The Casque's Lark Part 32

"Promise me, Schanvoch, that you will do as I ask you--"

"Save the monster from condign punishment! Never! No, a thousand times no!"

"Schanvoch, I implore you--"

"Your murder shall be avenged--"

"Be, then, yourself accursed! You who say 'No!' to the prayer of an expiring man--to the prayer of an old soldier--who weeps--you see it. Is it agony?--is it weakness?--I know not, but I weep--"

And large drops of tears rolled down his face that gradually grew more livid.

"Good Marion, your kindheartedness distresses me! You, imploring mercy for your murderer!"

"Who else would take an interest in the unhappy fellow--if I did not?"

he answered with an expression of ineffable mercifulness.

"Oh! Marion, those words are worthy of the young man of Nazareth, whom my ancestress Genevieve saw put to death in Jerusalem!"

"Friend Schanvoch--mercy--you will say nothing--I rely upon your promise--"

"No! No! Your celestial mercifulness only renders the crime more atrocious. No pity for the monster who slew his friend!"

"Go away from me!" feebly murmured Marion, sobbing.

"It is you who harrow my last moments! Eustace only slew my body--but you, pitiless before my agony, you torture my very soul!"

"Your despair distresses me--and yet listen, Marion. It is not merely the friend, the old friend that the a.s.sa.s.sin struck at--"

"For twenty-three years we never left each other's side, Eustace and I,"

Marion mumbled moaning.

"No, it is not the friend only that the monster struck in striking you, it was also, and perhaps especially, the Chief of Gaul and general of the army that he aimed at. The mysterious cause of this crime may be of deep interest to the country's future. The mystery must be fathomed, uncovered--"

"Schanvoch, you do not know Eustace. He cared little, I know, whether or not I was Chief of Gaul or general of the army. Moreover, what does that concern me--now, when I am about to live in yonder new worlds? All I ask of you is that you grant me this last request--do not denounce my friend Eustace. I implore you with clasped hands--"

"Granted! I shall keep the secret, but under one condition, that you inform me how the crime was committed."

"How can you have the heart to drive such a bargain--the peace of mind--a dying man--"

"The welfare of Gaul may be at stake, I tell you! Everything points to an infernal plot in this dark affair, the first victims of which were Victorin and his son. That is why I insist upon learning from you the details of this atrocious murder."

"Schanvoch--a minute ago I could still distinguish your face--the color of your clothes--now I see before me only a vague shape. Make haste, make haste!"

"Answer--how was the crime committed? By Hesus, tell me, and I swear to you I shall keep the secret--not otherwise."

"Schanvoch--my good friend--"

"Was Eustace acquainted with Tetrik?"

"Eustace never as much as spoke to him--"

"Are you certain?"

"Eustace told me so--he ever felt--without knowing why--an aversion for the governor--I was not surprised at that. Eustace loved only me--"

"And he killed you! Speak, and I swear to you, by Hesus, that I shall keep the secret--otherwise, not!"

"I shall speak--but your silence on the matter will not suffice me. A score of times I proposed to my friend Eustace to share my purse--he met my tender with insults. Oh! his is not a venal soul--not his--he has no money--he must surely be without any resources whatever--how will he be able to flee?"

"I shall help him to flee--I shall furnish him the money that he may need--I shall be only too glad to rid the camp of such a monster with all possible speed!"

"A monster!" murmured Marion reproachfully. "You are very severe towards Eustace."

"How did he manage to inflict a mortal wound upon you, and what was his reason? Answer my question."

"Since I was acclaimed Chief of Gaul and general, my friend Eustace became more peevish than ever before, and more sullen--than he usually was--he feared, poor soul, that my elevation would make me proud--"

Marion choked in his speech. Throwing his arms about at random, he called out:

"Schanvoch, where are you?"

