A past master in the art of self-defence, Clyffurde--despite his wounded arm--was ready for the attack. With his left on guard he not only received the brunt of the onslaught, but parried it most effectually with a quick blow against his a.s.sailant"s jaw.
St. Genis--stunned by this forcible contact with a set of exceedingly hard knuckles--fell back a step or two, his foot struck against some object on the floor, he lost his balance and measured his length backwards across the bed.
"You abominable thief . . . you . . ." he cried, choking with rage and with discomfiture as he tried to struggle to his feet.
But this he at once found that he could not do, seeing that a pair of firm and muscular knees were gripping and imprisoning his legs, even while that same all-powerful left hand with the hard knuckles had an unpleasant hold on his throat.
"I should have tried some other method, M. de St. Genis, had I been in your shoes," came in irritatingly sarcastic accents from his calm antagonist.
Indeed, the insolent rogue did not appear in the least overwhelmed by the enormity of his crime or by the disgrace of being so ignominiously found out. From his precarious position across the bed St. Genis had a good view of the rascal"s finely knit figure, of his earnest face, now softened by a smile full of kindly humour and good-natured contempt.
An impartial observer viewing the situation would certainly have thought that here was an impudent villain vanquished and lying on his back, whilst being admonished for his crimes by a just man who had might as well as right on his side.
"Let me go, you confounded thief," St. Genis cried, as soon as the unpleasant grip on his throat had momentarily relaxed, "you accursed spy . . . you . . ."
"Easy, easy, my young friend," said the other calmly; "you have called me a thief quite often enough to satisfy your rage: and further epithets might upset my temper."
"Let go my throat!"
"I will in a moment or two, as soon as I have made up my mind what I am going to do with you, my impetuous young friend--whether I shall truss you like a fowl and put you in charge of our worthy host, as guilty of a.s.saulting one of his guests, or whether I shall do you some trifling injury to punish you for trying to do me a grave one."
"Right is on my side," said St. Genis doggedly. "I do not care what you do to me."
"Right is apparently on your side, my friend. I"ll not deny it.
Therefore, I still hesitate."
"Like a rogue and a vagabond at dead of night you attacked and robbed those who have never shown you anything but kindness."
"Until the hour when they turned me out of their house like a dishonest lacquey, without allowing me a word of explanation."
"Then this is your idea of vengeance, is it, Mr. Clyffurde?"
"Yes, M. de St. Genis, it is. But not quite in the manner that you suppose. I am going to set you free now in order to set your mind at rest. But let me warn you that I shall be just as much on the alert against another attack from you as ever I was before, and that I could ward off two or even three a.s.sailants with my left arm and knee as easily as I warded off one. It is a way we have in England."
He relaxed his hold on Maurice"s legs and throat, and the young man--fretting and fuming, wild with impotent wrath and with mortification--struggled to his feet.
"Are you proposing to give me some explanation to mitigate your crime?"
he said roughly. "If so, let me tell you that I will accept none.
Putting the question aside of your abominable theft, you have committed an outrage against people whom I honour, and against the woman whom I love."
"Nor do I propose to give you any explanation, M. de St. Genis,"
retorted Clyffurde, who still spoke quite quietly and evenly. "But for the sake of your own peace of mind, which you will I hope communicate to the people whom you honour, I will tell you a few simple facts."
Neither of the men sat down: they stood facing one another now across the table whereon stood a couple of tallow candles which threw fitful, yellow lights on their faces--so different, so strangely contrasted--young and well-looking both--both strongly moved by pa.s.sion, yet one entirely self-controlled, while in the other"s eyes that pa.s.sion glowed fierce and resentful.
"I listen," said St. Genis curtly.
And Clyffurde began after a slight pause: "At the time that you fell upon me with such ill-considered vigour, M. de St. Genis," he said, "did you know that but for my abominable outrage upon the persons whom you honour, the money which they would gladly have guarded with their life would have fallen into the hands of Bonaparte"s agents?"
"In theirs or yours, what matters?" retorted St. Genis savagely, "since His Majesty is deprived of it now."
"That is where you are mistaken, my young friend," said the other quietly. "His Majesty is more sure of getting the money now than he was when M. le Comte de Cambray with his family and yourself started on that quixotic if ill-considered errand this morning."
St. Genis frowned in puzzlement:
"I don"t understand you," he said curtly.
"Isn"t it simple enough? You and your friends credited me with friendship for de Marmont: he is hot-headed and impetuous, and words rush out of his mouth that he should keep to himself. I knew from himself that Bonaparte had charged him to recover the twenty-five millions which M. le prefet Fourier had placed in the Comte de Cambray"s charge."
"Why did you not warn the Comte then?" queried St. Genis, who, still mistrustful, glowered at his antagonist.
"Would he have listened to me, think you?" asked the other with a quiet smile. "Remember, he had turned me out of his house two nights before, without a word of courtesy or regret--on the mere suspicion of my intercourse with de Marmont. Were you too full with your own rage to notice what happened then? Mlle. Crystal drew away her skirts from me as if I were a leper. What credence would they have given my words? Would the Comte even have admitted me into his presence?"
"And so . . . you planned this robbery . . . you . . ." stammered St.
Genis, whose astonishment and puzzlement were rendering him as speechless as his rage had done. "I"ll not believe it," he continued more firmly; "you are fooling me, now that I have found you out."
"Why should I do that? You are in my hands, and not I in yours.
Bonaparte is victorious at Gren.o.ble. I could take the money to him and earn his grat.i.tude, or use the money for mine own ends. What have I to fear from you? What cause to fool you? Your opinion of me? M. le Comte"s contempt or goodwill? Bah! after to-night are we likely to meet again?"
St. Genis said nothing in reply. Of a truth there was nothing that he could say. The Englishman"s whole att.i.tude bore the impress of truth.
Even through that still seething wrath which refused to be appeased, St.
Genis felt that the other was speaking the truth. His mind now was in turmoil of wonderment. This man who stood here before him had done something which he--St. Genis--could not comprehend. Vaguely he realised that beneath the man"s actions there still lay a yet deeper foundation of dignity and of heroism and one which perhaps would never be wholly fathomed.
It was Clyffurde who at last broke the silence between them:
"You, M. de St. Genis," he said lightly, "would under like circ.u.mstances have acted just as I did, I am sure. The whole idea was so easy of execution. Half a dozen loafers to aid me, the part of highwayman to play--an old man and two or three defenceless women--my part was not heroic, I admit," he added with a smile, "but it has served its purpose.
The money is safe in my keeping now, within a few days His Majesty the King of France shall have it, and all those who strive to serve him loyally can rest satisfied."
"I confess I don"t understand you," said St. Genis, as he seemed to shake himself free from some unexplainable spell that held him. "You have rendered us and the legitimate cause of France a signal service!
Why did you do it?"
"You forget, M. de St. Genis, that the legitimate cause of France is England"s cause as well."
"Are you a servant of your country then? I thought you were a tradesman engaged in buying gloves."
Clyffurde smiled. "So I am," he said, "but even a tradesman may serve his country, if he has the opportunity."
"I hope that your country will be duly grateful," said Maurice, with a sigh. "I know that every royalist in France would thank you if they knew."
"By your leave, M. de St. Genis, no one in France need know anything but what you choose to tell them. . . ."
"You mean . . ."
"That except for rea.s.suring M. le Comte de Cambray and . . . and Mlle.
Crystal, there is no reason why they should ever know what pa.s.sed between us in this room to-night."
"But if the King is to have the money, he . . ."