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diff --git a/41822-0.txt b/41822-0.txt index 42661d4..72520b2 100644 --- a/41822-0.txt +++ b/41822-0.txt @@ -1,37 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Phroso, by Anthony Hope - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 - - -Title: Phroso - A romance - -Author: Anthony Hope - -Release Date: January 11, 2013 [EBook #41822] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41822 *** PHROSO @@ -11764,362 +11731,4 @@ _Colston & Coy., Limited, Printers, Edinburgh._ End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Phroso, by Anthony Hope -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - -***** This file should be named 41822-0.txt or 41822-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/8/2/41822/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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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 - - -Title: Phroso - A romance - -Author: Anthony Hope - -Release Date: January 11, 2013 [EBook #41822] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - -PHROSO - - -BY THE SAME AUTHOR - - - MR WITT'S WIDOW - SPORT ROYAL - A CHANGE OF AIR - HALF A HERO - THE PRISONER OF ZENDA - FATHER STAFFORD - THE GOD IN THE CAR - COMEDIES OF COURTSHIP - THE HEART OF THE PRINCESS OSRA - - -[Illustration: A SHOT WHISTLED BY ME. Page 120.] - - - - - PHROSO - - A ROMANCE - - BY - - ANTHONY HOPE - - - Let the winged Fancy roam, - Pleasure never is at home. - - WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. R. MILLAR - - METHUEN & CO. - - 36 ESSEX STREET, W.C. - - LONDON - - 1897 - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - I. A LONG THING ENDING IN 'POULOS,' 1 - II. A CONSERVATIVE COUNTRY, 20 - III. THE FEVER OF NEOPALIA, 41 - IV. A RAID AND A RAIDER, 60 - V. THE COTTAGE ON THE HILL, 79 - VI. THE POEM OF ONE-EYED ALEXANDER, 98 - VII. THE SECRET OF THE STEFANOPOULOI, 118 - VIII. A KNIFE AT A ROPE, 137 - IX. HATS OFF TO ST TRYPHON! 155 - X. THE JUSTICE OF THE ISLAND, 177 - XI. THE LAST CARD, 197 - XII. LAW AND ORDER, 215 - XIII. THE SMILES OF MOURAKI PASHA, 235 - XIV. A STROKE IN THE GAME, 257 - XV. A STRANGE ESCAPE, 277 - XVI. AN UNFINISHED LETTER, 298 - XVII. IN THE JAWS OF THE TRAP, 319 - XVIII. THE UNKNOWN FRIEND, 340 - XIX. THE ARMENIAN DOG! 357 - XX. A PUBLIC PROMISE, 378 - XXI. A WORD OF VARIOUS MEANINGS, 398 - XXII. ONE MORE RUN, 419 - XXIII. THE ISLAND IN A CALM, 440 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - A SHOT WHISTLED BY ME, _Frontispiece_ - PAGE - 'WHO STABBED HIM?' 44 - WE TOOK SPIRO'S BODY AND FLUNG IT DOWN, 135 - 'WHAT IS HIS LIFE TO YOU, LADY?' 196 - 'A THOUSAND PARDONS, MY LORD!' 270 - 'WE ARE READY FOR--ANYTHING--NOW,' 302 - 'AT LAST, MY GOD, AT LAST!' 356 - BACK TO NEOPALIA, 450 - - - - -PHROSO - - - - -CHAPTER I - -A LONG THING ENDING IN POULOS - - -'Quot homines tot sententiæ;' so many men, so many fancies. My fancy -was for an island. Perhaps boyhood's glamour hung yet round sea-girt -rocks, and 'faery lands forlorn,' still beckoned me; perhaps I felt -that London was too full, the Highlands rather fuller, the Swiss -mountains most insufferably crowded of them all. Money can buy -company, and it can buy retirement. The latter service I asked now of -the moderate wealth with which my poor cousin Tom's death had endowed -me. Everybody was good enough to suppose that I rejoiced at Tom's -death, whereas I was particularly sorry for it, and was not consoled -even by the prospect of the island. My friends understood this wish -for an island as little as they appreciated my feelings about poor -Tom. Beatrice was most emphatic in declaring that 'a horrid little -island' had no charms for her, and that she would never set foot in -it. This declaration was rather annoying, because I had imagined -myself, spending my honeymoon with Beatrice on the island; but life is -not all honeymoon, and I decided to have the island none the less. -Besides I was not to be married for a year. Mrs Kennett Hipgrave had -insisted on this delay in order that we might be sure that we knew our -own hearts. And as I may say without unfairness that Mrs Hipgrave was -to a considerable degree responsible for the engagement--she asserted -the fact herself with much pride--I thought that she had a right to -some voice in the date of the marriage. Moreover the postponement just -gave me the time to go over and settle affairs in the island. - -For I had bought it. It cost me seven thousand five hundred and fifty -pounds, rather a fancy price but I could not haggle with the old -lord--half to be paid to the lord's bankers in London, and the second -half to him in Neopalia, when he delivered possession to me. The -Turkish Government had sanctioned the sale, and I had agreed to pay a -hundred pounds yearly as tribute. This sum I was entitled, in my turn, -to levy on the inhabitants. - -'In fact, my dear lord,' said old Mason to me when I called on him in -Lincoln's Inn Fields, 'the whole affair is settled. I congratulate you -on having got just what was your whim. You are over a hundred miles -from the nearest land--Rhodes, you see.' (He laid a map before me.) -'You are off the steamship tracks; the Austrian Lloyds to Alexandria -leave you far to the northeast. You are equally remote from any -submarine cable; here on the southwest, from Alexandria to Candia, is -the nearest. You will have to fetch your letters.' - -'I shouldn't think of doing such a thing,' said I indignantly. - -'Then you'll only get them once in three months. Neopalia is extremely -rugged and picturesque. It is nine miles long and five broad. It grows -cotton, wine, oil and a little corn. The people are quite -unsophisticated, but very good-hearted.' - -'And,' said I, 'there are only three hundred and seventy of them, all -told. I really think I shall do very well there.' - -'I've no doubt you will. By the way, treat the old gentleman kindly. -He's terribly cut up at having to sell. "My dear island," he writes, -"is second to my dead son's honour, and to nothing else." His son, you -know, Lord Wheatley, was a bad lot, a very bad lot indeed.' - -'He left a heap of unpaid debts, didn't he?' - -'Yes, gambling debts. He spent his time knocking about Paris and -London with his cousin Constantine--by no means an improving -companion, if report speaks truly. And your money is to pay the debts, -you know.' - -'Poor old chap,' said I. I sympathised with him in the loss of his -island. - -'Here's the house, you see,' said Mason, turning to the map and -dismissing the sorrows of the old lord of Neopalia. 'About the middle -of the island, nearly a thousand feet above the sea. I'm afraid it's a -tumble-down old place, and will swallow a lot of money without looking -much better for the dose. To put it into repair for the reception of -the future Lady Wheatley would cost--' - -'The future Lady Wheatley says she won't go there on any account,' I -interrupted. - -'But, my very dear lord,' cried he, aghast, 'if she won't--' - -'She won't, and there's an end of it, Mr Mason. Well, good day. I'm to -have possession in a month?' - -'In a month to the very day--on the 7th of May.' - -'All right; I shall be there to take it.' - -Escaping from the legal quarter, I made my way to my sister's house in -Cavendish Square. She had a party, and I was bound to go by brotherly -duty. As luck would have it, however, I was rewarded for my virtue -(and if that's not luck in this huddle-muddle world I don't know what -is); the Turkish Ambassador dropped in, and presently James came and -took me up to him. My brother-in-law, James Cardew, is always anxious -that I should know the right people. The Pasha received me with great -kindness. - -'You are the purchaser of Neopalia, aren't you?' he asked, after a -little conversation. 'The matter came before me officially.' - -'I'm much obliged,' said I, 'for your ready consent to the transfer.' - -'Oh, it's nothing to us. In fact our tribute, such as it is, will be -safer. Well, I'm sure I hope you'll settle in comfortably.' - -'Oh, I shall be all right. I know the Greeks very well, you see--been -there a lot, and, of course, I talk the tongue, because I spent two -years hunting antiquities in the Morea and some of the islands.' - -The Pasha stroked his beard, as he observed in a calm tone: - -'The last time a Stefanopoulos tried to sell Neopalia, the people -killed him, and turned the purchaser--he was a Frenchman, a Baron -d'Ezonville--adrift in an open boat, with nothing on but his shirt'. - -'Good heavens! Was that recently?' - -'No; two hundred years ago. But it's a conservative part of the world, -you know.' And his Excellency smiled. - -'They were described to me as good-hearted folk,' said I; -'unsophisticated, of course, but good-hearted.' - -'They think that the island is theirs, you see,' he explained, 'and -that the lord has no business to sell it. They may be good-hearted, -Lord Wheatley, but they are tenacious of their rights.' - -'But they can't have any rights,' I expostulated. - -'None at all,' he assented. 'But a man is never so tenacious of his -rights as when he hasn't any. However, _autres temps autres moeurs_; -I don't suppose you'll have any trouble of that kind. Certainly I hope -not, my dear lord.' - -'Surely your Government will see to that?' I suggested. - -His Excellency looked at me; then, although by nature a grave man, he -gave a low humorous chuckle and regarded me with visible amusement. - -'Oh, of course, you can rely on that, Lord Wheatley,' said he. - -'That is a diplomatic assurance, your Excellency?' I ventured to -suggest, with a smile. - -'It is unofficial,' said he, 'but as binding as if it were official. -Our Governor in that district of the empire is a very active man--yes, -a decidedly active man.' - -The only result of this conversation was that when I was buying my -sporting guns in St James's Street the next day I purchased a couple -of pairs of revolvers at the same time. It is well to be on the safe -side, and, although I attached little importance to the by-gone -outrage of which the Ambassador spoke, I did not suppose that the -police service would be very efficient. In fact I thought it prudent -to be ready for any trouble that the old-world notions of the -Neopalians might occasion. But in my heart I meant to be very popular -with them. For I cherished the generous design of paying the whole -tribute out of my own pocket, and of disestablishing in Neopalia what -seems to be the only institution in no danger of such treatment -here--the tax-gatherer. If they understood that intention of mine, -they would hardly be so short short-sighted as to set me adrift in my -shirt like a second Baron d'Ezonville, or so unjust as to kill poor -old Stefanopoulos as they had killed his ancestor. Besides, as I -comforted myself by repeating, they were a good-hearted race; -unsophisticated, of course, but thoroughly good-hearted. - -My cousin, young Denny Swinton, was to dine with me that evening at -the Optimum. Denny (a familiar form of Dennis) was the only member of -the family who sympathised thoroughly with me about Neopalia. He was -wild with interest in the island, and I looked forward to telling him -all I had heard about it. I knew he would listen, for he was to go -with me and help me to take possession. The boy had almost wept on my -neck when I asked him to come; he had just left Woolwich, and was not -to join his battalion for six months; he was thus, as he put it, 'at a -loose end,' and succeeded in persuading his parents that he ought to -learn modern Greek. General Swinton was rather cold about the project; -he said that Denny had spent ten years on ancient Greek, and knew -nothing about it, and probably would not learn much of the newer sort -in three months; but his wife thought it would be a nice trip for -Denny. Well, it turned out to be a very nice trip for Denny; but if -Mrs Swinton had known--however, if it comes to that, I might just as -well exclaim, 'If I had known myself!' - -Denny had taken a table next but one to the west end of the room, and -was drumming his fingers impatiently on the cloth when I entered. He -wanted both his dinner and the latest news about Neopalia; so I sat -down and made haste to satisfy him in both respects. Travelling with -equal steps through the two matters, we had reached the first _entrée_ -and the fate of the murdered Stefanopoulos (which Denny, for some -reason, declared was 'a lark'), when two people came in and sat down -at the table beyond ours and next to the wall, where two chairs had -been tilted up in token of pre-engagement. The man--for the pair were -man and woman--was tall and powerfully built; his complexion was dark, -and he had good regular features; he looked also as if he had a bit of -a temper somewhere about him. I was conscious of having seen him -before, and suddenly recollected that by a curious chance I had run up -against him twice in St James's Street that very day. The lady was -handsome; she had an Italian cast of face, and moved with much grace; -her manner was rather elaborate, and, when she spoke to the waiter, I -detected a pronounced foreign accent. Taken together, they were a -remarkable couple and presented a distinguished appearance. I believe -I am not a conceited man, but I could not help wondering whether their -thoughts paid me a similar compliment. For I certainly detected both -of them casting more than one curious glance towards our table; and -when the man whispered once to a waiter, I was sure that I formed the -subject of his question; perhaps he also remembered our two -encounters. - -'I wonder if there's any chance of a row!' said Denny in a tone that -sounded wistful. 'Going to take anybody with you, Charley?' - -'Only Watkins; I must have him; he always knows where everything is; -and I've told Hogvardt, my old dragoman, to meet us in Rhodes. He'll -talk their own language to the beggars, you know.' - -'But he's a German, isn't he?' - -'He thinks so,' I answered. 'He's not certain, you know. Anyhow, he -chatters Greek like a parrot. He's a pretty good man in a row, too. -But there won't be a row, you know.' - -'I suppose there won't,' admitted Denny ruefully. - -'For my own part,' said I meekly, 'as I'm going for the sake of quiet, -I hope there won't.' - -In the interest of conversation I had forgotten our neighbours; but -now, a lull occurring in Denny's questions and surmises, I heard the -lady's voice. She began a sentence--and began it in Greek! That was a -little unexpected; but it was more strange that her companion cut her -short, saying very peremptorily, 'Don't talk Greek: talk Italian.' -This he said in Italian, and I, though no great hand at that language, -understood so much. Now why shouldn't the lady talk Greek, if Greek -were the language that came naturally to her tongue? It would be as -good a shield against eavesdroppers as most languages; unless indeed -I, who was known to be an amateur of Greece and Greek things, were -looked upon as a possible listener. Recollecting the glances which I -had detected, recollecting again those chance meetings, I ventured on -a covert gaze at the lady. Her handsome face expressed a mixture of -anger, alarm, and entreaty. The man was speaking to her now in low -urgent tones; he raised his hand once, and brought it down on the -table as though to emphasise some declaration--perhaps some -promise--which he was making. She regarded him with half-angry -distrustful eyes. He seemed to repeat his words and she flung at him -in a tone that grew suddenly louder, and in words that I could -translate: - -'Enough! I'll see to that. I shall come too.' - -Her heat stirred no answering fire in him. He dropped his emphatic -manner, shrugged a tolerant 'As you will,' with eloquent shoulders, -smiled at her, and, reaching across the table, patted her hand. She -held it up before his eyes, and with the other hand pointed at a ring -on her finger. - -'Yes, yes, my dearest,' said he, and he was about to say more, when, -glancing round, he caught my gaze retreating in hasty confusion to my -plate. I dared not look up again, but I felt his scowl on me. I -suppose that I deserved punishment for my eavesdropping. - -'And when can we get off, Charley?' asked Denny in his clear young -voice. My thoughts had wandered from him, and I paused for a moment as -a man does when a question takes him unawares. There was silence at -the next table also. The fancy seemed absurd, but it occurred to me -that there too my answer was being waited for. Well, they could know -if they liked; it was no secret. - -'In a fortnight,' said I. 'We'll travel easily, and get there on the -7th of next month;--that's the day on which I'm entitled to take over -my kingdom. We shall go to Rhodes. Hogvardt will have got me a little -yacht, and then--good-bye to all this!' And a great longing for -solitude and a natural life came over me as I looked round on the -gilded cornices, the gilded mirrors, the gilded flower-vases, and the -highly-gilded company of the Optimum. - -I was roused from my pleasant dreams by a high vivacious voice, which -I knew very well. Looking up, I saw Miss Hipgrave, her mother, and -young Bennett Hamlyn standing before me. I disliked young Hamlyn, but -he was always very civil to me. - -'Why, how early you two have dined!' cried Beatrice. 'You're at the -savoury, aren't you? We've only just come.' - -'Are you going to dine?' I asked, rising. 'Take this table, we're just -off.' - -'Well, we may as well, mayn't we?' said my _fiancée_. 'Sorry you're -going, though. Oh, yes, we're going to dine with Mr Bennett Hamlyn. -That's what you're for, isn't it, Mr Hamlyn? Why, he's not listening!' - -He was not, strange to say, listening, although as a rule he listened -to Beatrice with infinite attention and the most deferential of -smiles. But just now he was engaged in returning a bow which our -neighbour at the next table had bestowed on him. The lady there had -risen already and was making for the door. The man lingered and looked -at Hamlyn, seeming inclined to back up his bow with a few words of -greeting. Hamlyn's air was not, however, encouraging, and the stranger -contented himself with a nod and a careless 'How are you?' and, with -that, followed his companion. Hamlyn turned round, conscious that he -had neglected Beatrice's remark and full of penitence for his -momentary rudeness. - -'I beg your pardon?' said he, with an apologetic smile. - -'Oh,' answered she, 'I was only saying that men like you were invented -to give dinners; you're a sort of automatic feeding-machine. You ought -to stand open all day. Really I often miss you at lunch time.' - -'My dear Beatrice!' said Mrs Kennett Hipgrave, with that peculiar lift -of her brows which meant, 'How naughty the dear child is--oh, but how -clever!' - -'It's all right,' said Hamlyn meekly. 'I'm awfully happy to give you a -dinner anyhow, Miss Beatrice.' - -Now I had nothing to say on this subject, but I thought I would just -make this remark: - -'Miss Hipgrave,' said I, 'is very fond of a dinner.' - -Beatrice laughed. She understood my little correction. - -'He doesn't know any better, do you?' said she pleasantly to Hamlyn. -'We shall civilise him in time, though; then I believe he'll be nicer -than you, Charley, I really do. You're--' - -'I shall be uncivilised by then,' said I. - -'Oh, that wretched island!' cried Beatrice. 'You're really going?' - -'Most undoubtedly. By the way, Hamlyn, who's your friend?' - -Surely this was an innocent enough question, but little Hamlyn went -red from the edge of his clipped whisker on the right to the edge of -his mathematically equal whisker on the left. - -'Friend!' said he in an angry tone; 'he's not a friend of mine. I only -met him on the Riviera.' - -'That,' I admitted, 'does not, happily, in itself constitute a -friendship.' - -'And he won a hundred louis of me in the train between Cannes and -Monte Carlo.' - -'Not bad going that,' observed Denny in an approving tone. - -'Is he then _un grec_?' asked Mrs Hipgrave, who loves a scrap of -French. - -'In both senses, I believe,' answered Hamlyn viciously. - -'And what's his name?' said I. - -'Really I don't recollect,' said Hamlyn rather petulantly. - -'It doesn't matter,' observed Beatrice, attacking her oysters which -had now made their appearance. - -'My dear Beatrice,' I remonstrated, 'you're the most charming creature -in the world, but not the only one. You mean that it doesn't matter to -you.' - -'Oh, don't be tiresome. It doesn't matter to you either, you know. Do -go away and leave me to dine in peace.' - -'Half a minute!' said Hamlyn. 'I thought I'd got it just now, but it's -gone again. Look here, though, I believe it's one of those long things -that end in _poulos_.' - -'Oh, it ends in _poulos_, does it?' said I in a meditative tone. - -'My dear Charley,' said Beatrice, 'I shall end in Bedlam if you're so -very tedious. What in the world I shall do when I'm married, I don't -know.' - -'My dearest!' said Mrs Hipgrave, and a stage direction might add, -_Business with brows as before_. - -'_Poulos_,' I repeated thoughtfully. - -'Could it be Constantinopoulos?' asked Hamlyn, with a nervous -deference to my Hellenic learning. - -'It might conceivably,' I hazarded, 'be Constantine Stefanopoulos.' - -'Then,' said Hamlyn, 'I shouldn't wonder if it was. Anyhow, the less -you see of him, Wheatley, the better. Take my word for that.' - -'But,' I objected--and I must admit that I have a habit of assuming -that everybody follows my train of thought--'it's such a small place, -that, if he goes, I shall be almost bound to meet him.' - -'What's such a small place?' cried Beatrice with emphasised despair. - -'Why, Neopalia, of course,' said I. - -'Why should anybody, except you, be so insane as to go there?' she -asked. - -'If he's the man I think, he comes from there,' I explained, as I rose -for the last time; for I had been getting up to go and sitting down -again several times. - -'Then he'll think twice before he goes back,' pronounced Beatrice -decisively; she was irreconcilable about my poor island. - -Denny and I walked off together; as we went he observed: - -'I suppose that chap's got no end of money?' - -'Stefan----?' I began. - -'No, no. Hang it, you're as bad as Miss Hipgrave says. I mean Bennett -Hamlyn.' - -'Oh, yes, absolutely no end to it, I believe.' - -Denny looked sagacious. - -'He's very free with his dinners,' he observed. - -'Don't let's worry about it,' I suggested, taking his arm. I was not -worried about it myself. Indeed for the moment my island monopolised -my mind, and my attachment to Beatrice was not of such a romantic -character as to make me ready to be jealous on slight grounds. Mrs -Hipgrave said the engagement was based on 'general suitability.' Now -it is difficult to be very passionate over that. - -'If you don't mind, I don't,' said Denny reasonably. - -'That's right. It's only a little way Beatrice--' I stopped abruptly. -We were now on the steps outside the restaurant, and I had just -perceived a scrap of paper lying on the mosaic pavement. I stooped -down and picked it up. It proved to be a fragment torn from the _menu_ -card. I turned it over. - -'Hullo, what's this?' said I, searching for my eye-glass, which was -(as usual) somewhere in the small of my back. - -Denny gave me the glass, and I read what was written on the back. It -was in Greek, and it ran thus: - -'By way of Rhodes--small yacht there--arrive seventh.' - -I turned the piece of paper over in my hand. I drew a conclusion or -two; one was that my tall neighbour was named Stefanopoulos; another -that he had made good use of his ears--better than I had made of mine; -for a third, I guessed that he would go to Neopalia; for a fourth, I -fancied that Neopalia was the place to which the lady had declared she -would accompany him. Then I fell to wondering why all these things -should be so, why he wished to remember the route of my journey, the -date of my arrival, and the fact that I meant to hire a yacht. -Finally, those two chance encounters, taken with the rest, assumed a -more interesting complexion. - -'When you've done with that bit of paper,' observed Denny, in a tone -expressive of exaggerated patience, 'we might as well go on, old -fellow.' - -'All right. I've done with it--for the present,' said I. But I took -the liberty of slipping Mr Constantine Stefanopoulos's memorandum into -my pocket. - -The general result of the evening was to increase most distinctly my -interest in Neopalia. I went to bed still thinking of my purchase, and -I recollect that the last thing which came into my head before I went -to sleep was, 'What did she mean by pointing to the ring?' - -Well, I found an answer to that later on. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -A CONSERVATIVE COUNTRY - - -Until the moment of our parting came, I had no idea that Beatrice -Hipgrave felt my going at all. She was not in the habit of displaying -emotion, and I was much surprised at the reluctance with which she -bade me good-bye. So far, however, was she from reproaching me that -she took all the blame on herself, saying that if she had been kinder -and nicer to me I should never have thought about my island. In this -she was quite wrong; but when I told her so, and assured her that I -had no fault to find with her behaviour, I was met with an almost -passionate assertion of her unworthiness and an entreaty that I should -not spend on her a love that she did not deserve. Her abasement and -penitence compelled me to show, and indeed to feel, a good deal of -tenderness for her. She was pathetic and pretty in her unusual -earnestness and unexplained distress. I went the length of offering to -put off my expedition until after our wedding; and although she -besought me to do nothing of the kind, I believe that we might in the -end have arranged matters on this footing had we been left to -ourselves. But Mrs Hipgrave saw fit to intrude on our interview at -this point, and she at once pooh-poohed the notion, declaring that I -should be better out of the way for a few months. Beatrice did not -resist her mother's conclusion; but when we were alone again, she -became very agitated, begging me always to think well of her, and -asking if I were really attached to her. I did not understand this -mood, which was very unlike her ordinary manner; but I responded with -a hearty and warm avowal of confidence in her; and I met her questions -as to my own feelings by pledging my word very solemnly that absence -should, so far as I was concerned, make no difference, and that she -might rely implicitly on my faithful affection. This assurance seemed -to give her very little comfort, although I repeated it more than -once; and when I left her, I was in a state of some perplexity, for I -could not follow the bent of her thoughts nor appreciate the feelings -that moved her. I was however considerably touched, and upbraided -myself for not having hitherto done justice to the depth and sincerity -of nature which underlay her external frivolity. I expressed this -self-condemnation to Denny Swinton, but he met it very coldly, and -would not be drawn into any discussion of the subject. Denny was not -wont to conceal his opinions and had never pretended to be -enthusiastic about my engagement. This attitude of his had not -troubled me before, but I was annoyed at it now, and I retaliated by -asseverating my affection for Beatrice in terms of even exaggerated -emphasis, and hers for me with no less vehemence. - -These troubles and perplexities vanished before the zest and interest -which our preparations and start excited. Denny and I were like a pair -of schoolboys off for a holiday, and spent hours in forecasting what -we should do and how we should fare on the island. These speculations -were extremely amusing, but in the long run they were proved to be, -one and all, wide of the mark. Had I known Neopalia then as well as I -came to know it afterwards, I should have recognised the futility of -attempting to prophesy what would or would not happen there. As it -was, we span our cobwebs merrily all the way to Rhodes, where we -arrived without event and without accident. Here we picked up Hogvardt -and embarked on the smart little steam yacht which he had procured for -me. A day or two was spent in arranging our stores and buying what -more we wanted, for we could not expect to be able to purchase any -luxuries in Neopalia. I was rather surprised to find no letter for me -from the old lord, but I had no thought of waiting for a formal -invitation, and pressed on the hour of departure as much as I could. -Here, also, I saw the first of my new subjects, Hogvardt having -engaged a couple of men who had come to him saying that they were from -Neopalia and were anxious to work their passage back. I was delighted -to have them, and fell at once to studying them with immense -attention. They were fine, tall, capable-looking fellows, and the two, -with ourselves, made a crew more than large enough for our little -boat; for both Denny and I could make ourselves useful on board, and -Hogvardt could do something of everything on land or water, while -Watkins acted as cook and steward. The Neopalians were, as they stated -in answer to my questions, brothers; their names were Spiro and -Demetri, and they informed us that their family had served the lords -of Neopalia for many generations. Hearing this, I was less inclined to -resent the undeniable reserve and even surliness with which they met -my advances. I made allowance for their hereditary attachment to the -outgoing family, and their natural want of cordiality towards the -intruder did not prevent me from plying them with many questions -concerning my predecessors on the throne of the island. My -perseverance was ill-rewarded, but I succeeded in learning that the -only member of the family on the island, besides the old lord was a -girl whom they called 'the Lady Euphrosyne,' the daughter of the -lord's brother who was dead. Next I asked after my friend of the -Optimum Restaurant, Constantine. He was this lady's cousin once or -twice removed--I did not make out the exact degree of kinship--but -Demetri hastened to inform me that he came very seldom to the island, -and had not been there for two years. - -'And he is not expected there now?' I asked. - -'He was not when we left, my lord,' answered Demetri, and it seemed to -me that he threw an inquiring glance at his brother, who added -hastily, - -'But what should we poor men know of the Lord Constantine's doings?' - -'Do you know where he is now?' I asked. - -'No, my lord,' they answered together, and with great emphasis. - -I cannot deny that something struck me as peculiar in their manner, -but when I mentioned my impression to Denny he scoffed at me. - -'You've been reading old Byron again,' he said scornfully. 'Do you -think they're corsairs?' - -Well, a man is not a fool simply because he reads Byron, and I -maintained my opinion that the brothers were embarrassed at my -questions. Moreover I caught Spiro, the more truculent-looking of the -pair, scowling at me more than once when he did not know I had my eye -on him. - -These little mysteries, however, did nothing but add sauce to my -delight as we sprang over the blue waters; and my joy was complete -when, on the morning of the day I had appointed, the seventh of May, -Denny cried 'Land!' and looking over the starboard bow I saw the cloud -on the sea that was Neopalia. Day came bright and glorious, and as we -drew nearer to our enchanted isle we distinguished its features and -conformation. The coast was rocky save where a small harbour opened to -the sea, and the rocks ran up from the coast, rising higher and higher -till they culminated in a quite respectable peak in the centre. The -telescope showed cultivated ground and vineyards, mingled with woods, -on the slopes of the mountain; and about half-way up, sheltered on -three sides, backed by thick woods, and commanding a splendid -sea-view, stood an old grey battlemented house. - -'There's my house,' I cried in natural exultation, pointing with my -finger. It was a moment in my life, a moment to mark. - -'Hurrah!' cried Denny, throwing up his hat in sympathy. - -Demetri was standing near and met this ebullition with a grim smile. - -'I hope my lord will find the house comfortable,' said he. - -'We shall soon make it comfortable,' said Hogvardt; 'I daresay it's -half a ruin now.' - -'It's good enough now for a Stefanopoulos,' said the fellow with a -surly frown. The inference we were meant to draw was plain even to the -point of incivility. - -At five o'clock in the evening we entered the harbour of Neopalia, and -brought up alongside a rather crazy wooden jetty which ran some fifty -feet out from the shore. Our arrival appeared to create great -excitement. Men, women, and children came running down the narrow -steep street which climbed up the hill from the harbour. We heard -shrill cries, and a hundred fingers were pointed at us. We landed; -nobody came forward to greet us. I looked round, but saw no one who -could be the old lord; but I perceived a stout man who wore an air of -importance, and walking up to him I asked him very politely if he -would be so good as to direct me to the inn; for I had discovered from -Demetri that there was a modest house where we could lodge that night; -I was too much in love with my island to think of sleeping on board -the yacht. The stout man looked at Denny and me; then he looked at -Demetri and Spiro, who stood near us, smiling their usual grim smiles. -At last he answered my question by another, a rather abrupt one: - -'What do you want, sir?' And he lifted his tasselled cap a few inches -and replaced it on his head. - -'I want to know the way to the inn,' I answered. - -'You have come to visit Neopalia?' he asked. - -A number of people had gathered round us now, and all fixed their eyes -on my face. - -'Oh,' said I carelessly, 'I'm the purchaser of the island, you know. I -have come to take possession.' - -Nobody spoke. Perfect silence reigned for half a minute. - -'I hope we shall get on well together,' I said, with my pleasantest -smile. - -Still no answer came. The people round still stared. But presently the -stout man, altogether ignoring my friendly advances, said curtly, - -'I keep the inn. Come. I will take you to it.' - -He turned and led the way up the street. We followed, the people -making a lane for us and still regarding us with stony stares. Denny -gave expression to my feelings as well as his own; - -'It can hardly be described as an ovation,' he observed. - -'Surly brutes!' muttered Hogvardt. - -'It is not the way to receive his lordship,' agreed Watkins, more in -sorrow than in anger. Watkins had very high ideas of the deference due -to his lordship. - -The fat innkeeper walked ahead; I quickened my pace and overtook him. - -'The people don't seem very pleased to see me,' I remarked. - -He shook his head, but made no answer. Then he stopped before a -substantial house. We followed him in, and he led us upstairs to a -large room. It overlooked the street, but, somewhat to my surprise, -the windows were heavily barred. The door also was massive and had -large bolts inside and outside. - -'You take good care of your houses, my friend,' said Denny with a -laugh. - -'We like to keep what we have, in Neopalia,' said he. - -I asked him if he would provide us with a meal, and, assenting -gruffly, he left us alone. The food was some time in coming, and we -stood at the window, peering through our prison bars. Our high spirits -were dashed by the unfriendly reception; my island should have been -more gracious; it was so beautiful. - -'However it's a better welcome than we should have got two hundred -years ago,' I said with a laugh, trying to make the best of the -matter. - -Dinner, which the landlord himself brought in, cheered us again, and -we lingered over it till dusk began to fall, discussing whether I -ought to visit the lord, or whether, seeing that he had not come to -receive me, my dignity did not demand that I should await his visit; -and it was on this latter course that we finally decided. - -'But he'll hardly come to-night,' said Denny, jumping up. 'I wonder if -there are any decent beds here!' - -Hogvardt and Watkins had, by my directions, sat down with us; the -former was now smoking his pipe at the window, while Watkins was busy -overhauling our luggage. We had brought light bags, the rods, guns, -and other smaller articles. The rest was in the yacht. Hearing beds -mentioned, Watkins shook his head in dismal presage, saying, - -'We had better sleep on board, my lord.' - -'Not I! What, leave the island now we've got here? No, Watkins!' - -'Very good, my lord,' said Watkins impassively. - -A sudden call came from Hogvardt, and I joined him at the window. - -The scene outside was indeed remarkable. In the narrow paved street, -gloomy now in the failing light, there must have been fifty or sixty -men standing in a circle, surrounded by an outer fringe of women and -children; and in the centre stood our landlord, his burly figure -swaying to and fro as he poured out a low-voiced but vehement -harangue. Sometimes he pointed towards us, oftener along the ascending -road that led to the interior. I could not hear a word he said, but -presently all his auditors raised their hands towards heaven. I saw -that some of the hands held guns, some clubs, some knives; and all the -men cried with furious energy, '_Nai, Nai._ Yes, yes!' Then the whole -body--and the greater part of the grown men on the island must have -been present--started off in compact array up the road, the innkeeper -at their head. By his side walked another man whom I had not noticed -before; he wore an ordinary suit of tweeds, but carried himself with -an assumption of much dignity; his face I could not see. - -'Well, what's the meaning of that?' I exclaimed, looking down on the -street, empty again save for groups of white-clothed women, who talked -eagerly to one another, gesticulating and pointing now towards our -inn, now towards where the men had gone. - -'Perhaps it's their Parliament,' suggested Denny; 'or perhaps they've -repented of their rudeness and are going to erect a triumphal arch.' - -These conjectures, being obviously ironical, did not assist the -matter, although they amused their author. - -'Anyhow,' said I, 'I should like to investigate the thing. Suppose we -go for a stroll?' - -The proposal was accepted at once. We put on our hats, took sticks, -and prepared to go. Then I glanced at the luggage. - -'Since I was so foolish as to waste my money on revolvers--?' said I, -with an inquiring glance at Hogvardt. - -'The evening air will not hurt them,' said he; and we each stowed a -revolver in our pockets. We felt, I think, rather ashamed of our -timidity, but the Neopalians certainly looked rough customers. Leading -the way to the door I turned the handle; the door did not open. I -pulled hard at it. Then I looked at my companions. - -'Queer,' said Denny, and he began to whistle. - -Hogvardt got the little lantern, which he always had handy, and -carefully inspected the door. - -'Locked,' he announced, 'and bolted top and bottom. A solid door too!' -and he struck it with his fist. Then he crossed to the window and -looked at the bars; and finally he said to me, 'I don't think we can -have our walk, my lord.' - -Well, I burst out laughing. The thing was too absurd. Under cover of -our animated talk the landlord must have bolted us in. The bars made -the window no use. A skilled burglar might have beaten those bolts, -and a battering ram would, no doubt, have smashed the door; we had -neither burglar nor ram. - -'We're caught, my boy,' said Denny, 'nicely caught! But what's the -game?' - -I had asked myself that question already, but had found no answer. To -tell the truth, I was wondering whether Neopalia was going to turn out -as conservative a country as the Turkish Ambassador had hinted. It was -Watkins who suggested an answer. - -'I imagine, my lord,' said he, 'that the natives' (Watkins always -called the Neopalians 'natives') 'have gone to speak to the gentleman -who sold the island to your lordship.' - -'Gad,' said Denny, 'I hope it'll be a pleasant interview!' - -Hogvardt's broad good-humoured face had assumed an anxious look. He -knew something about the people of these islands; so did I. - -'Trouble, is it?' I asked him. - -'I'm afraid so,' he answered, and then we turned to the window again, -except Denny, who wasted some energy and made a useless din by -battering at the door till we beseeched him to let it alone. - -There in the room we sat for nearly two hours. Darkness fell; the -women had ceased their gossiping, but still stood about the street and -in the doorways of their houses. It was nine o'clock before matters -showed any progress. Then came shouts from the road above us, the -flash of torches, the tread of men's feet in a quick triumphant march. -Next the stalwart figures of the picturesque fellows, with their white -kilts gleaming through the darkness, came again into sight, seeming -wilder and more imposing in the alternating glare and gloom of the -torches and the deepening night. The man in tweeds was no longer -visible. Our innkeeper was alone in front. And all, as they marched, -sang loudly a rude barbarous sort of chant, repeating it again and -again; while the women and children, crowding out to meet the men, -caught up the refrain in shrill voices, till the whole air seemed full -of it. So martial and inspiring was the rude tune that our feet began -to beat in time with it, and I felt the blood quicken in my veins. I -have tried to put the words of it into English, in a shape as rough, I -fear, as the rough original. Here it is: - - 'Ours is the land! - Death to the hand - That filches the land! - Dead is that hand, - Ours is the land! - - 'Forever we hold it, - Dead's he that sold it! - Ours is the land, - Dead is the hand!' - -Again and again they hurled forth the defiant words, until at last -they stopped opposite the inn with one final long-drawn shout of -savage triumph. - -'Well, this is a go,' said Denny, drawing a long breath. 'What are the -beggars up to?' - -'What have they been up to?' I asked; for I could not doubt that the -song we had heard had been chanted over a dead Stefanopoulos two -hundred years before. At this age of the world the idea seemed absurd, -preposterous, horrible. But there was no law nearer than Rhodes, and -there only Turk's law. The sole law here was the law of the -Stefanopouloi, and if that law lost its force by the crime of the hand -which should wield it, why, strange things might happen even to-day in -Neopalia. And we were caught in the inn like rats in a trap. - -'I don't see,' remarked old Hogvardt, laying a hand on my shoulder, -'any harm in loading our revolvers, my lord.' - -I did not see any harm in it either, and we all followed Hogvardt's -advice, and also filled our pockets with cartridges. I was -determined--I think we were all determined--not to be bullied by these -islanders and their skull-and-crossbones ditty. - -A quarter of an hour passed; then there came a knock at the door, -while the bolts shot back. - -'I shall go out,' said I, springing to my feet. - -The door opened, and the face of a lad appeared. - -'Vlacho the innkeeper bids you descend,' said he; and then, catching -sight perhaps of our revolvers, he turned and ran downstairs again at -his best speed. Following him we came to the door of the inn. It was -ringed round with men, and directly opposite to us stood Vlacho. When -he saw me he commanded silence with a gesture of his hand, and -addressed me in the following surprising style. - -'The Lady Euphrosyne, of her grace, bids you depart in peace. Go, -then, to your boat and depart, thanking God for His mercy.' - -'Wait a bit, my man' said I; 'where is the lord of the island?' - -'Did you not know that he died a week ago?' asked Vlacho, with -apparent surprise. - -'Died!' we exclaimed one and all. - -'Yes, sir. The Lady Euphrosyne, Lady of Neopalia, bids you go.' - -'What did he die of?' - -'Of a fever,' said Vlacho gravely; and several of the men round him -nodded their heads and murmured in no less grave assent, 'Yes, of a -fever.' - -'I am very sorry for it,' said I. 'But as he sold the island to me -before he died, I don't see what the lady, with all respect to her, -has got to do with it. Nor do I know what this rabble is doing about -the door. Bid them disperse.' - -This attempt at _hauteur_ was most decidedly thrown away. Vlacho -seemed not to hear what I said. He pointed with his finger towards the -harbour. - -'There lies your boat. Demetri and Spiro cannot go with you, but you -will be able to manage her yourselves. Listen now! Till six in the -morning you are free to go. If you are found in Neopalia one minute -after, you will never go. Think and be wise.' And he and all the rest, -as though one spring moved the whole body, wheeled round and marched -off up the hill again, breaking out into the old chant when they had -gone about a hundred yards. We were left alone in the doorway of the -inn, looking, I must admit, rather blank. - -Upstairs again we went, and I sat down by the window and gazed out on -the night. It was very dark, and seemed darker now that the gleaming -torches were gone. Not a soul was to be seen. The islanders, having -put matters on a satisfactory footing, were off to bed. I sat -thinking. Presently Denny came to me, and put his hand on my shoulder. - -'Going to cave in, Charley?' he asked. - -'My dear Denny,' said I, 'I wish you were at home with your mother.' - -He smiled and repeated, 'Going to cave in, old chap?' - -'No, by Jove, I'm not!' cried I, leaping up. 'They've had my money, -and I'm going to have my island.' - -'Take the yacht, my lord,' counselled Hogvardt, 'and come back with -enough force from Rhodes.' - -Well, here was sense; my impulse was nonsense. We four could not -conquer the island. I swallowed my pride. - -'So be it,' said I. 'But look here, it's only just twelve. We might -have a look round before we go. I want to see the place, you know.' -For I was very sorely vexed at being turned out of my island. - -Hogvardt grumbled a little at my proposal, but here I overruled him. -We took our revolvers again, left the inn, and struck straight up the -road. We met nobody. For nearly a mile we mounted, the way becoming -steeper with every step. Then there was a sharp turn off the main -road. - -'That will lead to the house,' said Hogvardt, who had studied the map -of Neopalia very carefully. - -'Then we'll have a look at the house. Show us a light, Hogvardt. It's -precious dark.' - -Hogvardt opened his lantern and cast its light on the way. But -suddenly he extinguished it again, and drew us close into the rocks -that edged the road. We saw coming towards us, in the darkness, two -figures. They rode small horses. Their faces could not be seen; but as -they passed our silent motionless forms, one said in a clear, sweet, -girlish voice: - -'Surely they will go?' - -'Ay, they'll go or pay the penalty,' said the other voice. At the -sound of it I started. For it was the voice of my neighbour in the -restaurant, Constantine Stefanopoulos. - -'I shall be near at hand, sleeping in the town,' said the girl's -voice, 'and the people will listen to me.' - -'The people will kill them if they don't go,' we heard Constantine -answer, in tones that witnessed no great horror at the idea. Then the -couple disappeared in the darkness. - -'On to the house!' I cried in sudden excitement. For I was angry now, -angry at the utter humbling scorn with which they treated me. - -Another ten minutes' groping brought us in front of the old grey house -which we had seen from the sea. We walked boldly up to it. The door -stood open. We went in and found ourselves in a large hall. The wooden -floor was carpeted here and there with mats and skins. A long table -ran down the middle; the walls were decorated with mediæval armour and -weapons. The windows were but narrow slits, the walls massive and -deep. The door was a ponderous iron-bound affair; it shamed even the -stout doors of our inn. I called loudly, 'Is anyone here?' Nobody -answered. The servants must have been drawn off to the town by the -excitement of the procession and the singing; or, perhaps, there were -no servants. I could not tell. I sat down in a large armchair by the -table. I enjoyed the sense of proprietorship; I was in my own house. -Denny sat on the table by me, dangling his legs. For a long while none -of us spoke. Then I exclaimed suddenly: - -'By Heaven, why shouldn't we see it through?' I rose, put my hands -against the massive door, and closed and bolted it, saying, 'Let them -open that at six o'clock in the morning.' - -'Hurrah!' cried Denny, leaping down from his table, on fire with -excitement in a moment. - -I faced Hogvardt. He shook his head, but he smiled. Watkins stood by -with his usual imperturbability. He wanted to know what his lordship -decided--that was all; and when I said nothing more, he asked, - -'Then your lordship will sleep here to-night?' - -'I'll stay here to-night, anyhow, Watkins,' said I. 'I'm not going to -be driven out of my own island by anybody.' - -As I spoke, I brought my fist down on the table with a crash. And then -to our amazement we heard, from somewhere in the dark recesses of the -hall where the faint light of Hogvardt's lantern did not reach, a low -but distinct groan, as of someone in pain. Watkins shuddered, Hogvardt -looked rather uncomfortable; Denny and I listened eagerly. Again the -groan came. I seized the lantern from Hogvardt's hand, and rushed in -the direction of the sound. There, in the corner of the hall, on a -couch covered with a rug, lay an old man in an uneasy attitude, -groaning now and then and turning restlessly. By his side sat an old -serving-woman in weary heavy slumber. In a moment I guessed the -truth--part of the truth. - -'He's not dead of that fever yet,' said I. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE FEVER OF NEOPALIA - - -I looked for a moment on the old man's pale, clean-cut, aristocratic -face; then I shook his attendant by the arm vigorously. She awoke with -a start. - -'What does this mean?' I demanded. 'Who is he?' - -'Heaven help us! Who are you?' she cried, leaping up in alarm. Indeed -we four, with our eager fierce faces, must have looked disquieting -enough. - -'I am Lord Wheatley; these are my friends,' I answered in brisk sharp -tones. - -'What, it is you, then--?' A wondering gaze ended her question. - -'Yes, yes, it is I. I have bought the island. We came out for a walk -and--' - -'But he will kill you if he finds you here.' - -'He? Who?' - -'Ah, pardon, my lord! They will kill you, they--the people--the men of -the island.' - -I gazed at her sternly. She shrank back in confusion. And I spoke at a -venture, yet in a well-grounded hazard: - -'You mean that Constantine Stefanopoulos will kill me?' - -'Ah, hush,' she cried. 'He may be here, he may be anywhere.' - -'He may thank his stars he's not here,' said I grimly, for my blood -was up. 'Attend, woman. Who is this?' - -'It is the lord of the island, my lord,' she answered. 'Alas, he is -wounded, I fear, to death. And yet I fell asleep. But I was so weary.' - -'Wounded? By whom?' - -Her face suddenly became vacant and expressionless. - -'I do not know, my lord. It happened in the crowd. It was a mistake. -My dear lord had yielded what they asked. Yet some one--no, by heaven, -my lord, I do not know who--stabbed him. And he cannot live.' - -'Tell me the whole thing,' I commanded. - -'They came up here, my lord, all of them, Vlacho and all, and with -them my Lord Constantine. The Lady Euphrosyne was away; she is often -away, down on the rocks by the sea, watching the waves. They came and -said that a man had landed who claimed our island as his--a man of -your name, my lord. And when my dear lord said he had sold the island -to save the honour of his house and race, they were furious; and -Vlacho raised the death chant that One-eyed Alexander the Bard wrote -on the death of Stefan Stefanopoulos long ago. Then they came near -with knives, demanding that my dear lord should send away the -stranger; for the men of Neopalia were not to be bought and sold like -bullocks or like pigs. At first my lord would not yield, and they -swore they would kill the stranger and my lord also. Then they pressed -closer; Vlacho was hard on him with drawn knife, and the Lord -Constantine stood by him, praying him to yield; and Constantine drew -his own knife, saying to Vlacho that he must fight him also before he -killed the old lord. But at that Vlacho smiled. And then--and -then--ah, my dear lord!' - -For a moment her voice broke, and sobs supplanted words. But she drew -herself up, and after a glance at the old man whom her vehement speech -had not availed to waken, she went on. - -'And then those behind cried out that there was enough talk. Would he -yield or would he die? And they rushed forward, pressing the nearest -against him. And he, an old man, frail and feeble (yet once he was as -brave a man as any), cried in his weak tones, "Enough, friends, I -yield, I--" and they fell back. But my lord stood for an instant, then -he set his hand to his side, and swayed and tottered and fell; the -blood was running from his side. The Lord Constantine fell on his -knees beside him, crying, "Who stabbed him?" Vlacho smiled grimly, and -the others looked at one another. But I, who had run out from the -doorway whence I had seen it all, knelt by my lord and staunched the -blood. Then Vlacho said, fixing his eyes straight and keen on the Lord -Constantine, "It was not I, my lord." "Nor I by heaven," cried the -Lord Constantine, and he rose to his feet, demanding, "Who struck the -blow?" But none answered; and he went on, "Nay, if it were in error, -if it were because he would not yield, speak. There shall be pardon." -But Vlacho, hearing this, turned himself round and faced them all, -saying, "Did he not sell us like oxen and like pigs?" and he broke -into the death chant, and they all raised the chant, none caring any -more who had struck the blow. And the Lord Constantine--' The -impetuous flow of the old woman's story was frozen to sudden silence. - -'Well, and the Lord Constantine?' said I, in low stern tones that -quivered with excitement; and I felt Denny's hand, which was on my -arm, jump up and down. 'And Constantine, woman?' - -[Illustration: "WHO STABBED HIM?"] - -'Nay, he did nothing,' said she. 'He talked with Vlacho awhile, and -then they went away, and he bade me tend my lord, and went himself to -seek the Lady Euphrosyne. Presently he came back with her; her eyes -were red, and she wept afresh when she saw my poor lord; for she loved -him. She sat by him till Constantine came and told her that you would -not go, and that you and your friends would be killed if you did not -go. Then, weeping to leave my lord, she went, praying heaven she might -find him alive when she returned. "I must go," she said to me, "for -though it is a shameful thing that the island should have been sold, -yet these men must be persuaded to go away and not meet death. Kiss -him for me if he awakes." Thus she went and left me with my lord, and -I fear he will die.' She ended in a burst of sobbing. - -For a moment there was silence. Then I said again: - -'Who struck the blow, woman? Who struck the blow?' - -She shrank from me as though I had struck her. - -'I do not know; I do not know,' she moaned. - -But the question she dared not answer was to find an answer. - -The stricken man opened his eyes, his lips moved, and he groaned, -'Constantine! You, Constantine!' The old woman's eyes met mine for a -moment and fell to the ground again. - -'Why, why, Constantine?' moaned the wounded man. 'I had yielded, I had -yielded, Constantine. I would have sent them--' - -His words ceased, his eyes closed, his lips met again, but met only to -part. A moment later his jaw dropped. The old lord of Neopalia was -dead. - -Then I, carried away by anger and by hatred of the man who, for a -reason I did not yet understand, had struck so foul a blow against his -kinsman and an old man, did a thing so rash that it seems to me now, -when I consider it in the cold light of memory, a mad deed. Yet then I -could do nothing else; and Denny's face, ay, and the eyes of the -others too told me that they were with me. - -'Compose this old man's body,' I said, 'and we will watch it. But do -you go and tell this Constantine Stefanopoulos that I know his crime, -that I know who struck that blow, that what I know all men shall know, -and that I will not rest day or night until he has paid the penalty of -this murder. Tell him I swore this on the honour of an English -gentleman.' - -'And say I swore it too!' cried Denny; and Hogvardt and Watkins, not -making bold to speak, ranged up close to me; I knew that they also -meant what I meant. - -The old woman looked at me with searching eyes. - -'You are a bold man, my lord,' said she. - -'I see nothing to be afraid of up to now,' said I. 'Such courage as is -needed to tell a scoundrel what I think of him I believe I can claim.' - -'But he will never let you go now. You would go to Rhodes, and tell -his--tell what you say of him.' - -'Yes, and further than Rhodes, if need be. He shall die for it as sure -as I live.' - -A thousand men might have tried in vain to persuade me; the treachery -of Constantine had fired my heart and driven out all opposing motives. - -'Do as I bid you,' said I sternly, 'and waste no time on it. We will -watch here by the old man till you return.' - -'My lord,' she replied, 'you run on your own death. And you are -young; and the youth by you is yet younger.' - -'We are not dead yet,' said Denny; I had never seen him look as he did -then; for the gaiety was out of his face, and his lips had grown set -and hard. - -She raised her hands towards heaven, whether in prayer or in -lamentation I do not know. We turned away and left her to her sad -work; going back to our places, we waited there till dawn began to -break and from the narrow windows we saw the grey crests of the waves -dancing and frolicking in the early dawn. As I watched them, the old -woman was by my elbow. - -'It is done, my lord,' said she. 'Are you still of the same mind?' - -'Still of the same,' said I. - -'It is death, death for you all,' she said, and without more she went -to the great door. Hogvardt opened it for her, and she walked away -down the road, between the high rocks that bounded the path on either -side. Then we went and carried the old man to a room that opened off -the hall, and, returning, stood in the doorway, cooling our brows in -the fresh early air. While we stood there, Hogvardt said suddenly, - -'It is five o'clock.' - -'Then we have only an hour to live,' said I, smiling, 'if we don't -make for the yacht.' - -'You're not going back to the yacht, my lord?' - -'I'm puzzled,' I admitted. 'If we go this ruffian will escape. And if -we don't go--' - -'Why, we,' Hogvardt ended for me, 'may not escape.' - -I saw that Hogvardt's sense of responsibility was heavy; he always -regarded himself as the shepherd, his employers as the sheep. I -believe this attitude of his confirmed my obstinacy, for I said, -without further hesitation: - -'Oh, we'll chance that. When they know what a villain the fellow is, -they'll turn against him. Besides, we said we'd wait here.' - -Denny seized on my last words with alacrity. When you are determined -to do a rash thing, there is a great comfort in feeling that you are -already committed to it by some previous act or promise. - -'So we did,' he cried. 'Then that settles it, Hogvardt' - -'His lordship certainly expressed that intention,' observed Watkins, -appearing at this moment with a big loaf of bread and a great pitcher -of milk. I eyed these viands. - -'I bought the house and its contents,' said I; 'come along.' - -Watkins' further researches produced a large lump of native cheese; -when he had set this down he remarked: - -'In a pen behind the house, close to the kitchen windows, there are -two goats; and your lordship sees there, on the right of the front -door, two cows tethered.' - -I began to laugh, Watkins was so wise and solemn. - -'We can stand a siege, you mean?' I asked. 'Well, I hope it won't come -to that.' - -Hogvardt rose and began to move round the hall, examining the weapons -that decorated the walls. From time to time he grunted disapprovingly; -the guns were useless, rusted, out of date; and there was no -ammunition for them. But when he had almost completed his circuit, he -gave an exclamation of satisfaction and came to me holding an -excellent modern rifle and a large cartridge-case. - -'See!' he grunted in huge delight. '"C. S." on the stock. I expect you -can guess whose it is, my lord.' - -'This is very thoughtful of Constantine,' observed Denny, who was -employing himself in cutting imaginary lemons in two with a fine -damascened scimitar that he had taken from the wall. - -'As for the cows,' said I, 'perhaps they will carry them off.' - -'I think not,' said Hogvardt, taking an aim with the rifle through the -window. - -I looked at my watch. It was five minutes past six. - -'Well, we can't go now,' said I. 'It's settled. What a comfort!' I -wonder whether I had ever in my heart meant to go! - -The next hour passed very quietly. We sat smoking pipes or cigars and -talking in subdued tones. The recollection of the dead man in the -adjoining room sobered the excitement to which our position might -otherwise have given occasion. Indeed I suppose that I at least, who -through my whim had led the rest into this quandary, should have been -utterly overwhelmed by the burden on me. But I was not. Perhaps -Hogvardt's assumption of responsibility relieved me; perhaps I was too -full of anger against Constantine to think of the risks we ourselves -ran; and I was more than half-persuaded that the revelation of what he -had done would rob him of his power to hurt us. Moreover, if I might -judge from the words I heard on the road, we had on our side an ally -of uncertain, but probably considerable, power in the sweet-voiced -girl whom the old woman called the Lady Euphrosyne; she would not -support her uncle's murderer, even though he were her cousin. - -Presently Watkins carried me off to view his pen of goats, and having -passed through the lofty flagged kitchen, I found myself in a sort of -compound formed by the rocks. The ground had been levelled for a few -yards, and the rocks rose straight to the height of ten or twelve -feet; from the top of this artificial bank they ran again in wooded -slopes towards the peak of the mountain. I followed their course with -my eye, and three hundred or more feet above us, just beneath the -summit, I perceived a little wooden _châlet_ or bungalow. Blue smoke -issued from the chimneys; and, even while we looked, a figure came out -of the door and stood still in front of it, apparently gazing down -towards the house. - -'It's a woman,' I pronounced. - -'Yes, my lord. A peasant's wife, I suppose.' - -'I daresay,' said I. But I soon doubted Watkins' opinion; in the first -place, because the woman's dress did not look like that of a peasant -woman; and secondly, because she went into the house, appeared again, -and levelled at us what was, if I mistook not, a large pair of -binocular glasses. Now such things were not likely to be in the -possession of the peasants of Neopalia. Then she suddenly retreated, -and through the silence of those still slopes we heard the door of the -cottage closed with violence. - -'She doesn't seem to like the looks of us,' said I. - -'Possibly,' suggested Watkins with deference, 'she did not expect to -see your lordship here.' - -'I should think that's very likely, Watkins,' said I. - -I was recalled from the survey of my new domains--my satisfaction in -the thought that they were mine survived all the disturbing features -of the situation--by a call from Denny. In response to it I hurried -back to the hall and found him at the window, with Constantine's rifle -rested on the sill. - -'I could pick him off pat,' said Denny laughingly, and he pointed to a -figure which was approaching the house. It was a man riding a stout -pony; when he came within about two hundred yards of the house, he -stopped, took a leisurely look, and then waved a white handkerchief. - -'The laws of war must be observed,' said I, smiling. 'This is a flag -of truce.' I opened the door, stepped out, and waved my handkerchief -in return. The man, reassured, began to mop his brow with the flag of -truce, and put his pony to a trot. I now perceived him to be the -innkeeper Vlacho, and a moment later he reined up beside me, giving -an angry jerk at his pony's bridle. - -'I have searched the island for you,' he cried. 'I am weary and hot! -How came you here?' - -I explained to him briefly how I had chanced to take possession of my -house, and added significantly: - -'But has no message come to you from me?' - -He smiled with equal meaning, as he answered: - -'No; an old woman came to speak to a gentleman who is in the -village--' - -'Yes, to Constantine Stefanopoulos,' said I with a nod. - -'Well then, if you will, to the Lord Constantine,' he admitted with a -careless shrug, 'but her message was for his ear only; he took her -aside and they talked alone.' - -'You know what she said, though?' - -'That is between my Lord Constantine and me.' - -'And the young lady knows it, I hope--the Lady Euphrosyne?' - -Vlacho smiled broadly. - -'We could not distress her with such a silly tale,' he answered; and -he leant down towards me. 'Nobody has heard the message but the Lord -Constantine and one man he told it to. And nobody will. If that old -woman spoke, she--well, she knows and will not speak.' - -'And you back up this murderer?' I cried. - -'Murderer?' he repeated questioningly. 'Indeed, sir, it was an -accident done in hot blood. It was the old man's fault, because he -tried to sell the island.' - -'He did sell the island,' I corrected; 'and a good many other people -will hear of what happened to him.' - -He looked at me again, smiling. - -'If you shouted it in the hearing of every man in Neopalia, what would -they do?' he asked scornfully. - -'Well, I should hope,' I returned, 'that they'd hang Constantine to -the tallest tree you've got here.' - -'They would do this,' he said with a nod; and he began to sing softly -the chant I had heard the night before. - -I was disgusted at his savagery, but I said coolly: - -'And the Lady?' - -'The Lady believes what she is told, and will do as her cousin bids -her. Is she not his affianced wife?' - -'The deuce she is!' I cried in amazement, fixing a keen scrutiny on -Vlacho's face. The face told me nothing. - -'Certainly,' he said gently. 'And they will rule the island together.' - -'Will they, though?' said I. I was becoming rather annoyed. 'There are -one or two obstacles in the way of that. First, it's my island.' - -He shrugged his shoulders again. 'That,' he seemed to say, 'is not -worth answering.' But I had a second shot in the locker for him, and I -let him have it for what it was worth. I knew it might be worth -nothing, but I tried it. - -'And secondly,' I went on, 'how many wives does Constantine propose to -have?' - -A hit! A hit! A palpable hit! I could have sung in glee. The fellow -was dumbfoundered. He turned red, bit his lip, scowled fiercely. - -'What do you mean?' he blurted out, with an attempt at blustering -defiance. - -'Never mind what I mean. Something, perhaps, that the Lady Euphrosyne -might care to know. And now, my man, what do you want of me?' - -He recovered his composure, and stated his errand with his old cool -assurance; but the cloud of vexation still hung heavy on his brow. - -'On behalf of the Lady of the island--' he began. - -'Or shall we say her cousin?' I interrupted. - -'Which you will,' he answered, as though it were not worth while to -wear the mask any longer. 'On behalf, then, of my Lord Constantine, I -am to offer you safe passage to your boat, and a return of the money -you have paid--' - -'How's he going to pay that?' - -'He will pay it in a year, and give you security meanwhile.' - -'And the condition is that I give up the island?' I asked; I began to -think that perhaps I owed it to my companions to acquiesce in this -proposal however distasteful it might be to me. - -'Yes,' said Vlacho, 'and there is one other small condition, which -will not trouble you.' - -'What's that? You're rich in conditions.' - -'You're lucky to be offered any. It is that you mind your own -business.' - -'I came here for the purpose,' I observed. - -'And that you undertake, for yourself and your companions, on your -word of honour, to speak to nobody of what has passed on the island or -of the affairs of the Lord Constantine.' - -'And if I won't give this promise?' - -'The yacht is in our hands; Demetri and Spiro are our men; there will -be no ship here for two months.' The fellow paused, smiling at me. I -took the liberty of ending his period for him. - -'And there is,' I said, returning his smile, 'as we know by now, a -particularly sudden and fatal form of fever in the island.' - -'Certainly you may chance to find that out,' said he. - -'But is there no antidote?' I asked, and I showed him the butt of my -revolver in the pocket of my coat. - -'It may keep it off for a day or two--not longer. You have the bottle -there, but most of the drug is with your luggage at the inn.' - -His parable was true enough; we had only two or three dozen cartridges -apiece. - -'But there's plenty of food for Constantine's rifle,' said I, pointing -to the muzzle of it, which protruded from the window. - -He suddenly became impatient. - -'Your answer, sir?' he demanded peremptorily. - -'Here it is,' said I. 'I'll keep the island and I'll see Constantine -hanged.' - -'So be it, so be it,' he cried. 'You are warned; so be it!' Without -another word he turned his pony and trotted rapidly off down the road. -And I went back to the house feeling, I must confess, not in the best -of spirits. But when my friends heard all that had passed, they -applauded me, and we made up our minds to 'see it through,' as Denny -said. - -The day passed quietly. At noon we carried the old lord out of his -house, having wrapped him in a sheet; we dug for him as good a grave -as we could in a little patch of ground that lay outside the windows -of his own chapel, a small erection at the west end of the house. -There he must lie for the present. This sad work done, we came back -and--so swift are life's changes--killed a goat for dinner, and -watched Watkins dress it. Thus the afternoon wore away, and when -evening came we ate our goat-flesh and Hogvardt milked our cows; then -we sat down to consider the position of the garrison. - -But the evening was hot and we adjourned out of doors, grouping -ourselves on the broad marble pavement in front of the door. Hogvardt -had just begun to expound a very elaborate scheme of escape, -depending, so far as I could make out, on our reaching the other side -of the island and finding there a boat which we had no reason to -suppose would be there, when Denny raised his hand, saying 'Hark!' - -From the direction of the village and the harbour came the sound of a -horn, blowing long and shrill and echoed back in strange protracted -shrieks and groans from the hillside behind us. And following on the -blast we heard, low in the distance and indistinct, yet rising and -falling and rising again in savage defiance and exultation, the -death-chant that One-Eyed Alexander the Bard had made on the death of -Stefan Stefanopoulos two hundred years ago. For a few minutes we sat -listening; I do not think that any of us felt very comfortable. Then I -rose to my feet, saying: - -'Hogvardt, old fellow, I fancy that scheme of yours must wait a -little. Unless I'm very much mistaken, we're going to have a lively -evening.' - -Well, then we shook hands all round, and went in and bolted the door, -and sat down to wait. We heard the death-chant through the walls now; -it was coming nearer. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A RAID AND A RAIDER - - -It was between eight and nine o'clock when the first of the enemy -appeared on the road in the persons of two smart fellows in gleaming -kilts and braided jackets. It was no more than just dusk, and I saw -that they were strangers to me. One was tall and broad, the other -shorter and of very slight build. They came on towards us confidently -enough. I was looking over Denny's shoulder; he held Constantine's -rifle, and I knew that he was impatient to try it. But, inasmuch as -might was certainly not on our side, I was determined that right -should abide with us, and was resolute not to begin hostilities. -Constantine had at least one powerful motive for desiring our -destruction; I would not furnish him with any plausible excuse for -indulging his wish: so we stood, Denny and I at one window, Hogvardt -and Watkins at the other, and quietly watched the approaching figures. -No more appeared; the main body did not show itself, and the sound of -the fierce chant had suddenly died away. But the next moment a third -man came in sight, running rapidly after the first two. He caught the -shorter by the arm, and seemed to argue or expostulate with him. For a -while the three stood thus talking; then I saw the last comer make a -gesture of protest as though he yielded his point unwillingly, and -they all came on together. - -'Push the barrel of that rifle a little farther out,' said I to Denny. -'It may be useful to them to know it's there.' - -Denny obeyed; the result was a sudden pause in our friends' advance; -but they were near enough now for me to distinguish the last comer, -and I discerned in him, although he had discarded his tweed suit and -adopted the national dress, Constantine Stefanopoulos himself. - -'Here's an exercise of self-control!' I groaned, laying a detaining -hand on Denny's shoulder. - -As I spoke, Constantine put a whistle to his lips and blew loudly. The -blast was followed by the appearance of five more fellows; in three of -them I recognised old acquaintances--Vlacho, Demetri and Spiro. These -three all carried guns. The whole eight came forward again, till they -were within a hundred yards of us. There they halted, and, with a -sudden swift movement, three barrels were levelled straight at the -window where Denny and I were stationed. Well, we ducked; there is no -use in denying it; for we thought that the bombardment had really -begun. Yet no shot followed, and after an instant, holding Denny down, -I peered out cautiously myself. The three stood motionless, their aim -full on us. The other five were advancing warily, well under the -shelter of the rock, two on the left side of the road and three on the -right. The slim boyish fellow was with Constantine on the left; a -moment later the other three dashed across the road and joined them. -In a moment what military men call 'the objective,' the aim of these -manoeuvres, flashed across me. It was simple almost to ludicrousness; -yet it was very serious, for it showed a reasoned plan of campaign -with which we were very ill-prepared to cope. While the three held us -in check, the five were going to carry off our cows. Without our cows -we should soon be hard put to it for food. For the cows had formed in -our plans a most important _pièce de résistance_. - -'This won't do,' said I. 'They're after the cows.' I took the rifle -from Denny's hand, cautioning him not to show his face at the window. -Then I stood in the shelter of the wall, so that I could not be hit by -the three, and levelled the rifle, not at my human enemies, but at -the unoffending cows. - -'A dead cow,' I remarked, 'is a great deal harder to move than a live -one.' - -The five had now come quite near the pen of rude hurdles in which the -cows were. As I spoke, Constantine appeared to give some order; and -while he and the boy stood looking on, Constantine leaning on his gun, -the boy's hand resting with jaunty elegance on the handle of the knife -in his girdle, the others leapt over the hurdles. Crack! went the -rifle, and a cow fell. I reloaded hastily. Crack! and the second cow -fell. It was very fair shooting in such a bad light, for I hit both -mortally; my skill was rewarded by a shout of anger from the robbers. -(For robbers they were; I had bought the live stock.) - -'Carry them off now!' I cried, carelessly showing myself at the -window. But I did not stay there long, for three shots rang out, and -the bullets pattered on the masonry above me. Luckily the covering -party had aimed a trifle too high. - -'No more milk, my lord,' observed Watkins in a regretful tone. He had -seen the catastrophe from the other window. - -The besiegers were checked. They leapt out of the pen with alacrity. I -suppose they realised that they were exposed to my fire while at that -particular angle I was protected from the attack of their friends. -They withdrew to the middle of the road, selecting a spot at which I -could not take aim without showing myself at the window. I dared not -look out to see what they were doing. But presently Hogvardt risked a -glance, and called out that they were in retreat and had rejoined the -three, and that the whole body stood together in consultation and were -no longer covering my window. So I looked out, and saw the boy -standing in an easy graceful attitude, while Constantine and Vlacho -talked a little way apart. It was growing considerably darker now, and -the figures became dim and indistinct. - -'I think the fun's over for to-night,' said I, glad to have it over so -cheaply. - -Indeed what I said seemed to be true, for the next moment the group -turned and began to retreat along the road, moving briskly out of our -sight. We were left in the thick gloom of a moonless evening and the -peaceful silence of still air. - -'They'll come back and fetch the cows,' said Hogvardt. 'Couldn't we -drag one in, my lord, and put it where the goat is, behind the house?' - -I approved of this suggestion; Watkins having found a rope, I armed -Denny with the rifle took from the wall a large keen hunting-knife, -opened the door and stole out, accompanied by Hogvardt and Watkins, -who carried their revolvers. We reached the pen without interruption, -tied our rope firmly round the horns of one of the dead beasts and set -to work to drag it along. It was no child's play, and our progress was -very slow, but the carcase moved, and I gave a shout of encouragement -as we got it down on to the smoother ground of the road and hauled it -along with a will. Alas, that shout was a great indiscretion! I had -been too hasty in assuming that our enemy was quite gone. We heard -suddenly the rush of feet; shots whistled over our heads. We had but -just time to drop the rope and turn round, when Denny's rifle rang -out, and then--somebody was at us! I really do not know exactly how -many there were. I had two at me, but by great good luck I drove my -big knife into one fellow's arm at the first hazard, and I think that -was enough for him. In my other assailant I recognised Vlacho. The fat -innkeeper had got rid of his gun and had a knife much like the one I -carried myself. I knew him more by his voice as he cried fiercely, -'Come on!' than by his appearance, for the darkness was thick now. -Parrying his fierce thrust--he was very active for so stout a man--I -called out to our people to fall back as quickly as they could, for I -was afraid that we might be taken in the rear also. - -But discipline is hard to maintain in such a force as mine. - -'Bosh!' cried Denny's voice. - -'_Mein Gott_, no!' exclaimed Hogvardt. Watkins said nothing, but for -once in his life he also disobeyed me. - -Well, if they would not do as I said I must do as they did. The line -advanced--the whole line, as at Waterloo. We pressed them hard. I -heard a revolver fired, and a cry follow. Fat Vlacho slackened in his -attack, wavered, halted, turned, and ran. A shout of triumph from -Denny told me that the battle was going well there. Fired with -victory, I set myself for a chase. But, alas, my pride was checked. -Before I had gone two yards, I fell headlong over the body for which -we had been fighting (as Greeks and Trojans fought for the body of -Hector), and came to an abrupt stop, sprawling most ignominiously over -the cow's broad back. - -'Stop! Stop!' I cried. 'Wait a bit, Denny! I'm down over this infernal -cow.' It was an inglorious ending to the exploits of the evening. - -Prudence or my cry stopped them. The enemy was in full retreat; their -steps pattered quick along the rocky road; and Denny observed in a -tone of immense satisfaction: - -'I think that's our trick, Charley.' - -'Anybody hurt?' I asked, scrambling to my feet. - -Watkins owned to a crack from the stock of a gun on his right -shoulder, Hogvardt to a graze of a knife on the left arm. Denny was -unhurt. We had reason to suppose that we had left our mark on at least -two of the enemy. For so great a victory it was cheaply bought. - -'We'll just drag in the cow,' said I--I like to stick to my -point--'and then we might see if there's anything in the cellar.' - -We did drag in the cow; we dragged it through the house, and finally -bestowed it in the compound behind. Hogvardt suggested that we should -fetch the other also, but I had no mind for another surprise, which -might not end so happily, and I decided to run the risk of leaving the -second animal till the morning. So Watkins ran off to seek for some -wine, for which we all felt very ready, and I went to the door with -the intention of securing it. But before I shut it, I stood for a -moment on the step, looking out on the night and sniffing the sweet, -clear, pure air. It was in quiet moments like these, not in such a -tumult as had just passed, that I had pictured my beautiful island; -and the love of it came on me now and made me swear that these fellows -and their arch-ruffian Constantine should not drive me out of it -without some more, and more serious, blows than had been struck that -night. If I could get away safely and return with enough force to keep -them quiet, I would pursue that course. If not--well, I believe I had -very bloodthirsty thoughts in my mind, as even the most peaceable man -may, when he has been served as I had and his friends roughly handled -on his account. - -Having registered these determinations, I was about to proceed with my -task of securing the door, when I heard a sound that startled me. -There was nothing hostile or alarming about it; rather it was pathetic -and appealing, and, in spite of my previous fierceness of mood, it -caused me to exclaim, 'Hullo, is that one of those poor beggars we -mauled?' For the sound was a faint distressed sigh, as of somebody in -suffering; it seemed to come from out of the darkness about a dozen -yards ahead of me. My first impulse was to go straight to the spot, -but I had begun by now to doubt whether the Neopalians were not -unsophisticated in quite as peculiar a sense as that in which they -were good-hearted, and I called to Denny and Hogvardt, bidding the -latter to bring his lantern with him. Thus protected, I stepped out -of the door in the direction from which the sigh had come. Apparently -we were to crown our victory by the capture of a wounded enemy. - -An exclamation from Hogvardt told me that he, aided by the lantern, -had come on the quarry; but Hogvardt spoke in disgust rather than -triumph. - -'Oh, it's only the little one!' said he. 'What's wrong with him, I -wonder.' He stooped down and examined the prostrate form. 'By heaven, -I believe he's not touched--yes, there's a bump on his forehead, but -not big enough for any of us to have given it.' - -By this time Denny and I were with him, and we looked down on the -boy's pale face, which seemed almost deathlike in the glare of the -lantern. The bump was not such a very small one, but it could hardly -have been made by any of our weapons, for the flesh was not cut. A -moment's further inspection showed that it must be the result of a -fall on the hard rocky road. - -'Perhaps he tripped on the cord, as you did on the cow,' suggested -Denny with a grin. - -It seemed likely enough, but I gave very little thought to the -question, for I was busy studying the boy's face. - -'No doubt,' said Hogvardt, 'he fell in running away and was stunned; -and they didn't notice it in the dark, or were afraid to stop. But -they'll be back, my lord, and soon.' - -'Carry him inside,' said I. 'It won't hurt us to have a hostage.' - -Denny lifted the lad in his long arms--Denny was a tall powerful -fellow--and strode off with him. I followed, wondering who it was that -we had got hold of: for the boy was strikingly handsome. I was last in -and barred the door. Denny had set our prisoner down in an armchair, -where he sat now, conscious again, but still with a dazed look in his -large dark eyes as he glanced from me to the rest and back again to -me, finally fixing a long gaze on my face. - -'Well, young man,' said I, 'you've begun this sort of thing early. -Lifting cattle and taking murder in the day's work is pretty good for -a youngster like you. Who are you?' - -'Where am I?' he cried, in that blurred indistinct kind of voice that -comes with mental bewilderment. - -'You're in my house,' said I, 'and the rest of your infernal gang's -outside and going to stay there. So you must make the best of it.' - -The boy turned his head away and closed his eyes. Suddenly I snatched -the lantern from Hogvardt. But I paused before I brought it close to -the boy's face, as I had meant to do, and I said: - -'You fellows go and get something to eat, and a snooze if you like. -I'll look after this youngster. I'll call you if anything happens -outside.' - -After a few unselfish protests they did as I bade them. I was left -alone in the hall with the prisoner; soon merry voices from the -kitchen told me that the battle was being fought again over the wine. -I set the lantern close to the boy's face. - -'H'm,' said I, after a prolonged scrutiny. Then I sat down on the -table and began to hum softly that wretched chant of One-Eyed -Alexander's, which had a terrible trick of sticking in a man's head. - -For a few minutes I hummed. The lad shivered, stirred uneasily, and -opened his eyes. I had never seen such eyes; I could not -conscientiously except even Beatrice Hipgrave's, which were in their -way quite fine. I hummed away; and the boy said, still in a dreamy -voice, but with an imploring gesture of his hand: - -'Ah, no, not that! Not that, Constantine!' - -'He's a tender-hearted youth,' said I, and I was smiling now. The -whole episode was singularly unusual and interesting. - -The boy's eyes were on mine again; I met his glance full and square. -Then I poured out some water and gave it to him. He took it with a -trembling hand--the hand did not escape my notice--and drank it -eagerly, setting the glass down with a sigh. - -'I am Lord Wheatley,' said I, nodding to him. 'You came to steal my -cattle, and murder me, if it happened to be convenient, you know.' - -The boy flashed out at me in a minute. - -'I didn't. I thought you'd surrender if we got the cattle away.' - -'You thought!' said I scornfully. 'I suppose you did as you were bid.' - -'No; I told Constantine that they weren't to--' The boy stopped short, -looked round him, and said in a surprised voice, 'Where are all the -rest of my people?' - -'The rest of your people,' said I, 'have run away, and you are in my -hands. And I can do just as I please with you.' - -His lips set in an obstinate curve, but he made no answer. I went on -as sternly as I could. - -'And when I think of what I saw here yesterday, of that poor old man -stabbed by your bloodthirsty crew--' - -'It was an accident,' he cried sharply; the voice had lost its -dreaminess and sounded clear now. - -'We'll see about that when we get Constantine and Vlacho before a -judge,' I retorted grimly. 'Anyhow, he was foully stabbed in his own -house for doing what he had a perfect right to do.' - -'He had no right to sell the island,' cried the boy, and he rose for a -moment to his feet with a proud air, only to sink back into the chair -again and stretch out his hand for water. - -Now at this moment Denny, refreshed by meat and drink and in the -highest of spirits, bounded into the hall. - -'How's the prisoner?' he cried. - -'Oh, he's all right. There's nothing the matter with him,' I said, and -as I spoke I moved the lantern, so that the boy's face and figure were -again in shadow. - -'That's all right,' observed Denny cheerfully. 'Because I thought, -Charley, we might get a little information out of him.' - -'Perhaps he won't speak,' I suggested, casting a glance at the captive -who sat now motionless in the chair. - -'Oh, I think he will,' said Denny confidently: and I observed for the -first time that he held a very substantial-looking whip in his hand; -he must have found it in the kitchen. 'We'll give the young ruffian a -taste of this, if he's obstinate,' said Denny, and I cannot say that -his tone witnessed any great desire that the boy should prove at once -compliant. - -I shifted my lantern so that I could see the proud young face, while -Denny could not. The boy's eyes met mine defiantly. - -'Do you see that whip?' I asked. 'Will you tell us all we want to -know?' - -The boy made no answer, but I saw trouble in his face, and his eyes -did not meet mine so boldly now. - -'We'll soon find a tongue for him,' said Denny, in cheerful barbarity; -'upon my word, he richly deserves a thrashing. Say the word, Charley!' - -'We haven't asked him anything yet,' said I. - -'Oh, I'll ask him something. Look here, who was the fellow with you -and Vlacho?' - -Denny spoke in English; I turned his question into Greek. But the -prisoner's eyes told me that he had understood before I spoke. I -smiled again. - -The boy was silent; defiance and fear struggled in the dark eyes. - -'You see he's an obstinate beggar,' said Denny, as though he had -observed all necessary forms and could now get to business; and he -drew the lash of the whip through his fingers. I am afraid Denny was -rather looking forward to executing justice with his own hands. - -The boy rose again and stood facing that heartless young ruffian -Denny--it was thus that I thought of Denny at the moment; then once -again he sank back into his chair and covered his face with his hands. - -'Well, I wouldn't go out killing if I hadn't more pluck than that,' -said Denny scornfully. 'You're not fit for the trade, my lad.' - -I did not interpret this time; there was no need; the boy certainly -understood. But he had no retort. His face was buried in those slim -hands of his. For a moment he was quite still: then he moved a little; -it was a movement that spoke of helpless pain, and I heard something -very like a stifled sob. - -'Just leave us alone a little, Denny,' said I. 'He may tell me what he -won't tell you.' - -'Are you going to let him off?' demanded Denny, suspiciously. 'You -never can be stiff in the back, Charley.' - -'I must see if he won't speak to me first,' I pleaded, meekly. - -'But if he won't?' insisted Denny. - -'If he won't,' said I, 'and you still wish it, you may do what you -like.' - -Denny sheered off to the kitchen, with an air that did not seek to -conceal his opinion of my foolish tender-heartedness. Again I was -alone with the boy. - -'My friend is right,' said I gravely. 'You're not fit for the trade. -How came you to be in it?' - -My question brought a new look, as the boy's hands dropped from his -face. - -'How came you,' said I, 'who ought to restrain these rascals, to be at -their head? How came you, who ought to shun the society of men like -Constantine Stefanopoulos and his tool Vlacho, to be working with -them?' - -I got no answer; only a frightened look appealed to me in the white -glare of Hogvardt's lantern. I came a step nearer and leant forward to -ask my next question. - -'Who are you? What's your name?' - -'My name--my name?' stammered the prisoner. 'I won't tell my name.' - -'You'll tell me nothing? You heard what I promised my friend?' - -'Yes, I heard,' said the lad, with a face utterly pale, but with eyes -that were again set in fierce determination. - -I laughed a low laugh. - -'I believe you are fit for the trade after all,' said I, and I looked -at him with mingled distaste and admiration. But I had my last weapon -still, my last question. I turned the lantern full on his face, I -leant forward again, and I said in distinct slow tones--and the -question sounded an absurd one to be spoken in such an impressive -way: - -'Do you generally wear--clothes like that?' - -I had got home with that question. The pallor vanished, the haughty -eyes sank. I saw long drooping lashes and a burning flush, and the -boy's face once again sought his hands. - -At that moment I heard chairs pushed back in the kitchen. In came -Hogvardt with an amused smile on his broad face; in came Watkins with -his impassive acquiescence in anything that his lordship might order; -in came Master Denny brandishing his whip in jovial relentlessness. - -'Well, has he told you anything?' cried Denny. It was plain that he -hoped for the answer 'No.' - -'I have asked him half-a-dozen questions,' said I, 'and he has not -answered one.' - -'All right,' said Denny, with wonderful emphasis. - -Had I been wrong to extort this much punishment for my most -inhospitable reception? Sometimes now I think that I was cruel. In -that night much had occurred to breed viciousness in a man of the most -equable temper. But the thing had now gone to the extreme limit to -which it could go, and I said to Denny: - -'It's a gross case of obstinacy, of course, Denny, but I don't see -very well how we can horsewhip the lady.' - -A sudden astounded cry, 'The lady!' rang from three pairs of lips, -while the lady herself dropped her head on the table and fenced her -face round about with her protecting arms. - -'You see,' said I, 'this lady is the Lady Euphrosyne.' - -For who else could it be that would give orders to Constantine -Stefanopoulos, and ask where 'my people' were? Who else, I also asked -myself, save the daughter of the noble house, would boast the air, the -hands, the face, that graced our young prisoner? And who else would -understand English? In all certainty here was the Lady Euphrosyne. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE COTTAGE ON THE HILL - - -The effect of my remark was curious. Denny flushed scarlet and flung -his whip down on the table; the others stood for a moment motionless, -then turned tail and slunk back to the kitchen. Euphrosyne's face -remained invisible. On the other hand, I felt quite at my ease. I had -a triumphant conviction of the importance of my capture, and a -determination that no misplaced chivalry should rob me of it. -Politeness is, no doubt, a duty, but only a relative duty; and, in -plain English, men's lives were at stake here. Therefore I did not -make my best bow, fling open the door, and tell the lady that she was -free to go whither she would, but I said to her in a dry severe voice: - -'You had better go, madam, to the room you usually occupy here, while -we consider what to do with you. You know where the room is; I -don't.' - -She raised her head, and said in tones that sounded almost eager: - -'My own room? May I go there?' - -'Certainly,' said I. 'I shall accompany you as far as the door; and -when you've gone in, I shall lock the door.' - -This programme was duly carried out, Euphrosyne not favouring me with -a word during its progress. Then I returned to the hall, and said to -Denny: - -'Rather a trump card, isn't she?' - -'Yes, but they'll be back pretty soon to look for her, I expect.' - -Denny accompanied this remark with such a yawn that I suggested he -should go to bed. - -'Aren't you going to bed?' he asked. - -'I'll take first watch,' said I. 'It's nearly twelve now. I'll wake -you at two, and you can wake Hogvardt at five; then Watkins will be -fit and fresh at breakfast-time, and can give us roast cow.' - -Thus I was again left alone; and I sat reviewing the position. Would -the islanders fight for their lady? Or would they let us go? They -would let us go, I felt sure, only if Constantine were out-voted, for -he could not afford to see me leave Neopalia with a head on my -shoulders and a tongue in my mouth. Then probably they would fight. -Well, I calculated that so long as our provisions held out, we could -not be stormed; our stone fortress was too strong. But we could be -blockaded and starved out, and should be very soon unless the lady's -influence could help us. I had just arrived at the conclusion that I -would talk to her very seriously in the morning when I heard a -remarkable sound. - -'There never was such a place for queer noises,' said I, pricking up -my ears. - -This noise seemed to come directly from above my head; it sounded as -though a light stealthy tread were passing over the roof of the hall -in which I sat. The only person in the house besides ourselves was the -prisoner: she had been securely locked in her room; how then could she -be on the top of the hall? For her room was in the turret above the -doorway. Yet the steps crept over my head, going towards the kitchen. -I snatched up my revolver and trod, with a stealth equal to the -stealth of the steps overhead, across the hall and into the kitchen -beyond. My three companions slept the sleep of tired men, but I roused -Denny ruthlessly. - -'Go on guard in the hall,' said I. 'I want to have a look round.' - -Denny was sleepy but obedient. I saw him start for the hall, and went -on till I reached the compound behind the house. - -Here I stood deep in the shadow of the wall; the steps were now over -my head again. I glanced up cautiously, and above me, on the roof, -three yards to the left, I saw the flutter of a white kilt. - -'There are more ways out of this house than I know,' I thought to -myself. - -I heard next a noise as though of something being pushed cautiously -along the flat roof. Then there protruded from between two of the -battlements the end of a ladder. I crouched closer under the wall. The -light flight of steps was let down; it reached the ground, the kilted -figure stepped on it and began to descend. Here was the Lady -Euphrosyne again. Her eagerness to go to her own room was fully -explained: there was a way from it across the house and out on to the -roof of the kitchen; the ladder shewed that the way was kept in use. I -stood still. She reached the ground, and, as she touched it, she gave -the softest possible little laugh of gleeful triumph; a pretty little -laugh it was. Then she walked briskly across the compound, till she -reached the rocks on the other side. I crept forward after her, for I -was afraid of losing sight of her in the darkness, and yet did not -desire to arrest her progress till I saw where she was going. On she -went, skirting the perpendicular drop of rock. I was behind her now. -At last she came to the angle formed by the rock running north and -that which, turning to the east, enclosed the compound. - -'How's she going to get up?' I asked myself. - -But up she began to go, her right foot on the north rock, her left on -the east. She ascended with such confidence that it was evident that -steps were ready for her feet. She gained the top; I began to mount in -the same fashion, finding the steps cut in the face of the cliff. I -reached the top and saw her standing still, ten yards ahead of me. She -went on; I followed; she stopped, looked, saw me, screamed. I rushed -on her. Her arm dealt a blow at me; I caught her hand, and in her hand -there was a little dagger. Seizing her other hand, I held her fast. - -'Where are you going to?' I asked in a matter-of-fact tone, taking no -notice of her hasty resort to the dagger. No doubt that was merely a -national trait. - -Seeing that she was caught, she made no attempt to struggle. - -'I was trying to escape,' she said. 'Did you hear me?' - -'Yes, I heard you. Where were you going to?' - -'Why should I tell you? Shall you threaten me with the whip again?' - -I loosed her hands. She gave a sudden glance up the hill. She seemed -to measure the distance. - -'Why do you want to go to the top of the hill?' I asked. 'Have you -friends there?' - -She denied the suggestion, as I thought she would. - -'No, I have not. But anywhere is better than with you.' - -'Yet there's some one in the cottage up there,' I observed. 'It -belongs to Constantine, doesn't it?' - -'Yes, it does,' she answered defiantly. 'Dare you go and seek him -there? Or dare you only skulk behind the walls of the house?' - -'As long as we are four against a hundred I dare only skulk,' I -answered. She did not annoy me at all by her taunts. 'But do you think -he's there?' - -'There! No; he's in the town; and he'll come from the town to kill you -to-morrow.' - -'Then is nobody there?' I pursued. - -'Nobody,' she answered. - -'You're wrong,' said I. 'I saw somebody there to-day.' - -'Oh, a peasant perhaps.' - -'Well, the dress didn't look like it. Do you really want to go there -now?' - -'Haven't you mocked me enough?' she burst out. 'Take me back to my -prison.' - -Her tragedy-air was quite delightful. But I had been leading her up -to something which I thought she ought to know. - -'There's a woman in that cottage,' said I. 'Not a peasant; a woman in -some dark-coloured dress, who uses opera-glasses.' - -I saw her draw back with a start of surprise. - -'It's false,' she cried. 'There's no one there. Constantine told me no -one went there except Vlacho and sometimes Demetri.' - -'Do you believe all Constantine tells you?' I asked. - -'Why shouldn't I? He's my cousin, and--' - -'And your suitor?' - -She flung her head back proudly. - -'I have no shame in that,' she answered. - -'You would accept his offer?' - -'Since you ask, I will answer. Yes. I had promised my uncle that I -would.' - -'Good God!' said I, for I was very sorry for her. - -The emphasis of my exclamation seemed to startle her afresh. I felt -her glance rest on me in puzzled questioning. - -'Did Constantine let you see the old woman whom I sent to him?' I -demanded. - -'No,' she murmured. 'He told me what she said.' - -'That I told him he was his uncle's murderer?' - -'Did you tell her to say that?' she asked, with a sudden inclination -of her body towards me. - -'I did. Did he give you the message?' - -She made no answer. I pressed my advantage. - -'On my honour, I saw what I have told you at the cottage,' I said. 'I -know what it means no more than you do. But before I came here I saw -Constantine in London. And there I heard a lady say she would come -with him. Did any lady come with him?' - -'Are you mad?' she asked; but I could hear her breathing quickly, and -I knew that her scorn was assumed. I drew suddenly away from her, and -put my hands behind my back. - -'Go to the cottage if you like,' said I. 'But I won't answer for what -you'll find there.' - -'You set me free?' she cried with eagerness. - -'Free to go to the cottage; you must promise to come back. Or I'll go -to the cottage, if you'll promise to go back to your room and wait -till I return.' - -She hesitated, looking towards where the cottage was; but I had -stirred suspicion and disquietude in her. She dared not face what she -might find in the cottage. - -'I'll go back and wait for you,' she said. 'If I went to the cottage -and--and all was well, I'm afraid I shouldn't come back.' - -The tone sounded softer. I would have sworn that a smile or a -half-smile accompanied the words, but it was too dark to be sure, and -when I leant forward to look, Euphrosyne drew back. - -'Then you mustn't go,' said I decisively; 'I can't afford to lose -you.' - -'But if you let me go I could let you go,' she cried. - -'Could you? Without asking Constantine? Besides, it's my island you -see.' - -'It's not,' she cried, with a stamp of her foot. And without more she -walked straight by me and disappeared over the ledge of rock. Two -minutes later I saw her figure defined against the sky, a black shadow -on a deep grey ground; then she disappeared. I set my face straight -for the cottage under the summit of the hill. I knew that I had only -to go straight and I must come to the little plateau scooped out of -the hillside, on which the cottage stood. I found, not a path, but a -sort of rough track that led in the desired direction, and along this -I made my way very cautiously. At one point it was joined at right -angles by another track, from the side of the hill where the main road -across the island lay. This, of course, afforded an approach to the -cottage without passing by my house. In twenty minutes the cottage -loomed, a blurred mass, before me. I fell on my knees and peered at -it. - -There was a light in one of the windows. I crawled nearer. Now I was -on the plateau, a moment later I was under the wooden verandah and -beneath the window where the light glowed. My hand was on my revolver; -if Constantine or Vlacho caught me here, neither side would be able to -stand on trifles; even my desire for legality would fail under the -strain. But for the minute everything was quiet, and I began to fear -that I should have to return empty-handed; for it would be growing -light in another hour or so, and I must be gone before the day began -to appear. Ah, there was a sound, a sound that appealed to me after my -climb, the sound of wine poured into a glass; then came a voice I -knew. - -'Probably they have caught her,' said Vlacho the innkeeper. 'What of -that? They will not hurt her, and she'll be kept safe.' - -'You mean she can't come spying about here?' - -'Exactly. And that, my lord, is an advantage. If she came here--' - -'Oh, the deuce!' laughed Constantine. 'But won't the men want me to -free her by letting that infernal crew go?' - -'Not if they think Wheatley will go to Rhodes and get soldiers and -return. They love the island more than her. It will all go well, my -lord. And this other here?' - -I strained my ears to listen. No answer came, yet Vlacho went on as -though he had received an answer. - -'These cursed fellows make that difficult too,' he said. 'It would be -an epidemic.' He laughed, seeming to see wit in his own remark. - -'Curse them, yes. We must move cautiously,' said Constantine. 'What a -nuisance women are, Vlacho.' - -'Ay, too many of them,' laughed Vlacho. - -'I had to swear my life out that no one was here, and then, "If no -one's there, why mayn't I come?" You know the sort of thing.' - -'Indeed, no, my lord. You wrong me,' protested Vlacho humorously, and -Constantine joined in his laugh. - -'You've made up your mind which, I gather?' asked Vlacho. - -'Oh, this one, beyond doubt,' answered his master. - -Now I thought that I understood most of this conversation, and I was -very sorry that Euphrosyne was not by my side to listen to it. But I -had heard about enough for my purposes, and I had turned to crawl away -stealthily--it is not well to try fortune too far--when I heard the -sound of a door opening in the house. Constantine's voice followed -directly on the sound. - -'Ah, my darling, my sweet wife,' he cried, 'not sleeping yet? Where -will your beauty be? Vlacho and I must work and plan for your sake, -but you need not spoil your eyes with sleeplessness.' - -Constantine did it uncommonly well. His manner was a pattern for -husbands. I was guilty of a quiet laugh all to myself in the verandah. - -'For me? You're sure it's for me?' came in that Greek with a strange -accent, which had first fallen on my ears in the Optimum Restaurant. - -'She's jealous, she's most charmingly jealous!' cried Constantine in -playful rapture. 'Does your wife pay you such compliments, Vlacho?' - -'She has no cause, my lord. But my lady Francesca thinks she has cause -to be jealous of the Lady Euphrosyne.' - -Constantine laughed scornfully at the suggestion. - -'Where is she now?' came swift and sharp from the woman. 'Where is -Euphrosyne?' - -'Why, she's a prisoner to that Englishman,' answered Constantine. - -I suppose explanations passed at this point, for the voices fell to a -lower level, as is apt to happen in the telling of a long story, and I -could not catch what was said till Constantine's tones rose again as -he remarked: - -'Oh, yes; we must have a try at getting her out, just to satisfy the -people. For me, she might stay there as long as she likes, for I care -for her just as little as, between ourselves, I believe she cares for -me.' - -Really this fellow was a very tidy villain; as a pair, Vlacho and he -would be hard to beat--in England, at all events. About Neopalia I had -learned to reserve my opinion. Such were my reflections as I turned to -resume my interrupted crawl to safety. But in an instant I was still -again--still, and crouching close under the wall, motionless as an -insect that feigns death, holding my breath, my hand on the trigger. -For the door of the cottage was flung open, and Constantine and Vlacho -appeared on the threshold. - -'Ah,' said Vlacho, 'dawn is near. See, it grows lighter on the -horizon.' - -A more serious matter was that, owing to the open door and the lamp -inside, it had grown lighter on the verandah, so light that I saw the -three figures--for the woman had come also--in the doorway, so light -that my huddled shape would be seen if any of the three turned an eye -towards it. I could have picked off both men before they could move; -but a civilised education has drawbacks; it makes a man scrupulous; I -did not fire. I lay still, hoping that I should not be noticed. And I -should not have been noticed but for one thing. Acting up to his part -in the ghastly farce which these two ruffians were playing with the -wife of one of them, Constantine turned to bestow kisses on the woman -before he parted from her. Vlacho, in a mockery that was horrible to -me who knew his heart, must needs be facetious. With a laugh he drew -back; he drew back farther still; he was but a couple of feet from the -wall of the house; and that couple of feet I filled. In a moment, with -one step backwards, he would be upon me. Perhaps he would not have -made that step; perhaps I should have gone, by grace of that narrow -interval, undetected. But the temptation was too strong for me. The -thought of the thing threatened to make me laugh. I had a pen-knife in -my pocket. I opened it, and dug it hard into that portion of Vlacho's -frame which came most conveniently and prominently to my hand. Then, -leaving the pen-knife where it was, I leapt up, gave the howling -ruffian a mighty shove, and with a loud laugh of triumph bolted for my -life down the hill. But when I had gone twenty yards I dropped on my -knees, for bullet after bullet whistled over my head. Constantine, the -outraged Vlacho too, perhaps, carried a revolver! Their barrels were -being emptied after me. I rose and turned one hasty glance behind me. -Yes, I saw their dim shapes like moving trees. I fired once, twice, -thrice, in my turn, and then went crashing and rushing down the path -that I had ascended so cautiously. I cannoned against the tree trunks; -I tripped over trailing branches; I stumbled over stones. Once I -paused and fired the rest of my barrels. A yell told me I had hit--but -Vlacho, alas, not Constantine; I knew the voice. At the same instant -my fire was returned, and a bullet went through my hat. I was -defenceless now, save for my heels, and to them I took again with all -speed. But as I crashed along, one at least of them came crashing -after me. Yes, it was only one! I had checked Vlacho's career. It was -Constantine alone. I suppose one of your heroes of romance would have -stopped and faced him, for with them it is not etiquette to run away -from one man. Ah, well, I ran away. For all I knew, Constantine might -still have a shot in the locker; I had none. And if Constantine killed -me, he would kill the only man who knew all his secrets. So I ran. And -just as I got within ten yards of the drop into my own territory, I -heard a wild cry, 'Charley! Charley! Where the devil are you, -Charley?' - -'Why, here, of course,' said I, coming to the top of the bank and -dropping over. - -I have no doubt that it was the cry uttered by Denny which gave pause -to Constantine's pursuit. He would not desire to face all four of us. -At any rate the sound of his pursuing feet died away and ceased. I -suppose he went back to look after Vlacho, and show himself safe and -sound to that most unhappy woman, his wife. As for me, when I found -myself safe and sound in the compound, I said, 'Thank God!' And I -meant it too. Then I looked round. Certainly the sight that met my -eyes had a touch of comedy in it. - -Denny, Hogvardt and Watkins stood in the compound. Their backs were -towards me, and they were all staring up at the roof of the kitchen, -with expressions which the cold light of morning revealed in all their -puzzled foolishness. And on the top of the roof, unassailable and out -of reach--for no ladder ran from roof to ground now--stood Euphrosyne, -in her usual attitude of easy grace. Euphrosyne was not taking the -smallest notice of the helpless three below, but stood quite still -with unmoved face, gazing up towards the cottage. The whole thing -reminded me of nothing so much as of a pretty composed cat in a tree, -with three infuriated helpless terriers barking round the trunk. I -began to laugh. - -'What's all the shindy?' called out Denny. 'Who's doing -revolver-practice in the wood? And how the dickens did she get there, -Charley?' - -But when the still figure on the roof saw me, the impassivity of it -vanished. Euphrosyne leant forward, clasping her hands, and said to -me: - -'Have you killed him?' - -The question vexed me. It would have been civil to accompany it, at -all events, with an inquiry as to my own health. - -'Killed him?' I answered gruffly. 'No, he's sound enough.' - -'And--' she began; but now she glanced, seemingly for the first time, -at my friends below. 'You must come and tell me,' she said, and with -that she turned and disappeared from our gaze behind the battlements. -I listened intently. No sound came from the wood that rose grey in the -new light behind us. - -'What have you been doing?' demanded Denny surlily; he had not enjoyed -Euphrosyne's scornful attitude. - -'I have been running for my life,' said I, 'from the biggest -scoundrels unhanged. Denny, make a guess who lives in that cottage.' - -'Constantine?' - -'I don't mean him.' - -'Not Vlacho--he's at the inn.' - -'No, I don't mean Vlacho.' - -'Who then, man?' - -'Someone you've seen.' - -'Oh, I give it up. It's not the time of day for riddles.' - -'The lady who dined at the next table to ours at the Optimum,' said I. - -Denny jumped back in amazement, with a long low whistle. - -'What, the one who was with Constantine?' he cried. - -'Yes,' said I, 'the one who was with Constantine.' - -They were all three round me now; and thinking that it would be better -that they should know what I knew, and four lives instead of one stand -between a ruffian and the impunity he hoped for, I raised my voice and -went on in an emphatic tone, - -'Yes. She's there, and she's his wife.' - -A moment's astonished silence greeted my announcement. It was broken -by none of our party. But there came from the battlemented roof above -us a low, long, mournful moan that made its way straight to the heart, -armed with its dart of outraged pride and trust betrayed. It was not -thus, boldly and abruptly, that I should have told my news. But I did -not know that Euphrosyne was still above us, hidden by the -battlements. We all looked up. The moan was not repeated. Presently we -heard slow steps retreating, with a faltering tread, across the roof; -and we also went into the house in silence and sorrow. For a thing -like that gets hold of a man; and when he has heard it, it is hard for -him to sit down and be merry, until the fellow that caused it has paid -his reckoning. I swore then and there that Constantine Stefanopoulos -should pay his. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE POEM OF ONE-EYED ALEXANDER - - -There is a matter on my conscience which I cannot excuse but may as -well confess. To deceive a maiden is a very sore thing, so sore that -it had made us all hot against Constantine; but it may be doubted by a -cool mind whether it is worse, nay, whether it is not more venial than -to contrive the murder of a lawful wife. Poets have paid more -attention to the first offence--maybe they know more about it--the law -finds greater employment, on the whole, in respect to the second. For -me, I admit that it was not till I found myself stretched on a -mattress in the kitchen, with the idea of getting a few hours' sleep, -that it struck me that Constantine's wife deserved a share of my -concern and care. Her grievance against him was at least as great as -Euphrosyne's; her peril was far greater. For Euphrosyne was his -object; Francesca (for that appeared from Vlacho's mode of address to -be her name) was an obstacle which prevented him attaining that -object. For myself I should have welcomed a cut throat if it came as -an alternative to Constantine's society; but probably his wife would -not agree with me, and the conversation I had heard left me in little -doubt that her life was not safe. They could not have an epidemic, -Vlacho had prudently reminded his master; the island fever could not -kill Constantine's wife and our party all in a day or two. Men suspect -such an obliging malady, and the old lord had died of it, pat to the -happy moment, already. But if the thing could be done, if it could be -so managed that London, Paris, and the Riviera would find nothing -strange in the disappearance of one Madame Stefanopoulos and the -appearance of another, why, to a certainty, done the thing would be, -unless I could warn or save the woman in the cottage. But I did not -see how to do either. So (as I set out to confess) I dropped the -subject. And when I went to sleep I was thinking not how to save -Francesca, but how to console Euphrosyne, a matter really of less -urgency, as I should have seen had not the echo of that sad little cry -still filled my ears. - -The news which Hogvardt brought me when I rose in the morning, and was -enjoying a slice of cow-steak, by no means cleared my way. An actual -attack did not seem imminent--I fancy these fierce islanders were not -too fond of our revolvers--but the house was, if I may use the term, -carefully picketed, and that both before and behind. Along the road -which approached it in front there stood sentries at intervals. They -were stationed just out of range of our only effective long-distance -weapon, but it was evident that egress on that side was barred. And -the same was the case on the other; Hogvardt had seen men moving in -the wood, and had heard their challenges to one another repeated at -regular intervals. We were shut off from the sea; we were shut off -from the cottage. A blockade would reduce us as surely as an attack. I -had nothing to offer except the release of Euphrosyne. And to release -Euphrosyne would, in all likelihood, not save us, while it would leave -Constantine free to play out his relentless game to its appointed end. - -I finished my breakfast in some perplexity of spirit. Then I went and -sat in the hall, expecting that Euphrosyne would appear from her room -before long. I was alone, for the rest were engaged in various -occupations, Hogvardt being particularly busy over a large handful of -hunting knives which he had gleaned from the walls; I did not -understand what he wanted with them, unless he meant to arm himself in -porcupine fashion. - -Presently Euphrosyne came, but it was a transformed Euphrosyne. The -kilt, knee-breeches, and gaiters were gone; in their place was the -white linen garment with flowing sleeves and the loose jacket over it, -the national dress of the Greek woman; but Euphrosyne's was ornamented -with a rare profusion of delicate embroidery, and of so fine a texture -that it seemed rather some delicate, soft, yielding silk. The change -of attire seemed reflected in her altered manner. Defiance was gone, -and appeal glistened from her eyes as she stood before me. I sprang -up, but she would not sit. She stood there, and, raising her glance to -my face, asked simply: - -'Is it true?' - -In a business-like way I told her the whole story, starting from the -every-day scene at home in the restaurant, ending with the villainous -conversation and the wild chase of the night before. When I related -how Constantine had called Francesca his wife, Euphrosyne started. -While I sketched lightly my encounter with him and Vlacho, she eyed me -with a sort of grave curiosity; and at the end she said: - -'I'm glad you weren't killed.' - -It was not an emotional speech, nor delivered with any _empressement_, -but I took it for thanks and made the best of it. Then at last she sat -down and rested her head on her hand; her absent reverie allowed me -to study her closely, and I was struck by a new beauty which the -fantastic boy's disguise had concealed. Moreover, with the doffing of -that, she seemed to have put off her extreme hostility; but perhaps -the revelation I had made to her, which showed her the victim of an -unscrupulous schemer, had more to do with her softened air. Yet she -had borne the story firmly, and a quivering lip was her extreme sign -of grief or anger. And her first question was not of herself. - -'Do you mean that they will kill this woman?' she asked. - -'I'm afraid it's not unlikely that something will happen to her, -unless, of course--' I paused, but her quick wit supplied the -omission. - -'Unless,' she said, 'he lets her live now, because I am out of his -hands?' - -'Will you stay out of his hands?' I asked. 'I mean, as long as I can -keep you out of them.' - -She looked round with a troubled expression. - -'How can I stay here?' she said in a low tone. - -'You will be as safe here now as you were in your uncle's care,' I -answered. - -She acknowledged my promise with a movement of her head; but a moment -later she cried: - -'But I am not with you--I am with the people! The island is theirs -and mine. It's not yours. I'll have no part in giving it to you.' - -'I wasn't proposing to take pay for my hospitality,' said I. 'It'll be -hardly handsome enough for that, I'm afraid. But mightn't we leave the -question for the moment?' And I described briefly to her our present -position. - -'So that,' I concluded, 'while I maintain my claim to the island, I am -at present more interested in keeping a whole skin on myself and my -friends.' - -'If you will not give it up, I can do nothing,' said she. 'Though they -knew Constantine to be all you say, yet they would follow him and not -me if I yielded the island. Indeed they would most likely follow him -in any case. For the Neopalians like a man to follow, and they like -that man to be a Stefanopoulos; so they would shut their eyes to much, -in order that Constantine might marry me and become lord.' - -She stated all this in a matter-of-fact way, disclosing no great -horror of her countrymen's moral standard. The straightforward -barbarousness of it perhaps appealed to her a little; she loathed the -man who would rule on those terms, but had some toleration for the -people who set the true dynasty above all else. And she spoke of her -proposed marriage as though it were a natural arrangement. - -'I shall have to marry him, I expect, in spite of everything,' she -said. - -I pushed my chair back violently. My English respectability was -appalled. - -'Marry him?' I cried. 'Why, he murdered the old lord!' - -'That has happened before among the Stefanopouloi,' said Euphrosyne, -with a calmness dangerously near to pride. - -'And he proposes to murder his wife,' I added. - -'Perhaps he will get rid of her without that.' She paused; then came -the anger I had looked for before. 'Ah, but how dared he swear that he -had thought of none but me, and loved me passionately? He shall pay -for that!' Again it was injured pride which rang in her voice, as in -her first cry. It did not sound like love; and for that I was glad. -The courtship probably had been an affair of state rather than of -affection. I did not ask how Constantine was to be made to pay, -whether before or after marriage. I was struggling between horror and -amusement at my guest's point of view. But I take leave to have a will -of my own, even sometimes in matters which are not exactly my concern; -and I said now, with a composure that rivalled Euphrosyne's: - -'It's out of the question that you should marry him. I'm going to get -him hanged; and, anyhow, it would be atrocious.' - -She smiled at that; but then she leant forward and asked: - -'How long have you provisions for?' - -'That's a good retort,' I admitted. 'A few days, that's all. And we -can't get out to procure any more; and we can't go shooting, because -the wood's infested with these ruff--I beg pardon--with your -countrymen.' - -'Then it seems to me,' said Euphrosyne, 'that you and your friends are -more likely to be hanged.' - -Well, on a dispassionate consideration, it did seem more likely; but -she need not have said so. She went on with an equally discouraging -good sense: - -'There will be a boat from Rhodes in about a month or six weeks. The -officer will come then to take the tribute; perhaps the Governor will -come. But till then nobody will visit the island, unless it be a few -fishermen from Cyprus.' - -'Fishermen? Where do they land? At the harbour?' - -'No; my people do not like them; but the Governor threatens to send -troops if we do not let them land. So they come to a little creek at -the opposite end of the island, on the other side of the mountain. Ah, -what are you thinking of?' - -As Euphrosyne perceived, her words had put a new idea in my mind. If I -could reach that creek and find the fishermen and persuade them to -help me or to carry my party off, that hanging might happen to the -right man after all. - -'You're thinking you can reach them?' she cried. - -'You don't seem sure that you want me to,' I observed. - -'Oh, how can I tell what I want? If I help you I am betraying the -island. If I do not--' - -'You'll have a death or two at your door, and you'll marry the biggest -scoundrel in Europe,' said I. - -She hung her head and plucked fretfully at the embroidery on the front -of her gown. - -'But anyhow you couldn't reach them,' she said. 'You are close -prisoners here.' - -That, again, seemed true, so that it put me in a very bad temper. -Therefore I rose and, leaving her without much ceremony, strolled into -the kitchen. Here I found Watkins dressing the cow's head, Hogvardt -surrounded by knives, and Denny lying on a rug on the floor with a -small book which he seemed to be reading. He looked up with a smile -that he considered knowing. - -'Well, what does the Captive Queen say?' he asked with levity. - -'She proposes to marry Constantine,' I answered, and added quickly to -Hogvardt: - -'What's the game with those knives, Hog?' - -'Well, my lord,' said Hogvardt, surveying his dozen murderous -instruments, 'I thought there was no harm in putting an edge on them, -in case we should find a use for them,' and he fell to grinding one -with great energy. - -'I say, Charley, I wonder what this yarn's about. I can't construe -half of it. It's in Greek, and it's something about Neopalia; and -there's a lot about a Stefanopoulos.' - -'Is there? Let's see,' and, taking the book, I sat down to look at it. -It was a slim old book, bound in calf-skin. The Greek was written in -an old-fashioned style; it was verse. I turned to the title page. -'Hullo, this is rather interesting,' I exclaimed. 'It's about the -death of old Stefanopoulos--the thing they sing that song about, you -know.' - -In fact I had got hold of the poem which One-Eyed Alexander composed. -Its length was about three hundred lines, exclusive of the refrain -which the islanders had chanted, and which was inserted six times, -occurring at the end of each fifty lines. The rest was written in -rather barbarous iambics; and the sentiments were quite as barbarous -as the verse. It told the whole story, and I ran rapidly over it, -translating here and there for the benefit of my companions. The -arrival of the Baron d'Ezonville recalled our own with curious -exactness, except that he came with one servant only. He had been -taken to the inn as I had, but he had never escaped from there, and -had been turned adrift the morning after his arrival. I took more -interest in Stefan, and followed eagerly the story of how the -islanders had come to his house and demanded that he should revoke the -sale. Stefan, however, was obstinate; it cost the lives of four of his -assailants before his door was forced. Thus far I read, and expected -to find next an account of a _mêlée_ in the hall. But here the story -took a turn unexpected by me, one that might make the reading of the -old poem more than a mere pastime. - -'But when they had broken in,' sang One-Eyed Alexander, 'behold the -hall was empty, and the house empty! And they stood amazed. But the -two cousins of the Lord, who had been the hottest in seeking his -death, put all the rest to the door, and were themselves alone in the -house; for the secret was known to them who were of the blood of the -Stefanopouloi. Unto me, the Bard, it is not known. Yet men say they -went beneath the earth, and there in the earth found the lord. And -certain it is they slew him, for in a space they came forth to the -door, bearing his head; this they showed to the people, who answered -with a great shout. But the cousins went back, barring the door again; -and again, when but a few minutes had passed, they came forth, opening -the door, and the elder of them, being now by the traitor's death -become lord, bade the people in, and made a great feast for them. But -the head of Stefan none saw again, nor did any see his body; but body -and head were gone whither none know, saving the noble blood of the -Stefanopouloi; for utterly they disappeared, and the secret was -securely kept.' - -I read this passage aloud, translating as I went. At the end Denny -drew a breath. - -'Well, if there aren't ghosts in this house there ought to be,' he -remarked. 'What the deuce did those rascals do with the old gentleman, -Charley?' - -'It says they went beneath the earth.' - -'The cellar,' suggested Hogvardt, who had a prosaic mind. - -'But they wouldn't leave the body in the cellar,' I objected; 'and if, -as this fellow says, they were only away a few minutes, they couldn't -have dug a grave for it. And then it says that they "there in the -earth found the lord."' - -'It would have been more interesting,' said Denny, 'if they'd told -Alexander a bit more about it. However I suppose he consoles himself -with his chant again?' - -'He does. It follows immediately on what I've read, and so the thing -ends.' And I sat looking at the little yellow volume. 'Where did you -find it, Denny?' I asked. - -'Oh, on a shelf in the corner of the hall, between the _Iliad_ and a -_Life of Byron_. There's precious little to read in this house.' - -I got up and walked back to the hall. I looked round. Euphrosyne was -not there. I inspected the hall door; it was still locked on the -inside. I mounted the stairs and called at the door of her room; when -no answer came, I pushed it open and took the liberty of glancing -round; she was not there. I called again, for I thought she might have -passed along the way over the hall and reached the roof, as she had -before. This time I called loudly. Silence followed for a moment. Then -came an answer, in a hurried, rather apologetic tone, 'Here I am.' But -then--the answer came not from the direction that I had expected, but -from the hall! And, looking over the balustrade, I saw Euphrosyne -sitting in the armchair. - -'This,' said I, going downstairs, 'taken in conjunction with -this'--and I patted One-Eyed Alexander's book, which I held in my -hand--'is certainly curious and suggestive.' - -'Here I am,' said Euphrosyne, with an air that added, 'I've not moved. -What are you shouting for?' - -'Yes, but you weren't there a minute ago,' I observed, reaching the -hall and walking across to her. - -She looked disturbed and embarrassed. - -'Where have you been?' I asked. - -'Must I give an account of every movement?' said she, trying to cover -her confusion with a show of haughty offence. - -The coincidence was really a remarkable one; it was as hard to account -for Euphrosyne's disappearance and reappearance as for the vanished -head and body of old Stefan. I had a conviction, based on a sudden -intuition, that one explanation must lie at the root of both these -curious things, that the secret of which Alexander spoke was a secret -still hidden--hidden from my eyes, but known to the girl before me, -the daughter of the Stefanopouloi. - -'I won't ask you where you've been, if you don't wish to tell me,' -said I carelessly. - -She bowed her head in recognition of my indulgence. - -'But there is one question I should like to ask you,' I pursued, 'if -you'll be so kind as to answer it.' - -'Well, what is it?' She was still on the defensive. - -'Where was Stefan Stefanopoulos killed, and what became of his body?' - -As I put the question I flung One-Eyed Alexander's book open on the -table beside her. - -She started visibly, crying, 'Where did you get that?' - -I told her how Denny had found it, and I added: - -'Now, what does "beneath the earth" mean? You're one of the house and -you must know.' - -'Yes, I know, but I must not tell you. We are all bound by the most -sacred oath to tell no one.' - -'Who told you?' - -'My uncle. The boys of our house are told when they are fifteen, the -girls when they are sixteen. No one else knows.' - -'Why is that?' - -She hesitated, fearing, perhaps, that her answer itself would tend to -betray the secret. - -'I dare tell you nothing,' she said. 