“My dear friend,” said he, “I have been selfish and thoughtless. I have made too much of my own little troubles and too little of what you have gone through for me. That fall from your horse has shaken you more than you think. Lie down upon this straw, and see if a little sleep may not—”
“I tell you that the bishop3 is there!” cried Amos Green impatiently.
“Quite so. There is water in this jug4, and if I dip my scarf into it and tie it round your brow—”
“Man alive! Don’t you hear me! The bishop is there.”
“He is, he is,” said De Catinat soothingly5. “He is most certainly there. I trust that you have no pain?”
The American waved in the air with his knotted fists. “You think that I am crazed,” he cried, “and, by the eternal, you are enough to make me so! When I say that I sent the bishop, I mean that I saw to the job. You remember when I stepped back to your friend the major?”
It was the soldier’s turn to grow excited now. “Well?” he cried, gripping the other’s arm.
“Well, when we send a scout6 into the woods, if the matter is worth it, we send a second one at another hour, and so one or other comes back with his hair on. That’s the Iroquois fashion, and a good fashion too.”
“My God! I believe that you have saved me!”
“You needn’t grip on to my arm like a fish-eagle on a trout7! I went back to the major, then, and I asked him when he was in Paris to pass by the archbishop’s door.”
“Well? Well?”
“I showed him this lump of chalk. ‘If we’ve been there,’ said I, ‘you’ll see a great cross on the left side of the door-post. If there’s no cross, then pull the latch8 and ask the bishop if he’ll come up to the palace as quick as his horses can bring him.’ The major started an hour after us; he would be in Paris by half-past ten; the bishop would be in his carriage by eleven, and he would reach Versailles half an hour ago, that is to say, about half-past twelve. By the Lord, I think I’ve driven him off his head!”
It was no wonder that the young woodsman was alarmed at the effect of his own announcement. His slow and steady nature was incapable9 of the quick, violent variations of the fiery10 Frenchman. De Catinat, who had thrown off his bonds before he had lain down, spun11 round the cell now, waving his arms and his legs, with his shadow capering12 up the wall behind him, all distorted in the moonlight. Finally he threw himself into his comrade’s arms with a torrent13 of thanks and ejaculations and praises and promises, patting him with his hands and hugging him to his breast.
“Oh, if I could but do something for you!” he exclaimed. “If I could do something for you!”
“You can, then. Lie down on that straw and go to sleep.”
“And to think that I sneered14 at you! I! Oh, you have had your revenge!”
“For the Lord’s sake, lie down and go to sleep!” By persuasions15 and a little pushing he got his delighted companion on to his couch again, and heaped the straw over him to serve as a blanket. De Catinat was wearied out by the excitements of the day, and this last great reaction seemed to have absorbed all his remaining strength. His lids drooped16 heavily over his eyes, his head sank deeper into the soft straw, and his last remembrance was that the tireless American was seated cross-legged in the moonlight, working furiously with his long knife upon one of the billets of wood.
So weary was the young guardsman that it was long past noon, and the sun was shining out of a cloudless blue sky, before he awoke. For a moment, enveloped17 as he was in straw, and with the rude arch of the dungeon18 meeting in four rough-hewn groinings above his head, he stared about him in bewilderment. Then in an instant the doings of the day before, his mission, the ambuscade, his imprisonment19, all flashed back to him, and he sprang to his feet. His comrade, who had been dozing20 in the corner, jumped up also at the first movement, with his hand on his knife, and a sinister21 glance directed towards the door.
“Oh, it’s you, is it?” said he, “I thought it was the man.”
“Has some one been in, then?”
“Yes; they brought those two loaves and a jug of water, just about dawn, when I was settling down for a rest.”
“And did he say anything?”
“No; it was the little black one.”
“Simon, they called him.”
“The same. He laid the things down and was gone. I thought that maybe if he came again we might get him to stop.”
“How, then?”
