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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/6374.txt b/6374.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..40a4afc --- /dev/null +++ b/6374.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12865 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Princess Maritza, by Percy Brebner + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Princess Maritza + +Author: Percy Brebner + +Release Date: August, 2004 [EBook #6374] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on December 2, 2002] +[Date last updated: April 20, 2006] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, PRINCESS MARITZA *** + + + + +Joshua Hutchinson, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + +PRINCESS MARITZA + +[Illustration] + + + +PRINCESS MARITZA + +By PERCY BREBNER + +WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY + + + +To V. F. G. + + + +CONTENTS + + + +CHAPTER I.-PLAYING TRUANT + +CHAPTER II.-MONSIEUR DE FROILETTE + +CHAPTER III.-THE WOMAN IN THE SILK MASK + +CHAPTER IV.-THE COURT OF STURATZBERG + +CHAPTER V.-TWO VISITORS + +CHAPTER VI.-FRINA MAVRODIN'S GUEST + +CHAPTER VII.-THE TIME ARRIVES + +CHAPTER VIII.-THE IRON BRACELET + +CHAPTER IX.-THE DUEL + +CHAPTER X.-THE FOLLY OF A SOLDIER + +CHAPTER XI.-IN THE BOIS + +CHAPTER XII.-GRIGOSIE + +CHAPTER XIII.-THE CASTLE IN THE HILLS + +CHAPTER XIV.-THE TOKEN IS DELIVERED + +CHAPTER XV.-THE RACE FOR LIFE + +CHAPTER XVI.-THE TRAITOR + +CHAPTER XVII.-THE TRUE WORTH OF BARON PETRESCU + +CHAPTER XVIII.-SIX LOYAL MEN + +CHAPTER XIX.-IN DESPERATE STRAITS + +CHAPTER XX.-TREACHERY OR SACRIFICE + +CHAPTER XXI.-THE RESCUE + +CHAPTER XXII.-IN VASILICI'S STRONGHOLD + +CHAPTER XXIII.-THE TEMPTATION OF FRINA MAVRODIN + +CHAPTER XXIV.-HOW MARITZA ENTERED STURATZBERG + +CHAPTER XXV.-'TWIXT LOVE AND PITY + +CHAPTER XXVI.-REBELLION + +CHAPTER XXVII.-IN PURPLE AND RED AND GOLD + +CHAPTER XXVIII.-THE DIPLOMACY OF LORD CLOVERTON + +CHAPTER XXIX.-AFTER WAR--PEACE + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +PLAYING TRUANT + + + +A breezy morning after a night of rain. Fleecy clouds, some in massive +folds and fantastic shape, some in small half-transparent wisps like +sunlit ghosts, were driven rapidly across the blue. Hurrying shadows +flecked the swelling bosom of the downs, and where the grass was long +it rippled like a green sea, making rustling music. Overhead the larks +fluttering upward, ever-diminishing specks to the empyrean, carolled +their joyous song, and a thousand perfumes filled the air. It was a +morning to live in, to enjoy, to take into one's lungs in deep, +intoxicating draughts, until the sorrows of life and its cares were +forgotten; a morning that lent strong wings to ambition, filling the +future with hope and the promise of realized desires. + +Something of the aspect of the morning was reflected in the face of +the man who stoutly climbed the downs against the wind. He was above +the average height, but did not give the impression of being tall. His +frame was well knit and muscular; strength and power of endurance above +the common were evident in every movement; and there was a quiet +determination in his face which proclaimed him one of those who would +be likely to succeed in anything he undertook, no matter what dangers +and difficulties might stand in his path, one who would march straight +forward to his object even as he breasted the downs this morning. Most +men would have pronounced him handsome, judging, as men ever do, by +build and muscle; women might have hesitated to give an opinion in +spite of the well-cut, clean-shaven face, and the dark blue eyes which +never looked away from a person with whom their possessor talked. +Perhaps there was a want of sympathy in the face, a certain lack of +that gentle deference which so appeals to women in a man, that silent +recognition of the woman's power which is so pleasant to her. + +Desmond Ellerey had had little to do with women. He did not pretend +to understand them, and it had never occurred to him that there was +any reason why he should strive to do so. He had experienced pleasant +moments in their company, but one woman was pretty much the same as +another to him, and it is quite certain that no such thing as a faded +flower, or a glove, or love token of any kind held a place among his +treasures. No woman in the past had given him a single heart throb +which love lent a sense of pain to, and it seemed unlikely that any +woman would wish to do so now. For Desmond Ellerey was a man under a +cloud, a very black cloud, the gloom of which even this breezy morning +could not entirely dispel from his face. He had set himself to bear +his burden bravely, but the task was a heavy one. Surely those +straightforward blue eyes gave the lie to much that was said against +him? + +There were few hours in the day in which he did not brood over his +trouble, over the loss of his career which it involved, and as he +approached the top of the downs his eyes were bent upon the ground in +deep thought, while in his heart was fierce rebellion against the world +and his fellow men. + +He was suddenly startled by a sharp and shrill "Hallo!" and at the +same moment was aware of a straw hat racing past him a little to his +left. A run of a few yards enabled him to intercept it, and he grasped +it in his strong fingers, regardless of the flowers and ribbons upon +it. Then he turned to discover the owner. + +She was standing on the summit of the downs, her loose hair streaming +in the breeze. She did not come to meet him, but waited for him to go +to her. + +"I am afraid it is not improved," he said, handing her the hat. + +"I hardly expected it would be when I saw the way you dived for it," +she answered with a smile; "but thanks all the same. Had it got past +you, it would have been good-bye to it altogether. Isn't this a +morning?" + +"Very pleasant after the rain," he said. + +"Pleasant!" she cried. "Is that the best you can say for it? Pleasant! +Why it makes me feel that there is nothing in the world which is beyond +my power; no difficulty I could not fight and overcome; no danger I +could not despise and laugh at. My blood is full of the very fire I +of life, and I pant to do something-something unexpected, outrageous, +desperate. Don't you ever feel like that?" + +"Sometimes." + +"It is good to be a man," she went on. "He has the world before him, +with its high places waiting to be won. There is nothing out of his +reach, if he strive sufficiently, no honor he may not win to. Oh, I +wish I were a man!" + +There was a half-whimsical smile upon Ellerey's face, at her enthusiasm, +and in his eyes a look of admiration, which he could not conceal, at +her beauty. Her loose hair streaming in the wind was the color of +burnished copper, rich as a golden autumn tint in the glow of an evening +sun. Her eyes were dark, yet of a changeful color, as full of secrets +as a deep pool in the hollow of a wood, quiet, silent secrets which +presently, when the time came, a lover might seek to understand, yet +promising angry and tempestuous moods should storms happen. Her lips, +parted often as though she were waiting for someone with eager +expectation, revealed an even row of pearly teeth, and the pink flush +of health and beauty was in her cheeks. She was tall: with her hair +done up, would have passed for a woman already, Desmond thought; with +it down, and her frock to her boot-tops, she was still a girl, a +beautiful girl, a very pleasant picture to contemplate. + +"Being a man is not always such a grand thing as you suppose," Ellerey +said after a pause. + +"He has a freedom which a woman never has," the girl answered quickly. +"Oh, yes, women try, especially in this country, I know, but it is +never the same. She cannot be a statesman, she cannot be a soldier. +She cannot take her life by the throat, as it were, and win place and +power by the sheer force of a good right arm as a man can." + +"But she often succeeds in ruling the man after he has won place +and power," Ellerey answered. + +"That sort of conquest does not appeal to me." + +"Ah, but it will some day," he returned quickly, and then he half +regretted his words, remembering she was but a girl. + +She looked at him curiously for a moment, a smile upon her lips, yet +a little anger lurking in her eyes. + +"You think I am very young," she said. + +"Are you not?" + +"And very innocent, or ignorant, or whatever word you would use to +explain me." + +"You can hardly have probed life very deeply yet," said Ellerey. + +"Much deeper than you would imagine," she answered. "You are not so +very wise and old yourself, are you?" + +"Indeed, no; I fancy I am more of a fool than anything else," he +laughed. + +"You should not let yourself think that," she said gravely. "To think +highly of one's powers is half-way to success. That sounds as if I had +stolen something from a copy-book, doesn't it? But no, I am speaking +from experience. Why do you laugh? Some of us have to touch life's +hardships early." + +"You do not show the marks of such experience," said Ellerey, hardly +knowing whether to treat her seriously or not. + +"No, but I might, were I conscious of what is before me. I am not as +other girls. There is a destiny I have to struggle towards, an end I +must win. It was born into, handed down in my blood through generations +of men of action. The ambition of those generations of men beats to-day +in the heart of a woman. It is a pity, but I shall win, or die +fighting." + +"At least the spirit in you deserves success." + +"Come a little this way," she said, touching his arm, and then she +pointed down into the valley below them. "Do you see that building +yonder, white among the trees, with a point of conical roof at the end +of it?" + +"Yes." + +"Do you know what it is?" + +"No." + +"By this time they are hunting for me all over that place down there. +I heard the bell ring half an hour ago. That's a school, a big, +expensive, fashionable school, where they teach young ladies how to +behave properly, how to grow up to rule those fighting men we were +speaking of, how to fit themselves to be their wives, and in due time +the mothers of their children--in short, how to fulfil their destiny, +woman's destiny. They are trying to teach me." + +"You? Then--" + +"Yes, I'm one of the girls there, and I've played truant, and--yes, +I think I shall go back presently, when I have taken my fill of freedom +and this glorious morning." + +"And will get punished, I am afraid," said Ellerey. + +"Perhaps; but it will not be very heavy punishment. It is strange, but +they rather like me there, in spite of everything." + +"I do not think that is strange at all." + +"No, you wouldn't; you're a man," she answered quickly, "and men are +weak where attractive women are concerned, all the world over." + +Such a declaration coming from a truant schoolgirl somewhat startled +Ellerey, and yet, as he looked at her, he was more conscious of the +woman than the girl. + +"Oh, yes, I know I am attractive," she went on, and there was no +deepening of the color in her face as she said it. "I am glad that it +is so. My looks will help me when the work of my life begins in earnest, +when I have played the truant from school for the last time, and do +not go back." + +"Then you intend to run away eventually?" + +"Yes, unless another way should seem better. That shocks you. I often +shock them down at the white house yonder, and they excuse me because +I am a foreigner. You English are so polite. You do not seem to expect +foreigners to know how to behave, and you make excuses for them. It +is very funny. It makes me laugh," and she laughed so merrily that her +former gravity seemed more unnatural. + +"You speak English perfectly. I should not have taken you for a +foreigner," said Ellerey. + +"And French, and German, and my own tongue, I speak them all perfectly. +I have lived in all these countries. It was necessary." + +"And you do not like England nor Englishmen?" + +"I have not said so," she answered; "but here in England I am being +taken care of, kept out of mischief, and sometimes I feel like a +prisoner. It is only that which makes me dislike England. Of Englishmen +I know little, but I have read about them, and they have done some +good, brave deeds. They are, perhaps, just a little conceited with +themselves, don't you think? There is no one quite like an Englishman +it would seem." + +"There are all sorts, good and bad," said Ellerey carelessly. "At the +best he wants a lot of beating; at the worst, well, he wants a lot of +beating that way, too. How is it you feel like a prisoner?" + +The girl drew herself up to her full height. There was something haughty +in her demeanor, occasioned, perhaps, by the careless way in which he +asked the question. She felt that he was treating her rather like a +spoilt child, while she felt herself a determined woman. + +"In my own country I am a princess," she said. + +"Indeed?" + +"You do not believe me?" + +"Why not? You look every inch a princess," he answered. + +"It is so like a man to say what he thinks will please," she returned +with a flash in her eyes. "You do not believe me, but you are afraid +to say so. Go down there and ask them." + +"I do not disbelieve you," said Ellerey quietly. + +The girl relented in a moment. + +"We should be very good friends, you and I, if we knew each other. You +have ambition. I can see it in your face." + +"I had, Princess." + +"Hush, no one calls me that here. Why do you say you had ambition?" + +"You would not understand." + +"Try me and see," she said, standing close beside him as though to +measure her strength against his for a moment. "You may trust me. I +would trust you anywhere, in peace or war." + +Ellerey looked at her curiously for an instant, with a sudden desire +to take her into his confidence. Then he shook his head slowly. It was +pleasant to hear such faith expressed in him, and he was unwilling to +destroy the faith of this fair woman. Altogether a woman she seemed +to him just then. + +"You will not. Never mind, perhaps one day you will. Only never speak +of ambition as something past. That is weak and unmanly." + +"Upon my honor, you do me good," Ellerey exclaimed. + +"And you me," she answered eagerly. "To look at you makes me feel +strong. It is good when a man makes a woman feel like that. I am a +woman, although I am still at school. There is southern blood in me, +and we become women earlier than English girls do. Listen! There are +England, and France, and Germany, and Austria, and Russia all interested +in me, and nothing would please them all so much as my death. As it +is, I am a difficulty in all their politics. They would like me to +forget who, and what, I am. They would marry me to some nobleman of +no importance, if they could, just to keep me quiet." + +"And you will not be quiet." + +"No. Why should I be? Would you? In my country a usurper is upon the +throne, kept there, held there, like a child who would fall but for +its nurse's arms, by all the Powers of Europe. It is I who should be +there. It is I who will be there one day. Shall I tell you? There are +hundreds, thousands, of men who are ready to strike in my cause when +the time is ripe. Even now there is a statesman working to set these +countries at cross purposes with one another, and when they quarrel, +then is my opportunity. You shall see. That is why I said I would be +a man if I could. It would be so much easier for a man, but as it is, +a woman shall do it." + +"I hope you may. You deserve to." + +"But you doubt it?" she said. + +"There seem to be heavy odds against you." + +"That helps me. It stirs up the best that is in me. It is good to have +something to struggle for, something to win, and if I may not win, I +hope to fall in the press of the fight, and, to the loud funeral music +of clashing steel, find the death of a soldier. What is your name?" + +"Desmond Ellerey." + +"It is an easy name to remember. Well, Desmond Ellerey, if your ambition +finds no outlet in England, come to my country, to the city of +Sturatzberg, and claim friendship with Princess Maritza. She shall +find you work for your good right arm." + +She walked away from him as though she had bestowed a great favor, +never looking back. She went in the opposite direction to the school, +her truant spirit not yet satisfied, and Ellerey watched her until he +lost sight of the tall, graceful figure in a fold of the downs. Then +he turned and went slowly back the way he had come. + +Desmond Ellerey had declared that she had done him good. It was true. +Although he walked slowly, his spirit was stirred within him, and his +blood ran with something of its old vigor. Faced by a thousand +difficulties, this girl had the courage to look upon them bravely, and +to believe in her power to overcome them. That was her secret, the +belief in her own power. He had faced his difficulties bravely enough, +but he had not had the courage to hope; therein lay his weakness, and +this girl, this princess, had shown it to him. He had allowed himself +to drift into a backwater; it was time he pulled out into the stream +again, and fought his way back to his rightful place, inch by inch, +against whatever tide might run. + +For some little time he had been staying with Sir Charles and Lady +Martin, two people who had looked into his eyes when he had denied the +charges brought against him, and had believed him. + +As he crossed the lawn toward the house he met his host. + +"I have had an adventure, Charles; I have met a princess." + +"There are some pretty rustic maidens in the village. I have been +struck with their beauty myself." + +"I mean a real Princess; at least, she said so," Desmond answered. +"She was playing truant from school, a large white house, on the other +side of the downs." + +"Do you mean a tall, red-headed girl?" asked Sir Charles. + +"Have you seen her?" Desmond asked. + +"No, but I know all about her." + +"Ah, I thought you couldn't have seen her, or you wouldn't describe +her as a tall, red-headed girl. She's the most beautiful woman I ever +saw. She spoke the truth, then; she is a Princess?" + +"Oh, yes, but the sooner she forgets the fact the better for her and +for--for everybody. She is the descendant of a line of rulers chiefly +remarkable for their inability to rule, and her chance of ascending +the throne of her fathers is absolutely _nil_, fortunately for Europe. +You are not a student of contemporary history, Desmond, or you would +know something about Wallaria and its exiled Princess." + +"I am not a diplomat, but a soldier--at least, I was," Desmond answered. +"Still, I should like to improve my knowledge." + +"That is easily managed," said Sir Charles. "If you come into the +library I can find you a heap of literature concerning this little +wasps' nest of a state, and when you have mastered the position, thank +your natal stars that you were not born to take a hand in ruling it. +It is a menace to Europe, Desmond, that's the truth of the matter. +Wallaria may at any time be the cause of a European war. If this +Princess of yours had her way, that time would not be long in coming." + +For the remainder of the day Desmond Ellerey filled a corner of the +library with tobacco smoke, and his head with a thousand details +concerning Wallaria. When he went to dress for dinner he felt that he +had been reading an absorbing romance, and blessed the good fortune +which had brought about the meeting on the downs. + +"Helen and I have been talking about you, Desmond," said Sir Charles +after dinner. + +"Not revising your opinion of me, I hope." + +"No," said Lady Martin, "but thinking of your future. Why not travel +for a little while, Desmond; for a year or so? It will give time for +the truth to leak out. It will leak out, you know, even as a lie does." + +"I have made up my mind to go abroad," said Desmond quietly. "I shall +clear out of England before the month is over. It has been awfully +good of you both to have me here at a time when most of my friends +found it convenient to forget me. I shall not come back until the men +who were so ready to accuse me have eaten their words and the country +so ready to dispense with my services asks for them again." + +"That will come in time," said Lady Martin. + +"I am glad to hear your determination," said Sir Charles. "Where are +you going?" + +"To Wallaria." + +"Wallaria!" + +"Why not? It seems there is room for a soldier there." + +Sir Charles looked grave. + +"But, Desmond, supposing--" + +"I know what you would say," returned Ellerey quickly. "Supposing +Englishmen should have to fight against Wallaria, and I should have +to carry arms against my country; well, with whom does the fault lie, +with England or with me? England has dispensed with my services, +believing a lie; she drives me from her, and makes me a renegade. What +allegiance do I owe to England? I will offer my sword to Wallaria, and +if she will have it, by Heaven, she shall." + +Lady Martin put her hand upon his shoulder, pressed it in kindly +sympathy for a moment, and then left the room. + +"Sleep on it, Desmond, you will think better of it in the morning," said +Sir Charles. + +"You have been very good to me, both of you," said Ellerey, turning +round suddenly when Lady Martin had gone. "I can never thank you enough. +It seems poor gratitude to pain you now. Such a contingency as we +imagine will probably never arise, but I have decided to go." + +"The Princess has bewitched you." + +"Nonsense. Am I not offering my sword to the usurper, her enemy? My +ambitions have been nipped like a tree in the budding here, and I see +a new outlet for my energies yonder, that is all. My own country +despises me. I hope for better things from the country of my adoption." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MONSIEUR DE FROILETTE + + + +At a turn of the road which had been deserted for some two hours past, +a man suddenly reined in his horse to a walking pace. He had ridden +far, for his dress was dusty, and the animal showed signs of fatigue. +The evening was stormy-looking, and there was a bite in the wind +blowing from the higher lands to the plain. + +The road ran, with many a twist and turn, between dense woods on one +side, and rugged waste ground, with tangled patches of undergrowth, +on the other. Here and there a clearing had been made in the woods, +and a rough dwelling erected, but they were apparently deserted; there +were no signs of life about them this evening. The man rode easily, +yet with constant watchfulness. The times were unsettled and dangerous, +and the slightest unfamiliar sound instantly attracted his attention. +He was accustomed to be on the alert, and whatever thoughts held sway +behind his gloomy looks, they were not sufficiently absorbing to render +him careless for a moment. + +Suddenly he pulled his horse to a standstill, turning sharply in his +saddle to look back upon the way he had come. Then he examined his +holster, and, moving his horse to a position which gave him a better +command of the road, sat quietly waiting. + +The sound which had attracted his attention grew rapidly nearer, and +presently three riders came round the bend at a gallop, one some paces +in advance of his companions. He pulled up short, seeing the motionless +horseman by the roadside, scenting danger and ready for it; but the +next moment he raised his hat with pronounced courtesy, and bowed low +in his saddle. + +"Pardon, monsieur," he said, "but one sees a possible enemy in so +unexpected an encounter." + +"Unexpected, monsieur?" + +"I said so. May I add fortunate, too?" + +"Such enemies as you suggest seldom stand singly," was the rather +ungracious answer. + +"And in these times wise men seldom ride alone, monsieur," came the +quick retort. "I travel with an escort myself, you see, Captain Ellerey. +I do not make a mistake, I think; you are Captain Ellerey of his +Majesty's Regiment of Chasseurs?" + +"That is my name." + +"And you are returning to Sturatzberg? Good! We can proceed together," +and without waiting for an assent to this arrangement, he ordered his +servants to go forward, and watched them until they had disappeared. +"Now, monsieur, we may go forward at our leisure." + +"I have not the honor of--" + +"My name. Ah, it is of small consequence. Jules de Froilette, at your +service. It is unknown to you?" + +"I think so, but your face seems familiar," said Ellerey, as they went +on together. + +"Ah, yes. I go to Court sometimes." + +"And I but seldom, monsieur." + +"Then you may have seen me in the streets of Sturatzberg. I know the +city well, and have nothing to hide. I have interests in this country, +let us say, in timber; it is the answer I give when I am questioned, +for no one respects a lazy man. A voluntary exile from my country, I +have no quarrel with France, nor she with me. In these days men are +become cosmopolitan, is it not so?" + +"It looks like it in Sturatzberg," Ellerey replied. + +"Monsieur is also an exile, and has no quarrel with his motherland?" + +"At least I do not speak of it, Monsieur De Froilette." + +"Pardon me, I am not inquisitive. You crave for excitement, so come to +Sturatzberg. The promise of adventure will ever attract men of spirit +and--" + +"And the failures at home," suggested Ellerey. + +"I was going to say men of courage," De Froilette answered, "but the +failures come, too, and succeed--sometimes." + +"You are as doubtful of the reward as I am," said Ellerey, laughing. + +De Froilette did not join in his merriment. + +"A Captain of Horse is not to be despised," he said slowly, glancing +furtively at his companion. + +"True, but he remains a Captain of Horse. I expected rapid events in +this country, and quick promotion for those who came out of the struggle +with their lives. Instead, we have an expedition against some brigands' +fastness, which is deserted when we arrive, or a troop to quell a petty +riot which has fizzled out when we get there, and that is all." + +"And monsieur thirsts for more; the desperate encounter and the bloody +sword; for high place and Court favor." + +"Is it too great an ambition?" Ellerey demanded. "Do we not all from +the bottom rung of the ladder look eagerly toward the top--the student +to the masters of his profession, the apprentice to the seat of his +employer? Why should not a soldier look for high favor at Court?" + +"Such favor must be won, Captain Ellerey." + +"I am willing to win it." + +"Patience. You shall not always find those fastnesses deserted, those +riots quelled when you arrive. This is the waiting time, the preparing +time, and there are difficulties in the way of promotion. Let me ask +you, are you loved in your regiment?" + +"Neither loved nor hated." + +"And in the city?" + +"I have few friends. A Captain of Horse does not command them." + +"That is not the reason. It is because you are a foreigner," De +Froilette answered. "You are welcome to fight this country's battles, +welcome to get killed in them, but you must not participate in any +rewards. If Sturatzberg could do without us, how many foreigners would +wake tomorrow in the city, think you?" + +"All Europe has talked of such a rebellion, but it does not come," +said Ellerey. + +"It will," was the answer, "and if you are strong enough you may take +the reward." + +"You speak in riddles." + +"Is it wise to speak plainly?" and De Froilette swept out his arm as +though the prospect before them gave the answer. They had left the +woods and the rough country behind them, and were approaching houses, +for Sturatzberg had grown and spread itself beyond its walls. In the +distance the lights of the city blinked under the dome of growing +darkness, while to the right a long line of light marked the citadel +and the palace of the King. + +"There are ever-watchful eyes, ever-waking ears about us, looking and +listening for treachery," De Froilette went on. "Every man suspects +his neighbor, and has fingers ready for the knife handle. Yonder in +the citadel, amid the laughter and the music, a dozen plots will creep +forward a space before the dawn. Does monsieur, the Captain, long to +play a part in the intrigues there?" + +"Yes, so that it is honest." + +"Monsieur must decide. We part here, it is better so. Come to me +to-night, at the Altstrasse, 12, at ten o'clock. We can talk further. +Until then, _au revoir_" and De Froilette put his horse into a canter, +leaving Ellerey to pursue his way alone. + +Entering the city by the eastern gate, Ellerey crossed the Konigplatz +at walking pace on his way to his lodging by the Western Gate. They +were a pleasure-loving people in Sturatzberg, working as little as +possible, and spending without a thought of the morrow. The cafes were +full to-night, the laughter sounded genuine enough, and there was +little indication of the coming storm of revolution so confidently +predicted by De Froilette. Ellerey's mind was busy with the events of +the afternoon. For two years he had been in Sturatzberg, ready to seize +the opportunity of distinguishing himself whenever it arose. It had +not come yet. His life had been passed on a dead level of inactivity, +and the stirring times he had hoped for seemed as far away as ever. +Many a time had his thoughts gone back to that breezy morning on the +downs, and he devoutly wished that Princess Maritza would come to +Sturatzberg, so that he might go to her, claim friendship with her, +and ask for that work for his good right arm which she had promised +to give. Who was this De Froilette, and why should he take an interest +in him or wish to help him? For such favors there was always a price +to be paid in some form or other. Would it be wise to go to the +Altstrasse? And another question came to him, a question that set his +pulse beating faster for a moment. Was this De Froilette an emissary +of the Princess Maritza? Might she not be in Sturatzberg now? Might +he not see her to-night? "I would risk anything for that," he said, +as he swung himself from the saddle, "and whatever the adventure is, +so that it has a spice of danger in it, it is welcome. I shall know +how to take care of myself if the price asked be too heavy." + +A big, bearded man came forward to take the horse, and the manner in +which he drew the back of his hand across his mouth suggested that he +had left the tankard hastily. + +"Has anyone inquired for me, Stefan?" + +"No, Captain, I have been undisturbed until now," the man answered in +a deep voice well suited to his frame, as he led the horse away. Knowing +his soldier-servant's weakness and his capacity for indulging in it +with impunity, Ellerey wondered how long a time he would require +undisturbed before signs of his potations showed themselves. Drink +heavily he certainly did, but since he never exhibited any ill effects +from it, at night or morning, it would have been unjust to call him +a drunkard. + +The Altstrasse was of the old town, a narrow thoroughfare of gaunt +houses which now sheltered a dozen families in rooms where the wealthy +had once lived, and in which Ministers and Ambassadors had entertained +the wit, beauty, and bravery of nations. These glories had departed +to the palatial buildings which had grown up round the citadel, leaving +the Altstrasse as misfortune may leave a gentleman, the marks of +breeding evident though he be clad in rusty garments. Over the doorways, +through which tatterdemalions, men, women, and children, flocked in and +out, were handsome carvings, deep-cut crests and coats-of-arms; ragged +garments were hung to dry over handsome balustrades and +wrought-iron railings; while in the rough and broken roadway garbage, +cast there days since, lay rotting where it had fallen. Poverty had +seized upon the place, flaunting poverty, seeking no concealment. +Ellerey had passed through the Altstrasse before to-night, but the +surroundings had had no particular interest for him then. Now they +arrested his attention. What plots might not have birth and grow to +dangerous maturity in such surroundings, among such people as these? +The rabble had overrun these deserted mansions; might it not one day +hammer at the doors of the palaces by the citadel yonder with demands +not to be gainsaid? What manner of man was this De Froilette, what +ends had he in view, that he should live in such a place? + +Number 12 looked as faded as its neighbors, showed even fewer lights +in its windows, and, except that no small crowd hung about the closed +door, was no whit more attractive than ever. Ellerey's summons was +answered immediately, however, and he entered a large bare stone hall, +the dim light which hung in the centre disclosing many fast-closed +doors on either side. + +"Monsieur is expected," said the man deferentially, leading the way +down a stone passage and up a flight of stairs to a landing +corresponding with the hall below. But how different! Here was luxury. +A deep carpet deadened the footfall, rich curtains hung over windows +and doorways, and ancient arms were upon the walls. Ellerey had little +time to appreciate more than the general effect, for the man, drawing +back a heavy curtain, opened a door, and without making any announcement +stood aside for him to enter. + +"Welcome, mon ami, welcome," said De Froilette, coming forward to meet +him. "Confidences are easier here than on the highway." + +The room was perfect, the abode of a man of taste with the means to +gratify it to the full. It was costly and unique, a collector's room, +discriminately arranged, and the owner, motioning his guest to a chair, +was worthy of his surroundings. In the afternoon he had been muffled +in a cloak, and Ellerey had noticed little of his appearance beyond +the fact that his eyes were dark and restless. Now he saw a man courtly +and distinguished in a manner, with a clever, earnest face, at once +attractive and inviting confidence. His hair, cut short, and his beard +trimmed to a fine point, were black with a few streaks of white in +them, but his face was young looking, the lines few and faint. His +fifty years sat lightly upon him. One would have judged him a student, +or a traveller, rather than a politician, or a man fighting life +strenuously. + +"My surroundings surprise you?" he said, with a smile. + +"Such things are hardly looked for in the Altstrasse," Ellerey answered. + +"They are a part of myself, Captain Ellerey, but I wish to remain in +privacy. Your elect of the city do not naturally visit in the +Altstrasse, and I have rooms below bare enough to impress uninteresting +people with the fact that I am a poor sort of fellow, and likely to +be an unprofitable acquaintance. For my friends--well, you see, I have +other apartments." + +"I thank you for the preference shown me," said Ellerey, with a bow. + +"And since we parted have been speculating on the reason, is it not +so?" + +"Naturally." + +"I think I can help you; I believe you can assist me. There is the +position in a nutshell. I am honest. I make no pretence of liking +unprofitable friends myself. But we will talk afterward, monsieur," +he added, as a servant announced supper, and De Froilette led the way +into an adjoining room. The meal was faultlessly served at a round +table lighted by candles in quaint silver candlesticks. Although not +exactly an epicure, De Froilette understood a supper of this description +as perhaps only a Frenchman can, and his taste in wines was excellent. +He led the conversation into general topics, talked of Paris and London +with equal ease and knowledge, and of Berlin, Vienna, and St. Petersburg +only a little less intimately. + +"I have said I am cosmopolitan," he explained. "After all, it is the +greatest nationality to which a man can belong. Coffee in the library, +Francois." + +De Froilette ushered his guest into another room, which from floor to +ceiling was lined with books--books on all subjects and in many +languages. A huge writing-table, littered with letters and foreign +newspapers, occupied the centre of the apartment, which was evidently +a working room, though luxurious in all its appointments. De Froilette +did not speak until the servant had placed the coffee on a side table +and had left the room, when he turned suddenly toward Ellerey. + +"I followed you to-day, monsieur; it was not a chance meeting." + +"I am not surprised," said Ellery. "Twice before you overtook me I +heard the sound of galloping horses, and was prepared for an enemy." + +"And instead, behold a friend," De Froilette laughed, pushing a silver +box of cigarettes across the table. "You must bear with me if I am +prosy for a time. I can promise you that the end of the story is better +than the beginning." + +Ellerey settled himself to listen attentively. + +"The history of this country, monsieur, is composed, as it were, of +the rough ends and edges of the histories of other countries. Every +crisis in Europe causes trouble of some kind here, and first one family +and then another have become paramount in Sturatzberg. All the Powers +have recognized one fact, however, that Wallaria must be kept inviolate; +so it is that this is an independent kingdom to-day. The position is +unique, and gives the King, within his own realm, a power more +autocratic than the Czar's should he care to use it, since he has only +to play off one great Power against another to preserve himself from +attack. You follow me?" + +Ellerey murmured an assent, wondering what this recital was to lead to. + +"It is clear that his Majesty does not use this power," De Froilette +went on. "He may be timid, he may lack ambition, we will speak no +treachery; but in times past there have been ambitious monarchs, and +still little has happened. Why? Because, monsieur, recognizing that +this country is one of the chief factors in preserving the peace of +Europe, the nations have sent the ablest men they possess as their +Ambassadors to Sturatzberg. Your British Minister is a case in point. +The result is that to the present time no monarch has risen with courage +enough, allied to sufficient political acumen, to take his own course, +carry it to success. Have you ever realized, monsieur, that Sturatzberg +might play with the nations of Europe as a gambler plays his hand of +cards?" + +"I am no diplomatist," Ellerey answered. + +De Froilette shrugged his shoulders as though the point were immaterial +to him, and went on: + +"To all appearance, the facts are to-day as they have always been, +with one great and important exception--the people. The people are +awaking to the sensation that they are ruled and oppressed, for so +they consider it, by foreigners. They have had secretly preached to +them, and they understand, what possibilities there are; and a wave +of national enthusiasm is silently stealing through the length and +breadth of the land. The bolder spirits have already declared against +law and order, as it exists, by flying to the hills and associating +themselves with the brigands there. The forces under the outlaw +Vasilici, I am told, increase daily. You have heard of him, Captain +Ellerey?" + +"And have tried to find him," Ellerey answered, with a smile. "But his +fastness in the mountains was always deserted when we got there." + +"Some day it will not be. A leader worthy of the cause will be found. +The people will remember that there are others with an equal, or better, +right to the throne than his Majesty, and then you will have the +revolution." + +"I presume, monsieur, the leader is found, and only awaits the +opportunity?" said Ellerey. + +"You are right, Captain, she is found," De Froilette answered slowly. + +"A woman!" Ellerey exclaimed, and he felt the color flush to his face +as he spoke. He forgot for a moment that his sword was pledged to the +King. His thoughts went back to that breezy morning on the downs, and +the tall, straight girl with her bright hair streaming in the wind. + +De Froilette laughed. + +"A woman, Captain Ellerey, who destines you for high service. Let her +plead for herself," and as he spoke he opened the door, and stood aside +with bowed head. + +A woman entered. Tall she was, and of imperial mien. Diamonds glistened +in the coils of her raven hair. Her face was beautiful, her smiling +lips and deep, soft eyes, full of sympathy and tenderness, seemed +incapable of any stern expression of anger. A woman born to rule, born +to lead, but not the woman Ellerey had expected to see. + +It was the Queen, and Ellerey bowed low before her. + +"You have not been unnoticed by us, Captain Ellerey," she said in a +low voice, "and we would have you more constantly at Court." + +"I shall obey your Majesty," Ellerey answered. + +"There are stirring times at hand," she went on; "times in which men +may strive and win. His majesty, the King, is fettered, politically +bound, by conflicting interests, watched, carefully nursed by this +Power and by that. He is unable to move as his people would have him. +It is for me to act for him in this matter, secretly until the appointed +hour strikes. Remember, Captain Ellerey, I am Queen as his Majesty is +King, with equal rights, not as consort merely. Your sword is pledged +to me as to the King. Therefore I can demand your service. I prefer +to ask it." + +"Your Majesty is gracious." + +"It will be secret service, for the present secret even from the King. +I may require it to-morrow, a week hence, or it may be in a month's +time. I cannot tell. It is perilous service, but that will not deter +Captain Desmond Ellerey. May I claim your full and perfect allegiance?" + +"I hold myself entirely at your Majesty's disposal." + +"You shall not find me ungrateful," she said, giving him her hand. +"Choose you a dozen stout men on whom you can rely. Good pay you may +promise them. Have them in readiness to set out at an hour's notice. +Then wait and watch. We shall call you into private audience on some +occasion, either personally or by Monsieur De Froilette, and now that +we have found the man, may the time be quick in coming." + +There was delicate flattery in her words and manner, yet withal perfect +consciousness of her own power, the power that beauty gives. Ellerey +felt the magic of her influence, and his eyes looked unflinchingly +into hers for a moment; the woman in her understood what manner of man +he was in whom she trusted. "If I read you aright, Captain Ellerey," +she said, with a radiant smile, "it is not your nature to be frivolous, +to catch pleasure as it flies and play with it while the bubble lasts; +yet must you school yourself to do so. The light-hearted cavalier and +careless lover will not be suspected of any deep design, and it would +be well that that should seem your character at Court. More easily +will you keep the nearer to our person, for love of pleasure and the +gratification of the moment is thought to be our end and aim also. +Even his Majesty is deceived in this, and knows not that under the +surface we are working night and day in his cause. Monsieur De Froilette +shall see to it that you have ample opportunity to be merry, and I +promise you active, hazardous service, work after your own heart, in +the near future." + +"In the one as in the other, I shall hope to win your Majesty's +approval," Ellerey answered. + +The Queen turned, and retired as quickly as she had come. De Froilette +bowed low as she passed out, but exchanged no word with her, nor did +he attempt to follow her. Her coming and her going had evidently been +prearranged for Ellerey's benefit. + +"I surprise you for the second time to-night," said De Froilette, as +he closed the door. + +"Yes, I expected another woman--Princess Maritza." + +De Froilette started at the name, and looked keenly at his companion. +For an instant he showed surprise, perhaps annoyance, but he was quickly +himself again, and asked quietly: + +"What do you know of the Princess Maritza?" + +"I have studied something of the history of this country in my leisure, +monsieur, that is all; and I fancied you might be interested yourself +in the fortunes of the exile. You spoke of others with an equal or +better right than his Majesty." + +"I was thinking of the Queen. The Princess is impossible. Her fathers +sat upon the throne, it is true, and by their misplaced ambition and +folly not only lost the support of every foreign Power, but alienated +the love of the people besides. Her father barely escaped assassination. +The Princess is known to me, as her father was. At present she is in +England." + +"Does she make no claim for herself?" + +"She might were the throne vacant, but she could not succeed. The +people would never accept her. In two days will you do me the honor +of accompanying me to Court, as her Majesty desires?" + +"The honor will be mine. I thank you for bringing me into notice," +Ellerey answered. + +"I will come for you at your lodging," said De Froilette, and then a +servant entered, apparently without being summoned, and in silence +conducted Ellerey to the bare hall again. All the doors were fast +closed as before, but the air seemed to vibrate with life and the +silence to be ready to break into a hoarse roar of voices at a moment's +notice. Yet only in a window here and there was there a dim light when +Ellerey looked up at the gloomy house as he stood alone in the +Altstrasse. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE WOMAN IN THE SILK MASK + + + +Once alone, there were many questions which Ellerey regretted he had +not put to his host, and some misgivings arose in his mind whether he +had not been led to promise service which might be contrary to the +oath which he had taken to the King. The scheme to enlist his help had +evidently been carefully considered and prepared, with the result that +he had pledged himself to some hazardous task of the nature of which +he was entirely ignorant. Not a clue had been given him, and were he +desirous of turning traitor, he realized that it was not within his +power to do so. Not a word of information could he speak, and who would +believe that alone, and apparently unattended, the Queen had visited +the Altstrasse at midnight? That she had done so for the purpose of +speaking to him proved to Ellerey that her need for him was urgent; +that she had explained nothing pointed to the fact that she was not +inclined to trust him fully at present. + +"I judge there is work for my sword," he said, as he drew his cloak +closer round him. "It would seem there is employment for my wits also. +At least, I have my wish: a part to play which holds possibilities. +A Queen, a designing Frenchman, and an ambitious Captain of Horse, who +may be a fool. Well, the drama may prove exciting. We shall see!" + +Desmond Ellerey was, after all, an adventurer, of the better sort, +perhaps; driven to the life by force of circumstances--yet still an +adventurer. His position proclaimed him one. He looked for reward from +the country which had purchased his sword, and had no inclination to +fritter away his chances of espousing any cause but the winning one. +At the same time he was an Englishman: a birth privilege carrying with +it weighty responsibilities, which he could not away with as easily +as he had cast aside his country. There were few ties to bind him to +England. He had become that unenviable member of a family--the black +sheep. He had run deeply into debt; a fact that had grievously told +against him when he had to face the accusations which had ruined his +career. In withdrawing from England he had probably left only two +friends, Sir Charles and Lady Martin, who would ever trouble to send +a kindly thought after him. His going had aroused the keenest +satisfaction in the breast of his brother, Sir Ralph Ellerey, tenth +baronet of the name, who was quite ready to believe the very worst +that was said of Desmond, remarking that it was little more than he +expected. Sir Ralph's cast of mind was perhaps narrow and ungenerous, +but, since the sympathy so usually shown to the open-handed spendthrift +was not forthcoming in this case, it must be assumed that popular +opinion condemned Desmond Ellerey, and sympathized with Sir Ralph. It +had been easy, therefore, for Desmond to become a stranger to his +native land; it was impossible for him to forget that he was an +Englishman: that a peculiar code of honor was demanded of him by the +fact. + +The Altstrasse was deserted as he passed through it; the lights were +out in most of the houses, and silence was over the whole city. The +sky was black with clouds, giving promise of heavy rain before morning +if the wind dropped. Ellerey walked quickly, his ears alert, and his +eyes keenly searching every shadow on either side of him. Attacks in +the street for the purpose of plunder were of too general occurrence +to make a lonely walk in Sturatzberg safe or desirable at night, and +in this quarter of the city help would be slow in coming. + +As he turned out of the Altstrasse, a woman, coming hastily in the +opposite direction, ran against him, and, with a faint cry, started +back in fear. A cloak was gathered tightly round her, showing nothing +of her dress and little of her figure, and the hood of it was pulled +so low down that little of her face was visible. + +"Help, monsieur!" she cried, striving for breath, which came in +spasmodic pants after her running. "Help, monsieur, if you be a man!" + +"How can I serve you?" + +"Ah, a soldier!" she cried, seeing the cloak he wore. "Quick! There +is no time to delay. While we speak, murder is being done." + +"Where?" + +"Come. It is a house yonder. Are you armed? Ah, but they are cowards, +and only attack defenceless women!" And she plucked him by the arm to +compel him to follow her. She did not appeal in vain. + +"Show me," Ellerey said, and taking her hand, that he might help her +pace, he ran with her, their footsteps resounding along the silent +street. + +As they ran, he tried to get a better view of her face, but in vain. +He noticed that her cloak, which flapped outward with every step she +took, revealed a rich white skirt beneath, and there was the rustle +of silk. She kept up bravely with him, seeming to gain new courage in +his company. She led him round two corners, across a dark square, and +to the open door of a house in a small street beyond. "Quick! They are +within. Straight up the stairs to the first floor." + +Ellerey released his hold of the girl; indeed, she pulled her hand +away that she might not detain him from dashing to the rescue, and, +as he touched the stairs, he heard the door close with a loud +reverberating slam behind him. + +"Quickly!" she cried after him. + +The house was dark and quiet, doubly quiet it seemed now that the door +had closed. Not a sound came from the rooms above, as Ellerey went up +the stairs. If murder were here to-night, he had surely come too late. + +He had reached the top of the stairs, had stretched out his hand to +feel his way by the wall, and had paused to listen for a sound or to +discern a glimmer of light to guide him, when suddenly the air about +him seemed to break into life, and before he had time to turn and throw +his back against the wall, strong arms were about his shoulders and +legs. In an instant Ellerey had grasped one man in the darkness, and +kicked himself free from a second, who went rolling down the stairs, +uttering curses as he struck the balustrade heavily, making it crack +to breaking point. Another received his heel squarely in the face, and +dropped with a thud upon the floor, a thud that almost had the sound +of finality in it. Meanwhile the man he had seized wrenched himself +free, and another pair of arms were flung round Ellerey's waist, +obviously to prevent his getting at any weapon he might carry. Ellerey +strained every nerve to free himself from this assailant and to get +his back to the wall, striking out right and left, now hitting a man's +neck or shoulder, now landing a heavy blow between eyes he could not +see, anon beating the air only. How many his adversaries were he could +not determine. The air was full of panting breaths and growling +imprecations, of swaying bodies, and heavy blows, which were, for the +most part, wide of the mark. Every moment Ellerey expected to be his +last; expected to feel the sharp thrust of a blade, or to fall into +sudden oblivion before the sound of the revolver shot had time to reach +his ears. Yet he still lived; fighting, struggling, being slowly spent +by the odds against him. Why did these murderers not end it? Were they +fearful of injuring a comrade in the darkness, or were they desirous +of not injuring him too severely? Indeed, it seemed so. Had he fallen +into a trap, baited with the frightened woman who had petitioned him +for help? The thought that he could have been such a fool, that so +transparent a device should have deceived him, maddened him, and he +redoubled his exertions to free himself, trying to drag his assailants +with him to the head of the stairs, so that he might fling himself and +them down, and chance regaining his liberty in the shock of the fall. +But the men appeared to perceive his motive, and redoubled their +efforts, too, straining every nerve to end the struggle. The man who +held him round the waist was dragged this way and that, yet never for +a moment relaxed his hold. Other hands were upon his legs now, and +Ellerey suddenly felt his feet drawn together with a snap. The next +instant he was thrown backward, knees were pressed upon his chest, his +arms were twisted and caught with a rope, his ankles bound together, +and he was helpless. + +"I'd like to bury this knife in your cursed carcass," whispered a voice +in his ear. + +"I've been expecting you to do so," said Ellerey, panting for breath. +"Why don't you?" + +"I don't know. By Heaven, I don't know why not." + +"Well, I'm sure I don't," panted Ellerey. + +"Is he secure?" said another voice. + +"Yes," at least half a dozen voices answered. "Then drag him in. Perhaps +we'll have leave to despatch him presently." + +A door was opened, and, with scant ceremony, Ellerey was dragged by +his feet across the floor into a room. The door was shut again, and +someone produced a lantern. + +Ellerey found himself lying in a bare room with seven or eight men +standing in a circle round him, regarding him with sullen and angry +looks, yet with curiosity and some respect; and on more than one face +there were marks of the struggle, savage flushes that would blacken +to-morrow, and blood on lips. He looked from one to the other, but saw +no face he recognized, yet they were not such a murderous set of +scoundrels as he had expected to see, and although more than one of +them, perhaps, would have taken the keenest pleasure in burying a +knife-blade in him to revenge the hurt he had received, it appeared +evident that some consideration held them back. Whatever they +contemplated doing, murder was not their intention. + +"It takes a lot to knock the sense out of you," said one man, and +Ellerey thought he recognized the voice which had ordered him to be +dragged into the room: "and there are one or two of us who have +something to settle. That must wait for a more convenient season." + +"If I am to make a fight for it, it certainly must," said Ellerey, +with a smile. "I suppose it's no use asking you to loosen my wrist a +little. The cord is very tight." + +"Not a bit of use." + +"May I know why you have trapped me in this way? I should like to see +the little hussy who deceived me." + +The men laughed. + +"She's a safe bait, is a woman, all the world over," said the spokesman, +"and this one's finished her part of the business well enough. Now our +parts have got to be done. Some time to-night you received a token. +We want it." + +"You are welcome to any token I received," Ellerey answered. + +"Give it me, then." + +"Because I received none," Ellerey added. + +"That's a lie," said one man. + +"It is well for you that I am bound hand and foot," said Ellerey +quietly. "If I remember your face, I may ask you to repeat that some +day." + +"I ask you again to give me the token you received to-night. Once it +is in my hands, you are free to depart," said the spokesman. + +"And I repeat that I received no token to-night," answered Ellerey. + +"Search him!" cried several voices, and at a gesture from their leader, +they fell on their knees beside him. + +It was rough handling Ellerey received for the next few minutes. His +coat was torn open; rough hands were thrust into his pockets, and even +his under-garments were rent apart lest by any means he should have +secured the token next his skin. + +"There is nothing," they said, rising to their feet one by one. The +last man knelt a moment longer, and turned an evil eye toward his +chief. + +"May it not happen by an accident?" he said. "An accident would be +forgiven, and it would be so much safer." + +The dim light shone on the keen blade the man had ripped eagerly from +his girdle, and Ellerey doubted whether the chief's word would have +power to save him; whether, indeed, it would be spoken. His salvation +came from quite an unexpected quarter. + +"Why that knife, Nicolai?" said a voice which caused the man to spring +to his feet, and made Ellerey turn his head. "You would dare to disobey +my commands, Nicolai? Stand aside. I have no faith in you." + +The ruffian slunk back into the shadows of the room without a word. +Ellerey was astonished that so mild a reprimand should have so great +an effect. He looked at the dim figure, which the mean light of the +lantern revealed; a woman's figure, closely cloaked from head to foot, +while an ample scarf was wound round her head, and her face hidden by +a silken mask. She had entered by a door somewhat behind him, and he +and the man who was so desirous of killing him were the last to become +aware of her presence. + +"Have you found it?" she demanded, after a pause. + +"No; he declares no token was given. At any rate, it is not upon him," +answered the man who was in charge of the ruffians. + +The woman took the lantern from the man who carried it, and, as she +held it up, saw more distinctly the faces of the men about her. + +"He has given you trouble, it seems. You bear marks of the conflict. +Eight of you." + +"And two on the stairs who have not yet recovered," said one. + +"He should be a good man, then, for a hazardous enterprise," and the +woman bent down, holding the lantern low to look into Ellerey's face. + +Ellerey could see the eyes through the holes in the silk mask, but +they told him nothing. He had hardly noticed the eyes of the woman who +had stopped him at the corner of the Altstrasse; he did not know whether +they were the same. This woman seemed taller; yet there was a familiar +ring in her voice. She gazed at him for some moments in silence, and +then, standing erect, handed the lantern to one of the men. Behind the +mask she smiled. "Your cut-throats, madam, have made a mistake. I have +no token," said Ellerey. + +"Do any of you know this man?" she asked, turning to her followers. + +"A foreigner," growled one. "A soldier," said another. + +"A King's man," said a third, "and better put out of the way, if I may +advise." + +"You would be as Nicolai yonder, under my displeasure," she answered +sharply. "Have a care. I shall know how to deal with the first man who +disobeys me." + +Was this the Queen? Ellerey thought she must be, half-believing he +recognized something familiar in her manner. Was this her method of +proving his daring before she fully trusted him? + +"You have no token?" she said, addressing Ellerey. + +"No, madam." + +"Yet you went on a secret mission to the Altstrasse to-night?" + +"I went openly." + +"Openly! To visit whom?" + +"Surely, one who lives in the Altstrasse," Ellerey answered. + +"And were graciously entertained?" + +"I ate and drank, madam, and both food and drink seemed to me of +excellent quality." + +"And afterward?" + +"We talked." + +"Monsieur De Froilette, you, and--" + +"Yes, madam, we talked, and smoked, but the matter of the token +surprises me. I heard no word of such a thing mentioned." + +"I am inclined to believe you," she answered. "You have not yet been +sufficiently proved." + +"I would bow my thanks for your compliment, were I able. I make but a +sorry picture at the moment, I fear, but my ragged and hardly +respectable appearance you will excuse. May I know to whom I am +indebted for this adventure?" + +"Not yet. I may have need of you again." + +"An invitation less hastily devised would please me better," said +Ellery. "I am not rich enough to adventure such good garments as +these often." + +"A bullet would certainly have made less havoc with them, Captain +Ellerey," she returned. + +The mention of his name startled him. + +"A word of warning," she went on. "Beware of Monsieur De Froilette, +and of any enterprise he may handle. There will be specious promises, +but small fulfilment. Beware of the lady who visited the Altstrasse +to-night. Hesitate to do her bidding. Unless I mistake not, you will +thank me for the warning one day," and then, turning to the men about +her, she said, "Unloose him." + +They hesitated, and did not move. + +"Unloose him, I say," and she stamped her foot sharply. + +Two or three fell on their knees beside Ellerey and unfastened the +cords, and, stretching his limbs to take some of the ache out of them, +he rose to his feet. + +"You are free," she said; "but for the safety of these men, you must +consent to be blindfolded, and led to the place you came from." + +"By the same lady who brought me here?" Ellerey inquired. + +"That might hardly be to her liking," was the answer. + +At a sign from her, Ellerey's eyes were bound with a scarf, and in a +few minutes he was being guided along the streets. + +"One moment, monsieur," said one of his guides, presently. "There are +footsteps, surely!" + +Ellerey stood still and waited, listening. He heard no footsteps, and +presently did not perceive the breathing of the man beside him. Then +he understood the ruse, and tore the bandage from his eyes. He was +alone at the corner of the Altstrasse, and the rain was beating +slantwise into his face. