The Knight of Malta Part 53

The second pirate came to the aid of the Bohemian, and, in spite of her efforts, the betrothed of the worthy Captain Trinquetaille shared the fate of her mistress, and was lowered down to the terrace with much less ceremony.

Having gained the platform of the rampart, the enterprise met with no other serious difficulty, and the two young girls were carried down the length of the wall with the same means and precautions which accomplished their descent from the balcony.

Erebus and Hadji gained the long-boat which awaited them, and the two captives were on board the chebec without a suspicion having entered the thought of a single inmate of Maison-Forte.

All, up to that time, had transpired according to the will of Erebus.

Reine and Stephanette, released from their bonds, were respectfully deposited in the cabin of the chebec, which Erebus had arranged with the most scrupulous care.

The first feeling of alarm and amazement past, Reine recovered her wonted firmness and dignity of character.

Stephanette, on the contrary, after having valiantly resisted, yielded to a grief which was nothing less than desperate.

When Erebus presented himself, she threw herself on her knees before him, weeping in anguish.

Reine preserved a gloomy silence, and did not deign even to look at her captor.

Erebus then began to be frightened at the success of his venture. He was still under the influence of good and bad instincts which struggled within him for mastery. He was not an audacious ravisher; he was a timid child.

The sullen silence, the dignified and grieved manner of Reine, impressed him and pained him at the same time.

Hadji, during the whole time of their fatal expedition, had constantly repeated to Erebus that Reine loved him pa.s.sionately, and that the first moment of shame and anger past, he would find the young girl full of tenderness and even grat.i.tude. Making one courageous effort, he approached Reine with an insolent ease of manner and said to her:

"After the storm, the suns.h.i.+ne. To-morrow you will think only of the song of the emir, and my love will dry your tears."

As he said these words, he tried to take one of Reine's hands, which she kept over her face.

"Wretch! do not come near me!" cried she, repulsing him with horror, and looking at him so disdainfully that Erebus did not dare take another step.

A veil fell from his eyes. The accent, the emotion, the indignation of Reine were so sincere that, in an instant, he lost all hope. He saw, or rather believed, that he had been grossly deceived, that the young girl had no affection for him.

In his painful surprise, he fell on his knees before Reine and, with clasped hands, cried, in a pathetic voice:

"You do not love me then?"

"You--you---"

"Oh, forgive me, forgive me, mademoiselle," continued Erebus, on his knees, with his hands clasped, and he added with charming ingenuousness: "My G.o.d! forgive me, I thought you loved me. Ah, well! no, no, do not be angry! I believed it,--the Bohemian told me so; if he had not, I should never have done what I have done."

But for the gravity of the occasion, one would have laughed to see this young pirate, lately so bold, so resolute, trembling and lowering his eyes before the angry glance of Reine.

Stephanette, struck with this contrast, in spite of her grief, could not help saying:

"Why, to hear him, one would think it was the waggish trick of a page, about some stolen ribbon or bouquet! Fie, fie, sir, you are a pagan, a monster!"

"Ah, how dreadful--how dreadful! And my father, my poor father!"

cried Reine, bursting into tears.

This sincere sorrow tore the heart of Erebus; he felt the whole extent of his crime.

"Oh! for pity--for pity's sake, do not weep so!" cried he, his own eyes full of tears. "I see my wrongs now. Tell me, what do you wish me to do to expiate them? I will do it,--command me,'--my life is yours." "Then send me back to my father, this very instant. My father, my father! if he knows of this capture, what a terrible blow for him! It is a crime for which you will always have to reproach yourself."

"Spurn me,--I deserve it,--but at least do not forget that I saved the life of your father."

"And what matters that, since you have saved it only to make him so wretched now? I shall think of you henceforth, not to bless you, but to curse you--"

"No, no!" cried Erebus, rising to his feet. "No, you will not curse me! You will say, yes, you will soon say that your words have s.n.a.t.c.hed an unhappy soul from the abyss which was about to engulf it for ever. Listen to me. This city is now happy and peaceful. The pirates are near: let the signal be given from this chebec,--death, pillage, and flames will desolate this coast--"

"My G.o.d! my G.o.d! oh, my father!" cried Reine.

"Take courage, that signal shall not be given. I will save this city.

You are in my power, and this very hour, I will have you carried back to land. Ah, well, then say--oh, say, if I do that," implored Erebus, with profound sadness, "will you think of me sometimes without anger and without contempt?"

