercely. "What do 
 you mean, insolent roturier? What interest have I 
 in your peasant loves? or what should I want of your 
 cheap trumpery?" she haughtily demanded. "You 
 will escape what you deserve, if I do not cause some 
 225
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 gentleman to slit your ears." In another moment 
 she was ascending the stairs. 
 
 Dumbfounded, I did not know how to meet this 
 cool effrontery. Before I could gather my wits, I 
 heard a door on the second floor shut and the key 
 turned in the lock. I bounded up the stairs. But 
 which was her room? I knocked at one door and 
 was roundly cursed from within in deep, gruff tones. 
 At another a shrill feminine voice cried, "What do 
 you want ? Go away. I will tell my husband." 
 At a third my repeated knocking brought no reply, 
 though I heard a person moving about within the 
 room. 
 
 I went away, resolved to secure the return of my 
 badge the next morning, at whatever cost. 
 
 When I went to my room, it was a long time before 
 I could sleep, so deeply was I troubled with the sense 
 of my folly in being made the easy dupe of an ad 
 venturess. At last I fell into an uneasy slumber, in 
 which I continually dreamed of being menaced with 
 some dire misfortune or deep disgrace. 
 
 I awoke and drew the curtain aside, to see the sun 
 shining brightly. I hastily put on my clothes and 
 hurried down-stairs. My first thought was of Made 
 moiselle de Rebours. I asked the landlord to take 
 her a message from me. 
 
 " She is gone, two hours since," he replied. 
 
 "Gone!" I exclaimed, aghast. "What do you 
 mean? " 
 
 He came nearer and said, in a confidential under 
 tone, opening his eyes, and with an air of deep worldly 
 226
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 wisdom, "A gentleman Monsieur understands, no 
 doubt came here, when it was yet scarcely light, 
 with a horse for her, and took her away." 
 
 " What road did they take?" I demanded impetu 
 ously. 
 
 " I do not know, Monsieur," he answered. "Ah, 
 stop ! Surely, they mentioned Alby, as they talked to 
 gether." 
 
 Great heavens! They had gone in the opposite 
 direction to that which my duty compelled me to 
 take. And to Alby! If, by any mischance, that 
 intriguing creature should meet Sophie! 
 
 Bitterly I cursed my heedless folly in talking to her 
 so freely. But there was no help now. The impend 
 ing battle left me no choice but to press on with all 
 despatch. 
 
 So soon as I had eaten a hurried breakfast, I 
 mounted and followed the track of the army. Be 
 fore long, my depression and my self-reproaches 
 vanished in the excitement of the signs of an immi 
 nent conflict. For a ride of a few miles brought me 
 to the rear-guard of our army. It was moving forward 
 with all haste. Orders had come to press on with all 
 possible despatch. Evidently, some vantage-ground 
 was to be occupied. As rapidly as the crowded state 
 of the road would allow, I hurried forward, to report 
 myself to my master. All along the way there were 
 joyful recognitions, as I was greeted by old comrades 
 who had heard that I had gone beyond our outposts, 
 on a secret mission, and who were glad to welcome 
 me back, especially on the eve of a battle. 
 227
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 In spite of the great inferiority of our numbers to 
 the reported strength of the enemy, our men were full 
 of eager hopefulness, and hurried forward with the 
 alacrity of old soldiers about to meet the foe. 
 
 As I rode by Turenne s Gascon cavalry, I was 
 hailed from the ranks by the familiar voice of Gail- 
 lard. We were overjoyed to greet each other, and 
 I listened with intense interest to his hurried recital 
 of the experiences of my comrades whom I left be 
 hind, when Huguenin and I pushed on, in pursuit of 
 Bonrepos and his men. 
 
 Our four friends had not been so successful as 
 we in obtaining mounts. And when, at last, they 
 secured animals, they encountered a considerable 
 party of horsemen, who had, undoubtedly, been sent 
 by the Baron to look after us. This compelled them 
 to disperse and abandon the hope of overtaking us. 
 They had succeeded, however, in making their way 
 back, singly, within our lines. 
 
 When I came up with my master, he was charac 
 teristically employed. A tumbrel carrying one of 
 our few pieces of artillery was stuck in a deep rut. 
 He was on his feet, in person directing the men what 
 to do, and was not content until he saw the heavy 
 machine lumbering on its way. 
 
 He hailed me with delight. " You are just in the 
 nick of time, Jean," he said. " If we had fought, and 
 you had not been there, you would have wished to go 
 and hang yourself." 
 
 He inquired how I had fared on my errand, and 
 congratulated me warmly on my success. But there 
 228
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 was brief time for talk, for he was busily engaged in 
 his preparations for the expected encounter. From 
 end to end of the column his presence was felt, and 
 everywhere it inspired eagerness and hope. 
 
 It was a race, I found, between ourselves and 
 Joyeuse for the possession of the castle and town of 
 Coutras, which was by far the strongest position in 
 that vicinity. If we could succeed in gaining it, we 
 should have the advantage of the choice of ground ; 
 and if Joyeuse, in his eager haste to seize it, should 
 come into collision with us, before effecting a junction 
 with Matignon s army, we should be fighting one 
 hostile force, instead of two. 
 
 When night came on, our main body was still some 
 miles from Coutras. But the King of Navarre sent 
 forward La Trimouille, with a considerable force, to 
 seize the position. They forded the Drogne and 
 drove out the royalist advance-guard, which had al 
 ready taken possession of Coutras, but were not strong 
 enough to hold it. Thus we gained the first advantage. 
 
 All night long, our forces were crossing the river 
 and taking position, under the direction of my master, 
 who was everywhere, superintending with tireless 
 activity every detail and himself pointing out the 
 ground to be occupied by each corps, as it completed 
 the passage and came upon the field. During the 
 night he learned from some prisoners who were 
 brought in, that the royalist commander had begun 
 his movement at ten o clock, in the hope, no doubt, 
 that, by marching all night, he would anticipate us 
 and seize the high ground which we already held. 
 229
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 With the knowledge, therefore, that the enemy 
 were within a few miles, and would probably attack 
 in the early morning, it behooved us to hasten our 
 dispositions ; but the passage of the river by the in 
 fantry was slow work, and when morning came, there 
 were still three regiments that had not crossed. These 
 did not actually come upon the field, until the engage 
 ment had begun. 
 
 With the eye of genius, our leader seemed to see at 
 a glance what was the best disposition to make of our 
 forces, and, as it turned out, the place which he chose 
 for our cannon gave them the most effective range. 
 
 Our army was drawn up in the form of a crescent, 
 the left resting on the river Drogne, and the right on 
 a copse of wood. At this point La Trimouille was 
 posted, with two hundred light horse, and well sup 
 ported by harquebusiers. Turenne, with his Gascon 
 cavalry, held the centre. At this point the King of 
 Navarre had taken his position. Next was Conde ; 
 and the left was occupied by the Count de Soissons. 
 One novel feature was, that each body of cavalry was 
 accompanied by a small force of harquebusiers. 
 These were arranged five deep, and they were under 
 the strictest orders to reserve their fire until the enemy 
 should be within twenty paces. As each rank should 
 deliver its volley, it would drop on its knees and give 
 an opportunity for the next rank to fire. This dis 
 position proved immensely effective, when, during the 
 battle, the enemy s cavalry broke our line and came 
 within close range of these firearms, which mowed 
 them down with deadly volleys. 
 230
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Before our arrangements were completed, the head 
 of Joyeuse s army came in sight. From our position 
 on higher ground, we were able to observe every 
 movement and to distinguish the various corps and 
 their several equipments. A goodly sight it was. 
 On came the glittering squadrons, with flying pen 
 nons and glint of the morning sun on silver and 
 polished steel. First came a troop of light horse, 
 with lances poised, from each a banderole fluttering. 
 Next tramped a body of harquebusiers, with a long, 
 swinging gait, fusee on shoulder and match in hand. 
 After them, more horse. Next marched a regiment 
 of infantry, in close order, the men protected with 
 steel caps and breastplates, but their limbs free, and 
 equipped each with a spear, a battle-ax, and a sword. 
 Then more horse. Next, heavy tumbrels bearing 
 cannon, more than three times as many as ours, 
 rumbled along. So, with alternating horse and foot, 
 the enemy came on the field. Wheeling to right or 
 left, as it reached the plain, each division took its 
 place in the long line marked out by the guidons. 
 
 After a little interval, a dazzling cavalcade came 
 into view. First rode a squadron of five hundred 
 horse, completely accoutred from head to heel, the 
 elite corps of the royal army, every man an expert 
 swordsman and mounted on a powerful Norman 
 steed, trained like his rider. Then, beneath a huge 
 banner of white silk, heavy with gold-embroidered 
 fleurs-de-lis, pranced and caracoled a gay troop of 
 youthful courtiers, gorgeous with many-colored scarfs 
 and nodding plumes, and burning with impatience to 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 flesh their swords in heretic blood. In the midst of 
 these the prodigal duke, resplendent in a complete 
 suit of armor of burnished silver and mounted on a 
 white charger, gleamed like a meteor through the 
 clouds of dust raised by thousands of hoofs. 
 
 Opposite him, on a stout Spanish stallion, sat the 
 King of Navarre, bareheaded, in a rusty coat of mail 
 over a weather-stained buff doublet, holding in his 
 hand his casque, still bearing the mark of a blow 
 which I saw him receive at the taking of Cahors, 
 when a stone pitched from a roof felled him senseless 
 to the ground. He sat in an easy attitude in his 
 saddle, sometimes smiling brightly, as he watched the 
 glittering line of the enemy forming, sometimes turn 
 ing to address some remark to one of his officers or 
 to issue some order for the regiments still taking po 
 sition in the rear of us. For all our troops had not 
 yet completed the crossing of the river. And this 
 circumstance, together with the fact that we held the 
 stronger position, reconciled us to the loss of the 
 tempting opportunity which Joyeuse s disorder of 
 fered. We would fain have hurled ourselves upon 
 him from our higher ground, while his formation was 
 still incomplete. But discretion compelled us to 
 await his attack. 
 
 While we thus sat, watching the enemy deploy, I 
 glanced from the long array, glittering with the pomp 
 and pageantry of war and bright with banners of 
 various device, to our line, as it stretched away on 
 either side of my master. What a contrast! Our 
 men, plain, sober, and stern, in dingy coats of mail 
 232
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 and war-worn habiliments, with a tattered standard 
 here and there fluttering over them, grimly awaited 
 the enemy s onset. They were, mostly, tried men. 
 Among them were hundreds who had followed the 
 Admiral in the earlier wars, and had fought valiantly 
 at Dreux and Moncontour and on the disastrous day 
 of Jarnac. There were few who had not followed 
 their present leader on more than one field and learned 
 to know his mettle. They had supreme trust in him ; 
 and good reason he had to smile serenely, as he 
 glanced to right and left down the long line where 
 those hardy veterans sat their horses, in calm confi 
 dence. 
 
 233
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 COUTRAS. 
 
 WHEN the hostile line was fully formed, a priest 
 stepped out in front and, lifting high a gilt 
 crucifix, gave the Church s blessing to the host of the 
 Leaguers. Then the bugles merrily rang out the 
 advance, and banners waved, pennons fluttered, and 
 the sunlight danced on quivering lances and glittering 
 helmets, as the line moved forward. 
 
 Just when Joyeuse s bugles were sounding, and my 
 master, well in front of his corps, had placed his 
 casque, with its waving white plumes, on his head, 
 had lowered his visor, and was laying his lance in 
 rest, Monsieur Damours strode forward from the 
 ranks. 
 
