A MOUSETRAP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

The invention of the mousetrap does not date from our days; as

soon as societies, in forming, had invented any kind of police,

that police invented mousetraps.

As perhaps our readers are not familiar with the slang of the Rue

de Jerusalem, and as it is fifteen years since we applied this

word for the first time to this thing, allow us to explain to

them what is a mousetrap.

When in a house, of whatever kind it may be, an individual

suspected of any crime is arrested, the arrest is held secret.

Four or five men are placed in ambuscade in the first room. The

door is opened to all who knock. It is closed after them, and

they are arrested; so that at the end of two or three days they

have in their power almost all the HABITUES of the establishment.

And that is a mousetrap.

The apartment of M. Bonacieux, then, became a mousetrap; and

whoever appeared there was taken and interrogated by the

cardinal`s people. It must be observed that as a separate

passage led to the first floor, in which D`Artagnan lodged, those

who called on him were exempted from this detention.

Besides, nobody came thither but the three Musketeers; they had

all been engaged in earnest search and inquiries, but had

discovered nothing. Athos had even gone so far as to question M.

de Treville--a thing which, considering the habitual reticence of

the worthy Musketeer, had very much astonished his captain. But

M. de Treville knew nothing, except that the last time he had

seen the cardinal, the king, and the queen, the cardinal looked

very thoughtful, the king uneasy, and the redness of the queen`s

eyes donated that she had been sleepless or tearful. But this

last circumstance was not striking, as the queen since her

marriage had slept badly and wept much.

M. de Treville requested Athos, whatever might happen, to be

observant of his duty to the king, but particularly to the queen,

begging him to convey his desires to his comrades.

As to D`Artagnan, he did not budge from his apartment. He

converted his chamber into an observatory. From his windows he

saw all the visitors who were caught. Then, having removed a

plank from his floor, and nothing remaining but a simple ceiling

between him and the room beneath, in which the interrogatories

were made, he heard all that passed between the inquisitors and

the accused.

The interrogatories, preceded by a minute search operated upon

the persons arrested, were almost always framed thus: "Has Madame

Bonacieux sent anything to you for her husband, or any other

person? Has Monsieur Bonacieux sent anything to you for his

wife, or for any other person? Has either of them confided

anything to you by word of mouth?"

"If they knew anything, they would not question people in this

manner," said D`Artagnan to himself. "Now, what is it they want

to know? Why, they want to know if the Duke of Buckingham is in

Paris, and if he has had, or is likely to have, an interview with

the queen."

D`Artagnan held onto this idea, which, from what he had heard,

was not wanting in probability.

In the meantime, the mousetrap continued in operation, and

likewise D`Artagnan`s vigilance.

On the evening of the day after the arrest of poor Bonacieux, as

Athos had just left D`Artagnan to report at M. de Treville`s, as

nine o`clock had just struck, and as Planchet, who had not yet

made the bed, was beginning his task, a knocking was heard at the

street door. The door was instantly opened and shut; someone was

taken in the mousetrap.

D`Artagnan flew to his hole, laid himself down on the floor at

full length, and listened.

Cries were soon heard, and then moans, which someone appeared to

be endeavoring to stifle. There were no questions.

"The devil!" said D`Artagnan to himself. "It seems like a woman!

They search her; she resists; they use force--the scoundrels!"

In spite of his prudence, D`Artagnan restrained himself with

great difficulty from taking a part in the scene that was going

on below.

"But I tell you that I am the mistress of the house, gentlemen!

I tell you I am Madame Bonacieux; I tell you I belong to the

queen!" cried the unfortunate woman.

"Madame Bonacieux!" murmured D`Artagnan. "Can I be so lucky as

to find what everybody is seeking for?"

The voice became more and more indistinct; a tumultuous movement

shook the partition. The victim resisted as much as a woman

could resist four men.

"Pardon, gentlemen--par--" murmured the voice, which could now

only be heard in inarticulate sounds.

"They are binding her; they are going to drag her away," cried

D`Artagnan to himself, springing up from the floor. "My sword!

Good, it is by my side! Planchet!"

"Monsieur."

"Run and seek Athos, Porthos and Aramis. One of the three will

certainly be at home, perhaps all three. Tell them to take arms,

to come here, and to run! Ah, I remember, Athos is at Monsieur

de Treville`s."

