And, indeed, what he had seen was enough to fill any man with amazement7. Out of the small square window which faced him a man had suddenly shot head-foremost, pitching on to his outstretched hands and then bounding to his feet. Within a foot of his heels came the head of a second one, who fell more heavily than the first, and yet recovered himself as quickly. The one wore the blue coat with silver facings of the king’s guard; the second had the dark coat and clean-shaven face of a man of peace; but each carried a short rusty8 iron bar in his hand. Not a word did either of them say, but the soldier took two quick steps forward and struck at the headsman while he was still poising9 himself for a blow at the victim. There was a thud, with a crackle like a breaking egg, and the bar flew into pieces. The heads-man gave a dreadful cry, and dropped his axe, clapped his two hands to his head, and running zigzag10 across the scaffold, fell over, a dead man, into the courtyard beneath.
Quick as a flash De Catinat had caught up the axe, and faced De Montespan with the heavy weapon slung11 over his shoulder and a challenge in his eyes.
“Now!” said he.
The seigneur had for the instant been too astounded12 to speak. Now he understood at least that these strangers had come between him and his prey13.
“Seize these men!” he shrieked14, turning to his followers15.
“One moment!” cried De Catinat, with a voice and manner which commanded attention. “You see by my coat what I am. I am the body-servant of the king. Who touches me touches him. Have a care for yourselves. It is a dangerous game!”
“On, you cowards!” roared De Montespan.
But the men-at-arms hesitated, for the fear of the king was as a great shadow which hung over all France. De Catinat saw their indecision, and he followed up his advantage.
“This woman,” he cried, “is the king’s own favourite, and if any harm come to a lock of her hair, I tell you that there is not a living soul within this portcullis who will not die a death of torture. Fools, will you gasp16 out your lives upon the rack, or writhe17 in boiling oil, at the bidding of this madman?”
“Who are these men, Marceau?” cried the seigneur furiously.
“They are prisoners, your excellency.”
“Prisoners! Whose prisoners?”
“Yours, your excellency.”
“Who ordered you to detain them?”
“You did. The escort brought your signet-ring.”
“I never saw the men. There is devilry in this. But they shall not beard me in my own castle, nor stand between me and my own wife. No, par18 dieu! they shall not and live! You men, Marceau, Etienne, Gilbert, Jean, Pierre, all you who have eaten my bread, on to them, I say!”
He glanced round with furious eyes, but they fell only upon hung heads and averted19 faces. With a hideous20 curse he flashed out his sword and rushed at his wife, who knelt half insensible beside the block. De Catinat sprang between them to protect her; but Marceau, the bearded seneschal, had already seized his master round the waist. With the strength of a maniac21, his teeth clenched22 and the foam23 churning from the corners of his lips, De Montespan writhed24 round in the man’s grasp, and shortening his sword, he thrust it through the brown beard and deep into the throat behind it. Marceau fell back with a choking cry, the blood bubbling from his mouth and his wound; but before his murderer could disengage his weapon, De Catinat and the American, aided by a dozen of the retainers, had dragged him down on to the scaffold, and Amos Green had pinioned25 him so securely that he could but move his eyes and his lips, with which he lay glaring and spitting at them. So savage26 were his own followers against him—for Marceau was well loved amongst them— that, with axe and block so ready, justice might very swiftly have had her way, had not a long clear bugle-call, rising and falling in a thousand little twirls and flourishes, clanged out suddenly in the still morning air. De Catinat pricked27 up his ears at the sound of it like a hound at the huntsman’s call.
“Did you hear, Amos?”
“It was a trumpet28.”
“It was the guards’ bugle-call. You, there, hasten to the gate! Throw up the portcullis and drop the drawbridge! Stir yourselves, or even now you may suffer for your master’s sins! It has been a narrow escape, Amos!”
“You may say so, friend. I saw him put out his hand to her hair, even as you sprang from the window. Another instant and he would have had her scalped. But she is a fair woman, the fairest that ever my eyes rested upon, and it is not fit that she should kneel here upon these boards.” He dragged her husband’s long black cloak from him, and made a pillow for the senseless woman with a tenderness and delicacy29 which came strangely from a man of his build and bearing.
