第77章 MEN CALL IT CHANCE.(3)

I thought the matter over and discussed it with him;and was heartily minded to punish M.de Bruhl,if I could discover a way of turning his treacherous plot against himself.But the lack of any precise knowledge of his plans prevented me stirring in the matter;the more as I felt no certainty that I should be master of my actions when the time came.

Strange to say the discovery of this movement on the part of Bruhl,who had sedulously kept himself in the background since the scene in the king's presence,far from increasing my anxieties,had the effect of administering a fillip to my spirits;which the cold and unyielding pressure of the Jacobin had reduced to a low point.Here was something I could understand,resist,and guard against.The feeling that I had once more to do with a man of like aims and passions with myself quickly restored me to the use of my faculties;as I have heard that a swordsman opposed to the powers of evil regains his vigour on finding himself engaged with a mortal foe.Though I knew that the hours of grace were fast running to a close,and that on the morrow the priest would call for an answer,I experienced that evening an,unreasonable lightness and cheerfulness.I retired to rest with confidence,and slept is comfort,supported in part,perhaps,by the assurance that in that room where my mother died her persecutor could have no power to harm me.

Upon Simon Fleix,on the other hand,the discovery that Bruhl was moving,and that consequently peril threatened us from a new quarter,had a different effect.He fell into a state of extreme excitement,and spent the evening and a great part of the night in walking restlessly up and down the room,wrestling with the fears and anxieties which beset us,and now talking fast to himself,now biting his nails in an agony of impatience.In vain I adjured him not to meet troubles halfway;or,pointing to the pallet which he occupied at the foot of my couch,bade him,if he could not devise a way of escape,at least to let the matter rest until morning.He had no power to obey,but,tortured by the vivid anticipations which it was his nature to entertain,he continued to ramble to and fro in a fever of the nerves,and had no sooner lain down than be was up again.Remembering,however,how well he had borne himself on the night of mademoiselle's escape from Blois,I refrained from calling him a coward;and contented myself instead with the reflection that nothing sits worse on a fighting-man than too much knowledge--except,perhaps,a lively imagination.

I thought it possible that mademoiselle might arrive next day before Father Antoine called to receive his answer.In this event I hoped to have the support of Maignan's experience.But the party did not arrive.I had to rely on myself and my own resources,and,this being so,determined to refuse the priest's offer,but in all other things to be guided by circumstances.

About noon he came,attended,as was his practice,by two friends,whom he left outside.He looked paler and more shadowy than before,I thought,his hands thinner,and his cheeks more transparent.I could draw no good augury,however,from these,signs of frailty,for the brightness of his eyes and the unusual elation of his manner told plainly of a spirit assured of the mastery.He entered the room with an air of confidence,and addressed me in a tone of patronage which left me in no doubt of his intentions;the frankness with which he now laid bare his plans going far to prove that already he considered me no better than his tool.

I did not at once undeceive him,but allowed him to proceed,and even to bring out the five hundred crowns which he had promised me,and the sight of which he doubtless supposed would clench the matter.

Seeing this he became still less reticent,and spoke so largely that I presently felt myself impelled to ask him if he would answer a question.

'That is as may be,M.de Marsac,'he answered lightly.'You may ask it.'

'You hint at great schemes which you have in hand,father,'Isaid.'You speak of France and Spain and Navarre,and kings and Leagues and cardinals!You talk of secret strings,and would have me believe that if I comply with your wishes I shall find you as powerful a patron as M.de Rosny.But--one moment,if you please,'I continued hastily,seeing that he was about to interrupt me with such eager assurances as I had already heard;'tell me this.With so many irons in the fire,why did you interfere with one old gentlewoman--for the sake of a few crowns?"'I will tell you even that,'he answered,his face flushing at my tone.'Have you ever heard of an elephant?Yes.Well,it has a trunk,you know,with which it can either drag an oak from the earth or lift a groat from the ground.It is so with me.But again you ask,'he continued with an airy grimace,'why I wanted a few crowns.Enough that I did.There are going to be two things in the world,and two only,M.de Marsac:brains and money.The former I have,and had:the latter I needed--and took.'

'Money and brains?'I said,looking at him thoughtfully.

'Yes,'he answered,his eyes sparkling,his thin nostrils beginning to dilate.'Give me these two,and I will rule France!'

'You will rule France?'I exclaimed,amazed beyond measure by his audacity.'You,man?'