The Hunter’s Hall
The Hunter’s Hall
The strangers lead the party into a large, rude hall, partially lit by a blazing fire at its extremity, around which four men in hunter’s dress are seated, with several dogs stretched sleeping on the hearth and part of an animal boiling over the flames. The men rise as the Count approaches, the dogs regarding the strangers fiercely until quieted by their masters’ voices. The Count, smiling cheerfully, addresses the hunters, remarking on the reviving warmth of their hospitable fire and asking of their sport; the men reply with easy banter about their chace, joking that they have killed two izards and offering Blanche brandy from Barcelona. Blanche, timidly smiling, is encouraged by her father’s good-humoured acceptance and by St. Foix’s reassuring look, but her attention is caught by a man who sits silently by the fire, observing St. Foix with a steady and earnest eye. The hunters continue to boast of their pleasant, free life among the mountains, with one ordering Jacques to fetch a brace of birds hung in the stone gallery to be dressed for the guests.
CHAPTER XII
Chapter XII opens with the Count questioning the hunters about chase methods, then escalates through armed hunters’ arrival, the Count’s growing suspicion, and the party’s move to the stone gallery. Blanche is separated in a dark passage and overhears a banditti plot before being seized. She is forced to surrender her portrait miniature, after which distant noises herald an attack. St. Foix appears wounded, Blanche faints, and Ludovico tends the Chevalier. The Count reunites with Blanche, and Ludovico warns that more banditti are approaching, setting an urgent tone of escape and danger.
Hunters Return to the Fort
Hunters return to the fort as a horn sounds at the gate, with two men entering carrying guns, pistols, and a heavy knapsack. They greet the company in poor Spanish, surprised to find the Count’s French-speaking party present. The newcomer who holds the knapsack is described as a tall, robust figure with a hard countenance, short black hair curling at his neck, wearing a faded military uniform, sandals, short trousers, and a leather cap resembling a Roman helmet. His scowling brows suggest a barbarian conqueror rather than a disciplined soldier, immediately marking him as an unsettling presence among the hunters.
Count Questions Hunting Methods
The Count makes enquiries about how the chase is conducted among the rocks and precipices of the region, and listens with interest to a curious detail of their methods. Blanche glances timidly at her father, who continues conversing but whose face shows anxiety, repeatedly looking toward the gate. The horn sounds a second time followed by a loud halloo, prompting one of the men to rise lazily and announce that their companions are returning from the day’s labour.
Armed Hunters Arrive at the Gate
Two men appear at the gate, each armed with a gun over the shoulder and pistols in the belt. They exchange greetings with their companions, asking about their luck and whether they brought home supper. On perceiving the Count’s party, they demand to know in bad Spanish whether the strangers are from France or Spain and where they were met. A companion answers aloud in good French, explaining that the chevalier and his party had lost their way and asked for a night’s lodging. The newcomers make no reply but set down a knapsack and draw forth several brace of birds.
Count Notices Suspicious Soldier
The Count notices the knapsack landing heavily with a glitter of bright metal inside, and fixes a more enquiring look on the man holding it. The same man is later seen standing in an obscure part of the hall, gazing attentively at St. Foix, who is conversing with Blanche and unaware of the scrutiny. The Count then catches the same figure looking over the shoulder of a soldier, staring at himself. When the Count meets his eye, the man withdraws, and mistrust gathers in the Count’s mind, though he forces a smile and addresses Blanche on an indifferent subject. When he looks round again, the soldier and his companion are gone.
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