'The oath binds me; and it binds -every one of my kindred to kill me if I break it.' - -'But you've no kindred left except Constantine,' I objected. - -'He is enough. He would kill me.' - -'Sooner than marry you?' I suggested rather maliciously. - -'Yes, if I broke the oath.' - -'Hang the oath!' said I impatiently. 'The thing might help us. Did -they bury Stefan somewhere under the house?' - -'No, he was not buried,' she answered. - -'Then they brought him up and got rid of his body when the islanders -had gone?' - -'You must think what you will.' - -'I'll find it out,' said I. 'If I pull the house down, I'll find it. -Is it a secret door or--? - -She had coloured at the question. I put the latter part in a low eager -voice, for hope had come to me. - -'Is it a way out?' I asked, leaning over to her. - -She sat mute, but irresolute, embarrassed and fretful. - -'Heavens,' I cried impatiently, 'it may mean life or death to all of -us, and you boggle over your oath!' - -My rude impatience met with a rebuke that it perhaps deserved. With a -glance of the utmost scorn, Euphrosyne asked coldly, - -'What are the lives of all of you to me?' - -'True, I forgot,' said I, with a bitter politeness. 'I beg your -pardon. I did you all the service I could last night, and now--I and -my friends may as well die as live! But, by God, I'll pull this place -to ruins, but I'll find your secret.' - -I was walking up and down now in a state of some excitement. My brain -was fired with the thought of stealing a march on Constantine through -the discovery of his own family secret. - -Suddenly Euphrosyne gave a little soft clap with her hands. It was -over in a minute, and she sat blushing, confused, trying to look as if -she had not moved at all. - -'What did you do that for?' I asked, stopping in front of her. - -'Nothing,' said Euphrosyne. - -'Oh, I don't believe that,' said I. - -She looked at me. 'I didn't mean to do it,' she said. 'But can't you -guess why?' - -'There's too much guessing to be done here,' said I impatiently; and I -started walking again. But presently I heard a voice say softly, and -in a tone that seemed to address nobody in particular--me least of -all: - -'We Neopalians like a man who can be angry, and I began to think you -never would.' - -'I am not the least angry,' said I with great indignation. I hate -being told that I am angry when I am merely showing firmness. - -Now at this protest of mine Euphrosyne saw fit to laugh--the most -hearty laugh she had given since I had known her. The mirthfulness of -it undermined my wrath. I stood still opposite her, biting the end of -my moustache. - -'You may laugh,' said I, 'but I'm not angry; and I shall pull this -house down, or dig it up, in cold blood, in perfectly cold blood.' - -'You are angry,' said Euphrosyne, 'and you say you're not. You are -like my father. He would stamp his foot furiously like that, and say, -"I am not angry, I am not angry, Phroso."' - -Phroso! I had forgotten that diminutive of my guest's classical name. -It rather pleased me, and I repeated gently after her, 'Phroso, -Phroso!' and I'm afraid I eyed the little foot that had stamped so -bravely. - -'He always called me Phroso. Oh, I wish he were alive! Then -Constantine--' - -'Since he isn't,' said I, sitting on the table by Phroso (I must write -it, it's a deal shorter),--by Phroso's elbow--'since he isn't, I'll -look after Constantine. It would be a pity to spoil the house, -wouldn't it?' - -'I've sworn,' said Phroso. - -'Circumstances alter oaths,' said I, bending till I was very near -Phroso's ear. - -'Ah,' said Phroso reproachfully, 'that's what lovers say when they -find another more beautiful than their old love.' - -I shot away from Phroso's ear with a sudden backward start. Her remark -somehow came home to me with a very remarkable force. I got off the -table, and stood opposite to her in an awkward and stiff attitude. - -'I am compelled to ask you, for the last time, if you will tell me the -secret?' said I, in the coldest of tones. - -She looked up with surprise; my altered manner may well have amazed -her. She did not know the reason of it. - -'You asked me kindly and--and pleasantly, and I would not. Now you ask -me as if you threatened,' she said. 'Is it likely I should tell you -now?' - -Well, I was angry with myself and with her because she had made me -angry with myself; and, the next minute, I became furiously angry with -Denny, whom I found standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen -with a smile of intense amusement on his face. - -'What are you grinning at?' I demanded fiercely. - -'Oh, nothing,' said Denny, and his face strove to assume a prudent -gravity. - -'Bring a pickaxe,' said I. - -Denny's eyes wandered towards Phroso. 'Is she as annoying as that?' he -seemed to ask. 'A pickaxe?' he repeated in surprised tones. - -'Yes, two pickaxes. I'm going to have this floor up, and see if I can -find out the great Stefanopoulos secret.' I spoke with an accent of -intense scorn. - -Again Phroso laughed; her hands beat very softly against one another. -Heavens, what did she do that for, when Denny was there, watching -everything with those shrewd eyes of his? - -'The pickaxes!' I roared. - -Denny turned and fled; a moment elapsed. I did not know what to do, -how to look at Phroso, or how not to look at her. I took refuge in -flight. I rushed into the kitchen, on pretence of aiding or hastening -Denny's search. I found him taking up an old pick that stood near the -door leading to the compound. I seized it from his hand. - -'Confound you!' I cried, for Denny laughed openly at me; and I rushed -back to the hall. But on the threshold I paused, and said what I will -not write. - -For, though there came from somewhere the ripple of a mirthful laugh, -the hall was empty! Phroso was gone! I flung the pickaxe down with a -clatter on the boards, and exclaimed in my haste: - -'I wish to heaven I'd never bought the island!' - -But I did not really mean that. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE SECRET OF THE STEFANOPOULOI - - -Was this a pantomime? For a moment I declared angrily that it was no -better; but the next instant changed the current of my feelings, -transforming irritation into alarm and perplexity into the strongest -excitement. For Phroso's laugh ended--ended as a laugh ends that is -suddenly cut short in its career of mirth--and there was a second of -absolute stillness. Then from the front of the house, and from the -back, came the sharp sound of shots--three in rapid succession in -front, four behind. Denny rushed out from the kitchen, rifle in hand. - -'They're at us on both sides!' he cried, leaping to his perch at the -window and cautiously peering round. 'Hogvardt and Watkins are ready -at the back; they're firing from the wood,' he went on. Then he fired. -'Missed, confound it!' he muttered. 'Well, they don't come any nearer, -I'll see to that.' - -Denny was a sure defence in front. I turned towards the kitchen, for -more shots came from that direction, and although it was difficult to -do worse than harass us from there, our perpendicular bank of rock -being a difficult obstacle to pass in face of revolver-fire, I wanted -to see that all was well and to make the best disposition against this -unexpected onset. Yet I did not reach the kitchen; half way to the -door which led to it I was arrested by a cry of distress. Phroso's -laugh had gone, but the voice was still hers. 'Help!' she cried, -'help!' Then came a chuckle from Denny at the window, and a -triumphant, 'Winged him, by Jove!' And then from Phroso again, -'Help!'--and at last an enlightening word, 'Help! Under the staircase! -Help!' - -At this summons I left my friends to sustain the attack or the feigned -attack; for I began to suspect that it was no more than a diversion, -and that the real centre of operations was 'under the staircase;' -thither I ran. The stairs rose from the centre of the right side of -the hall, and led up to the gallery; they rose steeply, and a man -could stand upright up to within four feet of the spot where the -staircase sprang from the level floor. I was there now; and under me I -heard no longer voices, but a kind of scuffle. The pick was in my -hand, and I struck savagely again and again at the boards; for I did -not doubt now that there was a trap-door, and I was in no mind to -spend my time seeking for its cunning machinery. And yet where -knowledge failed, chance came to my help; at the fifth or sixth blow I -must have happened on the spring, for the boards yawned, leaving a -space of about three inches. Dropping the pick, I fell on my knees and -seized the edge nearest me. With all my strength I tugged and pulled. -My violence was of no avail, the boards moved no more. Impatient yet -sobered I sought eagerly for the spring which my pick had found. Ah, -here it was! It answered now to a touch light as Phroso's own. At the -slightest pressure the boards rolled away, seeming to curl themselves -up under the base of the staircase; and there was revealed to me an -aperture four feet long by three broad; beneath lay a flight of stone -steps. I seized my pick again, and took a step downwards. I heard -nothing except the noise of retreating feet. I went on. Down six steps -I went, then the steps ended, and I was on an incline. At that moment -I heard again, only a few yards from me, 'Help!' I sprang forward. A -loud curse rang out, and a shot whistled by me. The open trap-door -gave a glimmer of light. I was in a narrow passage, and a man was -coming at me. I did not know where Phroso was, but I took the risk. I -fired straight at him, having shifted my pick to the left hand. The -aim was true, he fell prone on his face before me. I jumped on and -over his body, and ran along the dark passage; for I still heard -retreating steps. But then came a voice I knew, the voice of Vlacho -the innkeeper. 'Then stay where you are, curse you!' he cried -savagely. There was a thud, as though some one fell heavily to the -ground, a cry of pain, and then the rapid running of feet that fled -now at full pace and unencumbered. Vlacho the innkeeper had heard my -shot and had no stomach for fighting in that rat-run, with a girl in -his arms to boot! And I, pursuing, was brought up short by the body of -Phroso, which lay, white and plain to see, across the narrow passage. - -'Are you hurt?' I cried eagerly. - -'He flung me down violently,' she answered. 'But I'm not hurt -otherwise.' - -'Then I'll go after him,' I cried. - -'No, no, you mustn't. You don't know the way, you don't know the -dangers; there may be more of them at the other end.' - -'True,' said I. 'What happened?' - -'Why, I came down to hide from you, you know. But directly I reached -the foot of the steps Vlacho seized me. He was crouching there with -Spiro--you know Spiro. And they said, "Ah, she has saved us the -trouble!" and began to drag me away. But I would not go, and I called -to you. I twisted my feet round Vlacho, so that he couldn't go fast; -then he told Spiro to catch hold of me, and they were just carrying me -off when you came. Vlacho kept hold of me while Spiro went to meet you -and--' - -'It seems,' I interrupted, 'that Constantine was less scrupulous about -that oath than you were. Or how did Vlacho and Spiro come here?' - -'Yes, he must have told them,' she admitted reluctantly. - -'Well, come along, come back; I'm wanted,' said I; and (without asking -leave, I fear) I caught her up in my arms and began to run back. I -jumped again over Spiro--friend Spiro had not moved--and regained the -hall. - -'Stay there, under the stairs; you're sheltered there,' I said hastily -to Phroso. Then I called to Denny, 'What cheer, Denny?' Denny turned -round with a radiant smile. I don't think he had even noticed my -absence. - -'Prime,' said he. 'This is a rare gun of old Constantine's; it carries -a good thirty yards farther than any they've got, and I can pick 'em -off before they get dangerous. I've got one and winged another, and -the rest have retired a little way to talk it over.' - -Seeing that things were all right in that quarter I ran into the -kitchen. It was well that I did so. We were indeed in no danger; from -that side, at all events, the attack was evidently no more than a -feint. There was desultory firing from a safe distance in the wood. I -reckoned there must be four or five men hidden behind trees and -emerging every now and then to pay us a compliment. But they had not -attempted a rush. The mischief was quite different, being just this, -that Watkins, who was not well instructed in the range of fire-arms, -was cheerfully emptying his revolver into space, and wasting our -precious cartridges at the rate of about two a minute. He was so -magnificently happy that it went to my heart to stop him, but I was -compelled to seize his arm and command him very peremptorily to wait -till there was something to fire at. - -'I thought I'd show them that we were ready for them, my lord,' said -he apologetically. - -I turned impatiently to Hogvardt. - -'Why did you let him make a fool of himself like that?' I asked. - -'He would miss, anyhow, wherever the men were,' observed Hogvardt -philosophically. 'And,' he continued, 'I was busy myself.' - -'What were you doing?' I asked in a scornful tone. - -Hogvardt made no answer in words; but he pointed proudly to the -table. There I saw a row of five long and strong saplings; to the head -of each of these most serviceable lances there was bound strongly, -with thick wire wound round again and again, a long, keen, bright -knife. - -'I think these may be useful,' said Hogvardt, rubbing his hands, and -rising from his seat with the sigh of a man who had done a good -morning's work. - -'The cartridges would have been more useful still,' said I severely. - -'Yes,' he admitted, 'if you would have taken them away from Watkins. -But you know you wouldn't, my lord. You'd be afraid of hurting his -feelings. So he might just as well amuse himself while I made the -lances.' - -I have known Hogvardt for a long while, and I never argue with him. -The mischief was done; the cartridges were gone; we had the lances; it -was no use wasting more words over it. I shrugged my shoulders. - -'Your lordship will find the lances very useful,' said Hogvardt, -fingering one of them most lovingly. - -The attack was dying away now in both front and rear. My impression -was amply confirmed. It had been no more than a device for occupying -our attention while those two daring rascals, Vlacho and Spiro, armed -with the knowledge of the secret way, made a sudden dash upon us, -either in the hope of getting a shot at our backs and finding shelter -again before we could retaliate, or with the design of carrying off -Phroso. Her jest had forestalled the former idea, if it had been in -their minds, and they had then endeavoured to carry out the latter. -Indeed I found afterwards that it was the latter on which Constantine -laid most stress; for a deputation of the islanders had come to him, -proposing that he should make terms with me as a means of releasing -their Lady. Now since last night Constantine, for reasons which he -could not disclose to the deputation, was absolutely precluded from -treating with me; he was therefore driven to make an attempt to get -Phroso out of my hands in order to satisfy her people. This enterprise -I had happily frustrated for the moment. But my mind was far from -easy. Provisions would soon be gone; ammunition was scanty; against an -attack by day our strong position, aided by Denny's coolness and -marksmanship, seemed to protect us very effectually; but I could feel -no confidence as to the result of a grand assault under the protecting -shadow of night. And now that Constantine's hand was being forced by -the islanders' anxiety for Phroso, I was afraid that he would not -wait long before attempting a decisive stroke. - -'I wish we were well out of it,' said I despondently, as I wiped my -brow. - -All was quiet. Watkins appeared with bread, cheese and wine. - -'Your lordship would not wish to use the cow at luncheon?' he asked, -as he passed me on his way to the hall. - -'Certainly not, Watkins,' I answered, smiling. 'We must save the cow.' - -'There is still a goat, but she is a poor thin creature, my lord.' - -'We shall come to her in time, Watkins,' said I. - -But if I were depressed, the other three were very merry over their -meal. Danger was an idea which found no hospitality in Denny's brain; -Hogvardt was as cool a hand as the world held; Watkins could not -believe that Providence would deal unkindly with a man of my rank. -They toasted our recent success, and listened with engrossed interest -to my account of the secret of the Stefanopouloi. Phroso sat a little -apart, saying nothing, but at last I turned to her and asked, 'Where -does the passage lead to?' - -She answered readily enough; the secret was out through Constantine's -fault, not hers, and the seal was removed from her lips. - -'If you follow it to the end, it comes out in a little cave in the -rocks on the seashore, near the creek where the Cypriote fishermen -come.' - -'Ah,' I cried, 'it might help us to get there!' - -She shook her head, answering: - -'Constantine is sure to have that end strongly guarded now, because he -knows that you have the secret.' - -'We might force our way.' - -'There is no room for more than one man to go at a time; and -besides--' she paused. - -'Well, what besides?' I asked. - -'It would be certain death to try to go in the face of an enemy' she -answered. - -Denny broke in at this point. - -'By the way, what of the fellow you shot? Are we going to leave him -there, or must we get him up?' - -Spiro had been in my mind; and now I said to Phroso: - -'What did they do with the body of Stefan Stefanopoulos? There was not -time for them to have taken it to the end of the way, was there?' - -'No, they didn't take it to the end of the way,' said she. 'I will -show you if you like. Bring a torch; you must keep behind me, and -right in the middle of the path.' - -I accepted her invitation eagerly, telling Denny to keep guard. He was -very anxious to accompany us, but another and more serious attack -might be in store, and I would not trust the house to Hogvardt and -Watkins alone. So I took a lantern in lieu of a torch and prepared to -follow. At the last moment Hogvardt thrust into my hand one of his -lances. - -'It will very likely be useful,' said he. 'A thing like that is always -useful.' - -I would not disappoint him, and I took the lance. Phroso signed to me -to give her the lantern and preceded me down the flight of stairs. - -'We shall be in earshot of the hall?' I asked. - -'Yes, for as far as we are going,' she answered, and she led the way -into the passage. I prayed her to let me go first, for it was just -possible that some of Constantine's ruffians might still be there. - -'I don't think so,' she said. 'He would tell as few as possible. You -see, we have always kept the secret from the islanders. I think that, -if you had not killed Spiro, he would not have lived long after -knowing it.' - -'The deuce!' I exclaimed. 'And Vlacho?' - -'Oh, I don't know. Constantine is very fond of Vlacho. Still, perhaps, -some day--' The unfinished sentence was expressive enough. - -'What use was the secret?' I asked, as we groped our way slowly along -and edged by the body of Spiro which lay, six feet of dead clay, in -the path. - -'In the first place, we could escape by it,' she answered, 'if any -tumult arose in the island. That was what Stefan tried to do, and -would have done, had not his own kindred been against him and -overtaken him here in the passage.' - -'And in the second place?' I asked. - -Phroso stopped, turned round, and faced me. - -'In the second place,' she said, 'if any one of the islanders became -very powerful--too powerful, you know--then the ruling lord would show -him great favour; and, as a crowning mark of his confidence, he would -bid him come by night and learn the great secret; and they two would -come together down this passage. But the lord would return alone.' - -'And the other?' - -'The body of the other would be found two, three, four days, or a week -later, tossing on the shores of the island,' answered Phroso. 'For -look!' and she held the lantern high above her head so that its light -was projected in front of us, and I could see fifteen or twenty yards -ahead. - -'When they reached here, Stefanopoulos and the other,' she went on, -'Stefanopoulos would stumble, and feign to twist his foot, and he -would pray the other to let him lean a little on his shoulder. Thus -they would go on, the other a pace in front, the lord leaning on his -shoulder; and the lord would hold the torch, but he would not hold it -up, as I hold the lantern, but down to the ground, so that it should -light no more than a pace or two ahead. And when they came there--do -you see, my lord--there?' - -'I see,' said I, and I believe I shivered a bit. - -'When they came there the torch would suddenly show the change, so -suddenly that the other would start and be for an instant alarmed, and -turn his head round to the lord to ask what it meant.' - -Phroso paused in her recital of the savage, simple, sufficient old -trick. - -'Yes?' said I. 'And at that moment--' - -'The lord's hand on his shoulder,' she answered, 'which had rested -lightly before, would grow heavy as lead and with a great sudden -impulse the other would be hurled forward, and the lord would be alone -again with the secret, and alone the holder of power in Neopalia.' - -This was certainly a pretty secret of empire, and none the less -although the empire it protected was but nine miles long and five -broad. I took the lantern from Phroso's hand, saying, 'Let's have a -look.' - -I stepped a pace or two forward, prodding the ground with Hogvardt's -lance before I moved my feet: and thus I came to the spot where the -Stefanopoulos used with a sudden great impulse to propel his enemy -down. For here the rocks, which hitherto had narrowly edged and -confined the path, bayed out on either side. The path ran on, a flat -rock track about a couple of feet wide, forming the top of an -upstanding cliff; but on either side there was an interval of seven or -eight feet between the path and the walls of rock, and the path was -unfenced. Even had the Stefanopoulos held his hand and given no -treacherous impulse, it would have needed a cool-headed man to walk -that path by the dim glimmer of a torch. For, kneeling down and -peering over the side, I saw before me, some seventy feet down as I -judged, the dark gleam of water, and I heard the low moan of its wash. -And Phroso said: - -'If the man escaped the sharp rocks he would fall into the water; and -then, if he could not swim, he would sink at once; but if he could -swim he would swim round, and round, and round, like a fish in a bowl, -till he grew weary, unless he chanced to find the only opening; and if -he found that and passed through, he would come to a rapid, where the -water runs swiftly, and he would be dashed on the rocks. Only by a -miracle could he escape death by one or other of these ways. So I was -told when I was of age to know the secret. And it is certain that no -man who fell into the water has escaped alive, although their bodies -came out.' - -'Did Stefan's body come out?' I asked, peering at the dark water with -a fascinated gaze. - -'No, because they tied weights to it before they threw it down, and so -with the head. Stefan is there at the bottom. Perhaps another -Stefanopoulos is there also; for his body was never found. He was -caught by the man he threw down, and the two fell together.' - -'Well, I'm glad of it,' said I with emphasis, as I rose to my feet. 'I -wish the same thing had always happened.' - -'Then,' remarked Phroso with a smile, 'I should not be here to tell -you about it.' - -'Hum,' said I. 'At all events I wish it had generally happened. For a -more villainous contrivance I never heard of in all my life. We -English are not accustomed to this sort of thing.' - -Phroso looked at me for a moment with a strange expression of -eagerness, hesitation and fear. Then she suddenly put out her hand, -and laid it on my arm. - -'I will not go back to my cousin who has wronged me, if--if I may stay -with you,' she said. - -'If you may stay!' I exclaimed with a nervous laugh. - -'But will you protect me? Will you stand by me? Will you swear not to -leave me here alone on the island? If you will, I will tell you -another thing--a thing that would certainly bring me death if it were -known I had told.' - -'Whether you tell me or whether you don't,' said I, 'I'll do what you -ask.' - -'Then you are not the first Englishman who has been here. Seventy -years ago there came an Englishman here, a daring man, a lover of our -people, and a friend of the great Byron. Orestes Stefanopoulos, who -ruled here then, loved him very much, and brought him here, and showed -him the path and the water under it. And he, the Englishman, came next -day with a rope, and fixed the rope at the top, and let himself down. -Somehow, I do not know how, he came safe out to the sea, past the -rocks and the rapids. But, alas, he boasted of it! Then, when the -thing became known, all the family came to Orestes and asked him what -he had done. And he said: - -'"Sup with me this night, and I will tell you." For he saw that what -he had done was known. - -'So they all supped together, and Orestes told them what he had done, -and how he did it for love of the Englishman. They said nothing, but -looked sad; for they loved Orestes. But he did not wait for them to -kill him, as they were bound to do; but he took a great flagon of -wine, and poured into it the contents of a small flask. And his -kindred said: "Well done, Lord Orestes!" And they all rose to their -feet, and drank to him. And he drained the flagon to their good -fortune, and went and lay down on his bed, and turned his face to the -wall and died.' - -I paid less attention to this new episode in the family history of the -Stefanopouloi than it perhaps deserved: my thoughts were with the -Englishman, not with his too generous friend. Yet the thing was -handsomely done--on both sides handsomely done. - -'If the Englishman got out!' I cried, gazing at Phroso's face. - -'Yes, I mean that,' said she simply. 'But it must be dangerous.' - -'It's not exactly safe where we are,' I said, smiling; 'and -Constantine will be guarding the proper path. By Jove, we'll try it!' - -'But I must come with you; for if you go that way and escape, -Constantine will kill me.' - -'You've just as good a right to kill Constantine.' - -'Still he will kill me. You'll take me with you?' - -'To be sure I will,' said I. - -Now when a man pledges his word, he ought, to my thinking, to look -straight and honestly in the eyes of the woman to whom he is -promising. Yet I did not look into Phroso's eyes, but stared -awkwardly over her head at the walls of rock. Then, without any more -words, we turned back and went towards the secret door. But I stopped -at Spiro's body, and said to Phroso: - -'Will you send Denny to me?' - -She went, and when Denny came we took Spiro's body and carried it to -where the walls bayed, and we flung it down into the dark water below. -And I told Denny of the Englishman who had come alive through the -perils of the hidden chasm. He listened with eager attention, nodding -his head at every point of the story. - -[Illustration: WE TOOK SPIRO'S BODY AND FLUNG IT DOWN.] - -'There lies our road, Denny,' said I, pointing with my finger. 'We'll -go along it to-night.' - -Denny looked down, shook his head and smiled. - -'And the girl?' he asked suddenly. - -'She comes too,' said I. - -We walked back together, Denny being unusually silent and serious. I -thought that even his audacious courage was a little dashed by the -sight and the associations of that grim place, so I said: - -'Cheer up. If that other fellow got through the rocks, we can.' - -'Oh, hang the rocks!' said Denny scornfully. 'I wasn't thinking of -them.' - -'Then what are you so glum about?' - -'I was wondering,' said Denny, freeing himself from my arm, 'how -Beatrice Hipgrave would get on with Euphrosyne.' - -I looked at Denny. I tried to feel angry, or even, if I failed in -that, to appear angry. But it was no use. Denny was imperturbable. I -took his arm again. - -'Thanks, old man,' said I. 'I'll remember.' - -For when I considered the very emphatic assertions which I had made to -Denny before we left England, I could not honestly deny that he was -justified in his little reminder. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -A KNIFE AT A ROPE - - -Some modern thinkers, I believe--or perhaps, to be quite safe, I had -better say some modern talkers--profess to estimate the value of life -by reference to the number of distinct sensations which it enables -them to experience. Judged by a similar standard, my island had been, -up to the present time, a brilliant success; it was certainly -fulfilling the function, which Mrs Kennett Hipgrave had appropriated -to it, of whiling away the time that must elapse before my marriage -with her daughter and providing occupation for my thoughts during this -weary interval. The difficulty was that the island seemed disinclined -to restrict itself to this modest sphere of usefulness; it threatened -to monopolise me, and to leave very little of me or my friends, by the -time that it had finished with us. For, although we maintained our -cheerfulness, our position was not encouraging. Had matters been -anything short of desperate above ground it would have been madness to -plunge into that watery hole, whose egress was unknown to us, and to -take such a step on the off-chance of finding at the other end the -Cypriote fishermen, and of obtaining from them either an alliance, or, -if that failed, the means of flight. Yet we none of us doubted that to -take the plunge was the wiser course. I did not believe in the extreme -peril of the passage, for, on further questioning, Phroso told us that -the Englishman had come through, not only alive and well, but also -dry. Therefore there was a path, and along a path that one man can go -four men can go; and Phroso, again attired, at my suggestion, in her -serviceable boy's suit, was the equal of any of us. So we left -considering whether, and fell to the more profitable work of asking -how, to go. Hogvardt and Watkins went off at once to the point of -departure, armed with a pick, a mallet, some stout pegs, and a long -length of rope. All save the last were ready on the premises, and that -last formed always part of Hogvardt's own equipment; he wore it round -his waist, and, I believe, slept in it, like a mediæval ascetic. -Meanwhile Denny and I kept watch, and Phroso, who seemed out of -humour, disappeared into her own room. - -Our idea was to reach the other end of the journey somewhere about -eight or nine o'clock in the evening. Phroso told us that this hour -was the most favourable for finding the fishermen; they would then be -taking a meal before launching their boats for the fishing-grounds. -Three hours seemed ample time to allow for the journey, for the way -could hardly, however rich it were in windings, be more than three or -four miles long. We determined, therefore, to start at five. At four -Hogvardt and Watkins returned from the underground passage; they had -driven three stout pegs into excavations in the rocky path, and built -them in securely with stones and earth. The rope was tied fast and -firm round the pegs, and the moistness of its end showed the length to -be sufficient. I wished to descend first, but I was at once overruled; -Denny was to lead, Watkins was to follow; then came Hogvardt, then -Phroso, and lastly myself. We arranged all this as we ate a good meal; -then each man stowed away a portion of goat--the goat had died the -death that morning--and tied a flask of wine about him. It was a -quarter to five, and Denny rose to his feet, flinging away his -cigarette. - -'That's my last!' said he, regretfully regarding his empty case. - -His words sounded ominous, but the spirit of action was on us, and we -would not be discouraged. I went to the hall door and fired a shot, -and then did the like at the back. Having thus spent two cartridges -on advertising our presence to the pickets we made without delay for -the passage. With my own hand I closed the door behind us. The secret -of the Stefanopouloi would thus be hidden from profane eyes in the -very likely event of the islanders finding their way into the house in -the course of the next few hours. - -I persuaded Phroso to sit down some little way from the chasm and wait -till we were ready for her; we four went on. Denny was a delightful -boy to deal with on such occasions. He wasted no time in -preliminaries. He gave one hard pull at the rope; it stood the test; -he cast a rapid eye over the wedges; they were strong and strongly -imbedded in the rock. He laid hold of the rope. - -'Don't come after me till I shout,' said he, and he was over the side. -The lantern showed me his descending figure, while Hogvardt and -Watkins held the rope ready to haul him up in case of need. There was -one moment of suspense; then his voice came, distant and cavernous. - -'All right! There's a broad ledge--a foot and a half broad--twenty -feet above the water, and I can see a glimmer of light that looks like -the way out.' - -'This is almost disappointingly simple,' said I. - -'Would your lordship desire me to go next?' asked Watkins. - -'Yes, fire away, Watkins,' said I, now in high good humour. - -'Stand from under, sir,' called Watkins to Denny, and over he went. - -A shout announced his safe arrival. I laid down the lantern and took -hold of the rope. - -'I must hang on to you, Hog,' said I. 'You carry flesh, you see.' - -Hogvardt was calm, smiling and leisurely. - -'When I'm down, my lord,' he said, 'I'll stand ready to catch the -young lady. Give me a call before you start her off.' - -'All right,' I answered. 'I'll go and fetch her directly.' - -Over went old Hogvardt. He groaned once; I suppose he grazed against -the wall; but he descended with perfect safety. Denny called: 'Now -we're ready for her, Charley. Lower away!' And I, turning, began to -walk back to where I had left Phroso. - -My island--I can hardly resist personifying it in the image of some -charming girl, full of tricks and surprises, yet all the while -enchanting--had now behaved well for two hours. The limit of its -endurance seemed to be reached. In another five minutes Phroso and I -would have been safely down the rope and the party re-united at the -bottom, with a fair hope of carrying out prosperously at least the -first part of the enterprise. But it was not to be. My eyes had grown -accustomed to the gloom, and when I went back I left the lantern -standing by the rope. Suddenly, when I was still a few yards from -Phroso, I heard a curious noise, a sort of shuffling sound, rather -like the noise made by a rug or carpet drawn along the floor. I stood -still and listened, turning my my head round to the chasm. The noise -continued for a minute. I took a step in the direction of it. Then I -seemed to see a curious thing. The lantern appeared to get up, raise -itself a foot or so in the air, keeping its light towards me, and -throw itself over the chasm. At the same instant there was a rasp. -Heavens, it was a knife on the rope! A cry came from far down in the -chasm. I darted forward. I rushed to where the walls bayed and the -chasm opened. The shuffling sound had begun again; and in the middle -of the isolated path I saw a dark object. It must be the figure of a -man, a man who had watched our proceedings, unobserved by us, and -seized this chance of separating our party. For a moment--a fatal -moment--I stood aghast, doing nothing. Then I drew my revolver and -fired once--twice--thrice. The bullets whistled along the path, but -the dark figure was no longer to be seen there. But in an instant -there came an answering shot from across the bridge of rock. Denny -shouted wildly to me from below. I fired again; there was a groan, but -two shots flashed at the very same moment. There were two men there, -perhaps more. I stood again for a moment undecided; but I could do no -good where I was. I turned and ran fairly and fast. - -'Come, come,' I cried, when I had reached Phroso. 'Come back, come -back! They've cut the rope and they'll be on us directly.' - -In spite of her amazement she rose as I bade her. We heard feet -running along the passage. They would be across the bridge now. Would -they stop and fire down the chasm? No, they were coming on. We also -went on; a touch of Phroso's practised fingers opened the door for us; -I turned, and in wrath gave the pursuers one more shot. Then I ran up -the stairs and shut the door behind us. We were in the hall again--but -Phroso and I alone. - -A hurried story told her all that had happened. Her breath came quick -and her cheek flushed. - -'The cowards!' she said. 'They dared not attack us when we were all -together!' - -'They will attack us before very long now,' said I, 'and we can't -possibly hold the house against them. Why, they may open that -trap-door any moment.' - -Phroso stepped quickly towards it, and, stooping for a instant, -examined it. 'Yes,' she said, 'they may. I can't fasten it. You spoilt -the fastening with your pick.' - -Hearing this, I stepped close up to the door, reloading my revolver as -I went, and I called out, 'The first man who looks out is a dead man.' - -No sound came from below. Either they were too hurt to attempt the -attack, or, more probably, they preferred the safer and surer way of -surrounding and overwhelming us by numbers from outside. Indeed we -were at our last gasp now; I flung myself despondently into a chair; -but I kept my finger on my weapon and my eye on the trap-door. - -'They cannot get back--our friends--and we cannot get to them,' said -Phroso. - -'No,' said I. Her simple statement was terribly true. - -'And we cannot stay here!' she pursued. - -'They'll be at us in an hour or two at most, I'll warrant. Those -fellows will carry back the news that we are alone here.' - -'And if they come?' she said, fixing her eyes on me. - -'They won't hurt you, will they?' - -'I don't know what Constantine would do; but I don't think the people -will let him hurt me, unless--' - -'Well, unless what?' - -She hesitated, looked at me, looked away again. I believe that my eyes -were now guilty of neglecting the trap-door which I ought to have -watched. - -'Unless what?' I said again. But Phroso grew red and did not answer. - -'Unless you're so foolish as to try to protect me, you mean?' I asked. -'Unless you refuse to give them back what Constantine offers to win -for them--the island?' - -'They will not let you have the island,' she said in a low voice. 'I -dare not face them and tell them it is yours.' - -'Do you admit it's mine?' I asked eagerly. - -A slow smile dawned on Phroso's face, and she held out her hand to me. -Ah, Denny, my conscience, why were you at the bottom of the chasm? I -seized her hand and kissed it. - -'Between friends,' she said softly, 'there is no thine nor mine.' - -Ah, Denny, where were you? I kissed her hand again--and dropped it -like a red-hot coal. - -'But I can't say that to my islanders,' said Phroso, smiling. - -Charming as it was, I wished she had not said it to me. I wished that -she would not speak as she spoke, or look as she looked, or be what -she was. I forgot all about the trap-door. The island was piling -sensations on me. - -At last I got up and went to the table. I found there a scrap of -paper, on which Denny had drawn a fancy sketch of Constantine (to -whom, by the way, he attributed hoofs and a tail). I turned the blank -side uppermost, and took my pencil out of my pocket. I was determined -to put the thing on a business-like footing; so I began: -'Whereas'--which has a cold, legal, business-like sound: - -'Whereas,' I wrote in English, 'this island of Neopalia is mine, I -hereby fully, freely, and absolutely give it to the Lady Euphrosyne, -niece of Stefan Georgios Stefanopoulos, lately Lord of the said -island--Wheatley.' And I made a copy underneath in Greek, and, walking -across to Phroso, handed the paper to her, remarking in a rather -disagreeable tone, 'There you are; that'll put it all straight, I -hope.' And I sat down again, feeling out of humour. I did not like -giving up my island, even to Phroso. Moreover I had the strongest -doubt whether my surrender would be of the least use in saving my -skin. - -I do not know that I need relate what Phroso did when I gave her back -her island. These southern races have picturesque but extravagant -ways. I did not know where to look while she was thanking me, and it -was as much as I could do not to call out, 'Do stop!' However -presently she did stop, but not because I asked her. She was stayed by -a sudden thought which had been in my mind all the while, but now -flashed suddenly into hers. - -'But Constantine?' she said. 'You know his--his secrets. Won't he -still try to kill you?' - -Of course he would if he valued his own neck. For I had sworn to see -him hanged for one murder, and I knew that he meditated another. - -'Oh, don't you bother about that!' said I. 'I expect I can manage -Constantine.' - -'Do you think I'm going to desert you?' she asked in superb -indignation. - -'No, no; of course not,' I protested, rather in a fright. 'I shouldn't -think of accusing you of such a thing.' - -'You know that's what you meant,' said Phroso, a world of reproach in -her voice. - -'My dear lady,' said I, 'getting you into trouble won't get me out of -it, and getting you out may get me out. Take that paper in your hand, -and go back to your people. Say nothing about Constantine just now; -play with him. You know what I've told you, and you won't be deluded -by him. Don't let him see that you know anything of the woman at the -cottage. It won't help you, it may hurt me, and it will certainly -bring her into greater danger; for, if nothing has happened to her -already, yet something may if his suspicions are aroused.' - -'I am to do all this. And what will you do, my lord?' - -'I say, don't call me "my lord"; we say "Lord Wheatley." What am I -going to do? I'm going to make a run for it.' - -'But they'll kill you!' - -'Then shall I stay here?' - -'Yes, stay here.' - -'But Constantine's fellows will be here before long.' - -'You must give yourself up to them, and tell them to bring you to me. -They couldn't hurt you then.' - -Well, I wasn't sure of that, but I pretended to believe it. The truth -is that I dared not tell Phroso what I had actually resolved to do. It -was a risky job, but it was a chance; and it was more than a chance. -It was very like an obligation that a man had no right to shrink from -discharging. Here was I, planning to make Phroso comfortable; that was -right enough. And here was I planning to keep my own skin whole; -well, a man does no wrong in doing that. But what of that unlucky -woman on the hill? I knew friend Constantine would take care that -Phroso should not come within speaking distance of her. Was nobody to -set her on her guard? Was I to leave her to her blind trust of the -ruffian whom she was unfortunate enough to call husband, and of his -tool Vlacho? Now I came to think of it, now that I was separated from -my friends and had no lingering hope of being able to beat Constantine -in fair fight, that seemed hardly the right thing, hardly a thing I -should care to talk about or think about, if I did save my own -precious skin. Would not Constantine teach his wife the secret of the -Stefanopouloi? Urged by these reflections, I made up my mind to play a -little trick on Phroso, and feigned to accept her suggestion that I -should rely on her to save me. Evidently she had great confidence in -her influence now that she held that piece of paper. I had less -confidence in it, for it was clear that Constantine wielded immense -power over these unruly islanders, and I thought it likely enough that -they would demand from Phroso a promise to marry him as the price of -obeying her; then, whether Constantine did or did not promise me my -life, I felt sure that he would do his best to rob me of it. - -Well, time pressed. I rose and unbolted the door of the house. Phroso -sat still. I looked along the road. I saw nobody, but I heard the -blast of the horn which had fallen on my ears once before and had -proved the forerunner of an attack. Phroso also heard it, for she sat -up, saying, 'Hark, they are summoning all the men to the town! That -means they are coming here.' - -But it meant something else also to me; if the men were summoned to -the town there would be fewer for me to elude in the wood. - -'Will they all go?' I asked, as though in mere curiosity. - -'All who are not on some duty,' she answered. - -I had to hope for the best; but Phroso went on in distress: - -'It means that they are coming here--here, to take you.' - -'Then you must lose no time in going,' said I, and I took her hand and -gently raised her to her feet. She stood there for a moment, looking -at me. I had let go her hand, but she took mine again now, and she -said with a sudden vehemence, and a rush of rich deep red on her -cheeks: - -'If they kill you, they shall kill me too.' - -The words gushed impetuously from her, but at the end there was a -choke in her throat. - -'No, no, nonsense,' said I. 'You've got the island now. You mustn't -talk like that.' - -'I don't care--' she began; and stopped short. - -'Besides, I shall pull through,' said I. - -She dropped my hand, but she kept her eyes on mine. - -'And if you get away?' she asked. 'What will you do? If you get to -Rhodes, what will you do?' - -'All I shall do is to lay an information against your cousin and the -innkeeper. The rest are ignorant fellows, and I bear them no malice. -Besides, they are your men now.' - -'And when you've done that?' she asked gravely. - -'Well, that'll be all there is to do,' said I, with an attempt at -playful gaiety. It was not a very happy attempt. - -'Then you'll go home to your own people?' - -'I shall go home; I've got no people in particular.' - -'Shall you ever come to Neopalia again?' - -'I don't know. Yes, if you invite me.' - -She regarded me intently for a full minute. She seemed to have -forgotten the blast of the horn that summoned the islanders. I also -had forgotten it; I saw nothing but the perfect oval face, crowned -with clustering hair and framing deep liquid eyes. Then she drew a -ring from her finger. - -'You have fought for me,' she said. 'You have risked your life for me. -Will you take this ring from me? Once I tried to stab you. Do you -remember, my lord?' - -I bowed my head, and Phroso set the ring on my finger. - -'Wear it till a woman you love gives you one to wear instead,' said -Phroso with a little smile. 'Then go to the edge of your island--you -are an islander too, are you not? so we are brethren--go to the edge -of your island and throw it into the sea; and perhaps, my dear friend, -the sea will bring it back, a message from you to me. For I think you -will never again come to Neopalia.' - -I made no answer: we walked together to the door of the house, and -paused again for a moment on the threshold. - -'See the blue sea!' said Phroso. 'Is it not--is not your island--a -beautiful island? If God brings you safe to your own land, my lord, as -I will pray Him to do on my knees, think kindly of your island, and of -one who dwells there.' - -The blast of the horn had died away. The setting sun was turning blue -to gold on the quiet water. The evening was very still, as we stood -looking from the threshold of the door, under the portal of the house -that had seen such strange wild doings, and had so swiftly made for -itself a place for ever in my life and memory. - -I glanced at Phroso's face. Her eyes were set on the sea, her cheeks -had turned pale again, and her lip was quivering. Suddenly came a loud -sharp note on the horn. - -'It is the signal for the start,' said she. 'I must go, or they will -be here in heat and anger, and I shall not be able to stop them. And -they will kill my lord. No, I will say "my lord."' - -She moved to leave me. I had answered nothing to all she had said. -What was there that an honourable man could say? Was there one thing? -I told myself (too eager to tell myself) that I had no right to -presume to say that. And anything else I would not say. - -'God bless you,' I said, as she moved away; I caught her hand and -again lightly kissed it. 'My homage to the Lady of the Island,' I -whispered. - -Her hand dwelt in mine a moment, briefer than our divisions of time -can reckon, fuller than is often the longest of them. Then, with one -last look, questioning, appealing, excusing, protesting, confessing, -ay, and (for my sins) hoping, she left me, and stepped along the rocky -road in the grace and glory of her youthful beauty. I stood watching -her, forgetting the woman at the cottage, forgetting my own danger, -forgetting even the peril she ran whom I watched, forgetting -everything save the old that bound me and the new that called me. So I -stood till she vanished from my sight; and still I stood, for she was -there, though the road hid her. And I was roused at last only by a -great cry of surprise, of fierce joy and triumph, that rent the still -air of the evening, and echoed back in rumblings from the hill. The -Neopalians were greeting their rescued Lady. - -Then I turned, snatched up Hogvardt's lance again, and fled through -the house to do my errand. For I would save that woman, if I could; -and my own life was not mine to lose any more than it was mine to give -to whom I would. And I recollect that, as I ran through the kitchen -and across the compound, making for the steps in the bank of rocks, I -said, 'God forgive me!' - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -HATS OFF TO ST TRYPHON! - - -A man's mind can move on more than one line; even the most engrossing -selfish care may fail entirely to occupy it or to shut out intruding -rivals. Not only should I have been wise, but I should have chosen, in -that risky walk of mine through the wood that covered the hill-slope, -to think of nothing but its risk. Yet countless other things exacted a -share of my thoughts and figured amongst my brain's images. Sometimes -I was with Denny and his faithful followers, threading dark and -devious ways in the bowels of the earth, avoiding deep waters on the -one side, sheer falls on the other, losing the track, finding it -again, deluded by deceptive glimmers of light, finding at last the -true outlet; now received hospitably by the Cypriote fishermen, now -fiercely assailed by them, again finding none of them; now making -allies of them, now carried prisoners by them to Constantine, again -scouring the sea with vain eagerness for a sight of their sails. Then -I was off, far away, to England, to my friends there, to the gaiety of -London now in its full rushing tide, to Mrs Hipgrave's exclusive -receptions, to Beatrice's gay talk and pretty insolence, to Hamlyn's -gilded dulness, in rapid survey of all the panorama that I knew so -well. Then I would turn back to the scene I had left, and again bid my -farewell under the quiet sky, in prospect of the sea that turned to -gold. So I passed back and forward till I seemed myself hardly a -thinking man, but rather a piece of blank glass, across which the -myriad mites of the kaleidoscope chased one another, covering it with -varying colours, but none of them imparting their hue to it. Yet all -this time, by the strange division of mental activity of which I have -spoken, I was crawling cautiously but quickly up the mountain side, -with eyes keen to pierce the dusk that now fell, with ears apt to find -an enemy in every rustling leaf and a hostile step in every woodland -sound. Of real foes I had as yet seen none. Ah! Hush! I dropped on my -knees. Away there on the right--what was it leaning against that -tree-trunk? It was a tall lean man; his arms rested on a long gun, and -his face was towards the old grey house. Would he see me? I crouched -lower. Would he hear me? I was as still as dead Spiro had lain in the -passage. But then I felt stealthily for the butt of my revolver, and -a recollection so startling came to me that I nearly betrayed myself -by some sudden movement. In the distribution of burdens for our -proposed journey, Denny had taken the case containing the spare -cartridges which remained after we had all reloaded. Now I had one -barrel only loaded, one shot only left. That one shot and Hogvardt's -lance were all my resources. I crouched yet lower. But the man was -motionless, and presently I ventured to move on my hands and knees, -sorely inconvenienced by the long lance, but determined not to leave -it behind me. I passed another sentry a hundred yards or so away on -the left; his head was sunk on his breast and he took no notice of me. -I breathed a little more freely as I came within fifty feet of the -cottage. - -Immediately about the house nobody was in sight. This however, in -Neopalia, did not always mean that nobody was near, and I abated none -of my caution. But the last step had to be taken; I crawled out from -the shelter of the trees, and crouched on one knee on the level space -in front of the cottage. The cottage door was open. I listened but -heard nothing. Well, I meant to go in; my entrance would be none the -easier for waiting. A quick dart was safest; in a couple of bounds I -was across, in the verandah, through the entrance, in the house. I -closed the door noiselessly behind me, and stood there, Hogvardt's -lance ready for the first man I saw; but I saw none. I was in a narrow -passage; there were doors on either side of me. Listening again, I -heard no sound from right or left. I opened the door to the right. I -saw a small square room: the table was spread for a meal, three places -being laid, but the room was empty. I turned to the other door and -opened it. This room was darker, for heavy curtains, drawn, no doubt, -earlier in the day to keep out the sun, had not been drawn back, and -the light was very dim. For a while I could make out little, but, my -eyes growing more accustomed to the darkness, I soon perceived that I -was in a sitting-room, sparsely and rather meanly furnished. Then my -eyes fell on a couch which stood against the wall opposite me. On the -couch lay a figure. It was the figure of a woman. I heard now the -slight but regular sound of her breath. She was asleep. This must be -the woman I sought. But was she a sensible woman? Or would she scream -when I waked her, and bring those tall fellows out of the wood? In -hesitation I stood still and watched her. She slept like one who was -weary, but not at peace: restless movements and, now and again, -broken incoherent exclamations witnessed to her disquiet. Presently -her broken sleep passed into half-wakeful consciousness, and she sat -up, looking round her with a dazed glance. - -'Is that you, Constantine?' she asked, rubbing her hands across her -eyes. 'Or is it Vlacho?' - -With a swift step I was by her. - -'Neither. Not a word!' I said, laying my hand on her shoulder. - -I was, I daresay, an alarming figure, with the butt of my revolver -peeping out of my pocket and Hogvardt's lance in my right hand. But -she did not cry out. - -'I am Wheatley. I have escaped from the house there,' I went on; 'and -I have come here because there's something I must tell you. You -remember our last meeting?' - -She looked at me still in amazed surprise, but with a gleam of -recollection. - -'Yes, yes. You were--we went to watch you--yes, at the restaurant.' - -'You went to watch and to listen? Yes, I supposed so. But I've been -near you since then. Do you remember the man who was on your -verandah?' - -'That was you?' she asked quickly. - -'Yes, it was. And while I was there I heard--' - -'But what are you doing here? This house is watched. Constantine may -be here any moment, or Vlacho.' - -'I'm as safe here as I was down the hill. Now listen. Are you this -man's wife, as he called you that night?' - -'Am I his wife? Of course I'm his wife. How else should I be here?' -The indignation expressed in her answer was the best guarantee of its -truth, and became her well. And she held her hand up to me, as she had -to the man himself in the restaurant, adding, 'There is his ring.' - -'Then listen to me, and don't interrupt,' said I brusquely. 'Time's -valuable to me, and even more, I fear, to you.' - -Her eyes were alarmed now, but she listened in silence as I bade her. -I told her briefly what had happened to me, and then I set before her -more fully the conversation between Constantine and Vlacho which I had -overheard. She clutched the cushions of the sofa in her clenched hand; -her breathing came quick and fast; her eyes gleamed at me even in the -gloom of the curtained room. I do not believe that in her heart she -was surprised at what she heard. She had mistrusted the man; her -manner, even on our first encounter, had gone far to prove that. She -received my story rather as a confirmation of her own suspicions than -as a new or startling revelation. She was fearful, excited, strung to -a high pitch; but astonished she was not, if I read her right. And -when I ended, it was not astonishment that clenched her lips and -brought to her eyes a look which I think Constantine himself would -have shrunk from meeting. I had paused at the end of my narrative, but -I recollected one thing more. I must warn her about the secret -passage; for that offered her husband too ready and easy a way of -relieving himself of his burden. But now she interrupted me. - -'This girl?' she said. 'I have not seen her. What is she like?' - -'She is very beautiful,' said I simply. 'She knows what I have told -you, and she is on her guard. You need fear nothing from her. It is -your husband whom you have to fear.' - -'He would kill me?' she asked, with a questioning glance. - -'You've heard what he said,' I returned. 'Put your own meaning on it.' - -She sprang to her feet. - -'I can't stay here; I can't stay here. Merciful heaven, they may come -any moment! Where are you going? How are you going to escape? You are -in as much danger as I am.' - -'I believe in even greater,' said I. 'I was going straight from here -down to the sea. If I can find my friends, we'll go through with the -thing together. If I don't find them, I shall hunt for a boat. If I -don't find a boat--well, I'm a good swimmer, and I shall live as long -in the water as in Neopalia, and die easier, I fancy.' - -She was standing now, facing me, and she laid her hand on my arm. - -'You stand by women, you Englishmen,' she said. 'You won't leave me to -be murdered?' - -'You see I am here. Doesn't that answer your question?' - -'My God, he's a fiend! Will you take me with you?' - -What could I do? Her coming gave little chance to her and robbed me of -almost all prospect of escape. But of course I could not leave her. - -'You must come if you can see no other way,' said I. - -'Why, what other is there? If I avoid him he will see I suspect him. -If I appear to trust him, I must put myself in his power.' - -'Then we must go,' said I. 'But it's a thousand to one that we don't -get through.' - -I had hardly spoken when a voice outside said, 'Is all well?' and a -heavy step echoed in the verandah. - -'Vlacho!' she hissed in a whisper. 'Vlacho! Are you armed?' - -'In a way,' said I, with a shrug. 'But there are at least two besides -him. I saw them in the wood.' - -'Yes, yes, true. There are four generally. It would be death. Here, -hide behind the curtains. I'll try to put him off for the moment. -Quick, quick!' - -She was hurried and eager, but I saw that her wits were clear. I -stepped behind the curtains and she drew them close. I heard her fling -herself again on the couch. Then came the innkeeper's voice, its -roughness softened in deferential greeting. - -At the same time a strong smell of eau de Cologne pervaded the room. - -'Am I well?' said Madame Stefanopoulos fretfully. 'My good Vlacho, I -am very ill. Should I sit in a dark room and bathe my head with this -stuff if I were well?' - -'My lady's sickness grieves me beyond expression,' said Vlacho -politely. 'And the more so because I am come from my Lord Constantine -with a message for you.' - -'It is easier for him to send messages than to come himself,' she -remarked, with an admirable pretence of resentment. - -'Think how occupied he has been with this pestilent Englishman!' said -the plausible Vlacho. 'We have had no peace. But at last I hope our -troubles are over. The house is ours again.' - -'Ah, you have driven them out?' - -'They fled themselves,' said Vlacho. 'But they are separated and we -shall catch them. Oh, yes, we know where to look for most of them.' - -'Then you've not caught any of them yet? How stupid you are!' - -'My lady is severe. No, we have caught none yet.' - -'Not even Wheatley himself?' she asked. 'Has he shown you a clean pair -of heels?' - -Vlacho's voice betrayed irritation as he answered: - -'We shall find him also in time, though heaven knows where the rascal -has hidden himself.' - -'You're really very stupid,' said Francesca. I heard her sniff her -perfume. 'And the girl?' she went on. - -'Oh, we have her safe and sound,' laughed Vlacho. 'She'll give no more -trouble.' - -'Why, what will you do with her?' - -'You must ask my lord that,' said Vlacho. 'If she will give up the -island, perhaps nothing.' - -'Ah, well, I take very little interest in her. Isn't my husband coming -to supper, Vlacho?' - -'To supper here, my lady? Surely no. The great house is ready now. -That is a more fitting place for my lady than this dog-hole. I am -here to escort you there. There my lord will sup with you. Oh, it's a -grand house!' - -'A grand house!' she echoed scornfully. 'Why, what is there to see in -it?' - -'Oh, many things,' said Vlacho. 'Yes, secrets, my lady! And my lord -bids me say that from love to you he will show you to-night the great -secret of his house. He desires to show his love and trust in you, and -will therefore reveal to you all his secrets.' - -When I, behind the curtain, heard the ruffian say this, I laid firmer -hold on my lance. But the lady was equal to Vlacho. - -'You're very melodramatic with your secrets,' she said contemptuously. -'I am tired, and my head aches. Your secrets will wait; and if my -husband will not come and sup with me, I'll sup alone here. Tell him I -can't come, please, Vlacho.' - -'But my lord was most urgent that you should come,' said Vlacho. - -'I would come if I were well,' said she. - -'But I could help you. If you would permit, I and my men would carry -you down all the way on your couch.' - -'My good Vlacho, you are very tedious, you and your men. And my -husband is tedious also, if he sent all these long messages. I am ill -and I will not come. Is that enough?' - -'My lord will be very angry if I return alone,' pleaded Vlacho humbly. - -'I'll write a certificate that you did your best to persuade me,' she -said with a scornful laugh. - -I heard the innkeeper's heavy feet move a step or two across the -floor. He was coming nearer to where she lay on the couch. - -'I daren't return without you,' said he. - -'Then you must stay here and sup with me.' - -'My lord does not love to be opposed.' - -'Then, my good Vlacho, he should not have married me,' she retorted. - -She played the game gallantly, fencing and parrying with admirable -tact, and with a coolness wonderful for a woman in such peril. My -heart went out to her, and I said to myself that she should not want -any help that I could give. - -She had raised her voice on the last words, and her defiant taunt rang -out clear and loud. It seemed to alarm Vlacho. - -'Hush, not so loud!' he said hastily. There was the hint of a threat -in his voice. - -'Not so loud!' she echoed. 'And why not so loud? Is there harm in what -I say?' - -I wondered at Vlacho's sudden fright. The idea shot into my head--and -the idea was no pleasant one--that there must be people within -earshot, perhaps people who had not been trusted with Constantine's -secrets, and would, for that reason, do his bidding better. - -'Harm! No, no harm; but no need to let every one hear,' said Vlacho, -confusedly and with evident embarrassment. - -'Every one? Who is here, then?' - -'I have brought one or two men to escort my lady,' said he. 'With -these cut-throat Englishmen about' (Bravo, bravo, Vlacho!) 'one must -be careful.' - -A scornful laugh proclaimed her opinion of his subterfuge, and she met -him with a skilful thrust. - -'But if they don't know--yes, and aren't to know that I am the wife of -Constantine, how can I go to the house and stay with him?' she asked. - -'Oh,' said he, ready again with his plausible half-truths, 'that is -one of the secrets. Must I tell my lady part of it? There is an -excellent hiding-place in the house, where my lord can bestow you most -comfortably. You will want for nothing, and nobody will know that you -are there, except the few faithful men who have guarded you here.' - -'Indeed, if I am still to be a stowaway, I'll stay here,' said she. -'If my lord will announce me publicly to all the island as his wife, -then I will come and take my place at the head of his house; but -without that I will not come.' - -'Surely you will be able to persuade him to that yourself,' said -Vlacho. 'But dare I make conditions with my lord?' - -'You will make them in my name,' she answered. 'Go and tell him what I -say.' - -A pause followed. Then Vlacho said in sullen obstinate tones: - -'I'll not go without you. I was ordered to bring you, and I will. -Come.' - -I heard the sudden rustle of her dress as she drew back; then a little -cry: 'You're hurting me.' - -'You must come,' said Vlacho. 'I shall call my men and carry you.' - -'I will not come,' she said in a low voice, resolute and fierce. - -Vlacho laughed. 'We'll see about that,' said he, and his heavy steps -sounded on the floor. - -'What are you going to the window for?' she cried. - -'To call Demetri and Kortes to help me,' said he; 'or will you come?' - -I drew back a pace, resting against the windowsill. Hogvardt's lance -was protruded before me. At that moment I asked nothing better than to -bury its point in the fat innkeeper's flesh. - -'You'll repent it if you do what you say,' said she. - -'I shall repent it more if I don't obey my lord,' said Vlacho. 'See, -my hand is on the curtains. Will you come, my lady?' - -'I will not come,' said she. - -There was one last short interval. I heard them both breathing, and I -held my own breath. My revolver rested in my pocket; the noise of a -shot would be fatal. With God's help I would drive the lance home with -one silent sufficient thrust. There would be a rogue less in the world -and another chance for her and me. - -'As you will, then,' said the innkeeper. - -The curtain-rings rattled along the rod; the heavy hangings gave back. -The moon, which was newly risen, streamed full in Vlacho's eyes and on -the pale strained face behind him. He saw me; he uttered one low -exclamation: 'Christ!' His hand flew to his belt. He drew a pistol out -and raised it; but I was too quick for him. I drove the great -hunting-knife on the end of the sapling full and straight into his -breast. With a groan he flung his arms over his head and fell -sideways, half-supported by the curtain till the fabric was rent away -from the rings and fell over his body, enveloping him in a thick pall. -I drew my lance back. The force of the blow had overstrained -Hogvardt's wire fastenings; the blade was bent to an angle with the -shaft and shook loosely from side to side. Vlacho's blood began to -curl in a meandering trickle from beneath the curtain. Madame -Stefanopoulos glared at me, speechless. But my eyes fell from her to -the floor; for there I saw two long black shadows. A sudden and -desperate inspiration seized me. She was my ally, I hers. If both were -held guilty of this act we could render no service to each other. If -she were still unsuspected--and nobody except myself had heard her -talk with Vlacho--she might yet help herself and me. - -'Throw me over,' I whispered in English. 'Cry for help.' - -'What?' - -'Cry. The men are there. You may help me afterwards.' - -'What, pretend--?' - -'Yes. Quick.' - -'But they'll--' - -'No, no. Quick, for God's sake, quick!' - -'God help us,' she whispered. Then she cried loudly, 'Help! help! -help!' - -I sprang towards her. There was the crash of a man leaping through the -open window. I turned. Behind him I saw Demetri standing in the -moonlight. Other figures hurried up; feet pattered on the hard ground. -The man who had leaped in--a very tall, handsome and athletic fellow, -whom I had not seen before--held to my head a long old-fashioned -pistol. I let my hands drop to my side and faced him with a smile on -my lips. It must be death to resist--death to me and death to my new -friend; surrender might open a narrow way of safety. - -'I yield,' said I. - -'Who are you?' he cried. - -'I am Lord Wheatley,' I answered. - -'But did you not fly to the--?' He stopped. - -'To the passage?' said I. 'No, I came here. I was trying to escape. I -came in while Madame here was asleep and hid behind the curtain.' - -'Yes, yes,' said she. 'It is so, Kortes, it is as he says; and then -Vlacho came--' - -'And,' said I, 'when the lady had agreed to go with Vlacho, Vlacho -came to the window to call you; and by misadventure, sir, he came on -me behind the curtain. And--won't you see whether he's dead?' - -'Kill him, Kortes, kill him!' cried Demetri, fiercely and suddenly, -from the window. - -Kortes turned round. - -'Peace!' said he. 'The man has yielded. Do I kill men who have -yielded? The Lady of the island and my Lord Constantine must decide -his fate; it is not my office. Are you armed, sir?' - -It went to my heart to give up that last treasured shot of mine. But -he was treating me as an honourable man. I handed him my revolver with -a bow, saying: - -'I depend on you to protect me from that fellow and the rest till you -deliver me to those you speak of.' - -'In my charge you are safe,' said Kortes, and he stooped down and -lifted the curtain from Vlacho's face. The innkeeper stirred and -groaned. He was not dead yet. Kortes turned round to Demetri. - -'Stay here and tend him. Do what you can for him. When I am able, I -will send aid to him; but I don't think he will live.' - -Demetri scowled. He seemed not to like the part assigned to him. - -'Are you going to take this man to my Lord Constantine?' he asked. -'Leave another with Vlacho, and let me come with you to my lord.' - -'Who should better stay with Vlacho than his nephew Demetri?' asked -Kortes with a smile. (This relationship was a new light to me.) 'I am -going to do what my duty is. Come, no questioning. Do not I command, -now Vlacho is wounded?' - -'And the lady here?' asked Demetri. - -'I am not ordered to lay a finger on the lady,' answered Kortes. -'Indeed I don't know who she is.' - -Francesca interposed with great dignity: - -'I will come with you,' said she. 'I have my story to tell when this -gentleman is put on his trial. Who I am you will know soon.' - -Demetri had climbed in at the window. He passed me with a savage -scowl, and I noticed that one side of his head was bound with a -bloodstained bandage. He saw me looking at it. - -'Aye,' he growled, 'I owe you the loss of half an ear.' - -'In the passage?' I hazarded, much pleased. - -'I shall pay the debt,' said he, 'or see it paid handsomely for me by -my lord.' - -'Come,' said Kortes, 'let us go.' - -Fully believing that the fact of Kortes being in command instead of -Demetri had saved me from instant death, I was not inclined to dispute -his orders. I walked out of the house and took the place he indicated -to me in the middle of a line of islanders, some ten or twelve in -number. Kortes placed himself by my side, and Madame Stefanopoulos -walked on his other hand. The islanders maintained absolute silence. I -followed their example, but my heart (I must confess) beat as I -waited to see in what direction our column was to march. We started -down the hill towards the house. If we were going to the house I had -perhaps twenty minutes to live, and the lady who was with us would not -long survive me. In vain I scanned Kortes's comely grave features. He -marched with the impassive regularity of a grenadier and displayed -much the same expressionless steadiness of face. Nearer to the fatal -house we came; but my heart gave a sudden leap of hope and excitement, -for Kortes cried softly, 'To the right.' We turned down the path that -led up from the town, leaving the house on the left. We were not going -straight to death then, and every respite was pregnant with unforeseen -chances of escape. I touched Kortes on the shoulder. - -'Where are we going?' I asked. - -'To the town,' he answered. - -Again in silence we pursued our way down the hillside. The path -broadened and the incline became less steep; a few lights twinkled -from the sea, which now spread before us. Still we went on. Then I -heard the bell of a church strike twelve. The strokes ended, but -another bell began to ring. Our escort stopped with one accord. They -took off their caps and signed the cross on their breasts. Kortes did -the same as the rest. I looked at him in question, but he said -nothing till the caps were replaced and we were on our way again. Then -he said: - -'To-day is the feast of St Tryphon. Didn't you know?' - -'No,' said I. 'St Tryphon I know, but his feast is not kept always on -this day.' - -'Always on this day in Neopalia,' he answered, and he seemed to look -at me as though he were asking me some unspoken question. - -The feast of St Tryphon might have interested me very much at any -ordinary time, but just now my study of the customs of the islanders -had been diverted into another channel, and I did not pursue the -subject. Kortes walked in silence some little way farther. We had now -reached the main road and were descending rapidly towards the town. I -saw again the steep narrow street, empty and still in the moonlight. -We held on our way till we came to a rather large square building, -which stood back from the road and had thus escaped my notice when we -passed it on the evening of our arrival. Before this Kortes halted. -'Here you must lodge with me,' said he. 'Concerning the lady I have no -orders.' - -Madame Stefanopoulos caught my arm. - -'I must stay too,' said she. 'I can't go back to my house.' - -'It is well,' said Kortes calmly. 'There are two rooms.' - -The escort ranged themselves outside the building, which appeared to -be either a sort of barrack or a place of confinement. We three -entered. At a sign from Kortes, Madame Stefanopoulos passed into a -large room on the right. I followed him into a smaller room, scantily -furnished, and flung myself in exhaustion on a wooden bench that ran -along the wall. For an instant Kortes stood regarding me. His face -seemed to express hesitation, but the look in his eyes was not -unfriendly. The bell, which had continued to ring till now, ceased. -Then Kortes said to me in a low voice: - -'Take courage, my lord. For a day you are safe. Nor even Constantine -would dare to kill a man on the feast of St Tryphon.' - -Before I could answer he was gone. I heard the bolt of the door run -home. I was a prisoner. - -Yet I took courage as he bade me. Four-and-twenty hours' life was more -than I had been able to count on for some time past. So I also doffed -my hat in honour of the holy St Tryphon. And presently I lifted my -legs on to the bench, took off my coat and made a pillow of it, and -went to sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE JUSTICE OF THE ISLAND - - -Helplessness brings its own peculiar consolation. After a week's -planning and scheming what you will do to the enemy, it is a kind of -relief to sit with hands in pockets and wonder what the enemy may be -pleased to do with you. This relaxation was vouchsafed to my brain -when I awoke in the morning and found the sun streaming into the -whitewashed cell-like room. It was the feast of St Tryphon, all praise -to him! Kortes said that I could not be executed that day. I doubted -Constantine's scruples; yet probably he would not venture to outrage -the popular sentiment of Neopalia. But nothing forbade my execution -to-morrow. Well, to-morrow is to-morrow, and to-day is to-day, and -there will be that difference between them so long as the world lasts. -I stretched myself and yawned luxuriously. I was, strangely enough, in -a hopeful frame of mind. I made sure that Denny had found his way -safely, and that the Cypriote fishermen had been benevolent. I proved -to myself that with Constantine's exposure his power would end. I -plumed myself on having put Vlacho _hors de combat_. I believe I said -to myself that villainy would not triumph, that honest men would come -by their own, and that unprotected beauty would find help from heaven: -convictions which showed that relics of youth hung about me, and (I am -afraid it depends on this rather) that I was feeling very well after -my refreshing sleep. - -Alas, my soothing reveries were rudely interrupted. - - 'At a touch sweet pleasure melteth, - Like to bubbles when rain pelteth!' - -And at the sound of a gruff voice outside my dreams melted: harsh -reality was pressing hard on me again, crushing hope into resignation, -buoyancy into a grim resolve to take what came with courage. - -'Bring him out,' cried the voice. - -'It's that brute Demetri,' said I to myself, wondering what had become -of my friendly gaoler, Kortes. - -A moment later half-a-dozen men filed into the room, Demetri at their -head. I asked him what he wanted. He answered only with a command -that I should get up. 'Bring him along,' he added to his men; and we -walked out into the street. - -Evidently Neopalia was _en fête_. The houses were decked with flags; -several windows exhibited pictures of the Saint. Women in their gay -and spotlessly clean holiday attire strolled along the road, holding -their children by the hand. Everybody made way for our procession, -many whispers and pointed fingers proving the interest and curiosity -which it was my unwilling privilege to arouse. For about a quarter of -a mile we mounted the road, then we turned suddenly down to the left -and began to descend again towards the sea. Soon now we arrived at the -little church whose bell I had heard. Here we halted; and presently -another procession appeared from the building. An old white-bearded -man headed it, carrying a large picture of St. Tryphon. The old man's -dress was little different from that of the rest of the islanders, but -he wore the gown and cap of a priest. He was followed by some -attendants; the women and children fell in behind him, three or four -cripples brought up the rear, praying as they went, and stretching out -their hands towards the sacred picture which the old man carried. At a -sign from Demetri we also put ourselves in motion again, and the whole -body of us thus made for the seashore. But some three hundred yards -short of the water I perceived a broad level space, covered with -short rough turf and surrounded for about half its circuit by a -crescent-shaped bank two or three feet high. On this bank sat some -twenty people, and crowded in front of it was the same ragged -picturesque company of armed peasants that I had seen gather in the -street on the occasion of our arrival. The old man with the picture -made his way to the centre of the level ground. Thrice he raised the -picture towards the sky, every one uncovering his head and kneeling -down the while. He began to pray, but I did not listen to what he -said; for by this time my attention had wandered from him and was -fixed intently on a small group which occupied the centre of the -raised bank. There, sitting side by side, with the space of a foot or -so between them, were Phroso and her cousin Constantine. On a rude -hurdle, covered with a rug, at Constantine's feet lay Vlacho, his face -pale and his eyes closed. Behind Phroso stood my new acquaintance, -Kortes, with one hand on the knife in his girdle and the other holding -a long gun, which rested on the ground. One figure I missed. I looked -round for Constantine's wife, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then I -looked again at Phroso. She was dressed in rich fine garments of -white, profusely embroidered, but her face was paler even than -Vlacho's, and when I sought her eyes she would not meet mine, but -kept her gaze persistently lowered. Constantine sat motionless, with a -frown on his brow but a slight smile on his lips, as he waited with an -obviously forced patience through the long rigmarole of the old man's -prayer. - -Evidently important business was to be transacted; yet nobody seemed -to be in a hurry to arrive at it. When the old priest had finished his -prayers the cripples came and prostrated themselves before the sacred -picture. No miracle, however, followed; and the priest took up the -tale again, pouring forth a copious harangue, in which I detected -frequent references to 'the barbarians'--a term he used to denote my -friends, myself, and all the world apparently, except the islanders of -Neopalia. Then he seated himself between Phroso and Constantine, who -made room for him. I was surprised to see him assume so much dignity, -but I presumed that he was treated with exceptional honour on the -feast day. When he had taken his place, about twenty of the men came -into the middle of the ring and began to dance, arranging themselves -in a semicircle, moving at first in slow rhythmical steps, and -gradually quickening their motions till they ended with a wonderful -display of activity. During this performance Phroso and Constantine -sat still and impassive, while Vlacho's lifeless face was scorched by -the growing heat of the sun. The men who had been told off to watch -me leaned on their long guns, and I wondered wearily when my part in -this strangely mixed ceremony was to begin. - -At last it came. The dance ended, the performers flung themselves -fatigued on the turf, there was a hush of expectation, and the -surrounding crowd of women and children drew closer in towards where -the rest of the men had taken up their position in ranks on either -side of the central seats. 'Step forward,' said one of my guards, and -I, obeying him, lifted my hat and bowed to Phroso. Then replacing my -hat, I stood waiting the pleasure of the assembly. All eyes were fixed -on Constantine, who remained seated and silent yet a little while -longer. Then he rose slowly to his feet, bowed to Phroso, and pointed -in a melodramatic fashion at Vlacho's body. But I was not in the least -inclined to listen to an oration in the manner of Mark Antony over the -body of Cæsar, and just as Constantine was opening his mouth I -observed loudly: - -'Yes, I killed him, and the reason no man knows better than -Constantine Stefanopoulos.' - -Constantine glared at me, and, ignoring the bearing of my remark, -launched out on an eulogium of the dead innkeeper. It was coldly -received. Vlacho's virtues were not recognised by any outburst of -grief or indignation; indeed there was a smothered laugh or two when -Constantine called him 'a brave true man.' The orator detected his -failure and shifted his ground dexterously, passing on, in rapid -transition, to ask in what quarrel Vlacho had died. Now he was -gripping his audience. They drew closer; they became very still; angry -and threatening glances were bent on me. Constantine lashed himself to -fury as he cried, 'He died for our island, which this barbarian claims -as his!' - -'He died--' I began; but a heavy hand on my shoulder and the menace of -a knife cut short my protest. Demetri had come and taken his stand by -me, and I knew that Demetri would jump at the first excuse to make my -silence perpetual. So I held my peace, and the men caught up -Constantine's last point, crying angrily, 'Ay, he takes our island -from us.' - -'Yes,' said Constantine, 'he has taken our island, and he claims it -for his. He has killed our brethren and put our Lady out of her -inheritance. What shall he suffer? For although we may not kill on St -Tryphon's day, we may judge on it, and the sentence may be performed -at daybreak to-morrow. What shall this man suffer? Is he not worthy of -death?' - -It was what lawyers call a leading question, and it found its -expected answer in a deep fierce growl, of 'Death, death!' Clearly the -island was the thing, Vlacho's death merely an incidental affair of no -great importance. I suppose that Phroso understood this as well as I, -for now she rose suddenly. Constantine seemed disinclined to suffer -the interruption; but she stood her ground firmly, though her face was -very pale, and I saw her hands tremble. At last he sank back on to the -bank. - -'Why this turmoil?' she asked. 'The stranger did not know our customs. -He thought that the island was his by right, and when he was attacked -he defended himself. I pray you may all fight as bravely as he has -fought.' - -'But the island, the island!' they cried. - -'Yes,' said she, 'I also love the island. Well, he has given back the -island to me. Behold his writing!' She held up the paper which I had -given to her and read the writing aloud in a clear voice. 'What have -you against him now?' she asked. 'His people have loved the Hellenes. -He has given back the island. Why shall he not depart in peace?' - -The effect was great. The old priest seized the paper and scanned it -eagerly: it was snatched from him and passed rapidly from hand to -hand, greeted with surprised murmurs and intense excitement. Phroso -stood watching its progress. Constantine sat with a heavy scowl on his -face, and the frown grew yet deeper when I smiled at him with pleasant -urbanity. - -'It is true,' said the priest, with a sigh of relief. 'He has given -back the island. He need not die.' - -Phroso sat down; a sudden faintness seemed to follow on the strain, -and I saw Kortes support her with his arm. But Constantine was not -beaten yet. He sprang up and cried in bitterly scornful tones: - -'Ay, let him go--let him go to Rhodes and tell the Governor that you -sought to slay him and his friends, and that you extorted the paper -from him by threat of death, and that he gave it in fear, but did not -mean it, and that you are turbulent murderous men who deserve great -punishment. How guileless you are, O Neopalians! But this man is not -guileless. He can delude a girl. He can delude you also, it seems. Ay, -let him go with his story to the Governor at Rhodes, and do you hide -in the rocks when the Governor comes with his soldiers. Hide -yourselves, and hide your women, when the soldiers come to set this -man over your island and to punish you! Do you not remember when the -Governor came before? Is not the mark of his anger branded on your -hearts?' - -Hesitation and suspicion were aroused again by this appeal. Phroso -seemed bewildered at it and gazed at her cousin with parted lips. -Angry glances were again fixed on me. But the old priest rose and -stretched out his hand for silence. - -'Let the man speak for himself,' he said. 'Let him tell us what he -will do if we set him free. It may be that he will give us an oath not -to harm us, but to go away peaceably to his own land and leave us our -island. Speak, sir. We will listen.' - -I was never much of a hand at a speech, and I did not enjoy being -faced with the necessity of making one which might have such important -results this way or that. But I was quite clear in my own mind what I -wanted to say; so I took a step forward and began: - -'I bear you Neopalians no malice,' said I. 'You've not succeeded in -hurting me, and I suppose you've not caught my friends, or they would -be here, prisoners as I am a prisoner. Now I have killed two good men -of yours, Vlacho there, and Spiro. I am content with that. I'll cry -you quits. I have given back the island to the Lady Euphrosyne; and -what I give to a woman--ay, or to a man--I do not ask again either of -a Governor or of anybody else. Therefore your island is safe, and I -will swear to that by what oath you will. And, so far as I have power, -no man or woman of all who stand round me shall come to any harm by -reason of what has been done; and to that also I will swear.' - -They had heard me intently, and they nodded in assent and approbation -when the old priest, true to his part of peacemaker, looking round, -said: - -'He speaks well. He will not do what my lord feared. He will give us -an oath. Why should he not depart in peace?' - -Phroso's eyes sought mine, and she smiled sadly. Constantine was -gnawing his finger nails and looking as sour as a man could look. It -went to my heart to go on, for I knew that what I had to say next -would give him another chance against me; but I preferred that risk to -the only alternative. - -'Wait,' said I. 'An oath is a sacred thing, and I swore an oath when I -was there in the house of the Stefanopouloi. There is a man here who -has done murder on an old man his kinsman, who has contrived murder -against a woman, who has foully deceived a girl. With that man I'll -not cry quits; for I swore that I would not rest till he paid the -penalty of his crimes. By that oath I stand. Therefore, when I go -from here, I shall, as Constantine Stefanopoulos has said, go to -Rhodes and to the Governor, and I shall pray him to send here to -Neopalia, and take that one man and hang him on the highest tree in -the island. And I will come with the Governor's men and see that thing -done. Then I will go peaceably to my own land.' - -There was a pause of surprise. Constantine lifted his lids and looked -at me; I saw his hand move towards a pocket. I suspected what lay in -that pocket. I heard low eager whisperings and questions. At last the -old priest asked in a timid hesitating voice: - -'Who is this man of whom you speak?' - -'There he is,' said I. 'There--Constantine Stefanopoulos.' - -The words were hardly out when Demetri clapped a large hairy hand -across my mouth, whispering fiercely, 'Hold your tongue.' I drew back -a step and struck him fairly between the eyes. He went down. A hoarse -cry rose from the crowd; but in an instant Kortes had leapt from where -he stood behind Phroso and was by my side. I had some adherents also -among the bystanders; for I had been bidden to speak freely, and -Demetri had no authority to silence me. - -'Yes, Constantine Stefanopoulos,' I cried. 'Did he not stab the old -man after he had yielded? Did he not--' - -'The old man sold the island,' growled a dozen low fierce voices; but -the priest's rose high above them. - -'We are not here to judge my Lord Constantine,' said he, 'but this man -here.' - -'We all had a hand in the business of the old man,' said Demetri, who -had picked himself up and was looking very vicious. - -'You lie, and you know it,' said I hotly. 'He had yielded, and the -rest had left off attacking him; but Constantine stabbed him. Why did -he stab him?' - -There came no answer, and Constantine caught at this advantage. - -'Yes,' he cried. 'Why? Why should I stab him? He was stabbed by some -one who did not know that he had yielded.' Then I saw his eye fall -suddenly on Vlacho. Dead men tell no tales and deny no accusations. - -'Since Vlacho is dead,' Constantine went on with wonderful readiness, -'my tongue is loosed. It was Vlacho who, in his hasty zeal, stabbed -the old man.' - -He had gained a point by this clever lie, and he made haste to press -it to the full against me. - -'This man,' he exclaimed, 'will go to Rhodes and denounce me! But did -I kill the old man alone? Did I besiege the Englishman alone? Will the -Governor be content with one victim? Is it not one head in ten when he -comes to punish? Men of the island, it is your lives and my life -against this man's life!' - -They were with him again, and many shouted: - -'Let him die! Let him die!' - -Then suddenly, before I could speak, Phroso rose, and, stretching out -her hands towards me, said: - -'Promise what they ask, my lord. Save your own life, my lord. If my -cousin be guilty, heaven will punish him.' - -But I did not listen even to her. With a sudden leap I was free from -those who held me; for, in the ranks of listening women, I saw that -old woman whom we had found watching by the dying lord of the island. -I seized her by the wrist and dragged her into the middle, crying to -her: - -'As God's above you, tell the truth. Who stabbed the old lord? Whose -name did he utter in reproach when he lay dying?' - -She stood shivering and trembling in the centre of the throng. The -surprise of my sudden action held them all silent and motionless. - -'Did he not say "Constantine! You, Constantine"?' I asked, 'just -before he died?' - -The old woman's lips moved, but no sound came; she was half dead with -fear and fastened fascinated eyes on Constantine. He surveyed her with -a rigid smile on his pale face. - -'Speak the truth, woman,' I cried. 'Speak the truth.' - -'Yes, speak the truth,' said Constantine, his eyes gleaming in triumph -as he turned a glance of hatred on me. 'Tell us truly who killed my -uncle.' - -My witness failed me. The terror of Constantine, which had locked her -tongue when I questioned her at the house, lay on her still: the -single word that came from her trembling lips was 'Vlacho.' -Constantine gave a cry of triumph, Demetri a wild shout; the islanders -drew together. My chance looked black. Even St Tryphon would hardly -save me from immediate death. But I made another effort. - -'Swear her on the sacred picture,' I cried. 'Swear her on the picture. -If she swears by the picture, and then says it was Vlacho, I am -content to die as a false accuser, and to die here and now.' - -My bold challenge won me a respite: it appealed to their rude sense of -justice and their strong leaven of superstition. - -'Yes, let her swear on the sacred picture,' cried several. 'Then we -shall know.' - -The priest brought the picture to her and swore her on it with great -solemnity. She shook her head feebly and fell to choked weeping. But -the men round her were resolute, one of them menacing even Constantine -himself when he began to ask whether her first testimony were not -enough. - -'Now you are sworn, speak,' said the priest solemnly. - -A hush fell on us all. If she answered 'Constantine,' my life still -hung by a thread; but by saying 'Vlacho' she would cut the thread. She -looked at me, at Constantine, then up to the sky, while her lips moved -in rapid whispered prayers. - -'Speak,' said the priest to her gently. - -Then she spoke in low fearful tones. - -'Vlacho was there, and his knife was ready. But my lord yielded, and -cried that he would not sell the island. When they heard that they -drew back, Vlacho with the rest. But my Lord Constantine struck; and -when my lord lay dying it was the name of Constantine that he uttered -in reproach.' And the old woman reeled and would have fallen, and then -flung herself on the ground at Constantine's feet, crying, 'Pardon, my -lord, pardon! I could not swear falsely on the picture. Ah, my lord, -mercy, mercy!' - -But Constantine, though he had, as I do not doubt, a good memory for -offences, could not afford to think of the old woman now. One instant -he sat still, then he sprang to his feet, crying: - -'Let my friends come round me! Yes, if you will, I killed the old man. -Was not the deed done? Was not the island sold? Was he not bound to -this man here? The half of the money had been paid! If he had lived, -and if this man had lived, they would have brought soldiers and -constrained us. So I slew him, and therefore I have sought to kill the -stranger also. Who blames me? If there be any, let him stand now by -the stranger, and let my friends stand by me. Have we not had enough -talk? Is it not time to act? Who loves Neopalia? Who loves me?' - -While he spoke many had been gathering round him. With every fresh -appeal more flocked to him. There were but three or four left now, -wavering between him and me, and Kortes alone stood by my side. - -'Are you children, that you shrink from me because I struck a blow for -our country? Was the old man to escape and live to help this man to -take our island? Yes, I, Constantine Stefanopoulos, though I was blood -of his blood--I killed him. Who blames me? Shall we not finish the -work? There the stranger stands! Men of the island, shall we not -finish the work?' - -'Well, it's come at last,' thought I to myself. St. Tryphon would not -stop it now. 'It's no use,' I said to Kortes. 'Don't get yourself into -trouble!' Then I folded my arms and waited. But I do not mean to say -that I did not turn a little pale. Perhaps I did. At any rate I -contrived to show no fear except in that. - -The islanders looked at one another and then at Constantine. Friend -Constantine had been ready with his stirring words, but he did not -rush first to the attack. Besides myself there was Kortes, who had not -left his place by me, in spite of my invitation to him. And Kortes -looked as though he could give an account of one or two. But the -hesitation among Constantine's followers did not last long. Demetri -was no coward at all events, although he was as big a scoundrel as I -have known. He carried a great sword which he must have got from the -collection on the walls of the hall; he brandished it now over his -head and rushed straight at me. It seemed to be all over, and I -thought that the best I could do was to take it quietly; so I stood -still. But on a sudden I was pulled back by a powerful arm. Kortes -flung me behind him and stood between me and Demetri's rush. An -instant later ten or more of them were round Kortes. He struck at -them, but they dodged him. One cried, 'Don't hurt Kortes,' and -another, running agilely round, caught his arms from behind, and, all -gathering about him, they wrested his weapons from him. My last -champion was disarmed; he had but protracted the bitterness of death -for me by his gallant attempt. I fixed my eyes steadily on the horizon -and waited. The time of my waiting must have been infinitesimal, yet I -seemed to wait some little while. Then Demetri's great sword flashed -suddenly between me and the sky. But it did not fall. Another flash -came--the flash of white, darting across between me and the grim -figure of my assailant--and Phroso, pale, breathless, trembling in -every limb, yet holding her head bravely, and with anger gleaming in -her dark eyes, cried: - -'If you kill him you must kill me; I will not live if he dies.' - -Even Demetri paused; the rest gave back. I saw Constantine's -hatchet-face peering in gloomy wrath and trembling excitement from -behind the protecting backs of his stout adherents. But Demetri, -holding his sword poised for the stroke, growled angrily: - -'What is his life to you, Lady?' - -Phroso drew herself up. Her face was away from me, but as she spoke I -saw a sudden rush of red spread over her neck; yet she spoke steadily -and boldly in a voice that all could hear: - -'His life is my life; for I love him as I love my life--ah, and God -knows, more, more, more!' - -[Illustration: "WHAT IS HIS LIFE TO YOU, LADY?"] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE LAST CARD - - -In most families--at least among those that have any recorded history -to boast of or to deplore--there is a point of family pride: with one -it is grace of manner; with another, courage; with a third, -statecraft; with a fourth, chivalrous loyalty to a lost cause or a -fallen prince. Tradition adds new sanction to the cherished -excellence; it becomes the heirloom of the house, the mark of the -race--in the end, perhaps, a superstition before which greater things -go down. If the men cling to it they are compensated by licence in -other matters; the women are held in honour if they bear sons who do -not fail in it. It becomes a new god, with its worship and its altar; -and often the altar is laden with costly sacrifices. Wisdom has little -part in the cult, and the virtues that are not hallowed by hereditary -recognition are apt to go unhonoured and unpractised. I have heard it -said, and seen it written, that we Wheatleys have, as a stock, few -merits and many faults. I do not expect my career--if, indeed, I had -such an ambitious thing as a career in my life's wallet--to reverse -that verdict. But no man has said or written of us that we do not keep -faith. Here is our pride and palladium. Promises we neither break nor -ask back. We make them sometimes lightly; it is no matter: substance, -happiness, life itself must be spent in keeping them. I had learnt -this at my mother's knee. I myself had seen thousands and thousands -poured forth to a rascally friend on the strength of a schoolboy -pledge which my father made. 'Folly, folly!' cried the world. Whether -it were right or not, who knows? We wrapped ourselves in the scanty -mantle of our one virtue and went our way. We always--but a man grows -tedious when he talks of his ancestors; he is like a doting old -fellow, garrulous about his lusty youth. Enough of it. Yet not more -than enough, for I carried this religion of mine to Neopalia, and -built there an altar to it, and prepared for my altar the rarest -sacrifice. Was I wrong? I do not care to ask. - -'His life is my life. For I love him as my life.' The words rang in my -ears, seeming to echo again through the silence that followed them: -they were answered in my heart by beats of living blood. 'Was it -true?' flashed through my brain. Was it truth or stratagem, a noble -falsehood or a more splendid boldness? I did not know. The words were -strange, yet to me they were not incredible. Had we not lived through -ages together in those brief full hours in the old grey house? And the -parting in the quiet evening had united while it feigned to sever. I -believe I shut my eyes, not to see the slender stately form that stood -between death and me. When I looked again, Demetri and his angry -comrades had fallen back and stood staring in awkward bewilderment, -but the women had crowded in upon us with eager excited faces; one -broad-browed kindly creature had run to Phroso and caught her round -the waist, and was looking in her eyes, and stroking her hand, and -murmuring soft woman's comforting. Demetri took a step forward. - -'Come, if you dare!' cried the woman, bold as a legion of men. 'Is a -dog like you to come near my Lady Euphrosyne?' And Phroso turned her -face away from the men and hid it in the woman's bosom. - -Then came a cold rasping voice, charged with a bitter anger that -masqueraded as amusement. - -'What is this comedy, cousin?' asked Constantine. 'You love this man? -You, the Lady of the island--you who have pledged your troth to me?' -He turned to the people, spreading out his hands. - -'You all know,' said he--'you all know that we are plighted to one -another.' - -A murmuring assent greeted his words. 'Yes, they are betrothed,' I -heard half-a-dozen mutter, as they directed curious glances at Phroso. -'Yes, while the old lord lived they were betrothed.' - -Then I thought it time for me to take a hand in the game; so I stepped -forward, in spite of Kortes's restraining arm. - -'Be careful,' he whispered. 'Be careful.' - -I looked at him. His face was drawn and pale, like the face of a man -in pain, but he smiled still in his friendly open fashion. - -'I must speak,' I said. I walked up to within two yards of -Constantine, the islanders giving way before me, and I said loudly and -distinctly: - -'Was that same betrothal before you married your wife or afterwards?' - -He sprang half-way up from his seat, as if to leap upon me, but he -sank back again, his face convulsed with passion and his fingers -picking furiously at the turf by his side. 'His wife!' went round the -ring in amazed whisperings. - -'Yes, his wife,' said I. 'The wife who was with him when I saw him in -my country; the wife who came with him here, who was in the cottage -on the hill, whom Vlacho would have dragged by force to her death, who -lay last night yonder in the guardhouse. Where is she, Constantine -Stefanopoulos? Or is she dead now, and you free to wed the Lady -Euphrosyne? Is she alive, or has she by now learnt the secret of the -Stefanopouloi?' - -I do not know which made more stir among the people, my talk of his -wife or my hint about the secret. They crowded round me, hemming me -in. I saw Phroso no more; but Kortes pushed his way to my side. Then -the eyes of all turned on Constantine, where he sat with face working -and nails fiercely plucking the turf. - -'What is this lie?' he cried. 'I know nothing of a wife. True, there -was a woman in the cottage.' - -'Ay, there was a woman in the cottage,' said Kortes. 'And she was in -the guardhouse; but I did not know who she was, and I had no commands -concerning her; and this morning she was gone.' - -'That woman is his wife,' said I; 'but he and Vlacho had planned to -kill her, in order that he might marry your Lady and have your island -for himself.' - -Demetri suddenly cried, with a great appearance of horror and -disgust: - -'Shall he live to speak such a slander against my lord?' - -But Demetri gained no attention. I had made too much impression. - -'Who was the woman, then,' said I, 'and where is she?' - -Constantine, tricky and resourceful, looked again on the dead Vlacho. - -'I may not tell my friend's secrets,' said he, with an admirable -assumption of honour. 'And a foul blow has sealed Vlacho's lips.' - -'Yes,' cried I. 'Vlacho killed the old lord, and Vlacho brought the -woman! Indeed Vlacho serves my lord as well dead as when he lived! For -now his lips are sealed. Come, then--Vlacho bought the island, and -Vlacho slew Spiro, and now Vlacho has slain himself! Neither -Constantine nor I have done anything; but it is all Vlacho--the useful -Vlacho--Vlacho--Vlacho!' - -Constantine's face was a sight to see, and he looked no pleasanter -when my irony wrung smiles from some of the men round him, while -others bit their lips to stop smiles that sought to come. - -'Oh faithful servant!' I cried, apostrophising Vlacho, 'heavy are thy -sins! May'st thou find mercy for them!' - -I did not know what cards Constantine held. If he had succeeded in -spiriting away his wife, by fair means or foul, he had the better -chance; but if she were still free, alive and free, then he played a -perilous hand and was liable to be utterly confounded. Yet he was -forced to action; I had so moved the people that they looked for more -than mere protests from him. - -'The stranger who came to steal our island,' said he, skilfully -prejudicing me by this description, 'asks me where the woman is. But I -ask it of him--where is she? For it stands with him to put her before -you that she may tell you whether I, Constantine Stefanopoulos, am -lying to you. Yet how long is it since you doubted the words of the -Stefanopouloi and believed strangers rather than them?' - -His appeal won on them. They met it with murmured applause. - -'You know me, you know my family,' he cried. 'Yet you hearken to the -desperate words of a man who fights for his life with lies! How shall -I satisfy you? For I have not the woman in my keeping. But have you -not heard me when I swore my love for my cousin before you and the old -lord who is dead? Am I a man to be forsworn? Shall I swear to you -now?' - -The current began to run strongly with him. He had called to his aid -patriotism, and the old clan-loyalty which bound the Neopalians to -his house, and they did not fail him. The islanders were ready to -trust him if he would pledge himself to them. - -'Swear then!' they cried. 'Swear to us on the sacred picture that what -the stranger says is a lie.' - -'On the sacred picture?' said he. 'Is it not too great and holy an -oath for such a matter? Is not my word enough for you?' - -But the old priest stepped forward. - -'It is a great matter,' said he, 'for it touches closely the honour of -your house, my lord, and on it hangs a man's life. Is any oath too -great when honour and life lie in the balance? Let your life stand -against his, for he who swears thus and falsely has no long life in -Neopalia. Here we guard the honour of St Tryphon.' - -'Yes, swear on the picture,' cried the people. 'It is enough if you -swear on the picture!' - -I could see that Constantine was not in love with the suggestion, but -he accepted it with tolerable grace, acquiescing in the old priest's -argument with a half-disdainful shrug. The people greeted his consent -with obvious pleasure, save only Demetri, who regarded him with a -doubtful expression. Demetri knew the truth, and, though he would cut -a throat with a light heart, he would shrink from a denial of the deed -when sworn on the holy picture. Truly conscience works sometimes in -strange ways, making the lesser sin the greater, and dwarfing vile -crimes to magnify their venial brethren. No, Demetri would not have -sworn on the picture; and when he saw it brought to Constantine he -shrank away from his leader, and I saw him privily and furtively cross -himself. But Constantine, freed by the scepticism he had learnt in the -West to practise the crimes the East had taught him, made little -trouble about it. When the ceremonies that had attended the old -woman's oath earlier in the day had been minutely, solemnly, and -tediously repeated, he swore before them as bravely as you please and -thereby bid fair to write my death-warrant in his lying words. For -when the oath was done, the most awful names in heaven standing -sanction to his perjury, and he ceased, saying, 'I have sworn,' the -eyes of the men round him turned on me again and seemed to ask me -silently what plea for mercy I could now advance. But I caught at my -chance. - -'Let Demetri swear,' said I coolly, 'that, so far as his knowledge -goes, the truth is no other than what the Lord Constantine has sworn.' - -'A subterfuge!' cried Constantine impatiently. 'What should Demetri -know of it?' - -'If he knows nothing it is easy for him to swear,' said I. 'Men of the -island, a man should have every chance for his life. I have given you -back your island. Do this for me. Make Demetri swear. Ah, look at the -man! See, he shakes, his face goes pale, there is a sweat on his brow. -Why, why? Make him swear!' - -I should not have prevailed without the assisting evidence of the -rascal's face. It was as I said: he grew pale and sweated on the -forehead; he cleared his throat hoarsely, but did not speak. -Constantine's eyes said, 'Swear, fool, swear!' - -'Let Demetri also swear,' cried some. 'Yes, it is easy, if he knows -nothing.' - -Suddenly Phroso sprang forward. - -'Yes, let him swear,' she cried. 'Who is Chief here? Have I no power? -Let him swear!' And she signed imperiously to the priest. - -They brought the picture to Demetri. He shrank from it as though its -touch would kill him. - -'In the name of Almighty God, as you hope for mercy; in the name of -our Lord the Saviour, as you pray for pity; in the name of the Most -Blessed Spirit, whose Word is Truth; by the Most Holy Virgin, and by -our Holy Saint--' began the old man. But Demetri cried hoarsely: - -'Take it away, take it away. I will not swear.' - -'Let him swear,' said Phroso, and this time the whole throng caught up -her command and echoed it in fierce urgency. - -'Let him swear to tell the whole truth of what he knows, hiding -nothing, according to the terms of the oath,' said the priest, -pursuing his ritual. - -'He shall not swear,' cried Constantine, springing up. But he spoke to -deaf ears and won only looks of new-born suspicion. - -'It is the custom of the island,' they growled. 'It has been done in -Neopalia time out of mind.' - -'Yes,' said the priest. 'Time out of mind has a man been free to ask -this oath of whomsoever he suspected. Swear, Demetri, as our Lady and -our law bid.' And he ended the words of the oath. - -Demetri looked round to right, to left, and to right again. He sought -escape. There was none; his way was barred. His arms fell by his side. - -'Will you let me go unharmed if I speak the truth?' he asked sullenly. - -'Yes,' answered Phroso, 'if you speak the whole truth, you shall go -unhurt.' - -The excitement was intense now; for Demetri took the oath, Constantine -watching, with pale strained face. Then followed a moment's utter -silence, broken an instant later by an irresistible outbreak of -wondering cries, for Demetri said, 'Follow me,' and turned and began -to walk in the direction of the town. 'Follow me,' he said again. 'I -will tell the truth. I have served my lord well, but a man's soul is -his own. No master buys a man's soul. I will tell the truth.' - -The change in feeling was witnessed by what happened. At a sign from -the priest Kortes and another each took one of Constantine's arms and -raised him. He was trembling now and hardly able to set one foot -before the other. The dogs of justice were hard on his heels, and he -was a craven at heart. Thus bearing him with us, in procession we -followed Demetri from the place of assembly back to the steep narrow -street that ran up from the sea. On the way none spoke. In the middle -I walked; and in front of me went Phroso, the woman who had come to -comfort her still holding her arm in hers. - -On Demetri led us with quick decisive steps; but when he came to the -door of the inn which had belonged to that Vlacho whose body lay now -deserted on the level grass above the seashore, he halted abruptly, -then turned and entered. We followed, Constantine's supporters -bringing him also with us. We passed through the large lower room and -out of the house again into an enclosed yard, bounded on the seaward -side by a low stone wall, towards which the ground sloped rapidly. -Here Demetri stopped. - -'By my oath,' said he, 'and as God hears me! I knew not who this woman -was; but last night Vlacho bade me come with him to the cottage on the -hill, and, if he called me, I was to come and help him to carry her -to the house of my Lord Constantine. He called, and I, coming with -Kortes, found Vlacho dead. Kortes would not suffer me to touch the -lady, but bade me stay with Vlacho. But when Kortes was gone and -Vlacho dead, I ran and told my lord what had happened. My lord was -greatly disturbed and bade me come with him; so we came together to -the town and passed together by the guardhouse.' - -'Lies, foul lies,' cried Constantine; but they bade him be quiet, and -Demetri continued in a composed voice: - -'There Kortes watched. My lord asked him whom he held prisoner; and -when he heard that it was the Englishman, he sought to prevail on -Kortes to deliver him up; but Kortes would not without the command of -the Lady Euphrosyne. Then my lord said, "Have you no other prisoner, -Kortes?" Kortes answered, "There is a woman here whom we found in the -cottage; but you gave me no orders concerning her, my lord, neither -you, nor the Lady of the island." "I care nothing about her," said my -lord with a shrug of his shoulders, and he and I turned away and -walked some paces up the street. Then, at my lord's bidding, I -crouched down with him in the shadow of a house and waited. Presently, -when the clock had struck two, we saw Kortes come out from the -guardhouse; and the woman was with him. Now we were but fifty feet -from them, and the wind was blowing from them to us, and I heard what -the lady said.' - -'It happened as he says,' interrupted Kortes in a grave tone. 'I -promised secrecy, but I will speak now.' - -'"I must go to the Lady Euphrosyne," said she to Kortes,' continued -Demetri. '"I have something to say to her." Kortes answered, "She is -lodging at the house of the priest. It is the tenth house on the left -hand as you mount the hill." She thanked him, and he turned back into -the guardhouse, and we saw no more of him. The lady came slowly and -fearfully up the road; my lord beside me laughed gently, and twisted a -silk scarf in his hand; there was nobody in the street except my lord, -the lady and me; and as she went by my lord sprang out on her, and -twisted the scarf across her mouth before she could cry out. Then he -and I lifted her, and carried her swiftly down the street. We came -here, to Vlacho's inn; the door was open, for Vlacho had gone out; it -had not yet become known that he would never return. We carried her -swiftly through the house and brought her where we stand now, and laid -her on the ground. My lord tied her hands and her feet, so that she -lay still; her mouth was already gagged. Then my lord drew me aside -and took five pieces of gold from his purse and said, looking into my -eyes, "Is it enough?" I understood, and said, "It is enough, my lord," -and he pressed my hand and left me, without going again near the -woman. And I, having put the five pieces in my purse, drew my knife -from its sheath and came and stood over the woman, looking how I might -best strike the blow. She was gagged and tied and lay motionless. But -the night was bright, and I saw her eyes fixed on mine. I stood long -by her with my knife in my hand; then I knelt down by her to strike. -But her eyes burned into my heart, and suddenly I seemed to hear Satan -by my side, chuckling and whispering, "Strike, Demetri, strike! Art -thou not damned already? Strike!" And I did not dare to look to the -right or the left, for I felt the Fiend by me. So I shut my eyes and -grasped my knife; but the lady's eyes drew mine open again, although I -struggled to keep them shut. Now many devils seemed to be round me; -and they were gleeful, saying, "Oh, he is ours! Yes, Demetri is ours. -He will do this thing and then surely he is ours!" Suddenly I sobbed; -and when my sob came, a gleam lighted the lady's eyes. Her eyes looked -like the eyes of the Blessed Virgin in the church; I could not strike -her. I flung down my knife and fell to sobbing. As I sobbed the noise -of the devils ceased; and I seemed to hear instead a voice from above -that said to me very softly, "Have I died to keep thy soul alive, and -thou thyself wouldst kill it, Demetri?" I know not if any one spoke; -but the night was very still, and I was afraid, and I cried low, -"Alas, I am a sinner!" But the voice said, "Sin no more;" and the eyes -of the lady implored me. But then they closed, and I saw that she had -fainted. And I raised her gently in my arms and carried her across -this piece of ground where we stand.' - -He ended, and stood for a moment silent and motionless. None of us -spoke. - -'I took her,' said he, 'there, where the wall ends; for I knew that -Vlacho had his larder there. The door of the larder was locked, but I -set the lady down and returned and took my knife from the ground, and -I forced the lock and took her in, and laid her on the floor of the -larder. Then I returned to the house, and called to Panayiota, -Vlacho's daughter, with whom I am of kin. When she came I charged her -to watch the lady till I returned, saying that Vlacho had bidden me -bring her here; for I meant to return in a few hours and carry the -lady to some place of safety, if I could find one. Panayiota, fearing -Vlacho and having an affection for me, promised faithfully to keep the -lady safe. Then I ran after my lord, and found him at the house, and -told him that the deed was done, and that I had hidden the body here; -and I craved leave to return and make a grave for the body or carry it -to the sea. But he said, "It will be soon enough in the evening. We -shall be quit of troubles by the evening. Does any one know?" I -answered rashly, "Panayiota knows." And he was enraged, fearing -Panayiota would betray us; but when he heard that she and I were -lovers, he was appeased; yet I could not find means to leave him and -return to the lady.' - -Demetri ended. Phroso, without a look at any one of us, stepped -lightly to the spot he had described. There was a low hut there, with -a stout wooden door. Phroso knocked on it, but there came no answer. -She beckoned to Kortes, and he, coming, wrenched open the door, which -seemed to have been fastened by some makeshift arrangement. Kortes -disappeared for an instant; then he came out again and motioned with -his hand. We crowded round the door, I among the first. There, indeed, -was a strange sight. For on the floor, propped against the side of the -hut, sat a buxom girl; her eyes were closed, her lips parted, and she -breathed in heavy regular breaths; Panayiota had watched faithfully -all night, and now slept at her post. Yet her trust was not betrayed. -On her lap rested the head of the lady whom Demetri had not found it -in his heart to kill; the bonds with which she had been bound lay on -the floor by her; and she also, pale and with shadowed rings about her -eyes, slept the sleep of utter exhaustion and weariness. We stood -looking at the strange sight--a sudden gleam of peace and homely -kindness breaking across the dark cloud of angry passions. - -'Hush,' said Phroso very softly. She stepped forward and fell on her -knees by the sleeping woman, and she lightly kissed Constantine's wife -on the brow. 'Praise be to God!' said Phroso softly, and kissed her -again. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -LAW AND ORDER - - -At last the whirligig seemed to have taken a turn in my favour, the -revolutions of the wheel at last to have brought my fortune uppermost. -For the sight of Francesca in Panayiota's arms came pat in -confirmation of the story wrung from Demetri by the power of his oath, -and his 'Behold!' was not needed to ensure acceptance for his -testimony. From women rose compassionate murmurs, from men angry -growlings which expressed, while they strove to hide, the shamefaced -emotions that the helpless woman's narrow escape created. Her -salvation must bring mine with it; for it was the ruin of her husband -and my enemy. - -Kortes and another dragged Constantine Stefanopoulos forward till he -stood within two or three yards of his wife. None interposed on his -behalf or resented the rough pressure of Kortes's compelling hand. And -even as he was set there, opposite the women, they, roused by the -subdued stir of the excited throng, awoke. First into one another's -eyes, then round upon us, came their startled glances; then Francesca -leapt with a cry to her feet, ran to me, and threw herself on her -knees before me, crying, 'You'll save me, my lord, you'll save me?' -Demetri hung his head in sullen half-contrition mingled with an -unmistakable satisfaction in his religious piety; Constantine bit and -licked his thin lips, his fists tight clenched, his eyes darting -furtively about in search of friends or in terror of avengers. And -Phroso said in her soft clear tones: - -'There is no more need of fear, for the truth is known.' - -Her eyes, though they would not meet mine, rested long in tender -sympathy on the woman who still knelt at my feet. Here indeed she -remained till Phroso came forward and raised her, while the old priest -lifted his voice in brief thanks to heaven for the revelation wrought -under the sanction of the Holy Saint. For myself, I gave a long sigh -of relief; the strain had been on me now for many hours, and it tires -a man to be knocking all day long at the door of death. Yet almost in -the instant that the concern for my own life left me (that is a thing -terribly apt to fill a man's mind) my thoughts turned to other -troubles: to my friends, who were--I knew not where; to Phroso, who -had said--I scarcely knew what. - -Suddenly, striking firm and loud across the murmurs and the threats -that echoed round the ring in half-hushed voices, came Kortes's tones. - -'And this man? What of him?' he asked, his hand on Constantine's -shaking shoulder. 'For he has done all that the stranger declared of -him: he has deceived our Lady Euphrosyne, he has sought to kill this -lady here, we have it from his own mouth that he slew the old lord, -though he knew well that the old lord had yielded.' - -Constantine's wife turned swiftly to the speaker. - -'Did he kill the old lord?' she asked. 'He told me that it was Spiro -who struck him in the heat of the brawl.' - -'Ay, Spiro or Vlacho, or whom you will,' said Kortes with a shrug. -'There was no poverty of lies in his mouth.' - -But the old feeling was not dead, and one or two again murmured: - -'The old lord sold the island.' - -'Did he die for that?' cried Francesca scornfully; 'or was it not in -truth I who brought him to death?' - -There was a movement of surprised interest, and all bent their eyes on -her. - -'Yes,' she went on, 'I think I doomed him to that death when I went -and told him my story, seeking his protection. Constantine found me -with him, and heard him greet me as his nephew's wife, on the -afternoon of the day that the deed was done. Can this man here deny -it? Can he deny that the old lord was awaiting the return of the Lady -Euphrosyne to tell her of the thing, when his mouth was shut for ever -by the stroke?' - -This disclosure, showing a new and vile motive for what Constantine -had tried to play off as a pardonable excess of patriotism, robbed him -of his last defenders. He seemed to recognise his plight; his eyes -ceased to canvass possible favour, and dropped to the ground in dull -despair. There was not a man now to raise a voice or a hand for him; -their anger at having been made his dupes and his tools sharpened the -edge of their hatred. To me his wife's words caused no wonder, for I -had from the first believed that some secret motive had nerved -Constantine's arm, and that he had taken advantage of the islanders' -mad folly for his own purposes. What that motive was stood out now -clear and obvious. It explained his act, and abundantly justified the -distrust and fear of him which I had perceived in his wife's mind when -first I talked with her on the hill. But she, having launched her -fatal bolt, turned her eyes away again, and laying her hand in -Phroso's stood silent. - -Kortes, appearing to take the lead now by general consent--for Phroso -made no sign--looked round on his fellow-countrymen, seeking to gather -their decision from their faces. He found the guidance and agreement -that he sought. - -'We may not put any man to death on St Tryphon's day,' said he. - -The sentence was easy to read, for all its indirectness. The islanders -understood it, and approved in a deep stern murmur; the women followed -it, and their faces grew pale and solemn. The criminal missed nothing -of its implied doom and tottered under the strong hands that now -rather supported than imprisoned him. 'Not on this day, but to-morrow -at break of day.' The voice of the people had spoken by the mouth of -Kortes, and none pleaded for mercy or delay. - -'I will take him to the guardhouse and keep him,' said Kortes; and the -old priest murmured low, 'God have mercy on him!' Then, with a swift -dart, Phroso sprang towards Kortes; her hands were clasped, her eyes -prayed him to seek some ground of mercy, some pretext for a lighter -sentence. She said not a word, but everyone of us read her eloquent -prayer. Kortes looked round again; the faces about him were touched -with a tenderness that they had not worn before; but the tenderness -was for the advocate, no part of it reached the criminal. Kortes shook -his head gravely. Phroso turned to the woman who had comforted her -before, and hid her face. Constantine, seeing the last hope gone, -swayed and fell into the arms of the man who, with Kortes, held him, -uttering a long low moan of fear and despair, terrible to listen to, -even from lips guilty as his. Thus was Constantine Stefanopoulos tried -for his life in the yard of Vlacho's inn in Neopalia. The trial ended, -he was carried out into the street on his way to the prison, and we, -one and all, in dead silence, followed. The yard was emptied, and the -narrow street choked with the crowd which attended Kortes and his -prisoner till the doors of the guardhouse closed on them. - -Then, for the first time that day, Phroso's eyes sought mine in a -rapid glance, in which I read joy for my safety; but the glance fell -as I answered it, and she turned away in confusion. Her avowal, -forgotten for an instant in gladness, recurred to her mind and dyed -her cheeks red. Averting my eyes from her, I looked down the slope of -the street towards the sea. The thought of her and of nothing else was -in my mind. - -Ah, my island! My sweet capricious island! - -A sudden uncontrollable exclamation burst from my lips and, raising my -hand, I pointed to the harbour and the blue water beyond. Every head -followed the direction of my outstretched finger; every pair of eyes -was focussed on the object that held mine. A short breathless -silence--a momentary wonder--then, shrill or deep, low in fear or loud -in excitement, broke forth the cry: - -'The Governor! The Governor!' - -For a gunboat was steaming slowly into the harbour of Neopalia, and -the Turkish flag flew over her. - -The sight wrought transformation. In a moment, as it seemed to me, the -throng round me melted away. The street grew desolate, the houses on -either side swallowed their eager occupants; Kortes alone, with his -prisoner, knew nothing of the fresh event, only Phroso and Francesca -stood their ground. Demetri was slinking hastily away. The old priest -was making for his home. The shutters of dead Vlacho's inn came down, -and girls bustled to and fro, preparing food. I stood unwatched, -unheeded, apparently forgotten; festival, tumult, trial, condemnation -seemed passed like visions; the flag that flew from the gunboat -brought back modern days, the prose of life, and ended the wild -poetic drama that we had played and a second One-eyed Alexander might -worthily have sung. How had the Governor come before his time, and -why? - -'Denny!' I cried aloud in inspiration and hope, and I ran as though -the foul fiends whom Demetri had heard were behind me. Down the steep -street and on to the jetty I ran. As I arrived there the gunboat also -reached it, and, a moment later, Denny was shaking my hand till it -felt like falling off, while from the deck of the boat Hogvardt and -Watkins were waving wild congratulations. - -Denny had jumped straight from deck to jetty; but now a gangway was -thrust out, and I passed with him on to the deck, and presented -myself, with a low bow, to a gentleman who stood there. He was a tall -full-bodied man, apparently somewhat under fifty years old; his face -was heavy and broad, in complexion dark and sallow; he wore a short -black beard; his lips were full, his eyes acute and small. I did not -like the look of him much; but he meant law and order and civilisation -and an end to the wild ways of Neopalia. For this, as Denny whispered -to me, was no less a man than the Governor himself, Mouraki Pasha. I -bowed again yet lower; for I stood before a man of whom report had -much to tell--something good, much bad, all interesting. - -He spoke to me in low, slow, suave tones, employing the Greek -language, which he spoke fluently, although as a foreigner. For -Mouraki was by birth an Armenian. - -'You must have much to tell me, Lord Wheatley,' he said with a smile. -'But first I must assure you with what pleasure I find you alive and -unhurt. Be confident that you shall not want redress for the wrongs -which these turbulent rascals have inflicted on you. I know these men -of Neopalia: they are hard men; but they also know me, and that I, in -my turn, can be a hard man if need be.' His looks did not belie his -words, as his sharp eye travelled with an ominous glance over the -little town by the harbour. 'But you will wish to speak with your -friends first,' he went on courteously. 'May I ask your attention in -half-an-hour's time from now?' - -I bowed obedience. The great man turned away, and Denny caught me by -the arm, crying, 'Now, old man, tell us all about it.' - -'Wait a bit,' said I rather indignantly. 