The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Thin Red Line; and Blue Blood, by Arthur Griffiths This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Thin Red Line; and Blue Blood Author: Arthur Griffiths Release Date: December 31, 2005 [eBook #17434] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE THIN RED LINE; AND BLUE BLOOD*** E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/) THE THIN RED LINE. BY ARTHUR GRIFFITHS, AUTHOR OF "THE CHRONICLES OF NEWGATE," "FAST AND LOOSE," ETC., ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES. LONDON: CHAPMAN and HALL Limited 1886 VOL. I CONTENTS OF VOL. I. PAGE CHAPTER I. THE COMMISSARY IS CALLED 1 CHAPTER II. ARREST AND INTERROGATION 9 CHAPTER III. THE MOUSETRAP 18 CHAPTER IV. A SPIDER'S WEB 29 CHAPTER V. THE WAR FEVER 40 CHAPTER VI. ON DANGEROUS GROUND 50 CHAPTER VII. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 59 CHAPTER VIII. A SOUTHERN PEARL 70 CHAPTER IX. OFF TO THE WARS 79 CHAPTER X. A GENERAL ACTION 91 CHAPTER XI. AFTER THE BATTLE 112 CHAPTER XII. CATCHING A TARTAR 121 CHAPTER XIII. "NOT WAR" 132 CHAPTER XIV. THE GOLDEN HORN 152 CHAPTER XV. THE LAST OF LORD LYDSTONE 164 CHAPTER XVI. HARD POUNDING 177 CHAPTER XVII. A COSTLY VICTORY 190 CHAPTER XVIII. A NOVEMBER GALE 209 CHAPTER XIX. UNCLE AND NEPHEW 221 CHAPTER XX. RED TAPE 231 CHAPTER XXI. AGAIN ON THE ROCK 242 CHAPTER XXII. MR. HOBSON CALLS 252 CHAPTER XXIII. WAR TO THE KNIFE 260 CHAPTER XXIV. MOTHER CHARCOAL'S 269 VOL.II. CONTENTS OF VOL. II. CHAPTER I. SECRET SERVICE 1 CHAPTER II. AMONG THE COSSACKS 11 CHAPTER III. A PURVEYOR OF NEWS 30 CHAPTER IV. IN WHITEHALL 41 CHAPTER V. MR. FAULKS TALKS 50 CHAPTER VI. MARIQUITA'S QUEST 61 CHAPTER VII. INSIDE THE FORTRESS 77 CHAPTER VIII. FROM THE DEAD 86 CHAPTER IX. IN PARIS 96 CHAPTER X. SUSPENSE 117 CHAPTER XI. AMONG FRIENDS AGAIN 128 CHAPTER XII. IN LINCOLN'S INN 138 CHAPTER XIII. HUSBAND AND WIFE 146 CHAPTER XIV. THE SCALES REMOVED 152 CHAPTER XV. L'ENVOI 159 BLUE BLOOD 167 THE THIN RED LINE. VOLUME I CHAPTER I. THE COMMISSARY IS CALLED. [1] In the Paris of the first half of this century there was no darker, dingier, or more forbidding quarter than that which lay north of the Rue de Rivoli, round about the great central market, commonly called the Halles. The worst part of it, perhaps, was the Rue Assiette d'Etain, or Tinplate Street. All day evil-looking loafers lounged about its doorways, nodding lazily to the passing workmen, who, blue-bloused, with silk cap on head, each with his loa under his arm, came to take their meals at the wine-shop at the corner; or gossiping with the porters, male and female, while the one followed closely his usual trade as a cobbler, and the other attended to her soup. By day there was little traffic. Occasionally a long dray, on a gigantic pair of wheels, drawn by a long string of white Normandy horses in single file, with blue harness and jangling bells, filled up the roadway. Costermongers trundled their barrows along with strange, unmusical cries. Now and again an empty cab returning to its stable, with weary horse and semi-somnolent coachman, crawled through the street. But at night it was otherwise. Many vehicles came dashing down Tinplate Street: carriages, public and private, of every variety, from the rattletrap cab hired off the stand, or the decent coach from the livery stable, to the smart spick-and- span brougham, with its well-appointed horses and servants in neat livery. They all set down at the same door, and took up from it at any hour between midnight and dawn, waiting patiently in file in the wide street round the corner, till the summons came as each carriage was required. As seen in the daytime, there was nothing strange about the door, or the house to which it gave access. The place purported to be an hotel—a seedy, out-at-elbows, seemingly little-frequented hotel, rejoicing in the altogether inappropriate name of the Hôtel Paradis, or the Paradise Hotel. Its outward appearance was calculated to repel rather than invite customers; no one would be likely to lodge there who could go elsewhere. It had habitually a deserted look, with all its blinds and casements close shut, as though its lodgers slept through the day, or had gone away, never to return. But this was only by day. At night the street-door stood wide open, and a porter was on duty at the foot of the staircase within. He was on the inner side of a stout oaken door, in which was a small window, opening with a trap. Through this he reconnoitred all arrivals, taking stock of their appearance, and only giving admission when satisfied as to what he saw. The Hôtel Paradis, in plain English, was a gambling-house, largely patronised, yet with an evil reputation. It was well known to, and constantly watched by, the police, who were always at hand, although they seldom interfered with the hotel. But when the porter's wife came shrieking into the street early one summer's morning, with wildest terror depicted in her face, and shaking like a jelly, the police felt bound to come to the front. "Has madame seen a ghost?" asked a stern official in a cocked hat and sword, accosting her abruptly. "No, no! Fetch the commissary, quick! A crime has been committed—a terrible crime!" she gasped. This was business, and the police-officer knew what he had to do. "Run, Jules," he said to a colleague. "You know where M. Bontoux lives. Tell him he is wanted at the Hôtel Paradis." Then, turning to the woman, he said, "Now, madame, explain yourself." "It is a murder, I am afraid. A gentleman has been stabbed." "What gentleman? Where?" "In the drawing-room, upstairs. I don't know his name, but he came here frequently. My husband will perhaps be able to tell you; he is there." "Lead on," said the police-officer; "take me to the place. I will see to it myself." They passed into the hotel through the inner portal, and up the stairs to the first floor, where the principal rooms were situated—three of them furnished and decorated magnificently, altogether out of keeping with the miserable exterior of the house, having enormous mirrors from ceiling to floor, gilt cornices, damask