Jacob's ladder

The man in black greeted the newcomers with a slight bow, but did not say a word. He stared at them, especially at Luis, who cowered in a chair as far as possible. Charles looked puzzled. When the supper was ready, the three sat around the table in the most silent meal Luis had ever partaken. As soon as the last serve was finished, they took candles and retired to their rooms. Charles and Luis shared one with two beds. When they were alone, the boy opened his mouth to speak, but his tutor put a finger before his mouth in warning.

“Just a moment,” he said. He went to the window, which looked at a rear yard, opened it, leaned out, closed it and whispered: “If necessary, it would be possible to jump down.” They were in the second level of the inn. Then he went to the door, opened it carefully, verified that nobody was listening, looked long at the door where the man in black had entered, shut their own door, and checked the walls for hidden holes. Finally reassured, he sat on one of the beds and said, in a softer voice than usual:

“We can speak.”

“That man! Did you notice?” exclaimed Luis.

“Yes, we saw him when we were leaving Salamanca.”

“He has followed us!”

“It could be chance.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Neither do I. He seems too much interested in us.”

“What can we do?”

“For now, go to bed. Tomorrow, before sunrise, we’ll get on.”

“If he lets us…”

“What can he do? He is alone, the innkeeper would back us… unless he’s been bought, but I don’t think so, I would have noticed it in his behavior. That man won’t be able to use force.”

“I hope you are right,” sighed Luis, unconvinced. The cadaverous face of the man in black had affected him deeply.

He wanted to speak on, but something attracted his attention to the window. Charles rose, opened it and leaned out. Luis followed, but could just see a few red sparks up high, which disappeared in a few seconds.

“What was that? A shooting star?” he asked.

“No, it was a rocket. It came from this house. From the next window, I think.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so.”

“The man in black?”

“Obviously, to warn someone or to ask for help.”

“Shouldn’t we leave immediately?”

“We cannot go further tonight, our horses are exhausted. Also, we wouldn’t be able to leave without attracting his attention, and he would follow us. Let’s go to bed. We need rest.”

“I can’t rest.”

“Try,” advised Charles, starting to undress. Luis followed his example. Soon later, they were in their beds with the candles extinguished, but it was not so easy to extinguish their thoughts.

When Charles shook Luis to awake him, he had the impression that he had just closed his eyes, but instantly remembered their situation and got up without complaining. Not daring to light a candle, they dressed in the dark, took their backpacks, left the room in silence and went down the stairs. In the hall they found two men near the outer door, while a third was snoring sitting on an armchair. Seeing them arrive, one of the two winked while the other whistled softly to awake the sleeper. The man arose, rubbed his eyes, looked at them with insolence and said in bad Spanish with a strong French accent:

“Sorry, gentlemen; can’t leave.”

Luis was about to protest, but Charles nudged him and whispered:

“Let’s get back to our room.”

Once there, Charles went to the window, but didn’t open it, just pointed at the dark shadow of a man leaning on a tree, who was looking up, directly at them.

“We are trapped,” he said.

“But who are these men? When did they come?”

“Obviously during the night, in answer to our neighbor’s call.”

“We should have left as soon as we saw the rocket.”

“We’d have been overtaken in the open. Here, at least, the innkeeper may protect us. They won’t dare to act before witnesses.”

Charles’s voice did not sound convincing and Luis saw that he was more worried than he wanted to show. He sat on the bed, closed his eyes and tried to stop his fear, while his tutor remained standing, grappling with a violent inner struggle. A little later, he seemed to have reached a decision, sat on the bed near Luis and put a hand on his shoulder. His other hand was inside his shirt, groping with something which seemed to have got stuck.

“You may be able to escape where I won’t. Those men must be well acquainted with my description, but not with yours. This must not fall into Bonaparte’s hands, so you must take care of it.”

While he spoke, he took an object from inside his clothes and showed it. It was golden, about one inch long, in the shape of a hand ladder, with two poles and four unevenly distributed echelons, separated by growing distances, more clustered at one side. After keeping it a few instants in sight, he closed his hand, disengaged from his throat the string linking the object and gave it to Luis, who received it without speaking.

“This is Jacob’s ladder.” Charles said solemnly. “I hope that you’ll keep it well.”

Luis wetted his lips, coughed slightly and said:

“Is this the amulet?”

“Some call it that, but I think it’s more.”

“What more?”

“I wish I had time to explain, but I must tell you something more important. If you escape, go on to Lisbon and try to find lady Borland, an English lady; she is my friend and will help you.”

“How do you know that she is in Lisbon?”

“What did you think I was doing these days, preparing for our flight? Don’t worry, she’s there.”

“But Lisbon is larger than Salamanca, how will I find her?”

“You’ll manage. Or maybe she’ll find you.”

“What must I do when I meet her?”

“Follow her instructions, she’ll keep you safe.”

“Does she know about Jacob’s ladder?”

“She knows that I’ve got something that Bonaparte covets, and will act to prevent its falling into his hands.”

Luis put the string carefully around his neck and hid Jacob’s ladder among his clothes.

“I’ll try to be worthy of your trust, although I mistrust myself,” he said. “I wish I were older.”

Charles smiled.