 The lines in the stern Calvinist minister s face were 
 tense, and there was fire in his eye. His look re 
 minded me how, as a boy, I saw him come into the 
 chamber where my master s father lay with a mortal 
 wound, and so unsparingly rebuke his profligacy, 
 that the dying man sobbed convulsively, in an agony 
 of remorse, while Mademoiselle de Rouet, in mingled 
 shame and rage, fled from the room. 
 234
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Sire," said he, " I have a message to you from 
 my Master, who is no respecter of persons. It has 
 just now come to my knowledge, that recently, at 
 Rochelle, you brought shame into the family of a 
 most worthy Christian magistrate, whose daughter 
 you seduced. He is here now, having come to ask 
 such reparation as is possible for the grievous wrong 
 done to his child and his household. Oh, I implore 
 you, Sire, to repent of the evil you have wrought, ere 
 it is too late, and to do tardy justice. We are on the 
 point of joining battle, trusting in the sacredness of 
 our cause. Can we expect the blessing of the Lord 
 of Hosts, when we willingly harbor evil among us, and 
 set at defiance the laws of God and man? Repent 
 you, I pray, ere it is too late, and let us join in ear 
 nestly imploring the divine forgiveness and blessing." 
 
 "Damn the meddlesome parson!" muttered my 
 master. But in a moment he was on his feet and, 
 with head bared and bowed in token of deep con 
 trition, he said aloud, so as to be heard by the neigh 
 boring ranks, " I own your rebuke just, most worthy 
 Pastor, and you have spoken as becomes a faithful 
 watchman on the towers of Zion. I acknowledge 
 my wrong. Now I pray you and all who hear me, 
 to take notice that here, before the great Judge, I 
 promise and swear, if I survive this battle, to make 
 all possible reparation to this injured family. I beg 
 you now to implore forgiveness of God for me and 
 His blessing on our arms." 
 
 Then he dropped on his knees. The whole Hu 
 guenot foot within sight instantly followed his ex- 
 235
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 ample, and the horsemen uncovered and sat with 
 bare heads, while the pastor prayed that God would 
 pardon our leader and guide our army to victory. 
 
 The moment that he ceased, a great volume of 
 sound burst from our ranks, as a thousand lusty 
 throats chanted the Huguenot battle-hymn, heard on 
 many a field, the psalm, " Let God arise, and let His 
 enemies be scattered," in the verse of Marot, the first 
 poet of the Reformation, and in the music of its 
 martyr, Goudimel, whose body, butchered at Lyons 
 in the great massacre, the Rhone bore down to the 
 sea. So it was that we met the foe. 
 
 The enemy s foot now advanced in compact order. 
 There were three heavy reports, with three puffs of 
 smoke, and three gaps in the opposing line showed 
 that Rosny was already doing good work with our 
 three guns. They were all that we had, but they 
 had been so well placed, that they did frightful exe 
 cution in the close ranks of the royalists, whose more 
 numerous cannon were too far in the rear and did 
 us no harm. 
 
 On the other hand, Lavardin, charging at the head 
 of the superb squadron of five hundred heavy-armed 
 horse, swept back our light cavalry, under La Tri- 
 mouille and Turenne, like straw before a whirlwind. 
 The enemy even cut their way through our ranks 
 into the very town of Coutras and, seeing our centre 
 broken and disordered, already began to shout, 
 "Victory!" 
 
 But the day was saved for us by a reserve corps of 
 harquebusiers, who opened fire upon Lavardin s vic- 
 236
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 torious horse in flank and, delivering deadly volleys 
 at short range, fairly mowed them down. The enemy, 
 checked in the very moment of triumph, first wavered, 
 then broke in retreat. It was gunpowder against 
 steel, and gunpowder won. 
 
 Upon this disordered array the King of Navarre 
 now launched his own corps, himself at the head. 
 Our cavalry, with their animals fresh and vigorous, 
 swept down upon the shattered ranks and easily drove 
 them in wild confusion, then wheeled and fell upon 
 the Leaguers infantry in flank and rear, cutting them 
 down, before they could form a new front. 
 
 Meanwhile the Protestant harquebusiers were doing 
 deadly work upon every body of the enemy within 
 range. And what, at the first, looked like a defeat 
 for us was turned into a splendid victory. 
 
 Soon the enemy were everywhere in utter rout. 
 Scarcely an hour had passed since the first encounter, 
 and already the field was strewn with their dead. 
 The gilded Parisian youth who had followed Joyeuse, 
 as they fondly imagined, to the slaughter of heretics, 
 either lay dead or wounded on the ground, or were 
 fleeing in hopeless panic. The magnificent Duke 
 himself lay stark, in his armor of burnished silver, 
 befouled with dirt and besmeared with his own blood. 
 In every part of the field there was nothing, on one 
 side, but confusion and carnage, and, on the other, 
 the wild riot of slaughter. 
 
 Our men, elated with victory, shouted to one an 
 other, "La Motte! La Motte!" to stir up the spirit 
 of vengeance for the recent massacre of one of our 
 237
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 regiments at the village of that name. They speared 
 and pistoled and cut down the scattered fugitives 
 without ruth. Only here and there some body of the 
 enemy s horsemen, more disciplined, rallying around 
 their pennon, rode slowly off the field, covering as 
 well as they might the fleeing rabble, wild with fear. 
 
 My master, in his very element and glory, careered 
 over the field, now shouting an order to some of his 
 officers, now pointing with his dripping sword to 
 some lingering group of the enemy, to be attacked. 
 
 Once I passed a little beyond him and, with a half- 
 dozen good swords close behind me, rode hard after 
 a band of horsemen retiring slowly. One of them 
 turned in his saddle and gazed steadily at me, then 
 said something to his comrades, who stopped and 
 faced about, while he wheeled his horse and deliber 
 ately advanced to meet me. 
 
 It was Bonrepos. 
 
 Just then my master came galloping up. No sooner 
 did I mention the name of my approaching adversary, 
 than he caught the spirit of the occasion. He saw 
 that a mortal combat was about to take place between 
 us, and all the knightly traditions of his race were 
 astir within him. 
 
 "Hold!" he commanded in his most masterful 
 tones. We both reined up and sat still, a few feet 
 apart. Then he beckoned to Bonrepos s comrades 
 to advance. Cautiously at first, but more boldly as 
 they observed his gestures of truce, they rode for 
 ward. 
 
 Meanwhile more of our people had come up, at- 
 238
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 tracted by the unusual spectacle. Thus each com 
 batant was backed by a considerable following. 
 
 "Dismount!" came the imperious command. 
 Each obeyed and gave the reins of his horse to a 
 comrade. 
 
 "Back!" he cried to those who pressed forward, 
 sweeping his bloody sword in a half-circle on each 
 side, to indicate the formation of a ring. So thor 
 oughly did all the spectators catch the contagion of 
 his chivalrous spirit, no one thought of exchanging a 
 blow, but the wings on either side advanced, until 
 they almost met, encircling us. 
 
 Then he deliberately rode around us, as we two 
 stood facing each other, with set features, fully know 
 ing that one at the most would leave the field alive. 
 And surely he never looked more kingly, nor sat his 
 horse more proudly, than when he thus acted the her- 
 ald-at-arms in this strange list. Having seen all to be 
 in readiness, he reined up his charger and backed him 
 into the opening between the wings on one side, then 
 rose in his stirrups and sonorously proclaimed : 
 
 " The lists are set. These two gentlemen have a 
 mortal feud of old. They are met here to fight to 
 the death. It is the old trial by wager of battle, 
 which our ancestors honored and practised. God 
 show the just cause! Gentlemen, lay on! " 
 
 We crossed swords. I knew immediately that my 
 opponent was in quite another mood than when we 
 last encountered each other. The wary swordsman 
 was gone. Instead, he attacked with a fury I had 
 never before met on any field. So sudden and fierce 
 2 39
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 was his onset, that, at the first, the advantage seemed 
 to be with him. As he pressed me back, a low mur 
 mur of applause was heard behind him. That nettled 
 me. Then the thought of this man s inveterate en 
 mity, of Sophie and her cruel wrongs, and of her 
 waiting love, fired me, and I threw my soul into the 
 work. 
 
 "Bravo, Jean! Well thrust!" cried my master, 
 at my first rally ; and the sound of that familiar voice, 
 which I had so often followed where honor led, in 
 spired me afresh, and I redoubled my energy. To 
 myself I seemed an avenging spirit, smiting a fiend 
 from Hell, as I fiercely plied my foe with edge and 
 point. 
 
 I gained first blood, in a cut across the forehead, 
 and a huzzah from our side showed how eagerly my 
 comrades hearts went with me in the fray. 
 
 Bonrepos seemed only the more infuriated by this 
 check and fought more savagely than ever. Wiping 
 away with his left hand the blood streaming down 
 and almost blinding him, he rained his blows like a 
 madman, so wildly, indeed, that I had not long to 
 wait for my opportunity. Then, with a quick lunge 
 under his guard, I sent my sword clean through him, 
 narrowly missing the heart. 
 
 A wild cheer rose from our side, as I withdrew my 
 bloody weapon, and my antagonist tottered back and 
 fell on the sward. 
 
 In a moment, with fresh elation, our men were 
 about to dash upon the enemy. But the King of 
 Navarre shouted in commanding tones, " Hold! Let 
 240
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 not a man strike a blow! These Catholic gentlemen 
 are here by my invitation and under my safe-conduct. 
 They shall go off this field untouched. We have sub 
 mitted this cause to God, and He has declared for 
 the right." Then he told off a half-dozen of our 
 gentlemen, to ride with the royalists and escort them 
 in safety from the field. It was a knightly act, in the 
 very spirit of that chivalrous age whose traditions he 
 so dearly loved. 
 
 Bonrepos lay dying, blood issuing from his mouth 
 at every gasp. One of his friends, kneeling beside 
 him, supported his head. He still glared at me with 
 savage hate, as I have seen a wild boar die with fury 
 in his eye. As I felt his gaze fastened on me with 
 that relentless rancor which not even death could 
 quench, a strange fancy came over me, that this 
 man, going out of this world with deadly enmity 
 toward me ruling every thought, would follow me 
 through eternity with his implacable hate. It was, 
 moreover, an ill preparation to meet the great Judge. 
 The sight of his death-struggle softened me. I would 
 fain see him die in peace and penitence. 
 
 I approached him. As I drew near, he strove 
 convulsively to raise himself, but sank back, the pic 
 ture of impotent, but deathless hate. 
 
 " Baron of Bonrepos," I said, " I have suffered 
 great wrongs at your hands, through one who is 
 dearer to me than life. But the account is settled 
 here. You will soon have another account to render. 
 I forgive you all. May we not part in peace ? " And 
 I extended my hand. 
 
 241
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 His outstretched hands clutched the turf convul 
 sively. His eyes rolled, and a great spasm contorted 
 his features. With a prodigious effort, he gasped 
 out, blood streaming from his mouth with the exertion, 
 " I have no forgiveness for you Count de Cham- 
 bord " 
 
 " I am no Count de Chambord," I answered 
 quickly, " but plain Jean Fourcade, henchman to 
 the King of Navarre." 
 
 The dying man fixed on me a strange look of sur 
 prise and inquiry, then gasped out, " Under the name 
 of Count de Chambord you intrigued with my 
 wife-" 
 
 Before I could repel the accusation, I was pushed 
 aside by my impetuous master, who threw himself on 
 his knees, seized the dying man s hand, and cried 
 passionately, " I am the guilty one. As the Count 
 de Chambord, I visited your wife in your chateau of 
 Bonrepos. It is I who need your forgiveness, and I 
 implore it." 
 
