We went up the three flights and along the pa.s.sage to the door at the back, whereon M. etienne pounded loudly. I could not see his reason, and heartily I wished he would not. It seemed to me a creepy thing to be knocking on a man"s door when we knew very well he would never open it again. We knocked as if we fully thought him within, when all the while we knew he was lying a stone on the stones under M. de Mirabeau"s garden wall. Perhaps by this time he had been found; perhaps one of the marquis"s liveried lackeys, or a pa.s.sing idler, or a woman with a market-basket had come upon him; perhaps even now he was being borne away on a plank to be identified. And here were we, knocking, knocking, as if we innocently expected him to open to us. I had a chill dread that suddenly he would open to us. The door would swing wide and show him pale and b.l.o.o.d.y, with the broken sword in his heart. At the real creaking of a hinge I could scarce swallow a cry.
It was not Bernet"s door, but the door at the front which opened, letting a stream of sunlight into the dark pa.s.sage. In the doorway stood a woman, with two bare-legged babies clinging to her skirts.
"Madame," M. etienne addressed her, with the courtesy due to a d.u.c.h.ess, "I have been knocking at M. Bernet"s door without result. Perhaps you could give me some hint as to his whereabouts?"
"Ah, I am sorry. I know nothing to tell monsieur," she cried regretfully, impressed, as the concierge had not been, by his look and manner. "But this I can say: he went out last night, and I do not believe he has been in since. He went out about nine--or it may have been later than that. Because I did not put the children to bed till after dark; they enjoy running about in the cool of the evening as much as anybody else, the little dears. And they were cross last night, the day was so hot, and I was a long time hushing them to sleep. Yes, it must have been after ten, because they were asleep, and the man stumbling on the stairs woke Pierre. And he cried for an hour. Didn"t you, my angel?"
She picked one of the brats up in her arms to display him to us. M.
etienne asked:
"What man?"
"Why, the one that came for him. The one he went out with."
"And what sort of person was this?"
"Nay, how was I to see? Would I be out walking the common pa.s.sage with a child to hush? I was rocking the cradle."
"But who does come here to visit M. Bernet?"
"I"ve never seen any one, monsieur. I"ve never laid eyes on M. Bernet but twice. I keep in my apartment. And besides, we have only been here a week."
"I thank you, madame," M. etienne said, turning to the stairs.
She ran out to the rail, babies and all.
"But I could take a message for him, monsieur. I will make a point of seeing him when he comes in."
"I will not burden you, madame," M. etienne answered from the story below. But she was loath to stop talking, and hung over the railing to call:
"Beware of your footing, monsieur. Those second-floor people are not so tidy as they might be; one stumbles over all sorts of their rubbish out in the public way."
The door in front of us opened with a startling suddenness, and a big, brawny wench bounced out to demand of us:
"What is that she says? What are you saying of us, you s.l.u.t?"
We had no mind to be mixed in the quarrel. We fled for our lives down the stair.
The old carl, though his sweeping was done, leaned on his broom on the outer step.
"So you didn"t find M. Bernet at home? I could have told you as much had you been civil enough to ask."
I would have kicked the old curmudgeon, but M. etienne drew two gold pieces from his pouch.
"Perchance if I ask you civilly, you will tell me with whom M. Bernet went out last night?"
"Who says he went out with anybody?"
"I do," and M. etienne made a motion to return the coins to their place.
"Since you know so much, it"s strange you don"t know a little more," the old chap growled. "Well, Lord knows if it is really his, but he goes by the name of Peyrot."
"And where does he lodge?"
"How should I know? I have trouble enough keeping track of my own lodgers, without bothering my head about other people"s."
"Now rack your brains, my friend, over this fellow," M. etienne said patiently, with a persuasive c.h.i.n.k of his pouch. "Recollect now; you have been sent to this monsieur with a message."
"Well, Rue des Tournelles, sign of the Gilded Shears," the old carl spat out at last.
"You are sure?"
"Hang me else."
"If you are lying to me, I will come back and beat you to a jelly with your own broom."
"It"s the truth, monsieur," he said, with some proper show of respect at last. "Peyrot, at the Gilded Shears, Rue des Tournelles. You may beat me to a jelly if I lie."
"It would do you good in any event," M. etienne told him, but flinging him his pistoles, nevertheless. The old fellow swooped upon them, gathered them up, and was behind the closed door all in one movement.
But as we walked away, he opened a little wicket in the upper panel, and stuck out his ugly head to yell after us:
"If M. Bernet"s not at home yet, neither will his friend be. I"ve told you what will profit you none."
"You mistake, Sir Gargoyle," M. etienne called over his shoulder. "Your information is entirely to my needs."
XXIII
_The Chevalier of the Tournelles._
It was a long walk to the Rue des Tournelles, which lay in our own quarter, not a dozen streets from the Hotel St. Quentin itself. We found the Gilded Shears hung before a tailor"s shop in the cellar of a tall, cramped structure, only one window wide. Its narrow door was inhospitably shut, but at our summons the concierge appeared to inform us that M. Peyrot did truly live here and, moreover, was at home, having arrived but half an hour earlier than we. He would go up and find out whether monsieur could see us.
But M. etienne thought that formality unnecessary, and was able, at small expense, to convince the concierge of it. We went alone up the stairs and crept very quietly along the pa.s.sage toward the door of M.
Peyrot. But our shoes made some noise on the flags; had he been listening, he might have heard us as easily as we heard him. Peyrot had not yet gone to bed after the night"s exertion; a certain clatter and gurgle convinced us that he was refreshing himself with supper, or breakfast, before reposing.
M. etienne stood still, his hand on the door-k.n.o.b, eager, hesitating.
Here was the man; were the papers here? If they were, should we secure them? A single false step, a single wrong word, might foil us.
The sound of a chair pushed back came from within, and a young man"s quick, firm step pa.s.sed across to the far side of the room. We heard a box shut and locked. M. etienne nipped my arm; we thought we knew what went in. Then came steps again and a loud yawn, and presently two whacks on the floor. We knew as well as if we could see that Peyrot had thrown his boots across the room. Next a clash and jangle of metal, that meant his sword-belt with its accoutrements flung on the table. M. etienne, with the rapid murmur, "If I look at you, nab him," turned the door-handle.
But M. Peyrot had prepared against surprise by the simple expedient of locking his door. He heard us, too, for he stopped in the very middle of a prolonged yawn and held himself absolutely still. M. etienne called out softly:
"Peyrot!"
"Who is it?"