“That will come. Take this purse; it has money, enough to take you to Lisbon. Now you must leave. Get out of the room, go down the stairs and walk into the kitchen. With luck, they’ll think you are one of the servants. The innkeeper may help you. Use your judgment and take advantage of the opportunities when they come.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll wait for Gérard here. When he comes, which won’t be long, he won’t find the amulet. By then, you should be far. Let me hug you, Luis! Go. God be with you.”

Dawn had come. At the light of the rising sun, Luis saw tears in his tutor’s eyes, felt his own getting wet against his will, hugged Charles, opened the door and went out. The corridor was empty.

Trying to imitate the lazy way of walking of the servants of the inn, he went down the stairs and opened the first door he found, without looking at the watchers, who followed him with their eyes but did nothing to stop him. His ruse seemed to have worked.

In the kitchen he found the innkeeper, his wife and two of the servants, alarmed and worried. The former was telling the others that three men he had never met before had forbidden him to open the door of his own house. The back door was similarly watched by another man in the yard, who had not allowed him to get out. When Luis came in, the innkeeper recognized him as one of the travelers who had arrived the previous evening, and asked for explanations. Luis feigned ignorance and said that he and his companion had tried to leave early, but the men at the door hadn’t allowed them. The innkeeper cursed the strangers and said that the man in black had probably something to do with what was happening. Luis took advantage of the opportunity to ask who he was, but the answer was that he had arrived just one hour before them. It was the first time the innkeeper had seen him, and he had not given his name when he took a room for the night.

Suddenly they heard the gallop of many horses, which stopped before the house. The innkeeper and the servants ran to the dining-room, where the windows gave a good sight of the front, but Luis did not dare to show himself and remained in the kitchen. Soon later the newcomers entered the inn. As they were men in arms, the innkeeper had hoped to beg their protection against the bandits who had invaded his house, but when he saw them greeting as old friends, knew that they were all together, that their situation, rather than improving, was getting worse.

When the newcomers went in the dining-room, Luis recognized major Gérard, who was wearing the same uniform as when they met near the roman bridge in Salamanca. Careful not to be seen, he put his ear to the door, to listen what they would say. They were speaking French, obviously thinking that the innkeeper or the servants would not be able to understand.

“Bring the prisoner,” said Gérard.

One of the soldiers went out and came back with another person. For some time nobody spoke, then Gérard said:

“My friend, your ruse has been useless. We have overtaken them. Now you’ll pay for your treason.”

“The only traitor to France is Bonaparte,” said the prisoner. Luis recognized Pierre’s voice.

At that point, another person entered the room. When he spoke, Luis felt his hair stand on end. The voice was high and squeaky, like the noise produced by a finger rubbing a wet glass. Redoubling his precautions, he put one eye near the narrow separation between the door and the doorpost and saw the man in black, who had opened his lips for the first time.

“Major Gérard, I have fulfilled my part of the agreement. You have count Philippe. Now I hope you’ll fulfill yours.”

“As soon as Citizen Charles Houy gives me what I want, you will do whatever you like with the boy, Monsieur Blatsov, but not before. I need him, to make the count surrender Jacob’s ladder. He may not have it on himself, he may have hidden it somewhere, but if I threaten him with hurting the boy, he’ll give it to me.”

“I hope so. I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes if you try to deceive me.”

“Are you threatening me, Monsieur Blatsov? I have twenty men and you are alone!”

Blatsov’s laugh was sinister, totally devoid of joy.

“Alone?” he exclaimed. “Nikomakos backs me! Compared with him, your admired emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, is a dilettante.”

Gérard did not look impressed.

“I have never heard of this Nikomakos. Who is he? Where is he? His name looks Greek. Greece is a conquered country, Monsieur Blatsov, a part of the Turkish Empire. Your Nikomakos cannot even free his countrymen, and you would confront him with the best army in Europe?”

“When Nikomakos moves his armies, no one will be able to stop him, either Turkish or French.”

“We have stopped Czar Alexander’s army. Perhaps Nikomakos is better than the Russians. You should know, aren’t you a Russian?”

“Nikomakos’s army is irresistible, for his soldiers cannot die.”

Gérard pursed his mouth in a contemptuous smile.

“That would certainly be a wondrous secret weapon, if possible, which it isn’t. Every man must die.”

“A man who is not alive cannot die,” answered Blatsov. Luis shuddered.

“Don’t be an idiot,” protested Gérard. “Perhaps this Nikomakos is able to raise the dead?”

“I won’t say another word. I’ll wait until tonight, and then you’ll put the boy in my hands. Finish with him before the sunset. At that time, I will take him, with or without your consent.”

Turning around, he left the dining-room.

Interlude in the second echelon

“Have you heard what he said?”

“Who is this Nikomakos?”

“No, who is this Blatsov? He shouldn’t be there!”

“What about this tale of the army of zombies? Where did he get it from?”

“Things aren’t going as foreseen.”

“What’s happened?”

“Have we made a mistake with the experiment?”

“No, friends, we have taken all the possible precautions.”

“Then what is this?”

“Someone is trying to sabotage the experiment.”

“Who would do that? Who could do that?”

“We should wait and see. Nothing irreparable has happened yet.”

“That’s true. Let’s wait. We are still far from the bifurcation.”

“That’s what worries me. If this important discrepancy has been detected so long before the bifurcation, what may happen later?”

“We’ll see.”

“All right, we’ll see; but we must watch carefully. Remember what I said, this can be sabotage.”

“We’ll keep our eyes open and consider all the possibilities. Let’s keep watching.”