"Here I am, close to you--"

"I see you no longer," he said in a sinking voice. "Lean my back against a tree--I am--smothering--"

With no little difficulty I did what Marion desired; his Herculean body was heavy. Finally, however, I succeeded in drawing him up with his back against the nearest tree. Reclined against it, Marion continued in a voice that steadily grew feebler:

"In the measure that--the ill temper of my friend Eustace increased--I sought to show myself even more friendly than usual towards him. I could understand his apprehensions. Already, when I was only a captain, he could not bring himself to treat me as his former companion at the anvil. When I became general and Chief of Gaul he took me for a potentate. As to myself, certain that I esteemed him none the less--I always laughed in his face at his rudeness--I laughed--I did wrong--the poor fellow was suffering. To make it short--to-day he said to me: 'Marion, it is a long time since we took a walk together, shall we take a stroll in the woods, near the city?' I had a conference with Victoria.

But fearing to displease my friend Eustace, I wrote to the Mother of the Camps, excusing myself--and he and I started on our walk arm in arm. I was reminded of the days of our apprenticeship in the forest of Chartres--where we used to go to trap magpies. I felt buoyant--and despite my grey beard--knowing that n.o.body saw us--I indulged in all manner of boyish tricks in order to amuse Eustace. I mimicked, as in the days of our boyhood, the cry of--the magpies--by blowing upon a leaf held close to my lips. I did other monkey tricks of the same nature--It was singular--I never felt in better spirits than to-day--Eustace, on the contrary did not move--a muscle of his face--not--a smile could be extracted from him. We were a few steps from here, he behind me--he called me--I turned around--and you will see, Schanvoch, that there could not have been any wicked purpose on his part--only insanity--pure insanity. The moment that I turned around he threw himself upon me sword in hand--and--as he plunged the weapon into my side he cried: 'Do you recognize this sword, you who forged it yourself?' I admit--I was not a little surprised--I fell under the blow--I called out to my friend Eustace: 'What ails you? Explain yourself at least. Have I offended you in aught without knowing?' But I was only speaking--to the trees--the poor crazy man had vanished--leaving his sword beside me--another evidence of insanity--the weapon--you will notice--Schanvoch--the weapon--bore on the blade the inscription: 'Marion forged this sword for his dear friend Eustace.'"

These were the last intelligible words of the good and brave soldier. He expired a few minutes later uttering incoherent words, among which these recurred with greatest frequency:

"Eustace," "flee," "save yourself."

After Marion had given up the ghost, I hastened back to Mayence in order to notify Victoria of the occurrence, nor did I conceal from her that my suspicions again pointed to Tetrik as having a hand in the plot. The man, I explained, left again vacant the government of Gaul by the removal of Marion, after Victorin and his son were gotten out of the way. Although desolate by the death of Marion, my foster-sister combated my suspicions with regard to Tetrik. She reminded me that I myself, more than two months before the murder of Marion, was so struck by the expression of hatred and envy betrayed by the face and words of the captain's old companion, that I said to her before Tetrik that Marion must be very much blinded by his affection to fail to perceive that his friend was devoured by implacable jealousy. Victoria shared the opinion of the good Marion, that the crime to which he had fallen a victim had no other cause than the envious hatred of Eustace, who was driven to the point of insanity by the more recent elevation of his friend. Besides, a singular coincidence, on that same day my foster-sister received from Tetrik, then on his way to Italy, a letter in which he informed her that seeing his health was daily declining, the physicians saw but one chance of safety for him--a trip to some southern country. For that reason he was on the way to Rome with his son.

These facts, Tetrik's conduct since the death of Victorin, the touching letters that he wrote, together with what seemed to be the irrefutable arguments advanced by Victoria, once more overthrew my mistrust toward the Governor of Gascony. I also arrived at the conclusion, which was certainly justified on the face of the events, that, in view of the previous behavior of Eustace, the atrocious murder committed by him had no other motive than a savage jealousy, that was driven to the point of insanity by the recent distinction that fell to the lot of his friend.

I kept the promise that I made to the good and brave Marion at the hour of his death. His a.s.sa.s.sination was attributed to some unknown murderer, but not to Eustace. I took the man's sword with me to Victoria; no suspicion was drawn to the actual felon, who was never more seen either at Mayence, or in the camp. Marion's remains, wept over by the whole army, received the pompous military honors due to a general and a Chief of Gaul.

CHAPTER VI.

THE TRAITOR UNMASKED.