"And so," said the latter, approaching the young man with a jovial air, and cordially pressing a hand which was not offered him, "it's a settled fact that I owe you my life."
"Oh, monsieur, you exaggerate the service I have done you," said the young man, stepping back.
"No, no! no modesty; it's as I say. I know the duke, and he's an infernally brutal fellow. As for you, you are a model of perspicacity, a perfect phœnix of Christian charity. But tell me, my obliging and sympathetic friend, if you carried your thoughtfulness so far as to send word to the house."
"To what house?"
"Pardieu! to the house where I was going, – the house where I am expected."
"No," said the young man, "I did not think of it, I confess; and had I thought of it I had no way to do it. I have been here barely two hours myself, and I know no one in the house."
"The devil!" exclaimed the traveller with an anxious expression. "Poor Nanon! if only nothing happens to her."
"Nanon! Nanon de Lartigues!" exclaimed the young man in amazement.
"Upon my word! are you a sorcerer?" said the traveller. "You see men lying in wait by the roadside, and you divine whom they are waiting for; I mention a Christian name, and you divine the family name. Explain yourself at once, or I denounce you, and have you condemned to death at the stake by the parliament of Bordeaux!"
"Ah! but you surely will agree that one need not be very cunning to have solved that problem; once you had named the Duc d'Épernon as your rival, it was plain enough that if you named any Nanon whatsoever, it must be the beautiful, wealthy, and clever Nanon de Lartigues, by whom the duke is bewitched, so they say, and who really governs in his province; the result being that throughout Guyenne she is almost as bitterly detested as he is himself. And you were on your way to visit that woman?" the young man added, reproachfully.
"'Faith, yes, I confess it; and as I have called her name, I won't deny her. Besides, Nanon is misunderstood and slandered. She is a charming girl, faithful to her promises so long as she finds it agreeable to keep them, and devoted to the man she loves, so long as she loves him. I was to sup with her this evening, but the duke has upset the saucepan. Would you like me to present you to her to-morrow? Deuce take it! the duke must return to Agen sooner or later."
"Thanks," returned the young gentleman, dryly. "I know Mademoiselle de Lartigues by name only, and I have no desire for any further acquaintance with her."
"Well, you are wrong, morbleu! Nanon is a good person to know in every way."
The young man's brows contracted.
"Oho! I beg your pardon," said the astonished traveller; "but I thought that at your age – "
"I know that I am of an age at which such suggestions are ordinarily accepted," replied the other, noticing the bad effect his prudery seemed to have produced, "and I would gladly accept, were it not that I am simply a bird of passage here, and am compelled to continue my journey to-night."
"Pardieu! surely you will not go until I know the name of the gentle knight who so courteously saved my life?"
The young man hesitated for a moment before he replied, —
"I am the Vicomte de Cambes."
"Aha!" said his companion; "I have heard of a lovely Vicomtesse de Cambes, who has large estates near Bordeaux, and is a close friend of Madame la Princesse."
"She is a kinswoman of mine," said the young man, hastily.
"'Faith, viscount, I congratulate you, for they say that she is charming beyond compare. I hope you will present me to her, if the opportunity ever occurs. I am Baron de Canolles, captain in the Navailles regiment, and at present enjoying a leave of absence which Monsieur le Duc d'Épernon was pleased to grant me, at the recommendation of Mademoiselle de Lartigues."
"Baron de Canolles!" cried the viscount, gazing at his companion with the curiosity naturally aroused by that name, renowned in the love intrigues of the time.
"You know me?" said Canolles.
"By reputation only," the viscount replied.
"And by bad reputation, eh? What would you have? Every one follows his natural inclinations, and I love a life of excitement."
"You are perfectly free, monsieur, to live as you choose," rejoined the viscount. "Permit me, however, to express one thought that comes to my mind."
"What is it?"
"That there is a woman yonder, deeply compromised for your sake, upon whom the duke will wreak vengeance for his disappointment in your regard."
"The devil! do you think it?"
"Of course; although she is a somewhat frail person, Mademoiselle de Lartigues is a woman none the less, and compromised by you; it is for you to look to her safety."
"Gad! you are right, my young Nestor; and in the pleasure of conversing with you, I was near forgetting my obligations as a gentleman. We have been betrayed, and in all probability the duke knows all. It is very, true that Nanon is so clever that if she were warned in time, I would wager my life that she would make the duke apologize. Now let us see; are you acquainted with the art of war, young man?"
"Not yet," replied the viscount, with a laugh; "but I fancy I am likely to learn it where I am going."
"Well, here's your first lesson. In war, you know, when force is out of the question, we must resort to stratagem. Help me to carry out a stratagem."
"I ask nothing better. But in what way? Tell me."
"The inn has two doors."
"I know nothing about that."
"I know it; one that opens on the high-road, and another that opens into the fields. I propose to go out by the one that leads into the fields, describe a semi-circle, and knock at the back door of Nanon's house."
"Yes, so that you may be caught in the house!" cried the viscount. "You would make a fine tactician, upon my word!"
"Caught in the house?" repeated Canolles.
"Why, to be sure. The duke, tired of waiting, and failing to see you leave the inn, will go to the house himself."
"Yes; but I will simply go in and out again."
"Once inside, you won't come out."
"There's no doubt about it, young man," said Canolles, "you are a magician."
"You will be surprised, perhaps killed before her eyes; that's all there is about it."
"Pshaw!" said Canolles, "there are closets there."
"Oh!" exclaimed the viscount.
This oh! was uttered with such an eloquent intonation, it contained such a world of veiled reproach, of offended modesty, of charming delicacy, that Canolles stopped short, and darted a piercing glance at the young man, who was leaning on the window-sill.
Despite the darkness, he felt the full force of the glance, and continued in a playful tone, —
"Of course, you're quite right, baron; go by all means, but conceal yourself carefully, so that you may not be surprised."
"No, I was wrong," said Canolles, "and you are right. But how can I warn her?"
"It seems to me that a letter – "
"Who will carry it?"
"I thought that I saw a servant following you. A servant, under such circumstances, runs the risk of nothing worse than a few blows, while a gentleman risks his life."
"Verily I am losing my wits," said Canolles; "Castorin will do the errand to perfection, especially as I suspect that the rascal has allies in the house."
"You see that the matter can all be arranged here," said the viscount.
"Yes. Have