"Parbleu! yes, it"s our friend; come, Murville, embrace your old acquaintances, your faithful companions in pleasure and adversity."
Edouard heard voices which were familiar to him; he raised his eyes and saw Lampin before him; but he did not recognize the other brigand, whose voice had caught his attention. The latter took his hand and shook it violently; Edouard looked at him again, and sought upon the horribly mutilated face features which were not unknown to him.
"What," said Lampin; "don"t you recognize Dufresne, our old friend?"
"Dufresne!" cried Edouard; "is it possible?"
"Yes, Murville, it is himself," said Dufresne, untying a number of bands which disfigured his face by representing scars, and taking off a plaster which concealed one eye and a part of his forehead, as well as a beard which covered his chin and his upper lip. "I"m delighted that you don"t recognize me, for that demonstrates my talent for disguising myself; and that"s something, especially when one has a death sentence hanging over him. But you, my rascal, you seem to have limbered up a little since we met. The devil! this does you credit."
"Comrades," said Lampin, who had been prowling about the cabin, "there"s nothing of any good to us here; the shot we heard may bring people in this direction, whom we should not be pleased to meet. Take my advice and let us quit this hovel and go back into the woods; we can talk more safely there."
Lampin"s advice being adjudged prudent, the robbers left the cabin, taking with them Edouard, who had hardly recovered from his surprise and could not believe that he had found Dufresne again in the person of the chief of a band of outlaws.
After walking for some time through the thickest part of the forest, the robbers stopped in a clearing; they built a fire, produced provisions which they spread on the gra.s.s, and having prepared their weapons in case of surprise, they seated themselves about the flame, which alone lighted their meal.
"I don"t know," said Dufresne, gazing at Edouard with savage joy, "what presentiment led me to hope that we should be united some day. In fact, I have always acted with that end in view; isn"t that so, Lampin?"
Lampin was eating ravenously, and according to his custom, drinking even more ravenously; he contented himself with a glance at Edouard, accompanied by a laugh. Edouard observed his new companions, uncertain as yet if he ought to congratulate himself upon meeting them.
"How does it happen that I meet you with Lampin in this forest?" he asked Dufresne at last; "what has led you to embrace such a dangerous life?"
"What"s that? what other sort of life do you expect a man to embrace when he is outlawed from society, as we are? You"re not going to play the innocent, are you, you who have just killed a poor wood-cutter, whose death was of no benefit to you?"
"I did nothing but defend myself; that man had fired at me and was threatening me again; I had to parry his blows."
"The deuce, comrade, you have a pretty way of parrying!--But no matter, let us return to ourselves. You must know that I have been sentenced to death; luckily I didn"t wait for my sentence before escaping from prison, thanks to these two faithful friends whom I had helped long ago.
We could not appear in the daylight; so we selected the woods and the highways to carry on our trade; a man must do something. A little while ago, we stopped a traveller who was riding through these woods, and I recognized Lampin, who asked nothing better than to join us. You must join us too, my dear Murville, for there is nothing else for you to do; you ought to be enchanted to have met us."
"Yes, yes," said Lampin, "and I am sure that you no longer bear me a grudge for leaving you with the wagoner at midnight. What can you expect, my boy? I saw that the horse wasn"t worth much; he would never have been able to gallop with two men on his back, and I gave myself the preference; that was natural enough."
"What a miserable life!" said Edouard, glancing about; "to live in the woods, in the darkness, to dread being arrested every minute, to risk one"s life for a few gold pieces!"
"Deuce take it, my little man," said Lampin; "I agree that it was livelier when we danced with Veronique-la-Blonde, beating time on her flanks, and drinking madeira or champagne; but, you see, we all have our ups and our downs."
"Muster up your courage, my dear Murville," said Dufresne; "we may be rich yet, and enjoy life under another sky. Meanwhile, I don"t propose any longer to confine myself to living in the woods, and waiting for a poor traveller now and then; besides, four or five men are not enough to form a formidable band, equal to stopping well-loaded vehicles. But I have more extensive projects, and as I possess the talent of making myself unrecognizable, when necessary, I hope that when my comrades are thoroughly saturated with my lessons, we shall be able to try some bold stroke,--either breaking into some wealthy man"s house, or a.s.suming t.i.tle and rank, according to circ.u.mstances."
"Ah! he"s a sly fox! he knows a lot! I would like right well to know the man who educated him!"
"I can satisfy you, my friends, by telling you the story of my youth; it will not take long and it will amuse you. Moreover, Murville will derive some profit from it; there are some things in it which concern him, and I have no need now of standing on ceremony with him."
"Tell on, tell on," said Lampin; "meanwhile, we will drink; in fact, there"s nothing better for us to do in this infernal wood, where we have drawn blank for two nights. Come, comrades, let us start up the fire and drink quietly."
