The Forty-Five Guardsmen. Dumas Alexandre
Читать онлайн книгу.
what of that? The captain said they were all countrymen, and he is a Gascon. M. d'Epernon is from Toulouse."
"Then you still believe it was M. d'Epernon?"
"Did he not say three times the famous 'parfandious'?"
Very soon the five other Gascons arrived; the number of guests was complete. Never was such surprise painted on so many faces; for an hour nothing was heard but "saudioux," "mordioux!" and "cap de Bious!" and such noisy joy, that it seemed to the Fournichons that all Poitou and Languedoc were collected in their room. Some knew, and greeted each other.
"Is it not singular to find so many Gascons here?" asked one.
"No," replied Perducas de Pincornay, "the sign is tempting for men of honor."
"Ah! is it you?" said St. Maline, the gentleman with the lackeys, "you have not yet explained to me what you were about to do, when the crowd separated us."
"What was that?" asked Pincornay, reddening.
"How it happens that I met you on the road between Angoulême and Angers without a hat, as you are now?"
"It seems to interest you, monsieur?"
"Ma foi! yes. Poitiers is far from Paris, and you came from beyond Poitiers."
"Yes, from St. Andre de Cubsac."
"And without a hat?"
"Oh! it is very simple. My father has two magnificent horses, and he is quite capable of disinheriting me for the accident that has happened to one of them."
"What is that?"
"I was riding one of them when it took fright at the report of a gun that was fired close to me, and ran away; it made for the bank of the Dordogne and plunged in."
"With you?"
"No; luckily I had time to slip off, or I should have been drowned with him."
"Ah! then the poor beast was drowned?"
"Pardioux! you know the Dordogne – half a league across."
"And then?"
"Then I resolved not to return home, but to go away as far as possible from my father's anger."
"But your hat?"
"Diable! my hat had fallen."
"Like you."
"I did not fall; I slipped off."
"But your hat?"
"Ah! my hat had fallen. I sought for it, being my only resource, as I had come out without money."
"But how could your hat be a resource?"
"Saudioux! it was a great one, for I must tell you that the plume of this hat was fastened by a diamond clasp, that his majesty the emperor Charles V. gave to my grandfather, when, on his way from Spain to Flanders, he stopped at our castle."
"Ah! ah! and you have sold the clasp, and the hat with it. Then, my dear friend, you ought to be the richest of us all, and you should have bought another glove; your hands are not alike; one is as white as a woman's, and the other as black as a negro's."
"But listen; as I turned to seek my hat I saw an enormous crow seize hold of it."
"Of your hat!"
"Or rather of the clasp; attracted by the glitter, and in spite of my cries, he flew away with it, and I saw it no more. So that, overwhelmed by this double loss, I did not dare to return home, but came to seek my fortune in Paris."
"Good!" cried a third, "the wind has changed into a crow. I heard you tell M. de Loignac that the wind had carried it away while you were reading a letter from your mistress."
"Now," cried St. Maline, "I have the honor of knowing M. d'Aubigne, who, though a brave soldier, writes well, and I recommend you to tell him the history of your hat; he will make a charming story of it."
Several stifled laughs were heard.
"Ah! gentlemen," cried the Gascon, "do you laugh at me?"
They turned away to laugh again.
Perducas threw a glance around him, and saw a young man near the fireplace hiding his face in his hands. He thought it was to laugh, and, going up to him, struck him on the shoulder, saying —
"Eh! monsieur, if you laugh, at all events show your face."
The young man looked up; it was our friend Ernanton de Carmainges.
"I beg you will leave me alone," said he, "I was not thinking of you."
Pincornay turned away, grumbling; but at this moment an officer entered.
"M. de Loignac!" cried twenty voices.
At this name, known through all Gascony, every one rose and kept silence.
CHAPTER IX.
M. DE LOIGNAC
"Supper!" cried M. de Loignac; "and from this moment let all be friends, and love each other like brothers."
"Hum!" said St. Maline.
"That would be difficult," added Ernanton.
"See," cried Pincornay, "they laugh at me because I have no hat, and they say nothing to M. Montcrabeau, who is going to supper in a cuirass of the time of the Emperor Pertinax, from whom it probably came. See what it is to have defensive arms."
"Gentlemen," cried Montcrabeau, "I take it off; so much the worse for those who prefer seeing me with offensive instead of defensive arms;" and he gave his cuirass to his lackey, a man about fifty years of age.
"Peace! peace!" cried De Loignac, "and let us go to table."
Meanwhile the lackey whispered to Pertinax, "And am I not to sup? Let me have something, Pertinax. I am dying of hunger."
Pertinax, instead of being offended at this familiar address, replied, "I will try, but you had better see for something for yourself."
"Hum! that is not reassuring."
"Have you no money?"
"We spent our last crown at Sens."
"Diable! then try to sell something."
A few minutes after a cry was heard in the street of "Old iron! who wants to sell old iron?"
Madame Fournichon ran to the door, while M. Fournichon placed the supper on the table, and to judge by its reception it must have been exquisite. As his wife did not return, however, the host asked a servant what she was doing.
"Oh, master," he replied, "she is selling all your old iron for new money."
"I hope not my cuirass and arms," said he, running to the door.
"No," said De Loignac, "it is forbidden to buy arms."
Madame Fournichon entered triumphantly.
"You have not been selling my arms?" cried her husband.
"Yes, I have."
"I will not have them sold."
"Bah! in time of peace; and I have got ten crowns instead of an old cuirass."
"Ten crowns! Samuel, do you hear?" said Pertinax, looking for his valet, but he was not to be seen.
"It seems to me that this man carries on a dangerous trade. But what does he do with them?"
"Sells them again by weight."
"By weight! and you say he gave you ten crowns – for what?"
"A cuirass and a helmet."
"Why, even if they weighed twenty pounds, that is half-a-crown a pound. This hides some mystery."
Voices rose, and the mirth grew loud with all, except Carmainges, who still thought of the mysterious page. He sat by M. de Loignac, who said to him:
"Here are a number of joyful people, and they do not know what for."
"Nor I, neither; but at least I am an exception."
"You are wrong, for you are one of those to whom Paris