'Just you tell me all about -it.' - -But Denny was firmer than I, and my adventures came before his. I told -them all faithfully, save one incident; it may perhaps be guessed -which. Denny and the other two listened with frequent exclamations of -surprise, and danced with exultation at the final worsting of -Constantine Stefanopoulos. - -'It's all right,' said Denny reassuringly. 'Old Mouraki will hang him -just the same.' - -'Now it's your turn,' said I. - -'Oh, our story's nothing. We just got through that old drain, and came -out by the sea, and all the fishermen had gone off to the -fishing-grounds, except one old chap they left behind to look after -their victuals. Well, we didn't know how to get back to you, and the -old chap told us that the whole place was alive with armed ruffians, -so--' - -'Just tell the story properly, will you?' said I sternly. - -At last, by pressing and much questioning, I got the story from them, -and here it is; for it was by no means so ordinary a matter as Denny's -modesty would have had me think. When the consternation caused by the -cutting of our rope had passed away, a hurried council decided them to -press on with all speed, and they took their way along a narrow, damp -and slippery ledge of rock which encircled the basin. So perilous did -the track seem that Hogvardt insisted on their being roped as though -for a mountaineering ascent, and thus they continued the journey. The -first opening from the basin they found without much difficulty. Now -the rope proved useful, for Denny, passing through first, fell -headlong into space and most certainly would have perished but for the -support his companions gave him. The track turned at right angles to -the left, and Denny had walked straight over the edge of the rock. -Sobered by this accident and awake to their peril (it must be -remembered that they had no lantern), they groped their way slowly and -cautiously, up and down, in and out. Hours passed. Watkins, less -accustomed than the others to a physical strain, could hardly lift his -feet. All this while the dim glimmer which Denny had seen retreated -before them, appearing to grow no nearer for all their efforts. They -walked, as they found afterwards--or walked, crawled, scrambled and -jumped--for eleven hours, their haste and anxiety allowed no pause for -rest. Then they seemed to see the end, for the winding tortuous track -appeared at last to make up its mind. It took a straight downward -line, and Denny's hard-learned caution vanishing, he started along it -at a trot and with a hearty hurrah. He tempted fate. The slope became -suddenly a drop. This time all three fell with a splash and a thud -into a deep pool, one on the top of the other. Here they scrambled for -some minutes, Watkins coming very near to finding an end of the -troubles of his eventful service. But Denny and Hogvardt managed to -get him out. The path began again. Content with its last freak, it -pursued now a business-like way, the glimmer grew to a gleam, the gleam -spread into a glad blaze. 'The sea, the sea!' cried Denny. A last -spurt landed them in a cave that bordered on the blue waters. What -they did on that I could by no means persuade them to tell; but had I -been there I should have thanked God and shaken hands; and thus, I -dare say, did they. And besides that, they lay there, dog-tired and -beaten, for an hour or more, in one of those despondent fits that -assail even brave men, making sure that I was dead or taken, and that -their own chances of escape were small, and, since I was dead or -taken, hardly worth the seeking. - -They were roused by an old man, who suddenly entered the cave, bearing -a bundle of sticks in his arms. At sight of them he dropped his load -and turned to fly; but they were on him in an instant, seizing him and -crying to know who he was. He had as many questions for them; and when -he learned who they were and how they had come, he raised his hands in -wonder, and told Hogvardt, who alone could make him understand, that -their fears were well grounded. He had met a Neopalian but an hour -since, and the talk in all the island was of how the stranger had -killed Vlacho and been taken by Kortes, and would die on the next -day; for this was the early morning of the feast-day. Denny was for a -dash; but a dash meant certain death. Watkins was ready for the -venture, though the poor fellow could hardly crawl. Hogvardt held firm -to the chance that more cautious measures gave. The old man's comrades -were away at their fishing-grounds, ten miles out at sea; but he had a -boat down on the beach. Thither they went, and set out under the -fisherman's guidance, pulling in desperate perseverance, with numb -weary limbs, under the increasing heat of the sun. But their wills -asked too much of their bodies. Watkins dropped his oar with a groan; -Denny's moved weakly and uselessly through the water that hardly -stirred under its blade; Hogvardt at last flung himself into the stern -with one groan of despair. The old fisherman cast resigned eyes up to -heaven, and the boat tossed motionlessly on the water. Thus they lay -while I fought my duel with Constantine Stefanopoulos on the other -side of Neopalia. - -Then, while they were still four miles from the fishing-fleet, where -lay their only known chance of succour for me or for themselves, there -came suddenly to their incredulous eyes a shape on the sea and a -column of smoke. Denny's spring forward went near to capsizing the -boat. Oars were seized again, weariness fled before hope, the gunboat -came in view, growing clear and definite. She moved quickly towards -them, they slowly, yet eagerly, to her; the interval grew less and -less. They shouted before they could be heard, and shouted still in -needless caution long after they had been heard. A boat put out to -them: they were taken on board, their story heard with shrugs of -wonder. Mouraki could not be seen. 'I'll see him!' cried Denny, and -Hogvardt plied the recalcitrant officer with smooth entreaties. The -life of a man was at stake! But he could not be seen. The life of an -Englishman! His Excellency slept through the heat of the day. The life -of an English lord! His Excellency would be angry, but--! The contents -of Denny's pocket, wild boasts of my power and position (I was a -favourite at Court, and so forth), at last clinched the matter. His -Excellency should be roused; heaven knew what he would say, but he -should be roused. He went to Neopalia next week; now he was sailing -past it, to inspect another island; perhaps he would alter the order -of his voyage. He was fond of Englishmen. It was a great lord, was it -not? So, at last, when Hogvardt was at his tongue's end, and Denny -almost mad with rage, Mouraki was roused. He heard their story, and -pondered on it, with leisurely strokings of his beard and keen long -glances of his sharp eyes. At last came the word, 'To the island -then!' and a cheer from the three, which Mouraki suffered with patient -uplifted brows. Thus came Mouraki to Neopalia; thus came, as I hoped, -an end to our troubles. - -More than the half-hour which the Governor had given me passed swiftly -in the narrative; then came Mouraki's summons and my story to him, -heard with courteous impassivity, received at its end with plentiful -assurances of redress for me and punishment for the islanders. - -'The island shall be restored to you,' said he. 'You shall have every -compensation, Lord Wheatley. These Neopalians shall learn their -lesson.' - -'I want nothing but justice on Constantine,' said I. 'The island I -have given back.' - -'That goes for nothing,' said he. 'It was under compulsion: we shall -not acknowledge it. The island is certainly yours. Your title has been -recognised: you could not transfer it without the consent of my -Government.' - -I did not pursue the argument. If Mouraki chose to hand the island -back to me, I supposed that I could, after such more or less tedious -forms as were necessary, restore it to Phroso. For the present the -matter was of small moment; for Mouraki was there with his men, and -the power of the Lord--or Lady--of Neopalia in abeyance. The island -was at the feet of the Governor. - -Indeed such was its attitude, and great was the change in the -islanders when, in the cool of the evening, I walked up the street by -Mouraki's side escorted by soldiers and protected by the great gun of -the gunboat commanding the town. There were many women to watch us, -few men, and these unarmed, with downcast eyes and studious meekness -of bearing. Mouraki seemed to detect my surprise. - -'They made a disturbance here three years ago,' said he, 'and I came. -They have not forgotten.' - -'What did you do to them?' I made bold to ask. - -'What was necessary,' he said; and--'They are not Armenians,' added -the Armenian Governor with a smile which meant much; among other -things, as I took it, that no tiresome English demanded fair trial for -riotous Neopalians. - -'And Constantine?' said I. I hope that I was not too vindictive. - -'It is the feast of St Tryphon,' said his Excellency, with another -smile. - -We were passing the guardhouse now. An officer and five men fell out -from the ranks of our escort and took their stand by its doors. We -passed on, leaving Constantine in this safe keeping; and Mouraki, -turning to me, said, 'I must ask you for hospitality. As Lord of the -island, you enjoy the right of entertaining me.' - -I bowed. We turned into the road that led to the old grey house; when -we were a couple of hundred yards from it, I saw Phroso coming out of -the door. She walked rapidly towards us, and paused a few paces from -the Governor, making a deep obeisance to him and bidding him welcome -to her poor house in stately phrases of deference and loyalty. Mouraki -was silent, surveying her with a slight smile. She grew confused under -his wordless smiling; her greetings died away. At last he spoke, in -slow deliberate tones: - -'Is this the lady,' said he, 'who raises a tumult and resists my -master's will, and seeks to kill a lord who comes peaceably and by -lawful right to take what is his?' - -I believe I made a motion as though to spring forward. Mouraki's -expressive face displayed a marvelling question; did I mean such -insolence as lay in interrupting him? I fell back; a public -remonstrance could earn only a public rebuff. - -'Strange are the ways of Neopalia,' said he, his gaze again on -Phroso. - -'I am at your mercy, my lord,' she murmured. - -'And what is this talk of your house? What house have you? I see here -the house of this English lord, where he will receive me courteously. -Where is your house?' - -'The house belongs to whom you will, my lord,' she said. 'Yet I have -dared to busy myself in making it ready for you.' - -By this time I was nearly at boiling point, but still I controlled -myself. I rejoiced that Denny was not there, he and the others having -resumed possession of the yacht, and arranged to sleep there, in order -to leave more room for Mouraki's accommodation. Phroso stood in -patient submission; Mouraki's eyes travelled over her from head to -foot. - -'The other woman?' he asked abruptly. 'Your cousin's wife--where is -she?' - -'She is at the cottage on the hill, my lord, with a woman to attend on -her.' - -After another pause he motioned with his hand to Phroso to take her -place by him, and thus we three walked up to the house. It was alive -now with women and men, and there was a bustle of preparation for the -great man. - -Mouraki sat down in the armchair which I had been accustomed to use, -and, addressing an officer who seemed to be his _aide-de-camp_, -issued quick orders for his own comfort and entertainment; then he -turned to me and said civilly enough: - -'Since you seem reluctant to act as host, you shall be my guest while -I am here.' - -I murmured thanks. He glanced at Phroso and waved his hand in -dismissal. She drew back, curtseying, and I saw her mount the stairs -to her room. Mouraki bade me sit down, and his orderly brought him -cigarettes. He gave me one and we began to smoke, Mouraki watching the -coiling rings, I furtively studying his face. I was in a rage at his -treatment of Phroso. But the man interested me. I thought that he was -now considering great matters: the life of Constantine, perhaps, or -the penalties that he should lay on the people of Neopalia. Yet even -these would seem hardly great to him, who had moved in the world of -truly great affairs, and was in his present post rather by a temporary -loss of favour than because it was adequate to his known abilities. -With such thoughts I studied him as he sat smoking silently. - -Well, man is very human, and great men are often even more human than -other men. For when Mouraki saw that we were alone, when he had -finished his cigarette, flung it away and taken another, he observed -to me, obviously summarising the result of those meditations to which -my fancy had imparted such loftiness: - -'Yes, I don't know that I ever saw a handsomer girl.' - -There was nothing to say but one thing, and I said it. - -'No more did I, your Excellency,' said I. - -But I was not pleased with the expression of Mouraki's eye; the -contentment induced in me by the safety of my friends, by my own -escape, and by the end of Constantine's ill-used power, was suddenly -clouded as I sat and looked at the baffling face and subtle smile of -the Governor. What was it to him whether Phroso were a handsome girl -or not? - -And I suppose I might just as well have added--What was it to me? - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE SMILES OF MOURAKI PASHA - - -At the dinner-table Mouraki proved a charming companion. His official -reserve and pride vanished; he called me by my name simply, and -extorted a like mode of address from my modesty. He professed rapture -at meeting a civilised and pleasant companion in such an -out-of-the-way place; he postponed the troubles and problems of -Neopalia in favour of a profusion of amusing reminiscences and pointed -anecdotes. He gave me a delightful evening, and bade me the most -cordial of good-nights. I did not know whether his purpose had been to -captivate or merely to analyse me; he had gone near to the former, and -I did not doubt that he had succeeded entirely in the latter. Well, -there was nothing I wanted to conceal--unless it might be something -which I was still striving to conceal even from myself. - -I rose very early the next morning. The Pasha was not expected to -appear for two or three hours, and he had not requested my presence -till ten o'clock breakfast. I hastened off to the harbour, boarded the -yacht, enjoyed a merry cup of coffee and a glorious bathe with Denny. -Denny was anxious to know my plans--whether I meant to return or to -stay. The idea of departure was odious to me. I enlarged on the -beauties of the island, but Denny's shrug insinuated a doubt of my -candour. I declared that I saw no reason for going, but must be guided -by the Pasha. - -'Where's the girl?' asked Denny abruptly. - -'She's up at the house,' I answered carelessly. - -'Hum. Heard anything about Constantine being hanged?' - -'Not a word; Mouraki has not touched on business.' - -Denny had projected a sail, and was not turned from his purpose by my -unwillingness to accompany him. Promising to meet him again in the -evening, I took my way back up the street, where a day or two ago my -life would have paid for my venturing, where now I was as safe as in -Hyde Park. Women gave me civil greetings; the men did the like, or, at -worst, ignored me. I saw the soldiers on guard at Constantine's -prison, and pursued my path to the house with a complacent smile. My -island was beautiful that morning, and the blood flowed merrily in my -veins. I thought of Phroso. Where was the remorse which I vainly -summoned? - -Suddenly I saw Kortes before me, walking along slowly. He was relieved -of his duty then, and Constantine was no longer in his hands. -Overtaking him, I began to talk. He listened for a little, and then -raised his calm honest eyes to mine. - -'And the Lady Phroso?' he said gently. 'What of her?' - -I told him what I knew, softening the story of Mouraki's harshness. - -'You have not spoken to her yet?' he asked. Then, coming a step -nearer, he said, 'She shuns you perhaps?' - -'I don't know,' said I, feeling embarrassed under the man's direct -gaze. - -'It is natural, but it will last only till she has seen you once. I -pray you not to linger, my lord. For she suffers shame at having told -her love, even though it was to save you. It is hard for a maiden to -speak unasked.' - -I leaned my back against the rocky bank by the road. - -'Lose no time in telling her your love, my lord,' he urged. 'It may be -that she guesses, but her shame will trouble her till she hears it -from your lips. Seek her, seek her without delay.' - -I had forgotten my triumph over Constantine and the beauty of the -island. I felt my eyes drop before Kortes's look; but I shrugged my -shoulders, saying carelessly: - -'It was only a friendly device the Lady Phroso played to save me. She -doesn't really love me. It was a trick. But I'll thank her for it -heartily; it was of great help to me, and a hard thing for her to do.' - -'It was no trick. You know it was none. Wasn't the love in every tone -of her voice? Isn't it in every glance of her eyes when she is with -you--and most when she won't look at you?' - -'How come you to read her looks so well?' I asked. - -'From studying them deeply,' said he simply. 'I do not know if I love -her, my lord; she is so much above me that my thoughts have not dared -to fly to the height. But I would die for her, and I love no other. To -me, you, my lord, should be the happiest, proudest man alive. Pray -speak to her soon, my lord. My sister, whom you saw hold her in her -arms, would have made me sure if I had doubted. The lady murmurs your -name in her sleep.' - -A sudden irresistible exultation took hold of me. I think it turned my -face red, for Kortes smiled, saying, 'Ah, you believe now, my lord!' - -'Believe!' I cried. 'No, I don't believe. A thousand times, no! I -don't believe!' For I was crushing that exultation now as a man -crushes the foulest temptings. - -A puzzled look invaded Kortes's eyes. There was silence between us for -some moments. - -'It's absurd,' said I, in weak protest. 'She has known me only a few -days--only a few hours rather--and there were other things to think of -then than love-making.' - -'Love,' said he, 'is made most readily when a man does not think of -it, and a stout arm serves a suitor better than soft words. You fought -against her and for her; you proved yourself a man before her eyes. -Fear not, my lord; she loves you.' - -'Fear not!' I exclaimed in a low bitter whisper. - -'She said it herself,' continued Kortes. 'As her life, and more.' - -'Hold your tongue, man!' I cried fiercely. 'In the devil's name, what -has it to do with you?' - -A great wonder showed on his face, then a doubting fear; he came -closer to me and whispered so low that I hardly heard: - -'What ails you? Is it not well that she should love you?' - -'Let me alone,' I cried; 'I'll not answer your questions.' Why was the -fellow to cross-examine me? Ah, there's the guilty man's old question; -he loves a fine mock indignation, and hugs it to his heart. - -Kortes drew back a pace and bowed, as though in apology; but there was -no apology in the glance he fixed on me. I would not look him in the -face. I drew myself up as tall as I could, and put on my haughtiest -air. If he could have seen how small I felt inside! - -'Enough, Kortes,' said I, with a lordly air. 'No doubt your intentions -are good, but you forget what is becoming from you to me.' - -He was not awed; and I think he perceived some of the truth--not all; -for he said, 'You made her love you; that does not happen unless a -man's own acts help it.' - -'Do girls never rush uninvited on love, then?' I sneered. - -'Some perhaps, but she would not,' he answered steadily. - -He said no more. I nodded to him and set forward on my way. He bowed -again slightly, and stood still where he was, watching me. I felt his -eyes on me after we had parted. I was in a very tumult of discomfort. -The man had humiliated me to the ground. I hoped against hope that he -was wrong; and again, in helpless self-contradiction, my heart cried -out insisting on its shameful joy because he was right. Right or -wrong, wrong or right, what did it matter? Either way now lay misery, -either way now lay a struggle that I shrank from and abhorred. - -I was somewhat delayed by this interview, and when I arrived at the -house I found Mouraki already at breakfast. He apologised for not -having awaited my coming, saying, 'I have transacted much business. -Oh, I've not been in bed all the time! And I grew hungry. I have been -receiving some reports on the state of the island.' - -'It's quiet enough now. Your arrival has had a most calming effect.' - -'Yes, they know me. They are very much afraid, for they think I shall -be hard on them. They remember my last visit.' - -He made no reference to Constantine, and although I wondered rather at -his silence I did not venture again to question him. I wished that I -knew what had happened on his last visit. A man with a mouth like -Mouraki's might cause anything to happen. - -'I shall keep them in suspense a little while,' he pursued, smiling. -'It's good for them. Oh, by the way, Wheatley, you may as well take -this; or shall I tear it up?' And suddenly he held out to me the -document which I had written and given to Phroso when I restored the -island to her. - -'She gave you this?' I cried. - -'She?' asked Mouraki, with a smile of mockery. 'Is there, then, only -one woman in the world?' he seemed to ask sneeringly. - -'The Lady Euphrosyne, to whom I gave it,' I explained with what -dignity I could. - -'The Lady Phroso, yes,' said he, ('Hang his Phroso!' thought I.) 'I -had her before me this morning and made her give it up.' - -'I can only give it back to her, you know.' - -'My dear Wheatley, if you like to amuse yourself in that way I can -have no possible objection. Until you obtain a firman, however, you -will continue to be Lord of Neopalia and this Phroso no more than a -very rebellious young lady. But you'll enjoy a pleasant interview and -no harm will be done. Give it back by all means.' He smiled again, -shrugging his shoulders, and lit a cigarette. His manner was the -perfection of polite, patient, gentlemanly contempt. - -'It seems easier to get an island than to get rid of one,' said I, -trying to carry off my annoyance with a laugh. - -'It is the case with so many things,' agreed Mouraki: 'debts, -diseases, enemies, wives, lovers.' - -There was a little pause before the last word, so slight that I could -not tell whether it were intentional or not; and I had learnt to -expect no enlightenment from Mouraki's face or eyes. But he chose -himself to solve the mystery this time. - -'Do I touch delicate ground?' he asked. 'Ah, my dear lord, I find from -my reports that in the account you gave me of your experiences you let -modesty stand in the way of candour. It was natural perhaps. I don't -blame you, since I have found out elsewhere what you omitted to tell -me. Yet it was hardly a secret, since everybody in Neopalia knew it.' - -I smoked my cigarette, feeling highly embarrassed and very -uncomfortable. - -'And I am told,' pursued Mouraki, with his malicious smile, 'that the -idea of a Wheatley-Stefanopoulos dynasty is by no means unpopular. -Constantine's little tricks have disgusted them with him.' - -'What are you going to do with him?' I asked, risking any offence now -in order to turn the topic. - -'Do you really like jumping from subject to subject?' asked Mouraki -plaintively. 'I am, I suppose, a slow-minded Oriental, and it fatigues -me horribly.' - -I could have thrown the cigarette I was smoking in his face with keen -pleasure. - -'It is for your Excellency to choose the topic,' said I, restraining -my fury. - -'Oh, don't let us have "Excellencies" when we're alone together! -Indeed I congratulate you on your conquest. She is magnificent; and it -was charming of her to make her declaration. That's what has pleased -the islanders: they're romantic savages, after all, and the chivalry -of it touches them.' - -'It must touch anybody,' said I. - -'Ah, I suppose so,' said Mouraki, flicking away his ash. 'I questioned -her a little about it this morning.' - -'You questioned her?' For all I could do there was a quiver of anger -in my voice. I heard it myself, and it did not escape my companion's -notice. His smile grew broader. - -'Precisely. I have to consider everything,' said he. 'I assure you, my -dear Wheatley, that I did it in the most delicate manner possible.' - -'It couldn't be done in a delicate manner.' - -'I struggled,' said Mouraki, assuming his plaintive tone again, and -spreading out deprecatory hands. - -Was Mouraki merely amusing himself with a little 'chaff,' or had he a -purpose? He seemed like a man who would have a purpose. I grew cool on -the thought of it. - -'And did the lady answer your questions?' I asked carelessly. - -'Wouldn't it be a treachery in me to tell you what she said?' -countered Mouraki. - -'I think not; because there's no doubt that the whole thing was only a -good-natured device of hers.' - -'Ah! A very good-natured device indeed! She must be an amiable girl,' -smiled the Pasha. 'Precisely the sort of girl to make a man's home -happy.' - -'She hasn't much chance of marriage in Neopalia,' said I. - -'Heaven makes a way,' observed Mouraki piously. 'By-the-by, the device -seems to have imposed on our acquaintance Kortes.' - -'Oh, perhaps,' I shrugged. 'He's a little smitten himself, I think, -and so very ready to be jealous.' - -'How discriminating!' murmured Mouraki admiringly. 'As a fact, my dear -Wheatley, the lady said nothing. She chose to take offence.' - -'You surprise me!' I exclaimed with elaborate sarcasm. - -'And wouldn't speak. But her blushes were most lovely--yes, most -lovely. I envied you, upon my word I did.' - -'Since it's not true--' - -'Oh, a thing may be very pleasant to hear, even if it's not true. -Sincerity in love is an added charm, but not, my dear fellow, a -necessity.' - -A pause followed this reflection of the Pasha's. Then he remarked: - -'After all, we mustn't judge these people as we should judge -ourselves. If Constantine hadn't already a wife--' - -'What?' I cried, leaping up. - -'And perhaps that difficulty is not insuperable.' - -'He deserves nothing but hanging.' - -'A reluctant wife is hardly better.' - -'Of course you don't mean it?' - -'It seems to disturb you so much.' - -'It's a monstrous idea.' - -Mouraki laughed in quiet enjoyment of my excitement. - -'Then Kortes?' he suggested. - -'He's infinitely her inferior. Besides--forgive me--why is it your -concern to marry her to any one?' - -'In a single state she is evidently a danger to the peace of the -island,' he answered with assumed gravity. 'Now your young friend--' - -'Oh, Denny's a boy.' - -'You reject everyone,' he said pathetically, and his eyes dwelt on me -in amused scrutiny. - -'Your suggestions, my dear Pasha, seem hardly serious,' said I in a -huff. He was too many for me, and I struggled in vain against -betraying my ruffled temper. - -'Well then, I will make two serious suggestions; that is a handsome -_amende_. And for the first--yourself!' - -I waved my hand and gave an embarrassed laugh. - -'You say nothing to that?' - -'Oughtn't I to hear the alternative first?' - -'Indeed it is only reasonable. Well, then, the alternative--' He -paused, laughed, lit another cigarette. 'The alternative is--myself,' -said he. - -'Still not serious!' I exclaimed, forcing a smile. - -'Absolutely serious,' he asserted. 'I have the misfortune to be a -widower, and for the second time; so unkind is heaven. She is most -charming. I have, perhaps, a position which would atone for some want -of youth and romantic attractions.' - -'Of course, if she likes--' - -'I don't think she would persist in refusing,' said Mouraki with a -thoughtful smile; and he went on, 'Three years ago, when I came here, -she struck me as a beautiful child, one likely to become a beautiful -woman. You see for yourself that I am not disappointed. My wife was -alive at that time, but in bad health. Still I hardly thought -seriously of it then, and the idea did not recur to me till I saw -Phroso again. You look surprised.' - -'Well, I am surprised.' - -'You don't think her attractive, then?' - -'Frankly, that is not the reason for my surprise.' - -'Shall I go on? You think me old? It is a young man's delusion, my -dear Wheatley.' - -Bear-baiting may have been excellent sport--its defenders so -declare--but I do not remember that it was ever considered pleasant -for the bear. I felt now much as the bear must have felt. I rose -abruptly from the table. - -'All these things require thought,' said Mouraki gently. 'We will talk -of them again this afternoon. I have a little business to do now.' - -Saying this, he rose and leisurely took his way upstairs. I was left -alone in the hall so familiar to me; and my first thought was a regret -that I was not again a prisoner there, with Constantine seeking my -life, Phroso depending on my protection, and Mouraki administering -some other portion of his district. That condition of things had been, -no doubt, rather too exciting to be pleasant; but it had not made me -harassed, wretched, humiliated, exasperated almost beyond endurance: -and such was the mood in which the two conversations of the morning -left me. - -A light step sounded on the stair: the figure that of all figures I -least wished to see then, that I rejoiced to see more than any in the -world besides, appeared before me. Phroso came down. She reached the -floor of the hall and saw me. For a long moment we each rested as we -were. Then she stepped towards me, and I rose with a bow. She was very -pale, but a smile came on her lips as she murmured a greeting to me -and passed on. I should have done better to let her go. I rose and -followed. On the marble pavement by the threshold I overtook her; -there we stood again looking on the twinkling sea in the distance, as -we had looked before. I was seeking what to say. - -'I must thank you,' I said; 'yet I can't. It was magnificent.' - -The colour suddenly flooded her face. - -'You understood?' she murmured. 'You understood why? It seemed the -only way; and I think it did help a little.' - -I bent down and kissed her hand. - -'I don't care whether it helped,' I said. 'It was the thing itself.' - -'I didn't care for them--the people--but when I thought what you would -think--' She could not go on, but drew her hand, which she had left -an instant in mine as though forgetful of it, suddenly away. - -'I--I knew, of course, that it was only a--a stratagem,' said I. 'Oh, -yes, I knew that directly.' - -'Yes,' whispered she, looking over the sea. - -'Yes,' said I, also looking over the sea. - -'You forgive it?' - -'Forgive!' My voice came low and husky. I did not see why such things -should be laid on a man; I did not know if I could endure them. Yet I -would not have left her then for an angel's crown. - -'And you will forget it? I mean, you--' The whisper died into silence. - -'So long as I live I will not forget it,' said I. - -Then, by a seemingly irresistible impulse that came upon both of us, -we looked in one another's eyes, a long look that lingered and was -loth to end. As I looked, I saw, in joy that struggled with shame, a -new light in the glowing depths of Phroso's eyes, a greeting of an -undreamt happiness, a terrified delight. Then her lids dropped and she -began to speak quietly and low. - -'It came on me that I might help if I said it, because the islanders -love me, and so, perhaps, they wouldn't hurt you. But I couldn't look -at you. I only prayed you would understand, that you wouldn't -think--oh, that you wouldn't think--that--of me, my lord. And I didn't -know how to meet you to-day, but I had to.' - -I stood silent beside her, curiously conscious of every detail of -Nature's picture before me; for I had turned from her again, and my -eyes roamed over sea and island. But at that moment there came from -one of the narrow windows of the old house, directly above our heads, -the sound of a low, amused, luxurious chuckle. A look of dread and -shrinking spread over Phroso's face. - -'Ah, that man!' she exclaimed in an agitated whisper. - -'What of him?' - -'He has been here before. I have seen him smile and heard him laugh -like that when he sent men to death and looked on while they died. -Yes, men of our own island, men who had served us and were our -friends. Ah, he frightens me, that man!' She shuddered, stretching out -her hand in an unconscious gesture, as though she would ward off some -horrible thing. 'I have heard him laugh like that when a woman asked -her son's life of him and a girl her lover's. It kills me to be near -him. He has no pity. My lord, intercede with him for the islanders. -They are ignorant men: they did not know.' - -'Not one shall be hurt if I can help it,' said I earnestly. 'But--' I -stopped; yet I would go on, and I added, 'Have you no fear of him -yourself?' - -'What can he do to me?' she asked. 'He talked to me this morning -about--about you. I hate to talk with him. But what can he do to me?' - -I was silent. Mouraki had not hinted to her the idea which he had -suggested, in puzzling ambiguity between jest and earnest, to me. Her -eyes questioned me; then suddenly she laid her hand on my arm and -said: - -'And you would protect me, my lord. While you were here, I should be -safe.' - -'While!' The little word struck cold on my heart: my eyes showed her -the blow; in a minute she understood. She raised her hand from where -it lay and pointed out towards the sea. I saw the pretty trim little -yacht running home for the harbour after her morning cruise. - -'Yes, while you are here, my lord,' she said, with the most pitiful of -brave smiles. - -'As long as you want me, I shall be here,' I assured her. - -She raised her eyes to mine, the colour came again to her face. - -'As long as you are in any danger,' I added in explanation. - -'Ah, yes!' said she, with a sigh and drooping eyelids; and she went on -in a moment, as though recollecting a civility due and not paid, 'You -are very good to me, my lord; for your island has treated you -unkindly, and you will be glad to sail away from it to your home.' - -'It is,' said I, bending towards her, 'the most beautiful island in -the world, and I would love to stay in it all my life.' - -Again the pleased contented chuckle sounded from the window over our -heads. It seemed to strike Phroso with a new fit of sudden fear. With -a faint cry she darted out her hand and seized mine. - -'Don't be afraid. He sha'n't hurt you,' said I. - -A moment later we heard steps descending the stairs inside the house. -Mouraki appeared on the threshold. Phroso had sprung away from me and -stood a few paces off. Yet Mouraki knew that we had not stood thus -distantly before his steps were heard. He looked at Phroso and then at -me: a blush from her, a scowl from me, filled any gaps in his -knowledge. He stood there smiling--I began to hate the Pasha's -smiles--for a moment, and then came forward. He bowed slightly, but -civilly enough, to Phroso; then to my astonishment he took my hand and -began to shake it with a great appearance of cordiality. - -'Really I beg your pardon,' said I. 'What's the matter?' - -'The matter?' he cried in high good humour, or what seemed such. 'The -matter? Why, the matter, my dear Wheatley, is that you appear to be -both a very discreet fellow and a very fortunate one.' - -'I don't understand yet,' said I, trying to hide my growing -irritation. - -'Surely it's no secret?' he asked. 'It is generally known, isn't it?' - -'What's generally known?' I fairly roared in an exasperation that -mastered all self-control. - -The Pasha was not in the very least disturbed. He held a bundle of -letters in his left hand and he began now to sort them. He ended by -choosing one, which he held up before me, with a malicious humour -twinkling from under his heavy brows. - -'I get behindhand in my correspondence when I'm on a voyage,' said he. -'This letter came to Rhodes about a week ago, together with a mass of -public papers, and I have only this morning opened it. It concerns -you.' - -'Concerns me? Pray, in what way?' - -'Or rather it mentions you.' - -'Who is it from?' I asked. The man's face was full of triumphant -spite, and I grew uneasy. - -'It is,' said he, 'from our Ambassador in London. I think you know -him.' - -'Slightly.' - -'Precisely.' - -'Well?' - -'He asks how you are getting on in Neopalia, or whether I have any -news of you.' - -'You'll be able to answer him now.' - -'Yes, yes, with great satisfaction. And he will be able to answer some -inquiries which he has had.' - -I knew what was coming now. Mouraki beamed pleasure. I set my face. At -Phroso, who stood near all this while in silence, I dared not look. - -'From a certain lady who is most anxious about you.' - -'Ah!' - -'A Miss Hipgrave--Miss Beatrice Hipgrave.' - -'Ah, yes!' - -'Who is a friend of yours?' - -'Certainly, my dear Pasha.' - -'Who is, in fact--let me shake hands again--your future wife. A -thousand congratulations!' - -'Oh, thanks, you're very kind,' said I. 'Yes, she is.' - -I declare that I must have played this scene--no easy one--well, for -Mouraki's rapturous amusement disappeared. He seemed rather put out -He looked (and I hope felt) a trifle foolish. I kept a cool careless -glance on him. - -But his triumph came from elsewhere. He turned from me to Phroso, and -my eyes followed his. She stood rigid, frozen, lifeless; she devoured -my face with an appealing gaze. She made no sign and uttered no sound. -Mouraki smiled again; and I said: - -'Any London news, my dear Pasha?' - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A STROKE IN THE GAME - - -I was glad. As soon as I was alone and had time to think over -Mouraki's _coup_ I was glad. He had ended a false position into which -my weakness had led me; he had rendered it possible for me to serve -Phroso in friendship pure and simple; he had decided a struggle which -I had failed to decide for myself. It would be easy now (so I told -myself) for both of us to repose on that fiction of a good-natured -device and leave our innermost feelings in decent obscurity while we -counter-mined the scheme which the Pasha had in hand. This scheme he -proceeded to forward with all the patience and ability of which he was -master. For the next week or so matters seemed to stand still, but to -a closer study they revealed slow, yet uninterrupted, movement. I was -left almost entirely alone at the house; but I could not bring myself -to abandon my position and seek the society of my friends on the -yacht. Though reduced to idleness and robbed of any part in the drama, -I would not forsake the stage, but lagged a superfluous spectator of -an unpleasing piece. Mouraki was at work. He saw Phroso every day, and -for long interviews. I hardly set my eyes on her. The affairs of the -island afforded him a constant pretext for conferring with, or -dictating to, its Lady; I had no excuse for forcing an intercourse -which Phroso evidently was at pains to avoid. I could imagine the -Pasha's progress, not in favour or willing acceptance, for I knew her -fear and hatred of him, but in beating down her courage and creating a -despair which would serve him as well as love. Beyond doubt he was -serious in his design; his cool patience spoke settled purpose, his -obvious satisfaction declared a conviction of success. He acquiesced -in Phroso's seclusion, save when he sent for her; he triumphed in -watching me spend weary hours in solitary pacing up and down before -the house; he would look at me with a covert exultation and amuse -himself by a renewal of sympathetic congratulations on my engagement. -I do not think that he wished me away. I was the sauce to his dish, -the garlic in the salad, the spice in the sweetmeat over which he -licked appreciative lips. Thus passed eight or ten days, and I grew -more out of temper, more sour, and more determined with every setting -sun. Denny ceased to pray my company; I was not to be moved from the -neighbourhood of the house. I waited, the Pasha waited; he paved his -way, I lay in ambush by it; he was bent on conquering Phroso, I had no -design, only a passionate resolve that he should try a fall with me -first. - -There came a dark stormy evening, when the clouds sent down a thick -close rain and the wind blew in mournful gusts. Having escaped from -Mouraki's talk, I had watched him go upstairs, and myself had come out -to pace again my useless beat. I strayed a few hundred yards from the -house, and turned to look at the light in the Governor's window. It -shone bright and steady, seeming to typify his relentless unvarying -purpose. A sudden oath escaped from the weary sickness of my heart; -there came an unlooked-for answer at my elbow. - -'He acts, you talk, my lord. He works, you are content to curse him. -Which will win?' said a grave voice; and Kortes's handsome figure was -dimly visible in the darkness. 'He works, she weeps, you curse. Who -will win?' he asked again, folding his arms. - -'Your question carries its own answer, doesn't it?' I retorted -angrily. - -'Yes, if I have put it right,' said he; there was a touch of scorn in -his voice that I did not care to hear. 'Yes, it carries its own -answer, if you are content to leave it as I stated it.' - -'Content! Good God!' - -He drew nearer to me and whispered: - -'This morning he told her his purpose; this evening again--yes, now, -while we talk--he is forcing it on her. And what help has she?' - -'She won't let me help her; she won't let me see her.' - -'How can you help her, you who do nothing but curse?' - -'Look here, Kortes,' said I, 'I know all that. I'm a fool and a worm -and everything else you like to intimate; but your contempt doesn't -seem much more practical than my cursing. What's in your mind?' - -'You must keep faith with this lady in your own land?' - -'You know of her?' - -'My sister has told me--she who waits on the Lady Euphrosyne.' - -'Ah! Yes, I must keep faith with her.' - -'And with Mouraki?' he asked. - -My mind travelled with his. I caught him eagerly by the arm. I had his -idea in a moment. - -'Why that?' I asked. 'Yes, Kortes, why that?' - -'I thought you were so scrupulous, my lord.' - -'I have no scruples in deceiving this Mouraki.' - -'That's better, my lord,' he answered with a grim smile. 'By heavens, -I thought we were to dance together at the wedding!' - -'The wedding?' I cried. 'I think not. Kortes, do you mean--?' I made a -gesture that indicated some violence to Mouraki; but I added, 'It must -be open fight though.' - -'You mustn't touch a hair of his head. The island would answer -bitterly for that.' - -We stood in silence for a moment. Then I gave a short laugh. - -'My character is my own,' said I. 'I may blacken it if I like.' - -'It is only in the eyes of Mouraki Pasha,' said Kortes with a smile. - -'But will she understand? There must be no more--' - -'She will understand. You shall see her.' - -'You can contrive that?' - -'Yes, with my sister's help. Will you tell Mouraki first?' - -'No--her first. She may refuse.' - -'She loathes him too much to refuse anything.' - -'Good. When, then?' - -'To-night. She will leave him soon.' - -'But he watches her to her room.' - -'Yes; but you, my lord, know that there is another way.' - -'Yes, yes; by the roof. The ladder?' - -'It shall be there for you in an hour.' - -'And you, Kortes?' - -'I'll wait at the foot of it. The Pasha himself should not mount it -alive.' - -'Kortes, it is trusting me much.' - -'I know, my lord. If you were not a man to be trusted you would do -what you are going to pretend.' - -'I hope you're right. Kortes, it sets me aflame now to be near her.' - -'Can't I understand that, my lord?' said he, with a sad smile. - -'By heaven, you're a good fellow!' - -'I am a servant of the Stefanopouloi.' - -'Your sister will tell her before I come? I couldn't tell her myself.' - -'Yes; she shall be told before you come.' - -'In an hour, then?' - -'Yes.' And without another word, he strode by me. I caught his hand as -he went, and pressed it. Then I was alone in the darkness again, but -with a plan in my head and a weapon in my hand, and no more empty -useless cursings in my mouth. Busily rehearsing the part I was to -play, I resumed my quick pacing. It was a hard part, but a good part. -I would match Mouraki with his own weapons; my cynicism should beat -his, my indifference to the claims of honour overtop his shameless -use of terror or of force. The smiles should now be not all the -Pasha's. I would have a smile too, one that would, I trusted, compel a -scowl even from his smooth inscrutable face. - -I was walking quickly; on a sudden I came almost in contact with a -man, who leapt on one side to avoid me. 'Who's there?' I cried, -standing on my defence, as I had learnt was wise in Neopalia. - -'It is I, Demetri,' answered a sullen voice. - -'What are you doing here, Demetri? And with your gun!' - -'I walk by night, like my lord.' - -'Your walks by night have had a meaning before now.' - -'They mean no harm to you now.' - -'Harm to any one?' - -A pause followed before his gruff voice answered: - -'Harm to nobody. What harm can be done when my gracious lord the -Governor is on the island and watches over it?' - -'True, Demetri. He has small mercy for wrongdoers and turbulent -fellows such as some I know of.' - -'I know him as well as you, my lord, and better,' said the fellow. -His voice was charged with a passionate hate. 'Yes, there are many in -Neopalia who know Mouraki.' - -'So says Mouraki; and he says it as though it pleased him.' - -'One day he shall have proof enough to satisfy him,' growled Demetri. - -The savage rage of the fellow's tone had caught my attention, and I -gazed intently into his face; not even the darkness quite hid the -angry gleam of his deep-set eyes. - -'Demetri, Demetri,' said I, 'aren't you on a dangerous path? I see a -long knife in your belt there, and that gun--isn't it loaded? Come, go -back to your home.' - -He seemed influenced by my remonstrances, but he denied the suggestion -I made. - -'I don't seek his life,' he said sullenly. 'If we were strong enough -to fight openly--well, I say nothing of that. He killed my brother, my -lord.' - -'I killed a brother of yours too, Demetri.' - -'Yes, in honest fighting, when he sought to kill you. You didn't half -kill him with the lash, before his mother's eyes, and finish the work -with a rope.' - -'Mouraki did?' - -'Yes, my lord. But it is nothing, my lord. I mean no harm.' - -'Look here, Demetri. I don't love Mouraki myself, and you did me a -good turn a little while ago; but if I find you hanging about here -again with your gun and your knife I'll tell Mouraki, as sure as I'm -alive. Where I come from we don't assassinate. Do you see?' - -'I hear, my lord. Indeed I had no such purpose.' - -'You know your purpose best; and now you know what I shall do. Come, -be off with you, and don't shew yourself here again.' - -He cringed before me with renewed protestations; but his invention -provided no excuse for his presence. He swore to me that I wronged -him. I contented myself with ordering him off, and at last he went -off, striking back towards the village. 'Upon my word,' said I, 'it's -a nuisance to be honourably brought up.' For it would have been -marvellously convenient to let Demetri have a shot at the Pasha with -that gun of his, or a stab with the long knife he had fingered so -affectionately. - -This encounter had passed the time of waiting, and now I strolled back -to the house. It was hard on midnight. The light in Mouraki's window -was extinguished. Two soldiers stood sentry by the closed door. They -let me in and locked the door behind me. This watch was not kept on -me; Mouraki knew very well that I had no desire to leave the island. -Phroso was the prisoner and the prize that the Pasha guarded; perhaps, -also, he had an inkling that he was not popular in Neopalia, and that -he would not be wise to trust to the loyalty of its inhabitants. - -Soon I found myself in the compound at the back of the house. The -ladder was placed ready; Kortes stood beside it. There seemed to be -nobody else about. The rain still fell, and the wind had risen till it -whistled wildly in the wood. - -'She's waiting for you,' whispered Kortes. 'She knows and she will -second the plan.' - -'Where is she?' - -'On the roof. She's wrapped in my cloak; she will take no hurt.' - -'And Mouraki?' - -'He's gone to bed. She was with him two hours.' - -I mounted the ladder and found myself on the flat roof, where once -Phroso had stood gazing up towards the cottage on the hill. We were -fighting Constantine then; Mouraki was our foe now. Constantine lay a -prisoner, harmless, as it seemed, and helpless. I prayed for a like -good fortune in the new enterprise. An instant later I found Phroso's -hand in mine. I carried it to my lips, as I murmured my greeting in a -hushed voice. The first answer was a nervous sob, but Phroso followed -it with a pleading apology. - -'I'm so tired,' she said, 'so tired. I have fought him for two hours -to-night. Forgive me. I will be brave, my lord.' - -I had determined on a cold business-like manner. I went as straight to -the point as a busy man in his city office. - -'You know the plan? You consent to it?' I asked. - -'Yes. I think I understand it. It is good of you, my lord. For you may -run great danger through me.' - -That was indeed true, and in more senses than one. - -'I do for you what you did not hesitate to do for me,' said I. - -'Yes,' said Phroso in a very low whisper. - -'You pretended; well then, now I pretend.' My voice sounded not only -cold, but bitter and unpleasant. 'I think it may succeed,' I -continued. 'He won't dare to take any extreme steps against me. I -don't see how he can prevent our going.' - -'He will let us go, you think?' - -'I don't know how he can refuse. And where will you go?' - -'I have some friends at Athens, people who knew my father.' - -'Good. I'll take you there and--' I paused. 'I'll--I'll take you there -and--' Again I paused; I could not help it. 'And leave you there in -safety,' I ended at last in a gruff harsh whisper. - -'Yes, my lord. And then you will go home in safety?' - -'Perhaps. That doesn't matter.' - -'Yes, it does matter,' said she, softly. 'For I would not be in safety -unless you were.' - -'Ah, Phroso, don't do that,' I groaned inwardly. - -'Yes, you will go back in safety, back to your own land, back to the -lady--' - -'Never mind--' I began. - -'Back to the lady whom my lord loves,' whispered Phroso. 'Then you -will forget this troublesome island and the troublesome--the -troublesome people on it.' - -Her face was no more than a foot from mine--pale, with sad eyes and a -smile that quivered on trembling lips; the fairest face in the world -that I had seen or believed any man to have seen; and her hand rested -in mine. There may live men who would have looked over her head and -not in those eyes--saints or dolts; I was neither; not I. I looked. I -looked as though I should never look elsewhere again, nor cared to -live if I could not look. But Phroso's hand was drawn from mine and -her eyes fell. I had to end the silence. - -'I shall go straight to Mouraki to-morrow morning,' said I, 'and tell -him you have agreed to be my wife; that you will come with me under -the care of Kortes and his sister, and that we shall be married on the -first opportunity.' - -'But he knows about--about the lady you love.' - -'It won't surprise Mouraki to hear that I am going to break my faith -with--the lady I love,' said I. - -'No,' said Phroso, refusing resolutely to look at me again. 'It won't -surprise Mouraki.' - -'Perhaps it wouldn't surprise any one.' - -Phroso made no comment on this; and the moment I had said it I heard a -voice below, a voice I knew very well. - -'What's the ladder here for, my friend?' it asked. - -'It enables one to ascend or descend, my lord,' answered Kortes's -grave voice, without the least touch of irony. - -'It's Mouraki,' whispered Phroso; at the time of danger her frightened -eyes came back to mine, and she drew nearer to me. 'It's Mouraki, my -lord.' - -'I know it is,' said I; 'so much the better.' - -'That seems probable,' observed Mouraki. 'But to enable whom to ascend -and descend, friend Kortes?' - -'Anyone who desires, my lord.' - -'Then I will ascend,' said Mouraki. - -'A thousand pardons, my lord!' - -'Stand aside, sir. What, you dare--' - -'Run back to your room,' I whispered. 'Quick. Good-night.' I caught -her hand and pressed it. She turned and disappeared swiftly through -the door which gave access to the inside of the house and thence to -her room; and I--glad that the interview had been interrupted, for I -could have borne little more of it--walked to the battlements and -looked over. Kortes stood like a wall between the astonished Mouraki -and the ladder. - -'Kortes, Kortes,'I cried in a tone of grieved surprise, 'is it -possible that you don't recognise his Excellency?' - -'Why, Wheatley!' cried Mouraki. - -'Who else should it be, my dear Pasha? Will you come up, or shall I -come down and join you? Out of the way, Kortes.' - -Kortes, who would not obey Mouraki, obeyed me. Mouraki seemed to -hesitate about mounting. I solved the difficulty by descending -rapidly. I was smiling, and I took the Pasha by the arm, saying with a -laugh: - -[Illustration: "A THOUSAND PARDONS, MY LORD!"] - -'Caught that time, I'm afraid, eh? Well, I meant to tell you soon.' - -I had certainly succeeded in astonishing Mouraki this time. Kortes -added to his wonder by springing nimbly up the ladder, and pulling it -up after him. - -'I thought you were in bed,' said I. 'And when the cat's away the mice -will play, you know. Well, we're caught!' - -'We?' asked the Pasha. - -'Well, do you suppose I was alone? Is it the sort of night a man -chooses to spend alone on a roof?' - -'Who was with you then?' he asked, suspicion alive in his crafty eyes. - -I took him by the arm and led him into the house, through the kitchen, -till we reached the hall, when I said: - -'Am I not a man of taste? Who should it be?' - -He sat down in the great armchair, and a heavy frown gathered on his -brow. I cannot quite explain why, but I was radiant. The spirit of the -game had entered into me; I forgot the reality that was so full of -pain; I was as merry as though what I told him had been the happy -truth, instead of a tantalising impossible vision. - -'Oh, don't misunderstand me,' I laughed, standing opposite to him, -swaying on my feet, and burying my hands in my pockets. 'Don't wrong -me, my dear Pasha. It's all just as it should be. There's nothing -going on that should not go on under your Excellency's roof. It is all -on the most honourable footing.' - -'I don't understand your riddles or your mirth,' said Mouraki. - -'Ah! Now once I didn't quite appreciate yours. The wheel goes round, -my dear Pasha. Every dog has his day. Forgive me, I am naturally -elated. I meant to tell you at breakfast to-morrow, but since you -surprised our tender meeting, why, I'll tell you now. Congratulate me. -That charming girl has owned that her avowal of love for me was -nothing but bare truth, and has consented to make me happy.' - -'To marry you?' - -'My dear Pasha! What else could I mean?' I took my hands out of my -pockets, lit a cigarette and puffed the smoke luxuriously. Mouraki sat -motionless in his chair, his eyes cold and sharp on me, his brow -puckered. At last he spoke. - -'And Miss Hipgrave?' he asked sneeringly. - -'Is there a breach of promise of marriage law in Neopalia?' said I. -'In truth, my dear Pasha, I am a little to blame there; but you -mustn't be hard on me. I had a moment of conscientious qualms. I -confess it. But she's too lovely, she really is. And she's so fond of -me--oh, I couldn't resist it!' I was simpering like any affected young -lady-killer. - -Mouraki was a clever fellow, but the blow had been a sudden one. It -strains the control even of clever fellows when a formidable obstacle -springs up, at a moment's notice, on a path that they have carefully -prepared and levelled for their steps. The Pasha's rage mastered him. - -'You've changed your mind rapidly, Lord Wheatley,' said he. - -'I know nothing,' I rejoined, 'that does change a man's mind so -quickly as a pretty girl.' - -'Yet some men hold to their promises,' said he with a savage sneer. - -'Oh, a few, perhaps; very few in these days.' - -'And you don't aspire to be one?' - -'Oh, I aspired,' said I with a laugh; 'but my aspirations have not -stood out against Phroso's charms.' - -Then I took a step nearer to him, and, veiling impertinence under a -thin show of sympathy, I said: - -'I hope you're not really annoyed? You weren't serious in the hint you -gave of your own intentions? I thought you were only joking, you -know. If you were serious, believe me I am grieved. But it must be -every man for himself in these little matters, mustn't it?' - -He had borne as much as he could. He rose suddenly to his feet and an -oath escaped from between his teeth. - -'You sha'n't have her!' said he. 'You think you can laugh at me: men -who think that find out their mistake.' - -I laughed again. I did not shrink from exasperating him to the -uttermost. He would be no more dangerous; he might be less discreet. - -'Pardon me,' said I, 'but I don't perceive how we need your -permission, glad as we should, of course, be of your felicitations.' - -'I have some power in Neopalia,' he reminded me, with a threatening -gleam in his eye. - -'No doubt, but the power has to be carefully exercised when British -subjects are in question--men, if I may add so much, of some position. -I can't be considered an islander of Neopalia for all purposes, my -dear Pasha.' - -He seemed not to hear or not to heed what I said; but he both heard -and heeded, or I mistook my man. - -'I don't give up what I have resolved upon,' said he. - -'You describe my own temper to a nicety,' said I. 'Now I have resolved -to marry Phroso.' - -'No,' said Mouraki. I greeted the word with a scornful shrug. - -'You understand?' he continued. 'It shall not be.' - -'We shall see,' said I. - -'You don't know the risk you're running.' - -'Come, come, isn't this rather near boasting?' I asked contemptuously. -'Your Excellency is a great man, no doubt, but you can't afford to -carry out these dark designs against a man of my position.' Then I -changed to a more friendly tone, saying, 'My dear Pasha, had you -defeated me I should have taken it quietly. Won't you best consult -your dignity by doing the same?' - -A long silence followed. I watched his face. Very gradually his brow -cleared, his lips relaxed into a smile. He, in his turn, shrugged his -shoulders. He took a step towards me; he held out his hand. - -'Wheatley,' said he, 'it is true, I am a fool. A man is a fool in such -matters. You must make allowances for me. I was honestly in love with -her. I thought myself safe from you. I allowed my temper to get the -better of me. Will you shake hands?' - -'Ah, now you're like yourself, my dear friend,' said I, grasping his -hand. - -'We'll speak again about it to-morrow. But my anger is over. Fear -nothing. I will be reasonable.' - -I murmured grateful thanks and appreciation of his generosity. - -'Good-night, good-night,' said he. 'I wish I hadn't found you -to-night. I should not have lost my composure like this at any other -time. You're sure you forgive my hasty words?' - -'From the bottom of my heart,' said I earnestly; and we pressed one -another's hands. Mouraki passed on to the stairs and began to mount -them slowly. He turned his head over his shoulders and said: - -'How will you settle with Miss Hipgrave?' - -'I must beg her forgiveness, as I must yours,' said I. - -'I hope you'll be equally successful,' said he, and his smile was in -working order by now. It was the last I saw of him as he disappeared -up the stairs. - -'Now,' said I, sitting down, 'he's gone to think how he can get my -throat cut without a scandal.' - -In fact, Mouraki and I were beginning to understand one another. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -A STRANGE ESCAPE - - -Yes, Mouraki was dangerous, very dangerous: now that he had regained -his self-control, most dangerous. His designs against me would be -limited only by the bounds which I had taken the opportunity of -recalling to his mind. I was a known man. I could not disappear -without excuse. But the fever of the island might be at the disposal -of the Governor no less than of Constantine Stefanopoulos. I must -avoid the infection. I congratulated myself that the best antidote I -had yet found--a revolver and cartridges--was again in my possession. -These, and open eyes, were the treatment for the sudden fatal disease -that threatened inconvenient lives in Neopalia. - -I thought that I had seen the Pasha safely and finally to bed when he -left me in the hall after our interview. I myself had gone to bed -almost immediately, and, tired out with the various emotions I had -passed through, had slept soundly. But now, looking back, I wonder -whether the Governor spent much of the night on his back. I doubt it, -very much I doubt it; nay, I incline to think that he had a very -active night of goings to and fro, of strange meetings, of schemes and -bargainings; and I fancy he had not been back in his room long before -I rose for my morning walk. However of that I knew nothing at the -time, and I met him at breakfast, prepared to resume our discussion as -he had promised. But, behold, he was surrounded by officers. There was -a stir in the hall. Orders were being given; romance and the affairs -of love seemed forgotten. - -'My dear lord,' cried Mouraki, turning towards me with every sign of -discomposure and vexation on his face, 'I am terribly annoyed. These -careless fellows of mine--alas, I am too good-natured and they presume -on it!--have let your friend Constantine slip through their fingers.' - -'Constantine escaped!' I exclaimed in genuine surprise and vexation. - -'Alas, yes! The sentry fell asleep. It seems that the prisoner had -friends, and they got him out by the window. The news came to me at -dawn, and I have been having the island scoured for him; but he's not -to be found, and we think he must have had a boat in readiness.' - -'Have you looked in the cottage where his wife is?' - -'The very first thought that struck me, my dear friend! Yes, it has -been searched. In vain! It is now so closely guarded that nobody can -get in. If he ventures there we shall have him to a certainty. But go -on with your breakfast; we needn't spoil that for you. I have one or -two more orders to give.' - -In obedience to the Pasha I sat down and began my breakfast; but as I -ate, while Mouraki conferred with his officers in a corner of the -hall, I became very thoughtful concerning this escape of -Constantine. Sentries do sleep--sometimes; zealous friends do open -windows--sometimes; fugitives do find boats ready--sometimes. It was -all possible: there was nothing even exactly improbable. Yet--yet--! -Whether Mouraki's account were the whole truth, or something lay below -and unrevealed, at least I knew that the escape meant that another -enemy, and a bitter one, was loosed against me. I had fought -Constantine, I had touched Mouraki's shield in challenge the night -before: was I to have them both against me? And would it be two -against one, or, as boys say, all against all? If the former, the -chances of my catching the fever were considerably increased; and -somehow I had a presentiment that the former was nearer the truth -than the latter. I had no real evidence. Mouraki's visible chagrin -seemed to contradict my theory. But was not Mouraki's chagrin just a -little too visible? It was such a very obvious, hearty, genuine, -honest, uncontrollable chagrin; it demanded belief in itself the least -bit too loudly. - -The Pasha joined me over my cigarette. If Constantine were in the -island, said the Pasha, with a blow of his fist on the table, he would -be laid by the heels before evening came; not a mole--let alone a -man--could escape the soldiers' search; not a bird could enter the -cottage (he seemed to repeat this very often) unobserved, nor escape -from it without a bullet in its plumage. And when Constantine was -caught he should pay for this defiance. For the Pasha had delayed the -punishment of his crimes too long. This insolent escape was a proper -penalty on the Pasha's weak remissness. The Pasha blamed himself very -much. His honour was directly engaged in the recapture; he would not -sleep till it was accomplished. In a word, the Pasha's zeal beggared -comparison and outran adequate description. It filled his mind; it -drove out last night's topic. He waved that trifle away; it must wait, -for now there was business afoot. It could be discussed only when -Constantine was once more a prisoner in the hands of justice, a -suppliant for the mercy of the Governor. - -I escaped at length from the torrent of sincerity with which Mouraki -insisted on deluging me, and went into the open air. There were no -signs of Phroso. Kortes was not to be seen either. I saw the yacht in -the harbour, and thought of strolling down; but Denny had, no doubt, -heard the great news, and I was reluctant to be out of the way, even -for an hour. Events came quick in Neopalia. People appeared and -disappeared in no time, escaped and--were not recaptured. But I told -myself that I would send a message to the yacht soon; for I wanted -Denny and the others to know what I--what I was strangely inclined to -suspect regarding this occurrence. - -The storm which had swept over the island the evening before was gone. -It was a bright hot day; the waves danced blue in the sun, while a -light breeze blew from off the side of the land on which the house -stood and was carrying fishing-boats merrily out of the harbour. If -Constantine had found a boat, the wind was fair to carry him away to -safety. But had he? I glanced up at the cottage in the woods above me. -A thought struck me. I could run up there and down again in a few -moments. - -I made my way quickly back to the house and into the compound behind. -Here, to my delight, I found Kortes. A word shewed me that he had -heard the news. Phroso also had heard it. It was known to every one. - -'I'm going to see if I can get a look into the cottage,' said I. - -'I'm told it is guarded, my lord.' - -'Kortes, speak plainly. What do you say about this affair?' - -'I don't know; I don't know what to think. If they won't let you in--' - -'Yes, I meant that. How is she, Kortes?' - -'Well, my sister says. I haven't seen her. Run no risks, my lord. She -has only you and me.' - -'And my friends. I'm going to send them word to be on the look-out for -any summons from me.' - -'Then send it at once,' he counselled. 'You may delay, Mouraki will -not.' - -I was struck with his advice; but I was also bent on carrying out my -reconnaissance of the cottage. - -'I'll send it directly I come back,' said I, and I ran to the angle of -the wall, climbed up, and started at a quick walk through the wood. I -met nobody till I was almost at the cottage. Then I came suddenly on a -sentry; another I saw to the right, a third to the left. The cottage -seemed ringed round with watchful figures. The man barred my way. - -'But I am going to see the lady--Madame Stefanopoulos,' I protested. - -'I have orders to let nobody pass,' he answered. 'I will call the -officer.' - -The officer came. He was full of infinite regrets, but his -Excellency's orders were absolute. Nay, did I not think they were -wise? This man was so desperate a criminal, and he had so many -friends. He would, of course, try to communicate with his wife. - -'But he can't expect his wife to help him,' I exclaimed. 'He wanted to -murder her.' - -'But women are forgiving. He might well persuade her to help him in -his escape; or he might intimidate her.' - -'So I'm not to pass?' - -'I'm afraid not, my lord. If his Excellency gives you a pass it will -be another matter.' - -'The lady is there still?' - -'Oh, I believe so. I have not myself been inside the cottage. That is -not part of my duty.' - -'Is anyone stationed in the cottage?' - -The officer smiled and answered, with an apologetic shrug, 'Would not -you ask his Excellency anything you desire to know, my lord?' - -'Well, I daresay you're right,' I admitted, and I fixed a long glance -on the windows of the cottage. - -'Even to allow anybody to linger about here is contrary to my orders,' -suggested the officer, still civil, still apologetic. - -'Even to look?' - -'His Excellency said to linger.' - -'Is it the same thing?' - -'His Excellency would answer that also, my lord.' - -The barrier round the place was impregnable. That seemed plain. To -loiter near the cottage was forbidden, to look at it a matter of -suspicion. Yet looking at the cottage would not help the escape of -Constantine. - -There seemed nothing to be done. Slowly and reluctantly, with a -conviction that I was turning away baffled from the heart of the -mystery, that the clue lay there were I but allowed to take it in my -fingers, I retraced my steps down the hill through the wood. I -believed that the strict guard was to prevent my intrusion and mine -alone; that the Pasha's search for Constantine was a pretence; in -fine, that Constantine was at that moment in the cottage, with the -knowledge of Mouraki and under his protection. But I could not prove -my suspicions, and I could not unravel the plan which the Pasha was -pursuing. I had a strange uneasy sense of fighting in the dark. My -eyes were blindfolded, while my antagonist could make full use of his. -In that case the odds were against me. - -I passed through the house. All was quiet, nobody was about. It was -now the middle of the afternoon, and, having accomplished my useless -inspection of the cottage, I sat down and wrote a note to Denny, -bidding him be on the alert day and night. He or Hogvardt must always -be on watch, the yacht ready to start at a moment's notice. I begged -him to ask no questions, only to be ready; for life or death might -hang on a moment. Thus I paved the way for carrying out my resolution; -and my resolution was no other than to make a bold dash for the yacht -with Phroso and Kortes, under cover of night. If we reached it and got -clear of the harbour, I believed that we could show a clean pair of -heels to the gunboat. Moreover I did not think that the wary Mouraki -would dare to sink us in open sea with his guns. The one point I held -against him was his fear of publicity. We should be safer in the yacht -than among the hidden dangers of Neopalia. I finished my note, sealed -it, and strolled out in front of the house, looking for somebody to -act as my messenger. - -Standing there, I raised my eyes and looked down to the harbour and -the sea. At what I saw, forgetting Kortes's reproof, I again uttered -an oath of surprise and dismay. Smoke poured from the funnel of the -yacht. See, she moved! She made for the mouth of the harbour. She set -her course for the sea. Where was she going? I did not care to answer -that. She must not go. It was vital that she should stay ready for me -by the jetty. My scruples about leaving the house vanished before this -more pressing necessity. Without an instant's delay, with hardly an -instant's thought, I put my best foot foremost and ran, as a man runs -for his life, along the road towards the town. As I started I thought -I heard Mouraki's voice from the window above my head beginning in its -polite wondering tones, 'Why in the world, my dear Wheatley--?' Ah, -did he not know why? I would not stop for him. On I went. I reached -the main road. I darted down the steep street. Women started in -surprise at me, children scurried hastily out of my way. I was a very -John Gilpin without a horse. I did not think myself able to run so far -or so fast; but apprehension gave me legs, excitement breath, and -love--yes, love--why deny it now?--love speed; I neither halted nor -turned nor failed till I reached the jetty. But there I sank -exhausted against the wooden fencing, for the yacht was hard on a mile -out to sea and putting yards and yards between herself and me at every -moment. Again I sprang up and waved my handkerchief. Two or three of -Mouraki's soldiers who were lounging about stared at me stolidly; a -fisherman laughed mockingly; the children had flocked after me down -the street and made a gaping circle round me. The note to Denny was in -my hand. Denny was far out of my reach. What possessed the boy? Hard -were the names that I called myself for having neglected Kortes's -advice. What were the cottage and the whereabouts of Constantine -compared with the presence of my friends and the yacht? - -A hope ran through me. Perhaps they were only passing an hour and -would turn homewards soon. I strained my eager eyes after them. The -yacht held on her course, straight, swift, relentless. She seemed to -be carrying with her Phroso's hopes of rescue, mine of safety; her -buoyant leap embodied Mouraki's triumph. I turned from watching, sick -at heart, half-beaten and discouraged; and, as I turned, a boy ran up -to me and thrust a letter into my hand, saying: - -'The gentleman on the yacht left this for my lord. I was about to -carry it up when I saw my lord run through the street, and I followed -him back.' - -The letter bore Denny's handwriting. I tore it open with eager -fingers. - - 'Dear Charley,' it ran, 'I don't know what your game is, but - it's pretty slow for us. So we're off fishing. Old Mouraki has - been uncommon civil, and sent a fellow with us to show us the - best place. If the weather is decent we shall stay out a couple - of nights, so you may look for us the day after to-morrow. I - knew it was no good asking you to come. Be a good boy, and - don't get into mischief while I'm away. Of course Mouraki will - bottle Constantine again in no time. He told us he had no doubt - of it, unless the fellow had found a boat. I'll run up to the - house, as soon as we get back. Yours ever, D. - - P. S.--As you said you didn't want Watkins up at the house, - I've taken him along to cook.' - -_Beati innocentes!_ Denny was very innocent, and so, I suppose, very -blessed; and my friend the Pasha had got rid of him in the easiest -manner possible. Indeed it was 'uncommon civil' of Mouraki! They would -be back the day after to-morrow, and Denny would 'run up to the -house.' The thing was almost ludicrous in the pitiful unconsciousness -of it. I tore the note that I had written into small pieces, put -Denny's in my pocket, and started to mount the hill again. But I -turned once and looked on the face of the sea. To my anxious mind it -seemed not to smile at me as was its wont. It was not now my refuge -and my safety, but the prison-bars that confined me--me and her whom I -had to serve and save. - -And he had taken Watkins along to cook; for I did not want him at the -house! I would have given every farthing I had in the world for any -honest brave man, Watkins or another. And I was not to 'get into -mischief.' I knew very well what Denny meant by that. Well, he might -be reassured. It did not appear likely that I should enjoy much -leisure for dalliance of the sort he blamed. - -'Really, you know, I shall have something else to do,' I said to -myself. - -Slowly I walked up the hill, too deep in reflection even to hasten my -steps; and I started like a man roused from sleep when I heard, from -the side of the street, a soft cry of 'My lord!' I looked round. I was -directly opposite the door of Vlacho's inn. On the the threshold stood -the girl Panayiota, who was Demetri's sweetheart, and had held in her -lap the head of Constantine's wife whom Demetri could not kill. She -cast cautious glances up and down the street, and withdrew swiftly -into the shadow of the house, beckoning to me to follow her. In a -strait like mine no chance, however small, is to be missed or refused. -I followed her. Her cheek glowed with colour; she was under the -influence of some excitement whose cause I could not fathom. - -'I have a message for you, my lord,' she whispered. 'I must tell it -you quickly. We must not be seen.' She shrank back farther into the -shelter of the doorway. - -'As quickly as you like, Panayiota,' said I. 'I have little time to -lose.' - -'You have a friend more than you know of,' said she, setting her lips -close to my ear. - -'I'm glad to hear it,' said I. 'Is that all?' - -'Yes, that's all--a friend more than you know of, my lord. Take -courage, my lord.' - -I bent my eyes on her face in question. She understood that I was -asking for a plainer message. - -'I can tell you no more,' she said. 'I was told to say that--a friend -more than you know of. I have said it. Don't linger, my lord. I can -say no more, and there is danger.' - -'I'm much obliged to you. I hope he will prove of value.' - -'He will,' she replied quickly, and she waved aside the piece of -money which I had offered her, and motioned me to be gone. But again -she detained me for a moment. - -'The lady--the wife of the Lord Constantine--what of her?' she asked -in low hurried tones. - -'I know nothing of her,' said I. 'I believe she's at the cottage.' - -'And he's loose again?' - -'Yes.' And I added, searching her face, 'But the Governor will hunt -him down.' - -I had my answer: a plain explicit answer. It came not in words, but in -a scornful smile, a lift of the brows, a shrug. I nodded in -understanding. Panayiota whispered again, 'Courage--a friend more than -you know of--courage, my lord,' and, turning, fairly ran away from me -down the passage towards the yard behind the inn. - -Who was this friend? By what means did he seek to help me? I could not -tell. One suspicion I had, and I fought a little fight with myself as -I walked back to the house. I recollected the armed man I had met in -the night, whom I had rebuked and threatened. Was he the friend, and -was it my duty to tell Mouraki of my suspicions? I say I had a -struggle. Did I win or lose? I do not know; for even now I cannot make -up my mind. But I was exasperated at the trick Mouraki had played on -me, I was fearful for Phroso, I felt that I was contending against a -man who would laugh at the chivalry which warned him. I hardened my -heart and shut my eyes. I owed nothing, less than nothing, to Mouraki -Pasha. He had, as I verily believed, loosed a desperate treacherous -foe on me. He had, as I knew now, deluded my friends into forsaking -me. Let him guard his own head and his own skin. I had enough to do -with Phroso and myself. So I reasoned, seeking to justify my silence. -I have often since thought that the question raised a nice enough -point of casuistry. Men who have nothing else to do may amuse -themselves with the answering of it. I answered it by the time I -reached the threshold of the house. And I held my tongue. - -Mouraki was waiting for me in the doorway. He was smiling as he had -smiled before my bold declaration of love for Phroso had spoilt his -temper. - -'My dear lord,' he cried, 'I could have spared you a tiresome walk. I -thought your friends would certainly have told you of their intention, -or I would have mentioned it myself.' - -'My dear Pasha,' I rejoined, no less cordially, 'to tell the truth, I -knew their intention, but it struck me suddenly that I would go with -them, and I ran down to try and catch them. Unfortunately I was too -late.' - -The extravagance of my lying served its turn; Mouraki understood, not -that I was trying to deceive him, but that I was informing him -politely that he had not succeeded in deceiving me. - -'You wished to accompany them?' he asked, with a broadening smile. -'You--a lover!' - -'A man can't always be making love,' said I carelessly--though truly -enough. - -Mouraki took a step toward me. - -'It is safer not to do it at all,' said he in a lower tone. - -The man had a great gift of expression. His eyes could put a world of -meaning into a few simple words. In this little sentence, which -sounded like a trite remark, I discovered a last offer, an invitation -to surrender, a threat in case of obstinacy. I answered it after its -own kind.' - -'Safer, perhaps, but deplorably dull,' said I. - -'Ah, well, you know best,' remarked the Pasha. 'If you like to take -the rough with the smooth--' He broke off with a shrug, resuming a -moment later. 'You expect to see them back the day after to-morrow, -don't you?' - -I was not sure whether the particular form of this question was -intentional or not. In the literal meaning of his words Mouraki asked -me, not whether they would be back, but whether I thought I should -witness their return--possibly a different thing. - -'Denny says they'll be back then,' I answered cautiously. The Pasha -stroked his beard. This time he was, I think, hiding a smile at my -understanding and evasion of his question. - -'I hear,' he observed with a laugh, 'that you have been trying to pass -my sentries and look for our runaway on your own account. You really -shouldn't expose yourself to such risks. The man might kill you. I'm -glad my officer obeyed his orders.' - -'Then Constantine is at the cottage?' I cried quickly, for I thought -he had betrayed himself into an admission. His composed air and amused -smile smothered my hopes. - -'At the cottage? Oh, dear, no. Of course I have searched that. I had -that searched first of all.' - -'And the guard--' - -'Is only to prevent him from going there.' - -I had not that perfect facial control which distinguished the -Governor. I suppose I appeared unconvinced, for Mouraki caught me by -the arm, and, giving me an affectionate squeeze, cried, 'What an -unbeliever! Come, you shall go with me and see for yourself.' - -If he took me, of course I should find nothing. The bird, if it had -ever alighted on that stone, would be flown by now. His specious offer -was worthless. - -'My dear Pasha, of course I take your word for it.' - -'No, I won't be trusted! I positively won't be believed! You shall -come. We two will go together.' And he still clung to my arm with the -pressure of friendly compulsion. - -I did not see how to avoid doing what he suggested without coming to -an open quarrel with him, and that I did not desire. He had every -motive for wishing to force me into open enmity; a hasty word or -gesture might serve him as a plausible excuse for putting me under -arrest. He would have a case if he could prove me to have been -disrespectful to the Governor. My only chance lay in seeming -submission up to the last possible moment. And Kortes was guarding -Phroso, so that I could go without uneasiness. - -'Well, let's walk up the hill then,' said I carelessly. 'Though I -assure you you're giving yourself needless trouble.' - -He would not listen, and we turned, still arm-in-arm, to pass through -the house. Mouraki had caused a ladder to be placed against the bank -of rock, for he did not enjoy clambering up by the steps cut in the -side of it. He set his foot now on the lowest rung of this ladder; but -he paused there an instant and turned round, facing me, and asked, as -though the thought had suddenly occurred to his mind: - -'Have you had any conversation with our fair friend this afternoon?' - -'The Lady Phroso? No. She has not made an appearance. Perhaps I wrong -you, Pasha, but I fancied you were not over-anxious that I should have -a conversation with her.' - -'You wrong me,' he said earnestly. 'Indeed you wrong me. To prove it, -you shall have a _tête-à-tête_ with her the moment we return. Oh, I -don't fight with weapons like that! I wouldn't use my authority like -that. I am going to search again for this Constantine myself this -evening with a strong party; then you shall be at perfect liberty to -talk with her.' - -'I'm infinitely obliged; you're too generous.' - -'I trust we're gentlemen still, though unhappily we have become -rivals,' and he let go of the ladder for an instant in order to press -my hand. - -Then he began to climb up and I followed him, asking of my puzzled -brain, 'Now, what does he mean by that?' - -For it seemed to me that a man needed cat's eyes to follow the schemes -of Mouraki Pasha, eyes that darkness could not blind. This last -generous offer of his was beyond the piercing of my vision. I did not -know whether it were merely a bit of courtesy, safe to offer, or if it -hid some new design. Well, it was little use wondering. At least I -should see Phroso. Perhaps--a sudden thought seized me, and I--. - -'What makes you look so excited?' asked the Pasha. His eyes were on my -face, his lips curved in a smile. - -'I'm not excited,' said I. But the blood was leaping in my veins. I -had an idea. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -AN UNFINISHED LETTER - - -I have learnt on my way through the world how dangerous a thing is a -conceit of a man's own cleverness; and among the most striking lessons -of this truth stands one which Mouraki Pasha taught me in Neopalia. My -game was against a past master in the art of intrigue; yet I made sure -I had caught him napping, sure that my wits were quicker than his and -that he missed what was plain to my mind. In vain, they say, is the -net spread in the sight of any bird. Aye, of any bird that has eyes -and knows how to use them. But if the bird has no eyes, or employs -them in admiring its own plumage, there is a chance for the fowler -after all. - -These reflections occur to my mind when I recollect the hope and -exultation in my heart as I followed the Governor's leisurely upward -march through the wood to the cottage. Mouraki, I said to myself, -thought that he was allaying my suspicions and lulling my watchfulness -to sleep by the courtesy with which he arranged an interview between -Phroso and myself. Was that what he was really doing? No, I declared -triumphantly. He was putting in my way the one sovereign chance which -fate hitherto had denied. He was to be away, and most of his men with -him. Phroso, Kortes, and I would be alone together at the house, alone -for an hour, perhaps for two. At the moment I felt that I asked no -more of fortune. Had the Pasha never heard of the secret of the -Stefanopouloi? It almost seemed so; but I myself had told him of it, -and Denny's information had preceded mine. Yet he was leaving us alone -by the hidden door. Had he remembered it? Had he stopped it? My ardour -was cooled; my face fell. He knew; he could not have forgotten; and if -he knew and remembered, of a surety the passage would be blocked or -watched. - -'By the way,' said Mouraki, turning to me, 'I want you to show me that -passage you told me of some time to-morrow. I've never found time to -go down there yet, and I have a taste for these mediæval curiosities.' - -'I shall be proud to be your guide, Pasha. You would trust yourself -there with me?' - -'Oh, my dear Wheatley, such things are not done now,' smiled the -Pasha. 'You and I will settle our little difference another way. Have -you been down since I came?' - -'No. I've had about enough of the passage,' said I carelessly. 'I -should be glad never to see it again; but I must strain a point and go -with you.' - -'Yes, you must do that,' he answered. 'How steep this hill is! Really -I must be growing old, as Phroso is cruel enough to think!' - -This conversation, seeming to fall in so pat with my musings, and -indicating, if it did not state, that Mouraki treated the passage as a -trifle of no moment, brought us to the outskirts of the wood. The -cottage was close in front of us. We had passed only one sentry: the -cordon was gone. This change struck me at once, and I remarked on it -to Mouraki. - -'Yes, I thought it safe to send most of them away; there are one or -two more than you see though. But he won't venture back now.' - -I smiled to myself. I was pleased again at my penetration; and in this -instance, unlike the other at which I have hinted, I do not think I -was wrong. The cordon had been here, then Constantine had; the cordon -was gone, and I made no doubt that Constantine was gone also. - -The front of the cottage was dark, and the curtains of the windows -drawn, as they had been when I came before, on the night I killed -Vlacho the innkeeper and fell into the hands of Kortes and Demetri. -The whirligig had turned since then; for then this man Mouraki had -been my far-off much-desired deliverer, Kortes and Demetri open -enemies. Now Mouraki was my peril, Kortes my best friend, -Demetri--well, what and whom had Panayiota meant? - -'Shall we go in?' asked Mouraki, as we came to the house. 'Stay, -though, I'll knock on the door with my stick. Madame Stefanopoulos is, -no doubt, within. I think she will probably not have joined her -husband.' - -'I imagine she'll have heard of his escape with great regret,' said I. - -The Pasha knocked with the gold-headed cane which he carried. He -waited and then repeated the blow. No answer came. - -'Well,' he said with a shrug, 'we have given her fair warning. Let us -enter. She knows you, my dear Wheatley, and will not be alarmed.' - -'But if Constantine's here?' I suggested, with a mocking smile. 'Your -life is a valuable one. Run no risks; he's a desperate man.' - -The Pasha shifted his cane to his left hand, smiled in answer to my -smile, and produced a revolver. - -'You're wise,' said I, and I took my revolver out of my pocket. - -'We are ready for--anything--now,' said Mouraki. - -I think 'anything' in that sentence was meant to include 'one -another.' - -The Pasha opened the door and passed in. Nothing seemed changed since -my last visit. The door of the room on the right was open, the table -was again spread, for two this time; the left-hand door was shut. - -'You see the fugitive is not in that room,' observed the Pasha, waving -his hand to the right. 'Let us try the other,' and he turned the -door-handle of the room on the left, and preceded me into it. - -At this point I am impelled to a little confession. The murderous -impulse is, perhaps, not so uncommon as we assume. I daresay many -respectable men and amiable women have felt it in all its attractive -simplicity once or twice in their lives. It seems at such moments -hardly sinful, merely too dangerous, and to be recognised as -impossible to gratify only by reason of its danger. But I perceive -that I am accusing the rest of the world in the hope of excusing -myself; for at that moment, when the Pasha's broad solid back was -presented to me, a yard in front, I experienced a momentary but -extremely strong temptation to raise my arm, move my finger -and--transform the situation. I did not do it; but, on the other -hand, I have never counted the desire to do it among the great sins of -my life. Mouraki, I thought then and know now, deserved nothing -better. Unhappily we have our own consciences to consider, and thus -are often prevented from meting out to others the measure their deeds -claim. - -[Illustration: "WE ARE READY FOR--ANYTHING--NOW."] - -'I see nobody,' said the Pasha. 'But then the room is dark. Shall I -pull back the curtain?' - -'You'd better be careful,' said I, laughing. 'That's what Vlacho did.' - -'Ah, but you're on the same side this time,' he answered, and stepped -across the room towards the curtain. - -Suddenly I became, or seemed to become, vaguely, uncomfortably, even -terribly conscious of something there. Yet I could see nothing in the -dark room, and I heard nothing. I can hardly think Mouraki shared my -strange oppressive feeling; yet the curtain was not immediately drawn -back, his figure bulked motionless just in front of me, and he -repeated in tones that betrayed uneasiness: - -'I suppose I'd better draw back the curtain, hadn't I?' - -What was it? It must have been all fancy, born of the strain of -excitement and the nervous tension in which I was living. I have had -something of the feeling in the dark before and since, but never so -strong, distinct and almost overpowering. I knew Constantine was not -there. I had no fear of him if he were. Yet my forehead grew damp with -sweat. - -Mouraki's hand was on the curtain. He drew it back. The dull evening -light spread sluggishly through the room. Mouraki turned and looked at -me. I returned his gaze. A moment passed before either of us looked -round. - -'There's nobody behind the curtain,' said he, with a slight sigh which -seemed to express relief. 'Do you see any one anywhere?' - -Then I pulled myself together, and looked round. The chairs near me -were empty, the couch had no occupant. But away in the corner of the -room, in the shadow of a projecting angle of wall, I saw a figure -seated in front of a table. On the table were writing-materials. The -figure was a woman's. Her arms were spread on the table, and her head -lay between them. I raised my hand and pointed to her. Mouraki's eyes -obeyed my direction but came quickly back to me in question, and he -arched his brows. - -I stepped across the room towards where the woman sat. I heard the -Pasha following with hesitating tread, and I waited till he overtook -me. Then I called her name softly; yet I knew that it was no use to -call her name; it was only the protest my horror made. She would hear -her name no more. Again I pointed with my right hand, catching -Mouraki's arm with my left at the same moment. - -'There,' I said, 'there--between the shoulders! A knife!' - -I felt his arm tremble. I must do him justice. I am convinced that he -did not foresee or anticipate this among the results of the letting -loose of Constantine Stefanopoulos. I heard him clear his throat, I -saw him lick his lips; his lids settled low over his cunning eyes. I -turned from him to the motionless figure in the chair. - -She was dead, had been dead some little while, and must have died -instantly on that foul stroke. Why had the brute dealt it? Was it mere -revenge and cruelty, persistently nursed wrath at her betrayal of him -on St Tryphon's day? Or had some new cause evoked passion from him? - -'Let us lay her here on the sofa,' I said to Mouraki; 'and you must -send some one to look after her.' - -He seemed reluctant to help me. I leant forward alone, and putting my -arm round her, raised her from the table, and set her upright in the -chair. I rejoiced to find no trace of pain or horror on her face. As I -looked at her I gave a sudden short sob. I was unstrung; the thing -was so wantonly cruel and horrible. - -'He has made good use of his liberty,' I said in a low fierce tone, -turning on Mouraki in a sudden burst of anger against the hand that -had set the villain free. But the Pasha's composure wrapped him like a -cloak again. He knew what I meant and read the implied taunt in my -words, but he answered calmly: - -'We have no proof yet that it was her husband who killed her.' - -'Who else should?' - -He shrugged his shoulders, remarking, 'No proof, I said. Perhaps he -did, perhaps not. We don't know.' - -'Help me with her,' said I brusquely. - -Between us we lifted her and laid her on the couch, and spread over -her a fur rug that draped one of the chairs. While this was done we -did not exchange a word with one another. Mouraki uttered a sigh of -relief when the task was finished. - -'I'll send a couple of women up as soon as we get back. Meanwhile the -place is guarded and nobody can come in. Need we delay longer? It is -not a pleasant place.' - -'I should think we might as well go,' I answered, casting my eye again -round the little room to the spot where Vlacho had fallen enveloped -in the curtain which he dragged down with him, and to the -writing-table that had supported the dead body of Francesca. Mouraki's -hand was on the door-handle. He stood there, impatient to be out of -the place, waiting for me to accompany him. But my last glance had -seen something new, and with a sudden low exclamation I darted across -the room to the table. I had perceived a sheet of paper lying just -where Francesca's head had rested. - -'What's the matter?' asked Mouraki. - -I made him no answer. I seized the piece of paper. A pen lay between -it and the inkstand. On the paper was a line or two of writing. The -characters were blurred, as though the dead woman's hair had smeared -them before the ink was dry. I held it up. Mouraki stepped briskly -across to me. - -'Give it to me,' he said, holding out his hand. 'It may be something I -ought to see.' - -The first hint of action, of new light or a new development, restored -their cool alertness to my faculties. - -'Why not something which I ought to see, my dear Pasha?' I asked, -holding the paper behind my back and facing him. - -'You forget the position I hold, Lord Wheatley. You have no such -position.' - -I did not argue that. I walked to the window, to get the best of the -light. Mouraki followed me closely. - -'I'll read it to you,' said I. 'There isn't much of it.' - -I held it to the light. The Pasha was close by my shoulder, his pale -face leaning forward towards the paper. Straining my eyes on the -blurred characters I read; and I read aloud, according to my promise, -hearing Mouraki's breathing which accompanied my words. - -'My lord, take care. He is free. Mouraki has set--' - -That was all: a blot followed the last word. At that word the pen must -have fallen from her fingers as her husband's dagger stole her life. -We had read her last words. The writing of that line saw the moment of -her death. Did it also supply the cause? If so, not the old grudge, -but rage at a fresh betrayal of a fresh villainy had impelled -Constantine's arm to his foul stroke. He had caught her in the act of -writing it, taken his revenge, and secured his safety. - -After I had read, there was silence. The Pasha's face was still by my -shoulder. I gazed, as if fascinated, on the fatal unfinished note. At -last I turned and looked him in the face. His eyes met mine in unmoved -steely composure. - -'I think,' said I, 'that I had a right to read the note after all; -for, as I guess, the writer was addressing it to me and not to you.' - -For a moment Mouraki hesitated; then he shrugged his shoulders, -saying: - -'My dear lord, I don't know whom it is addressed to or what it means. -Had the unfortunate lady been allowed to finish it--' - -'We should know more than we do now,' I interrupted. - -'I was about to say as much. I see she introduced my name; she can, -however, have known nothing of any course I might be pursuing.' - -'Unless some one who knew told her.' - -'Who could?' - -'Well, her husband.' - -'Who was killing her?' he asked, with a scornful smile. - -'He may have told her before, and she may have been trying to forward -the information to me.' - -'It is all the purest conjecture,' shrugged the Governor. - -I looked him in the face, and I think my eyes told him pretty plainly -my views of the meaning of the note. He answered my glance at first -with a carefully inexpressive gaze; but presently a meaning came into -his eyes. He seemed to confess to me and to challenge me to make what -use I could of the confession. But the next instant the momentary -candour of his regard passed, and blankness spread over his face -again. - -Desperately I struggled with myself, clinging to self-control. To this -day I believe that, had my life and my life only been in question, I -should then and there have compelled Mouraki to fight me, man to man, -in the little gloomy room where the dead woman lay on the sofa. We -should not have disturbed her; and I think also that Mouraki, who did -not want for courage, would have caught at my challenge and cried -content to a proposal that we should, there and then, put our quarrel -to an issue, and that one only of us should go alive down the hill. I -read such a mood in his eyes in the moment of their candour. I saw the -courage to act on it in his resolute lips and his tense still -attitude. - -Well, we could neither of us afford the luxury. If I killed him, I -should bring grave suspicion on Phroso. She and her islanders would be -held accomplices; and, though this was a secondary matter to hot rage, -I myself should stand in a position of great danger. And he could not -kill me; for all his schemes against me were still controlled and -limited by the necessities of his position. Had I been an islander, or -even an unknown man concerning whom no questions would be asked, his -work would have been simple, and, as I believed, would have been -carried out before now. But it was not so. He would be held -responsible for a satisfactory account of how I met my death. It would -tax his invention to give it if he killed me himself, with his own -hand, and in a secret encounter. In fact, the finding of the note left -us where we were, so far as action was concerned, but it tore away the -last shreds of the veil, the last pretences of good faith and -friendliness which had been kept up between us. In that swift, full, -open glance which we had exchanged, our undisguised quarrel, the great -issue between us, was legibly written and plainly read. Yet not a word -passed our lips concerning it. Mouraki and I began to need words no -more than lovers do. For hate matches love in penetration. - -I put the note in my pocket. Mouraki blinked eyes now utterly free -from expression. I gave a final glance at the dead woman. I felt a -touch of shame at having for a moment forgotten her fate for my -quarrel. - -'Shall we go down, Pasha?' said I. - -'As soon as you please, Lord Wheatley,' he answered. This formal mode -of address was perhaps an acknowledgment that the time for hypocrisy -and the hollow show of friendship between us was over. The change was -just in his way, slight, subtle, but sufficient. - -I followed Mouraki out of the house. He walked in his usual slow -deliberate manner. He beckoned to the sentry as we passed him, told -him that two women, who would shortly come up, were to be admitted, -but nobody else, until an officer came bearing further orders. Having -made these arrangements, he resumed his way down, taking his place in -front of me and maintaining absolute silence. I did not care to talk. -I had enough to think about. But already, now I was out in the fresh -air, the feeling of sick horror with which the little room had -affected me began to pass away. I felt braced up again. I was better -prepared for the great effort which loomed before me now as a present -and urgent necessity. Mouraki had found an instrument. He had set -Constantine free, that Constantine might do against me what Mouraki -himself could not do openly. My friends were away. The hour of the -stroke must even now be upon me. Well, the hour of my counter-stroke -was come also, the counter-stroke for which my interview with Phroso -and Mouraki's absence opened the way. For he thought the passage no -more than a mediæval curiosity. - -We reached the house and entered the hall together. As we passed -through the compound I had seen an alert sentinel. Looking out from -the front door, I perceived two men on guard. A party of ten or a -dozen more was drawn up, an officer at its head; these were the men -who waited to attend Mouraki on his evening expedition. The Pasha -seated himself and wrote a note. He looked up as he finished it, -saying: - -'I am informing the Lady Euphrosyne that you will await her here in -half-an-hour's time, and that she is at liberty to spend what time she -pleases with you. Is that what you wish?' - -'Precisely, your Excellency. I am much obliged to you.' - -His only answer was a dignified bow; but he turned to a sub-officer -who stood by him at attention and said, 'On no account allow Lord -Wheatley to be interrupted this evening. You will, of course, keep the -sentries on guard behind and in front of the house, but do not let -them intrude here.' - -After giving his orders, the Pasha sat silent for some minutes. He had -lighted his cigarette, and smoked it slowly. Then he let it out--a -thing I had never seen him do before--lit another, and resumed his -slow inhalings. I knew that he would speak before long, and after a -few more moments he gave me the result of his meditations. We were now -alone together. - -'It would have been much better,' said he, 'if that poor woman--whose -fate I sincerely regret--had been let alone and this girl had died -instead of her,' and he nodded at me with convinced emphasis. - -'If Phroso had died!' leapt from my lips in astonishment. - -'Yes, if Phroso had died. We would have hanged Constantine together, -wept together over her grave, and each of us gone home with a sweet -memory--you to your _fiancée_, I to my work. And we should have -forgiven one another any little causes of reproach.' - -To this speculation in might-have-beens I made no answer. The feelings -with which I received it shewed me, had I still needed shewing, what -Phroso was to me. I had been shocked and grieved at Francesca's fate; -but rather that a thousand times than the thing on which Mouraki -coolly mused! - -'It would have been much better, so much better,' he repeated, with a -curiously regretful intonation. - -'The only thing that would be better, to my thinking,' I said, 'is -that you should behave as an honourable man and leave this lady free -to do as she wishes.' - -'And another thing, surely?' he asked, smiling now. 'That you should -behave as an honourable man and go back to Miss Hipgrave?' A low laugh -marked the point he had scored. Then he added, with his usual shrug, -'We are slaves, we men, slaves all.' - -He rose from his chair and completed his preparations for going out, -flinging a long military cloak over his shoulders. His momentary -irresolution, or remorse, or what you will, had passed. His speech -became terse and resolute again. - -'We shall meet early to-morrow, I expect,' he said, 'and then we must -settle this matter. Do I understand that you are resolved not to -yield.' - -'I am absolutely resolved,' said I, and at the sight of his calm -sneering face my temper suddenly got the better of me. 'Yes, I'm -resolved. You can do what you like. You can bribe ruffians to -assassinate me, as I believe you've bribed Constantine.' - -He started at that, as a man will at plain speech, even though the -plain speech tells him nothing that he did not know of the speaker's -mind. - -'The blood of that unhappy woman is on your head,' I cried vehemently. -'Through your act she lies dead. If a like fate befalls me, the blame -of that will be on your head also. It is you, and not your tool, who -will be responsible.' - -'Responsible!' he echoed. His voice was mocking and easy, though his -face was paler even than it was wont to be. 'Responsible! What does -that mean? Responsible to whom?' - -'To God,' said I. - -He laughed a low derisive laugh. - -'Come, that's better,' he said. 'I expected you to say public opinion. -Your sentiment is more respectable than that clap-trap of public -opinion. So be it. I shall be responsible. Where will you be?' He -paused, smiling, and ended, 'And where Phroso?' - -My self-restraint was exhausted. I sprang up. In another moment my -hands would have been on his throat; the next, I suppose, I should -have been a prisoner in the hands of his guard. But that was not his -wish. He had shewn me too much now to be content with less than my -life, and he was not to be turned from his scheme either by his own -temper or by mine. He had moved towards the door while he had been -speaking to me; as I sprang at him, a quick dexterous movement of his -hand opened it, a rapid twist of his body removed him from my reach. -He eluded me. The door was shut in my face. The Pasha's low laugh -reached me as I sank back again in my chair, still raging that I had -not got him by the throat, but in an instant glad also that my -rashness had been foiled. - -I heard the tramp of his party on their orderly march along the road -from the house. Their steps died away, and all was very still. I -looked round the hall; there was nobody but myself. I rose and looked -into the kitchen; it was empty. Mouraki had kept his word: we were -alone. In front there were sentries, behind there were sentries, but -the house was mine. Hope rose again, strong and urgent, in my heart, -as my eyes fell on the spot under the staircase, where lay the -entrance to the secret passage. I looked at my watch; it was eleven -o'clock. The wind blew softly, the night was fine, a crescent moon was -just visible through the narrow windows. The time was come, the time -left free by Mouraki's strange oversight. - -It was then, and then only, that a sudden gleam of enlightenment, a -sudden chilling suspicion, fell upon me, transforming my hope to fear, -my triumph to doubt and misgiving. Was Mouraki Pasha the man to be -guilty of an oversight, of so plain an oversight? When an enemy leaves -open an obvious retreat, is it always by oversight? When he seems to -indicate a way of safety, is the way safe? These disturbing thoughts -crowded on me as I sat, and I looked now at the entrance to the secret -passage with new eyes. - -The sentries were behind the house, the sentries were in front of the -house; in neither direction was there any chance of escape. One way -was open--the passage--and that one way only. And I asked the question -of myself, framing the words in an inarticulate low whisper, 'Is this -way a trap?' - -'You fool--you fool--you fool!' I cried, beating my fist on the wooden -table. - -For if that way were a trap, then there was no way of safety, and the -last hope was gone. Had Mouraki indeed thought of the passage only as -a mediæval curiosity? Well, were not _oubliettes_, down which a man -went and was seen no more, also a mediæval curiosity? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -IN THE JAWS OF THE TRAP - - -I sat for some moments in stupefied despair. The fall from hope was so -great and sudden, the revelation of my blind folly so cruel. But this -mood did not last long. Soon I was busy thinking again. Alas, the -matter gave little scope for thought! It was sadly simple. Before the -yacht came back, Mouraki would have it settled once for all, if the -settling of it were left to him. Therefore I could not wait. The -passage might be a trap. True; but the house was a prison, and a -prison whose gate I could not open. I had rather meet my fate in the -struggle of hot effort than wait for it tamely here in my chair. And I -did not think of myself alone; Phroso's interests also pointed to -action. I could trust Mouraki to allow no harm to come to her. He -prized her life no less than I did. To her, then, the passage -threatened no new danger, while it offered a possible slender chance. -Would she come with me? If she would, it might be that Kortes and I, -or Kortes or I, might by some kind caprice of fortune bring her safe -out of Mouraki's hands. On the top of these calculations came a calm, -restrained, but intense anger, urging me on to try the issue, hand to -hand and man to man, whispering to me that nothing was impossible, and -that Mouraki bore no charmed life. For by now I was ready, aye, more -than ready, to kill him, if only I could come at him, and I made -nothing of the consequences of his death being laid at my door. So is -prudence burnt up in the bright flame of a man's rage. - -I knew where to find Kortes. He would be keeping his faithful watch -outside his Lady's room. Mouraki had never raised any objection to -this attendance; to forbid it would have been to throw off the mask -before the moment came, and Mouraki would not be guilty of such -premature disclosure. Moreover the Pasha held the men of Neopalia in -no great respect, and certainly did not think that a single islander -could offer any resistance to his schemes. I went to the foot of the -stairs and called softly to our trusty adherent. He came down to me at -once, and I asked him about Phroso. - -'She is alone in her room, my lord,' he answered. 'The Governor has -sent my sister away.' - -'Sent her away! Where to?' - -'To the cottage on the hill,' said he. 'I don't know why; the Governor -spoke to her apart.' - -'I know why,' said I, and I told him briefly of the crime which had -been done. - -'That man should not live,' said Kortes. 'I had no doubt that his -escape was allowed in order that he might be dangerous to you.' - -'Well, he hasn't done much yet.' - -'No, not yet,' said Kortes gravely. I am bound to add that he took the -news of Francesca's death with remarkable coolness. In spite of his -good qualities, Kortes was a thorough Neopalian; it needed much to -perturb him. Besides he was thinking of Phroso only, and the affairs -of everybody else passed unheeded by him. This was very evident when I -asked his opinion as to waiting where we were, or essaying the way -that Mouraki's suspicious carelessness seemed to leave open to us. - -'Oh, the passage, my lord! Let it be the passage. For you and me the -passage is very dangerous, yet hardly more than here, and the Lady -Phroso has her only chance of escape through the passage.' - -'You think it very dangerous for us?' - -'Possibly one of us will come through,' he said. - -'And at the other end?' - -'There may be a boat. If there is none, she must try (and we with her, -if we are alive) to steal round to the town, and hide in one of the -houses till a boat can be found,' - -'Mouraki would scour the island.' - -'Yes, but a clear hour or two would be enough if we could get her into -a boat.' - -'But he'd send the gunboat after her.' - -'Yes; but, my lord, am I saying that escape is likely? It is possible -only; and possibly the boat might evade pursuit.' - -I had the highest regard for Kortes, but he was not a very cheering -companion for an adventure. Given the same desperate circumstances, -Denny would have been serenely confident of success and valiantly -scornful of our opponent. I heaved a regretful sigh for him, and said -to Kortes, with a little irritation: - -'Hang it, we've come out right side up before now, and we may again. -Hadn't we better rouse her?' - -During this conversation Kortes had been standing on the lowest step -of the staircase, and I facing him, on the floor of the hall, with one -hand resting on the balustrade. We had talked in low tones, partly -from a fear of eavesdroppers, even more, I think, from the influence -which our position exerted over us. In peril men speak softly. Our -voices sounded as no more than faint murmurs in the roomy hall; -consequently they could not have been audible--where? In the passage! - -But as I spoke to Kortes in a petulant reproachful whisper, a sound -struck on my ear, a very little sound. I caught my companion's arm, -imposing silence on him by a look. The sound came again. I knew the -sound; I had heard it before. I stepped back a pace and looked round -the balustrade to the spot where the entrance to the passage lay. - -I should have been past surprise now, after my sojourn in Neopalia; -but I was not. I sprang back, with a cry of wonder, almost (must I -admit it?) of alarm. Small and faint as the noise had been, it had -sufficed for the opening of the door, and in the opening made by the -receding of the planks were the head and shoulders of a man. His face -was hardly a yard from my face; and the face was the face of -Constantine Stefanopoulos. - -In the instant of paralysed immobility that followed, the explanation -flashed like lightning through my brain. Constantine, buying his -liberty and pardon from Mouraki, had stolen along the passage. He had -opened the door. He hoped to find me alone--if not alone, yet off my -guard--in the hall. Then a single shot would be enough. His errand -would be done, his pardon won. That my explanation was right the -revolver in his hand witnessed. But he also was surprised. I was -closer than he thought, so close that he started back for an instant. -The interval was enough; before he could raise his weapon and take aim -I put my head down between my shoulders and rushed at him. I think my -head knocked his arm up, his revolver went off, the noise -reverberating through the hall. I almost had hold of him when I was -suddenly seized from behind and hurled backwards. Kortes had a mind to -come first and stood on no ceremony. But in the instant that he was -free, Constantine dived down, like a rabbit into a burrow. He -disappeared; with a shouted oath Kortes sprang after him. I heard the -feet of both of them clattering down the flight of steps. - -For a single moment I paused. The report had echoed loud through the -hall. The sentries must have heard it--the sentries before the house, -the sentries in the compound behind the house. Yet none of them rushed -in: not a movement, not a word, not a challenge came from them. -Mouraki Pasha kept good discipline. His orders were law, his -directions held good, though shots rang loud and startling through the -house. Even at that moment I gave a short sharp laugh; for I -remembered that on no account was Lord Wheatley to be interrupted; no, -neither Lord Wheatley nor the man who came to kill Lord Wheatley was -to be interrupted. Oh, Mouraki, Mouraki, your score was mounting up! -Should you ever pay the reckoning? - -Shorter far than it has taken to write my thoughts was the pause -during which they galloped through my palpitating brain. In a second I -also was down the flight of stairs beyond. I heard still the footsteps -in front of me, but I could see nothing. It was very dark that night -in the passage. I ran on, yet I seemed to come no nearer to the steps -in front of me. But suddenly I paused, for now there were steps behind -me also, light steps, but sounding distinct in my ear. Then a voice -cried, in terror and distress, 'My lord, don't leave me, my lord!' - -I turned. Even in the deep gloom I saw a gleam of white: a moment -later I caught Phroso by both her hands. - -'The shot, the shot?' she whispered. - -'Constantine. He shot at me--no, I'm not hurt. Kortes is after him.' - -She swayed towards me. I caught her and passed my arm round her; -without that she would have fallen on the rocky floor of the dim -passage. - -'I heard it and rushed down,' she panted. 'I heard it from my room.' - -'Any sign of the sentries?' - -'No.' - -'I must go and help Kortes.' - -'Not without me?' - -'You must wait here.' - -'Not without you.' Her arms held me now by the shoulders with a -stronger grip than I had thought possible. She would not let me go. -Well then, we must face it together. - -'Come along, then,' said I. 'I can see nothing in this rat hole.' - -Suddenly, from in front of us, a cry rang out; it was some distance -off. We started towards it, for it was Kortes's voice that cried. - -'Be careful, be careful,' urged Phroso. 'We're near the bridge now.' - -It was true. As she spoke the walls of rock on either side receded. We -had come to the opening. The dark water was below us, and before us -the isolated bridge of rock that spanned the pool. We were where the -Lord of the island had been wont to hurl his enemies headlong from his -side to death. - -What happened on the bridge, on the narrow bridge of rock which ran in -front of us, we could not see; but from it came strange sounds, low -oaths and mutterings, the scraping of men's limbs and the rasping of -cloth on the rock, the hard breathings of struggling combatants; now a -fierce low cry of triumph, a disappointed curse, a desperate groan, -the silence that marked a culminating effort. Now, straining my eyes -to the uttermost, and having grown a little more accustomed to the -darkness, I discerned, beyond the centre of the bridge, a coiling -writhing mass that seemed some one many-limbed animal, but was, in -truth, two men, twisted and turned round about one another in an -embrace which could have no end save death. Which was Kortes, which -Constantine, I could not tell. How they came there I could not tell. I -dared not fire. Phroso hung about me in a paroxysm of fear, her hands -holding me motionless; I myself was awed and fascinated by the dim -spectacle and the confused sounds of that mortal strife. - -Backward and forward, to and fro, up and down they writhed and rolled. -Now they hung, a protrusion of deeper blackness, over the black gulf -on this side, now on that. Now the mass separated a little as one -pressed the other downward and seemed about to hurl his enemy over and -himself remain triumphant; now that one, in his turn, tottered on the -edge as if to fall and leave the other panting on the bridge; again -they were mixed together, so that I could not tell which was which, -and the strange appearance of a single, writhing, crawling shape -returned. Then suddenly, from both at once, rang out cries: there was -dread and surprise in one, fierce, uncalculating, self-forgetful -triumph in the other. Not even for Phroso's sake, or the band of her -encircling arms, could I rest longer. Roughly I fear, at least with -suddenness, I disengaged myself from her grasp. She cried out in -protest and in fear, 'Don't go, don't leave me!' I could not rest. -Recollecting the peril, I yet rushed quickly on to the bridge, and -moved warily along its narrow perilous way. But even as I came near -the two who fought in the middle, there was a deep groan, a second -wild triumphant cry, a great lurch of the mass, a moment--a short -short moment--when it hung poised over the yawning vault; and then an -instant of utter stillness. I waited as a boy waits to hear the stone -he has thrown strike the water at the bottom of the well. The stone -struck the water: there was a great resounding splash, the water moved -beneath the blow; I saw its dark gleam agitated. Then all was still -again; and the passage of the bridge was clear. - -I walked to the spot where the struggle had been, and whence the two -had fallen together. I knelt down and gazed into the chasm. Three -times I called Kortes's name. No answer came up. I could discern no -movement of the dark waters. They had sunk, the two together, and -neither rose. Perhaps both were wounded to death, perhaps only their -fatal embrace prevented all effort for life. I could see nothing and -hear nothing. My heart was heavy for Kortes, a brave true man and our -only friend. In the death of Constantine I saw less than his fitting -punishment; yet I was glad that he was gone, and the long line of his -villainies closed. This last attempt had been a bold one. Mouraki, no -doubt, had forced him to it; even a craven will be bold where the -penalty of cowardice is death. Yet he had not dared to stand when -discovered. He had fled, and must have been flying when Kortes came up -and grappled with him. For a snapshot at an unwary man he had found -courage, but not for a fair fight. He was an utter coward after all. -He was well dead, and his wife well avenged. - -But it was fatal to linger here. Mouraki would be expecting the return -of his emissary. I saw now clearly that the Pasha had prepared the way -for Constantine's attempt. If no news came, he would not wait long. I -put my reflections behind me and walked briskly back to where I had -left Phroso. I found her lying on the ground; she seemed to be in a -faint. Setting my face close to hers, I saw that her eyes were shut -and her lips parted. I sat down by her in the narrow passage and -supported her head on my arm. Then I took out a flask, and pouring -some of the brandy-and-water it contained into the cup forced a little -between her lips. With a heavy sigh she opened her eyes and shuddered. - -'It is over,' I said. 'There's no need to be afraid; all is over now.' - -'Constantine?' - -'He is dead.' - -'And Kortes?' - -'They are both gone. They fell together into the pool and must be -dead; there's no sound from it.' - -A frightened sob was her answer; she put her hand up to her eyes. - -'Ah, dear Kortes!' she whispered, and I heard her sob gently again. - -'He was a brave man,' said I. 'God rest his soul!' - -'He loved me,' she said simply, between her sobs. 'He--he and his -sister were the only friends I had.' - -'You have other friends,' said I, and my voice was well nigh as low as -hers. - -'You are very good to me, my lord,' she said, and she conquered her -sobs and lay still, her head on my arm, her hair enveloping my hand in -its silken masses. - -'We must go on,' said I. 'We mustn't stay here. Our only chance is to -go on.' - -'Chance? Chance of what?' she echoed in a little despairing murmur, -'Where am I to go? Why should I struggle any more?' - -'Would you fall into Mouraki's power?' I asked from between set lips. - -'No; but I need not. I have my dagger.' - -'God forbid!' I cried in sudden horror; and in spite of myself I felt -my hand tighten and press her head among the coils of her hair. She -also felt it; she raised herself on her elbow, turned to me, and sent -a straining look into my eyes. What answer could I make to it? I -averted my face; she dropped her head between her hands on the rocky -floor. - -'We must go,' said I again. 'Can you walk, Phroso?' - -I hardly noticed the name I called her, nor did she appear to mark it. - -'I can't go,' she moaned. 'Let me stay here. I can get back to the -house, perhaps.' - -'I won't leave you here. I won't leave you to Mouraki.' - -'It will not be to Mouraki, it will be to--' - -I caught her hand, crying in a low whisper, 'No, no.' - -'What else?' she asked, again sitting up and looking at me. - -'We must make a push for safety, as we meant to before.' - -'Safety?' Her lips bent in a sadly derisive little smile. 'What is -this safety you talk about?' she seemed to say. - -'Yes, safety.' - -'Ah, yes, you must be safe,' she said, appearing to awake suddenly to -a consciousness of something forgotten. 'Ah, yes, my lord, you must be -safe. Don't linger, my lord. Don't linger!' - -'Do you suppose I'm going alone?' I asked, and, in spite of -everything, I could not help smiling as I put the question. I believe -she really thought that the course in question might commend itself to -me. - -'No,' she said. 'You wouldn't go alone. But I--I can't cross that -awful bridge.' - -'Oh yes, you can,' said I. 'Come along,' and I rose and held out my -arms towards her. - -She looked at me, the tears still on her cheeks, a doubtful smile -dawning on her lips. - -'My dear lord,' she said very softly, and stood while I put my arms -round her and lifted her till she lay easily. Then came what I think -was the hardest thing of all to bear. She let her head fall on my -shoulder and lay trustfully, I could almost say luxuriously, back in -my arms; a little happy sigh of relief and peace came from her lips, -her eyes closed, she was content. - -Well, I started; and I shall not record precisely what I thought as I -started. What I ought to have thought about was picking my way over -the bridge, and, if more matter for consideration were needed, I might -have speculated on the best thing to do when we reached the outlet of -the passage. Suppose, then, that I thought about what I ought to have -thought about. - -'Keep still while we're on the bridge,' said I to Phroso. 'It's not -over broad, you know.' - -A little movement of the head, till it rested in yet greater seeming -comfort, was Phroso's only disobedience; for the rest she was -absolutely still. It was fortunate; for to cross that bridge in the -dark, carrying a lady, was not a job I cared much about. However we -came to the other side; the walls of rock closed in again on either -hand, and I felt the way begin to slope downwards under my feet. - -'Does it go pretty straight now?' I asked. - -'Oh, yes, quite straight. You can't miss it, my lord,' said Phroso, -and another little sigh of content followed the words. I had, I -suppose, little enough to laugh at, but I did laugh very gently and -silently, and I did not propose that Phroso should walk. - -'Are you tired?' she said presently, just opening her eyes for an -instant. - -'I could carry you for ever,' I answered. - -Phroso smiled under lazy lids that closed again. - -In spite of Phroso's assurance of its simple straightness the road had -many twists and turns in it, and I had often to ask my way. Phroso -gave me directions at once and without hesitation. Evidently she was -thoroughly familiar with the track. When I remarked on this she said, -'Oh, yes, I often used to come this way. It leads to such a pretty -cave, you know.' - -'Then it doesn't come out at the same point as the way my friends -took?' - -'No, more than a mile away from that. We must be nearly there now. Are -you tired, my lord?' - -'Not a bit,' said I, and Phroso accepted the answer without demur. - -There can, however, be no harm in admitting now that I was tired, not -so much from carrying Phroso, though, as from the strain of the day -and the night that I had passed through; and I hailed with joy a -glimmer of light which danced before my eyes at the end of a long -straight tunnel. We were going down rapidly now; and, hark, there was -the wash of water welcoming us to the outer air and the light of the -upper world; for day had just dawned as we came to the end of the way. -The light that I saw ahead was ruddy with the rays of the new-risen -sun. - -'Ah,' sighed Phroso happily, 'I hear the sea. Oh, I smell it. And see, -my lord, the light!' - -I turned from the light, joyful as was the beholding of it, to the -face which lay close by mine. That too I could see now for the first -time plainly. I met Phroso's eyes. A slight tinge of colour dyed her -cheeks, but she lay still, looking at me, and she said softly, in low -rich tones: - -'You look very weary. Let me walk now, my lord.' - -'No, we'll go on to the end now,' I said. - -The end was near. Another five minutes brought us where once again the -enfolding walls spread out. The path broadened into a stony beach; -above us the rocks formed an arch: we were in a little cave, and the -waves rolled gently to and fro on the margin of the beach. The mouth -of the cave was narrow and low, the rocks leaving only about a yard -between themselves above and the water below; there was just room for -a boat to pass out and in. Phroso sprang from my arms, and stretched -out her hands to the light. - -'Ah, if we had a boat!' I cried, running to the water's edge. - -Had the luck indeed changed and fortune begun to smile? It seemed so, -for I had hardly spoken when Phroso suddenly clapped her hands and -cried: - -'A boat! There is a boat, my lord,' and she leapt forward and caught -me by the hand, her eyes sparkling. - -It was true--by marvel, it was true! A good, stout, broad-bottomed -little fishing boat lay beached on the shingle, with its sculls lying -in it. How had it come? Well, I didn't stop to ask that. My eyes met -Phroso's in delight. The joy of our happy fortune overcame us. I think -that for the moment we forgot the terrible events which had happened -before our eyes, the sadness of the parting which at the best lay -before us. Both her hands were in mine; we were happy as two children, -prosperously launched on some wonderful fairy-tale adventure--prince -and princess in their cockle boat on a magic sea. - -'Isn't it wonderful?' cried Phroso. 'Ah, my lord, all goes well with -you. I think God loves you, my lord, as much as--' - -She stopped. A rush of rich colour flooded her cheeks. Her deep eyes, -which had gleamed in exultant merriment, sank to the ground. Her hands -loosed mine. - -'--as the lady who waits for you loves you, my lord,' she said. - -I do not know how it was, but Phroso's words summoned up before my -eyes a vision of Beatrice Hipgrave, pursuing her cheerful way through -the gaieties of the season--or was she in the country by now?--without -wasting very many thoughts on the foolish man who had gone to the -horrid island. The picture of her as the lady who waited for a lover, -forlorn because he tarried, struck with a bitter amusement on my sense -of humour. Phroso saw me smile; her eyes asked a wondering question. I -did not answer it, but turned away and walked down to where the boat -lay. - -'I suppose,' I said coldly, 'that this is the best chance?' - -'It is the only chance, my lord,' she answered; but her eyes were -still puzzled, and her tone was almost careless, as if the matter of -our escape had ceased to be the thing which pressed most urgently on -her mind. I could say nothing to enlighten her; not from my lips, -which longed to forswear her, could come the slightest word in -depreciation of 'the lady who waited.' - -'Will you get in, then?' I asked. - -'Yes,' said Phroso; the joy was gone out of her voice and out of her -eyes. - -I helped her into the boat, then I launched it; when it floated clear -on the water of the cave I jumped in myself and took the sculls. -Phroso sat silent and now pale-faced in the stern. I struck the water -with my blades and the boat moved. A couple of strokes took us across -the cave. We reached the mouth. I felt the sun on my neck with its -faint early warmth: that is a good feeling and puts heart in a man. - -'Ah, but the sea and the air are good,' said Phroso. 