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"At the sign of the Bonnet Rouge?" cried the officer. "The very same," replied Coursegol, boldly, though until now he had been ignorant of the sign which distinguished his friend Bridoul's establishment. "Bridoul is a true patriot. Thanks to him, you will incur no risk! You will now be conducted to the Commissioners." "Many thanks for your kindness, lieutenant," said Coursegol.
Bridoul folded the precious document and placed it in his pocket; then he turned to the assistant who was supporting Dolores and ordered him to deliver his charge to Robespierre's clerks; the man at once obeyed. Bridoul then came down from the platform and went to Coursegol. The latter began at once to question him. "Hush!" said he. "Not a word now! I will explain all in time!
She listened sadly, then shook her head and said: "Bridoul is right. Philip and Antoinette have left the country; we shall never see them again. After all, it is, perhaps, for the best, since they are in safety."
The good woman had been waiting at the door of the "Bonnet Rouge" and had sprang into the carriage the moment it stopped. Dolores was still very faint and utterly bewildered. She glanced at Cornelia, at Bridoul and then at Coursegol. Then she swooned again.
In the midst of the tumult which we have attempted to describe, Coursegol was troubled, not so much by the impatience of Dolores as by the doubts that beset him when he thought of Bridoul. He had not seen the latter for three years.
She had paid for the satisfaction of knowing that he was happy and prosperous with all that made life desirable; and this uncertainty was hard to bear. "Come, come, my child, do not weep," Coursegol would say at times like these. "We shall soon discover what has become of them." "They are in England or in Germany," added Bridoul, "probably quite as much distressed about you as you are about them.
At the instance of Bridoul he had speculated a little in assignats which were constantly fluctuating in value. It was the only negotiation in which Coursegol would consent to embark. He might have trafficked in the estates of the Émigres which the Republic was selling at a merely nominal price; but he had no desire to become the owner of what he considered stolen property.
You will be closely watched, for we are surrounded by spies; and if any act of yours arouses the slightest suspicion we shall all go to sleep on the straw in the Conciergerie or the Abbaye, until we are sent to the block!" Coursegol uttered a groan. "Why do you sigh?" asked Bridoul. "All this does not prevent me from doing a service to such as deserve it.
"We are going to my house," said Bridoul, as the vehicle started off at the top of its horses' speed, the crowd leaving it an open passage. Dolores revived and opened her eyes just as they reached the wine-shop. The first thing Dolores saw was the kindly face of Cornelia Bridoul, who was bending over her with tears of joy in her eyes.
He felt certain that Philip would not hesitate to hazard his life in such an enterprise if he were still alive; and it was in the hope of meeting him that he attended the trial of the unfortunate monarch, and that, on the twentieth day of January, he accompanied Bridoul to the very steps of the guillotine. The king was beheaded; no attempt was made to rescue him.
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