 With his last strength the Baron drew away his 
 hand from the other s grasp. His glazing eye was 
 fixed upon him with a sullen vengefulness, as he said 
 in broken accents, "So! I have followed the wrong 
 man these years. The harridan Marie" (Marie 
 Roseau, he meant) " described this one " (turning 
 his eyes toward me) " as the man. Her " (meaning 
 his wife) " I dealt with myself." And from his 
 tone one easily guessed that some terrible fate had 
 been visited upon the frail woman. 
 
 There was something so horrible in the spectacle 
 242
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 of a man dying filled with unappeasable hate, that 
 his friend who supported him asked whether he 
 should not send for a priest, who should help him to 
 malce his peace with God. 
 
 "With God!" exclaimed the dying man scorn 
 fully. "No! He has fooled me and robbed me 
 of my revenge." 
 
 Then, with a last effort, struggling to raise himself, 
 he gasped, "I defy and curse Him." A great 
 gush of blood followed the words. His head fell 
 over on one side. He was dead. 
 
 243
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 A GREAT VICTORY THAT LED TO NOTHING. 
 
 WHILE distant shots told that our men were still 
 pressing the pursuit, we rode off the field to 
 the castle of Coutras. 
 
 Nobody would have imagined, judging from my 
 master s demeanor, that he had just won the first 
 pitched battle ever gained by the Huguenots in the 
 long series of desultory wars that had gone on, with 
 intervals, since his childhood ; nor that all Europe 
 would shortly be ringing with his praises. He 
 seemed the most unconcerned person about the 
 place, gay and light-hearted as usual, but not the 
 least elated by his great victory. I had often seen 
 him prouder of some notable stroke in killing a boar 
 or a bear. 
 
 The castle-yard was crowded and in the utmost 
 confusion. Here was a group of captured nobles, 
 awaiting my master s pleasure to declare the terms of 
 their ransom. There, apart, with a guard watching 
 over them, lay the bodies of Joyeuse and his brother. 
 In another place surgeons were tending some of the 
 wounded officers, for already all the rooms in the 
 244
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 castle, save two reserved for my master, were crowded 
 with the like ghastly tenantry. 
 
 At every moment came in horsemen with fresh tid 
 ings of the magnitude of the victory, many bringing 
 standards taken from the enemy, and all full of exul 
 tation. Coligny, men said, in all his career had never 
 struck such a blow. Four hundred Catholic gentle 
 men lay on the field, and ten times as many of their men 
 had fallen in the battle or been cut down in the rout. 
 
 Amid all this sat the victor sidewise on the edge of 
 a table, twirling his casque, humming now and again, 
 as cool as if he had but come in from a morning s 
 ride, a verse of a ballad, whose refrain was : 
 
 " Souvent femme varie; 
 Bien fol qui s y fie." 
 
 Peronneau came up. "Sire," he said, "I hold 
 Sautrai prisoner. I would have brought him before 
 you, but the miserable devil begged so hard, that I 
 spared him. He thought you would order him to 
 instant execution. What is your pleasure about him? 
 If you care to ransom him, he will gladly give 
 every sou that he can scrape together." Sautrai 
 had been in most intimate relations with my 
 master and had deserted him, three years before, 
 at his utmost need, and, like all renegades, had been 
 among the bitterest of his foes. 
 
 " Bid him begone, without ransom or fee, and see 
 
 to it that he keeps better company, in the future." 
 
 Then he laughed a little laugh, half indifferent, half 
 
 contemptuous, and added, " Certes, I don t know at 
 
 245
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 what price to appraise such cattle as he." Then he 
 went on humming as before. 
 
 Next came the ministers, Damours and Chandieu. 
 They had longed and prayed through years for such 
 a triumph of the cause as this. They had supplicated 
 the divine blessing, before the encounter, and, when 
 the glittering Catholic host had melted before the onset 
 of our weather-stained soldiery, they had offered a 
 solemn service of thanksgiving on the bloody field. 
 Now they saw the fruits of the victory slipping away, 
 as it seemed to them, through the ill-timed generosity 
 of our chief. They had come to remonstrate with 
 him on his too great leniency. 
 
 " Sire," they said, " we would remind you that God 
 has laid upon you a great and solemn duty. He has 
 delivered the enemy into your hands. By His help, 
 you have this day smitten them hip and thigh, even 
 as Samson smote the Philistines. It is for you to re 
 member that the prisoners are not personal enemies, 
 whom you may deal with as you list. They are the 
 foes of God, and it behooves you to mete out to them 
 stern measure." 
 
 " Even so, worthy pastors : the foes of God. And, 
 methinks, I have often heard you preach God s will 
 ingness to forgive. Which, now, think you, is nearer 
 His mind, Jesus commanding that we bless our 
 enemies, or Samuel, in Jehovah s name, hewing the 
 captive king in pieces ? " The ministers were silenced, 
 and he resumed his humming : 
 
 " Souvent femme varie ; 
 Bien fol qui s y fie." 
 
 246
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 A yet sorer disappointment than the release of 
 prisoners was in store for the zealous pastors. They 
 were doomed to see the fruits of this splendid victory 
 in very truth slip away ; nothing done to follow it up ; 
 no line of march taken to strike some other body of 
 the enemy ; Conde and Turenne, impatient at the in 
 activity into which my master had sunk, so soon as the 
 pressure of immediate peril was removed, leading off 
 their forces to other points ; and the rest of our troops 
 disbanding and rapidly dwindling away. Within two 
 days time, our army, which might have been led, in 
 its prowess, to other great achievements, had shrunk 
 to a handful, while my master was engaged in his one 
 serious occupation, love. He was preparing to visit 
 his mistress in Pau. Give him her company, and 
 there was little else that he cared for. 
 
 And, indeed, he had enough reason to love the 
 Countess of Grammont, " la belle Corisande," as he 
 truly did, though to be constant to her was not in the 
 possibilities of his nature. For not only she loved him 
 without stint, but she had thrown her whole soul and 
 all her means into his cause, when it seemed to be at 
 its lowest. She had given her money to equip a 
 regiment and had sent her only son to fight near her 
 lover. 
 
 A serious anxiety had arisen in my mind, in conse 
 quence of the dispersion of the royalist army. The 
 chateau of Bonrepos lay a few leagues to the north 
 east of Coutras. It would certainly happen that some 
 of the fugitives would take refuge there, and it might 
 be, that, Catholics though they were, the Robervals 
 247
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 would be rudely treated by the disorganized and 
 exasperated soldiery. I longed, moreover, to bear to 
 her parents the tidings of Sophie s safety and of the 
 death of their persecutor. The strange vindication 
 that had come to me from the lips of Bonrepos him 
 self, was a topic on which I was eager to converse 
 with them, understanding, as I now did, the ground 
 of that ruthless enmity that had so long pursued me 
 and them as well. 
 
 I stated the case to my master. He immediately 
 assented. " But," he added, " you will need to go 
 well backed. The country will be swarming with 
 prowling fugitives. Take a good squadron, strong 
 enough to carry out your plans by force, if need be. 
 But by all means avoid any collision whatever. 
 Show a flag of truce, if you meet with any considera 
 ble number of the enemy, and make it understood 
 that you are not bound on an errand of war. Here," 
 he added, with a second thought, " take this. I fancy 
 they will respect my authority now." And he wrote 
 an order for me to proceed to the chateau of Bonrepos 
 and bring Monsieur Paul Roberval and his family, 
 peaceful Catholic subjects, at their own desire, within 
 our lines. 
 
 When I went out to procure an escort, not only 
 could I not find a squadron available, but I could 
 not even gather single troopers sufficient to make up 
 the necessary force. Great numbers had not yet re 
 turned from the pursuit. Those who had were weary, 
 and their horses jaded. Therefore I was compelled 
 to defer carrying out my plans until the next day. 
 248
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 At dawn of the following morning, I started with 
 my escort. We found all the roadside and the fields 
 full of the traces of yesterday s great rout. At a dis 
 tance of many miles beyond the battle-field there were 
 grim corpses, lying where they had fallen at the hands 
 of our men. All had been plundered of anything valu 
 able they had possessed. Whatever the soldiery had 
 overlooked did not escape the peasants, who, in knots 
 of three or four, were everywhere wandering through 
 the fields and byways, following the line of pursuit, 
 eagerly talking together and relating their observations 
 and adventures. As they turned over the dead and 
 ransacked them, an occasional gleeful shout an 
 nounced that somebody had made a find. 
 
 Farther on we noted now and again the bodies of 
 miserable wretches who had escaped the slaughter, 
 wounded, only to die under some hedge or in the 
 corner of a wall. 
 
 As we reached the country beyond the limits of the 
 pursuit, smouldering fires by the roadside showed 
 where soldiers had bivouacked through the night, 
 and we soon came upon small knots of them walking 
 dejectedly northward. They eyed us with mingled 
 sullenness and fear. 
 
 Near noon we came to Bonrepos. It had been 
 seized, as I anticipated, by a strong force of the 
 enemy, who held it as a rallying-point for their scat 
 tered troops. At some distance from the chateau an 
 outpost guarded the road. I advanced to it, display 
 ing my flag of truce. An officer came forward and 
 conferred with me. 
 
 249
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 On my handing him the order from the King of 
 Navarre, his manner showed that he entertained an 
 immense respect for the writer. With the utmost 
 courtesy he assured me that he would immediately 
 send word to his commanding officer of my arrival 
 and my errand, and he doubted not that I should 
 effect my object without difficulty. 
 
 While a lieutenant was gone with this message, our 
 troopers dismounted, baited their horses, and lounged 
 about on the grass, while I conversed with the officer 
 of the guard. I found him a most reasonable man, 
 a moderate Catholic. The army which had been so 
 disastrously defeated, he told me, might be considered 
 the army of the Holy Catholic League, rather than 
 of the King, for the Duke of Joyeuse had so thrown 
 himself, with his habitual impetuosity, on the League s 
 side, that he was supposed to have lost the friendship 
 of his master. As for himself, he said, he had no 
 sympathy with bigots, and he would have gladly seen 
 the League receive a check, at less terrible loss. He 
 freely laid all the blame of the disaster upon the 
 vanity and rashness of Joyeuse, in hastening to en 
 gage us, before Matignon could come up, in order that 
 he might have the sole glory of the victory which he 
 expected, and upon his incompetence, in so poorly 
 disposing his troops, that he had thrown away the 
 advantage of their superior numbers and better equip 
 ment. 
 
 It was not long before the lieutenant returned, 
 bringing with him, to my great joy, Monsieur Ro- 
 berval. 
 
 250
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 JEAN FOURCADE HAS THE LONG-DEFERRED INTER 
 VIEW WITH SOPHIE S FATHER, AND THE 
 LATTER IS FULLY SATISFIED. 
 
 MONSIEUR ROBERVAL was overjoyed to 
 see me. But when I told him the news of 
 Sophie s being safe and not far away, the good man 
 embraced me and wept on my shoulder. The days 
 since we parted had been days of anxious and fearful 
 suspense, filled with gloomy apprehensions ; and now 
 that he received the tidings of Sophie s well-being, 
 and of her and his persecutor s removal forever be 
 yond the possibility of doing them harm, his over 
 strained mind was inexpressibly relieved. 
 
 I told him that my errand was to convey him and 
 his family, if they were willing, to Alby, where Sophie 
 was, and that in that quiet and secluded place, well 
 within the shelter of our lines, they might, at their 
 leisure, determine where their future home should be. 
 