“Maybe if we got these stirrup leathers round his ankles he would not get them off quite as easy as we have done.”
“And what then?”
“Well, he would tell us where we are, and what is to be done with us.”
“Pshaw! what does it matter since our mission is done?”
“It may not matter to you—there’s no accounting22 for tastes—but it matters a good deal to me. I’m not used to sitting in a hole, like a bear in a trap, waiting for what other folks choose to do with me. It’s new to me. I found Paris a pretty close sort of place, but it’s a prairie compared to this. It don’t suit a man of my habits, and I am going to come out of it.”
“There’s no help but patience, my friend.”
“I don’t know that. I’d get more help out of a bar and a few pegs23.” He opened his coat, and took out a short piece of rusted25 iron, and three small thick pieces of wood, sharpened at one end.
“Where did you get those, then?”
“These are my night’s work. The bar is the top one of the grate. I had a job to loosen it, but there it is. The pegs I whittled26 out of that log.”
“And what are they for?”
“Well, you see, peg24 number one goes in here, where I have picked a hole between the stones. Then I’ve made this other log into a mallet27, and with two cracks there it is firm fixed28, so that you can put your weight on it. Now these two go in the same way into the holes above here. So! Now, you see, you can stand up there and look out of that window without asking too much of your toe joint29. Try it.”
De Catinat sprang up and looked eagerly out between the bars.
“I do not know the place,” said he, shaking his head.
“It may be any one of thirty castles which lie upon the south side of Paris, and within six or seven leagues of it. Which can it be? And who has any interest in treating us so? I would that I could see a coat of arms, which might help us. Ah! there is one yonder in the centre of the mullion of the window. But I can scarce read it at the distance. I warrant that your eyes are better than mine, Amos, and that you can read what is on yonder escutcheon.”
“On what?”
“On the stone slab30 in the centre window.”
“Yes, I see it plain enough. It looks to me like three turkey-buzzards sitting on a barrel of molasses.”
“Three allurions in chief over a tower proper, maybe. Those are the arms of the Provence De Hautevilles. But it cannot be that. They have no chateau31 within a hundred leagues. No, I cannot tell where we are.”
He was dropping back to the floor, and put his weight upon the bar. To his amazement32, it came away in his hand.
“Look, Amos, look!” he cried.
“Ah, you’ve found it out! Well, I did that during the night.”
“And how? With your knife?”
“No; I could make no way with my knife; but when I got the bar out of the grate, I managed faster. I’ll put this one back now, or some of those folks down below may notice that we have got it loose.”
“Are they all loose?”
“Only the one at present, but we’ll get the other two out during the night. You can take that bar out and work with it, while I use my own picker at the other. You see, the stone is soft, and by grinding it you soon make a groove33 along which you can slip the bar. It will be mighty34 queer if we can’t clear a road for ourselves before morning.”
“Well, but even if we could get out into the courtyard, where could we turn to then?”
“One thing at a time, friend. You might as well stick at the Kennebec because you could not see how you would cross the Penobscot. Anyway, there is more air in the yard than in here, and when the window is clear we shall soon plan out the rest.”
The two comrades did not dare to do any work during the day, for fear they should be surprised by the jailer, or observed from without. No one came near them, but they ate their loaves and drank their water with the appetite of men who had often known what it was to be without even such simple food as that. The instant that night fell they were both up upon the pegs, grinding away at the hard stone and tugging35 at the bars. It was a rainy night, and there was a sharp thunder-storm, but they could see very well, while the shadow of the arched window prevented their being seen. Before midnight they had loosened one bar, and the other was just beginning to give, when some slight noise made them turn their heads, and there was their jailer standing36, open-mouthed in the middle of the cell, staring up at them.
It was De Catinat who observed him first, and he sprang down at him in an instant with his bar; but at his movement the man rushed for the door, and drew it after him just as the American’s tool whizzed past his ear and down the passage. As the door slammed, the two comrades looked at each other. The guardsman shrugged37 his shoulders and the other whistled.
