I could even at that distance see the jewels gleam
in the bonnet of one who seemed to be their leader. He was in
the centre of the band, a very young man, perhaps twenty or
twenty-one, of most splendid presence, sitting his horse
superbly. He wore a grey riding-coat, and was a head taller than
any of his companions. There was pride in the very air with
which his horse bore him.
I did not need to ask Pavannes who he was. I KNEW that he was
the Duke of Guise, and that the house before which he stood was
Coligny's. I knew what was being done there. And in the same
moment I sickened with horror and rage. I had a vision of grey
hairs and blood and fury scarcely human, And I rebelled. I
battled with the rabble about me. I forced my way through them
tooth and nail after Pavannes, intent only on escaping, only on
getting away from there. And so we neither halted nor looked
back until we were clear of the crowd and had left the blaze of
light and the work doing by it some way behind us.
We found ourselves then in the mouth of an obscure alley which my
companion whispered would bring us to his house; and here we
paused to take breath and look back.
Pages:
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197