The cavern2 of Locmaria was sufficiently3 distant from the mole4 to render it necessary for our friends to husband their strength in order to reach it. Besides, night was advancing; midnight had struck at the fort. Porthos and Aramis were loaded with money and arms. They walked, then, across the heath, which stretched between the mole and the cavern, listening to every noise, in order better to avoid an ambush5. From time to time, on the road which they had carefully left on their left, passed fugitives6 coming from the interior, at the news of the landing of the royal troops. Aramis and Porthos, concealed7 behind some projecting mass of rock, collected the words that escaped from the poor people, who fled, trembling, carrying with them their most valuable effects, and tried, whilst listening to their complaints, to gather something from them for their own interest. At length, after a rapid race, frequently interrupted by prudent9 stoppages, they reached the deep grottoes, in which the prophetic bishop10 of Vannes had taken care to have secreted11 a bark capable of keeping the sea at this fine season.
“My good friend,” said Porthos, panting vigorously, “we have arrived, it seems. But I thought you spoke12 of three men, three servants, who were to accompany us. I don’t see them — where are they?”
“Why should you see them, Porthos?” replied Aramis. “They are certainly waiting for us in the cavern, and, no doubt, are resting, having accomplished13 their rough and difficult task.”
Aramis stopped Porthos, who was preparing to enter the cavern. “Will you allow me, my friend,” said he to the giant, “to pass in first? I know the signal I have given to these men; who, not hearing it, would be very likely to fire upon you or slash14 away with their knives in the dark.”
“Go on, then, Aramis; go on — go first; you impersonate wisdom and foresight15; go. Ah! there is that fatigue16 again, of which I spoke to you. It has just seized me afresh.”
Aramis left Porthos sitting at the entrance of the grotto, and bowing his head, he penetrated17 into the interior of the cavern, imitating the cry of the owl18. A little plaintive19 cooing, a scarcely distinct echo, replied from the depths of the cave. Aramis pursued his way cautiously, and soon was stopped by the same kind of cry as he had first uttered, within ten paces of him.
“Are you there, Yves?” said the bishop.
“Yes, monseigneur; Goenne is here likewise. His son accompanies us.”
“That is well. Are all things ready?”
“Yes, monseigneur.”
“Go to the entrance of the grottoes, my good Yves, and you will there find the Seigneur de Pierrefonds, who is resting after the fatigue of our journey. And if he should happen not to be able to walk, lift him up, and bring him hither to me.”
The three men obeyed. But the recommendation given to his servants was superfluous20. Porthos, refreshed, had already commenced the descent, and his heavy step resounded22 amongst the cavities, formed and supported by columns of porphyry and granite23. As soon as the Seigneur de Bracieux had rejoined the bishop, the Bretons lighted a lantern with which they were furnished, and Porthos assured his friend that he felt as strong again as ever.
“Let us inspect the boat,” said Aramis, “and satisfy ourselves at once what it will hold.”
“Do not go too near with the light,” said the patron Yves; “for as you desired me, monseigneur, I have placed under the bench of the poop, in the coffer you know of, the barrel of powder, and the musket24-charges that you sent me from the fort.”
“Very well,” said Aramis; and, taking the lantern himself, he examined minutely all parts of the canoe, with the precautions of a man who is neither timid nor ignorant in the face of danger. The canoe was long, light, drawing little water, thin of keel; in short, one of those that have always been so aptly built at Belle–Isle; a little high in its sides, solid upon the water, very manageable, furnished with planks25 which, in uncertain weather, formed a sort of deck over which the waves might glide26, so as to protect the rowers. In two well-closed coffers, placed beneath the benches of the prow27 and the poop, Aramis found bread, biscuit, dried fruits, a quarter of bacon, a good provision of water in leathern bottles; the whole forming rations28 sufficient for people who did not mean to quit the coast, and would be able to revictual, if necessity commanded. The arms, eight muskets29, and as many horse-pistols, were in good condition, and all loaded. There were additional oars30, in case of accident, and that little sail called trinquet, which assists the speed of the canoe at the same time the boatmen row, and is so useful when the breeze is slack. When Aramis had seen to all these things, and appeared satisfied with the result of his inspection31, “Let us consult Porthos,” said he, “to know if we must endeavor to get the boat out by the unknown extremity32 of the grotto, following the descent and the shade of the cavern, or whether it be better, in the open air, to make it slide upon its rollers through the bushes, leveling the road of the little beach, which is but twenty feet high, and gives, at high tide, three or four fathoms33 of good water upon a sound bottom.”
