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diff --git a/old/63320-0.txt b/old/63320-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c2e9ace..0000000 --- a/old/63320-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15256 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of When I Was Czar, by Arthur W. Marchmont - -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/license - - -Title: When I Was Czar - -Author: Arthur W. Marchmont - -Release Date: September 27, 2020 [EBook #63320] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN I WAS CZAR *** - - - - -Produced by D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -WHEN I WAS CZAR - - -[Illustration: “‘IT IS NOT CUSTOMARY FOR ME TO EXPLAIN MY POSITION -TWICE,’ I SAID WITH A LOFTY AIR.”--_Page 30._] - - - - - When I - Was Czar - - A ROMANCE - - _By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT_ - - _Author of “By Wit of Woman,” “In The Name of a - Woman,” “By Right of Sword,” “For - Love or Crown,” etc._ - - [Illustration] - - _A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers - NEW YORK_ - - - - - _Copyright, 1903_, - BY ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT - - _All rights reserved_ - - Published in October, 1903 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. A LETTER HOME 1 - - II. PRINCE KALKOV’S PROPOSITION 4 - - III. THE EMPEROR STARTS 14 - - IV. WHEN I WAS CZAR 24 - - V. A CZAR DEFIED 35 - - VI. HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER 45 - - VII. “I AM NOT THE CZAR” 56 - - VIII. DEEPER IN 67 - - IX. HELGA SPEAKS 77 - - X. VASTIC 88 - - XI. CONVICTION AT LAST 97 - - XII. HELGA’S ANGER 108 - - XIII. THE ATTACK 119 - - XIV. CONCERNING THE VALUE OF HOSTAGES 130 - - XV. THE DANGERS THICKEN 139 - - XVI. HELGA’S DEFEAT 149 - - XVII. AT THE GATES OF THE PALACE 160 - - XVIII. PRINCE KALKOV’S WELCOME 170 - - XIX. TURNING THE SCREW 181 - - XX. A DEATH TRAP 192 - - XXI. AT THE SQUARE OF SAN SOPHIA 203 - - XXII. FLIGHT 212 - - XXIII. AT THE FRONTIER 223 - - XXIV. THE FRESH CAMPAIGN 234 - - XXV. THE LUCK WAVERS 245 - - XXVI. I WIN 256 - - XXVII. A LAST MOVE 268 - - XXVIII. LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAY 278 - - XXIX. A LAST PRECAUTION 289 - - XXX. THE PRINCE OUTWITTED 298 - - XXXI. AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR 309 - - XXXII. THE END 321 - - - - -_When I was Czar_ - - - - -CHAPTER I--A LETTER HOME - - - THE PALACE, ST. PETERSBURG. - -MY DEAR MILLER,-- - -Your letter, which was as short as old Canfield’s temper, reached me in -Berlin as I was starting for here. I’m off to Khiva, this wise. - -You’ll remember my old yarn about the Czar having saved my life years -ago in a pig-sticking do in Germany--he shoved or kicked me into a bush -just in the nick of time when the brute made his rush--and how we then -discovered the strong resemblance between us? Well, it’s still true, -and things have been happening in consequence. - -I ran across Burnaby’s book about Khiva a while back and resolved to -go there. He says that three Tartars can eat a whole sheep at a single -meal, and I want to see if it’s true. Any old tag’s good enough excuse -for a globe-trotter, so I wrote to the Czar, reminded him of the pig -incident, and asked permission to go East. As a result, I’m here as his -guest; we’ve had a chat over the old time, and I’m to go where, when -and how I like all over his dominions. He’s an awfully decent sort, and -I’m in for a real good time. But it’s been a queer show. - -There’s a woman in it of course--and a glorious woman too. A tall, -queenly creature, as handsome as a Greek, with the free carriage of one -of our own American girls. I saw her on the train, or rather she saw me -and seemed particularly interested in me, and it was suiting me very -nicely when out came the reason. We stopped at a station some miles -from the capital, and as the girl and I were separated from the rest of -the people, she said in an undertone-- - -“Your Majesty does not count the risks of travelling incognito, alone?” - -“There are pleasures to counterbalance any risks, mademoiselle,” I -answered. “Your solicitude is one of them.” And I smiled, partly at -her amazing mistake and partly because she was so pretty. Then to put -myself right, I added: “But you mistake, I am no Majesty. I am an -American, Harper C. Denver is my name.” She lifted her eyebrows and -smiled again, in obvious disbelief, and replied in French-- - -“An American who understands Russian, speaks French, and resembles His -Majesty the Czar.” - -“An American who would gladly welcome an opportunity of seeing you -again, mademoiselle.” - -“An American who does not desire it more fervently than I. Meanwhile, -accept my warning, sire.” She spoke with intense earnestness, and then -left the train. - -How’s that for an adventure, eh? But that was only scene one. I sat -thinking it over until the train ran into the station at Petersburg, -and then came scene two. - -The moment I stepped from the cars I saw that considerable preparations -had been made to receive some one of importance, and while I stood -looking about for him an old man, tightly bound in a somewhat rich -uniform, with two or three companion volumes in attendance and a shelf -of soldiers behind, came up to me. He waved everybody else out of -earshot, and then with an almost reverential salute, said, in a low -voice-- - -“Mr. Denver, I am sure.” - -“Yes, that’s my name.” - -“Allow me to welcome you to the capital in my august master’s name. I -am Prince Kalkov, and His Majesty has instructed me to conduct you to -the Palace. Will you accompany me?” - -By this time the people on the platform had begun to show considerable -interest in the proceedings, to my intense amusement, and came crowding -around a bit. - -“I shall be delighted,” I replied; and accordingly the Prince gave -a word of command to those in attendance, a guard of soldiers was -formed, and I was in this way escorted to the first of a string of -carriages in waiting. - -“To the Palace at full gallop,” cried the Prince in a tone loud enough -to reach the by-standers. Some one raised a shout of “God save the -Emperor,” and in another minute we were off to the accompaniment of -loud cries and ringing cheers from the crowd, which was by that time a -pretty big one. - -That was my sensational entrance into the capital. Here I am at the -Czar’s Palace, and from what I can judge there’s a great deal more of -the same kind to follow. - - “Which is why I remark, - And my language is plain, - That for ways that are dark - And for tricks that are vain, - The Russian at Home is peculiar. - And the same I shall hope to explain”--another time. - -Comic opera with a dash of mysticism seems about a fair description of -things up to now. More, when I’ve time to write. - -By the way, couldn’t you manage to leave Wall Street and the dollar -raking process for a while and meet me on my return? I mean to go on -from Khiva through India to China. Come and lunch with me, say in -Pekin, and have a time among the pigtails. Wire me at our Legation and -our people will forward to me. Seriously, you might do many things -worse. Your old friend, - - HARPER C. DENVER. - -N.B.--I’m not monkeying about the Pekin business. Come and meet me like -the good fellow you are, and hang Wall Street. - - H. C. D. - - - - -CHAPTER II--PRINCE KALKOV’S PROPOSITION - - -“You mean seriously that I am to impersonate His Majesty?” - -“For this purpose, M. Denver, that is my serious meaning.” - -“Well, it’s a most extraordinary proposition.” - -“The occasion itself is quite an extraordinary one, of course. But I -repeat, you will be doing His Majesty and his Ministers a service of -extreme importance. I have asked you, of course, as I said before, only -because I understand you deem yourself under a deep obligation to my -master.” - -“You heard us speaking to-night of the incident. I owe him probably my -life, and certainly an escape from serious injuries. We Americans don’t -go back on a call, and I admit it’s up to him to call now. But this is -such an odd thing.” - -“Think it over. It is a national characteristic of your countrymen to -be prompt. Shall I return, say, in an hour?” - -“Wait a minute, Prince,” I said as he rose, and pushing my chair back I -took a few turns up and down the room. - -We were in the apartments which had been assigned to me in the Palace, -and the Prince had interrupted me as I was planning out my projected -journey to Khiva. It was nearly midnight, and my maps and papers lay -open on the table. - -“I am quite at your disposal, M. Denver,” he replied courteously as he -resumed his chair and watched me. - -“Let me see that I’ve got the hang of the thing right,” I said after a -while. “You say this man, Boreski, is really dangerous; but I thought -you had a quick method of dealing with dangerous men in Russia.” - -“It is not a case for ordinary methods, M. Denver, or I should not -have come to you. I wish to deal with you with complete frankness, and -have spoken unreservedly as to a personal friend of my master.” - -“We shan’t pull very far together if you don’t.” - -“To be candid, I am not sure what the man’s secret object -is--presuming, that is, he has one. We know little of him beyond the -fact that he is an adventurer and a musician of exceptional brilliance, -and that the Duchess Stephanie has conceived a great--I suppose, I -should say--fondness for him. She declares she will marry him--in -defiance of the Emperor’s prohibition: a marriage of the kind being -outside the pale of possibility, of course, owing to her relationship -to the Imperial Family.” - -“You think he’s after her money?” - -“What other conclusion can one draw? The Duchess is twenty years older -than he; she is the reverse of prepossessing in appearance; and he is -young, handsome and certainly clever. Apart from other reasons the -marriage would be a tragedy.” - -“And then there are these papers?” - -“And then there are these papers, as you say. She is entirely dominated -by him, and there is no doubt she acted at his instigation and--well, -purloined them and carried them to him.” - -“He is certainly a daring fellow.” - -“A daring scoundrel, unquestionably,” assented the Prince, accenting -the “scoundrel.” - -“But knowing this, why not have arrested him?” - -“I thought I had made that clear. I tried it, but he met me too -cleverly. Indeed, I believe he actually angled for the arrest.” - -“Angled for it. How do you mean?” - -“That he might get face to face with me and let me realize how far he -could go, and would if pressed. It was then he told me of these papers, -and that he had placed them in reliable hands to be given, if he were -detained, to those who must of course never see them. Never, at any -cost.” - -I smiled at the frank avowal. - -“They are very awkward, then?” - -“They might mean even war with the Powers chiefly concerned. They are -extremely confidential documents. You understand, of course, M. Denver, -that in diplomacy, any more than in poker, we cannot always lay the -cards on the table.” - -“It was a fine bluff.” - -“Too dangerous for me to see him,” returned the Prince with a smile, -falling readily into the language of the pool room. “And the worst of -it was he knew it and claimed the jack pot.” - -“He’s a smart man. And his terms are?” - -“Preposterous, absolutely; monstrous. The Imperial consent to his -marriage; a special dowry of a million roubles; a patent of nobility; -and a private interview with His Majesty. It was then I thought of you, -His Majesty having told me you were coming here, and that you bore so -striking a resemblance to him. I arranged the scene at the station this -evening to test that.” - -“And you wish me to go to this interview, fool the man, and get the -papers?” - -“Precisely. Counting upon your obligation to the Emperor, I have indeed -fixed the interview for to-morrow.” - -“The deuce you have. Isn’t that rather sharp work?” - -“The matter does not admit of delay; but it is of course open to you to -decline.” - -“In which case?” - -“I have not yet considered any alternative.” - -His coolness staggered me. But he was keen enough to see that I rather -enjoyed the prospect of the adventure. - -“Now as to the risks?” I asked after a pause. - -“I cannot even pretend to gauge them, M. Denver. I don’t think they -should be considerable; but there is naturally the chance that the -deception would be discovered. I don’t think it is probable. Those who -are constantly with His Majesty would know you in a moment of course; -but these people only see my master on public occasions, and, as you -have had evidence, are quite ready to be deceived.” - -“But the risk is there.” - -“Unquestionably,” he assented. “The incident with the lady in the train -which you described is, however, very promising. Still, as you say, the -risk is there, and it is enough to make any ordinary man unwilling to -run it.” - -“You flatter me, Prince.” - -“No, I try to judge you. An ordinary man would not be eager to rush off -to Khiva. Besides, you are an American.” - -The appeal to my vanity was put astutely. - -“If I were discovered I should have to get out the best way I could?” - -“There might be some little trouble, but I don’t think it would be -really serious--to a man of resource, that is. You would be quite -authorized to put the blame on me.” - -“And if the deception were not discovered?” - -“It would be a short interview, and you would at the worst have to -postpone your departure for one day.” - -“You don’t anticipate any treachery? No assassination business, for -instance?” - -“Boreski has too much at stake. He would lose everything--including -his worthless life, of course. About the strongest guarantee for your -safety that you could have.” - -He put the amazing proposal bluntly and argued the case with as much -coolness as if it had been little more than a simple conventional -matter of almost everyday routine. - -“You would naturally like to think it over,” he said, after I had paced -the room a while in thought. - -“You have told me everything?” - -“Yes, I think so, except, perhaps, that, of course, I don’t for a -moment believe Boreski made the proposition seriously.” - -“Yet it’s an odd sort of joke, isn’t it?” - -“I don’t mean that. I mean that no man in his senses would believe the -Emperor would consent to his conditions for the interview--that my -master should go to it absolutely unattended, that the place should be -determined by Boreski and known to him alone, and that my master should -meet a lady at the railway station, get into a strange carriage with -her and be taken wherever they pleased to take him. Even in democratic -countries monarchs don’t act like that.” - -“Then what do you mean?” I asked, puzzled. - -“That he intended to have his terms rejected in order that he might use -the rejection to raise them. When I agreed--I only did so with you in -my thoughts--I saw that his surprise amounted almost to embarrassment.” - -“There’s this woman in it then, beside the Duchess Stephanie? Who is -she?” - -“I haven’t an idea--some accomplice no doubt.” - -“Since the conditions are, as you say, so ridiculous, may he not be -suspicious when we agree to them?” - -“It is very possible. But on the other hand he knows that my master is -as anxious as I am about those papers.” - -“And he may think the Emperor would take the risk. I see. Well, I guess -I’ll do it, Prince, but I should like to think it over.” - -Prince Kalkov rose at once. - -“Naturally. I need only say, monsieur, that you will be doing His -Majesty and Russia a service which we shall not forget. Shall I have -your decision in the morning?” - -“To-night, if you’ll come back, say, in a couple of hours. You won’t -find me asleep after all you’ve said.” - -He smiled pleasantly, and as he went to the door, said-- - -“You are just the man I would have chosen for such a task, M. Denver.” - -“That remains to be seen,” I replied; “but there’s just one more -question, by the by. Which are the countries concerned in those -papers?” - -He paused and gave me a sharp swift look, which broke to a smile. - -“Not the United States, monsieur, but European Powers.” - -“That’s the assurance I wished,” said I, and then he went. - -I had virtually made up my mind before the Prince left the room, and -save for one consideration I should have consented right away. But I -could not quite size up the Prince himself. - -I was almost British in my distrust of certain classes of Russian -officials. I had lived in Petersburg for some years as a boy, and my -father, who was at the Embassy, had inculcated this prejudice. - -I could never resist the feeling that they had some subtle undercurrent -motive which made for duplicity; and I could not now shake myself free -from the belief in regard to Prince Kalkov. - -I had no tangible reason for it. He stood high in the confidence of the -Czar; he had gone out of his way to make himself agreeable to me; he -had treated me apparently with signal frankness; and had admitted the -possible risks and complications of the very tangled business. - -I had another slight qualm. My sympathies were rather with than against -the man Boreski. I was not a Russian aristocrat; and from my American -point of view I was disposed to admire the pluck of a man who was -fighting single-handed against the powerful Russian Court, and giving -that autocratic body a real bad time. His methods were not nice, but -his adroit use of them was so smart that I could not help enjoying -them. Whereas, if it came to a mere question of ethics, I couldn’t -see that, taking into account the shady episode of the secret papers, -either side had much pull over the other. - -What really decided me was my old obligation to the Czar. My -inclinations were all on the side of going in for the thing; and -probably I gave more weight to that consideration than it deserved. But -anyway I convinced myself that I could wipe out the old debt by doing -what was asked of me, and when the Prince came back, I met him with the -statement that if the details of the thing could be fixed, I was his -man. - -He was manifestly delighted. - -“I cannot tell you what pleasure your decision gives me. We shall -now circumvent him completely. This is Boreski,” and he handed me a -photograph. - -The man was certainly handsome and distinguished-looking. Dark as a -raven, with large, deep-set, thoughtful eyes under straight brows, a -broad ample forehead, straight nose, very shapely mouth with curved -mobile lips, and a narrowing chin. - -“A handsome fellow, and that’s the truth,” I said. - -“So the Duchess thinks,” he returned drily, handing me her portrait. - -“You said she was twenty years his senior. This is a young woman.” - -“It was taken last year: a Court photograph,” and he smiled. “She’s all -but fifty.” - -“Love at fifty may be a very serious passion, Prince. Have you no -scruples about blighting it? She might take it badly and pine away.” - -“She might do much worse, monsieur, and marry that rascal.” - -“Her fortune is her own, I presume?” - -“She would forfeit much of it if she married without the Emperor’s -consent. Boreski knows that well enough, and trades on it. I do not -think we shall find him a really strong man. He has the whip hand of -us for the moment through those stolen documents; but when we once get -those, we shall be able to frighten him, I am convinced.” - -“Ought I not to know the nature of the documents?” - -“I have been expecting that question. Do you press it?” - -“Not if it embarrasses you to answer. But how shall I know them when -they are given up to me?” - -“They are very confidential,” he said, his face wrinkling in perplexed -thought. He paused, and then with a sigh added, very slowly, the words -seeming to be wrung from him almost: “I suppose there is no other way. -They affect Germany and Austria. They include a secret treaty with -Austria and a number of plans of fortresses, and the army mobilization -schemes, etc., of our neighbours.” - -“I can understand your anxiety, Prince,” I said drily. - -“They _must_ be recovered, M. Denver, at any cost or sacrifice,” he -answered with intense earnestness. - -“I will do my best,” I replied, and then we turned to discuss the -details of the project. He told me his arrangements, the chief of which -was his scheme to secure my safety. - -“I shall take exactly the same precautions as if you were His -Majesty himself,” he said. “The carriage in which you travel will be -followed; its description will be telephoned everywhere, so that it -may be instantly recognized by our agents who to-morrow night will be -stationed at the corner of every street of the capital. Within a minute -of your entering the house, wherever it is, a large force will commence -to converge upon it; and if there is any delay or treachery the place -will be carried by force.” - -“Isn’t that a breach of faith with Boreski?” - -“Of course I gave him an official pledge the carriage should not be -followed.” - -“Official? Rather a nice distinction, isn’t it?” - -He laughed. “One has to do these things officially.” - -“You mean you have to give a pledge and--break it.” - -He shrugged his shoulders. “We are dealing with a scoundrel.” - -“Does that justify unclean methods?” - -“Unclean?” He caught at the word angrily. - -“I said unclean. Please understand me. I am neither a courtier nor -a diplomat, but just a plain American citizen; and when we Americans -pledge our word we keep it, whether it be given to an honest man or a -rogue. This pledge of yours must be kept, Prince Kalkov.” - -He grew excited for the first time, and gesticulated vehemently as he -answered. - -“It is impossible, impossible!” he cried. “You cannot appreciate the -importance of those papers, M. Denver. Hitherto we have been unable to -learn their whereabouts, but we know that to-morrow night they will -be in the house to which Boreski will drive you; that is why this -appointment is to be kept. And when we once know where they are, not -this Boreski nor ten thousand Boreskis shall prevent my recovering -them.” - -This cast a somewhat fresh light on the thing, and annoyed me. - -“Then you must get some one else to keep the appointment, Prince -Kalkov,” I answered. - -“But your promise,” he cried, angry and embarrassed. - -“My promise was to play the part of the Emperor in the matter, and I’ll -either be obeyed as Emperor or we’ll call it off, and I’ll remain plain -Harper C. Denver. You can choose, right now.” - -He sat gnawing his moustache in perplexity, and wanted to expostulate -and argue the point. - -“But----” - -“There are no buts in this. You can call it off or on--but on my terms. -You can choose.” - -This was just what he did not wish to do, however. - -“Your own safety----” he began again. - -“You can leave that to me,” I cut in. “Is it to be on or off?” And I -looked him fair and square in the eyes. - -He gave a deep-drawn sigh, twisted his moustache ends, made as if to -expostulate, but stopped on meeting my looks, and then with a shrug of -the shoulders gave way. - -“It’s an enormous responsibility, but if you insist I must yield.” - -“Good; then we’ll be off to bed and leave the rest until to-morrow.” - -He rose and gave me his hand. - -“Good-night, M. Denver. You are a strong man,” he said. - -“Good-night, Prince. We’ll talk about strength when the job’s finished. -I’ll do my best, as I said.” - -He paused by the door and turned. - -“After all the whole thing is only tricking Boreski. I wish you’d let -me do it my way.” - -“It’s only a trick, of course; but the cards are on the table so far as -the personation is concerned. I can’t give in to the rest.” - -“As your Majesty pleases,” he returned with a slow smile as he left the -room. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE EMPEROR STARTS - - -I did not leave my rooms on the following day, and passed the chief -part of it preparing for the part I was to play in the evening, and -discussing the details. - -The Prince and I had several interviews, and his confidential -attendant, a Frenchman named Pierre, waited on me. From him I had a -number of hints as to little characteristics of the Emperor, gestures, -movements, habits and so on, calculated to help out my rendering of the -part. - -We arranged that I should go in ordinary morning dress, and over this I -was to wear a semi-military cloak borrowed from the Imperial wardrobe. - -The papers I required were all prepared with scrupulous care. These -were a patent of nobility making Boreski a Count--and I was instructed -how to perform the little ceremony of investing him with it; a written -consent to his marriage with the Duchess Stephanie; and a draft upon -the Imperial Treasury for the sum of a million roubles. - -“The draft is post dated, as you see,” said the Prince, “as the money -is intended for the Duchess’s dowry, and is not payable until the -marriage. You can explain this.” - -“He’ll probably look for the money down,” I objected at once. - -“He is dealing with an Emperor who would not break faith with him,” -returned the Prince with a grim smile reminiscent of our previous -night’s discussion. - -“If these papers are so valuable, why not give the money at once and -let me take it in bank notes?” - -“When we have the papers we can deal with him for a tenth part of the -sum. A million, indeed!” - -“If your economic instincts lead to trouble, don’t blame me,” I -returned a little sharply. “I repeat I think you should send notes.” - -“Your Majesty can promise him anything. If he raises any difficulty he -can come to me,” he added. - -“There is nothing else I have to take?” - -“Nothing except this ring of the Emperor’s. You had better wear it, as -it is well known; and perhaps had better take a revolver, although I -don’t think you will have any trouble calling for one.” - -“One never knows,” said I, and decided to take his advice. - -“You will, of course, be cautious not to attempt a word of Russian. -Your accent would betray you in a moment. You can use French with -absolute safety, as His Majesty’s unfortunate preference for that -language is well known. That is most important.” - -“I’m not likely to forget. I can understand everything in Russian, but -I know my limitations.” - -“Then I will go and get ready to accompany you on the first part of the -journey to the rendezvous at the Square of St. Peter.” - -Now that the time was so close I was a good deal excited and impatient -for the curtain to go up. - -“You have His Majesty’s figure and walk remarkably, m’sieur,” said -the Prince’s man watching me closely. “From behind I myself should be -deceived even at so short a distance and in so good a light as this. It -is wonderful.” - -“Unfortunately I can’t keep my back turned to people all the time.” - -“That is true, m’sieur; but then it is always safer to turn the face -to--dangers, is it not?” He put so much emphasis on the word that I -turned and looked at him. - -“You think a good deal of the dangers, then, Pierre?” - -“There is always danger in this Russia;” and he grimaced to show his -French dislike of it. - -“Yet you stay here.” - -“I am only a valet, m’sieur, they pass over my head. But I have been -fifteen years in the country and have seen many strange things.” - -“If the Emperor were really going on this business, you think he would -run big risks?” - -“It may be different with you, m’sieur; you may be discovered in time. -But if it were the Emperor, I should rub my hands with pleasure to see -him return.” - -“You take a cheerful view of things, Pierre. I expect you have a liver -that troubles you.” - -He threw up his hands and shoulders. - -“Americans and English are the same and like mad risks. But I would not -do this--no, not for the crown of Russia. I know what I know.” - -“And I do it for the love of the thing, and I suppose that’s about the -difference between us.” - -“Monsieur is monsieur,” he replied with a comical, lachrymose air. “But -you will need to be very cautious. You have friends in Petersburg, -probably?” - -“No, indeed. No one knows of my presence here.” - -“That is strange--but perhaps--convenient. You would not be missed.” - -“No, not by a soul except here in the Palace.” - -He smiled mysteriously. - -“If you are discovered, m’sieur, I should not let that fact be known. I -should speak of many. A friendless man may be a helpless one.” - -“You have a pleasant imagination, Pierre.” - -“Russia is not France, m’sieur, nor America,” he replied, cryptically, -with so lugubrious an air that I smiled. - -It was not a cheerful send-off, and in the carriage I told old Kalkov -what his man had said. - -“Pierre is a good valet but a fool,” he answered with a grunt. “He had -his nerves twisted once in a Nihilist row, and ever since has seen a -Nihilist conspiracy in every trouble.” - -“You don’t take these conspiracies seriously?” - -“As a rule, no; occasionally they are dangerous of course; but -generally little more than froth and wind--mere political dyspepsia -from the soured stomach of sectional discontent.” - -“Is this Boreski a Nihilist?” - -“Possibly. It is always possible. But I think not. We shall know much -more when you return.” - -“If I do return, that is.” - -“Naturally;” and he smiled, not pleasantly. - -I began to think how the cat must have felt when she had burnt her foot -in drawing the chestnuts out of the fire and saw the monkey enjoying -them. But it was too late to retreat now, even if I had been so -minded. The Prince felt something of this, I fancy, for he gave me the -opportunity. - -“If you have any fear, M. Denver, and wish to draw back, we can return -to the Palace.” - -“Not on any account.” - -“I want you to feel, whatever happens, that you have gone into the -thing quite voluntarily. I wish to feel that too.” - -“I shall see it through, Prince.” - -“Spoken like an American,” he replied promptly, and a minute afterwards -the carriage stopped. “We have arrived.” - -We got out on the north side of a large square and looked about for the -other carriage. None was in sight, but a hooded automobile stood in the -shadow on the opposite side. - -“Can that be it?” I asked the Prince. - -“It would be very easily traced,” he said. - -“But not so easily followed. There is no other and we are already a few -minutes behind time.” - -“We can cross and see.” - -His face was full of doubt. - -“I had better go alone,” I replied, detaining him. - -“As you will. God send you may be successful for the sake of Russia.” - -His tone was intensely earnest, and with the words ringing in my ears -I swung off into the road in the direction of the autocar, and when I -turned once I saw him watching me intently and eagerly. - -Now that the moment for action had really come, I was as cool as I -could have wished. I took a mental note of everything and I was careful -to assume so far as possible the swinging stride of the man I was -personating. - -As I neared the car a man stepped from inside it and touched his cap. - -“Who is your master?” I asked, putting all the authority I could -into my manner, and staring hard at the man. He was dressed like a -chauffeur, and save for his black beard and moustache his face was -almost hidden by the peak of his cap and a pair of hideous driving -goggles. - -“M. Boreski, m’sieur.” His French was that of an educated man, I -thought. - -“What are your instructions?” - -“We are waiting for some one from the Palace, m’sieur.” The “we” -struck me as peculiar. I stopped by the car and looked harder at him. - -“You speak French with a good accent, my man,” I said, with some -suspicion in my tone, and then the unexpected happened. - -A girl, closely veiled, put her head out from the hood which covered -the back seat, and with a dash of contempt said-- - -“The American will scarcely be afraid to trust himself with a woman.” - -I gave a start of genuine pleasure. It was the girl who had spoken to -me on the train. - -“With you, mademoiselle, I would trust myself anywhere;” and without -hesitation I took the seat by her side. - -The chauffeur got into his place and we were off at a smart pace into -the darkness. - -I looked back at old Kalkov and waved my hand to him, and as we whirled -round the corner out of the square he drew himself up and gave me a -military salute. - -If I had any doubts before, they vanished the moment I was by the side -of the girl. The adventure had taken just the turn I could have wished; -and come what might, I was resolved to have a good time. - -“That was Prince Kalkov, your Majesty?” she asked, speaking in Russian. -I answered in French. - -“Yes, my very faithful old friend and counsellor to whose planning I -owe this--this excursion, shall we call it?” - -“Your Majesty is----” - -“Wait, please. This is a very unusual matter. I make one condition at -the outset. My incognito must be strictly maintained by every one--by -every one, if you please. I am not the Emperor, but as I told you -yesterday, an American. My name is Harper C. Denver. I do not even -speak the Russian language, although I can understand it, and I am -travelling in Russia for pleasure.” - -She was undeniably as smart as she was pretty. She listened to me -intently, and she asked in English. - -“You speak and understand English then perfectly.” - -It was a pretty trap, but I was not to be drawn, so I replied in -French-- - -“An American must necessarily speak his own language, mademoiselle;” -and at that she laughed softly. - -“You are doubtless staying at the Hotel Imperial, the favourite hotel -with Americans?” - -“No, I am staying at the Palace with my friend the Emperor;” a truth -which sounded so ridiculous that she laughed again. - -“We will be careful that a friend of our Emperor has his wishes -regarded so far as possible.” - -We rode some distance after that without speaking until I broke the -silence. - -“There are three questions I should like to ask, mademoiselle. Have I -your permission?” - -“I cannot pledge myself to answer them, m’sieur.” - -“Where are we going?” - -“That will depend upon whether you have kept faith with M. Boreski.” - -“In what way?” - -“Are we being followed?” - -“I gave express orders to the contrary.” - -“An American citizen can give orders to the police in Russia then, -m’sieur,” she put in. - -“Under certain circumstances an American citizen can be master of the -situation,” I replied equivocally and with more truth than she could -have any idea of. “Will you answer my question?” - -“About ten miles, if all goes well--if your orders have been obeyed, -that is. We shall soon know.” - -“You shall have any proof I can give you of my good faith in this -respect. How shall we know?” - -She appeared to think for a few moments, then turned and looked at me -through her veil. - -“If you mean that, there will be no difficulty.” - -“I give you my word of honour. Let me put my second question. Do you -pledge yourself, you mademoiselle, personally, for my safety?” - -“Unconditionally, and so will M. Boreski.” - -“I don’t care about him. It is to you I trust.” - -I felt her start and her voice was unsteady as she replied-- - -“On my honour, your Majesty shall not regret that confidence.” - -“Then I will do anything and everything you ask. I put myself -absolutely in your hands.” - -She rose then and spoke to the chauffeur. - -“M. Boreski says your spies are dogging us and that the streets are -alive with them.” - -“That is M. Boreski?” I asked indicating the chauffeur. - -“Yes, that is M. Boreski. We anticipated there would be treachery of -the kind.” There was again a spice of contempt in her tone. - -“So far as I am concerned your suspicions are unwarranted, -mademoiselle. I have been badly served, and some one shall suffer for -it. But what do you propose?” - -“Will you change from this carriage into another with me, leaving this -to be followed by your police?” - -There was the same touch of scorn in her manner. - -“Certainly I will not if you continue to doubt my personal good faith. -I will return to the Palace and leave the thing to be arranged in some -other way. Otherwise, I am, as I said, absolutely in your hands.” - -“I am convinced and ashamed of my doubts. Please forgive me.” She spoke -quickly and eagerly. - -“Then let us make the change as soon as you will.” - -She spoke again to Boreski, and the machine gave a spurt forward as -he increased the speed until we were flying along at a rate that made -conversation almost impossible. - -After some time we swung round a corner and stopped with a sudden jerk. - -“Now,” cried Boreski eagerly, and in a moment we two were on the ground -and he had started again, while the girl drew me inside the gates of a -house. - -“You will see now how you have been obeyed,” she said, and the words -were scarcely out of her lips before a vehicle, driven at full gallop -with a couple of mounted men close behind it, went dashing and -clattering past us on the track of the automobile. “They are your -police, monsieur, and have now a long ride before them.” - -She referred to them with a shrug of utter contempt. - -“We have a short distance to go in the opposite direction, and shall -then find a carriage.” - -Her coolness was admirable, and when we started to walk she could not -have been more unconcerned if I had been merely seeing her home from a -pink tea in New York. - -We passed through two or three streets, meeting only a few loungers, -and as we crossed a more important thoroughfare at the corner of which -a man and a woman stood talking, my companion stopped and asked the -woman where we could get a drosky. She spoke in broken Russian and -added-- - -“We are Americans and have lost our way.” - -“You will find none about here,” the man answered, and spoke in English. - -“We are in a fix, it seems.” - -“Which is the way to St. Mark’s Square?” I asked. “I know my way from -there.” - -He gave us minute directions and we walked on. - -“Those are police spies,” said my companion quietly, “and if we had -not spoken to them, they would probably have followed us. But no one -suspects Americans.” - -“How well you speak English,” I said, off my guard for a moment. - -“No better than you, monsieur,” she replied simply. “Your question in -English was a great stroke!” - -“You have been in England?” - -“Yes, two or three times. I was educated there and in France. What a -country of freedom is England. We shall get our carriage here,” she -said a little later, and presently it came rumbling along slowly and -stopped at a signal from her. - -“We shall not be more than a few minutes now,” she said as we got in. - -“You have not told me your name, mademoiselle?” - -“I am Helga; and take the same surname as my cousin, M. Boreski--until -my mission is accomplished.” - -“Your mission? What is that?” - -“I will tell you some day--if you will grant me a hearing?” - -“You may always depend on that, mademoiselle,” I answered as earnestly -as I felt, so earnestly indeed that she turned and looked at me in -surprise. - -“Pray God your Majesty means that.” - -And I was still pondering her reply when the carriage stopped and she -told me we had reached our destination. - - - - -CHAPTER IV--WHEN I WAS CZAR - - -As I sat in the sumptuously furnished drawing-room, waiting for Helga -Boreski to join me, I felt both embarrassed and puzzled. - -Who was she? What was the mysterious mission of which she had spoken? -What was her connexion with this Boreski affair? What part was she -playing in the serio-comic drama in which I had thus suddenly been -involved? - -I could see no answer to the questions. I had made as keen an -observation of the house as a few rapid glances in the darkness would -permit; but could see little more than that it was a large rambling -building standing well secluded in extensive grounds. Inside, the place -contained all the evidences of considerable wealth, and it was clear -somebody connected with it must have money. - -Boreski had been described to me, however, as an adventurer, who was -angling for his duchess in order to secure her private fortune. He was -also unquestionably blackmailing the Government in the matter of the -million roubles. - -Yet the room I was in might have been the parlour of an American -millionaire, so costly and precious were many of the pictures and -ornaments. - -Coffee was served to me by footmen who might have stepped straight -from an English peer’s household; and altogether, as I say, I was -completely mystified. - -My embarrassment came from a quite different cause. It was one thing to -meet an adventurer like this Boreski with his own weapons and fool him -into an appreciation of his own short-sightedness; but it was something -very different to treat Helga in the same way. Rightly or wrongly I had -come to the fixed conviction that, although I had met her in this very -questionable association with Boreski’s sordid scheme, she herself was -as good as she was beautiful. And the idea of cheating her, of palming -myself off for the Emperor, was more repugnant than I can say. - -I was brooding over the problem with my coffee untasted when she came -in, looking positively radiant. Her eyes were shining with excitement, -her face was coloured with the glow of the ride; and she had gowned -herself simply, but with exquisite taste, in subdued tones that set off -her magnificent beauty of face and form to perfection. - -Every action and gesture were full of grace, and as she moved across -the room I followed her with a glance that she must have felt expressed -my intense admiration. I was hopelessly bewitched by her ravishing -beauty; and that is the truth. - -“Are you still the American--as to ceremonial?” she asked. - -“Oh, please;” and I motioned to a lounge, feeling abominably mean. She -sank into it with a smile. - -“Fresh coffee for--M. Denver,” she said to the servant, pausing on the -threshold of the name, and glancing at me she pointed to my untouched -cup. “And cigarettes.” - -She lighted a cigarette and I did the same. - -“You wished it all to be informal,” she said when the servant had left -the room. “It is also very extraordinary.” - -“And very delightful,” I could not help saying. - -“You have no longer any hesitation as to your own safety?” - -“I have trusted you and am content.” - -“Would God it may always be so,” she said earnestly under her breath. - -“I should never doubt _you_,” I returned with an emphasis. “But frankly -I am completely mystified.” - -She laughed, and it was like the sound of sweet sleigh bells. - -“This is my house; I live here with an old relative, Madame Korvata. -She is what the Spaniards would call my duenna, and the English, Mrs. -Grundy. But I am like the Americans--you Americans,” she repeated with -a glance; “in my love of personal freedom. I do as I like.” - -“That I can believe. And M. Boreski?” - -“Is M. Boreski--that is all to me. He is my cousin, very distantly my -cousin, and he has his plans.” - -She managed to suggest that these schemes were indifferent to her, and -after a short pause added meaningly-- - -“We all have plans, haven’t we? Little moves of the pawns on the chess -board, leading to some great combination--perhaps, that is.” - -“M. Boreski is coming here?” I asked. - -“You are already impatient to go.” - -The retort came quickly with just an accent of reproach and -disappointment. - -“On the contrary I am more than content to stay.” - -She gave me a sharp half-quizzical glance, with a smile in it, quickly -suppressed save in her eyes. - -“I wonder can that be true? What kind of test it would stand?” - -“Any test _you_ could choose.” - -“We shall see. I may remind you of that;” half challenge half banter -this was. “But my concerns are nothing to you.” - -“Then let us make them something.” Our eyes met as I said this with an -earnestness that was personal if not Imperial, and she met my gaze -openly and steadily. Hers were dangerous eyes for any man to look into, -and especially for one who thought of her as I did. - -“I wonder what you mean by that? What I ought to read behind your look -and eager offer?” - -“Nothing but goodwill to you. Believe that.” - -“You tempt me, monsieur--American,” and she fell back in her chair with -a half sigh and sat thinking intently. Presently she shook her head. -“No, not yet, not yet. You know nothing of me.” - -“An ignorance you can easily correct. But no, you are right, it must -not be yet,” I exclaimed hastily. - -I had no right to invite confidence from her until she knew who I -really was. But my exclamation surprised her. - -“Why not yet--from your side?” - -“I cannot tell you. How long will M. Boreski be?” - -She wrinkled her brow at the question. - -“You mean you would first know what my connexion with his scheme is? A -somewhat shallow trust yours, after all.” - -“It may seem so, but I did not mean that.” - -“Then what did you mean?” - -Her eyes again sought mine as if to read my thoughts. I threw up a -blockading smile. - -“How long will he be?” - -“You play with me,” she exclaimed petulantly. “I do not make a pleasant -plaything. M. Boreski will be here soon now. He will find some one to -take his place and play hare to your police dogs--the dogs that were -not to have been set upon us.” - -“‘Us’?” I repeated with a lift of the eyebrows. “You _do_ identify -yourself with him then?” - -She laughed. - -“That is a man’s retort. Suspicion for suspicion; and it serves me -right. Now that the time has come, I am not myself. I am too anxious. I -do not understand--Americans. You make me feel as no other man as ever -yet made me feel.” - -Was this for the Emperor or for myself? I did not relish the problem -and made no reply. - -She sighed, and rising touched the bell, and remained standing while -the servants came and removed the coffee-cups. - -I was glad of the interval. It gave me time to remember my part and -remember, too, how unstable was the ground I stood on. - -When the servants had gone again she remained standing with one elbow -resting upon an ebony column under a branch of electric lights, the -soft shaded colours from which fell upon her, enhancing her beauty. - -“In the train yesterday you said you wished to see me again,” she said -slowly in a low seductive voice. “You have had your wish, you see. It -is good to be--an American. Will you have the same wish after to-night, -I wonder. I wonder,” she added musingly. - -“It is a graver question whether you would grant the wish if I -expressed it.” - -“Do you doubt it? You need not.” And then quickly as if to get on to -safer ground, “The wishes of such an American must be commands to--to -Russian subjects.” - -I winced and my face clouded, and I wished my Imperial character at the -bottom of the Black Sea. She was quick to notice the change. - -“I have offended you. How?” There was eagerness in her eyes. - -“No. I have offended myself, that’s all,” I returned with a little sigh -of vexation. - -“You are hard to understand,” she murmured softly. - -“Without the key to the riddle, yes;” and once more we lapsed into -silence. During the pause she resumed her seat. - -“M. Boreski should be here now, monsieur,” she said at length, a -notable difference in her tone. “You are going to grant his request?” - -“I have come to obtain the papers he holds.” - -“I fear you will find him difficult to deal with after the police -incident to-night. Police spies are to him an abomination. You had none -yesterday. Why do you run such risks as to travel quite unattended?” - -“I ran no risk. No one knew me,” I answered, rather embarrassed. - -“I knew you.” - -“Against what were you warning me?” - -She read suspicion in the question. - -“I am not a Nihilist; but Russia is Russia.” - -“You know something of these Nihilists?” - -“I know many of them to be reckless desperate men.” - -“One has to take chances.” - -“Do you think this what you term a chance?” - -“God forbid. But I am glad of your repudiation.” - -“Did you need it?” she asked, her eyes on mine again. - -“I have told you I trust you, and I think have shown it. But you are an -enigma.” - -She smiled and leaned forward until her face was near to mine. - -“Do you think me worth the trouble of solving?” and she was still -waiting for my answer and gazing at me when, to my chagrin, the door -opened and Boreski entered. - -I recognized him instantly from his photograph; an aristocrat to his -finger-tips he appeared to me, with a perfect manner; as striking a -personality in his way as Helga herself. - -“M. Boreski,” said Helga, rising, and he made a courtier-like bow. - -“I am more honoured than I can say by the condescension of this -interview, your Majesty,” he said. “Pray pardon my lateness, but it is -due to circumstances beyond my control.” - -As I knew he had been leading the police on a wild goose chase I had to -restrain an inclination to smile. - -“Mademoiselle here has already anticipated your explanation, monsieur,” -I said; and the two exchanged quick glances. “It was contrary to my -express orders that you were followed.” - -“A very direct and precise pledge was given me, your Majesty, by His -Highness Prince Kalkov.” - -His manner more than his words made me understand that he held he had -been badly treated and resented strongly the breach of faith. This was -the crossing of the weapons in the game of fence between us. - -“It is not customary for me to explain my position twice, M. Boreski,” -I said with a lofty air. “Let us get to the business of the interview -if you please. You will be seated,” and I waved my hand to a chair. - -“I thank your Majesty,” he replied with a deferential bow as he sat -down. - -“We understand, of course, the peculiar nature of circumstances leading -to the interview and the importance attached to the papers which you -have. Where are they, if you please?” - -“Ready to be produced the moment your Majesty has settled the -preliminaries.” - -“You have named very high terms, monsieur.” - -“His Highness, in your Majesty’s name, has already agreed to them,” he -returned quietly. - -“But we are now face to face, monsieur, and we can re-open the whole -matter. I propose to do that, and I invite you to tell me now precisely -your ultimate object and your inner motives.” - -The question surprised him, and he pursed his lips and frowned in -thought and looked across at Helga. - -“I do not understand your Majesty.” - -“Come, come, monsieur, you must do that. You are young, you have a -great career before you as a maestro, they tell me, a career which -means ample rewards in money in these days--so that you cannot be -seeking money only. What, then, is it?” - -“Your Majesty is good enough----” - -“Stay,” I put in then. “I have explained to Mademoiselle Helga that I -am strictly incognito. Regard me as no other than the American, Mr. -Denver, and let us talk this out as man to man. Forget that there is -any one present but a private individual who has influence with an -absent Emperor. Now tell me frankly what is the real object you are -seeking?” - -“You are very gracious, but my object has already been explained--I -desire to marry the Duchess Stephanie.” - -“As a means to what end?” - -“Marriage is an end in itself,” said Helga, speaking for the first -time, and coming to his rescue. - -“That would make M. Boreski a mere fortune-hunter, mademoiselle, an -extremely distasteful and invidious part to play.” - -They were both surprised at the turn of things and were silent for some -moments. - -“I thought this part of the matter had been definitely settled,” said -Helga; and then for the first time a suspicion crossed my mind that the -man was taking his cue from her. - -He said quickly-- - -“So it has been.” - -“Are you tired of your art, monsieur? If you were to marry the Duchess -Stephanie your career must of course end. What, then, do you expect -to gain in its place? Money? What is a million roubles”--I only just -avoided saying a hundred thousand dollars--“to a man with your gifts? -Do you seek place, power, influence? Let me remind you, you are forcing -your way into a circle which will never receive you as an equal. -Political influence will be impossible for you--the Emperor himself -would be inflexible on that point. If I read you aright, you are a man -with ambition and individuality; and neither ambition nor individuality -is content to be a mere adjunct to a wife.” - -“In America is not affection regarded as a possible basis of marriage, -M. Denver?” asked Helga; and I turned with a smile to her. - -“My kinswoman”--I made the slip intentionally and then corrected -it--“the Duchess Stephanie is no longer so fascinating as in her youth, -mademoiselle. I am only dealing with facts.” - -“M. Denver has no wish to insult me or the Duchess, I am sure,” said -Boreski, a suggestion of anger in his tone. - -“Do I understand then that you are in love with the Duchess?” - -“That is a point which, with all deference, I will not discuss,” he -returned firmly; but despite his firm tone I thought I could discern -evidence that I had struck home. - -“M. Boreski is irrevocably pledged to the Duchess,” said Helga, “and in -honour he could not draw back.” - -“The Emperor would find means to meet that difficulty,” said I. “But -be it so. I have come with the written consent to the marriage;” and I -took out the papers which Prince Kalkov had given me, glanced at them -and laid them on the table. - -Boreski’s face brightened. Then I added casually-- - -“I should have thought, indeed, that we might have torn up the consent -to the marriage and made the draft here for two millions instead -of one. A fortune and individual freedom would have seemed to me -preferable--especially if coupled with it was a complete condonation of -all other matters and--intrigues.” - -I paused before the word and watched him. The mention of the higher sum -had brought a light of avarice into his eyes, which gave way abruptly -to surprise and suspicion as I finished. - -“Intrigues?” - -It was Helga who put the question, and Boreski looked across at her so -doubtfully as to suggest fear. Then he took out his handkerchief and -wiped his lips. - -“Intrigues, mademoiselle,” I replied quietly. “M. Boreski knows my -meaning.” This forced him to speak, and his voice was nervous. - -“I am at a loss to understand you, monsieur.” - -I paused and looked at him steadily until his eyes fell. - -“Your sources of secret information are so many, monsieur, that I am -sure you can ascertain that. Shall we say twice the amount and tear up -this consent?” - -He fidgetted with his handkerchief, and then making a great effort for -self-possession he put it away and answered, with a spice of doggedness. - -“I have named my terms and they have been agreed to.” - -“As you will. But of course you understand that without that -condonation--or pardon--even one so highly placed as the husband of the -Duchess Stephanie may be called upon to answer for his acts.” - -I waited to give him a last chance, and during the silence he was -obviously embarrassed. - -“You make grave accusations very lightly, M. Denver,” said Helga, -coming to the rescue again. - -“Do you think we cannot prove them, mademoiselle?” I asked looking her -straight in the face. The man’s manner made me very sure. But she could -act much better than he: women can as a rule. Her steady look changed -to a winning smile. - -“What do men do in America, monsieur, when they are so fortunate as to -discover a mare’s nest?” - -“They console themselves if they find in it a woman’s smile, -mademoiselle,” I replied lightly, “or take her assurance that it is -nothing more serious.” - -“What can be more serious than a woman’s smile, M. American?” - -“A man’s nihilism, mademoiselle, for one thing. But come, here are the -papers, M. Boreski. I shall have the pleasure of addressing you as -Count, I shall hand to you the consent to your unmercenary marriage, -and shall give you the draft for a million roubles as the dowry -conferred by a grateful Emperor. Where are the papers for me?” - -He put his hand to his pocket. - -“I----” he paused suddenly and then said hesitatingly, “I--I will get -them. I have your permission to withdraw?” - -He had himself in hand again. - -“And to return--with the papers. Will you also see