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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6b1a2a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67789 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67789) diff --git a/old/67789-0.txt b/old/67789-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1ee8843..0000000 --- a/old/67789-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15184 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Queen's Advocate, by Arthur W. -Marchmont - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Queen's Advocate - -Author: Arthur W. Marchmont - -Illustrator: John Cameron - -Release Date: April 6, 2022 [eBook #67789] - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE *** - - - - - -THE QUEEN’S ADVOCATE - - -[Illustration: “OVER AND OVER WE ROLLED IN THE DUSTY ROAD.” - - _Page 15_] - - - - - The Queen’s - Advocate - - [Illustration] - - _By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT_ - - - _Author of “When I Was Czar,” “For Love or Crown,” - “A Courier of Fortune,” “In The Name of a - Woman,” “Sarita the Carlist,” etc., etc._ - - [Illustration] - - - _A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers_ - _NEW YORK_ - - [Illustration] - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY - ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. THE RESCUE 9 - - II. KARASCH 25 - - III. MORE WITCHCRAFT 39 - - IV. A CONTEST IN WILL POWER 53 - - V. UNWELCOME VISITORS 67 - - VI. A FIGHT FOR THE HORSES 82 - - VII. ESCAPE 94 - - VIII. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT 107 - - IX. FROM BAD TO WORSE 121 - - X. AT POABJA 137 - - XI. TO SAMAC 150 - - XII. ON THE HILL AT SAMAC 162 - - XIII. PREPARING FOR THE CAMPAIGN 176 - - XIV. ELMA 190 - - XV. DEVELOPMENTS 204 - - XVI. THE ARMY’S PLANS 217 - - XVII. THE QUEEN’S ADVOCATE 232 - - XVIII. A DECLARATION OF WAR 246 - - XIX. PRINCE ALBREVICS 263 - - XX. THE INSULT 278 - - XXI. THE DUEL 291 - - XXII. THE SCENT OF PERIL 304 - - XXIII. A PLAN OF DEFENCE 317 - - XXIV. THE NIGHT OF TERROR 330 - - XXV. IN GATRINA’S HOUSE 343 - - XXVI. CHRIS TO THE RESCUE 356 - - XXVII. MY DEFENCE 369 - - XXVIII. “I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY” 383 - - XXIX. PETROSCH HAS A PLAN 396 - - XXX. THE CAMP AGAIN 409 - - - - -The Queen’s Advocate - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE RESCUE. - - -Crack! - -It was a rifle shot, sure enough, somewhere in the hills, and Chris -raised his huge head with a low growl and thrust his nose against me in -warning. - -I was lying on the flat of my back, my hands clasped under my head, -thinking lazily, as I watched the glorious sunset amid the Gravenje -hills--where the play of sunset colour is at times almost as fine as in -Colorado--and speculated when the storm which was brewing would break. - -I had just been chuckling at the idea of what the men in Wall Street -or the dandies of Fifth Avenue would have thought of Chase F. Bergwyn, -millionaire, mine-owner, and financier, could they have seen me then -vagabondising in the Bosnian hills. My dress was a kind of nondescript -native costume, half peasant’s, half miner’s, very dirty and worn with -my rough prospecting work; and I carried a ten days’ growth of scrubby -beard on my sun-tanned face. The report of the rifle stopped the -chuckle on my lips. - -One of my men must have been after some hill game, I guessed, and -in the eagerness of the chase had disobeyed my strict orders against -shooting. I was anxious not to draw any unnecessary attention to my -doings. I was after another pile, in fact. When in Vienna, just before, -I had been offered what appeared to be a good thing in the shape of a -concession to work a rich mining district in these Bosnian hills, and, -as I still had a touch of the vagabond in me, I was roughing it in -order that I might look into the thing for myself. - -I knew that part of Eastern Europe pretty well. I had lived there as -a lad with a relative stationed in Prague, and as I had the knack of -picking up the Balkan languages, he had found me of such use that he -had taken me with him on many an expedition among the hills in Bosnia, -Servia, and Herzgovina. - -I had delighted in the hills, and had carried my love for them across -the Atlantic when things changed and I went to the States in search -of fortune. After a time of pretty hard rough-and-tumble hurly-burly -buffetting I had “struck it rich,” and turned up in New York wealthy -enough to play a strong hand in the big gambles of Wall Street. - -Then the wandering fever laid hold of me again, and, remembering my -days in the Balkans, I was seized with the idea of utilising the old -experiences for business purposes. There was money to be made, I -believed; and I opened up communications with folks in Belgrade and -Sofia, and was in Vienna, on my way to the Servian capital, when this -Bosnian mining affair turned up. - -The pile was there right enough, just waiting for someone to come -along and harvest it. But whether the difficulties of harvesting -it could be overcome, I should have to settle elsewhere; and until -they were settled I didn’t wish to draw the inquisitive eyes of any -blockheads of Austrian officials upon me. - -There were other dangers, too. Lalwor, a hill village, was not far off, -and the reports about the villagers were not pleasing. They were not -likely to jump one’s claim, or do anything of that sort, but were said -to be quite ready to knock me on the head if they had an inkling that I -was a rich foreigner. That at least was the opinion of the man who had -acted as my guide; and probably he knew. - -So that, altogether, that shot annoyed me; and I sat up, thinking no -more about either New York or the sunset, but just how to find out who -had fired it, and bent upon punishing him for disobedience. Not so -easy this last as it would have been, had I disliked all the four men -composing my party less and trusted them more. - -Crack! - -Another shot. This time nearer. - -Chris showed greater uneasiness than before, and getting up ran forward -sniffing the air. Almost immediately afterwards I heard a faint -throbbing sound on the earth, uncommonly like a horse’s gallop. But who -could be galloping our way? No one who was at all likely to be welcome; -that was certain. I scented trouble, and calling the dog back crouched -with him behind a bush-covered hillock and gazed, not without some -anxiety, up and down the steep, rough mountain road. - -The camp--which consisted of a cottage or hut for my use, a shed for -the horses, and a tent for the men--lay two or three hundred yards -along a gully, which branched off at right angles from this road. I was -lying at the mouth of the gully, and from my position commanded a view -from the top to the bottom of the hill, about a mile in length. - -Crack! crack! - -Two more shots in quick succession; the throbbing sound of the hoofs -came nearer and nearer; and a horse and rider showed at the top of the -hill. I caught my breath in surprise as I saw the rider was a woman, -who was urging her horse, a wiry little white animal, to its utmost -efforts as it dashed at break-neck speed down the steep, winding, -boulder-strewn, dangerous road. - -Next, two horsemen came into sight and, with a loud shout, one of them -reined up, and taking deliberate aim fired at the fugitive woman. My -eye was on her as the shot rang out, and I saw the little white beast -start, and swerve as if hit. The next instant the blood began to run -freely over the flank, and the horse’s gait told me it was badly -wounded. - -The men behind saw it, too; and the brute who had fired the shot -shouted to his companion, and then continued the pursuit. - -The chase was all but over. The white horse struggled on gamely, but -as it neared the gully where I lay the pace slackened ominously. -Its rider looked back at her pursuers, and then across the ravine; -and then, to my further amazement, I saw that she was no more than -a girl in years--and a very pretty one, too; her face flushed with -the excitement of the mad gallop, her eyes wide with alarm, and her -features set with the courage of desperate resolve. - -Her pursuers realised her plight; and being now sure of capturing her, -slung their guns and rode down the ugly path very cautiously. - -I made ready to take my share in the business. I had my revolver in my -hip pocket, and drew it out, but did not show myself. My intention was -to let her pass and then get between her and the men. But her horse -was done. The bullet had evidently found the artery, for the blood -was spurting out fast; and just before she reached the spot where I -crouched the poor beast lurched badly and half sank on its quarters. -The rider had only time to jump cleverly and quickly from the saddle -when the end came, and the gallant little horse rolled over. - -She must have given up all for lost then; but she showed no sign of -faltering courage. One swift, desperate glance round she gave, as if in -search of some chance of escape, and I saw her face was pale and set, -but full of determination. Then, drawing a dainty little stiletto from -her dress, she stood at bay behind the body of the dying horse with a -calmness all eloquent of pluck and nerve. - -Meanwhile, with Chris at my heel, and keeping as much as possible under -cover, I crept forward until I was opposite to her. The men dismounted -when they were still some fifty yards or so above her, and they were -rushing forward to close upon her when I showed myself, with Chris -growling ominously at my side. - -The surprise caused by my unexpected appearance gave me a moment’s -advantage. - -“Have no fear. The dog will guard you,” I called to her as I -passed. “Guard, Chris, guard, good dog,” I told him; and instantly -understanding me, he ran to her side. - -“Thank God,” I heard her murmur as I sprang toward the men, with my -revolver levelled at them. - -“You may give it up,” I cried; but that was not their view. One of them -swung his gun round on the instant, and was in the act of levelling it -at me when I fired, aiming low, and shot him in the leg, bringing him -to the ground. - -His companion hesitated at this, then clubbed his gun and appeared to -be about to attack me, when he suddenly changed his mind and made a -dart for the horses. I dashed after him, and as he vaulted into the -saddle I fired at his horse and wounded it. Uttering a cry of rage, he -leapt with extraordinary agility to the unwounded horse, and might then -have got off had not the reins of both animals become entangled. Before -he could disengage them I had closed up to him. - -I called to him to surrender, but he had plenty of fight in him, and, -taking me no doubt for the peasant I looked, he first struck at me -furiously with his gun, and then tried to ride me down. - -I checked that effort with a bullet in his horse’s head, however, and -threatened to put one into the man himself if he did not submit. But -still he would not. - -Leaping free of the falling horse he surprised me by running back -down the hill helter-skelter towards the girl, who stood watching us -with breathless interest. I thought he meant to attack her, and, wild -with sudden anger, I rushed after him. He had apparently remembered, -however, that his comrade’s gun was loaded and his object was to secure -it. - -But Chris stopped this. The weapon lay near the girl and Chris sprang -forward and snarled so savagely looking so formidable and dangerous, -that the man hesitated, and before his hesitation was over I caught -up and closed with him. Over and over we rolled in the dusty road in -a fierce, hand-to-hand tussle, writhing, kicking, and sprawling as we -gripped each other in that desperate wrestle. But I had the advantage -of method. I was Cumberland bred, and in my boyhood had learnt some -tricks and falls which had stood me in good stead before now in many a -“scrap” in my rough-and-tumble mining days in Colorado and Montana. - -I got my grip of him presently, and bit by bit moved my hands up till -my fingers were playing on his windpipe, and he was seeing stars as I -dashed his thick head again and again on the hard road, until all the -fight and all his senses too were knocked out of him. - -Then I rose, and taking the reins from the girl’s horse, I tied him up -securely with them. - -All this time I had not spoken to her, except that first sentence; but -I had caught her great grey eyes fixed upon me questioningly as she -followed every action. Before going to her I had a look at the man -I had shot, and found his leg was broken between the knee and the -ankle. I had some rough knowledge of surgery--one picks up such things -knocking about the world as I had--so I probed about with my knife and -found the bullet, which was in the muscular calf, cleansed the wound as -best I could, and set the bone. Then I placed him in as comfortable a -position as I could, and told him not to move until I could do more. - -This done, I rose and went to the girl. She was now leaning against a -boulder by the wayside, deathly pale, and to my infinite concern I saw -that her dress was all blood-stained. One of the coward’s bullets must -have hit her, I thought. - -“Are you hit?” I asked. I spoke in Serb, as I was more familiar with -that than any other of the Balkan languages. - -“No. It is the blood from this poor beast.” - -“Thank God for that. You’re very pale, but you won’t have any more -trouble from the men. I’ll see to that.” - -Instead of replying she appeared in some way to resent my tone of -reassurance, and looked at me steadily with this curious expression -of resentment mingled with gratitude and some fear. But she had made -friends with Chris, and the great fellow was pushing his head against -her as she stroked him. - -“You were very brave,” I said after a pause, during which I could not -keep my eyes off her. She was indeed a beautiful girl, with a figure of -queenly grace, and I daresay some of the intense admiration I felt may -have shown in my glance. I had never seen so lovely a face. - -“If that man is much hurt you had better see to him,” she said, with a -distinct note of command in her voice. - -“His leg’s broken. I’m going to improvise a splint, and then get help.” - -“Help?” Quick suspicion prompted the question. “Do you live about here?” - -I shut down a smile. She took me for a peasant; and well she might, -I thought, as I glanced down at my clothes, dust-stained, torn, and -dishevelled. - -“There is a cottage close here and a tent,” I answered, evading her -question and her glance. There was clearly a mystery about her to -be solved. It was as evident as that she herself was well-born, and -accustomed to give orders for which she expected prompt obedience. But -leaving all explanations over for the time, I set about making the -splint. - -Returning to the men’s horses I took off the bridle and saddle of the -dead one, cut away the saddle flaps, and carried them and the reins to -the injured man. The flaps made good splints, and I bound them tightly -with the reins round his leg. He had borne all my crude surgery work -with such stoicism that I guessed he was a Turk, and spoke to him in -the little Turkish I knew, telling him I would get help and have him -removed directly. He grunted something about being all right, and soon -was smoking as placidly as though nothing had happened, and a broken -leg was one of the usual events of daily life. - -I returned then to the girl, who was sitting on the ground with her -hands clasped over her face. I guessed she was as desperately puzzled -as I was what to do next. - -She sprang up quickly as I approached, and again stared at me with much -the same expression of anxiety and doubt. - -“You seem very clever and resourceful,” she said. “Can yet get me a -horse?” - -“What for? To lose yourself in the darkness among the hills?” - -“I can pay you--later, I mean. I have no money on me. Tell me how to -send it to you, and I will give you any price you name. And I will add -to it a generous reward for what you have done already.” - -“Do you think you are strong enough to travel yet? You are still very -white, and trembling like a leaf. You are scarcely used to this sort of -thing, you see.” - -“I can judge that for myself,” she answered, almost haughtily, making a -great effort to rally her shaken nerves. - -“I don’t think you are. You don’t realise yet how much this thing has -shaken you.” - -“I am not accustomed to be contradicted in this way.” - -“You are very near contradicting yourself by fainting,” I answered. I -could see it plainly. “How long have you been without food?” - -“I do not wish you to question me. Can you get me a horse, or must I -try to walk? I must have a horse.” - -“There’s another reason. If you know anything of these hills you’ll -know what a storm means among them; and there’s one brewing now. -Listen.” As I spoke we heard the rumbling of distant thunder among the -hills. - -“I cannot stay here, in any case,” she shot back quickly. Then, after -a pause, “Who are you? Your name, I mean?” This in her sharp imperious -manner. - -“My name is Bergwyn.” I slurred the pronunciation intentionally. I had -strong reasons for not wishing anyone to know I had been on the hills -on my mission. - -But the effect of the name upon her was remarkable; and her agitation -was too great to be concealed even by the effort she made. She appeared -completely unnerved; and while her eyes opened wide in unmistakable -fear, she shrank from me as though I were a pestilence incarnate. - -“Bourgwan--the--the brigand? I have heard of you.” The words were just -a whisper, uttered with a catch of the breath all eloquent of terror. - -“No, I’m not----” I began with a smile intended to reassure her; but -before I could finish the sentence her own unfortunate guess had -completed her undoing, and with a little gasping sob down she went in a -heap to the ground unconscious, to my utter consternation. - -Disconcerting as her collapse was, it nevertheless had the result of -deciding me what to do. Another clap of thunder came at the moment; -and, without waiting to think any longer, I picked her up and set off -as quickly as I could along the ravine to the camp. - -She had not recovered consciousness when I reached the cottage; and -as there was but one room in it, I laid her on the bed, bundled my few -things together, tossed them out of sight, and leaving the dog with -her, I went over to the tent. - -I found my four men asleep there, and waking them with an impartial -kick or two, sent them down to bring up the prisoner and his wounded -companion. - -Then I began to realise what a really awkward matter it was likely to -be to have a girl, and such a girl, quartered upon us. I was not by any -means sure of my own men, even. They had been chosen by the guide; but -even he had deemed them so worthless and unreliable that he had gone -off that morning in search of others. Without him my position was very -grave. He was already a couple of hours overdue; and with this storm -coming up it was long odds that he would not arrive until the next -morning at the earliest. - -Still the thing had to be faced. I must take my chance in the tent with -the men that night, and trust to my own authority and vigilance and -wits. - -I went back to the cottage, and was alarmed to find the girl still -unconscious; so I got some brandy, and supporting her head managed to -get a few drops between her lips. This soon had an effect, and after a -repetition of the remedy she opened her eyes with a deep, long-drawn -sigh, and gave a great start as she found me bending over her and -herself on the bed in the hut. - -“It’s all right,” I said, soothingly. “You fainted, probably from -exhaustion and the fright you had, and I brought you here. It was the -only thing I could do. You are perfectly safe, and the best thing you -can do is to be quiet until you can eat something. As soon as you’re -well enough I’ll find you a horse and send you wherever you want to go.” - -She listened very quietly, and smiled. A rare thing, that smile of hers. - -“I want you to feel you can trust me. I am not that brigand, Bourgwan, -or any other brigand, as it happens; although my name is sufficiently -like his to cause you to make the mistake you did about it. It’s all -very rough here; but it’s the best we can do for you. Now, do you think -you can feel safe enough to eat and drink something without believing -we mean to poison you?” - -“Don’t.” It was only a whisper, but it was good hearing. - -“I’ve had to give you a little brandy. Here’s some more, if you’ll like -it; and I can get you some preserved milk and biscuits presently. Shall -I leave you alone here?” - -The light had gone as the storm gathered; and just as I spoke the storm -burst right overhead with a flare of lightning that filled the small -room with lurid light, followed by a deafening clap of thunder which -seemed almost to shake the earth until the hut trembled. - -But she showed no fear of the storm; so that I gathered she was used to -the violence with which they raged in that district. She sat staring -out of the one narrow window wistfully and disconsolately. - -“I cannot go?” she said, making it almost a question. - -I threw the door wider open, and pointed to the rain that was coming -down in sheets--just like a tropical downpour. - -“Quite impossible--you can see.” - -She rose and looked out, shuddered, and then went back to the bed with -a sigh of disappointment. Some moments passed then. The storm raged -furiously: the lightning flaring and flashing with intense brilliance, -filling the sordid little dingy room almost continuously with its vivid -blue light; the thunder pealing and crashing and roaring as though the -very heavens would split; and the rain sweeping and swirling down like -a flood. - -And within there was silence between us: she sitting dead still on the -low pallet, the dog haunched by her side; and I standing, very ill at -ease, near the door, not knowing what to say or do next, and feeling -very much of an awkward fool. I wanted to know that she trusted me, and -would have given anything for a word from her to show she did; while at -the same time I felt I would have bitten my tongue out rather than have -asked for such a word. - -Yet out it came, nevertheless. - -“You feel better and--and safe?” I asked. - -The lightning showed me that she moved slightly, turned her head and -glanced toward me just for an instant, but said nothing. - -“I’ll get you something to eat,” I murmured fatuously, and went out and -pelted through the rain to the tent. - -I had got some biscuits and a tin of milk, when a thought occurred to -me. The men had not returned, and their guns piled in a corner of -the tent caught my eye as I was leaving. I made a bundle of them and -carried them away. I could trust my men just as well if they had no -firearms. - -When I got back to the hut she was sitting on the side of the bed and -had quite shaken off the faintness. - -“You need not have gone through the rain--but I suppose you are used to -it?” she said. - -“A man in my position has to get used to anything. Here are the -biscuits and the milk. I’ve some tinned meat in the cupboard here. Can -you eat?” - -“What are those?” she cried, pointing to the guns. - -“The men’s guns. Best to keep them in the dry, you see.” I spoke as -indifferently as I could; but she was very quick, and by the light of -the storm I saw her eyes upon my face, with a sharp, piercing look. - -“That’s not your reason. I hear it in your voice. Is there anything -more to fear?” - -“No.” It was a lie, of course, but I uttered it stoutly, feeling the -need of it. “If you’ll eat some of this and get some strength back, -I’ll explain the position presently.” - -“What’s that?” she asked, starting and listening. - -In an interval of the storm I heard the voices of the men raised in -high tones. - -“Nothing, only the men with the prisoner,” I replied calmly; but I -didn’t understand the reason for the high voices, and didn’t like it. -“I’ll just go and see them.” - -“Don’t go, please.” Half command, in the same imperious tone I was -getting to know well; but unmistakably also half entreaty. It was the -note I had been waiting for so eagerly, and I felt myself go hot with -pleasure. She did trust me. - -“As you wish,” I answered. “But I had better go.” - -There was a pause, and then she said, in a quiet level tone: - -“You must do as you think best, of course.” - -“Chris here will answer for your safety. Try and eat something,” I -said; and with that I ran back again to the tent. - -In a moment I saw something was wrong. My four men were clustered near -the fellow whose leg I had broken, quarrelling angrily, with many -gestures; while the man I had made prisoner was not in the tent at all. - -“Where’s the other man?” I asked. - -They all turned at the sound of my voice, and one of them, with whom I -had before had some bother, took the question to himself. He shrugged -his broad shoulders, first scowled, and then laughed insolently. - -“He’s escaped,” he said, his tone a mixture of doggedness and defiance. - -The trouble I had been looking for had come, just when it was most -unwelcome. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -KARASCH. - - -I had had to deal with worse trouble than this before, however, and to -tackle far more dangerous men than the fellow who, having sounded the -first note of rebellion, stood eyeing me with lowering brows, while his -fingers played round the haft of the knife he carried. - -These Eastern Europeans can be dangerous enough in a crowd, or in the -dark, or in any circumstances which offer a chance of treachery. But -they don’t fight well alone or in the open. That’s where they differ -from the desperadoes of the West and the mining camps; and I knew it. - -The tent was a very large one, affording plenty of room for a -scrimmage, and as I walked straight up to the man, keeping my eyes -fixed on his, the rest drew back a little. That’s another peculiarity -of the people of the hills. They will back up a companion so long as -the man in command is out of the way, and then back down quite as -promptly when the music has to be faced. - -“See here, Karasch,” I said to the ringleader; “I don’t want any more -trouble with you--or with anyone else; but I’m not taking any insolence -from you. Mind that, now. What do you mean by saying the prisoner -escaped?” - -Before he answered he glanced round at his companions. - -“He ran away,” he muttered. - -“I tied him up so that he couldn’t run. Who set him free? Whoever did -that will answer to me.” - -“Karasch did it,” answered one of the others. Then I guessed the reason -of the high words I had heard, and that the speaker, whose name was -Gartski, had been against the thing in opposition to the rest. - -“Why did you do it, Karasch?” - -“Because I chose to; I’m no wench minder,” he replied with an insolent -laugh. - -I did not hesitate a second, but while the laugh was still on his lips -I struck him full in the face as hard as I could hit him, and down he -went like a ninepin. He scrambled up, cursing and swearing and spitting -out the blood from his mouth, and made ready to rush at me with his -long knife, when I covered him with my revolver. - -“Put that knife down, Karasch,” I cried, sternly. “Don’t try any monkey -tricks with me. And you others, choose right now which side you’re on. -I’ve been looking for this trouble for a couple of days past, and I’m -quite ready for it.” - -Gartski came to my side, and one of the others, Petrov, drew to -Karasch; the fourth, Andreas, remaining undecided. - -“You’re faithful to me, Gartski?” I asked. My guide had told me before -that he was, so I felt certain of him. - -“My life is yours,” he answered simply. - -“Good; then we’ll soon settle this. Wait, Karasch. There isn’t room -for two leaders in this camp, and we’ll settle this between us--you and -I alone--once for all.” - -I took Gartski’s knife and handed him my revolver. - -“If anyone tries to interfere in the quarrel, shoot him, Gartski,” -I said, and knife in hand I turned to the others. “Now, Karasch, if -you’re man enough, we’ll fight on equal terms.” - -“Good,” said the other two. It was a proposition fair enough to please -them all, particularly as his supporters believed Karasch could account -for me pretty easily in such a fight. - -He was quite ready for the tussle, and we began at once. The tent was -so gloomy--we had only the dim light from a couple of lanterns--that it -was with some difficulty I could keep track of his eyes as he crouched -down and moved stealthily around, watching his opportunity to catch -me at a disadvantage for his spring, his long ugly knife reflecting a -gleam now from one and now from the other of the lanterns as he moved. - -The storm was still raging furiously, and now and again a lurid glare -of the lightning would light up the tent for an instant so vividly that -the place seemed almost dark by contrast the next moment. - -The men drew to one side watching us, and the wounded prisoner, stoic -as he had shown himself in his pain, propped himself up on one arm and -followed the fight with close interest. - -My antagonist’s fighting was in the approved cat-like method. Crouching -low, he would move, with lithe, stealthy tread, for a step or two, -then pause, then spring suddenly in a feinted attack, then as quickly -recover himself, and begin all over again. - -Fortunately I was no novice at the game; but I had learnt the thing in -another school. A Mexican had taught me--an adept with the knife, with -half a score of lives to the credit of his skill. I stood all the time -quite still; every nerve at tension, every muscle ready for the spring -when the moment came, but wasting no strength in useless feints. The -less you do before the moment comes, the more you can do when it does -come. - -Never for an instant did my eyes stray from his; noting every change of -expression; watching every movement, step, and gesture; almost every -breath he drew; and using every second to find the weak spot in his -attack. - -I soon saw his purpose. He was striving to make me give ground and -drive me back to where I should have no elbow room for free movement. -But I did not yield an inch, not even when he sprang so near me in one -of his feints as to make me think he meant business at last. - -Instead of giving ground I began to take it. Twice he made as if to -rush at me and each time as he leapt back I stepped a pace forward. As -the tent was too small to admit of his circling me, he saw that he was -losing ground; and I noticed a shadow of uneasiness come creeping to -his eyes. - -Then I saw my plan, and the real shrewdness of the Mexican’s tactics. -My opponent’s method had a serious flaw. During the moment that he was -recovering himself after his feints he was incapable of attack, and if -I could close with him at one of those moments I should have him at an -immense disadvantage. - -With this thought I drew him on. When his next feinting spring came -I fell back a pace, and I could tell by the renewed light in his -eyes that he felt reassured and confident. He had made me give way, -apparently, and felt he could easily drive me back until he would have -me at his mercy. - -The next time I repeated the manœuvre, and then a grim grin of triumph -lighted his face. He crouched again and moved about me, stalking me to -drive me into an awkward corner of the place, his eyes gleaming the -while with fierce confidence and murderous intent. - -Inspired by this over-confidence, he sprang at me again, this time -too far, calculating that I should again give way. But I did not, -and as he jumped back hurriedly to retrieve the mistake I closed on -him, caught his right wrist with my left hand, and pressed him back, -chest to chest, holding my right hand away from his left which groped -frantically and desperately to clutch it. - -In that kind of tussle he was no match for me. I had all a trained -wrestler’s tricks with my legs, and tripped him in a moment so that he -went down with his left arm under him. I heard the bone snap as we fell -and I tore the knife from his grip. - -His life was mine by all the laws of combat in that wild district, and -for a moment I held my weapon poised ready to strike home to his heart. - -To do him justice he neither quailed, nor uttered a sound. If he had -shown a sign of weakness I think I should have finished the thing as I -was fairly entitled to, and have killed him. But he was a brave fellow, -so I spared him and got up and turned to the rest. - -“Do either of you dispute my leadership?” I said to the others. But -they had had their lesson, and had apparently learnt it thoroughly. - -“It was Karasch’s doing, and his only,” said Petrov, who had formerly -taken sides against me. - -“Get up, Karasch,” I said, in a short sharp tone. He got up, and I saw -his left arm was dangling uselessly at his side. “Now tell me why you -set that prisoner free?” - -“You can fight. Your muscles are like iron. I’ll serve a man who can -fight as you can,” he growled. - -“That’s a bargain,” said I. “Here;” and I held out my hand. He looked -at me in surprise. - -“By the living God,” he muttered, as he put his hand slowly into mine. - -“Here’s your knife,” I said next, returning it to him. - -He drew back, his surprise greater even than before. - -“You trust it to me?” He took it in the same slow hesitating manner; -and then with a quick change of manner he set his heel on it and with a -fierce and savage tug at the haft, he broke the bright blade in two. - -“It’s been raised against you; and I’m your man now and for always,” -and down he went on one knee, and seizing my hand kissed it, and then -laid it on his head. - -Demonstrative folk these rough wild hill men of Eastern Europe, and I -knew the significance of this act of personal homage. - -So did the others who had watched this quaint result of the fight with -the same breathless interest as they had followed the fight itself. - -“If you serve me well you’ll find I can pay better than I can fight, -Karasch,” I said, as he rose. - -“I’m not serving for pay now,” he replied simply. “I serve you. My life -is yours. Gartski, go and saddle a couple of the horses.” - -“What for?” I asked. - -“I’ll go and find the prisoner. He can’t have ridden far in this storm; -and I know his road.” - -“But your arm is broken.” - -“We can tie it up while he gets the horses.” - -“Tell me why you set him free, Karasch,” I said, as Gartski and Andreas -went out. “And while you talk I’ll see to your arm.” I examined it, and -found the fracture in the upper arm; and having set it as best I could -I dressed it and bound it up while he spoke. - -“On account of the woman,” he said. “I know the man, and he told -me about her. She’s a witch and a thief and worse, and comes from -Belgrade. She murdered a child, and was being sent to Maglai, in the -hills, to be imprisoned; and this morning cast a spell over the men -who were taking her and escaped. They were to have a big sum of money -if they got her safe to Maglai, and the man promised me a share of -it if I’d let him go back and bring his friends here to retake her. I -have no mercy for a witch. God curse them all;” and he crossed himself -earnestly and spat on the ground. - -“She is no witch, Karasch, but just a girl in a plight.” - -“A witch can look just as she pleases. You don’t know them, -Burgwan”--this was how they pronounced my name. “She was an old woman -when she left Belgrade. My friend told me that; and she’s been growing -younger every hour. She’s known to be a hundred years old at least. -She’s cast her spell over you.” - -This was true enough; although not in the sense he meant. He was so -obviously in earnest that I saw it was useless to attempt to argue him -out of his superstition. - -“Well, witch or no witch, spell or no spell, I am going to see her into -safety,” I answered firmly. - -“You’ll live to rue it, Burgwan. If I help you, it’s because I serve -you; not to serve her, God’s curse on her;” and he crossed himself -again and spat again, as he always did when he spoke of her. “If you -want to be safe from her spells and the devil, her master, you’d better -twist her neck at midnight and lop off her hands. It’s the only way to -break the spell when once cast.” - -“Ah, well, I’ll try and find another way. And I’ll take all the risks. -Was that what you were all wrangling about when I came in the hut just -now?” - -“Yes. She’s done harm enough, already. That man’s broken leg, three -good horses killed, and now my arm;” and he cursed her again bitterly. -“It’ll be you next,” he added. - -“It’ll not be my arm that she breaks,” was my thought. - -“What he says is true,” interposed the man whom I had shot. “She’s a -witch and a devil. Else how did she know when to escape and how to ride -here to you?” - -“Answer that, Burgwan,” said Karasch, confidently. “How could she know, -if she weren’t a witch?” - -Gartski came in then to say the horses were ready, and his entrance -made any reply unnecessary, for Karasch rose at once, went out and -mounted. - -“I’ll bring him back,” he said, “I know I can find him unless that -devil blinds the track.” - -“Why should she do that, as it’s for her own advantage?” I asked; but -he and Andreas were already moving off, and his answer was lost in the -night air. - -The storm had passed and the rain ceased, and as I watched the two men -ride off, the moon came out from behind the clouds, so that I could -follow the horses for some distance down the ravine. As soon as they -had passed out of sight I turned to the hut. - -I did not enter, but stood near the little window and leant against the -wall thinking. The tale I had heard concerning the girl had made me -very thoughtful. Those who know anything of the ignorant superstition -of the peasantry of the Balkans will best appreciate the danger to her -of that grim reputation. I had heard scores of stories of men and women -who had been done to death with merciless barbarity for witchcraft. -The mere charge itself was enough to turn from them any chance of fair -trial and justice: and I knew there was not one of the men with me who -would not have thought he was doing a Christian act to strangle her. -To kill her was to aim a blow at the devil: the accepted duty of every -God-fearing man and woman. - -But it was not so much her danger that set me thinking then as the -reason which must lie behind the accusation. Who could have been -devilish enough to set such a brand upon her; and why? Did she know her -reputation? There must have been some black work somewhere to account -for the plight to which such a girl had thus been reduced. - -High-born and gently nurtured she certainly was; accustomed to command -and to be obeyed, as she had given abundant proofs; endowed with beauty -and grace far beyond the average of her sex; and with innocence and -purity stamped on every feature and manifesting itself in every act! -Great enough to have powerful enemies, probably, I guessed; and in that -I looked to find the key to the problem. - -I was in the midst of these somewhat rambling thoughts when the -casement was pushed open gently. - -“Is it you, Burgwan?” - -“Yes, it is.” - -“What are you doing there?” I was beginning to listen now for the -little note of command in her voice. - -“I am on watch.” - -“I have turned you from your cottage.” This was half apologetic: -followed directly by the other tone. “You will be well paid.” - -“Thank you.” It was no use protesting. It seemed to please her to feel -that she could repay me for any trouble; and it did no harm to humour -her. - -“The storm is over. Can we not start?” - -“Where would you go?” - -She hesitated. “I wish to get to the railway.” - -“To go where?” - -“Do not question me.” - -“I beg your pardon. I am not questioning you in the sense you imply. -There are two lines of railway about the same distance away. One leads -to Serajevo, the other to Belgrade.” - -“How far away?” - -“The former perhaps twenty miles; the other I don’t know.” - -She caught her breath at this. “Where am I, then?” - -“In the middle of the Gravenje hills.” - -“God have mercy on me.” It was only a whisper; but so eloquent of -despair. - -“You need not despair. It is as easy to travel forty miles as thirty; -and twenty are not much worse than ten. I will see you through.” But -this touched her dignity again. - -“You shall be well paid,” she repeated. I let it pass, and there came a -pause. - -“Can we not start?” - -“You have not told me for which railway; but it doesn’t matter, as we -cannot start to-night.” - -“Why not?” The imperative mood again. - -“My guide is not here.” - -“Your guide?” Suspicion and incredulity now. “Do you mean to say you -don’t know your own country? Do you expect me to believe that? It is a -mere excuse.” - -“Have you found me deceive you yet in anything?” - -“There may have been no cause yet.” - -“Will it not be more just to wait until you do find cause then?” - -Another pause followed. - -“I don’t wish to anger you,” she said, with a touch of nervousness; and -as if to correct the impression, she added: “Perhaps you do not think I -can keep my promise to pay you.” - -“You may disbelieve me, but I don’t disbelieve you. I have told you no -more than the truth.” - -“But why do you need a guide?” she asked after a moment’s thought. - -“Because I don’t know the way, and don’t care to trust to the men here -now.” - -“But if it is your own country, why don’t you know it?” - -“It is not my own country.” This surprised her, and again she was -silent for a time. - -“Who are you?” was the next question. “And where do you belong?” - -“I am Burgwan.” - -“That is the name of the brigand.” - -[Illustration: “IN A SECOND SHE WAS IN THE GRIP OF HALF A DOZEN MEN.” - - _Page 136_ ] - - -“I know that; but I am not a brigand. And now I think you had better -try and rest. If we are to reach the railway to-morrow, it will be a -long day’s ride, and you must get some sleep. You can sleep in perfect -safety, the dog will stay with you.” - -“You are a strange man, Burgwan. What are you?” - -“Does it matter so long as I can bring you out of this plight? Do what -I ask, please. Rest and get sleep and strength.” - -“Do you presume to give me your orders?” - -“Yes, when they are for your good. Have you eaten anything?” - -“It is for me to give orders, not to obey them.” - -“Have you eaten what I brought you?” - -“Yes.” - -“So far well, then. Good-night;” and I moved a pace or two away. - -“Where are you going?” - -“I shall be out here all night within call. And you have Chris.” She -looked at me in the moonlight and our eyes met. - -“Why do I trust you, Burgwan?” I started with pleasure. - -“It doesn’t matter so long as you do. Good-night.” - -“It is a shame for you to have to stay there all night; but I shall -feel safe if you do.” - -“It’s all right.” I was smitten suddenly with nervousness and answered -brusquely. - -“I shall sleep, Burgwan. Good-night.” - -Her tone had a touch of gentle confidence, and I thought she smiled. -But I did not look straight at her and made no reply. - -In one way she was a witch, truly enough; she had cast over me a -spell which made me feel to her as I had never felt toward any other -woman; and I leaned back against the wall with my arms folded thinking, -thinking, aye, and dreaming, for all that I was full awake and my every -sense alert and vigilant on my watch. - -Presently, how soon or how long afterwards I know not, I heard the -casement opened softly and she peeped out and round at me. - -“You are still there, Burgwan?” - -“I said I would be, and I generally keep my word.” - -“You are not going to stand all night?” - -“No; there’s a stone here that will serve for a seat if I tire.” - -She drew in her head for a moment, and I heard her move something in -the cottage. - -“There is a chair here and a rug. Take them;” and she put them out -through the window. - -“You are kindly thoughtful,” I said. But here again I seemed to cross -the curious dividing line in her thoughts, for she drew her head up, -and looked at me half indignantly. - -“Good-night.” She spoke very stiffly, and closed the casement with -sharp abruptness. - -But I forgave the action for the kindness of the thought, and resumed -my watch and my dreaming. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -MORE WITCHCRAFT. - - -The night hours sped away with only one incident to disturb us. I heard -a strange noise which I could not locate nor understand, and as I stood -listening intently Chris, within the hut, barked loudly. - -I heard the girl speak to him, and was half minded to ask her to let -him out that he might help my watch; but I heard nothing more, and so -let the thing pass. - -Day had broken before Karasch returned. He was alone, and had only -failure and mishap to report. Trouble had dogged him from the start. -He had not seen a trace of the man he had gone out to find. His -companion’s horse had put his foot in a hole and broken his leg, and -nearly killed Andreas, who was lying some fifteen miles away in the -hills; while Karasch himself had twice been thrown, the second time -with disastrous results to his broken arm. - -He left no doubt as to where he laid the blame. - -“We are bewitched, Burgwan,” he said, his brow frowning and his glance -threatening. “In five years I have never once been thrown; and now -twice within as many hours. The spell was upon us, and we were not -meant to find the man.” - -“Does anyone cast spells for their own hurt, Karasch? It was necessary -for her safety that the man should be caught and prevented from -bringing his comrades here.” - -“You are not of this country, or you would know better. These devils -work their own ends in their own ways. I lifted my hand against you -because of her, and have brought the spell upon me. God defend us;” and -he crossed himself earnestly. - -“But why should she help to bring her pursuers here?” I repeated; and -might as well have reasoned with the wind. - -“You do not know. He will never reach his friends; or, if he does, the -way hither will be hidden from them.” - -“Don’t be a blind fool, Karasch,” I exclaimed, losing my temper. - -He looked at me and shook his head slowly with a suggestion of -commiseration. - -“It is not I who am the fool or blind, Burgwan,” he answered, almost -sadly. “Listen. The first time I was thrown, I saw before me a -stretch of beautiful turf and pricked my horse to a gallop across it -when he plunged right into a pit; and I wonder I was not killed. The -next time, just before dawn, I was feeling my way carefully when she -herself appeared suddenly in front of me, all white fire, and flashing -a gleaming sword before my eyes. I checked my horse, in fear, and he -reared and fell back almost on top of me. Is not that enough to prove -the spell?” - -It proved to me that he had either been asleep on his horse or was -suffering from disordered nerves as the result of fatigue and the pain -from his arm; but when I told him so, he grew more morose and pitying -in his manner. - -“I know why you talk as you do,” he said. “You have looked into her -eyes. The spell is on you, too--on all here; and we shall die--unless -she does.” The last three words were uttered after a long pause, -during which he had glanced ominously and fearsomely toward the hut. -Superstition held him in its thrall. - -I judged it best to check the thought under the words at once. - -“The man who lays a finger on her to her hurt will have to reckon with -me, Karasch,” I said, sternly, and turned away. - -He made no reply, but rode on to the shed some distance to the rear of -the tent, where we stalled the horses. - -I began to scent a fresh danger for the “witch,” and was fast growing -as anxious as she herself could be to get away. If Karasch believed -that he would be saving me from the spell by killing her, I knew he was -quite capable of doing it in the face of any commands I might lay upon -him and the others. - -It was easy to guess at his crude reasoning. I had looked into her -eyes, and was thus under her spell while she lived. My orders for -her safety would thus be regarded as the result of the accursed -enchantment; and they would only have to kill her to free me from the -spell and make me to see that they had done the right thing. They would -feel that I should then be as eager to reward them for her murder as I -was now to forbid them touching her. - -Added to this was the actual and pressing danger arising from the fact -that the man who had pursued her had escaped to carry the tidings of -her whereabouts to his companions and bring them down upon us, perhaps -in force. - -The situation was growing tighter with every fresh turn, and I made up -my mind to rush matters and get away at once. I would not wait for the -return of my guide, but take the risk of finding my way alone. - -I had just made this decision when Gartski came running round the tent -with a white, scared face. He stopped some yards short of the hut, as -if loath to come too near the abode of the accursed one, and crossed -himself. - -“The horses have been killed, Burgwan. Will you come to the shed to -Karasch?” - -The news, if true, was ill enough to make me change colour, and I went -back with him. - -“We are all under a curse. It is witch’s work,” he said in a curiously -awed tone; and he wrung his hands and crossed himself again. I was -beginning to regard that gesture of devotion with a pretty considerable -dislike by that time. - -The news was true enough. The three horses lay dead on the shed floor, -each in a pool of blood; and on the quarter of each of them a small -ring of blood was to be seen some two inches across. Peering into the -shed stood the horse from which Karasch had just dismounted, his neck -outstretched and his ears cocked in fear. - -Karasch and Petrov were inside, preternaturally grave and awe-struck. -Both looked as frightened as Gartski when he had come running with the -news to me; and Karasch pointed ominously in turn at the marks on each -of the dead animals. - -“The witch’s mark. It’s always there,” he said. - -It was unquestionably very strange, and I looked solemn enough no -doubt to lead them to believe I was beginning to share their own -superstitious fears. It was about the worst thing that could have -occurred at such a juncture; and for the moment I could think of -nothing but the possible consequences of so disastrous an occurrence. - -With an effort I roused myself and examined the “witch’s” mark on each -of the beasts. A circle had been cut with the point of a sharp knife, -the mark being just skin deep. - -“How did they die, do you think, Karasch?” - -He pointed again to the marks and smiled grimly, as though the cause -were too plain to need words. - -“And all this blood?” I asked. - -He shrugged his great shoulders. - -I looked at Gartski and the third man closely, for any sign that they -had had a hand in it; but their superstitious fear was too genuine to -be doubted. - -“Turn the horses over,” I ordered; but they shrank away and obstinately -refused to put a finger near them. - -“Who is smeared with the blood of a witch-killed beast dies before the -moon is old,” said Karasch. “They must burn where they lie.” - -“You’re a set of fools,” I cried angrily. But neither anger nor request -was heeded. - -I took the iron bar from the door, and levering it under the smallest -of the horses turned the carcase over sufficiently to find what I -sought--the cause of death. There was a wound just under the heart. The -horse had been stabbed with a sword or long knife. Whoever had done the -work knew where and how to strike so as to kill instantly. - -I went outside then and searched the ground all round the door -carefully. - -“Come back to the tent all of you,” I said. I led the way, scrutinising -every inch of the ground and following a somewhat unaccountable trail I -had discovered. It led direct to the tent. - -“Let me see to your arm, Karasch,” I said first, intending to let -them have some minutes to recover from the first effects of their -stupefaction. - -“No, Burgwan. You have cursed blood on you. You cannot touch me. I -should die, too.” - -“Very well, then, we’ll settle this thing first. You saddled Karasch’s -horse last night, Gartski. Did you fasten the shed afterwards?” - -“No; we never fasten it. Bars won’t keep out devils.” - -“This is the work of no devil. Those horses have been killed by someone -who plunged a knife into their hearts and then cut that ring on the -haunch. I saw the wound myself on the beast I examined. They were all -right when you left them?” - -“Yes, quite right.” - -“Did either of you go near the shed again until Karasch returned, or -did you sleep?” I asked next, remembering the strange noise I had -heard in the night. - -“We had had a long day, and both slept soundly.” - -“We’re getting very close to it now,” I answered. I turned to our -prisoner with the broken leg. “How is your leg this morning, my man?” - -“Very painful, but better,” he replied after a pause. - -“Did you sleep, or did you hear anything in the night?” - -“I slept all through the night. I was asleep when you came in just now.” - -“Then it ought not to be so painful. I’ll have a look at it.” - -“No, no,” he cried, putting up his hands to ward me off. “Don’t touch -me. You have touched the accursed blood.” - -“Do you believe in it, too?” and I looked keenly at him. - -He crossed himself earnestly and spat on the floor. - -“Stay, stay. You’re a Turk! why do you cross yourself with the cross -of the Christians? I won’t touch you against your will, but I must see -how your leg is doing. Lift him up, Gartski,” and I pointed to a bench. -They hesitated. “Do as I say; and smartly, too. You know me,” I cried -sternly. - -The man objected and protested with many oaths, and cursed me volubly. -But I insisted; and the others did not dare to disobey me. Karasch -himself plucked the man’s rug off, and the other two lifted him. - -The mystery was instantly plain to me. The man was smeared from head -to foot with mud and blood, the traces of which he had tried to remove; -and lying where his body had covered them were a knife and a small -lantern; while a glance at his injured leg showed me that the splints -had been all but torn off in the exertions of his night’s work. - -He was a faithful servant to his masters, whoever they might be; and he -had conceived the design of killing the only horses we had, in order -to prevent the escape of the girl before his comrades could return to -recapture her. - -Waiting until the two men in the tent were fast asleep he had dragged -himself, painfully and laboriously, through the mud to the shed, had -shut himself in, and, by the light of the lantern he carried, had -deliberately stabbed one horse after the other, putting on each the -witch’s mark. He knew the superstition about it, of course, and trusted -to that to save him from the risk of discovery. I had seen the slimy -trail he had left in the mud, however, and had thus detected him. - -With what dogged effort he had acted and the stoical endurance he had -shown were evidenced by the condition of his wounded leg. The splints -had been torn off, and he must have suffered excruciating agony in the -grating of the fractured bones. - -I taxed him with the deed, but he denied it, of course, and swore by -every oath he could think of, Christian and Mahomedan alike, that he -was innocent and had slept soundly the whole night through. - -I drew Karasch aside. “You can see for yourself what happened,” I said, -significantly and triumphantly. But his superstition was proof even -against such evidence. - -“You do not understand, Burgwan; I do,” he replied, in the same dismal -fanatical tone. - -“The thing can be seen as plainly as a mountain in the moonlight,” I -exclaimed, impatiently. “He wants to prevent our getting away until his -companions get here.” - -But Karasch only shook his head. - -“You can see that he did it, can’t you, man?” - -“I can see she used his body to do it. They often do that. He did it in -a dream. His hand; her mind. I’ll question him.” - -“And put a ready-made lie into his thoughts,” I exclaimed, angrily. - -“It is witch’s work, more than his,” he repeated, stubbornly and -doggedly. I felt I should lose my temper if I stayed longer, and -tossing up my hands in despair at his folly, I gave up talking sense to -him. - -I washed off the traces of the blood from my hands, and having got -materials for a breakfast, went away to the hut to try and think what -next to do in view of this fresh disaster. - -I don’t think I had ever been more completely cornered than I was -by the position which faced me then. I was thirty miles or so from -anywhere; I did not know the road for even a league from the camp; and -I hadn’t an animal left worth calling a horse. If I attempted to leave -with the girl, we should probably be lost, or break down by the way. -Yet if I stayed where I was, we should have her pursuers back to fetch -her; while, even if they did not come, there was an almost hourly risk -that my own men would break out against her in order to deliver me from -her enchantment. - -Whichever way I turned I could see nothing but imminent peril for -her--peril of death indeed; and cudgel my wits as I would, I could see -no turning in the long, straight lane of danger. - -I remember stopping midway between the tent and the hut, and setting -down the things I carried, and glancing round at the circle of frowning -hills with a confused and dismaying sense of feebleness. The breeze -of the morning, fresh and invigorating as it was, seemed to grow hot, -stifling, oppressive, until it was positively difficult to breathe -freely. The hills had become suddenly as the walls of a prison, -shutting me in, a helpless, crippled prisoner. Light, freedom, hope, -life were all on the other side of them, but the path was barred -and the way of escape blocked. My nerves were shaken and the mental -perspective warped, for the moment, in the exaggeration of sudden alarm -for the girl. - -The sight of her brought me to my senses again. She appeared at the -door of the hut and looking about her saw me and smiled. I must -keep the knowledge of danger from her, of course, so I went down -and pretended to busy myself with my packages while I pulled myself -together. - -I picked them up and went on to the hut whistling a strain of the “Star -Spangled Banner,” and trying to appear as if I hadn’t a thought in the -world above breakfast. - -“Good-morning, Burgwan,” she said, with a sort of chary patronage and -encouragement. - -“Good-morning. I have brought your breakfast. Very homely diet, but the -best we can offer you here.” - -“Never mind. What time do we start?” She had a rare knack of finding -awkward questions. - -“The guide is not come yet,” I answered, conscious that my pause would -rouse her suspicions. - -“But I cannot wait long.” - -“That’s true enough.” I spoke the thought aloud, unwittingly. - -“What does that mean?” Very sharply asked, this. - -“I can’t answer any questions yet. I have to think.” - -The reply appeared to offend her, and her eyes flashed as she drew -herself up with a gesture of authority and constraint. She was turning -back into the hut when she caught sight of some stains on my clothes. - -“That is--blood?” She paused before the word. - -“Yes, it’s blood. I didn’t know it was there.” - -She shrank from me for a space against the lintel. - -“It’s horse’s blood. We’ve had some trouble in the stables, and I’m -afraid I don’t cut a very pretty figure just now.” I tried to make -light of it in this way; but it was a feeble effort. - -“Tell me--at once. The truth, please.” There was eagerness now in her -tone, as well as the usual imperative note. - -I hesitated. “I suppose you’d better know it,” I said then. “There has -been foul play in the night, and our horses have been killed. I got -this on me when I was tracing the thing to its source. That’s all--but -it’s bad enough.” - -“How many?” - -“All but one--and he’s dead lame, I’m afraid.” - -“Is this true? or is it an excuse to keep me here?” - -I winced. The injustice bit deep. I looked at her with a protest in my -eyes. - -“If you’ll put that question plainly, perhaps you’ll see it in its -proper light, and understand how it may sound to me. No, I don’t mean -that. It doesn’t matter. I have told you the truth; that’s all.” - -“But it does mean delay?” - -“I’m very sorry; but thirty or forty miles make a long march for a lame -horse. I could manage on foot, of course, but----” I left the sentence -unfinished. - -She started, and bit her lip as she realised my meaning. To avoid -seeing her distress, and to fill the pause, I dropped one of the tins I -was carrying and stooped to pick it up. - -“I have to beg your pardon, Burgwan, for doubting you.” - -“That’s no account, I assure you. I couldn’t have helped it myself if -the position had been reversed. The truth does sometimes look strangely -like falsehood.” - -“But you don’t seem to understand that I must get away. I must.” - -“I do realise it,” I answered, very earnestly, “and mean to find a way, -somehow. I’m not easy to beat, most times.” - -“When can we start, then?” I noticed the “we,” and I think it had -something to do with putting me off my guard. - -“I shall have to think a bit,” I said. - -“It must be soon, Burgwan. What time is it now?” - -Without thinking, I pulled out my watch from an inner pocket--a big -gold chronometer on a gold chain--and the moment I caught her quick -eyes on it I saw the mistake, and regretted it. - -“Just six o’clock,” I answered, as indifferently as I could. - -“That’s a very valuable watch you carry in these lonely hills;” and her -look spoke her thought much more eloquently than her words. - -“It’s a very good timekeeper,” I answered at random. - -Her intent gaze held me all the while, and I saw gathering in her eyes -something of the suspicion with which she had first heard my name the -previous night. - -“How did you get it?” - -“Are you not over quick with your suspicions?” - -“Am I to fear you--or trust you?” - -“If you trust me it will have to be without asking any questions--at -present. You have no reason to fear me; and never will have.” - -“You must tell me where you got so valuable a thing--you, a peasant of -the hills?” - -“I am not a peasant of the hills.” - -“Where did you get it?” - -“If I told you, you would scarcely believe me.” - -“Where?” she insisted. - -“I bought it; that’s all.” - -She drew a deep breath and bit her lip. - -“I have thought of you as a brave man capable of real nobleness. I have -believed you to be true and honest. If you fail me I have no hope. And -if you mean me harm, for the sake of the living God tell me so.” She -spoke with intense but carefully restrained passion until the last few -words. - -“Don’t take it like that,” I replied, firmly and calmly, although moved -to the core by her appeal. “I will tell you something. I am not what -I may have seemed to you. I am no peasant and no brigand, as you seem -to fear. Who and what I am, and why here, I cannot tell you yet; but, -believe this, I will serve you and save you from this trouble. If you -wish it, I will take any oath you like on that. But my word is my word, -and you may trust it.” - -She listened intently, marking every word, and when I finished she bent -forward and gazed searchingly right into my eyes. Then she drew a deep, -long breath, as of relief, and smiled. - -“Thank God, I feel I can trust you. I will not question you again, -Burgwan.” - -“Then the best thing you can do is to show it by getting some -breakfast.” - -The change to the commonplace and practical from that moment of -feverish passion was a welcome relief to us both. - -“Yes; you are right. I will,” she answered, forcing a smile; and -picking up the things I had laid on the chair, she carried them into -the hut. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -A CONTEST IN WILL POWER. - - -After that incident there was something of a change in the curious -relations between us. She was just as imperious at times; but less -patronising. She seemed to expect my services less as a return for -payment to be made, or by right of caste and station, than in virtue of -her womanhood and helplessness. Either she now believed entirely in my -good faith, or she was anxious to make me think she did. - -I explained to her how I generally contrived to prepare my food, showed -her how to manage the spirit stove, pointed out where the few things -needful were kept, and offered to make the meal ready for her. - -“I am not helpless, and can do it myself, thank you,” she said, half -resentfully. - -“I didn’t know,” I answered, and soon after left her to it. I went back -to the tent to wash my face and hands and endeavour to get the blood -stains from my clothes. I began to be disquietingly conscious of my -exceedingly ungroomed condition. - -The men were eating their breakfasts and talking together with lowered -brow and gloomy faces. - -“What are we to do, Burgwan?” asked Karasch, coming over to me -presently. - -“There will be no work to-day. I shall remain in camp.” - -“Who is to fetch Andreas?” This was the man who had ridden with him on -the previous night and lay out on the hills. - -“I can’t spare the horse, now we have only one. One of you must take -food to him on foot, and try to hire or buy some horses in place of the -dead ones.” - -“It will not do,” he said, lowering his voice. “I cannot walk so far; -and you can’t trust the others.” - -“I can trust Gartski.” - -“Not after this morning’s business with the witch-killed beasts.” - -“Don’t talk such nonsense, Karasch. I proved to you that that -treacherous devil over there stabbed them to prevent us getting away.” - -“He has explained that. He had a vision and remembers it now. She -stood over him with a flaming sword, just as she appeared to me, and -compelled him to do it.” - -“How a man of your shrewdness can believe such rot passes my -understanding, Karasch. You might be a great baby if I didn’t know you -were a brave and clever man.” But flattery was of no more use than -reproaches. - -“You don’t understand these things, Burgwan. We do. You see with her -eyes; we use our own.” The dogged manner and tone alike showed that he -spoke with dead conviction. - -“Then the best thing will be for the lot of you to clear out,” I -exclaimed testily. - -“You can’t be left alone in her power. I shall stay with you to the -end. You gave me my life when I had lost it fairly, and I’ll save yours -in return.” - -“What do you mean?” I asked sharply, as a glint of his intention shot -into my thoughts. Instead of meeting my eyes as usual, he looked down -and shuffled uneasily. - -“The spell must be broken and then you’ll see the truth and--and no -harm may come to you after all.” - -“What do you mean? Speak out, Karasch, and meet my eyes openly like a -man, as you usually do.” - -But this he would not or could not do. - -“There is only one way,” he said doggedly. “And it must come to that in -the end. We have talked it over. Your life must be saved.” - -“I should have thought you all knew by this time that I can take pretty -good care of that for myself.” - -“There is only one way,” he repeated in the same dogged tone. - -“And what is that way? Out with it, man, in plain terms.” - -“She must die, Burgwan, or you will.” - -I thought a moment, and then saw a different line and promptly adopted -it. - -“You are too late, Karasch,” I said, as gravely and solemnly as I could -speak. - -“No, there is always time within the same moon.” - -“No; she has rendered me proof against any knife or bullet for three -days on condition that I defend her. And I’ve sworn that I will die -before anyone shall harm her.” - -It was a beautiful bluff. He started back and looked at me in manifest -horror and crossed himself as he muttered a prayer. - -“Don’t do that, you hurt me, Karasch,” I said, pretending to shudder. - -“Great God of all. And you a Christian, Burgwan.” - -His agitation was almost piteous. He turned deathly pale and beads of -perspiration stood on his forehead, as he stared at me horror-struck. -“And I have sworn to save you.” It was just a whisper of dismay and -helplessness, and it showed the struggle which was raging between his -superstition and his fealty to me. - -“I’ll release you from your oath to me, if you wish; and you and the -rest can leave as soon as you like.” - -“No, by God, no; not if I’m damned forever,” he cried. “I’ll stand -by you, Burgwan, mad blind fool though you’ve been. Curse the witch -and all her infernal arts;” and he was at it again with his vehement -crossing and spitting and prayers. - -His devotion moved me deeply. I knew how much the effort must cost him. -He believed that he was jeopardising not his life only, that he was -always ready to risk, but his very soul as well. Rough, coarse, crude, -ignorant, half civilised boor that he was, he had shown a fidelity to -me such as I had never witnessed before. He should have a reward; and -it should be rich enough to surprise him if ever we got out of this -mess; but I could say nothing of it to him then. He would have laughed -to scorn the promise of money in such a case. I accepted his sacrifice -therefore without another word. - -“What shall we do about Andreas?” I asked. “Gartski and Petrov had -better go out to him.” - -“No. If they go, it will be only to find help and bring others back -here to do what you say must not be done. Andreas must take his chance.” - -“You must go somewhere then, and find us horses.” - -“If I take my eyes off those two they’ll run away. I must stay to watch -them.” - -“But we must have horses and at once,” I urged. - -“Tell her to send some here. She can if she chooses.” His belief in her -supernatural powers was complete; but that time it served to turn the -tables with a vengeance. I had no answer. - -“It must be as you say. I’ll ask her;” and with that I left the -tent, wishing that the miraculous supply of horses were as easy of -accomplishment as Karasch believed. - -There was one that I could have, however, and I deemed it best to make -sure that neither Gartski nor Petrov should have the chance of stealing -it. So I led it over to the cottage to tether it close at hand, -carrying the saddle with me. - -Hearing me, the girl came out. - -“You have horses, then?” she asked, in a tone of satisfaction. - -“I have this one, that’s all;” and I fastened it up to a tree close by -the hut. - -“You are looking very serious, Burgwan. Has anything more happened?” - -“A little misunderstanding with the men. Nothing more serious than I’ve -had before. Have you breakfasted?” - -“Yes. I have yours here;” and she brought out to me coffee and a -steaming dish of food which she had prepared for me with her own dainty -hands. She might have been a witch, indeed, for the cleverness with -which she had concocted a savoury meal from the rough fare at her -disposal. - -I was very hungry, and while I ate it with thankfulness and relish she -fed Chris. - -“The dog takes to you, readily,” I said. - -“Yes. Good Chris,” and he wagged his tail and looked up at her. “He is -another mystery, Burgwan--like that watch;” and she smiled. - -“Yes; and in his way quite as reliable.” - -“It is not a breed often found--in the hills.” - -She was fishing, but I would not see the bait, and answered with a -monosyllable. - -“He is very fond of you,” she said. - -“He knows me and trusts me, I think.” - -“Is that a reproach?” - -“It is not for me to reproach you. You don’t know me yet.” - -“There are many things I don’t know yet. For one, how I got here to -this hut?” - -I smiled. “I carried you,” I answered. - -“You dared?” A quick impulsive rebuke in the question. - -“I didn’t dare to leave you lying out there in the road when that storm -was coming up.” - -“You had no right,” she cried, and went back into the hut. - -Chris looked up as she went and ran to the door after her; but returned -and finished his breakfast, and then went in to her. - -I had finished mine then, and sat thinking over the position of things -when she came out. - -“I was wrong to be angry, Burgwan. Of course, there was nothing else -for you to do.” - -“I couldn’t think of anything, at any rate.” - -“I ought not to have been so childish as to faint,” she said, with a -smile and a shrug. Then she picked my cup and platter. “Where can I get -water to wash these?” - -“You needn’t bother about that. It’s not fit work for you.” - -“But I wish to,” she cried, with a little stamp of the foot. - -“There is a spring close here, then,” I replied; and taking a pannikin -I fetched the water and sat down again and went on with my thinking. - -“Can we start now, Burgwan?” she asked. “I wish to reach the railway -that will carry me to Belgrade.” - -“That means thirty miles through a country where I don’t know a yard of -the road;” and I shook my head. - -“You always raise difficulties.” - -“No; I don’t raise them, I see them. That’s all. I wish I didn’t. It -may come to it at the last--but we had better wait for the guide. He -ought to be here soon now.” - -“Don’t the men know the road?” - -“We had better wait for the guide.” - -“Are not you the leader here?” - -“In a way, yes; but not in such a matter. I am thinking all I know to -find the best thing to do.” - -“But suppose the others should come first before this guide, what then?” - -“What others?” - -“The rest of the men who were taking me to Maglai.” - -“Oh, you were going to Maglai. How many were there?” - -“Six. Four beside the two you captured.” - -“How far from here were you when you escaped?” I noticed that she no -longer resented my questions as on the previous night. - -“I don’t know. It was about noon, and they called a halt; and having -fed and drunk they lay down and slept, leaving one to watch. But he -fell asleep, too, with the heat, and I stole off. I rode fast for some -hours, and then was going slowly, thinking I was safe from pursuit, -when suddenly the two appeared in the distance and chased me. I let my -horse go where it would, and it carried me here.” - -“You had been riding about seven hours or so, then. That means fourteen -at least, without the delay of the storm; and then he’d have to chance -finding them.” - -“Whom do you mean by ‘he’?” - -I had been calculating roughly how long it would take the man Karasch -had set free to reach his friends and return with them, and unwittingly -had spoken the thought aloud. I pretended not to hear her question. - -“You don’t know whether all the men rode after you on the same road, or -spread out in different directions?” I asked. - -She made no reply, and when I glanced up I met her eyes bent earnestly -upon me. - -“You are concealing something from me. You heard my question, I know, -for I saw you start.” - -With the curious feeling that I was at a disadvantage sitting down -below her, I stood up. - -“You had better leave the run of this thing to me. I won’t ask any more -questions than I am compelled; and if they bother you, you can turn a -deaf ear to them, as I do when I don’t want to hear yours.” - -Signs of rebellion flashed from her eyes, and she made ready to give -battle. She held her head high and squared her shapely shoulders. - -“I won’t be dictated to like that, and I won’t remain here on any such -terms.” - -“I am not dictating; I’m talking common sense.” - -“I won’t submit to it; I will not.” And she stamped her foot. “I will -have an answer to my question. I won’t have things hidden from me. Why -won’t you answer it?” - -“Didn’t I tell you I had my deaf ear to it?” - -“How dare you try to pass it off with a flippant jest like that? Who -are you to presume to insult me?” - -“Do you really think I wish to insult you?” I asked, very quietly. - -“What you wish to do I neither know nor care. But it is an insult, as -even the commonest instinct of courtesy would tell you.” - -“We rough men of the hills haven’t much to do with courtesy.” - -“You are not of the hills, you know that. You told me you were no -peasant. Do you suppose I can’t see that for myself?” I made no reply, -and after a pause she added, “I know why it is you will not answer me. -You think I must be a coward because I am a woman.” - -“Is that another of the commonest instincts of courtesy--the average -man’s courtesy, I mean?” I said this with the deliberate intention of -irritating her to keep her away from the matter. But she saw my purpose -instantly. - -“Will you answer that question of mine?” - -“Let me finish first with mine, and then you ask what you will.” - -She paused to think, and then nodded as if in answer to her thoughts. - -“I am not a coward to be frightened by bad news, and I have already -guessed the answer to it.” - -“Then there can be no need for me to tell it you,” I said. - -She waited again, and then looking at me fixedly said, with an air of -deliberate decision: “If you do not tell me, I will not remain here -another minute.” - -This was a challenge to a trial of wills; and I took it up at once. - -“You are not a prisoner,” I said, and stepped aside ostentatiously as -if to leave the way free for her. - -“Can I have that horse there?” - -“I’ll saddle him for you. I can lead him down to the ravine to where -your horse lies, and get your side-saddle.” - -“Which road do I take to get to the railway?” - -“I don’t know, but I can give you a map and a compass.” - -“Get them, please.” She had plenty of will, that was certain; but -I couldn’t afford to let her bluff me. I went into the cottage and -rummaged about till I found the compass and the map, and then added a -touch of realism. I took a spare revolver and loaded it, and held it -out to her with some extra ammunition. - -“You had better take these as well.” She took them and then drove in -the spur in her turn, by saying in her haughtiest manner: - -“You shall be paid for them, Burgwan.” - -“You can give the value of them to a charity in Belgrade,” I answered. -We were both angry now. “Are you ready?” - -She was pinning her hat, and when I saw that her fingers trembled, I -had hard work to persist. But I held on. - -“Yes,” she said, after a moment. - -We went out and I untethered the horse, and with Chris in close -attendance, we walked without speaking to the mouth of the ravine, -close to where her horse still lay. - -“Will you hold him, while I get the side-saddle?” Our eyes met for a -moment, and I saw that at last she was convinced I was in earnest. - -I turned away, feeling bad, and unbuckled the girths from the dead -animal, and then saddled the one she was to ride. I took plenty of -time over the work, too, hoping she would see the madness of what she -proposed to do and give in. But she shewed no sign of doing anything of -the sort; and at last the work was done. - -“All is ready,” I said, giving a last look at the bridle. “Can you -mount by yourself, or shall I help you?” - -She made no answer, but stood with her head half averted, looking away -down the steep mountain road. She was biting her lips strenuously, and -the fingers which held up her skirt were tightly, almost fiercely, -clenched. Eloquent little proofs of the struggle that was raging -between pride and prudence. But I held my tongue and just waited. - -Then she turned to me. She was very pale, but her eyes were flashing. - -“I thought you were a man,” she cried, between her set lips. I met her -look steadily without a word. And we stood so for the space of some -seconds; her face the embodiment of hot passionate contemptuousness; -mine as impassive as a stone. “And what a coward you are!” - -I stood as though my ears were indeed deaf. - -She still hesitated; and the woman who hesitates can be saved as well -as lost. - -Then came the last effort of her pride. - -“Lead the horse to that stone. I will not soil myself by letting you -help me.” - -I led him where she pointed; and she mounted with the ease of a -practised horsewoman. She even gathered up the reins and settled -herself in the saddle; and then waited to look almost yearningly for -some sign from me. I gave none, but held the bridle as if I had been -her groom. - -Chris stood looking from one to the other of us as if in deep -perplexity. - -“Will you take the dog?” I asked. - -Then came the end. - -“Do you mean me to go?” It was all I had been waiting for. - -“No, not now,” I answered at once; “since you see the folly of it.” - -“How dare you? I WILL go now;” and she gripped the reins tightly and -touched the horse with her heel. But he hadn’t much fire in him, and -obeyed my hand on the bridle instead of her heel. I held him with my -left hand and stretched out the other toward her. - -“Come; you had better dismount. This folly has gone far enough;” and I -put as much command and authority as possible into my tone. - -I shall never forget the look she gave me, nor my surprise when a -second later she put her hand into mine and slipped off the saddle. The -rush of relief was too great for her to simulate further anger. - -“How hard you can be. I though you meant it,” she murmured. - -“You shouldn’t try us both in this way,” I said. “I had to show you -that my will is stronger than yours; and you made the lesson hard.” - -“Would you have let me go?” she asked. - -“No, certainly not.” - -“Oh, I wish I had held out,” she exclaimed, vehemently. - -I smiled. - -“We call it bluff in the States; and I am an older hand at it than you. -That’s all.” - -“The States?” she asked quickly. “What States?” - -“United States. I am an American, you see, naturalised, that is; I’m -English by birth.” - -“American? English? But I thought....” - -Face, eyes, everything eloquent of questioning surprise. - -“Yes, I know. You thought all sorts of things except the right one. But -anyway, I’m not quite the coward you thought just now.” - -“Don’t.” - -“No, I won’t again. Come, let us get back to the cottage. We haven’t -lost after all by this--we have the side-saddle.” - -“I don’t know what to think or say,” she cried, in dismay. - -“I can understand your purpose. But let us get back, please;” and with -that we went, I leading the horse as before and she walking by my -side, Chris keeping close to her as though in some way he understood -everything. - -Again it was a silent walk at first; but this time the motives for -silence were very different. - -[Illustration: “I REALLY BELIEVE THE BARONESS THINKS YOU ARE A PEASANT -IN DISGUISE.” _Page 238_ ] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -UNWELCOME VISITORS. - - -That contest of wills, followed by my avowal that I was an American, -marked another very distinct advance toward a better understanding -between us. My companion’s interest was stimulated and her curiosity -piqued; and our relationship was at once placed upon a footing of -personal equality. She made that plain--intentionally, I think--her -momentary chagrin at defeat in the trial of strength between us -overshadowed completely by her sense of relief and reassurance. - -Chris was a great help to us just then. He seemed to have settled -it in his thoughts there had been trouble which was now put right, -and he stalked along by her side, thrusting his great nose into her -hand, nestling his head against her, and giving many signs of his -satisfaction. She caressed him gently, and presently, with a half -glance at me, she said, as if to him: - -“And are you American, too, Chris? And is your name really Chris?” - -“He’s American born, not like his master, and his name is really -Chris,” I replied. - -“And have you a strong temper, too, Chris?” - -“Like master like dog. He can show his teeth at need,” I said with a -smile. “But he can be a staunch friend--to those who trust him.” - -“Does he show them to women?” she asked, turning to flash her eyes upon -me. - -“Is that quite fair?” - -“You can show yours,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. - -“I’ve seen him hold a man up with a growl when I knew he didn’t mean to -bite. Just as a lesson, you know.” - -“I would trust my hand between HIS teeth,” she answered, as she thrust -her fingers into his great mouth. The rascal mouthed them, and fawned -upon her and looked up in her face. - -“Ah, he’s kissing it--to congratulate you on having made peace,” I -said drily; and she drew her hand away so heartily that for a moment I -feared I had offended her. But I had not. - -“Does HE understand what you call ‘bluff’?” was her next question, -after a pause. - -“He’s very much like me in many ways.” - -“I can believe that. He is so silent about himself.” - -“Like us both in that, perhaps, isn’t he?” - -“Is that a reproach or a question?” she retorted, and added, seriously, -“I cannot tell you about myself; but you shall know some day.” - -“I am not asking. We’ll leave it unsaid on both sides, shall we--at any -rate for the present--and just take each other on trust?” - -“As you will. I have learnt my lesson and shall not question you.” -The reply was given with a mixture of irony, rebellion, and assumed -submissiveness in manner and tone. - -“I am glad to find you so ready a pupil. Chris there could tell you -that where there’s a toughish job to handle he finds it best to let me -go my own way.” We had reached the cottage, and she was entering the -door as I said this. She turned quickly, and threw up her head. - -“You expect a dog’s obedience, then?” - -“From Chris, yes,” and I smiled. - -“From me, I mean. You know I mean that.” - -“From you I ask nothing except to do what your judgment prompts, -tempered perhaps by your trust in--in Chris.” - -“In Chris’s master, you mean. Why don’t you say it?” - -“Old Chris would do nothing I didn’t approve; so it’s about the same -thing,” I answered, and led the horse away, tethered him, and having -loosened the girths gave him a feed, and fetched him some water from -the spring. When I returned with it she was standing by the house. - -“Can I help you?” - -“Not in this, thank you.” - -“In what, then? I have nothing to do.” - -“I’m afraid I can’t find you anything.” - -“Don’t you do any work in the camp, then?” - -“Not to-day. You see it’s a kind of holiday.” - -“Why?” - -“The work here is finished. I’m getting ready to leave. As soon as -Georgev--that’s the guide, you know--gets back, I shall be off.” - -“I suppose I am not to ask what the work was?” She asked this with -a smile and a shrug, contriving to convey the impression that while -she was impatiently curious the question had behind it no vestige of -distrust. - -“I did not intend to tell you, but if you wish it I will. This is a -prospecting expedition. I’ve been looking to see if any mines could be -opened here. Of course, it’s a sort of secret, you know.” - -“Oh, you’re hoping to make money here?” and the glance she gave at my -clothes told me her thought. “You are an engineer?” - -“No, I am a prospector. I have done it before in the States.” - -“I hope you will be successful. But I am sure you will. You are the -kind of man that does succeed; so masterful, I mean.” We both smiled -at the word. “Yes,” she added, as if in answer to my thought; “I am -judging by what has just occurred, for one thing.” - -“I am afraid I seem a bit of a brute.” - -“I don’t think so. I--I was very angry when I said what I did. I--I -didn’t mean it; and I’m--I’m sorry.” - -“I’m not. I know you don’t think it now; but you meant it then; and it -was just what anyone else would have meant and said. It helped us to -understand things better. That’s all. I was very much afraid you meant -to ride off alone, and then ... well, I don’t know about then.” - -“I wish I had known your thoughts,” she said, with a sort of half -mischievous regret. - -“You mean you would have outplayed me?” - -She nodded and smiled, “Yes.” - -“Well, please don’t try it again. It might be very dangerous play.” - -“I won’t, I promise you,” she said readily, understanding from my -serious tone that I was very much in earnest. “When you use that tone I -have no rebellion left in me. I am like Chris, I suppose, in that.” - -Chris himself interrupted us then by growling, and looking round I saw -Karasch coming from the tent. - -“Chris hates Karasch,” I told her. “The man struck him once savagely, -and I had all my work to keep the dog from his throat. He never -forgets. You can see now that every hair on his neck is bristling with -anger; and Karasch won’t come near him.” - -“He is a fierce looking man,” she said. - -“But he will serve me now, faithfully, and Chris must make friends with -him. Will you go into the hut a moment? Come, Chris,” and as she went -away I led the dog to Karasch and made him understand that he was to -regard the man as a friend. It was not easy, for Karasch himself was -afraid; but I stood by while he patted the dog’s head, and I made Chris -lick his hand. Then I sent him back to the hut. - -“Now, Karasch, what is it?” I asked. - -“The devil is it, Burgwan. I slept and Petrov has gone.” - -It was ugly news, and made me grave. - -“So you couldn’t even keep watch, for all your big words,” I said -angrily. - -“It has never chanced so before,” he replied sullenly; and his glance -across toward the cottage told me the thought behind the words. - -“If you were to cut your finger I suppose you’d set it down to the same -cause just now. You have served me an ill turn. You can send Gartski to -find him, the sooner the better.” - -“You are mad, Burgwan.” - -“Mad to have trusted to your keeping awake, perhaps. Not in this. If -one has got away, where’s the use of keeping the other? When we had -both safe, it was well; but two can do no more harm than one away; and -we needn’t be bothered by keeping watch over a traitor. I’ll speak to -him.” - -“Come here, Gartski.” He rose sheepishly and crossed to me. “How long -has Petrov been gone, and where has he gone?” - -“I was asleep, and know nothing,” he lied glibly. - -“Yesterday, when the trouble was here, you took my side; now you are -against me, and want to go.” - -“I am not against you,” he began, with much gesticulation. - -“Don’t lie. I have means of knowing everything in your thoughts.” - -He shrank back a pace and trembled, and crossed himself. - -“You know what I mean, I see,” I said. It was no good to have a -reputation for witchcraft and not make use of it. “If you lie to me -now,” I went on, looking into his eyes with as fierce an expression as -I could assume, “you will not outlive the present moon. Tell the truth, -and no harm will come to you.” Glancing at my hand I saw I had broken -the skin in tending the horse, and I smeared a little circle of blood -on the tent post close by. “If that dries before you speak, it will be -too late, Gartski,” I said, solemnly. - -It seemed to be a very reliable card to play, this superstition of -theirs. He looked at the little circle in horror, his face went ashen -white and he trembled violently. - -“We meant nothing against you, Burgwan; only against the witch,” he -mumbled. - -“It is drying fast, Gartski. Beware.” - -“Petrov has gone to get help to deal with her.” - -“To murder her, you mean?” - -“It is no murder. To kill her for your sake, I swear.” - -“Where has he gone?” - -“To the priest at Lalwor--the hill village.” - -“How far is that, and in which direction?” - -“Four leagues up the hills to the south.” - -“How long has he been gone?” - -“Less than an hour.” - -“Come;” and I put my hand on his shoulders, and led him out of the -tent. “I have no use for spies and traitors here. You can go after him. -Get away, or I’ll set the dog on you;” and with that I shoved him from -me--with a parting kick to which the rage I felt gave additional force. -He limped a few paces and then turned and looked back at me. “Go,” -I thundered, making a step toward him, and then he ran in a limping -fashion comical enough to have drawn a smile had the position been less -grave. - -I had frightened enough of the truth out of him to show me that no -ill results could follow for a few hours. It would take Petrov some -three hours to reach the hill village; some time would be needed to get -together a posse, and I felt that I might safely wait an hour or two -longer in the hope that Georgev would arrive. - -But it was clear now that we might have to start before he arrived, so -I questioned Karasch as to his knowledge of the country which we should -have to cross. Somewhat to my dismay he declared he knew nothing of it. - -I returned to the hut then and found the “witch” studying the map. - -“I was going to ask you for that,” I said. - -“Can we start?” - -“Not yet; I am still waiting for the guide and the horses he may have -with him; but I want to make out our way.” - -Instead of giving it to me she clasped her hands over it as it lay on -her lap. - -“I want to ask you a favour.” Things were changing indeed. - -“Well?” - -“Won’t you tell me what all this means? You have had more words with -your men. I know it is about me. Won’t you tell me?” - -“They are a set of fools; and they are all gone now, except the big -fellow, Karasch, whose arm is hurt--broken, in fact.” - -“Of course, it is on my account, and, of course, also it means danger -of some kind. I am not afraid to know it with--with Chris and--and you -to protect me.” - -“I have quarrelled with the men--have just kicked one of them out of -the camp, in fact. That’s all.” - -She sighed and lifted her hands. - -“Can’t you see that this uncertainty is worse to bear than any -knowledge could be, however bad?” She was strangely gentle now. - -“You needn’t exaggerate things because you don’t know them.” - -“Here is the map. You try me very much. Tell me, please,” she urged as -I took the map. I fingered it thoughtfully. - -“You must not frighten yourself.” - -“I am not frightened--except that I think there must be some terrifying -news you keep back, fearing to frighten me. You put a great strain on -my nerves.” - -“I had not thought of that, and there is no need for it. I will tell -you enough to show you that. I have had trouble with the men; and -it is about you. They are only under me because I hired them to do -certain work. Well, that prisoner whom I shot in the leg yesterday got -at them with a tale that you were a prisoner of such importance that -a considerable sum of money was to be paid for your safe delivery at -Maglai; and they had a fancy to help in earning it. We quarrelled about -it, and they’ve left the camp.” - -“Who do they say I am?” - -“They do not know, and could not tell me; of course; and I myself do -not even know how to address you. You must have seen this--whether -madame or mademoiselle even?” - -“You put your question adroitly, Burgwan. Are you Burgwan, really? But -you can’t be, of course. You are American.” - -“It is the name I have here; and I did not know how pleasant a sound it -had until I heard you speak it. I would rather you called me by that -name than any other. And you?” - -She had her hands in her lap and kept her eyes bent down as she slowly -clasped and unclasped her white fingers. Then she lifted her face and -looked at me with a slow, hesitating smile. - -“You might call me--Barinschja.” - -“That is Russian for an unmarried woman, isn’t it?” - -“Did you think I was married?” The smile in her grey eyes was -unmistakably brighter. - -“I did not think you were Russian.” - -“I am not. I am a Serb.” - -“Then what we have to do is to get you to Belgrade as soon as possible, -Barinschja,” and I turned to the map. - -“No. I cannot be Barinschja to you. I will be mademoiselle.” - -“I thank you.” I understand enough Russian to appreciate the -difference. Barinschja is from inferior to superior; mademoiselle from -equal to equal. “Then it shall be mademoiselle. Now for the map.” - -“No, not yet. You have forgotten something. You have spoken of the man -you wounded yesterday, but not of the one you fought and bound. It is -he who has gone free, isn’t it, to fetch his comrades?” - -“Yes, but I did not mean to tell you. How did you guess?” - -“From what you said before you--before we fetched that side-saddle.” -She smiled as she changed the phrase. “When you would not answer the -question, which I tried to force you to answer.” - -“Mademoiselle is very quick-witted.” - -“And Burgwan can be very obstinate,” she retorted; and I smiled in my -turn. - -“The fellow was set free by my men, but I do not think he can get back -in time to do any harm.” - -“And why have your men deserted you?” - -“They were not bound to remain with me.” - -“Then the desertion had nothing to do with me?” - -“Yes, I told you we quarrelled about you. But I wish to see our course; -will you let me study the map?” - -“Yes, if you will assure me that their desertion bodes no danger.” - -“Is Burgwan or Mademoiselle in charge of things here?” - -“Will Burgwan answer Mademoiselle’s question? Why did those men say -there was a price on my head?” - -“It was all nonsense, of course.” - -“But I wish to know. I have a right to know.” - -“They said you had done something or other, and that they were to be -paid handsomely for getting you to Maglai.” - -“Do you know what they said?” - -“Yes--that you had committed some crime.” - -“Some crime!” she cried, in quite indignant astonishment. Then she -laughed scornfully. “Do you believe it?” - -“No. If I did, it would make no difference.” - -“A criminal! With a price on my head! What can it mean?” This was more -to herself than to me, so I plunged into a study of the map, and in a -few minutes had made out a part of the route we should have to go. - -“I am no criminal, Burgwan,” she said, breaking in suddenly on my study -of the map. - -“I didn’t need to be told. This is the way we shall have to go at -first”; and I drew her attention to the map. - -While we were examining it, Chris grew restless, and at length got up -and stood sniffing the air and the ground and listening. - -“What is it, Chris, old dog?” - -He came and nosed my hand and then went a few yards off and pointing -towards the ravine, growled. - -“Someone is about,” I said, as I folded up the map and put it in my -pocket. “Will you go into the hut, Mademoiselle? It may be the guide -Georgev--or it may not; and may mean trouble of some sort. Take Chris -with you and shut the door. He’ll answer for anyone who tries to bother -you. Chris, inside; on guard, good dog.” - -He understood and obeyed at once, although his eyes said he would -rather stay with me. - -I strolled half way to the tent and called to Karasch, who came out. - -“I think someone is coming up the ravine, Karasch. It may be Georgev, -or some of the men in search of Mademoiselle yonder. You mean to stand -by me?” - -“On my oath, yes. But if they are in search of her, you’d better give -her to them, Burgwan.” - -“Stop that fool talk, and leave everything to me; and do exactly as I -tell you from start to finish.” - -Then I heard the sound of horses’ hoofs, and I lit a cigar and sat down -to wait for the riders. There were three of them, and the first glance -showed me Georgev was not among them. I sat smoking until they rode up, -then I rose slowly. - -“Are you the new men hired by the guide, Georgev?” I asked. - -“No,” answered one who appeared to be the leader. “Is there a man named -Karasch here?” - -“What do you want?” I asked. - -“An answer to my question. And I mean to have it. This is the place, -sure enough,” he said, turning to his companions. “The tent and the -hut;” and he nodded toward each. “You’re Karasch, by your description,” -he said to Karasch. “Where’s the prisoner?” - -“I’m in charge here. Put your questions to me,” I broke in, brusquely. - -Resenting my tone, he looked at me more sharply than before, and then -laughed. - -“I know you. You must be the man who rescued our prisoner yesterday and -shot Drago. You’ll answer for that, I promise you; but I don’t want any -trouble. Your other men are on our side, you know.” - -“The man I shot lies in the tent there with a broken leg. The prisoner -you seek is in the cottage.” - -“That’s better,” he cried, with a sneering laugh. “You know when you’re -beaten, I see.” - -I shrugged my shoulders as if indifferent. - -“We’re only two here, and Karasch has a broken arm. So you’re not -likely to have much trouble.” - -“Where are the others?” he asked, suspiciously, as if half fearing an -ambush. “There were five of you.” - -“One, Andreas, lies out on the hills somewhere, hurt riding after your -comrade in the night. Petrov and Gartski have gone to Lalwor, the hill -village yonder, seeking help to take the prisoner.” - -“You’ll have to come with us.” - -“That’s as it may be. But--we’ve no horses. Your fool of a man killed -ours last night, so that we shouldn’t get away until you returned. But -he didn’t expect you so soon.” - -“Nor did you, I expect. We came upon our comrade on the hills by chance -this morning, too ill even to put a leg across a horse. It’s all that -devil’s work. He wishes he’d had no hand in the black business, I can -tell you. And so will you.” - -“You can take her as soon as you like--the sooner the better. She’s -caused enough trouble here,” I answered, and putting my cigar between -my lips I sat down again and lolled back as if in lazy indifference. - -But my indifference was not even skin deep. My object was to make them -confident that there was no sort of resistance to be expected, and -every nerve and sense in me was on the alert. I was making a kind of -corner in risks just then, and should need all my wits to avoid being -squeezed. - -I was already fully resolved to use the three horses thus fortunately -brought within my reach, and my first step was to get the present -riders off their backs. The second would be to keep them off; and the -third to put Mademoiselle, myself, and Karasch in their places. - -Karasch had said that the “witch” could bring horses our way if she -pleased; and when I looked his way and saw his eyes glance meaningly -from me to the horses, I was half persuaded that he connected their -presence with some supernatural agency. - -The three men spoke together a moment and then the leader dismounted, -handed the reins of his horse to one of the others, and came toward me. - -“I daresay you mean to act all right and give up the prisoner,” he -said, bluntly; “but while we stay here I’m going to make sure you can’t -play any trick upon us by tying your hands behind you. Stand up.” - -As he spoke he signed to the other two, who levelled their guns point -blank at me. - -It was a wholly unexpected turn and seemed to spell crisis. Not seeing -for the moment what to do, I made no effort to rise, and he repeated -his command. - -“Get up,” he cried this time with an oath. “We’ve no time to waste over -you.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -A FIGHT FOR THE HORSES. - - -I met the man’s bullying look and glanced from him along the barrels of -the guns which his companions held pointed at me; and then sat up. - -“I don’t see the necessity for it,” I said, quietly. - -“No, but I see it, and mean to do it. Get up at once, or you may find -it difficult ever to rise again,” he said, savagely. - -I scrambled up leisurely, dropping my hand into the pocket where I had -my revolver, and my fingers closed on it as I held it ready to shoot -without drawing it out. - -One of the educational advantages of life in a rough mining camp in the -West is the use of a revolver from the safe concealment of a pocket. -This man didn’t appear to understand the trick. I didn’t want his blood -on my hands; but I wasn’t going to let him tie me up as he proposed. - -“Turn round,” he ordered. - -“Wait a moment,” I said, quite coolly. “If you do this, how am I to -know you’ll set me free again when you go?” - -“Do as I tell you,” he cried savagely with another oath. - -“No, by God, no.” - -This was from Karasch, very loudly and angrily spoken, and the man -turned from me to him. - -“What do you mean?” - -“What I say. This was my doing from the first. I set your man free to -go and find you and bring you here; but this shan’t be done.” - -The interruption was very timely, and I took advantage by it to edge -away until I was sheltered from the guns by the leader’s body. - -“What Karasch says is right enough. But you need not say any more, -Karasch. There won’t be any more talk about binding me or anyone else.” - -“By the Cross, but there will!” cried the leader fiercely, and was -turning to give an order to his companions when I gripped him by the -shoulder and held him. - -“Don’t move. You’re just in the line between those two guns and me, -and I can talk all the more comfortably while you stay there.” Karasch -laughed, and the man tried in vain to wriggle out of my grip. “I’m -covering you all the time with my revolver, and if you get away I shall -shoot. You’ve been a deal nearer death all the while than you thought,” -and I showed the ugly little muzzle above the edge of my pocket. - -The argument carried conviction. He ceased to struggle, and changed -colour. - -“Tell those men of yours to throw their guns on the ground. They might -go off by accident, and I’m not taking that kind of risk any longer.” - -He hesitated, and I showed him a bit more of my pocket argument. - -“I’m accustomed to be obeyed pretty quickly. Ask Karasch there,” I -said, drily. Karasch laughed again and swore. - -The leader shouted the command over his shoulder, and after some demur -it was obeyed. - -“Go and pick the guns up, Karasch, and get this man’s from his horse, -and bring them to the tent,” I said, and waited while he fetched them. - -Then I took my hand from the leader’s shoulder and stepped back. - -“Now we shall all breathe a little more freely. You see the kind of -soft fool you’ve got to deal with in me now, and you won’t make any -more mistakes of this kind. There are two ways of doing what you’ve -come to do--the rough and the smooth. You’ve tried the rough and have -run up against a snag. Now we’ll go to the tent and talk over the -smooth way.” - -“Give us our prisoner, and we’ll go.” - -“But Karasch and I wish to go with you, and I want to explain to you -the little difficulty your man has put in the way. Come.” - -“I don’t want to go there.” - -“If you’d rather go straight to hell, you can,” I exclaimed, fiercely. -“Choose, and be quick about it.” - -“I’ll come,” he said, sullenly. - -“You can tell your men there we’re going to talk, and that they may as -well bait their horses. We may be some time.” - -He was getting to be quite an apt pupil. He turned and gave the order, -and the two men stepped from their saddles and growled to him to make -haste. - -I led him round the tent to the shed where the three dead horses lay. - -“Last night your man killed them. You see, there are three of them.” - -“Well?” - -“Well, there are three dead ones here, killed by your man, and there -are three live ones out there on which you have just ridden up.” - -“You don’t mean--what do you mean?” he asked. He was beginning to -understand. - -“How do you propose to make up that loss to me?” - -He laughed uncomfortably. “You’re a cool hand,” he said. - -“I’m cool enough just now,” I returned drily; “and none the safer on -that account, perhaps, to fool with. How are you going to replace those -three horses?” - -“Speak out, and to hell with you,” he growled. - -“I propose an exchange, that’s all. You can have these, and I’ll take -yours and cry quits.” - -His face was a study; rage battling with the conviction of helplessness -as he glared at me. - -“You are three to two, I know; but we’re well armed, and you have -nothing but your knives. I could put a bullet into you at this minute -just as easily, and much more surely than your men could have shot me a -while since.” - -He started, and I saw his hand go stealing to his sash. - -“I shouldn’t draw it if I were you,” I said quietly. - -He took the advice and stood thinking in sore perplexity. - -Then I made my first mistake. - -“I’ll treat you fairly. I shall pay you for the horses, and will send -you a couple of hundred gulden for each of them, good Austrian money.” - -His eyes lighted; and I read it for a sign of avarice. - -“Six hundred gulden,” he said slowly and with gusto. “Six hundred -gulden. It is a large sum of money; but we should be without horses;” -and he looked at me cunningly. - -“I’ll make it a thousand.” - -“Easy to promise. As easy a thousand as ten.” - -“What I promise I can do.” - -“May the Stone of the Sepulchre crush me if I understand,” he exclaimed -after a pause. - -“It may help you to decide if I remind you I can take the horses -without even promising a single gulden.” - -“And about the prisoner?” - -“She goes with me.” - -“Why?” - -“Because she prefers to.” - -“So that we lose the payment for her as well as our horses.” - -“How much were you to be paid?” - -He paused as if in doubt how much to ask. - -“Five hundred gulden each. There are six of us.” He watched me closely -as he named the amount. - -“Three thousand gulden! She must be a prisoner of importance. Who is -she?” - -“It’s a long road to Maglai and a difficult.” - -“That doesn’t answer my question. Your man told mine she was a witch.” -He laughed. - -“So we were told. Any tale was good enough to listen to at that price. -We can’t talk so glibly about hundreds and thousands of gulden as you -can.” - -“Then YOU don’t think she is a witch?” - -“I believe what I’m paid to believe--if the pay is high enough. And no -one would pay such a sum for a mere witch.” - -“I’ll pay you the three thousand gulden and the six hundred as well, if -you let me have the horses quietly, and tell Karasch what you told me, -that the prisoner is no witch.” - -He laughed again, and with sudden change to earnest he shot a sharp -look at me and asked: - -“How will you pay? Who are you to have such a sum?” - -“No matter who I am. I will send you the money to any place and in any -way you name.” - -“Horses are horses, and I know who is to pay for the prisoner when we -get to Maglai.” - -“And I’ll increase the price four thousand gulden if you give me the -name of the man who has employed you.” - -“I’d like to serve you, if you really had money to throw away like -that.” - -“I’m paying to avoid trouble and to gain information; but I mean to -have the horses in any case. You can choose.” - -He paused to think again. - -“You must be very rich. If I thought you’d pay, I’d do it.” - -“You can take my word.” - -“You don’t look it,” he said doubtingly, and with an accent of regret. - -“I’m through with the talk. Choose,” I answered, shortly. - -“I’m ready to risk it, but I must speak to the others.” - -“That’s right enough. You can do that; but you must bring the horses up -to the side of the tent first.” - -I let him go in front of me round the tent, and he called to his -companions to lead the horses over to us. Karasch met them half way, -and he and I tethered them while the three men held a long and animated -discussion. - -I told Karasch what had passed, emphasising what the leader had said -about the prisoner being no witch. - -“But you said she had put a charm over your life, Burgwan.” - -“Because I saw you were set on killing her. She is no witch, but a -prisoner of great importance. They are to have three thousand gulden -for taking her to Maglai.” - -“Three thousand gulden!” he cried, his eyes wide at the thought of such -a sum. To him it was a fortune. - -“Would anyone pay so much for a witch, Karasch?” - -He shook his head. - -“The man may be lying.” - -I called to him, and he came and confirmed what he had said to me so -stoutly that Karasch was convinced. - -“Are you agreed yet?” - -“There would be no difficulty if we were sure of you. Can he pay such -a sum as four thousand florins?” he asked Karasch, nodding his head -toward me. - -“It is a big fortune,” was the answer, with a shrug of the shoulders. -“But what he promises he always does.” - -Not a very convincing banker’s reference that at the best; and the -leader shook his head. - -“That’s the point. It’s only a promise,” he said, slowly, with a shake -of the head. “Have you got any of it here to give us now?” The question -was asked casually enough, as if it were no more than the occasion -warranted; but I saw more than that in it. - -“I’ve told you I’d pay you afterwards. That’s the last word.” - -“I’ll try what I can do then;” and with that he went back to his -companions, and the earnest conference was resumed. - -“I don’t trust him,” said Karasch. - -“Let us get away quietly with the horses, and we’ll trust to ourselves, -Karasch,” said I. - -“Can you pay such a sum as he named?” - -“Yes, ten times the amount, Karasch; and ten times that again if -necessary.” - -“Great Lord of the Living!” he exclaimed. “And yet you come here to the -hills in this way!” - -The three men had now apparently ended their conference, and the leader -came across to me. - -“Two of us are agreed,” he said, as he reached me, “but one will not -without proof. Let me see our comrade whom you shot. He must have a -voice in it too.” - -“He is in the tent here,” I answered. We entered it, and he went and -knelt by the wounded man. - -I did not trust him any more than did Karasch, and, although I noticed -nothing to rouse my suspicions, I watched the two closely, and kept my -hand on the revolver in my pocket, and told Karasch to watch the two -outside. - -So far all had gone as well as I could have wished. We had the horses -under our hands, and the men were divided so that we could deal with -them in turn should they attempt to put up a fight. - -Such a thing seemed far from their thoughts, moreover. From the -snatches of talk I heard, the leader appeared to be arguing with his -comrade, urging him to agree, and answering the objections which he -raised. Words began to run high between them presently, and at length -the leader cursed the other volubly for a fool and got up. - -“I can do nothing with this pig,” he exclaimed angrily to me. - -“You must settle your own matters, and be quick about it,” I returned -sharply. - -I was getting very anxious now on account of mademoiselle. She had been -shut up in the cottage all the time, and knowing nothing of what was -passing between the men and me it was easy to guess the effect which so -trying a suspense would have upon her. - -“What can I do? He vows that if I yield to you he will denounce me at -Belgrade--idiot, pig, and fool that he is,” he cried furiously, pacing -the floor and throwing his hands about. “We are equally divided now, -two to two.” - -“The money I shall pay would be a fortune for the two who help me. The -others would have no part in earning it, and no right to share it. Two -thousand gulden, you know.” - -He had passed me, and at the words turned and stood looking at me with -an expression of consummate cunning. - -“You are the devil to tempt a man,” he muttered. - -“Give me your help in this, and I’ll make your share three thousand,” I -said, in a low tone. - -“Three thousand gulden,” he murmured under his breath. “Three thousand -gulden for myself.” - -“And you shall have the horse we have and come with us as guide to -where we wish to go. You know the country?” - -“Every yard of it. Three thousand gulden!” He murmured it almost -caressingly, like a man dazed at the prospect of such riches. “I’ll do -it,” he exclaimed, and threw up his hand. “You’ll swear on the cross to -pay me?” - -He made a couple of steps toward me as he spoke, and I stepped back, -not wishing him to come too close. - -“Now,” he cried, and sent up a great shout. - -There was a guttural sound behind me, and the next instant I felt the -burning sting of steel in my flesh as the wounded man thrust a knife -into my leg with a force and suddenness that made me stagger; a clutch -on my coat followed, which upset my balance and drew me back all -a-sprawl across him. - -Only by the narrowest chance did I escape death then--the chance that -in falling I so hampered the man that he could not deliver the second -thrust for which he had already lifted his knife. He struck at me, but -missed his aim. The blade pierced my coat only, and, mercifully, I was -unhurt. I was out of his reach before he could strike again, and with a -heavy kick I put his arm out of action and sent the knife flying across -the tent while I shouted for Karasch. - -It was all the work of an instant, and I was barely on my legs before -the leader rushed at me. My fingers were still closed on my revolver -and I fired, but in the confusion missed him, and we grappled one -another in grim earnest. - -He was a more powerful man than I, and although I strove with all my -strength and used every trick of the wrestling ring that I knew, I -could not shake him off. He knew I was losing blood from the wound in -my leg; and he clung to me, pinning my arms to my side, and waiting for -my strength to give out, as assuredly it must. - -For some minute or two matters were thus; his arms wrapped round me -with the force of iron clamps, fixing mine to my sides; his muscular -body pressed, straining against mine, and our faces so close that I -could feel his breath on me as it came through his dilated nostrils. - -Then chance was my friend once more. As I writhed and staggered in my -desperate efforts to shake off his terrible grip, and we tossed and -swayed in that grim, wild struggle, he caught his foot and down we went -crash to the ground, he undermost. His grip relaxed for the instant, -and with a frantic effort I thrust myself free from him, and scrambling -up jumped out of his reach. - -In a second I had the drop on him; and when he regained his feet and -faced me with a heavy club he had picked up, he was looking down the -barrel that meant death. - -If I hadn’t been a chicken-hearted fool I should have shot him down -on the spot; but instead I offered him his life; and then, as if in -contempt of my weakness, Fortune deserted me. - -“Throw your hands up, or I’ll put a bullet into you,” I cried. - -He stood a second as if weighing the chances, and then from outside -came the noise of trouble. The crash of breaking wood, a cry from the -girl, the savage growl of Chris, and an angry shout in Karasch’s deep -voice. - -It was almost the last thing I knew of that fight. - -Maddened by the sounds I sprang to rush from the tent, when the wounded -man, resourceful daredevil as he was, made his last effort and flung -his rug right at my face. - -The last thing I saw was the leader springing toward me with his -uplifted club; I fired at him; and the same moment a blow on the head -finished the fight, and I went down stunned and senseless. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ESCAPE. - - -My first conscious sensation after the blow felled me was as singular -as it was unpleasant. I seemed to be nothing but one huge head on which -a hundred invisible smiths were hammering with quick, rhythmic blows, -each of which gave me such excruciating pain that I yearned to cry out -to the impish torturers to cease, but was tongue-tied and helpless. - -After a time the throbbing sensation decreased in violence; but while -the sharpness of the pain of each throb was less, it lasted longer, -producing a deadening sickening ache, which was equally intolerable. - -Next I felt something touch my hand with a curiously restless movement. -The thing was sometimes cold and damp, and at others warm and clinging, -with a touch now and then of roughness. I tried to draw my hand away, -but found it heavier than the heaviest metal, so that I could not stir -even a finger. I shrank from the thing and shuddered; it filled me with -a sense of uncanny terror; and it appeared to be many long hours to me -before I found that it was Chris, nosing and licking me and rubbing his -head against my hand. - -I can recall to this day the rush of relief which this discovery -produced. If Chris was by my side, all must be well. Just that one -vague thought, without any other conscious connection, followed by a -sensation of calm peaceful comfort. - -I think I passed from semi-insensibility then into sleep, for when I -became conscious again, I was much better. I was no longer all head; I -could move my hand to touch Chris, who still kept his watch over me; -and I heard his little whimper of pleasure at my caress, as he took my -fingers in his great mouth to mumble them, as his manner was when very -demonstrative of his affection. - -But I was content to lie quite still and soon afterwards another and -very different set of sensations were started. - -Someone came to my side, a fairy touch smoothed the pillow under my -head, a gentle, cool hand was laid on my burning forehead, deft, quick -fingers light as gossamer removed the bandage on my head and bathed it -with water of deliciously refreshing coldness. - -I heard a pitying sigh from tremulous lips as the someone bent over me; -I caught whispered words. “It was for me;” and just when I was striving -to open my eyes, the lips were pressed swiftly and gently to my brow. - -It did more to soothe me, that one swift, gentle touch, than all the -waters of all the coldest rivers in the world could have done; and -although I felt like a guilty hypocrite, I kept my eyes closed and my -limbs still in eager hope that another dose of the same elixir might be -administered. - -But at the moment I felt the deft fingers start and tremble; the -bathing recommenced a little more hurriedly; and Chris growled. - -“Hush, Chris, good dog,” whispered Mademoiselle. “It’s only Karasch. -Dear old dog,” and a hand left my head to pat him, and in patting him, -the fingers touched mine and then lifted my hand with ever so gentle a -movement higher on to the bed. - -A heavier tread approached. - -“Is he better?” It was Karasch’s gruff voice reduced to a whisper. - -“I have been bathing his head,” was the reply. - -I could have laughed in sheer ecstasy at the sweet remembrance of part -of that treatment. And she called it “bathing.” But I did better than -laugh. I moved slightly and sighed. I must not show full consciousness -too soon after that “bathing.” - -“He moved then,” she said, with a start, in a tone of pleasure, and I -felt her bend hurriedly over me again in the pause that followed. - -Karasch broke the silence. - -“It is not safe for you to stay any longer,” he said. “I came to tell -you.” - -The words opened the floodgates of my memory to all that had occurred. -I had forgotten everything; but in a moment I understood. - -“I told you I should not leave him, Karasch.” - -“He would wish it, I know. Your safety comes first with him.” - -“Come where we can speak without fear of disturbing him,” was the -reply; and then I was left alone with Chris. - -[Illustration: “PUT THOSE GUNS DOWN!” - - _Page 348_] - -I opened my eyes and looked about me, remembering things. I was in -the tent close to where I had fallen and they had brought the bed from -the cottage and placed me on it. I looked about for the wounded man who -had been the cause of my undoing, but he was not there. Everything else -was as it had been before the trouble; and I wondered what had happened. - -“Good Chris, old dog,” I said, putting out my hand to pat him. He -barked, not very loudly, but the sound jarred my head with such a spasm -of pain that I hushed him; and as I was doing so, Mademoiselle and -Karasch came hurrying back. - -“You are better, Burgwan?” she asked. - -“What does it all mean?” I asked. “I remember I had a crack on the -head.” I lifted my head, though it took all I knew not to wince at the -pain it cost me, and put my hand to it. - -“We will tell you everything presently. You mustn’t talk yet. You are -not strong enough.” - -“Tell me now. I am all right;” but I was glad to yield to her hand and -lay my head down again. “Where are those men?” - -“All is well. You may be perfectly at ease,” she said, soothingly. - -“What time is it?” - -“It is afternoon.” - -“The same day?” - -“Yes, the same day. You have been unconscious from that blow on the -head. I am so glad you are better. But you must sleep.” - -I looked across at Karasch, who was staring at me with trouble in his -eyes. - -“Did we keep the horses?” I asked him; but Mademoiselle replied. - -“Yes. All is well. You can rest in perfect safety.” - -Karasch started to say something, but she checked him with a glance and -a gesture. - -“Any news of Petrov or Gartski?” I asked him; and again she gave the -answer for him. - -“They will give us no trouble now, none at all,” she said, with gentle -firmness. “You can rest quite assured.” - -Again Karasch wanted to speak and again she stopped him just as before -with a glance and a quick gesture. I understood then. - -“I want to speak to Karasch alone,” I said. - -“No, you must not speak to him yet. There will be plenty of time when -you are better. Go away, Karasch; you disturb Burgwan and excite him.” - -He lingered in hesitation and looked at me; and she repeated her words -dismissing him. - -“Yes go, Karasch, and saddle the horses. Three of them; and put -together enough food for three of us for a couple of days. And come and -report the moment you are ready.” - -“Burgwan! You are mad,” cried Mademoiselle. - -“No, I am just beginning to be sane again. Go, Karasch;” and without -any more he left the tent. - -“You must not attempt such folly. I will not go.” - -“You’ll find it both lonely and unsafe alone here then.” She smiled at -that, but tried to frown. - -“That is just like you. But you shall not take this risk. You are not -fit to move from where you are.” - -“Fit or unfit, I’m going. I read Karasch’s meaning in his looks when -you wouldn’t let him put it in words.” - -“Don’t attempt this, Burgwan. Please, please don’t,” she cried with -such sweet solicitude for me and such complete indifference to her own -danger that I could not but be deeply moved. - -“What would happen if Petrov or Gartski got back with a crowd? I’m not -strong enough just yet to do any more fighting, but I am strong enough -to run away. And run away I’m going to.” - -“It may kill you,” she murmured, despondently. - -“Not a bit of it. I am getting stronger every moment. See, I can sit -up;” and I sat up and tried to smile as if I enjoyed it, although my -head seemed almost to split in two with the effort. I can’t have been -very successful, for she winced and flinched as though she herself were -in suffering. - -“You need rest and sleep--you must have it.” - -“I can sleep in the saddle. I’m an old hand at that.” - -“But the jolting--oh, no, no, you shall not.” - -“The jolting won’t hurt me. I can shake my head any old way now.” I -shook it, and she and the tent and the bed, the earth itself seemed to -come tumbling all about me in a bewildering rush of throbbing pain. - -“You nearly fainted then,” she cried. And I suppose I did, for her -voice sounded far off and her sorrow-filled face and eyes were looking -at me through a hazy film of distance. But I pulled myself together. - -“I’m a bit weak, of course, but fit enough to ride.” - -“Burgwan! You are going to do this madness for me.” - -“No, no,” I said, my head clearing again. “I am just running away -because I’m afraid of what may happen to me if I stay until Petrov and -the other fools get here.” - -“Let me go by myself then.” - -“And desert me?” She lifted her hands with a glance of protest. - -“You make things so difficult,” she cried; then with a change as a new -thought occurred to her, she added: “Beside, there is another reason -for you not to come with me. You are so weak we should not be able to -ride fast enough. You must see that.” - -“You fear I should hamper your escape?” - -“Yes,” she answered stoutly, although her eyes were contradicting her -words and she dropped them before my look. “You are not strong enough.” - -I affected to believe the words and not the eyes. - -“I give in. You must go alone then.” - -“I am not afraid to stay.” - -“And face the brutes who would come here? Do you know why they are -coming?” - -“Yes. Karasch has told me all--his own belief about me, and that of the -others.” - -“You are brave, Mademoiselle.” - -The words were simple enough in themselves, but I think she read in -them something of what was in my thoughts. She kept her head bent down -and her interlocked fingers worked nervously. Then she looked up and -smiled. - -“You know the risk you would run; why would you do it?” I asked. - -She threw off the more earnest feeling with a shrug of the shoulders. -“I don’t know that there would be any risk.” - -I took this as her way of avoiding the channel into which we were -drifting. I smiled. - -“You would be so helpless, too, alone here,” I said. - -“Alone?” catching at the word. - -“Yes alone. I am afraid to stay and am going in any case; if not with -you, to hamper you, then by a different road.” - -Her eyes clouded and she gave a little nervous start. “I am punished; -but I--I didn’t mean that,” she said very slowly. - -“I know. If I had not seen your real motive I might have been content -to stay. Nothing would have mattered then.” - -“Burgwan!” Quick protest and some dismay were in her tone; and the -colour rushed to her cheeks. “I will go and see if Karasch is ready,” -she added, and hurried away. - -Had I said too much and offended her? I sat looking after her some -moments, in somewhat anxious doubts and fears, and yet conscious of a -strange feeling of exhilaration. - -Then with a sigh of perplexed discontent I threw back the rug, rolled -off the bed, and got on my feet. I was abominably weak. My brain swam -with every movement I made, so that the place whirled about me until -I must have nearly fainted. My leg was stiff and painful where that -treacherous brute had run his knife into me. I remember looking at -the bed with a sort of feverish longing to get back on to it almost -impossible to resist as I clung to the tent pole to steady myself and -let my head clear. - -“It’s got to be done, Chris, old man,” I said to the old dog, who was -standing by me; and after a struggle resolution lent me strength, and -I ventured at length to do without the support of the pole and began -to limp slowly and painfully up and down. If there had been no one but -myself to think about I should have given in and just lain down again -to let happen what might. - -But the thought of Mademoiselle’s danger was tonic enough to keep me -going; and when I heard Karasch and her outside, I managed to crawl to -the opening of the tent to meet them. - -“We are ready, you see, Chris and I,” I said. - -Mademoiselle said nothing, but the look in her eyes was full of sweet -sympathy and deep anxiety. - -“I’m afraid I don’t look very fit,” I murmured. I must have cut a -sorry figure, indeed, I expect; my clothes rough and torn, begrimed -with dirt and smeared here and there with blood, my head swathed in a -bandage, and my face pale to whiteness above and blackened below with -my sprouting beard. - -“I wish you could laugh at me. It would do me a power of good.” - -“Laugh! Burgwan!” she said, her lips trembling. She put out her hand. -“Let me help you. Lean on me.” - -“As if I wanted any help,” I laughed, and making an effort, I started -toward the horse I was to mount, only to stagger badly after half a -dozen steps. In a moment her arm was under mine. - -“You see,” she exclaimed, in quick distress. - -But I laughed. “Coward, to gloat over my fallen pride. I only tripped -over something.” - -“Lean on me,” was all she said. - -“Are you really fit to travel, Burgwan?” asked Karasch. - -“Get me on to the horse. I can ride when I can’t walk.” - -“I think you should stay here,” he declared. - -“Silence, Karasch,” I returned, angrily. My anger was at my own -confounded weakness, but I vented it on him. “The air will pull me -together.” - -I started again for the horse and this time reached it, and with -Karasch to help me, clambered into the saddle. - -Mademoiselle watched us almost breathlessly. If my face was whiter than -hers, I must have looked bad indeed. - -“Have you got everything, Karasch?” - -“Yes. Food, water and arms;” and he pointed to the horse he was to ride -which was well laden. - -“I can’t help you up, Mademoiselle,” I said, with a smile. - -I seemed to be the only one of the three who could raise a smile; for -she looked preternaturally grave and troubled as she mounted, and -Karasch as though he had never known a smile since he was born. But -then he was never much of a humorist. - -“The map and the compass, you have them?” I asked him. - -“I have them,” said Mademoiselle. - -“Then we can go. Wait, wait,” I exclaimed. “I have forgotten something. -I must get off.” - -“What is it?” she asked. - -“We must have money. It’s in the hut. I must get it.” - -“You can’t go in there,” she said, quickly. - -“Why not?” - -“The men are there.” - -“The men there?” I repeated dully, not understanding. “What are they -doing there?” - -“When you were found in the tent we dared not move you, so we brought -the bed across to you and put the wounded men in the cottage.” - -“Yes, of course, you haven’t told me yet what occurred. But my money is -hidden there and we must have it.” - -“We’ll fetch it if you tell us where to find it.” - -“Karasch?” I answered, doubtingly. - -“You can trust him. I am sure of him,” she declared with implied -confidence. “He is a Serb and would give his life for--for us. I would -trust him with mine.” - -“There is more there than he thinks. I’d rather he didn’t see it all. -Life is one thing, money’s another.” - -“Tell me then. I will get it. He shall go with me to the hut door, but -shall not see it.” - -I told her where to find it and she and Karasch dismounted. I waited on -my horse and while they were in the cottage I heard the report of a -gun in the distance. - -Chris started up at the sound and barked in warning. - -“I don’t like the thing either, old dog.” I didn’t; for unless I was -too dizzy to guess right, it came from the direction of Lalwor and -threatened trouble. - -They lingered an unnecessary time in the cottage and every moment was -now dangerous; so I rode up to the door and called them. When they came -out Mademoiselle was trembling and looked scared and ill. - -“I must get them some water, Burgwan,” she said, as she handed me the -money. “I cannot leave them like that. One of them--the one Chris flew -at--seems to be dying.” - -“We dare not stay;” and I told them of the gunshot I had heard. “There -will soon be enough here to look after them.” - -Karasch settled the matter with a promptness which showed what he -thought of the news. He threw down the pannikin he carried and shut the -door of the hut. - -“Come,” I said to her; and seeing we were both so earnest, she gave way -and we started. - -We rode slowly and in silence down the ravine until we reached the -mouth of it, and made such speed as we could down the mountain road. - -“There’s a lot I want to ask; but as the easiest pace for me is a -canter, and as it’s the safest for us all just now, we’ll hurry. We -can talk afterwards,” I said when we reached the level; and I urged -my horse on until we were cantering briskly, the old dog loping along -close to me and looking up constantly as though he was fully conscious -that something was very much amiss with me calling for the utmost -vigilance and guardianship on his part. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT. - - -We did not slacken speed until we had put some miles between us and -the camp; and although at first I suffered abominable torture from the -jolting, I had to keep on, and after a time I found that the rush of -the cool air, acting as a kind of stimulating tonic revived me. My head -became gradually less painful and my brain cleared. - -If we had only been certain of our road I should have had no serious -misgivings as to the result. We were all well mounted, and although -the horses were not fresh, yet they were quite fit to carry us the -distance we had to travel to reach the railway. But I could only guess -the road, picking the way by the compass; and in that difficult and -barren district there was a constant risk that we should lose the way, -especially as we should have to ride through the night. - -It was almost evening when we left the camp, and my intention was to -ride as far and as fast as possible while the daylight lasted and then -rest until the moon rose. We should then have six or seven hours to -ride before even the earliest peasants would be astir, and in that time -I calculated we should be able to reach the frontier town of Samac, the -terminus of the line. - -The overpowering reason for travelling at night was the fear that some -attempt would be made at pursuit. If Petrov and Gartski succeeded in -bringing any considerable party back to the camp from Lalwor, they -would learn from the men there of the reward to be paid for getting -Mademoiselle to Maglai; and for any such sum as three thousand gulden -the average Bosnian peasant would leave all he had in the world -and go scrambling for a share of it. And with greed to back up the -superstitious abhorrence of witchcraft, there was no telling what would -be done. - -We were a party easily tracked, too. Two wounded men, a woman, and a -huge hound like Chris would be readily remembered if once seen anywhere -at any time; and the night was thus the safest for us. - -I kept all these thoughts to myself, however, and pushed on as fast as -practicable, although both Mademoiselle and Karasch urged me more than -once to halt and rest. - -“We must get on while the light lasts,” was my answer. “We shall be -compelled to rest when the dark falls;” and the only time we slackened -speed was when the nature of the road compelled us. - -“I wish you would rest, Burgwan, if only for an hour,” said -Mademoiselle as we were walking the horses up a hill. - -“Not while the light lasts,” I replied. “The fretting impatience to get -on would do me more harm than the rest would good. I am in little or no -pain now. Tell me what happened after I was knocked over.” - -“Karasch and Chris saved me. He says the man in the tent with you -shouted some signal at which the two who were with him broke open the -hut door. Chris flew at them, pinned one man by the throat, and the -other who was close behind fell in the confusion.” - -“Good Chris,” I exclaimed. - -“Yes, indeed, good dog. Well, Karasch was on the watch and as the man -was getting up and drawing his knife to attack Chris, Karasch rushed up -and knocked him senseless with a gun.” - -“Well played, Karasch. And then?” - -“That was all, except that I had great difficulty in making Chris loose -his hold. His fury was really awful to see. But he obeyed me, and -Karasch and I together bound the men and made them prisoners; but both -were badly hurt--especially the one Chris mauled.” - -“But the third man?” I asked, perplexed. - -“We found him shot in the tent, near you.” - -I remembered then my shot at random just as I was struck. - -“Is he dead?” - -“No, but badly wounded; and we got him and the man you took last night -to the hut.” - -“Well, it serves them all right; and the folk from Lalwor will look -after them. They meant killing me. But it may make things uglier for -us, and is all the stronger reason for us to hurry on while the light -lasts;” and we pressed forward again. - -Just when the gloom was deepening fast, my policy of haste was -justified. - -I had halted at a point where the road forked and, in considerable -doubt which way to ride, was anxiously consulting my map when Chris put -his nose to the ground and whimpered. - -“Steady, Chris, good dog, steady,” I whispered; and he knew he was -to make no noise. “Someone is about,” I said to Mademoiselle. We sat -silent and listened, and presently heard the throbbing of hoofs from -the direction we had been riding. - -“Two horses,” said Karasch, whose hearing was very acute. - -“It may be nothing. Ride into the shadow of those trees and let Karasch -and Chris go with you,” I said to Mademoiselle. - -“But you....” she began to object. - -“Please do as I say and at once,” I interposed; and I put my horse on -to the grass under another tree. - -She did as I asked without further protest and I waited for the -newcomers. They caught sight of me while still at some distance and -checked their horses first to a trot, and then to a walk. - -“You are well come; I have lost my way,” I said as they reached me. - -“Who are you?” asked one; and as the question was put the other man -laughed, and backed his horse to a safe distance as he said: - -“It is Burgwan. We are all right;” and I recognised the voice. - -“That is Petrov?” - -“Yes. You are wanted at the camp, Burgwan, to explain things there. -Where is the witch? May the curse of God blight her!” - -“If you are the man, Burgwan, you must come back with us,” put in the -other man, who spoke with an air of authority. - -“Must?” - -“Yes, must. There are some badly injured men there; and the injured -make strange charges against you which must be explained.” - -“Who are you?” - -“I am Captain Hanske, from Lalwor--the head officer of the district -under the Imperial Government. You left the place with an escaped -prisoner? She must return with you.” - -A most disquieting turn, this Of all developments possible, the least -to my liking was a conflict with the Austrian authorities. - -“I am prepared to meet any charges,” I answered firmly. “An attempt was -made upon my life there, and all I did was done in self-defence. But I -cannot return with you.” - -“You have no option. You must do as I say and at once.” He spoke in -curt stern tone of a man accustomed to be obeyed. I knew well enough -the fear in which the Austrian officials are held by the Bosnians. - -“We will see,” I answered, in quite as stiff a tone. “I have first a -reckoning to settle with Petrov there;” and I wheeled my horse round -and rode toward him. But he did not wait for me to get near him. He was -off like the wind; as indeed I had hoped. - -“I’ll carry the news back to the rest at the camp,” he called over -his shoulder, and he galloped back along the road as though the devil -himself were at his heels. I listened to the dying sounds of his -horse’s hoofs with intense satisfaction, and went back with a laugh to -the official. - -“Your character as a desperado is well established,” he exclaimed drily -and angrily. - -“Now we can talk on equal terms,” said I, quietly. - -“I order you in the name of the Emperor to come with me.” - -“And I tell you, man to man, I shall do nothing of the kind. I am no -desperado, as I shall be easily able to prove when necessary; but I -have no time for anything of the sort now.” - -“Then I shall accompany you.” - -“No, that also is impossible.” - -“What were you doing in the camp yonder?” - -“My own business, merely.” - -“Where are you going?” - -“Also about my own business.” - -“Where are your papers?” - -“I have none to show you.” - -“Then I shall accompany you.” - -“No. That I shall not allow.” - -“Do you dare to threaten me?” - -“There are three roads here. One back to the camp; one to the left -there, and one to the right. You are free to choose which you please -and I will take another.” - -“I shall not leave you.” He was getting very angry and dogged. - -“If you are armed you may perhaps force yourself upon me.” - -“I shall do as I say,” he answered, with just enough hesitation to -assure me he was not armed. Then it occurred to me that it would be -safer to get him away from the place and to increase the distance -between him and the camp. It would be the more difficult for Petrov and -the rest to find him when they returned. - -“Mademoiselle,” I called. She and Karasch came out. “We are to have a -companion. This gentleman desires to ride with us. This is our road;” -and choosing that which led away to the right, I rode on with her, -leaving the official to follow. - -She had overheard the conversation and questioned me with some anxiety -as to what I meant to do. She went so far even as to suggest a return -to the camp. - -“I have my plans. It will all come right. I should have left him at the -fork of the road there had I not thought it best to get him further -away.” - -“But I could probably satisfy him,” she said. - -“I’ll deal with him in my own way, please,” was my reply. - -We plunged along at such pace as we could make now that the darkness -had deepened; but when we could go no faster than a walk, and were, I -reckoned, some two miles from the cross roads, I called a halt. - -“We are going to rest here, captain,” I said to him, as we dismounted. - -We three sat by the side of the road and while we made a hasty meal -I explained my plan to Karasch, who was frankly frightened by the -presence of the official. - -“The moon will be up in a couple of hours, Karasch, and you must keep -watch. I must sleep or I shall not be fit to ride later. We are going -to leave that man here. If he dismounts, find the means to turn his -horse astray; if he does not, you must disable the horse. But don’t -shoot it except in the last resource; for we don’t know who might hear -the shot. The man we shall just tie up to a tree.” - -“It is dangerous, Burgwan. He is an officer of the Imperial -Government,” said Karasch. - -“If he were the Emperor of Austria himself, I should do it in the -plight we are in.” - -I lay down. The excitement had kept me going; but I was done now; -utterly exhausted and worn out; and despite the hazard of our position, -I was soon fast asleep. I was wakened by a loud, angry cry from the -Austrian. I could scarcely lift my head for the throbbing in it; I -ached in every joint and muscle; and my leg was woefully stiff and -painful from that knife thrust; but I scrambled to my feet in alarm and -confusion at the noise. - -I must have slept for some three hours; for the moon was up and shining -fitfully between the masses of ragged threatening clouds which were -scudding across the face of the heavens. By the light I saw the man -struggling with Karasch and shouting with a vigour that woke very -dangerous echoes in the still night. Mademoiselle was holding Chris, -who was growling ominously, and she was attempting to still him. - -I went over to them and found that Karasch had strapped the man’s legs -tight together and was holding on to the strap with his one arm while -the Austrian was fighting and wrestling to get free. - -“Down, Chris. You may loose him, Mademoiselle,” I said; and the good -dog came instantly to heel. “Stand from him, Karasch,” I called next. -“Now, sir, you must stop those cries; or I shall put the dog on you.” - -“This is an outrage, an infernal outrage, and you shall all suffer for -it,” he cried, furiously. - -“It’s done by my orders. The outrage is that you should endeavour to -force yourself upon us.” - -“I am doing my duty. I am a Government----” - -“I choose not to believe you; that’s all there is to it; and I take you -to be a dirty spy set upon me by that other coward, Petrov, who was -with you. I am going to tie your arms to your sides and leave you here. -We are both suffering from the injuries inflicted by your accomplices; -and if you resist, you must settle matters with my dog here--and he -makes a rough fighter at the best of times.” - -“You infernal villain....” he spluttered. - -“Chris.” The great dog came close up to him and a fearsome brute he -looked in the moonlight as he eyed the captain and showed his fangs -with an angry snarl. “Now, Karasch.” - -He ceased to struggle then and let Karasch fasten him up securely; and -after that we gagged him, and finding a suitable place some distance -from the road we left him. - -“Where’s his horse?” - -“I started him over the hills. Mademoiselle helped me. I couldn’t have -done it without her. She got him from his horse talking with him, and I -got rid of the horse. It’ll probably go home.” - -“It may go to the devil for aught I care. But we must be off without -losing another moment.” - -I felt the necessity now. We had burnt our boats with a vengeance -in this treatment of the Austrian captain; and if we were caught on -Austrian territory there might be a big bill to pay before we could -settle matters. It was not now Mademoiselle’s safety only that depended -upon our reaching Samac, but our own also, and we pushed on as fast as -possible. - -“Karasch told me how cleverly you got that man separated from his -horse, Mademoiselle,” I said when we were walking the horses up a steep -hill. - -“He did not hear what I said to him?” she asked, quickly. - -“He said nothing to me if he did.” - -“He deserves what he has got; but it is a dangerous thing in Bosnia to -interfere with an Austrian official.” - -“What did you say to him?” - -“I made the only offer I could. I told him I was the cause of all the -trouble, was alone responsible, and offered to explain everything.” - -“Ah, I see. You mean you offered to go back with him, if he would let -you go alone. It was like you.” - -She started and glanced quickly at me. “I did not say that.” - -“No. But I know you, and where you are concerned can make a guess.” - -“You would have been free, Burgwan; and I could have cleared matters.” - -“He was a fool, or he would have guessed and accepted the offer.” - -“What do you mean? Guessed what?” - -“That the moment I woke I should have ridden back to the camp.” - -“Burgwan!” - -“Do you think I should have left you in the lurch? It’s not the way we -treat women in England, or in America.” - -“But you don’t understand. I should have been in no danger. Once under -Austrian protection I could have explained.” - -“Explained what?” - -“Who I am. You have never asked me.” - -“I do not care. When you wish me to know, you will tell me; and when I -wish to know, I will ask. I can wait. I know what you are--to me.” - -Either she did not catch the last words, for I had dropped my voice, or -she affected not to hear. She said nothing and when we reached the top -of the hill we rattled on again quickly. - -When we drew rein at the next hill we walked half way to the top in -silence and then she broke it abruptly: - -“I will tell you if you wish, Burgwan.” - -“I do not. To me you are Mademoiselle: to you I am Burgwan; and -Mademoiselle and Burgwan we can best remain, until we are out of this -bother.” - -“How far do you think we are from Samac?” - -“We ought not to be more than a dozen miles at most--but that’s not -much more than a guess.” - -“When we reach there, we shall part.” - -“You will be glad to be on the safe road to Belgrade.” - -“Is that another guess, Burgwan?” - -“Yes, it’s another guess, Mademoiselle.” - -“Do you think it’s a good one?” - -“Yes. You would be an extraordinary woman if it were not. I wish with -all my heart we were safely there.” - -“Then I wish it, too,” she answered, with a gesture. A long pause -followed until she said, “Yes, I do wish it. I had forgotten how ill -you are and how sorely you need rest.” - -“I suppose it sounded as though I was thinking of myself.” - -“Not to me; you never seem to think of yourself--at least during our -comradeship.” - -“I like that word--comradeship. Thank you for it.” - -“It has been a strange one, Burgwan. How good you have been. And I took -you at first for a--a peasant, and even once for a brigand.” - -“There are worse folk in the world than peasants--or brigands either -for that matter.” - -“What trouble I have brought to you.” - -“We shall have the more to laugh over when we meet again.” - -“We shall not meet again, Burgwan,” she said, so seriously and -deliberately that I thought I could detect a touch of sadness. Perhaps -I only hoped it, and the hope cheated me. I answered lightly, - -“One never knows. The world’s a small place now. You might come to -America some day.” - -“No, no. That is impossible,” she interjected quickly. - -“Then I might go to Belgrade.” - -“No, no,” she exclaimed again in the same quick tone. “That too must be -impossible.” - -“Impossible is a word we are going to wipe out of the American -dictionary,” I replied, with a smile. “We shall see; but as we are at -the top of the hill we’ll hurry on to Samac--the first stage, whether -for America or Belgrade.” - -She turned as if to say something, her face very grave and earnest, but -after a moment’s hesitation shook up her reins and we cantered on. - -But a good deal was to happen before we reached Samac; the first stage, -as I had so glibly named it. We had some few miles of easy going -when the path became very difficult and branched suddenly in three -directions. I picked out that which, judging by the compass, promised -to lead us straight to Samac. But instead of that, when we had followed -it for an hour or more we found it cut by a broad, swift-flowing river. - -The path led right down to the water’s edge and rose from it on the -other side; but the river was in flood from the recent heavy rains, -and the ford was impassable. Karasch and I both tried to cross, on -horseback first and then on foot, but failed; and then we rode along -the bank searching for a fordable spot. - -But this only led us into worse disaster. We came to a spot where -another stream, itself as fierce and swift and broad, joined the first. -We were cut off hopelessly. - -We had lost precious hours in this way. It was long past the dawn; and -to make matters even worse I could find no trace of the streams on the -map anywhere near Samac. - -It was an awkward plight in all truth. To go on was impossible; to stay -where we were for the waters to subside was useless; and yet to go back -was only to put ourselves once more on the road where we might look for -danger from those we knew to be in pursuit of us. The hours we had thus -wasted had thrown away all the advantage gained by the night’s riding. - -Yet there was nothing else for it; and with a bitter sigh and something -stronger at the bad luck, I gave the word, and we started to return. