manhas
insulted
me
!
”
said
Syme
,
with
gestures
of
explanation
.
“
Insulted
you
?
”
cried
the
gentleman
with
the
red
rosette
,
“
when
?
”
“
Oh
,
just
now
,
”
said
Syme
recklessly
.
“
He
insulted
my
mother
.
”
“
Insulted
your
mother
!
”
exclaimed
the
gentleman
incredulously
.
“
Well
,
anyhow
,
”
said
Syme
,
conceding
a
point
,
“
my
aunt
.
”
“
But
how
can
the
Marquis
have
insulted
your
aunt
just
now
?
”
said
the
second
gentleman
with
some
legitimate
wonder
.
“
He
has
been
sitting
here
all
the
time
.
”
“
Ah
,
it
was
what
he
said
!
”
said
Syme
darkly
.
“
I
said
nothing
at
all
,
”
said
the
Marquis
,
“
except
something
about
the
band
.
I
only
said
that
I
liked
Wagner
played
well
.
”
“
It
was
an
allusion
to
my
family
,
”
said
Syme
firmly
.
“
My
aunt
played
Wagner
badly
.
It
was
a
painful
subject
.
We
are
always
being
insulted
about
it
.
”
“
This
seems
most
extraordinary
,
”
said
the
gentleman
who
was
decoré
,
looking
doubtfully
at
the
Marquis
.
“
Oh
,
I
assure
you
,
”
said
Syme
earnestly
,
“
the
whole
of
your
conversation
was
simply
packed
with
sinister
allusions
to
my
aunt’s
weaknesses
.
”
“
This
is
nonsense
!
”
said
the
second
gentleman
.
“
I
for
one
have
said
nothing
for
half
an
hour
except
that
I
liked
the
singing
of
that
girl
with
black
hair
.
”
“
Well
,
there
you
are
again
!
”
said
Syme
indignantly
.
“
My
aunt’s
was
red
.
”
“
It
seems
to
me
,
”
said
the
other
,
“
that
you
are
simply
seeking
a
pretext
to
insult
the
Marquis
.
”
“
By
George
!
”
said
Syme
,
facing
round
and
looking
at
him
,
“
what
a
clever
chap
you
are
!
”
The
Marquis
started
up
with
eyes
flaming
like
a
tiger’s
.
“
Seeking
a
quarrel
with
me
!
”
he
cried
.
“
Seeking
a
fight
with
me
!
By
God
!
there
was
never
a
man
who
had
to
seek
long
.
These
gentlemen
will
perhaps
act
for
me
.
There
are
still
four
hours
of
daylight
.
Let
us
fight
this
evening
.
”
Syme
bowed
with
a
quite
beautiful
graciousness
.
“
Marquis
,
”
he
said
,
“
your
action
is
worthy
of
your
fame
and
blood
.
Permit
me
to
consult
for
a
moment
with
the
gentlemen
in
whose
hands
I
shall
place
myself
.
”
In
three
long
strides
he
rejoined
his
companions
,
and
they
,
who
had
seen
his
champagne‑inspired
attack
and
listened
to
his
idiotic
explanations
,
were
quite
startled
at
the
look
of
him
.
For
now
that
he
came
back
to
them
he
was
quite
sober
,
a
little
pale
,
and
he
spoke
in
a
low
voice
of
passionate
practicality
.
“
I
have
done
it
,
”
he
said
hoarsely
.
“
I
have
fixed
a
fight
on
the
beast
.
But
look
here
,
and
listen
carefully
.
There
is
no
time
for
talk
.
You
are
my
seconds
,
and
everything
must
come
from
you
.
Now
you
must
insist
,
and
insist
absolutely
,
on
the
duel
coming
off
after
seven
to‑morrow
,
so
as
to
give
me
the
chance
of
preventing
him
from
catching
the
7.45
for
Paris
.
If
he
misses
that
he
misses
his
crime
.
He
can’t
refuse
to
meet
you
on
such
a
small
point
of
time
and
place
.
But
this
is
what
he
will
do
.
He
will
choose
a
field
somewhere
near
a
wayside
station
,
where
he
can
pick
up
the
train
.
He
is
a
very
good
swordsman
,
and
he
will
trust
to
killing
me
in
time
to
catch
it
.
But
I
can
fence
well
too
,
and
I
think
I
can
keep
him
in
play
,
at
any
rate
,
until
the
train
is
lost
.
Then
perhaps
he
may
kill
me
to
console
his
feelings
.
You
understand
?
Very
well
then
,
let
me
introduce
you
to
some
charming
friends
of
mine
,
”
and
leading
them
quickly
across
the
parade
,
he
presented
them
to
the
Marquis’s
seconds
by
two
very
aristocratic
names
of
which
they
had
not
previously
heard
.
Syme
was
subject
to
spasms
of
singular
common
sense
,
not
otherwise
a
part
of
his
character
.
They
were
(
as
he
said
of
his
impulse
about
the
spectacles
)
poetic
intuitions
,
and
they
sometimes
rose
to
the
exaltation
of
prophecy
.
He
had
correctly
calculated
in
this
case
the
policy
of
his
opponent
.
When
the
Marquis
was
informed
by
his
seconds
that
Syme
could
only
fight
in
the
morning
,
he
must
fully
have
realised
that
an
obstacle
had
suddenly
arisen
between
him
and
his
bomb‑throwing
business
in
the
capital
.
Naturally
he
could
not
explain
this
objection
to
his
friends
,
so
he
chose
the
course
which
Syme
had
predicted
.
He
induced
his
seconds
to
settle
on
a
small
meadow
not
far
from
the
railway
,
and
he
trusted
to
the
fatality
of
the
first
engagement
.
When
he
came
down
very
coolly
to
the
field
of
honour
,
no
one
could
have
guessed
that
he
had
any
anxiety
about
a
journey
;
his
hands
were
in
his
pockets
,
his
straw
hat
on
the
back
of
his
head
,
his
handsome
face
brazen
in
the
sun
.
But
it
might
have
struck
a
stranger
as
odd
that
there
appeared
in
his
train
,
not
only
his
seconds
carrying
the
sword‑case
,
but
two
of
his
servants
carrying
a
portmanteau
and
a
luncheon
basket
.
Early
as
was
the
hour
,
the
sun
soaked
everything
in
warmth
,
and
Syme
was
vaguely
surprised
to
see
so
many
spring
flowers
burning
gold
and
silver
in
the
tall
grass
in
which
the
whole
company
stood
almost
knee-deep
.
With
the
exception
of
the
Marquis
,
all
the
men
were
in
sombre
and
solemn
morning‑dress
,
with
hats
like
black
chimney‑pots
;
the
little
Doctor
especially
,
with
the
addition
of
his
black
spectacles
,
looked
like
an
undertaker
in
a
farce
.
Syme
could
not
help
feeling
a
comic
contrast
between
this
funereal
church
parade
of
apparel
and
the
rich
and
glistening
meadow
,
growing
wild
flowers
everywhere
.
But
,
indeed
,
this
comic
contrast
between
the
yellow
blossoms
and
the
black
hats
was
but
a
symbol
of
the
tragic
contrast
between
the
yellow
blossoms
and
the
black
business
.
On
his
right
was
a
little
wood
;
far
away
to
his
left
lay
the
long
curve
of
the
railway
line
,
which
he
was
,
so
to
speak
,
guarding
from
the
Marquis
,
whose
goal
and
escape
it
was
.
In
front
of
him
,
behind
the
black
group
of
his
opponents
,
he
could
see
,
like
a
tinted
cloud
,
a
small
almond
bush
in
flower
against
the
faint
line
of
the
sea
.
The
member
of
the
Legion
of
Honour
,
whose
name
it
seemed
was
Colonel
Ducroix
,
approached
the
Professor
and
Dr.
Bull
with
great
politeness
,
and
suggested
that
the
play
should
terminate
with
the
first
considerable
hurt
.
