His head ached with the thoughts that crowded upon him; he was terribly weary and exhausted. There was one way to cure this dull pain, one means to scare away this terrible weakness; but he had promised not to use it. A single glass of the fiery liquid in the flask on the sideboard would send the blood dancing in his veins again; a single glass! Repuin was far away, there was not the slightest danger threatening for the moment; was he an utter slave to the Russian? No; he would endure it no longer. He poured out a glass from the flask and emptied it at a draught. Ah, this was strength and courage to face the future! Another and another. He had not slept o'nights of late, now he began to feel delightfully drowsy. By the time the flask was finished he had slipped from his arm-chair to the floor, where he lay until the following day.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Early the next morning, immediately after sunrise, the Saxon regiment fell back upon Nontron. The weather was superb, and had its effect upon both officers and men, although Count von Schlichting felt it his duty to warn Captain von Säben before his departure that he must be upon his guard against treachery. The old colonel did not like to leave so small a force in so hostile a country, infested on all sides by franctireurs, and not even the brilliant sunshine and the relief from inaction could altogether dispel his regret at leaving them thus.
Kurt von Poseneck was at some distance from Assais when the Saxons left it. He had, with a command of about a dozen Uhlans, been ordered to make a reconnoissance in search of franctireurs, and he could not, of course, take leave of his friends. When he returned in the afternoon Arno and Styrum had both gone, and Kurt found only his captain, Von Säben, and two comrades ready in the large dining-hall to partake of the excellent dinner provided for them by Monsieur Gervais.
Had the sun not shone so brilliantly the large hall would have seemed gloomy enough, and even as it was the emptiness and quiet of the apartment, where lately so much noisy gayety had held sway, had a depressing effect upon the Uhlan officers, which Kurt's report was not calculated to dissipate. Even Von Säben looked grave, and was reminded of the colonel's parting words.
Kurt had nowhere found an enemy; if there really were bands of franctireurs in the vicinity they had withdrawn into the forest of Assais, which afforded hiding-places from which cavalry were powerless to drive them. This forest was a sort of continuation of the castle park, and if danger there were, it lay in the probability of an attack upon the castle from this direction. That such a danger existed Kurt was convinced by the behaviour of the country-people in all directions. They had shown no open hostility to the Uhlans, but their demeanour had been that of men looking forward to a time near at hand when they might take revenge upon their foes. At all events this had been the impression produced upon Kurt's mind, and Captain von Säben so far heeded it as to double the watch at various posts around the castle, and to take other precautions to insure safety.
Kurt withdrew early from the dinner-table, intending to write letters in his room, and as he passed along the corridor towards it his resolve of the previous night suddenly occurred to his mind. He was directly opposite the door at which Gervais had appeared, and the steward was at present busy in the dining-hall, which he could not leave for some time to come. There could be no time more favourable than the present for his exploration of this part of the castle. He tried the door at which he stood: it opened easily; he entered, and closed it behind him.
He found himself in a large room hung with blue, and somewhat dark, as it was lighted by but one window; it was only a thoroughfare, as was plain from the furniture, that consisted simply of cabinets placed against the walls. Kurt went to the window, and found that he had been correct in suspecting that the room led to the wing extending into the park, in which were the Baron's apartments; before him was the lawn, in front of the Baron's windows, and to the left was the park itself; he could even see the path by which he, with his two friends, had on the previous day visited the stables at the back of the gardener's house, where the Baron kept a fine pair of riding-horses, belonging to his cousin the Marquise.
Which of the four doors that opened into this apartment should he select? He tried the one nearest him; it was unlocked, and he entered a room furnished with the greatest luxury, and leading by an open door to a bedroom as gorgeously fitted up. A writing-table stood beside the window, and an open portfolio, from between the leaves of which, as Kurt took it up, fluttered a torn envelope, addressed in German to the "Herr Count Repuin." Count Repuin! Kurt knew the name but too well. Herr Ahlborn had at Lucie's request told him his daughter's sad story, and this name was branded in his memory as that of Lucie's unprincipled persecutor. And he found it here upon an empty envelope postmarked Brussels. The connection was easy to divine, Repuin was the brother of the Marquise de Lancy, and the former inmate of this room. But he had not fled to Germany alone: Sorr had accompanied him. There suddenly occurred to Kurt an explanation of the fact that Styrum, Arno, and the colonel, to all of whom Sorr was personally known, had been puzzled by the resemblance of the Baron de Nouart to some one whose name they could not recall. If all this were as he suspected, if Repuin, the proscribed French agent, were really the brother of the Marquise de Lancy, if his tool, Sorr, were here in the castle in disguise, certainly the greatest caution was necessary; there was danger of treachery on every hand, danger that perhaps could be averted only by the instant arrest of the Baron de Nouart. And yet, could mere suspicion justify such an arrest? The man would have to be taken to Nontron, and tried there by a court-martial, which, under the direction of the pitiless Count Schlichting, could end but in one way,--death.
Kurt thought of Celia's friend, of Frau von Sorr; the death of her worthless husband would restore her to life. But in an instant he spurned the unworthy thought. His friendship for Lucie should never influence him where duty was concerned. This duty, however, bade him reveal his discovery to his superior officer; it was for him to command in this matter, Kurt's part was to obey.