hangings, marble console tables, and chairs and sofas in marqueterie and buhl. The first room evidently served for reception; there was a sideboard in one corner, on which were the remains of a succulent repast, and dozens of empty bottles. The second and third rooms were more especially devoted to the business of the establishment. Long tables, covered with green cloth, filled up the centre of each, and were strewed with cards, dice and their boxes, croupier's rakes, and other implements of gaming. The third room had been the scene of the crime. There upon the floor lay the body of a man, a well-dressed man, wearing the white kerseymere trousers, the light waistcoat, and long-tailed green coat which were then in vogue. His clothes were all spotted and bedrabbled with gore; his shirt was torn open, and plainly revealed the great gaping wound from which his life's blood was quickly ebbing away. The wounded man's head rested on the knee of the night porter, a personage wearing a kind of livery, a strongly built, truculent-looking villain, whose duties, no doubt, comprised the putting of people out as well as the letting them into the house. [2] [3] [4] [5] "Oh, Anatole! my cherished one!" began the porter's wife. "Here are the police. Tell us then, how this occurred." "I will tell all I know," replied her husband, looking at the police-officer. "This morning, when the clients had nearly all gone, and I was sitting half asleep in the lodge, I heard—" "Stop," said the police-officer, "not another word. Keep all you have to say for the commissary. He is already on the stairs." The next minute M. Bontoux entered, accompanied by his clerk and the official doctor of the quarter. "A crime," said the commissary, slowly, and with as much dignity as was possible in a middle-aged gentleman pulled from his bed at daybreak, and compelled to dress in a hurry. "A crime," he repeated. "Of that there can be no doubt. But let us establish the fact formally. Where are the witnesses?" The porter, having relinquished the care of the wounded man to the doctor, stood up slowly and saluted the commissary. "Very well; tell us what you know. Sit down"—this to the clerk. "Produce your writing-materials and prepare the report." "It must have been about four this morning, but I was very drowsy, and the gentlemen had nearly all gone," said the night porter, speaking fluently, "when I was disturbed by the noise of a quarrel, a fight, up here in the principal drawing- room. While I was still rubbing my eyes, for I was very drowsy, and fancied I was dreaming, I heard a scream, a second, and a third, followed by a heavy fall on the floor. I rushed upstairs then, and found this poor gentleman as you see him." "Alone?" "Quite alone." "But there must have been other people here. Did they come down the stairs past you?" "No, sir; they must have escaped by that window. It was open—" The commissary looked at the police-officer, who nodded intelligently. "I had already noticed it, Mr. Commissary. The window gives upon a low roof, which communicates with the back street. Escape would be quite easy from that side." "Well," said the commissary, "and you found this gentleman? Do you know him? His name? Have you ever seen him before?" "He is M. le Baron d'Enot; he is a constant visitor at the house. Very fortunate, I believe, and I heard he won largely last night." "Ah!" said the commissary. This fact was important, as affording a reason for the crime. "And do you suspect any one? Have you any idea who was here at the last?" "I scarcely noticed the gentlemen as they went away; it would be impossible for me, therefore, to say who remained." "Then there is no clue—" "Hush! Mr. Commissary." It was the doctor's exclamation. "The victim is still alive, and is trying, I think, to speak." Evidence given at the point of death has extreme value in every country, under every kind of law. The commissary therefore bent his head, closely attentive to catch any words the dying man might utter. "Water! water!" he gasped out. "Revenge me; it was a foul and cowardly blow." "Who struck you, can you tell us? Do you know him?" inquired the commissary, eagerly. "Yes. I—know—" The voice grew visibly weaker; it sank into a whisper, and could speak only in monosyllables. "His name—quick!" "There—were—three—I had no chance—Gas—coigne—" "Strange name—not French?" The dying man shook his head. "Gasc—tell—Engl—" It was the last supreme effort. With a long, deep groan, the poor fellow fell back dead. "How unfortunate!" cried the commissary, "to die just when he would have told us all. These few words will scarcely suffice to identify the murderers. Can any one help us?" [6] [7] [8] M. Bontoux looked round. "The name he mentioned I know," said the night-porter, quickly. "This M. Gascoigne came here frequently. He is an Englishman." "So I gathered from the dead man's words. Do you know his domicile in Paris?" "Rue St. Honoré, Hôtel Versailles and St. Cloud. I have seen him enter it more than once, with his wife. He has lived there some months." "We must, if possible, lay hands on him at once. You, Jules, hasten with another police-agent to the Rue St. Honoré; he may have gone straight to his hotel." "And if we find him?" "Arrest him and take him straight to the Préfecture. I will follow. There, there! lose no time." "I am already gone," said the police-officer as he ran downstairs. CHAPTER II. ARREST AND INTERROGATION. The Hôtel Versailles and St. Cloud was one of the best hotels of Paris at this time, a time long antecedent to the opening of such vast caravansaries as the Louvre, the Continental, the Athenée, or the Grand. It occupied four sides of a courtyard, to which access was had by the usual gateway. The porter's lodge was in the latter, and this functionary, in sabots and shirt-sleeves, was sweeping out the entrance when the police arrived in a cab, which they ordered to wait at the door. "M. Gascoigne?" asked the agent. "On the first floor, number forty-three," replied the porter, without looking up. "Monsieur has but just returned," he went on. "Knock gently, or you may disturb him in his first sleep." "We shall disturb