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -FROM BAD TO WORSE. - - -The crushing disappointment and the anxiety it caused, following on -the fatigue of the long ride, aggravated the injury to my head so that -I could scarcely keep in the saddle. I had to cling to the pommel to -prevent myself from falling. - -Mademoiselle was quick to see my condition. - -“Let us rest, Burgwan,” she said. - -“No, we must push on. They may get ahead of us. I shall be better again -directly.” - -“I am too tired,” she answered; and without waiting to hear my protest, -she slipped from her horse. - -“You must not do that,” I exclaimed, irritably. - -“Karasch’s arm is bad too,” she replied. “Isn’t it, Karasch?” - -“Yes, it is paining me, Burgwan,” he declared then. “I cannot go any -further;” and he dismounted and came to help me. - -“Then I’ll ride on and find the road and return,” I said. - -“No,” exclaimed Karasch, as he seized my horse’s bridle. - -“Stand away, Karasch,” I cried, angrily. I was more like a fractious, -obstinate child just then than a reasoning man. I felt I was too weak -to go on and was angry with them both because I could not hide it. - -“You must get off, Burgwan,” he returned, firmly. - -“I’ll break your other arm if you don’t loose my bridle, Karasch.” - -“Then I’ll hold it. You won’t break mine, Burgwan,” said Mademoiselle, -taking it quickly. “Hold my horse, Karasch. I am faint for want of food -and rest, Burgwan. Won’t you help me?” - -“You are only doing this because you think I’m such a weak fool as not -to be able to keep going,” I declared, angrily. “Please to loose that -bridle, Mademoiselle.” - -“Not until you break my arm, Burgwan.” - -I sat still looking with a child’s sullen anger into her clear, calm, -resolute eyes. - -“If you were a man....” I began and then laughed. “I’m a fool and -that’s all there is to it. I’ll get off--but I won’t forgive you. -This is mutiny.” I rolled from the saddle and was glad of the help of -Karasch’s sturdy arm. “You don’t seem very weak, you coward,” I said, -half in earnest, half in jest. - -“That’s not the broken arm, Burgwan,” he replied, as he helped me with -the gentleness of a girl. - -“I’m all right and could ride fifty miles,” I protested angrily as I -sat down; and then in proof of it, I fell back and fainted from sheer -weakness. - -When I came to myself Mademoiselle was bathing my face and head, deep -pity and care in her eyes. - -“I’m horribly ashamed of myself,” I murmured. - -“It’s a good thing you didn’t break my arm, Burgwan, isn’t it?” she -said, smiling. - -“I was angry. I wanted to go on. I’m sorry.” - -“It was mutiny, you know. You feel better now?” - -“Oh, yes. I can sit up. Was I long?” - -“Only a few minutes. Karasch has tethered the horses and is getting -us something to eat. Do you know, I was never so hungry in my life -before?” and she laughed brightly. - -“We’re in a desperate mess,” said I, gloomily. - -“We should have been in a worse if we had gone on.” - -“Rub it in. You got your own way, you know.” - -“I meant to have it; and I’m not going to put my foot in the stirrup -again until you have had something to eat and have slept for at least -two or three hours.” - -“You have a very masterful way of your own.” - -She nodded and smiled to me. “But the point is whether you are going to -obey without more--mutiny.” - -“You seem to take this for a kind of picnic.” - -“Here’s breakfast at any rate,” she cried, as Karasch came up. - -“Put it down here, Karasch, and get one of the saddles to prop Burgwan -up.” - -“I can sit up without anything, I assure you.” - -“Who did you say was masterful?” - -I gave in with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders and let them -arrange the saddle, and found it very comfortable. - -It was poor fare. Some hard biscuits, a tin of preserved meat, and some -water from the river; but it could not have been enjoyed with more -relish if it had been the best breakfast that the Waldorf-Astoria chef -could have sent up. - -Mademoiselle’s cheerfulness in the strange and depressing circumstances -was positively dauntless. She would see nothing but the brightest side -of things. We were lost on the hills; but then it would be so much -the more difficult for anyone to find us. The food was rough, but we -had plenty to last us for all that day and part of the next. The loss -of time might be dangerous, but we all needed rest and could take it -without risk where we were. We did not know where to look for the road -to Samac, but we should be sure to find a way somewhere. And meanwhile -we were getting stronger and so better able to face the trouble. - -Even Karasch’s stern face relaxed under her influence. And as for -me--well, I rolled over on the soft grass when she told me, and having -put old Chris on the watch, went off to sleep as contentedly as though -her view of the position and not mine were the true one. - -I slept for some hours. I woke once and looked round to find Karasch -lying on his back at some distance, snoring in a deep stertorous -diapason; and Mademoiselle curled up fast asleep peacefully with Chris -lying at her feet. The hot sun was pouring down on the hills and crags -around us; and I stretched myself lazily and was soon off again in deep -refreshing slumber. - -When I awoke again I was alone to my great surprise. The horses were -grazing near me tethered; but even Chris was away somewhere; and I sat -up wondering in some confusion what it meant. - -A glance at my watch showed it was two hours and more past noon and -that I must have slept for six or seven hours. I felt immensely -refreshed. The pain in my head was so slight as to be inconsiderable, -and although my leg was stiff, I could move about freely. - -Feeling in my pockets I found a couple of cigars in my case, and -lighted one to think over things. I was smoking it with a rare relish -when I saw Mademoiselle coming from the direction of the river with -Chris in close attendance. How the old rascal had taken to her! I went -to meet them; and as I approached, the dog came running to fawn upon me -and then rushed back to fawn upon her; and looked from one to the other -of us as though our comradeship, as she had termed it, was just the -loveliest thing in the world to him. - -“Chris seems to approve our comradeship, Mademoiselle,” I said, -marvelling how on earth she managed to look so fresh and sweet after -her rough-and-tumble experiences during the last forty hours. Her soft, -glossy hair was as neatly arranged as though she had just come from -her room, her dress was in such order that so far as I could see not a -thing was out of place. - -“He has been with me to the river on guard. I had no idea it was so -difficult to wash in a river, and to do one’s hair out of doors and -without a glass.” - -“You have been very successful. You put me to shame sadly,” and I -glanced down in dismay at myself. “And you are so bright and sunny.” - -“There is good news. Our luck has turned. Karasch found a peasant who -was crossing the hills and is learning from him our route. They are on -the hill yonder.” - -“Thank God for that,” I said, fervently. - -“Yes, I suppose it is good news,” she replied in a tone which made me -glance quickly at her. Then she added, after a pause: “You look much -better for your rest, Burgwan.” - -“I feel a different man.” - -“Kindly disposed toward masterful rebels?” - -“Yes; and very grateful to one of them.” - -“I thought you were actually going to strike Karasch when he held your -bridle rein this morning.” - -“I felt like it, too.” - -“I think he is afraid of you, Burgwan. It was you who broke his arm, -wasn’t it?” - -“He broke it in a fall.” She paused and glanced at me. - -“He told me all about that fall, and what he meant to do, if you hadn’t -beaten him. It was for me you risked your life in that fight.” - -“Karasch ought to hold his tongue.” - -We reached the spot where we had rested, and sat down to wait for -Karasch. - -“I have been thinking this morning,” she said, slowly. - -“We all have some thinking to do before we are out of our plight.” - -“You call this a plight,” and she smiled. “Why, see what a lovely wild -country it is. I could live in these hills--live, I mean, in the sense -of keen, rare enjoyment. Look.” She pointed from one hill to another -with kindling eye. “The freedom of it. The very air is different from -all other.” - -“I should like some clean clothes,” I put in, flippantly. - -“Don’t.” And she gestured and frowned. “I want you to feel what it must -be to me, and then to think, as I was thinking a while since, what -would have been my fate--if it had not been for you. And you call this -a plight! It is like Heaven in comparison!” - -“I don’t want you to exaggerate what I did.” - -“I am not exaggerating it,” she replied deliberately. “I don’t. I -could not. You risked your life for me and saved me. Not only when you -rescued me from the two men, but afterwards with Karasch; and yet again -afterwards when you were hurt. Could I exaggerate that, Burgwan? Can I -ever repay it?” - -She was so earnest in the desire to make me feel her gratitude and -looked at me with such sweet graciousness, that I came within an ace of -telling her how she could repay me. The very words rushed to my lips -only to be stayed by an effort as I dropped my eyes before her. I could -not speak of this while she was still dependent upon my help. - -“What a long time Karasch is,” I said clumsily after a long pause, not -knowing indeed what else to say. - -I felt her eyes still upon me. She made a slight gesture of -dissatisfaction and her voice had an accent of resentment. - -“You are anxious to get to your clean clothes and all that they stand -for--in exchange for this.” - -“You are not content with this?” - -“I could be,” she murmured, with a sigh. - -“I don’t understand you.” - -“No. I suppose not. You haven’t the key.” - -“You can have no reason to be afraid to go back to Belgrade. I know -that, because at the camp you were so anxious to start. Your sighs then -were of discontent because you couldn’t start at once.” - -“You remember?” She smiled slowly, and then grew serious. “No, it -is not exactly fear, and yet--I suppose in a way it is fear. It is -certainly reluctance. Oh, I see what you mean.” She broke off, smiling -very brightly this time. “That there may be some reason connected with -the cause of my capture which threatens me: that I have committed some -offence or----” - -“No, no, I don’t think anything of the sort,” I interposed. - -“No, I’m not a criminal, not even a political criminal, Burgwan--and -not even a witch.” The smile became a free and joyous laugh, and I -joined in and laughed also. - -“I’m not so sure about the witchcraft, Mademoiselle.” - -“If I were a witch I should know all about you and I--yes, I should -like to, and yet I would rather not. We can be so frank while you are -just Burgwan. It is all so strange, this comradeship of ours. I shall -never forget it. Shall you--even when you get to those clean clothes -that are so much in your thoughts?” - -“I’m not likely to change my thoughts even when I change my clothes.” - -“What a time Karasch is,” she laughed, throwing back my own words at -me. “Keeping you from the tailor and the barber in this way!” - -“He is keeping you from Belgrade--a much more serious matter.” - -“I don’t mind that--and yet I suppose I ought to. But this is so -delightful,” she cried, joyously. - -“This?” - -“This delicious freedom. This utter irresponsibility. This Burgwan and -Mademoiselle comradeship. This being able to laugh at conventions and -snap one’s fingers in the face of restrictions--the thousand petty -‘don’ts’ and ‘mustn’ts’ that edge one in so, till one’s very breath -has to be drawn with restraint and every look and gesture fitted to -some occasion and empty etiquette. How I wish I was just no more than a -peasant girl! Oh, it is life.” - -“There are plenty of them who would be glad to change places with you.” - -“Yes, I know I am talking nonsense, and I daresay I should grow tired -of it all in a week or a month, and sicken for the flummery and mummery -again. Besides, there might be no Burgwan like you and no Chris in -the picture, to feel safe with and trust. I couldn’t do with only -Karasch’s, could I?” - -“He is a very good fellow, and might make a very good husband.” - -“Oh, don’t, please. Now you’ve shattered the dream, and made me wish -for Belgrade and my friends.” - -Did she mean all I was ready to read into that sentence? Was it -intended as a warning lest another than Karasch should presume? I -was glad I had held my tongue just before. When I did not reply, she -stooped and patted the dog and then laughed. - -“I wish you were my dog, Chris,” she said. “I shall get one just like -him and call him Chris.” - -“Would you like to change masters, Chris?” He drew himself lazily -across the grass at my words and thrust his nose into my hand almost as -if understanding my question and answering it. “I will give him to you -if you like, Mademoiselle.” - -But she shook her head. “No. No, no, no,” she cried. - -“Why not?” - -She called him back to her side and caressed him before she answered, -and then spoke very slowly. - -“I don’t think I know why. I would rather have him than anything in -the world, but I couldn’t take him. I--I couldn’t bear to have him, I -think.” - -“You may change your mind when you see him next time.” She bent over -him again and patted him and let him lick her hand. - -“I am afraid I know what you mean, Burgwan--that you think of coming -some day to Belgrade. I hope you never will.” - -“Why?” - -“It would not do. Oh, no, no, a thousand times no. It is so difficult -to explain. Here we are Burgwan and Mademoiselle; and there--well, for -one thing, you would have your clean clothes,” and she broke off with -a smile partly quizzical and partly of dismay; and then added: “You -would look for Mademoiselle and would only find....” she finished with -a shake of the head and a sigh. - -“You think I should be disappointed?” - -“You must not come, Burgwan. There would be no Mademoiselle in -Belgrade.” - -“Chris may wish to see his successor. He is a masterful dog, you know,” -I said with a smile. - -“This is no jest, Burgwan. I wish you would promise me not to come -there. Ah, here comes Karasch. Promise me, Burgwan;” and in her -eagerness she leant across and laid a hand on my arm, the earnestness -of her manner showing in her eyes. - -“I cannot promise,” I answered. - -She drew her hand away with a gesture of impatience and said, as she -rose: “That is not like Burgwan. The very mention of Belgrade has -changed you.” - -“Not changed me. I have always meant to go,” I replied. As I got up -Karasch reached us, and there was no chance to say more. - -He explained that the peasant had been pointing out the way to him and -was willing to lead us to the proper road. - -The horses were saddled at once and when they were ready, I went to -Mademoiselle, who had been standing apart gazing at the rugged scenery -with intense enjoyment. - -“Are we ready, Burgwan?” - -“Yes; we may start now.” - -“I am almost sorry, I think,” she said, looking about her wistfully. -“But it’s all over.” - -“Except the comradeship.” - -“No, not even excepting that. You will get your clean clothes and I all -the conventions once more and--all that they mean. I am ready;” and she -sighed. - -I helped her into the saddle. - -“And it was only yesterday I would not let you help me to mount. It -seems a year ago,” she said. “You gave me that lesson in will power; -but I beat you this morning, Burgwan, and had my revenge.” - -“Do you mean about my going to Belgrade?” I challenged. - -“Ah, you will promise me then?” - -“If I promised I should only break my word.” - -“Promise, and I will trust you--for the sake of the comradeship.” - -“Then I will not promise.” - -“You will force me to tell you things that will compel you to promise. -And it will be kinder not to force me. Oh, so much kinder.” - -“You puzzle me.” - -“Will you promise? Burgwan?” she urged, pleadingly. - -“I cannot.” - -“Oh, that hard will of yours!” and wheeling her horse round she rode -off after Karasch and the guide, leaving me to follow. - -What did she mean? What could she tell that would convince me a future -meeting must be avoided? What reason could there be on her side? What -could she think there might be on mine? These and a hundred questions -arising out of them plagued me during the ride; and none of the answers -that suggested themselves could satisfy me. - -But I was soon to have other matters for thought. The guide put us in -the right road for Samac, which he told us was about fifteen miles -distant through a place called Poabja; and as soon as he had left us we -rattled over the ground at a sharp canter. - -For one thing, I was very uneasy about the Austrian officer whom we -had treated so drastically on the previous night. If he was found and -liberated, and raised a hue and cry after us there would probably be -some very awkward consequences; while if he was not liberated soon, -his very life might be jeopardised. My intention was to send a search -party after him as soon as we reached a place where that could be done -without risk to ourselves; and I was confident that my influence in -Vienna was amply sufficient to cause my explanation of the whole affair -to be accepted. But I could and would do nothing until I was certain of -Mademoiselle’s safety. - -My anxiety increased when we reached the outside of Poabja; and I kept -a vigilant lookout for any signs that the news of our arrival could -have preceded us. This was possible, of course. We had strayed so far -from the proper road and had stayed so long in the hills that if Petrov -and the rest from the camp had followed us to where we had encountered -the Austrian, and had continued on the road to Samac, they would pass -through Poabja and we might easily run up against some trouble, even -without the complication arising out of the official’s rough handling -by us. - -I soon noticed signs which I did not like. We began to meet peasants -and others on the road; and I observed that while some of them did no -more than stare at us with close scrutiny, others started away and -turned their backs and made the sign of the cross as we passed. - -Karasch noticed this also; and when we met a couple of men who behaved -in this eccentric fashion, he glanced from the men to Mademoiselle and -from her to me. - -“Ill news has got ahead of us, Burgwan,” he said to me in an undertone. -“We had better avoid the town. You saw that sign of the cross!” - -“Go back and question the men.” - -“Why do we halt?” asked Mademoiselle, as Karasch rode back. - -“We must make certain of the right road,” I answered. - -“But is not this Poabja?” - -“Yes.” - -“Then we know we are right. Samac is not half a dozen miles beyond.” - -Karasch came back wearing an anxious look. - -“To avoid the town will cost a couple of leagues. But I think we should -take that route,” he said. - -“Why avoid it? We have lost our way once,” said Mademoiselle. - -“We fear trouble. News of our coming is known,” I explained. - -“Do you mean about the officer who tried to stop us last night?” - -“No--that you are suspected of witchcraft.” - -She laughed. “I have nothing to fear in Poabja. I will find means to -charm their anger into friendship;” and she settled the question of -route by shaking her reins and cantering off toward the straggling -little place. - -The approach lay up a long, winding hill, steep in places, and as we -rode up it the people came out from the houses to gaze at us. Languid -curiosity gave way to close interest, and this in turn quickened into -some excitement. Men and women walked up the hill abreast of us and -some few ran on ahead. - -Near the top of the hill stood an inn outside which some half dozen -saddle horses were hitched; and when the riders came hurrying out I was -scarcely surprised to see Petrov among them talking and gesticulating -freely to his companions. - -Men began to call then one to the other; the calls were caught up on -many sides, at first intermittently but swelling gradually, as the -crowd increased, into a coherent cry which I recognised with deep -misgivings. - -“The Witch! The Witch! The Witch!” - -I regretted that we had taken the risk; but Mademoiselle only smiled -even when the cries grew louder and more angry and threatening, and -hands were raised in imprecations and revilings. - -“Forward,” I cried. “We must get through them.” But to my dismay -Mademoiselle hesitated. - -Then Petrov and a man with him ran and placed themselves in front of -her and made a snatch at her bridle rein. Karasch and I pushed forward. - -“Stand back there,” I said. - -“That she devil can’t pass, Burgwan,” answered Petrov. - -I stretched forward and tore his grip from the rein and flung him -reeling back into the crowd. - -A score of hands were raised in menace and the cries of “The Witch! -Death for the Witch!” went up all around us; while the circle closed in -ominously. A stone was hurled and narrowly missed me and then some dirt -was thrown at Mademoiselle. - -That was more than I was taking. If we were to get through it would -have to be by force. So I drew my revolver and called to Karasch to do -the same. - -“I’ll shoot the first man who stops me,” I shouted, and for a moment -the men fell back before the weapons. “Now is our chance. Gallop for -all we’re worth and we shall get through.” - -But the luck was against us. A stone struck Mademoiselle’s horse and he -reared and plunged and then fell. In a second she was in the grip of -half a dozen men and before Karasch and I could dismount and get to her -assistance we were separated from her by the crowd and seized in our -turn, the weapons were struck from our hands and we were overpowered. - -I was carried into a house close to the inn, my hands and legs -were bound and I was thrust into a room and left to curse my folly -for having ventured into the place, to brood over the dangers to -Mademoiselle, and to breathe impotent vows of vengeance against Petrov -and everyone concerned in our capture. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -AT POABJA. - - -For an hour and more I was left to gnash my teeth in rage as I tore and -struggled fruitlessly to loosen the cords that bound me. In that hour I -endured the torments such as even hell itself could not have surpassed. -My violent struggles inflamed the hurt to my head until it throbbed as -if it would split; but all mere physical pain was lost and deadened in -the surpassing agony of mind. - -The thought of that sweet, pure girl in the power of these crazy, -superstitious fanatics was unendurable; and had the torture continued -longer it would have driven me mad. Death threatened her every minute -she was in the hands of frenzied fools such as they were; and a hundred -possible ways in which they might murder her occurred to me, each -stimulating the passion of my fear and anguish. - -At length the door of my room was opened and Petrov and another man -entered. The sight of him so maddened me that I strove to rise, bound -though I was, to wreak my fury upon him. - -“No harm is meant to you, Burgwan,” he said. - -My answer was a volley of curses and threats so vehement and furious -that he started back in alarm. - -“No harm is meant to you,” he repeated. - -“Loose these cords then, to prove it,” I cried. - -His companion made as if to approach me when Petrov held him back. - -“Not yet,” he said, turning pale with fear. - -“It doesn’t matter when you do it. You know me, Petrov, and now mark -this. If I find that the least harm is done to Mademoiselle, I’ll make -you pay the price. And the price shall be your life. I’ll hunt you -down, if it costs me all I have in the world, and when I find you, God -have mercy on you, I won’t. That I swear.” - -“She is a witch,” he said, doggedly. - -“You lie, you treacherous snake. And if you value your dirty skin, see -that no harm comes to her.” It seemed to afford me some kind of relief -to abuse the beast. - -“You told me so yourself,” he declared sullenly. - -“Loose these cords and say that again, and I’ll tear your lying tongue -out by the roots.” I must have been beside myself to talk in this -strain; but it had its effect on him. - -“She has come to no harm,” he said then. - -“You may thank your God for that--if it’s true.” - -“It is true,” declared the other man. “We came here to set you free.” - -“Do it then.” - -“Not while he threatens me,” put in Petrov, quickly. - -“I know nothing about that. It’s the priest’s orders.” - -I pricked up my ears at that and the great crushing weight of my fears -began to lighten. - -“Say that again. And tell me what it means,” I cried. - -“She’ll only be taken to Maglai,” said Petrov. - -“Say that again,” I repeated to his companion. - -“I don’t know what it means. I was told she had confessed to being a -witch and asked for the priest, that she might repent and be shriven; -and then we were told to come to unbind you.” - -“Why the devil didn’t you say so then, when you came in, and do it at -once?” - -“You’re too violent.” - -“If all’s well with her, you can go to hell your own way.” The relief -from the strain was so intense I felt almost hysterical with sudden -joy, and I lay back and laughed aloud. The two men stood staring at me -wonderingly. - -“What shall we do?” asked Petrov’s companion. - -“If you disobey the priest, my good fellow,” I interposed, “you’ll see -what he says to you, and I’ll take care that he knows of it.” - -Instead of replying, they left the room and fastened the door behind -them. I didn’t care now what they did. All was well in the matter that -had troubled me. Mademoiselle was unharmed and they might do with me as -they pleased. I could trust myself to get out of any trouble when once -I was in communication with my agents in Vienna. - -All was well with her and the world was once more a place to smile in. - -Then I began to piece things together and to figure out how such a -change could have been effected. Mademoiselle herself had found the -means of doing it all. I recalled her phrase about charming away the -anger of the people at Poabja, and the way in which she had cantered on -fearlessly when Karasch and I had counselled the other route to avoid -passing through the town. She must have had a strong reason for her -confidence. Brave as she certainly was, she would not have faced such a -risk voluntarily unless she had had good grounds to know she would pass -the ordeal successfully. - -Who was she? What influence was she, a Serb of Belgrade, likely to have -in that out-of-the-way Bosnian village? On whom was that influence -exercised? The man said she had confessed to her witchcraft and asked -for the priest that she might repent and be shriven. The priest it -was who had ordered my release, and the priest it must be, therefore, -through whom she had been able to clear herself. - -How? It was an easy inference that he knew her and that she had made -the pretended confession so as to get face to face with him. But why -had she told me nothing about him? “I have nothing to fear in Poabja,” -she had said; but not a word of the priest. And then I thought I could -see the reason. She did not wish him to tell me who she was. - -Had I known of him she knew I should have sought him out first, or have -sent for him, and the secret would have been out before she could have -cautioned him to say nothing. Rather than that, she had risked entering -the place and facing the crowd. Yet she had offered once to tell me -about herself. At that point the apparent inconsistency beat me; and -the only guess I could make was that she had anticipated getting to the -priest without any such trouble as that which had befallen us. - -I was more than content to lie there thinking in this way. It pleased -me to let my fancy run at random about her. I cared nothing who she -was. To me she was just Mademoiselle; and I wanted to know no more. -She had come into my life to stay; and nothing that she could be, and -nothing she could ever do, would alter that all-supreme fact for me. - -Two days before I had never seen her. Forty-eight hours! But they had -been forty-eight hours of comradeship; and forty-eight years could -not blot out all that those hours had held for me, when I had been -in succession the peasant Burgwan, the brigand, and then the trusted -comrade and friend. - -What had they held for her? I would have given much to know. Daring, -imperious, rebellious, yielding, solicitous, and at last utterly -content to trust as she had been in turn; what feelings lay beneath the -surface? How was I to read that conversation on the hillside? Why was -she so resolute that our parting was to spell permanent separation; -that I must not go to Belgrade, and must never seek to see her again? - -I had not given the promise sought, of course. I would not give it. -What would she say if I told her that my visit to Belgrade, in my -character as financier was already arranged and that my hand had -already been felt in that unrestful little centre of Balkan policy. -Probably she knew nothing and cared little about Balkan politics or -finance; and I was indulging in half a hundred conjectures of her -reason for my keeping away from Belgrade when the two men entered my -room and brought me a note. - -“From the priest,” said one of them. - -But it was not. It was from her. - - “All my troubles are over and you may be quite at rest about me. Give - your word not to hurt the man Petrov. I ask this. I ask, too, that - you will consent to remain where you are for two hours longer. Will - you do this--a last favour? For all you have done for me I cannot - thank you; I can only remember. Do you think me graceless and a churl - if I say our comradeship is over and if I go without seeing you? I - can only say in excuse, I must. To Burgwan from - - “Mademoiselle.” - -“I am taking Chris. You said I should alter my mind. I have. I will -treat him as what he has been--one of the comrades.” - -I read the letter two or three times. At first with feelings in which -chilling despair, a sense of ineffable loss, and intensely bitter -regret overpowered me. It stung me like a blow in the face that she -could go like this, without even a touch of hands, or a parting glance. -She was safe, and I was nothing, or less than nothing to her. But at -the second and third reading very different thoughts were stirred. A -hope sprang to life in my heart great and wild enough to dazzle and -bewilder me. - -Could it be, not that she cared nothing for me but that she feared for -herself in the hour of parting? Dared I hope that? Did she fear that -feelings, which she was all unwilling to shew, would force themselves -out in despite of her efforts in the moment of parting? Was it from -that part of herself, from her heart, that she was thus running away, -and not only from me? I prayed that it might be so. - -Then a colder mood followed, cold enough to freeze that hope, at the -prompting of judgment. She knew nothing of me. To her I was just -Burgwan; at first peasant, then, on my own admission, an American -in such sordid surroundings as might well make her deem me a mere -adventurer. With that belief in her mind, she might well be at a loss -how to part from me--what to say and do, and whether she ought not to -make me some reward for what I had done. - -The thought bit like a live acid with its intolerable sting; and yet -my judgment found reason after reason in support of it. I alternated -between a hot desire to rush out there and then and seek her, and a -stolid, dogged resolve to let her go and to live down the mad desire to -see her and explain all. - -“You are to give us some answer,” said the man who had brought the -letter. The two had been watching me in silence during those few -distraction-filled minutes. “An answer concerning Petrov here.” - -“You are safe from me, Petrov,” I replied. “I will let you go, but keep -out of my way for the future.” - -“I meant no harm, Burgwan, on my soul none to you. I did what I did -for you,” he said, and stooped to cut the cords that bound my feet. “I -did wrong and am sorry.” - -He was an idiot, but he couldn’t help that; and I let him free my hands. - -“Get me some paper,” I said, and he hurried away and returned with it. -My hands were too numbed from the cords and the efforts I had made to -release myself for me to be able to do more than scratch senseless -hieroglyphics on the paper. I could scarcely hold the pencil, indeed, -and he and the other man chafed them until the blood was set in -circulation. - -Even after some minutes of this I could only write in large, uncouth -letters--a sort of illiterate scrawl which was no more than a -caricature of my handwriting. But time was pressing. Mademoiselle might -be gone before my letter could reach her, so I wrote as best I could. - -“I agree on condition that you see me. Burgwan.” - -I spelt my name as she had been accustomed to pronounce it; and having -sent Petrov to deliver it, I ordered the other man to get me some food -and milk. - -I had no appetite; but I had eaten nothing for many hours and knew I -must keep up my strength; so I forced myself to take it. The milk was -grateful enough, for I was feverish and consumed with thirst. But all -the time I was waiting impatiently for Petrov’s return with the answer -to my letter; and as soon as I had finished the meal I paced up and -down the low, narrow room feeling like a caged beast. - -But my resolve was fixed. She should not go without my seeing her; and -when minute after minute passed and Petrov did not return, I could -barely keep within the house, and was seized with a fierce longing to -rush off to the priest’s house and find her. - -At length the suspense and restraint passed endurance, and I went to -the door and shouted for someone. The man who had been with Petrov came -in response. - -“Who is the priest who gave you your orders?” - -“Father Michel.” - -“Where does he live?” - -“By the side of his church at the end of the long street.” - -“How far is it? How long should it take to go there and return?” - -“The man should have been back before now. I suppose they have kept him -while an answer was written.” - -“Who are you?” - -“This is my house. I keep the inn next door.” - -“Where is my horse?” - -“Your companion has them all. Karasch is his name, isn’t it?” - -I had forgotten all about Karasch in my anxiety. - -“Where is he and the horses?” - -“They have been fed in my stables. There’s a bill to pay,” he added, as -though that was the most important feature in the whole case. I suppose -it was to him. I gave him a gold piece and told him to keep the change, -and so made a friend. - -“Can you lead me to the priest’s house?” - -“Of course I can, at need. But I was told you were going to remain here -a couple of hours. It is nothing to me.” - -“See if Petrov is coming,” I said next. His words had recalled -Mademoiselle’s letter; and I was still anxious to do what she had asked. - -He went out and after a minute or two, returned. - -“He is coming down the hill now,” he announced. - -“You can go then.” - -“I shall be at hand if you want me,” he answered, and shut the door -behind him. - -Petrov came a minute later and had a letter. - -I tore it open with trembling fingers. - -“Will you wait for me? Mademoiselle.” - -I breathed a sigh of intense relief, and looking up, caught Petrov’s -eyes bent upon me. As he met my look he lowered his face. - -“You can go,” I said, curtly. - -“I want to serve you still, Burgwan.” - -“I have no need for you. Go.” - -“There is money due to me.” - -“How much?” - -He named a sum and I gave it him, saying that rightfully he had -forfeited it by his disobedience. He counted it slowly as if to make -sure it was right. - -“I want to serve you still, Burgwan,” he repeated. - -“I tell you I have no need for you.” - -“About that Austrian Government officer, Burgwan, Captain Hanske?” It -was said with sly suggestiveness. - -“Well?” - -“Where is he? He stayed with you and has not been seen again. No one -but me knows you saw him last.” - -I laughed. - -“Are you threatening me?” - -“No. I want to serve you. Is he dead?” - -“You insolent dog. No.” - -“What did you do with him? I’ve kept my lips closed.” - -“Closed or open it’s all one to me. Say what you like to whom you like. -But get away from here.” - -“I want to serve you, Burgwan. You can pay. Not only about him, but -about that, too;” and he pointed to the letter. - -“What the devil do you mean?” - -“I was a long time gone, wasn’t I?” - -“Well?” His manner and tone were full of suggestion. - -“I can serve you. I can help you to get those three thousand gulden!” - -“Three thousand gulden!” I exclaimed, utterly at a loss for his meaning. - -“Yes, the three thousand waiting to be paid at Maglai.” - -Then I understood and burst into a laugh. - -“I think you’re making a pretty considerable ass of yourself, Petrov; -but I’ll listen to you.” - -“You meant to take her to Maglai, you and Karasch. You knew she was no -witch and meant to earn the reward. Well, I can help you now, if you’ll -give me my share.” - -My first impulse was to kick him out of the room and I started angrily -to obey it; but then a very different thought stopped me. He knew -something that I ought to know. He took me for a scoundrel enough -to betray Mademoiselle in this way and thought he could sell this -knowledge of his at the price of a share in the reward. - -“Why were you so long away?” I asked, seizing on the vital point. - -“What share am I to have?” - -“Half the reward when I receive it.” - -“You swear that?” he asked slowly. - -“Tell me what you know,” I cried, sternly. - -“Does she say she’ll come here?” he asked, pointing again at the note -in my hand. - -“Yes.” - -“Ah. She’s gone and if we’re to get her into our possession again we -shall have to be quick.” - -“Gone? Where?” I exclaimed, aghast at the check. - -He threw up his hands. - -“To Samac. But you haven’t taken that oath about my share.” - -“You infernal villain. Do you think I mean to harm her? Out of the -way;” and dashing him aside, I called for the other man and told him I -must have my horse at once. - -Then I turned back to Petrov. - -“How long has she been gone?” I asked. - -“I shan’t say. I’ve lied to you, Burgwan.” - -“Here;” and I took out some gold pieces. “These are yours if you tell -the truth.” - -“She’s gone on the road to Samac, Burgwan, in a carriage which the -priest found for her, and has about half an hour’s start. They kept me -from coming back to you.” - -Karasch came up then with his horse and mine, and in a moment I was in -the saddle dashing in hot haste up the winding street. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -TO SAMAC. - - -Many of the village folk were still lounging in the street and the -clatter of the horses’ heels brought out more to gape and stare in -wonderment as we clattered past. We were nearing the end of the place -when I caught sight of a church with a mean-looking presbytery by the -side. - -I checked my horse, rode to it, and asked for Father Michel. A tall -white-haired priest came out; kind-faced, with remarkable eyes almost -black, under black brows. A man to trust certainly. - -“You are Father Michel?” - -For answer he turned his searching eyes upon me, paused and said: “You -will be Burgwan?” - -“Yes. And you know why I come.” - -“On the contrary, I was in the act of coming to you.” - -“Is she here?” I did not know how to speak of Mademoiselle; but he -understood instantly. He patted my horse’s neck and looked up with -sympathy in his manner and glance. - -“You will let me speak with you?” - -“Is she here?” I repeated. - -“She wished me to see you. We arranged that she should go and that I -should give you her messages. You will come into my house?” - -“No, I cannot wait. She is gone to Samac. I shall ride after her. I -must see her.” - -“You are suffering,” he said, with that soothing comfort-offering air -which is the priceless possession of many women and some good men. “You -will let me give you her messages?” - -“I cannot wait,” I said again; and yet I lingered. - -“Will it ease your own pain to make her suffer?” The question made me -wince; and I shirked the answer to it. - -“She _has_ gone to Samac?” - -“Yes, she has driven to Samac. There is plenty of time for you to -listen to me and then to overtake her before she can leave there.” - -“She was to come to me,” I said, with a glance of doubt at this. It -might be another ruse. He saw the doubt instantly. - -“You may believe me. I do not wish to detain you if you prefer to go, -and should not stoop to a trick.” He stepped back and waved his hand as -if to signify I was free to go, and added: “It is only for her sake.” - -He knew the strength such a plea would have for me. - -“I must see her. I will.” - -He threw up his hands with a gesture of pain. - -I half wheeled my horse round to start and then checked him. - -“Why did she go in this way?” - -Again he turned those wonderful eyes of his upon me, and answered -slowly: - -“If you do not know I must not tell you. She has gone out of your life -altogether--altogether. It is her own doing; her own will and wish and -doing. Let her go.” - -“I will not,” I exclaimed almost fiercely. - -“Have patience and the strength of a man, Burgwan. You have acted nobly -to her, offering your life in her defence. She cannot repay you. She -knows that, and I know it. Add chivalry to your courage, and spare her.” - -“She told me to wait for her--in that letter, I mean; and yet before it -was in my hands, she had gone away.” - -“The sweetest pleasure in life as well as the noblest quality in man is -self-denial, Burgwan; and in your case it is real prudence and wisdom -as well.” - -“But she bade me wait for her,” I repeated. - -“Not in Poabja, Burgwan. She bade me get from you your name and the -means of communicating with you if ever----” - -“Then it was a mere trick of words,” I cried with angry unreason. “I -shall follow her;” and without waiting for him to reply I rode off -quickly. I think I was afraid to trust myself longer with him; afraid -lest he should prevail with me; afraid lest the fierce consuming desire -to look once more upon her face should be chilled by the appeals to my -better nature which he knew how to make so shrewdly. - -Already he had made me conscious of the stubborn selfishness of my -purpose; and as I galloped along, I sought to stifle the feeling with -specious palliation and anger. She had no right to treat me in this -way. I had done nothing and said nothing to deserve it. She had run -away under the cover of a mere trick and ruse. And so on. - -But I could not shake off the impression of the priest’s words, “Will -it ease your own pain to make her suffer?” The question haunted me. I -could find no answer to it in my own thoughts, just as I had found none -in speaking with him. Out of it came the chilling conviction that the -part I was playing was the part of the coward. - -I was forcing myself upon her in face of her remonstrance and pleading. -“Her own will and wish and doing.” What was I but a coward to try and -force her. The very air took up the cry of coward; and the rhythm of my -horse’s hoofs seemed to echo it at every throbbing stride. - -But I knitted my brows and set my teeth and held on. I must see her -again. I would. It was my passion that urged me. I would see her, let -the world cry shame upon me for my cowardice. And I dug my heels into -my horse’s flanks in my distraction and rushed along up hill and down -alike at a mad, reckless speed. - -Fast as I rode, however, I could not outpace that thought of cowardice. -It gained upon me, little by little; now to be flung aside in anger, -only to return to chill me until I hated the thing I was doing and -had to put forth every effort of my selfish desire to prevent myself -checking the horse and turning back to seek some other means to my end. - -If it was really to cause her suffering, after what she had gone -through, how dared I go on? What would she think of me? She had trusted -to me in all that time of peril with the implicit trust of a child. -Thank God I had been able to stand between her and her danger, and we -had come through it together to safety. And now I was so madly selfish -that I could not be man enough to spare her from this pain. - -“I cannot thank you; I can only remember,” she had written. And here -was I bent upon blotting the memory with this slur of my own crude, -brutal selfishness. Was this what she would look for in her comrade? -Was it what she had the right to expect? How would the act look when -she came afterwards to remember? - -Unwittingly I checked my horse. I was a coward now of another kind. I -was afraid to satisfy my own desire; afraid to mar the memory she would -have of our comradeship; afraid to meet the look of reproach I knew -would be in her eyes at the sight of me. - -My horse, glad enough to ease his speed, fell into a walking pace, and -I let the reins drop on his neck as I hung my head in sheer dejection. -Karasch came to my side in astonishment then. - -“Is anything the matter, Burgwan?” - -“Nothing that you can help, Karasch.” - -“We are going to Samac, are we not?” - -“I don’t know--and don’t care. Don’t worry me with your questions.” - -“Mademoiselle has been taken there, hasn’t she? Are you not going to -her help?” - -“She has gone there of her own will and wish. She is quite safe; you -need have no fears for her.” - -“How do you know she is safe?” - -“The priest told me.” - -“The priest!” he exclaimed, with scant respect. “I should like to know -it for myself and trust my own eyes.” - -I started and instinctively gathered up the reins again. What if she -was not safe after all. Could the whole thing at Poabja be just a trick -to get her from me? - -I laughed suddenly; so suddenly that Karasch started and looked at me -in surprise and some alarm. - -“May I see the devil if I see a reason for laughing.” - -But I did. I was laughing at the effect his words had had on me--at -the tempting pretext they offered for continuing the journey. I could -pretend that I was in doubt about her safety, and that that was the -reason for my riding after her. I played with the thought; and then -laughed again. - -“Don’t be a fool, Karasch. She is quite safe, I tell you.” - -“Have you ridden out thus far then at a wild gallop in order to see how -dusty the roads are?” - -“I suppose that’s about how it looks,” I laughed. - -“That blow on your head has hurt you more than we thought.” - -“No, it isn’t my head this time,” I said drily. - -“Your leg, you mean? Or did they do anything to you at Poabja?” - -“Yes, it all happened at Poabja, Karasch. I must go back there and see -that priest again;” and I pulled my horse up and turned him. I would -have given much to have taken Karasch’s view and have ridden on, but -the thought of Mademoiselle’s eyes stopped me. Even if I persuaded -myself, I could not tell the lie to her. - -Karasch sat facing me stolidly. - -“You are ill, Burgwan, or it wouldn’t be like this with you. Go back to -Poabja and I’ll seek you there.” - -“What do you mean? Where are you going?” - -“To Samac. I will not desert her.” - -The grim irony of this was too much for me and I smiled. Here was I, -consumed with intense longing to go to her and compelled to hold myself -back with a curb of iron--and to Karasch my act seemed no more than -paltry cowardice and desertion. My smile seemed to anger him. - -“You have not been so free with your laughter till now,” he said, -curtly, “and I see no cause for it.” - -“If I laugh it is not for joy, Karasch; but you don’t understand. Do as -you say. Go on to Samac and bring me any news you may find there.” - -“You are right. I don’t understand. But you had better ride on with me. -If you are really ill, we are nearer to Samac than Poabja; and if there -is news you ought to know, it may mean a grievous waste of time to have -to ride back to Poabja.” - -How aptly the plea fitted with my desires. It was true, too. She might, -after all, have need of me. There was just the chance that matters had -been misrepresented. It could do no harm for me to be in Samac. I need -not see her even if I went there. - -Karasch watched me closely as I sat letting these thoughts and others -of the kind influence me; and he believed that he was persuading me -and bringing me back to my right mind. - -“I shall be very little use without you, Burgwan, if there is really -more trouble. We ought to make sure. We should be cowards to desert her -now.” - -“I wonder which way the real coward would decide to go, Karasch. For -the life of me I don’t know;” but I wheeled my horse round again and we -rode on toward Samac. - -After all I was not now going to see her, I said to myself. I would -just make sure, as Karasch had suggested, that all was well with her, -and then hide myself until she had left. That was how I shut the door -and turned the key against those uncomfortable words of the priest -about chivalry and self-denial. After all it was perfectly consistent -with chivalry to assure myself of her safety to the last minute, and -yet keep away; while as for self-denial that would be all the greater -if I did not see her when close to her at Samac than if I remained five -miles off at Poabja. - -Yet in my heart I knew perfectly well I was going to see her. I was -going to play the coward and to force myself upon her at the risk of -causing her pain; aye, even with the prospect of losing her esteem. - -I did not ride so fast now, and thus Karasch could talk. He wanted to -talk about her; what we should do when we reached Samac. But I could -not stand that, and each time he began I mumbled some incoherent reply -and struck my heels into my horse to get away from him; and at last he -gave up the attempt. - -I knew that I was going to ride straight up to the railway depot where -I should find her; but I would not admit this even to myself yet, and -certainly would not put it into plain words. - -Presently he chose another topic. - -“Have you thought about that Austrian Government officer, Burgwan?” he -asked, with some evidence of uneasiness. - -“Yes, a good deal.” - -“What are you going to do about it? He can’t be left where we tied him -up.” - -“Would you like to go and find him?” I asked, with a grin. It pleased -me to tease him in the mood I was in. - -“No, by the God of the living, not for a fortune.” - -“Shall we leave him to die then?” I put the question angrily, as if -rebuking him for callousness. - -“You’d better go yourself,” he growled. - -“It would be murder to leave him. There will be a big reward offered -for his murderers.” - -“No one knows about it,” he growled again, uneasily. - -“Oh, yes. Petrov does. He spoke of it in Poabja to me.” - -“The blight of hell blind him for a cursed pig,” he exclaimed with -sudden savageness. - -“There’s not much chance of that before he can say what he knows, -Karasch. I mean to leave the country.” - -He started so violently that he checked his horse, and when he rode up -again he looked at me searchingly. - -“Are you trying me?” he asked, half fiercely half in doubt. - -“No, that’s for the judge to do.” - -He chewed this answer for a while in gloomy silence; then he uttered -one of his quaint oaths into his black beard, and his face cleared. - -“There was a time when I should have thought you ready to do even that -and worse. I don’t now.” - -That beat me. “Then if I can’t fool you I may as well say what I mean -to do,” I said. “Petrov knows the point where we met last night; and -I shall send back to the priest at Poabja enough money to pay for -a search party being sent out under Petrov’s guidance to find the -officer. I marked the spot where we left him and can describe it -clearly enough.” - -“And the men at the camp?” - -“I shall send money for them to be cared for.” - -“There’ll be a pretty mess of trouble when that officer once gives -tongue--a hue and cry will be raised for us.” - -“It will have to be a loud one to reach us. We shall be far enough away -by that time.” - -He pondered this answer in his deliberate way when puzzled; and then -lifted his head and looked across at me. - -“We?” he asked. - -“Didn’t I say I should be out of the country?” - -“Yes, you did; but--” he shook his head, doubtingly. - -“Did you think I should leave you behind, Karasch?” - -“I couldn’t know,” he said; and urging his horse he added: “Shall we -get on? There’s Samac in sight.” - -He rode ahead of me without another word until we were just at the -entrance to the town, when he stopped and waited for me. His face -was pale and set. He had been thinking earnestly, and was unusually -disturbed and nervous. - -“You’re a man, Burgwan, right to the heart. I can’t say how glad I am -you beat me in that fight; and I’d never been beaten before.” - -“It’s all right, Karasch; don’t say any more;” and I stretched out my -hand to him. He took it and held it as he answered almost emotionally: - -“You’re a better man than I am every way, by the living God. I’m only a -dog beside you, but I’ll serve you like a dog, if you’ll let me.” His -earnestness amounted to passion now. - -“Not like a dog, Karasch; not even like our good Chris; but like a man -and a friend.” - -“I’m not fit to be your friend; I’m only a peasant when I’m nothing -worse; but I’ll be your man, God send the chance to prove it. And now -you lead and I follow.” He let my hand drop and fell behind and nothing -would induce him to ride farther at my side. - -I was deeply touched by his earnestness. I had had many men offer -themselves to me before--a man with such wealth as I possessed always -will have. But this man was moved by no thought of personal advantage. -It was to Burgwan, the man, he pledged himself, not to the millionaire; -and I prized the offer for that reason alone. - -But this act in falling behind and leaving me to take the lead just at -that juncture was not without its embarrassment. It made the pretence -of having followed his lead to Samac the more difficult to keep up; and -I rode through the town in no little doubt and hesitation what to do. - -Inclination drew me straight to the station, and Mademoiselle; while -that pricking consciousness that was doing a cowardly thing warned me -away. - -But love and doggedness triumphed. I had come too far to retreat; and -now that I was so near to her I lacked the pluck to keep away from her. - -I did what I had felt I should do. I rode straight to the station and, -giving my horse into Karasch’s charge, I entered it to look for her. - -She was there, sitting in the miserable waiting-room, dejected and -sorrowful, and bending over Chris as he squatted on his haunches beside -her, with his great head in her lap. - -He recognised my step and with a whimper of pleasure, started up and -rushed to me, fawning upon me with such delight that I had to check him. - -But Mademoiselle turned pale as she saw me, her hands clasped quickly -and tightly together, her lips parted and her brow drew together in a -frown of dismay or pain. - -Then I put the dog aside and went to her. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -ON THE HILL AT SAMAC. - - -As I stepped forward two persons who had been sitting apart from her -rose and came quickly toward me. In my abstraction I had not noticed -them; but I saw now that one was a priest and the other a matronly -woman of between thirty and forty years of age. - -“What do you want? Who are you? This lady is in my care,” said the -priest. - -“You saw that the dog knew me for a friend,” I answered. - -“That may be, but what do you want?” he asked again. - -I looked across to Mademoiselle. She hesitated a moment and then spoke -to the priest. - -“It is all right, father. I wish to speak to--him.” There was just a -suspicion of a pause at the last word as though she had been in doubt -how to speak of me. - -“But Father Michel--” began the priest in protest, when she interposed -and with a single gesture silenced him. - -The incident gave her time to regain self-possession. Outwardly she -grew calm, dignified, and almost cold, but her eyes were burning and in -them I read the reproach I had so dreaded during my ride. - -“Why have you come?” she asked, when I could not speak; and her voice -was hard to my ears and accusing. I hung my head. - -“I have no answer,” I murmured. “I am sorry; but I can go again.” I had -hoped, like the fool I was, she would have been glad to see me; and -chilled and beaten by this reception, I turned on my heel to leave. - -Then Chris made a difficulty. He ran after me so that at the door I had -to turn to send him back. - -“Call him,” I said. If she could be hard, so could I; and my face was -as cold and stern as she could have wished her own to be. - -But at my look she winced and bent her head. Her interlocked fingers -were strained tightly. It was as though she understood the pain she -caused me and her own tender heart was wrung at the sight. Chris stood -looking up wistfully into my face. - -“Go back, Chris. Good-bye, old dog.” He whimpered in protest; for all -the world as though he knew we were to part. “Go, Chris, good dog,” I -said again; and then he went slowly to her and licked the hands which -were straining in such emotion. - -She did not look at me and I turned again and went out. - -“Burgwan!” - -It was barely more than a whisper, but I heard it clearly as I stepped -out of the door. I did not heed it, however. I had done wrong in coming -there at all, and I was sufficiently master of myself now to hold to -my resolve to leave her. I walked toward the spot where I had left -Karasch with the horses; but I had not taken a dozen steps before a -great scurry of feet came after me, and Chris was yelping with glee -and thrusting his nose into my hand and fondling me. - -“You shouldn’t have come, Chris. You’re only making it all the harder, -old dog. You must go back. You belong to her now;” and turning to send -him back, I saw her coming toward us. - -“I called to you, Burgwan.” - -“I thought it best not to hear you, Mademoiselle.” - -“I could not let you go like that,” she murmured; and then a pause fell -between us and we stood for a minute or more, neither knowing what to -say. - -“Karasch is here, too?” she said at length, seeing him with the horses. - -“Yes. He was anxious to know you were really safe.” - -“And you?” There was a quick gleam of hope in her eyes that I too had -acted with the same motive. - -“That was not my reason. I knew you were safe. I have seen Father -Michel. I came because I am a coward. But I am going.” - -“No.” Sharp, clear, decisive and almost peremptory her tone was. And -again we were silent in mutual embarrassment. To relieve it somewhat I -began to move, and we walked away from the little station along a path -leading up a small grass-covered hill and reached the top of it before -we spoke again. - -“When does your train leave?” - -“At eight.” - -“There is an hour yet,” I said, glancing at my watch. - -“Yes, there is just an hour,” she repeated, monotonously, as if glad -of something commonplace to say. And again we came to a stop. - -“When do you reach Belgrade?” It was a fatuous question; but as I could -not speak of what filled my heart, I had to speak at haphazard. - -“I don’t know. We travel all night, I suppose;” and there was an end of -that subject. - -“Shall we sit down? The view is lovely,” I said next. - -“Oh, don’t, for God’s sake, don’t.” It was a cry right from her heart. -“Can’t you see what you are making me suffer, and you talk to me of -trains and views?” - -“We must talk of something,” I replied, a little doggedly. - -“Why do you come here?” she asked, turning upon me fiercely. “If you -had been the man I deemed you, you would have done as I asked--after -what I told Father Michel to tell you.” - -“I did not give him time to tell me anything. When Petrov brought me -your second letter bidding me wait for you, he told me that you had -already left for this place. I came after you at once.” - -“But you said you had seen the priest. Did he not come to you? He -promised.” - -“I didn’t wait for him when I learnt you had left. I rode to him to his -house. He said I should cause you pain if I followed you and appealed -to my chivalry and said he had messages for me from you, and urged me -to stay and listen. But I had pain of my own and with an angry laugh I -rode away after you.” - -“That was your view of chivalry?” - -“Yes; that was my view of chivalry. I told you I came because I was -a coward. I am. I see it now. And you may as well know me for what I -am.” I spoke bitterly, stung by her scornful words, and found a curious -pleasure in avowing my unworthiness. “I have forced myself upon you, -you see; forced myself like a brute and a----” - -“Oh, don’t,” she interposed, putting up a hand in protest, and turning -away, walked to a fallen tree and sat down upon it. I followed and -threw myself on the ground near and waited for her to speak. She sat -thinking awhile and then said slowly: - -“Things must be made plain between us, Burgwan. I planned to leave you -in Poabja.” - -“Father Michel told me as much.” - -“It was for the best, so. I knew that when once I was in Poabja he -would be able to help me.” - -“And my help would be no longer needed.” - -“I am glad you are angry. It helps me,” she answered, quietly; and so -silenced me. “You remember I told you I had nothing to fear there; and -I would have told you why, but that I was afraid I could not see him -first and so warn him what not to tell you about me. That was why I -rode on into the town, meaning to find him out by myself. He is from -Belgrade, and, of course, knows me. I meant him to help me slip away -while detaining you on some pretext.” - -“Others did that for him,” I put in drily. - -“You were not hurt, were you?” - -“No, but you might have been.” - -“I was not. By a happy chance Father Michel met me while I was in the -hands of the people and had asked them to take me to him. He rescued me -at once and took me to his house. I told him then about you and he gave -orders for your release. Then word was brought that you had threatened -to take Petrov’s life, and I wrote you that letter asking you to remain -where you were for two hours. This would have given me time to get -right away; and I was writing you another letter, when Petrov came back -with yours. We detained him while I left, and I arranged with Father -Michel to tell you all you wished to know about me.” - -“You arranged it all very cleverly, Mademoiselle,” I said angrily, as -I rose. “I am sorry I upset your plans. I owe you an apology. I offer -it now.” I bowed with affected ceremoniousness and added like a brutal -cad, in my anger: “I was a fool, of course, to have looked for further -consideration.” - -Her answer was a look, no more; but as I met her eyes my face flushed -with the shame she made me feel for my brutality. I felt I could have -torn my tongue out could the words have been unspoken. I turned and -covered my flaming cheeks with my hands and walked away down the hill. - -“Burgwan! Burgwan!” she called, and when I did not stop came after me -and laid her hand on my shoulder. I shook it off impatiently, like a -petulant child, and she placed herself in my path. - -“Burgwan! Is it possible that that is how it seemed to you? My God!” - -I took my hands from my face and saw that hers was white and strained. - -“Let me go,” I cried. - -“Not like that. Not with that thought,” she said, her lips trembling. - -“Let me go. I am not fit to look at you.” - -“Not with that thought of me,” she repeated. - -“Let me go,” I cried, for the third time passionately. “Or I will not -answer for myself.” - -“Not with that thought of me,” she repeated again. “I cannot. Do you -really think so of me?” - -“My God, how could I? I love you with my whole heart.” The avowal -burst from me by an uncontrollable impulse, and I stood shaken by the -vehemence of my own passion and looked for her to shrink from me. - -But instead she smiled softly and with maddening sweetness as she -murmured my name. - -“Ah, Burgwan; now you know.” - -I seized her hands to draw her to me. But this she resisted, though she -left them in mine, and as I looked into her eyes I saw the tears there. - -“I have been punished, Burgwan,” she said as she smiled through her -tears. - -“You love me, then?” - -She met my look without faltering, smiling on through her tears, and -made a brave effort to choke back her emotion, until her head drooped -slowly. - -“You must not ask me that, Burgwan. You must know all the truth now. -Poor Burgwan. Oh, I think my heart is breaking.” The last was little -more than a sigh, and taking her hands from mine she went back up the -hill to the tree and sat down again. - -Seeing her sorrow, Chris went to her and whined and put his head in her -lap; the beast loved her well nigh as much as I did, and her trouble -grieved him as it grieved me, I think. She threw her arms round his -neck and laid her head to his in response to his dumb offer of sympathy. - -In this way some minutes passed, and I knew without words from her -all the reason of her wish to leave me. That wild thought of mine had -been right. It was from her own heart she had been flying; and she was -suffering now the pain I could have spared her but for my insensate -selfishness. - -I knew that there were obstacles which she believed to be insuperable -between us, and I had driven her to this admission of her love as the -preface to telling me the reasons why it was impossible. - -But in the same moment I vowed they should not come between us. Nothing -should do that except her own will; and if these difficulties could be -overcome by any means within my reach, my life should be devoted to -beating them down. - -There was something or someone to fight now; and she was a prize worth -fighting for, with all the man that was in me; and while the sight of -her pain moved and distressed me beyond words, I could no longer feel -sorry I had come after her to Samac. - -She loved me; and the knowledge of love may have a setting of pain -and sorrow and yet be well gained and rightly gained. Our hearts had -answered one to the other; and despite the pain, it was well that each -should know the truth. - -I put away all the signs of passion and fastened them down with the -clamps of resolution. I would win her yet, let the case be desperate as -it would. I could wait for such a victory; and while waiting, fight to -hold the love I had already won. - -Presently, when she had become less agitated, she called me. - -I let her see at once that I had chosen my course. - -“I don’t mind what you are going to tell me, it will make no -difference,” I said as I sat by her side. - -She smiled but shook her head. “You do not know yet,” she answered. “It -is hopeless and impossible.” - -“You do not know me, or you would not use that word.” - -“I remember what you said about that on the hill this morning; but -this--I am so sorry, Burgwan.” She paused and then said very steadily: -“I am the promised wife of another man.” - -The words hit me hard, each with a sting of its own. I had looked for -anything but this; and I needed all my resolution not to wince and shew -the pain they inflicted, but to meet her steady gaze with one equally -steady. I succeeded and forced a smile as I answered. - -“I had not expected that,” I said, quietly. “But in fact I don’t think -I know what I did expect. In any case there is a great difference -between a wife and a promised wife, Mademoiselle.” - -“I shall be his wife within the present month.” - -“That gives us a fortnight or three weeks. The month is only a week -old.” - -“You do not understand.” - -“If you tell me that you love another man, I shall----” - -“Don’t,” she interposed with a gesture. - -“It is not the coward who says this, and now it is you who do not -understand me. I am not making love to you. I will never do that unless -I can do it honourably; and that cannot be while you are promised to -another man. But until you tell me that your heart is given to another, -I shall not cease to hope and will not cease striving to win you.” - -She listened to me and caught at my words. She lifted her head and -with an air of half-defiant pride she made a great effort to look me -straight in the eyes and take up my challenge. - -“I do love--” But she could get no farther; her head fell, and she -cried, “You would shame me, Burgwan.” I cried with intense earnestness: - -“God forbid that I should do that, Mademoiselle. I wish I could make it -all easier for you. But this is life to us both and nothing will serve -but truth and candour.” - -She did not answer this for some moments, but sat thinking intently, -her face averted from me; and presently I said: “People have been in -this plight before, and have come out of it.” - -She took no notice at first and then turned with a sad, sweet smile. - -“You must not make this too hard for me. I owe you so much----” - -“Say nothing of that, please, or you will silence me altogether, -Mademoiselle,” I interposed, quickly. - -“Do you forget what I told you--there would be no Mademoiselle in -Belgrade. I am the Princess Gatrina, betrothed to Prince Albrevics, -next in succession to the Servian throne.” - -I tried to take it with a smile as I had before taken the news of her -betrothal; but I could not. I could not even find a word to reply. I -just sat staring out in front of me yet seeing nothing. I was like a -man stricken dumb by a sudden calamity--helpless, numbed and beaten. - -I must have turned deathly white, for all the blood in my body seemed -to have rushed to my heart which beat with great lurching thumps -against my ribs and shook my whole body. Then my head where I had been -struck began to throb in response to the wild hammer of the pulse, and -I grew dizzy and faint. My breath came with difficulty and I had to -grip the tree with strenuous hands lest I should fall from it. - -“It was this I asked Father Michel to tell you,” she said presently. - -I heard her, of course; but her voice sounded far away and apart from -me. Much as though the barrier between us had become substantial and -she were speaking from far on the other side of it. - -At length I managed to get to my feet and to pace up and down, winning -the fight against my reeling senses and gathering up the fragments of -my scattered resolution. The first sign of my victory was a feeling of -blind, bitter anger with myself for having shewn such weakness before -her. - -“You must not judge me by this exhibition,” I said, as a sort of -apology. “My head pained me for a moment. That’s all; I’m better now -again.” - -But her pitying eyes shewed that she understood. - -“I am so sorry.” Just conventional words they were; but the look and -the tone told me how straight from her gentle heart they came and how -intensely she was feeling. “You are ill. Sit down again.” She did not -use any name now, and I noticed the omission. I was no longer Burgwan; -and already the restraint of our altered relations was making itself -felt. But she moved as if to make place for me on the fallen tree. - -“I am not ill now, thank you; and I think it is time for you to go.” I -glanced at my watch. “Yes, it is quite time.” - -She sat on a moment, her eyes closed, and then sighed deeply and rose. -Chris got up with her and she bent down and fondled him. - -“Good-bye, Chris, dear, faithful friend, good-bye,” she murmured, and -kissed his head. - -“You will not take him?” I asked. - -“Not now. No. I--I cannot. I should think of--of this.” Then with a -smile: “He will be so much happier with you.” She stooped and kissed -him again. - -“It is better so, perhaps.” I said. “But just as you will.” - -She was very quiet and calm now, and turning from the dog, she held out -her hand to me, with a brave smile. - -“Good-bye. You have not told me how to address you.” - -I took the white trembling fingers, and held them a moment with a -slight pressure, which was returned. - -“It is only Burgwan who bids you good-bye,” I said. - -“It is better so. It is only Burgwan whom I can remember.” - -She paused a moment, her eyes wistfully on mine, and then impulsively -held out her hand again. - -This time I was carrying it to my lips when I remembered, checked -myself, and let it fall. She was trembling violently, and her breathing -was deep and laboured. As I loosed her hand I heard her catch her -breath; and looking up I saw she was very white, the lips were almost -bloodless as she bit them in the battle with her agitation. - -We stood thus looking into one another’s eyes for some seconds. - -Poor little woman, she was finding it very hard; and a fierce yearning -came upon me to clasp her to my heart and urge her to let love have its -way and trust herself to the care of my love. - -But it was her moment of weakness, and one of us two must be strong. I -believe she knew by love’s instinct the thought that thus rushed upon -me, for her hands were half raised and a great flush of colour spread -over her pale cheeks. - -I stepped back and dropped my eyes to the ground. There was a -half-smothered sob, the brush of her skirts, the light touch of her -foot-fall on the path; and when I lifted my head she had gone, hurrying -down the hillside, and Chris was looking after her and then back at me -whining in doubt. - -I watched her go, hoping she would turn her head; but she held on -steadily and was nearing the bottom when Chris gave a short bark and -scampered after her at a mad gallop, reaching her just before a bend in -the path would have hidden her. - -I hoped she would take him with her; but she did not. She stopped and -petted him, letting him fawn upon her in his loving way, and stooped -and kissed him, and then I saw her point up the hill toward me. - -He hesitated to obey her, came a few steps, stopped and ran back to -her. She petted him again, and again ordered him back. He looked up -in her face as if in dire doubt; and then came slowly toward me, but -only to stop and turn again. She repeated the gesture; and this time he -drooped his tail and came on. - -She watched him; and presently looked higher up to me. I waved my hand, -but she gave no answering signal; and before the dog reached me, she -had passed round the bend in the path and was gone. - -I sat down on the fallen tree where we had been together and leant my -face in my hands, overcome by a deadening sense of utter desolation and -dreary loss. This at first shut out all other thoughts. - -But not for long. If the barrier between us was so infinitely greater -than my worst fears had conceived that on first learning it I had been -whelmed and staggered by the blow, I had gained another knowledge. She -loved me; and with that priceless vantage on my side I should be a -coward indeed to be daunted by any obstacles. - -She loved me; and when I rose, my resolution was set. I would fight on -to the end to win her, let who else and what else stand in my path. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -PREPARING FOR THE CAMPAIGN. - - -I don’t know any place where money talks with such effect as in the -southeast of Europe; and I made it talk for all it was worth during the -week that I was getting ready to go to Belgrade. - -I reckon that when you want to gain an end the chief means are to know -quite definitely what you want, to grip on it with all your teeth, -to pay liberally for what you must know to gain it, and to hold your -tongue and let the other man do the chattering. You may also at need -have a stalking horse. - -I used one now in the campaign to win Gatrina. I was hit very hard -when she told me the barrier between us was no less than her chance -of succeeding to the Servian throne; but I wasn’t knocked out. On the -contrary, the bigness of the barrier soon ceased to frighten and began -to attract me. I meant to win her; and to go to Belgrade to do it. But -I shut that purpose away in the strongest safe in my thoughts with a -time lock which would only open to let it out when the fitting moment -arrived. What I said was that I was going to Belgrade in regard to a -big loan which that little kingdom was just then particularly anxious -to float. - -It served me well. Any man who was going to put his money into such -a venture would naturally want to know things; and, if some of -the points on which I sought information did not seem to have any -connection, there were plenty of people ready to give it, and none to -bother with my motives, so long as I chose to foot the bills. - -I was well served by my agents, and inside the week I knew far too -much to let me dream of trusting a nickel to the Servian exchequer, -but quite enough to enable me to go to Belgrade and play the part -of a representative of a group of American capitalists with amiable -financial intentions. - -I knew other things, too. Secrets, many of them, about intrigues that -were in progress against the Servian rule and government. And a nice -mess of unhealthy pottage they made. One thing I had been particularly -urgent to discover--the character of Prince Albrevics. It was anything -but cleanly. He was one of those men who learn the commandments pretty -thoroughly by breaking every one of them consistently, and then sigh in -_blase_ regret that, as there are only ten of them, they have to stoop -to repetition in order to live comfortably. - -My money began to talk that same evening in Samac. - -Soon after Gatrina had started on her journey, I surprised the depot -folk at Samac with a request for a special train. I looked a pretty -object to travel special, no doubt; and at first they laughed and -were for hustling me out of the place as a lunatic. But I soon had -them hustling with a very different purpose. Money did it. And inside -of five minutes the station master himself, a lean hungry looking -Austrian, had put himself absolutely at my disposal and was working -all he knew to figure out the best means of getting me through to -Vienna. - -I said I would start in an hour and a half, and having sent a wire in -cypher to my agent in Vienna to help matters on at that end, I went to -Karasch, and with him rode back to Poabja to get the priest’s help in -straightening things out in the matter of that Austrian officer. - -He did not give me a very pleasant reception. - -“You have been to Samac?” he asked. - -“I have just come from there.” - -“Then why do you come to me?” he asked with cold austerity. - -“Not to say I’m sorry for having gone there, but to get you to render -me a service.” - -“You have seen--” he paused, and I filled in the words for him. - -“The Princess? Yes.” - -“Did she send you to me?” - -“No.” - -“I can do nothing for you,” he answered, as if to close matters. - -Then I let the money talk. I counted out the sum which I thought would -be necessary for paying a search party and also such an amount as I -guessed he would be glad to have for his church and his poor; and laid -them on the table in two heaps. - -“This is for the church and your poor; and this is for you to disburse -for me;” and I described very briefly what I wanted done. - -“Are you thinking to bribe me?” - -“Nothing of the kind. The Princess is involved in this matter of the -Austrian, and for her sake as well as mine the thing must be arranged. -She knows what passed at the camp and would, of course, testify if -necessary. But I can take care of myself when I get to Vienna; and I am -going there to-night by special train.” I added the last detail as an -impressionist money argument. - -“Who are you?” - -“I am an American citizen; and nothing else matters just now. This is -more for the Princess Gatrina than for me. She had to be saved, and I -couldn’t do it with kid gloves on.” He thought over this. - -“It is either a right or a wrong thing you are asking of me. If right I -do not desire to be paid for it; if wrong, I am not to be bribed to do -it;” and he pushed back toward me the money I had offered him for his -church. - -“It’s clean money,” I said, getting up. “You needn’t be afraid. Keep it -untouched until you are satisfied it is clean and then use it, or not, -as you please. I should like to have a report of what you do.” - -“To whom shall I send it?” - -“To me. You heard my name--Burgwan--and can send to that name under -cover to this address in Vienna;” and I wrote the name of a man so well -known that he started. - -“Baron Burndoff, the great banker.” - -“Yes, the banker,” I repeated; “and my friend.” - -“I don’t understand it,” he murmured, half to himself. - -“There is one other little favour you might render me. I need badly a -fresh suit of clothes. Could you tell me how to get one?” - -“I do not furnish disguises, sir,” he answered, so curtly that I almost -smiled, as I retorted, suavely: - -“I am sorry to have caused you to say discourteous things.” - -He drew himself up. “I am not concerned for your feelings. I am acting -for the Princess Gatrina;” and he bowed stiffly and formally to dismiss -me. But I noticed that he kept both the sums of money; and I went out -satisfied that he would do what was necessary and I was well pleased at -the result. - -On the ride back to Samac I made a discovery. I was somewhat at a loss -what to do with Karasch. Staunch and brave he was undoubtedly; but -there was very much of the rough diamond about him. I could not quite -see how he was going to fit himself into the routine of my service. - -“What would you like to do, Karasch?” I asked him. - -“Follow you and serve you,” he replied simply and promptly. - -“I don’t think you quite understand what that implies; and I wish you -to do so. I live thousands of miles away, in America; and I expect to -return there soon.” - -“When you have done with me, you can turn me away. I am your man.” - -“You are too good a fellow for me to turn you away. But the life I live -is not like that in the camp yonder. I’ve had as much of that just now -as I want. Life in a city is a very different thing and you might find -it cramping.” - -“Do you wish me to leave you? You have but to speak.” - -“You don’t understand me. I owe you a debt which nothing I can do for -you will ever repay. But I can do something toward it. If you can think -of any kind of life you’d like to lead, I’ll see that you have the -chance. If you’d like to be gentleman at ease, I’ll find you the means.” - -“A gentleman at ease? What’s that?” - -“To have enough money to live upon without working for it.” - -He swore good humouredly, and asked with a laugh: “Do you think I want -to do nothing?” - -“Well, if you’d like to work I’ll buy you a house and some land for you -to cultivate, and you can choose where.” - -“I have chosen.” - -“Well?” - -“To serve you,” he replied, earnestly. - -“You must think a heap of me in that case,” I laughed. - -“I do,” he said, in just the same grave, decided tone. - -“I’m afraid you won’t like the city life, Karasch.” - -“If I don’t I can leave it. But I’ve lived in one.” - -“Where?” - -“Belgrade.” - -“Are you a Serb then? Georgev said you were Bosnian.” - -“I am a Serb; and Georgev is a fool.” - -“So you’ve lived in Belgrade, have you?” I said as a thought occurred -to me. Did he know who Gatrina was? “How did you come to change so -toward--toward Mademoiselle?” - -“She told me something about herself when you got that crack on the -head.” - -“You didn’t tell me?” - -“She made me promise not to speak.” - -I had been pretty blind, it seemed. - -“Do you know who she is?” - -“No. Only that she’s a great lady in Belgrade.” - -“Did she tell you how she fell into the hands of those men?” - -“No; she does not know. She was carried off and believed she was in the -hands of the brigands, and that they would hold her for a ransom. But I -could find out.” - -“How?” - -“I know Belgrade and I know the friends of the men with her.” - -“How would you get the information?” - -“Quickest to buy it.” - -Money was to talk again. “How much?” I asked. - -“They were to have three thousand gulden if they got her to Maglai. Not -getting a kreutzer, they’ll be ready to sell the whole scheme for less -than half.” - -“Would you go to Belgrade?” - -“I’ll go anywhere you send me.” - -“You shall go there at once and wait for me. I shall be there in about -a week. I am going first to Vienna; and you must use the interval -to get this information for me. Lose no time and pay whatever is -necessary. I’ll give you some money and send you more. But, mind, we -must have the truth--whatever it costs.” - -“They know me too well to deceive me,” he answered. “I shall have it -all in less than a week; and have the men as well, at your service, if -you want them.” And so it was settled. - -Money had talked when we reached Samac, and the special was ready for -us. I took Karasch with me as far as Maria-Theresiopel, where I was to -catch the mail to Vienna, and he to get the train to Belgrade; and on -the journey I discussed the matter with him fully and gave him such -directions as were necessary. - -“Mind, not a word about me until we meet in Belgrade,” was my last -parting injunction; and for the rest of the journey I slept almost -until Vienna was reached. - -A very full week was the week that followed; and money was talking -every minute of it, while I gathered the information I needed and -pieced it together for the campaign I had before me. - -It was just a big bluff I put up about that Servian loan; and played -it well enough to convince all who came near me that I meant it right -along. It was easy to prove that I and those who were behind me in the -States had the dollars and could put them on the table. That was true; -but the bluff was to make folks believe me soft enough to accept the -security and vouch for it to others. - -My attitude was that of the typical Missouri man. “Show me” was my one -text. “Prove to me the thing is sound, and I’ll find the money right -now;” and the very strenuousness of the efforts to persuade me was in -itself enough to have made even a plunger suspicious. - -But I kept a very stiff upper lip; and when I raised difficulties, -hinted at concessions that should be made, and asked for facts in -regard to other matters, I was at last referred to Belgrade direct. -This was what I wanted; and I consented to go there; but not without -making a show of reluctance. - -In the meantime I heard from Father Michel that he had been successful -in arranging all the difficulties in connection with the affair at the -camp. The Austrian official had exaggerated matters to me that night in -declaring there were dying men there. No one had died; and the injured -men had first been so frightened with the threat of prosecution for -their part in the abduction that the money I had left for them had been -accepted with very grateful surprise. - -Captain Hanske had very naturally resented his rough handling, and, -breathing many threats of what his government would do, had forwarded a -very furious report to Vienna. - -His superior was dining with me the day after the report was received, -and had done himself very well indeed when he referred to the matter. - -“You know a priest named Father Michel in Poabja, an out-of-the-way -hole in Bosnia, don’t you, Mr. Bergwyn?” he said with a very suggestive -smile. - -I affected to think. “Poabja? Poabja? Whereabouts is it?” - -“A few miles from Samac--the point on the frontier where the line ends; -and where one might at a pinch get a special train; if for instance -one was in a hurry to leave the district.” - -He intended me to know by that, of course, that my movements had been -traced. - -“I think I had a friend who once went there,” I replied. - -“This may be about him;” and he pulled out the report and gave it -me and took another cigar and a fresh drink, as I glanced through -the paper. It was a duly garbled official misdescription of what had -occurred that night and represented the captain as having fought -valiantly against great odds until he had been overpowered. - -“He seems to be a valiant fellow, this agent of yours,” I said. “And -this--how is he called? Burgwan, is it?--must be a desperate character?” - -He laughed. “Singular name, isn’t it? Very much like yours.” - -“Now you mention it, so it is. But, of course, it isn’t my name;” and I -smiled in my turn. - -“Of course not. A strange story, though. Do you think your--friend -would know anything about it?” - -“I shouldn’t be in the least surprised. I’ll find out. By the way, your -man seems to have been roughly handled. Don’t you think he ought to be -promoted in some way?” - -“Promotion is slow, you see. Do you think you could do anything for -him?” he asked, as if the idea had just occurred to him; and smiled -again slyly. - -“I don’t see how it affects me. Wait, I have an idea. I can tell you -how you can do it, and make a pile for yourself at the same time. This -camp on the hills he speaks of must be the spot where my friend went -prospecting about some mine deposits. He told me there was a fortune -waiting there for the man who developed the thing; but he knows the -difficulty which a foreigner would have in working it, and has given it -up. Why not get hold of the concessions yourself; they can be had for a -song; and put this man in charge to carry on the work?” - -“It would take money.” - -“Oh, there would be no difficulty about that if the thing had official -influence behind it--such for instance as yours. The thing’s right. The -ore’s there, I know that.” - -“_You_ know it?” he put in quickly. - -“I’d trust my friend’s judgment as freely as my own.” - -“You say a fortune? How much?” - -“Oh, anything from half a million gulden upwards.” I spoke airily, -as though a few hundred thousand gulden were a matter of comparative -insignificance. - -He smoked for a while in silence, his brows knitted thoughtfully: - -“Would your friend go into it?” he asked. - -“It’s the sort of thing I should take up myself right now if I had your -influence with me,” I replied. - -“You Americans are a wonderful people, Mr. Bergwyn. We’ll speak of this -to-morrow. I’ll think it over.” - -“It’s worth doing, not only thinking over;” and as I returned him -his report I added: “And this man really deserves some sort of -compensation.” - -He shrugged his shoulders and laughed. “He shall have an official -letter praising his zeal; and we shall hear no more of that part of it.” - -We did talk it over the next day and we fixed up a working arrangement. -Then he spoke to me about the Servian loan. - -“You’re not going into it, are you?” - -“They promise some valuable concessions.” - -He paused and said deliberately: “If you’ll take my advice, it -is--don’t.” - -“Why?” - -“It’s too risky.” - -“You’ve another reason. What is it?” - -He shook his head. “You don’t understand Balkan politics.” - -“You mean your government are against the loan?” - -“Servia might buy arms, or build railways with the money--neither -course to our interests, you know.” - -“A bit rough on Servia, isn’t it?” - -“We have to think of ourselves, you see. Besides, it isn’t safe for a -little country like that to develop too quickly. There’s Russia, too. -Two big powers, both closely concerned. Take my advice--don’t.” - -“I’m going to Belgrade,” I answered. - -“By all means go. You’ll see things then for yourself.” - -“What would happen if she got the loan?” - -“She won’t get it, Mr. Bergwyn. The government is tottering now--and -perhaps the throne. Anything can happen in Belgrade at any time--except -the floating of a loan.” - -“I shall go to Belgrade. We’re ready to carry risks, you know, when a -thing’s right.” - -“Oh, yes, by all means go, as I said. They’ll make much of you; but -remember when you’re there what I’ve said, in confidence, and--don’t.” - -I could judge by the insistence upon this advice that he thought I was -still undecided; and as that was just the impression I wished to leave, -I said no more. - -Two days later I left for Belgrade, where, as my friend the minister -had told me, I found them quite ready to make much of me, as a sort of -possible financial saviour of the country. I soon saw the influence -which I could wield even in regard to the real purpose which took me to -the capital. - -But even within a few hours of my arrival, and while I was disposed to -shake hands with myself for the adroit course which I was managing to -steer, I met with an ugly check--most unwelcome and disconcerting. - -A large house had been placed at my disposal, and I had breakfasted on -the morning after my arrival and was planning my movements for the day, -when my man, Buller, brought me a card. - -“The Baroness von Tulken.” - -I remembered the name. It had been given me as that of a woman of much -influence at the court who was said to be taking an important part -in political affairs. But I could think of no reason why she should -flounce down on me almost at the moment of my arrival. I hesitated -therefore whether to see her. But I decided I would. If time is not too -pressing, it is generally best to see people at once and get at the -kernel of their business in a couple of minutes, instead of letting -them worry you with correspondence. - -There was the chance, too, that under the circumstances she might have -some information to give or sell; and I was speculating who she might -be and what she wanted, as I went to her. - -But I knew her the moment my eyes fell on her, before I saw her face; -and I started and caught my breath in surprise and some dismay. I -could have wished her anywhere in the world except in Belgrade at that -particular juncture. - -She was looking out of the window as I entered, and when she turned -gave me one quick glance. - -“Ah, then it _is_ you, Chase,” she cried, as she came toward me both -hands extended and uttered my Christian name, with a smile on her -handsome face, as though the meeting were just the loveliest thing that -ever happened for us both. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -ELMA. - - -A large, long room on the first floor of a house in Prague; the -furniture, once rich, now sadly worn; the lights dim except over one -table where cards were scattered on the green cloth as they had been -left by the players; close to it, partly in shadow, a second table with -drink and glasses; near it an overturned chair; away in the gloom a -cowering figure on a settee with old hands pressed strenuously on the -hidden face; and in the centre a queenly woman, beautiful as a picture, -white-faced, distraught and trembling, but struggling to appear defiant -as she faced a boy of nineteen who was regarding her with looks in -which hot love, horrified repugnance and disgust struggled with the -bewildering pain of the knowledge of her unworthiness. She had been -caught red-handed in the flagrant use of the tricks of a common card -cheat; and the rest had gone, with flouts and scoffs and jeers, leaving -the two, the boy, face to face with the sudden consciousness of her -shame, and suffering as only a boy in his calf love can suffer: the -woman, scared and confused, but wrathful and relying defiantly upon the -power of her beauty. - -I was the boy; and Elma Dreschkel, now the Baroness von Tulken, was -the woman. We had not met since that night; but the picture flashed -back upon my memory, resistlessly and instantaneously, as I felt once -more upon me those dark, dangerous, and strangely compelling eyes of -hers. - -“You are surprised, of course; but you will not refuse me your hand,” -she said, as I hesitated to take hers. - -I took her hand. “Yes, I am surprised,” I answered. - -“You are not changed much. Older, broader, more manly, of course, and -much handsomer, too.” - -“The change in my looks may not be very great.” It was a fatuous thing -to say, for it gave her a chance which her ready wit seized at once. - -“I have not changed even in looks,” she said, with a sigh and droop of -the eyes and a little graceful gesture of the hands. She did herself -less than justice, however. The seven years had ripened her beauty of -form and face; the girl had become a woman; and the woman more than -fulfilled the promise of the girl. She was faultlessly dressed, too, -with exquisite taste; and had achieved that combination of apparent -simplicity and suggestion of costly extravagance after which so many -American women strive not always with success. - -She knew I was looking very closely at her and she paused long enough -to give me ample opportunity. Then she glanced up and smiled: hers was -one of the most dangerous smiles ever given to a woman. - -“Well?” she asked, as if challenging me. Was she anxious to establish -our relations upon something of the old footing? - -“To what do I owe the favour of this visit?” I asked in a formal and -precise tone. - -But she only laughed. “Is it a favour, really, do you think? Do you say -that only as a preface to dismissing me?” - -“It is, at any rate, as I said, a surprise.” - -“Why? Why should it be a surprise that I wished to see you again, and -that hearing a great financier, Chase F. Bergwyn, was coming here, I -rushed here the first moment I could to make sure that it was you?” - -“The surprise may be to find you in Belgrade.” - -“Oh, yes, that of course--but not that I should wish to see you.” She -had always been clever in turning my words back upon me. - -“I am afraid you misunderstand me,” I said after a pause. “I meant to -ask you if there was anything I could do for you?” - -“Would you do it, Chase?” she cried with quick daring, flashing her -eyes upon me. “I wonder if you would. I should like to think so.” - -“Will you regard the question as put quite formally? This visit is -quite unexpected, and as I am a somewhat busy man just now, my time is -very much occupied.” - -“I am still standing,” she answered, unexpectedly. - -I placed a chair for her and she sat down, gracefully--she did all -things gracefully--and smiled. “How long can you spare me?” She put the -question lightly, with mockery in every accent. - -“I have engagements right through the day. Baroness....” - -She interposed with a quick gesture, rose suddenly and looked at -me as if I had insulted her by this use of her title, and her lips -opened as if to give her protest utterance; but she merely sighed and -shrugged her shoulders, and sat down again. A very effective piece of -acting--but no more than acting. - -In reply I glanced at the card which I still held in my hand. - -“Yes, I married for money and position. What would you have had me do?” -She made the quick question a reproach, speaking in a low, tense tone -as of carefully restrained feeling, with a dash of personal defiance, -paused and then added slowly: “I was deserted by--everyone. Was I to -starve and sink and go on sinking and starving. The Baron was three -times my age. Wealthy, and believed in me and trusted me. When even -those who might have had faith in me”--she paused again as she repeated -the phrase--“even those who might have had faith, turned their backs -upon me, and deserted me, he offered me the shelter of his rank and -riches and name. And even if I had no heart to give him in response, -was I to blame for giving him my hand? Does it lie with you to reproach -me?--you, of all men; you?” - -So intense was her tone, so magnetic her influence, and so realistic -her acting that she actually roused in me for the moment the feeling -that in that old time it was I who had wronged her and played the part -of coward now suggested, and not she who had cheated and cozened me in -my boyish infatuation until for years my faith in all women had been -destroyed. Yet I knew that she was that most dangerous of all created -beings--a beautiful woman with brains and without a heart. - -“I am not reproaching you,” I answered. “On the contrary, I -congratulate you. I think you acted very prudently.” - -“My God,” she cried in an accent of intense suffering; and first -glancing at me with eyes full of sadness and suffering, she bent her -head upon her hand. She was master of many emotions; but the acting -which had fooled the boy in love was powerless to deceive me now. - -A pause of some embarrassment followed. What I wished to learn was her -motive in coming to me. She had a strong one, of course. I could gamble -on that. - -“Need we pretend?” I asked, at length. - -She shivered as though the words hurt her, and then looking up -suddenly, answered with a sort of fierce _abandon_. - -“No. No; although God knows it is no pretence that I am agitated at -seeing you again.” - -“If you are thus disturbed let me suggest that we postpone the -conversation until you are more self-possessed.” - -She drew in her breath sharply with a little shudder, and stretched out -a hand as if in entreaty, then clasped it to her face and appeared to -make a great effort to regain self-restraint. - -“Bear with me a moment. This is so strange a meeting. I....” she -stopped, and bit her lip and smiled and sighed. - -I watched her quite unmoved by this display. “Yes, it is very strange,” -I said. - -Next, as if having regained self-possession and desirous of getting -away from an embarrassing situation, she said, unexpectedly, and -almost crudely: “Won’t you sit down, Cha-- Mr. Bergwyn?” She made the -correction palpable, then added: “I should apologise for my excitement -having betrayed me into calling you by--by the name once so familiar. I -am still liable to impulses.” - -I accepted the position thus suggested, sat down and answered in a tone -of conventional compliment: “So beautiful a woman as you, Baroness, -need never think of apologising for anything.” - -“At all events I will try not to offend again,” she said lightly. “I -suppose that really I ought not to have come to you in this way, but -have waited until we met. You are so great a man now.” - -“You had some reason for coming, of course. Shall we discuss that?” - -“Oh, yes, I had a reason; but I find it so hard to explain it now.” -Her manner now was that of a sort of engaging nervousness. “I declare -I could almost wish you were a stranger, Mr. Bergwyn. It would be less -difficult.” - -This was my chance and I took it. “You may really regard me as a -stranger, Baroness;” I said, gravely, with emphasis; but she smiled -winningly, intentionally disregarding my meaning, and replied with -great sweetness: - -“You were always considerate.” She paused and continued then with a -glance: - -“I had my reasons for coming to you, of course. I suppose I may be -frank. In the first place I wished to be sure that you were the Mr. -Bergwyn who knew me before I came to Belgrade.” - -Her eyes said more than her words then and I gave the assurance they -sought. - -“If I understand you, pray be quite at rest. Since we parted you have -lived your life and I have lived mine--and our memories do not go -behind that new life.” I meant that if she did not wish me to give her -away, I did not want that old boyish intrigue of mine raked up. She was -relieved by the assurance, and could not hide the feeling. - -“I was sure of that, of course,” she answered with a scarcely -perceptible sigh of relief. “It does not affect your purpose here.” - -“How could it?” - -“Of course your agents have been making inquiries about everything -here, and I suppose you know something of my position and influence. I -am a rich woman, Mr. Bergwyn, and stand high in the confidence of many -people in Belgrade.” - -“I had heard of the Baroness von Tulken as one enjoying considerable -influence at Court.” - -“Yes, I have influence; and even if I had found you a stranger I -intended to place it entirely at your service. Need I say how much more -I should wish to do so, seeing you are who you are.” - -“I thought we were not to remember that.” - -“How precise you men of business are!” she laughed. “Well, do you -accept my offer?” - -“I should be charmed, of course, and if the need arises I shall -instantly remember your promise.” - -“Is that a refusal?” she asked swiftly. - -“A conditional acceptance rather, is it not?” - -“I did not come for conditions. I came for frank acceptance or -rejection of my offer.” - -“I arrived but last night,” I reminded her, blandly. - -“You are playing with words. What is your object in Belgrade?” - -“I think everyone in the capital who knows of my presence knows why I -have come.” - -“But I mean your secret object. You have not come here to lend this -money. Englishmen--I beg pardon, even Americans do not act like madmen -in such matters. You know there is no stability in the kingdom, no -security that even your interest would be paid. Why then do you come? -What part are you proposing to play in all the intrigues at present -rife here? Whose side do you take and why?” - -“The negotiations for the loan....” I began when she cut me short with -a laugh and waved the words aside. - -“What is it you want to buy with your money?” - -“Really....” - -“I will put it another way,” She interposed again. “Which party are -you with? The army are intriguing against the present dynasty; are you -with them? The Crown is intriguing to secure the next succession for -the Queen’s brother; are you with them? Another party is intriguing to -secure the Princess Gatrina in her rights; are you with them?--with -us, I should say. If you are, then indeed your millions may be safe.” - -“I fear I do not understand you. The Queen is responsible for the -betrothal of the Princess to the Prince Albrevics; how then....” - -The interposing laugh was now scornful. - -“You have indeed much to learn. You will hold what I may say in -confidence?” - -“Yes; but without pledging myself to make no use privately of any -information; and I think you should not speak,” I answered after a -pause of doubt whether I could rightly let her speak freely. But she -had no hesitation. - -“I will take your word and any risks. I wish you, if you take any -side, to take ours. The Queen’s object in promoting the marriage of -the Princess--as good a girl as ever lived--with such a vile reprobate -as this Albrevics is--what do you think? Nay, you would not see it, -not understanding the cross currents of our matters here. She knows, -as all the country knows--except Gatrina herself, perhaps--that of all -the impossible successors to the throne he is the most impossible. -She does it that Gatrina’s claims may thus be destroyed finally and -Gatrina herself in this clever way removed from the path of the Queen’s -brother.” - -“Very smart, very subtle, and very feminine,” I said, with a smile as -though the plan appealed to my appreciation of a really clever move. -“And what is your plan?” - -“First, what is your motive in Belgrade? Would you help in so shameful -a scheme against the Princess?” - -I affected to consider and then answered with more truth than she knew. - -“No, I think I can safely say I should not.” - -“I was sure of it,” she cried, triumphantly. “And you would not help -the army in their plans?” - -“I do not know them.” - -“They can be put in one word--assassination.” - -“God forbid that I should deal with such a thing. But you must be mad -to think it.” - -She paused and then said slowly with significant emphasis: - -“When I know not, and how I know not, but matters will come to that -if the army once have the courage to act. The Queen has some strong -friends, but some terrible enemies; and there is but one way to avert -catastrophe.” - -“How is that?” - -“By securing the succession to the Princess Gatrina by the only means -which can render it secure.” She fixed her eyes upon me with an intent, -searching look. - -“That is your scheme, you mean. How would you do it?” I had no scruple -in questioning her now. I saw that some plan against Gatrina was in the -making, and was ready to go to lengths now to know it. - -“By securing her marriage with a man who would be accepted by the -country as a king.” - -“And there is such a man?” - -“Yes; the Duke Barinski, of Fagodina.” - -“I have never heard of him. What claim to the throne can he make?” - -She smiled significantly. “He has many. He is connected by descent -with the Karageorgevics, while the Princess represents the Obrenovics. -Together their claim would be incontestable, as it would reconcile and -unite the rival interests. And what is most--he has the support of -Russia. Now you understand.” - -“And _your_ motive?” - -“The Duke is the head of the family of which I am a humble member.” - -“A very beautiful member certainly, and a very useful one, also -certainly; but I should not use the term humble, Baroness. You seem to -have a strong cause, particularly with Russian influence behind. You -think it will succeed?” - -“It cannot fail,” she said in a tone of dead conviction. - -“And the Princess Gatrina? What are her views?” - -She shrugged her shoulders. “In a marriage of State what does it matter -to the bride who the groom may be? She at present trusts the Queen, and -so accepts even such a man as Albrevics.” - -“It is all very interesting, but there is one question which a business -man would put--a man looking of course to his own interests only. If -those who are with me in this joined in this scheme, would the Russian -influence go so far as to guarantee the loan?” - -“Do you think I can pledge the Russian Government?” - -“Scarcely that, perhaps, but in such a case you may have some -influence.” - -She laughed very musically. “You are much quicker than you used to be. -Chase--I beg your pardon, Mr. Bergwyn--you think I am a Russian agent. -Well, you are right. I am. My husband, the Baron, was one.” - -“Was?” - -“He is dead. Of course you know that.” - -“Your pardon; I did not. And you told your people, of course, that you -were coming to see me?” - -Again she understood me; and again she laughed. “Yes. I told them -it was possible I might have some influence with you--some personal -influence, of course.” She paused and added, slowly: “But I see now -that I was wrong.” - -“At any rate I think we may now say we understand each other and this -matter,” I said as I rose. - -“You will join us? There is no other way to make your interests safe. -Russian influence is paramount.” - -“Forgive me if I hold my decision over. What you have said has greatly -impressed me.” It had, but not quite in the way she may have thought. - -“I shall see something of you while you are here?” - -“How long I remain is, of course, uncertain,” I answered; and the -evasion displeased her. - -“That may mean no. But I must see you. I insist, I do, indeed, -positively insist;” and she laid her hand on my arm and smiled -winningly. - -“But I may go over to the Austrian side, whatever that may be. They -may also have eloquent advocates.” - -“You may find the Queen’s chief advocate the most difficult to resist. -I think I ought to warn you.” - -“Who is that?” - -“The Princess Gatrina--a very beautiful girl and very persuasive.” - -Fortunately the start I gave passed unnoticed as her eyes were off me -at the moment. - -“It seems to be a contest of beautiful women, Baroness,” I said with a -bow. - -“It is perhaps fortunate for you, therefore, that you are now only a -business man--with a short memory,” she retorted with a glance which I -affected not to see. - -Then an unexpected incident followed. I accompanied her to the door and -as we crossed the hall, Chris was lying there. He got up and she looked -at him and paused. - -“That is an enormous dog, Mr. Bergwyn. I do not like big dogs.” - -“Chris will not hurt you. He is gentle as he is big--unless on -necessary occasions.” - -“You call him Chris?” she exclaimed, in a tone of surprise. “That is -something of a coincidence; I hope it is not an omen,” and she gave me -a keen glance. - -“Why a coincidence?” - -“I was thinking of the Queen’s advocate--Gatrina. She has had some -adventure in which a dog named Chris took a part. I hope it is not an -omen that you will side with her. I am very superstitious, you know. -We Serbs are.” - -But she was not a Serb and was far too sensible to be superstitious. -Besides, there was an expression on her face as she drove away that I -would have given a good deal to have understood. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -DEVELOPMENTS. - - -I should have reckoned it bad luck to run up against Elma once more -under any circumstances; but it was much worse to find her installed -here in Belgrade, a woman of rank, wealth and influence, in close -touch with the court and with Gatrina, and taking a part in the game -of political intrigue likely to render her a serious opponent to my -purpose. - -There was no use blinking at ugly facts, or attempting to hide from -myself that if she came to learn the real purpose of my presence in -Belgrade, she could do me incalculable mischief; and I did not begin to -persuade myself that if the occasion arose she would hesitate to do it. - -It was in this wise. In those silly, calf days of my boyish infatuation -I had written the usual wild, high-falutin nonsense to her--and plenty -of it. Pouring out my soul to her, I had thought it then: making an -egregious young ass of myself, I deemed it now; but soulful or asinine, -there were the letters on record against me. Nor could I doubt that if -Elma found me attempting to use my influence with Gatrina against the -plans of the Russian party those letters would be used for all they -were worth to checkmate that influence. - -Elma had indeed been clever enough to appeal to me to bury the past -and to hint that she was afraid of my revealing what I knew about her. -But she had meant it more as a bluffing appeal to my sense of honour. -She knew she had little enough to fear from any revelations. They might -damage her Court influence; but the Russian authorities who employed -her would not care a red cent. They would have no inconvenient scruples -so long as she was useful to them. Very probably they knew all about -her already, and had perhaps used the knowledge to give a twist to the -screw which kept her zealous in their service. - -I flinched and flushed at the thought of those letters being read by -Gatrina. That must be stopped somehow, and I must get them back into -my possession. But how? I could not see any means at present. Elma was -just an abominably clever woman. She had shewn that by rising to her -present position out of the ashes of that old scandal in Prague; and -I was only too painfully conscious that in any play of wits in such a -matter she would almost certainly outwit me. - -Yet disconcerting as was this personal side of the matter, it was not -by any means the most disturbing result of that talk with her. - -She had made me realise that the obstacles in my way were vastly -greater than I had reckoned. The whole axis of the position seemed to -have shifted, indeed. I had come to Belgrade with the somewhat vague -notion that by means of my wealth and the knowledge I had gained of the -character of Prince Albrevics, I should be able to stop the proposed -marriage. But that somewhat arrogant assurance was beaten out of me at -a stroke. Money was useless here. - -I saw that Gatrina’s marriage was the centre round which two at least -of these ugly schemes of high political intrigue actually revolved. It -was one of the most critical issues of that most critical time; and in -regard to it her happiness and welfare were just the last things to -which anyone concerned gave five cent’s worth of consideration. - -The Court scheme meant her sacrifice to such a man as this Albrevics in -order that she might be out of the way of the Queen’s project to secure -the succession for her brother. The Russian plan was scarcely less -treacherous. They were wishing to use her as a counter in order to get -their own puppet on the Throne. No more and no less. - -Then there was the third plot--that of the army; and so far as it -concerned Gatrina it threatened to be worse than either of the others. -If it came to a head and Elma’s grim forecast of assassination were -realised, it would be directed against the Obrenovics family as a -whole. Gatrina, as a member of that family, would be in actual personal -danger; for it was difficult to think that one so directly in the line -of succession as she was would be allowed to slip through the meshes of -a net flung wide and drawn in by strong, angry, merciless hands. - -I had looked for anything rather than this. But Elma had outlined the -picture; and my own concern for Gatrina soon painted in the details in -lurid and alarmist colours. - -I was still groping for the guiding thread in all this tangled skein -of trouble when the first of my appointed visitors was announced, and -I had to assume my role of hard-headed business man in regard to the -proposed loan. - -He was a man high up in the Government, and I listened gravely to -his proposals, putting a number of objections much as I had done in -Vienna; and then said that I had heard so much of the instability of -the Government and of plots and conspiracies, that I must take time to -satisfy myself what they all meant. - -“You need have no apprehension, Mr. Bergwyn,” he declared blandly. “The -Throne and the Government have never been more secure; and now that the -vexed question of the succession is about to be so happily settled, -there is not the slightest ground for alarm.” - -“To be settled how?” - -“By the marriage of the Princess Gatrina to Prince Albrevics. All -faction will end with that.” - -“And Russia?” - -He waved his hands deprecatingly. “Russia will accept the situation. -She always does, when once it is established.” - -“But the Queen’s popularity?” - -“Was never greater. Her strength is paramount.” - -“And her intentions as to her brother’s succession?” - -“The merest _canard_--absolutely without foundation.” - -“You think Prince Albrevics would be accepted by the country?” - -“Personally I regret he is not a--not more discreet. But he will reform -when his responsibilities grow.” - -“How many hold that view?” - -“He is not popular, it is true; but we Serbs are a peace-loving people -and, when a thing is settled and makes for peace, we accept it and work -for it.” - -“And the army?” - -“There has been discontent, I know, and certain appointments have been -made by the Crown which have provoked criticism. But the leaders are -loyal and sound. There will be no trouble.” - -“I would wish to convince myself at first hand. Whom should I see? I -want the name of a man who knows; and not necessarily a Government man.” - -“You can take it from me.” - -“That does not mean you would rather I saw no one?” - -He flinched at the blunt question very slightly and then smiled. -“Certainly not. I am not so foolish. You have come to convince yourself -and we wish to help you do this. There is, of course, some disaffection -in certain regiments; but on no considerable scale. No man knows the -feeling of the army as a whole better than Colonel Petrosch. And you -can speak to him freely. He is the better man for you to see, perhaps, -because he is not by any means a friend of the Court.” - -I remembered the name as one which had been given me by my Austrian -friends in Vienna; and having thus obtained what I wanted, I got rid -of my visitor as soon as possible. - -As soon as he had gone I looked up the note I had made about this -Colonel Petrosch and was surprised to find him described as a man -with a strong grievance against the Government, having considerable -influence in the army, and believed to be using that influence against -the Throne. - -This looked as though he were the very man I sought, and I resolved to -go to him at once. But I was to have a stroke of good fortune in that -matter. I was ready to start when my servant, Buller, came in. - -“There is a rough-looking fellow asking for you, sir, and says you sent -for him. But I thought I’d better tell you first. I told him you were -busy and that he had better write.” - -“What name?” - -“I couldn’t catch his name, sir. I can’t understand the language; but -it sounded something like Crash.” - -I laughed. “Karasch, Buller. Bring him up at once; and be very civil to -him. He wishes to be your fellow-servant.” - -Buller’s features were at that moment a study. Well-trained servant -though he was, and correct and phlegmatic as an Englishman could be, it -was now beyond his power to conceal the dismay and disgust he felt at -the prospect. - -“Yes, sir,” he stammered at length and turned to go. - -“He saved my life, Buller, at the risk of his own; and I think a heap -of him, even if he does lack a little polish.” - -“Yes, sir,” he said now in his most correct manner, and went out to -return in a moment. “This way, Mr. Crash,” I heard him say as he opened -the door, and not a trace of feeling was on his stolid face as he -ushered him in. - -Karasch was vastly impressed at finding me in such surroundings and -his fine dark eyes rolled about him with a gaze of wonderment and -settled first upon Chris, who got up at his entrance, and then upon -me. I think he was not a little nervous for all his attempt to appear -self-possessed. - -“I have done my lord’s bidding,” he said at length. - -“Is your arm better, Karasch?” - -He started as though the question recalled the old tussle between us. -“It is getting well, my lord.” He felt apparently that I ought to be -addressed by some title. - -“Good; then sit down and tell me what you’ve done; and by the way, -don’t call me my lord.” - -A glance round the room and a waive of the hand shewed me his thought. -“As you please, Excellency; I am only your servant.” - -“Very well, we’ll leave it at that. Now tell me your news.” - -“I have seen the friends of the men who took away the lady, and I know -who they were serving. I have also seen her and know who she is.” - -“Who hired them?” - -“The Duke Barinski of Jagodina, Excellency. She is the Princess -Gatrina--but the men did not know her.” - -“Duke Barinski! Are you sure?” I exclaimed. This was news indeed. “Are -you sure, Karasch?” - -“I have seen the man with whom he made the bargain. He is at your -service now, Excellency; I have paid him. If you wish to see him, I -will bring him here.” - -“All I need is to be quite certain. He would not deceive you?” - -“He knows better, Excellency,” answered Karasch, with a dry, -significant smile. “I hold his life here;” and he held out his hand -with fingers and thumb pressed together. - -“Tell me all.” - -“There is but little to tell, Excellency.” He appeared to derive some -sort of satisfaction from using this title frequently. “I knew where -to go for the information, as I told you; and as soon as I had done -as your Excellency bade me and seen a doctor about my arm, I sought -the men out; they are old companions of mine and, as I had money they -welcomed me. For three days we drank together and I had the story from -three or four of them, both when they were drunk and when sober; and -it was always the same. The Princess was at the great house of the -Baroness von Tulken one evening, and when she wished to leave, she was -put into a carriage not her own with two of the men dressed in her -livery. They drove her by a certain route and at an agreed spot the six -men who were to take her to Maglai stopped the carriage and with a show -of force seemed to compel the coachman to drive away into the country, -two of the men entering the carriage to keep the Princess quiet. They -told her they were brigands; and after some miles they compelled her -to alight and ride with them. They were to take her to Maglai and to -receive one thousand gulden, not three as they told your Excellency.” - -“But the witchcraft business, Karasch?” - -“The Duke Barinski told them she was a witch, Excellency, who had been -detected and was being sent off privately in this way, because she had -too many friends of influence to be tried openly in Belgrade. Had they -known who she was really, they would have been afraid.” - -“Then he risked her very life. They might have killed her.” - -“No, Excellency; because not a kreutzer was to be paid to them at -Maglai if the slightest harm was done to her. It was clever.” - -“It was devilish,” I said, hotly. “Where in Maglai were they to take -her and who was to pay the money?” - -He produced a slip of paper with a name and address upon it. “You can -make inquiries if you wish, Excellency,” he said. “You will find what I -have said is the truth. It is the Duke Barinski’s plotting.” - -“You don’t mean he went so far as to see these men himself?” - -“He did not declare himself, Excellency; but he was recognised.” - -I sat thinking a moment over the news. - -“Have you any guess as to his motive?” - -“No; I could have none; nor could my friends,” he answered, shaking his -head. - -“Would your men bear this story out even to his face?” - -“Why not? They are now in your service--that is, if you wish me still -to pay them.” - -Money was not to be so entirely useless after all, it seemed. “Yes, pay -them, Karasch. Have you any money left?” - -“I have brought it;” and he produced the greater part of what I had -given him. - -“You had better keep it.” - -“It will be safer with you. You can give it me as I need it, -Excellency;” and he laid it on the table. - -“Take what you want;” and he took a very moderate sum which he declared -would be enough. I told him then that for the present he had better not -live in my house but was to come night and morning for instructions, -and to let me know how to communicate with him instantly in the event -of my needing him in any pressing emergency. - -His news gave me plenty of matter to chew, and I sat turning it over -and over in my mind. I saw Elma’s pro-Russian hand in it plainly; and -although Karasch and his companions could make no guess at the motive -for the abduction, I could make one. - -Had they succeeded in the scheme of getting Gatrina to Maglai they -would have kept her there until she had consented to marry Duke -Barinski. Then their plan to secure the succession would have come into -the field of practical politics; the Queen would have been quietly -checkmated; Russian influence would have openly backed up the united -claim of the Duke and Gatrina; and the crooked path would suddenly have -been made smooth. - -Gatrina’s escape from her guards had alone prevented this and her safe -return to Belgrade had no doubt completely disconcerted the schemers. - -But they were not of the kind to put aside the plan because of this -check and we might look for some other move from them equally daring, -cunning and far-reaching. - -They had acted cleverly indeed, and had blinded their tracks -successfully. The Duke had kept carefully in the background and Elma -had so far retained the confidence of Gatrina as actually to learn from -her some details of her escape. - -I did not forget her reference to the “adventure in which a dog called -Chris” had played a part; and I might gamble on it that, if they -discovered the part I had taken, I should soon find myself the object -of some of their attentions. And they were antagonists whom anyone -would be prudent to take very seriously. - -Complications were developing at a merry rate; but Karasch’s news had -suggested a way by which one of Gatrina’s suitors at any rate might be -driven from the field. - -This was to face the Duke himself, tell him what I knew, confront him -with the men he had employed, and see what the effect on him would -be of a threat to reveal the whole plot to the Court. The Queen’s -readiness in dealing drastically with her enemies would frighten him -surely enough; and I knew the Russian tactics too well not to feel -assured that, if once he were discovered and disgraced, they would drop -him instantly in favour of some shrewder tool. - -Then came another development. A chamberlain from the Court brought me -an invitation to a reception for the following night at the Palace; -and was at some pains to make it clear that it was to be held out of -compliment to myself and “those other illustrious Magnates of America” -who were associated with me. - -Money was talking loudly enough in that, at any rate; and I sent him -away with an assurance of my appreciation of the honour, expressed -in such flowery terms as occurred to me at the moment. Even as I was -speaking to him my thoughts slipped back to what Elma had said about -the “Queen’s advocate.” - -I should meet Gatrina again. In a moment a hundred qualms of doubt were -started as to how she would receive me, rendering me uneasy, restless, -and almost nervous. - -What would she say? How would she look? Would the brute she was going -to marry be present? Would she reproach me for thus again forcing -myself on her? Would she see through the flimsy hypocrisy of my -pretended financial mission? Would she give me away to the Court? -Should I get a chance of telling her of the danger in which she stood? -And then, somehow, that scene on the hill at Samac a week before, came -into my thoughts and I sat smoking, mooning and dreaming. - -Gatrina seemed so desperately far removed from me now and the opposing -forces were gathering such strength that my confidence of success gave -ominous signs of wavering. The prospect of winning her looked like no -more than a forlorn hope; and although I was as determined as ever to -fight on until I was actually beaten, I felt a cold chill of doubt -settling down upon me. - -Buller entered, breaking my reverie just at that moment, to bring me a -card. I took it impatiently. - -“Captain Nikolitch, from Colonel Petrosch.” - -I uttered an involuntary exclamation of delight. My visitor was a man -who had been my close and intimate friend in that past time in the -Balkans; and coming as he did from Colonel Petrosch, he was just the -man of all others able to help me. No one could have been more welcome -at such a juncture. - -“Show him right here, Buller,” I said, gleefully, standing up to -welcome him cordially. - -The pendulum had swung right over suddenly and the luck was once again -on my side. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE ARMY’S PLANS. - - -Nikolitch was as glad to meet me as I to welcome him, and our mutual -greeting was very warm and cordial. - -“I could scarcely believe it was really you, Bergwyn,” he said, when we -were through with the hand-shaking and had lighted our cigars. “That -was why I wrote on my card that I came from Colonel Petrosch. I can -scarcely believe it now, I think;” and he smiled. He was a year or -so older than I; a fair, handsome, frank-faced fellow with a winning -manner and a delightful smile. - -“It’s a bit like a fairy tale, perhaps. How did you hear of me?” - -“What a question, my dear fellow, when you’re the centre of financial -attraction just now in half a dozen circles. And do you mean to tell me -you’re a millionaire? Why, in those jolly old days you were as poor as -I was and, worse luck, still am.” - -“They were jolly old days, weren’t they? I am just delighted to see -you again. Yes, I’m a millionaire; and if you’d done as I wanted you -to then, gone out with me to the States, you would be one too. I had a -toughish time of it for a year or two; and it was all luck at the end. -Nothing else. I got hold of a mine which had broken the hearts of the -men who had been working it with me. When they gave up in despair I got -it for next to nothing and held on; and inside a month came on the gold -by pure accident just where we hadn’t looked for it. My perseverance -had paid me and I stepped out of the mine that day as rich as a man -need wish to be. That’s all.” - -“You were always a dogged beggar,” he said. - -“I don’t like being beaten.” - -“The same thing another way round,” he laughed. “And so you’ve come -back to the old hunting ground to take a hand here as a big financier. -You’ll have to be careful, Bergwyn. This is no gold mine.” - -“Tell me about yourself.” - -“Oh, there’s nothing to tell; nothing much. I entered the army here, -and having some influence, got my captaincy sooner than I deserved it. -I like it well enough; but I wish I’d gone with you. I’d rather be a -millionaire.” - -“Why does Colonel Petrosch send you to me?” - -“I’m a favourite of his a bit, and of others. They’ve let me know -things, you see; trust me, I suppose; and all that. When I heard your -name mentioned I pricked up my ears, and told Petrosch I fancied I knew -you. He wants you and your money bags on the side of the army in all -this mess of messes; and picked me out as a sort of informal ambassador -to negotiate with you. Though why the devil you want to meddle with -things here beats me.” - -“I had the Colonel’s name given me this morning as a man who could -tell me the hang of things in regard to the intentions of the army. I -suppose he could.” - -Nikolitch laughed. “If he can’t no one can, Bergwyn. But who sent you -to him?” - -I told him the name of the Minister. - -“By the blue sky, that’s a curiosity. Why, old Petrosch is in the very -thick of the army plans and dead against the Court, King, Queen, and -all the rest of them. He’ll grin when I tell him.” - -“The Minister assured me that the army was loyal to the throne, and -that the Colonel could convince me of that. He admitted there was -some disaffection in certain regiments, but that the feeling was -insignificant.” - -“Oh, he’s an ass; and nothing else. That’s the usual rot talked in the -Court circles; and of course the officers don’t undeceive them and shew -their hand.” - -“And what’s the truth?” - -“Why that--of course we’re talking as old friends, Bergwyn, and you -won’t repeat what I say?” - -“I give you my word on that. I’m going to talk to you presently about -myself on the same understanding.” - -“Well, the fact is then that we’re on the eve of a revolution; and -there’s only one real power in the country. The army. They can’t stand -the Queen’s methods--and they don’t mean to.” - -“Show me.” - -“I can’t understand either the King or the Queen. She’s one of the most -wonderful women that ever drew breath; and in some respects the ablest -and shrewdest. In others, she acts like a perfect fool. She comes from -the people, of course; and that’s against her; but she could have made -her position absolutely secure if she’d shewn a gulden’s worth of tact -in the right direction. But she never does. She could have had the -army leaders at her feet; but she has alienated every one of them, by -sticking all sorts of impossible men, relations or favourites, at the -top of things; and degrading every man of capacity who won’t kow-tow to -her in everything. As a result, bar her favourites she hasn’t a friend -left in the army. It’s the same in everything else; and the limit has -been reached.” - -“And the King?” - -“He says ditto to every word she utters. She can’t forget she came from -the gutter, or near it; and, having power, is never at rest unless she -is shewing it. She wants us all to be too afraid of her to dare to -remember her origin. That, at least, is what many of us think. Anyhow, -she has made the present position impossible and the officers are going -to change it. It’s the only way to save the country.” - -“How will they change it?” - -He shrugged his shoulders. “By a revolution, Bergwyn; a peaceful one, -if possible; but a revolution, certainly.” - -“If possible? What does that mean?” - -“The abdication of the King and Queen--if they’ll go.” - -“And if they won’t go?” - -“They’ll have to,” he replied, with another shrug. “To tell you the -truth, there’s a section of the officers who urge violent means.” - -“Assassination?” I recalled Elma’s prophecy. - -“Yes, it comes to that,” he said, gloomily. “I’m dead against violent -methods; but what they contend is that it is better half a score of -lives should be lost than as many thousands by a civil war. Our hope--I -mean the hope of the moderate men in the army--is that the King will -see the uselessness of resisting the army and go.” - -“You are convinced that the army will stand together?” - -“Oh, yes. Petrosch gave me the proofs to bring to you;” and he took out -some papers and plunged into a description of the feeling in almost all -the regiments in the army. - -“It looks convincing enough on paper,” I said. - -“My dear Bergwyn, it’s the result of months of work and agitation, and -you may rely on it. And we have the country with us. Look here;” and -out came more papers, proving that the feeling of people of all classes -was on the side of the army. - -“There is only one real power in Servia to-day, Bergwyn. The army.” - -“And why does Colonel Petrosch send you to me with all this?” - -“Two reasons. Either that you may be induced to join our side at once; -or, failing that, that you may be persuaded of the uselessness of -financing the Government or any other faction opposed to us.” - -“And your own opinion, Nikolitch?” - -“My dear fellow, I’m only a fly on the wheel; but I think you must be -in a great hurry to chuck your money away, if you think of taking any -side at all. The army will win in the end: we must, for nothing can -stop us; and there will be a new Government, and with a new King--Peter -Karageorgevics, I expect--but until things are settled what’s to be -your security for any loan?” - -“You put it plainly,” said I, with a smile at his bluntness. - -“That’s what I came for, Bergwyn. I speak partly as old Petrosch’s -mouthpiece, but chiefly as an old chum. Mind you, when the new -Government is in the stirrups matters may be different; there’s a great -deal got to happen before that, however. But I suppose you don’t really -come to fool your money away?” - -“Is that a mouthpiece question or your own?” - -“Petrosch might like to know,” he laughed, stroking his moustache; -“but of course I shan’t tell him a word you don’t wish me to repeat. -He doesn’t think you came here with any thought of such business; but -he does want to kill the chance of your doing any with others than the -army.” - -“If the army really holds the key to the position I might wish to have -their influence for a certain purpose.” - -“He’s a cute devil, and that’s the truth. That’s just how he summed up -your visit. But of course he doesn’t know what the purpose is.” - -“Could the influence be got?” - -“My dear Bergwyn, anything could be got in this little kingdom of -ours--at a price. I fancy his notion is that you are after a title of -some sort, or some concessions, and are ready to buy them by floating -this loan. That’s the idea in the Court too, I know. I chuckled when I -heard it--but then I know you and they don’t.” - -“No. I don’t want either a title or concessions; but I can see now the -gist of certain hints thrown out this morning. What I do want is to get -to the bottom of certain things here in the first place. You’ve spoken -freely enough about the army, are you at liberty to talk about other -matters?” - -“Of course I am. Fire away, ask what you like.” - -“What are the Court intentions about the succession?” - -“The Queen means to secure it for her brother--and it’s that which has -put the final touch to the army discontent. They simply won’t have him; -and yet it’s a fact that the formal pronouncement in his favour is -actually drawn up. Some of our people have seen the document. Of course -it’s a secret; but we’ve got friends even in the Palace itself.” - -“But the claims of the Prince Albrevics and his marriage with Princess -Gatrina?” - -“Why, of course, mere rot. The Princess stands in the direct line of -succession, but she’s a woman and barred from the throne. Albrevics is -an impossible; everyone knows that--and a very unsavoury impossibility -too. But the Princess has or had something of a following and they -would be glad to see her on the throne if a husband could be found -who’d be received as King. They know this at Court, and so the plan is -hatched to marry her to Albrevics and get her out of the road. It’s -an infernal business, for she’s just as good as gold. But she’s in the -way of the Court schemes and consequently is to be sacrificed. That’s a -specimen of the royal methods.” - -“Isn’t there another scheme about here--to marry her to the Duke -Barinski?” - -“So you’ve heard that, eh? That’s the Russian plan. He’s a tool of -Russia and would make a pretty puppet for them if they could succeed. -But they won’t. The army won’t have it; and what the army decides will -be done.” - -“You astound me,” I exclaimed in surprise at the freedom with which -he spoke. “Does everybody know everybody else’s schemes in this -extraordinary country?” - -“Pretty well. I suppose it looks odd to a stranger; but our chief talk -here is conspiracy of one kind or another. Why, even the plans of -the army have been carried to the Court; and they are so blind that -they won’t believe them. It isn’t etiquette there even to think that -anything hostile to the Court can happen.” - -“Are there any other plots?” I asked with a smile. - -“Heaps; but you’ve got hold of the three that count for anything; and -only that of the army will come to a head. Next, please;” and he threw -himself back in his chair and laughed at my look of surprise. After a -moment he added: “There’s only one person in all the mess I pity--the -Princess Gatrina. She may find things very ugly; although there’s not a -soul who knows about her who would do her an injury. You’ve heard the -tattle about her?” - -“What is that?” - -“She was kidnapped the other night; at least, so we believe. At any -rate she disappeared and no one knew where she’d gone. There was a -story that she had been carried off by brigands; but that’s all rot, -of course. Nobody knows exactly what happened except herself, perhaps; -although I doubt if she does.” - -“I know,” I said, quietly. - -“What?” His astonishment was complete. “The devil you do.” - -“I’m going to tell you. Nikolitch: as my friend, you know, not the -Colonel’s mouthpiece.” - -“I’m friend first, Bergwyn, mouthpiece only afterwards--and a long way -afterwards, too.” - -“Well, then, I’m here because of the Princess;” and I told him as -briefly as I could of the adventure in the hills and Karasch’s -discovery of the part played by Duke Barinski. I said nothing, however, -of my feelings for Gatrina, leaving him to believe merely that I was -anxious for her safety. - -“You’re a lucky devil, Bergwyn,” was his first comment. “I wish I could -have had such a chance to serve her. But what an infernal scheme! What -are you going to do?” - -“I want the army influence to protect her in case of trouble. Now you -understand. How can I get it?” - -“Tell Petrosch what you’ve told me in the first place, and in the -second, pledge yourself to negotiate a loan for the new Government as -soon as it’s well established.” - -I thought a moment. “No, to the first part,” I said. “That’s for -ourselves alone at present. To the second, yes, as soon as you like.” - -“He’s very quick. He’ll guess.” - -“Guess what?” - -He smiled significantly. “You want this Albrevics marriage off, I -suppose.” - -“Any woman should be prevented from marrying such a brute.” - -“Of course,” he replied, drily, and paused. “You might put it on that -ground; but he wouldn’t believe it was all. We don’t deal much in -platonic affection in Servia.” - -“I don’t care what he believes.” - -“I don’t know him if he wouldn’t be glad to believe a lot. The princess -is very much in the way. I told you no one wishes her any harm.” - -“What do you mean by that grave look?” I asked, for his face was very -serious. - -“It’s a very ugly matter. I told you what the moderate men among us -feel; but there’s the other section to be reckoned with. If their views -prevail, it will be a clean sweep.” - -“A clean sweep?” - -“Yes; everyone connected with the Obrenovics family will be in -danger--even the Princess herself.” - -“Do you mean....” I began, excitedly. - -“Yes, I mean all the worst that may be in your thoughts, Bergwyn. And -neither you nor Petrosch himself, nor anyone, might be able to save her -in the mad mood that would prevail in such a crisis. It will be a very -ugly time.” - -“Do you think the other section will prevail?” - -“Anything is possible in the present temper, Bergwyn.” - -“Good God!” I exclaimed, intensely moved and alarmed by the thoughts -which this admission suggested. - -For a few moments we were silent. - -“I think I ought to tell you why I thought you had come here,” said -Nikolitch, breaking the pause. “Do you know there’s an old--old -associate of yours here? Her name now is the Baroness von Tulken.” - -“She came to me this morning.” - -“She gave me to understand you were coming here on her account.” - -I laughed. “It doesn’t amount to anything what she says.” - -“No; but she talks, Bergwyn, and--well, it’s none of my affairs,” he -broke off, and looked at me as if inviting me to speak. - -“Let her talk,” I answered, not accepting the invitation. - -“Then it isn’t anything to do with her?” - -“No, nothing. I’ve told you the only reason why I’m here.” - -“I’m afraid you’ve got a devilish hard task, old fellow. But if I can -help in any way, use me. I must go. I’ve duty on. What shall I tell -Petrosch?” and he rose. - -“That I want the influence, and that to get it I’ll do that business of -the loan for the new Government--but not if there’s to be any violence -in establishing it. Prepare him in that way and arrange for me to see -him to-morrow.” - -“Take my tip and tell him your motive, Bergwyn.” - -“I’ll think it over,” I said; and after arranging to see as much as -possible of one another during my stay in the capital we parted. - -After he had gone I did think it over and saw one thing clearly enough. -I must secure the help and influence of the army at any cost; as that -promised the most effective means of protecting Gatrina. - -On the whole the talk with Nikolitch had the result of restoring -my confidence and raising my hopes again. There were plenty of -difficulties to be overcome, of course; but if the army was resolved to -change the dynasty and was strong enough to force that resolve upon the -country, Gatrina’s chances in regard to the succession were as good as -dead; her marriage with either Prince Albrevics or Duke Barinski would -be objectless, and then--well, she would be free to choose for herself. - -That was all I could ask for and I awaited the interview with Colonel -Petrosch with keen anticipation. - -On the following morning Nikolitch came to report that the Colonel had -been suddenly called away, however, and that he would come to see me -the next day. - -“Anything fresh occurred?” I asked. - -“Something is always occurring just now, Bergwyn. But I fancy the -Colonel has really gone to avoid the reception at the Palace to-night. -He doesn’t wish to be present himself for one thing; and for another, -I fancy he wishes you to go there without having committed yourself -to us. You’re to be tackled, of course--the show is got up for that -purpose, I suppose--and crediting you with the blunt methods of certain -Americans, he thinks you might feel impelled to tell the truth. We -don’t work in that crude way here, you know.” - -I smiled. “Did you say anything about the Princess?” - -“Very little. I dropped a hint that you were anxious about her safety. -He made just the answer I should have expected.” - -“Well?” - -“That he wished to Heaven she could be induced to leave the country.” - -“And so do I; but I doubt it. You’ll be at the Palace to-night, I -suppose.” - -“I. My dear fellow, no. There’ll be no place for small fry like me -there. But I can tell you who will be there;” and he rattled away with -a lot of Court gossip until I pulled him up. - -“There’s one thing I have to do to-day, Nikolitch: perhaps you can help -me. I want to satisfy myself from outside sources that the army can do -all you think. Whom should I see?” - -“You must take it from us that we are united, Bergwyn: for no one knows -it. That the army, if united, must be all powerful, you can learn from -any one anywhere. No one doubts it. Here, see these people;” and he -wrote down a number of names of influential people in various positions. - -I spent the rest of the day prosecuting my inquiries; and everywhere -I went, I heard the same verdict. That grave troubles were close at -hand, and that everything must turn upon the attitude of the army. Of -that no one entertained a shadow of a doubt. - -Nothing in all that strange time amazed me more than the openness with -which the plans of the opposing parties were canvassed on all sides. - -Everyone appeared to be agreed that a revolution of some kind was -actually impending. The attitude of the two Great Powers concerned was -matter of free talk. Russia had been favoured under Milan; Austrian -influence had now the upper hand under Alexander and his Queen. Austria -was hopeful to maintain the King; Russia resolved to countercheck him -and regain her former influence. The army was speaking for the nation -at large and equally opposed to both the Powers. - -These aims and the possible methods of attaining them respectively -seemed to be known to all; but nowhere, save in her immediate circle, -was a good word, nay, scarcely a civil word, used toward the Queen. The -note everywhere was one of inveterate hostility, almost of execration. -And this was the most sinister omen of all, not only as affecting her, -but as touching Gatrina also, of whom I heard many harsh things said. - -It was thus in a mood of troubled uneasiness that I set out to attend -the reception at the Palace, while my private doubts as to how Gatrina -would meet me in my altered character added a special poignancy to my -anxiety and disquietude. - -I made the most strenuous efforts to hold myself well in hand and -maintain complete self-restraint; but when at length my eager eyes -found her, my heart began hammering against my ribs with quite painful -excitement, in which dread and delight were almost equally mingled. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE QUEEN’S ADVOCATE. - - -The reception was outwardly a very brilliant affair indeed, with -multitudes of flashing lights, clever colour effects, lavish -decoration, and a prodigal wealth of flowers, as the setting for the -showy uniforms of handsome men and the magnificent dresses and jewels -of pretty women. - -One’s first impression was an irresistible tribute to the perfect -æsthetic triumph which had been achieved. But that impression was -only momentary. Knowing as I did the cloud of peril which encircled -the whole court, the scene soon appeared to me to be rather a ghastly -mockery of Fate than a bit of beautiful realism; and I caught myself -wondering how men could caper and jest and women smile and frivol in -pretended unconsciousness of everything but the pleasure of the hour. - -I recalled the chamberlain’s words of the day before--that the whole -thing was arranged in my honour. _My_ honour indeed! To kow-tow to the -man with the dollars! To bow the knee to mammon! To fool and weedle me -and dazzle me with a beautiful farce gorgeously mounted, until I would -loose the strings of my own and my friend’s money bags, and pour out -the golden stream to enable this kind of burlesque to be continued. - -Then I caught sight of Gatrina and fell into a condition of troubled -anxiety and delicious anticipation from which someone recalled me in -order to present me to their Majesties--the young King and that most -remarkable of women, Queen Draga. - -I am not likely to forget that moment. The King who, in obedience to -one of those impulses of his overpowering self-will had had courage to -choose his wife from among the people and was by nature, I believe, a -capable, clever and strong man, was overshadowed by his magnificent -Queen. Beautiful she was not; the face was too strong, too powerful, -too imperious; and although she was grace personified, in every -movement and gesture of her perfectly-framed figure, it was by the -wonderful magnetism of her personality that she dominated all who once -yielded to the magic influence she exercised. - -The few words of greeting which she spoke to me, welcoming me to -Belgrade, and expressing the hope that I liked the capital, were -uttered with a charm that made the merest commonplace phrase beautiful, -and endowed it with the point of significant meaning of rare eloquence. -At least so it all appeared to me while my own words sounded awkward, -clumsy and crude in contrast. - -I was replying to a question in this way when Gatrina approached the -Queen, and I saw her look at me and start in intense surprise; flushing -first and then turning white as the gauze dress she wore, her eyes -unable to leave my face. - -A few seconds passed while I went on with my reply, rambling almost at -random in my confusion as I fought my way back to self-possession. - -The Queen noticed something in my manner, and I saw the expression of -her wonderful eyes change for a fleeting instant until she dropped them -and appeared not to observe my confusion. - -What I said I know not; but she smiled graciously and saying that we -should have another opportunity of discussing the matter, turned to -Gatrina. - -“I must present you to one of my favourites, Mr. Bergwyn, the Princess -Gatrina. She is most kindly disposed to all Americans, and will tell -you all about Belgrade.” - -The next moment I was bowing to Gatrina and the King and Queen, and -their circle moved away leaving us together. I mumbled some commonplace -about being charmed to have such a guide. This was for the benefit -of those within earshot about us; and before she could reply an -interruption came. - -Elma swept up, superbly dressed and full of confidence, and held out -her hand to me. - -“How do you do, Mr. Bergwyn? I am glad to see an old friend here. How -pale you look, Gatrina. Are you ill?” - -“No, thank you. The room is hot.” - -“That is so often the cause, isn’t it?” she replied, with flagrant and -almost insolent disbelief in the excuse. “You must be careful, dear. -You are not strong since your terrible experience recently. Do you know -of the princess’s adventure and escape, Mr. Bergwyn?” - -“I have but just been presented to her, Baroness.” - -“Oh, I thought you had met before,” she exclaimed. “Of course, I don’t -know why--but then one never does know why one makes such mistakes, -does one? Let us go and sit down. You are such an object of attention, -Mr. Bergwyn, that you’ll be positively mobbed if we stand here. It -isn’t every day we see an American millionaire in Belgrade where we’re -all as poor as mice in churches.” - -She led the way to some seats, and not knowing what else to do, we -followed. She played with admirable confidence. What she knew or -guessed about that time in the Bosnian hills, I could not tell, any -more than I could see her motive. But she seemed to understand that -she had us at a disadvantage and made the most of it adroitly. She was -resolved to pose before Gatrina as an old friend of mine, and I did not -see how to stop her, although every word had its barb for me. - -“You would be surprised, Mr. Bergwyn, and I think you ought to be -flattered, at the number of people who wish to know you,” she said -as soon as we were seated. “The moment I said you were an old friend -of mine, I was pestered, literally pestered, by people wanting to be -introduced.” - -“I am here on business only, Baroness.” - -“Here, to-night you mean. Oh, yes, of course, I know that. But you used -to have a keen liking for pleasure you know;” and she smiled as though -she knew a hundred secrets about me all elaborately dissipated and -disgraceful. - -“I did not mean to-night,” I corrected. “I meant my visit to Belgrade.” - -“Of course, how very stupid of me. Why, it might have sounded as if I -meant that in speaking to Gatrina you would be thinking of business.” -She laughed with a sort of malicious gaiety. “How very stupid I am. But -then, we do call you the Queen’s Advocate, don’t we, Gatrina?” - -“Mr. Bergwyn may misunderstand you, Baroness.” - -“Oh, no, not the least fear of that. We understand one another -perfectly, do we not, Mr. Bergwyn?” - -“In what way do you mean, Baroness?” I asked, pointedly. - -She took up the challenge readily and laughed, quite joyously. “Why as -old friends, old and intimate friends ought to understand one another, -of course. What else should I mean?” Deny that old friendship to -Gatrina, if you dare, was in the look she gave me. - -“The seven years which have passed since we last met, Baroness, have -been the stern years of my life,” I answered, for Gatrina’s benefit. -“And in them I have forgotten the follies of my childhood in the real -life of the world.” - -“What a sage you must have become!” she laughed; but the laugh was more -palpably forced than before. “Do you know,” she added, “I am just dying -to tell you of this adventure of Gatrina’s among the brigands. May I, -Gatrina?” - -“No. It would not interest Mr. Bergwyn, nor amuse me.” - -“That was the adventure in which the dog, Chris, played a part; as I -told you yesterday, Mr. Bergwyn. Isn’t it an extraordinary coincidence, -Gatrina, that Mr. Bergwyn should have an immense dog, positively an -immense creature of the same name, Chris? I declare I’ve been thinking -about it ever since I left your house;” and she turned to me with a -glance. Her audacity increased with every fresh thrust she made. - -“There are many big dogs in the world, Baroness, and not nearly enough -names to go round. Thousands of them must bear the same; and a dog is -not like us, you see, and cannot change its name.” - -“Yours is such a splendid creature, too,” she said, ignoring this. -“Huge, almost black, smooth-coated; just the kind of dog you would -love, Gatrina.” - -“You make me curious. I must have an opportunity of seeing it, Mr. -Bergwyn,” said Gatrina, steadily, looking at me for the first time -since I had spoken to her. She was quite calm and self-collected now, -and Elma’s interposition had served one good purpose. It had given us -both time to get over the surprise and confusion of the meeting. - -“It will give me great pleasure, Princess,” I answered gravely. I -understood, of course, that she did not intend Elma to know the truth -about the hill business. - -“You are feeling better again now, dear?” said Elma, solicitously. “I -am so glad. I wonder what upset you. However, you have got over it, -and that’s the great thing. I suppose it _must_ have been the heat -unless”--with a pause and a mischievous shrug of the shoulders--“unless -it was the shock of meeting Mr. Bergwyn so unexpectedly.” - -“I am obliged to you for the implied compliment, Baroness. Do you -think the Princess expected an American citizen to wear a cowboy’s -dress or a red man’s war paint?” I laughed, and Gatrina joined me. - -“I assure you, Mr. Bergwyn, the Baroness can make the most wonderful -mistakes,” she said. “I did not understand for the moment what she -meant about your dog; but I believe I see it now. I do, indeed.” She -was a better actress than Elma after all, and her merry laugh now was a -most natural one. - -“I must plead my complete mystification, I fear.” - -“Of course, you can both misunderstand,” said Elma, spitefully. - -“I really must tell you now, Mr. Bergwyn,” declared Gatrina; “although -I said just now it would not interest you. Elma has made it interesting -and quite amusing, although the adventure she speaks of was very far -from being amusing. You know there are still some brigands left in the -Bosnian and Herzogovinian hills.” - -“Brigands?” I exclaimed in a tone of astonishment. - -“I am afraid we must admit it. Well, some of them conceived the idea -that if they carried me off they would get a good ransom; and they -did it. But they did not get the ransom, for I escaped. After a most -exciting ride I was saved by a peasant with a big dog, called Chris; -and because you have a dog of the same name, I really believe the -baroness thinks you must be a peasant in disguise of an American -millionaire. Isn’t it ingenious and clever of her?” - -“I did not say anything of the kind,” snapped Elma, viciously. - -“Of course, we have tried to let as little as possible get known of the -matter, Mr. Bergwyn, but this delicious theory of the baroness’s has -made such a joke of it, that really I think I must tell everybody now. -Would you mind if I were to say plainly that you are not an American -gentleman but a Bosnian peasant, and that I know that to be true -because you have a big dog called Chris? It’s such a convincing reason, -you see.” - -“Anything that would associate me with you, Princess, would be a -pleasure,” I returned, with a bow and a smile, as if I were paying her -a mere conventional compliment. - -“You are trying to make me appear very ridiculous, Gatrina,” exclaimed -Elma, angrily. - -“I declare I shall tell the Queen and get her to let us have a tableau -in which I should be the maiden in distress, and you the peasant -rescuer, Mr. Bergwyn. You could get a very picturesque dress, you know; -and I am sure you could play the part. But to make it complete we ought -to have the baroness in, because it’s her idea; and yet I don’t see -what part to give her,” and Gatrina laughed. - -“I think I can offer a suggestion,” said I, deliberately. “We could -reverse the thing; and instead of the Baroness being the one to -discover the truth, let her have planned your abduction.” - -Elma started, her eyes flashed with sudden anger at me, and she changed -colour. - -“What is the matter, Baroness? You are not well,” said Gatrina with a -startled glance at me, followed by a searching look at Elma’s white -confusion. - -“It is my turn to feel the heat,” she replied, trying to force a laugh. -“Really, Mr. Bergwyn, I shall begin to be afraid you have some effect -on the atmosphere. First it upset Gatrina, and now me.” - -“You did not like my suggestion, I see. I will withdraw it,” I -answered, quietly. “Pray pardon me.” Gatrina sat thinking hard; and I -guessed I had started the line of thought. “It is a curious thing,” I -went on, as if merely to cover the pause; “but I have had more than -one experience of the kind. I mean where I have been in conversation -with people and suddenly, without any palpable cause, they have been -overcome--by the atmosphere.” - -“You must be a dangerous man,” laughed Elma, who was quickly recovering -herself. - -“Not dangerous, I trust, to--my friends”; and I bowed and smiled, and -gave her a look which she understood. - -We were interrupted then by someone who came from the Queen. - -“Her Majesty desires me to remind your Highness that the dancing is -about to commence,” he said to Gatrina, and added to Elma, “Her Majesty -desires to speak with you at once, Baroness.” - -Elma rose. “I suppose I am interfering with your business and so am -ordered away,” she said with a sneer. - -“Will you give me a dance, Princess?” I asked. The moment we were alone -the feeling of restraint was revived. - -“It is by the Queen’s desire,” she answered, with a shrug as she put -the tips of her fingers on my arm and I led her away. It was a waltz -and we danced it in silence. At the close I did not know what she would -wish to do, and as I hesitated, she said suddenly: - -“I suppose we must keep up the pretence. We are to go through into the -further conservatory.” The place was empty save for a couple of chairs -making a sort of cosy corner; and as I guessed the arrangement was of -the Queen’s making, I blessed her for her unwitting thoughtfulness. - -Gatrina was very pale, and as she sat down she exclaimed impulsively: - -“It is almost maddening. You might have spared me this.” - -“What is maddening?” - -“Please not to pretend you don’t understand. That can only make matters -worse than they are.” - -“I understand that I wish very urgently to speak to you; but if you -would prefer another time, I will go;” and I got up. - -“And so force me to give some false explanation to the Queen of what I -cannot explain truly. Thank you.” - -I sat down again. “Can’t we clear the air a bit?” I asked. - -“Having done this miserable thing you pretend not to know what it is. I -suppose you can see that all this is arranged. That I was to dance with -you, make myself agreeable to you, bring you here where we could be -undisturbed, and then talk you into carrying out this miserable loan. -You can see that surely, as clearly as you can see how successful you -have been in humiliating me. You must be very glad and proud of your -success.” - -“Thank you.” - -“Then if you didn’t plan it, why didn’t you let me know why you were -coming to Belgrade? Why not tell me who you were really? Why not give -me time and means to avoid you? Oh, it is intolerable! You knew I was -to play jackal for the Queen with the American money-man. Elma herself -told you I was what she calls the Queen’s advocate. Ugh!” - -“I don’t like to hear you speak of the Baroness von Tulken by her -Christian name, as if she were your friend.” - -“Is it one of the conditions of your financial business that you -control the friendships of the Court of Belgrade?” - -She was unreasonably angry, and, of course, abominably unjust. - -“I don’t see why you do me that injustice? I could not possibly know -that the Queen would intentionally throw us together, and as for -humiliation----” - -“You knew it yesterday. The Baroness--Elma, told you so.” I smiled at -the aggressive way in which she paused and threw up her head as she -made the correction in the name; and the smile irritated her to still -further anger. “I dislike evasion and pretence, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -I winced a bit under the lash of her words, and paused; and just at -that moment my memory played me a prank. That scene at the camp when we -had our first sharp will contest leapt suddenly into my thoughts, and -when her face had worn pretty much the same resolute angry expression. -Then I leaned back in my chair and replied very deliberately: - -“That’s just where you’re wrong, I think. If you knew anything about -me you’d know I like evasion and pretence and falsehood. The man who -can do a dirty unmanly trick in the dirtiest and most selfish way is -just my type; and if he can do it to a woman--in the way I’ve done it -to you, for instance--he’s my hero. Of course, he must be a big sort of -brute; cunning, despicable, and mean; a clever beast at getting women -into a false position so that he can enjoy a laugh to himself by making -them suffer--and the more they suffer the more he hugs himself. You -know the kind of man; you must, because from what you’ve said about -me----” - -“I don’t wish to hear any more about your ideals, thank you.” - -“I was only filling in the details to your rough outline. But what I -want you to understand is, your outline is right and that you have just -such a brute to deal with in me.” - -She did not answer for quite a time and sat tearing to pieces nervously -a leaf she had plucked from a plant near. - -“I did not say anything of the kind.” - -“You see it’s this way,” I said, not heeding her words. “I came to -Belgrade to humiliate you, to insult you, to trample----” - -“Don’t, Mr. Bergwyn,” she cried, quickly. - -I threw up my hands as one who is aggrieved. “You won’t let me tell you -the truth, you see. I think it’s a little hard on me, anyway. A man -doesn’t get many chances of complete self-revelation; and I was just -enjoying----” - -She was looking straight out in front of her and turned her head with -one swift glance that stopped my banter. I broke off and said very -earnestly: - -“If I did not come for that purpose then I came to serve you.” - -“You should not have come at all. You cannot serve me.” - -“On the contrary I have already done so. I know what you do not--the -reason behind your--behind the supposed brigand business.