Gerard was a monarchist. Some day the French would have a king again, when there was a claimant worth his salt. Meanwhile he was heart and soul for France, whatever its régime. So his first grief now was for the loss to France of the great soldier that was surely to be—nay, that was already beginning to be. He had lost a good comrade and friend too. These losses must be paid for—as soon as there was leisure to exact payment—and paid for in full.
Meanwhile he went about his work. On the twenty-second the troops occupied the city. The two following days were taken up in the disarmament of the population. Yet other two days were given to pleadings and arguments and exhortations to Paris and the Civil Authorities for permission to declare a state of siege. Only when this permission was reluctantly granted and the order made, could any of the General’s staff unbutton their tunics and give a little time to their own affairs.
Gerard’s first move was to ride out to the camp at Dar-Debibagh, whither Paul’s battalion of tirailleurs had now returned. There he found the little Praslin now in command of Paul’s company, and the little Praslin had information of importance to give to him.
“Captain Ravenel rode back with me to the camp from the Sultan’s Palace on the evening of the sixteenth, after the great storm,” said Praslin. “He was very glad that the storm had delayed for three days the departure of the Mission.”
“He knew already, then, that afternoon, that the massacres were coming!” said Gerard.
“No! I should say not. He was quite frank about the whole position of affairs here, as he saw it. If he had imagined that Fez itself was going to rise he would have said so, I am sure. What he did believe was that a serious attack would be made upon the Mission out in the bled, on its way to the coast.”
“He was afraid that the escort was not strong enough?”
“He certainly thought that,” replied Praslin, slowly, and in a voice which suggested that he did not consider this explanation at all adequate to explain Paul’s satisfaction at the postponement of the march. “But fear doesn’t enter into the matter at all. There was something more. I got the impression that he just hated the idea of going down to the coast if only for a few weeks. He wanted to stay on here in Fez. An attack on the line of march! That he would have considered as in the day’s work. No. He didn’t want to leave Fez. Curious! Wasn’t it?”
Gerard glanced sharply at Lieutenant Praslin.
“Oho!” he exclaimed, softly. “Curious? Yes! But then Paul Ravenel was never like the rest of us.”