 I added that my master was deeply interested in his 
 welfare and in the furtherance of my hopes, and had 
 sent the squadron which he saw, for his protection. 
 
 The poor man s joy was unbounded. A transition 
 251
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 from gloom and anxiety to well-being and peace so 
 sudden was scarcely credible. Moreover, he was 
 greatly rejoiced at the prospect of leaving Bonrepos, 
 which had been the scene of so much that was hate 
 ful and horrible to recall. Though he had not suf 
 fered any actual indignities at the hands of the 
 soldiery, he apprehended that his further stay there 
 would be most inconvenient, if not impossible, since 
 the place was likely to be held as an outpost of the 
 royalists. On all accounts, therefore, he was most 
 glad to be able to leave it. 
 
 He returned to the chateau and, ere long, reap 
 peared with Madame Roberval and Jacqueline, whose 
 joy at meeting me was enhanced by the thought of 
 leaving behind them that abode of terrors and of 
 being reunited with Sophie. I had brought a spare 
 horse for Monsieur Roberval, and pillions were found 
 for the women in the Baron s stables. So, Madame 
 Roberval behind her husband and Jacqueline behind 
 one of our troopers, who was a small man with a 
 stout horse, we set out on our road. 
 
 By the way we had full and free discourse about 
 the occurrences which had filled the years since my 
 first coming under the Robervals roof, and the long- 
 deferred explanations were now made, so far as was 
 needful ; but, indeed, recent occurrences had, in great 
 part, rendered them unnecessary. 
 
 I related the particulars of Bonrepos s death, and 
 dwelt especially upon what he said as to the deception 
 which had been practised upon him by his wife s maid, 
 in describing me as her mistress lover. 
 252
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 " Ah! " exclaimed Monsieur Roberval, "this throws 
 indeed a new light upon the matter, and clears up 
 what has been inexplicable to me. I rejoice that cir 
 cumstances have fully acquitted you, and I freely 
 welcome you to my heart, as you have already won 
 the highest title to my gratitude by your devoted ser 
 vices." 
 
 Then he told me all that he knew, and from this, 
 with the facts already within my knowledge, we were 
 able to piece out the following story. 
 
 For a few days after the adventure in which I was 
 wounded under the walls of the chateau, the matter 
 was kept profoundly secret. The domestics, who 
 had rushed upon the scene with lights, had found 
 only a dying man, his comrade having escaped. 
 They were left to their own surmises. Only the 
 maid, Marie, knew the facts. 
 
 But, after a few days, there appeared a woman who 
 claimed to be the man s wife, and who came to de 
 mand justice for his death, which she had traced to 
 Bonrepos. In the mean time the Baron had returned 
 to the chateau. When the woman came before him, 
 crying for satisfaction for the death of her husband, 
 which she supposed had taken place at the hands of 
 some of his people, he made inquiries among them, 
 and heard the story of an encounter under the walls 
 and of the finding of a man just dying. This inves 
 tigation gave the maid just the opportunity which 
 she coveted, of turning her master s wrath against me ; 
 and she did not hesitate to sacrifice her mistress to 
 her revenge. 
 
 253
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Then befell my unfortunate exposure of myself to 
 Bonrepos, when he was hawking near Monsieur 
 Roberval s house. So soon as his eye lighted upon 
 me, he was struck with the fact of my being a stranger, 
 and with my resemblance to the description given 
 him by Marie. Inquiry converted suspicion into cer 
 tainty. The date of my coming to the Robervals" 
 house agreed exactly with that of the incident at the 
 chateau. 
 
 When the Baron returned, disappointed, after his 
 fruitless pursuit of me, he vented his sullen wrath 
 upon poor Monsieur Roberval. Why had not the 
 latter informed him, as the lord of the manor, that 
 he had under his roof a wounded stranger, whose 
 coming was attended with so unaccountable circum 
 stances? 
 
 " You have harbored," he said, " a Calvinist and a 
 traitor, one of Navarre s officers. Your Paul Sabatier s 
 true name is Count de Chambord. And that is not 
 all." Then he told him the story of his wife s intrigue. 
 He concluded with fiercely taxing my poor host with 
 being the instrument of my escape from his hands. 
 
 To all this Monsieur Roberval had nothing to an 
 swer in his justification, but his utter ignorance. It 
 never occurred to him to doubt the truth of the story. 
 All the circumstances seemed to point with fatal force 
 to me as the culprit. Added to this was my strange 
 reticence as to my antecedents, during my entire stay 
 in his house ; and, above all, my hasty flight, so soon 
 as I had seen the Baron approach his door. 
 
 Partly in order to remove themselves from my reach 
 254
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 and knowledge, and partly because they dreaded the 
 continued anger of their powerful landlord, the 
 Robervals left that neighborhood, at an early day. 
 Subsequently they fixed their abode in Cahors, as the 
 securest place, it was thought, in the royalists hands. 
 Some time after our capture of that city and the 
 scenes of pillage and violence which followed the 
 withdrawal of the greater part of our army, to Mon 
 sieur Roberval s unspeakable surprise, the Baron 
 suddenly appeared, with a following, and most cour 
 teously tendered to him a refuge at Bonrepos. 
 
 Almost any quiet place would have afforded a 
 welcome haven from the perils and hardships of the 
 existing situation at Cahors, and he gladly accepted 
 the Baron s offer, only to learn very soon that he and 
 his family were not guests, but prisoners. 
 
 Moreover, while they were the immediate sufferers, 
 I was the person against whom his wrath was directed. 
 For what revenge upon me, the supposed seducer of 
 his wife, could be half so sweet as to carry off my 
 lady-love and make her, willing or unwilling, his mis 
 tress, and then, probably, discard her with contempt? 
 
 Only the exigencies of war, detaining Bonrepos for 
 long periods, once for more than a year, at a distance 
 from his chateau, prevented the execution of his 
 devilish scheme. 
 
 Conversing of these matters, which covered so 
 much time in their happening, though they have oc 
 cupied so few pages in their relation, we whiled away 
 the hours of the journey to Coutras. It was near 
 nightfall, when we reached the castle. The first thing 
 2 55
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 which struck me was the scantiness of our forces in 
 the neighborhood. Already that dispersion of our 
 men which, owing to the loose organization of our 
 army, invariably followed every engagement, had 
 begun. All the day, different leaders had been riding 
 off with their following. No doubt the prospect of 
 continuing the campaign would have kept them to 
 gether. But no sooner was it settled in a council of 
 war that our advantage would not be followed up by 
 marching against the enemy, than each commander, 
 consulting solely his own wishes and convenience, 
 either stayed or led his force away, as it pleased him. 
 Having found a chamber where Madame Rober- 
 val might rest, I took her husband in and presented 
 him to my master. The latter received him most 
 warmly and wished him joy of his future son-in-law, 
 with some kind words about my faithfulness to him. 
 Then he added, " I have learned with sorrow that he 
 has suffered, and you, too, through an indiscretion of 
 mine." Then he related in his own way the particu 
 lars of Bonrepos s death and the discovery which the 
 latter had made, when dying, that he was the offender 
 whom his vengeance should have sought. He re 
 ferred to his own share in the matter, as the former 
 lover of the Baroness, without the least embarrass 
 ment, as if he were mentioning the most ordinary 
 occurrence and the most natural relation. This 
 singular frankness was, evidently, quite appalling to 
 Monsieur Roberval. But he could not fail to be 
 favorably impressed with my master s simplicity and 
 friendliness. 
 
 256
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 I observed that the latter was superintending the 
 removal from the walls of some of the numerous 
 captured banners, which had been used to drape 
 them. I inquired, for what purpose. 
 
 " Ventre-saint-gris ! " he answered, "I am having 
 them packed, to take them to the Countess of Gram- 
 mont. Who better deserves them than she, who has 
 made so great sacrifices for the cause?" 
 
 It was settled between the Robervals and myself, 
 that we should set out on our journey to Alby early 
 in the morning. 
 
 My master was starting at the same time for Pau. 
 Our roads would lie together for a few leagues, as 
 far, namely, as Marmande. So we made one party 
 and rode merrily on our way. 
 
 He was in great spirits. Was he not on his way 
 to the woman who, at that time, ruled his heart? 
 What cared he for aught else? \Var, government, 
 business, diplomacy, had their claims. Hunting, 
 cards, wine, were not without their attractions. But, 
 after all, the one abiding, supreme, absorbing inter 
 est in life was love. 
 
 At Marmande we parted. He wrung my hand 
 with every mark of affectionate interest, then rode 
 off, at the head of his little company, blithe as a lark. 
 As I turned in my saddle and watched his figure 
 disappearing over the crest of a hill, this thought came 
 into my mind: Who is right, he or I? He goes to 
 his mistress, I to my bride. He seeks the ideal in 
 women. I seek it in Woman, and cherish a woman 
 only because I see womanhood realized in her. 
 257
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 FROM SUNLIGHT TO BLACKEST DARKNESS. 
 
 HOW can I have the courage to write what I am 
 about to set down? How can I calmly tell 
 how the sun of joy was struck out of my life, and 
 disastrous night settled about me ; how all sweetness 
 became bitter, and all beauty, hideousness? 
 
 It was near nightfall, when Monsieur and Madame 
 Roberval and I rode into Alby. We left our horses 
 at the inn of the Red Stag, where, four days before, 
 Sophie and I had eaten our last meal together, and 
 went to the house of Madame Boismaison. 
 
 We were full of joyful anticipations, my friends in 
 the thought of clasping their daughter in their arms, 
 and I at the thought of Sophie. But a strange pre 
 monitory chill struck us, at our entrance into the 
 house. The maid who opened the door for us looked 
 constrained and downcast. There was no sound of 
 cheer, no voice of welcome. A portentous silence 
 reigned. I listened for Sophie s light step. Instead, 
 I heard a grave and measured tread, and Madame 
 Boismaison entered, and with her my doom. 
 
 At the sight of me she burst into tears and wrung 
 258
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 her hands, moaning with speechless grief and shaking 
 her head to and fro. While we men sprang to our 
 feet in alarm, Madame Roberval sank back with al 
 most a shriek. 
 
 " In God s name, Madame," I cried, " what is the 
 matter? Where is Sophie? " 
 
 "Gone! Gone!" was all that she could articulate 
 between her sobs. 
 
 I was dumb with amazement and a nameless dread. 
 We were, all of us, under a spell of terror. Monsieur 
 Roberval was the first to regain his composure suffi 
 ciently to ask some explanation from Madame Bois- 
 maison. 
 
 So soon as she could master her emotions enough 
 to speak, she told us this story, interrupted by sobs 
 and passionate exclamations of grief. 
 
 Two days since, near evening, a lady a court 
 lady, she judged from her appearance and dress 
 had ridden up to the door with a man. While the 
 latter remained outside, the lady dismounted at the 
 door and asked for Mademoiselle Roberval, saying 
 that she had come to congratulate her on her escape. 
 Sophie had hastened to meet her visitor. Meanwhile 
 Madame Boismaison was seated in an adjoining room. 
 A screen covered the open doorway. She thought 
 the visit a merely formal one and did not withdraw 
 out of hearing. The interview had not progressed 
 far, before she forgot the indelicacy of her position in 
 the absorbing interest of what she heard. Unseen, 
 she listened to the entire conversation, which she re 
 peated, as nearly as possible, as follows. 
 2 59
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 The strange lady, on being ushered into the parlor, 
 came forward with great effusiveness to meet Sophie, 
 saying, " Mademoiselle Roberval, I greet you with 
 all my heart. I have heard much of you these many 
 years past ; and all the story of your recent perilous 
 adventures has been told me. I come now to offer 
 you my warmest congratulations on your happy es 
 cape. Pardon this seeming intrusion. Any friend 
 of Monsieur Fourcade is my friend. Of course, you 
 have heard him speak of me. I am Angelique de 
 Rebours, of the Queen of Navarre s suite." 
 