“It is scarce worth while to go on,” said De Catinat.
“We may as well be doing that as anything else. If my picker had been an inch lower I’d have had him. Well, maybe he’ll get a stroke, or break his neck down those stairs. I’ve nothing to work with now, but a few rubs with your bar will finish the job. Ah, dear! You are right, and we are fairly treed!”
A great bell had begun to ring in the chateau, and there was a loud buzz of voices and a clatter38 of feet upon the stones. Hoarse39 orders were shouted, and there was the sound of turning keys. All this coming suddenly in the midst of the stillness of the night showed only too certainly that the alarm had been given. Amos Green threw himself down in the straw, with his hands in his pockets, and De Catinat leaned sulkily against the wall, waiting for whatever might come to him. Five minutes passed, however, and yet another five minutes, without anyone appearing. The hubbub40 in the courtyard continued, but there was no sound in the corridor which led to their cell.
“Well, I’ll have that bar out, after all,” said the American at last, rising and stepping over to the window. “Anyhow, we’ll see what all this caterwauling is about.” He climbed up on his pegs as he spoke41, and peeped out.
“Come up!” he cried excitedly to his comrade. “They’ve got some other game going on here, and they are all a deal too busy to bother their heads about us.”
De Catinat clambered up beside him, and the two stood staring down into the courtyard. A brazier had been lit at each corner, and the place was thronged42 with men, many of whom carried torches. The yellow glare played fitfully over the grim gray walls, flickering43 up sometimes until the highest turrets44 shone golden against the black sky, and then, as the wind caught them, dying away until they scarce threw a glow upon the cheek of their bearer. The main gate was open, and a carriage, which had apparently45 just driven in, was standing at a small door immediately in front of their window. The wheels and sides were brown with mud, and the two horses were reeking46 and heavy-headed, as though their journey had been both swift and long. A man wearing a plumed47 hat and enveloped in a riding-coat had stepped from the carriage, and then, turning round, had dragged a second person out after him. There was a scuffle, a cry, a push, and the two figures had vanished through the door. As it closed, the carriage drove away, the torches and braziers were extinguished, the main gate was closed once more, and all was as quiet as before this sudden interruption.
“Well!” gasped48 De Catinat. “Is this another king’s messenger they’ve got?”
“There will be lodgings49 for two more here in a short time,” said Amos Green. “If they only leave us alone, this cell won’t hold us long.”
“I wonder where that jailer has gone?”
“He may go where he likes, as long as he keeps away from here. Give me your bar again. This thing is giving. It won’t take us long to have it out.” He set to work furiously, trying to deepen the groove in the stone, through which he hoped to drag the staple50. Suddenly he ceased, and strained his ears.
“By thunder!” said he, “there’s some one working on the other side.”
They both stood listening. There were the thud of hammers, the rasping of a saw, and the clatter of wood from the other side of the wall.
“What can they be doing?”
“I can’t think.”
“Can you see them?”
“They are too near the wall.”
“I think I can manage,” said De Catinat. “I am slighter than you.” He pushed his head and neck and half of one shoulder through the gap between the bars, and there he remained until his friend thought that perhaps he had stuck, and pulled at his legs to extricate51 him. He writhed52 back, however, without any difficulty.
“They are building something,” he whispered.
“Building!”
“Yes; there are four of them, with a lantern.”
“What can they be building, then?”
“It’s a shed, I think. I can see four sockets53 in the ground, and they are fixing four uprights into them.”
“Well, we can’t get away as long as there are four men just under our window.”
“Impossible.”
“But we may as well finish our work, for all that.” The gentle scrapings of his iron were drowned amid the noise which swelled54 ever louder from without. The bar loosened at the end, and he drew it slowly towards him. At that instant, however, just as he was disengaging it, a round head appeared between him and the moonlight, a head with a great shock of tangled55 hair and a woollen cap upon the top of it. So astonished was Amos Green at the sudden apparition56 that he let go his grip upon the bar, which, falling outwards57, toppled over the edge of the window-sill.