Dr.
Bull
,
however
,
having
been
carefully
coached
by
Syme
upon
this
point
of
policy
,
insisted
,
with
great
dignity
and
in
very
bad
French
,
that
it
should
continue
until
one
of
the
combatants
was
disabled
.
Syme
had
made
up
his
mind
that
he
could
avoid
disabling
the
Marquis
and
prevent
the
Marquis
from
disabling
him
for
at
least
twenty
minutes
.
In
twenty
minutes
the
Paris
train
would
have
gone
by
.
“
To
a
man
of
the
well‑known
skill
and
valour
of
Monsieur
de
St.
Eustache
,
”
said
the
Professor
solemnly
,
“
it
must
be
a
matter
of
indifference
which
method
is
adopted
,
and
our
principal
has
strong
reasons
for
demanding
the
longer
encounter
,
reasons
the
delicacy
of
which
prevent
me
from
being
explicit
,
but
for
the
just
and
honourable
nature
of
which
I
can
—
”
“
Peste
!
“
broke
from
the
Marquis
behind
,
whose
face
had
suddenly
darkened
,
“
let
us
stop
talking
and
begin
,
”
and
he
slashed
off
the
head
of
a
tall
flower
with
his
stick
.
Syme
understood
his
rude
impatience
and
instinctively
looked
over
his
shoulder
to
see
whether
the
train
was
coming
in
sight
.
But
there
was
no
smoke
on
the
horizon
.
Colonel
Ducroix
knelt
down
and
unlocked
the
case
,
taking
out
a
pair
of
twin
swords
,
which
took
the
sunlight
and
turned
to
two
streaks
of
white
fire
.
He
offered
one
to
the
Marquis
,
who
snatched
it
without
ceremony
,
and
another
to
Syme
,
who
took
it
,
bent
it
,
and
poised
it
with
as
much
delay
as
was
consistent
with
dignity
.
Then
the
Colonel
took
out
another
pair
of
blades
,
and
taking
one
himself
and
giving
another
to
Dr.
Bull
,
proceeded
to
place
the
men
.
Both
combatants
had
thrown
off
their
coats
and
waistcoats
,
and
stood
sword
in
hand
.
The
seconds
stood
on
each
side
of
the
line
of
fight
with
drawn
swords
also
,
but
still
sombre
in
their
dark
frock‑coats
and
hats
.
The
principals
saluted
.
The
Colonel
said
quietly
,
“
Engage
!
”
and
the
two
blades
touched
and
tingled
.
When
the
jar
of
the
joined
iron
ran
up
Syme’s
arm
,
all
the
fantastic
fears
that
have
been
the
subject
of
this
story
fell
from
him
like
dreams
from
a
man
waking
up
in
bed
.
He
remembered
them
clearly
and
in
order
as
mere
delusions
of
the
nerves
—
how
the
fear
of
the
Professor
had
been
the
fear
of
the
tyrannic
accidents
of
nightmare
,
and
how
the
fear
of
the
Doctor
had
been
the
fear
of
the
airless
vacuum
of
science
.
The
first
was
the
old
fear
that
any
miracle
might
happen
,
the
second
the
more
hopeless
modern
fear
that
no
miracle
can
ever
happen
.
But
he
saw
that
these
fears
were
fancies
,
for
he
found
himself
in
the
presence
of
the
great
fact
of
the
fear
of
death
,
with
its
coarse
and
pitiless
common
sense
.
He
felt
like
a
man
who
had
dreamed
all
night
of
falling
over
precipices
,
and
had
woke
up
on
the
morning
when
he
was
to
be
hanged
.
For
as
soon
as
he
had
seen
the
sunlight
run
down
the
channel
of
his
foe’s
foreshortened
blade
,
and
as
soon
as
he
had
felt
the
two
tongues
of
steel
touch
,
vibrating
like
two
living
things
,
he
knew
that
his
enemy
was
a
terrible
fighter
,
and
that
probably
his
last
hour
had
come
.
He
felt
a
strange
and
vivid
value
in
all
the
earth
around
him
,
in
the
grass
under
his
feet
;
he
felt
the
love
of
life
in
all
living
things
.
He
could
almost
fancy
that
he
heard
the
grass
growing
;
he
could
almost
fancy
that
even
as
he
stood
fresh
flowers
were
springing
up
and
breaking
into
blossom
in
the
meadow
—
flowers
blood
red
and
burning
gold
and
blue
,
fulfilling
the
whole
pageant
of
the
spring
.
And
whenever
his
eyes
strayed
for
a
flash
from
the
calm
,
staring
,
hypnotic
eyes
of
the
Marquis
,
they
saw
the
little
tuft
of
almond
tree
against
the
sky‑line
.
He
had
the
feeling
that
if
by
some
miracle
he
escaped
he
would
be
ready
to
sit
for
ever
before
that
almond
tree
,
desiring
nothing
else
in
the
world
.
But
while
earth
and
sky
and
everything
had
the
living
beauty
of
a
thing
lost
,
the
other
half
of
his
head
was
as
clear
as
glass
,
and
he
was
parrying
his
enemy’s
point
with
a
kind
of
clockwork
skill
of
which
he
had
hardly
supposed
himself
capable
.
Once
his
enemy’s
point
ran
along
his
wrist
,
leaving
a
slight
streak
of
blood
,
but
it
either
was
not
noticed
or
was
tacitly
ignored
.
Every
now
and
then
he
riposted
,
and
once
or
twice
he
could
almost
fancy
that
he
felt
his
point
go
home
,
but
as
there
was
no
blood
on
blade
or
shirt
he
supposed
he
was
mistaken
.
Then
came
an
interruption
and
a
change
.
At
the
risk
of
losing
all
,
the
Marquis
,
interrupting
his
quiet
stare
,
flashed
one
glance
over
his
shoulder
at
the
line
of
railway
on
his
right
.
Then
he
turned
on
Syme
a
face
transfigured
to
that
of
a
fiend
,
and
began
to
fight
as
if
with
twenty
weapons
.
The
attack
came
so
fast
and
furious
,
that
the
one
shining
sword
seemed
a
shower
of
shining
arrows
.
Syme
had
no
chance
to
look
at
the
railway
;
but
also
he
had
no
need
.
He
could
guess
the
reason
of
the
Marquis’s
sudden
madness
of
battle
—
the
Paris
train
was
in
sight
.
But
the
Marquis’s
morbid
energy
over‑reached
itself
.
Twice
Syme
,
parrying
,
knocked
his
opponent’s
point
far
out
of
the
fighting
circle
;
and
the
third
time
his
riposte
was
so
rapid
,
that
there
was
no
doubt
about
the
hit
this
time
.
Syme’s
sword
actually
bent
under
the
weight
of
the
Marquis’s
body
,
which
it
had
pierced
.
Syme
was
as
certain
that
he
had
stuck
his
blade
into
his
enemy
as
a
gardener
that
he
has
stuck
his
spade
into
the
ground
.
Yet
the
Marquis
sprang
back
from
the
stroke
without
a
stagger
,
and
Syme
stood
staring
at
his
own
sword‑point
like
an
idiot
.
There
was
no
blood
on
it
at
all
.
There
was
an
instant
of
rigid
silence
,
and
then
Syme
in
his
turn
fell
furiously
on
the
other
,
filled
with
a
flaming
curiosity
.
The
Marquis
was
probably
,
in
a
general
sense
,
a
better
fencer
than
he
,
as
he
had
surmised
at
the
beginning
,
but
at
the
moment
the
Marquis
seemed
distraught
and
at
a
disadvantage
.
He
fought
wildly
and
even
weakly
,
and
he
constantly
looked
away
at
the
railway
line
,
almost
as
if
he
feared
the
train
more
than
the
pointed
steel
.
Syme
,
on
the
other
hand
,
fought
fiercely
but
still
carefully
,
in
an
intellectual
fury
,
eager
to
solve
the
riddle
of
his
own
bloodless
sword
.