 " I thank you, Mademoiselle, for your courtesy. Be 
 seated, I beg you," Sophie said in a formal and con 
 strained voice, and then added stiffly and with evident 
 distrust, " I have not, however, the honor of knowing 
 you, even through the mention of your name." 
 
 "What!" cried the other, "Jean Fourcade has 
 never spoken of me, when he has told me so much 
 of you, how you rode on horseback, in a page s suit, 
 and, for that reason, were refused admission into a 
 nunnery, and all the rest! I thought that my name 
 would have been familiar to you, and that we should 
 meet as old friends." 
 
 "It would seem, Mademoiselle, from your account," 
 replied Sophie, with hauteur, "either that you are 
 mistaken, or that you refer to a different gentleman 
 from the one whom I know." 
 
 " I mean Jean Fourcade," replied the other quickly 
 and with decision. " There is but one Fourcade at 
 the court. And let me tell you again that he and I 
 are close friends these many years." 
 260
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 "You surprise me, Mademoiselle," was the stiff 
 reply. " I have supposed that, as an humble atten 
 dant of the King of Navarre, Monsieur Fourcade 
 could not aspire to be an associate of the high-born 
 ladies who are the Queen s maids of honor." The 
 last words with a sarcastic inflection. 
 
 "Oh! the blessed simplicity! " cried the other, 
 with impudent laughter. " Among us little it mat 
 ters, noble or not noble. It is one thing to have a 
 friend, and quite another to take a husband. So 
 long as a man is young and gay and handsome, he 
 will not lack friends." 
 
 " Pardon me, Mademoiselle," replied Sophie, in a 
 voice that showed her resentment of the other s inso 
 lent freedom. " I have reason for believing that 
 Monsieur Fourcade has lived in great isolation at the 
 court, and has had but few friends, even among the 
 gentlemen." 
 
 "Ha, ha!" laughed Mademoiselle de Rebours 
 derisively, "Jean Fourcade in great isolation! Ha, 
 ha, ha! The merriest fellow and the jolliest ladies - 
 man of them all ! The life of every masque or revel ! 
 And, let me tell you, when it was announced that he 
 had gone to rescue a young lady from imprisonment, 
 I ll wager there were a round dozen who would have 
 willingly endured some hardship of captivity, to have 
 a so charming rescuer and so thrilling adventures with 
 him afterward." 
 
 " Mademoiselle de Rebours, may I ask you not 
 again to refer to my recent painful experiences?" 
 answered Sophie with dignity. Then, suddenly see- 
 261
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 ing the stolen badge, she said in a voice that had 
 become tremulous, " Pardon me, Mademoiselle. I 
 see that you wear a small knot of ribbon. May I 
 ask where you got it? " 
 
 " That trifle? " replied the visitor, carelessly. "Oh! 
 I scarcely remember. I found it, it seems to me." 
 
 " Excuse me, Mademoiselle," said Sophie, in a 
 voice that had quickly become stern and accusing. 
 " You scarcely found it. Will you not exercise your 
 memory and try to recall how you came by it? " 
 
 " Oh! well, then, if you must know," flung out the 
 other defiantly, " it was given to me given to me, 
 who had the best right in the world to it. And since 
 the role of catechist seems in order, let me have a 
 turn. You seem much interested in this tawdry bit 
 of ribbon and this cheap pin. Have you, perchance, 
 seen them before? " 
 
 There was no answer. 
 
 "Ha!" suddenly cried that damned actress, with 
 an air of angry suspicion that would have deceived 
 an older head than Sophie s. " Twas you that gave 
 it to him! Liar! He made light of it. Twas 
 given to him, he said, by a little country girl who 
 once cared for him. Then, with a laugh, he pinned 
 the thing where you see it. Traitor!" Here she 
 began to storm. " I see, there is more in it. You 
 love him! Your precious adventures on the road 
 were, perhaps, not so coldly innocent as he has rep 
 resented them. Villain! He would be capable 
 
 Here Madame Boismaison, unable longer to restrain 
 her indignation, burst into the room and interrupted 
 262
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 the arch traitress, crying, " Mademoiselle de Rebours, 
 I cannot suffer you longer under this roof to insult 
 my guest. Is it not enough, that you have wantonly 
 slandered an honorable gentleman, my friend ? Must 
 you also assail the virtue of his affianced wife? " 
 
 "His affianced wife!" shrieked the visitor, and 
 bounding to her feet, she raged like a tigress before 
 the two women, while Sophie, deathly pale and 
 nerveless, vainly tried to face this furious creature 
 with composure. "Jean Fourcade s affianced wife! 
 My lover for these many years! Dares he talk of 
 marrying? He shall rue it. Affianced, forsooth, to 
 that rustic simpleton! He who has not had a secret 
 from me for years, he marry another! He who 
 has had more money from me than from his master! 
 He, he who met me last night at the inn at Mon- 
 tauban, and whom I but left this morning! Perfidi 
 ous villain ! No wonder that he would have dissuaded 
 me from coming to Alby, and thought Marmande a 
 better place for me. Ha! it was a happy idea of 
 mine, to come and look at this piece of innocence 
 that he has esquired about the country, modestly 
 habited in boy s clothes." 
 
 Here Madame Boismaison succeeded in interrupt 
 ing her to say angrily, " Mademoiselle de Rebours, I 
 insist on your leaving this house immediately. You 
 insult an innocent young lady. And, surely, you 
 slander Monsieur Fourcade. I have known him 
 some years, as an honorable gentleman, upright and 
 serious, incapable " 
 
 " Serious ! That is too droll," jeered the other, her 
 263
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 manner changing from apparent fury to cynical mock 
 ery. "Oh! he knows well the canting Calvinistic 
 drivel. Among your psalm-singing set he can hold 
 his own with the longest face among you. He has 
 all the pious phrases on his tongue s tip. I mind 
 how, many a time, he has convulsed a roomful of gay 
 company with his imitations. Sometimes he roars 
 like a Calvinistic parson in the pulpit. Then he 
 whines in Scripture phrase like the pious bourgeois, 
 or snivels demurely like a bourgeois wife or daughter, 
 whose virtue, forsooth ! is something celestial. And 
 the gentlefolk who despise all these hypocrisies and 
 love a gay life, shriek with laughter." 
 
 Then, again changing her manner, she shook her 
 hand warningly at Sophie, saying, " Never dream 
 that you will have him for your husband! If he 
 cared to marry an adventuress who has ridden about 
 the country with him, at his lordly bidding, I should 
 have something to say to it." 
 
 Sophie lifted her hand and tried to speak ; but the 
 words died on her white lips. The other, with a 
 parting gesture of menace and rage, flung herself out 
 of the room and was quickly gone. 
 
 Sophie sat staring stonily into space, white as mar 
 ble, her face drawn, as if she had been struck by the 
 hand of death. No words, no efforts of her hostess 
 could rouse her. In vain Madame Boismaison cried, 
 " O Mademoiselle Roberval, my child, do not believe 
 that vile woman. Do you not see that she is a lying 
 adventuress, one of those shameful creatures who 
 disgrace our court? In slandering Monsieur Four- 
 264
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 cade she has some hateful end to serve. The court 
 is full of intrigues. Lying is a fine accomplishment 
 there. And that brazen manner! Would you credit 
 a woman who openly avows her own shame? " 
 
 Her words fell on unheeding ears. Sophie heard 
 not. Her thoughts, if she was conscious, were busy 
 far away. 
 
 After a while she came back to the present and to 
 her surroundings. "And, oh!" said Madame Bois- 
 maison, "it was pitiful, it was heartbreaking, to see 
 how patient and sweet she was! Not a word of ac 
 cusation, nor even of murmuring. She bore her great 
 trouble as unrepiningly as if it had been a misfortune 
 laid upon her by the hand of Heaven. She was 
 utterly silent about it and could not be led to speak 
 of it in any aspect. I thought, Monsieur Fourcade, 
 that she would have rallied her strong faith in you 
 against the slanders of that vile woman. But it 
 seemed to be swept away, as if by a great wave. She 
 did not utter one word in defense of you, more than 
 of accusation. I wondered that she yielded so readily 
 to the attack of a brazen, intriguing creature." 
 
 Here the good lady paused and looked at me ap- 
 pealingly. 
 
 Alas! I knew too well what had sapped Sophie s 
 trust. It was that fatal confidence which she had 
 wrung from me. And I was silent. I caught her 
 father s searching eyes fastened on me half-accusingly. 
 
 Madame Boismaison presently resumed, saying: 
 "She retired early to her room. I could not sleep 
 for the thought of her. Once in the night I went to 
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 The King s Henchman. 
 
 her, to see whether there was aught that I could do. 
 I found her awake, staring into the darkness with the 
 same look of unspeakable woe, and she gently re 
 pelled me with the same impenetrable reserve. She 
 seemingly had but one wish, to be left alone with 
 her trouble." 
 
 In the morning she appeared, wan and haggard, 
 but calm, and with the air of having formed a fixed 
 purpose. 
 
 After a time she asked permission to send out a 
 servant with a note. Shortly thereafter Father Anas- 
 tase, of the Church of the Four Evangelists, came to 
 see her. 
 
 They conferred together a long time. 
 
 Within an hour after his departure, two elderly 
 nuns from the neighboring convent came. After a 
 sad farewell to her hostess, Sophie went away with 
 them. In vain Madame Boismaison, in her motherly 
 interest, had made a last effort to ascertain her pur 
 pose. Sophie and my fate were inexorable. Her 
 only reply was, that her father would be satisfied with 
 her course. When her hostess asked, " What am I to 
 say to Monsieur Fourcade? " she answered only, 
 " This letter will tell him all." 
 
 The good lady, on finishing her story, burst anew 
 into lamentation. 
 
 "Oh!" she wailed, "my heart bleeds for her, so 
 beautiful, so gentle, so patient in her great suffering! 
 Already we had learned to love her tenderly. And 
 now she is gone. If she had but been willing to talk 
 to me, ah! I would have been as a mother to her, 
 266
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Madame Roberval. But, alas! what could I do ? 
 We were so helpless. But I forget ; I have not yet 
 delivered the letters which she left." 
 
 Then she went away and brought two letters, one 
 of which she handed to Monsieur Roberval and the 
 other to me. I tore mine open. It ran thus : 
 
 "MONSIEUR FOURCADE." (My God! what a chill 
 that address sent to my heart ! This from my Sophie ! 
 This from my bride, whose arms had enfolded me, 
 whose last words had been words of cheer and bright 
 hope, whose love should have welcomed me even now! 
 The words swam before me. I caught my breath 
 and, somehow, read on.) " Good-by forever! 
 Though my heart may break, it shall never stoop to 
 dishonor. 
 
 " When these lines come to you, I shall be beyond 
 your reach. Think not to find me or, by any means 
 whatsoever, to move me from my purpose. Betrayed 
 already, I thank the good God that He has saved me 
 from the deeper shame of being your wife. 
 
 " I trusted myself wholly to you, my honor, alas! 
 in the keeping of a heartless profligate. Scarcely 
 parted from me, even while I prayed for you, you 
 hastened to desecrate our union, to me so holy, to 
 you a pastime, to be laughed over with a mistress. 
 