that a carriage is -ready?” - -As he rose I intercepted a very meaning glance between the two, and -then once more Helga and I were alone. - -All had gone smoothly so far; but there was clearly much that I did not -yet understand, and I turned to Helga to question her. - - - - -CHAPTER V--A CZAR DEFIED - - -Helga met my eyes readily with something like a challenge in her own, -and as the first question was on my lips, a thought struck me. It was -odd that coming to such an interview he had not brought the papers with -him. I said so to her. - -For answer she just looked at me and smiled. If she did not know the -disarming power of her smile I felt it. - -“You like to mystify me,” I said. - -“Why were you so hard on poor M. Boreski, and why”--she paused as if -to calculate the effect of her words--“why do you suspect us of being -Nihilists?” - -“You? I did not say anything about you. It was M. Boreski.” - -“Is that quite candid, M. American?” It was an audacious stroke, -considering whom she believed me to be. - -“Your assurance would suffice to convince me.” - -“You put your sharp questions in flattering covers, monsieur. But your -compliments have barbed points.” - -“Is it a barbed point that I would trust your word implicitly?” - -“If I thought that, oh, if I _could_ think it,” she exclaimed with -great earnestness, clasping her hands strenuously. - -“Why should you doubt it?” - -She turned full upon me. - -“Because you do not know me; because----” she broke off and then said -steadily, almost defiantly: “I am no Nihilist, nor is M. Boreski.” - -“And he has had no dealings with them?” I felt convinced that he had. -“I mean to your knowledge?” - -“You cross-examine like a lawyer.” A flash of scorn was in her eyes as -she looked at me angrily. “If we have had what you term dealings with -them, it was because it was necessary, and no other way was left to me.” - -“You are not afraid to handle edged tools, and I am sorry to hear what -you say.” - -“I am not afraid of anything that can help my purpose.” - -“I never heard of Nihilism helping anything or anybody.” - -“I choose my own means, and go my own way,” she said defiantly. - -“I can believe that; but I am not accusing you, nor need you defend -yourself--to me. I believe that whatever you have done, you have been -driven to do, and have believed yourself justified in doing--for this -great purpose you speak of. But others may think very differently.” - -“You do not ask what it is. You do not care, I suppose. Yet----” There -was pain now in her voice, and a sigh finished the broken sentence. - -“It is better that I should not ask,” I said after a pause. She had -made me forget for the moment, in my solicitude for her, that I must -not have her confidence. “When will M. Boreski return?” - -“My purpose is revenge,” she cried with sudden vehemence, her face -suddenly set and stern and her eyes bright. “Revenge for a cruel, -cowardly crime, and wrongs as deep and bitter as ever weighed a woman -to the earth and filled her heart with burning rage.” - -“I beg you, mademoiselle, to say no more,” I protested. - -“But I wish to tell you. I must, I must. It concerns the pampered -villain who holds your confidence, Prince Kalkov, and”--she paused -and looked at me, her face fevered with excitement and her eyes full -of dread doubt, and then added in a low strenuous tone--“Prince Boris -Lavalski.” - -I had never heard the name, of course, and could not understand her -intense agitation. She searched my face as if hungry for some sign of -recognition, and seeing none, her own clouded and then paled. - -“Prince Boris Lavalski,” I echoed. - -“Oh, my God, my God, that it has come to this!” she cried in a passion -of despair; and she hid her face in her hands, giving way to such -uncontrollable emotion that my heart was wrung for her. - -She remained some minutes in the stress of her whirlwind grief; most -embarrassing minutes to me, for I knew not what to do or say, gladly as -I would have said or done anything to soften her distress. - -Suddenly she mastered her emotion, rose and faced me, her face worn, -strained, and white to the very lips, which quivered. - -“So be it, monsieur. You are still his enemy--and mine,” she said in -low measured tones. “Still the defender of that cruel monstrous infamy. -We are then to fight on.” - -“I am utterly at a loss to understand you, mademoiselle. God knows I am -no enemy of yours, and would only too gladly be your friend if----” - -“That is impossible, monsieur,” she interposed angrily, with the air of -an empress. “Shall M. Boreski return?” - -“I have been waiting for him,” said I, still mystified. - -“I sent him away that I might speak to you of this.” She touched the -bell as she spoke, and I noticed that she pushed it twice. - -“I did not know that you were his principal,” I said. - -“There are many things you do not know yet: as many indeed as you seem -quite unwilling to remember, or anxious to forget.” She was very bitter. - -“I assure you----” - -“Is it necessary, monsieur?” she asked contemptuously, making one feel -about as mean as a man could feel. - -Until M. Boreski came in we said no more, and as he entered he shot a -swift questioning glance at Helga. - -“His Majesty is anxious to conclude the interview, M. Boreski.” - -He seemed to take his cue from her words and hostile manner. - -It was clear that a considerable change was at hand, and I awaited the -unfolding of it with interest. - -Boreski treated me with the same deference as before, and having asked -my permission, resumed his seat and produced the papers. - -“The papers for the Emperor are here,” he said. - -“Give them me;” and I held out my hand for them. - -But this he would not. - -“With extreme deference I submit that I be allowed first to examine -those which you bring, monsieur. If the request should appear strange, -I beg you to remember that Prince Kalkov has already once broken faith -with me this evening.” - -“You are cautious, Count Boreski.” He started and flushed with pleasure -as I thus addressed him by his new title. “But why should I trust them -to you? If it comes to faith-breaking, are not those documents stolen? -Surely there is a breach of more than faith behind your possession of -them. Why then should I trust you?” - -“I fear then we have reached an _impasse_,” he said, with a courteous -bow as he spread out his hands. - -“Not a bit of it. Hand yours to Mademoiselle Helga.” I turned to her. -“You will hold them, mademoiselle, and give them to me when this -cautious gentleman has satisfied himself that these are in order?” - -“With your permission, the matter is no concern of mine,” she replied -coldly. - -“It seems to me that you are both anxious to raise difficulties.” - -Helga shrugged her shoulders, and Boreski spread out his hands -deprecatingly. - -“With all deference, I submit I am not asking too much to be allowed to -examine documents of such vital importance to me.” - -I thought for a moment. If I parted with the papers and did not get the -others in exchange I should be pretty considerably euchred; but on the -other hand his request was not unreasonable. Then I saw the way out. I -remembered that I was armed. - -“Very well. You can see them,” and I pushed them across to him, and -rising, stood between him and the door. - -“Your confidence in our honour is very striking, monsieur,” said Helga -scornfully. - -“Is that fair? I offered to trust them to you, and you replied it -was no concern of yours. I am now dealing with the holder of stolen -documents.” - -“And you judge M. Boreski by the standard of the persons who surround -and advise you continually. No doubt you are right according to your -experience,” was her bitterly spoken retort. - -“Your anger and injustice are too manifest to need a further reply from -me, mademoiselle,” I returned. - -Boreski scrutinized the papers carefully, and presently I saw him start -and lay one aside. I wondered if he could have discovered any forgery -among them. - -“There is one grave point here, and one of less importance,” he said at -length; and putting the papers together he handed them back to me, with -the draft for the money on the top. “This draft is dated three days -hence.” - -I took them and went back to my seat. - -“The reason is obvious. This is in the nature of a dowry, and as such -will be paid on your marriage, and not before it.” - -“With all submission, I cannot so regard it, and I cannot accept the -draft as complying with the agreement.” - -It was just the hitch I had foreseen and pointed out to old Kalkov; but -how to get over it I did not see. - -“And the point of minor importance; what is that?” - -“The consent to the marriage is dated, and if a date is to remain, it -should be that of a week or a month ago.” - -“Why?” - -At the quick question he looked across at Helga, who shrugged her -shoulders. - -“I do not see why you should not say. It concerns both the objections -and accounts for them,” she said. - -“The Duchess Stephanie is already my wife, monsieur,” said Boreski. - -“The devil she is,” I exclaimed in genuine astonishment. “That puts the -whole thing on a totally different footing.” - -“It entails the consent being dated back, and makes the dowry payable -at once, monsieur.” - -“It means also that you have put your head in a noose, and have -forfeited the Duchess’s fortune, since her marriage has taken place -without my--without the Emperor’s consent;” and I folded up the papers -and put them back in my pocket. - -“It certainly produces a quite interesting complication,” said Helga, -smiling. - -“It does not affect the gravity of the papers I hold here,” and Boreski -tapped them slowly with his long white fingers. - -For the life of me I couldn’t see a way out of the maze. Had I been -really the Emperor, I might have done it by sending instructions to old -Kalkov to pay the million roubles; then by writing a fresh consent to -the marriage I could have secured the papers, and so have made an end -of the thing. - -But I felt that Kalkov would only laugh at such a request from me, -while of course I could not write a single word without the discrepancy -of the handwriting being at once apparent. - -I was loth to go back and admit my failure; but this I saw at length -was the only resource. Every moment that I hesitated made the affair -worse, so I put as bold a front on matters as I could and got up. - -“This new admission of yours, M. Boreski,” I said with an assumption of -dignity, “is so serious as to require consideration. Be good enough to -have a carriage brought for me at once. The interview is at an end.” - -He had risen with me and stood in indecision, when Helga interposed and -took the lead in her own hands. - -“You do not quite understand the position, I fear, monsieur,” she said -slowly. - -“Do you mean I am not free to go--after your promise to me?” - -“Oh no, no,” she cried, with one of her smiles. “I myself will order -your carriage.” She rang the bell, and when the servant came she told -him to order a carriage at once. - -“I was sure of you, mademoiselle, and regret my hasty suspicion. You -will pardon it?” - -“It was a natural inference--for one accustomed to treachery,” she -replied, with soft sarcasm. “But we really are not traitors here. The -way is open for you to leave--if you dare, monsieur?” And the challenge -was in eyes, face, voice and manner alike. - -“Dare? That is a strong word, mademoiselle.” - -“Intentionally strong,” she retorted, with cutting deliberation. -“Intentionally strong. I have been patient under injury, and have -endured injustice, hoping, praying, and waiting for redress; living for -the interview which I have had to-night--and had in vain. And now my -patience is exhausted, and you have drained it to the dregs. Had there -been a spark of just feeling left in your heart, a faint wan glimmer of -desire to right the wrong done to mine and to me, and to wipe out the -cruel stain of unmerited infamy, the name I mentioned to you to-night -would have kindled the desire until, fanned by the remembrance of old -and tried and dear friendship, it would have burned steadily with -a bright avenging flame.” She spoke without passion in slow level -accents. - -I had not the faintest suspicion of her meaning. - -“What name was that?” I asked, having even forgotten it. - -The question drew a smile of contempt from her. - -“I will not insult myself by repeating it.” - -“The carriage is at the door, mademoiselle,” announced the servant. - -“You can go, monsieur,” she said, when the man had left. - -But she had startled as well as interested me, and I hesitated. - -“I think you should speak more plainly. I am honest when I say I do not -understand you.” - -Boreski had now passed out of consideration, and he stood back watching -us two, as if acknowledging her leadership. - -“You wish for plain speaking. You shall have it, monsieur--from the -enemy you have made to-night. This is my work,” she said proudly, -pointing to the papers in Boreski’s hands. “My work, only. I sought at -first by all fair means to reach your--the Emperor’s ear, believing, -like the fool I was, that he would do me justice. But his minister was -too powerful, too vigilant, too alarmed to let my complaint reach his -ear. I knew why. God, how well I knew it! Then, and not until then, -when I had failed by open means, I had recourse to these. I joined -hands with another of Russia’s victims, M. Boreski here, and with him, -through the Duchess Stephanie, I found the means I sought. God knows -Russian duplicity gives many chances, and one of them came my way, -putting me in a position to gain by force the justice which was denied -to mere pleading.” - -She paused again, but I did not speak. - -“Those papers--but you know their purport well enough--mean the -exposure of Russian craft in every Court in Europe, with probably a war -with the Powers that have been tricked and fooled. They know already -that we have secret information, and we have been in negotiation with -them. But I am a Russian, too, and planned this interview, hoping that -when face to face with you I could touch the heart so long dead to the -cries of friendship. I have failed; I see that. You will not remember; -you cannot forget; even for you that would be impossible. You have -denied me justice, but I thank my God you cannot take from me all my -revenge.” - -Her passion was rising fast now under the stimulus of her remembered -wrongs, and she went to the door and threw it open. - -“Go, monsieur, go,” she cried, with a magnificent gesture of defiance. -“Cross the threshold in the mood you are, and as I live, those papers, -proofs as they are of your ministers’ infamous treachery, shall be in -the hands already stretched out eagerly to receive them--the hands of -Russia’s enemies. That is what I mean. Go, monsieur, go--if you dare.” -She held the door open and stared at me in indignant defiance and -challenge. - -Was ever a man caught in a closer meshed net than that which held me at -that moment? - -I stood fumbling with the situation in sheer and desperate perplexity. -I remembered old Kalkov’s words that the papers might plunge the -country into war, and that at any cost they must not be allowed to get -into the hands of the Powers concerned. Yet if I left the house it was -straight to those Powers they would go. - -If, on the other hand, I remained, what could I do? - -If I admitted to Helga that I was no Emperor, but a fraud, her anger -would probably be increased, and she would carry out her purpose just -the same. While if I went on playing at being Emperor, and listened to -her story, I could do no good. It was out of my power to grant her the -justice which she deemed had been denied. I should only be cheating her -and emphasizing the lie which my presence as Emperor constituted. - -To fall back on old Kalkov and curse him for having got me into the -mess was comforting but unpractical; and I stood like a fool, probably -looking the fool I felt, as I gnawed my moustache and twisted my beard -in imbecile indecision. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER - - -How long I stood there, hesitating and embarrassed, while Helga -was holding the door open for me in that queenly pose of splendid -indignation, I do not know, but realizing at last that I could not go -and leave her to execute her threat, I turned back rather sheepishly -and sat down again. - -“You have put the thing on such a different and so unexpected a footing -that we had better wait at least until you are calmer,” I said. - -But she was in the mood to push her triumph to the utmost. - -“I shall never be calm on this subject. It is for you to say at once, -monsieur, whether you decide to go.” - -“I don’t see any such necessity,” I answered curtly. - -It is difficult to describe my condition of mind. The thing was really -nothing to me. Whether Russia went to war with twenty other countries -would not have troubled me. I had no concern whether her diplomatists -had made fools of themselves, and that Helga should have them by the -throat rather pleased than angered me. And yet I was as irritable as a -millionaire when his digestion goes wrong. I suppose I was in a temper -at having been beaten. No one cares to look small in the eyes of a -woman he admires as I admired her. And small I certainly felt and must -have looked. - -Although I avoided her eyes, she stood holding the door still open, and -looking at me as if to read my thoughts. - -“Are you going, monsieur?” she asked, after a long pause. - -“No, I’m not--yet.” I spoke bluntly, almost rudely; and with a shrug -and a lift of the eyebrows, she left the door and crossed the room to -her former place. - -“M. Boreski, will you see that the carriage is sent back to the stable, -and is kept in readiness for M. Denver?” - -Boreski understood her, and going out shut the door carefully behind -him. - -I made no attempt to speak, but sat staring moodily down on the ground -and trying to think; and Helga on her side was resolutely silent. -Several minutes passed in this dead silence until it got on my nerves. -She forced me to break it. - -“Well, what is it you want?” I asked, most ungraciously. - -The way she met me was characteristic. She laughed softly and sweetly, -and looked across at me. - -“My mood has passed, monsieur,” she said, quoting my words. “Shall we -wait for yours to pass also? Permit me?” and she rose and offered me a -cigarette from a dainty gold case. - -“I would rather smoke something stronger, with your leave.” I took out -a cigar, and she lighted a cigarette; and another long silence fell -between us. She broke it this time. - -“You have made me your enemy, and I have beaten you so far; but you -will not find me ungenerous.” - -“Generous or ungenerous, I don’t see any way out of the tangle. I won’t -listen to any more of your story; and you can’t use those papers. I -don’t know what it is you want, and if I did, it would be no use, for I -could not grant it. And there’s the deadlock.” - -“Is it, after all, necessary that we should be enemies?” - -“Apparently it is. There are certain things which I cannot tell you -from my side, and certain others I will not hear from you. It is your -own fault.” This was very un-Imperial talk, but I was sick of the whole -Emperor business, and still suffering from mortification. - -The change in my manner appeared to strike her, for she looked at me -sharply and replied as if with surprise-- - -“Have I ventured to ask you for your confidence about yourself, -monsieur?” - -“I did not mean to imply that you had. There is one thing,” I added, as -an idea occurred to me. “Shall I send for Prince Kalkov?” - -“Under no circumstances shall he cross my door,” she answered with -prompt and unmistakable resolution. - -“Will you postpone dealing with those papers then until I have had an -opportunity of consulting him? That may prove a solution.” - -“I know Prince Kalkov too well. Within five minutes of your leaving -my house those papers will be on their way to the destination I have -indicated.” - -“Then in Heaven’s name what are we to do?” - -“If you will listen to my story you will see that Prince Kalkov is the -man I accuse.” - -“But there are insuperable reasons why I cannot and will not listen.” - -“Then it is for you to find the solution.” - -“I can probably do that if I can communicate with him.” - -“Shall I order the carriage again?” - -Checkmate again, and I tossed up my hands in hopeless perplexity. - -She was obviously resolved that I should hear all she had to say, and I -was equally determined, knowing the worse than futility of the thing, -not to listen to her; and there we sat, in a contest of wills and wits, -until the absurd side of the position began to appeal to me. - -“It seems to me you are resolved to make me a prisoner.” - -“On the contrary, monsieur, the door is open, and a carriage ready at -your instant command. If you remain, it is by your own desire, and of -your own free will.” - -“Free will, when you place an impossible barrier in the way of my -going? So long as I remain here you will not part with those papers?” - -“So long as the hope remains that you will hear me and do me justice.” - -“The thing is so preposterous.” - -“The alternative is for you to choose.” - -It was then that I began to contemplate seriously the course of -remaining in the house for the night. I should at least gain time; and -time might bring a solution. - -“It is a dainty prison, but still a prison, although the bars are -invisible, and the gaoler yourself. You realize the responsibility of -what you are doing?” - -“I am prepared to face any responsibility, and you would be my most -honoured guest.” - -She spoke very seriously, but there was a light in her eyes that told -not only of triumph, but of laughter scarcely restrained. For all the -seriousness behind the position, she saw the humour of it and enjoyed -it. And so in truth did I; for nothing on earth would have pleased me -better than to be in her company for any number of days, if I could -only have divested myself of my confounded Imperial character. If she -could have read my thoughts, what would her own have been! - -I had to keep up the farce of assumed disinclination, however, and was -meditating the best line to take when an interruption came. - -The door was opened, and a servant announced--“M. Paul Drexel.” - -A flush of extreme annoyance mounted to Helga’s face at the entrance -of the new-comer, who was the reverse of a pleasant-looking man. He -was about forty years of age; short, broad-shouldered, inclined to -corpulence, awkward and ungainly in figure. His features were coarse -and Jewish in character; he had beady, twinkling, stealthy eyes, and -his manner suggested a mixture of truculence and cunning. - -Altogether he looked entirely out of place in Helga’s drawing-room, and -I wondered what on earth could have brought him there, a wonderment -which became genuine astonishment when he advanced with as much -confidence as if he were the master of the house, and said in Russian-- - -“Good-evening, Helga. You see I have come after all. Is this the -company you said would engage you?” He turned to me with a questioning, -half suspicious, and rather insolent glance. - -“If I had wished you to come I should have asked you,” she replied, -repressing her ill-humour. “Your visit is ill-timed.” - -I watched her very closely and detected something very much akin to -repugnance in her glance. - -“Possibly;” he laughed shortly. “But as I am here, introduce me.” - -There was a moment’s indecision before she answered. - -“This gentleman is an American, and does not speak Russian.” - -“American, is he? Well, I suppose I have a right to know the friends of -my----” - -This time she broke in quickly and interrupted him. - -“I have already told you your visit is unwelcome.” - -“I heard you,” he returned so rudely that I could have kicked him. -“What language does he speak?” - -“He understands Russian and speaks French.” - -“Why didn’t you tell me? I speak French easily enough;” the second part -of the sentence was in French. “Good-evening, monsieur,” he said to me, -“I am glad to meet you. Any friends of my----” - -“M. Denver, this is M. Paul Drexel.” - -He started at this second interruption, and looked at her half angrily. - -“Is that all you wish to say? Why?” Their eyes met for a moment, and he -seemed to have the best of it, for Helga added-- - -“I am engaged to marry M. Drexel, monsieur.” He smiled and rubbed his -fat hands over his little triumph, and was so pleased with himself that -my start of amazement escaped him. - -“And I am of course pleased to know Helga’s friends.” He threw himself -into a chair and continued to rub his podgy hands. If I had thought him -a cad before, he was now positively hateful, and his vulgar assurance -sickened me. - -He took out a cigar, and as he turned away to light it I saw Helga -wince, bite her lip, and clench her hands tightly. I could see that -she was suffering; but this only added to my perplexity. - -“So you are an American, M. Denver. A fine country yours; I was never -there, but shall go some day.” - -“I am sure America will appreciate the honour,” I said blandly. It was -no concern of mine to conciliate the little cad; but he only chuckled. - -“Good, very good. I suppose it did sound as if I thought I should be -honouring the place. But I am content with Russia;” and he settled -himself in his luxurious seat as if he were indeed very content. “I -shall enjoy a talk with you about your American Government some day, M. -Denver.” - -I made no response to this approach; but it made no difference to him; -no inroad upon the stockade of his self-complacency. He babbled on with -remarks of the kind, and then let fall a question which seemed to have -something behind it. - -“I suppose you have lived much in America?” and his beady black eyes -shot a swift sly glance at me. - -“Even Americans are at home sometimes,” I replied. - -“Good again, good again,” he laughed. “You are great travellers, -globe-trotters, eh? And you yourself speak French so well; quite as -well as most Russians indeed; and you understand Russian too, Helga -tells me. Do many of your countrymen understand Russian?” and again the -little sharp eyes came at me. - -“My father was in the diplomatic service, M. Drexel, and as a child I -was educated in Russia, Germany and France, and thus learnt all three -languages.” - -Helga gave me a look of thanks which the man intercepted; and he stared -at her, a cunning smile on his flabby face. - -“Quite a linguist, you see, Helga,” he said, and then assuming a -casual tone--“By the way, the friend you were expecting did not come -after all?” The tone did not deceive me. I saw that he knew who I -was supposed to be, and that all this had merely been intentional -monkeying. - -Helga saw it as well, and answered calmly-- - -“M. Denver is the only friend I was expecting to-night.” - -“Then why try to fool me? Did you think I should not recognize--M. -Denver? Haven’t I a right----” - -“No;” anger and resolution in the sharp monosyllable. - -“Don’t you consider me interested in your plans?” - -“You will be glad to finish your cigar with M. Boreski, M. Drexel.” - -“No, thank you; I came to see you. I have nothing to say to Boreski -to-night--unless, of course----” He left the sentence unfinished except -for a look. - -“Unless what, M. Drexel?” The anger she had carefully suppressed until -now was getting the upper hand of her, and he saw it. - -“Unless you drive me to it, I mean;” this doggedly. - -“You are at liberty to say what you please to M. Boreski--or to any one -else.” - -“You are providing me with an excellent opportunity,” he retorted, -beginning to get angry in his turn, and glancing at me. - -“Use it. You may never have a better.” The answer was crisp and -supercilious--almost contemptuous. - -A quarrel between an engaged couple must always be embarrassing for a -third party, so I cut in-- - -“Pardon me, mademoiselle, may I withdraw?” - -“Where?” she asked, with a bright, quick, challenging smile. - -“I am in your hands,” I said, smiling back. - -“We will have M. Boreski in,” and she rang the bell. - -The little man fidgetted uncomfortably in his chair while we waited for -the servant and then for Boreski. When he came Helga murmured an excuse -and left the room. - -For an instant the thought that some sinister move was intended flashed -upon my mind, bred, no doubt, by my distrust of this unctuous little -cad; but my trust in Helga dispelled it. I felt sure of her. - -The two men eyed one another a moment, and it was easy to see that -there was little love lost between them. - -“Mademoiselle Helga is on stilts again to-night,” said Drexel. - -“You should not have come--unasked.” - -“Why am I kept out of this?” The question asked angrily. - -“Because you have no part in it and are not wanted,” returned Boreski -deliberately. - -“Nonsense. I shall do as I like. When you are tired of me you only have -to say so. You know the alternative.” - -“I beg to tender you an unqualified apology, M. Denver, for M. Drexel’s -presence,” said Boreski to me with his courtier-like air. “He has -forced himself here.” - -“You should have told me then who your mysterious visitor was, instead -of leaving me to fish it out for myself.” - -“I accept your apology, M. Boreski,” I said, in my grand manner. - -The little man flushed angrily and got up. - -“Some of us may live to be sorry for this night’s work,” he said, with -an unmistakable threat. It was clear that he held his position in the -house by virtue of what he could threaten. - -“I am sorry for it already,” declared Boreski quietly. He had certainly -the knack of putting a lot of sting into words which in themselves were -innocent enough. “You should not have come, I repeat.” - -“I shall do as I like. I am not to be bullied or sneered at.” - -“You will drive me to do one day as _I_ like, M. Drexel,” said Boreski -in his even suave tone; “and make me realize that there are less -unpleasant things than your--your alternatives. As you ought not to -have come, you had better go.” - -At this moment, to my relief, a servant entered and said to me-- - -“Your apartments are prepared, monsieur.” - -Both men started at this, and both displayed astonishment, Drexel -giving vent to a laugh. - -“I bid you good-evening, M. Boreski,” I said; and then to Drexel: -“Should I meet you or hear of you again, monsieur, this evening’s -experience will be in my memory;” and turning on my heel, I left the -room. - -As the door closed I heard Drexel’s voice: - -“My God! you play for high stakes, Boreski.” - -Helga was outside, and also caught the words. - -“How I hate him!” she exclaimed vehemently, her eyes flashing, and her -face set and strained. - -“Then you have other enemies--beside me?” I said, with a smile. - -The hard look passed away as she let her eyes rest on mine. - -“You will not always be my enemy, I hope, M. American.” - -“I could never be anything but your friend--even prisoner as I am.” - -“Shall I order your carriage, monsieur?” with smiling audacious banter. -“My guest has but to express his wishes here; my whole household is at -his command.” - -“You know why I cannot go. I am afraid of the other--Helga.” I paused -before her name, and she flushed when I used it. - -“All Helga could be such a friend, if you would let her.” - -“Well, she has a very willing captive--how willing, you do not seem to -realize.” - -She lowered her eyes and stood with bent head for a moment in silence. -Then she lifted it and looked frankly into my face. - -“I should not have thought, now that I have seen you, that you could be -so hard.” - -“Should I not rather say that to you? It is I who am the conquered, you -the conqueror. And you laid claim to generosity.” - -“Am I not generous?” - -“No; you take all--all.” - -“I don’t understand you,” she said, shrinking a little from my look. - -“When the time comes you will.” - -“And when will it come?” The question was eager. - -“I am almost afraid to think,” I answered softly, out of my inmost -thoughts. - -“The sooner the better. The sooner the better,” she cried. “You mystify -me.” - -“And am I not mystified?” I glanced at the room where M. Drexel sat. - -“Why can we not both speak plainly then?” - -“We will see what to-morrow brings,” I said, and held out my hand. - -She made as if to carry it to her lips. - -“I am really loyal,” she murmured. - -“It is I who am the subject to-night. I am only an American.” And as I -spoke I captured her hand and pressed my lips to it. “It is you, I say, -who are conqueror.” - -I went up the broad stairway, leaving her looking after me, smiling, -and I thought triumphant; and I hoped, pleased. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--“I AM NOT THE CZAR” - - -The apartments to which I was shown were as luxurious in their way as -the room in which I had been received, and as everything had obviously -been ready in advance, I had a shrewd suspicion that Helga and Boreski -had quite counted upon my remaining in the house. - -It was a queer position in all truth; and dismissing the man who had -been told to attend upon me, I lit a cigar and sat down to think it out. - -One thing was quite plain. Old Kalkov had been fooled as to the -objective of all the business. The marriage of Boreski with the Duchess -Stephanie was a mere cover for the other scheme, and a very clever -cover too, seeing that it had looked so amazingly like the sole end in -view. - -That was Helga’s wit; and to a point it had succeeded. But where her -plan had fallen to pieces was in believing that the Emperor would be -so mad as to come and see her in his own august person. The thing was -so monstrously absurd that I was surprised such sharp wits as hers had -believed it possible and had not suspected some imposture. - -That I had not been instantly detected for a fraud was indeed not the -least curious feature: and I could only conclude that having once -persuaded themselves to believe the thing possible, they were just in -the frame of mind which helped the self-deception. - -Probably my idea of playing at being myself had helped the deception, -because it was naturally a part I could keep up consistently. I had -been myself with occasional lapses into the Imperial imposture. And -that was all there was to it. What would happen when the deception was -discovered I could not even attempt to anticipate. - -The evening had effected a great change in myself. The axis of -everything had shifted. Helga’s personality and plans had taken -Boreski’s place; and whereas I had been anxious to wipe out my old -obligation to the Emperor and had had a languid, very languid, -willingness to checkmate Boreski, my feelings now were keenly enlisted -in Helga’s behalf. Provided I could arrange the affair of the -compromising papers, I was ready to throw myself heart and soul into -her cause. - -I had already thrown my heart, indeed. She was the most glorious woman -I had ever met; and as I sat back dreaming under the spell of her grace -and beauty and courage, I felt I would have given all I had in the -world to gain her confidence and help her to win her end, whatever that -might be. - -Then I fell to wondering what could be the strange secret that had led -to her betrothal to that fat, squalid, unctuous cad, Paul Drexel? What -hold could he have over her and over Boreski? What could possibly have -linked them together in that incongruous partnership? - -“How I hate that man!” - -Her words rang in my ears as the sight of her gloriously contemptuous -indignation haunted my eyes. What could make a woman of Helga’s courage -and man of Boreski’s daring--for daring he certainly had--so afraid of -a paltry common scoundrel as to drive them to play at this betrothal? - -Thank Heaven it was only playing. She would never stoop to become the -wife of a brute whom she admitted she hated. Her heart was free if I -could but touch it; she was to be won if only I--and there I sighed, -recognizing the tremendous difficulties, and, like a wise man, tossed -the end of my cigar away and got into bed, hoping that the night’s rest -would enable me to pick out the master thread of the strangely tangled -skein. - -I was up betimes and found my head clear on one point. - -There must be no more Emperor business, let the result be what it -would. I would tell Helga the truth, even if the heavens fell; and I -went down with this purpose strong in me. - -Then I would tell her of my friendship with the Czar and offer my -services as a direct intermediary to bring about an interview between -them. - -She was in the garden among her flowers, and in her simple morning -costume, with the fresh colour in her cheeks, she looked even lovelier -than on the previous night. - -She welcomed me with a smile and held out some flowers. - -“I am an early riser, you see. I love my garden. I have been out here -more than an hour. You have slept?” she added, glancing at my face -which was no doubt serious enough, for I rather dreaded what I had to -say. - -“Never better in my life,” I answered. “But I wish to speak to you.” - -“And does that prospect make you so serious? I ought to apologize -for exhaling such terrors.” She laughed gaily and bent over a flower -bush, and then glanced up half-coquettishly. “Let us wait a while. Be -merciful, and do not spoil my morning.” - -“What I have to say cannot wait, mademoiselle.” - -“I make a very bad listener when I am bending from flower to flower, M. -American. Unless it is that you are going.” - -“That will depend on how you take my news.” - -“Then you are not going at once,” she said quickly. “Are not these -lovely?” and she held up a bunch of flowers for me to admire, and -looked laughingly at me over them. - -“They are as lovely as----” I paused, looking into her eyes. - -“Well?” she challenged. - -“The hue of those blossoms rivals even that of your eyes.” - -“Is that an--an American form of compliment? I do not care for -compliments.” - -“My compliment was for the flower, mademoiselle.” - -“Very pretty--but too Western to be Russian monsieur. But come, we will -go in. I am always hungry in the mornings. Will you mind breakfasting -with me alone? M. Boreski is coming afterwards.” - -“I shall be delighted.” - -“What, to see him?” This with a gay little laugh. - -“No, to breakfast with you alone.” - -“Well, it will be practically alone. Madame Korvata, excellent guardian -and good soul that she is, has reached the age which thinks more of -what is on the table than of those who are at it.” - -“But I wish to speak to you alone.” - -“And keep me without my breakfast, monsieur! And is that--American, -too? I am far--far too hungry to talk seriously or even to listen. -Come;” and she led the way into the house, laughing as she went. - -Thus at breakfast nothing could be said. Madame Korvata, a small woman -well into the fifties, with large eyes and ample appetite, looked at -me sharply when I was presented to her, said that she had met some -pleasant Americans in her day and some very unpleasant ones, and then -seemed to forget all about me in the more absorbing and profitable -study of breakfast. - -Helga appeared desirous of impressing even on the servants that I was -an American, for she talked chiefly of my country, and seemed to take a -delight in putting intricate and searching questions. That I answered -them so easily caused her constant astonishment and some amusement. - -“How well you know your country, monsieur,” she said with a glance and -a lift of the brows. - -“It should not be surprising,” said I. - -“And yet it is--very. You appear to know it as well as--as Europe or -even Russia.” - -“I explained last night that my father was a diplomatist, and I had -advantages as a boy.” - -“And how deftly you turn things. You might have been trained in a Court -and picked up the facility there.” - -The shooting of these little shafts amused her intensely, and the meal -was punctuated with her laughter and sallies. - -When it was over she led me to the garden, and then excused herself. - -“I manage all my matters myself. I shall not be long, and then shall be -at your service.” - -“I must see you as soon as possible,” I said as she went off and Madame -Korvata came out of the house smoking her cigarette. I lit a cigar, and -the old lady waited and then said abruptly: - -“I like your face, monsieur. You are like our Emperor. But how did you -come to know Helga?” - -The question was very simple, but yet embarrassing; and when I -hesitated how to reply, she saw it and smiled. - -“Don’t answer unless you like. I hate bothersome questions myself, and -never press them. I always pretend never to hear them, indeed. A deaf -ear saves a lot of trouble. You think Helga pretty?” - -“Mademoiselle is far more than pretty; she is beautiful.” - -The old lady smiled at my enthusiasm, and took a couple of puffs at -her cigarette while she looked at me. - -“Ah, they all say that, monsieur.” - -“All, madame?” - -“And good, too,” she continued, pretending not to hear my question. -“Good, too. A big kind heart--and such a brain. Ah, she would be -a great woman if she had her rights. She would make a noble wife, -monsieur, a noble wife; but--she will never marry--that is until she -has them.” - -“You are very fond of her?” - -“Everybody is. She is more than a daughter to me. Without her I should -be--do you know the fate of destitute old women in Russia? God help -them, for the Government don’t. Helga does God’s part for me.” - -“And you think she will never marry, madame?” - -She glanced up with another of her slow, shrewd smiles. - -“Get her her rights, and then----” She paused. “She is affianced, but I -know what I think.” She shook her head gravely. “But no one can do it. -So they come and go--and always go at last, not to return.” - -I could not encourage her to talk about Helga’s matters, and I smoked -in silence, thinking over what had dropped from her; and when Helga -returned, Madame Korvata went into the house. - -“She has the sweetest nature,” said Helga; “but I suppose she has been -warning you. She always does.” - -“Warning me?” - -“She has one regret--that I do not marry. She thinks that marriage is -the only proper climax for a woman’s life, and that whenever any one -comes here, they come with that idea; and she always warns them that I -shall never marry.” - -“She suggested you might be influenced by material reasons.” - -“I? How do you mean?” - -“That if any man succeeded in getting you your rights, you would look -upon him with very different eyes.” - -Her face changed on the instant from amused astonishment to thoughtful -and intense earnestness. - -“You speak of what you do not know, monsieur, and will not hear. There -is nothing that could be demanded of me, no sacrifice however complete -or ruinous, no danger however deadly, I would not face for that. That -is my real life--all else is a mere setting and pretence.” - -“Can I speak to you now--without interruption?” - -“Would you prefer to be here or in the house?” - -“It is all one to me if you will listen seriously.” - -“Then let us speak here; it is my favourite walk.” And we turned into -the broad path circling a fountain and surrounded by flower beds -abundantly filled and carefully tended. “Now, monsieur.” - -“In the night I thought over all the strange situation, and this -morning came to a decision.” - -“There must be of course a decision one way or the other,” she put in -when I paused. - -“You will understand that before I came here I had no idea I was to -meet you. I expected to have to deal only with M. Boreski.” - -“That was part of my intention. In that I misled you, I know.” - -“It is nothing compared to the deception I have practised upon you; and -I can only plead the excuse that I should not have done it under any -inducements had I known of you. Please believe that.” - -“Deception? How do you mean?” - -“I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle; I am only what I have asked you to -regard me--a plain American citizen, Harper C. Denver.” - -If she was astonished at my confession or angry at it, she gave no sign -of either feeling. - -“That is a very serious confession,” she said, speaking very slowly. -“Very serious. _When_ did you decide to make it?” - -“This morning, realizing the present _impasse_.” - -“It is very ingenious, at any rate.” Her tone was sarcastic now. “It -did not occur to you to speak of such a--such a trifle last night.” - -There was still no anger in the glance she gave me. - -“Frankly, I was too overwhelmed for the time by the possible -consequences. But this morning I saw that the truth was at once the -simplest and best way out.” - -“The necessity for the--truth was a little late in emphasizing itself, -don’t you think?” - -“It seems so to you, no doubt; but I was on the horns of a very awkward -dilemma.” - -“And Prince Kalkov?” - -“Of course he knows it. I came at his instigation.” - -“And so you are really an American, and were in Russia as a boy, with -your father a diplomatist; and you have been in Germany and France, and -speak the languages without any of that horrible English accent; and -you understand Russian; and you came here from the Palace; and were -driven to the Palace the other evening, having been received with a -guard of honour; and you are the living image of our Emperor. Do you -know the Emperor, M. American?” - -She said it all with such unmistakably good-humoured disbelief that -when she had recourse to the term she had freely used the previous -night, I could not refrain from smiling. - -“The Emperor has done me the honour to make me his friend.” - -“You are very fortunate, M.--let me see, what is the name--M. Harper -C. Denver,” she replied with a gay laugh. “You are also an excellent -actor, having picked up many little gestures of the Emperor himself. It -is really a most wonderful coincidence.” - -“The reception at the railway station was planned by Prince Kalkov, -who knew of my coming and had heard from His Majesty of the strange -resemblance between us.” - -“Really, Prince Kalkov is more subtle than I thought him. Well then, M. -American, what do you propose to do?” - -She stopped and looked me full in the face with a smiling challenge. It -was plain as the Statue of Liberty that she didn’t believe a word of my -explanation. - -“I wish to discuss the situation with you frankly. I wish you to -believe that what I now say is absolutely true; and further, if you -will accept them, to place my services for what they are worth entirely -at your disposal. I would do anything to serve you and to atone in some -way for this deception of mine.” - -“You ask me what is impossible,” she answered readily. - -“You decline my assistance?” - -“No; I cannot believe your explanation--your confession, as you termed -it. I cannot; oh, I cannot;” and she laughed and shook her head. - -“I can only repeat it is the truth,” I said seriously. - -“I will be very frank with you and show you how it strikes me. You act -it now quite as cleverly as you acted the Emperor last night. You will -recall your little slips into the Imperial character; your manner in -dealing with M. Boreski, and again with M. Drexel. Well, you find that -to go away from here would compel me to deal with the compromising -papers--and in that I was and am entirely in earnest; nothing can -move me--and then you think by admitting this deception you can gain -indirectly what you naturally want and cannot get directly--that is, -time. I speak very bluntly, I fear, but this is so much to me that I -must do so. And I tell you this second move has failed as signally as -your first last night. I ask you to retract your--confession, monsieur.” - -“We seem to be getting deeper into the maze. What I have told you this -morning is the truth, mademoiselle.” - -“I will put a test to you. Will you hear my story?” - -“Yes, if you will pass me your word that you believe what I have said -this morning. I could not hear you last night, because I could not -accept your confidence in my false character of Emperor.” - -“You agree and then put an impossible condition. You have an intimate -knowledge of the ways of the Russian Court and diplomacy. I ask again -then, what do you propose to do?” - -“My intention was to go to the Emperor and gain for you the audience -you wish. I think I could do that.” - -“And meanwhile the papers?” - -“I hoped you would hold your hand at least until I had tried.” - -“If the Emperor would not hear me in this house, what chance would -there be of his doing so elsewhere?” - -“But I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle.” - -“To me you are, monsieur, and will continue to be; so that if you leave -here, I shall assuredly do what I said.” - -“Here we are at the _impasse_ again, then.” - -“It is you who cause it,” she retorted. - -“I can see no other way out of it than that I have suggested;” and as -she made no reply, we walked round and round the fountain in silence. - -The silence was broken by the sound of a galloping horse, and presently -a man, top-booted and travel-stained, hurried from the house towards us. - -“From M. Boreski, mademoiselle,” he said in Russian, handing her a -letter. - -She tore it open, and a newspaper cutting dropped from it, which I -picked up and held out to her. - -She read the letter quickly, started, paled slightly, and then glanced -at me, her expression a mixture of excitement and amusement. - -“Will you read what you have there? It is from a paper just issued.” - -I read it, and could not refrain from a smile on my part. It was very -short and ran as follows:-- - - “Slight indisposition of the Emperor.--We regret to learn at the - moment of going to press that His Majesty is suffering from a - slight chill, and, acting under medical advice, will remain in his - room to-day. We have the highest authority for saying that the - indisposition is very slight indeed, and at most will keep him - indoors for a couple of days. This announcement is necessary to allay - any anxiety on the part of the public owing to his inability to - review the troops in person to-day, as had been arranged. There is no - doubt, however, that he will entirely have recovered by the time of - the Crown Prince of Sweden’s visit three days hence.” - -Helga was waiting for my eyes as I finished, and when she saw my smile, -answered with a lift of the brows. - -“A singular coincidence, M. American?” - -“More probably cause and effect. Prince Kalkov has told His Majesty, -and this is for your further mystification, and to prevent the -deception being discovered through the Emperor’s presence at the review -to-day.” - -“Yes, I think with you there is cause and effect,” she answered. “Do -you still keep to your--confession?” - -“It is the truth, mademoiselle.” - -“I am afraid that you will find it as difficult to persuade others as -to persuade me. And in that lies the danger.” - -Her face clouded, and she tapped the letter. - -“Danger?” - -“This is from M. Boreski, and concerns you closely. You must read it -for yourself. It is a further complication.” - -A further complication it was in all seriousness, as a glance at the -letter showed me. - -It threatened indeed just a devil of a mess. