"Ah! Madame," he exclaimed, "the baron had nothing to do with this movement; far from it----"

He paused; all this was pa.s.sing in the court-yard, in the glare of the torches which had been lighted up by the servants. Anyone in the public road could hear and see all. He realized the imprudence of which they were guilty.

"Come, Madame," said he, leading the baroness toward the house; "and you, also, Maurice, come!"

It was with the silent and pa.s.sive submission of great misery that Mme.

d'Escorval obeyed the cure.

Her body alone moved in mechanical obedience; her mind and heart were flying through s.p.a.ce to the man who was her all, and whose mind and heart were even then, doubtless, calling to her from the dread abyss into which he had fallen.

But when she had pa.s.sed the threshold of the drawing-room, she trembled and dropped the priest's arm, rudely recalled to the present reality.

She recognized Marie-Anne in the lifeless form extended upon the sofa.

"Mademoiselle Lacheneur!" she faltered, "here in this costume--dead!"

One might indeed believe the poor girl dead, to see her lying there rigid, cold, and as white as if the last drop of blood had been drained from her veins. Her beautiful face had the immobility of marble; her half-opened, colorless lips disclosed teeth convulsively clinched, and a large dark-blue circle surrounded her closed eyelids.

Her long black hair, which she had rolled up closely to slip under her peasant's hat, had become unbound, and flowed down in rich ma.s.ses over her shoulders and trailed upon the floor.

"She is only in a state of syncope; there is no danger," declared the abbe, after he had examined Marie-Anne. "It will not be long before she regains consciousness."

And then, rapidly but clearly, he gave the necessary directions to the servants, who were astonished at their mistress.

Mme. d'Escorval looked on with eyes dilated with terror. She seemed to doubt her own sanity, and incessantly pa.s.sed her hand across her forehead, thickly beaded with cold sweat.

"What a night!" she murmured. "What a night!"

"I must remind you, Madame," said the priest, sympathizingly, but firmly, "that reason and duty alike forbid you thus to yield to despair! Wife, where is your energy? Christian, what has become of your confidence in a just and beneficial G.o.d?"

"Oh! I have courage, Monsieur," faltered the wretched woman. "I am brave!"

The abbe led her to a large arm-chair, where he forced her to seat herself, and in a gentler tone, he resumed:

"Besides, why should you despair, Madame? Your son, certainly, is with you in safety. Your husband has not compromised himself; he has done nothing which I myself have not done."

And briefly, but with rare precision, he explained the part which he and the baron had played during this unfortunate evening.

But this recital, instead of rea.s.suring the baroness, seemed to increase her anxiety.

"I understand you," she interrupted, "and I believe you. But I also know that all the people in the country round about are convinced that my husband commanded the insurrectionists. They believe it, and they will say it."

"And what of that?"

"If he has been arrested, as you give me to understand, he will be summoned before a court-martial. Was he not the friend of the Emperor?

That is a crime, as you very well know. He will be convicted and sentenced to death."

"No, Madame, no! Am I not here? I will appear before the tribunal, and I shall say: 'Here I am! I have seen and I know all.'"

"But they will arrest you, alas, Monsieur, because you are not a priest according to the hearts of these cruel men. They will throw you in prison, and you, will meet him upon the scaffold."

Maurice had been listening, pale and trembling.

But on hearing these last words, he sank upon his knees, hiding his face in his hands:

"Ah! I have killed my father!" he exclaimed.

"Unhappy child! what do you say?"

The priest motioned him to be silent; but he did not see him, and he pursued:

"My father was ignorant even of the existence of this conspiracy of which Monsieur Lacheneur was the guiding spirit; but I knew it--I wished him to succeed, because on his success depended the happiness of my life. And then--wretch that I was!--when I wished to attract to our ranks some timid or wavering accomplice, I used the loved and respected name of d'Escorval. Ah, I was mad! I was mad!"

Then, with a despairing gesture, he added:

"And yet, even now, I have not the courage to curse my folly! Oh, mother, mother, if you knew----"

His sobs interrupted him. Just then a faint moan was heard.

Marie-Anne was regaining consciousness. Already she had partially risen from the sofa, and sat regarding this terrible scene with an air of profound wonder, as if she did not understand it in the least.

Slowly and gently she put back her hair from her face, and opened and closed her eyes, which seemed dazzled by the light of the candles.

She endeavored to speak, to ask some question, but Abbe Midon commanded silence by a gesture.

Enlightened by the words of Mme. d'Escorval and by the confession of Maurice, the abbe understood at once the extent of the frightful danger that menaced the baron and his son.

How was this danger to be averted? What must be done?

He had no time for explanation or reflection; with each moment, a chance of salvation fled. He must decide and act without delay.

The abbe was a brave man. He darted to the door, and called the servants who were standing in the hall and on the staircase.

When they were gathered around him:

"Listen to me, intently," said he, in that quick and imperious voice that impresses one with the certainty of approaching peril, "and remember that your master's life depends, perhaps, upon your discretion.

We can rely upon you, can we not?"

Every hand was raised as if to call upon G.o.d to witness their fidelity.

"In less than an hour," continued the priest, "the soldiers sent in pursuit of the fugitives will be here. Not a word must be uttered in regard to what has pa.s.sed this evening. Everyone must be led to suppose that I went away with the baron and returned alone. Not one of you must have seen Mademoiselle Lacheneur. We are going to find a place of concealment for her. Remember, my friends, if there is the slightest suspicion of her presence here, all is lost. If the soldiers question you, endeavor to convince them that Monsieur Maurice has not left the house this evening."

He paused, trying to think if he had forgotten any precaution that human prudence could suggest, then added:

"One word more; to see you standing about at this hour of the night will awaken suspicion at once. But this is what I desire. We will plead in justification, the alarm that you feel at the absence of the baron, and also the indisposition of madame--for madame is going to retire--she will thus escape interrogation. And you, Maurice, run and change your clothes; and, above all, wash your hands, and sprinkle some perfume upon them."

All present were so impressed with the imminence of the danger, that they were more than willing to obey the priest's orders.