"But where are you going, monsieur, where are you going?"

"I am going down by the window, in order to be there the sooner,"

cried D`Artagnan. "You put back the boards, sweep the floor, go

out at the door, and run as I told you."

"Oh, monsieur! Monsieur! You will kill yourself," cried

Planchet.

"Hold your tongue, stupid fellow," said D`Artagnan; and laying

hold of the casement, he let himself gently down from the first

story, which fortunately was not very elevated, without doing

himself the slightest injury.

He then went straight to the door and knocked, murmuring, "I will

go myself and be caught in the mousetrap, but woe be to the cats

that shall pounce upon such a mouse!"

The knocker had scarcely sounded under the hand of the young man

before the tumult ceased, steps approached, the door was opened,

and D`Artagnan, sword in hand, rushed into the rooms of M.

Bonacieux, the door of which doubtless acted upon by a spring,

closed after him.

Then those who dwelt in Bonacieux`s unfortunate house, together

with the nearest neighbors, heard loud cries, stamping of feet,

clashing of swords, and breaking of furniture. A moment after,

those who, surprised by this tumult, had gone to their windows to

learn the cause of it, saw the door open, and four men, clothed

in black, not COME out of it, but FLY, like so many frightened

crows, leaving on the ground and on the corners of the furniture,

feathers from their wings; that is to say, patches of their

clothes and fragments of their cloaks.

D`Artagnan was conqueror--without much effort, it must be

confessed, for only one of the officers was armed, and even he

defended himself for form`s sake. It is true that the three

others had endeavored to knock the young man down with chairs,

stools, and crockery; but two or three scratches made by the

Gascon`s blade terrified them. Ten minutes sufficed for their

defeat, and D`Artagnan remained master of the field of battle.

The neighbors who had opened their windows, with the coolness

peculiar to the inhabitants of Paris in these times of perpetual

riots and disturbances, closed them again as soon as they saw the

four men in black flee--their instinct telling them that for the

time was all over. Besides, it began to grow late, and then, as

today, people went to bed early in the quarter of the Luxembourg.

On being left alone with Mme. Bonacieux, D`Artagnan turned toward

her; the poor woman reclined where she had been left,

half-fainting upon an armchair. D`Artagnan examined her with a

rapid glance.

She was a charming woman of twenty-five or twenty-six years, with

dark hair, blue eyes, and a nose slightly turned up, admirable

teeth, and a complexion marbled with rose and opal. There,

however, ended the signs which might have confounded her with a

lady of rank. The hands were white, but without delicacy; the

feet did not bespeak the woman of quality. Happily, D`Artagnan

was not yet acquainted with such niceties.

While D`Artagnan was examining Mme. Bonacieux, and was, as we

have said, close to her, he saw on the ground a fine cambric

handkerchief, which he picked up, as was his habit, and at the

corner of which he recognized the same cipher he had seen on the

handkerchief which had nearly caused him and Aramis to cut each

other`s throat.

>From that time, D`Artagnan had been cautious with respect to

handkerchiefs with arms on them, and he therefore placed in the

pocket of Mme. Bonacieux the one he had just picked up.

At that moment Mme. Bonacieux recovered her senses. She opened

her eyes, looked around her with terror, saw that the apartment

was empty and that she was alone with her liberator. She

extended her hands to him with a smile. Mme. Bonacieux had the

sweetest smile in the world.

"Ah, monsieur!" said she, "you have saved me; permit me to thank

you."

"Madame," said D`Artagnan, "I have only done what every gentleman

would have done in my place; you owe me no thanks."

"Oh, yes, monsieur, oh, yes; and I hope to prove to you that you

have not served an ingrate. But what could these men, whom I at

first took for robbers, want with me, and why is Monsieur

Bonacieux not here?"

"Madame, those men were more dangerous than any robbers could

have been, for they are the agents of the cardinal; and as to

your husband, Monsieur Bonacieux, he is not here because he was

yesterday evening conducted to the Bastille."

"My husband in the Bastille!" cried Mme. Bonacieux. "Oh, my God!

What has he done? Poor dear man, he is innocence itself!"

And something like a faint smile lighted the still-terrified

features of the young woman.