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“You heard what part I suggested for the Baroness von Tulken in the -tableau. She would know how to play the part to the life.” - -She sat up suddenly and faced me, her features flushed and her eyes -eager. - -“How do you think you know this?” - -“I don’t think. I know. The scheme was laid here in Belgrade, and the -men who carried it out were hired and paid by the Duke Barinski. I can -produce the men who will identify him.” - -“It can’t be. How did you learn it?” - -“Money; and the aid of a staunch friend of yours.” - -“A friend of mine?” - -“Karasch.” - -“Karasch? Karasch.” She repeated the name in a tone of reminiscence, -very gentle and low, and putting her hand to her eyes sat back as if in -dismay or pleasure at the associations connected with it. But a moment -afterwards the emotion, whether pleasure or pain, passed, and her face, -as she took her hand from it and sat up again, was colder and sterner -than I had ever seen it. - -“And you connect the Baroness with this?” - -“I do, and can prove it.” Her eyes hardened and her lip curled. - -“I congratulate you upon your manliness, Mr. Bergwyn. I know the real -reason for your presence in Belgrade; the Baroness told me that: your -old and intimate friend whom you are now maligning in this chivalrous -way.” - -And then I knew that Elma had, indeed, been talking about that old -time; and I understood many things; amongst them the mess of mischief -she had brewed for me. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -A DECLARATION OF WAR. - - -The position was so full of ludicrous absurdity owing to the monstrous -distortion of my motives, and yet so embarrassing in my inability to -explain things without going into the whole matter of my past relations -with Elma, that I did not know whether to laugh at the absurdity or -be angry at the injustice. I was angry and yet I wanted to laugh; but -that did not help me to find a reply to Gatrina’s scornfully delivered -indictment. - -My silence and apparent confusion made the matter worse. Every second -that I hesitated seemed to increase her indignation; and I could not -help perceiving that my influence was running down so fast that it -would soon be many degrees below zero. - -My first attempt to remedy the matter was unfortunate. - -“We have got suddenly on to very delicate ground, Princess, but I -can only say that I did not know the Baroness was in Belgrade when I -resolved to come here.” - -“That means that you give the lie to a woman behind her back, Mr. -Bergwyn; and that woman my friend and also an old friend of yours.” -Cold, contemptuous and cutting in every syllable, her words hurt me to -the quick. - -“Pardon me, you must not twist my words. I am telling you no more than -the truth and no less. If the Baroness told you----” - -“_If?_” she broke in, indignantly. “Then it is _my_ word you question.” - -“No; that again has never entered my thoughts. The shortest plan will -be for me to go in search of the Baroness and bring her here that this -may be explained.” - -“There is no need, thank you. It is not sufficiently important.” - -“Will you tell me what she said?” - -“No, Mr. Bergwyn, I am not a talebearer,” she answered with a quick -shrug of the shoulders. - -“You allow other people to carry tales to you. But that perhaps is your -interpretation of consistency. Do you believe what I told you?” - -“Shall we change the subject, Mr. Bergwyn? I hope your impressions of -Belgrade, so far as the scenery is concerned, have been pleasant.” Her -assumption of courtesy was excellent. - -“Do you believe what I told you that I came here without knowing of the -presence of the Baroness von Tulken?” - -“The views from the higher grounds are considered to be among the -finest in Europe. Have you seen them?” - -I rose from my seat. “I will fetch the Baroness,” I said, bluntly. - -She paused, got up, and looking straight at me, said icily: - -“Can you not find some other opportunity to tell her what to say?” - -I caught my breath with the pain of this and bit my lip as I gripped -the back of my chair tightly. I think she must have seen something of -what I suffered in that moment. Then I bowed. - -“I have no answer to that, Princess. I shall leave Belgrade to-night -for good. Of that you may now rest assured. Shall I take you back to -the ballroom?” - -But instead of placing her hand on the arm I offered, she sat down -again and turned her face away from me. I stood a few moments in some -hesitation and then said: “I bid you farewell, Princess;” and walked -away. - -“Mr. Bergwyn,” she called, when I had taken some half dozen paces. I -stopped and turned. “I wish to speak to you.” She spoke without looking -at me. I retraced my steps and stood by my former seat. Some moments of -tense silence followed. - -I broke the silence. “This has become very embarrassing to me, -Princess; but I have decided upon my course. There are some things I -have to tell you, but with your permission I will write them and send -them by Karasch whom you can question as to the truth of that part of -them which he knows. I recognise now the mistake I made in coming to -the capital, and I will remedy it at once. I can easily find a pretext -for my sudden departure.” - -“No. You must not go. Please, sit down. Don’t you understand that we -are probably being watched, although not overheard.” - -I resumed my seat then; and again we were silent. - -“You are angry at what I said?” she asked at length. - -“No. It was much too terrible to cause mere anger.” - -“I did not wish to give you pain.” Her face was still averted from me, -and when I did not reply, she turned and looked swiftly at me. “I was -angry but I--I did not mean it, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“I am very glad to hear that. Shall we leave it there?” - -“You wish to humble me and force me to say that I am ashamed of the -words?” - -“God forbid I should have such a thought. But you appear so incapable -of doing me anything but injustice.” - -“I am not; but the position is so impossible.” - -“Only if you make it so.” - -“I want to believe in you, but--” she threw up her hands and sighed. - -“If you would do so, it would make all the difference.” - -“I am in such sore trouble that you cannot understand.” - -“On the contrary, I think I know more of the trouble than you yourself. -I know the motive of the Queen in regard to your marriage with Prince -Albrevics.” - -She started with sudden agitation. “You, a stranger to Servia, have -heard that. Tell me.” - -“The Prince is impossible as a ruler for the country; not a hundred men -in the country would bear with him on the throne; and in that case your -own claim would be sacrificed. She would have you make the marriage for -that reason--that her own plans in regard to her brother’s succession -may be helped.” - -“Yes, that is what they have told me. It has come like a terrible and -sudden blow. How did you hear it?” - -“Not from one source only, but several. It is the common knowledge of -those who understand these things.” - -“I cannot believe it; I cannot. She is goodness itself to me, and has -always been my friend. To me more than a sister; and I love her and -trust her as one. I cannot believe it!” Her distress and pain as she -spoke were intense. “They tell me that even now she and the King are -prepared with the proclamation in favour of her brother, and only wait -for my marriage to issue it. But it cannot be true.” - -“I only tell you what I am assured is true.” - -“What am I to do? Whom can I trust if not the best friend I have ever -had?” She spoke almost wildly in her agitation. - -“If as you think we are being observed, Princess, may I counsel you -to shew less feeling and excitement? Let me speak while you collect -yourself. You must face the position calmly, for there is yet another -danger that threatens you. There is a scheme to marry you to the Duke -Barinski----” - -“You know of that, too!” she interposed. “How do you learn all these -secrets?” - -“Let me put a question to you,” I said, as a thought occurred to me. -“Who told you of the Queen’s intentions in regard to Prince Albrevics?” - -“I cannot tell you that.” - -“Then I will tell you. It was the Baroness von Tulken.” There was no -need for her to say in words that my guess was right. Her start and -glance did that. - -“I am almost afraid of you,” she said. - -“I don’t wish that; but I would rather have fear than mistrust. These -things have been told to me plainly by those who seek to get the money -I am able to control. It was only a guess that the Baroness had told -you; and I will give you her motive. She desires to influence you to -marry the Duke Barinski under the pretence that the marriage would -reconcile the rival interests of the two contending families, and, -having Russia behind it, would render the throne secure.” - -Her surprise at my knowledge of these things was so great that it -appeared to dwarf the significance of the news itself. - -“It is wonderful,” she exclaimed. - -“The wonder is rather that while so many people know of all this, you -yourself have remained ignorant of it so long. Can you bear that I tell -you still more?” - -“Is there more to tell? I am already filled with amazement.” - -“Do you know the intentions of the army leaders? I mean so far as they -affect you?” - -“Affect me, Mr. Bergwyn? They cannot affect me.” - -“Your eyes and ears have been dulled by the conditions and restrictions -of the Court life. What I tell you is now for your hearing alone. The -army will declare against the family of which you are a member, and -will change the succession to the Throne. When that moment comes it -will be fraught with peril to you in common with all the Obrenovics.” - -“No, no, the army is loyal. I have heard whispers of some such -treachery; but there is no ground for them.” - -“That I know is the Court view--mine is the true one.” I spoke as -deliberately and impressively as I could. - -“This very question has been discussed at the Palace within the last -few days, a warning to the same effect was conveyed to the King and -Queen; but they have made wide and searching inquiries; and we know -there is no ground whatever to doubt the army’s loyalty. You have been -misinformed.” - -“If there were any reason to doubt it, I should not speak positively, -Princess; but there is none.” - -“Why do you wish to frighten me?” - -“I wish only that you shall know the truth.” - -“But if all you say were true, do you realise what my position would be -and what my duty would be?” - -“It is because I realise the peril that encircles you that I speak -so plainly. All the parties concerned--the Court, the army and the -Russian--are struggling for their own objects; and however that -struggle may end, you stand to lose all. If the Court wins, you will -be set aside; if the Russian, you might gain the throne for a while, -but the country would be convulsed by a revolution; if the army win, -then as a possible Obrenovic claimant to the Throne, you would be an -obstacle in their path and can judge what your position might then be.” - -She sat thinking intently. “If you are right, then there is no one -about me whom I can trust,” she said, slowly. “Everything is a sham and -everyone I have believed in false. Do you wish me to think this?” - -“I do not know all those whom you trust; but that you need someone to -advise you in such a crisis is but too clear.” - -“You think I am helpless because I am a girl, I suppose?” - -“Don’t let us slur this thing with personal consideration. It is far -too grave, Princess. Of the Queen’s intentions I can give you no -proofs; but of the other dangers, I believe I can. Will you let me try? -Can you bring yourself to be at my house to-morrow at midday?” - -She looked at me in blank astonishment at the suggestion. - -“You can bring with you anyone who is in your confidence. It is open to -you as one in the Queen’s confidence to leave a card upon me. That will -serve as an excuse, if you do not consider the issues too grave to be -subject to any mere conventions. I do.” - -“If it were anyone else who proposed such a thing----” - -“But it is not,” I interposed; “so don’t refuse at once. If you do not -come you can send me word.” - -“Of course, I trust you,” she said with the old simple directness, to -my intense delight. “But there are so many reasons----” - -She paused. “I know that,” I replied. “But believe me they are nothing -compared with those which should weigh with you. I shall hope to get -you proofs of the army’s intentions.” - -“How?” - -“You must leave that to my contriving.” At that moment I became aware -that someone was coming quickly toward us through the conservatory -between us and the ballroom. “Someone is coming. Take no notice,” I -whispered rapidly, and then in a loud tone: “I shall carefully consider -all you have said, Princess, and thank you for your patience with me.” - -“This is the rare palm, Prince. Oh, someone is here.” It was Elma’s -voice, and she added with gentle spite: “Why, it is Gatrina and Mr. -Bergwyn. I thought you had gone an hour ago. I am so sorry to intrude. -Come, Prince, let us go back. We are in the way.” - -“Not in the least, Baroness,” I answered. I had risen and saw that -her companion was Prince Albrevics, and further that he was partially -intoxicated. - -“I have been looking for you everywhere, Gatrina,” he said in a surly -tone, his voice a little thick and unsteady with liquor. - -“I have been here by the Queen’s desire,” she replied. - -“Then you’ve been long enough, and can come away by mine.” - -He had been a handsome man in his day, and his figure still retained -something of soldierly strength and uprightness. But the features had -the heavy, sodden look of dissipation. - -“We have finished our conference, I think, Mr. Bergwyn?” - -“How very fortunate we just timed our coming not to disturb them, -Prince, wasn’t it?” said Elma, with a sweet, significant smile. - -“Yes, I think we have finished, Princess;” and with a bow to me she put -her arm on his and went away. - -Elma laughed loudly enough for all to hear; and when I turned to her -she met my look with a glance of studied defiance. - -“You must be careful of him, Mr. Bergwyn. He is a very jealous man, -passionately devoted to Gatrina and--one of the only real swordsmen in -Servia.” - -“Will you sit down a moment. I have something to say.” - -“Shall I take dear Gatrina’s place? Do you really think I am worthy to -fill it?” she asked in spiteful banter. - -“No, I don’t,” I answered, brutally. I couldn’t help it in my vexation. -“But I wish to speak to you alone.” - -“Just like old times, isn’t it?” She laughed, as she settled herself -comfortably in the chair and looked smilingly at me, as though we were -about to have a chat on the terms of the most confidential friendship. -As I did not speak at once, she affected nervousness and said with a -pout: “You look dreadfully stern. If you are going to be disagreeable, -I shall not stay. I want you to be like your old self.” - -“I am going to say something that should please you.” - -“At last? Oh, that will be delightful,” she exclaimed, rapturously; -but her eyes were full of doubt, surprise and suspicion. “You have not -said a single nice thing to me since you came.” - -“But before I say it, let me request you not to make any incorrect -statement as to the reasons for my coming to Belgrade.” - -“Incorrect? What have I said that is incorrect?” she cried with -innocent surprise. - -“That I came, not on business, but to see you.” - -“I only told Gatrina,” she said, laughing coquettishly, as though she -had the right to tell the world if she pleased; and then added with -significant insinuation: “You must have got very intimate with her -if she told you my secrets. I’m afraid I shall really have to warn -the Queen that you are a dangerous man for her advocate to be on such -confidential terms with.” - -“I am not discussing that. I am merely asking you not to repeat that -statement to anyone.” - -“But isn’t it true?” - -“No. And you know it is not,” I replied bluntly. - -“Then I am lost in amazement. You certainly did not come on the -business of the loan; you are much to shrewd for that. And if you -didn’t come to see me, whom did you come to see?” A most excellent -assumption of surprise veiled this thrust. - -“I came as an American financier, Baroness, looking after my own -interests.” - -But she laughed and shook her finger at me. “Fie, Mr. Bergwyn, fie. -I did not look to you, the apostle of stolid truth, for such a -statement.” Then with a change to reflective seriousness. “If it was -not for me, then it must have been for Gatrina. That’s why I told her -what I did and gave her a peep, just a little peep, into the past. But -I have not shewn her your letters--yet. Not one of them; not even the -least impressive of them. I could not do that; they are all sacred in -my eyes. My most precious possessions.” - -“What is your object in all this--this burlesque?” - -“Reduced to plain direct questions are you now? But don’t you think you -could answer that yourself? I’ll give you one answer. I want you on my -side and I don’t intend, if I can help it, to let the Queen’s advocate -win you over for the Queen. No, I don’t; although she has the advantage -of having been rescued by you. You needn’t try and look as if that were -not true; because it is, and I know that it is. And if you think a -moment you will see what a service I am rendering her in letting people -think you came here for my sake. Think of the scandal it would cause if -it were known that you, the American man of millions, had rescued her -and then followed her to Belgrade. It would ruin her--and people are -very particular about reputations in this Court. The Queen is obliged -to be on account of her own past.” - -“Perhaps you know how the Princess came to be in need of a rescuer?” - -She laughed again lightly. I was growing to hate her laughter. - -“Of course I do, seeing that Duke Barinski and I planned it all. The -marriage with him would have taken place in Maglai, if she had not, -most unfortunately for us, escaped.” - -“You are very frank.” - -“Why not. You have probably told her already that that brigand story -was a fable and that we were at the bottom of it all. You shewed me you -knew it all, this evening; and I don’t think so poorly of you as to -dream you had not got proofs which satisfied you. I know what money can -do in Belgrade.” - -“Russian money, you mean.” - -“Yes. Russian money, or any other,” she returned, parrying my thrust -with the lightest air of indifference. - -“It has not bought the support of the army for this Russian scheme of -yours.” - -“Ah, I heard that Colonel Petrosch’s jackal, Captain Nikolitch, had -been closeted with you.” - -“You take a deep concern in my movements.” - -“I feel a deep interest in all that affects you. But you know that. -Besides, it is my business to learn things. We have many agents, and -Belgrade is only a small place.” - -“Agents?” I said hastily. - -“Agents or spies. I will call them spies, if you prefer. The point is -that we have them--everywhere. I am one if you like. They form one of -the main institutions of government in the Balkans. And in the Servian -army they abound in all ranks and all regiments.” - -“Whatever I have thought of you I have never pictured you as a Russian -spy.” - -She bit her lip and clenched her hands and her cheek flushed. - -“It is very easy for a millionaire to sneer,” she retorted, speaking -deliberately; then with rising passion, she continued: “What would -you have had me do? God knows I had little enough choice. I was an -adventuress, living on my wits; a cheat if you will to keep my mother -and myself from the gutter. Then I was detected; and wherever I looked, -the finger of contempt met me. What chance had I? I took the only thing -that offered--a husband; my looks, as I thought, gave me that; and I -found him--what? A Russian spy. But it was not my looks he sought but -my brains, my courage, my recklessness. I could do the work, and do it -well; and when he died I was in too deeply to withdraw.” - -She paused and her bosom laboured with her vehemence. - -“No, I won’t pretend--to you. I could have withdrawn, of course, had -I wished. But I did not, for it gave me not only all that a woman is -supposed to care for, dress, money, and influence; but also what a -woman is not supposed to crave--power. I was feared; and it is by fear -I stand where I do. I could have married again, not once but a dozen -times; I have been wooed until men cried that I was ice. And to them I -was. What were men or marriage to me? I had tried marriage; and as for -my heart, it lay in my breast like a dead thing--for the sake of the -past.” - -She looked searchingly at me as I made no reply. - -“I am not acting now. I was when I first came to you yesterday; hoping -or fearing I know not which or what. I have had to learn to act to play -any part at will. To fawn, to coquet, to jest, to lure, to lie, to -appear false when I was true, and true when I was false. A spy must -learn these things--they are the tricks of the life. But I will not lie -to you. That I promise you. I have told you all plainly that you may -know me for what I am.” - -I had risen in the hope of stopping her. “I beg you to say no more,” I -said. - -“I have not quite finished. Please sit again. I have to speak of you -and Gatrina--the Queen’s advocate.” - -“I would rather you say nothing.” - -“I have a purpose in telling you the truth. You have to take a side -either with or against me. If you are against me, I will fight you -fairly--but I will use every weapon I have. I know that you came here -to follow Gatrina; I know that you saved her; my instinct tells me why -you followed her--and I tell you bluntly, she can be nothing to you.” - -“I neither accept nor deny any conclusions you draw,” I said, with a -smile. - -“I need no confirmation from you. I have questioned Gatrina. I knew how -it was with her before you came; and when I left your house yesterday, -your dog gave me the clue to everything. We have agents even in Samac -and Poabja, Mr. Bergwyn; and when your man Karasch was traced to your -house--after a week spent in inquiries here in Belgrade--the rest was -easy. The telegraph runs to Samac; and Poabja is but a short hour’s -ride from there.” - -“Why are you so bitter against the Princess?” - -“I am not bitter against her--unless you force me. She must act in -the Russian interest--that means she must marry Duke Barinski. But I -have other motives, private and personal, far stronger than those of -policy, that make me tell you you must not and shall not think of her.” - -“And what do you seek from me?” - -“You may join with us in effecting that marriage, or you may not, as -you please. But what you must do is to convince Gatrina beyond question -that your coming here has no connection whatever with what passed at -the time you rescued her. I have prepared the way for that.” - -“You are very thoughtful, no doubt, but I don’t understand you.” - -“I have told her that once we were betrothed and that you have come -here in search of me. You can confirm that.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“By renewing the old relations--for the time--and making the matter -public.” - -“You want me to act that lie in order to deceive her?” - -“To convince her of the necessity of marrying the Duke Barinski.” - -I had to clench my teeth to keep my indignation under. - -“I will not do it,” I said, clipping the words short. - -“Then we are to fight, Mr. Bergwyn,” she said, as she rose. “I shall -find other means and take further steps. I shall poison her against -you, if I have to shew her your letters in proof of what I told her. -Will you give me your arm? I am sorry you make me your enemy and -hers--it may mean danger for her.” - -“We will see,” I replied; and having led her back to the ballroom I got -away from the Palace as soon as I could, to think over the latest and -most strange development of the situation. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -PRINCE ALBREVICS. - - -When I came to think over that promise to Gatrina, to furnish proofs of -the army’s intentions, I felt I had sawn off a log which I might find -too big to haul. And the thought made me considerably uneasy. - -I had given the pledge in a moment of excitement; and now that I was -cool, the difficulty of keeping it looked very formidable indeed. - -It troubled me a good deal more than the frank declaration of war from -Elma--although that promised quite sufficient embarrassments of its -own. That she would keep her word I had no doubt; and I might gamble on -it that she would do her worst. - -Yet in one respect it cleared my course. There was no longer any sort -of use in finessing with the Russian party. Elma knew too much for me -to think of being able to deceive her; while her preposterous condition -that there should be a sham renewal of our old engagement was too -repugnant and preposterous to be entertained for an instant. - -Neither was there any thought of coquetting with the Court. That -involved apparent acquiescence in the scheme for Gatrina’s marriage; -the very thing I was firmly bent upon stopping at any cost. - -I was thus confirmed in my decision of the previous day to secure the -influence of the army, and to trust to that to carry me through. But it -was just in that respect I had increased my difficulties by the pledge -to Gatrina. I could only keep it by getting Colonel Petrosch to back up -my statement to her; and here was the trouble. - -I recalled Nikolitch’s advice to speak plainly to the Colonel about -Gatrina; but it was the one subject of all others which I was -altogether disinclined to discuss with him. - -And the disinclination was strengthened when he and Nikolitch arrived; -for he looked about the last individual in the world whom I would have -chosen for a confidence of the kind. - -His appearance impressed me mainly with a sense of cold, inflexible, -unsympathetic strength and capacity. He was a hatchet-headed man in -the fifties, with a long, narrow, keen, undemonstrative face; one of -those straight, thin-lipped mouths which seem intended for the close -guardianship of secrets; and an abnormally long heavy chin which -suggested resolute purpose, dogged persistence and perhaps cruelty; -while his piercing, hard, close-set eyes tended to confirm this -suggestion of cruelty. Altogether he was capable of being an ugly enemy. - -He was sparing of words in the interview; and whatever he had guessed -as to the real motives of my presence in Belgrade he was careful to let -no hint of it appear; and he went straight to the pith of our meeting. - -He expressed great pleasures in seeing me, gave Nikolitch a word of -praise for his share in having brought the meeting about, said he -understood I wished to secure the influence of the army in certain -eventualities, and then asked me point blank whether I meant to help -the existing Government financially. - -I answered guardedly that I was not as yet satisfied of the present -stability of things, but that when there was a really stable Government -I should be prepared to guarantee a loan. - -“Would you regard as sufficiently stable a new Government having the -united army at its back?” - -“Yes, if founded without violence and commanding the support of the -country.” - -He thought this over a moment. “It is all we can ask,” he said. “Will -you put that in writing, Mr. Bergwyn?” - -I assented, and he immediately placed materials before me and waited in -silence while I wrote out an undertaking on the lines I had indicated. -This I read aloud to him, and he marked every word, suggesting one or -two trifling alterations. I made these and then held the paper ready -to hand to him. I did this to convince him I was earnest; and then I -opened up the other matter. - -“If I give you this it amounts to a pledge that I take the side of the -army, Colonel Petrosch. What am I to receive in exchange?” - -“I do not think I understand you.” - -“You are gaining much by this agreement--the assurance that the -financial help required by the Government will not be found by me. To -be candid I want something in return.” - -“Whatever the committee of officers can in fairness pledge the new -Government to do, they will--but you will be able to make your terms -then.” - -“I want the assistance of your party now.” - -“In what way?” - -“My friend Nikolitch has told you I am especially concerned for the -safety of the Princess Gatrina.” - -“Yes.” Not the ghost of a feeling even of interest did he shew. - -“I wish to be assured of her safety.” - -“There can be no difficulty in giving such an assurance,” he answered -after a moment’s thought. “So far as I am personally concerned I would -do my utmost. But you have some further question to put, I see.” - -“She is, I think, coming here to-day. I wish her to be convinced of the -feeling of the army, and that the officers are unanimously resolved -upon their course of action.” - -There was a pause, and I saw Nikolitch glance at me in astonishment and -from me to the Colonel. - -“This is a very grave request, Mr. Bergwyn,” said Petrosch slowly. “Do -you realise that you are asking me, one of the leaders of the army, to -reveal our intentions to one of the Queen’s closest friends?” - -“You are gaining much from this--” and I held up the paper--“I am -gaining nothing.” - -“I fear I cannot do it, Mr. Bergwyn,” he said, reluctantly. “I might be -very gravely compromised, to say nothing of the risk to be run.” - -“What risk?” - -“That the news would be carried straight to the Queen.” - -“It has been carried already,” I said. - -“How do you mean?” - -“I was at the Palace last night and I heard from one who has ample -means of knowledge, that the plans of the army had been divulged to the -Court, and that diligent inquiries had been made in consequence. That -risk is therefore nothing.” - -“Do you mean there are traitors amongst us?” - -“I deem it extremely probable,” I said, drily. - -“I cannot think where?” he declared after a pause. - -“Is it the practice of traitors to advertise themselves?” - -“This is very grave news--very grave, indeed.” - -“Not perhaps so grave as you think--for the result of the inquiries -made was to satisfy the Court of the loyalty of the army as a whole.” - -“Are you sure?” - -“I don’t talk just for talk’s sake, Colonel.” - -“But it would be very different if I myself were to see the Princess. -No, I fear I cannot do that.” - -“Very well. Then I’ll tear up this paper and we’ll call the matter off.” - -“You are asking too much of me, Mr. Bergwyn. I must have time to -consult others.” - -“I never change my terms, Colonel Petrosch. You decide yes or no, right -now, or I must seek other means.” - -He leant back in dire perplexity. - -“You would disclose no plans, merely give proofs that the feeling of -the army is solid; and what you said would be received under a pledge -of confidence.” - -“What is your object?” - -“My sole purpose in coming to Belgrade is to secure her safety, -Colonel; and you can therefore judge how far I am prepared to go.” - -“The Princess is one of our grave embarrassments, Mr. Bergwyn. If -anything I could say would enable you to influence her to leave -Belgrade for a time, it would be different.” - -“I have little influence, I fear.” - -He threw up his hands and shook his head, and was silent. - -During the pause Buller brought me a card. It was Gatrina’s. She had -come after all. - -“The Princess is here, Colonel, and with your leave I will go to her. -I’ll send my man in ten minutes, and you can say just yes or no.” - -“You will secure the pledge of secrecy?” - -“Otherwise I will not ask you to say a word.” - -It looked as if I were going to win, after all, and I felt in a -confident mood as I hurried to Gatrina, giving Buller his instructions -on the way. - -An elderly woman was with her, at whom I glanced with little interest -as the name, the Countess Vashti, was mentioned. - -Gatrina met me with a stiff ceremonious bow; and her voice was cold and -hard. But her eyes were full of trouble. - -“We come by the Queen’s desire, Mr. Bergwyn, to bid you a formal -welcome to Belgrade on her and His Majesty’s behalf,” she said, -formally and distantly. - -I expressed my gratification in equally formal terms; and we sat -talking generalities, about the Capital, the ball of the previous -night, and so on; just commonplace surface chatter, until Buller -entered and gave me a slip of paper with the one word “Yes” written -upon it. I had won; and after a little more make-weight twaddle for the -benefit of the Countess Vashti, I got to the pith of things. - -“There are some points arising out of our conversation at the Palace, -last night, Princess, which have occurred to me, and I should be glad -of an opportunity of discussing them with you privately.” - -“Her Majesty’s object in desiring me to see you to-day, Mr. Bergwyn, -was that I should speak with you privately if you desired it.” As she -said this she glanced at the companion, who bowed acquiescence. - -I rose at once and giving the old lady a bundle of papers I led Gatrina -to another room. - -“I told you last night that I would endeavour to give you proofs of -what I said. As to the aim of the Russian party there is no need for -proof; the Baroness herself last night admitted to me that she had -instigated your abduction; that you were to have been taken to Maglai; -and that when there your marriage with Duke Barinski was to be forced -upon you.” - -“She has said almost as much to me to-day--among other things,” was her -reply, very coldly spoken. I could guess at the “other things,” but -there was no time then to enter upon any defence. - -“As to the power and feeling of the army I can prove my words. Colonel -Petrosch is here and he will himself convince you. Will you come to -him?” - -“It seems incredible. How have you prevailed upon him to speak of this -to me?” - -“Does that matter, so long as he does speak?” - -“I shall be at liberty to report what he may say?” - -“No, certainly not. It is for your ears only. You asked for the proofs -of what I said. I offer it to you; but it must, of course, be under a -pledge of secrecy.” - -She hesitated in anxious perplexity. “I will see him. I can at any rate -act upon any knowledge so gained.” - -“It is for that object I wish you to be convinced.” - -We went then to the room where I had left the Colonel and Nikolitch, -and both men rose and bowed to Gatrina as we entered, the Colonel -stiffly, Nikolitch with unmistakable interest. - -“Time is pressing and the interview need not take long,” I said. “What -I wish is that you will convince the Princess Gatrina as you have -convinced me, Colonel Petrosch, of the intentions of the officers for -whom you speak so far as they affect her.” - -Gatrina sat down and looked at him very closely. - -The Colonel on his side was not without embarrassment as to how to -begin. At length he said: “The Princess will, no doubt, be aware that -the family of which she is a member has incurred the extreme hostility -of the army. And what I said to you before, Mr. Bergwyn, I repeat -now--if the Princess consults her safety and interests she will leave -the country at once.” - -Gatrina’s lip curled. “And if she does not consult either by adopting a -course which she would consider cowardly and consent to be frightened -away, what then?” - -Antagonism and disbelief inspired the reply: the antagonism founded -upon the Court view of the army’s attitude; the disbelief proceeding -from her own private feelings. Nikolitch pulled his moustache and -glanced at her with a mixture of admiration and concern; while the grim -old Colonel shrugged his shoulders. - -“I should apologise, Princess. I am not your Highness’s adviser, nor -had I any right to assume such a position.” - -“Is this all you have brought me to hear, Mr. Bergwyn?” she asked, with -scarcely veiled disdain. - -“No. I wish you to be convinced on two points--that the army is united -and must be the deciding force in the present crisis; and that it is -against your chance of succession to the Throne. Colonel Petrosch can -speak with authority on both--if he will.” - -“On both those points I can speak absolutely,” he replied; and very -succinctly and clearly he made good his case as to the unanimity of the -great majority of the regiments. That he succeeded in impressing her -deeply was plain. - -“And as to myself?” she asked. - -“I much regret to have to say the army would not consent to serve under -your Highness, or any member of your family,” he answered, decision in -every syllable. - -The gravity of the words appealed to us all. - -Gatrina paused. “Any member of my family, Colonel Petrosch?” she -repeated. “That would include His Majesty himself.” - -“Madam, I have spoken under pressure; but my words stand and are not -to be recalled,” he declared. “I speak not alone for myself, but for -the entire committee of officers.” - -“Your words are full of dangerous insinuations. What do you mean to -imply?” - -“I can add little to what I have said. The plans of the army have been -much canvassed in the Court and elsewhere, and much misunderstood. But -they have been decided upon; although, of course, that decision is -secret.” - -“Why do you tell me this?” she asked quickly. - -“At Mr. Bergwyn’s desire.” - -“And why?” - -“Your pardon; that is a question to be put to him.” - -I got up to end the interview; and after a moment Gatrina arose also, -and with a bow to the two men went out with me. We returned to the room -where we had been alone. - -“I have kept my word. I trust you are convinced,” I said. - -“I am bewildered. I don’t know whether to take it seriously and be -gravely alarmed, or to scoff at the whole thing.” - -“I think you must take it very seriously.” - -“But it means that the officers are all but in open revolt against the -Throne, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“You know the many reports to the same effect, all quite openly -canvassed.” - -“How have you influenced Colonel Petrosch to speak in this way to me?” - -“It must be enough that he has so spoken. The question does not touch -that of your decision as to your own action.” - -“Do you counsel me to run away, then?” she cried, indignantly and -almost contemptuously. - -“I am afraid I have no influence with you.” - -“No. That is true--now.” - -“Why do you emphasise that word in particular--now?” - -She disregarded the question, but after thinking earnestly for a few -seconds, her brows knitted and her face intensely serious, she said: -“The one serious thing is the statement that the regiments are now -unanimous. Do you believe that?” - -“I have not the shadow of a doubt.” - -“Why are you so set upon frightening me?” - -“You asked me that last night. I told you I have no such wish; I desire -only that you shall know the truth.” - -“I shall not leave my country, Mr. Bergwyn--even if all this be true. -Nothing shall make me do that.” - -“I feared that would be your decision.” - -“You hoped I should be a coward then! Thank you.” - -“That is not how I should describe my thoughts; but phrases are not of -much consequence where things themselves are so grave.” - -“If what this Colonel insinuates be true, the Queen herself would be in -trouble and even in danger; would you have me desert her? Do you mean -you think that would not be the act of a coward?” - -“If your remaining to marry the Prince Albrevics would help her, I -should say it would be cowardly to leave.” - -She flushed with anger. “You do Her Majesty wrong and dishonour, Mr. -Bergwyn, in saying that. She knows now that, like the rest of us, she -has been mistaken in regard to the Prince. I have spoken freely with -her and the marriage will not take place.” - -“I am very glad to hear it,” I replied in a carefully restrained tone, -hiding alike my surprise and unbounded delight at the news. But she had -not exhausted her anger against me. - -“Like so many men you seem to find delight in wronging one of the -noblest women that ever lived--the staunchest friend that a girl could -have.” It was an easy inference that the Queen had talked her over, but -I admired Gatrina all the more for this chivalrous and warm defence. - -“If it be possible I should like you to believe that I find no pleasure -at all in wronging any woman. But I do not take the same view of the -Queen as you do.” - -“You have allowed yourself to be poisoned against her. I know by whom, -and, perhaps, you are not to blame.” A reference to Elma this and an -unmistakable sneer. - -“I think I understand your reference, and there are several things I -wish to make plainer to you----” - -“I beg you not to trouble, Mr. Bergwyn. I wish to leave now.” - -“You will let me explain surely.” - -“There is no room for any explanations. I know enough, thank you. Let -me go to the Countess Vashti.” - -“You are very unjust and very hard. Last night after I had seen you I -had a conversation with the----” - -“I am quite aware of that,” she broke in, smiling angrily. - -“For God’s sake don’t misunderstand me,” I cried, earnestly. “You must -let me speak of it. It means----” - -Impressed by my vehemence, I think, she was going to listen when -the door of the room was thrust open with some violence, and Prince -Albrevics entered, followed by Elma herself. The Prince was furiously -angry; his face more crimson than usual even, and his manner truculent -and threatening. - -“So it’s true and you _are_ here, Gatrina. What is the meaning of it? I -have come to fetch you away.” - -His hectoring tone and the insolent ignoring of me made me hot. - -“The Princess Gatrina is here by Her Majesty’s desire, sir,” I said, as -calmly as I could. - -“I have nothing to say to you--yet,” he answered, first giving me a -vicious look and then ostentatiously turning his back upon me. - -Elma laughed, audibly enough for us all to hear. - -“I have no need of your escort, Prince,” said Gatrina. “The Countess -Vashti is with me.” - -“You will come with me,” he retorted, curtly. - -“On the contrary, I shall go with the Countess. Will you take me to -her, Mr. Bergwyn?” - -“Certainly.” I went toward the door. I observed that she had not taken -the slightest notice of Elma. - -“I have the right to escort you, Gatrina. We don’t need the -interference of any foreigners.” - -Gatrina was in the act of leaving but at this she stopped and turned to -him. - -“You are in error, Prince. You have no longer the right which you -imply. Her Majesty will explain to you the reason. Your arm, if you -please, Mr. Bergwyn.” And taking my arm she swept past him, her head -high and looking every inch a Princess. - -He changed colour at her words, and glared at me with a malignity that -I expected to find utterance in fierce words. But he held them back and -just did the cursing internally, I suppose. - -“The Princess’s carriage,” I said to Buller as we crossed the hall to -the room where the Countess was waiting. - -Just as she came out and we stood in the hall, an unexpected incident -occurred. - -Chris appeared from somewhere and, recognising Gatrina, rushed to her -with signs of extravagant delight. - -She left my arm and bending over him patted him and made much of him in -her old way; and the dog whimpered and frolicked about her, fawning on -and licking her as if he had been a young pup. In the midst of it Elma -and Prince Albrevics came out and watched them. - -“What’s the meaning of that?” growled the Prince, with a scowl. - -“One might almost think they were old friends,” answered Elma, in her -sweetest tone. - -Gatrina paid no heed to either remark, although she must have heard -them both; and when she raised her head I saw in her brightly shining -eyes an expression I had not seen since I came to Belgrade. - -“Down, Chris, down,” I cried, for the dog was loath to let her go. - -“He remembers me, Mr. Bergwyn; I should not like him to have -forgotten,” said Gatrina, very gently, but meaningly. It was her way of -answering Elma’s sneer. - -I accompanied them to the carriage, Chris coming with us, and his great -wistful eyes followed her all the time until she drove away. - -As I returned into the house, the Prince passed me on the threshold. I -stopped, meaning to have some plain-pointed talk with him. - -But he prevented that. “I don’t quarrel with a man in his own house, -sir, but we shall meet again,” he said, and hurried away without giving -me a chance to reply. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE INSULT. - - -Gatrina’s visit resulted in little more than a fiasco, owing to the -interruption of Prince Albrevics. I re-entered the house in a quite fit -mood to quarrel with Elma for having brought him upon the scene as she -had. - -Nikolitch had come out in search of me, however, and was speaking to -her in the hall, so that I could say nothing. - -“You will not be long, Bergwyn?” he asked. - -“I am ready now.” - -“I will wait while you despatch your business with Colonel Petrosch, -Mr. Bergwyn,” said Elma, readily. “I am in no hurry.” - -“I regret I can give you no time to-day, Baroness,” I said, bluntly -intending it as her dismissal. But she laughed it away. - -“You can come and tell me so when he has gone,” she answered, and -turned into one of the rooms, contriving to convey a most irritating -suggestion that she was quite at home and perfectly accustomed to -humour my whims. - -“How did she know Petrosch was here?” asked Nikolitch. “She is a -wonderful woman. She knows everything. She will understand why he has -come.” - -“Let her,” said I, with a shrug. “It makes no difference;” and with -that we went back to the Colonel. - -The rest of the business was soon despatched. I handed him the -undertaking I had drawn up and thus stood pledged to support the cause -of the army on the conditions I had already specified. When the Colonel -had gone Nikolitch remained, and when we had fixed up an engagement to -dine together that night, he said: - -“I think you have done the right thing, Bergwyn; and there is no doubt -your action will strengthen the moderates among us. It will make -against the policy of violence; and may render it impossible. I hope so -with all my heart,” he said, earnestly. - -“What will happen?” - -“A forced abdication. As I have told you it has been put to the King -more than once, and he has refused obstinately. But now, backed by the -united army, it will be different.” - -“If he should still refuse?” - -“He’ll have to go. The Queen has made it imperative. For a clever woman -she has made amazing blunders. Of course you understand the Russian -partisans won’t love you any more than the Queen will continue to be -friendly to you now.” - -“If she gets to know what has passed.” - -He nodded significantly toward the room where Elma had gone. “She’ll -see to that, probably--unless she has some other move. If you can stop -her, I should.” - -“I have no influence with her and seek none.” - -“That’s not the story she persists in telling, my dear fellow,” he said -with a slow smile. - -“It’s the story I tell--and it’s the true one, Nikolitch. What story do -you mean this of hers?” - -“I’ll tell you to-night. I’ve a lot to do now. Of course you know your -own cards; but if I were you, I should keep in with her. She can be -dangerous, as I’ve told you more than once. Well, till this evening -then,” he added lightly, and went away. - -What story had Elma been spreading now? I had better know it at once, I -thought, and went to her to ask. - -“The Colonel has gone, then? And the Captain, too. I am glad you have -him for a friend, Mr. Bergwyn,” she said, in her lightest manner. “You -would have found Belgrade dull without a man friend. Yet you don’t -quite understand the captain’s position?” - -“Did you stay to enlighten me?” - -“Oh dear, no. I have much more important matters to discuss. But I -wish I had warned you that although he is on excellent terms with the -officers--as he is with everyone, being a delightful man--yet he is -not in the inner circle. He is of great use to them; but he knows only -what they choose to tell him. He has been of great use to them, for -instance, in getting you over to their cause; but of course he has led -you to make a great mistake.” - -“He has just told me that you have spread some report concerning you -and myself. What is that?” - -“I thought he would. He hinted to me just now in the minute I had with -him that he had heard something; and naturally I did not undeceive him. -He seemed greatly mystified; of course I knew why,” she added. - -“Perhaps you will enlighten me?” - -“Don’t you think it is rather a delicate question?” - -“I wish you would speak plainly,” I broke out, brusquely. - -“I suppose it was in this way. You see you and I were together for some -considerable time last night at the Palace; and as people had heard -rumours of the reason for your presence in Belgrade--rumours connecting -us, I mean; I suppose they put two and two together--at least they put -us together, that is to say.” - -“Captain Nikolitch puts the origin of the rumour down to you, Baroness.” - -“I don’t think I object. American millionaires are very rare in -Belgrade, and if people chose to think that I was engaged to one, was -it likely that I should have so little of feminine vanity as to be -displeased?” - -I understood now the reason for Gatrina’s coldness, her marked -estrangement during her visit, and the undermeaning of some of her -words. She had heard this infernal story. Elma enjoyed my dismay; and I -believe understood the cause of it. - -“Do you mean that you actually gave countenance to such a thing?” - -“Pray don’t look so painfully shocked, Mr. Bergwyn,” she mocked. - -“You will place me in the extremely invidious position of having to -deny the report, Baroness.” - -Her laugh at this had all the ring of genuineness. “How will you do -it, Mr. Bergwyn?” she asked, in renewed mockery of my earnestness. -“Think. How can you do it? You and I know that it has no sort of -foundation in fact; but how can we stop the tongue of gossip? Let us be -sensible and just live it down. Other people’s names have been coupled -together in the same way in mistake before now; but they have not -been married in consequence. Nor shall we be, I suppose. But it is a -delightful situation none the less, and just what I desired.” - -“I remembered what you said last night,” I exclaimed, angrily. - -“You had better laugh at it all than be angry.” - -“I have no laughter to spare for it.” - -“Ah, that is because of Gatrina. Naturally, too. But it was she who -made it necessary, and of course, so far as she is concerned, the -desired effect has already been produced. In a week or two the thing -will die a natural death, as such things do; and neither of us will be -a krone the worse.” - -“I think you are the most exasperating woman that ever lived,” I said -hotly. - -“I can quite understand that thought. As I told you last night I have -to play many parts. This one you and Gatrina together have forced upon -me.” She spoke lightly and shrugged her shoulders, but after a moment -was serious. “I told you also, last night, that if you forced me to -fight, I would do it openly. Gatrina’s trust in you was in our way -and had to be broken somehow. It was broken when she heard this news. -The Queen had to use the utmost pressure to induce her to come to you -to-day. Her Majesty did me the honour to ask me in Gatrina’s presence -whether there was any truth in the report of my secret engagement to -you--it is supposed to be no more than secret--and I could not, at -least I did not, deny it.” - -“It is infamous,” I broke in, passionately. - -“Infamous if you like, but necessary. You have seen Gatrina for the -last time, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“I will go to the Queen herself and deny it.” - -“You might, if she would receive you. But Gatrina was supposed to be -coming as a last step to win you and your money to the side of the -Court. Can she carry back any news other than that her mission as -Queen’s Advocate has failed? You are now, indeed, pledged to support -the cause of Her Majesty’s bitterest enemies--the army. And even angry -as you are now, you can judge the prospect of your reception. You have -chosen your side and must take the bitter with the sweet.” - -She dwelt on all this with telling deliberateness, and the pitiless -logic of every measured word told upon me. But the effect was not what -she had intended. Instead of growing more angry, I began to regain -coolness. The perception of difficulties has always a steadying result -with me, and I put aside my anger at once. It was too dangerous a -luxury at such a juncture. - -“You are building your theory upon the assumption that I have thrown in -my lot with Colonel Petrosch and his friends. Do so by all means if it -pleases you,” I said. - -“I judge by what I have found here: but I shall know for certain -within a few hours. I do not act in the dark. But if you have not, it -will make no difference in regard to the Queen’s Advocate.” - -“I prefer not to discuss the Princess with you.” - -“You will find someone else who will wish to do so. Prince Albrevics -attributes the failure of his marriage to you and will force a quarrel -upon you. Rumours of that Bosnian adventure have reached him. I wish to -warn you.” - -“Have you anything more to say?” I asked as I rose. “If you have, it -will be well to say it at once, as you will have no opportunity in the -future.” - -“I suppose I have made you feel like that, and that you won’t believe I -am sorry. You have driven me so hard. Yet I--” She paused, looked down, -and then rising came toward me and said half wistfully, half defiantly: -“I need not be your enemy, and would much rather be your friend. Why -won’t you see this? All the influence I have could be yours if you -would only let it be so.” - -“I prefer to trust to myself and take my own course, thank you,” I -said, coldly. - -She sighed wearily. “I suppose we all have our hours of weakness and -perhaps this is mine. I am not ashamed for you to see it. Let me be -your friend, Chase. I--I won’t ask for anything else. But I feel such a -coward now for all that I have had to do against you. I could help you -in all--all except Gatrina. That can never be possible for you. But you -are being so shamefully betrayed.” - -“I have given you my answer.” - -“Yes, I know, and I know how dogged you are. But if you trust -these officers, this Colonel Petrosch, he will only deceive you. -I told you before, that their policy is to be summed up in one -word--assassination; if once they resolve to move. We all know that and -dread it for the sake of Servia. And if you help them with money, they -will take it and only lie to you. Everyone lies here. It is the common -coin of negotiation. Trust me a little, just a little, for the sake of -old times, and I’ll be true to you. I swear on my soul I will.” - -“I do not need your help.” - -“I am not acting or lying now. Trust me and I will give up all this -Russian spying business and never touch it again. I want to feel I am -working for you, not against you. My God, I will do anything, anything, -if you will but let me.” - -“I have already had too clear a proof of that to wish for any more. -Your carriage is waiting, Baroness.” - -She gazed at me intently; and gradually her features and the expression -of her eyes hardened. - -“As you will--but that decision will cost you dear. The men whom you -have helped or are going to help with your money are assassins; and -when they have done their work and when the city runs red with blood, -and both the Queen and her advocate, Gatrina, lie dead among their -victims, you will remember this hour and your rejection of my help; and -eat out your heart in belated, unavailing regret. Do you still persist -in sending me away?” - -“Your carriage is waiting,” I repeated doggedly; and she went without -another word. - -I returned to my library feeling very much disturbed. I was cooking a -dish that didn’t promise to be easy of digestion. I could see that, -without the help of Nikolitch’s words and Elma’s dramatic confirmation -of them. What she had said about assassination had impressed me more -than I cared to own; and I recalled Nikolitch’s uneasy hope on that -score. Two people more unlike than he and Elma it would be difficult to -find; and yet both appeared to hold much the same opinion. - -Then there was this reported engagement to Elma and all the string -of complications arising out of it. There was only too much reason -to believe that it had served its end, as she had said, in regard to -Gatrina. It was like a net about my feet, entangling and hampering me; -and how to cut myself free from it was more than I could see. - -I had given my word to Gatrina on the previous night that my coming to -Belgrade had had nothing to do with Elma; and if I had but known of the -report that morning I could have denied it to her. I could have gnashed -my teeth as I recalled her phrase about “other things” she had heard -from Elma at the Court. I could see now what she had meant; and it was -just the opening I could have used, had I but known; perhaps given -me for the very purpose. I had let it pass in ignorance; but I could -readily understand how she would interpret my silence. - -To contradict it all now was infinitely difficult. I couldn’t walk -about the streets shouting it out to the crowd. The door of the Palace -was closed to me; and probably that of Gatrina’s house as well. - -But her visit by the Queen’s desire, as she had so coldly said, gave me -the right to return it, and I did so that afternoon. Without result, -however. The Princess was at the Palace, I was informed. - -After a moment’s thought I resolved to go there; but I did no good by -that. After waiting some time a message was brought me that Her Majesty -regretted she could not receive me just then. I asked for Gatrina -next, only to be again refused; and I returned home in a bad temper in -consequence. - -I had not recovered it when the time came for my appointment with -Nikolitch for dinner; and he saw it. - -“You look worried,” he said. - -“It’ll pass off,” I replied. - -“No bad news from the States, I hope? Not another financial crisis. -They flourish over there gaily, don’t they?” - -“Men make fools of themselves there as elsewhere; and with us it takes -that form pretty often. By the way, you were going to tell me some news -about the Baroness von Tulken.” - -“They say you’re engaged to be married to her.” - -“Who says it?” - -“Well, I rather fancy she does.” - -“It isn’t true. That’s all there is to it.” - -“That’s what the other side say.” - -“Who are the other side; and why the devil do people want to gossip and -chatter about me?” - -“My dear fellow, the place is full of gossip about you. I don’t know -whether you care to hear it.” - -“It don’t amount to anything what they say--at least to me.” - -“I suppose it doesn’t. But when a man’s as rich as you are, they will -talk. Have you heard that story about your dog?” - -“My dog? What do you mean?” - -“That big brute of yours, Chris. They say he saved the Princess -Gatrina’s life in the Bosnian hills or somewhere; and that you were in -it too. Of course I laughed at it.” - -“Naturally. So should I,” I said; but I was in no laughing mood. “How -do you suppose such a tale got going?” - -“Someone with a grudge against the Princess started it. You know what -spiteful devils there are hanging about the Court?” - -“I suppose there are.” - -“Rather. Peck each other’s eyes out if they could. But this was a -blackguard tale intended to compromise her with you. Of course there -was a lot of talk about that carrying-off affair. Some wanted to make -out she bolted from Albrevics. Shouldn’t blame her. He’s a beast. -Hullo, there he is; and not so drunk as usual at this hour either. -I should be careful of him, Bergwyn. He was abusing you to-day to a -friend of mine. He’s seen us, I think, and is coming this way. Hang the -fellow, what does he want to sit at the next table to us for?” - -Not wishing a dispute in so public a place, I was careful not to look -around as the Prince and a couple of friends took their places at the -table next to us and began to laugh and jest loudly. - -Nikolitch nodded to the Prince’s companions and we went on with our -dinner, the talk drifting to our old experiences in the years when we -had first known each other. - -The Prince, as we could not fail to see, was drinking heavily, and I -could tell from Nikolitch’s face that like myself he was beginning to -expect trouble. Once or twice the man was ill-bred enough to whisper -to his companions while pointing at me; and then all three would burst -into laughter. - -“Should we have our coffee inside?” said Nikolitch at length--we were -dining in the open. - -“Yes, if you like;” said I, and we both rose. As I did so I touched, -quite unintentionally, the chair of the Prince. He had his wine-glass -in his hand, and while pretending to move out of my way, he -deliberately spilt the wine all over me. - -“To the devil with your clumsiness,” he cried, angrily, as he jumped to -his feet; “making me waste good liquor in that way. Oh, it’s the Yankee -money-man, is it?” he added, with an oath and a sneer. - -“I touched your chair quite accidentally and too slightly to have -caused you to spill your wine.” - -“That’s a lie. You did it on purpose,” he cried, loudly. - -“Prince Albrevics!” exclaimed Nikolitch; while the two men with him got -up looking very serious. - -“I can’t allow anyone to say that to me, sir,” I said, keeping quite -cool. “I must ask you to take that word back right here.” - -“Not for any cowardly Yankee that was ever born.” - -“Perhaps you will do it when you are sober then,” said I. - -“I’m cursed if I’ll let a Yankee pig say I’m drunk;” and he rushed -forward to strike me. I pushed him back; but this only infuriated him -and he sprang at me again. - -I had taken more than enough from him, however, and as he reached me -the second time, his hand raised for a blow, I got mine in first and -knocked him down. - -The place was instantly in an uproar. - -“Stay and do what’s necessary, Nikolitch. I’m in your hands. I’m going -to smoke over there,” I said, pointing to a table at a distance. And -taking out my cigar-case I walked away as the Prince’s friends were -picking him up. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE DUEL. - - -I must have hit the Prince hard, judging by the effects. His friends -picked him up and after a minute or so led him away into the hotel. -Then Nikolitch came across to me, his look very troubled. - -“This is an ugly business, Bergwyn. He’s badly marked and half dazed -with your blow.” - -“I am more sorry for it than I can say,” I replied. I regretted it -intensely indeed. - -“It was his fault--his only. We all saw that. He came to the place with -the intention of quarrelling. He knew we were to dine here. One of his -companions heard it from a friend of mine. He behaved abominably. We -all see that: even his friends.” - -“Oh, yes, the insult was deliberate. I couldn’t take that. What is to -happen?” - -“I said that we would go to your house: and should be there, if they -had a message to bring. Shall we go?” - -“It means a meeting, of course,” I said, as we left. - -“Of course. Have you been out before?” - -“No; we don’t settle our quarrels this way in the States; but I’ve been -in more than one ugly scrap and come through.” - -“He’s an old hand at it and is an excellent swordsman. But you will -have choice of weapons. You beat him, through being so cool. He -generally gets the choice of weapons, taking care to give the insult -and so be the challenged party. That was his move just now. He first -insulted you, thinking you would challenge him; and when you didn’t, he -meant to strike you so that you’d be obliged. I was glad you prevented -that.” - -“I’d give a good deal to be out of it,” I said, after a pause. My -companion glanced at me in some surprise. - -“I don’t see how you can avoid it.” - -“I’m not afraid. I don’t mean that. But coming right on top of what you -were saying about the Princess, it will set tongues wagging about her.” - -“You mean the dog story?” I nodded. “You don’t mean there’s anything in -that?” - -“There’s one woman who knows it all and by this time has the proofs. -The Baroness von Tulken.” - -“To the devil with that woman. She’s in everything,” he exclaimed. “Of -course that’s where it comes from: and of course she told Albrevics. -It’s an ugly story for him to hear. You’ll have to be careful. He means -mischief.” - -“I’m not thinking about him.” - -“No, but he’s been thinking about you, Bergwyn. What will you do?” - -“What the devil can I do, man? If it would help things for her, I’d -choose pistols and kill him; but it would only make matters worse for -her. Everyone will set the quarrel down to her; and that’s just what -I’d have given anything to avoid.” - -“Oh, it wouldn’t hurt her. It doesn’t hurt a woman here for two men to -quarrel about her--choosing, of course, a decent pretext--and for one -of ’em to be killed. It’s happened often enough.” His indifferent tone -no less than his words astonished me. “Are you a good shot?” he added -after a pause. - -“I can shoot a bit, and use a sword well enough to keep myself out of -danger, probably, if it comes to that.” - -“It will come to one or the other, Bergwyn. There’s no other way now. -Have you any foils here?” he asked as we reached my house; and when I -produced them he proposed that we should try a bout. - -We took off our coats and set to work at once. Mine was a very -indifferent style, very rough and ready, and his particularly polished, -acquired in the latest Italian school. But mine served me well enough -for defensive purposes. He was the better swordsman, with a dozen more -tricks of fence than I possessed, but he could not break through my -guard. He touched me more than once; but not so as to have inflicted -any serious wound, had the weapons been sharp. - -“You haven’t much to fear from the Prince,” he said in one of the -breathing spaces. “His is also the Italian style; and he’s better than -I am; but you have a devil of a defence. Can you force the fighting a -bit? Try now.” - -We crossed again and this time, after a long, defensive play I changed -my tactics suddenly, and touched him. - -“You got me in the arm,” he cried, directly. “And well done, too. -You’ll wear the Prince down. That’s his one failing--he can’t keep his -temper. I have no fear for to-morrow. You have an iron wrist.” - -We were thus engaged when Buller brought word that the friends of -Prince Albrevics had arrived. Nikolitch put on his coat and went to -them. He was in high spirits. - -“It is the challenge, of course,” he said when he returned. “Shall we -make it swords or pistols? I have arranged to meet to-morrow morning -a mile or two out of the city. If you don’t want to kill him I should -choose swords.” - -“Let it be swords then,” I agreed. - -“He’s got a devil of a bruise on his face, they tell me,” he declared -with obvious glee, as he left me again. “As if a horse had kicked him, -one of them says.” - -“We’ve arranged it all,” he reported when he came back again. “They -were surprised at your choosing swords, because of his reputation, but -it will be all right. You’ll wear him down. I know him. And now I’ll be -off and find someone to act with me. Get to bed early and have as much -sleep as you can. I’ll be round in time in the morning.” - -I sat for some time after he had left me, smoking and thinking. I -regretted the whole thing more than I can say; but when I found my -thoughts getting into a very gloomy vein, I put the brake on; and -taking Nikolitch’s advice, went off to bed and slept soundly until -Buller called me. - -Nikolitch came in good time bringing a friend, a Captain Astic, and we -drove off. It was a gloriously fine morning, the air cool, refreshing -and brisk. - -“Too much sun,” was Nikolitch’s practical comment. He looked at -everything as if it affected the matter in hand, and spoke of it as -though it were the most ordinary course in the world that two sane men -should go out to do murder if possible. - -Of my own sensations I need not say much. I was thoughtful, preoccupied -indeed, and gloomy. I don’t think I was afraid; although the -deliberateness of the preparations and the anticipation of having to -meet a man in cold blood and fight him for my life, made the affair -appear almost formidable. I was far from having a wish to do the Prince -any injury, to say nothing of taking his life; and my chief thought was -the impossible wish that the whole matter, quarrel and all, could have -been wiped out of the record of things done and be deemed never to have -occurred. - -I don’t think I spoke during the drive out; but I remember taking -notice of many trifles. There was a loose button in the upholstering -of the carriage: some stains on Captain Astic’s uniform caught my eye, -and I contrasted it with the smart grooming of Nikolitch. My friend -was awkward in handling the pair of swords we had with us; and he and -the other joked about it. Trifles of that kind struck me; and when the -drive came to an end and we left the carriage, I can recall my distinct -sensation of relief, followed by a fidgetty impatience to get the -affair over. - -I was irritated because the other side kept us waiting a considerable -time. My seconds lit cigarettes and first picked out the best spot for -the encounter; then in low tones discussed the delay and the probable -reasons for it; whether the Prince was too ill to come; how long we -need wait for him; and so on. They appeared to me to speak with a -certain amount of disappointment, as one might regret being robbed of a -promised entertainment. - -The air began to chill them and they stamped about and clapped their -gloved hands to keep the blood circulating. But I felt nothing of that. -I sat quite still on the trunk of a fallen tree and was conscious -mainly of a sort of impressive awe making everything seem unreal, -mingled with a growing desire that the fight could be avoided; or -rather the necessity for it obliterated--for I was perfectly aware of -its inevitability. - -I could not bring myself to wish to harm the man I was to meet. Once or -twice I sought to rouse my anger against him by recalling the insult -of the previous evening and the foulness of his words and conduct. But -even while I appreciated its wantonness and inexcusable grossness, I -could not stir myself to any real passion. My sense of regret for the -whole business overshadowed everything. - -I believe my companions thought I was suffering from fear; but it was -not conscious fear, if fear at all. I did not anticipate any serious -results to myself from the duel. Such a thought never occurred to me: -it was the lethargy of an overwhelming revolt from the affair as a -whole. - -It began to grow less absorbing when I heard Captain Astic tell -Nikolitch, in a tone of unmistakable relief and satisfaction, that the -others were coming. - -Nikolitch came and told me, and I noticed a solicitude and anxiety in -his tone and look that were new. - -“Very well,” I said, with half a sigh. - -“You have nothing to fear,” he whispered, that Astic might not hear him. - -“I do fear nothing, Nikolitch,” I said, with a smile; and his face -brightened at the smile. - -As soon as they came the four seconds busied themselves in settling the -preliminaries and then Nikolitch introduced a fifth man to me. - -“Doctor Astic, the Captain’s brother, Bergwyn.” - -We shook hands and the doctor had a steady look into my eyes. “It’s a -chilly morning although so bright--but we get them here sometimes,” he -said. - -“Any morning’s good enough for this sort of thing,” I answered; and he -had another stare at me and then put down his case of instruments on -the tree where I had been sitting. - -“Will you get ready, Mr. Bergwyn?” asked Captain Astic. - -I saw the Prince already had his coat off and I made ready, the Captain -meanwhile pointing out the positions we were to take with cheerful but -professional coolness. - -As they placed us, I saw the mark of my blow on the Prince’s face -and I noticed also that he was none too steady on his feet. I called -Nikolitch to me and pointed this out. - -“It’s his affair,” he answered with a shrug of the shoulders. - -“I can’t fight a sick man,” I said, sharply. “Speak to the doctor about -it.” - -“But it’s so irregular,” he objected. - -“I insist,” I declared. - -He spoke to Astic and then to the Prince’s seconds and after some -discussion, in which all four took part, they called the doctor up to -them. Then his seconds spoke to the Prince and some angry words passed; -and again the four seconds consulted. Then Nikolitch came to me looking -angry and crestfallen. - -“I’m sorry; but they think you’re afraid, Bergwyn,” he said. - -“I don’t care a red cent what they think. Does the doctor say the -Prince is fit to fight? He can hardly stand; look at him lurching -there.” - -“Oh, Astic says he’s all right: and he knows him.” - -“Then he takes the responsibility. I won’t.” - -“He’s only in a devil of a rage.” - -“Very well, then. I’m ready.” - -A minute later the word was given and we engaged. I had no lethargy -left now. The last vestige of it vanished when I felt his blade -pressing mine and met his scowl of positively devilish hate. I needed -no more than a glance into his eyes to see that he had come out to kill -me, and that my life depended upon my skill and coolness. - -But he was either too ill or too angry to be really dangerous. He -attacked me furiously from the start; but he fought so wildly that -I found myself quite able to hold him in check, and I let him exert -himself to the utmost with the sure knowledge that in such a state he -could not keep it up long. - -I think he had reckoned upon being able to treat me with the same -contempt as a swordsman as he had treated me as a man the night before; -and when he found out his mistake, it provoked his rage until he fought -with the frenzy of a madman. - -Had he been himself and not so furiously reckless, I think he would -have had an easy enough victory, for he had a hundred tricks of fence -where I had none. - -He seemed to realise something of this, too, when we had been hard at -it for some time, for he began to fight with less vehemence and much -more wariness. - -But he had wasted his strength by that time; and to waste it still -further, I commenced to push matters a bit from my side. He began to -breathe hard. The pressure of his blade against mine weakened. Twice -his foot slipped and he exposed himself dangerously; and then I knew I -was going to beat him. - -I took no advantage of his slips. The man was ill, or drunk, or -suffering from the effects of drink; and I could not bring myself even -to wound him. - -I just kept to my tactics of wearing him down, defending myself when he -attacked me and pressing him whenever he sought to ease off to get his -breath back. - -At last it became little more than a burlesque. He was so winded and -exhausted and so unsteady on his legs that he could scarcely continue -the fight, scarcely hold his sword, indeed; and when I realised this -I made a big, pressing effort, and seizing my moment, whipped his -sword out of his hand and left him gasping impotently in dismay and -breathlessness and lurching like a discomfited, angry fool, until he -began to clamour to renew the fight. - -The seconds interfered at this, however; even his own men protesting. I -stood while they settled it; and then turned away to dress. - -Nikolitch was loud in praises of me as I put on my coat, but regretted -I had not wounded him; as he might want to have another meeting. - -“I shouldn’t meet him again. It’s an additional insult that he should -have come out in such a state. And you’d better let him know I shan’t -meet him again. If he monkeys with me again I’ll settle it in a more -American fashion; and if there’s to be another fight of the kind, it -shall begin where this morning’s has ended.” - -To my astonishment Nikolitch carried the message to one of the Prince’s -seconds and then we left the ground and drove back to the city. - -I kept Nikolitch and Captain Astic to breakfast, and they could speak -of nothing but the fight; criticising it with almost as much fond -enthusiasm as if they had been experts describing a good game of -baseball. - -I was glad when they left me, indeed, and I could settle down to a -quiet review of the situation. Nikolitch was to see me again in the -afternoon; and he declared joyously and with a certain air of rather -self-congratulatory importance, that they would both have a busy time -in seeing that a true account of the duel was spread about. - -“You are a fortunate man, Mr. Bergwyn, and will be a popular one,” said -Captain Astic. “The Prince is thoroughly well hated and people will be -ready to make much of you.” - -I did not regard it at all in that light. It was Gatrina’s good-will, -not that of the crowd, which I sought; and I felt she would hear with -strong prejudice that I had allowed myself to be drawn into a quarrel -which she would know well enough could only have arisen on her account. - -Estranged as she already was by this monstrous story of my secret -understanding with Elma, she would be quite incapable of appreciating -my motives or feelings; and the fact that I could not get to her to -explain everything irritated me almost beyond endurance. - -It was my helplessness in that direction which tried me more than -anything. She had set up a barrier between us which I could not break -through. There was nothing I could do but fret and fume and pace up -and down the room and down and up again, in vain imaginings as to how -things were to end. - -To an active temperament like mine nothing could be more galling. -Prompt decision and action were mental instincts with me. I was -accustomed in all affairs of life to take hold of a thing, plan my -course and follow it up quickly and energetically. And yet here I had -somehow allowed the reins to be snatched from my grasp and could only -wring my hands in fatuous futility while I was being carried I could -not tell where. - -Do something I must; so I made another effort to see Gatrina, and -pushed it until I met with a very ugly rebuff. I was told she was out, -and I declared I would wait until she returned. - -I waited, and waited, and waited until my patience was exhausted, -only to be told by her servants that while I had been waiting she had -returned and gone out again without seeing me. - -I went home and wrote to her that I must see her on a matter of the -most urgent importance. I gave the letter to Buller with instructions -to place it personally in Gatrina’s hands. - -An hour and more passed, and when he came he brought a reply in her -handwriting. I tore the envelope open and my own letter, unopened, was -enclosed and with it a cutting from a paper of that morning’s date, -announcing in guarded terms my engagement to Elma. - -At first I flushed with mortification and resentment, but then caught a -glimpse of light. - -If it was really the lie about Elma which had estranged her, I had but -to get the truth to her to change that anger and make her feel the -injustice she had done me. - -I cast about for the means. She would neither see me nor read my -letters; so that I must find someone who could get access to her. - -I thought instantly of Karasch. I would send him to her and let Chris -go with him as a mute ambassador. This might touch her for the sake of -the past; and Karasch’s message should be just one sentence--that the -announcement in the paper was a lie. - -I sent for him at once, instructed him how to act, and despatched him -on the errand; only to be defeated again, however. Gatrina had refused -to see him. - -There was only Nikolitch left, and even he failed me. He did not come -at the time he had appointed, and when I went to his rooms in search of -him, I heard that he had been sent away on military business and would -not return until night or the next morning. - -So the whole day passed without anything being done to kill the lie -which was having such ominous results for me. - -It was noon on the next day when I saw Nikolitch; and very anxious and -disturbed he looked. - -“I have grave news for you, Bergwyn,” he said at once. “The officers -are going to move at once and a day or two, perhaps an hour or two, -will find the crisis here.” - -“I want to see you about something else,” I said, eagerly. - -“My news first,” he replied. “Before anything else, you must know it. I -fear that that condition of no violence will not be kept.” - -Instantly my thoughts were for Gatrina and I chilled with fear for her. - -“Speak plainly, Nikolitch.” - -“I have come back at some risk to do so. I have only the worst to -report. We moderates have been outvoted.” - -Like a flash Elma’s grim word, “Assassination” darted across my mind as -I waited for him to continue. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE SCENT OF PERIL. - - -“I got a scent of the trouble yesterday,” said Nikolitch after a pause, -long enough to try my patience severely; “and should have come to you -at once, but I was sent out of the city to Jagodina with part of the -regiment. I dared not write to you for fear the letter got into wrong -hands.” - -“What did you hear, and how?” - -“You know there have been many changes made in the regiments here; -and no one could understand the reason for them. But I believe I know -it now. Those officers who are against force have been gradually sent -out of the city and their places filled by men of the opposite views. -Yesterday an excuse was made that some manœuvres were to be held round -Jagodina; and by means of it nearly all of the no-violence men were -sent away--myself amongst them; while others have been moved in. You -can guess the object--a _coup d’etat_.” - -“And Petrosch?” - -“Was like a sphinx when I managed to see him yesterday. Denied the idea -of force, referred to the arrangement with you; but would say not a -word as to what was intended. He pleaded entire ignorance.” - -“What will happen?” - -“I cannot say. We discussed it all last night at Jagodina, and the -impression there is that some most drastic steps have been decided -secretly and that we were being got out of the way for them to be -carried out.” - -“What kind of violence do you anticipate?” - -“God knows,” he exclaimed, throwing up his hands, almost despairingly. - -“We must see Petrosch.” - -“I dare not. I am supposed to be in Jagodina. I got leave of absence -because the chief is very friendly, but he said I must not come to -Belgrade. He meant I mustn’t let him know if I did. So I said I wished -to go to Alexinatz. But I felt I must get the news to you somehow; so I -came here secretly. I shall be broken if my presence is known.” - -“Won’t you stay and see it through, now you are here?” - -“I owe you no less, Bergwyn, let happen what will. I have got you into -it. But I should prefer not to go outside this house if we can help it.” - -“I wanted you to do me a great service. And it is more important now -than ever, if what you think is true.” - -“What is it?” - -“To go to the Princess Gatrina.” - -“I have thought of her. That’s largely why I came--after what you told -me about the hill business.” - -“You think she would be in danger?” - -“How can it be otherwise? But of course it depends on what is going to -happen. You must warn her.” - -“That’s just it. I can’t get a word to her. I was trying all yesterday. -She won’t see me, wouldn’t read a letter I sent asking her to see me; -wouldn’t even let the man who helped us in the hill affair have a word -with her. I hoped you would be able to help me.” - -He hesitated a moment. “Of course I will,” he said then. “The thing’s -too grave to let any personal considerations weigh with me. She must be -persuaded to leave the city--at least until the officers have carried -out their plan.” - -“She won’t go.” - -“She must, or the worst may happen to her. Some of these men will go to -any extreme.” - -“Put it plainer, Nikolitch. You mean her life will be in danger?” - -“I don’t like even to think of it in plain terms, Bergwyn. To tell you -the truth, I believe I’m horribly afraid and can’t think.” - -“I’ll go to Petrosch myself at once, while you go to the Princess. I -think she will receive you. What I want you particularly to do with her -is persuade her that there is no foundation for this statement;” and I -put the newspaper cutting in his hand. - -He read it and looked up. “Is it a time to think of this?” he asked. - -“Yes; because when that is contradicted she may consent to see me and I -can add my influence to persuade her to seek safety in flight.” - -“Would they let her go?” he asked. - -“Get her consent and I’ll do the rest.” - -“Send your man to my rooms for clothes. I mustn’t be seen in these;” -and he shewed me that under a long overcoat he was wearing his uniform. - -I rang for Buller and gave him instructions, and then started to find -Colonel Petrosch. I had much difficulty, driving from place to place -and losing much time, to catch him after all at his house. - -Having heard of my first call he was thus prepared for my visit; and -must have guessed my object, although he expressed surprise at seeing -me. - -“I wish to see you very particularly, Colonel; you will have heard that -I called here a couple of hours ago; and I have been seeking you ever -since.” - -“I am very sorry; but of course if you had sent me word beforehand I -would have waited in or come to you, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“I could not do that. I have only just heard the news which has brought -me to you.” - -“Indeed. How?” - -“I have many sources, as you will understand. Is it true that the -officers have resolved upon their line of action?” - -“Yes. I told you that two days ago.” - -“What is it?” - -“I told you then I could not disclose it, Mr. Bergwyn. You will -remember that.” - -“Has there been any alteration in their plans?” - -He paused. “In a sense, no. No finally decisive step taken.” - -“There have been some considerable changes in the disposition of the -regiments?” - -“Oh, yes. We have had some manœuvres at Jagodina and have had to make -them as imposing as possible.” - -“That is the only reason for the changes?” - -“Not entirely. Some have been made in connection with the plan of the -officers.” - -“A large number of officers have been brought to the capital. I know -that. Are these the men who favour a policy of force?” - -He flinched from the question. “Is that your information?” - -“Yes; just that.” - -“To a certain extent you are right, Mr. Bergwyn,” he answered slowly. -“I had better tell you something. Since I saw you, a formal demand has -been made to the King to abdicate, backed by the statement ‘that a -refusal would be followed by the declaration of the army against him.’ -At first he refused; but afterwards withdrew the peremptory refusal and -asked for time to consider the matter. A week was conceded and there -the matter was left.” - -“Then nothing will be done for a week?” - -“Nothing _would_ have been done; but His Majesty or the Government, -most probably the Queen, has broken faith. Of those who waited upon -him--there were five--three have been arrested and thrown into prison. -Naturally the army is embittered.” - -“What will be done?” - -He shrugged his shoulders. “For whatever happens now, the blame will -lie with the Court.” - -“I suppose that’s about as hopeless news as you could give me.” - -“It is not good,” he replied, very gravely. - -“You are still in a position to keep the condition of no violence.” - -“We have decided to release you from your undertaking so that we may -not even appear to be guilty of bad faith. The decision has just been -made; and I should have written you at once or seen you, to return you -this paper;” and he put my letter back into my hands. - -Nothing that he could have said or done would have so deeply impressed -me as that. - -“You told me there had been no change of plan.” - -“There has been none--yet,” he answered. “The final decision has still -to be made.” - -“I have heard your policy summed up in the one word--assassination.” - -“Our policy has always been liable to misinterpretation; against that, -in times like these, we cannot guard.” - -“I won’t disguise from you that you have alarmed me greatly.” - -“Is there a man in the country at the present time who does not view -the future with alarm? The issues are too fateful for all classes, -Mr. Bergwyn. But if you are speaking in contemplation of any sort of -financial business, I would advise you strongly to hold your hand and -wait.” - -“How long?” - -“Until the new Government is established, the new King crowned and the -country once more settled.” - -“The new King?” I asked quickly. - -“The succession will revert to the Karageorgevics.” - -“And Princess Gatrina?” - -“It is very unfortunate for her and her friends that she still remains -in the city.” He spoke with impressive deliberation. - -“It is largely on her account I have been influenced in what I have -done.” - -“So I have gathered for myself, Mr. Bergwyn; and so I have thought, -despite the contradictory rumours which have reached me concerning you -both--and others.” - -“Can you give me no assurance that at least she will be in no personal -danger?” - -He paused a long time to think. “Personally I will do everything in -my power. You have met me so frankly that you deserve no less. You -may rely upon me to do my utmost; but although I shall of course have -considerable influence, I am but one of many.” - -“She would be allowed to leave the city?” - -“Her departure would be welcome if she would go at once.” - -“And if she stays?” - -“She may carry her life in her hands, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“But I could still depend upon your influence?” - -“To the uttermost shred. I give you my honour.” - -I rose to go then. “I need not assure you that I shall treat in -confidence what you have said, Colonel Petrosch.” - -He shook his head. “It does not matter now, Mr. Bergwyn. I have told -you nothing--I could tell you nothing, of course--that may not be -openly repeated. It is too late for anything of that kind to signify -now. The army is too strong to be shaken from its purpose by anything -that could happen. You will see that yourself very soon. The die is -cast.” - -This indifference to publicity amazed me as much as anything he had -said in the interview and confirmed the absorbingly gloomy impression -which he had created. - -I drove back to my house feverishly anxious now to hear how Nikolitch -had fared with Gatrina. But he had not returned and I sat eating out my -heart with impatience at his delay. He was so long that I began to fear -he might have been arrested for having come to the city in defiance of -his orders, and I sent Buller at length to the Princess’s house for -news of him. - -A line came back from him. - -“She is away. I am waiting for her return.” - -I scribbled a reply to this. - -“I have had the worst confirmed. For God’s sake do all you can;” and -this I sent back to him by Buller. - -The suspense of the time that followed was agony. My alarm for her took -a hundred crude and wild shapes as I thought of the peril that would -encircle her when the desperate schemes of the army were once put in -operation. - -I was maddening myself with such thoughts when Buller brought me -Elma’s card. I sent a curt message that I would not see her. I felt I -could not trust myself in that desperate mood. - -But he came back with a note. - -“You must see me. I have terrible news affecting Gatrina’s safety.” - -I went to her then. In such a cause I was ready to go anywhere and do -anything. She was more serious than I had seen her before, and spoke -without any of the affectations customary with her. - -“There must be peace between us, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“What have you come for?” - -“Gatrina is in danger and you must help to save her.” - -“What is your news?” - -“A revolution is imminent, and if Gatrina is in the city when it breaks -out, she will be involved. The King has been told he must abdicate, and -a conflict between him and the army is now certain. She must be got to -a place of safety.” - -“Why do you come to me?” - -“Because you can prevail with her.” - -“On the contrary, you have made that impossible. You know how--by the -false tale you told before the Queen.” - -“It can be contradicted. I will contradict it if you agree.” - -“Agree to what?” - -“To unite with us in saving her to take the Throne.” - -“You mean to marry the Duke Barinski?” - -“I mean, first, to save her life. This is no time to think of any -personal ends. She is necessary to the country.” - -“She has no chance of succeeding to the Throne. I know that. I know -what is to be done.” - -“You can help us if you will. Get her to trust herself to us instead of -to the Court, and we will be responsible for her safety.” - -“How? Another case of Maglai?” - -“You need not sneer. I did not mean that. She would be safe under the -protection of the Russian flag.” - -“With you as her chief adviser and friend. I should not deem that -safety; nor would she.” - -“You abandon her then to her fate?” - -“I will not counsel her to play the part of cat’s paw for Russia.” - -“Even to save her life?” - -“Will you undo the mischief you have caused and let her know the truth? -Then I will act with you to this extent. If I can, I will prevail with -her to leave the country for a time and from a position of freedom, -decide whether to make this marriage or not.” - -“She must not leave the country. She must be here when the moment of -crisis arrives, and the future occupant of the Throne has to be chosen. -Her absence then might be fatal to everything.” - -“Go to her and tell her that all you said was untrue and why you said -it, and leave the decision to her.” - -“You are still dreaming of the impossible. I have shewn her most of -your old letters to me.” - -“Then you had better tell your Russian employers how you have succeeded -in wrecking their schemes.” - -She paused in considerable embarrassment. - -“You must have some other aim, however,” I continued. “You have -contradicted yourself. You said at first that I still had influence -with her: now that you have kept your word and broken her trust in me; -and yet that you need my help. You will not be surprised that I find -it difficult to believe you at all--except as a power for mischief and -wrong.” - -“You do not seem to realise her peril.” - -“And you do not explain your inconsistency.” - -“I will make it all plain to her.” - -“So that I may go to counsel her to marry another man. I will not.” - -“Not even to save her life?” - -“You said that before. I will find means to save her life, if it should -be really in danger.” - -“What I have proposed is the only way.” - -“You may think so. I will find another. I do not trust either you or -your employers. You can help me by undoing what you have done and -telling her the truth--by that means you can aid in saving her life. -But with your help or without, I will find the means.” - -“You are very bitter against me.” - -“I speak the truth and the truth may well have a bitter sound.” - -“If you refuse me, the responsibility for what may occur will be yours.” - -“Will you go to her and admit the falsehood?” - -“If you agree to my terms. Not otherwise.” - -“That was the answer I expected,” I said as I rose. - -She made a gesture of impatient dissent. “You make things so difficult. -We both desire the same end: the Princess’s safety; and yet you will -not act with me to reach it.” - -“You come to me, or you are sent to me, because it is thought I can now -be of some use as a decoy. I have no fancy for the part. I do not trust -you or those behind you.” - -“You entirely misjudge my motives.” - -“Very possibly, if they are genuine. You have taught me not to expect -that; and I have learnt the lesson. That’s all there is to it. And now, -I have no wish to say to you any more of the angry things I feel. Shall -we end this?” - -“Will you consider what I have said and let me come to-morrow for an -answer?” - -“No. You have my answer; and I have no wish to see you again.” - -“How bitter you can be!” she cried, rising. - -My only reply was to open the door for her to leave. - -“Do you mean to render me desperate? You underestimate my power to -revenge myself. You will drive me to take a course which even I might -afterwards regret. I am not yet Gatrina’s enemy; but ...” a very angry -glance finished the sentence. - -“We shall do better to end this,” I answered, curtly, meeting her look -as I held the door for her. - -“You will be well advised for your own and her sake if I find you in a -different mood to-morrow;” and with this threat she went. - -For her threats I cared little enough; and the only part of the -interview which made any impression was the confirmation she had -brought of the coming trouble. - -I was thinking this round when Nikolitch returned. - -“Well?” I asked eagerly. - -He shook his head. “I have done no good,” he said. - -My heart fell at the words. The last chance had failed, and I knew -by my pang of disappointment how much I had built upon my friend’s -mission. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -A PLAN OF DEFENCE. - - -It was some time before I could even bring myself to ask Nikolitch for -details of his visit to Gatrina. - -“You saw the Princess?” I asked at length. - -“I would not come away without. She had been at the Palace, I think. -She received me graciously at first--she does all things prettily--and -listened while I warned her that grave troubles were coming. Then -something I said suggested to her that I had come from you; and her -manner changed suddenly.” - -“It would, I suppose,” I interjected, bitterly. - -“She put the question point blank, and I admitted it, of course. Then -she refused to hear any more. I said that you were very anxious to -see her; and she got up and was for dismissing me on the spot. But I -hung on and managed to get out the contradiction of the engagement, -as she was hurrying away. At the door she turned, her face very pale, -her manner and tone cold as ice. ‘Under the circumstances, Captain -Nikolitch, your presence is an insult,’ she said. And never in my life -have I felt the lash of a woman’s tongue more keenly. I suppose she was -mad you had told me anything of how matters stood with you. I felt like -a whipped cur as I stumbled out of the room.” - -“Well, it’s just a devil of a mess, that’s all, and we’ll have to find -some way of helping her against her will.” - -I told him of the result of my visit to Petrosch and of the -confirmation of the news from Elma. His view of the outlook was even -darker than my own; and when I let drop a hint of the suggestion which -Elma had made, he was disposed to freeze to it as the best and readiest -solution of the difficulty. - -But I shook my head. “The Princess would never trust herself to them,” -I said. “I know her too well to think that for a moment.” - -“She would be safe. Other things would settle themselves afterwards. -The hours of peril will be few, whatever happens; and when they are -once passed, the itch for violence will be appeased.” - -“No,” I said again. “I say no, emphatically no. If she believed the -danger were really so acute, she would go to the Queen and stand or -fall with her. She would regard it as cowardly to think of herself -at such a time; and nothing would induce her to set foot inside the -Russian Minister’s house merely to save herself. It would but drive her -into greater peril that if she remained in her own. It is there she -must be protected. Would God I could but learn when the devilment is to -be done?” - -“I think I could learn that. Not here, of course, where if I were -recognised I should be clapped straight away under arrest; but at -Jagodina. They will know there.” - -“Then for Heaven’s sake get back to Jagodina at once and send me word. -I will do the rest. I begin to see a way at last--if she will but stay -in her own house.” - -“What is it?” he asked eagerly. - -“No, no. Don’t stay another minute in the city. Get to your regiment -and send me the news I want. Just the time; that’s all; that’s all. It -may not be safe to send more;” and seizing a time table I found there -was a train he could catch at once, and I hurried him off. - -“My uniform,” he said. “I’m in mufti.” - -“Leave it. It may be useful.” - -“What do you mean?” he asked, anxiously. - -“If I don’t tell you, you can’t be compromised. Do as I ask; that’s -all. And for Heaven’s sake be off at once.” - -I infected him with a degree of my own energy and bundled him off to -the depot, and sent Buller with him with instructions to get him a -special train if he missed the regular one. - -Then I gave word that the instant Karasch arrived he was to be shewn -to me; it was close to the hour at which he was accustomed to come for -instructions; and having done that I set to work to think out my plan -as I ate a hasty dinner. - -The plan was a very simple one--to raise immediately a band of men -numerous enough to protect Gatrina’s house in case of emergency, and to -find some place close to it where they could remain in readiness under -Karasch’s leadership. - -The idea took a more daring form at one time, and I was much tempted -to adopt it. It was to have the men in the uniform of one of the -regiments and to act the part of guarding the house, as if at the -army’s command; but the risk which the men would run if the thing were -discovered was too great. I might not be able to protect them even with -Petrosch’s influence; and I had, therefore, to abandon the notion. But -from it came another idea which I saw at once was practicable. - -“There is work for you at last, Karasch,” I said to him as soon as he -arrived; “difficult, and perhaps dangerous; and I am going to trust to -you.” - -“I will do my best, Excellency, whatever it be,” he answered, with his -customary directness. - -“Ugly things are going to occur in the city; a revolution accompanied -probably with violence is on the eve of taking place; and no one can -say for certain what will or will not happen. But it is very probable -that the Princess--Mademoiselle, you know--will be exposed to great -danger, and I wish you to help me in protecting her. You will do this?” - -“With my life, Excellency. Of course you have a plan.” - -“Yes. I mean you to get together a strong band of resolute men to be -instantly available to form a guard round her house. They must be men -on whom we can depend; and we will pay them liberally. How many can you -get?” - -“I could get a thousand to take your money and promise; and I might -find fifty or less who might keep their promises; and, perhaps, five or -six who would be absolutely reliable. It would depend.” - -“On what?” - -“On whom Mademoiselle had to be defended against. If against the mob -it would be easy, but not against soldiers, Excellency.” - -“It will probably be against the soldiery.” - -He shook his head doubtingly. “It would be very difficult,” he said. - -“It has to be done, Karasch,” I declared firmly. “The Princess’s life -may depend upon it.” - -“Where twenty men would face the sticks and stones of a mob, scarce -one of them would stand before the bayonets or bullets of the troops, -Excellency. Should we be inside the house?” - -“No, outside.” - -“Ah,” he exclaimed with another very grave shake of the head. - -“_You_ would do it?” - -“I am different; but I would not do it for money. I have been in -similar troubles before; and for those who resist the soldiers at such -times, there are many roads to death and all short and pretty certain. -Men know this, Excellency. Belgrade is not like the hills in the -Gravenje district. I might count on five or six, as I say; but what are -they against the troops in the city?” - -I thought a moment. “Could you trust them absolutely?” I asked. - -“Yes; as you may trust me. But, I beg your Excellency’s pardon, why -cannot the Princess remove to a place of safety?” - -“She will not, for reasons I cannot explain to you. For one thing she -does not know of her danger, and will not believe in it.” - -“Mademoiselle has a strong will, we know,” he said, with a shrug of his -broad shoulders. - -“She has, therefore, to be saved despite herself. Stay, I have it,” I -exclaimed as a thought struck me. “You say these five or six men are -to be relied upon. Could you procure half a dozen uniforms for them to -wear?” - -“I could get half a hundred, but----” - -“This is my plan then. Get the other men, fifty or a hundred of -them--as many as you can--to be available if the only trouble comes -from the mob. The six we will make up as soldiers, and at the worst we -will force our way with them into the house and bring off the Princess -as though she were our prisoner.” - -He chewed the notion for a moment and then his grim face relaxed into -one of his rare smiles. “It is good,” he said; and we set to work and -threshed out the plan in as much detail as practicable at that stage. - -I decided that the half dozen men who with Karasch and myself were to -take the risk of making the pretended arrest of Gatrina, should wear -the uniform of soldiers and over that loose civilian’s clothes which -could be easily slipped off in case of need. The men would in this way -be available for both parts of the work before us; as civilians to -resist the mob, or as soldiers to mislead the regular troops. - -I based my plans on the calculation that in making any attempt on -Gatrina’s house the troops were not likely to be in any considerable -force. The movement would be more in the nature of an arrest; and if -we could manage to get into the house before the soldiers sent to make -the arrest, they would be likely to conclude, if they saw Gatrina in -our hands, that in the confusion some mistake had been made in doubling -the parties told off for the purpose. - -I should be in command and should wear the uniform which Nikolitch had -left behind him; and in the event of any complication arising, I should -have to trust to my wits to explain it away. - -My intention was to march with Gatrina straight to the house of the -United States representative, where, of course, she would be safe. I -knew him already for a man on whom I could rely implicitly. - -Karasch went off to find the men and was to return at midnight to -report progress; and I was to go out into the neighbourhood of -Gatrina’s house to look for a place in which they could be placed. -I was getting ready when my eye fell upon Nikolitch’s uniform and I -tried it on. It was anything but comfortable after the freedom of -civilian’s dress; and as I was much the broader man of the two, it was -an uncommonly bad fit. - -But I had to get used to it; so I resolved on a dress rehearsal of the -part, and throwing on a long overcoat, I put a revolver in my pocket -and set out on my quest, with Chris in close attendance at my heels. - -The night was fine but moonless; and as the streets of Belgrade were -very badly lighted, there was not much chance of my being recognised. -The restaurants and supper houses were busy enough, and the flare of -their lights streamed across the streets here and there; but they were -easy to avoid; and there were none of them in the neighbourhood of -Gatrina’s house. - -As it was of course necessary that I should make myself as familiar -with the entrances to the house as possible, I had a good look at it, -being careful to keep well in shadow. - -A massive stone house, it stood by itself at a corner and was almost -surrounded by a high wall. The main door let out on to a broad -thoroughfare; a strong massive door with a deep portico. In the wall -at the side there was a smaller doorway--the servants’ entrance, I -concluded; and this, also, was very heavily and strongly fashioned. All -the lower windows were heavily barred, a custom I had observed to be -general in the large houses in the city. - -It was altogether a house capable of offering stout resistance to any -attack; and I saw in a moment that if I could once get inside, with -a few resolute men, it would be possible to hold it for a long time -against either mob or troops; and I concluded that, in common with many -others in the city, it had been strengthened in view of the turbulent -outbreaks which had been frequent enough in Belgrade. - -The strength of the house reassured me somewhat until I found a weak -spot. Some fifty yards along the smaller street were the stables; and -I remembered that when I had been in the house on the previous day -waiting in my vain attempt to see Gatrina, I had noticed a newly made -door at the end of the garden, just at the point where, as I could now -see, it would lead to the stables; while from the room where I had -been placed, a French window quite unprotected led down a flight of -steps to the garden path. - -That was a weak spot indeed. But if it would render the house open to -attack, it would also provide the means by which I could gain access if -the need arose. - -I was weighing all this in my mind most earnestly as I stood opposite -the entrance to the stable, when Chris moved and growled. I silenced -him, laying my hand on his head, and drew back with him into the deep -shadow of a tree which stood in front of the portico of a house, and -listened. - -He never warned me without cause; and soon I caught the sound of -approaching footsteps. I had no wish to be seen, so I slipped into the -portico and pressed close against the wall, while I kept watch on the -newcomer. He came along at a quick pace until he reached the stable, -when he paused. - -My first idea was that he was a servant who had overstayed his hours -of leave and was puzzling how to get into the house without attracting -notice. - -But I was wrong. Presently he came out into the roadway and stared at -the upper windows of the house. Then he went round to the front and -again he paused and stared up at the windows there; and apparently not -seeing what he sought--for the whole house was now in darkness--he -scratched his head as if in perplexity, and came sauntering back toward -the stables. - -He was very slow in his movements, and his slowness irritated me. -Presently a light shewed for an instant in one of the top windows at -the back, and was almost instantly extinguished. This was repeated -twice, at short intervals; and I heard the window raised very -cautiously. - -It was evidently the signal for which the man in the street had been -waiting, for he whistled, just two notes softly, shewed himself in the -roadway and then stepped back in the shadow of the stables and waited. - -A vulgar assignation, I thought then, not without disgust; and I wished -that he and his sweetheart would be quick over their love-making. It -was well past eleven. At midnight I had to be back to receive Karasch’s -report; and yet could not venture to be seen. - -But it was no sweethearting. After some minutes, a small door in the -large stable gate was opened and a man looked out. I could see all -that passed by the light of a lamp over the gates. The two whispered -together a moment; and then the man from the house came out, turned the -key in the lock, and put it in his pocket. - -They both crossed the road toward where I stood, and I pressed yet -closer against the wall and kept my hand on Chris’s head lest by a -sound he should betray our presence. They did not enter the portico, -but stood in the shadow of the tree where I had first concealed myself. - -“This will do,” I heard one of them say; and then strain my ears as I -would I could not catch any other than isolated words. But they were -enough to set me on fire. “Army,” “Arrest,” “Three hours,” “Yes, two -o’clock--” this was louder and in an impatient tone. After that there -was a chink of money passing; and then silence. It lasted so long that, -unable to contain myself, I peered out cautiously and looked at them. - -The man who had come from the house was counting a quantity of paper -money, and trying to read the value of each bill by the flicker of the -lamp across the road. It was a tedious business; and his companion -whispered something to him and they both walked away along the street. - -My first inclination was to follow them at once and force an -explanation; but I checked the impulse. I resolved to wait for the -return of the servant. He was sure to come back, if I read the thing -aright. I could deal with him alone much more satisfactorily. - -I took Chris across to the stable gates and making him understand -that he was on guard and must let no one pass in, I returned to my -hiding-place. - -The minutes were leaden as I stood waiting. The man was so long away -that I began to fear I had blundered and to regret I had not acted on -the impulse to follow the two. - -But he came at length hurrying from the opposite direction; and he -glanced up at the house windows as he passed, with a gesture of -uneasiness. When he reached the stable gates, Chris received him with -a low growl, and he started back in some dismay at the most unexpected -interruption. - -He was trying to pacify the dog with a little coaxing when I crossed to -him and, assuming a tone of authority, asked, at a venture; “You have -seen the sergeant? Why have you been so long?” - -He was obviously in much perplexity and some fear, and glanced from -Chris to me. The good dog looked formidable enough to have frightened a -braver man. - -“Who are you?” he asked. - -I threw back my long coat and shewed my uniform. - -“The plan is changed. You are to come with me. We can’t trust you out -of sight again.” - -He glanced round as if meditating flight. - -“The dog will pull you down if you move,” I said, sternly. - -“I must get in,” he murmured. “I shall keep my word.” - -“Did you hear what I ordered you?” I rapped back with an oath. “Come,” -and I linked my arm in his to drag him away. He resisted at first; but -at a word from me Chris shewed his fangs and snarled so angrily that no -resistance was left in him. I let go his arm then. “A false step or a -single word, and the dog’s fangs will close on your throat,” I muttered -fiercely. - -He came then, keeping pace anxiously with my quick stride and glancing -ever and again over his shoulder at Chris who stalked behind him like a -black shadow. - -I got him to my house without trouble; for the streets were now all but -deserted, and I chose a way which avoided the main roads. - -I led him into my study, taking Chris with me, and then turned a lamp -full on his face. Then I drew my revolver and held it in his full view -as I considered how best to question him, so as to get the truth out -of him. - -It was a vital matter, and they were anxious moments; for upon his -answers Gatrina’s life might depend. - -He found them anxious, too. I could see that by his pallor, the nervous -twitchings of hands and features, the sweat that stood on his swarthy -forehead, and the wild look on his fear-filled eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -THE NIGHT OF TERROR. - - -The fear which my prisoner displayed led me to prolong the interval -before I questioned him. It was essential for my purpose that he should -be thoroughly frightened; and the suspense was enough to try much -stouter nerves than his. I let him have some two or three minutes, -therefore, so that his fears should have full scope; and just as my -first question was on my lips, a happy thought occurred to me. I saw -that I could make valuable use of the Russian reputation for doing ugly -things. - -He was more likely to fear the Russians than any other party concerned; -and if I could make him believe he had now fallen into their hands, he -would be far more likely to answer my questions than if I played the -more difficult part of an army officer, believing him false to the army. - -“Stand over there,” I cried, sternly and suddenly in Russian, pointing -to the wall; and the start he gave at hearing the unwelcome language, -proved to me that I was right. He moved to where I pointed, his eyes on -me all the time. “Attempt to move and the dog will be on you,” I added, -as brutally and coarsely as I could. - -Then I rang the bell, and when Buller came I said in Russian; “Tell -General Minzkoff I have the prisoner and am questioning him.” But -Buller didn’t understand Russian and stood staring at me in hesitation -what to do; so to give the thing colour, I jumped up, swore vigorously, -and, as if in a paroxysm of rage, thrust him violently out of the room, -pretending to kick him, as I shouted: “Do as I say at once.” - -I flung myself back in my seat only to jump up again and, as though -I had forgotten something rushed out of the room after Buller. I -explained matters, and told him to find a servant who could speak -Russian and send him to me to say that “I was to see General Minzkoff -with my report as soon as possible.” - -This particular Russian officer had just the reputation for violence -that was certain to impress the spy; and the more bullying and brutal -I could make my manner, the more characteristic would it be of the -general’s agents. - -“You speak my language?” I jerked out in Russian. - -“I understand it a little,” he answered with difficulty. - -“Then we’ll use your own cursed tongue,” I said in Serb. “I have no -time to waste over you, so if you don’t answer plainly I’ll find means -to make you. How much money did that soldier give you just now?” - -He started at finding I knew this and looked about for a lie. “Money? I -don’t understand your Excellency.” - -“It’s in that pocket.” I pointed to where I had seen him place it. -“Take it out, you lying dog. Quick,” I thundered, as he still -hesitated. “I know everything.” - -Slowly, for it cost him a pang to part with it, he drew out the bundle -of bills. “It is my own,” he faltered. - -“The gold, too. Quick.” - -Again he trembled, but dared not refuse. I had now impressed upon him -that I knew his secrets. - -“Put it there,” I said, pointing to a chair. “Now. I’ll test your power -of speaking the truth. What was that money paid for?” - -He stared at me in a sweat of fear, trying to moisten his parched lips -with a tongue as dry as leather, wishing to lie but yet afraid; and in -his fright unable to coin a plausible tale. - -“It was money--owing to me,” he stammered. - -I paused a moment to let him hope the lie had imposed upon me; and then -pointed to the bell. “If that bell is rung it will bring my men here -with the means you may have heard we use to make prisoners speak the -truth. Go and ring it now--or tell me the truth of your own accord.” - -It was a touch of refined cruelty eloquent of Russian methods to make -him summon his own torturers; and it did much to carry conviction now. - -“I don’t wish to deceive your Excellency,” he murmured. - -“Is that why you want me to believe that when a man owes you money he -comes in the dead of night to pay it after waiting for your signals -from the house--the light three times flashed. You lying cur. Ring that -bell--I have no more time to waste.” - -“You won’t torture me?” he cried, in anguish. - -“Ring that bell,” I thundered. “It pleases me for you yourself to call -your torturers;” and I laughed, as if the grim joke were really to my -taste. - -Down he went on his knees. “Not the torture, Excellency. Not the -torture. For God’s sake, not that.” - -“You’ve had a taste of it before, eh?” I said, with another grin, -feeling an awful beast as I did it. “You can choose--the torture or the -truth of your own will.” - -“My God!” he exclaimed, covering his white face and writhing; and -then the truth came slowly and with labour, as he thought how little -he dared to tell and yet save his skin. “It was for my mistress’s -sake--the Princess. We were all afraid in the house because we are so -weak. I had arranged to let some soldiers in to protect us all.” - -“You must do better than that, dog. Try again,” I sneered, coarsely. -“Men don’t pay you to come and protect you. You’ll have to lie better -than that to convince me.” Then I changed the sneer to a tone of anger. -“I’ll have no more of this; the truth, or--” and I laid my hand on the -bell. - -At that moment the man Buller had sent with the message in Russian came -in and delivered it. - -“Very good,” I said to him; and added; “Tell black Ivan and Loris to -come the instant I ring. I find I shall need them. They know what to -bring with them.” - -The bluff worked. I saw that the instant the servant left the room. - -“I’ll give you one minute; no more,” I declared. - -“I’ll tell your Excellency all I know,” he stammered at once. “I was -paid to let the soldiers into the house at two o’clock in the morning.” - -“For what purpose?” - -“I don’t know that.” - -“For what purpose?” I repeated sternly. - -“They wouldn’t tell me.” - -At that I appeared to fly into a passion. I seized the revolver and -going up to him clapped it to his head. - -“Answer me, or I’ll scatter your brains here on the floor.” - -He shrank and groaned as he felt the cold steel on his forehead. - -“To arrest the Princess, Excellency. Oh, my God, my God,” he cried and -burst into tears. - -I went back to my seat. “You are a faithful servant to your mistress. -Do you know what’s going to happen to-night--the night you’ve chosen -for this infamy?” - -“N--no. Yes,” he changed his words almost eagerly as he caught my eye. - -“Give it words then.” - -“They told me it was for her safety, Excellency. They did, they did, I -swear they did, on my soul. When the King and Queen and the others are -taken from the Palace, the Princess would be in danger in her house, -and they mean to put her in a place of safety.” - -This was news, indeed; and in my consternation at hearing it, this -coward and his treachery became of little importance. I did not doubt -he was speaking the truth about that, whatever his own motives may have -been for his act. And then a plan occurred to me. - -“How many men were to carry out the arrest?” - -“I don’t know--only a few; four or five at most, we have no means of -resisting them in the house.” - -“You are to let them in by the stable door?” - -“Yes, Excellency, at two o’clock. They could force their way in even -without my help.” - -I paid no heed to his attempt at exculpation. “What is your name? The -name they know you by?” - -“Michel.” - -“How many men servants are in the house?” - -“Two besides myself. Two are away, Excellency.” - -“Anyone sleeping in the stables?” - -“No one, Excellency.” - -“Any of the others know of your plan?” - -“No, Excellency.” - -“You have the key of that stable door. Give it to me.” - -He handed it over with a deep sigh. - -“You have saved your skin,” I said curtly; “but you must remain here. -You will be safe, if you make no effort to resist. If you do that, I -shall leave orders that you are to be shot.” I said this much as though -it were my daily custom to catch men and murder them; and the very tone -I used added to his fears. - -I left him a minute in the care of Chris; and as Karasch had arrived I -told him to have the man bound and locked up in one of the many vaults -in the basement of the house. - -I was glad to be relieved of his presence, and then set to work to -carry out the scheme which his story had suggested. When Karasch came -back I told him what I had learnt and asked him how he had fared. - -“Except the handful of men on whom I knew I could trust, I have done -little,” he said. - -“They may be enough for my altered plans. Can you get them to-night, -and above all can you get uniforms for them?” - -“I fear not, Excellency. It is past midnight.” - -“Get the men then. I’ll find uniforms for them.” - -“My plan is to go to the Princess’s house at once; to wait for the men -who are coming to arrest her; make them prisoners and then play their -part. They will be able to provide us with the costumes,” I added, -smiling grimly. - -“It is very dangerous,” was his comment. - -“You mean for them? Yes, it will be.” - -“I mean for you, and all of us.” - -“If anyone is afraid, let him stay away. I can go alone. It is no work -for children, of course,” I exclaimed, impetuously. - -“Have I deserved that from your Excellency?” - -“No, Karasch; I know you haven’t. I am excited.” - -“Tell me what has to be done; and I will do it,” he said, simply; -and then we discussed very hurriedly the plan and completed the -preparations which had to be made. - -I told him to meet me near the Princess’s house with as many of the -men as he could get together, and to bring with him a few lengths of -stout cord for binding the soldiers we hoped to capture. That made -clear I packed him off to hunt up his men. - -It was a desperate step I had resolved to take, and the penalty of -failure would probably be serious. I realised that to the full; but on -the other hand, I could see no other means of gaining my end. - -If Gatrina would have listened to me, the course would have been simple -enough. I could have given her warning of her danger and have removed -her to a place of safety. But she would not let me approach her nor -admit there was anything perilous to her in the situation. Thus, if -I was to save her it must be done against her knowledge and almost -against her will. - -I left my house about half an hour after midnight, having appointed -with Karasch to be at the Princess’s by half past one, or as near to -that hour as he could reach there. In no event was he to be later than -a quarter to two, even if he had to come alone. - -Having ample time, I resolved to make a detour and see if any movements -were going on in the neighbourhood of the Palace. With Chris close at -my heels I walked at a rapid pace, choosing the most unfrequented ways -I could find. - -The whole city appeared sunk in the slumber of unsuspecting security. -Scarcely a light glimmered in any one of the houses. The streets were -deserted, and the only sounds to disturb the quietude were those of my -own footsteps. If the army were really going to move that night, they -must have kept their intentions entirely secret from all who were not -concerned in their work. - -One o’clock was chimed as I came in view of the Palace; and save for -the sentries pacing their rounds with mechanical steps, not a soul was -to be seen. The Palace itself was wrapped in comparative darkness, the -inmates secure in their belief in the fidelity and watchfulness of -their guards. - -There was absolutely nothing to suggest that a violent outbreak was -on the very eve of consummation; and that a deed of horror was in the -making, the shame of which would before morning spread to the uttermost -confines of the civilised world, to set men seeking its parallel in the -darkest epochs of history. - -I turned from the Palace, indeed, hoping and more than half convinced -that the spy had been misled, and that if the army really nurtured -thoughts of force, their plans were not yet matured. I was intensely -relieved by this apparent dissipation of my gloomy fears and at the -same time profoundly perplexed as to my own course. - -If I forced my way in the dead of night into Gatrina’s house and -nothing occurred to justify my act, discovery would overwhelm me with -both confusion and shame. In her eyes I should not only look like a -rash, intermeddling fool, but my conduct would be open to a thousand -misinterpretations, all ominous and all ruinous to my hopes. - -But I was not long to be a prey to these distracting doubts. On -leaving the Palace I hurried toward one of the barracks; and then, all -suddenly, on turning the corner of one of the main streets, I heard -the measured tramp of many feet; and had just time to conceal myself -in the gateway of a house, when a large body of troops passed me, -marching in dead silence. - -They numbered some hundreds, marching straight on the Palace; and -I knew then, indeed, that trouble was abroad and that my worst -forebodings were to be realised. - -The night of terror for Belgrade had come; and when I saw the strength -of the force and thought of Gatrina, my heart sank within me at the -paltry effort I was about to make to secure her safety. My plan seemed -so puny, so less than weak, so hopeless in the face of this overawing -display of force, that I could have gnashed my teeth in despair. - -I gazed after the troops, when they had passed, like a fool bereft of -his wits by fear, until a sound broke and roused me from my lethargy. - -The sound was that of gunshots in the direction of the Palace. I -guessed that the stern band had met with some opposition from the -guard, and that the deadly work on which they were bent had already -commenced. They had staked their lives on the issue; and even thus -early, some had paid the forfeit. - -It was just the spur my sluggish wits needed and I slipped from my -hiding-place and ran at utmost speed in the direction of Gatrina’s -house. It was nearly a quarter to two when I reached it, to find with -intense satisfaction that all was still quiet there and that Karasch -had arrived and was awaiting me with four companions. - -Taking the utmost precaution to make sure we were unobserved, I -unlocked the little door in the stable gates and we entered. Locking -it behind me, and leaving the men at the end near the stable under the -shadow of some trees, Karasch and I stole up the garden to the house, -and found the unlocked door by which the spy had left. - -The time was so short before we were to look for the coming of the -soldiers that not a moment was to be lost in finding a place where -we could carry out the plan of capture. Karasch, most thoughtfully, -had brought a lantern with him, and stealing noiselessly through the -passages, we explored the whole of the underpart of the house; and I -decided upon two large cellars and explained to him hurriedly how to -act. - -We would let the men in two at a time, Karasch guiding one, I the -other; and lead them each to a different cellar, where we would -overpower and bind them. All would be in darkness on the plea that -suspicion had been aroused in the house and any light would be -dangerous; and as each man entered the cellar he would be seized. - -He fetched the men and by the light of the lantern I had a good look -at each. They were a sturdy, resolute lot; and when we explained the -work to be done, they seemed to enter into it with willingness and -determination. - -The traps were in readiness before the hour struck, and Karasch and I -went out again to the stable gate to wait for the soldiers. - -We stood in deep shadow and I then told him what I had seen in the -streets and of the firing I had heard at the Palace. - -“The city will soon wake,” he muttered. “And if the people side with -the troops, as I believe they will, we shall soon have the mob here.” - -“It will at least convince the Princess of the need to fly.” I sought -hard to persuade myself of this; for my chief fear was that Gatrina -herself would yet prove the greatest difficulty. - -We stood in silence for many minutes and now and again the sound of -hurrying footsteps without told us that the news of the doings at the -Palace was spreading and that the people were scurrying to learn what -was going forward. - -“They are late,” muttered Karasch, impatiently, more than once; and -then: “They are coming,” he declared, as his quick ear caught the sound -of slower footsteps before I heard anything. - -I soon heard them, however. They halted outside the gates; and someone -knocked. I opened the little door a couple of inches and peered through. - -There were six of them only. - -“Is that you, Michel?” came a whisper. - -“Hsh. Yes. How many are there of you?” - -“Six.” - -“There is danger. I am suspected. You must enter two at a time. I -daren’t let you all pass together through the garden. Cautiously, my -friend, cautiously,” I said, as someone tried to force the door. - -A consultation was held and the man who had spoken to me explained to -the rest what I had said. Some difficulty was raised by one of the -soldiers; but I got my way. - -Two men slipped through the door as I held it; and the instant the -second was through, I locked it behind him. - -“Follow us,” I said, not giving either of them time to see my face; and -we led them to the house. “Give me your hand,” I told the man with me. -“We daren’t have a light, and the place is pitch dark.” - -He suspected nothing and I led him into the cellar, clapping my hand on -his mouth as he entered, while the two men in waiting seized him and in -less than a minute he lay bound and gagged. The other had been dealt -with in the same way. - -Karasch and I went back to the stables; but the time occupied, swiftly -as we had acted, had roused some kind of suspicion; and when I opened -the little door, one of the men thrust the butt of his musket in the -way and despite my strenuous efforts, before I could close it all four -had forced themselves through. - -“We’ll go in together, my man,” said one of them, linking his arm in -mine and holding me firmly. Another man did the same to Karasch. - -It spelt crisis; and for a moment or two I breathed hard. My fingers -closed round my revolver, and his life hung by a much thinner thread -than he dreamt. - -I stood fighting with the impulse and thus the chance passed. - -“See if he’s armed,” cried the soldier, and his companion plunged a -hand into my pocket and wrenched my weapon roughly from me. Karasch was -served in the same way; and from the confidence of success we were thus -suddenly brought face to face with the threat of disastrous failure. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -IN GATRINA’S HOUSE. - - -In the moment of crisis Karasch took his cue from me and neither -resisted nor protested against the soldiers’ conduct. I knew, however, -that he would watch me closely and be prepared to help the moment I had -decided what to do. - -“I don’t know why you’ve done this,” I said to the man who held me -and had given the orders. “I kept faith with you and you arrest me in -return for it.” I was on fire with anxiety, but I spoke coolly. - -“We can do without you now; and mean to see you give no trouble,” was -the answer. - -“Very well; but if you cross the garden in a body like this, there’ll -be no call for me to give it you; you’ll find it for yourself. You’ll -be seen; the alarm will be given, and you may look out for resistance.” - -“Who is there to resist, fool-head? There are only three men in the -house, and we’ve got two of you here,” he growled with a chuckle at his -own cunning. “You come with us to the house; that’s all you’ve got to -do; and come quietly, or maybe you won’t reach it. This is the army’s -night, and we’re not in a mood to be soft to those who resist us.” - -With that we moved on along the garden and I was in a fever of -apprehension lest we should be seen by someone in the house. But the -inmates were apparently fast asleep, and we reached the entrance -without being observed. - -This increased my captors’ suspicions. - -“I thought your caution was overdone, friend spy,” he said. - -“Then you’re a fool,” I answered, bluntly. “There’s a dog about and if -he scents you, he’ll soon let everyone know. You’d better let me keep -him quiet.” I had told Chris to stay, and knew he would remain till I -called him. - -We had entered the house then and stood in the broad, stone-flagged -passage; and I spoke loud enough to warn our men in the cellars beyond. -I and the two men holding me were in advance and Karasch and the others -close behind. - -“You hold your tongue. I’m in command here,” said the soldier in a -bullying tone. - -“You’ve made prisoners of us; so you must do as you will. But I won’t -stand this treatment.” - -“Where are my two men?” - -“I left them close here. I suppose they’ve gone on into the house.” - -“It’s as dark as hell,” growled the fellow. “Can you see anything, -Andreas?” he asked his companion. - -“Nothing but the dark,” was the answer with an oath. - -“You can get a light in the room first door to the right,” I said. This -was where I had left Chris, and if he went to it I knew the dog would -put him out of the reckoning. But he smelt a trick and would not. - -“No, thank you, Mr. Spy. Where we go, you come too. I can’t make out -where the devil the others are. What does it mean?” and he called the -men by name. - -“Hadn’t you better ring the alarm bell, while you’re about it?” I -sneered. “You’ll rouse everyone more quickly.” - -“Curse the dark. Lead to where I can get a light,” he muttered. “No -tricks, mind, or you’ll regret it.” - -His grip tightened on my arm and we moved forward abreast. But the door -was too narrow to admit us all at once and he entered the room first. - -“Seize him, Chris,” I said in English; and out of the gloom the huge -black form sprang at him with a fierce growl. In his consternation the -soldier loosed his hold of me to battle with the dog, and in a moment -my hand was on his companion’s throat, while I called to the men in -the cellars to go to the help of Karasch who was now fighting and -struggling with his two guards. - -We were six to three, for Chris kept the leader busy; and the desperate -struggle in the darkness was soon over. The soldiers fought gamely -enough; but they had no chance against such odds. We overpowered them, -but it was not until some hard blows had been given and taken on both -sides. - -I was most afraid for the man whom Chris had attacked; but when I went -to him was relieved to find that no serious harm had been done. He was -terribly frightened; as well might be, for Chris was an antagonist -few men would care to fight. But having got him down the good dog -had not mauled him. The soldier lay flat on the ground, with Chris -standing guard over him and growling fiercely whenever the man made the -slightest movement. - -“Call this brute off for God’s sake,” he said, in a frightened voice as -I approached, lantern in hand. I was glad to hear him speak. - -“It serves you right for the trick you played me,” I answered. “Are you -hurt?” and I called Chris away. - -“I thought he’d kill me.” - -“Wouldn’t have been much loss if he had,” said I, as he sat up and -began to feel himself all over. - -“I’d like to shoot the brute. What does this all mean?” - -“That you’re my prisoner instead of my being yours. If you have any -weapons put ’em out--or I’ll let the dog find them.” - -He glanced round fearsomely at Chris, who snarled. - -“I have none.” - -“Then we’ll tie you up like the rest of your men,” I answered; and -tied up he was. “I shall leave you here,” I told him. “The dog will be -on watch if you try any tricks; and you know whether you want another -round with him.” - -Our victory was complete; and it remained to see how we should use it. -Karasch and the others set to work to take the soldiers’ uniforms and -put them on, while I tried to think what step to take next. I was in -possession of the house; but it seemed as if the real difficulties of -the business were only at the beginning. - -The noise made during the struggle was so great that I knew the -household must have been roused, and while the men were getting into -the soldiers’ uniforms, I listened with considerable anxiety for -someone to come down to us. No one came, however; and I concluded -that those who had been aroused had also been so frightened that they -preferred to stop where they were. - -The difficulty of the position was increased by my reluctance to see -Gatrina or be seen by her, if that could be in any way prevented. My -plan was to play his burlesque of arresting her, and not to shew my -hand until she was housed safely in the care of the American Minister. -To do that I intended one of the four men whom Karasch had brought to -act the part of leader; and I trusted that in the confusion and alarm -of the arrest, both Karasch and I might manage to pass unnoticed. - -I was revolving all this in my thoughts when I heard a movement above -stairs, and presently a man’s voice called: - -“Is that you, Michel? What’s the matter?” - -“Come down,” I called in response; but my voice startled him. - -“Who are you?” - -“Michel wants you. There is trouble. Come down;” but he would not. -Instead of coming he went away; and I heard the low murmur of voices as -he spoke with someone else. - -Lights shewed then, and I heard people moving about. But I did not want -the house to be lighted up, for fear of its attracting too much notice -outside; and I therefore called to my men to make haste with their -dressing. - -When they came I led the way upstairs to find the servants huddled -together looking very scared; the two men in front of them armed. At -the sight of so many of us in uniform they uttered cries of surprise -and alarm. - -“Put those guns down,” I said, in a tone of command. “We are too strong -for you to resist; and if you make any attempt, it will only lead to -trouble. Do as I say, and no harm will come to you.” - -The two men hesitated. “What do you want?” asked one of them. - -“Cover them,” I said, stepping to one side, and up went my men’s guns -to their shoulders. - -One of the women screamed and they all huddled back, while the men laid -their weapons on the ground with discreet speed. At a sign from me the -muskets were lowered. - -“Put out most of those lights,” I said next; and the order was obeyed -with a celerity that spoke volumes for the impression we had created. -“Where is your mistress, the Princess Gatrina?” - -“In her rooms, sir,” said one of the women servants. - -“Tell her to dress at once. She is to come with us. Impress upon her -that only her safety is being considered. Strange things are doing in -the city, and she cannot remain here. She must be ready to go with us -in five minutes.” - -The girl sped away up the broad stairs and I turned to Karasch to tell -him my plan. - -“The Princess will probably demand to see us; and as neither you nor I -can go to her without being recognised, two of these must go. Pick them -out.” - -He chose two, and I told them what to say. That we had been selected to -protect the Princess and take her to a place where she would be safe -until the trouble in the city had passed. - -The maid came back and her message was pretty much what I had -anticipated. - -“Her highness will see you in a minute, sir. She wishes to know from -whom you come; and declares she will not leave the house.” - -“Our orders are peremptory. In five minutes she must go with us,” I -replied, and she carried the message. - -While we waited for the reply I went into the room where I had once -before been, and saw that my fears as to the unguarded window were only -too well justified. I called Karasch’s attention to it. - -“If we have to remain in the house that window must be barricaded, -or we may as well throw open the front door,” I said; and we were -discussing it when I heard one of the maids say to the other servants -that the street in the front of the house was getting full of people. - -We went and looked out. It was only too true; and that it probably had -a very sinister meaning for us all I knew to my infinite concern. - -The city was indeed awaking to a knowledge of the dread doings of -the night of terror, and the crowd was beginning to gather here in -expectation that the house would become the scene of some stirring and -exciting act of the tragedy. - -I noticed with relief, however, that no troops were present. None had -been sent yet under the belief that Gatrina would be made prisoner by -the handful of men whose parts we were now playing. But how long this -belief would continue it was impossible to conjecture. - -Someone somewhere was waiting to receive the Princess from the hands of -the men; and when they did not arrive with her, the sands of patience -would be few and would soon run out, and a fresh guard sent to know the -reason. When they came, they would bring a heap of trouble with them; -unless I could hurry Gatrina from the house in time. - -The need for haste was thus imperative; and I fretted and worried at -the delay she made, all unconscious as she was of the peril it meant to -her and all. - -The instant the five minutes’ grace had expired, I sent the two men -upstairs to bring her down, despatching one of the scared maid-servants -to shew them her room. - -At that moment we heard sounds below and Chris growled and barked. -Karasch and I, followed by the two men, ran down instantly and found -trouble; one of the soldiers, carelessly bound, had wriggled out of his -cords and liberated a companion; and as we reached the bottom of the -stairs, the two were in the passage with the dog blocking the way to -the door and snarling fiercely. - -We rushed toward them, but they slipped into the room where Chris had -had the fight with the leader; and slamming the door in our faces, set -up a clatter loud enough to wake the dead. - -Karasch and I dashed ourselves against the door and as we strained to -force it, we heard the crash of glass. - -“The garden, Karasch,” I cried; and we unfastened the door and rushed -out. Chris darted out with a growl and in a moment had brought one of -the men to bay. The other fled toward the stable and we ran in pursuit -of him. But he was a quick, agile fellow, and using the little door at -the end as a means of escape, he sprang up it, mounted the wall and -disappeared--to carry the news of our doings heaven alone knew where. - -“Back to the house, Karasch. We must get away before that man can bring -help.” We took back his comrade, thrust him into a room, turned the key -upon him, and hurried again up the stairs. - -Matters were going against me in the house also; and I was beginning to -realise that I had grievously bungled matters in choosing such a method -to serve Gatrina. - -She had done precisely what, if I had not been a dolt, I might have -known a girl of her courage and resolution would do. She had used the -minutes of grace to barricade herself into the room. - -The men were waiting for me with the story. - -“She has fastened herself into her room, she and her maids, and we -could hear them piling things against the door to keep us out. We tried -to call your message through the door, but at first she wouldn’t -answer; and then she said she was quite safe where she was and would -yield to nothing but force. We didn’t like to force the door without -your orders.” - -I clenched my hands in impotent chagrin. Had we been the soldiers whose -part we were playing, there would have been little enough difficulty, -of course; and a few minutes would have sufficed to break a way in and -take her prisoner. - -But force was out of the question for me; and I felt like a flustered -fool as the infinitely precious moments slipped away one after another -bringing perilously nearer the troops who would come hurrying to the -house the instant the man who had escaped got his story to headquarters. - -To add to the strain of the situation, cries and calls began to be -heard from the crowd in the street. Presently a stone was flung through -one of the windows; and the crash of the glass sent a shiver of fear -through the clustered servants and was followed by a loud cheer from -the crowd and a cry of “Down with the Obrenovics!” - -“Shew me the Princess’s room,” I said, and followed by the men I ran -upstairs and knocked on the panel of the door. - -There was no answer. - -I knocked again. - -“For God’s sake open the door and come out,” I said, eagerly. - -Still there was no reply; and while we waited more stones were flung -and more windows broken, followed as before by the shouts and hoarse -cries of the mob. - -But not a sign would Gatrina make in response to my knocking and appeal. - -Every second was bringing the danger nearer--and it was growing to -a double peril now; for Karasch brought me word that the mob was -increasing fast in numbers and were growing so angry that it looked as -though they would attack the house. - -I clamoured again at the door and called out that there was imminent -danger; but either she did not hear my voice because of the clamour of -the people without, or hearing it, did not recognise the tone; and held -it to be a ruse of the soldiers to induce her to open the door. - -I felt just mad as I cursed my stupidity for having planned this -soldier business, which had thus driven Gatrina to regard these -desperate efforts of ours to save her as the violence of her enemies -bent upon her destruction. - -Meanwhile the temper of the populace without was rising so fast -that it seemed as if a few minutes would make escape from the house -impracticable for us all, even if more troops did not arrive. - -I hammered again at the door and called her in my loudest tones; I told -the servants of the peril in which she stood if we could not get her -away, and urged them to join with me in appealing to her to yield. But -it was all to no purpose. Not a word would she answer either to them or -to me. - -“Get me paper quickly,” I told them; and when one, a white-faced girl, -rushed away on the errand, I whistled up Chris and set him barking in -the hope that she would hear him and know by the sound who was there. - -Chris succeeded where I had failed. - -“What is that?” It was Gatrina’s voice; and hearing it the dog whined -and barked joyfully. - -“It is Chris,” I called. “We are here to save you. Open the door for -the love of God at once.” - -“Who is that speaking?” - -“It is I, Bourgwan,” I replied, my voice unsteady in my excitement. -“There is not a moment to lose.” - -“Where are the soldiers?” - -“I will explain all. For God’s sake come or it will be too late. Every -second is precious.” - -We heard them drag away something they had placed before the door; and -burning with impatience called again to them to make haste. - -At that moment a loud knocking came at the front door of the house; and -one of Karasch’s men came running to say that the soldiers were in the -street. - -“We daren’t stay to be caught in these uniforms. We shall be shot -off-hand at a time like this,” he said; and the others agreed. - -“You’ll be shot by me if you attempt to desert me now,” I answered -desperately. “Before anyone can get in, we shall be away. Stop them, -Karasch. In a few moments we shall all be away.” - -Again there came the loud knocking and clanging of the bell, followed -by the cries of the mob and another shower of stones at the house. - -Unable to hold their courage longer my men turned and ran down the -stairs helter-skelter. - -There was a moment’s calm without and in the silence the room door -unlocked and Gatrina came out. - -Not recognising me for an instant in the surprise at seeing my -officer’s uniform, and Karasch by me dressed also as a soldier, she -started back as if fearing treachery; but Chris rushed up to her and -disarmed her fear. - -“Would God you had come out before,” I cried. - -Before she could reply we heard the sound of a scuffle and two of the -men came running back. - -“We are too late. The soldiers are already in the house below,” cried -one, breathlessly. “We are as good as dead men.” - -Even Karasch changed colour at the news. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -CHRIS TO THE RESCUE. - - -It was the delay which had been fatal to the plan. The minutes during -which we had had to wait before Gatrina could be made to understand who -we were and what our object was had just turned the balance against us. - -“What dreadful thing has happened?” she asked. - -“I cannot spare a moment to explain. If you will play the part of being -my prisoner there is yet a chance of getting away.” - -“I am sorry,” she said, as her maid brought her a cloak and hat. - -“Silence there,” I cried in a loud voice. “Fall in. I am sorry my -duty is so unpleasant, your highness; but I can answer no questions. -Forward.” - -I led the way motioning to Karasch to walk at Gatrina’s side, with two -of the men in front and two bringing up the rear. The women thinking -the thing real began to weep. - -I had heard the soldiers coming up and they met us on the stairs. The -only chance was to put as bold a face as possible on the matter and -with as much show of authority as I could assume, I said: - -“Is the way from the house clear? I shall take the prisoner by the back -through the garden.” - -I had expected to be faced by some of the men we had fought with -earlier, but to my intense relief there were none but private soldiers -and one sergeant; and on seeing my captain’s uniform they stood aside -and saluted. - -“We have not been to the back of the house, captain,” replied the -sergeant. - -“Is Colonel Petrosch here yet?” I asked this as I thought the mention -of the name might impress him. - -“No, sir.” - -“Who’s in command of the soldiers in the front?” - -“Lieutenant Bulver, captain.” - -“Is he in sufficient force to control the mob?” - -“He has a strong body of troops, captain.” - -“What are you doing in the house?” I was curious to know whether the -escape of the soldiers had anything to do with it. - -“We were detailed to see if the arrest had yet been made, captain, and -to assist you if necessary.” - -I breathed a little more freely. - -“All I need is that the mob there be kept in the front of the house so -that I can get away with the prisoner quietly at the back. That side -street must be cleared of people. How did you get into the house?” - -“We forced a small door at the side, captain.” - -This accounted for his not knowing anything of what had gone on below -stairs in the basement. - -Then came the sound of more hooting and groaning from the front of the -house; and another volley of stones breaking more of the windows. This -in turn was followed by sharp words of command; and a knocking at the -front door. - -Keeping up my policy of bluff, I opened it myself. The officer was on -the step and started in surprise at seeing me. He was a pleasant-faced -young fellow, and taking me for a superior officer was disposed to -offer an apology. Bluff is an excellent policy while you can keep your -end up. - -“Oh, I thought only a sergeant was here,” he said. - -“I deemed it best to come myself,” I answered. “Can’t you keep the -crowd in order?” - -“They are very strong and inclined to violence. We’ve driven them back -for a bit; but I’ve sent for more men.” - -I knew they would be on hand sooner than he thought or I wished; but I -replied, seriously: “Very prudent. This sort of thing is not what we -want at all. The house was to be protected.” - -“We did not look for such a demonstration,” he said again, -apologetically. - -“Well, I have made the arrest, but I had more trouble than I -anticipated; there was a stout resistance. I wish to take the prisoner -away without exposing her to the mob. Let your men clear the side -street of people, and prevent anyone passing into it. I shall leave the -house by the garden through the stables.” - -“We are strong enough to protect her from the crowd.” - -“I prefer the other way, lieutenant. Be good enough to see my order -carried out,” I replied sharply. - -“I’ll have it done at once,” and he went away. - -“You had better help the lieutenant, sergeant; he will need all the men -he can have.” - -In this way I got rid of him and his men also, and I shut the door -again, with a fervent sigh of thankfulness that my imposture had not -been detected. I had caught the lieutenant eyeing me curiously more -than once during the short colloquy; but I concluded that he took me -for one of the officers who had been drafted in from the provincial -regiments for the grim work of that night. And probably my air and tone -of authority had stopped him from putting any questions which I should -have found exceedingly hard to answer. - -Whatever his reasons, I had succeeded in bluffing him, even at the very -moment when I had given up all as lost; and my hopes began to rise that -even in the teeth of all this force and despite the anger of the mob, -Gatrina would be saved. - -“We’ll make for the garden at once,” I said; and we passed through the -room with the French window opening on to the garden, and hurried to -the stables. - -As we passed we could hear the troops clearing the street amid the -expostulations and cries of the crowd, as they were swept on toward the -front. - -Until now Gatrina had not spoken to me, but we had to wait while the -way was cleared and we stood side by side and a little apart from the -rest. - -“You have run a terrible risk, Mr. Bergwyn,” she said. - -“I have been in no danger; and we shall get away all right.” - -“What has happened at the Palace?” - -“I don’t know. I got wind of this intended arrest of you and came here -in the hope of intercepting the soldiers. As I was on my way, a very -large body of troops, some hundreds of men, passed me marching on the -Palace; and afterwards I heard the sound of firing. But what occurred -after that I have no knowledge whatever.” - -She wrung her hands despairingly. - -“Do you think--oh, God, it is maddening.” - -“It is the work of the army. I know so much. And I hope they have done -no more than to force an abdication.” - -“You say that as if you feared--I know not what horrors.” - -“If we once get clear of this we shall find out what has occurred. But -we could do nothing if we wished. You have seen for yourself the temper -of the people. They have sided with the army.” - -“You mean the attack on my house?” - -“Yes. The city is mad to-night, and would do anything. The only thing -to think of now is your safety. Karasch, look over if we can go yet.” - -I was on fire with impatience to be away; but Karasch reported that the -street was not yet clear. - -“Is there no other way we could escape?” I asked Gatrina. - -She shook her head. “No, none,” she replied. - -“I dare not wait here, Karasch; we shall be caught in a trap;” and -opening the door in the stable gates I looked out; but only to shut it -again quickly as I caught my breath in dismay at what I saw. - -Another body of troops were coming towards us at the double, and by the -side of the officer in command ran a man in his shirt sleeves. It was -the soldier who had escaped from us. - -“We are too late,” I said, as calmly as I could speak. “There are more -troops, Karasch, and that man is guiding them. We must go back to the -house and try to get away from the front.” - -We hurried back through the garden, and before we reached the house the -newcomers were already clamouring at the stable gates. - -Dashing through the house I flung open the front door. - -But that way was impossible. The very orders I had given, to have the -crowd massed in the front of the house, had effectually barred the -chance of escape. They had been driven from the side street and were -now surging and swaying in a dense mass to the right of the house, too -vast a crowd for me to hope of pushing my way through them with the -handful of men I had. - -To go to the left meant only running into the arms of the fresh troops; -certain capture. - -I called Karasch and pointed to the hopelessness of the attempt. - -“We can do nothing. You and the men must get away.” - -“And you?” he asked. - -“I shall stay with the Princess.” - -“Then I stay too, with you,” he said sturdily. - -“No, you can do better. You can save us both. You and the others. You -can pretend to carry a message from me to the lieutenant--that I want -to speak to him; and then lose yourselves among the soldiers or in the -crowd. Get away as fast as you can, and search high and low to find -Colonel Petrosch. Don’t forget the name, and find him at any hazard. -Tell him that my life is in danger and that he must come here if it is -not to be lost. If he questions you, tell him plainly all I have done. -Now go.” - -“I don’t like leaving you,” he insisted. - -“For God’s sake, man, don’t be a fool. It’s the only way out of the -tightest fix I was ever in. You must reach him before he hears the news -these others are bringing. Go;” and I half pushed him out of the house. - -The rest were only too eager to be off, and I watched breathlessly as -Karasch crossed the cleared space, spoke to the lieutenant, who looked -over at me and after hesitating, walked toward me. - -As he came, I saw Karasch and his men move back to the soldiers, push -through the ranks, and disappear in the crowd behind them. - -“What have you done?” asked Gatrina. - -“I have sent for someone who may get us out of the mess I have been -clever enough to get us into. I don’t know what’s going to happen -first.” - -The lieutenant entered the house then. - -“You wish to speak to me, captain?” he asked. - -“It’s just as well to you as to another. I’m only masquerading in this -uniform. I am not an officer at all.” - -He stared at me openmouthed in sheer amazement. - -“No officer?” he stammered. “I don’t understand.” - -“You soon will. There are those coming who will make it all plain to -you. But having misled you purposely, I wished to tell you; that’s -all.” I spoke as coolly as though I had been announcing a mere business -fact. - -“The soldiers who were with you?” he asked then, glancing round as if -in search of them. - -“They are gone,” I told him. - -Then we heard a noise in the basement. Loud voices, the tramp of many -feet, and a rush up the stairs. - -“We’ll wait for them here,” I said to Gatrina, pointing to a room at -the back of the house; and we all three went into it, Chris keeping -close by her side. - -“You are my prisoner, sir,” said the lieutenant. - -“I shall offer no resistance,” I replied, making it sound as much like -a concession on my part as I could. - -I put a chair for Gatrina and she sat down, while I stood beside her. - -The next minute the soldiers came crowding into the room with the -sergeant and men whose uniforms we had taken in their midst. They -were all talking at once and gesticulating at once angrily, making a -sort of Babel of tongues, in which fierce denunciations of me were -disquietingly loud and conspicuous. - -The officer in charge of the newcomers exchanged a few words with the -lieutenant, describing excitedly the heinous deed of which I had been -guilty. I disliked the look of him intensely--a heavy, red-haired -bully of a man, and when he addressed me he did so in a hectoring tone -difficult to hear without anger. - -“So we’ve arrived in time to take you red-handed, my fine fellow, eh?” - -“Red-handed? In doing what?” I asked, meeting his beetle-browed stare -firmly. - -“Don’t try to bluster with me. I’m the wrong man,” he cried, hotly. “It -won’t pay you, I promise you.” - -“He was one of them, captain. I’ll swear to him. And that’s the dog -that flew at me,” said the sergeant. - -“Take the beast out and shoot it,” ordered the captain, brutally. - -Chris was in no immediate danger of that fate, however. Two of the -soldiers went toward him but he shewed his great fangs and looked so -dangerous, that they stopped and stepped back; and no other volunteers -offered for the job. - -Angered at this the captain himself drew a revolver and pointed it at -the dog, but I checkmated this by calling Chris round behind me. - -“Don’t you dare to interfere with my orders,” cried the bully, -furiously. - -I answered this by putting myself right in the line of fire. “I will -not have the dog shot in this way.” - -“The dog is in my house and under my protection,” exclaimed Gatrina. - -“You are my prisoners, both of you; and as for you,” he said, with a -coarse sneer to Gatrina, “your day is done, and your protection will -avail nothing. You’ll find that out soon enough.” But he put up his -revolver; and as we had gained the point, it wasn’t policy to anger him -further with the hot remonstrance that rose to my lips. - -“Did this man give you his name?” he asked the lieutenant, who shook -his head and shrugged his shoulders. I think he was more than a little -ashamed of his superior’s manner. “What’s your name, prisoner?” -demanded the captain next. - -“I am perfectly willing to explain everything I have done; but I should -prefer to do so before a smaller audience.” - -“I daresay you would, but you’re not in a position to choose. I settle -that. Now answer my questions and don’t try to lie to me.” - -The colour leapt to my face at this. “There is no need to insult me, -captain. It will neither hurt my case, nor help yours.” - -“By God, if you don’t answer me at once I’ll have you marched down into -the garden there and shot for a traitor and a cur.” - -I couldn’t take that. It made me mad. Clipping my words short I -answered, deliberately: - -“I think that would be the better plan, then. It will at least free me -from the presence of a cad and a bully; and the lieutenant there will, -I am sure, have the courage and justice to tell the truth of your act.” - -He swore a deep oath, beside himself with rage. - -“Seize him,” he shouted. “By God, seize him, and take him out and shoot -him.” - -I was seized by three soldiers. - -“Lieutenant, you will tell Colonel Petrosch how I, his personal friend, -have been condemned without a hearing.” - -“Away with him,” shouted the captain, stamping with rage. The men began -to lead me away. - -“This is murder, and shall not be done,” cried Gatrina, jumping to her -feet. - -“Silence, woman,” exclaimed the bully. “Your doom is near, too.” - -“I will not be silent while murder is being done. I call upon all of -you to stop this murder. You, sir,” turning to the lieutenant. “You -will not----” - -The captain, like a maniac in his fury at this interruption, drew his -sword and shouting out a vile epithet, rushed at Gatrina, intending, I -believe, to strike her down. - -But Chris, whose ominous growl at my treatment I had had to pacify, -went almost as mad at this as the bully himself and with a savage growl -launched himself right at the captain’s throat, bore him to the ground, -and pinned him down, despite the blows and kicks which the soldiers -rained upon him. - -“Loose him, Chris,” I cried, fearing the man would be killed; and at my -voice he obeyed. Then, as he was looking up to me, one of the soldiers -who had picked up the captain’s sword slashed at the dog’s leg and -when he dropped, the brute thrust the blade between his ribs. - -With a cry of rage I broke from the men who held me and rushed to -Chris, but Gatrina was before me. - -“You coward!” she cried to the soldier, who stood half gloating, half -dismayed at his act; and the next moment my fist crashed into his face, -knocking him sprawling among his comrades. - -As I bent over my gallant dog, my heart full of sadness and pity for -him, I was seized again by the men, and such a scene of confusion and -riot followed as baffles description. - -They beat me, of course, and I was dragged back and held panting, -struggling, straining, breathing out impotent threats, and cursing all -who had had a hand in the cruel work, as I strove vainly to get again -to the spot where Gatrina, white-faced and pitying, knelt by the dear -dog, who had so valiantly given his life to save her. - -Another group had the bully of a captain for its centre. He was getting -up, all bloody about the throat where Chris had fastened on him, and -madder than ever with rage, gasped out a repetition of his orders to -have Gatrina seized and me taken away and shot. - -Still fighting with the men about me I was being lugged and hustled and -thrust out of the room, oblivious to everything but my insensate rage, -and they had got me to the door when two officers entered the house. - -“What is this riot?” cried one in a loud, stern tone; and the men -about me started instantly at the voice and I felt their grip on me to -relax. - -“It is murder; nothing else,” I shouted; and taking advantage of my -captors’ surprise, I broke from them and rushed back into the room to -Gatrina and my poor Chris. - -“Is he dead?” I asked her. - -She looked up and I read the truth by the tears in her eyes. - -“Poor, faithful Chris,” she murmured, with a deep sigh, as her hand -gently caressed the great head. - -I could not speak. I had loved the dog so well--and never better than -in the manner of his death. I bent over him for a moment with a feeling -of irreparable loss, as at the death of a friend. - -“He gave his life for me, Bourgwan. Poor old comrade,” murmured Gatrina -using, unconsciously I think, the old term. - -In that moment the tie of our common sorrow for the dog’s death brought -us as close together as even in those past days in the hills. - -I made no reply. I could not. I was tongue-tied by the hampering rush -of mingled emotions. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -MY DEFENCE. - - -The grip of a hand on my shoulder roused me from my reverie. A couple -of soldiers stood one on either side of me; and as I turned I saw the -red brute of a captain being supported out of the room. The officer who -had arrived last had taken command and was sitting at a table with the -lieutenant standing at his side. With much relief I recognised him at -once. He was a Major Kireef whom I had met at the Palace reception. - -I was placed in front of him, and two or three of the soldiers took up -positions by Gatrina. As the major held my fate and perhaps my life -in his hands, I scrutinised him closely. He was a man between forty -and fifty years of age; his face strong but not harsh; his manner -peremptory as of one accustomed to exact prompt obedience; but he gave -me the impression that he would deal justly even if sternly. A vastly -different type of man from the red-headed, passionate beast whose place -he had taken. And I was heartily thankful for the exchange. - -He glanced sharply at me and with a slight start turned to some notes -he had made of what the others had told him. I guessed that he had some -recollection of my features and was probably looking for my name. - -“You are Major Kireef, I think?” I said, while his eyes were still on -the papers. He looked up quickly and frowned. - -“You are not to question me,” he rapped out, very curtly. Then: “I see -no mention of your name here. What is it?” - -“The man who has just left was going to have me shot without troubling -to find out,” I replied, getting that fact out as soon as I could. - -“Be good enough to remember you are a prisoner, and that you will not -help your case by either evading my questions or attempting to bring -charges against others. Now, your name?” - -“Chase F. Bergwyn, a citizen of the United States.” - -He dropped his pen in surprise and half started to his feet. - -“Mr. Bergwyn?” he exclaimed. “It is not possible.” - -“If you can send a message to Colonel Petrosch he will confirm what -I say, major. I met you at the Reception at the Palace just after my -arrival in Belgrade. You may remember me.” - -I had every cause to be satisfied with the effect of my words. He -paused a moment as if in doubt what to do, and then waved back the -soldiers who stood by me. - -“Have the room cleared,” he said to the lieutenant. “Put a chair for -Mr. Bergwyn there.” I moved my chair near to Gatrina and while the room -was cleared, he busied himself with his notes. - -“Shall I remain, major?” asked the lieutenant, when the men had gone. - -“Yes, for the present;” and the young officer went back to his place, -having to step over poor old Chris, whose body, now that the place was -empty, lay in full view, a conspicuous, ghastly evidence of the wild -scene just ended. - -“There must surely have been some unaccountable mistake, Mr. Bergwyn?” -he said, interrogatively and courteously when we four were alone; -“judging, that is, by the extraordinary story which has been told to -me. I invite you to explain.” - -“I asked the captain who has been hurt to allow me to do so privately; -but he declined. Let me thank you for having cleared the room. There -is a further favour you can do me, and a much more important one. Let -someone go at once in search of Colonel Petrosch. I won’t disguise -from you I have placed myself in a very awkward position, and as he -and I have had some very confidential relations--you may perhaps know -that--it is of vital importance I should have his assistance.” - -“This matter is in my hands, and I must investigate the facts before -taking any other action. The charges against you are very grave--if you -are indeed the person implicated.” - -“If you will put any questions I will answer them,” I said, -disappointed by his refusal of my request. - -“You have represented yourself as an officer of the Servian army?” - -“Yes.” - -“You, with others who appear to have escaped, violently ill-treated the -guard who were sent here to arrest this lady--Princess Gatrina?” - -“It may pass at that; although the ill-treatment was not very violent.” - -“You set your dog on one of them?” - -“The man was going to arrest me, and I would not permit that. But he -was not hurt.” - -“You then forcibly took from five of the men their uniforms that your -men might wear them as a disguise and personate troops of the line.” - -“Yes, that is true.” - -His eyebrows went up and he pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders. -Very ominous gestures. - -“Who were the men with you?” - -“That I cannot answer. The responsibility is mine and mine only. They -were men whom I paid to assist me.” - -“That is a very grave admission, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“I am quite aware of it. It’s a very tight corner, indeed.” - -“Was anyone cognisant of your plans?” - -“No one.” - -“This lady?” - -“No, certainly not.” - -“You are wearing a captain’s uniform. How did you get it?” - -“I borrowed it without leave--stole it, perhaps I ought to say; except -that I shall return it to the owner.” - -“Who is the owner?” - -“That I cannot answer.” - -“Yet you say no one--not even the owner of the uniform--was in league -with you?” - -“Not even the owner of this uniform.” - -He appeared to find this difficult to believe; and it began to look as -if I had done Nikolitch a bad turn. - -“It is very extraordinary.” - -“I have told you the truth, major. I give you my word of honour as an -American citizen.” - -“Now then as to your object. What was that?” - -“I wished to prevent the Princess Gatrina being arrested by the army, -and to place her in safety until the passions of this night’s doings -in the city had cooled sufficiently for the officers to have time to -consider their course in regard to her.” - -“I am loath to take that answer, Mr. Bergwyn--it only makes your case -worse.” - -“I can’t help that, major. It is the truth.” - -“You interfered deliberately to oppose the plans of the army?” - -“I interfered to prevent at least one deed of blood being done in the -frenzy of to-night’s passion.” - -“Who are you to set yourself against the army, sir?” he retorted very -sternly. - -“The English blood in my veins and my instincts as an American citizen -alike revolt against the insensate violence of such an act as that -intended, and I used such means as I had to prevent it. I staked my -life on the issue; and if the army choose to claim the forfeit, I will -pay it.” - -“Why do you say such an act was intended?” - -“The answer is supplied in what has occurred to-night at the Palace, -Major Kireef. That I could not prevent, although, God knows, I would -have done so had I had the power.” - -Gatrina, who had been listening breathlessly to all this, intervened -then. “What has occurred at the Palace?” she asked strenuously. “Surely -no violence.” - -“The King and Queen have come in conflict with the troops, and their -Majesties have lost their lives in consequence.” The answer was given -with cold deliberation; and I took it for the official version of -Elma’s one word prophecy--assassination. - -Gatrina was overcome by the news and threw herself back in her seat, -her face covered by her hands. - -“Are they the only lives that have been--lost?” I asked. - -“I cannot answer you, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“Perhaps not; but you can at any rate see in my question the reason for -all I have done to-night--even if to you it does not appear to be a -justification.” - -“The arrest of the Princess will of course take place,” he answered, -“and you, Mr. Bergwyn, will have to answer to the army for what you -have done.” - -“I am ready to face the band; but I am not the only one who will have -to do that. That red-headed murderer who was here just now----” - -“I cannot hear this,” he interposed. - -“It’s part of my case, if you please,” said I, warmly. “He not only -told the Princess, like the coward he is, that she was to die, but he -himself drew his sword upon her. Then it was that my dog there flew at -him--and I only wish he had torn his cowardly life out of him.” - -“You may have an opportunity of defence.” - -“‘May have,’” I cried, indignantly. “You are talking to an American -citizen, sir, and you’ll find out how that Government views the acts -of her people when they try to prevent innocent blood being shed, even -if the acts themselves are wrong. I demand, right now, to have the -protection of my country’s representative.” - -“Your crime has been committed against the army, sir,” he said, coldly. - -“Crime? Crime you call it?” I answered, passionately. “Crime? To tie -up half a dozen men in order to prevent a real crime, murder, being -committed? If mine is the crime, all I can say is I am guilty of it, -and would be guilty of it a hundred times over.” - -“This heat will serve no purpose, Mr. Bergwyn,” said the major, after a -pause. - -“You’re right there; we’ll have no more of it. I’ll tell you how the -thing arose--for I’ve nothing to conceal;” and I told him plainly how -I had overheard the talk between the spy from Gatrina’s house and just -what I had done afterwards. - -“And now, if you’ll send out in search of Colonel Petrosch, it will -save much time, anxiety and trouble for all concerned.” - -“I must consider my course. I am not answerable to Colonel Petrosch -alone, I fear. The Princess must be prepared to go with my men.” - -“I will go,” declared Gatrina, with instant readiness. - -“The Princess is already under arrest, Major Kireef. She is at your -disposal here just as much as anywhere else. Why can she not remain -until Colonel Petrosch comes? I have his word of honour that he will do -everything in his power to protect her.” - -“I have my duty to do, Mr. Bergwyn.” - -“I am sure it cannot be your conception of duty to place her where she -will be in danger of her life. It is but a matter of an hour or two. -You are in possession of the house. No attempt will be made by her, I -am sure, any more than by me, to escape; and if it were made, you are -in such force here that it would be impossible. Let her remain here -until at least Colonel Petrosch arrives.” - -He shook his head. “My instructions are definite.” - -“Well, I’ll give you another reason. You know, perhaps, the general -nature of the matters which have been discussed between Colonel -Petrosch and myself. The result of them may depend upon your decision -now. The Colonel would confirm this.” - -He thought a moment. “I should like to do as you wish. Will you give me -your word of honour to attempt no escape?” - -“Certainly, I will. If I’m to get out of this mess, it will be by very -different means, I assure you.” - -He considered again for a space, and then rose. “I accept your word, -Mr. Bergwyn, and will leave you while I send for Colonel Petrosch, and -consider what else to do.” - -I gave a deep sigh of relief when he left the room. I had pulled -through the first stage; and that was something. I glanced at Gatrina’s -face, ashen, horror-filled, and drawn with trouble and suffering. I -could not bear to witness it, so I turned away and stared blankly out -of the window into the darkness, now changing rapidly to the grey of -the dawn. - -For a long time not a word was spoken. Her agony of mind was far beyond -words; and nothing that I could do or say could relieve it. - -She was not thinking of herself, I knew. All thought of self, even the -uncertainty of her own fate involving as it did the issue of life and -death, was lost in the numbing, staggering blow dealt by the news of -the Queen’s murder. - -Now and again a moaning sigh burst from her lips and told me how -acute was her agony. Twice I turned to make some clumsy attempt at -consolation; but each time the look her face bore stopped the words on -my lips, and I turned back to watch the light without strengthening -slowly as the time crept on. - -I had one consoling thought. The longer the interval between the fell -occurrences at the Palace and the coming of the soldiers for Gatrina, -the stronger grew the hope that she might escape the fate which had -been decreed for her. - -That thought led me slowly to another--the necessity of having -a definite proposal to make as to Gatrina’s future movements. I -remembered what Colonel Petrosch had said as to the wish of the army -that she would go from Belgrade. - -Now that the King was dead, the question of the succession had become -acute. Gatrina’s presence in the city might be a greater embarrassment -than before in the settlement of that question. I recalled, too, Elma’s -statement of the Russian scheme in this respect. Even those who, like -that brute of a captain, had resolved to cut the knot of the difficulty -with a sword blade, might be glad to be relieved of her presence. - -Foul, dastardly, inhuman even, as was the policy of assassination, it -was yet founded upon a sort of crude, barbarous logic. The resolve -to exterminate the dynasty was the murderous major premise; and the -relentless and hideous resolve to put to death all who, by claims of -family, stood in the way, followed as a ruthless consequence. - -That was Gatrina’s danger. But if she would consent to abrogate her -claims and could be prevailed upon to leave the city at once, there -was the chance that she might even yet be spared. Colonel Petrosch -had avowed his desire to spare her; and if he could be assured that -she would offer no opposition to the army, his hands would be greatly -strengthened. - -I might at least use the fact to induce him to allow nothing to be done -that night; and the delay of a few hours might mean everything. I had -calculated throughout that when the wild passions of all concerned in -the night of horror had had time to abate, the craving for blood even -of the most reckless of the reckless would cease. A reaction against -further violence would be almost certain to follow, and counsels of -sanity, reason and prudence would prevail once more. - -The light of day and the hours of reflection would thus bring hope, -and I watched the light increase with unspeakable thankfulness. But -question Gatrina I must, and at length I went back to my seat and -turned to her. - -“We must speak about yourself,” I said. - -In her absorption and suffering she had not noticed my movement, and -started nervously at the sound of my voice; but said nothing. - -“Your danger is not yet passed,” I continued; “and when the officers -return we must have something definite to say about yourself.” - -“I care nothing for myself,” she murmured, desolately. - -“Your life is in danger, and you must care,” I said, firmly. I must -rouse her by some means. - -“If they covet my life, let them take it--after this.” - -“I will not let you say that. You are speaking now under the influence -of these horrors, and from the feelings of desperation which they -naturally prompt. But you must think of yourself, and you shall. You -have no right to throw your life away because things have been done -which you were powerless to prevent.” - -“Do you think I fear death? If they covet my life, let them take it,” -she repeated. - -“The sacrifice of your life can do no good to those who are already -dead, Princess. It is only cowardly to feel this indifference.” - -“I would rather be a coward and die than beg my life at the hands of -these murderers. I will hear no more.” - -She spoke with more animation than before: and so long as I could rouse -her from the stupor of her grief and horror, I knew I was doing good. -If she could be provoked to anger, so much the better. I cared not what -I said. - -“You cannot avoid hearing me, and I am resolved to speak,” I continued, -deliberately. “And you owe it to me to listen carefully.” - -The curl of her lip shewed that she thought this about as mean as it -sounded. But she did not reply. - -“You must have heard me, and if you are not a coward of another kind, -you will reply.” I felt an awful brute as I said this; but it had its -effect. She started up, clasping the arms of her chair and leaning -forward, looked at me with amazement, anger and bitterness. But I went -on doggedly: “Not your life only but mine also is in the balance, and I -have the right to expect you to make an effort.” - -“The right?” The words came like a flash of contempt. - -“Yes, a double right,” I said, in the same stubborn tone, intending to -anger her. “I saved your life in the Gravenje hills and I came here now -to save you again.” - -“My God, I did not think a man could be found to speak thus at such -a time,” she cried. She was angry enough now even to forget for the -moment her grief. - -“You are angry because I remind you of this, and consequently do me the -injustice of such a taunt.” - -“I heard your words, sir,” she cried. - -“But you didn’t understand them. I spoke as I did to rouse your anger -and make you think of other things beside your trouble, and having -gained that end, we’ll go back to where we began to speak of yourself.” - -“How could you? How dared you?” she wailed, sinking back in her seat -again. - -“I would do anything and dare anything to make you think of -yourself--even let you deem me as mean a hound as my words implied. You -must face this thing resolutely. I have one thought that may give us -hope.” - -“I cannot think or speak of anything now. I--I am sorry for my words -just now.” - -“They don’t matter any. If you had thought or said anything less, you -wouldn’t have been yourself, and I should have been disappointed in -you. Now, there’s one thing that may help us. Let me be able to tell -Colonel Petrosch when he comes that you renounce all claims to the -succession and consent to leave Belgrade before nightfall.” - -“Would you have me run away in the hour of danger from a crowd of -dastardly assassins?” - -“I would have you recognise facts as they are--that the army have the -upper hand, for the time at any rate, and that they are resolved no -member of your family shall sit on the throne of this country. I would -have you save your life, Princess, by the only means that I believe it -can be saved.” - -“No,” she cried, vehemently. “No one shall ever say I ran away. That -I----” - -“Wait,” I interposed. “Don’t take an oath about it. An oath is an -awkward thing to break; but a resolve one can argue against.” - -“Nothing shall persuade me to be such a coward.” - -“Well, let us argue it out,” I answered. - -But there was to be no chance of doing that; for as I was speaking -Colonel Petrosch and the Major entered the room. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -“I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.” - - -The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark deep on Colonel -Petrosch, and I shall not readily forget the look of high-wrought -strain which his face wore. All the lines had deepened; the eyes shone -with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were sunken, and the face skin -had that dead steely colour which comes after hours of fierce and -passionate tension. - -He looked as though he had lived ten years in as many hours, and knew -himself to be still confronted by uncontrollable dangers full of the -menace of utter ruin and incalculable disaster. - -Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s faces. Once in the case -of a reckless Westerner who, in the teeth of warning, started a -forest fire only to see it spread with fierce violence down upon his -own homestead, menacing his wife and children and all he had in the -world, and barring the path of rescue with a wall of impassable flame. -The other was a millionaire who, in a desperate plunge to double his -millions, was caught by the market, and had to look on helplessly while -he and his friends were beggared in a day. - -And I read Petrosch’s look now to mean that he had helped to set in -motion this wild revolt and was shocked by the violence already done -and appalled by the prospect of what might yet have to follow. - -I was glad to find it so. He might prove to be in a better mood to -judge on its merits the effort I had made to save Gatrina. There had -been enough horrors already to glut his anger; and he looked to the -future with apprehension genuine enough to render him willing to -prevent the commission of more. - -He greeted Gatrina and me very formally, as he and Major Kireef took -their seats at the table. - -“You have incurred a fearful responsibility, Mr. Bergwyn,” he began. -“Major Kireef has told me the facts. You have taken an unwarrantable -course in attempting to thwart the army’s purpose, and have used means -which are inexcusable.” - -“They were the only means I could find to use.” - -“You have compromised yourself and all with you; you have opposed the -soldiers when carrying out the army’s orders, and have subjected them -to gross ill-treatment, in order that you might obtain disguises for -your purpose. And in doing this, you have committed acts for which you -must have known you would have to answer. I can see neither excuse nor -palliation for such conduct.” - -I made no reply to that tirade. I judged that he had not taken the -trouble to come at such a time merely to lecture me on the heinousness -of my conduct; and as I cared nothing for what he said, and only for -what he meant to do, I let him talk. - -“You yourself see there is no answer,” he continued; and went on to -condemn at considerable length with much detail the enormity of my -offences, until I began to be perplexed as to his motive. He couldn’t -have made the thing worse had he been going to order my instant -execution. - -I guessed at length, however, that his real object was to make me -appreciate the extreme difficulty of the task I had set him to get me -out of the mess. But the harangue had a very different effect upon -Gatrina. The blacker he made my conduct appear and the more vividly -he painted the danger in which I stood, the greater was her manifest -agitation; and when he declared with very stern and significant -deliberation that at such times men had lost their lives who had done -less than I, I resolved to try and stop him. - -“It will save time, Colonel Petrosch, if you are going to order me -to be shot, to have it done at once,” I said. “I am not in the least -ashamed of a single thing I have done, except that I blundered and -failed.” - -“Do I understand you to mean, Mr. Bergwyn,” he cried, very sternly, -“that you would have me report to my colleagues that in the face of all -I have said you take pride in having set their authority at defiance?” - -A hot retort rose to my lips, but just before it passed, I caught his -meaning and paused to consider my reply. - -“No, I don’t mean that. I recognise their authority fully. In so far -as my actions have involved an apparent defiance of that authority, I -must, of course, regret them.” - -“It would be impossible for the army to take any but the sternest view -of such acts, when committed by one who is avowedly their enemy.” - -“You know better than anyone in Belgrade whether I am to be classed as -an enemy, Colonel. I am quite prepared to recognise their authority in -the country; although feeling nothing but the strongest aversion from -the hopeless deeds by which it has been enforced.” - -“These are no concerns of yours, sir.” - -“Except as they are the concerns of humanity. I do not set up to be -the judge of their acts: the world will do that. I am a stranger -and a foreigner, and speak as one; no more. God send that the after -consequences may prove in some sort the justification for what has been -done.” - -“That is the prayer of us all,” he answered, very solemnly, speaking -out of that secret fear which possessed him. - -A pause followed which Gatrina broke to ask: “Has any blood been shed -beside that of the King and Queen, Colonel Petrosch?” - -“Madam, I cannot speak of these matters with you,” he replied, -brusquely. “I came for other purposes--one of them to find a way if I -can to place you out of--of the reach of harm.” His hesitation over the -last phrase was significant; but the declaration gave me intense and -unbounded satisfaction. - -“I will deal with your case first, Mr. Bergwyn. May I take it that -you regret your defiance of the army, and are prepared now to submit -yourself unconditionally to their authority?” - -“Unconditionally? What does that mean?” - -“That you will not again attempt to dispute it.” - -“I am prepared to express my regret and to recognise their authority.” - -“That is the same thing,” he said. It was not, of course, but I -concluded he needed some kind of assurance from me; and when I had -given it, he conferred in an undertone with Major Kireef. Then he rose. -“I must speak with you in private, Mr. Bergwyn;” and he led me to -another room. - -As soon as we were alone he took my hand and wrung it. - -“You have caused a great deal of trouble, but personally I thank you -for what you have done. I believe you have saved the Princess’s life; -and God knows there have been too many taken.” - -“What has occurred?” - -“The King and Queen are dead; the Queen’s brothers have been shot; -several of the members of the Government have also fallen; and the -Princess was to have shared the same fate, because of her succession -claims. But it may be possible to save her now.” - -“Possible only?” - -“I used the term advisedly--possible. It must depend upon the course of -events to-day. Why did you not prevail upon her to leave the country or -at least seek some place of safety?” - -“You forget. You told me nothing of the imminence of these horrors.” - -“When I saw you I did not know myself. I helped to raise the storm, -but when once it broke it was ungovernable.” - -“What will happen to-day?” - -“Who can tell? The army holds the power; and we believe from what we -have already seen that the people will stand behind us to a man. The -city has already broken out into rejoicings, and the soldiers are -cheered everywhere. But a mob is as fickle as a summer breeze; and if -a change comes over them, nothing can save a conflict which may deluge -the city, aye, the whole country with blood. I am dazed when I think of -it.” - -“And the Princess?” - -“I would not answer even for your safety, Mr. Bergwyn; nor even for my -own; to say nothing of hers. But I hope all will be well. The leaders -of the army have had their fill of horrors; and if the day finds the -people supporting them, this night will have seen the last of these -measures of despair. God give that it may be so,” he cried with -impressive earnestness. - -“Let us get to details,” I said after a pause. I was terribly anxious -again. “What do you advise?” - -“That you leave Belgrade at once for a time. Let me carry an expression -of your regret back with me, and a pledge that the matter of the loan -will be considered as soon as the new Government is established. You -have acted in a way that, had you been other than you are, the army -would never have forgiven; but when once the present fever is past, -there is no one who would think of dealing harshly with the man who can -render the assistance you can. But much must depend on what happens -later to-day when the facts about the night’s doings at the Palace are -published. Therefore I say, go for the time.” - -“And the men who were with me?” - -“Are they known?” - -“I think not. They were not arrested.” - -“Then no inquiries will be made; but it would be safer for them also to -leave for a time.” - -“And now the great question--the Princess?” - -He paused and looked at me. “Would she leave with you?” - -“Would she be allowed to leave?” - -“She would be allowed to escape,” he answered. “If she remains, she -will be placed in confinement; and if the army’s plans go right, she -will be sent out of the country. The Queen’s sisters have been placed -in similar confinement; and they too will be liberated and exiled -unless trouble comes. If that happens, the Princess would be again in -imminent peril. She would be a menace to the only real solution of the -crisis--the change of dynasty. And the army have given stern enough -proofs of its resolve in that matter. It has already decided upon the -future King--Peter Karageorgevics.” - -“Can I speak to her alone?” - -“Yes! tell her what I have just said; and if you have any influence -with her use every shred of it to prevail upon her to go. You will be -doing not only her a service but the country also. I will return in an -hour or so to learn the result.” - -“If she refuses to go?” - -He threw up his hands. “There will be only one course open.” - -“Arrest?” - -“Arrest, yes; with all its possibilities.” - -I went back then to Gatrina, and her eyes fastened upon my face -instantly, full of apprehensive questioning anxiety. I looked probably -as grave as I felt; the Colonel’s last words having made me fully alive -to the vital issues which depended upon the coming interview; and her -anxiety deepened into fear as I took my seat without speaking. - -An orderly came in almost directly with a message for the major, who -went out, and then we two were alone again. - -“About yourself?” asked Gatrina, eagerly, as the door closed behind -them. - -“I have no longer anything to fear. All that the Colonel said was for -the other man’s benefit, I think. I am free to leave Belgrade when I -will; and indeed he urged me to do so at once.” - -“I am glad--so glad,” she answered, with a wan smile and a sigh of -relief. “He succeeded in frightening me. I did not realise before he -spoke so, all you risked in this. I have been thinking while you were -with him, and I see it now.” - -“I don’t think there was ever any real risk of trouble. I had his -promise from the outset to do all he could for me; and of course there -were other reasons.” - -“No risk, you say, after the conduct of that awful man whom poor old -Chris attacked?” - -“Ah, poor old dog. How we shall miss him. Yet he could not have given -his life for a better cause. If we ever come back to Belgrade, I’ll -have a reckoning with that bully.” - -She noticed that “we.” She glanced sharply at me, and appeared as if to -be going to speak of it, but stopped. “What has occurred at the Palace?” - -“The news is about as black as it can be;” and I told her all that -Petrosch had said to me. I was relieved to see that although she was -deeply and indeed intensely affected, her grief was less poignant than -before. Finding this, I dwelt with emphasis upon the position of the -Queen’s sisters; until she understood my purpose. - -“You are speaking of what you think will be my lot,” she said. - -“Yes. I don’t wish to alarm you, but I know that that is what will be -done--with this difference: that if the opposition to the army takes -any active form, your danger will be greater even than theirs.” - -“I am not afraid.” - -“No one thinks that; and I should be the last to think it.” - -“It is my duty to remain at whatever risk.” She was very firm, very -dignified, very much the Princess as she said this. - -“Do you wish the Throne?” - -“Do you mean am I ambitious to rule? No, no, a thousand times no. I am -not fit for it. I am more a woman than a Princess; but I cannot think -of myself.” - -“If you could think of yourself what would you do?” - -“Why put idle questions?” - -“Is it altogether idle? As a woman, you are barred from the succession -by yourself. Even if your claims were admitted, you would have to marry -someone who as your husband would be accepted by the nation as King; -but he, not you, would be the ruler--even if the army were not bent -upon changing the dynasty and had not already chosen their King.” - -“Is that so?” - -“Yes, Colonel Petrosch has told me;” and I repeated the message he had -authorised me to deliver. - -“He told you to tell me that?” - -“Yes, expressly and authoritatively.” - -“Why?” - -“I think that you should see quite clearly the wisdom of adopting the -course which will help the army leaders and so serve the country.” - -“You mean that I should play coward and run away. He set you to tempt -me?” - -“Is it a temptation?” - -She thought earnestly and then exclaimed; “I cannot go. I cannot.” - -It was not now “I will not;” and I was glad to note the difference. - -“If you could think of yourself what would you do?” I asked again. - -“I answer as I did just now--why put that idle question to me?” - -I paused and then plunged. - -“Because--I love you, Gatrina.” - -“No, no, no; any answer but that; give any reason but that,” she -cried, as the red flushed into her cheeks till they flamed, and she -sank back in her seat and hid them from me with her trembling hands. - -I knelt by her side. - -“It is the truth, Gatrina; why should I not say it? Once before our -hearts spoke. You remember that day on the hill at Samac. We knew it -then; what need to hide it now? It is all in all to me. What is it to -you?” - -“No, no, no,” she murmured hurriedly. She was trembling violently. “It -is impossible. It is impossible. I told you then.” - -“That is just what it is not now, whatever it may have seemed then. It -is true I am only a----” - -“Hsh!” Just a whisper and a hand laid impulsively upon mine, and a -glance of reproach from tender, loving eyes. - -I closed my hand on hers and held it. - -“Well, only Bourgwan then,” I said, and she smiled. “If you could think -for yourself....” I began again. - -“No,” she whispered. “Don’t tempt me. You make it so hard for me.” - -“It must be as you decide,” I pleaded. “But the world holds no other -woman for me than you.” - -At that she started, drew her hand away quickly, and bit her lip. “I -had forgotten,” she murmured. - -I read her thought. It was of Elma’s lie. “In that you did me grave -wrong. I had no thought but for you in coming here; and none in -staying. You might have trusted me after that day at Samac.” - -“I did not mistrust you. I thought only of your----” she hesitated in -sudden embarrassment. - -“Let all be clear now between us, Gatrina. We may never meet again or -we may never part again--as you decide it. The stake is too great for -us to risk it all for the lack of plain words. I know what is in your -thoughts; but on my honour it was never for an instant in mine, and -never could be. Do believe that.” - -“I thought you felt it would be impossible for us--oh, it is so -difficult.” - -“Then put your hand in mine again and I shall know the slander is -understood.” - -“It is still impossible, Bourgwan,” she whispered. “I am so sorry;” and -as is in pity for the pain I must feel she gave me her hand again. - -“If you could think for yourself only?” - -“God knows I would so gladly do as you wish.” - -It was sweet but yet sad hearing. - -“I do wish it and do press it, not for my sake only but for yours,” I -urged. - -“I cannot, Bourgwan; I cannot leave my country.” - -“That is final?” I asked, looking into her eyes. - -“You make it so hard for me. I cannot. I cannot.” - -I lifted her hand and pressed my lips to it. I had failed; and with -a heavy sigh rose and went back to my seat, with a feeling of blank -desolateness. - -“I have grieved you,” she said gently when I had sat silent some while. -“And you have done so much for----” - -“Not that, please,” I interposed, forcing a smile. - -“I can never forget it,” she replied. “We shall not meet again, as you -said; but I can never forget it.” - -“May I ask one thing? If matters go with you so that you should ever -have to leave the country, may I seek you again?” - -“It is all sad for you--and for me, too, you know that--but it is -kinder, if harder, not to give you groundless hope.” - -“I shall never cease to hope.” - -“I shall never leave my country,” she answered, earnestly. - -“I am answered, but not convinced,” I replied, in quite as earnest a -tone as hers; and then, to lighten the strain, I smiled and added: “If -you will not leave it, I may have to leave mine and turn Serb.” - -“I should have at least one loyal subject then, I am sure.” - -As the words left her lips, the door opened and Colonel Petrosch -returned. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -PETROSCH HAS A PLAN. - - -A single glance at Colonel Petrosch convinced me that some change had -taken place in the situation during his absence which he considered -favourable. His step was less heavy; the air of oppressed anxiousness -was gone; his face had lost that depressed, care-haunted, apprehensive -look which I had seen before; and his bearing was almost confident and -bright. - -He went at once to the matter in hand. - -“I am glad to tell you you are free to leave, Mr. Bergwyn,” he said, -with obvious satisfaction. - -“I am deeply obliged to you for your intervention, Colonel.” - -“Shew it by leaving Belgrade by the first available train and remaining -away for some days at least until matters have settled. Then we shall -be ready to receive you.” - -“You have had news which you consider good?” I asked. - -“Yes. I think the best we could have. There is now no room for -reasonable doubt that the people will not only support the army’s -action, but will do so with enthusiasm. The news is known everywhere -now, and reports from all over the city from all classes are to this -effect. Every minute brings added proof of this. It is an intense and -consummate relief.” - -“It is consummate shame and scandal that murder should be thus hailed -with acclamation,” cried Gatrina, indignantly. - -“Those will be dangerous views to express to-day, madam,” said -Petrosch, turning to her. “You and I must of necessity look upon this -revolution with very different feelings. What to you appears murder, I -and those with me regard as the only gate to national liberty which was -left open to us.” - -“Mr. Bergwyn has told me that many murders have been committed in the -night. There will be a heavy reckoning for each of them.” - -“Lives have been taken, it is true, because, as we believe, no other -course was left, if a violent revolution, followed by the horrors of -a civil war, was to be avoided. Better for half a dozen lives to be -taken deliberately than as many thousands in a civil war. What we have -done we have done; and we leave the issue to God. The future will judge -whether we have done right.” - -“Cold blooded murder cannot be justified by an appeal to the Almighty,” -said Gatrina, indignantly. “Who draws the sword himself shall feel the -blade. You may seem to be successful; the people may shout for you and -applaud you because you are strong; you may for the time carry all -before you with a powerful hand; but by this fearsome appeal to blood -you have raised a force which will crush you in the end with infinite -disaster to the country.” - -Colonel Petrosch listened with pent brows, and replied with impressive -deliberation. “I am disturbed to hear this from you, madam, and it -compels me to put to you a question which I beg you to answer with -due regard to the solemn consequences which your words may have for -yourself. Do I understand you to mean that you yourself would take part -in any movement or plans which might be made against the army and its -decisions, and for the restoration of your family upon the throne?” - -“No, no, indeed. God forbid that for any mere personal ends either word -or act of mine should ever tend to plunge the country into the horrors -of such a conflict.” - -Alarmed by his sudden change to severity, I was greatly relieved to -hear Gatrina’s words. So I think was he. He looked across to me. - -“Have you told the Princess what I said to you before, Mr. Bergwyn?” - -“Yes; but she does not see her way to leave the country.” - -“Voluntarily, you mean? But you cannot remain, madam,” he said to her. -“It is absolutely impossible.” - -“I will not leave, Colonel Petrosch.” - -He sighed. “I regret exceedingly to hear that unfortunate decision and -trust you will recall it. I am authorised to tell you that if you will -sign a document abandoning all claim to the succession and leave the -country voluntarily, your property and fortune shall not be forfeit.” - -“I shall not change my decision for a bribe, Colonel Petrosch,” she -answered instantly and proudly. - -“It is not meant as a bribe; but your presence will be an embarrassment -to the new Government, and in any case you must go. Must: it is -imperative. Pray think, then, before you set the Government at -defiance.” - -“I have given my decision, and nothing will alter it, Colonel Petrosch.” - -“That is your last word?” - -“On that point, my last word.” - -“I regret it deeply. I have now no option but to tell you that you -will be a prisoner. I can, at any rate for the present, spare you the -harassment of being removed from your own house. But the house is in -possession of our troops and I must ask you to remain in your own -apartments, pending our decision in regard to your movements.” - -“I shall make no attempt to run away,” said Gatrina, getting up as she -spoke. - -“Wait,” I broke in. “I should like to put a question or two.” - -Petrosch turned upon me an inscrutable look and replied with a shew -of sternness: “You can do nothing to influence our decision in such a -matter, Mr. Bergwyn. The Princess has refused our offer. That is all.” - -“I don’t think so,” I answered, bluntly. “Are we to understand that the -Princess is in any danger from the acts of your agents? We have seen -already what some of them are capable of doing.” - -“I am glad to be able to give an assurance that ample precautions will -be taken for the Princess’s personal safety during the few hours she -will remain here. If you will take counsel from me, madam, I would -urge you to lose no time in preparing for your departure. We shall -decide very quickly. I will now call the guard;” and he left the room. - -I turned to Gatrina and impulsively she put both her hands in mine and -lifted her face and smiled. - -“Good-bye,” she murmured, her lips quivering. - -“I wish you could have done as he asked.” - -“I wish I could--for your sake; but ...” she shook her head. “You have -done so much for me. I can see your hand in all this.” - -“Give it up, Gatrina, for my sake,” I cried, passionately, the love in -me breaking all bounds. “You would trust yourself to me?” - -“Ah, yes, gladly, if I could but be a coward. I should be a happy -coward, Bourgwan; but....” - -“I cannot lose you. My God, I will not.” - -“Please, please be strong enough for us both. I am so weak when I think -of you: of all that I am losing. But--I must stay. You know that in -your heart. I must be true to my duty. For Heaven’s sake help to save -me from my weakness.” - -“I cannot lose you,” I cried again. - -“No, no. Leave it me to think of you as always doing the right thing. I -want my memory of you undimmed. It must be good-bye. It must.” - -“I cannot say it.” - -“There is no other word to say, Bourgwan. No other word. Do you know -how hard you are making this for me?” she added gently after a pause. - -I caught her and held her passionately. - -“You love me?” - -Again she raised her face, now close to mine, and gazed into my eyes -frankly. - -“If I did not, should I care?” she whispered. - -Slowly I bent my head till my lips touched hers, and as they met she -yielded to me and kissed me in return, and then let her head rest on my -shoulder. - -“Oh, how you make me wish I were a coward,” she murmured. “It is harder -than ever; but it must be good-bye.” - -Gently she drew away and put her hands in mine as before. - -“We must never meet again, Bourgwan,” she said, with one of her sweet -smiles. “You tempt me so. I could not trust myself again.” - -“God keep you, Gatrina. Good-bye;” and I pressed my lips to her hand -and then led her to the door. - -“It is even harder than the day at Samac,” she whispered, smiling -again; and with those words and a last long look she passed out, and I -was alone in the room--alone for always. - -I was staring desolately out into the garden when Colonel Petrosch came -back. - -“I thought perhaps you might wish to say a word or two to the Princess, -Mr. Bergwyn; and now I want to speak to you.” - -“Yes; what is it?” I answered, indifferently. Nothing mattered now. -What he said or didn’t say was all one to me. - -“I am going to ask you for your confidence.” - -“Well?” - -“About the--the Princess.” - -“Except to know that she will be safe, I would rather not speak of -her,” I answered, abruptly. - -“I have heard the story that you met her when you were in the Bosnian -hills under circumstances....” - -But I wasn’t having that and cut him short pretty brusquely. - -“I should regard any question on such a subject as verging upon -impertinence, Colonel Petrosch. Please ask none.” - -He smiled. “That is very much like confirmation. You must not lose your -temper with me. I am an old man, you a young one, and I want to help -you. If the Princess had been other than....” - -“Stop right there, if you please,” I cried, angrily. - -But he only smiled. “Well, I’ll put it another way. The Princess is a -very obstinate young woman and----” - -“The Princess has decided rightly, Colonel Petrosch.” - -“And the result of her decision is that in a few hours she will be -sorely in need of a friend.” - -“What do you mean?” - -“May I speak plainly what’s in my mind--what was in it when I went out -of the room just now?” - -“Yes,” I returned after a pause. “Have I been a fool?” - -He did not answer that question in direct terms; but he spoke very -plainly, and what he said answered it indirectly. We had a brief but -very pithy conversation; and at the end of it I got up and shook -his hand effusively and “God blessed him,” bade him good-bye, and -scampered off to my house more like a school-boy than a man of many -cares, and with no longer any thought of the prospect of desolate -loneliness which had appeared to threaten me so gloomily only a few -minutes before. - -As I passed through the streets there were already abundant signs of -the popular feeling. Early though the hour was, flags were flying, -decorations being hurriedly prepared, men and women were abroad gaily -dressed, and everyone getting ready to join in what was clearly to be a -public holiday. - -Death and terror had had their grim reign in the frowning gloom of -the night; but the scene had shifted with the daylight. The Army were -hailed as the deliverers of the people; the tragic means were condoned -for the sake of the end attained; and on all sides the people were -making haste to parade the evidences of satisfaction at the change and -gratitude to those who had wrought it. - -How much of the demonstration was genuine, how far it was wire-pulled, -or to what extent it was dictated by that prudence which impels the -crowd to side with the strongest I did not stop to think. It was enough -that the city would side with the Army and that its leaders would -therefore go on with their work undisturbed by fears of turbulence and -resistance. That meant much to me just then. - -I found my servants vastly uneasy at my absence during the night. Even -the placid Buller was excited. - -“Thank God you have come, sir. We dursen’t go to bed. We didn’t know -what to think or do.” - -“I daresay you didn’t, but get a hustle on you now and pack up. I’m -leaving in a couple of hours and want my light baggage with me. Pick -out enough for a few days; and express all the heavy trunks to Vienna.” - -“Thank God, sir,” he exclaimed, fervently. - -“Well, get going then--you’ll have time for thanksgiving on the cars,” -I said, as he hesitated. “And tell someone to get me some breakfast.” - -I dashed into my bedroom, had a bath and changed out of Nikolitch’s -uniform--which was a good deal the worse for the night’s wear--had my -breakfast, establishing probably an American record for eating speed, -and sat down to knock off the cables and letters which my hurried -departure necessitated. - -I was deep in one to Nikolitch explaining things and telling him I had -made all excuses for him with Petrosch, when Karasch arrived. - -“I hardly hoped to find you----” he began. - -“You must shelve all that, Karasch,” I interposed. “You’ve got to leave -the city with me in less than an hour from now; and see here, take -money to pay those men liberally for what they did last night and tell -them they’d better hold their tongues and skip for a while. You must be -at the depot in an hour ready to go.” - -“Are you....” - -“Don’t ask a question now. All has gone right. Be off with you,” and I -got up and opened the door to hustle him off. As I did so, Elma was in -the hall, and Buller was protesting that I could not receive her. - -At sight of me she pushed past him and came into my room. She was as -full of agitation as a setting hen over her first chick; and when -she saw from my face that I was in high spirits her astonishment was -boundless. - -“I’m leaving,” I said, pithily. - -“Running away?” she exclaimed. - -“That’s about the size of it. Can I do anything for you in Vienna?” I -had no anger left for her, or indeed for anyone. - -“You have heard the news?” - -“Some.” - -“About the murders last night?” - -“Yes.” - -“Are you going to run away while she is in danger?” - -“Who?” - -“Who?” she repeated with a scoff. “Gatrina, I mean, of course.” - -“I don’t know that she’s in any particular peril. I called there last -night.” - -“How can you speak so lightly as that? She must be saved at any cost. -I’ve come to offer to help you save her.” - -“From what?” - -“Death,” she said, with tragic earnestness. - -“What can one do? The army is all powerful. I must think of myself.” - -“Good God, are you such a coward?” - -I shrugged my shoulders. “A man must think of his own life. I’ve no -fancy to risk mine.” - -Her face was a study in contempt. “You mean you will not attempt to -save her?” - -“I tell you I’m bolting. I don’t suppose her fate will be anything very -terrible, and perhaps after all she deserves it. Anyway, I shall not -think of opposing the army in the matter.” - -She drew her breath quickly and looked at me with almost fierce -disdain. “You coward! Oh, you coward,” she cried. - -“I suppose it isn’t very brave. But then I never set up for a hero.” - -“But if I tell you that I know her death has been decided upon and that -if you will help, we can save her?” - -“It wouldn’t make any difference to me. You see I’m packed up, and even -my train is chosen. I simply can’t stop. Besides, I expect you’ve been -misinformed.” - -“I tell you I know it,” she cried, fiercely, as if seeking to rouse me. - -“Then I’m afraid the bottom will be knocked out of your marriage scheme -in regard to her. Still, I daresay you’ll hatch another.” - -This was the limit. She fell back a pace, stared at me aghast, and -then broke out into a violent tirade of denunciation and abuse of my -cowardice and generally contemptible conduct. - -“Now, let me say half a dozen plain words, Baroness,” I replied, when -she paused for lack of breath. “During the last days I have been here -you have done your utmost against me; every weapon you could find you -have used without scruple to try and ruin me. You failed every time; -and now you come with some other plan in that subtle and beautiful -head of yours to try and lure me into a last net. For the time I came -very near to fearing you; I don’t like saying ugly things to a woman; -and I’ll just content myself with the confession that I no longer fear -anything you can do, and pay no heed whatever to anything you can say. -That’s all. And now, as I’m busy getting ready to run away, as you call -it, I must ask you to excuse me.” - -“You have some other scheme?” she cried. - -“You can put it that I’m running away; and leave it at that.” - -“I don’t believe it.” - -“That’s not polite, to say the least of it.” I rang the bell. “Buller, -have you packed up yet?” I asked when he came. - -“Yes, sir.” - -“And directed that the heavy luggage is expressed through to Vienna?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“And the carriage?” - -“Yes, sir. It will be at the door in a quarter of an hour, sir.” - -“That will do. You hear that?” I asked Elma. - -She made a gesture of angry impatience. “I can’t understand you.” - -“It means good-bye, Baroness. I have still some letters to finish and -arrangements to complete, and have, as you hear, only fifteen minutes. -I part without any anger;” and I held out my hand. - -“I will save Gatrina without you,” she exclaimed, not taking my hand. - -“I don’t think anyone can do that, but it’s very good of you to try,” I -replied with a conventional smile. - -This appeared to kindle all her rage again to white heat. She stared at -me a moment, then raised her arms above her head and with a passionate -ejaculation of disgust, swept out of the room. - -Her complete mystification and indignant wrath gave me intense -satisfaction, and with a chuckle of enjoyment I sat down again and -finished my letters just in time to drive hurriedly to the depot and -catch my train. - -But I did not take tickets for Vienna, for that was not my destination. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE CAMP AGAIN. - - -Buller’s patience and respectful stolidity were sorely strained that -day. In the first place I told him nothing about our destination; and -when we made several changes during the journey only to alight at the -exceedingly unpromising depot at Samac in the afternoon, his manner -began to afford me genuine amusement. - -“Do we wait here long for the train, sir?” he asked, as if the sooner -we were off again the better. - -“Only until Karasch can get a carriage or some horses, Buller. I -suppose you can ride, by the by?” - -“Yes, sir; that is--oh, yes, sir--a little.” - -Karasch got four horses after some difficulty but no carriage; one to -carry my valises. They were four rank bad animals; but they carried -us to Poabja, albeit with much discomfort for Buller. But his disgust -appeared to reach a climax when he saw the little inn and I told him it -was our hotel. - -“That, sir?” he exclaimed incredulously, with a very wry face. - -“They have some excellent black bread there, Buller, and the water is -as fine as any in the district.” - -“Yes, sir,” he replied mechanically, as he got off his horse awkwardly. -He was very stiff and discomfited. “Beg pardon, sir, but do we stay -long here?” he asked, dejectedly. - -“Not more than a month or two--till we start to rough it in the hills.” - -He groaned and his face fell so that I laughed, and to hide it -dismounted and told him to go into the house and make such arrangements -as he could for our accommodation, without mentioning my name. “Be very -guarded, Buller, for much hangs upon your discretion, and I don’t want -our lives to be imperilled by any loose talk.” - -Then I walked away up the narrow hilly street, whistling. I was in such -spirits that I could not resist the temptation of playing this small -joke upon my superlatively proper and decorous servant. In my humour, -the veriest trifle set me smiling, the minutest detail of life in the -little place interested me. - -The children came out to stare at me and I scattered some small coins -among them and brought them about me in a scrambling, laughing, -boisterous crowd. Some of the men recognised me; and I stopped now and -again to exchange a word or two with them and gave them money. The -whole of the little street was full of smiling faces and I had such a -body guard when I reached Father Michel’s cottage, that the good priest -came out in some surprise to learn the cause of the clatter. - -“I need your protection again, father,” I cried cheerily; “but from a -different sort of crowd this time. Let me come in and talk to you, and -send these young brigands away. They take _me_ for the witch this time -with a power to coin money.” - -“I bid you welcome, sir,” he said gravely as he bade the youngsters -run home and led me indoors. - -I was closeted with him for an hour or more, telling him many things -which vastly surprised him, gaining his help for the purpose I had in -view, preparing him for what was coming, and binding him to secresy -until the time arrived for all to be explained. - -When I got back to the inn Karasch, as the result of my instructions -had a carriage ready, and Buller looking very glum and very much out of -his element was standing by a saddle horse for me. - -“You can go on, Karasch, I shall overtake you,” I said, and he drove -off. - -“Am I not to go, sir?” asked Buller, nervously. - -“No, Buller, thank you. You stay here. And mind, don’t get quarrelling; -these people are very good-natured, but very handy with the knife.” - -“Beg pardon, sir, but how long am I to stay here alone?” - -“You’re not frightened, are you?” - -“No, I hope not, sir, but if anything’s likely to happen--to you, sir, -I mean I’d like to know of it, in case I could help.” - -“I think I’ve done you some injustice, Buller, and I’m sorry.” I was -pleased by his words. “Nothing will happen--nothing dangerous that is. -All is as right as it could be. I’ve come here for a special purpose; -and we shall all be away to-morrow or very soon after, for Vienna I -expect. All you need do is--to amuse yourself for an hour or two. If -you go out, walk down the hill and not up; I don’t want you to be seen -up that way. I shall be back soon after dark; and you can hunt around -and get me the best thing in the way of dinner you can contrive.” - -“Thank you, sir,” he said in a tone of obvious relief; and stepped -back, as I mounted and rode after Karasch on the road back to the -station at Samac. - -“All you’ve got to be careful about, Karasch,” I told him when we -reached there; “is not to let your face be seen. It’s quite dark, so -there’s very little risk.” - -I tethered my horse out of sight and walked up the little hill where -Gatrina and I had had our talk that day, and waited there, thinking -of her and of much that had passed since we had parted there, and she -had sent poor old Chris back to me. The picture was very vivid in my -thoughts; her retreating figure on the winding path, and the old dog -coming slowly up the path toward me and turning to look after her; when -the reverie was broken by the noise of the coming train, and I hurried -down the hill back to the station. - -I found a spot where I could get close enough to observe what occurred -without being seen. - -The last car was a saloon from which three men in the uniform of -officers alighted. One of them turned and helped out a lady, a somewhat -portly person who appeared to be stiff and cramped with a long journey. -Then without assistance another lady stepped out and looked about her -as if recognising the place. - -All five passed through the station house, and one of the men spoke -to Karasch, who murmured some reply and touched his hat. Four of them -entered the carriage and the fifth got up by Karasch who then drove -off. - -The station master and his assistants stood looking after the carriage -and gossipping with three peasants and a woman, the only other -passengers by the train; and were still discussing the possible meaning -of the unusual event as I mounted and rode away. - -I kept well behind but I was near enough to the carriage when it -reached the priest’s house to see him come out, exchange a few words -with the officers, and then lead someone into the house. He returned -and spoke again to the officers, all three of whom entered the carriage -which passed me directly afterwards on the return to Samac. - -I rode on to the inn, and having an hour to wait, I filled up the time -by changing my clothes and eating the dinner which Buller had had -prepared. I was in a condition of intense nervous excitement, and kept -glancing at my watch wishing the time to pass, impatient of the delay. -I was intensely absorbed by the thought of what was to follow, and yet -curiously conscious of Buller’s consequential pride at having provided -so good a meal under such circumstances and profound disappointment at -my failure to be impressed by his cleverness. - -At last the time was up and I started for the priest’s house, followed -by a look of blank dismay from Buller because I left before his chief -dish was served. I was half way up the street when the reason of his -look flashed upon me, and I burst out laughing. - -Someone was waiting for me in the priest’s garden and fetched him -immediately. - -“She is very sad and depressed, but she asked to be brought to me, it -seems. She is in there;” and he pointed to a door which stood ajar. - -I pushed it open and entered. - -She was sitting with her back to the door in a very dejected attitude, -and thinking it was Father Michel who had returned, she did not look -round, but said, as I closed the door: - -“You have many calls on your time.” - -“Well, I’ve been pretty busy during the last week,” I answered. - -She jumped up at the sound of my voice and turned to me a face pale -for a fleeting second and then flushing with the glory of rich, deep -crimson. - -“Bourgwan!” - -“Yes, Mademoiselle, Bourgwan, no other;” and I stretched my hands to -her. - -She held hers back and tried to look indignant. - -“What does this mean?” - -“You must blame Petrosch. He’s the villain of the piece.” - -Despite her efforts her eyes smiled. - -“This is a conspiracy, then,” she cried. - -“That’s about the size of it. They’ve been pretty plentiful lately, you -see.” - -“I had no idea....” - -“That was the conspiracy, of course,” I broke in. “He’s a subtle -villain, Petrosch. I was a mere child in his hands.” - -The smile was spreading very fast all over her face now. - -“I ought to be very angry,” she exclaimed. - -“Yes, he’s broken up all my plans shamefully. Instead of being in -Vienna on my way back to the States, here I am, just Bourgwan again, -and you’re just Mademoiselle. And goodness knows now what’s going to -happen.” - -We both laughed then and she no longer held back her hands. I held them -instead. - -“I don’t understand yet in the least.” - -“Well, you see it was like this. I thought you would rather that Father -Michel than any other priest should----” - -“Bourgwan!” she cried, quickly. - -“Wasn’t that right?” I asked, with an air of innocence. - -“Do you mean that Colonel Petrosch....” - -“Yes. He’s a dreadful scoundrel to guess things.” - -“Do you know that I am a beggar and an exile?” - -“Yes, indeed. He told me all about it; and I was awfully glad. There’s -another country over seas which will be glad to adopt you. It’s a free -country, too; with a home in it where we shan’t be quite beggars.” - -“Bourgwan! I told you it was impossible.” - -“And I told you that we’re forgetting how to spell that word in the -States; although I came near learning it in Belgrade.” - -“But I--I have nothing.” - -“Oh yes, you have. You can draw a bill on the bank of my affection and -I’ll honour it right now--to any amount.” - -“You make a jest of it,” she said, now between laughter and tears. - -“Well, don’t you think they made things serious enough for us in -Belgrade? What you’ve got to do is just to forget all that, and to -laugh and be glad--if you are glad; and then to--well, there _is_ -something else to do;” and I looked grave. - -“What is that?” - -“It’s a very serious thing, very serious, indeed. But I think I ought -to tell you, and I think you ought to do it if your laughter is to ring -true.” - -“Are you in earnest?” - -“Yes, quite. Did you know that when we were here before there was a -man very badly wounded--desperately, in fact. I was speaking to Father -Michel to-day about it and I told him I was sure you would not like to -have such a thing on your conscience without doing all you could to -help him. That was right, wasn’t it?” - -“Of course. Was it that struggle in the street here?” - -“No, the man doesn’t belong to Poabja; but he was here to-day. The poor -fellow will never get over the wound. And he blames you, and feels that -you alone can save him.” - -“Wound? Blames me? What can I do?” - -“Marry him.” - -“Bourgwan!” she cried, changing on the instant from puzzled pity to -laughing confusion; and then--well, no matter what then. - -Soon afterwards we sat down together and had a good, square talk which -did not end until she had agreed that we had better consult Father -Michel about the details. - -I was a happier man than ever when, after a very informal little -ceremony in Father Michel’s quaint, crude church very early in the -morning, we started to indulge a mutual wish to have a last look at the -camp which had been so much to us. - -What a ride that was! What memories it roused! How delighted was -Gatrina with everything! And in what spirits! How we chattered and -laughed, and laughed and chattered, forgetting for the time, selfishly -if you will in our own happiness, the gloom and tragedy from which we -had just emerged. The world appeared all bright and glorious for us, -and care and trouble far away. - -Karasch was with us, of course; solemn, reserved and taciturn as ever; -but breaking into a sort of grim smile whenever Gatrina spoke to him to -point out some bit of the road where some incident of that other ride -had occurred. - -Buller I packed off to Samac to go by rail and meet us afterwards at a -place to which we could get the train from Tuzla on the other side of -the camp. He did not belong to our hill comradeship and would have been -in the way. - -We were careful to have a guide this time; and how we laughed now when -he told us we must have come at least ten or fifteen miles out of our -way during that comradeship ride of ours by the compass. We could laugh -at anything. - -We turned aside to visit the hill where we had slept on the morning -after the check by the two rivers, and Gatrina recognised with a -positive relish the spot where she had washed on the brink of the -stream. - -And when at last we came near the long, stiff hill in the middle of -which was the ravine leading to the camp, her excitement and pleasure -were greater than ever. We chattered just like two glad children, first -about the incidents of her flight and rescue, and then about that -little contest of wills we had had the following morning, and indeed -about every incident of the time at the camp. - -Then came the camp itself, and Gatrina’s unbounded surprise that -already men were there getting ready for the mining work. I told her -what I had done in Vienna and that in the superintendent we might look -to find our old enemy, Captain Hanske, the Austrian official with whom -we had taken such rough liberties that memorable night. - -We could stay but an hour there if we were to reach Tuzla before -nightfall, the guide told us; and Gatrina and I spent the first few -minutes in the little hut which she had occupied. - -It was a place full of mingled reminiscences for us; and while we were -there our thoughts slipped back to the moment when, as I knew and my -sweet wife now confessed, we had fallen in love. - -“I think I knew it first,” she said, with a winsome blush, “when we -came back here alone after that trial of will, Bourgwan. You were very -obstinate; but I--I--I won’t tell you any more.” - -“I knew it before that; when you stood at bay against those scoundrels -out on the hills there. But you must have thought me an awful -scarecrow.” - -“I did think you were a peasant, when I knew you were not a brigand. -And when I found out my mistake, I could have bitten out my tongue for -the way I had spoken to you.” - -“I was a brigand. I stole your heart.” - -She looked up with a bright, merry smile and was about to answer when -some noise and confusion outside startled her. - -“What’s that?” she asked. - -“Quite realistic--like it used to be. We’ll see.” - -We went out and I laughed aloud at what we saw. Karasch had been seized -by a couple of men who were leading him towards us while the little -Austrian ex-official, now the superintendent, was abusing him volubly -and with almost frantic gesticulations. - -He was a sharp fellow and the instant his eyes fell on us he recognised -us, and calling some more men from the tent, he ran toward me shouting, -“Here’s the other man. So we meet at last, eh? And you, too?” he cried -to Gatrina, who was inclined to be frightened and held my arm tight. - -“You have good eyes and a keen memory for faces, Captain Hanske. I -congratulate you. We only met in the dark and I see you recognise us.” - -“Ah, you admit it, you admit it, do you?” he said, very excitedly. “Now -I’ll shew you what it is to assault me, and I’ll know who you are and -all about you.” - -“There isn’t the least doubt about that. But don’t be excited. I am Mr. -Bergwyn, the American, associated with Graf von Hartstein of Vienna in -working the mines here. I told him how I had treated you that night -and as a recompense had you appointed here.” - -His jaw dropped as he gazed at me in amazement. - -The silence was broken by a laugh, deep, raucous and loud, from -Karasch--the only loud laugh I ever heard from him. - -“It’s all right, superintendent,” I added. “I can understand your -bewilderment and your mistake. Tell me how the work promises. Let -Karasch there go.” - -“Mr. Bergwyn,” he stammered, “I am--I don’t know what to say.” - -“Then don’t try. We’ve had enough of it. Just show the things.” - -He was a very humble and bewildered superintendent then, and so ashamed -that Gatrina spoke to him to try and put him at his ease while he -shewed us about the place until the guide sent word that we must start. - -We were standing in the tent then and were alone. - -“This is where you had the fight with Karasch, Bourgwan, and his arm -was broken, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, when Chris, the other member of the comradeship was on guard with -you.” - -“Dear old Chris,” she replied. “I am so sorry.” - -“Something else happened here beside that fight.” - -“What was that?” - -“You told me just now when you think you--knew. Well, it was here I -first hoped.” - -“Hoped?” she cried, her face wrinkling and her eyes questioning. - -“Yes, hoped. You remember I lay here after that blow on the head.” - -“Yes, there;” and she pointed to the very spot. - -“Someone watched by me here, when I was unconscious.” - -She began to understand. - -“You mean Chris?” she asked with an air of unconcern. - -“No; I mean I wasn’t unconscious quite so long as you thought and -you----” - -“Bourgwan! The guide says we must go,” she cried quickly, with a lovely -blush. - -“And when you did, I began to hope.” - -“We mustn’t keep him any longer.” - -“I think he could wait while you--do it again.” - -But she laughed and tossed her head and walked out of the tent. - -As we crossed to the horses, she said: “I don’t know what you must have -thought.” - -“I thought you might do it again so I remained unconscious.” - -As I put her on her horse, she whispered: “I was going to, but Karasch -came;” and then shook the reins and started. - -I caught her up a moment afterwards and by a mutual impulse we turned -and had a last look. It was a wild, meagre, rough, dirty and abominably -squalid place--but very dear to us. - -“Good-bye, old comradeship camp,” said Gatrina, smiling, with a tear in -close attendance, I think. “It might be lovelier,” she added, “but it -couldn’t be dearer in my thoughts.” - -“Nor in mine--for it gave me you.” - -“And me my Bourgwan--I may well love it.” - -We sat on the horses just gazing back, both heart full, until the -silence was broken by a shout from the now impatient guide; and we -wheeled about and hurried after him. - - - - -Popular Copyright Books - -At Moderate Prices - -Any of the following titles can be bought of your Bookseller at the -price you paid for this volume - - - =THE PRODIGAL SON= Hall Caine - =ADVENTURES OF GERARD= A. Conan Doyle - =A CAPTAIN IN THE RANKS= George Cary Eggleston - =THE DELIVERANCE= Ellen Glasgow - =THE BATTLE GROUND= Ellen Glasgow - =THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE= Ellen Glasgow - =THE MILLIONAIRE BABY= Anna Katharine Green - =THE BRETHREN= H. 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The picture of the manifold sufferings of the people, - is never overdrawn, but painted faithfully and honestly by one who - spared neither time nor labor in his efforts to present in this - charming love story all that price in blood and tears which the - Carolinians paid as their share in the winning of the republic. - - Take it all in all, “Horseshoe Robinson” is a work which should be - found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most entertaining - story, but because of the wealth of valuable information concerning - the colonists which it contains. That it has been brought out once - more, well illustrated, is something which will give pleasure to - thousands who have long desired an opportunity to read the story - again, and to the many who have tried vainly in these latter days to - procure a copy that they might read it for the first time. - - -=THE PEARL OF ORR’S ISLAND.= A story of the Coast of Maine. By Harriet -Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. 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Price, $1.00. - - The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea - yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as can - come through the medium of a printed page, for never has a story of - the sea and those “who go down in ships” been written by one more - familiar with the scenes depicted. - - The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, and - which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is “Captain - Brand,” who, as the author states on his title page, was a “pirate - of eminence in the West Indies.” As a sea story pure and simple, - “Captain Brand” has never been excelled, and as a story of piratical - life, told without the usual embellishments of blood and thunder, it - has no equal. - - -=NICK OF THE WOODS.= A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By -Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier life in - Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel, long - out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its realistic - presentation of Indian and frontier life in the early days of - settlement in the South, narrated in the tale with all the art of - a practiced writer. A very charming love romance runs through the - story. This new and tasteful edition of “Nick of the Woods” will be - certain to make many new admirers for this enchanting story from Dr. - Bird’s clever and versatile pen. - - -=A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE.= A story of American Colonial Times. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of Revolutionary - scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. It causes the - true American to flush with excitement, to devour chapter after - chapter, until the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes with patriotism. - The love story is a singularly charming idyl. - - -=THE TOWER OF LONDON.= A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady Jane -Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four -illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00. - - This romance of the “Tower of London” depicts the Tower as palace, - prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is - the middle of the sixteenth century. - - The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane Grey, - and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other notable - characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the interest of - the reader. In the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, extending - considerably over a half a century. - - -=IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING.= A Romance of the American Revolution. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery, - and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the spirit - of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves - taking a part in the exciting scenes described. His whole story is so - absorbing that you will sit up far into the night to finish it. As a - love romance it is charming. - - -=GARTHOWEN.= A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, 12mo. -with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - “This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare - before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some - strong points of Welsh character--the pride, the hasty temper, the - quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a well-written story, - interesting alike through its romance and its glimpses into another - life than ours. A delightful and clever picture of Welsh village - life. The result is excellent.”--Detroit Free Press. - - -=MIFANWY.= The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, 12mo. -with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - “This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care to - read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the characters, - it is apparent at once, are as true to life as though the author had - known them all personally. Simple in all its situations, the story - is worked up in that touching and quaint strain which never grows - wearisome, no matter how often the lights and shadows of love are - introduced. It rings true, and does not tax the imagination.”--Boston - Herald. - - -=GUY FAWKES.= A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harrison -Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. -Price, $1.00. - - The “Gunpowder Plot” was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, the - King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King of England, - was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient scheme of - extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the Catholics. - In their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful of bold - spirits concluded to overthrow the government. Finally the plotters - were arrested, and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other - prisoners with royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through - the entire romance. - - -=THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER.= A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio -Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00. - - A book rather out of the ordinary is this “Spirit of the Border.” - The main thread of the story has to do with the work of the Moravian - missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader is given - details of the frontier life of those hardy pioneers who broke the - wilderness for the planting of this great nation. Chief among these, - as a matter of course, is Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and - at the same time the most admirable of all the brave men who spent - their lives battling with the savage foe, that others might dwell in - comparative security. - - Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian “Village - of Peace” are given at some length, and with minute description. - The efforts to Christianize the Indians are described as they never - have been before, and the author has depicted the characters of the - leaders of the several Indian tribes with great care, which of itself - will be of interest to the student. - - By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid - word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense paintings - of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken forests. - - It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by - it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, willingly - braved every privation and danger that the westward progress of the - star of empire might be the more certain and rapid. A love story, - simple and tender, runs through the book. - - -=RICHELIEU.= A tale of France In the reign of King Louis XIII. By G. -P. E. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. -Price, $1.00. - - In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, “Richelieu,” and was - recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft. - - In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great - cardinal’s life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while - it was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic - outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost - wave of prosperity. One of the most striking portions of the story - is that of Cinq Mar’s conspiracy; the method of conducting criminal - cases, and the political trickery resorted to by royal favorites, - affording a better insight into the statecraft of that day than can - be had even by an exhaustive study of history. It is a powerful - romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling and - absorbing interest has never been excelled. - - -For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by -the publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York. - - - - -_POPULAR LITERATURE FOR THE MASSES, COMPRISING CHOICE SELECTIONS FROM -THE TREASURES OF THE WORLD’S KNOWLEDGE, ISSUED IN A SUBSTANTIAL AND -ATTRACTIVE CLOTH BINDING, AT A POPULAR PRICE_ - - -BURT’S HOME LIBRARY is a series which includes the standard works of -the world’s best literature, bound in uniform cloth binding, gilt tops, -embracing chiefly selections from writers of the most notable English, -American and Foreign Fiction, together with many important works in -the domains of History, Biography, Philosophy, Travel, Poetry and the -Essays. - -[Illustration] - -A glance at the following annexed list of titles and authors will -endorse the claim that the publishers make for it--that it is the most -comprehensive, choice, interesting, and by far the most carefully -selected series of standard authors for world-wide reading that has -been produced by any publishing house in any country, and that at -prices so cheap, and in a style so substantial and pleasing, as to win -for it millions of readers and the approval and commendation, not only -of the book trade throughout the American continent, but of hundreds -of thousands of librarians, clergymen, educators and men of letters -interested in the dissemination of instructive, entertaining and -thoroughly wholesome reading matter for the masses. - - - - -BURT’S HOME LIBRARY. Cloth. Gilt Tops. Price, $1.00 - - - =Abbe Constantin.= BY LUDOVIC HALEVY. - - =Abbott.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Adam Bede.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Addison’s Essays.= EDITED BY JOHN RICHARD GREEN. - - =Aeneid of Virgil.= TRANSLATED BY JOHN CONNINGTON. - - =Aesop’s Fables.= - - =Alexander, the Great, Life of.= BY JOHN WILLIAMS. - - =Alfred, the Great, Life of.= BY THOMAS HUGHES. - - =Alhambra.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass.= BY LEWIS CARROLL. - - =Alice Lorraine.= BY R. D. BLACKMORE. - - =All Sorts and Conditions of Men.= BY WALTER BESANT. - - =Alton Locke.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Amiel’s Journal.= TRANSLATED BY MRS. HUMPHREY WARD. - - =Andersen’s Fairy Tales.= - - =Anne of Geirstein.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Antiquary.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.= - - =Ardath.= BY MARIE CORELLI. - - =Arnold, Benedict, Life of.= BY GEORGE CANNING HILL. - - =Arnold’s Poems.= BY MATTHEW ARNOLD. - - =Around the World in the Yacht Sunbeam.= BY MRS. BRASSEY. - - =Arundel Motto.= BY MARY CECIL HAY. - - =At the Back of the North Wind.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =Attic Philosopher.= BY EMILE SOUVESTRE. - - =Auld Licht Idylls.= BY JAMES M. BARRIE. - - =Aunt Diana.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.= - - =Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.= BY O. W. HOLMES. - - =Averil.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Bacon’s Essays.= BY FRANCIS BACON. - - =Barbara Heathcote’s Trial.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Barnaby Rudge.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Barrack Room Ballads.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Betrothed.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Beulah.= BY AUGUSTA J. EVANS. - - =Black Beauty.= BY ANNA SEWELL. - - =Black Dwarf.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Black Rock.= BY RALPH CONNOR. - - =Black Tulip.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Bleak House.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Blithedale Romance.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Bondman.= BY HALL CAINE. - - =Book of Golden Deeds.= BY CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. - - =Boone, Daniel, Life of.= BY CECIL B. HARTLEY. - - =Bride of Lammermoor.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Bride of the Nile.= BY GEORGE EBERS. - - =Browning’s Poems.= BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING. - - =Browning’s Poems.= (SELECTIONS.) BY ROBERT BROWNING. - - =Bryant’s Poems.= (EARLY.) BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. - - =Burgomaster’s Wife.= BY GEORGE EBERS. - - =Burn’s Poems.= BY ROBERT BURNS. - - =By Order of the King.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Byron’s Poems.= BY LORD BYRON. - - =Caesar, Julius, Life of.= BY JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE. - - =Carson, Kit, Life of.= BY CHARLES BURDETT. - - =Cary’s Poems.= BY ALICE AND PHOEBE CARY. - - =Cast Up by the Sea.= BY SIR SAMUEL BAKER. - - =Charlemagne (Charles the Great), Life of.= BY THOMAS HODGKIN. D. C. L. - - =Charles Auchester.= BY E. BERGER. - - =Character.= BY SAMUEL SMILES. - - =Charles O’Malley.= BY CHARLES LEVER. - - =Chesterfield’s Letters.= BY LORD CHESTERFIELD. - - =Chevalier de Maison Rouge.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Chicot the Jester.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Children of the Abbey.= BY REGINA MARIA ROCHE. - - =Child’s History of England.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Christmas Stories.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Cloister and the Hearth.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Coleridge’s Poems.= BY SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE. - - =Columbus, Christopher, Life of.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Companions of Jehu.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Complete Angler.= BY WALTON AND COTTON. - - =Conduct of Life.= BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON. - - =Confessions of an Opium Eater.= BY THOMAS DE QUINCEY. - - =Conquest of Granada.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Conscript.= BY ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN. - - =Conspiracy of Pontiac.= BY FRANCIS PARKMAN, JR. - - =Conspirators.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Consuelo.= BY GEORGE SAND. - - =Cook’s Voyages.= BY CAPTAIN JAMES COOK. - - =Corinne.= BY MADAME DE STAHL. - - =Countess de Charney.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Countess Gisela.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Countess of Rudolstadt.= BY GEORGE SAND. - - =Count Robert of Paris.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Country Doctor.= BY HONORE DE BALZAC. - - =Courtship of Miles Standish.= BY H. W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Cousin Maude.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Cranford.= BY MRS. GASKELL. - - =Crockett, David, Life of.= AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. - - =Cromwell, Oliver, Life of.= BY EDWIN PAXTON HOOD. - - =Crown of Wild Olive.= BY JOHN RUSKIN. - - =Crusades.= BY GEO. W. COX, M. A. - - =Daniel Deronda.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Darkness and Daylight.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Data of Ethics.= BY HERBERT SPENCER. - - =Daughter of an Empress, The.= BY LOUISA MUHLBACH. - - =David Copperfield.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Days of Bruce.= BY GRACE AGUILAR. - - =Deemster, The.= BY HALL CAINE. - - =Deerslayer, The.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Descent of Man.= BY CHARLES DARWIN. - - =Discourses of Epictetus.= TRANSLATED BY GEORGE LONG. - - =Divine Comedy.= (DANTE.) TRANSLATED BY REV. H. F. CAREY. - - =Dombey & Son.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Donal Grant.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =Donovan.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =Dora Deane.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Dove in the Eagle’s Nest.= BY CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. - - =Dream Life.= BY IK MARVEL. - - =Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.= BY R. L. STEVENSON. - - =Duty.= BY SAMUEL SMILES. - - =Early Days of Christianity.= BY F. W. FARRAR. - - =East Lynne.= BY MRS. HENRY WOOD. - - =Edith Lyle’s Secret.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Education.= BY HERBERT SPENCER. - - =Egoist.= BY GEORGE MEREDITH. - - =Egyptian Princess.= BY GEORGE EBERS. - - =Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Eliot’s Poems.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Elizabeth and her German Garden.= - - =Elizabeth (Queen of England), Life of.= BY EDWARD SPENCER BEESLY, M.A. - - =Elsie Venner.= BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. - - =Emerson’s Essays.= (COMPLETE.) BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON. - - =Emerson’s Poems.= BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON. - - =English Orphans.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =English Traits.= BY R. W. EMERSON. - - =Essays in Criticism.= (FIRST AND SECOND SERIES.) BY MATTHEW ARNOLD. - - =Essays of Elia.= BY CHARLES LAMB. - - =Esther.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Ethelyn’s Mistake.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Evangeline.= (WITH NOTES.) BY H. W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Evelina.= BY FRANCES BURNEY. - - =Fair Maid of Perth.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Fairy Land of Science.= BY ARABELLA B. BUCKLEY. - - =Faust.= (GOETHE.) TRANSLATED BY ANNA SWANWICK. - - =Felix Holt.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World.= BY E. S. CREASY. - - =File No. 113.= BY EMILE GABORIAU. - - =Firm of Girdlestone.= BY A. CONAN DOYLE. - - =First Principles.= BY HERBERT SPENCER. - - =First Violin.= BY JESSIE FOTHERGILL. - - =For Lilias.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Fortunes of Nigel.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Forty-Five Guardsmen.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Foul Play.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Fragments of Science.= BY JOHN TYNDALL. - - =Frederick, the Great, Life of.= BY FRANCIS KUGLER. - - =Frederick the Great and His Court.= BY LOUISA MUHLBACH. - - =French Revolution.= BY THOMAS CARLYLE. - - =From the Earth to the Moon.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Garibaldi, General, Life of.= BY THEODORE DWIGHT. - - =Gil Blas, Adventures of.= BY A. R. LE SAGE. - - =Gold Bug and Other Tales.= BY EDGAR A. POE. - - =Gold Elsie.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Golden Treasury.= BY FRANCIS T. PALGRAVE. - - =Goldsmith’s Poems.= BY OLIVER GOLDSMITH. - - =Grandfather’s Chair.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Grant, Ulysses S., Life of.= BY J. T. HEADLEY. - - =Gray’s Poems.= BY THOMAS GRAY. - - =Great Expectations.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Greek Heroes. Fairy Tales for My Children.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Green Mountain Boys, The.= BY D. P. THOMPSON. - - =Grimm’s Household Tales.= BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM. - - =Grimm’s Popular Tales.= BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM. - - =Gulliver’s Travels.= BY DEAN SWIFT. - - =Guy Mannering.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Hale, Nathan, the Martyr Spy.= BY CHARLOTTE MOLYNEUX HOLLOWAY. - - =Handy Andy.= BY SAMUEL LOVER. - - =Hans of Iceland.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Hannibal, the Carthaginian, Life of.= BY THOMAS ARNOLD, M. A. - - =Hardy Norseman, A.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =Harold.= BY BULWER-LYTTON. - - =Harry Lorrequer.= BY CHARLES LEVER. - - =Heart of Midlothian.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Heir of Redclyffe.= BY CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. - - =Hemans’ Poems.= BY MRS. FELICIA HEMANS. - - =Henry Esmond.= BY WM. M. THACKERAY. - - =Henry, Patrick, Life of.= BY WILLIAM WIRT. - - =Her Dearest Foe.= BY MRS. ALEXANDER. - - =Hereward.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Heriot’s Choice.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Heroes and Hero-Worship.= BY THOMAS CARLYLE. - - =Hiawatha=, (WITH NOTES.) BY H. W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Hidden Hand, The.= (COMPLETE.) BY MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH. - - =History of a Crime.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =History of Civilization in Europe.= BY M. GUIZOT. - - =Holmes’ Poems.= (EARLY.) BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. - - =Holy Roman Empire.= BY JAMES BRYCE. - - =Homestead on the Hillside.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Hood’s Poems.= BY THOMAS HOOD. - - =House of the Seven Gables.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Hunchback of Notre Dame.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Hypatia.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Hyperion.= BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. - - =Iceland Fisherman.= BY PIERRE LOTI. - - =Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.= BY JEROME K. JEROME. - - =Iliad.= POPE’S TRANSLATION. - - =Inez.= BY AUGUSTA J. EVANS. - - =Ingelow’s Poems.= BY JEAN INGELOW. - - =Initials.= BY THE BARONESS TAUTPHOEUS. - - =Intellectual Life.= BY PHILIP G. HAMERTON. - - =In the Counsellor’s House.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =In the Golden Days.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =In the Heart of the Storm.= BY MAXWELL GRAY. - - =In the Schillingscourt.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Ishmael.= (COMPLETE.) BY MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH. - - =It Is Never Too Late to Mend.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Ivanhoe.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Jane Eyre.= BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE. - - =Jefferson, Thomas, Life of.= BY SAMUEL M. SCHMUCKER, LL.D. - - =Joan of Arc, Life of.= BY JULES MICHELET. - - =John Halifax, Gentleman.= BY MISS MULOCK. - - =Jones, John Paul, Life of.= BY JAMES OTIS. - - =Joseph Balsamo.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Josephine, Empress of France, Life of.= BY FREDERICK A. OBER. - - =Keats’ Poems.= BY JOHN KEATS. - - =Kenilworth.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Kidnapped.= BY R. L. STEVENSON. - - =King Arthur and His Noble Knights.= BY MARY MACLEOD. - - =Knickerbocker’s History of New York.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Knight Errant.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =Koran.= TRANSLATED BY GEORGE SALE. - - =Lady of the Lake.= (WITH NOTES.) BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Lady with the Rubies.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Lafayette, Marquis de, Life of.= BY P. C. HEADLEY. - - =Lalla Rookh.= (WITH NOTES.) BY THOMAS MOORE. - - =Lamplighter.= BY MARIA S. CUMMINS. - - =Last Days of Pompeii.= BY BULWER-LYTTON. - - =Last of the Barons.= BY BULWER-LYTTON. - - =Last of the Mohicans.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Lay of the Last Minstrel.= (WITH NOTES.) BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Lee, General Robert E., Life of.= BY G. MERCER ADAM. - - =Lena Rivers.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Life of Christ.= BY FREDERICK W. FARRAR. - - =Life of Jesus.= BY ERNEST RENAN. - - =Light of Asia.= BY SIR EDWIN ARNOLD. - - =Light That Failed.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Lincoln, Abraham, Life of.= BY HENRY KETCHAM. - - =Lincoln’s Speeches.= SELECTED AND EDITED BY G. MERCER ADAM. - - =Literature and Dogma.= BY MATTHEW ARNOLD. - - =Little Dorrit.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Little Minister.= BY JAMES M. BARRIE. - - =Livingstone, David, Life of.= BY THOMAS HUGHES. - - =Longfellow’s Poems.= (EARLY.) BY HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Lorna Doone.= BY R. D. BLACKMORE. - - =Louise de la Valliere.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Love Me Little, Love Me Long.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Lowell’s Poems.= (EARLY.) BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. - - =Lucile.= BY OWEN MEREDITH. - - =Macaria.= BY AUGUSTA J. EVANS. - - =Macaulay’s Literary Essays.= BY T. B. MACAULAY. - - =Macaulay’s Poems.= BY THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY. - - =Madame Therese.= BY ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN. - - =Maggie Miller.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Magic Skin.= BY HONORE DE BALZAC. - - =Mahomet, Life of.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Makers of Florence.= BY MRS. OLIPHANT. - - =Makers of Venice.= BY MRS. OLIPHANT. - - =Man and Wife.= BY WILKIE COLLINS. - - =Man in the Iron Mask.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Marble Faun.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Marguerite de la Valois.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Marian Grey.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Marius, The Epicurian.= BY WALTER PATER. - - =Marmion.= (WITH NOTES.) BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Marquis of Lossie.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =Martin Chuzzlewit.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Mary, Queen of Scots, Life of.= BY P. C. HEADLEY. - - =Mary St. John.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Master of Ballantrae, The.= BY R. L. STEVENSON. - - =Masterman Ready.= BY CAPTAIN MARRYATT. - - =Meadow Brook.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.= TRANSLATED BY GEORGE LONG. - - =Memoirs of a Physician.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Merle’s Crusade.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Micah Clarke.= BY A. CONAN DOYLE. - - =Michael Strogoff.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Middlemarch.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Midshipman Easy.= BY CAPTAIN MARRYATT. - - =Mildred.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Millbank.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Mill on the Floss.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Milton’s Poems.= BY JOHN MILTON. - - =Mine Own People.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Minister’s Wooing, The.= BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. - - =Monastery.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Moonstone.= BY WILKIE COLLINS. - - =Moore’s Poems.= BY THOMAS MOORE. - - =Mosses from an Old Manse.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Murders in the Rue Morgue.= BY EDGAR ALLEN POE. - - =Mysterious Island.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Napoleon Bonaparte, Life of.= BY P. C. HEADLEY. - - =Napoleon and His Marshals.= BY J. T. HEADLEY. - - =Natural Law in the Spiritual World.= BY HENRY DRUMMOND. - - =Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.= BY EDGAR ALLAN POE. - - =Nature, Addresses and Lectures.= BY R. W. EMERSON. - - =Nellie’s Memories.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Nelson, Admiral Horatio, Life of.= BY ROBERT SOUTHEY. - - =Newcomes.= BY WILLIAM M. THACKERAY. - - =Nicholas Nickleby.= BY CHAS. DICKENS. - - =Ninety-Three.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Not Like Other Girls.= BY ROSA N. 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Marchmont</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Queen's Advocate</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Arthur W. Marchmont</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: John Cameron</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 6, 2022 [eBook #67789]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="40%" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<h1>THE QUEEN’S ADVOCATE</h1> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“OVER AND OVER WE ROLLED IN THE DUSTY ROAD.”</p> - -<p class="imageright"><a href="#Page_15"><i>Page 15</i></a></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_titlepage.jpg" alt="" /></div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p><span class="xxlarge">The Queen’s<br /> -<img src="images/i_titletop.jpg" alt="" />Advocate</span><img src="images/i_titletop.jpg" alt="" /></p> - - - -<p><span class="large"><i>By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT</i></span></p> - -<p><i>Author of “When I Was Czar,” “For Love or Crown,”<br /> -“A Courier of Fortune,” “In The Name of a<br /> -Woman,” “Sarita the Carlist,” etc., etc.</i></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p><span class="large"><i>A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers</i><br /> -<img src="images/i_titlebottom.jpg" alt="" /><i>NEW YORK</i></span><img src="images/i_titlebottom.jpg" alt="" /></p> - - - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1904, by<br /> -Arthur W. Marchmont</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - -<tr><td class="tdr"><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td class="tdr" colspan="2"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Rescue</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9"> 9</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Karasch</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_25"> 25</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td><td> <span class="smcap">More Witchcraft</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_39"> 39</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Contest in Will Power</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53"> 53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Unwelcome Visitors</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_67"> 67</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">VI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Fight for the Horses</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82"> 82</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">VII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Escape</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_94"> 94</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">VIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">What Happened in the Night</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_107"> 107</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">IX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">From Bad to Worse</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_121"> 121</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">X.</td><td> <span class="smcap">At Poabja</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_137"> 137</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">To Samac</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_150"> 150</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">On the Hill at Samac</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_162"> 162</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Preparing for the Campaign</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_176"> 176</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XIV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Elma</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_190"> 190</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Developments</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_204"> 204</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XVI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Army’s Plans</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_217"> 217</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XVII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Queen’s Advocate</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_232"> 232</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XVIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Declaration of War</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_246"> 246</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XIX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Prince Albrevics</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_263"> 263</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Insult</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_278"> 278</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Duel</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_291"> 291</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Scent of Peril</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_304"> 304</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Plan of Defence</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_317"> 317</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXIV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Night of Terror</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_330"> 330</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">In Gatrina’s House</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_343"> 343</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXVI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Chris to the Rescue</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_356"> 356</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXVII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">My Defence</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_369"> 369</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXVIII.</td><td> “<span class="smcap">I Cannot Leave My Country</span>” </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_383"> 383</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXIX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Petrosch Has a Plan</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_396"> 396</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">XXX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Camp Again</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_409"> 409</a></td></tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> - -<p class="ph2">The Queen’s Advocate</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I.<br /> - - -<small>THE RESCUE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>Crack!</p> - -<p>It was a rifle shot, sure enough, somewhere in the -hills, and Chris raised his huge head with a low growl -and thrust his nose against me in warning.</p> - -<p>I was lying on the flat of my back, my hands -clasped under my head, thinking lazily, as I watched -the glorious sunset amid the Gravenje hills—where -the play of sunset colour is at times almost as fine -as in Colorado—and speculated when the storm -which was brewing would break.</p> - -<p>I had just been chuckling at the idea of what the -men in Wall Street or the dandies of Fifth Avenue -would have thought of Chase F. Bergwyn, millionaire, -mine-owner, and financier, could they have seen -me then vagabondising in the Bosnian hills. My -dress was a kind of nondescript native costume, half -peasant’s, half miner’s, very dirty and worn with my -rough prospecting work; and I carried a ten days’ -growth of scrubby beard on my sun-tanned face. -The report of the rifle stopped the chuckle on my -lips.</p> - -<p>One of my men must have been after some hill<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -game, I guessed, and in the eagerness of the chase -had disobeyed my strict orders against shooting. I -was anxious not to draw any unnecessary attention -to my doings. I was after another pile, in fact. -When in Vienna, just before, I had been offered what -appeared to be a good thing in the shape of a concession -to work a rich mining district in these Bosnian -hills, and, as I still had a touch of the vagabond -in me, I was roughing it in order that I might look -into the thing for myself.</p> - -<p>I knew that part of Eastern Europe pretty well. -I had lived there as a lad with a relative stationed in -Prague, and as I had the knack of picking up the -Balkan languages, he had found me of such use that -he had taken me with him on many an expedition -among the hills in Bosnia, Servia, and Herzgovina.</p> - -<p>I had delighted in the hills, and had carried my -love for them across the Atlantic when things -changed and I went to the States in search of fortune. -After a time of pretty hard rough-and-tumble hurly-burly -buffetting I had “struck it rich,” and turned -up in New York wealthy enough to play a strong -hand in the big gambles of Wall Street.</p> - -<p>Then the wandering fever laid hold of me again, -and, remembering my days in the Balkans, I was -seized with the idea of utilising the old experiences -for business purposes. There was money to be made, -I believed; and I opened up communications with -folks in Belgrade and Sofia, and was in Vienna, on -my way to the Servian capital, when this Bosnian -mining affair turned up.</p> - -<p>The pile was there right enough, just waiting for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -someone to come along and harvest it. But whether -the difficulties of harvesting it could be overcome, I -should have to settle elsewhere; and until they were -settled I didn’t wish to draw the inquisitive eyes of -any blockheads of Austrian officials upon me.</p> - -<p>There were other dangers, too. Lalwor, a hill -village, was not far off, and the reports about the villagers -were not pleasing. They were not likely to -jump one’s claim, or do anything of that sort, but -were said to be quite ready to knock me on the head -if they had an inkling that I was a rich foreigner. -That at least was the opinion of the man who had -acted as my guide; and probably he knew.</p> - -<p>So that, altogether, that shot annoyed me; and I -sat up, thinking no more about either New York or -the sunset, but just how to find out who had fired it, -and bent upon punishing him for disobedience. Not -so easy this last as it would have been, had I disliked -all the four men composing my party less and trusted -them more.</p> - -<p>Crack!</p> - -<p>Another shot. This time nearer.</p> - -<p>Chris showed greater uneasiness than before, and -getting up ran forward sniffing the air. Almost immediately -afterwards I heard a faint throbbing sound -on the earth, uncommonly like a horse’s gallop. But -who could be galloping our way? No one who was -at all likely to be welcome; that was certain. I -scented trouble, and calling the dog back crouched -with him behind a bush-covered hillock and gazed, -not without some anxiety, up and down the steep, -rough mountain road.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>The camp—which consisted of a cottage or hut for -my use, a shed for the horses, and a tent for the men—lay -two or three hundred yards along a gully, which -branched off at right angles from this road. I -was lying at the mouth of the gully, and from my -position commanded a view from the top to the bottom -of the hill, about a mile in length.</p> - -<p>Crack! crack!</p> - -<p>Two more shots in quick succession; the throbbing -sound of the hoofs came nearer and nearer; and -a horse and rider showed at the top of the hill. I -caught my breath in surprise as I saw the rider was -a woman, who was urging her horse, a wiry little -white animal, to its utmost efforts as it dashed at -break-neck speed down the steep, winding, boulder-strewn, -dangerous road.</p> - -<p>Next, two horsemen came into sight and, with a -loud shout, one of them reined up, and taking deliberate -aim fired at the fugitive woman. My eye was -on her as the shot rang out, and I saw the little white -beast start, and swerve as if hit. The next instant -the blood began to run freely over the flank, and the -horse’s gait told me it was badly wounded.</p> - -<p>The men behind saw it, too; and the brute who had -fired the shot shouted to his companion, and then -continued the pursuit.</p> - -<p>The chase was all but over. The white horse -struggled on gamely, but as it neared the gully where -I lay the pace slackened ominously. Its rider looked -back at her pursuers, and then across the ravine; and -then, to my further amazement, I saw that she was -no more than a girl in years—and a very pretty one,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span> -too; her face flushed with the excitement of the mad -gallop, her eyes wide with alarm, and her features set -with the courage of desperate resolve.</p> - -<p>Her pursuers realised her plight; and being now -sure of capturing her, slung their guns and rode down -the ugly path very cautiously.</p> - -<p>I made ready to take my share in the business. I -had my revolver in my hip pocket, and drew it out, -but did not show myself. My intention was to let -her pass and then get between her and the men. But -her horse was done. The bullet had evidently found -the artery, for the blood was spurting out fast; and -just before she reached the spot where I crouched -the poor beast lurched badly and half sank on its -quarters. The rider had only time to jump cleverly -and quickly from the saddle when the end came, and -the gallant little horse rolled over.</p> - -<p>She must have given up all for lost then; but she -showed no sign of faltering courage. One swift, -desperate glance round she gave, as if in search -of some chance of escape, and I saw her face -was pale and set, but full of determination. Then, -drawing a dainty little stiletto from her dress, she -stood at bay behind the body of the dying horse with -a calmness all eloquent of pluck and nerve.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, with Chris at my heel, and keeping as -much as possible under cover, I crept forward until -I was opposite to her. The men dismounted when -they were still some fifty yards or so above her, and -they were rushing forward to close upon her when I -showed myself, with Chris growling ominously at my -side.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>The surprise caused by my unexpected appearance -gave me a moment’s advantage.</p> - -<p>“Have no fear. The dog will guard you,” I called -to her as I passed. “Guard, Chris, guard, good -dog,” I told him; and instantly understanding me, -he ran to her side.</p> - -<p>“Thank God,” I heard her murmur as I sprang -toward the men, with my revolver levelled at them.</p> - -<p>“You may give it up,” I cried; but that was not -their view. One of them swung his gun round on -the instant, and was in the act of levelling it at me -when I fired, aiming low, and shot him in the leg, -bringing him to the ground.</p> - -<p>His companion hesitated at this, then clubbed his -gun and appeared to be about to attack me, when he -suddenly changed his mind and made a dart for the -horses. I dashed after him, and as he vaulted into -the saddle I fired at his horse and wounded it. Uttering -a cry of rage, he leapt with extraordinary agility -to the unwounded horse, and might then have got -off had not the reins of both animals become entangled. -Before he could disengage them I had -closed up to him.</p> - -<p>I called to him to surrender, but he had plenty of -fight in him, and, taking me no doubt for the peasant -I looked, he first struck at me furiously with his gun, -and then tried to ride me down.</p> - -<p>I checked that effort with a bullet in his horse’s -head, however, and threatened to put one into the -man himself if he did not submit. But still he would -not.</p> - -<p>Leaping free of the falling horse he surprised me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -by running back down the hill helter-skelter towards -the girl, who stood watching us with breathless interest. -I thought he meant to attack her, and, wild -with sudden anger, I rushed after him. He had apparently -remembered, however, that his comrade’s -gun was loaded and his object was to secure it.</p> - -<p>But Chris stopped this. The weapon lay near the -girl and Chris sprang forward and snarled so savagely -looking so formidable and dangerous, that the man -hesitated, and before his hesitation was over I caught -up and closed with him. Over and over we rolled in -the dusty road in a fierce, hand-to-hand tussle, writhing, -kicking, and sprawling as we gripped each other -in that desperate wrestle. But I had the advantage -of method. I was Cumberland bred, and in my boyhood -had learnt some tricks and falls which had stood -me in good stead before now in many a “scrap” in -my rough-and-tumble mining days in Colorado and -Montana.</p> - -<p>I got my grip of him presently, and bit by bit -moved my hands up till my fingers were playing on -his windpipe, and he was seeing stars as I dashed his -thick head again and again on the hard road, until -all the fight and all his senses too were knocked out -of him.</p> - -<p>Then I rose, and taking the reins from the girl’s -horse, I tied him up securely with them.</p> - -<p>All this time I had not spoken to her, except that -first sentence; but I had caught her great grey eyes -fixed upon me questioningly as she followed every -action. Before going to her I had a look at the man -I had shot, and found his leg was broken between the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> -knee and the ankle. I had some rough knowledge -of surgery—one picks up such things knocking about -the world as I had—so I probed about with my knife -and found the bullet, which was in the muscular calf, -cleansed the wound as best I could, and set the bone. -Then I placed him in as comfortable a position as I -could, and told him not to move until I could do -more.</p> - -<p>This done, I rose and went to the girl. She was -now leaning against a boulder by the wayside, deathly -pale, and to my infinite concern I saw that her dress -was all blood-stained. One of the coward’s bullets -must have hit her, I thought.</p> - -<p>“Are you hit?” I asked. I spoke in Serb, as I -was more familiar with that than any other of the -Balkan languages.</p> - -<p>“No. It is the blood from this poor beast.”</p> - -<p>“Thank God for that. You’re very pale, but you -won’t have any more trouble from the men. I’ll see -to that.”</p> - -<p>Instead of replying she appeared in some way to -resent my tone of reassurance, and looked at me -steadily with this curious expression of resentment -mingled with gratitude and some fear. But she had -made friends with Chris, and the great fellow was -pushing his head against her as she stroked him.</p> - -<p>“You were very brave,” I said after a pause, during -which I could not keep my eyes off her. She -was indeed a beautiful girl, with a figure of queenly -grace, and I daresay some of the intense admiration -I felt may have shown in my glance. I had never -seen so lovely a face.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>“If that man is much hurt you had better see to -him,” she said, with a distinct note of command in -her voice.</p> - -<p>“His leg’s broken. I’m going to improvise a -splint, and then get help.”</p> - -<p>“Help?” Quick suspicion prompted the question. -“Do you live about here?”</p> - -<p>I shut down a smile. She took me for a peasant; -and well she might, I thought, as I glanced down at -my clothes, dust-stained, torn, and dishevelled.</p> - -<p>“There is a cottage close here and a tent,” I -answered, evading her question and her glance. -There was clearly a mystery about her to be solved. -It was as evident as that she herself was well-born, -and accustomed to give orders for which she expected -prompt obedience. But leaving all explanations -over for the time, I set about making the splint.</p> - -<p>Returning to the men’s horses I took off the bridle -and saddle of the dead one, cut away the saddle flaps, -and carried them and the reins to the injured man. -The flaps made good splints, and I bound them -tightly with the reins round his leg. He had borne -all my crude surgery work with such stoicism that I -guessed he was a Turk, and spoke to him in the little -Turkish I knew, telling him I would get help and -have him removed directly. He grunted something -about being all right, and soon was smoking as -placidly as though nothing had happened, and a -broken leg was one of the usual events of daily life.</p> - -<p>I returned then to the girl, who was sitting on the -ground with her hands clasped over her face. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -guessed she was as desperately puzzled as I was what -to do next.</p> - -<p>She sprang up quickly as I approached, and again -stared at me with much the same expression of -anxiety and doubt.</p> - -<p>“You seem very clever and resourceful,” she said. -“Can yet get me a horse?”</p> - -<p>“What for? To lose yourself in the darkness -among the hills?”</p> - -<p>“I can pay you—later, I mean. I have no money -on me. Tell me how to send it to you, and I will -give you any price you name. And I will add to it a -generous reward for what you have done already.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think you are strong enough to travel -yet? You are still very white, and trembling like a -leaf. You are scarcely used to this sort of thing, you -see.”</p> - -<p>“I can judge that for myself,” she answered, almost -haughtily, making a great effort to rally her -shaken nerves.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think you are. You don’t realise yet -how much this thing has shaken you.”</p> - -<p>“I am not accustomed to be contradicted in this -way.”</p> - -<p>“You are very near contradicting yourself by -fainting,” I answered. I could see it plainly. “How -long have you been without food?”</p> - -<p>“I do not wish you to question me. Can you get -me a horse, or must I try to walk? I must have a -horse.”</p> - -<p>“There’s another reason. If you know anything -of these hills you’ll know what a storm means among<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -them; and there’s one brewing now. Listen.” As -I spoke we heard the rumbling of distant thunder -among the hills.</p> - -<p>“I cannot stay here, in any case,” she shot back -quickly. Then, after a pause, “Who are you? Your -name, I mean?” This in her sharp imperious manner.</p> - -<p>“My name is Bergwyn.” I slurred the pronunciation -intentionally. I had strong reasons for not -wishing anyone to know I had been on the hills on -my mission.</p> - -<p>But the effect of the name upon her was remarkable; -and her agitation was too great to be concealed -even by the effort she made. She appeared completely -unnerved; and while her eyes opened wide in -unmistakable fear, she shrank from me as though I -were a pestilence incarnate.</p> - -<p>“Bourgwan—the—the brigand? I have heard -of you.” The words were just a whisper, uttered -with a catch of the breath all eloquent of terror.</p> - -<p>“No, I’m not——” I began with a smile intended -to reassure her; but before I could finish the sentence -her own unfortunate guess had completed her undoing, -and with a little gasping sob down she went -in a heap to the ground unconscious, to my utter -consternation.</p> - -<p>Disconcerting as her collapse was, it nevertheless -had the result of deciding me what to do. Another -clap of thunder came at the moment; and, without -waiting to think any longer, I picked her up and set -off as quickly as I could along the ravine to the camp.</p> - -<p>She had not recovered consciousness when I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -reached the cottage; and as there was but one room -in it, I laid her on the bed, bundled my few things -together, tossed them out of sight, and leaving the -dog with her, I went over to the tent.</p> - -<p>I found my four men asleep there, and waking -them with an impartial kick or two, sent them down -to bring up the prisoner and his wounded companion.</p> - -<p>Then I began to realise what a really awkward -matter it was likely to be to have a girl, and such -a girl, quartered upon us. I was not by any means -sure of my own men, even. They had been chosen -by the guide; but even he had deemed them so worthless -and unreliable that he had gone off that morning -in search of others. Without him my position was -very grave. He was already a couple of hours overdue; -and with this storm coming up it was long odds -that he would not arrive until the next morning at the -earliest.</p> - -<p>Still the thing had to be faced. I must take my -chance in the tent with the men that night, and trust -to my own authority and vigilance and wits.</p> - -<p>I went back to the cottage, and was alarmed to find -the girl still unconscious; so I got some brandy, and -supporting her head managed to get a few drops -between her lips. This soon had an effect, and after -a repetition of the remedy she opened her eyes with -a deep, long-drawn sigh, and gave a great start as -she found me bending over her and herself on the -bed in the hut.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right,” I said, soothingly. “You fainted, -probably from exhaustion and the fright you had, -and I brought you here. It was the only thing I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -could do. You are perfectly safe, and the best thing -you can do is to be quiet until you can eat something. -As soon as you’re well enough I’ll find you a horse -and send you wherever you want to go.”</p> - -<p>She listened very quietly, and smiled. A rare -thing, that smile of hers.</p> - -<p>“I want you to feel you can trust me. I am not -that brigand, Bourgwan, or any other brigand, as -it happens; although my name is sufficiently like his -to cause you to make the mistake you did about it. -It’s all very rough here; but it’s the best we can do -for you. Now, do you think you can feel safe enough -to eat and drink something without believing we -mean to poison you?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t.” It was only a whisper, but it was good -hearing.</p> - -<p>“I’ve had to give you a little brandy. Here’s -some more, if you’ll like it; and I can get you some -preserved milk and biscuits presently. Shall I leave -you alone here?”</p> - -<p>The light had gone as the storm gathered; and just -as I spoke the storm burst right overhead with a -flare of lightning that filled the small room with lurid -light, followed by a deafening clap of thunder which -seemed almost to shake the earth until the hut -trembled.</p> - -<p>But she showed no fear of the storm; so that I -gathered she was used to the violence with which -they raged in that district. She sat staring out of -the one narrow window wistfully and disconsolately.</p> - -<p>“I cannot go?” she said, making it almost a question.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span>I threw the door wider open, and pointed to the -rain that was coming down in sheets—just like a -tropical downpour.</p> - -<p>“Quite impossible—you can see.”</p> - -<p>She rose and looked out, shuddered, and then -went back to the bed with a sigh of disappointment. -Some moments passed then. The storm raged furiously: -the lightning flaring and flashing with intense -brilliance, filling the sordid little dingy room almost -continuously with its vivid blue light; the thunder -pealing and crashing and roaring as though the very -heavens would split; and the rain sweeping and swirling -down like a flood.</p> - -<p>And within there was silence between us: she sitting -dead still on the low pallet, the dog haunched -by her side; and I standing, very ill at ease, near the -door, not knowing what to say or do next, and feeling -very much of an awkward fool. I wanted to -know that she trusted me, and would have given anything -for a word from her to show she did; while at -the same time I felt I would have bitten my tongue -out rather than have asked for such a word.</p> - -<p>Yet out it came, nevertheless.</p> - -<p>“You feel better and—and safe?” I asked.</p> - -<p>The lightning showed me that she moved slightly, -turned her head and glanced toward me just for an -instant, but said nothing.</p> - -<p>“I’ll get you something to eat,” I murmured fatuously, -and went out and pelted through the rain to -the tent.</p> - -<p>I had got some biscuits and a tin of milk, when a -thought occurred to me. The men had not returned,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -and their guns piled in a corner of the tent -caught my eye as I was leaving. I made a bundle -of them and carried them away. I could trust my -men just as well if they had no firearms.</p> - -<p>When I got back to the hut she was sitting on the -side of the bed and had quite shaken off the faintness.</p> - -<p>“You need not have gone through the rain—but -I suppose you are used to it?” she said.</p> - -<p>“A man in my position has to get used to anything. -Here are the biscuits and the milk. I’ve -some tinned meat in the cupboard here. Can you -eat?”</p> - -<p>“What are those?” she cried, pointing to the -guns.</p> - -<p>“The men’s guns. Best to keep them in the dry, -you see.” I spoke as indifferently as I could; but -she was very quick, and by the light of the storm I -saw her eyes upon my face, with a sharp, piercing -look.</p> - -<p>“That’s not your reason. I hear it in your voice. -Is there anything more to fear?”</p> - -<p>“No.” It was a lie, of course, but I uttered it -stoutly, feeling the need of it. “If you’ll eat some of -this and get some strength back, I’ll explain the -position presently.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” she asked, starting and listening.</p> - -<p>In an interval of the storm I heard the voices of -the men raised in high tones.</p> - -<p>“Nothing, only the men with the prisoner,” I replied -calmly; but I didn’t understand the reason for -the high voices, and didn’t like it. “I’ll just go and -see them.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>“Don’t go, please.” Half command, in the same -imperious tone I was getting to know well; but unmistakably -also half entreaty. It was the note I -had been waiting for so eagerly, and I felt myself go -hot with pleasure. She did trust me.</p> - -<p>“As you wish,” I answered. “But I had better -go.”</p> - -<p>There was a pause, and then she said, in a quiet -level tone:</p> - -<p>“You must do as you think best, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Chris here will answer for your safety. Try and -eat something,” I said; and with that I ran back again -to the tent.</p> - -<p>In a moment I saw something was wrong. My -four men were clustered near the fellow whose leg I -had broken, quarrelling angrily, with many gestures; -while the man I had made prisoner was not in the -tent at all.</p> - -<p>“Where’s the other man?” I asked.</p> - -<p>They all turned at the sound of my voice, and one -of them, with whom I had before had some bother, -took the question to himself. He shrugged his -broad shoulders, first scowled, and then laughed insolently.</p> - -<p>“He’s escaped,” he said, his tone a mixture of -doggedness and defiance.</p> - -<p>The trouble I had been looking for had come, just -when it was most unwelcome.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II.<br /> - - -<small>KARASCH.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>I had had to deal with worse trouble than this -before, however, and to tackle far more dangerous -men than the fellow who, having sounded the first -note of rebellion, stood eyeing me with lowering -brows, while his fingers played round the haft of the -knife he carried.</p> - -<p>These Eastern Europeans can be dangerous -enough in a crowd, or in the dark, or in any circumstances -which offer a chance of treachery. But they -don’t fight well alone or in the open. That’s where -they differ from the desperadoes of the West and the -mining camps; and I knew it.</p> - -<p>The tent was a very large one, affording plenty of -room for a scrimmage, and as I walked straight up -to the man, keeping my eyes fixed on his, the rest -drew back a little. That’s another peculiarity of the -people of the hills. They will back up a companion -so long as the man in command is out of the way, -and then back down quite as promptly when the -music has to be faced.</p> - -<p>“See here, Karasch,” I said to the ringleader; “I -don’t want any more trouble with you—or with anyone -else; but I’m not taking any insolence from you. -Mind that, now. What do you mean by saying the -prisoner escaped?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>Before he answered he glanced round at his companions.</p> - -<p>“He ran away,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>“I tied him up so that he couldn’t run. Who set -him free? Whoever did that will answer to me.”</p> - -<p>“Karasch did it,” answered one of the others. -Then I guessed the reason of the high words I had -heard, and that the speaker, whose name was Gartski, -had been against the thing in opposition to the rest.</p> - -<p>“Why did you do it, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>“Because I chose to; I’m no wench minder,” he -replied with an insolent laugh.</p> - -<p>I did not hesitate a second, but while the laugh was -still on his lips I struck him full in the face as hard as -I could hit him, and down he went like a ninepin. -He scrambled up, cursing and swearing and spitting -out the blood from his mouth, and made ready to -rush at me with his long knife, when I covered him -with my revolver.</p> - -<p>“Put that knife down, Karasch,” I cried, sternly. -“Don’t try any monkey tricks with me. And you -others, choose right now which side you’re on. I’ve -been looking for this trouble for a couple of days -past, and I’m quite ready for it.”</p> - -<p>Gartski came to my side, and one of the others, -Petrov, drew to Karasch; the fourth, Andreas, remaining -undecided.</p> - -<p>“You’re faithful to me, Gartski?” I asked. My -guide had told me before that he was, so I felt certain -of him.</p> - -<p>“My life is yours,” he answered simply.</p> - -<p>“Good; then we’ll soon settle this. Wait, Karasch.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -There isn’t room for two leaders in this camp, -and we’ll settle this between us—you and I alone—once -for all.”</p> - -<p>I took Gartski’s knife and handed him my revolver.</p> - -<p>“If anyone tries to interfere in the quarrel, shoot -him, Gartski,” I said, and knife in hand I turned to -the others. “Now, Karasch, if you’re man enough, -we’ll fight on equal terms.”</p> - -<p>“Good,” said the other two. It was a proposition -fair enough to please them all, particularly as his supporters -believed Karasch could account for me pretty -easily in such a fight.</p> - -<p>He was quite ready for the tussle, and we began -at once. The tent was so gloomy—we had only the -dim light from a couple of lanterns—that it was with -some difficulty I could keep track of his eyes as he -crouched down and moved stealthily around, watching -his opportunity to catch me at a disadvantage -for his spring, his long ugly knife reflecting a gleam -now from one and now from the other of the lanterns -as he moved.</p> - -<p>The storm was still raging furiously, and now and -again a lurid glare of the lightning would light up -the tent for an instant so vividly that the place seemed -almost dark by contrast the next moment.</p> - -<p>The men drew to one side watching us, and the -wounded prisoner, stoic as he had shown himself in -his pain, propped himself up on one arm and followed -the fight with close interest.</p> - -<p>My antagonist’s fighting was in the approved cat-like -method. Crouching low, he would move, with -lithe, stealthy tread, for a step or two, then pause,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -then spring suddenly in a feinted attack, then as -quickly recover himself, and begin all over again.</p> - -<p>Fortunately I was no novice at the game; but I -had learnt the thing in another school. A Mexican -had taught me—an adept with the knife, with half a -score of lives to the credit of his skill. I stood all -the time quite still; every nerve at tension, every -muscle ready for the spring when the moment came, -but wasting no strength in useless feints. The less -you do before the moment comes, the more you can -do when it does come.</p> - -<p>Never for an instant did my eyes stray from his; -noting every change of expression; watching every -movement, step, and gesture; almost every breath he -drew; and using every second to find the weak spot -in his attack.</p> - -<p>I soon saw his purpose. He was striving to make -me give ground and drive me back to where I should -have no elbow room for free movement. But I did -not yield an inch, not even when he sprang so near -me in one of his feints as to make me think he meant -business at last.</p> - -<p>Instead of giving ground I began to take it. -Twice he made as if to rush at me and each time as -he leapt back I stepped a pace forward. As the tent -was too small to admit of his circling me, he saw that -he was losing ground; and I noticed a shadow of -uneasiness come creeping to his eyes.</p> - -<p>Then I saw my plan, and the real shrewdness of -the Mexican’s tactics. My opponent’s method had -a serious flaw. During the moment that he was recovering -himself after his feints he was incapable of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> -attack, and if I could close with him at one of those -moments I should have him at an immense disadvantage.</p> - -<p>With this thought I drew him on. When his next -feinting spring came I fell back a pace, and I could -tell by the renewed light in his eyes that he felt reassured -and confident. He had made me give way, -apparently, and felt he could easily drive me back -until he would have me at his mercy.</p> - -<p>The next time I repeated the manœuvre, and then -a grim grin of triumph lighted his face. He crouched -again and moved about me, stalking me to drive me -into an awkward corner of the place, his eyes gleaming -the while with fierce confidence and murderous -intent.</p> - -<p>Inspired by this over-confidence, he sprang at me -again, this time too far, calculating that I should -again give way. But I did not, and as he jumped -back hurriedly to retrieve the mistake I closed on -him, caught his right wrist with my left hand, and -pressed him back, chest to chest, holding my right -hand away from his left which groped frantically and -desperately to clutch it.</p> - -<p>In that kind of tussle he was no match for me. I -had all a trained wrestler’s tricks with my legs, and -tripped him in a moment so that he went down with -his left arm under him. I heard the bone snap as -we fell and I tore the knife from his grip.</p> - -<p>His life was mine by all the laws of combat in that -wild district, and for a moment I held my weapon -poised ready to strike home to his heart.</p> - -<p>To do him justice he neither quailed, nor uttered a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -sound. If he had shown a sign of weakness I think -I should have finished the thing as I was fairly entitled -to, and have killed him. But he was a brave -fellow, so I spared him and got up and turned to the -rest.</p> - -<p>“Do either of you dispute my leadership?” I said -to the others. But they had had their lesson, and -had apparently learnt it thoroughly.</p> - -<p>“It was Karasch’s doing, and his only,” said Petrov, -who had formerly taken sides against me.</p> - -<p>“Get up, Karasch,” I said, in a short sharp tone. -He got up, and I saw his left arm was dangling uselessly -at his side. “Now tell me why you set that -prisoner free?”</p> - -<p>“You can fight. Your muscles are like iron. I’ll -serve a man who can fight as you can,” he growled.</p> - -<p>“That’s a bargain,” said I. “Here;” and I held -out my hand. He looked at me in surprise.</p> - -<p>“By the living God,” he muttered, as he put his -hand slowly into mine.</p> - -<p>“Here’s your knife,” I said next, returning it to -him.</p> - -<p>He drew back, his surprise greater even than -before.</p> - -<p>“You trust it to me?” He took it in the same -slow hesitating manner; and then with a quick -change of manner he set his heel on it and with a -fierce and savage tug at the haft, he broke the bright -blade in two.</p> - -<p>“It’s been raised against you; and I’m your man -now and for always,” and down he went on one knee,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -and seizing my hand kissed it, and then laid it on his -head.</p> - -<p>Demonstrative folk these rough wild hill men of -Eastern Europe, and I knew the significance of this -act of personal homage.</p> - -<p>So did the others who had watched this quaint -result of the fight with the same breathless interest -as they had followed the fight itself.</p> - -<p>“If you serve me well you’ll find I can pay better -than I can fight, Karasch,” I said, as he rose.</p> - -<p>“I’m not serving for pay now,” he replied simply. -“I serve you. My life is yours. Gartski, go and -saddle a couple of the horses.”</p> - -<p>“What for?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“I’ll go and find the prisoner. He can’t have ridden -far in this storm; and I know his road.”</p> - -<p>“But your arm is broken.”</p> - -<p>“We can tie it up while he gets the horses.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me why you set him free, Karasch,” I said, -as Gartski and Andreas went out. “And while you -talk I’ll see to your arm.” I examined it, and found -the fracture in the upper arm; and having set it as -best I could I dressed it and bound it up while he -spoke.</p> - -<p>“On account of the woman,” he said. “I know -the man, and he told me about her. She’s a witch -and a thief and worse, and comes from Belgrade. -She murdered a child, and was being sent to Maglai, -in the hills, to be imprisoned; and this morning cast -a spell over the men who were taking her and -escaped. They were to have a big sum of money if -they got her safe to Maglai, and the man promised<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -me a share of it if I’d let him go back and bring his -friends here to retake her. I have no mercy for a -witch. God curse them all;” and he crossed himself -earnestly and spat on the ground.</p> - -<p>“She is no witch, Karasch, but just a girl in a -plight.”</p> - -<p>“A witch can look just as she pleases. You don’t -know them, Burgwan”—this was how they pronounced -my name. “She was an old woman when -she left Belgrade. My friend told me that; and she’s -been growing younger every hour. She’s known to -be a hundred years old at least. She’s cast her spell -over you.”</p> - -<p>This was true enough; although not in the sense -he meant. He was so obviously in earnest that I -saw it was useless to attempt to argue him out of his -superstition.</p> - -<p>“Well, witch or no witch, spell or no spell, I am -going to see her into safety,” I answered firmly.</p> - -<p>“You’ll live to rue it, Burgwan. If I help you, it’s -because I serve you; not to serve her, God’s curse on -her;” and he crossed himself again and spat again, -as he always did when he spoke of her. “If you -want to be safe from her spells and the devil, her -master, you’d better twist her neck at midnight and -lop off her hands. It’s the only way to break the -spell when once cast.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, well, I’ll try and find another way. And I’ll -take all the risks. Was that what you were all -wrangling about when I came in the hut just now?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. She’s done harm enough, already. That -man’s broken leg, three good horses killed, and now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -my arm;” and he cursed her again bitterly. “It’ll -be you next,” he added.</p> - -<p>“It’ll not be my arm that she breaks,” was my -thought.</p> - -<p>“What he says is true,” interposed the man whom -I had shot. “She’s a witch and a devil. Else how -did she know when to escape and how to ride here to -you?”</p> - -<p>“Answer that, Burgwan,” said Karasch, confidently. -“How could she know, if she weren’t a -witch?”</p> - -<p>Gartski came in then to say the horses were ready, -and his entrance made any reply unnecessary, for -Karasch rose at once, went out and mounted.</p> - -<p>“I’ll bring him back,” he said, “I know I can find -him unless that devil blinds the track.”</p> - -<p>“Why should she do that, as it’s for her own advantage?” -I asked; but he and Andreas were already -moving off, and his answer was lost in the night air.</p> - -<p>The storm had passed and the rain ceased, and as -I watched the two men ride off, the moon came out -from behind the clouds, so that I could follow the -horses for some distance down the ravine. As soon -as they had passed out of sight I turned to the hut.</p> - -<p>I did not enter, but stood near the little window -and leant against the wall thinking. The tale I had -heard concerning the girl had made me very thoughtful. -Those who know anything of the ignorant -superstition of the peasantry of the Balkans will best -appreciate the danger to her of that grim reputation. -I had heard scores of stories of men and women who -had been done to death with merciless barbarity for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -witchcraft. The mere charge itself was enough to -turn from them any chance of fair trial and justice: -and I knew there was not one of the men with me -who would not have thought he was doing a Christian -act to strangle her. To kill her was to aim a -blow at the devil: the accepted duty of every God-fearing -man and woman.</p> - -<p>But it was not so much her danger that set me -thinking then as the reason which must lie behind -the accusation. Who could have been devilish -enough to set such a brand upon her; and why? Did -she know her reputation? There must have been -some black work somewhere to account for the plight -to which such a girl had thus been reduced.</p> - -<p>High-born and gently nurtured she certainly was; -accustomed to command and to be obeyed, as she -had given abundant proofs; endowed with beauty -and grace far beyond the average of her sex; and -with innocence and purity stamped on every feature -and manifesting itself in every act! Great enough -to have powerful enemies, probably, I guessed; and -in that I looked to find the key to the problem.