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--DEEPER IN - - -Boreski’s letter ran thus:-- - - “I have just heard very disturbing news, and hasten to send it you, - while I go to make inquiries. Drexel and I had a somewhat serious - quarrel after leaving your house last night; very hot words passed - between us on the subject of M. Denver’s visit, and we parted - after some vague threats on his side, to which I paid no very great - heed. But this morning I learn from Vattel--whose information is, - as you know, generally reliable--that Drexel saw Vastic and some of - those with him, and has told them who M. Denver really is. You will - understand what is likely to happen at any moment, therefore, if your - visitor is not protected. I trust in God that all is well up to now. - All sorts of consequences are possible, and you should act at once. - It would be absolutely fatal to all concerned if anything were to - happen at your house; and my advice to you is either to let M. Denver - return home the instant you receive this or to leave the villa with - him and go secretly to Brabinsk. Precautions can be much more easily - taken there, and, more over, no one will then know where to look for - you. But for God’s sake act promptly. - - “The enclosed is from the just issued _Journal_, and shows how the - Court people are covering M. Denver’s absence. - - “I shall seek you as soon as I have definite news; but unfortunately - there is little room to doubt the gravity of things.” - - “L. B.” - - -“This means?” I asked when I had read it. - -“The Nihilists, monsieur.” Helga’s tone was firm and deliberate. -“Vastic is the name of one of the leaders of the extremists.” - -“You mean of the assassins?” - -“Among the most reckless of them.” - -“What will you do?” - -“My present scheme has failed,” she replied, still calmly. “I must -begin again; but I shall have proved my strength and I shall be -revenged. M. Boreski is right. You had better leave at once. I would -not have anything happen here for all the wealth of Russia.” - -“But I am not the Emperor,” I protested. - -“Need we play that sorry farce any longer? You had better go--and -without an instant’s delay, monsieur. Come, let us order the carriage;” -and she started towards the house. - -“And the papers?” I asked, following her. - -“My hand is forced by this. I shall use them.” - -“My God, what a mess!” I cried involuntarily. - -She paid no heed, but hurried me into the house, and gave orders for a -carriage to be brought round at once. - -“You are ready of course, monsieur,” she said quickly. - -But I had made up my mind. Her fear of “something happening” had given -me a cue. - -“I am not going, mademoiselle, without the papers.” - -“You will go, monsieur,” she replied, her face setting. - -“Then I take the papers with me, mademoiselle.” - -“On the contrary, monsieur, you will go without them.” - -“We shall see;” and I sat down with an intentional deliberation. - -“I have pledged myself for your personal safety. You must go.” - -The purpose in her voice strengthened with every sentence. - -“I will trust to my own right arm, mademoiselle. Without those papers, -I do not leave the house, come what may.” - -“You are dealing with a desperate woman, monsieur. You must go.” - -“Then give me the papers to take with me.” - -She came and stood opposite me, her eyes aflame, and her hands clenched. - -“You shall go if we have to use force to take you away;” and she moved -away and laid her finger on the bell. - -“You will not do that, mademoiselle.” - -“Why not?” she cried, turning round. - -“Because the man who seeks to lay hands on me will touch nothing else -in this life.” - -For a minute she stood silent in distracted hesitation. - -The silence was broken by the sound of the carriage wheels. - -“We will see,” she cried, and pressed the bell. - -“As you please;” and I rose and stepped back against the wall and drew -my revolver. - -At the sight of it she closed her eyes and threw up her hands with a -cry of fear and anguish, and then clasped her hands to her head. - -The servant came in then. - -“Is the carriage there, Peter?” - -“Yes, mademoiselle.” - -“Very well.” - -He went and closed the door. - -“Your Majesty, I beg you for the love of God to go and save your life. -Ah, do, do!” she cried distractedly. - -“I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle; and without the papers I cannot -and will not go.” - -She came nearer to me. - -“I beg and entreat of you. If you are caught here, think what will -happen to me.” - -“I have no discretion to think in such a case,” I answered firmly, -although the sight of her suffering wrung my heart. - -Almost before the words were out of my mouth she sprang forward in a -wild attempt to seize my revolver. But I had been in too many tight -corners in my life to be taken unawares, totally unexpected though the -manœuvre was, and I wrenched my hand away and held her harmless with -the other. - -“This is worse than madness, mademoiselle!” I cried. - -She gave up the contest then, and drawing away, fell into a lounge in -an attitude of despair. - -I had won the victory, but the fruits were too bitter. I put the -revolver away in my pocket and crossed to her. - -“Will you give me the papers?” I asked. - -“No, I will die first, and so shall you! Oh God, how hard you are! I -wish I had never seen you.” - -“Then I will go with you to Brabinsk, and we can settle things there.” - -She rose at once and shook off her emotion. - -“Do you mean that?” - -“Where I go is of no consequence to any one. I have to convince you of -your mistake. I will go to Brabinsk. I have to save you.” - -“You have no secret purpose in this?” - -“Is that fair? If you need it, I give you my word of honour to act -exactly as you wish--except in regard to those papers. I am resolved -they shall not be used.” - -“But you will be missed. You cannot stay away. You--oh, this is -madness, too, surely!” - -“You are wasting time.” - -She thought quickly; then smiled bitterly and shook her head. - -“No, monsieur, thank you. I do not walk open-eyed into a trap, however -cleverly laid. You know I must take the papers with me, and reckon to -get them by the way.” - -“That is a suspicion worthy perhaps of--M. Drexel. I do not thank you -for it. I am not such a mean cad. But that you may feel safe, you can -travel alone in the carriage and I will ride with, say, M. Boreski’s -messenger or any one you can trust to guide me.” - -“I am sorry for what I said. I do not think it; indeed I do not, -monsieur.” - -“We have not much time for explanations, mademoiselle. We must act.” - -“It might not be safe for you to be with me.” - -“We will put it that way if you like,” I said with a smile. - -“How dare you make such a hateful insinuation when I repent and retract -my words?” - -“We seem fated to misunderstand each other. But shall we do as I say? -Order saddle horses, and I will take steps to prevent any one believing -they can recognize me.” - -“Ivan could guide you.” - -“Then send Peter at once to my room. I will be ready in a few minutes;” -and without waiting for more I hurried away. - -In less than ten minutes Peter had shaved off my beard and moustache, -and had found me from somewhere a riding jacket. I ran down, and was -fastening my cloak across the saddle of the horse that was to carry me, -when Helga came out, dressed ready for the drive. - -She started on seeing the change in me, and at first scarcely seemed to -recognize me. - -“I should not have thought so simple a thing would make such a -difference in your looks,” she said. - -“I am ready to start, mademoiselle,” was my answer; and I swung myself -into the saddle. - -“You have been very quick.” - -“It is for you I am anxious. Au revoir. Now Ivan;” and without waiting -for more, I clapped the heels into my horse and cantered off. I looked -back as I rounded a bend in the avenue, and saw that Madame Korvata had -joined Helga, and that they were getting into the carriage. - -Ivan rode up to me as we came out upon the road. - -“To the right, if you please, your honour.” - -He looked along the road in the opposite direction somewhat anxiously, -but his face cleared. - -“Do you wish to travel fast?” - -“I am in your hands.” - -“I think it would be best for a few miles, your honour,” he said, and -accordingly we whipped along at a smart pace until the suburbs of -the city were left well behind. Then he struck through a number of -by-roads, until I was utterly at sea as to our whereabouts, except that -by the sun I could tell we were travelling north; and we fell into a -walking pace on reaching a very steep zig-zag hill. - -Ivan was a fine sturdy fellow, with a strong, very intelligent face, -and he sat his horse with consummate skill. I liked his looks. - -“You have been in the army?” I said, letting him come to my side as we -mounted the hill. - -“In a Cossack regiment, your honour.” - -“And prefer private service, no doubt?” - -“I have a good mistress, your honour.” - -“Oh, I thought you were M. Boreski’s servant.” - -“These are Mademoiselle Helga’s animals, your honour.” - -I had noticed before that all about her spoke of her either as -mademoiselle or Mademoiselle Helga, and never used any surname. - -“They are two good horses and in magnificent condition.” - -“I am responsible for the stables, your honour,” he said with a pleased -smile at the remark. - -“How far is Brabinsk?” I asked him next. - -“Twenty versts by the road the carriage will take--about twenty-six -by this road, your honour; but the horses could do twice the distance -easily.” - -“So far is it? I did not know.” - -We rode on in silence, and I noticed him directing curious sidelong -glances at me now and then, until at last he said-- - -“Your honour’s pardon, but your honour is not Russian?” - -I had been speaking Russian, and this had betrayed me. - -“No, I am an American,” I answered with a laugh. - -“Then your honour has crossed the sea. I have never seen the sea. I -have heard of America. And so you have political troubles there, too?” - -“Yes. We call them Tammany there.” - -The word puzzled him greatly, and he repeated it several times gravely, -shaking his head over the pronunciation. - -“Is it the same as Nihilism?” he asked. - -“No, indeed,” I replied, and attempted a brief description of -Tammany Hall and its methods. Either my description was vague or his -understanding of it imperfect, for his face took on an expression of -disgust. - -“What an awful country, your honour; what tyranny! I am glad I am not -an American. Yet after all one’s own country is best, I suppose, and it -must be sad to be an exile.” - -His tone and glance were quite pitying now. He regarded me apparently -as an exile. - -I began to be amused at him, and drew out some of his views on Russia. -The result surprised me. He was an intense and indeed a passionate -patriot, but he hated the Russian Government. The Czar, as the -God-appointed head of Russia, was a quite sacred person, a sort of -Fetish in his eyes; but the ministers round him were as the incarnation -of evil. For the Little Father it was the heaven-ordained duty of every -good Russian to lay down his life willingly and instantly; while he -seemed to suggest that it would be almost equally meritorious to take -the lives of those who did evil and ground the people in his name. - -I looked for the key to this queer mixture of political faiths in the -man’s association with Helga, and knowledge of her wrongs. - -“You are very devoted to Mademoiselle Helga?” I asked presently. - -“My life is hers if ever she should need it, your honour,” he answered -readily, simply and very earnestly. - -“You are a good fellow, Ivan,” I said; and soon after that we rattled -on again at the canter. As we rode, he evidently thought over what had -passed between us, for when we drew rein again he came up and said-- - -“I crave your honour’s pardon, but was it your honour who came last -night to mademoiselle’s villa?” - -“Yes. Why do you ask?” - -“I am mystified, your honour. It was you then whom M. Boreski bound -me by all I hold sacred to guard with my life. And yet you are an -American--a stranger--an exile. He told me----” - -He stopped and shook his head in perplexity. - -“What did he tell you?” - -“That I was to serve your honour as if you were the Little Father -himself; God keep him; that there was danger from the desperado Vastic; -that I should probably have to guide you by by-ways to the Palace from -the villa. And yet you are an American. I am filled with wonder.” - -“Don’t I look like an American, Ivan?” I asked, smiling. - -“Your honour has shaved since I first saw you. Then I thought you were -the---- I trembled at your look, my lord.” - -“Had I been what you thought, you looked for danger then?” - -“God would have given me strength to protect His Majesty. I am -mystified; but it is not for me to ask questions.” - -“You know this Vastic, then?” I asked next. - -“He is a good man, absolutely sincere, your--your honour,” he fumbled -now over the way he should address me, and his manner had changed from -frankness to nervous excitement. “Quite sincere; but a madman on one -point; and his madness makes him dangerous and reckless.” - -“A fanatic you mean against the Government?” - -“Against the Emperor. We have fought once for that, and he nearly -killed me. But we shall fight again, and then I shall win.” - -“How do you know that?” - -“It is fate, your honour; and, besides, I have practised.” - -The combination of fatalism and deliberate preparation tickled me, and -I smiled. - -“And you were afraid for my life then?” - -“Not yours only, your honour, not yours only; but mademoiselle and M. -Boreski’s also.” - -“Mademoiselle’s?” I cried with a start. “How and why?” - -“I crave your--your honour’s pardon, but I may not speak of my -mistress’s affairs.” - -“I am her friend as staunchly as you can be, Ivan; and if you can tell -me anything without speaking of her private affairs, do so.” - -He thought for a while. - -“It is only what I myself fear.” - -“Then you can surely tell me,” I said eagerly. - -“If your--your honour had been what I thought, and not an American -only, Vastic’s anger and that of those with him would have fallen on -mademoiselle herself.” - -“Why?” - -“It is so plain, your honour. He would have held it such treachery -for--for such a one to have been at the villa and to have left it -unharmed.” - -“My God!” I cried as the light burst upon me. “You mean they would -condemn the mademoiselle and M. Boreski for not having taken my life -when apparently they had the chance?” - -“Your honour can surely see that clearly.” - -As the full danger and possible horror of the thing rushed upon me, I -dashed my heels into my horse. - -“Come, then, for God’s sake! Let us get to her and see that she is -safe,” I cried, and we covered the remaining miles as fast as the -gallant beasts under us could travel. And gallantly they carried us; up -hill and down, without let or stop we rattled along, Ivan to the full -as eager and urgent as I, until we reached Brabinsk and drew up before -the door of a secluded house lying away from any road. I dismounted -from my sweating, panting horse, and asked for Helga. - -She had not arrived, and we were quite unexpected; but at a few words -from Ivan I was admitted, and he led the horses away to the stables. - -I was too anxious to remain in the house, and as soon as I had washed -and removed the traces of the reckless ride from my clothes, I went -out to the gate and waited with a feverish impatience for signs of her -coming. - -The thought of the danger into which she had plunged maddened me; and -I breathed a fervent thanksgiving when at length I caught sight of the -carriage. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--HELGA SPEAKS - - -“Thank God, you are safe,” I cried as I assisted Helga from the -carriage, my pent-up anxiety making my tone intensely earnest. - -“Safe? I?” and she looked at me in astonishment. “Why, has anything -happened?” - -“I am excited. Ivan has told _me_ of your danger.” - -“Then Ivan must be taught how to hold his tongue.” - -“I drew it from him, mademoiselle. I made him tell me.” - -“Could you not have asked _me_ about my own affairs?” - -“I did not question him about your affairs, of course.” - -“Then my supposed danger is not my affair?” - -“Why play with words? You must explain everything to me. I must know -all.” - -“Must?” with a lift of the brows. “Your ride seems to have made you -strangely impatient. Can you restrain it while I take off my hat, -monsieur? I am hungry, too, after my ride. Are not you?” - -“I am in a fever to know all, and that’s the truth.” - -“I must lecture Ivan for exciting you.” - -“I beg you to say nothing to that good fellow.” - -“You know that you look much more American now that you are clean -shaven, and seem to act up better to the part! But you must not take my -breath away;” and with a laugh she left me. - -If there was really the danger of which Ivan had spoken, Helga -certainly took it very calmly. But I could not be calm, and I paced up -and down the room fuming and imagining many evil possibilities for half -an hour, until a servant came to usher me to another room, where a meal -was laid and Helga with Madame Korvata were awaiting me. - -“Even if we are all going to die in ten minutes, we may as well have -something to eat first,” said Helga. - -“Considering the surprise and no notice, they haven’t done badly, -Helga,” declared Madame Korvata critically, looking at the well-spread -table. “What a blessing it is that when one reaches the age which -appreciates the importance of food, one has good food to eat.” - -I sighed, and Helga smiled at my impatience. - -“As you invited yourself to Brabinsk, monsieur, I will not apologize -for so impromptu a meal,” she said. - -“A crust of bread and a glass of water would be more than enough for me -in my present mood,” I answered restlessly. - -“Is your digestion bad, monsieur?” inquired Madame Korvata -sympathetically. “At your age you ought to be able to eat anything. You -look well and strong too; I should never have thought it.” - -“Thank you, I enjoy excellent health, madame.” - -“That’s made a great change in your looks, monsieur. You are not so -much like the Emperor now.” - -“Have you ever seen the Emperor without his beard, Aunt Korvata?” asked -Helga, with a glance at me. - -“No, my dear. I’ve only seen him once. I was judging, like most -people, by his portraits. You have never seen him very close, have you?” - -“I have often wished to,” returned Helga, with another glance. But my -restlessness was so insistent that this lightness jarred upon me, and -I remained almost moodily silent until the end of a meal that seemed -unendurably wearisome. I was consumed with my anxiety to question Helga -about Vastic--her Nihilistic associates and her connexion with them. - -“Can I speak to you alone, at once, mademoiselle?” I said as we rose -from the table. - -“Yes.” The answer came after a pause which made me think she was going -to put me off. We went into the room where I had first been shown. “I -have not been at Brabinsk for some time and wish to see to certain -things.” - -“I am sorry to detain you, but I cannot wait. I wish you to tell me the -nature of your and M. Boreski’s relations with this man Vastic and his -associates.” - -“So, then, you _are_ interested in part of my story--that part which -you think might bring me under suspicion?” - -“For God’s sake don’t let us fence with words. I am too anxious. You -know that you are doing me a gross injustice in saying such a thing, -and that my sole motive is concern for you--you yourself, and the -danger which may threaten you.” - -The earnestness of my manner made her earnest too. - -“How should I know that?” - -“Because I swear it; because you can read it in my acts. You must feel -it; I am sure you do.” - -She met my eyes, and seemed to understand some of the passion that I -felt was glowing in them. - -“You are incomprehensible, monsieur,” and her eyes fell. - -“You must see how I feel. Is it true that because you harboured last -night a man whom you believed to be the Emperor, you are likely to be -in danger from these reckless fanatics? That question has been burning -in my brain ever since the suggestion was prompted by Ivan’s words. -Is that to be the terrible consequence of this hapless, ill-conceived -visit?” - -“It was I who planned the visit, monsieur. Do you think I should not -foresee any possible consequences?” - -“My God, it’s true then!” I exclaimed. “How could you be so mad, so -blind, so reckless?” - -“Blind I was not; reckless you have made me.” - -“I?” - -“Well, Prince Kalkov and your advisers, monsieur, if you prefer that.” - -“But I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle,” I cried angrily. “That is -what I mean. You have incurred this fearful risk for nothing.” - -“You have said so already, many times, monsieur.” - -I tossed up my hands in despair and began to stride up and down the -room. - -“There must be an end to this,” I cried sharply. “I must find some -means of making you believe the truth.” - -She rose and came to me. - -“If I were in such danger as you think, would you help me?” - -“Show me how and test me.” She looked long and anxiously in my face. - -“Those are sweet words to hear,” she said, with a smile and a note of -triumph. - -I took her hands, and she left them in mine. - -“Tell me all about these men, and let us together see what is best to -do. The thought of your danger maddens me, Helga.” - -“You will listen to me now--hear all I have to say; and then help me in -the one purpose of my life?” - -“I will help you, God knows, loyally in everything--in everything; but -I cannot give you the kind of help you seek, because I am not the man -you believe. You must not give me your confidence while you hold to -that mistaken belief.” - -She was going to protest again--I read it in her eyes--but, instead, -she paused, and then asked-- - -“If I care not what you are, will you listen?” - -“Readily, readily.” - -“I will tell you then,” she said in a low tone, as she withdrew her -hands from mine gently. “I am Helga Lavalski.” She looked for some -token of recognition of the name from me, as she had on the previous -night, and when she saw none her face clouded, and she passed her hand -across her eyes as if in pain. - -“If I do not recognize the name, it is for the reason I have given you. -Until you spoke it last night, I had never heard of it.” - -“It is not possible,” she said in low accents of pain. Then, after a -pause, she lifted her eyes and continued: “If it must be so, we will -pretend that; but the time was when Boris Lavalski was the chosen -friend of--of His Majesty, and when the name was oftenest on his lips. -They were almost as brothers.” - -“You had better tell me all in your own way,” I said. - -“It is barely seven years ago that the change came which parted -them--a change due to the man I will name presently. My father stood -in that man’s path: the one was honest, the other a villain: and by -villainous, underhand, infamous methods a charge of treason was laid -and proved by perjured liars suborned by the arch-conspirator. You will -remember the Nihilist plot at the time?” - -I did not, but it was no use interrupting her to repeat my ignorance of -the whole affair. - -“Well?” - -“A truer and more loyal servant the Emperor never had, but his ears -were poisoned; the apparent proofs of an assassination plot were laid -before him; a trap had been set for my father, and by it he was ruined. -He was kidnapped and held a secret prisoner; the tale being spread that -he had fled the country; and in his absence the decree of banishment -was signed. As foul a crime as was ever committed.” - -“You have the proofs of this?” - -“That is not the worst. By an even fouler stroke an order for his -execution as a Nihilist was obtained. Many men were put to death at -that fearful time, and one of the orders with a name written in pencil -was signed by the Emperor. This name was afterwards erased and my -father’s substituted; and then another lying tale was carried to the -Emperor that a mistake had been made and my father had been put to -death.” - -“By Heaven, what consummate infamy!” I exclaimed. “But the proofs of -this! What and where are they?” - -“I was scarcely more than a child at the time, barely eighteen, but -I was included in the scheme. I should have been arrested had not my -friends hidden me and then hurried me from the country. Otherwise, I -should have gone to Siberia. As it was, I was proscribed and banished, -and all our possessions were seized in the name of the Emperor. Do you -wonder if I live but for revenge?” - -She paused, but I made no comment. - -“I took up the task eagerly. Two years afterwards I returned to Russia -in another name, and, girl as I was, I set myself patiently to hunt -down the powerful minister who had planned this crime and risen upon -it to higher honours. Bit by bit, a fraction here, a fraction there, -I collected the proofs, working always secretly, until a stroke of -fortune came my way, and a witness, who had been first a tool and then -a victim of the same powerful villain, laid the whole truth bare to me. -Meanwhile, by the death of a relative, I had become once more rich, -and could pay well all who helped me and promise them protection. It -was a terrible life for a young girl, monsieur, and in those few years -I lived a lifetime. But I had gained what I sought, the proofs and -witnesses to support me.” - -Triumph as well as anger was in the look she gave me. - -“I set myself then to gain your--to gain the Emperor’s ear and to get -my father’s case re-opened. But there I was baffled by the man who -stood between me and him. I had to fly the country, or my fate would -have been as my father’s had been; and those who worked for me were -no match for this man’s power and vigilance and cunning. I would not -accept failure, and I returned to Russia secretly to seek some other -avenue, and at that crisis I met M. Boreski.” - -“Had you better tell me his affairs?” I asked warningly, but she waved -the warning aside. - -“I am telling you everything. He is an exiled Pole--Count Primus -Noveschkoff--and for his part in a Polish plot he was exiled and -beggared. He is a great violinist, and I saw my way when I learnt -that the Duchess Stephanie had become enamoured of him and he of her, -strange as that may seem to you, who know her age and lack of personal -charms. I helped him to secure her for his wife for I knew the Court -would eventually pardon and ennoble him, and that through her I could -eventually gain the Emperor’s ear. The obstacles to such a match were -of course countless, but I was not daunted, and you know the scheme -that I laid--to gain the papers we have obtained--and how it has fared.” - -“And M. Paul Drexel?” Her face clouded at the question, and she paused. - -“I have told you once before I would do anything to gain my end.” - -“But how comes such a man to be on the scene at all?” - -“You are interested then in the story I have had to force upon you?” -she asked with one of her searching, half-triumphant, half-defiant -glances. - -“I am intensely interested in this part of your story,” I answered -earnestly. “What is he really to you? How comes he here? Do you mean -that you would marry such a man, despising him as you do, to gain your -purpose?” - -My string of questions, and the vehemence with which I asked them, -seemed to please her, for she smiled. - -“I would do even that--if it were necessary. He has forced himself upon -us, and his silence on certain things--why should I not tell you, I -have told you all,” she broke off. “I have trusted you.” - -“I know that.” - -“He knew M. Boreski’s real character and past, and it was in his power -to checkmate everything by denouncing him to the Government. He had -to be silenced, and his price was--the promise of my hand. I paid it, -only thankful he made it so light and did not insist on an immediate -marriage. I should have married him--then;” she dropped her voice at -the last word and paused before it. - -“And now?” I asked, my own voice a fraction unsteady. - -She waited before replying, and then looking up frankly said, after an -interval, in her usual calm tone-- - -“It will not now be necessary. You know my story.” - -The silence that followed was very embarrassing to me. It was clear she -still insisted upon believing I was the Czar. It was in that belief she -had spoken, and it was because of that same belief that she and Boreski -had been led to break with the man on the previous night. She was so -confident the mere recital of her wrongs to me--as the Emperor--would -secure the justice, to obtain which was the passionate desire of her -life, that I knew how bitter the truth would be when it was forced upon -her. It was just an awful mess, and I sighed involuntarily. She looked -up in quick questioning perplexity. - -“I am looking for some sign from you,” she said anxiously. - -“You have not told me of this man Vastic and his friends.” - -“I am no Nihilist, monsieur, but I have not hesitated to ally myself -with them and to use them. They could obtain certain kinds of -information which I was helpless to gain without them, and I was glad -to have their help. Indeed, I was compelled to have it.” - -“Good God! and didn’t you see the danger?” - -“Has my life been so even that I need fear an added risk or two? I have -helped them in my turn with money--thousands and thousands of roubles -I have given them.” Then, with a quick change to fierceness: “Why did -the Government make me an enemy? Why deny me my justice? Why destroy my -father and seek to destroy me? Why refuse to hear me? If it was to be -war between us, was I to be tender-handed in the weapons I used? Place -yourself in my position, monsieur, and say what you would have done.” - -“I would not have turned Nihilist,” I answered firmly. - -“Nor did I. I am as loyal to the Throne as any woman in Russia. If I -were a Nihilist, would you be alive now?” - -“I am not accusing you. I am thinking of your present danger.” - -“Danger!” she cried contemptuously. “I should despise myself if I sat -down to count every shadow of danger that crossed my path. Live a life -such as mine and you will come to laugh at dangers as I do. Nothing, no -not even the instant prospect of death itself, should stand, or ever -has stood, between me and my purpose. Could I have done what I have had -I been one of your timid mouse-scared women?” - -She looked glorious in her proud repudiation. - -“Still, we may as well sound the depths of it,” I said practically. -“Does Vastic know who you are?” - -“No.” - -“Has this Drexel any suspicion?” - -“He may have;” the reply was given with a contemptuous shrug. - -“To repeat my former question, if Vastic believes you had the Emperor -in your house and allowed him to leave, would he be likely to regard -that as an offence against the brotherhood?” - -“Probably.” - -“And punishable--how?” - -“They might decree my death.” - -“My God, and you speak of danger so calmly,” I cried. - -“Danger can always be faced, and generally met and overcome, monsieur.” - -Her courage was dauntless. - -“Does Drexel know of this place--Brabinsk?” - -“I think not. But he is a spy by nature, and may have found it out.” - -“He would surely tell Vastic and the rest?” - -“Surely, no; probably, or possibly, yes. There are limits even to the -courage of his baseness.” She paused, and then added, “If he thought -you were here, he might do anything.” - -I sat thinking intently, distressed and baffled by the knowledge of -the dangers among which she moved. She waited for me to speak, and -gradually an expression of dismay and pain clouded her features. She -was looking for some sign from me, as Emperor, that I would help her -to the object always foremost in her thoughts. And receiving none, the -belief that she had got her story to me and had yet failed to gain -the Imperial protection, chilled and hardened her. And well it might, -forsooth. - -I was too stunned by the enormous difficulties on all sides to see what -to do or say. - -Suddenly she rose, her manner half-anxious appeal and half-veiled -threat as she said-- - -“The man who ruined my father was your confidential adviser and his -former friend, Prince Kalkov. If you feel that he is too valuable to -you, you will probably do nothing and leave me to deal with those -papers as I will. But I beg your--I beg you, monsieur, to think, if -not of my father and my wrongs, at least to consider what it may mean -to Russia. In an hour doubtless you will be able to decide and leave -Brabinsk. And remember, oh remember, how I have trusted you and how -much I have built upon this interview.” - -And without waiting to hear the protest that sprang to my lips she left -the room. - - - - -CHAPTER X--VASTIC - - -It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped -out through the window into the gardens to think. - -The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had -filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I -vowed I would in some way. But she herself made that help extremely -difficult to plan. If I left the place without giving her some pledge -in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of -those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing -anything. - -There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge -I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real -Emperor that she desired. But so much further deceit and lying would -be involved that I ruled out the idea at once. - -There was also one other feeble way--to get some communication to the -Emperor, telling him the whole thing, and leaving him to act. But while -such a plan might possibly do good, it was much more likely to do harm. -Prince Kalkov would be immediately consulted--and then the deluge. It -was more than probable, indeed, that any message or communication from -me would be intercepted by him. So that notion had to go after the -other. - -Helga’s stubborn refusal to believe that I was no more than just a -private individual was of course the bed rock of the mess, and nothing -that I had said or done had shaken her belief in the least. Nothing -seemed likely to do it, moreover, short of getting the Emperor to stand -shoulder to shoulder with me so that she might see us together. - -There was, further, the to me unendurable risk of leaving her alone at -Brabinsk to face the danger from these wretched Nihilist fanatics. Had -the other parts of the problem been capable of solution, that alone -would have kept me by her side. - -Of all the tests to which a man’s nerve may be subjected, few can be -more terrible than the fear of secret assassination. But there is one, -and I ran up against it there. To know that there are a number of -human wild beasts planning to put a bullet in your head or a knife in -your heart is bad enough, but it is infinitely worse when you feel, -as I did, that if they failed to do that for me they would probably -endeavour to do it for the woman I loved. - -And thus I paced the lawn in a mood of intense embarrassment, -complicated with a double fear for my own life and for Helga’s. - -With that thought in my mind I had a good look round the house. It was, -as Boreski had said in his letter, a good place for taking precautions. -A square solid stone building, with all the lower windows protected by -bars or heavy shutters, and it would be as difficult to break into it -as to get out of it. - -In my mood then I had a keen appreciation of its strength, and I came -back to the front again feeling very thankful to the man who had -planned and built it. - -It was a dead still evening. The twilight had faded very quickly, and -when I had been smoking and worrying myself for about an hour, without -getting an inch nearer to any solution of the problem Helga had set me, -my ears, which are very keen, caught a sound in the distance. - -It was very faint, but before it ceased I recognized the beat of a -horse’s hoofs. - -I was in a nervously high strung condition, and as I knew that there -was no house near enough for me to be able to hear any one who might be -driving or riding up to it, I tossed my cigar away and drew back into -some bushes to wait for what might be to come. - -It might be just a messenger from Boreski, or even Boreski himself; -or, on the other hand, I persuaded myself very easily, it might spell -danger. In either case I could do no harm by keeping a watch. - -Clearly it was not Boreski, or any one from him, as in that case he -would have ridden right up to the house. My ears might have deceived -me, of course; but I was conscious of what some people term a creepy -sensation as I accepted the other conclusion--that the matter did bode -danger of some kind. - -I was right too. I stood as still as a statue on my sentry go, and -after some minutes I heard a light crunch of gravel under stealthily -treading feet and saw a man creeping warily toward the house. - -At the same moment I caught a glimpse of Helga. I could see from my -place through the open window of the room where we had sat. I saw her -enter the room, glance about her in surprise at not finding me there, -and then cross to the window and peer into the dark garden. - -The man at the gate saw her too, and drew back quickly. A very -significant indication. - -Helga stood a moment at the window, and then stepped out on to the -verandah that ran along the house and looked about her as if seeking -me. But I gave no sign of my presence, of course; and after a while she -went back through the window, leaving it open, crossed the room with a -quick step, and passed out of my line of sight. - -Soon afterwards the man crept very cautiously and almost silently a -short distance up the gravel walk, pausing at every step and looking -about him as if to make certain he was unobserved. - -When he was quite close to me he stopped, and I recognized him. It was -Paul Drexel. For a moment a hundred possibilities connected with his -visit at such a time and in such fashion rushed into my mind, and I was -on the point of darting from my hiding-place and seizing him, when he -turned and made a signal. - -Following his gaze, I saw that two other men had entered the grounds -and stood mute and motionless until he waved to them, when they crept -up to his side. Then all three got on to the grass, well in the shadow -of the trees, and held a whispered consultation. - -I could not, of course, catch a word they said, but I saw them point to -the open window; and when the consultation ended two of them stole like -shadows round the skirt of the lawn under cover of the trees to the -window, in front of which both lay flat on the ground. - -Then Drexel crept back a short distance, paused, turned and walked up -the gravel, with intentionally noisy and heavy steps, to the house door. - -It did not require the instincts of a Vidocq to know that some very -ugly business was on foot; and while Drexel was getting admitted to the -house, I was trying to consider what the thing boded and what I had -best do. - -In point of fact I did nothing--about the wisest course, as it turned -out. To have moved from my hiding-place would only have scared away the -two men lying prone by the verandah, and so long as I knew of their -presence and they were ignorant of mine, I had the best end of the -stick. - -I made a pretty cute guess at the meaning of the visit. Drexel had no -doubt gone to the villa with the men in the hope of finding me still -there, and had learnt by some means of my coming to Brabinsk. - -The stroke was aimed at me I felt, and there was less alarm for me -in that thought than if it had been directed against Helga. For the -time, at any rate, there would be no danger to her, and as I was thus -forewarned I could take my own measures. - -It is a somewhat skeary thing to have to think out plans to circumvent -men who mean to assassinate you, and to realize, as I did, very -clearly, how much must hang upon your not making a false step. - -As I stood like a statue in the shadows of the trees, I had time to -think things out a bit. I had my revolver in my pocket, and I came to -the conclusion quite deliberately that if there was any shooting to be -done I would let no one get the drop on me, and I would certainly shoot -to kill. I had twice in my life had very narrow escapes from death -through hesitating in the face of a crisis, and this was not going to -be a third time. Some minutes--ten perhaps--lapsed after Drexel was -admitted to the house before anything happened, and all the while the -men by the house lay as still as death. Although I knew just about -where they were, I could not see their dark forms on the ground. - -Then Helga entered the room into which I could see, and Drexel followed -her. The instant he was inside he shut the door and put his back -against it. - -Helga seemed perfectly calm and self-possessed, and when he spoke with -much gesture, as if excusing himself, she replied with contemptuous -indifference, mingled with little shafts of indignation. - -The conversation lasted some time, until one of the two men outside -lifted his head, so that it came between me and the light from the -window, and listened. Then he and his companion, still lying prone, -drew themselves cautiously up on to the verandah and lay close to the -open window. - -Themselves unseen, they were watching intently what passed within the -room, and listening to every syllable that was spoken by Helga and -Drexel. - -So absorbed were the two spies, and so utterly unsuspicious of my -presence, that I might have risked closing in upon them, had it not -been that the broad drive lay between me and them and the slightest -sound of the gravel under my footsteps would have spoilt everything. - -I chafed at the enforced inaction, but the issues were those of life -and death, and I dared not take such a risk. Helga’s life, as well as -mine, was in the balance. - -At last the minutes of inaction were at an end. - -Both men, as if at some signal from Drexel, sprang to their feet and -stepped into the room, and I saw the flashing look of anger from Helga -at their entrance. - -The noise they made in entering gave me the chance I wanted. Two or -three light springing tiptoe leaps put me across the drive, and I -hurried over the smooth lawn with eager feet, drawing out my revolver -as I ran, until, imitating their tactics, I lay full length on the -ground in full sight and within earshot of all that went on in the room. - -I soon had evidence then of the deadly business on which the men had -come. - -“I tell you he is not in the house.” - -It was Helga’s voice, of course, and she was facing the three men with -dauntless courage in voice, look, and manner. - -“It is useless to say that, mademoiselle. We know he is here, and call -upon you in the name of the brotherhood to give him up to us. It is -more than your life is worth to refuse.” - -The speaker was seemingly the leader, and his deep vibrating bass voice -rolled through the room in tones of intense earnestness. - -“Have you ever known me tell you a lie, M. Vastic?” This, then, was the -reckless Nihilist himself. - -“Do you deny he has been here?” - -“An American, M. Denver, has been here; but left this house more than -an hour since.” - -“To go where?” The question came like a sharp stern command. - -“I do not know.” - -“He is the man we seek. You know that. Do you dare to trifle with us?” - -“I allow no one to address me in that tone,” said Helga proudly. “I -have told you the truth.” - -The man turned to Drexel, who I saw was very pale. - -“You are sure this man who calls himself Denver is the Emperor. If you -have lied, you will answer to me.” - -“Ask mademoiselle,” said the cowardly cur. - -“Mademoiselle, what say you?” - -“That the man this--this carrion spy speaks of”--and she turned such a -look on Drexel that he winced--“is Mr. Denver, an American. And if he -were the Emperor, M. Vastic, and I knew where he was at this moment, -you are the last man on earth I would tell.” - -“I need no other evidence,” was the threatening reply. “I give you two -minutes in which to tell me where to find him. If you refuse, you will -suffer the consequences. You know the penalty of shielding one whom the -brotherhood has sentenced. Say when the time is passed,” he ordered his -comrade, and to enforce his threat he drew a revolver. - -Helga gave no sign of flinching, but met his stern gaze with one to the -full, as steady and resolute. - -“You can murder me if you will. I do not know,” she said firmly. Not a -change of colour, no quiver of the lip, nor tremor of a finger showed -her courage to be shaken, or her purpose weakened by the ordeal. - -But it was different with me and I made ready to take up my part in -the scene. I calculated precisely what to do. The second man was near -enough to the window for me to strike him down as I entered, and I drew -myself to my feet in readiness. - -But at that moment he moved to speak to Vastic. He spoke in a whisper -and seemed to expostulate. But the leader remained unmoved by what he -said, and the second man with a shrug of the shoulders stepped back to -his former place. - -Helga watched the short whispered conference closely, but gave no sign -of any feeling, momentous as the import was to her. - -Drexel was, however, growing deeply agitated. His face was as white as -salt, great beads of perspiration were on his forehead, his lips were -quivering, and he clenched and unclenched his hands with quick nervous -movements. - -The turn of affairs had appalled him. - -“M. Vastic,” he began in low hoarse trembling voice. - -“Silence, M. Drexel,” thundered the leader. “This is now my affair. It -is your part to obey. Now, mademoiselle, the time is run out. I give -you a last chance to be----” - -The sentence was never finished, for as he spoke Helga gave a great -cry, and I dashed through the window, dealt the man near me a blow on -the head with my revolver which felled him, and the next moment I had -Vastic covered. - -“Hands up, you. I’ve heard what you said,” I cried. - -“M. Denver,” exclaimed Drexel. - -Vastic turned on me instantly, full of fight, and with the quickness of -light raised his revolver to take aim. - -It was his life or mine, and without a second’s hesitation I fired and -shot him. - -The fraction of a second decided it. His pistol went off almost -simultaneously. But the bullet went wide, for mine was in his brain, -and he was already staggering. - -There was a scuffle behind me, and another shot was fired by the man I -had knocked down. I turned on him, but he was too quick for me and with -a cry sprang out into the darkness. - -Drexel meanwhile had opened the room door to fly. - -“Come back, you, Drexel, or I’ll fire,” I cried, covering him. He came -back trembling like the cur he was. “Close the window, Helga, and have -some help here.” - -She was shutting the window when the servants, with Ivan at their head, -came in, having heard the pistol shots. - -“Have that man held, Ivan,” I said, pointing to Drexel, who indeed was -in a state bordering on collapse, “and go instantly in search of a man -who has just fled. Quick, as you care for your mistress’s life.” - -I bent over Vastic and laid my hand on his heart. - -When I looked up Helga was standing by me. - -“He is dead,” I said in reply to her glance. - -“My God!” The cry forced itself between her pressed lips. - -“Have the body taken somewhere for the present,” I ordered one of the -servants, “and then see that every door and window in the house is -safely bolted. I will speak to you presently,” I added to Helga, who -was now trembling. “I must question this man,” and laying a heavy hand -on Drexel’s shoulder, I led him into another room. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--CONVICTION AT LAST - - -Events had so crowded the few minutes that I had not had time to think, -except in those flashes of decision necessary in a crisis. My instinct -in such times is to act first and think afterwards. Do something, -whether right or wrong; but do it. And I have often found that the -wrong thing done quickly may be less dangerous than the right thing -done after a too careful deliberation. - -The moment the man Vastic lay dead before my eyes, I regretted having -shot him: a regret due not only to a naturally intense repugnance to -take a fellow-creature’s life, but also to reasons of policy. So far -as ethical considerations were concerned, I felt I was justified. He -was going to kill me; and you cannot argue with a six shooter. It would -have been just too soft to have asked him to put his gun down while we -discussed the question of my identity. The positions would have been -reversed. I should have been dead when he realized his mistake, instead -of his being dead when I realized mine; and of the two, I preferred -vastly the present sequence. - -What I felt I ought to have done was to have winged and disabled him. -He would have been just as effectually incapable of mischief, and we -should all have been spared the embarrassment of having to deal with -his dead body. - -I did not anticipate any serious trouble with the authorities, for -I had no doubt that old Kalkov would be able to arrange the matter. -Vastic was in all probability known to the police; he had been killed -in an attempt upon the life of the man he believed to be the Emperor; -and his death was not unlikely to be welcome enough to the Government. - -But there were his comrades to consider; and that they would set about -avenging him there was no room to doubt. There had been an eye-witness -who, unless Ivan caught him, would carry the news straight to them; and -their anger was as certain to fall upon Helga as to be directed against -me. - -This prompted a number of disquieting and perplexing considerations. - -My first thought was for Helga’s safety; and obviously the only thing -to do was to get her away to some hiding-place where these men would -be unable to find her. To induce her to leave would, however, be so -difficult, that I could think of but one means of influencing her--and -that was to encourage her mistaken belief that I was the Emperor. -It meant deceit on my part; but in such a case the end must justify -the means. She must be saved; and if no other way was open, I must be -content with that. - -There was another consideration, moreover. My own safety depended -to a great extent upon these members of the Nihilist brotherhood -continuing to regard me as the Emperor. It was true I should probably -be the object of attack so long as they believed I was virtually at -their mercy at Brabinsk, and divorced from the usual safeguards and -precautions which fenced off the Emperor in the Palace. But that danger -was temporary, and would cease the moment I got back to the Palace, and -resumed my own character. - -With the temporary danger I could trust myself to deal, now that I was -forewarned. But if they once got an inkling of the truth, I should be -the object of their vengeance every minute I remained in Russia, and -very possibly afterwards. And I had the greatest possible repugnance -against playing the part of quarry for Nihilist bloodhounds to hunt all -over Europe. - -These considerations and many others wove themselves rapidly into the -web of my anxious perplexity as I paced up and down the room, followed -by the staring, fright-filled eyes of the despicable Drexel, whose -cowardly treachery had caused all the trouble. He was so frightened -indeed, that every time I chanced to look at him he would shrink and -cower and hang his head in fear. - -“You may well be frightened,” I said at length, turning on him; “for -I’m thinking whether the safest thing to do is not to put a bullet -in your head. Dead men carry no tales.” I spoke with intentional -brutality. - -“For the love of God don’t do that, your Majesty. It’s not my fault; -indeed, indeed it isn’t. Oh, God have mercy on me;” and he shuddered in -a veritable paroxysm of terror. - -“Are you armed? Turn your pockets out. Quick!” I cried. - -The haste with which he complied was almost ludicrous. - -“I only carried this for self-protection, your Majesty. You know I have -made no attempt to use it,” he said, as he brought a revolver out of an -inner pocket. - -“Not even to try and protect the woman you were to have married. I know -that because I was watching you.” - -“Then your Majesty knows I had no chance. I should only have been -killed on the spot.” - -“Well, and if you had been? Is that a worse death than at the hands of -the executioner?” - -“Oh God, oh God, have mercy on me,” he moaned, covering his craven face -with trembling fingers. It has always disgusted me to see how readily -this type of mangy cur turns his thoughts to the Deity when some -specially infamous act has been followed by discovery. - -“Do you think your God likes your kind of work? Get together what -little of a man there is in you, and face the thing. Don’t slobber and -whine like that. You make me sick with disgust.” - -He seemed to make such effort as was possible, and after a few moments -ventured to look at me. - -“Will your Majesty graciously hear me? I am really innocent. I am -indeed.” - -“Prove it. Tell me all you’ve done since last night.” - -“I can give your Majesty valuable information.” - -“Informer now as well as spy, eh? Answer my question.” - -Whether he thought he could read some hope in these words I don’t know, -but he began to show less abject terror. - -“I know the secrets of all the people here--M. Boreski and Mademoiselle -Helga. Will your Majesty spare my life if I tell you?” - -“Do you think I would make a compact with a thing like you?” I cried in -disgust. “You can tell me nothing I do not already know, except how you -brought Vastic and the other on my track. Tell me that?” - -“M. Boreski is a Polish conspirator, and mademoiselle----” - -“Stop!” I interposed sternly. “Speak of yourself and your part.” - -“It is information your Majesty should have,” he said. - -“Damn you, keep to your own part,” I cried furiously, “or to the police -you go under guard at once.” - -He shrank back from my fierce words, and his flabby face turned grey -with renewed terror. - -“As your Majesty wishes,” he said, when he had recovered sufficiently -to speak. “They have cheated me and lied to me; they made me promises -to buy my silence, and last night quarrelled with me and set me at -defiance. They told me I was free to go and do as I liked. No man can -bear to be cheated. I was mad in my anger, and I went to Vastic and -told him.” - -“Told him what?” I demanded, when he paused. - -“I was sorry the moment I had spoken, and repented my anger.” - -“To the devil with your feelings. What did you do and say?” - -“I said that Boreski was false to his oath to the brotherhood.” - -The cunning with which he thus got out his charge against Boreski of -being a sworn Nihilist and at the same time coloured the description of -his own act, did not escape me. - -“How?” I asked; and he fumbled with the question in dire doubt. - -“By failing to report a matter of grave importance to the brotherhood, -your Majesty,” he answered at length. - -“What matter?” - -“Particulars of your Majesty’s movements.” - -“In other words, you told them I was at mademoiselle’s villa, and that -M. Boreski knew it.” - -“Not that you _were_, your Majesty--I am no traitor--but that you _had -been_.” He made the distinction eagerly. “I intended to punish Boreski -for his insult to me, not, as God is my judge, to bring any danger upon -your Majesty.” - -“You are a bad liar. You brought the men here.” - -“No, no, no! your Majesty. On my soul, not in search of you. Besides, I -was in imminent fear of my life. I saw then the mistake I had made in -ever saying a word. They made me accompany them to the villa, and when -we heard Boreski was not there, nor Mademoiselle Helga, they forced me -at the pistol point to seek them here.” - -“You knew I had come here?” and I searched his face with angry eyes. - -“I--I did not know. How could I know?” - -“I _do_ know it,” I said, putting up a bluff. It told. The despair in -his eyes showed me this. - -“Vastic would have killed me,” he murmured. - -“And you preferred he should kill me. I see.” - -“Oh, don’t say that; don’t think it, your Majesty. I am innocent. -Indeed, indeed, I am. Oh, my God, that this should be thought of me;” -and he set up his whining again. - -“One more question, and I’ve done with you. How many men came with this -Vastic?” - -He showed such unnecessary agitation at the question that I saw he had -still some hidden motive or hope, and I had threatened it. - -“Only one, your Majesty; only the man you saw, as I am a living man.” - -He was lying, of course; and equally, of course, I must have out of -him the truth on a point of such vital import to us all at Brabinsk. I -thought round his possible motive, and then hit on it. - -He was trusting that Vastic’s associates would return to accomplish -the task in which he had failed, and in that case they would of course -rescue the spy who had served them so well. - -“You are quite sure that there was only one?” I asked, in an ordinary -tone, as if merely needing a repetition of his statement. - -“I could not be mistaken. I swear it. I would not lie to your Majesty -in such a matter,” he asserted eagerly. - -“Very well,” I said, and rang the bell. “I have yet to decide what to -do with you for the present.” - -When the servant came, I told him to wait and guard Drexel until my -return; and going out, I asked for Ivan, and inquired whether he had -caught the man he had gone after. Unfortunately he had not. Not a trace -of him had he seen, but he had heard the sound of wheels, and concluded -that the man had dashed for the vehicle in which the three had come, -and had galloped off. - -This seemed to lend colour to Drexel’s statement; but I had been so -sure of his lying that I went back, resolved to put him to a pretty -severe ordeal. - -I sent the servant out of the room, and then looked sternly at the -prisoner, who was staring eagerly at me as if to read his fate in my -face. - -“I have made up my mind in regard to you. If you had told me the -truth in answer to my last question, I might have spared you. But you -lied--and that lie will cost you your life.” - -I drew my revolver again, and made pretence to examine the cartridge. - -“You led these men here in search of me. I know that. I saw you when -you first entered the grounds here, and watched you. For aiding an -attempt on my life the penalty is death, and rightly so. I intend to -inflict the penalty myself. Stand up;” and I levelled the pistol at his -face. - -Stand up he could not; he lacked the actual physical strength. He sat -grasping the arms of the chair, staring at me, his eyes wide open and -mouth agape, his lips quivering and his colour dull grey. - -“I cannot die; I cannot die. For the love of Almighty God, spare my -life, your Majesty. Oh God, oh God!” - -“Stand up,” I thundered; and he winced and shrank and quivered at my -voice. An abject, terror-struck craven, he was at once pitiable and -hateful even to look at. His very voice refused to obey him as he -gasped and gurgled in his effort to speak; but at length he stammered-- - -“I have lied to you; but spare my life, and I will tell the truth now. -I will, I will, as God is my judge.” - -“Quick then, for my finger itches with impatience.” - -“We three came alone, as I said, your Majesty; but a number of the -others were to follow us as soon as possible, in case of the scheme -failing and help being needed.” - -“How many?” - -“I--I don’t know. Eight or ten, or twelve perhaps.” - -I laid the pistol down. - -“You have saved your life for the while,” I said. “As for the rest, it -will depend upon what occurs here.” - -The rush of relief at my words was too great for his overstrung -nerves, and he fainted. I called the servants and ordered them to -restore him, and then bind him and put him in a place of safety. - -This done, I hurried in search of Helga, to consult with her upon the -new developments. - -I found that she had had Vastic’s body removed to one of the cellars of -the house, and she had entirely recovered her self-composure. - -“Your nerve is splendid,” I said admiringly. - -“Such a life as mine trains one to face emergencies. What does your -Majesty wish to do?” - -“There is a good deal to settle,” I answered, accepting without -protest her method of address. She intended me to understand that her -conviction was firmer than ever; and as I believed I could influence -her with much less difficulty if she held to it, I appeared to -acquiesce. - -“You have formed some plan, monsieur?” - -“Yes. In my view, the sooner we are all away from this place, the -better;” and I told her briefly what I had forced from Drexel. - -“They could do no harm to us here, even if there were a dozen of them,” -she said. - -“True, but we should have much more chance of escaping their notice if -we were to travel to the city by night rather than by day.” - -She was perplexed by this, and questioned me with her eyes. - -“You yourself are now in imminent personal danger, and must lose no -time in getting to a place of safety.” - -“Where can we go?” - -“To the Palace,” I answered, speaking on the spur of necessity to give -some definite answer; and in truth that seemed the best thing to do. - -She started and caught her breath. - -“You mean----” She was all anxious eagerness now. - -I paused a second, and then took the plunge and answered with -deliberate significance-- - -“After what has passed here, your safety is now my concern and your -desires are mine.” - -She read my words in the way I intended. She turned slightly pale, and -in her agitation caught at the back of the chair by which she stood. - -“Thank God,” I heard her whisper under her breath. - -I felt pretty mean at the trick I was playing, when I saw how she took -it; but I had persuaded myself there was no other way, and held firm. - -“I have not trusted you in vain,” she said, after the pause. “Your -Majesty has but to speak your wishes; it is for me to obey;” and she -gave me one of her sweet, frank smiles. - -I felt meaner than ever; but I was in up to the neck, and deliberately -plunged deeper. Under an impulse I could not control, for her smile and -words of trust carried me away, I took her hand. - -“Is it the Emperor you trust, Helga, or the man?” I asked, in a voice -low with passion. - -“It is you, monsieur;” and again she lifted her glorious eyes to my -face, and then withdrew them on meeting my look. - -“May God deal with me as I merit, if I desert you.” - -We stood thus for a moment, when, at the sound of some one approaching -the room, she drew away from me, with a glance and a sigh. - -It was Ivan with news. - -“We have heard the sound of some one driving furiously toward the -house, my lord. What shall we do?” - -“I will come,” I answered, and he hurried away. - -“You will run no risks, monsieur?” cried Helga swiftly and anxiously. - -“I have too much at stake--now,” I answered, out of the earnestness of -my heart. “God send we may all get out of this safely. I will arrange -with Ivan for our leaving. Will you get ready?” - -“I will do everything you wish.” - -The words were in my ears as I hurried out and up the staircase to the -room where Ivan was keeping watch. I had my plan. I would take Helga -with me back to the Palace at all risks, get an audience with the -Emperor, and lay the whole affair, her story and all, before him, and -ask his protection. In truth, I was mad enough just then to venture -anything. - -These things rushed through my head as I ran up to Ivan. - -“All is well, my lord,” he said, coming to meet me. “It is M. Boreski.” - -“Good,” I exclaimed. “Now we shall know more of the truth.” A remark -far more disastrously true than I could have anticipated. - -When I went downstairs again, Boreski had already been admitted, and -was with Helga. All impatience for his news I entered the room; and -opening the door, started. - -A third person was there: a tall woman in black, heavily veiled. - -“Good-evening, M. Boreski; you are welcome. What news do you bring?” - -“Good-evening, monsieur,” he replied, and I noticed restraint in his -tone and manner. - -Helga too was looking at me curiously. I smiled to her, but, instead of -replying, she looked to the woman in black. - -“Well?” she asked. I began to scent mischief. - -The woman threw up her veil, and I saw she was well on in years, pale -and plain, but had an air of distinction. - -“Do you know me, monsieur?” - -“No, madame. To the best of my knowledge, I have never had the pleasure -of seeing you in my life.” - -She shrugged her shoulders and Boreski threw up his hands. - -A pale shadow crept over Helga’s face. - -“Are you quite sure, monsieur?” - -“I am positive, mademoiselle.” - -“And so am I,” said the new-comer, with a touch of scorn. “That is no -more the Emperor than I am.” - -I saw things then. There was a moment’s critical silence. Then Helga -broke it, speaking in a chill, cutting tone. - -“This is the Duchess Stephanie--M. Boreski’s wife.” - -“Exactly,” I answered; and for the life of me, acute as the situation -had suddenly become, I could not for the time get out another word to -redeem it. - -The cold, hard look in Helga’s eyes as she faced me was for the -time unendurable, and I turned my head away in sheer tongue-tied -embarrassment. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--HELGA’S ANGER - - -It was certainly one of the most untimely kicks which Fate could have -dealt me; and it took all my reserved strength to brace myself and -shake off my first feeling of dismay in order to put any sort of face -on the thing. But I have a good deal of india-rubber in me. - -So I pulled myself together, and surprised them all by turning on -Boreski and saying, in a very sharp tone-- - -“Why didn’t you get here a quarter of an hour sooner, and have saved -half this embarrassment?” It is generally a safe tactic when something -goes wrong to attack the other fellow. Boreski started, and I followed -up the attack. “If you loiter and fool away the time at such a crisis, -what is it but just opening the door and inviting trouble to walk in?” - -“I have not wasted a single minute, monsieur,” he replied. “Besides, I -cannot see what that has to do with it.” - -“Mademoiselle can tell you,” and I looked at Helga. I think she saw the -drift, but she said nothing. Poor girl, she was too overwhelmed by the -fiasco of her plans. - -“The question is not whether I came soon or late, monsieur,” said -Boreski with slow precision, “but who and what you are.” - -“That’s exactly what I mean. The very pith of it.” - -“I do not understand you, monsieur.” - -“That does not trouble me very much; but mademoiselle does.” I was -resolved to force her to speak. Besides, my temper was beginning to be -tried by Boreski’s manner. - -“This is a matter for us as men to settle without bringing -Mademoiselle Helga, or any other woman, into it.” - -“Rubbish and nonsense,” I said irritably. - -“Monsieur!” he exclaimed angrily, “I do not permit any one to address -such words to me. You will not explain your imposture by insulting me.” - -“Keep your temper with me, if you please, monsieur, or you will only -render a bad situation worse.” - -“This is monstrous,” said the Duchess Stephanie. “He is Prince Kalkov’s -spy, of course, and seeks to cover the infamy of his imposture with -this amazing insolence.” - -This gave me an excellent cue, for I saw Helga wince; and I hoped she -resented alike the charge, and the way it was made. What the other two -thought of me I cared not a five-cent piece: and with Helga herself I -had only to explain away my last act of implied confirmation of her -mistake as to my identity. It would not be easy, of course, because -the disappointment to her must inevitably cause her to exaggerate its -meanness. - -“I am neither a criminal nor a spy, madame,” I said. - -“I will have an explanation,” cried Boreski insistently. - -“I have no explanation to give, except that if you had arrived a -quarter of an hour earlier all this--this excitement would have -been unnecessary. For what occurred in that quarter of an hour I am -profoundly sorry;” and I looked again at Helga. - -“You are right, Stephanie; this is a monstrous thing,” cried -Boreski. He rose and came toward me, and said, with a sort of fierce -contemptuousness: “You do not explain because you have no explanation. -You are a spy; some new and zealous member of the secret police, no -doubt. You will be kept here until I find means to make you speak.” - -“Good,” exclaimed the Duchess, “very good. The only way, of course.” - -I contented myself with a shrug of the shoulders, and met his angry -look with one of complete indifference. - -“I have seen that kind of mood before with other impostors and spies of -the same type.” - -“Your opinion of me, M. Boreski, is a matter of absolute indifference.” -I said this calmly and deliberately, and added: “And I repeat, you are -only making a bad situation much worse.” - -“Such effrontery!” exclaimed the Duchess, with another of her angry -comments. - -“I give you a last chance to tell the whole truth about yourself, -before I send for the men and hand you over to them.” - -“It’s very good of you, monsieur,” I answered flippantly; and then -turning to Helga: “It occurs to me, mademoiselle, that while we are -quarrelling here, we are wasting invaluable time.” - -“Why don’t you speak?” she replied, breaking her long silence. - -The Duchess Stephanie, not understanding what lay beneath the words, -shrugged her shoulders and gave an audible sniff of contempt. - -Boreski, on the other hand, crossed to the bell. - -“We will have no more of this. I will have the men in.” - -“Stay.” This from Helga, in an unmistakable tone of command. - -The other two stared at her for an explanation. - -“We cannot detain M. Denver. You are at liberty to leave the house, -monsieur,” she said, turning to me. - -“But that is just what I will not do--at any rate, yet. When I know you -are safe, I will do whatever you wish.” - -“I do not need your further assistance, monsieur.” This very proudly. - -“Can’t you see that you are just a little unjust?” - -“You have deceived me grossly, monsieur.” - -“Only because you would not let me undeceive you; and I saw, or -thought, the only way left was to let you believe what I saw you -persisted in believing.” - -“You saw it, then, and acted intentionally?” she said, very bitterly. - -“Yes; I don’t deny that with regard to what passed between us last. But -I thought--I hoped you _felt_ you could trust me.” - -She lowered her eyes and avoided the earnest look I directed on her; -and there was a pause of some length. Then, without looking at me, she -said-- - -“I can only say now, you are free to go, monsieur.” - -“While you are threatened by the dangers I have all unintentionally -brought upon you, I will not go.” - -“It is impossible for you to remain, monsieur.” - -“I have said my last word on that point, mademoiselle.” - -Boreski had fidgetted uneasily as we spoke, and now intervened. - -“You have heard, monsieur, what----” - -“Silence, if you please, M. Boreski,” I cried with heat. “You do not -understand. If I cannot comply with mademoiselle’s wishes, do you think -I shall heed what you say? It is you, with your hot-headed quarrel with -Drexel last night, who have brought about all this mess. And Heaven -knows it is bad enough to satisfy any ordinary blunderer.” - -Boreski fell back before my hot words and looks, but his wife was quick -to take offence. She got up pale and angry. - -“Either that spy is driven from the house, Helga, or I do not stay in -it. I will not hear my husband insulted.” - -It was like a woman of her type, of course, to put her oar in with such -a silly splash and make things much worse. But it had the effect I -wished. It forced Helga to defend me. - -“You do not understand, Duchess. M. Denver is no spy. He came to us -yesterday under equivocal circumstances, but this morning took the -first moment to tell me he was not the--was no other than M. Denver, an -American; and I in my blindness could not and did not believe it. It is -I who am responsible. It is all a terrible tangle, but I will answer -for him.” - -“I thank you for that, mademoiselle. I was sure you would do me -justice.” I was so happy at her words that I could easily afford to -ignore the sneer with which the Duchess resumed her seat. - -“It is all very extraordinary,” she said hastily. “But you are right in -one thing, Helga, I do not in the least understand it.” - -Helga did not appear at all anxious to explain, so I took the -opportunity to make my own position clearer, not for the Duchess’s -benefit, but for Helga’s. - -“It is as simple as disastrous, madame,” I said. “M. Boreski, having -quarrelled last night with this Drexel, the latter went to M. Vastic, -one of the leaders of the Nihilist Brotherhood, and told him he would -find the Emperor at mademoiselle’s villa. He went there, and finding we -had come on here, he and others followed us, and he attempted my life. -I shot him, and I have since dragged from Drexel the admission that -many of his associates are coming here, and it is extremely probable -they will make some attack upon us to avenge him. Their vengeance would -of course include both M. Boreski and Mademoiselle Helga, as well as -myself. That is why I cannot leave until she is safe.” - -“Drexel is here, then?” said Boreski quickly. - -“If you wish him to confirm what I have said, monsieur, you can -question him. But I think we ought to be seeing to things.” - -“It is horrible,” exclaimed the Duchess, intensely frightened. “If I -am discovered here everything will be ruined. Loris, you must take me -back to the city at once.” One excuses a woman for thinking first of -herself, of course, and I quite appreciated the awkwardness of her -position. But Helga was not so tolerant. She looked at the Duchess -coldly and a little scornfully. - -“M. Boreski had better take you away at once, Duchess,” she said. - -“I had better go,” said Boreski. “What must be done is to explain to -Vastic’s friends the manner in which we have all been duped.” - -It was my cue, of course, and I saw my way instantly. But it struck -Helga from quite a different point of view. - -“That would be only to turn this into a private feud against M. -Denver for the death of Vastic. That is as impossible as it would be -dishonourable.” - -“Cannot this gentleman defend himself? He came of his own will surely, -and should not shirk the consequences,” said the Duchess. - -“M. Boreski is right,” I put in, “and I think I see a way.” I got up as -I spoke. - -“What are you going to do, monsieur?” asked Helga quickly, in some -concern. - -“I am going to obey your wishes, mademoiselle, and leave the house,” I -answered with a smile. - -“I should not let him go. If these men come here it will be in search -of him; and if you give him up to them, it will show them they have -nothing against Loris and you, Helga.” - -But Helga was thinking closely, and seemed not to hear this admirable -advice. Boreski looked from one to the other in doubt what to do. For a -few moments there was silence. - -Then an ominous interruption came from outside. A sound of a pistol -shot, followed by running footsteps along the verandah, and the violent -slamming of a door somewhere. - -The Duchess jumped to her feet in fear and great agitation. - -“What can that be?” she cried. - -“I fear it means you must delay your flight, Duchess,” said Helga with -scarcely veiled disdain. - -“Have I your permission to go and see what has occurred, mademoiselle?” -I asked; and without waiting for it, I turned to the door. - -As I opened it, Ivan reached it. - -“Can I speak to you a moment, my lord?” he asked, looking very set and -determined, and breathing quickly. - -“I will come with you,” said Helga. We went out and left Boreski and -his excited, panic-stricken wife alone. “What has happened, Ivan?” -asked Helga. “That shot; is any one hurt?” - -“No, mademoiselle. I was outside looking round, thinking it best to -keep a watch, and two men who had concealed themselves in the shrubbery -rushed upon me. I fired the shot more to give the alarm than thinking -to harm them, and then ran back indoors.” - -“What do you think it means, Ivan?” I asked. - -“I think there is only one explanation, my lord. There must have been -some of M. Vastic’s friends in the district, and they have come because -of his death.” - -“Do you know how many?” - -“I cannot say for certain, my lord. I saw several as I ran to the house -door.” - -“You have done very well to find this out and give us warning. But we -must devise means to avoid a conflict of any kind. They may be merely -watching the house; I should think that’s most probable, indeed. They -would scarcely attempt to force an entrance.” - -“They attacked me, your honour,” said Ivan. - -“Merely to get from you who was inside, I expect. So keep as vigilant a -watch as you can, while I think what to do. Of course they must be kept -out--at any rate, for a time.” - -I had my purpose fixed already, and when Ivan had gone I turned to -Helga, and found her eyes fixed upon my face steadily. I did not wish -her to read my thoughts, and forced up a smile. - -“I think Ivan has unnecessarily alarmed us, mademoiselle.” - -“I am trying to guess what is in your thoughts, monsieur.” - -“I shall be very happy to tell you. I think these men have come to -watch the house, as their habit is,” I replied briefly. - -“What an actor you are!” - -“A man who has knocked about the world as I have picks up the knack, -more or less, I suppose. I seem to have played the part with you a bit -too well, I am afraid. I should like you to know that I’m horribly -sorry and horribly ashamed.” - -“To-night when you spoke of my leaving here with you, you allowed me to -deceive myself. You allowed it intentionally.” - -“Yes; I did more. I encouraged the deception. I suppose you can’t think -a man would do a mean thing for any but a mean motive, yet I----” I -broke off, and threw up my hands. “It’s no use trying to explain all I -felt. I can’t do it.” We were standing in the large square hall, and I -walked to one end and stood by the great stove. “When I look at you and -think of it, I feel like what they said of me in there--a spy. I was -one when I came to you.” - -“You spoke of taking me to the Palace?” - -“I meant to do it, too. I would have got you to the Emperor. I should -have had some claim on him for this business, and I’d have got you a -hearing. But I suppose it looks to you like treachery.” - -“And you made me think that, as the Emperor, you were taking me there -to do me justice. I should never trust you again.” - -“Don’t rub it in. I feel quite mean enough already. You might be sorry, -too. I’m not going to ask you to trust me again.” - -“And you could listen as you did to all my story! To think I should -have put myself in the power of such a man.” - -I winced under this punishment as a dog under the lash. - -“Do you think I should betray you?” - -“How can I tell, after what has happened?” - -“True. There is that, of course.” I paused with a frown of pain. “Is -it any good for me to say I should not? I wish you could say you don’t -think it.” - -“What are your wishes to me?” she cried, flashing her eyes at me. - -“Nothing, of course; or less than nothing--just spurs to your contempt, -it seems. Well, I don’t suppose there’s anything else to be said.” - -“If I have made you feel how dishonourably you have acted, and how -cruelly your conduct has crushed and ruined everything I hold dear, it -may perhaps make you pause when you find your next victim.” - -“I’m not likely to forget even without these lashes of yours to remind -me.” I could endure no more of this merciless injustice. “I will go and -see what Ivan is doing,” I added, recrossing the hall. - -“Stop, if you please. I have faithful servants who will protect me if -I am in any danger. I will not be beholden for my safety to you, M. -Denver.” - -I turned and looked at her scornful, angry face. I had rather she had -struck me. - -“My God!” I cried, “Even that;” and I sat on a lounge and put my hand -to my head. There was a rustle of skirts, and when I looked up she had -gone, and left me to my belated remorse and my new purpose. - -I would have given anything for a single word of forgiveness, or even -for a glance of some feeling less bitter than her contempt and anger. -Well, it would have to come afterwards, when I had saved her, despite -her repudiation of my help; and I rose to carry out my plan. - -I went to Ivan and asked him what he had seen. He told me a number of -men were round the house. He noticed that I was pale--for the interview -with Helga had shaken me badly--and asked if I was ill. - -“No, I am not ill, Ivan, but strange things have happened. Listen to me -and help me. I am not what you have thought, but what I told you during -the ride--M. Denver, an American. All unwillingly I have brought your -mistress into great danger, and I am going to get her out of it. I am -going to those men outside to convince them I am only what I have told -you.” - -“But----” he began excitedly. - -“Don’t interrupt me and don’t look like a madman. This must be done, -otherwise they will never believe that mademoiselle has not been -guilty of treachery to them, and her life will always be in danger -at their hands. Now, don’t be a fool and make a fuss. I caused the -trouble, and I must find the way out of it. And the only way is this.” - -“Great Lord of the Earth, they will kill you before you can get time -for a word. It is madness, monsieur, stark, staring madness.” - -“Don’t waste time in this way. I know the risk you speak of as well as -you, and I am content to face it. If that happens, what you have to do -is to make them know the truth after they’ve done it. It will be easier -then; but, easy or difficult, you must make them understand it somehow; -for only so can we save your mistress’s life. She told Vastic in the -other man’s hearing that I was not the Emperor; remember that, and rub -it into them well; and make them understand that Vastic’s death was my -act and mine only. Of course, if they don’t pot me off-hand, I may be -able to open their eyes myself.” - -“I must tell the mademoiselle, monsieur,” he protested. - -“You’ll do nothing of the sort. If you do, I’ll--I’ll thrash you. Just -lead me to a door I can get out by quietly, and leave the rest to me.” - -He looked at me so long and earnestly that I thought he was going to -protest again. But he did not. Instead, he seized my hand and pressed -it to his forehead. - -“Let me go with you, monsieur,” he cried, almost hoarsely. - -“Don’t be a fool,” I said roughly, although his devotion touched me -very nearly. “Show me the way out. You’d be no use to me out there, and -your mistress can’t spare us both at such a time.” - -“Come then, monsieur,” and he led the way down a long corridor. “Wait, -monsieur, while I see if they are near the door,” he muttered, and then -left me. He was gone so long that I grew irritable, and when he came -back I spoke very sharply. - -“This will be the best way, monsieur,” and taking me to the front door -of the house, he left me again. - -“Come here, and be ready to shut and bolt it after me, Ivan,” I said -angrily, as I drew back two of the heavy bolts. - -As I did so, I felt a light touch on my arm, and turned quickly to find -Helga, white and agitated, by my side. - -Then I knew why Ivan had run away. If he had not, I would have made my -threat good. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE ATTACK - - -“What are you doing, M. Denver?” asked Helga. - -Her inopportune arrival took me so completely by surprise that for the -moment I could think of no plausible answer. - -“I--I was seeing to the security of the door,” I said very lamely. - -“Making it secure by drawing back the bolts, do you mean?” - -Her voice had still the hard steely tone that had so hurt me before, -and her glance was coldly penetrating. - -“One must first draw back a bolt before shooting it again to see that -it is in order.” - -“You had already drawn back two and were on the third when I stopped -you. You were going to open the door.” - -“You know so well what I was doing that I suppose you know also I was -going to open the door to let the men in. I am a spy and was acting -like you no doubt think a spy would. Why should I try to hide things -any longer? You know me so well.” I spoke as if now reckless. - -“Ivan has told me everything you said to him, monsieur.” - -“Then Ivan’s a fool and ought to have his head punched. You told me -before that means must be found to stop his chattering tongue. Of -course he only knows what I chose to tell him.” - -“You were going out to these men in a forlorn hope of making them see -you are not the Emperor.” - -I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. - -“That’s what I told him. But you know me better than to think me such a -fool. You know I was going out as one spy to other spies.” - -“Then you were really going out to them?” - -“My capacity to harm you in here being checkmated, it was natural -enough I should look for some other means. Surely you can see this.” -And after a short pause I added with another laugh, “You have made me -your enemy, you see, and must take the consequences.” - -For a moment or two she said nothing, keeping her eyes fixed intently -on my face, with an expression that baffled me. - -“How were you going to do what you said to Ivan?” - -“Isn’t that just a ridiculous question? I had to make up some sort of -yarn for him. But you know how good I am at acting. I said what came -first, of course; but I tell you I was going out to give these men the -chance of getting at you easily--to set them on you, that is.” - -Her eyes clouded and she frowned. - -“Can you never tell me the truth, never be candid with me?” - -“Surely you are unreasonable. How could I make a more perfectly candid -declaration of war?” - -“Do you wish me to think you utterly vile, that you paint yourself in -these colours?” The cold steel tone gave place to a note of passion. - -“I know what you think of me. You told me to-night; and I don’t see -that anything could make it much worse.” - -“Yet you have forgotten.” Her voice was cold steel again. - -“Perhaps. Of course a spy must have unpleasant things said to him, and -have to learn to forget quickly. It’s a happy gift at times I assure -you.” I spoke as indifferently as I could. - -“There is not a true note in your voice. You do remember that I said I -would not owe my safety to you. I repeat it, I will not.” - -“Is that any reason you should object to my going out to betray you?” - -“Do you wish to insult as well as humiliate me, monsieur?” - -The pendulum of her mood was swinging over to passion again. - -“Have you spared me?” I asked sharply. “When the lash of your -contemptuous words is burning and scorching like fire strokes now? Had -you not deemed me utterly base and mean, would you have said what you -did? If you thought it then, you must think it now; and you may as well -think I am foul and cowardly enough to go out and betray you? It would -be no great effort of imagination for you. I beg your pardon,” I said, -thrusting my momentary anger away. “I did not mean to lose my temper. -I have been sorely tried, but I will not do that. No, I do not wish to -humiliate or insult you. I thought perhaps I could help you a bit out -of this mess I have got you into.” - -“I should regard your help as a humiliation, monsieur.” - -“Knowing that, I did not mean you to hear of it. That’s Ivan’s fault.” - -“You shall not go out to them, monsieur.” - -“Very well, mademoiselle.” - -I bowed, and she stamped her foot angrily at the gesture. - -“You know your life would not be worth a moment’s purchase.” - -“You have done me the honour to show how worthless it is.” - -“You twist everything I say to you,” she cried impatiently. “You will -give me your word of honour that you will not go out.” - -“You are very inconsistent. At one moment you all but order me out of -your house; at the next you prevent my going. It is absurd.” - -“When I told you you could leave, we did not know of the danger.” - -“What is my life to you?” I took a leaf out of her book and asked the -question in a tone as cold and hard as she had used, while I looked at -her very steadily. She met my look but did not answer my question. “You -think me a spy, what then----” - -“I do not think you a spy, monsieur. You know that. You heard me tell -M. Boreski that I would answer for you. You can be bitterly unjust.” - -So there was some feeling after all under her cold manner. - -“We will not speak of injustice, mademoiselle,” I said, in the same -tone. “But I had forgotten Boreski. I owe this to him even more than to -you perhaps; so that I cannot pass my word not to go out. He would not -object--nor his Duchess either.” - -“You will drive me mad, monsieur,” she cried impetuously. - -“Because I use the tone you have taught me?” - -“I say you shall not do this insane thing.” - -Her passion mounted fast enough now, and I was not unwilling to feed -the fire. Anything rather than her contempt. - -“Very well. Then shall we go in and play a hand at cards while these -gentlemen outside complete their plans? Allow me,” and I made a mocking -pretence to offer my arm. - -She drew back and trembled with anger. - -“How dare you!” she cried. - -I flung up my hands. - -“You are difficult to please, mademoiselle,” I said, smiling airily. - -“Will you give me your word?” - -“Can you suggest any other way out of the thing? That is much more to -the point.” - -“You shall not risk your life in this mad way.” - -“Hush!” I held up my hand. My ear had caught the sound of grating steps -on the stone outside the door. We stood and listened, and the sound -came again, followed by a gentle knock at the door. - -I led her a few paces away. - -“I’m going to answer that knock myself. Trust me. I will not betray -you. Go into the room to Boreski.” - -“Not for a thousand worlds,” she answered vehemently. - -“Let this misunderstanding cease. I will run no unnecessary risks.” - -There are moments when many things are made plain; and that was one of -them for Helga and me. - -“I cannot trust you--to run no risks, I mean. I cannot.” - -“In other things?” She was silent. “Helga?” - -She started as I used her name, and drew a deep breath which escaped in -a tremulous sigh. - -“You know,” she whispered. - -My heart gave a great leap. - -“Thank God!” - -The knock at the door was repeated. - -“Do as I ask and leave me to deal with this. I shall run no risks--now.” - -“I--I cannot.” - -Ivan had heard the second knock and now came to us asking for -instructions. - -“Can you ascertain how many there are at the door here, Ivan? Try and -make out from some upper window.” - -“You will not venture out?” said Helga as soon as he had gone. - -“Everything is altered now. I go back to my former plan. We can stay -here until it is safe to leave--since we know these men are dogging us, -daylight will probably be the safest; and we will get to the Emperor -when you are safely concealed in the city.” - -I had too much to live for now to care about putting my life to the -hazard in the way I had purposed in my mood of desperation. It was -once more my desire now to make the men believe that I was indeed the -Emperor, so that the pursuit of me should cease the instant I could get -back to the Palace. - -But my plans were still fated to be thwarted. - -“I can only make out two men, monsieur; but there may be many others -hidden close by,” said Ivan, returning. - -“We can at any rate speak to them. Call a couple of the men to be ready -at hand in case of need,” I told him; and in that way like a fool -played into their hands. - -Ivan at my bidding went to the door and called through it-- - -“Who is there?” - -“We are police. Open.” - -This was either a very ugly new development or a lie. I chose to regard -it as the latter. - -“What do you want?” was Ivan’s next question. - -“We seek M. Vastic. Open at once.” - -“There is nobody here of that name. We open the door to no one at this -time of night.” - -“We shall break it in,” said the voice. “Open, in the name of the -Emperor.” - -“Tell them to break it in if they can,” said I, and Ivan gave the -reply; whereupon they commenced to hammer and bang at the door with -such a clatter that the mere noise itself ought to have roused my -suspicions. But my wits were as dull as a dunce’s to their ruse; and -I had not a thought of their trick until a loud noise with a great -smashing of glass at the back of the house told us their object had -been merely to distract our attention downstairs while the real attack -was delivered on an upper floor. - -“Go to Boreski, mademoiselle,” I cried as I dashed up the broad -stairway, followed by Ivan and the men. The others had rushed up by a -back staircase and met us on the landing. - -“Where have they got in?” I asked. - -“That room,” said one of them, pointing to a door. A glance at it -showed me the key was outside, and in a moment I had turned it upon -those within. Not a second too soon. As the lock shot home the handle -was rattled by some one inside. - -Ivan had seen me and immediately rushed through into an adjoining room -where I heard him lock and bolt the door. - -“The room leads into this dressing-room, monsieur,” he said as he came -out. “But the door is only a slight one and will not keep them back.” - -I went in and examined it, and, coming to the same conclusion, promptly -abandoned it as a point of defence. I then sent Ivan to fetch Boreski, -and while he was away thought out an impromptu scheme for defending the -landing place. - -It lent itself well enough to such a purpose. It formed a square, on -one side of which were the stairs; and it was thus possible to place -men so that they could command the doors by which the men must come -out; and my simple plan was to form a sort of barricade with some heavy -pieces of furniture from behind which we could operate. - -With Boreski came Helga full of pluck, resource and ideas. I explained -my plan to them and sent two men downstairs to keep watch against a -further surprise. - -“We can keep the watch, the Duchess and I,” said Helga instantly; “and -thus leave you much stronger.” But the Duchess as promptly declared she -had no nerve for work of the kind and further tried to induce Boreski -to stay with her. - -He was no coward, however, and when Helga vetoed the suggestion with -great indignation and I joined with her, he sided with us and she had -to give way, doing so with great reluctance. - -Helga then went downstairs and our preparations were soon complete. - -Meanwhile the men in the room were suspiciously quiet. Probably they -realized, as we did, that they had gained very little by getting into -the house by the way they had chosen and were really caught in a kind -of trap, from which further progress into the house would be attended -with more danger than they cared to face. - -A glance at my watch showed me, to my surprise, it was nearly eleven -o’clock. The hours had flown very quickly. - -“At what hour is it daylight?” I asked Boreski. - -“About half-past three,” he said. - -“Then we shall have four or five hours of this. They’ll clear off when -the light comes.” - -“Hadn’t we better speak to them?” - -“By all means if you can do any good. You know them, I don’t.” - -He climbed over the barricade and rapped at the door. - -“Who is there?” he asked. “I am Boreski.” No reply was made, and he -knocked and called again. “I don’t believe any one is in there,” he -said to me in a whisper. “I can’t hear a sound.” - -“Let’s hope they’ve gone then, but I doubt it,” I replied, and then -as a suspicion flashed on me, I turned to Ivan. “What about the upper -storey. Are there any ladders about the place long enough to reach it?” - -“Yes, monsieur, at the stables.” - -“That explains the silence then. Come with me quickly;” and climbing -the barricade I rushed up, followed closely by Ivan. We were in the -nick of time. - -They had already planted a long ladder reaching to the window of one -of the front rooms and three of them were more than half-way up. I -threw the window open. - -“Come, gentlemen, quicker please. You keep us waiting,” I called. - -The result was almost comical. The man at the top muttered something -to those below him, and in an instant all three went sliding -helter-skelter to the ground, and picking themselves up scurried off in -the darkness to cover. - -“They won’t be in a hurry to try that again,” I said as I closed the -window; “but we must watch them. Let one of the men come up here and -keep a lookout;” and I went down again to Boreski. - -Another long wait followed during which we heard plenty of movement in -the room close at hand. - -“Something’s doing,” I said. “I wish to Heaven we knew what.” - -“I’ll try to speak to them again,” he replied, and made a second -attempt with no better result. - -Later, Helga sent for me. I found she had got the women-servants well -in hand and all were engaged in keeping a vigilant watch. - -“We can see them going up and down that ladder, and each man seems to -carry something up and come down empty handed. See,” and she led me to -a small barred window from which I could see the ladder. - -What I saw made me catch my breath. A couple of men went up with an -armful of straw and a third followed with a bundle of small wood. They -were going to set fire to the house. I did not speak this thought to -Helga. - -“What does it mean?” she asked. - -“I’ll try to find out.” - -“You think I’m afraid, I suppose? You know that they mean to set the -house on fire, and you won’t say it.” - -“I mean that I’ll find the way to stop that. Call to me the moment -those three men come down again.” - -I returned to Boreski and told him. - -“We must enter that room and stop it.” - -“Yes, I’m with you.” - -“You go in by the dressing-room door and take Ivan. I’ll take this man. -When I call to you, get in as fast as you can. Turn out all the lights -here or they’ll see us enter.” - -Out they went promptly and we stood in the darkness waiting for Helga’s -voice. - -“They’ve come down, monsieur,” she called a few minutes later, and in a -trice I had turned the key and burst into the room. - -The luck was ours. The room was empty. Never dreaming that we should -venture in, they had left it unguarded. All round the sides were piled -heaps of straw and dry wood, ready to be fired, and the evidence of -their dastardly trick lay plain to our eyes. - -Had it not been for Helga’s quickness the infernal plan would have been -successful. - -“We have them now,” I said eagerly to Boreski. “We’ll trap them here. -They’ll be back in a moment. We’ll wait and give them an unexpected -welcome.” - -We hid in the darkness, the four of us, and presently heard the sound -of heavy feet mounting the ladder. - -“No shooting,” I whispered. “Just seize them. We may catch more -by-and-by in the same trap. And wait until all are in the room. Silence -like death, till I move.” - -Not a sound escaped us, and for my part I held my breath when the head -and shoulders of the first man appeared at the open window, and he -stepped all unsuspecting into the room; and a second and then a third -followed, each with his bundle of straw or wood as fuel. - -One of the men came so near me to deposit the burden that he almost -touched me, and as he stooped to put it down, I gave the signal. - -“Now,” I cried in a loud voice and sprang upon my man. A scene of wild -tumult followed as the series of tough struggles commenced. The men -fought hard, and we stumbled and tumbled and wrestled in the darkness, -blundering hither and thither, taking and giving fierce blows, often -knocking up against one another, mingled at times in dire confusion, -all straining with desperate effort, breathing hard and speaking scarce -a word save when some sharp ejaculation of anger or pain, or a violent -oath leapt from between tight-clenched teeth. - -Ivan was the first to beat his man, and soon afterwards, as my hand -chanced to knock against a heavy billet of wood, I seized it and dealt -my antagonist a blow on the head which laid him out. - -I was considering how to use the victory when some one came to the foot -of the ladder, ran up a few rungs, and called-- - -“Start the fire.” - -At the same instant a tremendous crash was heard in the lower part of -the house, followed by loud screams from the women and the gruff tones -of men. Then Helga’s voice came loud and piercing, calling to me for -help. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--CONCERNING THE VALUE OF HOSTAGES - - -The noise in the house below ceased with ominous suddenness as I -started to rush down in response to Helga’s cry for help. - -What to do with our prisoners embarrassed me for a moment. Every one -of us might be needed below, and my first idea was to leave the men as -they were. But happily I did not do that. - -“Ivan, you must come with me. M. Boreski, will you and the servant -watch the men here and try to find some means of securing them?” - -“There is plenty of rope in one of the rooms above,” said Ivan to the -servant as we two hurried out. - -The landing and stairs were dark, and we found the men we had left on -the landing had clambered over to our side of the improvised barricade, -where they were waiting, revolver in hand, in expectation of an attack -from below. - -“It is not safe to go down, my lord,” said one of them. “They are -waiting for us below there.” - -“Aren’t the women in danger, you cowards?” I cried angrily, my thoughts -on Helga. “Follow me,” and I sprang over it and ran down. - -“Mademoiselle, mademoiselle,” I called as I ran, but no answer came. -Ivan kept by my side, and as we reached the bottom some men sprang -right at us. There were six or seven of them at least, and for a few -moments we were in the thick of a pretty stiff fight. All four of us -were struck several times, and finding it impossible to beat them, -desperately as we fought, we had to retreat, losing one of the two -servants who was made a prisoner. - -Ivan fought like a fiend incarnate, kicking, lunging and using the butt -end of his heavy revolver with tremendous effect, and but for him I -should have been made a prisoner. I was surrounded and held by three -of the men when he dashed in, and scattering them with his tremendous -strength, rescued me and dragged me up the stairway. - -“To the landing, monsieur,” he said; “our only chance;” and back we had -to go, scrambling headlong up the stairs as best we could; while our -assailants, exasperated at our escape, fired shot after shot after us. - -That we were not hit seemed a miracle. The darkness alone can have -saved us, aided no doubt by the excitement which prevented the men -below firing steadily. - -We had saved our skins but had failed in what to me was vastly of more -importance--the rescue of Helga and the others; and the failure so -maddened me that for the time I was incapable of consecutive thought. I -was conscious chiefly of a fierce animal desire to wreak my vengeance -upon the cowards who had captured her, and hugged the thought to my -heart that I could certainly kill some of them. In other words I was -for the moment almost out of my mind with baffled rage. - -“We must save the mademoiselle, monsieur,” said Ivan at length, -perplexed by my silent inactivity. - -“Or avenge her. My God, if anything has happened to her, they shall pay -dearly,” I returned. - -“What shall we do next, monsieur?” - -That question was soon settled for us, however; for suddenly lights -appeared below and relieved the dead gloom of the landing. - -“They are going to attack us,” whispered Ivan. - -“We shoot this time and shoot to kill, Ivan,” I said, speaking out -fierce wrath and with a sort of devilish pleasure at the prospect. - -But the attack tarried, and while we waited Boreski came out. - -“We have secured those three,” he said. - -“Bring them out and shoot them,” I answered. “The others have taken -mademoiselle and the Duchess.” - -“It will be no good to do that.” - -“Bring them out,” I rejoined fiercely; and when he hesitated I added, -“Then I will;” and I went into the room. - -“For God’s sake, don’t do murder,” he said, and Ivan followed in. - -I paid no heed to the words, and seizing the first man I dragged him -out, bound as he was, and dashed him down on the ground. The mere -recourse to this brutality seemed to give relief to my rage, and I went -in again and brought out another, treating him just as brutally. I was -for the while both bully and coward in my frenzy. - -When I got out I found Boreski speaking to some one below. I leaned -forward and tried to see the speaker, and had I been able, I believe I -should have shot him on the spot. - -“You know whom we seek,” the man said. “Give him up to us and we will -go.” - -“Who are you?” asked Boreski. - -“No matter. I speak for those who are with me.” - -“Not for all of them,” said I, interposing with an unholy laugh. “We -have three here who would like to speak for themselves. Come up and ask -them why your scheme to fire the house has failed.” - -My reply seemed to produce far more effect than the sneer itself -warranted, for we heard the men draw together and speak in low but -excited tones. Suddenly the reason for this flashed upon me. I had -spoken in Russian, and my accent had betrayed me for a foreigner. - -[Illustration: “THE SUDDENNESS OF THE ACTION TOLD, AND PERHAPS THE -RECKLESSNESS OF IT HELPED ME.”--_Page 133._] - -At last I began to see the way out of it all, and my strange frenzy -rapidly subsided. - -“Are you coming, gentlemen?” I cried again. “We can promise you a -merry welcome which will save some of you at least the trouble of -returning. Or do you find it easier to gag women than to face men?” and -I continued to pour in a broadside of sneers and taunts, speaking all -the time in Russian. - -“Who is that speaking, Boreski?” came at last in the same gruff deep -voice that had spoken before. - -“The man you have been fools enough to mistake for the Emperor,” I -answered with a laugh. - -“Boreski, why do you not answer?” - -“Tell him the truth, M. Boreski,” said I in a tone loud enough to reach -those below. - -“If I tell them, it will turn their vengeance upon you for Vastic’s -death,” he said in a low tone. - -“Better upon me than upon mademoiselle,” I replied quickly, in the same -loud tone. “I am not afraid of the truth. Tell them I fooled you as -well.” - -“It is not whom you think,” he said. - -“Holy Grace of God!” exclaimed the man below. - -Realizing the effect which the discovery had produced, and believing -firmly in the eloquence of acts, I obeyed my next impulse, and jumping -over the barricade ran half-way down the stairs and stood where the -light from below shone upon me. - -“I will show you for yourselves,” I said. - -The suddenness of the action told, and perhaps the recklessness of it -helped me. The men stared up at me as if astounded, and for a moment -not one of them moved. Then two revolvers were raised and levelled. - -“Stay,” I cried in a loud voice of command. “If you fire at me it will -be the sentence of death on your three comrades up there,” and I -pointed up the stairway. “You understand, Ivan?” - -“By the living God, I do,” he answered, and his voice, tremulous with -earnestness, heightened the effect of the situation. - -It was just one of those positions which a little impudence and bluff -will carry when everything else may fail. - -The leader of the men growled out a word, and the two revolvers were -lowered. Then he turned to me. - -“Who are you?” - -“To the devil with your who are you? You can see who I am not, and that -should be enough for you.” - -“It is Vastic’s murderer,” said one of the men then, and murmurs of -rage followed. I recognized the speaker as Vastic’s companion. - -“You were with him, say what you saw,” I said. - -“I saw you shoot him like a dog,” said the fellow. - -“You lie, and you know it,” I cried sternly. “I did not shoot him until -he was in the act of shooting me. He mistook me, as you all have, for -the Emperor; and it was his life or mine.” - -There was more angry murmuring at this, and I thought the men would -break away from the leader’s control. I have never been nearer death -than at that moment. - -“Come down that we may see you better,” said the leader next. - -“You can see me quite well enough here; but as you will. Ivan, -remember, three lives for mine,” I called, and I went down deliberately -and stood face to face with them at very close range; and a very -ugly-looking lot they were. - -“He is not the Emperor, God curse him,” cried one of the gang. - -“I am not even a Russian,” I said. - -“Your name?” demanded the leader sternly. - -“Is my own concern.” - -“I will know it,” he insisted threateningly. - -“While you threaten me, I’ll see you damned before I’ll tell you.” This -was only another bluff. It would be useless to deny my name. Helga had -spoken it before Vastic’s companion. But I dared not yield to the man’s -threats. A single symptom of weakness and the whole bluff would be -exposed. - -“You carry things daringly,” he said. - -“There are three reasons for it--up there,” I retorted grimly. “You -can take my life if you will and if you dare. You are all known well -enough, and foreigners of my position are not murdered in cold blood -without full penalties being exacted. Shoot, if you’ve a mind to face -the public executioner. If you haven’t, let’s put an end to this.” - -“You killed our comrade.” - -“Yes, and three more will die if you kill me.” - -This was the trump card. I could see that. He had sneered when I -had spoken of the executioner; but there was no sneer for this. He -presented indeed the very type of concentrated furious perplexity. Like -the rest, he was willing enough to kill me; but he believed my threat -would be carried out; and fear for his comrades alone saved his hand. - -“Do you still refuse your name?” he asked; and I believe he was utterly -at a loss what to do or say. - -“Not through fear of your knowing, but I allow no man to threaten me.” - -“Will you tell it me then?” - -“Yes, when you speak in that tone. My name is Denver; I am an American.” - -“How came you to be here?” - -“Under circumstances which led to my being regarded as the Emperor. -Among those who fell into the mistake was the spy, Drexel, whose report -to you has caused all the havoc.” - -“Where is he?” - -“At present, alive. How long he lives depends on you.” He liked this -answer no better than my former threat. - -“There has been a fearful mistake,” he said. - -“Which you have done your worst to add to.” - -“You admit you killed M. Vastic?” - -“I haven’t attempted to hide it.” - -“For that you and all concerned will have to answer.” - -“I am alone responsible. You know that. The man who was there knows it -well.” - -“You are suspiciously anxious to shield others.” - -“I tell the truth, that’s all. But come,” and I resumed my former tone -of authority; “we have talked enough. Are we to resume this fight, or -will you leave the house and take your men away with you?” - -“Are you dictating to me?” he asked, with a start of anger. - -“Yes; for I hold the whip hand,” I flung at him. - -“You forget your life hangs by a thread.” - -“There are four threads and four lives,” I retorted; and again he -winced and bit his lip, and was silenced. - -“If we go you must go with us,” he said after a pause. - -“Not alive, nor alone;” and I pointed this with a look he could read. - -“You will release our comrades?” - -I could have laughed aloud as I heard this. It was the proof that I had -beaten him. But I answered as sternly as I could speak. - -“It is not for you to dictate to me. Put mademoiselle and the rest -back in the house here; then take your men away with you. When I am -satisfied no treachery is intended, the three prisoners shall be -released.” - -“By the living God of Heaven you shall answer for all this,” he cried -in a frenzy of rage. But impotent anger of this sort was nothing to me. -I had him on the hip, and he knew it; and if he chose to vent some of -his wrath in words, let him. - -He stood many moments in desperate doubt, seeking for some other way -out of the maze; but he found none, and he turned at length to consult -his fellows. The conference was angry and excited, but no talk or -excitement could alter the fact that to harm me meant the death of -their three comrades. - -Muttered oaths were as thick as corn on the cob; fierce threats were -levelled at me, accompanied by glances of bitter hate. Once the counsel -of violence seemed likely to prevail, and the looks and gestures grew -so menacing that I intervened. - -“You are listening, and ready, Ivan?” I called. - -“Yes, monsieur, quite ready.” - -It was enough. The gesticulations ceased, and those who were against -violence had once more the upper hand. - -After that the end came soon. - -Two of the men went out and returned with Helga, the Duchess Stephanie, -and the women-servants. - -Helga’s face lighted when she caught sight of me as the knot of men -fell back and made way for them all to pass. - -“No one has been hurt?” I asked her. - -“No, not hurt; badly scared, some of us,” she replied. “But what has -happened?” - -“We have been arguing on the subject of hostages, and these gentlemen -have taken my view of the subject. There will be no more fighting. Will -you all go upstairs for a few minutes?” - -As the men were leaving the house, I called one of the grooms down and -told him to saddle a couple of horses. - -“I shall ride a few miles with you,” I told the leader. - -“You do not trust me?” he said angrily. - -“In my country we see to things for ourselves; that’s all. Ivan,” I -called, “if I do not return in an hour, you will understand there is -trouble. You will know what to do.” - -“Yes, monsieur.” - -“You try my temper,” said the leader. - -“Merely a business precaution,” I replied lightly, and went out with -him to the stables. - -“I do not like your business precautions,” he said. “You carry them too -far.” - -“The fact is I wish to speak to you, and what I have to say cannot be -said in the hearing of others. I can say it as we ride together.” - -I had some very pertinent questions to put to him, indeed, and when he -had found his horse and the groom and I had mounted, I told the latter -to fall back. - -“Now,” I said, as we all started, “I want to know what is to be the -result of this night’s work, so far as I am concerned.