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Chapter LXIV
Chapter LXIV
The Man With The Red Cloak
The despair of Athos had given place to a concentrated grief, which only
rendered more lucid the brilliant mental faculties of that extraordinary man.
Possessed by one single thought, that of the promise he had made, and
of the responsibility he had taken upon himself, he retired the last to his
chamber, begged the host to procure him a map of the province, bent over it,
examined every line traced upon it, perceived that there were four different
roads from Bethune to Armentieres, and called all the four valets.
Planchet, Grimaud, Bazin, and Mousqueton presented themselves, and
received clear, positive, and serious orders from Athos.
They were to set out for Armentieres the next morning at daybreak, and
to go to Armentieres - each by a different route. Planchet, the most
intelligent of the four, was to follow that by which the carriage had gone,
upon which the four friends had fired, and which was accompanied, as may be
remembered, by Rochefort`s servant.
Athos set the lackeys to work first, because, since these men had been
in the service of himself and his friends, he had discovered in each of them
different and essential qualities.
Then, lackeys who ask questions inspire less mistrust than masters; and
meet with more sympathies among those they address.
Besides, milady knew the masters, and did not know the lackeys; while,
on the contrary, the lackeys knew milady perfectly well.
All four were to meet the next day, at eleven o`clock; if they had
discovered milady`s retreat, three were to remain on guard, the fourth was
to return to Bethune, to inform Athos, and serve as a guide to the four
friends.
These dispositions arranged, the lackeys retired.
Athos then arose from his chair, girded on his sword, enveloped himself
in his cloak, and left the hotel; it was nearly ten o`clock. At ten o`clock
in the evening, it is well known, the streets in provincial towns are very
little frequented; Athos, nevertheless, was visibly anxious to find some one
of whom he could ask a question. At length he met a belated passenger, went
up to him, and spoke a few words to him; the man he addressed drew back with
terror, and only answered the musketeer by an indication. Athos offered them
a half a pistole to accompany him, but the man refused.
Athos then plunged into the street the man had pointed to with his
finger; but arriving at four crossroads, he stopped again, visibly
embarrassed. Nevertheless, as the crossroads offered him a better chance
than any other place of meeting somebody, he stood still. In a few minutes
a night-watch passed. Athos repeated to him the same question he had asked
the first person he had met; the night-watch evinced the same terror,
refused, in his turn, to accompany Athos, and only pointed with his hand to
the road he was to take.
Athos walked in the direction indicated, and reached the faubourg,
situated at the extremity of the city, opposite to that by which he and his
friends had entered it. There he again appeared uneasy and embarrassed, and
stopped for the third time.
Fortunately a mendicant passed, who, coming up to Athos to ask charity,
Athos offered him half a-crown to accompany him where he was going. The
mendicant hesitated at first, but at the sight of the piece of silver which
shone in the darkness, he consented, and walked on before Athos.
When arrived at the angle of a street, he pointed to a small house,
isolated, solitary, and dismal. Athos went toward the house, while the
mendicant, who had received his reward, hobbled off as fast as his legs could
carry him.
Athos went round the house before he could distinguish the door, amid
the red color in which it was painted; no light appeared through the chinks
of the shutters, no noise gave reason to believe that it was inhabited - it
was dark and silent as the tomb.
Three times Athos knocked without receiving any answer. At the third
knock, however, steps was heard inside; the door at length was opened, and
a man of high stature, pale complexion, and black hair and beard, appeared.
Athos and he exchanged some words in a low voice, then the tall man made
a sign to the musketeer that he might come in. Athos immediately took
advantage of the permission, and the door was closed after them.
The man whom Athos had come so far to seek, and whom he had found with
so much trouble, introduced him into his laboratory, were he was engaged in
fastening together with iron wire the dry bones of a skeleton. All the frame
was adjusted, except the head, which lay upon the table.
All the rest of the furniture indicated that the inhabitant of this
house was engaged in the study of the natural sciences; there were large
bottles filled with serpents, ticketed according to their species; dried
lizards shone like emeralds set in great squares of black wood; and bunches
of wild odoriferous herbs, doubtless possessed of virtues unknown to common
men, were fastened to the ceiling and hung down in the corners of the
apartment.
But there was no family, no servant; the tall man inhabited this house
alone.
Athos cast a cold and indifferent glance upon the objects we have
described, and, at the invitation of him he came to seek, he sat down near
him.
Then he explained to him the cause of his visit, and the service he
required of him; but scarcely had he expressed his request, than the unknown,
who remained standing before the musketeer, drew back with signs of terror,
and refused. Then Athos took from his pocket a small paper, upon which were
written two lines, accompanied by a signature and a seal, and presented them
to him who had given too prematurely these signs of repugnance. The tall man
had scarcely read these lines, seen the signature, and recognized the seal,
when he bowed to denote that he had no longer any objection to make, and that
he was ready to obey.