</p> - -<p>I was in the midst of these somewhat rambling -thoughts when the casement was pushed open gently.</p> - -<p>“Is it you, Burgwan?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is.”</p> - -<p>“What are you doing there?” I was beginning -to listen now for the little note of command in her -voice.</p> - -<p>“I am on watch.”</p> - -<p>“I have turned you from your cottage.” This<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -was half apologetic: followed directly by the other -tone. “You will be well paid.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you.” It was no use protesting. It -seemed to please her to feel that she could repay me -for any trouble; and it did no harm to humour her.</p> - -<p>“The storm is over. Can we not start?”</p> - -<p>“Where would you go?”</p> - -<p>She hesitated. “I wish to get to the railway.”</p> - -<p>“To go where?”</p> - -<p>“Do not question me.”</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon. I am not questioning you -in the sense you imply. There are two lines of railway -about the same distance away. One leads to -Serajevo, the other to Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“How far away?”</p> - -<p>“The former perhaps twenty miles; the other I -don’t know.”</p> - -<p>She caught her breath at this. “Where am I, -then?”</p> - -<p>“In the middle of the Gravenje hills.”</p> - -<p>“God have mercy on me.” It was only a whisper; -but so eloquent of despair.</p> - -<p>“You need not despair. It is as easy to travel -forty miles as thirty; and twenty are not much worse -than ten. I will see you through.” But this touched -her dignity again.</p> - -<p>“You shall be well paid,” she repeated. I let it -pass, and there came a pause.</p> - -<p>“Can we not start?”</p> - -<p>“You have not told me for which railway; but it -doesn’t matter, as we cannot start to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” The imperative mood again.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>“My guide is not here.”</p> - -<p>“Your guide?” Suspicion and incredulity now. -“Do you mean to say you don’t know your own -country? Do you expect me to believe that? It is -a mere excuse.”</p> - -<p>“Have you found me deceive you yet in anything?”</p> - -<p>“There may have been no cause yet.”</p> - -<p>“Will it not be more just to wait until you do find -cause then?”</p> - -<p>Another pause followed.</p> - -<p>“I don’t wish to anger you,” she said, with a -touch of nervousness; and as if to correct the impression, -she added: “Perhaps you do not think I can -keep my promise to pay you.”</p> - -<p>“You may disbelieve me, but I don’t disbelieve -you. I have told you no more than the truth.”</p> - -<p>“But why do you need a guide?” she asked after -a moment’s thought.</p> - -<p>“Because I don’t know the way, and don’t care -to trust to the men here now.”</p> - -<p>“But if it is your own country, why don’t you -know it?”</p> - -<p>“It is not my own country.” This surprised her, -and again she was silent for a time.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” was the next question. “And -where do you belong?”</p> - -<p>“I am Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“That is the name of the brigand.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_036.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“IN A SECOND SHE WAS IN THE GRIP OF HALF A DOZEN MEN.”<br /> - -<span class="imageright"><a href="#Page_136"><i>Page 136</i></a></span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>“I know that; but I am not a brigand. And now -I think you had better try and rest. If we are to -reach the railway to-morrow, it will be a long day’s -ride, and you must get some sleep. You can sleep -in perfect safety, the dog will stay with you.”</p> - -<p>“You are a strange man, Burgwan. What are -you?”</p> - -<p>“Does it matter so long as I can bring you out of -this plight? Do what I ask, please. Rest and get -sleep and strength.”</p> - -<p>“Do you presume to give me your orders?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, when they are for your good. Have you -eaten anything?”</p> - -<p>“It is for me to give orders, not to obey them.”</p> - -<p>“Have you eaten what I brought you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“So far well, then. Good-night;” and I moved -a pace or two away.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“I shall be out here all night within call. And you -have Chris.” She looked at me in the moonlight and -our eyes met.</p> - -<p>“Why do I trust you, Burgwan?” I started with -pleasure.</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t matter so long as you do. Good-night.”</p> - -<p>“It is a shame for you to have to stay there all -night; but I shall feel safe if you do.”</p> - -<p>“It’s all right.” I was smitten suddenly with -nervousness and answered brusquely.</p> - -<p>“I shall sleep, Burgwan. Good-night.”</p> - -<p>Her tone had a touch of gentle confidence, and I -thought she smiled. But I did not look straight at -her and made no reply.</p> - -<p>In one way she was a witch, truly enough; she had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> -cast over me a spell which made me feel to her as I -had never felt toward any other woman; and I leaned -back against the wall with my arms folded thinking, -thinking, aye, and dreaming, for all that I was full -awake and my every sense alert and vigilant on my -watch.</p> - -<p>Presently, how soon or how long afterwards I -know not, I heard the casement opened softly and -she peeped out and round at me.</p> - -<p>“You are still there, Burgwan?”</p> - -<p>“I said I would be, and I generally keep my word.”</p> - -<p>“You are not going to stand all night?”</p> - -<p>“No; there’s a stone here that will serve for a seat -if I tire.”</p> - -<p>She drew in her head for a moment, and I heard -her move something in the cottage.</p> - -<p>“There is a chair here and a rug. Take them;” -and she put them out through the window.</p> - -<p>“You are kindly thoughtful,” I said. But here -again I seemed to cross the curious dividing line in -her thoughts, for she drew her head up, and looked -at me half indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Good-night.” She spoke very stiffly, and closed -the casement with sharp abruptness.</p> - -<p>But I forgave the action for the kindness of the -thought, and resumed my watch and my dreaming.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III.<br /> - - -<small>MORE WITCHCRAFT.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>The night hours sped away with only one incident -to disturb us. I heard a strange noise which I could -not locate nor understand, and as I stood listening -intently Chris, within the hut, barked loudly.</p> - -<p>I heard the girl speak to him, and was half minded -to ask her to let him out that he might help my -watch; but I heard nothing more, and so let the thing -pass.</p> - -<p>Day had broken before Karasch returned. He -was alone, and had only failure and mishap to report. -Trouble had dogged him from the start. He had -not seen a trace of the man he had gone out to find. -His companion’s horse had put his foot in a hole and -broken his leg, and nearly killed Andreas, who was -lying some fifteen miles away in the hills; while Karasch -himself had twice been thrown, the second time -with disastrous results to his broken arm.</p> - -<p>He left no doubt as to where he laid the blame.</p> - -<p>“We are bewitched, Burgwan,” he said, his brow -frowning and his glance threatening. “In five years -I have never once been thrown; and now twice -within as many hours. The spell was upon us, and -we were not meant to find the man.”</p> - -<p>“Does anyone cast spells for their own hurt, Karasch? -It was necessary for her safety that the man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -should be caught and prevented from bringing his -comrades here.”</p> - -<p>“You are not of this country, or you would know -better. These devils work their own ends in their -own ways. I lifted my hand against you because of -her, and have brought the spell upon me. God defend -us;” and he crossed himself earnestly.</p> - -<p>“But why should she help to bring her pursuers -here?” I repeated; and might as well have reasoned -with the wind.</p> - -<p>“You do not know. He will never reach his -friends; or, if he does, the way hither will be hidden -from them.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a blind fool, Karasch,” I exclaimed, -losing my temper.</p> - -<p>He looked at me and shook his head slowly with a -suggestion of commiseration.</p> - -<p>“It is not I who am the fool or blind, Burgwan,” -he answered, almost sadly. “Listen. The first time I -was thrown, I saw before me a stretch of beautiful -turf and pricked my horse to a gallop across it when -he plunged right into a pit; and I wonder I was not -killed. The next time, just before dawn, I was feeling -my way carefully when she herself appeared suddenly -in front of me, all white fire, and flashing a -gleaming sword before my eyes. I checked my -horse, in fear, and he reared and fell back almost on -top of me. Is not that enough to prove the spell?”</p> - -<p>It proved to me that he had either been asleep on -his horse or was suffering from disordered nerves as -the result of fatigue and the pain from his arm; but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -when I told him so, he grew more morose and pitying -in his manner.</p> - -<p>“I know why you talk as you do,” he said. “You -have looked into her eyes. The spell is on you, too—on -all here; and we shall die—unless she does.” -The last three words were uttered after a long pause, -during which he had glanced ominously and fearsomely -toward the hut. Superstition held him in its -thrall.</p> - -<p>I judged it best to check the thought under the -words at once.</p> - -<p>“The man who lays a finger on her to her hurt -will have to reckon with me, Karasch,” I said, -sternly, and turned away.</p> - -<p>He made no reply, but rode on to the shed some -distance to the rear of the tent, where we stalled the -horses.</p> - -<p>I began to scent a fresh danger for the “witch,” -and was fast growing as anxious as she herself could -be to get away. If Karasch believed that he would -be saving me from the spell by killing her, I knew he -was quite capable of doing it in the face of any commands -I might lay upon him and the others.</p> - -<p>It was easy to guess at his crude reasoning. I had -looked into her eyes, and was thus under her spell -while she lived. My orders for her safety would -thus be regarded as the result of the accursed enchantment; -and they would only have to kill her to -free me from the spell and make me to see that they -had done the right thing. They would feel that I -should then be as eager to reward them for her murder -as I was now to forbid them touching her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>Added to this was the actual and pressing danger -arising from the fact that the man who had pursued -her had escaped to carry the tidings of her whereabouts -to his companions and bring them down upon -us, perhaps in force.</p> - -<p>The situation was growing tighter with every fresh -turn, and I made up my mind to rush matters and -get away at once. I would not wait for the return -of my guide, but take the risk of finding my way -alone.</p> - -<p>I had just made this decision when Gartski came -running round the tent with a white, scared face. He -stopped some yards short of the hut, as if loath to -come too near the abode of the accursed one, and -crossed himself.</p> - -<p>“The horses have been killed, Burgwan. Will -you come to the shed to Karasch?”</p> - -<p>The news, if true, was ill enough to make me -change colour, and I went back with him.</p> - -<p>“We are all under a curse. It is witch’s work,” -he said in a curiously awed tone; and he wrung his -hands and crossed himself again. I was beginning -to regard that gesture of devotion with a pretty considerable -dislike by that time.</p> - -<p>The news was true enough. The three horses lay -dead on the shed floor, each in a pool of blood; and -on the quarter of each of them a small ring of blood -was to be seen some two inches across. Peering -into the shed stood the horse from which Karasch -had just dismounted, his neck outstretched and his -ears cocked in fear.</p> - -<p>Karasch and Petrov were inside, preternaturally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> -grave and awe-struck. Both looked as frightened as -Gartski when he had come running with the news to -me; and Karasch pointed ominously in turn at the -marks on each of the dead animals.</p> - -<p>“The witch’s mark. It’s always there,” he said.</p> - -<p>It was unquestionably very strange, and I looked -solemn enough no doubt to lead them to believe I -was beginning to share their own superstitious fears. -It was about the worst thing that could have occurred -at such a juncture; and for the moment I could think -of nothing but the possible consequences of so disastrous -an occurrence.</p> - -<p>With an effort I roused myself and examined the -“witch’s” mark on each of the beasts. A circle had -been cut with the point of a sharp knife, the mark -being just skin deep.</p> - -<p>“How did they die, do you think, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>He pointed again to the marks and smiled grimly, -as though the cause were too plain to need words.</p> - -<p>“And all this blood?” I asked.</p> - -<p>He shrugged his great shoulders.</p> - -<p>I looked at Gartski and the third man closely, for -any sign that they had had a hand in it; but their -superstitious fear was too genuine to be doubted.</p> - -<p>“Turn the horses over,” I ordered; but they -shrank away and obstinately refused to put a finger -near them.</p> - -<p>“Who is smeared with the blood of a witch-killed -beast dies before the moon is old,” said Karasch. -“They must burn where they lie.”</p> - -<p>“You’re a set of fools,” I cried angrily. But -neither anger nor request was heeded.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>I took the iron bar from the door, and levering it -under the smallest of the horses turned the carcase -over sufficiently to find what I sought—the cause of -death. There was a wound just under the heart. -The horse had been stabbed with a sword or long -knife. Whoever had done the work knew where and -how to strike so as to kill instantly.</p> - -<p>I went outside then and searched the ground all -round the door carefully.</p> - -<p>“Come back to the tent all of you,” I said. I led -the way, scrutinising every inch of the ground and -following a somewhat unaccountable trail I had discovered. -It led direct to the tent.</p> - -<p>“Let me see to your arm, Karasch,” I said first, -intending to let them have some minutes to recover -from the first effects of their stupefaction.</p> - -<p>“No, Burgwan. You have cursed blood on you. -You cannot touch me. I should die, too.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then, we’ll settle this thing first. You -saddled Karasch’s horse last night, Gartski. Did -you fasten the shed afterwards?”</p> - -<p>“No; we never fasten it. Bars won’t keep out -devils.”</p> - -<p>“This is the work of no devil. Those horses have -been killed by someone who plunged a knife into -their hearts and then cut that ring on the haunch. -I saw the wound myself on the beast I examined. -They were all right when you left them?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, quite right.”</p> - -<p>“Did either of you go near the shed again until -Karasch returned, or did you sleep?” I asked next,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -remembering the strange noise I had heard in the -night.</p> - -<p>“We had had a long day, and both slept soundly.”</p> - -<p>“We’re getting very close to it now,” I answered. -I turned to our prisoner with the broken leg. “How -is your leg this morning, my man?”</p> - -<p>“Very painful, but better,” he replied after a -pause.</p> - -<p>“Did you sleep, or did you hear anything in the -night?”</p> - -<p>“I slept all through the night. I was asleep when -you came in just now.”</p> - -<p>“Then it ought not to be so painful. I’ll have a -look at it.”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” he cried, putting up his hands to ward -me off. “Don’t touch me. You have touched the -accursed blood.”</p> - -<p>“Do you believe in it, too?” and I looked keenly -at him.</p> - -<p>He crossed himself earnestly and spat on the floor.</p> - -<p>“Stay, stay. You’re a Turk! why do you cross -yourself with the cross of the Christians? I won’t -touch you against your will, but I must see how your -leg is doing. Lift him up, Gartski,” and I pointed to -a bench. They hesitated. “Do as I say; and -smartly, too. You know me,” I cried sternly.</p> - -<p>The man objected and protested with many oaths, -and cursed me volubly. But I insisted; and the -others did not dare to disobey me. Karasch himself -plucked the man’s rug off, and the other two lifted -him.</p> - -<p>The mystery was instantly plain to me. The man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -was smeared from head to foot with mud and blood, -the traces of which he had tried to remove; and lying -where his body had covered them were a knife and a -small lantern; while a glance at his injured leg -showed me that the splints had been all but torn off -in the exertions of his night’s work.</p> - -<p>He was a faithful servant to his masters, whoever -they might be; and he had conceived the design of -killing the only horses we had, in order to prevent -the escape of the girl before his comrades could return -to recapture her.</p> - -<p>Waiting until the two men in the tent were fast -asleep he had dragged himself, painfully and laboriously, -through the mud to the shed, had shut himself -in, and, by the light of the lantern he carried, had -deliberately stabbed one horse after the other, putting -on each the witch’s mark. He knew the superstition -about it, of course, and trusted to that to save -him from the risk of discovery. I had seen the slimy -trail he had left in the mud, however, and had thus -detected him.</p> - -<p>With what dogged effort he had acted and the -stoical endurance he had shown were evidenced by -the condition of his wounded leg. The splints had -been torn off, and he must have suffered excruciating -agony in the grating of the fractured bones.</p> - -<p>I taxed him with the deed, but he denied it, of -course, and swore by every oath he could think of, -Christian and Mahomedan alike, that he was innocent -and had slept soundly the whole night through.</p> - -<p>I drew Karasch aside. “You can see for yourself -what happened,” I said, significantly and triumphantly.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -But his superstition was proof even against -such evidence.</p> - -<p>“You do not understand, Burgwan; I do,” he replied, -in the same dismal fanatical tone.</p> - -<p>“The thing can be seen as plainly as a mountain in -the moonlight,” I exclaimed, impatiently. “He -wants to prevent our getting away until his companions -get here.”</p> - -<p>But Karasch only shook his head.</p> - -<p>“You can see that he did it, can’t you, man?”</p> - -<p>“I can see she used his body to do it. They often -do that. He did it in a dream. His hand; her mind. -I’ll question him.”</p> - -<p>“And put a ready-made lie into his thoughts,” I -exclaimed, angrily.</p> - -<p>“It is witch’s work, more than his,” he repeated, -stubbornly and doggedly. I felt I should lose my -temper if I stayed longer, and tossing up my hands -in despair at his folly, I gave up talking sense to him.</p> - -<p>I washed off the traces of the blood from my hands, -and having got materials for a breakfast, went away -to the hut to try and think what next to do in view -of this fresh disaster.</p> - -<p>I don’t think I had ever been more completely -cornered than I was by the position which faced me -then. I was thirty miles or so from anywhere; I -did not know the road for even a league from the -camp; and I hadn’t an animal left worth calling a -horse. If I attempted to leave with the girl, we should -probably be lost, or break down by the way. Yet -if I stayed where I was, we should have her pursuers -back to fetch her; while, even if they did<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -not come, there was an almost hourly risk that my -own men would break out against her in order to -deliver me from her enchantment.</p> - -<p>Whichever way I turned I could see nothing but -imminent peril for her—peril of death indeed; and -cudgel my wits as I would, I could see no turning in -the long, straight lane of danger.</p> - -<p>I remember stopping midway between the tent -and the hut, and setting down the things I carried, -and glancing round at the circle of frowning hills -with a confused and dismaying sense of feebleness. -The breeze of the morning, fresh and invigorating -as it was, seemed to grow hot, stifling, oppressive, -until it was positively difficult to breathe freely. The -hills had become suddenly as the walls of a prison, -shutting me in, a helpless, crippled prisoner. Light, -freedom, hope, life were all on the other side of -them, but the path was barred and the way of escape -blocked. My nerves were shaken and the mental -perspective warped, for the moment, in the exaggeration -of sudden alarm for the girl.</p> - -<p>The sight of her brought me to my senses again. -She appeared at the door of the hut and looking -about her saw me and smiled. I must keep the -knowledge of danger from her, of course, so I went -down and pretended to busy myself with my packages -while I pulled myself together.</p> - -<p>I picked them up and went on to the hut whistling -a strain of the “Star Spangled Banner,” and trying -to appear as if I hadn’t a thought in the world above -breakfast.</p> - -<p>“Good-morning, Burgwan,” she said, with a sort -of chary patronage and encouragement.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>“Good-morning. I have brought your breakfast. -Very homely diet, but the best we can offer you -here.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind. What time do we start?” She -had a rare knack of finding awkward questions.</p> - -<p>“The guide is not come yet,” I answered, conscious -that my pause would rouse her suspicions.</p> - -<p>“But I cannot wait long.”</p> - -<p>“That’s true enough.” I spoke the thought aloud, -unwittingly.</p> - -<p>“What does that mean?” Very sharply asked, -this.</p> - -<p>“I can’t answer any questions yet. I have to -think.”</p> - -<p>The reply appeared to offend her, and her eyes -flashed as she drew herself up with a gesture of -authority and constraint. She was turning back into -the hut when she caught sight of some stains on my -clothes.</p> - -<p>“That is—blood?” She paused before the word.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it’s blood. I didn’t know it was there.”</p> - -<p>She shrank from me for a space against the lintel.</p> - -<p>“It’s horse’s blood. We’ve had some trouble in -the stables, and I’m afraid I don’t cut a very pretty -figure just now.” I tried to make light of it in this -way; but it was a feeble effort.</p> - -<p>“Tell me—at once. The truth, please.” There -was eagerness now in her tone, as well as the usual -imperative note.</p> - -<p>I hesitated. “I suppose you’d better know it,” -I said then. “There has been foul play in the night, -and our horses have been killed. I got this on me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -when I was tracing the thing to its source. That’s -all—but it’s bad enough.”</p> - -<p>“How many?”</p> - -<p>“All but one—and he’s dead lame, I’m afraid.”</p> - -<p>“Is this true? or is it an excuse to keep me here?”</p> - -<p>I winced. The injustice bit deep. I looked at her -with a protest in my eyes.</p> - -<p>“If you’ll put that question plainly, perhaps you’ll -see it in its proper light, and understand how it may -sound to me. No, I don’t mean that. It doesn’t -matter. I have told you the truth; that’s all.”</p> - -<p>“But it does mean delay?”</p> - -<p>“I’m very sorry; but thirty or forty miles make a -long march for a lame horse. I could manage on -foot, of course, but——” I left the sentence unfinished.</p> - -<p>She started, and bit her lip as she realised my -meaning. To avoid seeing her distress, and to fill -the pause, I dropped one of the tins I was carrying -and stooped to pick it up.</p> - -<p>“I have to beg your pardon, Burgwan, for doubting -you.”</p> - -<p>“That’s no account, I assure you. I couldn’t have -helped it myself if the position had been reversed. -The truth does sometimes look strangely like falsehood.”</p> - -<p>“But you don’t seem to understand that I must -get away. I must.”</p> - -<p>“I do realise it,” I answered, very earnestly, “and -mean to find a way, somehow. I’m not easy to beat, -most times.”</p> - -<p>“When can we start, then?” I noticed the “we,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -and I think it had something to do with putting me -off my guard.</p> - -<p>“I shall have to think a bit,” I said.</p> - -<p>“It must be soon, Burgwan. What time is it -now?”</p> - -<p>Without thinking, I pulled out my watch from an -inner pocket—a big gold chronometer on a gold -chain—and the moment I caught her quick eyes on -it I saw the mistake, and regretted it.</p> - -<p>“Just six o’clock,” I answered, as indifferently as -I could.</p> - -<p>“That’s a very valuable watch you carry in these -lonely hills;” and her look spoke her thought much -more eloquently than her words.</p> - -<p>“It’s a very good timekeeper,” I answered at -random.</p> - -<p>Her intent gaze held me all the while, and I saw -gathering in her eyes something of the suspicion with -which she had first heard my name the previous -night.</p> - -<p>“How did you get it?”</p> - -<p>“Are you not over quick with your suspicions?”</p> - -<p>“Am I to fear you—or trust you?”</p> - -<p>“If you trust me it will have to be without asking -any questions—at present. You have no reason to -fear me; and never will have.”</p> - -<p>“You must tell me where you got so valuable a -thing—you, a peasant of the hills?”</p> - -<p>“I am not a peasant of the hills.”</p> - -<p>“Where did you get it?”</p> - -<p>“If I told you, you would scarcely believe me.”</p> - -<p>“Where?” she insisted.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>“I bought it; that’s all.”</p> - -<p>She drew a deep breath and bit her lip.</p> - -<p>“I have thought of you as a brave man capable of -real nobleness. I have believed you to be true and -honest. If you fail me I have no hope. And if you -mean me harm, for the sake of the living God tell me -so.” She spoke with intense but carefully restrained -passion until the last few words.</p> - -<p>“Don’t take it like that,” I replied, firmly and -calmly, although moved to the core by her appeal. -“I will tell you something. I am not what I may -have seemed to you. I am no peasant and no -brigand, as you seem to fear. Who and what I am, -and why here, I cannot tell you yet; but, believe this, -I will serve you and save you from this trouble. If -you wish it, I will take any oath you like on that. -But my word is my word, and you may trust it.”</p> - -<p>She listened intently, marking every word, and -when I finished she bent forward and gazed searchingly -right into my eyes. Then she drew a deep, -long breath, as of relief, and smiled.</p> - -<p>“Thank God, I feel I can trust you. I will not -question you again, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“Then the best thing you can do is to show it by -getting some breakfast.”</p> - -<p>The change to the commonplace and practical -from that moment of feverish passion was a welcome -relief to us both.</p> - -<p>“Yes; you are right. I will,” she answered, forcing -a smile; and picking up the things I had laid on -the chair, she carried them into the hut.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV.<br /> - - -<small>A CONTEST IN WILL POWER.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>After that incident there was something of a -change in the curious relations between us. She was -just as imperious at times; but less patronising. She -seemed to expect my services less as a return for payment -to be made, or by right of caste and station, -than in virtue of her womanhood and helplessness. -Either she now believed entirely in my good faith, -or she was anxious to make me think she did.</p> - -<p>I explained to her how I generally contrived to -prepare my food, showed her how to manage the -spirit stove, pointed out where the few things needful -were kept, and offered to make the meal ready -for her.</p> - -<p>“I am not helpless, and can do it myself, thank -you,” she said, half resentfully.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know,” I answered, and soon after left -her to it. I went back to the tent to wash my face -and hands and endeavour to get the blood stains from -my clothes. I began to be disquietingly conscious -of my exceedingly ungroomed condition.</p> - -<p>The men were eating their breakfasts and talking -together with lowered brow and gloomy faces.</p> - -<p>“What are we to do, Burgwan?” asked Karasch, -coming over to me presently.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>“There will be no work to-day. I shall remain in -camp.”</p> - -<p>“Who is to fetch Andreas?” This was the man -who had ridden with him on the previous night and -lay out on the hills.</p> - -<p>“I can’t spare the horse, now we have only one. -One of you must take food to him on foot, and try -to hire or buy some horses in place of the dead ones.”</p> - -<p>“It will not do,” he said, lowering his voice. “I -cannot walk so far; and you can’t trust the others.”</p> - -<p>“I can trust Gartski.”</p> - -<p>“Not after this morning’s business with the witch-killed -beasts.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk such nonsense, Karasch. I proved to -you that that treacherous devil over there stabbed -them to prevent us getting away.”</p> - -<p>“He has explained that. He had a vision and -remembers it now. She stood over him with a flaming -sword, just as she appeared to me, and compelled -him to do it.”</p> - -<p>“How a man of your shrewdness can believe such -rot passes my understanding, Karasch. You might -be a great baby if I didn’t know you were a brave and -clever man.” But flattery was of no more use than -reproaches.</p> - -<p>“You don’t understand these things, Burgwan. -We do. You see with her eyes; we use our own.” -The dogged manner and tone alike showed that he -spoke with dead conviction.</p> - -<p>“Then the best thing will be for the lot of you to -clear out,” I exclaimed testily.</p> - -<p>“You can’t be left alone in her power. I shall<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -stay with you to the end. You gave me my life when -I had lost it fairly, and I’ll save yours in return.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” I asked sharply, as a glint -of his intention shot into my thoughts. Instead of -meeting my eyes as usual, he looked down and -shuffled uneasily.</p> - -<p>“The spell must be broken and then you’ll see the -truth and—and no harm may come to you after all.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean? Speak out, Karasch, and -meet my eyes openly like a man, as you usually do.”</p> - -<p>But this he would not or could not do.</p> - -<p>“There is only one way,” he said doggedly. “And -it must come to that in the end. We have talked it -over. Your life must be saved.”</p> - -<p>“I should have thought you all knew by this time -that I can take pretty good care of that for myself.”</p> - -<p>“There is only one way,” he repeated in the same -dogged tone.</p> - -<p>“And what is that way? Out with it, man, in -plain terms.”</p> - -<p>“She must die, Burgwan, or you will.”</p> - -<p>I thought a moment, and then saw a different line -and promptly adopted it.</p> - -<p>“You are too late, Karasch,” I said, as gravely -and solemnly as I could speak.</p> - -<p>“No, there is always time within the same moon.”</p> - -<p>“No; she has rendered me proof against any knife -or bullet for three days on condition that I defend -her. And I’ve sworn that I will die before anyone -shall harm her.”</p> - -<p>It was a beautiful bluff. He started back and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -looked at me in manifest horror and crossed himself -as he muttered a prayer.</p> - -<p>“Don’t do that, you hurt me, Karasch,” I said, -pretending to shudder.</p> - -<p>“Great God of all. And you a Christian, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>His agitation was almost piteous. He turned -deathly pale and beads of perspiration stood on his -forehead, as he stared at me horror-struck. “And -I have sworn to save you.” It was just a whisper of -dismay and helplessness, and it showed the struggle -which was raging between his superstition and his -fealty to me.</p> - -<p>“I’ll release you from your oath to me, if you -wish; and you and the rest can leave as soon as you -like.”</p> - -<p>“No, by God, no; not if I’m damned forever,” he -cried. “I’ll stand by you, Burgwan, mad blind fool -though you’ve been. Curse the witch and all her -infernal arts;” and he was at it again with his vehement -crossing and spitting and prayers.</p> - -<p>His devotion moved me deeply. I knew how much -the effort must cost him. He believed that he was -jeopardising not his life only, that he was always -ready to risk, but his very soul as well. Rough, -coarse, crude, ignorant, half civilised boor that he -was, he had shown a fidelity to me such as I had -never witnessed before. He should have a reward; -and it should be rich enough to surprise him if ever -we got out of this mess; but I could say nothing of -it to him then. He would have laughed to scorn the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -promise of money in such a case. I accepted his -sacrifice therefore without another word.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do about Andreas?” I asked. -“Gartski and Petrov had better go out to him.”</p> - -<p>“No. If they go, it will be only to find help and -bring others back here to do what you say must not -be done. Andreas must take his chance.”</p> - -<p>“You must go somewhere then, and find us -horses.”</p> - -<p>“If I take my eyes off those two they’ll run away. -I must stay to watch them.”</p> - -<p>“But we must have horses and at once,” I urged.</p> - -<p>“Tell her to send some here. She can if she -chooses.” His belief in her supernatural powers was -complete; but that time it served to turn the tables -with a vengeance. I had no answer.</p> - -<p>“It must be as you say. I’ll ask her;” and with -that I left the tent, wishing that the miraculous -supply of horses were as easy of accomplishment as -Karasch believed.</p> - -<p>There was one that I could have, however, and I -deemed it best to make sure that neither Gartski nor -Petrov should have the chance of stealing it. So I -led it over to the cottage to tether it close at hand, -carrying the saddle with me.</p> - -<p>Hearing me, the girl came out.</p> - -<p>“You have horses, then?” she asked, in a tone of -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“I have this one, that’s all;” and I fastened it up -to a tree close by the hut.</p> - -<p>“You are looking very serious, Burgwan. Has -anything more happened?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>“A little misunderstanding with the men. Nothing -more serious than I’ve had before. Have you -breakfasted?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I have yours here;” and she brought out -to me coffee and a steaming dish of food which she -had prepared for me with her own dainty hands. She -might have been a witch, indeed, for the cleverness -with which she had concocted a savoury meal from -the rough fare at her disposal.</p> - -<p>I was very hungry, and while I ate it with thankfulness -and relish she fed Chris.</p> - -<p>“The dog takes to you, readily,” I said.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Good Chris,” and he wagged his tail and -looked up at her. “He is another mystery, Burgwan—like -that watch;” and she smiled.</p> - -<p>“Yes; and in his way quite as reliable.”</p> - -<p>“It is not a breed often found—in the hills.”</p> - -<p>She was fishing, but I would not see the bait, and -answered with a monosyllable.</p> - -<p>“He is very fond of you,” she said.</p> - -<p>“He knows me and trusts me, I think.”</p> - -<p>“Is that a reproach?”</p> - -<p>“It is not for me to reproach you. You don’t -know me yet.”</p> - -<p>“There are many things I don’t know yet. For -one, how I got here to this hut?”</p> - -<p>I smiled. “I carried you,” I answered.</p> - -<p>“You dared?” A quick impulsive rebuke in the -question.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t dare to leave you lying out there in the -road when that storm was coming up.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>“You had no right,” she cried, and went back into -the hut.</p> - -<p>Chris looked up as she went and ran to the door -after her; but returned and finished his breakfast, and -then went in to her.</p> - -<p>I had finished mine then, and sat thinking over the -position of things when she came out.</p> - -<p>“I was wrong to be angry, Burgwan. Of course, -there was nothing else for you to do.”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t think of anything, at any rate.”</p> - -<p>“I ought not to have been so childish as to faint,” -she said, with a smile and a shrug. Then she picked -my cup and platter. “Where can I get water to -wash these?”</p> - -<p>“You needn’t bother about that. It’s not fit work -for you.”</p> - -<p>“But I wish to,” she cried, with a little stamp of -the foot.</p> - -<p>“There is a spring close here, then,” I replied; and -taking a pannikin I fetched the water and sat down -again and went on with my thinking.</p> - -<p>“Can we start now, Burgwan?” she asked. “I -wish to reach the railway that will carry me to Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“That means thirty miles through a country -where I don’t know a yard of the road;” and I -shook my head.</p> - -<p>“You always raise difficulties.”</p> - -<p>“No; I don’t raise them, I see them. That’s all. -I wish I didn’t. It may come to it at the last—but -we had better wait for the guide. He ought to be -here soon now.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>“Don’t the men know the road?”</p> - -<p>“We had better wait for the guide.”</p> - -<p>“Are not you the leader here?”</p> - -<p>“In a way, yes; but not in such a matter. I am -thinking all I know to find the best thing to do.”</p> - -<p>“But suppose the others should come first before -this guide, what then?”</p> - -<p>“What others?”</p> - -<p>“The rest of the men who were taking me to -Maglai.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you were going to Maglai. How many -were there?”</p> - -<p>“Six. Four beside the two you captured.”</p> - -<p>“How far from here were you when you escaped?” -I noticed that she no longer resented my questions as -on the previous night.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. It was about noon, and they -called a halt; and having fed and drunk they lay down -and slept, leaving one to watch. But he fell asleep, -too, with the heat, and I stole off. I rode fast for -some hours, and then was going slowly, thinking I -was safe from pursuit, when suddenly the two appeared -in the distance and chased me. I let my -horse go where it would, and it carried me here.”</p> - -<p>“You had been riding about seven hours or so, -then. That means fourteen at least, without the -delay of the storm; and then he’d have to chance finding -them.”</p> - -<p>“Whom do you mean by ‘he’?”</p> - -<p>I had been calculating roughly how long it would -take the man Karasch had set free to reach his friends -and return with them, and unwittingly had spoken<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> -the thought aloud. I pretended not to hear her -question.</p> - -<p>“You don’t know whether all the men rode after -you on the same road, or spread out in different -directions?” I asked.</p> - -<p>She made no reply, and when I glanced up I met -her eyes bent earnestly upon me.</p> - -<p>“You are concealing something from me. You -heard my question, I know, for I saw you start.”</p> - -<p>With the curious feeling that I was at a disadvantage -sitting down below her, I stood up.</p> - -<p>“You had better leave the run of this thing to me. -I won’t ask any more questions than I am compelled; -and if they bother you, you can turn a deaf ear to -them, as I do when I don’t want to hear yours.”</p> - -<p>Signs of rebellion flashed from her eyes, and she -made ready to give battle. She held her head high -and squared her shapely shoulders.</p> - -<p>“I won’t be dictated to like that, and I won’t -remain here on any such terms.”</p> - -<p>“I am not dictating; I’m talking common sense.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t submit to it; I will not.” And she -stamped her foot. “I will have an answer to my -question. I won’t have things hidden from me. -Why won’t you answer it?”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I tell you I had my deaf ear to it?”</p> - -<p>“How dare you try to pass it off with a flippant -jest like that? Who are you to presume to insult -me?”</p> - -<p>“Do you really think I wish to insult you?” I -asked, very quietly.</p> - -<p>“What you wish to do I neither know nor care.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -But it is an insult, as even the commonest instinct of -courtesy would tell you.”</p> - -<p>“We rough men of the hills haven’t much to do -with courtesy.”</p> - -<p>“You are not of the hills, you know that. You -told me you were no peasant. Do you suppose I -can’t see that for myself?” I made no reply, and -after a pause she added, “I know why it is you will -not answer me. You think I must be a coward because -I am a woman.”</p> - -<p>“Is that another of the commonest instincts of -courtesy—the average man’s courtesy, I mean?” I -said this with the deliberate intention of irritating -her to keep her away from the matter. But she saw -my purpose instantly.</p> - -<p>“Will you answer that question of mine?”</p> - -<p>“Let me finish first with mine, and then you ask -what you will.”</p> - -<p>She paused to think, and then nodded as if in -answer to her thoughts.</p> - -<p>“I am not a coward to be frightened by bad news, -and I have already guessed the answer to it.”</p> - -<p>“Then there can be no need for me to tell it you,” -I said.</p> - -<p>She waited again, and then looking at me fixedly -said, with an air of deliberate decision: “If you do -not tell me, I will not remain here another minute.”</p> - -<p>This was a challenge to a trial of wills; and I took -it up at once.</p> - -<p>“You are not a prisoner,” I said, and stepped aside -ostentatiously as if to leave the way free for her.</p> - -<p>“Can I have that horse there?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>“I’ll saddle him for you. I can lead him down to -the ravine to where your horse lies, and get your side-saddle.”</p> - -<p>“Which road do I take to get to the railway?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, but I can give you a map and a -compass.”</p> - -<p>“Get them, please.” She had plenty of will, that -was certain; but I couldn’t afford to let her bluff me. -I went into the cottage and rummaged about till I -found the compass and the map, and then added a -touch of realism. I took a spare revolver and loaded -it, and held it out to her with some extra ammunition.</p> - -<p>“You had better take these as well.” She took -them and then drove in the spur in her turn, by saying -in her haughtiest manner:</p> - -<p>“You shall be paid for them, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“You can give the value of them to a charity in -Belgrade,” I answered. We were both angry now. -“Are you ready?”</p> - -<p>She was pinning her hat, and when I saw that her -fingers trembled, I had hard work to persist. But I -held on.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said, after a moment.</p> - -<p>We went out and I untethered the horse, and with -Chris in close attendance, we walked without speaking -to the mouth of the ravine, close to where her -horse still lay.</p> - -<p>“Will you hold him, while I get the side-saddle?” -Our eyes met for a moment, and I saw that at last -she was convinced I was in earnest.</p> - -<p>I turned away, feeling bad, and unbuckled the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -girths from the dead animal, and then saddled the -one she was to ride. I took plenty of time over the -work, too, hoping she would see the madness of what -she proposed to do and give in. But she shewed no -sign of doing anything of the sort; and at last the -work was done.</p> - -<p>“All is ready,” I said, giving a last look at the -bridle. “Can you mount by yourself, or shall I help -you?”</p> - -<p>She made no answer, but stood with her head half -averted, looking away down the steep mountain road. -She was biting her lips strenuously, and the fingers -which held up her skirt were tightly, almost fiercely, -clenched. Eloquent little proofs of the struggle that -was raging between pride and prudence. But I held -my tongue and just waited.</p> - -<p>Then she turned to me. She was very pale, but -her eyes were flashing.</p> - -<p>“I thought you were a man,” she cried, between -her set lips. I met her look steadily without a word. -And we stood so for the space of some seconds; -her face the embodiment of hot passionate contemptuousness; -mine as impassive as a stone. “And -what a coward you are!”</p> - -<p>I stood as though my ears were indeed deaf.</p> - -<p>She still hesitated; and the woman who hesitates -can be saved as well as lost.</p> - -<p>Then came the last effort of her pride.</p> - -<p>“Lead the horse to that stone. I will not soil -myself by letting you help me.”</p> - -<p>I led him where she pointed; and she mounted with -the ease of a practised horsewoman. She even gathered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> -up the reins and settled herself in the saddle; -and then waited to look almost yearningly for some -sign from me. I gave none, but held the bridle as if -I had been her groom.</p> - -<p>Chris stood looking from one to the other of us -as if in deep perplexity.</p> - -<p>“Will you take the dog?” I asked.</p> - -<p>Then came the end.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean me to go?” It was all I had been -waiting for.</p> - -<p>“No, not now,” I answered at once; “since you -see the folly of it.”</p> - -<p>“How dare you? I <span class="allsmcap">WILL</span> go now;” and she -gripped the reins tightly and touched the horse with -her heel. But he hadn’t much fire in him, and -obeyed my hand on the bridle instead of her heel. -I held him with my left hand and stretched out the -other toward her.</p> - -<p>“Come; you had better dismount. This folly has -gone far enough;” and I put as much command and -authority as possible into my tone.</p> - -<p>I shall never forget the look she gave me, nor my -surprise when a second later she put her hand into -mine and slipped off the saddle. The rush of relief -was too great for her to simulate further anger.</p> - -<p>“How hard you can be. I though you meant it,” -she murmured.</p> - -<p>“You shouldn’t try us both in this way,” I said. -“I had to show you that my will is stronger than -yours; and you made the lesson hard.”</p> - -<p>“Would you have let me go?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“No, certainly not.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>“Oh, I wish I had held out,” she exclaimed, vehemently.</p> - -<p>I smiled.</p> - -<p>“We call it bluff in the States; and I am an older -hand at it than you. That’s all.”</p> - -<p>“The States?” she asked quickly. “What -States?”</p> - -<p>“United States. I am an American, you see, naturalised, -that is; I’m English by birth.”</p> - -<p>“American? English? But I thought....”</p> - -<p>Face, eyes, everything eloquent of questioning surprise.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know. You thought all sorts of things -except the right one. But anyway, I’m not quite -the coward you thought just now.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t.”</p> - -<p>“No, I won’t again. Come, let us get back to the -cottage. We haven’t lost after all by this—we have -the side-saddle.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to think or say,” she cried, in -dismay.</p> - -<p>“I can understand your purpose. But let us get -back, please;” and with that we went, I leading the -horse as before and she walking by my side, Chris -keeping close to her as though in some way he understood -everything.</p> - -<p>Again it was a silent walk at first; but this time -the motives for silence were very different.</p> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_066.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“I REALLY BELIEVE THE BARONESS THINKS YOU ARE A<br /> -PEASANT IN DISGUISE.”<br /> - -<span class="imageright"><a href="#Page_238"><i>Page 238</i></a></span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V.<br /> - - -<small>UNWELCOME VISITORS.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>That contest of wills, followed by my avowal that -I was an American, marked another very distinct advance -toward a better understanding between us. -My companion’s interest was stimulated and her -curiosity piqued; and our relationship was at once -placed upon a footing of personal equality. She -made that plain—intentionally, I think—her momentary -chagrin at defeat in the trial of strength between -us overshadowed completely by her sense of -relief and reassurance.</p> - -<p>Chris was a great help to us just then. He seemed -to have settled it in his thoughts there had been -trouble which was now put right, and he stalked -along by her side, thrusting his great nose into her -hand, nestling his head against her, and giving many -signs of his satisfaction. She caressed him gently, -and presently, with a half glance at me, she said, as -if to him:</p> - -<p>“And are you American, too, Chris? And is your -name really Chris?”</p> - -<p>“He’s American born, not like his master, and his -name is really Chris,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“And have you a strong temper, too, Chris?”</p> - -<p>“Like master like dog. He can show his teeth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -at need,” I said with a smile. “But he can be a -staunch friend—to those who trust him.”</p> - -<p>“Does he show them to women?” she asked, turning -to flash her eyes upon me.</p> - -<p>“Is that quite fair?”</p> - -<p>“You can show yours,” she said, shrugging her -shoulders.</p> - -<p>“I’ve seen him hold a man up with a growl when -I knew he didn’t mean to bite. Just as a lesson, you -know.”</p> - -<p>“I would trust my hand between <span class="allsmcap">HIS</span> teeth,” she -answered, as she thrust her fingers into his great -mouth. The rascal mouthed them, and fawned upon -her and looked up in her face.</p> - -<p>“Ah, he’s kissing it—to congratulate you on having -made peace,” I said drily; and she drew her hand -away so heartily that for a moment I feared I had -offended her. But I had not.</p> - -<p>“Does <span class="allsmcap">HE</span> understand what you call ‘bluff’?” was -her next question, after a pause.</p> - -<p>“He’s very much like me in many ways.”</p> - -<p>“I can believe that. He is so silent about himself.”</p> - -<p>“Like us both in that, perhaps, isn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Is that a reproach or a question?” she retorted, -and added, seriously, “I cannot tell you about myself; -but you shall know some day.”</p> - -<p>“I am not asking. We’ll leave it unsaid on both -sides, shall we—at any rate for the present—and -just take each other on trust?”</p> - -<p>“As you will. I have learnt my lesson and shall -not question you.” The reply was given with a mixture<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -of irony, rebellion, and assumed submissiveness -in manner and tone.</p> - -<p>“I am glad to find you so ready a pupil. Chris -there could tell you that where there’s a toughish job -to handle he finds it best to let me go my own way.” -We had reached the cottage, and she was entering -the door as I said this. She turned quickly, and -threw up her head.</p> - -<p>“You expect a dog’s obedience, then?”</p> - -<p>“From Chris, yes,” and I smiled.</p> - -<p>“From me, I mean. You know I mean that.”</p> - -<p>“From you I ask nothing except to do what your -judgment prompts, tempered perhaps by your trust -in—in Chris.”</p> - -<p>“In Chris’s master, you mean. Why don’t you -say it?”</p> - -<p>“Old Chris would do nothing I didn’t approve; so -it’s about the same thing,” I answered, and led the -horse away, tethered him, and having loosened the -girths gave him a feed, and fetched him some water -from the spring. When I returned with it she was -standing by the house.</p> - -<p>“Can I help you?”</p> - -<p>“Not in this, thank you.”</p> - -<p>“In what, then? I have nothing to do.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I can’t find you anything.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you do any work in the camp, then?”</p> - -<p>“Not to-day. You see it’s a kind of holiday.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“The work here is finished. I’m getting ready to -leave. As soon as Georgev—that’s the guide, you -know—gets back, I shall be off.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>“I suppose I am not to ask what the work was?” -She asked this with a smile and a shrug, contriving -to convey the impression that while she was impatiently -curious the question had behind it no vestige -of distrust.</p> - -<p>“I did not intend to tell you, but if you wish it I -will. This is a prospecting expedition. I’ve been -looking to see if any mines could be opened here. -Of course, it’s a sort of secret, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’re hoping to make money here?” and -the glance she gave at my clothes told me her -thought. “You are an engineer?”</p> - -<p>“No, I am a prospector. I have done it before in -the States.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you will be successful. But I am sure -you will. You are the kind of man that does succeed; -so masterful, I mean.” We both smiled at the -word. “Yes,” she added, as if in answer to my -thought; “I am judging by what has just occurred, -for one thing.”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I seem a bit of a brute.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so. I—I was very angry when I -said what I did. I—I didn’t mean it; and I’m—I’m -sorry.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not. I know you don’t think it now; but -you meant it then; and it was just what anyone else -would have meant and said. It helped us to understand -things better. That’s all. I was very much -afraid you meant to ride off alone, and then ... -well, I don’t know about then.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I had known your thoughts,” she said, -with a sort of half mischievous regret.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>“You mean you would have outplayed me?”</p> - -<p>She nodded and smiled, “Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, please don’t try it again. It might be very -dangerous play.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t, I promise you,” she said readily, understanding -from my serious tone that I was very much -in earnest. “When you use that tone I have no -rebellion left in me. I am like Chris, I suppose, in -that.”</p> - -<p>Chris himself interrupted us then by growling, and -looking round I saw Karasch coming from the tent.</p> - -<p>“Chris hates Karasch,” I told her. “The man -struck him once savagely, and I had all my work to -keep the dog from his throat. He never forgets. -You can see now that every hair on his neck is bristling -with anger; and Karasch won’t come near him.”</p> - -<p>“He is a fierce looking man,” she said.</p> - -<p>“But he will serve me now, faithfully, and Chris -must make friends with him. Will you go into the -hut a moment? Come, Chris,” and as she went away -I led the dog to Karasch and made him understand -that he was to regard the man as a friend. It was -not easy, for Karasch himself was afraid; but I stood -by while he patted the dog’s head, and I made Chris -lick his hand. Then I sent him back to the hut.</p> - -<p>“Now, Karasch, what is it?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“The devil is it, Burgwan. I slept and Petrov has -gone.”</p> - -<p>It was ugly news, and made me grave.</p> - -<p>“So you couldn’t even keep watch, for all your -big words,” I said angrily.</p> - -<p>“It has never chanced so before,” he replied sullenly;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> -and his glance across toward the cottage told -me the thought behind the words.</p> - -<p>“If you were to cut your finger I suppose you’d -set it down to the same cause just now. You have -served me an ill turn. You can send Gartski to find -him, the sooner the better.”</p> - -<p>“You are mad, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“Mad to have trusted to your keeping awake, perhaps. -Not in this. If one has got away, where’s -the use of keeping the other? When we had both -safe, it was well; but two can do no more harm than -one away; and we needn’t be bothered by keeping -watch over a traitor. I’ll speak to him.”</p> - -<p>“Come here, Gartski.” He rose sheepishly and -crossed to me. “How long has Petrov been gone, -and where has he gone?”</p> - -<p>“I was asleep, and know nothing,” he lied glibly.</p> - -<p>“Yesterday, when the trouble was here, you took -my side; now you are against me, and want to go.”</p> - -<p>“I am not against you,” he began, with much -gesticulation.</p> - -<p>“Don’t lie. I have means of knowing everything -in your thoughts.”</p> - -<p>He shrank back a pace and trembled, and crossed -himself.</p> - -<p>“You know what I mean, I see,” I said. It was -no good to have a reputation for witchcraft and not -make use of it. “If you lie to me now,” I went on, -looking into his eyes with as fierce an expression as -I could assume, “you will not outlive the present -moon. Tell the truth, and no harm will come to -you.” Glancing at my hand I saw I had broken the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span> -skin in tending the horse, and I smeared a little circle -of blood on the tent post close by. “If that dries before -you speak, it will be too late, Gartski,” I said, -solemnly.</p> - -<p>It seemed to be a very reliable card to play, this -superstition of theirs. He looked at the little circle -in horror, his face went ashen white and he trembled -violently.</p> - -<p>“We meant nothing against you, Burgwan; only -against the witch,” he mumbled.</p> - -<p>“It is drying fast, Gartski. Beware.”</p> - -<p>“Petrov has gone to get help to deal with her.”</p> - -<p>“To murder her, you mean?”</p> - -<p>“It is no murder. To kill her for your sake, I -swear.”</p> - -<p>“Where has he gone?”</p> - -<p>“To the priest at Lalwor—the hill village.”</p> - -<p>“How far is that, and in which direction?”</p> - -<p>“Four leagues up the hills to the south.”</p> - -<p>“How long has he been gone?”</p> - -<p>“Less than an hour.”</p> - -<p>“Come;” and I put my hand on his shoulders, and -led him out of the tent. “I have no use for spies -and traitors here. You can go after him. Get away, -or I’ll set the dog on you;” and with that I shoved -him from me—with a parting kick to which the rage -I felt gave additional force. He limped a few paces -and then turned and looked back at me. “Go,” I -thundered, making a step toward him, and then he -ran in a limping fashion comical enough to have -drawn a smile had the position been less grave.</p> - -<p>I had frightened enough of the truth out of him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -to show me that no ill results could follow for a few -hours. It would take Petrov some three hours to -reach the hill village; some time would be needed to -get together a posse, and I felt that I might safely -wait an hour or two longer in the hope that Georgev -would arrive.</p> - -<p>But it was clear now that we might have to start -before he arrived, so I questioned Karasch as to his -knowledge of the country which we should have to -cross. Somewhat to my dismay he declared he knew -nothing of it.</p> - -<p>I returned to the hut then and found the “witch” -studying the map.</p> - -<p>“I was going to ask you for that,” I said.</p> - -<p>“Can we start?”</p> - -<p>“Not yet; I am still waiting for the guide and the -horses he may have with him; but I want to make -out our way.”</p> - -<p>Instead of giving it to me she clasped her hands -over it as it lay on her lap.</p> - -<p>“I want to ask you a favour.” Things were -changing indeed.</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“Won’t you tell me what all this means? You -have had more words with your men. I know it is -about me. Won’t you tell me?”</p> - -<p>“They are a set of fools; and they are all gone -now, except the big fellow, Karasch, whose arm is -hurt—broken, in fact.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, it is on my account, and, of course, -also it means danger of some kind. I am not afraid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> -to know it with—with Chris and—and you to protect -me.”</p> - -<p>“I have quarrelled with the men—have just kicked -one of them out of the camp, in fact. That’s all.”</p> - -<p>She sighed and lifted her hands.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you see that this uncertainty is worse to -bear than any knowledge could be, however bad?” -She was strangely gentle now.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t exaggerate things because you -don’t know them.”</p> - -<p>“Here is the map. You try me very much. Tell -me, please,” she urged as I took the map. I fingered -it thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>“You must not frighten yourself.”</p> - -<p>“I am not frightened—except that I think there -must be some terrifying news you keep back, fearing -to frighten me. You put a great strain on my -nerves.”</p> - -<p>“I had not thought of that, and there is no need -for it. I will tell you enough to show you that. I -have had trouble with the men; and it is about you. -They are only under me because I hired them to do -certain work. Well, that prisoner whom I shot in -the leg yesterday got at them with a tale that you -were a prisoner of such importance that a considerable -sum of money was to be paid for your safe delivery -at Maglai; and they had a fancy to help in earning -it. We quarrelled about it, and they’ve left the -camp.”</p> - -<p>“Who do they say I am?”</p> - -<p>“They do not know, and could not tell me; of -course; and I myself do not even know how to address<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> -you. You must have seen this—whether madame -or mademoiselle even?”</p> - -<p>“You put your question adroitly, Burgwan. Are -you Burgwan, really? But you can’t be, of course. -You are American.”</p> - -<p>“It is the name I have here; and I did not know -how pleasant a sound it had until I heard you speak -it. I would rather you called me by that name than -any other. And you?”</p> - -<p>She had her hands in her lap and kept her eyes -bent down as she slowly clasped and unclasped her -white fingers. Then she lifted her face and looked -at me with a slow, hesitating smile.</p> - -<p>“You might call me—Barinschja.”</p> - -<p>“That is Russian for an unmarried woman, isn’t -it?”</p> - -<p>“Did you think I was married?” The smile in her -grey eyes was unmistakably brighter.</p> - -<p>“I did not think you were Russian.”</p> - -<p>“I am not. I am a Serb.”</p> - -<p>“Then what we have to do is to get you to Belgrade -as soon as possible, Barinschja,” and I turned -to the map.</p> - -<p>“No. I cannot be Barinschja to you. I will be -mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you.” I understand enough Russian to -appreciate the difference. Barinschja is from inferior -to superior; mademoiselle from equal to equal. -“Then it shall be mademoiselle. Now for the map.”</p> - -<p>“No, not yet. You have forgotten something. -You have spoken of the man you wounded yesterday, -but not of the one you fought and bound. It is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> -he who has gone free, isn’t it, to fetch his comrades?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I did not mean to tell you. How did -you guess?”</p> - -<p>“From what you said before you—before we -fetched that side-saddle.” She smiled as she changed -the phrase. “When you would not answer the question, -which I tried to force you to answer.”</p> - -<p>“Mademoiselle is very quick-witted.”</p> - -<p>“And Burgwan can be very obstinate,” she retorted; -and I smiled in my turn.</p> - -<p>“The fellow was set free by my men, but I do not -think he can get back in time to do any harm.”</p> - -<p>“And why have your men deserted you?”</p> - -<p>“They were not bound to remain with me.”</p> - -<p>“Then the desertion had nothing to do with me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I told you we quarrelled about you. But I -wish to see our course; will you let me study the -map?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you will assure me that their desertion -bodes no danger.”</p> - -<p>“Is Burgwan or Mademoiselle in charge of things -here?”</p> - -<p>“Will Burgwan answer Mademoiselle’s question? -Why did those men say there was a price on my -head?”</p> - -<p>“It was all nonsense, of course.”</p> - -<p>“But I wish to know. I have a right to know.”</p> - -<p>“They said you had done something or other, and -that they were to be paid handsomely for getting -you to Maglai.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know what they said?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>“Yes—that you had committed some crime.”</p> - -<p>“Some crime!” she cried, in quite indignant -astonishment. Then she laughed scornfully. “Do -you believe it?”</p> - -<p>“No. If I did, it would make no difference.”</p> - -<p>“A criminal! With a price on my head! What -can it mean?” This was more to herself than to me, -so I plunged into a study of the map, and in a few -minutes had made out a part of the route we should -have to go.</p> - -<p>“I am no criminal, Burgwan,” she said, breaking -in suddenly on my study of the map.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t need to be told. This is the way we shall -have to go at first”; and I drew her attention to the -map.</p> - -<p>While we were examining it, Chris grew restless, -and at length got up and stood sniffing the air and -the ground and listening.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Chris, old dog?”</p> - -<p>He came and nosed my hand and then went a few -yards off and pointing towards the ravine, growled.</p> - -<p>“Someone is about,” I said, as I folded up the map -and put it in my pocket. “Will you go into the hut, -Mademoiselle? It may be the guide Georgev—or it -may not; and may mean trouble of some sort. Take -Chris with you and shut the door. He’ll answer for -anyone who tries to bother you. Chris, inside; on -guard, good dog.”</p> - -<p>He understood and obeyed at once, although his -eyes said he would rather stay with me.</p> - -<p>I strolled half way to the tent and called to Karasch, -who came out.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>“I think someone is coming up the ravine, Karasch. -It may be Georgev, or some of the men in -search of Mademoiselle yonder. You mean to stand -by me?”</p> - -<p>“On my oath, yes. But if they are in search of -her, you’d better give her to them, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“Stop that fool talk, and leave everything to me; -and do exactly as I tell you from start to finish.”</p> - -<p>Then I heard the sound of horses’ hoofs, and I lit -a cigar and sat down to wait for the riders. There -were three of them, and the first glance showed me -Georgev was not among them. I sat smoking until -they rode up, then I rose slowly.</p> - -<p>“Are you the new men hired by the guide, -Georgev?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“No,” answered one who appeared to be the -leader. “Is there a man named Karasch here?”</p> - -<p>“What do you want?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“An answer to my question. And I mean to have -it. This is the place, sure enough,” he said, turning -to his companions. “The tent and the hut;” and he -nodded toward each. “You’re Karasch, by your -description,” he said to Karasch. “Where’s the -prisoner?”</p> - -<p>“I’m in charge here. Put your questions to me,” -I broke in, brusquely.</p> - -<p>Resenting my tone, he looked at me more sharply -than before, and then laughed.</p> - -<p>“I know you. You must be the man who rescued -our prisoner yesterday and shot Drago. You’ll -answer for that, I promise you; but I don’t want any -trouble. Your other men are on our side, you -know.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>“The man I shot lies in the tent there with a -broken leg. The prisoner you seek is in the cottage.”</p> - -<p>“That’s better,” he cried, with a sneering laugh. -“You know when you’re beaten, I see.”</p> - -<p>I shrugged my shoulders as if indifferent.</p> - -<p>“We’re only two here, and Karasch has a broken -arm. So you’re not likely to have much trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Where are the others?” he asked, suspiciously, -as if half fearing an ambush. “There were five of -you.”</p> - -<p>“One, Andreas, lies out on the hills somewhere, -hurt riding after your comrade in the night. Petrov -and Gartski have gone to Lalwor, the hill village -yonder, seeking help to take the prisoner.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll have to come with us.”</p> - -<p>“That’s as it may be. But—we’ve no horses. Your -fool of a man killed ours last night, so that we -shouldn’t get away until you returned. But he -didn’t expect you so soon.”</p> - -<p>“Nor did you, I expect. We came upon our -comrade on the hills by chance this morning, too ill -even to put a leg across a horse. It’s all that devil’s -work. He wishes he’d had no hand in the black -business, I can tell you. And so will you.”</p> - -<p>“You can take her as soon as you like—the sooner -the better. She’s caused enough trouble here,” I -answered, and putting my cigar between my lips I -sat down again and lolled back as if in lazy indifference.</p> - -<p>But my indifference was not even skin deep. My -object was to make them confident that there was no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -sort of resistance to be expected, and every nerve -and sense in me was on the alert. I was making a -kind of corner in risks just then, and should need all -my wits to avoid being squeezed.</p> - -<p>I was already fully resolved to use the three horses -thus fortunately brought within my reach, and my -first step was to get the present riders off their backs. -The second would be to keep them off; and the -third to put Mademoiselle, myself, and Karasch in -their places.</p> - -<p>Karasch had said that the “witch” could bring -horses our way if she pleased; and when I looked -his way and saw his eyes glance meaningly from me -to the horses, I was half persuaded that he connected -their presence with some supernatural agency.</p> - -<p>The three men spoke together a moment and then -the leader dismounted, handed the reins of his horse -to one of the others, and came toward me.</p> - -<p>“I daresay you mean to act all right and give up -the prisoner,” he said, bluntly; “but while we stay -here I’m going to make sure you can’t play any trick -upon us by tying your hands behind you. Stand -up.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke he signed to the other two, who -levelled their guns point blank at me.</p> - -<p>It was a wholly unexpected turn and seemed to -spell crisis. Not seeing for the moment what to do, -I made no effort to rise, and he repeated his command.</p> - -<p>“Get up,” he cried this time with an oath. “We’ve -no time to waste over you.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VI.<br /> - - -<small>A FIGHT FOR THE HORSES.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>I met the man’s bullying look and glanced from -him along the barrels of the guns which his companions -held pointed at me; and then sat up.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see the necessity for it,” I said, quietly.</p> - -<p>“No, but I see it, and mean to do it. Get up at -once, or you may find it difficult ever to rise again,” -he said, savagely.</p> - -<p>I scrambled up leisurely, dropping my hand into -the pocket where I had my revolver, and my fingers -closed on it as I held it ready to shoot without drawing -it out.</p> - -<p>One of the educational advantages of life in a -rough mining camp in the West is the use of a -revolver from the safe concealment of a pocket. This -man didn’t appear to understand the trick. I didn’t -want his blood on my hands; but I wasn’t going to -let him tie me up as he proposed.</p> - -<p>“Turn round,” he ordered.</p> - -<p>“Wait a moment,” I said, quite coolly. “If you -do this, how am I to know you’ll set me free again -when you go?”</p> - -<p>“Do as I tell you,” he cried savagely with another -oath.</p> - -<p>“No, by God, no.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>This was from Karasch, very loudly and angrily -spoken, and the man turned from me to him.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“What I say. This was my doing from the first. -I set your man free to go and find you and bring you -here; but this shan’t be done.”</p> - -<p>The interruption was very timely, and I took advantage -by it to edge away until I was sheltered from -the guns by the leader’s body.</p> - -<p>“What Karasch says is right enough. But you -need not say any more, Karasch. There won’t be -any more talk about binding me or anyone else.”</p> - -<p>“By the Cross, but there will!” cried the leader -fiercely, and was turning to give an order to his companions -when I gripped him by the shoulder and -held him.</p> - -<p>“Don’t move. You’re just in the line between -those two guns and me, and I can talk all the more -comfortably while you stay there.” Karasch laughed, -and the man tried in vain to wriggle out of my grip. -“I’m covering you all the time with my revolver, -and if you get away I shall shoot. You’ve been a -deal nearer death all the while than you thought,” -and I showed the ugly little muzzle above the edge -of my pocket.</p> - -<p>The argument carried conviction. He ceased to -struggle, and changed colour.</p> - -<p>“Tell those men of yours to throw their guns on -the ground. They might go off by accident, and -I’m not taking that kind of risk any longer.”</p> - -<p>He hesitated, and I showed him a bit more of my -pocket argument.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>“I’m accustomed to be obeyed pretty quickly. -Ask Karasch there,” I said, drily. Karasch laughed -again and swore.</p> - -<p>The leader shouted the command over his shoulder, -and after some demur it was obeyed.</p> - -<p>“Go and pick the guns up, Karasch, and get this -man’s from his horse, and bring them to the tent,” I -said, and waited while he fetched them.</p> - -<p>Then I took my hand from the leader’s shoulder -and stepped back.</p> - -<p>“Now we shall all breathe a little more freely. -You see the kind of soft fool you’ve got to deal with -in me now, and you won’t make any more mistakes -of this kind. There are two ways of doing what -you’ve come to do—the rough and the smooth. -You’ve tried the rough and have run up against a -snag. Now we’ll go to the tent and talk over the -smooth way.”</p> - -<p>“Give us our prisoner, and we’ll go.”</p> - -<p>“But Karasch and I wish to go with you, and I -want to explain to you the little difficulty your man -has put in the way. Come.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want to go there.”</p> - -<p>“If you’d rather go straight to hell, you can,” I -exclaimed, fiercely. “Choose, and be quick about -it.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll come,” he said, sullenly.</p> - -<p>“You can tell your men there we’re going to talk, -and that they may as well bait their horses. We may -be some time.”</p> - -<p>He was getting to be quite an apt pupil. He -turned and gave the order, and the two men stepped<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -from their saddles and growled to him to make haste.</p> - -<p>I led him round the tent to the shed where the -three dead horses lay.</p> - -<p>“Last night your man killed them. You see, -there are three of them.”</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“Well, there are three dead ones here, killed by -your man, and there are three live ones out there on -which you have just ridden up.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean—what do you mean?” he -asked. He was beginning to understand.</p> - -<p>“How do you propose to make up that loss to -me?”</p> - -<p>He laughed uncomfortably. “You’re a cool -hand,” he said.</p> - -<p>“I’m cool enough just now,” I returned drily; -“and none the safer on that account, perhaps, to -fool with. How are you going to replace those three -horses?”</p> - -<p>“Speak out, and to hell with you,” he growled.</p> - -<p>“I propose an exchange, that’s all. You can have -these, and I’ll take yours and cry quits.”</p> - -<p>His face was a study; rage battling with the conviction -of helplessness as he glared at me.</p> - -<p>“You are three to two, I know; but we’re well -armed, and you have nothing but your knives. I -could put a bullet into you at this minute just as -easily, and much more surely than your men could -have shot me a while since.”</p> - -<p>He started, and I saw his hand go stealing to his -sash.</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t draw it if I were you,” I said quietly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>He took the advice and stood thinking in sore perplexity.</p> - -<p>Then I made my first mistake.</p> - -<p>“I’ll treat you fairly. I shall pay you for the -horses, and will send you a couple of hundred gulden -for each of them, good Austrian money.”</p> - -<p>His eyes lighted; and I read it for a sign of avarice.</p> - -<p>“Six hundred gulden,” he said slowly and with -gusto. “Six hundred gulden. It is a large sum of -money; but we should be without horses;” and he -looked at me cunningly.</p> - -<p>“I’ll make it a thousand.”</p> - -<p>“Easy to promise. As easy a thousand as ten.”</p> - -<p>“What I promise I can do.”</p> - -<p>“May the Stone of the Sepulchre crush me if I -understand,” he exclaimed after a pause.</p> - -<p>“It may help you to decide if I remind you I can -take the horses without even promising a single -gulden.”</p> - -<p>“And about the prisoner?”</p> - -<p>“She goes with me.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“Because she prefers to.”</p> - -<p>“So that we lose the payment for her as well as -our horses.”</p> - -<p>“How much were you to be paid?”</p> - -<p>He paused as if in doubt how much to ask.</p> - -<p>“Five hundred gulden each. There are six of -us.” He watched me closely as he named the -amount.</p> - -<p>“Three thousand gulden! She must be a prisoner -of importance. Who is she?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>“It’s a long road to Maglai and a difficult.”</p> - -<p>“That doesn’t answer my question. Your man -told mine she was a witch.” He laughed.</p> - -<p>“So we were told. Any tale was good enough to -listen to at that price. We can’t talk so glibly about -hundreds and thousands of gulden as you can.”</p> - -<p>“Then <span class="allsmcap">YOU</span> don’t think she is a witch?”</p> - -<p>“I believe what I’m paid to believe—if the pay is -high enough. And no one would pay such a sum -for a mere witch.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll pay you the three thousand gulden and the -six hundred as well, if you let me have the horses -quietly, and tell Karasch what you told me, that the -prisoner is no witch.”</p> - -<p>He laughed again, and with sudden change to -earnest he shot a sharp look at me and asked:</p> - -<p>“How will you pay? Who are you to have such -a sum?”</p> - -<p>“No matter who I am. I will send you the money -to any place and in any way you name.”</p> - -<p>“Horses are horses, and I know who is to pay for -the prisoner when we get to Maglai.”</p> - -<p>“And I’ll increase the price four thousand gulden -if you give me the name of the man who has employed -you.”</p> - -<p>“I’d like to serve you, if you really had money to -throw away like that.”</p> - -<p>“I’m paying to avoid trouble and to gain information; -but I mean to have the horses in any case. You -can choose.”</p> - -<p>He paused to think again.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>“You must be very rich. If I thought you’d pay, -I’d do it.”</p> - -<p>“You can take my word.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t look it,” he said doubtingly, and with -an accent of regret.</p> - -<p>“I’m through with the talk. Choose,” I answered, -shortly.</p> - -<p>“I’m ready to risk it, but I must speak to the -others.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right enough. You can do that; but you -must bring the horses up to the side of the tent first.”</p> - -<p>I let him go in front of me round the tent, and he -called to his companions to lead the horses over to -us. Karasch met them half way, and he and I tethered -them while the three men held a long and -animated discussion.</p> - -<p>I told Karasch what had passed, emphasising what -the leader had said about the prisoner being no witch.</p> - -<p>“But you said she had put a charm over your life, -Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“Because I saw you were set on killing her. She -is no witch, but a prisoner of great importance. They -are to have three thousand gulden for taking her to -Maglai.”</p> - -<p>“Three thousand gulden!” he cried, his eyes wide -at the thought of such a sum. To him it was a fortune.</p> - -<p>“Would anyone pay so much for a witch, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>He shook his head.</p> - -<p>“The man may be lying.”</p> - -<p>I called to him, and he came and confirmed what<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -he had said to me so stoutly that Karasch was convinced.</p> - -<p>“Are you agreed yet?”</p> - -<p>“There would be no difficulty if we were sure of -you. Can he pay such a sum as four thousand -florins?” he asked Karasch, nodding his head toward -me.</p> - -<p>“It is a big fortune,” was the answer, with a shrug -of the shoulders. “But what he promises he always -does.”</p> - -<p>Not a very convincing banker’s reference that at -the best; and the leader shook his head.</p> - -<p>“That’s the point. It’s only a promise,” he said, -slowly, with a shake of the head. “Have you got -any of it here to give us now?” The question was -asked casually enough, as if it were no more than the -occasion warranted; but I saw more than that in it.</p> - -<p>“I’ve told you I’d pay you afterwards. That’s the -last word.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll try what I can do then;” and with that he -went back to his companions, and the earnest conference -was resumed.</p> - -<p>“I don’t trust him,” said Karasch.</p> - -<p>“Let us get away quietly with the horses, and -we’ll trust to ourselves, Karasch,” said I.</p> - -<p>“Can you pay such a sum as he named?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, ten times the amount, Karasch; and ten -times that again if necessary.”</p> - -<p>“Great Lord of the Living!” he exclaimed. -“And yet you come here to the hills in this way!”</p> - -<p>The three men had now apparently ended their -conference, and the leader came across to me.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span>“Two of us are agreed,” he said, as he reached me, -“but one will not without proof. Let me see our -comrade whom you shot. He must have a voice in -it too.”</p> - -<p>“He is in the tent here,” I answered. We entered -it, and he went and knelt by the wounded man.</p> - -<p>I did not trust him any more than did Karasch, -and, although I noticed nothing to rouse my suspicions, -I watched the two closely, and kept my -hand on the revolver in my pocket, and told Karasch -to watch the two outside.</p> - -<p>So far all had gone as well as I could have wished. -We had the horses under our hands, and the men -were divided so that we could deal with them in turn -should they attempt to put up a fight.</p> - -<p>Such a thing seemed far from their thoughts, -moreover. From the snatches of talk I heard, the -leader appeared to be arguing with his comrade, urging -him to agree, and answering the objections which -he raised. Words began to run high between them -presently, and at length the leader cursed the other -volubly for a fool and got up.</p> - -<p>“I can do nothing with this pig,” he exclaimed -angrily to me.</p> - -<p>“You must settle your own matters, and be quick -about it,” I returned sharply.</p> - -<p>I was getting very anxious now on account of -mademoiselle. She had been shut up in the cottage -all the time, and knowing nothing of what was passing -between the men and me it was easy to guess the -effect which so trying a suspense would have upon -her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>“What can I do? He vows that if I yield to you -he will denounce me at Belgrade—idiot, pig, and fool -that he is,” he cried furiously, pacing the floor and -throwing his hands about. “We are equally divided -now, two to two.”</p> - -<p>“The money I shall pay would be a fortune for the -two who help me. The others would have no part -in earning it, and no right to share it. Two thousand -gulden, you know.”</p> - -<p>He had passed me, and at the words turned and -stood looking at me with an expression of consummate -cunning.</p> - -<p>“You are the devil to tempt a man,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>“Give me your help in this, and I’ll make your -share three thousand,” I said, in a low tone.</p> - -<p>“Three thousand gulden,” he murmured under his -breath. “Three thousand gulden for myself.”</p> - -<p>“And you shall have the horse we have and come -with us as guide to where we wish to go. You know -the country?”</p> - -<p>“Every yard of it. Three thousand gulden!” He -murmured it almost caressingly, like a man dazed at -the prospect of such riches. “I’ll do it,” he exclaimed, -and threw up his hand. “You’ll swear on -the cross to pay me?”</p> - -<p>He made a couple of steps toward me as he spoke, -and I stepped back, not wishing him to come too -close.</p> - -<p>“Now,” he cried, and sent up a great shout.</p> - -<p>There was a guttural sound behind me, and the -next instant I felt the burning sting of steel in my -flesh as the wounded man thrust a knife into my leg<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> -with a force and suddenness that made me stagger; -a clutch on my coat followed, which upset my balance -and drew me back all a-sprawl across him.</p> - -<p>Only by the narrowest chance did I escape death -then—the chance that in falling I so hampered the -man that he could not deliver the second thrust for -which he had already lifted his knife. He struck at -me, but missed his aim. The blade pierced my coat -only, and, mercifully, I was unhurt. I was out of his -reach before he could strike again, and with a heavy -kick I put his arm out of action and sent the knife -flying across the tent while I shouted for Karasch.</p> - -<p>It was all the work of an instant, and I was barely -on my legs before the leader rushed at me. My -fingers were still closed on my revolver and I fired, -but in the confusion missed him, and we grappled -one another in grim earnest.</p> - -<p>He was a more powerful man than I, and although -I strove with all my strength and used every trick of -the wrestling ring that I knew, I could not shake him -off. He knew I was losing blood from the wound -in my leg; and he clung to me, pinning my arms to -my side, and waiting for my strength to give out, as -assuredly it must.</p> - -<p>For some minute or two matters were thus; his -arms wrapped round me with the force of iron clamps, -fixing mine to my sides; his muscular body pressed, -straining against mine, and our faces so close that I -could feel his breath on me as it came through his -dilated nostrils.</p> - -<p>Then chance was my friend once more. As I -writhed and staggered in my desperate efforts to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -shake off his terrible grip, and we tossed and swayed -in that grim, wild struggle, he caught his foot and -down we went crash to the ground, he undermost. -His grip relaxed for the instant, and with a frantic -effort I thrust myself free from him, and scrambling -up jumped out of his reach.</p> - -<p>In a second I had the drop on him; and when he -regained his feet and faced me with a heavy club he -had picked up, he was looking down the barrel that -meant death.</p> - -<p>If I hadn’t been a chicken-hearted fool I should -have shot him down on the spot; but instead I offered -him his life; and then, as if in contempt of my weakness, -Fortune deserted me.</p> - -<p>“Throw your hands up, or I’ll put a bullet into -you,” I cried.</p> - -<p>He stood a second as if weighing the chances, and -then from outside came the noise of trouble. The -crash of breaking wood, a cry from the girl, the savage -growl of Chris, and an angry shout in Karasch’s -deep voice.</p> - -<p>It was almost the last thing I knew of that fight.</p> - -<p>Maddened by the sounds I sprang to rush from the -tent, when the wounded man, resourceful daredevil -as he was, made his last effort and flung his rug right -at my face.</p> - -<p>The last thing I saw was the leader springing toward -me with his uplifted club; I fired at him; and the -same moment a blow on the head finished the fight, -and I went down stunned and senseless.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VII.<br /> - - -<small>ESCAPE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>My first conscious sensation after the blow felled -me was as singular as it was unpleasant. I seemed -to be nothing but one huge head on which a hundred -invisible smiths were hammering with quick, rhythmic -blows, each of which gave me such excruciating -pain that I yearned to cry out to the impish torturers -to cease, but was tongue-tied and helpless.</p> - -<p>After a time the throbbing sensation decreased in -violence; but while the sharpness of the pain of each -throb was less, it lasted longer, producing a deadening -sickening ache, which was equally intolerable.</p> - -<p>Next I felt something touch my hand with a curiously -restless movement. The thing was sometimes -cold and damp, and at others warm and clinging, -with a touch now and then of roughness. I tried -to draw my hand away, but found it heavier than the -heaviest metal, so that I could not stir even a finger. -I shrank from the thing and shuddered; it filled me -with a sense of uncanny terror; and it appeared to -be many long hours to me before I found that it was -Chris, nosing and licking me and rubbing his head -against my hand.</p> - -<p>I can recall to this day the rush of relief which this -discovery produced. If Chris was by my side, all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -must be well. Just that one vague thought, without -any other conscious connection, followed by a sensation -of calm peaceful comfort.</p> - -<p>I think I passed from semi-insensibility then into -sleep, for when I became conscious again, I was much -better. I was no longer all head; I could move my -hand to touch Chris, who still kept his watch over -me; and I heard his little whimper of pleasure at my -caress, as he took my fingers in his great mouth to -mumble them, as his manner was when very demonstrative -of his affection.</p> - -<p>But I was content to lie quite still and soon afterwards -another and very different set of sensations -were started.</p> - -<p>Someone came to my side, a fairy touch smoothed -the pillow under my head, a gentle, cool hand was laid -on my burning forehead, deft, quick fingers light as -gossamer removed the bandage on my head and -bathed it with water of deliciously refreshing coldness.</p> - -<p>I heard a pitying sigh from tremulous lips as the -someone bent over me; I caught whispered words. -“It was for me;” and just when I was striving to -open my eyes, the lips were pressed swiftly and -gently to my brow.</p> - -<p>It did more to soothe me, that one swift, gentle -touch, than all the waters of all the coldest rivers in -the world could have done; and although I felt like a -guilty hypocrite, I kept my eyes closed and my limbs -still in eager hope that another dose of the same -elixir might be administered.</p> - -<p>But at the moment I felt the deft fingers start and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> -tremble; the bathing recommenced a little more hurriedly; -and Chris growled.</p> - -<p>“Hush, Chris, good dog,” whispered Mademoiselle. -“It’s only Karasch. Dear old dog,” and a -hand left my head to pat him, and in patting him, the -fingers touched mine and then lifted my hand with -ever so gentle a movement higher on to the bed.</p> - -<p>A heavier tread approached.</p> - -<p>“Is he better?” It was Karasch’s gruff voice reduced -to a whisper.</p> - -<p>“I have been bathing his head,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>I could have laughed in sheer ecstasy at the sweet -remembrance of part of that treatment. And she -called it “bathing.” But I did better than laugh. I -moved slightly and sighed. I must not show full -consciousness too soon after that “bathing.”</p> - -<p>“He moved then,” she said, with a start, in a tone -of pleasure, and I felt her bend hurriedly over me -again in the pause that followed.</p> - -<p>Karasch broke the silence.</p> - -<p>“It is not safe for you to stay any longer,” he said. -“I came to tell you.”</p> - -<p>The words opened the floodgates of my memory -to all that had occurred. I had forgotten everything; -but in a moment I understood.</p> - -<p>“I told you I should not leave him, Karasch.”</p> - -<p>“He would wish it, I know. Your safety comes -first with him.”</p> - -<p>“Come where we can speak without fear of disturbing -him,” was the reply; and then I was left alone -with Chris.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_096.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">“PUT THOSE GUNS DOWN!”<br /> - -<span class="imageright"><a href="#Page_348"><i>Page 348</i></a></span></p> - -<p>I opened my eyes and looked about me, remembering<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> -things. I was in the tent close to where I -had fallen and they had brought the bed from the -cottage and placed me on it. I looked about for the -wounded man who had been the cause of my undoing, -but he was not there. Everything else was as it had -been before the trouble; and I wondered what had -happened.</p> - -<p>“Good Chris, old dog,” I said, putting out my -hand to pat him. He barked, not very loudly, but -the sound jarred my head with such a spasm of pain -that I hushed him; and as I was doing so, Mademoiselle -and Karasch came hurrying back.</p> - -<p>“You are better, Burgwan?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“What does it all mean?” I asked. “I remember -I had a crack on the head.” I lifted my head, -though it took all I knew not to wince at the pain it -cost me, and put my hand to it.</p> - -<p>“We will tell you everything presently. You -mustn’t talk yet. You are not strong enough.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me now. I am all right;” but I was glad -to yield to her hand and lay my head down again. -“Where are those men?”</p> - -<p>“All is well. You may be perfectly at ease,” she -said, soothingly.</p> - -<p>“What time is it?”</p> - -<p>“It is afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“The same day?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the same day. You have been unconscious -from that blow on the head. I am so glad you are -better. But you must sleep.”</p> - -<p>I looked across at Karasch, who was staring at me -with trouble in his eyes.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>“Did we keep the horses?” I asked him; but -Mademoiselle replied.</p> - -<p>“Yes. All is well. You can rest in perfect -safety.”</p> - -<p>Karasch started to say something, but she checked -him with a glance and a gesture.</p> - -<p>“Any news of Petrov or Gartski?” I asked him; -and again she gave the answer for him.</p> - -<p>“They will give us no trouble now, none at all,” -she said, with gentle firmness. “You can rest quite -assured.”</p> - -<p>Again Karasch wanted to speak and again she -stopped him just as before with a glance and a quick -gesture. I understood then.</p> - -<p>“I want to speak to Karasch alone,” I said.</p> - -<p>“No, you must not speak to him yet. There will -be plenty of time when you are better. Go away, -Karasch; you disturb Burgwan and excite him.”</p> - -<p>He lingered in hesitation and looked at me; and -she repeated her words dismissing him.</p> - -<p>“Yes go, Karasch, and saddle the horses. Three -of them; and put together enough food for three of -us for a couple of days. And come and report the -moment you are ready.”</p> - -<p>“Burgwan! You are mad,” cried Mademoiselle.</p> - -<p>“No, I am just beginning to be sane again. Go, -Karasch;” and without any more he left the tent.</p> - -<p>“You must not attempt such folly. I will not -go.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll find it both lonely and unsafe alone here -then.” She smiled at that, but tried to frown.</p> - -<p>“That is just like you. But you shall not take<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> -this risk. You are not fit to move from where you -are.”</p> - -<p>“Fit or unfit, I’m going. I read Karasch’s meaning -in his looks when you wouldn’t let him put it in -words.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t attempt this, Burgwan. Please, please -don’t,” she cried with such sweet solicitude for me -and such complete indifference to her own danger -that I could not but be deeply moved.</p> - -<p>“What would happen if Petrov or Gartski got -back with a crowd? I’m not strong enough just yet -to do any more fighting, but I am strong enough to -run away. And run away I’m going to.”</p> - -<p>“It may kill you,” she murmured, despondently.</p> - -<p>“Not a bit of it. I am getting stronger every -moment. See, I can sit up;” and I sat up and tried -to smile as if I enjoyed it, although my head seemed -almost to split in two with the effort. I can’t have -been very successful, for she winced and flinched as -though she herself were in suffering.</p> - -<p>“You need rest and sleep—you must have it.”</p> - -<p>“I can sleep in the saddle. I’m an old hand at -that.”</p> - -<p>“But the jolting—oh, no, no, you shall not.”</p> - -<p>“The jolting won’t hurt me. I can shake my -head any old way now.” I shook it, and she and the -tent and the bed, the earth itself seemed to come -tumbling all about me in a bewildering rush of throbbing -pain.</p> - -<p>“You nearly fainted then,” she cried. And I suppose -I did, for her voice sounded far off and her sorrow-filled -face and eyes were looking at me through<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> -a hazy film of distance. But I pulled myself together.</p> - -<p>“I’m a bit weak, of course, but fit enough to ride.”</p> - -<p>“Burgwan! You are going to do this madness for -me.”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” I said, my head clearing again. “I am -just running away because I’m afraid of what may -happen to me if I stay until Petrov and the other -fools get here.”</p> - -<p>“Let me go by myself then.”</p> - -<p>“And desert me?” She lifted her hands with a -glance of protest.</p> - -<p>“You make things so difficult,” she cried; then -with a change as a new thought occurred to her, -she added: “Beside, there is another reason for you -not to come with me. You are so weak we should -not be able to ride fast enough. You must see that.”</p> - -<p>“You fear I should hamper your escape?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she answered stoutly, although her eyes -were contradicting her words and she dropped them -before my look. “You are not strong enough.”</p> - -<p>I affected to believe the words and not the eyes.</p> - -<p>“I give in. You must go alone then.”</p> - -<p>“I am not afraid to stay.”</p> - -<p>“And face the brutes who would come here? Do -you know why they are coming?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Karasch has told me all—his own belief -about me, and that of the others.”</p> - -<p>“You are brave, Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>The words were simple enough in themselves, but -I think she read in them something of what was in -my thoughts. She kept her head bent down and her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span> -interlocked fingers worked nervously. Then she -looked up and smiled.</p> - -<p>“You know the risk you would run; why would -you do it?” I asked.</p> - -<p>She threw off the more earnest feeling with a shrug -of the shoulders. “I don’t know that there would -be any risk.”</p> - -<p>I took this as her way of avoiding the channel into -which we were drifting. I smiled.</p> - -<p>“You would be so helpless, too, alone here,” I said.</p> - -<p>“Alone?” catching at the word.</p> - -<p>“Yes alone. I am afraid to stay and am going in -any case; if not with you, to hamper you, then by a -different road.”</p> - -<p>Her eyes clouded and she gave a little nervous -start. “I am punished; but I—I didn’t mean that,” -she said very slowly.</p> - -<p>“I know. If I had not seen your real motive I -might have been content to stay. Nothing would -have mattered then.”</p> - -<p>“Burgwan!” Quick protest and some dismay -were in her tone; and the colour rushed to her -cheeks. “I will go and see if Karasch is ready,” she -added, and hurried away.</p> - -<p>Had I said too much and offended her? I sat looking -after her some moments, in somewhat anxious -doubts and fears, and yet conscious of a strange feeling -of exhilaration.</p> - -<p>Then with a sigh of perplexed discontent I threw -back the rug, rolled off the bed, and got on my feet. -I was abominably weak. My brain swam with every -movement I made, so that the place whirled about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span> -me until I must have nearly fainted. My leg was -stiff and painful where that treacherous brute had run -his knife into me. I remember looking at the bed -with a sort of feverish longing to get back on to -it almost impossible to resist as I clung to the tent -pole to steady myself and let my head clear.</p> - -<p>“It’s got to be done, Chris, old man,” I said to the -old dog, who was standing by me; and after a struggle -resolution lent me strength, and I ventured at length -to do without the support of the pole and began to -limp slowly and painfully up and down. If there had -been no one but myself to think about I should have -given in and just lain down again to let happen what -might.</p> - -<p>But the thought of Mademoiselle’s danger was -tonic enough to keep me going; and when I heard -Karasch and her outside, I managed to crawl to the -opening of the tent to meet them.</p> - -<p>“We are ready, you see, Chris and I,” I said.</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle said nothing, but the look in her -eyes was full of sweet sympathy and deep anxiety.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid I don’t look very fit,” I murmured. -I must have cut a sorry figure, indeed, I expect; my -clothes rough and torn, begrimed with dirt and -smeared here and there with blood, my head swathed -in a bandage, and my face pale to whiteness above -and blackened below with my sprouting beard.</p> - -<p>“I wish you could laugh at me. It would do me -a power of good.”</p> - -<p>“Laugh! Burgwan!” she said, her lips trembling. -She put out her hand. “Let me help you. -Lean on me.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>“As if I wanted any help,” I laughed, and making -an effort, I started toward the horse I was to mount, -only to stagger badly after half a dozen steps. In a -moment her arm was under mine.</p> - -<p>“You see,” she exclaimed, in quick distress.</p> - -<p>But I laughed. “Coward, to gloat over my fallen -pride. I only tripped over something.”</p> - -<p>“Lean on me,” was all she said.</p> - -<p>“Are you really fit to travel, Burgwan?” asked -Karasch.</p> - -<p>“Get me on to the horse. I can ride when I can’t -walk.”</p> - -<p>“I think you should stay here,” he declared.</p> - -<p>“Silence, Karasch,” I returned, angrily. My -anger was at my own confounded weakness, but I -vented it on him. “The air will pull me together.”</p> - -<p>I started again for the horse and this time reached -it, and with Karasch to help me, clambered into the -saddle.</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle watched us almost breathlessly. If -my face was whiter than hers, I must have looked -bad indeed.</p> - -<p>“Have you got everything, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Food, water and arms;” and he pointed -to the horse he was to ride which was well laden.</p> - -<p>“I can’t help you up, Mademoiselle,” I said, with -a smile.</p> - -<p>I seemed to be the only one of the three who could -raise a smile; for she looked preternaturally grave -and troubled as she mounted, and Karasch as though -he had never known a smile since he was born. But -then he was never much of a humorist.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>“The map and the compass, you have them?” I -asked him.</p> - -<p>“I have them,” said Mademoiselle.</p> - -<p>“Then we can go. Wait, wait,” I exclaimed. “I -have forgotten something. I must get off.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“We must have money. It’s in the hut. I must -get it.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t go in there,” she said, quickly.</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“The men are there.”</p> - -<p>“The men there?” I repeated dully, not understanding. -“What are they doing there?”</p> - -<p>“When you were found in the tent we dared not -move you, so we brought the bed across to you and -put the wounded men in the cottage.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course, you haven’t told me yet what -occurred. But my money is hidden there and we -must have it.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll fetch it if you tell us where to find it.”</p> - -<p>“Karasch?” I answered, doubtingly.</p> - -<p>“You can trust him. I am sure of him,” she -declared with implied confidence. “He is a Serb -and would give his life for—for us. I would trust -him with mine.”</p> - -<p>“There is more there than he thinks. I’d rather -he didn’t see it all. Life is one thing, money’s another.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me then. I will get it. He shall go with -me to the hut door, but shall not see it.”</p> - -<p>I told her where to find it and she and Karasch -dismounted. I waited on my horse and while they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> -were in the cottage I heard the report of a gun in -the distance.</p> - -<p>Chris started up at the sound and barked in warning.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like the thing either, old dog.” I didn’t; -for unless I was too dizzy to guess right, it came -from the direction of Lalwor and threatened trouble.</p> - -<p>They lingered an unnecessary time in the cottage -and every moment was now dangerous; so I rode up -to the door and called them. When they came out -Mademoiselle was trembling and looked scared and -ill.</p> - -<p>“I must get them some water, Burgwan,” she -said, as she handed me the money. “I cannot leave -them like that. One of them—the one Chris flew -at—seems to be dying.”</p> - -<p>“We dare not stay;” and I told them of the gunshot -I had heard. “There will soon be enough here -to look after them.”</p> - -<p>Karasch settled the matter with a promptness -which showed what he thought of the news. He -threw down the pannikin he carried and shut the -door of the hut.</p> - -<p>“Come,” I said to her; and seeing we were both -so earnest, she gave way and we started.</p> - -<p>We rode slowly and in silence down the ravine -until we reached the mouth of it, and made such -speed as we could down the mountain road.</p> - -<p>“There’s a lot I want to ask; but as the easiest -pace for me is a canter, and as it’s the safest for us -all just now, we’ll hurry. We can talk afterwards,” -I said when we reached the level; and I urged my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> -horse on until we were cantering briskly, the old -dog loping along close to me and looking up constantly -as though he was fully conscious that something -was very much amiss with me calling for the -utmost vigilance and guardianship on his part.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> - - -<small>WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>We did not slacken speed until we had put some -miles between us and the camp; and although at first -I suffered abominable torture from the jolting, I had -to keep on, and after a time I found that the rush of -the cool air, acting as a kind of stimulating tonic -revived me. My head became gradually less painful -and my brain cleared.</p> - -<p>If we had only been certain of our road I should -have had no serious misgivings as to the result. We -were all well mounted, and although the horses were -not fresh, yet they were quite fit to carry us the distance -we had to travel to reach the railway. But I -could only guess the road, picking the way by the -compass; and in that difficult and barren district -there was a constant risk that we should lose the way, -especially as we should have to ride through the -night.</p> - -<p>It was almost evening when we left the camp, and -my intention was to ride as far and as fast as possible -while the daylight lasted and then rest until -the moon rose. We should then have six or seven -hours to ride before even the earliest peasants would -be astir, and in that time I calculated we should be -able to reach the frontier town of Samac, the terminus -of the line.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span>The overpowering reason for travelling at night -was the fear that some attempt would be made at -pursuit. If Petrov and Gartski succeeded in bringing -any considerable party back to the camp from -Lalwor, they would learn from the men there of the -reward to be paid for getting Mademoiselle to -Maglai; and for any such sum as three thousand -gulden the average Bosnian peasant would leave all -he had in the world and go scrambling for a share -of it. And with greed to back up the superstitious -abhorrence of witchcraft, there was no telling what -would be done.</p> - -<p>We were a party easily tracked, too. Two -wounded men, a woman, and a huge hound like Chris -would be readily remembered if once seen anywhere -at any time; and the night was thus the safest for us.</p> - -<p>I kept all these thoughts to myself, however, and -pushed on as fast as practicable, although both -Mademoiselle and Karasch urged me more than once -to halt and rest.</p> - -<p>“We must get on while the light lasts,” was my -answer. “We shall be compelled to rest when the -dark falls;” and the only time we slackened speed -was when the nature of the road compelled us.</p> - -<p>“I wish you would rest, Burgwan, if only for an -hour,” said Mademoiselle as we were walking the -horses up a hill.</p> - -<p>“Not while the light lasts,” I replied. “The fretting -impatience to get on would do me more harm -than the rest would good. I am in little or no pain -now. Tell me what happened after I was knocked -over.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>“Karasch and Chris saved me. He says the man -in the tent with you shouted some signal at which -the two who were with him broke open the hut door. -Chris flew at them, pinned one man by the throat, -and the other who was close behind fell in the confusion.”</p> - -<p>“Good Chris,” I exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed, good dog. Well, Karasch was on -the watch and as the man was getting up and drawing -his knife to attack Chris, Karasch rushed up and -knocked him senseless with a gun.”</p> - -<p>“Well played, Karasch. And then?”</p> - -<p>“That was all, except that I had great difficulty in -making Chris loose his hold. His fury was really -awful to see. But he obeyed me, and Karasch and I -together bound the men and made them prisoners; -but both were badly hurt—especially the one Chris -mauled.”</p> - -<p>“But the third man?” I asked, perplexed.</p> - -<p>“We found him shot in the tent, near you.”</p> - -<p>I remembered then my shot at random just as I -was struck.</p> - -<p>“Is he dead?”</p> - -<p>“No, but badly wounded; and we got him and the -man you took last night to the hut.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it serves them all right; and the folk from -Lalwor will look after them. They meant killing -me. But it may make things uglier for us, and is -all the stronger reason for us to hurry on while the -light lasts;” and we pressed forward again.</p> - -<p>Just when the gloom was deepening fast, my -policy of haste was justified.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span>I had halted at a point where the road forked and, -in considerable doubt which way to ride, was -anxiously consulting my map when Chris put his -nose to the ground and whimpered.</p> - -<p>“Steady, Chris, good dog, steady,” I whispered; -and he knew he was to make no noise. “Someone -is about,” I said to Mademoiselle. We sat silent and -listened, and presently heard the throbbing of hoofs -from the direction we had been riding.</p> - -<p>“Two horses,” said Karasch, whose hearing was -very acute.</p> - -<p>“It may be nothing. Ride into the shadow of -those trees and let Karasch and Chris go with you,” -I said to Mademoiselle.</p> - -<p>“But you....” she began to object.</p> - -<p>“Please do as I say and at once,” I interposed; -and I put my horse on to the grass under another -tree.</p> - -<p>She did as I asked without further protest and -I waited for the newcomers. They caught sight of -me while still at some distance and checked their -horses first to a trot, and then to a walk.</p> - -<p>“You are well come; I have lost my way,” I said -as they reached me.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” asked one; and as the question -was put the other man laughed, and backed his horse -to a safe distance as he said:</p> - -<p>“It is Burgwan. We are all right;” and I recognised -the voice.</p> - -<p>“That is Petrov?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. You are wanted at the camp, Burgwan,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span> -to explain things there. Where is the witch? May -the curse of God blight her!”</p> - -<p>“If you are the man, Burgwan, you must come -back with us,” put in the other man, who spoke with -an air of authority.</p> - -<p>“Must?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, must. There are some badly injured men -there; and the injured make strange charges against -you which must be explained.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“I am Captain Hanske, from Lalwor—the head -officer of the district under the Imperial Government. -You left the place with an escaped prisoner? -She must return with you.”</p> - -<p>A most disquieting turn, this Of all developments -possible, the least to my liking was a conflict -with the Austrian authorities.</p> - -<p>“I am prepared to meet any charges,” I answered -firmly. “An attempt was made upon my life there, -and all I did was done in self-defence. But I cannot -return with you.”</p> - -<p>“You have no option. You must do as I say and -at once.” He spoke in curt stern tone of a man -accustomed to be obeyed. I knew well enough the -fear in which the Austrian officials are held by the -Bosnians.</p> - -<p>“We will see,” I answered, in quite as stiff a tone. -“I have first a reckoning to settle with Petrov -there;” and I wheeled my horse round and rode -toward him. But he did not wait for me to get near -him. He was off like the wind; as indeed I had -hoped.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>“I’ll carry the news back to the rest at the camp,” -he called over his shoulder, and he galloped back -along the road as though the devil himself were at -his heels. I listened to the dying sounds of his -horse’s hoofs with intense satisfaction, and went back -with a laugh to the official.</p> - -<p>“Your character as a desperado is well established,” -he exclaimed drily and angrily.</p> - -<p>“Now we can talk on equal terms,” said I, quietly.</p> - -<p>“I order you in the name of the Emperor to come -with me.”</p> - -<p>“And I tell you, man to man, I shall do nothing -of the kind. I am no desperado, as I shall be easily -able to prove when necessary; but I have no time for -anything of the sort now.”</p> - -<p>“Then I shall accompany you.”</p> - -<p>“No, that also is impossible.”</p> - -<p>“What were you doing in the camp yonder?”</p> - -<p>“My own business, merely.”</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“Also about my own business.”</p> - -<p>“Where are your papers?”</p> - -<p>“I have none to show you.”</p> - -<p>“Then I shall accompany you.”</p> - -<p>“No. That I shall not allow.”</p> - -<p>“Do you dare to threaten me?”</p> - -<p>“There are three roads here. One back to the -camp; one to the left there, and one to the right. -You are free to choose which you please and I will -take another.”</p> - -<p>“I shall not leave you.” He was getting very -angry and dogged.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>“If you are armed you may perhaps force yourself -upon me.”</p> - -<p>“I shall do as I say,” he answered, with just -enough hesitation to assure me he was not armed. -Then it occurred to me that it would be safer to get -him away from the place and to increase the distance -between him and the camp. It would be the more -difficult for Petrov and the rest to find him when they -returned.</p> - -<p>“Mademoiselle,” I called. She and Karasch came -out. “We are to have a companion. This gentleman -desires to ride with us. This is our road;” and -choosing that which led away to the right, I rode on -with her, leaving the official to follow.</p> - -<p>She had overheard the conversation and questioned -me with some anxiety as to what I meant to -do. She went so far even as to suggest a return to -the camp.</p> - -<p>“I have my plans. It will all come right. I -should have left him at the fork of the road there -had I not thought it best to get him further away.”</p> - -<p>“But I could probably satisfy him,” she said.</p> - -<p>“I’ll deal with him in my own way, please,” was -my reply.</p> - -<p>We plunged along at such pace as we could make -now that the darkness had deepened; but when we -could go no faster than a walk, and were, I reckoned, -some two miles from the cross roads, I called a halt.</p> - -<p>“We are going to rest here, captain,” I said to -him, as we dismounted.</p> - -<p>We three sat by the side of the road and while we -made a hasty meal I explained my plan to Karasch,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> -who was frankly frightened by the presence of the -official.</p> - -<p>“The moon will be up in a couple of hours, Karasch, -and you must keep watch. I must sleep or I -shall not be fit to ride later. We are going to leave -that man here. If he dismounts, find the means to -turn his horse astray; if he does not, you must disable -the horse. But don’t shoot it except in the last -resource; for we don’t know who might hear the -shot. The man we shall just tie up to a tree.”</p> - -<p>“It is dangerous, Burgwan. He is an officer of -the Imperial Government,” said Karasch.</p> - -<p>“If he were the Emperor of Austria himself, I -should do it in the plight we are in.”</p> - -<p>I lay down. The excitement had kept me going; -but I was done now; utterly exhausted and worn -out; and despite the hazard of our position, I was -soon fast asleep. I was wakened by a loud, angry -cry from the Austrian. I could scarcely lift my -head for the throbbing in it; I ached in every joint -and muscle; and my leg was woefully stiff and painful -from that knife thrust; but I scrambled to my -feet in alarm and confusion at the noise.</p> - -<p>I must have slept for some three hours; for the -moon was up and shining fitfully between the masses -of ragged threatening clouds which were scudding -across the face of the heavens. By the light I saw -the man struggling with Karasch and shouting with -a vigour that woke very dangerous echoes in the still -night. Mademoiselle was holding Chris, who was -growling ominously, and she was attempting to still -him.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span>I went over to them and found that Karasch had -strapped the man’s legs tight together and was holding -on to the strap with his one arm while the -Austrian was fighting and wrestling to get free.</p> - -<p>“Down, Chris. You may loose him, Mademoiselle,” -I said; and the good dog came instantly to -heel. “Stand from him, Karasch,” I called next. -“Now, sir, you must stop those cries; or I shall put -the dog on you.”</p> - -<p>“This is an outrage, an infernal outrage, and you -shall all suffer for it,” he cried, furiously.</p> - -<p>“It’s done by my orders. The outrage is that -you should endeavour to force yourself upon us.”</p> - -<p>“I am doing my duty. I am a Government——”</p> - -<p>“I choose not to believe you; that’s all there is to -it; and I take you to be a dirty spy set upon me by -that other coward, Petrov, who was with you. I am -going to tie your arms to your sides and leave you -here. We are both suffering from the injuries inflicted -by your accomplices; and if you resist, you -must settle matters with my dog here—and he makes -a rough fighter at the best of times.”</p> - -<p>“You infernal villain....” he spluttered.</p> - -<p>“Chris.” The great dog came close up to him -and a fearsome brute he looked in the moonlight as -he eyed the captain and showed his fangs with an -angry snarl. “Now, Karasch.”</p> - -<p>He ceased to struggle then and let Karasch fasten -him up securely; and after that we gagged him, and -finding a suitable place some distance from the road -we left him.</p> - -<p>“Where’s his horse?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>“I started him over the hills. Mademoiselle -helped me. I couldn’t have done it without her. -She got him from his horse talking with him, and I -got rid of the horse. It’ll probably go home.”</p> - -<p>“It may go to the devil for aught I care. But we -must be off without losing another moment.”</p> - -<p>I felt the necessity now. We had burnt our boats -with a vengeance in this treatment of the Austrian -captain; and if we were caught on Austrian territory -there might be a big bill to pay before we could -settle matters. It was not now Mademoiselle’s safety -only that depended upon our reaching Samac, but -our own also, and we pushed on as fast as possible.</p> - -<p>“Karasch told me how cleverly you got that man -separated from his horse, Mademoiselle,” I said when -we were walking the horses up a steep hill.</p> - -<p>“He did not hear what I said to him?” she asked, -quickly.</p> - -<p>“He said nothing to me if he did.”</p> - -<p>“He deserves what he has got; but it is a dangerous -thing in Bosnia to interfere with an Austrian -official.”</p> - -<p>“What did you say to him?”</p> - -<p>“I made the only offer I could. I told him I was -the cause of all the trouble, was alone responsible, -and offered to explain everything.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I see. You mean you offered to go back -with him, if he would let you go alone. It was like -you.”</p> - -<p>She started and glanced quickly at me. “I did -not say that.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>“No. But I know you, and where you are concerned -can make a guess.”</p> - -<p>“You would have been free, Burgwan; and I could -have cleared matters.”</p> - -<p>“He was a fool, or he would have guessed and -accepted the offer.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean? Guessed what?”</p> - -<p>“That the moment I woke I should have ridden -back to the camp.”</p> - -<p>“Burgwan!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I should have left you in the lurch? -It’s not the way we treat women in England, or in -America.”</p> - -<p>“But you don’t understand. I should have been -in no danger. Once under Austrian protection I -could have explained.”</p> - -<p>“Explained what?”</p> - -<p>“Who I am. You have never asked me.”</p> - -<p>“I do not care. When you wish me to know, you -will tell me; and when I wish to know, I will ask. I -can wait. I know what you are—to me.”</p> - -<p>Either she did not catch the last words, for I had -dropped my voice, or she affected not to hear. She -said nothing and when we reached the top of the hill -we rattled on again quickly.</p> - -<p>When we drew rein at the next hill we walked half -way to the top in silence and then she broke it -abruptly:</p> - -<p>“I will tell you if you wish, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“I do not. To me you are Mademoiselle: to you -I am Burgwan; and Mademoiselle and Burgwan we -can best remain, until we are out of this bother.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>“How far do you think we are from Samac?”</p> - -<p>“We ought not to be more than a dozen miles at -most—but that’s not much more than a guess.”</p> - -<p>“When we reach there, we shall part.”</p> - -<p>“You will be glad to be on the safe road to Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Is that another guess, Burgwan?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it’s another guess, Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think it’s a good one?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. You would be an extraordinary woman if -it were not. I wish with all my heart we were safely -there.”</p> - -<p>“Then I wish it, too,” she answered, with a gesture. -A long pause followed until she said, “Yes, -I do wish it. I had forgotten how ill you are and -how sorely you need rest.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose it sounded as though I was thinking -of myself.”</p> - -<p>“Not to me; you never seem to think of yourself—at -least during our comradeship.”</p> - -<p>“I like that word—comradeship. Thank you for -it.”</p> - -<p>“It has been a strange one, Burgwan. How good -you have been. And I took you at first for a—a -peasant, and even once for a brigand.”</p> - -<p>“There are worse folk in the world than peasants—or -brigands either for that matter.”</p> - -<p>“What trouble I have brought to you.”</p> - -<p>“We shall have the more to laugh over when we -meet again.”</p> - -<p>“We shall not meet again, Burgwan,” she said, -so seriously and deliberately that I thought I could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> -detect a touch of sadness. Perhaps I only hoped it, -and the hope cheated me. I answered lightly,</p> - -<p>“One never knows. The world’s a small place -now. You might come to America some day.”</p> - -<p>“No, no. That is impossible,” she interjected -quickly.</p> - -<p>“Then I might go to Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” she exclaimed again in the same quick -tone. “That too must be impossible.”</p> - -<p>“Impossible is a word we are going to wipe out of -the American dictionary,” I replied, with a smile. -“We shall see; but as we are at the top of the hill -we’ll hurry on to Samac—the first stage, whether -for America or Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>She turned as if to say something, her face very -grave and earnest, but after a moment’s hesitation -shook up her reins and we cantered on.</p> - -<p>But a good deal was to happen before we reached -Samac; the first stage, as I had so glibly named it. -We had some few miles of easy going when the path -became very difficult and branched suddenly in three -directions. I picked out that which, judging by the -compass, promised to lead us straight to Samac. But -instead of that, when we had followed it for an hour -or more we found it cut by a broad, swift-flowing -river.</p> - -<p>The path led right down to the water’s edge and -rose from it on the other side; but the river was in -flood from the recent heavy rains, and the ford was -impassable. Karasch and I both tried to cross, on -horseback first and then on foot, but failed; and then -we rode along the bank searching for a fordable spot.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span>But this only led us into worse disaster. We came -to a spot where another stream, itself as fierce and -swift and broad, joined the first. We were cut off -hopelessly.</p> - -<p>We had lost precious hours in this way. It was -long past the dawn; and to make matters even worse -I could find no trace of the streams on the map anywhere -near Samac.</p> - -<p>It was an awkward plight in all truth. To go on -was impossible; to stay where we were for the waters -to subside was useless; and yet to go back was only -to put ourselves once more on the road where we -might look for danger from those we knew to be in -pursuit of us. The hours we had thus wasted had -thrown away all the advantage gained by the night’s -riding.</p> - -<p>Yet there was nothing else for it; and with a bitter -sigh and something stronger at the bad luck, I gave -the word, and we started to return.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IX.<br /> - - -<small>FROM BAD TO WORSE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>The crushing disappointment and the anxiety it -caused, following on the fatigue of the long ride, -aggravated the injury to my head so that I could -scarcely keep in the saddle. I had to cling to the -pommel to prevent myself from falling.</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle was quick to see my condition.</p> - -<p>“Let us rest, Burgwan,” she said.</p> - -<p>“No, we must push on. They may get ahead of -us. I shall be better again directly.”</p> - -<p>“I am too tired,” she answered; and without waiting -to hear my protest, she slipped from her horse.</p> - -<p>“You must not do that,” I exclaimed, irritably.</p> - -<p>“Karasch’s arm is bad too,” she replied. “Isn’t -it, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is paining me, Burgwan,” he declared -then. “I cannot go any further;” and he dismounted -and came to help me.</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll ride on and find the road and return,” -I said.</p> - -<p>“No,” exclaimed Karasch, as he seized my horse’s -bridle.</p> - -<p>“Stand away, Karasch,” I cried, angrily. I was -more like a fractious, obstinate child just then than -a reasoning man. I felt I was too weak to go on -and was angry with them both because I could not -hide it.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>“You must get off, Burgwan,” he returned, firmly.</p> - -<p>“I’ll break your other arm if you don’t loose my -bridle, Karasch.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll hold it. You won’t break mine, Burgwan,” -said Mademoiselle, taking it quickly. “Hold -my horse, Karasch. I am faint for want of food and -rest, Burgwan. Won’t you help me?”</p> - -<p>“You are only doing this because you think I’m -such a weak fool as not to be able to keep going,” I -declared, angrily. “Please to loose that bridle, -Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>“Not until you break my arm, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>I sat still looking with a child’s sullen anger into -her clear, calm, resolute eyes.</p> - -<p>“If you were a man....” I began and then -laughed. “I’m a fool and that’s all there is to it. -I’ll get off—but I won’t forgive you. This is -mutiny.” I rolled from the saddle and was glad of -the help of Karasch’s sturdy arm. “You don’t seem -very weak, you coward,” I said, half in earnest, half -in jest.</p> - -<p>“That’s not the broken arm, Burgwan,” he replied, -as he helped me with the gentleness of a girl.</p> - -<p>“I’m all right and could ride fifty miles,” I protested -angrily as I sat down; and then in proof of it, -I fell back and fainted from sheer weakness.</p> - -<p>When I came to myself Mademoiselle was bathing -my face and head, deep pity and care in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“I’m horribly ashamed of myself,” I murmured.</p> - -<p>“It’s a good thing you didn’t break my arm, Burgwan, -isn’t it?” she said, smiling.</p> - -<p>“I was angry. I wanted to go on. I’m sorry.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>“It was mutiny, you know. You feel better -now?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes. I can sit up. Was I long?”</p> - -<p>“Only a few minutes. Karasch has tethered the -horses and is getting us something to eat. Do you -know, I was never so hungry in my life before?” and -she laughed brightly.</p> - -<p>“We’re in a desperate mess,” said I, gloomily.</p> - -<p>“We should have been in a worse if we had gone -on.”</p> - -<p>“Rub it in. You got your own way, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I meant to have it; and I’m not going to put my -foot in the stirrup again until you have had something -to eat and have slept for at least two or three -hours.”</p> - -<p>“You have a very masterful way of your own.”</p> - -<p>She nodded and smiled to me. “But the point is -whether you are going to obey without more—mutiny.”</p> - -<p>“You seem to take this for a kind of picnic.”</p> - -<p>“Here’s breakfast at any rate,” she cried, as Karasch -came up.</p> - -<p>“Put it down here, Karasch, and get one of the -saddles to prop Burgwan up.”</p> - -<p>“I can sit up without anything, I assure you.”</p> - -<p>“Who did you say was masterful?”</p> - -<p>I gave in with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders -and let them arrange the saddle, and found it very -comfortable.</p> - -<p>It was poor fare. Some hard biscuits, a tin of -preserved meat, and some water from the river; but -it could not have been enjoyed with more relish if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> -it had been the best breakfast that the Waldorf-Astoria -chef could have sent up.</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle’s cheerfulness in the strange and depressing -circumstances was positively dauntless. She -would see nothing but the brightest side of things. -We were lost on the hills; but then it would be so -much the more difficult for anyone to find us. The -food was rough, but we had plenty to last us for all -that day and part of the next. The loss of time -might be dangerous, but we all needed rest and -could take it without risk where we were. We did -not know where to look for the road to Samac, but -we should be sure to find a way somewhere. And -meanwhile we were getting stronger and so better -able to face the trouble.</p> - -<p>Even Karasch’s stern face relaxed under her influence. -And as for me—well, I rolled over on the -soft grass when she told me, and having put old -Chris on the watch, went off to sleep as contentedly -as though her view of the position and not mine were -the true one.</p> - -<p>I slept for some hours. I woke once and looked -round to find Karasch lying on his back at some distance, -snoring in a deep stertorous diapason; and -Mademoiselle curled up fast asleep peacefully with -Chris lying at her feet. The hot sun was pouring -down on the hills and crags around us; and I -stretched myself lazily and was soon off again in deep -refreshing slumber.</p> - -<p>When I awoke again I was alone to my great surprise. -The horses were grazing near me tethered;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span> -but even Chris was away somewhere; and I sat up -wondering in some confusion what it meant.</p> - -<p>A glance at my watch showed it was two hours -and more past noon and that I must have slept for -six or seven hours. I felt immensely refreshed. The -pain in my head was so slight as to be inconsiderable, -and although my leg was stiff, I could move about -freely.</p> - -<p>Feeling in my pockets I found a couple of cigars -in my case, and lighted one to think over things. I -was smoking it with a rare relish when I saw Mademoiselle -coming from the direction of the river with -Chris in close attendance. How the old rascal had -taken to her! I went to meet them; and as I approached, -the dog came running to fawn upon me -and then rushed back to fawn upon her; and looked -from one to the other of us as though our comradeship, -as she had termed it, was just the loveliest thing -in the world to him.</p> - -<p>“Chris seems to approve our comradeship, Mademoiselle,” -I said, marvelling how on earth she -managed to look so fresh and sweet after her rough-and-tumble -experiences during the last forty hours. -Her soft, glossy hair was as neatly arranged as -though she had just come from her room, her dress -was in such order that so far as I could see not a -thing was out of place.</p> - -<p>“He has been with me to the river on guard. I -had no idea it was so difficult to wash in a river, and -to do one’s hair out of doors and without a glass.”</p> - -<p>“You have been very successful. You put me to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> -shame sadly,” and I glanced down in dismay at myself. -“And you are so bright and sunny.”</p> - -<p>“There is good news. Our luck has turned. -Karasch found a peasant who was crossing the hills -and is learning from him our route. They are on the -hill yonder.”</p> - -<p>“Thank God for that,” I said, fervently.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I suppose it is good news,” she replied in a -tone which made me glance quickly at her. Then -she added, after a pause: “You look much better for -your rest, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“I feel a different man.”</p> - -<p>“Kindly disposed toward masterful rebels?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; and very grateful to one of them.”</p> - -<p>“I thought you were actually going to strike Karasch -when he held your bridle rein this morning.”</p> - -<p>“I felt like it, too.”</p> - -<p>“I think he is afraid of you, Burgwan. It was you -who broke his arm, wasn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“He broke it in a fall.” She paused and glanced -at me.</p> - -<p>“He told me all about that fall, and what he meant -to do, if you hadn’t beaten him. It was for me you -risked your life in that fight.”</p> - -<p>“Karasch ought to hold his tongue.”</p> - -<p>We reached the spot where we had rested, and sat -down to wait for Karasch.</p> - -<p>“I have been thinking this morning,” she said, -slowly.</p> - -<p>“We all have some thinking to do before we are -out of our plight.”</p> - -<p>“You call this a plight,” and she smiled. “Why,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span> -see what a lovely wild country it is. I could live in -these hills—live, I mean, in the sense of keen, rare -enjoyment. Look.” She pointed from one hill to -another with kindling eye. “The freedom of it. -The very air is different from all other.”</p> - -<p>“I should like some clean clothes,” I put in, flippantly.</p> - -<p>“Don’t.” And she gestured and frowned. “I -want you to feel what it must be to me, and then to -think, as I was thinking a while since, what would -have been my fate—if it had not been for you. And -you call this a plight! It is like Heaven in comparison!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want you to exaggerate what I did.”</p> - -<p>“I am not exaggerating it,” she replied deliberately. -“I don’t. I could not. You risked your life -for me and saved me. Not only when you rescued -me from the two men, but afterwards with Karasch; -and yet again afterwards when you were hurt. Could -I exaggerate that, Burgwan? Can I ever repay it?”</p> - -<p>She was so earnest in the desire to make me feel -her gratitude and looked at me with such sweet -graciousness, that I came within an ace of telling her -how she could repay me. The very words rushed -to my lips only to be stayed by an effort as I dropped -my eyes before her. I could not speak of this while -she was still dependent upon my help.</p> - -<p>“What a long time Karasch is,” I said clumsily -after a long pause, not knowing indeed what else to -say.</p> - -<p>I felt her eyes still upon me. She made a slight<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> -gesture of dissatisfaction and her voice had an accent -of resentment.</p> - -<p>“You are anxious to get to your clean clothes -and all that they stand for—in exchange for this.”</p> - -<p>“You are not content with this?”</p> - -<p>“I could be,” she murmured, with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand you.”</p> - -<p>“No. I suppose not. You haven’t the key.”</p> - -<p>“You can have no reason to be afraid to go back -to Belgrade. I know that, because at the camp you -were so anxious to start. Your sighs then were of -discontent because you couldn’t start at once.”</p> - -<p>“You remember?” She smiled slowly, and then -grew serious. “No, it is not exactly fear, and yet—I -suppose in a way it is fear. It is certainly reluctance. -Oh, I see what you mean.” She broke off, -smiling very brightly this time. “That there may -be some reason connected with the cause of my capture -which threatens me: that I have committed -some offence or——”</p> - -<p>“No, no, I don’t think anything of the sort,” I -interposed.</p> - -<p>“No, I’m not a criminal, not even a political criminal, -Burgwan—and not even a witch.” The smile -became a free and joyous laugh, and I joined in and -laughed also.</p> - -<p>“I’m not so sure about the witchcraft, Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>“If I were a witch I should know all about you -and I—yes, I should like to, and yet I would rather -not. We can be so frank while you are just Burgwan. -It is all so strange, this comradeship of ours.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> -I shall never forget it. Shall you—even when you -get to those clean clothes that are so much in your -thoughts?”</p> - -<p>“I’m not likely to change my thoughts even when -I change my clothes.”</p> - -<p>“What a time Karasch is,” she laughed, throwing -back my own words at me. “Keeping you from the -tailor and the barber in this way!”</p> - -<p>“He is keeping you from Belgrade—a much more -serious matter.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t mind that—and yet I suppose I ought to. -But this is so delightful,” she cried, joyously.</p> - -<p>“This?”</p> - -<p>“This delicious freedom. This utter irresponsibility. -This Burgwan and Mademoiselle comradeship. -This being able to laugh at conventions and -snap one’s fingers in the face of restrictions—the -thousand petty ‘don’ts’ and ‘mustn’ts’ that edge -one in so, till one’s very breath has to be drawn with -restraint and every look and gesture fitted to some -occasion and empty etiquette. How I wish I was -just no more than a peasant girl! Oh, it is life.”</p> - -<p>“There are plenty of them who would be glad to -change places with you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know I am talking nonsense, and I daresay -I should grow tired of it all in a week or a month, -and sicken for the flummery and mummery again. -Besides, there might be no Burgwan like you and no -Chris in the picture, to feel safe with and trust. I -couldn’t do with only Karasch’s, could I?”</p> - -<p>“He is a very good fellow, and might make a very -good husband.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>“Oh, don’t, please. Now you’ve shattered the -dream, and made me wish for Belgrade and my -friends.”</p> - -<p>Did she mean all I was ready to read into that sentence? -Was it intended as a warning lest another -than Karasch should presume? I was glad I had -held my tongue just before. When I did not reply, -she stooped and patted the dog and then laughed.</p> - -<p>“I wish you were my dog, Chris,” she said. “I -shall get one just like him and call him Chris.”</p> - -<p>“Would you like to change masters, Chris?” He -drew himself lazily across the grass at my words and -thrust his nose into my hand almost as if understanding -my question and answering it. “I will give him -to you if you like, Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>But she shook her head. “No. No, no, no,” she -cried.</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>She called him back to her side and caressed him -before she answered, and then spoke very slowly.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I know why. I would rather have -him than anything in the world, but I couldn’t take -him. I—I couldn’t bear to have him, I think.”</p> - -<p>“You may change your mind when you see him -next time.” She bent over him again and patted -him and let him lick her hand.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I know what you mean, Burgwan—that -you think of coming some day to Belgrade. I -hope you never will.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“It would not do. Oh, no, no, a thousand times -no. It is so difficult to explain. Here we are Burgwan<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span> -and Mademoiselle; and there—well, for one -thing, you would have your clean clothes,” and she -broke off with a smile partly quizzical and partly of -dismay; and then added: “You would look for -Mademoiselle and would only find....” she -finished with a shake of the head and a sigh.</p> - -<p>“You think I should be disappointed?”</p> - -<p>“You must not come, Burgwan. There would -be no Mademoiselle in Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Chris may wish to see his successor. He is a -masterful dog, you know,” I said with a smile.</p> - -<p>“This is no jest, Burgwan. I wish you would -promise me not to come there. Ah, here comes -Karasch. Promise me, Burgwan;” and in her -eagerness she leant across and laid a hand on my arm, -the earnestness of her manner showing in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“I cannot promise,” I answered.</p> - -<p>She drew her hand away with a gesture of impatience -and said, as she rose: “That is not like Burgwan. -The very mention of Belgrade has changed -you.”</p> - -<p>“Not changed me. I have always meant to go,” -I replied. As I got up Karasch reached us, and there -was no chance to say more.</p> - -<p>He explained that the peasant had been pointing -out the way to him and was willing to lead us to the -proper road.</p> - -<p>The horses were saddled at once and when they -were ready, I went to Mademoiselle, who had been -standing apart gazing at the rugged scenery with intense -enjoyment.</p> - -<p>“Are we ready, Burgwan?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>“Yes; we may start now.”</p> - -<p>“I am almost sorry, I think,” she said, looking -about her wistfully. “But it’s all over.”</p> - -<p>“Except the comradeship.”</p> - -<p>“No, not even excepting that. You will get your -clean clothes and I all the conventions once more -and—all that they mean. I am ready;” and she -sighed.</p> - -<p>I helped her into the saddle.</p> - -<p>“And it was only yesterday I would not let you -help me to mount. It seems a year ago,” she said. -“You gave me that lesson in will power; but I beat -you this morning, Burgwan, and had my revenge.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean about my going to Belgrade?” I -challenged.</p> - -<p>“Ah, you will promise me then?”</p> - -<p>“If I promised I should only break my word.”</p> - -<p>“Promise, and I will trust you—for the sake of -the comradeship.”</p> - -<p>“Then I will not promise.”</p> - -<p>“You will force me to tell you things that will -compel you to promise. And it will be kinder not -to force me. Oh, so much kinder.”</p> - -<p>“You puzzle me.”</p> - -<p>“Will you promise? Burgwan?” she urged, -pleadingly.</p> - -<p>“I cannot.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that hard will of yours!” and wheeling her -horse round she rode off after Karasch and the guide, -leaving me to follow.</p> - -<p>What did she mean? What could she tell that -would convince me a future meeting must be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span> -avoided? What reason could there be on her side? -What could she think there might be on mine? -These and a hundred questions arising out of them -plagued me during the ride; and none of the answers -that suggested themselves could satisfy me.</p> - -<p>But I was soon to have other matters for thought. -The guide put us in the right road for Samac, which -he told us was about fifteen miles distant through a -place called Poabja; and as soon as he had left us -we rattled over the ground at a sharp canter.</p> - -<p>For one thing, I was very uneasy about the -Austrian officer whom we had treated so drastically -on the previous night. If he was found and liberated, -and raised a hue and cry after us there would -probably be some very awkward consequences; while -if he was not liberated soon, his very life might be -jeopardised. My intention was to send a search -party after him as soon as we reached a place where -that could be done without risk to ourselves; and I -was confident that my influence in Vienna was amply -sufficient to cause my explanation of the whole affair -to be accepted. But I could and would do nothing -until I was certain of Mademoiselle’s safety.</p> - -<p>My anxiety increased when we reached the outside -of Poabja; and I kept a vigilant lookout for any -signs that the news of our arrival could have preceded -us. This was possible, of course. We had -strayed so far from the proper road and had stayed so -long in the hills that if Petrov and the rest from the -camp had followed us to where we had encountered -the Austrian, and had continued on the road to -Samac, they would pass through Poabja and we -might easily run up against some trouble, even without<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span> -the complication arising out of the official’s rough -handling by us.</p> - -<p>I soon noticed signs which I did not like. We -began to meet peasants and others on the road; and -I observed that while some of them did no more -than stare at us with close scrutiny, others started -away and turned their backs and made the sign of -the cross as we passed.</p> - -<p>Karasch noticed this also; and when we met a -couple of men who behaved in this eccentric fashion, -he glanced from the men to Mademoiselle and from -her to me.</p> - -<p>“Ill news has got ahead of us, Burgwan,” he said -to me in an undertone. “We had better avoid the -town. You saw that sign of the cross!”</p> - -<p>“Go back and question the men.”</p> - -<p>“Why do we halt?” asked Mademoiselle, as Karasch -rode back.</p> - -<p>“We must make certain of the right road,” I -answered.</p> - -<p>“But is not this Poabja?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Then we know we are right. Samac is not half -a dozen miles beyond.”</p> - -<p>Karasch came back wearing an anxious look.</p> - -<p>“To avoid the town will cost a couple of leagues. -But I think we should take that route,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Why avoid it? We have lost our way once,” -said Mademoiselle.</p> - -<p>“We fear trouble. News of our coming is -known,” I explained.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean about the officer who tried to stop -us last night?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>“No—that you are suspected of witchcraft.”</p> - -<p>She laughed. “I have nothing to fear in Poabja. -I will find means to charm their anger into friendship;” -and she settled the question of route by shaking -her reins and cantering off toward the straggling -little place.</p> - -<p>The approach lay up a long, winding hill, steep in -places, and as we rode up it the people came out from -the houses to gaze at us. Languid curiosity gave -way to close interest, and this in turn quickened into -some excitement. Men and women walked up the -hill abreast of us and some few ran on ahead.</p> - -<p>Near the top of the hill stood an inn outside which -some half dozen saddle horses were hitched; and -when the riders came hurrying out I was scarcely surprised -to see Petrov among them talking and gesticulating -freely to his companions.</p> - -<p>Men began to call then one to the other; the calls -were caught up on many sides, at first intermittently -but swelling gradually, as the crowd increased, into a -coherent cry which I recognised with deep misgivings.</p> - -<p>“The Witch! The Witch! The Witch!”</p> - -<p>I regretted that we had taken the risk; but Mademoiselle -only smiled even when the cries grew louder -and more angry and threatening, and hands were -raised in imprecations and revilings.</p> - -<p>“Forward,” I cried. “We must get through -them.” But to my dismay Mademoiselle hesitated.</p> - -<p>Then Petrov and a man with him ran and placed -themselves in front of her and made a snatch at her -bridle rein. Karasch and I pushed forward.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>“Stand back there,” I said.</p> - -<p>“That she devil can’t pass, Burgwan,” answered -Petrov.</p> - -<p>I stretched forward and tore his grip from the rein -and flung him reeling back into the crowd.</p> - -<p>A score of hands were raised in menace and the -cries of “The Witch! Death for the Witch!” went -up all around us; while the circle closed in ominously. -A stone was hurled and narrowly missed me and then -some dirt was thrown at Mademoiselle.</p> - -<p>That was more than I was taking. If we were to -get through it would have to be by force. So I drew -my revolver and called to Karasch to do the same.</p> - -<p>“I’ll shoot the first man who stops me,” I shouted, -and for a moment the men fell back before the -weapons. “Now is our chance. Gallop for all we’re -worth and we shall get through.”</p> - -<p>But the luck was against us. A stone struck -Mademoiselle’s horse and he reared and plunged and -then fell. In a second she was in the grip of half a -dozen men and before Karasch and I could dismount -and get to her assistance we were separated from her -by the crowd and seized in our turn, the weapons -were struck from our hands and we were overpowered.</p> - -<p>I was carried into a house close to the inn, my -hands and legs were bound and I was thrust into a -room and left to curse my folly for having ventured -into the place, to brood over the dangers to Mademoiselle, -and to breathe impotent vows of vengeance -against Petrov and everyone concerned in our capture.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER X.<br /> - - -<small>AT POABJA.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>For an hour and more I was left to gnash my -teeth in rage as I tore and struggled fruitlessly to -loosen the cords that bound me. In that hour I -endured the torments such as even hell itself could -not have surpassed. My violent struggles inflamed -the hurt to my head until it throbbed as if it would -split; but all mere physical pain was lost and deadened -in the surpassing agony of mind.</p> - -<p>The thought of that sweet, pure girl in the power -of these crazy, superstitious fanatics was unendurable; -and had the torture continued longer it would -have driven me mad. Death threatened her every -minute she was in the hands of frenzied fools such as -they were; and a hundred possible ways in which they -might murder her occurred to me, each stimulating -the passion of my fear and anguish.</p> - -<p>At length the door of my room was opened and -Petrov and another man entered. The sight of him -so maddened me that I strove to rise, bound though -I was, to wreak my fury upon him.</p> - -<p>“No harm is meant to you, Burgwan,” he said.</p> - -<p>My answer was a volley of curses and threats so -vehement and furious that he started back in alarm.</p> - -<p>“No harm is meant to you,” he repeated.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>“Loose these cords then, to prove it,” I cried.</p> - -<p>His companion made as if to approach me when -Petrov held him back.</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” he said, turning pale with fear.</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t matter when you do it. You know -me, Petrov, and now mark this. If I find that the -least harm is done to Mademoiselle, I’ll make you -pay the price. And the price shall be your life. I’ll -hunt you down, if it costs me all I have in the world, -and when I find you, God have mercy on you, I won’t. -That I swear.”</p> - -<p>“She is a witch,” he said, doggedly.</p> - -<p>“You lie, you treacherous snake. And if you -value your dirty skin, see that no harm comes to -her.” It seemed to afford me some kind of relief to -abuse the beast.</p> - -<p>“You told me so yourself,” he declared sullenly.</p> - -<p>“Loose these cords and say that again, and I’ll -tear your lying tongue out by the roots.” I must -have been beside myself to talk in this strain; but it -had its effect on him.</p> - -<p>“She has come to no harm,” he said then.</p> - -<p>“You may thank your God for that—if it’s true.”</p> - -<p>“It is true,” declared the other man. “We came -here to set you free.”</p> - -<p>“Do it then.”</p> - -<p>“Not while he threatens me,” put in Petrov, -quickly.</p> - -<p>“I know nothing about that. It’s the priest’s -orders.”</p> - -<p>I pricked up my ears at that and the great crushing -weight of my fears began to lighten.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span>“Say that again. And tell me what it means,” I -cried.</p> - -<p>“She’ll only be taken to Maglai,” said Petrov.</p> - -<p>“Say that again,” I repeated to his companion.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what it means. I was told she -had confessed to being a witch and asked for the -priest, that she might repent and be shriven; and -then we were told to come to unbind you.”</p> - -<p>“Why the devil didn’t you say so then, when you -came in, and do it at once?”