'And it is good -to be free, my lord.' - -I looked at her. The sun had caught her eyes now, and the gleam in -them seemed to fire me. I forgot--something that I ought to have -remembered. I rested for a moment on my oars, and, leaning forward, -said in a low voice: - -'Aye, to be free, and together, Phroso.' - -Again came the flash of colour, again the sudden happy dancing of her -eyes and the smile that curved in unconquerable wilfulness. I -stretched out a hand, and Phroso's hand stole timidly to meet it. -Well--surely the Recording Angel looked away! - -Thus were we just outside the cave. There rose a straight rock on the -left hand, ending in a level top some four feet above our heads. -And as our hands approached and our eyes--those quicker -foregatherers--met, there came from the top of the rock a laugh, a low -chuckle that I knew well. I don't think I looked up. I looked still -at Phroso. As I looked, her colour fled, fright leapt into her eyes, -her lips quivered in horror. I knew the truth from her face. - -'Very nice! But what have you done with Cousin Constantine?' asked -Mouraki Pasha. - -The trap, then, had double jaws, and we had escaped Constantine only -to fall into the hands of his master. It was so like Mouraki. I was so -much aghast and yet so little surprised, the fall was so sudden, our -defeat so ludicrous, that I believed I smiled, as I turned my eyes -from Phroso's and cast a glance at the Pasha. - -'I might have known it, you know,' said I, aloud. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE UNKNOWN FRIEND - - -The boat still moved a little from the impulse of my last stroke, and -we floated slowly past Mouraki who stood, like some great sea-bird on -the rock. To his cynical question--for it revealed shamelessly the use -he had meant to make of his tool--I returned no answer. I could smile -in amused bitterness but for the moment I could not speak. Phroso sat -with downcast eyes, twisting one hand round the other; the Pasha was -content to answer my smile with his own. The boat drew past the rock -and, as we came round its elbow, I found across our path a larger -boat, manned by four of Mouraki's soldiers, who had laid down their -oars and sat rifles in hand. In the coxswain's place was Demetri. It -seemed strange to find him in that company. One of the soldiers took -hold of the nose of our boat and turned it round, impelling it towards -the beach. A moment later we grated on the shingle, where the Pasha, -who had leapt down nimbly from his perch, stood awaiting us. Thoughts -had been running rapidly through my brain, wild thoughts of -resistance, of a sudden rush, of emptying my revolver haphazard into -the other boat, aye, even of assassinating Mouraki with an unexpected -shot. All that was folly. I let it go, sprang from the boat, and, -giving my hand to Phroso, helped her to land, and led her to a broad -smooth ledge of rock, on which she seated herself, still silent, but -giving me a look of grief and despair. Then I turned to the Pasha. - -'I think,' said I, 'that you'll have to wait a day or two for Cousin -Constantine. I'm told that bodies don't find their way out so soon as -living men.' - -'Ah, I thought that must be it! You threw him down into the pool?' he -asked. - -'No, not I. My friend Kortes.' - -'And Kortes?' - -'They fell together.' - -'How very dramatic,' smiled the Pasha. 'How came you to let Kortes -have at him first?' - -'Believe me, it was unintentional. It was without any design of -disappointing you, Pasha.' - -'And there's an end of both of them!' said he, smiling at my hit. - -'They must both be dead. Forgive me, Pasha, but I don't understand -your comedy. We were in your power at the house. Why play this farce? -Why not have done then what I presume you will do now?' - -'My dear lord,' said he, after a glance round to see that nobody -listened, 'the conventions must be observed. Yesterday you had not -committed the offences of which I regret to say you have now been -guilty.' - -'The offences? You amuse me, Pasha.' - -'I don't grudge it you,' said Mouraki. 'Yes, the offences of aiding my -prisoner--that lady--to escape, and--well, the death of Constantine is -at least a matter for inquiry, isn't it? You'll admit that? The man -was a rogue, of course, but we must observe the law, my dear Wheatley. -Besides--' He paused, then he added, 'You mustn't grudge me my -amusement either. Believe me, your joy at finding that boat, which I -caused to be placed there for your convenience, and the touching -little scene which I interrupted, occasioned me infinite diversion.' - -I made no answer, and he continued: - -'I was sure that if--well, if Constantine failed in perpetrating his -last crime--you follow me, my dear lord?--you would make for the -passage, so I obtained the guidance of that faithful fellow, Demetri, -and he brought us round very comfortably. Indeed we've been waiting -some little while for you. Of course Phroso delayed you.' - -Mouraki's sneers and jocularity had no power in themselves to anger -me. Indeed I felt myself cool and calm, ready to bandy retorts and -banter with him. But there was another characteristic of his -conversation on which my mind fastened, finding in it matter for -thought: this was his barefaced frankness. Plainly he told me that he -had employed Constantine to assassinate me, plainly he exposed to me -the trick by which he had obtained a handle against me. Now to whom, -if to any one, does a man like Mouraki Pasha reveal such things as -these? Why to men, and only to men, who will tell no tales. And there -is a proverb which hints that only one class of men tells no tales. -That was why I attached significance to the Governor's frankness. - -I believe the man followed my thoughts with his wonderfully acute -intelligence and his power of penetrating the minds of others; for he -smiled again as he said: - -'I don't mind being frank with you, my dear Wheatley. I'm sure you -won't use the little admissions I may seem to make against me. How -grieved you must be for your poor friend Kortes!' - -'We've both lost a friend this morning, Pasha. - -'Constantine? Ah, yes. Still--he's as well where he is, just as well -where he is.' - -'He won't be able to use your little admissions either?' - -'How you catch my meaning, my dear lord! It's a pleasure to talk to -you.' But he turned suddenly from me and called to his men. Three came -up at once. 'This gentleman,' he said, indicating me, and speaking now -in sharp authoritative tones, 'is in your custody for the the present. -Don't let him move.' - -I seated myself on a rock; the three men stood round me. The Pasha -bowed slightly, walked down to where Phroso sat, and began to speak -with her. So, at least, I supposed, but I did not hear anything that -he said. His back was towards me, and he hid Phroso from my view. I -took out my flask and had a pull at my brandy-and-water; it was a poor -breakfast, but I was offered no other. - -Up to this time the fourth soldier and Demetri had remained in the -boat. They now landed and hauled their boat up on to the beach; then -they turned to the smaller boat which the Pasha had provided in -malicious sport for our more complete mortification. The soldier laid -hold of its stern and prepared to haul it also out of the water; but -Demetri said something--what I could not hear--and shrugged his -shoulders. The soldier nodded in apparent assent, and they left the -boat where it was, merely attaching it by a rope to the other. Then -they walked to the rocks and sat down at a little distance from where -I was, Demetri taking a hunch of bread and a large knife from his -pocket and beginning to cut and munch. I looked at him, but he refused -to meet my eye and glanced in every direction except at me. - -Suddenly, while I was idly regarding Demetri, the three fellows sprang -on me. One had me by each arm before I could so much as move. The -third dashed his hand into the breast-pocket of my coat and seized my -revolver. They leapt away again, caught up the rifles they had -dropped, and held them levelled towards me. The thing was done in a -moment, I sitting like a man paralysed. Then one of the ruffians -cried: - -'Your Excellency, the gentleman moved his hand to his pocket, to his -pistol.' - -'What?' asked Mouraki, turning round. 'Moved his hand to a pistol? Had -he a pistol?' - -My revolver was held up as damning evidence. - -'And he tried to use it?' asked Mouraki, in mournful shocked tones. - -'It looked like it,' said the fellow. - -'It's a lie. I wasn't thinking of it,' said I. I was exasperated at -the trick. I had made up my mind to fight it out sooner than give up -the revolver. - -'I'm afraid it may have been so,' said Mouraki, shaking his head. -'Give the pistol to me, my man. I'll keep it safe.' His eye shot -triumph at me as he took my revolver and turned again to Phroso. I was -now powerless indeed. - -Demetri finished his hunch of bread, and began to clean his knife, -polishing its blade leisurely and lovingly on the palm of his hand, -and feeling its point with the end of his thumb. During this operation -he hummed softly and contentedly to himself. I could not help smiling -when I recognised the tune; it was an old friend, the chant that -One-eyed Alexander wrote on the death of Stefan Stefanopoulos two -hundred years ago. Demetri polished, and Demetri hummed, and Demetri -looked away across the blue water with a speculative eye. I did not -choose to consider what might be in the mind of Demetri as he hummed -and polished and gazed over the sea that girt his native island. -Demetri's thoughts were his own. Let Mouraki look to them, if they -were worth his care. - -There, I have made that confession as plainly as I mean to make it. I -put out of my mind what Demetri might be planning as he polished his -knife and hummed One-eyed Alexander's chant. - -Apparently Mouraki did not think the matter worth his care. He had -approached very near to Phroso now, leaning down towards her as she -sat on the rock. Suddenly I heard a low cry of terror, and 'No, no,' -in horrified accents; but Mouraki, raising his voice a little, -answered, 'Yes, yes.' - -I strained my ears to hear; nay, I half rose from where I sat, and -sank back only under the pointed hint of a soldier's bayonet. I could -not hear the words, but a soft pleading murmur came from Phroso, a -short relentless laugh from Mouraki, a silence, a shrug of Mouraki's -shoulders. Then he turned and came across to me. - -'Stand back a little,' said he to the soldiers, 'but keep your eyes on -your prisoner, and if he attempts any movement--' He did not finish -the sentence, which indeed was plain enough without a formal ending. -Then he began to speak to me in French. - -'A beautiful thing, my dear lord,' said he, 'is the devotion of women. -Fortunate are you who have found two ladies to love you!' - -'You've been married twice yourself, I think you told me?' - -'It's not exactly the same thing--not necessarily. I am very likely to -be married a third time, but I fear I should flatter myself if I -thought that much love would accompany the lady's hand. However it was -of you that I desired to speak. This lady here, my dear lord, is so -attached to you that I believe she will marry me, purely to ensure -your safety. Isn't it a touching sacrifice?' - -'I hope she'll do nothing of the sort,' said I. - -'Well, it's little more than a polite fiction,' he conceded; 'for -she'll be compelled to marry me anyhow. But it's the sort of idea that -comforts a woman.' - -He fixed his eyes on me as he made this remark, enjoying the study of -its effect on me. - -'Well,' said I, 'I never meant to marry her. I'm bound, you know. It -was only another polite fiction designed to annoy you, my dear Pasha.' - -'Ah, is that so? Now, really, that's amusing,' and he chuckled. He did -not appear annoyed at having been deceived. I wondered a little at -that--then. - -'We have really,' he continued, 'been living in an atmosphere of -polite fictions. For example, Lord Wheatley, there was a polite -fiction that I was grieved at Constantine's escape.' - -'And another that you were anxious to recapture him.' - -'And a third that you were not anxious to escape from -my--hospitality.' - -'And a fourth that you were so solicitous for my friends' enjoyment -that you exerted yourself to find them good fishing.' - -'Ah, yes, yes,' he laughed. 'And there is to be one more polite -fiction, my dear lord.' - -'I believe I can guess it,' said I, meeting his eye. - -'You are always so acute,' he observed admiringly. - -'Though the precise form of it I confess I don't understand.' - -'Well, our lamented Constantine, who had much experience but rather -wanted imagination, was in favour of a fever. He told me that it was -the usual device in Neopalia.' - -'His wife died of it, I suppose?' I believe I smiled as I put the -question. Great as my peril was, I still found a pleasure in fencing -with the Pasha. - -'Oh, no. Now that's unworthy of you. Never have a fiction when the -truth will serve! Since he's dead, he murdered his wife. If he had -lived, of course--' - -'Ah, then it would have been fever.' - -'Precisely. We must adapt ourselves to circumstances: that is the part -of wise men. Now in your case--' He bent down and looked hard in my -face. - -'In my case,' said I, 'you can call it what you like, Pasha.' - -'Don't you think that the outraged patriotism of Neopalia--?' he -suggested, with a smile. 'You bought the island--you, a stranger! It -was very rash. These islanders are desperate fellows.' - -'That would have served with Constantine alive; but he's dead. Your -patriot is gone, Pasha.' - -'Alas, yes, our good Constantine is dead. But there are others. -There's a fellow whom I ought to hang.' - -'Ah!' My eye wandered towards where Demetri hummed and polished. - -'And who has certainly not earned his life merely by bringing me to -meet you this morning, though I give him some credit for that.' - -'Demetri?' I asked with a careless air. - -'Well, yes, Demetri,' smiled the Pasha. 'Demetri is very open to -reason.' - -Across the current of our talk came Demetri's soft happy humming. The -Pasha heard it. - -'I hanged his brother three years ago,' he observed. - -'I know you did,' said I. 'You seem to have done some characteristic -things three years ago.' - -'And he went to the gallows humming that tune. You know it?' - -'Very well indeed, Pasha. It was one of the first things I heard in -Neopalia; it's going to be one of the last, perhaps.' - -'That tune lends a great plausibility to my little fiction,' said -Mouraki. - -'It will no doubt be a very valuable confirmation of it,' I rejoined. - -The Pasha made no further remark for a moment. I looked past him and -past the four soldiers--for the last had now joined his comrades--to -Phroso. She was leaning against the cliff side; her head was thrown -back and her face upturned, but her eyes were closed. I think she had -swooned, or at least sunk into a half-unconscious state. Mouraki -detected my glance. - -'Look at her well, use your time,' he said in a savage tone. You've -not long to enjoy the sight of her.' - -'I have as long as it may happen to please God,' said I. 'Neither you -nor I know how long.' - -'I can make a guess,' observed Mouraki, a quiet smile succeeding his -frown. - -'Yes, you can make a guess.' - -He stood looking at me a moment longer; then he turned away. As he -passed the soldiers he spoke to them. I saw them smile. No doubt he -had picked his men for this job and could rely on them. - -The little bay in which we were was surrounded by steep and -precipitous cliffs except in one place. Here there was a narrow cleft; -the rocks did not rise abruptly; the ground sloped gradually upwards -as it receded from the beach. Just on this spot of gently-rising -ground Demetri sat, and the Pasha, having amused himself with me for -as long as it pleased him, walked up to Demetri. The fellow sprang to -his feet and saluted Mouraki with great respect. Mouraki beckoned to -him to come nearer, and began to speak to him. - -I sat still where I was, under the bayonets of the soldiers, who faced -me and had their backs to their commander. My eyes were fixed steadily -on the pair who stood conferring on the slope; and my mind was in a -ferment. Scruples troubled me no more; Mouraki himself had made them -absurd. I read my only chance of life in the choice or caprice of the -wild passionate barbarian--he was little else--who stood with head -meekly bowed and knife carelessly dangled in his hand. This man was he -of whom Panayiota had spoken so mysteriously; he was the friend whom I -had 'more than I knew of.' In his blood feud with the Pasha, in his -revengeful wrath, lay my chance. It was only a chance, indeed, for the -soldiers might kill me; but it was a chance, and there was no other; -for if Mouraki won him over by promises or bribes, or intimidated him -into doing his will, then Demetri would take the easier task, that -which carried no risk and did not involve his own death, as an attack -on the Pasha almost certainly would. Would he be prudent and turn his -hand against the single helpless man? Or would his long-nursed rage -stifle all care for himself and drive him against Mouraki? If so, if -he chose that way, there was a glimmer of hope. I glanced at Phroso's -motionless figure and pallid face; I glanced at the little boat that -floated on the water (why had Demetri not beached it?); I glanced at -the rope which bound it to the other boat; I measured the distance -between the boats and myself; I thrust my hand into the pocket of my -coat and contrived to open the blade of my clasp-knife, which was now -the only weapon left to me. - -Mouraki spoke and smiled. He made no gesture but there was just a -movement of his eyes towards me. Demetri's eyes followed his for an -instant, but would not dwell on my face. The Pasha spoke again. -Demetri shook his head, and Mouraki's face assumed a persuasive -good-humoured expression. Demetri glanced round apprehensively. The -Pasha took him by the arm, and they went a few paces further up the -slope, so as to be more private in their talk--but was that the -object with both of them? Still Demetri shook his head. The Pasha's -smile vanished, his mouth grew stern, his eyes cold, and he frowned. -He spoke in short sharp sentences, the snap of his lips showing when -his mind was spoken. Demetri seemed to plead. He looked uneasy, he -shifted from foot to foot, he drew back from the imperious man, as -though he shunned him and would fain escape from him. Mouraki would -not let him go, but followed him in his retreat, step for step. Thus -another ten yards were put between them and me. Anger and contempt -blazed now on Mouraki's face. He raised his hand and brought it down -clenched on the palm of the other. Demetri held out his hand as though -in protest or supplication. The Pasha stamped with his foot. There -were no signs of relenting in his manner. - -My eyes grew weary with intent watching. I felt like a man who has -been staring at a bright white light, too fascinated by its intensity -to blink or turn away, even though it pains him to look longer. The -figures of the two seemed to become indistinct and blurred. I rubbed -my knuckles into my eyes to clear my vision, and looked again. Yes; -they were a little further off, even still a little further off than -when I had looked before. It could not be by chance and unwittingly -that Demetri always and always and always gave back a pace, luring -the Pasha to follow him. No, there was a plan in his head; and in my -heart suddenly came a great beat of savage joy--of joy at the chance -Heaven gave, yes, and of lust for the blood of the man against whom I -had so mighty a debt of wrong. And, as I gazed now, for an instant--a -single, barely perceptible instant--came the swiftest message from -Demetri's eyes. I read it. I knew its meaning. I sat where I was, but -every muscle of my body was tense and strung in readiness for that -desperate leap, and every nerve of me quivered with a repressed -excitement that seemed almost to kill. Now, now! Was it now? I was -within an ace of crying 'Strike!' but I held the word in and still -gazed. And the soldiers leant easily on their bayonets, exchanging a -word or two now and again, yawning sometimes, weary of a dull job, -wondering when his Excellency would let them get home again; of what -was going on behind their backs, there on the slope of the cliff, they -took no heed. - -Ah, there was a change now! Demetri had ceased to protest, to -deprecate and to retreat. Mouraki's frowns had vanished, he smiled -again in satisfaction and approval. Demetri threw a glance at me. -Mouraki spoke. Demetri answered. For an instant I looked at the -soldiers: they were more weary and inattentive than ever. Back went -my eyes. Now Mouraki, with suave graciousness, in condescending -recognition of a good servant, stepped right close up to Demetri and, -raising his hand, reached round the fellow's shoulder and patted him -approvingly on the back. - -'It will be now!' I thought; nay, I believe I whispered, and I drew my -legs up under me and grasped the hidden knife in my pocket. 'Yes, it -must be now.' - -Mouraki patted, laughed, evidently praised. Demetri bowed his head. -But his long, lithe, bare, brown right arm that had hung so weary a -time in idle waiting by his side--the arm whose hand held the great -bright blade so lovingly polished, so carefully tested--the arm began -slowly and cautiously to crawl up his side. It bent at the elbow, it -rested a moment after its stealthy secret climb; then, quick as -lightning, it flew above Demetri's head, the blade sparkled in the -sun, the hand swooped down, and the gleams of the sunlit steel were -quenched in the body of Mouraki. With a sudden cry of amazement, of -horror and of agony, the Pasha staggered and fell prone on the rocky -ground; and Demetri cried, 'At last, my God, at last!' and laughed -aloud. - -[Illustration: "AT LAST, MY GOD, AT LAST!"] - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE ARMENIAN DOG! - - -The death-cry that Mouraki Pasha uttered under Demetri's avenging -knife seemed to touch a spring and set us all a-moving. The sound of -it turned the soldiers' idle lassitude into an amazed wonder, which -again passed in an instant to fierce excitement. Phroso leapt, with a -shriek, to her feet. I hurled myself across the space between me and -the rope, knife in hand. The soldiers, neglecting their unarmed -prisoner, turned with a shout of rage, and rushed wildly up the slope -to where Demetri stood, holding his blade towards heaven. The rope -parted under my impetuous assault. Phroso was by my side, in an -instant we were in the boat; I pushed off. I seized the sculls; but -then I hesitated. Was this man my friend, my ally, my accomplice, what -you will? I looked up the slope. Demetri stood by the body of Mouraki. -The four soldiers rushed towards him. I could not approve his deed; -but I had suffered it to be done. I must not run away now. I pushed -the sculls into Phroso's hands. But she had caught my purpose, and -threw herself upon me, twining her arms about me and crying, 'No, no, -my lord! My lord, no, no!' Her love gave her strength; for a moment I -could not disengage myself, but stood fast bound in her embrace. - -The moment was enough. It was the end, the end of that brief fierce -drama on the rocky slope, the end of any power I might have had to aid -Demetri; for he did not try to defend himself. He stood still as a -statue where he was, holding the knife up to heaven, the smile which -his loud laugh left still on his lips. Phroso's head sank on my -shoulder. She would not look; but the sight drew my eyes with an -irresistible attraction. The bayonets flashed in the air and buried -themselves in Demetri's body. He sank with a groan. Again the blades, -drawn back, were driven into him, and again and again. He was a -mangled corpse, but in hot revenge for their leader they thrust and -thrust. It turned me sick to look; yet I looked till at last they -ceased, and stood for an instant over the two bodies, regarding them. -Then I loosed Phroso's arms off me; she sank back in the stern. Again -I took the sculls and laid to with a will. Where we were to go, or -what help we could look for, I did not know; but a fever to be away -from the place had come on me, and I pulled, thinking less of life -and safety than of putting distance between me and that hideous scene. - -'They don't move,' whispered Phroso, whose eyes were now turned away -from me and fixed on the beach. 'They stand still. Row, my lord, row!' - -A moment passed. I pulled with all my strength. She was between me and -the land; I could see nothing. Her voice came again, low but urgent: - -'Now they move, they're coming down to the shore. Ah, my lord, they're -taking aim!' - -'God help us!' said I between my teeth. 'Crouch in the boat. Low down, -get right down. Lower down, Phroso, lower down!' - -'Ah, one has knocked up the barrels! They're talking again. Why don't -they fire?' - -'Do they look like hesitating?' - -'Yes. No, they're aiming again. No, they've stopped. Row, my lord, -row!' - -I was pulling as I had not pulled since I rowed in my college boat at -Oxford nine years before. I thought of the race at that moment with a -sort of amusement. But all the while Phroso kept watch for me; by -design or chance she did not move from between me and the shore. - -'They're running to the boat now. They're getting in. Are they coming -after us, my lord?' - -'Heaven knows! I suppose so.' - -I was wondering why they had not used their rifles; they had evidently -thought of firing at first, but something had held their hands. -Perhaps they, mere humble soldiers, shrank from the responsibility. -Their leader, whose protection would have held them harmless and whose -favour rewarded them, lay dead. They might well hesitate to fire on a -man whom they knew to be a person of some position and who had taken -no part in Mouraki's death. - -'They're launching the boat. They're in now,' came in Phroso's -breathless whisper. - -'How far off are we?' - -'I don't know; two hundred yards, perhaps. They've started now.' - -'Do they move well?' - -'Yes, they're rowing hard. Oh, my dear lord, can you row harder?' She -turned to me for an instant, clasping her hands in entreaty. - -'No, I can't, Phroso,' said I, and I believe I smiled. Did the dear -girl think I should choose that moment for paddling? - -'They're gaining,' she cried. 'Oh, they're gaining! On, my lord, on!' - -'How many are rowing?' - -'Three, my lord, each with two oars.' - -'Oh, the deuce! It's no good, Phroso.' - -'No good, my lord? But if they catch us?' - -'I wish I could answer you. How near now?' - -'Half as near as they were before.' - -'Look round the sea. Are there any boats anywhere? Look all round.' - -'There's nothing anywhere, my lord.' - -'Then the game's up,' said I; and I rested on my oars and began to -pant. I was not in training for a race. - -The boat containing the soldiers drew near. Our boat, now motionless, -awaited their coming. Phroso sank on the seat and sat with a -despairing look in her eyes. But my mood was not the same. Mouraki was -dead. I knew the change his death made was great. Mouraki was dead. I -did not believe that there was another man in Neopalia who would dare -to take any extreme step against me. For why had they not fired? They -did not fire now, when they could have shot me through the head -without difficulty and without danger. - -Their boat came alongside of ours. I leant forward and touched -Phroso's hand; she looked up. - -'Courage,' said I. 'The braver we look the better we shall come off.' -Then I turned to the pursuers and regarded them steadily, waiting for -them to speak. The first communication was in dumb show. The man who -was steering--he appeared to be a subordinate officer--covered me with -his barrel. - -'I'm absolutely unarmed,' I said. 'You know that. You took my revolver -away from me.' - -'You're trying to escape,' said he, not shifting his aim. - -'Where's your warrant for stopping me?' I demanded. - -'The Pasha--' - -'The Pasha's dead. Be careful what you do. I am an Englishman, and in -my country I am as great a man as your Pasha was.' This assertion -perhaps was on, or beyond, the confines of strict truth; it had -considerable effect, however. - -'You were our prisoner, my lord,' said the officer more civilly. 'We -cannot allow you to escape. And this lady was a prisoner also. She is -not English; she is of the island. And one of the islanders has slain -the Pasha. She must answer for it.' - -'What can she have had to do with it?' - -'It may have been planned between her and the assassin.' - -'Oh, and between me and the assassin too, perhaps?' - -'Perhaps, my lord. It is not my place to inquire into that.' - -I shrugged my shoulders with an appearance of mingled carelessness and -impatience. - -'Well, what do you want of us?' I asked. - -'You must accompany us back to Neopalia.' - -'Well, where did you suppose I was going? Is this a boat to go for a -voyage in? Can I row a hundred miles to Rhodes? Come, you're a silly -fellow!' - -He was rather embarrassed by my tone. He did not know whether to -believe in my sincerity or not. Phroso caught the cue well enough to -keep her tongue between her pretty lips, and her lids low over her -wondering eyes. - -'But,' I pursued in a tone of ironical remonstrance, 'are you going to -leave the Pasha there? The other is a rogue and a murderer' (it rather -went to my heart to describe the useful, if unscrupulous, Demetri in -these terms); 'let him be. But does it suit the dignity of Mouraki -Pasha to lie untended on the shore, while his men row off to the -harbour? It will look as though you had loved him little. You, four of -you, allow one man to kill him, and then you leave his body as if it -were the body of a dog!' - -I had no definite reason for wishing them to return and take up -Mouraki's body; but every moment gained was something. Neopalia had -bred in me a constant hope of new chances, of fresh turns, of a smile -from fortune following quick on a frown. So I urged on them anything -which would give a respite. My appeal was not wasted. The officer held -a hurried whispered consultation with the soldier who sat on the seat -next to him. Then he said: - -'It is true, my lord. It is more fitting that we should carry the body -back; but you must return with us.' - -'With all my heart,' said I, taking up my sculls with alacrity. - -The officer responded to this move of mine by laying his rifle in -readiness across his knees; both boats turned, and we set out again -for the beach. As soon as we reached it three of them went up the -slope. I saw them kick Demetri's body out of the way; for he had -fallen so that his arm was over the breast of his victim. Then they -raised Mouraki and began to carry him down. Phroso hid her face in her -hands. My eyes were on Mouraki's face; I watched him carried down to -the boat, meditating on the strange toss-up which had allotted to him -the fate which he had with such ruthless cunning prepared for me. -Suddenly I sprang up, leapt out of the boat, and began to walk up the -slope. I passed the soldiers who bore Mouraki. They paused in surprise -and uneasiness. I walked briskly by, taking no notice of them, and -came where Demetri's body lay. I knelt for a moment by him, and closed -his eyes with my hand. Then I took off the silk scarf I was wearing -and spread it over his face, and I rose to my feet again. Somehow I -felt that I owed to Demetri some such small office of friendship as -this that I was paying; and I found myself hoping that there had been -good in the man, and that He who sees all of the heart would see good -even in the wild desperate soul of Demetri of Neopalia. So I arranged -the scarf carefully, and, turning, walked down the slope to the boats -again, glad to be able to tell the girl Panayiota that somebody had -closed her lover's eyes. Thus I left the friend that I knew not of. -Looking into my own heart, I did not judge him harshly. I had let the -thing be done. - -When I reached the beach, the soldiers were about to lay Mouraki's -body in the larger of the two boats; but having nothing to cover his -body with they proceeded to remove his undress frock coat and left it -lying for an instant on the shingle while they lifted him in. Seeing -that they were ready, I picked up the coat and handed it to them. They -took it and arranged it over the trunk and head. Two of them got into -the boat in which Phroso sat and signed to me to jump in. I was about -to obey when I perceived a pocket-book lying on the shingle. It was -not mine. Neither Demetri nor any of the soldiers was likely to carry -a handsome morocco-leather case; it must have belonged to Mouraki and -have fallen from his coat as I lifted it. It lay opened now, face -upwards. I stooped for it, intending to give it to the officer. But an -instant later it was in my pocket; and I, under the screen of a most -innocent expression, was covertly watching my guards, to see whether -they had detected my action. The two who rowed Mouraki had already -started; the others had been taking their seats in the boat and had -not perceived the swift motion with which I picked up the book. I -walked past them and sat down behind them in the bows. Phroso was in -the stern. One of them asked her, with a considerable show of respect, -if she would steer. She assented with a nod. I crouched down low in -the bows behind the backs of the soldiers; there I took out Mouraki's -pocket-book and opened it. My action seemed, no doubt, not far removed -from theft. But as the book lay open on the shore, I had seen in it -something which belonged to me, something which was inalienably mine, -of which no schemes or violence could deprive me: this was nothing -else than my name. - -Very quietly and stealthily I drew out a slip of paper; behind that -was another slip, and again a third. They were cuttings from a Greek -newspaper. Neither the name of the paper, nor the dates, nor the -place of publication, appeared: the extracts were merely three short -paragraphs. My name headed each of them. I had not been aware that any -chronicle of my somewhat unexpected fortunes had reached the outer -world; and I set myself to read with much interest. Great men may -become indifferent as to what the papers say about them; I had never -attained to this exalted state of mind. - -'Let's have a look,' said I to myself, after a cautious glance over my -shoulder at the other boat, which was several yards ahead. - -The first paragraph ran thus: 'We regret to hear that Lord Wheatley, -the English nobleman who has recently purchased the island of Neopalia -and taken up his residence there, is suffering from a severe attack of -the fever which is at the present time prevalent in the island.' - -'Now that's very curious,' I thought, for I had never enjoyed better -health than during my sojourn in Neopalia. I turned with increased -interest to the second cutting. I wanted to see what progress I had -made in my serious sickness. Naturally I was interested. - -'We greatly regret to announce that Lord Wheatley's condition is -critical. The fever has abated, but the patient is dangerously -prostrate.' - -'It would be even more interesting if one had the dates,' thought I. - -The last paragraph was extremely brief. 'Lord Wheatley died at seven -o'clock yesterday morning.' - -I lay back in the bows of the boat, holding these remarkable little -slips of paper in my hand. They gave occasion for some thought. Then I -replaced them in the pocket-book, and I had, I regret to say, the -curiosity to explore further. I lifted the outer flap of leather and -looked in the inner compartment. It held only a single piece of paper. -On the paper were four or five lines, not in print this time but in -handwriting, and the handwriting looked very much like what I had seen -over Mouraki's name. - -'Report of Lord Wheatley's death unfounded. Reason to suspect intended -foul play on the part of the islanders. The Governor is making -inquiries. Lord Wheatley is carefully guarded, as attempts on his life -are feared. Feeling in the island is much exasperated, the sale to -Lord Wheatley being very unpopular.' - -'There's another compartment yet,' said I to myself, and I turned to -it eagerly. Alas, I was disappointed! There was a sheet of paper in -it, but the paper was a blank. Yet I looked at the blank piece of -paper with even greater interest; for I had little doubt that it had -been intended to carry another message, a message which was true and -no lie, which was to have been written this very morning by the dagger -of Demetri. Something like this it would have run, would it not, in -the terse style of my friend Mouraki Pasha? 'Lord Wheatley -assassinated this morning. Assassin killed by Governor's guards. -Governor is taking severe measures.' - -Mouraki, Mouraki, in your life you loved irony, and in your death you -were not divided from it! For while you lay a corpse in the stern of -your boat, I lived to read those unwritten words on the blank paper in -your pocket-book. At first Constantine had killed me--so I interpreted -the matter--by fever; but later on that story would not serve, since -Denny and Hogvardt and faithful Watkins knew that it was a lie. -Therefore the lie was declared a lie and you set yourself to prove -again that truth is better than a lie--especially when a man can -manufacture it to his own order. Yet, surely, Mouraki, if you can look -now into this world, your smile will be a wry one! For, cunning as you -were and full of twists, more cunning still and richer in expedients -is the thing called fate; and the dagger of Demetri wrote another -message to fill the blank sheet that your provident notebook carried! - -Thinking thus, I put the book in my pocket, and looked round with a -smile on my lips. I wished the man were alive that I might mock him. I -grudged him the sudden death which fenced him from my triumphant -raillery. - -Suddenly, there in the bows of the boat, I laughed aloud, so that the -soldiers turned startled faces over their shoulders and Phroso looked -at me in wonder. - -'It's nothing,' said I. 'Since I'm alive I may laugh, I suppose?' -Mouraki Pasha was not alive. - -My reading and my meditation had passed the time. Now we were round -the point which had lain between us and the harbour, and were heading -straight for the gunboat that was anchored just across the head of the -jetty. Phroso's eyes met mine in an appeal. I could give her no hope -of escape. There was nothing for it: we must go on, we and Mouraki -together. But my heart was buoyant within me and I exulted in the -favours of fortune as a lover in his mistress's smiles. Was not -Mouraki lying dead in the stern of the boat and was not I alive? - -We drew near to the gunboat. Now I perceived that her steam launch lay -by her side and smoke poured from its funnel. Evidently the launch was -ready for a voyage. Whither? Could it be to Rhodes? And did the -pocket-book that I felt against my ribs by any chance contain the -cargo which was to have been speeded on its way to-day? I laughed -again as our boat came alongside, and a movement of excitement and -interest rose from the deck of gunboat and launch alike. - -The officer went on board the gunboat; for an hour or more we sat -where we were, sheltered by the side of the vessel from the heat of -the sun, for it was now noon. What was happening on board I could not -tell, but there was stir and bustle. The excitement seemed to grow. -Presently it spread from the vessel to the shore and groups of -islanders began to collect. I saw men point at Phroso, at me, at the -stiffened figure under the coat. They spoke also, and freely; more -boldly than I had heard them since Mouraki had landed and his presence -turned their fierce pride to meekness. It was as though a weight had -been lifted off them. I knew, from my own mind, the relief that came -to them by the death of the hard man and the removal of the ruthless -arm. Presently a boat put off and began to pull round the promontory. -The soldiers did not interfere, but watched it go in idle toleration. -I guessed its errand: it went to take up the corpse of Demetri, and (I -was much afraid) to give it a patriot's funeral. - -At last Mouraki's body was carried on to the gunboat; then a summons -came to me. With a glance of encouragement at Phroso, who sat in a -sort of stupor, I rose and obeyed. I was conducted on to the deck and -found myself face to face with the captain. He was a Turk, a young man -of dignified and pleasant appearance. He bowed to me courteously, -although slightly. I supposed that Mouraki's death left him the -supreme authority in Neopalia and I made him the obeisance proper to -his new position. - -'This is a terrible, a startling event, my lord,' said he. - -'It's the loss of a very eminent and distinguished man,' I observed. - -'Ah, yes, and in a very fearful manner,' he answered. 'I am not -prejudging your position, but you must see that it puts you in a -rather serious situation.' - -There were two or three of his officers standing near. I took a step -towards him. I liked his looks; and somehow his grief at Mouraki's end -did not seem intense. I determined to play the bold game. - -'Nothing, I assure you, to what I should have been in if it had not -occurred,' said I composedly. - -A start and a murmur ran round the group. The captain looked -uncomfortable. - -'With his Excellency's plans we have nothing to do--' he began. - -'Aye, but I have,' said I. 'And when I tell you--' - -'Gentlemen,' said the captain hastily, 'leave us alone for a little -while.' - -I saw at once that I had made an impression. It seemed not difficult -to create an impression adverse to Mouraki now that he was dead, -though it had not been wise to display one when he was alive. - -'I don't know,' said I, when we were left alone together, 'whether you -knew the relations between the late Pasha and myself?' - -'No,' said he in a steady voice, looking me full in the face. - -'It was not, perhaps, within the sphere of your duty to know them?' I -hazarded. - -'It was not,' said he. I thought I saw the slightest of smiles -glimmering between beard and moustache. - -'But now that you're in command, it's different?' - -'It is undoubtedly different now,' he admitted. - -'Shall we talk in your cabin?' - -'By all means;' and he led the way. - -When we reached the cabin, I gave him a short sketch of what had -happened since Mouraki's arrival. He was already informed as to the -events before that date. He heard me with unmoved face. At last I -came to my attempted escape with Phroso by the secret passage and to -Constantine's attack. - -'That fellow was a villain,' he observed. - -'Yes,' said I. 'Read those.' And I handed him the printed slips, -adding, 'I suppose he sent these by fishing-boats to Rhodes, first to -pave the way, and finally to account for my disappearance.' - -'I must congratulate you on a lucky escape, my lord.' - -'You have more than that to congratulate me on, captain. Your launch -seems ready for a voyage.' - -'Yes; but I have countermanded the orders.' - -'What were they?' - -'I beg your pardon, my lord, but what concern is it--?' - -'For a trip to Rhodes, perhaps?' - -'I shall not deny it if you guess it.' - -'By the order of the Pasha?' - -'Undoubtedly.' - -'On what errand?' - -'His Excellency did not inform me.' - -'To carry this perhaps?' I flung the paper which bore Mouraki's -handwriting on the table that stood between us. - -He took it up and read it; while he read, I took my pencil from my -pocket and wrote on the blank slip of paper, which I had found in the -pocket-book, the message that Mouraki's brain had surely conceived, -though his fingers had grown stiff in death before they could write -it. - -'What does all this mean?' asked the captain, looking up as he -finished reading. - -'And to-morrow,' said I, 'I think another message would have gone to -Rhodes--' - -'I had orders to be ready to go myself to-morrow.' - -'You had?' I cried. 'And what would you have carried?' - -'That I don't know.' - -'Aye, but I do. There's your cargo!' And I flung down what I had -written. - -He read it once and again, and looked across the table at me, -fingering the slip of paper. - -'He did not write this?' he said. - -'As you saw, I wrote it. If he had lived, then, as surely as I live, -he would have written it. Captain, it was for me that dagger was -meant. Else why did he take the man Demetri with him? Had Demetri -cause to love him, or he cause to trust Demetri?' - -The captain stood holding the paper. I walked round the table and laid -my hand on his shoulder. - -'You didn't know his schemes,' said I. 'They weren't schemes that he -could tell to a Turkish gentleman.' - -At this instant the door opened and the officer who had been with us -in the morning entered. - -'I have laid his Excellency's body in his cabin,' he said. - -'Come,' said the captain, 'we will go and see it, my lord.' - -I followed him to where Mouraki lay. The Pasha's face was composed and -there was even the shadow of a smile on his pale lips. - -'Do you believe what I tell you?' I asked. 'I tried to save the girl -from him and in return he meant to kill me. Do you believe me? If not, -hang me for his murder; if you do, why am I a prisoner? What have I -done? Where is my offence?' - -The captain looked down on Mouraki's face, tugged his beard, smiled, -was silent an instant. Then he shrugged his shoulders, and he said--he -who had not dared, a day before, to lift his voice or raise his finger -unbidden in Mouraki's presence: - -'Faugh, the Armenian dog!' - -There was, I fear, race prejudice in that exclamation, but I did not -contradict it. I stood looking down on Mouraki's face, and to my -fancy, stirred by the events of the past hours and twisted from -sobriety to strange excesses of delusion, the lips seemed once again -to curl in their old bitter smile, as he lay still and heard himself -spurned, and could not move to exact the vengeance which in his life -he had never missed. - -So we left him--the Armenian dog! - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -A PUBLIC PROMISE - - -On the evening of the next day I was once again with my faithful -friends on board the little yacht. Furious with the trick Mouraki had -played them, they rejoiced openly at his fall and mingled their -congratulations to me with hearty denunciations of the dead man. In -sober reality we had every reason to be glad. Our new master was of a -different stamp from Mouraki. He was a proud, reserved, honest -gentleman, with no personal ends to serve. He had informed me that I -must remain on the island till he received instructions concerning me, -but he encouraged me to hope that my troubles were at last over; -indeed I gathered from a hint or two which he let fall that Mouraki's -end was not likely to be received with great regret in exalted -circles. In truth I have never known a death greeted with more general -satisfaction. The soldiers regarded me with quiet approval. To the -people of Neopalia I became a hero: everybody seemed to have learnt -something at least of the story of my duel with the Pasha, and -everybody had been (so it now appeared) on my side. I could not walk -up the street without a shower of benedictions; the islanders -fearlessly displayed their liking for me by way of declaring their -hatred for Mouraki's memory and their exultation in his fitting death. -In these demonstrations they were not interfered with, and the captain -went so far as to shut his eyes judiciously when, under cover of -night, they accorded Demetri the tribute of a public funeral. To this -function I did not go, although I was informed that my presence was -confidently expected; but I sought out Panayiota and told her how her -lover died. She heard the story with Spartan calm and pride; -Neopalians take deaths easily. - -Yet there were shadows on our new-born prosperity. Most lenient and -gracious to me, the captain preserved a severe and rigorous attitude -towards Phroso. He sent her to her own house--or my house, as with -amiable persistence he called it--and kept her there under guard. Her -case also would be considered, he said, and he had forwarded my -exoneration of her together with the account of Mouraki's death; but -he feared very much that she would not be allowed to remain in the -island; she would be a centre of discontent there. As for my proposal -to restore Neopalia to her, he assured me that it would not be -listened to for a moment. If I declined to keep the island,--probably -a suitable and loyal lord would be selected, and Phroso would be -deported. - -'Where to?' I asked. - -'Really I don't know,' said the captain. 'It is but a small matter, my -lord, and I have not troubled my superiors with any recommendation on -the subject.' - -As he spoke he rose to go. He had been paying us a visit on the yacht, -where, in obedience to his advice, I had taken up my abode. Denny, who -was sitting near, gave a curious sort of laugh. I frowned fiercely, -the captain looked from one to the other of us in bland curiosity. - -'You take an interest in the girl?' he said, in a tone in which -surprise struggled with civility. Again came Denny's half-smothered -laugh. - -'An interest in her?' said I irritably. 'Well, I suppose I do. It -looked like it when I took her through that infernal passage, didn't -it?' - -The captain smiled apologetically and pursued his way towards the -door. 'I will try to obtain lenient treatment for her,' said he, and -passed out. I was left alone with Denny, who chose at this moment to -begin to whistle. I glared most ill-humouredly at him. He stopped -whistling and remarked: - -'By this time to-morrow our friends at home will be taking off their -mourning. They'll read in the papers that Lord Wheatley is not dead of -fever at Neopalia, and they won't read that he has fallen a victim to -the misguided patriotism of the islanders; in fact they'll be -preparing to kill the fatted calf for him.' - -It was all perfectly true, both what Denny said and what he implied -without saying. But I found no answer to make to it. - -'What a happy ending it is,' said Denny. - -'Uncommonly,' I growled, lighting a cigar. - -After this there was a long silence: I smoked, Denny whistled. I saw -that he was determined to say nothing more explicit unless I gave him -a lead, but his whole manner exuded moral disapproval. The -consciousness of his feelings kept me obstinately dumb. - -'Going to stay here long?' he asked at last, in a wonderfully careless -tone. - -'Well, there's no hurry, is there?' I retorted aggressively. - -'Oh, no; only I should have thought--oh, well, nothing.' - -Again silence. Then Watkins opened the door of the cabin and announced -the return of the captain. I was surprised to see him again so soon. I -was more surprised when he came at me with outstretched hand and a -smile of mingled amusement and reproof on his face. - -'My dear lord,' he exclaimed, seizing my defenceless hand, 'is this -treating me quite fairly? So far as a word from you went, I was left -completely in the dark. Of course I understand now, but it was an -utter surprise to me.' He shook his head with playful reproach. - -'If you understand now, I confess you have the advantage of me,' I -returned, with some stiffness. 'Pray, sir, what has occurred? No doubt -it's something remarkable. I've learnt to rely on Neopalia for that.' - -'It was remarkable in my eyes, I admit, and rather startling. But of -course I acquiesced. In fact, my dear lord, it materially alters the -situation. As your wife, she will be in a very different--' - -'Hallo!' cried Denny, leaping up from the bench where he had been -sitting. - -'In a very different position indeed,' pursued the captain blandly. -'We should have, if I may say so, a guarantee for her good behaviour. -We should have you to look to--a great security, as I need not tell -you.' - -'My dear sir,' said I in exasperated pleading, 'you don't seem to -think you need tell me anything. Pray inform me of what has occurred, -and what this wonderful thing is that makes so much change.' - -'Indeed,' said he, 'if I had surprised a secret, I would apologise; -but it's evidently known to all the islanders.' - -'Well, but I'm not an islander,' I cried in growing fury. - -The captain sat down, lit a cigarette very deliberately, and observed: - -'It was perhaps stupid of me not to have thought of it. She is, of -course, a beautiful girl, but hardly, if I may say so, your equal in -position, my lord.' - -I jumped up and caught him by the shoulder. He might order me under -arrest if he liked, but he should tell me what had happened first. - -'What's happened?' I reiterated. 'Since you left us--what?' - -'A deputation of the islanders, headed by their priest, came to ask my -leave for the inhabitants to go up to the house and see their Lady.' - -'Yes, yes. What for?' - -'To offer her their congratulations on her betrothal--' - -'What?' - -'And their assurances of loyalty to her and to her husband for her -sake. Oh, it simplifies the matter very much.' - -'Oh, does it? And did you tell them they might go?' - -'Was there any objection? Certainly. Certainly I told them they might -go, and I added that I heard with great gratification that a marriage -so--' - -What the captain had said to the deputation I did not wait to hear. No -doubt it was something highly dignified and appropriate, for he was -evidently much pleased with himself. But before he could possibly have -finished so ornate a sentence, I was on the deck of the yacht. I heard -Denny push back his chair, whether merely in wonder or in order to -follow me I did not know. I leapt from the yacht on to the jetty and -started to run up the street nearly as quickly as I had run down it on -the day when Mouraki was kind enough to send my friends a-fishing. At -all costs I must stop the demonstration of delight which the -inconvenient innocence of these islanders was preparing. - -Alas, the street was a desert! The movements of the captain were -always leisurely. The impetuous Neopalians had wasted no time: they -had got a start of me, and running up the hill after them was no joke. -Against my will I was at last obliged to drop into a walk, and thus -pursued my way doggedly, thinking in gloomy despair how everything -conspired to push me along the road which my honour and my pledged -word closed to me. Was ever man so tempted? Did ever circumstances so -conspire with his own wishes, or fate make duty seem more hard? - -I turned the corner of the road which lead to the old house. It was -here I had first heard Phroso's voice in the darkness, here where, -from the window of the hall, I had seen her lithe graceful figure when -she came in her boy's dress to raid my cows; a little further on was -where I had said farewell to her when she went back, the grant of -Neopalia in her hand, to soften the hearts of her turbulent -countrymen; here where Mouraki had tried her with his guile and -intimidated her with his harshness; and there was the house where I -had declared to the Pasha that she should be my wife. How sweet that -saying sounded in my remembering ears! Yet I swear I did not waver. -Many have called me a fool for it since. I know nothing about that. -Times change, and people are very wise nowadays. My father was a fool, -I daresay, to give thousands to his spendthrift school-fellow, just -because he happened to have said he would. - -I saw them now, the bright picturesque crowd, thronging round the door -of the house; and on the step of the threshold I saw her, standing -there, tall and slim, with one hand resting on the arm of Kortes's -sister. A loud cry rose from the people. She did not seem to speak. -With set teeth I walked on. Now someone in the circle caught sight of -me. There was another eager cry, a stir, shouts, gestures; then they -turned and ran to me. Before I could move or speak a dozen strong -hands were about me. They swung me up on their shoulders and carried -me along; the rest waved their hands and cheered: they blessed me and -called me their lord. The women laughed and the girls shot merry shy -glances at me. Thus they bore me in triumph to Phroso's feet. Surely I -was indeed a hero in Neopalia to-day, for they believed that through -me their Lady would be left to them, and their island escape the -punishment they feared. So they sang One-eyed Alexander's chant no -more, but burst into a glad hymn--an epithalamium--as I knelt at -Phroso's feet, and did not dare to lift my eyes to her fair face. - -'Here's a mess!' I groaned, wondering what they had said to my poor -Phroso. - -Then a sudden silence fell on them. Looking up in wonder, I saw that -Phroso had raised her hand and was about to speak. She did not look at -me--nay, she did not look at them; her eyes were fixed on the sea that -she loved. Then her voice came, low but clear: - -'Friends--for all are friends here, and there are no strangers--once -before, in the face of all of you I have told my love for my lord. My -lord did not know that what I said was true, and I have not told him -that it was true till I tell him here to-day. But you talk foolishly -when you greet me as my lord's bride; for in his country he is a great -man and owns great wealth, and Neopalia is very small and poor, and I -seem but a poor girl to him, though you call me your Lady.' - -Here she paused an instant; then she went on, her voice sinking a -little lower and growing almost dreamy, as if she let herself drift -idly on the waves of fancy. - -'Is it strange to speak to you--to you, my brothers and sisters of our -island? I do not know; I love to speak to you all; for, poor as I am -and as our island is, I think sometimes that had my lord come here a -free man he would have loved me. But his heart was not his own, and -the lady he loves waits for him at home, and he will go to her. So -wish me joy no more on what cannot be.' And then, very suddenly, -before I or any of them could move or speak, she withdrew inside the -threshold, and Kortes's sister swiftly closed the door. I was on my -feet as it shut, and I stood facing it, my back to the islanders. - -Among them at first there was an amazed silence, but soon voices -began to be heard. I turned round and met their gaze. The strong yoke -of Mouraki was off them; their fear had gone, and with it their -meekness. They were again in the fierce impetuous mood of St Tryphon's -day: they were exasperated at their disappointment, enraged to find -the plan which left Phroso to them and relieved them of the threatened -advent of a Government nominee brought to nothing. - -'They'll take her away,' said one. - -'They'll send us a rascally Turk,' cried another. - -'He shall hear the death-chant then,' menaced a third. - -Then their anger, seeking an outlet, turned on me. I do not know that -I had the right to consider myself an entirely innocent victim. - -'He has won her love by fraud,' muttered one to another, with -evil-disposed glances and ominous frowns. - -I thought they were going to handle me roughly, and I felt for the -revolver which the captain had been kind enough to restore to me. But -a new turn was given to their thoughts by a tall fellow, with long -hair and flashing eyes, who leapt out from the middle of the throng, -crying loudly: - -'Is not Mouraki dead? Why need we fear? Shall we wait idle while our -Lady is taken from us? To the shore, islanders! Where is fear since -Mouraki is dead?' - -His words lit a torch that blazed up furiously. In an instant they -were aflame with the mad notion of attacking the soldiers and the -gunboat. No voice was raised to point out the hopelessness of such an -attempt, the certain death and the heavy penalties which must wait on -it. The death-chant broke out again, mingled with exhortations to turn -and march against the soldiers, and with encouragements to the tall -fellow--Orestes they called him--to put himself at their head. He was -not loth. - -'Let us go and get our guns and our knives,' he cried, 'and then to -the shore!' - -'And this man?' called half-a-dozen, pointing at me. - -'When we have driven out the soldiers we will deal with him,' said -Master Orestes. 'If our Lady desires him for her husband, he shall wed -her.' - -A shout of approval greeted this arrangement, and they drew together -into a sort of rude column, the women making a fringe to it. But I -could not let them march on their own destruction without a word of -warning. I sprang on to the raised step where Phroso had stood, just -outside the door, and cried: - -'You fools! The guns of the ship will mow you down before you can -touch a hair of the head of a single soldier.' - -A deep derisive groan met my attempt at dissuasion. - -'On, on!' they cried. - -'It's certain death,' I shouted, and now I saw one or two of the women -hesitate, and look first at me and then at each other with doubt and -fear. But Orestes would not listen, and called again to them to take -the road. Thus we were when the door behind me opened, and Phroso was -again by my side. She knew how matters went. Her eyes were wild with -terror and distress. - -'Stop them, my lord, stop them,' she implored. - -For answer, I took my revolver from my pocket, saying, 'I'll do what I -can.' - -'No, no, not like that! That would be your death as well as theirs.' - -'Come,' cried Orestes, in the pride of his sudden elevation to -leadership. 'Come, follow me, I'll lead you to victory.' - -'You fools, you fools!' I groaned. 'In an hour half of you will be -dead.' - -No, they would not listen. Only the women now laid imploring hands on -the arms of husbands and brothers, useless loving restraints, angrily -flung off. - -'Stop them, stop them!' prayed Phroso. 'By any means, my lord, by any -means!' - -'There's only one way,' said I. - -'Whatever the way may be,' she urged; for now the column was facing -round towards the harbour. Orestes had taken his place, swelling with -importance and eager to display his prowess. In a word, Neopalia was -in revolt again, and the death-chant threatened to swell out in all -its barbaric simple savagery at any moment. - -There was nothing else for it; I must temporise; and that word is -generally, and was in this case, the equivalent of a much shorter one. -I could not leave these mad fools to rush on ruin. A plan was in my -head and I gave it play. I took a pace forward, raised my hand, and -cried: - -'Hear me before you march, Neopalians, for I am your friend.' - -My voice gained me a minute's silence; the column stood still, though -Orestes chafed impatiently at the delay. - -'You're in haste, men of Neopalia,' said I. 'Indeed you're always in -haste. You were in haste to kill me who had done you no harm. You are -in haste to kill yourselves by marching into the mouth of the great -gun of the ship. In truth I wonder that any of you are still alive. -But here, in this matter, you are most of all in haste, for having -heard what the Lady Phroso said, you have not asked nor waited to hear -what I say, but have at once gone mad, all of you, and chosen the -maddest among you and made him your leader.' - -I do not think that they had expected quite this style of speech. They -had looked for passionate reproaches or prayerful entreaties; cool -scorn and chaff put them rather at a loss, and my reference to -Orestes, who looked sour enough, won me a hesitating laugh. - -'And then, all of you mad together, off you go, leaving me here, the -only sane man in the place! For am not I sane? Aye, not mad enough to -leave the fairest lady in the world when she says she loves me!' I -took Phroso's hand and kissed it. It lay limp and cold in mine. 'For -my home,' I went on, 'is a long way off, and it is long since I have -seen the lady of whom you have heard; and a man's heart will not be -denied.' Again I kissed Phroso's hand, but I dared not look her in the -face. - -My meaning had dawned on them now. There was an instant's silence, the -last relic of doubt and puzzle; then a sudden loud shout went up from -them. Orestes alone was sullen and mute, for my surrender deposed him -from his brief eminence. Again and again they shouted in joy. I knew -that their shouts must reach nearly to the harbour. Men and women -crowded round me and seized my hand; nobody seemed to make any bones -about the 'lady who waited' for me. They were single-hearted patriots, -these Neopalians. I had observed that virtue in them several times -before, and their behaviour now confirmed my opinion. But there was, -of course, a remarkable difference in the manifestation. Before I had -been the object, now I was the subject; for by announcing my intention -of marrying Phroso I took rank as a Neopalian. Indeed for a minute or -two I was afraid that the post of generalissimo, vacant by Orestes's -deposition, would be forcibly thrust upon me. - -Happily their enthusiasm took a course which was more harmless, -although it was hardly less embarrassing. They made a ring round -Phroso and me, and insisted on our embracing one another in the glare -of publicity. Yet somehow I forgot them all for a moment--them all, -and more than them all--while I held her in my arms. - -Now it chanced that the captain, Denny and Hogvardt chose this moment -for appearing on the road, in the course of a leisurely approach to -the house; and they beheld Phroso and myself in a very sentimental -attitude on the doorstep, with the islanders standing round in high -delight. Denny's amazed 'Hallo!' warned me of what had happened. The -islanders--their enmity towards the suzerain power allayed as quickly -as it had been roused--ran to the captain to impart the joyful news. -He came up to me, and bestowed his sanction by a shake of the hand. - -'But why did you behave so strangely, my lord, when I wished you joy -an hour ago on the boat?' he asked; and it was a very natural -question. - -'Oh, the truth is,' said I, 'that there was a little difficulty in the -way then.' - -'Oh, a lover's quarrel?' he smiled. - -'Well, something like it,' I admitted. - -'Everything is quite right now, I hope?' he said politely. - -'Well, very nearly,' said I. Then I met Denny's eye. - -'Am I also to congratulate you?' said Denny coldly. - -There was no opportunity of explaining matters to him, the captain was -too near. - -'I shall be very glad if you will,' I said, 'and if Hogvardt will -also.' - -Hogvardt shrugged his shoulders, raised his brows, smiled and -observed: - -'I trust you're acting for the best, my lord.' - -Denny made no answer at all. He kicked the ground with his foot. I -knew very well what was in Denny's mind. Denny was of my family on his -mother's side, and Denny's eye asked, 'Where is the word of a -Wheatley?' All this I realised fully. I read his mind then more -clearly than I could read my own; for had we been alone, and had he -put to me the plain question, 'Do you mean to make her your wife, or -are you playing another trick?' by heaven, I should not have known -what to answer! I had begun a trick; the plan was to persuade the -islanders into dispersing peacefully by my pretence, and then to slip -away quietly by myself, trusting to their good sense--although a -broken reed, yet the only resource--to make them accept an -accomplished fact. But was that my mind now, since I had held Phroso -in my arms, and her lips had met mine in the kiss which the islanders -hailed as the pledge of our union? - -I do not know. I saw Phroso turn and go into the house again. The -captain spoke to Denny; I saw him point up to the window of the room -which Mouraki had occupied. He went in. Denny motioned Hogvardt to his -side, and they two also went into the house without asking me to -accompany them. Gradually the throng of islanders dispersed. Orestes -flung off in sullen disappointment; the men, those who had knives -carefully hiding them, walked down the road like peaceful citizens; -the women strolled away, laughing, chattering, gossiping, delighted, -as women always are, with the love affair. Thus I was left alone in -front of the house. It was late afternoon, and clouds had gathered -over the sea. The air was very still; no sound struck my ear except -the wash of the waves on the shore. - -There I stood fighting the battle, for how long I do not know. The -struggle within me was very sore. On either side seemed now to lie a -path that it soiled my feet to tread: on the one was a broken pledge, -on the other a piece of trickery and knavishness. The joy of a love -that could be mine only through dishonour was imperfect joy; yet, if -that love could not be mine, life seemed too empty a thing to live. -The voices of the two sounded in my ear--the light merry prattle and -the calmer sweeter voice. Ah, this island of mine, what things it put -on a man! - -At last I felt a hand laid on my shoulder. I turned, and in the -quick-gathering dusk of the evening I saw Kortes's sister; she looked -long and earnestly into my face. - -'Well?' said I. 'What is it now?' - -'She must see you, my lord,' answered the woman. 'She must see you -now, at once.' - -I looked again at the harbour and the sea, trying to quell the tumult -of my thoughts and to resolve what I would do. I could find no course -and settle on no resolution. - -'Yes, she must see me,' said I at last. I could say nothing else. - -The woman moved away, a strange bewilderment shewing itself in her -kind eyes. Again I was left alone in my restless self-communings. I -heard people moving to and fro in the house. I heard the window of -Mouraki's room, where the captain was, closed with a decisive hand; -and then I became aware of some one approaching me. I turned and saw -Phroso's white dress gleaming through the gloom, and her face nearly -as white above it. - -Yes, the time had come; but I was not ready. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -A WORD OF VARIOUS MEANINGS - - -She came up to me swiftly and without hesitation. I had looked for -some embarrassment, but there was none in her face. She met my eyes -full and square, and began to speak to me at once. - -'My lord,' she said, 'I must ask one thing of you. I must lay one more -burden on you. After to-day I dare not be here when my countrymen -learn how they are deluded. I should be ashamed to face them, and I -dare not trust myself to the Turks, for I don't know what they would -do with me. Will you take me with you to Athens, or to some other port -from which I can reach Athens? I can elude the guards here. I shall be -no trouble: you need only tell me when your boat will start, and give -me a corner to live in on board. Indeed I grieve to ask more of you, -for you have done so much for me; but my trouble is great and-- What -is it, my lord?' - -I had moved my hand to stop her. She had acted in the one way in -which, had it been to save my life, I could not have. She put what had -passed utterly out of the way, treating it as the merest trick. My -part in it was to her the merest trick; of hers she said nothing. Had -hers then been a trick also? My blood grew hot at the thought. I could -not endure it. - -'When your countrymen learn how they are deluded?' said I, repeating -her words. 'Deluded in what?' - -'In the trick we played on them, my lord, to--to persuade them to -disperse.' - -I took a step towards her, and my voice shook as I said: - -'Was it all a trick, Phroso?' For at this moment I set above -everything else in the world a fresh assurance of her love. I would -force it from her sooner than not have it. - -She answered me with questioning eyes and a sad little smile. - -'Are we then betrothed?' she said, in mournful mockery. - -I was close by her now. I did not touch her, but I bent a little, and -my face was near hers. - -'Was it a trick to-day, and a trick on St Tryphon's day also?' I -asked. - -She gave one startled glance at my face, and then her eyes dropped to -the ground. She made no answer to my question. - -'Was it all a trick, Phroso?' I asked in entreaty, in urgency, in the -wild longing to hear her love declared once, here, to me alone, where -nobody could hear, nobody impair its sweet secrecy. - -Phroso's answer came now, set to the accompaniment of the saddest, -softest, murmuring laugh. - -'Ah, my lord, must you hear it again? Am I not twice shamed already?' - -'Be shamed yet once again,' I whispered; then I saw the light of -gladness master the misty sorrow in her eyes as I had seen once -before; and I greeted it, whispering: - -'Yes, a thousand times, a thousand times!' - -'My dear lord!' she said; but then she sprang back, and the brightness -was clouded again as she stood aloof, regarding me in speechless, -distressed puzzle. - -'But, my lord!' she murmured, so low that I scarcely heard. Then she -took refuge in a return to her request. 'You won't leave me here, will -you? You'll take me somewhere where I can be safe. I--I'm afraid of -these men, even though the Pasha is dead.' - -I took no notice of the request she repeated. I seemed unable to speak -or to do anything else but look into her eyes; and I said, a touch of -awe in my voice: - -'You have the most wonderful eyes in all the world, Phroso.' - -'My lord!' murmured Phroso, dropping envious lids. But I knew she -would open them soon again, and so she did. - -'Yes, in all the wide world,' said I. 'And I want to hear it again.' - -As we talked we had moved little by little; now we were at the side of -the house, in the deep dull shadow of it. Yet the eyes I praised -pierced the gloom and shone in the darkness; and suddenly I felt arms -about my neck, clasping me tightly; her breath was on my cheek, coming -quick and uneven, and she whispered: - -'Yes, you shall hear it again and again and again, for I am not -ashamed now; for I know, yes, I know. I love you, I love you--ah, how -I love you!' Her whispers found answer in mine. I held her as though -against all the world: all the world was in that moment, and there was -nothing else than that moment in all the world. Had a man told me then -that I had felt love before, I would have laughed in his face--the -fool! - -But then Phroso drew back again; the brief rapture, free from all past -or future, all thought or doubt, left her, and, in leaving her, -forsook me also. She stood over against me murmuring: - -'But, my lord--!' - -I knew well what she would say, and for an instant I stood silent. The -world hung for us on the cast of my next words. - -'But, my lord, the lady who waits for you over the sea?' There sounded -a note of fear in the softly breathed whisper that the night carried -to my ear. In an instant, before I could answer, Phroso came near to -me and laid one hand on my arm, speaking gently and quickly. 'Yes, I -know, I see, I understand,' she said, 'and I thank you, my lord, and I -thank God, my dear lord, that you told me and did not leave me without -shewing me your love; for though I must be very unhappy, yet I shall -be proud; and in the long nights I shall think of this dear island and -of you, though you will both be far away. Yes, I thank heaven you told -me, my dear lord.' She bent her head, that should have bent to no man, -and kissed my hand. - -But I snatched my hand hastily away, and I sprang to her and caught -her again in my arms, and again kissed her lips; for my resolve was -made. I would not let her go. Those who would might ask the rights of -it; I could not let her go. Yet I spoke no word, and she did not -understand, but thought that I kissed her in farewell; for the tears -were on her face and wetted my lips, and she clung to me as though -something were tearing her from me and must soon sunder us apart, so -greedy was her grasp on me. But then I opened my mouth to whisper in -her ear the words which would bid defiance to the thing that was -rending her away and rivet her life to mine. - -But hark! There was a cry, a startled exclamation, and the sound of -footsteps. My name was shouted loud and eagerly. I knew Denny's voice. -Phroso slid from my relaxed arms, and drew back into the deepest -shadow. - -'I'll be back soon,' I whispered, and with a last pressure of her -hand, which was warm now and answered to my grasp, I stepped out of -the shelter of the wall and stood in front of the house. - -Denny was on the doorstep. The door was open. The light from the lamp -in the hall flooded the night and fell full on my face as I walked up -to him. On sight of me he seemed to forget his own errand and his own -eagerness, for he caught me by the shoulder, and stared at me, crying: - -'Heavens, man, you're as white as a sheet! Have you seen a ghost? Does -Constantine walk--or Mouraki?' - -'Fifty ghosts would be a joke to what I've been through. My God, I -never had such a time! What do you want? What did you call me for? I -can't stay. She's waiting.' For now I did not care; Denny and all -Neopalia might know now. - -'Yes, but she must wait a little,' he said. 'You must come into the -house and come upstairs.' - -'I can't,' I said obstinately. 'I--I--I can't, Denny.' - -'You must. Don't be a fool, Charley. It's important: the captain is -waiting for you.' - -His face seemed big with news. What it might be I could not tell, but -the hint of it was enough to make me catch hold of him, crying, 'What -is it? I'll come.' - -'That's right. Come along.' He turned and ran rapidly through the old -hall and up the stairs. I followed him, my mind whirling through a -cloud of possibilities. - -The quiet business-like aspect of the room into which Denny led the -way did something to sober me. I pulled myself together, seeking to -hide my feelings under a mask of carelessness. The captain sat at the -table with a mass of papers surrounding him. He appeared to be -examining them, and, as he read, his lips curved in surprise or -contempt. - -'This Mouraki was a cunning fellow,' said he; 'but if anyone had -chanced to get hold of this box of his while he was alive he would not -have enjoyed even so poor a post as he thought his governorship. -Indeed, Lord Wheatley, had you been actually a party to his death, I -think you need have feared nothing when some of these papers had found -their way to the eyes of the Government. We're well rid of him, -indeed! But then, as I always say, these Armenians, though they're -clever dogs--' - -But I had not come to hear a Turk discourse on Armenians, and I broke -in, with an impatience that I could not altogether conceal: - -'I beg your pardon; but is that all you wanted to say to me?' - -'I should have thought that it was of some importance to you,' he -observed. - -'Certainly,' said I, regaining my composure a little; 'but your -courtesy and kindness had already reassured me.' - -He bowed his acknowledgments, and proceeded in a most leisurely tone, -sorting the papers and documents before him into orderly heaps. - -'On the death of the Pasha, the government of the island having -devolved temporarily on me, I thought it my duty to examine his -Excellency's--curse the dog!--his Excellency's despatch-box, with the -result that I have discovered very remarkable evidences of the schemes -which he dared to entertain. With this, however, perhaps I need not -trouble you.' - -'I wouldn't intrude into it for the world,' I said. - -'I discovered also,' he pursued, in undisturbed leisure and placidity, -'among the Pasha's papers a letter addressed to--' - -'Me?' and I sprang forward. - -'No, to your cousin, to this gentleman. Pursuing what I conceived to -be my duty--and I must trust to Mr Swinton to forgive me--' Here the -exasperating fellow paused, looked at Denny, waited for a bow from -Denny, duly received it, duly and with ceremony returned it, sighed as -though he were much relieved at Denny's complaisance, cleared his -throat, arranged a little heap of papers on his left hand, and at -last--oh, at last!--went on. - -'This letter, I say, in pursuance of what I conceived to be my duty--' - -'Yes, yes, your duty, of course. Clearly your duty. Yes?' - -'I read. It appeared, however, to contain nothing of importance.' - -'Then, why the deuce-- I mean--I beg your pardon.' - -'But merely matters of private concern. But I am not warranted in -letting it out of my hands. It will have to be delivered to the -Government with the rest of the Pasha's papers. I have, however, -allowed Mr Swinton to read it. He says that it concerns you, Lord -Wheatley, more than himself. I therefore propose to ask him to read it -to you (I can decipher English, but not speak it with facility) in my -presence.' With this he handed an envelope to Denny. We had got to it -at last. - -'For heaven's sake be quick about it, my dear boy!' I cried, and I -seated myself on the table, swinging my leg to and fro in a fury of -restless impatience. The captain eyed my agitated body with profound -disapproval. - -Denny took the letter from its envelope and read: 'London, May 21st;' -then he paused and remarked, 'We got here on the seventh, you know.' I -nodded hastily, and he went on, 'My dear Denny--Oh, how awful this is! -I can hardly bear to think of it! Poor, poor fellow! Mamma is terribly -grieved, and I, of course, even more. Both mamma and I feel that it -makes it so much worse, somehow, that this news should come only three -days after he must have got mamma's letter. Mamma says that it doesn't -really make any difference, and that if her letter was _wise_, then -this terrible news can't alter that. I suppose it doesn't really, but -it seems to, doesn't it? Oh, do write directly and tell me that he -wasn't very unhappy about it when he had that horrible fever. There's -a big blot--because I'm crying! I know you thought I didn't care -about him, but I did--though not (as mamma says) in _one_ way, -really. Do you think he forgave me? It would kill me if I thought he -didn't. Do write soon. I suppose you will bring poor dear Charley -home? Please tell me he didn't think very badly of me. Mamma joins -with me in sincerest sympathy.--Yours _most_ sincerely, Beatrice -Kennett Hipgrave. _P.S._--Mr Bennett Hamlyn has just called. He is -awfully grieved about poor dear Charley. I always think of him as -Charley still, you know. Do write.' - -There was a long pause, then Denny observed in a satirical tone: - -'To be thought of still as "Charley" is after all something.' - -'But what the devil does it mean?' I cried, leaping from the table. - -'"I suppose you will bring poor dear Charley home,'" repeated Denny, -in a meditative tone. 'Well, it looks rather more like it than it did -a few days ago, I must admit.' - -'Denny, Denny, if you love me, what's it all about? I haven't had any -letter from--' - -'Mamma? No, we've had no letter from mamma. But then we haven't had -any letters from anybody.' - -'Then I'm hanged if I--' I began in bewildered despondency. - -'But, Charley,' interrupted Denny, 'perhaps mamma sent a letter -to--Mouraki Pasha!' - -'To Mouraki?' - -'This letter of mine found its way to Mouraki.' - -'All letters,' observed the captain, who was leaning back in his chair -and staring at the ceiling, 'would pass through his hands, if he chose -to make them.' - -'Good heavens!' I cried, springing forward. The hint was enough. In an -instant my busy, nervous, shaking hands were ruining the neat piles of -documents which the captain had reared so carefully in front and on -either side of him. I dived, tossed, fumbled, rummaged, scattered, -strewed, tore. The captain, incapable of resisting my excited energy, -groaned in helpless despair at the destruction of his evening's work. -Denny, having watched me for a few minutes, suddenly broke out into a -peal of laughter. I stopped for an instant to glare reproof of his -ill-timed mirth, and turned to my wild search again. - -The search seemed useless. Either Mouraki had not received a letter -from Mrs Bennett Hipgrave, or he had done what I myself always did -with the good lady's communications--thrown it away immediately after -reading it. I examined every scrap of paper, official documents, -private notes (the captain was very nervous when I insisted on looking -through these for a trace of Mrs Hipgrave's name), lists of stores; in -a word, the whole contents of Mouraki's despatch-boxes. - -'It's a blank!' I cried, stepping back at last in disappointment. - -'Yes, it's gone; but depend upon it, he had it,' said Denny. - -A sudden recollection flashed across me, the remembrance of the subtle -amused smile with which Mouraki had spoken of the lady who was most -anxious about me and my future wife. He must have known then; he must -even then have had Mrs Hipgrave's letter in his possession. He had -played a deliberate trick on me by suppressing the letter; hence his -fury when I announced my intention of disregarding the ties that bound -me--a fury which had, for the moment, conquered his cool cunning and -led him into violent threats. At that moment, when I realised the -man's audacious knavery, when I thought of the struggle he had caused -to me and the pain to Phroso, well, just then I came near to -canonising Demetri, and nearer still to grudging him his exploit. - -'What was in the letter, then?' I cried to Denny. - -'Read mine again,' said he, and he threw it across to me. - -I read it again. I was cooler now, and the meaning of it stood out -plain and not to be doubted. Mrs Bennett Hipgrave's letter, her wise -letter, had broken off my engagement to her daughter. The fact was -plain; all that was missing, destroyed by the caution or the -carelessness of Mouraki Pasha, was the reason; and the reason I could -supply for myself. I reached my conclusion, and looked again at Denny. - -'Allow me to congratulate you,' said Denny ironically. - -Man is a curious creature. I (and other people) may have made that -reflection before. I offer no apology for it. The more I see of myself -and my friends the more convinced I grow of its truth. Here was the -thing for which I had been hoping and praying, the one great gift that -I asked of fate, the single boon which fortune enviously withheld. -Here was freedom--divine freedom! Yet what I actually said to Denny, -in reply to his felicitations, was: - -'Hang the girl! She's jilted me!' And I said it with considerable -annoyance. - -The captain, who studied English in his spare moments, here -interposed, asking suavely: - -'Pray, my dear Lord Wheatley, what is the meaning of that -word--"jilted"?' - -'The meaning of "jilted"?' said Denny. 'He wants to know the meaning -of "jilted," Charley.' - -I looked from one to the other of them; then I said: - -'I think I'll go and ask,' and I started for the door. The captain's -expression accused me of rudeness. Denny caught me by the arm. - -'It's not decent yet,' said he, with a twinkle in his eye. - -'It happened nearly a month ago,' I pleaded. 'I've had time to get -over it, Denny; a man can't wear the willow all his life.' - -'You old humbug!' said Denny, but let me go. - -I was not long in going. I darted down the stairs. I suppose a man -tricks his conscience and will find excuses for himself where others -can find only matter for laughter, but I remember congratulating -myself on not having spoken the decisive words to Phroso before Denny -interrupted us. Well, I would speak them now. I was free to speak them -now. Suddenly, in this thought, the vexation at being jilted vanished. - -'It amounts,' said I to myself, as I reached the hall, 'to no more -than a fortunate coincidence of opinion.' And I passed through the -door and turned sharp round to the left. - -She was there waiting for me, and waiting eagerly, it seemed, for, -before I could speak, she ran to me, holding out her hands, and she -cried in a low urgent whisper, full of entreaty: - -'My lord, I have thought. I have thought while you were in the house. -You must not do this, my lord. Yes, I know--now I know--that you love -me, but you mustn't do this. My lord's honour shan't be stained for my -sake.' - -I could not resist it, and I cannot justify it. I assumed a terribly -sad expression. - -'You've really come to that conclusion, Phroso?' I asked. - -'Yes. Ah, how difficult it is! But my lord's honour--ah, don't tempt -me! You will take me to Athens, won't you? And then--' - -'And then,' said I, 'you'll leave me?' - -'Yes,' said Phroso, with a little catch in her voice. - -'And what shall I do, left alone?' - -'Go back,' murmured Phroso almost inaudibly. - -'Go back--thinking of those wonderful eyes?' - -'No, no. Thinking of--' - -'The lady who waits for me over the sea?' - -'Yes. And oh, my lord, I pray that you will find happiness!' - -There was a moment's silence. Phroso did not look at me; but then I -did look at Phroso. - -'Then you refuse, Phroso, to have anything to say to me?' - -No answer at all reached me; I came nearer, being afraid that I might -not have heard her reply. - -'What am I to do for a wife, Phroso?' I asked forlornly. 'Because, -Phroso--' - -'Ah, my lord, why do you take my hand again?' - -'Did I, Phroso? Because, Phroso, the lady who waits over the sea--it's -a charmingly poetic phrase, upon my word!' - -'You laugh!' murmured Phroso, in aggrieved protest and wonder. - -'Did I really laugh, Phroso? Well, I'm happy, so I may laugh.' - -'Happy?' she whispered; then at last her eyes were drawn to mine in -mingled hope and anguish of questioning. - -'The lady who waited over the sea,' said I, 'waits no longer, Phroso.' - -The wonderful eyes grew more wonderful in their amazed widening; and -Phroso, laying a hand gently on my arm, said: - -'She waits no longer? My lord, she is dead?' - -This confident inference was extremely flattering. There was -evidently but one thing which could end the patient waiting of the -lady who waited. - -'On the contrary she thinks that I am. Constantine spread news of my -death.' - -'Ah, yes!' - -'He said that I died of fever.' - -'And she believes it?' - -'She does, Phroso; and she appears to be really very sorry.' - -'Ah, but what joy will be hers when she learns--' - -'But, Phroso, before she thought I was dead, she had made up her mind -to wait no longer.' - -'To wait no longer? What do you mean? Ah, my lord, tell me what you -mean!' - -'What has happened to me, here in Neopalia, Phroso?' - -'Many strange things, my lord--some most terrible.' - -'And some most--most what, Phroso? One thing that has happened to me -has, I think, happened also to the lady who waited.' - -Phroso's hand--the one I had not taken--was suddenly stretched out, -and she spoke in a voice that sounded half-stifled: - -'Tell me, my lord, tell me. I can't endure it longer.' - -Then I grew grave and said: - -'I am free. She has given me my freedom.' - -'She has set you free?' - -'She loves me no longer, I suppose, if she ever did.' - -'Oh, but, my lord, it is impossible.' - -'Should you think it so? Phroso, it is true--true that I can come to -you now.' - -She understood at last. For a moment she was silent, and I, silent -also, pierced through the darkness to her wondering face. Once she -stretched out her arms; then there came a little, long, low laugh, and -she put her hands together, and thrust them, thus clasped, between -mine that closed on them. - -'My lord, my lord, my lord!' said Phroso. - -Suddenly I heard a low mournful chant coming up from the harbour, the -moan of mourning voices. The sound struck across the stillness which -had followed her last words. - -'What's that?' I asked. 'What are they doing down there?' - -'Didn't you know?' The bodies of my cousin and of Kortes came forth at -sunset from the secret pool into which they fell: and they bring them -now to bury them by the church. They mourn Kortes because they loved -him; and Constantine also they feign to mourn, because he was of the -house of the Stefanopouloi.' - -We stood for some minutes listening to the chant that rose and fell -and echoed among the hills. Its sad cadences, mingled here and there -with the note of sustained hope, seemed a fitting end to the story, to -the stormy days that were rounded off at last by peace and joy to us -who lived, and by the embraces of the all-hiding all-pardoning earth -for those who had fallen. I put my arm round Phroso, and, thus at last -together, we listened till the sounds died away in low echoes, and -silence fell again on the island. - -'Ah, the dear island!' said Phroso softly. 'You won't take me away -from it for ever? It is my lord's island now, and it will be faithful -to him, even as I myself; for God has been very good, and my lord is -very good.' - -I looked at her. Her cheeks were again wet with tears. As I watched a -drop fell from her eyes. I said to her softly: - -'That shall be the last, Phroso, till we part again.' - -A loud cough from the front of the house interrupted us. I advanced, -beckoning to Phroso to follow, and wearing, I am afraid, the -apologetic look usual under such circumstances. And I found Denny and -the captain. - -'Are you coming down to the yacht, Charley?' asked Denny. - -'Er--in a few minutes, Denny.' - -'Shall I wait for you?' - -'Oh, I think I can find my way.' - -Denny laughed and caught me by the hand; then he passed on to Phroso. -I do not, however, know what he said to her, for at this moment the -captain touched my shoulder and demanded my attention. - -'I beg your pardon,' said he, 'but you never told me the meaning of -that word.' - -'What word, my dear captain?' - -'Why, the word you used of the lady's letter--of what she had done.' - -'Oh, you mean "jilted"?' - -'Yes; that's it.' - -'It is,' said I, after a moment's reflection, 'a word of very various -meanings.' - -'Ah,' said the captain, with a comprehending nod. - -'Yes, very various. In one sense it means to make a man miserable.' - -'Yes, I see; to make him unhappy.' - -'And in another to make him--to make him, captain, the luckiest beggar -alive.' - -'It's a strange word,' observed the captain meditatively. - -'I don't know about that,' said I. 'Good-night.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -ONE MORE RUN - - -The next morning came bright and beautiful, with a pleasant fresh -breeze. It was just the day for a run in the yacht. So I thought when -I mounted on deck at eight o'clock in the morning. Watkins was there, -staring meditatively at the harbour and the street beyond. Perceiving -me, he touched his hat and observed: - -'It's a queer little place, my lord.' - -My eyes followed the direction of Watkins's, and I gave a slight sigh. - -'Do you think the island is going to be quiet now, Watkins?' I asked. - -I do not think that he quite understood my question, for he said that -the weather looked like being fine. I had not meant the weather; my -sigh was paid to the ending of Neopalia's exciting caprices; for, -though the end was prosperous, I was a little sorry that we had come -to the end. - -'The Lady Phroso will come on board about ten, and we'll go for a -little run,' I said. 'Just look after some lunch.' - -'Everything will be ready for your lordship and her ladyship,' said -Watkins. Hitherto he had been rather doubtful about Phroso's claim to -nobility, but the news of last night planted her firmly in the status -of 'ladyship.' 'Has your lordship heard,' he continued, 'that the -launch is to carry the Governor's body to Constantinople? There she is -by the gunboat.' - -'Oh, yes, I see. They seem to be giving the gunboat a rub down, -Watkins.' - -'Not before it was necessary, my lord. A dirtier deck I never saw.' - -The gunboat was evidently enjoying a thorough cleaning; the sailors, -half-naked, were scouring her decks, and some of the soldiers were -assisting lazily. - -'The officers have landed to explore the island, my lord. When Mouraki -was alive, they were not allowed to land at all.' - -'Mouraki's death makes a good many differences, eh, Watkins?' - -'That it does, my lord,' rejoined Watkins, with a decorous smile. - -I left him, and, having landed, strolled up to the house. The yacht -was to have her steam up ready to start by the time I returned. I -sauntered leisurely through the street, such of the islanders as I met -saluting me in a most friendly fashion. Certainly times were changed -for me in Neopalia, and I chid myself for the ingratitude expressed in -my sigh. Neopalia in its new placidity was very pleasant. - -Very pleasant also was Phroso, as she came to meet me from the house, -radiant and shy. We wasted no time there, but at once returned to the -harbour, for the dancing water tempted us: thus we found ourselves on -board an hour before the appointed time, and I took Phroso down below -to show her the cabin, in which, under the escort of Kortes's sister, -she was to make the voyage. Denny looked in on us for a moment, -announced that the fires were getting up, and that we could start in -half-an-hour. Hogvardt appeared with his account of expenditure, and -disappeared far more quickly. Meanwhile, we talked as lovers will--and -ought--about things that do not need record; for, not being worth -remembering, they are ever remembered, as is the way of this perverse -world. - -Presently, however, Denny hailed me, telling me that the captain -desired to see me. I begged Phroso to stay where she was--I should be -back in a moment--and went on deck. The captain was there, and he -began to draw me aside. Perceiving that he had something to say, I -proposed to him that we should go to the little smoking-room forward. -He acquiesced, and as soon as we were seated, and Watkins had brought -coffee and cigarettes, he turned to me with an aspect of sincere -gratification, as he said: - -'My dear Lord Wheatley, I am rejoiced to tell you that I was quite -right as to the view likely to be taken of your position. I have -received, by the launch, instructions telegraphed to Rhodes, and they -enable me to set you free at once. In point of fact, there is no -disposition in official quarters to raise any question concerning your -share in recent events. You are, therefore, at liberty to suit your -own convenience entirely, and I need not detain you an hour.' - -'My dear captain, I'm infinitely obliged to you. I'm much indebted for -your good offices.' - -'Indeed, no. I merely reported what had occurred. Shall you leave -to-day?' - -'Oh, no, not for a day or two. To-day, you see, I'm going for a little -pleasure expedition. I wish you'd join us;' for I felt in a most -friendly mood towards him. - -'Indeed I wish I could,' said he, with equal friendliness; 'but I'm -obliged to go up to the house at once.' - -'To the house? What for?' - -'To communicate to the Lady Euphrosyne my instructions concerning -her.' - -I was about to put a cigarette to my lips, but I stopped, suspending -it in mid-air. - -'I beg your pardon,' said I, 'but have you instructions concerning -her?' - -He smiled, and laid a hand on my arm with an apologetic air. - -'I don't think that there is any cause for serious uneasiness,' said -he, 'though the delay will, I fear, be somewhat irksome to you. I must -say, also, that it is impossible--yes, I admit that it is -impossible--altogether to ignore the serious disturbances which have -occurred; and these Neopalians are old offenders. Still I'm confident -that the lady will be most leniently treated, especially in view of -the relation in which she now stands to you.' - -'What are your instructions?' I asked shortly. - -'I am instructed to bring her with me, as soon as I have made -provisional arrangements for the order of the island, and to carry her -to Smyrna, where I am ordered to sail. From there she will be sent -home, to await the result of an inquiry. But, pray, don't be uneasy. I -have no doubt at all that she will be acquitted of blame or, at least, -escape with a reprimand or a nominal penalty. The delay is really the -only annoying matter. Annoying to you, I mean, Lord Wheatley.' - -'The delay? Is it likely to be serious?' - -'Well,' admitted the captain, with a candid air, 'we don't move -hastily in these matters; no, our procedure is not rapid. Still I -should say that a year, or, well, perhaps eighteen months, would see -an end of it. Oh, yes, I really think so.' - -'Eighteen months?' I cried, aghast. 'But she'll be my wife long before -that--in eighteen days, I hope.' - -'Oh, no, no, my dear lord,' said he, shaking his head soothingly. 'She -will certainly not be allowed to marry you until these matters are -settled. But don't be vexed. You're young. You can afford to wait. -What, after all, is a year or eighteen months at your time of life?' - -'It's a great deal worse,' said I, 'than at any other time of life.' -But he only laughed gently and gulped down the remainder of his -coffee. Then he went on in his quiet placid way: - -'So I'm afraid I can't join your little excursion. I must go up to the -house at once, and acquaint the lady with my instructions. She may -have some preparations to make, and I must take her with me the day -after to-morrow. As you see, my ship is undergoing some trifling -repairs and cleaning, and I can't be ready to start before then.' - -I sat silent for a moment or two, smoking my cigarette; and I looked -at the placid captain out of the corner of my eye. - -'I really hope you aren't much annoyed, my dear Lord Wheatley?' said -he, after a moment or two. - -'Oh, it's vexatious, of course,' I returned carelessly; 'but I suppose -there's no help for it. But, captain, I don't see why you shouldn't -join us to-day. We shall be back in the afternoon, and it will be -plenty of time then to inform the Lady Phroso. She's not a fashionable -woman who wants forty-eight hours to pack her gowns.' - -'It's certainly a lovely morning for a little cruise,' said the -captain longingly. - -'And I want to point out to you the exact spot where Demetri killed -the Pasha.' - -'That would certainly be very interesting.' - -'Then you'll come?' - -'You're certain to be back in time for--?' - -'Oh, you'll have plenty of time to talk to Phroso. I'll see to that. -You can send a message to her now, if you like.' - -'I don't think that's necessary. If I see her this afternoon--' - -'I promise you that you shall.' - -'But aren't you going to see her to-day? I thought you would spend the -day with her.' - -'Oh, I shall hope to see her too; you won't monopolise her, you know. -Just now I'm for a cruise.' - -'You're a philosophical lover,' he laughed. I laughed also, shrugging -my shoulders. - -'Then, if you'll excuse me--no, don't move, don't move--I'll give -orders for our start, and come back for another cigarette with you.' - -'You're most obliging,' said he, and sank back on the seat that ran -round the little saloon. - -At what particular point in the conversation which I have recorded my -resolution was definitely taken, I cannot say, but it was complete and -full-blown before the captain accepted my invitation. The certainty of -a separation of such monstrous length from Phroso and the chance of -her receiving harsh treatment were more than I could consent to -contemplate. I must play for my own hand. The island meant to be true -to its nature to the last; my departure from it was to be an escape, -not a decorous leave-taking. I was almost glad; yet I hoped that I -should not get my good friend the captain into serious trouble. Well, -better the captain than Phroso, anyhow; and I laughed to myself, when -I thought of how I should redeem my promise and give him plenty of -time to talk to Phroso. - -I ran rapidly up to the deck. Denny and Hogvardt were there. - -'How soon can you have full steam up?' I asked in an urgent cautious -whisper. - -'In ten minutes now,' said Hogvardt, suddenly recognising my -eagerness. - -'Why, what's up, man?' asked Denny. - -'They're going to send Phroso to Constantinople to be tried; anyhow -they'd keep her there a year or more. I don't mean to stand it.' - -'Why, what will you do?' - -'Do? Go. The captain's on board; the gunboat can't overtake us. -Besides they won't suspect anything on board of her. Denny, run and -tell Phroso not to show herself till I bid her. The captain thinks -she's up at the house. We'll start as soon as you're ready, Hog.' - -'But, my lord--' - -'Charley, old man--!' - -'I tell you I won't stand it. Are you game, or aren't you?' - -Denny paused for a moment, poising himself on his heels. - -'What a lark!' he exclaimed then. 'All right. I'll put Phroso up to -it;' and he disappeared in the direction of her cabin. - -I stood for a moment looking at the gunboat, where the leisurely -operations went on undisturbed, and at the harbour and street beyond. -I shook my head reprovingly at Neopalia; the little island was always -leading me into indiscretions. Then I turned and made my way back to -where my unsuspecting victim was peacefully consuming cigarettes. -Mouraki Pasha would not have been caught like this. Heaven be thanked, -I was not dealing with Mouraki Pasha. - -'Demetri had some good in him, after all,' I thought, as I sat down by -the captain, and told him that we should be on our way in five -minutes. He exhibited much satisfaction at the prospect. - -The five minutes passed. Hogvardt, who acted as our skipper, gave his -orders to our new and smiling crew of islanders. We began to move. The -captain and I came up from below and stood on deck. He looked seaward, -anticipating his excursion, I landward, reviewing mine. A few boys -waved their hands, a woman or two her handkerchief. The little harbour -began to recede; the old grey house on the hill faced me in its -renewed tranquility. - -'Well, good-bye to Neopalia!' I had said, with a sigh, before I knew -it. - -'I beg your pardon, Lord Wheatley?' said the captain, wheeling round. - -'For a few hours,' I added, and I went forward and began to talk with -Hogvardt. I had some things to arrange with him. Presently Watkins -appeared, announcing luncheon. I rejoined the captain. - -'I thought,' said I, 'that we'd have a run straight out first and look -at Mouraki's death-place on our way home.' - -'I'm entirely in your hands,' said he most courteously, and with more -truth than he was aware of. - -Denny, he and I went down to our meal. I plied the captain with the -best of our cheer. In the safe seclusion of the yacht, the -champagne-cup, mixed as Watkins alone could mix it, overcame his -religious scruples; the breach, once made, grew wider, and the captain -became merry. With his coffee came placidity, and on placidity -followed torpor. Meanwhile the yacht bowled merrily along. - -'It's nearly two o'clock,' said I. 'We ought to be turning. I say, -captain, wouldn't you like a nap? I'll wake you long before we get to -Neopalia.' - -Denny smiled indiscreetly at this form of promise, and I covertly -nudged him into gravity. - -The captain received my proposal with apologetic gratitude. We left -him curled up on the seat and went on deck. Hogvardt was at the wheel; -a broad smile spread over his face. - -'At this rate, my lord,' said he, 'we shall make Cyprus in no time.' - -'Good,' said I; and I did two things. I called Phroso and I loaded my -revolver; a show of overwhelming force is, as we often hear, the -surest guarantee of peace. - -Denny now took a turn at the wheel; old Hogvardt went to eat his -dinner. Phroso appeared, and she and I sat down in the stern, watching -where Neopalia lay, now a little spot on the horizon; and then I -myself told Phroso, in my own way, why I had so sorely neglected her -all the morning; for Denny's explanation had been summary and -confused. She was fully entitled to my excuses and had come on deck in -a state of delightful resentment, too soon, alas, banished by surprise -and apprehension. - -An hour or two passed thus very pleasantly; for the terror of -Constantinople soon reconciled Phroso to every risk; her only fear was -that she would never again be allowed to land in Neopalia. For this -also I tried to console her and was, I am proud to say, succeeding -very tolerably, when I looked up at the sound of footsteps. They came -evenly towards us: then they suddenly stopped dead. I felt for my -revolver; and I observed Denny carelessly strolling up, having been -relieved again by Hogvardt. The captain stood motionless, three yards -from where Phroso and I sat together. I rose with an easy smile. - -'I hope you've enjoyed your nap, captain,' said I; and at the same -moment I covered him with my barrel. - -He was astounded. Indeed, well he might be. He stared helplessly at -Phroso and at me. Denny was at his elbow now and took his arm in -tolerant good humour. - -'You see we've played a little game on you,' said Denny. 'We couldn't -let the lady go to Constantinople. It isn't at all a fit place for -her, you know.' - -I stepped up to the amazed man and told him briefly what had occurred. - -'Now, captain,' I went on, 'resistance is quite useless. We're running -for Cyprus. It belongs to you, I believe, in a sense--I'm not a -student of foreign affairs--but I think we shall very likely find an -English ship there. Now if you'll give your word to hold your tongue -when we're at Cyprus, you may lodge as many complaints as you like -directly we leave; indeed I think you'd be wise, in your own -interests, to make a protest. Meanwhile we can enjoy the cruise in -good-fellowship.' - -'And if I refuse?' he asked. - -'If you refuse,' said I, 'I shall be compelled to get rid of you--oh, -don't misunderstand me. I shall not imitate your Governor. But it's a -fine day, we have an excellent gig, and I can spare you two hands to -row you back to Neopalia or wherever else you may choose to go.' - -'You would leave me in the gig?' - -'With the deepest regret,' said I, bowing. 'But I am obliged to put -this lady's safety above the pleasure of your society.' - -The unfortunate man had no alternative and, true to the creed of his -nation, he accepted the inevitable. Taking the cigarette from between -his lips, he remarked, 'I give the promise you ask, but nothing more,' -bowed to Phroso, and, going up to her, said very prettily, 'Madame I -congratulate you on a resolute lover.' - -Now hardly had this happened when our look-out man called twice in -quick succession, 'Ship ahead!' At once we all ran forward, and I -snatched Denny's binocular from him. There were two vessels visible, -one approaching on the starboard bow, the other right ahead. They -appeared to be about equally distant. I scanned them eagerly through -the glass, the others standing round and waiting my report. Nearer -they came, and nearer. - -'They're both ships of war,' said I, without taking the glass from my -eyes. 'I shall be able to see the flags in a minute.' - -A hush of excited suspense witnessed to the interest of my news. I -found even the impassive captain close by my elbow, as though he were -trying to get one eye on to the lens of the glass. - -My next remark did nothing to lessen the excitement. - -'The Turkish flag, by Jove!' I cried; and, quick as thought, followed -from the captain: - -'My promise didn't cover that, Lord Wheatley.' - -'Shall we turn and run for it!' asked Denny in a whisper. - -'They'd think that queer,' cautioned Hogvardt, 'and if she came after -us, we shouldn't have a chance.' - -'The English flag, by Jupiter!' I cried a second later, and I took the -glass from my strained eyes. The captain caught eagerly at it and -looked; then he also dropped it, saying, - -'Yes, Turkish and English; both will come within hail of us.' - -'It's a race, by Heaven!' cried Denny. - -The two vessels were approaching us almost on the same course, for -each had altered half a point, and both were now about half a point on -our starboard bow. They would be very close to one another by the time -they came up with us. It would be almost impossible for us by any -alteration of our course to reach one before the other. - -'Yes, it's a race,' said I, and I felt Phroso's arm passed through -mine. She knew the meaning of the race. Possession is nine points of -the law, and in a case so doubtful as hers it was very unlikely that -the ship which got possession of her would surrender her to the other. -Which ship was it to be? - -'Are we going to cause an international complication?' asked Denny in -a longing tone. - -'We shall very likely run into a nautical one if we don't look out,' -said I. - -However the two approaching vessels seemed to become aware of this -danger, for they diverged from one another, so that, if we kept a -straight course, we should now pass them by, one on the port side and -one on the starboard. But we should pass within a couple of hundred -yards of both, and that was well in earshot on such a day. I looked at -the captain, and the captain looked at me. - -'Shall we take him below and smother him?' whispered Denny. - -I did not feel at liberty to adopt the suggestion, much to my regret. -The agreement I had made with the captain precluded any assault on his -liberty. I had omitted to provide for the case which had occurred. -Well, that was my fault, and I must stand the consequences of it. My -word was pledged to him that he should be treated in all friendliness -on one condition, and that he had satisfied. Now to act as Denny -suggested would not be to treat him in all friendliness. I shook my -head sadly. Hogvardt shouted for orders from the wheel. - -'What am I to do, my lord?' he cried. 'Full speed ahead?' - -I looked at the captain. I knew he would not pass the Turkish ship -without trying to attract her attention. We were within a quarter of a -mile of the vessels now. - -'Stop,' I called, and I added quickly, 'Lower away the gig, Denny.' - -Denny caught my purpose in a moment; he called a hand and they set to -work. The pace of the yacht began to slacken. I glanced at the two -ships. Men with glasses were peering at us from either deck, -wondering, no doubt, what our manoeuvre meant. But the captain knew -as well as Denny what it meant, and he leapt forward suddenly and -hailed the Turk in his native tongue. What he said I don't know, but -it caused a great pother on deck, and they ran up some signal or -other; I never remember the code, and the book was not about me. - -But now the gig was afloat and the yacht motionless. Looking again, I -perceived that both the ships had shut off steam, and were reversing, -to arrest their course the sooner. I seized Phroso by the arm. The -captain turned for a moment as though to interrupt our passage. - -'It's as much as your life is worth,' said I, and he gave way. Then, -to my amazement, he ran to the side, and, just as he was, leapt -overboard and struck out towards the Turk. One instant later I saw -why: they were lowering a boat. Alas, our ship was not so eager. The -captain must have shouted something very significant. - -'Signal for a boat, Hog,' I cried. 'And then come along. Hi, Watkins, -come on! Are you ready, Denny?' And I fairly lifted Phroso in my arms -and ran with her to the side. She was breathing quickly, and a little -laugh gurgled from her lips as Denny received her from my arms into -his in the gig. - -But we were not safe yet. The Turk had got a start, and his boat was -springing merrily over the waves towards us. The captain swam -powerfully and gallantly; his fez-covered head bobbed gaily up and -down. Ah, now our people were moving! And when they began to move they -wasted no time. We wasted none either, but bent to our oars, and, for -the second time since I reached Neopalia, I had a thorough good -bucketing. But for the Turk's start we should have managed it easily, -as we rowed towards the English boat and the divergence which the -vessels had made in their course prevented the two from approaching us -side by side; but the start was enough to make matters very equal. Now -the boat and the captain met. He was in in a second, with wonderful -agility; picking him up hardly lost them a stroke. They were coming -straight at us, the captain standing in the stern urging them on; but -now I saw that the middy in the English boat had caught the idea that -there was some fun afoot, for he also stood up and urged on his crew. -The two great ships lay motionless on the water, and gave us all their -attention. - -'Pull, boys, pull!' I cried. 'It's all right, Phroso, we shall do it!' - -Should we? And, if we did not, would the English captain fight for my -Phroso? I would have sunk the Turk, with a laugh, for her. But I was -afraid that he would not be so obliging as to do it for me. - -'The Turk gains,' said Hogvardt, who was our coxswain. - -'Hang him! Put your backs into it.' - -On went the three boats. The two pursuers were now converging close on -us. - -'We shall do it by a few yards,' said Hogvardt. - -'Thank God!' I muttered. - -'No; we shall be beaten by a few yards,' he said, a moment later. -'They pull well, those fellows.' - -But we too pulled well then--though I have no right to say it--and the -good little middy and his men did their duty--oh, what a tip these -blue-jackets should have if they did the trick!--and the noses of all -the boats seemed to be tending to one spot on the bright dancing sea. -To one spot, indeed, they were tending. The Turks were no more than -twenty yards off, the English perhaps thirty. The captain gave one -last cry of exhortation, the middy responded with a hearty oath. We -strained and tugged for dear life. They were on us now--the Turks a -little first. Now they were ten yards off--now five--and the English -yet ten. - -But for a last stroke we pulled; and then I dropped my oars and sprang -to my feet. The nose of the captain's boat was within a yard, and they -were backing water so as not to run into us. The middy had given a -like order. For a single instant matters seemed to stand still and we -to be poised between defeat and victory. Then, even as the captain's -hand was on our gunwale, I bent and caught Phroso up in the arms that -she sprang to meet, and I fairly flung her across the narrow strait of -water that parted us from the English boat. Six strong and eager arms -received her, and a cheer rang out from the English ship, for they -saw now that it had been a race, and a race for a lady; and I, seeing -her safe, turned to the captain, and said: - -'Fetch her back from there, if you can, and be damned to you!' - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE ISLAND IN A CALM - - -We did not fight. My friend the captain proposed to rely on his -British _confrère's_ sense of justice and of the courtesy which should -obtain between two great and friendly nations. To this end he -accompanied us on board the ship and laid his case before Captain -Beverley, R.N. My argument, which I stated with brevity, but not -without vehemence, was threefold: first, that Phroso had committed no -offence; secondly, that if she had, it was a political offence; -thirdly, was Captain Beverley going to hand over to a crew of dirty -Turks the prettiest girl in the Mediterranean? This last point made a -decided impression on the officers who were assisting their -commander's deliberations, but it won from him no more than a tolerant -smile and a glance through his _pince-nez_ at Phroso, who sat at the -table opposite to him, awaiting the award of justice. After I had, in -the heat of discussion, called the Turks 'dirty,' I moved round to my -friend the captain, apologised humbly, and congratulated him on his -gallant and spirited behaviour. He received my advances with -courtesy, but firmly restated his claim to Phroso. Captain Beverley -appeared a little puzzled. - -'And, to add to it all,' he observed to me, 'I thought you were dead;' -for I had told him my name. - -'Not at all,' said I, resentfully; 'I am quite alive, and I'm going to -marry this lady.' - -'You intend to marry her, Lord Wheatley?' - -'She has done me the honour to consent and I certainly intend it; -unless you're going to send her off to Constantinople--or heaven knows -where.' - -Beverley arched his brows, but it was not his business to express an -opinion, and I heartily forgave him his hinted disapproval, when he -said to the captain: - -'I really don't see how I can do what you ask. If you had won the tr-- -I mean, if you had succeeded in taking the lady on board, I should -have had no more to say. As it is, I don't think I can do anything but -carry her to a British port. You can prefer your claim to extradition -before the Court there, if you're so advised.' - -'Bravo!' cried Denny. - -'Be good enough to hold your tongue, sir,' said Captain Beverley. - -'At least, you will take a note of my demand,' urged the Turk. - -'With the utmost pleasure,' responded Captain Beverley, and then and -there he took a note. People seem often to find some mystical comfort -in having a note taken, though no other consequence appears likely to -ensue. Then the captain, being comforted by his note, took his -farewell. I walked with him to the side of the vessel. - -'I hope you bear no malice,' said I, as I held out my hand, 'and that -this affair won't get you into any trouble.' - -'Oh, I don't think so,' said he. 'Your ingenuity will be my excuse.' - -'You're very good. I hope you'll come and see us in Neopalia some -day.' - -'You expect to return to Neopalia?' - -'Certainly. It's mine--or Phroso's--I don't know which.' - -'There's such a thing as forfeiture in our law,' he observed, and with -this Parthian shot he walked down and got into his boat. But I was not -much frightened. - -So, the Turk being thus disposed of, Denny and Hogvardt went back to -the yacht, while Phroso, Watkins and I, took up our abode on the ship, -and when Captain Beverley had heard the whole story of our adventures -in Neopalia he was so overcome by Phroso's gallant conduct that he -walked up and down his own deck with her all the evening, while I, -making friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, pretended to look -very pleased and recited my dealings with Mouraki to an attentive -group of officers. And clothes were produced from somewhere for -Phroso--our navy is ready for everything--and thus, in the fulness of -time, we came to Malta. Here the captain had a wife, and she was as -delighted as, I take leave to say, all good women ought to be at the -happy ending of our story. And at Malta we waited; but nothing -happened. No claim was made for Phroso's extradition; and I may as -well state here that no claim ever has been made. But when we came to -London, on board a P. and O. steamer, in charge of a benevolent but -strict chaperon, I lost no time in calling on the Turkish Ambassador. -I desired to put matters on a satisfactory footing at once. He -received me with much courtesy, but expressed the opinion that Phroso -and I alike had forfeited any claim which she or I, or either, or both -of us, might have possessed to the Island of Neopalia. I was very much -annoyed at this attitude; I rose and stood with my back to the fire. - -'It is the death of Mouraki Pasha that has so incensed your -Government?' I ventured to ask. - -'He was a very distinguished man,' observed the Ambassador. - -'Practically banished to a very undistinguished office--for his -position,' I remarked. - -'One would not call it banishment,' murmured his Excellency. - -'One would,' I acquiesced, smiling, 'of course, be particularly -careful not to call it banishment.' - -Something like a smile greeted this speech, but the Ambassador -shrugged his shoulders. - -'Consider,' said he, 'the scenes of disorder and bloodshed!' - -'When I consider,' I rejoined, 'the scenes of disorder and bloodshed -which passed before my eyes, when I consider the anarchy, the murder, -the terrible dangers to which I, who went to Neopalia under the -sanction and protection of your flag, was exposed, I perceive that the -whole affair is nothing less than a European scandal.' - -The Ambassador shifted in his armchair. - -'I shall, of course,' said I, 'prefer a claim to compensation.' - -'To compensation?' - -'Certainly. My island has been taken from me, and I have lost my -money. Moreover your Governor tried to kill me.' - -'So did your wife,' remarked the Pasha. 'At least the lady who, as I -understand, is to be your wife.' - -'I can forgive my wife. I do not propose to forgive your Government.' - -The Ambassador stroked his beard. - -'If official representations were made through the proper quarters--' -he began. - -'Oh, come,' I interrupted, 'I want to spend my honeymoon there; and -I'm going to be married in a fortnight.' - -'The young lady is the difficulty. The manner in which you left -Neopalia--' - -'Is not generally known,' said I. - -The Ambassador looked up. - -'The tribute,' I observed, 'is due a month hence. I don't know who'll -pay it you.' - -'It is but a trifling sum,' said he contemptuously. - -'It is, indeed, small for such a delightful island.' - -The Ambassador eyed me questioningly. I advanced towards him. - -'Considering,' said I, 'that I have only paid half the purchase-money, -and that the other half is due to nobody--or to my own wife--I should -not resent a proposal to double the tribute.' - -The Ambassador reflected. - -'I will forward your proposal to the proper quarter,' he said at last. - -I smiled, and I asked: - -'Will that take more than a fortnight?' - -'I venture to hope not.' - -'And, of course, pardon and all that sort of thing will be included?' - -'I will appeal to his Majesty's clemency,' promised the Pasha. - -I had no objection to his calling it by that name, and I took my -leave, very much pleased with the result of the interview. But, as -luck would have it, while I was pursuing my way across Hyde Park--for -Phroso was staying with a friend of Mrs Beverley's in Kensington--I -ran plump into the arms of Mrs Kennett Hipgrave. - -She stopped me with decision. I confess that I tried to pass by her. - -'My dear Lord Wheatley,' she cried, with unbounded cordiality, 'how -charming to meet you again! Your reported death really caused quite a -gloom.' - -'You're too good!' I murmured. 'Ah--er--I hope Miss Beatrice is well?' - -Mrs Kennett Hipgrave's face grew grave and sympathetic. - -'My poor child!' she sighed. 'She was terribly upset by the news, Lord -Wheatley. Of course, it seemed to her peculiarly sad; for you had -received my letter only a week before.' - -'That must have seemed to aggravate the pathos very much,' I agreed. - -'Not that, of course, it altered the real wisdom of the step I advised -her to take.' - -'Not in the least, really, of course,' said I. - -'I do hope you agree with me now, Lord Wheatley?' - -'Yes, I think I have come to see that you were right, Mrs Hipgrave.' - -'Oh, that makes me so happy! And it will make my poor dear child so -happy, too. I assure you she has fretted very much over it.' - -'I'm sorry to hear that,' said I politely. 'Is she in town?' - -'Why, no, not just now.' - -'Where is she? I should like to write her a line.' - -'Oh, she's staying with friends.' - -'Could you oblige me with the address?' - -'Well, the fact is, Lord Wheatley, Beatrice is staying with--with a -Mrs Hamlyn.' - -'Oh, a Mrs Hamlyn! Any relation, Mrs Hipgrave?' - -'Well, yes. In fact, an aunt of our common friend.' - -'Ah, an aunt of our common friend,' and I smiled. Mrs Hipgrave -struggled nobly, but in the end she smiled also. After a little pause -I remarked: - -'I'm going to be married myself, Mrs Hipgrave.' - -Mrs Hipgrave grew rather grave again, and she observed: - -'I did hear something about a--a lady, Lord Wheatley.' - -'If you had heard it all, you'd have heard a great deal about her.' - -A certain appearance of embarrassment spread over Mrs Hipgrave's face. - -'We're old friends, Lord Wheatley,' she said at last. I bowed in -grateful recognition. 'I'm sure you won't mind if I speak plainly to -you. Now is she the sort of person whom you would be really wise to -marry? Remember, your wife will be Lady Wheatley.' - -'I had not forgotten that that would happen,' I said. - -'I'm told,' pursued Mrs Hipgrave in a somewhat scornful tone, 'that -she is very pretty.' - -'But, then, that's not really of importance, is it?' I murmured. - -Mrs Hipgrave looked at me with just a touch of suspicion; but she went -on bravely: - -'And one or two very curious things have been said.' - -'Not to me,' I observed with infinite amiability. - -'Her family now--' - -'Her family was certainly a drawback; but there are no more of them, -Mrs Hipgrave.' - -'Then somebody told me that she was in the habit of wearing--' - -'Dear me, Mrs Hipgrave, in these days everybody does that--more or -less, you know.' - -Mrs Hipgrave sighed pathetically, and added, with a slight shudder: - -'They say she carried a dagger.' - -'They'll say anything,' I reminded her. - -'At any rate,' said Mrs Hipgrave, 'she will be quite unused to the -ways of society.' - -'Oh, we shall teach her, we shall teach her,' said I cheerfully. -'After all, it's only a difference of method. When people in Neopalia -are annoyed, they put a knife into you--' - -'Good gracious, Lord Wheatley!' - -'Here,' I pursued, 'they congratulate you; but it's the same -principle. Won't you wish me joy, Mrs Hipgrave?' - -'If you're really bent upon it, I suppose I must.' - -'And you'll tell the dear children?' I asked anxiously. - -'The dear children?' she echoed; she certainly suspected me by now. - -'Why, yes. Your daughter and Bennett Hamlyn, you know.' - -Mrs Hipgrave surveyed me from top to toe. Her aspect was very severe; -then she delivered herself of the following remark: - -'I can never be sufficiently thankful,' she said, with eyes upturned -towards the sky, 'that my poor dear girl found out her mistake in -time.' - -'I have the utmost regard for Miss Beatrice,' I rejoined, 'but I will -not differ from you, Mrs Hipgrave.' - - * * * * * - -I must shift the scene again back to the island that I loved. For his -Majesty's clemency justified the Ambassador's belief in it, and -Neopalia was restored to Phroso and to me. Thither we went in the -spring of the next year, leaving Denny inconsolable behind, but -accompanied by old Hogvardt and by Watkins. This time we went straight -out by sea from England, and the new crew of my yacht was more -trustworthy than when Spiro and Demetri (ah, I had nearly written -'poor Demetri,' when the fellow was a murderer!) were sent by the -cunning of Constantine Stefanopoulos to compose it. We landed this -time to meet no threatening looks. The death-chant that One-eyed -Alexander wrote was not raised when we entered the old grey house on -the hill, looking over the blue waters. Ulysses is fabled by the poet -to have--well, to put it plainly--to have grown bored with peaceful -Ithaca. I do not know whether I shall prove an Ulysses in that and -live to regret the new-born tranquillity of Neopalia. In candour, the -early stormy days have a great attraction, and I love to look back to -them in memory. So strong was this feeling upon me that it led me -to refuse a request of my wife's--the only one of hers which I have -yet met in that fashion; for when we had been two or three days in the -island--I spent one, by the way, in visiting the graves of my dead -friends and enemies, a most suggestive and soothing occupation--I saw, -as I walked with her through the hall of our house, mason's tools and -mortar lying near where the staircase led up, hard by the secret door; -and Phroso said to me: - -[Illustration: BACK TO NEOPALIA.] - -'I'm sure you'd like to have that horrible secret passage blocked up, -Charley. It's full of terrible memories.' - -'My dear Phroso, wall up the passage?' - -'We shan't want it now,' said she, with a laugh--and something else. - -'It's true,' I admitted, 'that I intend, as far as possible, to rule -by constitutional means in Neopalia. Still one never knows. My -dearest, have you no romance?' - -'No,' said Phroso shamelessly. 'I've had enough romance. I want to -live quietly; and I don't want to push anyone over into that awful -pool where poor Kortes fell.' - -I stood looking at the boards under the staircase. Presently I knelt -down and touched the spring. The boards rolled away, the passage gaped -before us, and I put my arm round Phroso as I said: - -'Now heaven forbid that I should lay a modern sacrilegious hand on the -secret of the Stefanopouloi! For the world makes many circles, -Phroso--forward sometimes, sometimes back--and it is something to know -that here, in Neopalia, we are ready, and that if any man attacks our -sovereignty, why, let him look out for the secret of the -Stefanopouloi! In certain moods, Phroso, I should be capable of coming -back from the chasm--alone!' - -So Phroso, on my entreaty, spared the passage; and even now, when the -shades of middle age (a plague on 'em) are deepening, and the wild -doings of the purchaser of Neopalia grow golden in distant memory, I -like to walk to the end of the chasm and recall all that it has seen: -the contests, the dark tricks, the sudden deaths, aye, to travel back -from the fearful struggle of Kortes and Constantine on the flying -bridge to that long-ago time when the Baron d'Ezonville was so lucky -as to be set adrift in his shirt, while Stefan Stefanopoulos's -headless trunk was dashed into the dim water and One-eyed Alexander -the Bard wrote the Chant of Death. Ah me, that was two hundred years -ago! - - -_Colston & Coy., Limited, Printers, Edinburgh._ - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Phroso, by Anthony Hope - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - -***** This file should be named 41822-8.txt or 41822-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/8/2/41822/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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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 - - -Title: Phroso - A romance - -Author: Anthony Hope - -Release Date: January 11, 2013 [EBook #41822] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41822 ***</div> <div class="figcenter"> <img class="border2" src="images/cover.jpg" width="381" height="600" alt="" /> @@ -12472,383 +12433,6 @@ ago!