Jacob's ladder
Chapter 12: Montsegur

Fifty days later, on Friday August 18th1815, Luis arrived at Montsegur. In his journey he had suffered hardships,difficulties to replace food, a fast decrease of the contents of his purse, fearto be discovered, discouragement because many who feigned to help him wantedreally to betray him to the French, relief at those who risked their lives andpossessions in his defense. During the way he heard all kinds of contradictorynews:

“Bonaparte has been defeated inMaastricht by a Prussian and English army.”

“No, it was near Liège.”

“On the contrary, the battle was inAntwerp and Bonaparte won.”

“The emperor is retreating to Paris,defeated.”

“No, he has invaded Prussia.”

“Russia is now allied with thePrussians and the English.”

“No, the Russians are neutral. CzarAlexander is a good friend of Napoleon’s.”

On July the 22nd, Luis hadnot even remembered that it was his birthday and he was seventeen. He had been toobusy avoiding his enemies. Ten days later, in the heart of France, the news suddenlybecame more sinister, less believable:

“An army of living dead has invadedAustria, coming from the Turkish Empire.”

“Their leader is a mysterious Greek namedNikomakos.”

“They cannot be killed, because theyare already dead.”

“That’s a lie! The dead cannot comeback.”

“They’ll overcome all of Europe!”

“They’ll conquest France!”

“Impossible! France cannot bedefeated.”

At the end of the week, people were evenmore frightened, while the news became increasingly confuse and dark:

“Napoleon has abdicated andsurrendered to the English.”

“That’s not true! Napoleon is alwaysvictorious.”

“Russia is at war with Prussia.”

“Czar Alexander has been murdered.”

“Austria has been defeated byNikomakos.”

“Nikomakos is about to invadePrussia.”

“Nikomakos is about to invadeFrance.”

When Luis arrived in the village ofMontsegur, in the Roussillon, he was very different from the boy who had leftSalamanca: taller, looking full-grown rather than a boy, his skin tanned, hismuscles harder. He had not noticed the changes, which had been a great help,for his description no longer fitted his appearance. On the other hand, heseemed to have been forgotten. In the last days, nobody had heard about him,while at the beginning of his journey it was the opposite. He had once seen awarning with his description, offering a large reward. He no longer had to hidewhen a patrol went by, for there were no patrols. He had heard nothing aboutBlatsov, who must have lost his tracks or been dissolved in smoke.

Montsegur was a small village, with amain street continuing the trail up the mountain and ending at the castle, plusseveral side alleys which ended at awful precipices. At first sight, thevillage looked quiet and peaceful, but when Luis went in the only inn,everybody turned to look at him with mistrust, all the conversations stopped, andthey turned their backs on him and ignored his presence, while the innkeeperserved him without a word. As soon as his hunger and thirst were satiated, heleft the inn and walked toward the castle.

Night had fallen. The castle ofMontsegur, which in 1659 had passed from Spain to France, together with the Roussillon,had been turned into a prison. Napoleon had put some of his political enemiesthere. Its dark bulk was lighted with sinister shades by the crescent moon,whose face was veiled by thin threads of vapor. At the west the clouds weregathering, heralding a tempest.

The castle door was open. Hiding inthe bushes, a hundred paces away, Luis watched the embattlements and the moatand wondered how he would get in. Then a man crossed the bridge and took theway to the village. When he was passing near, his face was lighted by the moon.Luis recognized him and exclaimed:

“Pierre!”

It was really the old soldier,friend, confident and accomplice of Charles, whom he had met for the first timein Salamanca, who five months ago had fallen prisoner to major Gérard. Hearinghis name, Pierre stopped and looked around. Luis showed himself. For some time,none spoke. Then a look of understanding lighted the eyes of the French, he threwhis arms around the boy’s neck and dragged him to a darker place.

“Luis! You are changed!”

“Am I? Never mind. What are you doinghere? Are you free? Where is Charles?”

“Easy! I can’t answer so manyquestions at the same time. Charles is well. In the last few days, the prison watchhas relaxed. I am not important. They consider me your tutor’s servant and letme get out. I was going to the inn, the food is better than what the castleprovides, so we use it whenever we have the opportunity. But tell me about you!How did you escape from the man in black? Where is Jacob’s ladder? How did youarrive at Montsegur?”

“Now you are asking too manyquestions,” laughed Luis. “It’s a long tale. There are more pressing things thanthe story of my adventures.”

“Right! What do you want to do?”

“I want to get in the castle and seeCharles.”

“That won’t be difficult. Half thegarrison left three days ago. The world is unsettled, but we haven’t been ableto replace exactly what is happening: the news is getting every day more absurdand impossible.”

“I’ve heard it too.”

“Anyway, there are few guards. Those whoremain are watching at the outside world rather than the prisoners. I’mpractically free. I should be able to get you in tonight. Wait here, I’ll get thedinner and we’ll think of something.”

While Pierre went away, Luis hidagain among the bushes. He was unsettled: his long journey was coming to theend. He would meet Charles and get rid of the immense responsibility weighingon his shoulders since they were separated in Ciudad Rodrigo.

When Pierre came back, his face showedthat he had found a solution to their problem.

“I have a plan,” he said. “In half anhour, the doors will be shut. In two hours, the guards not on watch will besleeping. Can you see that window at the left, over the moat?”

Luis nodded.

“That room is unoccupied. Come backin two hours. When you see a light at that window, swim across the moat, takingcare not to be seen. I’ll help you to get in. You know how to swim, don’t you?”

“Of course!”

“That’s OK, then. See you in twohours.”

