Saint Bartholomew\'s Eve

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"This is truly a change for the better, Monsieur Philip," Pierre
said. "We entered Nerac as tillers of the soil, we ride out in
knightly fashion."

"Yes, Pierre, it is good to be on the back of a fine horse again;
and this one I am riding is worthy of a place beside Victor and
Robin."

"Yes, he is as good as either of them, sir. I am not sure that he
is not better. We, too, are well content with the queen of
Navarre's generosity; for her steward gave us, before we started,
each a purse of twenty crowns, which has been a wonderful salve to
our sore feet. I trust there will be no more occasion to use them,
for a time."

"I hope not. It was a long journey, but it was fortunate that we
pushed on as we did; for had we been twelve hours later, we should
not have found the queen at Nerac."

"And why does not your honour stay to ride with her?" Pierre asked.

"I hope to join her again, tonight. We are going through Agen,
where I hope to gather such news, of the movements of the Catholic
troops, as may be of use to her."

Agen was about fifteen miles distance from Nerac, and as there was
no occasion for haste, and Philip did not wish the horses to have
the appearance of being ridden fast, they took three hours in
traversing the distance.

When they neared the town, he said to Pierre:

"I shall not take you with me. If there should be trouble--though I
do not see how this can well come about--four men could do no more
than one. Therefore, Pierre, do you follow me no nearer than is
sufficient to keep me in sight. The other two will follow you at an
equal distance, together or separately.

"Should any accident befall me, you are on no account to ride up,
or to meddle in the business. I have told you what my instructions
are, and it will be your duty to carry them out, if I am taken. You
will put up your horse and, mingling with the soldiers and
townspeople, find out if there is any movement in the wind, or
whether any troops have already gone forward. Jacques and Roger
will do the same, and you will meet and exchange news. If you find
that anything has been done, or is going to be done, towards
putting more guards on the river, or despatching a force that might
interfere with the passage of the queen from Tonneins to Villeneuve
d'Agenois, Roger and Jacques will ride to the point where I told
you the crossing is to be made, and will warn the queen of the
danger. I leave you free to ride with them, or to stay in the town
till you learn what has happened to me. If you should find that
there is no movement of troops, you and the others will be free
either to ride to Pontier, or to make your way back to Cognac; and
to join my cousin and give him news of what has happened to me. If
I am only held as a prisoner, the Admiral will doubtless exchange a
Catholic gentleman for me. He is sure to take many prisoners at the
capture of the towns."

He then called the two men-at-arms up, and repeated the
instructions relating to them.

"But may we not strike in, should you get into trouble, master?
Roger and I would far rather share whatever may befall you."

"No, Jacques, it would be worse in every way. Force could be of no
avail, and it would lessen my chance of escape, were you beside me.
Single handed I might get through, and trust to the speed of my
horse. If taken, I might plan some mode of escape. In either case
it would hamper me, were you there. Above all it is important that
my mission should be fulfilled, therefore my commands on that head
are strict. I do not apprehend trouble in any way; but if it should
occur, you will at once turn your horses down the first street you
come to, so that you may in no way be connected with me. Pierre
will, of course, turn first. You will follow him, see where he
stables his horse, then go on to some other cabaret and, having put
up your horses, go back to the place where he has stopped, wait
till he joins you outside, then arrange for the hour at which you
are to meet again, and then go off in different directions to
gather the news of which we are in search.

"Take no further thought about me, at all. Give your whole minds to
the safety of the queen. Upon that depends greatly the issue of
this war. Were she and her son to fall into the hands of the
Catholics, it would be a fatal blow to the cause."

So saying, he rode on again at the head of the party. When within a
quarter of a mile of the town, he again called Pierre up to him.

"Pierre, do you take this ring and dagger. Should I be taken, I
shall assuredly be searched to see whether I am the bearer of
despatches. I should grieve to lose these gifts, as much as I
should to fall into the hands of the Catholics. Keep them for me,
until you learn that there is no chance of my ever returning to
claim them; and then give them to my cousin, and beg him in my name
to return the ring to the Queen of Navarre, and the dagger to the
young prince."

