The Nameless Castle | Page 8

Peroquin? You have made many a night journey about Paris,
have n't you? See that you earn your twenty francs to-night, too!"
That the coachman was also in the service of the secret police the
young man knew very well; but he did not betray his knowledge by
word or mien.
The blouse-wearer now shook hands cordially with the young man, and
said:

"Adieu, citizen. I beg your pardon if I offended you. I 'll leave you now.
I am going to my wife, or to the tavern; who can tell the future?"
He waited until the young man had entered the coach with his charge;
then, instead of betaking himself to his wife or to the tavern, he crossed
the street, and took up his station in the recess of a doorway opposite
the house with the swinging lantern. . . .
"Where to?" asked the coachman of the young man.
"Well, citizen," was the smiling response, "if I knew that, all would be
well. But that is just what I don't know; and the little countess, here,
who has strayed from her home, can't remember the street, nor the
number of the house, in which she lives. She can only remember that
her mama's palace is on a square in which there is a fountain. We must
therefore visit all the fountains in turn until we find the right one."
The coachman made no further inquiries, but climbed to the box, and
drove off in quest of the fountains of Paris.
Two fountains were visited, but neither of them proved to be the right
one. The young man now bade the coachman drive through a certain
street to a third fountain. It was a narrow, winding street--the Rue des
Blancs Manteaux.
When the coach was opposite a low, one-storied house, the young man
drew the strap, and told the driver he wished to stop for a few moments.
As the vehicle drew up in front of the house, the door opened, and a tall,
stalwart man in top-boots came forth, accompanied by a sturdy dame
who held a candle, which she protected from the wind with the palm of
her hand.
"Is that you, Raoul?" called the young man from the coach window.
There was no response from the giant, who, instead, sprang nimbly to
the box, and, flinging one arm around the astonished coachman, thrust
a gag into his mouth. Before the captive could make a move to defend
himself, his fare was out of the coach, and had pinioned his arms

behind his back. The giant and the young man now lifted the coachman
from the box and carried him into the house, the woman followed with
the trembling child, whom she had carefully lifted from the coach.
In the house, the two men bound their captive securely, first removing
his coat. Then they seated him on the couch, and placed a mirror in
front of him.
"You need not be alarmed, citizen," said the man in the top-boots. "No
harm shall come to you. We are only going to copy your face--because
of its beauty, you know!"
The young man also seated himself in front of the mirror, and
proceeded, with various brushes and colors, to paint his cheeks and
nose a copper hue, exactly like that of the coachman's reflection in the
glass. Then he exchanged his own peruke and hat for the shabby ones
of the coachman. Lastly, he flung around his shoulders the mantle with
its seven collars, and the resemblance was complete.
"And now," observed the giant, addressing the captive, "you can rest
without the least fear. At the latest, to-morrow about this time your
coach, your horses, your mantle, and whatever else belongs to you will
be returned. For the use of the things we have borrowed from you we
shall leave in the pocket of your coat twenty francs for every hour, and
an extra twenty francs as a pourboire; don't forget to look for it!
To-morrow at eleven o'clock a girl will fetch milk; she will release you,
and you can tell her what a singular dream you had! If you can't go to
sleep, just repeat the multiplication table. I always do when I can't sleep,
and I never have to go beyond seven times seven. Good night, citizen!"
The door of the adjoining room opened, and the woman appeared,
leading by the hand a pretty little boy.
"We are ready," she announced.
The two men thrust pistols into their pockets. Then the woman and the
little boy entered the coach, the two men took seats on the box, and the
coach rolled away.

CHAPTER III
At ten o'clock the next morning the old gentleman paid a visit to his
little guest. This time the child was really asleep, and