"Yes, I am Lacheneur," he replied, after a moment"s hesitation; "I am Lacheneur. Betray me, if you will, but in charity"s name give me a morsel of bread, and allow me to rest a little."
At the words "betray me," the young woman made a gesture of horror and disgust.
"We betray you, sir!" said she. "Ah! you do not know the Antoines! Enter our house, and lie down upon the bed while I prepare some refreshments for you. When my husband comes home, we will see what can be done."
It was nearly sunset when the master of the house, a robust mountaineer, with a frank face, returned.
On beholding the stranger seated at his fireside he turned frightfully pale.
"Unfortunate woman!" he whispered to his wife, "do you not know that any man who shelters this fugitive will be shot, and his house levelled to the ground?"
Lacheneur rose with a shudder.
He had not known this. He knew the infamous reward which had been promised to his betrayer; but he had not known the danger his presence brought upon these worthy people. "I will go at once, sir," said he, gently.
But the peasant placed his large hand kindly upon his guest"s shoulder, and forced him to resume his seat.
"It was not to drive you away that I said what I did," he remarked. "You are at home, and you shall remain here until I can find some means of insuring your safety."
The pretty peasant woman flung her arms about her husband"s neck, and in tones of the most ardent affection exclaimed: "Ah! you are a n.o.ble man, Antoine."
He smiled, embraced her tenderly, then, pointing to the open door:
"Watch!" he said. "I feel it my duty to tell you, sir, that it will not be easy to save you," resumed the honest peasant. "The promises of reward have set all evil-minded people on the alert. They know that you are in the neighborhood. A rascally innkeeper has crossed the frontier for the express purpose of betraying your whereabouts to the French gendarmes."
"Balstain?"
"Yes, Balstain; and he is hunting for you now. That is not all. As I pa.s.sed through Saint-Pavin, on my return, I saw eight mounted soldiers, guided by a peasant, also on horseback. They declared that they knew you were concealed in the village, and they were going to search every house."
These soldiers were none other than the Montaignac cha.s.seurs, placed at Chupin"s disposal by the Duc de Sairmeuse.
It was indeed as Antoine had said.
The task was certainly not at all to their taste, but they were closely watched by the lieutenant in command, who hoped to receive some substantial reward if the expedition was crowned with success. Antoine, meanwhile, continued his exposition of his hopes and fears.
"Wounded and exhausted as you are," he was saying to Lacheneur, "you will be in no condition to make a long march in less than a fortnight.
Until then you must conceal yourself. Fortunately, I know a safe retreat in the mountain, not far from here. I will take you there to-night, with provisions enough to last you for a week."
A stifled cry from his wife interrupted him.
He turned, and saw her fall almost fainting against the door, her face whiter than her coif, her finger pointing to the path that led from Saint-Pavin to their cottage.
"The soldiers--they are coming!" she gasped.
Quicker than thought, Lacheneur and the peasant sprang to the door to see for themselves.
The young woman had spoken the truth.
The Montaignac cha.s.seurs were climbing the steep foot-path slowly, but surely.
Chupin walked in advance, urging them on with voice, gesture and example.
An imprudent word from the little shepherd-boy, whom M. Lacheneur had questioned, had decided the fugitive"s fate.
On returning to Saint-Pavin, and hearing that the soldiers were searching for the chief conspirator, the lad chanced to say:
"I met a man just now on the mountain who asked me where he was; and I saw him go down the footpath leading to Antoine"s cottage."
And in proof of his words, he proudly displayed the piece of silver which Lacheneur had given him.
"One more bold stroke and we have our man!" exclaimed Chupin. "Come, comrades!"
And now the party were not more than two hundred feet from the house in which the proscribed man had found an asylum.
Antoine and his wife looked at each other with anguish in their eyes.
They saw that their visitor was lost.
"We must save him! we must save him!" cried the woman.
"Yes, we must save him!" repeated the husband, gloomily. "They shall kill me before I betray a man in my own house."
"If he would hide in the stable behind the bundles of straw----"
"They would find him! These soldiers are worse than tigers, and the wretch who leads them on must have the keen scent of a blood-hound."
He turned quickly to Lacheneur.
"Come, sir," said he, "let us leap from the back window and flee to the mountains. They will see us, but no matter! These hors.e.m.e.n are always clumsy runners. If you cannot run, I will carry you. They will probably fire at us, but they will miss us."
"And your wife?" asked Lacheneur.
The honest mountaineer shuddered; but he said:
"She will join us."
Lacheneur took his friend"s hand and pressed it tenderly.
"Ah! you are n.o.ble people," he exclaimed, "and G.o.d will reward you for your kindness to a poor fugitive. But you have done too much already.
I should be the basest of men if I consented to uselessly expose you to danger. I can bear this life no longer; I have no wish to escape."
He drew the sobbing woman to him and kissed her upon the forehead.
"I have a daughter, young and beautiful like yourself, as generous and proud. Poor Marie-Anne! And I have pitilessly sacrificed her to my hatred! I should not complain; come what may, I have deserved it."
The sound of approaching footsteps became more and more distinct.
Lacheneur straightened himself up, and seemed to be gathering all his energy for the decisive moment.