Everything happened as planned. Atmidnight, they met again in the room. Pierre had even brought dry clothes forLuis to change. Taking the candle he had used to give him the signal, he puthis finger on his lips, opened the door of the room with great care, and guidedhim through a maze of corridors and stairs to a room on the third level of thetower.

“We were in the dungeons for sometime,” he whispered, “but a month ago we were moved up here, where the air is fresher.Perhaps Bonaparte was reminded of the rank of your tutor. Do you know that heis a nobleman?”

“Yes, Charles is the count ofPhilippe.”

“I’ve told him that you are coming. He’swaiting. I’ll watch here and warn you if somebody comes.”

“But is the door open?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you escape? You couldhave got out the same way I got in.”

“Charles has given his word.”

“I see.”

Luis’s legs were shaking when he knockedat the door, opened it and went in. Charles stood up and came to him withstretched arms. It took Luis some seconds to recognize him: he looked older andshorter than he remembered. Suddenly he felt shy and knew that it would be longbefore they would recover their old comradeship.

“Luis! You have changed!”

He let Charles hug him, got Jacob’sladder from inside his clothes and offered it to his tutor, who rejected it andsaid:

“Later! First we must speak. Tell meyour adventures.”

It was a long tale which took thewhole night, but neither wanted to sleep. Charles did not interrupt, just showedsurprise at his courage in the difficult times, amusement at the way in whichhe had escaped from Brussels, scorn toward Bonaparte, or gloom whenever Blatsovwas mentioned. When he finished, the first rays of the sun were coming through thewindow. Charles moved his head to relax the stiffened muscles of his neck andprepared to speak, but just then there was a knock at the door and Pierre camein. He looked worried.

“I have been walking around thecastle. The doors are open, the portcullis raised, the bridge down across themoat. They have all left, there is nobody here.”

Charles walked at the window andlooked out; then he turned at Pierre and asked:

“Do you know when this happened?”

“I heard noises about three o’clock.”

“They must have been ordered to leavethe castle.”

“What about us? And there are moreprisoners.”

“True. We should let them out. With noguards to give them food, they’ll starve.”

“What shall we do?”

“Nothing, I’ve given my word not toleave the castle.”

“But they’ve left! We are free andcan go away!”

“You’ve heard me. We’ll let the otherprisoners out. If they want, they may go, but we’ll stay here. By the way, thatopen door worries me. The villagers may try to plunder the castle. Get down,lower the portcullis, raise the bridge and shut the door. Luis will help you.”

The castle was really abandoned. In acorner of the kitchen, Luis found a bunch of keys. With them, they opened thecells in the dungeons and let out thirteen men. Some, who had been there a longtime, were in very bad shape. Others in better health helped them to move thesick to the ground floor. Luis explained what had happened: they were free and couldleave when they wanted. Suddenly they heard a muffled noise outside. Pierre wentto the nearest window to see.

“It’s the people in the village. Theyare armed with tridents and pitchforks.”

“The soldiers forgot two rifles,”exclaimed one of the prisoners, who had been searching the guardroom. “We’ll beable to defend ourselves.”

“Don’t fire unless there is no otherway,” advised Luis. “If we threaten them from the windows, they won’t comenearer. Wait here, I’ll call the count of Philippe.”

Soon Charles had taken the command ofthe prisoners, now turned into the defenders of the castle. With their simpletools, the villagers did not dare attack men armed with firearms, but theymaintained the siege. The castle had become again their jail.

The next day, Sunday August 20th,the situation worsened. A little before noon, the besiegers were reinforced byseveral men. Although they were not in uniform, they had muskets and showed clearlytheir training as soldiers. As soon as they took their positions, they startedfiring at the windows and forced the besieged to replace cover, although they did notuse their advantage to assault the castle. Apparently, they were waiting for somethingor somebody.

At three o’clock in the afternoon,Pierre, who had been watching at the top of the tower, came down to informCharles. Luis was near and heard the news.

“An old friend is coming to visit.”

“Who do you mean?” asked Charles.

“The pale man in black we met inCiudad Rodrigo,” replied Pierre. Luis shuddered and felt about to swoon. Whenhe recovered, he jumped at the window, ignoring the danger of being hit by abullet and Charles’s warnings. Then he turned back to his friends, as pale ashis implacable persecutor.

“It is him, and he doesn’t comealone,” he said. “He’s brought lots of men and one cannon.”

Charles peeped out to check, gave hisrifle to Pierre and asked:

“How is your marksmanship?”

“Excellent, as always.”

“Will you be able to hit him?”

Pierre looked out, raised the rifle,took careful aim and fired.

“You’ve failed,” whispered Charles.

“Impossible!” protested Pierre. “I’vehit him, but he hasn’t even moved! That man is the devil!”

“I must think,” said Charles, and hewent to his room at the tower, leaving Luis and Pierre dumbstruck.

At that point, an explosion thunderedand the building shook, struck by the cannon shot.

“Take the sick men to a safe place!”ordered Luis, taking the command.

A second shot cracked the wall, makingdust and plaster fall on their heads.

“We can’t stand this,” said Pierre.“We must surrender.”

“Never!” exclaimed Luis. “Better diethan fall in his hands!”

But when the third cannon shot struckthe castle door, several of the defenders threw themselves in the moat from thewindows at the opposite side and fell in the power of the besiegers, whilePierre went to replace Charles, and Luis was left alone with the danger.

“My God!” he exclaimed hopeless, his shaky fingers graspingat Jacob’s ladder. “Help me! Do something! I need you!”