Several hours pa.s.sed, but Frederick did not appear, and the light of the dull November day was already beginning to wane when Marguerite came running in.
"Madame, madame," she exclaimed, "here is Father Andre! He saw M.
Frederick this morning."
"You saw my son this morning, Andre? What did he say to you? Where is he now?" cried Madame Bastien, eagerly.
"Yes, madame, M. Frederick came to me for some bullets about sunrise this morning."
"Bullets? What did he want of them?" asked the anxious mother, trying to drive away the horrible suspicion that had suddenly presented itself to her mind. "Did he want them for hunting?"
"Of course, madame; for M. Frederick told me that Jean Francois--you know Jean Francois, the farmer near Coudraie?"
"Yes, yes, I know; go on."
"It seems that Jean Francois told M. Frederick yesterday that a wild boar got into his garden a night or two ago, and ruined his potatoes; and M. Frederick told me he was going to station himself in a hiding-place that Jean Francois knew of, and kill the animal."
"But that is so dangerous," cried Madame Bastien. "Frederick never shot at a boar in his life. If he misses, he is sure to be killed."
"I don"t think you need feel any anxiety, madame. M. Frederick is an excellent shot, and--"
"Then my son is at the farmer"s house now, I suppose?"
"I presume so, as he is going with the farmer this evening."
A quarter of an hour afterward the young mother, panting and breathless,--for she had run every step of the way,--knocked at the door of the farmhouse, where Jean Francois and his wife and children were seated around the fire.
"Jean Francois, take me where my son is at once," cried Madame Bastien; then she added, reproachfully, "How could you allow a youth of his age to expose himself to such danger? But come, I entreat you, come, it may not be too late to prevent this imprudence on his part."
The farmer and his wife exchanged looks of profound astonishment, then Jean Francois said:
"Excuse me, madame, but I"ve no idea what you mean."
"Didn"t you complain to my son last night of a wild boar that had been ravaging your garden?"
"Oh, the boars find so many nuts in the forest this year that they are not inclined to leave it. They have done us no damage up to the present time, thank Heaven."
"But you urged my son to come and take a shot at some boar."
"No, madame, no; I never even spoke of any boar to him."
Overcome with dread and consternation, Marie stood perfectly silent and motionless for a moment. At last she murmured:
"Frederick lied to Andre. And those bullets--my G.o.d!--those bullets, what did he intend to do with them?"
The honest farmer, seeing Madame Bastien"s intense anxiety, and thinking to rea.s.sure her at least in a measure, said to her:
"I never said anything to M. Frederick about hunting boars, but if you want to find him, I think I know where he is."
"You have seen him, then?"
"Yes, madame. Madame knows that steep hill about a mile from the Vieille Coupe road, as you go to the chateau through the forest?"
"Yes, yes; what of it?"
"Why, just at dusk I was coming down that hill on my way home, when I saw M. Frederick come out of the forest and cross the road on the run."
"How long ago was this?"
"At least half an hour."
"Jean Francois, you are a good man. I am in great trouble. Take me to the place where you saw my son, I implore you," pleaded the young mother.
"I see what the trouble is, madame, and I don"t know but you have good cause to feel anxious--"
"Go on--go on."
"Well, the fact is that you"re afraid that M. Frederick may be caught poaching in the Pont Brillant woods. I feel in the same way, madame, and I honestly think we have reason to be alarmed, for the young marquis is bitter against poachers, and as jealous of his game as his deceased father used to be. His guards are always on the watch, and if they find M. Frederick poaching it will go hard with him."
"Yes, yes, that is what I am afraid of," replied Madame Bastien, quickly. "You see we haven"t a minute to lose. Jean Francois, I must get my son away at any cost."
CHAPTER XV.
When Marie Bastien and her guide left the farmhouse they found that the fog had lifted, and that the moon was shining brightly.
A profound silence reigned.
Jean Francois strode on for a moment or two in silence, then, moderating his pace, he turned and said:
"Pardon, me, madame, I am going too fast, perhaps."
"Too fast? Oh, no, my friend, you cannot go too fast. Go on, go on, I can keep up with you."
Then, after they had walked a few minutes longer in silence, Marie asked:
"When you saw my son, did he seem excited or agitated?" And as the farmer turned to reply, Madame Bastien exclaimed:
"Don"t lose a minute, talk as we walk."
"I can hardly say, madame. I saw him come out of the forest, run across the road, and enter a thicket which he had probably selected as a hiding-place."
"And you think you would know this thicket?"
"Unquestionably, madame. It is only about ten rods from the sign-post on the main road to the chateau."