For
this
purpose
,
he
aimed
less
at
the
Marquis’s
body
,
and
more
at
his
throat
and
head
.
A
minute
and
a
half
afterwards
he
felt
his
point
enter
the
man’s
neck
below
the
jaw
.
It
came
out
clean
.
Half
mad
,
he
thrust
again
,
and
made
what
should
have
been
a
bloody
scar
on
the
Marquis’s
cheek
.
But
there
was
no
scar
.
For
one
moment
the
heaven
of
Syme
again
grew
black
with
supernatural
terrors
.
Surely
the
man
had
a
charmed
life
.
But
this
new
spiritual
dread
was
a
more
awful
thing
than
had
been
the
mere
spiritual
topsy-turvydom
symbolised
by
the
paralytic
who
pursued
him
.
The
Professor
was
only
a
goblin
;
this
man
was
a
devil
—
perhaps
he
was
the
Devil
!
Anyhow
,
this
was
certain
,
that
three
times
had
a
human
sword
been
driven
into
him
and
made
no
mark
.
When
Syme
had
that
thought
he
drew
himself
up
,
and
all
that
was
good
in
him
sang
high
up
in
the
air
as
a
high
wind
sings
in
the
trees
.
He
thought
of
all
the
human
things
in
his
story
—
of
the
Chinese
lanterns
in
Saffron
Park
,
of
the
girl’s
red
hair
in
the
garden
,
of
the
honest
,
beer‑swilling
sailors
down
by
the
dock
,
of
his
loyal
companions
standing
by
.
Perhaps
he
had
been
chosen
as
a
champion
of
all
these
fresh
and
kindly
things
to
cross
swords
with
the
enemy
of
all
creation
.
“
After
all
,
”
he
said
to
himself
,
“
I
am
more
than
a
devil
;
I
am
a
man
.
I
can
do
the
one
thing
which
Satan
himself
cannot
do
—
I
can
die
,
”
and
as
the
word
went
through
his
head
,
he
heard
a
faint
and
far‑off
hoot
,
which
would
soon
be
the
roar
of
the
Paris
train
.
He
fell
to
fighting
again
with
a
supernatural
levity
,
like
a
Mohammedan
panting
for
Paradise
.
As
the
train
came
nearer
and
nearer
he
fancied
he
could
see
people
putting
up
the
floral
arches
in
Paris
;
he
joined
in
the
growing
noise
and
the
glory
of
the
great
Republic
whose
gate
he
was
guarding
against
Hell
.
His
thoughts
rose
higher
and
higher
with
the
rising
roar
of
the
train
,
which
ended
,
as
if
proudly
,
in
a
long
and
piercing
whistle
.
The
train
stopped
.
Suddenly
,
to
the
astonishment
of
everyone
the
Marquis
sprang
back
quite
out
of
sword
reach
and
threw
down
his
sword
.
The
leap
was
wonderful
,
and
not
the
less
wonderful
because
Syme
had
plunged
his
sword
a
moment
before
into
the
man’s
thigh
.
“
Stop
!
”
said
the
Marquis
in
a
voice
that
compelled
a
momentary
obedience
.
“
I
want
to
say
something
.
”
“
What
is
the
matter
?
”
asked
Colonel
Ducroix
,
staring
.
“
Has
there
been
foul
play
?
”
“
There
has
been
foul
play
somewhere
,
”
said
Dr.
Bull
,
who
was
a
little
pale
.
“
Our
principal
has
wounded
the
Marquis
four
times
at
least
,
and
he
is
none
the
worse
.
”
The
Marquis
put
up
his
hand
with
a
curious
air
of
ghastly
patience
.
“
Please
let
me
speak
,
”
he
said
.
“
It
is
rather
important
.
Mr.
Syme
,
”
he
continued
,
turning
to
his
opponent
,
“
we
are
fighting
to‑day
,
if
I
remember
right
,
because
you
expressed
a
wish
(
which
I
thought
irrational
)
to
pull
my
nose
.
Would
you
oblige
me
by
pulling
my
nose
now
as
quickly
as
possible
?
I
have
to
catch
a
train
.
”
“
I
protest
that
this
is
most
irregular
,
”
said
Dr.
Bull
indignantly
.
“
It
is
certainly
somewhat
opposed
to
precedent
,
”
said
Colonel
Ducroix
,
looking
wistfully
at
his
principal
.
“
There
is
,
I
think
,
one
case
on
record
(
Captain
Bellegarde
and
the
Baron
Zumpt
)
in
which
the
weapons
were
changed
in
the
middle
of
the
encounter
at
the
request
of
one
of
the
combatants
.
But
one
can
hardly
call
one’s
nose
a
weapon
.
”
“
Will
you
or
will
you
not
pull
my
nose
?
”
said
the
Marquis
in
exasperation
.
“
Come
,
come
,
Mr.
Syme
!
You
wanted
to
do
it
,
do
it
!
You
can
have
no
conception
of
how
important
it
is
to
me
.
Don’t
be
so
selfish
!
Pull
my
nose
at
once
,
when
I
ask
you
!
”
and
he
bent
slightly
forward
with
a
fascinating
smile
.
The
Paris
train
,
panting
and
groaning
,
had
grated
into
a
little
station
behind
the
neighbouring
hill
.
Syme
had
the
feeling
he
had
more
than
once
had
in
these
adventures
—
the
sense
that
a
horrible
and
sublime
wave
lifted
to
heaven
was
just
toppling
over
.
Walking
in
a
world
he
half
understood
,
he
took
two
paces
forward
and
seized
the
Roman
nose
of
this
remarkable
nobleman
.
He
pulled
it
hard
,
and
it
came
off
in
his
hand
.
He
stood
for
some
seconds
with
a
foolish
solemnity
,
with
the
pasteboard
proboscis
still
between
his
fingers
,
looking
at
it
,
while
the
sun
and
the
clouds
and
the
wooded
hills
looked
down
upon
this
imbecile
scene
.
The
Marquis
broke
the
silence
in
a
loud
and
cheerful
voice
.
“
If
anyone
has
any
use
for
my
left
eyebrow
,
”
he
said
,
“
he
can
have
it
.
Colonel
Ducroix
,
do
accept
my
left
eyebrow
!
It’s
the
kind
of
thing
that
might
come
in
useful
any
day
,
”
and
he
gravely
tore
off
one
of
his
swarthy
Assyrian
brows
,
bringing
about
half
his
brown
forehead
with
it
,
and
politely
offered
it
to
the
Colonel
,
who
stood
crimson
and
speechless
with
rage
.
“
If
I
had
known
,
”
he
spluttered
,
“
that
I
was
acting
for
a
poltroon
who
pads
himself
to
fight
—
”
“
Oh
,
I
know
,
I
know
!
”
said
the
Marquis
,
recklessly
throwing
various
parts
of
himself
right
and
left
about
the
field
.
“
You
are
making
a
mistake
;
but
it
can’t
be
explained
just
now
.
I
tell
you
the
train
has
come
into
the
station
!
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
Dr.
Bull
fiercely
,
“
and
the
train
shall
go
out
of
the
station
.
It
shall
go
out
without
you
.
We
know
well
enough
for
what
devil’s
work
—
”
The
mysterious
Marquis
lifted
his
hands
with
a
desperate
gesture
.
He
was
a
strange
scarecrow
standing
there
in
the
sun
with
half
his
old
face
peeled
off
,
and
half
another
face
glaring
and
grinning
from
underneath
.
“
Will
you
drive
me
mad
?
”
he
cried
.
“
The
train
—
”
“
You
shall
not
go
by
the
train
,
”
said
Syme
firmly
,
and
grasped
his
sword
.
The
wild
figure
turned
towards
Syme
,
and
seemed
to
be
gathering
itself
for
a
sublime
effort
before
speaking
.