</p> <p class="book-end"><em>Colston & Coy., Limited, Printers, Edinburgh.</em></p> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Phroso, by Anthony Hope - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - -***** This file should be named 41822-h.htm or 41822-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/8/2/41822/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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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 - - -Title: Phroso - A romance - -Author: Anthony Hope - -Release Date: January 11, 2013 [EBook #41822] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - -PHROSO - - -BY THE SAME AUTHOR - - - MR WITT'S WIDOW - SPORT ROYAL - A CHANGE OF AIR - HALF A HERO - THE PRISONER OF ZENDA - FATHER STAFFORD - THE GOD IN THE CAR - COMEDIES OF COURTSHIP - THE HEART OF THE PRINCESS OSRA - - -[Illustration: A SHOT WHISTLED BY ME. Page 120.] - - - - - PHROSO - - A ROMANCE - - BY - - ANTHONY HOPE - - - Let the winged Fancy roam, - Pleasure never is at home. - - WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. R. MILLAR - - METHUEN & CO. - - 36 ESSEX STREET, W.C. - - LONDON - - 1897 - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - I. A LONG THING ENDING IN 'POULOS,' 1 - II. A CONSERVATIVE COUNTRY, 20 - III. THE FEVER OF NEOPALIA, 41 - IV. A RAID AND A RAIDER, 60 - V. THE COTTAGE ON THE HILL, 79 - VI. THE POEM OF ONE-EYED ALEXANDER, 98 - VII. THE SECRET OF THE STEFANOPOULOI, 118 - VIII. A KNIFE AT A ROPE, 137 - IX. HATS OFF TO ST TRYPHON! 155 - X. THE JUSTICE OF THE ISLAND, 177 - XI. THE LAST CARD, 197 - XII. LAW AND ORDER, 215 - XIII. THE SMILES OF MOURAKI PASHA, 235 - XIV. A STROKE IN THE GAME, 257 - XV. A STRANGE ESCAPE, 277 - XVI. AN UNFINISHED LETTER, 298 - XVII. IN THE JAWS OF THE TRAP, 319 - XVIII. THE UNKNOWN FRIEND, 340 - XIX. THE ARMENIAN DOG! 357 - XX. A PUBLIC PROMISE, 378 - XXI. A WORD OF VARIOUS MEANINGS, 398 - XXII. ONE MORE RUN, 419 - XXIII. THE ISLAND IN A CALM, 440 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - A SHOT WHISTLED BY ME, _Frontispiece_ - PAGE - 'WHO STABBED HIM?' 44 - WE TOOK SPIRO'S BODY AND FLUNG IT DOWN, 135 - 'WHAT IS HIS LIFE TO YOU, LADY?' 196 - 'A THOUSAND PARDONS, MY LORD!' 270 - 'WE ARE READY FOR--ANYTHING--NOW,' 302 - 'AT LAST, MY GOD, AT LAST!' 356 - BACK TO NEOPALIA, 450 - - - - -PHROSO - - - - -CHAPTER I - -A LONG THING ENDING IN POULOS - - -'Quot homines tot sententiae;' so many men, so many fancies. My fancy -was for an island. Perhaps boyhood's glamour hung yet round sea-girt -rocks, and 'faery lands forlorn,' still beckoned me; perhaps I felt -that London was too full, the Highlands rather fuller, the Swiss -mountains most insufferably crowded of them all. Money can buy -company, and it can buy retirement. The latter service I asked now of -the moderate wealth with which my poor cousin Tom's death had endowed -me. Everybody was good enough to suppose that I rejoiced at Tom's -death, whereas I was particularly sorry for it, and was not consoled -even by the prospect of the island. My friends understood this wish -for an island as little as they appreciated my feelings about poor -Tom. Beatrice was most emphatic in declaring that 'a horrid little -island' had no charms for her, and that she would never set foot in -it. This declaration was rather annoying, because I had imagined -myself, spending my honeymoon with Beatrice on the island; but life is -not all honeymoon, and I decided to have the island none the less. -Besides I was not to be married for a year. Mrs Kennett Hipgrave had -insisted on this delay in order that we might be sure that we knew our -own hearts. And as I may say without unfairness that Mrs Hipgrave was -to a considerable degree responsible for the engagement--she asserted -the fact herself with much pride--I thought that she had a right to -some voice in the date of the marriage. Moreover the postponement just -gave me the time to go over and settle affairs in the island. - -For I had bought it. It cost me seven thousand five hundred and fifty -pounds, rather a fancy price but I could not haggle with the old -lord--half to be paid to the lord's bankers in London, and the second -half to him in Neopalia, when he delivered possession to me. The -Turkish Government had sanctioned the sale, and I had agreed to pay a -hundred pounds yearly as tribute. This sum I was entitled, in my turn, -to levy on the inhabitants. - -'In fact, my dear lord,' said old Mason to me when I called on him in -Lincoln's Inn Fields, 'the whole affair is settled. I congratulate you -on having got just what was your whim. You are over a hundred miles -from the nearest land--Rhodes, you see.' (He laid a map before me.) -'You are off the steamship tracks; the Austrian Lloyds to Alexandria -leave you far to the northeast. You are equally remote from any -submarine cable; here on the southwest, from Alexandria to Candia, is -the nearest. You will have to fetch your letters.' - -'I shouldn't think of doing such a thing,' said I indignantly. - -'Then you'll only get them once in three months. Neopalia is extremely -rugged and picturesque. It is nine miles long and five broad. It grows -cotton, wine, oil and a little corn. The people are quite -unsophisticated, but very good-hearted.' - -'And,' said I, 'there are only three hundred and seventy of them, all -told. I really think I shall do very well there.' - -'I've no doubt you will. By the way, treat the old gentleman kindly. -He's terribly cut up at having to sell. "My dear island," he writes, -"is second to my dead son's honour, and to nothing else." His son, you -know, Lord Wheatley, was a bad lot, a very bad lot indeed.' - -'He left a heap of unpaid debts, didn't he?' - -'Yes, gambling debts. He spent his time knocking about Paris and -London with his cousin Constantine--by no means an improving -companion, if report speaks truly. And your money is to pay the debts, -you know.' - -'Poor old chap,' said I. I sympathised with him in the loss of his -island. - -'Here's the house, you see,' said Mason, turning to the map and -dismissing the sorrows of the old lord of Neopalia. 'About the middle -of the island, nearly a thousand feet above the sea. I'm afraid it's a -tumble-down old place, and will swallow a lot of money without looking -much better for the dose. To put it into repair for the reception of -the future Lady Wheatley would cost--' - -'The future Lady Wheatley says she won't go there on any account,' I -interrupted. - -'But, my very dear lord,' cried he, aghast, 'if she won't--' - -'She won't, and there's an end of it, Mr Mason. Well, good day. I'm to -have possession in a month?' - -'In a month to the very day--on the 7th of May.' - -'All right; I shall be there to take it.' - -Escaping from the legal quarter, I made my way to my sister's house in -Cavendish Square. She had a party, and I was bound to go by brotherly -duty. As luck would have it, however, I was rewarded for my virtue -(and if that's not luck in this huddle-muddle world I don't know what -is); the Turkish Ambassador dropped in, and presently James came and -took me up to him. My brother-in-law, James Cardew, is always anxious -that I should know the right people. The Pasha received me with great -kindness. - -'You are the purchaser of Neopalia, aren't you?' he asked, after a -little conversation. 'The matter came before me officially.' - -'I'm much obliged,' said I, 'for your ready consent to the transfer.' - -'Oh, it's nothing to us. In fact our tribute, such as it is, will be -safer. Well, I'm sure I hope you'll settle in comfortably.' - -'Oh, I shall be all right. I know the Greeks very well, you see--been -there a lot, and, of course, I talk the tongue, because I spent two -years hunting antiquities in the Morea and some of the islands.' - -The Pasha stroked his beard, as he observed in a calm tone: - -'The last time a Stefanopoulos tried to sell Neopalia, the people -killed him, and turned the purchaser--he was a Frenchman, a Baron -d'Ezonville--adrift in an open boat, with nothing on but his shirt'. - -'Good heavens! Was that recently?' - -'No; two hundred years ago. But it's a conservative part of the world, -you know.' And his Excellency smiled. - -'They were described to me as good-hearted folk,' said I; -'unsophisticated, of course, but good-hearted.' - -'They think that the island is theirs, you see,' he explained, 'and -that the lord has no business to sell it. They may be good-hearted, -Lord Wheatley, but they are tenacious of their rights.' - -'But they can't have any rights,' I expostulated. - -'None at all,' he assented. 'But a man is never so tenacious of his -rights as when he hasn't any. However, _autres temps autres moeurs_; -I don't suppose you'll have any trouble of that kind. Certainly I hope -not, my dear lord.' - -'Surely your Government will see to that?' I suggested. - -His Excellency looked at me; then, although by nature a grave man, he -gave a low humorous chuckle and regarded me with visible amusement. - -'Oh, of course, you can rely on that, Lord Wheatley,' said he. - -'That is a diplomatic assurance, your Excellency?' I ventured to -suggest, with a smile. - -'It is unofficial,' said he, 'but as binding as if it were official. -Our Governor in that district of the empire is a very active man--yes, -a decidedly active man.' - -The only result of this conversation was that when I was buying my -sporting guns in St James's Street the next day I purchased a couple -of pairs of revolvers at the same time. It is well to be on the safe -side, and, although I attached little importance to the by-gone -outrage of which the Ambassador spoke, I did not suppose that the -police service would be very efficient. In fact I thought it prudent -to be ready for any trouble that the old-world notions of the -Neopalians might occasion. But in my heart I meant to be very popular -with them. For I cherished the generous design of paying the whole -tribute out of my own pocket, and of disestablishing in Neopalia what -seems to be the only institution in no danger of such treatment -here--the tax-gatherer. If they understood that intention of mine, -they would hardly be so short short-sighted as to set me adrift in my -shirt like a second Baron d'Ezonville, or so unjust as to kill poor -old Stefanopoulos as they had killed his ancestor. Besides, as I -comforted myself by repeating, they were a good-hearted race; -unsophisticated, of course, but thoroughly good-hearted. - -My cousin, young Denny Swinton, was to dine with me that evening at -the Optimum. Denny (a familiar form of Dennis) was the only member of -the family who sympathised thoroughly with me about Neopalia. He was -wild with interest in the island, and I looked forward to telling him -all I had heard about it. I knew he would listen, for he was to go -with me and help me to take possession. The boy had almost wept on my -neck when I asked him to come; he had just left Woolwich, and was not -to join his battalion for six months; he was thus, as he put it, 'at a -loose end,' and succeeded in persuading his parents that he ought to -learn modern Greek. General Swinton was rather cold about the project; -he said that Denny had spent ten years on ancient Greek, and knew -nothing about it, and probably would not learn much of the newer sort -in three months; but his wife thought it would be a nice trip for -Denny. Well, it turned out to be a very nice trip for Denny; but if -Mrs Swinton had known--however, if it comes to that, I might just as -well exclaim, 'If I had known myself!' - -Denny had taken a table next but one to the west end of the room, and -was drumming his fingers impatiently on the cloth when I entered. He -wanted both his dinner and the latest news about Neopalia; so I sat -down and made haste to satisfy him in both respects. Travelling with -equal steps through the two matters, we had reached the first _entree_ -and the fate of the murdered Stefanopoulos (which Denny, for some -reason, declared was 'a lark'), when two people came in and sat down -at the table beyond ours and next to the wall, where two chairs had -been tilted up in token of pre-engagement. The man--for the pair were -man and woman--was tall and powerfully built; his complexion was dark, -and he had good regular features; he looked also as if he had a bit of -a temper somewhere about him. I was conscious of having seen him -before, and suddenly recollected that by a curious chance I had run up -against him twice in St James's Street that very day. The lady was -handsome; she had an Italian cast of face, and moved with much grace; -her manner was rather elaborate, and, when she spoke to the waiter, I -detected a pronounced foreign accent. Taken together, they were a -remarkable couple and presented a distinguished appearance. I believe -I am not a conceited man, but I could not help wondering whether their -thoughts paid me a similar compliment. For I certainly detected both -of them casting more than one curious glance towards our table; and -when the man whispered once to a waiter, I was sure that I formed the -subject of his question; perhaps he also remembered our two -encounters. - -'I wonder if there's any chance of a row!' said Denny in a tone that -sounded wistful. 'Going to take anybody with you, Charley?' - -'Only Watkins; I must have him; he always knows where everything is; -and I've told Hogvardt, my old dragoman, to meet us in Rhodes. He'll -talk their own language to the beggars, you know.' - -'But he's a German, isn't he?' - -'He thinks so,' I answered. 'He's not certain, you know. Anyhow, he -chatters Greek like a parrot. He's a pretty good man in a row, too. -But there won't be a row, you know.' - -'I suppose there won't,' admitted Denny ruefully. - -'For my own part,' said I meekly, 'as I'm going for the sake of quiet, -I hope there won't.' - -In the interest of conversation I had forgotten our neighbours; but -now, a lull occurring in Denny's questions and surmises, I heard the -lady's voice. She began a sentence--and began it in Greek! That was a -little unexpected; but it was more strange that her companion cut her -short, saying very peremptorily, 'Don't talk Greek: talk Italian.' -This he said in Italian, and I, though no great hand at that language, -understood so much. Now why shouldn't the lady talk Greek, if Greek -were the language that came naturally to her tongue? It would be as -good a shield against eavesdroppers as most languages; unless indeed -I, who was known to be an amateur of Greece and Greek things, were -looked upon as a possible listener. Recollecting the glances which I -had detected, recollecting again those chance meetings, I ventured on -a covert gaze at the lady. Her handsome face expressed a mixture of -anger, alarm, and entreaty. The man was speaking to her now in low -urgent tones; he raised his hand once, and brought it down on the -table as though to emphasise some declaration--perhaps some -promise--which he was making. She regarded him with half-angry -distrustful eyes. He seemed to repeat his words and she flung at him -in a tone that grew suddenly louder, and in words that I could -translate: - -'Enough! I'll see to that. I shall come too.' - -Her heat stirred no answering fire in him. He dropped his emphatic -manner, shrugged a tolerant 'As you will,' with eloquent shoulders, -smiled at her, and, reaching across the table, patted her hand. She -held it up before his eyes, and with the other hand pointed at a ring -on her finger. - -'Yes, yes, my dearest,' said he, and he was about to say more, when, -glancing round, he caught my gaze retreating in hasty confusion to my -plate. I dared not look up again, but I felt his scowl on me. I -suppose that I deserved punishment for my eavesdropping. - -'And when can we get off, Charley?' asked Denny in his clear young -voice. My thoughts had wandered from him, and I paused for a moment as -a man does when a question takes him unawares. There was silence at -the next table also. The fancy seemed absurd, but it occurred to me -that there too my answer was being waited for. Well, they could know -if they liked; it was no secret. - -'In a fortnight,' said I. 'We'll travel easily, and get there on the -7th of next month;--that's the day on which I'm entitled to take over -my kingdom. We shall go to Rhodes. Hogvardt will have got me a little -yacht, and then--good-bye to all this!' And a great longing for -solitude and a natural life came over me as I looked round on the -gilded cornices, the gilded mirrors, the gilded flower-vases, and the -highly-gilded company of the Optimum. - -I was roused from my pleasant dreams by a high vivacious voice, which -I knew very well. Looking up, I saw Miss Hipgrave, her mother, and -young Bennett Hamlyn standing before me. I disliked young Hamlyn, but -he was always very civil to me. - -'Why, how early you two have dined!' cried Beatrice. 'You're at the -savoury, aren't you? We've only just come.' - -'Are you going to dine?' I asked, rising. 'Take this table, we're just -off.' - -'Well, we may as well, mayn't we?' said my _fiancee_. 'Sorry you're -going, though. Oh, yes, we're going to dine with Mr Bennett Hamlyn. -That's what you're for, isn't it, Mr Hamlyn? Why, he's not listening!' - -He was not, strange to say, listening, although as a rule he listened -to Beatrice with infinite attention and the most deferential of -smiles. But just now he was engaged in returning a bow which our -neighbour at the next table had bestowed on him. The lady there had -risen already and was making for the door. The man lingered and looked -at Hamlyn, seeming inclined to back up his bow with a few words of -greeting. Hamlyn's air was not, however, encouraging, and the stranger -contented himself with a nod and a careless 'How are you?' and, with -that, followed his companion. Hamlyn turned round, conscious that he -had neglected Beatrice's remark and full of penitence for his -momentary rudeness. - -'I beg your pardon?' said he, with an apologetic smile. - -'Oh,' answered she, 'I was only saying that men like you were invented -to give dinners; you're a sort of automatic feeding-machine. You ought -to stand open all day. Really I often miss you at lunch time.' - -'My dear Beatrice!' said Mrs Kennett Hipgrave, with that peculiar lift -of her brows which meant, 'How naughty the dear child is--oh, but how -clever!' - -'It's all right,' said Hamlyn meekly. 'I'm awfully happy to give you a -dinner anyhow, Miss Beatrice.' - -Now I had nothing to say on this subject, but I thought I would just -make this remark: - -'Miss Hipgrave,' said I, 'is very fond of a dinner.' - -Beatrice laughed. She understood my little correction. - -'He doesn't know any better, do you?' said she pleasantly to Hamlyn. -'We shall civilise him in time, though; then I believe he'll be nicer -than you, Charley, I really do. You're--' - -'I shall be uncivilised by then,' said I. - -'Oh, that wretched island!' cried Beatrice. 'You're really going?' - -'Most undoubtedly. By the way, Hamlyn, who's your friend?' - -Surely this was an innocent enough question, but little Hamlyn went -red from the edge of his clipped whisker on the right to the edge of -his mathematically equal whisker on the left. - -'Friend!' said he in an angry tone; 'he's not a friend of mine. I only -met him on the Riviera.' - -'That,' I admitted, 'does not, happily, in itself constitute a -friendship.' - -'And he won a hundred louis of me in the train between Cannes and -Monte Carlo.' - -'Not bad going that,' observed Denny in an approving tone. - -'Is he then _un grec_?' asked Mrs Hipgrave, who loves a scrap of -French. - -'In both senses, I believe,' answered Hamlyn viciously. - -'And what's his name?' said I. - -'Really I don't recollect,' said Hamlyn rather petulantly. - -'It doesn't matter,' observed Beatrice, attacking her oysters which -had now made their appearance. - -'My dear Beatrice,' I remonstrated, 'you're the most charming creature -in the world, but not the only one. You mean that it doesn't matter to -you.' - -'Oh, don't be tiresome. It doesn't matter to you either, you know. Do -go away and leave me to dine in peace.' - -'Half a minute!' said Hamlyn. 'I thought I'd got it just now, but it's -gone again. Look here, though, I believe it's one of those long things -that end in _poulos_.' - -'Oh, it ends in _poulos_, does it?' said I in a meditative tone. - -'My dear Charley,' said Beatrice, 'I shall end in Bedlam if you're so -very tedious. What in the world I shall do when I'm married, I don't -know.' - -'My dearest!' said Mrs Hipgrave, and a stage direction might add, -_Business with brows as before_. - -'_Poulos_,' I repeated thoughtfully. - -'Could it be Constantinopoulos?' asked Hamlyn, with a nervous -deference to my Hellenic learning. - -'It might conceivably,' I hazarded, 'be Constantine Stefanopoulos.' - -'Then,' said Hamlyn, 'I shouldn't wonder if it was. Anyhow, the less -you see of him, Wheatley, the better. Take my word for that.' - -'But,' I objected--and I must admit that I have a habit of assuming -that everybody follows my train of thought--'it's such a small place, -that, if he goes, I shall be almost bound to meet him.' - -'What's such a small place?' cried Beatrice with emphasised despair. - -'Why, Neopalia, of course,' said I. - -'Why should anybody, except you, be so insane as to go there?' she -asked. - -'If he's the man I think, he comes from there,' I explained, as I rose -for the last time; for I had been getting up to go and sitting down -again several times. - -'Then he'll think twice before he goes back,' pronounced Beatrice -decisively; she was irreconcilable about my poor island. - -Denny and I walked off together; as we went he observed: - -'I suppose that chap's got no end of money?' - -'Stefan----?' I began. - -'No, no. Hang it, you're as bad as Miss Hipgrave says. I mean Bennett -Hamlyn.' - -'Oh, yes, absolutely no end to it, I believe.' - -Denny looked sagacious. - -'He's very free with his dinners,' he observed. - -'Don't let's worry about it,' I suggested, taking his arm. I was not -worried about it myself. Indeed for the moment my island monopolised -my mind, and my attachment to Beatrice was not of such a romantic -character as to make me ready to be jealous on slight grounds. Mrs -Hipgrave said the engagement was based on 'general suitability.' Now -it is difficult to be very passionate over that. - -'If you don't mind, I don't,' said Denny reasonably. - -'That's right. It's only a little way Beatrice--' I stopped abruptly. -We were now on the steps outside the restaurant, and I had just -perceived a scrap of paper lying on the mosaic pavement. I stooped -down and picked it up. It proved to be a fragment torn from the _menu_ -card. I turned it over. - -'Hullo, what's this?' said I, searching for my eye-glass, which was -(as usual) somewhere in the small of my back. - -Denny gave me the glass, and I read what was written on the back. It -was in Greek, and it ran thus: - -'By way of Rhodes--small yacht there--arrive seventh.' - -I turned the piece of paper over in my hand. I drew a conclusion or -two; one was that my tall neighbour was named Stefanopoulos; another -that he had made good use of his ears--better than I had made of mine; -for a third, I guessed that he would go to Neopalia; for a fourth, I -fancied that Neopalia was the place to which the lady had declared she -would accompany him. Then I fell to wondering why all these things -should be so, why he wished to remember the route of my journey, the -date of my arrival, and the fact that I meant to hire a yacht. -Finally, those two chance encounters, taken with the rest, assumed a -more interesting complexion. - -'When you've done with that bit of paper,' observed Denny, in a tone -expressive of exaggerated patience, 'we might as well go on, old -fellow.' - -'All right. I've done with it--for the present,' said I. But I took -the liberty of slipping Mr Constantine Stefanopoulos's memorandum into -my pocket. - -The general result of the evening was to increase most distinctly my -interest in Neopalia. I went to bed still thinking of my purchase, and -I recollect that the last thing which came into my head before I went -to sleep was, 'What did she mean by pointing to the ring?' - -Well, I found an answer to that later on. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -A CONSERVATIVE COUNTRY - - -Until the moment of our parting came, I had no idea that Beatrice -Hipgrave felt my going at all. She was not in the habit of displaying -emotion, and I was much surprised at the reluctance with which she -bade me good-bye. So far, however, was she from reproaching me that -she took all the blame on herself, saying that if she had been kinder -and nicer to me I should never have thought about my island. In this -she was quite wrong; but when I told her so, and assured her that I -had no fault to find with her behaviour, I was met with an almost -passionate assertion of her unworthiness and an entreaty that I should -not spend on her a love that she did not deserve. Her abasement and -penitence compelled me to show, and indeed to feel, a good deal of -tenderness for her. She was pathetic and pretty in her unusual -earnestness and unexplained distress. I went the length of offering to -put off my expedition until after our wedding; and although she -besought me to do nothing of the kind, I believe that we might in the -end have arranged matters on this footing had we been left to -ourselves. But Mrs Hipgrave saw fit to intrude on our interview at -this point, and she at once pooh-poohed the notion, declaring that I -should be better out of the way for a few months. Beatrice did not -resist her mother's conclusion; but when we were alone again, she -became very agitated, begging me always to think well of her, and -asking if I were really attached to her. I did not understand this -mood, which was very unlike her ordinary manner; but I responded with -a hearty and warm avowal of confidence in her; and I met her questions -as to my own feelings by pledging my word very solemnly that absence -should, so far as I was concerned, make no difference, and that she -might rely implicitly on my faithful affection. This assurance seemed -to give her very little comfort, although I repeated it more than -once; and when I left her, I was in a state of some perplexity, for I -could not follow the bent of her thoughts nor appreciate the feelings -that moved her. I was however considerably touched, and upbraided -myself for not having hitherto done justice to the depth and sincerity -of nature which underlay her external frivolity. I expressed this -self-condemnation to Denny Swinton, but he met it very coldly, and -would not be drawn into any discussion of the subject. Denny was not -wont to conceal his opinions and had never pretended to be -enthusiastic about my engagement. This attitude of his had not -troubled me before, but I was annoyed at it now, and I retaliated by -asseverating my affection for Beatrice in terms of even exaggerated -emphasis, and hers for me with no less vehemence. - -These troubles and perplexities vanished before the zest and interest -which our preparations and start excited. Denny and I were like a pair -of schoolboys off for a holiday, and spent hours in forecasting what -we should do and how we should fare on the island. These speculations -were extremely amusing, but in the long run they were proved to be, -one and all, wide of the mark. Had I known Neopalia then as well as I -came to know it afterwards, I should have recognised the futility of -attempting to prophesy what would or would not happen there. As it -was, we span our cobwebs merrily all the way to Rhodes, where we -arrived without event and without accident. Here we picked up Hogvardt -and embarked on the smart little steam yacht which he had procured for -me. A day or two was spent in arranging our stores and buying what -more we wanted, for we could not expect to be able to purchase any -luxuries in Neopalia. I was rather surprised to find no letter for me -from the old lord, but I had no thought of waiting for a formal -invitation, and pressed on the hour of departure as much as I could. -Here, also, I saw the first of my new subjects, Hogvardt having -engaged a couple of men who had come to him saying that they were from -Neopalia and were anxious to work their passage back. I was delighted -to have them, and fell at once to studying them with immense -attention. They were fine, tall, capable-looking fellows, and the two, -with ourselves, made a crew more than large enough for our little -boat; for both Denny and I could make ourselves useful on board, and -Hogvardt could do something of everything on land or water, while -Watkins acted as cook and steward. The Neopalians were, as they stated -in answer to my questions, brothers; their names were Spiro and -Demetri, and they informed us that their family had served the lords -of Neopalia for many generations. Hearing this, I was less inclined to -resent the undeniable reserve and even surliness with which they met -my advances. I made allowance for their hereditary attachment to the -outgoing family, and their natural want of cordiality towards the -intruder did not prevent me from plying them with many questions -concerning my predecessors on the throne of the island. My -perseverance was ill-rewarded, but I succeeded in learning that the -only member of the family on the island, besides the old lord was a -girl whom they called 'the Lady Euphrosyne,' the daughter of the -lord's brother who was dead. Next I asked after my friend of the -Optimum Restaurant, Constantine. He was this lady's cousin once or -twice removed--I did not make out the exact degree of kinship--but -Demetri hastened to inform me that he came very seldom to the island, -and had not been there for two years. - -'And he is not expected there now?' I asked. - -'He was not when we left, my lord,' answered Demetri, and it seemed to -me that he threw an inquiring glance at his brother, who added -hastily, - -'But what should we poor men know of the Lord Constantine's doings?' - -'Do you know where he is now?' I asked. - -'No, my lord,' they answered together, and with great emphasis. - -I cannot deny that something struck me as peculiar in their manner, -but when I mentioned my impression to Denny he scoffed at me. - -'You've been reading old Byron again,' he said scornfully. 'Do you -think they're corsairs?' - -Well, a man is not a fool simply because he reads Byron, and I -maintained my opinion that the brothers were embarrassed at my -questions. Moreover I caught Spiro, the more truculent-looking of the -pair, scowling at me more than once when he did not know I had my eye -on him. - -These little mysteries, however, did nothing but add sauce to my -delight as we sprang over the blue waters; and my joy was complete -when, on the morning of the day I had appointed, the seventh of May, -Denny cried 'Land!' and looking over the starboard bow I saw the cloud -on the sea that was Neopalia. Day came bright and glorious, and as we -drew nearer to our enchanted isle we distinguished its features and -conformation. The coast was rocky save where a small harbour opened to -the sea, and the rocks ran up from the coast, rising higher and higher -till they culminated in a quite respectable peak in the centre. The -telescope showed cultivated ground and vineyards, mingled with woods, -on the slopes of the mountain; and about half-way up, sheltered on -three sides, backed by thick woods, and commanding a splendid -sea-view, stood an old grey battlemented house. - -'There's my house,' I cried in natural exultation, pointing with my -finger. It was a moment in my life, a moment to mark. - -'Hurrah!' cried Denny, throwing up his hat in sympathy. - -Demetri was standing near and met this ebullition with a grim smile. - -'I hope my lord will find the house comfortable,' said he. - -'We shall soon make it comfortable,' said Hogvardt; 'I daresay it's -half a ruin now.' - -'It's good enough now for a Stefanopoulos,' said the fellow with a -surly frown. The inference we were meant to draw was plain even to the -point of incivility. - -At five o'clock in the evening we entered the harbour of Neopalia, and -brought up alongside a rather crazy wooden jetty which ran some fifty -feet out from the shore. Our arrival appeared to create great -excitement. Men, women, and children came running down the narrow -steep street which climbed up the hill from the harbour. We heard -shrill cries, and a hundred fingers were pointed at us. We landed; -nobody came forward to greet us. I looked round, but saw no one who -could be the old lord; but I perceived a stout man who wore an air of -importance, and walking up to him I asked him very politely if he -would be so good as to direct me to the inn; for I had discovered from -Demetri that there was a modest house where we could lodge that night; -I was too much in love with my island to think of sleeping on board -the yacht. The stout man looked at Denny and me; then he looked at -Demetri and Spiro, who stood near us, smiling their usual grim smiles. -At last he answered my question by another, a rather abrupt one: - -'What do you want, sir?' And he lifted his tasselled cap a few inches -and replaced it on his head. - -'I want to know the way to the inn,' I answered. - -'You have come to visit Neopalia?' he asked. - -A number of people had gathered round us now, and all fixed their eyes -on my face. - -'Oh,' said I carelessly, 'I'm the purchaser of the island, you know. I -have come to take possession.' - -Nobody spoke. Perfect silence reigned for half a minute. - -'I hope we shall get on well together,' I said, with my pleasantest -smile. - -Still no answer came. The people round still stared. But presently the -stout man, altogether ignoring my friendly advances, said curtly, - -'I keep the inn. Come. I will take you to it.' - -He turned and led the way up the street. We followed, the people -making a lane for us and still regarding us with stony stares. Denny -gave expression to my feelings as well as his own; - -'It can hardly be described as an ovation,' he observed. - -'Surly brutes!' muttered Hogvardt. - -'It is not the way to receive his lordship,' agreed Watkins, more in -sorrow than in anger. Watkins had very high ideas of the deference due -to his lordship. - -The fat innkeeper walked ahead; I quickened my pace and overtook him. - -'The people don't seem very pleased to see me,' I remarked. - -He shook his head, but made no answer. Then he stopped before a -substantial house. We followed him in, and he led us upstairs to a -large room. It overlooked the street, but, somewhat to my surprise, -the windows were heavily barred. The door also was massive and had -large bolts inside and outside. - -'You take good care of your houses, my friend,' said Denny with a -laugh. - -'We like to keep what we have, in Neopalia,' said he. - -I asked him if he would provide us with a meal, and, assenting -gruffly, he left us alone. The food was some time in coming, and we -stood at the window, peering through our prison bars. Our high spirits -were dashed by the unfriendly reception; my island should have been -more gracious; it was so beautiful. - -'However it's a better welcome than we should have got two hundred -years ago,' I said with a laugh, trying to make the best of the -matter. - -Dinner, which the landlord himself brought in, cheered us again, and -we lingered over it till dusk began to fall, discussing whether I -ought to visit the lord, or whether, seeing that he had not come to -receive me, my dignity did not demand that I should await his visit; -and it was on this latter course that we finally decided. - -'But he'll hardly come to-night,' said Denny, jumping up. 'I wonder if -there are any decent beds here!' - -Hogvardt and Watkins had, by my directions, sat down with us; the -former was now smoking his pipe at the window, while Watkins was busy -overhauling our luggage. We had brought light bags, the rods, guns, -and other smaller articles. The rest was in the yacht. Hearing beds -mentioned, Watkins shook his head in dismal presage, saying, - -'We had better sleep on board, my lord.' - -'Not I! What, leave the island now we've got here? No, Watkins!' - -'Very good, my lord,' said Watkins impassively. - -A sudden call came from Hogvardt, and I joined him at the window. - -The scene outside was indeed remarkable. In the narrow paved street, -gloomy now in the failing light, there must have been fifty or sixty -men standing in a circle, surrounded by an outer fringe of women and -children; and in the centre stood our landlord, his burly figure -swaying to and fro as he poured out a low-voiced but vehement -harangue. Sometimes he pointed towards us, oftener along the ascending -road that led to the interior. I could not hear a word he said, but -presently all his auditors raised their hands towards heaven. I saw -that some of the hands held guns, some clubs, some knives; and all the -men cried with furious energy, '_Nai, Nai._ Yes, yes!' Then the whole -body--and the greater part of the grown men on the island must have -been present--started off in compact array up the road, the innkeeper -at their head. By his side walked another man whom I had not noticed -before; he wore an ordinary suit of tweeds, but carried himself with -an assumption of much dignity; his face I could not see. - -'Well, what's the meaning of that?' I exclaimed, looking down on the -street, empty again save for groups of white-clothed women, who talked -eagerly to one another, gesticulating and pointing now towards our -inn, now towards where the men had gone. - -'Perhaps it's their Parliament,' suggested Denny; 'or perhaps they've -repented of their rudeness and are going to erect a triumphal arch.' - -These conjectures, being obviously ironical, did not assist the -matter, although they amused their author. - -'Anyhow,' said I, 'I should like to investigate the thing. Suppose we -go for a stroll?' - -The proposal was accepted at once. We put on our hats, took sticks, -and prepared to go. Then I glanced at the luggage. - -'Since I was so foolish as to waste my money on revolvers--?' said I, -with an inquiring glance at Hogvardt. - -'The evening air will not hurt them,' said he; and we each stowed a -revolver in our pockets. We felt, I think, rather ashamed of our -timidity, but the Neopalians certainly looked rough customers. Leading -the way to the door I turned the handle; the door did not open. I -pulled hard at it. Then I looked at my companions. - -'Queer,' said Denny, and he began to whistle. - -Hogvardt got the little lantern, which he always had handy, and -carefully inspected the door. - -'Locked,' he announced, 'and bolted top and bottom. A solid door too!' -and he struck it with his fist. Then he crossed to the window and -looked at the bars; and finally he said to me, 'I don't think we can -have our walk, my lord.' - -Well, I burst out laughing. The thing was too absurd. Under cover of -our animated talk the landlord must have bolted us in. The bars made -the window no use. A skilled burglar might have beaten those bolts, -and a battering ram would, no doubt, have smashed the door; we had -neither burglar nor ram. - -'We're caught, my boy,' said Denny, 'nicely caught! But what's the -game?' - -I had asked myself that question already, but had found no answer. To -tell the truth, I was wondering whether Neopalia was going to turn out -as conservative a country as the Turkish Ambassador had hinted. It was -Watkins who suggested an answer. - -'I imagine, my lord,' said he, 'that the natives' (Watkins always -called the Neopalians 'natives') 'have gone to speak to the gentleman -who sold the island to your lordship.' - -'Gad,' said Denny, 'I hope it'll be a pleasant interview!' - -Hogvardt's broad good-humoured face had assumed an anxious look. He -knew something about the people of these islands; so did I. - -'Trouble, is it?' I asked him. - -'I'm afraid so,' he answered, and then we turned to the window again, -except Denny, who wasted some energy and made a useless din by -battering at the door till we beseeched him to let it alone. - -There in the room we sat for nearly two hours. Darkness fell; the -women had ceased their gossiping, but still stood about the street and -in the doorways of their houses. It was nine o'clock before matters -showed any progress. Then came shouts from the road above us, the -flash of torches, the tread of men's feet in a quick triumphant march. -Next the stalwart figures of the picturesque fellows, with their white -kilts gleaming through the darkness, came again into sight, seeming -wilder and more imposing in the alternating glare and gloom of the -torches and the deepening night. The man in tweeds was no longer -visible. Our innkeeper was alone in front. And all, as they marched, -sang loudly a rude barbarous sort of chant, repeating it again and -again; while the women and children, crowding out to meet the men, -caught up the refrain in shrill voices, till the whole air seemed full -of it. So martial and inspiring was the rude tune that our feet began -to beat in time with it, and I felt the blood quicken in my veins. I -have tried to put the words of it into English, in a shape as rough, I -fear, as the rough original. Here it is: - - 'Ours is the land! - Death to the hand - That filches the land! - Dead is that hand, - Ours is the land! - - 'Forever we hold it, - Dead's he that sold it! - Ours is the land, - Dead is the hand!' - -Again and again they hurled forth the defiant words, until at last -they stopped opposite the inn with one final long-drawn shout of -savage triumph. - -'Well, this is a go,' said Denny, drawing a long breath. 'What are the -beggars up to?' - -'What have they been up to?' I asked; for I could not doubt that the -song we had heard had been chanted over a dead Stefanopoulos two -hundred years before. At this age of the world the idea seemed absurd, -preposterous, horrible. But there was no law nearer than Rhodes, and -there only Turk's law. The sole law here was the law of the -Stefanopouloi, and if that law lost its force by the crime of the hand -which should wield it, why, strange things might happen even to-day in -Neopalia. And we were caught in the inn like rats in a trap. - -'I don't see,' remarked old Hogvardt, laying a hand on my shoulder, -'any harm in loading our revolvers, my lord.' - -I did not see any harm in it either, and we all followed Hogvardt's -advice, and also filled our pockets with cartridges. I was -determined--I think we were all determined--not to be bullied by these -islanders and their skull-and-crossbones ditty. - -A quarter of an hour passed; then there came a knock at the door, -while the bolts shot back. - -'I shall go out,' said I, springing to my feet. - -The door opened, and the face of a lad appeared. - -'Vlacho the innkeeper bids you descend,' said he; and then, catching -sight perhaps of our revolvers, he turned and ran downstairs again at -his best speed. Following him we came to the door of the inn. It was -ringed round with men, and directly opposite to us stood Vlacho. When -he saw me he commanded silence with a gesture of his hand, and -addressed me in the following surprising style. - -'The Lady Euphrosyne, of her grace, bids you depart in peace. Go, -then, to your boat and depart, thanking God for His mercy.' - -'Wait a bit, my man' said I; 'where is the lord of the island?' - -'Did you not know that he died a week ago?' asked Vlacho, with -apparent surprise. - -'Died!' we exclaimed one and all. - -'Yes, sir. The Lady Euphrosyne, Lady of Neopalia, bids you go.' - -'What did he die of?' - -'Of a fever,' said Vlacho gravely; and several of the men round him -nodded their heads and murmured in no less grave assent, 'Yes, of a -fever.' - -'I am very sorry for it,' said I. 'But as he sold the island to me -before he died, I don't see what the lady, with all respect to her, -has got to do with it. Nor do I know what this rabble is doing about -the door. Bid them disperse.' - -This attempt at _hauteur_ was most decidedly thrown away. Vlacho -seemed not to hear what I said. He pointed with his finger towards the -harbour. - -'There lies your boat. Demetri and Spiro cannot go with you, but you -will be able to manage her yourselves. Listen now! Till six in the -morning you are free to go. If you are found in Neopalia one minute -after, you will never go. Think and be wise.' And he and all the rest, -as though one spring moved the whole body, wheeled round and marched -off up the hill again, breaking out into the old chant when they had -gone about a hundred yards. We were left alone in the doorway of the -inn, looking, I must admit, rather blank. - -Upstairs again we went, and I sat down by the window and gazed out on -the night. It was very dark, and seemed darker now that the gleaming -torches were gone. Not a soul was to be seen. The islanders, having -put matters on a satisfactory footing, were off to bed. I sat -thinking. Presently Denny came to me, and put his hand on my shoulder. - -'Going to cave in, Charley?' he asked. - -'My dear Denny,' said I, 'I wish you were at home with your mother.' - -He smiled and repeated, 'Going to cave in, old chap?' - -'No, by Jove, I'm not!' cried I, leaping up. 'They've had my money, -and I'm going to have my island.' - -'Take the yacht, my lord,' counselled Hogvardt, 'and come back with -enough force from Rhodes.' - -Well, here was sense; my impulse was nonsense. We four could not -conquer the island. I swallowed my pride. - -'So be it,' said I. 'But look here, it's only just twelve. We might -have a look round before we go. I want to see the place, you know.' -For I was very sorely vexed at being turned out of my island. - -Hogvardt grumbled a little at my proposal, but here I overruled him. -We took our revolvers again, left the inn, and struck straight up the -road. We met nobody. For nearly a mile we mounted, the way becoming -steeper with every step. Then there was a sharp turn off the main -road. - -'That will lead to the house,' said Hogvardt, who had studied the map -of Neopalia very carefully. - -'Then we'll have a look at the house. Show us a light, Hogvardt. It's -precious dark.' - -Hogvardt opened his lantern and cast its light on the way. But -suddenly he extinguished it again, and drew us close into the rocks -that edged the road. We saw coming towards us, in the darkness, two -figures. They rode small horses. Their faces could not be seen; but as -they passed our silent motionless forms, one said in a clear, sweet, -girlish voice: - -'Surely they will go?' - -'Ay, they'll go or pay the penalty,' said the other voice. At the -sound of it I started. For it was the voice of my neighbour in the -restaurant, Constantine Stefanopoulos. - -'I shall be near at hand, sleeping in the town,' said the girl's -voice, 'and the people will listen to me.' - -'The people will kill them if they don't go,' we heard Constantine -answer, in tones that witnessed no great horror at the idea. Then the -couple disappeared in the darkness. - -'On to the house!' I cried in sudden excitement. For I was angry now, -angry at the utter humbling scorn with which they treated me. - -Another ten minutes' groping brought us in front of the old grey house -which we had seen from the sea. We walked boldly up to it. The door -stood open. We went in and found ourselves in a large hall. The wooden -floor was carpeted here and there with mats and skins. A long table -ran down the middle; the walls were decorated with mediaeval armour and -weapons. The windows were but narrow slits, the walls massive and -deep. The door was a ponderous iron-bound affair; it shamed even the -stout doors of our inn. I called loudly, 'Is anyone here?' Nobody -answered. The servants must have been drawn off to the town by the -excitement of the procession and the singing; or, perhaps, there were -no servants. I could not tell. I sat down in a large armchair by the -table. I enjoyed the sense of proprietorship; I was in my own house. -Denny sat on the table by me, dangling his legs. For a long while none -of us spoke. Then I exclaimed suddenly: - -'By Heaven, why shouldn't we see it through?' I rose, put my hands -against the massive door, and closed and bolted it, saying, 'Let them -open that at six o'clock in the morning.' - -'Hurrah!' cried Denny, leaping down from his table, on fire with -excitement in a moment. - -I faced Hogvardt. He shook his head, but he smiled. Watkins stood by -with his usual imperturbability. He wanted to know what his lordship -decided--that was all; and when I said nothing more, he asked, - -'Then your lordship will sleep here to-night?' - -'I'll stay here to-night, anyhow, Watkins,' said I. 'I'm not going to -be driven out of my own island by anybody.' - -As I spoke, I brought my fist down on the table with a crash. And then -to our amazement we heard, from somewhere in the dark recesses of the -hall where the faint light of Hogvardt's lantern did not reach, a low -but distinct groan, as of someone in pain. Watkins shuddered, Hogvardt -looked rather uncomfortable; Denny and I listened eagerly. Again the -groan came. I seized the lantern from Hogvardt's hand, and rushed in -the direction of the sound. There, in the corner of the hall, on a -couch covered with a rug, lay an old man in an uneasy attitude, -groaning now and then and turning restlessly. By his side sat an old -serving-woman in weary heavy slumber. In a moment I guessed the -truth--part of the truth. - -'He's not dead of that fever yet,' said I. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE FEVER OF NEOPALIA - - -I looked for a moment on the old man's pale, clean-cut, aristocratic -face; then I shook his attendant by the arm vigorously. She awoke with -a start. - -'What does this mean?' I demanded. 'Who is he?' - -'Heaven help us! Who are you?' she cried, leaping up in alarm. Indeed -we four, with our eager fierce faces, must have looked disquieting -enough. - -'I am Lord Wheatley; these are my friends,' I answered in brisk sharp -tones. - -'What, it is you, then--?' A wondering gaze ended her question. - -'Yes, yes, it is I. I have bought the island. We came out for a walk -and--' - -'But he will kill you if he finds you here.' - -'He? Who?' - -'Ah, pardon, my lord! They will kill you, they--the people--the men of -the island.' - -I gazed at her sternly. She shrank back in confusion. And I spoke at a -venture, yet in a well-grounded hazard: - -'You mean that Constantine Stefanopoulos will kill me?' - -'Ah, hush,' she cried. 'He may be here, he may be anywhere.' - -'He may thank his stars he's not here,' said I grimly, for my blood -was up. 'Attend, woman. Who is this?' - -'It is the lord of the island, my lord,' she answered. 'Alas, he is -wounded, I fear, to death. And yet I fell asleep. But I was so weary.' - -'Wounded? By whom?' - -Her face suddenly became vacant and expressionless. - -'I do not know, my lord. It happened in the crowd. It was a mistake. -My dear lord had yielded what they asked. Yet some one--no, by heaven, -my lord, I do not know who--stabbed him. And he cannot live.' - -'Tell me the whole thing,' I commanded. - -'They came up here, my lord, all of them, Vlacho and all, and with -them my Lord Constantine. The Lady Euphrosyne was away; she is often -away, down on the rocks by the sea, watching the waves. They came and -said that a man had landed who claimed our island as his--a man of -your name, my lord. And when my dear lord said he had sold the island -to save the honour of his house and race, they were furious; and -Vlacho raised the death chant that One-eyed Alexander the Bard wrote -on the death of Stefan Stefanopoulos long ago. Then they came near -with knives, demanding that my dear lord should send away the -stranger; for the men of Neopalia were not to be bought and sold like -bullocks or like pigs. At first my lord would not yield, and they -swore they would kill the stranger and my lord also. Then they pressed -closer; Vlacho was hard on him with drawn knife, and the Lord -Constantine stood by him, praying him to yield; and Constantine drew -his own knife, saying to Vlacho that he must fight him also before he -killed the old lord. But at that Vlacho smiled. And then--and -then--ah, my dear lord!' - -For a moment her voice broke, and sobs supplanted words. But she drew -herself up, and after a glance at the old man whom her vehement speech -had not availed to waken, she went on. - -'And then those behind cried out that there was enough talk. Would he -yield or would he die? And they rushed forward, pressing the nearest -against him. And he, an old man, frail and feeble (yet once he was as -brave a man as any), cried in his weak tones, "Enough, friends, I -yield, I--" and they fell back. But my lord stood for an instant, then -he set his hand to his side, and swayed and tottered and fell; the -blood was running from his side. The Lord Constantine fell on his -knees beside him, crying, "Who stabbed him?" Vlacho smiled grimly, and -the others looked at one another. But I, who had run out from the -doorway whence I had seen it all, knelt by my lord and staunched the -blood. Then Vlacho said, fixing his eyes straight and keen on the Lord -Constantine, "It was not I, my lord." "Nor I by heaven," cried the -Lord Constantine, and he rose to his feet, demanding, "Who struck the -blow?" But none answered; and he went on, "Nay, if it were in error, -if it were because he would not yield, speak. There shall be pardon." -But Vlacho, hearing this, turned himself round and faced them all, -saying, "Did he not sell us like oxen and like pigs?" and he broke -into the death chant, and they all raised the chant, none caring any -more who had struck the blow. And the Lord Constantine--' The -impetuous flow of the old woman's story was frozen to sudden silence. - -'Well, and the Lord Constantine?' said I, in low stern tones that -quivered with excitement; and I felt Denny's hand, which was on my -arm, jump up and down. 'And Constantine, woman?' - -[Illustration: "WHO STABBED HIM?"] - -'Nay, he did nothing,' said she. 'He talked with Vlacho awhile, and -then they went away, and he bade me tend my lord, and went himself to -seek the Lady Euphrosyne. Presently he came back with her; her eyes -were red, and she wept afresh when she saw my poor lord; for she loved -him. She sat by him till Constantine came and told her that you would -not go, and that you and your friends would be killed if you did not -go. Then, weeping to leave my lord, she went, praying heaven she might -find him alive when she returned. "I must go," she said to me, "for -though it is a shameful thing that the island should have been sold, -yet these men must be persuaded to go away and not meet death. Kiss -him for me if he awakes." Thus she went and left me with my lord, and -I fear he will die.' She ended in a burst of sobbing. - -For a moment there was silence. Then I said again: - -'Who struck the blow, woman? Who struck the blow?' - -She shrank from me as though I had struck her. - -'I do not know; I do not know,' she moaned. - -But the question she dared not answer was to find an answer. - -The stricken man opened his eyes, his lips moved, and he groaned, -'Constantine! You, Constantine!' The old woman's eyes met mine for a -moment and fell to the ground again. - -'Why, why, Constantine?' moaned the wounded man. 'I had yielded, I had -yielded, Constantine. I would have sent them--' - -His words ceased, his eyes closed, his lips met again, but met only to -part. A moment later his jaw dropped. The old lord of Neopalia was -dead. - -Then I, carried away by anger and by hatred of the man who, for a -reason I did not yet understand, had struck so foul a blow against his -kinsman and an old man, did a thing so rash that it seems to me now, -when I consider it in the cold light of memory, a mad deed. Yet then I -could do nothing else; and Denny's face, ay, and the eyes of the -others too told me that they were with me. - -'Compose this old man's body,' I said, 'and we will watch it. But do -you go and tell this Constantine Stefanopoulos that I know his crime, -that I know who struck that blow, that what I know all men shall know, -and that I will not rest day or night until he has paid the penalty of -this murder. Tell him I swore this on the honour of an English -gentleman.' - -'And say I swore it too!' cried Denny; and Hogvardt and Watkins, not -making bold to speak, ranged up close to me; I knew that they also -meant what I meant. - -The old woman looked at me with searching eyes. - -'You are a bold man, my lord,' said she. - -'I see nothing to be afraid of up to now,' said I. 'Such courage as is -needed to tell a scoundrel what I think of him I believe I can claim.' - -'But he will never let you go now. You would go to Rhodes, and tell -his--tell what you say of him.' - -'Yes, and further than Rhodes, if need be. He shall die for it as sure -as I live.' - -A thousand men might have tried in vain to persuade me; the treachery -of Constantine had fired my heart and driven out all opposing motives. - -'Do as I bid you,' said I sternly, 'and waste no time on it. We will -watch here by the old man till you return.' - -'My lord,' she replied, 'you run on your own death. And you are -young; and the youth by you is yet younger.' - -'We are not dead yet,' said Denny; I had never seen him look as he did -then; for the gaiety was out of his face, and his lips had grown set -and hard. - -She raised her hands towards heaven, whether in prayer or in -lamentation I do not know. We turned away and left her to her sad -work; going back to our places, we waited there till dawn began to -break and from the narrow windows we saw the grey crests of the waves -dancing and frolicking in the early dawn. As I watched them, the old -woman was by my elbow. - -'It is done, my lord,' said she. 'Are you still of the same mind?' - -'Still of the same,' said I. - -'It is death, death for you all,' she said, and without more she went -to the great door. Hogvardt opened it for her, and she walked away -down the road, between the high rocks that bounded the path on either -side. Then we went and carried the old man to a room that opened off -the hall, and, returning, stood in the doorway, cooling our brows in -the fresh early air. While we stood there, Hogvardt said suddenly, - -'It is five o'clock.' - -'Then we have only an hour to live,' said I, smiling, 'if we don't -make for the yacht.' - -'You're not going back to the yacht, my lord?' - -'I'm puzzled,' I admitted. 'If we go this ruffian will escape. And if -we don't go--' - -'Why, we,' Hogvardt ended for me, 'may not escape.' - -I saw that Hogvardt's sense of responsibility was heavy; he always -regarded himself as the shepherd, his employers as the sheep. I -believe this attitude of his confirmed my obstinacy, for I said, -without further hesitation: - -'Oh, we'll chance that. When they know what a villain the fellow is, -they'll turn against him. Besides, we said we'd wait here.' - -Denny seized on my last words with alacrity. When you are determined -to do a rash thing, there is a great comfort in feeling that you are -already committed to it by some previous act or promise. - -'So we did,' he cried. 'Then that settles it, Hogvardt' - -'His lordship certainly expressed that intention,' observed Watkins, -appearing at this moment with a big loaf of bread and a great pitcher -of milk. I eyed these viands. - -'I bought the house and its contents,' said I; 'come along.' - -Watkins' further researches produced a large lump of native cheese; -when he had set this down he remarked: - -'In a pen behind the house, close to the kitchen windows, there are -two goats; and your lordship sees there, on the right of the front -door, two cows tethered.' - -I began to laugh, Watkins was so wise and solemn. - -'We can stand a siege, you mean?' I asked. 'Well, I hope it won't come -to that.' - -Hogvardt rose and began to move round the hall, examining the weapons -that decorated the walls. From time to time he grunted disapprovingly; -the guns were useless, rusted, out of date; and there was no -ammunition for them. But when he had almost completed his circuit, he -gave an exclamation of satisfaction and came to me holding an -excellent modern rifle and a large cartridge-case. - -'See!' he grunted in huge delight. '"C. S." on the stock. I expect you -can guess whose it is, my lord.' - -'This is very thoughtful of Constantine,' observed Denny, who was -employing himself in cutting imaginary lemons in two with a fine -damascened scimitar that he had taken from the wall. - -'As for the cows,' said I, 'perhaps they will carry them off.' - -'I think not,' said Hogvardt, taking an aim with the rifle through the -window. - -I looked at my watch. It was five minutes past six. - -'Well, we can't go now,' said I. 'It's settled. What a comfort!' I -wonder whether I had ever in my heart meant to go! - -The next hour passed very quietly. We sat smoking pipes or cigars and -talking in subdued tones. The recollection of the dead man in the -adjoining room sobered the excitement to which our position might -otherwise have given occasion. Indeed I suppose that I at least, who -through my whim had led the rest into this quandary, should have been -utterly overwhelmed by the burden on me. But I was not. Perhaps -Hogvardt's assumption of responsibility relieved me; perhaps I was too -full of anger against Constantine to think of the risks we ourselves -ran; and I was more than half-persuaded that the revelation of what he -had done would rob him of his power to hurt us. Moreover, if I might -judge from the words I heard on the road, we had on our side an ally -of uncertain, but probably considerable, power in the sweet-voiced -girl whom the old woman called the Lady Euphrosyne; she would not -support her uncle's murderer, even though he were her cousin. - -Presently Watkins carried me off to view his pen of goats, and having -passed through the lofty flagged kitchen, I found myself in a sort of -compound formed by the rocks. The ground had been levelled for a few -yards, and the rocks rose straight to the height of ten or twelve -feet; from the top of this artificial bank they ran again in wooded -slopes towards the peak of the mountain. I followed their course with -my eye, and three hundred or more feet above us, just beneath the -summit, I perceived a little wooden _chalet_ or bungalow. Blue smoke -issued from the chimneys; and, even while we looked, a figure came out -of the door and stood still in front of it, apparently gazing down -towards the house. - -'It's a woman,' I pronounced. - -'Yes, my lord. A peasant's wife, I suppose.' - -'I daresay,' said I. But I soon doubted Watkins' opinion; in the first -place, because the woman's dress did not look like that of a peasant -woman; and secondly, because she went into the house, appeared again, -and levelled at us what was, if I mistook not, a large pair of -binocular glasses. Now such things were not likely to be in the -possession of the peasants of Neopalia. Then she suddenly retreated, -and through the silence of those still slopes we heard the door of the -cottage closed with violence. - -'She doesn't seem to like the looks of us,' said I. - -'Possibly,' suggested Watkins with deference, 'she did not expect to -see your lordship here.' - -'I should think that's very likely, Watkins,' said I. - -I was recalled from the survey of my new domains--my satisfaction in -the thought that they were mine survived all the disturbing features -of the situation--by a call from Denny. In response to it I hurried -back to the hall and found him at the window, with Constantine's rifle -rested on the sill. - -'I could pick him off pat,' said Denny laughingly, and he pointed to a -figure which was approaching the house. It was a man riding a stout -pony; when he came within about two hundred yards of the house, he -stopped, took a leisurely look, and then waved a white handkerchief. - -'The laws of war must be observed,' said I, smiling. 'This is a flag -of truce.' I opened the door, stepped out, and waved my handkerchief -in return. The man, reassured, began to mop his brow with the flag of -truce, and put his pony to a trot. I now perceived him to be the -innkeeper Vlacho, and a moment later he reined up beside me, giving -an angry jerk at his pony's bridle. - -'I have searched the island for you,' he cried. 'I am weary and hot! -How came you here?' - -I explained to him briefly how I had chanced to take possession of my -house, and added significantly: - -'But has no message come to you from me?' - -He smiled with equal meaning, as he answered: - -'No; an old woman came to speak to a gentleman who is in the -village--' - -'Yes, to Constantine Stefanopoulos,' said I with a nod. - -'Well then, if you will, to the Lord Constantine,' he admitted with a -careless shrug, 'but her message was for his ear only; he took her -aside and they talked alone.' - -'You know what she said, though?' - -'That is between my Lord Constantine and me.' - -'And the young lady knows it, I hope--the Lady Euphrosyne?' - -Vlacho smiled broadly. - -'We could not distress her with such a silly tale,' he answered; and -he leant down towards me. 'Nobody has heard the message but the Lord -Constantine and one man he told it to. And nobody will. If that old -woman spoke, she--well, she knows and will not speak.' - -'And you back up this murderer?' I cried. - -'Murderer?' he repeated questioningly. 'Indeed, sir, it was an -accident done in hot blood. It was the old man's fault, because he -tried to sell the island.' - -'He did sell the island,' I corrected; 'and a good many other people -will hear of what happened to him.' - -He looked at me again, smiling. - -'If you shouted it in the hearing of every man in Neopalia, what would -they do?' he asked scornfully. - -'Well, I should hope,' I returned, 'that they'd hang Constantine to -the tallest tree you've got here.' - -'They would do this,' he said with a nod; and he began to sing softly -the chant I had heard the night before. - -I was disgusted at his savagery, but I said coolly: - -'And the Lady?' - -'The Lady believes what she is told, and will do as her cousin bids -her. Is she not his affianced wife?' - -'The deuce she is!' I cried in amazement, fixing a keen scrutiny on -Vlacho's face. The face told me nothing. - -'Certainly,' he said gently. 'And they will rule the island together.' - -'Will they, though?' said I. I was becoming rather annoyed. 'There are -one or two obstacles in the way of that. First, it's my island.' - -He shrugged his shoulders again. 'That,' he seemed to say, 'is not -worth answering.' But I had a second shot in the locker for him, and I -let him have it for what it was worth. I knew it might be worth -nothing, but I tried it. - -'And secondly,' I went on, 'how many wives does Constantine propose to -have?' - -A hit! A hit! A palpable hit! I could have sung in glee. The fellow -was dumbfoundered. He turned red, bit his lip, scowled fiercely. - -'What do you mean?' he blurted out, with an attempt at blustering -defiance. - -'Never mind what I mean. Something, perhaps, that the Lady Euphrosyne -might care to know. And now, my man, what do you want of me?' - -He recovered his composure, and stated his errand with his old cool -assurance; but the cloud of vexation still hung heavy on his brow. - -'On behalf of the Lady of the island--' he began. - -'Or shall we say her cousin?' I interrupted. - -'Which you will,' he answered, as though it were not worth while to -wear the mask any longer. 'On behalf, then, of my Lord Constantine, I -am to offer you safe passage to your boat, and a return of the money -you have paid--' - -'How's he going to pay that?' - -'He will pay it in a year, and give you security meanwhile.' - -'And the condition is that I give up the island?' I asked; I began to -think that perhaps I owed it to my companions to acquiesce in this -proposal however distasteful it might be to me. - -'Yes,' said Vlacho, 'and there is one other small condition, which -will not trouble you.' - -'What's that? You're rich in conditions.' - -'You're lucky to be offered any. It is that you mind your own -business.' - -'I came here for the purpose,' I observed. - -'And that you undertake, for yourself and your companions, on your -word of honour, to speak to nobody of what has passed on the island or -of the affairs of the Lord Constantine.' - -'And if I won't give this promise?' - -'The yacht is in our hands; Demetri and Spiro are our men; there will -be no ship here for two months.' The fellow paused, smiling at me. I -took the liberty of ending his period for him. - -'And there is,' I said, returning his smile, 'as we know by now, a -particularly sudden and fatal form of fever in the island.' - -'Certainly you may chance to find that out,' said he. - -'But is there no antidote?' I asked, and I showed him the butt of my -revolver in the pocket of my coat. - -'It may keep it off for a day or two--not longer. You have the bottle -there, but most of the drug is with your luggage at the inn.' - -His parable was true enough; we had only two or three dozen cartridges -apiece. - -'But there's plenty of food for Constantine's rifle,' said I, pointing -to the muzzle of it, which protruded from the window. - -He suddenly became impatient. - -'Your answer, sir?' he demanded peremptorily. - -'Here it is,' said I. 'I'll keep the island and I'll see Constantine -hanged.' - -'So be it, so be it,' he cried. 'You are warned; so be it!' Without -another word he turned his pony and trotted rapidly off down the road. -And I went back to the house feeling, I must confess, not in the best -of spirits. But when my friends heard all that had passed, they -applauded me, and we made up our minds to 'see it through,' as Denny -said. - -The day passed quietly. At noon we carried the old lord out of his -house, having wrapped him in a sheet; we dug for him as good a grave -as we could in a little patch of ground that lay outside the windows -of his own chapel, a small erection at the west end of the house. -There he must lie for the present. This sad work done, we came back -and--so swift are life's changes--killed a goat for dinner, and -watched Watkins dress it. Thus the afternoon wore away, and when -evening came we ate our goat-flesh and Hogvardt milked our cows; then -we sat down to consider the position of the garrison. - -But the evening was hot and we adjourned out of doors, grouping -ourselves on the broad marble pavement in front of the door. Hogvardt -had just begun to expound a very elaborate scheme of escape, -depending, so far as I could make out, on our reaching the other side -of the island and finding there a boat which we had no reason to -suppose would be there, when Denny raised his hand, saying 'Hark!' - -From the direction of the village and the harbour came the sound of a -horn, blowing long and shrill and echoed back in strange protracted -shrieks and groans from the hillside behind us. And following on the -blast we heard, low in the distance and indistinct, yet rising and -falling and rising again in savage defiance and exultation, the -death-chant that One-Eyed Alexander the Bard had made on the death of -Stefan Stefanopoulos two hundred years ago. For a few minutes we sat -listening; I do not think that any of us felt very comfortable. Then I -rose to my feet, saying: - -'Hogvardt, old fellow, I fancy that scheme of yours must wait a -little. Unless I'm very much mistaken, we're going to have a lively -evening.' - -Well, then we shook hands all round, and went in and bolted the door, -and sat down to wait. We heard the death-chant through the walls now; -it was coming nearer. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A RAID AND A RAIDER - - -It was between eight and nine o'clock when the first of the enemy -appeared on the road in the persons of two smart fellows in gleaming -kilts and braided jackets. It was no more than just dusk, and I saw -that they were strangers to me. One was tall and broad, the other -shorter and of very slight build. They came on towards us confidently -enough. I was looking over Denny's shoulder; he held Constantine's -rifle, and I knew that he was impatient to try it. But, inasmuch as -might was certainly not on our side, I was determined that right -should abide with us, and was resolute not to begin hostilities. -Constantine had at least one powerful motive for desiring our -destruction; I would not furnish him with any plausible excuse for -indulging his wish: so we stood, Denny and I at one window, Hogvardt -and Watkins at the other, and quietly watched the approaching figures. -No more appeared; the main body did not show itself, and the sound of -the fierce chant had suddenly died away. But the next moment a third -man came in sight, running rapidly after the first two. He caught the -shorter by the arm, and seemed to argue or expostulate with him. For a -while the three stood thus talking; then I saw the last comer make a -gesture of protest as though he yielded his point unwillingly, and -they all came on together. - -'Push the barrel of that rifle a little farther out,' said I to Denny. -'It may be useful to them to know it's there.' - -Denny obeyed; the result was a sudden pause in our friends' advance; -but they were near enough now for me to distinguish the last comer, -and I discerned in him, although he had discarded his tweed suit and -adopted the national dress, Constantine Stefanopoulos himself. - -'Here's an exercise of self-control!' I groaned, laying a detaining -hand on Denny's shoulder. - -As I spoke, Constantine put a whistle to his lips and blew loudly. The -blast was followed by the appearance of five more fellows; in three of -them I recognised old acquaintances--Vlacho, Demetri and Spiro. These -three all carried guns. The whole eight came forward again, till they -were within a hundred yards of us. There they halted, and, with a -sudden swift movement, three barrels were levelled straight at the -window where Denny and I were stationed. Well, we ducked; there is no -use in denying it; for we thought that the bombardment had really -begun. Yet no shot followed, and after an instant, holding Denny down, -I peered out cautiously myself. The three stood motionless, their aim -full on us. The other five were advancing warily, well under the -shelter of the rock, two on the left side of the road and three on the -right. The slim boyish fellow was with Constantine on the left; a -moment later the other three dashed across the road and joined them. -In a moment what military men call 'the objective,' the aim of these -manoeuvres, flashed across me. It was simple almost to ludicrousness; -yet it was very serious, for it showed a reasoned plan of campaign -with which we were very ill-prepared to cope. While the three held us -in check, the five were going to carry off our cows. Without our cows -we should soon be hard put to it for food. For the cows had formed in -our plans a most important _piece de resistance_. - -'This won't do,' said I. 'They're after the cows.' I took the rifle -from Denny's hand, cautioning him not to show his face at the window. -Then I stood in the shelter of the wall, so that I could not be hit by -the three, and levelled the rifle, not at my human enemies, but at -the unoffending cows. - -'A dead cow,' I remarked, 'is a great deal harder to move than a live -one.' - -The five had now come quite near the pen of rude hurdles in which the -cows were. As I spoke, Constantine appeared to give some order; and -while he and the boy stood looking on, Constantine leaning on his gun, -the boy's hand resting with jaunty elegance on the handle of the knife -in his girdle, the others leapt over the hurdles. Crack! went the -rifle, and a cow fell. I reloaded hastily. Crack! and the second cow -fell. It was very fair shooting in such a bad light, for I hit both -mortally; my skill was rewarded by a shout of anger from the robbers. -(For robbers they were; I had bought the live stock.) - -'Carry them off now!' I cried, carelessly showing myself at the -window. But I did not stay there long, for three shots rang out, and -the bullets pattered on the masonry above me. Luckily the covering -party had aimed a trifle too high. - -'No more milk, my lord,' observed Watkins in a regretful tone. He had -seen the catastrophe from the other window. - -The besiegers were checked. They leapt out of the pen with alacrity. I -suppose they realised that they were exposed to my fire while at that -particular angle I was protected from the attack of their friends. -They withdrew to the middle of the road, selecting a spot at which I -could not take aim without showing myself at the window. I dared not -look out to see what they were doing. But presently Hogvardt risked a -glance, and called out that they were in retreat and had rejoined the -three, and that the whole body stood together in consultation and were -no longer covering my window. So I looked out, and saw the boy -standing in an easy graceful attitude, while Constantine and Vlacho -talked a little way apart. It was growing considerably darker now, and -the figures became dim and indistinct. - -'I think the fun's over for to-night,' said I, glad to have it over so -cheaply. - -Indeed what I said seemed to be true, for the next moment the group -turned and began to retreat along the road, moving briskly out of our -sight. We were left in the thick gloom of a moonless evening and the -peaceful silence of still air. - -'They'll come back and fetch the cows,' said Hogvardt. 'Couldn't we -drag one in, my lord, and put it where the goat is, behind the house?' - -I approved of this suggestion; Watkins having found a rope, I armed -Denny with the rifle took from the wall a large keen hunting-knife, -opened the door and stole out, accompanied by Hogvardt and Watkins, -who carried their revolvers. We reached the pen without interruption, -tied our rope firmly round the horns of one of the dead beasts and set -to work to drag it along. It was no child's play, and our progress was -very slow, but the carcase moved, and I gave a shout of encouragement -as we got it down on to the smoother ground of the road and hauled it -along with a will. Alas, that shout was a great indiscretion! I had -been too hasty in assuming that our enemy was quite gone. We heard -suddenly the rush of feet; shots whistled over our heads. We had but -just time to drop the rope and turn round, when Denny's rifle rang -out, and then--somebody was at us! I really do not know exactly how -many there were. I had two at me, but by great good luck I drove my -big knife into one fellow's arm at the first hazard, and I think that -was enough for him. In my other assailant I recognised Vlacho. The fat -innkeeper had got rid of his gun and had a knife much like the one I -carried myself. I knew him more by his voice as he cried fiercely, -'Come on!' than by his appearance, for the darkness was thick now. -Parrying his fierce thrust--he was very active for so stout a man--I -called out to our people to fall back as quickly as they could, for I -was afraid that we might be taken in the rear also. - -But discipline is hard to maintain in such a force as mine. - -'Bosh!' cried Denny's voice. - -'_Mein Gott_, no!' exclaimed Hogvardt. Watkins said nothing, but for -once in his life he also disobeyed me. - -Well, if they would not do as I said I must do as they did. The line -advanced--the whole line, as at Waterloo. We pressed them hard. I -heard a revolver fired, and a cry follow. Fat Vlacho slackened in his -attack, wavered, halted, turned, and ran. A shout of triumph from -Denny told me that the battle was going well there. Fired with -victory, I set myself for a chase. But, alas, my pride was checked. -Before I had gone two yards, I fell headlong over the body for which -we had been fighting (as Greeks and Trojans fought for the body of -Hector), and came to an abrupt stop, sprawling most ignominiously over -the cow's broad back. - -'Stop! Stop!' I cried. 'Wait a bit, Denny! I'm down over this infernal -cow.' It was an inglorious ending to the exploits of the evening. - -Prudence or my cry stopped them. The enemy was in full retreat; their -steps pattered quick along the rocky road; and Denny observed in a -tone of immense satisfaction: - -'I think that's our trick, Charley.' - -'Anybody hurt?' I asked, scrambling to my feet. - -Watkins owned to a crack from the stock of a gun on his right -shoulder, Hogvardt to a graze of a knife on the left arm. Denny was -unhurt. We had reason to suppose that we had left our mark on at least -two of the enemy. For so great a victory it was cheaply bought. - -'We'll just drag in the cow,' said I--I like to stick to my -point--'and then we might see if there's anything in the cellar.' - -We did drag in the cow; we dragged it through the house, and finally -bestowed it in the compound behind. Hogvardt suggested that we should -fetch the other also, but I had no mind for another surprise, which -might not end so happily, and I decided to run the risk of leaving the -second animal till the morning. So Watkins ran off to seek for some -wine, for which we all felt very ready, and I went to the door with -the intention of securing it. But before I shut it, I stood for a -moment on the step, looking out on the night and sniffing the sweet, -clear, pure air. It was in quiet moments like these, not in such a -tumult as had just passed, that I had pictured my beautiful island; -and the love of it came on me now and made me swear that these fellows -and their arch-ruffian Constantine should not drive me out of it -without some more, and more serious, blows than had been struck that -night. If I could get away safely and return with enough force to keep -them quiet, I would pursue that course. If not--well, I believe I had -very bloodthirsty thoughts in my mind, as even the most peaceable man -may, when he has been served as I had and his friends roughly handled -on his account. - -Having registered these determinations, I was about to proceed with my -task of securing the door, when I heard a sound that startled me. -There was nothing hostile or alarming about it; rather it was pathetic -and appealing, and, in spite of my previous fierceness of mood, it -caused me to exclaim, 'Hullo, is that one of those poor beggars we -mauled?' For the sound was a faint distressed sigh, as of somebody in -suffering; it seemed to come from out of the darkness about a dozen -yards ahead of me. My first impulse was to go straight to the spot, -but I had begun by now to doubt whether the Neopalians were not -unsophisticated in quite as peculiar a sense as that in which they -were good-hearted, and I called to Denny and Hogvardt, bidding the -latter to bring his lantern with him. Thus protected, I stepped out -of the door in the direction from which the sigh had come. Apparently -we were to crown our victory by the capture of a wounded enemy. - -An exclamation from Hogvardt told me that he, aided by the lantern, -had come on the quarry; but Hogvardt spoke in disgust rather than -triumph. - -'Oh, it's only the little one!' said he. 'What's wrong with him, I -wonder.' He stooped down and examined the prostrate form. 'By heaven, -I believe he's not touched--yes, there's a bump on his forehead, but -not big enough for any of us to have given it.' - -By this time Denny and I were with him, and we looked down on the -boy's pale face, which seemed almost deathlike in the glare of the -lantern. The bump was not such a very small one, but it could hardly -have been made by any of our weapons, for the flesh was not cut. A -moment's further inspection showed that it must be the result of a -fall on the hard rocky road. - -'Perhaps he tripped on the cord, as you did on the cow,' suggested -Denny with a grin. - -It seemed likely enough, but I gave very little thought to the -question, for I was busy studying the boy's face. - -'No doubt,' said Hogvardt, 'he fell in running away and was stunned; -and they didn't notice it in the dark, or were afraid to stop. But -they'll be back, my lord, and soon.' - -'Carry him inside,' said I. 'It won't hurt us to have a hostage.' - -Denny lifted the lad in his long arms--Denny was a tall powerful -fellow--and strode off with him. I followed, wondering who it was that -we had got hold of: for the boy was strikingly handsome. I was last in -and barred the door. Denny had set our prisoner down in an armchair, -where he sat now, conscious again, but still with a dazed look in his -large dark eyes as he glanced from me to the rest and back again to -me, finally fixing a long gaze on my face. - -'Well, young man,' said I, 'you've begun this sort of thing early. -Lifting cattle and taking murder in the day's work is pretty good for -a youngster like you. Who are you?' - -'Where am I?' he cried, in that blurred indistinct kind of voice that -comes with mental bewilderment. - -'You're in my house,' said I, 'and the rest of your infernal gang's -outside and going to stay there. So you must make the best of it.' - -The boy turned his head away and closed his eyes. Suddenly I snatched -the lantern from Hogvardt. But I paused before I brought it close to -the boy's face, as I had meant to do, and I said: - -'You fellows go and get something to eat, and a snooze if you like. -I'll look after this youngster. I'll call you if anything happens -outside.' - -After a few unselfish protests they did as I bade them. I was left -alone in the hall with the prisoner; soon merry voices from the -kitchen told me that the battle was being fought again over the wine. -I set the lantern close to the boy's face. - -'H'm,' said I, after a prolonged scrutiny. Then I sat down on the -table and began to hum softly that wretched chant of One-Eyed -Alexander's, which had a terrible trick of sticking in a man's head. - -For a few minutes I hummed. The lad shivered, stirred uneasily, and -opened his eyes. I had never seen such eyes; I could not -conscientiously except even Beatrice Hipgrave's, which were in their -way quite fine. I hummed away; and the boy said, still in a dreamy -voice, but with an imploring gesture of his hand: - -'Ah, no, not that! Not that, Constantine!' - -'He's a tender-hearted youth,' said I, and I was smiling now. The -whole episode was singularly unusual and interesting. - -The boy's eyes were on mine again; I met his glance full and square. -Then I poured out some water and gave it to him. He took it with a -trembling hand--the hand did not escape my notice--and drank it -eagerly, setting the glass down with a sigh. - -'I am Lord Wheatley,' said I, nodding to him. 'You came to steal my -cattle, and murder me, if it happened to be convenient, you know.' - -The boy flashed out at me in a minute. - -'I didn't. I thought you'd surrender if we got the cattle away.' - -'You thought!' said I scornfully. 'I suppose you did as you were bid.' - -'No; I told Constantine that they weren't to--' The boy stopped short, -looked round him, and said in a surprised voice, 'Where are all the -rest of my people?' - -'The rest of your people,' said I, 'have run away, and you are in my -hands. And I can do just as I please with you.' - -His lips set in an obstinate curve, but he made no answer. I went on -as sternly as I could. - -'And when I think of what I saw here yesterday, of that poor old man -stabbed by your bloodthirsty crew--' - -'It was an accident,' he cried sharply; the voice had lost its -dreaminess and sounded clear now. - -'We'll see about that when we get Constantine and Vlacho before a -judge,' I retorted grimly. 'Anyhow, he was foully stabbed in his own -house for doing what he had a perfect right to do.' - -'He had no right to sell the island,' cried the boy, and he rose for a -moment to his feet with a proud air, only to sink back into the chair -again and stretch out his hand for water. - -Now at this moment Denny, refreshed by meat and drink and in the -highest of spirits, bounded into the hall. - -'How's the prisoner?' he cried. - -'Oh, he's all right. There's nothing the matter with him,' I said, and -as I spoke I moved the lantern, so that the boy's face and figure were -again in shadow. - -'That's all right,' observed Denny cheerfully. 'Because I thought, -Charley, we might get a little information out of him.' - -'Perhaps he won't speak,' I suggested, casting a glance at the captive -who sat now motionless in the chair. - -'Oh, I think he will,' said Denny confidently: and I observed for the -first time that he held a very substantial-looking whip in his hand; -he must have found it in the kitchen. 'We'll give the young ruffian a -taste of this, if he's obstinate,' said Denny, and I cannot say that -his tone witnessed any great desire that the boy should prove at once -compliant. - -I shifted my lantern so that I could see the proud young face, while -Denny could not. The boy's eyes met mine defiantly. - -'Do you see that whip?' I asked. 'Will you tell us all we want to -know?' - -The boy made no answer, but I saw trouble in his face, and his eyes -did not meet mine so boldly now. - -'We'll soon find a tongue for him,' said Denny, in cheerful barbarity; -'upon my word, he richly deserves a thrashing. Say the word, Charley!' - -'We haven't asked him anything yet,' said I. - -'Oh, I'll ask him something. Look here, who was the fellow with you -and Vlacho?' - -Denny spoke in English; I turned his question into Greek. But the -prisoner's eyes told me that he had understood before I spoke. I -smiled again. - -The boy was silent; defiance and fear struggled in the dark eyes. - -'You see he's an obstinate beggar,' said Denny, as though he had -observed all necessary forms and could now get to business; and he -drew the lash of the whip through his fingers. I am afraid Denny was -rather looking forward to executing justice with his own hands. - -The boy rose again and stood facing that heartless young ruffian -Denny--it was thus that I thought of Denny at the moment; then once -again he sank back into his chair and covered his face with his hands. - -'Well, I wouldn't go out killing if I hadn't more pluck than that,' -said Denny scornfully. 'You're not fit for the trade, my lad.' - -I did not interpret this time; there was no need; the boy certainly -understood. But he had no retort. His face was buried in those slim -hands of his. For a moment he was quite still: then he moved a little; -it was a movement that spoke of helpless pain, and I heard something -very like a stifled sob. - -'Just leave us alone a little, Denny,' said I. 'He may tell me what he -won't tell you.' - -'Are you going to let him off?' demanded Denny, suspiciously. 'You -never can be stiff in the back, Charley.' - -'I must see if he won't speak to me first,' I pleaded, meekly. - -'But if he won't?' insisted Denny. - -'If he won't,' said I, 'and you still wish it, you may do what you -like.' - -Denny sheered off to the kitchen, with an air that did not seek to -conceal his opinion of my foolish tender-heartedness. Again I was -alone with the boy. - -'My friend is right,' said I gravely. 'You're not fit for the trade. -How came you to be in it?' - -My question brought a new look, as the boy's hands dropped from his -face. - -'How came you,' said I, 'who ought to restrain these rascals, to be at -their head? How came you, who ought to shun the society of men like -Constantine Stefanopoulos and his tool Vlacho, to be working with -them?' - -I got no answer; only a frightened look appealed to me in the white -glare of Hogvardt's lantern. I came a step nearer and leant forward to -ask my next question. - -'Who are you? What's your name?' - -'My name--my name?' stammered the prisoner. 'I won't tell my name.' - -'You'll tell me nothing? You heard what I promised my friend?' - -'Yes, I heard,' said the lad, with a face utterly pale, but with eyes -that were again set in fierce determination. - -I laughed a low laugh. - -'I believe you are fit for the trade after all,' said I, and I looked -at him with mingled distaste and admiration. But I had my last weapon -still, my last question. I turned the lantern full on his face, I -leant forward again, and I said in distinct slow tones--and the -question sounded an absurd one to be spoken in such an impressive -way: - -'Do you generally wear--clothes like that?' - -I had got home with that question. The pallor vanished, the haughty -eyes sank. I saw long drooping lashes and a burning flush, and the -boy's face once again sought his hands. - -At that moment I heard chairs pushed back in the kitchen. In came -Hogvardt with an amused smile on his broad face; in came Watkins with -his impassive acquiescence in anything that his lordship might order; -in came Master Denny brandishing his whip in jovial relentlessness. - -'Well, has he told you anything?' cried Denny. It was plain that he -hoped for the answer 'No.' - -'I have asked him half-a-dozen questions,' said I, 'and he has not -answered one.' - -'All right,' said Denny, with wonderful emphasis. - -Had I been wrong to extort this much punishment for my most -inhospitable reception? Sometimes now I think that I was cruel. In -that night much had occurred to breed viciousness in a man of the most -equable temper. But the thing had now gone to the extreme limit to -which it could go, and I said to Denny: - -'It's a gross case of obstinacy, of course, Denny, but I don't see -very well how we can horsewhip the lady.' - -A sudden astounded cry, 'The lady!' rang from three pairs of lips, -while the lady herself dropped her head on the table and fenced her -face round about with her protecting arms. - -'You see,' said I, 'this lady is the Lady Euphrosyne.' - -For who else could it be that would give orders to Constantine -Stefanopoulos, and ask where 'my people' were? Who else, I also asked -myself, save the daughter of the noble house, would boast the air, the -hands, the face, that graced our young prisoner? And who else would -understand English? In all certainty here was the Lady Euphrosyne. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE COTTAGE ON THE HILL - - -The effect of my remark was curious. Denny flushed scarlet and flung -his whip down on the table; the others stood for a moment motionless, -then turned tail and slunk back to the kitchen. Euphrosyne's face -remained invisible. On the other hand, I felt quite at my ease. I had -a triumphant conviction of the importance of my capture, and a -determination that no misplaced chivalry should rob me of it. -Politeness is, no doubt, a duty, but only a relative duty; and, in -plain English, men's lives were at stake here. Therefore I did not -make my best bow, fling open the door, and tell the lady that she was -free to go whither she would, but I said to her in a dry severe voice: - -'You had better go, madam, to the room you usually occupy here, while -we consider what to do with you. You know where the room is; I -don't.' - -She raised her head, and said in tones that sounded almost eager: - -'My own room? May I go there?' - -'Certainly,' said I. 'I shall accompany you as far as the door; and -when you've gone in, I shall lock the door.' - -This programme was duly carried out, Euphrosyne not favouring me with -a word during its progress. Then I returned to the hall, and said to -Denny: - -'Rather a trump card, isn't she?' - -'Yes, but they'll be back pretty soon to look for her, I expect.' - -Denny accompanied this remark with such a yawn that I suggested he -should go to bed. - -'Aren't you going to bed?' he asked. - -'I'll take first watch,' said I. 'It's nearly twelve now. I'll wake -you at two, and you can wake Hogvardt at five; then Watkins will be -fit and fresh at breakfast-time, and can give us roast cow.' - -Thus I was again left alone; and I sat reviewing the position. Would -the islanders fight for their lady? Or would they let us go? They -would let us go, I felt sure, only if Constantine were out-voted, for -he could not afford to see me leave Neopalia with a head on my -shoulders and a tongue in my mouth. Then probably they would fight. -Well, I calculated that so long as our provisions held out, we could -not be stormed; our stone fortress was too strong. But we could be -blockaded and starved out, and should be very soon unless the lady's -influence could help us. I had just arrived at the conclusion that I -would talk to her very seriously in the morning when I heard a -remarkable sound. - -'There never was such a place for queer noises,' said I, pricking up -my ears. - -This noise seemed to come directly from above my head; it sounded as -though a light stealthy tread were passing over the roof of the hall -in which I sat. The only person in the house besides ourselves was the -prisoner: she had been securely locked in her room; how then could she -be on the top of the hall? For her room was in the turret above the -doorway. Yet the steps crept over my head, going towards the kitchen. -I snatched up my revolver and trod, with a stealth equal to the -stealth of the steps overhead, across the hall and into the kitchen -beyond. My three companions slept the sleep of tired men, but I roused -Denny ruthlessly. - -'Go on guard in the hall,' said I. 'I want to have a look round.' - -Denny was sleepy but obedient. I saw him start for the hall, and went -on till I reached the compound behind the house. - -Here I stood deep in the shadow of the wall; the steps were now over -my head again. I glanced up cautiously, and above me, on the roof, -three yards to the left, I saw the flutter of a white kilt. - -'There are more ways out of this house than I know,' I thought to -myself. - -I heard next a noise as though of something being pushed cautiously -along the flat roof. Then there protruded from between two of the -battlements the end of a ladder. I crouched closer under the wall. The -light flight of steps was let down; it reached the ground, the kilted -figure stepped on it and began to descend. Here was the Lady -Euphrosyne again. Her eagerness to go to her own room was fully -explained: there was a way from it across the house and out on to the -roof of the kitchen; the ladder shewed that the way was kept in use. I -stood still. She reached the ground, and, as she touched it, she gave -the softest possible little laugh of gleeful triumph; a pretty little -laugh it was. Then she walked briskly across the compound, till she -reached the rocks on the other side. I crept forward after her, for I -was afraid of losing sight of her in the darkness, and yet did not -desire to arrest her progress till I saw where she was going. On she -went, skirting the perpendicular drop of rock. I was behind her now. -At last she came to the angle formed by the rock running north and -that which, turning to the east, enclosed the compound. - -'How's she going to get up?' I asked myself. - -But up she began to go, her right foot on the north rock, her left on -the east. She ascended with such confidence that it was evident that -steps were ready for her feet. She gained the top; I began to mount in -the same fashion, finding the steps cut in the face of the cliff. I -reached the top and saw her standing still, ten yards ahead of me. She -went on; I followed; she stopped, looked, saw me, screamed. I rushed -on her. Her arm dealt a blow at me; I caught her hand, and in her hand -there was a little dagger. Seizing her other hand, I held her fast. - -'Where are you going to?' I asked in a matter-of-fact tone, taking no -notice of her hasty resort to the dagger. No doubt that was merely a -national trait. - -Seeing that she was caught, she made no attempt to struggle. - -'I was trying to escape,' she said. 'Did you hear me?' - -'Yes, I heard you. Where were you going to?' - -'Why should I tell you? Shall you threaten me with the whip again?' - -I loosed her hands. She gave a sudden glance up the hill. She seemed -to measure the distance. - -'Why do you want to go to the top of the hill?' I asked. 'Have you -friends there?' - -She denied the suggestion, as I thought she would. - -'No, I have not. But anywhere is better than with you.' - -'Yet there's some one in the cottage up there,' I observed. 'It -belongs to Constantine, doesn't it?' - -'Yes, it does,' she answered defiantly. 'Dare you go and seek him -there? Or dare you only skulk behind the walls of the house?' - -'As long as we are four against a hundred I dare only skulk,' I -answered. She did not annoy me at all by her taunts. 'But do you think -he's there?' - -'There! No; he's in the town; and he'll come from the town to kill you -to-morrow.' - -'Then is nobody there?' I pursued. - -'Nobody,' she answered. - -'You're wrong,' said I. 'I saw somebody there to-day.' - -'Oh, a peasant perhaps.' - -'Well, the dress didn't look like it. Do you really want to go there -now?' - -'Haven't you mocked me enough?' she burst out. 'Take me back to my -prison.' - -Her tragedy-air was quite delightful. But I had been leading her up -to something which I thought she ought to know. - -'There's a woman in that cottage,' said I. 'Not a peasant; a woman in -some dark-coloured dress, who uses opera-glasses.' - -I saw her draw back with a start of surprise. - -'It's false,' she cried. 'There's no one there. Constantine told me no -one went there except Vlacho and sometimes Demetri.' - -'Do you believe all Constantine tells you?' I asked. - -'Why shouldn't I? He's my cousin, and--' - -'And your suitor?' - -She flung her head back proudly. - -'I have no shame in that,' she answered. - -'You would accept his offer?' - -'Since you ask, I will answer. Yes. I had promised my uncle that I -would.' - -'Good God!' said I, for I was very sorry for her. - -The emphasis of my exclamation seemed to startle her afresh. I felt -her glance rest on me in puzzled questioning. - -'Did Constantine let you see the old woman whom I sent to him?' I -demanded. - -'No,' she murmured. 'He told me what she said.' - -'That I told him he was his uncle's murderer?' - -'Did you tell her to say that?' she asked, with a sudden inclination -of her body towards me. - -'I did. Did he give you the message?' - -She made no answer. I pressed my advantage. - -'On my honour, I saw what I have told you at the cottage,' I said. 'I -know what it means no more than you do. But before I came here I saw -Constantine in London. And there I heard a lady say she would come -with him. Did any lady come with him?' - -'Are you mad?' she asked; but I could hear her breathing quickly, and -I knew that her scorn was assumed. I drew suddenly away from her, and -put my hands behind my back. - -'Go to the cottage if you like,' said I. 'But I won't answer for what -you'll find there.' - -'You set me free?' she cried with eagerness. - -'Free to go to the cottage; you must promise to come back. Or I'll go -to the cottage, if you'll promise to go back to your room and wait -till I return.' - -She hesitated, looking towards where the cottage was; but I had -stirred suspicion and disquietude in her. She dared not face what she -might find in the cottage. - -'I'll go back and wait for you,' she said. 'If I went to the cottage -and--and all was well, I'm afraid I shouldn't come back.' - -The tone sounded softer. I would have sworn that a smile or a -half-smile accompanied the words, but it was too dark to be sure, and -when I leant forward to look, Euphrosyne drew back. - -'Then you mustn't go,' said I decisively; 'I can't afford to lose -you.' - -'But if you let me go I could let you go,' she cried. - -'Could you? Without asking Constantine? Besides, it's my island you -see.' - -'It's not,' she cried, with a stamp of her foot. And without more she -walked straight by me and disappeared over the ledge of rock. Two -minutes later I saw her figure defined against the sky, a black shadow -on a deep grey ground; then she disappeared. I set my face straight -for the cottage under the summit of the hill. I knew that I had only -to go straight and I must come to the little plateau scooped out of -the hillside, on which the cottage stood. I found, not a path, but a -sort of rough track that led in the desired direction, and along this -I made my way very cautiously. At one point it was joined at right -angles by another track, from the side of the hill where the main road -across the island lay. This, of course, afforded an approach to the -cottage without passing by my house. In twenty minutes the cottage -loomed, a blurred mass, before me. I fell on my knees and peered at -it. - -There was a light in one of the windows. I crawled nearer. Now I was -on the plateau, a moment later I was under the wooden verandah and -beneath the window where the light glowed. My hand was on my revolver; -if Constantine or Vlacho caught me here, neither side would be able to -stand on trifles; even my desire for legality would fail under the -strain. But for the minute everything was quiet, and I began to fear -that I should have to return empty-handed; for it would be growing -light in another hour or so, and I must be gone before the day began -to appear. Ah, there was a sound, a sound that appealed to me after my -climb, the sound of wine poured into a glass; then came a voice I -knew. - -'Probably they have caught her,' said Vlacho the innkeeper. 'What of -that? They will not hurt her, and she'll be kept safe.' - -'You mean she can't come spying about here?' - -'Exactly. And that, my lord, is an advantage. If she came here--' - -'Oh, the deuce!' laughed Constantine. 'But won't the men want me to -free her by letting that infernal crew go?' - -'Not if they think Wheatley will go to Rhodes and get soldiers and -return. They love the island more than her. It will all go well, my -lord. And this other here?' - -I strained my ears to listen. No answer came, yet Vlacho went on as -though he had received an answer. - -'These cursed fellows make that difficult too,' he said. 'It would be -an epidemic.' He laughed, seeming to see wit in his own remark. - -'Curse them, yes. We must move cautiously,' said Constantine. 'What a -nuisance women are, Vlacho.' - -'Ay, too many of them,' laughed Vlacho. - -'I had to swear my life out that no one was here, and then, "If no -one's there, why mayn't I come?" You know the sort of thing.' - -'Indeed, no, my lord. You wrong me,' protested Vlacho humorously, and -Constantine joined in his laugh. - -'You've made up your mind which, I gather?' asked Vlacho. - -'Oh, this one, beyond doubt,' answered his master. - -Now I thought that I understood most of this conversation, and I was -very sorry that Euphrosyne was not by my side to listen to it. But I -had heard about enough for my purposes, and I had turned to crawl away -stealthily--it is not well to try fortune too far--when I heard the -sound of a door opening in the house. Constantine's voice followed -directly on the sound. - -'Ah, my darling, my sweet wife,' he cried, 'not sleeping yet? Where -will your beauty be? Vlacho and I must work and plan for your sake, -but you need not spoil your eyes with sleeplessness.' - -Constantine did it uncommonly well. His manner was a pattern for -husbands. I was guilty of a quiet laugh all to myself in the verandah. - -'For me? You're sure it's for me?' came in that Greek with a strange -accent, which had first fallen on my ears in the Optimum Restaurant. - -'She's jealous, she's most charmingly jealous!' cried Constantine in -playful rapture. 'Does your wife pay you such compliments, Vlacho?' - -'She has no cause, my lord. But my lady Francesca thinks she has cause -to be jealous of the Lady Euphrosyne.' - -Constantine laughed scornfully at the suggestion. - -'Where is she now?' came swift and sharp from the woman. 'Where is -Euphrosyne?' - -'Why, she's a prisoner to that Englishman,' answered Constantine. - -I suppose explanations passed at this point, for the voices fell to a -lower level, as is apt to happen in the telling of a long story, and I -could not catch what was said till Constantine's tones rose again as -he remarked: - -'Oh, yes; we must have a try at getting her out, just to satisfy the -people. For me, she might stay there as long as she likes, for I care -for her just as little as, between ourselves, I believe she cares for -me.' - -Really this fellow was a very tidy villain; as a pair, Vlacho and he -would be hard to beat--in England, at all events. About Neopalia I had -learned to reserve my opinion. Such were my reflections as I turned to -resume my interrupted crawl to safety. But in an instant I was still -again--still, and crouching close under the wall, motionless as an -insect that feigns death, holding my breath, my hand on the trigger. -For the door of the cottage was flung open, and Constantine and Vlacho -appeared on the threshold. - -'Ah,' said Vlacho, 'dawn is near. See, it grows lighter on the -horizon.' - -A more serious matter was that, owing to the open door and the lamp -inside, it had grown lighter on the verandah, so light that I saw the -three figures--for the woman had come also--in the doorway, so light -that my huddled shape would be seen if any of the three turned an eye -towards it. I could have picked off both men before they could move; -but a civilised education has drawbacks; it makes a man scrupulous; I -did not fire. I lay still, hoping that I should not be noticed. And I -should not have been noticed but for one thing. Acting up to his part -in the ghastly farce which these two ruffians were playing with the -wife of one of them, Constantine turned to bestow kisses on the woman -before he parted from her. Vlacho, in a mockery that was horrible to -me who knew his heart, must needs be facetious. With a laugh he drew -back; he drew back farther still; he was but a couple of feet from the -wall of the house; and that couple of feet I filled. In a moment, with -one step backwards, he would be upon me. Perhaps he would not have -made that step; perhaps I should have gone, by grace of that narrow -interval, undetected. But the temptation was too strong for me. The -thought of the thing threatened to make me laugh. I had a pen-knife in -my pocket. I opened it, and dug it hard into that portion of Vlacho's -frame which came most conveniently and prominently to my hand. Then, -leaving the pen-knife where it was, I leapt up, gave the howling -ruffian a mighty shove, and with a loud laugh of triumph bolted for my -life down the hill. But when I had gone twenty yards I dropped on my -knees, for bullet after bullet whistled over my head. Constantine, the -outraged Vlacho too, perhaps, carried a revolver! Their barrels were -being emptied after me. I rose and turned one hasty glance behind me. -Yes, I saw their dim shapes like moving trees. I fired once, twice, -thrice, in my turn, and then went crashing and rushing down the path -that I had ascended so cautiously. I cannoned against the tree trunks; -I tripped over trailing branches; I stumbled over stones. Once I -paused and fired the rest of my barrels. A yell told me I had hit--but -Vlacho, alas, not Constantine; I knew the voice. At the same instant -my fire was returned, and a bullet went through my hat. I was -defenceless now, save for my heels, and to them I took again with all -speed. But as I crashed along, one at least of them came crashing -after me. Yes, it was only one! I had checked Vlacho's career. It was -Constantine alone. I suppose one of your heroes of romance would have -stopped and faced him, for with them it is not etiquette to run away -from one man. Ah, well, I ran away. For all I knew, Constantine might -still have a shot in the locker; I had none. And if Constantine killed -me, he would kill the only man who knew all his secrets. So I ran. And -just as I got within ten yards of the drop into my own territory, I -heard a wild cry, 'Charley! Charley! Where the devil are you, -Charley?' - -'Why, here, of course,' said I, coming to the top of the bank and -dropping over. - -I have no doubt that it was the cry uttered by Denny which gave pause -to Constantine's pursuit. He would not desire to face all four of us. -At any rate the sound of his pursuing feet died away and ceased. I -suppose he went back to look after Vlacho, and show himself safe and -sound to that most unhappy woman, his wife. As for me, when I found -myself safe and sound in the compound, I said, 'Thank God!' And I -meant it too. Then I looked round. Certainly the sight that met my -eyes had a touch of comedy in it. - -Denny, Hogvardt and Watkins stood in the compound. Their backs were -towards me, and they were all staring up at the roof of the kitchen, -with expressions which the cold light of morning revealed in all their -puzzled foolishness. And on the top of the roof, unassailable and out -of reach--for no ladder ran from roof to ground now--stood Euphrosyne, -in her usual attitude of easy grace. Euphrosyne was not taking the -smallest notice of the helpless three below, but stood quite still -with unmoved face, gazing up towards the cottage. The whole thing -reminded me of nothing so much as of a pretty composed cat in a tree, -with three infuriated helpless terriers barking round the trunk. I -began to laugh. - -'What's all the shindy?' called out Denny. 'Who's doing -revolver-practice in the wood? And how the dickens did she get there, -Charley?' - -But when the still figure on the roof saw me, the impassivity of it -vanished. Euphrosyne leant forward, clasping her hands, and said to -me: - -'Have you killed him?' - -The question vexed me. It would have been civil to accompany it, at -all events, with an inquiry as to my own health. - -'Killed him?' I answered gruffly. 'No, he's sound enough.' - -'And--' she began; but now she glanced, seemingly for the first time, -at my friends below. 'You must come and tell me,' she said, and with -that she turned and disappeared from our gaze behind the battlements. -I listened intently. No sound came from the wood that rose grey in the -new light behind us. - -'What have you been doing?' demanded Denny surlily; he had not enjoyed -Euphrosyne's scornful attitude. - -'I have been running for my life,' said I, 'from the biggest -scoundrels unhanged. Denny, make a guess who lives in that cottage.' - -'Constantine?' - -'I don't mean him.' - -'Not Vlacho--he's at the inn.' - -'No, I don't mean Vlacho.' - -'Who then, man?' - -'Someone you've seen.' - -'Oh, I give it up. It's not the time of day for riddles.' - -'The lady who dined at the next table to ours at the Optimum,' said I. - -Denny jumped back in amazement, with a long low whistle. - -'What, the one who was with Constantine?' he cried. - -'Yes,' said I, 'the one who was with Constantine.' - -They were all three round me now; and thinking that it would be better -that they should know what I knew, and four lives instead of one stand -between a ruffian and the impunity he hoped for, I raised my voice and -went on in an emphatic tone, - -'Yes. She's there, and she's his wife.' - -A moment's astonished silence greeted my announcement. It was broken -by none of our party. But there came from the battlemented roof above -us a low, long, mournful moan that made its way straight to the heart, -armed with its dart of outraged pride and trust betrayed. It was not -thus, boldly and abruptly, that I should have told my news. But I did -not know that Euphrosyne was still above us, hidden by the -battlements. We all looked up. The moan was not repeated. Presently we -heard slow steps retreating, with a faltering tread, across the roof; -and we also went into the house in silence and sorrow. For a thing -like that gets hold of a man; and when he has heard it, it is hard for -him to sit down and be merry, until the fellow that caused it has paid -his reckoning. I swore then and there that Constantine Stefanopoulos -should pay his. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE POEM OF ONE-EYED ALEXANDER - - -There is a matter on my conscience which I cannot excuse but may as -well confess. To deceive a maiden is a very sore thing, so sore that -it had made us all hot against Constantine; but it may be doubted by a -cool mind whether it is worse, nay, whether it is not more venial than -to contrive the murder of a lawful wife. Poets have paid more -attention to the first offence--maybe they know more about it--the law -finds greater employment, on the whole, in respect to the second. For -me, I admit that it was not till I found myself stretched on a -mattress in the kitchen, with the idea of getting a few hours' sleep, -that it struck me that Constantine's wife deserved a share of my -concern and care. Her grievance against him was at least as great as -Euphrosyne's; her peril was far greater. For Euphrosyne was his -object; Francesca (for that appeared from Vlacho's mode of address to -be her name) was an obstacle which prevented him attaining that -object. For myself I should have welcomed a cut throat if it came as -an alternative to Constantine's society; but probably his wife would -not agree with me, and the conversation I had heard left me in little -doubt that her life was not safe. They could not have an epidemic, -Vlacho had prudently reminded his master; the island fever could not -kill Constantine's wife and our party all in a day or two. Men suspect -such an obliging malady, and the old lord had died of it, pat to the -happy moment, already. But if the thing could be done, if it could be -so managed that London, Paris, and the Riviera would find nothing -strange in the disappearance of one Madame Stefanopoulos and the -appearance of another, why, to a certainty, done the thing would be, -unless I could warn or save the woman in the cottage. But I did not -see how to do either. So (as I set out to confess) I dropped the -subject. And when I went to sleep I was thinking not how to save -Francesca, but how to console Euphrosyne, a matter really of less -urgency, as I should have seen had not the echo of that sad little cry -still filled my ears. - -The news which Hogvardt brought me when I rose in the morning, and was -enjoying a slice of cow-steak, by no means cleared my way. An actual -attack did not seem imminent--I fancy these fierce islanders were not -too fond of our revolvers--but the house was, if I may use the term, -carefully picketed, and that both before and behind. Along the road -which approached it in front there stood sentries at intervals. They -were stationed just out of range of our only effective long-distance -weapon, but it was evident that egress on that side was barred. And -the same was the case on the other; Hogvardt had seen men moving in -the wood, and had heard their challenges to one another repeated at -regular intervals. We were shut off from the sea; we were shut off -from the cottage. A blockade would reduce us as surely as an attack. I -had nothing to offer except the release of Euphrosyne. And to release -Euphrosyne would, in all likelihood, not save us, while it would leave -Constantine free to play out his relentless game to its appointed end. - -I finished my breakfast in some perplexity of spirit. Then I went and -sat in the hall, expecting that Euphrosyne would appear from her room -before long. I was alone, for the rest were engaged in various -occupations, Hogvardt being particularly busy over a large handful of -hunting knives which he had gleaned from the walls; I did not -understand what he wanted with them, unless he meant to arm himself in -porcupine fashion. - -Presently Euphrosyne came, but it was a transformed Euphrosyne. The -kilt, knee-breeches, and gaiters were gone; in their place was the -white linen garment with flowing sleeves and the loose jacket over it, -the national dress of the Greek woman; but Euphrosyne's was ornamented -with a rare profusion of delicate embroidery, and of so fine a texture -that it seemed rather some delicate, soft, yielding silk. The change -of attire seemed reflected in her altered manner. Defiance was gone, -and appeal glistened from her eyes as she stood before me. I sprang -up, but she would not sit. She stood there, and, raising her glance to -my face, asked simply: - -'Is it true?' - -In a business-like way I told her the whole story, starting from the -every-day scene at home in the restaurant, ending with the villainous -conversation and the wild chase of the night before. When I related -how Constantine had called Francesca his wife, Euphrosyne started. -While I sketched lightly my encounter with him and Vlacho, she eyed me -with a sort of grave curiosity; and at the end she said: - -'I'm glad you weren't killed.' - -It was not an emotional speech, nor delivered with any _empressement_, -but I took it for thanks and made the best of it. Then at last she sat -down and rested her head on her hand; her absent reverie allowed me -to study her closely, and I was struck by a new beauty which the -fantastic boy's disguise had concealed. Moreover, with the doffing of -that, she seemed to have put off her extreme hostility; but perhaps -the revelation I had made to her, which showed her the victim of an -unscrupulous schemer, had more to do with her softened air. Yet she -had borne the story firmly, and a quivering lip was her extreme sign -of grief or anger. And her first question was not of herself. - -'Do you mean that they will kill this woman?' she asked. - -'I'm afraid it's not unlikely that something will happen to her, -unless, of course--' I paused, but her quick wit supplied the -omission. - -'Unless,' she said, 'he lets her live now, because I am out of his -hands?' - -'Will you stay out of his hands?' I asked. 'I mean, as long as I can -keep you out of them.' - -She looked round with a troubled expression. - -'How can I stay here?' she said in a low tone. - -'You will be as safe here now as you were in your uncle's care,' I -answered. - -She acknowledged my promise with a movement of her head; but a moment -later she cried: - -'But I am not with you--I am with the people! The island is theirs -and mine. It's not yours. I'll have no part in giving it to you.' - -'I wasn't proposing to take pay for my hospitality,' said I. 'It'll be -hardly handsome enough for that, I'm afraid. But mightn't we leave the -question for the moment?' And I described briefly to her our present -position. - -'So that,' I concluded, 'while I maintain my claim to the island, I am -at present more interested in keeping a whole skin on myself and my -friends.' - -'If you will not give it up, I can do nothing,' said she. 'Though they -knew Constantine to be all you say, yet they would follow him and not -me if I yielded the island. Indeed they would most likely follow him -in any case. For the Neopalians like a man to follow, and they like -that man to be a Stefanopoulos; so they would shut their eyes to much, -in order that Constantine might marry me and become lord.' - -She stated all this in a matter-of-fact way, disclosing no great -horror of her countrymen's moral standard. The straightforward -barbarousness of it perhaps appealed to her a little; she loathed the -man who would rule on those terms, but had some toleration for the -people who set the true dynasty above all else. And she spoke of her -proposed marriage as though it were a natural arrangement. - -'I shall have to marry him, I expect, in spite of everything,' she -said. - -I pushed my chair back violently. My English respectability was -appalled. - -'Marry him?' I cried. 'Why, he murdered the old lord!' - -'That has happened before among the Stefanopouloi,' said Euphrosyne, -with a calmness dangerously near to pride. - -'And he proposes to murder his wife,' I added. - -'Perhaps he will get rid of her without that.' She paused; then came -the anger I had looked for before. 'Ah, but how dared he swear that he -had thought of none but me, and loved me passionately? He shall pay -for that!' Again it was injured pride which rang in her voice, as in -her first cry. It did not sound like love; and for that I was glad. -The courtship probably had been an affair of state rather than of -affection. I did not ask how Constantine was to be made to pay, -whether before or after marriage. I was struggling between horror and -amusement at my guest's point of view. But I take leave to have a will -of my own, even sometimes in matters which are not exactly my concern; -and I said now, with a composure that rivalled Euphrosyne's: - -'It's out of the question that you should marry him. I'm going to get -him hanged; and, anyhow, it would be atrocious.' - -She smiled at that; but then she leant forward and asked: - -'How long have you provisions for?' - -'That's a good retort,' I admitted. 'A few days, that's all. And we -can't get out to procure any more; and we can't go shooting, because -the wood's infested with these ruff--I beg pardon--with your -countrymen.' - -'Then it seems to me,' said Euphrosyne, 'that you and your friends are -more likely to be hanged.' - -Well, on a dispassionate consideration, it did seem more likely; but -she need not have said so. She went on with an equally discouraging -good sense: - -'There will be a boat from Rhodes in about a month or six weeks. The -officer will come then to take the tribute; perhaps the Governor will -come. But till then nobody will visit the island, unless it be a few -fishermen from Cyprus.' - -'Fishermen? Where do they land? At the harbour?' - -'No; my people do not like them; but the Governor threatens to send -troops if we do not let them land. So they come to a little creek at -the opposite end of the island, on the other side of the mountain. Ah, -what are you thinking of?' - -As Euphrosyne perceived, her words had put a new idea in my mind. If I -could reach that creek and find the fishermen and persuade them to -help me or to carry my party off, that hanging might happen to the -right man after all. - -'You're thinking you can reach them?' she cried. - -'You don't seem sure that you want me to,' I observed. - -'Oh, how can I tell what I want? If I help you I am betraying the -island. If I do not--' - -'You'll have a death or two at your door, and you'll marry the biggest -scoundrel in Europe,' said I. - -She hung her head and plucked fretfully at the embroidery on the front -of her gown. - -'But anyhow you couldn't reach them,' she said. 'You are close -prisoners here.' - -That, again, seemed true, so that it put me in a very bad temper. -Therefore I rose and, leaving her without much ceremony, strolled into -the kitchen. Here I found Watkins dressing the cow's head, Hogvardt -surrounded by knives, and Denny lying on a rug on the floor with a -small book which he seemed to be reading. He looked up with a smile -that he considered knowing. - -'Well, what does the Captive Queen say?' he asked with levity. - -'She proposes to marry Constantine,' I answered, and added quickly to -Hogvardt: - -'What's the game with those knives, Hog?' - -'Well, my lord,' said Hogvardt, surveying his dozen murderous -instruments, 'I thought there was no harm in putting an edge on them, -in case we should find a use for them,' and he fell to grinding one -with great energy. - -'I say, Charley, I wonder what this yarn's about. I can't construe -half of it. It's in Greek, and it's something about Neopalia; and -there's a lot about a Stefanopoulos.' - -'Is there? Let's see,' and, taking the book, I sat down to look at it. -It was a slim old book, bound in calf-skin. The Greek was written in -an old-fashioned style; it was verse. I turned to the title page. -'Hullo, this is rather interesting,' I exclaimed. 'It's about the -death of old Stefanopoulos--the thing they sing that song about, you -know.' - -In fact I had got hold of the poem which One-Eyed Alexander composed. -Its length was about three hundred lines, exclusive of the refrain -which the islanders had chanted, and which was inserted six times, -occurring at the end of each fifty lines. The rest was written in -rather barbarous iambics; and the sentiments were quite as barbarous -as the verse. It told the whole story, and I ran rapidly over it, -translating here and there for the benefit of my companions. The -arrival of the Baron d'Ezonville recalled our own with curious -exactness, except that he came with one servant only. He had been -taken to the inn as I had, but he had never escaped from there, and -had been turned adrift the morning after his arrival. I took more -interest in Stefan, and followed eagerly the story of how the -islanders had come to his house and demanded that he should revoke the -sale. Stefan, however, was obstinate; it cost the lives of four of his -assailants before his door was forced. Thus far I read, and expected -to find next an account of a _melee_ in the hall. But here the story -took a turn unexpected by me, one that might make the reading of the -old poem more than a mere pastime. - -'But when they had broken in,' sang One-Eyed Alexander, 'behold the -hall was empty, and the house empty! And they stood amazed. But the -two cousins of the Lord, who had been the hottest in seeking his -death, put all the rest to the door, and were themselves alone in the -house; for the secret was known to them who were of the blood of the -Stefanopouloi. Unto me, the Bard, it is not known. Yet men say they -went beneath the earth, and there in the earth found the lord. And -certain it is they slew him, for in a space they came forth to the -door, bearing his head; this they showed to the people, who answered -with a great shout. But the cousins went back, barring the door again; -and again, when but a few minutes had passed, they came forth, opening -the door, and the elder of them, being now by the traitor's death -become lord, bade the people in, and made a great feast for them. But -the head of Stefan none saw again, nor did any see his body; but body -and head were gone whither none know, saving the noble blood of the -Stefanopouloi; for utterly they disappeared, and the secret was -securely kept.' - -I read this passage aloud, translating as I went. At the end Denny -drew a breath. - -'Well, if there aren't ghosts in this house there ought to be,' he -remarked. 'What the deuce did those rascals do with the old gentleman, -Charley?' - -'It says they went beneath the earth.' - -'The cellar,' suggested Hogvardt, who had a prosaic mind. - -'But they wouldn't leave the body in the cellar,' I objected; 'and if, -as this fellow says, they were only away a few minutes, they couldn't -have dug a grave for it. And then it says that they "there in the -earth found the lord."' - -'It would have been more interesting,' said Denny, 'if they'd told -Alexander a bit more about it. However I suppose he consoles himself -with his chant again?' - -'He does. It follows immediately on what I've read, and so the thing -ends.' And I sat looking at the little yellow volume. 'Where did you -find it, Denny?' I asked. - -'Oh, on a shelf in the corner of the hall, between the _Iliad_ and a -_Life of Byron_. There's precious little to read in this house.' - -I got up and walked back to the hall. I looked round. Euphrosyne was -not there. I inspected the hall door; it was still locked on the -inside. I mounted the stairs and called at the door of her room; when -no answer came, I pushed it open and took the liberty of glancing -round; she was not there. I called again, for I thought she might have -passed along the way over the hall and reached the roof, as she had -before. This time I called loudly. Silence followed for a moment. Then -came an answer, in a hurried, rather apologetic tone, 'Here I am.' But -then--the answer came not from the direction that I had expected, but -from the hall! And, looking over the balustrade, I saw Euphrosyne -sitting in the armchair. - -'This,' said I, going downstairs, 'taken in conjunction with -this'--and I patted One-Eyed Alexander's book, which I held in my -hand--'is certainly curious and suggestive.' - -'Here I am,' said Euphrosyne, with an air that added, 'I've not moved. -What are you shouting for?' - -'Yes, but you weren't there a minute ago,' I observed, reaching the -hall and walking across to her. - -She looked disturbed and embarrassed. - -'Where have you been?' I asked. - -'Must I give an account of every movement?' said she, trying to cover -her confusion with a show of haughty offence. - -The coincidence was really a remarkable one; it was as hard to account -for Euphrosyne's disappearance and reappearance as for the vanished -head and body of old Stefan. I had a conviction, based on a sudden -intuition, that one explanation must lie at the root of both these -curious things, that the secret of which Alexander spoke was a secret -still hidden--hidden from my eyes, but known to the girl before me, -the daughter of the Stefanopouloi. - -'I won't ask you where you've been, if you don't wish to tell me,' -said I carelessly. - -She bowed her head in recognition of my indulgence. - -'But there is one question I should like to ask you,' I pursued, 'if -you'll be so kind as to answer it.' - -'Well, what is it?' She was still on the defensive. - -'Where was Stefan Stefanopoulos killed, and what became of his body?' - -As I put the question I flung One-Eyed Alexander's book open on the -table beside her. - -She started visibly, crying, 'Where did you get that?' - -I told her how Denny had found it, and I added: - -'Now, what does "beneath the earth" mean? You're one of the house and -you must know.' - -'Yes, I know, but I must not tell you. We are all bound by the most -sacred oath to tell no one.' - -'Who told you?' - -'My uncle. The boys of our house are told when they are fifteen, the -girls when they are sixteen. No one else knows.' - -'Why is that?' - -She hesitated, fearing, perhaps, that her answer itself would tend to -betray the secret. - -'I dare tell you nothing,' she said. 