After a pause, he resumed, in a tone of concentrated hatred:
"I must hate him worse than you hate him, Pietri, as I do not wish to kill him."
"A dead serpent bites no more."
"Yes, but a dead serpent suffers no more, and I want to see this man suffer a thousand worse tortures than death. He must atone for the evil he has done my country; he must atone for the b.l.o.o.d.y victories which have demoralised our cruisers; he must atone for the recent insult offered to me. D--n him! Am I such an insignificant enemy that I can be released simply upon parole after the combat that cost us so much treasure and blood, but without one drop of his being shed, for he really seems to be invulnerable as they say. As surely as there is a h.e.l.l my disgrace and England"s shall be avenged."
"And yet a moment ago Captain Russell was reproaching me for the foolish violence of my words," retorted the Maltese, with a sardonic smile.
"You are right," replied Russell, controlling himself. "Such an outburst is foolish in the extreme. Besides, we must not despair. What pa.s.sed between you and the smuggler?"
"Leaving Dieppe in a fishing-smack last night, I reached Hosey this morning and made my way to the man"s hut, which stands some distance farther down the beach. "Is your name Bezelek?" I asked. "Yes." "I was sent here by Master Keller." "What is the countersign?"
"_Pa.s.se-partout_." "Good! I have been expecting you. My boat is at your service. It is high tide at ten o"clock to-night, and the wind, if it doesn"t change, will take you to England before morning." "Master Keller told you what is to be done?" "Yes, some one is to be transported to England, w.i.l.l.y-nilly, but safe and sound, understand. I am a smuggler, but no murderer. So bring your pa.s.senger along to-night and I promise you he shall be in England before sunrise." "Did Keller tell you that I must have four or five of your most determined men at my disposal?"
"What for?" "To a.s.sist me in capturing the man on the highway a few miles from here." "Keller told me nothing of the kind, and you need not expect me or my men to mix ourselves up in any such affair. Bring your man here, and I will see that he is put aboard my boat. That is all. If he resists, I can suppose he is drunk, and that it is for his good we are putting him aboard, but to a.s.sist in the abduction of a man on the public highway is a very different thing, and I have no notion of doing anything of the kind." That was what he said, and he stuck to it. I soon discovered there wasn"t the slightest chance of moving him, for neither threats nor bribes had the slightest effect upon him."
"This is too bad! too bad!"
"So you see, Russell, we shall have to resort to other means, for even if the postilion remains neutral, it would be impossible for us two to do the job without a.s.sistance, especially as the captain has a devoted and intrepid companion in the shape of his head gunner, who never leaves him either on land or sea, so if we resort to force we shall only make fools of ourselves, it seems to me."
"That is true," muttered the Englishman, gloomily.
"So as there is no chance of succeeding by violence we shall have to resort to stratagem," continued the Maltese.
"Explain."
"On my way here I noticed that about two miles from the town, at a place marked by a stone cross, there is a steep hill, followed by a no less abrupt descent."
"Well, what of it?"
"We will lie in wait for the carriage about half-way up the hill. It will be moving very slowly as the hill is so steep, and we will suddenly rush out from our hiding-place, and, pretending that we are sailors on our way back to our vessel, ask the captain for aid, you at one door and I at the other. Both of us will have our pistols loaded and our knives in our belts and--"
"Never!" exclaimed Russell, "I am no a.s.sa.s.sin nor do I desire this man"s death. The murder would be a disgrace to England; besides, it would only half avenge me. No, what I want is to enjoy this indomitable man"s rage and humiliation when, as our prisoner, he is exposed to the abuse and derision and insults of the mult.i.tudes whom his name has so often terrified. No caged tiger ever roared and chafed against confinement more wildly and yet more impotently than he will. Imprisonment in the hulks will be a thousand times more terrible than death to such a man.
But the obstinacy of this smuggler ruins all my plans. As they have become impossibilities, what shall we do?"
"Adopt mine," urged the Maltese. "Death may be less cruel than vengeance, but it is much more certain; besides, vengeance is impossible now, but we hold this man"s life in our hands. Besides, what difference does it really make about the means we employ so long as England is delivered from one of her most dangerous enemies?"
"Say no more."
"But think of the vessels this man has captured and burned, and of the b.l.o.o.d.y combats from which he has emerged safe and sound and victorious, too, in spite of greatly inferior numbers!"
"Be silent, I tell you."
"Think of the terror his name inspires in English sailors--the best seamen in the world; haven"t you even heard them say in their superst.i.tious fear that the success of this invincible and invulnerable man seems to indicate the swift decadence of England"s maritime supremacy, and that the sea is to have its Napoleon as well as the land?
Think what a disastrous effect such a superst.i.tion will have if the time ever comes when England makes an attempt to overthrow Bonaparte and crush France."
"But a murder,--a cowardly a.s.sa.s.sination!"
"An a.s.sa.s.sination? No, England and France are at war, and to take advantage of an ambuscade to surprise and destroy an enemy is one of the recognised laws of warfare."
Russell made no reply, but sat with his head bowed upon his breast for some time apparently absorbed in thought.
The Maltese seemed to be equally absorbed in thought. As they sat there in silence, the sound of carriage wheels was heard in the distance, followed by the cracking of the postilion"s whip and the ring of horses"
hoofs.
"Five o"clock! It must be he!" exclaimed the Englishman as he glanced at his watch.
Both men darted to the window and saw a dusty cabriolet drawn by two horses stop in front of the post-house on the other side of the street, opposite the inn, and in another instant the Englishman turned livid with rage and cast a look of implacable hatred on the unsuspecting traveller.
"It is he! It is really he!"
"And he is alone," added the Maltese, quickly.
"He is entering this very inn."
"Everything favours us. He must have left his friend and companion in Dieppe. He is alone; there are two of us!"
"Can we still count upon the smuggler"s boat and a.s.sistance to-night?"
suddenly inquired Russell. A new idea seemed to have struck him. A slight flush suffused his pale, cold face, and a spark of diabolical joy glittered in his eye, as he asked the question.
"Yes; for desiring to reserve a means of flight in case of need, I told him he might expect us."
"Courage, then," exclaimed Russell, ringing the bell, violently.
"What do you mean?" inquired the Maltese. "What do you intend to do?"
"You shall know, presently. Hush! here comes somebody."
It was the innkeeper that had answered the summons.
"The breakfast was excellent, my friend," said Russell. "How much do I owe you?"
"Six francs, including the room."
"Here it is, and a present for the waiter, besides."
"You are very honest, monsieur. I hope to be honoured with your patronage again."
"You certainly will be. But tell me, I thought I heard post-horses just now. Has there been another arrival?"
"Yes, monsieur, another gentleman just came. I put him in the blue room overlooking the garden."
"He is one of your old patrons, probably, as a person who has been here once is sure to come back."
"Monsieur is very kind, I am sure, but it is the first time this traveller has ever stopped here."
"Is he travelling in style with a retinue of servants and all that, and is he going to remain long?"
"No, monsieur, only long enough to take a slight lunch. This is no rich n.o.bleman. He is travelling alone, and looks and acts like a well-to-do tradesman. He hums tunes and drums upon the window-panes, and seems as gay as a peac.o.c.k. He must be a very pleasant man."