“
You
great
fat
,
blasted
,
blear‑eyed
,
blundering
,
thundering
,
brainless
,
God­forsaken
,
doddering
,
damned
fool
!
”
he
said
without
taking
breath
.
“
You
great
silly
,
pink‑faced
,
towheaded
turnip
!
You
—
”
“
You
shall
not
go
by
this
train
,
”
repeated
Syme
.
“
And
why
the
infernal
blazes
,
”
roared
the
other
,
“
should
I
want
to
go
by
the
train
?
”
“
We
know
all
,
”
said
the
Professor
sternly
.
“
You
are
going
to
Paris
to
throw
a
bomb
!
”
“
Going
to
Jericho
to
throw
a
Jabberwock
!
”
cried
the
other
,
tearing
his
hair
,
which
came
off
easily
.
“
Have
you
all
got
softening
of
the
brain
,
that
you
don’t
realise
what
I
am
?
Did
you
really
think
I
wanted
to
catch
that
train
?
Twenty
Paris
trains
might
go
by
for
me
.
Damn
Paris
trains
!
”
“
Then
what
did
you
care
about
?
”
began
the
Professor
.
“
What
did
I
care
about
?
I
didn’t
care
about
catching
the
train
;
I
cared
about
whether
the
train
caught
me
,
and
now
,
by
God
!
it
has
caught
me
.
”
“
I
regret
to
inform
you
,
”
said
Syme
with
restraint
,
“
that
your
remarks
convey
no
impression
to
my
mind
.
Perhaps
if
you
were
to
remove
the
remains
of
your
original
forehead
and
some
portion
of
what
was
once
your
chin
,
your
meaning
would
become
clearer
.
Mental
lucidity
fulfils
itself
in
many
ways
.
What
do
you
mean
by
saying
that
the
train
has
caught
you
?
It
may
be
my
literary
fancy
,
but
somehow
I
feel
that
it
ought
to
mean
something
.
”
“
It
means
everything
,
”
said
the
other
,
“
and
the
end
of
everything
.
Sunday
has
us
now
in
the
hollow
of
his
hand
.
”
“
Us
!
”
repeated
the
Professor
,
as
if
stupefied
.
“
What
do
you
mean
by
‘us’
?
”
“
The
police
,
of
course
!
”
said
the
Marquis
,
and
tore
off
his
scalp
and
half
his
face
.
The
head
which
emerged
was
the
blonde
,
well
brushed
,
smooth‑haired
head
which
is
common
in
the
English
constabulary
,
but
the
face
was
terribly
pale
.
“
I
am
Inspector
Ratcliffe
,
”
he
said
,
with
a
sort
of
haste
that
verged
on
harshness
.
“
My
name
is
pretty
well
known
to
the
police
,
and
I
can
see
well
enough
that
you
belong
to
them
.
But
if
there
is
any
doubt
about
my
position
,
I
have
a
card
”
and
he
began
to
pull
a
blue
card
from
his
pocket
.
The
Professor
gave
a
tired
gesture
.
“
Oh
,
don’t
show
it
us
,
”
he
said
wearily
;
“
we’ve
got
enough
of
them
to
equip
a
paper‑chase
.
”
The
little
man
named
Bull
,
had
,
like
many
men
who
seem
to
be
of
a
mere
vivacious
vulgarity
,
sudden
movements
of
good
taste
.
Here
he
certainly
saved
the
situation
.
In
the
midst
of
this
staggering
transformation
scene
he
stepped
forward
with
all
the
gravity
and
responsibility
of
a
second
,
and
addressed
the
two
seconds
of
the
Marquis
.
“
Gentlemen
,
”
he
said
,
“
we
all
owe
you
a
serious
apology
;
but
I
assure
you
that
you
have
not
been
made
the
victims
of
such
a
low
joke
as
you
imagine
,
or
indeed
of
anything
undignified
in
a
man
of
honour
.
You
have
not
wasted
your
time
;
you
have
helped
to
save
the
world
.
We
are
not
buffoons
,
but
very
desperate
men
at
war
with
a
vast
conspiracy
.
A
secret
society
of
anarchists
is
hunting
us
like
hares
;
not
such
unfortunate
madmen
as
may
here
or
there
throw
a
bomb
through
starvation
or
German
philosophy
,
but
a
rich
and
powerful
and
fanatical
church
,
a
church
of
eastern
pessimism
,
which
holds
it
holy
to
destroy
mankind
like
vermin
.
How
hard
they
hunt
us
you
can
gather
from
the
fact
that
we
are
driven
to
such
disguises
as
those
for
which
I
apologise
,
and
to
such
pranks
as
this
one
by
which
you
suffer
.
”
The
younger
second
of
the
Marquis
,
a
short
man
with
a
black
moustache
,
bowed
politely
,
and
said
—
“
Of
course
,
I
accept
the
apology
;
but
you
will
in
your
turn
forgive
me
if
I
decline
to
follow
you
further
into
your
difficulties
,
and
permit
myself
to
say
good
morning
!
The
sight
of
an
acquaintance
and
distinguished
fellow‑townsman
coming
to
pieces
in
the
open
air
is
unusual
,
and
,
upon
the
whole
,
sufficient
for
one
day
.
Colonel
Ducroix
,
I
would
in
no
way
influence
your
actions
,
but
if
you
feel
with
me
that
our
present
society
is
a
little
abnormal
,
I
am
now
going
to
walk
back
to
the
town
.
”
Colonel
Ducroix
moved
mechanically
,
but
then
tugged
abruptly
at
his
white
moustache
and
broke
out
—
“
No
,
by
George
!
I
won’t
.
If
these
gentlemen
are
really
in
a
mess
with
a
lot
of
low
wreckers
like
that
,
I’ll
see
them
through
it
.
I
have
fought
for
France
,
and
it
is
hard
if
I
can’t
fight
for
civilization
.
”
Dr.
Bull
took
off
his
hat
and
waved
it
,
cheering
as
at
a
public
meeting
.
“
Don’t
make
too
much
noise
,
”
said
Inspector
Ratcliffe
,
“
Sunday
may
hear
you
.
”
“
Sunday
!
”
cried
Bull
,
and
dropped
his
hat
.
“
Yes
,
”
retorted
Ratcliffe
,
“
he
may
be
with
them
.
”
“
With
whom
?
”
asked
Syme
.
“
With
the
people
out
of
that
train
,
”
said
the
other
.
“
What
you
say
seems
utterly
wild
,
”
began
Syme
.
“
Why
,
as
a
matter
of
fact
—
But
,
my
God
,
”
he
cried
out
suddenly
,
like
a
man
who
sees
an
explosion
a
long
way
off
,
“
by
God
!
if
this
is
true
the
whole
bally
lot
of
us
on
the
Anarchist
Council
were
against
anarchy
!
Every
born
man
was
a
detective
except
the
President
and
his
personal
secretary
.
What
can
it
mean
?
”
“
Mean
!
”
said
the
new
policeman
with
incredible
violence
.
“
It
means
that
we
are
struck
dead
!
Don’t
you
know
Sunday
?
Don’t
you
know
that
his
jokes
are
always
so
big
and
simple
that
one
has
never
thought
of
them
?
Can
you
think
of
anything
more
like
Sunday
than
this
,
that
he
should
put
all
his
powerful
enemies
on
the
Supreme
Council
,
and
then
take
care
that
it
was
not
supreme
?
I
tell
you
he
has
bought
every
trust
,
he
has
captured
every
cable
,
he
has
control
of
every
railway
line
—
especially
of
that
railway
line
!
”
and
he
pointed
a
shaking
finger
towards
the
small
wayside
station
.
“
The
whole
movement
was
controlled
by
him
;
half
the
world
was
ready
to
rise
for
him
.
But
there
were
just
five
people
,
perhaps
,
who
would
have
resisted
him
.
.
