GONSALVO; OR, THE BRIGAND OF MARMONTEL

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 169, 4 May 1871, Page 7

GONSALVO; OR, THE BRIGAND OF MARMONTEL

By E. W. Thorn, Esq., Author of " The Epochs," "Oleon," "Retribution," " The Dudley Poems," &c.

CHAPTER HI.

THE TRAP DOOR, I found my sleeping apartment to be a small inner room ; to reach it we had to pass through a large outer apartment, in which were tr\ r o beds. My chamber was guarded by a substantial oak door, which might be secured inside by two strong bolts- —a precaution which I lost no time in adopting. Then I unfolded the paper I had taken from the bracelet and read it. It ran thus : — " Fear nothing. Do not go to sleep. Whatever noise you hear keep quiet. There is a trap door in *he cenLre of your room. Your have pistols. Shoot any one who attempts to enter through it." A pleasant document kuly ; a trapdoor in the centre of the room. I examined the floor minutely ; there sure enough were the lines indicating the outline of the trap. Then I wondered the ostentatious strength of the room door, with its double bolts, had not aroused my suspicion. I examined my pistols, extinguished the light, and, seating myself on the bed, awaited what might come. . A thought came into my mmd — "Why not draw the bed over the trap ?" I tried to do it ; it was fastened to the floor, as was every other article of furniture in the room ; so I seated myself on the bed and helplessly awaited what might come. Presently I became aware of a faint grinding sound in the wall behind me. To the sense of hearing, in no one less nervously sensitive than I was at that moment would the sound have been audible. I knew some one was drilling a hole through the wall. In a few i seconds a change in the sound indicated that the instrument had passed through. It was withdrawn, and in its place the>e was a thin bolt of light : then a small tube was inserted. A speaking communication between the two rooms was established. I had n,o difficulty iv concluding by whom this had been done. Placing my lips to the tube, I whispered, "lam listening." Then I put my ear to the instrument ; " G-ood," said a. voice, which I instantly recognised. It went on in a still whisper, "You have passed through a great danger ; in all probability you are now safe. The man who affects the student is the famous brigand, Gronsalvo. The farmer is his lieulenmt." "Grood heavens," I could have cried, if I had had time for an exclamation, and durst have made one. The voice went on — " The host is in league with Gonsalvo. Since your leaving London your movements have been watched and reported to the brigand. To a franc the amount of property in your possession is known. For certain reasons, which you shall know hereafter, your death is decreed ; your only present danger is the trapdoor ; you have pistols ; use them if necessary." The opening and closing of the door of the outer apartment interrupted the speaker. After a moment's pause, he said, in a still whisper, "Courage." Then the tub?, was withdrawn, and the passage of the I bolt of light was stopped. I readily ! recognised the wisdom of this precaution. It was more than probable the tenants of the outer apartment had some means of inspecting mine, and the discovery that a. communication had been established between the chambers of their intended, victims might have been, fatal to the plans of my friends and to themselves ; so I was again left to my own thoughts, and they were- not of the calmest kind. I told you that being in the presence of Gonsalvo fired my English blood. I I will now tell you why it "did so. Four years before the time of which I am speaking, Mr. Bullion's nephew, my dearest friend, Frank Fenwick, travelling on the other side of these mountains, fell into the hands of this miscreant. The cash Frank had in his possession was trifling, but by some means, his monetaiy resources were as well known to his captor as to himself. My poor friend was confined for two months in a miserable cave in the mountains, till an ambassador from this pestilent rogue could go to London and negotiate his ransom. During this time, Frank's, only solace was the company of his faithful servant, the honest fellow insisting upon being allowed to share the prison of his master. The ambassador of Gonsalvo obtained a private interview with. Miv Bullion, and executed his mission. " Good ! Gonsalvo will cut your, nephew's throat when he hears of- the little affair," said the- ruffian, coolly. The ransom was paid. My "friend arrived in London, bringing with him his Bervant, Paul Fourier. Oh, how I wished I had the faithful fellow by my side at that moment. In four days after his arrival, Frank's warm heart was cold.. He was the prisoner of a stronger but nobler enemy to mankind than, the brigand, Gonsalvo — he was dead/ He died, consigning with his latest b*?eath;Pai jl Fourier, to Mr. Bullion's" care and "to mine. If the mere idea that I was in the presence of Gonsalvo had nearly hurried me into the commission of an act of violence, you will easily imagine how much "I "must j have been"affected by the Certainty that

only :i partition wall separated me from tho murderer of my iViend, for in my mind, at that moment, the conviction that it was the Icigand chief who had entered the outer sipnrl.ment, had all iht* force of moral certainty.