him in any case," said the police-officer, gruffly. "Justice cannot wait." "The police!" cried the porter, now recognising his visitors for the first time. "What has happened, in Heaven's name?" "Stand aside; we have no time to gossip," replied the agent, as he passed on. The occupant of No. 43 upon the first floor was pacing his room with agitated steps—a young man with fair complexion and light curly hair; but his blue eyes were clouded, and his fresh, youthful face was drawn and haggard. His attire, too—English, like his aspect—was torn and dishevelled, his voluminous neckcloth was disarranged, his waistcoat had lost several buttons, and there were stains—dark purple stains—upon sleeves and smallclothes. "What has become of her?" he was saying as he strode up and down; "she has not been here; she could not have come home when we parted at the door of the Vaudeville—the bed has not been slept in. Can she have gone? Is it possible that she has left me?" He sank into a chair and hid his face in his hands. "It was too horrible. To see him fall at my feet, struck down just when I—Who is there?" he cried suddenly, in answer to a knock at the door. "Open, in the name of the law!" "The police here already! What shall I do?" "Open at once, or we shall force the door." The young man slowly drew back the bolt and admitted the two police-agents. "M. Gascoigne? You will not answer to your name? That is equal—we arrest you." "On what charge?" "It is not our place to explain. We act by authority: that is enough. Will you go with us quietly, or must we use force?" "Of what am I accused?" "You will hear in good time. Isidore, where is your rope?" His colleague produced the long thin cord that serves instead of handcuffs in France. [9] [10] [11] "Must we tie you?" "No, no! I am ready to submit, but under protest. You shall answer for this outrage. I am an Englishman. I will appeal to our ambassador." "With all my heart! We are not afraid. But enough said. Come." The three—police-agents and their prisoner—went out together. On the threshold of No. 43 the officer named Jules said— "Your key, monsieur—the key of your room. I will take charge of it. Monsieur the Judge will no doubt make a searching perquisition, and no one must enter it till then." The door was locked, M. Jules put the key in his pocket, and the party went down to the cab, which was driven off rapidly to the depôt of the Préfecture. Here the usual formalities were gone through. Rupert Gascoigne, as the Englishman was called, was interrogated, searched, deprived of money, watch, penknife, and pencil-case; his description was noted down, and then he was asked whether he would go into the common prison, or pay for the accommodation of the pistole or private "side." For sixteen sous daily they gave him a room to himself, with a little iron cot, a chair, and a table. Another franc or two got him his breakfast and dinner, and he was allowed to enjoy them with such appetite as he could command. No one came near him till next morning, when he was roused from the heavy sleep that had only come to him after dawn by a summons to appear before the Juge d'instruction. He was led by two policemen to a little room, barely furnished, with one great bureau, or desk, in the centre, at which sat the judge, his back to the window. On one side of him was a smaller desk for the clerk, and exactly opposite a chair for the accused, so arranged that the light beat full upon his face. "Sit down," said the judge, abruptly. He was a stern-looking man, dressed all in black, still young, with a cold and impassive face, the extreme pallor of which was heightened by his close-cut, coal-black hair, and his small, piercing, beady black eyes. "Your name and nationality?" "Rupert Gascoigne. I am an Englishman, and as such I must at once protest against the treatment I have received." "You have been treated in accordance with the law—of France. You must abide by it, since you choose to live here. I do not owe you this explanation, but I give it to uphold the majesty of the law." "I shall appeal to our ambassador." The judge waved his hand, as though the threat did not affect him. "I must ask you to keep silence. You are here to be interrogated; you will only speak in reply to my questions." There was a pause, during which judge and accused looked hard at each other; the former seeking to read the other's inmost thoughts, the latter meeting the gaze with resolute and unflinching eyes. "What is your age?" "Twenty-six." "Are you married?" "Yes." "But your wife has left you." Gascoigne started in spite of himself. "How do you know that?" he asked, nervously. "It is for me to question. But I know it: that is enough. Your occupation and position in life?" "I am a gentleman, living on my means." "It is false." An angry flush rose to Gascoigne's face as the judge thus gave him the lie. "It is false—you are a professional gambler—a Greek—a sharper, with no ostensible means!" "Pardon me, monsieur; you are quite misinformed. I could prove to you ----" "It would be useless; the police have long known and watched you." "Such espionage is below contempt," cried Gascoigne, indignantly. [12] [13] [14] "Silence! Do not dare to question the conduct of the authorities. It is the visit of persons of your stamp to Paris that renders such precautions necessary." "If you believe all you hear from your low agents, with their lying, scandalous reports—" "Be careful, prisoner; your demeanour will get you into trouble. Our information about you is accurate and trustworthy. Judge for yourself." Gascoigne looked incredulous. "Listen; you arrived in Paris three months ago, accompanied by a young demoiselle whom you had decoyed from her home." "She was my wife." "Yes; you married her after your arrival here. The official records of the 21st arrondisement prove that—married her without her parents' consent." "That is not so. They approved." "How could they? Your wife's father is French vice-consul at Gibraltar. Her mother is dead. Neither was present at your marriage; how, then, could they approve?" Gascoigne did not answer. "On your first arrival you were well