"I will never thank G.o.d, for having restored me to my father, without thinking with grat.i.tude of the saviour of the Baron des Anbiez," said Reine, with dignity.

"And Erebus shall be worthy of your remembrance!" cried the young pirate. "I am going now to prepare for your departure, and I shall return for you."

He went up on deck in haste. The chebec was lying to. The two galleys could be seen in the distance. Although the chebec belonged to Pog-Reis, Erebus had commanded the vessel for three years. He believed that he had won the affection of the whole crew. When he reached the deck, he saw Hadji in the act of lighting a fuse, the signal agreed upon between Pog and Erebus, to announce that Mlle, des Anbiez was on board the chebec, and therefore the attack on La Ciotat could begin.

"Stop," said Erebus to Hadji, "do not give the signal yet. For a long time you have been devoted to me; today, especially, you have served me faithfully. Listen to me now."

"Speak quickly, Lord Erebus, for Pog-Reis is waiting for the signal, and if I delay to give it, he will make me ride the chase-gun on his galley, with a ball on each foot to hold me in position."

"If you obey me, you will have nothing to fear. This life of murder and robbery is hateful to me; the men that I command are less brutal than their companions; they love me; they have confidence in me; I can propose to them to abandon the galleys. The chebec is superior to the galleys in speed. After the expedition of which I will tell you presently, we will set sail for the East,--the Grecian Archipelago; when we arrive at Smyrna, we will put ourselves in the pay of the bey, and instead of being pirates, we will become soldiers; instead of cutting the throats of merchants on the deck of their vessels, we will fight men. Will you second me?" Hadji had kept the lighted match in his hand; holding it to his mouth, he brightened the flame with imperturbable coolness, and said to Erebus:

"Are those all the plans you have, Lord Erebus?"

"No, they are not all. To prevent the new crimes contemplated by Pog-Reis, we are going to approach the galleys under full sail, and cry with fright that we have just seen, on the horizon, the fires of the king's galleys. They know that the galleys of the King of France are at Ma.r.s.eilles, and dread their coming, and so will easily believe us. Pog-Reis will take flight before these superior forces, and this unfortunate city will escape, at least for this time, the horrible fate which threatens it. Ah, well, what do you say to my plan? You have influence over the crew, second me."

Hadji blew his match again, looked at Erebus steadily, and for reply, before the latter could prevent it, set fire to the fuse which was to serve as a signal for the attack of the pirates.

The fatal light darted into s.p.a.ce like a meteor.

"Wretch!" cried Erebus, throwing himself on Hadji with rage.

Hadji, with strength superior to that of the young man, wrested himself from his hands, and said to him, with mingled irony, respect, and affection:

"Listen, Lord Erebus; neither I nor these brave men have any desire to exchange our liberty for the discipline of the bey's soldiers. The sea in all its immensity is ours; we would be the proud courser that has the limitless desert for his career, rather than the blindfolded horse that turns the machinery to draw water from a well. Now the service of beyliks, compared to our adventurous life, is nothing more. In a word, we are devils, and we are not old enough yet to become hermits, as the Christians say. Our trade pleases us. We will not give up liberty for a prison."

"So be it; you are a hardened villain, I believed you had n.o.bler sentiments. But so much the worse for you; the crew is attached to me, they will listen to me and will give me a strong hand to get rid of you, if you dare oppose my plans."

"By Eblis! what are you saying, Lord Erebus?" cried the Bohemian, with an ironical air. "You treat me so, I, who, to serve you, sang to your lady-love the song of the emir! I, who demeaned myself to the low trade of a tinker! I, who defiled myself by helping Dame Dulceline raise a sort of altar to the G.o.d of the Christians! I, who, to serve you, set the foot of the greyhound belonging to Raimond V. and even consented to shoe the old sot's horse!"

"Be silent, you scoundrel! not a word more of that unhappy father to whom I have given such a cruel blow! Reflect well, I am going to speak to the crew, whatever it may cost me; there is still time for you to rally to my aid and become an honest man."

"Listen, my Lord Erebus; you propose to me to become an honest man.

I shall reply to you as a poet and a tinker. When for years a thick and corrosive rust has acc.u.mulated on a copper vase, and this rust has been bronzed by fire, you may rub a thousand years and more without giving back to this vase its original purity and brilliancy, and at last succeed in making it a little less black only than the wings of Eblis!

Ah, well! such as we, I and my companions, we are bronzed by evil.

Do not try to entice us to good. You will be neither understood nor obeyed."