 " Through all the years when the distrust of those 
 nearest to me shadowed you, my heart never swerved 
 from its faith. I gave you my love and followed 
 you with my prayers. Now I learn that they were 
 wiser who warned me against you. No human 
 267
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 tongue alone could ever have convinced me. But I 
 have seen the proof of your faithlessness. 
 
 " Only a few days since, in my pride, I spurned 
 the shelter of the Church. Now I go to bury my 
 shame beneath the shadow of her pity and to do pen 
 ance for my folly. 
 
 " The good God will not refuse a broken and con 
 trite heart. 
 
 " My remaining days are His. May He lead you 
 to repentance and a better life ! 
 
 "Farewell forever! 
 
 "SOPHIE ROBERVAL." 
 
 The letter fell from my hand, and I sank back, my 
 eyes shut. The blood seemed to have left my heart. 
 For some moments I hovered between sense and 
 unconsciousness. When I opened my eyes, I met 
 those of Monsieur Roberval fixed upon me with a 
 look set and stern. I had no strength nor courage 
 to utter a word. My heart was like a stone. What hope 
 could I have of convincing him of my innocence, 
 \yhen Sophie, for years my champion, had become my 
 accuser? I seemed to see, in the bitter reproach of 
 his stern silence, the distrust, fixed by years of habit, 
 and so lately removed, renewed with redoubled force 
 by the damning evidence of Sophie s charge. Could 
 I expect that his faith in me would be stronger than 
 hers? If I should offer the bare and simple truth, 
 was it to be thought that he would credit it? Then 
 there was the guilty sense of the folly by which I had 
 put myself for a moment in the power of a devilish 
 268
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 intrigante. Say what I might, out of my own mouth 
 I should condemn myself. 
 
 How long we sat thus, I nerveless, with downcast 
 eyes, and dumb, he rigid, as if he had been a statue 
 of Minos cut in stone, I know not. A sea of horri 
 ble heart-searching and keenest self-reproach seemed 
 to roll over me and bury me in hopeless sorrow and 
 shame. Only we two there ; for, happily, our hostess 
 had led away Madame Roberval. 
 
 At last Sophie s father broke the awful spell. His 
 words fell slow and icy, as had he been a judge pro 
 nouncing doom. 
 
 " Monsieur Fourcade," he said, " we part here now 
 forever. Only yesterday, through the confession of 
 your profligate master, you were cleared of the dark 
 imputation that has so long rested upon you. At last 
 the long trial of my daughter s faith, I hoped, was 
 about to be rewarded with happiness. Alas! you 
 have justified my worst suspicions. This time there 
 can be no mistake. Evidence of your guilt has come 
 to her, so damning, that even her strong faith is over 
 borne. 
 
 "What more can I say?" he added bitterly. 
 
 " Doubtless you have but acted out your nature. In 
 
 the time of your need we did for you what Christian 
 
 charity demanded. You have requited our act by 
 
 wounding us to the death," here his voice quavered, 
 
 -"by destroying my daughter s happiness." Then 
 
 his composure utterly broke down, and he sank with 
 
 his elbows on his knees, his face buried in his hands, 
 
 while his frame shook with deep sobs. 
 
 269
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Wretched as I was, the sight of his misery moved 
 me deeply. Was he not Sophie s father? Was he 
 not the gentle, courteous host, who, years ago, had 
 nursed me to life and sheltered me under his roof, 
 until strength had come back, always kindly, until 
 suspicion, armed with seemingly fatal proof, had 
 fastened itself upon me? Despite my own trouble, 
 my heart yearned toward him. 
 
 I threw myself on my knees beside him, laid my 
 hand on his heaving shoulder and cried, " Oh, sir, 
 moderate your grief, I beg you. Sophie is the victim 
 of an incredible intrigue. I swear to you on my 
 honor, I have done no wrong. We shall seek her 
 and convince her of this." 
 
 He dropped his hands quickly from his face, wet 
 with tears, raised himself, looked me imploringly in 
 the face and gasped, "If I could hope it! What 
 proof do you offer of what you say? " 
 
 I hesitated. Indeed, proof I had none. Beyond 
 my mere assertion of innocence, what was there that 
 I could say? I was fatally conscious, how pitifully 
 slender was my chance of convincing anybody of the 
 truth. 
 
 I answered, trying to put in my voice a confidence 
 which I was far from feeling, " Monsieur Roberval, 
 I can only ask you to believe me, on my own word, 
 that I have done no wrong, and that both Sophie and 
 I are the victims of a foul and slanderous intrigue. 
 Some day I may be able to prove it. For the pres 
 ent I must beg you to accept this statement on my 
 simple honor." 
 
 270
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 "Is that all?" he asked, mournfully shaking his 
 head and dropping it on his hand, while he supported 
 his elbow on a table. Then he continued, as if mus 
 ing aloud, " The proof which convinced Sophie was 
 stronger than a mere statement." Suddenly looking 
 up, as if a new thought had occurred to him, and 
 eying me searchingly, he asked, " What of the token 
 which it seems that my daughter had given to you, 
 and which she recognized on the person of this 
 woman of the court? " 
 
 " It was stolen from me," I answered doggedly. 
 
 " Stolen from you! And by such a woman as you 
 describe and as she describes herself ! " exclaimed the 
 old man, in incredulous amazement. " Surely, Mon 
 sieur Fourcade, you do not mend matters by this 
 statement. How had she the opportunity of stealing 
 it?" 
 
 "An indiscretion," I faltered, "an indiscretion 
 which I deplore, a temporary forgetfulness, gave her 
 the opportunity which she has used so cruelly." 
 
 "An indiscretion, Monsieur Fourcade! And you 
 had but a few hours before left my daughter as your 
 affianced wife! Surely, this passes belief. An in 
 discretion, let me remind you, was, under the circum 
 stances, a crime. Your own statement, let me tell 
 you, gives every weight of probability to the woman s 
 story as to the relations which you have held with 
 her." 
 
 "I swear to you, sir," I protested vehemently, 
 " that my only relations with that woman have been 
 those of mutual enmity and distrust. For years I 
 271
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 have loathed her, and she has treated me with arro 
 gant contempt. It is to avenge herself that she has 
 concocted this hideous tale. I am the victim of a 
 vile court intrigue. Let me speak plainly. Made 
 moiselle de Rebours was once the King of Navarre s 
 mistress. Since losing his favor she has spared 
 no exertions to regain it. My crime in her eyes is, 
 that she knows me to be unfriendly to her, and, since 
 she cannot win me to espouse her cause, she would 
 ruin me." 
 
 " Ah! " exclaimed Monsieur Roberval, with a long- 
 drawn breath, and eying me almost fiercely ; " you 
 would drag my innocent daughter within the polluted 
 atmosphere of that depraved court. It is a happy 
 escape for her. But let us go back to the subject 
 under discussion. You would have me believe that 
 your relations with this person have been innocent, 
 even unfriendly. Will you, then, tell me, how it was 
 possible for her to obtain the token which she flaunt- 
 ingly wore before my daughter s very eyes? " 
 
 I answered shamefacedly, " I can only say, sir, 
 that I forgot myself for a moment, and she took 
 quick advantage of it." 
 
 "What, Monsieur Fourcade!" exclaimed Sophie s 
 father, with scorn depicted in every lineament ; " you 
 forgot yourself! Coming freshly from my daughter s 
 innocent trustfulness, you could forget yourself with 
 such a creature as this, a brazen courtezan, a dis 
 carded favorite of a sham royalty! Improbable as 
 your story is, and no doubt it is the best you can 
 272
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 offer, it condemns you beyond all palliation of your 
 offense. Could I willingly give my daughter to a 
 man so fickle, so depraved as you avow yourself? 
 You have pronounced your own sentence and have 
 confirmed the wisdom of my daughter s decision." 
 
 What could I answer? How could I plead to 
 sedate old age the extenuation of scenes unknown to 
 the even tenor of his recluse life, the wine, the 
 woman s allurement, and my quick return to my 
 senses? I sat in guilty confusion, the blood mount 
 ing even to the roots of my hair. 
 
 For a few moments there was dead silence in the 
 gathering gloom of the apartment. Then Monsieur 
 Roberval, rising, said coldly, " Monsieur Fourcade, 
 we part now. I beg you not to make any effort to 
 ascertain my daughter s abode. God knows, you 
 have already done enough. Leave her in peace if 
 she will ever know peace again. Should you ever be 
 able to bring any evidence in your behalf, you may 
 hear of me through Father Augustine, of St. Sulpice, 
 at Rochelle. I would, God knows, gladly see you 
 vindicated if it were possible. In the present aspect 
 of affairs, I can only thank God that you are not my 
 daughter s husband." 
 
 So saying, he was about to leave the room. 
 
 I threw myself passionately before him, seized his 
 hand and cried, " Oh, sir, I beg you, in Heaven s 
 name, not to leave me thus, not to leave me in igno 
 rance of Sophie s abode Sophie, who is my life and 
 my soul! " 
 
 273
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 He withdrew his hand from mine and answered 
 coldly, " Monsieur Fourcade, so much as this I will 
 say : I do not know my daughter s place of refuge. 
 No doubt I shall know it ere long ; but I see no rea 
 son for believing that I shall ever do aught toward 
 bringing you two together again. She has done 
 wisely in discarding forever one whose utter unworthi- 
 ness Providence has kindly revealed, ere it had been 
 too late. Her happiness is wrecked, but, thank 
 God!" he added proudly, "not through any act of 
 hers. I wish you good evening, Monsieur Fourcade." 
 And he strode from the room. 
 
 Great Heavens! What a situation was mine I 
 who had come to that house, full of sweetest hopes! 
 Ruined by a moment s folly! Is it always thus? 
 Does Providence set no limit to the power of cunning 
 wickedness to entrap and slay the unwary weak? 
 Is this God s world or the devil s? 
 
 I longed for a place where I might hide my 
 shame. I could not face my friends in the house, 
 my friends who should have rejoiced with a happy 
 bridegroom. How would they adapt themselves to 
 a disgraced and discarded lover? I tottered away, 
 through the darkening streets, to the inn, the inn 
 where Sophie and I had eaten together how long 
 since? Ages, ages ago! I sought a chamber and 
 threw myself on my face on the bed. 
 
 All night I lay there, motionless, but unresting. 
 Grief for the loss of Sophie ; shame for the weakness 
 that had placed me in this humiliating situation ; im 
 potent rebellion against the cruelty of Providence 
 274
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 which visited so dire punishment on a venial indiscre 
 tion ; desperation in the sense of my inability to decide 
 what to do these all kept my brain in a hopeless 
 whirl. A clock in the house struck the weary hours, 
 as I lay there, like a stone. 
 
 275
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 HOW SOPHIE, UNWITTINGLY, BECAME JEAN 
 FOURCADE S ACCUSER 
 
 WITH the cold gray light of day creeping into 
 my room some degree of calmness came to me. 
 One thing was clear : I must reach Sophie. In the face 
 of her father s and the Church s opposition, I must find 
 her, if it were possible for a mortal. She would be 
 lieve me. Her heart would respond to my bitter cry. 
 I would tell her all, and she would forgive me. Until 
 I could reach her, my case was hopeless. My sole 
 reliance was in her unbounded trust and her tried 
 love. Everybody else would receive my story as her 
 father had received it. 
 
 But where should my search begin? All France 
 was before me, and against me the vast power of the 
 Church, into whose bosom she had fled. 
 