"I like not all these provisions," Pierre said to himself.
"Hitherto the master has never, since I first knew him, given any
commands to me, as to what was to be done in case he were captured
or killed. It seems to me that the danger here is as nothing to
that he has often run before, and yet he must have some sort of
foreboding of evil. If I were not a Huguenot, I would vow a score
of pounds of candles, to be burnt at the shrine of the Holy Virgin,
if the master gets safe out of yonder town."

Philip rode on across the bridge, and entered the gates without
question. Up to this time, his followers had kept close behind him;
but now, in accordance with his instructions, they dropped behind.
He continued his way to the principal square, rode up to an inn,
entered the courtyard, and gave his horse to the stableman.

"Give it a feed," he said, "and put it in the stable. I shall not
require it until the afternoon."

Then he went into the public room, called for food and wine, and
sat down. The tables were well nigh full, for there were many
strangers in the town. After a first glance at the newcomer, none
paid him any attention. Pierre and the two men had, in accordance
with his instructions, passed the inn they had seen him enter, and
put up at other places.

There was a loud buzz of conversation, and Philip listened
attentively to that between four gentlemen who had just sat down at
the next table to him. Three of them had come in together, and the
fourth joined them, just as Philip's meal was brought to him.

"Well, have you heard any news at the governor's, Maignan?" one of
them asked the last comer.

"Bad news. Conde and the Admiral are not letting the grass grow
under their feet. They have captured not only Niort, as we heard
yesterday, but Parthenay."

"Peste! That is bad news, indeed. What a blunder it was to let them
slip through their fingers, when they might have seized them with
two or three hundred men, in Burgundy."

"It seems to me that they are making just the same mistake here,"
another put in. "As Jeanne of Navarre is well nigh as dangerous as
the Admiral himself, why don't they seize her and her cub, and
carry them to Paris?"

"Because they hope that she will go willingly, of her own accord,
Saint Amand. La Motte-Fenelon has been negotiating with her, for
the last fortnight, on behalf of the court. It is clearly far
better that she should go there of her own will, than that she
should be taken there a prisoner. Her doing so would seem a
desertion of the Huguenot cause, and would be a tremendous blow to
them.

"On the other hand, if she were taken there as a prisoner, it would
drive many a Huguenot to take up arms who is now content to rest
quiet. And moreover, the Protestant princes of Germany, and
Elizabeth of England would protest; for whatever the court may say
of the Admiral, they can hardly affirm that Jeanne of Navarre is
thinking of making war against Charles for any other reason than
the defence of her faith. Besides, she can do no harm at Nerac; and
we can always lay hands on her, when we like. At any rate, there is
no fear of her getting farther north. The rivers are too well
guarded for that."

"I don't know," another said, "after the way in which Conde and the
Admiral, though hampered with women and children, made their way
across France, I should never be surprised at anything. You see,
there is not a place where she has not friends. These pestilent
Huguenots are everywhere. She will get warning of danger, and
guides across the country--peasants who know every byroad through
the fields, and every shallow in the rivers. It would be far better
to make sure of her and her son, by seizing them at Nerac."

"Besides," Saint Amand said, "there are reports of movements of
Huguenots all over Guyenne; and I heard a rumour, last night, that
the Seneschal of Armagnac has got a considerable gathering
together. These Huguenots seem to spring out of the ground. Six
weeks ago, no one believed that there was a corner of France where
they could gather a hundred men together, and now they are
everywhere in arms."

"I think," Maignan said, "that you need not be uneasy about the
Queen of Navarre. I am not at liberty to say what I have heard; but
I fancy that, before many hours, she will be on her way to Paris,
willingly or unwillingly. As for the seneschal, he and the others
will be hunted down, as soon as this matter is settled. A day or
two, sooner or later, will make no difference there and, until the
queen is taken, the troops will have to stay in their present
stations.

"My only fear is that, seeing she can have no hope of making her
way north, she will slip away back to Navarre again. Once there,
she could not be taken without a deal of trouble. Whatever is to be
done must be done promptly. Without direct orders from the court,
no step can be taken in so important a matter. But the orders may
arrive any hour, and I think you will see that there will be no
loss of time in executing them."

"And Nerac could not stand a long siege, even if it were strongly
garrisoned; and the handful of men she has got with her could not
defend the walls for an hour. I hope she may not take the alarm too
soon; for as you say, once back in Navarre it would be difficult,
indeed, to take her. It is no joke hunting a bear among the
mountains; and as her people are devoted to her, she could play
hide and seek among the valleys and hills for weeks--ay, or
months--before she could be laid hold of.