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV--THE DANGERS THICKEN - - -My companion was in no hurry to answer the question and we rode some -distance before he spoke. - -“Why couldn’t you speak of this before the others--I mean those in the -house at Brabinsk?” - -“Why don’t you all discuss your plans at public meetings? I suppose -because you want to keep them secret. So do I now.” - -“Why do you lay such stress on secrecy?” - -“Because my own safety is my own concern, and no one else’s.” - -“Are you a secret police spy?” - -“No; had I been, do you think I should have been in command of things -at Brabinsk?” - -“What are you then?” - -“I have told you. I am an American; I have got mixed up in this thing -and want to get out of it.” - -“You killed M. Vastic?” - -“Do you think I was such a fool as to want to kill him? I had no feud -with him, nor have I with you. It was a question whether he shot -me--thinking I was the Emperor--or whether I got in first. And I had -the drop on him.” - -“Our comrades do not die unavenged,” he said with a grim significance -anything but pleasant to notice. I chewed the reply a while in uneasy -silence. - -“I may take that as a declaration of war between us. You mean you will -try to have my life for his. Not a pleasant lookout--for either of us.” -The pause and the last words touched him on the raw. - -“What do you mean by that?” - -“We Americans make ugly enemies when we’re put to it. I know every man -of you by sight, and have a rare memory for a face--when I want to -remember it.” - -“God of the dead and living, have a care, monsieur,” he cried. - -“Ivan knows them too, and is a staunch friend of mine,” I returned very -quietly and meaningly; and when he made no reply, I added: “You’ve had -a sample of American methods to-night, and if it comes to any of this -vendetta business, I’ll put up a good hand. You may gamble on that.” - -“How came you to be there as the Emperor?” he asked after a pause. - -“For reasons that don’t in the least concern you or your comrades; so -you needn’t ask for them.” - -Another pause followed. - -“I happen to have a good deal of influence with very high authorities. -It would be a mistake to drive me to use it.” - -Angered by this, he thrust his hand to the pocket where I had seen him -stow his revolver. - -“You’d better not,” I said coolly. “The same authorities who will help -me living would avenge me dead. You are all known. Besides, there are -the three men at Brabinsk; and Ivan will keep his word.” - -He growled out something, an oath, I think, but he drew his hand back -and rode on, presently asking abruptly-- - -“What is it you want?” - -“A truce to the whole thing--for all concerned on both sides. Let it -end right here. The thing, as you said, has been a terrible mistake. -Let it stop at that.” - -“That is not in my power to say.” He appeared to speak with some -regret, and after thinking a while added: “No, it is impossible. If M. -Vastic had not been shot, it might have been.” - -I had not expected to make much headway, so I was not very -disappointed, and went on to try and get at what was the real object of -my questions. - -“I believe you yourself regret the thing,” I said. “You mean, I -suppose, that if it rested with you, your decision would be for a -truce.” - -“Yes, I think it would. But the death of M. Vastic is too heavy a blow -for the brotherhood. You will be all held to account for it.” - -“All. It was my act alone. You mean I shall be accountable.” - -Something in my voice must have betrayed me, for he started, and -turning in his saddle looked at me. - -“What are the others to you? The mademoiselle, for instance?” - -“They are nothing to me,” I answered as if indifferently; “except that -I have brought this thing on them and shall see them through it.” - -“You give yourself a troublesome commission, monsieur.” - -“You’re a lot of damned cowards,” I cried. It was a feeble thing to -say, but it relieved my feelings, and soon afterwards I reined up my -horse. - -“I’m going back,” I said curtly. - -“Good-night, monsieur. As a man I am sorry for what has happened and -for what may have to come. I hope we may not meet again.” - -“Wait till we do. Your sorrow may be wanted for your own side;” and -without waiting for more, I wheeled my horse round and set off back at -a gallop followed by the groom. And I took back with me a very anxious -heart and a whole crowd of perplexing doubts and harassing fears. - -Turn which way I would, dangers of some kind blocked the path--dangers -for Helga or myself separately when they did not threaten us both in -common. - -I had had a fairly adventurous life, and in my time had run up against -some ugly risks; but these had been of the nature of sudden emergencies -to be met promptly and overcome. But never before had I been called -upon to face such a danger as this threatened to be--enduring, shadowy, -secret and all encompassing. And I am not ashamed to admit I was -considerably shaken. - -It is one thing to take your life in your hands, at a crisis, face -the music and fight for all you are worth while the bother lasts; and -quite another to pit yourself against a secret society, to find the -music a perpetual dirge, threatening constantly to develop into your -own funeral march, and to breakfast, dine and sup, walk, sit and sleep, -talk, laugh and be merry with the cold circle of a revolver barrel -pressed to your forehead. - -But it had to be done, it seemed, so long as I remained in Russia, -and how long that would be must depend upon an extremely explosive -contingency--Helga’s intentions. - -My hope was to get her to give up her country and adopt mine; but it -was impossible to be sanguine. They say a woman can bear pain far -better than a man, and it seemed to me that, given the requisite -courage and a sufficient motive, she could also bear the strain of -ever-present danger with greater fortitude. - -So far as I could judge, Helga had been for years risking the kind of -danger which now loomed upon me as so formidable; and I saw very little -reason to believe she would regard the new development as anything -worse than just a fresh complication which had to be faced, and from -which she would steadily refuse to run away. - -When I got back to the house I very soon had reason to see that this -was her frame of mind, and that there was more in this visit of the -Duchess Stephanie than I had yet had time to learn. - -The night’s experiences, coupled with his wife’s arguments and -entreaties, had made an end of Boreski as a conspirator. He had -persuaded himself, or she had persuaded him, which came to the same -thing, that he had now nothing to hope for from the elaborate scheme -by which he had designed to force the Imperial consent to his marriage -and everything to gain by abandoning it. I found the two of them -importuning Helga to take a similar view; and some high words seemed to -have passed. - -“We shall leave Russia for a time,” the Duchess was saying as I entered. - -“I think you are right to go under the circumstances,” agreed Helga. -“But what has occurred to-night has not weakened my position by a -thread. The key of everything is the possession of these papers which -the Government dare not allow to fall into other hands than their own. -I still possess them.” - -“But even if you persist, you cannot use them, Helga,” cried the -Duchess Stephanie. “These wretches alone would not let you live to do -that. I declare I tremble all over when I think of that fearful time -when we were in their power.” - -“Why? They did us no harm. They just stopped us from crying out, took -us over to the stable and locked us in with a guard until the mistake -was discovered. As soon as that was plain, they released us and left -the place. Surely it is no very awful thing to be locked up in a stable -for an hour. It is not like a prison or a Siberian hell.” - -“You forget what I told you, mademoiselle,” said Boreski; “that the -men left us and released you only because we had caught three of their -number and M. Denver threatened to have them shot. They would never -leave you in peace--nor us, indeed, if we were to remain.” - -“If you think that, by all means leave the country.” - -There was a spice of contemptuousness in Helga’s reply, although spoken -with apparent earnestness. - -“What do you think, M. Denver?” asked Boreski. - -“I think as you do, that that is the only safe course.” - -“It will at any rate please M. Denver’s friends among the authorities,” -said Helga, with a flash at me. - -“We owe our liberty to M. Denver and probably our lives as well, and I -don’t think you should say such things.” - -This from the Duchess Stephanie surprised me vastly. - -“We also owe it to him that the dangers ever arose at all,” retorted -Helga quickly. “But I congratulate him upon having won you over so -completely to his side that you forget that. My memory is longer. But -by all means take his advice.” - -“I shall help you best by taking no part in this discussion. There is -still something to be done,” I said, and left the room, in the middle -of a protest by the Duchess Stephanie against what she termed Helga’s -rank ungenerosity. - -It was the truth of Helga’s bitter words that hurt me. I had caused the -trouble and brought the danger upon them, and I knew only too well that -the danger was but averted for a time. - -I went in search of Ivan, and with him released our prisoners and -Drexel and saw them well away on their return to the city. As we went -back to the house Ivan said-- - -“You will not let the mademoiselle remain here, monsieur?” - -“Why not, Ivan?” - -“The brotherhood, monsieur. They will hunt her down, and you and M. -Boreski.” - -“Do you think them really dangerous?” - -“Great God of my fathers, can any one doubt it?” - -“What of yourself, then?” - -“What is to be will be,” he answered with a shrug. - -“You mean you don’t care?” - -“When the storm rages over the forest, monsieur, it is the big trees -which feel it and fall, the little trees are passed over. I am only a -little one.” - -“Would you like to have money to fly?” - -“Lord of all Powers, if I had not seen you to-night, I should think -you a coward to give such counsel. I am not a cur, monsieur, but a -watchdog.” - -“I said it merely to test you, and I ask your pardon. I was certain of -your answer, though. We shall work together to save the mademoiselle. -But if we are to succeed, you must not do again what you did to-night.” - -“Your pardon, monsieur?” he asked, not understanding. - -“You told her my plan and brought her to me.” - -“When you would have thrown away your life, and would not let me go -with you, monsieur. What else could I do?” and he shrugged his great -shoulders. “But I will follow you now anywhere and obey you implicitly.” - -“At present I do not know what to do. I see no way, Ivan.” - -“You will think of something--or Mademoiselle Helga will. But she -should not stay here. There are places where she can hide safely, -monsieur. We have done it before.” - -“Well, we shall see,” I answered a little hopelessly as we entered the -house. - -Helga was waiting for us in the hall, and seemed angry and excited. - -“Ivan, get M. Boreski’s carriage, and, if he wishes it, go with him to -the city. He starts as soon as possible. M. Denver will probably go -with him.” - -Ivan looked the picture of perplexity. - -“And yourself, mademoiselle?” he asked. - -“Do as I say, Ivan, and at once.” - -He went away without a word but he glanced at me. - -“To tell the truth, mademoiselle,” I said, “I’m afraid I am rather too -tired for so long a drive just at present.” - -Boreski and the Duchess came out as I finished and caught the last few -words. - -“It is not very long, M. Denver, only some three hours at most,” he -said, “and the Duchess will be very glad of your company. It will be an -added protection.” - -“I hope you will come, monsieur. It is really the safest thing--in -fact, the only safe thing.” - -“I think you had better go,” declared Helga firmly. - -“Of course you wish to get out of the country as soon as possible,” -said the Duchess. - -“As soon as practicable, naturally,” I agreed. “But I have one or two -things to arrange first.” - -“If you are wise you will lose no time about it,” said Boreski, who was -manifestly eager for me to accompany him. - -“You have completely forgiven me then for the deception I practised -upon you in coming here?” I asked. - -“Many things have happened since,” he replied. “I have abandoned -that part of my plan, and my wife has found a way of escape from the -difficulties which troubled us. Our marriage need no longer be kept -secret. Indeed, the Emperor already knows of it.” - -“The real Emperor,” put in Helga quietly. - -“Besides, we owe you much for to-night; I feel that,” he continued, -and went on to thank me in his courteous and dignified manner. I was -so entirely surprised by this most queer and unexpected turn of things -that I could find nothing to say. - -Then the Duchess turned to Helga. - -“Let me make a last appeal to you, Helga.” - -“It is useless, madame.” The reply was curt, decisive and angry. - -“You have no right to keep them. It was I who brought them to you, and -they are mine. Why not do as I say, throw yourself upon the Emperor’s -mercy and seek his forgiveness?” - -I stared from one to the other in amazement. - -“The Duchess saw the Emperor this morning,” said Boreski to me in an -aside. - -“You have had my decision, madame,” said Helga coldly. - -“I think you’re a very wicked woman. You want to ruin me just when I -have succeeded in everything.” - -“You make my position very invidious, mademoiselle,” said Boreski, -looking profoundly uneasy. - -“M. Denver, you have some influence with Mademoiselle Helga,” said the -Duchess to me. “Use it now, I beg of you, to urge her to give back -these papers to me.” - -“M. Denver has no influence with me,” declared Helga. “The papers were -obtained at my suggestion and for my own purpose, and no power in -Russia shall drag them from me until that purpose is accomplished.” - -“But I have pledged my word,” cried the Duchess with tears in her eyes. - -“And have done your best to keep it. But the papers must remain with -me. Nothing can change my resolve.” - -We heard the carriage at the door then. - -“I think that in honour you should give them up,” said Boreski. - -Helga looked at him very angrily. - -“I bid you good-night, M. Boreski,” she said stiffly. - -But the Duchess, having tried ineffectually entreaties and tears, had a -last shaft in the quiver. She laughed angrily. - -“They will do you no good. You have to account for how you obtained -them, and I will swear, if necessary, that I forged them myself. You -shall not ruin me. We have been your dupes too long.” - -“Your carriage is waiting, madame. Good-night, messieurs,” and with a -bow which included me as well as Boreski, she turned her back upon us -and went into an adjoining room. - -“We had better go,” said Boreski. - -“She is a dangerous, deceitful, treacherous woman,” exclaimed the -Duchess passionately. “Come, M. Denver.” - -“Excuse me, madame, I am remaining,” I said. - -“You will repent it, monsieur,” she exclaimed angrily as she swept past -me. - -“Possibly, madame; but at present I see nothing but congratulation in -being able to number myself among Mademoiselle Helga’s friends.” - -“The Emperor will hear of it from me.” - -Boreski lingered a moment as if wishful to speak to me, but his wife -called him sharply, and he contented himself with a glance which may -have meant many things to him but nothing to me, and they drove off. - -I looked after the carriage thoughtfully and went back into the house. -Ivan was in the hall. - -“You did not go with the carriage, then?” I said in some surprise. - -“No, monsieur, mademoiselle said, if M. Boreski wished it, and he did -not say so.” - -“I am glad, Ivan.” - -“Thank you, monsieur. I thought you would wish it. What are we to do -next?” - -“I don’t know. I will see Mademoiselle Helga,” and I went to the room -where she was. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--HELGA’S DEFEAT - - -With my hand on the door of the room where Helga was, I paused. The -thought crossed my mind that I had not been alone with her since the -critical moment in which the cloud between us had been swept away, and -we had seemed to understand intuitively each the other’s heart feelings. - -The thought embarrassed me, and I turned back to try and think my way -to some definite practical course of action. - -The scene with the Duchess Stephanie had shown me one thing clearly. -The failure of Helga’s plans was no longer to be set down solely to me. -The Duchess had herself seen the Emperor and patched up peace with him, -the chief condition of which had been the restoration of the secret -papers. - -It appeared, therefore, that the Emperor and old Kalkov had been -working for the same end at the same time by different methods. And -if this were so, it was equally clear that the wily old Prince had -misled me as to the Emperor’s cognizance of my part in the affair. A -course on his side which was quite in keeping with Helga’s opinion and -description of his methods. - -For my part I cared little; he might throw me over if he pleased, and -he had doubtless calculated upon that as a probable contingency. But -it affected Helga very seriously now, because it had led the Emperor -to take a line with the Duchess which he would never have taken, had -Kalkov told him what I was doing; and it had thus closed the gates -against Helga’s chances of getting to the Emperor himself. - -Up to the present Helga’s position had been veiled, and if I could -have secured her an interview, her story might have been listened to -with an impartial ear. But now the Duchess was going in hot haste to -prejudice Helga in the Emperor’s eyes by pointing to her as the real -source of danger in regard to the papers. - -In other words Helga’s scheme for the benefit of Boreski by securing -the Imperial consent to the marriage had succeeded, while it had failed -so far as it concerned Helga herself. And the very success of it made -the failure for her all the more disastrous. - -It seemed indeed that the further one went in the whole affair the more -hopeless and complicated and dangerous it became. - -The moment Helga’s real part in the matter was told to the Emperor he -would pass on the knowledge to Kalkov, and the whole machinery of the -Government’s secret police and spies would be set in motion for her -detection and arrest. - -And as if that were not enough, the ominous tangle with the brotherhood -had arisen at the same moment. - -Between us we had made just a horrible mess of everything; and as the -more I pondered the thing alone the more hopeless it looked, I went in -at length to Helga to see if I could get any ray of light from her. - -The way of a woman is ever a paradox surely, and Helga was very much of -a woman in that respect. - -When I entered I found her stretched at full length on a sofa in what -appeared to me to be an attitude of almost despairing dejection, and so -preoccupied that she did not hear me until I closed the door behind me. -Then she sat up quickly and looked at me. She had great mastery over -her features, and she evinced neither pleasure nor surprise at sight -of me. - -“Have you forgotten something and returned for it?” she asked with a -sort of conventional politeness. - -“Returned?” - -“I thought you were going with Boreski.” - -“Did you?” My glance said more than my words. - -“The Duchess will have been disappointed.” - -“Her disappointment is nothing to me.” - -“No?” with a lift of the brows, as if in surprise. - -“No,” I repeated. “I have been thinking.” - -“You would have been better employed in getting back to the city. You -would have covered a third of the distance by now.” - -“I am not going. I want to talk to you.” - -“Isn’t it rather late?” She pointed this with a glance at the clock. - -I could not restrain a smile. - -“Is this some new game we are playing?” I asked. - -She sat drumming her fingers on the sofa arm. - -“Is that what you want to talk about?” - -“No. I wish to ask you what you propose to do.” - -“And I do not propose to tell you.” - -She said this very quietly and calmly, and then suddenly flashed out-- - -“What I do can be no possible concern of yours, M. Denver.” - -“On the contrary it is everything to me,” I returned firmly. “You know -that as well as I.” - -“I will not know it; I will not have it so.” - -“We shall see. What are you proposing to do?” - -She looked as if about to make some sharp reply, but with one of her -swift changes, she smiled. - -“Do you really wish to render me a service, monsieur?” - -“I hope to render you many.” - -“Then go back to the Palace--to those who sent you to me--and tell them -you have failed in your honourable and secret mission. Tell them of me.” - -“Thank you, but that is not the kind of service I was expecting you to -ask, and I shall not do it.” - -“There is no other that I care to ask, then.” - -“Why do you wish me to go?” - -“Ought I not to be concerned for the safety of so welcome a guest?” - -“What extraordinary creatures you women are--and you especially. Now if -you were a man----” - -“Would God that I were!” she interposed vehemently. - -“You and I would just sit down and talk over the whole mess, as two -friends should, and try to hit on the easiest and best way out of it.” - -“Friends!” she cried; but I took no notice of the interruption. - -“And when we had hit on the solution we should try to work together to -carry it out. But instead of that, here you are flying into a passion -just because I ask you what you mean to do; and then you insult me for -no reason that I can see or understand, except that I haven’t run away -like a coward, unless it is that there’s nobody else around whom you -can treat in the same way with impunity.” - -“Am I to throw myself on my knees in gratitude to every one who chooses -to force the offer of his help upon me?” - -“If it does you any good to say this kind of thing to me by all means -go on. Only try to concentrate them into a few pithy and bitter -sentences and get them over. I can only say they don’t hurt me in the -least except that I know you’ll be horribly sorry for them after.” - -“I am serious when I say I wish you to leave here.” - -“I wish you’d try a cigarette,” and I lit a cigar. - -“You are intolerable,” she cried. - -“Let’s have an agreement. This cigar will last about twenty minutes or -half an hour; suppose you get through with all your nasticisms in that -time, and then discuss things soberly.” - -“Will you leave the house, M. Denver?” - -“Of course I will not--if it means leaving you here. Nothing will shake -my resolution to see you through this.” - -“But if I tell you that your presence interferes with my plans.” - -“Good. Go on.” - -“I will not have your help, I say.” - -“Very well; go on.” - -“I may surely choose whom I will to help me.” - -“Of course you may.” - -“And I don’t choose you, monsieur.” - -“All right, but you have a tendency to repeat yourself.” - -“Do you wish to provoke me?” - -“A bit superfluous, surely. But if you would get into a towering rage -and be done with it, it might help us.” - -“You dare to insult me only because you think I am defenceless.” - -“If you really think I wish to insult you, you are the most -extraordinary woman in Russia. You know so much better than that.” - -“I wish you to leave the house, monsieur.” - -“Why?” - -“And if you will not go I will call my servants.” - -“Ivan will have no hand in such madness.” - -“So you would even try to turn my servants against me.” - -“My cigar is half through,” I said, very calmly. - -“Ah, you have no answer to that.” - -“No, none. Ivan or you yourself can find one easily.” - -“You are insufferable,” she cried, her eyes flashing, as she sprang to -her feet. “I will not stay in the room with you,” and she crossed to -the door. - -I went on smoking and would not even turn my head to watch her. At the -door she paused. - -“Will you leave my house, M. Denver?” - -“I have given you my answer already, Mademoiselle Helga.” - -“I did not think you could be so grossly discourteous.” - -“There’s a good deal about me you seem to persist in misunderstanding. -But one thing you shall know clearly--that my will power is every whit -as strong as yours.” - -“Then I shall leave.” - -“That’s precisely what I wish you to do, and Ivan and I will go with -you.” - -She opened the door and I rose and flung my cigar away. - -“I’ve thrown the rest of it away. Now let us be sensible and face -things, and stop this wrangling. Come and sit down again.” - -“I will not. I will not be insulted.” - -I looked her very steadily in the eyes as I crossed the room to her, -and she may have divined something of my thoughts, for it seemed to -cost her an effort to meet my gaze. And when I was close to her, she -shrank slightly and her fingers left the door handle. I closed the door -then, and she bit her lip and frowned in the struggle to appear firm. -After an intentionally long pause, I said, slowly and deliberately-- - -“You have been horribly unjust to me. In your anger you have said -things that I would suffer from no one else. You know that, and--” -I paused and lowered my tone--“and you know why. We both know why, -Helga. We learnt it to-night.” - -She shook her head quickly. - -“I don’t see why you should shake your head. It has changed all my life -for me----” - -“Don’t,” she interposed. - -“Why not? It is true--do or say what you please. You are first in the -world to me.” - -“I will not hear you. I will not.” - -“Then I won’t say it again. But it will always be so. I just want you -to feel that and to know it’s in that spirit I wish to talk over things -with you. That’s all.” - -That she was deeply moved she could not hide from me. She stood with -lowered head, her bosom heaving, her lips trembling as she bit them, -and her fingers interlocked, until with a deep sigh she appeared to -come to a decision, when she lifted her face and answered steadily-- - -“I do not pretend not to understand you; but I cannot and will not -accept your help. You must go away.” - -“I will not take that answer, and I will not leave you.” - -I spoke as I felt, quite resolved on that point. - -The answer pleased her, and the hardness of her face relaxed. - -“You are very obstinate,” she said, and her eyes were almost smiling; -certainly the light in them was soft. - -“It doesn’t matter what we call it. It is the thing that matters. Tell -me frankly why you try to refuse my help.” - -She did not answer directly, and her eyes were troubled. - -“Yes, I will tell you. You have a right to know,” and she recrossed the -room to her former place. I followed to mine. - -“How far would you go with your help?” she asked, leaning her chin on -her hand and gazing at me earnestly. - -“I should like to know what that look has behind it, but I can answer -the question only in one way. I wish you to be my wife, Helga, and let -me help you at every turn in life. I love you.” - -“And know nothing of me.” - -“I know that you are the one woman the world holds for me. That is -enough for me to know.” - -“You saw me yesterday for the first time.” - -“It will be the same when yesterday is ten or twenty years old. It is -no question of mere time.” - -“Yet I am not as other women.” - -“I don’t love the other women.” - -“I do not mean that. You know. I mean I am not a good woman--as women -are counted good.” - -“I am accustomed to form my own judgments and to trust them.” - -“I should only ruin you. It is impossible.” - -“Wait until I am ruined and then see. But you would not ruin me, on the -contrary I should save you from ruin.” - -“You are very self-confident.” - -“Because I love you.” - -The directness of the reply seemed to please her, for she smiled. - -“You are very concise, monsieur.” - -“This is no time to waste words. We have a crisis to face.” - -She paused, and her face hardened a little as if in defiance. - -“I have been wooed before--do you realize that?” - -“You have not been won.” - -“I mean I have led men on to woo me and have jilted them.” - -“You did not love _them_.” - -“You mean----” she began with a flash of her eyes which changed to a -smile as she stopped abruptly. It died away when I said nothing, and -the air of defiance returned. “It is that you will not understand me. -I did it to use them for the purpose of my life--and when they were of -use no longer I flung them away.” - -“Then why not use me?” - -“I meant to--at first,” and she threw up her head. - -“Why not at last then?” - -“Ah, you drive me to speak so plainly. I tell you I am bad--bad to the -core, heartless, heedless, sexless if you will, where my revenge is -concerned. Now will you go?” - -“No.” - -“Well, then, if you will have the full truth, you shall. So long as I -thought you were the Emperor I set myself with all my woman’s wit and -cunning to make you love me. I planned it, schemed for it, and knowing -all that it might mean, I yearned for it. I told you I would have made -any sacrifice to have won your power to my side. Now, perhaps, you see -how base a thing I am.” - -“Well, you have succeeded, and have made me love you--though Heaven -knows I needed no making. What then?” - -“My God, will nothing open your eyes and drive you from me?” - -“One thing; but you have not said it yet.” - -She looked at me, and emotion seemed to master her till she said -passionately-- - -“You are no use to me. Had you been in truth the Emperor, as God is my -judge, I would have been your mistress. But being what you are, I will -not be your wife.” - -“You are very anxious to blacken yourself in my eyes,” I said after a -pause. - -“You at any rate shall know the truth--see me for what I am.” - -“Why?” - -“I wish you to know it.” - -“I will tell you why, Helga. There are limits even to the recklessness -of your self-slander. I have done you more wrong than I deemed. You had -caught yourself in your own toils and come to--to love the Emperor.” - -I spoke slowly and deliberately, and as the words left my lips she -started as if to make some indignant retort; but checked herself and -leant back in her seat, pale and set, her brows wrinkled in intensely -earnest thought. I watched her closely, and presently a flush began to -spread over her cheeks, and she said slowly, without looking at me-- - -“Why should I deny it? You wish the truth and shall have it.” - -Then she sat up again and bent forward toward me. - -“Yes, I love you--if it be love to long to do what you ask, and yet -be strong enough to put all thought of doing it out of my heart. I -do love you, I believe, and yet I am resolved never to look on your -face again. I hate you for the deceit you practised, which has ruined -everything for me at the very moment when all seemed to be won. And -yet”--her voice and eyes softened and she sighed--“and yet I--I am glad -you came.” - -“I ask no more than that--at present. Except leave to ask for more when -I have undone the mischief I have caused. You will grant that?” - -“No--no, a hundred times no.” - -“You may make it a million. It will not alter my resolve.” - -She laughed with delicious softness. - -“Now, you know why I will not have your help.” - -“Now, I do not care. I mean to force it on you; I will make it -necessary to you. You have shown me the road in what you’ve said. You -will marry me when I have helped you to revenge upon old Kalkov. Very -well.” - -“No, no, I said I would never marry you.” - -“I know you did, but that was because you declared I was no use to you. -I will make myself of use. I accept your own terms, and from now on I -take hold of the thing and handle it in my way.” - -“You are very masterful,” she cried. - -“No, only American. I’ve a large interest in it now, and on our side -we believe in good management. You’ve bungled things awfully, you see, -made a holy mess of them all round and wasted no end of opportunities. -For all I know you may have spoilt every chance. But there’s still one -way, and I shall try that.” - -“I can manage my own affairs,” she protested. - -“You can mismanage them, you mean; I’m too deep in now to trust your -methods any longer. We go my way from now.” - -“Indeed, and what is your way?” - -I believe all women at heart like to be forced to submit, and Helga’s -manner now was a curious mixture of the resentment which her pride -dictated and pleasure at meeting a will just a bit stronger than her -own. - -“I am going to get you to the Emperor before the Duchess can prejudice -him.” - -“How?” - -“Never mind how, I’m going to do it. What you have to do is to go and -get some sleep. You can have three hours, and then you must be ready to -start, and Madame Korvata must be ready too.” - -“But I----” - -“I’m not going to let you talk any more,” and I got up and opened the -door. - -She rose and laughed with a shrug of the shoulders. - -“It’s a new sensation to be ordered in this way.” - -“In three hours we shall start,” was my reply. - -“My nerves are tingling with desire to rebel,” she said, as she came -across the room slowly, and when she reached the door she stood and -looked at me, smiling. “Do all you Americans make--make love in this -way?” - -“I’m the business man at present; the lover will come afterwards. You -won’t mistake him when his turn comes.” - -“Good-night, Monsieur--l’Empereur,” she cried, her look a challenge and -her whole expression radiant. - -“You will make the lover rush things, Helga, if you look at the -business man like that. You ought to be asleep already. Good-night.” - -“Asleep? After to-night!” and with a toss of the head she was gone. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--AT THE GATES OF THE PALACE - - -As soon as Helga was gone I sent for Ivan, and told him to have -everything in readiness for the start in three hours’ time; and that of -course he would go with us. - -“Where are we going, monsieur?” he asked. - -“I don’t know. You spoke of some places where mademoiselle could -safely lie hid for a while. Which is the safest and nearest to -Petersburg?” - -“There is a house in the city itself, in the Square of San Sophia, -monsieur; quite safe, if the mademoiselle will adopt her old disguise.” - -“What disguise is that?” - -“A Sister of Charity, monsieur.” - -“Is it safe from both the police and the brotherhood?” - -“Quite, monsieur.” - -“Then we could go there. Is it ready for her?” - -“I can send on a carriage with a couple of the women.” - -“Good; then see to it at once.” - -“But if we leave here, there is one thing, monsieur. Have you -forgotten--the body of Vastic?” - -“Yes, indeed, I had forgotten. Go and see to the other things, and I’ll -think what to do.” - -It was a prickly problem in truth. To leave it at Brabinsk appeared -out of the question; to bury it and try to hush the thing up equally -impossible; and to take it with us to the city more hazardous than -either. He threatened to be as much trouble to us dead as alive, and I -smoked a cigar and tried to think the thing out. - -My intention was to make a clean breast of the matter to Kalkov, -leaving him and his police to do what they liked; and I did not doubt -they would find little difficulty in arranging matters. - -But where should I tell them to look for the body? To bring them after -it to Brabinsk would only put them on the scent after Helga, a result -full of dangerous possibilities. - -Yet how to get it away? It occurred to me that Ivan and I might carry -it off some miles from the house and hide it in a wood or pond or -somewhere; but the personal risks attending such a venture were too -considerable, and in a way unnecessary. - -Thus in the end I was driven back upon the decision to leave it at -Brabinsk; and Ivan and I had to undertake the exceedingly gruesome and -revolting task of burying it under the floor of a distant out-house. - -I shall not readily forget that experience. Ivan was cool enough; but -for my part I felt nearly as bad as any murderer could have felt when -seeking to hide the body of his victim; and when I got back to the -house, a stiff glass of brandy was necessary to enable me to shake off -the feeling of chilly horror. - -Then I had to plan my further movements. Roughly, my intention was to -get back to the Palace and obtain an audience of the Emperor at the -earliest possible moment, and beg him to see Helga. - -Prince Kalkov I did not wish to see until after that. I took Helga’s -view of matters, and believed that if she could get the story of her -father’s ruin straight to the Emperor, before the Duchess Stephanie -could influence him, she would succeed in working upon his old -friendship for her father sufficiently at least to cause some kind of -investigation into the affair. - -But in that we should have to reckon with Prince Kalkov, of course; -and he would be an ugly enemy. Fight he would, naturally, to the last -gasp; and his influence, position, and parts would ensure that such a -struggle would be a desperate one. It was like challenging the whole -force of the Government; and however good our case might be, there were -a hundred things likely to arise to defeat us. - -When I am trying to think out a course coolly, I have an unfortunate -knack of seeing all the dangers and obstacles through a kind of mental -magnifying glass; and I saw so many now, and they all appeared so great -that I could only regard our chances as little short of hopeless. - -Then added to everything was this infernal Nihilist complication. Not -only would it afford Kalkov a lever of tremendous power against Helga, -but it threatened to dog our every movement with perilous personal risk. - -It was in this respect that Vastic’s death was so threatening. The -instant I told Kalkov of it he would be in possession of the fact that -Helga was implicated with the brotherhood. He would recognize in a -moment the importance to him of denouncing his accuser as a Nihilist of -the Nihilists, and would find or invent a thousand proofs in support of -the charge; and her whole case would be instantly tainted and ruined. - -The one thin slender chance of averting this catastrophe was to hide -the fact that Helga Boreski the Nihilist and Helga the daughter of -Prince Lavalski, the Emperor’s former friend, were identical; but even -this forlorn hope would be cut off when the Duchess Stephanie got to -the Emperor and told her story. Boreski himself knew all about it, and -in all probability had told his wife. - -Still, whatever we might attempt, there were big risks, and we must -be content to take them and deal with them as they threatened us. The -first consideration was to get at the Emperor before the Duchess and -strike the first blow. - -A glance at Helga’s face when she came down told me she had not slept. -She was very pale. I told her where we were going, and added-- - -“You have not taken my advice and got some sleep.” - -“I wish to speak to you earnestly a moment. I have been thinking. You -must not do this thing for me.” - -“I will give it up on one condition--only one.” - -“What is that?” - -“That you give it up also, and, instead of going back to Petersburg, -you cross the frontier with me!” - -“That you know is impossible;” and her face clouded. - -“Come, then; and don’t keep the carriage waiting.” - -“But if you are to run this risk, it will be so much harder for me. I -cannot bear it.” - -“So long as you remain on this side of the frontier I remain too; so -that you’ll have to bear it, I’m afraid;” and I took her out to the -carriage in which Madame Korvata was already shivering in the nipping -morning air. That good lady was not in a pleasant temper, moreover, at -having been dragged from her bed at such an early hour; and as she did -not know all that had occurred, and was not fully in our confidence, -Helga and I could not speak much during the long drive. - -Helga lay back in her seat most of the time wrapped in thought, and -I on my side was equally absorbed; but once, when Madame Korvata had -fallen asleep, we exchanged a few words. - -“I am going straight to the Palace,” I told her; “and shall do my -utmost to get to the Emperor at once. If I am successful I shall send -immediately for you.” - -“You will not succeed. Prince Kalkov will not let you,” she replied. - -“I hope to evade him altogether.” - -“He is a vigilant watchdog, and all those about the Palace are at his -beck and in his service.” - -“Then I shall try to hoodwink him. I know I can get to His Majesty. -What you have to do is to be prepared with all the proof of Kalkov’s -infamy--all particulars, so as to hit right home at once, and as hard -as possible.” - -“Do not be afraid that I shall fail at such a moment--if it ever comes.” - -“It will come. It shall,” I said firmly. “But there is another thing. -If we get our chance and yet fail--what then?” - -She looked at me and paused before replying. - -“If I could answer your question as you wish, I would. But I shall -never give in. Nothing will ever satisfy me but victory.” - -“All the greater reason, then, for me to do my utmost now,” I answered; -but she saw I was disappointed at her reply. - -“No. It is the greater reason for you to abandon the attempt and leave -me to fight on in my own way.” - -“That is not how we Americans fight.” - -“But in America you know nothing of the conditions of such a trouble as -this. You do not yet know the risks you run. If we attack Prince Kalkov -and fail, do you think he will not know how to wreak his revenge upon -us--upon all concerned? Ah, monsieur, what can a Republican know of the -ways of Russia?” - -“I’m beginning to get an insight, at least,” I said lightly. - -“You fight with your votes over there, and risk perhaps some of your -money; but here the stakes are human life and liberty. God help us.” - -She spoke so vehemently that Madame Korvata awoke, and our -conversation ended. - -When we neared the city I told Helga I should not drive with her to her -destination, and asked her to tell me exactly the location of the house. - -“Every one knows the Square of San Sophia--close to the cathedral. The -house is called the Retreat, and was formerly a mission house. A small -red-brick building in the north-east corner.” - -I took out a scrap of paper and scribbled the words “Retreat, Square of -San Sophia, N.E. corner.” - -“You are not writing it down. It is dangerous to write addresses, my -friend,” said Helga cautiously as I put it in my pocket. - -It was a very small thing, but it startled me. I seemed to feel, as it -were, the first chill of the atmosphere of intrigue which the simple -caution suggested. - -“It is in English, and no eyes but my own will ever see it,” I said. - -“Yet it is dangerous,” she repeated. “You are not in America.” - -“Perhaps you are right. I’ll tear it up;” and I took out what I thought -was the paper, tore it up, and was flinging the pieces out of the -carriage when Helga again stopped me, and smiled. - -“Not all in one place. You have not been reared in this school, my -friend. It is safer to burn papers which tell tales.” - -“The pieces with the writing on are gone already,” I said, glancing at -those still in my fingers. “See, these are blanks.” - -“It may not matter, but caution can never be exaggerated.” - -I tossed the remaining fragments away, and tried to regard the incident -as neither important in itself nor significant of anything serious. But -Helga’s evidently sincere earnestness affected me; and the bothersome -trifle was in my thoughts when I left the carriage soon afterwards, and -she renewed her injunctions to me to be cautious. - -“Do not deceive yourself,” she said very earnestly as we parted. “I -know you will do your best for me; I believe it with all my heart. But -you do not understand these things--and we may never meet again.” - -“If I get into a mess I will contrive to let you hear of it.” - -“Not in Russia, M. Denver. I shall wait, how anxiously I cannot tell -you, for news of you. And if I get none, I shall not misunderstand. I -repeat--we may never meet again.” - -“If you do not hear from me to-day, or at latest to-morrow, you will -know there is a check somewhere, and you must fly.” - -“I shall be quite safe in the Retreat.” - -“You can safely communicate with me at the American Embassy. Remember -that.” - -“I shall not forget, and need not write it down,” she answered with one -of her smiles. “And do you yourself remember--caution, such as you have -never had to use. Good-bye. May God prosper us and our cause.” - -“And our love, Helga,” I added in the lowest of whispers. A pressure of -her fingers and a glance from her eyes answered me. - -The carriage drove off rapidly, and left me to set about a task, which -in its way was perhaps as difficult as any that ever plagued the wits -of a sorely perplexed man. - -It was still early in the morning, and I had to walk some distance -before I could secure a drosky. The driver, when I told him to take me -to the Palace, appeared to think I was either some overnight reveller -who had not shaken off the effects of the drink, or else a lunatic; for -he laughed and swore good-humouredly, and then flatly refused to do as -I bade him. - -While we were wrangling, I saw some police approaching, and, having -no mind to be interviewed by them, I ended the dispute by giving him a -double fare and telling him to drive to a point near the Palace. - -As we rumbled along innumerable difficulties suggested themselves as -obstacles to my gaining admission to the Palace at all at such an hour; -and the all but hopelessness of doing so without Prince Kalkov getting -to hear of it was too patent to be denied. - -The attempt had to be made, however; and as impudence and a show of -authority go for much in Russia as elsewhere, I put as bold a face on -things as possible. When I left the carriage I wrapped my military -cloak about me, and strutting with as much of an officer’s swagger as I -could assume, I marched past the first sentry without a question. - -I returned his salute in an off-hand way and walked on to the great -building. Just as I thought my bluff would succeed, however, I was -stopped by an official. - -“Your pardon, monsieur,” he said, “but no one is permitted to enter.” - -“I suppose I may go to my own rooms,” I replied in French, with a smile. - -“Of course, but this is the Palace, monsieur.” - -“And my rooms are in it. I am a guest of His Majesty.” - -“A thousand pardons for this interruption, but we have very strict -orders, and have had no notification of your visit. Will you be so good -as to come to my bureau?” - -“I’d rather go to my rooms; but if this is the way that His Majesty’s -guests are usually treated, by all means lead the way.” - -He bowed very ceremoniously and took me to his office. Here he repeated -his apologies and asked me my name. - -“There will doubtless be some directions here,” he added, taking a book -from his desk. - -I didn’t want to give my name if it could be helped; and I hesitated. - -He noticed the hesitation and frowned. - -“My name is Harper C. Denver. I am an American. I arrived here three -days ago. You will probably recognize this ring of His Majesty’s as a -guarantee of my position.” - -But there are always two views as to the possession of a Royal jewel; -and this blockhead took the wrong one. I might have known he would; and -I could almost read in his eyes that he suspected me of having obtained -it by some wrongful means. - -He pretended to search in his book for some mention of my name, while -all the time he was asking himself how I could have got hold of one of -His Imperial Master’s rings. - -“I regret exceedingly that I find no reference here to you,” he -said, his manner still excessively polite. “It is very awkward and -very unfortunate. But I am afraid I cannot permit you to enter the -Palace--without further instructions, that is. No doubt, however, you -can suggest some one to whom I can send?” - -He said this with the air of a man who feels he has got you. - -“You can send to His Majesty,” said I quietly. “That will be the -simplest way.” - -He looked at me steadily, and his manner changed. - -“You wish to see His Majesty, then, at once?” he asked. - -“What I wish is to go to my rooms first, and see His Majesty -afterwards. Nothing unreasonable in that, is there?” - -“Unreasonable, no, monsieur, and yet, perhaps, unusual. But I will see -what I can do. I will send and make inquiries.” - -He had returned to his former polite deferential air. - -“So long as you are quick, I don’t care what you do,” said I. - -“This is very trying to me. I am deeply sorry. But perhaps you are used -to these needs for caution in other countries;” and he went on in this -style until a servant entered. - -“Send Gravok to me,” he said, and accompanied the order with a -significant nod. - -I wondered what was coming; but was not long left in doubt, for half a -minute later a sergeant and three soldiers entered, two of whom placed -themselves instantly one on each side of me. - -“This is a mere formality, of course; but you will understand.” - -I laughed then. - -“You mean I am under arrest, I suppose.” - -“Yes, of course; what else?” he answered in curt quick tones. “Are you -armed?” - -“I have a revolver; here it is,” and I put my hand to take it out. - -“Stop him,” said the official sharply; and a soldier caught my arm, -while the sergeant plunged his hand into the pocket I had indicated and -drew out the pistol. - -The official smiled with dry significance as he examined it and said-- - -“Ah, and loaded, I see. I expected it. Take him to the guard-house.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--PRINCE KALKOV’S WELCOME - - -My first inclination was to burst out laughing at the egregious -absurdity of the blunder, but I restrained myself. Had I had no one but -myself to think for, I would have had my laugh, if the next minute had -seen me in the deepest dungeon in Petersburg. But I was carrying too -many responsibilities. - -There are certain classes of officials at whom it is extremely -dangerous to laugh. You meet them in all countries; but on the -continent of Europe, they are able to resent your merriment practically -by clapping you into gaol and perhaps keeping you there. It is safer -consequently to laugh at unofficial people. - -There was one quick way for me out of the bother, to refer the thing to -Prince Kalkov--and although I was loth to take it, I saw immediately -that I must adopt that course or be marched off by the soldiers who -were only too ready to obey the command. - -“You must not permit yourself to commit this mistake, monsieur,” I -said, quietly, “or you will incur the serious displeasure of Prince -Kalkov, as well as of His Majesty. I do not wish to bring trouble -upon so courteous an official, and consequently urge you in your own -interest to communicate with the Prince without delay.” - -Nowhere in the world does a big name properly used carry more terror -than in Russia’s capital; and I put all the authority I could into my -tone and manner. - -“What have you to do with His Highness?” asked the man, hesitating and -yet suspicious, and motioning to the soldiers to wait. - -“It happens to be the case that I have told you the truth about myself -and you have disbelieved me. You have sent for these gentlemen and -ordered my arrest. I will overlook that insult if you send a letter -which I will write to the Prince. And if you will not, I warn you -in all seriousness that I can and will obtain from His Majesty your -dismissal and disgrace.” - -“I have done no more than my duty,” he returned sullenly. He was -obviously unwilling to give way before his inferiors, and yet secretly -afraid to persist. - -“On the contrary, monsieur, you are exceeding your powers now. I have -shown you how to obtain instant confirmation of what I have told you -from the highest authority, and in the simplest manner. Refuse, and -take the consequences. I am like yourself in one respect--my patience -has its limits.” - -“You had this upon you,” he said in the same tone, as he fingered my -revolver. “And, as I said, it is loaded.” - -I turned to the soldiers. - -“Gentlemen, I am at your disposal. Take me to the guard-house and send -to me the officer of the watch;” and I moved toward the door. - -The sergeant himself had no liking for the job now, however, and -hesitated; and the official in a surly tone gave in. - -“You can write,” he said, and laid paper and pen on the desk. - -“I will not write now,” I said curtly, for I began to see another -ending to the affair. “I gave you the opportunity and you declined it. -I will go to the guard-house. His Majesty and Prince Kalkov shall find -me there, and you can explain. Come, gentlemen, if you please; or shall -I go alone?” - -That any one should exhibit a preference to be arrested was so novel an -experience for Russian officialism that they were all staggered. The -official took refuge in anger. - -“Are you attempting a joke with me?” he cried. - -“I do not joke with persons in your position,” I retorted sternly. - -“I have my duty,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. - -“If you deem it your duty to degrade Prince Kalkov’s friend by -imprisoning him, do it, monsieur--if you dare.” - -“It is an impossible position.” - -“You have created it, and must find the way out. But every minute I am -detained here will count against you with the Emperor;” and I pulled -out my watch as if to mark them off. He was sorely perplexed. - -“I will consider the matter. Withdraw your men, sergeant;” and they -filed out again, the sergeant manifestly relieved. “I will send to His -Highness.” - -“You will do nothing of the sort, monsieur, now,” I said. I saw that he -was now practically convinced of my good faith, and I meant to gain my -end in my own way. - -“You can enter the Palace, monsieur, but I must retain this,” and he -held up my revolver. - -“We Americans do not consent to be robbed even in an Emperor’s Palace,” -I retorted, bent on winning with the honours of war. - -“It will be returned to you, monsieur; but I cannot consent to allow -you to pass with a weapon in your possession. I dare not take the -responsibility.” - -“There’s reason in that, perhaps,” I agreed after a pause. “You can -keep it until I come to reclaim it.” - -He opened the door for me then, and murmured an apology. - -“I am sorry for what has occurred, but you will understand the -difficulty in which I found myself.” - -“If you do not mention it, monsieur, I shall not; but if you do I -shall make the worst of it. In your private ear I may tell you I have -been away on urgent business of the Prince’s, and he wishes neither my -departure nor my return to attract notice. I need say no more to so -zealous a servant of His Highness;” and I gave him a look which I hoped -would secure his silence. - -I was passing out when a thought occurred to me. - -“It will perhaps complete your satisfaction if you accompany me to my -suite of rooms.” - -He was more than pleased; and so was I, for by this means I secured -myself from all further interruption at the hands of the numerous -members of the household whom we met on the way. - -I had some difficulty in finding my rooms, but succeeded at length, -and taking my companion in with me, was soon able to convince him -thoroughly of his mistake. He overwhelmed me with profuse apologies, -returned my revolver, begged me to overlook his action, and what was -much more important, assured me I could depend upon his silence as to -my return. - -It is always an intense satisfaction to turn a check into an advantage, -and I was disposed to plume myself upon my adroitness and to regard the -incident as of good omen for the start of things. - -I dressed myself in my own clothes once more, and then had to consider -how best to reach the Emperor. I was, moreover, desperately hungry, and -how to get a breakfast puzzled me. - -It is so often the little fiddling trivialities which cause so much -embarrassment. The servant who had waited upon me before had been -Kalkov’s confidential man, Pierre, and I was naturally unwilling that -he should know of my return, as he would instantly inform his master. - -Some breakfast I must have, however, and to get it I must of course -ring the bell and take my chance. The luck was with me this time. The -man who came was a stranger. - -“I will have my breakfast served in my room this morning,” I said in an -off-hand tone, as if I had lived in the Palace half my life. He was too -well trained to express any surprise even if he felt any; and in a few -minutes he returned with a breakfast and stayed to wait upon me. - -I ate the meal in silence, and then lighting a cigar I said in a casual -way-- - -“You have not waited upon me before, I think. I don’t recall your face.” - -“I have been absent from the Palace, monsieur.” - -“Ah, that explains it.” - -“I returned the day before yesterday, monsieur,” he said with a quick -glance and in a significant tone which showed his thoughts. - -“I see, that was while I was away. Is His Majesty recovered from his -indisposition?” - -“By the blessing of Providence, completely, monsieur,” he replied -earnestly. “But it was not serious, happily.” - -“That is good news,” I said; but it struck me as singular that his -recovery should be complete before my return. It seemed to lend some -kind of confirmation to my former suspicion that Kalkov had played me -false in regard to the Emperor. - -“By the way, you will be waiting upon me for the future, I suppose?” I -said after a pause. - -“Yes, monsieur.” - -“I am glad of that,” and I gave him a couple of gold pieces as a -material proof of my pleasure. “I wish to have an audience of His -Majesty this morning. Can you get my request to him? I will write it. -It is important.” - -“There will be no difficulty, monsieur.” - -I wrote a note urging His Majesty to grant me an immediate interview -and handed it to the man. - -“You know who I am, of course,” I said, with a smile. - -“His Highness Prince Kalkov’s man, Pierre, told me that the suite was -reserved for M. Denver, an American gentleman. But he described you -differently, monsieur.” - -“Oh, you mean my beard. Yes, I had to shave it off. Well, get my letter -to His Majesty as soon as you can.” - -All was going so easily that when he had taken away the letter I -indulged in a little pardonable jubilation, as I ran hastily over the -heads of what I had to say to the Emperor. - -It had not