The Casque's Lark Part 29

The Governor of Gascony did not seem to hear the voice of his relative.

"Tetrik," Victoria repeated, leaning over to touch the man's shoulder, "I am speaking to you; answer me."

"Who speaks?" cried the governor as if his mind wandered. "What do they want? Where am I?"

A moment later he raised his eyes to my foster-sister and cried surprised:

"You here--here, Victoria? Oh, yes! I was with you shortly ago--I had forgotten. Excuse me. My head swims. Alas! I am a father--I have a son almost of the age of this unfortunate boy. More than anyone else, I pity you!"

"Time presses and the occasion is grave," replied my foster-sister solemnly while she fastened a penetrating look upon Tetrik in order to fathom the man's most hidden thoughts. "Private sorrow is hushed before the public interest. I have my whole life left to weep my son and grandson; but we have only a few hours to consider the succession of the Chief of Gaul and of the general of the army--"

"What!" exclaimed Tetrik. "At such a moment as this--"

"I wish that before daylight breaks upon us, I, Captain Marion and you, Tetrik, my relative, one of my most faithful friends, you, who are so devoted to Gaul, you, who grieve so bitterly over Victorin--I wish that we three revolve in our wisdom what man we shall to-morrow propose to the army as my son's successor."

"Victoria, you are a heroic woman!" cried Tetrik clasping his hands in admiration. "You match with your courage and patriotism the most august women who have honored the world!"

"What is your opinion, Tetrik, as to the successor of Victorin? Captain Marion and myself will speak after you," the Mother of the Camps proceeded to say without noticing the praises of the Governor of Gascony. "Yes, whom do you think capable of replacing my son--to the glory and advantage of Gaul?"

"How can I give you my opinion?" Tetrik replied dejectedly. "How can I give you advice upon a matter of such gravity, when my heart is racked with pain--it is impossible!"

"It is possible, since you see me here--between the corpses of my son and my grandson--ready to give my opinion--"

"If you insist, Victoria, I shall speak, provided I can collect my thoughts. I am of the opinion that Gaul needs for her chief a wise, firm and enlightened man, a man who inclines to peace rather than to war--especially now when we no longer have the neighborhood of the Franks to fear, thanks to the sword of this young hero, whom I loved and will eternally mourn--"

At this moment the governor interrupted himself to give renewed vent to his grief.

"We shall weep later," said Victoria. "Life is long enough, but the night is short. It will soon be morning."

Tetrik wiped his eyes and proceeded:

"As I was saying, the successor of our Victorin should, above all, be a man of good judgment, and of long and approved devotion in the service of our beloved Gaul. Now, then, if I am not mistaken, the only one whom I can think of who unites these virtues, is Captain Marion, whom we see here."

"I!" cried the captain raising his two enormous hands heavenward. "I, the Chief of Gaul! Grief makes you talk like a fool! I, Chief of Gaul!"

"Captain Marion," Tetrik resumed in a dismal accent, "I know that the shocking death of Victorin and his innocent child has thrown my mind into disorder and desolation. And yet I believe that at this moment I speak not like a fool but like a sage--and Victoria will herself be of my opinion. Although you do not enjoy the brilliant military reputation of our Victorin, whom we shall never be able to mourn sufficiently, you have deserved, Captain Marion, the confidence and affection of our troops by your good and numerous services. Once a blacksmith, you exchanged the hammer for the sword; the soldiers will see in you one of their own rank rise to the dignity of chief through his valor and their own free choice. They will esteem you all the more knowing, above all, that, although you reached distinction, you never lost your friendship for your old comrade of the anvil."

"Forget my friend Eustace!" said Marion. "Oh! Never!"

"The austerity of your morals is known," Tetrik proceeded to say; "your excellent judgment, your straightforwardness, your calmness, are, according to my poor judgment, a guarantee for the future. You have put into practice Victoria's wise thought that now the days of barren war are ended, and the hour has come to think of fruitful peace. The task is arduous, I admit; it can not choose but startle your modesty. But this heroic woman, who, even at this terrible moment, forgets her maternal despair in order to turn her thoughts upon our beloved country, Victoria, I feel certain, in presenting you to the soldiers as her son's successor, will pledge herself to a.s.sist you with her precious counsel.

And now, Captain Marion, if you will hearken to my feeble voice, I implore you, I beg you in the name of Gaul to accept the reins of office. Victoria joins me in demanding of you this fresh proof of self-sacrificing devotion to our common country!"

"Tetrik," answered Marion in a grave voice, "you have ably described the man who is needed to govern Gaul. There is only one thing to change in the picture that you have drawn, and that is its name. In the place of my name, insert your own--it will then be complete--"

"I!" cried Tetrik. "I, Chief of Gaul! I, who in all my life never have held a sword in my hand!"

"Victoria said it," replied Marion. "The season for war is over, the season for peace has come. In times of war we need warriors--in times of peace we need men of peace. You belong to the latter category, Tetrik; it is your place to govern--do you not think so, Victoria?"

"By the manner in which he has governed Gascony, Tetrik has shown how he would govern Gaul," answered my foster-sister; "I join you, captain, in requesting--my relative--to replace my son--"

"What did I tell you?" broke in Captain Marion, addressing Tetrik.

"Would you still refuse?"

"Listen to me, Victoria; listen to me, Captain Marion; listen to me, Schanvoch," replied the governor turning towards me. "Yes, you also, Schanvoch, listen to me, you who are as stricken as Victoria. You, who, in your nervous friendship for this august woman, suspected my sincerity; I wish you all to believe me. I have received an incurable wound here, in my heart, by the occurrences of this fatal night; they have bereft us at once, in the person of our unfortunate Victorin and in that of his innocent son, of the present and the future support of Gaul.

