human
Oh, I am all right, thank you, she insisted, declining the glass of wine that Pembroke poured out for her.
gpt
I wonder, Tom, if you killed that poor wretch on the deck?
human
Don't know, Tom answered.
gpt
I hope so. But what the deuce, Nance, has been happening? I can wait till to-morrow to hear, if you are too tired to tell me; but I do want awfully to know.
human
I am not tired, Nancy replied,
gpt
But tell me, Nance, who is the Marquis--what happened--how did they get you away?
human
Ah! the Marquis, exclaimed Nancy with a shudder.
gpt
I am glad you have him locked up. I can't bear to think of him, but I'll tell you what I know. You remember, Tom, he tried to be friends with me from the first; and he seemed to fascinate me in some unaccountable way. Then he questioned me about my identity, and began to drop hints that he knew more than he cared to let appear to the others, and my curiosity was excited. I have always known of course that there was some mystery about my being left to Mrs. Frost's care. She has been kind, good, all that she should be; but she wasn't my mother. Well, the Marquis stirred all the old wonder that I had as a child, and before long quite won my confidence. He told me after a time that I was the daughter of his elder brother, the Marquis François de Boisdhyver, who in 1814 stayed here at the Inn at the Red Oak under the name of General Pointelle. I was not altogether surprised, for I have always believed that I was French by birth, and his assertion that I was his niece seemed to account for his interest in me. My father, if this Marquis de Boisdhyver was my father, was one of the Emperor Napoleon's marshals and was a party to the plot to rescue the Emperor from Elba. He was obliged to return to France, and since it was impossible for him to take me with him--I was a little girl of two at the time--he left me with Mrs. Frost. Thinking of my future, he hid a large treasure in some secret chamber off the Oak Parlour.
human
I know,
gpt
What? You mean there is a treasure?
human
I think there is; but go on. I will tell you afterwards.
gpt
Then he set sail for France, took part in the great events of the Hundred Days, and fell at Waterloo. It was on the field of Waterloo that he met his younger brother--our Marquis--and told him about the child left in America and about the treasure hidden in the Inn at the Red Oak.
human
Well, Nancy continued, having answered a volley of questions from Tom,
gpt
I know you did,
human
How could you know it--has the Marquis--?
gpt
No, Dan and I saw you. I woke one night, happened to look out of the window and saw the Marquis going into the bowling alley. It was moonlight, you know. I woke Dan, we slipped down stairs, saw a light in the Oak Parlour, peeped through the shutters and saw you and the old Marquis at the cabinet.
human
When was this?
gpt
The night--before our walk in the woods.
human
And you did not tell me! What could you think I was doing?
gpt
I didn't know. How could I know? It was that which first made me suspicious of the Marquis. We made up our minds to watch. But that day in the woods--well, I forgot everything in the world but just that I was in love with you.
human
Ah!
gpt
But tell me, asked Tom,
human
What did you find in the cabinet?
gpt
We found nothing. I began to think that the Marquis had deceived me. I didn't know what to believe. I didn't know what to do. I threatened each day to tell Dan. And then came our walk. When we came in that night--do you recall?--we found the Marquis sitting in the bar before the fire, and I went over and spoke to him.
human
Yes, I remember,
gpt
I had made up my mind that I must take you all,--mother and you and Dan,--into my confidence. I told him so. He begged me to wait until the next day and promised that he would tell you then himself. I was beginning to think he might be a little crazy, that there was no hidden treasure.
human
I'm sure there is, said Tom.
gpt
There was another half of that torn scrap of paper, hidden in one of the cubby-holes of the old cabinet. Dan found it. It's the directions, sure enough, for finding the treasure.
human
Ah! but what has it all to do with me?
gpt
I don't know; something I fancy, or the Marquis would not have told you as much as he did. But here is the other half. You can tell whether it is part of the paper he showed you.
human
I believe it is the other half. See, it is signed ...'ançois de Boisdhyver'. I remember perfectly that the signature of the other was missing, except for the letters 'F-r-' It is, it must be, François de Boisdhyver, who, the Marquis says, was my father. Then look! here are the words '_trésor', 'bijoux et monaie_'. I remember in the other there were phrases that seemed to go with these--'_trésor caché' 'lingots d'or_'. Ah! do you suppose there really is a fortune hidden away in the Inn all these years?
gpt
Yes, I think so, said Tom.
human
And I feel certain you have some claim to it, or they wouldn't have made such an effort to involve you in their plot. But, please, Nance, tell me the rest. You got to the night of your disappearance.
gpt
It was a horror--that night! exclaimed Nancy.
human
It must have been about twelve that the Marquis came and tapped at my door. For some reason I was restless and had not gone to bed. I slipped out into the hall with him and we came in here to talk. He begged me to make one more expedition with him to the Oak Parlour. But I refused--I insisted that I must tell Dan. Suddenly, Tom, without the slightest warning, I felt my arms pinioned from behind, and before I could scream, the Marquis himself had thrust a handkerchief in my mouth, and I was gagged and bound. Everything was done so quickly, so noiselessly, that not a soul in the house could have heard. They carried me out of the Inn and into the avenue of maples. From there on I was forced to walk. We went to the beach. I was put into a small boat and rowed out to the schooner, and there they locked me up in the little cabin in which you found me.
gpt
What time did you say it was?
human
About twelve--after midnight, perhaps; I don't know for sure. The Marquis went to the beach with us and pretended to assure me that I was in no danger; that I would be released in good time, and that he would see me again. As a matter of fact for three days I have seen no one but Captain Bonhomme. He brought my meals, and was inclined to talk about anything that come into his head. Last night he told me that Dan was also a prisoner on the _Southern Cross_, if that would be of any consolation to me. Then he said he had to go ashore and locked me up. Several times I was taken on deck for exercise, but the captain kept close by my side.
gpt
And you haven't seen or heard from the Marquis again?
human
No! nor do I want to see him. But, Tom, what is the meaning of it all? How are we going to rescue Dan? What are we going to do? We can't keep the Marquis a prisoner indefinitely.