'The oath binds me; and it binds -every one of my kindred to kill me if I break it.' - -'But you've no kindred left except Constantine,' I objected. - -'He is enough. He would kill me.' - -'Sooner than marry you?' I suggested rather maliciously. - -'Yes, if I broke the oath.' - -'Hang the oath!' said I impatiently. 'The thing might help us. Did -they bury Stefan somewhere under the house?' - -'No, he was not buried,' she answered. - -'Then they brought him up and got rid of his body when the islanders -had gone?' - -'You must think what you will.' - -'I'll find it out,' said I. 'If I pull the house down, I'll find it. -Is it a secret door or--? - -She had coloured at the question. I put the latter part in a low eager -voice, for hope had come to me. - -'Is it a way out?' I asked, leaning over to her. - -She sat mute, but irresolute, embarrassed and fretful. - -'Heavens,' I cried impatiently, 'it may mean life or death to all of -us, and you boggle over your oath!' - -My rude impatience met with a rebuke that it perhaps deserved. With a -glance of the utmost scorn, Euphrosyne asked coldly, - -'What are the lives of all of you to me?' - -'True, I forgot,' said I, with a bitter politeness. 'I beg your -pardon. I did you all the service I could last night, and now--I and -my friends may as well die as live! But, by God, I'll pull this place -to ruins, but I'll find your secret.' - -I was walking up and down now in a state of some excitement. My brain -was fired with the thought of stealing a march on Constantine through -the discovery of his own family secret. - -Suddenly Euphrosyne gave a little soft clap with her hands. It was -over in a minute, and she sat blushing, confused, trying to look as if -she had not moved at all. - -'What did you do that for?' I asked, stopping in front of her. - -'Nothing,' said Euphrosyne. - -'Oh, I don't believe that,' said I. - -She looked at me. 'I didn't mean to do it,' she said. 'But can't you -guess why?' - -'There's too much guessing to be done here,' said I impatiently; and I -started walking again. But presently I heard a voice say softly, and -in a tone that seemed to address nobody in particular--me least of -all: - -'We Neopalians like a man who can be angry, and I began to think you -never would.' - -'I am not the least angry,' said I with great indignation. I hate -being told that I am angry when I am merely showing firmness. - -Now at this protest of mine Euphrosyne saw fit to laugh--the most -hearty laugh she had given since I had known her. The mirthfulness of -it undermined my wrath. I stood still opposite her, biting the end of -my moustache. - -'You may laugh,' said I, 'but I'm not angry; and I shall pull this -house down, or dig it up, in cold blood, in perfectly cold blood.' - -'You are angry,' said Euphrosyne, 'and you say you're not. You are -like my father. He would stamp his foot furiously like that, and say, -"I am not angry, I am not angry, Phroso."' - -Phroso! I had forgotten that diminutive of my guest's classical name. -It rather pleased me, and I repeated gently after her, 'Phroso, -Phroso!' and I'm afraid I eyed the little foot that had stamped so -bravely. - -'He always called me Phroso. Oh, I wish he were alive! Then -Constantine--' - -'Since he isn't,' said I, sitting on the table by Phroso (I must write -it, it's a deal shorter),--by Phroso's elbow--'since he isn't, I'll -look after Constantine. It would be a pity to spoil the house, -wouldn't it?' - -'I've sworn,' said Phroso. - -'Circumstances alter oaths,' said I, bending till I was very near -Phroso's ear. - -'Ah,' said Phroso reproachfully, 'that's what lovers say when they -find another more beautiful than their old love.' - -I shot away from Phroso's ear with a sudden backward start. Her remark -somehow came home to me with a very remarkable force. I got off the -table, and stood opposite to her in an awkward and stiff attitude. - -'I am compelled to ask you, for the last time, if you will tell me the -secret?' said I, in the coldest of tones. - -She looked up with surprise; my altered manner may well have amazed -her. She did not know the reason of it. - -'You asked me kindly and--and pleasantly, and I would not. Now you ask -me as if you threatened,' she said. 'Is it likely I should tell you -now?' - -Well, I was angry with myself and with her because she had made me -angry with myself; and, the next minute, I became furiously angry with -Denny, whom I found standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen -with a smile of intense amusement on his face. - -'What are you grinning at?' I demanded fiercely. - -'Oh, nothing,' said Denny, and his face strove to assume a prudent -gravity. - -'Bring a pickaxe,' said I. - -Denny's eyes wandered towards Phroso. 'Is she as annoying as that?' he -seemed to ask. 'A pickaxe?' he repeated in surprised tones. - -'Yes, two pickaxes. I'm going to have this floor up, and see if I can -find out the great Stefanopoulos secret.' I spoke with an accent of -intense scorn. - -Again Phroso laughed; her hands beat very softly against one another. -Heavens, what did she do that for, when Denny was there, watching -everything with those shrewd eyes of his? - -'The pickaxes!' I roared. - -Denny turned and fled; a moment elapsed. I did not know what to do, -how to look at Phroso, or how not to look at her. I took refuge in -flight. I rushed into the kitchen, on pretence of aiding or hastening -Denny's search. I found him taking up an old pick that stood near the -door leading to the compound. I seized it from his hand. - -'Confound you!' I cried, for Denny laughed openly at me; and I rushed -back to the hall. But on the threshold I paused, and said what I will -not write. - -For, though there came from somewhere the ripple of a mirthful laugh, -the hall was empty! Phroso was gone! I flung the pickaxe down with a -clatter on the boards, and exclaimed in my haste: - -'I wish to heaven I'd never bought the island!' - -But I did not really mean that. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE SECRET OF THE STEFANOPOULOI - - -Was this a pantomime? For a moment I declared angrily that it was no -better; but the next instant changed the current of my feelings, -transforming irritation into alarm and perplexity into the strongest -excitement. For Phroso's laugh ended--ended as a laugh ends that is -suddenly cut short in its career of mirth--and there was a second of -absolute stillness. Then from the front of the house, and from the -back, came the sharp sound of shots--three in rapid succession in -front, four behind. Denny rushed out from the kitchen, rifle in hand. - -'They're at us on both sides!' he cried, leaping to his perch at the -window and cautiously peering round. 'Hogvardt and Watkins are ready -at the back; they're firing from the wood,' he went on. Then he fired. -'Missed, confound it!' he muttered. 'Well, they don't come any nearer, -I'll see to that.' - -Denny was a sure defence in front. I turned towards the kitchen, for -more shots came from that direction, and although it was difficult to -do worse than harass us from there, our perpendicular bank of rock -being a difficult obstacle to pass in face of revolver-fire, I wanted -to see that all was well and to make the best disposition against this -unexpected onset. Yet I did not reach the kitchen; half way to the -door which led to it I was arrested by a cry of distress. Phroso's -laugh had gone, but the voice was still hers. 'Help!' she cried, -'help!' Then came a chuckle from Denny at the window, and a -triumphant, 'Winged him, by Jove!' And then from Phroso again, -'Help!'--and at last an enlightening word, 'Help! Under the staircase! -Help!' - -At this summons I left my friends to sustain the attack or the feigned -attack; for I began to suspect that it was no more than a diversion, -and that the real centre of operations was 'under the staircase;' -thither I ran. The stairs rose from the centre of the right side of -the hall, and led up to the gallery; they rose steeply, and a man -could stand upright up to within four feet of the spot where the -staircase sprang from the level floor. I was there now; and under me I -heard no longer voices, but a kind of scuffle. The pick was in my -hand, and I struck savagely again and again at the boards; for I did -not doubt now that there was a trap-door, and I was in no mind to -spend my time seeking for its cunning machinery. And yet where -knowledge failed, chance came to my help; at the fifth or sixth blow I -must have happened on the spring, for the boards yawned, leaving a -space of about three inches. Dropping the pick, I fell on my knees and -seized the edge nearest me. With all my strength I tugged and pulled. -My violence was of no avail, the boards moved no more. Impatient yet -sobered I sought eagerly for the spring which my pick had found. Ah, -here it was! It answered now to a touch light as Phroso's own. At the -slightest pressure the boards rolled away, seeming to curl themselves -up under the base of the staircase; and there was revealed to me an -aperture four feet long by three broad; beneath lay a flight of stone -steps. I seized my pick again, and took a step downwards. I heard -nothing except the noise of retreating feet. I went on. Down six steps -I went, then the steps ended, and I was on an incline. At that moment -I heard again, only a few yards from me, 'Help!' I sprang forward. A -loud curse rang out, and a shot whistled by me. The open trap-door -gave a glimmer of light. I was in a narrow passage, and a man was -coming at me. I did not know where Phroso was, but I took the risk. I -fired straight at him, having shifted my pick to the left hand. The -aim was true, he fell prone on his face before me. I jumped on and -over his body, and ran along the dark passage; for I still heard -retreating steps. But then came a voice I knew, the voice of Vlacho -the innkeeper. 'Then stay where you are, curse you!' he cried -savagely. There was a thud, as though some one fell heavily to the -ground, a cry of pain, and then the rapid running of feet that fled -now at full pace and unencumbered. Vlacho the innkeeper had heard my -shot and had no stomach for fighting in that rat-run, with a girl in -his arms to boot! And I, pursuing, was brought up short by the body of -Phroso, which lay, white and plain to see, across the narrow passage. - -'Are you hurt?' I cried eagerly. - -'He flung me down violently,' she answered. 'But I'm not hurt -otherwise.' - -'Then I'll go after him,' I cried. - -'No, no, you mustn't. You don't know the way, you don't know the -dangers; there may be more of them at the other end.' - -'True,' said I. 'What happened?' - -'Why, I came down to hide from you, you know. But directly I reached -the foot of the steps Vlacho seized me. He was crouching there with -Spiro--you know Spiro. And they said, "Ah, she has saved us the -trouble!" and began to drag me away. But I would not go, and I called -to you. I twisted my feet round Vlacho, so that he couldn't go fast; -then he told Spiro to catch hold of me, and they were just carrying me -off when you came. Vlacho kept hold of me while Spiro went to meet you -and--' - -'It seems,' I interrupted, 'that Constantine was less scrupulous about -that oath than you were. Or how did Vlacho and Spiro come here?' - -'Yes, he must have told them,' she admitted reluctantly. - -'Well, come along, come back; I'm wanted,' said I; and (without asking -leave, I fear) I caught her up in my arms and began to run back. I -jumped again over Spiro--friend Spiro had not moved--and regained the -hall. - -'Stay there, under the stairs; you're sheltered there,' I said hastily -to Phroso. Then I called to Denny, 'What cheer, Denny?' Denny turned -round with a radiant smile. I don't think he had even noticed my -absence. - -'Prime,' said he. 'This is a rare gun of old Constantine's; it carries -a good thirty yards farther than any they've got, and I can pick 'em -off before they get dangerous. I've got one and winged another, and -the rest have retired a little way to talk it over.' - -Seeing that things were all right in that quarter I ran into the -kitchen. It was well that I did so. We were indeed in no danger; from -that side, at all events, the attack was evidently no more than a -feint. There was desultory firing from a safe distance in the wood. I -reckoned there must be four or five men hidden behind trees and -emerging every now and then to pay us a compliment. But they had not -attempted a rush. The mischief was quite different, being just this, -that Watkins, who was not well instructed in the range of fire-arms, -was cheerfully emptying his revolver into space, and wasting our -precious cartridges at the rate of about two a minute. He was so -magnificently happy that it went to my heart to stop him, but I was -compelled to seize his arm and command him very peremptorily to wait -till there was something to fire at. - -'I thought I'd show them that we were ready for them, my lord,' said -he apologetically. - -I turned impatiently to Hogvardt. - -'Why did you let him make a fool of himself like that?' I asked. - -'He would miss, anyhow, wherever the men were,' observed Hogvardt -philosophically. 'And,' he continued, 'I was busy myself.' - -'What were you doing?' I asked in a scornful tone. - -Hogvardt made no answer in words; but he pointed proudly to the -table. There I saw a row of five long and strong saplings; to the head -of each of these most serviceable lances there was bound strongly, -with thick wire wound round again and again, a long, keen, bright -knife. - -'I think these may be useful,' said Hogvardt, rubbing his hands, and -rising from his seat with the sigh of a man who had done a good -morning's work. - -'The cartridges would have been more useful still,' said I severely. - -'Yes,' he admitted, 'if you would have taken them away from Watkins. -But you know you wouldn't, my lord. You'd be afraid of hurting his -feelings. So he might just as well amuse himself while I made the -lances.' - -I have known Hogvardt for a long while, and I never argue with him. -The mischief was done; the cartridges were gone; we had the lances; it -was no use wasting more words over it. I shrugged my shoulders. - -'Your lordship will find the lances very useful,' said Hogvardt, -fingering one of them most lovingly. - -The attack was dying away now in both front and rear. My impression -was amply confirmed. It had been no more than a device for occupying -our attention while those two daring rascals, Vlacho and Spiro, armed -with the knowledge of the secret way, made a sudden dash upon us, -either in the hope of getting a shot at our backs and finding shelter -again before we could retaliate, or with the design of carrying off -Phroso. Her jest had forestalled the former idea, if it had been in -their minds, and they had then endeavoured to carry out the latter. -Indeed I found afterwards that it was the latter on which Constantine -laid most stress; for a deputation of the islanders had come to him, -proposing that he should make terms with me as a means of releasing -their Lady. Now since last night Constantine, for reasons which he -could not disclose to the deputation, was absolutely precluded from -treating with me; he was therefore driven to make an attempt to get -Phroso out of my hands in order to satisfy her people. This enterprise -I had happily frustrated for the moment. But my mind was far from -easy. Provisions would soon be gone; ammunition was scanty; against an -attack by day our strong position, aided by Denny's coolness and -marksmanship, seemed to protect us very effectually; but I could feel -no confidence as to the result of a grand assault under the protecting -shadow of night. And now that Constantine's hand was being forced by -the islanders' anxiety for Phroso, I was afraid that he would not -wait long before attempting a decisive stroke. - -'I wish we were well out of it,' said I despondently, as I wiped my -brow. - -All was quiet. Watkins appeared with bread, cheese and wine. - -'Your lordship would not wish to use the cow at luncheon?' he asked, -as he passed me on his way to the hall. - -'Certainly not, Watkins,' I answered, smiling. 'We must save the cow.' - -'There is still a goat, but she is a poor thin creature, my lord.' - -'We shall come to her in time, Watkins,' said I. - -But if I were depressed, the other three were very merry over their -meal. Danger was an idea which found no hospitality in Denny's brain; -Hogvardt was as cool a hand as the world held; Watkins could not -believe that Providence would deal unkindly with a man of my rank. -They toasted our recent success, and listened with engrossed interest -to my account of the secret of the Stefanopouloi. Phroso sat a little -apart, saying nothing, but at last I turned to her and asked, 'Where -does the passage lead to?' - -She answered readily enough; the secret was out through Constantine's -fault, not hers, and the seal was removed from her lips. - -'If you follow it to the end, it comes out in a little cave in the -rocks on the seashore, near the creek where the Cypriote fishermen -come.' - -'Ah,' I cried, 'it might help us to get there!' - -She shook her head, answering: - -'Constantine is sure to have that end strongly guarded now, because he -knows that you have the secret.' - -'We might force our way.' - -'There is no room for more than one man to go at a time; and -besides--' she paused. - -'Well, what besides?' I asked. - -'It would be certain death to try to go in the face of an enemy' she -answered. - -Denny broke in at this point. - -'By the way, what of the fellow you shot? Are we going to leave him -there, or must we get him up?' - -Spiro had been in my mind; and now I said to Phroso: - -'What did they do with the body of Stefan Stefanopoulos? There was not -time for them to have taken it to the end of the way, was there?' - -'No, they didn't take it to the end of the way,' said she. 'I will -show you if you like. Bring a torch; you must keep behind me, and -right in the middle of the path.' - -I accepted her invitation eagerly, telling Denny to keep guard. He was -very anxious to accompany us, but another and more serious attack -might be in store, and I would not trust the house to Hogvardt and -Watkins alone. So I took a lantern in lieu of a torch and prepared to -follow. At the last moment Hogvardt thrust into my hand one of his -lances. - -'It will very likely be useful,' said he. 'A thing like that is always -useful.' - -I would not disappoint him, and I took the lance. Phroso signed to me -to give her the lantern and preceded me down the flight of stairs. - -'We shall be in earshot of the hall?' I asked. - -'Yes, for as far as we are going,' she answered, and she led the way -into the passage. I prayed her to let me go first, for it was just -possible that some of Constantine's ruffians might still be there. - -'I don't think so,' she said. 'He would tell as few as possible. You -see, we have always kept the secret from the islanders. I think that, -if you had not killed Spiro, he would not have lived long after -knowing it.' - -'The deuce!' I exclaimed. 'And Vlacho?' - -'Oh, I don't know. Constantine is very fond of Vlacho. Still, perhaps, -some day--' The unfinished sentence was expressive enough. - -'What use was the secret?' I asked, as we groped our way slowly along -and edged by the body of Spiro which lay, six feet of dead clay, in -the path. - -'In the first place, we could escape by it,' she answered, 'if any -tumult arose in the island. That was what Stefan tried to do, and -would have done, had not his own kindred been against him and -overtaken him here in the passage.' - -'And in the second place?' I asked. - -Phroso stopped, turned round, and faced me. - -'In the second place,' she said, 'if any one of the islanders became -very powerful--too powerful, you know--then the ruling lord would show -him great favour; and, as a crowning mark of his confidence, he would -bid him come by night and learn the great secret; and they two would -come together down this passage. But the lord would return alone.' - -'And the other?' - -'The body of the other would be found two, three, four days, or a week -later, tossing on the shores of the island,' answered Phroso. 'For -look!' and she held the lantern high above her head so that its light -was projected in front of us, and I could see fifteen or twenty yards -ahead. - -'When they reached here, Stefanopoulos and the other,' she went on, -'Stefanopoulos would stumble, and feign to twist his foot, and he -would pray the other to let him lean a little on his shoulder. Thus -they would go on, the other a pace in front, the lord leaning on his -shoulder; and the lord would hold the torch, but he would not hold it -up, as I hold the lantern, but down to the ground, so that it should -light no more than a pace or two ahead. And when they came there--do -you see, my lord--there?' - -'I see,' said I, and I believe I shivered a bit. - -'When they came there the torch would suddenly show the change, so -suddenly that the other would start and be for an instant alarmed, and -turn his head round to the lord to ask what it meant.' - -Phroso paused in her recital of the savage, simple, sufficient old -trick. - -'Yes?' said I. 'And at that moment--' - -'The lord's hand on his shoulder,' she answered, 'which had rested -lightly before, would grow heavy as lead and with a great sudden -impulse the other would be hurled forward, and the lord would be alone -again with the secret, and alone the holder of power in Neopalia.' - -This was certainly a pretty secret of empire, and none the less -although the empire it protected was but nine miles long and five -broad. I took the lantern from Phroso's hand, saying, 'Let's have a -look.' - -I stepped a pace or two forward, prodding the ground with Hogvardt's -lance before I moved my feet: and thus I came to the spot where the -Stefanopoulos used with a sudden great impulse to propel his enemy -down. For here the rocks, which hitherto had narrowly edged and -confined the path, bayed out on either side. The path ran on, a flat -rock track about a couple of feet wide, forming the top of an -upstanding cliff; but on either side there was an interval of seven or -eight feet between the path and the walls of rock, and the path was -unfenced. Even had the Stefanopoulos held his hand and given no -treacherous impulse, it would have needed a cool-headed man to walk -that path by the dim glimmer of a torch. For, kneeling down and -peering over the side, I saw before me, some seventy feet down as I -judged, the dark gleam of water, and I heard the low moan of its wash. -And Phroso said: - -'If the man escaped the sharp rocks he would fall into the water; and -then, if he could not swim, he would sink at once; but if he could -swim he would swim round, and round, and round, like a fish in a bowl, -till he grew weary, unless he chanced to find the only opening; and if -he found that and passed through, he would come to a rapid, where the -water runs swiftly, and he would be dashed on the rocks. Only by a -miracle could he escape death by one or other of these ways. So I was -told when I was of age to know the secret. And it is certain that no -man who fell into the water has escaped alive, although their bodies -came out.' - -'Did Stefan's body come out?' I asked, peering at the dark water with -a fascinated gaze. - -'No, because they tied weights to it before they threw it down, and so -with the head. Stefan is there at the bottom. Perhaps another -Stefanopoulos is there also; for his body was never found. He was -caught by the man he threw down, and the two fell together.' - -'Well, I'm glad of it,' said I with emphasis, as I rose to my feet. 'I -wish the same thing had always happened.' - -'Then,' remarked Phroso with a smile, 'I should not be here to tell -you about it.' - -'Hum,' said I. 'At all events I wish it had generally happened. For a -more villainous contrivance I never heard of in all my life. We -English are not accustomed to this sort of thing.' - -Phroso looked at me for a moment with a strange expression of -eagerness, hesitation and fear. Then she suddenly put out her hand, -and laid it on my arm. - -'I will not go back to my cousin who has wronged me, if--if I may stay -with you,' she said. - -'If you may stay!' I exclaimed with a nervous laugh. - -'But will you protect me? Will you stand by me? Will you swear not to -leave me here alone on the island? If you will, I will tell you -another thing--a thing that would certainly bring me death if it were -known I had told.' - -'Whether you tell me or whether you don't,' said I, 'I'll do what you -ask.' - -'Then you are not the first Englishman who has been here. Seventy -years ago there came an Englishman here, a daring man, a lover of our -people, and a friend of the great Byron. Orestes Stefanopoulos, who -ruled here then, loved him very much, and brought him here, and showed -him the path and the water under it. And he, the Englishman, came next -day with a rope, and fixed the rope at the top, and let himself down. -Somehow, I do not know how, he came safe out to the sea, past the -rocks and the rapids. But, alas, he boasted of it! Then, when the -thing became known, all the family came to Orestes and asked him what -he had done. And he said: - -'"Sup with me this night, and I will tell you." For he saw that what -he had done was known. - -'So they all supped together, and Orestes told them what he had done, -and how he did it for love of the Englishman. They said nothing, but -looked sad; for they loved Orestes. But he did not wait for them to -kill him, as they were bound to do; but he took a great flagon of -wine, and poured into it the contents of a small flask. And his -kindred said: "Well done, Lord Orestes!" And they all rose to their -feet, and drank to him. And he drained the flagon to their good -fortune, and went and lay down on his bed, and turned his face to the -wall and died.' - -I paid less attention to this new episode in the family history of the -Stefanopouloi than it perhaps deserved: my thoughts were with the -Englishman, not with his too generous friend. Yet the thing was -handsomely done--on both sides handsomely done. - -'If the Englishman got out!' I cried, gazing at Phroso's face. - -'Yes, I mean that,' said she simply. 'But it must be dangerous.' - -'It's not exactly safe where we are,' I said, smiling; 'and -Constantine will be guarding the proper path. By Jove, we'll try it!' - -'But I must come with you; for if you go that way and escape, -Constantine will kill me.' - -'You've just as good a right to kill Constantine.' - -'Still he will kill me. You'll take me with you?' - -'To be sure I will,' said I. - -Now when a man pledges his word, he ought, to my thinking, to look -straight and honestly in the eyes of the woman to whom he is -promising. Yet I did not look into Phroso's eyes, but stared -awkwardly over her head at the walls of rock. Then, without any more -words, we turned back and went towards the secret door. But I stopped -at Spiro's body, and said to Phroso: - -'Will you send Denny to me?' - -She went, and when Denny came we took Spiro's body and carried it to -where the walls bayed, and we flung it down into the dark water below. -And I told Denny of the Englishman who had come alive through the -perils of the hidden chasm. He listened with eager attention, nodding -his head at every point of the story. - -[Illustration: WE TOOK SPIRO'S BODY AND FLUNG IT DOWN.] - -'There lies our road, Denny,' said I, pointing with my finger. 'We'll -go along it to-night.' - -Denny looked down, shook his head and smiled. - -'And the girl?' he asked suddenly. - -'She comes too,' said I. - -We walked back together, Denny being unusually silent and serious. I -thought that even his audacious courage was a little dashed by the -sight and the associations of that grim place, so I said: - -'Cheer up. If that other fellow got through the rocks, we can.' - -'Oh, hang the rocks!' said Denny scornfully. 'I wasn't thinking of -them.' - -'Then what are you so glum about?' - -'I was wondering,' said Denny, freeing himself from my arm, 'how -Beatrice Hipgrave would get on with Euphrosyne.' - -I looked at Denny. I tried to feel angry, or even, if I failed in -that, to appear angry. But it was no use. Denny was imperturbable. I -took his arm again. - -'Thanks, old man,' said I. 'I'll remember.' - -For when I considered the very emphatic assertions which I had made to -Denny before we left England, I could not honestly deny that he was -justified in his little reminder. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -A KNIFE AT A ROPE - - -Some modern thinkers, I believe--or perhaps, to be quite safe, I had -better say some modern talkers--profess to estimate the value of life -by reference to the number of distinct sensations which it enables -them to experience. Judged by a similar standard, my island had been, -up to the present time, a brilliant success; it was certainly -fulfilling the function, which Mrs Kennett Hipgrave had appropriated -to it, of whiling away the time that must elapse before my marriage -with her daughter and providing occupation for my thoughts during this -weary interval. The difficulty was that the island seemed disinclined -to restrict itself to this modest sphere of usefulness; it threatened -to monopolise me, and to leave very little of me or my friends, by the -time that it had finished with us. For, although we maintained our -cheerfulness, our position was not encouraging. Had matters been -anything short of desperate above ground it would have been madness to -plunge into that watery hole, whose egress was unknown to us, and to -take such a step on the off-chance of finding at the other end the -Cypriote fishermen, and of obtaining from them either an alliance, or, -if that failed, the means of flight. Yet we none of us doubted that to -take the plunge was the wiser course. I did not believe in the extreme -peril of the passage, for, on further questioning, Phroso told us that -the Englishman had come through, not only alive and well, but also -dry. Therefore there was a path, and along a path that one man can go -four men can go; and Phroso, again attired, at my suggestion, in her -serviceable boy's suit, was the equal of any of us. So we left -considering whether, and fell to the more profitable work of asking -how, to go. Hogvardt and Watkins went off at once to the point of -departure, armed with a pick, a mallet, some stout pegs, and a long -length of rope. All save the last were ready on the premises, and that -last formed always part of Hogvardt's own equipment; he wore it round -his waist, and, I believe, slept in it, like a mediaeval ascetic. -Meanwhile Denny and I kept watch, and Phroso, who seemed out of -humour, disappeared into her own room. - -Our idea was to reach the other end of the journey somewhere about -eight or nine o'clock in the evening. Phroso told us that this hour -was the most favourable for finding the fishermen; they would then be -taking a meal before launching their boats for the fishing-grounds. -Three hours seemed ample time to allow for the journey, for the way -could hardly, however rich it were in windings, be more than three or -four miles long. We determined, therefore, to start at five. At four -Hogvardt and Watkins returned from the underground passage; they had -driven three stout pegs into excavations in the rocky path, and built -them in securely with stones and earth. The rope was tied fast and -firm round the pegs, and the moistness of its end showed the length to -be sufficient. I wished to descend first, but I was at once overruled; -Denny was to lead, Watkins was to follow; then came Hogvardt, then -Phroso, and lastly myself. We arranged all this as we ate a good meal; -then each man stowed away a portion of goat--the goat had died the -death that morning--and tied a flask of wine about him. It was a -quarter to five, and Denny rose to his feet, flinging away his -cigarette. - -'That's my last!' said he, regretfully regarding his empty case. - -His words sounded ominous, but the spirit of action was on us, and we -would not be discouraged. I went to the hall door and fired a shot, -and then did the like at the back. Having thus spent two cartridges -on advertising our presence to the pickets we made without delay for -the passage. With my own hand I closed the door behind us. The secret -of the Stefanopouloi would thus be hidden from profane eyes in the -very likely event of the islanders finding their way into the house in -the course of the next few hours. - -I persuaded Phroso to sit down some little way from the chasm and wait -till we were ready for her; we four went on. Denny was a delightful -boy to deal with on such occasions. He wasted no time in -preliminaries. He gave one hard pull at the rope; it stood the test; -he cast a rapid eye over the wedges; they were strong and strongly -imbedded in the rock. He laid hold of the rope. - -'Don't come after me till I shout,' said he, and he was over the side. -The lantern showed me his descending figure, while Hogvardt and -Watkins held the rope ready to haul him up in case of need. There was -one moment of suspense; then his voice came, distant and cavernous. - -'All right! There's a broad ledge--a foot and a half broad--twenty -feet above the water, and I can see a glimmer of light that looks like -the way out.' - -'This is almost disappointingly simple,' said I. - -'Would your lordship desire me to go next?' asked Watkins. - -'Yes, fire away, Watkins,' said I, now in high good humour. - -'Stand from under, sir,' called Watkins to Denny, and over he went. - -A shout announced his safe arrival. I laid down the lantern and took -hold of the rope. - -'I must hang on to you, Hog,' said I. 'You carry flesh, you see.' - -Hogvardt was calm, smiling and leisurely. - -'When I'm down, my lord,' he said, 'I'll stand ready to catch the -young lady. Give me a call before you start her off.' - -'All right,' I answered. 'I'll go and fetch her directly.' - -Over went old Hogvardt. He groaned once; I suppose he grazed against -the wall; but he descended with perfect safety. Denny called: 'Now -we're ready for her, Charley. Lower away!' And I, turning, began to -walk back to where I had left Phroso. - -My island--I can hardly resist personifying it in the image of some -charming girl, full of tricks and surprises, yet all the while -enchanting--had now behaved well for two hours. The limit of its -endurance seemed to be reached. In another five minutes Phroso and I -would have been safely down the rope and the party re-united at the -bottom, with a fair hope of carrying out prosperously at least the -first part of the enterprise. But it was not to be. My eyes had grown -accustomed to the gloom, and when I went back I left the lantern -standing by the rope. Suddenly, when I was still a few yards from -Phroso, I heard a curious noise, a sort of shuffling sound, rather -like the noise made by a rug or carpet drawn along the floor. I stood -still and listened, turning my my head round to the chasm. The noise -continued for a minute. I took a step in the direction of it. Then I -seemed to see a curious thing. The lantern appeared to get up, raise -itself a foot or so in the air, keeping its light towards me, and -throw itself over the chasm. At the same instant there was a rasp. -Heavens, it was a knife on the rope! A cry came from far down in the -chasm. I darted forward. I rushed to where the walls bayed and the -chasm opened. The shuffling sound had begun again; and in the middle -of the isolated path I saw a dark object. It must be the figure of a -man, a man who had watched our proceedings, unobserved by us, and -seized this chance of separating our party. For a moment--a fatal -moment--I stood aghast, doing nothing. Then I drew my revolver and -fired once--twice--thrice. The bullets whistled along the path, but -the dark figure was no longer to be seen there. But in an instant -there came an answering shot from across the bridge of rock. Denny -shouted wildly to me from below. I fired again; there was a groan, but -two shots flashed at the very same moment. There were two men there, -perhaps more. I stood again for a moment undecided; but I could do no -good where I was. I turned and ran fairly and fast. - -'Come, come,' I cried, when I had reached Phroso. 'Come back, come -back! They've cut the rope and they'll be on us directly.' - -In spite of her amazement she rose as I bade her. We heard feet -running along the passage. They would be across the bridge now. Would -they stop and fire down the chasm? No, they were coming on. We also -went on; a touch of Phroso's practised fingers opened the door for us; -I turned, and in wrath gave the pursuers one more shot. Then I ran up -the stairs and shut the door behind us. We were in the hall again--but -Phroso and I alone. - -A hurried story told her all that had happened. Her breath came quick -and her cheek flushed. - -'The cowards!' she said. 'They dared not attack us when we were all -together!' - -'They will attack us before very long now,' said I, 'and we can't -possibly hold the house against them. Why, they may open that -trap-door any moment.' - -Phroso stepped quickly towards it, and, stooping for a instant, -examined it. 'Yes,' she said, 'they may. I can't fasten it. You spoilt -the fastening with your pick.' - -Hearing this, I stepped close up to the door, reloading my revolver as -I went, and I called out, 'The first man who looks out is a dead man.' - -No sound came from below. Either they were too hurt to attempt the -attack, or, more probably, they preferred the safer and surer way of -surrounding and overwhelming us by numbers from outside. Indeed we -were at our last gasp now; I flung myself despondently into a chair; -but I kept my finger on my weapon and my eye on the trap-door. - -'They cannot get back--our friends--and we cannot get to them,' said -Phroso. - -'No,' said I. Her simple statement was terribly true. - -'And we cannot stay here!' she pursued. - -'They'll be at us in an hour or two at most, I'll warrant. Those -fellows will carry back the news that we are alone here.' - -'And if they come?' she said, fixing her eyes on me. - -'They won't hurt you, will they?' - -'I don't know what Constantine would do; but I don't think the people -will let him hurt me, unless--' - -'Well, unless what?' - -She hesitated, looked at me, looked away again. I believe that my eyes -were now guilty of neglecting the trap-door which I ought to have -watched. - -'Unless what?' I said again. But Phroso grew red and did not answer. - -'Unless you're so foolish as to try to protect me, you mean?' I asked. -'Unless you refuse to give them back what Constantine offers to win -for them--the island?' - -'They will not let you have the island,' she said in a low voice. 'I -dare not face them and tell them it is yours.' - -'Do you admit it's mine?' I asked eagerly. - -A slow smile dawned on Phroso's face, and she held out her hand to me. -Ah, Denny, my conscience, why were you at the bottom of the chasm? I -seized her hand and kissed it. - -'Between friends,' she said softly, 'there is no thine nor mine.' - -Ah, Denny, where were you? I kissed her hand again--and dropped it -like a red-hot coal. - -'But I can't say that to my islanders,' said Phroso, smiling. - -Charming as it was, I wished she had not said it to me. I wished that -she would not speak as she spoke, or look as she looked, or be what -she was. I forgot all about the trap-door. The island was piling -sensations on me. - -At last I got up and went to the table. I found there a scrap of -paper, on which Denny had drawn a fancy sketch of Constantine (to -whom, by the way, he attributed hoofs and a tail). I turned the blank -side uppermost, and took my pencil out of my pocket. I was determined -to put the thing on a business-like footing; so I began: -'Whereas'--which has a cold, legal, business-like sound: - -'Whereas,' I wrote in English, 'this island of Neopalia is mine, I -hereby fully, freely, and absolutely give it to the Lady Euphrosyne, -niece of Stefan Georgios Stefanopoulos, lately Lord of the said -island--Wheatley.' And I made a copy underneath in Greek, and, walking -across to Phroso, handed the paper to her, remarking in a rather -disagreeable tone, 'There you are; that'll put it all straight, I -hope.' And I sat down again, feeling out of humour. I did not like -giving up my island, even to Phroso. Moreover I had the strongest -doubt whether my surrender would be of the least use in saving my -skin. - -I do not know that I need relate what Phroso did when I gave her back -her island. These southern races have picturesque but extravagant -ways. I did not know where to look while she was thanking me, and it -was as much as I could do not to call out, 'Do stop!' However -presently she did stop, but not because I asked her. She was stayed by -a sudden thought which had been in my mind all the while, but now -flashed suddenly into hers. - -'But Constantine?' she said. 'You know his--his secrets. Won't he -still try to kill you?' - -Of course he would if he valued his own neck. For I had sworn to see -him hanged for one murder, and I knew that he meditated another. - -'Oh, don't you bother about that!' said I. 'I expect I can manage -Constantine.' - -'Do you think I'm going to desert you?' she asked in superb -indignation. - -'No, no; of course not,' I protested, rather in a fright. 'I shouldn't -think of accusing you of such a thing.' - -'You know that's what you meant,' said Phroso, a world of reproach in -her voice. - -'My dear lady,' said I, 'getting you into trouble won't get me out of -it, and getting you out may get me out. Take that paper in your hand, -and go back to your people. Say nothing about Constantine just now; -play with him. You know what I've told you, and you won't be deluded -by him. Don't let him see that you know anything of the woman at the -cottage. It won't help you, it may hurt me, and it will certainly -bring her into greater danger; for, if nothing has happened to her -already, yet something may if his suspicions are aroused.' - -'I am to do all this. And what will you do, my lord?' - -'I say, don't call me "my lord"; we say "Lord Wheatley." What am I -going to do? I'm going to make a run for it.' - -'But they'll kill you!' - -'Then shall I stay here?' - -'Yes, stay here.' - -'But Constantine's fellows will be here before long.' - -'You must give yourself up to them, and tell them to bring you to me. -They couldn't hurt you then.' - -Well, I wasn't sure of that, but I pretended to believe it. The truth -is that I dared not tell Phroso what I had actually resolved to do. It -was a risky job, but it was a chance; and it was more than a chance. -It was very like an obligation that a man had no right to shrink from -discharging. Here was I, planning to make Phroso comfortable; that was -right enough. And here was I planning to keep my own skin whole; -well, a man does no wrong in doing that. But what of that unlucky -woman on the hill? I knew friend Constantine would take care that -Phroso should not come within speaking distance of her. Was nobody to -set her on her guard? Was I to leave her to her blind trust of the -ruffian whom she was unfortunate enough to call husband, and of his -tool Vlacho? Now I came to think of it, now that I was separated from -my friends and had no lingering hope of being able to beat Constantine -in fair fight, that seemed hardly the right thing, hardly a thing I -should care to talk about or think about, if I did save my own -precious skin. Would not Constantine teach his wife the secret of the -Stefanopouloi? Urged by these reflections, I made up my mind to play a -little trick on Phroso, and feigned to accept her suggestion that I -should rely on her to save me. Evidently she had great confidence in -her influence now that she held that piece of paper. I had less -confidence in it, for it was clear that Constantine wielded immense -power over these unruly islanders, and I thought it likely enough that -they would demand from Phroso a promise to marry him as the price of -obeying her; then, whether Constantine did or did not promise me my -life, I felt sure that he would do his best to rob me of it. - -Well, time pressed. I rose and unbolted the door of the house. Phroso -sat still. I looked along the road. I saw nobody, but I heard the -blast of the horn which had fallen on my ears once before and had -proved the forerunner of an attack. Phroso also heard it, for she sat -up, saying, 'Hark, they are summoning all the men to the town! That -means they are coming here.' - -But it meant something else also to me; if the men were summoned to -the town there would be fewer for me to elude in the wood. - -'Will they all go?' I asked, as though in mere curiosity. - -'All who are not on some duty,' she answered. - -I had to hope for the best; but Phroso went on in distress: - -'It means that they are coming here--here, to take you.' - -'Then you must lose no time in going,' said I, and I took her hand and -gently raised her to her feet. She stood there for a moment, looking -at me. I had let go her hand, but she took mine again now, and she -said with a sudden vehemence, and a rush of rich deep red on her -cheeks: - -'If they kill you, they shall kill me too.' - -The words gushed impetuously from her, but at the end there was a -choke in her throat. - -'No, no, nonsense,' said I. 'You've got the island now. You mustn't -talk like that.' - -'I don't care--' she began; and stopped short. - -'Besides, I shall pull through,' said I. - -She dropped my hand, but she kept her eyes on mine. - -'And if you get away?' she asked. 'What will you do? If you get to -Rhodes, what will you do?' - -'All I shall do is to lay an information against your cousin and the -innkeeper. The rest are ignorant fellows, and I bear them no malice. -Besides, they are your men now.' - -'And when you've done that?' she asked gravely. - -'Well, that'll be all there is to do,' said I, with an attempt at -playful gaiety. It was not a very happy attempt. - -'Then you'll go home to your own people?' - -'I shall go home; I've got no people in particular.' - -'Shall you ever come to Neopalia again?' - -'I don't know. Yes, if you invite me.' - -She regarded me intently for a full minute. She seemed to have -forgotten the blast of the horn that summoned the islanders. I also -had forgotten it; I saw nothing but the perfect oval face, crowned -with clustering hair and framing deep liquid eyes. Then she drew a -ring from her finger. - -'You have fought for me,' she said. 'You have risked your life for me. -Will you take this ring from me? Once I tried to stab you. Do you -remember, my lord?' - -I bowed my head, and Phroso set the ring on my finger. - -'Wear it till a woman you love gives you one to wear instead,' said -Phroso with a little smile. 'Then go to the edge of your island--you -are an islander too, are you not? so we are brethren--go to the edge -of your island and throw it into the sea; and perhaps, my dear friend, -the sea will bring it back, a message from you to me. For I think you -will never again come to Neopalia.' - -I made no answer: we walked together to the door of the house, and -paused again for a moment on the threshold. - -'See the blue sea!' said Phroso. 'Is it not--is not your island--a -beautiful island? If God brings you safe to your own land, my lord, as -I will pray Him to do on my knees, think kindly of your island, and of -one who dwells there.' - -The blast of the horn had died away. The setting sun was turning blue -to gold on the quiet water. The evening was very still, as we stood -looking from the threshold of the door, under the portal of the house -that had seen such strange wild doings, and had so swiftly made for -itself a place for ever in my life and memory. - -I glanced at Phroso's face. Her eyes were set on the sea, her cheeks -had turned pale again, and her lip was quivering. Suddenly came a loud -sharp note on the horn. - -'It is the signal for the start,' said she. 'I must go, or they will -be here in heat and anger, and I shall not be able to stop them. And -they will kill my lord. No, I will say "my lord."' - -She moved to leave me. I had answered nothing to all she had said. -What was there that an honourable man could say? Was there one thing? -I told myself (too eager to tell myself) that I had no right to -presume to say that. And anything else I would not say. - -'God bless you,' I said, as she moved away; I caught her hand and -again lightly kissed it. 'My homage to the Lady of the Island,' I -whispered. - -Her hand dwelt in mine a moment, briefer than our divisions of time -can reckon, fuller than is often the longest of them. Then, with one -last look, questioning, appealing, excusing, protesting, confessing, -ay, and (for my sins) hoping, she left me, and stepped along the rocky -road in the grace and glory of her youthful beauty. I stood watching -her, forgetting the woman at the cottage, forgetting my own danger, -forgetting even the peril she ran whom I watched, forgetting -everything save the old that bound me and the new that called me. So I -stood till she vanished from my sight; and still I stood, for she was -there, though the road hid her. And I was roused at last only by a -great cry of surprise, of fierce joy and triumph, that rent the still -air of the evening, and echoed back in rumblings from the hill. The -Neopalians were greeting their rescued Lady. - -Then I turned, snatched up Hogvardt's lance again, and fled through -the house to do my errand. For I would save that woman, if I could; -and my own life was not mine to lose any more than it was mine to give -to whom I would. And I recollect that, as I ran through the kitchen -and across the compound, making for the steps in the bank of rocks, I -said, 'God forgive me!' - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -HATS OFF TO ST TRYPHON! - - -A man's mind can move on more than one line; even the most engrossing -selfish care may fail entirely to occupy it or to shut out intruding -rivals. Not only should I have been wise, but I should have chosen, in -that risky walk of mine through the wood that covered the hill-slope, -to think of nothing but its risk. Yet countless other things exacted a -share of my thoughts and figured amongst my brain's images. Sometimes -I was with Denny and his faithful followers, threading dark and -devious ways in the bowels of the earth, avoiding deep waters on the -one side, sheer falls on the other, losing the track, finding it -again, deluded by deceptive glimmers of light, finding at last the -true outlet; now received hospitably by the Cypriote fishermen, now -fiercely assailed by them, again finding none of them; now making -allies of them, now carried prisoners by them to Constantine, again -scouring the sea with vain eagerness for a sight of their sails. Then -I was off, far away, to England, to my friends there, to the gaiety of -London now in its full rushing tide, to Mrs Hipgrave's exclusive -receptions, to Beatrice's gay talk and pretty insolence, to Hamlyn's -gilded dulness, in rapid survey of all the panorama that I knew so -well. Then I would turn back to the scene I had left, and again bid my -farewell under the quiet sky, in prospect of the sea that turned to -gold. So I passed back and forward till I seemed myself hardly a -thinking man, but rather a piece of blank glass, across which the -myriad mites of the kaleidoscope chased one another, covering it with -varying colours, but none of them imparting their hue to it. Yet all -this time, by the strange division of mental activity of which I have -spoken, I was crawling cautiously but quickly up the mountain side, -with eyes keen to pierce the dusk that now fell, with ears apt to find -an enemy in every rustling leaf and a hostile step in every woodland -sound. Of real foes I had as yet seen none. Ah! Hush! I dropped on my -knees. Away there on the right--what was it leaning against that -tree-trunk? It was a tall lean man; his arms rested on a long gun, and -his face was towards the old grey house. Would he see me? I crouched -lower. Would he hear me? I was as still as dead Spiro had lain in the -passage. But then I felt stealthily for the butt of my revolver, and -a recollection so startling came to me that I nearly betrayed myself -by some sudden movement. In the distribution of burdens for our -proposed journey, Denny had taken the case containing the spare -cartridges which remained after we had all reloaded. Now I had one -barrel only loaded, one shot only left. That one shot and Hogvardt's -lance were all my resources. I crouched yet lower. But the man was -motionless, and presently I ventured to move on my hands and knees, -sorely inconvenienced by the long lance, but determined not to leave -it behind me. I passed another sentry a hundred yards or so away on -the left; his head was sunk on his breast and he took no notice of me. -I breathed a little more freely as I came within fifty feet of the -cottage. - -Immediately about the house nobody was in sight. This however, in -Neopalia, did not always mean that nobody was near, and I abated none -of my caution. But the last step had to be taken; I crawled out from -the shelter of the trees, and crouched on one knee on the level space -in front of the cottage. The cottage door was open. I listened but -heard nothing. Well, I meant to go in; my entrance would be none the -easier for waiting. A quick dart was safest; in a couple of bounds I -was across, in the verandah, through the entrance, in the house. I -closed the door noiselessly behind me, and stood there, Hogvardt's -lance ready for the first man I saw; but I saw none. I was in a narrow -passage; there were doors on either side of me. Listening again, I -heard no sound from right or left. I opened the door to the right. I -saw a small square room: the table was spread for a meal, three places -being laid, but the room was empty. I turned to the other door and -opened it. This room was darker, for heavy curtains, drawn, no doubt, -earlier in the day to keep out the sun, had not been drawn back, and -the light was very dim. For a while I could make out little, but, my -eyes growing more accustomed to the darkness, I soon perceived that I -was in a sitting-room, sparsely and rather meanly furnished. Then my -eyes fell on a couch which stood against the wall opposite me. On the -couch lay a figure. It was the figure of a woman. I heard now the -slight but regular sound of her breath. She was asleep. This must be -the woman I sought. But was she a sensible woman? Or would she scream -when I waked her, and bring those tall fellows out of the wood? In -hesitation I stood still and watched her. She slept like one who was -weary, but not at peace: restless movements and, now and again, -broken incoherent exclamations witnessed to her disquiet. Presently -her broken sleep passed into half-wakeful consciousness, and she sat -up, looking round her with a dazed glance. - -'Is that you, Constantine?' she asked, rubbing her hands across her -eyes. 'Or is it Vlacho?' - -With a swift step I was by her. - -'Neither. Not a word!' I said, laying my hand on her shoulder. - -I was, I daresay, an alarming figure, with the butt of my revolver -peeping out of my pocket and Hogvardt's lance in my right hand. But -she did not cry out. - -'I am Wheatley. I have escaped from the house there,' I went on; 'and -I have come here because there's something I must tell you. You -remember our last meeting?' - -She looked at me still in amazed surprise, but with a gleam of -recollection. - -'Yes, yes. You were--we went to watch you--yes, at the restaurant.' - -'You went to watch and to listen? Yes, I supposed so. But I've been -near you since then. Do you remember the man who was on your -verandah?' - -'That was you?' she asked quickly. - -'Yes, it was. And while I was there I heard--' - -'But what are you doing here? This house is watched. Constantine may -be here any moment, or Vlacho.' - -'I'm as safe here as I was down the hill. Now listen. Are you this -man's wife, as he called you that night?' - -'Am I his wife? Of course I'm his wife. How else should I be here?' -The indignation expressed in her answer was the best guarantee of its -truth, and became her well. And she held her hand up to me, as she had -to the man himself in the restaurant, adding, 'There is his ring.' - -'Then listen to me, and don't interrupt,' said I brusquely. 'Time's -valuable to me, and even more, I fear, to you.' - -Her eyes were alarmed now, but she listened in silence as I bade her. -I told her briefly what had happened to me, and then I set before her -more fully the conversation between Constantine and Vlacho which I had -overheard. She clutched the cushions of the sofa in her clenched hand; -her breathing came quick and fast; her eyes gleamed at me even in the -gloom of the curtained room. I do not believe that in her heart she -was surprised at what she heard. She had mistrusted the man; her -manner, even on our first encounter, had gone far to prove that. She -received my story rather as a confirmation of her own suspicions than -as a new or startling revelation. She was fearful, excited, strung to -a high pitch; but astonished she was not, if I read her right. And -when I ended, it was not astonishment that clenched her lips and -brought to her eyes a look which I think Constantine himself would -have shrunk from meeting. I had paused at the end of my narrative, but -I recollected one thing more. I must warn her about the secret -passage; for that offered her husband too ready and easy a way of -relieving himself of his burden. But now she interrupted me. - -'This girl?' she said. 'I have not seen her. What is she like?' - -'She is very beautiful,' said I simply. 'She knows what I have told -you, and she is on her guard. You need fear nothing from her. It is -your husband whom you have to fear.' - -'He would kill me?' she asked, with a questioning glance. - -'You've heard what he said,' I returned. 'Put your own meaning on it.' - -She sprang to her feet. - -'I can't stay here; I can't stay here. Merciful heaven, they may come -any moment! Where are you going? How are you going to escape? You are -in as much danger as I am.' - -'I believe in even greater,' said I. 'I was going straight from here -down to the sea. If I can find my friends, we'll go through with the -thing together. If I don't find them, I shall hunt for a boat. If I -don't find a boat--well, I'm a good swimmer, and I shall live as long -in the water as in Neopalia, and die easier, I fancy.' - -She was standing now, facing me, and she laid her hand on my arm. - -'You stand by women, you Englishmen,' she said. 'You won't leave me to -be murdered?' - -'You see I am here. Doesn't that answer your question?' - -'My God, he's a fiend! Will you take me with you?' - -What could I do? Her coming gave little chance to her and robbed me of -almost all prospect of escape. But of course I could not leave her. - -'You must come if you can see no other way,' said I. - -'Why, what other is there? If I avoid him he will see I suspect him. -If I appear to trust him, I must put myself in his power.' - -'Then we must go,' said I. 'But it's a thousand to one that we don't -get through.' - -I had hardly spoken when a voice outside said, 'Is all well?' and a -heavy step echoed in the verandah. - -'Vlacho!' she hissed in a whisper. 'Vlacho! Are you armed?' - -'In a way,' said I, with a shrug. 'But there are at least two besides -him. I saw them in the wood.' - -'Yes, yes, true. There are four generally. It would be death. Here, -hide behind the curtains. I'll try to put him off for the moment. -Quick, quick!' - -She was hurried and eager, but I saw that her wits were clear. I -stepped behind the curtains and she drew them close. I heard her fling -herself again on the couch. Then came the innkeeper's voice, its -roughness softened in deferential greeting. - -At the same time a strong smell of eau de Cologne pervaded the room. - -'Am I well?' said Madame Stefanopoulos fretfully. 'My good Vlacho, I -am very ill. Should I sit in a dark room and bathe my head with this -stuff if I were well?' - -'My lady's sickness grieves me beyond expression,' said Vlacho -politely. 'And the more so because I am come from my Lord Constantine -with a message for you.' - -'It is easier for him to send messages than to come himself,' she -remarked, with an admirable pretence of resentment. - -'Think how occupied he has been with this pestilent Englishman!' said -the plausible Vlacho. 'We have had no peace. But at last I hope our -troubles are over. The house is ours again.' - -'Ah, you have driven them out?' - -'They fled themselves,' said Vlacho. 'But they are separated and we -shall catch them. Oh, yes, we know where to look for most of them.' - -'Then you've not caught any of them yet? How stupid you are!' - -'My lady is severe. No, we have caught none yet.' - -'Not even Wheatley himself?' she asked. 'Has he shown you a clean pair -of heels?' - -Vlacho's voice betrayed irritation as he answered: - -'We shall find him also in time, though heaven knows where the rascal -has hidden himself.' - -'You're really very stupid,' said Francesca. I heard her sniff her -perfume. 'And the girl?' she went on. - -'Oh, we have her safe and sound,' laughed Vlacho. 'She'll give no more -trouble.' - -'Why, what will you do with her?' - -'You must ask my lord that,' said Vlacho. 'If she will give up the -island, perhaps nothing.' - -'Ah, well, I take very little interest in her. Isn't my husband coming -to supper, Vlacho?' - -'To supper here, my lady? Surely no. The great house is ready now. -That is a more fitting place for my lady than this dog-hole. I am -here to escort you there. There my lord will sup with you. Oh, it's a -grand house!' - -'A grand house!' she echoed scornfully. 'Why, what is there to see in -it?' - -'Oh, many things,' said Vlacho. 'Yes, secrets, my lady! And my lord -bids me say that from love to you he will show you to-night the great -secret of his house. He desires to show his love and trust in you, and -will therefore reveal to you all his secrets.' - -When I, behind the curtain, heard the ruffian say this, I laid firmer -hold on my lance. But the lady was equal to Vlacho. - -'You're very melodramatic with your secrets,' she said contemptuously. -'I am tired, and my head aches. Your secrets will wait; and if my -husband will not come and sup with me, I'll sup alone here. Tell him I -can't come, please, Vlacho.' - -'But my lord was most urgent that you should come,' said Vlacho. - -'I would come if I were well,' said she. - -'But I could help you. If you would permit, I and my men would carry -you down all the way on your couch.' - -'My good Vlacho, you are very tedious, you and your men. And my -husband is tedious also, if he sent all these long messages. I am ill -and I will not come. Is that enough?' - -'My lord will be very angry if I return alone,' pleaded Vlacho humbly. - -'I'll write a certificate that you did your best to persuade me,' she -said with a scornful laugh. - -I heard the innkeeper's heavy feet move a step or two across the -floor. He was coming nearer to where she lay on the couch. - -'I daren't return without you,' said he. - -'Then you must stay here and sup with me.' - -'My lord does not love to be opposed.' - -'Then, my good Vlacho, he should not have married me,' she retorted. - -She played the game gallantly, fencing and parrying with admirable -tact, and with a coolness wonderful for a woman in such peril. My -heart went out to her, and I said to myself that she should not want -any help that I could give. - -She had raised her voice on the last words, and her defiant taunt rang -out clear and loud. It seemed to alarm Vlacho. - -'Hush, not so loud!' he said hastily. There was the hint of a threat -in his voice. - -'Not so loud!' she echoed. 'And why not so loud? Is there harm in what -I say?' - -I wondered at Vlacho's sudden fright. The idea shot into my head--and -the idea was no pleasant one--that there must be people within -earshot, perhaps people who had not been trusted with Constantine's -secrets, and would, for that reason, do his bidding better. - -'Harm! No, no harm; but no need to let every one hear,' said Vlacho, -confusedly and with evident embarrassment. - -'Every one? Who is here, then?' - -'I have brought one or two men to escort my lady,' said he. 'With -these cut-throat Englishmen about' (Bravo, bravo, Vlacho!) 'one must -be careful.' - -A scornful laugh proclaimed her opinion of his subterfuge, and she met -him with a skilful thrust. - -'But if they don't know--yes, and aren't to know that I am the wife of -Constantine, how can I go to the house and stay with him?' she asked. - -'Oh,' said he, ready again with his plausible half-truths, 'that is -one of the secrets. Must I tell my lady part of it? There is an -excellent hiding-place in the house, where my lord can bestow you most -comfortably. You will want for nothing, and nobody will know that you -are there, except the few faithful men who have guarded you here.' - -'Indeed, if I am still to be a stowaway, I'll stay here,' said she. -'If my lord will announce me publicly to all the island as his wife, -then I will come and take my place at the head of his house; but -without that I will not come.' - -'Surely you will be able to persuade him to that yourself,' said -Vlacho. 'But dare I make conditions with my lord?' - -'You will make them in my name,' she answered. 'Go and tell him what I -say.' - -A pause followed. Then Vlacho said in sullen obstinate tones: - -'I'll not go without you. I was ordered to bring you, and I will. -Come.' - -I heard the sudden rustle of her dress as she drew back; then a little -cry: 'You're hurting me.' - -'You must come,' said Vlacho. 'I shall call my men and carry you.' - -'I will not come,' she said in a low voice, resolute and fierce. - -Vlacho laughed. 'We'll see about that,' said he, and his heavy steps -sounded on the floor. - -'What are you going to the window for?' she cried. - -'To call Demetri and Kortes to help me,' said he; 'or will you come?' - -I drew back a pace, resting against the windowsill. Hogvardt's lance -was protruded before me. At that moment I asked nothing better than to -bury its point in the fat innkeeper's flesh. - -'You'll repent it if you do what you say,' said she. - -'I shall repent it more if I don't obey my lord,' said Vlacho. 'See, -my hand is on the curtains. Will you come, my lady?' - -'I will not come,' said she. - -There was one last short interval. I heard them both breathing, and I -held my own breath. My revolver rested in my pocket; the noise of a -shot would be fatal. With God's help I would drive the lance home with -one silent sufficient thrust. There would be a rogue less in the world -and another chance for her and me. - -'As you will, then,' said the innkeeper. - -The curtain-rings rattled along the rod; the heavy hangings gave back. -The moon, which was newly risen, streamed full in Vlacho's eyes and on -the pale strained face behind him. He saw me; he uttered one low -exclamation: 'Christ!' His hand flew to his belt. He drew a pistol out -and raised it; but I was too quick for him. I drove the great -hunting-knife on the end of the sapling full and straight into his -breast. With a groan he flung his arms over his head and fell -sideways, half-supported by the curtain till the fabric was rent away -from the rings and fell over his body, enveloping him in a thick pall. -I drew my lance back. The force of the blow had overstrained -Hogvardt's wire fastenings; the blade was bent to an angle with the -shaft and shook loosely from side to side. Vlacho's blood began to -curl in a meandering trickle from beneath the curtain. Madame -Stefanopoulos glared at me, speechless. But my eyes fell from her to -the floor; for there I saw two long black shadows. A sudden and -desperate inspiration seized me. She was my ally, I hers. If both were -held guilty of this act we could render no service to each other. If -she were still unsuspected--and nobody except myself had heard her -talk with Vlacho--she might yet help herself and me. - -'Throw me over,' I whispered in English. 'Cry for help.' - -'What?' - -'Cry. The men are there. You may help me afterwards.' - -'What, pretend--?' - -'Yes. Quick.' - -'But they'll--' - -'No, no. Quick, for God's sake, quick!' - -'God help us,' she whispered. Then she cried loudly, 'Help! help! -help!' - -I sprang towards her. There was the crash of a man leaping through the -open window. I turned. Behind him I saw Demetri standing in the -moonlight. Other figures hurried up; feet pattered on the hard ground. -The man who had leaped in--a very tall, handsome and athletic fellow, -whom I had not seen before--held to my head a long old-fashioned -pistol. I let my hands drop to my side and faced him with a smile on -my lips. It must be death to resist--death to me and death to my new -friend; surrender might open a narrow way of safety. - -'I yield,' said I. - -'Who are you?' he cried. - -'I am Lord Wheatley,' I answered. - -'But did you not fly to the--?' He stopped. - -'To the passage?' said I. 'No, I came here. I was trying to escape. I -came in while Madame here was asleep and hid behind the curtain.' - -'Yes, yes,' said she. 'It is so, Kortes, it is as he says; and then -Vlacho came--' - -'And,' said I, 'when the lady had agreed to go with Vlacho, Vlacho -came to the window to call you; and by misadventure, sir, he came on -me behind the curtain. And--won't you see whether he's dead?' - -'Kill him, Kortes, kill him!' cried Demetri, fiercely and suddenly, -from the window. - -Kortes turned round. - -'Peace!' said he. 'The man has yielded. Do I kill men who have -yielded? The Lady of the island and my Lord Constantine must decide -his fate; it is not my office. Are you armed, sir?' - -It went to my heart to give up that last treasured shot of mine. But -he was treating me as an honourable man. I handed him my revolver with -a bow, saying: - -'I depend on you to protect me from that fellow and the rest till you -deliver me to those you speak of.' - -'In my charge you are safe,' said Kortes, and he stooped down and -lifted the curtain from Vlacho's face. The innkeeper stirred and -groaned. He was not dead yet. Kortes turned round to Demetri. - -'Stay here and tend him. Do what you can for him. When I am able, I -will send aid to him; but I don't think he will live.' - -Demetri scowled. He seemed not to like the part assigned to him. - -'Are you going to take this man to my Lord Constantine?' he asked. -'Leave another with Vlacho, and let me come with you to my lord.' - -'Who should better stay with Vlacho than his nephew Demetri?' asked -Kortes with a smile. (This relationship was a new light to me.) 'I am -going to do what my duty is. Come, no questioning. Do not I command, -now Vlacho is wounded?' - -'And the lady here?' asked Demetri. - -'I am not ordered to lay a finger on the lady,' answered Kortes. -'Indeed I don't know who she is.' - -Francesca interposed with great dignity: - -'I will come with you,' said she. 'I have my story to tell when this -gentleman is put on his trial. Who I am you will know soon.' - -Demetri had climbed in at the window. He passed me with a savage -scowl, and I noticed that one side of his head was bound with a -bloodstained bandage. He saw me looking at it. - -'Aye,' he growled, 'I owe you the loss of half an ear.' - -'In the passage?' I hazarded, much pleased. - -'I shall pay the debt,' said he, 'or see it paid handsomely for me by -my lord.' - -'Come,' said Kortes, 'let us go.' - -Fully believing that the fact of Kortes being in command instead of -Demetri had saved me from instant death, I was not inclined to dispute -his orders. I walked out of the house and took the place he indicated -to me in the middle of a line of islanders, some ten or twelve in -number. Kortes placed himself by my side, and Madame Stefanopoulos -walked on his other hand. The islanders maintained absolute silence. I -followed their example, but my heart (I must confess) beat as I -waited to see in what direction our column was to march. We started -down the hill towards the house. If we were going to the house I had -perhaps twenty minutes to live, and the lady who was with us would not -long survive me. In vain I scanned Kortes's comely grave features. He -marched with the impassive regularity of a grenadier and displayed -much the same expressionless steadiness of face. Nearer to the fatal -house we came; but my heart gave a sudden leap of hope and excitement, -for Kortes cried softly, 'To the right.' We turned down the path that -led up from the town, leaving the house on the left. We were not going -straight to death then, and every respite was pregnant with unforeseen -chances of escape. I touched Kortes on the shoulder. - -'Where are we going?' I asked. - -'To the town,' he answered. - -Again in silence we pursued our way down the hillside. The path -broadened and the incline became less steep; a few lights twinkled -from the sea, which now spread before us. Still we went on. Then I -heard the bell of a church strike twelve. The strokes ended, but -another bell began to ring. Our escort stopped with one accord. They -took off their caps and signed the cross on their breasts. Kortes did -the same as the rest. I looked at him in question, but he said -nothing till the caps were replaced and we were on our way again. Then -he said: - -'To-day is the feast of St Tryphon. Didn't you know?' - -'No,' said I. 'St Tryphon I know, but his feast is not kept always on -this day.' - -'Always on this day in Neopalia,' he answered, and he seemed to look -at me as though he were asking me some unspoken question. - -The feast of St Tryphon might have interested me very much at any -ordinary time, but just now my study of the customs of the islanders -had been diverted into another channel, and I did not pursue the -subject. Kortes walked in silence some little way farther. We had now -reached the main road and were descending rapidly towards the town. I -saw again the steep narrow street, empty and still in the moonlight. -We held on our way till we came to a rather large square building, -which stood back from the road and had thus escaped my notice when we -passed it on the evening of our arrival. Before this Kortes halted. -'Here you must lodge with me,' said he. 'Concerning the lady I have no -orders.' - -Madame Stefanopoulos caught my arm. - -'I must stay too,' said she. 'I can't go back to my house.' - -'It is well,' said Kortes calmly. 'There are two rooms.' - -The escort ranged themselves outside the building, which appeared to -be either a sort of barrack or a place of confinement. We three -entered. At a sign from Kortes, Madame Stefanopoulos passed into a -large room on the right. I followed him into a smaller room, scantily -furnished, and flung myself in exhaustion on a wooden bench that ran -along the wall. For an instant Kortes stood regarding me. His face -seemed to express hesitation, but the look in his eyes was not -unfriendly. The bell, which had continued to ring till now, ceased. -Then Kortes said to me in a low voice: - -'Take courage, my lord. For a day you are safe. Nor even Constantine -would dare to kill a man on the feast of St Tryphon.' - -Before I could answer he was gone. I heard the bolt of the door run -home. I was a prisoner. - -Yet I took courage as he bade me. Four-and-twenty hours' life was more -than I had been able to count on for some time past. So I also doffed -my hat in honour of the holy St Tryphon. And presently I lifted my -legs on to the bench, took off my coat and made a pillow of it, and -went to sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE JUSTICE OF THE ISLAND - - -Helplessness brings its own peculiar consolation. After a week's -planning and scheming what you will do to the enemy, it is a kind of -relief to sit with hands in pockets and wonder what the enemy may be -pleased to do with you. This relaxation was vouchsafed to my brain -when I awoke in the morning and found the sun streaming into the -whitewashed cell-like room. It was the feast of St Tryphon, all praise -to him! Kortes said that I could not be executed that day. I doubted -Constantine's scruples; yet probably he would not venture to outrage -the popular sentiment of Neopalia. But nothing forbade my execution -to-morrow. Well, to-morrow is to-morrow, and to-day is to-day, and -there will be that difference between them so long as the world lasts. -I stretched myself and yawned luxuriously. I was, strangely enough, in -a hopeful frame of mind. I made sure that Denny had found his way -safely, and that the Cypriote fishermen had been benevolent. I proved -to myself that with Constantine's exposure his power would end. I -plumed myself on having put Vlacho _hors de combat_. I believe I said -to myself that villainy would not triumph, that honest men would come -by their own, and that unprotected beauty would find help from heaven: -convictions which showed that relics of youth hung about me, and (I am -afraid it depends on this rather) that I was feeling very well after -my refreshing sleep. - -Alas, my soothing reveries were rudely interrupted. - - 'At a touch sweet pleasure melteth, - Like to bubbles when rain pelteth!' - -And at the sound of a gruff voice outside my dreams melted: harsh -reality was pressing hard on me again, crushing hope into resignation, -buoyancy into a grim resolve to take what came with courage. - -'Bring him out,' cried the voice. - -'It's that brute Demetri,' said I to myself, wondering what had become -of my friendly gaoler, Kortes. - -A moment later half-a-dozen men filed into the room, Demetri at their -head. I asked him what he wanted. He answered only with a command -that I should get up. 'Bring him along,' he added to his men; and we -walked out into the street. - -Evidently Neopalia was _en fete_. The houses were decked with flags; -several windows exhibited pictures of the Saint. Women in their gay -and spotlessly clean holiday attire strolled along the road, holding -their children by the hand. Everybody made way for our procession, -many whispers and pointed fingers proving the interest and curiosity -which it was my unwilling privilege to arouse. For about a quarter of -a mile we mounted the road, then we turned suddenly down to the left -and began to descend again towards the sea. Soon now we arrived at the -little church whose bell I had heard. Here we halted; and presently -another procession appeared from the building. An old white-bearded -man headed it, carrying a large picture of St. Tryphon. The old man's -dress was little different from that of the rest of the islanders, but -he wore the gown and cap of a priest. He was followed by some -attendants; the women and children fell in behind him, three or four -cripples brought up the rear, praying as they went, and stretching out -their hands towards the sacred picture which the old man carried. At a -sign from Demetri we also put ourselves in motion again, and the whole -body of us thus made for the seashore. But some three hundred yards -short of the water I perceived a broad level space, covered with -short rough turf and surrounded for about half its circuit by a -crescent-shaped bank two or three feet high. On this bank sat some -twenty people, and crowded in front of it was the same ragged -picturesque company of armed peasants that I had seen gather in the -street on the occasion of our arrival. The old man with the picture -made his way to the centre of the level ground. Thrice he raised the -picture towards the sky, every one uncovering his head and kneeling -down the while. He began to pray, but I did not listen to what he -said; for by this time my attention had wandered from him and was -fixed intently on a small group which occupied the centre of the -raised bank. There, sitting side by side, with the space of a foot or -so between them, were Phroso and her cousin Constantine. On a rude -hurdle, covered with a rug, at Constantine's feet lay Vlacho, his face -pale and his eyes closed. Behind Phroso stood my new acquaintance, -Kortes, with one hand on the knife in his girdle and the other holding -a long gun, which rested on the ground. One figure I missed. I looked -round for Constantine's wife, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then I -looked again at Phroso. She was dressed in rich fine garments of -white, profusely embroidered, but her face was paler even than -Vlacho's, and when I sought her eyes she would not meet mine, but -kept her gaze persistently lowered. Constantine sat motionless, with a -frown on his brow but a slight smile on his lips, as he waited with an -obviously forced patience through the long rigmarole of the old man's -prayer. - -Evidently important business was to be transacted; yet nobody seemed -to be in a hurry to arrive at it. When the old priest had finished his -prayers the cripples came and prostrated themselves before the sacred -picture. No miracle, however, followed; and the priest took up the -tale again, pouring forth a copious harangue, in which I detected -frequent references to 'the barbarians'--a term he used to denote my -friends, myself, and all the world apparently, except the islanders of -Neopalia. Then he seated himself between Phroso and Constantine, who -made room for him. I was surprised to see him assume so much dignity, -but I presumed that he was treated with exceptional honour on the -feast day. When he had taken his place, about twenty of the men came -into the middle of the ring and began to dance, arranging themselves -in a semicircle, moving at first in slow rhythmical steps, and -gradually quickening their motions till they ended with a wonderful -display of activity. During this performance Phroso and Constantine -sat still and impassive, while Vlacho's lifeless face was scorched by -the growing heat of the sun. The men who had been told off to watch -me leaned on their long guns, and I wondered wearily when my part in -this strangely mixed ceremony was to begin. - -At last it came. The dance ended, the performers flung themselves -fatigued on the turf, there was a hush of expectation, and the -surrounding crowd of women and children drew closer in towards where -the rest of the men had taken up their position in ranks on either -side of the central seats. 'Step forward,' said one of my guards, and -I, obeying him, lifted my hat and bowed to Phroso. Then replacing my -hat, I stood waiting the pleasure of the assembly. All eyes were fixed -on Constantine, who remained seated and silent yet a little while -longer. Then he rose slowly to his feet, bowed to Phroso, and pointed -in a melodramatic fashion at Vlacho's body. But I was not in the least -inclined to listen to an oration in the manner of Mark Antony over the -body of Caesar, and just as Constantine was opening his mouth I -observed loudly: - -'Yes, I killed him, and the reason no man knows better than -Constantine Stefanopoulos.' - -Constantine glared at me, and, ignoring the bearing of my remark, -launched out on an eulogium of the dead innkeeper. It was coldly -received. Vlacho's virtues were not recognised by any outburst of -grief or indignation; indeed there was a smothered laugh or two when -Constantine called him 'a brave true man.' The orator detected his -failure and shifted his ground dexterously, passing on, in rapid -transition, to ask in what quarrel Vlacho had died. Now he was -gripping his audience. They drew closer; they became very still; angry -and threatening glances were bent on me. Constantine lashed himself to -fury as he cried, 'He died for our island, which this barbarian claims -as his!' - -'He died--' I began; but a heavy hand on my shoulder and the menace of -a knife cut short my protest. Demetri had come and taken his stand by -me, and I knew that Demetri would jump at the first excuse to make my -silence perpetual. So I held my peace, and the men caught up -Constantine's last point, crying angrily, 'Ay, he takes our island -from us.' - -'Yes,' said Constantine, 'he has taken our island, and he claims it -for his. He has killed our brethren and put our Lady out of her -inheritance. What shall he suffer? For although we may not kill on St -Tryphon's day, we may judge on it, and the sentence may be performed -at daybreak to-morrow. What shall this man suffer? Is he not worthy of -death?' - -It was what lawyers call a leading question, and it found its -expected answer in a deep fierce growl, of 'Death, death!' Clearly the -island was the thing, Vlacho's death merely an incidental affair of no -great importance. I suppose that Phroso understood this as well as I, -for now she rose suddenly. Constantine seemed disinclined to suffer -the interruption; but she stood her ground firmly, though her face was -very pale, and I saw her hands tremble. At last he sank back on to the -bank. - -'Why this turmoil?' she asked. 'The stranger did not know our customs. -He thought that the island was his by right, and when he was attacked -he defended himself. I pray you may all fight as bravely as he has -fought.' - -'But the island, the island!' they cried. - -'Yes,' said she, 'I also love the island. Well, he has given back the -island to me. Behold his writing!' She held up the paper which I had -given to her and read the writing aloud in a clear voice. 'What have -you against him now?' she asked. 'His people have loved the Hellenes. -He has given back the island. Why shall he not depart in peace?' - -The effect was great. The old priest seized the paper and scanned it -eagerly: it was snatched from him and passed rapidly from hand to -hand, greeted with surprised murmurs and intense excitement. Phroso -stood watching its progress. Constantine sat with a heavy scowl on his -face, and the frown grew yet deeper when I smiled at him with pleasant -urbanity. - -'It is true,' said the priest, with a sigh of relief. 'He has given -back the island. He need not die.' - -Phroso sat down; a sudden faintness seemed to follow on the strain, -and I saw Kortes support her with his arm. But Constantine was not -beaten yet. He sprang up and cried in bitterly scornful tones: - -'Ay, let him go--let him go to Rhodes and tell the Governor that you -sought to slay him and his friends, and that you extorted the paper -from him by threat of death, and that he gave it in fear, but did not -mean it, and that you are turbulent murderous men who deserve great -punishment. How guileless you are, O Neopalians! But this man is not -guileless. He can delude a girl. He can delude you also, it seems. Ay, -let him go with his story to the Governor at Rhodes, and do you hide -in the rocks when the Governor comes with his soldiers. Hide -yourselves, and hide your women, when the soldiers come to set this -man over your island and to punish you! Do you not remember when the -Governor came before? Is not the mark of his anger branded on your -hearts?' - -Hesitation and suspicion were aroused again by this appeal. Phroso -seemed bewildered at it and gazed at her cousin with parted lips. -Angry glances were again fixed on me. But the old priest rose and -stretched out his hand for silence. - -'Let the man speak for himself,' he said. 'Let him tell us what he -will do if we set him free. It may be that he will give us an oath not -to harm us, but to go away peaceably to his own land and leave us our -island. Speak, sir. We will listen.' - -I was never much of a hand at a speech, and I did not enjoy being -faced with the necessity of making one which might have such important -results this way or that. But I was quite clear in my own mind what I -wanted to say; so I took a step forward and began: - -'I bear you Neopalians no malice,' said I. 'You've not succeeded in -hurting me, and I suppose you've not caught my friends, or they would -be here, prisoners as I am a prisoner. Now I have killed two good men -of yours, Vlacho there, and Spiro. I am content with that. I'll cry -you quits. I have given back the island to the Lady Euphrosyne; and -what I give to a woman--ay, or to a man--I do not ask again either of -a Governor or of anybody else. Therefore your island is safe, and I -will swear to that by what oath you will. And, so far as I have power, -no man or woman of all who stand round me shall come to any harm by -reason of what has been done; and to that also I will swear.' - -They had heard me intently, and they nodded in assent and approbation -when the old priest, true to his part of peacemaker, looking round, -said: - -'He speaks well. He will not do what my lord feared. He will give us -an oath. Why should he not depart in peace?' - -Phroso's eyes sought mine, and she smiled sadly. Constantine was -gnawing his finger nails and looking as sour as a man could look. It -went to my heart to go on, for I knew that what I had to say next -would give him another chance against me; but I preferred that risk to -the only alternative. - -'Wait,' said I. 'An oath is a sacred thing, and I swore an oath when I -was there in the house of the Stefanopouloi. There is a man here who -has done murder on an old man his kinsman, who has contrived murder -against a woman, who has foully deceived a girl. With that man I'll -not cry quits; for I swore that I would not rest till he paid the -penalty of his crimes. By that oath I stand. Therefore, when I go -from here, I shall, as Constantine Stefanopoulos has said, go to -Rhodes and to the Governor, and I shall pray him to send here to -Neopalia, and take that one man and hang him on the highest tree in -the island. And I will come with the Governor's men and see that thing -done. Then I will go peaceably to my own land.' - -There was a pause of surprise. Constantine lifted his lids and looked -at me; I saw his hand move towards a pocket. I suspected what lay in -that pocket. I heard low eager whisperings and questions. At last the -old priest asked in a timid hesitating voice: - -'Who is this man of whom you speak?' - -'There he is,' said I. 'There--Constantine Stefanopoulos.' - -The words were hardly out when Demetri clapped a large hairy hand -across my mouth, whispering fiercely, 'Hold your tongue.' I drew back -a step and struck him fairly between the eyes. He went down. A hoarse -cry rose from the crowd; but in an instant Kortes had leapt from where -he stood behind Phroso and was by my side. I had some adherents also -among the bystanders; for I had been bidden to speak freely, and -Demetri had no authority to silence me. - -'Yes, Constantine Stefanopoulos,' I cried. 'Did he not stab the old -man after he had yielded? Did he not--' - -'The old man sold the island,' growled a dozen low fierce voices; but -the priest's rose high above them. - -'We are not here to judge my Lord Constantine,' said he, 'but this man -here.' - -'We all had a hand in the business of the old man,' said Demetri, who -had picked himself up and was looking very vicious. - -'You lie, and you know it,' said I hotly. 'He had yielded, and the -rest had left off attacking him; but Constantine stabbed him. Why did -he stab him?' - -There came no answer, and Constantine caught at this advantage. - -'Yes,' he cried. 'Why? Why should I stab him? He was stabbed by some -one who did not know that he had yielded.' Then I saw his eye fall -suddenly on Vlacho. Dead men tell no tales and deny no accusations. - -'Since Vlacho is dead,' Constantine went on with wonderful readiness, -'my tongue is loosed. It was Vlacho who, in his hasty zeal, stabbed -the old man.' - -He had gained a point by this clever lie, and he made haste to press -it to the full against me. - -'This man,' he exclaimed, 'will go to Rhodes and denounce me! But did -I kill the old man alone? Did I besiege the Englishman alone? Will the -Governor be content with one victim? Is it not one head in ten when he -comes to punish? Men of the island, it is your lives and my life -against this man's life!' - -They were with him again, and many shouted: - -'Let him die! Let him die!' - -Then suddenly, before I could speak, Phroso rose, and, stretching out -her hands towards me, said: - -'Promise what they ask, my lord. Save your own life, my lord. If my -cousin be guilty, heaven will punish him.' - -But I did not listen even to her. With a sudden leap I was free from -those who held me; for, in the ranks of listening women, I saw that -old woman whom we had found watching by the dying lord of the island. -I seized her by the wrist and dragged her into the middle, crying to -her: - -'As God's above you, tell the truth. Who stabbed the old lord? Whose -name did he utter in reproach when he lay dying?' - -She stood shivering and trembling in the centre of the throng. The -surprise of my sudden action held them all silent and motionless. - -'Did he not say "Constantine! You, Constantine"?' I asked, 'just -before he died?' - -The old woman's lips moved, but no sound came; she was half dead with -fear and fastened fascinated eyes on Constantine. He surveyed her with -a rigid smile on his pale face. - -'Speak the truth, woman,' I cried. 'Speak the truth.' - -'Yes, speak the truth,' said Constantine, his eyes gleaming in triumph -as he turned a glance of hatred on me. 'Tell us truly who killed my -uncle.' - -My witness failed me. The terror of Constantine, which had locked her -tongue when I questioned her at the house, lay on her still: the -single word that came from her trembling lips was 'Vlacho.' -Constantine gave a cry of triumph, Demetri a wild shout; the islanders -drew together. My chance looked black. Even St Tryphon would hardly -save me from immediate death. But I made another effort. - -'Swear her on the sacred picture,' I cried. 'Swear her on the picture. -If she swears by the picture, and then says it was Vlacho, I am -content to die as a false accuser, and to die here and now.' - -My bold challenge won me a respite: it appealed to their rude sense of -justice and their strong leaven of superstition. - -'Yes, let her swear on the sacred picture,' cried several. 'Then we -shall know.' - -The priest brought the picture to her and swore her on it with great -solemnity. She shook her head feebly and fell to choked weeping. But -the men round her were resolute, one of them menacing even Constantine -himself when he began to ask whether her first testimony were not -enough. - -'Now you are sworn, speak,' said the priest solemnly. - -A hush fell on us all. If she answered 'Constantine,' my life still -hung by a thread; but by saying 'Vlacho' she would cut the thread. She -looked at me, at Constantine, then up to the sky, while her lips moved -in rapid whispered prayers. - -'Speak,' said the priest to her gently. - -Then she spoke in low fearful tones. - -'Vlacho was there, and his knife was ready. But my lord yielded, and -cried that he would not sell the island. When they heard that they -drew back, Vlacho with the rest. But my Lord Constantine struck; and -when my lord lay dying it was the name of Constantine that he uttered -in reproach.' And the old woman reeled and would have fallen, and then -flung herself on the ground at Constantine's feet, crying, 'Pardon, my -lord, pardon! I could not swear falsely on the picture. Ah, my lord, -mercy, mercy!' - -But Constantine, though he had, as I do not doubt, a good memory for -offences, could not afford to think of the old woman now. One instant -he sat still, then he sprang to his feet, crying: - -'Let my friends come round me! Yes, if you will, I killed the old man. -Was not the deed done? Was not the island sold? Was he not bound to -this man here? The half of the money had been paid! If he had lived, -and if this man had lived, they would have brought soldiers and -constrained us. So I slew him, and therefore I have sought to kill the -stranger also. Who blames me? If there be any, let him stand now by -the stranger, and let my friends stand by me. Have we not had enough -talk? Is it not time to act? Who loves Neopalia? Who loves me?' - -While he spoke many had been gathering round him. With every fresh -appeal more flocked to him. There were but three or four left now, -wavering between him and me, and Kortes alone stood by my side. - -'Are you children, that you shrink from me because I struck a blow for -our country? Was the old man to escape and live to help this man to -take our island? Yes, I, Constantine Stefanopoulos, though I was blood -of his blood--I killed him. Who blames me? Shall we not finish the -work? There the stranger stands! Men of the island, shall we not -finish the work?' - -'Well, it's come at last,' thought I to myself. St. Tryphon would not -stop it now. 'It's no use,' I said to Kortes. 'Don't get yourself into -trouble!' Then I folded my arms and waited. But I do not mean to say -that I did not turn a little pale. Perhaps I did. At any rate I -contrived to show no fear except in that. - -The islanders looked at one another and then at Constantine. Friend -Constantine had been ready with his stirring words, but he did not -rush first to the attack. Besides myself there was Kortes, who had not -left his place by me, in spite of my invitation to him. And Kortes -looked as though he could give an account of one or two. But the -hesitation among Constantine's followers did not last long. Demetri -was no coward at all events, although he was as big a scoundrel as I -have known. He carried a great sword which he must have got from the -collection on the walls of the hall; he brandished it now over his -head and rushed straight at me. It seemed to be all over, and I -thought that the best I could do was to take it quietly; so I stood -still. But on a sudden I was pulled back by a powerful arm. Kortes -flung me behind him and stood between me and Demetri's rush. An -instant later ten or more of them were round Kortes. He struck at -them, but they dodged him. One cried, 'Don't hurt Kortes,' and -another, running agilely round, caught his arms from behind, and, all -gathering about him, they wrested his weapons from him. My last -champion was disarmed; he had but protracted the bitterness of death -for me by his gallant attempt. I fixed my eyes steadily on the horizon -and waited. The time of my waiting must have been infinitesimal, yet I -seemed to wait some little while. Then Demetri's great sword flashed -suddenly between me and the sky. But it did not fall. Another flash -came--the flash of white, darting across between me and the grim -figure of my assailant--and Phroso, pale, breathless, trembling in -every limb, yet holding her head bravely, and with anger gleaming in -her dark eyes, cried: - -'If you kill him you must kill me; I will not live if he dies.' - -Even Demetri paused; the rest gave back. I saw Constantine's -hatchet-face peering in gloomy wrath and trembling excitement from -behind the protecting backs of his stout adherents. But Demetri, -holding his sword poised for the stroke, growled angrily: - -'What is his life to you, Lady?' - -Phroso drew herself up. Her face was away from me, but as she spoke I -saw a sudden rush of red spread over her neck; yet she spoke steadily -and boldly in a voice that all could hear: - -'His life is my life; for I love him as I love my life--ah, and God -knows, more, more, more!' - -[Illustration: "WHAT IS HIS LIFE TO YOU, LADY?"] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE LAST CARD - - -In most families--at least among those that have any recorded history -to boast of or to deplore--there is a point of family pride: with one -it is grace of manner; with another, courage; with a third, -statecraft; with a fourth, chivalrous loyalty to a lost cause or a -fallen prince. Tradition adds new sanction to the cherished -excellence; it becomes the heirloom of the house, the mark of the -race--in the end, perhaps, a superstition before which greater things -go down. If the men cling to it they are compensated by licence in -other matters; the women are held in honour if they bear sons who do -not fail in it. It becomes a new god, with its worship and its altar; -and often the altar is laden with costly sacrifices. Wisdom has little -part in the cult, and the virtues that are not hallowed by hereditary -recognition are apt to go unhonoured and unpractised. I have heard it -said, and seen it written, that we Wheatleys have, as a stock, few -merits and many faults. I do not expect my career--if, indeed, I had -such an ambitious thing as a career in my life's wallet--to reverse -that verdict. But no man has said or written of us that we do not keep -faith. Here is our pride and palladium. Promises we neither break nor -ask back. We make them sometimes lightly; it is no matter: substance, -happiness, life itself must be spent in keeping them. I had learnt -this at my mother's knee. I myself had seen thousands and thousands -poured forth to a rascally friend on the strength of a schoolboy -pledge which my father made. 'Folly, folly!' cried the world. Whether -it were right or not, who knows? We wrapped ourselves in the scanty -mantle of our one virtue and went our way. We always--but a man grows -tedious when he talks of his ancestors; he is like a doting old -fellow, garrulous about his lusty youth. Enough of it. Yet not more -than enough, for I carried this religion of mine to Neopalia, and -built there an altar to it, and prepared for my altar the rarest -sacrifice. Was I wrong? I do not care to ask. - -'His life is my life. For I love him as my life.' The words rang in my -ears, seeming to echo again through the silence that followed them: -they were answered in my heart by beats of living blood. 'Was it -true?' flashed through my brain. Was it truth or stratagem, a noble -falsehood or a more splendid boldness? I did not know. The words were -strange, yet to me they were not incredible. Had we not lived through -ages together in those brief full hours in the old grey house? And the -parting in the quiet evening had united while it feigned to sever. I -believe I shut my eyes, not to see the slender stately form that stood -between death and me. When I looked again, Demetri and his angry -comrades had fallen back and stood staring in awkward bewilderment, -but the women had crowded in upon us with eager excited faces; one -broad-browed kindly creature had run to Phroso and caught her round -the waist, and was looking in her eyes, and stroking her hand, and -murmuring soft woman's comforting. Demetri took a step forward. - -'Come, if you dare!' cried the woman, bold as a legion of men. 'Is a -dog like you to come near my Lady Euphrosyne?' And Phroso turned her -face away from the men and hid it in the woman's bosom. - -Then came a cold rasping voice, charged with a bitter anger that -masqueraded as amusement. - -'What is this comedy, cousin?' asked Constantine. 'You love this man? -You, the Lady of the island--you who have pledged your troth to me?' -He turned to the people, spreading out his hands. - -'You all know,' said he--'you all know that we are plighted to one -another.' - -A murmuring assent greeted his words. 'Yes, they are betrothed,' I -heard half-a-dozen mutter, as they directed curious glances at Phroso. -'Yes, while the old lord lived they were betrothed.' - -Then I thought it time for me to take a hand in the game; so I stepped -forward, in spite of Kortes's restraining arm. - -'Be careful,' he whispered. 'Be careful.' - -I looked at him. His face was drawn and pale, like the face of a man -in pain, but he smiled still in his friendly open fashion. - -'I must speak,' I said. I walked up to within two yards of -Constantine, the islanders giving way before me, and I said loudly and -distinctly: - -'Was that same betrothal before you married your wife or afterwards?' - -He sprang half-way up from his seat, as if to leap upon me, but he -sank back again, his face convulsed with passion and his fingers -picking furiously at the turf by his side. 'His wife!' went round the -ring in amazed whisperings. - -'Yes, his wife,' said I. 'The wife who was with him when I saw him in -my country; the wife who came with him here, who was in the cottage -on the hill, whom Vlacho would have dragged by force to her death, who -lay last night yonder in the guardhouse. Where is she, Constantine -Stefanopoulos? Or is she dead now, and you free to wed the Lady -Euphrosyne? Is she alive, or has she by now learnt the secret of the -Stefanopouloi?' - -I do not know which made more stir among the people, my talk of his -wife or my hint about the secret. They crowded round me, hemming me -in. I saw Phroso no more; but Kortes pushed his way to my side. Then -the eyes of all turned on Constantine, where he sat with face working -and nails fiercely plucking the turf. - -'What is this lie?' he cried. 'I know nothing of a wife. True, there -was a woman in the cottage.' - -'Ay, there was a woman in the cottage,' said Kortes. 'And she was in -the guardhouse; but I did not know who she was, and I had no commands -concerning her; and this morning she was gone.' - -'That woman is his wife,' said I; 'but he and Vlacho had planned to -kill her, in order that he might marry your Lady and have your island -for himself.' - -Demetri suddenly cried, with a great appearance of horror and -disgust: - -'Shall he live to speak such a slander against my lord?' - -But Demetri gained no attention. I had made too much impression. - -'Who was the woman, then,' said I, 'and where is she?' - -Constantine, tricky and resourceful, looked again on the dead Vlacho. - -'I may not tell my friend's secrets,' said he, with an admirable -assumption of honour. 'And a foul blow has sealed Vlacho's lips.' - -'Yes,' cried I. 'Vlacho killed the old lord, and Vlacho brought the -woman! Indeed Vlacho serves my lord as well dead as when he lived! For -now his lips are sealed. Come, then--Vlacho bought the island, and -Vlacho slew Spiro, and now Vlacho has slain himself! Neither -Constantine nor I have done anything; but it is all Vlacho--the useful -Vlacho--Vlacho--Vlacho!' - -Constantine's face was a sight to see, and he looked no pleasanter -when my irony wrung smiles from some of the men round him, while -others bit their lips to stop smiles that sought to come. - -'Oh faithful servant!' I cried, apostrophising Vlacho, 'heavy are thy -sins! May'st thou find mercy for them!' - -I did not know what cards Constantine held. If he had succeeded in -spiriting away his wife, by fair means or foul, he had the better -chance; but if she were still free, alive and free, then he played a -perilous hand and was liable to be utterly confounded. Yet he was -forced to action; I had so moved the people that they looked for more -than mere protests from him. - -'The stranger who came to steal our island,' said he, skilfully -prejudicing me by this description, 'asks me where the woman is. But I -ask it of him--where is she? For it stands with him to put her before -you that she may tell you whether I, Constantine Stefanopoulos, am -lying to you. Yet how long is it since you doubted the words of the -Stefanopouloi and believed strangers rather than them?' - -His appeal won on them. They met it with murmured applause. - -'You know me, you know my family,' he cried. 'Yet you hearken to the -desperate words of a man who fights for his life with lies! How shall -I satisfy you? For I have not the woman in my keeping. But have you -not heard me when I swore my love for my cousin before you and the old -lord who is dead? Am I a man to be forsworn? Shall I swear to you -now?' - -The current began to run strongly with him. He had called to his aid -patriotism, and the old clan-loyalty which bound the Neopalians to -his house, and they did not fail him. The islanders were ready to -trust him if he would pledge himself to them. - -'Swear then!' they cried. 'Swear to us on the sacred picture that what -the stranger says is a lie.' - -'On the sacred picture?' said he. 'Is it not too great and holy an -oath for such a matter? Is not my word enough for you?' - -But the old priest stepped forward. - -'It is a great matter,' said he, 'for it touches closely the honour of -your house, my lord, and on it hangs a man's life. Is any oath too -great when honour and life lie in the balance? Let your life stand -against his, for he who swears thus and falsely has no long life in -Neopalia. Here we guard the honour of St Tryphon.' - -'Yes, swear on the picture,' cried the people. 'It is enough if you -swear on the picture!' - -I could see that Constantine was not in love with the suggestion, but -he accepted it with tolerable grace, acquiescing in the old priest's -argument with a half-disdainful shrug. The people greeted his consent -with obvious pleasure, save only Demetri, who regarded him with a -doubtful expression. Demetri knew the truth, and, though he would cut -a throat with a light heart, he would shrink from a denial of the deed -when sworn on the holy picture. Truly conscience works sometimes in -strange ways, making the lesser sin the greater, and dwarfing vile -crimes to magnify their venial brethren. No, Demetri would not have -sworn on the picture; and when he saw it brought to Constantine he -shrank away from his leader, and I saw him privily and furtively cross -himself. But Constantine, freed by the scepticism he had learnt in the -West to practise the crimes the East had taught him, made little -trouble about it. When the ceremonies that had attended the old -woman's oath earlier in the day had been minutely, solemnly, and -tediously repeated, he swore before them as bravely as you please and -thereby bid fair to write my death-warrant in his lying words. For -when the oath was done, the most awful names in heaven standing -sanction to his perjury, and he ceased, saying, 'I have sworn,' the -eyes of the men round him turned on me again and seemed to ask me -silently what plea for mercy I could now advance. But I caught at my -chance. - -'Let Demetri swear,' said I coolly, 'that, so far as his knowledge -goes, the truth is no other than what the Lord Constantine has sworn.' - -'A subterfuge!' cried Constantine impatiently. 'What should Demetri -know of it?' - -'If he knows nothing it is easy for him to swear,' said I. 'Men of the -island, a man should have every chance for his life. I have given you -back your island. Do this for me. Make Demetri swear. Ah, look at the -man! See, he shakes, his face goes pale, there is a sweat on his brow. -Why, why? Make him swear!' - -I should not have prevailed without the assisting evidence of the -rascal's face. It was as I said: he grew pale and sweated on the -forehead; he cleared his throat hoarsely, but did not speak. -Constantine's eyes said, 'Swear, fool, swear!' - -'Let Demetri also swear,' cried some. 'Yes, it is easy, if he knows -nothing.' - -Suddenly Phroso sprang forward. - -'Yes, let him swear,' she cried. 'Who is Chief here? Have I no power? -Let him swear!' And she signed imperiously to the priest. - -They brought the picture to Demetri. He shrank from it as though its -touch would kill him. - -'In the name of Almighty God, as you hope for mercy; in the name of -our Lord the Saviour, as you pray for pity; in the name of the Most -Blessed Spirit, whose Word is Truth; by the Most Holy Virgin, and by -our Holy Saint--' began the old man. But Demetri cried hoarsely: - -'Take it away, take it away. I will not swear.' - -'Let him swear,' said Phroso, and this time the whole throng caught up -her command and echoed it in fierce urgency. - -'Let him swear to tell the whole truth of what he knows, hiding -nothing, according to the terms of the oath,' said the priest, -pursuing his ritual. - -'He shall not swear,' cried Constantine, springing up. But he spoke to -deaf ears and won only looks of new-born suspicion. - -'It is the custom of the island,' they growled. 'It has been done in -Neopalia time out of mind.' - -'Yes,' said the priest. 'Time out of mind has a man been free to ask -this oath of whomsoever he suspected. Swear, Demetri, as our Lady and -our law bid.' And he ended the words of the oath. - -Demetri looked round to right, to left, and to right again. He sought -escape. There was none; his way was barred. His arms fell by his side. - -'Will you let me go unharmed if I speak the truth?' he asked sullenly. - -'Yes,' answered Phroso, 'if you speak the whole truth, you shall go -unhurt.' - -The excitement was intense now; for Demetri took the oath, Constantine -watching, with pale strained face. Then followed a moment's utter -silence, broken an instant later by an irresistible outbreak of -wondering cries, for Demetri said, 'Follow me,' and turned and began -to walk in the direction of the town. 'Follow me,' he said again. 'I -will tell the truth. I have served my lord well, but a man's soul is -his own. No master buys a man's soul. I will tell the truth.' - -The change in feeling was witnessed by what happened. At a sign from -the priest Kortes and another each took one of Constantine's arms and -raised him. He was trembling now and hardly able to set one foot -before the other. The dogs of justice were hard on his heels, and he -was a craven at heart. Thus bearing him with us, in procession we -followed Demetri from the place of assembly back to the steep narrow -street that ran up from the sea. On the way none spoke. In the middle -I walked; and in front of me went Phroso, the woman who had come to -comfort her still holding her arm in hers. - -On Demetri led us with quick decisive steps; but when he came to the -door of the inn which had belonged to that Vlacho whose body lay now -deserted on the level grass above the seashore, he halted abruptly, -then turned and entered. We followed, Constantine's supporters -bringing him also with us. We passed through the large lower room and -out of the house again into an enclosed yard, bounded on the seaward -side by a low stone wall, towards which the ground sloped rapidly. -Here Demetri stopped. - -'By my oath,' said he, 'and as God hears me! I knew not who this woman -was; but last night Vlacho bade me come with him to the cottage on the -hill, and, if he called me, I was to come and help him to carry her -to the house of my Lord Constantine. He called, and I, coming with -Kortes, found Vlacho dead. Kortes would not suffer me to touch the -lady, but bade me stay with Vlacho. But when Kortes was gone and -Vlacho dead, I ran and told my lord what had happened. My lord was -greatly disturbed and bade me come with him; so we came together to -the town and passed together by the guardhouse.' - -'Lies, foul lies,' cried Constantine; but they bade him be quiet, and -Demetri continued in a composed voice: - -'There Kortes watched. My lord asked him whom he held prisoner; and -when he heard that it was the Englishman, he sought to prevail on -Kortes to deliver him up; but Kortes would not without the command of -the Lady Euphrosyne. Then my lord said, "Have you no other prisoner, -Kortes?" Kortes answered, "There is a woman here whom we found in the -cottage; but you gave me no orders concerning her, my lord, neither -you, nor the Lady of the island." "I care nothing about her," said my -lord with a shrug of his shoulders, and he and I turned away and -walked some paces up the street. Then, at my lord's bidding, I -crouched down with him in the shadow of a house and waited. Presently, -when the clock had struck two, we saw Kortes come out from the -guardhouse; and the woman was with him. Now we were but fifty feet -from them, and the wind was blowing from them to us, and I heard what -the lady said.' - -'It happened as he says,' interrupted Kortes in a grave tone. 'I -promised secrecy, but I will speak now.' - -'"I must go to the Lady Euphrosyne," said she to Kortes,' continued -Demetri. '"I have something to say to her." Kortes answered, "She is -lodging at the house of the priest. It is the tenth house on the left -hand as you mount the hill." She thanked him, and he turned back into -the guardhouse, and we saw no more of him. The lady came slowly and -fearfully up the road; my lord beside me laughed gently, and twisted a -silk scarf in his hand; there was nobody in the street except my lord, -the lady and me; and as she went by my lord sprang out on her, and -twisted the scarf across her mouth before she could cry out. Then he -and I lifted her, and carried her swiftly down the street. We came -here, to Vlacho's inn; the door was open, for Vlacho had gone out; it -had not yet become known that he would never return. We carried her -swiftly through the house and brought her where we stand now, and laid -her on the ground. My lord tied her hands and her feet, so that she -lay still; her mouth was already gagged. Then my lord drew me aside -and took five pieces of gold from his purse and said, looking into my -eyes, "Is it enough?" I understood, and said, "It is enough, my lord," -and he pressed my hand and left me, without going again near the -woman. And I, having put the five pieces in my purse, drew my knife -from its sheath and came and stood over the woman, looking how I might -best strike the blow. She was gagged and tied and lay motionless. But -the night was bright, and I saw her eyes fixed on mine. I stood long -by her with my knife in my hand; then I knelt down by her to strike. -But her eyes burned into my heart, and suddenly I seemed to hear Satan -by my side, chuckling and whispering, "Strike, Demetri, strike! Art -thou not damned already? Strike!" And I did not dare to look to the -right or the left, for I felt the Fiend by me. So I shut my eyes and -grasped my knife; but the lady's eyes drew mine open again, although I -struggled to keep them shut. Now many devils seemed to be round me; -and they were gleeful, saying, "Oh, he is ours! Yes, Demetri is ours. -He will do this thing and then surely he is ours!" Suddenly I sobbed; -and when my sob came, a gleam lighted the lady's eyes. Her eyes looked -like the eyes of the Blessed Virgin in the church; I could not strike -her. I flung down my knife and fell to sobbing. As I sobbed the noise -of the devils ceased; and I seemed to hear instead a voice from above -that said to me very softly, "Have I died to keep thy soul alive, and -thou thyself wouldst kill it, Demetri?" I know not if any one spoke; -but the night was very still, and I was afraid, and I cried low, -"Alas, I am a sinner!" But the voice said, "Sin no more;" and the eyes -of the lady implored me. But then they closed, and I saw that she had -fainted. And I raised her gently in my arms and carried her across -this piece of ground where we stand.' - -He ended, and stood for a moment silent and motionless. None of us -spoke. - -'I took her,' said he, 'there, where the wall ends; for I knew that -Vlacho had his larder there. The door of the larder was locked, but I -set the lady down and returned and took my knife from the ground, and -I forced the lock and took her in, and laid her on the floor of the -larder. Then I returned to the house, and called to Panayiota, -Vlacho's daughter, with whom I am of kin. When she came I charged her -to watch the lady till I returned, saying that Vlacho had bidden me -bring her here; for I meant to return in a few hours and carry the -lady to some place of safety, if I could find one. Panayiota, fearing -Vlacho and having an affection for me, promised faithfully to keep the -lady safe. Then I ran after my lord, and found him at the house, and -told him that the deed was done, and that I had hidden the body here; -and I craved leave to return and make a grave for the body or carry it -to the sea. But he said, "It will be soon enough in the evening. We -shall be quit of troubles by the evening. Does any one know?" I -answered rashly, "Panayiota knows." And he was enraged, fearing -Panayiota would betray us; but when he heard that she and I were -lovers, he was appeased; yet I could not find means to leave him and -return to the lady.' - -Demetri ended. Phroso, without a look at any one of us, stepped -lightly to the spot he had described. There was a low hut there, with -a stout wooden door. Phroso knocked on it, but there came no answer. -She beckoned to Kortes, and he, coming, wrenched open the door, which -seemed to have been fastened by some makeshift arrangement. Kortes -disappeared for an instant; then he came out again and motioned with -his hand. We crowded round the door, I among the first. There, indeed, -was a strange sight. For on the floor, propped against the side of the -hut, sat a buxom girl; her eyes were closed, her lips parted, and she -breathed in heavy regular breaths; Panayiota had watched faithfully -all night, and now slept at her post. Yet her trust was not betrayed. -On her lap rested the head of the lady whom Demetri had not found it -in his heart to kill; the bonds with which she had been bound lay on -the floor by her; and she also, pale and with shadowed rings about her -eyes, slept the sleep of utter exhaustion and weariness. We stood -looking at the strange sight--a sudden gleam of peace and homely -kindness breaking across the dark cloud of angry passions. - -'Hush,' said Phroso very softly. She stepped forward and fell on her -knees by the sleeping woman, and she lightly kissed Constantine's wife -on the brow. 'Praise be to God!' said Phroso softly, and kissed her -again. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -LAW AND ORDER - - -At last the whirligig seemed to have taken a turn in my favour, the -revolutions of the wheel at last to have brought my fortune uppermost. -For the sight of Francesca in Panayiota's arms came pat in -confirmation of the story wrung from Demetri by the power of his oath, -and his 'Behold!' was not needed to ensure acceptance for his -testimony. From women rose compassionate murmurs, from men angry -growlings which expressed, while they strove to hide, the shamefaced -emotions that the helpless woman's narrow escape created. Her -salvation must bring mine with it; for it was the ruin of her husband -and my enemy. - -Kortes and another dragged Constantine Stefanopoulos forward till he -stood within two or three yards of his wife. None interposed on his -behalf or resented the rough pressure of Kortes's compelling hand. And -even as he was set there, opposite the women, they, roused by the -subdued stir of the excited throng, awoke. First into one another's -eyes, then round upon us, came their startled glances; then Francesca -leapt with a cry to her feet, ran to me, and threw herself on her -knees before me, crying, 'You'll save me, my lord, you'll save me?' -Demetri hung his head in sullen half-contrition mingled with an -unmistakable satisfaction in his religious piety; Constantine bit and -licked his thin lips, his fists tight clenched, his eyes darting -furtively about in search of friends or in terror of avengers. And -Phroso said in her soft clear tones: - -'There is no more need of fear, for the truth is known.' - -Her eyes, though they would not meet mine, rested long in tender -sympathy on the woman who still knelt at my feet. Here indeed she -remained till Phroso came forward and raised her, while the old priest -lifted his voice in brief thanks to heaven for the revelation wrought -under the sanction of the Holy Saint. For myself, I gave a long sigh -of relief; the strain had been on me now for many hours, and it tires -a man to be knocking all day long at the door of death. Yet almost in -the instant that the concern for my own life left me (that is a thing -terribly apt to fill a man's mind) my thoughts turned to other -troubles: to my friends, who were--I knew not where; to Phroso, who -had said--I scarcely knew what. - -Suddenly, striking firm and loud across the murmurs and the threats -that echoed round the ring in half-hushed voices, came Kortes's tones. - -'And this man? What of him?' he asked, his hand on Constantine's -shaking shoulder. 'For he has done all that the stranger declared of -him: he has deceived our Lady Euphrosyne, he has sought to kill this -lady here, we have it from his own mouth that he slew the old lord, -though he knew well that the old lord had yielded.' - -Constantine's wife turned swiftly to the speaker. - -'Did he kill the old lord?' she asked. 'He told me that it was Spiro -who struck him in the heat of the brawl.' - -'Ay, Spiro or Vlacho, or whom you will,' said Kortes with a shrug. -'There was no poverty of lies in his mouth.' - -But the old feeling was not dead, and one or two again murmured: - -'The old lord sold the island.' - -'Did he die for that?' cried Francesca scornfully; 'or was it not in -truth I who brought him to death?' - -There was a movement of surprised interest, and all bent their eyes on -her. - -'Yes,' she went on, 'I think I doomed him to that death when I went -and told him my story, seeking his protection. Constantine found me -with him, and heard him greet me as his nephew's wife, on the -afternoon of the day that the deed was done. Can this man here deny -it? Can he deny that the old lord was awaiting the return of the Lady -Euphrosyne to tell her of the thing, when his mouth was shut for ever -by the stroke?' - -This disclosure, showing a new and vile motive for what Constantine -had tried to play off as a pardonable excess of patriotism, robbed him -of his last defenders. He seemed to recognise his plight; his eyes -ceased to canvass possible favour, and dropped to the ground in dull -despair. There was not a man now to raise a voice or a hand for him; -their anger at having been made his dupes and his tools sharpened the -edge of their hatred. To me his wife's words caused no wonder, for I -had from the first believed that some secret motive had nerved -Constantine's arm, and that he had taken advantage of the islanders' -mad folly for his own purposes. What that motive was stood out now -clear and obvious. It explained his act, and abundantly justified the -distrust and fear of him which I had perceived in his wife's mind when -first I talked with her on the hill. But she, having launched her -fatal bolt, turned her eyes away again, and laying her hand in -Phroso's stood silent. - -Kortes, appearing to take the lead now by general consent--for Phroso -made no sign--looked round on his fellow-countrymen, seeking to gather -their decision from their faces. He found the guidance and agreement -that he sought. - -'We may not put any man to death on St Tryphon's day,' said he. - -The sentence was easy to read, for all its indirectness. The islanders -understood it, and approved in a deep stern murmur; the women followed -it, and their faces grew pale and solemn. The criminal missed nothing -of its implied doom and tottered under the strong hands that now -rather supported than imprisoned him. 'Not on this day, but to-morrow -at break of day.' The voice of the people had spoken by the mouth of -Kortes, and none pleaded for mercy or delay. - -'I will take him to the guardhouse and keep him,' said Kortes; and the -old priest murmured low, 'God have mercy on him!' Then, with a swift -dart, Phroso sprang towards Kortes; her hands were clasped, her eyes -prayed him to seek some ground of mercy, some pretext for a lighter -sentence. She said not a word, but everyone of us read her eloquent -prayer. Kortes looked round again; the faces about him were touched -with a tenderness that they had not worn before; but the tenderness -was for the advocate, no part of it reached the criminal. Kortes shook -his head gravely. Phroso turned to the woman who had comforted her -before, and hid her face. Constantine, seeing the last hope gone, -swayed and fell into the arms of the man who, with Kortes, held him, -uttering a long low moan of fear and despair, terrible to listen to, -even from lips guilty as his. Thus was Constantine Stefanopoulos tried -for his life in the yard of Vlacho's inn in Neopalia. The trial ended, -he was carried out into the street on his way to the prison, and we, -one and all, in dead silence, followed. The yard was emptied, and the -narrow street choked with the crowd which attended Kortes and his -prisoner till the doors of the guardhouse closed on them. - -Then, for the first time that day, Phroso's eyes sought mine in a -rapid glance, in which I read joy for my safety; but the glance fell -as I answered it, and she turned away in confusion. Her avowal, -forgotten for an instant in gladness, recurred to her mind and dyed -her cheeks red. Averting my eyes from her, I looked down the slope of -the street towards the sea. The thought of her and of nothing else was -in my mind. - -Ah, my island! My sweet capricious island! - -A sudden uncontrollable exclamation burst from my lips and, raising my -hand, I pointed to the harbour and the blue water beyond. Every head -followed the direction of my outstretched finger; every pair of eyes -was focussed on the object that held mine. A short breathless -silence--a momentary wonder--then, shrill or deep, low in fear or loud -in excitement, broke forth the cry: - -'The Governor! The Governor!' - -For a gunboat was steaming slowly into the harbour of Neopalia, and -the Turkish flag flew over her. - -The sight wrought transformation. In a moment, as it seemed to me, the -throng round me melted away. The street grew desolate, the houses on -either side swallowed their eager occupants; Kortes alone, with his -prisoner, knew nothing of the fresh event, only Phroso and Francesca -stood their ground. Demetri was slinking hastily away. The old priest -was making for his home. The shutters of dead Vlacho's inn came down, -and girls bustled to and fro, preparing food. I stood unwatched, -unheeded, apparently forgotten; festival, tumult, trial, condemnation -seemed passed like visions; the flag that flew from the gunboat -brought back modern days, the prose of life, and ended the wild -poetic drama that we had played and a second One-eyed Alexander might -worthily have sung. How had the Governor come before his time, and -why? - -'Denny!' I cried aloud in inspiration and hope, and I ran as though -the foul fiends whom Demetri had heard were behind me. Down the steep -street and on to the jetty I ran. As I arrived there the gunboat also -reached it, and, a moment later, Denny was shaking my hand till it -felt like falling off, while from the deck of the boat Hogvardt and -Watkins were waving wild congratulations. - -Denny had jumped straight from deck to jetty; but now a gangway was -thrust out, and I passed with him on to the deck, and presented -myself, with a low bow, to a gentleman who stood there. He was a tall -full-bodied man, apparently somewhat under fifty years old; his face -was heavy and broad, in complexion dark and sallow; he wore a short -black beard; his lips were full, his eyes acute and small. I did not -like the look of him much; but he meant law and order and civilisation -and an end to the wild ways of Neopalia. For this, as Denny whispered -to me, was no less a man than the Governor himself, Mouraki Pasha. I -bowed again yet lower; for I stood before a man of whom report had -much to tell--something good, much bad, all interesting. - -He spoke to me in low, slow, suave tones, employing the Greek -language, which he spoke fluently, although as a foreigner. For -Mouraki was by birth an Armenian. - -'You must have much to tell me, Lord Wheatley,' he said with a smile. -'But first I must assure you with what pleasure I find you alive and -unhurt. Be confident that you shall not want redress for the wrongs -which these turbulent rascals have inflicted on you. I know these men -of Neopalia: they are hard men; but they also know me, and that I, in -my turn, can be a hard man if need be.' His looks did not belie his -words, as his sharp eye travelled with an ominous glance over the -little town by the harbour. 'But you will wish to speak with your -friends first,' he went on courteously. 'May I ask your attention in -half-an-hour's time from now?' - -I bowed obedience. The great man turned away, and Denny caught me by -the arm, crying, 'Now, old man, tell us all about it.' - -'Wait a bit,' said I rather indignantly. 'Just you tell me all about -it.' - -But Denny was firmer than I, and my adventures came before his. I told -them all faithfully, save one incident; it may perhaps be guessed -which. Denny and the other two listened with frequent exclamations of -surprise, and danced with exultation at the final worsting of -Constantine Stefanopoulos. - -'It's all right,' said Denny reassuringly. 