provided with funds—the proceeds, no doubt, of some nefarious scheme; a run of luck at the tables; the plunder of some pigeon—" "The price of my commission in the English Army." "Bah! You never were in the English Army." "I can prove it." "I shall not believe you. Being in funds, I say, you lived riotously, stayed at one of the best hotels, kept a landau and pair, dined at the Trois Frères and the Rocher de Cancale, frequented the theatres; madame wore the most expensive toilettes. But you presently ran short of cash." "It's not surprising. But I presume I was at liberty to do what I liked with my own." "Coming to the end of your resources," went on the judge, coldly ignoring the sneer, "you tried the gaming-table again, with varying success. You went constantly to the Hôtel Paradis—" "On the contrary, occasionally, not often." "You were there last night; it is useless to deny it. We have the deposition of the proprietor, who is well known to the police—M. Hippolyte Ledantec; you shall be confronted with him." "Is he in custody?" asked Gascoigne, eagerly. "I tell you it is not your place to question." "He ought to be. It was he who committed the murder." "You know there was a murder, then? Curious. When the body was discovered by the porter there was no one present. How could you know of the crime unless you had a hand in it?" "I saw it committed. I tried my best to save the Baron, but Ledantec stabbed him before I could interpose." "An ingenious attempt to shift the guilt; but it will not serve. We know better." "I am prepared to swear it was Ledantec. Why should I attack the Baron? I owed him no grudge." "Why? I will tell you. For some time past, as I have reminded you, your funds have been running low, fortune has been against you at the tables, and you could not correct it at the Hôtel Paradis as you do with less clever players—" "You are taking an unfair advantage of your position, Monsieur le Juge. Any one else who dared accuse me of cheating —" "Bah! no heroics. You could not correct fortune, I say; yet money you must have. The hotel-keeper was pressing for his long-unpaid account. Madame, your smart wife, was dissatisfied; she made you scenes because you refused her money; in return, you ill-used her." "It is false! My wife has always received proper consideration at my hands." "You ill-used her, ill-treated her; we have it from herself." [15] [16] "Do you know, then, where she is?" interrupted Gascoigne, with so much eagerness that it was plain he had taken his wife's defection greatly to heart. "Why has she left me? With whom? I have always suspected that villain Ledantec; he is an arch scoundrel, a very devil!" "The reasons for your wife's disappearance are sufficiently explained by this letter." "To me?" said Gascoigne, stretching out his hand for it. "To you, but impounded by us. It was found, in our search of your apartments yesterday, placed in a prominent place upon your dressing-table." "Give it me—it is mine!" "No! but you shall hear what it says. Listen:— "'I could have borne with resignation the miserable part you have imposed upon me. After luring me from my home with dazzling offers, after promising me a life of luxury and splendid ease, you rudely, cruelly dispelled the illusion, and made it plain to me that I had shared the lot of a pauper. All this I could have borne—poverty, however distasteful, but not the infamy, the degradation, of being the partner and associate of your evil deeds. Sooner than fall so low I prefer to leave you for ever. Do not seek for me. I have done with you. All is at an end between us!'" CHAPTER III. THE MOUSETRAP. "Well," said the judge, when he had finished reading, "you see what your wife thinks of you. What do you say now?" "There is not a word of truth in that letter. It is a tissue of misstatements from beginning to end. You must place no reliance upon it." "There you must allow me to differ from you. This letter is, in my belief, perfectly genuine. It supplies a most important link in the chain of evidence, and I shall give it the weight it deserves. But enough—will you still deny your guilt?" "It is Ledantec's doing," said Gascoigne, following out a line of thought of his own. "She was nothing loth, perhaps, for he has been instilling insidious poison into her ears for these weeks past. I had my suspicions, but could prove nothing; now I know. It was for this, to put money in his purse for her extravagance, that he first robbed, then struck down the baron." "Why do you still persist in this shallow line of defence? You cannot deceive me; it would be far better to make a clean breast of it at once." "I have already told you all I know. I repeat, I saw Ledantec strike the blow." "Psha! this is puerile. I will be frank with you. We have the fullest and strongest evidence of your guilt—why, then, will you not confess it?" "I have nothing to confess; I am perfectly innocent. I was the poor man's friend, not his murderer. I tried hard to save him, but, unhappily, I was too late." "You will not confess?" A flush of anger rose to Gascoigne's cheek; his eyes flashed with the indignation he felt at being thus bullied and browbeaten; his lips quivered, but still he made no reply. "Come! you have played this comedy long enough," said the judge, his manner growing more insolent, his look more threatening. "Will you, or will you not, confess?" Gascoigne met his gaze resolutely, but with a dogged, obstinate silence, the result of a firm determination not to utter a word. "This is unbearable," said the judge, angrily, after having repeated his question several times without eliciting any reply. "Take him away! Let him be kept in complete isolation, in one of the separate cells of the Mousetrap—the Souricière." At a signal from within the police entered, resumed charge of the prisoner, and escorted him, by many winding passages, down a steep staircase to an underground passage, ending in a dungeon-like room, badly lighted by one small, heavily-barred window, through which no glimpse of the sky was seen. Here he was left alone, and for a long time utterly neglected. No one came near him till late in the