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE COURT OF STURATZBERG + + + +Ellerey's servant had fallen asleep on a settle, partly induced, +perhaps, by the liquor the empty tankard beside him had held, but he +started, wide awake on the instant, as his master entered. Ellery +expected him to remark upon his sorry condition, as he threw off his +cloak, but the man did not do so. + +"There has been some rough handling in my neighborhood to-night, +Stefan." + +"That's plain enough, Captain," was the answer. "They were good clothes, +too." + +"And interest you more than the man inside them," said Ellerey, grimly. + +"For the moment, yes. The man is unhurt, while the clothes are only +fit for the rag-shop or to be given to me." + +"And, for choice, you would sooner have a corpse to deal with, so that +the clothes were untorn?" + +Stefan shrugged his shoulders. + +"I could spare most of my acquaintances to be made corpses of, for +acquaintances are easier come by than good clothes. It was a street +attack, Captain, I suppose?" + +"They are common enough in Sturatzberg," Ellerey answered lightly. + +"The tale will serve as well as another," Stefan returned. "If I tell +it, I am not compelled to believe it, and if I chance to be lying, it +is no sin of mine." + +"Why, rascal, what else should it be?" + +"It might be a friend turned enemy, or the pursuit of a woman, or the +touching of one of the many intrigues in Sturatzberg; but let it be +a street attack. Was any man left sobbing out his life in the corner +of the wall? It is well to have the story complete." + +"No; it was an encounter of blows and bruises only." + +"In such a plight as yours most men would have had some boast to make, +pointing to their own condition to prove their statements. I have heard +of half a dozen men lying dead, or dying, at a street corner, victims +to a single sword, yet was there never a corpse to be found in the +morning. Your easy boaster is ever a ready liar." + +"Patch up the clothes and wear them, Stefan, if you can persuade your +bulk into them," laughed Ellerey. "Some day, perhaps, when I am certain +of your affection, I may tell you more of the adventure, and ask your +help." + +The man took up the tankard, looked into its emptiness, and put it +down again. Then he turned round suddenly: "Some time since I was +offered higher pay to serve another master, Captain." + +"Why didn't you go?" + +"I'm beginning to think I was a fool, since you trust me so little," +Stefan answered; "but I may yet prove a better comrade in a tight place +than many. Good-night." + +A soldier, one of his own troop of Horse, Stefan had drifted into +Ellerey's service, perhaps because he was a lonely man like his master. +He appeared to have no ties whatever, nor wanted any, and declared +that the first man he met in the street who was old enough might be +his father, for anything he knew to the contrary. His mother, he knew, +had died bringing him into the world; a wasted sacrifice, he called +it, since the world could have done very well without him and he without +it. Being in it, he took all the good he could find, and if he held +his own life cheaply, he was even less interested in the lives of +others. Women he hated, and his good opinion could be purchased by a +man for a brimming tankard, and lasted, as a rule, so long as any +liquor remained. + +It was hardly wonderful that Ellerey should not trust such a man with +any secret of his. Yet the soldier's parting words, and the look on +his face as he spoke, made him thoughtful. + +"I shall want at least one stout companion on whom I can rely," he +mused. "I might choose a worse man than Stefan." + +He spoke of his adventure to no one else. He did not even attempt to +locate the house into which he had been decoyed. To show too much +interest in the affair would only be to attract attention to himself +and his movements, which was undesirable, whether it were her Majesty +who had taken occasion to test his courage, or others who, knowing the +Queen's schemes, sought to defeat them. One thing appeared certain. +Some token was to come into his possession, and was to bring peril +with it. + +On the second evening, Ellerey accompanied Monsieur De Froilette to +Court. + +"You are prepared to be frivolous, monsieur, as her Majesty wishes?" +said De Froilette, as they went. "You will find it tolerably easy, +but, pardon the advice, make few friends; they are a danger to one +with a secret mission." + +"Do you speak of men, monsieur, or women?" Ellerey asked. + +"I spoke generally, but perhaps I was thinking of women," was the +answer. "Of one man, however, beware. There is a little, ferret-eyed +devil at Court who can spy out secrets almost before they are +conceived--the English Ambassador, Lord Cloverton. He is a great man, +and I hate him." + +Ellerey had no time to ask questions, for the carriage stopped, and +the next moment he was following De Froilette up the wide staircase +which many people, men and women, were ascending. His companion spoke +to no one as he went up, nor did anyone address him. To the casual +observer, he might have passed for an unimportant personage in that +gay throng, but Ellerey, who had every reason to be interested in the +Frenchman, noticed that many people turned to look after him, whispering +together when he had passed. Ellerey himself attracted some little +attention, due, he imagined, to the fact that he was in De Froilette's +company, until he chanced to be left alone for a few moments at the +head of the grand staircase. Some half-dozen paces from him four men +were engaged in earnest conversation. From their position they could +scrutinize every one who ascended the stairs or crossed the vestibule, +and it seemed to Ellerey they were there of set purpose; more, that +his arrival had been expected and waited for. One of the four was a +man of about his own age, richly dressed, and of distinguished bearing. +He appeared chief among his companions, who addressed him with a certain +deference, and followed his movements, so that when he turned to look +at the newcomer, Ellerey found himself the focus of four pairs of eyes. +He met their searching looks with equal inquiry, but experienced a +certain attraction toward the man who led the scrutiny. He might be +an enemy, but he looked as though he would prove an honest and open +one, incapable of anything mean or underhand. Presently he made some +remark to his companions, who nodded acquiescence, and then they +separated, and were lost in the crowd crossing the vestibule, just as +De Froilette returned. + +"Pardon me for leaving you, monsieur; shall we seek her Majesty?" + +Ellerey passed with the Frenchman into a magnificent room, brilliantly +lighted from a domed roof, one of a suite of rooms which were all of +splendid proportions. From the distance came soft, dreamy music, hushed +in the murmur of voices. There were a great many people present, and +dancing had commenced in the ball-room. It was a brave assembly, men +wearing brilliant uniforms and the decorations of every nation in +Europe, and women beautiful in themselves, glorious in sheen of satin, +rustle of silk, and flash of jewels. Women's light laughter answered +men's jests--on every side were gayety and careless acceptance of the +pleasures of the passing hour. It was difficult to believe that under +it all lay deceit and treachery. Ellerey was inclined to doubt it, as +he followed his companion. + +In one of the rooms, surrounded by a group of men and women, with whom +she turned to speak and laugh between the welcome she extended to each +new arrival, sat her Majesty. She was even more beautiful to-night +than when she had come to the Altstrasse, and, surrounded as she was +by beautiful women, seemed to hold by right the central position of +the group. Jewels glistened at her throat and in her hair, and across +her breast she wore the scarlet ribbon of the Golden Lion of +Sturatzberg. + +"Ah, Monsieur De Froilette, you are welcome," she said. "I was just +saying that your countrywomen are the most accomplished, the most +fascinating, in Europe, and Count von Heinnen laughs at my opinion." + +"Your Majesty will not understand," said Von Heinnen, in guttural tones +which ill agreed with a compliment; "I loved the women of France until +I arrived in Sturatzberg." + +"I would narrow the Count's limit, and say the palace of Sturatzberg," +said De Froilette, bending over the Queen's hand. + +"No word for the women of their own country," laughed the Queen. "Are +we so unpatriotic, Baron Petrescu?" and she turned to a man who was +standing close behind her. + +"I fear so, your Majesty. I have been in England, and, for my part, +I think the English women are the most beautiful in the world." + +Baron Petrescu was the man who had looked so searchingly at Ellerey +in the vestibule. He looked at him now, as though his answer had some +reference to him; and the Queen, who did not seem too pleased with the +frankly spoken answer, following the direction of the Baron's glance, +let her eyes rest on Ellerey for the first time. + +"Captain Ellerey, you, too, are welcome," she said. "You come but +seldom to Court. As an Englishman, you will doubtless support the +Baron's opinion." + +"I find something to contemplate in all women, your Majesty, but, as +yet, I have placed none above all others." + +"That confession should fire feminine ambition in Sturatzberg," laughed +the Queen. "Spread the report of it, Monsieur De Froilette, and we +shall witness excellent comedy, or tragedy--I hardly know which love +may be. Oh, you are doubly welcome, Captain Ellerey, for the sport you +shall give us, and we will ask for a repetition of that confession +constantly. The first time you look down before our questioning eyes, +and stammer in your answer, we shall know that love has laid siege to +the citadel of indifference, and captured it." Ellerey smiled, as he +moved aside to make room for others. He would have approached Baron +Petrescu had he been able to do so, but he was prevented; first, because +someone who knew him slightly spoke to him, and, secondly, by a general +movement in the room occasioned by the King's entrance. + +When the history of Ferdinand IV. comes to be written, the King will +probably have as many characters as he has biographers. The character +given him will so entirely depend upon the point of view. As he walked +slowly across the room, his manner was not without dignity, but had +little graciousness in it. There were a few who feared him; many who +despised him; some who hated him; and from east to west of his kingdom +it is doubtful whether a dozen loved or admired him. In appearance he +was cadaverous-looking, tall and thin, with a stoop in his shoulders. +His skin was parchment-colored, and his eyes heavy and slow of movement. + +Europe's plaything, a witty Frenchman had once called him; but those +about him found it hard work often to make him dance to their piping. +Perhaps no one understood him better, or had greater influence with +him, than the man who now walked a pace or two behind him, and was so +small that, beside the King, he looked almost ridiculous. His mincing +gait, and his apparently nervous deference to everyone about him, would +have amused those who did not know the man, or until they had made a +more careful study of his face. Nature seemed to have tried her hand +at a caricature, and had placed upon this diminutive body a leonine +head. The face was a network of lines, as though wind, rain, and +sunshine had worked their will upon it for years. The hair was white +as driven snow, and thick, shaggy, and long, while, set deeply under +heavy brows, his small eyes were never still. For a fraction of time +they seemed to rest on everyone in turn, and to note something about +them which would be stored up in the memory. + +"A ferret-eyed devil, monsieur, is it not so?" whispered De Froilette +in Ellerey's ear after the Ambassador had passed. "He has already noted +your presence, and will know all about you before he sleeps--if he +ever does sleep. We must be very frivolous to escape detection." + +To be frivolous at the Court of Sturatzberg was no difficult matter. +Whether it was the report of what he had said to the Queen had made +him especially interesting to women, or whether those steady blue eyes +of his were the attraction, Ellerey found it easy to make friends. He +studied to catch the trick of pleasing with a light compliment or +pleasant jest, and before many days had gone had earned a reputation +as an irresponsible cavalier; one whom it would be dangerous to take +too seriously or believe in too thoroughly. Such a man was, for the +most part, after the heart of the feminine portion of the Sturatzberg +Court, and that he played the part well the Queen's smile constantly +assured him. In one point, however, Ellerey was peculiarly unsuccessful. +He had been attracted to Baron Petrescu, and went to some trouble to +become acquainted with him, but to no purpose. Either the Baron avoided +him intentionally, or a train of adverse circumstances intervened. Not +a single word passed between them. + +On several occasions the Queen made Ellerey repeat his confession, and +he did so with a smile upon his lips. + +"I expected downcast eyes and a stammering tongue to-night," she said +one evening, and as Ellerey looked at her, she glanced swiftly across +the room toward a small group, of which a woman was the centre--a +beautiful woman, with a silvery laugh which had the spirit and joy of +youth in it. By common consent, her beauty had no rival in the Court +of Sturatzberg. Men whose tastes on all else were as wide asunder as +the poles were at one in praise of her, and even women were content +to let her reign supreme. Her dark eyes, fringed with long lashes, +were, perhaps, the most perfect feature of a perfect face. They could +persuade, they could reprove, and it was dangerous to look into them +too constantly if one would not be a slave. Her hair, which had a wave +in it, and was rich nut-brown in color, was gathered in loose coils +about her head, a veritable crown to her, and her voice was low, as +if compelling you to listen to some sweet secret it had to tell, a +secret that was only for you. + +"I can still make my confession, your Majesty," said Ellerey, wondering +whether his words were quite true, for he had looked into this woman's +eyes many times. Then he went toward the group, quick to observe that +Baron Petrescu left it at his coming. + +Ellerey understood that the Queen must have watched him carefully. To +this woman he had certainly paid more attention than to any other. She +was in close attendance upon the Queen, was treated by her with marked +favor, and many envious and angry glances had been cast upon Ellerey, +because she seemed to find pleasure in being with him. Ellerey could +not deny that the time spent in her company sped faster than all other +hours, but he had another reason for seeking her so persistently. He +had seen little of the face of the woman who had cried to him for help +that night at the corner of the Altstrasse, being more concerned with +what was required of him than with her who petitioned, but somehow +this woman always reminded him of that night. Whenever she walked +beside him, he recalled that other woman who had run hand-in-hand with +him through the deserted streets. Was she the woman, or, at least, was +she aware of what had occurred that night? Why had she so easily given +him her friendship? Why should she so obviously prefer his company to +that of others? There was some reason, and yet she had made no +confession, had stepped into none of his carefully prepared traps. Did +she know Maritza? Were those Maritza's eyes which had looked through +the silken mask? + +"You will dance with me, Countess?" + +She placed her hand upon his arm at once. + +"You are ever generous to me," he said, as they went toward the +ball-room. "I wonder why?" + +She looked up at him. He might have been laughed at for not +understanding such a look. + +"A Captain of Horse is a small person in Sturatzberg," he said +carelessly. + +"Even if he is honored with her Majesty's friendship?" she asked. + +"Is he?" + +"Well, are you not? I can judge by what I see, and you seem welcome +always." + +"I have noticed that, Countess, and have thought sometimes that you +might tell me the reason." + +"Of her Majesty's welcome, do you mean?" + +"Of her welcome, and of your own kindness to me," Ellerey answered. + +The woman laughed. + +"I think Englishmen are slow of comprehension," she said. + +"But a Captain of Horse, Countess?" + +"Who may be of much higher rank to-morrow, and in his own country may +be--Ah! you know, so many come to Sturatzberg." + +"Many vagabonds, Countess." + +"Oh, yes, and others," and then she made a gesture that they should +dance, and they floated gracefully out among the couples gliding over +the floor of the ballroom to the strains of a sensuous German waltz. +Ellerey danced well. He had earned the reputation in many a London +ball-room, and the Countess Frina danced as few English women can, +with the soul of the music in her feet. + +"Those others are sometimes difficult to distinguish," Ellerey said +presently. + +"Not to a woman," was the answer. "She has an intuition which is denied +to most men. Indeed, I only know one man who has it in the fullest +sense, in greater measure even than most women, and he is an Englishman, +curiously enough. Yonder!" + +With a touch she directed Ellerey's attention to one side of the room, +where Lord Cloverton was standing talking to two men. He seemed to be +interested in the conversation, but at the same time took notice of +every couple which glided by him. Ellerey thought the Ambassador's +eyes rested upon him for a moment, although he did not go near him. + +"He, too, has noted you," the Countess whispered, "and if you have +aught to conceal, Captain Ellerey, take care that the secret be well +buried, or those small eyes will spy it out." + +"You do not like the Ambassador?" said Ellerey, as he guided his partner +to a deserted seat in an alcove. + +"I admire him. It is not the same thing, but admiration I cannot help. +There would have been desperate work for you soldiers long since had +it not been for Lord Cloverton." + +"And that would have pleased you?" + +"It would have given my friends a chance of distinction," she answered. +"And turned some friends into enemies, Countess. Surely you must know +that. There are such conflicting interests in Sturatzberg." + +"I have taken great care in choosing my friends," she answered. + +"Ah, then, you have a very definite idea to which interest you are +attached." + +"Of course." + +"And which is it?" he asked in a whisper, leaning toward her. + +"The same as monsieur's," she said. + +Ellerey was baffled. He had expected to surprise her into a confession. +He did not suppose he had subjugated this woman so completely that she +would make her interests identical with his own, and he could only +explain her answer by presuming that she was sufficiently in the Queen's +confidence to know something of the mission to which he stood pledged. + +"You seem very certain of me, Countess." + +"Have I not said that I take great care in choosing my friends?" + +"I cannot conceive any reason for your faith in me, unless---" + +"Well, you may question me." + +"I had lately a strange adventure, Countess, in which a woman was +concerned. She found me after midnight at the corner of the Altstrasse, +and---" + +"Monsieur! monsieur!" she exclaimed, holding up her hand. "Do you +imagine I should visit the Altstrasse for my politics, and after +midnight, too?" + +"I confess that was in my mind." + +"It pleases you to jest, Captain Ellerey, and I am in no mood for +such jesting." + +She rose, and he was forced to take her from the ballroom. He had +succeeded in making her angry, and had gained nothing. He had been +ill-advised to question her. + +"You must pardon me," he said. + +"You must earn your pardon, monsieur," was her answer, as she turned +away with another partner who had approached, leaving Ellerey perplexed. + +"A love quarrel, monsieur? I have noted several; they are frequent +here." + +At the slight touch on his arm Ellerey turned to face Lord Cloverton. + +"Hardly a quarrel, my lord; certainly not a love one," he said. + +"I was mistaken then, or you think so, Captain Ellerey. Love is a +curious disease at all times, and in all places, difficult to diagnose +sometimes. In the Court of Sturatzberg one has ample opportunity of +studying it. I may be right after all, Captain Ellerey. I have more +knowledge of this Court than you have; I have spent a longer time in +it." + +Lord Cloverton moved forward smiling, evidently expecting Ellerey to +walk beside him across the room. + +"I endeavor to fit myself to my surroundings," Ellerey said, as he +walked slowly by the Ambassador's side, striving in vain to accommodate +his step to the mincing gait of his companion. + +"Quite so, but it is hardly the best atmosphere for a young man to +develop himself in." + +"Perhaps not." + +"You interest me, Captain Ellerey." + +"Since when, my lord?" + +The small, deep-set eyes were turned upon him for a moment, as though +to gauge the full meaning of the question, and they looked into steady +blue eyes, which, perhaps, made Lord Cloverton more interested than +ever, although he did not say so. "You are thinking that I might have +taken notice of a countryman before this," he replied. "Well, perhaps +there is something in the thought. Still, you were not brought to my +notice at the Embassy. I heard no mention of Desmond Ellerey as a +friend of anyone connected with the Embassy, nor, indeed, any remark +that an English officer was serving his Majesty the King of Wallaria." + +"No, my lord, my friendships are few, and, in truth, I have no great +desire to increase the number." + +"I might, indeed, repeat your question--since when?" laughed Lord +Cloverton, "for lately surely you have made many new acquaintances, +and move in the sunshine of Royal favor." + +"I am afraid I have not been conscious of the fact," Ellerey returned. +"I must be more careful to study his Majesty." + +"I was speaking of the Queen." + +Ellerey looked at Lord Cloverton in astonishment. + +"Indeed, I think you are mistaken. Her Majesty is very gracious to +all. I do not think she has been especially so to me." + +"Another mistake of mine," said the Ambassador, with a smile. "I am +full of them to-night. They began immediately after dinner. I dropped +two lumps of sugar into my coffee, instead of one. It made it +abominable, and I had to leave it. But there is another reason why I +have become interested in you lately. I heard that you were the brother +of Sir Ralph Ellerey. I know Sir Ralph." + +"We are certainly sons of the same father; our relationship has got +no further than that. If you know my brother well enough to accept his +opinion about me, you have, doubtless, accorded me a very low place +in your estimation." + +"I am supposed never to accept another man's opinion about anything," +the Ambassador replied; "certainly, I seldom do in judging men I come +in contact with. Sir Ralph, however, gives some prominence to the name +of Ellerey, and his brother can hardly hope to pass through the world +unnoticed." + +"I am succeeding beyond my expectations," said Ellerey. + +"Are you?" + +"Believe me, my lord, I am." + +They were standing apart in a corner of one of the rooms. There was +no one near enough to overhear their conversation. Lord Cloverton +glanced over his shoulder to make sure of this before he went on +quietly: + +"I have heard that Desmond Ellerey was obliged to leave a crack cavalry +regiment on account of his cheating at cards and for other dishonorable +practices. I took you to be this same Desmond Ellerey." + +"Yet another mistake to-night, my lord," Ellerey answered, looking the +Ambassador unflinchingly in the eye. "The Desmond Ellerey you speak +of was an unfortunate English gentleman and honorable soldier, whose +services his King and country had no further need of. He was foully +murdered by a lie. The Desmond Ellerey who has the honor to speak to +you is a Captain of Horse in the service of his Majesty Ferdinand IV. +of Wallaria, and looks for favor and reward only from the King and +country he serves." + +He turned on his heel as he spoke, and the Ambassador stood looking +after him until his figure was lost in the moving crowd. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +TWO VISITORS + + + +Lord Cloverton sat in his private room at the Embassy, a knitted brow +and tightly-closed lips showing that he was deeply occupied in a problem +which either baffled him altogether, or which, having been solved, +gave him considerable anxiety. He had pushed his chair back from the +table, and his attention was concentrated on the papers he held in his +hand. They had come during the past few days, and although he had read +each one carefully on its arrival, he had put them aside until he could +study them together. They were all before him now, and he had spent +the greater part of the morning reading them, and in piecing together +the information they contained into one complete and intelligible +story. It was not an easy task, and the result he arrived at gave him +little satisfaction. + +"This pestilential fellow will make trouble for us," he said to himself, +and then he went systematically through the letters again. + +"Absolutely no doubt of his guilt," he read slowly from one of them. +"He denied everything, of course, but the evidence was exceedingly +strong against him. That he accepted the verdict and disappeared in +the manner he did, would seem to confirm the truth. That is what I +cannot understand," said the Ambassador, arguing the point to the empty +room. "Why did he accept it and disappear? Why didn't he stand and +face the frowning world and beat it? That is what I should have expected +from such a man, and with such eyes, too." + +He took up another paper. + +"The question can hardly be reopened, my lord, and since it was closed +nothing has transpired to suggest that there was any error of justice +in the matter. Of course he might bring an action for slander in the +civil courts, and for this purpose be persuaded to return to England." + +The Ambassador shook his head; he had not much faith in persuasion in +this case. Then he turned to another letter and read one paragraph in +it more than once. It impressed him. + +"'I feel convinced that Desmond Ellerey is an innocent man. One has +such convictions without being able to explain them. That he accepted +the inevitable I think I can understand, considering the weight of +evidence against him; and although I endeavored to persuade him against +his determination to offer his sword to another country, I can +appreciate his point of view since his career had been ruined in his +own. If you think any good will come of my writing to him, making on +my own account the suggestion contained in your letter, I will certainly +do so, and shall, of course, not mention that I have heard from you, +or that we are known to each other.'" The Ambassador looked at the +signature--"'Charles Martin.' An excellent man to have for a friend, +and I believe he is right." + +He turned over another paper signed Ralph Ellerey. + +"He does not count," said the Ambassador with a gesture of contempt, +and threw the letter aside without troubling to read it again. Then +he rang a bell upon his table, and a man entered. + +"Ask Captain Ward to come to me." + +The Ambassador was pacing the room with little short steps when the +Captain entered. "Do you know a Desmond Ellerey, who lodges by the +Western Gate, Ward?" + +"I know there is such a man, but I know nothing about him." + +"He is likely to be dangerous. I want you to keep an eye upon his +movements. He is friendly with Monsieur De Froilette, and is in her +Majesty's favor. I do not want you to make Ellerey's acquaintance. I +don't want him to know who you are, for the present at any rate." + +"I understand." + +"I should be glad to see him turn his back upon Wallaria; failing that, +I am uncharitable enough to hope he may meet with an accident," said +Lord Cloverton. + +"That might be arranged," was the answer. + +"Sturatzberg is having a bad effect upon your moral sense. At least +we will try persuasion first," and it was difficult to tell from the +Ambassador's smiling face whether a sinister thought had entered his +head or not. After a moment's pause he added: "Will you also have a +telegram sent to Sir Charles Martin? Just say, 'Please write, +Cloverton.' He will understand." + +The extent of the Ambassador's interest in him would have surprised +Ellerey considerably had he known of it. After his interview with Lord +Cloverton he had half-expected that he would seek to question him +further, or, if he had any reason to suppose he was in his way, might +bring pressure to bear upon the King to dismiss him from the army. He +certainly did not do the one, and Ellerey had no reason to think he +had attempted to do the other. At Court the Ambassador had bowed +slightly as he passed him, and the flicker of a smile had been on his +face for a moment when he saw him crossing the room with Countess +Mavrodin, almost as though he wished him to remember what he had said +about a lovers' quarrel. Ellerey had made his peace with the Countess +as speedily as possible. He was likely to make so many enemies that +he could not afford to lose a friend, and he felt that this woman was +a friend. He had duly humbled himself and had been forgiven, and even +when she questioned him about his adventure in the Altstrasse, he +refused to speak of it lest he should again offend. He succeeded, as +he hoped to do, in raising her curiosity. + +"But if this woman so resembled me, surely it would be a satisfaction +to me to know something more about her," she said. + +"It was dark, Countess, but she seemed to be pretty. That misled me +perhaps. I was foolish to imagine for a moment that it could have been +you." + +Ellerey knew that such an explanation would not content her. Would it +satisfy any woman? He had only to wait and she would ply him with +further questions, and, if she were not the woman, would not rest until +she had discovered who the other woman was. She would probably help +him to some explanation of his adventure in the long run, her curiosity +leading her to play the part of a useful ally. + +The days passed and no message came from the Queen, neither did he see +nor hear anything of De Froilette. The Frenchman was not at Court, and +Ellerey did not meet him in the streets of Sturatzberg. He did not go +to visit him in the Altstrasse; it had been agreed that he should not +do so. + +After consideration Ellerey had taken Stefan into his confidence. He +believed the rough soldier had some affection for him, so had told him +something of his adventure in the Altstrasse, and of the mysterious +mission he might be called upon at any moment to perform. Such men as +Ellerey wished to enlist in the enterprise were not easy to find. There +were plenty of adventurous spirits ready for any service so they were +well paid, but such men were quite likely to desert him at the critical +moment if they saw any benefit to themselves in doing so. + +"Now, Stefan, can we find the men we want?" Ellerey asked. + +"A dozen of them?" queried the soldier, thoughtfully. "Twelve trusty +comrades? It's a large order in a world where it's safest to trust +nobody." + +"There is adventure, there is good pay, two attractions to the soldier +of fortune." + +"Yes, Captain; but the soldier of fortune in Sturatzberg is a scurvy +sort of rascal. He's not over fond of his trade when there's any danger +in it. But I'll sound one or two I know of, and you can see what you +think of them. And mark this, Captain, don't pay them too much until +they've earned it. A few coins to oil their courage is enough to begin +with." + +The choosing of the men became Stefan's work, but only half a dozen +had been determined on when Ellerey received an unexpected letter from +Sir Charles Martin. + +It was a pleasant letter of friendship, such a letter as brings forcibly +to the senses of the mind the sunlight and shadow dappling an English +lane, and the familiar sounds and refreshing fragrances which linger +about an English home. Toward the end Sir Charles turned to a painful +subject, but wrote hopefully. "Let me urge you," he said, "to return +home. I am convinced that the time has come for you to begin to slowly +prove that you are innocent. While the affair was fresh in people's +minds you were at a disadvantage, but that time is past. One thing I +may tell you. A person very highly placed has expressed his complete +belief in you. Come home, Desmond." + +Ellerey was musing over this letter and the remembrance it brought +with it, when Stefan entered. "A gentleman to see you, Captain." + +Ellerey rose hastily. The one or two brother officers who visited him +stood on no such ceremony as this. He bowed in silence as Lord Cloverton +came in. Neither of them spoke until Stefan had closed the door. + +"You will pardon the intrusion, Captain Ellerey." + +"I am honored, my lord," said Ellerey as he placed a chair for his +visitor. + +"I am still interested in you, you see," said the Ambassador, "but +have not considered it wise to draw attention to ourselves at Court. +A man in my position labors under a disadvantage of never being supposed +to speak a word that has not weighty matter behind it. Some people +will find a mystery in my simple utterance of 'Good-evening.' You and +I are both Englishmen, and to be seen often in intimate conversation +would start a small army of rumors on the march." + +Ellerey bowed. He intended to let the Ambassador lead the conversation. + +"Do you mind looking at me, Captain Ellerey?" + +Ellerey did so, and for the space of thirty seconds the two men gazed +into each other's eyes. + +"No, I do not believe it." + +"To what do you refer?" Ellerey asked. + +"To that card scandal of yours. I believe you are an innocent man. Why +don't you prove it?" + +Ellerey took up the letter which he had thrown on the table when Lord +Cloverton entered. + +"Do you know Sir Charles Martin?" he asked, holding the letter out to +him. + +"I have heard of him. Who that is interested in English politics has +not? I may live to see him Prime Minister. What, do you wish me to +read this?" + +"If you please." Lord Cloverton read the letter through. + +"Evidently an intimate friend of yours. You could not have a better +sponsor for your character. I think he gives you excellent advice." + +"You would give me the same, Lord Cloverton?" + +"Certainly." + +"Why?" + +"Because you are an innocent man. It is your duty to fight for your +character to the last ditch." + +"Why should you suppose I am not fighting for my character?" Ellerey +asked. + +"Here in Sturatzberg?" + +"Why not? Words will never mend a broken reputation; deeds may." + +"Deeds done here will not count in England." + +"And in England, or for England, I am debarred from doing anything. +A sorry position, is it not, my lord?" + +"I am advising you to alter it." + +"But you have not told me why," said Ellerey. "Shall I tell you the +reason, Lord Cloverton? You wish me to leave Sturatzberg." + +"Why should I?" + +"That you must tell me." + +"There is a candor about you, Captain Ellerey, that compels +straightforward treatment in return, and you shall have it. I have a +misgiving that your presence here will tend to hamper my work, and by +my work I mean England's interests. I do not pretend to know exactly +in what direction you will hinder me, but I can guess, and you are too +good a man to be crushed while striving against your own country. Go +back to England. I thoroughly believe in you, and you shall have my +hearty support in your endeavor to establish your innocency." + +"You are very good, my lord, and I thank you; but I regret that I +cannot comply with your wishes. I shall not leave Sturatzberg." + +"You prefer to be crushed?" + +"Yes, in the service of my adopted country. We fight with different +weapons, Lord Cloverton." + +"Then it is to be war between us?" + +"You seem to say so. I cannot leave Sturatzberg." + +"Is it not possible that some sense of honor may exist here, that +officers here may not care to associate with one who has been convicted +of cheating, even though he be a foreigner?" + +"I am not afraid that Lord Cloverton will spread such a report of me." + +"My country stands first with me, Captain Ellerey." + +"But not to make you dishonorable. You are attempting to do yourself +an injustice. Besides if I were driven to use such weapons in +self-defence, is it not possible that Lord Cloverton has some enemies +in Sturatzberg?" + +"Many, no doubt." + +"I might suggest, for instance, that he had secretly sought to alienate +the loyalty of one of his Majesty's officers." + +"Enough, Captain Ellerey," said Lord Cloverton rising. "I see that we +must unfortunately be enemies. It is a pity. You will be crushed under +the Juggernaut of international politics." + +"It may be so, it may not," said Ellerey. "Believe me, I am not +unmindful of your kindness; but as I have said, we fight with different +weapons. You wield the power of the politician; I have only my sword. +We cannot therefore meet in hand-to-hand encounter. I should hesitate +to use my sword against my countrymen, but until British soldiers hold +the heights above Sturatzberg there is no need to consider that +question; and your work, I presume, lies in preventing any chance of +such a contingency. If you could forget that I am an Englishman, and +remember only that I am a Captain of Horse, subject to the commands +of my superior officer, you would understand my position better." + +"You are a difficult man to deal with, but I rather like you," said +the Ambassador, holding out his hand. "I regret that Fate makes us +enemies, and if at the last moment I can save you from being entirely +crushed, I will." + +"Thank you. I, too, may find an opportunity of rendering you a service, +my lord." + +As Lord Cloverton went quickly away, a man who had been sitting at a +small table in a cafe opposite, who had sipped two glasses of absinthe +and smoked innumerable cigarettes, rose hastily and crossed the street. +His dress was travel-stained, and he had evidently ridden through dirty +weather, for his boots were thickly cased with mud. Ellerey was almost +as surprised to see De Froilette as he had been to see the Ambassador. + +"You have been away from Sturatzberg," he said. + +"I have only just returned," De Froilette answered, throwing out his +arms to draw attention to his clothes, "and before going to the +Altstrasse came to prepare you. I have been waiting at the cafe opposite +until Lord Cloverton came out." + +"And wondering why he visited me?" asked Ellerey, smiling. + +"Wondering, rather, how far you would be successful in deceiving him." + +"He was disposed to be friendly," said Ellerey, carelessly taking up +Sir Charles Martin's letter from the table and putting it in his pocket. +"Friendly! A trick of his, monsieur, a trick." + +"Exactly. We have agreed to be enemies." + +"Ah, but that was foolish," said De Froilette quickly. "You should +have played with him even as I do. He believes that I am very friendly, +while I hate him." + +"That is your method; it is not mine. I am not an adept at crawling, +even to the British Ambassador." + +"What does he suspect?" asked De Froilette after a pause, during which +he had seemed inclined to resent Ellerey's words. + +"Naturally, he did not say, and I am unable to guess, which is hardly +remarkable, seeing that I am entirely in the dark myself." + +"But why did he come?" + +"He used his knowledge of some friends of mine in England as an excuse +for visiting me, but he had probably taken upon himself for the time +being the office of spy. As I had no information to give, he has +returned little wiser than he came. When am I to be fully trusted, +monsieur?" + +"You are fully trusted now, Captain Ellerey, but the time for striking +has not arrived. It approaches, however. Until the man in Sturatzberg +was ready we could not proceed. Look at me; I have come from a journey. +I have been doing my part, and I come to you and say, Be ready. At any +moment her Majesty may send for you." + +"I am waiting," said Ellerey. + +"Not to-night, perhaps, nor to-morrow, but soon." + +Knowing the Frenchman's secretive method, Ellerey was convinced that +the time was at hand. Were it not, De Froilette would hardly have +risked seeking him at his lodging; he had been so careful to avoid all +appearance of intimacy with him. Ellerey was not inclined to place +implicit trust in De Froilette. He did not pretend to a keen insight +into other men's characters, but he conceived that De Froilette would +not be likely to lose sight of his own interests, no matter whom he +served, nor how humbly such service might be tendered. Ellerey was not +even convinced that the Frenchman's support of the Queen's schemes was +whole-hearted, and believed him quite capable of giving just so much +help as would presently enable him to thwart her and reap benefit for +himself. Whatever the mission was which he was about to undertake, +Ellerey intended to do his utmost to carry it to success; and if De +Froilette by chance stood in his way, it was not likely to be merely +a question of words between them. + +More subtle, more given to abstract reasoning, a successful student +of character, it must be said for Monsieur De Froilette that he fully +trusted Captain Ellerey, in so far that he believed he would do whatever +task was set him better, probably, than most men would. That he would +be a match for such men as Lord Cloverton, with the weapons Lord +Cloverton would use, he did not expect, and that the Ambassador had +visited Ellerey troubled him not a little. That Lord Cloverton could +possibly suspect the true state of things he did not for a moment +believe; but every hour's delay now would be in the Ambassador's favor, +and the sooner the blow was struck the better--the more hope of success +was there. Everything was ready, and it was now that De Froilette's +anxiety was greatest. He was too complete a schemer not to realize how +often it was the small insignificant thing which served to ruin great +enterprises built up with so much care and elaboration. Over and over +again he had tested every point in his plans, and had not succeeded +in finding any weak spot. There seemed to be no contingency he was not +prepared to meet, for which he was not ready; and yet a sense of +misgiving, almost amounting to a feeling of insecurity, oppressed him +as he walked along the Altstrasse. The people hanging about the door +saluted him, for the Frenchman had been liberal to his poor neighbors, +and had an excellent name for charity. He had made many friends of +this kind in Sturatzberg, and since he had confessed to disliking +unprofitable friends, it must be assumed that he looked to reap some +reward from them in the future. He was not the man to pay merely for +respect and smiles. + +He went to his room, the room in which he and Ellerey had sat talking +after dinner, the room to which the Queen had come. A pile of unopened +letters was upon the desk, for Monsieur De Froilette employed no +secretary, and he turned over these letters without opening them before +ringing for Francois. + +"Well, Francois?" he said as the man entered. He always asked the +question in the same manner when he had been absent for any time, and +listened to the servant's answer without interrupting him. The answer +was usually a long one, full details of the happenings during the +master's absence, not of those in the house only, but of those in the +city as well. To-day, however, there was no long answer. Francois +seemed fully aware of the essential point. + +"Monsieur, the Princess, she has left England!" + +"My good Francois, you are uninteresting. That happened weeks ago. The +Princess is cruising to the British Colonies. It is known, indeed was +arranged, by the British Government." + +"It was, monsieur, that is right--it was; but the Princess found a +substitute for that voyage. She did not go. She slipped away quietly, +and no one knew." De Froilette's face was suddenly pale. He did not +speak, but Francois read the question in his eyes. + +"It is so, monsieur," he said. "The Princess Maritza is in Sturatzberg." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +FRINA MAVRODIN'S GUEST + + + +For some time Monsieur De Froilette remained silent. The return of the +Princess was a contingency he had not provided for. + +"Where is she?" he asked suddenly. + +"Alas, monsieur, I do not know," Francois answered. "She has powerful +friends in Sturatzberg, and they conceal her well. I saw her for one +moment in Konigsplatz. She was alone, and entered a shop there. I +followed her, but she was gone. I called myself her servant, and +inquired about her, making the sign that has so long been used by her +partisans to secure an answer. It had no effect. I was told that I was +mistaken, that no such lady as I had described had entered. Do you not +understand, monsieur, the sign must have been changed?" + +De Froilette understood only too well. At his very door were enemies, +the more dangerous because they had been partially admitted into his +plans. He had himself given them reason for watching him, and the +opportunity of doing so. That was past and beyond reparation, but this +arch schemer was not the man to stand idly regretting a mistake. Even +mistakes might be used to advantage. + +"I will dress, Francois," he said presently. "I had not intended to +go to Court to-night, but this news compels me." + +"And how shall we find the Princess, monsieur?" + +"We will not trouble. We will set others to do that. Matters will be +for our benefit in the end, Francois. Quickly, I must dress." + +De Froilette dined alone and dismissed the man who waited upon him as +soon as possible. A portrait of Queen Elena stood on a side table, and +he got up and placed it beside him, contemplating it thoughtfully as +he sipped his wine. + +"If we succeed," he mused, "there is high place and distinction to be +won. This Englishman may win it for me. In a revolution a King's life +is as other men's, dependent on the hazard of a die. If I read her +smile aright I shall have my reward. And if we fail?"--he paused to +consider the course of events in such a case--"who knows? My reward +might come the easier. There would be few shelters open to her. Only +in defeat through Princess Maritza's influence is there danger to me. +Success or failure otherwise, what does it matter? I shall win. The +paths to mountain peaks are ever rugged, but men reach the summits. +Why should I fail? The road to power may be closed against me, but the +road to love--" And he gazed into the eyes of the portrait, finding +an answer in them. This man of action was a dreamer too. + +When he entered the palace that evening, De Froilette inquired whether +Lord Cloverton had arrived, and being answered in the negative, remained +at the head of the stairs, speaking a few words to this acquaintance +and to that, bowing a well-turned compliment to one fair lady, or +meeting another's pleasantry with an answering jest. He was in excellent +good humor. + +Presently Lord Cloverton came mincing up the steps, pausing half a +dozen times to greet acquaintances. He, too, was in excellent humor; +but then he seldom allowed people to see him otherwise. + +"How I hate the man," De Froilette said to himself, going toward the +Ambassador as he reached the vestibule. "May I have a word with you, +my lord?" + +"A thousand, my dear Monsieur De Froilette. Ah, a private word is it?" +he added as the Frenchman led him aside. + +"My lord, you have my greatest esteem, as you are aware." + +Lord Cloverton bowed. + +"If, as a loyal Frenchman, I would see France predominant in the affairs +of this country, that is natural, is it not so?" + +"Most natural indeed, and, monsieur, I say frankly, France is playing +a very worthy part." + +"No doubt, my lord," De Froilette answered. "I am but a looker-on, +with certain business interests which politics might affect, and +therefore I take some notice of politics. Perhaps I see more clearly +than some, my lord--the lookers-on often do; and I am convinced that +British policy is at the present moment the safeguard of Wallaria." + +"I rejoice to hear it, monsieur." + +"And if you will allow me, my lord, I will add that your presence in +Sturatzberg is the great security." + +"You flatter me," Lord Cloverton returned. "You will be pleased to +learn that I have received no notification that I am likely to be +removed from Sturatzberg." + +"That would indeed be a disaster," said De Froilette. "So, my lord, +any small help, any little information I can give you, I shall give +gladly. Regard for yourself and my business interests will prompt me. +We have all a vein of selfishness in us." + +"I am honored by your confidence, and you will be welcome at the Embassy." + +"I will give you the information now," said De Froilette. And he lowered +his voice as he leaned toward the Ambassador: "The Princess Maritza!" + +"Is in Australia at present, I believe." + +"Exactly," said the Frenchman. "Making a tour of the English Colonies. +A delicate attention to an honored guest and unfortunate exile, designed +to keep her out of the way while the present unsettled feeling in +Wallaria lasts; is it not so?" + +"Your political acumen is not at fault." + +"No, my lord, but yours is. The lady at present in Australia, or +wherever she may be, is not the Princess, but a substitute. It needs +very powerful friends to carry through such a deception as that." + +Lord Cloverton turned sharply toward him, and, as Francois had done, +De Froilette answered the unasked question. + +"Yes, my lord; Princess Maritza is in Sturatzberg." + +"Hiding where?" + +"That I do not know. You will doubtless take means to find out. Command +me if I can help you in any way." + +"I thank you for the information. If you are not mistaken, the wayward +child has been very ill advised. I gather, monsieur, that your business +affairs would suffer were such a thing as a rising in the Princess +Maritza's favor to take place?" + +"Have I not said that there is a selfish vein in all of us?" + +Lord Cloverton smiled, and together they crossed the vestibule. + +Their short colloquy had not been overheard, nor had their presence +been particularly noticed there except by one person--the Countess +Mavrodin. She had reached the head of the stairs as De Froilette had +leaned confidentially forward toward the Ambassador, and she hastily +greeted a friend, keeping her standing at the top of the stairs while +they talked. She had good reason to be curious regarding such a +confidence between two such men, and while she laughed and talked she +watched them. She did not move until they had crossed the vestibule, +and when they separated she followed Lord Cloverton. + +Desmond Ellerey met her and found her in a gracious mood. + +"Have I quite pardoned you for mistaking me for another woman that +night in the Altstrasse?" she said gayly. + +"I hope so; indeed, I thought so." + +"I am sorry. I ought to have reserved some of my displeasure." + +"Why?" + +"So that I might demand a favor." + +"You have but to demand, Countess." + +"Then stay with me and keep me near Lord Cloverton," she said. + +"What! Has he incurred your displeasure, too?" + +"Must I give reasons for my demand?" + +"No." + +"Then you trust me?" + +"As I would trust any woman." + +For a moment she seemed satisfied, and then she turned toward him. + +"Is there a meaning underneath that? Do you trust no woman?" + +"I have learnt my lessons in a hard school, Countess. I trust few, +either men or women, and I have more knowledge of men than women." +They followed Lord Cloverton across the rooms, and she noticed every +one to whom he spoke. Presently he stood to watch the dancing for a +moment, but he seemed to avoid any person who might detain him in +conversation for any length of time. + +"I think the Ambassador will leave early to-night," the Countess said. +"May I beg another favor, Captain Ellerey? Will you see that my carriage +is ready waiting for me?" + +Ellerey went to do her bidding, wondering why she was watching the +Ambassador so keenly. It took him some time to find her servants, and +as he returned he met Lord Cloverton. With the slightest of recognitions +the Ambassador got into his carriage. + +"The Embassy, quickly," he said. + +Countess Mavrodin came down the stairs as Lord Cloverton drove away. + +"I thank you," she said. "I have a habit of remembering favors." + +"I shall remember that you have said so," Ellerey answered. "Indeed, +I can even now ask one. Only this afternoon Lord Cloverton was pleased +to tell me that he looked upon me as an enemy. Should you discover +anything which might affect me, will you tell me?" + +"He said you were an enemy; then I am not suspicious in vain. Yes, I +will tell you if I can. One word, monsieur. You neither trust women +nor men, so perchance the warning is unnecessary; but of all men at +least distrust one--Jules De Froilette." + +"Did her Majesty bid you give me that message?" Ellerey asked. + +"No, monsieur; it is an original idea. I have ideas of my own sometimes. +I have one now. If you are leaving the palace, I will drive you to the +Western Gate." She was pretty, and Ellerey was only human. Strictly +speaking, his duty was to remain, lest the Queen should send for him; +but he helped the Countess into her carriage and seated himself beside +her. She refused to be serious as they drove through the city, and +when Ellerey entered his lodging he was left to wonder at what point +the incidents of the evening touched his mission. Why should the +Countess become suddenly interested in the movements of Lord Cloverton? +and since she was closely attached to the Queen, why should she warn +him against De Froilette, who was also deep in her Majesty's confidence? +The problem was beyond his power to solve. + +Frina Mavrodin was a far more important person in Sturatzberg than +Ellerey imagined. It was not only at Court that she was popular; she +was besides the Lady Bountiful to the poor. She was immensely wealthy, +and her beautiful home by the river, in the southwest of the city, had +been called the beggars' paradise, for those who asked charity were +seldom sent away empty. The general criticism of her was that she was +a pretty woman, very adorable, a little frivolous perhaps, and possessed +of much more heart than head. She seemed to take delight in such +criticism, and to be at some pains to fully merit it. But there was +another side to her character which few persons ever got even a glimpse +of. Her profound knowledge of current politics would have startled +Lord Cloverton, and her capacity for intrigue and scheming would have +astonished even Monsieur De Froilette into admiration. There were few +clubs and societies in Sturatzberg, where discontent was fostered and +secret plans discussed, which were not known to Frina Mavrodin. She +was conversant with their secret signs, their aims, and their means, +and knew by sight most of their influential members. A single word +from her would have sent many a man to prison who walked the streets +freely. Perhaps, in all Sturatzberg, there was only one person who +gave her credit for such knowledge, and who was content to be guided +in some measure by her advice. + +This person, at present, occupied a suite of rooms in Frina Mavrodin's +house, and this evening she reclined at full length among the cushions +of a low couch, and watched a door at one end of the room expectantly. +Her hand was stretched out to a bowl of flowers on a table by her side, +and she plucked a petal at intervals which she crushed and let fall. +Something of the girl's character seemed to be in the action. She was +not weary, not worn out with the day's work or pleasure, whichever it +might have been, but was waiting anxiously, irritably even, for news, +or for someone's coming. Her hair had loosened by contact with the +cushions, and fell about her shoulders in luxuriant copper-colored +tresses. Presently the door opened, and an elderly woman entered--an +English woman, plain in feature and resolute in manner. + +"You have been spoiling your flowers," she said, seeing the scattered +petals on the carpet. + +"Never mind them. Has Dumitru come, Hannah?" + +"Just come." + +"Then bring him in, bring him in. Why do you wait?" exclaimed the girl, +half-rising from her reclining position. "I cannot afford to have +fools about me in such times as these." + +"You haven't," the woman answered bluntly, evidently quite used to the +petulant moods of her mistress. "I was one when I came out of Devon +to a heathen place like this; but that time is past." And she went to +the door and beckoned to a man to come in. As he entered she went out, +closing the door behind her. When she had gone the man dropped swiftly +on one knee by the couch. + +"Well, Dumitru?" + +"He returned to-day," said the man, rising and standing erect. "He +went straight to the lodging of this English Captain." + +"And then?" + +"To Court, Princess." + +"And his mission, Dumitru--was it in my interests, think you?" + +The man made a fierce clicking sound with his tongue. + +"Ah, no, no, no; and again a hundred times, no. He is for the Queen +a little, and for himself very much. Have you still a doubt, even now? +A sudden death should be his reward." + +"Patience, Dumitru." + +"The English Captain had another visitor to-day--the British Minister." + +"This English Captain is in great requisition, it would seem," she +said. + +"Aye, he is a man, I grant you that--strong, resolute, and rides as +though horse and rider were one piece." + +"And honest, Dumitru. I have looked into his face and thought him so." + +"Can one judge so easily?" asked the man. "Besides, honest or not, he +is for our enemies." + +"Our enemies must be swept aside," she said imperiously, as though not +only the will, but the power to do so were hers. + +"Thus, Princess," and the man's dark eyes gleamed as he just showed +the keen, thin blade of a dagger which he carried in his cloak. + +"Not without my command, Dumitru," she said hastily. The man bowed +low, disappointed perhaps that the same spirit was not in her as was +in him. + +"We may use this English Captain for our ends," she went on. "I have +a way and you shall help me, Dumitru, when the time comes. That Lord +Cloverton has visited him shows that some new pressure is to be brought +to bear upon him. We shall see how he stands in this, whether firm or +not, and may learn how to act ourselves." + +"He is ready to act when the token is given him," said Dumitru. "He +has a few desperate men who are pledged to his service." + +"You are sure of this?" + +"Quite sure." + +"Who will follow for love of him?" she asked. + +"They are of the kind who follow more readily for money," answered the +man. + +The girl remained thoughtful for a few moments. Something in the man's +information had set her thoughts running in a new channel, and while +she mused Frina Mavrodin entered the room hurriedly. + +Dumitru bowed low before her. + +"You are early," said the Princess. + +Frina turned to Dumitru. + +"Captain Ellerey has returned early to his lodging, too; it would be +well to watch. I do not think it will happen to-night, but should any +messenger seek him we must know at once." + +"Go, Dumitru," said the Princess, and when he had gone she turned to +her companion: "What has brought you home so early?" + +"You, Maritza. I wondered whether you had remained safely here, or +whether you had again jeopardized your cause by going so openly into +the streets. It is known that you are in Sturatzberg." + +"By whom?" + +"That lynx-eyed servant of De Froilette's saw you, as you know. You +thought he would believe himself mistaken, but I knew better. His +master returned to-day, and to-night I found Monsieur De Froilette and +Lord Cloverton in confidential conversation. When two men who hate +each other as they do, agree, it is time to prepare for the storm. You +must remain an absolute prisoner here for a while." + +"I am tired of inactivity." + +"You will not have to wait long," Frina answered. "Within an hour, I +warrant you, there will be spies out in every quarter of the city to +try and find your hiding-place. You are safe so long as you remain +here. What an advantage it is to have such a reputation for +empty-headedness as I have. No doubt De Froilette played a trump card +in telling Lord Cloverton of your presence in Sturatzberg. The task +of finding you will occupy the Minister's attention for a little while, +and if De Froilette is ready, he will seize the opportunity to strike +his blow. That is why I offered to drive Captain Ellerey to his lodging. +If the token is to be given to-night he will not be there to receive +it." + +"It may be sent to him," said the Princess. + +"That is why Dumitru watches by the Western Gate." + +"The moment the token is given I must know," said Maritza. "I have a +plan. I have had plenty of lonely hours in which to mature plans. I +am longing to put them into action. We are too cautious, Frina." + +"Your want of caution in going openly into the city has nearly ruined +us, Maritza." + +"I have many friends in the city." + +"True, and many enemies; and it is the enemies who happen to be in +power. Do not be impatient." + +"Over-caution may be as fatal as impatience," Maritza answered. "We +should advance a step each day, each night; do we advance?" + +"So fast that we shall have to run quickly to keep abreast of affairs +shortly. A few weeks ago had you any real hope of being in Sturatzberg? +Yet you are here. Had you even a suspicion that Jules De Froilette had +been working in his own interests for these two years past, and not +in yours?" + +"True, Frina, we have advanced. Heaven help De Froilette when I touch +power. Who knows what injury he may not have done to my cause in these +two years? And he has succeeded in drawing this English Captain into +his schemes." + +"Captain Ellerey does not like De Froilette," said Frina. "Tell me +your plan, Maritza." + +The Princess drew a flower carefully from the bowl and held it to her +face, as though she were absorbed for a moment in its beauty and +fragrance. + +"Captain Ellerey left the Court with you, to-night," she said. "That +was wisely thought of. Did he come willingly?" + +Frina laughed, such a joy in the laugh that the Princess looked at her +in astonishment. + +"Yes, he came willingly, most willingly, I think." + +"You hope to win him to my cause?" + +"He is a man, I am a woman; I shall try." + +"And then?" + +"Then, Maritza--ah, we run on too fast. Tell me your plan." + +"It is strange," said the Princess slowly; "but in England, as I told +you, I once met Captain Ellerey. I told him who I was, and promised +him work for his sword should he ever come to Wallaria." + +"You told him that! Why?" + +"I am a woman, and he is a man," the Princess answered. + +For a moment the two women looked into each other's eyes. Then Frina, +looked down and straightened a fold of her dress, while Maritza bent +to inhale the perfume of the flowers in the vase. The Princess did not +tell her plan, and Frina Mavrodin forgot to question her. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE TIME ARRIVES + + + +Within a short time of Lord Cloverton's return to the Embassy, spies +and secret-service agents were abroad in the city endeavoring to +discover the whereabouts of Princess Maritza. The Ambassador at once +telegraphed to the Foreign Office in London, and received the answer +that the report of her return to Wallaria was absurd, that she was +certainly on her way to Australia. This confident answer, however, did +not satisfy Lord Cloverton, in spite of the fact that no news of the +Princess was forth coming. That she could have returned to Sturatzberg +without his knowledge, more, without the knowledge of any of those who +were so eager to keep her out of the country, seemed impossible; but +then in diplomacy it was often the impossible things which happened. +He was too astute a man to underrate the undoubted ability of De +Froilette. There were few men who probed more accurately the likely +trend of future events, or who were quicker to recognize opportunities +and seize them than the Frenchman, and Lord Cloverton argued that he +was far too clever a man to tell such an unlikely story merely to serve +his own ends. He would know that the very improbability of the tale +would have the effect of drawing attention to himself and his actions. +No, whether the report were true or not, De Froilette believed it, and +evidently saw danger to himself in the presence of Princess Maritza. +At the same time he might perceive a favorable opportunity in the state +of affairs to exploit his own plans, and Lord Cloverton took the +precaution to have the Frenchman under careful observation. + +The unexpected information had also caused the Ambassador to reconsider +Captain Ellerey's position in Sturatzberg. It was quite possible that +he knew more about the Princess than any one else. He was the kind of +man who would have nerve and determination enough to attempt a desperate +venture, and having little to lose and all to win, might go far toward +success. He and De Froilette apparently held little communication with +each other; the characteristics of the two men were antagonistic; and +the Englishman might be quite as capable of playing a deep game as the +Frenchman was. + +It was a sleepless night for the Ambassador. This was just such a +complication as might embroil the nations of Europe in strife, an +excuse which might serve to snap diplomatic relations and spread the +lurid clouds of war from the Ural range to the shores of the Atlantic. +One thing seemed certain, De Froilette had not repeated his information +broadcast. No intimation reached Lord Cloverton that the report had +even been whispered in any of the other Embassies, and there was some +consolation in this. + +No news came during the following day. Wherever the Princess was, her +secret was well kept, probably because only a few persons had been +admitted into it, and it seemed evident that no special movement had +taken place in her favor, or had even been arranged for. Some bold +_coup d'etat_ might be in contemplation, and although the many and +diverse interests in the country were probably sufficient to render +any attempt abortive in itself, yet such an attempt might be the one +thing needed to fan the smouldering ashes into flame, starting a +conflagration which would burn throughout Europe. Such fires never die +out--they are always smouldering. + +Any person who had watched Lord Cloverton closely when he went to the +palace that night, would have been struck by his particular alertness. +He was observant of the composition of the different groups in the +rooms, of those who were chiefly about her Majesty, and of those who +danced together. The slightest confidential whisper near him attracted +his attention, and more than once he caused a blush to mount to a +pretty woman's cheeks by suddenly surprising a murmured love passage +meant for no other ears but her own. To those to whom he spoke he +succeeded in giving the impression that he had only a few moments to +spare them, that he was purposely keeping himself free, but he managed +to suggest that it was not business, but some pleasure he anticipated. + +He glanced round all the rooms in search of Captain Ellerey, who either +had not yet arrived, or had already retired into some quiet corner, +probably with the Countess Mavrodin. The last conjecture was wrong, +however, for standing in a position which commanded the entrance to +the suite of state rooms, the Ambassador presently saw Frina Mavrodin +on the arm of an _attache_ of the Austrian Embassy, an offshoot of a +princely house who, rumor said, had already been twice refused by the +fair lady, and was only awaiting an opportunity to adventure his case +for a third time. He was evidently persuading her to dance with him, +and she was laughingly protesting, perhaps promising to do so later +in the evening. She was, however, not averse to his company, for she +palpably kept him by her side, and they remained talking and laughing +together, the man extremely happy, the woman watchful and rather +preoccupied, the Ambassador thought. + +For half an hour or more she remained there, evidently using the +Austrian's presence to keep herself free from other companions. Several +spoke to her, but since the _attache_ did not move away, the new +arrivals were obliged to leave her after exchanging a few words. At +last Lord Cloverton noticed that the expression of her face suddenly +changed. She looked at him, or rather beyond him, and turning to +discover the cause, he saw Desmond Ellerey crossing the room toward +her. He also became aware that Baron Petrescu was standing close to +him and that he was watching Ellerey, too. + +Frina Mavrodin spoke quickly to her cavalier, telling him perhaps where +he would find her for the promised dance, but at any rate she dismissed +him. For a few moments Ellerey stood beside her, her smiling face +raised to his, and then they went slowly toward the ball-room. + +"The little comedy interests you, my lord." + +"Well, Baron, my white hair gives me credit for greater age than does +the feeling of youth which is still in me. I am young enough, even +now, to recognize love, and to take an interest in it--in others, of +course." + +Baron Petrescu shrugged his shoulders rather contemptuously. + +"The moth ever flits to the candle, and usually gets burnt," he said. + +"Would not the lodestone be the more apposite simile?" asked Lord +Cloverton. "In that case the attraction brings no hurt, Baron." + +"Time will show which is the best simile," was the answer. "He interests +me, this Captain Ellerey." + +"He interests the lady too, it seems," replied the Ambassador. "Indeed, +Captain Ellerey interests many people." + +"I trust his courage is equal to his ambition," said the Baron with +a smile. "There are others striving for the same prize, my lord, who +do not easily accept defeat, and are content to pin their honor to the +sword's point." + +"Jealous," said Lord Cloverton to himself as the Baron turned away, +still with a smile upon his face, but with a movement of his shoulders +which suggested an angry bird ruffling its feathers. "He means mischief. +Ellerey may find his hands fuller than he expects, if the Baron's +weapon is as ready as his tongue. Sentiment compels me to wish my +countryman victory, but politically--ah! a cunning thrust which would +lay him aside for a few weeks would be very convenient to me, and +perhaps not the worst thing which could happen for him." And Lord +Cloverton went toward the ball-room. + +The Countess and her cavalier had disappeared. + +"Are you still watching the Ambassador?" Ellerey had asked, as she +placed her hand upon his arm. + +"No." + +"Then let us get out of the crowd. Few people seem to know of the +alcove off the ball-room." + +"And why such a desire for solitude, Captain Ellerey?" she said, seating +herself in a corner and making room for him beside her. + +"Not solitude, Countess, but restful companionship. I am not desirous +of living perpetually under the eye of Lord Cloverton, and, after what +he said, I imagine he watches me pretty closely." + +"And is as closely watched," she replied. + +"Have you found out anything which affects me?" Ellerey asked after +a pause. + +She hesitated. + +"Not directly." + +"Indirectly, then?" + +"Perhaps, a little. It is a small matter, but it interested me. It has +nothing to do with Sturatzberg, but with England." + +Ellerey was silent. Could Lord Cloverton have repeated his story? + +"May I know the nature of the--crime is it?