been so difficult, after all, to break through the cordon -with which the Prince surrounded the Emperor; and my direct American -methods had done well. - -If I could only succeed half as well with His Majesty, Helga and I--and -then my thoughts branched off to her, and all other considerations -slipped out of my mind. - -She was worth winning indeed, let the fight be as stiff as it might. -Victory now meant a life full of radiant happiness with her--a -veritable queen among women. Let the price be what it might, it was -worth paying to see the light of loving gratitude which would spring -to her lovely face when I should claim her for my own and take her in -my arms and tell her that my ways had conquered when hers had failed, -and---- - -I had reached somewhere about that point when my rhapsodical reverie -was interrupted by a knock and the servant entered. I sprang to my feet -eagerly. - -“His Highness Prince Kalkov to see you, monsieur,” he said, and in came -the Prince, hands extended and face beaming, as if in genuine hearty -welcome. - -“My dear M. Denver, I cannot say how glad I am to see you back again,” -and he seized my hands and shook them warmly. “I have been really -anxious, painfully anxious, about you.” - -For the life of me I could not for the moment shake myself free from -the chagrin and disappointment caused by his arrival and play up to the -part of appearing glad to see him. - -“I am very glad to get back, Prince, I can assure you,” I said, with a -sort of tongue-tying hesitation, as his sharp eyes were playing about -my face like the blade of a skilful fencer round a novice. - -“I thank my God you are alive and well, and have suffered no more hurt -than the loss of your beard. How it has changed you!” and as he looked -at me his grim wily old features relaxed into a smile. - -“Yes, I had to shave,” I said. - -“You are the Emperor no longer, monsieur. No one will make that mistake -again.” - -“Thank God for that. I don’t care for the part at all.” - -“That means you have had an exciting time,” he answered. “There are two -emotions which I make a rule to deny myself rigidly, monsieur, and you -have made me break the rule. They are enthusiasm and impatience. Now I -am enthusiastic when I think of your act; and impatient to hear your -account of it.” - -But I was very far from impatient to give it him, and was indeed -cudgelling my wits how to colour it. - -“In the first place I have a pretty heavy item against you, Prince,” I -said. - -“For having let you embark in the thing, you mean. My dear M. Denver, I -give you my solemn assurance I had no idea there would be anything like -this result.” - -“I don’t mean that. I mean the breach of the agreement between us that -Boreski’s carriage should not be followed.” - -“Ah, that!” and he threw up his hands. “Yes, that was bad. It failed; -but those responsible for the failure have paid the penalty. They -should have known that Boreski might bring one of those cursed -motor-cars and thus be able to distance pursuit. I was served by -short-sighted fools--and fools of that kind I do not keep in my -employment. When I heard of it I was maddened.” - -I let him run on in this way in the effort to draw me on to a side -issue, for my object now was to gain time in the hope that the summons -to the Emperor would come to interrupt the interview. - -“I don’t refer to the failure, I mean the attempt. You promised that no -attempt should be made.” - -“My dear M. Denver, I give you my word that the thing was necessary. I -should have done precisely the same had you been in truth the Emperor -himself. Of course, you know, monsieur, that there are times when the -commands even of kings have to be secretly disregarded.” - -He gave the last sentence with a kind of semi-confidential air. - -“I don’t know anything of the etiquette which surrounds kings, but I do -know, Prince, had I not trusted your word I should not have gone,” I -replied with the severe manner of a man with a genuine grievance. - -“I am deeply sorry, monsieur, profoundly sorry; but, as I say, I only -treated you as I should my august master. And what effect, then, had -it? It must have been serious, of course. I can tell that by the stress -you lay upon it.” - -“It was a breach of faith with Boreski.” - -He waved his hand carelessly and smiled to show his indifference to -that. - -“He was clever enough to elude the pursuit, and had evidently come -prepared for the trial of wits.” - -“It made him suspicious, of course; and jaundiced his view of the -documents I had to lay before him.” - -“I am afraid you have failed with him, then. You did not get the -papers?” - -“No, I did not.” I spoke reluctantly, angry at the adroit manner in -which he had got at the pith of the thing so quickly. - -“That is very disappointing,” he said. “Yes, very disappointing. But I -am sure it is no fault of yours.” - -He appeared to be quite earnest in expressing his disappointment at the -failure; but his manner of referring to the papers was in such contrast -to his former reference to them that I could not fail to be struck -by it. I jumped to the conclusion consequently that he knew of the -interview between the Emperor and the Duchess Stephanie and thought -they were still to be recovered through her. - -“No; it was no fault of mine,” I replied. - -“I am under a deep obligation to you, M. Denver, for having made the -attempt--an obligation which will find expression in a way that I -think you will appreciate. I mean in regard to your projected journey. -Everything that the Government can do to help that shall be done. I -give you my word.” - -“That is very good of you.” - -He looked at me very shrewdly as I spoke. - -“You have not abandoned the idea, have you? I know that many of your -countrymen act on impulse,” he said with a smile. - -“Abandoned it? Oh no. Why should I?” - -“Well, I did not know whether anything in your present experiences -might incline you to think our country not as--as safe for travellers -as some others.” - -That there was something underneath his words and his calm smiling -suavity was as clear as an ant in amber. - -“One has to take risks, of course,” I replied indifferently. - -“What I mean is that if you would rather turn back, you would of course -have our protection to the frontier. If, for instance, you thought you -would rather approach our Asiatic dependencies from the other end?” - -“I have seen nothing of the capital itself yet, Prince.” - -“True, comparatively nothing; but this is a bad season of the year for -Petersburg.” - -“You have some meaning behind that,” I said pointedly. - -“How could I, M. Denver? You have told me nothing yet of your -experiences.” - -He was blandness itself, with just the necessary shred of reproachful -reminder of my omission. - -“I am waiting to see the Emperor. I have asked him for an audience this -morning; and as my story to you will take rather long in the telling, -it would be better to postpone it.” - -“His Majesty will be charmed, I am sure. Did you hear of the _ruse de -guerre_ about his indisposition?” and he smiled again. - -I was getting to be rather afraid of these smiles of his. - -“Yes, a paper was shown me.” - -“I hoped it would be. I hoped it would be. It was a rather ingenious -bit of colour. But His Majesty had to recover yesterday.” - -“Before I returned,” I put in drily. - -“He had to go to Moscow to meet the Crown Prince, you see.” - -“Do you mean His Majesty is in Moscow?” I cried. - -“Did you not know it? The servant should have told you this morning. -These men are really addlepated fools,” he cried with an excellent -indignation, as his sharp glittering eyes fixed on me. He was enjoying -my momentary confusion, I am sure. - -“No, I did not know it,” I answered, with difficulty smothering an oath. - -“He was overwhelmed with regret that you had not returned before he -went--the more so as he knew you would have left Petersburg before his -return.” He continued to enjoy my discomfiture, for a moment, and then -added lightly: “But at any rate there is one compensation for me. It -will give ample time for me to hear your story, for which, as I told -you, I am really impatient. Will you tell it here, or would you like to -come to my apartments?” - -“It doesn’t matter, one place is as good as another,” I answered, in -any but an amiable tone. - -I was no match for him at this game of fence. Already he had contrived -to fill me with a kind of fearsome speculation as to how much he -had managed to hear of my doings and concerning Helga. There was -suggestiveness in every word he uttered, and every look and gesture he -made. - -“Why did the Emperor think I should not be in Petersburg on his -return?” I asked after a pause. “You are perplexing me, Prince.” - -“I told him so, my dear M. Denver,” he replied, as if frankly. - -“Why?” - -He spread out his hands and smiled. - -“May we not find a reason in your interesting narration? I have really -never known myself to feel so much impatience for anything of the kind -before. I entreat of you not to keep me in suspense.” - -And he threw himself back in his chair and folded his hands in the -attitude of an interested listener and looked to me to begin. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--TURNING THE SCREW - - -Before I complied with Prince Kalkov’s request I took out a fresh cigar -and spent some time over lighting it. - -“You have quite a stage instinct, monsieur, in pausing thus at the -critical moment. If I did not know you, I might be tempted to think you -were arranging the duly dramatic unfolding of the tale, or perhaps,” he -added lightly, “considering what part of it you need not tell.” - -“It is after all only the story of a failure, Prince, and naturally -one does not care to dwell too long upon it. I went to Boreski, as -you know, led him to believe that I was the Emperor, laid before -him the papers as we arranged, and he took the objection I had -anticipated--that he must have the money in cash instead of a draft.” - -“You told him the reason--that the money was a dowry?” - -“Of course, and he immediately checkmated me by saying he was already -married to the Duchess and that the consent to the marriage must be -dated back.” - -“He is a daring fellow. It was a tight corner. What did you say?” - -“I couldn’t alter the date, of course, for the reason that I could not -write in the same hand, so I put up what we Americans term a bluff,” -and I described to him what had passed, withholding, of course, all -mention of Helga and her part in it. - -“It was very clever, M. Denver. And why did you not come away?” - -“If I had come the papers would have been placed in the hands of the -Powers’ representatives at once. I stayed, therefore, in the hope of -finding the means to avert such a catastrophe.” - -“That was almost reckless, but under the circumstances no more than -I should have expected.” He was a fiend at the game of implied -suggestion, and again I was convinced he had secret information of some -kind. “But in the end you found you could do nothing?” he continued. -“They made you a prisoner.” - -Why did he use that plural? What “they” had he in his mind? - -“A prisoner in effect, because, if I left, Boreski meant to use the -papers at once. But I could have left at any moment.” - -He smiled and nodded. - -“Ingenious, highly ingenious. And then?” - -“Then there was nearly the devil to pay. By some means or other the -Nihilist brotherhood got wind of the fact that I was at Boreski’s----” - -“At Boreski’s?” he shot in, as if in surprise. - -“Presumably it was Boreski’s house, and a hurried flight followed with -the object of saving me from them, but it was ineffectual. They found -me, and an attempt was made upon my life by a man named Vastic, and I -only averted it by shooting him.” - -“What infernal villainy! It shows, of course, that Boreski is in league -with this brotherhood. And where was this?” - -“I can find my way to the place, I think.” - -“It would be at Brabinsk, of course.” - -How the devil did he know that? - -“It was a very close shave, I assure you,” I said, trying to conceal my -surprise. “It was Brabinsk; I remember to have heard the name. How did -you know it?” - -“Through my agents. As a matter of fact, an anonymous communication has -been laid in the matter to the effect that murder was done there last -night--the murder of this man, Vastic.” - -I felt my nerves chill at this, with sudden dread for Helga. He noticed -the change instantly. Nothing seemed to escape those piercing eyes of -his. - -“The facts are as I have told you. His revolver was at my head when I -got the drop on him and fired. It was his life or mine.” - -“Exactly. I don’t think you need bother your head about the matter. -My men are out there by this time, and we know how to deal with -such cases. Vastic was one of the few really dangerous men in this -brotherhood, and by killing him you have added to our obligation. We -shall try to avoid any fuss. By the way, were there any witnesses?” - -He was the devil with these quietly-put, probing, torturing questions. - -“What was the account they gave of it? A second man was joined in the -attempt and witnessed it.” - -He saw the obvious parry. - -“Naturally nothing was said of that,” he answered with a laugh. “I -mean, was Boreski present? You see, it would be most valuable to be -able to connect him with it, and his presence would be enough.” - -“No, Boreski was not in the house,” I answered, cursing him in my -thoughts for torture he inflicted. - -“Then why did you stay there?” - -“I have told you--because of the threat to use the papers.” - -“Oh, yes, of course. It is a pity. I should like to have had that link -in the chain against him.” He frowned as if genuinely concerned, and -added after a pause, “Of course, you will see the desirability--the -necessity, in fact--of telling everything, everything in the fullest -sense, I mean, in such a case?” - -“Do you think I have not?” I retorted sharply. - -“Where are the papers now?” he asked, putting my implied repudiation on -one side. - -“I should think we had better ask M. Boreski,” I answered, attempting -a light tone and forcing a smile. But it was an effort. I recognized -that, and recognized too that I was afraid of him. Not for myself, he -could not harm me; but terribly afraid for Helga. - -“I should have thought that, too,” he answered, copying my light tone. -“But it’s just there I am puzzled. You see, Boreski says he doesn’t -know either.” He spoke for all the world as though we were just talking -over the thing in full mutual confidence. - -“It’s scarcely likely, is it, that he would tell everything?” - -“No, no, of course not. But he declares, or at least the Duchess -Stephanie does, and it’s the same thing, that he hasn’t them.” Then he -started as if an idea had occurred to him. “By the way, you haven’t -said anything about this mysterious lady, Mademoiselle Helga Boreski? -Didn’t you think it worth while, or didn’t you see her?” - -His eyes were on my face, and he saw the wince I gave at the sudden -thrust. He had known about her all the time. - -“I didn’t wish to bring her name into the affair.” - -“Ah, monsieur, that was a mistake. May I ask the motive?” - -“Certainly. She is the lady whom I hope to make my wife.” It was my -turn to surprise him now, and a long pause followed, while he sat -smoking and thinking over the new turn. - -“Well, M. Denver, I am genuinely sorry for you; sorry that I ever sent -you on this business. You cannot save this lady, and it would of course -be idle for me to pretend that I do not see how your feeling for her -has actuated you. She is a Nihilist; she has had chief part in this -plot; she holds these papers; she was present when the attempt was made -on your life--and probably instigated it----” - -“No, she did not,” I interposed angrily. “At that time she knew quite -well I was not the Emperor.” - -“So you told them that?” he returned in his quiet suggestive manner. - -“I did my utmost to obtain the papers,” I protested. - -“We are getting at cross purposes, monsieur,” he answered with dryness. -“I will not question you about her. Probably you know who she is and -what her motive is in the strange course she is taking. I do not yet; -I am speaking frankly--more frankly than you dealt with me--but I have -now certain information, and shall soon have more. But already I know -enough to warrant me in ordering her arrest.” - -“You have seen the Duchess Stephanie this morning?” - -“Yes, and shall see her again--and others. You must face the facts, -monsieur; and the facts are that this Mademoiselle Helga will not -be long at liberty, and that any thought of marriage between you is -absolutely out of the question. She will go to the mines.” - -“On the contrary, your Highness, she will be my wife,” I said firmly. -Now that the mischief was out, and I was no longer clogged by the need -to hide things, my embarrassment was at an end, and I recovered my -self-possession. There was a prospect of a fight too, and my spirits -rose to it. - -“We shall see, monsieur. I am, as I say, deeply sorry for you; but, -believe me, you will not improve your case if you attempt to espouse -this reckless young woman’s cause and fight our Government for her -sake.” - -“Fight you, you mean, Prince?” - -“As a member of that Government, yes: in a way it is fighting me.” - -“You forget the Emperor is my friend.” - -“But not the friend of desperate young women Nihilists, monsieur,” he -answered with calculated deliberateness. “You must give her up.” - -“That I will never do.” - -“Then the consequences will be disastrous. But now,” and he waved -his hand as if putting that matter aside, “there is another matter. -Your killing of this man, Vastic, has made you many enemies. Your name -is known to them as well as your appearance, and your life may be in -danger at their hands. You were mentioned by name in the charge which -reached us. We shall of course protect you.” - -“I can protect myself, thank you,” I interposed. - -“We can run no risks of any trouble with the American Embassy on your -account, and we must therefore charge ourselves with the task of -protecting you. What I propose to you, therefore, is, as I said at -first, that you either return to the frontier, or that you start on -your journey to Khiva under strong escort, and that you adopt one of -those courses forthwith.” - -“I thank your Highness, but I shall not go. I shall not leave -Petersburg, at any rate until I have seen the Emperor.” - -He rose then and tossed away his cigar. - -“I hold you for a man of decision, monsieur, but in this case I will -give you an opportunity of reconsidering this one. I will see you again -in an hour.” - -“You will not find me here. I shall go to an hotel.” - -“For that hour at least it will not be convenient to us for you to take -such a step.” - -“Does your Highness make me a prisoner?” I demanded indignantly. - -“I will see you again in an hour, monsieur,” he replied, and with that -left the room, without heeding my angry retort. - -As soon as he had gone the servant entered and asked my permission to -attend to the rooms. I gave it to him, and throwing such things as lay -to hand into a grip I went to the door. - -“I shall not be back,” I said to him, and he turned and looked at me -curiously. - -“Very well, monsieur,” he answered. “But I believe His Highness wishes -to see you here.” - -I flung the door open, for my temper was up, and then found I was -indeed a prisoner. Three men were posted there on guard. - -Affecting to believe their presence had nothing to do with me, I made -as if to brush by them. - -“Your pardon, monsieur,” said the man in command, “but my orders are to -desire you to be so good as to await His Highness’s return.” - -“I have told the Prince I will see him another time,” I returned. - -“Deepest regrets, monsieur; but my orders were very precise;” and as -it was quite evident that he was prepared to prevent my departure by -force if necessary, I gave in, went back into the room and slammed the -door. Just one of those childish acts a man commits in a rage. - -But the situation was far too grave for my vexation over the mere -personal indignity to last long. The thing had to be considered as an -indication of the length to which the Prince was ready to go in the -absence of the Emperor. He would stick at nothing; and the treachery -which had destroyed Helga’s father years ago was still a practical -policy with him. - -The question was what he could do to me and whether he would attempt to -keep me from seeing the Emperor. It was clear that his suspicions had -fastened upon Helga. He had had his own reasons for asking so pointedly -about her real motives. - -“You probably know who she is; I do not--yet,” he had said; but he -had a connecting link almost in his hands in the person of Boreski. -Moreover he had accepted my news as meaning that I should associate -myself with her. If then he guessed that she was so dangerous to him -as the daughter of the dead Lavalski would be, I could not doubt he -would strain every nerve, not only to secure her and put her away as -a Nihilist, but also to keep me as her champion from getting to the -Emperor’s ear. - -But what should I do? That was the question. Drive me out of Russia he -should not; that I was resolved; but shut up in my room in the Palace I -was as powerless as if I had been in New York. He could set his dogs to -hunt down Helga and have her half-way to Siberia before I might get a -chance to escape; and the thought was almost maddening in my then state -of mind. - -Presently it occurred to me to try and meet craft with craft, to -pretend to accept his offer of a safe conduct to the frontier and then -return. To get out of the Palace by way of the frontier was a long -route, but it was better than remaining where I was, and things being -as they were it appeared the only course for me to adopt. - -It was nearly three hours, instead of only one, before he returned, -and when he came I saw that he had fresh news. I could read him -sufficiently well by this time to see that. - -“I regret the delay, M. Denver, but it has been unavoidable,” he said -in suave apology. “Have you considered your decision?” - -“I protest in the strongest manner, Prince Kalkov, against my forcible -detention here. I demand, as a citizen of the United States, to have an -opportunity of communicating with our Embassy here.” - -“That course is open to you naturally, and if you press it I cannot -and shall not oppose it. You may indeed find it necessary--in your own -defence.” - -“Then I am free to go to them?” - -“Not exactly that, but you will have the usual opportunities,” he -answered with one of his infernal implied threats. - -“What do you mean by usual opportunities?” - -“Our legal procedure in regard to foreigners is not perhaps very swift, -but it is very just; and if you prefer an open investigation into -this man Vastic’s death to the course I indicated before, I cannot of -course object. And as an American accused of murder you would be fully -entitled to all the help of the American embassy.” - -“But you know the truth as to that,” I cried. - -“And personally have not a doubt that your act was committed in -self-defence. Still it _was_ committed, and----” He finished with a -shrug of the shoulders and a lifting of the hands. - -“Do you mean that you accuse me of murder?” - -“I? God forbid I should do you such an injustice,” he said, as if in -indignant repudiation of the idea. “It is others who do it.” - -“You are the devil, Prince Kalkov,” I cried furiously. “This is just -another of your infernal schemes.” - -“Is that quite just to me, when I have offered you a safe conduct -across the frontier, or to anywhere you please? It is you who place me -in this awkward situation.” - -“To hell with your hypocrisy,” I exclaimed, losing my head in my rage. -“Speak out bluntly, and say what you do mean--that if I won’t consent -to leave the country you will take this devil’s way of getting me into -one of your cursed prisons while you carry out your other plans.” - -“Really, M. Denver, this language to me is beyond bounds--even for a -free-speaking citizen of the United States. It is true we might not be -able to get the proceedings finished for some weeks; I have known it -take months, indeed. There was the case of----” - -“The devil take your cases. Do your worst, and we’ll fight it out on -those lines;” and I turned away and flung myself into a chair. - -But he was my match at that tactic also. He sat down, drew a small -table to his side, took out some papers and studied them with slow -methodical deliberation. He calculated that my temper would not last, -and that I should then see the utter futility of resisting him. And of -course it proved so. - -“I’ll accept your terms and leave Russia,” I said, when the silence had -lasted many minutes. - -“Pardon me,” he said, as if he was buried in some other matters. “Just -one minute,” and he went on with his papers, and then folded them up -neatly. “Now I am at your service again. Let us talk it over. Why do -you treat me as an enemy?” - -“I would rather not discuss anything except my departure.” - -“As you please, but the matter is not quite where it was when we last -spoke of it. I know a great deal more than I did, and I am compelled -to regard you as more dangerous than before. You are at liberty to -leave, but I shall have to ask you for a written declaration on your -word of honour as an American gentleman that you will go straight to -America, and that you will make no effort to communicate, directly -or indirectly, with my August Master. Further, I shall place at your -disposal a courier, who will accompany you to the port you select--I -would suggest Hamburg--and attend on you until you reach New York. This -I do partly for your personal safety.” - -“And chiefly as a spy to see that I do go, you mean.” - -“He will of course report to me.” - -“And if I refuse?” I asked, when I could force myself to speak without -anger. - -“I hope you will not refuse, because if you are still in Russia when -the man Vastic’s death is investigated--and time in that matter -presses, of course--it will be very difficult, I fear, to avoid your -being implicated.” The perfect command he had over his expression and -tone aggravated me almost as much as what he said. - -“I will make a condition on my side--that Mademoiselle Helga Boreski be -allowed to leave the country at the same time.” - -“Mademoiselle Helga Lavalski, you mean?” - -I nearly broke my teeth as I clenched them at this. - -“I have said whom I mean.” - -“Well, there are two objections. You know her story of course, and so -do I--_now_. She is, as you are aware, unwilling to leave until she has -ruined me for some fancied wrong; and she is a dangerous Nihilist, with -whom the authorities can have no dealings except in the usual legal -way. She will go to the mines, as I told you, if we deal with her.” - -“And if you have found her, perhaps,” I cried with a sneer. - -“True; and true also that we may not have to deal with her at all. She -has, as you know, incurred the vengeance of this brotherhood, and it -may be less troublesome to leave her to them.” - -“Thank God, she is as safe from them as from you.” - -“Yes, but not more so. You left a paper in your coat which the servant -found and handed to me. You had scribbled on it two or three words -which I thought might have reference to her--about a small red-brick -house in the north-east corner of the Square of San Sophia. I followed -up that clue, and by this time the information we gained is in the -hands of the brotherhood. They will know how----” - -“Stop, for God’s sake, stop,” I said hoarsely, jumping to my feet in -horror. “I can bear no more. If you say another word, I swear to God I -shall find it in me to kill you where you sit.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX--A DEATH TRAP - - -The Prince had nerves of steel, and met my threatening look with a calm -and steady gaze, absolutely unmoved by my passionate outbreak. - -“You had better calm yourself, M. Denver. It will not help the case of -an accused murderer to attempt my life, and such an attempt must fail, -as a single cry from me will bring in the men at the door.” - -“Get out of the room then,” I cried bluntly, “lest the passion to choke -the life out of you passes control.” I flung myself back in my chair. - -“I wish you could realize that I am indeed grieved for you. Your -violence now shows----” - -“To hell with your sympathy,” I said brutally. “It is all a lie, like -the rest of you. Do what you please with me.” - -He took the insult, as he did everything from me, unmoved, save for a -shrug of the shoulders, and for a minute was silent. - -“You cannot save this woman. Will you leave Russia?” - -“Will you spare her if I do?” - -He pretended to think for a space. - -“No, I will not,” he said implacably. “She has sown the seed and must -reap the crop. That is the law of intrigue such as hers. Moreover,” he -added as he glanced at his watch, “it is probably already too late for -me or you either to save her.” - -“Have you no jot of humanity in you? Are you utterly cold, calculating -and brutal? You could send her warning.” - -“It is possible nothing may be done until to-night. But it is no part -of my duty to warn a Nihilist who betrays her comrades.” - -“Russian chivalry is a noble thing,” I sneered. “But, by God, remember -this,” I added fiercely, leaning forward, “if harm comes to her, you -shall pay for it with your life, if I come from the other side of the -earth to take it.” - -“I have been threatened many times, M. Denver, by men as desperate as -yourself--and still live. But now,” he asked as he rose, “will you -leave Russia, or do you compel me to order your arrest on this murder -charge? You are young, with a bright future.” - -“Never mind my future,” I put in. “Do what you will.” - -“Your violence to me will be added to the charge now, and our influence -with our judges is great.” - -“Go, before there’s another death to be added also.” - -He went to the door and turned. - -“I am still very reluctant, for you tried to serve us. Take another day -to think, and give me your word of honour to make no attempt to escape. -You can then stay here.” - -“Go,” I cried, turning my back on him, and I did not look round until -he had left the room. - -Desperate as my own plight was, my thoughts were not for myself, but -for Helga. I cursed myself a thousand times for my insensate blundering -stupidity which had brought all this danger upon her, the very blunder -against which she herself had warned me. - -I remembered scribbling the words in the carriage, and saw now that -instead of tearing up the paper on which I had written I must have torn -up the blank sheet. I recalled that when she had warned me not to -throw even the fragments in one place, I had found none but blanks in -my fingers, and I could have torn my hair out to think I had been such -a reckless idiot as not to search my pocket again to make sure. - -I had destroyed her. I who would have given my life to save her; and -that bitter hour of miserable unavailing remorse held horrors for me no -description can convey. It will never pass from memory, and I marvel -that in my agony I did not go insane. - -I was far past caring what happened to me, and when the door opened -and I looked up expecting to see the police with the warrant for me, -I was ready to welcome this arrest as a distraction from my thoughts. -Anything, anything to get away from the maddening oppressiveness of my -gloom. - -It was not the police, however, but the servant who brought me food. - -“Don’t bring that here,” I cried, when the man set it down. - -He looked at me in surprise. - -“You are in great trouble, monsieur,” he said, not unkindly. “But one -must eat, even in trouble.” - -“I wish to God I was dead,” I exclaimed desperately; “and you talk of -eating. Take it away, man, take it away, or I shall do you a mischief,” -and I turned to the window and leaned my fevered head against the sash. - -Helga was being pursued by these sleuth hounds and would be -killed--killed for having tried to save my life--and it was I--I who -had laid them upon her trail and brought destruction upon her. Already -they might have struck the blow. And I could barely keep myself from -moaning aloud in my impotent anguish. - -Then suddenly I started. I had made a discovery. - -A man came into sight in the ground below. It was one of the gardeners, -and he crossed from the right until an abutment of the Palace hid him -from my view on the left. - -I was only two storeys from the ground, and the roof of the -out-building behind which the man had been lost to sight could -probably be reached from my bedroom window. Then by a curious memory -freak an old joke dashed into my thoughts, and I smiled. It was the -story of the man who languished in gaol for twenty years racking his -brains with elaborate plans for escape, and then--opened the door and -walked out. - -My God, the way of escape lay right here. I might still get to Helga. I -had to steady myself against the window frame now in the rush of this -new excitement. - -I turned back to the servant. He was still there. - -“Why don’t you take those things away when I tell you,” I said, trying -to speak in my former tone. - -“I hope you will try to eat, monsieur. You have fasted long.” - -I was conscious suddenly of hunger. I might have work to do for Helga, -and must keep up my strength. My new thoughts had changed me. - -“How long is it since I breakfasted?” - -“Many hours, monsieur. It is now nearly five o’clock.” - -Five o’clock. How the time had flown! My interviews with Kalkov, and -the intervals, had eaten up the day. Five o’clock! I groaned. The dusk -would soon fall, and if Helga were not already in the hands of her -enemies, the time in which a warning could reach her might almost be -counted by minutes. - -I must get rid of the servant, and perhaps if I ate the food he had -brought it would save time. - -“I will take your advice.” I sat down to the table and ate with the -speed which only Americans have cultivated as a fine art. In a few -minutes I had swallowed almost everything he had brought. - -“I am glad, monsieur. You were then hungry after all,” he said with a -deferential air of satisfaction. - -“I have finished. You can take it away,” I replied. - -I lit a cigar and watched him as he piled the things on the trays. He -was very slow and methodical, and I fretted and fumed over the time he -took, until I felt I could have kicked him out of the room and thrown -the trays after him. Then he showed an inclination to talk. - -“You are an American, I think, monsieur,” he said, playing at -rearranging the things. - -“Yes.” - -“It is a fine country, I believe, monsieur.” - -“Yes.” - -“I have a brother there. He is doing well. He is in Chicago.” - -“Oh.” - -“They seem to earn very large sums of money there, monsieur. He is -married and has a business of his own. He sells birds and animals.” - -“Ah.” Would he never stop his gabbling and get away? - -“Yes. He wishes me to go to him. I think I shall some day. But there is -the sea to cross, and I have never seen it. You have crossed the sea, -monsieur?” - -“Yes.” - -“But I should not like his trade, monsieur. I am fond of birds -and animals--but not in cages; oh no, not in cages. It is like -imprisonment, is it not, monsieur? And here in Russia one does not -speak lightly of prisons.” - -“No.” I gave him nothing but monosyllables, but his chatter seemed to -thrive on it. - -“No, I should not like his trade,” and he shook his head dolefully. “I -have a heart, monsieur, and if I went there I think I should ruin him. -I should want to let the birds out of their cages, monsieur.” - -A new interest in him and his chatter sprang to life in my thoughts. I -looked up sharply, and caught his eyes fixed on me with an inscrutable -expression in them. Did he mean anything by the words? - -“A kind heart is a good thing,” I said. - -“Yes, monsieur, but”--he sighed--“it is sometimes liable to get one -into trouble.” He had finished now with even his pretence of packing -the things together, and he paused and said, “You are a prisoner, -monsieur?” - -“It looks like it.” - -“It is very sad, monsieur. Well, I will have these things taken away.” - -“You can take them away yourself,” I said. - -“I am very sorry, monsieur, but my orders are not to leave the room -again. I am to stay with you.” - -And my heart sank as he touched the bell, and we waited, in silence -until the trays had been fetched. Then he stood close to the doorway -between the two rooms. - -It began to look as if there would be a tussle of strength before I got -away, and I measured him in my eye with this thought present to me. He -was a slightly built wiry little man, no sort of a match for me if it -came to a trial of strength; but I preferred another way if it could be -managed. - -“Where shall I remain, monsieur?” he asked after a time. - -“Was it you who ransacked my pockets this morning?” I asked, recalling -Kalkov’s words. - -“By the Prince’s orders, monsieur. We all fear him--but we all hate -him. We dare not disobey him.” - -Whether he meant me to understand anything by this or not I could not -tell, but the time was pressing so fast that my anxiety drove me to -bring matters to a crisis, and soon I had a plan. Any moment might now -find me in the hands of the police. - -I got up and passed into the bedroom, my purpose being to catch him -suddenly at a disadvantage, fling him on to the bed, and smother his -cries with the pillows while I tied him up and gagged him. - -He seemed suspicious of my intentions, for he hung back, but one is -always tempted to suppose that others may divine such thoughts. So I -fooled around with some of my clothes, and then called him to help me -move a bag. I got him near enough to the bedstead, and then with a -significant look I said-- - -“You have a good heart, I can see that. Now, assuming I am like one of -your brother’s caged birds, will you help me out?” - -“Monsieur, I dare not, I dare not.” - -But he neither called out nor attempted to get away. Instead, he fixed -his eyes on mine, and there was no fear in them. - -“I will make it worth your while,” I said firmly. “Come.” - -“Oh, monsieur, if it were found out. I am sorry for you; but if it were -found out.” - -“It won’t be. We’ll fix that all right,” I answered. “Listen. I intend -to escape by the window there, drop on the roof below, and from there -to the ground.” - -“Oh, monsieur, monsieur, I dare not,” he cried. - -“I shall give you five hundred roubles to help me.” - -His eyes gleamed avariciously. - -“I will help you,” he said; “but you must make it seem that you have -forced me. You must bind me and stop my mouth, so that when they come -and find me they shall see you have forced me.” - -It was a very thin device, but if it satisfied him I had no reason to -care, especially as I had contemplated doing it in earnest. - -“Very well.” - -“And you must not go yet, monsieur, not until dark. You would be seen; -the grounds are alive with guards and soldiers. You must wait till -seven o’clock.” - -“Why till seven o’clock?” - -“It will not be dark enough before; and besides, a number of men go -away at that hour--the gardeners--and I can tell you how to get out so -that no one will see you if you wait till then.” - -“That’s all very well, but I may be arrested first,” I said -suspiciously. - -“No no, monsieur. You are to stay here all night. I heard his highness -say so, and I was told to remain here until ten o’clock, when I am to -be relieved.” - -There was Helga to think of, however, and to remain there an hour and -a half longer while she was in momentary peril seemed intolerable. At -the same time, there was wisdom in what the man said. To get out of the -grounds in daylight, while the gardeners and others were about, was -just a forlorn hope, and bitterly as I chafed at the delay, I resolved -to wait until dusk came. - -That hour and a half was the longest in my life. The man did his best -to occupy my thoughts, telling me over and over again exactly the way I -had to go so as to avoid meeting any one, pointing out part of it from -the window, and giving me a hundred hints and suggestions. - -As the time approached I gave him the sum I had promised, stowed the -rest of the money about me, and then fastened him up. He himself -suggested an ingenious method. I wrapped a sheet round him, and then -wound certain cords about him, until he looked like a mummy in clean -clothes, and could move neither hand nor foot; and then I fastened a -pillow over his head. - -Bearing all he had said in mind, I opened the window, got down on to -the roof below, crept along it, and finding the coast clear, dropped to -the ground. I fell on to a flower bed, and darted at full speed across -the lawn to the point he had told me. - -He had earned his money well, for I was able to follow his instructions -to the letter with the greatest ease. He had told me to make for that -part of the gardens where the greenhouses stood, and past them to take -a path to the left until I came to a spot where an out-house with a -low sloping roof stood against the high outside wall. By means of -this I was to climb to the top of the wall, and then drop into a dark -unfrequented road. I was to go along this to the right for about half -a mile, when I should find myself at a point from which I could easily -reach any part of the city. - -I remember being struck by the fact that a part of the Palace grounds -so near to the building should be so deserted, but I had not a thought -or suspicion of treachery of any kind. - -I reached the road within a very short time of leaving the room, and -turning, as he had told me, to the right, I ran along it at a sharp -speed. It was overhung with heavy trees and very dark, but on this fact -I congratulated myself as I ran. - -I had covered half the distance when the path narrowed between the high -wall of the Palace grounds on one side and an equally high hedge on -the other, and it was so dark that I could not see the ground beneath -me. I was so keen to get to Helga that I pressed on at headlong speed, -until my foot slipped on something wet and greasy and down I went all -a-sprawl in the dirt. - -My hat flew off and my head struck the ground, and my face slid along -in the mud, but beyond grazing my skin and griming myself considerably, -I suffered no hurt. I fell on the soft mud and thus made scarcely any -noise, a fact to which I believe I owed my life. - -I sat up, and was groping about for my hat when I heard a sound some -way ahead of me. Thinking some one was coming I rolled under the shadow -of the great hedge and waited. - -I have said before that my sense of hearing is very acute, but though -I strained it now to the utmost I heard nothing for some time. In the -meanwhile I found that in the dark I had blundered into a kind of broad -ditch which crossed the path, the bottom being of soft wet mire. - -I pulled myself cautiously up on to the dry ground, and putting my ear -to the earth lay as still as death and listened. - -Presently I heard the sound of the shuffling of feet, and as it was -repeated after a few moments’ interval, I could tell some one was -waiting at a distance ahead of me. - -I must find out what it meant, and that at once, for minutes were -precious. I sat up, therefore, and took off my boots, and as I was -rising my hand struck against my hat. - -I crept forward now as cautiously as before I had ran heedlessly, -stopping every few yards to listen. - -That any one could be waiting for me did not even then cross my mind; -but I was carrying too great a responsibility to run risks and although -the slow progress I made chafed and worried me, I dared not quicken it. -And well it was indeed that I exercised this restraint. - -There was very little wind moving, but what there was came from the -direction I was going, and in one of the pauses I made to listen, I -caught the sound of a voice, and then heard the tread of heavy feet. In -a moment I rolled myself under the hedge. - -The steps came nearer, and I could tell there were two men. They -were speaking in low guttural tones, but I could not at first catch -the words, until one of them said in a louder voice, with a touch of -impatience-- - -“Yes, seven o’clock, of course.” - -In a flash my eyes were open. It was the hour the servant had insisted -upon for my escape. The whole thing had been planned by Kalkov himself. -And these men were--who? - -I was not long in doubt on that point either. - -The two came on, drew level, and passed; and as I held my breath I -heard a muttered reference to the brotherhood and Vastic’s murder, -which told me all I needed to know. - -The Prince had adopted the same policy toward me as toward Helga, -and having planned the means of my escape through that treacherous -scoundrel of a servant, had managed to convey to the brotherhood an -intimation of where and when I could be found. - -But for that fall of mine into the mud the plan would have succeeded, -and there would have been an end of any interference from me in his -plans. - -I had no time to waste in cursing him, however; and as soon as the men -were well past I rolled out from the hedge and crept on as quickly as I -could. - -I was afraid there would be a third man to be dealt with at the mouth -of the place, but to my infinite relief the coast was clear, and -putting on my boots again I turned into the road and walked briskly in -the direction of the city. - -I was in a deplorable mess from my tumble, and tried with very little -effect to get rid of some of the mud from my clothes and face. - -It was while I was doing this, and puzzling how I should get admission -to Helga’s house that the need for some disguise occurred to me. I -should probably have to pass some of the brotherhood spies near the -house, and if I were recognized the consequences might be vitally -serious. - -The means for the disguise were in fact supplied by the mud into which -I had fallen. I knocked in the crown of my hat, took off my coat, tore -my shirt-sleeves half-way to the elbows, daubed them and my arms and -hands with mud, and in a minute was changed into a dirty disreputable -loafer, whom any one would have the greatest difficulty in recognizing -as Harper C. Denver, the smartly groomed New Yorker. - -And in this guise I hurried as fast as I dared without exciting -suspicion from the police in the direction of the square of San Sophia. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--AT THE SQUARE OF SAN SOPHIA - - -From Czar to street smouch was a big change of parts, and had I had -time to think and opportunity to choose, I would have selected a -different character. - -But I had little conscious thought beyond a burning impatience to get -to Helga in the shortest possible time. I was jostled and pushed as -I hurried on; now hustled off the side walk, now grazing the house -fronts, and at times dodging through the traffic: but all the while -pressing on with feverish haste through the people, followed constantly -by curses and angry threats from those who shrank from my dirty -presence or shouldered me roughly to one side. - -There is no lack of disreputable-looking beggars in the streets of -Russia’s capital at any time, and at night one drunken man more or less -attracts little attention, provided he keeps quiet. I was taken for a -drunkard; and my dirt-begrimed face and clothes, my coat slung over my -shoulder, my half-bared arms and muddied shirt-sleeves lent colour to -the part, as I scrambled and scurried along with a wary eye for the -police, whom I avoided with scrupulous care. - -I had not much difficulty in finding the square of San Sophia, which -had once been a fashionable quarter. It was a dismal-looking _cul -de sac_, with a winding entrance at the southern end, in shape like -nothing so much as a tennis racket with a bent handle. - -At the entrance stood a woman, who came toward me, half paused, stared -sharply at me, and passed on. I guessed she was a spy of some kind, -posted there to mark all who entered and left the square. - -I lurched past her, keeping up my part of a drunken man, and reeled on -into the square--a small open space, unrailed and unprotected, with two -or three forlorn-looking stunted trees in a clump in the centre. - -From the shelter of these I was able to make out Helga’s -house--standing well back in the shadow--a wider, shorter building than -the rest, with a deep porch. Not a light showed in any of the windows, -a fact that gave me a momentary qualm. - -Having assured myself that no one was watching me, I stole out from the -trees and made for the porch, knocked gently at the door, and waited. -No one came, and fearing to give any noisy summons, I was feeling and -peering about for a bell--for inside the porch was very dark--when -I heard footsteps in the square. By the flickering lamplight at the -entrance I saw the woman who had met me returning in company with a -man, and, to my dismay, they came with rapid steps toward the spot -where I stood. - -I lay down and squeezed myself as close to the side of the porch as -possible, trusting that the gloom of the place would prevent them -seeing me. - -The footsteps came right to the house and then stopped. - -In a fever of impatience I dragged myself cautiously to the entrance -and peering out, watched them. - -They stood a moment talking together in whispers at the other end of -the house. The woman seemed to be giving the man some information and -instructions, for I saw her point several times toward that end of the -building. - -After perhaps a couple of minutes she left, and the man shrank back -into the deep shadows, until the sound of her footsteps had ceased. -Then I heard the scrape of his feet against brickwork, and could just -make out that he had climbed on to a low wall which ran by the side of -the house. - -At the risk of discovery I felt that I must know where he had gone, so -I drew off my boots and stole after him. By the side of the house ran -a very narrow passage guarded by a heavy iron gate, and crawling on to -the wall I followed the man with as much haste as the need for extreme -caution permitted. - -The house was as still as a charnel vault; but I was no longer dismayed -by this. It was evident that such a visitor must have very strong -motives for this kind of secrecy; and as I judged that the woman had -pointed out the means by which an entrance to the house could be -gained, it was easy to understand that this was all connected with the -threatened attack upon Helga. This meant therefore that she was still -safe, and that I had arrived in time to take a hand in matters. - -When I had gone far enough along the wall to get a view of the rear of -the house, I lay down and looked about for the man, and soon discovered -his plan. There were no underground rooms to the house, but there were -cellars, and the way to these was protected by a heavy grating. He had -removed this, and when I caught sight of him he was standing below in -the act of replacing this grating above his head. - -As soon as it was in its place, I slipped off the wall and listened. -He entered the cellar, and when once inside struck a match, the feeble -flickering light from which enabled me to watch him. - -He looked round for a moment as if in doubt, and then went to a door in -the far right-hand corner and knocked: three double knocks, repeated -at short intervals. After a while I heard the door open; the sound of -muffled gruff voices came to me; the door was closed, and then all was -silent as the grave once more. - -For a moment I hesitated whether to follow him or to go back to the -front and try again to get into the house that way. But my former -failure to attract attention there decided me against that course. - -It was just possible that Helga had arranged these precautions in the -critical need to conceal her presence in the house, and in that case, -if I once gained admittance, I could easily explain my presence. But it -seemed far more probable that a very ugly purpose lay under it all, and -this I resolved to ascertain, even at the risk of finding myself face -to face with one or two members of the brotherhood. - -I slipped on my boots and coat, therefore, and following the man’s -example, I got through the grating, and finding the inner door, gave -the signal I had heard. It was an anxious moment as I huddled up -against the door awaiting the result. It was a long wait, until I heard -a stealthy movement; the door was opened slowly and cautiously, and a -man, holding a light, looked out. - -Not caring for any scrutiny of my face, I put my foot in the crack and -my shoulder to the door, and shoved my way in. - -“Why keep me waiting?” I asked in a whisper. “I am followed.” - -“Who are you?” asked the voice. - -“One who should be here,” I answered at random, as I closed the door -and shot home the bolt. “Lead the way,” I said, in a tone of authority. - -He was for thrusting the light in my face, but I brushed his hand away -and growled out an oath. - -“Who is here?” I asked then, under my breath. - -He made no reply, and seemed quite undecided what to do; so I decided -for him, and pushed him very unceremoniously before me into the -darkness beyond. - -He led me into an inner cellar, unlighted, save for the candle he -carried. I followed, prepared for almost anything except that which I -saw; and seeing it, I could scarce restrain from laughter, so complete -was the relief from the tension of the previous few minutes. - -There was only one man there--obviously the same I had followed--and -he was staring hard at us with an expression of mingled fear and -expectation. It was Paul Drexel. He was shaved, and disguised in the -shabby clothes of a beggar; but I knew his flabby coward’s face in -a moment, although he did not recognize me. And I took care that he -should see my face as little as possible. For an instant the question -flashed upon me: What Drexel was doing in the affair? But I had to act, -not think, because if my supposition was correct, we should soon have -more of the men upon us. - -There was no longer any reason for fear. With no one but a fat coward -like Drexel and the man with the light to oppose me, I should soon find -a way out of things. - -“Who are you?” asked Drexel, as I entered. - -“I am here to take command,” I replied, muffling my voice. I turned to -the other man and asked: “What part of the house are we in? How do we -get where we have to go?” - -“These are the cellars. They didn’t think of them,” he replied, with a -grin of cunning. - -“Show me,” and I made him light the way for me. - -My examination of the place revealed nothing but bare cellars. - -My guide pointed out a flight of stairs, and explained that there was -only a door at the top, which would not be difficult to force. - -My first step was to get rid of him; and as he was now quite -unsuspicious of me, this was easy. - -I found that one of the cellars had a door with bolts on the outside, -and as we stood in it, I made an excuse to take the light from him, and -catching him unawares, I gave him a blow on the side of the head which -sent him staggering over the floor, and before he could recover himself -I had shut the door and bolted it upon him. - -He began a clatter at the door, and I called to Drexel sharply-- - -“Come and help here, quickly.” - -He came hurrying out, but before he could ask a question I caught him -by the throat and shook out of him all his little courage and most of -his breath. - -“Up these steps, quick,” I said, dragging him up, and reaching the top -I hammered and kicked at the door until some one came. - -“In the devil’s name what’s this?” cried a voice threateningly, as the -door was opened. - -“Thank God it’s you, Ivan,” I said, more glad than I can tell to see -him. “The mademoiselle; is she safe?” - -“M. Denver!” he exclaimed, in profound astonishment. - -“Mademoiselle Helga, man, tell me, is all well?” - -“Yes, monsieur, but what----” - -“Thank God for that,” I interrupted, the sense of relief filling me -with indescribable delight. - -“How do you come here, monsieur?” he asked. “And who----” he paused to -peer into Drexel’s white face. “M. Drexel, Great Lord of the Skies, -what has happened?” - -Helga was safe, and for me at that moment the whole world held no other -matter of concern. But there was much to do, for which even the ecstasy -of that knowledge could not wait. - -“Take this treacherous snake, and have him kept safe somewhere until we -can question him. And now----” - -“What has happened, Ivan?” It was Helga’s voice from above stairs, and -hearing it, I smiled and caught my breath. - -“M. Denver is here, mademoiselle,” said Ivan. - -“M. Denver?” in a tone of intense surprise. “Where?” The voice was -nearer. She was coming to me. - -“Yes, I am here, mademoiselle;” and I went to meet her. - -On catching sight of me she stopped as if aghast. - -[Illustration: “I CAUGHT HIM BY THE THROAT AND SHOOK OUT OF HIM ALL HIS -LITTLE COURAGE AND MOST OF HIS BREATH.”