</p> - -<p>“You’re too violent.”</p> - -<p>“If all’s well with her, you can go to hell your own -way.” The relief from the strain was so intense I -felt almost hysterical with sudden joy, and I lay back -and laughed aloud. The two men stood staring at -me wonderingly.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” asked Petrov’s companion.</p> - -<p>“If you disobey the priest, my good fellow,” I interposed, -“you’ll see what he says to you, and I’ll -take care that he knows of it.”</p> - -<p>Instead of replying, they left the room and fastened -the door behind them. I didn’t care now what they -did. All was well in the matter that had troubled -me. Mademoiselle was unharmed and they might -do with me as they pleased. I could trust myself to -get out of any trouble when once I was in communication -with my agents in Vienna.</p> - -<p>All was well with her and the world was once more -a place to smile in.</p> - -<p>Then I began to piece things together and to -figure out how such a change could have been -effected. Mademoiselle herself had found the means<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -of doing it all. I recalled her phrase about charming -away the anger of the people at Poabja, and the -way in which she had cantered on fearlessly when -Karasch and I had counselled the other route to -avoid passing through the town. She must have -had a strong reason for her confidence. Brave as -she certainly was, she would not have faced such a -risk voluntarily unless she had had good grounds to -know she would pass the ordeal successfully.</p> - -<p>Who was she? What influence was she, a Serb of -Belgrade, likely to have in that out-of-the-way Bosnian -village? On whom was that influence exercised? -The man said she had confessed to her -witchcraft and asked for the priest that she might -repent and be shriven. The priest it was who had -ordered my release, and the priest it must be, therefore, -through whom she had been able to clear herself.</p> - -<p>How? It was an easy inference that he knew her -and that she had made the pretended confession so as -to get face to face with him. But why had she told -me nothing about him? “I have nothing to fear in -Poabja,” she had said; but not a word of the priest. -And then I thought I could see the reason. She did -not wish him to tell me who she was.</p> - -<p>Had I known of him she knew I should have -sought him out first, or have sent for him, and the -secret would have been out before she could have -cautioned him to say nothing. Rather than that, -she had risked entering the place and facing the -crowd. Yet she had offered once to tell me about -herself. At that point the apparent inconsistency<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -beat me; and the only guess I could make was that -she had anticipated getting to the priest without any -such trouble as that which had befallen us.</p> - -<p>I was more than content to lie there thinking in -this way. It pleased me to let my fancy run at random -about her. I cared nothing who she was. To -me she was just Mademoiselle; and I wanted to know -no more. She had come into my life to stay; and -nothing that she could be, and nothing she could -ever do, would alter that all-supreme fact for me.</p> - -<p>Two days before I had never seen her. Forty-eight -hours! But they had been forty-eight hours of -comradeship; and forty-eight years could not blot -out all that those hours had held for me, when I had -been in succession the peasant Burgwan, the brigand, -and then the trusted comrade and friend.</p> - -<p>What had they held for her? I would have given -much to know. Daring, imperious, rebellious, yielding, -solicitous, and at last utterly content to trust as -she had been in turn; what feelings lay beneath the -surface? How was I to read that conversation on -the hillside? Why was she so resolute that our -parting was to spell permanent separation; that I -must not go to Belgrade, and must never seek to -see her again?</p> - -<p>I had not given the promise sought, of course. I -would not give it. What would she say if I told her -that my visit to Belgrade, in my character as financier -was already arranged and that my hand had already -been felt in that unrestful little centre of Balkan -policy. Probably she knew nothing and cared -little about Balkan politics or finance; and I was indulging<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span> -in half a hundred conjectures of her reason -for my keeping away from Belgrade when the two -men entered my room and brought me a note.</p> - -<p>“From the priest,” said one of them.</p> - -<p>But it was not. It was from her.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“All my troubles are over and you may be quite at -rest about me. Give your word not to hurt the man -Petrov. I ask this. I ask, too, that you will consent -to remain where you are for two hours longer. -Will you do this—a last favour? For all you have -done for me I cannot thank you; I can only remember. -Do you think me graceless and a churl if I say -our comradeship is over and if I go without seeing -you? I can only say in excuse, I must. To Burgwan from</p> - -<p class="right">“Mademoiselle.”</p> -</div> - -<p>“I am taking Chris. You said I should alter my -mind. I have. I will treat him as what he has -been—one of the comrades.”</p> - -<p>I read the letter two or three times. At first with -feelings in which chilling despair, a sense of ineffable -loss, and intensely bitter regret overpowered me. It -stung me like a blow in the face that she could go -like this, without even a touch of hands, or a parting -glance. She was safe, and I was nothing, or less -than nothing to her. But at the second and third -reading very different thoughts were stirred. A hope -sprang to life in my heart great and wild enough to -dazzle and bewilder me.</p> - -<p>Could it be, not that she cared nothing for me but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> -that she feared for herself in the hour of parting? -Dared I hope that? Did she fear that feelings, which -she was all unwilling to shew, would force themselves -out in despite of her efforts in the moment of -parting? Was it from that part of herself, from her -heart, that she was thus running away, and not only -from me? I prayed that it might be so.</p> - -<p>Then a colder mood followed, cold enough to -freeze that hope, at the prompting of judgment. She -knew nothing of me. To her I was just Burgwan; -at first peasant, then, on my own admission, an American -in such sordid surroundings as might well make -her deem me a mere adventurer. With that belief -in her mind, she might well be at a loss how to part -from me—what to say and do, and whether she -ought not to make me some reward for what I had -done.</p> - -<p>The thought bit like a live acid with its intolerable -sting; and yet my judgment found reason after -reason in support of it. I alternated between a hot -desire to rush out there and then and seek her, and a -stolid, dogged resolve to let her go and to live down -the mad desire to see her and explain all.</p> - -<p>“You are to give us some answer,” said the man -who had brought the letter. The two had been -watching me in silence during those few distraction-filled -minutes. “An answer concerning Petrov -here.”</p> - -<p>“You are safe from me, Petrov,” I replied. “I -will let you go, but keep out of my way for the -future.”</p> - -<p>“I meant no harm, Burgwan, on my soul none to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span> -you. I did what I did for you,” he said, and stooped -to cut the cords that bound my feet. “I did wrong -and am sorry.”</p> - -<p>He was an idiot, but he couldn’t help that; and I -let him free my hands.</p> - -<p>“Get me some paper,” I said, and he hurried away -and returned with it. My hands were too numbed -from the cords and the efforts I had made to release -myself for me to be able to do more than scratch -senseless hieroglyphics on the paper. I could -scarcely hold the pencil, indeed, and he and the other -man chafed them until the blood was set in circulation.</p> - -<p>Even after some minutes of this I could only write -in large, uncouth letters—a sort of illiterate scrawl -which was no more than a caricature of my handwriting. -But time was pressing. Mademoiselle -might be gone before my letter could reach her, so -I wrote as best I could.</p> - -<p>“I agree on condition that you see me. Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>I spelt my name as she had been accustomed to -pronounce it; and having sent Petrov to deliver it, -I ordered the other man to get me some food and -milk.</p> - -<p>I had no appetite; but I had eaten nothing for many -hours and knew I must keep up my strength; so I -forced myself to take it. The milk was grateful -enough, for I was feverish and consumed with thirst. -But all the time I was waiting impatiently for -Petrov’s return with the answer to my letter; and as -soon as I had finished the meal I paced up and down -the low, narrow room feeling like a caged beast.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>But my resolve was fixed. She should not go -without my seeing her; and when minute after minute -passed and Petrov did not return, I could barely -keep within the house, and was seized with a fierce -longing to rush off to the priest’s house and find her.</p> - -<p>At length the suspense and restraint passed endurance, -and I went to the door and shouted for someone. -The man who had been with Petrov came in -response.</p> - -<p>“Who is the priest who gave you your orders?”</p> - -<p>“Father Michel.”</p> - -<p>“Where does he live?”</p> - -<p>“By the side of his church at the end of the long -street.”</p> - -<p>“How far is it? How long should it take to go -there and return?”</p> - -<p>“The man should have been back before now. I -suppose they have kept him while an answer was -written.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“This is my house. I keep the inn next door.”</p> - -<p>“Where is my horse?”</p> - -<p>“Your companion has them all. Karasch is his -name, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>I had forgotten all about Karasch in my anxiety.</p> - -<p>“Where is he and the horses?”</p> - -<p>“They have been fed in my stables. There’s a -bill to pay,” he added, as though that was the most -important feature in the whole case. I suppose it -was to him. I gave him a gold piece and told him -to keep the change, and so made a friend.</p> - -<p>“Can you lead me to the priest’s house?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>“Of course I can, at need. But I was told you -were going to remain here a couple of hours. It is -nothing to me.”</p> - -<p>“See if Petrov is coming,” I said next. His words -had recalled Mademoiselle’s letter; and I was still -anxious to do what she had asked.</p> - -<p>He went out and after a minute or two, returned.</p> - -<p>“He is coming down the hill now,” he announced.</p> - -<p>“You can go then.”</p> - -<p>“I shall be at hand if you want me,” he answered, -and shut the door behind him.</p> - -<p>Petrov came a minute later and had a letter.</p> - -<p>I tore it open with trembling fingers.</p> - -<p>“Will you wait for me? Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>I breathed a sigh of intense relief, and looking up, -caught Petrov’s eyes bent upon me. As he met my -look he lowered his face.</p> - -<p>“You can go,” I said, curtly.</p> - -<p>“I want to serve you still, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“I have no need for you. Go.”</p> - -<p>“There is money due to me.”</p> - -<p>“How much?”</p> - -<p>He named a sum and I gave it him, saying that -rightfully he had forfeited it by his disobedience. -He counted it slowly as if to make sure it was right.</p> - -<p>“I want to serve you still, Burgwan,” he repeated.</p> - -<p>“I tell you I have no need for you.”</p> - -<p>“About that Austrian Government officer, Burgwan, -Captain Hanske?” It was said with sly suggestiveness.</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“Where is he? He stayed with you and has not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> -been seen again. No one but me knows you saw -him last.”</p> - -<p>I laughed.</p> - -<p>“Are you threatening me?”</p> - -<p>“No. I want to serve you. Is he dead?”</p> - -<p>“You insolent dog. No.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do with him? I’ve kept my lips -closed.”</p> - -<p>“Closed or open it’s all one to me. Say what you -like to whom you like. But get away from here.”</p> - -<p>“I want to serve you, Burgwan. You can pay. -Not only about him, but about that, too;” and he -pointed to the letter.</p> - -<p>“What the devil do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“I was a long time gone, wasn’t I?”</p> - -<p>“Well?” His manner and tone were full of suggestion.</p> - -<p>“I can serve you. I can help you to get those -three thousand gulden!”</p> - -<p>“Three thousand gulden!” I exclaimed, utterly -at a loss for his meaning.</p> - -<p>“Yes, the three thousand waiting to be paid at -Maglai.”</p> - -<p>Then I understood and burst into a laugh.</p> - -<p>“I think you’re making a pretty considerable ass -of yourself, Petrov; but I’ll listen to you.”</p> - -<p>“You meant to take her to Maglai, you and Karasch. -You knew she was no witch and meant to -earn the reward. Well, I can help you now, if you’ll -give me my share.”</p> - -<p>My first impulse was to kick him out of the room -and I started angrily to obey it; but then a very different<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> -thought stopped me. He knew something -that I ought to know. He took me for a scoundrel -enough to betray Mademoiselle in this way and -thought he could sell this knowledge of his at the -price of a share in the reward.</p> - -<p>“Why were you so long away?” I asked, seizing -on the vital point.</p> - -<p>“What share am I to have?”</p> - -<p>“Half the reward when I receive it.”</p> - -<p>“You swear that?” he asked slowly.</p> - -<p>“Tell me what you know,” I cried, sternly.</p> - -<p>“Does she say she’ll come here?” he asked, pointing -again at the note in my hand.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Ah. She’s gone and if we’re to get her into our -possession again we shall have to be quick.”</p> - -<p>“Gone? Where?” I exclaimed, aghast at the -check.</p> - -<p>He threw up his hands.</p> - -<p>“To Samac. But you haven’t taken that oath -about my share.”</p> - -<p>“You infernal villain. Do you think I mean to -harm her? Out of the way;” and dashing him -aside, I called for the other man and told him I must -have my horse at once.</p> - -<p>Then I turned back to Petrov.</p> - -<p>“How long has she been gone?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“I shan’t say. I’ve lied to you, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“Here;” and I took out some gold pieces. “These -are yours if you tell the truth.”</p> - -<p>“She’s gone on the road to Samac, Burgwan, in -a carriage which the priest found for her, and has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> -about half an hour’s start. They kept me from coming -back to you.”</p> - -<p>Karasch came up then with his horse and mine, -and in a moment I was in the saddle dashing in hot -haste up the winding street.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XI.<br /> - - -<small>TO SAMAC.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>Many of the village folk were still lounging in the -street and the clatter of the horses’ heels brought out -more to gape and stare in wonderment as we clattered past. -We were nearing the end of the place -when I caught sight of a church with a mean-looking -presbytery by the side.</p> - -<p>I checked my horse, rode to it, and asked for Father -Michel. A tall white-haired priest came out; kind-faced, -with remarkable eyes almost black, under black -brows. A man to trust certainly.</p> - -<p>“You are Father Michel?”</p> - -<p>For answer he turned his searching eyes upon me, -paused and said: “You will be Burgwan?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. And you know why I come.”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, I was in the act of coming to -you.”</p> - -<p>“Is she here?” I did not know how to speak of -Mademoiselle; but he understood instantly. He -patted my horse’s neck and looked up with sympathy -in his manner and glance.</p> - -<p>“You will let me speak with you?”</p> - -<p>“Is she here?” I repeated.</p> - -<p>“She wished me to see you. We arranged that she -should go and that I should give you her messages. -You will come into my house?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>“No, I cannot wait. She is gone to Samac. I -shall ride after her. I must see her.”</p> - -<p>“You are suffering,” he said, with that soothing -comfort-offering air which is the priceless possession -of many women and some good men. “You will -let me give you her messages?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot wait,” I said again; and yet I lingered.</p> - -<p>“Will it ease your own pain to make her suffer?” -The question made me wince; and I shirked the answer -to it.</p> - -<p>“She <i>has</i> gone to Samac?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, she has driven to Samac. There is plenty -of time for you to listen to me and then to overtake -her before she can leave there.”</p> - -<p>“She was to come to me,” I said, with a glance of -doubt at this. It might be another ruse. He saw the -doubt instantly.</p> - -<p>“You may believe me. I do not wish to detain -you if you prefer to go, and should not stoop to a -trick.” He stepped back and waved his hand as if -to signify I was free to go, and added: “It is only for -her sake.”</p> - -<p>He knew the strength such a plea would have for -me.</p> - -<p>“I must see her. I will.”</p> - -<p>He threw up his hands with a gesture of pain.</p> - -<p>I half wheeled my horse round to start and then -checked him.</p> - -<p>“Why did she go in this way?”</p> - -<p>Again he turned those wonderful eyes of his upon -me, and answered slowly:</p> - -<p>“If you do not know I must not tell you. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span> -has gone out of your life altogether—altogether. It -is her own doing; her own will and wish and doing. -Let her go.”</p> - -<p>“I will not,” I exclaimed almost fiercely.</p> - -<p>“Have patience and the strength of a man, Burgwan. -You have acted nobly to her, offering your life -in her defence. She cannot repay you. She knows -that, and I know it. Add chivalry to your courage, -and spare her.”</p> - -<p>“She told me to wait for her—in that letter, I -mean; and yet before it was in my hands, she had -gone away.”</p> - -<p>“The sweetest pleasure in life as well as the noblest -quality in man is self-denial, Burgwan; and in your -case it is real prudence and wisdom as well.”</p> - -<p>“But she bade me wait for her,” I repeated.</p> - -<p>“Not in Poabja, Burgwan. She bade me get from -you your name and the means of communicating with -you if ever——”</p> - -<p>“Then it was a mere trick of words,” I cried with -angry unreason. “I shall follow her;” and without -waiting for him to reply I rode off quickly. I think -I was afraid to trust myself longer with him; afraid -lest he should prevail with me; afraid lest the fierce -consuming desire to look once more upon her face -should be chilled by the appeals to my better nature -which he knew how to make so shrewdly.</p> - -<p>Already he had made me conscious of the stubborn -selfishness of my purpose; and as I galloped along, -I sought to stifle the feeling with specious palliation -and anger. She had no right to treat me in this -way. I had done nothing and said nothing to deserve<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span> -it. She had run away under the cover of a mere trick -and ruse. And so on.</p> - -<p>But I could not shake off the impression of the -priest’s words, “Will it ease your own pain to make -her suffer?” The question haunted me. I could -find no answer to it in my own thoughts, just as I had -found none in speaking with him. Out of it came -the chilling conviction that the part I was playing -was the part of the coward.</p> - -<p>I was forcing myself upon her in face of her remonstrance -and pleading. “Her own will and wish -and doing.” What was I but a coward to try and -force her. The very air took up the cry of coward; -and the rhythm of my horse’s hoofs seemed to echo -it at every throbbing stride.</p> - -<p>But I knitted my brows and set my teeth and held -on. I must see her again. I would. It was my passion -that urged me. I would see her, let the world -cry shame upon me for my cowardice. And I dug -my heels into my horse’s flanks in my distraction -and rushed along up hill and down alike at a mad, -reckless speed.</p> - -<p>Fast as I rode, however, I could not outpace that -thought of cowardice. It gained upon me, little by -little; now to be flung aside in anger, only to return -to chill me until I hated the thing I was doing and -had to put forth every effort of my selfish desire to -prevent myself checking the horse and turning back -to seek some other means to my end.</p> - -<p>If it was really to cause her suffering, after what -she had gone through, how dared I go on? What -would she think of me? She had trusted to me in all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span> -that time of peril with the implicit trust of a child. -Thank God I had been able to stand between her and -her danger, and we had come through it together to -safety. And now I was so madly selfish that I could -not be man enough to spare her from this pain.</p> - -<p>“I cannot thank you; I can only remember,” she -had written. And here was I bent upon blotting the -memory with this slur of my own crude, brutal selfishness. -Was this what she would look for in her -comrade? Was it what she had the right to expect? -How would the act look when she came afterwards -to remember?</p> - -<p>Unwittingly I checked my horse. I was a coward -now of another kind. I was afraid to satisfy my own -desire; afraid to mar the memory she would have -of our comradeship; afraid to meet the look of reproach -I knew would be in her eyes at the sight of -me.</p> - -<p>My horse, glad enough to ease his speed, fell into -a walking pace, and I let the reins drop on his neck -as I hung my head in sheer dejection. Karasch -came to my side in astonishment then.</p> - -<p>“Is anything the matter, Burgwan?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing that you can help, Karasch.”</p> - -<p>“We are going to Samac, are we not?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—and don’t care. Don’t worry me -with your questions.”</p> - -<p>“Mademoiselle has been taken there, hasn’t she? -Are you not going to her help?”</p> - -<p>“She has gone there of her own will and wish. She -is quite safe; you need have no fears for her.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know she is safe?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span>“The priest told me.”</p> - -<p>“The priest!” he exclaimed, with scant respect. -“I should like to know it for myself and trust my -own eyes.”</p> - -<p>I started and instinctively gathered up the reins -again. What if she was not safe after all. Could -the whole thing at Poabja be just a trick to get her -from me?</p> - -<p>I laughed suddenly; so suddenly that Karasch -started and looked at me in surprise and some alarm.</p> - -<p>“May I see the devil if I see a reason for laughing.”</p> - -<p>But I did. I was laughing at the effect his words -had had on me—at the tempting pretext they offered -for continuing the journey. I could pretend that I -was in doubt about her safety, and that that was the -reason for my riding after her. I played with the -thought; and then laughed again.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a fool, Karasch. She is quite safe, I tell -you.”</p> - -<p>“Have you ridden out thus far then at a wild -gallop in order to see how dusty the roads are?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose that’s about how it looks,” I laughed.</p> - -<p>“That blow on your head has hurt you more than -we thought.”</p> - -<p>“No, it isn’t my head this time,” I said drily.</p> - -<p>“Your leg, you mean? Or did they do anything -to you at Poabja?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it all happened at Poabja, Karasch. I must -go back there and see that priest again;” and I pulled -my horse up and turned him. I would have given -much to have taken Karasch’s view and have ridden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> -on, but the thought of Mademoiselle’s eyes stopped -me. Even if I persuaded myself, I could not tell the -lie to her.</p> - -<p>Karasch sat facing me stolidly.</p> - -<p>“You are ill, Burgwan, or it wouldn’t be like this -with you. Go back to Poabja and I’ll seek you -there.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean? Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“To Samac. I will not desert her.”</p> - -<p>The grim irony of this was too much for me and -I smiled. Here was I, consumed with intense longing -to go to her and compelled to hold myself back -with a curb of iron—and to Karasch my act seemed -no more than paltry cowardice and desertion. My -smile seemed to anger him.</p> - -<p>“You have not been so free with your laughter -till now,” he said, curtly, “and I see no cause for it.”</p> - -<p>“If I laugh it is not for joy, Karasch; but you -don’t understand. Do as you say. Go on to Samac -and bring me any news you may find there.”</p> - -<p>“You are right. I don’t understand. But you -had better ride on with me. If you are really ill, -we are nearer to Samac than Poabja; and if there is -news you ought to know, it may mean a grievous -waste of time to have to ride back to Poabja.”</p> - -<p>How aptly the plea fitted with my desires. It was -true, too. She might, after all, have need of me. -There was just the chance that matters had been misrepresented. -It could do no harm for me to be in -Samac. I need not see her even if I went there.</p> - -<p>Karasch watched me closely as I sat letting these -thoughts and others of the kind influence me; and he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span> -believed that he was persuading me and bringing me -back to my right mind.</p> - -<p>“I shall be very little use without you, Burgwan, -if there is really more trouble. We ought to make -sure. We should be cowards to desert her now.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder which way the real coward would decide -to go, Karasch. For the life of me I don’t -know;” but I wheeled my horse round again and we -rode on toward Samac.</p> - -<p>After all I was not now going to see her, I said -to myself. I would just make sure, as Karasch had -suggested, that all was well with her, and then hide -myself until she had left. That was how I shut the -door and turned the key against those uncomfortable -words of the priest about chivalry and self-denial. -After all it was perfectly consistent with chivalry to -assure myself of her safety to the last minute, and -yet keep away; while as for self-denial that would be -all the greater if I did not see her when close to her -at Samac than if I remained five miles off at Poabja.</p> - -<p>Yet in my heart I knew perfectly well I was going -to see her. I was going to play the coward and to -force myself upon her at the risk of causing her pain; -aye, even with the prospect of losing her esteem.</p> - -<p>I did not ride so fast now, and thus Karasch could -talk. He wanted to talk about her; what we should -do when we reached Samac. But I could not stand -that, and each time he began I mumbled some incoherent -reply and struck my heels into my horse -to get away from him; and at last he gave up the -attempt.</p> - -<p>I knew that I was going to ride straight up to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span> -railway depot where I should find her; but I would -not admit this even to myself yet, and certainly would -not put it into plain words.</p> - -<p>Presently he chose another topic.</p> - -<p>“Have you thought about that Austrian Government -officer, Burgwan?” he asked, with some evidence -of uneasiness.</p> - -<p>“Yes, a good deal.”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do about it? He can’t -be left where we tied him up.”</p> - -<p>“Would you like to go and find him?” I asked, -with a grin. It pleased me to tease him in the mood -I was in.</p> - -<p>“No, by the God of the living, not for a fortune.”</p> - -<p>“Shall we leave him to die then?” I put the question -angrily, as if rebuking him for callousness.</p> - -<p>“You’d better go yourself,” he growled.</p> - -<p>“It would be murder to leave him. There will be -a big reward offered for his murderers.”</p> - -<p>“No one knows about it,” he growled again, uneasily.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes. Petrov does. He spoke of it in Poabja -to me.”</p> - -<p>“The blight of hell blind him for a cursed pig,” -he exclaimed with sudden savageness.</p> - -<p>“There’s not much chance of that before he can -say what he knows, Karasch. I mean to leave the -country.”</p> - -<p>He started so violently that he checked his horse, -and when he rode up again he looked at me searchingly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span>“Are you trying me?” he asked, half fiercely half -in doubt.</p> - -<p>“No, that’s for the judge to do.”</p> - -<p>He chewed this answer for a while in gloomy -silence; then he uttered one of his quaint oaths into -his black beard, and his face cleared.</p> - -<p>“There was a time when I should have thought -you ready to do even that and worse. I don’t now.”</p> - -<p>That beat me. “Then if I can’t fool you I may as -well say what I mean to do,” I said. “Petrov knows -the point where we met last night; and I shall send -back to the priest at Poabja enough money to pay -for a search party being sent out under Petrov’s -guidance to find the officer. I marked the spot where -we left him and can describe it clearly enough.”</p> - -<p>“And the men at the camp?”</p> - -<p>“I shall send money for them to be cared for.”</p> - -<p>“There’ll be a pretty mess of trouble when that -officer once gives tongue—a hue and cry will be -raised for us.”</p> - -<p>“It will have to be a loud one to reach us. We -shall be far enough away by that time.”</p> - -<p>He pondered this answer in his deliberate way -when puzzled; and then lifted his head and looked -across at me.</p> - -<p>“We?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I say I should be out of the country?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you did; but—” he shook his head, doubtingly.</p> - -<p>“Did you think I should leave you behind, -Karasch?”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t know,” he said; and urging his horse<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span> -he added: “Shall we get on? There’s Samac in -sight.”</p> - -<p>He rode ahead of me without another word until -we were just at the entrance to the town, when he -stopped and waited for me. His face was pale and -set. He had been thinking earnestly, and was unusually -disturbed and nervous.</p> - -<p>“You’re a man, Burgwan, right to the heart. I -can’t say how glad I am you beat me in that fight; -and I’d never been beaten before.”</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, Karasch; don’t say any more;” and -I stretched out my hand to him. He took it and held -it as he answered almost emotionally:</p> - -<p>“You’re a better man than I am every way, by the -living God. I’m only a dog beside you, but I’ll serve -you like a dog, if you’ll let me.” His earnestness -amounted to passion now.</p> - -<p>“Not like a dog, Karasch; not even like our good -Chris; but like a man and a friend.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not fit to be your friend; I’m only a peasant -when I’m nothing worse; but I’ll be your man, God -send the chance to prove it. And now you lead and -I follow.” He let my hand drop and fell behind and -nothing would induce him to ride farther at my side.</p> - -<p>I was deeply touched by his earnestness. I had -had many men offer themselves to me before—a man -with such wealth as I possessed always will have. -But this man was moved by no thought of personal -advantage. It was to Burgwan, the man, he pledged -himself, not to the millionaire; and I prized the offer -for that reason alone.</p> - -<p>But this act in falling behind and leaving me to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span> -take the lead just at that juncture was not without its -embarrassment. It made the pretence of having followed -his lead to Samac the more difficult to keep -up; and I rode through the town in no little doubt -and hesitation what to do.</p> - -<p>Inclination drew me straight to the station, and -Mademoiselle; while that pricking consciousness that -was doing a cowardly thing warned me away.</p> - -<p>But love and doggedness triumphed. I had come -too far to retreat; and now that I was so near to her -I lacked the pluck to keep away from her.</p> - -<p>I did what I had felt I should do. I rode straight -to the station and, giving my horse into Karasch’s -charge, I entered it to look for her.</p> - -<p>She was there, sitting in the miserable waiting-room, -dejected and sorrowful, and bending over -Chris as he squatted on his haunches beside her, with -his great head in her lap.</p> - -<p>He recognised my step and with a whimper of -pleasure, started up and rushed to me, fawning upon -me with such delight that I had to check him.</p> - -<p>But Mademoiselle turned pale as she saw me, her -hands clasped quickly and tightly together, her lips -parted and her brow drew together in a frown of dismay -or pain.</p> - -<p>Then I put the dog aside and went to her.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XII.<br /> - - -<small>ON THE HILL AT SAMAC.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>As I stepped forward two persons who had been -sitting apart from her rose and came quickly toward -me. In my abstraction I had not noticed them; but -I saw now that one was a priest and the other a -matronly woman of between thirty and forty years -of age.</p> - -<p>“What do you want? Who are you? This lady -is in my care,” said the priest.</p> - -<p>“You saw that the dog knew me for a friend,” I -answered.</p> - -<p>“That may be, but what do you want?” he asked -again.</p> - -<p>I looked across to Mademoiselle. She hesitated -a moment and then spoke to the priest.</p> - -<p>“It is all right, father. I wish to speak to—him.” -There was just a suspicion of a pause at the last word -as though she had been in doubt how to speak of -me.</p> - -<p>“But Father Michel—” began the priest in protest, -when she interposed and with a single gesture -silenced him.</p> - -<p>The incident gave her time to regain self-possession. -Outwardly she grew calm, dignified, and -almost cold, but her eyes were burning and in them -I read the reproach I had so dreaded during my ride.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>“Why have you come?” she asked, when I could -not speak; and her voice was hard to my ears and -accusing. I hung my head.</p> - -<p>“I have no answer,” I murmured. “I am sorry; -but I can go again.” I had hoped, like the fool I was, -she would have been glad to see me; and chilled and -beaten by this reception, I turned on my heel to leave.</p> - -<p>Then Chris made a difficulty. He ran after me so -that at the door I had to turn to send him back.</p> - -<p>“Call him,” I said. If she could be hard, so could -I; and my face was as cold and stern as she could -have wished her own to be.</p> - -<p>But at my look she winced and bent her head. -Her interlocked fingers were strained tightly. It was -as though she understood the pain she caused me -and her own tender heart was wrung at the sight. -Chris stood looking up wistfully into my face.</p> - -<p>“Go back, Chris. Good-bye, old dog.” He whimpered -in protest; for all the world as though he knew -we were to part. “Go, Chris, good dog,” I said -again; and then he went slowly to her and licked -the hands which were straining in such emotion.</p> - -<p>She did not look at me and I turned again and -went out.</p> - -<p>“Burgwan!”</p> - -<p>It was barely more than a whisper, but I heard -it clearly as I stepped out of the door. I did not heed -it, however. I had done wrong in coming there at -all, and I was sufficiently master of myself now to -hold to my resolve to leave her. I walked toward the -spot where I had left Karasch with the horses; but -I had not taken a dozen steps before a great scurry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span> -of feet came after me, and Chris was yelping with -glee and thrusting his nose into my hand and fondling -me.</p> - -<p>“You shouldn’t have come, Chris. You’re only -making it all the harder, old dog. You must go -back. You belong to her now;” and turning to send -him back, I saw her coming toward us.</p> - -<p>“I called to you, Burgwan.”</p> - -<p>“I thought it best not to hear you, Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>“I could not let you go like that,” she murmured; -and then a pause fell between us and we stood for -a minute or more, neither knowing what to say.</p> - -<p>“Karasch is here, too?” she said at length, seeing -him with the horses.</p> - -<p>“Yes. He was anxious to know you were really -safe.”</p> - -<p>“And you?” There was a quick gleam of hope -in her eyes that I too had acted with the same motive.</p> - -<p>“That was not my reason. I knew you were safe. -I have seen Father Michel. I came because I am a -coward. But I am going.”</p> - -<p>“No.” Sharp, clear, decisive and almost peremptory -her tone was. And again we were silent in -mutual embarrassment. To relieve it somewhat I -began to move, and we walked away from the little -station along a path leading up a small grass-covered -hill and reached the top of it before we spoke again.</p> - -<p>“When does your train leave?”</p> - -<p>“At eight.”</p> - -<p>“There is an hour yet,” I said, glancing at my -watch.</p> - -<p>“Yes, there is just an hour,” she repeated, monotonously,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span> -as if glad of something commonplace to -say. And again we came to a stop.</p> - -<p>“When do you reach Belgrade?” It was a fatuous -question; but as I could not speak of what filled my -heart, I had to speak at haphazard.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. We travel all night, I suppose;” -and there was an end of that subject.</p> - -<p>“Shall we sit down? The view is lovely,” I said -next.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t, for God’s sake, don’t.” It was a cry -right from her heart. “Can’t you see what you are -making me suffer, and you talk to me of trains and -views?”</p> - -<p>“We must talk of something,” I replied, a little -doggedly.</p> - -<p>“Why do you come here?” she asked, turning -upon me fiercely. “If you had been the man I -deemed you, you would have done as I asked—after -what I told Father Michel to tell you.”</p> - -<p>“I did not give him time to tell me anything. -When Petrov brought me your second letter bidding -me wait for you, he told me that you had already -left for this place. I came after you at once.”</p> - -<p>“But you said you had seen the priest. Did he not -come to you? He promised.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t wait for him when I learnt you had left. -I rode to him to his house. He said I should cause -you pain if I followed you and appealed to my -chivalry and said he had messages for me from you, -and urged me to stay and listen. But I had pain of -my own and with an angry laugh I rode away after -you.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>“That was your view of chivalry?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; that was my view of chivalry. I told you -I came because I was a coward. I am. I see it now. -And you may as well know me for what I am.” I -spoke bitterly, stung by her scornful words, and -found a curious pleasure in avowing my unworthiness. -“I have forced myself upon you, you see; -forced myself like a brute and a——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t,” she interposed, putting up a hand -in protest, and turning away, walked to a fallen tree -and sat down upon it. I followed and threw myself -on the ground near and waited for her to speak. She -sat thinking awhile and then said slowly:</p> - -<p>“Things must be made plain between us, Burgwan. -I planned to leave you in Poabja.”</p> - -<p>“Father Michel told me as much.”</p> - -<p>“It was for the best, so. I knew that when once -I was in Poabja he would be able to help me.”</p> - -<p>“And my help would be no longer needed.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad you are angry. It helps me,” she answered, -quietly; and so silenced me. “You remember -I told you I had nothing to fear there; and I -would have told you why, but that I was afraid I -could not see him first and so warn him what not to -tell you about me. That was why I rode on into the -town, meaning to find him out by myself. He is -from Belgrade, and, of course, knows me. I meant -him to help me slip away while detaining you on -some pretext.”</p> - -<p>“Others did that for him,” I put in drily.</p> - -<p>“You were not hurt, were you?”</p> - -<p>“No, but you might have been.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>“I was not. By a happy chance Father Michel -met me while I was in the hands of the people and -had asked them to take me to him. He rescued me -at once and took me to his house. I told him then -about you and he gave orders for your release. Then -word was brought that you had threatened to take -Petrov’s life, and I wrote you that letter asking you -to remain where you were for two hours. This would -have given me time to get right away; and I was -writing you another letter, when Petrov came back -with yours. We detained him while I left, and I arranged -with Father Michel to tell you all you wished -to know about me.”</p> - -<p>“You arranged it all very cleverly, Mademoiselle,” -I said angrily, as I rose. “I am sorry I upset your -plans. I owe you an apology. I offer it now.” I -bowed with affected ceremoniousness and added like -a brutal cad, in my anger: “I was a fool, of course, -to have looked for further consideration.”</p> - -<p>Her answer was a look, no more; but as I met -her eyes my face flushed with the shame she made -me feel for my brutality. I felt I could have torn my -tongue out could the words have been unspoken. I -turned and covered my flaming cheeks with my -hands and walked away down the hill.</p> - -<p>“Burgwan! Burgwan!” she called, and when I -did not stop came after me and laid her hand on my -shoulder. I shook it off impatiently, like a petulant -child, and she placed herself in my path.</p> - -<p>“Burgwan! Is it possible that that is how it -seemed to you? My God!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>I took my hands from my face and saw that hers -was white and strained.</p> - -<p>“Let me go,” I cried.</p> - -<p>“Not like that. Not with that thought,” she said, -her lips trembling.</p> - -<p>“Let me go. I am not fit to look at you.”</p> - -<p>“Not with that thought of me,” she repeated.</p> - -<p>“Let me go,” I cried, for the third time passionately. -“Or I will not answer for myself.”</p> - -<p>“Not with that thought of me,” she repeated -again. “I cannot. Do you really think so of me?”</p> - -<p>“My God, how could I? I love you with my -whole heart.” The avowal burst from me by an uncontrollable -impulse, and I stood shaken by the -vehemence of my own passion and looked for her to -shrink from me.</p> - -<p>But instead she smiled softly and with maddening -sweetness as she murmured my name.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Burgwan; now you know.”</p> - -<p>I seized her hands to draw her to me. But this -she resisted, though she left them in mine, and as -I looked into her eyes I saw the tears there.</p> - -<p>“I have been punished, Burgwan,” she said as she -smiled through her tears.</p> - -<p>“You love me, then?”</p> - -<p>She met my look without faltering, smiling on -through her tears, and made a brave effort to choke -back her emotion, until her head drooped slowly.</p> - -<p>“You must not ask me that, Burgwan. You must -know all the truth now. Poor Burgwan. Oh, I -think my heart is breaking.” The last was little more -than a sigh, and taking her hands from mine she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span> -went back up the hill to the tree and sat down again.</p> - -<p>Seeing her sorrow, Chris went to her and whined -and put his head in her lap; the beast loved her well -nigh as much as I did, and her trouble grieved him -as it grieved me, I think. She threw her arms round -his neck and laid her head to his in response to his -dumb offer of sympathy.</p> - -<p>In this way some minutes passed, and I knew without -words from her all the reason of her wish to -leave me. That wild thought of mine had been right. -It was from her own heart she had been flying; and -she was suffering now the pain I could have spared -her but for my insensate selfishness.</p> - -<p>I knew that there were obstacles which she believed -to be insuperable between us, and I had driven her -to this admission of her love as the preface to telling -me the reasons why it was impossible.</p> - -<p>But in the same moment I vowed they should not -come between us. Nothing should do that except -her own will; and if these difficulties could be overcome -by any means within my reach, my life should -be devoted to beating them down.</p> - -<p>There was something or someone to fight now; -and she was a prize worth fighting for, with all the -man that was in me; and while the sight of her pain -moved and distressed me beyond words, I could no -longer feel sorry I had come after her to Samac.</p> - -<p>She loved me; and the knowledge of love may have -a setting of pain and sorrow and yet be well gained -and rightly gained. Our hearts had answered one -to the other; and despite the pain, it was well that -each should know the truth.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>I put away all the signs of passion and fastened -them down with the clamps of resolution. I would -win her yet, let the case be desperate as it would. I -could wait for such a victory; and while waiting, fight -to hold the love I had already won.</p> - -<p>Presently, when she had become less agitated, she -called me.</p> - -<p>I let her see at once that I had chosen my course.</p> - -<p>“I don’t mind what you are going to tell me, it -will make no difference,” I said as I sat by her side.</p> - -<p>She smiled but shook her head. “You do not -know yet,” she answered. “It is hopeless and impossible.”</p> - -<p>“You do not know me, or you would not use that -word.”</p> - -<p>“I remember what you said about that on the hill -this morning; but this—I am so sorry, Burgwan.” -She paused and then said very steadily: “I am the -promised wife of another man.”</p> - -<p>The words hit me hard, each with a sting of its -own. I had looked for anything but this; and I -needed all my resolution not to wince and shew the -pain they inflicted, but to meet her steady gaze with -one equally steady. I succeeded and forced a smile -as I answered.</p> - -<p>“I had not expected that,” I said, quietly. “But -in fact I don’t think I know what I did expect. In -any case there is a great difference between a wife -and a promised wife, Mademoiselle.”</p> - -<p>“I shall be his wife within the present month.”</p> - -<p>“That gives us a fortnight or three weeks. The -month is only a week old.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>“You do not understand.”</p> - -<p>“If you tell me that you love another man, I -shall——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t,” she interposed with a gesture.</p> - -<p>“It is not the coward who says this, and now it -is you who do not understand me. I am not making -love to you. I will never do that unless I can do it -honourably; and that cannot be while you are promised -to another man. But until you tell me that your -heart is given to another, I shall not cease to hope -and will not cease striving to win you.”</p> - -<p>She listened to me and caught at my words. She -lifted her head and with an air of half-defiant pride -she made a great effort to look me straight in the -eyes and take up my challenge.</p> - -<p>“I do love—” But she could get no farther; her -head fell, and she cried, “You would shame me, Burgwan.” -I cried with intense earnestness:</p> - -<p>“God forbid that I should do that, Mademoiselle. -I wish I could make it all easier for you. But this -is life to us both and nothing will serve but truth -and candour.”</p> - -<p>She did not answer this for some moments, but sat -thinking intently, her face averted from me; and -presently I said: “People have been in this plight -before, and have come out of it.”</p> - -<p>She took no notice at first and then turned with -a sad, sweet smile.</p> - -<p>“You must not make this too hard for me. I owe -you so much——”</p> - -<p>“Say nothing of that, please, or you will silence -me altogether, Mademoiselle,” I interposed, quickly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>“Do you forget what I told you—there would be -no Mademoiselle in Belgrade. I am the Princess -Gatrina, betrothed to Prince Albrevics, next in succession -to the Servian throne.”</p> - -<p>I tried to take it with a smile as I had before taken -the news of her betrothal; but I could not. I could -not even find a word to reply. I just sat staring out -in front of me yet seeing nothing. I was like a man -stricken dumb by a sudden calamity—helpless, -numbed and beaten.</p> - -<p>I must have turned deathly white, for all the blood -in my body seemed to have rushed to my heart which -beat with great lurching thumps against my ribs and -shook my whole body. Then my head where I had -been struck began to throb in response to the wild -hammer of the pulse, and I grew dizzy and faint. -My breath came with difficulty and I had to grip the -tree with strenuous hands lest I should fall from it.</p> - -<p>“It was this I asked Father Michel to tell you,” -she said presently.</p> - -<p>I heard her, of course; but her voice sounded far -away and apart from me. Much as though the barrier -between us had become substantial and she were -speaking from far on the other side of it.</p> - -<p>At length I managed to get to my feet and to pace -up and down, winning the fight against my reeling -senses and gathering up the fragments of my scattered -resolution. The first sign of my victory was -a feeling of blind, bitter anger with myself for having -shewn such weakness before her.</p> - -<p>“You must not judge me by this exhibition,” I -said, as a sort of apology. “My head pained me for -a moment. That’s all; I’m better now again.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>But her pitying eyes shewed that she understood.</p> - -<p>“I am so sorry.” Just conventional words they -were; but the look and the tone told me how straight -from her gentle heart they came and how intensely -she was feeling. “You are ill. Sit down again.” She -did not use any name now, and I noticed the omission. -I was no longer Burgwan; and already the -restraint of our altered relations was making itself -felt. But she moved as if to make place for me on -the fallen tree.</p> - -<p>“I am not ill now, thank you; and I think it is -time for you to go.” I glanced at my watch. “Yes, -it is quite time.”</p> - -<p>She sat on a moment, her eyes closed, and then -sighed deeply and rose. Chris got up with her and -she bent down and fondled him.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Chris, dear, faithful friend, good-bye,” -she murmured, and kissed his head.</p> - -<p>“You will not take him?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Not now. No. I—I cannot. I should think of—of -this.” Then with a smile: “He will be so much -happier with you.” She stooped and kissed him -again.</p> - -<p>“It is better so, perhaps.” I said. “But just as -you will.”</p> - -<p>She was very quiet and calm now, and turning from -the dog, she held out her hand to me, with a brave -smile.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye. You have not told me how to address -you.”</p> - -<p>I took the white trembling fingers, and held them -a moment with a slight pressure, which was returned.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>“It is only Burgwan who bids you good-bye,” I -said.</p> - -<p>“It is better so. It is only Burgwan whom I can -remember.”</p> - -<p>She paused a moment, her eyes wistfully on mine, -and then impulsively held out her hand again.</p> - -<p>This time I was carrying it to my lips when I remembered, -checked myself, and let it fall. She was -trembling violently, and her breathing was deep and -laboured. As I loosed her hand I heard her catch -her breath; and looking up I saw she was very white, -the lips were almost bloodless as she bit them in the -battle with her agitation.</p> - -<p>We stood thus looking into one another’s eyes -for some seconds.</p> - -<p>Poor little woman, she was finding it very hard; -and a fierce yearning came upon me to clasp her to -my heart and urge her to let love have its way and -trust herself to the care of my love.</p> - -<p>But it was her moment of weakness, and one of -us two must be strong. I believe she knew by love’s -instinct the thought that thus rushed upon me, for -her hands were half raised and a great flush of colour -spread over her pale cheeks.</p> - -<p>I stepped back and dropped my eyes to the -ground. There was a half-smothered sob, the brush -of her skirts, the light touch of her foot-fall on the -path; and when I lifted my head she had gone, hurrying -down the hillside, and Chris was looking after -her and then back at me whining in doubt.</p> - -<p>I watched her go, hoping she would turn her head; -but she held on steadily and was nearing the bottom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span> -when Chris gave a short bark and scampered after -her at a mad gallop, reaching her just before a bend -in the path would have hidden her.</p> - -<p>I hoped she would take him with her; but she did -not. She stopped and petted him, letting him fawn -upon her in his loving way, and stooped and kissed -him, and then I saw her point up the hill toward me.</p> - -<p>He hesitated to obey her, came a few steps, -stopped and ran back to her. She petted him again, -and again ordered him back. He looked up in her -face as if in dire doubt; and then came slowly toward -me, but only to stop and turn again. She repeated -the gesture; and this time he drooped his tail and -came on.</p> - -<p>She watched him; and presently looked higher up -to me. I waved my hand, but she gave no answering -signal; and before the dog reached me, she had -passed round the bend in the path and was gone.</p> - -<p>I sat down on the fallen tree where we had been -together and leant my face in my hands, overcome -by a deadening sense of utter desolation and dreary -loss. This at first shut out all other thoughts.</p> - -<p>But not for long. If the barrier between us was -so infinitely greater than my worst fears had conceived -that on first learning it I had been whelmed -and staggered by the blow, I had gained another -knowledge. She loved me; and with that priceless -vantage on my side I should be a coward indeed -to be daunted by any obstacles.</p> - -<p>She loved me; and when I rose, my resolution was -set. I would fight on to the end to win her, let -who else and what else stand in my path.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIII.<br /> - - -<small>PREPARING FOR THE CAMPAIGN.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>I don’t know any place where money talks with -such effect as in the southeast of Europe; and I made -it talk for all it was worth during the week that I -was getting ready to go to Belgrade.</p> - -<p>I reckon that when you want to gain an end the -chief means are to know quite definitely what you -want, to grip on it with all your teeth, to pay liberally -for what you must know to gain it, and to hold your -tongue and let the other man do the chattering. You -may also at need have a stalking horse.</p> - -<p>I used one now in the campaign to win Gatrina. I -was hit very hard when she told me the barrier -between us was no less than her chance of succeeding -to the Servian throne; but I wasn’t knocked out. -On the contrary, the bigness of the barrier soon -ceased to frighten and began to attract me. I meant -to win her; and to go to Belgrade to do it. But I -shut that purpose away in the strongest safe in my -thoughts with a time lock which would only open -to let it out when the fitting moment arrived. What -I said was that I was going to Belgrade in regard to -a big loan which that little kingdom was just then -particularly anxious to float.</p> - -<p>It served me well. Any man who was going to put -his money into such a venture would naturally want<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span> -to know things; and, if some of the points on which -I sought information did not seem to have any connection, -there were plenty of people ready to give it, -and none to bother with my motives, so long as I -chose to foot the bills.</p> - -<p>I was well served by my agents, and inside the -week I knew far too much to let me dream of trusting -a nickel to the Servian exchequer, but quite -enough to enable me to go to Belgrade and play -the part of a representative of a group of American -capitalists with amiable financial intentions.</p> - -<p>I knew other things, too. Secrets, many of them, -about intrigues that were in progress against the -Servian rule and government. And a nice mess of -unhealthy pottage they made. One thing I had been -particularly urgent to discover—the character of -Prince Albrevics. It was anything but cleanly. He -was one of those men who learn the commandments -pretty thoroughly by breaking every one of them -consistently, and then sigh in <i>blase</i> regret that, as -there are only ten of them, they have to stoop to repetition -in order to live comfortably.</p> - -<p>My money began to talk that same evening in -Samac.</p> - -<p>Soon after Gatrina had started on her journey, I -surprised the depot folk at Samac with a request for -a special train. I looked a pretty object to travel -special, no doubt; and at first they laughed and were -for hustling me out of the place as a lunatic. But I -soon had them hustling with a very different purpose. -Money did it. And inside of five minutes the station -master himself, a lean hungry looking Austrian, had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span> -put himself absolutely at my disposal and was working -all he knew to figure out the best means of getting -me through to Vienna.</p> - -<p>I said I would start in an hour and a half, and having -sent a wire in cypher to my agent in Vienna to -help matters on at that end, I went to Karasch, and -with him rode back to Poabja to get the priest’s help -in straightening things out in the matter of that Austrian -officer.</p> - -<p>He did not give me a very pleasant reception.</p> - -<p>“You have been to Samac?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I have just come from there.”</p> - -<p>“Then why do you come to me?” he asked with -cold austerity.</p> - -<p>“Not to say I’m sorry for having gone there, but -to get you to render me a service.”</p> - -<p>“You have seen—” he paused, and I filled in the -words for him.</p> - -<p>“The Princess? Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did she send you to me?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“I can do nothing for you,” he answered, as if to -close matters.</p> - -<p>Then I let the money talk. I counted out the sum -which I thought would be necessary for paying a -search party and also such an amount as I guessed -he would be glad to have for his church and his poor; -and laid them on the table in two heaps.</p> - -<p>“This is for the church and your poor; and this -is for you to disburse for me;” and I described very -briefly what I wanted done.</p> - -<p>“Are you thinking to bribe me?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>“Nothing of the kind. The Princess is involved -in this matter of the Austrian, and for her sake as -well as mine the thing must be arranged. She knows -what passed at the camp and would, of course, testify -if necessary. But I can take care of myself when I -get to Vienna; and I am going there to-night by -special train.” I added the last detail as an impressionist -money argument.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“I am an American citizen; and nothing else -matters just now. This is more for the Princess -Gatrina than for me. She had to be saved, and I -couldn’t do it with kid gloves on.” He thought over -this.</p> - -<p>“It is either a right or a wrong thing you are asking -of me. If right I do not desire to be paid for -it; if wrong, I am not to be bribed to do it;” and he -pushed back toward me the money I had offered -him for his church.</p> - -<p>“It’s clean money,” I said, getting up. “You -needn’t be afraid. Keep it untouched until you are -satisfied it is clean and then use it, or not, as you -please. I should like to have a report of what you -do.”</p> - -<p>“To whom shall I send it?”</p> - -<p>“To me. You heard my name—Burgwan—and -can send to that name under cover to this address in -Vienna;” and I wrote the name of a man so well -known that he started.</p> - -<p>“Baron Burndoff, the great banker.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the banker,” I repeated; “and my friend.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand it,” he murmured, half to himself.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>“There is one other little favour you might render -me. I need badly a fresh suit of clothes. Could you -tell me how to get one?”</p> - -<p>“I do not furnish disguises, sir,” he answered, so -curtly that I almost smiled, as I retorted, suavely:</p> - -<p>“I am sorry to have caused you to say discourteous -things.”</p> - -<p>He drew himself up. “I am not concerned for -your feelings. I am acting for the Princess Gatrina;” -and he bowed stiffly and formally to dismiss me. But -I noticed that he kept both the sums of money; and -I went out satisfied that he would do what was necessary -and I was well pleased at the result.</p> - -<p>On the ride back to Samac I made a discovery. I -was somewhat at a loss what to do with Karasch. -Staunch and brave he was undoubtedly; but there -was very much of the rough diamond about him. I -could not quite see how he was going to fit himself -into the routine of my service.</p> - -<p>“What would you like to do, Karasch?” I asked -him.</p> - -<p>“Follow you and serve you,” he replied simply and -promptly.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think you quite understand what that implies; -and I wish you to do so. I live thousands of -miles away, in America; and I expect to return there -soon.”</p> - -<p>“When you have done with me, you can turn me -away. I am your man.”</p> - -<p>“You are too good a fellow for me to turn you -away. But the life I live is not like that in the camp -yonder. I’ve had as much of that just now as I want.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span> -Life in a city is a very different thing and you might -find it cramping.”</p> - -<p>“Do you wish me to leave you? You have but to -speak.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t understand me. I owe you a debt -which nothing I can do for you will ever repay. But -I can do something toward it. If you can think of -any kind of life you’d like to lead, I’ll see that you -have the chance. If you’d like to be gentleman at -ease, I’ll find you the means.”</p> - -<p>“A gentleman at ease? What’s that?”</p> - -<p>“To have enough money to live upon without -working for it.”</p> - -<p>He swore good humouredly, and asked with a -laugh: “Do you think I want to do nothing?”</p> - -<p>“Well, if you’d like to work I’ll buy you a house -and some land for you to cultivate, and you can -choose where.”</p> - -<p>“I have chosen.”</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“To serve you,” he replied, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“You must think a heap of me in that case,” I -laughed.</p> - -<p>“I do,” he said, in just the same grave, decided -tone.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid you won’t like the city life, Karasch.”</p> - -<p>“If I don’t I can leave it. But I’ve lived in one.”</p> - -<p>“Where?”</p> - -<p>“Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Are you a Serb then? Georgev said you were -Bosnian.”</p> - -<p>“I am a Serb; and Georgev is a fool.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span>“So you’ve lived in Belgrade, have you?” I said -as a thought occurred to me. Did he know who -Gatrina was? “How did you come to change so -toward—toward Mademoiselle?”</p> - -<p>“She told me something about herself when you -got that crack on the head.”</p> - -<p>“You didn’t tell me?”</p> - -<p>“She made me promise not to speak.”</p> - -<p>I had been pretty blind, it seemed.</p> - -<p>“Do you know who she is?”</p> - -<p>“No. Only that she’s a great lady in Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Did she tell you how she fell into the hands of -those men?”</p> - -<p>“No; she does not know. She was carried off and -believed she was in the hands of the brigands, and -that they would hold her for a ransom. But I could -find out.”</p> - -<p>“How?”</p> - -<p>“I know Belgrade and I know the friends of the -men with her.”</p> - -<p>“How would you get the information?”</p> - -<p>“Quickest to buy it.”</p> - -<p>Money was to talk again. “How much?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“They were to have three thousand gulden if they -got her to Maglai. Not getting a kreutzer, they’ll be -ready to sell the whole scheme for less than half.”</p> - -<p>“Would you go to Belgrade?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll go anywhere you send me.”</p> - -<p>“You shall go there at once and wait for me. I -shall be there in about a week. I am going first to -Vienna; and you must use the interval to get this -information for me. Lose no time and pay whatever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span> -is necessary. I’ll give you some money and send you -more. But, mind, we must have the truth—whatever -it costs.”</p> - -<p>“They know me too well to deceive me,” he answered. -“I shall have it all in less than a week; and -have the men as well, at your service, if you want -them.” And so it was settled.</p> - -<p>Money had talked when we reached Samac, and -the special was ready for us. I took Karasch with me -as far as Maria-Theresiopel, where I was to catch the -mail to Vienna, and he to get the train to Belgrade; -and on the journey I discussed the matter with him -fully and gave him such directions as were necessary.</p> - -<p>“Mind, not a word about me until we meet in -Belgrade,” was my last parting injunction; and for -the rest of the journey I slept almost until Vienna -was reached.</p> - -<p>A very full week was the week that followed; and -money was talking every minute of it, while I gathered -the information I needed and pieced it together -for the campaign I had before me.</p> - -<p>It was just a big bluff I put up about that Servian -loan; and played it well enough to convince all who -came near me that I meant it right along. It was -easy to prove that I and those who were behind me -in the States had the dollars and could put them on -the table. That was true; but the bluff was to make -folks believe me soft enough to accept the security -and vouch for it to others.</p> - -<p>My attitude was that of the typical Missouri man. -“Show me” was my one text. “Prove to me the -thing is sound, and I’ll find the money right now;”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span> -and the very strenuousness of the efforts to persuade -me was in itself enough to have made even a plunger -suspicious.</p> - -<p>But I kept a very stiff upper lip; and when I raised -difficulties, hinted at concessions that should be made, -and asked for facts in regard to other matters, I was -at last referred to Belgrade direct. This was what -I wanted; and I consented to go there; but not without -making a show of reluctance.</p> - -<p>In the meantime I heard from Father Michel that -he had been successful in arranging all the difficulties -in connection with the affair at the camp. The -Austrian official had exaggerated matters to me that -night in declaring there were dying men there. No -one had died; and the injured men had first been so -frightened with the threat of prosecution for their -part in the abduction that the money I had left for -them had been accepted with very grateful surprise.</p> - -<p>Captain Hanske had very naturally resented his -rough handling, and, breathing many threats of what -his government would do, had forwarded a very -furious report to Vienna.</p> - -<p>His superior was dining with me the day after the -report was received, and had done himself very well -indeed when he referred to the matter.</p> - -<p>“You know a priest named Father Michel in -Poabja, an out-of-the-way hole in Bosnia, don’t you, -Mr. Bergwyn?” he said with a very suggestive smile.</p> - -<p>I affected to think. “Poabja? Poabja? Whereabouts -is it?”</p> - -<p>“A few miles from Samac—the point on the -frontier where the line ends; and where one might<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span> -at a pinch get a special train; if for instance one was -in a hurry to leave the district.”</p> - -<p>He intended me to know by that, of course, that my -movements had been traced.</p> - -<p>“I think I had a friend who once went there,” I -replied.</p> - -<p>“This may be about him;” and he pulled out the -report and gave it me and took another cigar and a -fresh drink, as I glanced through the paper. It was -a duly garbled official misdescription of what had occurred -that night and represented the captain as having -fought valiantly against great odds until he had -been overpowered.</p> - -<p>“He seems to be a valiant fellow, this agent of -yours,” I said. “And this—how is he called? Burgwan, -is it?—must be a desperate character?”</p> - -<p>He laughed. “Singular name, isn’t it? Very -much like yours.”</p> - -<p>“Now you mention it, so it is. But, of course, it -isn’t my name;” and I smiled in my turn.</p> - -<p>“Of course not. A strange story, though. Do -you think your—friend would know anything about -it?”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t be in the least surprised. I’ll find out. -By the way, your man seems to have been roughly -handled. Don’t you think he ought to be promoted -in some way?”</p> - -<p>“Promotion is slow, you see. Do you think you -could do anything for him?” he asked, as if the idea -had just occurred to him; and smiled again slyly.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how it affects me. Wait, I have an -idea. I can tell you how you can do it, and make a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span> -pile for yourself at the same time. This camp on the -hills he speaks of must be the spot where my friend -went prospecting about some mine deposits. He told -me there was a fortune waiting there for the man -who developed the thing; but he knows the difficulty -which a foreigner would have in working it, and has -given it up. Why not get hold of the concessions -yourself; they can be had for a song; and put this -man in charge to carry on the work?”</p> - -<p>“It would take money.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, there would be no difficulty about that if the -thing had official influence behind it—such for instance -as yours. The thing’s right. The ore’s there, -I know that.”</p> - -<p>“<i>You</i> know it?” he put in quickly.</p> - -<p>“I’d trust my friend’s judgment as freely as my -own.”</p> - -<p>“You say a fortune? How much?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, anything from half a million gulden upwards.” -I spoke airily, as though a few hundred -thousand gulden were a matter of comparative insignificance.</p> - -<p>He smoked for a while in silence, his brows knitted -thoughtfully:</p> - -<p>“Would your friend go into it?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“It’s the sort of thing I should take up myself -right now if I had your influence with me,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“You Americans are a wonderful people, Mr. -Bergwyn. We’ll speak of this to-morrow. I’ll think -it over.”</p> - -<p>“It’s worth doing, not only thinking over;” and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -as I returned him his report I added: “And this man -really deserves some sort of compensation.”</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders and laughed. “He -shall have an official letter praising his zeal; and we -shall hear no more of that part of it.”</p> - -<p>We did talk it over the next day and we fixed up a -working arrangement. Then he spoke to me about -the Servian loan.</p> - -<p>“You’re not going into it, are you?”</p> - -<p>“They promise some valuable concessions.”</p> - -<p>He paused and said deliberately: “If you’ll take -my advice, it is—don’t.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“It’s too risky.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve another reason. What is it?”</p> - -<p>He shook his head. “You don’t understand Balkan -politics.”</p> - -<p>“You mean your government are against the -loan?”</p> - -<p>“Servia might buy arms, or build railways with -the money—neither course to our interests, you -know.”</p> - -<p>“A bit rough on Servia, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“We have to think of ourselves, you see. Besides, -it isn’t safe for a little country like that to develop -too quickly. There’s Russia, too. Two big powers, -both closely concerned. Take my advice—don’t.”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to Belgrade,” I answered.</p> - -<p>“By all means go. You’ll see things then for -yourself.”</p> - -<p>“What would happen if she got the loan?”</p> - -<p>“She won’t get it, Mr. Bergwyn. The government<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> -is tottering now—and perhaps the throne. Anything -can happen in Belgrade at any time—except the floating -of a loan.”</p> - -<p>“I shall go to Belgrade. We’re ready to carry -risks, you know, when a thing’s right.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, by all means go, as I said. They’ll make -much of you; but remember when you’re there what -I’ve said, in confidence, and—don’t.”</p> - -<p>I could judge by the insistence upon this advice -that he thought I was still undecided; and as that was -just the impression I wished to leave, I said no more.</p> - -<p>Two days later I left for Belgrade, where, as my -friend the minister had told me, I found them quite -ready to make much of me, as a sort of possible -financial saviour of the country. I soon saw the influence -which I could wield even in regard to the -real purpose which took me to the capital.</p> - -<p>But even within a few hours of my arrival, and -while I was disposed to shake hands with myself for -the adroit course which I was managing to steer, I -met with an ugly check—most unwelcome and disconcerting.</p> - -<p>A large house had been placed at my disposal, and -I had breakfasted on the morning after my arrival -and was planning my movements for the day, when -my man, Buller, brought me a card.</p> - -<p>“The Baroness von Tulken.”</p> - -<p>I remembered the name. It had been given me as -that of a woman of much influence at the court who -was said to be taking an important part in political -affairs. But I could think of no reason why she -should flounce down on me almost at the moment of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span> -my arrival. I hesitated therefore whether to see her. -But I decided I would. If time is not too pressing, it -is generally best to see people at once and get at the -kernel of their business in a couple of minutes, instead -of letting them worry you with correspondence.</p> - -<p>There was the chance, too, that under the circumstances -she might have some information to give or -sell; and I was speculating who she might be and -what she wanted, as I went to her.</p> - -<p>But I knew her the moment my eyes fell on her, -before I saw her face; and I started and caught my -breath in surprise and some dismay. I could have -wished her anywhere in the world except in Belgrade -at that particular juncture.</p> - -<p>She was looking out of the window as I entered, -and when she turned gave me one quick glance.</p> - -<p>“Ah, then it <i>is</i> you, Chase,” she cried, as she came -toward me both hands extended and uttered my -Christian name, with a smile on her handsome face, -as though the meeting were just the loveliest thing -that ever happened for us both.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIV.<br /> - - -<small>ELMA.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>A large, long room on the first floor of a house in -Prague; the furniture, once rich, now sadly worn; -the lights dim except over one table where cards -were scattered on the green cloth as they had been -left by the players; close to it, partly in shadow, a -second table with drink and glasses; near it an overturned -chair; away in the gloom a cowering figure -on a settee with old hands pressed strenuously on -the hidden face; and in the centre a queenly woman, -beautiful as a picture, white-faced, distraught and -trembling, but struggling to appear defiant as she -faced a boy of nineteen who was regarding her with -looks in which hot love, horrified repugnance and -disgust struggled with the bewildering pain of the -knowledge of her unworthiness. She had been -caught red-handed in the flagrant use of the tricks -of a common card cheat; and the rest had gone, with -flouts and scoffs and jeers, leaving the two, the boy, -face to face with the sudden consciousness of her -shame, and suffering as only a boy in his calf love -can suffer: the woman, scared and confused, but -wrathful and relying defiantly upon the power of her -beauty.</p> - -<p>I was the boy; and Elma Dreschkel, now the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span> -Baroness von Tulken, was the woman. We had not -met since that night; but the picture flashed back -upon my memory, resistlessly and instantaneously, -as I felt once more upon me those dark, dangerous, -and strangely compelling eyes of hers.</p> - -<p>“You are surprised, of course; but you will not -refuse me your hand,” she said, as I hesitated to take -hers.</p> - -<p>I took her hand. “Yes, I am surprised,” I answered.</p> - -<p>“You are not changed much. Older, broader, -more manly, of course, and much handsomer, too.”</p> - -<p>“The change in my looks may not be very great.” -It was a fatuous thing to say, for it gave her a chance -which her ready wit seized at once.</p> - -<p>“I have not changed even in looks,” she said, with -a sigh and droop of the eyes and a little graceful gesture -of the hands. She did herself less than justice, -however. The seven years had ripened her beauty -of form and face; the girl had become a woman; and -the woman more than fulfilled the promise of the -girl. She was faultlessly dressed, too, with exquisite -taste; and had achieved that combination of -apparent simplicity and suggestion of costly extravagance -after which so many American women strive -not always with success.</p> - -<p>She knew I was looking very closely at her and -she paused long enough to give me ample opportunity. -Then she glanced up and smiled: hers was -one of the most dangerous smiles ever given to a -woman.</p> - -<p>“Well?” she asked, as if challenging me. Was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span> -she anxious to establish our relations upon something -of the old footing?</p> - -<p>“To what do I owe the favour of this visit?” I -asked in a formal and precise tone.</p> - -<p>But she only laughed. “Is it a favour, really, do -you think? Do you say that only as a preface to dismissing -me?”</p> - -<p>“It is, at any rate, as I said, a surprise.”</p> - -<p>“Why? Why should it be a surprise that I wished -to see you again, and that hearing a great financier, -Chase F. Bergwyn, was coming here, I rushed here -the first moment I could to make sure that it was -you?”</p> - -<p>“The surprise may be to find you in Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, that of course—but not that I should -wish to see you.” She had always been clever in -turning my words back upon me.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you misunderstand me,” I said after -a pause. “I meant to ask you if there was anything -I could do for you?”</p> - -<p>“Would you do it, Chase?” she cried with quick -daring, flashing her eyes upon me. “I wonder if -you would. I should like to think so.”</p> - -<p>“Will you regard the question as put quite formally? -This visit is quite unexpected, and as I am a -somewhat busy man just now, my time is very much -occupied.”</p> - -<p>“I am still standing,” she answered, unexpectedly.</p> - -<p>I placed a chair for her and she sat down, gracefully—she -did all things gracefully—and smiled. -“How long can you spare me?” She put the question -lightly, with mockery in every accent.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>“I have engagements right through the day. -Baroness....”</p> - -<p>She interposed with a quick gesture, rose suddenly -and looked at me as if I had insulted her by this use -of her title, and her lips opened as if to give her protest -utterance; but she merely sighed and shrugged -her shoulders, and sat down again. A very effective -piece of acting—but no more than acting.</p> - -<p>In reply I glanced at the card which I still held in -my hand.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I married for money and position. What -would you have had me do?” She made the quick -question a reproach, speaking in a low, tense tone as -of carefully restrained feeling, with a dash of personal -defiance, paused and then added slowly: “I was -deserted by—everyone. Was I to starve and sink -and go on sinking and starving. The Baron was -three times my age. Wealthy, and believed in me -and trusted me. When even those who might have -had faith in me”—she paused again as she repeated -the phrase—“even those who might have had faith, -turned their backs upon me, and deserted me, he -offered me the shelter of his rank and riches and -name. And even if I had no heart to give him in -response, was I to blame for giving him my hand? -Does it lie with you to reproach me?—you, of all -men; you?”</p> - -<p>So intense was her tone, so magnetic her influence, -and so realistic her acting that she actually roused in -me for the moment the feeling that in that old time -it was I who had wronged her and played the part of -coward now suggested, and not she who had cheated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> -and cozened me in my boyish infatuation until for -years my faith in all women had been destroyed. Yet -I knew that she was that most dangerous of all -created beings—a beautiful woman with brains and -without a heart.</p> - -<p>“I am not reproaching you,” I answered. “On -the contrary, I congratulate you. I think you acted -very prudently.”</p> - -<p>“My God,” she cried in an accent of intense suffering; -and first glancing at me with eyes full of sadness -and suffering, she bent her head upon her hand. -She was master of many emotions; but the acting -which had fooled the boy in love was powerless to -deceive me now.</p> - -<p>A pause of some embarrassment followed. What -I wished to learn was her motive in coming to me. -She had a strong one, of course. I could gamble on -that.</p> - -<p>“Need we pretend?” I asked, at length.</p> - -<p>She shivered as though the words hurt her, and -then looking up suddenly, answered with a sort of -fierce <i>abandon</i>.</p> - -<p>“No. No; although God knows it is no pretence -that I am agitated at seeing you again.”</p> - -<p>“If you are thus disturbed let me suggest that we -postpone the conversation until you are more self-possessed.”</p> - -<p>She drew in her breath sharply with a little shudder, -and stretched out a hand as if in entreaty, then -clasped it to her face and appeared to make a great -effort to regain self-restraint.</p> - -<p>“Bear with me a moment. This is so strange a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span> -meeting. I....” she stopped, and bit her lip -and smiled and sighed.</p> - -<p>I watched her quite unmoved by this display. -“Yes, it is very strange,” I said.</p> - -<p>Next, as if having regained self-possession and -desirous of getting away from an embarrassing situation, -she said, unexpectedly, and almost crudely: -“Won’t you sit down, Cha— Mr. Bergwyn?” She -made the correction palpable, then added: “I should -apologise for my excitement having betrayed me into -calling you by—by the name once so familiar. I am -still liable to impulses.”</p> - -<p>I accepted the position thus suggested, sat down -and answered in a tone of conventional compliment: -“So beautiful a woman as you, Baroness, need never -think of apologising for anything.”</p> - -<p>“At all events I will try not to offend again,” she -said lightly. “I suppose that really I ought not to -have come to you in this way, but have waited until -we met. You are so great a man now.”</p> - -<p>“You had some reason for coming, of course. -Shall we discuss that?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I had a reason; but I find it so hard to -explain it now.” Her manner now was that of a sort -of engaging nervousness. “I declare I could almost -wish you were a stranger, Mr. Bergwyn. It would -be less difficult.”</p> - -<p>This was my chance and I took it. “You may -really regard me as a stranger, Baroness;” I said, -gravely, with emphasis; but she smiled winningly, intentionally -disregarding my meaning, and replied -with great sweetness:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>“You were always considerate.” She paused and -continued then with a glance:</p> - -<p>“I had my reasons for coming to you, of -course. I suppose I may be frank. In the first -place I wished to be sure that you were the Mr. -Bergwyn who knew me before I came to Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>Her eyes said more than her words then and I -gave the assurance they sought.</p> - -<p>“If I understand you, pray be quite at rest. Since -we parted you have lived your life and I have lived -mine—and our memories do not go behind that new -life.” I meant that if she did not wish me to give -her away, I did not want that old boyish intrigue of -mine raked up. She was relieved by the assurance, -and could not hide the feeling.</p> - -<p>“I was sure of that, of course,” she answered with -a scarcely perceptible sigh of relief. “It does not -affect your purpose here.”</p> - -<p>“How could it?”</p> - -<p>“Of course your agents have been making inquiries -about everything here, and I suppose you -know something of my position and influence. I am -a rich woman, Mr. Bergwyn, and stand high in the -confidence of many people in Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“I had heard of the Baroness von Tulken as one -enjoying considerable influence at Court.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have influence; and even if I had found -you a stranger I intended to place it entirely at your -service. Need I say how much more I should wish -to do so, seeing you are who you are.”</p> - -<p>“I thought we were not to remember that.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span>“How precise you men of business are!” she -laughed. “Well, do you accept my offer?”</p> - -<p>“I should be charmed, of course, and if the need -arises I shall instantly remember your promise.”</p> - -<p>“Is that a refusal?” she asked swiftly.</p> - -<p>“A conditional acceptance rather, is it not?”</p> - -<p>“I did not come for conditions. I came for frank -acceptance or rejection of my offer.”</p> - -<p>“I arrived but last night,” I reminded her, blandly.</p> - -<p>“You are playing with words. What is your object -in Belgrade?”</p> - -<p>“I think everyone in the capital who knows of -my presence knows why I have come.”</p> - -<p>“But I mean your secret object. You have not -come here to lend this money. Englishmen—I beg -pardon, even Americans do not act like madmen in -such matters. You know there is no stability in the -kingdom, no security that even your interest would -be paid. Why then do you come? What part are -you proposing to play in all the intrigues at present -rife here? Whose side do you take and why?”</p> - -<p>“The negotiations for the loan....” I began -when she cut me short with a laugh and waved -the words aside.</p> - -<p>“What is it you want to buy with your money?”</p> - -<p>“Really....”</p> - -<p>“I will put it another way,” She interposed again. -“Which party are you with? The army are intriguing -against the present dynasty; are you with -them? The Crown is intriguing to secure the next -succession for the Queen’s brother; are you with -them? Another party is intriguing to secure the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span> -Princess Gatrina in her rights; are you with them?—with -us, I should say. If you are, then indeed -your millions may be safe.”</p> - -<p>“I fear I do not understand you. The Queen is -responsible for the betrothal of the Princess to the -Prince Albrevics; how then....”</p> - -<p>The interposing laugh was now scornful.</p> - -<p>“You have indeed much to learn. You will hold -what I may say in confidence?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but without pledging myself to make no -use privately of any information; and I think you -should not speak,” I answered after a pause of doubt -whether I could rightly let her speak freely. But -she had no hesitation.</p> - -<p>“I will take your word and any risks. I wish you, -if you take any side, to take ours. The Queen’s object -in promoting the marriage of the Princess—as -good a girl as ever lived—with such a vile reprobate -as this Albrevics is—what do you think? Nay, you -would not see it, not understanding the cross currents -of our matters here. She knows, as all the -country knows—except Gatrina herself, perhaps—that -of all the impossible successors to the throne he -is the most impossible. She does it that Gatrina’s -claims may thus be destroyed finally and Gatrina herself -in this clever way removed from the path of the -Queen’s brother.”</p> - -<p>“Very smart, very subtle, and very feminine,” I -said, with a smile as though the plan appealed to my -appreciation of a really clever move. “And what is -your plan?”</p> - -<p>“First, what is your motive in Belgrade? Would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span> -you help in so shameful a scheme against the Princess?”</p> - -<p>I affected to consider and then answered with more -truth than she knew.</p> - -<p>“No, I think I can safely say I should not.”</p> - -<p>“I was sure of it,” she cried, triumphantly. “And -you would not help the army in their plans?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know them.”</p> - -<p>“They can be put in one word—assassination.”</p> - -<p>“God forbid that I should deal with such a thing. -But you must be mad to think it.”</p> - -<p>She paused and then said slowly with significant -emphasis:</p> - -<p>“When I know not, and how I know not, but -matters will come to that if the army once have the -courage to act. The Queen has some strong friends, -but some terrible enemies; and there is but one way -to avert catastrophe.”</p> - -<p>“How is that?”</p> - -<p>“By securing the succession to the Princess -Gatrina by the only means which can render it -secure.” She fixed her eyes upon me with an intent, -searching look.</p> - -<p>“That is your scheme, you mean. How would -you do it?” I had no scruple in questioning her -now. I saw that some plan against Gatrina was in -the making, and was ready to go to lengths now to -know it.</p> - -<p>“By securing her marriage with a man who would -be accepted by the country as a king.”</p> - -<p>“And there is such a man?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; the Duke Barinski, of Fagodina.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span>“I have never heard of him. What claim to the -throne can he make?”</p> - -<p>She smiled significantly. “He has many. He is -connected by descent with the Karageorgevics, while -the Princess represents the Obrenovics. Together -their claim would be incontestable, as it would reconcile -and unite the rival interests. And what is -most—he has the support of Russia. Now you -understand.”</p> - -<p>“And <i>your</i> motive?”</p> - -<p>“The Duke is the head of the family of which I -am a humble member.”</p> - -<p>“A very beautiful member certainly, and a very -useful one, also certainly; but I should not use the -term humble, Baroness. You seem to have a strong -cause, particularly with Russian influence behind. -You think it will succeed?”</p> - -<p>“It cannot fail,” she said in a tone of dead conviction.</p> - -<p>“And the Princess Gatrina? What are her -views?”</p> - -<p>She shrugged her shoulders. “In a marriage of -State what does it matter to the bride who the groom -may be? She at present trusts the Queen, and so -accepts even such a man as Albrevics.”</p> - -<p>“It is all very interesting, but there is one question -which a business man would put—a man looking -of course to his own interests only. If those who are -with me in this joined in this scheme, would the Russian -influence go so far as to guarantee the loan?”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I can pledge the Russian Government?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>“Scarcely that, perhaps, but in such a case you -may have some influence.”</p> - -<p>She laughed very musically. “You are much -quicker than you used to be. Chase—I beg your pardon, -Mr. Bergwyn—you think I am a Russian agent. -Well, you are right. I am. My husband, the Baron, -was one.”</p> - -<p>“Was?”</p> - -<p>“He is dead. Of course you know that.”</p> - -<p>“Your pardon; I did not. And you told your -people, of course, that you were coming to see me?”</p> - -<p>Again she understood me; and again she laughed. -“Yes. I told them it was possible I might have -some influence with you—some personal influence, -of course.” She paused and added, slowly: “But I -see now that I was wrong.”</p> - -<p>“At any rate I think we may now say we understand -each other and this matter,” I said as I rose.</p> - -<p>“You will join us? There is no other way to make -your interests safe. Russian influence is paramount.”</p> - -<p>“Forgive me if I hold my decision over. What -you have said has greatly impressed me.” It had, -but not quite in the way she may have thought.</p> - -<p>“I shall see something of you while you are -here?”</p> - -<p>“How long I remain is, of course, uncertain,” I -answered; and the evasion displeased her.</p> - -<p>“That may mean no. But I must see you. I -insist, I do, indeed, positively insist;” and she laid -her hand on my arm and smiled winningly.</p> - -<p>“But I may go over to the Austrian side, whatever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span> -that may be. They may also have eloquent advocates.”</p> - -<p>“You may find the Queen’s chief advocate the -most difficult to resist. I think I ought to warn -you.”</p> - -<p>“Who is that?”</p> - -<p>“The Princess Gatrina—a very beautiful girl and -very persuasive.”</p> - -<p>Fortunately the start I gave passed unnoticed as -her eyes were off me at the moment.</p> - -<p>“It seems to be a contest of beautiful women, -Baroness,” I said with a bow.</p> - -<p>“It is perhaps fortunate for you, therefore, that -you are now only a business man—with a short -memory,” she retorted with a glance which I affected -not to see.</p> - -<p>Then an unexpected incident followed. I accompanied -her to the door and as we crossed the hall, -Chris was lying there. He got up and she looked -at him and paused.</p> - -<p>“That is an enormous dog, Mr. Bergwyn. I do -not like big dogs.”</p> - -<p>“Chris will not hurt you. He is gentle as he is -big—unless on necessary occasions.”</p> - -<p>“You call him Chris?” she exclaimed, in a tone -of surprise. “That is something of a coincidence; -I hope it is not an omen,” and she gave me a keen -glance.</p> - -<p>“Why a coincidence?”</p> - -<p>“I was thinking of the Queen’s advocate—Gatrina. -She has had some adventure in which a dog named -Chris took a part. I hope it is not an omen that you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span> -will side with her. I am very superstitious, you -know. We Serbs are.”</p> - -<p>But she was not a Serb and was far too sensible to -be superstitious. Besides, there was an expression -on her face as she drove away that I would have -given a good deal to have understood.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XV.<br /> - - -<small>DEVELOPMENTS.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>I should have reckoned it bad luck to run up -against Elma once more under any circumstances; -but it was much worse to find her installed here in -Belgrade, a woman of rank, wealth and influence, -in close touch with the court and with Gatrina, and -taking a part in the game of political intrigue likely -to render her a serious opponent to my purpose.</p> - -<p>There was no use blinking at ugly facts, or attempting -to hide from myself that if she came to -learn the real purpose of my presence in Belgrade, -she could do me incalculable mischief; and I did not -begin to persuade myself that if the occasion arose -she would hesitate to do it.</p> - -<p>It was in this wise. In those silly, calf days of my -boyish infatuation I had written the usual wild, high-falutin -nonsense to her—and plenty of it. Pouring -out my soul to her, I had thought it then: making -an egregious young ass of myself, I deemed it now; -but soulful or asinine, there were the letters on record -against me. Nor could I doubt that if Elma found -me attempting to use my influence with Gatrina -against the plans of the Russian party those letters -would be used for all they were worth to checkmate -that influence.</p> - -<p>Elma had indeed been clever enough to appeal to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span> -me to bury the past and to hint that she was afraid -of my revealing what I knew about her. But she -had meant it more as a bluffing appeal to my sense -of honour. She knew she had little enough to fear -from any revelations. They might damage her -Court influence; but the Russian authorities who employed -her would not care a red cent. They would -have no inconvenient scruples so long as she was -useful to them. Very probably they knew all about -her already, and had perhaps used the knowledge to -give a twist to the screw which kept her zealous in -their service.</p> - -<p>I flinched and flushed at the thought of those letters -being read by Gatrina. That must be stopped -somehow, and I must get them back into my possession. -But how? I could not see any means at -present. Elma was just an abominably clever -woman. She had shewn that by rising to her present -position out of the ashes of that old scandal in -Prague; and I was only too painfully conscious that -in any play of wits in such a matter she would almost -certainly outwit me.</p> - -<p>Yet disconcerting as was this personal side of the -matter, it was not by any means the most disturbing -result of that talk with her.</p> - -<p>She had made me realise that the obstacles in my -way were vastly greater than I had reckoned. The -whole axis of the position seemed to have shifted, indeed. -I had come to Belgrade with the somewhat -vague notion that by means of my wealth and the -knowledge I had gained of the character of Prince -Albrevics, I should be able to stop the proposed marriage.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span> -But that somewhat arrogant assurance was -beaten out of me at a stroke. Money was useless -here.</p> - -<p>I saw that Gatrina’s marriage was the centre round -which two at least of these ugly schemes of high -political intrigue actually revolved. It was one of -the most critical issues of that most critical time; -and in regard to it her happiness and welfare were -just the last things to which anyone concerned gave -five cent’s worth of consideration.</p> - -<p>The Court scheme meant her sacrifice to such a -man as this Albrevics in order that she might be out -of the way of the Queen’s project to secure the succession -for her brother. The Russian plan was -scarcely less treacherous. They were wishing to use -her as a counter in order to get their own puppet on -the Throne. No more and no less.</p> - -<p>Then there was the third plot—that of the army; -and so far as it concerned Gatrina it threatened to be -worse than either of the others. If it came to a head -and Elma’s grim forecast of assassination were realised, -it would be directed against the Obrenovics -family as a whole. Gatrina, as a member of that -family, would be in actual personal danger; for it was -difficult to think that one so directly in the line of -succession as she was would be allowed to slip -through the meshes of a net flung wide and drawn in -by strong, angry, merciless hands.</p> - -<p>I had looked for anything rather than this. But -Elma had outlined the picture; and my own concern -for Gatrina soon painted in the details in lurid and -alarmist colours.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span>I was still groping for the guiding thread in all -this tangled skein of trouble when the first of my -appointed visitors was announced, and I had to assume -my role of hard-headed business man in regard -to the proposed loan.</p> - -<p>He was a man high up in the Government, and I -listened gravely to his proposals, putting a number of -objections much as I had done in Vienna; and then -said that I had heard so much of the instability of -the Government and of plots and conspiracies, that I -must take time to satisfy myself what they all meant.</p> - -<p>“You need have no apprehension, Mr. Bergwyn,” -he declared blandly. “The Throne and the Government -have never been more secure; and now that the -vexed question of the succession is about to be so -happily settled, there is not the slightest ground for -alarm.”</p> - -<p>“To be settled how?”</p> - -<p>“By the marriage of the Princess Gatrina to -Prince Albrevics. All faction will end with that.”</p> - -<p>“And Russia?”</p> - -<p>He waved his hands deprecatingly. “Russia will -accept the situation. She always does, when once -it is established.”</p> - -<p>“But the Queen’s popularity?”</p> - -<p>“Was never greater. Her strength is paramount.”</p> - -<p>“And her intentions as to her brother’s succession?”</p> - -<p>“The merest <i>canard</i>—absolutely without foundation.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span>“You think Prince Albrevics would be accepted -by the country?”</p> - -<p>“Personally I regret he is not a—not more discreet. -But he will reform when his responsibilities -grow.”</p> - -<p>“How many hold that view?”</p> - -<p>“He is not popular, it is true; but we Serbs are a -peace-loving people and, when a thing is settled and -makes for peace, we accept it and work for it.”</p> - -<p>“And the army?”</p> - -<p>“There has been discontent, I know, and certain -appointments have been made by the Crown which -have provoked criticism. But the leaders are loyal -and sound. There will be no trouble.”</p> - -<p>“I would wish to convince myself at first hand. -Whom should I see? I want the name of a man who -knows; and not necessarily a Government man.”</p> - -<p>“You can take it from me.”</p> - -<p>“That does not mean you would rather I saw no -one?”</p> - -<p>He flinched at the blunt question very slightly and -then smiled. “Certainly not. I am not so foolish. -You have come to convince yourself and we wish to -help you do this. There is, of course, some disaffection -in certain regiments; but on no considerable -scale. No man knows the feeling of the army -as a whole better than Colonel Petrosch. And you -can speak to him freely. He is the better man for -you to see, perhaps, because he is not by any means -a friend of the Court.”</p> - -<p>I remembered the name as one which had been -given me by my Austrian friends in Vienna; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span> -having thus obtained what I wanted, I got rid of my -visitor as soon as possible.</p> - -<p>As soon as he had gone I looked up the note I -had made about this Colonel Petrosch and was surprised -to find him described as a man with a strong -grievance against the Government, having considerable -influence in the army, and believed to be using -that influence against the Throne.</p> - -<p>This looked as though he were the very man I -sought, and I resolved to go to him at once. But -I was to have a stroke of good fortune in that matter. -I was ready to start when my servant, Buller, came -in.</p> - -<p>“There is a rough-looking fellow asking for you, -sir, and says you sent for him. But I thought I’d -better tell you first. I told him you were busy and -that he had better write.”</p> - -<p>“What name?”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t catch his name, sir. I can’t understand -the language; but it sounded something like -Crash.”</p> - -<p>I laughed. “Karasch, Buller. Bring him up at -once; and be very civil to him. He wishes to be -your fellow-servant.”</p> - -<p>Buller’s features were at that moment a study. -Well-trained servant though he was, and correct and -phlegmatic as an Englishman could be, it was now -beyond his power to conceal the dismay and disgust -he felt at the prospect.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” he stammered at length and turned to -go.</p> - -<p>“He saved my life, Buller, at the risk of his own;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span> -and I think a heap of him, even if he does lack a -little polish.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” he said now in his most correct manner, -and went out to return in a moment. “This -way, Mr. Crash,” I heard him say as he opened the -door, and not a trace of feeling was on his stolid -face as he ushered him in.</p> - -<p>Karasch was vastly impressed at finding me in such -surroundings and his fine dark eyes rolled about him -with a gaze of wonderment and settled first upon -Chris, who got up at his entrance, and then upon -me. I think he was not a little nervous for all his -attempt to appear self-possessed.</p> - -<p>“I have done my lord’s bidding,” he said at length.</p> - -<p>“Is your arm better, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>He started as though the question recalled the old -tussle between us. “It is getting well, my lord.” -He felt apparently that I ought to be addressed by -some title.</p> - -<p>“Good; then sit down and tell me what you’ve -done; and by the way, don’t call me my lord.”</p> - -<p>A glance round the room and a waive of the hand -shewed me his thought. “As you please, Excellency; -I am only your servant.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, we’ll leave it at that. Now tell me -your news.”</p> - -<p>“I have seen the friends of the men who took -away the lady, and I know who they were serving. I -have also seen her and know who she is.”</p> - -<p>“Who hired them?”</p> - -<p>“The Duke Barinski of Jagodina, Excellency.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span> -She is the Princess Gatrina—but the men did not -know her.”</p> - -<p>“Duke Barinski! Are you sure?” I exclaimed. -This was news indeed. “Are you sure, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>“I have seen the man with whom he made the -bargain. He is at your service now, Excellency; I -have paid him. If you wish to see him, I will bring -him here.”</p> - -<p>“All I need is to be quite certain. He would not -deceive you?”</p> - -<p>“He knows better, Excellency,” answered Karasch, -with a dry, significant smile. “I hold his life -here;” and he held out his hand with fingers and -thumb pressed together.</p> - -<p>“Tell me all.”</p> - -<p>“There is but little to tell, Excellency.” He appeared -to derive some sort of satisfaction from using -this title frequently. “I knew where to go for the -information, as I told you; and as soon as I had done -as your Excellency bade me and seen a doctor about -my arm, I sought the men out; they are old companions -of mine and, as I had money they welcomed -me. For three days we drank together and I had -the story from three or four of them, both when they -were drunk and when sober; and it was always the -same. The Princess was at the great house of the -Baroness von Tulken one evening, and when she -wished to leave, she was put into a carriage not her -own with two of the men dressed in her livery. They -drove her by a certain route and at an agreed spot -the six men who were to take her to Maglai stopped -the carriage and with a show of force seemed to compel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span> -the coachman to drive away into the country, -two of the men entering the carriage to keep the -Princess quiet. They told her they were brigands; -and after some miles they compelled her to alight and -ride with them. They were to take her to Maglai -and to receive one thousand gulden, not three as -they told your Excellency.”</p> - -<p>“But the witchcraft business, Karasch?”</p> - -<p>“The Duke Barinski told them she was a witch, -Excellency, who had been detected and was being -sent off privately in this way, because she had too -many friends of influence to be tried openly in Belgrade. -Had they known who she was really, they -would have been afraid.”</p> - -<p>“Then he risked her very life. They might have -killed her.”</p> - -<p>“No, Excellency; because not a kreutzer was to -be paid to them at Maglai if the slightest harm was -done to her. It was clever.”</p> - -<p>“It was devilish,” I said, hotly. “Where in Maglai -were they to take her and who was to pay the -money?”</p> - -<p>He produced a slip of paper with a name and address -upon it. “You can make inquiries if you wish, -Excellency,” he said. “You will find what I have -said is the truth. It is the Duke Barinski’s plotting.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean he went so far as to see these -men himself?”</p> - -<p>“He did not declare himself, Excellency; but he -was recognised.”</p> - -<p>I sat thinking a moment over the news.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span>“Have you any guess as to his motive?”</p> - -<p>“No; I could have none; nor could my friends,” -he answered, shaking his head.</p> - -<p>“Would your men bear this story out even to his -face?”</p> - -<p>“Why not? They are now in your service—that -is, if you wish me still to pay them.”</p> - -<p>Money was not to be so entirely useless after all, -it seemed. “Yes, pay them, Karasch. Have you -any money left?”</p> - -<p>“I have brought it;” and he produced the greater -part of what I had given him.</p> - -<p>“You had better keep it.”</p> - -<p>“It will be safer with you. You can give it me -as I need it, Excellency;” and he laid it on the table.</p> - -<p>“Take what you want;” and he took a very moderate -sum which he declared would be enough. I -told him then that for the present he had better not -live in my house but was to come night and morning -for instructions, and to let me know how to communicate -with him instantly in the event of my needing -him in any pressing emergency.</p> - -<p>His news gave me plenty of matter to chew, and -I sat turning it over and over in my mind. I saw -Elma’s pro-Russian hand in it plainly; and although -Karasch and his companions could make no guess -at the motive for the abduction, I could make one.</p> - -<p>Had they succeeded in the scheme of getting -Gatrina to Maglai they would have kept her there -until she had consented to marry Duke Barinski. -Then their plan to secure the succession would have -come into the field of practical politics; the Queen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span> -would have been quietly checkmated; Russian influence -would have openly backed up the united claim -of the Duke and Gatrina; and the crooked path -would suddenly have been made smooth.</p> - -<p>Gatrina’s escape from her guards had alone prevented -this and her safe return to Belgrade had no -doubt completely disconcerted the schemers.</p> - -<p>But they were not of the kind to put aside the plan -because of this check and we might look for some -other move from them equally daring, cunning and -far-reaching.</p> - -<p>They had acted cleverly indeed, and had blinded -their tracks successfully. The Duke had kept carefully -in the background and Elma had so far retained -the confidence of Gatrina as actually to learn from -her some details of her escape.</p> - -<p>I did not forget her reference to the “adventure -in which a dog called Chris” had played a part; and -I might gamble on it that, if they discovered the part -I had taken, I should soon find myself the object of -some of their attentions. And they were antagonists -whom anyone would be prudent to take very -seriously.</p> - -<p>Complications were developing at a merry rate; -but Karasch’s news had suggested a way by which -one of Gatrina’s suitors at any rate might be driven -from the field.</p> - -<p>This was to face the Duke himself, tell him what -I knew, confront him with the men he had employed, -and see what the effect on him would be of a threat -to reveal the whole plot to the Court. The Queen’s -readiness in dealing drastically with her enemies<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span> -would frighten him surely enough; and I knew the -Russian tactics too well not to feel assured that, if -once he were discovered and disgraced, they would -drop him instantly in favour of some shrewder tool.</p> - -<p>Then came another development. A chamberlain -from the Court brought me an invitation to a reception -for the following night at the Palace; and was -at some pains to make it clear that it was to be held -out of compliment to myself and “those other illustrious -Magnates of America” who were associated -with me.</p> - -<p>Money was talking loudly enough in that, at any -rate; and I sent him away with an assurance of my -appreciation of the honour, expressed in such flowery -terms as occurred to me at the moment. Even as I -was speaking to him my thoughts slipped back to -what Elma had said about the “Queen’s advocate.”</p> - -<p>I should meet Gatrina again. In a moment a -hundred qualms of doubt were started as to how she -would receive me, rendering me uneasy, restless, and -almost nervous.</p> - -<p>What would she say? How would she look? -Would the brute she was going to marry be present? -Would she reproach me for thus again forcing myself -on her? Would she see through the flimsy -hypocrisy of my pretended financial mission? Would -she give me away to the Court? Should I get a -chance of telling her of the danger in which she -stood? And then, somehow, that scene on the hill -at Samac a week before, came into my thoughts and -I sat smoking, mooning and dreaming.</p> - -<p>Gatrina seemed so desperately far removed from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span> -me now and the opposing forces were gathering such -strength that my confidence of success gave ominous -signs of wavering. The prospect of winning her -looked like no more than a forlorn hope; and although -I was as determined as ever to fight on until -I was actually beaten, I felt a cold chill of doubt -settling down upon me.</p> - -<p>Buller entered, breaking my reverie just at that -moment, to bring me a card. I took it impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Captain Nikolitch, from Colonel Petrosch.”</p> - -<p>I uttered an involuntary exclamation of delight. -My visitor was a man who had been my close and -intimate friend in that past time in the Balkans; and -coming as he did from Colonel Petrosch, he was just -the man of all others able to help me. No one could -have been more welcome at such a juncture.</p> - -<p>“Show him right here, Buller,” I said, gleefully, -standing up to welcome him cordially.</p> - -<p>The pendulum had swung right over suddenly and -the luck was once again on my side.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVI.<br /> - - -<small>THE ARMY’S PLANS.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>Nikolitch was as glad to meet me as I to welcome -him, and our mutual greeting was very warm and -cordial.</p> - -<p>“I could scarcely believe it was really you, Bergwyn,” -he said, when we were through with the hand-shaking -and had lighted our cigars. “That was -why I wrote on my card that I came from Colonel -Petrosch. I can scarcely believe it now, I think;” -and he smiled. He was a year or so older than I; a -fair, handsome, frank-faced fellow with a winning -manner and a delightful smile.</p> - -<p>“It’s a bit like a fairy tale, perhaps. How did you -hear of me?”</p> - -<p>“What a question, my dear fellow, when you’re -the centre of financial attraction just now in half a -dozen circles. And do you mean to tell me you’re a -millionaire? Why, in those jolly old days you were -as poor as I was and, worse luck, still am.”</p> - -<p>“They were jolly old days, weren’t they? I am -just delighted to see you again. Yes, I’m a millionaire; -and if you’d done as I wanted you to then, gone -out with me to the States, you would be one too. I -had a toughish time of it for a year or two; and it -was all luck at the end. Nothing else. I got hold<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span> -of a mine which had broken the hearts of the men -who had been working it with me. When they gave -up in despair I got it for next to nothing and held -on; and inside a month came on the gold by pure -accident just where we hadn’t looked for it. My -perseverance had paid me and I stepped out of the -mine that day as rich as a man need wish to be. -That’s all.”</p> - -<p>“You were always a dogged beggar,” he said.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like being beaten.”</p> - -<p>“The same thing another way round,” he laughed. -“And so you’ve come back to the old hunting -ground to take a hand here as a big financier. You’ll -have to be careful, Bergwyn. This is no gold mine.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me about yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, there’s nothing to tell; nothing much. I -entered the army here, and having some influence, -got my captaincy sooner than I deserved it. I like -it well enough; but I wish I’d gone with you. I’d -rather be a millionaire.”</p> - -<p>“Why does Colonel Petrosch send you to me?”</p> - -<p>“I’m a favourite of his a bit, and of others. -They’ve let me know things, you see; trust me, I -suppose; and all that. When I heard your name -mentioned I pricked up my ears, and told Petrosch -I fancied I knew you. He wants you and your -money bags on the side of the army in all this mess -of messes; and picked me out as a sort of informal -ambassador to negotiate with you. Though why the -devil you want to meddle with things here beats me.”</p> - -<p>“I had the Colonel’s name given me this morning -as a man who could tell me the hang of things in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> -regard to the intentions of the army. I suppose he -could.”</p> - -<p>Nikolitch laughed. “If he can’t no one can, Bergwyn. -But who sent you to him?”</p> - -<p>I told him the name of the Minister.</p> - -<p>“By the blue sky, that’s a curiosity. Why, old -Petrosch is in the very thick of the army plans and -dead against the Court, King, Queen, and all the -rest of them. He’ll grin when I tell him.”</p> - -<p>“The Minister assured me that the army was loyal -to the throne, and that the Colonel could convince -me of that. He admitted there was some disaffection -in certain regiments, but that the feeling was -insignificant.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he’s an ass; and nothing else. That’s the -usual rot talked in the Court circles; and of course -the officers don’t undeceive them and shew their -hand.”</p> - -<p>“And what’s the truth?”</p> - -<p>“Why that—of course we’re talking as old friends, -Bergwyn, and you won’t repeat what I say?”</p> - -<p>“I give you my word on that. I’m going to talk -to you presently about myself on the same understanding.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the fact is then that we’re on the eve of a -revolution; and there’s only one real power in the -country. The army. They can’t stand the Queen’s -methods—and they don’t mean to.”</p> - -<p>“Show me.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t understand either the King or the Queen. -She’s one of the most wonderful women that ever -drew breath; and in some respects the ablest and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span> -shrewdest. In others, she acts like a perfect fool. -She comes from the people, of course; and that’s -against her; but she could have made her position -absolutely secure if she’d shewn a gulden’s worth of -tact in the right direction. But she never does. -She could have had the army leaders at her feet; but -she has alienated every one of them, by sticking all -sorts of impossible men, relations or favourites, at -the top of things; and degrading every man of -capacity who won’t kow-tow to her in everything. -As a result, bar her favourites she hasn’t a friend left -in the army. It’s the same in everything else; and -the limit has been reached.”</p> - -<p>“And the King?”</p> - -<p>“He says ditto to every word she utters. She -can’t forget she came from the gutter, or near it; -and, having power, is never at rest unless she is shewing -it. She wants us all to be too afraid of her to -dare to remember her origin. That, at least, is what -many of us think. Anyhow, she has made the present -position impossible and the officers are going -to change it. It’s the only way to save the country.”</p> - -<p>“How will they change it?”</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders. “By a revolution, -Bergwyn; a peaceful one, if possible; but a revolution, -certainly.”</p> - -<p>“If possible? What does that mean?”</p> - -<p>“The abdication of the King and Queen—if they’ll -go.”</p> - -<p>“And if they won’t go?”</p> - -<p>“They’ll have to,” he replied, with another shrug.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span> -“To tell you the truth, there’s a section of the -officers who urge violent means.”</p> - -<p>“Assassination?” I recalled Elma’s prophecy.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it comes to that,” he said, gloomily. “I’m -dead against violent methods; but what they contend -is that it is better half a score of lives should -be lost than as many thousands by a civil war. Our -hope—I mean the hope of the moderate men in the -army—is that the King will see the uselessness of -resisting the army and go.”</p> - -<p>“You are convinced that the army will stand together?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes. Petrosch gave me the proofs to bring -to you;” and he took out some papers and plunged -into a description of the feeling in almost all the regiments -in the army.</p> - -<p>“It looks convincing enough on paper,” I said.</p> - -<p>“My dear Bergwyn, it’s the result of months of -work and agitation, and you may rely on it. And -we have the country with us. Look here;” and out -came more papers, proving that the feeling of people -of all classes was on the side of the army.</p> - -<p>“There is only one real power in Servia to-day, -Bergwyn. The army.”</p> - -<p>“And why does Colonel Petrosch send you to me -with all this?”</p> - -<p>“Two reasons. Either that you may be induced -to join our side at once; or, failing that, that you may -be persuaded of the uselessness of financing the Government -or any other faction opposed to us.”</p> - -<p>“And your own opinion, Nikolitch?”</p> - -<p>“My dear fellow, I’m only a fly on the wheel; but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span> -I think you must be in a great hurry to chuck your -money away, if you think of taking any side at all. -The army will win in the end: we must, for nothing -can stop us; and there will be a new Government, -and with a new King—Peter Karageorgevics, I expect—but -until things are settled what’s to be your -security for any loan?”</p> - -<p>“You put it plainly,” said I, with a smile at his -bluntness.</p> - -<p>“That’s what I came for, Bergwyn. I speak -partly as old Petrosch’s mouthpiece, but chiefly as an -old chum. Mind you, when the new Government is -in the stirrups matters may be different; there’s a -great deal got to happen before that, however. But -I suppose you don’t really come to fool your money -away?”</p> - -<p>“Is that a mouthpiece question or your own?”</p> - -<p>“Petrosch might like to know,” he laughed, stroking -his moustache; “but of course I shan’t tell him a -word you don’t wish me to repeat. He doesn’t think -you came here with any thought of such business; -but he does want to kill the chance of your doing any -with others than the army.”</p> - -<p>“If the army really holds the key to the position -I might wish to have their influence for a certain -purpose.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a cute devil, and that’s the truth. That’s -just how he summed up your visit. But of course -he doesn’t know what the purpose is.”</p> - -<p>“Could the influence be got?”</p> - -<p>“My dear Bergwyn, anything could be got in this -little kingdom of ours—at a price. I fancy his notion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span> -is that you are after a title of some sort, or some -concessions, and are ready to buy them by floating -this loan. That’s the idea in the Court too, I know. -I chuckled when I heard it—but then I know you -and they don’t.”</p> - -<p>“No. I don’t want either a title or concessions; -but I can see now the gist of certain hints thrown -out this morning. What I do want is to get to the -bottom of certain things here in the first place. -You’ve spoken freely enough about the army, are -you at liberty to talk about other matters?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I am. Fire away, ask what you like.”</p> - -<p>“What are the Court intentions about the succession?”</p> - -<p>“The Queen means to secure it for her brother—and -it’s that which has put the final touch to the army -discontent. They simply won’t have him; and yet -it’s a fact that the formal pronouncement in his -favour is actually drawn up. Some of our people -have seen the document. Of course it’s a secret; -but we’ve got friends even in the Palace itself.”</p> - -<p>“But the claims of the Prince Albrevics and his -marriage with Princess Gatrina?”</p> - -<p>“Why, of course, mere rot. The Princess stands -in the direct line of succession, but she’s a woman -and barred from the throne. Albrevics is an impossible; -everyone knows that—and a very unsavoury -impossibility too. But the Princess has or had something -of a following and they would be glad to see -her on the throne if a husband could be found who’d -be received as King. They know this at Court, and -so the plan is hatched to marry her to Albrevics and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span> -get her out of the road. It’s an infernal business, for -she’s just as good as gold. But she’s in the way of -the Court schemes and consequently is to be sacrificed. -That’s a specimen of the royal methods.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t there another scheme about here—to -marry her to the Duke Barinski?”</p> - -<p>“So you’ve heard that, eh? That’s the Russian -plan. He’s a tool of Russia and would make a pretty -puppet for them if they could succeed. But they -won’t. The army won’t have it; and what the army -decides will be done.”</p> - -<p>“You astound me,” I exclaimed in surprise at the -freedom with which he spoke. “Does everybody -know everybody else’s schemes in this extraordinary -country?”</p> - -<p>“Pretty well. I suppose it looks odd to a stranger; -but our chief talk here is conspiracy of one kind or -another. Why, even the plans of the army have been -carried to the Court; and they are so blind that they -won’t believe them. It isn’t etiquette there even to -think that anything hostile to the Court can happen.”</p> - -<p>“Are there any other plots?” I asked with a smile.</p> - -<p>“Heaps; but you’ve got hold of the three that -count for anything; and only that of the army will -come to a head. Next, please;” and he threw himself -back in his chair and laughed at my look of surprise. -After a moment he added: “There’s only one -person in all the mess I pity—the Princess Gatrina. -She may find things very ugly; although there’s not -a soul who knows about her who would do her an -injury. You’ve heard the tattle about her?”</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span>“She was kidnapped the other night; at least, so -we believe. At any rate she disappeared and no one -knew where she’d gone. There was a story that she -had been carried off by brigands; but that’s all rot, of -course. Nobody knows exactly what happened except -herself, perhaps; although I doubt if she does.”</p> - -<p>“I know,” I said, quietly.</p> - -<p>“What?” His astonishment was complete. -“The devil you do.”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to tell you. Nikolitch: as my friend, -you know, not the Colonel’s mouthpiece.”</p> - -<p>“I’m friend first, Bergwyn, mouthpiece only afterwards—and -a long way afterwards, too.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, I’m here because of the Princess;” -and I told him as briefly as I could of the adventure -in the hills and Karasch’s discovery of the part played -by Duke Barinski. I said nothing, however, of my -feelings for Gatrina, leaving him to believe merely -that I was anxious for her safety.</p> - -<p>“You’re a lucky devil, Bergwyn,” was his first -comment. “I wish I could have had such a chance -to serve her. But what an infernal scheme! What -are you going to do?”</p> - -<p>“I want the army influence to protect her in case -of trouble. Now you understand. How can I get -it?”</p> - -<p>“Tell Petrosch what you’ve told me in the first -place, and in the second, pledge yourself to negotiate -a loan for the new Government as soon as it’s well -established.”</p> - -<p>I thought a moment. “No, to the first part,” I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> -said. “That’s for ourselves alone at present. To -the second, yes, as soon as you like.”</p> - -<p>“He’s very quick. He’ll guess.”</p> - -<p>“Guess what?”</p> - -<p>He smiled significantly. “You want this Albrevics -marriage off, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“Any woman should be prevented from marrying -such a brute.”</p> - -<p>“Of course,” he replied, drily, and paused. “You -might put it on that ground; but he wouldn’t believe -it was all. We don’t deal much in platonic affection -in Servia.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care what he believes.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know him if he wouldn’t be glad to believe -a lot. The princess is very much in the way. I -told you no one wishes her any harm.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by that grave look?” I asked, -for his face was very serious.</p> - -<p>“It’s a very ugly matter. I told you what the -moderate men among us feel; but there’s the other -section to be reckoned with. If their views prevail, -it will be a clean sweep.”</p> - -<p>“A clean sweep?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; everyone connected with the Obrenovics -family will be in danger—even the Princess herself.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean....” I began, excitedly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I mean all the worst that may be in your -thoughts, Bergwyn. And neither you nor Petrosch -himself, nor anyone, might be able to save her in the -mad mood that would prevail in such a crisis. It -will be a very ugly time.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think the other section will prevail?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span>“Anything is possible in the present temper, -Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“Good God!” I exclaimed, intensely moved and -alarmed by the thoughts which this admission suggested.</p> - -<p>For a few moments we were silent.</p> - -<p>“I think I ought to tell you why I thought you -had come here,” said Nikolitch, breaking the pause. -“Do you know there’s an old—old associate of yours -here? Her name now is the Baroness von Tulken.”</p> - -<p>“She came to me this morning.”</p> - -<p>“She gave me to understand you were coming -here on her account.”</p> - -<p>I laughed. “It doesn’t amount to anything what -she says.”</p> - -<p>“No; but she talks, Bergwyn, and—well, it’s none -of my affairs,” he broke off, and looked at me as if -inviting me to speak.</p> - -<p>“Let her talk,” I answered, not accepting the invitation.</p> - -<p>“Then it isn’t anything to do with her?”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing. I’ve told you the only reason why -I’m here.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid you’ve got a devilish hard task, old -fellow. But if I can help in any way, use me. I -must go. I’ve duty on. What shall I tell Petrosch?” -and he rose.</p> - -<p>“That I want the influence, and that to get it I’ll -do that business of the loan for the new Government—but -not if there’s to be any violence in establishing -it. Prepare him in that way and arrange for me to -see him to-morrow.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span>“Take my tip and tell him your motive, Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll think it over,” I said; and after arranging to -see as much as possible of one another during my -stay in the capital we parted.</p> - -<p>After he had gone I did think it over and saw one -thing clearly enough. I must secure the help and -influence of the army at any cost; as that promised -the most effective means of protecting Gatrina.</p> - -<p>On the whole the talk with Nikolitch had the -result of restoring my confidence and raising my -hopes again. There were plenty of difficulties to be -overcome, of course; but if the army was resolved to -change the dynasty and was strong enough to force -that resolve upon the country, Gatrina’s chances in -regard to the succession were as good as dead; her -marriage with either Prince Albrevics or Duke Barinski -would be objectless, and then—well, she would -be free to choose for herself.</p> - -<p>That was all I could ask for and I awaited the -interview with Colonel Petrosch with keen anticipation.</p> - -<p>On the following morning Nikolitch came to report -that the Colonel had been suddenly called away, -however, and that he would come to see me the next -day.</p> - -<p>“Anything fresh occurred?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Something is always occurring just now, Bergwyn. -But I fancy the Colonel has really gone to -avoid the reception at the Palace to-night. He -doesn’t wish to be present himself for one thing; -and for another, I fancy he wishes you to go there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span> -without having committed yourself to us. You’re to -be tackled, of course—the show is got up for that -purpose, I suppose—and crediting you with the -blunt methods of certain Americans, he thinks you -might feel impelled to tell the truth. We don’t work -in that crude way here, you know.”</p> - -<p>I smiled. “Did you say anything about the Princess?”</p> - -<p>“Very little. I dropped a hint that you were -anxious about her safety. He made just the answer -I should have expected.”</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“That he wished to Heaven she could be induced -to leave the country.”</p> - -<p>“And so do I; but I doubt it. You’ll be at the -Palace to-night, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“I. My dear fellow, no. There’ll be no place for -small fry like me there. But I can tell you who will -be there;” and he rattled away with a lot of Court -gossip until I pulled him up.</p> - -<p>“There’s one thing I have to do to-day, Nikolitch: -perhaps you can help me. I want to satisfy myself -from outside sources that the army can do all you -think. Whom should I see?”</p> - -<p>“You must take it from us that we are united, -Bergwyn: for no one knows it. That the army, if -united, must be all powerful, you can learn from any -one anywhere. No one doubts it. Here, see these -people;” and he wrote down a number of names of -influential people in various positions.</p> - -<p>I spent the rest of the day prosecuting my inquiries; -and everywhere I went, I heard the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span> -verdict. That grave troubles were close at hand, -and that everything must turn upon the attitude of -the army. Of that no one entertained a shadow of -a doubt.</p> - -<p>Nothing in all that strange time amazed me more -than the openness with which the plans of the opposing -parties were canvassed on all sides.</p> - -<p>Everyone appeared to be agreed that a revolution -of some kind was actually impending. The attitude -of the two Great Powers concerned was matter -of free talk. Russia had been favoured under Milan; -Austrian influence had now the upper hand under -Alexander and his Queen. Austria was hopeful to -maintain the King; Russia resolved to countercheck -him and regain her former influence. The army -was speaking for the nation at large and equally opposed -to both the Powers.</p> - -<p>These aims and the possible methods of attaining -them respectively seemed to be known to all; but -nowhere, save in her immediate circle, was a good -word, nay, scarcely a civil word, used toward the -Queen. The note everywhere was one of inveterate -hostility, almost of execration. And this was the -most sinister omen of all, not only as affecting her, -but as touching Gatrina also, of whom I heard many -harsh things said.</p> - -<p>It was thus in a mood of troubled uneasiness that -I set out to attend the reception at the Palace, while -my private doubts as to how Gatrina would meet me -in my altered character added a special poignancy to -my anxiety and disquietude.</p> - -<p>I made the most strenuous efforts to hold myself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span> -well in hand and maintain complete self-restraint; -but when at length my eager eyes found her, my -heart began hammering against my ribs with quite -painful excitement, in which dread and delight were -almost equally mingled.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVII.<br /> - - -<small>THE QUEEN’S ADVOCATE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>The reception was outwardly a very brilliant affair -indeed, with multitudes of flashing lights, clever -colour effects, lavish decoration, and a prodigal -wealth of flowers, as the setting for the showy uniforms -of handsome men and the magnificent dresses -and jewels of pretty women.</p> - -<p>One’s first impression was an irresistible tribute to -the perfect æsthetic triumph which had been -achieved. But that impression was only momentary. -Knowing as I did the cloud of peril which encircled -the whole court, the scene soon appeared to me to -be rather a ghastly mockery of Fate than a bit of -beautiful realism; and I caught myself wondering how -men could caper and jest and women smile and frivol -in pretended unconsciousness of everything but the -pleasure of the hour.</p> - -<p>I recalled the chamberlain’s words of the day -before—that the whole thing was arranged in my -honour. <i>My</i> honour indeed! To kow-tow to the man -with the dollars! To bow the knee to mammon! To -fool and weedle me and dazzle me with a beautiful -farce gorgeously mounted, until I would loose the -strings of my own and my friend’s money bags, and -pour out the golden stream to enable this kind of -burlesque to be continued.</p> - -<p>Then I caught sight of Gatrina and fell into a condition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span> -of troubled anxiety and delicious anticipation -from which someone recalled me in order to present -me to their Majesties—the young King and that most -remarkable of women, Queen Draga.</p> - -<p>I am not likely to forget that moment. The King -who, in obedience to one of those impulses of his -overpowering self-will had had courage to choose -his wife from among the people and was by nature, -I believe, a capable, clever and strong man, was overshadowed -by his magnificent Queen. Beautiful she -was not; the face was too strong, too powerful, too -imperious; and although she was grace personified, -in every movement and gesture of her perfectly-framed -figure, it was by the wonderful magnetism of -her personality that she dominated all who once -yielded to the magic influence she exercised.</p> - -<p>The few words of greeting which she spoke to me, -welcoming me to Belgrade, and expressing the hope -that I liked the capital, were uttered with a charm -that made the merest commonplace phrase beautiful, -and endowed it with the point of significant meaning -of rare eloquence. At least so it all appeared to me -while my own words sounded awkward, clumsy and -crude in contrast.</p> - -<p>I was replying to a question in this way when -Gatrina approached the Queen, and I saw her look at -me and start in intense surprise; flushing first and -then turning white as the gauze dress she wore, her -eyes unable to leave my face.</p> - -<p>A few seconds passed while I went on with my -reply, rambling almost at random in my confusion -as I fought my way back to self-possession.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span>The Queen noticed something in my manner, and -I saw the expression of her wonderful eyes change -for a fleeting instant until she dropped them and -appeared not to observe my confusion.</p> - -<p>What I said I know not; but she smiled graciously -and saying that we should have another opportunity -of discussing the matter, turned to Gatrina.</p> - -<p>“I must present you to one of my favourites, Mr. -Bergwyn, the Princess Gatrina. She is most kindly -disposed to all Americans, and will tell you all about -Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>The next moment I was bowing to Gatrina and the -King and Queen, and their circle moved away leaving -us together. I mumbled some commonplace about -being charmed to have such a guide. This was for -the benefit of those within earshot about us; and -before she could reply an interruption came.</p> - -<p>Elma swept up, superbly dressed and full of confidence, -and held out her hand to me.</p> - -<p>“How do you do, Mr. Bergwyn? I am glad to -see an old friend here. How pale you look, Gatrina. -Are you ill?”</p> - -<p>“No, thank you. The room is hot.”</p> - -<p>“That is so often the cause, isn’t it?” she replied, -with flagrant and almost insolent disbelief in the excuse. -“You must be careful, dear. You are not -strong since your terrible experience recently. Do -you know of the princess’s adventure and escape, Mr. -Bergwyn?”</p> - -<p>“I have but just been presented to her, Baroness.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I thought you had met before,” she exclaimed. -“Of course, I don’t know why—but then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span> -one never does know why one makes such mistakes, -does one? Let us go and sit down. You are such an -object of attention, Mr. Bergwyn, that you’ll be positively -mobbed if we stand here. It isn’t every day we -see an American millionaire in Belgrade where we’re -all as poor as mice in churches.”</p> - -<p>She led the way to some seats, and not knowing -what else to do, we followed. She played with admirable -confidence. What she knew or guessed about that -time in the Bosnian hills, I could not tell, any more -than I could see her motive. But she seemed to -understand that she had us at a disadvantage and -made the most of it adroitly. She was resolved to -pose before Gatrina as an old friend of mine, and I -did not see how to stop her, although every word had -its barb for me.</p> - -<p>“You would be surprised, Mr. Bergwyn, and I -think you ought to be flattered, at the number of -people who wish to know you,” she said as soon as -we were seated. “The moment I said you were an -old friend of mine, I was pestered, literally pestered, -by people wanting to be introduced.”</p> - -<p>“I am here on business only, Baroness.”</p> - -<p>“Here, to-night you mean. Oh, yes, of course, I -know that. But you used to have a keen liking for -pleasure you know;” and she smiled as though she -knew a hundred secrets about me all elaborately dissipated -and disgraceful.</p> - -<p>“I did not mean to-night,” I corrected. “I meant -my visit to Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, how very stupid of me. Why, it -might have sounded as if I meant that in speaking to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span> -Gatrina you would be thinking of business.” She -laughed with a sort of malicious gaiety. “How very -stupid I am. But then, we do call you the Queen’s -Advocate, don’t we, Gatrina?”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bergwyn may misunderstand you, Baroness.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, not the least fear of that. We understand -one another perfectly, do we not, Mr. Bergwyn?”</p> - -<p>“In what way do you mean, Baroness?” I asked, -pointedly.</p> - -<p>She took up the challenge readily and laughed, -quite joyously. “Why as old friends, old and intimate -friends ought to understand one another, of -course. What else should I mean?” Deny that old -friendship to Gatrina, if you dare, was in the look -she gave me.</p> - -<p>“The seven years which have passed since we last -met, Baroness, have been the stern years of my life,” -I answered, for Gatrina’s benefit. “And in them I -have forgotten the follies of my childhood in the real -life of the world.”</p> - -<p>“What a sage you must have become!” she -laughed; but the laugh was more palpably forced -than before. “Do you know,” she added, “I am just -dying to tell you of this adventure of Gatrina’s among -the brigands. May I, Gatrina?”</p> - -<p>“No. It would not interest Mr. Bergwyn, nor -amuse me.”</p> - -<p>“That was the adventure in which the dog, Chris, -played a part; as I told you yesterday, Mr. Bergwyn. -Isn’t it an extraordinary coincidence, Gatrina, that -Mr. Bergwyn should have an immense dog, positively<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span> -an immense creature of the same name, Chris? I -declare I’ve been thinking about it ever since I left -your house;” and she turned to me with a glance. -Her audacity increased with every fresh thrust she -made.</p> - -<p>“There are many big dogs in the world, Baroness, -and not nearly enough names to go round. Thousands -of them must bear the same; and a dog is not -like us, you see, and cannot change its name.”</p> - -<p>“Yours is such a splendid creature, too,” she -said, ignoring this. “Huge, almost black, smooth-coated; -just the kind of dog you would love, -Gatrina.”</p> - -<p>“You make me curious. I must have an opportunity -of seeing it, Mr. Bergwyn,” said Gatrina, -steadily, looking at me for the first time since I had -spoken to her. She was quite calm and self-collected -now, and Elma’s interposition had served one good -purpose. It had given us both time to get over the -surprise and confusion of the meeting.</p> - -<p>“It will give me great pleasure, Princess,” I answered -gravely. I understood, of course, that she -did not intend Elma to know the truth about the hill -business.</p> - -<p>“You are feeling better again now, dear?” said -Elma, solicitously. “I am so glad. I wonder what -upset you. However, you have got over it, and that’s -the great thing. I suppose it <i>must</i> have been the heat -unless”—with a pause and a mischievous shrug of the -shoulders—“unless it was the shock of meeting Mr. -Bergwyn so unexpectedly.”</p> - -<p>“I am obliged to you for the implied compliment,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span> -Baroness. Do you think the Princess expected an -American citizen to wear a cowboy’s dress or a red -man’s war paint?” I laughed, and Gatrina joined me.</p> - -<p>“I assure you, Mr. Bergwyn, the Baroness can -make the most wonderful mistakes,” she said. “I -did not understand for the moment what she meant -about your dog; but I believe I see it now. I do, -indeed.” She was a better actress than Elma after -all, and her merry laugh now was a most natural one.</p> - -<p>“I must plead my complete mystification, I fear.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, you can both misunderstand,” said -Elma, spitefully.</p> - -<p>“I really must tell you now, Mr. Bergwyn,” declared -Gatrina; “although I said just now it would -not interest you. Elma has made it interesting and -quite amusing, although the adventure she speaks of -was very far from being amusing. You know there -are still some brigands left in the Bosnian and Herzogovinian -hills.”</p> - -<p>“Brigands?” I exclaimed in a tone of astonishment.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid we must admit it. Well, some of -them conceived the idea that if they carried me off -they would get a good ransom; and they did it. But -they did not get the ransom, for I escaped. After a -most exciting ride I was saved by a peasant with a -big dog, called Chris; and because you have a dog -of the same name, I really believe the baroness thinks -you must be a peasant in disguise of an American -millionaire. Isn’t it ingenious and clever of her?”</p> - -<p>“I did not say anything of the kind,” snapped -Elma, viciously.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span>“Of course, we have tried to let as little as possible -get known of the matter, Mr. Bergwyn, but this -delicious theory of the baroness’s has made such a -joke of it, that really I think I must tell everybody -now. Would you mind if I were to say plainly that -you are not an American gentleman but a Bosnian -peasant, and that I know that to be true because you -have a big dog called Chris? It’s such a convincing -reason, you see.”</p> - -<p>“Anything that would associate me with you, -Princess, would be a pleasure,” I returned, with a -bow and a smile, as if I were paying her a mere conventional -compliment.</p> - -<p>“You are trying to make me appear very ridiculous, -Gatrina,” exclaimed Elma, angrily.</p> - -<p>“I declare I shall tell the Queen and get her to let -us have a tableau in which I should be the maiden in -distress, and you the peasant rescuer, Mr. Bergwyn. -You could get a very picturesque dress, you know; -and I am sure you could play the part. But to make -it complete we ought to have the baroness in, because -it’s her idea; and yet I don’t see what part to give -her,” and Gatrina laughed.</p> - -<p>“I think I can offer a suggestion,” said I, deliberately. -“We could reverse the thing; and instead -of the Baroness being the one to discover the truth, -let her have planned your abduction.”</p> - -<p>Elma started, her eyes flashed with sudden anger -at me, and she changed colour.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, Baroness? You are not -well,” said Gatrina with a startled glance at me, followed -by a searching look at Elma’s white confusion.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span>“It is my turn to feel the heat,” she replied, trying -to force a laugh. “Really, Mr. Bergwyn, I shall -begin to be afraid you have some effect on the atmosphere. -First it upset Gatrina, and now me.”</p> - -<p>“You did not like my suggestion, I see. I will -withdraw it,” I answered, quietly. “Pray pardon -me.” Gatrina sat thinking hard; and I guessed I had -started the line of thought. “It is a curious thing,” -I went on, as if merely to cover the pause; “but I -have had more than one experience of the kind. I -mean where I have been in conversation with people -and suddenly, without any palpable cause, they have -been overcome—by the atmosphere.”</p> - -<p>“You must be a dangerous man,” laughed Elma, -who was quickly recovering herself.</p> - -<p>“Not dangerous, I trust, to—my friends”; and I -bowed and smiled, and gave her a look which she -understood.</p> - -<p>We were interrupted then by someone who came -from the Queen.</p> - -<p>“Her Majesty desires me to remind your Highness -that the dancing is about to commence,” he said to -Gatrina, and added to Elma, “Her Majesty desires -to speak with you at once, Baroness.”</p> - -<p>Elma rose. “I suppose I am interfering with your -business and so am ordered away,” she said with a -sneer.</p> - -<p>“Will you give me a dance, Princess?” I asked. -The moment we were alone the feeling of restraint -was revived.</p> - -<p>“It is by the Queen’s desire,” she answered, with -a shrug as she put the tips of her fingers on my arm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span> -and I led her away. It was a waltz and we danced it -in silence. At the close I did not know what she -would wish to do, and as I hesitated, she said suddenly:</p> - -<p>“I suppose we must keep up the pretence. We -are to go through into the further conservatory.” -The place was empty save for a couple of chairs making -a sort of cosy corner; and as I guessed the arrangement -was of the Queen’s making, I blessed her -for her unwitting thoughtfulness.</p> - -<p>Gatrina was very pale, and as she sat down she exclaimed -impulsively:</p> - -<p>“It is almost maddening. You might have spared -me this.”</p> - -<p>“What is maddening?”</p> - -<p>“Please not to pretend you don’t understand. -That can only make matters worse than they are.”</p> - -<p>“I understand that I wish very urgently to speak -to you; but if you would prefer another time, I will -go;” and I got up.</p> - -<p>“And so force me to give some false explanation -to the Queen of what I cannot explain truly. Thank -you.”</p> - -<p>I sat down again. “Can’t we clear the air a bit?” -I asked.</p> - -<p>“Having done this miserable thing you pretend -not to know what it is. I suppose you can see that -all this is arranged. That I was to dance with you, -make myself agreeable to you, bring you here where -we could be undisturbed, and then talk you into -carrying out this miserable loan. You can see that -surely, as clearly as you can see how successful you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span> -have been in humiliating me. You must be very glad -and proud of your success.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you.”</p> - -<p>“Then if you didn’t plan it, why didn’t you let me -know why you were coming to Belgrade? Why not -tell me who you were really? Why not give me time -and means to avoid you? Oh, it is intolerable! You -knew I was to play jackal for the Queen with the -American money-man. Elma herself told you I was -what she calls the Queen’s advocate. Ugh!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like to hear you speak of the Baroness -von Tulken by her Christian name, as if she were your -friend.”</p> - -<p>“Is it one of the conditions of your financial business -that you control the friendships of the Court of -Belgrade?”</p> - -<p>She was unreasonably angry, and, of course, -abominably unjust.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why you do me that injustice? I -could not possibly know that the Queen would intentionally -throw us together, and as for humiliation——”</p> - -<p>“You knew it yesterday. The Baroness—Elma, -told you so.” I smiled at the aggressive way in -which she paused and threw up her head as she made -the correction in the name; and the smile irritated -her to still further anger. “I dislike evasion and -pretence, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>I winced a bit under the lash of her words, and -paused; and just at that moment my memory played -me a prank. That scene at the camp when we had -our first sharp will contest leapt suddenly into my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span> -thoughts, and when her face had worn pretty much -the same resolute angry expression. Then I leaned -back in my chair and replied very deliberately:</p> - -<p>“That’s just where you’re wrong, I think. If -you knew anything about me you’d know I like evasion -and pretence and falsehood. The man who can -do a dirty unmanly trick in the dirtiest and most selfish -way is just my type; and if he can do it to a -woman—in the way I’ve done it to you, for instance—he’s -my hero. Of course, he must be a big sort of -brute; cunning, despicable, and mean; a clever beast -at getting women into a false position so that he can -enjoy a laugh to himself by making them suffer—and -the more they suffer the more he hugs himself. -You know the kind of man; you must, because from -what you’ve said about me——”</p> - -<p>“I don’t wish to hear any more about your ideals, -thank you.”</p> - -<p>“I was only filling in the details to your rough -outline. But what I want you to understand is, your -outline is right and that you have just such a brute to -deal with in me.”</p> - -<p>She did not answer for quite a time and sat tearing -to pieces nervously a leaf she had plucked from a -plant near.</p> - -<p>“I did not say anything of the kind.”</p> - -<p>“You see it’s this way,” I said, not heeding her -words. “I came to Belgrade to humiliate you, to -insult you, to trample——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t, Mr. Bergwyn,” she cried, quickly.</p> - -<p>I threw up my hands as one who is aggrieved. -“You won’t let me tell you the truth, you see. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span> -think it’s a little hard on me, anyway. A man doesn’t -get many chances of complete self-revelation; and I -was just enjoying——”</p> - -<p>She was looking straight out in front of her and -turned her head with one swift glance that stopped -my banter. I broke off and said very earnestly:</p> - -<p>“If I did not come for that purpose then I came to -serve you.”