day, when he was brought a basin of thin soup and a hunch of coarse ammunition bread. He spoke to his jailers, asking for more and better food, but obtained no reply. He asked them for paper, pens, and ink; he wished, he said, to make a full statement [17] [18] [19] [20] of his case to the British Embassy, and demand its protection. Still no reply. Maddened by this contemptuous treatment, and despairing almost of justice, he begged, entreated the warder to take pity on him, to tell him at least how long they meant to keep him there in such terrible solitude, cut off altogether from the advice and assistance of friends. The warder shook his head stolidly, and at length broke silence, but only to say, "It is by superior order," then left him. Gascoigne passed a terrible night, the second night in durance, but far worse than the first. He was torn now with apprehensions as to his fate; circumstances seemed so much against him; the facts, as stated by the judge, might be grossly misrepresented; but how was he to dispute them? There was no justice in this miserable country, with such a partial and one-sided system of law. He began to fear that his life was in their hands; already he felt his head on the block, under the shadow of the awful guillotine. Nor were his personal terrors the only nightmare that visited and oppressed him. He was harassed, tortured, by the shameless conduct of his wife; of the woman for whom he had sacrificed everything—profession, fortune, name, the affection of relatives, the respect of friends. With base, black-hearted perfidy, she had deserted him for another, had plotted against him, had helped to bring him into his present terrible straits. Once again they awoke him, unrefreshed, from the deep sleep haunted by such hideous dreams. He was told to dress himself and come out. At the door of his cell the same escort—two police-agents—awaited him. "Where are you taking me? Again before that hateful judge?" "Monsieur had better speak more respectfully," replied one of them, in a warning voice. "It is no use, I tell you, his interrogating me. I have nothing more to say." "Silence!" cried the other, "and march." They led him along the passage and upstairs, but not, as before, to the judge's cabinet. Turning aside, they passed on one side of it, and out into the open air. There was a cab drawn up close to the door, the prisoner was ordered to get in, one police-agent taking his seat alongside, the other mounting on the box. The glasses were drawn up, and the cab drove rapidly away. "Where are you taking me?" asked Gascoigne. "You will see," replied his conductor, coldly. "To another prison?" "Silence! A prisoner is not permitted to enter into conversation with his guard." Thus rebuffed, Gascoigne resigned himself to gazing mournfully through the windows as the cab rattled along. He did not know this quarter of Paris well, but he could see that they were passing along one of the quays of the Ile de la Cité. He could see the houses on the opposite bank, and knew from the narrowness of the river that it was not the main stream of the Seine. It was still early morning; the streets were not as yet very crowded, but as the cab entered a wide square it came upon a throng issuing from the portals of a large church, the congregation that had been attending some celebration at Notre Dame. He recognised the church as he passed it, still driving, however, by the quays. Then they came to a low building, with a dirty, ill-kept, unpretentious doorway. The cab passed through into an inner court, stopped, and Gascoigne was ordered to alight. The police-agents, one on each side of him, took him to a rather large but dirty, squalid-looking room, which might have been part of an old-clothes shop. All round, hanging from pegs, each neatly ticketed with its own number, were sets of garments, male and female, of every description: rags and velvets, a common blouse and good broadcloth, side by side. At a small common table in the centre of the room sat Gascoigne's judge, with the same cold face, only darkened now by a frown. "Once more," he said, abruptly—"will you confess your crime?" Gascoigne looked at him contemptuously, but held his tongue. "Do you still refuse? Do you still obstinately persist in remaining dumb? Very well, we shall see." The judge got up from his chair, and disappeared through a side-door. After a short pause, Gascoigne's escort bade him march, and the three followed through the same door. They entered a second chamber, smaller than the first, the uses of which were at once obvious to Gascoigne, although he had never been there before. It was like a low shed or workroom, lighted from above, perfectly plain—even bald— in its decoration, but in the centre, occupying the greater part of the space, and leaving room only for a passage around, was a large flat slab of marble, something like that seen in fishmongers' shops. The similarity was maintained by the sound of water constantly flowing and falling upon the marble slab, as though to keep it and its burden always fresh and cool. But that burden! Three corpses, stark naked but for a decent waistband, were laid out upon the marble table. One was [21] [22] [23] [24] that of a child who had been fished up from the Seine that morning; the second that of a stonemason who had fallen from a scaffolding and broken his neck and both legs; the third was the murdered man of the Hôtel Paradis, the Baron d'Enot, stripped of his well-made clothes, lying stark and stiff on his back, with the great knife-wound gaping red and festering in his breast. "There!" cried the judge, triumphantly, leaning forward to scrutinise narrowly the effect of this hideous confrontation upon the prisoner. To his bitter disappointment, this carefully prepared theatrical effect, so frequently practised and so often successful with French criminals, altogether failed with Gascoigne. The Englishman certainly had started at the first sight of the corpse, but it was a natural movement of horror which might have escaped any unconcerned spectator at being brought into the presence of death in such a hideous form. After betraying