1 have had frequent opportunities of observing the rapidity of movement in, and the inconsequent character of mental action, in periods when physical inaction is thrust upon a state of intense excitement, In the moment when the whole force of my mind seemed to be concentrated upon the brigand, a new idea took instantaneous and irresistable possession of it— l would reconnoitre the apartment of my friends. Passing my hand lightly along the wall, I found that a loosely fitting bolt had been inserted into the hole from which the tube had been withdrawn. Gathering the counterpane around me, in a manner which pi'ecluded the possibility of a ray of light entering my room, then cautiously removing the bolt, and applying my eye to the opening, I had a view of the interior of the room beyond and of its occupants.

Where aro the merchants ? Who are those two men armed at every point ? What is the use of that carefully prepared cord which the youngest of the men is drawing from his box ? What are the uses of the miscellaneous assortment of tools scattered on the floor ? I perceived that the window was open. Presently the cord was let down, and a ladder of rope drawn up. Then there cam 3 through the window, as silently as ghosts might come, one, two, three, four, five — I counted sixteen robust men, all well armed, [t was evidont, that my friends the merchants, had made preparations for a desperate conflict. The person whom t must continue to call the junior merchaut began to remove the lqck from the room door. The key had been turned on the outside as soon as he an.d his companion had entered. " Ha., my mysterious friend, that is not the first lock you have removed," I mentally ejaculated, while noticing the rapidity and dexterity with which the task was performed. When the lock had been removed, the men gathered' into a group, ami stood for some minutes ia various attitudes, apparently listening attentively. Then, as if satisfied that all was right, they simultaneously resumed their business aspects. On a sign from the eldest merchant one of the men handed him the tube. Divining that he intended to speak to me, 1 hastily replaced the bolt. I|alf-an-hour passed, during which profound silence seemed to reign in the Auberge. Then, unable longer to restrain my curiosity, I again shrouded myself in the counterpane, and noiselessly withdrew the bolt. A ll was darlc. and, I hid almost saiil. silent; but the profound silouce of the place was broken at intervals, as man after man stole from the room. Jn imagination I followed the dusky figures, until in every point of the A überge. there was a throbbing heart. I counted the departures until I knew that only one man remained in the apartment. " Left to guard the window by which the- band entered, and through which it may have to make its retreat," I thought, and the latter part of the thought was not pleasant. Then 1 thought — "Are all those preparations made to capture three men?" Ah ! the whispering voices*. As this recollection crossed my mind I replaced the bolt, grasped my pistols. and threw myself on the trap, door. I have never experienced any sensation so painful as that produced by the awful silence that reigned during the next ten minutes. It was broken in a manner which I did not expect. There came a wild thundering at the door of the Auberge; then from without and within, frantic cries of "Fire! fire!" and in less than a second a tumult, that baffled description, ensued, I heard the door of the outer apartment thrown open; there was a rush, a rapid, discharge of fire-arms, groans, curses, shouts, a muffled struggling ; then the door was slammed to,, locked, and there waa silence in that I'oom. Meanwhile the sound of conflict waxed louder and louder in different parts of the house. Then there was a sudden lull. I became aware that the atmospher.o of my room was growing hot and suffocating. I endeavoured, with as little noise as possible to open my window. That was easily done ; but on, the outside I found a close network of bars. Escape in that direction had been guarded against. I afterwards learned that my friends cut away the bars from their window. While inhaling the cool air, sounds of footsteps, beneath me attracted my attention. In an instant I was kneeling on the trap; with my ear to the ftooi\ Two persons were conversing, in a low, earnest whisper. The voice of one I instantly recognised as that of the farmer ; the voice of the other, though strangely familiar to my ear, I could not i*ecognise. I came into the conversation while- the latter was speaking. " The game is up," he said ; "we munt take care of ourselves. Twißt his neck, secure the gold, then let us be off while we may." " But our chief V remonstrated the farmer. There is still some virtue left in this lump of sin, I thought, and I felt a pleasure in that I had not been wholly mistaken in the man. Flattery comes in strange shapes to the mind. "To his namesake with our chief !" -hissed the accursed voice, that made

I tnv blond run cold. " Wearo trapped, I tell M'U. The present choice is between life uitii wealth, and tho wheel or --ea'lbid. L v ucre is not, a socond to ho lost. Hiii-'c! up, vi.'in, up!" I heai-d fclio ladder that led to the tra,j groan under the troad of the giant. '• You are right," he muttered. "Come!" I (To be continued.)