</p> - -<p>“You should not have come at all. You cannot -serve me.”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary I have already done so. I know -what you do not—the reason behind your—behind -the supposed brigand business.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“You heard what part I suggested for the Baroness -von Tulken in the tableau. She would know -how to play the part to the life.”</p> - -<p>She sat up suddenly and faced me, her features -flushed and her eyes eager.</p> - -<p>“How do you think you know this?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think. I know. The scheme was laid -here in Belgrade, and the men who carried it out -were hired and paid by the Duke Barinski. I can -produce the men who will identify him.”</p> - -<p>“It can’t be. How did you learn it?”</p> - -<p>“Money; and the aid of a staunch friend of yours.”</p> - -<p>“A friend of mine?”</p> - -<p>“Karasch.”</p> - -<p>“Karasch? Karasch.” She repeated the name in -a tone of reminiscence, very gentle and low, and -putting her hand to her eyes sat back as if in dismay -or pleasure at the associations connected with it. But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span> -a moment afterwards the emotion, whether pleasure -or pain, passed, and her face, as she took her hand -from it and sat up again, was colder and sterner than -I had ever seen it.</p> - -<p>“And you connect the Baroness with this?”</p> - -<p>“I do, and can prove it.” Her eyes hardened and -her lip curled.</p> - -<p>“I congratulate you upon your manliness, Mr. -Bergwyn. I know the real reason for your presence -in Belgrade; the Baroness told me that: your old and -intimate friend whom you are now maligning in this -chivalrous way.”</p> - -<p>And then I knew that Elma had, indeed, been talking -about that old time; and I understood many -things; amongst them the mess of mischief she had -brewed for me.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> - - -<small>A DECLARATION OF WAR.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>The position was so full of ludicrous absurdity owing -to the monstrous distortion of my motives, and -yet so embarrassing in my inability to explain things -without going into the whole matter of my past relations -with Elma, that I did not know whether to -laugh at the absurdity or be angry at the injustice. -I was angry and yet I wanted to laugh; but that did -not help me to find a reply to Gatrina’s scornfully delivered -indictment.</p> - -<p>My silence and apparent confusion made the -matter worse. Every second that I hesitated seemed -to increase her indignation; and I could not help -perceiving that my influence was running down so -fast that it would soon be many degrees below zero.</p> - -<p>My first attempt to remedy the matter was -unfortunate.</p> - -<p>“We have got suddenly on to very delicate -ground, Princess, but I can only say that I did not -know the Baroness was in Belgrade when I resolved -to come here.”</p> - -<p>“That means that you give the lie to a woman -behind her back, Mr. Bergwyn; and that woman my -friend and also an old friend of yours.” Cold, contemptuous -and cutting in every syllable, her words -hurt me to the quick.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span>“Pardon me, you must not twist my words. I am -telling you no more than the truth and no less. If -the Baroness told you——”</p> - -<p>“<i>If?</i>” she broke in, indignantly. “Then it is <i>my</i> -word you question.”</p> - -<p>“No; that again has never entered my thoughts. -The shortest plan will be for me to go in search of -the Baroness and bring her here that this may be explained.”</p> - -<p>“There is no need, thank you. It is not sufficiently -important.”</p> - -<p>“Will you tell me what she said?”</p> - -<p>“No, Mr. Bergwyn, I am not a talebearer,” she -answered with a quick shrug of the shoulders.</p> - -<p>“You allow other people to carry tales to you. -But that perhaps is your interpretation of consistency. -Do you believe what I told you?”</p> - -<p>“Shall we change the subject, Mr. Bergwyn? I -hope your impressions of Belgrade, so far as the -scenery is concerned, have been pleasant.” Her assumption -of courtesy was excellent.</p> - -<p>“Do you believe what I told you that I came here -without knowing of the presence of the Baroness von -Tulken?”</p> - -<p>“The views from the higher grounds are considered -to be among the finest in Europe. Have you -seen them?”</p> - -<p>I rose from my seat. “I will fetch the Baroness,” -I said, bluntly.</p> - -<p>She paused, got up, and looking straight at me, -said icily:</p> - -<p>“Can you not find some other opportunity to tell -her what to say?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span>I caught my breath with the pain of this and bit -my lip as I gripped the back of my chair tightly. I -think she must have seen something of what I suffered -in that moment. Then I bowed.</p> - -<p>“I have no answer to that, Princess. I shall leave -Belgrade to-night for good. Of that you may now -rest assured. Shall I take you back to the ballroom?”</p> - -<p>But instead of placing her hand on the arm I -offered, she sat down again and turned her face away -from me. I stood a few moments in some hesitation -and then said: “I bid you farewell, Princess;” and -walked away.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bergwyn,” she called, when I had taken -some half dozen paces. I stopped and turned. “I -wish to speak to you.” She spoke without looking -at me. I retraced my steps and stood by my former -seat. Some moments of tense silence followed.</p> - -<p>I broke the silence. “This has become very embarrassing -to me, Princess; but I have decided upon -my course. There are some things I have to tell you, -but with your permission I will write them and send -them by Karasch whom you can question as to the -truth of that part of them which he knows. I recognise -now the mistake I made in coming to the -capital, and I will remedy it at once. I can easily -find a pretext for my sudden departure.”</p> - -<p>“No. You must not go. Please, sit down. Don’t -you understand that we are probably being watched, -although not overheard.”</p> - -<p>I resumed my seat then; and again we were silent.</p> - -<p>“You are angry at what I said?” she asked at -length.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span>“No. It was much too terrible to cause mere -anger.”</p> - -<p>“I did not wish to give you pain.” Her face was -still averted from me, and when I did not reply, she -turned and looked swiftly at me. “I was angry but -I—I did not mean it, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“I am very glad to hear that. Shall we leave it -there?”</p> - -<p>“You wish to humble me and force me to say that -I am ashamed of the words?”</p> - -<p>“God forbid I should have such a thought. But -you appear so incapable of doing me anything but -injustice.”</p> - -<p>“I am not; but the position is so impossible.”</p> - -<p>“Only if you make it so.”</p> - -<p>“I want to believe in you, but—” she threw up her -hands and sighed.</p> - -<p>“If you would do so, it would make all the difference.”</p> - -<p>“I am in such sore trouble that you cannot understand.”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, I think I know more of the -trouble than you yourself. I know the motive of -the Queen in regard to your marriage with Prince -Albrevics.”</p> - -<p>She started with sudden agitation. “You, a -stranger to Servia, have heard that. Tell me.”</p> - -<p>“The Prince is impossible as a ruler for the country; -not a hundred men in the country would bear -with him on the throne; and in that case your own -claim would be sacrificed. She would have you -make the marriage for that reason—that her own<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span> -plans in regard to her brother’s succession may be -helped.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is what they have told me. It has -come like a terrible and sudden blow. How did -you hear it?”</p> - -<p>“Not from one source only, but several. It is the -common knowledge of those who understand these -things.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot believe it; I cannot. She is goodness -itself to me, and has always been my friend. To me -more than a sister; and I love her and trust her as -one. I cannot believe it!” Her distress and pain -as she spoke were intense. “They tell me that even -now she and the King are prepared with the proclamation -in favour of her brother, and only wait -for my marriage to issue it. But it cannot be true.”</p> - -<p>“I only tell you what I am assured is true.”</p> - -<p>“What am I to do? Whom can I trust if not -the best friend I have ever had?” She spoke almost -wildly in her agitation.</p> - -<p>“If as you think we are being observed, Princess, -may I counsel you to shew less feeling and excitement? -Let me speak while you collect yourself. You -must face the position calmly, for there is yet another -danger that threatens you. There is a scheme -to marry you to the Duke Barinski——”</p> - -<p>“You know of that, too!” she interposed. “How -do you learn all these secrets?”</p> - -<p>“Let me put a question to you,” I said, as a -thought occurred to me. “Who told you of the -Queen’s intentions in regard to Prince Albrevics?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot tell you that.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span>“Then I will tell you. It was the Baroness von -Tulken.” There was no need for her to say in words -that my guess was right. Her start and glance did -that.</p> - -<p>“I am almost afraid of you,” she said.</p> - -<p>“I don’t wish that; but I would rather have fear -than mistrust. These things have been told to me -plainly by those who seek to get the money I am able -to control. It was only a guess that the Baroness -had told you; and I will give you her motive. She -desires to influence you to marry the Duke Barinski -under the pretence that the marriage would reconcile -the rival interests of the two contending families, and, -having Russia behind it, would render the throne -secure.”</p> - -<p>Her surprise at my knowledge of these things -was so great that it appeared to dwarf the significance -of the news itself.</p> - -<p>“It is wonderful,” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“The wonder is rather that while so many people -know of all this, you yourself have remained ignorant -of it so long. Can you bear that I tell you still -more?”</p> - -<p>“Is there more to tell? I am already filled with -amazement.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know the intentions of the army leaders? -I mean so far as they affect you?”</p> - -<p>“Affect me, Mr. Bergwyn? They cannot affect me.”</p> - -<p>“Your eyes and ears have been dulled by the conditions -and restrictions of the Court life. What I tell -you is now for your hearing alone. The army will -declare against the family of which you are a member,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span> -and will change the succession to the Throne. -When that moment comes it will be fraught with -peril to you in common with all the Obrenovics.”</p> - -<p>“No, no, the army is loyal. I have heard whispers -of some such treachery; but there is no ground for -them.”</p> - -<p>“That I know is the Court view—mine is the true -one.” I spoke as deliberately and impressively as I -could.</p> - -<p>“This very question has been discussed at the -Palace within the last few days, a warning to the -same effect was conveyed to the King and Queen; -but they have made wide and searching inquiries; -and we know there is no ground whatever to doubt -the army’s loyalty. You have been misinformed.”</p> - -<p>“If there were any reason to doubt it, I should not -speak positively, Princess; but there is none.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you wish to frighten me?”</p> - -<p>“I wish only that you shall know the truth.”</p> - -<p>“But if all you say were true, do you realise what -my position would be and what my duty would be?”</p> - -<p>“It is because I realise the peril that encircles you -that I speak so plainly. All the parties concerned—the -Court, the army and the Russian—are struggling -for their own objects; and however that struggle may -end, you stand to lose all. If the Court wins, you will -be set aside; if the Russian, you might gain the throne -for a while, but the country would be convulsed by -a revolution; if the army win, then as a possible -Obrenovic claimant to the Throne, you would be -an obstacle in their path and can judge what your -position might then be.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span>She sat thinking intently. “If you are right, then -there is no one about me whom I can trust,” she -said, slowly. “Everything is a sham and everyone -I have believed in false. Do you wish me to think -this?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know all those whom you trust; but -that you need someone to advise you in such a crisis -is but too clear.”</p> - -<p>“You think I am helpless because I am a girl, I -suppose?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t let us slur this thing with personal consideration. -It is far too grave, Princess. Of the -Queen’s intentions I can give you no proofs; but of -the other dangers, I believe I can. Will you let me -try? Can you bring yourself to be at my house to-morrow -at midday?”</p> - -<p>She looked at me in blank astonishment at the suggestion.</p> - -<p>“You can bring with you anyone who is in your -confidence. It is open to you as one in the Queen’s -confidence to leave a card upon me. That will serve -as an excuse, if you do not consider the issues too -grave to be subject to any mere conventions. I do.”</p> - -<p>“If it were anyone else who proposed such a -thing——”</p> - -<p>“But it is not,” I interposed; “so don’t refuse at -once. If you do not come you can send me word.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, I trust you,” she said with the old -simple directness, to my intense delight. “But there -are so many reasons——”</p> - -<p>She paused. “I know that,” I replied. “But believe -me they are nothing compared with those which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span> -should weigh with you. I shall hope to get you -proofs of the army’s intentions.”</p> - -<p>“How?”</p> - -<p>“You must leave that to my contriving.” At that -moment I became aware that someone was coming -quickly toward us through the conservatory between -us and the ballroom. “Someone is coming. Take -no notice,” I whispered rapidly, and then in a loud -tone: “I shall carefully consider all you have said, -Princess, and thank you for your patience with me.”</p> - -<p>“This is the rare palm, Prince. Oh, someone is -here.” It was Elma’s voice, and she added with -gentle spite: “Why, it is Gatrina and Mr. Bergwyn. -I thought you had gone an hour ago. I am so sorry -to intrude. Come, Prince, let us go back. We are -in the way.”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least, Baroness,” I answered. I had -risen and saw that her companion was Prince Albrevics, -and further that he was partially intoxicated.</p> - -<p>“I have been looking for you everywhere, -Gatrina,” he said in a surly tone, his voice a little -thick and unsteady with liquor.</p> - -<p>“I have been here by the Queen’s desire,” she replied.</p> - -<p>“Then you’ve been long enough, and can come -away by mine.”</p> - -<p>He had been a handsome man in his day, and his -figure still retained something of soldierly strength -and uprightness. But the features had the heavy, -sodden look of dissipation.</p> - -<p>“We have finished our conference, I think, Mr. -Bergwyn?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span>“How very fortunate we just timed our coming -not to disturb them, Prince, wasn’t it?” said Elma, -with a sweet, significant smile.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think we have finished, Princess;” and -with a bow to me she put her arm on his and went -away.</p> - -<p>Elma laughed loudly enough for all to hear; and -when I turned to her she met my look with a glance -of studied defiance.</p> - -<p>“You must be careful of him, Mr. Bergwyn. He -is a very jealous man, passionately devoted to -Gatrina and—one of the only real swordsmen in -Servia.”</p> - -<p>“Will you sit down a moment. I have something -to say.”</p> - -<p>“Shall I take dear Gatrina’s place? Do you really -think I am worthy to fill it?” she asked in spiteful -banter.</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t,” I answered, brutally. I couldn’t -help it in my vexation. “But I wish to speak to -you alone.”</p> - -<p>“Just like old times, isn’t it?” She laughed, as -she settled herself comfortably in the chair and -looked smilingly at me, as though we were about -to have a chat on the terms of the most confidential -friendship. As I did not speak at once, she affected -nervousness and said with a pout: “You look dreadfully -stern. If you are going to be disagreeable, I -shall not stay. I want you to be like your old self.”</p> - -<p>“I am going to say something that should please -you.”</p> - -<p>“At last? Oh, that will be delightful,” she exclaimed,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span> -rapturously; but her eyes were full of doubt, -surprise and suspicion. “You have not said a single -nice thing to me since you came.”</p> - -<p>“But before I say it, let me request you not to -make any incorrect statement as to the reasons for -my coming to Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Incorrect? What have I said that is incorrect?” -she cried with innocent surprise.</p> - -<p>“That I came, not on business, but to see you.”</p> - -<p>“I only told Gatrina,” she said, laughing coquettishly, -as though she had the right to tell the world -if she pleased; and then added with significant insinuation: -“You must have got very intimate with -her if she told you my secrets. I’m afraid I shall -really have to warn the Queen that you are a dangerous -man for her advocate to be on such confidential -terms with.”</p> - -<p>“I am not discussing that. I am merely asking -you not to repeat that statement to anyone.”</p> - -<p>“But isn’t it true?”</p> - -<p>“No. And you know it is not,” I replied bluntly.</p> - -<p>“Then I am lost in amazement. You certainly did -not come on the business of the loan; you are much -to shrewd for that. And if you didn’t come to see -me, whom did you come to see?” A most excellent -assumption of surprise veiled this thrust.</p> - -<p>“I came as an American financier, Baroness, looking -after my own interests.”</p> - -<p>But she laughed and shook her finger at me. “Fie, -Mr. Bergwyn, fie. I did not look to you, the apostle -of stolid truth, for such a statement.” Then with a -change to reflective seriousness. “If it was not for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span> -me, then it must have been for Gatrina. That’s -why I told her what I did and gave her a peep, just -a little peep, into the past. But I have not shewn -her your letters—yet. Not one of them; not even -the least impressive of them. I could not do that; -they are all sacred in my eyes. My most precious possessions.”</p> - -<p>“What is your object in all this—this burlesque?”</p> - -<p>“Reduced to plain direct questions are you now? -But don’t you think you could answer that yourself? -I’ll give you one answer. I want you on my side and -I don’t intend, if I can help it, to let the Queen’s advocate -win you over for the Queen. No, I don’t; -although she has the advantage of having been rescued -by you. You needn’t try and look as if that -were not true; because it is, and I know that it is. -And if you think a moment you will see what a -service I am rendering her in letting people think -you came here for my sake. Think of the scandal it -would cause if it were known that you, the American -man of millions, had rescued her and then followed -her to Belgrade. It would ruin her—and people are -very particular about reputations in this Court. The -Queen is obliged to be on account of her own past.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you know how the Princess came to be -in need of a rescuer?”</p> - -<p>She laughed again lightly. I was growing to hate -her laughter.</p> - -<p>“Of course I do, seeing that Duke Barinski and I -planned it all. The marriage with him would have -taken place in Maglai, if she had not, most unfortunately -for us, escaped.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span>“You are very frank.”</p> - -<p>“Why not. You have probably told her already -that that brigand story was a fable and that we were -at the bottom of it all. You shewed me you knew -it all, this evening; and I don’t think so poorly of -you as to dream you had not got proofs which satisfied -you. I know what money can do in Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“Russian money, you mean.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Russian money, or any other,” she returned, -parrying my thrust with the lightest air of -indifference.</p> - -<p>“It has not bought the support of the army for -this Russian scheme of yours.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I heard that Colonel Petrosch’s jackal, Captain -Nikolitch, had been closeted with you.”</p> - -<p>“You take a deep concern in my movements.”</p> - -<p>“I feel a deep interest in all that affects you. But -you know that. Besides, it is my business to learn -things. We have many agents, and Belgrade is only -a small place.”</p> - -<p>“Agents?” I said hastily.</p> - -<p>“Agents or spies. I will call them spies, if you -prefer. The point is that we have them—everywhere. -I am one if you like. They form one of the main institutions -of government in the Balkans. And in the -Servian army they abound in all ranks and all regiments.”</p> - -<p>“Whatever I have thought of you I have never -pictured you as a Russian spy.”</p> - -<p>She bit her lip and clenched her hands and her -cheek flushed.</p> - -<p>“It is very easy for a millionaire to sneer,” she retorted,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span> -speaking deliberately; then with rising passion, -she continued: “What would you have had -me do? God knows I had little enough choice. I -was an adventuress, living on my wits; a cheat if you -will to keep my mother and myself from the gutter. -Then I was detected; and wherever I looked, the -finger of contempt met me. What chance had I? I -took the only thing that offered—a husband; my -looks, as I thought, gave me that; and I found him—what? -A Russian spy. But it was not my looks -he sought but my brains, my courage, my recklessness. -I could do the work, and do it well; and -when he died I was in too deeply to withdraw.”</p> - -<p>She paused and her bosom laboured with her -vehemence.</p> - -<p>“No, I won’t pretend—to you. I could have withdrawn, -of course, had I wished. But I did not, for -it gave me not only all that a woman is supposed to -care for, dress, money, and influence; but also what -a woman is not supposed to crave—power. I was -feared; and it is by fear I stand where I do. I could -have married again, not once but a dozen times; I -have been wooed until men cried that I was ice. And -to them I was. What were men or marriage to me? -I had tried marriage; and as for my heart, it lay in my -breast like a dead thing—for the sake of the past.”</p> - -<p>She looked searchingly at me as I made no reply.</p> - -<p>“I am not acting now. I was when I first came -to you yesterday; hoping or fearing I know not which -or what. I have had to learn to act to play any part -at will. To fawn, to coquet, to jest, to lure, to lie, -to appear false when I was true, and true when I was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span> -false. A spy must learn these things—they are the -tricks of the life. But I will not lie to you. That I -promise you. I have told you all plainly that you -may know me for what I am.”</p> - -<p>I had risen in the hope of stopping her. “I beg -you to say no more,” I said.</p> - -<p>“I have not quite finished. Please sit again. I -have to speak of you and Gatrina—the Queen’s advocate.”</p> - -<p>“I would rather you say nothing.”</p> - -<p>“I have a purpose in telling you the truth. You -have to take a side either with or against me. If -you are against me, I will fight you fairly—but I will -use every weapon I have. I know that you came -here to follow Gatrina; I know that you saved her; -my instinct tells me why you followed her—and I -tell you bluntly, she can be nothing to you.”</p> - -<p>“I neither accept nor deny any conclusions you -draw,” I said, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“I need no confirmation from you. I have questioned -Gatrina. I knew how it was with her before -you came; and when I left your house yesterday, -your dog gave me the clue to everything. We have -agents even in Samac and Poabja, Mr. Bergwyn; and -when your man Karasch was traced to your house—after -a week spent in inquiries here in Belgrade—the -rest was easy. The telegraph runs to Samac; and -Poabja is but a short hour’s ride from there.”</p> - -<p>“Why are you so bitter against the Princess?”</p> - -<p>“I am not bitter against her—unless you force me. -She must act in the Russian interest—that means -she must marry Duke Barinski. But I have other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span> -motives, private and personal, far stronger than -those of policy, that make me tell you you must not -and shall not think of her.”</p> - -<p>“And what do you seek from me?”</p> - -<p>“You may join with us in effecting that marriage, -or you may not, as you please. But what you must -do is to convince Gatrina beyond question that your -coming here has no connection whatever with what -passed at the time you rescued her. I have prepared -the way for that.”</p> - -<p>“You are very thoughtful, no doubt, but I don’t -understand you.”</p> - -<p>“I have told her that once we were betrothed and -that you have come here in search of me. You can -confirm that.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“By renewing the old relations—for the time—and -making the matter public.”</p> - -<p>“You want me to act that lie in order to deceive -her?”</p> - -<p>“To convince her of the necessity of marrying the -Duke Barinski.”</p> - -<p>I had to clench my teeth to keep my indignation -under.</p> - -<p>“I will not do it,” I said, clipping the words short.</p> - -<p>“Then we are to fight, Mr. Bergwyn,” she said, -as she rose. “I shall find other means and take -further steps. I shall poison her against you, if I -have to shew her your letters in proof of what I told -her. Will you give me your arm? I am sorry you -make me your enemy and hers—it may mean danger -for her.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span>“We will see,” I replied; and having led her back -to the ballroom I got away from the Palace as soon -as I could, to think over the latest and most strange -development of the situation.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIX.<br /> - - -<small>PRINCE ALBREVICS.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>When I came to think over that promise to -Gatrina, to furnish proofs of the army’s intentions, -I felt I had sawn off a log which I might find too -big to haul. And the thought made me considerably -uneasy.</p> - -<p>I had given the pledge in a moment of excitement; -and now that I was cool, the difficulty of keeping -it looked very formidable indeed.</p> - -<p>It troubled me a good deal more than the frank -declaration of war from Elma—although that promised -quite sufficient embarrassments of its own. That -she would keep her word I had no doubt; and I -might gamble on it that she would do her worst.</p> - -<p>Yet in one respect it cleared my course. There -was no longer any sort of use in finessing with the -Russian party. Elma knew too much for me to -think of being able to deceive her; while her preposterous -condition that there should be a sham -renewal of our old engagement was too repugnant -and preposterous to be entertained for an instant.</p> - -<p>Neither was there any thought of coquetting with -the Court. That involved apparent acquiescence in -the scheme for Gatrina’s marriage; the very thing -I was firmly bent upon stopping at any cost.</p> - -<p>I was thus confirmed in my decision of the previous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span> -day to secure the influence of the army, and to trust -to that to carry me through. But it was just in that -respect I had increased my difficulties by the pledge -to Gatrina. I could only keep it by getting Colonel -Petrosch to back up my statement to her; and here -was the trouble.</p> - -<p>I recalled Nikolitch’s advice to speak plainly to the -Colonel about Gatrina; but it was the one subject of -all others which I was altogether disinclined to discuss -with him.</p> - -<p>And the disinclination was strengthened when he -and Nikolitch arrived; for he looked about the last -individual in the world whom I would have chosen -for a confidence of the kind.</p> - -<p>His appearance impressed me mainly with a sense -of cold, inflexible, unsympathetic strength and capacity. -He was a hatchet-headed man in the fifties, with -a long, narrow, keen, undemonstrative face; one of -those straight, thin-lipped mouths which seem intended -for the close guardianship of secrets; and an -abnormally long heavy chin which suggested resolute -purpose, dogged persistence and perhaps cruelty; -while his piercing, hard, close-set eyes tended to confirm -this suggestion of cruelty. Altogether he was -capable of being an ugly enemy.</p> - -<p>He was sparing of words in the interview; and -whatever he had guessed as to the real motives of -my presence in Belgrade he was careful to let no -hint of it appear; and he went straight to the pith -of our meeting.</p> - -<p>He expressed great pleasures in seeing me, gave -Nikolitch a word of praise for his share in having<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span> -brought the meeting about, said he understood I -wished to secure the influence of the army in certain -eventualities, and then asked me point blank whether -I meant to help the existing Government financially.</p> - -<p>I answered guardedly that I was not as yet satisfied -of the present stability of things, but that when there -was a really stable Government I should be prepared -to guarantee a loan.</p> - -<p>“Would you regard as sufficiently stable a new -Government having the united army at its back?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, if founded without violence and commanding -the support of the country.”</p> - -<p>He thought this over a moment. “It is all we can -ask,” he said. “Will you put that in writing, Mr. -Bergwyn?”</p> - -<p>I assented, and he immediately placed materials -before me and waited in silence while I wrote out an -undertaking on the lines I had indicated. This I read -aloud to him, and he marked every word, suggesting -one or two trifling alterations. I made these and then -held the paper ready to hand to him. I did this to -convince him I was earnest; and then I opened up -the other matter.</p> - -<p>“If I give you this it amounts to a pledge that -I take the side of the army, Colonel Petrosch. What -am I to receive in exchange?”</p> - -<p>“I do not think I understand you.”</p> - -<p>“You are gaining much by this agreement—the -assurance that the financial help required by the -Government will not be found by me. To be candid -I want something in return.”</p> - -<p>“Whatever the committee of officers can in fairness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span> -pledge the new Government to do, they will—but -you will be able to make your terms then.”</p> - -<p>“I want the assistance of your party now.”</p> - -<p>“In what way?”</p> - -<p>“My friend Nikolitch has told you I am especially -concerned for the safety of the Princess Gatrina.”</p> - -<p>“Yes.” Not the ghost of a feeling even of interest -did he shew.</p> - -<p>“I wish to be assured of her safety.”</p> - -<p>“There can be no difficulty in giving such an assurance,” -he answered after a moment’s thought. -“So far as I am personally concerned I would do my -utmost. But you have some further question to put, -I see.”</p> - -<p>“She is, I think, coming here to-day. I wish her -to be convinced of the feeling of the army, and that -the officers are unanimously resolved upon their -course of action.”</p> - -<p>There was a pause, and I saw Nikolitch glance at -me in astonishment and from me to the Colonel.</p> - -<p>“This is a very grave request, Mr. Bergwyn,” said -Petrosch slowly. “Do you realise that you are asking -me, one of the leaders of the army, to reveal our -intentions to one of the Queen’s closest friends?”</p> - -<p>“You are gaining much from this—” and I held -up the paper—“I am gaining nothing.”</p> - -<p>“I fear I cannot do it, Mr. Bergwyn,” he said, reluctantly. -“I might be very gravely compromised, -to say nothing of the risk to be run.”</p> - -<p>“What risk?”</p> - -<p>“That the news would be carried straight to the -Queen.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span>“It has been carried already,” I said.</p> - -<p>“How do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“I was at the Palace last night and I heard from -one who has ample means of knowledge, that the -plans of the army had been divulged to the Court, -and that diligent inquiries had been made in consequence. -That risk is therefore nothing.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean there are traitors amongst us?”</p> - -<p>“I deem it extremely probable,” I said, drily.</p> - -<p>“I cannot think where?” he declared after a -pause.</p> - -<p>“Is it the practice of traitors to advertise themselves?”</p> - -<p>“This is very grave news—very grave, indeed.”</p> - -<p>“Not perhaps so grave as you think—for the result -of the inquiries made was to satisfy the Court of -the loyalty of the army as a whole.”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t talk just for talk’s sake, Colonel.”</p> - -<p>“But it would be very different if I myself were -to see the Princess. No, I fear I cannot do that.”</p> - -<p>“Very well. Then I’ll tear up this paper and we’ll -call the matter off.”</p> - -<p>“You are asking too much of me, Mr. Bergwyn. -I must have time to consult others.”</p> - -<p>“I never change my terms, Colonel Petrosch. -You decide yes or no, right now, or I must seek other -means.”</p> - -<p>He leant back in dire perplexity.</p> - -<p>“You would disclose no plans, merely give proofs -that the feeling of the army is solid; and what you -said would be received under a pledge of confidence.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[268]</span>“What is your object?”</p> - -<p>“My sole purpose in coming to Belgrade is to -secure her safety, Colonel; and you can therefore -judge how far I am prepared to go.”</p> - -<p>“The Princess is one of our grave embarrassments, -Mr. Bergwyn. If anything I could say would -enable you to influence her to leave Belgrade for a -time, it would be different.”</p> - -<p>“I have little influence, I fear.”</p> - -<p>He threw up his hands and shook his head, and -was silent.</p> - -<p>During the pause Buller brought me a card. It -was Gatrina’s. She had come after all.</p> - -<p>“The Princess is here, Colonel, and with your -leave I will go to her. I’ll send my man in ten minutes, -and you can say just yes or no.”</p> - -<p>“You will secure the pledge of secrecy?”</p> - -<p>“Otherwise I will not ask you to say a word.”</p> - -<p>It looked as if I were going to win, after all, and -I felt in a confident mood as I hurried to Gatrina, -giving Buller his instructions on the way.</p> - -<p>An elderly woman was with her, at whom I glanced -with little interest as the name, the Countess Vashti, -was mentioned.</p> - -<p>Gatrina met me with a stiff ceremonious bow; and -her voice was cold and hard. But her eyes were full -of trouble.</p> - -<p>“We come by the Queen’s desire, Mr. Bergwyn, to -bid you a formal welcome to Belgrade on her and -His Majesty’s behalf,” she said, formally and distantly.</p> - -<p>I expressed my gratification in equally formal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[269]</span> -terms; and we sat talking generalities, about the -Capital, the ball of the previous night, and so on; -just commonplace surface chatter, until Buller entered -and gave me a slip of paper with the one word -“Yes” written upon it. I had won; and after a little -more make-weight twaddle for the benefit of the -Countess Vashti, I got to the pith of things.</p> - -<p>“There are some points arising out of our conversation -at the Palace, last night, Princess, which have -occurred to me, and I should be glad of an opportunity -of discussing them with you privately.”</p> - -<p>“Her Majesty’s object in desiring me to see you -to-day, Mr. Bergwyn, was that I should speak with -you privately if you desired it.” As she said this she -glanced at the companion, who bowed acquiescence.</p> - -<p>I rose at once and giving the old lady a bundle of -papers I led Gatrina to another room.</p> - -<p>“I told you last night that I would endeavour to -give you proofs of what I said. As to the aim of the -Russian party there is no need for proof; the Baroness -herself last night admitted to me that she had -instigated your abduction; that you were to have -been taken to Maglai; and that when there your marriage -with Duke Barinski was to be forced upon -you.”</p> - -<p>“She has said almost as much to me to-day—among -other things,” was her reply, very coldly -spoken. I could guess at the “other things,” but -there was no time then to enter upon any defence.</p> - -<p>“As to the power and feeling of the army I can -prove my words. Colonel Petrosch is here and he -will himself convince you. Will you come to him?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[270]</span>“It seems incredible. How have you prevailed -upon him to speak of this to me?”</p> - -<p>“Does that matter, so long as he does speak?”</p> - -<p>“I shall be at liberty to report what he may say?”</p> - -<p>“No, certainly not. It is for your ears only. You -asked for the proofs of what I said. I offer it to you; -but it must, of course, be under a pledge of secrecy.”</p> - -<p>She hesitated in anxious perplexity. “I will see -him. I can at any rate act upon any knowledge so -gained.”</p> - -<p>“It is for that object I wish you to be convinced.”</p> - -<p>We went then to the room where I had left the -Colonel and Nikolitch, and both men rose and bowed -to Gatrina as we entered, the Colonel stiffly, Nikolitch -with unmistakable interest.</p> - -<p>“Time is pressing and the interview need not take -long,” I said. “What I wish is that you will convince -the Princess Gatrina as you have convinced -me, Colonel Petrosch, of the intentions of the officers -for whom you speak so far as they affect her.”</p> - -<p>Gatrina sat down and looked at him very closely.</p> - -<p>The Colonel on his side was not without embarrassment -as to how to begin. At length he said: -“The Princess will, no doubt, be aware that the -family of which she is a member has incurred the extreme -hostility of the army. And what I said to you -before, Mr. Bergwyn, I repeat now—if the Princess -consults her safety and interests she will leave the -country at once.”</p> - -<p>Gatrina’s lip curled. “And if she does not consult -either by adopting a course which she would -consider cowardly and consent to be frightened away, -what then?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[271]</span>Antagonism and disbelief inspired the reply: -the antagonism founded upon the Court view of the -army’s attitude; the disbelief proceeding from her -own private feelings. Nikolitch pulled his moustache -and glanced at her with a mixture of admiration and -concern; while the grim old Colonel shrugged his -shoulders.</p> - -<p>“I should apologise, Princess. I am not your -Highness’s adviser, nor had I any right to assume -such a position.”</p> - -<p>“Is this all you have brought me to hear, Mr. -Bergwyn?” she asked, with scarcely veiled disdain.</p> - -<p>“No. I wish you to be convinced on two points—that -the army is united and must be the deciding -force in the present crisis; and that it is against your -chance of succession to the Throne. Colonel Petrosch -can speak with authority on both—if he will.”</p> - -<p>“On both those points I can speak absolutely,” -he replied; and very succinctly and clearly he made -good his case as to the unanimity of the great majority -of the regiments. That he succeeded in impressing -her deeply was plain.</p> - -<p>“And as to myself?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“I much regret to have to say the army would -not consent to serve under your Highness, or any -member of your family,” he answered, decision in -every syllable.</p> - -<p>The gravity of the words appealed to us all.</p> - -<p>Gatrina paused. “Any member of my family, -Colonel Petrosch?” she repeated. “That would include -His Majesty himself.”</p> - -<p>“Madam, I have spoken under pressure; but my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[272]</span> -words stand and are not to be recalled,” he declared. -“I speak not alone for myself, but for the entire -committee of officers.”</p> - -<p>“Your words are full of dangerous insinuations. -What do you mean to imply?”</p> - -<p>“I can add little to what I have said. The plans -of the army have been much canvassed in the Court -and elsewhere, and much misunderstood. But they -have been decided upon; although, of course, that -decision is secret.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you tell me this?” she asked quickly.</p> - -<p>“At Mr. Bergwyn’s desire.”</p> - -<p>“And why?”</p> - -<p>“Your pardon; that is a question to be put to -him.”</p> - -<p>I got up to end the interview; and after a moment -Gatrina arose also, and with a bow to the two men -went out with me. We returned to the room where -we had been alone.</p> - -<p>“I have kept my word. I trust you are convinced,” -I said.</p> - -<p>“I am bewildered. I don’t know whether to take -it seriously and be gravely alarmed, or to scoff at the -whole thing.”</p> - -<p>“I think you must take it very seriously.”</p> - -<p>“But it means that the officers are all but in open -revolt against the Throne, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“You know the many reports to the same effect, -all quite openly canvassed.”</p> - -<p>“How have you influenced Colonel Petrosch to -speak in this way to me?”</p> - -<p>“It must be enough that he has so spoken. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[273]</span> -question does not touch that of your decision as to -your own action.”</p> - -<p>“Do you counsel me to run away, then?” she -cried, indignantly and almost contemptuously.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid I have no influence with you.”</p> - -<p>“No. That is true—now.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you emphasise that word in particular—now?”</p> - -<p>She disregarded the question, but after thinking -earnestly for a few seconds, her brows knitted and -her face intensely serious, she said: “The one -serious thing is the statement that the regiments are -now unanimous. Do you believe that?”</p> - -<p>“I have not the shadow of a doubt.”</p> - -<p>“Why are you so set upon frightening me?”</p> - -<p>“You asked me that last night. I told you I have -no such wish; I desire only that you shall know the -truth.”</p> - -<p>“I shall not leave my country, Mr. Bergwyn—even -if all this be true. Nothing shall make me do -that.”</p> - -<p>“I feared that would be your decision.”</p> - -<p>“You hoped I should be a coward then! Thank -you.”</p> - -<p>“That is not how I should describe my thoughts; -but phrases are not of much consequence where -things themselves are so grave.”</p> - -<p>“If what this Colonel insinuates be true, the Queen -herself would be in trouble and even in danger; -would you have me desert her? Do you mean you -think that would not be the act of a coward?”</p> - -<p>“If your remaining to marry the Prince Albrevics<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[274]</span> -would help her, I should say it would be cowardly to -leave.”</p> - -<p>She flushed with anger. “You do Her Majesty -wrong and dishonour, Mr. Bergwyn, in saying that. -She knows now that, like the rest of us, she has -been mistaken in regard to the Prince. I have -spoken freely with her and the marriage will not -take place.”</p> - -<p>“I am very glad to hear it,” I replied in a carefully -restrained tone, hiding alike my surprise and -unbounded delight at the news. But she had not -exhausted her anger against me.</p> - -<p>“Like so many men you seem to find delight in -wronging one of the noblest women that ever lived—the -staunchest friend that a girl could have.” It -was an easy inference that the Queen had talked -her over, but I admired Gatrina all the more for -this chivalrous and warm defence.</p> - -<p>“If it be possible I should like you to believe that -I find no pleasure at all in wronging any woman. -But I do not take the same view of the Queen as you -do.”</p> - -<p>“You have allowed yourself to be poisoned against -her. I know by whom, and, perhaps, you are not to -blame.” A reference to Elma this and an unmistakable -sneer.</p> - -<p>“I think I understand your reference, and there -are several things I wish to make plainer to you——”</p> - -<p>“I beg you not to trouble, Mr. Bergwyn. I wish -to leave now.”</p> - -<p>“You will let me explain surely.”</p> - -<p>“There is no room for any explanations. I know<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[275]</span> -enough, thank you. Let me go to the Countess -Vashti.”</p> - -<p>“You are very unjust and very hard. Last night -after I had seen you I had a conversation with -the——”</p> - -<p>“I am quite aware of that,” she broke in, smiling -angrily.</p> - -<p>“For God’s sake don’t misunderstand me,” I cried, -earnestly. “You must let me speak of it. It -means——”</p> - -<p>Impressed by my vehemence, I think, she was going -to listen when the door of the room was thrust -open with some violence, and Prince Albrevics entered, -followed by Elma herself. The Prince was -furiously angry; his face more crimson than usual -even, and his manner truculent and threatening.</p> - -<p>“So it’s true and you <i>are</i> here, Gatrina. What is -the meaning of it? I have come to fetch you away.”</p> - -<p>His hectoring tone and the insolent ignoring of me -made me hot.</p> - -<p>“The Princess Gatrina is here by Her Majesty’s -desire, sir,” I said, as calmly as I could.</p> - -<p>“I have nothing to say to you—yet,” he answered, -first giving me a vicious look and then ostentatiously -turning his back upon me.</p> - -<p>Elma laughed, audibly enough for us all to hear.</p> - -<p>“I have no need of your escort, Prince,” said -Gatrina. “The Countess Vashti is with me.”</p> - -<p>“You will come with me,” he retorted, curtly.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, I shall go with the Countess. -Will you take me to her, Mr. Bergwyn?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[276]</span>“Certainly.” I went toward the door. I observed -that she had not taken the slightest notice of Elma.</p> - -<p>“I have the right to escort you, Gatrina. We -don’t need the interference of any foreigners.”</p> - -<p>Gatrina was in the act of leaving but at this she -stopped and turned to him.</p> - -<p>“You are in error, Prince. You have no longer -the right which you imply. Her Majesty will explain -to you the reason. Your arm, if you please, -Mr. Bergwyn.” And taking my arm she swept past -him, her head high and looking every inch a -Princess.</p> - -<p>He changed colour at her words, and glared at me -with a malignity that I expected to find utterance in -fierce words. But he held them back and just did the -cursing internally, I suppose.</p> - -<p>“The Princess’s carriage,” I said to Buller as we -crossed the hall to the room where the Countess was -waiting.</p> - -<p>Just as she came out and we stood in the hall, an -unexpected incident occurred.</p> - -<p>Chris appeared from somewhere and, recognising -Gatrina, rushed to her with signs of extravagant delight.</p> - -<p>She left my arm and bending over him patted him -and made much of him in her old way; and the -dog whimpered and frolicked about her, fawning on -and licking her as if he had been a young pup. In -the midst of it Elma and Prince Albrevics came out -and watched them.</p> - -<p>“What’s the meaning of that?” growled the -Prince, with a scowl.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[277]</span>“One might almost think they were old friends,” -answered Elma, in her sweetest tone.</p> - -<p>Gatrina paid no heed to either remark, although -she must have heard them both; and when she raised -her head I saw in her brightly shining eyes an expression -I had not seen since I came to Belgrade.</p> - -<p>“Down, Chris, down,” I cried, for the dog was -loath to let her go.</p> - -<p>“He remembers me, Mr. Bergwyn; I should not -like him to have forgotten,” said Gatrina, very gently, -but meaningly. It was her way of answering Elma’s -sneer.</p> - -<p>I accompanied them to the carriage, Chris coming -with us, and his great wistful eyes followed her all -the time until she drove away.</p> - -<p>As I returned into the house, the Prince passed -me on the threshold. I stopped, meaning to have -some plain-pointed talk with him.</p> - -<p>But he prevented that. “I don’t quarrel with a -man in his own house, sir, but we shall meet again,” -he said, and hurried away without giving me a chance -to reply.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[278]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XX.<br /> - - -<small>THE INSULT.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>Gatrina’s visit resulted in little more than a fiasco, -owing to the interruption of Prince Albrevics. I re-entered -the house in a quite fit mood to quarrel with -Elma for having brought him upon the scene as she -had.</p> - -<p>Nikolitch had come out in search of me, however, -and was speaking to her in the hall, so that I could -say nothing.</p> - -<p>“You will not be long, Bergwyn?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I am ready now.”</p> - -<p>“I will wait while you despatch your business with -Colonel Petrosch, Mr. Bergwyn,” said Elma, readily. -“I am in no hurry.”</p> - -<p>“I regret I can give you no time to-day, Baroness,” -I said, bluntly intending it as her dismissal. But -she laughed it away.</p> - -<p>“You can come and tell me so when he has gone,” -she answered, and turned into one of the rooms, contriving -to convey a most irritating suggestion that -she was quite at home and perfectly accustomed to -humour my whims.</p> - -<p>“How did she know Petrosch was here?” asked -Nikolitch. “She is a wonderful woman. She knows -everything. She will understand why he has come.”</p> - -<p>“Let her,” said I, with a shrug. “It makes no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[279]</span> -difference;” and with that we went back to the -Colonel.</p> - -<p>The rest of the business was soon despatched. I -handed him the undertaking I had drawn up and -thus stood pledged to support the cause of the army -on the conditions I had already specified. When the -Colonel had gone Nikolitch remained, and when we -had fixed up an engagement to dine together that -night, he said:</p> - -<p>“I think you have done the right thing, Bergwyn; -and there is no doubt your action will strengthen the -moderates among us. It will make against the -policy of violence; and may render it impossible. I -hope so with all my heart,” he said, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“What will happen?”</p> - -<p>“A forced abdication. As I have told you it has -been put to the King more than once, and he has -refused obstinately. But now, backed by the united -army, it will be different.”</p> - -<p>“If he should still refuse?”</p> - -<p>“He’ll have to go. The Queen has made it imperative. -For a clever woman she has made amazing -blunders. Of course you understand the Russian -partisans won’t love you any more than the -Queen will continue to be friendly to you now.”</p> - -<p>“If she gets to know what has passed.”</p> - -<p>He nodded significantly toward the room where -Elma had gone. “She’ll see to that, probably—unless -she has some other move. If you can stop her, -I should.”</p> - -<p>“I have no influence with her and seek none.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[280]</span>“That’s not the story she persists in telling, my dear -fellow,” he said with a slow smile.</p> - -<p>“It’s the story I tell—and it’s the true one, Nikolitch. -What story do you mean this of hers?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you to-night. I’ve a lot to do now. Of -course you know your own cards; but if I were you, -I should keep in with her. She can be dangerous, -as I’ve told you more than once. Well, till this -evening then,” he added lightly, and went away.</p> - -<p>What story had Elma been spreading now? I -had better know it at once, I thought, and went to -her to ask.</p> - -<p>“The Colonel has gone, then? And the Captain, -too. I am glad you have him for a friend, Mr. Bergwyn,” -she said, in her lightest manner. “You would -have found Belgrade dull without a man friend. Yet -you don’t quite understand the captain’s position?”</p> - -<p>“Did you stay to enlighten me?”</p> - -<p>“Oh dear, no. I have much more important matters -to discuss. But I wish I had warned you that -although he is on excellent terms with the officers—as -he is with everyone, being a delightful man—yet -he is not in the inner circle. He is of great use to -them; but he knows only what they choose to tell -him. He has been of great use to them, for instance, -in getting you over to their cause; but of course he -has led you to make a great mistake.”</p> - -<p>“He has just told me that you have spread some -report concerning you and myself. What is that?”</p> - -<p>“I thought he would. He hinted to me just now -in the minute I had with him that he had heard something; -and naturally I did not undeceive him. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[281]</span> -seemed greatly mystified; of course I knew why,” -she added.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you will enlighten me?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think it is rather a delicate question?”</p> - -<p>“I wish you would speak plainly,” I broke out, -brusquely.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it was in this way. You see you and -I were together for some considerable time last night -at the Palace; and as people had heard rumours of the -reason for your presence in Belgrade—rumours connecting -us, I mean; I suppose they put two and two -together—at least they put us together, that is to -say.”</p> - -<p>“Captain Nikolitch puts the origin of the rumour -down to you, Baroness.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I object. American millionaires -are very rare in Belgrade, and if people chose to -think that I was engaged to one, was it likely that -I should have so little of feminine vanity as to be displeased?”</p> - -<p>I understood now the reason for Gatrina’s coldness, -her marked estrangement during her visit, and the -undermeaning of some of her words. She had heard -this infernal story. Elma enjoyed my dismay; and -I believe understood the cause of it.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that you actually gave countenance -to such a thing?”</p> - -<p>“Pray don’t look so painfully shocked, Mr. Bergwyn,” -she mocked.</p> - -<p>“You will place me in the extremely invidious -position of having to deny the report, Baroness.”</p> - -<p>Her laugh at this had all the ring of genuineness.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[282]</span> -“How will you do it, Mr. Bergwyn?” she asked, in -renewed mockery of my earnestness. “Think. -How can you do it? You and I know that it has -no sort of foundation in fact; but how can we stop -the tongue of gossip? Let us be sensible and just -live it down. Other people’s names have been -coupled together in the same way in mistake before -now; but they have not been married in consequence. -Nor shall we be, I suppose. But it is a delightful -situation none the less, and just what I desired.”</p> - -<p>“I remembered what you said last night,” I exclaimed, -angrily.</p> - -<p>“You had better laugh at it all than be angry.”</p> - -<p>“I have no laughter to spare for it.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, that is because of Gatrina. Naturally, too. -But it was she who made it necessary, and of course, -so far as she is concerned, the desired effect has already -been produced. In a week or two the thing -will die a natural death, as such things do; and -neither of us will be a krone the worse.”</p> - -<p>“I think you are the most exasperating woman -that ever lived,” I said hotly.</p> - -<p>“I can quite understand that thought. As I told -you last night I have to play many parts. This one -you and Gatrina together have forced upon me.” She -spoke lightly and shrugged her shoulders, but after -a moment was serious. “I told you also, last night, -that if you forced me to fight, I would do it openly. -Gatrina’s trust in you was in our way and had to be -broken somehow. It was broken when she heard -this news. The Queen had to use the utmost pressure -to induce her to come to you to-day. Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[283]</span> -Majesty did me the honour to ask me in Gatrina’s -presence whether there was any truth in the report -of my secret engagement to you—it is supposed to be -no more than secret—and I could not, at least I did -not, deny it.”</p> - -<p>“It is infamous,” I broke in, passionately.</p> - -<p>“Infamous if you like, but necessary. You have -seen Gatrina for the last time, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“I will go to the Queen herself and deny it.”</p> - -<p>“You might, if she would receive you. But -Gatrina was supposed to be coming as a last step to -win you and your money to the side of the Court. -Can she carry back any news other than that her -mission as Queen’s Advocate has failed? You are -now, indeed, pledged to support the cause of Her -Majesty’s bitterest enemies—the army. And even -angry as you are now, you can judge the prospect of -your reception. You have chosen your side and -must take the bitter with the sweet.”</p> - -<p>She dwelt on all this with telling deliberateness, -and the pitiless logic of every measured word told -upon me. But the effect was not what she had intended. -Instead of growing more angry, I began -to regain coolness. The perception of difficulties has -always a steadying result with me, and I put aside -my anger at once. It was too dangerous a luxury -at such a juncture.</p> - -<p>“You are building your theory upon the assumption -that I have thrown in my lot with Colonel -Petrosch and his friends. Do so by all means if it -pleases you,” I said.</p> - -<p>“I judge by what I have found here: but I shall<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[284]</span> -know for certain within a few hours. I do not act -in the dark. But if you have not, it will make no -difference in regard to the Queen’s Advocate.”</p> - -<p>“I prefer not to discuss the Princess with you.”</p> - -<p>“You will find someone else who will wish to do -so. Prince Albrevics attributes the failure of his -marriage to you and will force a quarrel upon you. -Rumours of that Bosnian adventure have reached -him. I wish to warn you.”</p> - -<p>“Have you anything more to say?” I asked as I -rose. “If you have, it will be well to say it at once, -as you will have no opportunity in the future.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose I have made you feel like that, and -that you won’t believe I am sorry. You have driven -me so hard. Yet I—” She paused, looked down, -and then rising came toward me and said half wistfully, -half defiantly: “I need not be your enemy, and -would much rather be your friend. Why won’t you -see this? All the influence I have could be yours -if you would only let it be so.”</p> - -<p>“I prefer to trust to myself and take my own -course, thank you,” I said, coldly.</p> - -<p>She sighed wearily. “I suppose we all have our -hours of weakness and perhaps this is mine. I am -not ashamed for you to see it. Let me be your -friend, Chase. I—I won’t ask for anything else. -But I feel such a coward now for all that I have had -to do against you. I could help you in all—all except -Gatrina. That can never be possible for you. -But you are being so shamefully betrayed.”</p> - -<p>“I have given you my answer.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know, and I know how dogged you are.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[285]</span> -But if you trust these officers, this Colonel Petrosch, -he will only deceive you. I told you before, that -their policy is to be summed up in one word—assassination; -if once they resolve to move. We all know -that and dread it for the sake of Servia. And if you -help them with money, they will take it and only lie -to you. Everyone lies here. It is the common coin -of negotiation. Trust me a little, just a little, for -the sake of old times, and I’ll be true to you. I -swear on my soul I will.”</p> - -<p>“I do not need your help.”</p> - -<p>“I am not acting or lying now. Trust me and I -will give up all this Russian spying business and -never touch it again. I want to feel I am working -for you, not against you. My God, I will do anything, -anything, if you will but let me.”</p> - -<p>“I have already had too clear a proof of that to -wish for any more. Your carriage is waiting, -Baroness.”</p> - -<p>She gazed at me intently; and gradually her features -and the expression of her eyes hardened.</p> - -<p>“As you will—but that decision will cost you -dear. The men whom you have helped or are going -to help with your money are assassins; and when -they have done their work and when the city runs -red with blood, and both the Queen and her advocate, -Gatrina, lie dead among their victims, you will -remember this hour and your rejection of my help; -and eat out your heart in belated, unavailing regret. -Do you still persist in sending me away?”</p> - -<p>“Your carriage is waiting,” I repeated doggedly; -and she went without another word.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[286]</span>I returned to my library feeling very much disturbed. -I was cooking a dish that didn’t promise to -be easy of digestion. I could see that, without the -help of Nikolitch’s words and Elma’s dramatic confirmation -of them. What she had said about assassination -had impressed me more than I cared to own; -and I recalled Nikolitch’s uneasy hope on that score. -Two people more unlike than he and Elma it would -be difficult to find; and yet both appeared to hold -much the same opinion.</p> - -<p>Then there was this reported engagement to Elma -and all the string of complications arising out of it. -There was only too much reason to believe that it -had served its end, as she had said, in regard to -Gatrina. It was like a net about my feet, entangling -and hampering me; and how to cut myself free from -it was more than I could see.</p> - -<p>I had given my word to Gatrina on the previous -night that my coming to Belgrade had had nothing -to do with Elma; and if I had but known of the report -that morning I could have denied it to her. I -could have gnashed my teeth as I recalled her phrase -about “other things” she had heard from Elma at -the Court. I could see now what she had meant; -and it was just the opening I could have used, had -I but known; perhaps given me for the very purpose. -I had let it pass in ignorance; but I could -readily understand how she would interpret my -silence.</p> - -<p>To contradict it all now was infinitely difficult. I -couldn’t walk about the streets shouting it out to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[287]</span> -crowd. The door of the Palace was closed to me; -and probably that of Gatrina’s house as well.</p> - -<p>But her visit by the Queen’s desire, as she had so -coldly said, gave me the right to return it, and I -did so that afternoon. Without result, however. -The Princess was at the Palace, I was informed.</p> - -<p>After a moment’s thought I resolved to go there; -but I did no good by that. After waiting some time -a message was brought me that Her Majesty regretted -she could not receive me just then. I asked -for Gatrina next, only to be again refused; and I -returned home in a bad temper in consequence.</p> - -<p>I had not recovered it when the time came for my -appointment with Nikolitch for dinner; and he saw -it.</p> - -<p>“You look worried,” he said.</p> - -<p>“It’ll pass off,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“No bad news from the States, I hope? Not another -financial crisis. They flourish over there gaily, -don’t they?”</p> - -<p>“Men make fools of themselves there as elsewhere; -and with us it takes that form pretty often. -By the way, you were going to tell me some news -about the Baroness von Tulken.”</p> - -<p>“They say you’re engaged to be married to her.”</p> - -<p>“Who says it?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I rather fancy she does.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t true. That’s all there is to it.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what the other side say.”</p> - -<p>“Who are the other side; and why the devil do -people want to gossip and chatter about me?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[288]</span>“My dear fellow, the place is full of gossip about -you. I don’t know whether you care to hear it.”</p> - -<p>“It don’t amount to anything what they say—at -least to me.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose it doesn’t. But when a man’s as rich -as you are, they will talk. Have you heard that -story about your dog?”</p> - -<p>“My dog? What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“That big brute of yours, Chris. They say he -saved the Princess Gatrina’s life in the Bosnian hills -or somewhere; and that you were in it too. Of -course I laughed at it.”</p> - -<p>“Naturally. So should I,” I said; but I was in -no laughing mood. “How do you suppose such a -tale got going?”</p> - -<p>“Someone with a grudge against the Princess -started it. You know what spiteful devils there are -hanging about the Court?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose there are.”</p> - -<p>“Rather. Peck each other’s eyes out if they -could. But this was a blackguard tale intended to -compromise her with you. Of course there was a lot -of talk about that carrying-off affair. Some wanted -to make out she bolted from Albrevics. Shouldn’t -blame her. He’s a beast. Hullo, there he is; and -not so drunk as usual at this hour either. I should -be careful of him, Bergwyn. He was abusing you -to-day to a friend of mine. He’s seen us, I think, -and is coming this way. Hang the fellow, what does -he want to sit at the next table to us for?”</p> - -<p>Not wishing a dispute in so public a place, I was -careful not to look around as the Prince and a couple<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[289]</span> -of friends took their places at the table next to us -and began to laugh and jest loudly.</p> - -<p>Nikolitch nodded to the Prince’s companions -and we went on with our dinner, the talk drifting to -our old experiences in the years when we had first -known each other.</p> - -<p>The Prince, as we could not fail to see, was drinking -heavily, and I could tell from Nikolitch’s face -that like myself he was beginning to expect trouble. -Once or twice the man was ill-bred enough to -whisper to his companions while pointing at me; -and then all three would burst into laughter.</p> - -<p>“Should we have our coffee inside?” said Nikolitch -at length—we were dining in the open.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you like;” said I, and we both rose. As -I did so I touched, quite unintentionally, the chair -of the Prince. He had his wine-glass in his hand, -and while pretending to move out of my way, he -deliberately spilt the wine all over me.</p> - -<p>“To the devil with your clumsiness,” he cried, -angrily, as he jumped to his feet; “making me waste -good liquor in that way. Oh, it’s the Yankee money-man, -is it?” he added, with an oath and a sneer.</p> - -<p>“I touched your chair quite accidentally and too -slightly to have caused you to spill your wine.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a lie. You did it on purpose,” he cried, -loudly.</p> - -<p>“Prince Albrevics!” exclaimed Nikolitch; while -the two men with him got up looking very serious.</p> - -<p>“I can’t allow anyone to say that to me, sir,” I -said, keeping quite cool. “I must ask you to take -that word back right here.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[290]</span>“Not for any cowardly Yankee that was ever -born.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you will do it when you are sober then,” -said I.</p> - -<p>“I’m cursed if I’ll let a Yankee pig say I’m -drunk;” and he rushed forward to strike me. I -pushed him back; but this only infuriated him and -he sprang at me again.</p> - -<p>I had taken more than enough from him, however, -and as he reached me the second time, his hand raised -for a blow, I got mine in first and knocked him down.</p> - -<p>The place was instantly in an uproar.</p> - -<p>“Stay and do what’s necessary, Nikolitch. I’m in -your hands. I’m going to smoke over there,” I said, -pointing to a table at a distance. And taking out -my cigar-case I walked away as the Prince’s friends -were picking him up.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[291]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXI.<br /> - - -<small>THE DUEL.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>I must have hit the Prince hard, judging by the -effects. His friends picked him up and after a -minute or so led him away into the hotel. Then -Nikolitch came across to me, his look very troubled.</p> - -<p>“This is an ugly business, Bergwyn. He’s badly -marked and half dazed with your blow.”</p> - -<p>“I am more sorry for it than I can say,” I replied. -I regretted it intensely indeed.</p> - -<p>“It was his fault—his only. We all saw that. He -came to the place with the intention of quarrelling. -He knew we were to dine here. One of his companions -heard it from a friend of mine. He behaved -abominably. We all see that: even his friends.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, the insult was deliberate. I couldn’t -take that. What is to happen?”</p> - -<p>“I said that we would go to your house: and -should be there, if they had a message to bring. Shall -we go?”</p> - -<p>“It means a meeting, of course,” I said, as we left.</p> - -<p>“Of course. Have you been out before?”</p> - -<p>“No; we don’t settle our quarrels this way in the -States; but I’ve been in more than one ugly scrap -and come through.”</p> - -<p>“He’s an old hand at it and is an excellent swordsman. -But you will have choice of weapons. You<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[292]</span> -beat him, through being so cool. He generally gets -the choice of weapons, taking care to give the insult -and so be the challenged party. That was his move -just now. He first insulted you, thinking you would -challenge him; and when you didn’t, he meant to -strike you so that you’d be obliged. I was glad you -prevented that.”</p> - -<p>“I’d give a good deal to be out of it,” I said, after -a pause. My companion glanced at me in some surprise.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how you can avoid it.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid. I don’t mean that. But coming -right on top of what you were saying about the -Princess, it will set tongues wagging about her.”</p> - -<p>“You mean the dog story?” I nodded. “You -don’t mean there’s anything in that?”</p> - -<p>“There’s one woman who knows it all and by this -time has the proofs. The Baroness von Tulken.”</p> - -<p>“To the devil with that woman. She’s in everything,” -he exclaimed. “Of course that’s where it -comes from: and of course she told Albrevics. It’s -an ugly story for him to hear. You’ll have to be -careful. He means mischief.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not thinking about him.”</p> - -<p>“No, but he’s been thinking about you, Bergwyn. -What will you do?”</p> - -<p>“What the devil can I do, man? If it would help -things for her, I’d choose pistols and kill him; but it -would only make matters worse for her. Everyone -will set the quarrel down to her; and that’s just what -I’d have given anything to avoid.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it wouldn’t hurt her. It doesn’t hurt a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[293]</span> -woman here for two men to quarrel about her—choosing, -of course, a decent pretext—and for one -of ’em to be killed. It’s happened often enough.” -His indifferent tone no less than his words astonished -me. “Are you a good shot?” he added after a -pause.</p> - -<p>“I can shoot a bit, and use a sword well enough to -keep myself out of danger, probably, if it comes to -that.”</p> - -<p>“It will come to one or the other, Bergwyn. -There’s no other way now. Have you any foils -here?” he asked as we reached my house; and when -I produced them he proposed that we should try a -bout.</p> - -<p>We took off our coats and set to work at once. -Mine was a very indifferent style, very rough and -ready, and his particularly polished, acquired in the -latest Italian school. But mine served me well -enough for defensive purposes. He was the better -swordsman, with a dozen more tricks of fence than I -possessed, but he could not break through my guard. -He touched me more than once; but not so as to -have inflicted any serious wound, had the weapons -been sharp.</p> - -<p>“You haven’t much to fear from the Prince,” he -said in one of the breathing spaces. “His is also -the Italian style; and he’s better than I am; but you -have a devil of a defence. Can you force the fighting -a bit? Try now.”</p> - -<p>We crossed again and this time, after a long, defensive -play I changed my tactics suddenly, and -touched him.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[294]</span>“You got me in the arm,” he cried, directly. -“And well done, too. You’ll wear the Prince down. -That’s his one failing—he can’t keep his temper. I -have no fear for to-morrow. You have an iron -wrist.”</p> - -<p>We were thus engaged when Buller brought word -that the friends of Prince Albrevics had arrived. -Nikolitch put on his coat and went to them. He was -in high spirits.</p> - -<p>“It is the challenge, of course,” he said when he -returned. “Shall we make it swords or pistols? I -have arranged to meet to-morrow morning a mile or -two out of the city. If you don’t want to kill him I -should choose swords.”</p> - -<p>“Let it be swords then,” I agreed.</p> - -<p>“He’s got a devil of a bruise on his face, they tell -me,” he declared with obvious glee, as he left me -again. “As if a horse had kicked him, one of them -says.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve arranged it all,” he reported when he -came back again. “They were surprised at your -choosing swords, because of his reputation, but it -will be all right. You’ll wear him down. I know -him. And now I’ll be off and find someone to act -with me. Get to bed early and have as much sleep -as you can. I’ll be round in time in the morning.”</p> - -<p>I sat for some time after he had left me, smoking -and thinking. I regretted the whole thing more -than I can say; but when I found my thoughts getting -into a very gloomy vein, I put the brake on; and -taking Nikolitch’s advice, went off to bed and slept -soundly until Buller called me.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[295]</span>Nikolitch came in good time bringing a friend, a -Captain Astic, and we drove off. It was a gloriously -fine morning, the air cool, refreshing and brisk.</p> - -<p>“Too much sun,” was Nikolitch’s practical comment. -He looked at everything as if it affected the -matter in hand, and spoke of it as though it were the -most ordinary course in the world that two sane -men should go out to do murder if possible.</p> - -<p>Of my own sensations I need not say much. I -was thoughtful, preoccupied indeed, and gloomy. I -don’t think I was afraid; although the deliberateness -of the preparations and the anticipation of having to -meet a man in cold blood and fight him for my life, -made the affair appear almost formidable. I was far -from having a wish to do the Prince any injury, to -say nothing of taking his life; and my chief thought -was the impossible wish that the whole matter, -quarrel and all, could have been wiped out of the -record of things done and be deemed never to have -occurred.</p> - -<p>I don’t think I spoke during the drive out; but I -remember taking notice of many trifles. There was -a loose button in the upholstering of the carriage: -some stains on Captain Astic’s uniform caught my -eye, and I contrasted it with the smart grooming of -Nikolitch. My friend was awkward in handling the -pair of swords we had with us; and he and the other -joked about it. Trifles of that kind struck me; and -when the drive came to an end and we left the carriage, -I can recall my distinct sensation of relief, followed -by a fidgetty impatience to get the affair over.</p> - -<p>I was irritated because the other side kept us waiting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[296]</span> -a considerable time. My seconds lit cigarettes -and first picked out the best spot for the encounter; -then in low tones discussed the delay and the probable -reasons for it; whether the Prince was too ill to -come; how long we need wait for him; and so on. -They appeared to me to speak with a certain amount -of disappointment, as one might regret being robbed -of a promised entertainment.</p> - -<p>The air began to chill them and they stamped -about and clapped their gloved hands to keep the -blood circulating. But I felt nothing of that. I sat -quite still on the trunk of a fallen tree and was conscious -mainly of a sort of impressive awe making -everything seem unreal, mingled with a growing -desire that the fight could be avoided; or rather the -necessity for it obliterated—for I was perfectly -aware of its inevitability.</p> - -<p>I could not bring myself to wish to harm the man -I was to meet. Once or twice I sought to rouse my -anger against him by recalling the insult of the previous -evening and the foulness of his words and conduct. -But even while I appreciated its wantonness -and inexcusable grossness, I could not stir myself -to any real passion. My sense of regret for the whole -business overshadowed everything.</p> - -<p>I believe my companions thought I was suffering -from fear; but it was not conscious fear, if fear at all. -I did not anticipate any serious results to myself -from the duel. Such a thought never occurred to -me: it was the lethargy of an overwhelming revolt -from the affair as a whole.</p> - -<p>It began to grow less absorbing when I heard Captain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[297]</span> -Astic tell Nikolitch, in a tone of unmistakable -relief and satisfaction, that the others were coming.</p> - -<p>Nikolitch came and told me, and I noticed a solicitude -and anxiety in his tone and look that were new.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” I said, with half a sigh.</p> - -<p>“You have nothing to fear,” he whispered, that -Astic might not hear him.</p> - -<p>“I do fear nothing, Nikolitch,” I said, with a -smile; and his face brightened at the smile.</p> - -<p>As soon as they came the four seconds busied -themselves in settling the preliminaries and then -Nikolitch introduced a fifth man to me.</p> - -<p>“Doctor Astic, the Captain’s brother, Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>We shook hands and the doctor had a steady look -into my eyes. “It’s a chilly morning although so -bright—but we get them here sometimes,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Any morning’s good enough for this sort of -thing,” I answered; and he had another stare at me -and then put down his case of instruments on the -tree where I had been sitting.</p> - -<p>“Will you get ready, Mr. Bergwyn?” asked Captain -Astic.</p> - -<p>I saw the Prince already had his coat off and I -made ready, the Captain meanwhile pointing out the -positions we were to take with cheerful but professional -coolness.</p> - -<p>As they placed us, I saw the mark of my blow on -the Prince’s face and I noticed also that he was none -too steady on his feet. I called Nikolitch to me and -pointed this out.</p> - -<p>“It’s his affair,” he answered with a shrug of the -shoulders.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[298]</span>“I can’t fight a sick man,” I said, sharply. “Speak -to the doctor about it.”</p> - -<p>“But it’s so irregular,” he objected.</p> - -<p>“I insist,” I declared.</p> - -<p>He spoke to Astic and then to the Prince’s seconds -and after some discussion, in which all four took part, -they called the doctor up to them. Then his seconds -spoke to the Prince and some angry words passed; -and again the four seconds consulted. Then Nikolitch -came to me looking angry and crestfallen.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry; but they think you’re afraid, Bergwyn,” -he said.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care a red cent what they think. Does -the doctor say the Prince is fit to fight? He can -hardly stand; look at him lurching there.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Astic says he’s all right: and he knows him.”</p> - -<p>“Then he takes the responsibility. I won’t.”</p> - -<p>“He’s only in a devil of a rage.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then. I’m ready.”</p> - -<p>A minute later the word was given and we engaged. -I had no lethargy left now. The last vestige -of it vanished when I felt his blade pressing mine -and met his scowl of positively devilish hate. I -needed no more than a glance into his eyes to see -that he had come out to kill me, and that my life depended -upon my skill and coolness.</p> - -<p>But he was either too ill or too angry to be really -dangerous. He attacked me furiously from the -start; but he fought so wildly that I found myself -quite able to hold him in check, and I let him exert -himself to the utmost with the sure knowledge that -in such a state he could not keep it up long.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[299]</span>I think he had reckoned upon being able to treat -me with the same contempt as a swordsman as he -had treated me as a man the night before; and when -he found out his mistake, it provoked his rage until -he fought with the frenzy of a madman.</p> - -<p>Had he been himself and not so furiously reckless, -I think he would have had an easy enough victory, -for he had a hundred tricks of fence where I had -none.</p> - -<p>He seemed to realise something of this, too, when -we had been hard at it for some time, for he began to -fight with less vehemence and much more wariness.</p> - -<p>But he had wasted his strength by that time; and -to waste it still further, I commenced to push matters -a bit from my side. He began to breathe hard. -The pressure of his blade against mine weakened. -Twice his foot slipped and he exposed himself dangerously; -and then I knew I was going to beat him.</p> - -<p>I took no advantage of his slips. The man was -ill, or drunk, or suffering from the effects of drink; -and I could not bring myself even to wound him.</p> - -<p>I just kept to my tactics of wearing him down, -defending myself when he attacked me and pressing -him whenever he sought to ease off to get his breath -back.</p> - -<p>At last it became little more than a burlesque. He -was so winded and exhausted and so unsteady on his -legs that he could scarcely continue the fight, scarcely -hold his sword, indeed; and when I realised this I -made a big, pressing effort, and seizing my moment, -whipped his sword out of his hand and left him gasping -impotently in dismay and breathlessness and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[300]</span> -lurching like a discomfited, angry fool, until he began -to clamour to renew the fight.</p> - -<p>The seconds interfered at this, however; even his -own men protesting. I stood while they settled it; -and then turned away to dress.</p> - -<p>Nikolitch was loud in praises of me as I put on my -coat, but regretted I had not wounded him; as he -might want to have another meeting.</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t meet him again. It’s an additional -insult that he should have come out in such a state. -And you’d better let him know I shan’t meet him -again. If he monkeys with me again I’ll settle it in -a more American fashion; and if there’s to be another -fight of the kind, it shall begin where this morning’s -has ended.”</p> - -<p>To my astonishment Nikolitch carried the message -to one of the Prince’s seconds and then we left the -ground and drove back to the city.</p> - -<p>I kept Nikolitch and Captain Astic to breakfast, -and they could speak of nothing but the fight; criticising -it with almost as much fond enthusiasm as if -they had been experts describing a good game of -baseball.</p> - -<p>I was glad when they left me, indeed, and I could -settle down to a quiet review of the situation. Nikolitch -was to see me again in the afternoon; and he -declared joyously and with a certain air of rather -self-congratulatory importance, that they would both -have a busy time in seeing that a true account of the -duel was spread about.</p> - -<p>“You are a fortunate man, Mr. Bergwyn, and will -be a popular one,” said Captain Astic. “The Prince<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[301]</span> -is thoroughly well hated and people will be ready to -make much of you.”</p> - -<p>I did not regard it at all in that light. It was -Gatrina’s good-will, not that of the crowd, which I -sought; and I felt she would hear with strong prejudice -that I had allowed myself to be drawn into a -quarrel which she would know well enough could -only have arisen on her account.</p> - -<p>Estranged as she already was by this monstrous -story of my secret understanding with Elma, she -would be quite incapable of appreciating my motives -or feelings; and the fact that I could not get to her -to explain everything irritated me almost beyond -endurance.</p> - -<p>It was my helplessness in that direction which tried -me more than anything. She had set up a barrier -between us which I could not break through. There -was nothing I could do but fret and fume and pace -up and down the room and down and up again, in -vain imaginings as to how things were to end.</p> - -<p>To an active temperament like mine nothing could -be more galling. Prompt decision and action were -mental instincts with me. I was accustomed in all -affairs of life to take hold of a thing, plan my course -and follow it up quickly and energetically. And yet -here I had somehow allowed the reins to be snatched -from my grasp and could only wring my hands in -fatuous futility while I was being carried I could not -tell where.</p> - -<p>Do something I must; so I made another effort to -see Gatrina, and pushed it until I met with a very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[302]</span> -ugly rebuff. I was told she was out, and I declared -I would wait until she returned.</p> - -<p>I waited, and waited, and waited until my patience -was exhausted, only to be told by her servants that -while I had been waiting she had returned and gone -out again without seeing me.</p> - -<p>I went home and wrote to her that I must see her -on a matter of the most urgent importance. I gave -the letter to Buller with instructions to place it personally -in Gatrina’s hands.</p> - -<p>An hour and more passed, and when he came he -brought a reply in her handwriting. I tore the -envelope open and my own letter, unopened, was -enclosed and with it a cutting from a paper of that -morning’s date, announcing in guarded terms my -engagement to Elma.</p> - -<p>At first I flushed with mortification and resentment, -but then caught a glimpse of light.</p> - -<p>If it was really the lie about Elma which had -estranged her, I had but to get the truth to her to -change that anger and make her feel the injustice she -had done me.</p> - -<p>I cast about for the means. She would neither -see me nor read my letters; so that I must find someone -who could get access to her.</p> - -<p>I thought instantly of Karasch. I would send him -to her and let Chris go with him as a mute ambassador. -This might touch her for the sake of the -past; and Karasch’s message should be just one sentence—that -the announcement in the paper was a -lie.</p> - -<p>I sent for him at once, instructed him how to act,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[303]</span> -and despatched him on the errand; only to be defeated -again, however. Gatrina had refused to see -him.</p> - -<p>There was only Nikolitch left, and even he failed -me. He did not come at the time he had appointed, -and when I went to his rooms in search of him, I -heard that he had been sent away on military business -and would not return until night or the next -morning.</p> - -<p>So the whole day passed without anything being -done to kill the lie which was having such ominous -results for me.</p> - -<p>It was noon on the next day when I saw Nikolitch; -and very anxious and disturbed he looked.</p> - -<p>“I have grave news for you, Bergwyn,” he said -at once. “The officers are going to move at once -and a day or two, perhaps an hour or two, will find -the crisis here.”</p> - -<p>“I want to see you about something else,” I said, -eagerly.</p> - -<p>“My news first,” he replied. “Before anything -else, you must know it. I fear that that condition -of no violence will not be kept.”</p> - -<p>Instantly my thoughts were for Gatrina and I -chilled with fear for her.</p> - -<p>“Speak plainly, Nikolitch.”</p> - -<p>“I have come back at some risk to do so. I have -only the worst to report. We moderates have been -outvoted.”</p> - -<p>Like a flash Elma’s grim word, “Assassination” -darted across my mind as I waited for him to continue.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[304]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXII.<br /> - - -<small>THE SCENT OF PERIL.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“I got a scent of the trouble yesterday,” said -Nikolitch after a pause, long enough to try my -patience severely; “and should have come to you -at once, but I was sent out of the city to Jagodina -with part of the regiment. I dared not write to you -for fear the letter got into wrong hands.”</p> - -<p>“What did you hear, and how?”</p> - -<p>“You know there have been many changes made -in the regiments here; and no one could understand -the reason for them. But I believe I know it now. -Those officers who are against force have been gradually -sent out of the city and their places filled by -men of the opposite views. Yesterday an excuse -was made that some manœuvres were to be held -round Jagodina; and by means of it nearly all of the -no-violence men were sent away—myself amongst -them; while others have been moved in. You can -guess the object—a <i>coup d’etat</i>.”</p> - -<p>“And Petrosch?”</p> - -<p>“Was like a sphinx when I managed to see him -yesterday. Denied the idea of force, referred to the -arrangement with you; but would say not a word as -to what was intended. He pleaded entire ignorance.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[305]</span>“What will happen?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot say. We discussed it all last night at -Jagodina, and the impression there is that some most -drastic steps have been decided secretly and that we -were being got out of the way for them to be carried -out.”</p> - -<p>“What kind of violence do you anticipate?”</p> - -<p>“God knows,” he exclaimed, throwing up his -hands, almost despairingly.</p> - -<p>“We must see Petrosch.”</p> - -<p>“I dare not. I am supposed to be in Jagodina. -I got leave of absence because the chief is very -friendly, but he said I must not come to Belgrade. -He meant I mustn’t let him know if I did. So I said -I wished to go to Alexinatz. But I felt I must get -the news to you somehow; so I came here secretly. -I shall be broken if my presence is known.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t you stay and see it through, now you are -here?”</p> - -<p>“I owe you no less, Bergwyn, let happen what -will. I have got you into it. But I should prefer -not to go outside this house if we can help it.”</p> - -<p>“I wanted you to do me a great service. And it -is more important now than ever, if what you think -is true.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?”</p> - -<p>“To go to the Princess Gatrina.”</p> - -<p>“I have thought of her. That’s largely why I -came—after what you told me about the hill business.”</p> - -<p>“You think she would be in danger?”</p> - -<p>“How can it be otherwise? But of course it depends<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[306]</span> -on what is going to happen. You must warn -her.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just it. I can’t get a word to her. I was -trying all yesterday. She won’t see me, wouldn’t -read a letter I sent asking her to see me; wouldn’t -even let the man who helped us in the hill affair have -a word with her. I hoped you would be able to help -me.”</p> - -<p>He hesitated a moment. “Of course I will,” he -said then. “The thing’s too grave to let any personal -considerations weigh with me. She must be -persuaded to leave the city—at least until the officers -have carried out their plan.”</p> - -<p>“She won’t go.”</p> - -<p>“She must, or the worst may happen to her. Some -of these men will go to any extreme.”</p> - -<p>“Put it plainer, Nikolitch. You mean her life -will be in danger?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like even to think of it in plain terms, -Bergwyn. To tell you the truth, I believe I’m horribly -afraid and can’t think.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll go to Petrosch myself at once, while you go -to the Princess. I think she will receive you. What -I want you particularly to do with her is persuade her -that there is no foundation for this statement;” and I -put the newspaper cutting in his hand.</p> - -<p>He read it and looked up. “Is it a time to think -of this?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes; because when that is contradicted she may -consent to see me and I can add my influence to persuade -her to seek safety in flight.”</p> - -<p>“Would they let her go?” he asked.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[307]</span>“Get her consent and I’ll do the rest.”</p> - -<p>“Send your man to my rooms for clothes. I -mustn’t be seen in these;” and he shewed me that -under a long overcoat he was wearing his uniform.</p> - -<p>I rang for Buller and gave him instructions, and -then started to find Colonel Petrosch. I had much -difficulty, driving from place to place and losing -much time, to catch him after all at his house.</p> - -<p>Having heard of my first call he was thus prepared -for my visit; and must have guessed my object, although -he expressed surprise at seeing me.</p> - -<p>“I wish to see you very particularly, Colonel; you -will have heard that I called here a couple of hours -ago; and I have been seeking you ever since.”</p> - -<p>“I am very sorry; but of course if you had sent -me word beforehand I would have waited in or come -to you, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“I could not do that. I have only just heard the -news which has brought me to you.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed. How?”</p> - -<p>“I have many sources, as you will understand. Is -it true that the officers have resolved upon their line -of action?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I told you that two days ago.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?”</p> - -<p>“I told you then I could not disclose it, Mr. Bergwyn. -You will remember that.”</p> - -<p>“Has there been any alteration in their plans?”</p> - -<p>He paused. “In a sense, no. No finally decisive -step taken.”</p> - -<p>“There have been some considerable changes in -the disposition of the regiments?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[308]</span>“Oh, yes. We have had some manœuvres at -Jagodina and have had to make them as imposing as -possible.”</p> - -<p>“That is the only reason for the changes?”</p> - -<p>“Not entirely. Some have been made in connection -with the plan of the officers.”</p> - -<p>“A large number of officers have been brought to -the capital. I know that. Are these the men who -favour a policy of force?”</p> - -<p>He flinched from the question. “Is that your information?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; just that.”</p> - -<p>“To a certain extent you are right, Mr. Bergwyn,” -he answered slowly. “I had better tell you -something. Since I saw you, a formal demand has -been made to the King to abdicate, backed by the -statement ‘that a refusal would be followed by the -declaration of the army against him.’ At first he refused; -but afterwards withdrew the peremptory -refusal and asked for time to consider the matter. -A week was conceded and there the matter was left.”</p> - -<p>“Then nothing will be done for a week?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing <i>would</i> have been done; but His Majesty -or the Government, most probably the Queen, has -broken faith. Of those who waited upon him—there -were five—three have been arrested and -thrown into prison. Naturally the army is embittered.”</p> - -<p>“What will be done?”</p> - -<p>He shrugged his shoulders. “For whatever happens -now, the blame will lie with the Court.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose that’s about as hopeless news as you -could give me.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[309]</span>“It is not good,” he replied, very gravely.</p> - -<p>“You are still in a position to keep the condition -of no violence.”</p> - -<p>“We have decided to release you from your -undertaking so that we may not even appear to be -guilty of bad faith. The decision has just been -made; and I should have written you at once or seen -you, to return you this paper;” and he put my letter -back into my hands.</p> - -<p>Nothing that he could have said or done would -have so deeply impressed me as that.</p> - -<p>“You told me there had been no change of plan.”</p> - -<p>“There has been none—yet,” he answered. “The -final decision has still to be made.”</p> - -<p>“I have heard your policy summed up in the one -word—assassination.”</p> - -<p>“Our policy has always been liable to misinterpretation; -against that, in times like these, we cannot -guard.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t disguise from you that you have alarmed -me greatly.”</p> - -<p>“Is there a man in the country at the present time -who does not view the future with alarm? The issues -are too fateful for all classes, Mr. Bergwyn. But if -you are speaking in contemplation of any sort of -financial business, I would advise you strongly to -hold your hand and wait.”</p> - -<p>“How long?”</p> - -<p>“Until the new Government is established, the -new King crowned and the country once more -settled.”</p> - -<p>“The new King?” I asked quickly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[310]</span>“The succession will revert to the Karageorgevics.”</p> - -<p>“And Princess Gatrina?”</p> - -<p>“It is very unfortunate for her and her friends -that she still remains in the city.” He spoke with -impressive deliberation.</p> - -<p>“It is largely on her account I have been influenced -in what I have done.”</p> - -<p>“So I have gathered for myself, Mr. Bergwyn; -and so I have thought, despite the contradictory -rumours which have reached me concerning you -both—and others.”</p> - -<p>“Can you give me no assurance that at least she -will be in no personal danger?”</p> - -<p>He paused a long time to think. “Personally I -will do everything in my power. You have met me -so frankly that you deserve no less. You may rely -upon me to do my utmost; but although I shall of -course have considerable influence, I am but one of -many.”</p> - -<p>“She would be allowed to leave the city?”</p> - -<p>“Her departure would be welcome if she would -go at once.”</p> - -<p>“And if she stays?”</p> - -<p>“She may carry her life in her hands, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“But I could still depend upon your influence?”</p> - -<p>“To the uttermost shred. I give you my honour.”</p> - -<p>I rose to go then. “I need not assure you that I -shall treat in confidence what you have said, Colonel -Petrosch.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[311]</span>He shook his head. “It does not matter now, Mr. -Bergwyn. I have told you nothing—I could tell -you nothing, of course—that may not be openly repeated. -It is too late for anything of that kind to -signify now. The army is too strong to be shaken -from its purpose by anything that could happen. -You will see that yourself very soon. The die is -cast.”</p> - -<p>This indifference to publicity amazed me as much -as anything he had said in the interview and confirmed -the absorbingly gloomy impression which he -had created.</p> - -<p>I drove back to my house feverishly anxious now -to hear how Nikolitch had fared with Gatrina. But -he had not returned and I sat eating out my heart -with impatience at his delay. He was so long that -I began to fear he might have been arrested for having -come to the city in defiance of his orders, and I -sent Buller at length to the Princess’s house for news -of him.</p> - -<p>A line came back from him.</p> - -<p>“She is away. I am waiting for her return.”</p> - -<p>I scribbled a reply to this.</p> - -<p>“I have had the worst confirmed. For God’s -sake do all you can;” and this I sent back to him by -Buller.</p> - -<p>The suspense of the time that followed was agony. -My alarm for her took a hundred crude and wild -shapes as I thought of the peril that would encircle -her when the desperate schemes of the army were -once put in operation.</p> - -<p>I was maddening myself with such thoughts when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[312]</span> -Buller brought me Elma’s card. I sent a curt message -that I would not see her. I felt I could not -trust myself in that desperate mood.</p> - -<p>But he came back with a note.</p> - -<p>“You must see me. I have terrible news affecting -Gatrina’s safety.”</p> - -<p>I went to her then. In such a cause I was ready -to go anywhere and do anything. She was more -serious than I had seen her before, and spoke without -any of the affectations customary with her.</p> - -<p>“There must be peace between us, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“What have you come for?”</p> - -<p>“Gatrina is in danger and you must help to save -her.”</p> - -<p>“What is your news?”</p> - -<p>“A revolution is imminent, and if Gatrina is in the -city when it breaks out, she will be involved. The -King has been told he must abdicate, and a conflict -between him and the army is now certain. She must -be got to a place of safety.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you come to me?”</p> - -<p>“Because you can prevail with her.”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, you have made that impossible. -You know how—by the false tale you told before the -Queen.”</p> - -<p>“It can be contradicted. I will contradict it if -you agree.”</p> - -<p>“Agree to what?”</p> - -<p>“To unite with us in saving her to take the -Throne.”</p> - -<p>“You mean to marry the Duke Barinski?”</p> - -<p>“I mean, first, to save her life. This is no time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[313]</span> -to think of any personal ends. She is necessary to -the country.”</p> - -<p>“She has no chance of succeeding to the Throne. -I know that. I know what is to be done.”</p> - -<p>“You can help us if you will. Get her to trust -herself to us instead of to the Court, and we will be -responsible for her safety.”</p> - -<p>“How? Another case of Maglai?”</p> - -<p>“You need not sneer. I did not mean that. She -would be safe under the protection of the Russian -flag.”</p> - -<p>“With you as her chief adviser and friend. I -should not deem that safety; nor would she.”</p> - -<p>“You abandon her then to her fate?”</p> - -<p>“I will not counsel her to play the part of cat’s -paw for Russia.”</p> - -<p>“Even to save her life?”</p> - -<p>“Will you undo the mischief you have caused and -let her know the truth? Then I will act with you -to this extent. If I can, I will prevail with her to -leave the country for a time and from a position of -freedom, decide whether to make this marriage or -not.”</p> - -<p>“She must not leave the country. She must be -here when the moment of crisis arrives, and the -future occupant of the Throne has to be chosen. Her -absence then might be fatal to everything.”</p> - -<p>“Go to her and tell her that all you said was untrue -and why you said it, and leave the decision to -her.”</p> - -<p>“You are still dreaming of the impossible. I have -shewn her most of your old letters to me.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[314]</span>“Then you had better tell your Russian employers -how you have succeeded in wrecking their schemes.”</p> - -<p>She paused in considerable embarrassment.</p> - -<p>“You must have some other aim, however,” I -continued. “You have contradicted yourself. You -said at first that I still had influence with her: now -that you have kept your word and broken her trust -in me; and yet that you need my help. You will not -be surprised that I find it difficult to believe you at -all—except as a power for mischief and wrong.”</p> - -<p>“You do not seem to realise her peril.”</p> - -<p>“And you do not explain your inconsistency.”</p> - -<p>“I will make it all plain to her.”</p> - -<p>“So that I may go to counsel her to marry another -man. I will not.”</p> - -<p>“Not even to save her life?”</p> - -<p>“You said that before. I will find means to save -her life, if it should be really in danger.”</p> - -<p>“What I have proposed is the only way.”</p> - -<p>“You may think so. I will find another. I do -not trust either you or your employers. You can -help me by undoing what you have done and telling -her the truth—by that means you can aid in saving -her life. But with your help or without, I will find -the means.”</p> - -<p>“You are very bitter against me.”</p> - -<p>“I speak the truth and the truth may well have a -bitter sound.”</p> - -<p>“If you refuse me, the responsibility for what may -occur will be yours.”</p> - -<p>“Will you go to her and admit the falsehood?”</p> - -<p>“If you agree to my terms. Not otherwise.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[315]</span>“That was the answer I expected,” I said as I rose.</p> - -<p>She made a gesture of impatient dissent. “You -make things so difficult. We both desire the same -end: the Princess’s safety; and yet you will not act -with me to reach it.”</p> - -<p>“You come to me, or you are sent to me, because -it is thought I can now be of some use as a decoy. -I have no fancy for the part. I do not trust you or -those behind you.”</p> - -<p>“You entirely misjudge my motives.”</p> - -<p>“Very possibly, if they are genuine. You have -taught me not to expect that; and I have learnt the -lesson. That’s all there is to it. And now, I have -no wish to say to you any more of the angry things -I feel. Shall we end this?”</p> - -<p>“Will you consider what I have said and let me -come to-morrow for an answer?”</p> - -<p>“No. You have my answer; and I have no wish -to see you again.”</p> - -<p>“How bitter you can be!” she cried, rising.</p> - -<p>My only reply was to open the door for her to -leave.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean to render me desperate? You -underestimate my power to revenge myself. You -will drive me to take a course which even I might -afterwards regret. I am not yet Gatrina’s enemy; -but ...” a very angry glance finished the sentence.</p> - -<p>“We shall do better to end this,” I answered, -curtly, meeting her look as I held the door for her.</p> - -<p>“You will be well advised for your own and her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[316]</span> -sake if I find you in a different mood to-morrow;” -and with this threat she went.</p> - -<p>For her threats I cared little enough; and the only -part of the interview which made any impression -was the confirmation she had brought of the coming -trouble.</p> - -<p>I was thinking this round when Nikolitch returned.</p> - -<p>“Well?” I asked eagerly.</p> - -<p>He shook his head. “I have done no good,” he -said.</p> - -<p>My heart fell at the words. The last chance had -failed, and I knew by my pang of disappointment -how much I had built upon my friend’s mission.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[317]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> - - -<small>A PLAN OF DEFENCE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>It was some time before I could even bring myself -to ask Nikolitch for details of his visit to Gatrina.</p> - -<p>“You saw the Princess?” I asked at length.</p> - -<p>“I would not come away without. She had been -at the Palace, I think. She received me graciously -at first—she does all things prettily—and listened -while I warned her that grave troubles were coming. -Then something I said suggested to her that I had -come from you; and her manner changed suddenly.”</p> - -<p>“It would, I suppose,” I interjected, bitterly.</p> - -<p>“She put the question point blank, and I admitted -it, of course. Then she refused to hear any more. -I said that you were very anxious to see her; and she -got up and was for dismissing me on the spot. But I -hung on and managed to get out the contradiction of -the engagement, as she was hurrying away. At the -door she turned, her face very pale, her manner and -tone cold as ice. ‘Under the circumstances, Captain -Nikolitch, your presence is an insult,’ she said. And -never in my life have I felt the lash of a woman’s -tongue more keenly. I suppose she was mad you had -told me anything of how matters stood with you. -I felt like a whipped cur as I stumbled out of the -room.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[318]</span>“Well, it’s just a devil of a mess, that’s all, and -we’ll have to find some way of helping her against -her will.”</p> - -<p>I told him of the result of my visit to Petrosch and -of the confirmation of the news from Elma. His -view of the outlook was even darker than my own; -and when I let drop a hint of the suggestion which -Elma had made, he was disposed to freeze to it as the -best and readiest solution of the difficulty.</p> - -<p>But I shook my head. “The Princess would never -trust herself to them,” I said. “I know her too well -to think that for a moment.”</p> - -<p>“She would be safe. Other things would settle -themselves afterwards. The hours of peril will be -few, whatever happens; and when they are once -passed, the itch for violence will be appeased.”</p> - -<p>“No,” I said again. “I say no, emphatically no. -If she believed the danger were really so acute, she -would go to the Queen and stand or fall with her. -She would regard it as cowardly to think of herself -at such a time; and nothing would induce her to set -foot inside the Russian Minister’s house merely to -save herself. It would but drive her into greater -peril that if she remained in her own. It is there -she must be protected. Would God I could but -learn when the devilment is to be done?”</p> - -<p>“I think I could learn that. Not here, of course, -where if I were recognised I should be clapped -straight away under arrest; but at Jagodina. They -will know there.”</p> - -<p>“Then for Heaven’s sake get back to Jagodina at -once and send me word. I will do the rest. I begin<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[319]</span> -to see a way at last—if she will but stay in her own -house.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” he asked eagerly.</p> - -<p>“No, no. Don’t stay another minute in the city. -Get to your regiment and send me the news I want. -Just the time; that’s all; that’s all. It may not be -safe to send more;” and seizing a time table I found -there was a train he could catch at once, and I hurried -him off.</p> - -<p>“My uniform,” he said. “I’m in mufti.”</p> - -<p>“Leave it. It may be useful.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” he asked, anxiously.</p> - -<p>“If I don’t tell you, you can’t be compromised. -Do as I ask; that’s all. And for Heaven’s sake be -off at once.”</p> - -<p>I infected him with a degree of my own energy -and bundled him off to the depot, and sent Buller with -him with instructions to get him a special train if he -missed the regular one.</p> - -<p>Then I gave word that the instant Karasch arrived -he was to be shewn to me; it was close to the -hour at which he was accustomed to come for instructions; -and having done that I set to work to -think out my plan as I ate a hasty dinner.</p> - -<p>The plan was a very simple one—to raise immediately -a band of men numerous enough to protect -Gatrina’s house in case of emergency, and to find -some place close to it where they could remain in -readiness under Karasch’s leadership.</p> - -<p>The idea took a more daring form at one time, -and I was much tempted to adopt it. It was to have -the men in the uniform of one of the regiments and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[320]</span> -to act the part of guarding the house, as if at the -army’s command; but the risk which the men would -run if the thing were discovered was too great. I -might not be able to protect them even with -Petrosch’s influence; and I had, therefore, to abandon -the notion. But from it came another idea which I -saw at once was practicable.</p> - -<p>“There is work for you at last, Karasch,” I said -to him as soon as he arrived; “difficult, and perhaps -dangerous; and I am going to trust to you.”</p> - -<p>“I will do my best, Excellency, whatever it be,” he -answered, with his customary directness.</p> - -<p>“Ugly things are going to occur in the city; a -revolution accompanied probably with violence is -on the eve of taking place; and no one can say for -certain what will or will not happen. But it is very -probable that the Princess—Mademoiselle, you know—will -be exposed to great danger, and I wish you -to help me in protecting her. You will do this?”</p> - -<p>“With my life, Excellency. Of course you have -a plan.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I mean you to get together a strong band -of resolute men to be instantly available to form -a guard round her house. They must be men on -whom we can depend; and we will pay them liberally. -How many can you get?”</p> - -<p>“I could get a thousand to take your money and -promise; and I might find fifty or less who might -keep their promises; and, perhaps, five or six who -would be absolutely reliable. It would depend.”</p> - -<p>“On what?”</p> - -<p>“On whom Mademoiselle had to be defended<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[321]</span> -against. If against the mob it would be easy, but -not against soldiers, Excellency.”</p> - -<p>“It will probably be against the soldiery.”</p> - -<p>He shook his head doubtingly. “It would be -very difficult,” he said.</p> - -<p>“It has to be done, Karasch,” I declared firmly. -“The Princess’s life may depend upon it.”</p> - -<p>“Where twenty men would face the sticks and -stones of a mob, scarce one of them would stand -before the bayonets or bullets of the troops, Excellency. -Should we be inside the house?”</p> - -<p>“No, outside.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” he exclaimed with another very grave shake -of the head.</p> - -<p>“<i>You</i> would do it?”</p> - -<p>“I am different; but I would not do it for money. -I have been in similar troubles before; and for those -who resist the soldiers at such times, there are many -roads to death and all short and pretty certain. Men -know this, Excellency. Belgrade is not like the hills -in the Gravenje district. I might count on five or -six, as I say; but what are they against the troops -in the city?”</p> - -<p>I thought a moment. “Could you trust them -absolutely?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes; as you may trust me. But, I beg your -Excellency’s pardon, why cannot the Princess remove -to a place of safety?”</p> - -<p>“She will not, for reasons I cannot explain to -you. For one thing she does not know of her danger, -and will not believe in it.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[322]</span>“Mademoiselle has a strong will, we know,” he -said, with a shrug of his broad shoulders.</p> - -<p>“She has, therefore, to be saved despite herself. -Stay, I have it,” I exclaimed as a thought struck me. -“You say these five or six men are to be relied upon. -Could you procure half a dozen uniforms for them to -wear?”</p> - -<p>“I could get half a hundred, but——”</p> - -<p>“This is my plan then. Get the other men, fifty -or a hundred of them—as many as you can—to be -available if the only trouble comes from the mob. -The six we will make up as soldiers, and at the worst -we will force our way with them into the house and -bring off the Princess as though she were our -prisoner.”</p> - -<p>He chewed the notion for a moment and then his -grim face relaxed into one of his rare smiles. “It -is good,” he said; and we set to work and threshed -out the plan in as much detail as practicable at that -stage.</p> - -<p>I decided that the half dozen men who with -Karasch and myself were to take the risk of making -the pretended arrest of Gatrina, should wear the -uniform of soldiers and over that loose civilian’s -clothes which could be easily slipped off in case of -need. The men would in this way be available for -both parts of the work before us; as civilians to resist -the mob, or as soldiers to mislead the regular troops.</p> - -<p>I based my plans on the calculation that in making -any attempt on Gatrina’s house the troops were not -likely to be in any considerable force. The movement -would be more in the nature of an arrest; and if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[323]</span> -we could manage to get into the house before the -soldiers sent to make the arrest, they would be likely -to conclude, if they saw Gatrina in our hands, that in -the confusion some mistake had been made in doubling -the parties told off for the purpose.</p> - -<p>I should be in command and should wear the uniform -which Nikolitch had left behind him; and in -the event of any complication arising, I should have -to trust to my wits to explain it away.</p> - -<p>My intention was to march with Gatrina straight to -the house of the United States representative, -where, of course, she would be safe. I knew him -already for a man on whom I could rely implicitly.</p> - -<p>Karasch went off to find the men and was to return -at midnight to report progress; and I was to go out -into the neighbourhood of Gatrina’s house to look -for a place in which they could be placed. I was -getting ready when my eye fell upon Nikolitch’s uniform -and I tried it on. It was anything but comfortable -after the freedom of civilian’s dress; and -as I was much the broader man of the two, it was -an uncommonly bad fit.</p> - -<p>But I had to get used to it; so I resolved on a dress -rehearsal of the part, and throwing on a long overcoat, -I put a revolver in my pocket and set out on -my quest, with Chris in close attendance at my heels.</p> - -<p>The night was fine but moonless; and as the streets -of Belgrade were very badly lighted, there was not -much chance of my being recognised. The restaurants -and supper houses were busy enough, and the -flare of their lights streamed across the streets here -and there; but they were easy to avoid; and there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[324]</span> -were none of them in the neighbourhood of Gatrina’s -house.</p> - -<p>As it was of course necessary that I should make -myself as familiar with the entrances to the house as -possible, I had a good look at it, being careful to keep -well in shadow.</p> - -<p>A massive stone house, it stood by itself at a corner -and was almost surrounded by a high wall. The main -door let out on to a broad thoroughfare; a strong -massive door with a deep portico. In the wall at the -side there was a smaller doorway—the servants’ entrance, -I concluded; and this, also, was very heavily -and strongly fashioned. All the lower windows were -heavily barred, a custom I had observed to be general -in the large houses in the city.</p> - -<p>It was altogether a house capable of offering stout -resistance to any attack; and I saw in a moment that -if I could once get inside, with a few resolute men, it -would be possible to hold it for a long time against -either mob or troops; and I concluded that, in common -with many others in the city, it had been -strengthened in view of the turbulent outbreaks -which had been frequent enough in Belgrade.</p> - -<p>The strength of the house reassured me somewhat -until I found a weak spot. Some fifty yards along -the smaller street were the stables; and I remembered -that when I had been in the house on the previous -day waiting in my vain attempt to see Gatrina, I had -noticed a newly made door at the end of the garden, -just at the point where, as I could now see, it would -lead to the stables; while from the room where I had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[325]</span> -been placed, a French window quite unprotected led -down a flight of steps to the garden path.</p> - -<p>That was a weak spot indeed. But if it would render -the house open to attack, it would also provide -the means by which I could gain access if the need -arose.</p> - -<p>I was weighing all this in my mind most earnestly -as I stood opposite the entrance to the stable, when -Chris moved and growled. I silenced him, laying my -hand on his head, and drew back with him into the -deep shadow of a tree which stood in front of the -portico of a house, and listened.</p> - -<p>He never warned me without cause; and soon I -caught the sound of approaching footsteps. I had -no wish to be seen, so I slipped into the portico and -pressed close against the wall, while I kept watch -on the newcomer. He came along at a quick pace -until he reached the stable, when he paused.</p> - -<p>My first idea was that he was a servant who had -overstayed his hours of leave and was puzzling how -to get into the house without attracting notice.</p> - -<p>But I was wrong. Presently he came out into the -roadway and stared at the upper windows of the -house. Then he went round to the front and again -he paused and stared up at the windows there; and -apparently not seeing what he sought—for the whole -house was now in darkness—he scratched his head -as if in perplexity, and came sauntering back toward -the stables.</p> - -<p>He was very slow in his movements, and his slowness -irritated me. Presently a light shewed for an -instant in one of the top windows at the back, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[326]</span> -was almost instantly extinguished. This was repeated -twice, at short intervals; and I heard the -window raised very cautiously.</p> - -<p>It was evidently the signal for which the man in -the street had been waiting, for he whistled, just two -notes softly, shewed himself in the roadway and -then stepped back in the shadow of the stables and -waited.</p> - -<p>A vulgar assignation, I thought then, not without -disgust; and I wished that he and his sweetheart -would be quick over their love-making. It was -well past eleven. At midnight I had to be back to -receive Karasch’s report; and yet could not venture -to be seen.</p> - -<p>But it was no sweethearting. After some minutes, -a small door in the large stable gate was opened and -a man looked out. I could see all that passed by the -light of a lamp over the gates. The two whispered -together a moment; and then the man from the -house came out, turned the key in the lock, and put -it in his pocket.</p> - -<p>They both crossed the road toward where I stood, -and I pressed yet closer against the wall and kept my -hand on Chris’s head lest by a sound he should betray -our presence. They did not enter the portico, but -stood in the shadow of the tree where I had first concealed -myself.</p> - -<p>“This will do,” I heard one of them say; and then -strain my ears as I would I could not catch any other -than isolated words. But they were enough to set -me on fire. “Army,” “Arrest,” “Three hours,” -“Yes, two o’clock—” this was louder and in an impatient<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[327]</span> -tone. After that there was a chink of money -passing; and then silence. It lasted so long that, -unable to contain myself, I peered out cautiously and -looked at them.</p> - -<p>The man who had come from the house was counting -a quantity of paper money, and trying to read -the value of each bill by the flicker of the lamp across -the road. It was a tedious business; and his companion -whispered something to him and they both -walked away along the street.</p> - -<p>My first inclination was to follow them at once -and force an explanation; but I checked the impulse. -I resolved to wait for the return of the servant. He -was sure to come back, if I read the thing aright. I -could deal with him alone much more satisfactorily.</p> - -<p>I took Chris across to the stable gates and making -him understand that he was on guard and must let -no one pass in, I returned to my hiding-place.</p> - -<p>The minutes were leaden as I stood waiting. The -man was so long away that I began to fear I had -blundered and to regret I had not acted on the impulse -to follow the two.</p> - -<p>But he came at length hurrying from the opposite -direction; and he glanced up at the house windows as -he passed, with a gesture of uneasiness. When he -reached the stable gates, Chris received him with -a low growl, and he started back in some dismay at -the most unexpected interruption.</p> - -<p>He was trying to pacify the dog with a little coaxing -when I crossed to him and, assuming a tone of -authority, asked, at a venture; “You have seen the -sergeant? Why have you been so long?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[328]</span>He was obviously in much perplexity and some -fear, and glanced from Chris to me. The good dog -looked formidable enough to have frightened a -braver man.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” he asked.</p> - -<p>I threw back my long coat and shewed my uniform.</p> - -<p>“The plan is changed. You are to come with me. -We can’t trust you out of sight again.”</p> - -<p>He glanced round as if meditating flight.</p> - -<p>“The dog will pull you down if you move,” I said, -sternly.</p> - -<p>“I must get in,” he murmured. “I shall keep my -word.”</p> - -<p>“Did you hear what I ordered you?” I rapped -back with an oath. “Come,” and I linked my arm in -his to drag him away. He resisted at first; but at -a word from me Chris shewed his fangs and snarled -so angrily that no resistance was left in him. I let -go his arm then. “A false step or a single word, and -the dog’s fangs will close on your throat,” I muttered -fiercely.</p> - -<p>He came then, keeping pace anxiously with my -quick stride and glancing ever and again over his -shoulder at Chris who stalked behind him like a -black shadow.</p> - -<p>I got him to my house without trouble; for the -streets were now all but deserted, and I chose a way -which avoided the main roads.</p> - -<p>I led him into my study, taking Chris with me, -and then turned a lamp full on his face. Then I drew -my revolver and held it in his full view as I considered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[329]</span> -how best to question him, so as to get the truth out -of him.</p> - -<p>It was a vital matter, and they were anxious moments; -for upon his answers Gatrina’s life might depend.</p> - -<p>He found them anxious, too. I could see that by -his pallor, the nervous twitchings of hands and features, -the sweat that stood on his swarthy forehead, -and the wild look on his fear-filled eyes.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[330]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> - - -<small>THE NIGHT OF TERROR.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>The fear which my prisoner displayed led me to -prolong the interval before I questioned him. It was -essential for my purpose that he should be thoroughly -frightened; and the suspense was enough to try much -stouter nerves than his. I let him have some two -or three minutes, therefore, so that his fears should -have full scope; and just as my first question was -on my lips, a happy thought occurred to me. I saw -that I could make valuable use of the Russian reputation -for doing ugly things.</p> - -<p>He was more likely to fear the Russians than any -other party concerned; and if I could make him believe -he had now fallen into their hands, he would -be far more likely to answer my questions than if I -played the more difficult part of an army officer, -believing him false to the army.</p> - -<p>“Stand over there,” I cried, sternly and suddenly -in Russian, pointing to the wall; and the start he -gave at hearing the unwelcome language, proved to -me that I was right. He moved to where I pointed, -his eyes on me all the time. “Attempt to move and -the dog will be on you,” I added, as brutally and -coarsely as I could.</p> - -<p>Then I rang the bell, and when Buller came I said -in Russian; “Tell General Minzkoff I have the prisoner<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[331]</span> -and am questioning him.” But Buller didn’t -understand Russian and stood staring at me in -hesitation what to do; so to give the thing colour, I jumped -up, swore vigorously, and, as if in a paroxysm of -rage, thrust him violently out of the room, pretending -to kick him, as I shouted: “Do as I say at once.”</p> - -<p>I flung myself back in my seat only to jump up -again and, as though I had forgotten something rushed -out of the room after Buller. I explained matters, -and told him to find a servant who could speak Russian -and send him to me to say that “I was to see -General Minzkoff with my report as soon as possible.”</p> - -<p>This particular Russian officer had just the reputation -for violence that was certain to impress the spy; -and the more bullying and brutal I could make my -manner, the more characteristic would it be of the -general’s agents.</p> - -<p>“You speak my language?” I jerked out in Russian.</p> - -<p>“I understand it a little,” he answered with difficulty.</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll use your own cursed tongue,” I said -in Serb. “I have no time to waste over you, so -if you don’t answer plainly I’ll find means to make -you. How much money did that soldier give you -just now?”</p> - -<p>He started at finding I knew this and looked about -for a lie. “Money? I don’t understand your Excellency.”</p> - -<p>“It’s in that pocket.” I pointed to where I had -seen him place it. “Take it out, you lying dog.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[332]</span> -Quick,” I thundered, as he still hesitated. “I know -everything.”</p> - -<p>Slowly, for it cost him a pang to part with it, he -drew out the bundle of bills. “It is my own,” he -faltered.</p> - -<p>“The gold, too. Quick.”</p> - -<p>Again he trembled, but dared not refuse. I had now -impressed upon him that I knew his secrets.</p> - -<p>“Put it there,” I said, pointing to a chair. “Now. -I’ll test your power of speaking the truth. What was -that money paid for?”</p> - -<p>He stared at me in a sweat of fear, trying to -moisten his parched lips with a tongue as dry as -leather, wishing to lie but yet afraid; and in his -fright unable to coin a plausible tale.</p> - -<p>“It was money—owing to me,” he stammered.</p> - -<p>I paused a moment to let him hope the lie had imposed -upon me; and then pointed to the bell. “If -that bell is rung it will bring my men here with the -means you may have heard we use to make prisoners -speak the truth. Go and ring it now—or tell me the -truth of your own accord.”</p> - -<p>It was a touch of refined cruelty eloquent of Russian -methods to make him summon his own torturers; -and it did much to carry conviction now.</p> - -<p>“I don’t wish to deceive your Excellency,” he murmured.</p> - -<p>“Is that why you want me to believe that when a -man owes you money he comes in the dead of night -to pay it after waiting for your signals from the -house—the light three times flashed. You lying -cur. Ring that bell—I have no more time to waste.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[333]</span>“You won’t torture me?” he cried, in anguish.</p> - -<p>“Ring that bell,” I thundered. “It pleases me for -you yourself to call your torturers;” and I laughed, -as if the grim joke were really to my taste.</p> - -<p>Down he went on his knees. “Not the torture, -Excellency. Not the torture. For God’s sake, not -that.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve had a taste of it before, eh?” I said, with -another grin, feeling an awful beast as I did it. “You -can choose—the torture or the truth of your own -will.”</p> - -<p>“My God!” he exclaimed, covering his white face -and writhing; and then the truth came slowly and -with labour, as he thought how little he dared to -tell and yet save his skin. “It was for my mistress’s -sake—the Princess. We were all afraid in the house -because we are so weak. I had arranged to let some -soldiers in to protect us all.”</p> - -<p>“You must do better than that, dog. Try again,” -I sneered, coarsely. “Men don’t pay you to come -and protect you. You’ll have to lie better than that -to convince me.” Then I changed the sneer to a -tone of anger. “I’ll have no more of this; the truth, -or—” and I laid my hand on the bell.</p> - -<p>At that moment the man Buller had sent with the -message in Russian came in and delivered it.</p> - -<p>“Very good,” I said to him; and added; “Tell -black Ivan and Loris to come the instant I ring. I -find I shall need them. They know what to bring -with them.”</p> - -<p>The bluff worked. I saw that the instant the servant -left the room.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[334]</span>“I’ll give you one minute; no more,” I declared.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell your Excellency all I know,” he stammered -at once. “I was paid to let the soldiers into -the house at two o’clock in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“For what purpose?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that.”</p> - -<p>“For what purpose?” I repeated sternly.</p> - -<p>“They wouldn’t tell me.”</p> - -<p>At that I appeared to fly into a passion. I seized -the revolver and going up to him clapped it to his -head.</p> - -<p>“Answer me, or I’ll scatter your brains here on -the floor.”</p> - -<p>He shrank and groaned as he felt the cold steel on -his forehead.</p> - -<p>“To arrest the Princess, Excellency. Oh, my God, -my God,” he cried and burst into tears.</p> - -<p>I went back to my seat. “You are a faithful servant -to your mistress. Do you know what’s going to -happen to-night—the night you’ve chosen for this -infamy?”</p> - -<p>“N—no. Yes,” he changed his words almost -eagerly as he caught my eye.</p> - -<p>“Give it words then.”</p> - -<p>“They told me it was for her safety, Excellency. -They did, they did, I swear they did, on my soul. -When the King and Queen and the others are taken -from the Palace, the Princess would be in danger in -her house, and they mean to put her in a place of -safety.”</p> - -<p>This was news, indeed; and in my consternation at -hearing it, this coward and his treachery became of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[335]</span> -little importance. I did not doubt he was speaking -the truth about that, whatever his own motives may -have been for his act. And then a plan occurred to -me.</p> - -<p>“How many men were to carry out the arrest?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—only a few; four or five at most, -we have no means of resisting them in the house.”</p> - -<p>“You are to let them in by the stable door?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Excellency, at two o’clock. They could -force their way in even without my help.”</p> - -<p>I paid no heed to his attempt at exculpation. -“What is your name? The name they know you -by?”</p> - -<p>“Michel.”</p> - -<p>“How many men servants are in the house?”</p> - -<p>“Two besides myself. Two are away, Excellency.”</p> - -<p>“Anyone sleeping in the stables?”</p> - -<p>“No one, Excellency.”</p> - -<p>“Any of the others know of your plan?”</p> - -<p>“No, Excellency.”</p> - -<p>“You have the key of that stable door. Give it to -me.”</p> - -<p>He handed it over with a deep sigh.</p> - -<p>“You have saved your skin,” I said curtly; “but -you must remain here. You will be safe, if you make -no effort to resist. If you do that, I shall leave orders -that you are to be shot.” I said this much as though -it were my daily custom to catch men and murder -them; and the very tone I used added to his fears.</p> - -<p>I left him a minute in the care of Chris; and -as Karasch had arrived I told him to have the man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[336]</span> -bound and locked up in one of the many vaults in the -basement of the house.</p> - -<p>I was glad to be relieved of his presence, and then -set to work to carry out the scheme which his story -had suggested. When Karasch came back I told him -what I had learnt and asked him how he had fared.</p> - -<p>“Except the handful of men on whom I knew I -could trust, I have done little,” he said.</p> - -<p>“They may be enough for my altered plans. Can -you get them to-night, and above all can you get uniforms -for them?”</p> - -<p>“I fear not, Excellency. It is past midnight.”</p> - -<p>“Get the men then. I’ll find uniforms for them.”</p> - -<p>“My plan is to go to the Princess’s house at once; -to wait for the men who are coming to arrest her; -make them prisoners and then play their part. They -will be able to provide us with the costumes,” I added, -smiling grimly.</p> - -<p>“It is very dangerous,” was his comment.</p> - -<p>“You mean for them? Yes, it will be.”</p> - -<p>“I mean for you, and all of us.”</p> - -<p>“If anyone is afraid, let him stay away. I can go -alone. It is no work for children, of course,” I exclaimed, -impetuously.</p> - -<p>“Have I deserved that from your Excellency?”</p> - -<p>“No, Karasch; I know you haven’t. I am excited.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me what has to be done; and I will do it,” -he said, simply; and then we discussed very hurriedly -the plan and completed the preparations which -had to be made.</p> - -<p>I told him to meet me near the Princess’s house<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[337]</span> -with as many of the men as he could get together, -and to bring with him a few lengths of stout cord -for binding the soldiers we hoped to capture. That -made clear I packed him off to hunt up his men.</p> - -<p>It was a desperate step I had resolved to take, and -the penalty of failure would probably be serious. I -realised that to the full; but on the other hand, I -could see no other means of gaining my end.</p> - -<p>If Gatrina would have listened to me, the course -would have been simple enough. I could have given -her warning of her danger and have removed her to -a place of safety. But she would not let me approach -her nor admit there was anything perilous to her -in the situation. Thus, if I was to save her it must -be done against her knowledge and almost against -her will.</p> - -<p>I left my house about half an hour after midnight, -having appointed with Karasch to be at the Princess’s -by half past one, or as near to that hour as he could -reach there. In no event was he to be later than a -quarter to two, even if he had to come alone.</p> - -<p>Having ample time, I resolved to make a detour -and see if any movements were going on in the -neighbourhood of the Palace. With Chris close at -my heels I walked at a rapid pace, choosing the most -unfrequented ways I could find.</p> - -<p>The whole city appeared sunk in the slumber of -unsuspecting security. Scarcely a light glimmered -in any one of the houses. The streets were deserted, -and the only sounds to disturb the quietude were -those of my own footsteps. If the army were really -going to move that night, they must have kept their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[338]</span> -intentions entirely secret from all who were not concerned -in their work.</p> - -<p>One o’clock was chimed as I came in view of the -Palace; and save for the sentries pacing their rounds -with mechanical steps, not a soul was to be seen. The -Palace itself was wrapped in comparative darkness, -the inmates secure in their belief in the fidelity and -watchfulness of their guards.</p> - -<p>There was absolutely nothing to suggest that a violent -outbreak was on the very eve of consummation; -and that a deed of horror was in the making, the -shame of which would before morning spread to the -uttermost confines of the civilised world, to set men -seeking its parallel in the darkest epochs of history.</p> - -<p>I turned from the Palace, indeed, hoping and more -than half convinced that the spy had been misled, and -that if the army really nurtured thoughts of force, -their plans were not yet matured. I was intensely -relieved by this apparent dissipation of my gloomy -fears and at the same time profoundly perplexed as -to my own course.</p> - -<p>If I forced my way in the dead of night into Gatrina’s -house and nothing occurred to justify my act, -discovery would overwhelm me with both confusion -and shame. In her eyes I should not only look like -a rash, intermeddling fool, but my conduct would be -open to a thousand misinterpretations, all ominous -and all ruinous to my hopes.</p> - -<p>But I was not long to be a prey to these distracting -doubts. On leaving the Palace I hurried toward -one of the barracks; and then, all suddenly, on turning -the corner of one of the main streets, I heard the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[339]</span> -measured tramp of many feet; and had just time to -conceal myself in the gateway of a house, when a -large body of troops passed me, marching in dead -silence.</p> - -<p>They numbered some hundreds, marching straight -on the Palace; and I knew then, indeed, that trouble -was abroad and that my worst forebodings were to be -realised.</p> - -<p>The night of terror for Belgrade had come; and -when I saw the strength of the force and thought of -Gatrina, my heart sank within me at the paltry effort -I was about to make to secure her safety. My plan -seemed so puny, so less than weak, so hopeless in -the face of this overawing display of force, that I -could have gnashed my teeth in despair.</p> - -<p>I gazed after the troops, when they had passed, -like a fool bereft of his wits by fear, until a sound -broke and roused me from my lethargy.</p> - -<p>The sound was that of gunshots in the direction -of the Palace. I guessed that the stern band had -met with some opposition from the guard, and that -the deadly work on which they were bent had already -commenced. They had staked their lives on the -issue; and even thus early, some had paid the forfeit.</p> - -<p>It was just the spur my sluggish wits needed and -I slipped from my hiding-place and ran at utmost -speed in the direction of Gatrina’s house. It was -nearly a quarter to two when I reached it, to find -with intense satisfaction that all was still quiet there -and that Karasch had arrived and was awaiting me -with four companions.</p> - -<p>Taking the utmost precaution to make sure we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[340]</span> -were unobserved, I unlocked the little door in the -stable gates and we entered. Locking it behind me, -and leaving the men at the end near the stable under -the shadow of some trees, Karasch and I stole up the -garden to the house, and found the unlocked door -by which the spy had left.</p> - -<p>The time was so short before we were to look for -the coming of the soldiers that not a moment was -to be lost in finding a place where we could carry out -the plan of capture. Karasch, most thoughtfully, -had brought a lantern with him, and stealing noiselessly -through the passages, we explored the whole -of the underpart of the house; and I decided upon -two large cellars and explained to him hurriedly how -to act.</p> - -<p>We would let the men in two at a time, Karasch -guiding one, I the other; and lead them each to a -different cellar, where we would overpower and bind -them. All would be in darkness on the plea that -suspicion had been aroused in the house and any -light would be dangerous; and as each man entered -the cellar he would be seized.</p> - -<p>He fetched the men and by the light of the lantern -I had a good look at each. They were a sturdy, -resolute lot; and when we explained the work to be -done, they seemed to enter into it with willingness -and determination.</p> - -<p>The traps were in readiness before the hour struck, -and Karasch and I went out again to the stable gate -to wait for the soldiers.</p> - -<p>We stood in deep shadow and I then told him -what I had seen in the streets and of the firing I had -heard at the Palace.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[341]</span>“The city will soon wake,” he muttered. “And -if the people side with the troops, as I believe they -will, we shall soon have the mob here.”</p> - -<p>“It will at least convince the Princess of the need -to fly.” I sought hard to persuade myself of this; -for my chief fear was that Gatrina herself would yet -prove the greatest difficulty.</p> - -<p>We stood in silence for many minutes and now -and again the sound of hurrying footsteps without -told us that the news of the doings at the Palace was -spreading and that the people were scurrying to -learn what was going forward.</p> - -<p>“They are late,” muttered Karasch, impatiently, -more than once; and then: “They are coming,” he -declared, as his quick ear caught the sound of slower -footsteps before I heard anything.</p> - -<p>I soon heard them, however. They halted outside -the gates; and someone knocked. I opened -the little door a couple of inches and peered through.</p> - -<p>There were six of them only.</p> - -<p>“Is that you, Michel?” came a whisper.</p> - -<p>“Hsh. Yes. How many are there of you?”</p> - -<p>“Six.”</p> - -<p>“There is danger. I am suspected. You must -enter two at a time. I daren’t let you all pass together -through the garden. Cautiously, my friend, -cautiously,” I said, as someone tried to force the -door.</p> - -<p>A consultation was held and the man who had -spoken to me explained to the rest what I had said. -Some difficulty was raised by one of the soldiers; but -I got my way.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[342]</span>Two men slipped through the door as I held it; -and the instant the second was through, I locked it -behind him.</p> - -<p>“Follow us,” I said, not giving either of them -time to see my face; and we led them to the house. -“Give me your hand,” I told the man with me. “We -daren’t have a light, and the place is pitch dark.”</p> - -<p>He suspected nothing and I led him into the cellar, -clapping my hand on his mouth as he entered, while -the two men in waiting seized him and in less than -a minute he lay bound and gagged. The other had -been dealt with in the same way.</p> - -<p>Karasch and I went back to the stables; but the -time occupied, swiftly as we had acted, had roused -some kind of suspicion; and when I opened the little -door, one of the men thrust the butt of his musket -in the way and despite my strenuous efforts, before I -could close it all four had forced themselves through.</p> - -<p>“We’ll go in together, my man,” said one of them, -linking his arm in mine and holding me firmly. Another -man did the same to Karasch.</p> - -<p>It spelt crisis; and for a moment or two I breathed -hard. My fingers closed round my revolver, and his -life hung by a much thinner thread than he dreamt.</p> - -<p>I stood fighting with the impulse and thus the -chance passed.</p> - -<p>“See if he’s armed,” cried the soldier, and his companion -plunged a hand into my pocket and wrenched -my weapon roughly from me. Karasch was served -in the same way; and from the confidence of success -we were thus suddenly brought face to face with -the threat of disastrous failure.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[343]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXV.<br /> - - -<small>IN GATRINA’S HOUSE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>In the moment of crisis Karasch took his cue from -me and neither resisted nor protested against the -soldiers’ conduct. I knew, however, that he would -watch me closely and be prepared to help the moment -I had decided what to do.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know why you’ve done this,” I said to -the man who held me and had given the orders. “I -kept faith with you and you arrest me in return for -it.” I was on fire with anxiety, but I spoke coolly.</p> - -<p>“We can do without you now; and mean to see -you give no trouble,” was the answer.</p> - -<p>“Very well; but if you cross the garden in a body -like this, there’ll be no call for me to give it you; -you’ll find it for yourself. You’ll be seen; the alarm -will be given, and you may look out for resistance.”</p> - -<p>“Who is there to resist, fool-head? There are -only three men in the house, and we’ve got two of -you here,” he growled with a chuckle at his own -cunning. “You come with us to the house; that’s -all you’ve got to do; and come quietly, or maybe -you won’t reach it. This is the army’s night, and -we’re not in a mood to be soft to those who resist -us.”</p> - -<p>With that we moved on along the garden and I -was in a fever of apprehension lest we should be seen -by someone in the house. But the inmates were apparently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[344]</span> -fast asleep, and we reached the entrance -without being observed.</p> - -<p>This increased my captors’ suspicions.</p> - -<p>“I thought your caution was overdone, friend -spy,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Then you’re a fool,” I answered, bluntly. -“There’s a dog about and if he scents you, he’ll soon -let everyone know. You’d better let me keep him -quiet.” I had told Chris to stay, and knew he would -remain till I called him.</p> - -<p>We had entered the house then and stood in the -broad, stone-flagged passage; and I spoke loud -enough to warn our men in the cellars beyond. I -and the two men holding me were in advance and -Karasch and the others close behind.</p> - -<p>“You hold your tongue. I’m in command here,” -said the soldier in a bullying tone.</p> - -<p>“You’ve made prisoners of us; so you must do -as you will. But I won’t stand this treatment.”</p> - -<p>“Where are my two men?”</p> - -<p>“I left them close here. I suppose they’ve gone -on into the house.”</p> - -<p>“It’s as dark as hell,” growled the fellow. “Can -you see anything, Andreas?” he asked his companion.</p> - -<p>“Nothing but the dark,” was the answer with an -oath.</p> - -<p>“You can get a light in the room first door to the -right,” I said. This was where I had left Chris, and -if he went to it I knew the dog would put him out of -the reckoning. But he smelt a trick and would not.</p> - -<p>“No, thank you, Mr. Spy. Where we go, you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[345]</span> -come too. I can’t make out where the devil the -others are. What does it mean?” and he called the -men by name.</p> - -<p>“Hadn’t you better ring the alarm bell, while -you’re about it?” I sneered. “You’ll rouse everyone -more quickly.”</p> - -<p>“Curse the dark. Lead to where I can get a -light,” he muttered. “No tricks, mind, or you’ll -regret it.”</p> - -<p>His grip tightened on my arm and we moved forward -abreast. But the door was too narrow to admit -us all at once and he entered the room first.</p> - -<p>“Seize him, Chris,” I said in English; and out of -the gloom the huge black form sprang at him with -a fierce growl. In his consternation the soldier -loosed his hold of me to battle with the dog, and -in a moment my hand was on his companion’s throat, -while I called to the men in the cellars to go to the -help of Karasch who was now fighting and struggling -with his two guards.</p> - -<p>We were six to three, for Chris kept the leader -busy; and the desperate struggle in the darkness -was soon over. The soldiers fought gamely enough; -but they had no chance against such odds. We overpowered -them, but it was not until some hard blows -had been given and taken on both sides.</p> - -<p>I was most afraid for the man whom Chris had attacked; -but when I went to him was relieved to find -that no serious harm had been done. He was terribly -frightened; as well might be, for Chris was an -antagonist few men would care to fight. But having -got him down the good dog had not mauled him.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[346]</span> -The soldier lay flat on the ground, with Chris standing -guard over him and growling fiercely whenever -the man made the slightest movement.</p> - -<p>“Call this brute off for God’s sake,” he said, in a -frightened voice as I approached, lantern in hand. I -was glad to hear him speak.</p> - -<p>“It serves you right for the trick you played me,” -I answered. “Are you hurt?” and I called Chris -away.</p> - -<p>“I thought he’d kill me.”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t have been much loss if he had,” said -I, as he sat up and began to feel himself all over.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to shoot the brute. What does this all -mean?”</p> - -<p>“That you’re my prisoner instead of my being -yours. If you have any weapons put ’em out—or -I’ll let the dog find them.”</p> - -<p>He glanced round fearsomely at Chris, who -snarled.</p> - -<p>“I have none.”</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll tie you up like the rest of your men,” -I answered; and tied up he was. “I shall leave you -here,” I told him. “The dog will be on watch if -you try any tricks; and you know whether you want -another round with him.”</p> - -<p>Our victory was complete; and it remained to see -how we should use it. Karasch and the others set -to work to take the soldiers’ uniforms and put them -on, while I tried to think what step to take next. -I was in possession of the house; but it seemed as if -the real difficulties of the business were only at the -beginning.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[347]</span>The noise made during the struggle was so great -that I knew the household must have been roused, -and while the men were getting into the soldiers’ -uniforms, I listened with considerable anxiety for -someone to come down to us. No one came, however; -and I concluded that those who had been -aroused had also been so frightened that they preferred -to stop where they were.</p> - -<p>The difficulty of the position was increased by -my reluctance to see Gatrina or be seen by her, if -that could be in any way prevented. My plan was to -play his burlesque of arresting her, and not to shew -my hand until she was housed safely in the care of -the American Minister. To do that I intended one -of the four men whom Karasch had brought to act -the part of leader; and I trusted that in the confusion -and alarm of the arrest, both Karasch and I might -manage to pass unnoticed.</p> - -<p>I was revolving all this in my thoughts when I -heard a movement above stairs, and presently a -man’s voice called:</p> - -<p>“Is that you, Michel? What’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>“Come down,” I called in response; but my voice -startled him.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?”</p> - -<p>“Michel wants you. There is trouble. Come -down;” but he would not. Instead of coming he -went away; and I heard the low murmur of voices -as he spoke with someone else.</p> - -<p>Lights shewed then, and I heard people moving -about. But I did not want the house to be lighted -up, for fear of its attracting too much notice outside;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[348]</span> -and I therefore called to my men to make haste -with their dressing.</p> - -<p>When they came I led the way upstairs to find -the servants huddled together looking very scared; -the two men in front of them armed. At the sight -of so many of us in uniform they uttered cries of -surprise and alarm.</p> - -<p>“Put those guns down,” I said, in a tone of command. -“We are too strong for you to resist; and -if you make any attempt, it will only lead to trouble. -Do as I say, and no harm will come to you.”</p> - -<p>The two men hesitated. “What do you want?” -asked one of them.</p> - -<p>“Cover them,” I said, stepping to one side, and -up went my men’s guns to their shoulders.</p> - -<p>One of the women screamed and they all huddled -back, while the men laid their weapons on the -ground with discreet speed. At a sign from me the -muskets were lowered.</p> - -<p>“Put out most of those lights,” I said next; and -the order was obeyed with a celerity that spoke -volumes for the impression we had created. “Where -is your mistress, the Princess Gatrina?”</p> - -<p>“In her rooms, sir,” said one of the women servants.</p> - -<p>“Tell her to dress at once. She is to come with -us. Impress upon her that only her safety is being -considered. Strange things are doing in the city, -and she cannot remain here. She must be ready to -go with us in five minutes.”</p> - -<p>The girl sped away up the broad stairs and I -turned to Karasch to tell him my plan.