Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 206 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

sian embassy, when our people were in Spain, but I understand the marquis talks a Italian.” Napoleon turned eagerly on Delmont. -- Von speak Italian?” he asked in that tongue. The Mexican replied rapidly: “Yes, majesty, but it is not safe. seilles patois is Greek to this Briton. bunch of violets for you.” CHAPTER IX. THE YACHT, THE Mexican had spoken in Italian of a peculiar sort, a patois in itself, which the | Fa Tie i in Corsica, recognized as one used | had been invalided by the poune of French and Italian, with many panish words intermingled. With the quick intuition for which he was noted, he understood that the other must be playing a part, and the words—“ I havea bunch of violets for you,’—informed him that the Mexican was a Bonapartist, come to St. Helena with a view to aiding the emperor’s mc ge The violet bad been the secret symbol of the escape from Elba, and had been adopted by the Bonapartists as their typical flower. The captive emperor answered therefore, in the Marseillais patois, which is still more bar- barous and unintelligible to a foreigner: ‘** When will you bring the flowers?’ “At night. Send one to meet me in the town. Let him have his cross on the right breast, instead of the left.” ‘He shall go to-night.” Here Gervaise, who had been looking puzzled and ious, interposed: “This will not do, general. If you compel me to resume official relations, I must declare this interview at an end.” The emperor burst out laughing. ‘‘On my word, monsieur le capitaine, you will confer a favor on me. I thought this gentleman understood Italian, but it seems it is only some barbarous dialect that I never heard before, and I have tried himin three different tois—Neapolitan, Corsican and Piedmontese. e cannot understand each other a whit. I am sorry, for be seems to be a gentleman, but I am a little tired to-day, therefore, I will thank be to convey this party a hint in English, that wish to be alone,’ Gervaise looked much relieved at this, and hurried the visitors out of the room, when the emperor turned to Bertrand, with the low query: ‘Well, did you hear?” Bertrand, unable to conceal his joy, was pale and trembling, as he replied: ‘Yes, sire. God grant he succeed. He must be a bold man. Yet he is only a boy.” : ag emperor began to pace the room rest- essly. ¢ i thought this Sir Hudson was a fool when he talked of attempts at rescue,” he said, slowly, ‘but it seems all my friends are not dead yet, This boy, who can he be? I never saw him in my life that I know. He cannot be over twenty years old,” ‘* Boys become men soon in our day,” was Bertrand’s adroit Foply. ‘*T have heard that the commander of the army of Italy was but twenty-seven,” “Twenty-six, Bertrand. Peste! you do not know your history of France,” was the pettish interruption, ‘‘ and Desaix was younger than I, Poor Desaix!” He kept <p his restless walk, and in a moment more, added: | *““T must send some one who will not be known. They will watch you and Montholon. This man wants to send a message to me. Whom can [ trust?” “I suggest Doctor Autoumarchi, sire. A doctor can go anywhere.” ‘No, no. He is too well known as a firm friend of mine. Gavroche must go.” ‘* The groom, sire?’ ‘Yes. **But he has not the brains to carry on an intrigue of this sort.” | ‘** He can carry a message, and that is all that is necessary. Send for bim openly. Tell him, in the presence cf the puard, that I wish to scold him about my horse to-day. I will soon see if he bas any wit. We must creep if we cannot walk, Bertrand.” Bertrand bowed, and was about to leave the room when they heard a knock at the door, and the emperor’s valet entered, and said: ‘* Please, eed majesty, Gavroche, the groom, wished me to inform you that the gray horse is sick from his gallop to-day and fe wishes to ask if you have any objection to using the bay to-morrow or this evening.” The emperor glanced at Bertrand. The room door was wide open and they could see the form of the English sentry on the veran- da, pacing to and fro, while Captain Gervaise was seated in a wicker chair near the doorway, so as to hear everything. The emperor put on an appearance of great anger, and began to scold the valet violently. ‘““Gavroche is a fool, and you another. How dare he send such a silly message? It is time he learned bis duties better, Send him to me at ittle The Mar- I have a | SN SS tll SSS ee . ee ee One Eye, the Cannoneer. 