"It is well for our cause, Maignan, that she is not a man. She
would be as formidable a foe as the Admiral himself. Huguenot as
she is, one can't help respecting her. Her husband was a poor
creature, beside her. He was ready to swallow any bait offered him;
while, even if it would seat her son on the throne of France, she
would not stir a hand's breadth from what she thinks right."

Philip finished his meal, and then went out into the square. The
news was satisfactory. No order had yet arrived for the seizure of
the queen; and though one was evidently looked for, to arrive in
the course of a few hours, it would then be too late to take any
steps until nightfall, at the earliest; and by nine o'clock the
queen would have left Nerac.

No movement was intended at present against the seneschal, nor did
the idea that the queen might attempt to join him seem to be
entertained. It was possible, however, that such a suspicion might
have occurred to the governor, and that some troops might secretly
be sent off, later. He must try to learn something more.

Confident that he could not be suspected of being ought but what he
appeared, a Catholic gentleman--for his garments were of much
brighter hue than those affected by the Huguenots--he strolled
quietly along, pausing and looking into shops when he happened to
pass near groups of soldiers or gentlemen talking together. So he
spent two or three hours. No word had reached his ear indicating
that any of the speakers were anticipating a sudden call to horse.

He saw that Pierre was following him, keeping at some distance
away, and pausing whenever he paused. He saw no signs of the other
two men, and doubted not that they were, as he had ordered,
spending their time in wine shops frequented by the soldiers, and
listening to their talk.

Feeling convinced that no orders had been given for the assembly of
any body of troops, he sat down for a time at a small table in
front of one of the principal wine shops, and called for a bottle
of the best wine; thinking that the fact that he was alone would be
less noticeable, so, than if he continued to walk the streets.
Presently a party of four or five gentlemen sat down at a table a
short distance off. He did not particularly notice them at first;
but presently, glancing that way, saw one of them looking hard at
him, and a thrill of dismay ran through him, as he recognized the
gentleman addressed as Raoul, the leader of the party that had
stopped him near Bazas. He had, however, presence of mind enough to
look indifferently at him, and then to continue sipping his wine.

The possibility that this gentleman, with his troop, should have
come to Agen had never entered his mind; and though the encounter
was a most unfortunate one, he trusted that the complete change in
his appearance would be sufficient to prevent recognition; although
it was evident, by the gaze fixed on him, that the gentleman had an
idea that his face was familiar. To move now would heighten
suspicion, if any existed; and he therefore sat quiet, watching the
people who passed in front of him, and revolving in his mind the
best course to be taken, should Raoul address him. The latter had
just spoken to his cousin, who was sitting next to him.

"Do you know that young gentleman, Louis?" he asked. "I seem to
know his face well; and yet he does not know me, for he just now
glanced at me, without recognizing me. You know most of the gentry
in this neighbourhood. Do you know him?"

"No, I cannot say that I do, Raoul; though I, too, seem to have a
recollection of his face. It is a sort of face one remembers, too.
I should think his family must belong to the north, for you do not
often see men of that complexion about here. He looks very young,
not above nineteen or twenty; but there is a look of earnestness
and resolution, about his face, that would point to his being some
years older."

Dismissing the matter from his mind, Raoul joined in the
conversation round him. Presently he grasped his cousin's arm.

"I know where we saw the face now, Louis. He was one of the four
fellows we stopped, two days since, near Bazas."

"Impossible, Raoul! Those men were peasants, though two of them had
served for a time in the army; the others--" and he stopped.

"You see it yourself, Louis. One of the others was a dark, active
man. The other was but a lad--a tall, well-built young fellow, with
fair complexion and gray eyes. I thought of it afterwards, and
wondered where he got that skin and hair from. I put it down that
it was a trace of English blood, of which there is a good deal
still left in Guyenne, and some of the other provinces they held,
long ago."

"I certainly see the likeness, now you mention it, Raoul; but it
can hardly be the same. This is a gentleman. He is certainly that,
whoever he may be. How could a gentleman be masquerading about as a
peasant?"

