Having expressed their gratitude they quickly undressed, blew out the candles and were soon asleep.
During the three days that followed, they were well cared for. Several times Anselm Maier came up to bring them books, talk with them and see that they had everything they wanted. But they were extremely worried, because they had learnt that not only the Main, upon which Frankfurt stood, but the greater part of the east bank of the upper Rhine were now in the hands of the Prussians. It was certain that by this time a full description of both of them would have been circulated, and all troops ordered to keep a look-out for them. Roger's leg had suffered no permanent damage, except that a large piece of flesh from his calf had had to be cut away, but for many weeks he would have a limp which he would be unable
to disguise and to put a strain upon his leg for any length of time still pained him considerably. And they were now faced with the problem of crossing both the Main and the Rhine before they could hope to be safely back in French-held territory.
20
In the Toils Once More
For hours Roger and Charles discussed their problems. Even if they could cross the bridge over the Main, which would not be heavily guarded, without being recognised, Roger could not ride far enough to reach the Rhine in a single night. If they hired a coach they would have to risk the driver, or an ostler at one of the post houses realising that they were the wanted men; and in these German lands everyone was only too eager to get his own back on the hated French. If they walked, that would treble the time needed to reach the great river, and along the roads they would be exposed to the scrutiny of many more people. Even if they succeeded in reaching the Rhine, there would remain the hazard of crossing it. The river was much too broad and fast to swim it, and it was certain there would be pickets all along the banks, so it would be very difficult to steal a boat and get any distance without being fired on.
They were still at their wits' end about the best course to take when, on the morning of December 15 th, Anselm Maier came up to see them and said:
'During these past few days I have been trying to think of a way to get you safely out of Frankfurt so that you need not expose yourselves to possible recognition, and I think I have hit upon one, provided you are willing to put up with a certain amount of discomfort.'
'That's very good of you,' Roger replied, 'and we'd be glad to hear what you propose.'
'As I have informed you, the Allied armies do not by any means form a continuous line from Holland to Alsace. There are still large areas which they have not yet occupied, and fortresses strongly held by the French. One such is Ehrenbreitstein, which dominates the junction of the Rhine and Moselle at Coblenz. During the course of the war, my House has naturally had many dealings with the French as well as with their enemies. And for both we have frequently handled valuable consignments of works of art as well as currency. If the high-wellborn ones are prepared to lie hidden in crates for perhaps two days I could have them sent down the river by barge, consigned as precious porcelain, to my agents at Coblenz.'
'Two days!' exclaimed Charles. 'During so long a time we would die of thirst.'
'Nay. The crates would be roomy enough for you to feed yourselves, and both provisions and flasks of wine would be put inside with you.'
Roger did not at all like the idea of being boxed up in what amounted to a coffin, but the banker assured him that the crate lids would be so loosely nailed down that they could be kicked off if the necessity arose.
'What of the Prussians, though?' Roger asked. 'They control the area. Are they not likely to hold up any goods being sent down river to a city still held by the French?'
Anselm Maier smiled and shook his head. 'I should send with the crates one of my people who would be in our secret. He would have the crates with him in a cabin on the barge and carry all the necessary documents relating to their supposed contents. The high-wellborn ones may rest assured that the House of Rothschild is now held in such respect that goods consigned by us to anywhere in Europe would never be interfered with.'
Charles and Roger exchanged a quick glance of agreement, then thanked the banker for having thought of this way of getting them safely out of Frankfurt.
That afternoon two large crates, made of light wood and measuring six feet by three feet by three feet, were brought up to the room. Both were so constructed that half-inch-wide spaces between each three side planks would let in ample air. They contained well-padded palliasses to lie on, pillows and supplies of food and drink. Laughing a little sheepishly to conceal their reluctance to be imprisoned in them, Roger and Charles stretched themselves out on the palliasses and listened to the lids being nailed down. By forcing their elbows against the sides of the crates, they prevented themselves from being thrown about while they were carried downstairs and loaded on to a wagon. It rumbled off over the cobbles and half an hour later they suffered further jolting as the crates were loaded on to a barge. After that they were left in silence and darkness.
The hours that followed seemed to both of them interminable, each hour a day, each day a week. From time to time they managed to doze a little, but had no idea whether it was night or day. The only way in which they could break the awful monotony was to fumble blindly among the packages that had been put in with them; then, lying awkwardly on one hip, swallow food or drink; but after a while they both realised that they must resist the temptation to resort to this distraction too frequently or they would soon find that they had consumed all their supplies. Very occasionally they caught the murmur of voices, but for hour after hour the only sound they heard was their own breathing and they lay, their arms stretched out along their sides, in the darkness and silence of the grave. There were times when, only half asleep, their' minds became a prey to awful nightmares, during which they were seized with panic and for a few moments believed they had been buried alive. Then the realisation of their true situation returned to them only just in time to stop themselves from screaming and striving to batter a way out of what they had imagined to be a coffin.
Their ordeal seemed as though it would never end, and they could hardly believe the evidence of their senses when a mutter of voices was followed by the crates being lifted. They were again subjected to considerable jolting, but welcomed it as evidence that they were at last near their journey's end. Twenty minutes later, to their unutterable relief, the crates were prised open.
They were so stiff that at first they had difficulty in sitting up and, after being so long in darkness, were semi-blinded by the daylight. But when they had been helped out of the crates, they saw that they were in a small warehouse half-filled with other crates, trunks and boxes. "With them were two Jews. One introduced himself as having brought them from Frankfurt, the other as the Rothschild's agent in Coblenz. The latter asked if he could be of any service to them, to which Roger replied:
‘I should be grateful if you could get a coach to take us to Ehrenbreitstein.'
He and Charles were then taken across a courtyard to a house and given glasses of wine, while a servant went to fetch a coach. It arrived shortly after midday, and having thanked the two Jews for their help, they drove off to the great fortress.
Neither of them was yet fully recovered from the mental suffering they had endured during the past two days, but as the high castellated walls came into sight, Roger pulled himself together sufficiently to say in a low voice to Charles:
'I shall of course, announce myself as de Breuc, but the story you gave before, on the spur of die moment, that you are my prisoner and remained with me all this time because you had given me your parole, is too much to ask them to believe. As I cannot say you are an Englishman and your French is so indifferent that I cannot possibly pass you off as a Frenchman, it would be best, I think, if I told them that you are my orderly officer and a Bavarian who remained loyal to us after Bavaria went over to the Allies. Have you any suggestions about a name for yourself?'