He was still stooping over her when there came the clang of the falling bridge, and an instant later the clatter30 of the hoofs31 of a troop of cavalry32, who swept with wave of plumes33, toss of manes, and jingle34 of steel into the courtyard. At the head was a tall horseman in the full dress of the guards, with a curling feather in his hat, high buff gloves, and his sword gleaming in the sunlight. He cantered forward towards the scaffold, his keen dark eyes taking in every detail of the group which awaited him there. De Catinat’s face brightened at the sight of him, and he was down in an instant beside his stirrup.
“De Brissac!”
“De Catinat! Now where in the name of wonder did you come from?”
“I have been a prisoner. Tell me, De Brissac, did you leave the message in Paris?”
“Certainly I did.”
“And the archbishop came?”
“He did.”
“And the marriage?”
“Took place as arranged. That is why this poor woman whom I see yonder has had to leave the palace.”
“I thought as much.”
“I trust that no harm has come to her?”
“My friend and I were just in time to save her. Her husband lies there. He is a fiend, De Brissac.”
“Very likely; but an angel might have grown bitter had he had the same treatment.”
“We have him pinioned here. He has slain35 a man, and I have slain another.”
“On my word, you have been busy.”
“How did you know that we were here?”
“Nay, that is an unexpected pleasure.”
“You did not come for us, then?”
“No; we came for the lady.”
“And how did this fellow get hold of her?”
“Her brother was to have taken her in his carriage. Her husband learned it, and by a lying message he coaxed36 her into his own, which was at another door. When De Vivonne found that she did not come, and that her rooms were empty, he made inquiries37, and soon learned how she had gone. De Montespan’s arms had been seen on the panel, and so the king sent me here with my troop as fast as we could gallop38.”
“Ah, and you would have come too late had a strange chance not brought us here. I know not who it was who waylaid39 us, for this man seemed to know nothing of the matter. However, all that will be clearer afterwards. What is to be done now?”
“I have my own orders. Madame is to be sent to Petit Bourg, and any who are concerned in offering her violence are to be kept until the king’s pleasure is known. The castle, too, must be held for the king. But you, De Catinat, you have nothing to do now?”
“Nothing, save that I would like well to ride into Paris to see that all is right with my uncle and his daughter.”
“Ah, that sweet little cousin of thine! By my soul, I do not wonder that the folk know you well in the Rue40 St. Martin. Well, I have carried a message for you once, and you shall do as much for me now.”
“With all my heart. And whither?”
“To Versailles. The king will be on fire to know how we have fared. You have the best right to tell him, since without you and your friend yonder it would have been but a sorry tale.”
“I will be there in two hours.”
“Have you horses?”
“Ours were slain.”
“You will find some in the stables here. Pick the best, since you have lost your own in the king’s service.”
The advice was too good to be overlooked. De Catinat, beckoning41 to Amos Green, hurried away with him to the stables, while De Brissac, with a few short sharp orders, disarmed42 the retainers, stationed his guardsmen all over the castle, and arranged for the removal of the lady, and for the custody43 of her husband. An hour later the two friends were riding swiftly down the country road, inhaling44 the sweet air, which seemed the fresher for their late experience of the dank, foul45 vapours of their dungeon. Far behind them a little dark pinnacle46 jutting47 over a grove48 of trees marked the chateau49 which they had left, while on the extreme horizon to the west there came a quick shimmer50 and sparkle where the level rays of the early sun gleamed upon the magnificent palace which was their goal.
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1
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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poising
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| 使平衡( poise的现在分词 )； 保持（某种姿势）； 抓紧； 使稳定 | |
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zigzag
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| n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行 | |
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slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pinioned
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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jingle
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| n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵 | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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36
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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41
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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42
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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inhaling
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| v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 ) | |
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45
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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46
pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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47
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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48
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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49
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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50
shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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