“You great fool!” shrieked58 a voice from below, “are your fingers ever to be thumbs, then, that you should fumble59 your tools so? A thousand thunders of heaven! You have broken my shoulder.”
“What is it, then?” cried the other. “My faith, Pierre, if your fingers went as fast as your tongue, you would be the first joiner in France.”
“What is it, you ape! You have dropped your tool upon me.”
“I! I have dropped nothing.”
“Idiot! Would you have me believe that iron falls from the sky? I say that you have struck me, you foolish, clumsy-fingered lout60.”
“I have not struck you yet,” cried the other, “but, by the Virgin61, if I have more of this I will come down the ladder to you!”
“Silence, you good-for-naughts!” said a third voice sternly. “If the work be not done by daybreak, there will be a heavy reckoning for somebody.”
And again the steady hammering and sawing went forward. The head still passed and repassed, its owner walking apparently upon some platform which they had constructed beneath their window, but never giving a glance or a thought to the black square opening beside him. It was early morning, and the first cold light was beginning to steal over the courtyard, before the work was at last finished and the workmen had left. Then at last the prisoners dared to climb up and to see what it was which had been constructed during the night. It gave them a catch of the breath as they looked at it. It was a scaffold.
There it lay, the ill-omened platform of dark greasy62 boards newly fastened together, but evidently used often before for the same purpose. It was buttressed63 up against their wall, and extended a clear twenty feet out, with a broad wooden stair leading down from the further side. In the centre stood a headsman’s block, all haggled64 at the top, and smeared65 with rust-coloured stains.
“I think it is time that we left,” said Amos Green.
“Our work is all in vain, Amos,” said De Catinat sadly.
“Whatever our fate may be-and this looks ill enough—we can but submit to it like brave men.”
“Tut, man; the window is clear! Let us make a rush for it.”
“It is useless. I can see a line of armed men along the further side of the yard.”
“A line! At this hour!”
“Yes; and here come more. See, at the centre gate! Now what in the name of heaven is this?”
As he spoke the door which faced them opened and a singular procession filed out. First came two dozen footmen, walking in pairs, all carrying halberds, and clad in the same maroon-coloured liveries. After them a huge bearded man, with his tunic66 off, and the sleeves of his coarse shirt rolled up over his elbows, strode along with a great axe67 over his left shoulder. Behind him, a priest with an open missal pattered forth68 prayers, and in his shadow was a woman, clad in black, her neck bared, and a black shawl cast over her head and drooping69 in front of her bowed face. Within grip of her walked a tall, thin, fierce-faced man, with harsh red features, and a great jutting70 nose. He wore a flat velvet71 cap with a single eagle feather fastened into it by a diamond clasp, which gleamed in the morning light. But bright as was his gem72, his dark eyes were brighter still, and sparkled from under his bushy brows with a mad brilliancy which bore with it something of menace and of terror. His limbs jerked as he walked, his features twisted, and he carried himself like a man who strives hard to hold himself in when his whole soul is aflame with exultation73. Behind him again twelve more maroon-clad retainers brought up the rear of this singular procession.
The woman had faltered74 at the foot of the scaffold, but the man behind her had thrust her forward with such force that she stumbled over the lower step, and would have fallen had she not clutched at the arm of the priest. At the top of the ladder her eyes met the dreadful block, and she burst into a scream, and shrunk backwards75. But again the man thrust her on, and two of the followers76 caught her by either wrist and dragged her forwards.
“Oh, Maurice! Maurice!” she screamed. “I am not fit to die! Oh, forgive me, Maurice, as you hope for forgiveness yourself! Maurice! Maurice!” She strove to get towards him, to clutch at his wrist, at his sleeve, but he stood with his hand on his sword, gazing at her with a face which was all wreathed and contorted with merriment. At the sight of that dreadful mocking face the prayers froze upon her lips. As well pray for mercy to the dropping stone or to the rushing stream. She turned away, and threw back the mantle77 which had shrouded78 her features.