“It must be as you please, monseigneur,” replied the skipper Yves, respectfully; “but I don’t believe that by the slope of the cavern, and in the dark in which we shall be obliged to maneuver34 our boat, the road will be so convenient as the open air. I know the beach well, and can certify35 that it is as smooth as a grass-plot in a garden; the interior of the grotto, on the contrary, is rough; without reckoning, monseigneur, that at its extremity we shall come to the trench36 which leads into the sea, and perhaps the canoe will not pass down it.”
“I have made my calculation,” said the bishop, “and I am certain it will pass.”
“So be it; I wish it may, monseigneur,” continued Yves; “but your highness knows very well that to make it reach the extremity of the trench, there is an enormous stone to be lifted — that under which the fox always passes, and which closes the trench like a door.”
“It can be raised,” said Porthos; “that is nothing.”
“Oh! I know that monseigneur has the strength of ten men,” replied Yves; “but that is giving him a great deal of trouble.”
“I think the skipper may be right,” said Aramis; “let us try the open-air passage.”
“The more so, monseigneur,” continued the fisherman, “that we should not be able to embark37 before day, it will require so much labor38, and that as soon as daylight appears, a good vedette placed outside the grotto would be necessary, indispensable even, to watch the maneuvers39 of the lighters40 or cruisers that are on the look-out for us.”
“Yes, yes, Yves, your reasons are good; we will go by the beach.”
And the three robust41 Bretons went to the boat, and were beginning to place their rollers underneath42 it to put it in motion, when the distant barking of dogs was heard, proceeding43 from the interior of the island.
Aramis darted44 out of the grotto, followed by Porthos. Dawn just tinted45 with purple and white the waves and plain; through the dim light, melancholy46 fir-trees waved their tender branches over the pebbles47, and long flights of crows were skimming with their black wings the shimmering48 fields of buckwheat. In a quarter of an hour it would be clear daylight; the wakened birds announced it to all nature. The barkings which had been heard, which had stopped the three fishermen engaged in moving the boat, and had brought Aramis and Porthos out of the cavern, now seemed to come from a deep gorge49 within about a league of the grotto.
“It is a pack of hounds,” said Porthos; “the dogs are on a scent21.”
“Who can be hunting at such a moment as this?” said Aramis.
“And this way, particularly,” continued Porthos, “where they might expect the army of the royalists.”
“The noise comes nearer. Yes, you are right, Porthos, the dogs are on a scent. But, Yves!” cried Aramis, “come here! come here!”
Yves ran towards him, letting fall the cylinder50 which he was about to place under the boat when the bishop’s call interrupted him.
“What is the meaning of this hunt, skipper?” said Porthos.
“Eh! monseigneur, I cannot understand it,” replied the Breton. “It is not at such a moment that the Seigneur de Locmaria would hunt. No, and yet the dogs —”
“Unless they have escaped from the kennel51.”
“No,” said Goenne, “they are not the Seigneur de Locmaria’s hounds.”
“In common prudence,” said Aramis, “let us go back into the grotto; the voices evidently draw nearer, we shall soon know what we have to trust to.”
They reentered, but had scarcely proceeded a hundred steps in the darkness, when a noise like the hoarse52 sigh of a creature in distress53 resounded through the cavern, and breathless, rapid, terrified, a fox passed like a flash of lightning before the fugitives, leaped over the boat and disappeared, leaving behind its sour scent, which was perceptible for several seconds under the low vaults54 of the cave.
