Then I stopped dead in my tracks. A long sobbing breath came to my throat. The dagger which the landlord had taken from my doublet earlier in the night lay straight before me on the table. It was covered with fresh blood the whole length of the blade. I looked closer. I was about to touch the guard’s shoulder when I recoiled in terror. The back of his coat was torn and in the rent a stream of red oozed slowly down!
For a moment I stood dazed. I rubbed my eyes to make sure that I was actually awake. The stillness of the inn reminded me of the emptiness of a tomb. A fear of the awfulness of it all sent the shivers down my legs and I looked around me for some sign of a living creature who might be able to explain.
Then the thought of what might happen if I lingered there the space of one second came to me. De Marsac’s command that I should hang in the morning knocked the dullness out of me. I took the dagger and wiped the blade against the guard’s coat. He did not stir but seemed like a block of solid wood.
I remembered the landlord’s warning that the front of the inn was guarded so I crept silently towards the back. I opened the door through which he had entered when he gave us the drink of water. It creaked a little and cast a scare over me. I passed through the kitchen where the pots and pans hung in order from pins, all of them bright and shining. I put my hand on the latch of the back door. To my surprise it opened almost at the touch. In the next moment I was outside in the open.
It was still dark but a haze covered the sky to the east. By that I knew it would soon be dawn. I ran across the open space between the inn and the woods. When I was hidden among the trees I gave a great sigh of relief.
But I did not stop. I ran on and on. I did not know where I was going but followed a kind of forest path that was like a thread rather than a road, for in no place was the grass worn entirely away. The light to the east grew brighter and brighter. Then the birds began to chatter and whistle in the branches over my head. A hare crossed in front of me and with the fear I was in it almost took my breath away.
There was little that I noticed. It was only weariness that slackened my pace. My running fell away to a shambling nervous walk. I was on the high ground overlooking a valley that lay off to my left. I knew that within an hour my enemies would be in full hue and cry after me so I decided to keep far away from the highway.
I came to a tiny brook that rippled out from between some broken rocks. I stooped and drank one deep draught after another. I was about to go on when I spied a man sitting on a boulder. It was the scrivener smiling as calmly as you please. He had a loaf of bread under his arm and was stuffing a lump into his mouth. On the grass next to him I noticed a fairly large lump of fresh cheese.
As though we were at peace with all the world he grinned as gleefully as a child.
“Good morning, Henri,” he said. “Have you had your breakfast?”