'Old Mouraki will hang him -just the same.' - -'Now it's your turn,' said I. - -'Oh, our story's nothing. We just got through that old drain, and came -out by the sea, and all the fishermen had gone off to the -fishing-grounds, except one old chap they left behind to look after -their victuals. Well, we didn't know how to get back to you, and the -old chap told us that the whole place was alive with armed ruffians, -so--' - -'Just tell the story properly, will you?' said I sternly. - -At last, by pressing and much questioning, I got the story from them, -and here it is; for it was by no means so ordinary a matter as Denny's -modesty would have had me think. When the consternation caused by the -cutting of our rope had passed away, a hurried council decided them to -press on with all speed, and they took their way along a narrow, damp -and slippery ledge of rock which encircled the basin. So perilous did -the track seem that Hogvardt insisted on their being roped as though -for a mountaineering ascent, and thus they continued the journey. The -first opening from the basin they found without much difficulty. Now -the rope proved useful, for Denny, passing through first, fell -headlong into space and most certainly would have perished but for the -support his companions gave him. The track turned at right angles to -the left, and Denny had walked straight over the edge of the rock. -Sobered by this accident and awake to their peril (it must be -remembered that they had no lantern), they groped their way slowly and -cautiously, up and down, in and out. Hours passed. Watkins, less -accustomed than the others to a physical strain, could hardly lift his -feet. All this while the dim glimmer which Denny had seen retreated -before them, appearing to grow no nearer for all their efforts. They -walked, as they found afterwards--or walked, crawled, scrambled and -jumped--for eleven hours, their haste and anxiety allowed no pause for -rest. Then they seemed to see the end, for the winding tortuous track -appeared at last to make up its mind. It took a straight downward -line, and Denny's hard-learned caution vanishing, he started along it -at a trot and with a hearty hurrah. He tempted fate. The slope became -suddenly a drop. This time all three fell with a splash and a thud -into a deep pool, one on the top of the other. Here they scrambled for -some minutes, Watkins coming very near to finding an end of the -troubles of his eventful service. But Denny and Hogvardt managed to -get him out. The path began again. Content with its last freak, it -pursued now a business-like way, the glimmer grew to a gleam, the gleam -spread into a glad blaze. 'The sea, the sea!' cried Denny. A last -spurt landed them in a cave that bordered on the blue waters. What -they did on that I could by no means persuade them to tell; but had I -been there I should have thanked God and shaken hands; and thus, I -dare say, did they. And besides that, they lay there, dog-tired and -beaten, for an hour or more, in one of those despondent fits that -assail even brave men, making sure that I was dead or taken, and that -their own chances of escape were small, and, since I was dead or -taken, hardly worth the seeking. - -They were roused by an old man, who suddenly entered the cave, bearing -a bundle of sticks in his arms. At sight of them he dropped his load -and turned to fly; but they were on him in an instant, seizing him and -crying to know who he was. He had as many questions for them; and when -he learned who they were and how they had come, he raised his hands in -wonder, and told Hogvardt, who alone could make him understand, that -their fears were well grounded. He had met a Neopalian but an hour -since, and the talk in all the island was of how the stranger had -killed Vlacho and been taken by Kortes, and would die on the next -day; for this was the early morning of the feast-day. Denny was for a -dash; but a dash meant certain death. Watkins was ready for the -venture, though the poor fellow could hardly crawl. Hogvardt held firm -to the chance that more cautious measures gave. The old man's comrades -were away at their fishing-grounds, ten miles out at sea; but he had a -boat down on the beach. Thither they went, and set out under the -fisherman's guidance, pulling in desperate perseverance, with numb -weary limbs, under the increasing heat of the sun. But their wills -asked too much of their bodies. Watkins dropped his oar with a groan; -Denny's moved weakly and uselessly through the water that hardly -stirred under its blade; Hogvardt at last flung himself into the stern -with one groan of despair. The old fisherman cast resigned eyes up to -heaven, and the boat tossed motionlessly on the water. Thus they lay -while I fought my duel with Constantine Stefanopoulos on the other -side of Neopalia. - -Then, while they were still four miles from the fishing-fleet, where -lay their only known chance of succour for me or for themselves, there -came suddenly to their incredulous eyes a shape on the sea and a -column of smoke. Denny's spring forward went near to capsizing the -boat. Oars were seized again, weariness fled before hope, the gunboat -came in view, growing clear and definite. She moved quickly towards -them, they slowly, yet eagerly, to her; the interval grew less and -less. They shouted before they could be heard, and shouted still in -needless caution long after they had been heard. A boat put out to -them: they were taken on board, their story heard with shrugs of -wonder. Mouraki could not be seen. 'I'll see him!' cried Denny, and -Hogvardt plied the recalcitrant officer with smooth entreaties. The -life of a man was at stake! But he could not be seen. The life of an -Englishman! His Excellency slept through the heat of the day. The life -of an English lord! His Excellency would be angry, but--! The contents -of Denny's pocket, wild boasts of my power and position (I was a -favourite at Court, and so forth), at last clinched the matter. His -Excellency should be roused; heaven knew what he would say, but he -should be roused. He went to Neopalia next week; now he was sailing -past it, to inspect another island; perhaps he would alter the order -of his voyage. He was fond of Englishmen. It was a great lord, was it -not? So, at last, when Hogvardt was at his tongue's end, and Denny -almost mad with rage, Mouraki was roused. He heard their story, and -pondered on it, with leisurely strokings of his beard and keen long -glances of his sharp eyes. At last came the word, 'To the island -then!' and a cheer from the three, which Mouraki suffered with patient -uplifted brows. Thus came Mouraki to Neopalia; thus came, as I hoped, -an end to our troubles. - -More than the half-hour which the Governor had given me passed swiftly -in the narrative; then came Mouraki's summons and my story to him, -heard with courteous impassivity, received at its end with plentiful -assurances of redress for me and punishment for the islanders. - -'The island shall be restored to you,' said he. 'You shall have every -compensation, Lord Wheatley. These Neopalians shall learn their -lesson.' - -'I want nothing but justice on Constantine,' said I. 'The island I -have given back.' - -'That goes for nothing,' said he. 'It was under compulsion: we shall -not acknowledge it. The island is certainly yours. Your title has been -recognised: you could not transfer it without the consent of my -Government.' - -I did not pursue the argument. If Mouraki chose to hand the island -back to me, I supposed that I could, after such more or less tedious -forms as were necessary, restore it to Phroso. For the present the -matter was of small moment; for Mouraki was there with his men, and -the power of the Lord--or Lady--of Neopalia in abeyance. The island -was at the feet of the Governor. - -Indeed such was its attitude, and great was the change in the -islanders when, in the cool of the evening, I walked up the street by -Mouraki's side escorted by soldiers and protected by the great gun of -the gunboat commanding the town. There were many women to watch us, -few men, and these unarmed, with downcast eyes and studious meekness -of bearing. Mouraki seemed to detect my surprise. - -'They made a disturbance here three years ago,' said he, 'and I came. -They have not forgotten.' - -'What did you do to them?' I made bold to ask. - -'What was necessary,' he said; and--'They are not Armenians,' added -the Armenian Governor with a smile which meant much; among other -things, as I took it, that no tiresome English demanded fair trial for -riotous Neopalians. - -'And Constantine?' said I. I hope that I was not too vindictive. - -'It is the feast of St Tryphon,' said his Excellency, with another -smile. - -We were passing the guardhouse now. An officer and five men fell out -from the ranks of our escort and took their stand by its doors. We -passed on, leaving Constantine in this safe keeping; and Mouraki, -turning to me, said, 'I must ask you for hospitality. As Lord of the -island, you enjoy the right of entertaining me.' - -I bowed. We turned into the road that led to the old grey house; when -we were a couple of hundred yards from it, I saw Phroso coming out of -the door. She walked rapidly towards us, and paused a few paces from -the Governor, making a deep obeisance to him and bidding him welcome -to her poor house in stately phrases of deference and loyalty. Mouraki -was silent, surveying her with a slight smile. She grew confused under -his wordless smiling; her greetings died away. At last he spoke, in -slow deliberate tones: - -'Is this the lady,' said he, 'who raises a tumult and resists my -master's will, and seeks to kill a lord who comes peaceably and by -lawful right to take what is his?' - -I believe I made a motion as though to spring forward. Mouraki's -expressive face displayed a marvelling question; did I mean such -insolence as lay in interrupting him? I fell back; a public -remonstrance could earn only a public rebuff. - -'Strange are the ways of Neopalia,' said he, his gaze again on -Phroso. - -'I am at your mercy, my lord,' she murmured. - -'And what is this talk of your house? What house have you? I see here -the house of this English lord, where he will receive me courteously. -Where is your house?' - -'The house belongs to whom you will, my lord,' she said. 'Yet I have -dared to busy myself in making it ready for you.' - -By this time I was nearly at boiling point, but still I controlled -myself. I rejoiced that Denny was not there, he and the others having -resumed possession of the yacht, and arranged to sleep there, in order -to leave more room for Mouraki's accommodation. Phroso stood in -patient submission; Mouraki's eyes travelled over her from head to -foot. - -'The other woman?' he asked abruptly. 'Your cousin's wife--where is -she?' - -'She is at the cottage on the hill, my lord, with a woman to attend on -her.' - -After another pause he motioned with his hand to Phroso to take her -place by him, and thus we three walked up to the house. It was alive -now with women and men, and there was a bustle of preparation for the -great man. - -Mouraki sat down in the armchair which I had been accustomed to use, -and, addressing an officer who seemed to be his _aide-de-camp_, -issued quick orders for his own comfort and entertainment; then he -turned to me and said civilly enough: - -'Since you seem reluctant to act as host, you shall be my guest while -I am here.' - -I murmured thanks. He glanced at Phroso and waved his hand in -dismissal. She drew back, curtseying, and I saw her mount the stairs -to her room. Mouraki bade me sit down, and his orderly brought him -cigarettes. He gave me one and we began to smoke, Mouraki watching the -coiling rings, I furtively studying his face. I was in a rage at his -treatment of Phroso. But the man interested me. I thought that he was -now considering great matters: the life of Constantine, perhaps, or -the penalties that he should lay on the people of Neopalia. Yet even -these would seem hardly great to him, who had moved in the world of -truly great affairs, and was in his present post rather by a temporary -loss of favour than because it was adequate to his known abilities. -With such thoughts I studied him as he sat smoking silently. - -Well, man is very human, and great men are often even more human than -other men. For when Mouraki saw that we were alone, when he had -finished his cigarette, flung it away and taken another, he observed -to me, obviously summarising the result of those meditations to which -my fancy had imparted such loftiness: - -'Yes, I don't know that I ever saw a handsomer girl.' - -There was nothing to say but one thing, and I said it. - -'No more did I, your Excellency,' said I. - -But I was not pleased with the expression of Mouraki's eye; the -contentment induced in me by the safety of my friends, by my own -escape, and by the end of Constantine's ill-used power, was suddenly -clouded as I sat and looked at the baffling face and subtle smile of -the Governor. What was it to him whether Phroso were a handsome girl -or not? - -And I suppose I might just as well have added--What was it to me? - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE SMILES OF MOURAKI PASHA - - -At the dinner-table Mouraki proved a charming companion. His official -reserve and pride vanished; he called me by my name simply, and -extorted a like mode of address from my modesty. He professed rapture -at meeting a civilised and pleasant companion in such an -out-of-the-way place; he postponed the troubles and problems of -Neopalia in favour of a profusion of amusing reminiscences and pointed -anecdotes. He gave me a delightful evening, and bade me the most -cordial of good-nights. I did not know whether his purpose had been to -captivate or merely to analyse me; he had gone near to the former, and -I did not doubt that he had succeeded entirely in the latter. Well, -there was nothing I wanted to conceal--unless it might be something -which I was still striving to conceal even from myself. - -I rose very early the next morning. The Pasha was not expected to -appear for two or three hours, and he had not requested my presence -till ten o'clock breakfast. I hastened off to the harbour, boarded the -yacht, enjoyed a merry cup of coffee and a glorious bathe with Denny. -Denny was anxious to know my plans--whether I meant to return or to -stay. The idea of departure was odious to me. I enlarged on the -beauties of the island, but Denny's shrug insinuated a doubt of my -candour. I declared that I saw no reason for going, but must be guided -by the Pasha. - -'Where's the girl?' asked Denny abruptly. - -'She's up at the house,' I answered carelessly. - -'Hum. Heard anything about Constantine being hanged?' - -'Not a word; Mouraki has not touched on business.' - -Denny had projected a sail, and was not turned from his purpose by my -unwillingness to accompany him. Promising to meet him again in the -evening, I took my way back up the street, where a day or two ago my -life would have paid for my venturing, where now I was as safe as in -Hyde Park. Women gave me civil greetings; the men did the like, or, at -worst, ignored me. I saw the soldiers on guard at Constantine's -prison, and pursued my path to the house with a complacent smile. My -island was beautiful that morning, and the blood flowed merrily in my -veins. I thought of Phroso. Where was the remorse which I vainly -summoned? - -Suddenly I saw Kortes before me, walking along slowly. He was relieved -of his duty then, and Constantine was no longer in his hands. -Overtaking him, I began to talk. He listened for a little, and then -raised his calm honest eyes to mine. - -'And the Lady Phroso?' he said gently. 'What of her?' - -I told him what I knew, softening the story of Mouraki's harshness. - -'You have not spoken to her yet?' he asked. Then, coming a step -nearer, he said, 'She shuns you perhaps?' - -'I don't know,' said I, feeling embarrassed under the man's direct -gaze. - -'It is natural, but it will last only till she has seen you once. I -pray you not to linger, my lord. For she suffers shame at having told -her love, even though it was to save you. It is hard for a maiden to -speak unasked.' - -I leaned my back against the rocky bank by the road. - -'Lose no time in telling her your love, my lord,' he urged. 'It may be -that she guesses, but her shame will trouble her till she hears it -from your lips. Seek her, seek her without delay.' - -I had forgotten my triumph over Constantine and the beauty of the -island. I felt my eyes drop before Kortes's look; but I shrugged my -shoulders, saying carelessly: - -'It was only a friendly device the Lady Phroso played to save me. She -doesn't really love me. It was a trick. But I'll thank her for it -heartily; it was of great help to me, and a hard thing for her to do.' - -'It was no trick. You know it was none. Wasn't the love in every tone -of her voice? Isn't it in every glance of her eyes when she is with -you--and most when she won't look at you?' - -'How come you to read her looks so well?' I asked. - -'From studying them deeply,' said he simply. 'I do not know if I love -her, my lord; she is so much above me that my thoughts have not dared -to fly to the height. But I would die for her, and I love no other. To -me, you, my lord, should be the happiest, proudest man alive. Pray -speak to her soon, my lord. My sister, whom you saw hold her in her -arms, would have made me sure if I had doubted. The lady murmurs your -name in her sleep.' - -A sudden irresistible exultation took hold of me. I think it turned my -face red, for Kortes smiled, saying, 'Ah, you believe now, my lord!' - -'Believe!' I cried. 'No, I don't believe. A thousand times, no! I -don't believe!' For I was crushing that exultation now as a man -crushes the foulest temptings. - -A puzzled look invaded Kortes's eyes. There was silence between us for -some moments. - -'It's absurd,' said I, in weak protest. 'She has known me only a few -days--only a few hours rather--and there were other things to think of -then than love-making.' - -'Love,' said he, 'is made most readily when a man does not think of -it, and a stout arm serves a suitor better than soft words. You fought -against her and for her; you proved yourself a man before her eyes. -Fear not, my lord; she loves you.' - -'Fear not!' I exclaimed in a low bitter whisper. - -'She said it herself,' continued Kortes. 'As her life, and more.' - -'Hold your tongue, man!' I cried fiercely. 'In the devil's name, what -has it to do with you?' - -A great wonder showed on his face, then a doubting fear; he came -closer to me and whispered so low that I hardly heard: - -'What ails you? Is it not well that she should love you?' - -'Let me alone,' I cried; 'I'll not answer your questions.' Why was the -fellow to cross-examine me? Ah, there's the guilty man's old question; -he loves a fine mock indignation, and hugs it to his heart. - -Kortes drew back a pace and bowed, as though in apology; but there was -no apology in the glance he fixed on me. I would not look him in the -face. I drew myself up as tall as I could, and put on my haughtiest -air. If he could have seen how small I felt inside! - -'Enough, Kortes,' said I, with a lordly air. 'No doubt your intentions -are good, but you forget what is becoming from you to me.' - -He was not awed; and I think he perceived some of the truth--not all; -for he said, 'You made her love you; that does not happen unless a -man's own acts help it.' - -'Do girls never rush uninvited on love, then?' I sneered. - -'Some perhaps, but she would not,' he answered steadily. - -He said no more. I nodded to him and set forward on my way. He bowed -again slightly, and stood still where he was, watching me. I felt his -eyes on me after we had parted. I was in a very tumult of discomfort. -The man had humiliated me to the ground. I hoped against hope that he -was wrong; and again, in helpless self-contradiction, my heart cried -out insisting on its shameful joy because he was right. Right or -wrong, wrong or right, what did it matter? Either way now lay misery, -either way now lay a struggle that I shrank from and abhorred. - -I was somewhat delayed by this interview, and when I arrived at the -house I found Mouraki already at breakfast. He apologised for not -having awaited my coming, saying, 'I have transacted much business. -Oh, I've not been in bed all the time! And I grew hungry. I have been -receiving some reports on the state of the island.' - -'It's quiet enough now. Your arrival has had a most calming effect.' - -'Yes, they know me. They are very much afraid, for they think I shall -be hard on them. They remember my last visit.' - -He made no reference to Constantine, and although I wondered rather at -his silence I did not venture again to question him. I wished that I -knew what had happened on his last visit. A man with a mouth like -Mouraki's might cause anything to happen. - -'I shall keep them in suspense a little while,' he pursued, smiling. -'It's good for them. Oh, by the way, Wheatley, you may as well take -this; or shall I tear it up?' And suddenly he held out to me the -document which I had written and given to Phroso when I restored the -island to her. - -'She gave you this?' I cried. - -'She?' asked Mouraki, with a smile of mockery. 'Is there, then, only -one woman in the world?' he seemed to ask sneeringly. - -'The Lady Euphrosyne, to whom I gave it,' I explained with what -dignity I could. - -'The Lady Phroso, yes,' said he, ('Hang his Phroso!' thought I.) 'I -had her before me this morning and made her give it up.' - -'I can only give it back to her, you know.' - -'My dear Wheatley, if you like to amuse yourself in that way I can -have no possible objection. Until you obtain a firman, however, you -will continue to be Lord of Neopalia and this Phroso no more than a -very rebellious young lady. But you'll enjoy a pleasant interview and -no harm will be done. Give it back by all means.' He smiled again, -shrugging his shoulders, and lit a cigarette. His manner was the -perfection of polite, patient, gentlemanly contempt. - -'It seems easier to get an island than to get rid of one,' said I, -trying to carry off my annoyance with a laugh. - -'It is the case with so many things,' agreed Mouraki: 'debts, -diseases, enemies, wives, lovers.' - -There was a little pause before the last word, so slight that I could -not tell whether it were intentional or not; and I had learnt to -expect no enlightenment from Mouraki's face or eyes. But he chose -himself to solve the mystery this time. - -'Do I touch delicate ground?' he asked. 'Ah, my dear lord, I find from -my reports that in the account you gave me of your experiences you let -modesty stand in the way of candour. It was natural perhaps. I don't -blame you, since I have found out elsewhere what you omitted to tell -me. Yet it was hardly a secret, since everybody in Neopalia knew it.' - -I smoked my cigarette, feeling highly embarrassed and very -uncomfortable. - -'And I am told,' pursued Mouraki, with his malicious smile, 'that the -idea of a Wheatley-Stefanopoulos dynasty is by no means unpopular. -Constantine's little tricks have disgusted them with him.' - -'What are you going to do with him?' I asked, risking any offence now -in order to turn the topic. - -'Do you really like jumping from subject to subject?' asked Mouraki -plaintively. 'I am, I suppose, a slow-minded Oriental, and it fatigues -me horribly.' - -I could have thrown the cigarette I was smoking in his face with keen -pleasure. - -'It is for your Excellency to choose the topic,' said I, restraining -my fury. - -'Oh, don't let us have "Excellencies" when we're alone together! -Indeed I congratulate you on your conquest. She is magnificent; and it -was charming of her to make her declaration. That's what has pleased -the islanders: they're romantic savages, after all, and the chivalry -of it touches them.' - -'It must touch anybody,' said I. - -'Ah, I suppose so,' said Mouraki, flicking away his ash. 'I questioned -her a little about it this morning.' - -'You questioned her?' For all I could do there was a quiver of anger -in my voice. I heard it myself, and it did not escape my companion's -notice. His smile grew broader. - -'Precisely. I have to consider everything,' said he. 'I assure you, my -dear Wheatley, that I did it in the most delicate manner possible.' - -'It couldn't be done in a delicate manner.' - -'I struggled,' said Mouraki, assuming his plaintive tone again, and -spreading out deprecatory hands. - -Was Mouraki merely amusing himself with a little 'chaff,' or had he a -purpose? He seemed like a man who would have a purpose. I grew cool on -the thought of it. - -'And did the lady answer your questions?' I asked carelessly. - -'Wouldn't it be a treachery in me to tell you what she said?' -countered Mouraki. - -'I think not; because there's no doubt that the whole thing was only a -good-natured device of hers.' - -'Ah! A very good-natured device indeed! She must be an amiable girl,' -smiled the Pasha. 'Precisely the sort of girl to make a man's home -happy.' - -'She hasn't much chance of marriage in Neopalia,' said I. - -'Heaven makes a way,' observed Mouraki piously. 'By-the-by, the device -seems to have imposed on our acquaintance Kortes.' - -'Oh, perhaps,' I shrugged. 'He's a little smitten himself, I think, -and so very ready to be jealous.' - -'How discriminating!' murmured Mouraki admiringly. 'As a fact, my dear -Wheatley, the lady said nothing. She chose to take offence.' - -'You surprise me!' I exclaimed with elaborate sarcasm. - -'And wouldn't speak. But her blushes were most lovely--yes, most -lovely. I envied you, upon my word I did.' - -'Since it's not true--' - -'Oh, a thing may be very pleasant to hear, even if it's not true. -Sincerity in love is an added charm, but not, my dear fellow, a -necessity.' - -A pause followed this reflection of the Pasha's. Then he remarked: - -'After all, we mustn't judge these people as we should judge -ourselves. If Constantine hadn't already a wife--' - -'What?' I cried, leaping up. - -'And perhaps that difficulty is not insuperable.' - -'He deserves nothing but hanging.' - -'A reluctant wife is hardly better.' - -'Of course you don't mean it?' - -'It seems to disturb you so much.' - -'It's a monstrous idea.' - -Mouraki laughed in quiet enjoyment of my excitement. - -'Then Kortes?' he suggested. - -'He's infinitely her inferior. Besides--forgive me--why is it your -concern to marry her to any one?' - -'In a single state she is evidently a danger to the peace of the -island,' he answered with assumed gravity. 'Now your young friend--' - -'Oh, Denny's a boy.' - -'You reject everyone,' he said pathetically, and his eyes dwelt on me -in amused scrutiny. - -'Your suggestions, my dear Pasha, seem hardly serious,' said I in a -huff. He was too many for me, and I struggled in vain against -betraying my ruffled temper. - -'Well then, I will make two serious suggestions; that is a handsome -_amende_. And for the first--yourself!' - -I waved my hand and gave an embarrassed laugh. - -'You say nothing to that?' - -'Oughtn't I to hear the alternative first?' - -'Indeed it is only reasonable. Well, then, the alternative--' He -paused, laughed, lit another cigarette. 'The alternative is--myself,' -said he. - -'Still not serious!' I exclaimed, forcing a smile. - -'Absolutely serious,' he asserted. 'I have the misfortune to be a -widower, and for the second time; so unkind is heaven. She is most -charming. I have, perhaps, a position which would atone for some want -of youth and romantic attractions.' - -'Of course, if she likes--' - -'I don't think she would persist in refusing,' said Mouraki with a -thoughtful smile; and he went on, 'Three years ago, when I came here, -she struck me as a beautiful child, one likely to become a beautiful -woman. You see for yourself that I am not disappointed. My wife was -alive at that time, but in bad health. Still I hardly thought -seriously of it then, and the idea did not recur to me till I saw -Phroso again. You look surprised.' - -'Well, I am surprised.' - -'You don't think her attractive, then?' - -'Frankly, that is not the reason for my surprise.' - -'Shall I go on? You think me old? It is a young man's delusion, my -dear Wheatley.' - -Bear-baiting may have been excellent sport--its defenders so -declare--but I do not remember that it was ever considered pleasant -for the bear. I felt now much as the bear must have felt. I rose -abruptly from the table. - -'All these things require thought,' said Mouraki gently. 'We will talk -of them again this afternoon. I have a little business to do now.' - -Saying this, he rose and leisurely took his way upstairs. I was left -alone in the hall so familiar to me; and my first thought was a regret -that I was not again a prisoner there, with Constantine seeking my -life, Phroso depending on my protection, and Mouraki administering -some other portion of his district. That condition of things had been, -no doubt, rather too exciting to be pleasant; but it had not made me -harassed, wretched, humiliated, exasperated almost beyond endurance: -and such was the mood in which the two conversations of the morning -left me. - -A light step sounded on the stair: the figure that of all figures I -least wished to see then, that I rejoiced to see more than any in the -world besides, appeared before me. Phroso came down. She reached the -floor of the hall and saw me. For a long moment we each rested as we -were. Then she stepped towards me, and I rose with a bow. She was very -pale, but a smile came on her lips as she murmured a greeting to me -and passed on. I should have done better to let her go. I rose and -followed. On the marble pavement by the threshold I overtook her; -there we stood again looking on the twinkling sea in the distance, as -we had looked before. I was seeking what to say. - -'I must thank you,' I said; 'yet I can't. It was magnificent.' - -The colour suddenly flooded her face. - -'You understood?' she murmured. 'You understood why? It seemed the -only way; and I think it did help a little.' - -I bent down and kissed her hand. - -'I don't care whether it helped,' I said. 'It was the thing itself.' - -'I didn't care for them--the people--but when I thought what you would -think--' She could not go on, but drew her hand, which she had left -an instant in mine as though forgetful of it, suddenly away. - -'I--I knew, of course, that it was only a--a stratagem,' said I. 'Oh, -yes, I knew that directly.' - -'Yes,' whispered she, looking over the sea. - -'Yes,' said I, also looking over the sea. - -'You forgive it?' - -'Forgive!' My voice came low and husky. I did not see why such things -should be laid on a man; I did not know if I could endure them. Yet I -would not have left her then for an angel's crown. - -'And you will forget it? I mean, you--' The whisper died into silence. - -'So long as I live I will not forget it,' said I. - -Then, by a seemingly irresistible impulse that came upon both of us, -we looked in one another's eyes, a long look that lingered and was -loth to end. As I looked, I saw, in joy that struggled with shame, a -new light in the glowing depths of Phroso's eyes, a greeting of an -undreamt happiness, a terrified delight. Then her lids dropped and she -began to speak quietly and low. - -'It came on me that I might help if I said it, because the islanders -love me, and so, perhaps, they wouldn't hurt you. But I couldn't look -at you. I only prayed you would understand, that you wouldn't -think--oh, that you wouldn't think--that--of me, my lord. And I didn't -know how to meet you to-day, but I had to.' - -I stood silent beside her, curiously conscious of every detail of -Nature's picture before me; for I had turned from her again, and my -eyes roamed over sea and island. But at that moment there came from -one of the narrow windows of the old house, directly above our heads, -the sound of a low, amused, luxurious chuckle. A look of dread and -shrinking spread over Phroso's face. - -'Ah, that man!' she exclaimed in an agitated whisper. - -'What of him?' - -'He has been here before. I have seen him smile and heard him laugh -like that when he sent men to death and looked on while they died. -Yes, men of our own island, men who had served us and were our -friends. Ah, he frightens me, that man!' She shuddered, stretching out -her hand in an unconscious gesture, as though she would ward off some -horrible thing. 'I have heard him laugh like that when a woman asked -her son's life of him and a girl her lover's. It kills me to be near -him. He has no pity. My lord, intercede with him for the islanders. -They are ignorant men: they did not know.' - -'Not one shall be hurt if I can help it,' said I earnestly. 'But--' I -stopped; yet I would go on, and I added, 'Have you no fear of him -yourself?' - -'What can he do to me?' she asked. 'He talked to me this morning -about--about you. I hate to talk with him. But what can he do to me?' - -I was silent. Mouraki had not hinted to her the idea which he had -suggested, in puzzling ambiguity between jest and earnest, to me. Her -eyes questioned me; then suddenly she laid her hand on my arm and -said: - -'And you would protect me, my lord. While you were here, I should be -safe.' - -'While!' The little word struck cold on my heart: my eyes showed her -the blow; in a minute she understood. She raised her hand from where -it lay and pointed out towards the sea. I saw the pretty trim little -yacht running home for the harbour after her morning cruise. - -'Yes, while you are here, my lord,' she said, with the most pitiful of -brave smiles. - -'As long as you want me, I shall be here,' I assured her. - -She raised her eyes to mine, the colour came again to her face. - -'As long as you are in any danger,' I added in explanation. - -'Ah, yes!' said she, with a sigh and drooping eyelids; and she went on -in a moment, as though recollecting a civility due and not paid, 'You -are very good to me, my lord; for your island has treated you -unkindly, and you will be glad to sail away from it to your home.' - -'It is,' said I, bending towards her, 'the most beautiful island in -the world, and I would love to stay in it all my life.' - -Again the pleased contented chuckle sounded from the window over our -heads. It seemed to strike Phroso with a new fit of sudden fear. With -a faint cry she darted out her hand and seized mine. - -'Don't be afraid. He sha'n't hurt you,' said I. - -A moment later we heard steps descending the stairs inside the house. -Mouraki appeared on the threshold. Phroso had sprung away from me and -stood a few paces off. Yet Mouraki knew that we had not stood thus -distantly before his steps were heard. He looked at Phroso and then at -me: a blush from her, a scowl from me, filled any gaps in his -knowledge. He stood there smiling--I began to hate the Pasha's -smiles--for a moment, and then came forward. He bowed slightly, but -civilly enough, to Phroso; then to my astonishment he took my hand and -began to shake it with a great appearance of cordiality. - -'Really I beg your pardon,' said I. 'What's the matter?' - -'The matter?' he cried in high good humour, or what seemed such. 'The -matter? Why, the matter, my dear Wheatley, is that you appear to be -both a very discreet fellow and a very fortunate one.' - -'I don't understand yet,' said I, trying to hide my growing -irritation. - -'Surely it's no secret?' he asked. 'It is generally known, isn't it?' - -'What's generally known?' I fairly roared in an exasperation that -mastered all self-control. - -The Pasha was not in the very least disturbed. He held a bundle of -letters in his left hand and he began now to sort them. He ended by -choosing one, which he held up before me, with a malicious humour -twinkling from under his heavy brows. - -'I get behindhand in my correspondence when I'm on a voyage,' said he. -'This letter came to Rhodes about a week ago, together with a mass of -public papers, and I have only this morning opened it. It concerns -you.' - -'Concerns me? Pray, in what way?' - -'Or rather it mentions you.' - -'Who is it from?' I asked. The man's face was full of triumphant -spite, and I grew uneasy. - -'It is,' said he, 'from our Ambassador in London. I think you know -him.' - -'Slightly.' - -'Precisely.' - -'Well?' - -'He asks how you are getting on in Neopalia, or whether I have any -news of you.' - -'You'll be able to answer him now.' - -'Yes, yes, with great satisfaction. And he will be able to answer some -inquiries which he has had.' - -I knew what was coming now. Mouraki beamed pleasure. I set my face. At -Phroso, who stood near all this while in silence, I dared not look. - -'From a certain lady who is most anxious about you.' - -'Ah!' - -'A Miss Hipgrave--Miss Beatrice Hipgrave.' - -'Ah, yes!' - -'Who is a friend of yours?' - -'Certainly, my dear Pasha.' - -'Who is, in fact--let me shake hands again--your future wife. A -thousand congratulations!' - -'Oh, thanks, you're very kind,' said I. 'Yes, she is.' - -I declare that I must have played this scene--no easy one--well, for -Mouraki's rapturous amusement disappeared. He seemed rather put out -He looked (and I hope felt) a trifle foolish. I kept a cool careless -glance on him. - -But his triumph came from elsewhere. He turned from me to Phroso, and -my eyes followed his. She stood rigid, frozen, lifeless; she devoured -my face with an appealing gaze. She made no sign and uttered no sound. -Mouraki smiled again; and I said: - -'Any London news, my dear Pasha?' - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A STROKE IN THE GAME - - -I was glad. As soon as I was alone and had time to think over -Mouraki's _coup_ I was glad. He had ended a false position into which -my weakness had led me; he had rendered it possible for me to serve -Phroso in friendship pure and simple; he had decided a struggle which -I had failed to decide for myself. It would be easy now (so I told -myself) for both of us to repose on that fiction of a good-natured -device and leave our innermost feelings in decent obscurity while we -counter-mined the scheme which the Pasha had in hand. This scheme he -proceeded to forward with all the patience and ability of which he was -master. For the next week or so matters seemed to stand still, but to -a closer study they revealed slow, yet uninterrupted, movement. I was -left almost entirely alone at the house; but I could not bring myself -to abandon my position and seek the society of my friends on the -yacht. Though reduced to idleness and robbed of any part in the drama, -I would not forsake the stage, but lagged a superfluous spectator of -an unpleasing piece. Mouraki was at work. He saw Phroso every day, and -for long interviews. I hardly set my eyes on her. The affairs of the -island afforded him a constant pretext for conferring with, or -dictating to, its Lady; I had no excuse for forcing an intercourse -which Phroso evidently was at pains to avoid. I could imagine the -Pasha's progress, not in favour or willing acceptance, for I knew her -fear and hatred of him, but in beating down her courage and creating a -despair which would serve him as well as love. Beyond doubt he was -serious in his design; his cool patience spoke settled purpose, his -obvious satisfaction declared a conviction of success. He acquiesced -in Phroso's seclusion, save when he sent for her; he triumphed in -watching me spend weary hours in solitary pacing up and down before -the house; he would look at me with a covert exultation and amuse -himself by a renewal of sympathetic congratulations on my engagement. -I do not think that he wished me away. I was the sauce to his dish, -the garlic in the salad, the spice in the sweetmeat over which he -licked appreciative lips. Thus passed eight or ten days, and I grew -more out of temper, more sour, and more determined with every setting -sun. Denny ceased to pray my company; I was not to be moved from the -neighbourhood of the house. I waited, the Pasha waited; he paved his -way, I lay in ambush by it; he was bent on conquering Phroso, I had no -design, only a passionate resolve that he should try a fall with me -first. - -There came a dark stormy evening, when the clouds sent down a thick -close rain and the wind blew in mournful gusts. Having escaped from -Mouraki's talk, I had watched him go upstairs, and myself had come out -to pace again my useless beat. I strayed a few hundred yards from the -house, and turned to look at the light in the Governor's window. It -shone bright and steady, seeming to typify his relentless unvarying -purpose. A sudden oath escaped from the weary sickness of my heart; -there came an unlooked-for answer at my elbow. - -'He acts, you talk, my lord. He works, you are content to curse him. -Which will win?' said a grave voice; and Kortes's handsome figure was -dimly visible in the darkness. 'He works, she weeps, you curse. Who -will win?' he asked again, folding his arms. - -'Your question carries its own answer, doesn't it?' I retorted -angrily. - -'Yes, if I have put it right,' said he; there was a touch of scorn in -his voice that I did not care to hear. 'Yes, it carries its own -answer, if you are content to leave it as I stated it.' - -'Content! Good God!' - -He drew nearer to me and whispered: - -'This morning he told her his purpose; this evening again--yes, now, -while we talk--he is forcing it on her. And what help has she?' - -'She won't let me help her; she won't let me see her.' - -'How can you help her, you who do nothing but curse?' - -'Look here, Kortes,' said I, 'I know all that. I'm a fool and a worm -and everything else you like to intimate; but your contempt doesn't -seem much more practical than my cursing. What's in your mind?' - -'You must keep faith with this lady in your own land?' - -'You know of her?' - -'My sister has told me--she who waits on the Lady Euphrosyne.' - -'Ah! Yes, I must keep faith with her.' - -'And with Mouraki?' he asked. - -My mind travelled with his. I caught him eagerly by the arm. I had his -idea in a moment. - -'Why that?' I asked. 'Yes, Kortes, why that?' - -'I thought you were so scrupulous, my lord.' - -'I have no scruples in deceiving this Mouraki.' - -'That's better, my lord,' he answered with a grim smile. 'By heavens, -I thought we were to dance together at the wedding!' - -'The wedding?' I cried. 'I think not. Kortes, do you mean--?' I made a -gesture that indicated some violence to Mouraki; but I added, 'It must -be open fight though.' - -'You mustn't touch a hair of his head. The island would answer -bitterly for that.' - -We stood in silence for a moment. Then I gave a short laugh. - -'My character is my own,' said I. 'I may blacken it if I like.' - -'It is only in the eyes of Mouraki Pasha,' said Kortes with a smile. - -'But will she understand? There must be no more--' - -'She will understand. You shall see her.' - -'You can contrive that?' - -'Yes, with my sister's help. Will you tell Mouraki first?' - -'No--her first. She may refuse.' - -'She loathes him too much to refuse anything.' - -'Good. When, then?' - -'To-night. She will leave him soon.' - -'But he watches her to her room.' - -'Yes; but you, my lord, know that there is another way.' - -'Yes, yes; by the roof. The ladder?' - -'It shall be there for you in an hour.' - -'And you, Kortes?' - -'I'll wait at the foot of it. The Pasha himself should not mount it -alive.' - -'Kortes, it is trusting me much.' - -'I know, my lord. If you were not a man to be trusted you would do -what you are going to pretend.' - -'I hope you're right. Kortes, it sets me aflame now to be near her.' - -'Can't I understand that, my lord?' said he, with a sad smile. - -'By heaven, you're a good fellow!' - -'I am a servant of the Stefanopouloi.' - -'Your sister will tell her before I come? I couldn't tell her myself.' - -'Yes; she shall be told before you come.' - -'In an hour, then?' - -'Yes.' And without another word, he strode by me. I caught his hand as -he went, and pressed it. Then I was alone in the darkness again, but -with a plan in my head and a weapon in my hand, and no more empty -useless cursings in my mouth. Busily rehearsing the part I was to -play, I resumed my quick pacing. It was a hard part, but a good part. -I would match Mouraki with his own weapons; my cynicism should beat -his, my indifference to the claims of honour overtop his shameless -use of terror or of force. The smiles should now be not all the -Pasha's. I would have a smile too, one that would, I trusted, compel a -scowl even from his smooth inscrutable face. - -I was walking quickly; on a sudden I came almost in contact with a -man, who leapt on one side to avoid me. 'Who's there?' I cried, -standing on my defence, as I had learnt was wise in Neopalia. - -'It is I, Demetri,' answered a sullen voice. - -'What are you doing here, Demetri? And with your gun!' - -'I walk by night, like my lord.' - -'Your walks by night have had a meaning before now.' - -'They mean no harm to you now.' - -'Harm to any one?' - -A pause followed before his gruff voice answered: - -'Harm to nobody. What harm can be done when my gracious lord the -Governor is on the island and watches over it?' - -'True, Demetri. He has small mercy for wrongdoers and turbulent -fellows such as some I know of.' - -'I know him as well as you, my lord, and better,' said the fellow. -His voice was charged with a passionate hate. 'Yes, there are many in -Neopalia who know Mouraki.' - -'So says Mouraki; and he says it as though it pleased him.' - -'One day he shall have proof enough to satisfy him,' growled Demetri. - -The savage rage of the fellow's tone had caught my attention, and I -gazed intently into his face; not even the darkness quite hid the -angry gleam of his deep-set eyes. - -'Demetri, Demetri,' said I, 'aren't you on a dangerous path? I see a -long knife in your belt there, and that gun--isn't it loaded? Come, go -back to your home.' - -He seemed influenced by my remonstrances, but he denied the suggestion -I made. - -'I don't seek his life,' he said sullenly. 'If we were strong enough -to fight openly--well, I say nothing of that. He killed my brother, my -lord.' - -'I killed a brother of yours too, Demetri.' - -'Yes, in honest fighting, when he sought to kill you. You didn't half -kill him with the lash, before his mother's eyes, and finish the work -with a rope.' - -'Mouraki did?' - -'Yes, my lord. But it is nothing, my lord. I mean no harm.' - -'Look here, Demetri. I don't love Mouraki myself, and you did me a -good turn a little while ago; but if I find you hanging about here -again with your gun and your knife I'll tell Mouraki, as sure as I'm -alive. Where I come from we don't assassinate. Do you see?' - -'I hear, my lord. Indeed I had no such purpose.' - -'You know your purpose best; and now you know what I shall do. Come, -be off with you, and don't shew yourself here again.' - -He cringed before me with renewed protestations; but his invention -provided no excuse for his presence. He swore to me that I wronged -him. I contented myself with ordering him off, and at last he went -off, striking back towards the village. 'Upon my word,' said I, 'it's -a nuisance to be honourably brought up.' For it would have been -marvellously convenient to let Demetri have a shot at the Pasha with -that gun of his, or a stab with the long knife he had fingered so -affectionately. - -This encounter had passed the time of waiting, and now I strolled back -to the house. It was hard on midnight. The light in Mouraki's window -was extinguished. Two soldiers stood sentry by the closed door. They -let me in and locked the door behind me. This watch was not kept on -me; Mouraki knew very well that I had no desire to leave the island. -Phroso was the prisoner and the prize that the Pasha guarded; perhaps, -also, he had an inkling that he was not popular in Neopalia, and that -he would not be wise to trust to the loyalty of its inhabitants. - -Soon I found myself in the compound at the back of the house. The -ladder was placed ready; Kortes stood beside it. There seemed to be -nobody else about. The rain still fell, and the wind had risen till it -whistled wildly in the wood. - -'She's waiting for you,' whispered Kortes. 'She knows and she will -second the plan.' - -'Where is she?' - -'On the roof. She's wrapped in my cloak; she will take no hurt.' - -'And Mouraki?' - -'He's gone to bed. She was with him two hours.' - -I mounted the ladder and found myself on the flat roof, where once -Phroso had stood gazing up towards the cottage on the hill. We were -fighting Constantine then; Mouraki was our foe now. Constantine lay a -prisoner, harmless, as it seemed, and helpless. I prayed for a like -good fortune in the new enterprise. An instant later I found Phroso's -hand in mine. I carried it to my lips, as I murmured my greeting in a -hushed voice. The first answer was a nervous sob, but Phroso followed -it with a pleading apology. - -'I'm so tired,' she said, 'so tired. I have fought him for two hours -to-night. Forgive me. I will be brave, my lord.' - -I had determined on a cold business-like manner. I went as straight to -the point as a busy man in his city office. - -'You know the plan? You consent to it?' I asked. - -'Yes. I think I understand it. It is good of you, my lord. For you may -run great danger through me.' - -That was indeed true, and in more senses than one. - -'I do for you what you did not hesitate to do for me,' said I. - -'Yes,' said Phroso in a very low whisper. - -'You pretended; well then, now I pretend.' My voice sounded not only -cold, but bitter and unpleasant. 'I think it may succeed,' I -continued. 'He won't dare to take any extreme steps against me. I -don't see how he can prevent our going.' - -'He will let us go, you think?' - -'I don't know how he can refuse. And where will you go?' - -'I have some friends at Athens, people who knew my father.' - -'Good. I'll take you there and--' I paused. 'I'll--I'll take you there -and--' Again I paused; I could not help it. 'And leave you there in -safety,' I ended at last in a gruff harsh whisper. - -'Yes, my lord. And then you will go home in safety?' - -'Perhaps. That doesn't matter.' - -'Yes, it does matter,' said she, softly. 'For I would not be in safety -unless you were.' - -'Ah, Phroso, don't do that,' I groaned inwardly. - -'Yes, you will go back in safety, back to your own land, back to the -lady--' - -'Never mind--' I began. - -'Back to the lady whom my lord loves,' whispered Phroso. 'Then you -will forget this troublesome island and the troublesome--the -troublesome people on it.' - -Her face was no more than a foot from mine--pale, with sad eyes and a -smile that quivered on trembling lips; the fairest face in the world -that I had seen or believed any man to have seen; and her hand rested -in mine. There may live men who would have looked over her head and -not in those eyes--saints or dolts; I was neither; not I. I looked. I -looked as though I should never look elsewhere again, nor cared to -live if I could not look. But Phroso's hand was drawn from mine and -her eyes fell. I had to end the silence. - -'I shall go straight to Mouraki to-morrow morning,' said I, 'and tell -him you have agreed to be my wife; that you will come with me under -the care of Kortes and his sister, and that we shall be married on the -first opportunity.' - -'But he knows about--about the lady you love.' - -'It won't surprise Mouraki to hear that I am going to break my faith -with--the lady I love,' said I. - -'No,' said Phroso, refusing resolutely to look at me again. 'It won't -surprise Mouraki.' - -'Perhaps it wouldn't surprise any one.' - -Phroso made no comment on this; and the moment I had said it I heard a -voice below, a voice I knew very well. - -'What's the ladder here for, my friend?' it asked. - -'It enables one to ascend or descend, my lord,' answered Kortes's -grave voice, without the least touch of irony. - -'It's Mouraki,' whispered Phroso; at the time of danger her frightened -eyes came back to mine, and she drew nearer to me. 'It's Mouraki, my -lord.' - -'I know it is,' said I; 'so much the better.' - -'That seems probable,' observed Mouraki. 'But to enable whom to ascend -and descend, friend Kortes?' - -'Anyone who desires, my lord.' - -'Then I will ascend,' said Mouraki. - -'A thousand pardons, my lord!' - -'Stand aside, sir. What, you dare--' - -'Run back to your room,' I whispered. 'Quick. Good-night.' I caught -her hand and pressed it. She turned and disappeared swiftly through -the door which gave access to the inside of the house and thence to -her room; and I--glad that the interview had been interrupted, for I -could have borne little more of it--walked to the battlements and -looked over. Kortes stood like a wall between the astonished Mouraki -and the ladder. - -'Kortes, Kortes,'I cried in a tone of grieved surprise, 'is it -possible that you don't recognise his Excellency?' - -'Why, Wheatley!' cried Mouraki. - -'Who else should it be, my dear Pasha? Will you come up, or shall I -come down and join you? Out of the way, Kortes.' - -Kortes, who would not obey Mouraki, obeyed me. Mouraki seemed to -hesitate about mounting. I solved the difficulty by descending -rapidly. I was smiling, and I took the Pasha by the arm, saying with a -laugh: - -[Illustration: "A THOUSAND PARDONS, MY LORD!"] - -'Caught that time, I'm afraid, eh? Well, I meant to tell you soon.' - -I had certainly succeeded in astonishing Mouraki this time. Kortes -added to his wonder by springing nimbly up the ladder, and pulling it -up after him. - -'I thought you were in bed,' said I. 'And when the cat's away the mice -will play, you know. Well, we're caught!' - -'We?' asked the Pasha. - -'Well, do you suppose I was alone? Is it the sort of night a man -chooses to spend alone on a roof?' - -'Who was with you then?' he asked, suspicion alive in his crafty eyes. - -I took him by the arm and led him into the house, through the kitchen, -till we reached the hall, when I said: - -'Am I not a man of taste? Who should it be?' - -He sat down in the great armchair, and a heavy frown gathered on his -brow. I cannot quite explain why, but I was radiant. The spirit of the -game had entered into me; I forgot the reality that was so full of -pain; I was as merry as though what I told him had been the happy -truth, instead of a tantalising impossible vision. - -'Oh, don't misunderstand me,' I laughed, standing opposite to him, -swaying on my feet, and burying my hands in my pockets. 'Don't wrong -me, my dear Pasha. It's all just as it should be. There's nothing -going on that should not go on under your Excellency's roof. It is all -on the most honourable footing.' - -'I don't understand your riddles or your mirth,' said Mouraki. - -'Ah! Now once I didn't quite appreciate yours. The wheel goes round, -my dear Pasha. Every dog has his day. Forgive me, I am naturally -elated. I meant to tell you at breakfast to-morrow, but since you -surprised our tender meeting, why, I'll tell you now. Congratulate me. -That charming girl has owned that her avowal of love for me was -nothing but bare truth, and has consented to make me happy.' - -'To marry you?' - -'My dear Pasha! What else could I mean?' I took my hands out of my -pockets, lit a cigarette and puffed the smoke luxuriously. Mouraki sat -motionless in his chair, his eyes cold and sharp on me, his brow -puckered. At last he spoke. - -'And Miss Hipgrave?' he asked sneeringly. - -'Is there a breach of promise of marriage law in Neopalia?' said I. -'In truth, my dear Pasha, I am a little to blame there; but you -mustn't be hard on me. I had a moment of conscientious qualms. I -confess it. But she's too lovely, she really is. And she's so fond of -me--oh, I couldn't resist it!' I was simpering like any affected young -lady-killer. - -Mouraki was a clever fellow, but the blow had been a sudden one. It -strains the control even of clever fellows when a formidable obstacle -springs up, at a moment's notice, on a path that they have carefully -prepared and levelled for their steps. The Pasha's rage mastered him. - -'You've changed your mind rapidly, Lord Wheatley,' said he. - -'I know nothing,' I rejoined, 'that does change a man's mind so -quickly as a pretty girl.' - -'Yet some men hold to their promises,' said he with a savage sneer. - -'Oh, a few, perhaps; very few in these days.' - -'And you don't aspire to be one?' - -'Oh, I aspired,' said I with a laugh; 'but my aspirations have not -stood out against Phroso's charms.' - -Then I took a step nearer to him, and, veiling impertinence under a -thin show of sympathy, I said: - -'I hope you're not really annoyed? You weren't serious in the hint you -gave of your own intentions? I thought you were only joking, you -know. If you were serious, believe me I am grieved. But it must be -every man for himself in these little matters, mustn't it?' - -He had borne as much as he could. He rose suddenly to his feet and an -oath escaped from between his teeth. - -'You sha'n't have her!' said he. 'You think you can laugh at me: men -who think that find out their mistake.' - -I laughed again. I did not shrink from exasperating him to the -uttermost. He would be no more dangerous; he might be less discreet. - -'Pardon me,' said I, 'but I don't perceive how we need your -permission, glad as we should, of course, be of your felicitations.' - -'I have some power in Neopalia,' he reminded me, with a threatening -gleam in his eye. - -'No doubt, but the power has to be carefully exercised when British -subjects are in question--men, if I may add so much, of some position. -I can't be considered an islander of Neopalia for all purposes, my -dear Pasha.' - -He seemed not to hear or not to heed what I said; but he both heard -and heeded, or I mistook my man. - -'I don't give up what I have resolved upon,' said he. - -'You describe my own temper to a nicety,' said I. 'Now I have resolved -to marry Phroso.' - -'No,' said Mouraki. I greeted the word with a scornful shrug. - -'You understand?' he continued. 'It shall not be.' - -'We shall see,' said I. - -'You don't know the risk you're running.' - -'Come, come, isn't this rather near boasting?' I asked contemptuously. -'Your Excellency is a great man, no doubt, but you can't afford to -carry out these dark designs against a man of my position.' Then I -changed to a more friendly tone, saying, 'My dear Pasha, had you -defeated me I should have taken it quietly. Won't you best consult -your dignity by doing the same?' - -A long silence followed. I watched his face. Very gradually his brow -cleared, his lips relaxed into a smile. He, in his turn, shrugged his -shoulders. He took a step towards me; he held out his hand. - -'Wheatley,' said he, 'it is true, I am a fool. A man is a fool in such -matters. You must make allowances for me. I was honestly in love with -her. I thought myself safe from you. I allowed my temper to get the -better of me. Will you shake hands?' - -'Ah, now you're like yourself, my dear friend,' said I, grasping his -hand. - -'We'll speak again about it to-morrow. But my anger is over. Fear -nothing. I will be reasonable.' - -I murmured grateful thanks and appreciation of his generosity. - -'Good-night, good-night,' said he. 'I wish I hadn't found you -to-night. I should not have lost my composure like this at any other -time. You're sure you forgive my hasty words?' - -'From the bottom of my heart,' said I earnestly; and we pressed one -another's hands. Mouraki passed on to the stairs and began to mount -them slowly. He turned his head over his shoulders and said: - -'How will you settle with Miss Hipgrave?' - -'I must beg her forgiveness, as I must yours,' said I. - -'I hope you'll be equally successful,' said he, and his smile was in -working order by now. It was the last I saw of him as he disappeared -up the stairs. - -'Now,' said I, sitting down, 'he's gone to think how he can get my -throat cut without a scandal.' - -In fact, Mouraki and I were beginning to understand one another. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -A STRANGE ESCAPE - - -Yes, Mouraki was dangerous, very dangerous: now that he had regained -his self-control, most dangerous. His designs against me would be -limited only by the bounds which I had taken the opportunity of -recalling to his mind. I was a known man. I could not disappear -without excuse. But the fever of the island might be at the disposal -of the Governor no less than of Constantine Stefanopoulos. I must -avoid the infection. I congratulated myself that the best antidote I -had yet found--a revolver and cartridges--was again in my possession. -These, and open eyes, were the treatment for the sudden fatal disease -that threatened inconvenient lives in Neopalia. - -I thought that I had seen the Pasha safely and finally to bed when he -left me in the hall after our interview. I myself had gone to bed -almost immediately, and, tired out with the various emotions I had -passed through, had slept soundly. But now, looking back, I wonder -whether the Governor spent much of the night on his back. I doubt it, -very much I doubt it; nay, I incline to think that he had a very -active night of goings to and fro, of strange meetings, of schemes and -bargainings; and I fancy he had not been back in his room long before -I rose for my morning walk. However of that I knew nothing at the -time, and I met him at breakfast, prepared to resume our discussion as -he had promised. But, behold, he was surrounded by officers. There was -a stir in the hall. Orders were being given; romance and the affairs -of love seemed forgotten. - -'My dear lord,' cried Mouraki, turning towards me with every sign of -discomposure and vexation on his face, 'I am terribly annoyed. These -careless fellows of mine--alas, I am too good-natured and they presume -on it!--have let your friend Constantine slip through their fingers.' - -'Constantine escaped!' I exclaimed in genuine surprise and vexation. - -'Alas, yes! The sentry fell asleep. It seems that the prisoner had -friends, and they got him out by the window. The news came to me at -dawn, and I have been having the island scoured for him; but he's not -to be found, and we think he must have had a boat in readiness.' - -'Have you looked in the cottage where his wife is?' - -'The very first thought that struck me, my dear friend! Yes, it has -been searched. In vain! It is now so closely guarded that nobody can -get in. If he ventures there we shall have him to a certainty. But go -on with your breakfast; we needn't spoil that for you. I have one or -two more orders to give.' - -In obedience to the Pasha I sat down and began my breakfast; but as I -ate, while Mouraki conferred with his officers in a corner of the -hall, I became very thoughtful concerning this escape of -Constantine. Sentries do sleep--sometimes; zealous friends do open -windows--sometimes; fugitives do find boats ready--sometimes. It was -all possible: there was nothing even exactly improbable. Yet--yet--! -Whether Mouraki's account were the whole truth, or something lay below -and unrevealed, at least I knew that the escape meant that another -enemy, and a bitter one, was loosed against me. I had fought -Constantine, I had touched Mouraki's shield in challenge the night -before: was I to have them both against me? And would it be two -against one, or, as boys say, all against all? If the former, the -chances of my catching the fever were considerably increased; and -somehow I had a presentiment that the former was nearer the truth -than the latter. I had no real evidence. Mouraki's visible chagrin -seemed to contradict my theory. But was not Mouraki's chagrin just a -little too visible? It was such a very obvious, hearty, genuine, -honest, uncontrollable chagrin; it demanded belief in itself the least -bit too loudly. - -The Pasha joined me over my cigarette. If Constantine were in the -island, said the Pasha, with a blow of his fist on the table, he would -be laid by the heels before evening came; not a mole--let alone a -man--could escape the soldiers' search; not a bird could enter the -cottage (he seemed to repeat this very often) unobserved, nor escape -from it without a bullet in its plumage. And when Constantine was -caught he should pay for this defiance. For the Pasha had delayed the -punishment of his crimes too long. This insolent escape was a proper -penalty on the Pasha's weak remissness. The Pasha blamed himself very -much. His honour was directly engaged in the recapture; he would not -sleep till it was accomplished. In a word, the Pasha's zeal beggared -comparison and outran adequate description. It filled his mind; it -drove out last night's topic. He waved that trifle away; it must wait, -for now there was business afoot. It could be discussed only when -Constantine was once more a prisoner in the hands of justice, a -suppliant for the mercy of the Governor. - -I escaped at length from the torrent of sincerity with which Mouraki -insisted on deluging me, and went into the open air. There were no -signs of Phroso. Kortes was not to be seen either. I saw the yacht in -the harbour, and thought of strolling down; but Denny had, no doubt, -heard the great news, and I was reluctant to be out of the way, even -for an hour. Events came quick in Neopalia. People appeared and -disappeared in no time, escaped and--were not recaptured. But I told -myself that I would send a message to the yacht soon; for I wanted -Denny and the others to know what I--what I was strangely inclined to -suspect regarding this occurrence. - -The storm which had swept over the island the evening before was gone. -It was a bright hot day; the waves danced blue in the sun, while a -light breeze blew from off the side of the land on which the house -stood and was carrying fishing-boats merrily out of the harbour. If -Constantine had found a boat, the wind was fair to carry him away to -safety. But had he? I glanced up at the cottage in the woods above me. -A thought struck me. I could run up there and down again in a few -moments. - -I made my way quickly back to the house and into the compound behind. -Here, to my delight, I found Kortes. A word shewed me that he had -heard the news. Phroso also had heard it. It was known to every one. - -'I'm going to see if I can get a look into the cottage,' said I. - -'I'm told it is guarded, my lord.' - -'Kortes, speak plainly. What do you say about this affair?' - -'I don't know; I don't know what to think. If they won't let you in--' - -'Yes, I meant that. How is she, Kortes?' - -'Well, my sister says. I haven't seen her. Run no risks, my lord. She -has only you and me.' - -'And my friends. I'm going to send them word to be on the look-out for -any summons from me.' - -'Then send it at once,' he counselled. 'You may delay, Mouraki will -not.' - -I was struck with his advice; but I was also bent on carrying out my -reconnaissance of the cottage. - -'I'll send it directly I come back,' said I, and I ran to the angle of -the wall, climbed up, and started at a quick walk through the wood. I -met nobody till I was almost at the cottage. Then I came suddenly on a -sentry; another I saw to the right, a third to the left. The cottage -seemed ringed round with watchful figures. The man barred my way. - -'But I am going to see the lady--Madame Stefanopoulos,' I protested. - -'I have orders to let nobody pass,' he answered. 'I will call the -officer.' - -The officer came. He was full of infinite regrets, but his -Excellency's orders were absolute. Nay, did I not think they were -wise? This man was so desperate a criminal, and he had so many -friends. He would, of course, try to communicate with his wife. - -'But he can't expect his wife to help him,' I exclaimed. 'He wanted to -murder her.' - -'But women are forgiving. He might well persuade her to help him in -his escape; or he might intimidate her.' - -'So I'm not to pass?' - -'I'm afraid not, my lord. If his Excellency gives you a pass it will -be another matter.' - -'The lady is there still?' - -'Oh, I believe so. I have not myself been inside the cottage. That is -not part of my duty.' - -'Is anyone stationed in the cottage?' - -The officer smiled and answered, with an apologetic shrug, 'Would not -you ask his Excellency anything you desire to know, my lord?' - -'Well, I daresay you're right,' I admitted, and I fixed a long glance -on the windows of the cottage. - -'Even to allow anybody to linger about here is contrary to my orders,' -suggested the officer, still civil, still apologetic. - -'Even to look?' - -'His Excellency said to linger.' - -'Is it the same thing?' - -'His Excellency would answer that also, my lord.' - -The barrier round the place was impregnable. That seemed plain. To -loiter near the cottage was forbidden, to look at it a matter of -suspicion. Yet looking at the cottage would not help the escape of -Constantine. - -There seemed nothing to be done. Slowly and reluctantly, with a -conviction that I was turning away baffled from the heart of the -mystery, that the clue lay there were I but allowed to take it in my -fingers, I retraced my steps down the hill through the wood. I -believed that the strict guard was to prevent my intrusion and mine -alone; that the Pasha's search for Constantine was a pretence; in -fine, that Constantine was at that moment in the cottage, with the -knowledge of Mouraki and under his protection. But I could not prove -my suspicions, and I could not unravel the plan which the Pasha was -pursuing. I had a strange uneasy sense of fighting in the dark. My -eyes were blindfolded, while my antagonist could make full use of his. -In that case the odds were against me. - -I passed through the house. All was quiet, nobody was about. It was -now the middle of the afternoon, and, having accomplished my useless -inspection of the cottage, I sat down and wrote a note to Denny, -bidding him be on the alert day and night. He or Hogvardt must always -be on watch, the yacht ready to start at a moment's notice. I begged -him to ask no questions, only to be ready; for life or death might -hang on a moment. Thus I paved the way for carrying out my resolution; -and my resolution was no other than to make a bold dash for the yacht -with Phroso and Kortes, under cover of night. If we reached it and got -clear of the harbour, I believed that we could show a clean pair of -heels to the gunboat. Moreover I did not think that the wary Mouraki -would dare to sink us in open sea with his guns. The one point I held -against him was his fear of publicity. We should be safer in the yacht -than among the hidden dangers of Neopalia. I finished my note, sealed -it, and strolled out in front of the house, looking for somebody to -act as my messenger. - -Standing there, I raised my eyes and looked down to the harbour and -the sea. At what I saw, forgetting Kortes's reproof, I again uttered -an oath of surprise and dismay. Smoke poured from the funnel of the -yacht. See, she moved! She made for the mouth of the harbour. She set -her course for the sea. Where was she going? I did not care to answer -that. She must not go. It was vital that she should stay ready for me -by the jetty. My scruples about leaving the house vanished before this -more pressing necessity. Without an instant's delay, with hardly an -instant's thought, I put my best foot foremost and ran, as a man runs -for his life, along the road towards the town. As I started I thought -I heard Mouraki's voice from the window above my head beginning in its -polite wondering tones, 'Why in the world, my dear Wheatley--?' Ah, -did he not know why? I would not stop for him. On I went. I reached -the main road. I darted down the steep street. Women started in -surprise at me, children scurried hastily out of my way. I was a very -John Gilpin without a horse. I did not think myself able to run so far -or so fast; but apprehension gave me legs, excitement breath, and -love--yes, love--why deny it now?--love speed; I neither halted nor -turned nor failed till I reached the jetty. But there I sank -exhausted against the wooden fencing, for the yacht was hard on a mile -out to sea and putting yards and yards between herself and me at every -moment. Again I sprang up and waved my handkerchief. Two or three of -Mouraki's soldiers who were lounging about stared at me stolidly; a -fisherman laughed mockingly; the children had flocked after me down -the street and made a gaping circle round me. The note to Denny was in -my hand. Denny was far out of my reach. What possessed the boy? Hard -were the names that I called myself for having neglected Kortes's -advice. What were the cottage and the whereabouts of Constantine -compared with the presence of my friends and the yacht? - -A hope ran through me. Perhaps they were only passing an hour and -would turn homewards soon. I strained my eager eyes after them. The -yacht held on her course, straight, swift, relentless. She seemed to -be carrying with her Phroso's hopes of rescue, mine of safety; her -buoyant leap embodied Mouraki's triumph. I turned from watching, sick -at heart, half-beaten and discouraged; and, as I turned, a boy ran up -to me and thrust a letter into my hand, saying: - -'The gentleman on the yacht left this for my lord. I was about to -carry it up when I saw my lord run through the street, and I followed -him back.' - -The letter bore Denny's handwriting. I tore it open with eager -fingers. - - 'Dear Charley,' it ran, 'I don't know what your game is, but - it's pretty slow for us. So we're off fishing. Old Mouraki has - been uncommon civil, and sent a fellow with us to show us the - best place. If the weather is decent we shall stay out a couple - of nights, so you may look for us the day after to-morrow. I - knew it was no good asking you to come. Be a good boy, and - don't get into mischief while I'm away. Of course Mouraki will - bottle Constantine again in no time. He told us he had no doubt - of it, unless the fellow had found a boat. I'll run up to the - house, as soon as we get back. Yours ever, D. - - P. S.--As you said you didn't want Watkins up at the house, - I've taken him along to cook.' - -_Beati innocentes!_ Denny was very innocent, and so, I suppose, very -blessed; and my friend the Pasha had got rid of him in the easiest -manner possible. Indeed it was 'uncommon civil' of Mouraki! They would -be back the day after to-morrow, and Denny would 'run up to the -house.' The thing was almost ludicrous in the pitiful unconsciousness -of it. I tore the note that I had written into small pieces, put -Denny's in my pocket, and started to mount the hill again. But I -turned once and looked on the face of the sea. To my anxious mind it -seemed not to smile at me as was its wont. It was not now my refuge -and my safety, but the prison-bars that confined me--me and her whom I -had to serve and save. - -And he had taken Watkins along to cook; for I did not want him at the -house! I would have given every farthing I had in the world for any -honest brave man, Watkins or another. And I was not to 'get into -mischief.' I knew very well what Denny meant by that. Well, he might -be reassured. It did not appear likely that I should enjoy much -leisure for dalliance of the sort he blamed. - -'Really, you know, I shall have something else to do,' I said to -myself. - -Slowly I walked up the hill, too deep in reflection even to hasten my -steps; and I started like a man roused from sleep when I heard, from -the side of the street, a soft cry of 'My lord!' I looked round. I was -directly opposite the door of Vlacho's inn. On the the threshold stood -the girl Panayiota, who was Demetri's sweetheart, and had held in her -lap the head of Constantine's wife whom Demetri could not kill. She -cast cautious glances up and down the street, and withdrew swiftly -into the shadow of the house, beckoning to me to follow her. In a -strait like mine no chance, however small, is to be missed or refused. -I followed her. Her cheek glowed with colour; she was under the -influence of some excitement whose cause I could not fathom. - -'I have a message for you, my lord,' she whispered. 'I must tell it -you quickly. We must not be seen.' She shrank back farther into the -shelter of the doorway. - -'As quickly as you like, Panayiota,' said I. 'I have little time to -lose.' - -'You have a friend more than you know of,' said she, setting her lips -close to my ear. - -'I'm glad to hear it,' said I. 'Is that all?' - -'Yes, that's all--a friend more than you know of, my lord. Take -courage, my lord.' - -I bent my eyes on her face in question. She understood that I was -asking for a plainer message. - -'I can tell you no more,' she said. 'I was told to say that--a friend -more than you know of. I have said it. Don't linger, my lord. I can -say no more, and there is danger.' - -'I'm much obliged to you. I hope he will prove of value.' - -'He will,' she replied quickly, and she waved aside the piece of -money which I had offered her, and motioned me to be gone. But again -she detained me for a moment. - -'The lady--the wife of the Lord Constantine--what of her?' she asked -in low hurried tones. - -'I know nothing of her,' said I. 'I believe she's at the cottage.' - -'And he's loose again?' - -'Yes.' And I added, searching her face, 'But the Governor will hunt -him down.' - -I had my answer: a plain explicit answer. It came not in words, but in -a scornful smile, a lift of the brows, a shrug. I nodded in -understanding. Panayiota whispered again, 'Courage--a friend more than -you know of--courage, my lord,' and, turning, fairly ran away from me -down the passage towards the yard behind the inn. - -Who was this friend? By what means did he seek to help me? I could not -tell. One suspicion I had, and I fought a little fight with myself as -I walked back to the house. I recollected the armed man I had met in -the night, whom I had rebuked and threatened. Was he the friend, and -was it my duty to tell Mouraki of my suspicions? I say I had a -struggle. Did I win or lose? I do not know; for even now I cannot make -up my mind. But I was exasperated at the trick Mouraki had played on -me, I was fearful for Phroso, I felt that I was contending against a -man who would laugh at the chivalry which warned him. I hardened my -heart and shut my eyes. I owed nothing, less than nothing, to Mouraki -Pasha. He had, as I verily believed, loosed a desperate treacherous -foe on me. He had, as I knew now, deluded my friends into forsaking -me. Let him guard his own head and his own skin. I had enough to do -with Phroso and myself. So I reasoned, seeking to justify my silence. -I have often since thought that the question raised a nice enough -point of casuistry. Men who have nothing else to do may amuse -themselves with the answering of it. I answered it by the time I -reached the threshold of the house. And I held my tongue. - -Mouraki was waiting for me in the doorway. He was smiling as he had -smiled before my bold declaration of love for Phroso had spoilt his -temper. - -'My dear lord,' he cried, 'I could have spared you a tiresome walk. I -thought your friends would certainly have told you of their intention, -or I would have mentioned it myself.' - -'My dear Pasha,' I rejoined, no less cordially, 'to tell the truth, I -knew their intention, but it struck me suddenly that I would go with -them, and I ran down to try and catch them. Unfortunately I was too -late.' - -The extravagance of my lying served its turn; Mouraki understood, not -that I was trying to deceive him, but that I was informing him -politely that he had not succeeded in deceiving me. - -'You wished to accompany them?' he asked, with a broadening smile. -'You--a lover!' - -'A man can't always be making love,' said I carelessly--though truly -enough. - -Mouraki took a step toward me. - -'It is safer not to do it at all,' said he in a lower tone. - -The man had a great gift of expression. His eyes could put a world of -meaning into a few simple words. In this little sentence, which -sounded like a trite remark, I discovered a last offer, an invitation -to surrender, a threat in case of obstinacy. I answered it after its -own kind.' - -'Safer, perhaps, but deplorably dull,' said I. - -'Ah, well, you know best,' remarked the Pasha. 'If you like to take -the rough with the smooth--' He broke off with a shrug, resuming a -moment later. 'You expect to see them back the day after to-morrow, -don't you?' - -I was not sure whether the particular form of this question was -intentional or not. In the literal meaning of his words Mouraki asked -me, not whether they would be back, but whether I thought I should -witness their return--possibly a different thing. - -'Denny says they'll be back then,' I answered cautiously. The Pasha -stroked his beard. This time he was, I think, hiding a smile at my -understanding and evasion of his question. - -'I hear,' he observed with a laugh, 'that you have been trying to pass -my sentries and look for our runaway on your own account. You really -shouldn't expose yourself to such risks. The man might kill you. I'm -glad my officer obeyed his orders.' - -'Then Constantine is at the cottage?' I cried quickly, for I thought -he had betrayed himself into an admission. His composed air and amused -smile smothered my hopes. - -'At the cottage? Oh, dear, no. Of course I have searched that. I had -that searched first of all.' - -'And the guard--' - -'Is only to prevent him from going there.' - -I had not that perfect facial control which distinguished the -Governor. I suppose I appeared unconvinced, for Mouraki caught me by -the arm, and, giving me an affectionate squeeze, cried, 'What an -unbeliever! Come, you shall go with me and see for yourself.' - -If he took me, of course I should find nothing. The bird, if it had -ever alighted on that stone, would be flown by now. His specious offer -was worthless. - -'My dear Pasha, of course I take your word for it.' - -'No, I won't be trusted! I positively won't be believed! You shall -come. We two will go together.' And he still clung to my arm with the -pressure of friendly compulsion. - -I did not see how to avoid doing what he suggested without coming to -an open quarrel with him, and that I did not desire. He had every -motive for wishing to force me into open enmity; a hasty word or -gesture might serve him as a plausible excuse for putting me under -arrest. He would have a case if he could prove me to have been -disrespectful to the Governor. My only chance lay in seeming -submission up to the last possible moment. And Kortes was guarding -Phroso, so that I could go without uneasiness. - -'Well, let's walk up the hill then,' said I carelessly. 'Though I -assure you you're giving yourself needless trouble.' - -He would not listen, and we turned, still arm-in-arm, to pass through -the house. Mouraki had caused a ladder to be placed against the bank -of rock, for he did not enjoy clambering up by the steps cut in the -side of it. He set his foot now on the lowest rung of this ladder; but -he paused there an instant and turned round, facing me, and asked, as -though the thought had suddenly occurred to his mind: - -'Have you had any conversation with our fair friend this afternoon?' - -'The Lady Phroso? No. She has not made an appearance. Perhaps I wrong -you, Pasha, but I fancied you were not over-anxious that I should have -a conversation with her.' - -'You wrong me,' he said earnestly. 'Indeed you wrong me. To prove it, -you shall have a _tete-a-tete_ with her the moment we return. Oh, I -don't fight with weapons like that! I wouldn't use my authority like -that. I am going to search again for this Constantine myself this -evening with a strong party; then you shall be at perfect liberty to -talk with her.' - -'I'm infinitely obliged; you're too generous.' - -'I trust we're gentlemen still, though unhappily we have become -rivals,' and he let go of the ladder for an instant in order to press -my hand. - -Then he began to climb up and I followed him, asking of my puzzled -brain, 'Now, what does he mean by that?' - -For it seemed to me that a man needed cat's eyes to follow the schemes -of Mouraki Pasha, eyes that darkness could not blind. This last -generous offer of his was beyond the piercing of my vision. I did not -know whether it were merely a bit of courtesy, safe to offer, or if it -hid some new design. Well, it was little use wondering. At least I -should see Phroso. Perhaps--a sudden thought seized me, and I--. - -'What makes you look so excited?' asked the Pasha. His eyes were on my -face, his lips curved in a smile. - -'I'm not excited,' said I. But the blood was leaping in my veins. I -had an idea. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -AN UNFINISHED LETTER - - -I have learnt on my way through the world how dangerous a thing is a -conceit of a man's own cleverness; and among the most striking lessons -of this truth stands one which Mouraki Pasha taught me in Neopalia. My -game was against a past master in the art of intrigue; yet I made sure -I had caught him napping, sure that my wits were quicker than his and -that he missed what was plain to my mind. In vain, they say, is the -net spread in the sight of any bird. Aye, of any bird that has eyes -and knows how to use them. But if the bird has no eyes, or employs -them in admiring its own plumage, there is a chance for the fowler -after all. - -These reflections occur to my mind when I recollect the hope and -exultation in my heart as I followed the Governor's leisurely upward -march through the wood to the cottage. Mouraki, I said to myself, -thought that he was allaying my suspicions and lulling my watchfulness -to sleep by the courtesy with which he arranged an interview between -Phroso and myself. Was that what he was really doing? No, I declared -triumphantly. He was putting in my way the one sovereign chance which -fate hitherto had denied. He was to be away, and most of his men with -him. Phroso, Kortes, and I would be alone together at the house, alone -for an hour, perhaps for two. At the moment I felt that I asked no -more of fortune. Had the Pasha never heard of the secret of the -Stefanopouloi? It almost seemed so; but I myself had told him of it, -and Denny's information had preceded mine. Yet he was leaving us alone -by the hidden door. Had he remembered it? Had he stopped it? My ardour -was cooled; my face fell. He knew; he could not have forgotten; and if -he knew and remembered, of a surety the passage would be blocked or -watched. - -'By the way,' said Mouraki, turning to me, 'I want you to show me that -passage you told me of some time to-morrow. I've never found time to -go down there yet, and I have a taste for these mediaeval curiosities.' - -'I shall be proud to be your guide, Pasha. You would trust yourself -there with me?' - -'Oh, my dear Wheatley, such things are not done now,' smiled the -Pasha. 'You and I will settle our little difference another way. Have -you been down since I came?' - -'No. I've had about enough of the passage,' said I carelessly. 'I -should be glad never to see it again; but I must strain a point and go -with you.' - -'Yes, you must do that,' he answered. 'How steep this hill is! Really -I must be growing old, as Phroso is cruel enough to think!' - -This conversation, seeming to fall in so pat with my musings, and -indicating, if it did not state, that Mouraki treated the passage as a -trifle of no moment, brought us to the outskirts of the wood. The -cottage was close in front of us. We had passed only one sentry: the -cordon was gone. This change struck me at once, and I remarked on it -to Mouraki. - -'Yes, I thought it safe to send most of them away; there are one or -two more than you see though. But he won't venture back now.' - -I smiled to myself. I was pleased again at my penetration; and in this -instance, unlike the other at which I have hinted, I do not think I -was wrong. The cordon had been here, then Constantine had; the cordon -was gone, and I made no doubt that Constantine was gone also. - -The front of the cottage was dark, and the curtains of the windows -drawn, as they had been when I came before, on the night I killed -Vlacho the innkeeper and fell into the hands of Kortes and Demetri. -The whirligig had turned since then; for then this man Mouraki had -been my far-off much-desired deliverer, Kortes and Demetri open -enemies. Now Mouraki was my peril, Kortes my best friend, -Demetri--well, what and whom had Panayiota meant? - -'Shall we go in?' asked Mouraki, as we came to the house. 'Stay, -though, I'll knock on the door with my stick. Madame Stefanopoulos is, -no doubt, within. I think she will probably not have joined her -husband.' - -'I imagine she'll have heard of his escape with great regret,' said I. - -The Pasha knocked with the gold-headed cane which he carried. He -waited and then repeated the blow. No answer came. - -'Well,' he said with a shrug, 'we have given her fair warning. Let us -enter. She knows you, my dear Wheatley, and will not be alarmed.' - -'But if Constantine's here?' I suggested, with a mocking smile. 'Your -life is a valuable one. Run no risks; he's a desperate man.' - -The Pasha shifted his cane to his left hand, smiled in answer to my -smile, and produced a revolver. - -'You're wise,' said I, and I took my revolver out of my pocket. - -'We are ready for--anything--now,' said Mouraki. - -I think 'anything' in that sentence was meant to include 'one -another.' - -The Pasha opened the door and passed in. Nothing seemed changed since -my last visit. The door of the room on the right was open, the table -was again spread, for two this time; the left-hand door was shut. - -'You see the fugitive is not in that room,' observed the Pasha, waving -his hand to the right. 'Let us try the other,' and he turned the -door-handle of the room on the left, and preceded me into it. - -At this point I am impelled to a little confession. The murderous -impulse is, perhaps, not so uncommon as we assume. I daresay many -respectable men and amiable women have felt it in all its attractive -simplicity once or twice in their lives. It seems at such moments -hardly sinful, merely too dangerous, and to be recognised as -impossible to gratify only by reason of its danger. But I perceive -that I am accusing the rest of the world in the hope of excusing -myself; for at that moment, when the Pasha's broad solid back was -presented to me, a yard in front, I experienced a momentary but -extremely strong temptation to raise my arm, move my finger -and--transform the situation. I did not do it; but, on the other -hand, I have never counted the desire to do it among the great sins of -my life. Mouraki, I thought then and know now, deserved nothing -better. Unhappily we have our own consciences to consider, and thus -are often prevented from meting out to others the measure their deeds -claim. - -[Illustration: "WE ARE READY FOR--ANYTHING--NOW."] - -'I see nobody,' said the Pasha. 'But then the room is dark. Shall I -pull back the curtain?' - -'You'd better be careful,' said I, laughing. 'That's what Vlacho did.' - -'Ah, but you're on the same side this time,' he answered, and stepped -across the room towards the curtain. - -Suddenly I became, or seemed to become, vaguely, uncomfortably, even -terribly conscious of something there. Yet I could see nothing in the -dark room, and I heard nothing. I can hardly think Mouraki shared my -strange oppressive feeling; yet the curtain was not immediately drawn -back, his figure bulked motionless just in front of me, and he -repeated in tones that betrayed uneasiness: - -'I suppose I'd better draw back the curtain, hadn't I?' - -What was it? It must have been all fancy, born of the strain of -excitement and the nervous tension in which I was living. I have had -something of the feeling in the dark before and since, but never so -strong, distinct and almost overpowering. I knew Constantine was not -there. I had no fear of him if he were. Yet my forehead grew damp with -sweat. - -Mouraki's hand was on the curtain. He drew it back. The dull evening -light spread sluggishly through the room. Mouraki turned and looked at -me. I returned his gaze. A moment passed before either of us looked -round. - -'There's nobody behind the curtain,' said he, with a slight sigh which -seemed to express relief. 'Do you see any one anywhere?' - -Then I pulled myself together, and looked round. The chairs near me -were empty, the couch had no occupant. But away in the corner of the -room, in the shadow of a projecting angle of wall, I saw a figure -seated in front of a table. On the table were writing-materials. The -figure was a woman's. Her arms were spread on the table, and her head -lay between them. I raised my hand and pointed to her. Mouraki's eyes -obeyed my direction but came quickly back to me in question, and he -arched his brows. - -I stepped across the room towards where the woman sat. I heard the -Pasha following with hesitating tread, and I waited till he overtook -me. Then I called her name softly; yet I knew that it was no use to -call her name; it was only the protest my horror made. She would hear -her name no more. Again I pointed with my right hand, catching -Mouraki's arm with my left at the same moment. - -'There,' I said, 'there--between the shoulders! A knife!' - -I felt his arm tremble. I must do him justice. I am convinced that he -did not foresee or anticipate this among the results of the letting -loose of Constantine Stefanopoulos. I heard him clear his throat, I -saw him lick his lips; his lids settled low over his cunning eyes. I -turned from him to the motionless figure in the chair. - -She was dead, had been dead some little while, and must have died -instantly on that foul stroke. Why had the brute dealt it? Was it mere -revenge and cruelty, persistently nursed wrath at her betrayal of him -on St Tryphon's day? Or had some new cause evoked passion from him? - -'Let us lay her here on the sofa,' I said to Mouraki; 'and you must -send some one to look after her.' - -He seemed reluctant to help me. I leant forward alone, and putting my -arm round her, raised her from the table, and set her upright in the -chair. I rejoiced to find no trace of pain or horror on her face. As I -looked at her I gave a sudden short sob. I was unstrung; the thing -was so wantonly cruel and horrible. - -'He has made good use of his liberty,' I said in a low fierce tone, -turning on Mouraki in a sudden burst of anger against the hand that -had set the villain free. But the Pasha's composure wrapped him like a -cloak again. He knew what I meant and read the implied taunt in my -words, but he answered calmly: - -'We have no proof yet that it was her husband who killed her.' - -'Who else should?' - -He shrugged his shoulders, remarking, 'No proof, I said. Perhaps he -did, perhaps not. We don't know.' - -'Help me with her,' said I brusquely. - -Between us we lifted her and laid her on the couch, and spread over -her a fur rug that draped one of the chairs. While this was done we -did not exchange a word with one another. Mouraki uttered a sigh of -relief when the task was finished. - -'I'll send a couple of women up as soon as we get back. Meanwhile the -place is guarded and nobody can come in. Need we delay longer? It is -not a pleasant place.' - -'I should think we might as well go,' I answered, casting my eye again -round the little room to the spot where Vlacho had fallen enveloped -in the curtain which he dragged down with him, and to the -writing-table that had supported the dead body of Francesca. Mouraki's -hand was on the door-handle. He stood there, impatient to be out of -the place, waiting for me to accompany him. But my last glance had -seen something new, and with a sudden low exclamation I darted across -the room to the table. I had perceived a sheet of paper lying just -where Francesca's head had rested. - -'What's the matter?' asked Mouraki. - -I made him no answer. I seized the piece of paper. A pen lay between -it and the inkstand. On the paper was a line or two of writing. The -characters were blurred, as though the dead woman's hair had smeared -them before the ink was dry. I held it up. Mouraki stepped briskly -across to me. - -'Give it to me,' he said, holding out his hand. 'It may be something I -ought to see.' - -The first hint of action, of new light or a new development, restored -their cool alertness to my faculties. - -'Why not something which I ought to see, my dear Pasha?' I asked, -holding the paper behind my back and facing him. - -'You forget the position I hold, Lord Wheatley. You have no such -position.' - -I did not argue that. I walked to the window, to get the best of the -light. Mouraki followed me closely. - -'I'll read it to you,' said I. 'There isn't much of it.' - -I held it to the light. The Pasha was close by my shoulder, his pale -face leaning forward towards the paper. Straining my eyes on the -blurred characters I read; and I read aloud, according to my promise, -hearing Mouraki's breathing which accompanied my words. - -'My lord, take care. He is free. Mouraki has set--' - -That was all: a blot followed the last word. At that word the pen must -have fallen from her fingers as her husband's dagger stole her life. -We had read her last words. The writing of that line saw the moment of -her death. Did it also supply the cause? If so, not the old grudge, -but rage at a fresh betrayal of a fresh villainy had impelled -Constantine's arm to his foul stroke. He had caught her in the act of -writing it, taken his revenge, and secured his safety. - -After I had read, there was silence. The Pasha's face was still by my -shoulder. I gazed, as if fascinated, on the fatal unfinished note. At -last I turned and looked him in the face. His eyes met mine in unmoved -steely composure. - -'I think,' said I, 'that I had a right to read the note after all; -for, as I guess, the writer was addressing it to me and not to you.' - -For a moment Mouraki hesitated; then he shrugged his shoulders, -saying: - -'My dear lord, I don't know whom it is addressed to or what it means. -Had the unfortunate lady been allowed to finish it--' - -'We should know more than we do now,' I interrupted. - -'I was about to say as much. I see she introduced my name; she can, -however, have known nothing of any course I might be pursuing.' - -'Unless some one who knew told her.' - -'Who could?' - -'Well, her husband.' - -'Who was killing her?' he asked, with a scornful smile. - -'He may have told her before, and she may have been trying to forward -the information to me.' - -'It is all the purest conjecture,' shrugged the Governor. - -I looked him in the face, and I think my eyes told him pretty plainly -my views of the meaning of the note. He answered my glance at first -with a carefully inexpressive gaze; but presently a meaning came into -his eyes. He seemed to confess to me and to challenge me to make what -use I could of the confession. But the next instant the momentary -candour of his regard passed, and blankness spread over his face -again. - -Desperately I struggled with myself, clinging to self-control. To this -day I believe that, had my life and my life only been in question, I -should then and there have compelled Mouraki to fight me, man to man, -in the little gloomy room where the dead woman lay on the sofa. We -should not have disturbed her; and I think also that Mouraki, who did -not want for courage, would have caught at my challenge and cried -content to a proposal that we should, there and then, put our quarrel -to an issue, and that one only of us should go alive down the hill. I -read such a mood in his eyes in the moment of their candour. I saw the -courage to act on it in his resolute lips and his tense still -attitude. - -Well, we could neither of us afford the luxury. If I killed him, I -should bring grave suspicion on Phroso. She and her islanders would be -held accomplices; and, though this was a secondary matter to hot rage, -I myself should stand in a position of great danger. And he could not -kill me; for all his schemes against me were still controlled and -limited by the necessities of his position. Had I been an islander, or -even an unknown man concerning whom no questions would be asked, his -work would have been simple, and, as I believed, would have been -carried out before now. But it was not so. He would be held -responsible for a satisfactory account of how I met my death. It would -tax his invention to give it if he killed me himself, with his own -hand, and in a secret encounter. In fact, the finding of the note left -us where we were, so far as action was concerned, but it tore away the -last shreds of the veil, the last pretences of good faith and -friendliness which had been kept up between us. In that swift, full, -open glance which we had exchanged, our undisguised quarrel, the great -issue between us, was legibly written and plainly read. Yet not a word -passed our lips concerning it. Mouraki and I began to need words no -more than lovers do. For hate matches love in penetration. - -I put the note in my pocket. Mouraki blinked eyes now utterly free -from expression. I gave a final glance at the dead woman. I felt a -touch of shame at having for a moment forgotten her fate for my -quarrel. - -'Shall we go down, Pasha?' said I. - -'As soon as you please, Lord Wheatley,' he answered. This formal mode -of address was perhaps an acknowledgment that the time for hypocrisy -and the hollow show of friendship between us was over. The change was -just in his way, slight, subtle, but sufficient. - -I followed Mouraki out of the house. He walked in his usual slow -deliberate manner. He beckoned to the sentry as we passed him, told -him that two women, who would shortly come up, were to be admitted, -but nobody else, until an officer came bearing further orders. Having -made these arrangements, he resumed his way down, taking his place in -front of me and maintaining absolute silence. I did not care to talk. -I had enough to think about. But already, now I was out in the fresh -air, the feeling of sick horror with which the little room had -affected me began to pass away. I felt braced up again. I was better -prepared for the great effort which loomed before me now as a present -and urgent necessity. Mouraki had found an instrument. He had set -Constantine free, that Constantine might do against me what Mouraki -himself could not do openly. My friends were away. The hour of the -stroke must even now be upon me. Well, the hour of my counter-stroke -was come also, the counter-stroke for which my interview with Phroso -and Mouraki's absence opened the way. For he thought the passage no -more than a mediaeval curiosity. - -We reached the house and entered the hall together. As we passed -through the compound I had seen an alert sentinel. Looking out from -the front door, I perceived two men on guard. A party of ten or a -dozen more was drawn up, an officer at its head; these were the men -who waited to attend Mouraki on his evening expedition. The Pasha -seated himself and wrote a note. He looked up as he finished it, -saying: - -'I am informing the Lady Euphrosyne that you will await her here in -half-an-hour's time, and that she is at liberty to spend what time she -pleases with you. Is that what you wish?' - -'Precisely, your Excellency. I am much obliged to you.' - -His only answer was a dignified bow; but he turned to a sub-officer -who stood by him at attention and said, 'On no account allow Lord -Wheatley to be interrupted this evening. You will, of course, keep the -sentries on guard behind and in front of the house, but do not let -them intrude here.' - -After giving his orders, the Pasha sat silent for some minutes. He had -lighted his cigarette, and smoked it slowly. Then he let it out--a -thing I had never seen him do before--lit another, and resumed his -slow inhalings. I knew that he would speak before long, and after a -few more moments he gave me the result of his meditations. We were now -alone together. - -'It would have been much better,' said he, 'if that poor woman--whose -fate I sincerely regret--had been let alone and this girl had died -instead of her,' and he nodded at me with convinced emphasis. - -'If Phroso had died!' leapt from my lips in astonishment. - -'Yes, if Phroso had died. We would have hanged Constantine together, -wept together over her grave, and each of us gone home with a sweet -memory--you to your _fiancee_, I to my work. And we should have -forgiven one another any little causes of reproach.' - -To this speculation in might-have-beens I made no answer. The feelings -with which I received it shewed me, had I still needed shewing, what -Phroso was to me. I had been shocked and grieved at Francesca's fate; -but rather that a thousand times than the thing on which Mouraki -coolly mused! - -'It would have been much better, so much better,' he repeated, with a -curiously regretful intonation. - -'The only thing that would be better, to my thinking,' I said, 'is -that you should behave as an honourable man and leave this lady free -to do as she wishes.' - -'And another thing, surely?' he asked, smiling now. 'That you should -behave as an honourable man and go back to Miss Hipgrave?' A low laugh -marked the point he had scored. Then he added, with his usual shrug, -'We are slaves, we men, slaves all.' - -He rose from his chair and completed his preparations for going out, -flinging a long military cloak over his shoulders. His momentary -irresolution, or remorse, or what you will, had passed. His speech -became terse and resolute again. - -'We shall meet early to-morrow, I expect,' he said, 'and then we must -settle this matter. Do I understand that you are resolved not to -yield.' - -'I am absolutely resolved,' said I, and at the sight of his calm -sneering face my temper suddenly got the better of me. 'Yes, I'm -resolved. You can do what you like. You can bribe ruffians to -assassinate me, as I believe you've bribed Constantine.' - -He started at that, as a man will at plain speech, even though the -plain speech tells him nothing that he did not know of the speaker's -mind. - -'The blood of that unhappy woman is on your head,' I cried vehemently. -'Through your act she lies dead. If a like fate befalls me, the blame -of that will be on your head also. It is you, and not your tool, who -will be responsible.' - -'Responsible!' he echoed. His voice was mocking and easy, though his -face was paler even than it was wont to be. 'Responsible! What does -that mean? Responsible to whom?' - -'To God,' said I. - -He laughed a low derisive laugh. - -'Come, that's better,' he said. 'I expected you to say public opinion. -Your sentiment is more respectable than that clap-trap of public -opinion. So be it. I shall be responsible. Where will you be?' He -paused, smiling, and ended, 'And where Phroso?' - -My self-restraint was exhausted. I sprang up. In another moment my -hands would have been on his throat; the next, I suppose, I should -have been a prisoner in the hands of his guard. But that was not his -wish. He had shewn me too much now to be content with less than my -life, and he was not to be turned from his scheme either by his own -temper or by mine. He had moved towards the door while he had been -speaking to me; as I sprang at him, a quick dexterous movement of his -hand opened it, a rapid twist of his body removed him from my reach. -He eluded me. The door was shut in my face. The Pasha's low laugh -reached me as I sank back again in my chair, still raging that I had -not got him by the throat, but in an instant glad also that my -rashness had been foiled. - -I heard the tramp of his party on their orderly march along the road -from the house. Their steps died away, and all was very still. I -looked round the hall; there was nobody but myself. I rose and looked -into the kitchen; it was empty. Mouraki had kept his word: we were -alone. In front there were sentries, behind there were sentries, but -the house was mine. Hope rose again, strong and urgent, in my heart, -as my eyes fell on the spot under the staircase, where lay the -entrance to the secret passage. I looked at my watch; it was eleven -o'clock. The wind blew softly, the night was fine, a crescent moon was -just visible through the narrow windows. The time was come, the time -left free by Mouraki's strange oversight. - -It was then, and then only, that a sudden gleam of enlightenment, a -sudden chilling suspicion, fell upon me, transforming my hope to fear, -my triumph to doubt and misgiving. Was Mouraki Pasha the man to be -guilty of an oversight, of so plain an oversight? When an enemy leaves -open an obvious retreat, is it always by oversight? When he seems to -indicate a way of safety, is the way safe? These disturbing thoughts -crowded on me as I sat, and I looked now at the entrance to the secret -passage with new eyes. - -The sentries were behind the house, the sentries were in front of the -house; in neither direction was there any chance of escape. One way -was open--the passage--and that one way only. And I asked the question -of myself, framing the words in an inarticulate low whisper, 'Is this -way a trap?' - -'You fool--you fool--you fool!' I cried, beating my fist on the wooden -table. - -For if that way were a trap, then there was no way of safety, and the -last hope was gone. Had Mouraki indeed thought of the passage only as -a mediaeval curiosity? Well, were not _oubliettes_, down which a man -went and was seen no more, also a mediaeval curiosity? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -IN THE JAWS OF THE TRAP - - -I sat for some moments in stupefied despair. The fall from hope was so -great and sudden, the revelation of my blind folly so cruel. But this -mood did not last long. Soon I was busy thinking again. Alas, the -matter gave little scope for thought! It was sadly simple. Before the -yacht came back, Mouraki would have it settled once for all, if the -settling of it were left to him. Therefore I could not wait. The -passage might be a trap. True; but the house was a prison, and a -prison whose gate I could not open. I had rather meet my fate in the -struggle of hot effort than wait for it tamely here in my chair. And I -did not think of myself alone; Phroso's interests also pointed to -action. I could trust Mouraki to allow no harm to come to her. He -prized her life no less than I did. To her, then, the passage -threatened no new danger, while it offered a possible slender chance. -Would she come with me? If she would, it might be that Kortes and I, -or Kortes or I, might by some kind caprice of fortune bring her safe -out of Mouraki's hands. On the top of these calculations came a calm, -restrained, but intense anger, urging me on to try the issue, hand to -hand and man to man, whispering to me that nothing was impossible, and -that Mouraki bore no charmed life. For by now I was ready, aye, more -than ready, to kill him, if only I could come at him, and I made -nothing of the consequences of his death being laid at my door. So is -prudence burnt up in the bright flame of a man's rage. - -I knew where to find Kortes. He would be keeping his faithful watch -outside his Lady's room. Mouraki had never raised any objection to -this attendance; to forbid it would have been to throw off the mask -before the moment came, and Mouraki would not be guilty of such -premature disclosure. Moreover the Pasha held the men of Neopalia in -no great respect, and certainly did not think that a single islander -could offer any resistance to his schemes. I went to the foot of the -stairs and called softly to our trusty adherent. He came down to me at -once, and I asked him about Phroso. - -'She is alone in her room, my lord,' he answered. 'The Governor has -sent my sister away.' - -'Sent her away! Where to?' - -'To the cottage on the hill,' said he. 'I don't know why; the Governor -spoke to her apart.' - -'I know why,' said I, and I told him briefly of the crime which had -been done. - -'That man should not live,' said Kortes. 'I had no doubt that his -escape was allowed in order that he might be dangerous to you.' - -'Well, he hasn't done much yet.' - -'No, not yet,' said Kortes gravely. I am bound to add that he took the -news of Francesca's death with remarkable coolness. In spite of his -good qualities, Kortes was a thorough Neopalian; it needed much to -perturb him. Besides he was thinking of Phroso only, and the affairs -of everybody else passed unheeded by him. This was very evident when I -asked his opinion as to waiting where we were, or essaying the way -that Mouraki's suspicious carelessness seemed to leave open to us. - -'Oh, the passage, my lord! Let it be the passage. For you and me the -passage is very dangerous, yet hardly more than here, and the Lady -Phroso has her only chance of escape through the passage.' - -'You think it very dangerous for us?' - -'Possibly one of us will come through,' he said. - -'And at the other end?' - -'There may be a boat. If there is none, she must try (and we with her, -if we are alive) to steal round to the town, and hide in one of the -houses till a boat can be found,' - -'Mouraki would scour the island.' - -'Yes, but a clear hour or two would be enough if we could get her into -a boat.' - -'But he'd send the gunboat after her.' - -'Yes; but, my lord, am I saying that escape is likely? It is possible -only; and possibly the boat might evade pursuit.' - -I had the highest regard for Kortes, but he was not a very cheering -companion for an adventure. Given the same desperate circumstances, -Denny would have been serenely confident of success and valiantly -scornful of our opponent. I heaved a regretful sigh for him, and said -to Kortes, with a little irritation: - -'Hang it, we've come out right side up before now, and we may again. -Hadn't we better rouse her?' - -During this conversation Kortes had been standing on the lowest step -of the staircase, and I facing him, on the floor of the hall, with one -hand resting on the balustrade. We had talked in low tones, partly -from a fear of eavesdroppers, even more, I think, from the influence -which our position exerted over us. In peril men speak softly. Our -voices sounded as no more than faint murmurs in the roomy hall; -consequently they could not have been audible--where? In the passage! - -But as I spoke to Kortes in a petulant reproachful whisper, a sound -struck on my ear, a very little sound. I caught my companion's arm, -imposing silence on him by a look. The sound came again. I knew the -sound; I had heard it before. I stepped back a pace and looked round -the balustrade to the spot where the entrance to the passage lay. - -I should have been past surprise now, after my sojourn in Neopalia; -but I was not. I sprang back, with a cry of wonder, almost (must I -admit it?) of alarm. Small and faint as the noise had been, it had -sufficed for the opening of the door, and in the opening made by the -receding of the planks were the head and shoulders of a man. His face -was hardly a yard from my face; and the face was the face of -Constantine Stefanopoulos. - -In the instant of paralysed immobility that followed, the explanation -flashed like lightning through my brain. Constantine, buying his -liberty and pardon from Mouraki, had stolen along the passage. He had -opened the door. He hoped to find me alone--if not alone, yet off my -guard--in the hall. Then a single shot would be enough. His errand -would be done, his pardon won. That my explanation was right the -revolver in his hand witnessed. But he also was surprised. I was -closer than he thought, so close that he started back for an instant. -The interval was enough; before he could raise his weapon and take aim -I put my head down between my shoulders and rushed at him. I think my -head knocked his arm up, his revolver went off, the noise -reverberating through the hall. I almost had hold of him when I was -suddenly seized from behind and hurled backwards. Kortes had a mind to -come first and stood on no ceremony. But in the instant that he was -free, Constantine dived down, like a rabbit into a burrow. He -disappeared; with a shouted oath Kortes sprang after him. I heard the -feet of both of them clattering down the flight of steps. - -For a single moment I paused. The report had echoed loud through the -hall. The sentries must have heard it--the sentries before the house, -the sentries in the compound behind the house. Yet none of them rushed -in: not a movement, not a word, not a challenge came from them. -Mouraki Pasha kept good discipline. His orders were law, his -directions held good, though shots rang loud and startling through the -house. Even at that moment I gave a short sharp laugh; for I -remembered that on no account was Lord Wheatley to be interrupted; no, -neither Lord Wheatley nor the man who came to kill Lord Wheatley was -to be interrupted. Oh, Mouraki, Mouraki, your score was mounting up! -Should you ever pay the reckoning? - -Shorter far than it has taken to write my thoughts was the pause -during which they galloped through my palpitating brain. In a second I -also was down the flight of stairs beyond. I heard still the footsteps -in front of me, but I could see nothing. It was very dark that night -in the passage. I ran on, yet I seemed to come no nearer to the steps -in front of me. But suddenly I paused, for now there were steps behind -me also, light steps, but sounding distinct in my ear. Then a voice -cried, in terror and distress, 'My lord, don't leave me, my lord!' - -I turned. Even in the deep gloom I saw a gleam of white: a moment -later I caught Phroso by both her hands. - -'The shot, the shot?' she whispered. - -'Constantine. He shot at me--no, I'm not hurt. Kortes is after him.' - -She swayed towards me. I caught her and passed my arm round her; -without that she would have fallen on the rocky floor of the dim -passage. - -'I heard it and rushed down,' she panted. 'I heard it from my room.' - -'Any sign of the sentries?' - -'No.' - -'I must go and help Kortes.' - -'Not without me?' - -'You must wait here.' - -'Not without you.' Her arms held me now by the shoulders with a -stronger grip than I had thought possible. She would not let me go. -Well then, we must face it together. - -'Come along, then,' said I. 'I can see nothing in this rat hole.' - -Suddenly, from in front of us, a cry rang out; it was some distance -off. We started towards it, for it was Kortes's voice that cried. - -'Be careful, be careful,' urged Phroso. 'We're near the bridge now.' - -It was true. As she spoke the walls of rock on either side receded. We -had come to the opening. The dark water was below us, and before us -the isolated bridge of rock that spanned the pool. We were where the -Lord of the island had been wont to hurl his enemies headlong from his -side to death. - -What happened on the bridge, on the narrow bridge of rock which ran in -front of us, we could not see; but from it came strange sounds, low -oaths and mutterings, the scraping of men's limbs and the rasping of -cloth on the rock, the hard breathings of struggling combatants; now a -fierce low cry of triumph, a disappointed curse, a desperate groan, -the silence that marked a culminating effort. Now, straining my eyes -to the uttermost, and having grown a little more accustomed to the -darkness, I discerned, beyond the centre of the bridge, a coiling -writhing mass that seemed some one many-limbed animal, but was, in -truth, two men, twisted and turned round about one another in an -embrace which could have no end save death. Which was Kortes, which -Constantine, I could not tell. How they came there I could not tell. I -dared not fire. Phroso hung about me in a paroxysm of fear, her hands -holding me motionless; I myself was awed and fascinated by the dim -spectacle and the confused sounds of that mortal strife. - -Backward and forward, to and fro, up and down they writhed and rolled. -Now they hung, a protrusion of deeper blackness, over the black gulf -on this side, now on that. Now the mass separated a little as one -pressed the other downward and seemed about to hurl his enemy over and -himself remain triumphant; now that one, in his turn, tottered on the -edge as if to fall and leave the other panting on the bridge; again -they were mixed together, so that I could not tell which was which, -and the strange appearance of a single, writhing, crawling shape -returned. Then suddenly, from both at once, rang out cries: there was -dread and surprise in one, fierce, uncalculating, self-forgetful -triumph in the other. Not even for Phroso's sake, or the band of her -encircling arms, could I rest longer. Roughly I fear, at least with -suddenness, I disengaged myself from her grasp. She cried out in -protest and in fear, 'Don't go, don't leave me!' I could not rest. -Recollecting the peril, I yet rushed quickly on to the bridge, and -moved warily along its narrow perilous way. But even as I came near -the two who fought in the middle, there was a deep groan, a second -wild triumphant cry, a great lurch of the mass, a moment--a short -short moment--when it hung poised over the yawning vault; and then an -instant of utter stillness. I waited as a boy waits to hear the stone -he has thrown strike the water at the bottom of the well. The stone -struck the water: there was a great resounding splash, the water moved -beneath the blow; I saw its dark gleam agitated. Then all was still -again; and the passage of the bridge was clear. - -I walked to the spot where the struggle had been, and whence the two -had fallen together. I knelt down and gazed into the chasm. Three -times I called Kortes's name. No answer came up. I could discern no -movement of the dark waters. They had sunk, the two together, and -neither rose. Perhaps both were wounded to death, perhaps only their -fatal embrace prevented all effort for life. I could see nothing and -hear nothing. My heart was heavy for Kortes, a brave true man and our -only friend. In the death of Constantine I saw less than his fitting -punishment; yet I was glad that he was gone, and the long line of his -villainies closed. This last attempt had been a bold one. Mouraki, no -doubt, had forced him to it; even a craven will be bold where the -penalty of cowardice is death. Yet he had not dared to stand when -discovered. He had fled, and must have been flying when Kortes came up -and grappled with him. For a snapshot at an unwary man he had found -courage, but not for a fair fight. He was an utter coward after all. -He was well dead, and his wife well avenged. - -But it was fatal to linger here. Mouraki would be expecting the return -of his emissary. I saw now clearly that the Pasha had prepared the way -for Constantine's attempt. If no news came, he would not wait long. I -put my reflections behind me and walked briskly back to where I had -left Phroso. I found her lying on the ground; she seemed to be in a -faint. Setting my face close to hers, I saw that her eyes were shut -and her lips parted. I sat down by her in the narrow passage and -supported her head on my arm. Then I took out a flask, and pouring -some of the brandy-and-water it contained into the cup forced a little -between her lips. With a heavy sigh she opened her eyes and shuddered. - -'It is over,' I said. 'There's no need to be afraid; all is over now.' - -'Constantine?' - -'He is dead.' - -'And Kortes?' - -'They are both gone. They fell together into the pool and must be -dead; there's no sound from it.' - -A frightened sob was her answer; she put her hand up to her eyes. - -'Ah, dear Kortes!' she whispered, and I heard her sob gently again. - -'He was a brave man,' said I. 'God rest his soul!' - -'He loved me,' she said simply, between her sobs. 'He--he and his -sister were the only friends I had.' - -'You have other friends,' said I, and my voice was well nigh as low as -hers. - -'You are very good to me, my lord,' she said, and she conquered her -sobs and lay still, her head on my arm, her hair enveloping my hand in -its silken masses. - -'We must go on,' said I. 'We mustn't stay here. Our only chance is to -go on.' - -'Chance? Chance of what?' she echoed in a little despairing murmur, -'Where am I to go? Why should I struggle any more?' - -'Would you fall into Mouraki's power?' I asked from between set lips. - -'No; but I need not. I have my dagger.' - -'God forbid!' I cried in sudden horror; and in spite of myself I felt -my hand tighten and press her head among the coils of her hair. She -also felt it; she raised herself on her elbow, turned to me, and sent -a straining look into my eyes. What answer could I make to it? I -averted my face; she dropped her head between her hands on the rocky -floor. - -'We must go,' said I again. 'Can you walk, Phroso?' - -I hardly noticed the name I called her, nor did she appear to mark it. - -'I can't go,' she moaned. 'Let me stay here. I can get back to the -house, perhaps.' - -'I won't leave you here. I won't leave you to Mouraki.' - -'It will not be to Mouraki, it will be to--' - -I caught her hand, crying in a low whisper, 'No, no.' - -'What else?' she asked, again sitting up and looking at me. - -'We must make a push for safety, as we meant to before.' - -'Safety?' Her lips bent in a sadly derisive little smile. 'What is -this safety you talk about?' she seemed to say. - -'Yes, safety.' - -'Ah, yes, you must be safe,' she said, appearing to awake suddenly to -a consciousness of something forgotten. 'Ah, yes, my lord, you must be -safe. Don't linger, my lord. Don't linger!' - -'Do you suppose I'm going alone?' I asked, and, in spite of -everything, I could not help smiling as I put the question. I believe -she really thought that the course in question might commend itself to -me. - -'No,' she said. 'You wouldn't go alone. But I--I can't cross that -awful bridge.' - -'Oh yes, you can,' said I. 'Come along,' and I rose and held out my -arms towards her. - -She looked at me, the tears still on her cheeks, a doubtful smile -dawning on her lips. - -'My dear lord,' she said very softly, and stood while I put my arms -round her and lifted her till she lay easily. Then came what I think -was the hardest thing of all to bear. She let her head fall on my -shoulder and lay trustfully, I could almost say luxuriously, back in -my arms; a little happy sigh of relief and peace came from her lips, -her eyes closed, she was content. - -Well, I started; and I shall not record precisely what I thought as I -started. What I ought to have thought about was picking my way over -the bridge, and, if more matter for consideration were needed, I might -have speculated on the best thing to do when we reached the outlet of -the passage. Suppose, then, that I thought about what I ought to have -thought about. - -'Keep still while we're on the bridge,' said I to Phroso. 'It's not -over broad, you know.' - -A little movement of the head, till it rested in yet greater seeming -comfort, was Phroso's only disobedience; for the rest she was -absolutely still. It was fortunate; for to cross that bridge in the -dark, carrying a lady, was not a job I cared much about. However we -came to the other side; the walls of rock closed in again on either -hand, and I felt the way begin to slope downwards under my feet. - -'Does it go pretty straight now?' I asked. - -'Oh, yes, quite straight. You can't miss it, my lord,' said Phroso, -and another little sigh of content followed the words. I had, I -suppose, little enough to laugh at, but I did laugh very gently and -silently, and I did not propose that Phroso should walk. - -'Are you tired?' she said presently, just opening her eyes for an -instant. - -'I could carry you for ever,' I answered. - -Phroso smiled under lazy lids that closed again. - -In spite of Phroso's assurance of its simple straightness the road had -many twists and turns in it, and I had often to ask my way. Phroso -gave me directions at once and without hesitation. Evidently she was -thoroughly familiar with the track. When I remarked on this she said, -'Oh, yes, I often used to come this way. It leads to such a pretty -cave, you know.' - -'Then it doesn't come out at the same point as the way my friends -took?' - -'No, more than a mile away from that. We must be nearly there now. Are -you tired, my lord?' - -'Not a bit,' said I, and Phroso accepted the answer without demur. - -There can, however, be no harm in admitting now that I was tired, not -so much from carrying Phroso, though, as from the strain of the day -and the night that I had passed through; and I hailed with joy a -glimmer of light which danced before my eyes at the end of a long -straight tunnel. We were going down rapidly now; and, hark, there was -the wash of water welcoming us to the outer air and the light of the -upper world; for day had just dawned as we came to the end of the way. -The light that I saw ahead was ruddy with the rays of the new-risen -sun. - -'Ah,' sighed Phroso happily, 'I hear the sea. Oh, I smell it. And see, -my lord, the light!' - -I turned from the light, joyful as was the beholding of it, to the -face which lay close by mine. That too I could see now for the first -time plainly. I met Phroso's eyes. A slight tinge of colour dyed her -cheeks, but she lay still, looking at me, and she said softly, in low -rich tones: - -'You look very weary. Let me walk now, my lord.' - -'No, we'll go on to the end now,' I said. - -The end was near. Another five minutes brought us where once again the -enfolding walls spread out. The path broadened into a stony beach; -above us the rocks formed an arch: we were in a little cave, and the -waves rolled gently to and fro on the margin of the beach. The mouth -of the cave was narrow and low, the rocks leaving only about a yard -between themselves above and the water below; there was just room for -a boat to pass out and in. Phroso sprang from my arms, and stretched -out her hands to the light. - -'Ah, if we had a boat!' I cried, running to the water's edge. - -Had the luck indeed changed and fortune begun to smile? It seemed so, -for I had hardly spoken when Phroso suddenly clapped her hands and -cried: - -'A boat! There is a boat, my lord,' and she leapt forward and caught -me by the hand, her eyes sparkling. - -It was true--by marvel, it was true! A good, stout, broad-bottomed -little fishing boat lay beached on the shingle, with its sculls lying -in it. How had it come? Well, I didn't stop to ask that. My eyes met -Phroso's in delight. The joy of our happy fortune overcame us. I think -that for the moment we forgot the terrible events which had happened -before our eyes, the sadness of the parting which at the best lay -before us. Both her hands were in mine; we were happy as two children, -prosperously launched on some wonderful fairy-tale adventure--prince -and princess in their cockle boat on a magic sea. - -'Isn't it wonderful?' cried Phroso. 'Ah, my lord, all goes well with -you. I think God loves you, my lord, as much as--' - -She stopped. A rush of rich colour flooded her cheeks. Her deep eyes, -which had gleamed in exultant merriment, sank to the ground. Her hands -loosed mine. - -'--as the lady who waits for you loves you, my lord,' she said. - -I do not know how it was, but Phroso's words summoned up before my -eyes a vision of Beatrice Hipgrave, pursuing her cheerful way through -the gaieties of the season--or was she in the country by now?--without -wasting very many thoughts on the foolish man who had gone to the -horrid island. The picture of her as the lady who waited for a lover, -forlorn because he tarried, struck with a bitter amusement on my sense -of humour. Phroso saw me smile; her eyes asked a wondering question. I -did not answer it, but turned away and walked down to where the boat -lay. - -'I suppose,' I said coldly, 'that this is the best chance?' - -'It is the only chance, my lord,' she answered; but her eyes were -still puzzled, and her tone was almost careless, as if the matter of -our escape had ceased to be the thing which pressed most urgently on -her mind. I could say nothing to enlighten her; not from my lips, -which longed to forswear her, could come the slightest word in -depreciation of 'the lady who waited.' - -'Will you get in, then?' I asked. - -'Yes,' said Phroso; the joy was gone out of her voice and out of her -eyes. - -I helped her into the boat, then I launched it; when it floated clear -on the water of the cave I jumped in myself and took the sculls. -Phroso sat silent and now pale-faced in the stern. I struck the water -with my blades and the boat moved. A couple of strokes took us across -the cave. We reached the mouth. I felt the sun on my neck with its -faint early warmth: that is a good feeling and puts heart in a man. - -'Ah, but the sea and the air are good,' said Phroso. 