“The fox!” cried the Bretons, with the glad surprise of born hunters.
“Accursed mischance!” cried the bishop, “our retreat is discovered.”
“How so?” said Porthos; “are you afraid of a fox?”
“Eh! my friend, what do you mean by that? why do you specify55 the fox? It is not the fox alone. Pardieu! But don’t you know, Porthos, that after the foxes come hounds, and after hounds men?”
Porthos hung his head. As though to confirm the words of Aramis, they heard the yelping56 pack approach with frightful57 swiftness upon the trail. Six foxhounds burst at once upon the little heath, with mingling58 yelps59 of triumph.
“There are the dogs, plain enough!” said Aramis, posted on the look-out behind a chink in the rocks; “now, who are the huntsmen?”
“If it is the Seigneur de Locmaria’s,” replied the sailor, “he will leave the dogs to hunt the grotto, for he knows them, and will not enter in himself, being quite sure that the fox will come out the other side; it is there he will wait for him.”
“It is not the Seigneur de Locmaria who is hunting,” replied Aramis, turning pale in spite of his efforts to maintain a placid60 countenance61.
“Who is it, then?” said Porthos.
“Look!”
Porthos applied62 his eye to the slit63, and saw at the summit of a hillock a dozen horsemen urging on their horses in the track of the dogs, shouting, “Taiaut! taiaut!”
“The guards!” said he.
“Yes, my friend, the king’s guards.”
“The king’s guards! do you say, monseigneur?” cried the Bretons, growing pale in turn.
“With Biscarrat at their head, mounted upon my gray horse,” continued Aramis.
The hounds at the same moment rushed into the grotto like an avalanche64, and the depths of the cavern were filled with their deafening65 cries.
“Ah! the devil!” said Aramis, resuming all his coolness at the sight of this certain, inevitable66 danger. “I am perfectly67 satisfied we are lost, but we have, at least, one chance left. If the guards who follow their hounds happen to discover there is an issue to the grotto, there is no help for us, for on entering they must see both ourselves and our boat. The dogs must not go out of the cavern. Their masters must not enter.”
“That is clear,” said Porthos.
“You understand,” added Aramis, with the rapid precision of command; “there are six dogs that will be forced to stop at the great stone under which the fox has glided68 — but at the too narrow opening of which they must be themselves stopped and killed.”
The Bretons sprang forward, knife in hand. In a few minutes there was a lamentable69 concert of angry barks and mortal howls — and then, silence.
“That’s well!” said Aramis, coolly, “now for the masters!”
“What is to be done with them?” said Porthos.
“Wait their arrival, conceal8 ourselves, and kill them.”
“Kill them!” replied Porthos.
“There are sixteen,” said Aramis, “at least, at present.”
“And well armed,” added Porthos, with a smile of consolation70.
“It will last about ten minutes,” said Aramis. “To work!”
And with a resolute71 air he took up a musket, and placed a hunting-knife between his teeth.
“Yves, Goenne, and his son,” continued Aramis, “will pass the muskets to us. You, Porthos, will fire when they are close. We shall have brought down, at the lowest computation, eight, before the others are aware of anything — that is certain; then all, there are five of us, will dispatch the other eight, knife in hand.”
“And poor Biscarrat?” said Porthos.
Aramis reflected a moment —“Biscarrat first,” replied he, coolly. “He knows us.”
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1
grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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mole
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| n.胎块；痣；克分子 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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7
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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slash
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| vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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certify
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| vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给 | |
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trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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maneuvers
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| n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 ) | |
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lighters
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| n.打火机，点火器( lighter的名词复数 ) | |
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robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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48
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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50
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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51
kennel
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| n.狗舍，狗窝 | |
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52
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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55
specify
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| vt.指定，详细说明 | |
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56
yelping
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 ) | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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yelps
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| n.（因痛苦、气愤、兴奋等的）短而尖的叫声( yelp的名词复数 )v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的第三人称单数 ) | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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64
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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67
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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68
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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69
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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