this first and not unnatural sign of emotion, Gascoigne remained perfectly cool, self-possessed, and unperturbed. "You see your victim there; now will you confess?" cried the judge, almost passionately. "Ledantec's victim, not mine," replied Gascoigne, quietly. Then, as if in apology to himself, he added, "I could not help speaking, but I shall say nothing more." "He is very strong, extraordinarily strong!" cried the judge, his rage giving place to admiration at the obstinate fortitude of his prisoner. "In all my experience"—this was to the police and the chief custodian of the Morgue—"I have never come across a more cold-blooded, cynical wretch; but he shall not beat me; he shall not outrage and set the law at defiance; we will bend his spirit yet. Take him back to the Mousetrap; he shall stay there until he chooses to speak." With this unfair threat, which was tantamount to a sentence of unlimited imprisonment, the judge dismissed his prisoner. Gascoigne was marched back to the cab; the police-agents ordered him to re-enter it; one of them took his seat by his side as before, the other remounted the box. Then the cab started on its journey back to the Préfecture. Gascoigne, silent, pre-occupied, and outwardly calm, was yet inwardly consumed with a fierce though impotent rage. He was indignant at the shameful treatment he had received. To be arraigned as a criminal prematurely, his guilt taken for granted on the testimony of unseen witnesses whose evidence he had no chance of rebutting—all this, so intolerable to the spirit of British justice, revolted him and outraged his sense of fair play. Yet what could he do? He was without redress. They had denied him his right of appeal to his ambassador; he was forbidden to communicate with his friends. There seemed no hope for him, no chance of justice, no loophole of escape. Stay! Escape? As the thought flashed quickly across his brain it lingered, taking practical shape. Surely it was worth his while to make an effort, to strike one bold blow for liberty now, before it was too late! He quickly cast up the chances for and against. The cab was following the line of quays as before, but along the northern bank of the island, that bordering the main stream. It was going at little better than a foot's pace; the door next which he sat was on the side of the river. What if he knocked his guardian senseless, striking him a couple of British blows—one, two, straight from the shoulder—then, flinging open the door, spring out, and over the parapet into the swift-flowing Seine? He was an excellent swimmer; once in the water, surely he might trust to his luck! These were the arguments in his favour. Against him were the chances that his companion might show fight; that he might check his prisoner's exit until his comrade on the box could come to the rescue; or that some officious bystander might act on the side of the law; or that a shot might drop him as he fled; or, finally, and most probably of all, that he might be drowned in the turbulent stream. Gascoigne was not long in coming to a decision. "Nothing venture, nothing have," was his watchword. At this moment the cab was near the end of the Quai aux Fleurs, near the Pont d'Arcole. There was no time to be lost; at any moment it might turn down from the river, taking one of the cross streets. Setting his teeth firmly, and nerving himself for a supreme effort, Gascoigne sprang suddenly upon the police-agent, twisted his hands inside the stiff stock, and, having thus nearly throttled him, felled him with two tremendous blows. With a groan, the man fell to the bottom of the cab; the next instant Gascoigne had opened the door and dropped into the roadway. The escape was observed by one or two passers-by; but they were evidently people who owed the police no good- will, for, although they stood still to watch the fugitive, they did not give the alarm. This came first from the policeman who had been assaulted, who, recovering quickly from the attack, roared lustily to his fellow for help. The cab stopped, the officials alighted hurriedly, and looking to right and left caught sight of Gascoigne as he stood upon the parapet and made his plunge into the river. Both rushed to the spot, pistol in hand. Down below was the figure of their escaped prisoner battling with the rapid stream. Both fired, almost simultaneously, and one at least must have hit the mark. Gascoigne's body turned over and then sank, leaving a small crimson stain upon the water. [25] [26] [27] [28] Was he killed? Drowned? That is what no one could tell; but it was certain that no corpse answering the Englishman's description was ever recovered from the river; nor, on the other hand, did the police, in spite of an active pursuit, lay hands on their prisoner again alive. CHAPTER IV. A SPIDER'S WEB. Some half a dozen years after the occurrences just recorded there was a great gathering one night at Essendine House, a palatial mansion occupying the whole angle of a great London square. The reception-rooms upon the first floor, five of them, and all en suite, and gorgeously decorated in white and gold, were brilliantly lighted and thrown open to the best of London society. Lady Essendine was at home to her friends, and seemingly she had plenty of them, for the place was thronged. The party was by way of being musical—that is to say, a famous pianist had been engaged to let off a lot of rockets from his finger-tips, and a buffo singer from the opera roared out his "Figaro la, Figaro quà," with all the strength of his brazen lungs; while one or two gifted amateurs sang glees in washed-out, apologetical accents, which were nearly lost in the din of the room. But there was yet another singer, whose performance was attended with rather more display. It was preluded by a good deal of whispering and nodding of heads. Lady Essendine posed as a charitable person, always anxious to do good, and this singer was a protégée of hers—an interesting but unfortunate foreigner in very reduced circumstances, whom she had discovered by accident, and to whom she was most anxious to give a helping hand. "A sweet creature," she had said quite audibly that evening, although the object of her remarks was at her elbow. "A most engaging person; poor thing, when I found her she was almost destitute. Wasn't it sad?" "Quite pretty, too," her friends had remarked, also ignoring the near neighbourhood of the singer. It did not seem to matter much. The stranger sat there calmly, proudly unconscious of all that was said about her. Pretty!