The robbers rekindled the fire, took a bottle each, and gathered about their leader; while Edouard, with his head resting in his hands, waited in gloomy silence for Dufresne to begin his story.
x.x.xIV
DUFRESNE"S STORY
I was born in a small village in the neighborhood of Rennes. My father, who had been rich and highly esteemed, was completely ruined by the loss of a lawsuit which a cousin of his brought against him. Reduced to poverty and having no friends, he was obliged to accept a place as game-keeper to an old n.o.bleman who cared more for his game than for his va.s.sals, and would not forgive the death of a rabbit or a partridge killed on his land.
My father, embittered by misfortune, cherished in the depths of his heart a longing to be revenged upon the man who had stolen his property from him. He lived in a small cabin in the midst of the woods; he took me there and kept me with him. I was six years old when my father retired into that solitude. I was bold, enterprising, brave, wilful, and even then determined in my resolutions. The almost savage life which I led for several years did not help to soften my nature. I constantly roamed about the forests, and climbed mountains and steep cliffs; I leaped torrents and ravines; and when I returned home to my father, he would rehea.r.s.e the story of his misfortune; he taught me to curse men whose injustice had revolted his heart; he urged me to distrust the whole world, and never to rely upon the equity or grat.i.tude of my fellowmen; and to prove what he said, he told me of the services he had rendered when he was rich, all of which had been repaid with ingrat.i.tude; he told me of the unjust lawsuit which he had lost only through fraud and bad faith; and finally made me swear to avenge him upon the man who had ruined him.
My father"s words readily found a lodging in my memory. Perhaps other advice might have led me to protect and defend those whom I swore to despise and to hate; but first impressions are all-powerful upon an inexperienced mind, and the independence of my tastes inclined me to crush without examination all the obstacles which thwarted my desires.
An episode which I witnessed served to intensify my aversion for mankind. I was then thirteen years old, and I had just taken a lesson in reading from my father; for he had told me that education was essential to my best interests, and that reason alone had induced me to learn something. I was walking in the woods when I heard two shots very near me. I ran in the direction from which the reports came, and I saw two young men, who had been arrested because they were hunting in the n.o.bleman"s forest.
One was a well-dressed young man, of aristocratic manners and bearing; the other was a poor peasant, covered with rags and apparently in the last stages of want. The first had killed a kid, the other a rabbit, and yet the young man from the city was laughing and singing among the keepers, while the peasant, pale-faced and trembling, had hardly strength enough to stand.
Curious to learn the sequel of the affair, I followed the crowd to the chateau; the n.o.bleman was absent at the time, but his steward took his place; he had full power and represented his master; so the two prisoners were taken before the steward. I mingled with the crowd and succeeded thus in making my way into a large hall, to which the poachers were taken first. The steward arrived; when he saw the young man from the city, he realized that he had not, as usual, to deal with country b.u.mpkins who were accustomed to tremble before him. He dismissed everybody, in order to question the fine gentleman in private. But I, instead of going out with the others, concealed myself under a table covered with a cloth, and heard very distinctly the following conversation:
"Monsieur, I am distressed to be obliged to act harshly," said the steward in a wheedling tone, "but my master is very strict, and his orders are absolute."
"Bah! old fox, you are joking, I fancy, with your orders," said the young man, laughing at the steward; "understand that I am a young man of family, and that if you do not set me at liberty instantly, I will cut off your ears at the first opportunity."
"Monsieur, this is a very strange tone, and I cannot allow----"
"Look you, old Arab, I see what you want! You are the steward, that tells the whole story; take this purse; there are fifteen louis in it; that is more than all your master"s kids are worth."
As he spoke, the young man took from his pocket a purse, which the steward accepted without hesitation. Then, opening a little secret door, he said in an undertone:
"Go down this way into the garden; then turn to the right and you can go out through another gate that leads into the fields. I am endangering myself for you, but you have such engaging manners!"
The young huntsman did not wait to hear any more; he was already in the garden. The steward carefully locked the small door, then rang for a servant and ordered him to bring the other poacher before him.
They brought in the peasant, and the steward was left alone with him.
"Why do you hunt?" he asked the peasant, in a harsh voice and a sharp tone which bore no resemblance to that which he had a.s.sumed with the other prisoner.
"My good monsieur," said the poor man, falling on his knees, "pray forgive me; it is the first time and I swear that it shall be the last."
"These rascals always say the same thing!"
"I ain"t a rascal, but a poor devil with a wife and five children, and I can"t support "em."
"Well, you knave, why do you have children?"
"Well! monsieur l"intendant, that"s the only pleasure a man can get without money."
"As if clowns like you ought to have any pleasure! Work, you dog, work; that"s your lot."
"I haven"t got any work, and I earn so little, so little, that it"s hardly enough to keep us alive!"
"Because you eat like ogres!"
"I don"t ever eat enough, so"s to have some to give to the little ones."