The Greatest Works of Émile Gaboriau. Emile Gaboriau
is the matter? what have you been doing, Gaston?”
“I have come to embrace you for the last time, father, and to ask for assistance to escape abroad.”
“Do you wish to fly the country?”
“I must fly, father, and instantly; I am pursued, the police may be here at any moment. I have killed two men.”
The marquis was so shocked that he forgot the gout, and attempted to rise; a violent twinge made him drop back in his chair.
“Where? When?” he gasped.
“At Tarascon, in a cafe, an hour ago; fifteen men attacked me, and I seized a knife to defend myself.”
“The old tricks of ‘93,” said the marquis. “Did they insult you, Gaston? What was the cause of the attack?”
“They insulted in my presence the name of a noble young girl.”
“And you punished the rascals? Jarnibleu! You did well. Who ever heard of a gentleman allowing insolent puppies to speak disrespectfully of a lady of quality in his presence? But who was the lady you defended?”
“Mlle. Valentine de la Verberie.”
“What!” cried the marquis, “what! the daughter of that old witch! Those accursed de la Verberies have always brought misfortune upon us.”
He certainly abominated the countess; but his respect for her noble blood was greater than his resentment toward her individually, and he added:
“Nevertheless, Gaston, you did your duty.”
Meanwhile, the curiosity of St. Jean, the marquis’s old valet, made him venture to open the door, and ask:
“Did M. the marquis ring?”
“No, you rascal,” answered M. de Clameran: “you know very well I did not. But, now you are here, be useful. Quickly bring some clothes for M. Gaston, some fresh linen, and some warm water: hasten and dress his wounds.”
These orders were promptly executed, and Gaston found he was not so badly hurt as he had thought. With the exception of a deep stab in his left shoulder, his wounds were not serious.
After receiving all the attentions which his condition required, Gaston felt like a new man, ready to brave any peril. His eyes sparkled with renewed energy and excitement.
The marquis made a sign to the servants to leave the room.
“Do you still think you ought to leave France?” he asked Gaston.
“Yes, father.”
“My brother ought not to hesitate,” interposed Louis: “he will be arrested here, thrown into prison, vilified in court, and—who knows?”
“We all know well enough that he will be convicted,” grumbled the old marquis. “These are the benefits of the immortal revolution, as it is called. Ah, in my day we three would have taken our swords, jumped on our horses, and, dashing into Tarascon, would soon have—. But those good old days are passed. To-day we have to run away.”
“There is no time to lose,” observed Louis.
“True,” said the marquis, “but to fly, to go abroad, one must have money; and I have none by me to give him.”
“Father!”
“No, I have none. Ah, what a prodigal old fool I have been! If I only had a hundred louis!”
Then he told Louis to open the secretary, and hand him the money-box.
The box contained only nine hundred and twenty francs in gold.
“Nine hundred and twenty francs,” cried the marquis: “it will never do for the eldest son of our house to fly the country with this paltry sum.”
He sat lost in reflection. Suddenly his brow cleared, and he told Louis to open a secret drawer in the secretary, and bring him a small casket.
Then the marquis took from his neck a black ribbon, to which was suspended the key of the casket.
His sons observed with what deep emotion he unlocked it, and slowly took out a necklace, a large cross, several rings, and other pieces of jewelry.
His countenance assumed a solemn expression.
“Gaston, my dear son,” he said, “at a time like this your life may depend upon bought assistance; money is power.”
“I am young, father, and have courage.”
“Listen to me. The jewels belonged to the marquise, your sainted mother, a noble, holy woman, who is now in heaven watching over us. These jewels have never left me. During my days of misery and want, when I was compelled to earn a livelihood by teaching music in London, I piously treasured them. I never thought of selling them; and to mortgage them, in the hour of direst need, would have seemed to be a sacrilege. But now you must take them, my son, and sell them for twenty thousand livres.”
“No, father no; I cannot take them!”
“You must, Gaston. If your mother were on earth, she would tell you to take them, as I do now. I command you to take and use them. The salvation, the honor, of the heir of the house of Clameran, must not be imperilled for want of a little gold.”
With tearful eyes, Gaston sank on his knees, and, carrying his father’s hand to his lips, said:
“Thanks, father, thanks! In my heedless, ungrateful presumption I have hitherto misjudged you. I did not know your noble character. Forgive me. I accept; yes, I accept these jewels worn by my dear mother; but I take them as a sacred deposit, confided to my honor, and for which I will some day account to you.”
In their emotion, the marquis and Gaston forgot the threatened danger. But Louis was not touched by the affecting scene.
“Time presses,” he said: “you had better hasten.”
“He is right,” cried the marquis: “go, Gaston, go, my son; and God protect the heir of the Clamerans!”
Gaston slowly got up and said, with an embarrassed air:
“Before leaving you, my father, I must fulfil a sacred duty. I have not told you everything. I love Valentine, the young girl whose honor I defended this evening.”
“Oh!” cried the marquis, thunderstruck, “oh, oh!”
“And I entreat you, father, to ask Mme. de la Verberie for the hand of her daughter. Valentine will gladly join me abroad, and share my exile.”
Gaston stopped, frightened at the effect of his words. The old marquis had become crimson, or rather purple, as if struck by apoplexy.
“Preposterous!” he gasped. “Impossible! Perfect folly!”
“I love her, father, and have promised her never to marry another.”
“Then always remain a bachelor.”
“I shall marry her!” cried Gaston, excitedly. “I shall marry her because I have sworn I would, and I will not be so base as to desert her.”
“Nonsense!”
“I tell you, Mlle. de la Verberie must and shall be my wife. It is too late for me to draw back. Even if I no longer loved her, I would still marry her, because she has given herself to me; because, can’t you understand—what was said at the cafe to-night was true: I have but one way of repairing the wrong I have done Valentine—by marrying her.”
Gaston’s confession, forced from him by circumstances, produced a very different impression from that which he had expected. The enraged marquis instantly became cool, and his mind seemed relieved of an immense weight. A wicked joy sparkled in his eyes, as he replied:
“Ah, ha! she yielded to your entreaties, did she? Jarnibleu!