 I rose from the bed. My knees tottered, and my 
 brain swam, as if I were risen from a long illness. I 
 looked out into the courtyard. A hostler was leading 
 my horse and Monsieur Roberval s to water. Strange ! 
 I thought. They were on good terms. Nothing had 
 come between them. 
 
 A thought came to me. I must begin in Alby. 
 276
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Perhaps Sophie was even now in the convent there. 
 But how hopeless would be any effort to reach her 
 directly through that channel! 
 
 But what of the priest? He might give me some 
 help. A priest is still a man. And might it not be, 
 that he would be moved by a strong appeal to use his 
 influence in my behalf? Moreover, he would see the 
 matter apart from the strong personal bias of Sophie s 
 father. I would tell him all frankly and implore his 
 intercession. Surely, the familiarity of his sacred 
 office with all phases of error and suffering would 
 render him capable of feeling with me. If I could 
 but succeed in securing his intervention, while Mon 
 sieur Roberval was still in Alby! 
 
 I hurried down-stairs and inquired my way to the 
 priest s house. The door was opened for me by an 
 elderly woman, who told me that the Father was en 
 gaged in celebrating mass and directed me to the 
 sacristy. A gray-headed verger admitted me and 
 gave me a seat. 
 
 How long the mass seemed! But it ended at last, 
 and the priest came into the sacristy. He was an 
 elderly man, of an ascetic type, with a face denoting 
 great acuteness and not less strength, but tempered 
 by a certain air of distant kindness. I drew much 
 heart from his appearance. He looked like one who 
 lived far above the frailties of human nature and 
 judged them sternly, but with pity. I rose, when he 
 entered. He motioned to me to resume my seat. 
 When I mentioned my name, he nodded and said 
 quietly, " I expected you." 
 277
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 "Assuming," said he, " that I know the purpose of 
 your visit, you may enter on your subject at once. 
 And I beg you to be absolutely truthful and unre 
 served in all that you may say to me. Thereupon it 
 will depend, whether I can serve you if you have 
 come to seek my help." 
 
 His grave kindness encouraged me. I told him 
 briefly the story of my relations with the Robervals 
 and of circumstances which long threw unjust sus 
 picion on me, but had lately been cleared up. He 
 listened very closely, with his eyes fixed on the ground, 
 nodding from time to time, as if in confirmation of my 
 story. When I came to the occurrences of the past 
 few days, including Sophie s journey, under my care, 
 to Alby, all of which I related just as I have set it 
 down in this account, he seemed peculiarly intent and 
 sat motionless. Without too much detail, but plainly 
 enough, I told him of the meeting with Mademoiselle 
 de Rebours and what had then taken place, neither 
 concealing nor extenuating anything. 
 
 When I related the theft of the token which Sophie 
 had given me, he looked up quickly and fixed his 
 keen eyes on mine with a steady, searching gaze. 
 
 I concluded by saying, " I know, Reverend Father, 
 that my affianced wife has talked fully with you, and 
 therefore I appeal to you to help me in my sore 
 trouble." 
 
 " What would you have me do? " he asked coldly. 
 
 " I implore your intercession with Monsieur Rober- 
 val, Reverend Father," I answered. " If he can be 
 convinced of the plain truth, as I have related it to 
 278
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 you, surely he will bring about an interview with his 
 daughter. Then I doubt not that I shall be able to 
 expose to her eyes the vile intrigue of which both she 
 and I are the victims." 
 
 To this appeal he made no direct reply, but fixed 
 a searching gaze on me and asked, "This object, 
 which Mademoiselle Roberval recognized on the per 
 son of her visitor, you say was stolen from you? " 
 
 " I swear it, Reverend Father," I answered ear 
 nestly. 
 
 " An oath is both unnecessary and unconvincing," 
 he replied dryly. Then he continued, eying me stead 
 ily, " As to all the particulars of your journey with 
 Mademoiselle Roberval you have been explicit and 
 truthful? " 
 
 " I have, Reverend Father," I answered firmly. 
 
 " Then let me tell you, young man," he replied 
 with a sudden show of anger, " that you have but told 
 half of the truth. And because you have suppressed 
 all mention of one essential point, I disbelieve your 
 version of what took place in the inn at Montauban. 
 Had you followed Mademoiselle Roberval s example 
 of absolute truthfulness, I had been more inclined to 
 credit the remainder of your story. But you have 
 been disingenuous and evasive where it was most es 
 sential that you should keep back nothing. You leave 
 me no alternative, but that of doubting your truthful 
 ness as to an occurrence in which all appearances are 
 strongly against you." He paused. 
 
 Great Heavens! what could I say? I had not 
 taken into account Sophie s strong feeling, which 
 279
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 would lead her to humiliate herself before a repre 
 sentative of the Church, nor the religious training 
 which would make her see in a priest the vicar of 
 God. I found myself unexpectedly confronted with 
 the all-penetrating power of the confessional. 
 
 In vain I pleaded that I had not wilfully suppressed 
 any circumstance which I thought should properly 
 have been mentioned. 
 
 The priest continued in a hard, judicial voice, " A 
 marriage with a heretic is one which, under no cir 
 cumstances, the Church would encourage. But when 
 things have gone so far " here he gave me a signifi 
 cant look "I should be inclined to help you, if I 
 believed you to be unjustly accused. Unhappily for 
 you, I know you to be utterly lacking in needful self- 
 restraint. And by your own mouth you have shown 
 yourself untruthful. Therefore, I cannot but believe 
 the worst of you. Your account of the occurrence 
 at Montauban will not bear scrutiny. You have, 
 moreover, betrayed the trust of an artless and confid 
 ing girl, by shamefully abusing your power, as her 
 temporary protector. Even under the extreme cir 
 cumstances of this case, I could not sanction the union 
 of a pure and pious nature with an arrant profligate. 
 Therefore, I count it a special exercise of divine 
 wisdom that has thwarted your plans." 
 
 What could I answer? Sophie s relentless self- 
 humiliation had raised a new obstacle in my way. 
 To all my pleadings the priest answered by shaking 
 his head in a manner which plainly meant that he 
 was not to be moved. As I was about to go away, I 
 280
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 turned and faltered out, "Reverend Father, in the 
 name of pity, will you, at least, tell me, is she in the 
 convent in this town? " 
 
 He strode once or twice up and down the room, 
 before answering. Then he said, "So much I will 
 say : Mademoiselle Roberval is not in or near Alby. 
 She has gone into a retreat far away." 
 
 As I left the priest s door, I encountered Monsieur 
 Roberval going toward it. He was about to pass me 
 with a distant salutation ; but I could not let slip the 
 opportunity of making a last appeal. 
 
 " Monsieur Roberval," I pleaded earnestly, " will 
 you not take pity on me and believe me, when I 
 solemnly assure you once more that Sophie and I are, 
 alike, the victims of another s crime against our hap 
 piness? " 
 
 He bowed stiffly and answered, " I do not ques 
 tion your unhappiness, Monsieur Fourcade. I wish 
 it were possible for me to agree with you as to the 
 cause of it." Then he passed on. 
 
 Was all the world in conspiracy against me? Now 
 even Sophie s artless confession to the priest was used 
 to condemn me. Fate seemed to weave around me 
 a web which every moment grew tighter. 
 
 281
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SIXTH. 
 
 HOW JEAN FOURCADE ENVIED ANOTHER S MISERY. 
 
 WHAT boots it to tell the story of the next few 
 miserable months, spent in frantic efforts to 
 open some channel of communication with Sophie 
 or, even, to get some tidings of her? 
 
 All the world from whom I could hope anything 
 was against me. A moment s disloyalty had out 
 weighed years of fidelity and turned the flood-tide of 
 my fortune, that was sweeping me on to the goal of 
 my brightest dreams, into an ebb remorselessly drag 
 ging me down to an unfathomed sea of despair. 
 
 Let me relate in brief words the story of those dark 
 months. 
 
 It occurred to me, that, in her self-accusing mood, 
 Sophie would most likely take refuge in that convent 
 at Auxerre which she had once scornfully refused to 
 enter on the only terms on which admission would 
 have been granted her. Such an expiation her deeply 
 religious nature would regard as fitting, and she 
 would impose it upon herself relentlessly. Her let 
 ter, moreover, showed that this self-condemning spirit 
 was strong within her. It was a forlorn hope ; but I 
 282
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 would not leave it untried. To Auxerre, accordingly, 
 I went. 
 
 A deeper chill, foreboding failure, fell upon me, 
 as I viewed the gloomy pile that had once so terrified 
 me, as I contemplated Sophie s being immured in it, 
 even for a short time. 
 
 At the same moment that my heart beat quicker 
 at the thought, that I was looking at the very building 
 which probably held her, the utter hopelessness of my 
 undertaking came home to me with awful force. 
 What could one expect of human sympathy from the 
 ruling spirit of an institution whose character wrought 
 itself visible to the outward eye in such a structure? 
 
 There were the same formidable preliminaries as 
 on the occasion of my former visit, the rap of the 
 heavy knocker resounding through the wide, dreary 
 hall ; the little slide in the door pushed aside ; a pale 
 nun peering at me through a tiny window and inquir 
 ing my errand ; admission into the chilly reception- 
 room ; the same ghostly Mother Superior, with the 
 stony face and sepulchral voice. 
 
 The result of the interview was a foregone conclu 
 sion. On one side was pitiful pleading ; on the other, 
 flinty indifference and ecclesiastical scorn. I could 
 not so much as learn whether Sophie was there. 
 That prison would have seemed a paradise, and its 
 ruling spirit an angel of light, could I have prevailed 
 so far as to plead my cause for a single moment in 
 Sophie s ear. Instead, the heavy door swung open 
 and shut me out, like another Cain, branded with 
 the mark of despair, going forth with the conviction, 
 283
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 that I left the tomb in which her sweet life and my 
 hopes were buried. 
 
 On the way from Auxerre how many an object 
 recalled that other journey, so recent! Yet, what 
 ages rolled between! On this hilltop Sophie had 
 drawn rein, while she drank in the wide landscape 
 and reveled in her freedom. As we rode through 
 the solemn arches of this forest, how worshipful was 
 her mood! Before yonder pile of ruins we had 
 paused and speculated over its history. 
 
 Even Nature s radiant face was now changed to a 
 frown. Then earth and sky were steeped in golden 
 hues. The forests glowed with all the varied glories 
 of their autumnal leafage. The heavens were a 
 cloudless canopy above us, and on our right the 
 mountains reared their jagged crests, clear cut. The 
 air was full of life and inspiration. Now wintry 
 desolation was everywhere. The trees, stripped of 
 their short-lived splendor, which lay dank on the 
 sodden earth, lifted heavenward leafless, mournful 
 arms, as in dumb protest. A leaden sky wrapped all 
 visible things in a melancholy monochrome. Life 
 and cheer were gone. And the bitter air ate its way, 
 with death-like chill, to one s bones. 
 
 When I came to the spot where Sophie and I had 
 fled from the road, in fear of supposed pursuers, a 
 strong impulse moved me to go and look once more 
 on the scene of our one evening s brief happiness in 
 undisturbed communion. Without difficulty I found 
 the tortuous track, winding between tall trees and 
 around boulders, to the little clearing in the forest. 
 284
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 When I came in sight of the ruined cot, I was sur 
 prised to see a thin veil of smoke rising slowly from 
 it and hanging in the heavy air. It was rudely 
 roofed, too, with interlaced boughs, and the windows 
 were similarly closed, while an old piece of sail-cloth, 
 dirty and stained, hung in the doorway. Within I 
 heard voices, a woman s and children s. 
 
