Eleven o'clock had just struck.
A mounted courier, who followed the carriage, leaped hastily to the ground as it stopped, and opened the door.
A woman hurriedly alighted, looked up at the sky, which was all ablaze2 with a bright red light, and listened to the distant shouts and noises.
"You are sure," said she to the maid who alighted after her, "that we have not been followed?"
"No, madame; the two outriders who remained behind at madame's command, have just come up with the carriage, and they have not seen or heard anything."
"Do not you hear anything in the direction of the city?"
"It seems to me that I hear shouting in the distance."
"Do you see nothing?"
"I see something like the reflection of a fire."
"Those are torches."
"Yes, madame, yes, for they move about and dance up and down like wills o' the wisp; do you hear how much louder and more distinct the shouts seem to grow, madame?"
"Mon Dieu!" faltered3 the young woman, falling on her knees upon the damp soil; "mon Dieu! mon Dieu!"
It was her only prayer. A single word presented itself to her mind; her lips could pronounce no other; it was the name of him who alone could perform a miracle in her favor.
The maid was not mistaken. Torches were waving and the cries seemed to be coming nearer; a musket4-shot rang out, followed by fifty others and by a tremendous uproar5; then the torches vanished and the shouts receded6; a storm was rumbling7 overhead, the rain began to fall; but what cared Nanon for that? It was not the lightning of which she was afraid.
Her eyes were constantly fixed8 upon the spot where she had heard so great a tumult9. She could no longer see or hear anything at that spot, and it seemed to her in the glare of the lightning that the square was empty.
"Oh! I haven't the strength to wait here any longer," she cried. "To Bordeaux! take me to Bordeaux!"
Suddenly she heard the sound of horses' footsteps rapidly approaching.
"Ah! they are coming at last," she cried. "Here they are! Adieu, Finette, I must go alone; take her up behind you, Lombard, and leave in the carriage everything that I brought."
"But what do you mean to do, madame, in God's name?" cried the terrified maid.
"Adieu, Finette; adieu!"
"But why, adieu, madame? Where are you going?"
"I am going to Bordeaux."
"Oh! don't do that, madame, in heaven's name! they will kill you."
"Very good! for what purpose do you suppose that I am going thither10?"
"Oh! madame! Help, Lombard! help me prevent madame—"
"Hush11! leave me, Finette. I have remembered you, never fear: go; I do not wish that any harm should befall you. Obey me! They are coming nearer, here they are."
As she spoke12 a man galloped13 up to the carriage, followed at some little distance by another horseman; his horse was roaring rather than breathing.
"Sister! sister!" he cried. "Ah! I come in time!"
"Cauvignac!" cried Nanon. "Well, is it all arranged? Is he awaiting me? Shall we go?"
But, instead of replying, Cauvignac leaped down from his horse, and seized Nanon in his arms. She allowed him to do as he pleased, with the stiff inertness15 of ghosts and fools. He placed her in the carriage, bade Lombard and Francinette take their places beside her, closed the door, and leaped upon his horse. In vain did poor Nanon, once more in possession of her faculties16, shriek17 and struggle.
"Do not release her," said Cauvignac: "whatever happens do not release her. Keep the other door, Barrabas, and do you, coachman, keep your horses on the gallop14 or I'll blow your brains out."
These orders followed one another so rapidly that there was a moment's delay in putting them in execution; the carriage was slow to move, the servants were trembling with apprehension18, even the horses seemed to hesitate.
"Look alive there, ten thousand devils!" shouted Cauvignac; "they are coming! they are coming!"
In the distance could be heard the hoof-beats of many horses, approaching rapidly with a noise like thunder.
Fear is contagious19. The coachman, at Cauvignac's threat, realized that some great danger was impending20, and seized the reins21.
"Where are we going?" he faltered.
"To Bordeaux! to Bordeaux!" cried Nanon from within the carriage.
"To Libourne, ten thousand furies!" cried Cauvignac.
"Monsieur, the horses will fall before they have gone two leagues."
"I don't ask them to go so far!" retorted Cauvignac, spurring them with his sword. "Let them hold out as far as Ferguzon's camp, that's all I ask."
The heavy vehicle thereupon set forth22 at a terrifying pace. Men and horses, sweating, gasping23, bleeding, urged one another on, the first by their shouts, the others by their loud neighing.
Nanon tried to resist, to free herself, to leap down from the carriage, but she exhausted24 her strength in the struggle, and soon fell back utterly25 worn out; she was no longer conscious of what was taking place. By dint26 of seeking to distinguish Cauvignac amid the hurly-burly of fleeing shadows, her head went round and round; she closed her eyes with a despairing cry, and lay cold and motionless in her maid's arms.
Cauvignac rode forward to the horses' heads. His horse left a trail of fire along the road.
"Help, Ferguzon! help!" he cried.
His call was answered by a cheer in the distance.
"Demons27 of hell," cried Cauvignac, "you are playing against me, but I believe, upon my soul, that you will lose again to-day. Ferguzon! Ferguzon! help!"
Two or three musket shots rang out in their rear, and were answered by a general discharge from in front.
The carriage came to a stand-still; two of the horses fell from exhaustion28, and a third was struck by a bullet.
Ferguzon and his men fell upon the troops of Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld; as they outnumbered them three to one, the Bordelais soon found it hopeless to continue the struggle; they turned tail and fled, and victors and vanquished29, pursuers and pursued, vanished in the darkness like a cloud driven by the wind.
Cauvignac remained with the footmen and Francinette beside the insensible Nanon. Luckily they were within a hundred yards of the village of Carbonblanc. Cauvignac carried Nanon in his arms as far as the first house; and there, having given orders to bring up the carriage, placed his sister upon a bed, and, taking from his breast an object which Francinette could not distinguish, slipped it into the poor woman's clenched30 hand.
The next morning, on awaking from what she thought at first was a frightful31 dream, Nanon put her hand to her face, and felt something soft and silky caress32 her pale cheeks. It was a lock of Canolles' hair which Cauvignac had heroically rescued, at the peril33 of his life, from the Bordelais tigers.
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收听单词发音
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1
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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2
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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3
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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4
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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5
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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6
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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7
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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8
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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9
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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10
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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11
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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12
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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13
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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14
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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15
inertness
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| n.不活泼，没有生气；惰性；惯量 | |
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16
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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17
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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18
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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19
contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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20
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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21
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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22
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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23
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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24
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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25
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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26
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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27
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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28
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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29
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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30
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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31
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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32
caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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33
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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