—the epithet was well within the mark. Beautiful, rather—magnificently, splendidly beautiful, with a noble presence and almost queenly air. Her small, exquisitely-proportioned head, crowned with a coronet of deep chestnut hair, was well poised upon a long, slender neck; she had a refined, aristocratic face, with clear-cut features, a well- shaped, aquiline nose, with slender nostrils; a perfect mouth, great lustrous dark eyes, with brows and lashes rather darker than her hair. Her teeth were perfect—perhaps she knew it, for her lower lip hung down a little, constantly displaying their pearly whiteness, and adding somewhat to the decided outline of the firm well-rounded chin. Seated, her beauty claimed attention; but her appearance was still more attractive when she stood up and moved across the room, to take her seat at the piano. Her figure was tall and commanding, full, yet faultless in outline, as that of one in the prime of ripe, rich womanhood, and its perfect proportions were fully set off by her close-fitting but perfectly plain black dress. A little hum of approval greeted her from this well-bred audience as she sat down and swept her fingers with a flourish over the keys. Then, without further prelude, she sang a little French song in a pleasing, musical voice, without much compass, but well trained; before the applause ended she broke into a Spanish ballad, tender and passionate, which gained her still greater success; and thus accepted and approved amidst continual cries of "Brava!" and "Encore!" she was not allowed to leave her seat until she had sung at least a dozen times. When she arose from the piano Lady Essendine went up to her, patronising and gracious. "Oh! thank you so much. I don't know when I have heard anything so charming." Other ladies followed suit, and, amidst the general cries of approval, the beautiful singer was engaged a dozen deep to sing at other great houses in the town. Presently they pressed her to perform again. Was she not paid for it? No one, Lady Essendine least of all, thought for one moment of her protégée's fatigue, and the poor singer might have worked on till she fainted from exhaustion had not the son of the house interposed. "You must be tired, mademoiselle," said Lord Lydstone, coming up to the piano. "Surely you would like a little refreshment? Let me take you to the tea-room," and, offering his arm, he led her away, despite his mother's black looks and frowns of displeasure. "Lydstone is so impulsive," she whispered to the first confidant she could find. It was Colonel Wilders, one of the family —a poor relation, in fact, commonly called by them "Cousin Bill"—a hale, hearty, middle-aged man, with grey hair he was not ashamed of, but erect and vigorous, with a soldierly air. "I wish he would not advertise himself with such a person in this way." [29] [30] [31] [32] "A monstrously handsome person!" cried the blunt soldier, evidently cordially endorsing Lord Lydstone's taste. "That's not the question, Colonel Wilders; it was not my son's place to take her to the tea-room, and I am much annoyed. Will you, to oblige me, go and tell Lydstone I want to speak to him?" Cousin Bill, docile and obsequious, hurried off to execute her ladyship's commission. He found the pair chatting pleasantly together in a corner of the deserted tea-room, and delivered his message. "Oh, bother!" cried Lord Lydstone undutifully. "What can mother want with me?" "You had better go to her," said the colonel, who was a little afraid of his cousin, the female head of the house. "I will take your place here—that is to say, if mademoiselle will permit me." "Madame," corrected Lord Lydstone, who had been already put right himself. "Let me introduce you. Madame Cyprienne—my cousin, Colonel Wilders, of the Royal Rangers. I hope we shall hear you sing again to-night, unless you are too tired." "I shall do whatever miladi wishes," said Madame Cyprienne, in a deep but musical voice, with a slight foreign accent. "It is for her to command, me to obey. She has been very kind, you know," she went on to Colonel Wilders, who had taken Lydstone's seat by her side. "But for her I should have starved." "Dear me! how sad," said the colonel. "Was it so bad as that? How did it happen. Was M. Cyprienne unlucky?" She did not answer; and the colonel, wondering, looked up, to find her fine eyes filled with tears. "How stupid of me! What an idiot I am! Of course, your husband is ----" She pointed to her black dress, edged with crape, but said nothing. "Yes, yes! I quite understand. Pray forgive me," stammered the colonel, and there followed an awkward pause. "Mine is a sad story," she said at length, in a sorrowful tone. "I was left suddenly alone, unprotected, without resources, in this strange country—to fight my own battle, to earn a crust of bread by my own exertions, or starve." "Dear, dear!" said the colonel, his sympathies fully aroused. "I should have starved, but for Lady Essendine. She heard of me. I was trying to dispose of some lace—some very old Spanish point. You are a judge of lace, monsieur?" "Of course, of course!" said the colonel, although, as a matter of fact, he did not know Spanish point from common écru. "This was some lace that had been in our family for generations. You must understand we were not always as you see me—poor; we belong to the old nobility. My husband was highly born, but when he died I dropped the title and became Madame Cyprienne. It was better, don't you think?" "Perhaps so; I am not sure," replied the colonel, hardly knowing what to say. "It was. The idea of a countess a pauper, begging her bread!" "What was your title, may I ask?" inquired the colonel, eagerly. These tender confidences, accompanied by an