'And it is good -to be free, my lord.' - -I looked at her. The sun had caught her eyes now, and the gleam in -them seemed to fire me. I forgot--something that I ought to have -remembered. I rested for a moment on my oars, and, leaning forward, -said in a low voice: - -'Aye, to be free, and together, Phroso.' - -Again came the flash of colour, again the sudden happy dancing of her -eyes and the smile that curved in unconquerable wilfulness. I -stretched out a hand, and Phroso's hand stole timidly to meet it. -Well--surely the Recording Angel looked away! - -Thus were we just outside the cave. There rose a straight rock on the -left hand, ending in a level top some four feet above our heads. -And as our hands approached and our eyes--those quicker -foregatherers--met, there came from the top of the rock a laugh, a low -chuckle that I knew well. I don't think I looked up. I looked still -at Phroso. As I looked, her colour fled, fright leapt into her eyes, -her lips quivered in horror. I knew the truth from her face. - -'Very nice! But what have you done with Cousin Constantine?' asked -Mouraki Pasha. - -The trap, then, had double jaws, and we had escaped Constantine only -to fall into the hands of his master. It was so like Mouraki. I was so -much aghast and yet so little surprised, the fall was so sudden, our -defeat so ludicrous, that I believed I smiled, as I turned my eyes -from Phroso's and cast a glance at the Pasha. - -'I might have known it, you know,' said I, aloud. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE UNKNOWN FRIEND - - -The boat still moved a little from the impulse of my last stroke, and -we floated slowly past Mouraki who stood, like some great sea-bird on -the rock. To his cynical question--for it revealed shamelessly the use -he had meant to make of his tool--I returned no answer. I could smile -in amused bitterness but for the moment I could not speak. Phroso sat -with downcast eyes, twisting one hand round the other; the Pasha was -content to answer my smile with his own. The boat drew past the rock -and, as we came round its elbow, I found across our path a larger -boat, manned by four of Mouraki's soldiers, who had laid down their -oars and sat rifles in hand. In the coxswain's place was Demetri. It -seemed strange to find him in that company. One of the soldiers took -hold of the nose of our boat and turned it round, impelling it towards -the beach. A moment later we grated on the shingle, where the Pasha, -who had leapt down nimbly from his perch, stood awaiting us. Thoughts -had been running rapidly through my brain, wild thoughts of -resistance, of a sudden rush, of emptying my revolver haphazard into -the other boat, aye, even of assassinating Mouraki with an unexpected -shot. All that was folly. I let it go, sprang from the boat, and, -giving my hand to Phroso, helped her to land, and led her to a broad -smooth ledge of rock, on which she seated herself, still silent, but -giving me a look of grief and despair. Then I turned to the Pasha. - -'I think,' said I, 'that you'll have to wait a day or two for Cousin -Constantine. I'm told that bodies don't find their way out so soon as -living men.' - -'Ah, I thought that must be it! You threw him down into the pool?' he -asked. - -'No, not I. My friend Kortes.' - -'And Kortes?' - -'They fell together.' - -'How very dramatic,' smiled the Pasha. 'How came you to let Kortes -have at him first?' - -'Believe me, it was unintentional. It was without any design of -disappointing you, Pasha.' - -'And there's an end of both of them!' said he, smiling at my hit. - -'They must both be dead. Forgive me, Pasha, but I don't understand -your comedy. We were in your power at the house. Why play this farce? -Why not have done then what I presume you will do now?' - -'My dear lord,' said he, after a glance round to see that nobody -listened, 'the conventions must be observed. Yesterday you had not -committed the offences of which I regret to say you have now been -guilty.' - -'The offences? You amuse me, Pasha.' - -'I don't grudge it you,' said Mouraki. 'Yes, the offences of aiding my -prisoner--that lady--to escape, and--well, the death of Constantine is -at least a matter for inquiry, isn't it? You'll admit that? The man -was a rogue, of course, but we must observe the law, my dear Wheatley. -Besides--' He paused, then he added, 'You mustn't grudge me my -amusement either. Believe me, your joy at finding that boat, which I -caused to be placed there for your convenience, and the touching -little scene which I interrupted, occasioned me infinite diversion.' - -I made no answer, and he continued: - -'I was sure that if--well, if Constantine failed in perpetrating his -last crime--you follow me, my dear lord?--you would make for the -passage, so I obtained the guidance of that faithful fellow, Demetri, -and he brought us round very comfortably. Indeed we've been waiting -some little while for you. Of course Phroso delayed you.' - -Mouraki's sneers and jocularity had no power in themselves to anger -me. Indeed I felt myself cool and calm, ready to bandy retorts and -banter with him. But there was another characteristic of his -conversation on which my mind fastened, finding in it matter for -thought: this was his barefaced frankness. Plainly he told me that he -had employed Constantine to assassinate me, plainly he exposed to me -the trick by which he had obtained a handle against me. Now to whom, -if to any one, does a man like Mouraki Pasha reveal such things as -these? Why to men, and only to men, who will tell no tales. And there -is a proverb which hints that only one class of men tells no tales. -That was why I attached significance to the Governor's frankness. - -I believe the man followed my thoughts with his wonderfully acute -intelligence and his power of penetrating the minds of others; for he -smiled again as he said: - -'I don't mind being frank with you, my dear Wheatley. I'm sure you -won't use the little admissions I may seem to make against me. How -grieved you must be for your poor friend Kortes!' - -'We've both lost a friend this morning, Pasha. - -'Constantine? Ah, yes. Still--he's as well where he is, just as well -where he is.' - -'He won't be able to use your little admissions either?' - -'How you catch my meaning, my dear lord! It's a pleasure to talk to -you.' But he turned suddenly from me and called to his men. Three came -up at once. 'This gentleman,' he said, indicating me, and speaking now -in sharp authoritative tones, 'is in your custody for the the present. -Don't let him move.' - -I seated myself on a rock; the three men stood round me. The Pasha -bowed slightly, walked down to where Phroso sat, and began to speak -with her. So, at least, I supposed, but I did not hear anything that -he said. His back was towards me, and he hid Phroso from my view. I -took out my flask and had a pull at my brandy-and-water; it was a poor -breakfast, but I was offered no other. - -Up to this time the fourth soldier and Demetri had remained in the -boat. They now landed and hauled their boat up on to the beach; then -they turned to the smaller boat which the Pasha had provided in -malicious sport for our more complete mortification. The soldier laid -hold of its stern and prepared to haul it also out of the water; but -Demetri said something--what I could not hear--and shrugged his -shoulders. The soldier nodded in apparent assent, and they left the -boat where it was, merely attaching it by a rope to the other. Then -they walked to the rocks and sat down at a little distance from where -I was, Demetri taking a hunch of bread and a large knife from his -pocket and beginning to cut and munch. I looked at him, but he refused -to meet my eye and glanced in every direction except at me. - -Suddenly, while I was idly regarding Demetri, the three fellows sprang -on me. One had me by each arm before I could so much as move. The -third dashed his hand into the breast-pocket of my coat and seized my -revolver. They leapt away again, caught up the rifles they had -dropped, and held them levelled towards me. The thing was done in a -moment, I sitting like a man paralysed. Then one of the ruffians -cried: - -'Your Excellency, the gentleman moved his hand to his pocket, to his -pistol.' - -'What?' asked Mouraki, turning round. 'Moved his hand to a pistol? Had -he a pistol?' - -My revolver was held up as damning evidence. - -'And he tried to use it?' asked Mouraki, in mournful shocked tones. - -'It looked like it,' said the fellow. - -'It's a lie. I wasn't thinking of it,' said I. I was exasperated at -the trick. I had made up my mind to fight it out sooner than give up -the revolver. - -'I'm afraid it may have been so,' said Mouraki, shaking his head. -'Give the pistol to me, my man. I'll keep it safe.' His eye shot -triumph at me as he took my revolver and turned again to Phroso. I was -now powerless indeed. - -Demetri finished his hunch of bread, and began to clean his knife, -polishing its blade leisurely and lovingly on the palm of his hand, -and feeling its point with the end of his thumb. During this operation -he hummed softly and contentedly to himself. I could not help smiling -when I recognised the tune; it was an old friend, the chant that -One-eyed Alexander wrote on the death of Stefan Stefanopoulos two -hundred years ago. Demetri polished, and Demetri hummed, and Demetri -looked away across the blue water with a speculative eye. I did not -choose to consider what might be in the mind of Demetri as he hummed -and polished and gazed over the sea that girt his native island. -Demetri's thoughts were his own. Let Mouraki look to them, if they -were worth his care. - -There, I have made that confession as plainly as I mean to make it. I -put out of my mind what Demetri might be planning as he polished his -knife and hummed One-eyed Alexander's chant. - -Apparently Mouraki did not think the matter worth his care. He had -approached very near to Phroso now, leaning down towards her as she -sat on the rock. Suddenly I heard a low cry of terror, and 'No, no,' -in horrified accents; but Mouraki, raising his voice a little, -answered, 'Yes, yes.' - -I strained my ears to hear; nay, I half rose from where I sat, and -sank back only under the pointed hint of a soldier's bayonet. I could -not hear the words, but a soft pleading murmur came from Phroso, a -short relentless laugh from Mouraki, a silence, a shrug of Mouraki's -shoulders. Then he turned and came across to me. - -'Stand back a little,' said he to the soldiers, 'but keep your eyes on -your prisoner, and if he attempts any movement--' He did not finish -the sentence, which indeed was plain enough without a formal ending. -Then he began to speak to me in French. - -'A beautiful thing, my dear lord,' said he, 'is the devotion of women. -Fortunate are you who have found two ladies to love you!' - -'You've been married twice yourself, I think you told me?' - -'It's not exactly the same thing--not necessarily. I am very likely to -be married a third time, but I fear I should flatter myself if I -thought that much love would accompany the lady's hand. However it was -of you that I desired to speak. This lady here, my dear lord, is so -attached to you that I believe she will marry me, purely to ensure -your safety. Isn't it a touching sacrifice?' - -'I hope she'll do nothing of the sort,' said I. - -'Well, it's little more than a polite fiction,' he conceded; 'for -she'll be compelled to marry me anyhow. But it's the sort of idea that -comforts a woman.' - -He fixed his eyes on me as he made this remark, enjoying the study of -its effect on me. - -'Well,' said I, 'I never meant to marry her. I'm bound, you know. It -was only another polite fiction designed to annoy you, my dear Pasha.' - -'Ah, is that so? Now, really, that's amusing,' and he chuckled. He did -not appear annoyed at having been deceived. I wondered a little at -that--then. - -'We have really,' he continued, 'been living in an atmosphere of -polite fictions. For example, Lord Wheatley, there was a polite -fiction that I was grieved at Constantine's escape.' - -'And another that you were anxious to recapture him.' - -'And a third that you were not anxious to escape from -my--hospitality.' - -'And a fourth that you were so solicitous for my friends' enjoyment -that you exerted yourself to find them good fishing.' - -'Ah, yes, yes,' he laughed. 'And there is to be one more polite -fiction, my dear lord.' - -'I believe I can guess it,' said I, meeting his eye. - -'You are always so acute,' he observed admiringly. - -'Though the precise form of it I confess I don't understand.' - -'Well, our lamented Constantine, who had much experience but rather -wanted imagination, was in favour of a fever. He told me that it was -the usual device in Neopalia.' - -'His wife died of it, I suppose?' I believe I smiled as I put the -question. Great as my peril was, I still found a pleasure in fencing -with the Pasha. - -'Oh, no. Now that's unworthy of you. Never have a fiction when the -truth will serve! Since he's dead, he murdered his wife. If he had -lived, of course--' - -'Ah, then it would have been fever.' - -'Precisely. We must adapt ourselves to circumstances: that is the part -of wise men. Now in your case--' He bent down and looked hard in my -face. - -'In my case,' said I, 'you can call it what you like, Pasha.' - -'Don't you think that the outraged patriotism of Neopalia--?' he -suggested, with a smile. 'You bought the island--you, a stranger! It -was very rash. These islanders are desperate fellows.' - -'That would have served with Constantine alive; but he's dead. Your -patriot is gone, Pasha.' - -'Alas, yes, our good Constantine is dead. But there are others. -There's a fellow whom I ought to hang.' - -'Ah!' My eye wandered towards where Demetri hummed and polished. - -'And who has certainly not earned his life merely by bringing me to -meet you this morning, though I give him some credit for that.' - -'Demetri?' I asked with a careless air. - -'Well, yes, Demetri,' smiled the Pasha. 'Demetri is very open to -reason.' - -Across the current of our talk came Demetri's soft happy humming. The -Pasha heard it. - -'I hanged his brother three years ago,' he observed. - -'I know you did,' said I. 'You seem to have done some characteristic -things three years ago.' - -'And he went to the gallows humming that tune. You know it?' - -'Very well indeed, Pasha. It was one of the first things I heard in -Neopalia; it's going to be one of the last, perhaps.' - -'That tune lends a great plausibility to my little fiction,' said -Mouraki. - -'It will no doubt be a very valuable confirmation of it,' I rejoined. - -The Pasha made no further remark for a moment. I looked past him and -past the four soldiers--for the last had now joined his comrades--to -Phroso. She was leaning against the cliff side; her head was thrown -back and her face upturned, but her eyes were closed. I think she had -swooned, or at least sunk into a half-unconscious state. Mouraki -detected my glance. - -'Look at her well, use your time,' he said in a savage tone. You've -not long to enjoy the sight of her.' - -'I have as long as it may happen to please God,' said I. 'Neither you -nor I know how long.' - -'I can make a guess,' observed Mouraki, a quiet smile succeeding his -frown. - -'Yes, you can make a guess.' - -He stood looking at me a moment longer; then he turned away. As he -passed the soldiers he spoke to them. I saw them smile. No doubt he -had picked his men for this job and could rely on them. - -The little bay in which we were was surrounded by steep and -precipitous cliffs except in one place. Here there was a narrow cleft; -the rocks did not rise abruptly; the ground sloped gradually upwards -as it receded from the beach. Just on this spot of gently-rising -ground Demetri sat, and the Pasha, having amused himself with me for -as long as it pleased him, walked up to Demetri. The fellow sprang to -his feet and saluted Mouraki with great respect. Mouraki beckoned to -him to come nearer, and began to speak to him. - -I sat still where I was, under the bayonets of the soldiers, who faced -me and had their backs to their commander. My eyes were fixed steadily -on the pair who stood conferring on the slope; and my mind was in a -ferment. Scruples troubled me no more; Mouraki himself had made them -absurd. I read my only chance of life in the choice or caprice of the -wild passionate barbarian--he was little else--who stood with head -meekly bowed and knife carelessly dangled in his hand. This man was he -of whom Panayiota had spoken so mysteriously; he was the friend whom I -had 'more than I knew of.' In his blood feud with the Pasha, in his -revengeful wrath, lay my chance. It was only a chance, indeed, for the -soldiers might kill me; but it was a chance, and there was no other; -for if Mouraki won him over by promises or bribes, or intimidated him -into doing his will, then Demetri would take the easier task, that -which carried no risk and did not involve his own death, as an attack -on the Pasha almost certainly would. Would he be prudent and turn his -hand against the single helpless man? Or would his long-nursed rage -stifle all care for himself and drive him against Mouraki? If so, if -he chose that way, there was a glimmer of hope. I glanced at Phroso's -motionless figure and pallid face; I glanced at the little boat that -floated on the water (why had Demetri not beached it?); I glanced at -the rope which bound it to the other boat; I measured the distance -between the boats and myself; I thrust my hand into the pocket of my -coat and contrived to open the blade of my clasp-knife, which was now -the only weapon left to me. - -Mouraki spoke and smiled. He made no gesture but there was just a -movement of his eyes towards me. Demetri's eyes followed his for an -instant, but would not dwell on my face. The Pasha spoke again. -Demetri shook his head, and Mouraki's face assumed a persuasive -good-humoured expression. Demetri glanced round apprehensively. The -Pasha took him by the arm, and they went a few paces further up the -slope, so as to be more private in their talk--but was that the -object with both of them? Still Demetri shook his head. The Pasha's -smile vanished, his mouth grew stern, his eyes cold, and he frowned. -He spoke in short sharp sentences, the snap of his lips showing when -his mind was spoken. Demetri seemed to plead. He looked uneasy, he -shifted from foot to foot, he drew back from the imperious man, as -though he shunned him and would fain escape from him. Mouraki would -not let him go, but followed him in his retreat, step for step. Thus -another ten yards were put between them and me. Anger and contempt -blazed now on Mouraki's face. He raised his hand and brought it down -clenched on the palm of the other. Demetri held out his hand as though -in protest or supplication. The Pasha stamped with his foot. There -were no signs of relenting in his manner. - -My eyes grew weary with intent watching. I felt like a man who has -been staring at a bright white light, too fascinated by its intensity -to blink or turn away, even though it pains him to look longer. The -figures of the two seemed to become indistinct and blurred. I rubbed -my knuckles into my eyes to clear my vision, and looked again. Yes; -they were a little further off, even still a little further off than -when I had looked before. It could not be by chance and unwittingly -that Demetri always and always and always gave back a pace, luring -the Pasha to follow him. No, there was a plan in his head; and in my -heart suddenly came a great beat of savage joy--of joy at the chance -Heaven gave, yes, and of lust for the blood of the man against whom I -had so mighty a debt of wrong. And, as I gazed now, for an instant--a -single, barely perceptible instant--came the swiftest message from -Demetri's eyes. I read it. I knew its meaning. I sat where I was, but -every muscle of my body was tense and strung in readiness for that -desperate leap, and every nerve of me quivered with a repressed -excitement that seemed almost to kill. Now, now! Was it now? I was -within an ace of crying 'Strike!' but I held the word in and still -gazed. And the soldiers leant easily on their bayonets, exchanging a -word or two now and again, yawning sometimes, weary of a dull job, -wondering when his Excellency would let them get home again; of what -was going on behind their backs, there on the slope of the cliff, they -took no heed. - -Ah, there was a change now! Demetri had ceased to protest, to -deprecate and to retreat. Mouraki's frowns had vanished, he smiled -again in satisfaction and approval. Demetri threw a glance at me. -Mouraki spoke. Demetri answered. For an instant I looked at the -soldiers: they were more weary and inattentive than ever. Back went -my eyes. Now Mouraki, with suave graciousness, in condescending -recognition of a good servant, stepped right close up to Demetri and, -raising his hand, reached round the fellow's shoulder and patted him -approvingly on the back. - -'It will be now!' I thought; nay, I believe I whispered, and I drew my -legs up under me and grasped the hidden knife in my pocket. 'Yes, it -must be now.' - -Mouraki patted, laughed, evidently praised. Demetri bowed his head. -But his long, lithe, bare, brown right arm that had hung so weary a -time in idle waiting by his side--the arm whose hand held the great -bright blade so lovingly polished, so carefully tested--the arm began -slowly and cautiously to crawl up his side. It bent at the elbow, it -rested a moment after its stealthy secret climb; then, quick as -lightning, it flew above Demetri's head, the blade sparkled in the -sun, the hand swooped down, and the gleams of the sunlit steel were -quenched in the body of Mouraki. With a sudden cry of amazement, of -horror and of agony, the Pasha staggered and fell prone on the rocky -ground; and Demetri cried, 'At last, my God, at last!' and laughed -aloud. - -[Illustration: "AT LAST, MY GOD, AT LAST!"] - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE ARMENIAN DOG! - - -The death-cry that Mouraki Pasha uttered under Demetri's avenging -knife seemed to touch a spring and set us all a-moving. The sound of -it turned the soldiers' idle lassitude into an amazed wonder, which -again passed in an instant to fierce excitement. Phroso leapt, with a -shriek, to her feet. I hurled myself across the space between me and -the rope, knife in hand. The soldiers, neglecting their unarmed -prisoner, turned with a shout of rage, and rushed wildly up the slope -to where Demetri stood, holding his blade towards heaven. The rope -parted under my impetuous assault. Phroso was by my side, in an -instant we were in the boat; I pushed off. I seized the sculls; but -then I hesitated. Was this man my friend, my ally, my accomplice, what -you will? I looked up the slope. Demetri stood by the body of Mouraki. -The four soldiers rushed towards him. I could not approve his deed; -but I had suffered it to be done. I must not run away now. I pushed -the sculls into Phroso's hands. But she had caught my purpose, and -threw herself upon me, twining her arms about me and crying, 'No, no, -my lord! My lord, no, no!' Her love gave her strength; for a moment I -could not disengage myself, but stood fast bound in her embrace. - -The moment was enough. It was the end, the end of that brief fierce -drama on the rocky slope, the end of any power I might have had to aid -Demetri; for he did not try to defend himself. He stood still as a -statue where he was, holding the knife up to heaven, the smile which -his loud laugh left still on his lips. Phroso's head sank on my -shoulder. She would not look; but the sight drew my eyes with an -irresistible attraction. The bayonets flashed in the air and buried -themselves in Demetri's body. He sank with a groan. Again the blades, -drawn back, were driven into him, and again and again. He was a -mangled corpse, but in hot revenge for their leader they thrust and -thrust. It turned me sick to look; yet I looked till at last they -ceased, and stood for an instant over the two bodies, regarding them. -Then I loosed Phroso's arms off me; she sank back in the stern. Again -I took the sculls and laid to with a will. Where we were to go, or -what help we could look for, I did not know; but a fever to be away -from the place had come on me, and I pulled, thinking less of life -and safety than of putting distance between me and that hideous scene. - -'They don't move,' whispered Phroso, whose eyes were now turned away -from me and fixed on the beach. 'They stand still. Row, my lord, row!' - -A moment passed. I pulled with all my strength. She was between me and -the land; I could see nothing. Her voice came again, low but urgent: - -'Now they move, they're coming down to the shore. Ah, my lord, they're -taking aim!' - -'God help us!' said I between my teeth. 'Crouch in the boat. Low down, -get right down. Lower down, Phroso, lower down!' - -'Ah, one has knocked up the barrels! They're talking again. Why don't -they fire?' - -'Do they look like hesitating?' - -'Yes. No, they're aiming again. No, they've stopped. Row, my lord, -row!' - -I was pulling as I had not pulled since I rowed in my college boat at -Oxford nine years before. I thought of the race at that moment with a -sort of amusement. But all the while Phroso kept watch for me; by -design or chance she did not move from between me and the shore. - -'They're running to the boat now. They're getting in. Are they coming -after us, my lord?' - -'Heaven knows! I suppose so.' - -I was wondering why they had not used their rifles; they had evidently -thought of firing at first, but something had held their hands. -Perhaps they, mere humble soldiers, shrank from the responsibility. -Their leader, whose protection would have held them harmless and whose -favour rewarded them, lay dead. They might well hesitate to fire on a -man whom they knew to be a person of some position and who had taken -no part in Mouraki's death. - -'They're launching the boat. They're in now,' came in Phroso's -breathless whisper. - -'How far off are we?' - -'I don't know; two hundred yards, perhaps. They've started now.' - -'Do they move well?' - -'Yes, they're rowing hard. Oh, my dear lord, can you row harder?' She -turned to me for an instant, clasping her hands in entreaty. - -'No, I can't, Phroso,' said I, and I believe I smiled. Did the dear -girl think I should choose that moment for paddling? - -'They're gaining,' she cried. 'Oh, they're gaining! On, my lord, on!' - -'How many are rowing?' - -'Three, my lord, each with two oars.' - -'Oh, the deuce! It's no good, Phroso.' - -'No good, my lord? But if they catch us?' - -'I wish I could answer you. How near now?' - -'Half as near as they were before.' - -'Look round the sea. Are there any boats anywhere? Look all round.' - -'There's nothing anywhere, my lord.' - -'Then the game's up,' said I; and I rested on my oars and began to -pant. I was not in training for a race. - -The boat containing the soldiers drew near. Our boat, now motionless, -awaited their coming. Phroso sank on the seat and sat with a -despairing look in her eyes. But my mood was not the same. Mouraki was -dead. I knew the change his death made was great. Mouraki was dead. I -did not believe that there was another man in Neopalia who would dare -to take any extreme step against me. For why had they not fired? They -did not fire now, when they could have shot me through the head -without difficulty and without danger. - -Their boat came alongside of ours. I leant forward and touched -Phroso's hand; she looked up. - -'Courage,' said I. 'The braver we look the better we shall come off.' -Then I turned to the pursuers and regarded them steadily, waiting for -them to speak. The first communication was in dumb show. The man who -was steering--he appeared to be a subordinate officer--covered me with -his barrel. - -'I'm absolutely unarmed,' I said. 'You know that. You took my revolver -away from me.' - -'You're trying to escape,' said he, not shifting his aim. - -'Where's your warrant for stopping me?' I demanded. - -'The Pasha--' - -'The Pasha's dead. Be careful what you do. I am an Englishman, and in -my country I am as great a man as your Pasha was.' This assertion -perhaps was on, or beyond, the confines of strict truth; it had -considerable effect, however. - -'You were our prisoner, my lord,' said the officer more civilly. 'We -cannot allow you to escape. And this lady was a prisoner also. She is -not English; she is of the island. And one of the islanders has slain -the Pasha. She must answer for it.' - -'What can she have had to do with it?' - -'It may have been planned between her and the assassin.' - -'Oh, and between me and the assassin too, perhaps?' - -'Perhaps, my lord. It is not my place to inquire into that.' - -I shrugged my shoulders with an appearance of mingled carelessness and -impatience. - -'Well, what do you want of us?' I asked. - -'You must accompany us back to Neopalia.' - -'Well, where did you suppose I was going? Is this a boat to go for a -voyage in? Can I row a hundred miles to Rhodes? Come, you're a silly -fellow!' - -He was rather embarrassed by my tone. He did not know whether to -believe in my sincerity or not. Phroso caught the cue well enough to -keep her tongue between her pretty lips, and her lids low over her -wondering eyes. - -'But,' I pursued in a tone of ironical remonstrance, 'are you going to -leave the Pasha there? The other is a rogue and a murderer' (it rather -went to my heart to describe the useful, if unscrupulous, Demetri in -these terms); 'let him be. But does it suit the dignity of Mouraki -Pasha to lie untended on the shore, while his men row off to the -harbour? It will look as though you had loved him little. You, four of -you, allow one man to kill him, and then you leave his body as if it -were the body of a dog!' - -I had no definite reason for wishing them to return and take up -Mouraki's body; but every moment gained was something. Neopalia had -bred in me a constant hope of new chances, of fresh turns, of a smile -from fortune following quick on a frown. So I urged on them anything -which would give a respite. My appeal was not wasted. The officer held -a hurried whispered consultation with the soldier who sat on the seat -next to him. Then he said: - -'It is true, my lord. It is more fitting that we should carry the body -back; but you must return with us.' - -'With all my heart,' said I, taking up my sculls with alacrity. - -The officer responded to this move of mine by laying his rifle in -readiness across his knees; both boats turned, and we set out again -for the beach. As soon as we reached it three of them went up the -slope. I saw them kick Demetri's body out of the way; for he had -fallen so that his arm was over the breast of his victim. Then they -raised Mouraki and began to carry him down. Phroso hid her face in her -hands. My eyes were on Mouraki's face; I watched him carried down to -the boat, meditating on the strange toss-up which had allotted to him -the fate which he had with such ruthless cunning prepared for me. -Suddenly I sprang up, leapt out of the boat, and began to walk up the -slope. I passed the soldiers who bore Mouraki. They paused in surprise -and uneasiness. I walked briskly by, taking no notice of them, and -came where Demetri's body lay. I knelt for a moment by him, and closed -his eyes with my hand. Then I took off the silk scarf I was wearing -and spread it over his face, and I rose to my feet again. Somehow I -felt that I owed to Demetri some such small office of friendship as -this that I was paying; and I found myself hoping that there had been -good in the man, and that He who sees all of the heart would see good -even in the wild desperate soul of Demetri of Neopalia. So I arranged -the scarf carefully, and, turning, walked down the slope to the boats -again, glad to be able to tell the girl Panayiota that somebody had -closed her lover's eyes. Thus I left the friend that I knew not of. -Looking into my own heart, I did not judge him harshly. I had let the -thing be done. - -When I reached the beach, the soldiers were about to lay Mouraki's -body in the larger of the two boats; but having nothing to cover his -body with they proceeded to remove his undress frock coat and left it -lying for an instant on the shingle while they lifted him in. Seeing -that they were ready, I picked up the coat and handed it to them. They -took it and arranged it over the trunk and head. Two of them got into -the boat in which Phroso sat and signed to me to jump in. I was about -to obey when I perceived a pocket-book lying on the shingle. It was -not mine. Neither Demetri nor any of the soldiers was likely to carry -a handsome morocco-leather case; it must have belonged to Mouraki and -have fallen from his coat as I lifted it. It lay opened now, face -upwards. I stooped for it, intending to give it to the officer. But an -instant later it was in my pocket; and I, under the screen of a most -innocent expression, was covertly watching my guards, to see whether -they had detected my action. The two who rowed Mouraki had already -started; the others had been taking their seats in the boat and had -not perceived the swift motion with which I picked up the book. I -walked past them and sat down behind them in the bows. Phroso was in -the stern. One of them asked her, with a considerable show of respect, -if she would steer. She assented with a nod. I crouched down low in -the bows behind the backs of the soldiers; there I took out Mouraki's -pocket-book and opened it. My action seemed, no doubt, not far removed -from theft. But as the book lay open on the shore, I had seen in it -something which belonged to me, something which was inalienably mine, -of which no schemes or violence could deprive me: this was nothing -else than my name. - -Very quietly and stealthily I drew out a slip of paper; behind that -was another slip, and again a third. They were cuttings from a Greek -newspaper. Neither the name of the paper, nor the dates, nor the -place of publication, appeared: the extracts were merely three short -paragraphs. My name headed each of them. I had not been aware that any -chronicle of my somewhat unexpected fortunes had reached the outer -world; and I set myself to read with much interest. Great men may -become indifferent as to what the papers say about them; I had never -attained to this exalted state of mind. - -'Let's have a look,' said I to myself, after a cautious glance over my -shoulder at the other boat, which was several yards ahead. - -The first paragraph ran thus: 'We regret to hear that Lord Wheatley, -the English nobleman who has recently purchased the island of Neopalia -and taken up his residence there, is suffering from a severe attack of -the fever which is at the present time prevalent in the island.' - -'Now that's very curious,' I thought, for I had never enjoyed better -health than during my sojourn in Neopalia. I turned with increased -interest to the second cutting. I wanted to see what progress I had -made in my serious sickness. Naturally I was interested. - -'We greatly regret to announce that Lord Wheatley's condition is -critical. The fever has abated, but the patient is dangerously -prostrate.' - -'It would be even more interesting if one had the dates,' thought I. - -The last paragraph was extremely brief. 'Lord Wheatley died at seven -o'clock yesterday morning.' - -I lay back in the bows of the boat, holding these remarkable little -slips of paper in my hand. They gave occasion for some thought. Then I -replaced them in the pocket-book, and I had, I regret to say, the -curiosity to explore further. I lifted the outer flap of leather and -looked in the inner compartment. It held only a single piece of paper. -On the paper were four or five lines, not in print this time but in -handwriting, and the handwriting looked very much like what I had seen -over Mouraki's name. - -'Report of Lord Wheatley's death unfounded. Reason to suspect intended -foul play on the part of the islanders. The Governor is making -inquiries. Lord Wheatley is carefully guarded, as attempts on his life -are feared. Feeling in the island is much exasperated, the sale to -Lord Wheatley being very unpopular.' - -'There's another compartment yet,' said I to myself, and I turned to -it eagerly. Alas, I was disappointed! There was a sheet of paper in -it, but the paper was a blank. Yet I looked at the blank piece of -paper with even greater interest; for I had little doubt that it had -been intended to carry another message, a message which was true and -no lie, which was to have been written this very morning by the dagger -of Demetri. Something like this it would have run, would it not, in -the terse style of my friend Mouraki Pasha? 'Lord Wheatley -assassinated this morning. Assassin killed by Governor's guards. -Governor is taking severe measures.' - -Mouraki, Mouraki, in your life you loved irony, and in your death you -were not divided from it! For while you lay a corpse in the stern of -your boat, I lived to read those unwritten words on the blank paper in -your pocket-book. At first Constantine had killed me--so I interpreted -the matter--by fever; but later on that story would not serve, since -Denny and Hogvardt and faithful Watkins knew that it was a lie. -Therefore the lie was declared a lie and you set yourself to prove -again that truth is better than a lie--especially when a man can -manufacture it to his own order. Yet, surely, Mouraki, if you can look -now into this world, your smile will be a wry one! For, cunning as you -were and full of twists, more cunning still and richer in expedients -is the thing called fate; and the dagger of Demetri wrote another -message to fill the blank sheet that your provident notebook carried! - -Thinking thus, I put the book in my pocket, and looked round with a -smile on my lips. I wished the man were alive that I might mock him. I -grudged him the sudden death which fenced him from my triumphant -raillery. - -Suddenly, there in the bows of the boat, I laughed aloud, so that the -soldiers turned startled faces over their shoulders and Phroso looked -at me in wonder. - -'It's nothing,' said I. 'Since I'm alive I may laugh, I suppose?' -Mouraki Pasha was not alive. - -My reading and my meditation had passed the time. Now we were round -the point which had lain between us and the harbour, and were heading -straight for the gunboat that was anchored just across the head of the -jetty. Phroso's eyes met mine in an appeal. I could give her no hope -of escape. There was nothing for it: we must go on, we and Mouraki -together. But my heart was buoyant within me and I exulted in the -favours of fortune as a lover in his mistress's smiles. Was not -Mouraki lying dead in the stern of the boat and was not I alive? - -We drew near to the gunboat. Now I perceived that her steam launch lay -by her side and smoke poured from its funnel. Evidently the launch was -ready for a voyage. Whither? Could it be to Rhodes? And did the -pocket-book that I felt against my ribs by any chance contain the -cargo which was to have been speeded on its way to-day? I laughed -again as our boat came alongside, and a movement of excitement and -interest rose from the deck of gunboat and launch alike. - -The officer went on board the gunboat; for an hour or more we sat -where we were, sheltered by the side of the vessel from the heat of -the sun, for it was now noon. What was happening on board I could not -tell, but there was stir and bustle. The excitement seemed to grow. -Presently it spread from the vessel to the shore and groups of -islanders began to collect. I saw men point at Phroso, at me, at the -stiffened figure under the coat. They spoke also, and freely; more -boldly than I had heard them since Mouraki had landed and his presence -turned their fierce pride to meekness. It was as though a weight had -been lifted off them. I knew, from my own mind, the relief that came -to them by the death of the hard man and the removal of the ruthless -arm. Presently a boat put off and began to pull round the promontory. -The soldiers did not interfere, but watched it go in idle toleration. -I guessed its errand: it went to take up the corpse of Demetri, and (I -was much afraid) to give it a patriot's funeral. - -At last Mouraki's body was carried on to the gunboat; then a summons -came to me. With a glance of encouragement at Phroso, who sat in a -sort of stupor, I rose and obeyed. I was conducted on to the deck and -found myself face to face with the captain. He was a Turk, a young man -of dignified and pleasant appearance. He bowed to me courteously, -although slightly. I supposed that Mouraki's death left him the -supreme authority in Neopalia and I made him the obeisance proper to -his new position. - -'This is a terrible, a startling event, my lord,' said he. - -'It's the loss of a very eminent and distinguished man,' I observed. - -'Ah, yes, and in a very fearful manner,' he answered. 'I am not -prejudging your position, but you must see that it puts you in a -rather serious situation.' - -There were two or three of his officers standing near. I took a step -towards him. I liked his looks; and somehow his grief at Mouraki's end -did not seem intense. I determined to play the bold game. - -'Nothing, I assure you, to what I should have been in if it had not -occurred,' said I composedly. - -A start and a murmur ran round the group. The captain looked -uncomfortable. - -'With his Excellency's plans we have nothing to do--' he began. - -'Aye, but I have,' said I. 'And when I tell you--' - -'Gentlemen,' said the captain hastily, 'leave us alone for a little -while.' - -I saw at once that I had made an impression. It seemed not difficult -to create an impression adverse to Mouraki now that he was dead, -though it had not been wise to display one when he was alive. - -'I don't know,' said I, when we were left alone together, 'whether you -knew the relations between the late Pasha and myself?' - -'No,' said he in a steady voice, looking me full in the face. - -'It was not, perhaps, within the sphere of your duty to know them?' I -hazarded. - -'It was not,' said he. I thought I saw the slightest of smiles -glimmering between beard and moustache. - -'But now that you're in command, it's different?' - -'It is undoubtedly different now,' he admitted. - -'Shall we talk in your cabin?' - -'By all means;' and he led the way. - -When we reached the cabin, I gave him a short sketch of what had -happened since Mouraki's arrival. He was already informed as to the -events before that date. He heard me with unmoved face. At last I -came to my attempted escape with Phroso by the secret passage and to -Constantine's attack. - -'That fellow was a villain,' he observed. - -'Yes,' said I. 'Read those.' And I handed him the printed slips, -adding, 'I suppose he sent these by fishing-boats to Rhodes, first to -pave the way, and finally to account for my disappearance.' - -'I must congratulate you on a lucky escape, my lord.' - -'You have more than that to congratulate me on, captain. Your launch -seems ready for a voyage.' - -'Yes; but I have countermanded the orders.' - -'What were they?' - -'I beg your pardon, my lord, but what concern is it--?' - -'For a trip to Rhodes, perhaps?' - -'I shall not deny it if you guess it.' - -'By the order of the Pasha?' - -'Undoubtedly.' - -'On what errand?' - -'His Excellency did not inform me.' - -'To carry this perhaps?' I flung the paper which bore Mouraki's -handwriting on the table that stood between us. - -He took it up and read it; while he read, I took my pencil from my -pocket and wrote on the blank slip of paper, which I had found in the -pocket-book, the message that Mouraki's brain had surely conceived, -though his fingers had grown stiff in death before they could write -it. - -'What does all this mean?' asked the captain, looking up as he -finished reading. - -'And to-morrow,' said I, 'I think another message would have gone to -Rhodes--' - -'I had orders to be ready to go myself to-morrow.' - -'You had?' I cried. 'And what would you have carried?' - -'That I don't know.' - -'Aye, but I do. There's your cargo!' And I flung down what I had -written. - -He read it once and again, and looked across the table at me, -fingering the slip of paper. - -'He did not write this?' he said. - -'As you saw, I wrote it. If he had lived, then, as surely as I live, -he would have written it. Captain, it was for me that dagger was -meant. Else why did he take the man Demetri with him? Had Demetri -cause to love him, or he cause to trust Demetri?' - -The captain stood holding the paper. I walked round the table and laid -my hand on his shoulder. - -'You didn't know his schemes,' said I. 'They weren't schemes that he -could tell to a Turkish gentleman.' - -At this instant the door opened and the officer who had been with us -in the morning entered. - -'I have laid his Excellency's body in his cabin,' he said. - -'Come,' said the captain, 'we will go and see it, my lord.' - -I followed him to where Mouraki lay. The Pasha's face was composed and -there was even the shadow of a smile on his pale lips. - -'Do you believe what I tell you?' I asked. 'I tried to save the girl -from him and in return he meant to kill me. Do you believe me? If not, -hang me for his murder; if you do, why am I a prisoner? What have I -done? Where is my offence?' - -The captain looked down on Mouraki's face, tugged his beard, smiled, -was silent an instant. Then he shrugged his shoulders, and he said--he -who had not dared, a day before, to lift his voice or raise his finger -unbidden in Mouraki's presence: - -'Faugh, the Armenian dog!' - -There was, I fear, race prejudice in that exclamation, but I did not -contradict it. I stood looking down on Mouraki's face, and to my -fancy, stirred by the events of the past hours and twisted from -sobriety to strange excesses of delusion, the lips seemed once again -to curl in their old bitter smile, as he lay still and heard himself -spurned, and could not move to exact the vengeance which in his life -he had never missed. - -So we left him--the Armenian dog! - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -A PUBLIC PROMISE - - -On the evening of the next day I was once again with my faithful -friends on board the little yacht. Furious with the trick Mouraki had -played them, they rejoiced openly at his fall and mingled their -congratulations to me with hearty denunciations of the dead man. In -sober reality we had every reason to be glad. Our new master was of a -different stamp from Mouraki. He was a proud, reserved, honest -gentleman, with no personal ends to serve. He had informed me that I -must remain on the island till he received instructions concerning me, -but he encouraged me to hope that my troubles were at last over; -indeed I gathered from a hint or two which he let fall that Mouraki's -end was not likely to be received with great regret in exalted -circles. In truth I have never known a death greeted with more general -satisfaction. The soldiers regarded me with quiet approval. To the -people of Neopalia I became a hero: everybody seemed to have learnt -something at least of the story of my duel with the Pasha, and -everybody had been (so it now appeared) on my side. I could not walk -up the street without a shower of benedictions; the islanders -fearlessly displayed their liking for me by way of declaring their -hatred for Mouraki's memory and their exultation in his fitting death. -In these demonstrations they were not interfered with, and the captain -went so far as to shut his eyes judiciously when, under cover of -night, they accorded Demetri the tribute of a public funeral. To this -function I did not go, although I was informed that my presence was -confidently expected; but I sought out Panayiota and told her how her -lover died. She heard the story with Spartan calm and pride; -Neopalians take deaths easily. - -Yet there were shadows on our new-born prosperity. Most lenient and -gracious to me, the captain preserved a severe and rigorous attitude -towards Phroso. He sent her to her own house--or my house, as with -amiable persistence he called it--and kept her there under guard. Her -case also would be considered, he said, and he had forwarded my -exoneration of her together with the account of Mouraki's death; but -he feared very much that she would not be allowed to remain in the -island; she would be a centre of discontent there. As for my proposal -to restore Neopalia to her, he assured me that it would not be -listened to for a moment. If I declined to keep the island,--probably -a suitable and loyal lord would be selected, and Phroso would be -deported. - -'Where to?' I asked. - -'Really I don't know,' said the captain. 'It is but a small matter, my -lord, and I have not troubled my superiors with any recommendation on -the subject.' - -As he spoke he rose to go. He had been paying us a visit on the yacht, -where, in obedience to his advice, I had taken up my abode. Denny, who -was sitting near, gave a curious sort of laugh. I frowned fiercely, -the captain looked from one to the other of us in bland curiosity. - -'You take an interest in the girl?' he said, in a tone in which -surprise struggled with civility. Again came Denny's half-smothered -laugh. - -'An interest in her?' said I irritably. 'Well, I suppose I do. It -looked like it when I took her through that infernal passage, didn't -it?' - -The captain smiled apologetically and pursued his way towards the -door. 'I will try to obtain lenient treatment for her,' said he, and -passed out. I was left alone with Denny, who chose at this moment to -begin to whistle. I glared most ill-humouredly at him. He stopped -whistling and remarked: - -'By this time to-morrow our friends at home will be taking off their -mourning. They'll read in the papers that Lord Wheatley is not dead of -fever at Neopalia, and they won't read that he has fallen a victim to -the misguided patriotism of the islanders; in fact they'll be -preparing to kill the fatted calf for him.' - -It was all perfectly true, both what Denny said and what he implied -without saying. But I found no answer to make to it. - -'What a happy ending it is,' said Denny. - -'Uncommonly,' I growled, lighting a cigar. - -After this there was a long silence: I smoked, Denny whistled. I saw -that he was determined to say nothing more explicit unless I gave him -a lead, but his whole manner exuded moral disapproval. The -consciousness of his feelings kept me obstinately dumb. - -'Going to stay here long?' he asked at last, in a wonderfully careless -tone. - -'Well, there's no hurry, is there?' I retorted aggressively. - -'Oh, no; only I should have thought--oh, well, nothing.' - -Again silence. Then Watkins opened the door of the cabin and announced -the return of the captain. I was surprised to see him again so soon. I -was more surprised when he came at me with outstretched hand and a -smile of mingled amusement and reproof on his face. - -'My dear lord,' he exclaimed, seizing my defenceless hand, 'is this -treating me quite fairly? So far as a word from you went, I was left -completely in the dark. Of course I understand now, but it was an -utter surprise to me.' He shook his head with playful reproach. - -'If you understand now, I confess you have the advantage of me,' I -returned, with some stiffness. 'Pray, sir, what has occurred? No doubt -it's something remarkable. I've learnt to rely on Neopalia for that.' - -'It was remarkable in my eyes, I admit, and rather startling. But of -course I acquiesced. In fact, my dear lord, it materially alters the -situation. As your wife, she will be in a very different--' - -'Hallo!' cried Denny, leaping up from the bench where he had been -sitting. - -'In a very different position indeed,' pursued the captain blandly. -'We should have, if I may say so, a guarantee for her good behaviour. -We should have you to look to--a great security, as I need not tell -you.' - -'My dear sir,' said I in exasperated pleading, 'you don't seem to -think you need tell me anything. Pray inform me of what has occurred, -and what this wonderful thing is that makes so much change.' - -'Indeed,' said he, 'if I had surprised a secret, I would apologise; -but it's evidently known to all the islanders.' - -'Well, but I'm not an islander,' I cried in growing fury. - -The captain sat down, lit a cigarette very deliberately, and observed: - -'It was perhaps stupid of me not to have thought of it. She is, of -course, a beautiful girl, but hardly, if I may say so, your equal in -position, my lord.' - -I jumped up and caught him by the shoulder. He might order me under -arrest if he liked, but he should tell me what had happened first. - -'What's happened?' I reiterated. 'Since you left us--what?' - -'A deputation of the islanders, headed by their priest, came to ask my -leave for the inhabitants to go up to the house and see their Lady.' - -'Yes, yes. What for?' - -'To offer her their congratulations on her betrothal--' - -'What?' - -'And their assurances of loyalty to her and to her husband for her -sake. Oh, it simplifies the matter very much.' - -'Oh, does it? And did you tell them they might go?' - -'Was there any objection? Certainly. Certainly I told them they might -go, and I added that I heard with great gratification that a marriage -so--' - -What the captain had said to the deputation I did not wait to hear. No -doubt it was something highly dignified and appropriate, for he was -evidently much pleased with himself. But before he could possibly have -finished so ornate a sentence, I was on the deck of the yacht. I heard -Denny push back his chair, whether merely in wonder or in order to -follow me I did not know. I leapt from the yacht on to the jetty and -started to run up the street nearly as quickly as I had run down it on -the day when Mouraki was kind enough to send my friends a-fishing. At -all costs I must stop the demonstration of delight which the -inconvenient innocence of these islanders was preparing. - -Alas, the street was a desert! The movements of the captain were -always leisurely. The impetuous Neopalians had wasted no time: they -had got a start of me, and running up the hill after them was no joke. -Against my will I was at last obliged to drop into a walk, and thus -pursued my way doggedly, thinking in gloomy despair how everything -conspired to push me along the road which my honour and my pledged -word closed to me. Was ever man so tempted? Did ever circumstances so -conspire with his own wishes, or fate make duty seem more hard? - -I turned the corner of the road which lead to the old house. It was -here I had first heard Phroso's voice in the darkness, here where, -from the window of the hall, I had seen her lithe graceful figure when -she came in her boy's dress to raid my cows; a little further on was -where I had said farewell to her when she went back, the grant of -Neopalia in her hand, to soften the hearts of her turbulent -countrymen; here where Mouraki had tried her with his guile and -intimidated her with his harshness; and there was the house where I -had declared to the Pasha that she should be my wife. How sweet that -saying sounded in my remembering ears! Yet I swear I did not waver. -Many have called me a fool for it since. I know nothing about that. -Times change, and people are very wise nowadays. My father was a fool, -I daresay, to give thousands to his spendthrift school-fellow, just -because he happened to have said he would. - -I saw them now, the bright picturesque crowd, thronging round the door -of the house; and on the step of the threshold I saw her, standing -there, tall and slim, with one hand resting on the arm of Kortes's -sister. A loud cry rose from the people. She did not seem to speak. -With set teeth I walked on. Now someone in the circle caught sight of -me. There was another eager cry, a stir, shouts, gestures; then they -turned and ran to me. Before I could move or speak a dozen strong -hands were about me. They swung me up on their shoulders and carried -me along; the rest waved their hands and cheered: they blessed me and -called me their lord. The women laughed and the girls shot merry shy -glances at me. Thus they bore me in triumph to Phroso's feet. Surely I -was indeed a hero in Neopalia to-day, for they believed that through -me their Lady would be left to them, and their island escape the -punishment they feared. So they sang One-eyed Alexander's chant no -more, but burst into a glad hymn--an epithalamium--as I knelt at -Phroso's feet, and did not dare to lift my eyes to her fair face. - -'Here's a mess!' I groaned, wondering what they had said to my poor -Phroso. - -Then a sudden silence fell on them. Looking up in wonder, I saw that -Phroso had raised her hand and was about to speak. She did not look at -me--nay, she did not look at them; her eyes were fixed on the sea that -she loved. Then her voice came, low but clear: - -'Friends--for all are friends here, and there are no strangers--once -before, in the face of all of you I have told my love for my lord. My -lord did not know that what I said was true, and I have not told him -that it was true till I tell him here to-day. But you talk foolishly -when you greet me as my lord's bride; for in his country he is a great -man and owns great wealth, and Neopalia is very small and poor, and I -seem but a poor girl to him, though you call me your Lady.' - -Here she paused an instant; then she went on, her voice sinking a -little lower and growing almost dreamy, as if she let herself drift -idly on the waves of fancy. - -'Is it strange to speak to you--to you, my brothers and sisters of our -island? I do not know; I love to speak to you all; for, poor as I am -and as our island is, I think sometimes that had my lord come here a -free man he would have loved me. But his heart was not his own, and -the lady he loves waits for him at home, and he will go to her. So -wish me joy no more on what cannot be.' And then, very suddenly, -before I or any of them could move or speak, she withdrew inside the -threshold, and Kortes's sister swiftly closed the door. I was on my -feet as it shut, and I stood facing it, my back to the islanders. - -Among them at first there was an amazed silence, but soon voices -began to be heard. I turned round and met their gaze. The strong yoke -of Mouraki was off them; their fear had gone, and with it their -meekness. They were again in the fierce impetuous mood of St Tryphon's -day: they were exasperated at their disappointment, enraged to find -the plan which left Phroso to them and relieved them of the threatened -advent of a Government nominee brought to nothing. - -'They'll take her away,' said one. - -'They'll send us a rascally Turk,' cried another. - -'He shall hear the death-chant then,' menaced a third. - -Then their anger, seeking an outlet, turned on me. I do not know that -I had the right to consider myself an entirely innocent victim. - -'He has won her love by fraud,' muttered one to another, with -evil-disposed glances and ominous frowns. - -I thought they were going to handle me roughly, and I felt for the -revolver which the captain had been kind enough to restore to me. But -a new turn was given to their thoughts by a tall fellow, with long -hair and flashing eyes, who leapt out from the middle of the throng, -crying loudly: - -'Is not Mouraki dead? Why need we fear? Shall we wait idle while our -Lady is taken from us? To the shore, islanders! Where is fear since -Mouraki is dead?' - -His words lit a torch that blazed up furiously. In an instant they -were aflame with the mad notion of attacking the soldiers and the -gunboat. No voice was raised to point out the hopelessness of such an -attempt, the certain death and the heavy penalties which must wait on -it. The death-chant broke out again, mingled with exhortations to turn -and march against the soldiers, and with encouragements to the tall -fellow--Orestes they called him--to put himself at their head. He was -not loth. - -'Let us go and get our guns and our knives,' he cried, 'and then to -the shore!' - -'And this man?' called half-a-dozen, pointing at me. - -'When we have driven out the soldiers we will deal with him,' said -Master Orestes. 'If our Lady desires him for her husband, he shall wed -her.' - -A shout of approval greeted this arrangement, and they drew together -into a sort of rude column, the women making a fringe to it. But I -could not let them march on their own destruction without a word of -warning. I sprang on to the raised step where Phroso had stood, just -outside the door, and cried: - -'You fools! The guns of the ship will mow you down before you can -touch a hair of the head of a single soldier.' - -A deep derisive groan met my attempt at dissuasion. - -'On, on!' they cried. - -'It's certain death,' I shouted, and now I saw one or two of the women -hesitate, and look first at me and then at each other with doubt and -fear. But Orestes would not listen, and called again to them to take -the road. Thus we were when the door behind me opened, and Phroso was -again by my side. She knew how matters went. Her eyes were wild with -terror and distress. - -'Stop them, my lord, stop them,' she implored. - -For answer, I took my revolver from my pocket, saying, 'I'll do what I -can.' - -'No, no, not like that! That would be your death as well as theirs.' - -'Come,' cried Orestes, in the pride of his sudden elevation to -leadership. 'Come, follow me, I'll lead you to victory.' - -'You fools, you fools!' I groaned. 'In an hour half of you will be -dead.' - -No, they would not listen. Only the women now laid imploring hands on -the arms of husbands and brothers, useless loving restraints, angrily -flung off. - -'Stop them, stop them!' prayed Phroso. 'By any means, my lord, by any -means!' - -'There's only one way,' said I. - -'Whatever the way may be,' she urged; for now the column was facing -round towards the harbour. Orestes had taken his place, swelling with -importance and eager to display his prowess. In a word, Neopalia was -in revolt again, and the death-chant threatened to swell out in all -its barbaric simple savagery at any moment. - -There was nothing else for it; I must temporise; and that word is -generally, and was in this case, the equivalent of a much shorter one. -I could not leave these mad fools to rush on ruin. A plan was in my -head and I gave it play. I took a pace forward, raised my hand, and -cried: - -'Hear me before you march, Neopalians, for I am your friend.' - -My voice gained me a minute's silence; the column stood still, though -Orestes chafed impatiently at the delay. - -'You're in haste, men of Neopalia,' said I. 'Indeed you're always in -haste. You were in haste to kill me who had done you no harm. You are -in haste to kill yourselves by marching into the mouth of the great -gun of the ship. In truth I wonder that any of you are still alive. -But here, in this matter, you are most of all in haste, for having -heard what the Lady Phroso said, you have not asked nor waited to hear -what I say, but have at once gone mad, all of you, and chosen the -maddest among you and made him your leader.' - -I do not think that they had expected quite this style of speech. They -had looked for passionate reproaches or prayerful entreaties; cool -scorn and chaff put them rather at a loss, and my reference to -Orestes, who looked sour enough, won me a hesitating laugh. - -'And then, all of you mad together, off you go, leaving me here, the -only sane man in the place! For am not I sane? Aye, not mad enough to -leave the fairest lady in the world when she says she loves me!' I -took Phroso's hand and kissed it. It lay limp and cold in mine. 'For -my home,' I went on, 'is a long way off, and it is long since I have -seen the lady of whom you have heard; and a man's heart will not be -denied.' Again I kissed Phroso's hand, but I dared not look her in the -face. - -My meaning had dawned on them now. There was an instant's silence, the -last relic of doubt and puzzle; then a sudden loud shout went up from -them. Orestes alone was sullen and mute, for my surrender deposed him -from his brief eminence. Again and again they shouted in joy. I knew -that their shouts must reach nearly to the harbour. Men and women -crowded round me and seized my hand; nobody seemed to make any bones -about the 'lady who waited' for me. They were single-hearted patriots, -these Neopalians. I had observed that virtue in them several times -before, and their behaviour now confirmed my opinion. But there was, -of course, a remarkable difference in the manifestation. Before I had -been the object, now I was the subject; for by announcing my intention -of marrying Phroso I took rank as a Neopalian. Indeed for a minute or -two I was afraid that the post of generalissimo, vacant by Orestes's -deposition, would be forcibly thrust upon me. - -Happily their enthusiasm took a course which was more harmless, -although it was hardly less embarrassing. They made a ring round -Phroso and me, and insisted on our embracing one another in the glare -of publicity. Yet somehow I forgot them all for a moment--them all, -and more than them all--while I held her in my arms. - -Now it chanced that the captain, Denny and Hogvardt chose this moment -for appearing on the road, in the course of a leisurely approach to -the house; and they beheld Phroso and myself in a very sentimental -attitude on the doorstep, with the islanders standing round in high -delight. Denny's amazed 'Hallo!' warned me of what had happened. The -islanders--their enmity towards the suzerain power allayed as quickly -as it had been roused--ran to the captain to impart the joyful news. -He came up to me, and bestowed his sanction by a shake of the hand. - -'But why did you behave so strangely, my lord, when I wished you joy -an hour ago on the boat?' he asked; and it was a very natural -question. - -'Oh, the truth is,' said I, 'that there was a little difficulty in the -way then.' - -'Oh, a lover's quarrel?' he smiled. - -'Well, something like it,' I admitted. - -'Everything is quite right now, I hope?' he said politely. - -'Well, very nearly,' said I. Then I met Denny's eye. - -'Am I also to congratulate you?' said Denny coldly. - -There was no opportunity of explaining matters to him, the captain was -too near. - -'I shall be very glad if you will,' I said, 'and if Hogvardt will -also.' - -Hogvardt shrugged his shoulders, raised his brows, smiled and -observed: - -'I trust you're acting for the best, my lord.' - -Denny made no answer at all. He kicked the ground with his foot. I -knew very well what was in Denny's mind. Denny was of my family on his -mother's side, and Denny's eye asked, 'Where is the word of a -Wheatley?' All this I realised fully. I read his mind then more -clearly than I could read my own; for had we been alone, and had he -put to me the plain question, 'Do you mean to make her your wife, or -are you playing another trick?' by heaven, I should not have known -what to answer! I had begun a trick; the plan was to persuade the -islanders into dispersing peacefully by my pretence, and then to slip -away quietly by myself, trusting to their good sense--although a -broken reed, yet the only resource--to make them accept an -accomplished fact. But was that my mind now, since I had held Phroso -in my arms, and her lips had met mine in the kiss which the islanders -hailed as the pledge of our union? - -I do not know. I saw Phroso turn and go into the house again. The -captain spoke to Denny; I saw him point up to the window of the room -which Mouraki had occupied. He went in. Denny motioned Hogvardt to his -side, and they two also went into the house without asking me to -accompany them. Gradually the throng of islanders dispersed. Orestes -flung off in sullen disappointment; the men, those who had knives -carefully hiding them, walked down the road like peaceful citizens; -the women strolled away, laughing, chattering, gossiping, delighted, -as women always are, with the love affair. Thus I was left alone in -front of the house. It was late afternoon, and clouds had gathered -over the sea. The air was very still; no sound struck my ear except -the wash of the waves on the shore. - -There I stood fighting the battle, for how long I do not know. The -struggle within me was very sore. On either side seemed now to lie a -path that it soiled my feet to tread: on the one was a broken pledge, -on the other a piece of trickery and knavishness. The joy of a love -that could be mine only through dishonour was imperfect joy; yet, if -that love could not be mine, life seemed too empty a thing to live. -The voices of the two sounded in my ear--the light merry prattle and -the calmer sweeter voice. Ah, this island of mine, what things it put -on a man! - -At last I felt a hand laid on my shoulder. I turned, and in the -quick-gathering dusk of the evening I saw Kortes's sister; she looked -long and earnestly into my face. - -'Well?' said I. 'What is it now?' - -'She must see you, my lord,' answered the woman. 'She must see you -now, at once.' - -I looked again at the harbour and the sea, trying to quell the tumult -of my thoughts and to resolve what I would do. I could find no course -and settle on no resolution. - -'Yes, she must see me,' said I at last. I could say nothing else. - -The woman moved away, a strange bewilderment shewing itself in her -kind eyes. Again I was left alone in my restless self-communings. I -heard people moving to and fro in the house. I heard the window of -Mouraki's room, where the captain was, closed with a decisive hand; -and then I became aware of some one approaching me. I turned and saw -Phroso's white dress gleaming through the gloom, and her face nearly -as white above it. - -Yes, the time had come; but I was not ready. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -A WORD OF VARIOUS MEANINGS - - -She came up to me swiftly and without hesitation. I had looked for -some embarrassment, but there was none in her face. She met my eyes -full and square, and began to speak to me at once. - -'My lord,' she said, 'I must ask one thing of you. I must lay one more -burden on you. After to-day I dare not be here when my countrymen -learn how they are deluded. I should be ashamed to face them, and I -dare not trust myself to the Turks, for I don't know what they would -do with me. Will you take me with you to Athens, or to some other port -from which I can reach Athens? I can elude the guards here. I shall be -no trouble: you need only tell me when your boat will start, and give -me a corner to live in on board. Indeed I grieve to ask more of you, -for you have done so much for me; but my trouble is great and-- What -is it, my lord?' - -I had moved my hand to stop her. She had acted in the one way in -which, had it been to save my life, I could not have. She put what had -passed utterly out of the way, treating it as the merest trick. My -part in it was to her the merest trick; of hers she said nothing. Had -hers then been a trick also? My blood grew hot at the thought. I could -not endure it. - -'When your countrymen learn how they are deluded?' said I, repeating -her words. 'Deluded in what?' - -'In the trick we played on them, my lord, to--to persuade them to -disperse.' - -I took a step towards her, and my voice shook as I said: - -'Was it all a trick, Phroso?' For at this moment I set above -everything else in the world a fresh assurance of her love. I would -force it from her sooner than not have it. - -She answered me with questioning eyes and a sad little smile. - -'Are we then betrothed?' she said, in mournful mockery. - -I was close by her now. I did not touch her, but I bent a little, and -my face was near hers. - -'Was it a trick to-day, and a trick on St Tryphon's day also?' I -asked. - -She gave one startled glance at my face, and then her eyes dropped to -the ground. She made no answer to my question. - -'Was it all a trick, Phroso?' I asked in entreaty, in urgency, in the -wild longing to hear her love declared once, here, to me alone, where -nobody could hear, nobody impair its sweet secrecy. - -Phroso's answer came now, set to the accompaniment of the saddest, -softest, murmuring laugh. - -'Ah, my lord, must you hear it again? Am I not twice shamed already?' - -'Be shamed yet once again,' I whispered; then I saw the light of -gladness master the misty sorrow in her eyes as I had seen once -before; and I greeted it, whispering: - -'Yes, a thousand times, a thousand times!' - -'My dear lord!' she said; but then she sprang back, and the brightness -was clouded again as she stood aloof, regarding me in speechless, -distressed puzzle. - -'But, my lord!' she murmured, so low that I scarcely heard. Then she -took refuge in a return to her request. 'You won't leave me here, will -you? You'll take me somewhere where I can be safe. I--I'm afraid of -these men, even though the Pasha is dead.' - -I took no notice of the request she repeated. I seemed unable to speak -or to do anything else but look into her eyes; and I said, a touch of -awe in my voice: - -'You have the most wonderful eyes in all the world, Phroso.' - -'My lord!' murmured Phroso, dropping envious lids. But I knew she -would open them soon again, and so she did. - -'Yes, in all the wide world,' said I. 'And I want to hear it again.' - -As we talked we had moved little by little; now we were at the side of -the house, in the deep dull shadow of it. Yet the eyes I praised -pierced the gloom and shone in the darkness; and suddenly I felt arms -about my neck, clasping me tightly; her breath was on my cheek, coming -quick and uneven, and she whispered: - -'Yes, you shall hear it again and again and again, for I am not -ashamed now; for I know, yes, I know. I love you, I love you--ah, how -I love you!' Her whispers found answer in mine. I held her as though -against all the world: all the world was in that moment, and there was -nothing else than that moment in all the world. Had a man told me then -that I had felt love before, I would have laughed in his face--the -fool! - -But then Phroso drew back again; the brief rapture, free from all past -or future, all thought or doubt, left her, and, in leaving her, -forsook me also. She stood over against me murmuring: - -'But, my lord--!' - -I knew well what she would say, and for an instant I stood silent. The -world hung for us on the cast of my next words. - -'But, my lord, the lady who waits for you over the sea?' There sounded -a note of fear in the softly breathed whisper that the night carried -to my ear. In an instant, before I could answer, Phroso came near to -me and laid one hand on my arm, speaking gently and quickly. 'Yes, I -know, I see, I understand,' she said, 'and I thank you, my lord, and I -thank God, my dear lord, that you told me and did not leave me without -shewing me your love; for though I must be very unhappy, yet I shall -be proud; and in the long nights I shall think of this dear island and -of you, though you will both be far away. Yes, I thank heaven you told -me, my dear lord.' She bent her head, that should have bent to no man, -and kissed my hand. - -But I snatched my hand hastily away, and I sprang to her and caught -her again in my arms, and again kissed her lips; for my resolve was -made. I would not let her go. Those who would might ask the rights of -it; I could not let her go. Yet I spoke no word, and she did not -understand, but thought that I kissed her in farewell; for the tears -were on her face and wetted my lips, and she clung to me as though -something were tearing her from me and must soon sunder us apart, so -greedy was her grasp on me. But then I opened my mouth to whisper in -her ear the words which would bid defiance to the thing that was -rending her away and rivet her life to mine. - -But hark! There was a cry, a startled exclamation, and the sound of -footsteps. My name was shouted loud and eagerly. I knew Denny's voice. -Phroso slid from my relaxed arms, and drew back into the deepest -shadow. - -'I'll be back soon,' I whispered, and with a last pressure of her -hand, which was warm now and answered to my grasp, I stepped out of -the shelter of the wall and stood in front of the house. - -Denny was on the doorstep. The door was open. The light from the lamp -in the hall flooded the night and fell full on my face as I walked up -to him. On sight of me he seemed to forget his own errand and his own -eagerness, for he caught me by the shoulder, and stared at me, crying: - -'Heavens, man, you're as white as a sheet! Have you seen a ghost? Does -Constantine walk--or Mouraki?' - -'Fifty ghosts would be a joke to what I've been through. My God, I -never had such a time! What do you want? What did you call me for? I -can't stay. She's waiting.' For now I did not care; Denny and all -Neopalia might know now. - -'Yes, but she must wait a little,' he said. 'You must come into the -house and come upstairs.' - -'I can't,' I said obstinately. 'I--I--I can't, Denny.' - -'You must. Don't be a fool, Charley. It's important: the captain is -waiting for you.' - -His face seemed big with news. What it might be I could not tell, but -the hint of it was enough to make me catch hold of him, crying, 'What -is it? I'll come.' - -'That's right. Come along.' He turned and ran rapidly through the old -hall and up the stairs. I followed him, my mind whirling through a -cloud of possibilities. - -The quiet business-like aspect of the room into which Denny led the -way did something to sober me. I pulled myself together, seeking to -hide my feelings under a mask of carelessness. The captain sat at the -table with a mass of papers surrounding him. He appeared to be -examining them, and, as he read, his lips curved in surprise or -contempt. - -'This Mouraki was a cunning fellow,' said he; 'but if anyone had -chanced to get hold of this box of his while he was alive he would not -have enjoyed even so poor a post as he thought his governorship. -Indeed, Lord Wheatley, had you been actually a party to his death, I -think you need have feared nothing when some of these papers had found -their way to the eyes of the Government. We're well rid of him, -indeed! But then, as I always say, these Armenians, though they're -clever dogs--' - -But I had not come to hear a Turk discourse on Armenians, and I broke -in, with an impatience that I could not altogether conceal: - -'I beg your pardon; but is that all you wanted to say to me?' - -'I should have thought that it was of some importance to you,' he -observed. - -'Certainly,' said I, regaining my composure a little; 'but your -courtesy and kindness had already reassured me.' - -He bowed his acknowledgments, and proceeded in a most leisurely tone, -sorting the papers and documents before him into orderly heaps. - -'On the death of the Pasha, the government of the island having -devolved temporarily on me, I thought it my duty to examine his -Excellency's--curse the dog!--his Excellency's despatch-box, with the -result that I have discovered very remarkable evidences of the schemes -which he dared to entertain. With this, however, perhaps I need not -trouble you.' - -'I wouldn't intrude into it for the world,' I said. - -'I discovered also,' he pursued, in undisturbed leisure and placidity, -'among the Pasha's papers a letter addressed to--' - -'Me?' and I sprang forward. - -'No, to your cousin, to this gentleman. Pursuing what I conceived to -be my duty--and I must trust to Mr Swinton to forgive me--' Here the -exasperating fellow paused, looked at Denny, waited for a bow from -Denny, duly received it, duly and with ceremony returned it, sighed as -though he were much relieved at Denny's complaisance, cleared his -throat, arranged a little heap of papers on his left hand, and at -last--oh, at last!--went on. - -'This letter, I say, in pursuance of what I conceived to be my duty--' - -'Yes, yes, your duty, of course. Clearly your duty. Yes?' - -'I read. It appeared, however, to contain nothing of importance.' - -'Then, why the deuce-- I mean--I beg your pardon.' - -'But merely matters of private concern. But I am not warranted in -letting it out of my hands. It will have to be delivered to the -Government with the rest of the Pasha's papers. I have, however, -allowed Mr Swinton to read it. He says that it concerns you, Lord -Wheatley, more than himself. I therefore propose to ask him to read it -to you (I can decipher English, but not speak it with facility) in my -presence.' With this he handed an envelope to Denny. We had got to it -at last. - -'For heaven's sake be quick about it, my dear boy!' I cried, and I -seated myself on the table, swinging my leg to and fro in a fury of -restless impatience. The captain eyed my agitated body with profound -disapproval. - -Denny took the letter from its envelope and read: 'London, May 21st;' -then he paused and remarked, 'We got here on the seventh, you know.' I -nodded hastily, and he went on, 'My dear Denny--Oh, how awful this is! -I can hardly bear to think of it! Poor, poor fellow! Mamma is terribly -grieved, and I, of course, even more. Both mamma and I feel that it -makes it so much worse, somehow, that this news should come only three -days after he must have got mamma's letter. Mamma says that it doesn't -really make any difference, and that if her letter was _wise_, then -this terrible news can't alter that. I suppose it doesn't really, but -it seems to, doesn't it? Oh, do write directly and tell me that he -wasn't very unhappy about it when he had that horrible fever. There's -a big blot--because I'm crying! I know you thought I didn't care -about him, but I did--though not (as mamma says) in _one_ way, -really. Do you think he forgave me? It would kill me if I thought he -didn't. Do write soon. I suppose you will bring poor dear Charley -home? Please tell me he didn't think very badly of me. Mamma joins -with me in sincerest sympathy.--Yours _most_ sincerely, Beatrice -Kennett Hipgrave. _P.S._--Mr Bennett Hamlyn has just called. He is -awfully grieved about poor dear Charley. I always think of him as -Charley still, you know. Do write.' - -There was a long pause, then Denny observed in a satirical tone: - -'To be thought of still as "Charley" is after all something.' - -'But what the devil does it mean?' I cried, leaping from the table. - -'"I suppose you will bring poor dear Charley home,'" repeated Denny, -in a meditative tone. 'Well, it looks rather more like it than it did -a few days ago, I must admit.' - -'Denny, Denny, if you love me, what's it all about? I haven't had any -letter from--' - -'Mamma? No, we've had no letter from mamma. But then we haven't had -any letters from anybody.' - -'Then I'm hanged if I--' I began in bewildered despondency. - -'But, Charley,' interrupted Denny, 'perhaps mamma sent a letter -to--Mouraki Pasha!' - -'To Mouraki?' - -'This letter of mine found its way to Mouraki.' - -'All letters,' observed the captain, who was leaning back in his chair -and staring at the ceiling, 'would pass through his hands, if he chose -to make them.' - -'Good heavens!' I cried, springing forward. The hint was enough. In an -instant my busy, nervous, shaking hands were ruining the neat piles of -documents which the captain had reared so carefully in front and on -either side of him. I dived, tossed, fumbled, rummaged, scattered, -strewed, tore. The captain, incapable of resisting my excited energy, -groaned in helpless despair at the destruction of his evening's work. -Denny, having watched me for a few minutes, suddenly broke out into a -peal of laughter. I stopped for an instant to glare reproof of his -ill-timed mirth, and turned to my wild search again. - -The search seemed useless. Either Mouraki had not received a letter -from Mrs Bennett Hipgrave, or he had done what I myself always did -with the good lady's communications--thrown it away immediately after -reading it. I examined every scrap of paper, official documents, -private notes (the captain was very nervous when I insisted on looking -through these for a trace of Mrs Hipgrave's name), lists of stores; in -a word, the whole contents of Mouraki's despatch-boxes. - -'It's a blank!' I cried, stepping back at last in disappointment. - -'Yes, it's gone; but depend upon it, he had it,' said Denny. - -A sudden recollection flashed across me, the remembrance of the subtle -amused smile with which Mouraki had spoken of the lady who was most -anxious about me and my future wife. He must have known then; he must -even then have had Mrs Hipgrave's letter in his possession. He had -played a deliberate trick on me by suppressing the letter; hence his -fury when I announced my intention of disregarding the ties that bound -me--a fury which had, for the moment, conquered his cool cunning and -led him into violent threats. At that moment, when I realised the -man's audacious knavery, when I thought of the struggle he had caused -to me and the pain to Phroso, well, just then I came near to -canonising Demetri, and nearer still to grudging him his exploit. - -'What was in the letter, then?' I cried to Denny. - -'Read mine again,' said he, and he threw it across to me. - -I read it again. I was cooler now, and the meaning of it stood out -plain and not to be doubted. Mrs Bennett Hipgrave's letter, her wise -letter, had broken off my engagement to her daughter. The fact was -plain; all that was missing, destroyed by the caution or the -carelessness of Mouraki Pasha, was the reason; and the reason I could -supply for myself. I reached my conclusion, and looked again at Denny. - -'Allow me to congratulate you,' said Denny ironically. - -Man is a curious creature. I (and other people) may have made that -reflection before. I offer no apology for it. The more I see of myself -and my friends the more convinced I grow of its truth. Here was the -thing for which I had been hoping and praying, the one great gift that -I asked of fate, the single boon which fortune enviously withheld. -Here was freedom--divine freedom! Yet what I actually said to Denny, -in reply to his felicitations, was: - -'Hang the girl! She's jilted me!' And I said it with considerable -annoyance. - -The captain, who studied English in his spare moments, here -interposed, asking suavely: - -'Pray, my dear Lord Wheatley, what is the meaning of that -word--"jilted"?' - -'The meaning of "jilted"?' said Denny. 'He wants to know the meaning -of "jilted," Charley.' - -I looked from one to the other of them; then I said: - -'I think I'll go and ask,' and I started for the door. The captain's -expression accused me of rudeness. Denny caught me by the arm. - -'It's not decent yet,' said he, with a twinkle in his eye. - -'It happened nearly a month ago,' I pleaded. 'I've had time to get -over it, Denny; a man can't wear the willow all his life.' - -'You old humbug!' said Denny, but let me go. - -I was not long in going. I darted down the stairs. I suppose a man -tricks his conscience and will find excuses for himself where others -can find only matter for laughter, but I remember congratulating -myself on not having spoken the decisive words to Phroso before Denny -interrupted us. Well, I would speak them now. I was free to speak them -now. Suddenly, in this thought, the vexation at being jilted vanished. - -'It amounts,' said I to myself, as I reached the hall, 'to no more -than a fortunate coincidence of opinion.' And I passed through the -door and turned sharp round to the left. - -She was there waiting for me, and waiting eagerly, it seemed, for, -before I could speak, she ran to me, holding out her hands, and she -cried in a low urgent whisper, full of entreaty: - -'My lord, I have thought. I have thought while you were in the house. -You must not do this, my lord. Yes, I know--now I know--that you love -me, but you mustn't do this. My lord's honour shan't be stained for my -sake.' - -I could not resist it, and I cannot justify it. I assumed a terribly -sad expression. - -'You've really come to that conclusion, Phroso?' I asked. - -'Yes. Ah, how difficult it is! But my lord's honour--ah, don't tempt -me! You will take me to Athens, won't you? And then--' - -'And then,' said I, 'you'll leave me?' - -'Yes,' said Phroso, with a little catch in her voice. - -'And what shall I do, left alone?' - -'Go back,' murmured Phroso almost inaudibly. - -'Go back--thinking of those wonderful eyes?' - -'No, no. Thinking of--' - -'The lady who waits for me over the sea?' - -'Yes. And oh, my lord, I pray that you will find happiness!' - -There was a moment's silence. Phroso did not look at me; but then I -did look at Phroso. - -'Then you refuse, Phroso, to have anything to say to me?' - -No answer at all reached me; I came nearer, being afraid that I might -not have heard her reply. - -'What am I to do for a wife, Phroso?' I asked forlornly. 'Because, -Phroso--' - -'Ah, my lord, why do you take my hand again?' - -'Did I, Phroso? Because, Phroso, the lady who waits over the sea--it's -a charmingly poetic phrase, upon my word!' - -'You laugh!' murmured Phroso, in aggrieved protest and wonder. - -'Did I really laugh, Phroso? Well, I'm happy, so I may laugh.' - -'Happy?' she whispered; then at last her eyes were drawn to mine in -mingled hope and anguish of questioning. - -'The lady who waited over the sea,' said I, 'waits no longer, Phroso.' - -The wonderful eyes grew more wonderful in their amazed widening; and -Phroso, laying a hand gently on my arm, said: - -'She waits no longer? My lord, she is dead?' - -This confident inference was extremely flattering. There was -evidently but one thing which could end the patient waiting of the -lady who waited. - -'On the contrary she thinks that I am. Constantine spread news of my -death.' - -'Ah, yes!' - -'He said that I died of fever.' - -'And she believes it?' - -'She does, Phroso; and she appears to be really very sorry.' - -'Ah, but what joy will be hers when she learns--' - -'But, Phroso, before she thought I was dead, she had made up her mind -to wait no longer.' - -'To wait no longer? What do you mean? Ah, my lord, tell me what you -mean!' - -'What has happened to me, here in Neopalia, Phroso?' - -'Many strange things, my lord--some most terrible.' - -'And some most--most what, Phroso? One thing that has happened to me -has, I think, happened also to the lady who waited.' - -Phroso's hand--the one I had not taken--was suddenly stretched out, -and she spoke in a voice that sounded half-stifled: - -'Tell me, my lord, tell me. I can't endure it longer.' - -Then I grew grave and said: - -'I am free. She has given me my freedom.' - -'She has set you free?' - -'She loves me no longer, I suppose, if she ever did.' - -'Oh, but, my lord, it is impossible.' - -'Should you think it so? Phroso, it is true--true that I can come to -you now.' - -She understood at last. For a moment she was silent, and I, silent -also, pierced through the darkness to her wondering face. Once she -stretched out her arms; then there came a little, long, low laugh, and -she put her hands together, and thrust them, thus clasped, between -mine that closed on them. - -'My lord, my lord, my lord!' said Phroso. - -Suddenly I heard a low mournful chant coming up from the harbour, the -moan of mourning voices. The sound struck across the stillness which -had followed her last words. - -'What's that?' I asked. 'What are they doing down there?' - -'Didn't you know?' The bodies of my cousin and of Kortes came forth at -sunset from the secret pool into which they fell: and they bring them -now to bury them by the church. They mourn Kortes because they loved -him; and Constantine also they feign to mourn, because he was of the -house of the Stefanopouloi.' - -We stood for some minutes listening to the chant that rose and fell -and echoed among the hills. Its sad cadences, mingled here and there -with the note of sustained hope, seemed a fitting end to the story, to -the stormy days that were rounded off at last by peace and joy to us -who lived, and by the embraces of the all-hiding all-pardoning earth -for those who had fallen. I put my arm round Phroso, and, thus at last -together, we listened till the sounds died away in low echoes, and -silence fell again on the island. - -'Ah, the dear island!' said Phroso softly. 'You won't take me away -from it for ever? It is my lord's island now, and it will be faithful -to him, even as I myself; for God has been very good, and my lord is -very good.' - -I looked at her. Her cheeks were again wet with tears. As I watched a -drop fell from her eyes. I said to her softly: - -'That shall be the last, Phroso, till we part again.' - -A loud cough from the front of the house interrupted us. I advanced, -beckoning to Phroso to follow, and wearing, I am afraid, the -apologetic look usual under such circumstances. And I found Denny and -the captain. - -'Are you coming down to the yacht, Charley?' asked Denny. - -'Er--in a few minutes, Denny.' - -'Shall I wait for you?' - -'Oh, I think I can find my way.' - -Denny laughed and caught me by the hand; then he passed on to Phroso. -I do not, however, know what he said to her, for at this moment the -captain touched my shoulder and demanded my attention. - -'I beg your pardon,' said he, 'but you never told me the meaning of -that word.' - -'What word, my dear captain?' - -'Why, the word you used of the lady's letter--of what she had done.' - -'Oh, you mean "jilted"?' - -'Yes; that's it.' - -'It is,' said I, after a moment's reflection, 'a word of very various -meanings.' - -'Ah,' said the captain, with a comprehending nod. - -'Yes, very various. In one sense it means to make a man miserable.' - -'Yes, I see; to make him unhappy.' - -'And in another to make him--to make him, captain, the luckiest beggar -alive.' - -'It's a strange word,' observed the captain meditatively. - -'I don't know about that,' said I. 'Good-night.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -ONE MORE RUN - - -The next morning came bright and beautiful, with a pleasant fresh -breeze. It was just the day for a run in the yacht. So I thought when -I mounted on deck at eight o'clock in the morning. Watkins was there, -staring meditatively at the harbour and the street beyond. Perceiving -me, he touched his hat and observed: - -'It's a queer little place, my lord.' - -My eyes followed the direction of Watkins's, and I gave a slight sigh. - -'Do you think the island is going to be quiet now, Watkins?' I asked. - -I do not think that he quite understood my question, for he said that -the weather looked like being fine. I had not meant the weather; my -sigh was paid to the ending of Neopalia's exciting caprices; for, -though the end was prosperous, I was a little sorry that we had come -to the end. - -'The Lady Phroso will come on board about ten, and we'll go for a -little run,' I said. 'Just look after some lunch.' - -'Everything will be ready for your lordship and her ladyship,' said -Watkins. Hitherto he had been rather doubtful about Phroso's claim to -nobility, but the news of last night planted her firmly in the status -of 'ladyship.' 'Has your lordship heard,' he continued, 'that the -launch is to carry the Governor's body to Constantinople? There she is -by the gunboat.' - -'Oh, yes, I see. They seem to be giving the gunboat a rub down, -Watkins.' - -'Not before it was necessary, my lord. A dirtier deck I never saw.' - -The gunboat was evidently enjoying a thorough cleaning; the sailors, -half-naked, were scouring her decks, and some of the soldiers were -assisting lazily. - -'The officers have landed to explore the island, my lord. When Mouraki -was alive, they were not allowed to land at all.' - -'Mouraki's death makes a good many differences, eh, Watkins?' - -'That it does, my lord,' rejoined Watkins, with a decorous smile. - -I left him, and, having landed, strolled up to the house. The yacht -was to have her steam up ready to start by the time I returned. I -sauntered leisurely through the street, such of the islanders as I met -saluting me in a most friendly fashion. Certainly times were changed -for me in Neopalia, and I chid myself for the ingratitude expressed in -my sigh. Neopalia in its new placidity was very pleasant. - -Very pleasant also was Phroso, as she came to meet me from the house, -radiant and shy. We wasted no time there, but at once returned to the -harbour, for the dancing water tempted us: thus we found ourselves on -board an hour before the appointed time, and I took Phroso down below -to show her the cabin, in which, under the escort of Kortes's sister, -she was to make the voyage. Denny looked in on us for a moment, -announced that the fires were getting up, and that we could start in -half-an-hour. Hogvardt appeared with his account of expenditure, and -disappeared far more quickly. Meanwhile, we talked as lovers will--and -ought--about things that do not need record; for, not being worth -remembering, they are ever remembered, as is the way of this perverse -world. - -Presently, however, Denny hailed me, telling me that the captain -desired to see me. I begged Phroso to stay where she was--I should be -back in a moment--and went on deck. The captain was there, and he -began to draw me aside. Perceiving that he had something to say, I -proposed to him that we should go to the little smoking-room forward. -He acquiesced, and as soon as we were seated, and Watkins had brought -coffee and cigarettes, he turned to me with an aspect of sincere -gratification, as he said: - -'My dear Lord Wheatley, I am rejoiced to tell you that I was quite -right as to the view likely to be taken of your position. I have -received, by the launch, instructions telegraphed to Rhodes, and they -enable me to set you free at once. In point of fact, there is no -disposition in official quarters to raise any question concerning your -share in recent events. You are, therefore, at liberty to suit your -own convenience entirely, and I need not detain you an hour.' - -'My dear captain, I'm infinitely obliged to you. I'm much indebted for -your good offices.' - -'Indeed, no. I merely reported what had occurred. Shall you leave -to-day?' - -'Oh, no, not for a day or two. To-day, you see, I'm going for a little -pleasure expedition. I wish you'd join us;' for I felt in a most -friendly mood towards him. - -'Indeed I wish I could,' said he, with equal friendliness; 'but I'm -obliged to go up to the house at once.' - -'To the house? What for?' - -'To communicate to the Lady Euphrosyne my instructions concerning -her.' - -I was about to put a cigarette to my lips, but I stopped, suspending -it in mid-air. - -'I beg your pardon,' said I, 'but have you instructions concerning -her?' - -He smiled, and laid a hand on my arm with an apologetic air. - -'I don't think that there is any cause for serious uneasiness,' said -he, 'though the delay will, I fear, be somewhat irksome to you. I must -say, also, that it is impossible--yes, I admit that it is -impossible--altogether to ignore the serious disturbances which have -occurred; and these Neopalians are old offenders. Still I'm confident -that the lady will be most leniently treated, especially in view of -the relation in which she now stands to you.' - -'What are your instructions?' I asked shortly. - -'I am instructed to bring her with me, as soon as I have made -provisional arrangements for the order of the island, and to carry her -to Smyrna, where I am ordered to sail. From there she will be sent -home, to await the result of an inquiry. But, pray, don't be uneasy. I -have no doubt at all that she will be acquitted of blame or, at least, -escape with a reprimand or a nominal penalty. The delay is really the -only annoying matter. Annoying to you, I mean, Lord Wheatley.' - -'The delay? Is it likely to be serious?' - -'Well,' admitted the captain, with a candid air, 'we don't move -hastily in these matters; no, our procedure is not rapid. Still I -should say that a year, or, well, perhaps eighteen months, would see -an end of it. Oh, yes, I really think so.' - -'Eighteen months?' I cried, aghast. 'But she'll be my wife long before -that--in eighteen days, I hope.' - -'Oh, no, no, my dear lord,' said he, shaking his head soothingly. 'She -will certainly not be allowed to marry you until these matters are -settled. But don't be vexed. You're young. You can afford to wait. -What, after all, is a year or eighteen months at your time of life?' - -'It's a great deal worse,' said I, 'than at any other time of life.' -But he only laughed gently and gulped down the remainder of his -coffee. Then he went on in his quiet placid way: - -'So I'm afraid I can't join your little excursion. I must go up to the -house at once, and acquaint the lady with my instructions. She may -have some preparations to make, and I must take her with me the day -after to-morrow. As you see, my ship is undergoing some trifling -repairs and cleaning, and I can't be ready to start before then.' - -I sat silent for a moment or two, smoking my cigarette; and I looked -at the placid captain out of the corner of my eye. - -'I really hope you aren't much annoyed, my dear Lord Wheatley?' said -he, after a moment or two. - -'Oh, it's vexatious, of course,' I returned carelessly; 'but I suppose -there's no help for it. But, captain, I don't see why you shouldn't -join us to-day. We shall be back in the afternoon, and it will be -plenty of time then to inform the Lady Phroso. She's not a fashionable -woman who wants forty-eight hours to pack her gowns.' - -'It's certainly a lovely morning for a little cruise,' said the -captain longingly. - -'And I want to point out to you the exact spot where Demetri killed -the Pasha.' - -'That would certainly be very interesting.' - -'Then you'll come?' - -'You're certain to be back in time for--?' - -'Oh, you'll have plenty of time to talk to Phroso. I'll see to that. -You can send a message to her now, if you like.' - -'I don't think that's necessary. If I see her this afternoon--' - -'I promise you that you shall.' - -'But aren't you going to see her to-day? I thought you would spend the -day with her.' - -'Oh, I shall hope to see her too; you won't monopolise her, you know. -Just now I'm for a cruise.' - -'You're a philosophical lover,' he laughed. I laughed also, shrugging -my shoulders. - -'Then, if you'll excuse me--no, don't move, don't move--I'll give -orders for our start, and come back for another cigarette with you.' - -'You're most obliging,' said he, and sank back on the seat that ran -round the little saloon. - -At what particular point in the conversation which I have recorded my -resolution was definitely taken, I cannot say, but it was complete and -full-blown before the captain accepted my invitation. The certainty of -a separation of such monstrous length from Phroso and the chance of -her receiving harsh treatment were more than I could consent to -contemplate. I must play for my own hand. The island meant to be true -to its nature to the last; my departure from it was to be an escape, -not a decorous leave-taking. I was almost glad; yet I hoped that I -should not get my good friend the captain into serious trouble. Well, -better the captain than Phroso, anyhow; and I laughed to myself, when -I thought of how I should redeem my promise and give him plenty of -time to talk to Phroso. - -I ran rapidly up to the deck. Denny and Hogvardt were there. - -'How soon can you have full steam up?' I asked in an urgent cautious -whisper. - -'In ten minutes now,' said Hogvardt, suddenly recognising my -eagerness. - -'Why, what's up, man?' asked Denny. - -'They're going to send Phroso to Constantinople to be tried; anyhow -they'd keep her there a year or more. I don't mean to stand it.' - -'Why, what will you do?' - -'Do? Go. The captain's on board; the gunboat can't overtake us. -Besides they won't suspect anything on board of her. Denny, run and -tell Phroso not to show herself till I bid her. The captain thinks -she's up at the house. We'll start as soon as you're ready, Hog.' - -'But, my lord--' - -'Charley, old man--!' - -'I tell you I won't stand it. Are you game, or aren't you?' - -Denny paused for a moment, poising himself on his heels. - -'What a lark!' he exclaimed then. 'All right. I'll put Phroso up to -it;' and he disappeared in the direction of her cabin. - -I stood for a moment looking at the gunboat, where the leisurely -operations went on undisturbed, and at the harbour and street beyond. -I shook my head reprovingly at Neopalia; the little island was always -leading me into indiscretions. Then I turned and made my way back to -where my unsuspecting victim was peacefully consuming cigarettes. -Mouraki Pasha would not have been caught like this. Heaven be thanked, -I was not dealing with Mouraki Pasha. - -'Demetri had some good in him, after all,' I thought, as I sat down by -the captain, and told him that we should be on our way in five -minutes. He exhibited much satisfaction at the prospect. - -The five minutes passed. Hogvardt, who acted as our skipper, gave his -orders to our new and smiling crew of islanders. We began to move. The -captain and I came up from below and stood on deck. He looked seaward, -anticipating his excursion, I landward, reviewing mine. A few boys -waved their hands, a woman or two her handkerchief. The little harbour -began to recede; the old grey house on the hill faced me in its -renewed tranquility. - -'Well, good-bye to Neopalia!' I had said, with a sigh, before I knew -it. - -'I beg your pardon, Lord Wheatley?' said the captain, wheeling round. - -'For a few hours,' I added, and I went forward and began to talk with -Hogvardt. I had some things to arrange with him. Presently Watkins -appeared, announcing luncheon. I rejoined the captain. - -'I thought,' said I, 'that we'd have a run straight out first and look -at Mouraki's death-place on our way home.' - -'I'm entirely in your hands,' said he most courteously, and with more -truth than he was aware of. - -Denny, he and I went down to our meal. I plied the captain with the -best of our cheer. In the safe seclusion of the yacht, the -champagne-cup, mixed as Watkins alone could mix it, overcame his -religious scruples; the breach, once made, grew wider, and the captain -became merry. With his coffee came placidity, and on placidity -followed torpor. Meanwhile the yacht bowled merrily along. - -'It's nearly two o'clock,' said I. 'We ought to be turning. I say, -captain, wouldn't you like a nap? I'll wake you long before we get to -Neopalia.' - -Denny smiled indiscreetly at this form of promise, and I covertly -nudged him into gravity. - -The captain received my proposal with apologetic gratitude. We left -him curled up on the seat and went on deck. Hogvardt was at the wheel; -a broad smile spread over his face. - -'At this rate, my lord,' said he, 'we shall make Cyprus in no time.' - -'Good,' said I; and I did two things. I called Phroso and I loaded my -revolver; a show of overwhelming force is, as we often hear, the -surest guarantee of peace. - -Denny now took a turn at the wheel; old Hogvardt went to eat his -dinner. Phroso appeared, and she and I sat down in the stern, watching -where Neopalia lay, now a little spot on the horizon; and then I -myself told Phroso, in my own way, why I had so sorely neglected her -all the morning; for Denny's explanation had been summary and -confused. She was fully entitled to my excuses and had come on deck in -a state of delightful resentment, too soon, alas, banished by surprise -and apprehension. - -An hour or two passed thus very pleasantly; for the terror of -Constantinople soon reconciled Phroso to every risk; her only fear was -that she would never again be allowed to land in Neopalia. For this -also I tried to console her and was, I am proud to say, succeeding -very tolerably, when I looked up at the sound of footsteps. They came -evenly towards us: then they suddenly stopped dead. I felt for my -revolver; and I observed Denny carelessly strolling up, having been -relieved again by Hogvardt. The captain stood motionless, three yards -from where Phroso and I sat together. I rose with an easy smile. - -'I hope you've enjoyed your nap, captain,' said I; and at the same -moment I covered him with my barrel. - -He was astounded. Indeed, well he might be. He stared helplessly at -Phroso and at me. Denny was at his elbow now and took his arm in -tolerant good humour. - -'You see we've played a little game on you,' said Denny. 'We couldn't -let the lady go to Constantinople. It isn't at all a fit place for -her, you know.' - -I stepped up to the amazed man and told him briefly what had occurred. - -'Now, captain,' I went on, 'resistance is quite useless. We're running -for Cyprus. It belongs to you, I believe, in a sense--I'm not a -student of foreign affairs--but I think we shall very likely find an -English ship there. Now if you'll give your word to hold your tongue -when we're at Cyprus, you may lodge as many complaints as you like -directly we leave; indeed I think you'd be wise, in your own -interests, to make a protest. Meanwhile we can enjoy the cruise in -good-fellowship.' - -'And if I refuse?' he asked. - -'If you refuse,' said I, 'I shall be compelled to get rid of you--oh, -don't misunderstand me. I shall not imitate your Governor. But it's a -fine day, we have an excellent gig, and I can spare you two hands to -row you back to Neopalia or wherever else you may choose to go.' - -'You would leave me in the gig?' - -'With the deepest regret,' said I, bowing. 'But I am obliged to put -this lady's safety above the pleasure of your society.' - -The unfortunate man had no alternative and, true to the creed of his -nation, he accepted the inevitable. Taking the cigarette from between -his lips, he remarked, 'I give the promise you ask, but nothing more,' -bowed to Phroso, and, going up to her, said very prettily, 'Madame I -congratulate you on a resolute lover.' - -Now hardly had this happened when our look-out man called twice in -quick succession, 'Ship ahead!' At once we all ran forward, and I -snatched Denny's binocular from him. There were two vessels visible, -one approaching on the starboard bow, the other right ahead. They -appeared to be about equally distant. I scanned them eagerly through -the glass, the others standing round and waiting my report. Nearer -they came, and nearer. - -'They're both ships of war,' said I, without taking the glass from my -eyes. 'I shall be able to see the flags in a minute.' - -A hush of excited suspense witnessed to the interest of my news. I -found even the impassive captain close by my elbow, as though he were -trying to get one eye on to the lens of the glass. - -My next remark did nothing to lessen the excitement. - -'The Turkish flag, by Jove!' I cried; and, quick as thought, followed -from the captain: - -'My promise didn't cover that, Lord Wheatley.' - -'Shall we turn and run for it!' asked Denny in a whisper. - -'They'd think that queer,' cautioned Hogvardt, 'and if she came after -us, we shouldn't have a chance.' - -'The English flag, by Jupiter!' I cried a second later, and I took the -glass from my strained eyes. The captain caught eagerly at it and -looked; then he also dropped it, saying, - -'Yes, Turkish and English; both will come within hail of us.' - -'It's a race, by Heaven!' cried Denny. - -The two vessels were approaching us almost on the same course, for -each had altered half a point, and both were now about half a point on -our starboard bow. They would be very close to one another by the time -they came up with us. It would be almost impossible for us by any -alteration of our course to reach one before the other. - -'Yes, it's a race,' said I, and I felt Phroso's arm passed through -mine. She knew the meaning of the race. Possession is nine points of -the law, and in a case so doubtful as hers it was very unlikely that -the ship which got possession of her would surrender her to the other. -Which ship was it to be? - -'Are we going to cause an international complication?' asked Denny in -a longing tone. - -'We shall very likely run into a nautical one if we don't look out,' -said I. - -However the two approaching vessels seemed to become aware of this -danger, for they diverged from one another, so that, if we kept a -straight course, we should now pass them by, one on the port side and -one on the starboard. But we should pass within a couple of hundred -yards of both, and that was well in earshot on such a day. I looked at -the captain, and the captain looked at me. - -'Shall we take him below and smother him?' whispered Denny. - -I did not feel at liberty to adopt the suggestion, much to my regret. -The agreement I had made with the captain precluded any assault on his -liberty. I had omitted to provide for the case which had occurred. -Well, that was my fault, and I must stand the consequences of it. My -word was pledged to him that he should be treated in all friendliness -on one condition, and that he had satisfied. Now to act as Denny -suggested would not be to treat him in all friendliness. I shook my -head sadly. Hogvardt shouted for orders from the wheel. - -'What am I to do, my lord?' he cried. 'Full speed ahead?' - -I looked at the captain. I knew he would not pass the Turkish ship -without trying to attract her attention. We were within a quarter of a -mile of the vessels now. - -'Stop,' I called, and I added quickly, 'Lower away the gig, Denny.' - -Denny caught my purpose in a moment; he called a hand and they set to -work. The pace of the yacht began to slacken. I glanced at the two -ships. Men with glasses were peering at us from either deck, -wondering, no doubt, what our manoeuvre meant. But the captain knew -as well as Denny what it meant, and he leapt forward suddenly and -hailed the Turk in his native tongue. What he said I don't know, but -it caused a great pother on deck, and they ran up some signal or -other; I never remember the code, and the book was not about me. - -But now the gig was afloat and the yacht motionless. Looking again, I -perceived that both the ships had shut off steam, and were reversing, -to arrest their course the sooner. I seized Phroso by the arm. The -captain turned for a moment as though to interrupt our passage. - -'It's as much as your life is worth,' said I, and he gave way. Then, -to my amazement, he ran to the side, and, just as he was, leapt -overboard and struck out towards the Turk. One instant later I saw -why: they were lowering a boat. Alas, our ship was not so eager. The -captain must have shouted something very significant. - -'Signal for a boat, Hog,' I cried. 'And then come along. Hi, Watkins, -come on! Are you ready, Denny?' And I fairly lifted Phroso in my arms -and ran with her to the side. She was breathing quickly, and a little -laugh gurgled from her lips as Denny received her from my arms into -his in the gig. - -But we were not safe yet. The Turk had got a start, and his boat was -springing merrily over the waves towards us. The captain swam -powerfully and gallantly; his fez-covered head bobbed gaily up and -down. Ah, now our people were moving! And when they began to move they -wasted no time. We wasted none either, but bent to our oars, and, for -the second time since I reached Neopalia, I had a thorough good -bucketing. But for the Turk's start we should have managed it easily, -as we rowed towards the English boat and the divergence which the -vessels had made in their course prevented the two from approaching us -side by side; but the start was enough to make matters very equal. Now -the boat and the captain met. He was in in a second, with wonderful -agility; picking him up hardly lost them a stroke. They were coming -straight at us, the captain standing in the stern urging them on; but -now I saw that the middy in the English boat had caught the idea that -there was some fun afoot, for he also stood up and urged on his crew. -The two great ships lay motionless on the water, and gave us all their -attention. - -'Pull, boys, pull!' I cried. 'It's all right, Phroso, we shall do it!' - -Should we? And, if we did not, would the English captain fight for my -Phroso? I would have sunk the Turk, with a laugh, for her. But I was -afraid that he would not be so obliging as to do it for me. - -'The Turk gains,' said Hogvardt, who was our coxswain. - -'Hang him! Put your backs into it.' - -On went the three boats. The two pursuers were now converging close on -us. - -'We shall do it by a few yards,' said Hogvardt. - -'Thank God!' I muttered. - -'No; we shall be beaten by a few yards,' he said, a moment later. -'They pull well, those fellows.' - -But we too pulled well then--though I have no right to say it--and the -good little middy and his men did their duty--oh, what a tip these -blue-jackets should have if they did the trick!--and the noses of all -the boats seemed to be tending to one spot on the bright dancing sea. -To one spot, indeed, they were tending. The Turks were no more than -twenty yards off, the English perhaps thirty. The captain gave one -last cry of exhortation, the middy responded with a hearty oath. We -strained and tugged for dear life. They were on us now--the Turks a -little first. Now they were ten yards off--now five--and the English -yet ten. - -But for a last stroke we pulled; and then I dropped my oars and sprang -to my feet. The nose of the captain's boat was within a yard, and they -were backing water so as not to run into us. The middy had given a -like order. For a single instant matters seemed to stand still and we -to be poised between defeat and victory. Then, even as the captain's -hand was on our gunwale, I bent and caught Phroso up in the arms that -she sprang to meet, and I fairly flung her across the narrow strait of -water that parted us from the English boat. Six strong and eager arms -received her, and a cheer rang out from the English ship, for they -saw now that it had been a race, and a race for a lady; and I, seeing -her safe, turned to the captain, and said: - -'Fetch her back from there, if you can, and be damned to you!' - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE ISLAND IN A CALM - - -We did not fight. My friend the captain proposed to rely on his -British _confrere's_ sense of justice and of the courtesy which should -obtain between two great and friendly nations. To this end he -accompanied us on board the ship and laid his case before Captain -Beverley, R.N. My argument, which I stated with brevity, but not -without vehemence, was threefold: first, that Phroso had committed no -offence; secondly, that if she had, it was a political offence; -thirdly, was Captain Beverley going to hand over to a crew of dirty -Turks the prettiest girl in the Mediterranean? This last point made a -decided impression on the officers who were assisting their -commander's deliberations, but it won from him no more than a tolerant -smile and a glance through his _pince-nez_ at Phroso, who sat at the -table opposite to him, awaiting the award of justice. After I had, in -the heat of discussion, called the Turks 'dirty,' I moved round to my -friend the captain, apologised humbly, and congratulated him on his -gallant and spirited behaviour. He received my advances with -courtesy, but firmly restated his claim to Phroso. Captain Beverley -appeared a little puzzled. - -'And, to add to it all,' he observed to me, 'I thought you were dead;' -for I had told him my name. - -'Not at all,' said I, resentfully; 'I am quite alive, and I'm going to -marry this lady.' - -'You intend to marry her, Lord Wheatley?' - -'She has done me the honour to consent and I certainly intend it; -unless you're going to send her off to Constantinople--or heaven knows -where.' - -Beverley arched his brows, but it was not his business to express an -opinion, and I heartily forgave him his hinted disapproval, when he -said to the captain: - -'I really don't see how I can do what you ask. If you had won the tr-- -I mean, if you had succeeded in taking the lady on board, I should -have had no more to say. As it is, I don't think I can do anything but -carry her to a British port. You can prefer your claim to extradition -before the Court there, if you're so advised.' - -'Bravo!' cried Denny. - -'Be good enough to hold your tongue, sir,' said Captain Beverley. - -'At least, you will take a note of my demand,' urged the Turk. - -'With the utmost pleasure,' responded Captain Beverley, and then and -there he took a note. People seem often to find some mystical comfort -in having a note taken, though no other consequence appears likely to -ensue. Then the captain, being comforted by his note, took his -farewell. I walked with him to the side of the vessel. - -'I hope you bear no malice,' said I, as I held out my hand, 'and that -this affair won't get you into any trouble.' - -'Oh, I don't think so,' said he. 'Your ingenuity will be my excuse.' - -'You're very good. I hope you'll come and see us in Neopalia some -day.' - -'You expect to return to Neopalia?' - -'Certainly. It's mine--or Phroso's--I don't know which.' - -'There's such a thing as forfeiture in our law,' he observed, and with -this Parthian shot he walked down and got into his boat. But I was not -much frightened. - -So, the Turk being thus disposed of, Denny and Hogvardt went back to -the yacht, while Phroso, Watkins and I, took up our abode on the ship, -and when Captain Beverley had heard the whole story of our adventures -in Neopalia he was so overcome by Phroso's gallant conduct that he -walked up and down his own deck with her all the evening, while I, -making friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, pretended to look -very pleased and recited my dealings with Mouraki to an attentive -group of officers. And clothes were produced from somewhere for -Phroso--our navy is ready for everything--and thus, in the fulness of -time, we came to Malta. Here the captain had a wife, and she was as -delighted as, I take leave to say, all good women ought to be at the -happy ending of our story. And at Malta we waited; but nothing -happened. No claim was made for Phroso's extradition; and I may as -well state here that no claim ever has been made. But when we came to -London, on board a P. and O. steamer, in charge of a benevolent but -strict chaperon, I lost no time in calling on the Turkish Ambassador. -I desired to put matters on a satisfactory footing at once. He -received me with much courtesy, but expressed the opinion that Phroso -and I alike had forfeited any claim which she or I, or either, or both -of us, might have possessed to the Island of Neopalia. I was very much -annoyed at this attitude; I rose and stood with my back to the fire. - -'It is the death of Mouraki Pasha that has so incensed your -Government?' I ventured to ask. - -'He was a very distinguished man,' observed the Ambassador. - -'Practically banished to a very undistinguished office--for his -position,' I remarked. - -'One would not call it banishment,' murmured his Excellency. - -'One would,' I acquiesced, smiling, 'of course, be particularly -careful not to call it banishment.' - -Something like a smile greeted this speech, but the Ambassador -shrugged his shoulders. - -'Consider,' said he, 'the scenes of disorder and bloodshed!' - -'When I consider,' I rejoined, 'the scenes of disorder and bloodshed -which passed before my eyes, when I consider the anarchy, the murder, -the terrible dangers to which I, who went to Neopalia under the -sanction and protection of your flag, was exposed, I perceive that the -whole affair is nothing less than a European scandal.' - -The Ambassador shifted in his armchair. - -'I shall, of course,' said I, 'prefer a claim to compensation.' - -'To compensation?' - -'Certainly. My island has been taken from me, and I have lost my -money. Moreover your Governor tried to kill me.' - -'So did your wife,' remarked the Pasha. 'At least the lady who, as I -understand, is to be your wife.' - -'I can forgive my wife. I do not propose to forgive your Government.' - -The Ambassador stroked his beard. - -'If official representations were made through the proper quarters--' -he began. - -'Oh, come,' I interrupted, 'I want to spend my honeymoon there; and -I'm going to be married in a fortnight.' - -'The young lady is the difficulty. The manner in which you left -Neopalia--' - -'Is not generally known,' said I. - -The Ambassador looked up. - -'The tribute,' I observed, 'is due a month hence. I don't know who'll -pay it you.' - -'It is but a trifling sum,' said he contemptuously. - -'It is, indeed, small for such a delightful island.' - -The Ambassador eyed me questioningly. I advanced towards him. - -'Considering,' said I, 'that I have only paid half the purchase-money, -and that the other half is due to nobody--or to my own wife--I should -not resent a proposal to double the tribute.' - -The Ambassador reflected. - -'I will forward your proposal to the proper quarter,' he said at last. - -I smiled, and I asked: - -'Will that take more than a fortnight?' - -'I venture to hope not.' - -'And, of course, pardon and all that sort of thing will be included?' - -'I will appeal to his Majesty's clemency,' promised the Pasha. - -I had no objection to his calling it by that name, and I took my -leave, very much pleased with the result of the interview. But, as -luck would have it, while I was pursuing my way across Hyde Park--for -Phroso was staying with a friend of Mrs Beverley's in Kensington--I -ran plump into the arms of Mrs Kennett Hipgrave. - -She stopped me with decision. I confess that I tried to pass by her. - -'My dear Lord Wheatley,' she cried, with unbounded cordiality, 'how -charming to meet you again! Your reported death really caused quite a -gloom.' - -'You're too good!' I murmured. 'Ah--er--I hope Miss Beatrice is well?' - -Mrs Kennett Hipgrave's face grew grave and sympathetic. - -'My poor child!' she sighed. 'She was terribly upset by the news, Lord -Wheatley. Of course, it seemed to her peculiarly sad; for you had -received my letter only a week before.' - -'That must have seemed to aggravate the pathos very much,' I agreed. - -'Not that, of course, it altered the real wisdom of the step I advised -her to take.' - -'Not in the least, really, of course,' said I. - -'I do hope you agree with me now, Lord Wheatley?' - -'Yes, I think I have come to see that you were right, Mrs Hipgrave.' - -'Oh, that makes me so happy! And it will make my poor dear child so -happy, too. I assure you she has fretted very much over it.' - -'I'm sorry to hear that,' said I politely. 'Is she in town?' - -'Why, no, not just now.' - -'Where is she? I should like to write her a line.' - -'Oh, she's staying with friends.' - -'Could you oblige me with the address?' - -'Well, the fact is, Lord Wheatley, Beatrice is staying with--with a -Mrs Hamlyn.' - -'Oh, a Mrs Hamlyn! Any relation, Mrs Hipgrave?' - -'Well, yes. In fact, an aunt of our common friend.' - -'Ah, an aunt of our common friend,' and I smiled. Mrs Hipgrave -struggled nobly, but in the end she smiled also. After a little pause -I remarked: - -'I'm going to be married myself, Mrs Hipgrave.' - -Mrs Hipgrave grew rather grave again, and she observed: - -'I did hear something about a--a lady, Lord Wheatley.' - -'If you had heard it all, you'd have heard a great deal about her.' - -A certain appearance of embarrassment spread over Mrs Hipgrave's face. - -'We're old friends, Lord Wheatley,' she said at last. I bowed in -grateful recognition. 'I'm sure you won't mind if I speak plainly to -you. Now is she the sort of person whom you would be really wise to -marry? Remember, your wife will be Lady Wheatley.' - -'I had not forgotten that that would happen,' I said. - -'I'm told,' pursued Mrs Hipgrave in a somewhat scornful tone, 'that -she is very pretty.' - -'But, then, that's not really of importance, is it?' I murmured. - -Mrs Hipgrave looked at me with just a touch of suspicion; but she went -on bravely: - -'And one or two very curious things have been said.' - -'Not to me,' I observed with infinite amiability. - -'Her family now--' - -'Her family was certainly a drawback; but there are no more of them, -Mrs Hipgrave.' - -'Then somebody told me that she was in the habit of wearing--' - -'Dear me, Mrs Hipgrave, in these days everybody does that--more or -less, you know.' - -Mrs Hipgrave sighed pathetically, and added, with a slight shudder: - -'They say she carried a dagger.' - -'They'll say anything,' I reminded her. - -'At any rate,' said Mrs Hipgrave, 'she will be quite unused to the -ways of society.' - -'Oh, we shall teach her, we shall teach her,' said I cheerfully. -'After all, it's only a difference of method. When people in Neopalia -are annoyed, they put a knife into you--' - -'Good gracious, Lord Wheatley!' - -'Here,' I pursued, 'they congratulate you; but it's the same -principle. Won't you wish me joy, Mrs Hipgrave?' - -'If you're really bent upon it, I suppose I must.' - -'And you'll tell the dear children?' I asked anxiously. - -'The dear children?' she echoed; she certainly suspected me by now. - -'Why, yes. Your daughter and Bennett Hamlyn, you know.' - -Mrs Hipgrave surveyed me from top to toe. Her aspect was very severe; -then she delivered herself of the following remark: - -'I can never be sufficiently thankful,' she said, with eyes upturned -towards the sky, 'that my poor dear girl found out her mistake in -time.' - -'I have the utmost regard for Miss Beatrice,' I rejoined, 'but I will -not differ from you, Mrs Hipgrave.' - - * * * * * - -I must shift the scene again back to the island that I loved. For his -Majesty's clemency justified the Ambassador's belief in it, and -Neopalia was restored to Phroso and to me. Thither we went in the -spring of the next year, leaving Denny inconsolable behind, but -accompanied by old Hogvardt and by Watkins. This time we went straight -out by sea from England, and the new crew of my yacht was more -trustworthy than when Spiro and Demetri (ah, I had nearly written -'poor Demetri,' when the fellow was a murderer!) were sent by the -cunning of Constantine Stefanopoulos to compose it. We landed this -time to meet no threatening looks. The death-chant that One-eyed -Alexander wrote was not raised when we entered the old grey house on -the hill, looking over the blue waters. Ulysses is fabled by the poet -to have--well, to put it plainly--to have grown bored with peaceful -Ithaca. I do not know whether I shall prove an Ulysses in that and -live to regret the new-born tranquillity of Neopalia. In candour, the -early stormy days have a great attraction, and I love to look back to -them in memory. So strong was this feeling upon me that it led me -to refuse a request of my wife's--the only one of hers which I have -yet met in that fashion; for when we had been two or three days in the -island--I spent one, by the way, in visiting the graves of my dead -friends and enemies, a most suggestive and soothing occupation--I saw, -as I walked with her through the hall of our house, mason's tools and -mortar lying near where the staircase led up, hard by the secret door; -and Phroso said to me: - -[Illustration: BACK TO NEOPALIA.] - -'I'm sure you'd like to have that horrible secret passage blocked up, -Charley. It's full of terrible memories.' - -'My dear Phroso, wall up the passage?' - -'We shan't want it now,' said she, with a laugh--and something else. - -'It's true,' I admitted, 'that I intend, as far as possible, to rule -by constitutional means in Neopalia. Still one never knows. My -dearest, have you no romance?' - -'No,' said Phroso shamelessly. 'I've had enough romance. I want to -live quietly; and I don't want to push anyone over into that awful -pool where poor Kortes fell.' - -I stood looking at the boards under the staircase. Presently I knelt -down and touched the spring. The boards rolled away, the passage gaped -before us, and I put my arm round Phroso as I said: - -'Now heaven forbid that I should lay a modern sacrilegious hand on the -secret of the Stefanopouloi! For the world makes many circles, -Phroso--forward sometimes, sometimes back--and it is something to know -that here, in Neopalia, we are ready, and that if any man attacks our -sovereignty, why, let him look out for the secret of the -Stefanopouloi! In certain moods, Phroso, I should be capable of coming -back from the chasm--alone!' - -So Phroso, on my entreaty, spared the passage; and even now, when the -shades of middle age (a plague on 'em) are deepening, and the wild -doings of the purchaser of Neopalia grow golden in distant memory, I -like to walk to the end of the chasm and recall all that it has seen: -the contests, the dark tricks, the sudden deaths, aye, to travel back -from the fearful struggle of Kortes and Constantine on the flying -bridge to that long-ago time when the Baron d'Ezonville was so lucky -as to be set adrift in his shirt, while Stefan Stefanopoulos's -headless trunk was dashed into the dim water and One-eyed Alexander -the Bard wrote the Chant of Death. Ah me, that was two hundred years -ago! - - -_Colston & Coy., Limited, Printers, Edinburgh._ - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Phroso, by Anthony Hope - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHROSO *** - -***** This file should be named 41822.txt or 41822.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/8/2/41822/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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