12 once. Tell him J] am angry at his stupidity. Do you hear what I say, dolt?” . The valet bowed obsequiously. ““T will tell him, sire.” Then he went out, and the emperor whispered to Bertrand: “‘T told you be was no fool. I know how to pick my men. He has something to say to me. Ah, these English, they are no match in brains for the Gaul.” The door remained open, and they saw the form of Gavroche come up the steps and stand humbly before Gervaise at a salute. Gavroche was an old cavalry soldier, who since the battle of Leipsic, hermen of the Gulf of Lyons, a com- | and had obtained leave to go to St. Helena as Napoleon’s groom. Catiaiee looked at him coldly. ‘* Well, soldier?” ‘‘T am no soldier, please, captain.” ‘Well, groom, what do you want?” ‘To see his majesty, captain.” ‘You mean General Bonaparte, the prisoner, I suppose.” ‘‘T mean his majesty, Napoleon by the voice of the French people crowned emperor.” ‘‘Humph! yes, and beaten at Waterloo.” “ Yes, captain, by two armies together, after the English were running.” Gervaise colored slightly. ‘“‘ Thou’rt an impudent rascal,” he said sharp- ly. ‘‘If the poaeees cannot teach thee manners, Sir Hudson shall. What dost thou want?’ ‘*To see the prisoner. He has sent for me, captain.” avroche adopted ‘the prisoner” as a safe title, on which both could agree, and Gervaise said, sullenly: ‘Well, go in. Tell him that if he cannot teach thee respect to the officer on duty, I'll see another man put in thy place. Goin.” Gavroche saluted with the same stiff imper- turbability, vailing sarcasm, that he had shown all through the interview, and marched in, where he stood bolt upright before the emperor, saying: M Your majesty sent for me, Mathieu tells me, about the gray horse. Indeed, sire, I am not to blame, and if—” ‘* Silence!” cried theemperor angrily. ‘‘ Since when do my grooms speak before they are spoken to?” Gavroche, while the emperor was scolding, ut bis fingers into the lining of his cap, whic + held before bim and adroitly extricated therefrom a little white note, which he held up before him, as he answered boldly: ‘Since your majesty began to blame us for nothing, I, for my part, am tired of this dog’s life in St. Helena, and if the English will per- mit, I shall leave your service to-morrow. “* Prenez lui.” Take it.) e muttered the last words under his breath, as the emperor advanced on him, shouting fiercely. ‘** Rascal! Impudent villain! dare insult me? Take that!” And with the word he struck the old soldier with his open hand on the breast, snatching away the note and continuing violently: “So you wish to leave my service, do you? You shall do it at once, insolent ingrate, cis- grace to Fra-ce! Here, Bertrand, see that this villain is paid to-morrow, and that I never see his face again.” Gervaise had risen, and was looking into the room with an expression of scornful amusement that showed how the scene pleased him, and Gavroche, who had his back turned to the Englishman, had a broad grin on his ace, as he whispered: ‘“T am a Gascon, sire,” Then he stepped back with a slight halt and stagger, and shook his fist at the emperor, cry- ing: i Aha, itis well, I have been a faithful sol- dier and blows are my reward. I will go back to France, I will—yes. I will enter the king’s service. The old kings of France don’t strike their old servants.” ‘* Because they're afraid,” he added in a low voice, with a grin of appreciation at the part he was pleying. Then he whispered: “* Put me out, sire, put me out.” With that he burst into loud cries as if he were more than half drunk, and the emperor seized him by both shoulders and shook him violently, shouting: ‘* Ah, rascal, I see. Thou art drunk as an owl. Go! Be off! Hola, Captain Gervaise, how dare you let this villain in to insult me!” And so ran him off the veranda, the English sentry openly laughing at what he thought an unseemly exhibition of passion, while Gervaise stood with a slight smile on his face, as the em- peror turned back into his room and slammed Do you also ee oo Bertrand nodded and hid the note in his pocket, when the emperor threw open the door again, and began a tirade of reproaches to Ger- vaise for not seeing, as Gavroche came in, that the man was drunk. Under the cover of this noise, Bertrand left the room to read the little note, which he found contained these words: ‘*At the end of the paren of Longwood is @ thicket at the edge of the f phe a7 here is no sentry there, but I can ascend at night. I will meet any emissary you send to the summer house, an hour after taps are beaten in the English porn ** DELMONT.’