THE TRAGEDY OF NANTES.
Meanwhile Gaston posted along the road to Nantes, leaving behind him all postilions, whose place, then as now, was to hold the horses instead of urging them on.
He had already passed Sevres and Versailles, and on arriving at Rambouillet just at daybreak, he saw the innkeeper and some postilions gathered round a horse which had just been bled. The horse was lying stretched on its side, in the middle of the street, breathing with difficulty.
Gaston at first paid no attention to all this; but as he was mounting himself, he heard one of the by-standers say:
"If he goes on at that pace he will kill more than one between this and Nantes."
Gaston was on the point of starting, but struck by a sudden and terrible idea, he stopped and signed to the innkeeper to come to him.
The innkeeper approached.
"Who has passed by here?" asked Gaston, "going at such a pace as to have put that poor animal in such a state?"
"A courier of the minister's," answered the innkeeper.
"A courier of the minister's!" exclaimed Gaston, "and coming from Paris?"