.
and
the
old
devil
put
them
on
the
Supreme
Council
,
to
waste
their
time
in
watching
each
other
.
Idiots
that
we
are
,
he
planned
the
whole
of
our
idiocies
!
Sunday
knew
that
the
Professor
would
chase
Syme
through
London
,
and
that
Syme
would
fight
me
in
France
.
And
he
was
combining
great
masses
of
capital
,
and
seizing
great
lines
of
telegraphy
,
while
we
five
idiots
were
running
after
each
other
like
a
lot
of
confounded
babies
playing
blind
man’s
buff
.
”
“
Well
?
”
asked
Syme
with
a
sort
of
steadiness
.
“
Well
,
”
replied
the
other
with
sudden
serenity
,
“
he
has
found
us
playing
blind
man’s
buff
to‑day
in
a
field
of
great
rustic
beauty
and
extreme
solitude
.
He
has
probably
captured
the
world
;
it
only
remains
to
him
to
capture
this
field
and
all
the
fools
in
it
.
And
since
you
really
want
to
know
what
was
my
objection
to
the
arrival
of
that
train
,
I
will
tell
you
.
My
objection
was
that
Sunday
or
his
Secretary
has
just
this
moment
got
out
of
it
.
”
Syme
uttered
an
involuntary
cry
,
and
they
all
turned
their
eyes
towards
the
far‑off
station
.
It
was
quite
true
that
a
considerable
bulk
of
people
seemed
to
be
moving
in
their
direction
.
But
they
were
too
distant
to
be
dis­tinguished
in
any
way
.
“
It
was
a
habit
of
the
late
Marquis
de
St.
Eustache
,
”
said
the
new
policeman
,
producing
a
leather
case
,
“
always
to
carry
a
pair
of
opera
glasses
.
Either
the
President
or
the
Secretary
is
coming
after
us
with
that
mob
.
They
have
caught
us
in
a
nice
quiet
place
where
we
are
under
no
temptations
to
break
our
oaths
by
calling
the
police
.
Dr.
Bull
,
I
have
a
suspicion
that
you
will
see
better
through
these
than
through
your
own
highly
decorative
spectacles
.
”
He
handed
the
field‑glasses
to
the
Doctor
,
who
immediately
took
off
his
spectacles
and
put
the
apparatus
to
his
eyes
.
“
It
cannot
be
as
bad
as
you
say
,
”
said
the
Professor
,
somewhat
shaken
.
“
There
are
a
good
number
of
them
certainly
,
but
they
may
easily
be
ordinary
tourists
.
”
“
Do
ordinary
tourists
,
”
asked
Bull
,
with
the
fieldglasses
to
his
eyes
,
“
wear
black
masks
half‑way
down
the
face
?
”
Syme
almost
tore
the
glasses
out
of
his
hand
,
and
looked
through
them
.
Most
men
in
the
advancing
mob
really
looked
ordinary
enough
;
but
it
was
quite
true
that
two
or
three
of
the
leaders
in
front
wore
black
half‑masks
almost
down
to
their
mouths
.
This
disguise
is
very
complete
,
especially
at
such
a
distance
,
and
Syme
found
it
impossible
to
conclude
anything
from
the
clean-shaven
jaws
and
chins
of
the
men
talking
in
the
front
.
But
presently
as
they
talked
they
all
smiled
and
one
of
them
smiled
on
one
side
.
CHAPTER
XI
THE
CRIMINALS
CHASE
THE
POLICE
SYME
put
the
field‑glasses
from
his
eyes
with
an
almost
ghastly
relief
.
“
The
President
is
not
with
them
,
anyhow
,
”
he
said
,
and
wiped
his
forehead
.
“
But
surely
they
are
right
away
on
the
horizon
,
”
said
the
bewildered
Colonel
,
blinking
and
but
half
recovered
from
Bull’s
hasty
though
polite
explanation
.
“
Could
you
possibly
know
your
President
among
all
those
people
?
”
“
Could
I
know
a
white
elephant
among
all
those
people
!
”
answered
Syme
somewhat
irritably
.
“
As
you
very
truly
say
,
they
are
on
the
horizon
;
but
if
he
were
walking
with
them
.
.
.
by
God
!
I
believe
this
ground
would
shake
.
”
After
an
instant’s
pause
the
new
man
called
Ratcliffe
said
with
gloomy
decision
—
“
Of
course
the
President
isn’t
with
them
.
I
wish
to
Gemini
he
were
.
Much
more
likely
the
President
is
riding
in
triumph
through
Paris
,
or
sitting
on
the
ruins
of
St.
Paul’s
Cathedral
.
”
“
This
is
absurd
!
”
said
Syme
.
“
Something
may
have
happened
in
our
absence
;
but
he
cannot
have
carried
the
world
with
a
rush
like
that
.
It
is
quite
true
,
”
he
added
,
frowning
dubiously
at
the
distant
fields
that
lay
towards
the
little
station
,
“
it
is
certainly
true
that
there
seems
to
be
a
crowd
coming
this
way
;
but
they
are
not
all
the
army
that
you
make
out
.
”
“
Oh
,
they
,
”
said
the
new
detective
contemptuously
;
“
no
they
are
not
a
very
valuable
force
.
But
let
me
tell
you
frankly
that
they
are
precisely
calculated
to
our
value
—
we
are
not
much
,
my
boy
,
in
Sunday’s
universe
.
He
has
got
hold
of
all
the
cables
and
telegraphs
himself
.
But
to
kill
the
Supreme
Council
he
regards
as
a
trivial
matter
,
like
a
post
card
;
it
may
be
left
to
his
private
secretary
,
”
and
he
spat
on
the
grass
.
Then
he
turned
to
the
others
and
said
somewhat
austerely
—
“
There
is
a
great
deal
to
be
said
for
death
;
but
if
anyone
has
any
preference
for
the
other
alternative
,
I
strongly
advise
him
to
walk
after
me
.
”
With
these
words
,
he
turned
his
broad
back
and
strode
with
silent
energy
towards
the
wood
.
The
others
gave
one
glance
over
their
shoulders
,
and
saw
that
the
dark
cloud
of
men
had
detached
itself
from
the
station
and
was
moving
with
a
mysterious
discipline
across
the
plain
.
They
saw
already
,
even
with
the
naked
eye
,
black
blots
on
the
foremost
faces
,
which
marked
the
masks
they
wore
.
They
turned
and
followed
their
leader
,
who
had
already
struck
the
wood
,
and
disappeared
among
the
twinkling
trees
.
The
sun
on
the
grass
was
dry
and
hot
.
So
in
plunging
into
the
wood
they
had
a
cool
shock
of
shadow
,
as
of
divers
who
plunge
into
a
dim
pool
.
The
inside
of
the
wood
was
full
of
shattered
sunlight
and
shaken
shadows
.
They
made
a
sort
of
shuddering
veil
,
almost
recalling
the
dizziness
of
a
cinematograph
.
Even
the
solid
figures
walking
with
him
Syme
could
hardly
see
for
the
patterns
of
sun
and
shade
that
danced
upon
them
.
Now
a
man’s
head
was
lit
as
with
a
light
of
Rembrandt
,
leaving
all
else
obliterated
;
now
again
he
had
strong
and
staring
white
hands
with
the
face
of
a
negro
.
The
ex‑Marquis
had
pulled
the
old
straw
hat
over
his
eyes
,
and
the
black
shade
of
the
brim
cut
his
face
so
squarely
in
two
that
it
seemed
to
be
wearing
one
of
the
black
half-masks
of
their
pursuers
.
The
fancy
tinted
Syme’s
overwhelming
sense
of
wonder
.
Was
he
wearing
a
mask
?
Was
anyone
wearing
a
mask
?
Was
anyone
anything
?
