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第39章

el dorado-第39章

小说: el dorado 字数: 每页4000字

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Smiling; urbane; with a curious look that almost expressed
amusement lurking in his shrewd; pale eyes; Chauvelin handed the
momentous document to Armand。

The young man studied it very carefully before he slipped it into
the inner pocket of his coat。

〃How soon shall I have news of Mademoiselle Lange?〃 he asked
finally。

〃In the course of to…morrow。  I myself will call on you and redeem
that precious document in person。  You; on the other hand; will
hold yourself at my disposition。  That's understood; is it not?〃

〃I shall not fail you。  My lodgings are〃

〃Oh! do not trouble;〃 interposed Chauvelin; with a polite bow; 〃we
can find that out for ourselves。〃

Heron had taken no part in this colloquy。  Now that Armand
prepared to go he made no attempt to detain him; or to question
his colleague's actions。  He sat by the table like a log; his mind
was obviously a blank to all else save to his own terrors
engendered by the events of this night。

With bleary; half…veiled eyes he followed Armand's progress
through the room; and seemed unaware of the loud slamming of the
outside door。  Chauvelin had escorted the young man past the first
line of sentry; then he took cordial leave of him。

〃Your certificate will; you will find; open every gate to you。
Good…night; citizen。  A demain。〃

〃Good…night。〃

Armand's slim figure disappeared in the gloom。 Chauvelin watched
him for a few moments until even his footsteps had died away in
the distance; then he turned back towards Heron's lodgings。

〃A nous deux;〃 he muttered between tightly clenched teeth; 〃a nous
deux once more; my enigmatical Scarlet Pimpernel。〃



CHAPTER XXI
BACK TO PARIS

It was an exceptionally dark night; and the rain was falling in
torrents。  Sir Andrew Ffoulkes; wrapped in a piece of sacking; had
taken shelter right underneath the coal…cart; even then he was
getting wet through to the skin。

He had worked hard for two days coal…heaving; and the night before
he had found a cheap; squalid lodging where at any rate he was
protected from the inclemencies of the weather; but to…night he
was expecting Blakeney at the appointed hour and place。  He had
secured a cart of the ordinary ramshackle pattern used for
carrying coal。  Unfortunately there were no covered ones to be
obtained in the neighbourhood; and equally unfortunately the thaw
had set in with a blustering wind and diving rain; which made
waiting in the open air for hours at a stretch and in complete
darkness excessively unpleasant。

But for all these discomforts Sir Andrew Ffoulkes cared not one
jot。  In England; in his magnificent Suffolk home; he was a
confirmed sybarite; in whose service every description of comfort
and luxury had to be enrolled。  Here tonight in the rough and
tattered clothes of a coal…heaver; drenched to the skin; and
crouching under the body of a cart that hardly sheltered him from
the rain; he was as happy as a schoolboy out for a holiday。

Happy; but vaguely anxious。

He had no means of ascertaining the time。  So many of the
church…bells and clock towers had been silenced recently that not
one of those welcome sounds penetrated to the dreary desolation of
this canal wharf; with its abandoned carts standing ghostlike in a
row。  Darkness had set in very early in the afternoon; and the
heavers had given up work soon after four o'clock。

For about an hour after that a certain animation had still reigned
round the wharf; men crossing and going; one or two of the barges
moving in or out alongside the quay。  But for some time now
darkness and silence had been the masters in this desolate spot;
and that time had seemed to Sir Andrew an eternity。  He had
hobbled and tethered his horse; and stretched himself out at full
length under the cart。  Now and again he had crawled out from
under this uncomfortable shelter and walked up and down in
ankle…deep mud; trying to restore circulation in his stiffened
limbs; now and again a kind of torpor had come over him; and he
had fallen into a brief and restless sleep。  He would at this
moment have given half his fortune for knowledge of the exact
time。

But through all this weary waiting he was never for a moment in
doubt。  Unlike Armand St。 Just; he had the simplest; most perfect
faith in his chief。  He had been Blakeney's constant companion in
all these adventures for close upon four years now; the thought of
failure; however vague; never once entered his mind。

He was only anxious for his chief's welfare。  He knew that he
would succeed; but he would have liked to have spared him much of
the physical fatigue and the nerve…racking strain of these hours
that lay between the daring deed and the hope of safety。
Therefore he was conscious of an acute tingling of his nerves;
which went on even during the brief patches of fitful sleep; and
through the numbness that invaded his whole body while the hours
dragged wearily and slowly along。

Then; quite suddenly; he felt wakeful and alert; quite a
whileeven before he heard the welcome signalhe knew; with a
curious; subtle sense of magnetism; that the hour had come; and
that his chief was somewhere near by; not very far。

Then he heard the crya seamew's callrepeated thrice at
intervals; and five minutes later something loomed out of the
darkness quite close to the hind wheels of the cart。

〃Hist!  Ffoulkes!〃 came in a soft whisper; scarce louder than the
wind。

〃Present!〃 came in quick response。

〃Here; help me to lift the child into the cart。  He is asleep; and
has been a dead weight on my arm for close on an hour now。  Have
you a dry bit of sacking or something to lay him on?〃

〃Not very dry; I am afraid。〃

With tender care the two men lifted the sleeping little King of
France into the rickety cart。  Blakeney laid his cloak over him;
and listened for awhile to the slow regular breathing of the
child。

〃St。 Just is not hereyou know that?〃 said Sir Andrew after a
while。

〃Yes; I knew it;〃 replied Blakeney curtly。

It was characteristic of these two men that not a word about the
adventure itself; about the terrible risks and dangers of the past
few hours; was exchanged between them。  The child was here and was
safe; and Blakeney knew the whereabouts of St。 Justthat was
enough for Sir Andrew Ffoulkes; the most devoted follower; the
most perfect friend the Scarlet Pimpernel would ever know。

Ffoulkes now went to the horse; detached the nose…bag; and undid
the nooses of the hobble and of the tether。

〃Will you get in now; Blakeney?〃 he said; 〃we are ready。〃

And in unbroken silence they both got into the cart; Blakeney
sitting on its floor beside the child; and Ffoulkes gathering the
reins in his hands。

The wheels of the cart and the slow jog…trot of the horse made
scarcely any noise in the mud of the roads; what noise they did
make was effectually drowned by the soughing of the wind in the
bare branches of the stunted acacia trees that edged the towpath
along the line of the canal。

Sir Andrew had studied the topography of this desolate
neighbourhood well during the past twenty…four hours; he knew of a
detour that would enable him to avoid the La Villette gate and the
neighbourhood of the fortifications; and yet bring him out soon on
the road leading to St。 Germain。

Once he turned to ask Blakeney the time。

〃It must be close on ten now;〃 replied Sir Percy。 〃Push your nag
along; old man。  Tony and Hastings will be waiting for us。〃

It was very difficult to see clearly even a metre or two ahead;
but the road was a straight one; and the old nag seemed to know it
almost as well and better than her driver。 She shambled along at
her own pace; covering the ground very slowly for Ffoulkes's
burning impatience。  Once or twice he had to get down and lead her
over a rough piece of ground。  They passed several groups of
dismal; squalid houses; in some of which a dim light still burned;
and as they skirted St。 Ouen the church clock slowly tolled the
hour of midnight。

But for the greater part of the way derelict; uncultivated spaces
of terrains vagues; and a few isolated houses lay between the road
and the fortifications of the city。  The darkness of the night;
the lat

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