Athos required no more; he arose, bowed, went out, returned by the same
way he came, re-entered the hotel, and went to his apartment.
At daybreak D`Artagnan came to him, and asked him "What was to be done?"
"Wait!" replied Athos.
Some minutes after, the superior of the convent sent to inform the
musketeers that the burial would take place at midday. As to the poisoner,
they had heard no tidings of her whatever; only she must have made her escape
through the garden, upon the sand of which her footsteps could be traced and
the door of which had been found shut; the key had disappeared.
At the hour appointed, Lord de Winter and the four friends repaired to
the convent: the bells tolled, the chapel was open, but the grating of the
choir was closed. In the middle of the choir the body of the victim, clothed
in her novitiate dress, was exposed. On each side of the choir, and behind
the gratings opening upon the convent, was assembled the whole community of
the Carmelities, who listened to the divine service, and mingled their chants
with the chants of the priests, without seeing the profane, or being seen by
them.
At the door of the chapel D`Artagnan felt his courage fail again, and
returned to look for Athos, but Athos had disappeared.
Faithful to his mission of vengeance, Athos had requested to be
conducted to the garden; and there upon the sand, following the light steps
of this woman, who had left a bloody track wherever she had gone, he advanced
toward the gate which led into the wood, and, causing it to be opened, he
went out into the forest.
Then all his suspicious were confirmed - the road by which the carriage
had disappeared went round the forest. Athos followed the road for some time
with his eyes fixed upon the ground; slight stains of blood, which came from
the wound inflicted upon the man who accompanied the carriage as a courier,
or from one of the horses, were to be seen on the road. At the end of about
three-quarters of a league, within fifty paces of Festubert, a larger
bloodstain appeared; the ground was trampled by horses. Between the forest
and this accursed spot, a little behind the trampled ground, was the same
track of small feet as in the garden; the carriage, then, had stopped here.
At this spot milady had come out of the wood, and got into the carriage.
Satisfied with this discovery, which confirmed all his suspicions, Athos
returned to the hotel, and found Planchet impatiently waiting for him.
Everything was as Athos had foreseen.
Planchet had followed the road; like Athos, he had discovered the stains
of blood; like Athos, he had remarked the spot where the horses had stopped;
but he had gone further than Athos, so that at the village of Festubert,
while drinking at an auberge, he had learned, without asking a question, that
the evening before, at about half-past eight, a wounded man, who accompanied
a lady traveling in a post-chaise, had been obliged to stop, being unable
to go any further. The wound was attributed to thieves who had stopped the
chaise in the wood. The man remained in the village; the lady had had a
relay of horses, and continued her journey.
Planchet went in search of the postilion who had driven her, and found
him. He had taken the lady as far as Fromelles, and from Fromelles she had
set out for Armentieres. Planchet took the crossroad, and by seven o`clock
in the morning he was at Armentieres.
There was but one hotel, that of the post. Planchet went and presented
himself as a lackey out of place, who was in search of a situation. He had
not chatted ten minutes with the people of the auberge before he learned that
a lady had come here about eleven o`clock the night before, alone; had
engaged a chamber, had sent for the master of the hotel, and told him that
she was desirous to remain for some time in that neighborhood.
Planchet did not want to know any more. He hastened to the rendezvous,
found the lackeys at their posts, placed them as sentinels at all the issues
of the hotel, and came to find Athos, who had just received his information
when his friends returned.
All their countenance were melancholy and anxious, even the mild
countenance of Aramis.
"What is to be done?" said D`Artagnan.
"Wait," replied Athos.
Every one went to his own apartment.
At eight o`clock in the evening Athos ordered the horses to be saddled,
and had Lord de Winter and his friends informed that they must prepare for
the expedition.
In an instant all five were ready. Every one examined his arms, and put
them in order. Athos came down the last, and found D`Artagnan already
mounted, and growing impatient.
"Patience!" cried Athos; "one of our party is still wanting."
The four horseman looked round them with astonishment, for they sought
uselessly in their minds who this other person they wanted could be.
At this moment Planchet brought out Athos` horse; the musketeer leaped
lightly into the saddle.
"Wait for me," cried he; "I will soon be back;" and set off at a gallop.
In a quarter of an hour he returned, accompanied by a tall man, masked,
and enveloped in a large red cloak.
Lord de Winter and the three musketeers looked at each other
inquiringly. None of them could give the others any information, for all
were ignorant who this man could be; nevertheless, they felt convinced that
this ought to be so, as it was done by Athos.
At nine o`clock, guided by Planchet, the little cavalcade set out,
taking the route the carriage had taken.
It was a melancholy sight, that of these six men, traveling in silence,
each plunged in his own thoughts, sad as despair, dark as punishment.
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