“Ah, sire!” she cried. “Sire! If you could see me now!”
And at the cry and at the sight of that fair pale face, De Catinat, looking down from the window, was stricken as though by a dagger79; for there, standing beside the headsman’s block, was she who had been the most powerful, as well as the wittiest80 and the fairest, of the women of France—none other than Francoise de Montespan, so lately the favourite of the king.
点击收听单词发音
1 curt | |
adj.简短的,草率的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 caressingly | |
爱抚地,亲切地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 jug | |
n.(有柄,小口,可盛水等的)大壶,罐,盂 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 soothingly | |
adv.抚慰地,安慰地;镇痛地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 scout | |
n.童子军,侦察员;v.侦察,搜索 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 trout | |
n.鳟鱼;鲑鱼(属) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 latch | |
n.门闩,窗闩;弹簧锁 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 spun | |
v.纺,杜撰,急转身 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 capering | |
v.跳跃,雀跃( caper的现在分词 );蹦蹦跳跳 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 sneered | |
讥笑,冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 persuasions | |
n.劝说,说服(力)( persuasion的名词复数 );信仰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 drooped | |
弯曲或下垂,发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 enveloped | |
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 dungeon | |
n.地牢,土牢 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 dozing | |
v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 sinister | |
adj.不吉利的,凶恶的,左边的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 accounting | |
n.会计,会计学,借贷对照表 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 pegs | |
n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 );挂钉;系帐篷的桩;弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 );使固定在某水平 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 peg | |
n.木栓,木钉;vt.用木钉钉,用短桩固定 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 rusted | |
v.(使)生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 whittled | |
v.切,削(木头),使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 mallet | |
n.槌棒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 slab | |
n.平板,厚的切片;v.切成厚板,以平板盖上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 chateau | |
n.城堡,别墅 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 groove | |
n.沟,槽;凹线,(刻出的)线条,习惯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 tugging | |
n.牵引感v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 shrugged | |
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 clatter | |
v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 hoarse | |
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 hubbub | |
n.嘈杂;骚乱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 spoke | |
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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 thronged | |
v.成群,挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 flickering | |
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 turrets | |
(六角)转台( turret的名词复数 ); (战舰和坦克等上的)转动炮塔; (摄影机等上的)镜头转台; (旧时攻城用的)塔车 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 reeking | |
v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 plumed | |
饰有羽毛的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 gasped | |
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 lodgings | |
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 staple | |
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 extricate | |
v.拯救,救出;解脱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 writhed | |
(因极度痛苦而)扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 sockets | |
n.套接字,使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 );孔( socket的名词复数 );(电器上的)插口;托座;凹穴 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 swelled | |
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 apparition | |
n.幽灵,神奇的现象 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 outwards | |
adj.外面的,公开的,向外的;adv.向外;n.外形 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 shrieked | |
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 fumble | |
vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等,摸索 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 lout | |
n.粗鄙的人;举止粗鲁的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 greasy | |
adj. 多脂的,油脂的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 buttressed | |
v.用扶壁支撑,加固( buttress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 haggled | |
v.讨价还价( haggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 smeared | |
弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 tunic | |
n.束腰外衣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 axe | |
n.斧子;v.用斧头砍,削减 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 drooping | |
adj. 下垂的,无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 jutting | |
v.(使)突出( jut的现在分词 );伸出;(从…)突出;高出 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 gem | |
n.宝石,珠宝;受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 exultation | |
n.狂喜,得意 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 faltered | |
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 shrouded | |
v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 );保密 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 dagger | |
n.匕首,短剑,剑号 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 wittiest | |
机智的,言辞巧妙的,情趣横生的( witty的最高级 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |