Orrain | Page 9

large one. Favoured by darkness, we loosened the
knot, and, taking to the oars, crossed the river without being perceived
by a soul.
Once on the opposite bank we made the boat fast to some piles of wood

near the water's edge, and leaving a piece of silver for the boatman,
which I trust he found, we took the road to the Abbey of St. Germain.
Near here we found a retreat in the scaffolding of a house that was
being repaired. There we stayed until it was light, and about six in the
morning arrived at the inn, as though we were early travellers who had
entered Paris on the opening of the Porte St. Germain. In this manner,
favoured by luck, and by the exercise of caution, I bade farewell to the
Rue de Lavandières, and gave Camus the slip, without leaving any
trace behind me.
The Chapeau Rouge was an inn mostly frequented by students, and in
my younger days I knew it well, though, to be sure, more than a dozen
years had passed since I last entered it. It was surrounded by a large
garden, enclosed by a high wall, and I could have chosen no better
place for my purpose, which was to lie close during the day, and, as
soon as horses were procured, to depart at dusk, about the hour of the
shutting of the gates.
As it happened, on this day there was scarce a soul at the inn, all the
usual customers having been drawn away to witness the execution of a
Portuguese named Gomez, who had been found guilty of sorcery,
witchcraft, and other crimes, and was to suffer in expiation on the Place
Maubert.
This ill wind, however, blew fair for me, as it left me undisturbed; and
sending Pierrebon to purchase or hire horses I awaited his return.
It was well on in the afternoon, and the sun being hot I was resting in
the shade of the garden wall, when from within a summer-house all
covered with roses, that stood near to me, I heard a lute string touched
by a master-hand, and a man's voice, full and clear, began to sing "The
Three Cavaliers." With a rush a hundred recollections of the past came
back to me, and I felt myself once more a heedless boy, sitting on that
very same seat where the singer was now, and singing the same song. I
rose and went forward, and to my surprise saw it was Le Brusquet, lute
in hand, and by his side there sat a small brown ape, a collar of gold
round his neck.

I listened till the last of the song, and was about to turn away; but, the
ape running out of the summer-house at the time, the jester put his head
through the entrance, with a "Back! Pompon! back!" and caught sight
of me.
In a moment he was by my side, and, willy-nilly, forced me into the
summer-house.
"The very man I wanted," he said. "I came here to think of you. I
always come here when in doubt or trouble--and here you are--dropped
from the clouds." He poured out some wine for me, and when we had
drank a health together he asked me:
"Eh bien, monsieur, tell me how you came here; tell me all, for I am a
friend."
It was impossible not to see this, and in a few words I told him. He
listened gravely the while, stroking his ape's head.
When I had done he spoke. "I too have something to tell you. There is
an outcry about Madame Diane's Italian--the first time an outcry has
been made about any such scum. This morning there was a scene at the
petit couvert. I was there. The short of it is that the King, my gossip,
sided with his mistress as against Vendôme. Words ran so high that the
Duke was ordered to leave Paris, which he did at once."
I looked at the ring on my finger, and Le Brusquet saw the look.
"I fear," he said, "that little talisman has lost its power for the present;
but, to go on, I had other business in the morning which I could not
avoid. Towards eleven o'clock I hastened to the Rue des Lavandières to
return your sword and to warn you. To my relief you were not there.
Your hermit's paradise is gone, and an angel, in the form of one of M.
Morin's guards, is at the door. Instead of a flaming sword he carries an
arquebus----"
"It is quick work," I cut in; "and they have seized everything, I
suppose?"

"Yes; everything. And your ostensible accuser and witness against you
is one Camus, a glove-maker. He laid an information against you at
sunrise. He