Part 65 (1/2)
”Well, and then?”
”Why, and then, neur, as there was a little wind from the southwest, the boat drifted into the sands of Sainte-Marguerite's”
”Oh!--but the travelers?”
”Bah! you need not be uneasy about them! It was pretty plain that one was the devil, and protected the other; for e recovered the boat, after she got afloat again, instead of finding these two creatures injured by the shock, we found nothing, not even the carriage or the case”
”Very strange! very strange!” repeated the comte ”But after that, what did you do, overnor of Sainte-Marguerite's, who brought ued hied”
”What! did the governor himself say so?”
”Yes, monsieur; and yet my boat was injured, seriously injured, for the prow is left upon the point of Sainte-Marguerite's, and the carpenter asks a hundred and twenty livres to repair it”
”Very well,” replied Raoul; ”you will be exeuerite's, shall we?” said the coelonne, as theto be cleared up; that man does not seem to me to have told the truth”
”Nor to e having disappeared, may be told to conceal soers in the open sea, to punish hi”
”I fore was more likely to contain property than a entlenize hisinvincibles of former days Who knohether the hatchet or the iron bar of thisthat which the best blades of Europe, balls, and bullets have not been able to do in forty years?”
That sauerite's, on board a _chasse-maree_ come from Toulon under orders The iularly pleasing one The island seemed loaded with flowers and fruits In its cultivated part it served as a garden for the governor Orange, poolden or purple fruits All round this garden, in the uncultivated parts, red partridges ran about in conveys a the brambles and tufts of junipers, and at every step of the comte and Raoul a terrified rabbit quitted his thyme and heath to scuttle away to the burrow In fact, this fortunate isle was uninhabited Flat, offering nothing but a tiny bay for the convenience of eovernor, ent shares with thelers made use of it as a provisional _entrepot_, at the expense of not killing the gaovernor was in a situation to be satisfied with a garrison of eight uard his fortress, in which twelve cannons accuovernor was a sort of happy far his citrons and _cedrates_ in the sun of his caseuardian, arose like three heads upon turrets connected with each other by terraces covered with moss
Athos and Raoul wandered for so any one to introduce the their oay into the garden It was at the hottest tirass or stone The heavens spread their fiery veils as if to stifle all noises, to envelop all existences; the rabbit under the broom, the fly under the leaf, slept as the wave did beneath the heavens Athos saw nothing living but a soldier, upon the terrace beneath the second and third court, as carrying a basket of provisions on his head This man returned almost immediately without his basket, and disappeared in the shade of his sentry-box Athos supposed hedone so, returned to dine hi their heads, perceived in the fra of a white color, like a hand that aved backwards and forwards--so, like a polished weapon struck by the rays of the sun And before they were able to ascertain what it was, a lu sound in the air, called their attention froround
A second dull noise was heard from the ditch, and Raoul ran to pick up a silver plate which was rolling along the dry sand The hand that had thrown this plate entle each other, commenced an attentive examination of the dusty plate, and they discovered, in characters traced upon the bottom of it with the point of a knife, this inscription:
”_I a of France--a prisoner to-day--a entlemen and Christians, pray to God for the soul and the reason of the son of your old rulers_”
The plate fell fro toof these dismal words At the same mohtning Raoul bent down his head, and forced down that of his father likewise A littered from the crest of the wall A white smoke floated like a pluainst a stone within six inches of the two gentlemen
”_Cordieu!_” cried Athos ”What, are people assassinated here? Come down, cowards as you are!”
”Yes, co his fist at the castle
One of the assailants--he as about to fire--replied to these cries by an exclamation of surprise; and, as his companion, ished to continue the attack, had re-seized his loaded musket, he who had cried out threw up the weapon, and the ball flew into the air Athos and Raoul, seeing them disappear from the platform, expected they would come down to them, and waited with a firm demeanor Five minutes had not elapsed, when a stroke upon a druarrison to arms, and they showed themselves on the other side of the ditch with their muskets in hand At the head of these nized as the one who had fired the first musket Theto be shot!” cried Raoul; ”but, sword in hand, at least, let us leap the ditch! We shall kill at least two of these scoundrels, when theirthe action to the word, Raoul was springing forward, followed by Athos, when a well-known voice resounded behind theentlemen
”Recover arms! _Mordioux!_” cried the captain to the soldiers ”I was sure I could not beof this?” asked Athos ”What! e to be shot without warning?”
”It was I as going to shoot you, and if the governor missed you, I should not have missed you, my dear friends How fortunate it is that I a at the instant I raise nized you Ah! nan wiped his brow, for he had run fast, and ened
”How!” said Athos ”And is the gentleovernor of the fortress?”