The Companions of Jehu by Alexandre Dumas (great novels of all time .TXT) đ
- Author: Alexandre Dumas
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âIf a cannon ball doesnât take off that Big Round Head, it will roll far, I warrant you.â
The name clung to Cadoudalâa name by which, five centuries earlier, the lords of Malestroit, PenhoĂ«l, Beaumanoir and Rochefort designated the great Constable, whose ransom was spun by the women of Brittany.
âThereâs the Big Round Head,â said they; ânow weâll exchange some good sword-play with the English.â
Unfortunately, at this time it was not Breton sword-thrusts against English, but Frenchmen against Frenchmen.
Georges remained in Vendée until after the defeat of Savenay. The whole Vendéan army was either left upon the battlefield or vanished in smoke. For three years, Georges had performed prodigies of valor, strength and dexterity; he now crossed the Loire and reentered Morbihan with only one man left of all who had followed him.
That man became his aide-de-camp, or rather his brother-in-arms. He never left him, and in memory of the hard campaign they had made together he changed his name from Lemercier to Tiffauges. We have seen him at the ball of the Victims charged with a message to Morgan.
As soon as Cadoudal returned to his own part of the country, he fomented insurrection on his own responsibility. Bullets respected that big round head, and the big round head justified Stoffletâs prediction. He succeeded La Rochejacquelin, dâElbĂ©e, Bonchamp, Lescure, even Stofflet himself, and became their rival for fame, their superior in power; for it happened (and this will give an idea of his strength) that Cadoudal, almost single-handed, had been able to resist the government of Bonaparte, who had been First Consul for the last three months. The two leaders who continued with him, faithful to the Bourbon dynasty, were FrottĂ© and Bourmont.
At the time of which we are now speaking, that is to say, the 26th of January, 1800, Cadoudal commanded three or four thousand men with whom he was preparing to blockade General Hatry in Vannes.
During the time that he awaited the First Consulâs answer to the letter of Louis XVIII. he had suspended hostilities; but Tiffauges had arrived a couple of days before with it.
That letter was already on the way to England, whence it would be sent to Mittau; and since the First Consul would not accept peace on the terms dictated by Louis XVIII., Cadoudal, commander-in-chief of Louis XVIII. in the West, renewed his warfare against Bonaparte, intending to carry it on alone, if necessary, with his friend Tiffauges. For the rest, the latter was at PouancĂ©, where conferences were being held between ChĂątillon, dâAutichamp, the AbbĂ© Bernier, and General HĂ©douville.
He was reflectingâthis last survivor of the great warriors of the civil warâand the news he had just received was indeed a matter for deep reflection.
General Brune, the conqueror of Alkmaar and Castricum, the savior of Holland, had just been appointed to the command of the Republican forces in the West. He had reached Nantes three days previous, intending, at any cost, to annihilate Cadoudal and his Chouans.
At any cost, therefore, Cadoudal and his Chouans must prove to the commander-in-chief that they knew no fear, and had nothing to expect from intimidation.
Just then the gallop of a horse was heard; the rider no doubt had the countersign, for he passed without difficulty the various patrols stationed along the toad to La Roche-Bernard, and entered the village of Muzillac, also without difficulty.
He stopped before the door of the cottage in which Georges was sitting. The latter raised his head, listened, and, by way of precaution, laid his hands on his pistols, though it was probable that the new-comer was a friend.
The rider dismounted, strode up the path, and opened the door of the room where Georges was waiting.
âAh! itâs you, Coeur-de-Roi,â said Cadoudal. âWhere do you come from?â
âFrom PouancĂ©, general.â
âWhat news?â
âA letter from Tiffauges.â
âGive it to me.â
Georges snatched the letter hastily from Coeur-de-Roiâs hand and read it.
âAh!â he exclaimed.
Then he read it a second time,
âHave you seen the man whose coming he speaks of?â inquired Cadoudal.
âYes, general,â replied the courier.
âWhat sort of a man is he?â
âA handsome young fellow of twenty-six or seven.â
âWhat manner?â
âDetermined.â
âThatâs it. When does he arrive?â
âProbably tonight.â
âDid you safeguard him along the road?â
âYes; heâll come safely.â
âDo it again. Nothing must happen to him; he is protected by Morgan.â
âThatâs understood, general.â
âAnything more to say?â
âThe advanced guard of the Republicans has reached La Roche-Bernard.â
âHow many men?â
âAbout a thousand. They have a guillotine with them, and the commissioner of the executive power, MilliĂšre.â
âAre you sure?â
âI met them on the road. The commissioner was riding near the colonel, and I recognized him perfectly. He executed my brother, and I have sworn he shall die by my own hand.â
âAnd youâll risk your life to keep your oath?â
âAt the first opportunity.â
âPerhaps it wonât be long coming.â
The gallop of a horse echoed through the street.
âAh!â said Coeur-de-Roi, âthat is probably the man you expect.â
âNo,â replied Cadoudal, âthis rider comes from the direction of Vannes.â
The sound became more distinct, and it proved that Cadoudal was right.
The second horseman, like the first, halted at the gate, dismounted, and came into the room. The royalist leader recognized him at once, in spite of the large cloak in which he was wrapped.
âIs it you, BĂ©nĂ©dicitĂ©?â he asked.
âYes, general.â
âWhere do you come from?â
âFrom Vannes, where you sent me to watch the Blues.