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[349]</span>“The Princess will probably demand to see us; -and as neither you nor I can go to her without being -recognised, two of these must go. Pick them out.”</p> - -<p>He chose two, and I told them what to say. That -we had been selected to protect the Princess and -take her to a place where she would be safe until the -trouble in the city had passed.</p> - -<p>The maid came back and her message was pretty -much what I had anticipated.</p> - -<p>“Her highness will see you in a minute, sir. She -wishes to know from whom you come; and declares -she will not leave the house.”</p> - -<p>“Our orders are peremptory. In five minutes -she must go with us,” I replied, and she carried the -message.</p> - -<p>While we waited for the reply I went into the -room where I had once before been, and saw that -my fears as to the unguarded window were only too -well justified. I called Karasch’s attention to it.</p> - -<p>“If we have to remain in the house that window -must be barricaded, or we may as well throw open -the front door,” I said; and we were discussing it -when I heard one of the maids say to the other -servants that the street in the front of the house was -getting full of people.</p> - -<p>We went and looked out. It was only too true; -and that it probably had a very sinister meaning for -us all I knew to my infinite concern.</p> - -<p>The city was indeed awaking to a knowledge of -the dread doings of the night of terror, and the -crowd was beginning to gather here in expectation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[350]</span> -that the house would become the scene of some stirring -and exciting act of the tragedy.</p> - -<p>I noticed with relief, however, that no troops were -present. None had been sent yet under the belief -that Gatrina would be made prisoner by the handful -of men whose parts we were now playing. But -how long this belief would continue it was impossible -to conjecture.</p> - -<p>Someone somewhere was waiting to receive the -Princess from the hands of the men; and when they -did not arrive with her, the sands of patience would -be few and would soon run out, and a fresh guard -sent to know the reason. When they came, they -would bring a heap of trouble with them; unless I -could hurry Gatrina from the house in time.</p> - -<p>The need for haste was thus imperative; and I -fretted and worried at the delay she made, all unconscious -as she was of the peril it meant to her -and all.</p> - -<p>The instant the five minutes’ grace had expired, -I sent the two men upstairs to bring her down, -despatching one of the scared maid-servants to shew -them her room.</p> - -<p>At that moment we heard sounds below and Chris -growled and barked. Karasch and I, followed by -the two men, ran down instantly and found trouble; -one of the soldiers, carelessly bound, had wriggled -out of his cords and liberated a companion; and as -we reached the bottom of the stairs, the two were -in the passage with the dog blocking the way to the -door and snarling fiercely.</p> - -<p>We rushed toward them, but they slipped into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[351]</span> -room where Chris had had the fight with the leader; -and slamming the door in our faces, set up a clatter -loud enough to wake the dead.</p> - -<p>Karasch and I dashed ourselves against the door -and as we strained to force it, we heard the crash of -glass.</p> - -<p>“The garden, Karasch,” I cried; and we unfastened -the door and rushed out. Chris darted out -with a growl and in a moment had brought one of -the men to bay. The other fled toward the stable -and we ran in pursuit of him. But he was a quick, -agile fellow, and using the little door at the end as -a means of escape, he sprang up it, mounted the wall -and disappeared—to carry the news of our doings -heaven alone knew where.</p> - -<p>“Back to the house, Karasch. We must get -away before that man can bring help.” We took -back his comrade, thrust him into a room, turned -the key upon him, and hurried again up the stairs.</p> - -<p>Matters were going against me in the house also; -and I was beginning to realise that I had grievously -bungled matters in choosing such a method to serve -Gatrina.</p> - -<p>She had done precisely what, if I had not been a -dolt, I might have known a girl of her courage and -resolution would do. She had used the minutes of -grace to barricade herself into the room.</p> - -<p>The men were waiting for me with the story.</p> - -<p>“She has fastened herself into her room, she and -her maids, and we could hear them piling things -against the door to keep us out. We tried to call -your message through the door, but at first she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[352]</span> -wouldn’t answer; and then she said she was quite -safe where she was and would yield to nothing but -force. We didn’t like to force the door without -your orders.”</p> - -<p>I clenched my hands in impotent chagrin. Had -we been the soldiers whose part we were playing, -there would have been little enough difficulty, of -course; and a few minutes would have sufficed to -break a way in and take her prisoner.</p> - -<p>But force was out of the question for me; and I -felt like a flustered fool as the infinitely precious -moments slipped away one after another bringing -perilously nearer the troops who would come hurrying -to the house the instant the man who had -escaped got his story to headquarters.</p> - -<p>To add to the strain of the situation, cries and calls -began to be heard from the crowd in the street. -Presently a stone was flung through one of the -windows; and the crash of the glass sent a shiver of -fear through the clustered servants and was followed -by a loud cheer from the crowd and a cry of “Down -with the Obrenovics!”</p> - -<p>“Shew me the Princess’s room,” I said, and followed -by the men I ran upstairs and knocked on -the panel of the door.</p> - -<p>There was no answer.</p> - -<p>I knocked again.</p> - -<p>“For God’s sake open the door and come out,” I -said, eagerly.</p> - -<p>Still there was no reply; and while we waited more -stones were flung and more windows broken, followed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[353]</span> -as before by the shouts and hoarse cries of the -mob.</p> - -<p>But not a sign would Gatrina make in response -to my knocking and appeal.</p> - -<p>Every second was bringing the danger nearer—and -it was growing to a double peril now; for Karasch -brought me word that the mob was increasing -fast in numbers and were growing so angry that it -looked as though they would attack the house.</p> - -<p>I clamoured again at the door and called out that -there was imminent danger; but either she did not -hear my voice because of the clamour of the people -without, or hearing it, did not recognise the tone; -and held it to be a ruse of the soldiers to induce her -to open the door.</p> - -<p>I felt just mad as I cursed my stupidity for having -planned this soldier business, which had thus driven -Gatrina to regard these desperate efforts of ours to -save her as the violence of her enemies bent upon -her destruction.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the temper of the populace without -was rising so fast that it seemed as if a few minutes -would make escape from the house impracticable for -us all, even if more troops did not arrive.</p> - -<p>I hammered again at the door and called her in -my loudest tones; I told the servants of the peril in -which she stood if we could not get her away, and -urged them to join with me in appealing to her to -yield. But it was all to no purpose. Not a word -would she answer either to them or to me.</p> - -<p>“Get me paper quickly,” I told them; and when -one, a white-faced girl, rushed away on the errand, I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[354]</span> -whistled up Chris and set him barking in the hope -that she would hear him and know by the sound -who was there.</p> - -<p>Chris succeeded where I had failed.</p> - -<p>“What is that?” It was Gatrina’s voice; and -hearing it the dog whined and barked joyfully.</p> - -<p>“It is Chris,” I called. “We are here to save -you. Open the door for the love of God at once.”</p> - -<p>“Who is that speaking?”</p> - -<p>“It is I, Bourgwan,” I replied, my voice unsteady -in my excitement. “There is not a moment to -lose.”</p> - -<p>“Where are the soldiers?”</p> - -<p>“I will explain all. For God’s sake come or it -will be too late. Every second is precious.”</p> - -<p>We heard them drag away something they had -placed before the door; and burning with impatience -called again to them to make haste.</p> - -<p>At that moment a loud knocking came at the front -door of the house; and one of Karasch’s men came -running to say that the soldiers were in the street.</p> - -<p>“We daren’t stay to be caught in these uniforms. -We shall be shot off-hand at a time like this,” he -said; and the others agreed.</p> - -<p>“You’ll be shot by me if you attempt to desert -me now,” I answered desperately. “Before anyone -can get in, we shall be away. Stop them, Karasch. -In a few moments we shall all be away.”</p> - -<p>Again there came the loud knocking and clanging -of the bell, followed by the cries of the mob and -another shower of stones at the house.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[355]</span>Unable to hold their courage longer my men -turned and ran down the stairs helter-skelter.</p> - -<p>There was a moment’s calm without and in the -silence the room door unlocked and Gatrina came -out.</p> - -<p>Not recognising me for an instant in the surprise -at seeing my officer’s uniform, and Karasch by me -dressed also as a soldier, she started back as if fearing -treachery; but Chris rushed up to her and disarmed -her fear.</p> - -<p>“Would God you had come out before,” I cried.</p> - -<p>Before she could reply we heard the sound of a -scuffle and two of the men came running back.</p> - -<p>“We are too late. The soldiers are already in -the house below,” cried one, breathlessly. “We are -as good as dead men.”</p> - -<p>Even Karasch changed colour at the news.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[356]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXVI.<br /> - - -<small>CHRIS TO THE RESCUE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>It was the delay which had been fatal to the plan. -The minutes during which we had had to wait before -Gatrina could be made to understand who we were -and what our object was had just turned the balance -against us.</p> - -<p>“What dreadful thing has happened?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“I cannot spare a moment to explain. If you -will play the part of being my prisoner there is yet a -chance of getting away.”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry,” she said, as her maid brought her -a cloak and hat.</p> - -<p>“Silence there,” I cried in a loud voice. “Fall in. -I am sorry my duty is so unpleasant, your highness; -but I can answer no questions. Forward.”</p> - -<p>I led the way motioning to Karasch to walk at -Gatrina’s side, with two of the men in front and two -bringing up the rear. The women thinking the -thing real began to weep.</p> - -<p>I had heard the soldiers coming up and they met -us on the stairs. The only chance was to put as -bold a face as possible on the matter and with as -much show of authority as I could assume, I said:</p> - -<p>“Is the way from the house clear? I shall take -the prisoner by the back through the garden.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[357]</span>I had expected to be faced by some of the men we -had fought with earlier, but to my intense relief there -were none but private soldiers and one sergeant; and -on seeing my captain’s uniform they stood aside and -saluted.</p> - -<p>“We have not been to the back of the house, captain,” -replied the sergeant.</p> - -<p>“Is Colonel Petrosch here yet?” I asked this as -I thought the mention of the name might impress -him.</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Who’s in command of the soldiers in the front?”</p> - -<p>“Lieutenant Bulver, captain.”</p> - -<p>“Is he in sufficient force to control the mob?”</p> - -<p>“He has a strong body of troops, captain.”</p> - -<p>“What are you doing in the house?” I was curious -to know whether the escape of the soldiers had -anything to do with it.</p> - -<p>“We were detailed to see if the arrest had yet been -made, captain, and to assist you if necessary.”</p> - -<p>I breathed a little more freely.</p> - -<p>“All I need is that the mob there be kept in the -front of the house so that I can get away with the -prisoner quietly at the back. That side street must -be cleared of people. How did you get into the -house?”</p> - -<p>“We forced a small door at the side, captain.”</p> - -<p>This accounted for his not knowing anything of -what had gone on below stairs in the basement.</p> - -<p>Then came the sound of more hooting and groaning -from the front of the house; and another volley -of stones breaking more of the windows. This in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">[358]</span> -turn was followed by sharp words of command; and -a knocking at the front door.</p> - -<p>Keeping up my policy of bluff, I opened it myself. -The officer was on the step and started in surprise -at seeing me. He was a pleasant-faced young -fellow, and taking me for a superior officer was disposed -to offer an apology. Bluff is an excellent -policy while you can keep your end up.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I thought only a sergeant was here,” he said.</p> - -<p>“I deemed it best to come myself,” I answered. -“Can’t you keep the crowd in order?”</p> - -<p>“They are very strong and inclined to violence. -We’ve driven them back for a bit; but I’ve sent for -more men.”</p> - -<p>I knew they would be on hand sooner than he -thought or I wished; but I replied, seriously: “Very -prudent. This sort of thing is not what we want -at all. The house was to be protected.”</p> - -<p>“We did not look for such a demonstration,” he -said again, apologetically.</p> - -<p>“Well, I have made the arrest, but I had more -trouble than I anticipated; there was a stout resistance. -I wish to take the prisoner away without exposing -her to the mob. Let your men clear the side -street of people, and prevent anyone passing into it. -I shall leave the house by the garden through the -stables.”</p> - -<p>“We are strong enough to protect her from the -crowd.”</p> - -<p>“I prefer the other way, lieutenant. Be good -enough to see my order carried out,” I replied -sharply.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[359]</span>“I’ll have it done at once,” and he went away.</p> - -<p>“You had better help the lieutenant, sergeant; -he will need all the men he can have.”</p> - -<p>In this way I got rid of him and his men also, -and I shut the door again, with a fervent sigh of -thankfulness that my imposture had not been detected. -I had caught the lieutenant eyeing me curiously -more than once during the short colloquy; -but I concluded that he took me for one of the -officers who had been drafted in from the provincial -regiments for the grim work of that night. And -probably my air and tone of authority had stopped -him from putting any questions which I should have -found exceedingly hard to answer.</p> - -<p>Whatever his reasons, I had succeeded in bluffing -him, even at the very moment when I had given -up all as lost; and my hopes began to rise that even -in the teeth of all this force and despite the anger -of the mob, Gatrina would be saved.</p> - -<p>“We’ll make for the garden at once,” I said; and -we passed through the room with the French window -opening on to the garden, and hurried to the -stables.</p> - -<p>As we passed we could hear the troops clearing -the street amid the expostulations and cries of the -crowd, as they were swept on toward the front.</p> - -<p>Until now Gatrina had not spoken to me, but we -had to wait while the way was cleared and we stood -side by side and a little apart from the rest.</p> - -<p>“You have run a terrible risk, Mr. Bergwyn,” -she said.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[360]</span>“I have been in no danger; and we shall get away -all right.”</p> - -<p>“What has happened at the Palace?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. I got wind of this intended arrest -of you and came here in the hope of intercepting -the soldiers. As I was on my way, a very large -body of troops, some hundreds of men, passed me -marching on the Palace; and afterwards I heard the -sound of firing. But what occurred after that I -have no knowledge whatever.”</p> - -<p>She wrung her hands despairingly.</p> - -<p>“Do you think—oh, God, it is maddening.”</p> - -<p>“It is the work of the army. I know so much. -And I hope they have done no more than to force -an abdication.”</p> - -<p>“You say that as if you feared—I know not what -horrors.”</p> - -<p>“If we once get clear of this we shall find out -what has occurred. But we could do nothing if we -wished. You have seen for yourself the temper -of the people. They have sided with the army.”</p> - -<p>“You mean the attack on my house?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. The city is mad to-night, and would do -anything. The only thing to think of now is your -safety. Karasch, look over if we can go yet.”</p> - -<p>I was on fire with impatience to be away; but -Karasch reported that the street was not yet clear.</p> - -<p>“Is there no other way we could escape?” I -asked Gatrina.</p> - -<p>She shook her head. “No, none,” she replied.</p> - -<p>“I dare not wait here, Karasch; we shall be -caught in a trap;” and opening the door in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[361]</span> -stable gates I looked out; but only to shut it again -quickly as I caught my breath in dismay at what I -saw.</p> - -<p>Another body of troops were coming towards us -at the double, and by the side of the officer in command -ran a man in his shirt sleeves. It was the -soldier who had escaped from us.</p> - -<p>“We are too late,” I said, as calmly as I could -speak. “There are more troops, Karasch, and that -man is guiding them. We must go back to the -house and try to get away from the front.”</p> - -<p>We hurried back through the garden, and before -we reached the house the newcomers were already -clamouring at the stable gates.</p> - -<p>Dashing through the house I flung open the front -door.</p> - -<p>But that way was impossible. The very orders I -had given, to have the crowd massed in the front of -the house, had effectually barred the chance of -escape. They had been driven from the side street -and were now surging and swaying in a dense mass -to the right of the house, too vast a crowd for me -to hope of pushing my way through them with the -handful of men I had.</p> - -<p>To go to the left meant only running into the -arms of the fresh troops; certain capture.</p> - -<p>I called Karasch and pointed to the hopelessness -of the attempt.</p> - -<p>“We can do nothing. You and the men must -get away.”</p> - -<p>“And you?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I shall stay with the Princess.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[362]</span>“Then I stay too, with you,” he said sturdily.</p> - -<p>“No, you can do better. You can save us both. -You and the others. You can pretend to carry a -message from me to the lieutenant—that I want to -speak to him; and then lose yourselves among the -soldiers or in the crowd. Get away as fast as you -can, and search high and low to find Colonel Petrosch. -Don’t forget the name, and find him at any -hazard. Tell him that my life is in danger and that -he must come here if it is not to be lost. If he -questions you, tell him plainly all I have done. Now -go.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like leaving you,” he insisted.</p> - -<p>“For God’s sake, man, don’t be a fool. It’s the -only way out of the tightest fix I was ever in. You -must reach him before he hears the news these -others are bringing. Go;” and I half pushed him -out of the house.</p> - -<p>The rest were only too eager to be off, and I -watched breathlessly as Karasch crossed the cleared -space, spoke to the lieutenant, who looked over at -me and after hesitating, walked toward me.</p> - -<p>As he came, I saw Karasch and his men move -back to the soldiers, push through the ranks, and -disappear in the crowd behind them.</p> - -<p>“What have you done?” asked Gatrina.</p> - -<p>“I have sent for someone who may get us out -of the mess I have been clever enough to get us -into. I don’t know what’s going to happen first.”</p> - -<p>The lieutenant entered the house then.</p> - -<p>“You wish to speak to me, captain?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“It’s just as well to you as to another. I’m only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[363]</span> -masquerading in this uniform. I am not an officer -at all.”</p> - -<p>He stared at me openmouthed in sheer amazement.</p> - -<p>“No officer?” he stammered. “I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“You soon will. There are those coming who -will make it all plain to you. But having misled -you purposely, I wished to tell you; that’s all.” I -spoke as coolly as though I had been announcing a -mere business fact.</p> - -<p>“The soldiers who were with you?” he asked -then, glancing round as if in search of them.</p> - -<p>“They are gone,” I told him.</p> - -<p>Then we heard a noise in the basement. Loud -voices, the tramp of many feet, and a rush up the -stairs.</p> - -<p>“We’ll wait for them here,” I said to Gatrina, -pointing to a room at the back of the house; and we -all three went into it, Chris keeping close by her -side.</p> - -<p>“You are my prisoner, sir,” said the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>“I shall offer no resistance,” I replied, making it -sound as much like a concession on my part as I -could.</p> - -<p>I put a chair for Gatrina and she sat down, while -I stood beside her.</p> - -<p>The next minute the soldiers came crowding into -the room with the sergeant and men whose uniforms -we had taken in their midst. They were all -talking at once and gesticulating at once angrily, -making a sort of Babel of tongues, in which fierce<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[364]</span> -denunciations of me were disquietingly loud and -conspicuous.</p> - -<p>The officer in charge of the newcomers exchanged -a few words with the lieutenant, describing -excitedly the heinous deed of which I had been -guilty. I disliked the look of him intensely—a -heavy, red-haired bully of a man, and when he addressed -me he did so in a hectoring tone difficult to -hear without anger.</p> - -<p>“So we’ve arrived in time to take you red-handed, -my fine fellow, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Red-handed? In doing what?” I asked, meeting -his beetle-browed stare firmly.</p> - -<p>“Don’t try to bluster with me. I’m the wrong -man,” he cried, hotly. “It won’t pay you, I promise -you.”</p> - -<p>“He was one of them, captain. I’ll swear to him. -And that’s the dog that flew at me,” said the sergeant.</p> - -<p>“Take the beast out and shoot it,” ordered the -captain, brutally.</p> - -<p>Chris was in no immediate danger of that fate, -however. Two of the soldiers went toward him -but he shewed his great fangs and looked so dangerous, -that they stopped and stepped back; and no -other volunteers offered for the job.</p> - -<p>Angered at this the captain himself drew a revolver -and pointed it at the dog, but I checkmated -this by calling Chris round behind me.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you dare to interfere with my orders,” -cried the bully, furiously.</p> - -<p>I answered this by putting myself right in the line<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[365]</span> -of fire. “I will not have the dog shot in this way.”</p> - -<p>“The dog is in my house and under my protection,” -exclaimed Gatrina.</p> - -<p>“You are my prisoners, both of you; and as for -you,” he said, with a coarse sneer to Gatrina, “your -day is done, and your protection will avail nothing. -You’ll find that out soon enough.” But he put up -his revolver; and as we had gained the point, it -wasn’t policy to anger him further with the hot -remonstrance that rose to my lips.</p> - -<p>“Did this man give you his name?” he asked the -lieutenant, who shook his head and shrugged his -shoulders. I think he was more than a little -ashamed of his superior’s manner. “What’s your -name, prisoner?” demanded the captain next.</p> - -<p>“I am perfectly willing to explain everything I -have done; but I should prefer to do so before a -smaller audience.”</p> - -<p>“I daresay you would, but you’re not in a position -to choose. I settle that. Now answer my -questions and don’t try to lie to me.”</p> - -<p>The colour leapt to my face at this. “There is no -need to insult me, captain. It will neither hurt my -case, nor help yours.”</p> - -<p>“By God, if you don’t answer me at once I’ll -have you marched down into the garden there and -shot for a traitor and a cur.”</p> - -<p>I couldn’t take that. It made me mad. Clipping -my words short I answered, deliberately:</p> - -<p>“I think that would be the better plan, then. It -will at least free me from the presence of a cad and -a bully; and the lieutenant there will, I am sure,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[366]</span> -have the courage and justice to tell the truth of -your act.”</p> - -<p>He swore a deep oath, beside himself with rage.</p> - -<p>“Seize him,” he shouted. “By God, seize him, -and take him out and shoot him.”</p> - -<p>I was seized by three soldiers.</p> - -<p>“Lieutenant, you will tell Colonel Petrosch how -I, his personal friend, have been condemned without -a hearing.”</p> - -<p>“Away with him,” shouted the captain, stamping -with rage. The men began to lead me away.</p> - -<p>“This is murder, and shall not be done,” cried -Gatrina, jumping to her feet.</p> - -<p>“Silence, woman,” exclaimed the bully. “Your -doom is near, too.”</p> - -<p>“I will not be silent while murder is being done. -I call upon all of you to stop this murder. You, -sir,” turning to the lieutenant. “You will not——”</p> - -<p>The captain, like a maniac in his fury at this interruption, -drew his sword and shouting out a vile -epithet, rushed at Gatrina, intending, I believe, to -strike her down.</p> - -<p>But Chris, whose ominous growl at my treatment -I had had to pacify, went almost as mad at this as -the bully himself and with a savage growl launched -himself right at the captain’s throat, bore him to the -ground, and pinned him down, despite the blows -and kicks which the soldiers rained upon him.</p> - -<p>“Loose him, Chris,” I cried, fearing the man -would be killed; and at my voice he obeyed. Then, -as he was looking up to me, one of the soldiers who -had picked up the captain’s sword slashed at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[367]</span> -dog’s leg and when he dropped, the brute thrust -the blade between his ribs.</p> - -<p>With a cry of rage I broke from the men who -held me and rushed to Chris, but Gatrina was before -me.</p> - -<p>“You coward!” she cried to the soldier, who -stood half gloating, half dismayed at his act; and the -next moment my fist crashed into his face, knocking -him sprawling among his comrades.</p> - -<p>As I bent over my gallant dog, my heart full of -sadness and pity for him, I was seized again by the -men, and such a scene of confusion and riot followed -as baffles description.</p> - -<p>They beat me, of course, and I was dragged back -and held panting, struggling, straining, breathing -out impotent threats, and cursing all who had had -a hand in the cruel work, as I strove vainly to get -again to the spot where Gatrina, white-faced and -pitying, knelt by the dear dog, who had so valiantly -given his life to save her.</p> - -<p>Another group had the bully of a captain for its -centre. He was getting up, all bloody about the -throat where Chris had fastened on him, and madder -than ever with rage, gasped out a repetition of -his orders to have Gatrina seized and me taken -away and shot.</p> - -<p>Still fighting with the men about me I was being -lugged and hustled and thrust out of the room, -oblivious to everything but my insensate rage, and -they had got me to the door when two officers entered -the house.</p> - -<p>“What is this riot?” cried one in a loud, stern<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[368]</span> -tone; and the men about me started instantly at the -voice and I felt their grip on me to relax.</p> - -<p>“It is murder; nothing else,” I shouted; and taking -advantage of my captors’ surprise, I broke from -them and rushed back into the room to Gatrina and -my poor Chris.</p> - -<p>“Is he dead?” I asked her.</p> - -<p>She looked up and I read the truth by the tears -in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Poor, faithful Chris,” she murmured, with a -deep sigh, as her hand gently caressed the great -head.</p> - -<p>I could not speak. I had loved the dog so well—and -never better than in the manner of his death. -I bent over him for a moment with a feeling of -irreparable loss, as at the death of a friend.</p> - -<p>“He gave his life for me, Bourgwan. Poor old -comrade,” murmured Gatrina using, unconsciously -I think, the old term.</p> - -<p>In that moment the tie of our common sorrow for -the dog’s death brought us as close together as -even in those past days in the hills.</p> - -<p>I made no reply. I could not. I was tongue-tied -by the hampering rush of mingled emotions.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[369]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXVII.<br /> - - -<small>MY DEFENCE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>The grip of a hand on my shoulder roused me -from my reverie. A couple of soldiers stood one -on either side of me; and as I turned I saw the red -brute of a captain being supported out of the room. -The officer who had arrived last had taken command -and was sitting at a table with the lieutenant -standing at his side. With much relief I recognised -him at once. He was a Major Kireef whom -I had met at the Palace reception.</p> - -<p>I was placed in front of him, and two or three of -the soldiers took up positions by Gatrina. As the -major held my fate and perhaps my life in his hands, -I scrutinised him closely. He was a man between -forty and fifty years of age; his face strong but not -harsh; his manner peremptory as of one accustomed -to exact prompt obedience; but he gave me the impression -that he would deal justly even if sternly. -A vastly different type of man from the red-headed, -passionate beast whose place he had taken. And I -was heartily thankful for the exchange.</p> - -<p>He glanced sharply at me and with a slight start -turned to some notes he had made of what the -others had told him. I guessed that he had some -recollection of my features and was probably looking -for my name.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[370]</span>“You are Major Kireef, I think?” I said, while -his eyes were still on the papers. He looked up -quickly and frowned.</p> - -<p>“You are not to question me,” he rapped out, -very curtly. Then: “I see no mention of your -name here. What is it?”</p> - -<p>“The man who has just left was going to have -me shot without troubling to find out,” I replied, -getting that fact out as soon as I could.</p> - -<p>“Be good enough to remember you are a prisoner, -and that you will not help your case by either -evading my questions or attempting to bring -charges against others. Now, your name?”</p> - -<p>“Chase F. Bergwyn, a citizen of the United -States.”</p> - -<p>He dropped his pen in surprise and half started -to his feet.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bergwyn?” he exclaimed. “It is not possible.”</p> - -<p>“If you can send a message to Colonel Petrosch -he will confirm what I say, major. I met you at the -Reception at the Palace just after my arrival in -Belgrade. You may remember me.”</p> - -<p>I had every cause to be satisfied with the effect -of my words. He paused a moment as if in doubt -what to do, and then waved back the soldiers who -stood by me.</p> - -<p>“Have the room cleared,” he said to the lieutenant. -“Put a chair for Mr. Bergwyn there.” I -moved my chair near to Gatrina and while the room -was cleared, he busied himself with his notes.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[371]</span>“Shall I remain, major?” asked the lieutenant, -when the men had gone.</p> - -<p>“Yes, for the present;” and the young officer -went back to his place, having to step over poor old -Chris, whose body, now that the place was empty, -lay in full view, a conspicuous, ghastly evidence of -the wild scene just ended.</p> - -<p>“There must surely have been some unaccountable -mistake, Mr. Bergwyn?” he said, interrogatively -and courteously when we four were alone; -“judging, that is, by the extraordinary story which -has been told to me. I invite you to explain.”</p> - -<p>“I asked the captain who has been hurt to allow -me to do so privately; but he declined. Let me -thank you for having cleared the room. There is -a further favour you can do me, and a much more -important one. Let someone go at once in search -of Colonel Petrosch. I won’t disguise from you I -have placed myself in a very awkward position, and -as he and I have had some very confidential relations—you -may perhaps know that—it is of vital -importance I should have his assistance.”</p> - -<p>“This matter is in my hands, and I must investigate -the facts before taking any other action. The -charges against you are very grave—if you are indeed -the person implicated.”</p> - -<p>“If you will put any questions I will answer -them,” I said, disappointed by his refusal of my -request.</p> - -<p>“You have represented yourself as an officer of -the Servian army?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[372]</span>“You, with others who appear to have escaped, -violently ill-treated the guard who were sent here -to arrest this lady—Princess Gatrina?”</p> - -<p>“It may pass at that; although the ill-treatment -was not very violent.”</p> - -<p>“You set your dog on one of them?”</p> - -<p>“The man was going to arrest me, and I would -not permit that. But he was not hurt.”</p> - -<p>“You then forcibly took from five of the men -their uniforms that your men might wear them as -a disguise and personate troops of the line.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is true.”</p> - -<p>His eyebrows went up and he pursed his lips and -shrugged his shoulders. Very ominous gestures.</p> - -<p>“Who were the men with you?”</p> - -<p>“That I cannot answer. The responsibility is -mine and mine only. They were men whom I paid -to assist me.”</p> - -<p>“That is a very grave admission, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“I am quite aware of it. It’s a very tight corner, -indeed.”</p> - -<p>“Was anyone cognisant of your plans?”</p> - -<p>“No one.”</p> - -<p>“This lady?”</p> - -<p>“No, certainly not.”</p> - -<p>“You are wearing a captain’s uniform. How did -you get it?”</p> - -<p>“I borrowed it without leave—stole it, perhaps -I ought to say; except that I shall return it to the -owner.”</p> - -<p>“Who is the owner?”</p> - -<p>“That I cannot answer.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[373]</span>“Yet you say no one—not even the owner of the -uniform—was in league with you?”</p> - -<p>“Not even the owner of this uniform.”</p> - -<p>He appeared to find this difficult to believe; and -it began to look as if I had done Nikolitch a bad -turn.</p> - -<p>“It is very extraordinary.”</p> - -<p>“I have told you the truth, major. I give you -my word of honour as an American citizen.”</p> - -<p>“Now then as to your object. What was that?”</p> - -<p>“I wished to prevent the Princess Gatrina being -arrested by the army, and to place her in safety until -the passions of this night’s doings in the city had -cooled sufficiently for the officers to have time to -consider their course in regard to her.”</p> - -<p>“I am loath to take that answer, Mr. Bergwyn—it -only makes your case worse.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t help that, major. It is the truth.”</p> - -<p>“You interfered deliberately to oppose the plans -of the army?”</p> - -<p>“I interfered to prevent at least one deed of blood -being done in the frenzy of to-night’s passion.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you to set yourself against the army, -sir?” he retorted very sternly.</p> - -<p>“The English blood in my veins and my instincts -as an American citizen alike revolt against the insensate -violence of such an act as that intended, and -I used such means as I had to prevent it. I staked -my life on the issue; and if the army choose to claim -the forfeit, I will pay it.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you say such an act was intended?”</p> - -<p>“The answer is supplied in what has occurred to-night<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[374]</span> -at the Palace, Major Kireef. That I could not -prevent, although, God knows, I would have done -so had I had the power.”</p> - -<p>Gatrina, who had been listening breathlessly to -all this, intervened then. “What has occurred at -the Palace?” she asked strenuously. “Surely no -violence.”</p> - -<p>“The King and Queen have come in conflict with -the troops, and their Majesties have lost their lives -in consequence.” The answer was given with cold -deliberation; and I took it for the official version of -Elma’s one word prophecy—assassination.</p> - -<p>Gatrina was overcome by the news and threw herself -back in her seat, her face covered by her hands.</p> - -<p>“Are they the only lives that have been—lost?” -I asked.</p> - -<p>“I cannot answer you, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps not; but you can at any rate see in my -question the reason for all I have done to-night—even -if to you it does not appear to be a justification.”</p> - -<p>“The arrest of the Princess will of course take -place,” he answered, “and you, Mr. Bergwyn, will -have to answer to the army for what you have done.”</p> - -<p>“I am ready to face the band; but I am not the -only one who will have to do that. That red-headed -murderer who was here just now——”</p> - -<p>“I cannot hear this,” he interposed.</p> - -<p>“It’s part of my case, if you please,” said I, -warmly. “He not only told the Princess, like the -coward he is, that she was to die, but he himself drew -his sword upon her. Then it was that my dog there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[375]</span> -flew at him—and I only wish he had torn his -cowardly life out of him.”</p> - -<p>“You may have an opportunity of defence.”</p> - -<p>“‘May have,’” I cried, indignantly. “You are -talking to an American citizen, sir, and you’ll find -out how that Government views the acts of her -people when they try to prevent innocent blood -being shed, even if the acts themselves are wrong. -I demand, right now, to have the protection of my -country’s representative.”</p> - -<p>“Your crime has been committed against the -army, sir,” he said, coldly.</p> - -<p>“Crime? Crime you call it?” I answered, passionately. -“Crime? To tie up half a dozen men in -order to prevent a real crime, murder, being committed? -If mine is the crime, all I can say is I am -guilty of it, and would be guilty of it a hundred times -over.”</p> - -<p>“This heat will serve no purpose, Mr. Bergwyn,” -said the major, after a pause.</p> - -<p>“You’re right there; we’ll have no more of it. I’ll -tell you how the thing arose—for I’ve nothing to -conceal;” and I told him plainly how I had overheard -the talk between the spy from Gatrina’s house -and just what I had done afterwards.</p> - -<p>“And now, if you’ll send out in search of Colonel -Petrosch, it will save much time, anxiety and trouble -for all concerned.”</p> - -<p>“I must consider my course. I am not answerable -to Colonel Petrosch alone, I fear. The Princess -must be prepared to go with my men.”</p> - -<p>“I will go,” declared Gatrina, with instant readiness.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[376]</span>“The Princess is already under arrest, Major -Kireef. She is at your disposal here just as much as -anywhere else. Why can she not remain until -Colonel Petrosch comes? I have his word of honour -that he will do everything in his power to protect -her.”</p> - -<p>“I have my duty to do, Mr. Bergwyn.”</p> - -<p>“I am sure it cannot be your conception of duty -to place her where she will be in danger of her life. -It is but a matter of an hour or two. You are in -possession of the house. No attempt will be made -by her, I am sure, any more than by me, to escape; -and if it were made, you are in such force here that -it would be impossible. Let her remain here until -at least Colonel Petrosch arrives.”</p> - -<p>He shook his head. “My instructions are definite.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll give you another reason. You know, -perhaps, the general nature of the matters which -have been discussed between Colonel Petrosch and -myself. The result of them may depend upon your -decision now. The Colonel would confirm this.”</p> - -<p>He thought a moment. “I should like to do as -you wish. Will you give me your word of honour -to attempt no escape?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, I will. If I’m to get out of this mess, -it will be by very different means, I assure you.”</p> - -<p>He considered again for a space, and then rose. -“I accept your word, Mr. Bergwyn, and will leave -you while I send for Colonel Petrosch, and consider -what else to do.”</p> - -<p>I gave a deep sigh of relief when he left the room.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[377]</span> -I had pulled through the first stage; and that was -something. I glanced at Gatrina’s face, ashen, -horror-filled, and drawn with trouble and suffering. -I could not bear to witness it, so I turned away and -stared blankly out of the window into the darkness, -now changing rapidly to the grey of the dawn.</p> - -<p>For a long time not a word was spoken. Her -agony of mind was far beyond words; and nothing -that I could do or say could relieve it.</p> - -<p>She was not thinking of herself, I knew. All -thought of self, even the uncertainty of her own fate -involving as it did the issue of life and death, was -lost in the numbing, staggering blow dealt by the -news of the Queen’s murder.</p> - -<p>Now and again a moaning sigh burst from her -lips and told me how acute was her agony. Twice I -turned to make some clumsy attempt at consolation; -but each time the look her face bore stopped the -words on my lips, and I turned back to watch the -light without strengthening slowly as the time crept -on.</p> - -<p>I had one consoling thought. The longer the interval -between the fell occurrences at the Palace and -the coming of the soldiers for Gatrina, the stronger -grew the hope that she might escape the fate which -had been decreed for her.</p> - -<p>That thought led me slowly to another—the necessity -of having a definite proposal to make as to -Gatrina’s future movements. I remembered what -Colonel Petrosch had said as to the wish of the army -that she would go from Belgrade.</p> - -<p>Now that the King was dead, the question of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">[378]</span> -succession had become acute. Gatrina’s presence -in the city might be a greater embarrassment than -before in the settlement of that question. I recalled, -too, Elma’s statement of the Russian scheme in this -respect. Even those who, like that brute of a captain, -had resolved to cut the knot of the difficulty -with a sword blade, might be glad to be relieved of -her presence.</p> - -<p>Foul, dastardly, inhuman even, as was the policy -of assassination, it was yet founded upon a sort of -crude, barbarous logic. The resolve to exterminate -the dynasty was the murderous major premise; and -the relentless and hideous resolve to put to death all -who, by claims of family, stood in the way, followed -as a ruthless consequence.</p> - -<p>That was Gatrina’s danger. But if she would consent -to abrogate her claims and could be prevailed -upon to leave the city at once, there was the chance -that she might even yet be spared. Colonel Petrosch -had avowed his desire to spare her; and if he could -be assured that she would offer no opposition to the -army, his hands would be greatly strengthened.</p> - -<p>I might at least use the fact to induce him to allow -nothing to be done that night; and the delay of a few -hours might mean everything. I had calculated -throughout that when the wild passions of all concerned -in the night of horror had had time to abate, -the craving for blood even of the most reckless of -the reckless would cease. A reaction against further -violence would be almost certain to follow, and -counsels of sanity, reason and prudence would prevail -once more.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">[379]</span>The light of day and the hours of reflection would -thus bring hope, and I watched the light increase -with unspeakable thankfulness. But question Gatrina -I must, and at length I went back to my seat and -turned to her.</p> - -<p>“We must speak about yourself,” I said.</p> - -<p>In her absorption and suffering she had not -noticed my movement, and started nervously at the -sound of my voice; but said nothing.</p> - -<p>“Your danger is not yet passed,” I continued; -“and when the officers return we must have something -definite to say about yourself.”</p> - -<p>“I care nothing for myself,” she murmured, desolately.</p> - -<p>“Your life is in danger, and you must care,” I -said, firmly. I must rouse her by some means.</p> - -<p>“If they covet my life, let them take it—after -this.”</p> - -<p>“I will not let you say that. You are speaking -now under the influence of these horrors, and from -the feelings of desperation which they naturally -prompt. But you must think of yourself, and you -shall. You have no right to throw your life away -because things have been done which you were -powerless to prevent.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I fear death? If they covet my -life, let them take it,” she repeated.</p> - -<p>“The sacrifice of your life can do no good to -those who are already dead, Princess. It is only -cowardly to feel this indifference.”</p> - -<p>“I would rather be a coward and die than beg -my life at the hands of these murderers. I will hear -no more.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">[380]</span>She spoke with more animation than before: and -so long as I could rouse her from the stupor of her -grief and horror, I knew I was doing good. If she -could be provoked to anger, so much the better. I -cared not what I said.</p> - -<p>“You cannot avoid hearing me, and I am resolved -to speak,” I continued, deliberately. “And you owe -it to me to listen carefully.”</p> - -<p>The curl of her lip shewed that she thought this -about as mean as it sounded. But she did not reply.</p> - -<p>“You must have heard me, and if you are not a -coward of another kind, you will reply.” I felt an -awful brute as I said this; but it had its effect. She -started up, clasping the arms of her chair and leaning -forward, looked at me with amazement, anger -and bitterness. But I went on doggedly: “Not -your life only but mine also is in the balance, and I -have the right to expect you to make an effort.”</p> - -<p>“The right?” The words came like a flash of -contempt.</p> - -<p>“Yes, a double right,” I said, in the same stubborn -tone, intending to anger her. “I saved your -life in the Gravenje hills and I came here now to -save you again.”</p> - -<p>“My God, I did not think a man could be found -to speak thus at such a time,” she cried. She was -angry enough now even to forget for the moment -her grief.</p> - -<p>“You are angry because I remind you of this, and -consequently do me the injustice of such a taunt.”</p> - -<p>“I heard your words, sir,” she cried.</p> - -<p>“But you didn’t understand them. I spoke as I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">[381]</span> -did to rouse your anger and make you think of other -things beside your trouble, and having gained that -end, we’ll go back to where we began to speak of -yourself.”</p> - -<p>“How could you? How dared you?” she wailed, -sinking back in her seat again.</p> - -<p>“I would do anything and dare anything to make -you think of yourself—even let you deem me as -mean a hound as my words implied. You must -face this thing resolutely. I have one thought that -may give us hope.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot think or speak of anything now. I—I -am sorry for my words just now.”</p> - -<p>“They don’t matter any. If you had thought or -said anything less, you wouldn’t have been yourself, -and I should have been disappointed in you. Now, -there’s one thing that may help us. Let me be able -to tell Colonel Petrosch when he comes that you renounce -all claims to the succession and consent to -leave Belgrade before nightfall.”</p> - -<p>“Would you have me run away in the hour of -danger from a crowd of dastardly assassins?”</p> - -<p>“I would have you recognise facts as they are—that -the army have the upper hand, for the time at -any rate, and that they are resolved no member of -your family shall sit on the throne of this country. -I would have you save your life, Princess, by the -only means that I believe it can be saved.”</p> - -<p>“No,” she cried, vehemently. “No one shall ever -say I ran away. That I——”</p> - -<p>“Wait,” I interposed. “Don’t take an oath about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">[382]</span> -it. An oath is an awkward thing to break; but a -resolve one can argue against.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing shall persuade me to be such a coward.”</p> - -<p>“Well, let us argue it out,” I answered.</p> - -<p>But there was to be no chance of doing that; for -as I was speaking Colonel Petrosch and the Major -entered the room.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">[383]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /> - - -<small>“I CANNOT LEAVE MY COUNTRY.”</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>The black tragedy of the night had scored its mark -deep on Colonel Petrosch, and I shall not readily -forget the look of high-wrought strain which his -face wore. All the lines had deepened; the eyes -shone with unnatural brilliance, the sockets were -sunken, and the face skin had that dead steely colour -which comes after hours of fierce and passionate tension.</p> - -<p>He looked as though he had lived ten years in as -many hours, and knew himself to be still confronted -by uncontrollable dangers full of the menace of utter -ruin and incalculable disaster.</p> - -<p>Twice before I had seen such a look on men’s -faces. Once in the case of a reckless Westerner -who, in the teeth of warning, started a forest fire -only to see it spread with fierce violence down upon -his own homestead, menacing his wife and children -and all he had in the world, and barring the path of -rescue with a wall of impassable flame. The other -was a millionaire who, in a desperate plunge to -double his millions, was caught by the market, and -had to look on helplessly while he and his friends -were beggared in a day.</p> - -<p>And I read Petrosch’s look now to mean that he -had helped to set in motion this wild revolt and was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">[384]</span> -shocked by the violence already done and appalled -by the prospect of what might yet have to follow.</p> - -<p>I was glad to find it so. He might prove to be in -a better mood to judge on its merits the effort I had -made to save Gatrina. There had been enough -horrors already to glut his anger; and he looked -to the future with apprehension genuine enough to -render him willing to prevent the commission of -more.</p> - -<p>He greeted Gatrina and me very formally, as he -and Major Kireef took their seats at the table.</p> - -<p>“You have incurred a fearful responsibility, Mr. -Bergwyn,” he began. “Major Kireef has told me -the facts. You have taken an unwarrantable course -in attempting to thwart the army’s purpose, and -have used means which are inexcusable.”</p> - -<p>“They were the only means I could find to use.”</p> - -<p>“You have compromised yourself and all with -you; you have opposed the soldiers when carrying -out the army’s orders, and have subjected them to -gross ill-treatment, in order that you might obtain -disguises for your purpose. And in doing this, you -have committed acts for which you must have known -you would have to answer. I can see neither excuse -nor palliation for such conduct.”</p> - -<p>I made no reply to that tirade. I judged that he -had not taken the trouble to come at such a time -merely to lecture me on the heinousness of my conduct; -and as I cared nothing for what he said, and -only for what he meant to do, I let him talk.</p> - -<p>“You yourself see there is no answer,” he continued; -and went on to condemn at considerable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">[385]</span> -length with much detail the enormity of my offences, -until I began to be perplexed as to his motive. He -couldn’t have made the thing worse had he been -going to order my instant execution.</p> - -<p>I guessed at length, however, that his real object -was to make me appreciate the extreme difficulty of -the task I had set him to get me out of the mess. -But the harangue had a very different effect upon -Gatrina. The blacker he made my conduct appear -and the more vividly he painted the danger in which -I stood, the greater was her manifest agitation; and -when he declared with very stern and significant -deliberation that at such times men had lost their -lives who had done less than I, I resolved to try and -stop him.</p> - -<p>“It will save time, Colonel Petrosch, if you are -going to order me to be shot, to have it done at -once,” I said. “I am not in the least ashamed of a -single thing I have done, except that I blundered -and failed.”</p> - -<p>“Do I understand you to mean, Mr. Bergwyn,” -he cried, very sternly, “that you would have me -report to my colleagues that in the face of all I have -said you take pride in having set their authority at -defiance?”</p> - -<p>A hot retort rose to my lips, but just before it -passed, I caught his meaning and paused to consider -my reply.</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t mean that. I recognise their authority -fully. In so far as my actions have involved an -apparent defiance of that authority, I must, of -course, regret them.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_386">[386]</span>“It would be impossible for the army to take any -but the sternest view of such acts, when committed -by one who is avowedly their enemy.”</p> - -<p>“You know better than anyone in Belgrade -whether I am to be classed as an enemy, Colonel. I -am quite prepared to recognise their authority in the -country; although feeling nothing but the strongest -aversion from the hopeless deeds by which it has -been enforced.”</p> - -<p>“These are no concerns of yours, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Except as they are the concerns of humanity. I -do not set up to be the judge of their acts: the world -will do that. I am a stranger and a foreigner, and -speak as one; no more. God send that the after consequences -may prove in some sort the justification -for what has been done.”</p> - -<p>“That is the prayer of us all,” he answered, very -solemnly, speaking out of that secret fear which possessed -him.</p> - -<p>A pause followed which Gatrina broke to ask: -“Has any blood been shed beside that of the King -and Queen, Colonel Petrosch?”</p> - -<p>“Madam, I cannot speak of these matters with -you,” he replied, brusquely. “I came for other purposes—one -of them to find a way if I can to place -you out of—of the reach of harm.” His hesitation -over the last phrase was significant; but the declaration -gave me intense and unbounded satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“I will deal with your case first, Mr. Bergwyn. -May I take it that you regret your defiance of the -army, and are prepared now to submit yourself unconditionally -to their authority?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_387">[387]</span>“Unconditionally? What does that mean?”</p> - -<p>“That you will not again attempt to dispute it.”</p> - -<p>“I am prepared to express my regret and to recognise -their authority.”</p> - -<p>“That is the same thing,” he said. It was not, of -course, but I concluded he needed some kind of -assurance from me; and when I had given it, he conferred -in an undertone with Major Kireef. Then he -rose. “I must speak with you in private, Mr. Bergwyn;” -and he led me to another room.</p> - -<p>As soon as we were alone he took my hand and -wrung it.</p> - -<p>“You have caused a great deal of trouble, but -personally I thank you for what you have done. I -believe you have saved the Princess’s life; and God -knows there have been too many taken.”</p> - -<p>“What has occurred?”</p> - -<p>“The King and Queen are dead; the Queen’s -brothers have been shot; several of the members of -the Government have also fallen; and the Princess -was to have shared the same fate, because of her -succession claims. But it may be possible to save -her now.”</p> - -<p>“Possible only?”</p> - -<p>“I used the term advisedly—possible. It must -depend upon the course of events to-day. Why did -you not prevail upon her to leave the country or at -least seek some place of safety?”</p> - -<p>“You forget. You told me nothing of the imminence -of these horrors.”</p> - -<p>“When I saw you I did not know myself. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_388">[388]</span> -helped to raise the storm, but when once it broke it -was ungovernable.”</p> - -<p>“What will happen to-day?”</p> - -<p>“Who can tell? The army holds the power; and -we believe from what we have already seen that the -people will stand behind us to a man. The city has -already broken out into rejoicings, and the soldiers -are cheered everywhere. But a mob is as fickle as -a summer breeze; and if a change comes over them, -nothing can save a conflict which may deluge the -city, aye, the whole country with blood. I am dazed -when I think of it.”</p> - -<p>“And the Princess?”</p> - -<p>“I would not answer even for your safety, Mr. -Bergwyn; nor even for my own; to say nothing of -hers. But I hope all will be well. The leaders of -the army have had their fill of horrors; and if the -day finds the people supporting them, this night will -have seen the last of these measures of despair. God -give that it may be so,” he cried with impressive -earnestness.</p> - -<p>“Let us get to details,” I said after a pause. I -was terribly anxious again. “What do you advise?”</p> - -<p>“That you leave Belgrade at once for a time. Let -me carry an expression of your regret back with me, -and a pledge that the matter of the loan will be considered -as soon as the new Government is established. -You have acted in a way that, had you been -other than you are, the army would never have forgiven; -but when once the present fever is past, there -is no one who would think of dealing harshly with -the man who can render the assistance you can.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_389">[389]</span> -But much must depend on what happens later to-day -when the facts about the night’s doings at the Palace -are published. Therefore I say, go for the time.”</p> - -<p>“And the men who were with me?”</p> - -<p>“Are they known?”</p> - -<p>“I think not. They were not arrested.”</p> - -<p>“Then no inquiries will be made; but it would be -safer for them also to leave for a time.”</p> - -<p>“And now the great question—the Princess?”</p> - -<p>He paused and looked at me. “Would she leave -with you?”</p> - -<p>“Would she be allowed to leave?”</p> - -<p>“She would be allowed to escape,” he answered. -“If she remains, she will be placed in confinement; -and if the army’s plans go right, she will be sent out -of the country. The Queen’s sisters have been -placed in similar confinement; and they too will be -liberated and exiled unless trouble comes. If that -happens, the Princess would be again in imminent -peril. She would be a menace to the only real -solution of the crisis—the change of dynasty. And -the army have given stern enough proofs of its resolve -in that matter. It has already decided upon -the future King—Peter Karageorgevics.”</p> - -<p>“Can I speak to her alone?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! tell her what I have just said; and if you -have any influence with her use every shred of it to -prevail upon her to go. You will be doing not only -her a service but the country also. I will return in -an hour or so to learn the result.”</p> - -<p>“If she refuses to go?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_390">[390]</span>He threw up his hands. “There will be only one -course open.”</p> - -<p>“Arrest?”</p> - -<p>“Arrest, yes; with all its possibilities.”</p> - -<p>I went back then to Gatrina, and her eyes fastened -upon my face instantly, full of apprehensive questioning -anxiety. I looked probably as grave as I -felt; the Colonel’s last words having made me fully -alive to the vital issues which depended upon the -coming interview; and her anxiety deepened into -fear as I took my seat without speaking.</p> - -<p>An orderly came in almost directly with a message -for the major, who went out, and then we two -were alone again.</p> - -<p>“About yourself?” asked Gatrina, eagerly, as the -door closed behind them.</p> - -<p>“I have no longer anything to fear. All that the -Colonel said was for the other man’s benefit, I think. -I am free to leave Belgrade when I will; and indeed -he urged me to do so at once.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad—so glad,” she answered, with a wan -smile and a sigh of relief. “He succeeded in frightening -me. I did not realise before he spoke so, all -you risked in this. I have been thinking while you -were with him, and I see it now.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think there was ever any real risk of -trouble. I had his promise from the outset to do -all he could for me; and of course there were other -reasons.”</p> - -<p>“No risk, you say, after the conduct of that awful -man whom poor old Chris attacked?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, poor old dog. How we shall miss him.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_391">[391]</span> -Yet he could not have given his life for a better -cause. If we ever come back to Belgrade, I’ll have -a reckoning with that bully.”</p> - -<p>She noticed that “we.” She glanced sharply at -me, and appeared as if to be going to speak of it, but -stopped. “What has occurred at the Palace?”</p> - -<p>“The news is about as black as it can be;” and I -told her all that Petrosch had said to me. I was -relieved to see that although she was deeply and -indeed intensely affected, her grief was less poignant -than before. Finding this, I dwelt with emphasis -upon the position of the Queen’s sisters; until she -understood my purpose.</p> - -<p>“You are speaking of what you think will be my -lot,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Yes. I don’t wish to alarm you, but I know -that that is what will be done—with this difference: -that if the opposition to the army takes any active -form, your danger will be greater even than theirs.”</p> - -<p>“I am not afraid.”</p> - -<p>“No one thinks that; and I should be the last to -think it.”</p> - -<p>“It is my duty to remain at whatever risk.” She -was very firm, very dignified, very much the Princess -as she said this.</p> - -<p>“Do you wish the Throne?”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean am I ambitious to rule? No, no, -a thousand times no. I am not fit for it. I am -more a woman than a Princess; but I cannot think -of myself.”</p> - -<p>“If you could think of yourself what would -you do?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_392">[392]</span>“Why put idle questions?”</p> - -<p>“Is it altogether idle? As a woman, you are -barred from the succession by yourself. Even if -your claims were admitted, you would have to marry -someone who as your husband would be accepted by -the nation as King; but he, not you, would be the -ruler—even if the army were not bent upon changing -the dynasty and had not already chosen their -King.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Colonel Petrosch has told me;” and I repeated -the message he had authorised me to deliver.</p> - -<p>“He told you to tell me that?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, expressly and authoritatively.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“I think that you should see quite clearly the -wisdom of adopting the course which will help the -army leaders and so serve the country.”</p> - -<p>“You mean that I should play coward and run -away. He set you to tempt me?”</p> - -<p>“Is it a temptation?”</p> - -<p>She thought earnestly and then exclaimed; “I -cannot go. I cannot.”</p> - -<p>It was not now “I will not;” and I was glad to -note the difference.</p> - -<p>“If you could think of yourself what would you -do?” I asked again.</p> - -<p>“I answer as I did just now—why put that idle -question to me?”</p> - -<p>I paused and then plunged.</p> - -<p>“Because—I love you, Gatrina.”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no; any answer but that; give any reason<span class="pagenum" id="Page_393">[393]</span> -but that,” she cried, as the red flushed into her -cheeks till they flamed, and she sank back in her seat -and hid them from me with her trembling hands.</p> - -<p>I knelt by her side.</p> - -<p>“It is the truth, Gatrina; why should I not say it? -Once before our hearts spoke. You remember that -day on the hill at Samac. We knew it then; what -need to hide it now? It is all in all to me. What is -it to you?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, no,” she murmured hurriedly. She was -trembling violently. “It is impossible. It is impossible. -I told you then.”</p> - -<p>“That is just what it is not now, whatever it may -have seemed then. It is true I am only a——”</p> - -<p>“Hsh!” Just a whisper and a hand laid impulsively -upon mine, and a glance of reproach from -tender, loving eyes.</p> - -<p>I closed my hand on hers and held it.</p> - -<p>“Well, only Bourgwan then,” I said, and she -smiled. “If you could think for yourself....” I -began again.</p> - -<p>“No,” she whispered. “Don’t tempt me. You -make it so hard for me.”</p> - -<p>“It must be as you decide,” I pleaded. “But the -world holds no other woman for me than you.”</p> - -<p>At that she started, drew her hand away quickly, -and bit her lip. “I had forgotten,” she murmured.</p> - -<p>I read her thought. It was of Elma’s lie. “In -that you did me grave wrong. I had no thought -but for you in coming here; and none in staying. -You might have trusted me after that day at Samac.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_394">[394]</span>“I did not mistrust you. I thought only of -your——” she hesitated in sudden embarrassment.</p> - -<p>“Let all be clear now between us, Gatrina. We -may never meet again or we may never part again—as -you decide it. The stake is too great for us to -risk it all for the lack of plain words. I know what -is in your thoughts; but on my honour it was never -for an instant in mine, and never could be. Do -believe that.”</p> - -<p>“I thought you felt it would be impossible for us—oh, -it is so difficult.”</p> - -<p>“Then put your hand in mine again and I shall -know the slander is understood.”</p> - -<p>“It is still impossible, Bourgwan,” she whispered. -“I am so sorry;” and as is in pity for the pain I -must feel she gave me her hand again.</p> - -<p>“If you could think for yourself only?”</p> - -<p>“God knows I would so gladly do as you wish.”</p> - -<p>It was sweet but yet sad hearing.</p> - -<p>“I do wish it and do press it, not for my sake only -but for yours,” I urged.</p> - -<p>“I cannot, Bourgwan; I cannot leave my country.”</p> - -<p>“That is final?” I asked, looking into her eyes.</p> - -<p>“You make it so hard for me. I cannot. I -cannot.”</p> - -<p>I lifted her hand and pressed my lips to it. I had -failed; and with a heavy sigh rose and went back to -my seat, with a feeling of blank desolateness.</p> - -<p>“I have grieved you,” she said gently when I had -sat silent some while. “And you have done so much -for——”</p> - -<p>“Not that, please,” I interposed, forcing a smile.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_395">[395]</span>“I can never forget it,” she replied. “We shall -not meet again, as you said; but I can never forget -it.”</p> - -<p>“May I ask one thing? If matters go with you -so that you should ever have to leave the country, -may I seek you again?”</p> - -<p>“It is all sad for you—and for me, too, you know -that—but it is kinder, if harder, not to give you -groundless hope.”</p> - -<p>“I shall never cease to hope.”</p> - -<p>“I shall never leave my country,” she answered, -earnestly.</p> - -<p>“I am answered, but not convinced,” I replied, in -quite as earnest a tone as hers; and then, to lighten -the strain, I smiled and added: “If you will not -leave it, I may have to leave mine and turn Serb.”</p> - -<p>“I should have at least one loyal subject then, I -am sure.”</p> - -<p>As the words left her lips, the door opened and -Colonel Petrosch returned.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_396">[396]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXIX.<br /> - - -<small>PETROSCH HAS A PLAN.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>A single glance at Colonel Petrosch convinced me -that some change had taken place in the situation -during his absence which he considered favourable. -His step was less heavy; the air of oppressed anxiousness -was gone; his face had lost that depressed, care-haunted, -apprehensive look which I had seen before; -and his bearing was almost confident and bright.</p> - -<p>He went at once to the matter in hand.</p> - -<p>“I am glad to tell you you are free to leave, Mr. -Bergwyn,” he said, with obvious satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“I am deeply obliged to you for your intervention, -Colonel.”</p> - -<p>“Shew it by leaving Belgrade by the first available -train and remaining away for some days at least -until matters have settled. Then we shall be ready -to receive you.”</p> - -<p>“You have had news which you consider good?” -I asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes. I think the best we could have. There is -now no room for reasonable doubt that the people -will not only support the army’s action, but will do -so with enthusiasm. The news is known everywhere -now, and reports from all over the city from all -classes are to this effect. Every minute brings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_397">[397]</span> -added proof of this. It is an intense and consummate -relief.”</p> - -<p>“It is consummate shame and scandal that murder -should be thus hailed with acclamation,” cried -Gatrina, indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Those will be dangerous views to express to-day, -madam,” said Petrosch, turning to her. “You and -I must of necessity look upon this revolution with -very different feelings. What to you appears murder, -I and those with me regard as the only gate to -national liberty which was left open to us.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bergwyn has told me that many murders -have been committed in the night. There will be -a heavy reckoning for each of them.”</p> - -<p>“Lives have been taken, it is true, because, as we -believe, no other course was left, if a violent revolution, -followed by the horrors of a civil war, was to be -avoided. Better for half a dozen lives to be taken -deliberately than as many thousands in a civil war. -What we have done we have done; and we leave the -issue to God. The future will judge whether we -have done right.”</p> - -<p>“Cold blooded murder cannot be justified by an -appeal to the Almighty,” said Gatrina, indignantly. -“Who draws the sword himself shall feel the blade. -You may seem to be successful; the people may shout -for you and applaud you because you are strong; you -may for the time carry all before you with a powerful -hand; but by this fearsome appeal to blood you -have raised a force which will crush you in the end -with infinite disaster to the country.”</p> - -<p>Colonel Petrosch listened with pent brows, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_398">[398]</span> -replied with impressive deliberation. “I am disturbed -to hear this from you, madam, and it compels -me to put to you a question which I beg you to -answer with due regard to the solemn consequences -which your words may have for yourself. Do I -understand you to mean that you yourself would -take part in any movement or plans which might be -made against the army and its decisions, and for the -restoration of your family upon the throne?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, indeed. God forbid that for any mere -personal ends either word or act of mine should ever -tend to plunge the country into the horrors of such -a conflict.”</p> - -<p>Alarmed by his sudden change to severity, I was -greatly relieved to hear Gatrina’s words. So I think -was he. He looked across to me.</p> - -<p>“Have you told the Princess what I said to you -before, Mr. Bergwyn?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but she does not see her way to leave the -country.”</p> - -<p>“Voluntarily, you mean? But you cannot remain, -madam,” he said to her. “It is absolutely impossible.”</p> - -<p>“I will not leave, Colonel Petrosch.”</p> - -<p>He sighed. “I regret exceedingly to hear that -unfortunate decision and trust you will recall it. I -am authorised to tell you that if you will sign a document -abandoning all claim to the succession and -leave the country voluntarily, your property and -fortune shall not be forfeit.”</p> - -<p>“I shall not change my decision for a bribe, -Colonel Petrosch,” she answered instantly and -proudly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_399">[399]</span>“It is not meant as a bribe; but your presence -will be an embarrassment to the new Government, -and in any case you must go. Must: it is imperative. -Pray think, then, before you set the Government -at defiance.”</p> - -<p>“I have given my decision, and nothing will alter -it, Colonel Petrosch.”</p> - -<p>“That is your last word?”</p> - -<p>“On that point, my last word.”</p> - -<p>“I regret it deeply. I have now no option but to -tell you that you will be a prisoner. I can, at any -rate for the present, spare you the harassment of -being removed from your own house. But the -house is in possession of our troops and I must ask -you to remain in your own apartments, pending our -decision in regard to your movements.”</p> - -<p>“I shall make no attempt to run away,” said -Gatrina, getting up as she spoke.</p> - -<p>“Wait,” I broke in. “I should like to put a -question or two.”</p> - -<p>Petrosch turned upon me an inscrutable look and -replied with a shew of sternness: “You can do nothing -to influence our decision in such a matter, Mr. -Bergwyn. The Princess has refused our offer. That -is all.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so,” I answered, bluntly. “Are we -to understand that the Princess is in any danger -from the acts of your agents? We have seen already -what some of them are capable of doing.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad to be able to give an assurance that -ample precautions will be taken for the Princess’s -personal safety during the few hours she will remain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_400">[400]</span> -here. If you will take counsel from me, madam, I -would urge you to lose no time in preparing for your -departure. We shall decide very quickly. I will -now call the guard;” and he left the room.</p> - -<p>I turned to Gatrina and impulsively she put both -her hands in mine and lifted her face and smiled.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” she murmured, her lips quivering.</p> - -<p>“I wish you could have done as he asked.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could—for your sake; but ...” she -shook her head. “You have done so much for me. -I can see your hand in all this.”</p> - -<p>“Give it up, Gatrina, for my sake,” I cried, passionately, -the love in me breaking all bounds. “You -would trust yourself to me?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes, gladly, if I could but be a coward. I -should be a happy coward, Bourgwan; but....”</p> - -<p>“I cannot lose you. My God, I will not.”</p> - -<p>“Please, please be strong enough for us both. I -am so weak when I think of you: of all that I am -losing. But—I must stay. You know that in your -heart. I must be true to my duty. For Heaven’s -sake help to save me from my weakness.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot lose you,” I cried again.</p> - -<p>“No, no. Leave it me to think of you as always -doing the right thing. I want my memory of you -undimmed. It must be good-bye. It must.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot say it.”</p> - -<p>“There is no other word to say, Bourgwan. No -other word. Do you know how hard you are making -this for me?” she added gently after a pause.</p> - -<p>I caught her and held her passionately.</p> - -<p>“You love me?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_401">[401]</span>Again she raised her face, now close to mine, and -gazed into my eyes frankly.</p> - -<p>“If I did not, should I care?” she whispered.</p> - -<p>Slowly I bent my head till my lips touched hers, -and as they met she yielded to me and kissed me in -return, and then let her head rest on my shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Oh, how you make me wish I were a coward,” -she murmured. “It is harder than ever; but it must -be good-bye.”</p> - -<p>Gently she drew away and put her hands in mine -as before.</p> - -<p>“We must never meet again, Bourgwan,” she -said, with one of her sweet smiles. “You tempt me -so. I could not trust myself again.”</p> - -<p>“God keep you, Gatrina. Good-bye;” and I -pressed my lips to her hand and then led her to the -door.</p> - -<p>“It is even harder than the day at Samac,” she -whispered, smiling again; and with those words and -a last long look she passed out, and I was alone in -the room—alone for always.</p> - -<p>I was staring desolately out into the garden when -Colonel Petrosch came back.</p> - -<p>“I thought perhaps you might wish to say a word -or two to the Princess, Mr. Bergwyn; and now I -want to speak to you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; what is it?” I answered, indifferently. Nothing -mattered now. What he said or didn’t say -was all one to me.</p> - -<p>“I am going to ask you for your confidence.”</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“About the—the Princess.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_402">[402]</span>“Except to know that she will be safe, I would -rather not speak of her,” I answered, abruptly.</p> - -<p>“I have heard the story that you met her when -you were in the Bosnian hills under circumstances....”</p> - -<p>But I wasn’t having that and cut him short pretty -brusquely.</p> - -<p>“I should regard any question on such a subject -as verging upon impertinence, Colonel Petrosch. -Please ask none.”</p> - -<p>He smiled. “That is very much like confirmation. -You must not lose your temper with me. I -am an old man, you a young one, and I want to help -you. If the Princess had been other than....”</p> - -<p>“Stop right there, if you please,” I cried, angrily.</p> - -<p>But he only smiled. “Well, I’ll put it another -way. The Princess is a very obstinate young woman -and——”</p> - -<p>“The Princess has decided rightly, Colonel -Petrosch.”</p> - -<p>“And the result of her decision is that in a few -hours she will be sorely in need of a friend.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“May I speak plainly what’s in my mind—what -was in it when I went out of the room just now?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I returned after a pause. “Have I been a -fool?”</p> - -<p>He did not answer that question in direct terms; -but he spoke very plainly, and what he said answered -it indirectly. We had a brief but very pithy conversation; -and at the end of it I got up and shook -his hand effusively and “God blessed him,” bade<span class="pagenum" id="Page_403">[403]</span> -him good-bye, and scampered off to my house more -like a school-boy than a man of many cares, and with -no longer any thought of the prospect of desolate -loneliness which had appeared to threaten me so -gloomily only a few minutes before.</p> - -<p>As I passed through the streets there were already -abundant signs of the popular feeling. Early though -the hour was, flags were flying, decorations being -hurriedly prepared, men and women were abroad -gaily dressed, and everyone getting ready to join -in what was clearly to be a public holiday.</p> - -<p>Death and terror had had their grim reign in the -frowning gloom of the night; but the scene had -shifted with the daylight. The Army were hailed as -the deliverers of the people; the tragic means were -condoned for the sake of the end attained; and on -all sides the people were making haste to parade the -evidences of satisfaction at the change and gratitude -to those who had wrought it.</p> - -<p>How much of the demonstration was genuine, -how far it was wire-pulled, or to what extent it was -dictated by that prudence which impels the crowd -to side with the strongest I did not stop to think. -It was enough that the city would side with the -Army and that its leaders would therefore go on -with their work undisturbed by fears of turbulence -and resistance. That meant much to me just then.</p> - -<p>I found my servants vastly uneasy at my absence -during the night. Even the placid Buller was excited.</p> - -<p>“Thank God you have come, sir. We dursen’t go -to bed. We didn’t know what to think or do.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_404">[404]</span>“I daresay you didn’t, but get a hustle on you -now and pack up. I’m leaving in a couple of hours -and want my light baggage with me. Pick out -enough for a few days; and express all the heavy -trunks to Vienna.”</p> - -<p>“Thank God, sir,” he exclaimed, fervently.</p> - -<p>“Well, get going then—you’ll have time for -thanksgiving on the cars,” I said, as he hesitated. -“And tell someone to get me some breakfast.”</p> - -<p>I dashed into my bedroom, had a bath and -changed out of Nikolitch’s uniform—which was a -good deal the worse for the night’s wear—had my -breakfast, establishing probably an American record -for eating speed, and sat down to knock off the -cables and letters which my hurried departure necessitated.</p> - -<p>I was deep in one to Nikolitch explaining things -and telling him I had made all excuses for him with -Petrosch, when Karasch arrived.</p> - -<p>“I hardly hoped to find you——” he began.</p> - -<p>“You must shelve all that, Karasch,” I interposed. -“You’ve got to leave the city with me in -less than an hour from now; and see here, take -money to pay those men liberally for what they did -last night and tell them they’d better hold their -tongues and skip for a while. You must be at the -depot in an hour ready to go.”</p> - -<p>“Are you....”</p> - -<p>“Don’t ask a question now. All has gone right. -Be off with you,” and I got up and opened the door -to hustle him off. As I did so, Elma was in the hall, -and Buller was protesting that I could not receive -her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_405">[405]</span>At sight of me she pushed past him and came into -my room. She was as full of agitation as a setting -hen over her first chick; and when she saw from my -face that I was in high spirits her astonishment was -boundless.</p> - -<p>“I’m leaving,” I said, pithily.</p> - -<p>“Running away?” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“That’s about the size of it. Can I do anything -for you in Vienna?” I had no anger left for her, or -indeed for anyone.</p> - -<p>“You have heard the news?”</p> - -<p>“Some.”</p> - -<p>“About the murders last night?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Are you going to run away while she is in -danger?”</p> - -<p>“Who?”</p> - -<p>“Who?” she repeated with a scoff. “Gatrina, I -mean, of course.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that she’s in any particular peril. -I called there last night.”</p> - -<p>“How can you speak so lightly as that? She -must be saved at any cost. I’ve come to offer to help -you save her.”</p> - -<p>“From what?”</p> - -<p>“Death,” she said, with tragic earnestness.</p> - -<p>“What can one do? The army is all powerful. I -must think of myself.”</p> - -<p>“Good God, are you such a coward?”</p> - -<p>I shrugged my shoulders. “A man must think -of his own life. I’ve no fancy to risk mine.”</p> - -<p>Her face was a study in contempt. “You mean -you will not attempt to save her?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_406">[406]</span>“I tell you I’m bolting. I don’t suppose her fate -will be anything very terrible, and perhaps after all -she deserves it. Anyway, I shall not think of opposing -the army in the matter.”</p> - -<p>She drew her breath quickly and looked at me -with almost fierce disdain. “You coward! Oh, -you coward,” she cried.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it isn’t very brave. But then I never -set up for a hero.”</p> - -<p>“But if I tell you that I know her death has been -decided upon and that if you will help, we can save -her?”</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t make any difference to me. You see -I’m packed up, and even my train is chosen. I -simply can’t stop. Besides, I expect you’ve been -misinformed.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you I know it,” she cried, fiercely, as if -seeking to rouse me.</p> - -<p>“Then I’m afraid the bottom will be knocked out -of your marriage scheme in regard to her. Still, I -daresay you’ll hatch another.”</p> - -<p>This was the limit. She fell back a pace, stared at -me aghast, and then broke out into a violent tirade -of denunciation and abuse of my cowardice and generally -contemptible conduct.</p> - -<p>“Now, let me say half a dozen plain words, -Baroness,” I replied, when she paused for lack of -breath. “During the last days I have been here -you have done your utmost against me; every -weapon you could find you have used without -scruple to try and ruin me. You failed every time; -and now you come with some other plan in that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_407">[407]</span> -subtle and beautiful head of yours to try and lure -me into a last net. For the time I came very near -to fearing you; I don’t like saying ugly things to a -woman; and I’ll just content myself with the confession -that I no longer fear anything you can do, and -pay no heed whatever to anything you can say. -That’s all. And now, as I’m busy getting ready to -run away, as you call it, I must ask you to excuse -me.”</p> - -<p>“You have some other scheme?” she cried.</p> - -<p>“You can put it that I’m running away; and leave -it at that.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it.”</p> - -<p>“That’s not polite, to say the least of it.” I rang -the bell. “Buller, have you packed up yet?” I -asked when he came.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“And directed that the heavy luggage is expressed -through to Vienna?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“And the carriage?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. It will be at the door in a quarter of -an hour, sir.”</p> - -<p>“That will do. You hear that?” I asked Elma.</p> - -<p>She made a gesture of angry impatience. “I can’t -understand you.”</p> - -<p>“It means good-bye, Baroness. I have still some -letters to finish and arrangements to complete, and -have, as you hear, only fifteen minutes. I part without -any anger;” and I held out my hand.</p> - -<p>“I will save Gatrina without you,” she exclaimed, -not taking my hand.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_408">[408]</span>“I don’t think anyone can do that, but it’s very -good of you to try,” I replied with a conventional -smile.</p> - -<p>This appeared to kindle all her rage again to white -heat. She stared at me a moment, then raised her -arms above her head and with a passionate ejaculation -of disgust, swept out of the room.</p> - -<p>Her complete mystification and indignant wrath -gave me intense satisfaction, and with a chuckle of -enjoyment I sat down again and finished my letters -just in time to drive hurriedly to the depot and catch -my train.</p> - -<p>But I did not take tickets for Vienna, for that was -not my destination.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_409">[409]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXX.<br /> - - -<small>THE CAMP AGAIN.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>Buller’s patience and respectful stolidity were -sorely strained that day. In the first place I told -him nothing about our destination; and when we -made several changes during the journey only to -alight at the exceedingly unpromising depot at -Samac in the afternoon, his manner began to afford -me genuine amusement.</p> - -<p>“Do we wait here long for the train, sir?” he -asked, as if the sooner we were off again the better.</p> - -<p>“Only until Karasch can get a carriage or some -horses, Buller. I suppose you can ride, by the by?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; that is—oh, yes, sir—a little.”</p> - -<p>Karasch got four horses after some difficulty but -no carriage; one to carry my valises. They were -four rank bad animals; but they carried us to Poabja, -albeit with much discomfort for Buller. But his disgust -appeared to reach a climax when he saw the -little inn and I told him it was our hotel.</p> - -<p>“That, sir?” he exclaimed incredulously, with a -very wry face.</p> - -<p>“They have some excellent black bread there, -Buller, and the water is as fine as any in the district.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” he replied mechanically, as he got off -his horse awkwardly. He was very stiff and discomfited. -“Beg pardon, sir, but do we stay long here?” -he asked, dejectedly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_410">[410]</span>“Not more than a month or two—till we start to -rough it in the hills.”</p> - -<p>He groaned and his face fell so that I laughed, and -to hide it dismounted and told him to go into the -house and make such arrangements as he could for -our accommodation, without mentioning my name. -“Be very guarded, Buller, for much hangs upon -your discretion, and I don’t want our lives to be imperilled -by any loose talk.”</p> - -<p>Then I walked away up the narrow hilly street, -whistling. I was in such spirits that I could not -resist the temptation of playing this small joke upon -my superlatively proper and decorous servant. In -my humour, the veriest trifle set me smiling, the -minutest detail of life in the little place interested -me.</p> - -<p>The children came out to stare at me and I scattered -some small coins among them and brought -them about me in a scrambling, laughing, boisterous -crowd. Some of the men recognised me; and I -stopped now and again to exchange a word or two -with them and gave them money. The whole of the -little street was full of smiling faces and I had such -a body guard when I reached Father Michel’s cottage, -that the good priest came out in some surprise -to learn the cause of the clatter.</p> - -<p>“I need your protection again, father,” I cried -cheerily; “but from a different sort of crowd this -time. Let me come in and talk to you, and send -these young brigands away. They take <i>me</i> for the -witch this time with a power to coin money.”</p> - -<p>“I bid you welcome, sir,” he said gravely as he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_411">[411]</span> -bade the youngsters run home and led me indoors.</p> - -<p>I was closeted with him for an hour or more, telling -him many things which vastly surprised him, -gaining his help for the purpose I had in view, preparing -him for what was coming, and binding him -to secresy until the time arrived for all to be explained.</p> - -<p>When I got back to the inn Karasch, as the result -of my instructions had a carriage ready, and Buller -looking very glum and very much out of his element -was standing by a saddle horse for me.</p> - -<p>“You can go on, Karasch, I shall overtake you,” -I said, and he drove off.</p> - -<p>“Am I not to go, sir?” asked Buller, nervously.</p> - -<p>“No, Buller, thank you. You stay here. And -mind, don’t get quarrelling; these people are very -good-natured, but very handy with the knife.”</p> - -<p>“Beg pardon, sir, but how long am I to stay here -alone?”</p> - -<p>“You’re not frightened, are you?”</p> - -<p>“No, I hope not, sir, but if anything’s likely to -happen—to you, sir, I mean I’d like to know of it, -in case I could help.”</p> - -<p>“I think I’ve done you some injustice, Buller, and -I’m sorry.” I was pleased by his words. “Nothing -will happen—nothing dangerous that is. All is as -right as it could be. I’ve come here for a special -purpose; and we shall all be away to-morrow or very -soon after, for Vienna I expect. All you need do is—to -amuse yourself for an hour or two. If you go -out, walk down the hill and not up; I don’t want you -to be seen up that way. I shall be back soon after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_412">[412]</span> -dark; and you can hunt around and get me the best -thing in the way of dinner you can contrive.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sir,” he said in a tone of obvious -relief; and stepped back, as I mounted and rode after -Karasch on the road back to the station at Samac.</p> - -<p>“All you’ve got to be careful about, Karasch,” I -told him when we reached there; “is not to let your -face be seen. It’s quite dark, so there’s very little -risk.”</p> - -<p>I tethered my horse out of sight and walked up -the little hill where Gatrina and I had had our talk -that day, and waited there, thinking of her and of -much that had passed since we had parted there, -and she had sent poor old Chris back to me. The -picture was very vivid in my thoughts; her retreating -figure on the winding path, and the old dog coming -slowly up the path toward me and turning to -look after her; when the reverie was broken by the -noise of the coming train, and I hurried down the -hill back to the station.</p> - -<p>I found a spot where I could get close enough to -observe what occurred without being seen.</p> - -<p>The last car was a saloon from which three men in -the uniform of officers alighted. One of them turned -and helped out a lady, a somewhat portly person -who appeared to be stiff and cramped with a long -journey. Then without assistance another lady -stepped out and looked about her as if recognising -the place.</p> - -<p>All five passed through the station house, and one -of the men spoke to Karasch, who murmured some -reply and touched his hat. Four of them entered the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_413">[413]</span> -carriage and the fifth got up by Karasch who then -drove off.</p> - -<p>The station master and his assistants stood looking -after the carriage and gossipping with three -peasants and a woman, the only other passengers by -the train; and were still discussing the possible -meaning of the unusual event as I mounted and rode -away.</p> - -<p>I kept well behind but I was near enough to the -carriage when it reached the priest’s house to see -him come out, exchange a few words with the -officers, and then lead someone into the house. -He returned and spoke again to the officers, all three -of whom entered the carriage which passed me -directly afterwards on the return to Samac.</p> - -<p>I rode on to the inn, and having an hour to wait, I -filled up the time by changing my clothes and eating -the dinner which Buller had had prepared. I was -in a condition of intense nervous excitement, and -kept glancing at my watch wishing the time to pass, -impatient of the delay. I was intensely absorbed by -the thought of what was to follow, and yet curiously -conscious of Buller’s consequential pride at having -provided so good a meal under such circumstances -and profound disappointment at my failure to be -impressed by his cleverness.</p> - -<p>At last the time was up and I started for the -priest’s house, followed by a look of blank dismay -from Buller because I left before his chief dish was -served. I was half way up the street when the -reason of his look flashed upon me, and I burst out -laughing.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_414">[414]</span>Someone was waiting for me in the priest’s garden -and fetched him immediately.</p> - -<p>“She is very sad and depressed, but she asked to -be brought to me, it seems. She is in there;” and -he pointed to a door which stood ajar.</p> - -<p>I pushed it open and entered.</p> - -<p>She was sitting with her back to the door in a -very dejected attitude, and thinking it was Father -Michel who had returned, she did not look round, -but said, as I closed the door:</p> - -<p>“You have many calls on your time.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve been pretty busy during the last -week,” I answered.</p> - -<p>She jumped up at the sound of my voice and -turned to me a face pale for a fleeting second and -then flushing with the glory of rich, deep crimson.</p> - -<p>“Bourgwan!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Mademoiselle, Bourgwan, no other;” and -I stretched my hands to her.</p> - -<p>She held hers back and tried to look indignant.</p> - -<p>“What does this mean?”</p> - -<p>“You must blame Petrosch. He’s the villain of -the piece.”</p> - -<p>Despite her efforts her eyes smiled.</p> - -<p>“This is a conspiracy, then,” she cried.</p> - -<p>“That’s about the size of it. They’ve been pretty -plentiful lately, you see.”</p> - -<p>“I had no idea....”</p> - -<p>“That was the conspiracy, of course,” I broke -in. “He’s a subtle villain, Petrosch. I was a mere -child in his hands.”</p> - -<p>The smile was spreading very fast all over her face -now.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_415">[415]</span>“I ought to be very angry,” she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Yes, he’s broken up all my plans shamefully. -Instead of being in Vienna on my way back to the -States, here I am, just Bourgwan again, and you’re -just Mademoiselle. And goodness knows now what’s -going to happen.”</p> - -<p>We both laughed then and she no longer held -back her hands. I held them instead.</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand yet in the least.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you see it was like this. I thought you -would rather that Father Michel than any other -priest should——”</p> - -<p>“Bourgwan!” she cried, quickly.</p> - -<p>“Wasn’t that right?” I asked, with an air of innocence.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that Colonel Petrosch....”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He’s a dreadful scoundrel to guess things.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know that I am a beggar and an exile?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed. He told me all about it; and I was -awfully glad. There’s another country over seas -which will be glad to adopt you. It’s a free country, -too; with a home in it where we shan’t be quite beggars.”</p> - -<p>“Bourgwan! I told you it was impossible.”</p> - -<p>“And I told you that we’re forgetting how to spell -that word in the States; although I came near learning -it in Belgrade.”</p> - -<p>“But I—I have nothing.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, you have. You can draw a bill on the -bank of my affection and I’ll honour it right now—to -any amount.”</p> - -<p>“You make a jest of it,” she said, now between -laughter and tears.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_416">[416]</span>“Well, don’t you think they made things serious -enough for us in Belgrade? What you’ve got to do -is just to forget all that, and to laugh and be glad—if -you are glad; and then to—well, there <i>is</i> something -else to do;” and I looked grave.</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“It’s a very serious thing, very serious, indeed. -But I think I ought to tell you, and I think you -ought to do it if your laughter is to ring true.”</p> - -<p>“Are you in earnest?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, quite. Did you know that when we were -here before there was a man very badly wounded—desperately, -in fact. I was speaking to Father -Michel to-day about it and I told him I was sure -you would not like to have such a thing on your -conscience without doing all you could to help him. -That was right, wasn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Of course. Was it that struggle in the street -here?”</p> - -<p>“No, the man doesn’t belong to Poabja; but he -was here to-day. The poor fellow will never get -over the wound. And he blames you, and feels that -you alone can save him.”</p> - -<p>“Wound? Blames me? What can I do?”</p> - -<p>“Marry him.”</p> - -<p>“Bourgwan!” she cried, changing on the instant -from puzzled pity to laughing confusion; and then—well, -no matter what then.</p> - -<p>Soon afterwards we sat down together and had a -good, square talk which did not end until she had -agreed that we had better consult Father Michel -about the details.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_417">[417]</span>I was a happier man than ever when, after a very -informal little ceremony in Father Michel’s quaint, -crude church very early in the morning, we started -to indulge a mutual wish to have a last look at the -camp which had been so much to us.</p> - -<p>What a ride that was! What memories it roused! -How delighted was Gatrina with everything! And -in what spirits! How we chattered and laughed, and -laughed and chattered, forgetting for the time, selfishly -if you will in our own happiness, the gloom -and tragedy from which we had just emerged. The -world appeared all bright and glorious for us, and -care and trouble far away.</p> - -<p>Karasch was with us, of course; solemn, reserved -and taciturn as ever; but breaking into a sort of -grim smile whenever Gatrina spoke to him to point -out some bit of the road where some incident of that -other ride had occurred.</p> - -<p>Buller I packed off to Samac to go by rail and -meet us afterwards at a place to which we could get -the train from Tuzla on the other side of the camp. -He did not belong to our hill comradeship and -would have been in the way.</p> - -<p>We were careful to have a guide this time; and -how we laughed now when he told us we must have -come at least ten or fifteen miles out of our way during -that comradeship ride of ours by the compass. -We could laugh at anything.</p> - -<p>We turned aside to visit the hill where we had -slept on the morning after the check by the two -rivers, and Gatrina recognised with a positive relish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_418">[418]</span> -the spot where she had washed on the brink of the -stream.</p> - -<p>And when at last we came near the long, stiff hill -in the middle of which was the ravine leading to the -camp, her excitement and pleasure were greater -than ever. We chattered just like two glad children, -first about the incidents of her flight and -rescue, and then about that little contest of wills we -had had the following morning, and indeed about -every incident of the time at the camp.</p> - -<p>Then came the camp itself, and Gatrina’s unbounded -surprise that already men were there getting -ready for the mining work. I told her what I -had done in Vienna and that in the superintendent -we might look to find our old enemy, Captain -Hanske, the Austrian official with whom we had -taken such rough liberties that memorable night.</p> - -<p>We could stay but an hour there if we were to -reach Tuzla before nightfall, the guide told us; and -Gatrina and I spent the first few minutes in the little -hut which she had occupied.</p> - -<p>It was a place full of mingled reminiscences for -us; and while we were there our thoughts slipped -back to the moment when, as I knew and my sweet -wife now confessed, we had fallen in love.</p> - -<p>“I think I knew it first,” she said, with a winsome -blush, “when we came back here alone after that -trial of will, Bourgwan. You were very obstinate; -but I—I—I won’t tell you any more.”</p> - -<p>“I knew it before that; when you stood at bay -against those scoundrels out on the hills there. But -you must have thought me an awful scarecrow.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_419">[419]</span>“I did think you were a peasant, when I knew you -were not a brigand. And when I found out my mistake, -I could have bitten out my tongue for the way I -had spoken to you.”</p> - -<p>“I was a brigand. I stole your heart.”</p> - -<p>She looked up with a bright, merry smile and was -about to answer when some noise and confusion outside -startled her.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Quite realistic—like it used to be. We’ll see.”</p> - -<p>We went out and I laughed aloud at what we saw. -Karasch had been seized by a couple of men who -were leading him towards us while the little Austrian -ex-official, now the superintendent, was abusing -him volubly and with almost frantic gesticulations.</p> - -<p>He was a sharp fellow and the instant his eyes fell -on us he recognised us, and calling some more men -from the tent, he ran toward me shouting, “Here’s -the other man. So we meet at last, eh? And you, -too?” he cried to Gatrina, who was inclined to be -frightened and held my arm tight.</p> - -<p>“You have good eyes and a keen memory for -faces, Captain Hanske. I congratulate you. We -only met in the dark and I see you recognise us.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, you admit it, you admit it, do you?” he said, -very excitedly. “Now I’ll shew you what it is to -assault me, and I’ll know who you are and all about -you.”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t the least doubt about that. But don’t -be excited. I am Mr. Bergwyn, the American, associated -with Graf von Hartstein of Vienna in working -the mines here. I told him how I had treated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_420">[420]</span> -you that night and as a recompense had you appointed -here.”</p> - -<p>His jaw dropped as he gazed at me in amazement.</p> - -<p>The silence was broken by a laugh, deep, raucous -and loud, from Karasch—the only loud laugh I ever -heard from him.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, superintendent,” I added. “I can -understand your bewilderment and your mistake. -Tell me how the work promises. Let Karasch there -go.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bergwyn,” he stammered, “I am—I don’t -know what to say.”</p> - -<p>“Then don’t try. We’ve had enough of it. Just -show the things.”</p> - -<p>He was a very humble and bewildered superintendent -then, and so ashamed that Gatrina spoke to -him to try and put him at his ease while he shewed -us about the place until the guide sent word that we -must start.</p> - -<p>We were standing in the tent then and were alone.</p> - -<p>“This is where you had the fight with Karasch, -Bourgwan, and his arm was broken, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, when Chris, the other member of the comradeship -was on guard with you.”</p> - -<p>“Dear old Chris,” she replied. “I am so sorry.”</p> - -<p>“Something else happened here beside that fight.”</p> - -<p>“What was that?”</p> - -<p>“You told me just now when you think you—knew. -Well, it was here I first hoped.”</p> - -<p>“Hoped?” she cried, her face wrinkling and her -eyes questioning.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_421">[421]</span>“Yes, hoped. You remember I lay here after -that blow on the head.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, there;” and she pointed to the very spot.</p> - -<p>“Someone watched by me here, when I was unconscious.”</p> - -<p>She began to understand.</p> - -<p>“You mean Chris?” she asked with an air of unconcern.</p> - -<p>“No; I mean I wasn’t unconscious quite so long -as you thought and you——”</p> - -<p>“Bourgwan! The guide says we must go,” she -cried quickly, with a lovely blush.</p> - -<p>“And when you did, I began to hope.”</p> - -<p>“We mustn’t keep him any longer.”</p> - -<p>“I think he could wait while you—do it again.”</p> - -<p>But she laughed and tossed her head and walked -out of the tent.</p> - -<p>As we crossed to the horses, she said: “I don’t -know what you must have thought.”</p> - -<p>“I thought you might do it again so I remained -unconscious.”</p> - -<p>As I put her on her horse, she whispered: “I was -going to, but Karasch came;” and then shook the -reins and started.</p> - -<p>I caught her up a moment afterwards and by a -mutual impulse we turned and had a last look. It -was a wild, meagre, rough, dirty and abominably -squalid place—but very dear to us.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, old comradeship camp,” said Gatrina, -smiling, with a tear in close attendance, I think. “It -might be lovelier,” she added, “but it couldn’t be -dearer in my thoughts.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_422">[422]</span>“Nor in mine—for it gave me you.”</p> - -<p>“And me my Bourgwan—I may well love it.”</p> - -<p>We sat on the horses just gazing back, both heart -full, until the silence was broken by a shout from the -now impatient guide; and we wheeled about and -hurried after him.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">Popular Copyright Books</p> -</div> - -<p class="ph1">At Moderate Prices</p> - -<p class="ph1">Any of the following titles can be bought of your Bookseller -at the price you paid for this volume</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table"> - -<tr><td><b>THE PRODIGAL SON</b> </td><td class="tdr"> Hall Caine</td></tr> -<tr><td><b>ADVENTURES OF GERARD</b> </td><td class="tdr"> A. 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Marchmont</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph1">A. L. BURT CO., Publishers, 52-58 Duane St., New York</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">Good Fiction Worth Reading.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the field -of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and diplomacy -that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><b>WINDSOR CASTLE.</b> A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII., -Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>“Windsor Castle” is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and Anne -Boleyn. “Bluff King Hal,” although a well-loved monarch, was none too -good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and unwarrantable acts, -none was more discreditable than his divorce from Catharine, and his marriage -to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. The King’s love was as brief as it -was vehement. Jane Seymour, waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, -and Anne Boleyn was forced to the block to make room for her successor. -This romance is one of extreme interest to all readers.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>HORSESHOE ROBINSON.</b> A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Carolina -in 1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - - -<p>Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as historical fiction, -there are none which appeal to a larger number of Americans than -Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it is the only story which depicts -with fidelity to the facts the heroic efforts of the colonists in South Carolina -to defend their homes against the brutal oppression of the British -under such leaders as Cornwallis and Tarleton.</p> - -<p>The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the thread -of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail concerning those -times. The picture of the manifold sufferings of the people, is never overdrawn, -but painted faithfully and honestly by one who spared neither -time nor labor in his efforts to present in this charming love story all that -price in blood and tears which the Carolinians paid as their share in the -winning of the republic.</p> - -<p>Take it all in all, “Horseshoe Robinson” is a work which should be -found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most entertaining -story, but because of the wealth of valuable information concerning the -colonists which it contains. That it has been brought out once more, well -illustrated, is something which will give pleasure to thousands who have -long desired an opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who -have tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they might -read it for the first time.</p> -<p> </p> - -<p><b>THE PEARL OF ORR’S ISLAND.</b> A story of the Coast of Maine. By -Harriet Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00.</p> - - - -<p>Written prior to 1862, the “Pearl of Orr’s Island” is ever new; a book -filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array themselves anew each -time one reads them. One sees the “sea like an unbroken mirror all -around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr’s Island,” and straightway -comes “the heavy, hollow moan of the surf on the beach, like the wild -angry howl of some savage animal.”</p> - -<p>Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, which -came into this world under the very shadow of the Death angel’s wings, -without having an intense desire to know how the premature bud blossomed? -Again and again one lingers over the descriptions of the character -of that baby boy Moses, who came through the tempest, amid the -angry billows, pillowed on his dead mother’s breast.</p> - -<p>There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that -which Mrs. Stowe gives in “The Pearl of Orr’s Island.”</p> - -<p> </p> - - -<p><b>DARNLEY.</b> A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. -By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo, with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. -Price, $1.00.</p> - - - -<p>In point of publication, “Darnley” is that work by Mr. James which -follows “Richelieu,” and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing to the advice -and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we are indebted -primarily for the story, the young author questioning whether he could -properly paint the difference in the characters of the two great cardinals. -And it is not surprising that James should have hesitated; he had been -eminently successful in giving to the world the portrait of Richelieu as a -man, and by attempting a similar task with Wolsey as the theme, was -much like tempting fortune. Irving insisted that “Darnley” came naturally -in sequence, and this opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, -the author set about the work.</p> - -<p>As a historical romance “Darnley” is a book that can be taken up -pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle charm which -those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. 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Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea yarns -who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as can come through -the medium of a printed page, for never has a story of the sea and those -“who go down in ships” been written by one more familiar with the scenes -depicted.</p> - -<p>The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, and which -will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is “Captain Brand,” -who, as the author states on his title page, was a “pirate of eminence in -the West Indies.” As a sea story pure and simple, “Captain Brand” has -never been excelled, and as a story of piratical life, told without the usual -embellishments of blood and thunder, it has no equal.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>NICK OF THE WOODS.</b> A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By -Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier life in -Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel, long out of -print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its realistic presentation of -Indian and frontier life in the early days of settlement in the South, narrated -in the tale with all the art of a practiced writer. A very charming -love romance runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition of -“Nick of the Woods” will be certain to make many new admirers for -this enchanting story from Dr. Bird’s clever and versatile pen.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE.</b> A story of American Colonial Times. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of Revolutionary -scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. It causes the true -American to flush with excitement, to devour chapter after chapter, until -the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes with patriotism. The love story is a -singularly charming idyl.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>THE TOWER OF LONDON.</b> A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady -Jane Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with -four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.</p> - - - -<p>This romance of the “Tower of London” depicts the Tower as palace, -prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is the -middle of the sixteenth century.</p> - -<p>The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane Grey, -and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other notable characters -of the era. Throughout the story holds the interest of the reader. -In the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, extending considerably over a -half a century.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING.</b> A Romance of the American Revolution. -By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery, -and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the spirit of the -Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves taking a -part in the exciting scenes described. His whole story is so absorbing -that you will sit up far into the night to finish it. As a love romance -it is charming.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>GARTHOWEN.</b> A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>“This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare before -us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some strong points of -Welsh character—the pride, the hasty temper, the quick dying out of wrath.... -We call this a well-written story, interesting alike through its -romance and its glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and -clever picture of Welsh village life. The result is excellent.”—Detroit Free -Press.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>MIFANWY.</b> The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>“This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care to -read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the characters, it is apparent -at once, are as true to life as though the author had known them -all personally. Simple in all its situations, the story is worked up in that -touching and quaint strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how -often the lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and -does not tax the imagination.”—Boston Herald.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>GUY FAWKES.</b> A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harrison -Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. -Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>The “Gunpowder Plot” was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, -the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King of England, -was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient scheme of -extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the Catholics. In -their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful of bold spirits concluded -to overthrow the government. Finally the plotters were arrested, -and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners with -royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through the entire romance.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p><b>THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER.</b> A Romance of the Early Settlers in the -Ohio Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - -<p>A book rather out of the ordinary is this “Spirit of the Border.” The -main thread of the story has to do with the work of the Moravian missionaries -in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader is given details of the -frontier life of those hardy pioneers who broke the wilderness for the planting -of this great nation. Chief among these, as a matter of course, is -Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and at the same time the most -admirable of all the brave men who spent their lives battling with the -savage foe, that others might dwell in comparative security.</p> - -<p>Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian “Village -of Peace” are given at some length, and with minute description. The -efforts to Christianize the Indians are described as they never have been -before, and the author has depicted the characters of the leaders of the -several Indian tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to -the student.</p> - -<p>By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid word-pictures -of the thrilling adventures, and the intense paintings of the beauties -of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken forests.</p> - -<p>It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by it, -perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, willingly braved -every privation and danger that the westward progress of the star of empire -might be the more certain and rapid. A love story, simple and tender, -runs through the book.</p> - -<p> </p> -<p><b>RICHELIEU.</b> A tale of France In the reign of King Louis XIII. By G. P. -E. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.</p> - - - -<p>In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, “Richelieu,” and was -recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft.</p> - -<p>In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great cardinal’s -life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while it was -yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic outbursts which -overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost wave of prosperity. -One of the most striking portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar’s conspiracy; -the method of conducting criminal cases, and the political trickery -resorted to by royal favorites, affording a better insight into the statecraft -of that day than can be had even by an exhaustive study of history. -It is a powerful romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling -and absorbing interest has never been excelled.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center">For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers, -A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="ph1"><span class="u">POPULAR LITERATURE FOR THE MASSES, -COMPRISING CHOICE SELECTIONS FROM THE -TREASURES OF THE WORLD’S KNOWLEDGE, -ISSUED IN A SUBSTANTIAL AND ATTRACTIVE -CLOTH BINDING, AT A POPULAR PRICE</span></p> -</div></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<div class="figright"><img src="images/i_ad.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p>BURT’S HOME LIBRARY is a series which -includes the standard works of the world’s best literature, -bound in uniform cloth binding, gilt tops, embracing -chiefly selections from writers of the most notable -English, American and Foreign Fiction, together with -many important works in the domains -of History, Biography, Philosophy, -Travel, Poetry and the Essays.</p> - - - -<p>A glance at the following annexed -list of titles and authors will endorse -the claim that the publishers make -for it—that it is the most -comprehensive, choice, interesting, and by -far the most carefully selected series -of standard authors for world-wide -reading that has been produced by -any publishing house in any country, and that at prices -so cheap, and in a style so substantial and pleasing, as to -win for it millions of readers and the approval and -commendation, not only of the book trade throughout -the American continent, but of hundreds of thousands of -librarians, clergymen, educators and men of letters -interested in the dissemination of instructive, entertaining -and thoroughly wholesome reading matter for the masses.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph1">BURT’S HOME LIBRARY. Cloth. Gilt Tops. Price, $1.00</p> -</div> - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><b>Abbe Constantin.</b> <span class="smcap">By Ludovic -Halevy.</span></p> - -<p><b>Abbott.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Adam Bede.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Eliot.</span></p> - -<p><b>Addison’s Essays.</b> <span class="smcap">Edited by John -Richard Green.</span></p> - -<p><b>Aeneid of Virgil.</b> <span class="smcap">Translated by -John Connington.</span></p> - -<p><b>Aesop’s Fables.</b></p> - -<p><b>Alexander, the Great, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -John Williams.</span></p> - -<p><b>Alfred, the Great, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas -Hughes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Alhambra.</b> <span class="smcap">By Washington Irving.</span></p> - -<p><b>Alice in Wonderland, and Through the -Looking-Glass.</b> <span class="smcap">By Lewis Carroll.</span></p> - -<p><b>Alice Lorraine.</b> <span class="smcap">By R. D. Blackmore.</span></p> - -<p><b>All Sorts and Conditions of Men.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Walter Besant.</span></p> - -<p><b>Alton Locke.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Kingsley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Amiel’s Journal.</b> <span class="smcap">Translated by -Mrs. Humphrey Ward.</span></p> - -<p><b>Andersen’s Fairy Tales.</b></p> - -<p><b>Anne of Geirstein.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Antiquary.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.</b></p> - -<p><b>Ardath.</b> <span class="smcap">By Marie Corelli.</span></p> - -<p><b>Arnold, Benedict, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By George -Canning Hill.</span></p> - -<p><b>Arnold’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Matthew -Arnold.</span></p> - -<p><b>Around the World in the Yacht Sunbeam.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Mrs. Brassey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Arundel Motto.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary Cecil -Hay.</span></p> - -<p><b>At the Back of the North Wind.</b> <span class="smcap">By -George Macdonald.</span></p> - -<p><b>Attic Philosopher.</b> <span class="smcap">By Emile Souvestre.</span></p> - -<p><b>Auld Licht Idylls.</b> <span class="smcap">By James M. -Barrie.</span></p> - -<p><b>Aunt Diana.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.</b></p> - -<p><b>Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.</b> <span class="smcap">By -O. W. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Averil.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Bacon’s Essays.</b> <span class="smcap">By Francis Bacon.</span></p> - -<p><b>Barbara Heathcote’s Trial.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa -N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Barnaby Rudge.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Barrack Room Ballads.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rudyard -Kipling.</span></p> - -<p><b>Betrothed.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Beulah.</b> <span class="smcap">By Augusta J. Evans.</span></p> - -<p><b>Black Beauty.</b> <span class="smcap">By Anna Sewell.</span></p> - -<p><b>Black Dwarf.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Black Rock.</b> <span class="smcap">By Ralph Connor.</span></p> - -<p><b>Black Tulip.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Bleak House.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Blithedale Romance.</b> <span class="smcap">By Nathaniel -Hawthorne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Bondman.</b> <span class="smcap">By Hall Caine.</span></p> - -<p><b>Book of Golden Deeds.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charlotte -M. Yonge.</span></p> - -<p><b>Boone, Daniel, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Cecil B. -Hartley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Bride of Lammermoor.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir -Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Bride of the Nile.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Ebers.</span></p> - -<p><b>Browning’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Elizabeth -Barrett Browning.</span></p> - -<p><b>Browning’s Poems.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">SELECTIONS.</span>) -<span class="smcap">By Robert Browning.</span></p> - -<p><b>Bryant’s Poems.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">EARLY.</span>) <span class="smcap">By William -Cullen Bryant.</span></p> - -<p><b>Burgomaster’s Wife.</b> <span class="smcap">By George -Ebers.</span></p> - -<p><b>Burn’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Robert Burns.</span></p> - -<p><b>By Order of the King.</b> <span class="smcap">By Victor -Hugo.</span></p> - -<p><b>Byron’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Lord Byron.</span></p> - -<p><b>Caesar, Julius, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By James -Anthony Froude.</span></p> - -<p><b>Carson, Kit, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Burdett.</span></p> - -<p><b>Cary’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alice and Phoebe -Cary.</span></p> - -<p><b>Cast Up by the Sea.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Samuel -Baker.</span></p> - -<p><b>Charlemagne (Charles the Great), Life -of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas Hodgkin. D. C. L.</span></p> - -<p><b>Charles Auchester.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. Berger.</span></p> - -<p><b>Character.</b> <span class="smcap">By Samuel Smiles.</span></p> - -<p><b>Charles O’Malley.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Lever.</span></p> - -<p><b>Chesterfield’s Letters.</b> <span class="smcap">By Lord Chesterfield.</span></p> - -<p><b>Chevalier de Maison Rouge.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Alexandre Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Chicot the Jester.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Children of the Abbey.</b> <span class="smcap">By Regina -Maria Roche.</span></p> - -<p><b>Child’s History of England.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Charles Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Christmas Stories.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Cloister and the Hearth.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Reade.</span></p> - -<p><b>Coleridge’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Samuel Taylor -Coleridge.</span></p> - -<p><b>Columbus, Christopher, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Washington Irving.</span></p> - -<p><b>Companions of Jehu.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Complete Angler.</b> <span class="smcap">By Walton and -Cotton.</span></p> - -<p><b>Conduct of Life.</b> <span class="smcap">By Ralph Waldo -Emerson.</span></p> - -<p><b>Confessions of an Opium Eater.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Thomas de Quincey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Conquest of Granada.</b> <span class="smcap">By Washington -Irving.</span></p> - -<p><b>Conscript.</b> <span class="smcap">By Erckmann-Chatrian.</span></p> - -<p><b>Conspiracy of Pontiac.</b> <span class="smcap">By Francis -Parkman, Jr.</span></p> - -<p><b>Conspirators.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Consuelo.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Sand.</span></p> - -<p><b>Cook’s Voyages.</b> <span class="smcap">By Captain James -Cook.</span></p> - -<p><b>Corinne.</b> <span class="smcap">By Madame de Stahl.</span></p> - -<p><b>Countess de Charney.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Countess Gisela.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. Marlitt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Countess of Rudolstadt.</b> <span class="smcap">By George -Sand.</span></p> - -<p><b>Count Robert of Paris.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir -Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Country Doctor.</b> <span class="smcap">By Honore de -Balzac.</span></p> - -<p><b>Courtship of Miles Standish.</b> <span class="smcap">By H. W. -Longfellow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Cousin Maude.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Cranford.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mrs. Gaskell.</span></p> - -<p><b>Crockett, David, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">An Autobiography.</span></p> - -<p><b>Cromwell, Oliver, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Edwin -Paxton Hood.</span></p> - -<p><b>Crown of Wild Olive.</b> <span class="smcap">By John -Ruskin.</span></p> - -<p><b>Crusades.</b> <span class="smcap">By Geo. W. Cox, M. A.</span></p> - -<p><b>Daniel Deronda.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Eliot.</span></p> - -<p><b>Darkness and Daylight.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. -Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Data of Ethics.</b> <span class="smcap">By Herbert Spencer.</span></p> - -<p><b>Daughter of an Empress, The.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Louisa Muhlbach.</span></p> - -<p><b>David Copperfield.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Days of Bruce.</b> <span class="smcap">By Grace Aguilar.</span></p> - -<p><b>Deemster, The.</b> <span class="smcap">By Hall Caine.</span></p> - -<p><b>Deerslayer, The.</b> <span class="smcap">By James Fenimore -Cooper.</span></p> - -<p><b>Descent of Man.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Darwin.</span></p> - -<p><b>Discourses of Epictetus.</b> <span class="smcap">Translated -by George Long.</span></p> - -<p><b>Divine Comedy.</b> (<span class="smcap">Dante.</span>) <span class="smcap">Translated -by Rev. H. F. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Dombey & Son.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Donal Grant.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Macdonald.</span></p> - -<p><b>Donovan.</b> <span class="smcap">By Edna Lyall.</span></p> - -<p><b>Dora Deane.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Dove in the Eagle’s Nest.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charlotte -M. Yonge.</span></p> - -<p><b>Dream Life.</b> <span class="smcap">By Ik Marvel.</span></p> - -<p><b>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.</b> <span class="smcap">By R. L. -Stevenson.</span></p> - -<p><b>Duty.</b> <span class="smcap">By Samuel Smiles.</span></p> - -<p><b>Early Days of Christianity.</b> <span class="smcap">By F. W. -Farrar.</span></p> - -<p><b>East Lynne.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mrs. Henry Wood.</span></p> - -<p><b>Edith Lyle’s Secret.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. -Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Education.</b> <span class="smcap">By Herbert Spencer.</span></p> - -<p><b>Egoist.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Meredith.</span></p> - -<p><b>Egyptian Princess.</b> <span class="smcap">By George -Ebers.</span></p> - -<p><b>Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Jules Verne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Eliot’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Eliot.</span></p> - -<p><b>Elizabeth and her German Garden.</b></p> - -<p><b>Elizabeth (Queen of England), Life of.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Edward Spencer Beesly, M.A.</span></p> - -<p><b>Elsie Venner.</b> <span class="smcap">By Oliver Wendell -Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Emerson’s Essays.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">COMPLETE.</span>) <span class="smcap">By -Ralph Waldo Emerson.</span></p> - -<p><b>Emerson’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Ralph Waldo -Emerson.</span></p> - -<p><b>English Orphans.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. -Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>English Traits.</b> <span class="smcap">By R. W. Emerson.</span></p> - -<p><b>Essays in Criticism.</b> (<span class="smcap">First and -Second Series.</span>) <span class="smcap">By Matthew -Arnold.</span></p> - -<p><b>Essays of Elia.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Lamb.</span></p> - -<p><b>Esther.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Ethelyn’s Mistake.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. -Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Evangeline.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">WITH NOTES.</span>) <span class="smcap">By H. -W. Longfellow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Evelina.</b> <span class="smcap">By Frances Burney.</span></p> - -<p><b>Fair Maid of Perth.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Fairy Land of Science.</b> <span class="smcap">By Arabella -B. Buckley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Faust.</b> (<span class="smcap">Goethe.</span>) <span class="smcap">Translated by -Anna Swanwick.</span></p> - -<p><b>Felix Holt.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Eliot.</span></p> - -<p><b>Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World.</b> -<span class="smcap">By E. S. Creasy.</span></p> - -<p><b>File No. 113.</b> <span class="smcap">By Emile Gaboriau.</span></p> - -<p><b>Firm of Girdlestone.</b> <span class="smcap">By A. Conan -Doyle.</span></p> - -<p><b>First Principles.</b> <span class="smcap">By Herbert Spencer.</span></p> - -<p><b>First Violin.</b> <span class="smcap">By Jessie Fothergill.</span></p> - -<p><b>For Lilias.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Fortunes of Nigel.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Forty-Five Guardsmen.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Foul Play.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Reade.</span></p> - -<p><b>Fragments of Science.</b> <span class="smcap">By John -Tyndall.</span></p> - -<p><b>Frederick, the Great, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Francis Kugler.</span></p> - -<p><b>Frederick the Great and His Court.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Louisa Muhlbach.</span></p> - -<p><b>French Revolution.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas Carlyle.</span></p> - -<p><b>From the Earth to the Moon.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Jules Verne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Garibaldi, General, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Theodore -Dwight.</span></p> - -<p><b>Gil Blas, Adventures of.</b> <span class="smcap">By A. R. Le -Sage.</span></p> - -<p><b>Gold Bug and Other Tales.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Edgar A. Poe.</span></p> - -<p><b>Gold Elsie.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. Marlitt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Golden Treasury.</b> <span class="smcap">By Francis T. -Palgrave.</span></p> - -<p><b>Goldsmith’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Oliver -Goldsmith.</span></p> - -<p><b>Grandfather’s Chair.</b> <span class="smcap">By Nathaniel -Hawthorne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Grant, Ulysses S., Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By J. T. -Headley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Gray’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas Gray.</span></p> - -<p><b>Great Expectations.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Greek Heroes. Fairy Tales for My -Children.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Kingsley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Green Mountain Boys, The.</b> <span class="smcap">By D. P. -Thompson.</span></p> - -<p><b>Grimm’s Household Tales.</b> <span class="smcap">By the -Brothers Grimm.</span></p> - -<p><b>Grimm’s Popular Tales.</b> <span class="smcap">By the -Brothers Grimm.</span></p> - -<p><b>Gulliver’s Travels.</b> <span class="smcap">By Dean Swift.</span></p> - -<p><b>Guy Mannering.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hale, Nathan, the Martyr Spy.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Charlotte Molyneux Holloway.</span></p> - -<p><b>Handy Andy.</b> <span class="smcap">By Samuel Lover.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hans of Iceland.</b> <span class="smcap">By Victor Hugo.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hannibal, the Carthaginian, Life of.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Thomas Arnold, M. A.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hardy Norseman, A.</b> <span class="smcap">By Edna Lyall.</span></p> - -<p><b>Harold.</b> <span class="smcap">By Bulwer-Lytton.</span></p> - -<p><b>Harry Lorrequer.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Lever.</span></p> - -<p><b>Heart of Midlothian.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Heir of Redclyffe.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charlotte M. -Yonge.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hemans’ Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mrs. Felicia -Hemans.</span></p> - -<p><b>Henry Esmond.</b> <span class="smcap">By Wm. M. Thackeray.</span></p> - -<p><b>Henry, Patrick, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By William -Wirt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Her Dearest Foe.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mrs. Alexander.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hereward.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Kingsley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Heriot’s Choice.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Heroes and Hero-Worship.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Thomas Carlyle.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hiawatha</b>, (<span class="allsmcap">WITH NOTES.</span>) <span class="smcap">By H. W. -Longfellow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hidden Hand, The.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">COMPLETE.</span>) <span class="smcap">By -Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth.</span></p> - -<p><b>History of a Crime.</b> <span class="smcap">By Victor -Hugo.</span></p> - -<p><b>History of Civilization in Europe.</b> <span class="smcap">By -M. Guizot.</span></p> - -<p><b>Holmes’ Poems.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">EARLY.</span>) <span class="smcap">By Oliver -Wendell Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Holy Roman Empire.</b> <span class="smcap">By James -Bryce.</span></p> - -<p><b>Homestead on the Hillside.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary -J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hood’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas Hood.</span></p> - -<p><b>House of the Seven Gables.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Nathaniel Hawthorne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hunchback of Notre Dame.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Victor Hugo.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hypatia.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Kingsley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Hyperion.</b> <span class="smcap">By Henry Wadsworth -Longfellow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Iceland Fisherman.</b> <span class="smcap">By Pierre Loti.</span></p> - -<p><b>Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Jerome K. Jerome.</span></p> - -<p><b>Iliad.</b> <span class="smcap">Pope’s Translation.</span></p> - -<p><b>Inez.</b> <span class="smcap">By Augusta J. Evans.</span></p> - -<p><b>Ingelow’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Jean Ingelow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Initials.</b> <span class="smcap">By the Baroness Tautphoeus.</span></p> - -<p><b>Intellectual Life.</b> <span class="smcap">By Philip G. -Hamerton.</span></p> - -<p><b>In the Counsellor’s House.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. -Marlitt.</span></p> - -<p><b>In the Golden Days.</b> <span class="smcap">By Edna -Lyall.</span></p> - -<p><b>In the Heart of the Storm.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Maxwell Gray.</span></p> - -<p><b>In the Schillingscourt.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. Marlitt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Ishmael.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">COMPLETE.</span>) <span class="smcap">By Mrs. E. -D. E. N. Southworth.</span></p> - -<p><b>It Is Never Too Late to Mend.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Charles Reade.</span></p> - -<p><b>Ivanhoe.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Jane Eyre.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charlotte Bronte.</span></p> - -<p><b>Jefferson, Thomas, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Samuel M. Schmucker, LL.D.</span></p> - -<p><b>Joan of Arc, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Jules -Michelet.</span></p> - -<p><b>John Halifax, Gentleman.</b> <span class="smcap">By Miss -Mulock.</span></p> - -<p><b>Jones, John Paul, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By James -Otis.</span></p> - -<p><b>Joseph Balsamo.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Josephine, Empress of France, Life of.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Frederick A. Ober.</span></p> - -<p><b>Keats’ Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By John Keats.</span></p> - -<p><b>Kenilworth.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Kidnapped.</b> <span class="smcap">By R. L. Stevenson.</span></p> - -<p><b>King Arthur and His Noble Knights.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Mary Macleod.</span></p> - -<p><b>Knickerbocker’s History of New York.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Washington Irving.</span></p> - -<p><b>Knight Errant.</b> <span class="smcap">By Edna Lyall.</span></p> - -<p><b>Koran.</b> <span class="smcap">Translated by George -Sale.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lady of the Lake.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">WITH NOTES.</span>) <span class="smcap">By -Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lady with the Rubies.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. Marlitt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lafayette, Marquis de, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -P. C. Headley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lalla Rookh.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">WITH NOTES.</span>) <span class="smcap">By -Thomas Moore.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lamplighter.</b> <span class="smcap">By Maria S. Cummins.</span></p> - -<p><b>Last Days of Pompeii.</b> <span class="smcap">By Bulwer-Lytton.</span></p> - -<p><b>Last of the Barons.</b> <span class="smcap">By Bulwer-Lytton.</span></p> - -<p><b>Last of the Mohicans.</b> <span class="smcap">By James -Fenimore Cooper.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lay of the Last Minstrel.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">WITH -NOTES.</span>) <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lee, General Robert E., Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -G. Mercer Adam.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lena Rivers.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Life of Christ.</b> <span class="smcap">By Frederick W. -Farrar.</span></p> - -<p><b>Life of Jesus.</b> <span class="smcap">By Ernest Renan.</span></p> - -<p><b>Light of Asia.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Edwin -Arnold.</span></p> - -<p><b>Light That Failed.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rudyard -Kipling.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lincoln, Abraham, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Henry Ketcham.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lincoln’s Speeches.</b> <span class="smcap">Selected and -Edited by G. Mercer Adam.</span></p> - -<p><b>Literature and Dogma.</b> <span class="smcap">By Matthew -Arnold.</span></p> - -<p><b>Little Dorrit.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Little Minister.</b> <span class="smcap">By James M. Barrie.</span></p> - -<p><b>Livingstone, David, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Thomas Hughes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Longfellow’s Poems.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">EARLY.</span>) <span class="smcap">By -Henry W. Longfellow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lorna Doone.</b> <span class="smcap">By R. D. Blackmore.</span></p> - -<p><b>Louise de la Valliere.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Love Me Little, Love Me Long.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Charles Reade.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lowell’s Poems.</b> (<span class="allsmcap">EARLY.</span>) <span class="smcap">By James -Russell Lowell.</span></p> - -<p><b>Lucile.</b> <span class="smcap">By Owen Meredith.</span></p> - -<p><b>Macaria.</b> <span class="smcap">By Augusta J. Evans.</span></p> - -<p><b>Macaulay’s Literary Essays.</b> <span class="smcap">By T. B. -Macaulay.</span></p> - -<p><b>Macaulay’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas Babington -Macaulay.</span></p> - -<p><b>Madame Therese.</b> <span class="smcap">By Erckmann-Chatrian.</span></p> - -<p><b>Maggie Miller.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Magic Skin.</b> <span class="smcap">By Honore de Balzac.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mahomet, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Washington -Irving.</span></p> - -<p><b>Makers of Florence.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mrs. Oliphant.</span></p> - -<p><b>Makers of Venice.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mrs. Oliphant.</span></p> - -<p><b>Man and Wife.</b> <span class="smcap">By Wilkie Collins.</span></p> - -<p><b>Man in the Iron Mask.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Marble Faun.</b> <span class="smcap">By Nathaniel Hawthorne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Marguerite de la Valois.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Marian Grey.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Marius, The Epicurian.</b> <span class="smcap">By Walter -Pater.</span></p> - -<p><b>Marmion.</b> (<span class="smcap">With Notes.</span>) <span class="smcap">By Sir -Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Marquis of Lossie.</b> <span class="smcap">By George -Macdonald.</span></p> - -<p><b>Martin Chuzzlewit.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mary, Queen of Scots, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -P. C. Headley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mary St. John.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Master of Ballantrae, The.</b> <span class="smcap">By R. L. -Stevenson.</span></p> - -<p><b>Masterman Ready.</b> <span class="smcap">By Captain Marryatt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Meadow Brook.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.</b> -<span class="smcap">Translated by George Long.</span></p> - -<p><b>Memoirs of a Physician.</b> <span class="smcap">By Alexandre -Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Merle’s Crusade.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Micah Clarke.</b> <span class="smcap">By A. Conan Doyle.</span></p> - -<p><b>Michael Strogoff.</b> <span class="smcap">By Jules Verne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Middlemarch.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Eliot.</span></p> - -<p><b>Midshipman Easy.</b> <span class="smcap">By Captain Marryatt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mildred.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Millbank.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary J. Holmes.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mill on the Floss.</b> <span class="smcap">By George Eliot.</span></p> - -<p><b>Milton’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By John Milton.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mine Own People.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rudyard Kipling.</span></p> - -<p><b>Minister’s Wooing, The.</b> <span class="smcap">By Harriet -Beecher Stowe.</span></p> - -<p><b>Monastery.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Moonstone.</b> <span class="smcap">By Wilkie Collins.</span></p> - -<p><b>Moore’s Poems.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas Moore.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mosses from an Old Manse.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Nathaniel Hawthorne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Murders in the Rue Morgue.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Edgar Allen Poe.</span></p> - -<p><b>Mysterious Island.</b> <span class="smcap">By Jules Verne.</span></p> - -<p><b>Napoleon Bonaparte, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By P. -C. Headley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Napoleon and His Marshals.</b> <span class="smcap">By J. -T. Headley.</span></p> - -<p><b>Natural Law in the Spiritual World.</b> -<span class="smcap">By Henry Drummond.</span></p> - -<p><b>Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Edgar Allan Poe.</span></p> - -<p><b>Nature, Addresses and Lectures.</b> <span class="smcap">By -R. W. Emerson.</span></p> - -<p><b>Nellie’s Memories.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. -Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Nelson, Admiral Horatio, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Robert Southey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Newcomes.</b> <span class="smcap">By William M. Thackeray.</span></p> - -<p><b>Nicholas Nickleby.</b> <span class="smcap">By Chas. Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Ninety-Three.</b> <span class="smcap">By Victor Hugo.</span></p> - -<p><b>Not Like Other Girls.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. -Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Odyssey.</b> <span class="smcap">Pope’s Translation.</span></p> - -<p><b>Old Curiosity Shop.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Old Mam’selle’s Secret.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. Marlitt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Old Mortality.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Old Myddleton’s Money.</b> <span class="smcap">By Mary -Cecil Hay.</span></p> - -<p><b>Oliver Twist.</b> <span class="smcap">By Chas. Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Only the Governess.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>On the Heights.</b> <span class="smcap">By Berthold -Auerbach.</span></p> - -<p><b>Oregon Trail.</b> <span class="smcap">By Francis Parkman.</span></p> - -<p><b>Origin of Species.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Darwin.</span></p> - -<p><b>Other Worlds than Ours.</b> <span class="smcap">By Richard -Proctor.</span></p> - -<p><b>Our Bessie.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rosa N. Carey.</span></p> - -<p><b>Our Mutual Friend.</b> <span class="smcap">By Charles -Dickens.</span></p> - -<p><b>Outre-Mer.</b> <span class="smcap">By H. W. Longfellow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Owl’s Nest.</b> <span class="smcap">By E. Marlitt.</span></p> - -<p><b>Page of the Duke of Savoy.</b> <span class="smcap">By -Alexandre Dumas.</span></p> - -<p><b>Pair of Blue Eyes.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thomas Hardy.</span></p> - -<p><b>Pan Michael.</b> <span class="smcap">By Henryk Sienkiewicz.</span></p> - -<p><b>Past and Present.</b> <span class="smcap">By Thos. Carlyle.</span></p> - -<p><b>Pathfinder.</b> <span class="smcap">By James Fenimore -Cooper.</span></p> - -<p><b>Paul and Virginia.</b> <span class="smcap">By B. de St. -Pierre.</span></p> - -<p><b>Pendennis, History of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Wm. M. -Thackeray.</span></p> - -<p><b>Penn, William, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By W. Hepworth -Dixon.</span></p> - -<p><b>Pere Goriot.</b> <span class="smcap">By Honore de Balzac.</span></p> - -<p><b>Peter the Great, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By John -Barrow.</span></p> - -<p><b>Peveril of the Peak.</b> <span class="smcap">By Sir Walter -Scott.</span></p> - -<p><b>Phantom Rickshaw, The.</b> <span class="smcap">By Rudyard -Kipling.</span></p> - -<p><b>Philip II. of Spain, Life of.</b> <span class="smcap">By Martin -A. S. Hume.</span></p> - -<p><b>Picciola.</b> <span class="smcap">By X. B. Saintine.</span></p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - - - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original.</p> -</div></div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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