* Bertrand read it over two or three times, and destroyed it carefully. He knew the spot well. The garden of Longwood at that point ended in a sheer precipice of two hrentiedt feet, from whence a steep bank went down four or five hundred more to a ravine, that led ultimately to the sea, separated from the town of Jamestown by a ridge. At this point, which commanded a view of the harbor and some fifty miles of sea, was built a small summer house, a favorite resort of the emperor in the evenin the only spot on the island” deemed necessary. It looked out on the harbor and was com- manded, on the opposite side of a valley of which the point formed the southern spur, by a little telegraph post. It was not deemed possible that any danger existed in the precipice at the side of the sum- mer house, so that Sir Hudson had failed to station a sentry at its foot. Bertrand went back to his master, whom he found reading in his private study, and com- municated to him the purport of the singular missive. The emperor listened, and observed: ‘*The man is bold, but how is he to climb the precipice?” Bertrand shrugged his shoulders. “That is bis affair. Al he asks of us is to go to the summer house.” ‘“T see. Well, I will go.” ‘‘Tf I may presume, sire—” “You may. Goon,” ‘*T should say do not go.” “Ah! why not?’ ‘‘Tt may be a trick,” ‘Of whom?’ “Of Sir Hudson.” ‘Perhaps. I have thought of it.” ‘** And if your majesty goes—” ‘They ay follow and make it a pretext for further insults. You are right, count.” ‘* But if 1 go, sire—” ‘Tt will be the same thing. You are not a prisoner, but are free to depart and go where you wish.” ‘*Exactly, sire. Therefore—” ‘You are the person to go there.” The emperor turned over the leaves of his: book a and presently said: ‘By the by, we can use Gavroche in the matter, as an intermediary,” Bertrand looked puzzled, and the other smiled as he said playfully: ‘* Ah, Bertrand, you are a simpleton, after all. Talleyrand would have seen that in a mo- ment. Gavrochbe was drunk pe Oo goes into town on a frolic. He is sorry to-morrow, and comes back, begging to be taken and for- given,” ‘* Yes, sire—” ‘Yes, sire! Don’t you see that I am of a for- giving nature, but not too forgiving, while you are a peacemaker. It will take a good week of intercession before I forgive this rascal, and in the mean time he is going and coming. By the by, where is this Mexican’s yacht? Have you seen it yet?” ‘ No, sire.” “It is time bbe did. Report to me when you come back. I am going to sleep,” And before Bertrand bad left the room the Hey nes eyes were closed, and he was dozing in his chair. The general, who occupied the position of chief of the emperor’s household, was so used to Spee, Spencers freely on the island that his mov? ments excited no comment. The English, in- deed, with the sole exception of Sir Hudson Lowe, looked upon the idea of a serious attempt at rescue of their illustrious captive as chimeri- cal, trolled by two twilight, and about Set in the midst of an ocean, frigates all the time, not a sail could approach within a hundred miles without being hailed by _ one of the vigilant watchers, and so far no sus- p'cious visitors bad been seen evading the em- peror’s guardians, : The complaints of the captive as to his harsh treatment were in fact generally sympathized. the door violently as if enraged beyond pa- | tience, Nevertheless, the face of the captive wore a triumphant smile as the door closed, and he said to Bertrand: ‘Take the note and read it. I must not be seen with it. Tell me its contents when we are unobserved, and burn it.” with among the officers of the garrison, who looked on Sir Hudson Lowe with the more dis- like that he had never seen any active service, but was a peace martinet in bis record. Count Bertrand therefore rode down to the port without attracting any notice, and took a survey of all the ships in the harbor, among which he soon perceived a craft that he made up his niind must be the object of his search. Mmilecbooks (E() where no sentry was (E(0)