"That is what I am going to find out, Louis. He may have been a
Huguenot, making his way down to join the Queen of Navarre at Nerac
He may be one of her train there, who had gone out, in disguise, to
reconnoitre the country and see what forces of ours were in the
neighbourhood, and where posted. That may be his mission, here; but
this time he has chosen to come in his proper attire."

"That can hardly be his attire, if he is one of Jeanne of Navarre's
followers. He may have got a suit for the purpose, but assuredly
the colours are too gay for a Huguenot in her train. For my part, I
see nothing suspicious about his appearance. There, he is paying
his reckoning, and going."

"And I am going after him," Raoul said, rising. "There is something
strange about the affair, and there may be some plot. Do you come
with me, Louis.

"Monsieur D'Estanges, I have a little matter of business on hand.
Will you come with me?"

Chapter 12: An Escape From Prison.

Glancing half round, as he turned away from the wine shop, Philip
saw Raoul and two of his companions rising. He walked off in a
leisurely manner and, a few paces farther, turned down a side
street. He heard steps following him, and then a voice said:

"Hold, young sir. I would have a word with you."

Philip turned, with an expression of angry surprise.

"Are you addressing me, sir? I would have you know that am not
accustomed to be spoken to, in that fashion; and that I bear an
insult from no one."

Raoul laughed.

"Are you equally particular, sir, when you are going about in
peasant's clothes?"

"I am not good at riddles, sir," Philip said haughtily, "and can
only suppose that your object is to pick a quarrel with me; though
I am not conscious of having given you offence. However, that
matters little. I suppose you are one of those gallants who air
their bravery when they think they can do so, with impunity. On the
present occasion you may, perchance, find that you are mistaken. I
am a stranger here, and know of no place where this matter can be
settled, nor am I provided with a second; but I am quite content to
place myself in the hands of one of these gentlemen, if they will
act for me."

"I am sure, Raoul, there is some mistake," Louis began, putting his
hand on his cousin's shoulder.

But the other shook it off, angrily. He was of a passionate and
overbearing temper, and Philip's coolness, and the manner in which
he had turned the tables upon him and challenged him to a duel,
inflamed him to the utmost.

"Hands off, Louis," he said. "Do you think that I, Raoul de
Fontaine, am to be crowed over by this youth? He has challenged me
to fight, and fight he shall."

"You provoked him," Louis said firmly. "You gave him provocation
such as no gentleman of honour could suffer. It was not for this
that I came out with you, but because you said that you wished to
unravel what may be a plot."

"I will cut it, which will be easier than unravelling it," Raoul
replied. "It is shorter and easier work, to finish the matter with
a sword thrust, than to provide for his being swung at the end of a
rope."

"We had best waste no time in empty braggadocio," Philip said
coldly, "but proceed at once to some quiet spot, where this matter
can be settled, undisturbed."

"I think the young gentleman is right," Monsieur D'Estanges, a
gentleman of the court, said gravely. "The matter has gone too far
for anything else, now; and I am bound to say that your adversary,
of whose name I am ignorant, has borne himself in a manner to merit
my esteem; and that, as your cousin will of course act for you, I
shall be happy to place my services at his disposal."

"Let us get beyond the gates," Raoul said abruptly, turning on his
heel, and retracing his steps up the lane to the main street.

"I thank you, sir, for offering to stand by one of whose very name
you are ignorant," Philip said as, accompanied by Monsieur
D'Estanges, he followed the others. "It is, however, right that you
should know it. It is Philip Fletcher. On my father's side I am
English, on my mother's I am of noble French blood, being cousin to
Francois de Laville, whose mother and mine were daughters of the
Count de Moulins."

"Two distinguished families of Poitou," Monsieur D'Estanges said,
courteously. "It needed not that, to tell me that you were of good
blood. I regret much that this encounter is going to take place.
Monsieur Raoul de Fontaine was in the wrong, in so rudely hailing
you, and I cannot blame you for taking it up sharply; although,
seeing your age and his, and that he is a good swordsman, it might
have been more prudent to have overlooked his manner.

"Unless, indeed," and he smiled, "Monsieur Raoul was right, and
that you are engaged on some weighty matter here, and preferred to
run the risk of getting yourself killed rather than have it
inquired into. The Countess of Laville and her son are both staunch
Huguenots, and you may well be on business here that you would not
care to have investigated.