 Having tethered my horse, I approached, unheard, 
 and drew aside the primitive curtain. As the light 
 fell within, and my head appeared in the opening, the 
 inmates sprang to their feet from their squatting pos 
 ture before the fire and would have fled, in terror, 
 had there been another exit. A word or two calmed 
 their fright. 
 
 There was the same half-human, hunted-looking 
 man who, on the same spot, had peered in on Sophie 
 and me ; there was a gaunt woman ; and there were 
 three elfish, wild-eyed, hunger-haunted children. A 
 squalid, ragged brood they were, famine-stricken and 
 hovering on the verge of death. Apparently, they 
 had had so bitter experience of mankind, that the 
 mere sight of a human being filled them with dread. 
 
 Their story was soon told. The man s parents had 
 lived in that same cot, contented and happy, till they 
 were driven away by Francis I. s soldiery, and their 
 homestead burned. From that time misfortune had 
 dogged their steps, and they had died far away, in 
 abject misery. Year after year he had struggled on. 
 Then had come a wife and children. At last, crushed 
 by the corvee and the gabelle, by the land-tax, 
 the window-tax, and all the iniquitous devices 
 285
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 which a rapacious monarchy has invented for extort 
 ing the last denier from the wretched peasant-folk, 
 harassed by the landlord and hounded by the tax- 
 gatherer, he had fled in the night from the wretched 
 cot which he had tried to make his own. With his 
 starved family, he had lately made his way back to 
 this home of his forefathers, knowing that here they 
 would have, at least, a shelter, and might die in 
 peace, unmolested by human hawks. 
 
 The misery of these harmless folk, victims, like 
 myself, of the cruel passions of fellow-mortals, moved 
 me deeply. Here, I said to myself, was a depth of 
 bodily wretchedness that equaled my mental suffering. 
 Had it been possible, I would gladly have done more 
 for them. When I gave the man a pistole, at the 
 first he could not believe his senses. Never before, 
 probably, in his whole life had he touched gold. 
 Then he fell on his knees and called down Heaven s 
 blessing on my head. My own burden was lightened 
 by the thought, that to these hungry people my little 
 gift was almost a fortune, and that, at all events, it 
 would long stand between them and starvation. 
 
 What a reversal of conditions was here! Once 
 this man had looked in on my happiness and, doubt 
 less, had envied me. Was I not one of those favored 
 mortals to whom the gnawing of hunger was un 
 known? Now I looked in on his wretchedness and 
 envied him. For what, compared with mine, was a 
 suffering which a coin could assuage? And, at its 
 worst, was it not lightened by love? 
 
 One slender hope now remained to me. It was, 
 286
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 that I might succeed in securing the intervention of 
 the priest at Rochelle whom Monsieur Roberval had 
 mentioned to me. Thither, then, I journeyed. 
 
 Alas! I did but repeat the experiences of each 
 former attempt. So fully was Father Augustine 
 dominated by Monsieur Roberval s view of the situ 
 ation, that a wolf seeking the shepherd s aid in steal 
 ing a lamb from the fold could not have met with 
 more scornful refusal. 
 
 Now the last door of hope was shut. I must go 
 back to my duties and leave my case in the hands of 
 could I say, Providence? From a vague abstrac 
 tion it had become, in my thought, a malignant power. 
 How had it dealt with Sophie, the believing and 
 prayerful? Had it not sent to her a disguised devil 
 and ruthlessly dashed her innocent happiness? 
 Granted, that I was guilty and deserving of its most 
 outrageous slings and darts, why was she, sweet soul, 
 who never in all her life had wronged a single crea 
 ture, involved in my punishment? Is Heaven so 
 austere, that a pure and guiltless love, such as hers, 
 must be bitterly expiated, as if it were a crime? 
 Alas ! how often her parting words came back to me, 
 bidding me trust in Providence that Providence 
 which had pitilessly turned upon us and was driving 
 us, the guilty and the sinless alike, with the scorpion- 
 scourge of the Furies! 
 
 In impotent, sullen rebellion, I bore my lot as best 
 
 I could, while the dreary days dragged along. The 
 
 court, always distasteful to me, had become utterly 
 
 hated. I shunned companionship and lived alone, 
 
 287
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 brooding, brooding day and night. Worst of all was 
 the occasional encounter of the Rebours. With mock 
 courtesy, she bowed low and smiled a seeming greet 
 ing, while in her wicked eyes was a gleam of hellish 
 triumph. 
 
 For all this, and though I loathed that woman, as 
 a being less than human, I would have dragged my 
 self on my knees and groveled at her feet, if I could 
 have hoped to move her to recall the black lie that 
 had blasted my life. 
 
 Once I bethought me of going to my master and 
 seeking his intervention with her. If there was any 
 person who could influence that demon to act 
 humanly, surely it was he. What she would not do 
 from a sense of right, it was possible that she might 
 do, to stand well with him. 
 
 He knew the whole story. Of course, I had told 
 it to him. When I now asked his intervention, he 
 was full of sympathy and laid his hand tenderly on 
 my shoulder. But he shook his head discouragingly. 
 " Let me tell you," he said, " when you deal with the 
 Rebours, you deal with a devil. That girl is capable 
 of any crime that malice can effect. My faith! I 
 believe that she exults in thinking of the misery she 
 has brought upon you. And I am the last person 
 who can help you with her. True, she would do 
 anything for me, yes, she would declare herself a 
 slanderer before the whole court, but, mark you, on 
 one condition only. And that condition is impossible, 
 absolutely impossible." He shook his head in a way 
 that implied an irrevocable determination. 
 288
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Thereafter he was more than ever considerate of 
 me. One day he came to me, and, putting his arm 
 about me, as he was wont to do in the old days when 
 we were boys together, his voice trembling, he said : 
 "This will not do, Jean. You are but a ghost of 
 your old self. You need rest and change of scene, 
 my boy. Go to your home, our dear old Pau, and 
 stay there till I send for you." 
 
 I was inexpressibly glad to leave behind the fever 
 ish air of the court and the faces that had grown 
 hateful to me. Here it is quiet, and life is wholesome 
 and sweet, and the faces I daily look upon are simple 
 and true and kindly. I seem to have come out of a 
 nightmare. But the dream is an awful reality, for it 
 has burned itself in on my soul. 
 
 289
 
 CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 JEAN FOURCADE AMID THE SCENES OF HIS 
 CHILDHOOD. 
 
 IT is restful to be here, amid the haunts of my boy 
 hood. But, alas ! where can I find a balm for the 
 wound that rankles in me day and night ? 
 
 How sweet is the tenderness of my mother and 
 sister! Good, simple souls, they have lived their 
 lives, unruffled by storms. I went out into the great 
 world, and they have been proud to think of me tak 
 ing part in its battle. Now I come back to them, 
 broken in spirits, envying their peaceful life, yearning 
 for their sympathy. 
 
 I wander amid the places I once loved and look 
 upon the well-remembered objects. The Gave still 
 brawls along his rocky bed. There is the pool where 
 I taught my young master to swim. In yonder still 
 reach, where the shadows lie black, he caught his 
 first trout. Beyond are the friendly hills, terraced 
 and vine-covered. Back of them, on the rocky slopes 
 running up to the distant craggy heights, little mov 
 ing specks are goatherds, with their flocks, as in the 
 old days. The smoke still floats away in thin wreaths 
 from cottages scattered up and down the valley. 
 290
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Everywhere is peace. But for me there is no peace. 
 In the whole quiet landscape nothing is changed, yet 
 nothing is the same. 
 
 The familiar scenes charm me no more. Day after 
 day I ramble listlessly among them, and seem another 
 than myself. Cloud or sunshine is alike to me. A 
 veil of darkness is drawn over all that I look upon. 
 Life is a weariness, and all places are alike. I tarry 
 here only because in this secluded vale I may have 
 what elsewhere I cannot have solitude. 
 
 For the greater part, I am filled with a sullen, 
 dogged spirit. Fate has loosed against me its keen 
 est shafts. In defiance I endure. If it has in store 
 for me some fresh blow, let it come. I am prepared 
 for any fortune. 
 
 At other times a sort of blind rage possesses me. 
 I would go forth into the world and right my wrongs, 
 or perish in the endeavor. But whither? Where 
 begin? Then I almost rave with the sense of my 
 impotence. 
 
 How long have I been here? It was early spring 
 when I came. The trees were covering themselves 
 with young buds. Ah, God! the trees were putting 
 forth their leafage, when I wandered beneath them, 
 in the old garden at the back of the house where 
 Sophie lived, when first I knew her, and all my hours 
 flew on golden wings. If but memory would fade 
 out, and leave my mind a blank! 
 
 Spring has deepened into summer, and summer has 
 become parched and sere as my life. But what to 
 me are the seasons? 
 
 291
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 Is this a sane world? Or is it all crazy? Or am 
 I mad? 
 
 Is God in His right mind? Surely, even a crime 
 might have been expiated. But this 
 
 [The last part of the manuscript is written in a woman s 
 hand, evidently that of Jean Fourcade s sister. THE EDITOR.] 
 
 Alas for my unhappy brother! During the months 
 that he has been with us, sometimes he has seemed 
 sullenly resigned. Then he has been patient and in 
 dustrious, saying little, but working almost incessantly 
 on this writing, as if seeking to lose himself in it. 
 At other times he has been driven, as it were, by a 
 fierce spirit that would not let him rest. Then, for 
 days together, he has roamed the hillsides and seemed 
 incapable of feeling fatigue. 
 
 At such times we have feared that his mind was 
 disordered. More than once he has started and mut 
 tered, " That accursed opal! How it glares at me! 
 It is a devil s eye." Or he has raged and cried, 
 "May devils drag her to perdition, the murderess!" 
 
 Of late his restless moods have been more frequent, 
 and he has ceased to write. Three weeks ago a 
 crisis came. A messenger from the King of Navarre 
 brought this letter. 
 
 [The original letter is here attached to the manuscript. 
 THE EDITOR.] 
 
 "To Monsieur Jean Fourcade (in the care of the King 
 
 of Navarre, at Nerac], 
 
 " MONSIEUR : When I held a conversation with 
 you at Alby, some months since, I was not fully in- 
 292
 
 The King s Henchman. 
 
 formed of all the facts in the case. Had I been 
 aware of a circumstance that has but recently come 
 to my knowledge, I should have taken a different tone 
 with you. The crown of shame has been added to 
 my grief, in learning that not my daughter s happi 
 ness only, but her honor, has been sacrificed to your 
 wanton libertinism. 
 
 " Since becoming aware of this fact, I have urged 
 that you be allowed to make such reparation as is 
 possible, by marrying my daughter. But she has 
 strenuously refused to entertain such a proposal. So 
 cruelly has she been wounded, that she is willing rather 
 to suffer the humiliation of her present state, than to 
 endure the deeper shame of being wedded to one who 
 first took a base advantage of her love and then be 
 trayed her to a mistress. The conventual influences 
 surrounding her are, moreover, such as powerfully 
 tend to increase her aversion to marriage and incline 
 her more strongly than ever to the religious life. 
 " I am, etc., 
 
 " PAUL ROBERVAL." 
 
 When my poor brother had read this letter, he threw 
 it down, ran out and saddled his horse, and, with 
 scarcely a word of farewell, mounted and rode furi 
 ously away, like one possessed. 
 
 I have gathered these papers, which have beguiled 
 for him so many heavy hours, and fastened them 
 together, to await his return. 
 
 Alas! he does not come, and we have no word of 
 him. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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