This
wood
of
witchery
,
in
which
men’s
faces
turned
black
and
white
by
turns
,
in
which
their
figures
first
swelled
into
sunlight
and
then
faded
into
formless
night
,
this
mere
chaos
of
chiaroscuro
(
after
the
clear
daylight
outside
)
,
seemed
to
Syme
a
perfect
symbol
of
the
world
in
which
he
had
been
moving
for
three
days
,
this
world
where
men
took
off
their
beards
and
their
spectacles
and
their
noses
,
and
turned
into
other
people
.
That
tragic
self‑confidence
which
he
had
felt
when
he
believed
that
the
Marquis
was
a
devil
had
strangely
disappeared
now
that
he
knew
that
the
Marquis
was
a
friend
.
He
felt
almost
inclined
to
ask
after
all
these
bewilderments
what
was
a
friend
and
what
an
enemy
.
Was
there
anything
that
was
apart
from
what
it
seemed
?
The
Marquis
had
taken
off
his
nose
and
turned
out
to
be
a
detective
.
Might
he
not
just
as
well
take
off
his
head
and
turn
out
to
be
a
hobgoblin
?
Was
not
everything
,
after
all
,
like
this
bewildering
woodland
,
this
dance
of
dark
and
light
?
Everything
only
a
glimpse
,
the
glimpse
always
unforeseen
,
and
always
forgotten
.
For
Gabriel
Syme
had
found
in
the
heart
of
that
sun-splashed
wood
what
many
modern
painters
had
found
there
.
He
had
found
the
thing
which
the
modern
people
call
Impressionism
,
which
is
another
name
for
that
final
scepticism
which
can
find
no
floor
to
the
universe
.
As
a
man
in
an
evil
dream
strains
himself
to
scream
and
wake
,
Syme
strove
with
a
sudden
effort
to
fling
off
this
last
and
worst
of
his
fancies
.
With
two
impatient
strides
he
overtook
the
man
in
the
Marquis’s
straw
hat
,
the
man
whom
he
had
come
to
address
as
Ratcliffe
.
In
a
voice
exaggeratively
loud
and
cheerful
,
he
broke
the
bottomless
silence
and
made
conversation
.
“
May
I
ask
,
”
he
said
,
“
where
on
earth
we
are
all
going
to
?
”
So
genuine
had
been
the
doubts
of
his
soul
,
that
he
was
quite
glad
to
hear
his
companion
speak
in
an
easy
,
human
voice
.
“
We
must
get
down
through
the
town
of
Lancy
to
the
sea
,
”
he
said
.
“
I
think
that
part
of
the
country
is
least
likely
to
be
with
them
.
”
“
What
can
you
mean
by
all
this
?
”
cried
Syme
.
“
They
can’t
be
running
the
real
world
in
that
way
.
Surely
not
many
working
men
are
anarchists
,
and
surely
if
they
were
,
mere
mobs
could
not
beat
modern
armies
and
police
.
”
“
Mere
mobs
!
”
repeated
his
new
friend
with
a
snort
of
scorn
.
“
So
you
talk
about
mobs
and
the
working
classes
as
if
they
were
the
question
.
You’ve
got
that
eternal
idiotic
idea
that
if
anarchy
came
it
would
come
from
the
poor
.
Why
should
it
?
The
poor
have
been
rebels
,
but
they
have
never
been
anarchists
;
they
have
more
interest
than
anyone
else
in
there
being
some
decent
government
.
The
poor
man
really
has
a
stake
in
the
country
.
The
rich
man
hasn’t
;
he
can
go
away
to
New
Guinea
in
a
yacht
.
The
poor
have
sometimes
objected
to
being
governed
badly
;
the
rich
have
always
objected
to
being
governed
at
all
.
Aristocrats
were
always
anarchists
,
as
you
can
see
from
the
barons’
wars
.
”
“
As
a
lecture
on
English
history
for
the
little
ones
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
this
is
all
very
nice
;
but
I
have
not
yet
grasped
its
application
.
”
“
Its
application
is
,
”
said
his
informant
,
“
that
most
of
old
Sunday’s
right‑hand
men
are
South
African
and
American
millionaires
.
That
is
why
he
has
got
hold
of
all
the
communications
;
and
that
is
why
the
last
four
champions
of
the
anti‑anarchist
police
force
are
running
through
a
wood
like
rabbits
.
”
“
Millionaires
I
can
understand
,
”
said
Syme
thoughtfully
,
“
they
are
nearly
all
mad
.
But
getting
hold
of
a
few
wicked
old
gentlemen
with
hobbies
is
one
thing
;
getting
hold
of
great
Christian
nations
is
another
.
I
would
bet
the
nose
off
my
face
(
forgive
the
allusion
)
that
Sunday
would
stand
perfectly
helpless
before
the
task
of
converting
any
ordinary
healthy
person
anywhere
.
”
“
Well
,
”
said
the
other
,
“
it
rather
depends
what
sort
of
person
you
mean
.
”
“
Well
,
for
instance
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
he
could
never
convert
that
person
,
”
and
he
pointed
straight
in
front
of
him
.
They
had
come
to
an
open
space
of
sunlight
,
which
seemed
to
express
to
Syme
the
final
return
of
his
own
good
sense
;
and
in
the
middle
of
this
forest
clearing
was
a
figure
that
might
well
stand
for
that
common
sense
in
an
almost
awful
actuality
.
Burnt
by
the
sun
and
stained
with
perspiration
,
and
grave
with
the
bottomless
gravity
of
small
necessary
toils
,
a
heavy
French
peasant
was
cutting
wood
with
a
hatchet
.
His
cart
stood
a
few
yards
off
,
already
half
full
of
timber
;
and
the
horse
that
cropped
the
grass
was
,
like
his
master
,
valorous
but
not
desperate
;
like
his
master
,
he
was
even
prosperous
,
but
yet
was
almost
sad
.
The
man
was
a
Norman
,
taller
than
the
average
of
the
French
and
very
angular
;
and
his
swarthy
figure
stood
dark
against
a
square
of
sunlight
,
almost
like
some
allegoric
figure
of
labour
frescoed
on
a
ground
of
gold
.
“
Mr.
Syme
is
saying
,
”
called
out
Ratcliffe
to
the
French
Colonel
,
“
that
this
man
,
at
least
,
will
never
be
an
anarchist
.
”
“
Mr.
Syme
is
right
enough
there
,
”
answered
Colonel
Ducroix
,
laughing
,
“
if
only
for
the
reason
that
he
has
plenty
of
property
to
defend
.
But
I
forgot
that
in
your
country
you
are
not
used
to
peasants
being
wealthy
.
”
“
He
looks
poor
,
”
said
Dr.
Bull
doubtfully
.
“
Quite
so
,
”
said
the
Colonel
;
“
that
is
why
he
is
rich
.
”
“
I
have
an
idea
,
”
called
out
Dr.
Bull
suddenly
;
“
how
much
would
he
take
to
give
us
a
lift
in
his
cart
?
Those
dogs
are
all
on
foot
,
and
we
could
soon
leave
them
behind
.
”
“
Oh
,
give
him
anything
!
”
said
Syme
eagerly
.
“
I
have
piles
of
money
on
me
.
”
“
That
will
never
do
,
”
said
the
Colonel
;
“
he
will
never
have
any
respect
for
you
unless
you
drive
a
bargain
.
”
“
Oh
,
if
he
haggles
!
”
began
Bull
impatiently
.
“
Erie
haggles
because
he
is
a
free
man
,
”
said
the
other
.
“
You
do
not
understand
;
he
would
not
see
the
meaning
of
generosity
.
He
is
not
being
tipped
.
”
And
even
while
they
seemed
to
hear
the
heavy
feet
of
their
strange
pursuers
behind
them
,
they
had
to
stand
and
stamp
while
the
French
Colonel
talked
to
the
French
wood‑cutter
with
all
the
leisurely
badinage
and
bickering
of
market‑day
.