"What has he done, madame?" said D`Artagnan. "I believe that his

only crime is to have at the same time the good fortune and the

misfortune to be your husband."

"But, monsieur, you know then--"

"I know that you have been abducted, madame."

"And by whom? Do you know him? Oh, if you know him, tell me!"

"By a man of from forty to forty-five years, with black hair, a

dark complexion, and a scar on his left temple."

"That is he, that is he; but his name?"

"Ah, his name? I do not know that."

"And did my husband know I had been carried off?"

"He was informed of it by a letter, written to him by the

abductor himself."

"And does he suspect," said Mme. Bonacieux, with some

embarrassment, "the cause of this event?"

"He attributed it, I believe, to a political cause."

"I doubted from the first; and now I think entirely as he does.

Then my dear Monsieur Bonacieux has not suspected me a single

instant?"

"So far from it, madame, he was too proud of your prudence, and

above all, of your love."

A second smile, almost imperceptible, stole over the rosy lips of

the pretty young woman.

"But," continued D`Artagnan, "how did you escape?"

"I took advantage of a moment when they left me alone; and as I

had known since morning the reason of my abduction, with the help

of the sheets I let myself down from the window. Then, as I

believed my husband would be at home, I hastened hither."

"To place yourself under his protection?"

"Oh, no, poor dear man! I knew very well that he was incapable

of defending me; but as he could serve us in other ways, I wished

to inform him."

"Of what?"

"Oh, that is not my secret; I must not, therefore, tell you."

"Besides," said D`Artagnan, "pardon me, madame, if, guardsman as

I am, I remind you of prudence--besides, I believe we are not

here in a very proper place for imparting confidences. The men I

have put to flight will return reinforced; if they find us here,

we are lost. I have sent for three of my friends, but who knows

whether they were at home?"

"Yes, yes! You are right," cried the affrighted Mme. Bonacieux;

"let us fly! Let us save ourselves."

At these words she passed her arm under that of D`Artagnan, and

urged him forward eagerly.

"But whither shall we fly--whither escape?"

"Let us first withdraw from this house; afterward we shall see."

The young woman and the young man, without taking the trouble to

shut the door after them, descended the Rue des Fossoyeurs

rapidly, turned into the Rue des Fosses-Monsieur-le-Prince, and

did not stop till they came to the Place St. Sulpice.

"And now what are we to do, and where do you wish me to conduct

you?" asked D`Artagnan.

"I am at quite a loss how to answer you, I admit," said Mme.

Bonacieux. "My intention was to inform Monsieur Laporte, through

my husband, in order that Monsieur Laporte might tell us

precisely what he taken place at the Louvre in the last three

days, and whether there is any danger in presenting myself

there."

"But I," said D`Artagnan, "can go and inform Monsieur Laporte."

"No doubt you could, only there is one misfortune, and that is

that Monsieur Bonacieux is known at the Louvre, and would be

allowed to pass; whereas you are not known there, and the gate

would be closed against you."

"Ah, bah!" said D`Artagnan; "you have at some wicket of the

Louvre a CONCIERGE who is devoted to you, and who, thanks to a

password, would--"

Mme. Bonacieux looked earnestly at the young man.

"And if I give you this password," said she, "would you forget it

as soon as you used it?"

"By my honor, by the faith of a gentleman!" said D`Artagnan, with

an accent so truthful that no one could mistake it.

"Then I believe you. You appear to be a brave young man;

besides, your fortune may perhaps be the result of your

devotedness."

"I will do, without a promise and voluntarily, all that I can do

to serve the king and be agreeable to the queen. Dispose of me,

then, as a friend."

"But I--where shall I go meanwhile?"

"Is there nobody from whose house Monsieur Laporte can come and

fetch you?"

"No, I can trust nobody."

"Stop," said D`Artagnan; "we are near Athos`s door. Yes, here it

is."

"Who is this Athos?"

"One of my friends."

"But if he should be at home and see me?"

"He is not at home, and I will carry away the key, after having

placed you in his apartment."

"But if he should return?"

"Oh, he won`t return; and if he should, he will be told that I

have brought a woman with me, and that woman is in his

apartment."

"But that will compromise me sadly, you know."

"Of what consequence? Nobody knows you. Besides, we are in a

situation to overlook ceremony."