occasional encouraging glance from her bright eyes, were rapidly increasing the interest he took in her. "I am the Countess de Saint Clair," replied Madame Cyprienne, proudly; "but I do not assume the title now. I do not choose it to be known that I live by singing, and by selling the remnants of our family lace." "I hope Lady Essendine paid you a decent price," said the colonel, pleasantly. Madame Cyprienne shook her head, with a little laugh— "She has been very kind—exceedingly kind—but she knows how to drive a bargain: all women do." "What a shame! And have you sold it all? You had better entrust me with the disposal of the rest." "Oh! Colonel Wilders, I could not think of giving you so much trouble." "But I will; I should like to. Send it to me. My chambers are in Ryder Street; or, better still, I will call for it if you will tell me where," said the colonel, artfully. "I am lodging in a very poor place, not at all such as the Countess de Saint Clair should receive in. But I am not ashamed of it; it is in Frith Street, Soho, No. 29a; but I do not think you ought to come there." "A most delightful part of the town," said the colonel, who at the moment would have approved of Whitechapel or the New Cut. "When shall I call?" "In the afternoon. In the morning I am engaged in giving lessons. But come, we have lingered here long enough. Miladi will expect me to sing again." [33] [34] [35] [36] Lady Essendine frowned at Cousin Bill when he brought back her singer; but whether it was at the length of the talk, or the withdrawal of her protégée from the duties for which she was paid, her ladyship did not condescend to explain. It was a little of both. She was pleased to have hindered her son from paying marked attention to a person in Madame Cyprienne's doubtful position. Now she found that person exercising her fascinations upon Colonel Wilders, and it annoyed her, although Cousin Bill was surely old enough to take care of himself. Already she was changing her opinion concerning the fair singer she had introduced into the London world. She could not fail to notice the admiration Madame Cyprienne generally received, especially from the men, and she doubted whether she had done wisely in taking her by the hand. A few days later she had no doubt at all. To her disgust, all the old Spanish point-lace was gone; and Madame Cyprienne had told her plainly that it was her own fault for haggling over the price. Her ladyship's disgust was heightened when she found the best piece of all—a magnificent white mantilla—in the possession of a rival leader of fashion, who refused to say where she had got it, or how. She set her emissaries at work, however—for every great London lady has a dozen devoted, unpaid attachés, ready to do any little commission of this kind—and the lace was traced back to Colonel Wilders. "My dear," she said, one morning, to her lord, "I am afraid Colonel Wilders is very intimate with that Madame Cyprienne." "Our eccentric Cousin Bill! You don't say so? Well, there's no fool like an old fool," said Lord Essendine, who was a very matter-of-fact, plain-spoken peer. "I always thought she was an adventuress," cried Lady Essendine, angrily. "Then why did you take her up so hotly? But for you, no one would ever have heard of the woman, least of all Cousin Bill." "Well, I have done with her now. I shall drop her." "The mischief's done. Unless I am much mistaken, she won't drop Cousin Bill." Lord Essendine, who was, perhaps, behind the scenes, was not wrong in his estimate of the influence Madame Cyprienne exercised. Before six months were out, Colonel Wilders came, with rather a sheepish air, to the head of the house, and informed him of his approaching marriage to the Countess de Saint Clair. "That's a new title to me, Bill. Foreign, I suppose?" Lord Essendine had the usual contempt of the respectable Briton for titles not mentioned in Debrett or Burke. "It's French, I fancy; and for the moment it is in abeyance. Madame Cyprienne tells me—" "Gracious powers, William Wilders! have you fallen into that woman's clutches?" "I must ask you, Lord Essendine, to speak more respectfully of the lady I propose to make my wife." "You had better not! I warn you while there is yet time." "What do you know against her?" asked the colonel, hotly. "What do you know of or for her?" replied the peer, quickly. "I tell you, man, it's a disgrace to the family. Lady Essendine will be furious. If I had any authority over you I would forbid the marriage. In any case," he went on, "do not look for any countenance or support from me." "I hope we shall be able to get on without your assistance, Lord Essendine. I thought it my duty to inform you of my marriage, and I think I might have been better received." "Stay, you idiot; don't go off in a huff. I don't like the match, I tell you frankly; but I don't want to quarrel. Is there anything I can do for you, except attending the wedding? I won't do that." Colonel Wilders could not bring himself to ask any favours of his unsympathetic kinsman. Nevertheless, it was through Lord Essendine's interest that he obtained a snug staff appointment in one of the large garrison towns; and he did not return indignantly the very handsome cheque paid in by his cousin to his account as a wedding present. He was still serving at Chatsmouth, his young and beautiful wife the life of the gay garrison, when the war-clouds gathered dark upon the horizon, and, thanks again to the Essendine interest, he found himself transferred, still on the staff, to the expeditionary army under orders for the East. CHAPTER V. THE WAR FEVER. [37] [38] [39] [40] They were stirring times, those early days of '54. After half a century of peace the shadow of a great contest loomed dark and near. The whole British nation, sick and tired of Russian double-dealing, was eager to cut the knot of political difficulty with the sword. Everyone was mad to fight; only a few optimists, statesmen mostly, still relying on the sedative processes of diplomacy, had any hopes of averting war. A race reputed peace-loving, but most pugnacious when roused, was stirred now to its very depths....