At
the
end
of
the
four
minutes
,
however
,
they
saw
that
the
Colonel
was
right
,
for
the
wood‑cutter
entered
into
their
plans
,
not
with
the
vague
servility
of
a
tout
too‑well
paid
,
but
with
the
seriousness
of
a
solicitor
who
had
been
paid
the
proper
fee
.
He
told
them
that
the
best
thing
they
could
do
was
to
make
their
way
down
to
the
little
inn
on
the
hills
above
Lancy
,
where
the
innkeeper
,
an
old
soldier
who
had
become
dévot
in
his
latter
years
,
would
be
certain
to
sympathise
with
them
,
and
even
to
take
risks
in
their
support
.
The
whole
company
,
therefore
,
piled
themselves
on
top
of
the
stacks
of
wood
,
and
went
rocking
in
the
rude
cart
down
the
other
and
steeper
side
of
the
woodland
.
Heavy
and
ramshackle
as
was
the
vehicle
,
it
was
driven
quickly
enough
,
and
they
soon
had
the
exhilarating
impression
of
distancing
altogether
those
,
whoever
they
were
,
who
were
hunting
them
.
For
,
after
all
,
the
riddle
as
to
where
the
anarchists
had
got
all
these
followers
was
still
unsolved
.
One
man’s
presence
had
sufficed
for
them
;
they
had
fled
at
the
first
sight
of
the
deformed
smile
of
the
Secretary
.
Syme
every
now
and
then
looked
back
over
his
shoulder
at
the
army
on
their
track
.
As
the
wood
grew
first
thinner
and
then
smaller
with
distance
,
he
could
see
the
sunlit
slopes
beyond
it
and
above
it
;
and
across
these
was
still
moving
the
square
black
mob
like
one
monstrous
beetle
.
In
the
very
strong
sunlight
and
with
his
own
very
strong
eyes
,
which
were
almost
telescopic
,
Syme
could
see
this
mass
of
men
quite
plainly
.
He
could
see
them
as
separate
human
figures
;
but
he
was
increasingly
surprised
by
the
way
in
which
they
moved
as
one
man
.
They
seemed
to
be
dressed
in
dark
clothes
and
plain
hats
,
like
any
common
crowd
out
of
the
streets
;
but
they
did
not
spread
and
sprawl
and
trail
by
various
lines
to
the
attack
,
as
would
be
natural
in
an
ordinary
mob
.
They
moved
with
a
sort
of
dreadful
and
wicked
woodenness
,
like
a
staring
army
of
automatons
.
Syme
pointed
this
out
to
Ratcliffe
.
“
Yes
,
”
replied
the
policeman
,
“
that’s
discipline
.
That’s
Sunday
.
He
is
perhaps
five
hundred
miles
off
,
but
the
fear
of
him
is
on
all
of
them
,
like
the
finger
of
God
.
Yes
,
they
are
walking
regularly
;
and
you
bet
your
boots
that
they
are
talking
regularly
,
yes
,
and
thinking
regularly
.
But
the
one
important
thing
for
us
is
that
they
are
disappearing
regularly
.
”
Syme
nodded
.
It
was
true
that
the
black
patch
of
the
pursuing
men
was
growing
smaller
and
smaller
as
the
peasant
belaboured
his
horse
.
The
level
of
the
sunlit
landscape
,
though
flat
as
a
whole
,
fell
away
on
the
farther
side
of
the
wood
in
billows
of
heavy
slope
towards
the
sea
,
in
a
way
not
unlike
the
lower
slopes
of
the
Sussex
downs
.
The
only
difference
was
that
in
Sussex
the
road
would
have
been
broken
and
angular
like
a
little
brook
,
but
here
the
white
French
road
fell
sheer
in
front
of
them
like
a
waterfall
.
Down
this
direct
descent
the
cart
clattered
at
a
considerable
angle
,
and
in
a
few
minutes
,
the
road
growing
yet
steeper
,
they
saw
below
them
the
little
harbour
of
Lancy
and
a
great
blue
arc
of
the
sea
.
The
travelling
cloud
of
their
enemies
had
wholly
disappeared
from
the
horizon
.
The
horse
and
cart
took
a
sharp
turn
round
a
clump
of
elms
,
and
the
horse’s
nose
nearly
struck
the
face
of
an
old
gentleman
who
was
sitting
on
the
benches
outside
the
little
café
of
“
Le
Soleil
d’Or
.
”
The
peasant
grunted
an
apology
,
and
got
down
from
his
seat
.
The
others
also
descended
one
by
one
,
and
spoke
to
the
old
gentleman
with
fragmentary
phrases
of
courtesy
,
for
it
was
quite
evident
from
his
expansive
manner
that
he
was
the
owner
of
the
little
tavern
.
He
was
a
white‑haired
,
apple‑faced
old
boy
,
with
sleepy
eyes
and
a
grey
moustache
;
stout
,
sedentary
,
and
very
innocent
,
of
a
type
that
may
often
be
found
in
France
,
but
is
still
commoner
in
Catholic
Germany
.
Everything
about
him
,
his
pipe
,
his
pot
of
beer
,
his
flowers
,
and
his
beehive
,
suggested
an
ancestral
peace
;
only
when
his
visitors
looked
up
as
they
entered
the
inn-­parlour
,
they
saw
the
sword
upon
the
wall
.
The
Colonel
,
who
greeted
the
innkeeper
as
an
old
friend
,
passed
rapidly
into
the
inn‑parlour
,
and
sat
down
ordering
some
ritual
refreshment
.
The
military
decision
of
his
action
interested
Syme
,
who
sat
next
to
him
,
and
he
took
the
opportunity
when
the
old
innkeeper
had
gone
out
of
satisfying
his
curiosity
.
“
May
I
ask
you
,
Colonel
,
”
he
said
in
a
low
voice
,
“
why
we
have
come
here
?
”
Colonel
Ducroix
smiled
behind
his
bristly
white
moustache
.
“
For
two
reasons
,
sir
,
”
he
said
;
“
and
I
will
give
first
,
not
the
most
important
,
but
the
most
utilitarian
.
We
came
here
because
this
is
the
only
place
within
twenty
miles
in
which
we
can
get
horses
.
”
“
Horses
!
”
repeated
Syme
,
looking
up
quickly
.
“
Yes
,
”
replied
the
other
;
“
if
you
people
are
really
to
distance
your
enemies
it
is
horses
or
nothing
for
you
,
unless
of
course
you
have
bicycles
and
motor‑cars
in
your
pocket
.
”
“
And
where
do
you
advise
us
to
make
for
?
”
asked
Syme
doubtfully
.
“
Beyond
question
,
”
replied
the
Colonel
,
“
you
had
better
make
all
haste
to
the
police
station
beyond
the
town
.
My
friend
,
whom
I
seconded
under
somewhat
deceptive
circumstances
,
seems
to
me
to
exaggerate
very
much
the
possibilities
of
a
general
rising
;
but
even
he
would
hardly
maintain
,
I
suppose
,
that
you
were
not
safe
with
the
gendarmes
.
”
Syme
nodded
gravely
;
then
he
said
abruptly
—
“
And
your
other
reason
for
coming
here
?
”
“
My
other
reason
for
coming
here
,
”
said
Ducroix
soberly
,
“
is
that
it
is
just
as
well
to
see
a
good
man
or
two
when
one
is
possibly
near
to
death
.
”
Syme
looked
up
at
the
wall
,
and
saw
a
crudely-painted
and
pathetic
religious
picture
.
Then
he
said
—
“
You
are
right
,
”
and
then
almost
immediately
afterwards
,
“
Has
anyone
seen
about
the
horses
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
answered
Ducroix
,
“
you
may
be
quite
certain
that
I
gave
orders
the
moment
I
came
in
.
Those
enemies
of
yours
gave
no
impression
of
hurry
,
but
they
were
really
moving
wonderfully
fast
,
like
a
well‑trained
army
.
I
had
no
idea
that
the
anarchists
had
so
much
discipline
.