"Come, then, let us go to your friend`s house. Where does he

live?"

"Rue Ferou, two steps from here."

"Let us go!"

Both resumed their way. As D`Artagnan had foreseen, Athos was

not within. He took the key, which was customarily given him as

one of the family, ascended the stairs, and introduced Mme.

Bonacieux into the little apartment of which we have given a

description.

"You are at home," said he. "Remain here, fasten the door

inside, and open it to nobody unless you hear three taps like

this;" and he tapped thrice--two taps close together and pretty

hard, the other after an interval, and lighter.

"That is well," said Mme. Bonacieux. "Now, in my turn, let me

give you my instructions."

"I am all attention."

"Present yourself at the wicket of the Louvre, on the side of the

Rue de l`Echelle, and ask for Germain."

"Well, and then?"

"He will ask you what you want, and you will answer by these two

words, `Tours` and `Bruxelles.` He will at once put himself at

your orders."

"And what shall I command him?"

"To go and fetch Monsieur Laporte, the queen`s VALET DE CHAMBRE."

"And when he shall have informed him, and Monsieur Laporte is

come?"

"You will send him to me."

"That is well; but where and how shall I see you again?"

"Do you wish to see me again?"

"Certainly."

"Well, let that care be mine, and be at ease."

"I depend upon your word."

"You may."

D`Artagnan bowed to Mme. Bonacieux, darting at her the most

loving glance that he could possibly concentrate upon her

charming little person; and while he descended the stairs, he

heard the door closed and double-locked. In two bounds he was at

the Louvre; as he entered the wicket of L`Echelle, ten o`clock

struck. All the events we have described had taken place within

a half hour.

Everything fell out as Mme. Bonacieux prophesied. On hearing the

password, Germain bowed. In a few minutes, Laporte was at the

lodge; in two words D`Artagnan informed him where Mme. Bonacieux

was. Laporte assured himself, by having it twice repeated, of

the accurate address, and set off at a run. Hardly, however, had

he taken ten steps before he returned.

"Young man," said he to D`Artagnan, "a suggestion."

"What?"

"You may get into trouble by what has taken place."

"You believe so?"

"Yes. Have you any friend whose clock is too slow?"

"Well?"

"Go and call upon him, in order that he may give evidence if your

having been with him at half past nine. In a court of justice

that is called an alibi."

D`Artagnan found his advice prudent. He took to his heels, and

was soon at M. de Treville`s; but instead of going into the

saloon with the rest of the crowd, he asked to be introduced to

M. de Treville`s office. As D`Artagnan so constantly frequented

the hotel, no difficulty was made in complying with his request,

and a servant went to inform M. de Treville that his young

compatriot, having something important to communicate, solicited a

private audience. Five minutes after, M. de Treville was asking

D`Artagnan what he could do to serve him, and what caused his

visit at so late an hour.

"Pardon me, monsieur," said D`Artagnan, who had profited by the

moment he had been left alone to put back M. de Treville`s clock

three-quarters of an hour, "but I thought, as it was yet only

twenty-five minutes past nine, it was not too late to wait upon

you."

"Twenty-five minutes past nine!" cried M. de Treville, looking at

the clock; "why, that`s impossible!"

"Look, rather, monsieur," said D`Artagnan, "the clock shows it."

"That`s true," said M. de Treville; "I believed it later. But

what can I do for you?"

Then D`Artagnan told M. de Treville a long history about the

queen. He expressed to him the fears he entertained with respect

to her Majesty; he related to him what he had heard of the

projects of the cardinal with regard to Buckingham, and all with

a tranquillity and candor of which M. de Treville was the more

the dupe, from having himself, as we have said, observed

something fresh between the cardinal, the king, and the queen.

As ten o`clock was striking, D`Artagnan left M. de Treville, who

thanked him for his information, recommended him to have the

service of the king and queen always at heart, and returned to

the saloon; but at the foot of the stairs, D`Artagnan remembered

he had forgotten his cane. He consequently sprang up again,

re-entered the office, with a turn of his finger set the clock

right again, that it might not be perceived the next day that it

had been put wrong, and certain from that time that he had a

witness to prove his alibi, he ran downstairs and soon found

himself in the street.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 782