âWell, what are the Blues doing?â
âScaring themselves about dying of hunger if you blockade the town. In order to procure provisions General Hatry intends to carry off the supplies at Grandchamp. The general is to command the raid in person; and, to act more quickly, only a hundred men are to go.â
âAre you tired, BĂ©nĂ©dicitĂ©?â
âNever, general.â
âAnd your horse?â
âHe came fast, but he can do twelve or fifteen miles more without killing himself.â
âGive him two hoursâ rest, a double feed of oats, and make him do thirty.â
âOn those conditions he can do them.â
âStart in two hours. Be at Grandchamp by daybreak. Give the order in my name to evacuate the village. Iâll take care of General Hatry and his column. Is that all you have to say?â
âNo, I heard other news.â
âWhat is it?â
âThat Vannes has a new bishop.â
âHa! so they are giving us back our bishops?â
âSo it seems; but if they are all like this one, they can keep them.â
âWho is he?â
âAudrein!â
âThe regicide?â
âAudrein the renegade.â
âWhen is he coming?â
âTonight or tomorrow.â
âI shall not go to meet him; but let him beware of falling into my menâs hands.â
BĂ©nĂ©dicitĂ© and Coeur-de-Roi burst into a laugh which completed Cadoudalâs thought.
âHush!â cried Cadoudal.
The three men listened.
âThis time it is probably he,â observed Georges.
The gallop of a horse could be heard coming from the direction of La Roche-Bernard.
âIt is certainly he,â repeated Coeur-de-Roi.
âThen, my friends, leave me alone. You, BĂ©nĂ©dicitĂ©, get to Grandchamp as soon as possible. You, Coeur-de-Roi, post thirty men in the courtyard; I want messengers to send in different directions. By the way, tell some one to bring the best that can be got for supper in the village.â
âFor how many, general?â
âOh! two.â
âAre you going out?â
âNo, only to meet the man who is coming.â
Two or three men had already taken the horses of the messengers into the courtyard. The messengers themselves disappeared.
Georges reached the gate on the street just as a horseman, pulling up his horse, looked about him and seemed to hesitate.
âHe is here, sir,â said Georges.
âWho is here?â
âHe whom you seek.â
âHow do you know whom I am seeking?â
âI presume it is Georges Cadoudal, otherwise called Roundhead.â
âExactly.â
âThen I bid you welcome, Monsieur Roland de Montrevel, for I am the person you seek.â
âAh, ah!â exclaimed the young man, amazed.
Then, dismounting, he looked about as if for some one to take his mount.
âThrow the bridle over your horseâs neck, and donât be uneasy about him. You will find him when you want him. Nothing is ever lost in Brittany; you are in the land of honesty.â
The young man made no remark, threw the bridle over his horseâs neck as he had been told, and followed Cadoudal, who walked before him.
âOnly to show you the way, colonel,â said the leader of the Chouans.
They both entered the cottage, where an invisible hand had just made up the fire.
Roland entered, as we have said, behind Georges, and as he entered cast a glance of careless curiosity around him. That glance sufficed to show him that they were alone.
âAre these your quarters, general?â asked Roland with a smile, turning the soles of his boots to the blaze.
âYes, colonel.â
âThey are singularly guarded.â
Georges smiled in turn.
âDo you say that because you found the road open from La Roche-Bernard here?â he asked.
âI did not meet a soul.â
âThat does not prove that the road was not guarded.â
âUnless by the owls, who seemed to fly from tree to tree, and accompanied me all the way, general. In that case, I withdraw my assertion.â
âExactly,â replied Cadoudal. âThose owls were my sentinels, sentinels with good eyes, inasmuch as they have this advantage over the eyes of men, they can see in the dark.â
âIt is not the less true that I was fortunate in having inquired my way at La Roche-Bernard; for I didnât meet even a cat who could have told me where to find you.â
âBut if you had raised your voice at any spot on the road and asked: âWhere shall I find Georges Cadoudal?â a voice would have answered: âAt the village of Muzillac, fourth house to the right.â You saw no one, colonel; but at that very moment fifteen hundred men, or thereabout, knew that Colonel Roland, the First Consulâs aide-de-camp, was on his way to a conference with the son of the miller of Leguerno.â
âBut if they knew that I was a colonel in the Republican service and aide-de-camp to the First Consul, how came they to let me pass?â
âBecause they were ordered to do so.â
âThen you knew that I was coming?â
âI not only knew that you were coming, but also why you have come.â
Roland looked at him fixedly.
âThen it is useless for me to tell you; and you will answer me even though I say nothing?â
âYou are about right.â
âThe deuce! I should like to have a proof of this superiority of your police over ours.â
âI will supply it, colonel.â
âI shall receive it with much satisfaction, especially before this excellent fire, which also seems to have been expecting me.â
âYou say truer than you know, colonel; and it is not the fire only that is striving to welcome you warmly.â
âYes, but it does not tell me, any more than you have done, the object of my mission.â
âYour mission, which you do me the honor to extend to me, was primarily intended for the AbbĂ© Bernier alone. Unhappily the AbbĂ© Bernier, in the letter he sent his friend Martin Duboys, presumed a little on his strength. He offered his mediation to the First Consul.â
âPardon me,â interrupted Roland, âyou tell me something I did not know; namely that the AbbĂ© Bernier had written to General Bonaparte.â
âI said he wrote to his friend Martin Duboys, which is
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