You
have
not
a
moment
to
waste
.
”
Almost
as
he
spoke
,
the
old
innkeeper
with
the
blue
eyes
and
white
hair
came
ambling
into
the
room
,
and
announced
that
six
horses
were
saddled
outside
.
By
Ducroix’s
advice
the
five
others
equipped
themselves
with
some
portable
form
of
food
and
wine
,
and
keeping
their
duelling
swords
as
the
only
weapons
available
,
they
clattered
away
down
the
steep
,
white
road
.
The
two
servants
,
who
had
carried
the
Marquis’s
luggage
when
he
was
a
marquis
,
were
left
behind
to
drink
at
the
café
by
common
consent
,
and
not
at
all
against
their
own
inclination
.
By
this
time
the
afternoon
sun
was
slanting
westward
,
and
by
its
rays
Syme
could
see
the
sturdy
figure
of
the
old
innkeeper
growing
smaller
and
smaller
,
but
still
standing
and
looking
after
them
quite
silently
,
the
sunshine
in
his
silver
hair
.
Syme
had
a
fixed
,
superstitious
fancy
,
left
in
his
mind
by
the
chance
phrase
of
the
Colonel
,
that
this
was
indeed
,
perhaps
,
the
last
honest
stranger
whom
he
should
ever
see
upon
the
earth
.
He
was
still
looking
at
this
dwindling
figure
,
which
stood
as
a
mere
grey
blot
touched
with
a
white
flame
against
the
great
green
wall
of
the
steep
down
behind
him
.
And
as
he
stared
over
the
top
of
the
down
behind
the
innkeeper
,
there
appeared
an
army
of
black‑clad
and
marching
men
.
They
seemed
to
hang
above
the
good
man
and
his
house
like
a
black
cloud
of
locusts
.
The
horses
had
been
saddled
none
too
soon
.
CHAPTER
XII
THE
EARTH
IN
ANARCHY
URGING
the
horses
to
a
gallop
,
without
respect
to
the
rather
rugged
descent
of
the
road
,
the
horsemen
soon
regained
their
advantage
over
the
men
on
the
march
,
and
at
last
the
bulk
of
the
first
buildings
of
Lancy
cut
off
the
sight
of
their
pursuers
.
Nevertheless
,
the
ride
had
been
a
long
one
,
and
by
the
time
they
reached
the
real
town
the
west
was
warming
with
the
colour
and
quality
of
sunset
.
The
Colonel
suggested
that
,
before
making
finally
for
the
police
station
,
they
should
make
the
effort
,
in
passing
,
to
attach
to
themselves
one
more
individual
who
might
be
useful
.
“
Four
out
of
the
five
rich
men
in
this
town
,
”
he
said
,
“
are
common
swindlers
.
I
suppose
the
proportion
is
pretty
equal
all
over
the
world
.
The
fifth
is
a
friend
of
mine
,
and
a
very
fine
fellow
;
and
what
is
even
more
important
from
our
point
of
view
,
he
owns
a
motor‑car
.
”
“
I
am
afraid
,
”
said
the
Professor
in
his
mirthful
way
,
looking
back
along
the
white
road
on
which
the
black
,
crawling
patch
might
appear
at
any
moment
,
“
I
am
afraid
we
have
hardly
time
for
afternoon
calls
.
”
“
Doctor
Renard’s
house
is
only
three
minutes
off
,
”
said
the
Colonel
.
“
Our
danger
,
”
said
Dr.
Bull
,
“
is
not
two
minutes
off
.
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
Syme
,
“
if
we
ride
on
fast
we
must
leave
them
behind
,
for
they
are
on
foot
.
”
“
He
has
a
motor‑car
,
”
said
the
Colonel
.
“
But
we
may
not
get
it
,
”
said
Bull
.
“
Yes
,
he
is
quite
on
your
side
.
”
“
But
he
might
be
out
.
”
“
Hold
your
tongue
,
”
said
Syme
suddenly
.
“
What
is
that
noise
?
”
For
a
second
they
all
sat
as
still
as
equestrian
statues
,
and
for
a
second
—
for
two
or
three
or
four
seconds
—
heaven
and
earth
seemed
equally
still
.
Then
all
their
ears
,
in
an
agony
of
attention
,
heard
along
the
road
that
indescribable
thrill
and
throb
that
means
only
one
thing
—
horses
!
The
Colonel’s
face
had
an
instantaneous
change
,
as
if
lightning
had
struck
it
,
and
yet
left
it
scatheless
.
“
They
have
done
us
,
”
he
said
,
with
brief
military
irony
.
“
Prepare
to
receive
cavalry
!
”
“
Where
can
they
have
got
the
horses
?
”
asked
Syme
,
as
he
mechanically
urged
his
steed
to
a
canter
.
The
Colonel
was
silent
for
a
little
,
then
he
said
in
a
strained
voice
—
“
I
was
speaking
with
strict
accuracy
when
I
said
that
the
‘Soleil
d’Or’
was
the
only
place
where
one
can
get
horses
within
twenty
miles
.
”
“
No
!
”
said
Syme
violently
,
“
I
don’t
believe
he’d
do
it
.
Not
with
all
that
white
hair
.
”
“
He
may
have
been
forced
,
”
said
the
Colonel
gently
.
“
They
must
be
at
least
a
hundred
strong
,
for
which
reason
we
are
all
going
to
see
my
friend
Renard
,
who
has
a
motor‑car
.
”
With
these
words
he
swung
his
horse
suddenly
round
a
street
corner
,
and
went
down
the
street
with
such
thundering
speed
,
that
the
others
,
though
already
well
at
the
gallop
,
had
difficulty
in
following
the
flying
tail
of
his
horse
.
Dr.
Renard
inhabited
a
high
and
comfortable
house
at
the
top
of
a
steep
street
,
so
that
when
the
riders
alighted
at
his
door
they
could
once
more
see
the
solid
green
ridge
of
the
hill
,
with
the
white
road
across
it
,
standing
up
above
all
the
roofs
of
the
town
.
They
breathed
again
to
see
that
the
road
as
yet
was
clear
,
and
they
rang
the
bell
.
Dr.
Renard
was
a
beaming
,
brown‑bearded
man
,
a
good
example
of
that
silent
but
very
busy
professional
class
which
France
has
preserved
even
more
perfectly
than
England
.
When
the
matter
was
explained
to
him
he
pooh-poohed
the
panic
of
the
ex‑Marquis
altogether
;
he
said
,
with
the
solid
French
scepticism
,
that
there
was
no
conceivable
probability
of
a
general
anarchist
rising
.
“
Anarchy
,
”
he
said
,
shrugging
his
shoulders
,
“
it
is
childishness
!
”
“
Et
ça
,
”
cried
out
the
Colonel
suddenly
,
pointing
over
the
other’s
shoulder
,
“
and
that
is
childishness
,
isn’t
it
?
”
They
all
looked
round
,
and
saw
a
curve
of
black
cavalry
come
sweeping
over
the
top
of
the
hill
with
all
the
energy
of
Attila
.
Swiftly
as
they
rode
,
however
,
the
whole
rank
still
kept
well
together
,
and
they
could
see
the
black
vizards
of
the
first
line
as
level
as
a
line
of
uniforms
.
But
although
the
main
black
square
was
the
same
,
though
travelling
faster
,
there
was
now
one
sensational
difference
which
they
could
see
clearly
upon
the
slope
of
the
hill
,
as
if
upon
a
slanted
map
.
The
bulk
of
the
riders
were
in
one
block
;
but
one
rider
flew
far
ahead
of
the
column
,
and
with
frantic
movements
of
hand
and
heel
urged
his
horse
faster
and
faster
,
so
that
one
might
have
fancied
that
he
was
not
the
pursuer
but
the
pursued
.
But
even
at
that
great
distance
they
could
see
something
so
fanatical
,
so
unquestionable
in
his
figure
,