"You have not asked my name, sir. It is Charles D'Estanges. I am a
cousin of the Duc de Guise, and am naturally of the court party;
but I can esteem a brave enemy, and regret to see one engaged in an
encounter in which he must needs be overmatched."

"I am a fair swordsman, sir," Philip said; "though my arm may lack
somewhat of the strength it will have, a few years later. But had
it been otherwise, I should have still taken the course I have. I
do not say your conjecture is a correct one, but at any rate I
would prefer the most unequal fight to being seized and questioned.
One can but be killed once, and it were better that it should be by
a thrust in the open air than a long imprisonment, ending perhaps
with death at the stake."

Monsieur D'Estanges said no more. In spite of his relationship with
the Guises he, like many other French Catholic nobles, disapproved
of the persecutions of the Huguenots, and especially of the
massacres perpetrated by the lower orders in the towns, men for
whom he had the profoundest contempt. He felt sorry for his
companion, whose youth and fearless demeanour moved him in his
favour; and who, he doubted not, had come to Agen to confer with
some of the Huguenots, who were to be found in every town.

Issuing from the gates, they went for a quarter of a mile along the
road, and then Raoul led the way into a small wood. Here, without a
word being spoken, Raoul and Philip threw aside their cloaks and
doublets.

"Gentlemen," Monsieur D'Estanges said, "surely this quarrel might
be arranged without fighting. Monsieur de Fontaine addressed my
principal, doubtless under a misapprehension, with some roughness,
which was not unnaturally resented. If Monsieur de Fontaine will
express his regret, which he certainly could do without loss of
dignity, for the manner in which he spoke; my principal would, I am
sure, gladly accept his apology."

"That is my opinion also," Louis de Fontaine said, "and I have
already expressed it to my cousin."

"And I have already said that I will do nothing of the sort," Raoul
said. "I am fighting not only in my own quarrel, but in that of the
king; being well assured in my mind that this young man, whether he
be, as he now appears, a gentleman of birth, or whether, as I saw
him last, a peasant boy, is engaged in some plot hostile to his
majesty."

"Then there is nothing more to be said," Monsieur D'Estanges said
gravely; "but before you begin, I may tell you, Monsieur de
Fontaine, that this gentleman belongs to a family no less noble
than your own. He has confided to me his name and position, which I
think it as well not to divulge.

"Now, Louis, we may as well stand aside. We have done our best to
stop this quarrel, and to prevent what I cannot but consider a most
unequal contest from taking place."

The last words were galling, in the extreme, to Raoul de Fontaine.
Monsieur D'Estanges stood high at court, was a gentleman of
unblemished reputation, and often appealed to on questions of
honour; and this declaration that he considered the combat to be an
unequal one was the more irritating, since he was himself conscious
of the fact. However, he could not recoil now but, with an angry
expression of face, drew his sword and stood on guard.

Philip was no less ready. The easy attitude he assumed, with his
weight for the most part on his left leg, differed so widely from
the forward attitude then in fashion among French duellists, that
Monsieur D'Estanges, convinced that he knew nothing of swordplay,
shrugged his shoulders pityingly. The moment, however, that the
swords grated against each other; and Philip put aside, with a
sharp turn of the wrist, a lunge with which his opponent intended
at once to finish the combat, the expression of his face changed.

"The lad did not speak boastfully, when he said he was a fair
swordsman," he muttered to himself. "He does not fight in our
fashion, but at least he knows what he is about."

For some minutes the fight continued, Raoul's temper rising higher
and higher, as he found every attack baffled by a foe he had
despised, and who refused to fall back even an inch, however hotly
he pressed him. He had at first intended either to wound or disarm
him, but he soon fought to kill. At last there was a fierce rally,
ending by Philip parrying a home thrust and, returning it with
lightning swiftness, running Raoul de Fontaine through the body
with such force that the hilt of his sword struck against his
chest, and he sank lifeless to the ground.

"By our Lady, young gentleman," Monsieur D'Estanges exclaimed, "but
you have done well! You said that you were a fair swordsman. Truly
you are of the highest class. Raoul's temper has led him into many
a duel, and he has always wounded or killed his man. Who could have
thought that he would receive his death blow at the hands of a
youth?

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