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These men were evidently deeply moved, and yet, obeying a sentiment of instinctive delicacy, they affected a sort of gayety. "Here is your dinner, Monsieur," said one soldier; "it ought to be very good, for it comes from the cuisine of the commander of the citadel." M. d'Escorval smiled sadly. Some attentions on the part of one's jailer have a sinister significance.
Monsieur, will you not give me a message for Monsieur d'Escorval? Any insignificant message inform him of the prisoner's escape. I will be the bearer of the message, and then Oh! fear nothing, Monsieur; I will be prudent." "Very well!" replied the judge.
With the same anguish clutching the hearts of both, M. d'Escorval and Lacheneur sprang out upon the terrace. But all was still again. Extended as was the horizon, the eye could discern nothing unusual. The sky was blue; not a particle of smoke hung over the trees.
As for the diamond what does that prove? That the scoundrels had just met with a stroke of good luck, that they had come here to divide their booty, and that the quarrel arose from the division." This was an explanation, and such a plausable one, that M. d'Escorval was silent, reflecting before he announced his decision.
The corporal and the baron were exerting all their strength to fix the crowbar securely in a crevice of the rock. In a moment or two one of the figures stepped from the projecting rock and glided gently down the side of the precipice. It could be none other than M. d'Escorval. Transported with happiness, his wife sprang forward with open arms to receive him. Wretched woman!
He was soon obliged to admit that he was mistaken in this opinion. The investigation revealed facts which seemed incomprehensible to him. It was evident that the Baron d'Escorval and Corporal Bavois had been compelled to accomplish two successive descents. Martial had provided them; the prisoners must have used them.
There is no chance for hypocrisy; each man stands revealed in his grandeur, or in his pettiness of soul. Certainly much cowardice was displayed during the early days of the second Restoration; but many deeds of sublime courage and devotion were performed. These officers who befriended Mme. d'Escorval and Maurice who lent their aid to the abbe knew the baron only by name and reputation.
He laughed gleefully, or rather with that chuckle which was habitual to him. Anxiety, then joy, had made him forget M. d'Escorval. At the thought of him, he was smitten with remorse. "Poor man!" he murmured. "I shall succeed in saving my miserable life, for which no one cares, but I was unable to save him. Undoubtedly, by this time his friends have carried him away."
He was gravity and coldness personified, with a shade of hauteur added. Impressed by the horror of the scene the instant he placed his foot upon the threshold, M. d'Escorval acknowledged the presence of the physicians and the commissary by a slight nod of the head. The others in the room had no existence so far as he was concerned. At once his faculties went to work.
"And what are you going to do with all this rope?" inquired the new-comer. "I am going to hand it to Baron d'Escorval, to whom I have already given a file. He must make his escape to-night." So improbable was this scene that the baron could not believe his own ears. "I cannot be awake; I must be dreaming," he thought.
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