"It's two hours since Francois died. For it was he who died."
She had not a doubt that the duel had ended in this way. Vorski would never have allowed Francois to be the victor and his other son to be killed. And so it was against her own child that she had sent up wishes and for the monster that she had prayed!
"Francois is dead," she repeated. "Vorski has killed him."
[Pg 230]The door opened and she heard Vorski's voice. He entered, with an unsteady gait:
"A thousand pardons, dear lady, but I think Vorski must have fallen asleep. It's your father's fault, Veronique! He had hidden away in his cellar some confounded Saumur which Conrad and Otto discovered and which has fuddled me a bit! But don't cry; we shall make up for lost time… Besides everything must be settled by midnight. So…"
He had come nearer; and he now exclaimed:
"What! Did that rascal of a Vorski leave you tied up? What a brute that Vorski is! And how uncomfortable you must be!… Hang it all, how pale you are! I say, look here, you're not dead, are you? That would be a nasty trick to play us!"
He took Veronique's hand, which she promptly snatched away.
"Capital! We still loathe our little Vorski! Then that's all right and there's plenty of reserve strength. You'll hold out to the end, Veronique."
He listened:
"What is it? Who's calling me? Is it you, Otto? Come up… Well, Otto, what news? I've been asleep, you know. That damned Saumur wine!…"
Otto, one of the two accomplices, entered the room at a run. He was the one whose paunch bulged so oddly.
"What news?" he exclaimed. "Why, this: I've seen some one on the island!"
Vorski began to laugh:
"You're drunk, Otto. That damned Saumur wine…"
[Pg 231]"I'm not drunk. I saw… and so did Conrad…"
"Oho," said Vorski, more seriously, "if Conrad was with you! Well, what did you see?"
"A white figure, which hid when we came along."
"Where?"
"Between the village and the heath, in a little wood of chestnut trees."
"On the other side of the island then?"
"Yes."
"All right. We'll take our precautions."
"How? There may be several of them."
"I don't care if there are ten of them; it would make no difference. Where's Conrad?"
"By the foot-bridge which we put in the place of the bridge that was burnt down. He's keeping watch from there."
"Conrad is a clever one. When the bridge was burnt, we were kept on the other side; if the foot-bridge is burnt, it'll produce the same hindrance. Veronique, I really believe they're coming to rescue you. It's the miracle you expected, the assistance you hoped for. But it's too late, my beauty."
He untied the bonds that fastened her to the balcony, carried her to the sofa and loosened the gag slightly:
"Sleep, my wench," he said. "Get what rest you can. You're only half-way to Golgotha yet; and the last bit of the ascent will be the hardest."
He went away jesting; and Veronique heard the two men exchange a few sentences which proved to her that Otto and Conrad were only supers who knew nothing of the business in hand:
[Pg 232]"Who's this wretched woman whom you're persecuting?" asked Otto.
"That doesn't concern you."
"Still, Conrad and I would like to know something about it."
"Lord, why?"
"Oh, just because!"
"Conrad and you are a pair of fools," replied Vorski. "When I took you into my service and helped you to escape with me, I told you all I could of my plans. You accepted my conditions. It was your look-out. You've got to see this thing through now."
"And if we don't?"
"If you don't, beware of the consequences. I don't like shirkers…"
More hours passed. Nothing, it seemed to Veronique, could any longer save her from the end for which she craved with all her heart. She no longer hoped for the intervention of which Otto had spoken. In reality she was not thinking at all. Her son was dead; and she had no other wish than to join him without delay, even at the cost of the most dreadful suffering. What did that suffering matter to her? There are limits to the strength of those who are tortured; and she was so near to reaching those limits that her agony would not last long.
She began to pray. Once more the memory of the past forced itself on her mind; and the fault which she had committed seemed to her the cause of all the misfortunes heaped upon her.
And, while praying, exhausted, harassed, in a state of nervous extenuation which left her indiffer[Pg 233]ent to anything that might happen, she fell asleep.
Vorski's return did not even rouse her. He had to shake her:
"The hour is at hand, my girl. Say your prayers."
He spoke low, so that his assistants might not hear what he said; and, whispering in her ear, he told her things of long ago, insignificant trifles which he dribbled out in a thick tone. At last he called out:
"It's still too light, Otto. Go and see what you can find in the larder, will you? I'm hungry."
They sat down to table, but Vorski stood up again at once:
"Don't look at me, my girl. Your eyes worry me. What do you expect? My conscience doesn't worry me when I'm alone, but it gets worked up when a fine pair of eyes like yours go right through me. Lower your lids, my pretty one."
He bound Veronique's eyes with a handkerchief which he knotted behind her head. But this did not satisfy him; and he unhooked a muslin curtain from the window, wrapped her whole head in it and wound it round her neck. Then he sat down again to eat and drink.
The three of them hardly spoke and said not a word of their trip across the island, nor of the duel of the afternoon. In any case, these were details which did not interest Veronique and which, even if she had paid attention to them, would not have aroused her. Everything had become indifferent to her. The words reached her ears but assumed no definite meaning. She thought of nothing but dying.
[Pg 234]When it was dark, Vorski gave the signal for departure.
"Then you're still determined?" asked Otto, in a voice betraying a certain hostility.
"More so than ever. What's your reason for asking?"
"Nothing… But, all the same…"
"All the same what?"
"Well, I may as well out with it, we only half like the job."
"You don't mean to say so! And you only discover it now, my man, after stringing up the sisters Archignat and treating it as a lark!"
"I was drunk that day. You made us drink."
"Well, get boozed if you want to, old cock. Here, take the brandy-bottle. Fill your flask and shut up… Conrad, is the stretcher ready?"
He turned to his victim:
"A polite attention for you, my dear… Two old stilts of your brat's, fastened together with straps… It's very practical and comfortable."
At half-past eight, the grim procession set out, with Vorski at the head, carrying a lantern. The accomplices followed with the litter.
The clouds which had been threatening all the afternoon had now gathered and were rolling, thick and black, over the island. The night was falling swiftly. A stormy wind was blowing and made the candle flicker in the lantern.
"Brrrr!" muttered Vorski. "Dismal work! A regular Golgotha evening."
He swerved and grunted at the sight of a little black shape bounding along by his side:
"What's that? Look. It's a dog, isn't it?"
[Pg 235]"It's the boy's mongrel," said Otto.
"Oh, of course, the famous All's Well! The brute's come in the nick of time. Everything's going jolly well! Just wait a bit, you mangy beast!"
He aimed a kick at the dog. All's Well avoided it and keeping out of reach, continued to accompany the procession, giving a muffled bark at intervals.
It was a rough ascent; and every moment one of the three men, leaving the invisible path that skirted the grass in front of the house and led to the open space by the Fairies' Dolmen, tripped in the brambles or in the runners of ivy.