It was for the purpose of securing and rendering the future certain that I sought to induce Victoria to propose her grandson to the army as the heir of Victorin, and that I have made this journey to Mayence. My hopes are dashed--an eternal sorrow takes their place--"

After stopping for a moment in order to allow his inexhaustible tears to flow, the governor proceeded:

"My resolution is formed. Not only do I decline the power that is offered me, but I shall also give up the government of Gascony. The few years of life left to me shall henceforth be spent with my son in seclusion and sorrow. At another time I might have been able to render some service to our country, but that is now past with me. I shall carry into my retirement a grief that will be rendered less unbearable by the knowledge that my country's future is in such worthy hands as yours, Captain Marion, and that Victoria, the divine genius of Gaul, will continue to watch over our land. And now, Schanvoch," added the Governor of Gascony turning once more towards me, "have I put an end to your suspicions? Do you still think me ambitious? Is my language, are my actions those of a perfidious or treacherous man? Alas! Alas! I never thought that the frightful misfortunes of this night would so soon afford me the opportunity to justify myself--"

"Tetrik," said Victoria extending her hand to her relative, "if ever I could have doubted the loyalty of your heart, I would at this hour perceive my error--"

"And I admit it freely, my suspicions were groundless," I added in turn.

After all that I had seen and heard, I was, as Victoria, convinced of her relative's innocence. And still, as my mind ever returned to the mysterious circ.u.mstances that surrounded the events of that night, I said to Marion, who, silent and pensive, seemed overwhelmed with the tender that was made to him:

"Captain, yesterday I asked you for a discreet and safe man to serve me as escort."

"You did."

"Do you know the name of the soldier whom you picked out for me?"

"It was not I who chose him--I do not know his name."

"And who chose him?" asked Victoria.

"My friend Eustace is better acquainted with the soldiers than I am. I commissioned him to find me a safe man, and to order him to repair after dark to the town gate, where he was to wait for the rider whom he was to accompany on the journey."

"And after that," I asked the captain, "did you see your friend Eustace again?"

"No; he has been mounting guard at the outposts of the camp since last evening, and he was not to be relieved until this morning."

"But at any rate we could learn from him the name of the rider who escorted Schanvoch," observed Victoria. "I shall let you know later, Tetrik, the importance that I attach to that information, and you will be able to counsel me."

"You must excuse me, Victoria, if I do not acceed to your wishes," the governor replied with a sigh. "Within an hour, at earliest dawn, I shall leave Mayence--the sight of this place is too harrowing to me. I have a humble retreat in Gascony; I shall bury my life there in the company of my son; he is to-day the only consolation left to me."

"My friend," said Victoria reproachfully, "do you leave me at such a moment as this? The sight of this place is harrowing to you, you say--and what about myself? Does not this place recall at every turn memories that must distress me? And yet I shall leave Mayence only when Captain Marion will no longer stand in need of whatever counsel he may think that he may be in need of from me at the start of his government."

"Victoria," put in Captain Marion in a resolute tone, "I have said nothing during this conversation in which you and Tetrik have disposed of me. I am not fluent in words, moreover, my heart is too heavy to-night. I have said little, but I have reflected a good deal. These are my thoughts: I love the profession of arms; I know how to execute a general's orders, and I am not altogether unskilful in the management of troops confided to me. At a pinch I can plan an attack like the one which completed Victorin's great victory by the destruction of the camp and reserve forces of the Franks. This is to say, Victoria, that I do not consider myself more of a fool than others--wherefore I have sense enough to understand that I am not fit for the government of Gaul--"

"Nevertheless, Captain Marion," Tetrik broke in, "Victoria will agree with me that the task is not beyond your strength."

"Oh! As to my strength, that is well known," replied Captain Marion soberly. "Fetch me an ox, and I'll carry him on my back, or fell him with a blow of my fist. But square shoulders are not all that is wanted for the chief of a great people. No--no. I am robust--granted. But the burden of state is too heavy. Therefore, Victoria, do not put such a weight upon me. I would break down under it--and Gaul will, in turn, break down under the weight of my weakness. And, moreover, it might as well be said, I love, after service hours, to go home and empty a pot of beer in the company of my friend Eustace, and chat with him over our old blacksmith's trade, or entertain ourselves with furbishing our arms like skilful armorers. Such am I, Victoria--such have I ever been--and such I wish to remain."

"And these call themselves men! Oh, Hesus!" cried the Mother of the Camps indignantly. "I, a woman--I, a mother--I saw my son and grandson die this very night--and yet I have the necessary fort.i.tude to repress my grief--and this soldier, to whom the most glorious post that can shed l.u.s.ter upon a man is offered, dares to answer with a refusal, giving his love for beer and the polishing of armor as an excuse! Oh! Woe is Gaul, if the very ones whom she regards as her bravest sons thus cowardly forsake her!"

The reproach of the Mother of the Camps impressed Captain Marion. He dropped his head in confusion, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke:

"Victoria, there is but one strong soul here--it is yours. You make me ashamed of myself. Well, then," he added with a sigh, "be it as you will--I accept. But the G.o.ds are my witnesses--I accept as a duty and under protest. If I should commit any asininities as Chief of Gaul, none will have a right to reproach me. Very well, I accept, Victoria, but under two imperative conditions."