--which is imputed to me?" + +"It is no crime, Captain Ellerey--rather a romance. I should have +repudiated the idea of a crime in connection with you." + +"Countess, that is the kindest thing you have ever said to me." + +She looked into his face, and the color came into her own. + +"Are we not friends?" she said, "and is it not the elemental part of +friendship to believe nothing ill? I would hardly believe a confession +of crime, though your own lips spoke it. No, this information was about +a woman." + +"Unknown women are a dangerous subject between us, Countess," said +Ellerey, with a smile. "I am barely forgiven yet for the mysterious +lady of the Altstrasse." + +"This is not an unknown woman, but a very famous one--none other than +Princess Maritza of Wallaria. You have heard of her?" + +"I have not only heard of her, but seen her and spoken to her." + +"And admired her?" she asked. + +"Yes, her beauty and her indomitable courage." + +"That is what I heard, that you admired her." + +"It is a very strange thing for you to hear. I only saw her once, for +ten minutes, perhaps. She was a schoolgirl, and playing truant. We met +upon the downs one breezy morning, a hat blown away by the wind served +for introduction, and I have never seen her since." + +"It was not for her sake, then, that you came to Wallaria?" + +"Ah! is that what Lord Cloverton thinks!" exclaimed Ellerey. "Now I +understand his attitude more clearly." + +"You do not answer my question," she said. + +"Her story of the state of affairs in Wallaria certainly gave me the +idea of seeking fortune in this country." + +"And love?" she said. + +Ellerey looked at her quickly and wondered. He was not one of those +who believe that they have the power of charming any woman, and his +companion's sudden question and attitude startled him. More than one +answer sprang to his lips ready to trip lightly and pleasantly to her +ears, but they were not spoken. Instead he laughed gayly and said: + +"A Princess and a poor Captain of Horse, Countess? Such a flight of +fancy after ten minutes' conversation! Oh, you jest and laugh at me." + +There was a further question in her glance and attitude, but it was +not asked, for a man appeared at the entrance of the alcove. + +"I have been seeking you, Captain Ellerey," he said. "Her Majesty +commands your attendance. Will you come with me?" + +Ellerey rose at once. + +"You will pardon me, Countess. I must make another opportunity of +quarrelling with you for laughing at me. Shall I take you back to the +ball-room?" + +"No, thank you. I am tired, and will stay here." And with a low bow +Ellerey left her. + +The fact that he had been sent for and the probable meaning of that +interview, did not take first place in Frina Mavrodin's thoughts for +a time. She was considering Ellerey's answer to her question, trying +to understand it when viewed in the light of the Princess's declaration. +Maritza could only have intended her to understand one thing, and +to-night she had endeavored to surprise the truth from Captain Ellerey. +Had she succeeded in learning anything? Surely in such a casual meeting +no lasting impression could have been formed, and yet love works in +sudden and inexplicable fashion sometimes. The Princess seemed to have +treasured the memory of that meeting; Ellerey admitted that it was the +cause of his coming to Sturatzberg. Frina Mavrodin remembered, as +though they had been noted down in one continuous story, everything +Captain Ellerey had ever said to her, and the manner in which he had +said it. She had allowed herself to indulge in a dream, which had had +naught but pleasure in it until the Princess had looked into her eyes +in so strange a fashion; and now that she had sought the truth from +Ellerey himself, she was still left in doubt, in a half-waking +uncertainty, which had a sense of pain in it. + +It was some time before the thought that Ellerey was with the Queen +came uppermost in her mind, urging her to be on the alert. She was in +the act of rising when a shadow fell upon her, and Lord Cloverton stood +in the entrance. + +"Alone, Countess!" he exclaimed. "What great event has happened in +Sturatzberg?" + +"None that I am aware of, my lord." + +"And yet you are alone. It is so rare a circumstance that you must +pardon my astonishment." + +"Even such a frivolous person as I am welcomes solitude sometimes," +she answered. + +"I would not allow my dearest friend to so malign you, Countess," said +the Ambassador, seating himself beside her. "I expected to find Captain +Ellerey with you." + +"You wish to speak with him?" + +"Yes, but it can wait," answered Lord Cloverton carelessly. "Success +is the result of skilfully seizing opportunities, and in finding you +alone an opportunity comes to me. Will you spare me a moment?" + +She bowed a smiling acquiescence as though the question were +unnecessary. + +"Like me, Countess, I am sure you take little interest in uninteresting +people, therefore you must have found this Captain Ellerey interesting. +So have I--so interesting, indeed, that I have wondered why he came +to Wallaria." + +"He has not given me so much of his confidence as you appear to imagine, +my lord." + +"He has not told you! Ah, then I will, in confidence, Countess, in +confidence." + +"I understand, and I shall respect it," she answered, eager to learn +what explanation the Ambassador would give. + +"He had enemies in England who made certain charges against him which +were absolutely without foundation; but so skilfully had they been +manipulated that Captain Ellerey was unable to prove them false. His +nature is an impatient one, and in anger he turned his back upon England +and came to Sturatzberg. In Wallaria there were possibilities. I can +understand his action, Countess; it was a natural one in a man of his +independent character, but it was foolish. It gave credence to the +tales which had been circulated. Now, Countess, influential friends +have taken up his case, and he ought to go back to England." + +"But why tell this to me, my lord?" + +"A woman's persuasion, Countess, is all-powerful." + +She looked at him quickly. + +"But you have told me this in confidence. How can I approach the subject +and yet keep confidence?" + +"You flatter me most delicately by asking my advice on such a matter. +Is it not true that a woman can frame her questions so that a man is +compelled to answer?" + +"Some men, perhaps." + +"Captain Ellerey, I think," said the Ambassador. + +"Under certain conditions." + +"Exactly," he answered. + +"When the questions are asked by one particular woman," she said. + +"You have caught my meaning exactly, Countess." + +"But as it happens, Lord Cloverton, I am not the one particular woman." + +The Ambassador turned a smiling countenance toward her. + +"My dear lady, you do yourself a gross injustice." + +The look he expected to find in her face he did not see there. He had +believed himself possessed of one secret. He suddenly perceived that +he had possibly discovered another--one that might be even more +certainly used to his own advantage, and he made haste to turn it to +account. + +"If I am mistaken," he said slowly, "Captain Ellerey sinks in my +estimation as a stone in water. If I am wrong your displeasure should +urge his return to England, for he is no fit cavalier for Countess +Mavrodin. He would be a mere adventurer to whom every woman is a +pleasant plaything--one whose honor is for barter to the highest bidder. +Such men may well be advised to return to their native land." + +"As I am not the one particular woman so am I not a plaything, my lord. +Has your philosophy no position which a woman may occupy between the +two?" + +"In this case I think not." + +"Such a small position as friendship, for instance," she said, rising. +"Captain Ellerey and I are fast friends." + +"I hardly know whether I can congratulate you," said Lord Cloverton, +rising, too, and showing no sign of annoyance or recognition of defeat. + +"You will pardon me, but I fear I may have been missed," and then as +they passed into the ball-room he went on, "I will respect your +confidence, but may I suggest that your knowledge of Captain Ellerey's +affairs may be useful to him? Why not advise him yourself? At present +he is with the Queen; when I see him again I will tell him that you +wish to speak to him." + +"I have already given him my advice, Countess. I thought to do him a +service by sending him a more powerful advocate." And the Ambassador +left her and went quickly toward the vestibule. As she turned, Monsieur +De Froilette bowed low to her; he too was hastening toward the +vestibule. + +When Desmond Ellerey had followed the messenger across the ball-room, +his guide suddenly paused and said in a low tone: + +"Her Majesty is in her private apartment, and I am instructed to take +you there. Will you come with me this way?" + +He turned from the ballroom and led Ellerey along a corridor and through +a door, which he locked after him. They passed up one corridor and +down another for a little distance, and then ushering him into an +ante-room, his guide left him there while he went to inform the Queen +of his arrival. In a few moments he returned, and, holding open a door, +bid him enter. + +The Queen was alone, seated by a table at which she had been writing. +Ellerey approached her and bent over her hand. + +"The time has come, Captain Ellerey," she said. "You are ready?" + +"I am only waiting your Majesty's commands." + +"You have been sent once or twice, Captain Ellerey, to dislodge a +certain brigand called Vasilici from his fastnesses in the mountains, +and have experienced disappointment perhaps in not finding him." + +"That is so, your Majesty." + +"It was never intended that you should find him," she answered. "For +months past loyal subjects have been gathering in the mountains with +Vasilici, waiting for our word to revolt against the thraldom this +country is under to foreign nations. In the future it is for us to +dictate, not to obey. His Majesty, watched as he is, cannot act freely, +so the duty devolves on me. It is for you to proclaim that we in +Sturatzberg are ready, by carrying a token to Vasilici, which I will +give you, and which you must guard with your life, Captain Ellerey. +The mission with which you are intrusted is a hazardous one. Faction +is rife in the country, and spies lurk in every corner of it. Even now +there may be some setting out upon the road to bar your way to Vasilici. +But for the trusted bearer of this token await high honor and great +reward." + +"Even for a foreigner?" asked Ellerey. + +"You are no more one, Captain Ellerey. This is the land of your +adoption, and by this service are you not proving yourself a worthy +son?" + +"Your Majesty commands. I am content to trust to your Majesty for my +reward; but one thing troubles me." + +"What is that?" + +"The revolution--for such it must be--will heat men's blood against +the foreigner. May I ask consideration for Lord Cloverton and his staff +at the British Embassy?" + +"You have our word that no harm shall come to them. We are not fighting +Embassies, but the riff-raff which has come into our land--the +adventurers who bear themselves as though they were our masters. We +have been under an iron flail from the palace to the hovel. It is +against this subjection that we rebel. You are prepared to fight and +win with us." + +"I am waiting for the token, your Majesty." + +"I love a man of few words," she said; "and as surely as success will +come, I pledge my word that the ribbon of the Golden Lion of Sturatzberg +shall be yours, Captain Ellerey, and with it revenue sufficient to +bear it fittingly. This is the token," she went on, baring her arm, +on which, just above the elbow, was a bracelet of iron, a chain joining +together four medallions. "It is an ancient treasure of Wallaria, worn, +it is said, by savage kings in this country before ever the Romans had +trampled it with their all-conquering legions. I will seal it in this +box, which you must guard with your life and bear to Vasilici. Seeing +it, he will welcome you as he would ourself. With him return +triumphantly to Sturatzberg, and if a rabble of rebellious soldiery, +led away by traitors who are among us, stand in your way, I can trust +Captain Ellerey's sword to cut a path through it. Will you unclasp the +bracelet for me? the fastening is difficult." + +As she held out her arm the door opened, and the servant who had fetched +Ellerey entered. + +"Monsieur De Froilette, your Majesty, has just informed me that his +Majesty is on his way here." + +For one moment the Queen stood undecided. + +"Do not unfasten it, Captain Ellerey," she said, laying a detaining +hand upon his. "To-morrow, some time before midnight, it shall be sent +to you. Not to your lodging, that might be dangerous. Wait for it at +the Toison d'Or. It is an inn of no repute in the Bergenstrasse, which +runs toward the Southern Gate. This same messenger who came to you +to-night shall bring it, sealed as I have said. Then make all speed +to Vasilici, who lies in the neighborhood of the Drekner Pass. Now go. +Quickly. He will show you the way." + +It was by a different way they returned. + +"The Toison d'Or about midnight," said his guide as he stood to open +a door, "and monsieur would do well to leave his lodging by the Western +Gate as soon as he has prepared for the journey. This passage will +take monsieur to the vestibule." + +As he went toward the staircase, determined to leave the palace at +once, Ellerey saw Baron Petrescu leaning against the marble balustrade +talking to one of his companions. There were certain men at Court who +appeared to follow the Baron like his shadow. He was watching all those +who left the palace as carefully as on a former occasion he had +scrutinized all those who entered it, and again Ellerey's appearance +seemed to release him from his labors. With a whispered word to his +companion he moved hastily among the people who were crossing to the +stairs, and contriving to jostle Ellerey, came to a standstill directly +in front of him. + +"I am waiting, monsieur," he said. + +"For what?" + +"Your apology." + +"You jest with me. I have none to make." + +"Monsieur is slow to appreciate," said the Baron, with a curl of his +lip. "He forgets that he has stared most insufferably at me on many +occasions, and that now he attempts to bar my progress." + +"I appreciate that you wish to quarrel with me," Ellerey answered +bluntly, "but I am in no mood for quarrelling. Will monsieur oblige +by standing out of my way, or must I be at the trouble of throwing him +down the stairs?" + +The answer came quickly and was to the point. With a sudden sweep of his +arm Baron Petrescu struck Ellerey sharply across the face with his +glove. + +Perhaps there was something in Ellerey's expression which made the +Baron's companion step hastily to his side. Experience may have taught +him that Englishmen have a strange habit of punishing such insults on +the spot with a total disregard of all formalities. Perhaps it was his +action which prevented Ellerey carrying out his intention. He drew +himself up to his full height, the air whistling through his clenched +teeth as he caught his breath, and then he bowed slightly to the Baron, +who turned away, leaving his companion to settle the matter. + +"Monsieur will give me the name of a friend, so that we may arrange +for this affair to-morrow." + +"Why not to-night? I never sleep upon my quarrels." + +"Impossible, monsieur." + +"Is not the choice with me?" + +"Certainly, but--" + +"Then I say to-night," Ellerey answered. "There was a moon when I +entered the palace." + +The man shrugged his shoulders, disgusted at the utter barbarity of +these Englishmen. + +"The name of your friend, then, monsieur?" + +Ellerey was in a difficulty. He could think of no one to whom he was +desirous of intrusting an affair of this kind. Before he could reply, +however, he felt a touch upon his arm. + +"Can I be of service?" The speaker was an Englishman and a stranger +to him. + +"You will be doing me a great favor, monsieur, and I thank you." + +The stranger at once went aside with the Baron's friend, In a few +minutes he returned. + +"Come, Captain Ellerey. It is in half an hour's time." And with an +assenting inclination of his head Ellerey went slowly down the stairs +with his companion. + +As he did so a woman came from a corner, and leaning over the +balustrade, watched the descending figures. Her face was pale, and her +lips trembled. + +"I have sought you for my promised dance," said a voice behind her. +"What is interesting the Countess so much?" + +"I was thinking that the moon will be setting shortly," she answered +absent-mindedly. "In an hour it will be dark or very nearly." + +"Well, Countess, what can that matter?" said the Austrian _attache_. + +She looked at him vaguely for a moment, thinking of the man who had +just descended the stairs. Then she said with manifest effort and a +faint smile as she laid her hand upon the _attache's_ arm: + +"No, indeed; what can it matter--to me?" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE IRON BRACELET + + + +When Lord Cloverton left Frina Mavrodin he hurried to the vestibule and +sent a message to the King, asking for an immediate and private +audience, and De Froilette saw the Ambassador go to the King's private +apartment soon afterward. De Froilette knew that this sudden audience +could only relate to one of two matters--either Lord Cloverton had made +some discovery respecting the Princess Maritza, or else he was aware +that Ellerey was with the Queen and was about to make some move which +would defeat any conspiracy which might be in progress. That the +Ambassador had any idea of the real state of affairs, De Froilette did +not believe. He did not go at once to warn the Queen. It was only as the +King and the Minister were leaving the private apartments that he +realized the danger. + +Lord Cloverton was troubled. The various pieces of the puzzle which +he had fitted into places to his satisfaction suddenly seemed inadequate +to fill the places he had assigned to them. To-night he had discovered +a depth in Frina Mavrodin the existence of which he had never suspected. +She had fenced him with his own weapons in a manner he was little +accustomed to, and he had signally failed to make use of her in the +way he desired. True, she had told him that Ellerey was with the Queen, +but she had mentioned it as a circumstance of small importance. Was +it? Was the casual information meant to mislead him? This frivolous +woman was beginning to take a new position in the Ambassador's +calculations, and he began, almost unconsciously, to look for some +large space in the intricate puzzle which she might possibly fill. He +had imagined that love linked her to Desmond Ellerey, and he was +apparently mistaken; it was only friendship, and such friendship might +mean anything. + +He spoke to Captain Ward, telling him to be particularly observant of +Ellerey, and then went to the King. It was unusual with him, but for +once he had not determined what course of action to take even when he +entered the King's room. + +"What important twist have affairs taken, my lord?" asked the King. + +"It is to prevent any twist that I ventured to ask for this audience, +your Majesty. I am forced to refer again to a subject which, on a +former occasion, gave you some displeasure. You must pardon my +importunity, since I believe the danger is imminent." + +"I am all attention," the King answered, conscious of the slight +embarrassment there was in Lord Cloverton's manner. + +"As you are aware," the Ambassador went on slowly, "I have always +considered many of the plots which from time to time become apparent +in Sturatzberg of small importance. I have, on the other hand, +consistently warned your Majesty of the danger which might at any time +manifest itself in a sudden development of the tactics of the brigands +in the mountains. Their chief, Vasilici, may be a chief only in name, +and it is certain that during the past few months many have joined him +who are not brigands in any sense of the word, and who, I conceive, +are merely using this outlaw as a convenient cloak to their wider and +more sinister intentions." + +"Certainly you have always been an alarmist in this matter," said the +King, with a smile. "Whatever their intentions may be, the fact remains +that they have always fled at the approach of a handful of troops." + +"Which is rather unnatural, it seems to me," Lord Cloverton answered +quickly. "Whatever else he may lack, your brigand is not deficient in +courage, and it must be remembered that the troops sent against these +men have never succeeded in finding a trace of their spoils." + +"Do you suggest that they have been warned of the expeditions sent +against them?" + +"I think it probable." + +"By whom, my lord?" + +"We might laugh at the danger, your Majesty, could I answer that +question," replied the Ambassador. "It must be remembered that there +are many in Sturatzberg who, while personally loyal to you, are not +satisfied with your foreign policy; who believe that Wallaria is too +much under the direction of the greater European Powers, and would +help you to emancipation in spite of yourself." + +"A judgment which is the outcome of ignorance, Lord Cloverton." + +"I think so, but it is not reasonable to suppose that they do," returned +the Ambassador. "Such a feeling is prevalent in all grades of society +in Sturatzberg, from her Majesty Queen Elena, down to the beggars in +the Altstrasse." + +"The Queen, my lord!" exclaimed the King sharply. + +"I do not speak hastily, your Majesty, Queen Elena has all those +attributes which go to make a great ruler. She has courage, diplomacy, +tact, and deep in her heart lies a living, beating interest in her +country's welfare." + +"Such praise seems merely the mask for an accusation, my lord. I must +request you to be more explicit." + +"To be so, your Majesty, was my reason for asking for this interview. +I humbly protest, however, that I make no accusation in the ordinary +sense of the word. Her Majesty's conception of her country's welfare +is, I venture to think, an erroneous one, although I imagine her +desire is only to help forward a policy which she believes is near +to your heart." + +"Enough, Lord Cloverton, let us get to the root of the matter quickly. +Our absence will be remarked and occasion comment." + +The King spoke irritably, and the Ambassador felt the delicacy and +difficulty of the position. He was not quite sure of his ground. He +was rather in the position of one who draws a bow at a venture, and +yet he had a shrewd suspicion in which direction the mark lay. Of one +thing he was certain--the danger; and he felt justified in taking any +risk for the purpose of preventing trouble. + +"To-night the Queen has given a special audience to a countryman of +mine, a Captain Desmond Ellerey in your Majesty's service," said the +Ambassador, speaking quietly and concisely. "This Captain Ellerey is +a man of courage and resource, in a way an adventurer, prepared for +any hazardous enterprise if he is once convinced that it is in the +service of his adopted country. I believe the Queen intends to send +him upon some secret mission which, although she may be ignorant of +the fact, will militate against your Majesty, and against your peaceful +policy." + +"An accusation of treason!" exclaimed the King. "You go too far, my +lord." + +"I make no such accusation; I only fear an act which may lead to treason +in others, and seek to prevent it." + +"Why not question Captain Ellerey?" + +"I have done so, but to no purpose." + +"I will question him," said the King. "Why not question her Majesty?" +Lord Cloverton suggested. "Captain Ellerey is with her at this moment." + +"You shall go with me, Lord Cloverton," said the King. "Since you have +such suspicions it is no time for secret questionings. Her Majesty +shall hear your accusation and shall answer it." + +The Ambassador bowed. The King's decision pleased him. If he had not +succeeded in raising the King's suspicion, he had raised his anger, +which would serve the same purpose, and Lord Cloverton still held the +trump card in his hand. + +The moment Ellerey had left her, the Queen glanced hastily around the +room. She slipped the box she had shown him underneath some papers in +her drawer, and then with a smile reseated herself, and, drawing paper +toward her, she rapidly began to write a note to Frina Mavrodin. + +She rose quickly with a little gesture of surprise when the King and +the English Ambassador were announced. The King strode into the room, +anger still in his face, but Lord Cloverton came to a halt near the +door. + +"Your Majesty is welcome," said the Queen, "but you look troubled. I +fear I spend too little time helping to share your Majesty's +difficulties." + +"To defeat intrigues is my hourly occupation, Elena, but there are +some intrigues, or whispers of them, which call for special treatment; +they are not to be met by counterplot, but by open speech and outspoken +denial." + +"Am I accused?" the Queen asked. + +"Lord Cloverton has seen fit to warn me." + +"Of what?" she asked innocently, looking toward the Ambassador. + +The King hesitated for a moment, almost as though he wished Lord +Cloverton would speak. "To-night you have received Captain Ellerey in +private audience," he said after a moment's pause. + +"I have." + +"May I know for what purpose?" + +The Queen looked first at her husband, then at the Ambassador, her +glance lingering on the latter for a moment. + +"I cannot tell you why," she answered slowly. "It was a matter of no +great importance, but it was essentially private. I would be unfair +to Captain Ellerey to speak of it." + +It may have been the flicker of triumph upon the Ambassador's face +which urged the King on. + +"We expected to find Captain Ellerey still with you." + +"The audience was a short one," was the answer. + +"I am afraid I must demand to know its purport," said the King. "I do +so in your own interests." + +"You wish me to deny some accusation Lord Cloverton has made against +me. I tremble lest I may be unable to do so. Of what frivolity do I +stand accused?" and she smiled at the Ambassador with an innocent +expression on her face pleading for lenient judgment. + +"Of no frivolity," said the King. "Lord Cloverton has suggested that +you have despatched this Captain Ellerey upon some secret mission to +the enemies of our country, seeking to do us a service, but in truth +jeopardizing our policy of peace, perchance our throne. In substance, +my lord, that is your accusation, I think?" + +"That is so," returned the Ambassador. + +"To what enemies?" asked the Queen, after a pause. + +"Is there any need to particularize?" said the King irritably. "The +accusation is either true or false." + +"It is false." + +The denial was quietly spoken, but an angry flush glowed in her cheeks. +"By your Majesty's leave, such an accusation should be definite, and +again I ask, what enemies?" + +"I will be definite," said Lord Cloverton. "Doubtless you have not +considered well--" + +"Be direct, too, my lord; what enemies?" + +"I will. I mean those enemies who are in communication with the traitors +who have joined the brigand Vasilici in the mountains." + +"You accuse me of holding communication with these men?" + +"Your Majesty must pardon my bluntness, I do." + +"You are pardoned, and thanked also," she said lightly. "Such bluntness +comes more directly at the heart of the matter than much diplomacy, +and is more easily answered. I deny the charge." And then, turning to +the King, she went on: "For my own protection I am constrained to tell +you the purpose of Captain Ellerey's visit to me. He has quickly +received the favor of one of the ladies of our Court, a favor for which +I am in some measure responsible. When Captain Ellerey first came among +us, he furnished us with subject for jesting by declaring that no woman +had ever played a serious part in his life. I expressed a belief that +such a statement would rouse feminine enthusiasm in Sturatzberg, and +I have since often questioned him whether he could truthfully repeat +the declaration. It was a jest, but seriousness has come of it. Captain +Ellerey's ambition has flown high, even to the Countess Mavrodin. Such +an ambition must bring him bitter enemies, in numbers like leaves in +autumn; and if to-night I have persuaded him against soaring so high, +if I have made Frina Mavrodin's position in Sturatzberg plainer to him +and endeavored privately to warn him against such an ambition, have +I done aught to pander to my country's enemies or to jeopardize your +Majesty's throne?" The question was asked in such a manner as to make +the King laugh. + +"No, but by my faith, your interference may have jeopardized the lady's +happiness. Is she to have no voice in the matter?" + +"I fear she is somewhat fascinated by Captain Ellerey," said the Queen +with a smile, "but such a thing as marriage is not to be thought of. +Think of it. Frina Mavrodin and a Captain of Horse! You English place +no limits to your ambition," she added, turning to Lord Cloverton. + +"Love leaps over all obstacles," said the King. + +But her Majesty was ready with arguments to prove that the affair was +no laughing matter. She even suggested that such a marriage might have +a political significance, might lead to complications which would have +serious consequences, even to some revolution such as Lord Cloverton +had accused her of fostering. It was no laughing matter as his Majesty +would make it, and her interference was not unnecessary, but intended +to serve the State. Even were Captain Ellerey to rise to great +distinction, she argued, such an alliance would still be fraught with +danger. The Countess Mavrodin with her wealth, with her prestige, and +her close connection with the noblest houses in Sturatzberg, was not +for a soldier of fortune, as, at the best, Captain Ellerey was. She +became eloquent upon the subject, and the King watched the Ambassador, +a smile upon his lips, in anticipation of his discomfiture. + +"I had already begun a letter to the Countess," said the Queen, taking +up the paper on which she had written a few lines. "I want to show her +plainly the impossibility of such a thing. Are you satisfied, Lord +Cloverton?" + +The Ambassador had remained standing by the door and had not taken his +eyes from the Queen as she talked rapidly. There was no tell-tale +expression on his face to indicate his thoughts. Now he advanced. + +"Your Majesty thinks then that this folly, so far as the Countess +Mavrodin is concerned, is a serious matter?" + +"I want to find out." + +"If I am any judge, it is," said Lord Cloverton, "more serious with +the lady than with the man. Her words went far to confirm my ideas +respecting Captain Ellerey, her manner betrayed her own secret." + +"You have spoken to her!" + +"Yes, only to-night. Your Majesty exaggerates the political significance +of such a marriage, I feel sure; it would make enemies for Captain +Ellerey, no doubt, but he is the kind of man who is very capable of +defending himself. A greatly daring Englishmen is an awkward man to +encounter, and there seems to be a general desire to enlist the sympathy +of Desmond Ellerey. That has made me suspicious, and using some +knowledge which I possess concerning him, I have endeavored to make +him apply for leave to return to England." + +"To save him from the Countess?" said the Queen. + +"No, your Majesty; to prevent his being drawn into a plot which seeks +to overthrow the present government of this country." + +"Is there such a plot?" she asked innocently. + +"A dozen have existed ever since I came to the throne," said the King. +The Ambassador's persistency made him angry. + +"Hiding themselves in holes like hunted vermin," Lord Cloverton returned +sharply, "afraid to strike, afraid to be seen, with no plan of action +ready, and altogether futile. I do not speak of such plots as these, +but of one particular plot, whose ramifications spread and grow from +end to end of Wallaria, penetrating to the very heart of the nation +as surely as tree roots push their way to water. The head of it looks +up watchfully from the hidden intrenchments on the mountains at +intervals, waiting for the moment to strike. Anxiously is it waiting +now." + +"For what?" cried the King. "In heaven's name, for what, Lord +Cloverton?" + +"For the token her Majesty delivered to Captain Ellerey to-night." + +A profound silence followed this deliberate accusation. So unflinchingly +was it made, so evident was it that the Ambassador had some knowledge +which he had not divulged, that the King found no words to utter. He +looked helplessly at the Queen like a man who has received a blow which +has dazed him for the time being. The Ambassador's knowledge startled +the Queen, too, but she did not shrink before his steady scrutiny. She +was the first to break the silence. + +"I gave no such token," she said. + +Lord Cloverton started slightly at being given the lie so directly. +What subterfuge was a woman not capable of? + +"You have your answer, my lord," said the King, moving toward his wife. + +The Ambassador bowed. He could hardly pursue the matter further unless +the King assisted him, and he turned to leave the room. + +"You are not satisfied?" said the King sternly. + +"No, your Majesty." + +"What proof can you have? What was the token?" + +Lord Cloverton turned quickly. It was the very question he had hoped +for. + +"A sacred treasure of Sturatzberg, the iron bracelet her Majesty is +accustomed to wear upon her arm." Again there was silence, and, set +as his face was, the mask was insufficient to hide the Ambassador's +excitement. The Queen stood for a moment quite conscious of the dramatic +effect of the silent pause, and then she made three rapid strides +toward the Ambassador. With a sudden sweep of her right hand she ripped +open the left sleeve of her gown from wrist to shoulder and thrust out +her arm to him. + +"I demand your apology, Lord Cloverton." + +She stood imperiously before him, looking down at him. Fire was in her +eyes, an angry flush upon her cheeks, triumph in look and gesture. It +would have gone hard with any subject who had dared to accuse her. The +Ambassador was obliged to murmur his apology, for, tightly clasped +upon the gleaming white and rounded arm, was the bracelet of iron. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE DUEL + + + +The aspect of the night had changed when Ellerey and his companion +left the palace. Fleecy clouds raced across the sky, veiling the face +of the moon at intervals, and making her light fitful and uncertain. +The air struck cold after the warmth within, but beyond drawing his +cloak a little closer round him, Desmond Ellerey seemed indifferent +to the night and to the business he had in hand. + +He asked no questions, and with his eyes bent on the ground followed +his companion mechanically. The cause of the quarrel interested him +more than the issue of it. Why had Baron Petrescu drawn him into this +duel? It had obviously been carefully planned, and the insult +deliberately given at a moment when Ellerey was least desirous of +placing his life in jeopardy. He could only assume that her Majesty's +schemes were, to some extent at least, known to the Baron, and that +having other interests to serve, he was bent on incapacitating him +from performing the mission he had undertaken. That the Baron had any +personal quarrel with him he did not believe. + +Ellerey's companion, on the other hand, was interested in the night. +Each time the moonlight grew pale, or died out altogether for a moment, +he looked at the sky and glanced quickly at Ellerey. He was the more +excited of the two. + +"This is a treacherous light for our work," he said, presently. "We +should have been wiser to have waited until morning." + +"I have other work for the morning," Ellerey answered. + +"Are you a skilful swordsman? The Baron is." + +"Is he?" said Ellerey, indifferently. "I have some reputation in my +regiment, but doubtless I shall be a better judge of my skill presently. +Where do we go?" + +"To tell the truth, I hardly like the rendezvous," was the answer. "It +is a stretch of sward behind an obscure tavern in this part of the +town. Did I not know the Baron to be an honorable man, I should have +refused the meeting in such a place. Your decision to fight to-night +made our choice limited." + +Ellerey stopped and looked about him. They had turned from a side +street into a narrow thoroughfare with tall, dark houses on either +side. The neighborhood looked particularly uninviting. + +"Where are we?" he asked suddenly, remembering that he knew nothing +of his companion, and that by accepting the service he had so readily +offered he might be quietly stepping into a trap. Such a thing would +agree very well with the rest of Baron Petrescu's behavior. + +"Beyond knowing that we are in the purlieus of a lower part of the +town and on the outskirts of the city, I am as puzzled as you are." + +"You seem very credulous of the Baron's honesty, monsieur, to agree +so such a place as this. Which way now?" + +"To the bottom of this street, where we are to wait. The Baron's friend +will meet us there." + +"We will keep the appointment so far," said Ellerey shortly. "I came +to meet Baron Petrescu, but I am not minded to step blindly into a +nest of cut-throats." He strode on as alert now as he had been +indifferent before, and it was not until they had nearly reached the +end of the street that his companion spoke. + +"One moment," he said. "By that light yonder we are to wait. You do +not trust me, Captain Ellerey?" + +"I have not said so." + +"That admits my statement," was the answer. "Until a moment +ago that aspect of the case had not presented itself to +me, but on reflection I can hardly wonder at your distrust. The +circumstances tell against me, but had I been in any conspiracy against +you, I should hardly have called your attention to the strangeness of +the rendezvous. I have, however, a better guarantee of my honesty: I +am a countryman of yours, an Englishman. I like this affair as little +as you do; but if you are minded to see it through, I have a sword and +the will to fight beside you should there be any attempt at treachery. +There's my hand upon it." + +It was not the words, but the manner in which they were spoken that +convinced Ellerey, and he took the hand held out to him. + +"Forgive my momentary suspicion," he said. "We meet by the light yonder, +you say." + +The light came from a dim lamp in an upper window. It might have been +placed there as a signal, or some poor seamstress, in the struggle for +a livelihood, might be ruining her health and sight by it. It must, +at any rate, have been very constantly there, or it would not so readily +have been mentioned to mark a place of meeting. As they went toward +it, the figures of two men became dimly visible standing in the shadow +of the wall. One advanced to meet them, and addressed himself to +Ellerey's companion. + +"I much regret this unusual mode of procedure, but it is unavoidable +under the circumstances and in view of your friend's decision to fight +to-night. May I request that you will follow us in silence?" + +The other man moved from the shadow. It was Baron Petrescu; and going +to the house which was next to that in which the lamp shone, he knocked +twice at the door in a peculiar manner which was evidently a known +summons to those within. Some considerable time elapsed before the +summons was answered, but the Baron showed no impatience, and this +manifest knowledge of the ways of the establishment did not inspire +Ellerey with confidence. Once within, murder and concealment of the +crime might be easy. Who was there in all Sturatzberg to know that he +had ever entered this house? And how many were there in the wide world +to care whether he ever left it? + +Presently the door opened a little space, and a shaggy head was thrust +out in a truculent manner. Whether the Baron spoke to him, or whether +the man recognized his visitor, Ellerey could not determine, but the +door was opened wide, and they were admitted into a small, ill-lighted +lobby. The entrance was a private one, not a usual _cafe_ entrance, +but the smell of stale liquor and smoke and the reek of highly spiced +dishes proved that the _cafe_ was under the same roof, and proclaimed +it as a resort of that lower stratum of society which loves its food +pungent and highly flavored. That there was such silence in the house +was surprising. + +"A private visit, Theodor," said the Baron. "We do not join the assembly +to-night. Reassure them, and let us have a word with you." + +Theodor opened one of the folding-doors in the lobby, and in a +stentorian voice shouted some word, which Ellerey did not catch. Its +effect was magical. Immediately there arose a loud hum of voices, the +clinking and clatter of innumerable glasses and plates, and the rattle +of dice and dominoes. Then Theodor let the door swing to again, muffling +the sounds of this living hive, and led the way into a small bare room +at the side. + +The Baron's companion now became the spokesman. + +"We have a little matter to settle, Theodor, a private quarrel which +does concern the good fellows yonder, and of which they must know +nothing. The grass alley in the garden will serve our purpose. Let us +out quietly, and have a care that no one wanders that way to cool an +aching head until we have departed." + +Theodor looked from the speaker to his companions, each in turn, and +Ellerey keenly watched the man's eyes to note if any look of +understanding were exchanged. He could detect none. + +"Of course, of course, it is a good spot for such matter, but if one +is killed?" + +"Well, Theodor, there is earth enough in the garden for burial." + +Theodor shrugged his shoulders. + +"And you will call none to help you with that work?" + +"No. Have I not said that the matter is private?" + +"And there is no surgeon." + +"I have sufficient skill for that," was the answer. "Come, Theodor, +time presses, and the moon will not serve us long." + +"Is it in the cause?" + +"No," said Baron Petrescu, sharply, as though he were afraid some +different answer would be given, but Ellerey could not help believing +that the cause, whatever it might be, was at the bottom of the whole +affair, that the Baron had designedly insulted him that evening because +of it, and that his speedy removal was considered necessary to the +well-being of it. Theodor did not seem to believe the Baron's statement +either, but it was apparent that either he had not the power or the +desire to oppose the Baron, for he answered quickly: + +"I see. Will an hour be enough?" + +"More than enough." + +"Good. Then in one hour I will walk through the garden, and shall find +it empty. I shall know that anyone with an aching head is free to cool +it there, and if there be a grave to trample on, what matter? No one +will know." + +Without further words he led the way down a narrow passage, at the end +of which he quietly unbarred a door. + +"Three steps down," he said by way of caution, as he stood aside to +let them pass. He watched them until their figures were lost in the +shadows of the garden, and then he closed and barred the door again. + +It was a garden of some extent, and little heaps of chairs and small +three-legged tables showed that on warm nights the frequenters of the +cafe drank their wine and threw their dice there instead of within. +The lights in the house--the cafe seemed to occupy only the back of +it--shone through the shrubberies, and the murmur and clatter were +plainly audible as the four men crossed the lawn and went toward the +end of the garden along tortuous paths which made the really short +distance seem a long one. + +At last they came out on to a level piece of turf surrounded on all +sides by high hedges, through which were many openings leading to other +parts of the garden, and through one of which they had come. There +were trees here and there, the long shadows thrown across the turf, +and without absolutely obscuring the moonlight, they made it extremely +difficult to fight a duel by. Baron Petrescu walked to one end of the +lawn, and Ellerey to the other, leaving the two seconds together to +make final arrangements. Once convinced that his adversary contemplated +no treachery, Ellerey sank again into his indifferent state, paying +no attention to the choosing of the ground, taking no note of the +light, nor considering how he might best use his position to the full +advantage. The Baron, on the other hand, was quick to observe exactly +how the shadows fell, and to calculate every chance which might help +him. + +"We are ready, Captain Ellerey." + +Without a word Ellerey threw off his cloak and coat, and taking his +sword, weighed it in his hand, testing its poise and balance. + +"In case of accident is there anything you wish me to do?" asked his +companion; "anything to take charge of, any message to send? The affair +has been so hurried that there has been no time to make these small +arrangements." + +"Thank you, there is nothing," Ellerey answered. "Under the +circumstances I am fortunate in not possessing a friend in the world +who cares a snap of his fingers whether I am living or dead." + +"Nor a woman?" + +Ellerey hesitated for a moment. + +"The Countess Mavrodin might be interested to learn that I was dead. +Yes, if anything should happen, please tell her." + +"But in England?" + +"There is no one," Ellerey answered. + +A cloud passed over the moon as the combatants faced each other, and +not until it had passed was the signal given. Then steel rang on steel +with a music which sounded weirdly in the night. No other sound was +there save a rustling in the leaves now and again as though they +trembled in sympathy to some swift lunge or quickly parried thrust. +The moon shone clearly for a space, touching the swords into two streaks +of flashing light, and painting the men's set faces with a cold hue, +ghostly, and deathlike. The Baron had a reputation as a swordsman, had +stood face to face with an antagonist many times before, and more than +once had seen his adversary turn sightless eyes to the morning sky. +It was therefore, perhaps, only natural that he should have contemplated +his encounter with the Englishman with equanimity. At the same time +Ellerey's determination to settle the quarrel at once and by moonlight +may have had the effect of making him more cautious than usual. +Certainly his second, who had often seen him fight before, marvelled +at his deliberation to-night. The well-known brilliancy of his attacks +was wanting, and he could only suppose that the Englishman was a more +worthy swordsman than he had imagined. Whatever deliberation the Baron +used, he at first pressed the fight far more than Ellerey, whose whole +attention seemed occupied in defending himself. He was less attractive +to watch than the Baron, slower, it seemed, in his movements, and with +less invention and resource, yet Petrescu appeared to gain no advantage. +Every thrust he made was parried, if rather late sometimes, still +parried, and he found that his adversary's wrist, if less flexible +than his own, was of iron. He changed his tactics, he pressed the fight +less and less, hoping to make the Englishman careless, and tempt him +to attack more vigorously. In a measure the device succeeded. Ellerey's +point began to flash toward him with a persistency he had not expected, +but there was no less caution. Twice, thrice, the Baron used a feint +and thrust which had seldom missed their intention, and had proved the +undoing of many an adversary; but now they were met in the only manner +it seemed that they could be met successfully. At the third failure +the Baron's computation of the Englishman's skill underwent a rapid +change. He had met his match, a foeman worthy of his steel, as +consummate a swordsman as himself; and if for a moment there was a +sense of disappointment, it was quickly followed by one of keen +satisfaction not unmingled with a feeling of friendship for his +antagonist. There was that in Baron Petrescu which he had received no +credit for, even from his friends. What contempt he had had for Ellerey +disappeared, and a desire to win for the mere sake of winning took +possession of him. All the thoughts which had prompted him to this +duel were forgotten; he was no longer intent on killing his adversary. +Now to verify his superiority and to prove it to this worthy foeman +was his ambition, and it was in this spirit he pressed the contest +with increased energy. The night became full of eyes for him, eager +eyes, watchful of his skill, and hushed in the silence a thousand +voices seemed ready to proclaim his victory. + +There was no such complication of thoughts in Ellerey's mind. The Baron +had grossly insulted him, had forced this quarrel upon him, and he +meant to punish him if he could. Whether he killed him or not was of +small consequence so long as he thoroughly taught him a lesson. + +Yet to him also the night had eyes, and the air a feeling of movement +in it, stealthy movement that walked on tiptoe and held its breath. +The steel sang, now high, now low, distinct sounds and continuous. The +breeze rustled the leaves then and again, but something else was +stirring in the night, now behind him, now to his right, just where +the high hedges enclosed the lawn. Once he heard it like the rustle +of some startled animal among the dried and fallen leaves, and again +he heard it, less distinct perhaps but more pervading, as when a crowd +waits spellbound. + +The Baron's attack grew fiercer again; twice he nearly broke through +Ellerey's defence just when the sounds were audible in his ears. The +Baron's most dangerous thrusts, and the coming of the sounds seemed +to synchronise, as though there were a connection between them, as +though they were parts of some whole. Ellerey almost expected to read +a solution of the mystery in his opponent's eyes, which glittered in +his pale, moonlit face. But the solution was not in the Baron's eyes--it +was behind him. For one instant Ellerey glanced over the Baron's +shoulder to the thick-set hedge beyond, and in an alley there the +moonlight fell for a moment upon a pale face thrust forward a little +too eagerly. The night was alive with eyes. + +"It is treachery, then, after all!" Ellerey burst out suddenly, and +as he spoke he used the Baron's own particular feint and thrust, and +his sword point ran swiftly and smoothly into soft flesh. + +With a low cry his adversary staggered back and fell, and in that +moment the night was full of voices, too. Men rushed with angry cries +and gesticulations from every alley of the garden, some to this side, +some to that, to surround the little party. In an instant the seconds +had drawn their swords and were beside Ellerey. + +"Back, you fools!" came faintly from the wounded man, but the eager +crowd did not heed, even if they heard, him as they rushed to the +attack in overwhelming numbers. + +"On my oath, Captain Ellerey, this is no work of mine," said the Baron, +attempting to stagger to his feet, but falling to the ground again. + +His second, too, shouted to the crowd, using the Baron's name to enforce +his words, but he might as well have shrieked forbiddance to the +incoming tide. The mad crowd rushed upon the three men from all sides, +and although the flashing swords kept them back for a few moments, and +harsh cries told that one blade or another had done its work, it was +certain that only in flight was their safety against such odds. + +As one ruffian staggered back with a yell of pain from the point of +Ellerey's sword, the Baron's second whispered in his ear: + +"Make for the alley just in front of you, to the left, to the right +and then to the right again. There is a door in the high wall of the +garden. You are safe if you can reach it. It is you they want, they +will not harm the Baron. Rush for it. I will keep them off as long as +I can." + +Ellerey whispered the same instructions to his second, and then, waiting +until the crowd had fallen back for a moment, he suddenly rushed +forward, using his sword and his clenched fist to force himself a +passage. The crowd was taken by surprise, and a cloud hiding the moon +at that moment was in Ellerey's favor. Before they understood his +intention he had reached the alley. + +"To the right, then left, then right!" he shouted to his companion, +who was running swiftly at his heels. + +"To the door!" rose the shout behind him, and the whole garden was +full of rushing feet. + +Ellerey gave a cry of triumph as he caught the latch of the door and +pulled it open, half turning to his companion as he did so. Had he +been an instant later that exultant cry would have been his last, for +at that moment a dagger flashed down upon him, and only by a quick +spring aside did he avoid the blow. The man who had followed him so +closely was not his second. + +Before his adversary could recover himself, he struck him full in the +face with the hilt of his sword and sent him reeling back into the +arms of the foremost of his companions. The next instant Ellerey had +slammed the door behind him, and was in a narrow lane on the other +side of the wall. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE FOLLY OF A SOLDIER + + + +It was not until he had run some distance along the lane that Ellerey +stopped to listen, and fully to realize that his companion was not +beside him. There were no sounds of hurrying feet in pursuit. He could +not have out-distanced his enemies so completely in so short a time; +either they had come no farther than the door in the wall, or had +turned in the opposite direction, perhaps following his companion. + +With his sword still in his hand, held ready for deadly work at a +moment's notice, he retraced his steps, his senses sharp set to detect +the slightest sound or movement near him. Heavy clouds had engulfed +the moon now, the darkness was extreme, and the silence of the night +unbroken. He went forward carefully; the darkness might hold a legion +of foes, and the silence be a trap to catch him. Ellerey found the +door with difficulty, indeed by chance, for it was cunningly hidden. +Whatever the danger, he must enter the garden again in search for his +comrade. The door was shut, and as he felt along it from top to bottom, +touching no latch nor handle, nor keyhole even, he realized that +entrance that way was barred. The door only opened from within. He had +stepped back to consider how, and at what point, he could best scale +the wall, when a slight movement close beside him caused him to stand +on the defensive in a moment. + +"Is that you, Ellerey?" + +"You got out, then? Thank heaven!" + +"Yes; I didn't speak because I thought you were one of them, and just +now I'm no match for a babe in arms." + +He was leaning against the wall a few feet from the gate. Ellerey had +supposed him farther off by the faintness of his voice. + +"Are you hurt?" + +"Nothing serious, I think, but I've had a good deal of blood let out +of me. I should have occupied that grave in the garden for a certainty +had it not been for the Baron's second, who stood over me when I fell, +and, when the blackguards retreated from the door, put me outside. +This wasn't the Baron's doing." + +"Perhaps not," Ellerey answered. "Can you manage to walk?" + +"Yes, if you'll let me hang on to you, and we don't have to go far. +When I was put outside something was said about going to the left." + +"We'll go to the left, then; but I haven't an idea where we are." + +The wounded man was weaker than he imagined. Before they had gone fifty +yards he began to reel, and even as he suggested that Ellerey should +go on and get help, he fainted. Ellerey took him in his arms and carried +him. His one idea was to get as far away from the scene of the night's +adventure as possible, but his progress was slow. His comrade revived +presently, but although he tried to walk again, the task was beyond +him. So Ellerey carried him, resting at intervals, all through the +night. As long as darkness lasted and they were on the outskirts of +the city they were unlikely to be stopped and questioned, but with +dawn it would be different. Ellerey was without his coat and cloak, +there had been no time to seize them as he rushed from the garden, and +he carried a grievously hurt man in his arms. The first peasant, +trudging to his early toil, who caught sight of them would run and +tell the news as he went. Such publicity was to be avoided at all +costs, or there would be small chance of his being at the Toison d'Or, +in the Bergenstrasse, to keep his appointment. Already a long, thin +streak of gray showed low down in the east, and Ellerey pressed forward +as quickly as possible to find an asylum. He passed the first scattered +dwellings he came to, having no desire to knock up some sleepy peasant +and have to combat his inquisitiveness, as well as his annoyance, at +being so unceremoniously disturbed. Presently where two cross-roads +met he espied a small habitation, from which a thin wreath of smoke +was rising into the morning air, and decided to try his fortune here. +He had set his burden down by the gate when an old woman came from the +house with a pail going to a well in the garden for water. + +"Good mother," Ellerey called out, "I would claim your hospitality." + +The woman turned to look at him, then set down the pail and came to +the gate. + +"What is it? Defend us, there's blood on him!" she exclaimed, pointing +at the prostrate man. "An attack in the night by some ruffians who +would have murdered us, good mother. My comrade is wounded, you see. +Will you give him rest here while I go into the city for help?" + +"It is ill work assisting strangers," answered the woman. + +"Look at me; is there not honesty in my face?" + +"Aye, I quarrel not with your face, but there is that on your tongue +which does not greatly please me." + +"The accent of a foreigner?" asked Ellerey. "Shall I tell you a secret? +The time is coming when you shall have little enough of such an accent +through the length and breadth of the land." + +"For such a prophecy you are welcome," she answered, opening the gate. +"You may come in." + +Ellerey carried his companion up the garden path, and with the help +of the woman and her grandson, who stared in wonder at their coming, +soon had him comfortably placed on a pallet in the little room. + +"Send Dr. Goldberg to me," said his companion; "he lives close to the +palace, and is a friend and discreet." + +The mention of the name caused Ellerey to look closely at the man's +face for a moment. He had been a true comrade, and Ellerey had given +little thought to his identity; now he wondered, and a smile wrinkled +the corners of his mouth. + +His companion in safe keeping, Ellerey began actively to consider his +own affairs. He knew Dr. Goldberg by reputation, but he had no desire +to visit him just now. To invent a tale to satisfy the doctor would +be difficult, and might well be left to the wounded man. He took up +his companion's cloak--he could hardly go into the city as he was--and +then left the room, beckoning the woman to follow him. + +"I will send the doctor at once, good mother," he said, "and there is +something to help my poor thanks. Can you give me a piece of paper and +lend me a pencil?" + +The golden coins clinking in her hand would have purchased a far greater +service. The pencil and paper were brought, and Ellerey wrote rapidly +for a few moments; then tore the paper in half. He folded each portion +carefully, placing one in his pocket, the other he kept in his hand. + +"If the lad would earn something, send him after me quickly," he said, +and then he went up the garden path and took the road to the city. + +In a few moments the boy overtook him. + +"Do you know the palace, my lad?" + +"Yes." + +"To the right of it there is a large square." + +"I know it," answered the boy; "the foreigners who hate us live there." + +"I would curb that young tongue of yours, or you'll be using it +squealing for mercy under the whip. Ask there for Dr. Goldberg's house, +and give him this paper. Do you understand?" + +The lad nodded. + +"Run quickly then, and afterward come to me in the Grande Place. You +know the statue of King Ferdinand there? I shall be beside it. Away +with you. The quicker you do your errand, the greater your reward." + +The lad needed no second bidding. He started off at a brisk trot, and +Ellerey pursued his way to the city. The gates were open, and there +were few abroad in the streets as yet; but the thought of the many +hands which had sought to despatch him in the garden last night made +Ellerey proceed with greater caution than he had ever exercised. Only +a few in the dim light could have seen his face sufficiently to +recognize him, but he drew the cloak up to his chin and concealed his +face as much as possible. He avoided the larger thoroughfares, being +undesirous of meeting any acquaintances; and in the smaller streets +which he traversed he might at any moment come face to face with one +of that crowd he had so recently escaped from. He went warily, +therefore, looking for the slightest glance of recognition in the face +of every man he met. + +In the neighborhood of the Grande Place he lingered in a side street +until he saw the lad approaching the statue, when he went to meet him. + +"You delivered the letter?" + +"Yes. I was asked who gave it me, and I said a man I did not know." + +"That was true enough," Ellerey returned. "Here's for your trouble. +Would you earn more?" + +The boy's eyes glistened as his fingers closed on the silver. It was +easy to buy faithful service in Sturatzberg so long as no one was near +to offer a higher price for unfaithfulness. Ellerey judged that such +a messenger as this lad would pass unchallenged and unnoticed. + +"Take this to the Western Gate and ask for the lodging of a Captain +called Ellerey. He has a servant named Stefan--give him the paper." + +"He shall have it." + +"There is double payment, then. Run, I shall know if your errand is +quickly done, and woe-betide you if you loiter." And having watched +the lad disappear, Ellerey went quickly down a side street, and by +many turnings and doublings on his track, sought to escape any spy who +might chance to be watching him. + +At dawn Stefan stretched out his huge limbs upon the settle, and awoke +with a heavy grunt. No matter how deep his potations on the previous +evening, he always awoke early; not fresh, perhaps, that were too much +to expect, but with his wits clear. Sitting up, he glanced round the +room for signs of his master's return, and, seeing none, grunted again +in wonder. A tankard was on the floor beside him, and he drank the +flat remains from last night's measure with a wry face. Then he pushed +open the door of his master's room and looked in. + +"Empty!" he said, satisfied that his master had not entered without +being heard. "Here's another street quarrel, maybe, and more torn +clothes to sell to the ragman." + +Then Stefan made his morning toilet. It was a simple process. His +ablutions were taken at irregular intervals, sometimes at long +intervals, and this was not the time for them. He ran his fingers +through his hair to take some of the tangle out of it, shook his great +frame to force his clothes into comfortable position, tightened his +loosened belt, and took off his boots. For a few moments he sat on the +settle, his legs stretched out wide apart, then he drew his boots on +again, and stamping himself firmly into them, was ready for whatever +the day might bring forth. + +The street was still silent and deserted as Stefan went to the door +and looked to right and left. The neighborhood was one of the last in +the city to stir itself. If Stefan felt any anxiety regarding his +master, there was no expression in his face to mark it. He was stolid +and imperturbable; would have remained so probably had Ellerey been +carried up the street dead on a shutter. He grunted now and then, +walked half a dozen paces from the door and back to circulate his +blood, and then leaned with his shoulders against the wall as though +he were a fixture there until desperate necessity moved him. + +The boy, who turned quickly into the street, and then came along slowly, +looking to this side and that, hardly appeared the kind of visitor +necessary to move the soldier. Stefan looked at him because there was +no one else in the street to look at; but he was little interested. +As the lad came nearer, however, the soldier became aware that the +sleepy street was beginning to rouse itself. The blind in a window of +the house opposite was drawn aside for a moment, and a face looked +out. The aspect of the morning seemed speedily to satisfy, for the +blind quickly fell back into its place again. Without actually looking +up, Stefan had seen those peering eyes, and curiously enough they had +him interested in the lad, who suddenly stopped in front of him. + +"Can you tell me where a Captain Ellerey lodges?" + +"Were you told to go into a street and bawl for information like that +until you found him?" asked the soldier gruffly. + +"I spoke no louder than I always do," answered the boy. + +"Then it's a hale pair of lungs you've got concealed in that body of +yours. I'm nigh deaf with your shouting. Come within the doorway, my +lad, and whisper. Perhaps I'll catch the meaning of your question when +it does not drum through me like the cry of a drunken crowd of rioters." + +Somewhat abashed, the boy did as he was told, and repeated his question +in a lower tone. + +"By a strange chance he lives in this selfsame house, but he's not +abroad yet," said Stefan. "We do sometimes sleep, and our day doesn't +begin at cock-crow." + +"I don't want him," said the lad, "I want his servant, Stefan." + +"By another strange chance he lives here, too. What do you want with +him?" + +"Is he abroad yet?" + +"Aye, he never sleeps at all." + +"I live too nigh the city for fairy-tales," said the boy. "Will you +bring me to this same Stefan? I have a message for him." + +"Don't bawl it, lad, whisper. He's of a delicate constitution, this +Stefan--I know, for I am he." + +The boy looked doubtful for a moment. + +"Is that truth?" + +"I like your caution," Stefan returned. "You'll succeed, whether you +deal with men or women, though the women will bring out all your mettle, +I warrant. Yes, truth, I am Stefan." + +"I was to give this paper to you." + +The soldier opened it and read it, not without some difficulty, it +seemed. + +"Who gave you this?" + +"A man, I know no more of him." + +"Good. Which way lies your home?" + +"On the road toward Breslen." + +"Good again. Get you home quickly, and look you, my lad, should any +ask what errand you have been on this morning, be a fool and forget. +If your memory's too good, it's like enough some friend of mine will +be spoiling those fine lungs of yours. Hast ever heard a man try to +shout with a sword thrust through him?" + +"No, sir." + +"I have," Stefan answered. "It's a fearsome sound, like a whisper +bubbling up through water. I'd be sorry to hear it from you. Off with +you." + +Stefan watched the boy out of the street, then he went in, and striking +a match, burnt the paper, scattering the charred fragments on the +hearth. + +"Here's news that's an excuse for wine," he said, pouring out a liberal +draught into the tankard. "A man gets rusty as an old lock with waiting. +This will grease the action somewhat." + +"It's early hours for such refreshment," said a voice at the door. + +Stefan winked one eye over the rim of the tankard at the intruder, but +did not pause in his drinking until three parts of the liquid was gone. +Then he drew the back of his hand across his beard and mustache and +sighed with satisfaction. "Never too early to drink thanks for good +tidings, Monsieur Francois." + +The Frenchman, with a quick glance round the room, stepped in, a smile +upon his lips. He had told his master more than once that this servant +of Captain Ellerey's was a drunkard and a fool, and that little was +to be got out of him because nothing was ever trusted to him. + + +"And what are the good tidings," he asked. + +"You'll be laughing at me, because you don't understand my disease, +Monsieur Francois. I hate women." + +"Hate them! _Ma foi_! Then is your disease very lamentable." + +"Well, there it is--I hate them," said Stefan, "but there was one woman +who would not hate me, do what I would. She was a bonny wench, so far +as I am a judge, of bigger girth than most you meet, and with an arm +of muscle to appeal to a soldier like me. At the street corner she'd +wait awhile to see me pass, and she'd remark on the cut of my features +and the stalwart looks of these legs of mine. I took no notice, but +her love was proof against a trifle of that kind. She'd 'make a husband +of me some day,' she said, and those that heard her told me the saying. +There's a vein of superstition in my composition, and for months past +I've been expecting her to keep her word. When a woman's set upon a +matter, where's the hole a man may find safety in? Tell me that, +Monsieur Francois." + +The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders, thinking what a fool his companion +was. + +"This morning there comes a lad looking up and down the street to find +me, and he says to me, 'Where lives Stefan, he who is servant to that +Captain Ellerey we hear so much about?' And I answers cunningly, knowing +the value of caution in such times as these. At last I admit that I +am, and he says, 'There's a fat woman'--that's what he called her, +Monsieur Francois--'There's a fat woman you're afraid of because she's +going to marry you.' I sweated from every hole in my skin, thinking +the time had come. Then says he: 'You needn't be afraid any more. She +was married yesterday to a timber-cutter from Breslen way, and he'll +tame her fast enough like you might a hungry sparrow in winter time.' +Good tidings, Monsieur Francois, believe me, though I doubt the taming +and pity the woodcutter. Why, the muscles in her arm wouldn't blush +to be seen by the side of mine, and a woodcutter would have to cut +deep into the forest before muscles stood out like these." And with +a great laugh Stefan bared his brawny arms for the Frenchman's +inspection. + +"Very beautiful," said Francois. + +"I believe you. Too good to waste in fondling a woman. Ugh! What brings +you so early to the Western Gate?" + +"I have a message for the Captain." + +"Ah, from Monsieur De Froilette?" + +"I only carry messages for my master." + +"I'll deliver it. Tell me quickly, and you shall taste a drop of real +Burgundy, to keep the morning air out of your return journey." + +"I was to tell it to the Captain personally." + +"What!" thundered Stefan, "am I not to be trusted, then?" + +"You know the value of caution in these times," said Francois, "you +spoke of it just now. Monsieur De Froilette is over-cautious, Stefan; +that is the truth." + +"It is a weakness of all masters," the soldier replied, "and so they +overreach themselves. Give me a little confidence, and I am content, +but distrust me, and my ears are ever on the stretch to catch news +which I may use to my advantage. But I have no quarrel with you. The +Captain is out, you must await his return, and while you wait you shall +taste his Burgundy." + +"Out! So early!" + +"Oh, he's in love, I think, for he walks under the stars often, and +on his return sighs like a gathering storm. I hear things, Monsieur +Francois. I know." + +The wily Frenchman nodded sympathetically. + +"Perhaps I might find a market for what you know." + +"That's been in my mind these many days," Stefan answered. "It's the +first word that sticks in my throat. I've never let out secrets before, +maybe because no man has told me any. Come, the wine may loosen my +tongue." + +He took two tankards and a key from the shelf, and led the way along +a passage. The Frenchman followed eagerly, laughing at his companion's +simplicity. It would be strange if Stefan could not tell him some news +which would be useful to Monsieur De Froilette. + +"You have your wine in safe keeping," he said, as Stefan went down +into a cellar, bidding Francois to wait until he had struck a light. + +"Would you have us keep it in the doorway for every thirsty throat in +Sturatzberg? Come down now. Sit you on that empty barrel there. Here's +wine should make you dream to your heart's content. The Captain will +think that it has leaked somewhat. Scurvy treatment, Monsieur Francois, +to have such wine in hiding and never ask a soldier comrade to pass +an opinion. So we help ourselves." + +"To his wine and to his secrets, eh?" + +Stefan drowned his loud laughter in a copious draught, while Francois +sipped with the air of a connoisseur. + +"Fit for a king's palate," he murmured. + +"Say rather for the gods. Nectar, monsieur, nectar! My secrets bubble +to my tongue as the wine bubbles to the surface." + +"Turn them into good money, Stefan. After all, what is this English +Captain to you?" + +The soldier set down his tankard and lowered his voice into a +confidential whisper. + +"There are some who take me for a fool," he said, coming nearer to his +companion. "The Captain did not return last night, and there have been +watchers in the street." + +"Watchers? Go on, Stefan, what else?" said the Frenchman, eagerly. + +"Aye, I saw one draw back a blind in the house opposite not an hour +ago. What do you make of that, Monsieur Francois?" + +The answer was a smothered gurgle, for a cloth had been suddenly tied +across the Frenchman's mouth. It was in vain that he tried to free +himself. He was no match against the muscles Stefan had shown him a +little while ago; and before he had fully realized what had happened, +he was bound, gagged, and lying on his back on the floor. + +"You'll have ample time to find out how much of a fool I am, Monsieur +Francois," said Stefan, "for unless a miracle should happen you'll be +sharp set for a meal before you leave here. Never look so solemn, man; +you won't die. I'll send and release you as soon as it is safe to do +so; and if it will save your character I'll let your master in the +Altstrasse know that you did your best to carry out his instructions +and make a fool of me. Should you be able to drag yourself about +presently you have my full permission to hold your mouth under any tap +there in the cellar, and we'll never ask for payment of the score." +And drinking the wine which remained in his own tankard and also in +the Frenchman's he left the cellar, locking the door after him. + +A few minutes later he walked down the street with a self-satisfied +smile, a strapped-up bundle under his arm, and was soon lost to view +in the lower purlieus of the city. + +That night seven horsemen left Sturatzberg, riding singly, and not all +by the same gate. But, by whichever gate they left, they halted when +they had ridden out of sight, and turned aside to reach the Breslen +road. The last to go was Stefan. He went by the Southern Gate, and +once free of the city, urged his horse forward toward the forest which +lies between Breslen and Sturatzberg. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +IN THE BOIS + + + +The Bois lay without the Northern Gate. The work of planting gardens +and cutting carriage roads through the nearer stretches of the forest +which touched the city on this side was due to Ferdinand I, whose +statue stood in the Grande Place, the only useful action of which he +had ever been guilty, it was said. + +Early in the morning men riding in the Bois had inquired of one another +whether the story concerning Baron Petrescu were true. One had heard +this, another that. It was whispered that the Baron had been killed +in a duel by a member of the British Embassy, who had also been +seriously wounded; and again, that he had wounded his adversary and +had then been nearly killed by his adversary's partisans. Then one man +inquired the name of the woman and another where the duel had been +fought, for there was a law against duelling, although it was seldom +enforced. The true story did not become public property, but it was +presently known that the Baron's wound was a slight affair after all, +and that the duel had not been fought with a member of the Embassy. +Captain Ward had certainly been injured, but that was the result of +an accident; they had Dr. Goldberg's word for it. It was then that the +younger wiseacres smiled. Baron Petrescu was an easy lover, and had +been punished for some indiscretion. Some townsman, perhaps, with the +luck on his side, had got the better of the master of fence. No wonder +the Baron wished to keep the matter quiet. Lord Cloverton knew the +true story. Captain Ward had sent to him directly Dr. Goldberg had got +him home, and the Ambassador shut himself in his room to consider his +course of action. After his failure to entrap Queen Elena last night, +and the King's anger consequent upon his accusation, his position was +an extremely difficult one. The Queen had outwitted him, but the fact +remained that Captain Ellerey was not to be found at his lodging this +morning. He had ascertained this fact. There was no doubt that Ellerey +had some understanding with her Majesty, and might have already left +the city on his mission. The token might have been changed at the last +moment. He had failed to arouse the King's suspicion through the Queen, +but the interests at stake demanded instant action, and another method +must be used. So Lord Cloverton went to the King and again apologized +for the mistake his zeal had led him into. Her Majesty had, of course, +proved how innocent her audience with Captain Ellerey had been, but +the fact remained that Ellerey was the moving spirit in a rebellion. +The sooner means were taken to obtain possession of his person the +better. In this manner the Ambassador quickly made his peace, and +messengers galloped hastily through the city from the palace. + +The night had been a sleepless one for Frina Mavrodin. From the moment +she had seen those figures descending the stairs, her thoughts had +been fixed in one channel. She knew the Baron's reputation as a +swordsman, and her heart went with the man who had met his insult with +so swift a demand for retribution. The cause to which she was attached, +for which she was prepared to squander her wealth, to give her life +even were that necessary, had compelled her companionship with this +adventurous Englishman. She had met him in a spirit of raillery, +measuring her woman's wit and beauty against his brusqueness, and his +resourcefulness and calm determination had won her admiration. The +cause was altogether forgotten sometimes in the mere pleasure she had +in being with him. He was not as other men, quick with a compliment, +ever ready to please. Not a word of love had he spoken to her, yet his +eyes had always sought her first in the throng, whether it were in the +Bois or at Court, and, having found her, he looked no further. If she +indulged in dreams sometimes, they were shadowy visions, pleasant +enough, but taking no distinct shape, demanding no definite +consideration. + +The awakening had come when Princess Maritza had spoken of him. She +had said little, but Frina had read the deeper meaning underneath her +words. As a Princess, Maritza had watched the man's career, believing +that one day he might prove useful to her cause; but as a woman she +had also remembered the circumstances of their meeting, and had +treasured them in her heart. Only with this discovery had Frina Mavrodin +become fully conscious of all Captain Ellerey's companionship meant +to her. The flood-gates were suddenly opened, and the rushing torrent +of her emotions threatened to sweep away all thought of the cause she +had worked for, and loved, and believed in. Almost had she told him +her secret to-night by her eager questions, and the blood mounted to +her cheeks as she remembered. How would he have answered her had he +not been summoned to audience with the Queen? Leaning at the open +window, looking at the heavy clouds which presently obscured the moon, +she passed a night of restless anxiety. Somewhere, perhaps very near +her, the man she loved had faced death to-night, calmly, fearlessly; +even now he might be lying with sightless eyes toward the coming day, +the new day which was so long in coming. + +It came at last, and with her eyes bathed to remove all traces of the +night's vigil, she went as usual to breakfast with the Princess, who +was always an early riser. Since the night they had spoken of Captain +Ellerey there had arisen a subtle difference in their relations toward +each other. It hardly amounted to restraint, but the Countess was more +reserved, and the Princess talked little of her hopes and plans. She +made more show of taking her companion into her confidence, but told +her less. For this difference, perhaps, Frina was chiefly responsible. +Maritza felt that she had grown lukewarm, not to her personally, but +toward the cause which took so few and such trifling steps toward its +end. She did not wonder at it. No day passed in which she herself had +not a period of despair, a passionate longing to drive things to a +speedy conclusion, though the end brought failure. To her, her cause +was paramount, and she would not allow herself to think of Desmond +Ellerey apart from it; yet when Frina had in a manner claimed him, she +remembered that morning on the downs, every hue of land and sky, every +sound that had sung in her ears, every perfume the air held, and the +centre of all was this man, who seemed then to be her possession. He +had come to her country, not at her bidding, perhaps, but at her +suggestion surely, and she had a right to his allegiance. It was a +woman's argument, and a weak one, yet her heart seemed to excuse her. + +They were still at breakfast when Dumitru was ushered in. + +"Pardon, Princess, but I have news--important news. It could not wait." + +"You are welcome, good Dumitru. Does the news mean action? Such is the +only news I long for now." + +"Yes," was the answer. "This English Captain is about to move. Whether +he has the token or not I do not know, but Baron Petrescu believes he +has. Last night he picked a quarrel with him, and they fought, and--" +"Fool that he is!" exclaimed the Princess, starting from her seat. +"Does not the Baron know that I had work for this Englishman? and now +he has killed or maimed him in a useless quarrel." + +"But it was not so, Princess; it was the Baron who fell." + +Frina Mavrodin had also risen from the table, her hands clasped firmly +together in her excitement, and a little sigh of relief echoed Dumitru's +words. + +"A new experience for Baron Petrescu," she said calmly. + +"Ah, Countess, this Englishman is a devil," the man went on rapidly. +"I had it from one who watched the fight. There was little moon, and +the light was dancing and treacherous. The Baron used all the art which +before has brought death when he willed, but this English Captain cared +not. He knew all the Baron's art, and besides something which the Baron +knew not. The Baron would have been killed had not those who were +watching saved him." + +"They interfered?" said the Princess. + +"Yes, to save the Baron." + +"They did not stop at that?" said the Countess eagerly. "Tell me what +happened." + +"Have I not said he is a devil?" answered Dumitru. "They rushed upon +him and he fought them all. A sword thrust here, a blow with his fist +there, a savage breaking through them, and he escaped--unhurt." + +"Splendid!" exclaimed Frina, her face aglow. + +"Splendid, Frina? Is not the Baron our friend?" Yet there was a glow in +Maritza's eyes, too. + +"And is not Captain Ellerey the man you have work for? You should +rejoice." + +The Princess looked at her for a moment, and then she smiled. "Yes, +it was splendid, as you say. What more, Dumitru?" + +"The friend of the Englishman was killed, I think. He was of the +Embassy. There will be much questioning over the affair." + +"The Baron's folly is likely to ruin us," said the Princess. + +"There is still Captain Ellerey," said Frina. + +Dumitru looked at the Princess, the slightest flicker in his eyes +attracting her attention. + +"I am not sure the other man is dead," he said. "Might I suggest that +the Countess should drive as usual, and hear what is said in the Bois? +Then to-night we can plan and arrange. The time has surely come." + +"Will you, Frina?" + +"I will, and you may rest assured that I will have the whole story by +to-night." + +When she had left the room Princess Maritza turned hastily. + +"What more, Dumitru?" + +"Much more, Princess; but it is only for your ears." + +Frina Mavrodin had sped along the corridor so swiftly that she did not +hear the door locked after her to prevent her sudden return or the +intrusion of others. For a while she had no thought but a half-barbaric +satisfaction that Baron Petrescu had justly suffered for his unprovoked +insult; but this was succeeded by fears for Ellerey's safety. He had +escaped last night, but he had other enemies besides those who had +attempted to assassinate him in the garden-more dangerous enemies, +perhaps. She determined to know nothing, to school her face to +indifference, while she eagerly learned all she could. + +She lunched with a friend, the wife of a member of the Austrian Embassy +who had often quite unconsciously given her valuable information, but +she could add nothing to her knowledge to-day. She knew Baron Petrescu +had fought a duel and had been wounded, but she did not know who his +opponent was. Later, in the Bois, Frina heard many versions of the +story, but not in one of them was Captain Ellerey's name mentioned. +She did not understand it. There was some undercurrent of intrigue +going on of which she was ignorant. Her carriage was drawn up to the +side of the road, where she was holding a small court of pedestrians, +when she caught sight of Lord Cloverton. It was seldom that he walked +in the Bois, but that he should be there in confidential colloquy with +Monsieur De Froilette was nothing short of marvellous. + +Lord Cloverton saw the Countess, and stopped a little distance away. +He wanted to speak to her, but had no desire that De Froilette should +be a third at the interview. + +"I am exceedingly obliged to you, monsieur," he said to his companion. +"Any information respecting Captain Ellerey's whereabouts just now +will be of immense advantage to me--that is, to the country. He is one +of those reckless young men who, while winning our admiration, do not +blind us to the fact that they are dangerous." + +"Ah, I have admired him and seen the danger for a long time," De +Froilette answered. "The commercial interests I have in this country +force me to keep pace with its politics. I am not an expert, and it +is sometimes very difficult." + +"I can quite believe it," said the Ambassador, looking, however, +wonderfully incredulous. "I do not fancy I have ever heard in which +direction your commercial interests lie." + +"Timber, my lord." + +"A profitable business." + +"I hope so in the future. At present there is too much unrest. With +the Princess Maritza in Sturatzberg--" + +"In that I think you are mistaken, monsieur." + +"No, my lord. Mine was trusted information. Through the same channel +I shall learn where Captain Ellerey is." + +"A spy, monsieur?" + +"He would be hurt to hear himself called so. He is a servant of mine, +interested in my business, and a valuable fellow. He has known Captain +Ellerey's movements for months past, and even now, I warrant, is at +his heels. You shall hear from me, my lord, the moment he returns." + +"A thousand thanks, monsieur; you will place me under an obligation. +And the value of the news will depend on the state of the timber trade," +he added to himself as he turned away. "Something has frightened +Monsieur De Froilette; I wonder what it is." + +Joining the little crowd round the Countess Mavrodin, he entered into +the conversation with the heartiness of a man who hasn't a care in the +world; and one by one the others withdrew, it was so evident that the +Ambassador intended to remain. Frina Mavrodin desired nothing better. +Lord Cloverton could doubtless tell her the truth, and although she +did not for one moment expect him to do so, she thought she could +probably draw it from him with the help of the knowledge she already +possessed. + +"My horses are getting rather restive, they have been standing so long. +Will you drive with me, Lord Cloverton?" + +He thanked her and got in beside her. + +"One seldom sees you in the Bois," she said. + +"No. I will be honest. I sometimes sleep in the afternoon, Countess." + +"And to-day?" she queried, with a laugh. "To-day business brought me. +I hoped to see you." + +"Surely you flatter me. Since when have you considered me capable of +being business-like?" + +"I am all seriousness, Countess. Politics in Sturatzberg are as dried +wood stacked ready for burning, and a torch is already in the midst +of it. Until now the torch has been moved hither and thither, giving +the wood no time to catch; but now I fear the flame is held steadily. +I seem to hear the first sounds of the crackling." + +"I seem to have heard the beginning often," she answered, "but a swift +hand has always saved the situation." + +"The danger has never been so imminent as it is now, Countess." + +"Are you not still in Sturatzberg to cope with the danger?" she asked, +turning to him with a radiant smile. "I stand alone, Countess; what +can one man do? I wonder whether you can credit me with +disinterestedness, whether you can believe that I have the welfare of +this country at heart while carrying out the policy of my own?" + +"Is not that the position of every Ambassador?" + +"Nominally, perhaps. I was asking you to believe something more definite +in my case," he returned. "Do I ask too much? In a measure, you and +I are drawn together in this crisis. We should be allies." + +"Are my poor wits of service either way?" + +"A woman is always a valuable ally, and the Countess Mavrodin knows +her power. No, I am beyond turning pretty speeches to-day," he went +on quickly; "the times are too serious for them. You know, Countess, +what occurred last night?" + +"I left the palace somewhat early," she said; "but there was an air +of constraint about. What caused it, Lord Cloverton?" + +"I was referring to Baron Petrescu's affair. No one has talked of +anything else to-day." + +"And you can tell me the truth of it," she exclaimed. "I am glad. I +have heard many stories since I entered the Bois." + +"I was expecting to hear the real truth from you," said the Ambassador, +fixing his eyes upon her. + +"From me! Am I the wife of some _bourgeois_ in the city to inflame the +Baron's susceptibilities into indiscretion? It is some such tale I +have heard." + +"But which you knew to be untrue, Countess." + +"I have thought more highly of Baron Petrescu than that, I admit." + +"Naturally, seeing that Captain Ellerey is not a _bourgeois_ of the +city, and has no wife as far as I know. My young countryman is no +boaster beyond his worth, it would seem. The Baron has found his match." + +"Is that the truth of it?" she asked innocently. + +"I congratulate you upon your champion," returned the Ambassador. "You +look surprised, Countess; but in the inner circle of such a Court as +we have here in Sturatzberg such secrets will find a tongue." + +"You have changed your serious mood, my lord, it appears, and I am at +a loss to understand the pleasantry." + +"Believe me, Countess, I was never more serious. Something of the +Baron's political leanings are known to his Majesty, and the affair +has assumed a political significance in his eyes. The law has lain +dormant, it is true, but duelling is an offence against the crown, and +the King has seen fit to set the law in motion. Captain Ellerey is +sought for in Sturatzberg. I would do my countryman, and you, a service +if I could." + +"How am I concerned? I may thank you for your courtesy if you will +tell me that." + +"Is it not true that you were the cause of this quarrel?" + +"It is absolutely false." + +"Stay, Countess, it may be that you are unaware of the fact, but I +have the best reason for knowing that such is the case." + +"Captain Ellerey had no cause to draw sword on my behalf, Lord +Cloverton; neither of his own wish, nor at my bidding, did he do it." + +"Strange," mused the Ambassador. "It is evident that he thought of +only one person last night. He left instructions with his second that +you were to be immediately informed if any harm befell him. He left +no other message or remembrance to anyone." + +She was not sufficient mistress of herself to prevent the Ambassador +noting that the information was pleasant to her. + +"It may have been presumption on his part," he went on slowly; "still +such thought can hardly be without some interest for you. No doubt you +would render him a service if you could." + +"My friendship would prompt me to do so." + +"Then urge him, Countess, to withdraw from Sturatzberg. The torch now +put to the dried wood is in his hand. What is he to me? Nothing; but +I would save him if I could. What he is to you, I do not know. I am +not skilled with women; but for your country's sake urge his departure. +It must be done promptly, for I warn you the fire has already caught +hold, and not all, even now, shall escape the burning." + +"Your appeal to my patriotism might stir me, Lord Cloverton, did I +know where to find Captain Ellerey." + +"In that, Countess, I cannot help you. I had hoped you would know. +Have I your permission to stop the carriage?" She inclined her head. +They had returned close to the spot from which they had started. There +were fewer carriages in the Bois, and hardly any pedestrians now. Lord +Cloverton had, however, seen a man standing close to the roadway, and +he beckoned him to the carriage. + +"What news?" he asked sharply. + +"Every gate is closely watched, my lord. By the King's orders Captain +Ellerey is to be stopped if he attempts to leave the city." + +"I fear we are too late to render any service," said the Ambassador, +turning to the Countess. "It is a pity. The hand that holds the torch +can hardly escape." + +"It is not thought that the Captain has already left, but all efforts +to find him have failed," said the man, and then at a sign from Lord +Cloverton he withdrew. + +"I believe we are allies at heart, Countess; it is a pity we have no +power to act." + +"Perhaps you exaggerate the danger." + +"I fear not," he answered, as he stepped from the carriage. "I foresee +evil days for Sturatzberg. Good-day, Countess; if I can save the +situation, it must be by the sacrifice of my countryman, I fear. It +is a pity." + +He stood bareheaded until the carriage had driven away, and then went +quickly toward the Embassy. If Frina Mavrodin knew where Captain Ellerey +was, as Lord Cloverton was convinced she did, she would warn him. +Whatever interests Ellerey had at heart, he would not chance disaster +by attempting to leave the city until the watch upon the gates was +relaxed to some extent. There must, therefore, be delay in whatever +plot was in hand, and a few days now were of priceless value. + +Politics had little place in Frina Mavrodin's thoughts as she drove +homeward through the city. She had denied that Desmond Ellerey had +drawn sword in her cause, and yet might he not have done so after all? +What she had seen might only have been the end of a quarrel. Baron +Petrescu may have spoken some light word concerning her which Ellerey +had resented. If Lord Cloverton had spoken the truth, Ellerey's last +thought had been of her. She was quite content that her fair fame +should rest in his keeping. Now he was in danger. Whatever Lord +Cloverton's aims might be, one thing was certain--the city gates were +closed against Ellerey's departure. Without warning he would almost +certainly be taken. How could she help him? + +There was confusion at her door when the carriage stopped. Servants +were in the hall expectantly awaiting her. + +"What is it?" she asked. + +"In your absence, Countess, we were powerless," answered her major-domo, +pale even now with indignation. "The order was imperative." + +"What order?" + +"The order to search the house." + +The Countess started, but was self-possessed again in a moment. Not +all her servants knew of the identity of the Princess. + +"For whom were they looking?" + +"For an English Captain named Ellerey," was the answer. "I said that +no such person visited here at any time, but they would not believe +me, and searched the whole house." + +"And found--" + +"No one, Countess." + +The man was wise; he said no more before the other servants. + +"I will complain to his Majesty," Frina answered, and then she went +quickly to the apartments occupied by the Princess Maritza. Hannah met +her on the threshold. "Has she not returned, my lady?" + +"Where is she? How did she have warning?" asked Frina. + +"She had gone long before. She went without a word to me. When they +came asking for some Englishman, I had just wit enough to answer that +I was your ladyship's servant, and knew no Englishman; but it was hard +work not to ask them what had become of my Princess." + +"And Dumitru?" + +"Gone, gone. I always took him for a cut-throat with that naked knife +hidden in his shirt. I believe he has made away with her." + +"Peace, woman. Say nothing. A word may ruin her. You can go." + +"But, my lady--" + +"You can go, I say." + +There was a tone in the command that brooked no disobedience. The woman +left the room hastily, leaving the Countess alone. + +Alone. A wild rush of thoughts overwhelmed her. The hope and joy that +had budded in her heart were suddenly blighted. The world seemed to +slip away from her, leaving her alone indeed. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +GRIGOSIE + + + +The Toison d'Or was an ancient inn standing back from the Bergenstrasse +and reached by a narrow court. It did not advertise itself, was not +easily found, and its frequenters were few. Those who used it seemed +to use it often, for the landlord welcomed them like old friends. They +were of the poorer sort, and the want of comfort in the place did not +disturb them; perhaps the quality of the liquor made amends. + +It presented a narrow front to the court, the great walls on either +side appeared to have squeezed it. The two little windows above, the +signboard flat against the wall, and the single door rather suggested +a face; and the door, out of the perpendicular, looked strangely like +a mouth awry uttering a cry of pain. The building was deep, however, +and there was a long, narrow, low-pitched room at the rear, of which +all the frequenters of the place were not aware. This room, even in +broad daylight, was dim, and it grew dark there early. It was still +light in the wider streets of the city, but in this room a candle was +burning on the corner of a table, beside which a man sat. He had pushed +back the remains of a meal, and his fingers played reflectively with +the tankard which the landlord had replenished a few moments before. + +The landlord had asked no questions, had attempted no conversation. +When Desmond Ellerey had entered and called for liquor, he had made +a sign to the landlord as he had been instructed, and which was +perfectly understood. Two men were drinking in the doorway at the time, +and when they had gone the landlord led Ellerey to the long room. + +"There will be inquiries for me, landlord. Whoever gives the sign bring +him in at once, but no one else, mind." + +The landlord nodded. + +"Let me have food and drink. I care not what so there is plenty of it. +I have not broken fast since yesterday." + +Throwing aside one cloak which he carried over his arm, and loosening +the one he wore, Ellerey disclosed the fact that he was well armed, +and booted and spurred for a journey. Earlier in the day Stefan had +met him at a tavern in the city, bringing these clothes with him as +directed in the note which the boy had delivered. The remains of the +Court uniform which he had worn last night had been hidden away, and +there was nothing now in Ellerey's dress to mark him as a King's +officer. + +He had already waited three hours, or more, and began to grow impatient. +The men who had been chosen for this desperate service were already +on their way to the place of rendezvous, and men of this description +were wont to fret at delay and inactivity. He wanted to be away himself, +and until he had the Queen's token safely in his possession he could +not put aside his fears that it would not come, that something had +happened to prevent her sending it. The King's sudden interruption +last night might have forced her to change her plans, might possibly +have caused her to sacrifice him to save herself. At the best, delay +must be dangerous, and he chafed at his enforced idleness, which made +the minutes drag. + +At last the door opened and a man entered. It was the same man who had +come to summon him to the audience last night. "You are welcome," +Ellerey said. "I began to think some circumstance had intervened." + +"We have only just escaped such a calamity," was the answer. "By some +means Lord Cloverton had received information of our plans. In the +presence of the King, immediately after your departure, he accused her +Majesty of trafficking with the brigands in the hills, and challenged +her to show the bracelet. It was fortunate that the Queen could do so, +and indignantly demand apology. The first move is much in our favor, +for the accusation made the King extremely angry, and the British +Ambassador is in ill favor to-day. His hands are tied for a little +while, at any rate." + +"That I would believe if I saw the knotted cords about his wrists, but +not otherwise," Ellerey answered. "My worthy countryman is not so +easily beaten." + +"It is true her Majesty bid me warn you, but without the King what can +he do?" + +"He is capable of anything, and has the English vice, or virtue--it +depends on the point of view--of never knowing when he has got the +worst of it." + +"Her Majesty is fortunate in also having an Englishman for her +messenger." + +"Thank you, monsieur. I think there is something of the same spirit +in me." + +"There is the token, Captain Ellerey," and the man handed him a small +sealed box. "The streets are yet full, so it would be wise to delay +your departure for a while. Her Majesty also bid me give you this, an +earnest of what shall fall to the share of her successful messenger." + +In Ellerey's palm lay a ring, the jewel in it catching light even from +the feeble ray of the candle. For one moment Ellerey was disposed to +refuse the gift until he had earned it, the independence of the +Englishman rising in him; but a brief hesitation gave the spirit of +the adventurer opportunity to rise uppermost. He might fail, and for +his life be compelled to leave Sturatzberg. It would be some consolation +not to go altogether empty-handed. + +"I thank her Majesty," he said. "I shall keep it as a key to win her +further favor should I deserve it." + +"Then I will leave you, Captain Ellerey. Fortune smile on you and on +the cause." + +As the door closed upon his visitor, Ellerey secured the sealed box +and the ring about his person in such a fashion that the treasure lay +close to the skin. While life was in him no one should rob him of it. +Then he sat down to possess his soul in patience until the streets +should grow dark enough and empty enough for his departure. + +It was market day, and he had elected to go by the Southern Gate at +the hour when many would be leaving the city on their homeward journey. +He had no desire to be recognized, and he hoped to pass unnoticed in +the crowd. Stefan had arranged to have his horse waiting for him at +a forester's cottage off the Breslen road, a mile from the city. By +making the meeting-place in the forest toward Breslen, precaution was +taken that should riders be seen going in this direction their real +destination would never be suspected. The brigands lay in the mountains +near the Drekner pass, in exactly the opposite direction to Breslen, +and a wide detour round Sturatzberg would have to be accomplished when +the united band set out in earnest upon its expedition. The token was +at last in his possession, his comrades awaited him, and Ellerey was +anxious to be gone. But he was not the man to fail by being too +precipitate. None knew better the value of deliberate caution, and +with Lord Cloverton fully alive to the danger, there might be many +obstacles to face which had not entered into his calculations. So +Ellerey sat there waiting, while the candle burnt lower, casting, as +the room darkened, a sharper outline of his figure upon the wall. + +"Time, surely, now!" he exclaimed at last, starting to his feet. +"Landlord." + +The door opened so suddenly that the handle must have been turned even +as Ellerey shouted. But it was not the landlord who entered. Two figures +came in swiftly and closed the door. + +"Pardon, Captain Ellerey." + +"Well, sirs, what would you with me? I have little time to waste. I +have already called the landlord to pay my reckoning," and as he spoke +Ellerey raised the candle above his head to see what manner of men his +visitors were. + +"Friends, Captain," said the foremost of the two, making the same sign +which had gained admittance for the bearer of the token. + +He was a man of set features with a pair of keen eyes deeply sunken. +His figure was lithe and sinewy, his movements quick and not ungraceful. +His dress was of the better peasant class, a short knife was sheathed +in his girdle, and one hand rested lightly on the hilt of it as he +stood motionless under the Captain's scrutiny. He might have been a +forester. His companion stood silently in the shadows behind him. + +"By that sign you should know the business I have in hand, and that +I have no time to waste in words." + +"True, Captain. We are from her Majesty, and know that the token has +been delivered into your keeping here to-night. You have comrades +waiting for you, but too few, such is the Queen's opinion, and she bid +us join your company." + +"I do not like the arrangement," Ellerey answered. "My comrades are +picked men that I know the muscles of. I know nothing of you." + +"It's a poor welcome, Captain, but it must serve. I have other news +for you which may increase our value." + +"You run on too fast, my friend," said Ellerey. "Your coming at this +eleventh hour ill fits with my precaution." + +"We have horses without the city, Captain; we are not ill conditioned +for the enterprise." + +"You may pass muster for a man. What is your name?" + +"Anton." + +"You have muscle enough to strike a good blow on occasion, but I know +naught of your courage. And your companion there, what of him? Step +into the light and let me look at you. How are you called?" + +"Grigosie, if it please you, Captain." + +He stepped out of the shadow as he spoke, and with his arms folded +across his breast, threw back his head defiantly, as though such +inspection were little to his taste. He was a lad in figure and in +voice. His face was innocent of even the down of dawning manhood. His +limbs were clean cut and supple, but they looked too young for stern +endurance. His dress was similar to his companion's save that it was +green in color, and he wore a cap of green drawn down to his brows. + +"You're a good-looking boy enough," laughed Ellerey, "but Heaven forgive +her Majesty. Does she think I am bent on some summer picnic that she +sends a child to bear me company?" + +"We are wont to go together, Captain. Grigosie is a good scout, and +I warrant is likely to prove useful," said Anton. + +"For cooking and bedmaking maybe. We shall have little opportunity for +either one or the other," [illustration: "YOU WILL PARDON ME COUNTESS!"] +Blank Page "Nor should I do either of them except of my own will," +said the lad. + +"A stroke or two of the whip would make you tell a different tale," +said Ellerey; "and you may thank your lucky fortune that I will not +take you, for the whip would certainly follow." + +"I have heard of Captain Ellerey," said the boy, "but never that he +was a bully." + +Ellerey looked at him quizzically. + +"Well, lad, I did not mean to hurt your feelings. You do not lack +courage, and you'll grow into a stout man for rough work some day. In +this expedition I cannot use you." + +"I can use a sword and am a master of fence, and the sword is not the +only weapon which victory hangs upon." + +"Peace, Grigosie; I will give the Captain an excellent reason for +taking you." + +"Peace, yourself, Anton. Am I to be taken out of charity? Set me to +prove my worth, Captain." + +"I have no time, lad," said Ellerey, picking up his cloak. "Anton may +come since we are few, but---" + +"There is a fly on the wall, Captain." + +"Well, what of it? You are a strange lad." + +"It is gone, I warrant; but in case I have missed--darkness." + +Two revolver shots cracked in quick succession as he spoke, and the +room was in darkness. Then the landlord rushed in. + +"The candle is out; light it again, landlord," said the boy, and then +when it had burnt up he pointed with the revolver to the spot where +the fly had been and where now there was a hole. "I do not think I +missed." + +"Leave us, landlord," said Ellerey. "It was the deciding of a foolish +boast." + +The lad slipped the revolver into his pocket again and refolded his +arms. + +"That was a foolish jest, youngster," Ellerey said. "Do you think such +boastfulness fits you for such work as ours?" + +"There are few who could have done it," was the answer. + +"True." + +"Such precision might serve you were your enemies three to one." + +"True again." + +"Then ask me to go with you," was the prompt reply. + +"May I not even take you out of charity?" + +The lad shook his head with a smile, and there was something very +winning in his smile. + +"Very well. Will you come with me?" asked Ellerey. + +"To the death." + +"Your hand on that bargain." + +"I'll earn the grip of comradeship before I take it, Captain. Until +then it is for you to order, be it to cooking or to bedmaking." + +"You'll serve for sport and as a relief to monotony, if for nothing +else," said Ellerey. "Orders, then. We must be starting." + +"You have not heard my further news," said Anton. "It is not time to +start yet." + +Ellerey turned upon him angrily. Was his authority so soon to be +questioned? + +"Every gate is closed against Captain Ellerey by the King's orders," +said Anton. "It has been so since noon to-day." + +"Is the scent so hot already?" + +"We shall leave the city, but not yet. The lad here will show us the +way," Anton answered. "You see I am to be of some service quickly, +Captain," said Grigosie. "Trust me. My way is clear enough, and no +King's order has power to bar it. We must wait a little. I have some +money in my pouch; may I pay for liquor?" + +"You're doing me good, youngster," laughed Ellerey. "Order your drinks, +and tell me who they were who fathered and mothered you that you have +such wit. You are not fashioned after the usual breed in Wallaria." + +"I am of the pure breed which is being forgotten in the bastard race. +I am of the old stock reared without the city walls. Anton can answer +for me." + +"That I can." + +The drinks were brought, but the lad drank sparingly. Ellerey liked +him none the worse for that. If wine were found upon the journey, one +sober comrade, though he were a lad, might be more profitable than +half a dozen boasters. The boy talked brightly, and his air of +boastfulness fell from him. There was a tone of deference to the Captain +in his manner which sat gracefully on his young shoulders. + +"Were it not that they brought your favor, I should regret the fly and +the candle," he said presently. "I crave your pardon." + +"Say no more of it. We'll give you better marks before long, maybe." + +"You carry two cloaks, Captain. How is that?" + +"One my own, one I borrowed this morning. I am going to leave it with +the landlord to be returned." + +"Wear it until we are free of the city. It may conceal you from some +prying eyes. I warrant you are well looked for to-night." + +"Have we far to travel to this exit of yours?" + +"Some distance, and by narrow ways. If there should be prying eyes we +must close them quickly. We want no shouts to raise a rabble. Is it +not time, Anton?" + +"Yes, the gates have been closed for half an hour." + +"Come, then," said the lad. "Must we go through the court?" + +"There is no other way," Anton answered. + +"Then Captain, will you permit that Anton and I go first?" said +Grigosie. "Follow close upon our heels; but should we stop, do not +you; overtake us and push us roughly aside, and we will overtake you +again in a moment. Your pardon that I seem to lead in this matter, but +I know the road we must take." + +Ellerey returned a gruff assent to the arrangement. He had looked into +the boy's eyes and seen honesty there, but he was not going to walk +carelessly, for all that. + +The inn was empty, so was the court, and there were few people abroad +in the Bergenstrasse. Grigosie and Anton, leading the way by scarce +a dozen paces, turned almost directly from the main thoroughfare into +a side street, and had soon turned to left and right so often that +Ellerey would hardly have found his way back to the Toison d'Or. Not +once did they stop, and if they looked back to see that their companion +was following them, Ellerey was not aware of the fact. He kept close +upon their heels, ready to stand on the defensive at the first sign +of treachery, but he took little notice of where they led him. + +Suddenly a street corner struck him as familiar, and the next moment +the truth flashed upon him. It was the street he had traversed last +night. At the bottom there they had met Baron Petrescu. Even now the +light was dimly burning in the upper window as it had been then. +Grigosie and Anton stopped, but when Ellerey reached them he did not +push them aside; he stopped, too. "And now which way?" he asked. + +"Toward the light yonder," Grigosie answered. + +"My lad, there is a point beyond which I trust no one," said Ellerey. +"I know that light." + +"It marks our point of safety." + +"Yours, perhaps; not mine." + +"I do not understand, Captain." + +"If you are innocent, how should you? If you are false, why should +you? Last night I had an appointment beneath that dim lamp. With +difficulty I escaped with my life." + +"But you did escape; you know how. To-night there will be no duel. We +shall go direct to that door in the wall." + +Who was this youngster that he knew so much? + +"It seems to me a desperate chance even if you are honest in advising +it," said Ellerey. "Look you, lad, I give you warning. My life I am +prepared to give, but if by treachery it is taken, I'll see that you +bear me company on that journey, even as you have sworn to follow me +to the death on the other." + +"I am content," was the short answer. "Muffle your cloak about your +face and leave me to speak." + +They went together toward the light, and Grigosie knocked at the door +as Baron Petrescu had done. There was the same delay, the self-same +shaggy head was thrust out to the intruders. Silence reigned again +until the stentorian voice had shouted, and then the clattering and +the voices started instantly. + +The man led them aside into the same room. + +"Pass us out through the garden and ask no questions," said Grigosie. + +"Who have we here?" asked the man, pointing to Ellerey. "Neither ask +questions nor answer any," Grigosie returned. + +"That's too pert a tongue to satisfy me," growled the man. "Signs and +passwords are easily stolen. I'd sooner let some one bear witness with +me after last night." + +In an instant the lad was beside him. What he said was in so low a +tone that Ellerey could not catch a word, but the effect was magical. +The surly brute became alert and obsequious. He led them quickly down +the passage, and opened the door leading into the garden. Perhaps +Grigosie did not altogether trust him, for he caught him by the arm, +saying that he should see them safely through the garden, and Ellerey +noticed that Anton was particular to keep close to the man. + +At the door in the wall the boy stopped. + +"Your cloak, monsieur," he said, turning to Ellerey "You wish it +returned, do you not?" + +Ellerey gave it to him and nodded, but did not speak + +Grigosie gave the cloak to the man. + +"Theodor, see that this is returned to Captain Ward at the British +Embassy. Send it by a trusted messenger, and let him say that he had +it from Captain Desmond Ellerey to-night, an hour before midnight--mark +the time--when he met him in the Konigplatz. Good-night." + +The man bowed low as he opened the door for them. When it had closed +upon them Grigosie turned to Ellerey. + +"Are you satisfied, Captain?" + +The boy's knowledge astonished Ellerey. + +"You have reproved me twice to-night, youngster; first for being a +bully, now for doubting you." + +"My anger is forgotten," laughed the lad. "The cloak was a good thought. +They will know that you were in the city to-night, and they will search +Sturatzberg for you all day to-morrow. So we gain time. Our horses +await us on the Breslen road; and yours, Captain?" + +"Also on the Breslen road." + +"Then, Captain, will you order the march? My brief command is over." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE CASTLE IN THE HILLS + + + +The first light of a new day awoke a chorus of blended voices within +the depths of the forest. The early matin praise of the birds rose +high and clear above the low-hummed hymn of the insects. The trees +shook out their rustling garments, glorious autumn robes of color, +scattering the dewy tears of night before the smiling day. Among the +fallen leaves were hasty rushes to and fro, while rabbits flashed +across the narrow open tracts. + +There was stirring, too, in a dry hollow securely hidden by dense +undergrowth from any traveller who chanced to pass that way. The +whinnying of a horse sounded on the morning air, the rough rubbing of +leather trappings, and the sharp click of steel. There were gruff +laughter and gruffer oaths, man's salutation to the new day, and some +low spoken words of discontent. + +The addition to their number was not pleasing to them. The more they +were, the less would each man receive as reward, they argued. Last +night they were half-asleep, and had barely roused at Ellerey's coming. +The men who had come with him, they supposed, were soldiers of fortune +like themselves, men they knew, and even they were not welcome; +but with morning discontent broke out. The new arrivals were not +soldiers, were strangers to them, and one at least was a mere lad. +What good was he in their company? + +Stefan did not complain. He noted Anton from head to foot, and did not +like him. He looked at Grigosie and he laughed aloud. He turned to +find Ellerey close beside him. + +"This is the first day of the festival, then, Captain?" + +"Festival?" + +"Surely since we have such company. Some of these fellows might have +brought their sweethearts with them had they known the kind of +expedition they were engaged for. You bid me choose carefully, picked +men who held life and death in such easy balance that they would take +whichever happened without a murmur; and now you bring us a lean +forester who is good for naught but felling trees, and a lad whose +mother might still whip him without offence." + +"The lad is well enough, Stefan, and served me well last night." + +"Thank him, then, and send him home again. I have a message to send +into the city. It will be employment for him to take it." + +"No, he goes with us." + +"There'll be much grumbling, Captain. These fellows like comrades they +know the stomach of." + +"I'll answer for the boy." + +"You'd best do it quickly, then, or there'll be one or two riding back +into Sturatzberg as yesterday they rode out." + +"If that is their spirit I'd sooner have lads like yonder beside me +in a tight place," Ellerey answered angrily. Then he went to the men +who were looking to their saddle girths preparatory to mounting. +"Comrades, we have a journey before us which may run smoothly, but +which may bring us hard knocks. The reward is generous to those who +win through. Are we prepared to take our chances one and all?" He +paused, but only a grunt of tardy consent answered him. + +"Last night I brought two others to join in our enterprise." + +"What need of them?" growled one man, "and one of them a boy." + +"They go with me whoever else stays behind," said Ellerey, turning +quickly to the man who had spoken. "Haven't you faith enough in me to +trust my discretion?" + +There was no reply. + +"It must be tacit obedience, swift action to my command from every man +who bears me company. Mount." + +In a moment every one was in his saddle excepting Ellerey himself, who +stood with his horse's bridle over his arm. + +"Yonder lies the Breslen road, an easy morning's canter into +Sturatzberg. Who likes may ride that way and free himself from my +authority." + +No man spoke or moved. + +"Then are we comrades, and do not growl among ourselves," said Ellerey, +springing into his saddle. "Forward! You must find some other carrier +for your message, Stefan." + +"And soon, or I'll have murder on my soul," was the answer, as the +troop rode singly out of the hollow and picked its way along a forest +track. + +It was high noon before they chanced upon a woodcutter and his boy. + +"Give me leave, Captain," said Stefan, bringing his horse to a +standstill. "Here's one may take my message. Aye there, how far is it +to Sturatzberg by the shortest road?" + +"Five miles by foot, but riding you'll scarce do it in ten," answered +the woodcutter. "Will you or the lad carry a message there?" + +"To-morrow I would. I go with a team there, taking timber." + +"To-morrow," mused Stefan. "Why not? He'll last until then. Well, then, +to-morrow. Here's a key. Take it to the Altstrasse. Do you know the +Altstrasse?" + +"Surely. I have a brother living there." + +"To the Altstrasse--thirteen--to the house of Monsieur De Froilette." + +"I have heard of him." + +"Then you will do him this service," said Stefan. + +"Give him the key, and say that if he has lost his servant, this key +fits a certain cellar door in a certain lodging by the Western Gate. +He will guess which lodging. His servant, loving wine too much, lies +behind that cellar door, howling for his liberty." + +"I'll take the message." + +"Here's for refreshment by the way," said Stefan, tossing him the key +and a coin. "Monsieur De Froilette will reward you liberally, I +warrant." + +"And who shall I say gave me the key?" + +"Say a woman you met by the road, if your conscience will sanction the +lie; if not, say a man, and word my picture as you please so that you +make it handsome enough. But do not fail to deliver the message, for +the man behind that door is slowly dying, and, if you do not go to his +rescue, will surely curse you from his grave." + +"What does this mean, Stefan?" Ellerey asked, as the troop rode on, +laughing at their companion. + +"Francois was watching us, and saw the boy who carried your message +to me yesterday. He came to question me, thinking me a fool, and went +with me to the cellar to hear my story and to drink your wine. He got +no story, and little wine for that matter, unless the ropes have slipped +from his wrists and ankles. I tied him securely before I made him free +of all the cellar contained. He'll be wanting food badly by to-morrow, +when his master finds him." + +"It was well done, Stefan. We want no spies about us; but why should +Monsieur De Froilette spy upon me?" + +"For the same reason that a hawk watches its prey; it's his nature. +You may snatch chestnuts out of the fire for monsieur, but it's only +the charred husks will be your portion if the dividing is left to him." + +All that day they kept to the forest, making a wide detour round +Sturatzberg. Progress was slow along the narrow tracks, and they went +singly for the most part, careful of their horses' steps. That night +they lay within a circle of trees, deep hidden in the woods and far +from the road. For two days they were able to hold to the forest, and +had no expectation of being surprised. They met no one save an +occasional woodcutter or charcoal-burner, and once they disturbed some +robbers who were perhaps near the place of their hidden booty. On the +third day they were on the edge of the forest, and much open country +lay between them and the mountains. The utmost caution was necessary +now. + +Ellerey called Grigosie to him. + +"Anton said that you would be useful at scouting work." + +"Yes, Captain." + +"You will go forward with Stefan. Use your eyes and ears well." + +The lad saluted, and presently rode out with Stefan. Anton asked to +go with them, but this Ellerey would not allow. He was glad of the +opportunity of separating Grigosie from his companion for a little +while. He had no reason to suspect them, but keeping them apart was +a precaution. Ellerey had instructed Stefan to use the lad well, and +with a grim smile upon his face the soldier rode with his youthful +companion, keeping silence for a time. + +"You're a slip of a lad for such work as we have on hand," he said +presently. "How came your mother to part with you so early?" + +"Rest her soul, she's dead." + +"Your father, then?" + +"Dead also," answered Grigosie. + +"Well, you knew them, and understand whether their loss was a big one +or not," said Stefan. "Parents haven't counted for much in my case, +so I'm not qualified to speak of their usefulness. You've managed to +grow into a likely sort of lad. Who's had the training of you?" + +"I'm my own manufacture for the most part," answered Grigosie, "but +I'm not too proud to learn from an old campaigner like you, Stefan." + +The soldier drew himself up in his saddle, and looked knowingly at his +young comrade. + +"There's sense in you. Maybe I can teach you a few things. My experience +has been wide and peculiar, and if you listen to my advice and model +your fighting on mine, you'll make a soldier, not of my girth, perhaps, +for that's a gift of nature and not to be had for the asking." + +"No; I shall always be of the lean sort, I fear," said Grigosie. + +"Don't you be discouraged, lad. There's often good stuff in the lean +ones. It's deep potations that give a man breadth sometimes, and his +habit of growling strange oaths that gets him credit for valor." + +Grigosie plied him with questions, and heard many a strange tale of +fighting in which Stefan had done marvellous things. + +"Is there no reward for bravery in Wallaria?" said Grigosie at last. +"How is it that no great distinction has come to you?" Stefan turned +toward him and shut one eye. + +"Dodge the distinctions, lad, as you would the devil. They lead to +Court and the society of women, two things to be avoided." + +"Why so, Stefan?" + +"Court fetters a man as a chain does a dog, and is unnatural, while +a woman is the keenest weapon in all the devil's armory." + +"I have heard some well spoken of," said Grigosie. + +"And they are the most dangerous," said Stefan. "Why do you suppose +women were made pretty and fashioned to wear pretty clothes?" + +"Indeed I cannot tell." + +"To conceal their natural defects, lad. Whenever you see a pretty +woman, look at the next harridan you meet, and remember that the +difference between them is only on the surface." + +"You are too hard, Stefan," said Grigosie, laughing heartily. + +"Wisdom, youngster--the ripe wisdom of experience." + +"I wonder whether the Captain is of your way of thinking, Stefan." + +"I have seen him pause in the midst of his drink sometimes, which has +made me anxious." + +"The fetters of the Court, perhaps," said Grigosie. + +"Seemed to me it was more like a woman," was the answer. + +That night they encamped between two spurs of the lower hills. Two +hours before sunset they had begun to ascend from the plain. It was +among the hills they would be looked for as soon as the object of their +mission were known; and having chosen a camping-ground which could +easily be defended against odds, Ellerey placed sentinels to prevent +any surprise. The camp-fire was pleasant to draw close to, for the +night was cold. Ellerey lay in a half-reclining position, his feet +stretched toward the blaze; and at some little distance on the opposite +side the men were sitting in a circle playing cards, Grigosie and Anton +standing beside them, looking on. + +"There, boy, what did I tell you?" he heard Stefan say as he turned to +Grigosie. "A woman again plays me false, and it's the queen of hearts, +too." + +The boy laughed. Evidently he and Stefan had become fast friends during +their day's ride together. It was a merry laugh, pleasant, Ellerey +thought, after the gruffer tones of the soldiers. + +Presently the boy left Anton's side and threw himself down by the fire +near Ellerey. + +"Are you tired, Grigosie?" + +"A little. Lately I have not been used to so many hours in the saddle. +What point do we make for to-morrow?" + +"The Drekner pass. Do you know it?" + +"I was quite a youngster when I last crossed it," was the answer. +"There used to be a castle there, perched on the hill-side like an +eagle's eyrie." + +"So many years cannot have passed since then that the castle should +have crumbled away," said Ellerey, with a smile. "I expect it is still +there." + +"You do not know the pass, then?" + +"No." + +Grigosie lapsed into silence, and then after a while he said suddenly: +"Some day I hope to be an honored soldier like you are, Captain." + +"Wish better things for yourself, Grigosie." + +"Are you not honored, then?" + +"Enough to be given a dangerous post." + +"And to receive good reward if you succeed. The Queen will load you +with gifts--and, perhaps, greater happiness still, some other woman +will smile on you." + +"You begin to think of such things over early," Ellerey answered. +"You'll have your troubles soon enough that way, no doubt." + +"Already, Captain." + +"So soon?" + +"This is a southern country, and we begin early. Are you a woman-hater, +as Stefan is? In the back of my mind there is a reverence for women." + +"Keep it, lad, if you can; it may bring you to much good. For my part, +I hardly know my position in the matter." + +"Would telling the tale to me help your judgment?" inquired the lad. + +"A man does not speak of such things often, Grigosie." + +"Ah, your love tale has advanced some way, then. It was not a glance +and a passing word, and a thorn left in the heart to hurt terribly at +times. That was my case." + +"There is a woman I deeply respect and honor," said Ellerey. "To love +her would be much to my advantage." + +"Why not, then?" asked the boy. + +"Because of a memory, the memory of another woman. With her it was a +passing word and a look; but they came to me when life was at its +darkness, and I have never forgotten them. It was an early morning in +England, a morning that has no equal in the whole world, full of +sunshine and breeze and perfume; and she came into it suddenly and +unexpectedly. She would not choose to remember me if she thought such +a memory lingered in my heart. She was out of my reach even then, and +in those days I was something more than a Captain of Horse." + +"But after this enterprise you will be something more." + +"I cannot become a Prince, Grigosie, and my lady of the breezy morning +was a Princess." + +"Really, or is that your fanciful name for her?" + +"Really a Princess," Ellerey answered. "I wonder why I should be telling +this story to you?" + +"Is there not sympathy between all who love?" Grigosie answered. "It +is the one common bond there is in the world, knowing no difference +of creed or nationality." + +For two days the little band journeyed in the mountains, keeping to +the lower track on account of the horses. Progress was slow, for the +going was rough, and the horses often had to be led. The track lay +between the lower hills and the main mountain range, and they had lost +sight of the open country, which lay below them. It was late in the +afternoon of the second day that they crossed a spur which jutted out +toward the plain, and from its vantage ground Grigosie was the first +to point out the head of the pass, a precipitous opening in the +mountains to their left. At the same time Stefan, looking across the +open country, pointed out a cloud of dust on the horizon. + +"That means a moving body of men," he said. + +"In the pass lies our greatest security until we are prepared to meet +the enemy," Ellerey answered. "If that castle of yours has not crumbled +to dust, Grigosie, it will make excellent quarters for us." + +The Drekner pass had long ago ceased to be used. Once, doubtless, it +was the highway into Wallaria from the north, but that was long ago, +not within the memory of the oldest man. Nature herself had closed the +way by casting a great spur of the mountain into the deepest and +narrowest part of the defile. It was still possible to climb this, but +it had effectually closed the pass for all useful purposes; and the +castle, which in old times had been used to guard the way, had fallen +into decay. It stood gaunt against the hillside upon a natural plateau, +the pathway to it, long and zig-zag, cut out in the hillside. Vegetation +had taken root in the crevices of its broken walls, and some of the +stonework, shivered by the lightning stroke perhaps, lay in the roadway +at the foot of the hill. Silence reigned, and an eagle hovering on the +heights above doubtless had his eyrie there. A thin stream of water +trickled down the hillside, finding its way from the snow on the +mountains, which reared white-hooded heads here and there above their +humbler brethren. + +"My castle in the hills!" cried Grigosie enthusiastically as a turn +of the track brought it in view. + +"Peace, Grigosie, and take that child's chatter of yours to the rear," +said Ellerey. Then turning to Stefan, he directed him and another of +the men to climb up carefully to the plateau. "Some outpost of +Vasilici's may hold it," he remarked. + +Leaving their horses, Stefan and his companion went up the zig-zag way +and were lost to view. It seemed a long time before their figures stood +on the edge of the plateau and waved to their comrades to ascend. + +"My castle, Anton," whispered Grigosie. "It was I who told them that +it stood here." + +"They liked not your claiming it so." + +"They will forgive much to my youth, even if I am put to cooking and +bedmaking to-night as punishment," laughed the boy. "You shall be snug, +Anton, and know that the gods are with us." + +The incline of the zig-zag way had been carefully graduated so that +it was possible to lead horses up, and they all dismounted and went +singly. At the top of the path a stone gateway, broken and of small +service now, shut in the plateau. This was the only means of reaching +the castle, and in old times formed the first point of defence. "Empty, +but an airy perch to spend the night," said Stefan, meeting them at +the gateway. "Here's a trysting place for every wind that blows, and +holes enough for them to whistle through." + +This was evident. The walls were broken in every direction, and heaps +of stonework lay scattered on all sides. + +"The tower yonder seems to have held together," said Ellerey. + +"Aye, there's fine sleeping room there, and you may see the stars +through the roof." + +But the tower had much to commend it. The door that closed it still +hung upon its hinges, and in the lower chamber, at least, there were +no rents in the wall save the window holes, narrow slits in the outside, +but widening inward through the thickness of the walls. On one side +stone steps, unprotected in any way, led to the floor above, which was +entered through a trap door still in place and capable of being bolted +down. Here the walls were broken in places, and part of the roof had +fallen. More steps, which mounted to the roof, ended abruptly and were +open to the sky. A turret had been displaced at some time and had +crashed through, breaking part of the stairs away. + +"We can make shift to stable the horses between some of the walls +outside, and ourselves in the tower," said Ellerey. "It might be worse, +Stefan, and with fortune our stay will be short." + +"It must be if we're to live. There is no food for a siege," Stefan +answered. + +Meanwhile the men had unsaddled, and a fire was already crackling on +the old hearth. There was promise of comfort for the night, and they +were not disposed to grumble. While some looked to the horses, others +made haste to prepare a meal. A kid caught earlier in the day suggested +a feast. Others, finding a broken door, made shift to set it on four +stones, improvising a table, on which they set out the wine flasks and +the food they carried with them, while one man paced up and down the +edge of the plateau watching the mountains opposite and the pass +beneath. + +Kid's flesh, even when roasted over a wood fire, may not be to the +taste of all who can choose their viands, but it is honest food for +all that, and no one round that improvised table uttered a word against +it. More logs had been piled on the fire, and the blaze threw dancing +shadows on the stone walls and lit up the rough faces of the men. They +were silent for a while, their sharp set appetites fully occupying +them, but a draught of wine set the tongues wagging again. + +"A song, Stefan: I've heard you roar a good stave ere this." + +"Not a love song, surely?" said Grigosie. + +"No, of wine." + +"In all the verse I ever heard love and wine strangely go together," +said the boy. + +"Proving that the joys of both are transitory, perhaps," said Ellerey, +who sat beside him. He spoke only to Grigosie, but Stefan heard him. + +"Love, Captain--a snap of the fingers for love; but wine's the very +heart of life. There's wisdom and truth in wine, there's valor in it, +and it's powerful enough to make even good sound men fall in love. +There's a stave I've heard which you may have if you will." And with +much sound but little music Stefan broke into song. + +It was a tavern ditty, and not too nice in its sentiments, as, indeed, +why should it be, to please its hearers? There was a lilt in its chorus +which even Stefan's unmusical voice could not hide, and it set the +men's heads nodding in time as they roared it out together, waking the +echoes with the declaration that--"The eye of a maid may sparkle, And +the fools may for love repine, But the wise man knows As his road he +goes That the best of life's gifts is wine." + +"That isn't true, is it, Captain?" whispered Grigosie. "We know better +than that." + +Ellerey laughed, but he was not displeased to keep the lad in low +conversation. The song had let loose a flood of jest and anecdote which +lost none of their ribaldry in the telling. They were ill suited for +a boy to hear and batten on. + +"Yes, lad; we know better, you and I," he said. "Let them talk, we +need not listen." + +"I suppose it is natural in youth to shudder at some things they talk +of, and much I do not understand." + +"Keeping such ignorance you will be the happier. And do not drink much +wine to-night, Grigosie; you must take your turn at sentry duty. It +is share and share alike in an enterprise like this." + +"Grant, then, there be stars to-night. I never feel lonely under the +stars," the lad answered. "It was good wine that was poured into my +flask at starting; I have hardly tasted it until now. Is yours good?" + +"It might be worse, and I was never a heavy drinker." + +"Taste mine." + +"No, lad; why should I rob you?" + +"Indeed, it will be no robbery. If you do not take it I shall offer +it to Stefan presently. It is too strong for me." + +"I'll taste it before I sleep, if you will. The air is close here. Let +us go and fill our lungs with mountain breezes." + +The boy sprang to his feet at once, careful to take his wine flask +with him, and followed Ellerey on to the plateau. + +There were stars in the clear sky, and a crescent moon that seemed to +be poised on a sharp edge of the higher mountains. The air was keen, +tingling in throat and nostrils. + +"...the wise man knows As his road he goes That the best of life's +gifts is wine," came again the lilting chorus from the tower. It was +the only sound that disturbed the silence--the silence of a world. + +"A night for regrets, Captain, yet one to speed ambition," said +Grigosie. + +"Yours has been too short to accumulate regrets." + +"They get heaped together very rapidly sometimes," was the reply. "How +long shall we stay here?" + +"Only until we have seen Vasilici and delivered our message." + +"And then back to Sturatzberg with our demands backed by an army of +patriots," said Grigosie. "And for the success of the scheme--how do +you reckon the chances?" + +"If I expected failure I should not be here." + +"Your own ambition supplies the motive, then? There is no love for a +cause behind?" + +"Hush, lad; those are dangerous questions to ask a soldier. If I know +that reward awaits success, it is as certain that failure means death. +Those who employ my sword would not hesitate to sacrifice me to save +the situation; so you see, Grigosie, you set out on a venture some +enterprise when you joined my company." + +"Yes, we may fail and die, and yet other nights will be just as full +of stars as this is. I wonder how it is that such a beautiful world +is cursed to go so awry." + +"Chiefly, my lad, because most of us care nothing about the beauty, +but think only of using it as a plaything. Let us go in again. You +should sleep before you go on duty." Some of the men had already +stretched themselves cut in sleep, and there was weariness in the slow +speech of the others. Only Anton seemed really awake, and he did not +speak as the two entered the tower. + +"Here is the wine," Grigosie whispered, handing the flask to Ellerey. +"Drink to success in it, to success in war--and love." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE TOKEN IS DELIVERED + + + +The logs burnt low upon the hearth, and only a feeble light was in the +tower. Anton saw Ellerey drink the wine and then cast himself down not +far from Grigosie; but it was too dim for him to see whether all his +companions were asleep. Some certainly were, for they snored, and +others were restless, for they shifted their positions at intervals +and sighed heavily. Where Ellerey and Grigosie were there was deep +shadow, growing deeper as the fire died down. One sleeper there was +restless for a little while, and then his breathing proclaimed that +his sleep was heavy. Once Anton thought there was a darker shadow +within the shadow, which moved quite silently, but he did not speak; +he only listened very eagerly and raised himself on his elbow a little. +Presently Anton slept too. + +Ellerey awoke with a start. Some shock in a dream seemed to wake him, +and as he raised himself his hand went to his breast, as it constantly +did on waking. The token lay there safely. Then he leaned over toward +Grigosie and stretched out his arm. The lad's place was empty. He was +startled for a moment, as men may be on awaking suddenly from a dream, +but he quickly recovered himself, remembering that the lad was sentry +part of the night. + +He lay down again, being heavy-eyed, but could not sleep. The air was +oppressive, and a dull pain was in his head as though a steel band +were clasped tightly round his forehead. The dream was still surging +unpleasantly through his brain, and at last his restlessness prompted +him to go out on to the plateau. + +The stars were still bright, but the crescent moon had gone. At the +edge of the plateau, resting upon his gun, stood the motionless figure +of the sentry. Ellerey did not wish to startle him, so coughed slightly +to let him know of his presence. + +The boy did not turn. + +"Grigosie." + +"Is that you, Captain? I was just coming to call you. Watch the mountain +opposite, and tell me if my eyes are deceiving me. There is nothing +for the moment, but wait, and look steadily." + +The top of the opposite side of the pass stood out clearly against the +sky, but below was darkness. Grigosie pointed to that part which lay +rather below the level of the plateau on which they were standing. + +"They must be good eyes to see anything there," said Ellerey. + +"Wait," whispered the boy. + +Even as he spoke there shone for a moment a wisp of light like a firefly +in the darkness, and then another, moving a little below it. Several +times this was repeated in different places in the darkness, the point +of light gleaming for a moment only and then suddenly going out. + +"They have followed us, Captain, and by morning will have climbed high +enough to command this position." + +"When did you first see the lights, Grigosie?" + +"Not ten minutes ago." + +"Get to the gate at the top of the zig-zag pass--quickly! I will call +the others." + +The boy ran to his post at once, and in a few moments the whole of the +little company was upon the plateau watching the points of light which +came and went on the mountain opposite. There was no more sleep that +night, only a waiting for dawn; and as daylight crept slowly down them, +the mountains looked innocent enough. The sunlight bursting suddenly +over the eastern ridges glinted upon no points of steel betraying +hidden men in the hollows of the hills. Ellerey and Stefan stood +together looking for such a sign, or the thin curl of smoke from a +camp-fire. + +"There's no army from Sturatzberg yonder, Captain," said the soldier. +"Whoever climbed there last night showed lights only to guide their +fellows, either not expecting us to see them, or not knowing that we +are here." + +"The brigands, perhaps," said Ellerey. + +"The same thought was in my mind," Stefan answered. + +Sharp eyes watched from the plateau during the early hours of the +morning. Weapons were looked to, and the horses saddled ready for any +emergency; but no attempt was made to conceal their presence there. +Sharp eyes doubtless had also watched their movements from the mountains +opposite, for three men presently appeared in the pass below. By what +path they came there the watchers on the plateau could not tell. No +sign of them had they perceived until they suddenly stood in full view. + +"To travel in such fashion those must be born mountaineers," said +Stefan. "Shall I signal to them, Captain?" + +"Yes. Let them come up the path; we will meet them at the top. Grigosie, +you stand on the rising ground there, and if there be any sign of +treachery see you repeat the marksmanship you boast of." + +The three men came up the zig-zag path fearlessly. They did not pause +when they saw the soldiers waiting for them at the ruined gateway, but +came on until they halted some five paces in front of them. + +"We are sent to know your mission in the hills," said one, stepping +slightly in advance of his companions. + +"From whom do you come?" inquired Ellerey. + +"From a friend, if we make no mistake, one whom you are sent to seek +near the Drekner pass. Are you from Queen Elena?" + +"I am the bearer of a message to Vasilici." + +"You are welcome, then. We will bring you to him." + +"Is he far from here?" + +The man turned and pointed up the pass: "An hour's journey." + +"We will come. The message I carry will need prompt action, for across +the plain there are troops watching the road to Sturatzberg." + +"There are more ways than one to the capital, and many men in those +troops perchance who will welcome the sight of us." + +"I do not doubt it," Ellerey answered. "Is the way passable for horses? +We shall not want to return here." + +"Yes, to the entrance of the chief's resting-place. How many are you?" + +"Ten in all." + +"Your numbers guarantee a friendly message," was the smiling answer. +"We will await you at the foot of the path." + +As the men departed Grigosie lowered the rifle which he had held ready +for use, his finger resting lightly on the trigger; but he did not +move from his post until Ellerey called him. + +"Ready, lad; we march at once." + +"You are satisfied with the embassy?" + +"Quite. In an hour's time the first stage of our mission will be +accomplished." + +"And then?" + +"The result lies on the knees of the gods," said Ellerey. + +"Do we all go?" asked the boy. "Yes." + +"And leave none to keep this refuge?" + +"What should we want with a refuge? We have come too far for that. If +success does not lie in the road before us, the only refuge we can +hope for is in death." + +"I have a strange liking for life, Captain, just now." + +The men led their horses down the zig-zag path, Ellerey and Stefan +bringing up the rear. Grigosie turned to look back at the ruined walls, +and the tower standing gaunt against the mountain-side. He had +enthusiastically called it his, and in the desertion of it there may +have been some regret. From the castle the lad's eyes followed the +shape and direction of the ridges which lay about it, as though to +impress the picture on his mind, but he spoke no word, and studiously +avoided Anton's eyes, which questioned him. He was in no mood to reduce +the thoughts which surged through his brain to any order. They raged +and beat against the unknown shores of the future as a wind-swept ocean +will against a rocky coast, carrying with them his hopes and ambitions, +which were driven to and fro like brave craft struggling against +shipwreck. There was some reason why he should regret the comparatively +quiet haven of that castle in the hills. + +In silence he mounted with the others at the foot of the path, and the +little band of horsemen proceeded at walking pace, so that the envoys +from Vasilici, who were on foot, might keep up with them. Ellerey and +Stefan rode side by side, and at a sign from the former fell a few +paces farther in the rear. + +"It is evident that we shall presently have to leave the horses, Stefan; +you and Anton shall stay with them while the rest of us go forward to +deliver the token. While you wait keep a keen lookout on the hillsides +and on--" + +"On Anton," Stefan suggested. "I need no bidding, Captain. I do not +trust him. I should trust him still less had I not taken a liking to +his companion, Grigosie." + +"The boy is stanch, I think, but it is perhaps as well to have them +separated," said Ellerey; "that is why I leave Anton to you." + +"He'll be in strict company, Captain, have no fear." + +"I see no reason to doubt success," said Ellerey, after a pause, almost +as if he had misgivings and wanted to be laughed out of them. + +"There are many who have looked upon success, and yet have not had arm +long enough to grasp it," said Stefan. "It's as well not to smack the +lips until the liquor is running in the throat." + +Their way lay up the pass toward the narrow defile which nature had +closed long ago. There was an upward incline, but it was quite easy +for the horses. The pass gradually narrowed as they went, and the +mountain-sides grew more precipitous, shutting them in like great walls +on either side. Little foothold was there for a lurking enemy, and +there were no deep gorges where an ambuscade might hide. To defend +this part of the pass in the old days must have meant a hand-to-hand +struggle in the narrow way. Ellerey noted this as he went. His life +in Sturatzberg had made him observant. + +Presently the leading horseman stopped. + +"It is difficult work for horses from here," said one of the brigands. +"They can be fetched afterward to the place the chief directs." + +"You, Stefan and Anton, will stay with them," said Ellerey. "I will send +Grigosie back with orders presently. Take orders from none but +Grigosie." + +Stefan saluted and gathered the bridles together, smiling to see that +Anton was not pleased at being left behind He looked at his youthful +comrade, who took no notice of him, and obeyed with an ill grace. + +"Why should he leave us?" he asked, when the others had gone, climbing +the slope in front of them. + +"Why not?" asked Stefan laconically. + +"It is the business of servants and lackeys to mind horses." + +"But we have neither." + +"At least we are given no honorable service." + +"For my part, I do as I am told," said Stefan, "and you'll be wise to +do the same. That young comrade of yours is capable of looking after +himself." + +Anton looked at the soldier curiously for a moment, but Stefan's +thoughts were always difficult to read. His face never showed a sign +of any meaning beyond the words he uttered. + +Following the three brigands, the others climbed up the slope of the +landslip which had filled up the pass. It was uneven ground, and they +were soon hidden from their companions with the horses. Descending +presently into a ravine, the brigands stopped. + +"As a careful Captain, you will appreciate the caution of our chief," +said the spokesman, turning to Ellerey. "We were ordered to bring you +no farther than this. He will come to you here." + +"We are only eight; let him come with no larger following," Ellerey +answered. "There shall be precaution on both sides." + +"I will give your message, but--" + +"Unless he fulfils my terms I depart the way I have come, and make my +terms in the shadow of the castle yonder." + +"I will tell him so," said the man, and the brigands went quickly up +the ravine and disappeared. + +"This is their vantage ground," said Ellerey. "Stand apart, all of +you, near enough to help each other, but not in each other's way should +a rush come. Grigosie, stand there, carelessly as it were, but with +ready fingers. We have no knowledge of the honor of these men." + +They had not long to wait. From the bend in the ravine came three men, +the central figure a man of great stature. He walked proudly, with +long, swaggering strides and swinging arms. His long black hair, bearded +chin, and beady eyes set under heavy eyebrows, gave a ferocity to his +appearance which Ellerey did not find attractive. He looked like a man +in whom the barbarian was still active, whose laws of right and wrong +and honor were likely to be of his own fashioning--one in whom it +would be dangerous to trust too implicitly. Yet he was a striking and +a handsome figure, and his dress gave him distinction. A scarlet feather +was in his hat, and he wore a scarlet cloak which the weather had +stained. A heavy knife was stuck in his belt, and it was obvious that +his companions treated him with marked respect. + +"Is this bravado, or does he know that a hundred pairs of eyes are +watching us?" said Ellerey. + +Grigosie did not take his eyes from the three men. He stood in a +careless attitude, one hand resting on his hip, the other thrust into +his breast, and his fingers were upon a revolver. No gesture of the +men escaped him, and long before they came to a standstill in front +of Ellerey he had learned their features thoroughly. + +The big man gave a short salute rather as acknowledging an inferior +than answering an equal. + +"You have a message for me, Captain." + +"I can answer that question when I know who you are," said Ellerey. + +The big man laughed, with a glance at his companions, who laughed too, +pleased to humor him. "You are a stranger in these hills, or you would +know me. I am Vasilici." + +He did not call himself great, but his manner easily filled the +omission. He glanced at Ellerey, and at the soldiers, to see the effect +of his words. + +"Then I have a message for you from Queen Elena." + +"It has been so long in coming that I have almost grown tired of +waiting," Vasilici answered. "I presume she would have done without +my help if she could." + +"I am only the bearer of one message," Ellerey said shortly. The +fellow's insolent manner came near to raising Ellerey's temper. This was +a dangerous ally the Queen had chosen. "Do you know the nature of the +message I bring?" + +"Aye, as I know the price to be paid for my help. The Queen has not +dared to question my terms, has she?" + +"I know nothing of the price. I might find it too high if I did." + +"Nor were you sent to argue, Captain, but to deliver the token," said +Vasilici, holding out his hand. + +Ellerey swallowed his rages a best he could, with a determination to +take the pride out of this boaster some day; and drawing out the sealed +box containing the bracelet of medallions, handed it to the brigand. + +"At last the great day dawns for me and for Wallaria!" Vasilici +exclaimed. "The kingdom of the hills comes to power and honor." + +"Did they tell you that an army lies in wait between here and +Sturatzberg?" asked Ellerey. + +"Fifty armies will not stop me and those I lead when I elect to strike," +cried the brigand, snapping his fingers. "The puppets in Sturatzberg +will either bow to me or squeal at their punishment when I enter the +city." + +"You'll find the gates shut and some good men to guard them," Ellerey +answered. "I am in a position to know that." + +"We may use you, Captain, and for good service there is something more +than thanks." + +Ellerey laughed loudly; it was the only way he could prevent himself +from cursing this insolent scoundrel. He almost despised himself for +being even in the same cause with this swaggerer. For a moment Grigosie +glanced at him, understanding something of what was in his mind, but +the next instant he had turned again to watch Vasilici. The man was +a swaggerer through and through, although if the tales told of him +were true he did not lack courage. He had for a long time impressed +his followers with his bluster and attitudes, playing a carefully +studied part before them, appealing to that vein of romance which life +in the mountains had fostered in them; and he played the part now for +the benefit of Ellerey and his comrades. Falling into a pose, he turned +the box this way and that, as though the opening of it were a supreme +thing which a little delay would materially add to. Then with a +flourish he drew the knife from his belt and broke the seals, pausing +again to carefully replace the knife. + +"Freedom to this wretched land at last," he said, "and so I open the +Queen's token." + +The box fell to the ground with the packing it had contained, and then +with an oath Vasilici drew himself to his full height, one hand upon +the haft of his knife in a moment. + +"Is this how her Majesty attempts to fool me!" he cried. + +Ellerey took a step forward to look, and an oath burst from his lips, +too. It was not the iron bracelet of medallions which Vasilici held +up, but a cross of gold, curious in shape and workmanship, upon which +the sun glinted as it swung by its little chain in the brigand's hand. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE RACE FOR LIFE + + + +The action a man will take in a crisis is exceedingly difficult to +gauge beforehand. As a rule, such moments happen from a chain of +circumstances which the man has not foreseen, and therefore has made +no preparation to meet, and his conduct is likely to be guided entirely +by the attitude of those about him, without any question of right or +wrong, without a thought of what has occurred in the past or what may +happen in the future. This was Ellerey's position. He had expected to +see the bracelet of medallions; instead he saw a golden cross. He knew +that in some manner he had been deceived, and who but the Queen could +have placed this unexpected token in his keeping? By his manner he +knew that the golden cross held some meaning for the brigand, a meaning +of which Ellerey was absolutely ignorant; and under other conditions +he might have admitted his ignorance and entered into explanations. +As it was, the whole bearing of Vasilici, his bluster and his swagger, +had roused Ellerey's anger. He had felt that the man was a crafty enemy +even at the moment of delivering what he supposed to be a friendly +message, and the keen desire to show his contempt for him had made his +tongue smart with unspoken words, and his hands tingle to be clenched +and to strike. He had forced himself to decent speech and attitude, +but now his anger asserted itself. No question of duty or expediency +seemed to bind him; only a boastful enemy was before him to be answered +in the same fashion as he questioned, and if that did not suffice, to +be punished as he merited. + +"That is the token as I received it," said Ellerey. + +As the brigand had held up the token Grigosie had leant forward to see +it, the color mounting into his cheeks. Now his enthusiasm appeared +to get the better of his prudence, and he cried out: + +"Long live our country! Down with all who dishonor her! The golden +cross gleams in the light of God's good sun; it is a benediction on +this day, a promise of brighter days to follow. Summon your legions, +Vasilici, and on to Sturatzberg where the hornets are nesting ready +for destruction." + +The brigand glanced at the boy contemptuously. + +"What bantam is this you have brought to crow for you?" + +"The boy speaks well enough," said Ellerey. "There is the token, where +is your answer?" + +"Here, and here," was the quick answer, as he hurled the cross high +into the air behind him, and at the same time blew a shrill whistle. +"That is Vasilici's answer to liars, and this his swift punishment." + +The man's movements were so lithe and quick, so utterly unexpected, +that he had sprung upon Ellerey before the words had fully left his +lips. The long blade of his knife caught the sunlight, even as the +golden cross had caught it a moment ago, and Ellerey's upraised arm +alone protected his breast from the downward thrust. But the swift +stroke did not come. A revolver shot awoke the echoes of the hills, +and with a howl the great brigand leapt backward, his knife falling +harmlessly to the ground, and his arm useless to his side. + +"The bantam's answer," cried Grigosie. "To me, Captain!" It was at +once evident that Vasilici had not ventured to the interview without +support. The hills in front of them were immediately alive with men +scrambling downward to the very ground the little band occupied. Men +were in the ravine behind them rushing up to cut off retreat that way. +Cries and shouting were on every side, some calling for surrender, +others shouting that the soldiers had been deceived by their Captain. +In the sudden confusion Ellerey gave quick commands, as, with sword +in hand, he sprang to the rising ground where Grigosie stood; but his +orders were either not heard or came too late for obedience. Before +the soldiers could come to him, the brigands were between them. + +"It is madness to stay," whispered Grigosie. "The hill behind us is +clear." The boy fired twice in quick succession at men who had raised +their rifles ready to fire at them, and although in answer a dozen +bullets sang past them, the aim was faulty in the excitement. + +"Shoot them both!" was the shout. + +"Shoot them!" thundered Vasilici. + +"Come," whispered Grigosie. + +They scrambled upward together, the unevenness of the hillside +protecting them for a moment from the flying bullets. + +"I marked our direction," said Grigosie. "We can keep to this kind +path for a little way, and with luck cross the open presently toward +the horses." + +They ran on, crouching lest their heads should be seen and mark the +direction they had taken. Grigosie refilled the empty chambers of his +revolver as he went, and Ellerey put up his sword and took his revolver +instead. Behind them the firing had ceased, but they could not doubt +that they were being swiftly followed; and spread over the open which +they must needs cross, a hundred men probably barred their way. + +"Unless they were already there when we passed, they will hardly have +time to intercept us," was Grigosie's answer to this fear. + +"Probably they were there, lad," said Ellerey. "We've about an equal +chance with the hare that is being coursed." + +"He gets away sometimes," was the answer. + +They ran swiftly, mounting higher and higher as they went. Once they +caught sight of men running in the path below them, and presently of +others climbing the hillside to reach the summit before them, but no +shout told them that they themselves had been seen. + +"Don't fire, Grigosie, unless it is absolutely necessary," said Ellerey. +"It would betray our whereabouts, and we shall want all our cartridges +to stop them across the open." + +The boy nodded and ran on. + +"The top at last!" he exclaimed. "That height yonder is our mark. If +we can reach it we shall be in sight of the horses. How far behind +have we left them?" + +He stood for a moment to look back along the ridge under which they had +come. Some distance away men were coming into view. + +"Quick, Grigosie; it's speed now," said Ellerey. + +The way before them was clear, and they ran side by side, careful of +their steps lest a hole might mean a fall and a sprained ankle. +Presently a bullet passed between them, and they began to run in zig-zag +fashion to puzzle the marksmanship. Ellerey constantly turned to look +back. There were many pursuers, some widely straggling, but a few of +them were gaining rapidly. These did not pause to fire; they ran, +judging their pace and distance to a nicety. Long before the point for +which the fugitives were making could be reached these men would be +upon them. + +"We must stop them, Grigosie." + +The lad looked back. He was beginning to pant heavily. + +"Not yet," he said; "they are not close enough." + +So they ran on. It was evident to Ellerey that the boy's pace was +palpably slackening, and there was yet some distance to cover to the +height, to say nothing of the final dash for the horses. The men behind +were rapidly overtaking them. Ellerey could hear the dull, rhythmic +pad of the running feet. + +"Twelve paces, Grigosie," he murmured, "then turn sharply. Do not kill, +lame them; their companions may stop to help them." + +Ellerey counted the twelve paces aloud, and then they both turned. Four +shots rang out sharply, and three of the foremost runners stumbled and +fell. An answering bullet cut through Ellerey's coat sleeve, and there +was the pain as of a hot skewer laid for a moment on his flesh as he and +Grigosie ran on again. + +"Every step lessens the distance, lad," he said encouragingly. "That +will teach them to keep a little farther in the rear." + +Still Ellerey turned constantly to watch their pursuers. One or two +had stopped by their wounded companions, but the rest held on their +way, undeterred by the fate of their comrades. Twice again did Ellerey +count twelve paces, and he and Grigosie turned together and fired. The +foremost runner on the last occasion was Grigosie's mark, and he missed +him. The man had bounded forward to make his capture when Ellerey's +revolver sounded again. It was not the moment to hazard a shot, to aim +at the swiftly moving limbs. The man leapt into the air and fell +sprawling on his face, and with one spasmodic kick lay still. Grigosie +turned and ran on again without a word. They were close to the height +now. It was to their left, and the boy pointed to a depression which +lay between it and another elevation. The way was narrow, which was +in their favor, and if only the brigands were not in force on the other +side, and Grigosie had made no mistake in the direction, there was a +chance of escape. + +Ellerey let Grigosie enter the narrow way first, and then paused in +the entrance. Only two men followed them, and seeing Ellerey stop, +they fired. Ellerey fired twice in answer, and without waiting to see +if the shots had taken effect dashed after Grigosie. + +The boy had made no mistake. They had come out half-way down the rising +ground which they had climbed directly after dismounting. Below them +stood Stefan and Anton with the horses, and higher up the slope above +them more of the brigands were hastily descending. Some of the men had +gone this way to cut off their retreat, and the fugitives had not a +moment to waste in their final dash for freedom. + +Ellerey fired into the air to put Stefan on the alert, and seizing +Grigosie's arm--for the boy was nearly beaten--he dashed down the steep +incline. Stefan saw them and spoke quickly to Anton, who for a moment +seemed inclined to lose his head. The soldier's sharp command steadied +him, and the moment Grigosie was beside him he lifted him bodily into +the saddle and then sprang to his own. + +"No others?" Stefan shouted, wheeling Ellerey's horse round toward him. + +"No." + +Without a word Stefan cast loose the reins of the other horses, and +the next instant the four riders were galloping for dear life up the +pass, Ellerey and Grigosie in the centre, Anton and Stefan on either +side. Knee to knee they galloped, their bodies low upon their horses' +necks. Several shots followed them, but went wide of the mark, and a +bend in the pass soon covered them. Still they held on their way, +speaking no word. There was only the sound of the rapidly beating hoofs +and the rough purring of the leather as the legs rubbed the saddles. + +Ellerey thought that along the pass any surprise or ambush was +impossible. He had taken careful notice of the mountain walls which +shut them in, but he was not so satisfied that they would find the +castle open to them. Those who occupied it, if any were there, could +hardly have heard of the failure of the meeting yet, and he therefore +hoped that he might gain possession of it by stratagem. To ride out +of the pass would be madness, with the armies from Sturatzberg guarding +the plain. The castle was their only hope--their place of refuge, as +Grigosie had prophetically called it. + +Ellerey drew rein presently. + +"We have distanced them," he said. "What do you think, Stefan--will +the castle be empty?" + +The soldier shrugged his shoulders. + +"If any brigands still occupy the hills about it, they cannot know +that our mission has failed." + +"These fellows manage to signal very quickly to one another," Stefan +answered. + +"Then we must fight for its possession. It is our only chance." + +"Our chance is a poor one if it comes to fighting," said Stefan. + +"We will try strategy first," Ellerey said. "Let us ride easily." + +"What happened?" queried Stefan. + +"The box did not contain the right token, and they attacked us without +a word of warning." + +"What of the others?" + +"Heaven knows. They hardly seemed to strike a blow after we were +surrounded. It was Grigosie who thought of the way across the hills, +and we've had to run for it like hunted rabbits, eh, lad?" + +Grigosie smiled faintly, but did not speak. He was still panting after +his tremendous exertion. Anton had stretched out a hand to support him +in his saddle as they galloped. + +"They are dead then, those others?" said Stefan. + +"I fear so." + +"And we've been deceived, sent into a trap like a lot of rats. There's +a reckoning to be paid." + +"Time enough to think of that, Stefan. Let us secure the castle first," +said Ellerey. + +"I'm fearing the reckoning must be left for others to pay," growled the +soldier. "It's putting our trust in a woman that's been the curse of +us." + +No one contradicted him, and they rode on in silence until the castle +came in view. It looked gaunt enough, as silent and deserted as when +they had first seen it. There was no movement on the plateau, no sign +that any living creature except themselves was near it. + +"Look!" exclaimed Stefan suddenly. + +He pointed to the hillside on which the lights had shone mysteriously +last night. Here and there were moving figures descending the slopes. +Whether they had caught sight of the riders and jumped to the conclusion +that something was wrong, or whether they had learnt of the escape +from signals across the hills, it was impossible to say. At any rate +they were descending rapidly, and there was no time to lose. + +"Once in the zig-zag path the odds will be more evenly balanced," said +Ellerey. "Forward! Gallop!" + +"It seems to me they are making for a point beyond the castle," said +Stefan. "They are expecting us to ride out of the pass." + +"So fortune favors us," said Ellerey. "Rein up altogether at the +entrance to the path, dismount, and up to the plateau quickly." + +Even as they stopped with exact precision, a loud challenge came from +the opposite hill, and, no answer being given, several shots whistled +across the pass and struck close to the entrance of the zig-zag way. + +"Up with you quickly!" shouted Ellerey, who brought up the rear. "There +is little harm in such firing, and they will think twice before they +follow us." + +"Careful in front, lad," Stefan called out to Grigosie, who led the +way. "Keep sharp eyes, the plateau may be occupied." + +The boy nodded, but he had been looking out keenly before the soldier's +warning, leading his horse in such a manner as to cover himself as +much as possible. The precaution proved unnecessary; the castle was +empty. Stefan was right. The brigands had not expected the fugitives +to make for their old resting place, and when they saw them go up the +path they shouted as though victory were already won, nor did they +attempt to follow them. Why should they? Their foes were caught surely +as birds netted by the fowler. + +"See to the horses, Grigosie," said Ellerey. "Put them as far back in +the ruins as possible. Now, Stefan, Anton, we'll heap stones across +this broken gateway at the head of the path. It shall be our first +line of defence, and if it is taken we will see to it that it is dearly +bought." + +"It is not the fighting that frightens me, it's the empty condition +of the larder," said Stefan. + +"Truly we are pariahs on God's earth," Ellerey answered. "Every man's +hand against us, but we'll snarl and bite awhile in our stronghold, +and then make a dash out and die in the open." + +They toiled with a will all through the afternoon, heaping fragments +which had fallen from the ruins across the gateway, and driving in +stakes, rudely fashioned from any planks they could find, behind the +stonework to strengthen it. Grigosie, by Ellerey's orders, did not +assist in this work, but stood sentinel upon the plateau. The boy had +had as much as he could stand for one day. + +It was growing dusk in the pass below when they had finished. Daylight +was still upon the summit of the mountains, but twilight had gathered +in the deep valleys and ravines. The brigands still hung about the +pass, watching the castle, but keeping out of range. It did not appear +that they had any intention of attacking it. As they stood together +looking down upon their enemies, Ellerey told Stefan what had happened +and the details of their escape. + +"Surely those are our fellows, Captain." But there was no tone of +pleasure at the escape of his comrades; no note of welcome in the +soldier's voice. + +"This looks like desertion," said Ellerey. + +One of the soldiers below called out in a stentorian voice which carried +clearly in the quiet air. + +"Ho there, Stefan!" + +"Well, comrade?" + +"We're betrayed by that devilish Englishman. Is he there with you?" + +"The Captain is here. What of him?" + +"Throw him down to us along with the boy," was the answer shouted back. +"He's tricked us all, and that imp of Satan has helped him. The token +he carried was not from her Majesty. He's a conspirator against the +King, and carried the golden cross. You know what that means. Throw +him down." + +"It were easier for you to show your courage and come and fetch him." + +"Our good friends here will do that. We have other work in hand. We +ride back to Sturatzberg to tell our story, and heaven help you if you +are alive when we return. There'll be little mercy for the companions +of that devilish Englishman. Will you come with us?" + +"I'm too old to run away," shouted Stefan, "and the company of cowards +is not to my liking. May they cut your throats on the plain yonder and +ask for your story afterward." + +The brigands yelled with rage, and the soldiers shouted back coarse +oaths. + +"It would do my soul good to have a shot at them," said Stefan. + +"Let them go," said Ellerey. "We shall want every shot we have. We are +not without friends in the capital who may hear of our need. Against +their will these fellows may help us." + +The soldiers below moved on. It was evident that here they were to +part with the brigands. + +"Hold them fast for punishment," cried the same stentorian voice. "We +shall return with the true message. Down with all lovers of the golden +cross! Death to them who serve Maritza! Down with Maritza!" + +"What is that they shout?" said Ellerey. + +The answer came loudly, borne upward on the air, as the soldiers put +their horses into a canter and rode down the pass. + +"Death to the Princess Maritza!" + +"You hear, Captain. Some one has fooled us all." + +"Princess Maritza!" Ellerey exclaimed. "What has she to do with us?" + +"Sufficient to give us a violent ending," Stefan answered. + +"The golden cross is the sign of her house, her token; and you, Captain, +have been her messenger." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE TRAITOR + + + +A smile wrinkled Stefan's face, not of amusement at the deception which +had been practised upon them, but in expectation of disappointed rage +from Ellerey. With diplomacy and the fine points of strategy Stefan +the soldier had little to do. His business was fighting. It was his +livelihood, and some day, near or far in the future as fate decreed, +it would be his death. His respect for his fellows was measured by +their power of withstanding him, and the man he had the greatest +affection for, perhaps, was a soldier, now incapacitated, who had once +in a melee succeeded in knocking him from his saddle. At the same time +he believed in his own astuteness, not without some reason be it said, +and in the back of his mind there was always a certain admiration for +the man who could get the better of him. It is more than possible that +if he ever married he would thoroughly respect his wife on account of +her cleverness in having hoodwinked him into marrying her. + +But the burst of anger did not come. Ellerey's eyes were fixed on the +point in the pass round which the soldiers had disappeared, and for +some minutes he did not speak. + +"What is done must remain as it is," he said at last. "We have only +ourselves to consider now. We must watch two and two, one on the +plateau, one at the path. Anton and you, Stefan; Grigosie and I. It's +short rations for us and careful use of cartridges. We must understand +how our enemy is going to conduct this siege before we calculate our +chances. What ammunition have we?" + +It was little enough that the four of them could display. If every +cartridge accounted for a man, small damage would be done to their +foes. + +"I flung a belt of cartridges in a corner of the tower before we left," +said Grigosie. + +They all turned to look at him. + +"Did you fling some food into a corner, too?" asked Stefan. + +"No, but I marked that birds used the plateau in the early morning," +Grigosie answered. + +"They'll be coming in larger numbers presently, and, maybe, get a good +picking off the four of us," said Stefan. "You haven't happened upon +a fountain of wine, have you?" + +"That, too, is supplied, Stefan; you can hear it leaping down the +mountain-side, and see it too," and the boy pointed to a corner of the +plateau which was within reach of the narrow stream which, from the +heights, fell with many a cascade into the pass beneath. + +Stefan looked at him for a moment, and then said in disgust: "Water +and birds; fairies' fodder." + +"It might be worse," said Anton. + +"Wait a day or two, comrade, and you'll be crying a different tale," +said Stefan, "although, for that matter, the food will doubtless last +our time. Had we, in our small circle here, half a dozen taverns filled +from cellar floor to garret ceiling, those fellows yonder would give +us little chance of visiting them. Keep watch here, Anton; I'll go to +the gate." + +"We'll rest, Grigosie," said Ellerey. + +The boy turned and entered the tower, but Ellerey did not follow him +at once. He paced in and out the ruined walls, his hands clasped behind +him, deep in thought and troubled. + +Who had deceived him? It could only be the Queen, or the man who had +brought him the token, or perhaps De Froilette. Indeed, they might all +be in a conspiracy to deceive him. Yet why should the Queen desire to +deliver the token of Princess Maritza's house to the brigands? How +could it serve her ends? De Froilette's position and political aims +were less clear. Ellerey had never believed him heart whole in his +devotion to her Majesty; yet surely he would have taken the precaution +to find out how such a token would be received before sending it. He +was not the man to risk the work of years without some real hope of +success. Then Ellerey's thoughts turned to the woman who had craved +his help in the Altstrasse, the manner in which he had been searched +for the token, the masked woman who had come to look upon him, and the +warning she had given him. Baron Petrescu, too, had probably forced +the duel upon him because of the token, believing that it had been +delivered to him that night by the Queen. At his interview with her +Majesty, the token which had been decided upon was the bracelet of +medallions; it was hardly likely that it would be suddenly changed. +Somehow the bracelet had been filched from the sealed box, and the +golden cross placed there instead. Ellerey decided that the power to +effect this change lay only with the man who had brought him the token, +and on this man he fixed the blame. + +Whoever was responsible for it, the scheme had failed miserably, and +it was difficult to see how success could ever have been hoped for. +On the other hand it could hardly be supposed that all those who +followed the fortunes of the golden cross were fools, acting upon +sudden impulse, courting disaster. They must have had some reason for +believing that the token would receive some consideration from the +brigands and those who had gathered to their standard. Possibly they +had themselves been deceived, even as they had attempted to deceive. +Ellerey could not doubt that Princess Maritza had a considerable +following in Sturatzberg, that the seeds of the rebellion were widely +scattered. The soldiers now riding toward the capital would spread the +news of failure, and the rebellion in self-defence might be forced to +break into open conflict at once. Even then, would Maritza's followers +give a thought to the remnant of the band who had carried the message? +If Countess Mavrodin had a voice in their councils, as surely she must +have, they might. The chance of rescue was a slender one, but a hope +did exist. + +Strange to say, anger at the trick which had been played upon him did +not assert itself in any great degree, in spite of the fact that all +hope of honor and advancement was now at an end. Vasilici's attitude +had doubtless something to do with Ellerey's state of mind, personal +antagonism rising above ambition; but this would not have been the +case probably had Ellerey been forced against his will into any other +service than that of Princess Maritza. There was a charm for him in +her name, the memory of her had dwelt with him and lent a halo of +romance to his present position. He saw her again with her hair +streaming in the breeze, and felt again the subtle strength and vigor +that were in her. Had he not thought then that it would be good to +fight in her cause? Why should he rage at the circumstances which had +forced him into it? + +When he entered the tower Grigosie was asleep, and he lay down to +snatch what rest he could before relieving Anton and Stefan. + +When they went on duty, Grigosie watched by the path, Ellerey on the +plateau. "They will wait for Vasilici," Stefan said, when he reported +that all had been quiet so far. + +Ellerey paced up and down, pausing at short intervals to listen. Not +a sound broke the deep silence. The great world seemed to lie still +and motionless under the glow of the moonlit night and the pale glimmer +of the stars. It was a time to dream of life and realized ambition, +not to ponder on lurking death and failure. He walked presently to the +head of the zig-zag path. + +"Your castle has proved a refuge after all, Grigosie. How came you to +be prophetic?" + +"I did not believe my own prophecy." + +"Yet you hid the cartridges." + +"Believing, perhaps, that they would never be wanted," Grigosie +answered. "I am full of strange thoughts and superstitions to-night, +Captain, and cannot talk." + +"It is the moon and the stars, Grigosie." + +"Madmen's time, when everything is distorted," answered the lad. + +"And lovers' time too, Grigosie." + +"Which are you, madman or lover?" + +"A little of both, I think," Ellerey answered. + +"And below us death is waiting," said Grigosie. + +"I don't think death is coming to us this time," replied Ellerey. + +The boy did not answer. Several times during those watching hours +Ellerey went to the head of the path, but Grigosie never spoke, never +turned to him. His thoughts and superstitions occupied him; and with +the light of day Ellerey noticed that there was something in his face +which was new. He had changed during the night. Something--was it his +courage?--seemed to have left him, but in its place there had come an +addition to him, to his expression, almost to his character, Ellerey +fancied. He watched the lad enter the tower, saw him cast himself +wearily into his corner, and would have followed him had not Stefan +detained him. + +"I was right, Captain. Vasilici is coming. They are gathering in the +pass waiting for him." + +A little later a shout proclaimed the arrival of the chief, and Ellerey +saw his huge frame in the midst of his followers. His right hand was +swathed in a handkerchief and rested in a sling, and savage ferocity +was in his face as he looked up toward the castle. His orders, and he +appeared to give many, were promptly obeyed, and he struck one man +viciously, perhaps because he dared to offer advice unasked. + +It was evidence of his power among them that no one interfered, nor +did the victim himself retaliate. Men began to climb the opposite +slopes, while others massed themselves at the foot of the zig-zag pass. + +"They are going to attack us at once, Captain," said Stefan. "It is +to be hot work for us to-day." + +At the head of the path the little band of defenders waited. + +"Every shot must tell," Ellerey whispered, "and keep well behind the +stonework, all of you." + +The path was narrow with deep sides. The brigands came up it boldly +enough until the last bend in it showed them the stone-barred gateway. +Then they halted, and the foremost leaned back upon those behind who +pushed them on and shouted: "Forward!" Two men fired blindly at the +stone wall, and then rushed upon it, never to reach their goal. Only +two shots rang out, but both men threw up their arms and staggered +backward upon their companions. Not more than two abreast could come +up the narrow way, and twice again a speedy death crowned the temerity +of those who rushed to the attack. Those behind shouted to be let up +to the front, and those before made every effort to let them come. The +spirit of the brigands seemed to die out of them as their eyes fell +upon their dead companions and that silent death-dealing barricade. +Then one fellow suddenly picked up a corpse, and holding it before him +as a shield, dashed forward with a shout. + +"Let him come," whispered Ellerey. "Shoot at those who follow." + +The man rushed to the wall until the dead body struck the stonework. +Success for a moment seemed to be his. He had plugged one narrow slit +through which the bullets came, and he cheered his comrades on. They +came, but only to have their leader fall back into their arms. Through +the slit Ellerey had driven his sword with all his strength, piercing +the living through the dead. It had been an ugly rush, but for the +present it was the last. + +"They'll try some other plan before attempting this way again," said +Stefan. + +"Is there any other way?" Grigosie asked. + +"For mountaineers there may be. These fellows can walk in places where +we should never venture and only expect to find flies." + +From the opposite mountain a desultory fire was maintained upon the +plateau, which could only do harm if the defenders were careless. For +the rest of the day the brigands held aloof, standing or sitting in +parties in the pass and watching the castle. Vasilici strode from one +group to another, but no movement followed. There was no sleep for the +defenders that night, and at dawn, in spite of Stefan's forecast, +another attack was made upon the gate. It was as unsuccessful as the +first, nor was it made with such determination. The obedience to orders +was only half-hearted. + +Later in the day it became evident that a council of war was being +held. The murmur of the men's voices reached the plateau, but no words +could be distinguished. An oath from Vasilici sounded clearly now and +again, but that was all. Some persuasion was apparently pressed upon +the chief which he jeered and laughed at, but there was a shaking of +heads when he pointed to the zig-zag way. His followers were not +inclined to try that road to victory again. They had had their surfeit +of it. Vasilici was quick-witted enough to see that he must listen to +counsel, and with lowering visage he turned first to one and then to +another as they spoke. Presently one speaker seemed to please him, for +his features relaxed into a grim smile. A movement ran through the +whole assembly, men turned to one another and nodded their satisfaction. +Some definite conclusion had been arrived at. + +"They seem to have hit upon another way of getting at us," said Stefan. + +"Is there another way?" asked Grigosie, repeating the same question +he had asked before. No one answered him, nor did he seem to expect +an answer. He stood watching the now moving mass below, little interest +in his eyes. His alertness had departed. + +Vasilici had disappeared into some pathway at the foot of the opposite +slope, and then the crowd fell aside for one man, who, standing alone, +took off his neckcloth and waved it toward the plateau. + +"A parley, Captain. Shall I answer?" said Stefan; and then, having +permission, he shouted: "Hallo!" + +"I would speak with your Captain," came the answer. + +"I'm a mouthpiece, comrade, same as you are. Speak on." + +"I am commanded to offer you your lives and freedom on one condition." + +"And the condition?" Stefan shouted, prompted by Ellerey. "You are +free to leave the pass unmolested if you will deliver up the youth who +is of your company." + +"We'll see you--" Stefan began, without any prompting. + +"Word it as you will," said Ellerey, "the coarser the better, perhaps, +for such a devilish suggestion." + +"Wait!" exclaimed Grigosie. "Ask for time to consider." + +"Who wants to consider such a thing as that?" growled Stefan. + +"We gain time," said Grigosie, turning to Ellerey. "Say you will +consider the suggestion and answer them tomorrow. We sorely need rest; +what does it matter how we gain it?" + +"My gorge revolts against their even fancying that we should consider +such a thing," said Stefan. + +"Command him, Captain," pleaded Grigosie. "In war and love everything +is fair." + +Ellerey gave way and Stefan shouted the answer. + +"Until to-morrow," came the answer. "The youth once in our hands, you +are free to depart. If he is not given up to us we will have our +revenge, though half the sons of these mountains fall in the gaining +it; and the longer that revenge is delayed the fiercer shall it be +when it does come. Until to-morrow. There shall be peace between us +until then." + +"But we'll keep watch by the gate for all that," growled Stefan, who +was not in the best of tempers at having to answer the brigands in +this fashion. + +"There is another way, you see," said Grigosie. "I have got an answer +to my question." + +"Well, lad, when you alone are in their hands, the rest of us will +have said his last prayer, or growled his last oath, whichever pleases +him best at the hour of departure." + +"The question is not so easily settled, Stefan," Grigosie said. "Send +Anton to the gate, Captain, while we discuss it." + +Ellerey laughed at the lad's strange mood as he entered the tower with +him. Stefan followed them and stood in the doorway. + +"The question is worth consideration, though you may not think so," +Grigosie began. "You have been deceived, Captain, and also those who +served with you." + +"Enough of that, lad. It is past, and the present is our concern. If +we come out of this with our lives we may talk of punishing those who +deceived us." + +"Should it not be a bitter punishment?" queried the boy. + +"As bitter as the death to which they have brought us face to face," +said Ellerey fiercely, his whole being roused for a moment at the +thought of the outrage practised upon him. + +"But that revenge seems out of your power," Grigosie went on. "For you +and Stefan there is almost certain death to-morrow or a week hence, it +may be." + +"It is very likely. I have looked death in the face before, and so has +Stefan there. When we look into his eyes for the last time I warrant +we shall not change color." + +"Except with the heat of our final struggle," said Stefan from the +doorway. + +"Your comrades have gone. You two stand alone," said Grigosie. + +"With you and Anton," said Stefan. + +"And we wish for no better companions," added Ellerey. "Vasilici's +knife would have written finis to my history had it not been for you, +Grigosie." + +The boy colored a little with pleasure. + +"Still you forget, Captain, that Anton and I were not of your choosing. +We forced ourselves into your company." + +"What of it? I am glad, I--" and then the look in Grigosie's eyes +stopped Ellerey suddenly. Stefan, too, started from his leaning position +and stood upright in the entrance, looking straight at the boy. + +"By your leave, I would become the hostage for your safety," said +Grigosie. "I asked you to take me with you; now I ask you to give me +up." + +"Plague upon you, lad, you almost anger me. You are beyond my +understanding," was Ellerey's answer, but he still looked fixedly at +him. + +"Since I have deceived you it is fitting that I should pay the penalty," +said the boy quietly. "I would sooner meet death at their hands than +at yours. Grant me this much, and make an end of it." + +"You!" exclaimed Ellerey. "You deceived me! I do not believe it." + +"It is the truth. Stay, I would not have you think too ill of me. It +was not done wantonly. Those who made me believe that there was a good +chance of success misled me, but if I thought you too would reap the +benefit, it is none the less true that I deceived you. I came not from +the Queen; I came to work this very thing that has happened, the +delivery of the golden cross instead of the bracelet. I have played +my hand and lost. Mine should be a bitter punishment; you yourself +have said it. Grant me this only, that I receive it from the brigands +yonder, and not from you." + +Ellerey hardly seemed to hear the boy's latter words. The sudden +confession was all his brain seemed to have the power to take in. +Stefan remained motionless, statue-like, still staring at Grigosie. +For a space there was silence in the tower. Then Ellerey turned sharply +upon the boy and laid his hand roughly on his shoulder, so roughly +that he winced a little, but showed no sign of fear. + +"You lie, Grigosie, confess that you lie. The box containing the token +has never left me, night or day. As I received it from her Majesty so +it has always been, so I delivered it. Of course you are lying." + +"You slept soundly, Captain, the night you drank from my wine flask." + +"Was it then, you scoundrel?" + +"It was then." + +Deep down in every man is the instinct of the savage, the acceptance +of the law which demands an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. +Given occasion great enough, it may rise even in the man who has all +his life studied to curb his passions, and in his judgments to be +merciful. Ellerey was of the rough and readier sort. He was a +disappointed man, one who nursed the thought of revenge against those +who had injured him. He was a soldier among soldiers who had much of +the barbarian in them. He was an adventurer among adventurers. If the +youth of this deceiver and betrayer appealed to him for a moment, the +thought was sternly crushed. If the thought of what they had come +through together came into his mind, there also came the knowledge +that he had committed the unpardonable sin. He had betrayed his +comrades. + +"Heaven forgive you for making me your judge," Ellerey cried; "but +what is there except death for the traitor?" and his sword rang from +its scabbard as he spoke. + +He paused a moment and looked toward Stefan. + +"It's hateful, but it's just," muttered the soldier in his beard, and +he did not move from the doorway. He only lowered his head so that he +might not see. + +"I admit the justice," said Grigosie; "but will you not grant my request +and deliver me to the brigands? So you shall escape." + +"Escape!" cried Ellerey. "For what? Is there any truth and honor in +the world? I have not found them, and the end may come when it will. +It is an easier death you shall have from my hands than you would have +from theirs." + +The sword was ready, and Stefan turned in the doorway just in time to +see Anton and to catch his uplifted arm as he attempted to rush past +him toward Ellerey. Not a word spoke the soldier, but he fiercely +twisted Anton's aim, and the knife he held rattled to the floor. + +"As my fathers faced death, so can I, unflinchingly," Grigosie cried. +"Strike, Captain! God knows it was not such work as this I thought to +find for the strong arm of Desmond Ellerey." + +As he spoke, he tore his shirt open at the throat to receive the blow. +His cap fell from his head, and curls, the hue of copper, slipped +loosely down upon his forehead, while the open shirt just revealed the +curve of a white bosom. + +"A woman!" exclaimed Stefan, letting go of Anton in his blank +astonishment. + +Slowly Ellerey's sword was lowered, and for a moment he did not speak. +Then almost in a whisper he said: + +"Maritza! Princess Maritza." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE TRUE WORTH OF BARON PETRESCU + + + +There was excitement in Sturatzberg. Rumor flies fast, and the moment +it was whispered that the city gates were watched, that Captain Ellerey, +of his Majesty's Horse, was to be arrested, men began to stop and +gossip at street corners, and women to stand upon their thresholds +ready to give, or to receive, information. Strange stories grew current +in this manner, which served to keep the excitement alive until more +definite news were forthcoming. There was unwonted stir in the secret +societies and clubs, sympathy being with Ellerey, since he had in some +manner offended the Government. They did not stay to inquire what he +had done, or, indeed, to think whether his action would tend to further +any scheme of their own; it was enough that he had shown defiance to +the powers that be. Every hour fresh rumors were started and eagerly +discussed and as eagerly denied. Only two things were definite: there +was much coming and going at the palace, and Captain Ellerey was not +to be found. + +Those who lead rebellion, or pull the wires of conspiracies, are seldom +open with those they lead, any more than the policy of King's Ministers +is wholly spread before the people. There were leaders in Sturatzberg +who knew many things, who shrewdly guessed at more, and their knowledge +was not reassuring. + +Lord Cloverton did not expect the immediate arrest of Ellerey after +the failure to discover him at the Countess Mavrodin's. He had fully +believed that he was there, and had purposely kept the Countess driving +in the Bois until such time as the search should be accomplished. The +failure was disappointing, but his interview with the Countess would +bear fruit. Ellerey would have to move cautiously, and time was +therefore gained. The gates were closed that night, and no Captain +Ellerey had passed through them. Countess Mavrodin's house was watched, +and no one had left it. So the Ambassador met the morning with a smile; +so far his prompt action had saved the situation. A few hours were +destined to bring him surprises. First came the news of the return +of Captain Ward's cloak. The messenger who brought it was promptly +taken before the Ambassador and sharply questioned. He had received +it from Captain Ellerey himself an hour before midnight, he said. + +"Why were you chosen as a messenger?" asked Lord Cloverton. + +"I cannot say. I brought it because I was paid to do so." + +"You seem very certain of the time. Did Captain Ellerey tell you the +hour?" + +"No, sir; the clocks were striking the hour as he spoke to me." + +"What is Captain Ellerey like?" + +The description given seemed satisfactory until after the man had been +dismissed, and then Lord Cloverton recognized that it would fit many +men. The cloak was Captain Ward's, but there was no certainty that +Ellerey was the man who had given it to the messenger. To-day the city +was being searched; the return of the cloak went to prove that Ellerey +was still in Sturatzberg; had that been the intention in returning it? +The smile of satisfaction slowly faded from the Ambassador's face, and +he began to grow feverish for further news. Later he was with the King +when the Countess Mavrodin begged for an audience. + +"She may unwittingly enlighten your Majesty," said Lord Cloverton, He +could not believe that his cleverness would not be sufficient, sooner +or later, to make the Countess betray herself, although the past was +utterly barren of result. + +So Frina Mavrodin was admitted. The presence of the British Ambassador +did not disconcert her. She went to the point at once. + +"Is it true, your Majesty, that my house was searched yesterday by +your instructions?" she asked. + +"Countess, how can you think that?" said the King. "It is true that +I commanded the arrest of Captain Ellerey, and that command may have +been used to open your doors, as it would serve to open any door in +Sturatzberg." + +"I have heard of no other house being entered by force," the Countess +answered. "Naturally, I seek to know why I am suspected." + +She puzzled Lord Cloverton more than ever. This was a bold stroke to +disarm suspicion. + +"My dear Countess," said the King, blandly, "would you hold me +responsible for the actions of my officers? Believe me, the city is +being searched in every corner for this rebel Captain. It is pardonable +if in the search some annoyance is given to innocent persons, is it +not? Their loyalty should overlook the offence." + +"True; but your Majesty, I would humbly submit, overlooks one fact of +the gravest importance to me. That my house is searched for a rebel +is nothing; but when it is searched for a man who, at Court, has been +somewhat in my company, the action affects me curiously. It is not a +question of loyalty, but one which concerns my fair fame." + +"Surely, Countess, you exaggerate." + +"Indeed, your Majesty, I do not, as Lord Cloverton can prove. Only +yesterday, in the Bois, he made it evident that Court gossip linked +my name with Captain Ellerey's, and even suggested that I might +render service to my country and this Englishman at the same time +by saying all I knew. Is it not so, my lord? You were very anxious +to save your countryman and get him out of the city?" + +This was more than the Ambassador had bargained for and an answer did +not come readily to his lips. + +"Is it not so, my lord?" the Countess repeated. "I admit, Countess, +that, fancying there was some tender understanding between you and my +countryman, I was willing, if possible, to render you a service. I +seem to have heard that love has been accountable for strange, and +even foolish actions. This is the beginning and the end of my offence." + +"Are you sure of that?" she said. "Forgive me if I am mistaken, but +the searching of my house was strangely timed with our drive in the +Bois." + +"Oh, Countess!" the Ambassador exclaimed. "Surely you forget that I +only availed myself of your courteous invitation." + +"Which I could do no less than give since you explained that you had +foregone your afternoon sleep to meet me there," she replied quickly, +and smiled, the smile of a very charming woman of the world, as most +people considered her; but Lord Cloverton seemed to catch some meaning +behind the smile, and the King felt that he ought to come to his rescue. + +"We have both fallen under the Countess's displeasure; how can we prove +how unjustly? I will reprimand my too zealous officers, and they shall +make you an apology." + +"Your Majesty is good," she answered. "For myself it is no great +consequence, but had you witnessed the consternation of my servants, +you would have understood how serious a matter it was in their eyes." + +"Subjects and servants alike, Countess, are our masters," said the +King. + +Frina Mavrodin departed full of thanks and wreathed in gracious smiles. +When she had gone, the King and the Ambassador looked inquiringly at +each other. + +"I think your suspicions were unfounded, my lord," the King said. + +"I missed the centre of the target, your Majesty, but I believe I aimed +at the right mark. She is a clever woman; I admire her more every day." + +Lord Cloverton spoke the truth; he did admire her. Like all great men, +he was quick to recognize the sterling worth of his adversaries, and +it was borne in upon him more and more that in this crisis he had a +clever and beautiful woman to deal with, and what antagonist could be +more powerful? He began to rearrange his thoughts upon this basis, +passed in review all the seemingly trivial incidents with which Frida +Mavrodin had been connected, and found many new meanings in them. The +possibility that her influence might be paramount in Sturatzberg dawned +upon him. Such a subtle power at work would explain many things, and +the Ambassador determined to watch her more closely than ever. + +All that day search was made for Captain Ellerey throughout the city. +Many places, known to be haunts of the dissatisfied, were entered, but +were innocent of even the appearance of evil. There were too many ready +to bear warning for such places to be taken unawares. But no other +houses of such importance as the Countess Mavrodin's were disturbed. +There was no result. No one had seen Captain Ellerey; indeed, few +people appeared to know him, or to have heard of him. This Lord +Cloverton did not believe. He thought he recognized Frina Mavrodin's +influence at work in such ignorance. + +It was on the following day that Monsieur De Froilette called at the +Embassy, and was shown into Lord Cloverton's room. With this new train +of thought in his mind, the Frenchman's importance in the politics of +Wallaria appeared to sink into insignificance. + +"You are welcome, monsieur. Is this a friendly visit or--" + +"Friendly, certainly, but something more," De Froilette answered. He +had not come to the Embassy without due deliberation. He had had an +audience with the Queen that morning, and there was something in her +tone which decided him to make his own interests doubly secure by +giving help to the British Ambassador--such help that might count for +much when the time for settling accounts came, but which should not +materially hasten that time. + +"I had begun to think you had forgotten your promise," said Lord +Cloverton, "News of Captain Ellerey would be very useful to--to the +Government of this country. You had a servant watching him, I think." + +There was something resembling the Queen's tone in the Ambassador's--a +want of appreciation of his position and importance. + +"That is so," replied De Froilette quietly. "I understand you--that is, +the Government--have done your utmost to find this Englishman, and have +failed." + +"At present, monsieur, at present." + +"Which is hardly wonderful," continued De Froilette. "I have so +constantly observed that you--the Government, I should say--concentrates +its energies in the wrong direction; is it not so, my lord?" + +"An opinion which may--observe, I do not say which does, but which +may--arise from an entirely wrong conception of the Government's aims." + +"_Ma foi_, that is so!" laughed the Frenchman, conscious that the +Ambassador was annoyed. "Of course, in my ignorance I have supposed +that the Government, in searching for this Captain Ellerey, really +wanted to find him. Foolish of me! It was a mere blind, a strategy, +to mislead. The Government is really looking for some one else. Pardon +me, my lord, for taking up your time." And De Froilette rose to go. + +"You are too hasty, monsieur; pray be seated again. It is Captain +Ellerey we want." + +"Ah! Then I am not deceived," said De Froilette, sitting down again. +"Tell me, why do you so persistently look for him in the wrong place?" + +"Can you show us the right one, monsieur?" + +"Send your troops out by the Southern Gate and bid them march toward +Breslen, and let sharp eyes watch the depths of the forest. They may +be rewarded by seeing men gathering to a centre there. Find that centre +and you shall find Captain Ellerey." + +"Is it your timber business which teaches you so much?" inquired Lord +Cloverton with a smile, some contempt looking out from behind it. + +"You laugh at my trade, but it may prove useful even to you. You watch +the city gates, you search every street and corner of Sturatzberg, and +behold your bird is flown and is many hours upon his journey before +you even start in pursuit." + +"This is most interesting, monsieur, but--" + +"But you do not believe it," interrupted De Froilette. "I have had a +message from this Captain Ellerey. My servant watched his lodgings. +Early in the morning a boy brought a message to the Captain's servant. +Francois, my man, entered the house and got into conversation with +this servant, a rude soldier with small understanding, but with stanch +love for his master. Put upon his guard by Ellerey, doubtless, he +conceives the possibility that Francois may be playing the spy, and +falling upon him unawares he gags and binds him and locks him in a +cellar. The next day Captain Ellerey, a band of horsemen with him, +meets a woodman in the forest toward Breslen, and by him sends me word +that my servant is gradually starving behind his cellar door, of which +the woodman gives my the key. I go to the Captain's lodging, and there +is Francois. _Pauvre garcon_, he was hungry, my lord; and, _ma foi_, +he will be very terrible the next time he and that soldier meet." + +"On the Breslen road, you say," Lord Cloverton remarked thoughtfully. +He had made up his mind quickly. + +"Probably in Breslen itself by this time. I understand there is much +dissatisfaction there." + +"And Captain Ellerey's object, monsieur?" + +The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders as though such a consideration +had not occurred to him. + +"Is my opinion worth anything, my lord? I am not in the councils of +the Government. I know little of the State's difficulties, the plots +which threaten, the particular points of danger; but as a private +person I should incline to the belief that it has to do with the +Princess Maritza. I have already told you that she is, or was, in +Sturatzberg You do not believe it. That is a pity." + +"I am beginning to believe it, monsieur," the Ambassador answered, +"and I thank you for coming here to-day. The gates of Sturatzberg are +not so well guarded as they should be." + +"That is not my affair," said De Froilette with a smile. "I have given +my information to you because I know the prestige of Lord Cloverton +and his value to the peace of Wallaria." + +With these parting compliments the Frenchman bowed himself out, feeling +that he had established his position with the Ambassador, and put him +off the real scent at one and the same time. The pleasant security of +the latter feeling was destined to be quickly and rudely dispelled. +Some troops certainly did leave the city and go toward Breslen, but +many more set out in the opposite direction and stretched across the +country which lay between Sturatzberg and the mountains. Lord Cloverton, +in advising the King, was still convinced that the most imminent danger +threatened from the brigands in the hills. + +The despatch of the troops did not surprise Frina Mavrodin. That they +should go chiefly toward the hills seemed only natural, seeing that +the brigands lay there. The time since she had returned to find that +her home had been searched had passed in a whirl of conflicting +emotions. For a few moments after dismissing Hannah she had stood +upright, immovable, with a sense of being alone in the world. All the +interests and hopes of her life seemed to slip from her and fall into +a heap of dead ashes at her feet. The Princess had gone. Doubtless she +had meant to go when Frina had left her that morning, and had got her +out of the way on purpose. It was Dumitru who had suggested her going +into the Bois; it was Dumitru, probably, who had persuaded Maritza +that the time to act had come. Not for a moment did Frina suppose that +Dumitru was cognizant of the fact that her house would be searched; +she did not believe that they had gone to escape discovery. If such +had been the case she would have been taken into their confidence. No; +the departure had taken place for the furtherance of plans in which +she had no part, and which she promptly linked with the disappearance +of Captain Ellerey. It never occurred to Frina to set watches to warn +the Princess should she return. She would not return. For good or ill +she had begun the final move toward her goal. What were her plans? +What chance had they of success? Frina knew what secret societies +nursed the cause of Princess Maritza in the city. She knew to a unit +what support could be depended upon, knew the exact value of it, the +strength and the weakness of it. The cause had looked to the hills for +support, not without reason, perhaps. Were not the men gathered there +rebels, ready to strike a blow at the Government? This had always been +Maritza's argument, and there had been some signs that she was right. +Frina knew that the material for revolt was to hand, but a resolute +leader had been lacking. Now this want had been supplied by Captain +Ellerey. It was round Ellerey that the whirl of Frina's emotions +centred. Her relief that the Princess had gone before the house was +searched gave place to the apprehension that she had gone to join +Captain Ellerey. She saw only a rival in her late guest. It was her +love for the man which ruled Frina Mavrodin's actions, not her love +for the cause. It was in this spirit that she made her complaint to +the King, for the time might come when her house would prove the only +safe refuge for Ellerey. It was in this spirit that, with her maid in +attendance, she presently went to visit Baron Petrescu. + +The Baron's wound had not proved serious, but it had kept him to the +house. The Countess found him lying on a sofa, from which he half rose +as she entered. She hurried forward to prevent him. + +"This is good of you, Countess," he said. "Strangely, you were in my +thoughts when you were announced." + +She inquired about his wound and expressed her regrets in a few prettily +turned sentences. "It was nothing," said the Baron. "The greatest hurt +was to my pride." + +"And, of course, you long for an opportunity of wiping out the defeat?" +said Frina. + +"Curiously enough, that idea has not risen uppermost in my thoughts," +Petrescu answered. "I owe the Englishman an apology for the attack +which was made upon him directly he succeeded in wounding me. He is +a gentleman and a gallant swordsman, and I writhe under the fear that +he believes that attack was of my contriving." + +There was the genuine ring of truth in the Baron's words. Frina Mavrodin +was not surprised. She believed that she thoroughly understood him, +or would not have visited him. + +"You would befriend Captain Ellerey were it in your power?" she +questioned. + +"Gladly, for his own sake and for yours. Pardon me, Countess, if my +own confession slips out with these words. Those who love recognize +love quickly." + +"Was that in your mind when you forced this duel upon Captain Ellerey?" +she asked. + +"I have tried to believe that love for the cause stood first, Countess. +Please question me no further. I take refuge behind the punishment I +have received. That I have not forfeited all your esteem is proved by +your presence here. Tell me how I can serve you." + +"Like many others, Baron, you jump to a conclusion too quickly; but +let it pass. There is weightier business in hand," and then she told +him all that was known about Ellerey, and of the disappearance of +Princess Maritza. "Knowing that the Princess always had it in her mind +to use Captain Ellerey when the time came," she went on, "I have little +doubt she has joined him in whatever mission he has undertaken. What +art she will, or can, use to turn him to her service, I do not know." + +"He is not the man to be lightly turned from the cause he has espoused," +said the Baron thoughtfully, "and that cause is not ours." + +"Love might prove incentive enough," said Frina. + +Petrescu turned to her quickly. The look in her eyes told him her +secret plainly enough, but her words were sufficient to have a +quickening influence on the hopes which had died within him. + +"I may be jumping to a rash conclusion," Frina went on hastily, "but +if I am right--indeed, whatever art is used, what hope is there of +success?" + +"None, unless those in the hills are with us," replied the Baron +decisively. "Here in Sturatzberg we have much enthusiasm, much talk, +much jealousy; but I doubt the fighting temper behind it. The Princess +has moved too soon." + +"Is there any chance of her being able to persuade the brigands?" + +"Where men are concerned I dare not limit the power of a woman," he +answered; "but since the Princess has moved, we are bound to be on the +watch. Failure will be disastrous to you and me, Countess." + +"It will probably mean death to Princess Maritza, to Captain Ellerey +certainly." + +"I understand," said the Baron. The hope that was in him died, and it +is doubtful if the woman ever gave him full credit for what his words +cost him. "I understand. To-morrow I shall be out again. Command me +and trust me. There shall at least be one arm to strike a blow in the +Englishman's defence, and back to back, Countess, he and I would render +no mean account of ourselves." She had taken the hand he held out in +token of her thanks and the compact between them when the door was +suddenly opened and a man entered hurriedly. He stopped abruptly, +seeing that his master was not alone. + +"I have no secrets from this lady," said the Baron. "You may speak +freely." + +"The city is in excitement," said the man. "Some horsemen have ridden +in saying that Captain Ellerey is in the hills surrounded by the +brigands. Instead of being on the King's service, as the men supposed, +he carried the token of Princess Maritza's house. The brigands +immediately attacked the party." + +"Yes, and then?" exclaimed Frina. + +"These men deserted, my lady, and left the Captain and two or three +companions to their fate. These fellows are boasting loudly of their +loyalty to the King." + +"And the others, are they dead or captured?" asked the Baron quickly. + +"It seems they managed to gain some ruin in the hills, and are there +making a last stand." + +The Baron dismissed the man, and then turned sharply to the Countess. + +"You must go quickly and learn all the news," he said. "My wound shall +be made to serve a useful purpose. It shall be sufficient to keep me +free from visitors for some days to come, but it will not prevent my +leaving Sturatzberg to-night. I have a few men I can rely upon. We may +not turn failure to success, but we may effect the escape of Captain +Ellerey and those who are with him. Have you a trusted messenger you +can send to me?" + +"Yes." + +"Learn all you can, then, and send word to me here before nine +to-night. At that hour you may know that I have departed, and what a +man may do, rest assured Countess, I will." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +SIX LOYAL MEN + + + +From the Northern to the Southern, from the Eastern to the Western +gates Sturatzberg was in an uproar. Excitement was in every face, and +the wildest rumors were given credence. When the guards at the gates +were doubled and companies of soldiers were met in the streets, it was +firmly believed that the brigands were marching in overwhelming numbers +upon the city. Comparatively few had heard the news from the returned +horsemen's own lips, and from much reporting the tale had grown out +of all knowledge. After the excitement caused by the search for Captain +Ellerey the city was ready to believe anything. + +As the Baron's servant had related, the horsemen were loud in their +boasting of loyalty. They had followed Captain Ellerey because they +believed they were on the King's service, they said, and never for a +moment had they supposed otherwise until they had seen the golden cross +in Vasilici's hands. This was the story they told the King when they +were taken to the palace, with much more concerning their own valor +when the brigands rushed upon them. They disagreed somewhat concerning +one another's valour, each one striving to impress the King in his own +favor; but they were of one voice regarding Ellerey's treachery and +the deceit which had been practised upon them. "What message or token +could you suppose I was sending to the brigands?" asked the King. + +"It was not for us to inquire, your Majesty," they answered. "We knew +Captain Ellerey, and we obeyed him." + +In the main their story was true. If Ellerey had mentioned the Queen +as their employer they had considered the King and Queen as one, and +no question was put to them to make them differentiate between them. + +They were dismissed, and the King was for some hours closeted with one +or two of his prominent Ministers. They were men the King trusted, but +it was doubtful if their opinion ever weighed with him to the same +extent that Lord Cloverton's did. The news astonished the Ambassador, +but was reassuring. Whatever the cause, the Queen's plans at any rate +had miscarried, and the brigands were evidently not to be tempted into +the service of Princess Maritza. For the moment there was no danger +to be apprehended from them. + +"I think we may leave this turbulent Captain and his companions to +Vasilici's tender mercies, my lord," said the King. "All we have to +guard against is a riot among the dissatisfied in Sturatzberg." + +Perhaps the Ambassador felt sorry for Ellerey, but there was nothing he +could do. + +"Has your Majesty ever supposed that Princess Maritza is, or has been +lately, in Sturatzberg?" he asked after a pause. + +"It is impossible. Your Government has sent her visiting your colonies, +a delicate attention, which, no doubt, she appreciates." + +"Just so, and yet I had a strange story brought to my notice. I heard +that she had managed to escape the delicate attention of my Government +and had returned to Wallaria. Needless to say, I did not believe the +story, but the deliverance of her token certainly lends credence to +it." + +"She might send her token," said the King; "she would not venture +herself in the country, much less in Sturatzberg." + +"That was my opinion," answered Cloverton. + +"Do you mean that it is not your opinion now?" + +"I am in a transitional stage, your Majesty, and have not yet decided." + +So there were troops of soldiers in the streets lest rioters should +gather together and do damage. No one imagined there was enough power +behind them to really menace the city. A few men talked together +excitedly in side streets, but these dispersed quietly after a little +while without any interference from the soldiers. + +The Countess Mavrodin drove in the Bois as usual. She held a little +court, her carriage drawn up to the sidewalk, and she listened to and +laughed at all the news. What could it all matter to her so long as +she could laugh and chatter and be happy? + +"My horses will not stand still if you talk politics," she said to one +man. "They know their mistress is of the nature of a butterfly." The +man was one who was likely to be well informed, and she did not say +it until he had told her all he knew. + +This butterfly nature of hers caused her to drive about a great deal +that day. She had shopping to do in the Konigplatz, in the square out +of which the Altstrasse ran and in the Bergenstrasse nearly as far +down as the Southern Gate. More than once she caught sight of a group +of excited men at a street corner, and once or twice she noticed that +a man would walk leisurely toward them, pause a moment, and then pass +on. Whenever this happened the little crowd dispersed immediately as +though some urgent business had suddenly occurred to each member of +it. It was late in the afternoon when the Countess returned home, and +before she retired to her private rooms she gave instructions for +certain servants, whom she mentioned by name, to be in readiness, as +she would require them presently. She had a small reception that evening +and was the most brilliant, as she was the most frivolous, among her +brilliant and frivolous guests. Yet before nine o'clock Baron Petrescu +had received some closely written sheets in her handwriting, and knew +much of what had happened in Sturatzberg that day. + +But not all; that was, of course, impossible. In dark corners of the +city through which it was dangerous to travel after nightfall, there +were dismal houses, behind the fast-closed doors of which ready orators +held the attention of eager listeners. The time was near. The +emancipation from their slavery was at hand. What they had heard in +the city to-day was proof of it. Be ready! It was the same story +wherever men were gathered together. And in the constant coming and +going at the palace, the keenest eyes might easily have failed to +notice some who entered and left; and within there were many passages +known only to the initiated. One man passed in unnoticed, and in a +side room was met by another who, without a word, beckoned him to +follow. + +"No further news?" asked the first. + +"None," was the answer. + +Along the same passage which Ellerey had once traversed was De Froilette +taken, and ushered into the Queen's presence. He bowed low, but she +had no thought of ceremony just now. + +"Can you read this riddle, monsieur?" she asked. "All kinds of solutions +come to me, madam, but none that seem to entirely fit the case." + +"One thing only stands clear," said the Queen: "this Captain Ellerey +is a traitor. You were a fool, monsieur, to bring him to my notice." + +"I may have been mistaken." + +"May? Indeed you have," she answered. "Heaven help him if he returns to +Sturatzberg; he will sorely need it." + +"I say I may have been mistaken, your Majesty, and that is what I +mean," said De Froilette calmly. "Francois has seen these men who have +come back, and I am convinced that Captain Ellerey was as astonished +to see the token as any one." + +"How could he be?" + +"Are you certain of the man who delivered it to him?" + +"As I am of myself. Do you still trust this Englishman?" + +"If he wished to deceive us he could have done so in a much more +effectual way," said De Froilette, "and served his own ends better. +Men like Captain Ellerey do not join themselves to such a cause as +ours for the love of it, but in their own interests. I have put down +his somewhat off-hand treatment of me to his feeling of security in +being your Majesty's trusted messenger." + +"So Monsieur De Froilette, ever so suspicious, has lived to become +weakly confiding." + +"I have another reason to urge," the Frenchman went on. "I believe +Princess Maritza has been in Sturatzberg." + +"Have you seen her?" + +"No, but Francois says he did. He may have been mistaken, but the +delivery of her token goes to confirm Francois. Now, your Majesty, one +of Ellerey's companions may be a partisan of the Princess, and may +have changed the token. The fact that I have led the Princess, while +she has been in England, to believe that I have worked in her cause, +might induce her to think that the golden cross would be acceptable +to the brigands, that they would welcome the message it held." + +"Had she trusted you in any degree, monsieur, she would have made her +presence known to you." + +"She may have come to watch me, and even then she could hardly discover +my real object. I have worked in your service too secretly. Even Lord +Cloverton trusts me." + +"I would Lord Cloverton were removed from Wallaria either by his +Government or by--" + +"Ah, madam, death seldom strikes where we would have it. If heaven +were pleased to remove him we should have one obstacle the less in our +way; but many would still remain. Death would have to be busy to make +our enterprise sure." + +"Lord Cloverton stands by most of those obstacles to give them +strength," answered the Queen, her hands tightening a little. "The +King would be pliant in my hands were this man not beside him to stiffen +him. Is there any other man in the world who would have dared to put +me to the test he did? I hate him." + +"It is fortunate he has done so; he will not dare to repeat the +offence," said De Froilette. + +"I am not sure of that." + +"If he does, the bracelet is mislaid," said De Froilette. "The mere +fact that it has not been delivered will prove that you never sent it. +For the moment we are powerless to act, but another token will be sent +presently, another messenger found to take it. Have we not the assurance +of Russia that the moment the standard of revolt is raised she will +find plausible excuse to cross the frontier? Has not your Majesty +rather hoped to succeed without the help of Russia?" + +"The possibility may have occurred to me," answered the Queen. + +"These rebels who would help you to occupy the throne of Wallaria alone +would be difficult to rule without an army at your call to cow them +into submission." + +"We are looking to the future; it is the present which concerns us, +monsieur." + +"We can only wait and watch events," said De Froilette. "These deserters +declare that they rode out with Captain Ellerey in the belief that +they were upon the King's service. Your Majesty is not mentioned by +them. We are safe so far." + +"Some one, monsieur, holds my token; until that is in my possession +again there is no safety." + +"It is mislaid," said the Frenchman; "if that will not suffice, it has +been stolen; if that is not enough, pick out some servant you can spare +and accuse him of the theft. The sufferings of one man must not count +beside the safety of a cause involving many lives." + +"You seem to forget that Captain Ellerey knows the truth," said the +Queen. + +"You were alone when you told him of his mission. You have told the +King that your conversation related to the Countess Mavrodin--hold to +that story. Is the word of a traitor, struggling to shield himself, +to be taken against yours?" + +"I act more readily than I lie, monsieur." + +"Pardon, madam, a lie is a vulgar cowardice; we are dealing with secrets +of the State." + +"I am woman enough to find small difference between them." + +"And Queen enough to forget the woman when the sovereign must use +diplomacy," answered De Froilette. "Besides, we rush far out to meet +trouble. What can three or four men accomplish against an army of +mountaineers fighting in their own hills? By this time Captain Ellerey +lies food for the preying vultures. We are quite safe, your Majesty." + +De Froilette left the palace unnoticed as he had come, and returned +quickly to the Altstrasse. Francois hastened to attend him. + +"There is nothing to report, monsieur," he said, in answer to his +master's look of inquiry. "The city is quieting down. Is monsieur in +any danger?" + +"Perhaps, Francois, but it does not trouble me. I have been in danger +before. Many channels of information are open to a timber merchant, +and those in authority find me useful." + +"We can wait, monsieur, but those who are expecting us to speak the +word, will they wait?" + +"I think so, Francois; still, you may have everything ready for a hasty +departure. And if by any chance circumstances should necessitate our +leaving separately, you must look for me in London at the old address." + +Such instructions caused the servant no surprise. His master had usually +managed to steer successfully through the troubled waters he +encountered, but on many occasions such preparations for rapid flight +had been made. + +"Did you call to inquire after Baron Petrescu, Francois?" + +"Yes, monsieur; his wound is giving him increased trouble." + +"I rejoice to hear it. We can well dispense with his crowing in +Sturatzberg just now. A walk through the city in an hour or so, +Francois, might be good for your health." The servant smiled, falling +in with his master's humor, and went out. The streets were quiet when +he traversed them an hour or two later. A few soldiers were in the +Konigplatz and at the top of the Bergenstrasse, but, except where some +entertainment was going forward, and carriages and servants were +congregated without, the city was unusually lifeless. Perhaps the +presence of the soldiers drove law-abiding citizens home early lest +they might come under suspicion, and the lawless were evidently not +inclined to run risks. Francois stood for a few moments outside the +Countess Mavrodin's watching the arrivals, among whom he recognized +many notabilities, including the British Ambassador; and then he went +for some distance down the Bergenstrasse before returning home. Had +he traversed this street farther he would probably have been convinced +that the exciting news of the day was already forgotten, for he would +hardly have heard the laughter and songs which came from the Toison +d'Or unless he had actually gone up the narrow court in which it stood. + +The door was shut, but the light shone dully through the red blinds +which were drawn across the windows. They were like two huge eyes +bleared with strong drink, and as a late comer pushed open the door +at intervals and disappeared within, a watcher might have had the +sensation of seeing an ogre swallowing his victim. Another thing might +have struck him. There were many late arrivals, and they all came +singly, entering swiftly and letting the door swing quickly to behind +them. The tavern was, surely, fast becoming overcrowded, for no one +came out. + +But there was much room in the Toison d'Or, and the chamber in which +Ellerey had waited for the token was thrown open to-night. It was +crowded with men eager to listen to the horsemen who had ridden into +Sturatzberg that day. They were the centre of attraction, and had long +ago become talkative and more than ordinarily boastful. They shouted +answers to every question, and were regaled with tankard after tankard +of liquor. They drank deep healths to the King, and swore to their +unswerving loyalty with many a strange oath. They sang snatches of +ribald songs at the bidding of any man who had the wherewithal to pay +for wine--snatches only, which became less coherent as the evening +advanced. They cursed the traitor Ellerey, and made jests upon Maritza, +"who was called 'Princess' by some fools and vagabonds." + +"Down with her, and all who have a word for her!" cried one of them, +trying to rise to give vehemence to his words, but falling back helpless +into his seat. + +"Curse her again, comrade," said a thin, morose-looking man in his +ear. "Don't go to sleep yet. Curse her again. We like to know the true +ring of your minds." + +It was beyond the soldier's power to reply, but the other soldiers did +it for him, vying with one another in their language. + +"That's right," said the thin man. "You are all agreed. She is a pest +in the land, this Princess, an evil to be trodden down, one to be +killed if opportunity occurs, and the fact of her being a woman shall +win her no mercy. You are all agreed on that?" + +"No mercy!" shouted one soldier. + +"Less because she's a woman," growled another. + +"Down with her," said a third in a drunken whisper. + +"One more drink round, landlord," said the morose man. "We'll drink +it standing. Those who cannot stand, let their comrades hold them up. +This is a loyal and sacred toast for the last. Not a man shall sit +down to it. Tankards round, landlord!" + +The soldiers struggled to their feet obediently, but each of them had +to be held up on either side, and they laughed at their drunken +inability. Seizing a tankard, the thin man sprang upon a chair. + +"See that none fail to honor my toast!" he cried. "Let it tell its +tale to Sturatzberg before the dawn. Here's to our Sovereign Lady, +Princess Maritza!" + +Too drunk to understand the purport of the words, the soldiers raised +their tankards to drink, and then let them fall to the ground with a +clatter, the untasted liquor splashing upon the floor. Each man jerked +forward where he stood, and, when those who held him let him go, fell +down with a thud. A groan or two, a convulsive movement, and then they +lay still, while something mixed with the spilt liquor and dyed it to +a darker hue. The six men who had stood immediately behind them wiped +their keen long knives and sheathed them again in silence. + +"Go quickly!" shouted the man, still standing on the chair. "See that +the Bergenstrasse is clear. They shall rest there to-night, and +Sturatzberg may find them there presently and read the lesson as it +will." + +In the early hours of the morning, when the guests were leaving the +Countess Mavrodin's a man rushed past them into the hall. + +"Is Lord Cloverton still here?" + +The Ambassador came forward at once. + +"What is it?" + +"The men who returned to-day--the soldiers." + +"What of them?" + +"They have just been found lying side by side in the Bergenstrasse, +dead--murdered!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +IN DESPERATE STRAITS + + + +Desmond Ellerey stood with his sword lowered and his head bowed. As +he spoke her name a flush came into his cheeks. His anger at Grigosie's +deceit had been great, stern, cold, and judicial--only in such a spirit +could he take vengeance on the lad; now it was shame which flamed into +his cheeks. He had drawn his sword against a woman--in another moment +the blade would have been dyed in her blood--the very thought of it +was horrible. + +In Maritza's face there was no look of triumph. If for a moment it had +lightened her eyes, if the woman's power over the man defiantly +proclaimed itself as she tore open her shirt to reveal the truth, it +was gone more quickly, more completely, perhaps, than Ellerey's anger. + +The Princess was the first to break the silence. + +"You will not strike?" she said, closing the shirt again with hasty +fingers. + +"Regrets are useless. I had hoped to succeed. I will tell you why when +you choose to listen to me. To-morrow you can deliver me to the +brigands; until then I am Grigosie again." + +As she picked up her cap and drew it over her curls Ellerey looked up. +It was a relief to see the lad before him as he had always known him. + +"And Grigosie talks folly," he said. "I would far sooner take his life +myself than deliver him to the tender mercies of the brigands." A cry +from Stefan, which was half an oath, startled them, and in an instant +Ellerey had sprung to the soldier's side. Anton at the same moment +seized his knife, and all three men were in the doorway slashing and +thrusting furiously at those without. For a moment there were only two +or three, who had approached silently, but their shouts upon being +discovered brought a crowd rushing to their assistance. + +When Anton had deserted his post to come to Grigosie's help, the +temptation to secure an easy victory had been too great for those who +watched the plateau. Vasilici may have given no orders that the truce +should be thus flagrantly broken, but those who had seized the +opportunity knew well enough that success would win easy forgiveness. + +As it had been at the gate guarding the zig-zag path, those in front, +wounded or dying, were thrown back upon their companions, impeding the +rush which must have effected an entrance. Perhaps there was still a +desire among most of them to let any comrade who would force himself +into the forefront of the attack. The prowess of the defenders had +already taught them a salutary lesson. + +"Quick, Stefan; see that the door will close and fasten," whispered +Ellerey. "When it is ready, shout; give us a moment to thrust back the +foremost of them, and a moment to get in, and then we'll shut them +out, if we can." + +Stefan made a sharp cut at the first man within reach of him, and then +slipped back into the tower. He shouted almost immediately, for Grigosie +was already at the door, and had seen that it was in working order. +At the shout Ellerey and Anton made a dash out as if in a last attempt +for freedom. A slash to right and left, a cringing back of those in +front gave them the opportunity and the time they wanted. In another +instant they were within the tower, the door was shut, and the great +bolts in it shot home. + +"It's not likely we'll be using this way out for a while," said Ellerey, +"so we'll pile everything against it we can to strengthen it." + +They worked with a will, and while the brigands beat at the door +without, they barricaded it within; and having heaped up against it +everything they could lay their hands on, they drove in some wooden +stakes at an angle to hold the obstruction in its place and resist the +pressure. + +"That will stop them for a little while," said Ellerey. + +No one answered him. As soon as the work was accomplished Grigosie +turned away, and Stefan, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back +of his hand, looked with unutterable fierceness at Anton. + +"You--you----" And then he burst out with a mighty oath. "There's no +word in devil's or man's vocabulary to call you by. You're to thank +for this. Weren't you ordered to keep guard by the barrier yonder?" + +"Let him be, Stefan," said Ellerey, laying his hand on the soldier's +arm. "He did rightly in leaving it. He came to protect his mistress." + +Stefan glanced at Grigosie, whose back was toward him, and muttered +something deeply; oaths they may have been, but the words seemed to +lose themselves in his beard. Anton said not a word. He looked at +Ellerey, and it was a look of which it was difficult to read the +meaning. It was one of wonder rather than of gratitude. Perhaps he was +trying to understand the real character of this strange Englishman. +The brigands still continued to hammer at the door, but it showed no +sign of giving. + +"It will hold for a time," said Ellerey, "but we must see what can be +done to interrupt their attentions as much as possible. A shot or two +from the chamber above might help them to become quieter. Come, Stefan, +and let us see what we can do." + +In the chamber above there were narrow slits in the walls, and the top +of the zig-zag was commanded from this vantage place, but those +immediately below were out of danger. Some men were standing by the +broken-down barrier, and Stefan wanted to fire at them, but Ellerey +stopped him. Their ammunition was too valuable to throw away. A +cartridge presently might be worth much more to them than one man's +life just now. + +"Those at the door below are the danger," said Ellerey. + +"There's a good deal of loose stonework on the roof," said Stefan. "A +piece of that heaved over at intervals might give them something to +think about besides hammering at that door." + +"They shall have a lesson at once," said Ellerey, climbing carefully +up the broken stairway which led to the roof. It has been said that +a turret had fallen in, breaking part of the stairs away, but the roof +could easily be reached. There were many fragments, some large, some +small, lying there, and one piece of considerable size Ellerey and +Stefan managed to get on to the wall of the parapet immediately over +the door. The manoeuvre was apparently unnoticed, for there came no +warning shout to those below. + +"Over with it," said Ellerey. + +It did its work effectually. There were groans and execrations, and +several bullets struck harmlessly about the stonework from whence this +message had been hurled, but the hammering at the door ceased, and the +besiegers retired to a safe distance. + +"We must keep watch from here, Captain," said Stefan. "Help me to mount +another piece upon the wall. It can rest there until they get courageous +again and ask for it to be thrown upon them." + +Ellerey did so, and, leaving Stefan there for the present, returned +to the basement of the tower. + +Anton was standing in exactly the same place as when Ellerey had mounted +the steps, but the expression on his face had changed. It was quite +evident that in the interval some words had passed between him and +Grigosie, and that, whatever the subject of the conversation, Anton +disapproved of it. Grigosie was leaning against the wall counting the +cartridges he still had in his possession. + +"We have stopped their hammering for a while," Ellerey said. "While +the loose stones on the roof last, we have another weapon of defence." + +"Do I relieve Stefan?" asked Grigosie. + +"No; Anton. Rest while you can. There will be little enough sleep for +any of us." + +"And little enough food, too," said Grigosie, when Anton had cast +himself down in a corner. + +"We are truly in a sad case, Princess." + +"Grigosie, please; let me remain Grigosie. It will be easier for both +of us." + +She crossed over to the steps which led to the upper chamber and sat +down. + +"As you say, our position is hopeless," Grigosie went on. "In +Sturatzberg there are some who would strike a blow for Maritza, but +no one knows of Grigosie. It is a poor end to make, Captain. I have +had my moments of despair, but whenever I have thought of failure, I +have never pictured such a miserable failure as this. I was prepared +to face death and disaster, but if death came, I meant that it should +be glorious, that it should come in a fashion to set Europe ringing +with the news. It was a magnificent setting I had arranged for +myself--the going down of a sun in purple and red and gold." + +"Even as it is we make a mountain legend of it," said Ellerey, with +a short laugh; "and legend lives long, longer than fame, often. You +have a fair chance of being remembered by the generations to come." + +"I have brought you to this, so it is your privilege to laugh at me," +she said. + +"At least, we can be honest with each other now," said Ellerey. "At +the best we can only keep these wolves at bay for a few hours. Though +these old walls stand, we have little food, little ammunition. Death +has no very great terrors for me. I seem to have lived my life for the +express purpose of showing how a man can fail, and, having been unjustly +robbed of my honor, you succeed in robbing me of my self-respect by +making me lift my hand against you--a woman." + +"I am sorry. Question me as you will." + +"How could you hope for anything else but failure from such a mad +enterprise?" he asked. + +"Captain Ellerey, do you remember what I said when we met on the downs +that day?" + +"Every word." + +"That I spoke truly you now know. You know how my claim stands, and +whether you love my cause or not, you must recognize the justice of +it. While I was in England, kept there to be out of the way, my friends +were working in Sturatzberg. My adherents, my well-wishers, are in +every grade of society there, but there was one man on whom I thoroughly +depended. He was in constant communication with me, and one of his +great schemes, a plan which he swore was ripening every day, was getting +the brigands to espouse my cause. To these hills have flocked all the +malcontents of the country. They are not robbers; they are political +outcasts many of them, and should welcome one who is by right their +ruler. So said this man, so he swore they were ready to do, but +constantly advised a little further delay. You cannot understand what +this waiting day after day, month after month, meant to me. Impatient +in heart, I was yet patient in action. I might still be quietly waiting +but for two things. First I learnt that to be put further out of the +way I was to visit England's colonies, a pleasure trip graciously +arranged for me by your Government; secondly, I was informed that the +man I trusted was scheming for his own ends more than for mine. It was +the parting of the ways, Captain Ellerey, and I had to choose. Another +stepped on board the vessel placed at my disposal in my stead, and +while she was taken to the colonies I came secretly to Sturatzberg. +There I have since lived, watching and waiting, in the house of the +woman who devised and helped me to carry out this plan." + +"A woman!" Ellerey exclaimed. + +"Countess Mavrodin, whose power is only the greater because no one has +any idea of its existence. My first work was to watch the man whom I +believed had been working for me. I quickly found that my interests +were not first in his consideration, but I learned also that he feared +his own schemes would fail should some unlucky chance bring me to +Sturatzberg. In this fear I saw my hope. Was this unnatural?" + +"Is this man De Froilette?" asked Ellerey. + +"He is the man. Unconscious of my presence in the city he continued +to work against me. Queen Elena had now become his dupe. The men in +the hills would help to set her alone upon the throne in Wallaria, and +the King once got rid of and the country in insurrection, De Froilette +would have sold it to Russia--more, would have aspired to the hand of +the Queen. Perhaps he loves her, perhaps he only loves the power he +would gain. His conspiracy was well laid, and he only wanted a man to +lead, to bear the brunt of the fight, to pay the penalty should failure +come, while he remained an uninterested citizen ready to be the first +to cry out against the rebellion if necessary. His choice fell upon +Desmond Ellerey." + +Ellerey did not answer. This recital was making many things clear to +him. + +"I knew something of this Captain," the Princess went on. "In my heart +I had long ago chosen him to lead my cause. I tested his courage on +the night I believed he had received the token. It was I, Captain +Ellerey, who ran with you along the deserted streets from the Altstrasse +that night; it was I who, when only numbers had succeeded in binding +you, came and looked into your eyes and was satisfied." + +"Yet you didn't trust me enough to whisper your name," said Ellerey. + +"At Court you came under the influence of Frina Mavrodin," she went +on hastily. "Perhaps, even with her, my cause took second place then. +You were stanch to the mission you had undertaken; she could not turn +you from that, although she influenced you in another way." + +"What do you mean, Princess?" + +"I have heard her speak of you, I have noted the light in her eyes; +do you think I could be deceived?" + +"And do you think, Princess, that I have no memory? Since that morning +on the downs---" + +"Her success did not help my cause, therefore what was it to me!" cried +Maritza, suddenly starting to her feet. "It was time for me to act. +You know the rest. There are spies everywhere, and I knew when the +token was given, how it was sent, and enclosed in a similar fashion +I had my own. De Froilette was afraid of me, therefore it was possible +that the brigands, or some of them, at least, were ready to take up +my cause. The wine that night made you sleep heavily, and I changed +the tokens. There is a loose brick in yonder corner, under it lies the +Queen's bracelet of medallions. So, Captain Ellerey, you have me in +your power. I brought you to this strait--the remedy is in your own +hands. Deliver me and the Queen's token into Vasilici's hands, and--who +knows, you may yet win place and power in Sturatzberg." + +With an impatient gesture, Ellerey walked across the chamber, and as +he did so Anton raised his head. + +"What, old watch-dog, so you think as basely of me as your mistress +does," he said, noticing the sudden movement. + +Anton did not answer, but waited, resting on his elbow. + +"No man loves being fooled, Princess," Ellerey went on, turning round +hastily, "and that I have been by the Queen, by De Froilette, and by +you, but of them all you only have insulted me. What contempt must you +have for me to think even of such a thing! Let me be as short and +brutal. If by the sacrifice of a dog to those wolves without I could +purchase my freedom, I would not buy it at the price. I will wake you +presently, Anton. You, at least, I can understand," and Ellerey mounted +the steps and disappeared into the upper chamber. He went no farther +for a time, but sat on some fallen stones to think, and his thoughts +were not of how to escape from his enemies, nor even how to hold them +at bay as long as possible, but of two women. One, a woman of the +world, for so she seemed, the centre of attraction, beautiful, witty, +frivolous, shimmering in silk and lace and jewels, jewels that were +no brighter than her eyes. He had not mentioned her among those who +had fooled him. She had not done so. She had been a pleasant companion, +a true comrade, perhaps; indeed, was ready to give him even more than +friendship. He might have loved her but for the other woman, whom he +saw again as in a vision, standing on the summit of the downs, talking +of empire and power, stirring his soul from its lethargy and bidding +him play the man. If she had stirred him then, how much more did she +make his pulses throb now, now that she had shared his dangers and +braved so much! Had she any memory such as his, of that breezy morning +long ago? And then the horror of the present overwhelmed him for a +time. He was powerless to help her. + +"There is no future for us beyond tomorrow, or the day after," he +murmured. "Fate has strangely linked me with these two women, and made +sport of me. One might have loved me perchance, and will regret me; +the other I love, and she cares not, and I am likely to lay down my +life in a last endeavor to save her. Thank God for such a death! A man +could scarcely die a better one, although Stefan would hardly think +so," and he climbed to the roof to talk to the soldier there. + +Princess Maritza stood for some time where Ellerey had left her. She +too, perhaps, forgot the present for a little while, and her thoughts +sped to Frina Mavrodin, Then she crossed the chamber quickly. + +"Dumitru, are you asleep?" + +"No, Princess," the man answered, starting up. + +"Lie down again, Dumitru, and listen. If he comes, be asleep, as I +shall feign to be; but listen, and if you do not understand, question +me until you do." + +"You distrust this Captain, Princess?" + +"No; he may yet do good work for us." + +For a long time she continued to speak in a whisper. + +"It is madness," murmured the man. + +"Wise men would call all I have done madness," she answered. "Listen, +Dumitru, there is more." + +When she had finished there was silence. + +"You would have me play the traitor," said the man, slowly. + +"He is never a traitor who obeys the word of his sovereign," she +answered. + +"But, Princess---" + +"Am I your sovereign, Dumitru?" + +"My beloved Princess, indeed." + +"Then obey, Dumitru. Act promptly when I give the word. It shall be +soon. Perhaps to-night." + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +TREACHERY OR SACRIFICE + + + +All that night the stone, menacingly balanced on the wall above the +door, remained in its place. The brigands had no desire to court a +useless death, and they could afford to wait. + +At dawn Ellerey ascended to the roof of the tower and found Anton +pacing its narrow limits to keep the warmth in his limbs. + +"Nothing happened, Anton?" + +"Nothing, Captain." + +"You have helped your mistress into a desperate strait. How could you +hope for anything else but failure?" + +"The Princess has told you, Captain?" + +"Aye, man, but that was a woman's hope--a brave one if you will, but +there was no weighing of chances, no counting the cost in it. Was there +nothing more than this desperate hope at the back of your mind, no +sane man's reasoning to see the peril of it?" + +"I am but a servant to obey," Anton answered. "Yet desperate ventures +have succeeded, and we had honesty on our side, Captain. Ours is the +just cause, and that counts for something." + +"No wonder Princess Maritza's history is one of failure if her +counsellors have advised after this manner," said Ellerey. + +"Are you certain she has failed, Captain?" Anton asked, turning quickly +toward him. The earnestness of the question, added to its seeming +absurdity, was startling. Could there be any doubt of the failure? + +"Can your eyes penetrate beyond the spur of the hills yonder and see +an army marching to our rescue, or your ears catch the welcome sound +of tramping feet?" Ellerey said, pointing to the head of the pass. + +"No, Captain." + +"Is there any hope that a single man has set out from Sturatzberg to +help us?" + +"I know of none," was the answer. + +"And about us the plateau is full of men, and below us in the pass men +wait--enemies all. Outside this tower there is certain death for us, +and within there is food enough to satisfy one man for a day perhaps." + +"I know, Captain, and yet the Princess may not have failed." + +Ellerey did not answer. He leant against the parapet watching the day +grow brighter, and Anton resumed his quick pacing to and fro. + +The men on the plateau and below in the pass were beginning to stir. +Sentries were changed. There was the murmur of voices, and presently +rising curls of faint blue smoke from fires cooking the morning meal. +There was sunlight on the higher slopes, and the song of birds in the +air, a welcome new day to myriads of creatures on the earth. To the +man looking out across the panorama of mountain peak and gorge +everything seemed a mockery. There was something cruel in gladdening +the eyes with the beauty of earth and sky when in a few short hours +those eyes must close forever. In the full possession of his life and +strength the man rebelled against his fate. It was the end of a rat +in a trap--ignoble, inglorious. That he would fall in striking a last +blow for a woman who cared naught for him had little attraction for +him just now. If he could save her, if his death could bring some good +thing to pass, it would be different. + +Once or twice Anton stopped in his pacing backward and forward to look +steadily toward the head of the pass. + +"Can you hear the tramping feet?" Ellerey asked when he stopped again. + +"No, Captain." + +"Can you see anything?" + +"No, Captain; but it is too good a morning to accept failure." + +"The sun doesn't put on mourning for every miserable dog that dies." +And then, as Anton resumed his walk without a word, Stefan's voice was +heard calling Ellerey to breakfast. + +All the stones which had once served for seats and a table had been +piled up against the door, and the food was spread in a little circle +in the centre of the floor. It was Stefan's arrangement. He had refused +all help from the Princess, gruffly but firmly, although the gruffness +may have been something less than his usual manner and intended for +courtesy. Maritza stood with her hands behind her watching him, a smile +upon her lips. + +"There's more table than breakfast, Captain," he said as Ellerey came +down; "but it's as well to have things orderly. There's little enough +to say grace for, but there's a lesson in the display, for all that. +It represents all that stands between us and starvation." + +"With care, Stefan, we can live for--" And then Ellerey paused. + +"Quite so, Captain. I've been trying to fix a limit myself and failed." + +Ellerey looked at the scraps of food. At any other time he would have +spurned them as a meal of any sort; but in such a case as theirs was, +morsels of food bulk large with possibilities. + +"To-day and perhaps to-morrow," he muttered. + +"Yes, we'll be quite ready to welcome a change of diet by to-morrow +night," said Stefan, "and for my part I shouldn't quarrel with any +kind of food and drink which happened to arrive sooner. There's no +drawing from the mountain stream now and the flasks hold little." + +"Much may happen in two days," said Maritza quietly. + +"True. They may storm the tower successfully and put us beyond the +want of food before to-morrow night," Ellerey answered. + +They ate their small portions in silence, and having eaten them remained +silent. Each one was conscious that there was something to be said, +yet each one waited for the other to say it. + +"Captain." It was a relief to hear Stefan's voice, and Ellerey looked +up. "Captain, I make no claim to be much of a man at giving advice. +I've seldom been asked for it, and I've usually been in a large enough +company for it to be done without; but as we are, I take it each one +of us becomes of more importance than under ordinary circumstances." + +Ellerey nodded. + +"Well, then, my case is this: Years ago someone found me in the streets, +and for some reason known only to themselves decided that I should +live. I may have been hungry then--I don't remember--but I've never +been hungry since. I may have had to steal my victuals, but anyway +I've got them. It follows, therefore, that in fighting hunger I'm not +to be depended on. The weapons in use for such a fray are new to me, +and I don't know how to handle them. I'm afraid of the enemy." + +"Well, Stefan?" + +"Now death, I suppose, is as certain within the next few hours as +anything well can be, and I should like to meet the kind of death I +understand. Let us fix a time for hauling down the barricade, and then +make a dash for it. We'll get as far as the path, perhaps--there is +just a chance that some of us may get farther; but anyhow, we die in +the open." + +"Have you thought of the Princess?" Ellerey asked. + +"The circumstances don't make it easy to forget her," Stefan answered. + +"Nor difficult to hate her," said Maritza. + +"I took a kind of liking to Grigosie which somehow keeps me back from +hating her," Stefan went on, speaking to Ellerey and not looking at +the Princess. "I don't suppose, however, that she knows much more about +starvation than I do, and dying in the open may suit her case as well +as mine." + +"But a woman, Stefan?" + +"I've naught to do with women, Captain, and I see none in our company. +I only see two good comrades before me, one lacking a bit of muscle +it may be, but lacking no courage. He shall go between us, and Anton +shall cover our rear. There's such pleasure in the thought of striking +another blow that there's even a hope in it that we may win though." + +"Stefan is right," Maritza said. "Let us make the attempt to-morrow." + +"Why not to-day?" Stefan asked. + +"The food is not all gone," she said; "besides, the day holds +possibilities. Let us wait a day, Captain." + +"If the attempt is to be made, why not make it to-night? The darkness +will help us," said Ellerey. + +"I prefer dying in the sunlight," said Stefan, "but so long as I die +in the open the stars will serve." + +"In the night if you will, but not to-night," pleaded Maritza, laying +her hand on Ellerey's arm. "Let it be to-morrow night. + +"Hope dies hard with you, Princess." + +"I have a fancy to look upon another dawn," she returned. "Perhaps +to-morrow is the anniversary of some great event in my history, and +that is why I long to see it. I do not know, but in us all there is +a vein of superstition. I will go and relieve Anton." + +Stefan watched her as she went up the stairs and disappeared into the +upper chamber. + +"If anyone could make me change my opinion of women, she would," he +said; but Ellerey took no notice of the remark. He had commenced walking +up and down, deep in thought. + +The day passed quietly. The brigands made no attempt to storm the +tower, and the huge stone above the doorway remained balanced on the +wall. But to those within the hours dragged heavily. Stefan spent his +time feeling the edge of his sword and seeing that the revolvers were +in good order and loaded. The occupation seemed to bring him nearer +to his emancipation. Ellerey walked from wall to wall, turning with +the regularity of a wild beast in a cage. A dozen times or more he +climbed to the roof, but hardly spoke a word to whoever happened to +be sentry there. Maritza lay down and appeared to sleep a good deal +when her duty on the roof was over, for she demanded to take her turn +with the rest; and Anton was restless and nervous. He lay down, but +he did not sleep; his eyes were constantly on the Princess. + +"You know what we have decided?" said Ellerey to him during the day. + +"Yes, Captain." + +"You have no better plan?" + +"No, Captain, so that I die with her I am content." The day drew slowly +to its ending. A camp-fire blazed upon the plateau, and two in the +pass below, around which the besiegers gathered. Still there were no +signs that an attack was meditated, and Ellerey watched the moving +figures for a long time and marked the position of the sentries. Such +knowledge might prove useful to-morrow night. And he determined which +direction to take should Providence so far favor them as to allow them +to gain the pass. It was a relief to find even this employment to +occupy his mind. + +After the weary day the night was almost welcome. First Stefan, then +Ellerey, had watched through the early hours; now Anton paced the roof +restlessly while Maritza still slept. She was to go on duty at dawn, +so might she see the new day break as she wished. When Ellerey came +down, Stefan was sleeping heavily, and the Princess lay in her corner +with her arm under her head, a picture of graceful repose and rest. +The thought of the certain death that awaited her made Ellerey sick +almost, and with a shudder and a curse at his own impotence, he cast +himself down. For a time he tossed and turned restlessly this way and +that until, utterly wearied out, sleep fell upon him and held him fast, +smoothing the care from his face with pleasant dreams. Now he climbed +a stretch of sunny, wind-swept downs, the song of a lark and the sighing +sound of the long waving grass in his ears; now he heard the rustle +of silk beside him and a sweet low voice and pleasant laughter answered +him, a little foot stepped out bravely beside his own, and a little +hand rested confidently in his. There was music and laughter about +him, and then a sudden pause, and darkness, and out of it a sharp +crackling sound. + +"What was that?" + +Ellerey had started up only half awake. It was Stefan's sudden question +which thoroughly aroused him. The dawn had come and a dim light was +in the chamber, strangely dim and sombre after the light and movement +in his dream. He looked across at Maritza's corner and saw that it was +empty. + +"We have slept soundly, Stefan," he said, springing to his feet. "The +Princess has gone on duty." + +"It sounded like revolver shots to me," the soldier answered as he +followed Ellerey quickly to the roof. They stepped from the broken +stairs into the open, and then stood still, turning to look at each +other. There was no one there. The stone still rested on the wall, and +a rope which had been in the lower chamber lay sprawling over the roof, +one end of it hanging a few feet over the parapet. Both men ran to the +wall together. The plateau was empty, not a man remained there. No +sentry paced along the edge of it, no one stood there at the head of +the zig-zag path. + +"Gone!" Ellerey exclaimed. It was not of the brigands he was thinking, +and Stefan knew it. + +"By that rope. And Anton, too. Maybe we woke none too soon, Captain." +And then, as Ellerey turned questioning eyes to him, he added: "There's +the look of treachery in this." + +Ellerey did not answer, but the question asked a moment later showed +the direction his thoughts were taking. + +"Have they really gone?" he said, pointing to the plateau. + +The soldier shook his head doubtfully and then suddenly leant forward, +his hand stretched out toward the pass before them. "Look yonder!" + +The light was growing stronger every moment, and the moving figures +in the valley could be seen distinctly. There was more going forward +there than the awakening of a camp to a new day. The men were moving +in orderly groups, and there was no curling smoke from newly-lighted +fires. "They are on the march, Captain: and--look, is not the lad in +the midst of them?" + +Ellerey's eyes might not have served him to pick out the slim figure, +but thus directed he had no doubt it was the Princess in the midst of +the men who marched quickly along the pass for a little way and then +turned aside and seemed to be swallowed up in the foot of the mountain +opposite. + +"She could not have gone of her own accord, Stefan. They must have +found means to capture her." + +"Anton may have helped them, perhaps." + +"No; he was faithful--my life on that. Great heavens! She is in their +power, in Vasilici's power, and we stand here doing nothing." + +"She may have gone willingly," said Stefan, as Ellerey rushed toward +the steps; "besides, what can we do?" + +"Come or stay as you will!" Ellerey shouted as he disappeared. + +"She went willingly," Stefan murmured, lingering behind for a moment +to look at the rope. "At least, she climbed down to them, not they up +to her. I never trusted Anton. If I hadn't taken a liking to Grigosie +I shouldn't trust the Princess. She's a woman." + +Although only a few moments had elapsed, Ellerey was already throwing +down the barricade at the door in the lower chamber of the tower. Stefan +first looked at his weapons and then went across to the corner which +the Princess had occupied. Ellerey did not notice him, and he rose +from his knees there only as Ellerey had sufficiently thrown down the +stones to draw back the bolt and open the door wide enough to get out. + +"One moment, Captain. I am with you, but be prepared for attack." +Ellerey, sword in one hand, revolver in the other, rushed out on to +the plateau, Stefan at his heels. No shout rang out, no man sprang +from his hiding-place among the ruins to bar their way. Even the valley +was empty. The last of the men who had encamped there had been swallowed +up by the mountain opposite. + +"Captain, the token which the Princess said was hidden under the loose +brick yonder is gone." + +The sword which Ellerey held ready to defend himself fell suddenly, +almost as it had done when he recognized that he had raised it against +a woman. Shame had sent the color to his cheeks then, and the color +came into his face now, anger bringing it there. Had she deceived from +first to last, played carelessly with all the finer feelings that were +in him, using them boldly and deliberately for her own end? These were +the thoughts which ran swiftly through his mind, and well might they +stir him to anger. Then came the reaction, suddenly, swiftly. No, she +could not have deceived him in this manner. There was some reason for +her going, something unforeseen had happened. After all they had come +through together, she could not be guilty of treachery. + +"You found nothing else?" he asked hoarsely. + +"Yes, this. A piece of stone lay upon it to keep it in its place close +to where she slept last night." + +Ellerey seized the scrap of paper Stefan held out to him. + +"I have brought you to this," he read, written faintly in pencil; "I +have thought of a plan to save you. At dawn I shall have gone, but so +will the brigands. You will be free to go to Sturatzberg, if you will, +or across the mountains northward to safety. I wonder which way you +will take? Mine is a desperate venture. If I fail, think of me +sometimes, for to me also there has often come the memory of that +breezy morning in England--Maritza." + +"Look, Captain!" Stefan cried. + +On the slope of the opposite hills, where the path rose over a spur, +a party of the marching brigands had come into view. The sunlight had +come, and it touched the men as they went. The distance was too great +to distinguish the slim figure in the midst, but one spot of white +showed clearly, quivering as the sunlight touched it. For a moment it +disappeared, then it fluttered again, and, as Ellerey looked, a crowd +of conflicting thoughts and emotions were in his brain. This was not +treachery, but sacrifice. + +"A waving handkerchief, Captain; a signal of farewell," Stefan murmured +in a low gruff voice. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE RESCUE + + + +The white signal had gone, but Ellerey's eyes remained fixed upon the +moving black line until a fold in the hills hid it from sight. Something +seemed to have gone out of his life, suddenly as a candle is blown out +in a room. Then he turned and held out the paper to the soldier. + +Stefan read the pencilled lines, turned the paper over meditatively, +and then read them again. The words seemed to burn their way into his +brain as they had burnt into Ellerey's, but the effect was somewhat +different. + +"It is not like a woman, is it?" said Stefan. + +"Very like, I think." + +Stefan shook his head, as though he regretted his companion's ignorance. + +"I took a liking to Grigosie," he said. "I saw the making of a grand +comrade in Grigosie. I can understand his doing this kind of thing, +but not a woman." + +"The fact remains that she is a woman," said Ellerey. + +"Wonderful," answered the soldier, as he handed back the paper. "It +would appear that the making of a man rests much in his clothes. I've +never known good come from a petticoat. Grigosie didn't wear one. Maybe +he recognized that he was a man, hidden by a cruel mistake in the shape +of a woman. Ah, Captain, women have had the spoiling of many a good +man I've drunk with and fought beside. I wish you a better fate than +theirs." + +"This does not look like treachery," said Ellerey. It was evident +that he had not been attending to his companion, but had been +following out a train of thought of his own, and now put his decision +into words. + +"We're standing here like two fools, at any rate," Stefan said. "We +ought to know the value of precaution by this time. What is to be done, +Captain? Are you for Sturatzberg, or for crossing the mountains +northward? It's a speedy making up our minds that is needed if we are +not to starve." + +Ellerey was still following his own thoughts. + +"What can her plan be?" he said. "What hope for her cause is there in +these hills? What mercy can she expect from Vasilici?" + +"As Grigosie, none; as a woman, she may persuade these men to anything," +Stefan answered. "Some power she has, or why did they not kill Grigosie +at once?" + +"It is a terrible thought, Stefan, but may they not have reserved her +for Vasilici's vengeance? Did they not cry to us that we might go free +if the lad were given up? She heard that; she argued with us, you +remember. She has sacrificed herself for us." + +"Well, Captain, shall we follow? Give me but leave to kill something +on the way and get on friendly terms with my stomach. I care not which +road we take, nor to what it leads us." + +"We will follow her," said Ellerey. + +"I'd never leave so good a comrade as Grigosie in a tight place," +murmured Stefan. "Keep watch, Captain, while I gather up what we take +with us, and fill our flasks at Grigosie's fairy fountain yonder." + +When Stefan returned, he found Ellerey standing on the edge of the +plateau looking down into the pass. + +"What is it, Captain?" he called out as he came. "They have not kept +their promise, Stefan, that is all," Ellerey answered, pointing down +into the valley. + +A savage oath burst from Stefan's lips. "They've played the lad false +in this, they'll play him false in all," and the tone in which he said +it revealed for a moment the real heart of the man hidden deep down +under this rough exterior. + +From a hidden pathway at the foot of the hills the brigands came out +singly, fourscore of them at least. Each man looked up at the plateau +as he issued from the path, and the manner in which his eager steps +gave way at once to an easier and more slouching gait showed plainly +enough that the object of their coming had been attained, that no +further hurry was necessary. Some went to the places where the fires +had been, and kicked the ashes together; while others stacked their +arms, and sat down in twos and threes along the pass. + +"Those were revolver shots that woke us, Captain," said Stefan +thoughtfully. "I expect Grigosie meant to rouse us as soon as we could +no longer prevent his going, and intended us to make the best of our +chances." + +"And we've missed them," said Ellerey. "I fancy this is meant to be +our last adventure, Stefan." + +"They'll come up the path presently, and the sooner the better," was +the answer. "A few of them shall finish their adventures along with +us; but we'll fight our last fight here, Captain, not in the tower +yonder." + +"I have a sudden lust for life, Stefan, a longing to be face to face +with Vasilici once more," whispered Ellerey, as though he imagined the +men in the valley below might hear his secret. "If we wait until sundown +we might get through them in the darkness." + +"Our original plan," Stefan answered. "I am with you, Captain, and if +you will watch those blackguards yonder, I'll turn my attention to a +bird that's hovering on the mountain above. Heaven grant he comes +within range, and an empty stomach does not put my eye out." + +But the bird seemed to have no more intention of serving two hungry +men for food than the brigands meant to throw away their lives by an +attempt to win the plateau. They posted sentinels, one near the foot +of the zig-zag path, and one beyond the camp-fire toward the head of +the pass; the rest sat or stood at their ease between these two points, +and, unless they changed their plan at night, Ellerey perceived that, +if the sentry at the foot of the path were once silenced without being +able to give warning, the road to the way taken by the Princess and +her captors would be clear. He studied the shape of the hills and the +distance carefully, so that he might the more easily find that road, +and he noticed how long a time elapsed between the relief of the +sentries. If they attacked the man soon after his coming on duty, so +much the longer start would they obtain. + +The day wore on, and he and Stefan finished the scraps of food which +were left, and thanked their good fortune that they had not the terrors +of thirst to face. Stefan still watched the mountains above for a bird, +and Ellerey planned the work of the night in every detail, explaining +some new point to the soldier every time he approached him. He had +paid little attention to the men in the valley below for some time, +when he was startled by a single shot, which rang out clearly in the +still air. For a moment he thought that Stefan had got his bird at +last, but the next instant the soldier was beside him, as startled as +he was. It was the sentry toward the head of the pass who had fired, +and he now came rushing toward his companions, who quickly seized their +weapons. + +"Do I hear horses?" exclaimed Stefan excitedly. "By the father and +mother I never knew, there are horses galloping up the pass. There are +several of them, and they come quickly." + +The brigands were evidently unprepared for such an attack, and did not +appear to have a capable leader among them. They had not come there +to fight, only to starve two men into surrender, and as they ran +together there was a general movement toward the path they had come. + +Into the pass galloped some two dozen horsemen, who, at a sign from +their leader, drew rein upon seeing the brigands, and turned to shout +to others who had not yet come into view. + +"An advance guard only," muttered Stefan. + +The brigands evidently thought the same, and those who could not reach +the mountain path in time began a hasty retreat up the pass, firing +in a desultory manner as they went. They had no intention of attempting +to hold their position; safety was all they cared about. The horsemen +paused a moment to fire a volley, and then charged, but there was +little fighting. Two or three of the brigands were cut down, and one +horseman pitched forward suddenly as a bullet brought his horse to the +ground, but that was all. The brigands scrambled into the mountain +paths or up the mountain slope out of reach, and the leader of the +troop checked any pursuit of those who were fleeing rapidly up the +pass. + +"Is this a rescue, or have we only changed our enemy?" said Ellerey. + +"They are dismounting, and will come up the zig-zag way; we had better +meet them at the top of it," said Stefan. + +Only one man came up to them. + +"There is not much distinction to be had from routing such an enemy, +Captain Ellerey," he said. "Baron Petrescu!" + +"At your service, although barely recovered from the effects of our +last meeting. Time pressed, so I did not wait for a doctor's certificate +of fitness." + +"I thank you, but I hardly understand the situation, Baron," said +Ellerey. + +"And that is not to be wondered at," was the answer; "but there will +be time to explain presently. Enough that we can shake hands over a +past quarrel for which I have paid the penalty, and know that we stand +together now." + +Ellerey took his outstretched hand without a word. + +"The Princess is with you?" Petrescu asked. + +"She was until this morning." + +"Killed!" cried the Baron. + +"No; and yet I do not know that worse has not happened to her." + +"While you explain, Captain, have I your leave to go down and make the +acquaintance of our new comrades?" said Stefan. "My stomach yearns +toward them, and their victuals and drink." + +"I had forgotten," said the Baron hastily. "You can explain while we +eat and drink, Captain." + +"A few moments will make no difference, Baron," said Ellerey, nodding +a consent to Stefan, who went down into the pass quickly. Then he went +on: "Do you know the Princess's plans, Baron?" + +"I thought I did, but her sudden disappearance from Sturatzberg was +unexpected by me; still, I know enough of your mission to guess her +reason for joining you." + +"Then, Baron, you know my position. It was not Princess Maritza's cause +which brought me to these hills. I am the victim of a conspiracy; but +at the same time, my only thought now is for the safety of the +Princess." The Baron nodded, and glanced swiftly at his companion. + +"I understand, Captain." + +Shortly Ellerey told him what had occurred since Princess Maritza had +joined him at the Toison d'Or, reserving nothing, not even his own +anger at the deceit which had been practised upon him. + +"It was a desperate enterprise, doomed to failure from the beginning," +he went on; "but as it was, only one course was open to me, to protect +the Princess to the best of my ability. Our food was gone, and we had +determined to make a dash for safety after dark to-night. That we did +not do so last night was by the Princess's desire. Her going must have +been in her mind then." + +"She took the bracelet of medallions with her?" said Petrescu +thoughtfully. + +"She told me it was in the tower yonder; it is not there now, so I +presume she took it." + +"It may possibly secure her safety." + +"Vasilici is a truculent villain," Ellerey answered. "He is not likely +to forget, or forgive, that shot which saved my life." + +"Then you would follow her?" + +"Stefan and I had decided to do so when those fellows stole back to +prevent us. We should have taken our chance after dark to-night." + +Petrescu was thoughtful for a time. + +"I hardly know what course to advise," he said presently. "We may not +be able to help her much in these hills, while in Sturatzberg we might +stir up the people in her cause." + +"At least I have small power in the city," said Ellerey, with a smile. +"Those who trusted me very naturally think me a traitor, and I should +quickly be delivered over to enemies who would make short work of me." + +"Yet you have powerful friends there." + +"Indeed?" + +"When the men who deserted you rode into the city with stories of your +treachery, Captain Ellerey's name suddenly became known to hundreds +who had never heard it before, and to each one of them he became a +friend, since his fate was linked with Princess Maritza's." + +"Would such friendship protect me from my enemies?" + +"At least many a hiding-place in the city would be open to you, and +some men might sooner give up their lives than betray you. There is +one proof of the truth of what I say. The men who deserted you all +died a violent death that night. They were found lying side by side +in the Bergenstrasse, in spite of the fact that the city was patrolled +by troops." + +Ellerey looked at him inquiringly. + +"No, Captain, I was not privy to their assassination, although I might +make a shrewd guess in what quarter the plot originated." + +"Then Sturatzberg is in uproar?" + +"No; it is strangely quiet, all things considered--that quiet which +presages a storm. The King would strike if he knew where to strike, +but he hardly knows who are his enemies." + +"The sight of me would give him some idea where to aim a blow," said +Ellerey. + +"Yes; and yet he might think twice before striking it. You have powerful +friends, one very powerful friend--one very powerful friend." + +"You do not mean her Majesty?" + +"I think you know I do not, Captain Ellerey," the Baron answered. "It +was the Countess Mavrodin who bid me come." + +"I know that the cause of Princess Maritza is dear to her," said Ellerey +quietly. + +"It is, and to me," said the Baron; "and yet we are probably not doing +the best for it by bringing two dozen horsemen into the hills. There +are no more behind. Our calling back as though there were was a +stratagem to strike greater terror into the brigands. No, Captain, the +Countess bid me come to rescue the Princess, and you, to aid your +escape out of Wallaria if need be, and her command is my law. Do we +understand each other, Captain Ellerey?" + +They looked into each other's eyes for a moment. + +"Do you understand why I forced a duel upon you?" Petrescu went on. +"I might tell you that I believed the Queen's token was in your +possession; it would be true; but that was not uppermost in my thoughts +when we stood face to face. Therefore, when I come to you at her +bidding, you may well trust me, since I have little to win by it." + +"Only partly do I understand you, Baron." + +"You Northmen, in spite of your many virtues, are slower to understand +than we Southerners are. Would you have me pluck the fruit for you as +well as show you the tree? Sturatzberg may be in open rebellion before +a week is out, and Frina Mavrodin may have to leave it. I will say no +more. Even my generosity has a limit." + +Ellerey could not fail to understand his meaning. + +"You had better read that, Baron," he said, handing him Maritza's +letter. + +Petrescu took the scrap of paper and read it carefully. + +"I met Maritza long ago in England," he said as Petrescu looked at +him. "She has remembered it, you see, and I--I came to Sturatzberg." + +"Then the Countess is--" + +"My friend, but Maritza---We waste precious time, Baron; I must follow +Maritza." + +"I understand. Come and eat. We must lose no time." + +It was arranged to leave some of the men in charge of the tower and +of the horses. They were to wait there six days, and if by that time +Baron Petrescu and his party had not returned, they were to go back +to Sturatzberg, taking a circuitous road to avoid the soldiers encamped +in the plain. Stefan was left in command of these men, since he had +had experience how the plateau could best be defended in case of need. +That the brigands would attack them, however, seemed unlikely, for +they had evidently fled in the belief that the men they had seen were +only an advance guard. + +Night was falling when the party, well armed and full of excitement, +set out. There was a silver light behind the distant heights, herald +of the moon, so there was little need to wait for the dawn; besides, +one of the brigands had only been slightly wounded, and was pressed +into their service as guide. He loudly declared that he had no idea +where his chief was hiding, until the Baron held a revolver to his +head, and gave him half a minute to find whether his memory could not +be jogged sufficiently to serve him better. Before the thirty seconds +had passed, it had worked to good effect, and he set out with a man +on either side of him who had strict injunctions to see that he should +be the first to pay for any treachery which might happen. + +"Some of the brigands cannot be far in front of us," said the Baron; +"and this fellow will know their likely haunt and give us warning in +time. If he forgets to do so, the sun will rise in vain to-morrow for +him." + +They tramped silently through the night, often in single file, for the +way contracted often to the narrowest of defiles. That they had started +right Ellerey knew, and he was inclined to think that so far their +guide had not misled them. There seemed to be no other way by which +they could have come. + +Just before dawn the brigand stopped; his memory had been excellently +aroused. + +"We approach an open space where my people sometimes halt," he said. + +Two men were sent forward to reconnoitre, but found the place empty, +and here they halted. + +"How much farther to where Vasilici is?" asked Petrescu. + +"We should reach the place by noon," the brigand answered; "but he may +have moved. My comrades will have told him of your coming to the pass." + +"I dare say you will remember where he is likely to have removed to," +the Baron returned, "since your miserable life depends upon it." + +They were just preparing to continue their journey after a short rest +and hasty meal, when they heard the sound of falling footsteps coming +rapidly toward them. Only one man, and he was running with that easy, +measured stride which a runner falls into when his journey is likely +to be a long one. A moment later he ran into the midst of them. + +"Stop!" cried several voices. + +The man, with a glance to right and left of him for a way of escape, +stood still; but in an instant a knife gleamed in his hand, and in +that moment Ellerey recognized him. + +"Anton!" + +The man turned toward him and lowered the knife at once. "The Princess, +Anton, where is she?" + +"Yonder; alive," Anton answered. "Give me a moment and some drink. I +have a message." + +"For me?" + +"For all, Captain, who love her." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +IN VASILICI'S STRONGHOLD + + + +Although Anton had declared to Ellerey that there was no certainty +that the Princess had failed, he did not believe in his own optimism. +True, death seemed certain in the tower, but it had been kept at bay +until now almost miraculously, it seemed to him, and a faith in Captain +Ellerey had grown up in him. The Princess's resolution to deliver +herself to the brigands appeared little short of madness to Anton; he +even considered whether he would not be acting in her best interests +by disclosing the plan to Ellerey; and he felt a traitor even when he +carried out her commands. + +During his long hours of watching on the roof, it had been comparatively +easy to communicate with the brigands on the plateau. Having attracted +their attention, he dropped a paper, wrapped round a piece of stone, +telling them who the youth really was, that she was ready to go with +them to Vasilici, on condition that her companions were allowed to +leave the hills unmolested; that she had in her possession the token +which Vasilici expected and was, moreover, the bearer of a message +which those who were with her would not allow her to deliver. The +brigands accepted the terms, and although they broke faith and came +back to secure the two men in the tower if possible, they made no +attempt to injure the Princess when she climbed down the rope after +Anton and stood in the midst of them. She was not wrong in thinking +that she was far too valuable a prisoner not to be taken with all speed +to Vasilici. As the brigands surrounded her, Anton caught the rope, +and, with a quick, dexterous turn of his arm, sent the end of it flying +upward to the roof. + +"You may trust us," said one man, trying to keep the anger out of his +voice. + +"I do," Maritza answered; "but nothing was said about the rope, and +a small matter may make a difference in such a treaty as ours." + +As they descended the zig-zag path, Maritza fired three times into the +air, causing the men near her to start back. + +"They are sleeping," she said, nodding toward the tower. "That is to +wake them, and let them know of the treaty." + +"I must ask you for that weapon," said the leader, but in spite of +himself he spoke with a certain deference. "It is a dangerous plaything +in your hands." + +"It is empty and of no further use to me," she answered, with a smile, +handing him the revolver. "Keep it, my friend. It has my initials +engraved on it, and may serve you as a boast some day when you entertain +your fellows with tales of your adventures." + +Having arranged which men should gradually fall out in twos and threes +and presently return to the pass, the brigands made haste to march, +and they did not interfere when Maritza waved her handkerchief to the +two solitary figures standing on the plateau. It would show that the +Princess was safe and allay any suspicions they might have; they would +probably not hurry their departure, and were likely to fall into the +hands of the men returning to the pass. Nor did they make any objection +to Anton walking beside the Princess; there was so evidently no idea +of attempting to escape. "How long a march have we before reaching +Vasilici?" Maritza asked, turning to a man who walked near her. + +"We shall reach him to-night," was the answer, "unless we make a long +halt on the way." + +The man did not look at her as he spoke. He had been specially told +off to keep near her and to listen should she talk secretly with her +fellow-prisoner. His companions immediately near straggled a little +as they marched, and presently he drew nearer to Maritza, and she +noticed it. + +"Take no heed of me and do not look at me," he said. "Have you a hope +of winning over Vasilici?" + +"I have a message for him." + +"A doubtful protection," was the answer. + +"Perhaps so, but I have friends in his company." + +"You were ill-advised to make this journey; I have warned you." And +still keeping his even pace, the man moved farther from her side. + +This whispered conversation set many thoughts surging through Maritza's +brain--not new thoughts exactly, for there were few contingencies she +had not provided for when she determined to place herself in the hands +of the brigands, but thoughts which began to cut deeper, as it were, +into a channel already made. This man's action proved that he was not +altogether indifferent to her, and it was hardly likely that he was +the only one among Vasilici's followers who might be ready to speak +a word for her, perhaps even strike a blow for her, could she stir +them sufficiently. Brigandage was not the natural calling of many who +had flocked to Vasilici's standard, nor were they likely to rest +contented with Vasilici's leadership for long. Were they not even now +waiting for a message from the Queen, to whom in the future they would +look for favor? + +At noon, when a halt was called, this same man saw that Maritza had +sufficient to eat, and replaced the flask of wine given her by another, +saying that it was better and that she would want all her strength. +He took no notice of Anton, who, by the Princess's instructions, spoke +to no one unless he were spoken to. She wanted to draw as little +attention to him as possible, and sought by various means to show that +he was a servant only, and not a very highly valued one. She felt that +his insignificance might render him trebly valuable under certain +conditions. So utterly absorbed was she by her thoughts that the length +of the march did not greatly fatigue her. She failed to recognize that +the way was often rough and difficult, and that the pace of the whole +band had slackened somewhat as the day advanced. + +It was late in the afternoon when they entered a narrow defile between +two precipitous mountain walls, which looked as though some huge giant +had cut out one slice from the top to the bottom of the mountain. +Perhaps through many ages a rapid narrow torrent had rushed here cutting +slowly but surely deeper. There was no water now, but the way was paved +with loose pebbles, which made progress slow and tiring. It was not +a way one would choose, and since near the entrance there were other +paths more inviting, Maritza concluded that they were nearing the end +of the journey. For a moment on entering the defile her heart sank +within her. It was like leaving the open world and the sunlight to +creep into the dark unknowable, where some horrible fate might await +her. Would she ever step freely into the open light of day again? Her +thoughts sped backward to the tower standing above the pass and to the +man she had left there. Which road had he taken--the way to Sturatzberg, +or the path across the mountains northward which led to safety? If to +Sturatzberg, why had he gone there? Her hands clenched a little as an +answer came quickly to her question, but she murmured to herself: "What +is it to me? I am Maritza, the lawful ruler of this land. What is +anything to me but the memory of my fathers and the battle for my +rights?" The thought brought back her courage, and made her calm. + +They had not proceeded far along the narrow defile before they were +challenged by a sentry posted upon a narrow pathway which seemed to +have been scooped out of the solid rock above the rough road they were +traversing. The challenge was a mere form, for he could not fail to +recognize many of his companions, but his gun was not lowered until +the pass-word had been shouted back. This was evidently the brigand's +stronghold, and it was well guarded. In a retreat so defended by nature, +the brigands could defy any army sent against them, and for the first +time Maritza understood why no effort had been successful in dislodging +them. + +At the end of the defile they were challenged again, this time by a +small body of men on guard there, and having answered and been allowed +to pass, they emerged into a large circular hollow in the hills. On +every side it was enclosed by precipitous walls in which, here and +there, were narrow openings, evidently paths similar to the one they +had travelled. The hollow was covered with tents and wooden huts, the +latter put together with a solidity which showed that they were +permanent structures, and suggested that whatever enterprise the +brigands entered upon, this stronghold was never left undefended. + +The party was evidently expected. The news that Princess Maritza had +determined to place herself in his hands had been quickly carried to +Vasilici, and with a few of his leading men he was seated in front of +a long wooden shed when his captive was brought into the hollow. His +arm was still in a sling, and his expression was morose and fierce, +although a grin of satisfaction lightened his face for a moment when +he saw the trim, youthful figure and knew that the cause of his bandaged +arm was now in his power. Perhaps in the back of his mind he had already +begun to devise fitting tortures for his enemy. During the long march +Maritza had pictured this moment, and had determined how to act; but +the real scene was rather different from the picture she had imagined. +As the men who had brought her fell back, leaving her alone, with Anton +a few paces behind her, she glanced round at the crowd and said: + +"Which among you is Vasilici?" + +His appearance sufficiently marked him out from his companions, but +Maritza was quick to perceive that there was a half-concealed smile +on the faces of some of the men near him when she pretended not to +recognize him. Perhaps Vasilici saw the smile, too, for, although his +face darkened, he answered the question without any sudden outburst +of anger. + +"Greeting," said Maritza. "I would be seated while I talk. The journey +which I have undertaken into these hills has been a hurried one over +a rough road; and, besides, it is not usual for a sovereign to stand +in the presence of her subjects." + +Vasilici burst into a loud laugh, which found an echo among many of +his followers, but not all. Even while he laughed, and before he could +say a word to prevent it, one man had stepped forward and placed a +rough stool beside Maritza. + +"Carry it nearer, Anton; that will do." And then she seated herself, +Anton standing behind her. + +"Thus we can talk more easily," she said after a pause. "Are all your +leading men here, Vasilici--all those who form your council? for what +I have to say concerns all." + +"In these hills my will is law," was the answer. + +"So long as you please your followers, or the majority of them; I +understand," Maritza said quickly. "Absolute power lies in the pleasure, +or the fear, of the majority." + +"Not here," said the chief, raising his voice angrily. "I alone am the +law." + +"Then indeed are you great among the kings of the earth." + +Her question had forced him to exalt himself, and this was not pleasing +to all those who stood about him. + +"What you have to say, say quickly," Vasilici went on. "The death of +good comrades lies at your door, and punishment is swift here. We move +too rapidly to burden ourselves with prisoners." + +"I will be brief," said Maritza. "For a long time you have been +intriguing with Queen Elena, through a servant of hers, one Jules de +Froilette. By him you have been told to expect a certain token from +her Majesty, upon the receipt of which you were to sweep down upon +Sturatzberg, join yourselves with those who espoused her cause in the +city, and set her alone upon the throne of Wallaria. That token was +brought to you by Captain Ellerey." + +"It is a lie," Vasilici burst out, "and you know it. He delivered the +golden cross, the sign of your house, if indeed you be the Princess +Maritza as you say." + +"Captain Ellerey brought the Queen's token," Maritza went on quietly, +as though there had been no interruption, "and delivered it as he +supposed. He was as astonished to see the golden cross as you were." + +"Then you--" + +"Yes, I changed them. There is the proof." And she tossed the sealed +box carelessly into Vasilici's hands. He cut it open quickly, while +dead silence reigned around him, and then held up the bracelet of +medallions that everyone might see. + +"By this message you accuse yourself," cried the brigand, standing at +his full height. "Now, hear your punishment." + +"Wait!" said Maritza; "there is more to tell." + +Absolute as he had proclaimed himself to be, Vasilici nevertheless +glanced at those about him and, seeing that they were inclined to hear +all the Princess had to say, waved his hand for her to continue. The +fact that the chief was not quite so strong as he said was not lost +on Maritza. + +"It is true that I changed the token," she went on, not addressing +herself especially to Vasilici, "and if I had a hope that there might +be men loyal to me in these hills, for so this miserable scoundrel De +Froilette has told me, that was not my only reason for changing it. +De Froilette never told you that there was a time when he espoused my +cause; he has never said how he would come fawning to me to-morrow +were it in his own interests to do so; he has never explained what is +to follow your devotion to the Queen. Rewards, place, honor, he has +promised them all; yet on the frontier at this moment lies a Russian +army only waiting this De Froilette's word to enter Wallaria and secure +every benefit which you have pledged yourselves to fight for." + +"The proof! The proof!" shouted many voices. + +"What proof can I carry of such a scheme? Send for De Froilette on +some pretext or other and question him, or send to the frontier and +spy upon the army that waits there. You have the Queen's token; I have +delivered it. Go out and meet the King's army, which lies ready to +contest your way to Sturatzberg, if you will, but remember this: if +you win your way to the city, if you succeed in overthrowing the present +Government and setting Queen Elena alone upon the throne, you will not +have advanced the cause of your country one step. You will be forgotten +as soon as your work is done, and be under the firm hand of the +Muscovite. You will have fought your enemies' battle for them and sold +yourselves into slavery. You will have played into the hands of this +Frenchman, De Froilette, who is serving his own ends only, who cares +nothing for Wallaria, whose reward lies ready for payment in Russian +coffers, who is as false to Queen Elena and to you as he has been to +me." + +There was a low murmur among the eager crowd as Maritza stopped +abruptly, and those sitting and standing near Vasilici turned to one +another and whispered together. Whatever hopes lay in the hearts of +these men, selfish hopes for the most part, perhaps, yet with some +patriotism in them, too, it was evident that the accusation against +De Froilette was not entirely a surprise. There were men there who had +never trusted him, and Maritza recognized that her words were not +without weight. While they still whispered, and even grew quarrelsome +over their opinions, she rose from her seat. + +"For a long time I have been in Sturatzberg watching events," she said, +raising her voice a little and obtaining instant attention. "There are +many there who love my cause, some because of my right, some because +they have learnt that Wallaria is merely the plaything of the nations. +Are there not here about me many who love their country, who have fled +from tyranny to the freedom of these hills, not to defy just laws, but +to withstand oppression? I tell them that Queen Elena's promises are +valueless. I tell them that every move the Queen has made is known in +Sturatzberg, discounted and guarded against by the Ministers of foreign +powers who rule the King. I tell them that the token of the bracelet +of medallions has no power to help them to freedom, that from first +to last they have been deceived. I might point to the golden cross and +tell them that it is the sign of this country's salvation; but Vasilici, +who stands for chief among you, has spurned it. I might stand here and +cry to you that he is no chief worthy to lead an army of patriots, +that there is another now among you whose right it is to lead, who has +the power to win success; but men who bow to windy words are no +countrymen of mine, and I scorn to tempt them to such false loyalty. +Judge for yourselves and choose. There stands Vasilici, a brigand, +King of these hills; and here stand I, Maritza, Princess, daughter of +Wallarian kings, come among you of her own free will. I promise you +not success, that knowledge is in the mind of God only; but this I do +promise: I will lead you toward success, and, if we fail, die fighting +in the midst of you. Choose, therefore, Maritza or Vasilici." + +The stroke was a bold one. Brave men could understand the daring of +flinging down such a challenge to a man like Vasilici, here in his own +stronghold. It appealed in a manner that nothing else she could have +done would have appealed, and she enhanced the force of her words by +her apparent indifference as to what their decision might be. She +resumed her seat as abruptly as she had risen from it, and beckoned +Anton to approach her. + +"Princess!" There was reverence in his tone as he bowed before her. + +"Listen," she said quickly. "You marked well the way we came?" + +"Yes, Princess." + +"There is division among them, and for the present we are safe, perhaps, +but the issue is doubtful. If they decide to hold me prisoner for a +while, if their decision be anything short of making me their leader, +take the first opportunity to escape back to Sturatzberg as swiftly +as you can, and tell them what has happened in the hills. Wherever +there is a man who loves me, tell him the story, tell Countess Mavrodin, +tell Captain Ellerey if he be in the city. Give me but a score of men +to shout my cause, and there are many here who will gladly add their +voices to such an acclamation. Tell them that." + +No shout, not a murmur, even, had followed Maritza's challenge. Those +who hated her most were astonished into silence. Vasilici's face grew +a shade more savage, but he was quick to note that the Princess had +not appealed altogether in vain. He did not turn to those about him +at once and mock her pretensions. It was not the moment to assert an +authority which he well knew some of those with him in the hills +resented. For a time he made no effort to suppress the whisperings on +all sides; he had to determine on some counter-stroke. Suddenly he +turned toward Maritza-- + +"Princess," he said, "I love a courageous foe. All here shall be your +judges, not I." + +"I am content," she answered. + +At a sign from the chief, food and wine were brought to her, while the +brigands gathered together and listened eagerly to this counsel and +to that. There were many who, like Vasilici, had taken to the hills +merely to swoop down upon the defenceless for pillage and for ransom, +who cared nothing who might sit upon the throne in Sturatzberg, and +among these there was a certain resentment that latterly there had +come a change into the councils, that the organization was in danger +of growing into a political one. What rewards in the city could +compensate for the loss of their freedom in the hills? This faction +was strong, but hardly strong enough to make it possible for Vasilici +to break with his other followers. The chief knew it was the time for +plausible arguments rather than domineering demands, and these he well +knew how to use. He listened to the counsel of others, and he advised, +and gradually there arose a large majority in the camp to whose decision +the minority bowed because their opinions were subtly provided for. + +There was a smile upon Vasilici's face as he stood forward to speak +from which Maritza argued no good. + +"Princess, I am but the mouthpiece, not the judge," he said. "It is +true that there are many political refugees among us to whom you appeal +personally, even if your cause does not; but chiefly we are not +political. We are against all kings and the laws which make men either +rich or poor, and we have set up in these hills a kingdom of our own +of which I am at present the head. We take our living where we find +it. Such a leader as you would make should draw men to your cause; but +are they drawn? Is there any real force in Sturatzberg to rise and +fight at your bidding? We doubt it. We are not patriotic enough to +throw our lives away upon a dream. Yet you may be right, and the time +may come when the golden cross will send us to fight your battles; but +that time is not yet. We want more certainty before we espouse so +desperate a venture. Those friends you have in the city yonder should, +however, be strong enough to insure your safety if their loyalty is +as you say, and for them the time has come to prove that loyalty. For +us, we have to live. It has been decided, therefore, to hold you to +ransom. We shall despatch messengers to the troops which lie in the +plain, and for a price we shall deliver you to them. I doubt not you +will receive as great courtesy from them as from us." + +Maritza did not answer. + +"You are content, Princess?" said Vasilici. + +"I am disappointed," she returned. "I perceive that they were only the +cowards who fled from Sturatzberg to these hills; the brave hearts +remain in the city." + +"We move to-night," said Vasilici, turning to those about him. "Let +the messengers start at once." + +"Remember, Anton: to Sturatzberg with all the speed you may. Now leave +me alone," whispered Maritza. + +To the good offices of the man who had shown kindness to the Princess, +Anton owed his ability to slip past the guards as soon as night had +fallen, and he had travelled a long way when he fell in with Ellerey +and Baron Petrescu's party at dawn. He told his tale quickly. + +"Only in Sturatzberg can we help her," Anton declared. "It is useless +going forward. She will certainly be delivered to the soldiers." + +His counsel prevailed, and they returned as quickly as possible to the +castle in the hills, taking the brigand who had been their guide with +them. They could not let him go and divulge their plans. Before another +dawn came they were riding as swiftly as the rough way would permit +in the direction of Sturatzberg. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE TEMPTATION OF FRINA MAVRODIN + + + +Lord Cloverton pushed his chair back from the table, and with his arms +folded gazed abstractedly at the ceiling. Captain Ward sat opposite +to him, turning over a pile of papers, noting their contents, and +placing them in order. + +"De Froilette was right after all, Ward. Princess Maritza has been in +Sturatzberg." + +"And will be again almost immediately, now that the brigands have +delivered her up. She is likely to be brought into the city to-morrow, +I understand." + +"Yes, and lodged in the palace under safe keeping, and then--then, +Ward?" + +"She must bear the consequences of her folly," Ward answered. "Has +England any part to play in whatever treatment she may receive?" + +"No, I think not. One may pity the woman, but even a woman must pay +the penalty of her actions. Still the death or banishment of the +Princess may do little to relieve the situation; indeed, may only +intensify it. There have been other influences at work, and we are as +ignorant of them as ever we were." + +"I see you have some scheme maturing, my lord," Ward said with a smile. + +"It might mature at once did I know what had become of Captain Ellerey. +Would he seize the opportunity and escape out of Wallaria, think you?" +"Not if he thought anyone who had a right to his help needed it. He +is the kind of man who would return, no matter what the danger might +be," answered Ward. + +"I believe some friendship of the sort does bind him to Sturatzberg," +said Lord Cloverton, "and I should be happier if he were in Princess +Maritza's company. I should know how to act then." + +The door opened and a servant brought in a card. + +"Ah, now we may hear news," said the Ambassador. "De Froilette, the +timber merchant. Show him in. You need not go, Ward." + +De Froilette came in quickly and was cordially greeted by the Minister. + +"My secretary, Captain Ward; you may safely speak before him, monsieur." + +"It is no secret information I have to give," said De Froilette. "I +came rather impudently to give myself the pleasure of laughing at your +lordship." + +"You have seen fit to praise me so often, monsieur, that I can no doubt +bear your ridicule with the same equanimity as I accepted your praise." + +"A witty retort to my pleasantry, my lord. You did not believe me when +I said Princess Maritza was in Sturatzberg. You see I was right." + +"Monsieur, I grant your information was valuable; my policy might have +suffered considerably by my disbelief. I have learnt a lesson and wish +to profit by it. Can you tell me where Captain Ellerey is?" + +"No, my lord; but I can tell you where to watch for him." + +"You will help me by doing so," said Cloverton. + +"In Sturatzberg, my lord," said De Froilette. + +"Do you imagine he will return to the very centre of his danger? I am +inclined to think he has crossed the hills and taken the quickest way +out of Wallaria." + +"You do not know the man, and you forget he is an Englishman," said +De Froilette. "They are desperate fellows, these English adventurers. +They have no eyes for danger, and are lacking that diplomacy which +makes men feel that it is honorable to retreat sometimes. He is one +of those who love their sword and would fain die with their boots on. +Besides, he is in love." + +"Ah, now you interest me, monsieur," Cloverton exclaimed. "I have been +wondering whether he had not some weak spot." + +"I heard him once speak of Princess Maritza," De Froilette went on. +"He had met her in England; and I read the story behind his careless +words. Here in Sturatzberg the Princess must have seen him, and for +love of her he espoused her cause. She is being brought to the city, +and he will surely follow her. Seize him, my lord, and you nip the +rebellion in the bud." + +"You think so," said Cloverton reflectively. + +"I am certain of it," was the answer. "I am even bold enough to give +advice. The King can afford to treat the Princess leniently. She has +no strong personality to guide and counsel her; alone she is no danger, +or the brigands would not have given her up. But this mad Englishman +has the power to keep her cause alive. The King cannot afford to pardon +him. Kill him, my lord, as quickly as you can. With her lover dead, +the Princess will have no heart to plot." + +"I think you are right, monsieur. I shall advise the King." + +"And I will do my part in watching for Ellerey," said De Froilette. +"You will be serving the State, monsieur," said the Ambassador; "but +are there no others who are dangerous?" + +The Frenchman was thoughtful for a moment. + +"No, I think not," he answered. "There are some who talk loudly in the +back streets, but their talk serves them instead of fighting, and does +no harm." + +"Quite so, monsieur; but I was not thinking of them," Lord Cloverton +returned. "There is one curious feature in the situation. The brigands, +it is true, have played into the hands of the State, but there seems +little doubt that they were waiting for a message from Sturatzberg and +were prepared to act upon it. They did not receive the message they +expected, and so became revengeful. Now what message did they expect, +and from whom was it to come?" + +De Froilette shrugged his shoulders. + +"Perhaps Captain Ellerey betrayed his trust and delivered the wrong +message," suggested the Ambassador. + +De Froilette looked at him in astonishment. + +"By doing so he may have unconsciously served the State," Lord Cloverton +continued, "and perhaps--of course, monsieur, one has to guess rather +wildly sometimes--perhaps balked the intentions of those Russian troops +which, for no apparent reason, have been gathering on the frontier." + +Then De Froilette laughed. + +"You are prepared for all emergencies, my lord; it is wonderful, your +foresight; but I conceive that you are making something out of nothing. +The diplomatic brain is so fertile it surpasses me." + +"It is a soil which so many persons throw seed into, monsieur," was +the answer. "Those who deal in timber are not the only merchants who +scent danger to their interests in the political ferment of the times. +But your advice is good; I shall advise the King. When Captain Ellerey +comes he may tell us more." And the Ambassador rose, putting an end +to the interview. + +When the door had closed upon the Frenchman he resumed his seat and +smiled benignantly. The smile invited comment from his companion. + +"Personal enmity as regards Ellerey," said Ward, "and astonishment at +your accurate knowledge." + +The Ambassador nodded. + +"He should be watched," said Ward. + +"That is no longer necessary," was the quick answer. "Whatever power +he may have had is gone. He is chiefly concerned about his own skin +nowadays, and it would not surprise me to hear that business had +suddenly called him away from Sturatzberg. Still, I thank him for +giving me an idea. I shall see the King." + +De Froilette went quickly back to the Altstrasse, and it would appear +that Captain Ward's estimate of his attitude was near the truth. He +sent for Francois at once. + +"The net is being drawn in, Francois," he said. + +"Are we within it?" + +"We shall easily escape," was the answer. "Is everything ready to depart +at a moment's notice?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +"Good. You carry a revolver, Francois?" + +The man showed it to him. + +"Good again. Captain Ellerey will return to Sturatzberg--may have done +so already. That he has played us false we know, that he can give +evidence against us is certain. Revenge and safety, therefore, lie in +the same direction. Watch for him, Francois, as I shall, and silence +him." + +"And his servant?" asked the man. + +"If your private quarrel with the servant leads you to do so, no harm +will be done." And with a wave of the hand he dismissed him. + +The news that Princess Maritza was in the hands of the King's troops +and was being brought to Sturatzberg had reached the city early that +morning, but the news was not immediately known to Frina Mavrodin. It +was being conveyed to her by a trusted messenger who had much to do +on his way, and the fact that she had lately kept much at home accounted +for her not hearing it from any other source. + +The days of waiting are ever the longest days to live through, and the +hours had dragged heavily for Frina Mavrodin since Baron Petrescu had +started for the hills. Hardly anyone saw her except Hannah, and the +old serving woman pitied her, judging her distress by her own. She +little knew the terrible struggle which raged in the breast of this +beautiful woman, how all that was good and bad in her, all those latent +forces which lie in the heart of everyone, sprang into life and fought +equally for the mastery. It was not the Princess who was first in her +thoughts from dawn to dark, or whose image passed incessantly through +her restless dreams. It was the man who was beside the Princess, who +had fought desperately for her whether he loved her cause or not, who +was hourly under the spell of her enchantment. The potency of that +spell seemed to grow the more she thought of it, and all the charm +which some had professed to find in herself seemed to sink into +insignificance. It was not sufficient to win the love of this man. And +those waiting hours, too, are hours of danger. Troubles or desires, +or whatever thoughts assail at such a time, lose their proportion, and +idleness lends vitality to the evil lying dormant. Was there no way +to win her desire? Between it and her stood only the Princess, an enemy +to the State. Might she not be swept out of the way? How easy such a +thing seemed to be. She had only to speak a few words to dash to the +ground all Maritza's hopes of success. Why not speak them? In love and +war all means are fair. And then arose the good in her, and she turned +away in horror from the very thought of such treachery. + +It was in a fierce moment of her struggle that the messenger arrived. +Dumitru, travel-stained yet unweary, more keenly alive now perhaps +than he had even been as Anton in the hills, came to her. + +"What news? What news?" she cried, springing up. + +"The worst, Countess." + +"Dead?" + +"No; the Princess lives." + +"Yes, yes; and those who are with her?" + +"Are on their way to the city," Dumitru answered. "We could not enter +openly; we had to delay, and exercise the greatest care. Baron Petrescu +will come to-night if possible, but extreme caution is needed. I came +on. I am of no importance and pass unnoticed. I have visited a score +of places in the city already, and I have much more to do before +sunset." + +"Does Captain Ellerey return to Sturatzberg?" asked Frina thoughtfully. + +"Aye; and he is a man whose equal these eyes are never likely to see +again. He is fit to be a king." + +"A king!" + +"Yes, a king, and though he be a foreigner, I for one shout for him." + +"A king, Dumitru; tell me, does he love the Princess?" + +"Surely he must, since for her cause he has shown no great affection. +He will be here to strike one more good blow for her, and, loving her, +may learn to love her cause too. We may yet triumph, Countess. But +listen. The Princess has been delivered by the brigands," and Dumitru +told her the whole story quickly. "To-night she will be brought back +to Sturatzberg," he went on, "although it is given out that she will +not come until the morning. The gates will be shut, and when the streets +are quiet they will be opened again. Not many soldiers are with her, +and those within the gates will hold all danger cheap. The city will +be hushed and still, but there are many who will not sleep. A signal +will blaze forth in the darkness and a few may fall in the streets, +but the Princess will be free. You will be ready to receive her, +Countess?" + +"Here?" + +"Is it not the safest refuge in Sturatzberg?" asked Dumitru. "There +are hiding-places here, and you are not a suspect in the city." + +"And afterward?" said the Countess. + +"I know not. A small success in the city would perhaps raise the +country; the afterward is for the Princess to decide. She will have +to consider the welfare of those who strike to-night. You will be ready +to receive her, Countess?" + +"Yes," Frina answered, and Dumitru went to pursue his way through the +city, calling men to arm and prepare, little dreaming what thoughts +troubled the beautiful woman he had left. + +The frail little hopes she had found consolation in vanished at +Dumitru's words. Desmond Ellerey loved Maritza. Dumitru had said it, +and had he not had ample opportunity of judging? Now Maritza was to +come a fugitive to her house; her very life perhaps lay in her hands. +How easy it would be to speak the few words which would tell her enemies +where she was hidden, and who would know, who would guess, that it was +the Countess Mavrodin who had betrayed her? Such specious arguments +did the evil that was in her whisper in her ear, and she could not +shut the whisperings out. All day long her restlessness increased. Her +solitude became unbearable. She longed for the world of men and women, +hungered to hear laughter and the sound of voices--anything to distract +her from her thoughts. That evening she went to Court, beautiful, +reckless, heartless to all seeming, ready to be flattered and to +flatter--a dangerous mood for such a woman to be in. + +So, all unconsciously, she was driven forward by destiny. She was in +a mood to be tempted, and the greatest temptation of all was lying in +wait for her. + +She had shown such marked preference for Captain Ellerey when he came +to Court that a host of her admirers had perforce to stand sullenly +aside. To-night they gathered round her, each one in his turn receiving +some little favor which buried in oblivion all past disappointments; +such virtue lies even in the least of a beautiful woman's favors. Frina +Mavrodin had always had the subtle power of making her companion of +the moment believe that he was the one person in all the world she +would wish to have beside her, and this power she exercised to the +full to-night. + +Lord Cloverton, covertly watching her, was constrained to admire her, +and even his old blood tingled with a remembrance of youth as he did +so. But he did not approach her. It was not his part to play the tempter +to-night. He had arranged otherwise. Presently he saw the King enter +the room alone, and look round in search of some one. His eye fell +upon Frina Mavrodin, and he went toward her. Perhaps, too, in his veins +the blood tingled a little. + +"An hour of ease which so seldom falls to me renews my strength to-night, +Countess, and youth and beauty draw me like a lodestone," said the King. + +"Your Majesty is pleased to flatter me," she answered with a sweeping +curtsey. + +"That would indeed be impossible. I am honored, doubly so, if you will +take my hand in the dance." + +It was a set dance, stately in its measure, and those who watched +remarked how the grace of the woman seemed to lend grace to the King's +movements, who danced but seldom, and that, in truth, somewhat +awkwardly. + +The King thanked her as he led her to a seat when the dance was over. +It was in the alcove where she had so often sat with Ellerey, and the +coincidence impressed her. + +"There should be brighter times at hand for Wallaria, Countess," said +the King. "The Princess Maritza will enter Sturatzberg--a +prisoner--to-morrow." + +"So I have heard, your Majesty." + +"And you loyally rejoice with us, Countess?" + +The question was so marked in the intonation of the King's voice that +Frina Mavrodin was on her guard in a moment. "She is a woman, your +Majesty, and, since I am no politician, I pity the woman." + +"I am not without pity, either, Countess," was the answer. "The Princess +has been ill-advised, and the onus lies with those who have advised +and supported her. It is upon them punishment should rightly fall." + +"And who are they?" asked the Countess. + +"That is a question to which there is no complete answer," said the +King. "There is only one I can name definitely. But there is one person +in Sturatzberg who could answer the question, so I am informed, and +so I believe." + +"And he will not answer?" + +"She has not yet been asked," the King returned. + +"A woman, your Majesty?" + +"A very beautiful woman; yourself, Countess." + +Perhaps Frina Mavrodin was prepared for the King's words. She did not +start, the color did not rise to her cheeks. She remained silent for +a few moments, feeling that the King's eyes were fixed upon her. + +"I can guess who was your Majesty's informant," she said quietly. "Lord +Cloverton. He has always credited me with a power I do not possess, +and has often set traps for me. They were subtly hidden, well devised +to catch a schemer; but, being innocent, they failed to ensnare me." + +"We ourselves have eyes, Countess; it is not necessary that the British +Ambassador should see for us." + +"No, your Majesty; but we, the Court, sometimes fancy that he attempts +to take that duty upon himself," Frina answered. + +"Then you will not help me, Countess?" said the King with a smile. + +"In any way I can, your Majesty." + +"But not in the way I want. It is a pity. You will force me to harsh +measures. There is one other I may constrain to tell me, unless he +values his secret more than life." + +Frina looked at him, a question in her eyes, but her lips gave it no +words. + +"A brave man," said the King, "although circumstances have made him my +enemy. You might save him." + +Still Frina was silent. + +"Probably Captain Ellerey will not speak, therefore it is certain that +Captain Ellerey must die," said the King slowly. + +"Is he in Sturatzberg?" + +"Ah, Countess, you must not try and surprise my secrets; but rest +assured he must die unless you choose to save him." + +"How can I save him?" she asked. + +The King suddenly laid his hand on hers, which were folded in her lap. +"To-morrow, early, send me by a trusted messenger the names of those +who are foremost in Maritza's cause, the names of the societies whose +plans and aims they govern, and, so far as is in your knowledge, the +plans which they have formed. On my royal oath, none shall know from +whom I received this information, and Captain Ellerey shall be free +to leave Wallaria." + +"He is a brave man, and I would help him if I could," she said. + +"You can, Countess; if you love him, you will." + +"Your Majesty is strangely at fault; Captain Ellerey is nothing to me." + +"I have touched your hand, Countess, as you asked a question concerning +him, and felt the quiver in your frame. Your heart would not answer +as your lips do. Remember this: he dies unless you save him." + +"But I am powerless, your Majesty." + +"Then, Countess, his case is hard indeed. There are some hours before +to-morrow; use them to understand how powerful you are in this matter." + +"So far I will obey your Majesty." + +"Always remembering, Countess, that if you cannot save him no power +on earth can;" and, with a bow, the King left her alone. + +Here was the opportunity she had dreamed of. No one would ever know. +What to her were Princess Maritza and all her followers in comparison +with Desmond Ellerey? There was a look of determination in her face +as she left the alcove quickly. The few hours before tomorrow seemed +all too short for her. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +HOW MARITZA ENTERED STURATZBERG + + + +It was a dark night without a moon, and only a faint star or two +glimmered in the sky. The smell of rain was in the air, and there was +a closeness in the atmosphere which made the effort of breathing a +conscious one. It was still early as Frina Mavrodin was driven rapidly +homeward. She left the palace immediately after her conversation with +the King. The few hours before to-morrow were best spent alone. A wild +confusion of thoughts surged through her brain, but one thought was +ever dominant--how could she save Desmond Ellerey without betraying +others? For while the King's suggestion was a subtle and potent +temptation, it had the effect of steadying the Countess. Such an idea +as a wholesale betrayal of those who had trusted her had never occurred +to her; her only thought had been how to raise a barrier between Maritza +and Desmond Ellerey, how to act so that they might be effectually +separated forever. Such plans as had come into her mind may have been +mean and unworthy, but the circumstances had excused them. The King's +words had robbed them of all excuse, had shown her that base treachery +belonged to them as surely as to the larger scheme which he had +suggested. It did not occur to her to blame him for the suggestion; +politically, perhaps, he was justified; but that he could believe her +capable of such treachery showed her that, between her private jealousy +and her political position, there was no room to draw even the finest +of lines. So the few hours before to-morrow were not to be used, as +the King supposed, in a struggle between her honor and her desire, but +in concentrated thought of how his Majesty might be outwitted. Desmond +Ellerey must be saved, but neither the Princess nor her followers must +be sacrificed to save him. Her own desire must stand aside, whatever +the suffering might be. Thus, through the fierce fire of temptation +Frina Mavrodin came forth a stronger woman, a keener slave to duty, +because that duty must cost her so much. And having shaken herself +free from the fetters of selfishness, her thoughts and conceptions +became more acute. + +It was hardly possible that Desmond Ellerey had yet returned to +Sturatzberg. No one could know his movements better than Dumitru, and +he had shown no fear concerning him. Even if the King possessed +information which might point to the probability of his arrest, +Ellerey's courage and resourcefulness were factors to be reckoned with +before his arrest could become an accomplished fact. That in Maritza's +defence he might prove reckless was true, but he would hardly do so +until every other means had failed. No; the King had played upon her +fears, and she had fallen a victim to his cunning. She had plainly +shown that Ellerey was dear to her, that she was prepared to sacrifice +much to secure his safety; she had, moreover, given the impression +that she could betray many in Sturatzberg if she would, and therefore, +should the rescue of Maritza prove successful, she herself, and her +house, and all who belonged to her would be closely watched. She had, +in fact, undone what she had so persistently taken pains to accomplish; +she had given cause for suspicion; she had rendered her house by the +river an unsafe place of refuge. How was she to retrieve the position? +Entering her house she gave rapid instructions to certain of her +servants, and then went to her own rooms and sent for Hannah. The old +serving woman came quickly, and to her Frina made her first confession. + +"I have been cross, Hannah, sometimes," she said; "forgive me." + +"Oh, no, my lady, you have only been troubled. We all have our own way +of showing grief." + +"True, Hannah, and I have had troubles which you cannot know of. Your +quick pardon teaches me a lesson." + +"O my lady---" + +"Listen, Hannah, there is much to do and little time to do it in. +To-night, perhaps, the Princess will return." + +"Here!" Hannah exclaimed. + +"Yes; but she will be a fugitive from her enemies, and how long this +house may be a safe refuge for her I cannot tell. Come with me. I will +show you a means of escape should the worst happen--a stout door which +will hold back pursuers for a long time. It opens from a room which +shall be yours for the time. The key shall be in your possession. Study +to look innocent, Hannah, when you are questioned, and in a crucial +moment you may prove a far better defence than a dozen armed men. +Come." + +As Frina Mavrodin had driven through the city there were many people +in the streets. The cafes were still full, and there were no signs of +any unusual excitement. A few may have discussed Princess Maritza over +their coffee, liquor, or syrup, but in most cases it was with casual +interest, or with a remark that, if they "were abroad early enough, +they might walk down to the Southern Gate to see her enter." What had +her fate to do with them? Though the times were troublous they would +go their way to-morrow as they had done to-day, as they would every +day until their own small circle of interest were touched. They had +as little sympathy with the agitator as they had with the Government; +neither the one nor the other did anything to affect them materially. +So these law-abiding citizens, law-abiding only because there was no +temptation to be otherwise, perhaps, finished their coffee and went +home, and the streets of Sturatzberg grew quieter, and, with the closing +of the cafes, darker. The city gates were shut, and if a few soldiers +appeared at the corners of streets, they caused little interest to the +people going home. Since the murdered bodies had been found lying in +the Bergenstrasse, it was only right that the city should be well +guarded. + +The soldiers themselves grumbled somewhat. Fighting was their trade, +and they were discontented at being made a city watch. Beyond a late +reveller or two no one was out after midnight. What was the use of all +this precaution? In the smaller streets there was even greater silence. +Where one might have expected to find whatever dissatisfaction existed +in the city, there was only the greater peace. Hardly a light shone +out from any of the dark buildings, no one lurked in shadowy corners, +and although the soldiers had been ordered to be especially careful +tonight, there seemed to be even less than usual to demand their +attention. They believed that the Princess Maritza was to enter the +city at dawn. + +At the guard-house of the Southern Gate the men were alert. An hour +ago their officer had told them what was to happen, and the news was +presently conveyed to the soldiers at the corners. The officer of the +guardroom kept a steady watch upon the slowly passing minutes, while +outside the city a small army had approached under cover of the +darkness. + +Without and within there was silence. Yet wakeful and watching men may +be as silent as those who sleep. Throughout the day a man had passed +from one narrow street to another with quick and stealthy steps. Into +this house he went, mounting the stairs swiftly, and disappeared for +a few moments into some upper room; then as swiftly he came down again, +and, gliding up alleys and half-deserted streets, entered one little +cafe after another, and mounted to many a room whose occupants listened +eagerly to his words and made a sign that they were understood. Long +before darkness had fallen upon Sturatzberg there were many cafes doing +little business to all seeming, which, nevertheless, were crowded with +men hidden away and waiting. + +Such a crowd waited in the long room at the rear of the Toison d'Or. +The men who composed it had gathered there one by one, as they had +done that night when they came to drink with the soldiers who had been +found dead in the Bergenstrasse next morning. Many of the same men +were in the crowd, many also of those who had once chased Ellerey so +furiously through the garden of that other tavern where was the door +in the wall. They greeted each new arrival with a nod, and for the +most part were silent or spoke only in whispers. + +"At what hour?" asked one. + +"Two hours after midnight." + +"Are our numbers sufficient?" + +"Quite sufficient," answered another. "At a dozen places I have had +our brothers gathered, close to the spot from which they will make +their rush upon the troops. The attack will come from all sides at +once, and the soldiers will be taken by surprise. We cannot fail." + +"Does the Princess know, Dumitru?" + +"Not certainly, but she will be expectant and ready. You understand +whose command you have to obey, and the signal?" + +The men about him nodded and smiled with quiet confidence, while Dumitru +passed on to others to answer similar questions. He was of much +importance among them to-night. They felt that he was but the mouthpiece +of the Princess, that she was their real leader, that the time they +had waited for and plotted toward had really come. A few nervous ones +there were among them who calculated what the price of failure would +be, and had planned what they might do for their own safety in such +an event; but the majority of them were enthusiasts who rejoiced that +the hour of action had arrived at last. + +"After to-night, Dumitru, there will be no turning back," whispered +one man, who, standing on a chair, had called for the toast to Maritza +on that night fatal to the deserting soldiers. "The next few days will +make the name of Sturatzberg ring through the world, and our deeds +strike terror into the heart of the nation." + +Dumitru nodded and passed on, but he too kept eager watch upon the +time, even as did the officer at the guardhouse. + +The crowd became more excited and restless as the hands of the clock +crept farther and farther from midnight. "Surely it is time now," they +whispered at intervals. And the leaders had some difficulty in +restraining them. As it was in the Toison d'Or, so it was in many a +dark house where men lay hidden and waiting. + +From the watchman over the gate word was sent to the officer that the +prisoner had come, and at his command the gates silently swung back +upon their hinges. It was a large body of men that entered, having in +their midst a slim boyish figure mounted on a charger. So Maritza +entered Sturatzberg. + +The men at the word of command halted to right and left, and only a +few, comparatively, continued their silent march along the +Bergenstrasse. With the city full of troops what chance of escape had +that lonely prisoner, who spoke no word, yet furtively glanced to this +side and that, and studied the attitude of the men nearest to her? She +noted that soldiers stood at attention at street corners, a few here, +a few there; that of all other signs of life the streets were empty. +She realized that she had been brought in at an unexpected hour, and +the silence over the city fell upon her soul. Hopelessness and despair +seized her, and a wild thought prompted her to make a sudden dash for +freedom. Death might come, but such a death was preferable to the fate +which must await her at the end of this journey. Her fingers had +tightened on the reins, when the silence was suddenly broken, and, +with a swift hiss, a streak of light cut through the darkness skyward, +paused a moment, and then, with a muffled detonation, burst into globes +of light which floated downward. The foremost of the troop reined in +their horses sharply at the unexpected flight of the rocket, causing +some confusion among those behind. Then came a quick command from an +officer which was half lost in the great shout which rent the air on +every side-- + +"For Grigosie! Grigosie!" + +Had the cry been for Maritza the soldiers might possibly have understood +better what this sudden stopping of their progress meant; but, as it +was, a black, rushing mass was upon them before they had time to draw +their weapons. The attack was so fierce, so sudden and overwhelming, +that when the meaning of it had thoroughly dawned upon the soldiers, +they had enough to do to protect themselves without giving much thought +to their prisoner. There was hardly a trooper who was not in a moment +separated from his fellows by a swaying mob, whose one object seemed +to be to force the soldiers apart and prevent any concerted action. +The ring of steel and the crack of revolvers mingled with groans and +curses and sharp cries which blades thrust home drew forth. Here a +horse fell prostrate on its knees, bringing its rider head foremost +into the arms of his assailants; and there some plunging charger, +dexterously managed, beat down and trampled on a writhing mass of +limbs. Shouting came from a distance, as the soldiers from the various +street corners came running into the Bergenstrasse to the assistance +of their comrades, and, since they ran compactly and with bayonets +fixed, the mob gave way before them. An officer, whose plunging horse +cleared a path before him, slashed right and left as he came, and +shouted: "To the prisoner! Secure the prisoner!" and desperately he +struggled toward the slim figure carried this way and that by the +swaying, fighting crowd. At his shout the crowd threw itself more +savagely upon him. The greatest danger seemed to centre in this man, +and bullets sang about him, and steel struck at him from every side. + +"Quickly, Princess!" + +A strong arm was about her and drew her swiftly from her horse. In a +moment a ring of men had formed about her as they pushed their way +through the crowd. Two soldiers who sought to stop them fell back +groaning, and were trampled under foot; and then the little band with +the slim figure in the midst of it was outside the mob, and at the +entrance to a narrow, dark street. + +"Hold this street with your lives!" cried one. "This way, Princess," +and with half a dozen men to guide and guard her she ran forward, the +din of the struggle in the Bergenstrasse growing fainter and fainter +as they went. + +Another rocket hissed skyward, and then tactics changed. The crowd +knew what the signal meant, and instead of throwing themselves fiercely +on the soldiers, they began to draw back to side streets, fighting +desperately at corners for a few moments and then fleeing, breaking +up into small knots and turning by twos and threes into alleys and +dark passages into which the soldiers did not deem it wise to follow +them. Fully an hour passed before the Bergenstrasse was cleared, and +many a dark form lay stretched in the roadway, and not a few who wore +the King's uniform. Some lay quite still, their troubles and ambitions +over; some attempted to crawl away and hide themselves; while others, +too hurt to move, groaned and cried piteously for help. The inhabitants +of the Bergenstrasse had been rudely awakened, but for a long time +none ventured out to render any help to the wounded, lest the soldiers +should attack them. + +Meanwhile, running feet woke the echoes of the quieter streets and +distant parts of the town--men speeding toward safety. More troops +would march from the castle presently, and it would be dangerous to +be found in the streets to-night. Doors in dark streets opened and +quietly closed again; weapons were carefully hidden away under loose +boards, and their owners became harmless citizens again. + +One little band of men held together, running lightly, and certain of +every corner they turned. Some of them were those who had guided the +Princess to safety, and now they were bent on carrying the good news +to others who were waiting eagerly to hear it. The foremost stopped +at a door and gave a peculiar knock. It was opened immediately, and +the custodian asked no questions as the men filed in and went quickly +to the rooms looking on to the garden, where, not so long ago, they +had helped to put an end to a duel. As they entered the long room, +which was only dimly lighted, they paused. It was easy to see that +there was consternation among the men gathered there, and strangers +were present. "Well?" cried a dozen voices. + +"She is safe." + +"Safe! Gone to her death and destruction," was the answer. "The Countess +is a traitor." + +"It's death to the first man who repeats that accusation," thundered one +of the strangers, his hand upon his sword hilt, and as the men drew back +before such sudden fury, they noticed that the other stranger, a bearded +soldier of huge proportions, grasped his sword hilt too. + +The men who had run from the Bergenstrasse waited for an explanation. + +"Are we not all friends here?" exclaimed Baron Petrescu hastily. "There +is some mistake. Tell us your story again," and he turned to a man who +had only ceased speaking as the newcomers had entered. He had come in +breathless haste at the very moment that Petrescu had brought Desmond +Ellerey and Stefan through the garden. Willing hands had opened the +low door in the wall for them, forewarned of their coming by Dumitru. +Ellerey's fame had run before him, and eagerly was he looked for and +recognized as the leader of the rebellion which must quickly follow +the work going forward in the city to-night. He had come; the +conspirators had succeeded in rescuing Princess Maritza; and now came +this man with a tale which filled their hearts with consternation. + +"I had it from one who fills a chief servant's place in the palace, +and who is one of us," said the man, speaking rapidly. "He was delayed +in coming to me, or I should have been here earlier. The King sought +out the Countess, danced with her, and then, seated in an alcove, +behind some curtains of which this man was hidden, the King persuaded +her to betray those who favored the cause of the Princess, and the +Countess was tempted, and promised. Early to-morrow she is to send the +information to the King by a trusted messenger, and the King has given +his oath that no one shall know from whom it comes." + +"I do not believe it," said the Baron. "She may have promised, but she +had some reason for doing so." + +"She had, Baron. The King persuaded her that her act of betrayal should +be the salvation of a rebel." + +"What rebel? Princess Maritza?" asked Petrescu. + +"No, Baron; Captain Ellerey." + +"It was indeed a subtle temptation," and Petrescu turned slowly to +look at his companion. + +"The truth shall quickly be put to the test," said Ellerey. "Give me +wine, a full measure, to put new strength in me. Is mine to be the +only voice raised in her defence? Are you all so ready to believe evil +of the woman who has served your Princess so well? I stake my honor +that with her Maritza is safe." + +"True; but speak less harshly, Captain," whispered Petrescu. "These men +are our friends; do not anger them." + +"He from whom I had the news ever speaks the truth," said the man who +had told the story. "He has never failed us in the past." + +"Has the Countess ever failed you in the past?" Ellerey cried. "Shame +on you all for the thought. Her loyalty shall be proved on the instant." + +"You can do nothing to-night," said Petrescu. + +"Soldiers are in every street," said a chorus of voices. + +"Therefore give me wine to renew my strength," Ellerey cried, and he +seized the tankard held out to him. + +"It is madness to go now," said Petrescu. + +"For you, perhaps, for you, but not for me. Man--man, do not you +understand? Besides the woman whose truth I would vindicate, is not +Maritza there? She once gave me life yonder in the hills; even less +than love would repay such a debt as that. To-morrow, comrades, we may +fight side by side in the streets of Sturatzberg, but this hour is my +own. Let me pass. It is death to rebel or soldier who seeks to stay +me to-night." And throwing down the empty tankard, he went quickly to +the door, followed by Baron Petrescu and Stefan. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +'TWIXT LOVE AND PITY + + + +Long before midnight Frina Mavrodin had completed her work of +preparation. The servants who were in her confidence had been told of +the coming of the Princess. Some were at the main entrance ready to +admit her if she came that way; others were waiting at a small door +which opened from the garden into a side street. They were instructed +to show surprise, but not consternation, should any officer of the +King demand admittance, and servants were stationed on the stairs and +in the corridors, a signal arranged between them, so that news of any +such demand might be immediately conveyed to the Countess silently, +and without any man rushing to her and causing suspicion to those who +entered. + +"If Captain Ellerey comes, let him pass to me at once," she said. "And +at the usual hour put out all lights that shine upon the street. This +house must seem to sleep, no matter how wakeful it may be." + +Only a dim light burned in her own room, which looked toward the garden, +and here the Countess paced up and down with slow, thoughtful steps. +She had changed the dress she had worn at Court that night for a soft, +loose gown of delicate rose color, caught in at the waist by a silken +girdle of a deep shade of the same color. A filmy cloud of lace was +about her throat, and fell over her shoulders and from the short loose +sleeves. + +Once or twice she stopped before a glass to set a wayward tress of her +hair in its place, or to arrange the falling folds of the lace, and +perhaps lingered for a moment in contemplation of her own reflection, +half conscious that she looked fairer dressed as she was than in Court +attire of costly silks and flashing jewels. + +Many times she paused at the open window, drawing aside the curtains +to listen for footsteps in the garden, and she listened often for +footsteps in the corridor. Princess Maritza was coming; perhaps Desmond +Ellerey would come, too. + +How to outwit the King should Desmond Ellerey fall into his hands, she +did not know. She thought of little else as she paced the room, but +no solution of the problem came to her. If he should be taken, it +seemed as if he must suffer for the cause into which he had been +pressed. If by her betrayal of others he only could be saved, she knew +now that he must perish. There was no thought in her mind of writing +out a list of names to send to the King to-morrow. She put her hands +before her eyes to shut out the hideous vision which rose before her-- +Ellerey standing with folded arms, facing a dozen loaded muskets waiting +for the order to fire; but even in her vision the face of the so-called +traitor, firm, resolute, determined, in this supreme hour, as it had +been throughout his life, as it would be in reality when such time +came, thrilled her soul and made him only the greater hero. + +"Oh, to be at his side then!" she exclaimed in a low voice. "What would +I not give to share that death with him?" + +But Ellerey was not yet in the King's hands, that seemed certain. She +felt convinced that some time before the dawn she would see him; that +he would enter the house to stand by Maritza's side to the last. Had +she not power to save him then? There was a way of escape for the +Princess; that same way could Desmond Ellerey go. He and Maritza should +go together to find in some other land a quiet haven of happiness. + +"Yes," she murmured, her little hands clasped so firmly behind her +that the rings cut into the flesh, though she hardly noticed it; "yes, +that is how it shall be. Even if my life pays the forfeit, they shall +go together. Perhaps, when his happiness is greatest, he will sometimes +think of the woman who helped him to it." + +There were hurried steps in the corridor, and the next moment Princess +Maritza and Dumitru entered. + +"So far the fates are with us, Frina," said the Princess, taking the +Countess's hands in hers and kissing her; "but I little thought to use +your house again as a refuge." + +"It may prove an insecure retreat," Frina answered. "There is no escape +from this room. I have arranged another place for you. Come, and come +quickly." + +"Are you suspected, Countess?" asked Dumitru anxiously. + +"I fear so, but they will hardly trouble me to-night. Still, I do not +feel that you are safe in this room, Maritza." + +Frina led the way down several corridors and up and down short flights +of steps until she came to the room where Hannah waited. The old serving +woman came hurriedly forward as the door opened. For a moment she did +not recognize Maritza in her boy's dress, and it was not until she +spoke that the old woman's arms were stretched out with trembling +eagerness toward her, and her joy found its expression in tears. + +"O my Princess! O my dear lady!" was all she could say. + +"Dumitru has brought her back, you see, Hannah," said the Countess, +"You owe Dumitru some apology for the hard thoughts you have had of +him. Go with him while I speak to your mistress a moment." + +"Gladly, now she has come back," said Hannah; "and then I'll be looking +out decent garments for you, Princess. I should not wish all the world +to see you as you are." + +"This is a safer retreat for me, is it?" said Maritza, glancing round +the room when Hannah had closed the door. "It is a corner of your house +I do not know, Frina. Thanks for your great care of me. It is not long +that I shall trouble you." + +"What do you mean?" + +"Mean! Why, that the days for sitting idly down to wait are over. There +has been deadly work in the Bergenstrasse to-night, and to-morrow the +King will seek to avenge it! Do you suppose I shall leave them without +a leader? Before dawn, those who love me will be preparing for the +final struggle. To-night's work will convince many who until now have +wavered. Rest assured, there will be a goodly host about me when the +King sends to take me." + +"It is madness, Maritza!" exclaimed the Countess. "What can these men, +untrained, undisciplined as they are, do against the troops which even +now doubtless are pouring into every street? Wait." + +"My dear Frina, you are a woman; I, in heart at least, am a man. +Hundreds are in jeopardy because of me to-night; would you have me +desert them? You were wont to be of better courage." + +"But wait--wait for counsel and advice." + +"From whom?" asked Maritza. + +"From Desmond Ellerey." + +The two women were looking into each other's eyes; neither fully +understood the struggle in the other's heart, yet each of them knew +something of the other's secret. For some moments there was silence. + +"Is Desmond Ellerey here?" asked Maritza presently. + +"No; but he will come. Something tells me that he will come. Wait until +then, Maritza. That door," Frina went on, pointing to one which was +hardly discernible from the panelled walls of the room, "opens into +a passage which leads to a small building by the river, where there +is only rubbish. No one is likely to search there. Hannah has the key, +and it is a way of escape if they come to this house. I implore you +to wait for Captain Ellerey. Has he not struggled for you? Is he not +returning to Sturatzberg to stand beside you in the hour of your need, +rather than take the road to safety as he might have done? Have you +not a hundred times in your heart chosen him the champion of your +cause?" + +"If he comes to-night he may help me, but I cannot wait," was +the answer. "The people call for me; they shall not call in vain." + +"Maritza! Maritza! I tell you it is madness. Be persuaded. Think of +your love for him; think of his love for you. Ah, you must be ruled +by me in this," the Countess went on desperately. "I might let you go +to your death. I have been tempted to let you go. Yes, it is true, +look at me as you will. Mine has been the waiting part, and temptation +comes easily then; more than once it has nearly conquered me. Only +to-night the King persuaded me to betray his enemies to him; I am to +send a list of them to-morrow; no, it is to-day--in a few hours." + +"You have promised to do this?" said the Princess, laying her hand +sharply on her companion's arm. "I promised to think of it--aye! and +when I made the promise I meant to think of it. Shall I tell you why?" +And Frina looked straight into Maritza's eyes. "The King made me believe +that Desmond Ellerey was already in his hands, and he swore to spare +him if I would do his bidding. It was the keenest temptation he could +have assailed me with. Do you understand, Maritza?" + +"And you will send that list?" repeated the Princess. + +"Can you ask the question now? No, I have fought my battle and won. +What is to come will be easy after the stress of that fight. But that +the King should so tempt me shows that I am suspected; therefore you +are here in this room with the means of escape at hand. Wait for Captain +Ellerey, Maritza. For the present, at least, I believe your cause is +lost; but a way of escape, desperate though it be, still lies open, +and you will take it with the man you love to defend you. Wait, +Maritza." + +The hand that had rested on Frina's arm stole slowly round her, and +the Princess kissed her. + +"I understand," she whispered. "I have had my struggle, too. I have +never forgotten that meeting long ago in England, and now--now I love +him. Ah, Frina, you may pity me. Many a time in the hills I longed to +cry out to him to take me northward into safety, to give me love instead +of helping me to a kingdom. And then would surge into my soul the +memory of my fathers, and I felt myself a coward. If you have been +tempted to treachery, so have I. I have my mission to fulfil, my work +is before me, and there is no place for love in it. If ever I call any +man husband, he must be a king who will satisfy the State." + +"But he loves you, Maritza." + +"Do not make it harder for me, sister of mine. Fate deals ungently with +us both. If Desmond comes before daybreak, bring him to me, and he shall +give me counsel. Should I taste failure, should I--should I never see +him again, say to him--" + +"Maritza!" + +"Yes, speak my name and say that you loved me, too. If I understand +him he will love you for that. I am very weary and have much to do +to-morrow. Send Hannah to me and let me sleep." + +In silence the two women kissed each other, and then Frina returned +to her room while Maritza threw herself on a couch, Hannah watching +beside her. Dumitru stood sentinel outside her door. + +For Frina there was no sleep, only a restless pacing to and fro, and +a longing for to-morrow--the end, surely the end would come to-morrow. + +The dim light in her room grew dimmer, paling before the coming day. +A bird in the garden whistled a long note, and after a silence it was +answered from another part of the garden, and then quickly from another. +A star gleamed low in the ever-lightening purple of the east, the +herald of the dawn, and from her window Frina watched it, wondering. +There was mystery in the breaking of a new day; would her eyes behold +its setting? What thoughts would be in her brain as the golden light +faded once more into the black pall of night? + +She turned from the window sharply as she heard quick footsteps in the +corridor. + +Long hours had she waited for them, and now they had come. Her heart +seemed to throb violently to a sudden standstill, and having taken one +hurried step toward the door, she paused as it opened, and Desmond +Ellerey stood before her. + +Looking forward to this meeting it had seemed to Frina Mavrodin that +in it her life must reach a crisis; but the reality fitted none of her +preconceived notions of what this meeting would be like. Ellerey's +dress was travel-stained; there was a rent in his sleeve, and he looked +as though he had come through some struggle. She noted all this, but +it was the expression on his face which fixed her attention. It was +stern, unyielding, desperate; and her frame stiffened, and a flash +came into her eyes as though she were angry at his intrusion. + +"The Princess, Countess?" said Ellerey. + +"Is sleeping," she answered. + +"I would see her." + +"She has need of your counsel. Come." + +She swept past him without another word, without looking at him even, +and led the way. + +Dumitru stood at the door, doubly alert at the sound of approaching +footsteps. One hand was thrust inside his cloak, and it was easy to +guess what his fingers played with there. He smiled as he saw who the +newcomer was. + +"Welcome, Captain," he whispered. + +"Is all well?" + +"Sleeping," was the low answer. + +Frina opened the door softly, and then she motioned Ellerey to enter; +but he came no farther than the threshold. The Princess lay on a couch +sleeping peacefully, dreaming pleasantly it may be, for her lips were +half parted in a smile. One arm was thrown above her head, her fingers +thrust through her bright curls, and over her feet Hannah had spread +a leopard-skin rug. A lamp was still burning on a table, and the glow +from it lit up the graceful figure. For some moments Ellerey gazed +upon the sleeper, taking in the whole picture. + +"Shall I wake her?" asked Frina. "No, let her sleep awhile," said +Ellerey, as he went back into the corridor. Then he turned to Dumitru. +"Is there a way of escape open?" + +"Yes." + +"When will you go?" + +"When the Princess commands, unless it should be necessary suddenly," +Dumitru answered. "There are servants watching who will let me know. +The Countess has arranged." He knew nothing of the tale which had been +told concerning the Countess. + +Frina had closed the door and stood beside them, but she did not speak. +As Ellerey turned and showed that he had no other question to ask +Dumitru, she led the way back, but at the door of her room she paused. + +"You have come to protect the Princess, Captain Ellerey. You are +welcome. Use my house and my servants as you think fit." + +"Countess, will you give me leave to speak to you a few moments? You +must." + +He followed her into the room and closed the door; then Frina turned, +facing him, and waited. + +"To-night, Countess, I entered Sturatzberg by a way you know of, +doubtless, to hear two things. One that Princess Maritza had been +rescued and brought to your house; the other that you were a traitress." + +Frina started, but Ellerey went on quickly-- + +"Hear me to the end. Heaven knows I am in no mood to take you unawares. +The man who brought this tale of you came from the palace. Why you +should have been spied upon I neither know nor care; but every word +you said to the King last night was heard, and out of them came this +story, that you had agreed to betray to his Majesty all those who favor +the cause of Princess Maritza. No; hear me out, Countess; I swore it +was a lie. Petrescu, Stefan, and I came together. Do you know, Countess, +that this house is surrounded, watched by the King's troops? Every way +of entrance that the Baron knew of was guarded, and only after long +waiting have we managed to scale the garden wall and get in unseen. +What does it mean? Is the Princess trapped? If she is, who has betrayed +her?" + +She was silent, but her eyes did not fall before his. + +"For heaven's sake, speak, Countess!" + +"The tale is untrue," she said in a low voice, "and yet--" + +"Yes, yes; tell me. I have pledged my honor; trample on it if you will, +only tell me the truth now." + +"I have been tempted," she said. "Yes, you shall hear the truth. I +have been tempted, perhaps even I have stumbled, but I have not fallen. +I am a woman first, then a conspirator, and I have had many idle hours. +Look into my eyes, read my secret if you can and judge me. I was +tempted, and the King's words seemed for a moment to help my decision. +I did not promise to betray, but I did promise to think of betraying." + +"To gain time, that was it, merely to gain time," said Ellerey. + +"No; I think when I promised I had almost decided to act." + +"Ah, how could you!" Ellerey exclaimed. + +"You have heard the story; were you told the bribe the King offered?" + +Ellerey did not answer, but Frina understood in a moment that he did +know. + +"Yes, Captain Ellerey, that tempted me; but with it came a clearer +knowledge, and I saw that for me only one road lay open. I have taken +it. Maritza is in a room from which there is an escape. The King +suspects me. He has surrounded my house with soldiers; presently they +will hammer at my closed doors, and I shall stay to face them; but +Maritza will have gone, and you will go with her. She would stay in +Sturatzberg to fight with those who love her cause; only you can +persuade her to go. Do you understand, only you? Go now and wake her. +Hannah has the key of that secret way. If in my temptation I have been +trapped into showing that I have power in Sturatzberg, that I have +knowledge of this conspiracy and the conspirators, I have opened the +way of escape too. I am prepared to meet the King's wrath. Go to +Maritza, and think less hardly of me." + +Ellerey stood with lowered head, his hands pressed before his face. + +"What can I say, Countess? God has brought into my life two noble +women. I am powerless to help the one; to the other it seems I have +only given sorrow." + +"You must not say that," she said softly. "You are powerful to help +her and to counsel her. As for me, I am a weak woman; if fault there +was it was mine. Go now--now that I am forgiven--to Maritza. She expects +you. I told her I would send you." + +The door was suddenly burst open and Stefan entered. + +"Quick, Captain. They demanded admission, which was refused, and they +are breaking in. The Baron and those with him will hold them as long +as possible." + +"The Princess!" Ellerey exclaimed. + +"She has been warned," said Stefan. + +"She will get away. She will have time," said Frina. "They will not +find her room easily." + +"Whatever is done must be done quickly," said Stefan from the door. +"Even now they drive the servants up the stairs, and the good fellows +fight every inch of the way." + +"By the river is a house," exclaimed Frina--"only rubbish is in it. +Maritza will come that way. Go to her. The window. You can easily +drop into the garden." + +"And you?" + +"I shall stay here." + +"You cannot; you must not." + +"Quickly, Captain," said Stefan. + +"Go, go!" Frina cried. "You must be with her. She will need all your +love and courage to-day." + +"But you--what will you do?" + +"I, too, may find a way to help her." + +He caught her hand and raised it to his lips. + +"God keep you," he whispered. + +"And you, Desmond." + +Then he sprang to the window. + +"Do I come?" asked Stefan. + +"No," Ellerey answered. "The Countess is in your keeping. Guide her +to safety." + +"I will do all a man may do," Stefan answered, as Ellerey swung himself +free by the stout branch of a creeper near the window, and dropped +into the garden. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +REBELLION + + + +The servants, heartened by Baron Petrescu, contested the stairs step +by step. With all the odds against them not one turned to fly. They +were fighting for the mistress they loved, and were staunch to a man. +Some fell, staining the thick carpet with their blood, yet even in +dying struck one more blow as the soldiers trampled over them. Meeting +with such unexpected resistance made the soldiers savage, and there +was no quarter given or asked for. In the forefront of the battle +Petrescu's sword did deadly work, for so mixed up were besieged and +besiegers that those behind dared not fire. It was a hand-to-hand +struggle, steel to steel, and although there could be no real doubt +of the issue, the Baron knew that the longer he could hold the soldiers +in check, the more time would the Princess and the Countess have to +get away. + +Stefan was silent until the sound of Ellerey's quick steps in the +garden had ceased. + +"Where does that lead to, Countess?" he said, pointing to a door at +the other end of the room. + +"To my bedroom." + +"And from there?" + +"There is a door on to a landing seldom used," she answered. + +"That is our way, then," said Stefan. "I shall stay here. I am safe +from them. It is only the King who would dare--" + +"The gentlemen fighting yonder are in no tender mood; I know them. +Besides, the Captain left me in command, and you must obey, Countess. +This is war time, and I am only doing my duty. So we'll lock this outer +door, and we'll put as many more between us as possible. Is this your +cloak?" + +"Yes," Frina answered. + +In a moment Stefan had ripped a piece from the edge of it and stuck +it in the creeper at the window, and thrown the cloak into the garden +below. Then he tore down one of the curtains. + +"They'll think we've gone that way, maybe. Come, Countess, you can get +another cloak as we pass through your room." + +There was strength in this great bearded soldier, and besides, Desmond +trusted him, so Frina Mavrodin obeyed. + +At every point the servants were driven back, and the soldiers spread +through the house, cutting down anyone who opposed them, but not making +any particular effort to pursue those who got out of their way. They +were there to take the Princess Maritza and the Countess Mavrodin. +Such were the orders the officers had received. But long before the +servants had given way on the stairs, Hannah had opened the door leading +to the passage, and the Princess and Dumitru had gone together swiftly, +while Hannah waited for the coming soldiers, her heart growing the +lighter the longer that coming was delayed. She had locked the door +again, but kept the key lest others should want to use that way of +escape presently. The soldiers rushed in at last, and Hannah's face +assumed an astonished look as if they had roused her from sleep. "Who +are you?" demanded one man sharply. + +"I might as well ask that question of you," she replied curtly. "What's +come to the city that a band of ruffians break into an old serving +woman's room before she's scarce awake?" + +"Do serving women sleep on couches only in this house, and are they +pampered with leopard skins for covering?" + +"How they sleep, and what they're covered with is none of your affair," +Hannah said. + +"A soft tongue will serve you best," replied the man. "Tell me who +slept on that couch during the night?" + +"And how she slept and what she dreamt about, I suppose. Well, I had +no dreams of such a rough awakening as this." + +Other men were turning over the things in the room, and presently one +espied the door. He called the attention of the others to it at once. + +"Open it," they cried. + +"It's locked." + +"The key, woman--quickly," said one who seemed to command. + +"It's likely I shall let you pry into my cupboards, isn't it?" + +"This is no cupboard. Give me the key." + +"I haven't got it," said Hannah, and with a sudden swing of her arm +she sent the key flying through the open window with unerring aim. + +"Curse you!" cried the man. + +"In the time you take to find it you may learn better manners," said +Hannah defiantly. + +Brave, staunch old soul, full worthy of that far-off Devon county which +gave her birth. The man followed his curse with a blow--a heavy blow, +striking with the hand which held his sword, and the woman fell with +a thud to the ground, to lie there until Stefan and the Countess, +stealing from the house presently, covered the dead serving woman with +the leopard skin. + +To find the key was hopeless, and the door was a stout one. It resisted +the soldiers' efforts for a long while. When at last it yielded they +rushed along the passage to the small house by the river, but, save +for rubbish, it was empty. No boat lay upon the water. There was no +sign of the fugitives. "They must have come this way," said one man. +"Had not that old beldame resisted us we should have caught them." + +"Back to the house, comrades," shouted another; "there should still +be something there worth laying hands on." + +Until now Ellerey had waited, hidden by the river house. He had reached +it almost directly after the Princess and Dumitru had left it; but +ignorant of this fact, he had waited for them. From the soldiers' words +he learnt the truth. Soldiers were in the garden now, and as only a +little while since he had sought to enter it unseen, he now sought to +leave it, crouching from tree to tree and from shrubbery to shrubbery. +His life was too valuable to be uselessly thrown away. He succeeded +presently in scaling a wall and dropping into a side lane, to fall in +later with a band of conspirators, some of whom were present when the +tale of the Countess's treachery was told last night, and who were now +quietly making their way to an arranged meeting place. + +"But the Princess, comrades?" said Ellerey. "My place is beside her." + +"Fear nothing, Captain. She will come and help us to make this day a +glorious one in Sturatzberg." The morning was advancing, but people +who respected the law kept within their houses, and left their doors +fast barred. From early dawn the soldiers were in the streets, and it +was evident that to-day the ordinary business of life must be suspended. +As the hours passed there were sounds of fighting on every side, the +fierce rattle of musketry at street corners, flying men charged by the +soldiers, turning sometimes into every alley and place of refuge which +offered, turning sometimes at the shout of one determined leader to +withstand the charge, to be cut to pieces or to bear the soldiers back, +leaving many a King's man and King's enemy lying dead or writhing with +their wounds, their enmity forgotten in their common suffering. + +In one side street, soon after such a skirmish had swept it from end +to end, a dark figure glided from door to door. He had not fought; he +seemed unwilling to do so, for at the sound of approaching conflict +he was in readiness to retreat and hide himself. More than one wounded +man in the roadway pleaded for help, or cried for water, but he was +deaf to their entreaties. He was making all speed to some point, and +would allow nothing to hold him back. Now he ran forward a few paces, +now stopped and turned hastily into an alley and went quickly on again. +He came at last to the house of Frina Mavrodin, when it was close on +noon. The door at the chief entrance had been torn from its hinges, +there was nothing to bar his entrance. The servants who had escaped +death had fled, or lay hidden in secret places in the house. The +soldiers had deserted it, finding their quarry gone, to go and help +their comrades in the streets. At the moment the street was empty, and +the man slipped across the threshold, stepping over the dead which lay +in the hall, grim witnesses of the fierceness of the fight there. The +man passed from room to room rapidly, his ears intent to catch every +sound. It was clear that robbery was not his object, for there was +none to stay him taking whatever he would. He passed on, touching +nothing, and, by the way he glanced down this corridor and that, it +was evident that the house was not familiar to him. Chance directed +his footsteps and brought him to the room where Princess Maritza had +been. The broken door at the further end attracted his notice and he +entered the room, stopping for a moment to look into the face of Hannah. +The leopard skin had not been thrown over her yet. She was the first +woman lying dead he had come across, and he grew excited. She had been +killed because she stood in the way, and she would not have stood in +the way unless she had had someone in imminent danger to defend. She +must have been with the Princess, he argued, and if so, this must be +the way they had taken. He went quickly along the passage and up to +the house by the river. Someone had certainly been there, but which +direction had they taken afterward? He glanced to right and left, and +stood for some time looking across the river. + +"He would not leave the Princess, and he would take her as far as +possible from these fighting madmen in the streets," he mused. "Surely +he cannot escape such a day as this." + +The man went slowly back along the passage again, and then he stopped +suddenly. The sound of voices reached him distinctly. + +"Brave woman," he heard one say. It was a woman's voice and the man's +heart beat high. + +"Cowards to treat her thus," came the muttered answer in a man's lower +tone. + +There was a moment's silence. "Help me to cover her," said the woman. + +There was a turn in the passage, and the man standing waiting there +could not see into the room. But the passage was dark, and if those +in the room came that way they were not likely to see him, and his +mouth widened into a malicious smile. Would they come? He had hardly +whispered the question to himself when it was evident that they had +entered the passage and were approaching. The waiting man drew back +against the wall, a knife in his hand, and if this failed his other +hand grasped a revolver. They came slowly, cautiously, and just before +the turn paused. It was clear that they meant to be careful, for the +man said, after a moment's hesitation-- + +"It is clear." + +Then he came, but alone and swiftly, with his sword in his hand. The +waiting man had not recognized Stefan's voice, nor, had he done so, +would he have feared detection. Stefan's eyes and ears were quick, +however, and in that pause he had held up a warning finger to his +companion and had then sprung forward. + +"I took you for your master," cried the waiting man when he saw that +he was discovered, "but---" + +The cruel blade flashed swiftly down, but fell on Stefan's sword only, +and then before his fingers could pull the trigger of his revolver, +the sword point was thrust through his throat, and the man, who had +so stealthily waited for his victim, fell back against the wall, upright +for a moment, and then collapsed, only a gurgled sigh sounding in the +silent passage. + +"My ancient friend of the cellar," said Stefan, bending over him. +"Waiting for the Captain, eh? Well, you did your best, Master Francois, +and so I will report to your master, should I find him. Come, Countess, +the light is too dim to see the unpleasant sight," and the soldier +held out his hand to her. + +Frina shuddered a little as she stepped past the fallen man, and she +and Stefan went slowly out of the passage together. The soldier's eyes +were searching and keen as they went. The servant was dead, but the +master might not be far off, and he would be even a more dangerous +enemy. They passed stealthily from street to street, much as Francois +had done a little while since. Stefan had a plan, a goal to win, but +he did not speak of it to the Countess. + +Suddenly Frina stopped. They were at the end of a deserted alley, but +the roar of voices came from a distance; then the sudden rattle of +musketry, the harsh and discordant music of battle. + +"Which way now?" she asked. + +"To safety," said Stefan. + +"While others fight and fall?" she said. + +"So the Captain willed it." + +"I will go no further toward safety--not yet. Time for that when the +day is lost. Our way lies there." And she pointed in the direction +from which the roar of battle came. + +"Countess, I have my orders." + +"And have obeyed them; now listen to mine. Yonder, where they fight, +lies the Grande Place. Lead me there by the quietest way we can travel." + +"That is to go to your death." + +"Listen, Stefan--and look!" She pointed to the street into which the +alley opened. Some men were running swiftly to the battle. "I have but +to cry my name and they will come to me. Shall I cry?" + +"For heaven's sake, Countess---" + +"Then lead me as I say." + +"I cannot. I dare not. The Captain---" + +"Follow me then if you will." And before he could stop her she had +darted from him. + +"Stay!" cried Stefan, rushing after her. "Stay! If you will go, let +me lead you." + +"Show me the quiet ways if you can, but come." And though Stefan argued, +though he tried to deceive her at every corner they came to, she would +not be turned from her purpose. Ever, as they went, the roar of battle +grew louder in their ears, and there was fear in the heart of Stefan +the soldier because of the woman who walked beside him. + +Francois was dead. That was one enemy the less, but of the master there +was no sign. It had been as wakeful a night for Jules de Froilette as +it had been for Frina Mavrodin, but he had spent it in no restless +pacing up and down, nor in listening for expected footsteps. Francois +he knew was prowling about the streets. In the early hours of the +morning the servant had come hastily and told his master of the rescue +of Princess Maritza. De Froilette had turned pale and dropped back in +his chair, dumbfounded at the news, but he quickly recovered himself. +Her freedom could be only temporary. There might be some street +fighting, but her re-capture was certain. Francois had neither heard +nor seen anything of Captain Ellerey, but he was sure to come, and the +servant had gone out to roam about the city again in search of him. +Jules de Froilette spent his time in busily destroying papers, now and +then placing an important one aside, sometimes reading one with greater +care and hesitating over it. At intervals he leaned back in his chair +and remained buried in thought for awhile, and once he got up and went +to a side table on which stood the portrait of Queen Elena. + +"If Ellerey were out of the way we might win through yet," he mused. +"I wonder what has become of the bracelet of medallions. If it were +in my hands I might save the situation, or the Queen might have to +leave Sturatzberg, and then who is there to protect her but me?" + +The dawn found him still sorting and destroying. He expected Francois +to return with further news, but the servant did not come. The +Altstrasse began to wake, and grew noisy at an earlier hour than usual. +The fact made De Froilette lean back in his chair in thought again. +The news that the Princess had escaped was spreading--that was natural, +and with the town in an uproar, rebellion in the air, there were many +who would look to him for a sign. They had been waiting for it and +expecting it hourly during the last few days. Had he not for a long +time been fostering rebellion, a revolt that should set him in high +place, that should bring him riches from Russian coffers, that should +bring him love? Was not his house at this moment full of men to whom +he had promised much--men who should presently help the brigands to +seize the city, and then in their turn be quelled and crushed by Russia, +whose army on the frontier was only awaiting the word from him? His +scheme had failed through this cursed Englishman, but De Froilette had +not dared to tell the waiting men so, had not dared to tell them at +any moment he might be compelled to fly for safety. They were rebels, +and would be quick to see treachery in any failure when they had not +even been given the chance to strike a blow for success. + +Presently a servant brought him coffee and some rolls. + +"The city is noisy," De Froilette said. + +"Yes, monsieur." + +"Where is the rioting chiefly?" + +"Toward the Southern Gate they say, monsieur; but the soldiers are +everywhere." + +"What about the Northern Gate and the Bois?" + +"It is quieter that way, monsieur, I am told." + +De Froilette nodded and the servant went out. + +The Altstrasse became quieter presently. The men had gone to swell the +crowds in the Bergenstrasse, not to fight perhaps, but to hang about +in side streets and seize whatever loot they could. With dead and dying +men lying in the roadway, there would be much to be picked up. Many +of the women had gone too, for in the Altstrasse much of the human +refuse of the city had its home, and sex counted for little. + +It was toward noon that De Froilette's door opened suddenly, and a +tall figure, cloaked to the eyes, glided in, closing the door. In an +instant De Froilette was on his feet, and then as the man let the cloak +fall apart, he exclaimed-- + +"Vasilici!" + +"Yes, Vasilici," was the answer. + +"They are not your men who are fighting in the streets, are they?" asked +De Froilette, a ray of hope in his eyes. + +"No; my men remain in the hills." + +"We have been overreached," said De Froilette; "but only for a little +while. It was a good move of yours to deliver up the Princess, although +it might have been wiser to shoot her. There will be many lives lost +through her today. She escaped last night. Do you know that?" + +"I have heard nothing else since I entered the city," returned the +brigand. + +"It was bold of you to enter it at all just now," said De Froilette. + +"I am used to dangers," said the brigand, grandiloquently, "and I had +business with you." + +"With me?" + +"With you and with one other," Vasilici answered. "It was fortunate +this Princess came into our hands; we learnt many things. We were to +do the fighting, monsieur, but to have little of the reward; that was +for the Russians lying on the frontier. It was a pretty plot you and +the Queen had arranged." + +"Whose tale is that, Vasilici? You are easily deceived if you believe +it." + +"We learnt the truth when we received this, monsieur." And the brigand +held up the bracelet of medallions. + +"Whoever your messenger was, he lied to you," said De Froilette. "Her +Majesty shall presently convince you of that. I will return the bracelet +to her." + +Vasilici burst out laughing. His quick eyes had taken in every detail +of the room, had noted what lay upon the table, had keenly scanned his +companion from head to foot. + +"We are not all fools in the hills, monsieur. I am going to deliver +this to her Majesty myself. She is the other I spoke of with whom I +have business in Sturatzberg. Ah, you are clever," he went on, replacing +the bracelet in his pocket, "but you have failed. We are not to be +sold to Russia just yet, and by a foreigner, too. Exterminate the +foreigners, monsieur, that has been your cry. It is a good one. Tell +me, why should you go free?" + +He did not wait for an answer. With a sudden spring, his glittering +dagger raised to strike, he was upon his adversary. But the blow fell +limply, and his fingers relaxed, letting the knife fall with a clatter +upon the table. The brigand's swaggering courage had risen as he +contemplated his defenceless enemy. From the moment of his entrance, +however, the Frenchman understood that he came in no friendly mood, +and was prepared. As Vasilici sprang forward, two shots in quick +succession startled the echoes of the room, and the tall figure swayed +for a moment, then fell sideways on to the table, and slithered to the +ground. + +In an instant De Froilette was at the door and had locked it. There +were running feet in the passage without, and cries of "Monsieur! +Monsieur!" + +"It is nothing," De Froilette shouted. "The weapon was loaded and I +had forgotten the fact. I am not hurt. _Dejeuner_ at once." + +As the servants departed, De Froilette bent over the dead body. + +"Fool! _Canaille!_ To think to make an end of me so easily," and he +took the bracelet from the dead man's pocket. "In bringing this you +have served me, and I thank you. I would give you decent burial had +I the leisure, but time presses. You must rest here until they find +you." + +De Froilette hastily put some papers in his pocket, and reloading the +two chambers of his revolver, slipped that too into his pocket. + +"Now if I can only see Ellerey as silent as this brute, I can laugh +at them all. With the bracelet in my possession I am safe. It will buy +the King's courtesy, or, if it suits better, the Queen's obedience. +I thank you, friend Vasilici," and with a mocking bow to the lifeless +brigand, De Froilette took up his hat and cloak, and left the room by +a door concealed in the wall behind his writing table. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +IN PURPLE AND RED AND GOLD + + + +The attack upon the Countess Mavrodin's house had commenced soon after +daybreak. At that early hour few persons were abroad in the streets +except the soldiers, who had been hastily marched to all points of +vantage in the city as soon as the escape of the Princess became known; +but it was not until an hour or two later that the news of the attack, +and the desperate resistance the soldiers had met with, began to +circulate. + +When the riot, which had resulted in Maritza's rescue, had been quelled, +and the rioters had melted away before the onslaught of the troops, +it was hoped that a salutary lesson had been administered which would +prevent any recurrence of open rebellion. That the Princess could not +long elude recapture seemed certain, and her brief triumph had been +dearly paid for. Citizens lying dead in the streets were a grim reminder +of the reality of law and order. + +The strenuous defence of the Countess Mavrodin's house had come as a +severe blow to the complacency of the authorities. It seemed probable +that Princess Maritza had found shelter there, that she was actually +in the house when the attack was made, and her defenders had succeeded +in holding the soldiers back until she had escaped. But this was not +all. It was evident that it was not only upon the rabble that the +Princess could depend. Her cause was espoused by Frina Mavrodin, and +those who had considered her only a beautiful, frivolous woman awoke +to the fact that she had power and unlimited wealth. She had played +a part, she had become a Lady Bountiful in Sturatzberg, and it was +easy to understand how far reaching her commands might be at this +crisis. Baron Petrescu, too, had been a prominent figure in the +resistance which had been made, and was still unharmed; it was +impossible to foretell how many others, from one cause or another. + +That the attack had been successfully resisted, in so far that the +Princess had been able to escape, gave an enormous stimulus to the +courage of the rebels. The death of companions last night had had a +sobering effect upon some; they were inclined to argue that they had +done what they had set out to do, and that for the present enough had +been accomplished; but the news of the morning raised fresh passions +within them, and their leaders were not slow to add fuel to the furnace. +These enthusiasts declared that it was only necessary to seize the +advantage already gained, to win the city and to force their will upon +the country. Was not their Princess among them? Had not important +persons already declared for her? Were there not hundreds of others +ready to do so, only that fear of the people's fickleness and +half-heartedness held them back? + +So the carefully secreted arms were taken out again. There were stir +and determination in every corner of the city. The word had gone forth +that the day so long looked for had indeed come; that before nightfall +Sturatzberg would be in their hands; that Maritza, their sovereign, +would most surely come amongst them in the Grande Place to lead them, +and that by noon all loyal men must win their way there. It was no +mere rabble to whom this command was given. Some organization, at +least, had been proceeding for a long time. Points of meeting were +known. Leaders had been chosen and accepted, men who knew every alley +and byway of the city, and had made a study of street fighting, the +cover to be had and taken advantage of, and the narrow ways where the +soldiers would manoeuvre at a disadvantage, being compelled to fight +singly and hand to hand. + +As the morning advanced, separate bands traversed the meaner streets, +avoiding conflict for the present as much as possible. Here and there +sharp skirmishes took place, but no determined effort was made to rush +the soldiers, nor were the soldiers successful in dispersing those +with whom they came in conflict, except, perhaps, to make them change +their route. The rebel leaders had no wish to make boldly for the +Grande Place before noon, that would only be to make known what their +objective was. When the time came, their numbers would be overpowering, +and when once the soldiers saw that they were hemmed in, many of them +would be fighting with them instead of against them. Was it not common +knowledge that among the troops there was dissatisfaction? + +Desmond Ellerey had fallen in with one of these bands when he escaped +from Frina's garden. The leader, a lusty enthusiast, who had already +looked forward to the rewards which must accrue from this day's victory, +could tell him all that was to happen, but of Maritza's whereabouts +at that moment he knew nothing. All he was sure of was that she would +be in the Grande Place at the appointed time. He was a skilful leader. +He took his followers by a multitude of back streets, avoiding every +point where soldiers were likely to be. Every man was valuable, and +to lose even one in a skirmish which could achieve nothing was to +jeopardize the success of the rebellion to that extent. He constantly +turned aside to avoid some particular corner which the scouts sent on +before reported occupied; but although this often necessitated returning +for some distance along the way they had come, he managed gradually +to approach the place of rendezvous, until a little before noon he had +brought his band into an alley opening out of one of the streets which +led directly into the Grande Place. + +"An excellent battle ground for us," he said, turning to Ellerey. "The +space is confined, narrow streets abound for us to fight in, which +will prevent the soldiers rushing us or bringing guns into action." + +Ellerey nodded, but his heart was heavy. Enthusiasm might accomplish +much, but he did not believe in the ability of the rebels to withstand +the military force which would be opposed to them. After last night, +Sturatzberg was not likely to be caught asleep. What was this day to +bring to the woman he loved? If he could have known that she was in +safety, he could have drawn his sword with a lighter heart, and struck +boldly for her cause--died for it, if need be. But she was not safe. +Unless she had already fallen into the hands of her enemies, she was +coming to the Grande Place. She had promised, and that promise was the +mainspring of the enthusiasm which was on every side of him. He knew +her too well even to hope that she would not come. And her coming must +mean death. His love made him afraid. He could not see even the barest +possibility of victory, nor had he any hope that she could escape now. +Love made him a coward--his vital force seemed numbed, and his hand +shook. He had been an entire stranger to such a sense of fear until +this moment, and it was only with a great effort that he was able to +throw off the paralyzing effect it had upon him. + +From the tower of the Hotel de Ville the hour of noon sounded clear +and musically over the city. + +"Ready!" said the leader. "But the Princess?" said Ellerey. + +"She will come," was the answer. Would she? The striking of the hour +was evidently the signal. The last stroke had not died away when the +men moved out from the alley into the street, and went quickly towards +the Grande Place. Similar bands of men came from other alleys, and +from every street they poured impetuously into the Square. + +No place had been assigned to Ellerey, no duty had devolved upon him, +and as the forward rush was made, he contrived to keep at the side of +the street, so that he might not be forced to the front of the crowd. +Once in the Square he stepped aside, sheltering himself in the angle +of a wall, and no one noticed his movements as they rushed past him. + +There were comparatively few soldiers in the Grande Place, and for +them the striking of noon had had no warning. The sharp rattle of +musketry came swiftly, but in a moment the soldiers were swept back +or beaten down. There was a triumphant shout at this success, but the +men were well in hand. They did not attempt to follow the enemy into +the side streets into which they were driven, but, having in the first +onslaught seized every entrance to the square, took up their positions +to hold them. For a few moments there was silence, save for the quick +commands of rebel leaders, and the hurrying feet of men taking their +appointed places. They were heartened and enthusiastic. They had only +to hold the Grande Place for a while--comrades were marching from every +quarter of the city--and the soldiers would be between two fires. So +the leaders encouraged, and the men believed and were content. + +Ellerey still remained in the angle of the wall, endeavoring to attract +as little attention as possible. Were he seen and recognized, some +position of command was likely to be thrust upon him, and this he was +most anxious to avoid. His place was beside Maritza when she came. One +man spoke to him, asking him what orders he had received. "To protect +the Princess," he answered. + +The man gave him a friendly nod, and Ellerey conceived that to certain +men some such command had been given, and that his answer was a happy +one. + +From the opposite side of the square came the crack of rifles again, +quickly answered. The rebels were well armed, and, whatever the issue, +the struggle was to be a desperate one. Here was no loose rabble to +turn and flee, but enthusiasts bent on disputing every inch of the way. + +"Charge!" came an order from the distance, and there followed the +sudden growling of conflict. Yonder the battle had begun in earnest, +and a moment later a roar of triumph proclaimed that the soldiers had +been thrust back. There was wisdom in making them fight in narrow +streets. + +It was difficult for Ellerey to remain where he was. Fighting was going +forward, and the spirit of the soldier in him made him restless to +take his part in it. His hand was upon his sword, when suddenly a great +roar of voices from every side seemed to shake the Square. Again and +again it rose swelling and breaking like storm waves lashing a shore. +There was quick movement round the statue of Ferdinand, a frantic +waving of arms, and then the mighty roar became articulate. + +"Maritza! Maritza!" + +She had come among them--a warrior, even as her fathers were: it was +fitting that her name should resound over Sturatzberg. + +"Charge!" Again the distant command, again the fierce cries and +groaning of conflict, and still the rebel ranks remained unbroken; +again the soldiers were beaten down and driven back. Maritza had come, +and that meant victory. The belief was deep seated in the heart of +every man. + +From what point she had entered the square, Ellerey could not determine, +but in a few moments he saw her. She was standing on the steps of the +statue, a pathetic, yet an heroic figure. She was still in her boy's +dress, her bright curls falling loosely from under her cap. She said +something which Ellerey could not hear, and then the shouting broke +out again. Men ran to join their comrades, impatient only for +opportunity to strike a blow at the foe, leaving the Princess in the +midst of a little band, evidently a picked bodyguard, among them Baron +Petrescu and Dumitru. + +For a moment Ellerey watched her. She had come. There was no sign of +fear in her face; how should there be? Did he not know her courage? +When had Maritza ever failed when the time for action arrived? Had he +not full reason to know what a splendid comrade she was in a tight +place? All these who shouted her name were her comrades; was it likely +she would desert them in the hour of their need? And this was the woman +he loved, the woman who loved him--yes, in that instant all doubt +seemed to fade into knowledge. Almost he fancied that her quick glance +sought him in that striving crowd, and, not finding, that disappointment +touched her heart. Oh, it was good to be loved, even for one short +hour, by such a woman as this. + +His sword was naked in his hand as he went swiftly across the square +and shouldered his way to her. + +"Desmond Ellerey!" she cried, a wondrous light glowing in her eyes as +she stretched out her hand to him. + +"At your service and command, Princess," he answered. + +In her glad cry at his coming he heard the confession of her love; he +read it in her eyes, yet he did not call her Maritza. To-day, indeed, +she claimed the address of sovereignty. + +"I thought perhaps you would not come," she said in a lower voice. +"You do not love my cause." + +"To-day I stand or fall for it, Princess," he said aloud; "because--" + +"Desmond!" + +"Because I love you," he whispered. + +It was said. It had to be said now, lest she should never know, for +this day was a day of battle, and, before evening, ears might be deaf +and lips silenced forever. + +For a moment longer she held his hand in hers, and then, fearing, +perhaps, that others about her might see some preference in her welcome, +she cried aloud: + +"Ah, God must surely destine me for victory. He has given me so many +brave and true men!" + +The roar of conflict was not confined to one side of the Square now. +Street after street took up the fight. The soldiers were attacking +from every quarter. The sharp command to charge rang out more often, +and the sudden growl of the hand-to-hand struggles was fiercer and +longer and more continuous. Here and there was an ominous bending +inward of a mass of defenders, but it was straightened again by mere +force of numbers. + +"They want more men there," said Ellerey, pointing with his sword to +one place. + +Maritza gave a quick order to a man near her, and immediately other +men were hurrying to strengthen the position. + +"Who commands?" asked Ellerey, turning to the Baron. + +"The Princess," was the answer. + +"A dozen leaders fight for me," said Maritza; "but I look to you and +the Baron to advise me." + +"What forces have you in the city beside these?" Ellerey asked, turning +to Petrescu. + +"Many are hurrying to join us," he answered. + +"And will have to fight their way to us," said Ellerey. "We must hold +the Square at all costs, for I see no line of retreat." + +"Retreat!" exclaimed Maritza. "There is no retreat for me. To-day makes +me Queen in Wallaria or nothing." + +"Still, Princess, a momentary retreat might save the day." + +"We have no way of retreat, Captain," said Petrescu, and the look in +his face told Ellerey plainly enough that, loyal as he was, he had +little hope of success. "Circumstances have forced matters to an issue, +and we must stand or fall as the fates decide." + +The rattle of musketry was now continuous on all sides, and for those +who fell there was little help or thought, friend and foe alike +trampling them to death in the struggle. More than once soldiers, +thrust forward by those behind them, had broken through the ranks of +the defenders, only to be shot or stabbed before they could recover +themselves. Again the rushes were stopped and repulsed, but still they +were made with unabated fury, and Ellerey saw that each one was more +determined, more difficult to meet than the last. Constantly that +ominous bending inward was only straightened with great effort. + +Presently he touched the Baron on the shoulder, and pointed to one +street where, in the distance, mounted men could be seen. + +"I have been wondering why they did not use them," said Ellerey. + +"The streets are narrow for them," said Petrescu. + +"True; but if only a dozen break through there will be confusion." And +then, lowering his voice, Ellerey went on: "Is there no way of escape +for her?" + +"We may carve one for her, Ellerey, you and I; it is the only way I +know of." + +They had spoken in a low tone, but, had their voices been louder, it +is doubtful whether Maritza would have heard them. She was absorbed +in watching the deadly struggle which raged around her. She was +unconscious of the bells above her, which told quarter after quarter, +sounding musically over the city. Perhaps the thought came to her that +these men were dying in her cause, at her bidding; but how could she +blame herself? Had not thousands before them died for her fathers? +Were her rights less than those of her fathers? And was she not among +her subjects to cry victory with them, or to die in their midst? She +asked from them no sacrifice which she herself was not prepared to +make. + +"Will those others who are coming never fight their way to us?" she +said turning to Ellerey suddenly. + +"If they can, Princess." + +It was a vain hope. In every street which led to the Grande Place there +had been desperate struggles. In the roadways lay the dead and dying, +while others fled to find safety if they could. There was no help to +come, and Ellerey did not expect it. + +"Charge!" + +The command rang out simultaneously from all sides, and there was the +jingle of harness and the thud of horses' hoofs. + +Here the attack was hurled back, horses riderless, here horse and man +pitched forward to be shot and stabbed; and here the same, and here; +but yonder the defenders had been driven in, and there too. A dozen +horsemen were in the square, and although they fell, confusion had +begun. The defense was weakened at several points, more horsemen fought +their way in, and with them foot-soldiers gained an entrance. Step by +step the rebels were driven backward toward the statue where Maritza +stood. "Will those others never fight their way to us?" she cried in +almost piteous tones. + +"You cannot stay here," said Ellerey. "Come!" + +Men were already rushing past them. Once beaten back, hopelessness +came quickly, and many of those who had been foremost in the fight now +shouted to their comrades to escape if they could. The soldiers, +resistlessly pressing forward, were closing in on them when Ellerey +spoke. Maritza did not answer. + +"Come!" he said again, his hand on her arm. + +The touch roused her. + +"I have brought you to this; forgive me, Desmond," she said. Her whole +ambition was forgotten for a moment in the thought of the man beside +her. + +Ellerey did not answer. There was no time. The soldiers were upon them. +With Petrescu on one side and Dumitru on the other Ellerey threw himself +before the Princess. The final struggle had commenced, and so fierce +was the resistance of these three men that the soldiers hesitated and +fell back a pace. + +"Fly, Princess, while there is time," Ellerey shouted. + +"Victory or death, I stay" (and her voice rang clear above the uproar) +"with you, Desmond." + +The last words were spoken almost in a whisper, and they maddened him. +Here was death, butchery, and she was in the midst of it. + +"Maritza! Go, dear! Go!" he cried. "Let me hold them back for a moment. +I will follow. Petrescu! Dumitru!" + +So determined was the struggle round the steps of the statue that the +tide of battle seemed to have turned again, and some of the rebels +dashed fiercely back into the fray. + +"Take her, Dumitru," Ellerey whispered. "We'll hold them while we can." +Suddenly from a corner of the Grande Place, rushing swiftly through +the ranks of the flying rebels, came a woman. + +"Are you cowards or men?" she cried aloud as she came, and some turned +at that cry and met death with a shout of defiance, while others stood +irresolute until fear overcame them. + +Ellerey saw her as she reached Maritza's side, and then he was conscious +that a stalwart arm was raining heavy blows upon the foes which seemed +to surround him. + +"She would come. I could not stay her," said Stefan between his deeply +panted breaths as he struck again and again. + +"Fly, Maritza!" + +"Frina! You!" + +"Fly, Maritza!" The salvation of Maritza seemed her one thought. The +hope that she might accomplish it, even at the last moment, had drawn +her hither. How it was to be done she had not asked herself. Yet now +she appeared to have found the way. + +Even as she spoke Dumitru seized the Princess. + +"Come!" he said, as he threw a cloak about her to conceal her identity. +"To-day we fail; to-morrow--Ah!" + +It was a short, sharp cry, a cry with finality in it. Whatever to-morrow +might bring forth, he should have no part in it. His hand still grasped +the cloak as he fell backwards, and Maritza was dragged down with him. + +"Grigosie," said Ellerey to the soldier beside him as he saw Dumitru +fall. He used the name that Stefan might understand to the full. Was +there anything that Stefan would not do for Grigosie? + +Frina Mavrodin stood for a moment alone above the surging, fighting +mass. She had shuddered when she had passed the dead body of Francois +in the passage, now she drew herself to her full height and looked +down upon the battle. She stood there that all men might see her, that +Maritza might escape, and then she saw Ellerey with the sweat and grime +of the conflict upon him. For an instant their eyes met, her lips +whispered his name, and then she threw up her arms, and with a low cry +fell prone upon the steps of the statue. + +Maritza, who was bending over Dumitru, turned swiftly and made one +step towards her when Stefan stopped her. + +"Come," he said. And this time he waited for no pleading. Drawing the +cloak tightly round her, he caught her in his arms, and, in the midst +of those who fled, rushed from the Square. The plan he had made earlier +in the day when the Countess walked beside him he would carry out now. +He had ears for no entreaty, for no threat. + +"We'll win through, Grigosie," he said over and over again as he +turned now into one alley, now into another, leaving the flying rabble +further and further behind. "We'll win through, Grigosie. It's the +Captain's orders." + +Ellerey heard that cry too, and knew its meaning. There was a shout +of triumph from the soldiers pressing forward, a swaying back of the +rebels, and he was carried along with them unable to use his sword in +the seething mass of friends and foes. + +"She is dead!" someone cried; and the effect was instantaneous. Men +took up the cry and shouted that Maritza was dead, and the soldiers +may have thought it was so seeing a woman fall. Every rebel was at +once struggling to fight his way out of the crowd, his own safety his +only thought. They day was lost, it was the time to seek safety if it +were to be found. The Baron and Ellerey were still side by side, and +together they were forced back toward a narrow street. + +"There is still a chance for you," Petrescu whispered. And the next +moment he was striving madly to force his way back to the statue, to +the side of the woman he had loved. Then he was cut down and trampled +under foot as Ellerey was carried away in a rush of pursued and +pursuers. Suddenly the pressure relaxed, the open street was before +him. + +"Ellerey! No matter who else escapes, seize Ellerey!" He had been +recognized, and for him there was no hope of mercy. He swung round one +sweeping blow of his sword and sprang forward. The way seemed clear, +when a figure suddenly dashed from a doorway and fired at him point +blank, twice in quick succession, crying his name to those who appeared +to have lost him for a moment. + +A pain like the running in of a red-hot skewer was in Ellerey's arm, +but not his sword arm, and the weapon flashed high in the air and fell +with relentless force. + +"Quits, you devil!" he cried as De Froilette reeled backwards, cut +with deadly depth downward from the shoulder. Then Ellerey rushed on +again, one among hundreds seeking safety, followed by their conquerors, +who showed no mercy. Suddenly an arm was outstretched from an alley +and seized him. The impetus of being thus turned in his headlong flight +carried him some yards down the narrow way. + +"Quickly!" said a voice in his ear. "To the right, now to the left." + +A guiding hand and a supporting arm urged him forward. Ellerey asked +no question, never turned toward the man who ran beside him, but went +on mechanically. His brain was full of a whirling nightmare. Then a +door was slammed heavily, there was the sensation of rapid movement, +the quick beating of galloping horses, and then faintness and oblivion. + +The red sun sank westward, glowing on the roofs and spires of the city. +The minutes passed swiftly, and the hours. Still in the smaller streets +and the narrow alleys there were flying feet, and now and again a +shriek as some poor wretch pitched forward, shot or stabbed by his +relentless pursuers. Resistance there was none; that was over. The +dead and dying lay in the roadways where they had fallen, the only cry +now was for mercy, and that was seldom granted. The soldiers were +savage too, and rebellion must be stamped out. + +By the statue of Ferdinand a squad of soldiers was halted, and on the +steps, just as she had fallen, lay Frina Mavrodin. She was beautiful +in death, and there was a pathos in that prostrate form which appealed +even to these rough soldiers. Had she not been the Lady Bountiful in +that city? They were silent for the most part, or if they spoke, hushed +their voices to a whisper, and used no oaths. She had sacrificed her +life for the man and woman she loved. Here in the Grande Place of +Sturatzberg, where a little while since fierce conflict raged; here +where Maritza's cause had been fought for and lost; here where so many +turned sightless eyes to the deepening sky, Frina Mavrodin had found +her rest. No tramping, struggling feet had touched her, and only the +blood staining the brown hair where the bullet had struck showed that +this was death and not sleep. The minutes passed, and the hours, the +bells sounding musically at short intervals over the city, and the sun +slowly sank lower and lower into his bed of purple and red and gold. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE DIPLOMACY OF LORD CLOVERTON + + + +Desmond Ellerey recovered consciousness slowly and gradually. After +the sensations of movement and galloping horses, there was utter +oblivion for a time, followed by sharp pain which seemed to be caused +by someone bending over him--a shadowy figure whose attack upon him +he was powerless to resist. Then he heard voices, and more than one +shadow flitted vaguely across his vision. Presently he realized that +he was stretched out at full length, and that he was in a room which +had an intricate pattern on the ceiling, the lines and curves of which +his eyes were trying to follow. + +"Well, Doctor?" + +"Nothing serious," was the answer. "A bullet has torn the fleshy part +of the arm, but it would hardly account for his collapse. The man is +thoroughly played out, and has had no sleep for some nights probably, +and has been at high tension for a long time." + +"But will he be able to travel?" + +"He would be better for twenty-four hours' sleep first." + +"That is out of the question," was the answer. + +"Is it a long journey?" asked the doctor. + +"Yes; but he will be well cared for, and will have nothing to do." + +"It will pull him down a bit, but he will stand it all right," the +doctor returned. "His is the sort of constitution which stands +anything." At first Ellerey had only been conscious of voices, now he +partly understood what was said, and half raised himself. + +"Where am I?" he asked faintly. + +"Ah, that's better," said the doctor; "drink this, it will start you +toward recovery. No, leave that arm alone, it will be all right +presently." + +"It hurts a bit," Ellerey answered. "I remember; De Froilette did it. +I think I struck him down; I forget what happened after that," and he +drank from the glass handed him. + +"Well, Goldberg, he looks better already," said the other man, coming +forward and standing by the couch. "Do you know me, Ellerey?" + +"Lord Cloverton!" + +"I told you I would pluck you from under the wheels of Juggernaut's +car if I could, and so far I have succeeded." + +"I don't know how you have done it, but I thank you." + +"I will leave you for a little while," said Dr. Goldberg. "How long +before he starts? Delay it as long as you can." + +"A couple of hours," said Cloverton. + +"Very well. I will come in and see him comfortably packed up." + +"I cannot go," said Ellerey as the door closed upon the doctor. + +"Listen to me," said the Ambassador, sitting down on the end of the +couch. "I am not going to criticize your actions, and that you are +here in the Embassy proves that I still feel some interest in you. I +hardly expected to save you, but Captain Ward was fortunate in choosing +the right spot to rescue you, and he managed to get you here without +anyone knowing. You are still being eagerly sought for." + +"I should like to thank Captain Ward," said Ellerey. + +"You shall before you go." + +"I cannot leave Sturatzberg," said Ellerey. + +"You can understand that under the circumstances I have run some risk +in having you brought to the Embassy," Lord Cloverton went on. "It is +quite impossible for you to remain here, and to go into the streets +of the city would be to go to your death." + +"Still, I must go, Lord Cloverton. You do not understand." + +"Perhaps not; but I have myself to think of as well as you. For both +of us it is necessary that you cross the frontier as soon as possible. +In two hours we start. I am going as far as Breslen on my own affairs, +and, in case of accident, an escort is to accompany my carriage, which +will be closed. I have made the most of the dangers to myself, and +have demanded that my person shall be well guarded. You will go with +me, and for your journey from Breslen I have made further arrangements. +You are unlikely to be stopped." + +"But, my Lord--" + +"You owe no further allegiance to the cause you have striven for. You +can depart in all honor. The cause is annihilated." + +"I know, my Lord, I know; still, I cannot leave Sturatzberg." + +"Somehow I expected to find you difficult to persuade," said Lord +Cloverton, rising. "I have no time to argue with you; I will send +someone else to do that. I hope to find you more tractable when I +return." + +He went out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. Ellerey +raised himself on the couch, wincing with the pain his arm gave him, +but determined to balk the Ambassador while he had the opportunity. +It was evident that if he remained there Lord Cloverton would force +him to this journey, and he was too weak to offer any real resistance, +but once in the streets he could hide and wait, and seek Maritza in +every corner of the city until-- + +The door opened again, and closed. Ellerey's back was toward it, and +he did not turn. It was only a servant, probably, who would go away +presently. + +"Desmond!" + +A few hurried steps, the quick rustle of a dress, and then a figure +was kneeling by the couch, and a head was pillowed on his breast. + +"Desmond!" + +For a moment he did not speak; he could not. His confusion returned, +and seemed to overwhelm him. Surely he was still dreaming? + +"Maritza! You? Is it really you? How wonderful it is, this waking! Is +it you, Maritza?" + +"Yes, dear. Thank God for bringing you to me again." + +"It is wonderful," Ellerey murmured. "Red blood is before my eyes +still, and in my ears shouting and groaning. We have lived through it +all, you and I--" + +"And so many are dead, Desmond, have died for me. My heart is heavy +and full of tears, only--only there is you, and you are here, and, God +forgive me, there is joy in my soul because of this." + +It was a strange, new thing for him to see Maritza weep. + +"And Frina. Frina gave her life for mine, Desmond," she whispered. + +He did not speak, but his fingers closed over hers, and they were both +silent. + +"They are looking for us in every corner of the city," she said +presently. + +"How did you escape?" he asked. + +"I hardly know. Stefan caught me up and ran with me. I strove to free +myself in vain. I pleaded, I threatened, but it was of no use. I was +a child in those great arms of his. He brought me here. Lord Cloverton +was very kind." + +"Where is Stefan now?" + +"Here still. He is going with us. Lord Cloverton says that you will +not go; but you will, Desmond, won't you? I want you to take me away, +anywhere, Desmond--anywhere away from Sturatzberg." + +"I would not go, my darling, because you were not with me. When you +came in I was making up my mind to drop from the window that I might +look for you; but now--" + +"My poor love, you are weak; how could you?" + +"My sword arm is whole still, though it is tired--very tired." + +"It shall rest now," she said, taking it and pressing it to her breast. +"Desmond." + +"Yes, dearest." + +"Only once have you said to me: 'I love you.' Never yet have I been +in your arms. Put this one-this strong one--round me now. Say 'I love +you.' Tell me. Oh, how often have I longed to hear those words from +your lips." + +"I love you, Maritza, my Princess," he whispered, and he kissed her +lips as a little contented sigh escaped them. + +"How beautiful you are!" he went on, after a moment's pause. "It is +strange, Maritza, but since that morning on the downs I have never +seen you dressed as a woman." + +"Once, Desmond." + +"Ah, then you wore a mask." + +"And looked through it with eyes of love, Desmond." + +"Even then?" + +"Yes, even then. These are borrowed clothes. Lord Cloverton persuaded +someone to lend them. He was nervous until I became a woman. Grigosie +is dead, Desmond." + +"Is there no regret in your heart?" + +"None," she answered. + +"You lose a kingdom, Maritza." + +"It is well lost for love, Desmond. I have found my king." + +She was kneeling beside the couch when Lord Cloverton entered. + +"Well, Captain Ellerey, are you ready to go?" + +"How can I thank you, my Lord?" + +"By going," the Ambassador answered, with a smile. "Sight of the +Princess is evidently good medicine for you. You have both given me +many anxious hours." + +"You must forgive us," said Maritza. + +"Princess, I am an old man; I envy my countryman his youth. But for +all that, I shall find my work in Sturatzberg easier when I know you +two rebels are safely over the frontier." + +Dr. Goldberg came in, and with him Captain Ward. + +"I owe you much," said Ellerey, grasping the latter's hand. "Thank +you." + +"It is but repaying the debt I incurred on the night of the duel, +Captain Ellerey." + +"The carriage is waiting," said Lord Cloverton. "It is in the inner +courtyard. We must be silent, for the escort, which waits without, has +no knowledge that I am accompanied. Now, Doctor, wrap up your patient, +and help him out. Here is a cloak for you, Princess. You travel with +light luggage, but that, I am afraid, cannot be helped." + +"And Stefan?" asked Ellerey. + +"Goes with us. He is waiting. Come!" + +The travelling carriage was large and roomy, and they entered it in +silence in the inner courtyard. Stefan was waiting, and saluted Ellerey, +but neither of them spoke then. The windows were drawn up, the blinds +closed, and then they moved out. There was a sharp word of command as +they passed into the street, and so, escorted by the King's troops, +the man and woman who were being searched for in every corner of the +city passed out by the Northern Gate and through the Bois, and were +presently driving along the Breslen road. + +Lord Cloverton's arrangements had been very carefully and completely +made. In Breslen the carriage drove into an inn yard, the escort +remaining without, and in the yard another carriage was waiting. The +driver was in possession of the papers necessary for the journey, and, +unless something unforeseen should happen, nothing could prevent the +fugitives reaching the frontier in safety. + +"Wait until I have gone," said Lord Cloverton, "and then start. _Bon +voyage_," he whispered, as he raised Maritza's hand to his lips. "I +hope we shall meet again under happier circumstances--in England, it +may be. Your marriage will render a very charming Princess powerless +to disturb the peace of Europe." + +"Thank you a thousand times," said Ellerey. "You have given me more +than life--happiness." + +When the Ambassador had gone, Ellerey turned to Stefan. + +"What can I say to you, old comrade?" + +"Better say nothing, Captain. I'm nearer to tears just now than I ever +was in my life." + +"I had forgotten," said Ellerey; "you are leaving Sturatzberg." + +"Oh, they're not tears of that kind," said Stefan. "I think they're +happy ones, but having shed so few I'm a poor judge. I only know, +Captain, it's good to be beside you again. I know it's good to have +served you, and--and Grigosie, the name will slip out--and if you want +to say anything, just promise that you won't send me packing as soon +as we get free. I can turn my hand to other things beside soldiering." + +"You shall stay with us, Stefan," said Maritza. + +"I don't think I could have known any real woman before," the soldier +muttered. + +Ten minutes later they had passed out of the inn yard, and were +galloping toward the frontier. + +And in the midst of his escort, Lord Cloverton was riding back to +Sturatzberg. So far he had succeeded, but he knew how often some little +thing destroyed the best-laid scheme. He drove direct to the palace, +and was admitted to the King. Queen Elena was with him. + +"Do you bring us news of this countryman of yours, my Lord?" said the +King, and he spoke somewhat curtly. + +"Or of Princess Maritza?" said the Queen. "It is very strange that +neither of them can be found." + +"So they have not been found yet?" said the Ambassador. + +"No, my Lord; but they will be. I have it on good authority, only a +moment ago, that they are even now between Breslen and the frontier. +It was cleverly conceived, Lord Cloverton, but it is not too late to +stop them," and the King's hand was raised to strike a gong to summon +a messenger. + +"One moment, your Majesty." + +"Why delay?" exclaimed the Queen impatiently. "Every moment is of +value. Five minutes have slipped away already since this news was +brought to you. Telegraph to the frontier at once. I shall not rest +until Maritza is taken." + +"And De Froilette, your Majesty?" said the Ambassador quietly. + +"He is dead." + +"I know," was the answer. "Had he been alive, he too would have been +hurrying toward the frontier. Your Majesty should rejoice in his death. +He was not a man to be trusted." + +"My Lord, you tell us only what we know," said the Queen. + +"A little more, I think, your Majesty," was the quiet answer. "A servant +of mine saw Monsieur De Froilette struck down by Captain Ellerey, and, +knowing the man, searched him. He carried much that was incriminating +upon him." And then, turning to the King, he added: "Would it not be +well to let Captain Ellerey and the Princess go?" + +"What do you mean?" asked the King angrily. + +"Lord Cloverton only seeks to delay that message," said the Queen. "Send +it. Some of your enemies are dead, but these two escape." + +"And must be allowed to escape," said the Ambassador. + +"Do you threaten, my Lord?" said the King. + +"I ask the Queen to support me with regard to these fugitives." + +"And I refuse," she answered. "Send the message." + +"Will your Majesty show the King the bracelet of medallions?" said Lord +Cloverton. + +The King rose angrily. + +"Once before, my Lord--" and then he stopped. + +"Send the message," cried the Queen. + +"And then look to your own safety," said Lord Cloverton, turning sharply +to the King. "Russia has plotted against you; her troops lie still on +the frontier, and treachery has been beside you. By a strange chance +the plot miscarried, but it was near to success. This was found in +Jules de Froilette's possession," and he held up the bracelet. + +The King looked at it. The Queen drew in her breath sharply, and bit +her lip until the blood came. "What is the meaning of this?" said the +King, turning to her after a pause. + +"At a fitting time I will answer," she said. + +The King sat down heavily in his chair. + +"I will send no message," he said. + +Lord Cloverton bowed, and placing the bracelet carefully on the table, +silently left the apartment. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +AFTER WAR--PEACE + + + +Peaceful times had fallen upon Wallaria. It is whispered sometimes +that the relations between the King and the Queen are not of the +happiest; but who that would publish such a statement can possibly +know the truth with any certainty. It is a fact that the country is +better governed. At nights the streets of Sturatzberg are far safer +than they were formerly, and the brigands in the hills have been +dispersed. Some political malcontents among them have been banished, +but many have been pardoned, and go in and out of the city unmolested. +The Court is still a brilliant one, but in these days there is no woman +there as beautiful as Frina Mavrodin, and Lord Cloverton is no longer +British Ambassador. He has been transferred to Paris, and this fact +alone is sufficient to show that the Powers are more agreed concerning +Wallaria. A less experienced man than Lord Cloverton is now at the +Embassy, and has had no such troublous times to steer through as fell +to his predecessor. + +Yet Princess Maritza is not forgotten in Sturatzberg, and for a small +bribe many a man will tell the traveler her romantic history, and will +perhaps whisper in his ear, as though the spirit of revolution were +not altogether dead in him: + +"I was among those who fought that day in the Grande Place." So long +as they live, Desmond Ellerey and his wife will not forget that day, +but they seldom speak of it. It is quite certain that Maritza has never +regretted the kingdom she lost. Love has crowned her life, and she is +satisfied. + +Long since has it been known that the story which drove Ellerey away +from his country was a lie, told and substantiated by the real culprit +to shield himself. By this man's tardy confession, Ellerey's character +was cleared, and many expected him to return to England at once, but +he did not do so. When his brother died, and he became Sir Desmond +Ellerey, he did return for a while, however, staying for some time +with his old and staunch friends, Sir Charles and Lady Martin, and his +beautiful wife caused a sensation. She visited her old school, and she +stood with her husband upon the downs on the very spot where they had +first met. But England was not for them, they decided, and their +permanent home is in Italy, in sight of dancing blue waters and under +a blue sky. + +And in this Italian home is Stefan, whose chief duty seems to consist +in worshipping Ellerey's small son, who is going to be a soldier when +he grows up and win a wife like his mother, just as his father did. +It is Stefan who tells him stories of the past, Stefan who fashions +wooden swords for him, and who would willingly lay down his life for +his father, mother, or son. + +"Once I didn't care for anybody," Stefan said to the lad one day. + +"You didn't know father then." + +"No; and for a long time after that I hated women." + +"Until you met my mother?" asked the boy. + +"Yes; and until I knew Grigosie." + +"Grigosie? Who was Grigosie?" + +"She was a Princess." + +"My mother is a Princess. Father says so." + +"And some day, when you are old enough, he will tell you all about +Grigosie, too, and how it is you are not a king." + +"Mother sometimes calls me her little king," said the boy. + +"I don't wonder. Now it's time to mount and charge home." + +So the little warrior is quickly lifted on Stefan's shoulder, and with +waving wooden sword, and with curls flying, is whirled off on his +willing charger. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, PRINCESS MARITZA *** + +This file should be named 6374.txt or 6374.zip + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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