--_Page 208._] - -“I don’t look pretty, I’m afraid,” I said, with a laugh. “But it’s -about the best show I can make for the moment.” - -Her eyes were now full of sweet concern. - -“You have been in great trouble?” she said. - -“Nothing’s the matter that a bath and a clothes brush won’t cure. But -it’s been a near thing.” - -“Tell me.” - -“I will, everything; but not now. Let me see you presently; there is -some work to be done first. You will have to leave here; go and get -ready.” - -“Leave here? I cannot. I must not.” - -“The place is known to Kalkov’s police and to Vastic’s friends. There -has been hell’s work; but you will be safe now.” - -I drew Ivan aside then and told him what I knew and surmised, and how I -proposed to act. My idea was that he should take some of the servants -down into the cellars with him; let the men who were expected enter one -by one, seize them and make them prisoners. - -Ivan was the man of all men I would have chosen for such a task. He -possessed enormous strength and a courage equal to any demands that -could be made upon it; I knew I could leave the affair safely in his -hands. - -When I had explained my wishes and seen him start, I went to question -Drexel. He was in a condition of abject terror, and was to me such a -repulsive creature that I hurried my examination of him. - -“If you know how to speak the truth, I advise you to do it now. I know -much about you and your doings, and if I find you lying to me I shall -denounce you as a traitor to the men you were to have met here. And you -know what to expect at their hands.” I gave him a second to chew this, -and then asked: “Now, whose spy are you, police or these men?” - -“Neither. I have not come to help in this thing; I have not on my soul: -I know nothing of them.” - -“Why are you here?” - -“I came to get the papers from Mademoiselle Helga for Prince Kalkov.” - -“Oh, you are his agent, eh? How did you get in?” - -“I was told to meet a woman in the square who would tell me what to do -to get in.” This might be true, for I had seen the two together. “I -expected to find the house deserted.” - -“Who gave you your instructions?” - -“Prince Kalkov himself. If I refused, he threatened me with the mines, -monsieur.” - -“For what?” - -“As a Nihilist.” - -“How did you get to the Prince?” - -No answer. - -I repeated the question. - -“I went to clear myself,” he said slowly and with hesitation. - -“To offer yourself as a spy, you mean?” I replied sternly. - -“I was a suspect, and I wanted to clear myself.” - -“And he told you you could clear yourself by getting these papers. I -think I understand you. He told you also that mademoiselle would be -assassinated, and that you could do your present work safely.” - -“On my soul, no. I had no thought of that. I had not. I was told she -would be arrested.” - -“Who gave the information to these men?” - -“I don’t know, monsieur; indeed, I don’t. I don’t know who they are. I -was told only police would be here. You can kill me if you will, but -that is true.” - -I was disposed to believe him, and to regard him as a mere tool of -Kalkov, sent to the house as being likely to know where to look for the -papers; and in this case he knew too little to be of much help to me. - -It was quite consistent with Kalkov’s methods that he should use Drexel -for the purpose he had described; and although there were discrepancies -in the statement, I did not think it worth while to waste valuable -time in interrogating him any further. - -What we had now to think about was the vital question of Helga’s -escape, and I left the miserable wretch, glad to be out of his -presence, and went to urge upon Helga the necessity of immediate flight. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII--FLIGHT - - -As I hurried out from Drexel, intending to try and find means to render -myself more presentable by getting rid of some of my grime, I found -Helga waiting for me. - -“I am all mud,” I said apologetically. - -“I am all impatience, and that is worse,” she returned. - -“Let me get rid of some of this;” and I spread out my hands and glanced -down at my clothes, and looked up to find her smiling. “You can’t tell -how glad I am to see that,” I added. - -“You will see no smiles if you keep me waiting. I will forgive the dirt -if you will only tell me.” - -“I could tell you more comfortably if we were _en route_ for the -frontier.” - -“Perhaps we shall be soon. Come,” and she led me into a room, all dirty -as I was. - -“Disaster is easy to tell. Prince Kalkov knows everything about your -plans, your name, your real part in Boreski’s business, your fight -against him--everything;” and as shortly as I could I told her all I -knew and had learnt from the Prince. - -She listened with scarcely an interruption, and when I finished sat -thinking with pursed lips and gathered brows. - -“It was very clever and very devilish,” she said. “And for the time it -means failure. You are right. I must fly, and that to-night.” - -“I am glad you see that.” - -“I have had to do it before--for a time. But I shall, of course, come -back. I am not beaten. Flight is only one of the tactics in the fight -I am waging. I shall never cease to fight until I win or they kill me. -But he has beaten me for the time, and now that he knows my motive, he -will be harder to fight than ever.” - -“It is I who have ruined you by betraying this place through my stupid -blundering.” - -“Ah, I had not thought of that,” she said, turning and smiling to me. -“You will have suffered. It was a mistake, but it would have made no -difference in the end. With the new clues which the Duchess Stephanie -and this Drexel could give him, the Prince would have found me here. I -should not have waited for him indeed, so that by warning me now you -have more than made good the mistake.” - -“Do you think Boreski has told him anything?” - -“No, not Boreski; I am sure of him. It is Drexel. A man when he is -afraid for his life is a contemptible creature. But it is his nature,” -she said scornfully. “I knew it and knew him. I used him as a tool, and -when a tool breaks in your hand, you are fortunate if you are not hurt.” - -“The sooner we start the better.” But she was thinking and appeared not -to hear me. - -“I shall have to begin again,” she said, with quiet resolution. “It is -no new experience. I have had to do it two or three times before. My -next attempt shall be better planned. Each time I do better--learning -from my failures. Next time I shall win.” - -“When shall we start?” I asked, as she paused. - -“We? If you are wise and take my advice, you will go to your -Ambassador, tell him frankly all that has occurred, and get his help.” - -“And if I am not wise?” I sought her eyes and we both smiled, and she -sighed. - -“No, no, you must not.” - -“You know that I shall, Helga. Let us be frank.” - -“You wish me to be frank?” and she looked up calmly. - -“Why not?” - -“Then I would rather you did not attempt to accompany me.” - -“Do you mean to leave me in the lurch?” - -“Don’t,” she cried, with a little wince of pain. - -“I didn’t mean that--but you know what I do mean.” - -“You know nothing can come of it.” - -“Call it nothing or something, it is just all in all to me.” - -“Please!” she said, almost pleadingly. - -“I will have no mercy when you speak of parting.” - -“But I mean it. You must not come with me. I am stronger alone.” - -“Why?” - -“You can be very stupid--when you wish,” she cried, with another smile. - -“Why?” I repeated. “Why stronger alone?” - -“Because--ah, you know.” - -“May I not wish to hear you say it?” - -She looked up steadily, and said in a quiet, firm tone-- - -“Because when you are with me I weaken in my purpose.” - -“That is just my object. I hope to win you from it altogether.” - -“It is impossible. You must not go with me.” - -“You wish never to see me again?” - -“How cruel you can be!” Then defiantly, “Yes, I do wish it.” - -“Very well,” I cried decidedly, as I rose. “Then I will go.” I paused, -and she started and gave me a glance in which surprise and pain were -blended. I went to the door, and turning, saw she had paled slightly. I -waited for her to speak. - -“I--I am glad.” The tone was very low, and her lips faltered. - -“Yes, I have put up with it long enough. I can bear it no longer.” - -A quick questioning, half-indignant light was in her eyes as she rose. - -“You can bear it no longer. I am sorry----” - -A laugh from me checked the words on her lips. - -“I have never been so dirty in my life. I _must_ wash.” - -She turned away with a toss of the head. - -“You treat it as a jest--at such a time.” - -“When I am earnest you won’t take me seriously--you won’t take me at -all! indeed, it seems. But in any case you can’t travel with a man who -looks like a tramp. I am going, as I was saying, to try and get clean -again.” - -She turned then, and there was neither pain nor surprise on her face, -only relief and intense gladness. - -“I thought you were in earnest.” It was only a smiling reproach. - -“I am always in earnest where you are concerned.” I took a step or two -towards her. “And you are glad?” - -“I am ashamed of my weakness.” - -“A weakness of which such a smile as that is a fitting confession.” - -“I hate myself for being weak at all,” she cried in protest. - -“It would be worse if you hated the cause of it. But now it is my turn -to be weak, and to lean on you. I have no clothes to travel in.” - -“We can help you there. We have many disguises here.” - -“A travelling coat is all I need, and an idea of how we are to leave.” - -“I have always found the simplest is the best. If you are right about -the Prince, he will have given no orders for either you or myself to be -watched, and the railway will be open. The mail leaves at ten o’clock; -open to tourists of all nations.” - -“And the frontier difficulties?” - -She laughed. - -“The Russian officials are the stupidest on earth. We shall, of course, -have passports, and our papers being in order, all will be simple. A -passport can be a very valuable friend, and those who need them always -take care they are in order.” - -“I brought mine with me.” - -“Then you reckoned on my going?” she asked, smiling. “You count upon -your influence with me, it seems.” - -“But Kalkov may communicate with the frontier folk?” - -“How should he know and why? He has, no doubt, spies who are able to -convey information to the brotherhood; but do you think they would -return the favour? He will think they may be trusted to do as he wished -to us, and when he hears of the failure we shall be beyond his reach.” - -It was an ingenious thought and probably correct. - -“Good,” I said. “You see how you help me. We are stronger together. We -will get ready.” - -I went first in search of Ivan, and heard from him that our plan had -succeeded entirely, and that the men who had come in quest of Helga had -all been secured. - -With his assistance I soon got rid of the traces of the evening’s work, -and when I saw Helga again she was ready for the start. - -“About Madame Korvata?” I asked, suddenly remembering her. - -“She has gone to the station for our tickets. She went long ago, before -you spoke to me and while you were with Drexel.” - -I looked at her and smiled. - -“Then you had made up your mind before--before what you said to me?” - -She flushed slightly and her eyes brightened. - -“I--I foresaw what I should probably have to do,” she answered, and -laughed softly. “You see, I knew I must go.” - -“And that I should not let you go alone. I did not see, but I do now.” - -“It is time to start, I think;” and she turned away. - -Helga had indeed concluded all the arrangements, thinking of every -detail with all a woman’s eye for small things. Madame Korvata was not -to travel with us, but to follow later. Ivan was to remain and see to -the difficulties in regard to the presence of the men in the house, and -then go into hiding until he heard from Helga. - -The whole affair was just cut and dried, as though a flight from the -police were an ordinary incident of life. - -I felt abominably nervous, I admit; disposed to look for spies and -police at every turn. But Helga was as cool as if we had been in the -States, and were running up from New York to Saratoga for a few days’ -change of air. - -“There is only one point of possible danger yet--the police may have a -spy somewhere near at hand. I doubt it, because the Prince will rely -upon Drexel, and knows that if his spy were seen, the plot against us -would fail. But I have taken care. There is a house in the square here -where the people are constant travellers. Our carriage is there, and we -shall leave here unobserved, and pretend to come out of that house.” - -“Is such a thing likely to trick them?” - -“You smile; but it is just these little simple acted lies which make -all the difference. Spies are trained to believe what they see; no -more.” - -We did as Helga had said, and whether or not we were seen I cannot -say; but I saw no one, and we found not the least difficulty with the -railway officials, who were indeed exceedingly courteous to the young -handsome French widow, Madame de Courvaix, the name conspicuously -written upon Helga’s luggage. - -The cars were well filled, and we were not alone in our compartment, -so that I thought we had better speak very little. But that was not -Helga’s intention. She gave me a very meaning look, with a glance -toward our fellow-passengers, and began to chatter at once, with all -the vivacity of a Parisian. - -“I am glad they did not come to see us off,” she said, as soon as the -train started. “Train good-byes are so inane.” - -“Sometimes they are.” - -“Yet I think the General should have come, and young Lablache from -the Embassy. He promised me. A ball-room promise, of course;” and she -laughed merrily and threw her hands up. - -“Lablache? Do I know him?” - -“Know him? Not by name. He is that dark handsome man who was so nice -about the flowers, and at whom somebody I know, a stupid, jealous -somebody, looked daggers;” and she made a pretty grimace at me. - -“Oh, that fellow!” I growled. - -“He is coming to Paris next month, and has promised to call;” and then -we plunged into a conversation about a wholly imaginary set of people, -in the course of which Helga managed most adroitly to include a purely -fictional history of herself, with side-lights upon our relationship -as an engaged couple. - -Having done that, she settled herself in her corner, said she was going -to sleep, and advised me to do the same; and as I was putting the rugs -about her, she managed to whisper a sentence which gave me food for -thought all through the night. - -“The woman’s a spy. Be careful.” - -As she said it she laughed gaily, and in a few minutes closed her eyes -and appeared to sleep soundly. - -But there was no sleep for me. I forced myself to keep my eyes closed, -a continuous effort that was infinitely taxing; and during the long, -weary hours, I think I must have pretty well exhausted in thought -all the possible dangers that might result from the presence of so -dangerous a fellow-traveller. - -Helga was more than equal to the emergency, however. In the early hours -of dawn she woke, or pretended to awake, cross and fretful, and roused -me. - -“How soundly you sleep,” she said crossly. “How can you in this -abominable stuffy atmosphere? Let the window down, please.” - -“I think it’s very chilly,” I said, not understanding her. - -“Am I nobody?” she cried, with a stamp of the foot and a shrug of the -shoulders. “Shall I do it myself?” - -I put it down a little way. - -“Wide open, I mean,” she said angrily. - -“It’s very cold,” I protested; and indeed the cold, keen air came -rushing in and made me put my collar up. - -“Nonsense, I’m stifled. Wide open, I said. That’s better,” as I put it -right down. - -Our fellow-travellers stirred, as well they might indeed, for the -temperature ran down swiftly several degrees. The man having heard -Helga’s request was too polite to interfere, and suffered in silence, -drawing his wraps closer round him. - -But the woman had no such scruples, and after a while asked me pretty -sharply to close the window. - -“It is open by my request, madame,” declared Helga in a very angry -tone. The woman grumbled to the man, and at her instigation he appealed -to me. - -This was Helga’s opportunity, and she and the woman began an -altercation, which lasted for several miles, and was waged with such -bitterness that had they been men they would have come to blows. -Helga’s fluency was too much for her opponent; besides, we were masters -of the situation; so that the window remained open, and we shivered in -victory. - -At the first place where we stopped the quarrel began again, and the -woman appealed to the officials. - -They were sorry, but could do nothing. - -The conductor offered a solution, however. There was an empty coupé on -the train; would Helga remove to it? Certainly she would not. In her -beloved France people could have a window up or down as they pleased, -and she was not going to yield her privileges for all the cantankerous -old women in Russia put together. - -This settled it, and with many a parting shot at France and Frenchwomen -in general, and Helga in particular, the two got out and followed the -conductor to the other carriage. - -As soon as we were out of the station Helga, who had kept up her show -of vociferous and gesticulating anger, laughed. - -“Do put the window up, please. I’m nearly frozen to death. I hope I -haven’t given you a cold.” - -I closed the window and laughed. - -“I thought you were in earnest at first,” I said. - -“Thank you; but I am not quite such a crochetty, ill-tempered -individual, even after a sleepless night of doubt in a railway -carriage.” - -“Sleepless?” - -“I was planning that little coup all the time, of course. She suspects -nothing, or she would have frozen to death before she had left the -carriage. She is new to her work, so I could take a risk.” - -“You are a wonderful actress.” - -“I have had a long training, and life and liberty are bigger incentives -than any salary,” she answered thoughtfully. “Now we can sleep safely -for two hours, and then we stop for breakfast.” - -When we reached the station she said she would not leave the carriage, -so I fetched her some, and after I had had mine, I strolled up and -down, smoking. - -Presently she called me. - -“Something has happened, and whatever it is, the officials are uneasy -and excited. Go and hear what those two are talking about;” and she -pointed to a couple of men, one of whom held a despatch in his hand, -which both were discussing eagerly. - -I strolled over to them and caught my breath quickly as I heard one of -them say something about Nihilists and supposed flight. - -I went up to them and put a casual question about our train being late, -intending to follow it up with others, when some one exclaimed in -English: - -“Just like my infernal luck!” Recognizing the voice, I turned, and the -speaker clapped me on the shoulder and then seized my hand. - -“What, Harper, old fellow! What on earth brings you here?” It was an -old Harvard chum, Frank Siegel. - -The two officials glanced at us, and moved off as we shook hands. - -“Rather; what are you doing?” - -“I? Oh, I’m out for the Frisco Eagle--the Screecher. I’ve been round -the world for them. Trotting home, and, like my infernal luck, I’ve -just missed a scoop in Petersburg.” - -“What is it?” - -“What is it? By gee, it’s just what I’d have given my ears to get. A -big Nihilist raid. No end of arrests; but the biggest birds are flown. -May be on this very train.” - -“I heard nothing of it, and I came from Petersburg.” - -“Are we on the same train? My, that’s bully. Say, I’ll get my traps and -join you.” - -“I’m not alone, Frank.” - -“Don’t you worry about that; I shan’t mind your friends. I’m used to -all sorts of mixed company;” and with a grin at this gibe he ran off. - -I went back to Helga and told her what I had heard. - -“Can you trust your friend?” she asked, after a short pause. - -“Oh yes, as myself.” - -“Then let him come.” - -“And you?” - -“I have already had to explain our relationship once!” she answered, -with a glance. - -“But if I tell him we’re engaged----” I paused. - -“Well?” with a challenging smile. - -“It will have to be in earnest.” - -“Well?” - -“Then the sooner he comes the better,” I said. - -“We must know the news, even if we make concessions to learn it.” - -“I guess my news will surprise him as much as his will us.” - -And we were both laughing happily, despite the ominous turn in things, -when Siegel came running up and bundled his wraps into the carriage, as -I introduced him to Helga. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--AT THE FRONTIER - - -Frank Siegel was one of those enthusiastic journalists to whose zeal -the press of America owes its distinctive position. Enterprise, -unhampered by too much discretion, was the gospel which had been -hammered into him. Be first, down the other fellow, make the scoop, -get the facts, discreetly if possible, but get them, serve hot for the -public taste, and let all else go hang. The editor and the public will -forgive anything except a beat for the opposition show. - -Siegel lived up to this. All the world and everything in it was to him -so much copy; and he looked at everything with an eye, and that a very -sharp one, for its newspaper possibilities. - -When off duty his eye could also appreciate a beautiful face, and he -was charmed by Helga, who did her utmost to win her way into his favour. - -In particular, she was sympathetic in regard to his present -disappointment at having left Petersburg at the moment of a Nihilist -trouble. - -“I’d give a sackful of dollars to get at the bottom of a Nihilist -show,” he exclaimed. “Either side, Government or the other. What a -country this would be for a pressman, if they weren’t so tight lipped! -I’ve sent some stuff across, but of course I’ve had to pad it a lot.” - -“What have you heard about this, M. Siegel?” asked Helga. - -“The conductor gave it away to me. There was a telegram telling him to -look out for a woman on the train--and a man, too, he thought; but he -wasn’t clear. It seems a swoop was made on a haunt last night, and a -lot of arrests there and elsewhere followed. But they wanted the woman -most, and she’d gone.” - -“Oh!” I murmured, and Helga and I exchanged glances. - -“Lord, what asses those Russian police must be. Imagine what a mess -we should have if we muddled our press inquiries as they do their -business. They should apprentice a few of their fellows to the -Screecher, and let ’em learn the art of making beats.” - -“Beats, M. Siegel?” asked Helga, puzzled. - -He explained the enormous virtues of exclusive news, and gave her a -telling illustration. - -“If this were the States, which thank God it isn’t--I can say that -safely as none of us are Russians--what would happen? Probably we -should have known all about this raid before it was ordered; but assume -we hadn’t, and it caught us by surprise. Well, we should have had some -one on the spot right there, and the moment we heard the birds had -flown we should have wired our men to watch every train--this one for -instance, most likely with a recognizable description of the fugitives. -Say, Harper, wouldn’t it be bully to do the trick with no machinery and -spot them on the train. What a scoop!” and he laughed pleasantly. - -“The fugitives might not relish such a press,” said I, with more -meaning than he divined. - -“I’m going to have a try,” he replied. “Do you remember Marvyn, Harold -Marvyn, at Harvard; that thin dark chap we used to call the spectre? -He’s at the Embassy here, and I’ve wired him to wire me a description -of them if he can get it. I’m going to look for ’em at the frontier, -and if I don’t find ’em there, I’m off back to the capital to look up -things. I wish I’d never come away; worse luck.” - -“You would like to hand them over to the police, M. Siegel?” asked -Helga. - -“Gee wiss, no, madame. If we were in the States, yes; but here, what -are the police to me? I’m thinking of the Screecher and the interview I -could get.” Helga laughed and said: - -“And being in Russia, monsieur, if you interfered you would probably be -clapped into one of their gaols as an accomplice.” - -“Say, Harper,” he cried, turning to me, “wouldn’t that be just lovely! -Gee, think of the headlines. Russia’s prisons from the inside. I could -make half a column of them. Ah, I wish it could be worked,” and he -sighed. - -“You have some queer ambitions, Siegel,” I said. “You might find it -easier to get in than to get out again. There’s Siberia, you know--not -exactly a pleasure resort, either.” - -“I came through there. Looks all right from the outside; what they let -you see of it, you know; but I’d like to scratch the surface off.” - -“You might not have far to look for the fugitive Nihilists, M. Siegel,” -said Helga steadily. - -“Don’t excite his zeal,” I put in hastily. - -“Can you help me, really?” he cried. - -“I am one and M. Denver is the other,” she replied calmly. - -He stared at her and then at me in amazement, and laughed. - -“You’re pulling my leg,” he said. - -“I don’t know what that means, but what I say is true,” replied Helga. - -He turned serious then, being convinced. - -“Just light the gas for me, Harper,” he said. - -“It is true. We are both Nihilist suspects and are making a bolt for -the frontier;” and I went on to tell him something of what had got us -into the mess. - -“Can I use it?” he asked, his first thought naturally, for the -Screecher. - -“No, not our part; but if you care to take a hand you can use your own -experience.” - -“It’s the chance of a lifetime. Of course I will,” he declared at once, -adding characteristically: “I may do you a turn at the same time.” - -Then Helga told her plan and we discussed it together. Siegel’s -enthusiasm rose and fell as the risk of his being arrested in mistake -appeared greater or less. Indeed he was just as anxious to be caught as -I was to escape; and in the end we came to an arrangement. - -Siegel was to take my place as Harper C. Denver and to carry my -passport, and I was to take his. Helga was to remain Madame de Courvaix -and to act independently of us both; and we were all to travel in -separate carriages and endeavour to pass the barriers at the frontier -alone. - -“I am candid with you, M. Siegel,” said Helga; “I think you will be -stopped. M. Denver’s name is known and we ought to have had another -passport. I think I shall get through, and I’m sure he will. And that -is my principal concern.” - -“I’ll try and act up to the part,” said Siegel gleefuly. - -“If you are stopped, I shall not attempt to get through,” I said to -Helga. - -“But that is just what you must do. You must go first. Think, if we are -both stopped, how disastrous it may be. You will take these with you;” -and she handed me the papers which had played so great a part in the -past few days. “With these, and your freedom and your Embassy at your -back, you will gain the Emperor’s presence, and then his friendship for -you should do the rest. It is our one sound chance.” - -“But it looks like deserting you,” I protested. “You ask too much. It’s -cowardly.” - -“What could you do if we were both detained? You must do this. You -must. And you must be the first to pass the barrier.” - -“Say, Harper, you can give the thing the necessary colour by asking for -that wire from Marvyn for me.” - -I gave in, reluctantly; and at Dunaberg, the next stop, feeling -something like a coward I left the carriage to find a seat elsewhere. - -“Courage, my friend,” said Helga, giving me her hand with a smile. -“Courage, and we shall make the rest of the journey to Berlin safely -and together.” - -“Pray God it will be so,” I answered. - -“This is just bully,” cried Siegel in the highest spirits. “See me do -the conspirator when you two are through. I hope to glory they won’t -let me pass.” - -During the remaining run to the frontier I was profoundly anxious and -miserable. I knew Helga would not have taken such a step as to bring -Siegel into the matter if she had not felt there was real danger for -us both; and that she gave into my care the papers which were of such -vital import, showed that she regarded her own chances as very doubtful. - -I had unbounded confidence in her wit and ready resource. She would get -through if any one could; but the gate was a very narrow one. If the -new development came from Kalkov, as I could not doubt, she was so well -known that a personal description of her would be sent in full. - -And then I perceived the shrewdness of her present manœuvre. Siegel and -I were sufficiently alike for a written description of one to pass for -that of the other. We were both clean shaven, somewhere about the same -build and height and colour; and when I read his description in his -identity paper--drawn up for the purpose of his long journey through -Russian territory--I saw it was quite possible to apply it to me. - -When we reached Vilna the official preparations began. A number of men -were at the depot and made a careful scrutiny of the passengers, and -eventually all of them boarded the train. One got into the compartment -where I sat with Siegel’s writing case open on my knee. - -He watched me write for a time and then asked me for a light. - -I handed him Siegel’s matchbox--a curio he had picked up in China--and -made a commonplace remark in execrable Russian. I had heard Siegel’s -Russian. - -“Monsieur speaks French?” he asked me politely, returning the box. - -“Un poo, pas bocoo.” He recognized the accent immediately and smiled. -“Je suis Americain; San Francisco, voo savvy.” - -“German, perhaps?” he ventured. - -“Ya wohl, etwas; aber Englisch am besten;” and I laughed. - -“I speak English,” he answered, “and have been in England.” - -“Been in America?” - -“No, sir.” - -“Ah!” and I smiled indulgently as if he had missed Heaven. - -“You are a writer?” he asked next with pleasant inquisitiveness. - -“Yes. I’m Siegel of the Screecher; which means that,” I added in reply -to his look of bewilderment, and gave him one of Siegel’s cards. -“Screecher is American for Eagle,” I explained. “And what are you?” - -But he was not communicative. He smiled and gestured deprecatingly, as -if he were of no importance. - -“Just a private individual.” - -“Travelled much?” - -“No, not far. To England and in France and in Germany.” - -“Ah, I’ve just been round the world;” and I rattled away with a general -description of many things I did not know and many places I had not -seen; but I took care to say nothing about any part of European Russia. - -What did I think of Petersburg? I had only stayed there long enough -to see my friend Harold Marvyn at the Embassy. If I’d known I’d have -stayed longer; and I skated on to the thin ice of the Nihilist raid, -playing Siegel’s part as he had performed for us. I ended by saying I -was expecting a telegram from the Embassy at Kovna--could he tell me -how to get it quickly? - -He could and did and offered to help me. On this I became -professionally confidential. I told him my wish to know more of the -Nihilist business, and asked him whether it would probably be worth my -while to return to Petersburg; and so managed that he was led to ask -all about me and my newspaper. Then I showed him enough to convince him -of my good faith. - -I watched him gradually lose interest in me and my concerns; and I knew -from this that any suspicions or hopes about me, with which he had -entered the carriage were dissipated. I was not a Nihilist; no credit -was to be gained from detecting and arresting me; and he wished to -bother himself no more about me. - -We were in this stage of the proceedings, and I was wondering whether -Siegel had also been interviewed and if so with what results, when my -companion said we were close to Kovna and that I had better put my -things together. He was kind enough to assist me and I noticed that he -was at great pains to see as many of my papers as he could and to read -them. I gave him ample opportunity; and an easy-going fool he no doubt -thought me in consequence. - -At Kovna his confidence in my good faith communicated itself to the -other officials and my path was made easy in consequence. He walked -with me to the barrier; a significant glance or two passed between him -and the officials; a very cursory look was taken at my passport and I -was through. - -I had not risked looking for either Helga or Siegel; but when I had -passed through I hung about and soon made a discovery which filled me -with concern. - -A great distinction was made between the men and the women. Scarcely -any difficulty was made in regard to the men; some sharp glances and a -few questions at the most. But all the women between twenty and fifty -years of age were taken away for separate examination. - -I saw Helga come up, hand over her passport, and submit to the close -and searching scrutiny with a kind of impatient frankness that was -admirable acting. But she was led away like the rest for further -examination of her papers. - -I was waiting with an anxiety which can be imagined for her to appear -again, when I was witness of the little comedy in which Siegel played -the chief part. - -He had put up his coat collar and drawn down his cap so that as little -of his face as possible was to be seen, and he came striding along -casting quick suspicious glances on all sides, much after the manner of -the conventional conspirator of burlesque. - -In this way he tried to thrust his way past the officials. Any one -with the faintest sense of humour would have seen he was fooling; but -humour is not the strong point of Russian officialism. The men by the -barrier whispered together as he approached and then clustered close -like wasps round an over ripe peach. - -“Your passport, monsieur, if you please,” said one, stopping him. - -“Passport, what do you mean?” he asked in a truly cosmopolitan language. - -“Your passport; you know what that is,” said the man trying French. - -“Haven’t one,” he answered. He told me afterwards he had intentionally -torn up mine, thinking he had better leave the officials to connect him -with me. “Americans don’t want passports.” - -“Your name, monsieur.” - -“Shan’t tell you. I’m an American, that’s enough. Don’t you interfere -with me,” he said threateningly; and made as if to go on. - -Half a dozen hands were thrust out instantly to stop him. One man tried -to see more of his face and was glancing at a paper. He whispered -something to his colleague, who asked-- - -“Will you raise your hat, monsieur?” - -“No, I won’t.” - -“You cannot pass, monsieur.” - -“We’ll see about that;” and he drew his hands from his pockets and -clenched his fists. I really feared he was going to show fight. - -“Will you step this way, if you please, monsieur?” said an elderly man -coming forward. Apparently a man in higher authority. - -“What for?” asked Siegel brusquely. - -“There has probably been some mistake which I can put right for you,” -was the suavely spoken reply. “You can then resume your journey.” - -“All right,” said Siegel, after a moment’s pause; and the two went off -followed by several of the other men. - -“Do you think it is?” asked one of the officials at the barrier of his -colleague. - -“I’m sure it is,” was the reply. “He’ll resume his journey all right, -but--” he jerked his thumb backwards and winked. And the incident was -closed so far as the public were concerned. - -The women passengers were now beginning to come out from a separate -door; but I saw nothing of Helga and my hopes for her safety ebbed as -the number of the women increased. - -Some of them were speaking of their examination, and I heard to my -dismay that in more than one case there had been a most rigorous -personal search. They were loud in protest at the indignity. - -“She actually made me take down my hair to see if I had anything -concealed in it,” said a German woman to a friend, as the two passed -me. “You never saw such a disgraceful scene.” - -Still there was no sign of Helga; and keen though I was for news of -her, when we were told the train would soon start, I dared not linger -lest I should draw attention and suspicion upon myself. - -I was in a fever of anxiety during the last few minutes as I stood by -the door of the car straining my hungry eyes in vain for a sight of her. - -Then the detective who had been on the train with me came along, his -face wearing a satisfied expression. He caught sight of me, smiled and -nodded as he passed, then stopped, turned and came up and spoke. - -“Bon voyage, monsieur. Then you are not going back?” - -“I’m still in two minds. But I suppose it’s nothing serious.” - -I spoke as indifferently as I could. - -“Oh no--not for your country. I don’t know, though. I could give you -some news.” - -“I’m always ready for that,” I replied with an eager smile. - -“I’m a police agent,” he said, as if the admission would astound me. I -was therefore promptly astounded. - -“You!” I cried. “Impossible. Why, I thought----” and left the thought -to his imagination. - -“What _did_ you think?” He chuckled. - -“I put you down for a merchant or a landowner. But a police agent!” -and I waved my hand in amazement. “I’ve always heard you are the -smartest men in Europe. Now I know it. A police agent!” I was lost in -wonderment. - -“Do you know what I thought you were?” - -“You didn’t take me for another, I suppose?” It was a joke and he -enjoyed it and laughed. - -“No, I thought you were a Nihilist!” - -“A Nihilist! Well, that’s worse than ever. An American a Nihilist?” - -The thing was incredulous as my tone showed. - -“They come from all countries, monsieur. I was looking for a countryman -of yours, a Mr. Damper--no, Denver.” - -“Great Scott. You don’t mean it!” - -“We caught him, too. He was in the train; and a woman too--one of the -most dangerous Nihilists in the Empire.” - -“A woman! Oh, you police agents are wonderful! But do you mean that -women are in this?” - -“They are often the worst. She is a pretty woman, too, this one. You’d -better get in, monsieur, there’s the signal--unless you think of going -back to Petersburg.” - -“When is the next train?” - -“Starts in an hour from now. But you can catch the return mail at -Insterburg.” - -“Perhaps that’ll be better. I can get my baggage. If I do come back I -shall look out for you,” I said, as I got into the carriage. - -“I am going back at once to Vilna. Bon voyage, monsieur.” - -“Good-bye. A pretty woman you say? Will it go hard with her, do you -suppose?” I asked in a compassionate tone as the train moved. - -He shook his head and smiled significantly. - -“She’ll go to the mines, if what they say is true.” - -That was what that infernal old Kalkov had said; and he was making his -words good. - -And it was from that I had to save her. - -Thank God she had been shrewder than I; and that I was free to make my -effort. - -If I had been in Siegel’s place--and then despite the tragedy I thought -of the comedy and smiled. - -But the smile was very fleeting. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE FRESH CAMPAIGN - - -It was fortunate for my peace of mind in the hours which followed -Helga’s arrest that I did not know a number of grim facts that -afterwards came to my knowledge about Russian methods in dealing with -certain classes of offenders. - -Her case was bad enough at the best. Prince Kalkov was one of the -most dangerous men in the Empire to have for an enemy; and that he -was Helga’s bitter enemy he had shown already. Her secret attack had -threatened his influence and position and had thus roused him to -vigorous measures of self-defence. - -As I recalled my last interview with him, I saw now that he had -deliberately goaded me to passion and then let drop the hint of -possible escape in order to drive me to make the attempt which he had -planned to end fatally for me. And in thus goading me he had shown his -hand against her so openly, because he believed I should not live to -speak of it. - -I thought I could see something more, too. He had not scrupled first to -use the brotherhood for his own purposes against Helga, and then had -swooped down upon them at the moment they were serving his end and had -made the raid upon them. In this way he had probably calculated not -only to demonstrate the vigilance of his agents but also to secure the -silence of the men he had used, should anything compromising to him -transpire. - -As the result of that raid he had found that Helga had slipped through -his net and had taken the papers with her; and had learnt from Drexel -no doubt, that I had been with her at the house. - -The hue and cry had followed which had led to the arrest of Helga and, -as he had no doubt been informed, of myself as well. - -The net had been cast wide and, as both the birds had seemingly been -caught in its meshes, he would probably feel easy enough in mind. - -There was only one point in which he had failed. He had not secured the -precious papers; and I had to consider what he was likely to do in -consequence. - -I came to the conclusion that under the circumstances although he might -possibly see Helga to question her, he was not likely to see Siegel. In -my last interview he had threatened to have me charged with Vastic’s -murder, and I had left him to do it; and this was no doubt the charge -which Siegel would find himself called upon to face. He would have no -difficulty whatever in meeting it, of course, the moment he chose to -open his lips; but as he wished to learn at first hand the secrets of -the Russian prison, he would not speak for a while. - -I should thus have time to operate, and my course was fairly clear. I -had to get to the Emperor himself with my story before Kalkov had any -suspicion that I was not safely under lock and key. If he knew I was -still at liberty he would put insuperable difficulties in my way, as he -had before. - -I left the cars at Insterburg accordingly and caught the limited back -to the capital. The journey was without incident. I was recognized at -Kovna; but no questions save those prompted by curiosity were asked me. - -My friend the police agent had spoken about me to one or two of the -officials, and what he had said had apparently been very much in my -favour. The elderly man whom I had seen lead Siegel away at the moment -when he seemed about to show fight, was particularly gracious to me; -and after a general query or so, he asked-- - -“Was the American whom we arrested here a friend of yours, monsieur?” - -“Of course, in a sense all Americans are friends,” I replied evasively. - -“Do you know his name?” - -“There are some sixty millions of us Americans;” and I laughed. “Are -you sure he was an American?” I preferred to do the questioning. - -“He would say nothing, not even his name.” - -“Could I see him? I might by chance know him. A newspaper man gets to -know a lot of faces.” - -“He has been sent back to the capital. If I can venture to warn -you----” he paused and looked at me. - -“I shall be only too glad of a hint.” - -“I should not seek him out then, if I were you. We know little about -him, but in our instructions the charge is an ugly one.” - -I laughed. - -“Well, when we Americans take a thing up we generally do it in earnest, -whatever it is. But I don’t believe any American would ever turn -Nihilist.” - -“Yet you have had Anarchists in your country. Some of your Presidents -have been assassinated, monsieur; is it not so?” - -“By madmen or wild European scum; not by honest Americans.” - -He raised his eyebrows, smiled, and shook his head. - -“The disease is the same in all countries. This man is a murderer, -monsieur,” he answered slowly and emphatically. “He was escaping.” - -Poor Siegel! I could have laughed again; but did not. I was -appropriately shocked, almost horror-struck, at the news. - -“It is terrible,” I said, gravely. “One cannot wish to help such a -criminal as a murderer, even if he be one’s own countryman;” and with -that we parted. - -The one item of fact I had gathered was that the prisoners had been -sent back to Petersburg; and in the hours of my journey I had ample -time to consider my plans, and had them pretty well cut and dried when -I reached the capital. - -I chose a quiet hotel for the night, registered myself as Frank Siegel -of San Francisco, and after a supper served in my own rooms, I went -straight to bed. - -I took all the precautions I could to avoid observation, of course, as -I had to face the double risk of recognition by the Nihilists and by -any of Prince Kalkov’s agents. - -In the morning I commenced my work. I drove to the American Embassy and -sent up Siegel’s card to Harold Marvyn. - -I was shown up to his room and as I entered he jumped up from his table -and came toward me, with hand extended. Then he stopped suddenly and -with a very sharp look said-- - -“They brought me Mr. Siegel’s card.” - -“Do you recognize me?” I asked. - -“Good heavens, you are Harper C. Denver.” - -“Yes.” And we shook hands. He was obviously perplexed and stood -fingering Siegel’s card. - -“I’m afraid I’ve puzzled you; but for the moment Siegel and I have -changed personalities. It’s a queer show. But he’s in prison and I’m -here to tell you all about it.” - -Marvyn was never a very demonstrative man and his diplomatic training -had increased his capacity for self-restraint. But my quiet statement -was too much for him. He went back to his seat, and as I drew a chair -close to his table, he stared at me, his thin sallow face all lines of -surprise, and letting out a long breath in a sort of mixed sigh and -whistle he exclaimed-- - -“Well, I’m gormed.” - -I remembered his expression at Harvard. - -“I haven’t heard that since you left Harvard,” I said, with a smile. - -“But what does it all mean? What are you doing here? How is that--here, -show me.” - -“It means a most infernal mess, which can all soon be put right, -however, if I can keep my head and you can keep my secret.” - -“My dear Denver, I’ll do anything in the world for you. It was your -father got me into this, you know. But is it official?” - -“It’s a bit of everything, I think. But you give me your word not to -repeat anything I tell you?” - -“Of course I will.” - -“For one thing I want your people here to get me a personal audience -with the Czar.” - -“The Czar! Well, that’s a pretty tall proposition as a start. But I -daresay it can be done. We’re on excellent terms with Prince Kalkov who -arranges such things.” - -I laughed. - -“But old Kalkov’s just the man who must know nothing about it. He’s the -man I’m fighting; so I’ll drop that part of the business.” - -“Fighting? How’s that? Give me some facts.” - -“I think I’ll begin backwards,” and I told him about Siegel’s arrest; -and then little by little most of the story. - -“Don’t tell me anything about the contents of those papers,” he said. -“It might be very inconvenient knowledge.” - -“I can’t; I don’t know them myself; but it’s in regard to them I want -your assistance. Of course I don’t mean to compromise you in any way -officially.” - -“I’m afraid you’re trying to weave cloth of spider’s webs with a -hornet’s sting for the shuttle, Denver. My advice to you in regard to -those papers is--burn ’em.” - -“And if I were in your place here, I daresay I should; but you -understand that officially you know nothing about them. All that I wish -you to do is to receive for safe custody the property of an American -citizen to be dealt with as that citizen desires.” - -“That’s all very well, but if any fuss came and enquiries were made -about them, think what a stink there might be,” he objected nervously. - -“I tell you for all I know to the contrary they may be mere sheets of -blank paper. I hand you two packets of valuable securities, that’s all; -and I ask you to accept instructions as to their disposition. You can -surely do that? If an American can’t get a trifle like that done for -him in his own country’s Embassy, it’s a pretty pass.” - -“And what are your instructions?” he asked suspiciously. - -“I shall either call here every day before twelve o’clock or send you -a letter before that time, requesting you to hold them for a further -twenty-four hours. If you do not see or hear from me, you are to hand -them over to the person who produces a letter from me dated to-day, -requesting you to deliver them to the bearer, and signed by me in this -fashion: ‘Harper Clarence Denver, sophomore, citizen of the United -States.’” - -“Who will present that letter?” - -“What has that to do with the Embassy? It will be signed in that way to -prevent any forgery.” - -“I think I can do that,” he agreed after a pause. - -“I know you can; and there is only one thing further. The day you -part with them ask your friend, Prince Kalkov, in what prison he has -ventured to lock me up, and use all the powers of the Embassy to find -me. You may gamble on it that I shall need all the help you can afford.” - -“I don’t like it, Denver, and that’s the truth. I wish you’d let us -take the thing up in the usual way.” - -“My dear fellow, that’s just a sheer impossibility. I know where I’m -walking in this thing. I mean to win right along. This is no mere bluff -I’m putting up: I hold a straight flush.” - -I pressed the matter very insistently and in the end gained my point, -although I should not have done so, had not Marvyn felt under a -considerable obligation to me as the son of the man who had helped -him, and whose influence could be depended upon to see him through any -bother. He yielded with great reluctance. Still, he yielded, and that -was all I needed. - -“And what about Siegel?” he asked, when my point was settled and I had -written the necessary letters and given into his charge the papers. - -“You may safely wait until you hear from him or me. When the mistake -is discovered they will be as anxious to get rid of him as he was that -they should make it.” - -“He’s a queer fellow.” - -“He’s getting the ‘copy’ he wants.” - -“There may be a row about it,” said Marvyn, who appeared to have a far -scent for trouble. - -“Only for newspaper purposes,” I answered as I left. - -I was in high spirits at my first success. I had planted the -compromising papers where even Kalkov’s iron hand would be powerless to -reach them, and I had now only to complete the machinery by which they -were to fall into the right hands if trouble came my way. - -I drove to the Embassy of the Power chiefly concerned and asked for the -man there whom Helga had mentioned to me. I sent up no name at first -and consequently met with a courteous refusal and a request to put my -business in writing. - -Give my own name I could not just yet, so I sent up one of Siegel’s -cards, marking it on urgent private business. After some little -farther trouble this had the requisite effect, and I was shown into -the presence of a man some fifty years of age, thin and tall, with a -military carriage, clean shaven, with one of those straight almost -lipless mouths you see in men of secretive mind. - -“Mr. Siegel?” he asked in English. - -“Are we quite alone?” - -His eyes asked me what I meant. - -“You can see, sir,” was what his lips said. - -“Will you answer my question, please?” I persisted. I had my reasons; -for there was a big screen in the room and I had heard things. - -“You can rely upon everything being confidential.” - -I pointed to the screen and looked at him. He started. - -“A screen always suggests draughts to me. Permit me to----” - -“There is no need,” he interposed quickly, as I was moving toward it. -“It is usual to have a memorandum of matters that pass here.” - -“I am much obliged for the thoughtfulness, but I can trust my memory,” -I answered drily; and then he sent some one out of the room and himself -folded the screen together. - -“Now, Mr.--er--Siegel,” he said referring to the card. - -“I am not Mr. Siegel and have no connection with the press of any -country. I wished to see you on something of extreme importance and of -a vitally confidential nature. I used that name to gain this interview.” - -“And your own name?” - -“Is for the moment of no concern. You would not know it, but will of -course learn it if this interview ends as I wish.” - -“Will you be seated?” and he motioned to a chair. - -I drew my chair close to his and waited. - -“Yes?” - -“I can speak more easily to you here;” and I pointed to the seat at his -desk. - -“You are mysterious, sir.” - -“No; only cautious. I don’t intend to be overheard,” I replied quietly. -He took his seat then and turned to me a listening but impassive face. - -“You had some negotiations recently in regard to certain papers?” - -“Ah!” Recognition and interest now took the place of impassiveness. - -“They have come into my possession.” - -“How?” - -“That is of no consequence. I have them. And--” I paused and met his -intent gaze--“they may find their way to you.” - -He thought rapidly. - -“The price, sir?” - -“You mean money? I am not for sale. I say they _may_ find their way to -you.” - -“I do not understand you.” - -“Yet my words speak my meaning.” - -“From whom do you come?” - -“On my own initiative.” - -“Where are the papers?” and his eyes shot at me as if to pierce to my -pockets. - -“They are in perfectly safe keeping.” - -“What is it you wish?” - -“I am in some personal danger--possibly great danger--and if anything -should befall me, I intend those papers to come to you.” - -He saw my meaning in a flash. - -“You intend to use that as a means to restrain those who threaten you?” - -“Exactly.” There was no change in his expression but I read his -silence, and added: “You can get them in no other way.” - -He made up his mind then promptly. - -“Your terms?” - -“I ask little except absolute secrecy about myself. If you consent, I -shall leave with you a letter to those who will upon receipt of it hand -you documents which will tell you precisely where and how to get the -papers you wish, and will be a full authority to secure their being -handed to you. There are two sets of documents. One is for your use: -the other you must give me a pledge to have placed in the hands of the -Czar himself.” - -I did not tell him he would get the papers themselves from Marvyn, nor -that they were actually at the American Embassy. - -“If that is all why not give them me at once?” - -“You will only present the letter I shall give you under certain -conditions.” - -“Those are?” - -“That on any day you fail either to see me or hear from me by noon.” - -“You ask nothing from us?” - -“Nothing more than I have said.” - -“No assistance, should you get into this danger you anticipate.” - -“You could render none.” - -“It is very extraordinary.” - -“Your answer?” - -“I accept your conditions, of course. But I wish you would give them me -at once. We would find means to protect you.” - -“Thank you. That is impossible.” - -I wrote the letter in the terms I had agreed with Marvyn and handed it -to him. - -“My name you will see is Denver,” I said. - -“Mr. Marvyn, of your Embassy. I know him.” - -“Your pledge of secrecy must be kept, or the whole thing falls through. -I have arranged that. The slightest breath, and the papers are lost to -you.” - -“Does Mr. Marvyn know?” - -“Mr. Marvyn knows no more about them than the secretary you sent out of -the room. I have left with him the particulars which will enable you to -get the papers.” - -“On your side, Mr. Denver, you will observe confidence?” - -I smiled as I answered. - -“If they are to fall into your hands, I shall be in a place where my -silence will be very effectively secured.” - -“I do not ask about that,” he said as I rose. “But you will render us a -service we should never forget, Mr. Denver.” - -I smiled. - -“You mean, I may do so. There’s an ‘if’ in the matter, and I hope it -will be the strongest word in the whole conversation.” - -I left him then to set about the still more difficult task of getting -my audience with his Majesty. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--THE LUCK WAVERS - - -I was very preoccupied with my plans as I left the Foreign Embassy, -and, crossing the side path quickly, ran against a man, who turned, -stared, started, and muttering some words I did not catch, passed on. - -Something about him struck me as familiar, and I glanced after him -with half a mind to follow and speak to him. But time was pressing. It -was already mid-day, and I had yet to devise a means of getting at the -Emperor; so I entered my carriage and drove back to the hotel. - -The incident had served to revive my caution, however, and when I -alighted I had a good look about me. There were but few people about, -and none to take any notice of me; but while I still stood in the -lobby, a drosky drove rapidly past, and in it was the man whom I had -jostled some minutes before. - -Obviously I had been followed; and having ordered my lunch to be sent -to my rooms, I went up feeling vaguely uneasy and worried. - -The man’s face would obtrude itself into my thoughts, and my vain -efforts to place him in my memory troubled me. In the last few crowded -days I had seen such a number of different faces that my recollection -of this one was lost in the crowd. - -That any one should have recognized me at such a moment was annoying; -and whoever the man might be, and whatever his object in following me, -I foresaw the possibility of embarrassing complications, and even of -dangerous ones. - -Without interference from any one, the difficulties in the path of -getting to the Czar’s presence were of themselves likely to tax my -ingenuity to the utmost. Even when I had been his guest in the Palace -they had proved insuperable, and now they threatened to be no less -troublesome. A hundred different suggestions occurred to me, only to be -put on one side. - -You cannot walk up to an Emperor’s door, send in your card, and see him -without any fuss; and if I was to succeed now, it would only be as a -result of some ruse. - -For this there was only one thing which might tell in my favour. I knew -my way about the Palace, and on the night of my arrival I had been seen -by, and my name was known to, one or two of the gentlemen-in-waiting. -If I could get inside the building, therefore, I might by the use of a -little impudence and ingenuity gain my end. - -In this connection I had a stroke of luck. I learned from the papers -that the Czar had returned late on the previous evening with his guest, -the Crown Prince of Denmark; and I saw how to make use of this visit -for my purpose. - -The Crown Prince and his staff were staying in the Palace, and the -fact of there being so many new faces to puzzle the officials would -help me. I resolved to go to the Palace quite openly, ask for one of -the Prince’s staff, and while he was being sought, I proposed to lose -myself somewhere in the building, and trust to my wits for the rest. - -To ask openly for an audience of the Emperor would, of course, be -useless, because, as Marvyn himself had admitted, all such requests -were referred straight to Prince Kalkov. - -I found a list of the members of the staff in a morning paper and -picked out a name at random: that of a Colonel von Kramen: and over -my lunch arranged the details of my venture. If I came actually face -to face with him, I could easily use Siegel’s connection with the -Screecher to carry me through. - -I fixed the time for my visit for about five in the afternoon. I knew -the Czar’s habit was to devote himself to matters of business for an -hour or two from five o’clock; and if I could get my name before him -then with a pressing request for an audience, I reckoned all the rest -would be plain sailing. - -I ordered a carriage to be ready by half-past four, and sat down to -wait for the time to pass with such patience as I could command; and -I was just finishing my cigar when the waiter interrupted me with an -announcement that brought me to my feet in a moment. - -“Your brother to see you, monsieur.” - -“My brother!” I exclaimed, and got no farther before the man who had -followed me to the hotel rushed in with both hands extended and face -beaming with smiles. - -“Ah, Frank, my brother, my brother,” he cried in broken English, and -with a very effusive foreign manner. - -I drew back and stared at him. - -“I don’t know you,” I said. - -The waiter stood staring at us in amused astonishment. The ways of -these Americans were always droll, of course, to him. - -“Oh, Frank, brother, why receive me thus coldly? Why this cruel -estrangement? This freezing stare?” exclaimed my visitor as the waiter, -after lounging a moment, went out and closed the door. Then the -newcomer’s manner changed. “Or am I mistaken, and is it--the Emperor?” -the last sentence in a low, sly tone with a look of intense cunning. - -“I don’t know who the devil you are, but you’ve no business here -anyway, so get out, right now,” I said angrily. - -He took no notice and stood staring at me with the same smile of -cunning. Then shaking his head as if in reproach, he sat down. - -“This is my room. Get out of it,” I cried. - -He did not move, so I crossed to the bell. - -“Shall I call some one to pitch you out?” - -He spread his hands and wagged his head. - -“They will not do that.” - -“We’ll see;” and I touched it. - -“They will not do that,” he declared, unmoved. “You will not tell them -to. I should only say I am looking for an American gentleman I had the -good fortune to meet at--Brabinsk, and think I have found him.” - -He smiled with the same serene cunning. - -“What do you want?” I asked angrily. - -The waiter opened the door then. - -“Ah, that is more like my brother. I will have cognac and cigars and -coffee. The sight of your dear face, brother, is a delight.” - -“Bring cigars, coffee, and brandy,” I told the waiter. - -“Was I not right? You no longer order me out. On the contrary, we drink -together, and smoke and--and talk.” - -I waited until the drinks came. - -“Help yourself,” I told him; and he did, generously. Russians can all -drink like fish, and this one took half a tumbler of brandy and very -nearly forgot all about the water. Then leisurely he lit a cigar, and -having got rid of the waiter’s curious eyes, rose and locked the door, -and tossed the key on the table. - -“You may have another brother, monsieur, and he would not be so -welcome;” and with a fresh smile he sat down again and puffed away in -silence. - -“A good cigar,” he said appreciatively. - -His coolness was amazing. - -“You said you were going to talk--well, talk, and say what you want.” - -“I want to do you a good service, monsieur; I am your friend.” - -“Never mind that, what do you want?” - -He took up his glass and looked at the liquor in it deliberately. - -“A toast, monsieur. To the memory of--M. Vastic,” and he tossed off -half the liquor at a gulp. “You do not drink?” - -“No; I’m waiting for you to speak.” - -“He was a great man--Vastic. But you were too quick for him.” - -“Were you--?” I began. - -He nodded his head quickly. - -“I missed you. It is not often I miss. I am counted a dead shot;” and -with a glance the mingled threat and cunning of which no words of mine -can convey, he took out a revolver and laid it on the table in his hand. - -The interest of the situation heightened considerably. - -“Have you come for a second shot?” - -“I hope not; I hope it will not come to that. I should not miss a -second time. Perhaps you have arms here?” - -“Perhaps I have,” I answered coolly, meeting his eyes. - -“It would help to give them me.” - -We stared steadily at one another, and then I noticed that the door key -was within my reach. I leaned forward slightly, as if to be nearer -him, and then picked up the key with my left hand, and thrust back my -chair so that my right hand rested on the bell push. As I moved, he -watched me like a cat, and partly raised the revolver. - -“This will do for me,” I answered, slipping the key into an inner -pocket and putting my finger on the bell. “You can shoot me if you -wish, but at the slightest movement from you I shall ring this bell, -and you will find it difficult to get out of the room before the people -come--and equally difficult to explain your presence. Now we can talk.” - -A dead tense silence followed my words. I sat staring at him, with my -finger on the push. His fingers left the revolver and he smiled. - -“You are clever, monsieur. But it would not have saved you. You are -right, however. We will talk.” - -“Say what you have to say,” I answered, keeping my hand on the bell. - -“If I spare you, you can save me. And we shall be quits.” - -“Go on.” - -He took his hand from his revolver and used it to lift the glass which -he drained and immediately replenished. - -“You remember me then, monsieur?” he asked. - -“Yes, perfectly, now. You were with M. Vastic at Brabinsk.” - -“When you shot him,” he added significantly. - -“At the moment he was attempting to shoot me. Yes, go on.” - -“For that you were condemned by the brotherhood, and I was one of those -chosen to--to find you.” - -“And murder me, you mean--after having been a witness that I acted only -in self-defence. Go on.” - -“We know what occurred,” he answered with a wave of the hand, as if -putting my words aside. Then his look sharpened. “I am now the only -one at large of all who were at Brabinsk that night.” - -“Which means--what?” - -“That I am your only source of danger--from us, monsieur. It is -fortunate that I chanced to see you to-day.” - -“There may be two opinions about that,” I said drily. “I have mine.” - -“It is fortunate--for both.” - -“That gun of yours is scarcely a promising circumstance, is it?” - -“You can make me your friend, if you will.” - -“How?” - -“I am in danger, almost at my last turn. I am being hunted down--and -you can save me. Every refuge is closed by these dogs of police.” - -“Do you think I can call them off? I’m no longer even playing at being -Emperor.” - -“I have no money, monsieur--and dare not go where I could get it.” - -So the cat was belled at last. To my profound relief, the desperate -Nihilist and picked assassin was just a common beggar, and his six -shooter and threats mere picturesque bits of stage colour, and no more. -An almost ludicrous bathos, but yet unutterably welcome to me. - -A moment’s reflection convinced me that he was in earnest. I knew of -the raid on the Nihilists and that there had been a great number of -arrests. Panic had no doubt seized the bulk of them, as it will do at -such moments, and this man had caught the infection: oaths, pledges, -revenge, the brotherhood, friends, everything had been blown to the -winds by the passion of the panic and fear for his skin. - -I took my hand from the bell and rose. - -“Come,” I said quietly, in a tone of reassurance. “Put that gun away -and don’t monkey with it any longer. I’ll help you if only to show I’ve -no cause of enmity with you. You shall get out of the country if you -wish. How much do you want?” and without more ado I pulled out a roll -of notes. - -This readiness completed his conquest. He tried to maintain some show -of stolid indifference, but the sight of the money and the knowledge -of all it meant was too much for him; and for the moment he could not -speak. - -“How much?” I asked again. “Five hundred roubles?” and I laid notes for -that amount on the table. - -“I don’t need so much as that,” he said. - -“If you’ll comply with one condition, I’ll double the amount.” - -His quick glance asked my meaning. - -“You are the one man whose evidence can prove what took place when -Vastic was killed. Leave Russia and go to any place you please, but let -me know where to find you; you can write to Mr. Harold Marvyn, of the -American Embassy here. And if I need your evidence, be ready to swear -to what occurred at Brabinsk. Do this, and I’ll see that you have a -fair start in a new country. You’re not of the stuff that makes good -conspirators. Come; your gun, right now, as a pledge you trust me and -will do what I say.” And I held out my hand for it. - -He hesitated, looking at me nervously. - -“I’m a prisoner, monsieur,” he murmured. - -“Rubbish! Here,” and I tossed the key of the room over to him. - -“By God, you’re a man!” he cried. “You make me feel like a vile wretch -of a coward;” and he pushed the revolver toward me. “I was drawn into -this thing, like so many others, and the net was too strong to break. -But I could get away now, and if you’ll give me a chance----” - -“All right. Here’s the money. I’ll have your story when we meet outside -your infernal country. Now go, I’m busy. By the way, what’s your name?” - -He picked up the notes almost like a man in a dream and as if he could -not believe in his good fortune, and put them away. - -“I am Anton Presvitch. What can I say to you, monsieur? I----” - -“Say _au revoir_ or any other old tag you please, and keep clear of -this sort of business for the future. I wish you good luck in getting -away;” and I opened the door, gave him back his revolver and bundled -him out. - -The time was now close at hand for me to start, and I hurried my final -preparations. - -My chief concern as I drove to the Palace was lest any of the men who -had stopped me on the previous morning should be on duty and recognize -me; but the luck continued to be on my side. - -No difficulty was raised about taking Siegel’s card to Colonel von -Kramen, and I was shown into an ante-room to wait. But I was not -left alone, and could not therefore find means to get further into -the Palace. But I was in luck again. Instead of the colonel, a young -officer came to me, who said he was his secretary, and politely asked -my business. - -I invented a reply to the effect that the paper I represented wished -me to get the career of so distinguished an officer as the colonel, -and that I was very anxious to have a personal interview. I would not -detain him more than a few minutes. - -“I’m afraid it’s out of the question just now. The colonel is with his -Royal Highness, and can scarcely be interrupted,” he said, as if with -regret. “Cannot I tell you what you wish to know?” - -“I’m also going to ask the colonel to endeavour to get me a word with -his Royal Highness,” I answered glibly. - -“Really!” He smiled. “I have heard of the enterprise of American -newspapers, but I scarcely expected this.” - -“It’s a usual thing,” I replied, as if it were. “In fact I am known to -the Czar himself, and have had the honour of a long conversation with -him.” - -This impressed him, as I intended it should. - -“I’ll go and see what I can do,” he answered. - -He was a very pleasant young fellow, so I ventured a step further. - -“Is there not some place where we could be more private than here? In a -confidential matter of this sort----” - -I left the rest to his imagination. - -“Will you come to my apartments? I shall be delighted.” - -Of course I agreed, but felt rather like a shame-faced impostor at -having to trick so frank and good-natured a fellow. There was too much -at stake, however, for me to hesitate, and we went away together, -talking gaily, up the stairs and along the corridors to his room. - -I was going to win after all, in spite of old Kalkov and his Argus -eyes, and my spirits rose as success came nearer and nearer within my -grasp. - -We sat chatting for a few minutes, the young officer exhibiting -a strong curiosity on the subject of American newspapers, what -information I wished to obtain, the use I should make of it, and so on; -and I did my best to satisfy him. - -He was satisfied at length apparently, for he went off on his search -for the colonel and left me alone. - -I gave him just time to get well away, and then hurried off in the -direction of the rooms where I knew the Czar would be at that hour. - -What happened when the young secretary returned to find I had hoaxed -him, I do not know, and never had an opportunity of ascertaining. He -went out of my thoughts there and then, and the occurrences of the next -few hours were too vital for me to think of him again. - -I had to get to the Czar, and assuming an air of as much importance -as I could, and feeling, it must be confessed, not a little nervous, I -strode into the ante-room, my pulse beating with the fear that Prince -Kalkov might be there, and said to one of the aides-de-camp, as I -handed him my card--my own card this time-- - -“Kindly let his Majesty know that I have obeyed his summons and am -here.” - -The aide looked up and frowned. - -“I have no note of your name, monsieur. What is your business, if you -please?” - -“I am here by his Majesty’s request. I was staying in the Palace as his -Majesty’s guest until the last two days. I am going to Khiva, and his -Majesty wished to see me first.” - -“Oh yes, I heard of that. Pray pardon me; you are the American, M. -Denver, yes. His Majesty is engaged at present, but the audience will -be over directly, and if he sent for you, of course he will see you.” - -“I was to see him before I left. But my name will be enough.” - -“Will you wait, monsieur?” And he waved me to an adjoining room. - -Good old bluff! The finest of all tactics, I thought as I sat, very -anxious and impatient I admit, but very confident now. Once get the -Czar’s ear, and then-- - -The door was pushed partly open, and there came a dramatic pause. I got -up, eager and expectant; and the luck turned with a rush. - -It was Prince Kalkov, pale, urbane, cool and dangerous. - -“I am afraid, M. Denver, his Majesty is too much engaged to grant you -an audience to-day.” - -This in the suavest of tones, for those outside to hear. Then he closed -the door and smiled. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI--I WIN - - -My feelings as Prince Kalkov and I stood thus face to face for -some half minute or so without speaking were not wholly those of -disappointment and chagrin. Disappointed I was, of course, and -chagrined; but I had throughout had the secret expectation that he -would succeed in blocking my way to the Czar; and it was in view of -this that I had taken the elaborate precautions in regard to the -compromising papers. - -My surprise passed very quickly therefore, and I was conscious of a -feeling of amusement mingled with conjecture as to the course which -the interview would take. I had no fear of him whatever, for I was -absolutely confident. - -He might do what he pleased, but I had the stock of the whip in my -hand, and there were two long biting thongs on it. - -I sat down on the edge of an office table, and swinging my leg -carelessly, smiled and opened the business. - -“I am not so entirely surprised to see you as you may think--nor so -sorry. I would rather see his Majesty, but that will come presently.” - -“You play very adroitly and very confidently, M. Denver. Who is in your -place yonder--your cell?” - -I affected not to understand him. - -“My cell?” - -“Need we pretend? What American has personated you?” - -“No one, Prince; I am not an Emperor.” Then in an indifferent tone -I added: “Have you got an American? I heard as I came back through -Kovna that your people had blundered and had made an arrest. I think -something was said about a murder, but, of course, we know that’s all -mere wishwash and wind baggery.” - -“You will find it serious enough, monsieur. Who is he?” he asked -sharply. - -I pretended to think a moment, then slapped my knee and laughed. - -“By Jove, I believe I can guess it. Splendid. There _was_ an American, -a newspaper man, on the train, represents the most sensational papers -in the States; he was dying to get the secrets of your prisons at first -hand, and it’s just like him to have played for this arrest. You’ll -have a flaring description of the one he’s in sent across the Atlantic. -Lovely!” and I laughed with unnecessary heartiness. “You’d better get -him out as soon as you can.” - -His eye kindled with anger. - -“If there has been a conspiracy, monsieur, it will not help you now, -and he will pay the penalty. We are not to be fooled with.” - -“That’s just the point. The worse you treat him, the better he’ll like -it, and the more his papers will make of it,” I replied, taking out my -cigar case. - -“Where are his papers, monsieur?” he retorted pointedly. - -I grew serious and looked up at him out of the corner of my eyes. - -“Are we to talk about--papers yet, Prince?” - -His momentary discomfiture was a thing of joy to me. - -“You do not realize the fix you have got him into.” - -“No indeed, for I don’t believe he’s in any fix at all. By the way, -shall I have time to smoke a cigar before I see his Majesty?” - -“Yes, many,” he rapped out drily. - -“Well, here goes for one, then,” and I lit mine deliberately. “Now I -suppose we are going to have a little chat together. I think you’ll be -interested in an account of my adventures since--yes, since the night -before last at--seven o’clock. You know them up to then.” - -“It is unusual for me to grant an interview to a man charged with -murder.” - -“Then I’d better go straight to his Majesty.” - -“You will not see his Majesty.” - -“I think I can persuade you that I shall, Prince. As you said just now, -I am very confident.” - -“If you desire to lay any mitigating facts before me, I will listen to -you in my apartments. I am wishful to deal with you leniently.” - -“Mitigating facts, that’s a pretty phrase. I like it. I am also ready -to go anywhere you please--gaol if you like; and I can understand that -you would prefer me to be a little farther removed from the Czar than -we are at the present moment.” - -“I shall send you there under guard, monsieur.” - -“No, decidedly no,” I said firmly. “If you send me anywhere under -guard, it will be to a prison, and then--well, things will happen, and -you’ll be sorry. I am enjoying this interview, and am quite willing -to continue it where and when you please; but you are vastly mistaken -if you think that I am only bluffing you now. I am really dangerous, -Prince. You know the jargon of poker--well, it’s up to you to see -me--if you think it safe.” - -Apparently he did not, for after a second’s pause he said-- - -“We’ll go together, monsieur.” - -And together we went accordingly. - -I was well satisfied with the progress of things so far. I had told -him nothing yet; had merely hinted at the power I held; and the hint -had forced him to yield. Nothing more was said until we reached his -apartment, and once there, he sat down to his desk, while I threw -myself into an easy lounge chair. It was my cue to appear absolutely -unconcerned, and I played up to it. - -“Now, monsieur, for the reasons why I am not to hand you over to the -police at once.” - -He spoke sternly and curtly. - -“The main reason is the blunder of your men at Kovna. They first let me -through with things that were of great importance, and then let me back -again to take ample measures for the safety of myself--and others. I -owe them an infinite obligation.” - -“You will find it better to drop this jesting tone and speak plainly.” - -“Why should I adapt my tone to suit your convenience? You are presuming -to address me as if I were a prisoner.” - -“You are a prisoner.” - -“Why persist in this ridiculous delusion? I am not anything like so -near a gaol as--well, say as you are.” - -“This is insolence, monsieur,” he cried angrily. - -“Yes, calculated insolence, your Highness. I resent your attitude. -You have behaved infamously to me--infamously. And you would carry -your infamy to the last extreme now, and send me to rot in one of your -gaols, were you not restrained by your fear of the consequences.” - -“You shall not speak thus to me,” he cried passionately, striking the -desk with his fist. - -“I shall speak as I please to the man who laid a treacherous trap to -lure me to my death.” - -“This is not the way to obtain my leniency.” - -“Damn your leniency! Do what you dare--right now. I am as safe from -your threats as I am indifferent to your anger. I am a free-speaking -American citizen, monsieur, not a Russian serf; and I can prove my -innocence as clearly as I can prove your guilt.” - -“You tempt me to end the interview by your arrest. Had you not been a -friend of his Majesty----” - -A laugh from me cut him short. - -“Exactly. I understand. You mean it’s safer to hear me out, no matter -what tone I adopt. And so it is.” - -He knew well enough I was dangerous to him; and filling up a pause by -drawing some large sheets of official paper before him and selecting a -pen, he said-- - -“Your statement, monsieur.” - -“You won’t find it advisable to put it all down there; but you can -please yourself. First, we’ll clear up the mystery of your prisoner. -His name is--but wait, here are some of his papers, including his -passport. I used that with his consent to pass your men at Kovna;” and -I handed over such of Siegel’s cards and papers as I had with me. - -“You admit this?” he asked. - -My action surprised him. - -“Oh yes. Fortunately I met him on the train, and we arranged that I -should use his passport.” - -“You conspired together?” - -“Put it how you like. It doesn’t matter five cents. If I didn’t know -that, I shouldn’t have told you. Shall I wait while you write that -down?” I asked, for his paper was as blank as my hand. - -“I can trust my memory for his crime,” he replied when I waited for an -answer. - -“Then you can have my first condition. M. Siegel must be liberated -the moment he expresses the wish to leave. I don’t want him to lose -material for his article. He was so useful to me, you see.” - -The Prince bit his lips savagely and sneered. - -“It is good of you to name your conditions.” - -“If I didn’t, how could you comply with them?” - -“Perhaps you have some others?” - -“Certainly I have. The next is the immediate release of Mademoiselle -Helga Boreski--or Lavalski, whichever name you prefer. When that trap -of yours for me failed--and only an accident caused the failure, for -it took me in completely; you may like to know that--I went to the -Mademoiselle and told her your intentions in regard to her, warned her -and assisted her in attempting to fly. Your quick swoop on the place -afterwards--a fact we had not counted on--broke up our plans, and she -was arrested. I tell you of the mistakes we made in regard to you, so -that you may feel perfectly sure I have not made any miscalculations -now.” - -“By your own admission, you aided the escape of this Nihilist leader. -You are frank, monsieur.” - -“Except that she is not a Nihilist leader, but your personal enemy, you -are quite right. I admit I helped her to get away. I went with her, of -course, as you now know.” - -My frankness was having precisely the effect upon him which I -calculated. He felt I should not make a number of hazardous admissions -if I had not some strong cause. - -“You must, of course, be held answerable for this; even my desire to -save you would be useless in the face of this,” he said, for all the -world as though he were my best friend and protector. - -“I am ready right here and now. But about Mademoiselle’s release?” I -asked when he paused. - -“It is preposterous--monstrous--out of the question.” - -“Still, it’s got to be done; how, I leave to you;” and I leant back and -smoked placidly. - -He sat thinking, and then shot the question at me for which I had been -waiting, and with it a sharp lightning glance. - -“Why?” - -“I have those papers.” - -I enjoyed the start and frown which the words fetched, and his evident -discomfiture and perplexity. - -“Your men were very good to me; I should like to recommend one of them -in particular for promotion.” I couldn’t resist the chance for this -little gird at him. “I had them on me when I passed the barrier and -again when I came back. And now they’re in good safe keeping.” - -He bore the gibe without retort, without a sign of any kind, although I -knew how deep I had thrust the blade in. - -“A queer turn of the wheels, isn’t it? The very papers you sent me out -to recover, when I do recover them, become my weapon against you. And, -by the way, they are not the only ones I have.” - -“Well?” - -“There’s the full case--with dates, details, names of witnesses, -proofs, everything--in the charge against you in that Lavalski matter.” - -I saw his hand tighten on the arm of his chair, and a muttered oath -slipped out from the pressed lips in a whisper. Save for that one -truant whisper, his face was as pale and immobile as death itself. - -The sight of his tense emotion satisfied even my bitterness against -him, and I held my tongue, speculating what he would do. - -He found the problem beyond even his ingenuity for a time at least, -and sat thinking, trying to see a course that was not fraught with -real danger. He had guarded this secret jealously; fought for it with -desperate vigilance; flourished on it prosperously for years until -he had reached so high; and now exposure menaced him with all its -consequences of overthrow, ruin and disgrace. - -I knew he would fight on doggedly, if only he could find the means of -fighting. But where he would look for them I could not see. - -The silence lasted for minutes, and then he moved. He had apparently -thought the thing out and made his choice. At length he spoke. - -“This Lavalski charge is false, monsieur,” he said. - -“Intentionally false, no,” I answered. “Mademoiselle Helga is incapable -of deliberate falsehood. Mistaken, possibly. The inquiry which his -Majesty will order on hearing the charge will no doubt settle its truth -or mistake. That is all that is needed.” - -“His Majesty will order no inquiry, monsieur.” - -“We shall see.” - -“The Duchess Stephanie has seen his Majesty.” - -“When?” - -“This morning, in a long and painful interview. I was present. What -passed has convinced his Majesty of the character of this mademoiselle.” - -This was the one thing I had feared. - -“I do not believe that of the Emperor,” I said firmly. Our eyes met and -I tried in vain to read the expression in his. - -“From that quarter the mademoiselle can look for no countenance--now,” -he returned, with slow incisive significance. - -I began to understand. - -“I have yet to see him and tell my story,” I answered. - -“I repeat, there can be no inquiry, monsieur.” - -“It will arise out of any trial of the mademoiselle,” I said -significantly. - -“There need be no trial.” He accompanied the ambiguous sentence with a -look which further enlightened me. Helga must look to him and not to -the Czar for help. - -“What does that mean?” I asked. - -“It rests with you,” he answered, slowly, as if the words were wrung -from him by torture. As indeed they had been. - -I drew a long breath of relief. I had won, and the intense significance -of my victory rushed upon me, filling me with a gladness that deprived -me for the moment of the power to speak. - -I got up and walked two or three times across the room. Helga was -free, and I had freed her. The luck was indeed with us. Looking at the -Prince I found his eyes riveted upon me. - -“You are satisfied, M. Denver?” - -“Yes. What remains to be done can be arranged easily. When can -Mademoiselle Helga be set at liberty?” - -“As soon as she agrees to abandon this ridiculous charge against me, -and arranges for the surrender of the papers.” - -My face clouded. I had not thought of that. Helga had to abandon -everything--the very purpose of her life. Would she? - -“They cannot be surrendered until she is beyond your reach.” - -“You do not credit me with much good faith,” he said bitterly. - -“If you held my life in your hands would you put the weapon into mine -and expect me to kill myself?” - -“Yet you expect me to credit you.” - -“You cannot help yourself. Besides, I have gone straight. I am not a -Russian diplomatist.” - -“Will you tell me where those papers are?” - -“Will I put my head in a noose and hand you the loose end?” - -“How do I know that you have them?” - -“I tell you so. My word is enough; but you know pretty well I shouldn’t -have ventured here if I had not had them?” - -“You came expecting to see the Emperor?” - -“And should have forced my way to him just now--if I hadn’t known that, -having them, it was safe to trust myself with you.” - -“Who else knows where they are?” - -I started and looked at him. I began to see his drift, and led him on. - -“No one,” I answered, and I saw by the way his eyes fell that my new -suspicions were correct. - -“Will you give me a pledge on your honour that if I do what you ask you -will hand them to me?” - -Again he would not trust me to see his eyes. - -“Yes. Any pledge you like, written or verbal,” I answered, helping him -out. “But write me first that you grant my conditions.” - -“Yes. I agree to that. It is fair.” And he began to use for the first -time the paper with which at the start he had made so much show. “Will -that suffice?” he asked, handing me the writing. - -I appeared to read it carefully, but I was watching, and noticed that -iron-nerved as he was, his hands were trembling. - -“Yes, that will do,” I said, and put it away in my pocket. - -“Now write, then,” and we exchanged places, he standing up by me, I -sitting at his desk. - -“Let me see, how shall I word it?” - -“I will tell you,” he said, his voice trembling. “Write where those -papers are, or by God it will be your last moment alive.” - -I was turning to look at him when I felt the cold circle or pistol -barrel pressed to my head. - -Move, I dared not, for I knew that at the least sign of resistance from -me he would fire. I saw how he had reasoned. He believed that I alone -knew where the papers were, and that if he shot me the secret would die -with me. If I refused to write what he demanded, he would kill me and -take the risk of their never being found; while if I did tell him, he -would kill me just the same and get the papers afterwards. - -But my precautions spelt checkmate to his ingenious scheme. Bitterly as -he hated me, I knew he would not indulge his hatred at the expense of -his own inevitable ruin. - -“I will write something you had better read,” I said steadily, and -wrote: “I have placed the papers where, if anything happens to me, the -one set will pass at once into the hands of the Embassy”--I named the -Power concerned--“and the other set straight to the Czar.” - -I ceased writing and felt the pressure of the barrel increase as he -bent forward to read the words. He gave such a start that I wondered -his fingers did not pull the trigger. - -“I was only testing you,” he said, then, and he tossed the revolver -back in the drawer from which he had secretly taken it. - -“Testing my folly, you mean, Prince Kalkov,” I said as I rose. “Seeing -whether I was fool enough to put my finger in the cobra’s mouth without -making sure that the fangs were drawn.” - -“I am sorry. I was not myself,” he said, his voice strangely weak; and -he fell into the lounge chair where I had been sitting, and lay there -ashen white and trembling, so that I thought he would faint. - -I could guess from that what he had undergone. - -He was so long in this condition that I began to think he was seriously -ill, and would collapse altogether. - -“Shall I summon assistance for you, monsieur?” I asked. - -“No,” he murmured faintly, with a feeble wave of his white hand. - -It was several minutes before he could rally sufficiently to resume. - -Then he got up and changed to his own chair by the desk. He was like a -man more than half dead, and when he tried to write, his hand shook so -violently that he could not form the letters. - -I waited in silence and watched him. Unscrupulous, treacherous, subtle, -and vile as I believed him, he was so broken and beaten that I could -almost have found it in me to pity him. - -He succeeded after a strenuous effort in mastering his feebleness -sufficiently to be able to write. - -“I shall trust your honour, M. Denver. Here is an order to admit you to -Mademoiselle Boreski, and to see her in private. Go to her at once. -Bring me word that she abandons this wrongful charge against me, and -you can both leave the country to-night. You can then surrender the -documents. You will understand my wish for haste.” - -“I must see M. Siegel also,” I said; “and have an order for his -release.” - -With another effort he wrote me the necessary authority. - -“Now, excuse me, I am not well;” he sighed heavily, and his head fell -forward on his hands. “Please ring that bell for me,” he murmured. - -I touched it and went out, leaving him still in that pose of abject -broken weakness. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII--A LAST MOVE - - -My interview had been so successful and the Prince’s submission so -complete that it never occurred to me to look for still further -treachery from him. - -I had carried everything before me so triumphantly; had secured Helga’s -freedom, and was on my way to take her the good news; she and I would -leave the country; Siegel would be cleared from all trouble; and on -every point I had forced from the Prince just those conditions which I -chose to impose. - -So overcome was my opponent, so prostrated, that only with a great -effort had he been able to keep up to the end. And if I was inclined -to be conceited over my victory it must be remembered that I had been -pitted against a man of wide influence, drastic power, and very high -position. - -It did occur to me, indeed, as I was driving to the prison, that the -Prince had not given me the order for Helga’s release, and that he had -worded his phrase peculiarly. - -“Bring me her consent,” he had said; but this appeared no more than the -ordinary caution he would employ, seeing that he was not likely to set -her at liberty without some such pledge. What he had really had in -mind, however, I was to learn later. - -At the prison no hesitation was shown about complying with his order. I -was shown into a bare room with a small table and a couple of chairs--a -place just one remove from an ordinary cell; and after I had waited -some few minutes Helga was brought to me. - -She was very pale, but a flush of surprise, and I think delight, swept -over her face at seeing me. She just put her hands into mine as I -stretched them out to her and left them there while I gazed into her -eyes. - -“You are very pale, dearest,” I said at length. It was the first time -I had ever used such a term of endearment, and her eyes and a smile -noticed it. - -“I am so glad,” she answered, with sweet inconsequence. “But I don’t -in the least know how you have done it. It must be some new American -method.” - -“This is the American method,” I whispered, and drew her to me till her -face was close to mine, and then I held her in a passionate embrace -while I pressed my lips to hers. - -“I have been so anxious for you,” she murmured, putting her arms about -my neck. “I did not care for myself. I am so glad.” And then of her own -volition she kissed me again, and let her head fall on my shoulder with -a sigh. - -For a while I had no need for words, and just stood lost in the delight -of her new tenderness and witching mood of love. - -“You caught me so weak,” she said at length, “in the joy of seeing you -safe. Now satisfy my curiosity. I am only a woman, you see.” - -“I have come from Prince Kalkov to tell you you are free, sweetheart.” - -At the mention of the name, she started and would have drawn away from -me had I let her. - -“From him? But you have been a prisoner?” - -“No, never in any real danger of being one.” - -“You are free now?” she cried, looking at me curiously. - -“Yes, of course.” - -She laughed then, and backed out of my arms. - -“Then my sympathy was wasted; and my remorse----” - -“It was a very sweet remorse, Helga,” I said, as she left the sentence -unfinished. - -“I thought you had been arrested, and charged with Vastic’s murder; -that I had brought you to ruin and shame. Oh, it was unendurable.” - -“And if you had known?” I asked, with a glance she read. “Was it only -remorse?” - -“One does strange things on--on impulse. I have suffered so, and it was -such a relief.” - -“The gates of relief are still open,” and I spread out my arms. - -“I mean to see you,” she cried, with a flash of the eyes and a blush. - -“And I mean--to feel----” - -“Come, let us be sensible and talk.” - -“I think we have been very sensible without talking.” - -“They will not let us be long together,” she continued, ignoring my -words and looks and sitting down. - -“That will depend on you, Helga.” - -“On me? How?” - -“You have but to say one word, and we shall be always together.” - -“Another American method? They are very elastic,” she laughed. - -“They are very thorough.” - -“How did you escape? Please tell me everything.” - -“Yes. I have come to do that. All is well now. Siegel was caught at -Kovna instead of me. I got through with the papers, returned, put them -in safe keeping in the capital, tried to see the Emperor, and saw -Kalkov instead; and when he realized what had happened, he agreed to -release you, in order that you and I might leave Russia together.” - -“You bewilder me,” she said. - -“I will give you the details;” and I told her at some length all that -had passed since we had parted in the train. - -The story did not produce the effect upon her I wished. My note was -one of jubilant congratulation; but I saw a look of thoughtful doubt -settle gradually upon her face, and it hardened when I spoke of -Kalkov’s condition that she should abandon her war against him. - -“Did he tell you he had seen me? You have not mentioned it,” she said. - -“No; not a word.” - -“He came here--here to this prison--to this very room.” - -“For what?” - -“To threaten me first, and then to offer me your and my liberty. He -swore to me that you had been arrested, and that all the papers had -been found upon you; that you were charged with Vastic’s murder, and -that he could secure your conviction--and then he offered me liberty.” - -“On what condition?” - -“Practically the same as you have mentioned. You have done well for me, -my friend, but the Prince is too tortuous for straight-minded men to -deal with him.” - -I began to feel about as cheap as a five-cent piece. He had failed with -Helga, and then made a show of submission to me in order to use me to -influence her. It was not a pleasant reflection. - -“What did you say to him?” - -“That so long as a breath remained in my body and a pulse in my heart I -would spend that breath and exhaust the pulse to vindicate my father’s -memory and revenge him.” - -I had no answer to make; and sat chewing the cud of this new reverse. -Helga saw how hard I was hit, how keen my disappointment, and tried -gently to soften the blow. - -“No honest man can deal with the Prince,” she said; and added with a -smile: “You have secured the papers by a magnificent stroke and we -shall win now. It was for you I was troubled.” - -“It’s good of you to soften the fall, but it hurts a bit all the same.” -My smile was a very rueful one. “If it was mere revenge I should urge -you to give it up; but it’s your father’s memory, and I can’t.” - -“He strove hard. He seemed to know he could make me feel more keenly -striking at you than at me; and when he said the papers were in his -hands I was very near despair.” - -“I can understand. Well, we’ll see it through to the end.” - -“Not you,” she cried eagerly. “You must take no part. I----” - -She stopped, meeting my look. - -“You forget,” I said lightly. “It is I who have the papers now.” - -“I cannot speak nor think lightly of it where you are concerned,” was -her earnest reply. “You must see the danger is real.” - -“I need no more evidence than your presence here. Yet _you_ do not give -in. If you are troubled for me, do you think I am indifferent about -you? Helga!” - -“No, no, I don’t think that. Oh, you know,” and she stretched out her -hand to me. “But this purpose is my life. It is greater than all else. -Yes,” she cried in answer to my look, “greater even than that.” - -“Then I am jealous of it, Helga; so jealous that I will destroy it--or -it shall destroy me. There is nothing to me greater than my love.” - -“It can never be,” she said slowly, shaking her head sadly. “It would -be cruel for me to give you hope, much as I would wish--ah, God! how -much!” - -“I will find a way,” I declared firmly. - -“There is one by which you can help.” She spoke suddenly after a pause. - -“What is that?” - -“You are free; use your freedom to get the papers out of the country to -a place of safety. Then from that vantage ground you can help me.” - -“It is ingenious,” I said with a smile. “You mean I should be safe.” - -“If I know you are safe I shall be happier. I told you once I was -stronger when you were away. I should be stronger now.” - -“But I am not going. I will not leave you here. The papers are -absolutely safe in Marvyn’s hands.” - -“You do not yet know the Prince. While the papers are in Russia he -will leave no stone unturned to find them.” - -“But they are not in Russia. Where the Stars and Stripes fly over the -Embassy it is American territory; even he is powerless.” - -“He will find a way. Even now I believe he has some scheme. He may have -sent you here in order to search your room. He will have your movements -to-day traced, and find out where you have been.” - -“So much the better. He will not get much satisfaction at either -Embassy. He can but prove the truth of what I told him and feel the -iron pressure all the closer.” - -“But what can you do if you remain in Petersburg?” - -“I shall be with you.” - -She answered with a gesture that the place was a prison. - -“Near you, then. I cannot go away--unless we go together.” - -“A kindness that is almost cruel,” she sighed, and then a silence fell -between us. - -It was an _impasse_. The Prince was not likely to let her get out of -his grasp unless she promised to forego her purpose; that was certain. -Equally certain it was in that she would not yield. I could not ask her -to abandon the work of clearing her father’s memory. She had lived all -her life for that one object; and knowing her so well as I now did, I -felt she would cling to it to the end in the very face of death itself. - -“It is an almost hopeless outlook for you,” she said, breaking the long -silence and speaking my own thought. - -“But we have to find the way, and we shall;” and then, as if in answer -to my wish, a view of the matter which had not struck me flashed upon -me. - -“You have thought of something,” she said, reading my face. - -“It may not please you. It is a compromise.” - -“A compromise? How? I see none.” - -“Well, I will put it. You have a double motive in this fight with the -Prince--to clear your father’s memory, and to punish Kalkov. Let me see -him and tell him if he will right your father’s name you will leave him -alone.” - -“Let him continue to prosper on his infamy? You ask this?” - -“If you cannot tear down the stones of this place, will you help -yourself by dashing your head against the walls? As we stand, we are -helpless.” - -“I can punish him, and all Russia.” - -“Will that help in the really greater object?” - -“You are tempting me to be untrue to my whole life.” - -“I am showing you how possibly you may gain your end.” - -“But the proofs of his baseness will get to the Emperor.” - -“So we hope. But even if they do, are you sure of the Emperor? He told -me that the Duchess Stephanie had seen the Emperor and poisoned his -ear with the tale that you are a Nihilist. Do you think Kalkov is not -cunning enough to meet a charge from such a source? It is not those -papers the Prince fears, it is the complication with the Powers. If you -were free to press your claim for justice, it might be otherwise: but -as we are, we are desperately weak.” - -“It is like treachery to my father,” she said vehemently. - -“If it were so in reality I should not press it, Helga. But I do;” -and I went on to urge it, using every consideration that occurred to -me. Indeed the more I thought of it, the more was I convinced that it -offered the only solution to an impossible position. - -That she should be anxious to punish the man who had dealt so cruel -a blow at her father, and was now pursuing her so relentlessly was -natural enough; in truth I would have been glad to take a strong hand -in the work. But he was old and a year or two more of unmerited -honours for him weighed but little against the disastrous consequences -to both of us. - -The one consideration that began to tell at last with Helga, however, -was the fact that her father’s reputation might be righted if she gave -in to me, and would probably not be if she were to remain in prison or -be sent to Siberia. - -“But he cannot do it,” she urged, when my insistence upon this point -began to influence her. “To right my father is to prove the Prince’s -wrong-doing. He cannot do it.” - -“Well, there, let me try it. If he cannot we shall be only where we -stand now. I have sufficient faith in his craftiness; but we shall -still have our weapons left to us. We may gain; we cannot lose.” - -Her brows drawn in deep thought and her face set, she was considering -her answer when the door was opened, and we had a genuine surprise. - -Prince Kalkov entered. - -I stood up and stared at him. - -“This interview was to be private,” I said quickly. - -“I have come to take part in it, monsieur. I have something to say that -will interest you both, and probably affect your decision.” - -“I do not welcome the intrusion,” I declared. - -“And I have nothing to say to my gaoler,” said Helga. - -I thrust one of the two chairs over to him, and pulling the small table -towards me, sat down on it between him and Helga. - -“You omitted to tell me to-day that you had already seen mademoiselle, -and that she had refused your offer.” - -“It was not necessary--then. Now, however, it is different. I will be -frank with you. I sent you here that I might have your rooms at the -hotel searched, and your movements to-day ascertained.” - -“Mademoiselle, knowing you, had already told me that was probably your -object. I assured her that you would gain nothing, unless you called -at a certain Embassy.” - -“And you were right, monsieur,” he answered, quite unmoved. “I admit -your caution and admire it. It has confirmed my opinion of your -strength in this.” - -“Well?” - -“What I said to you before, I repeat now--those papers must be -returned to my hands, at any cost.” - -“There are two sets of papers,” I reminded him. - -“Those affecting me you can retain. I can protect myself from any -charges and slanders founded upon mistake.” - -“Mistake!” exclaimed Helga bitterly. - -“I said mistake, mademoiselle; and I am going to prove to you before I -leave that what I say is true. But first, you are here together, and I -invite you to say on what terms the other papers shall be placed in my -hands.” - -“You had my answer to-day,” said Helga. - -“I do not accept that answer, mademoiselle.” - -“I have no other.” - -“I am here in no spirit of hostility, neither to make or to hear -recriminations. I wish the important papers to be recovered with the -least disturbance and trouble to all concerned.” - -“That is a threat,” I put in. - -“It is not so intended, M. Denver. You have acted cleverly, but you -have not exhausted the resources at my command. If no terms are made -now, it will leave me no option but to have you arrested, charged with -treason and conspiracy in regard to these papers, and then I can use my -influence with your Ambassador to secure that the papers lodged with -Mr. Marvyn shall be held inviolate and then returned eventually to me. -It is for you to make your choice, whether to stand by mademoiselle’s -answer or to make better terms with me.” - -Here was a fresh turn indeed, and when I glanced at Helga I saw she had -turned pale, and that, like myself, she was at loss how to parry it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII--LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAY - - -Prince Kalkov was an opponent with whom it was dangerous to hesitate -and fatal to appear disconcerted, so I shook myself up as quickly as I -could, and answered with a smile. - -“That’s a very plausible story, your Highness, but if you can do all -this, why are you here? It’s not for your health, is it; or from any -newly-born affection or solicitude for us?” - -“No, I have made no such pretence,” he said drily. - -“Then why?” - -“Because it will be less troublesome to recover the papers directly -through you than indirectly from Mr. Marvyn. I merely wish you to see -that they will be recovered, one way or the other.” - -“Then I think you’d better go to work indirectly, Prince,” I said in -a very deliberate tone. “If I don’t accept implicitly the explanation -you’ve just given me, don’t blame me. You must set it down against that -knack of yours to say one thing and mean another. Yes, I think on the -whole it had better be indirectly. I see a little flaw in your plan.” - -“Had we not better avoid personalities and insults, M. Denver?” - -“You mean about your little knacks. Is that an insult? I thought it was -a canon of European diplomacy according to Talleyrand--that language is -given us to conceal our thoughts. I meant it as an explanation, not an -insult.” - -“You prefer to meet these charges?” - -“Oh, yes. I don’t see any difficulty in them. As for the murder charge, -I happen to have at command the evidence of the man who was with Vastic -at the time, and he can prove I acted in self-defence.” - -“The testimony of a fugitive Nihilist,” he rapped out. - -“True, but still testimony; and as I’m an American, it will have to be -a fair and open trial. There is also Mademoiselle Helga’s evidence. -Yes, on the whole, I’m disposed to take that risk. As to the treason -business, do you really think you’d better prove that? It was your -idea that I should play the part of Emperor, and you furnished me with -forged documents and other lies to get those papers back; and as you’re -making it an international matter, it would make rather an awkward -story. Still, do as you like. But you haven’t frightened me. I don’t -think there’s a bullet in the cartridge. Go right ahead anyway, pull -the trigger, and we’ll see.” - -“I can do what I have said, nevertheless, monsieur.” - -“Possibly you think so--possibly, I say. But I don’t agree with you. -You see, my father is not only a rich man, but has a heap of influence -at the White House. If I remember, too, he has a bit of a grievance -against Russia; and he’d make things hum a lot if you monkey with me. I -hadn’t thought of bringing him into it, but I believe it would be the -best thing. Helga and I were trying to think of the best way out when -you came, and I’m hanged if I don’t think you’ve given me just the cue -I wanted.” - -“You think, perhaps, he could save the mademoiselle?” - -“One thing at a time, and for the moment we’re talking about my case. -Yes--” I spoke with intentional slowness, as if thinking it out--“yes, -I shall cable him to hurry over. I wonder I never thought of it. If I -can’t get to the Emperor, he can, right away; and if he don’t make it -an international affair inside two shakes, then I don’t know my own -father. That treason charge was just a lovely thought of yours, Prince.” - -The Prince rose. I had turned the tables on him at his own bluff, but -like a good player he kept his end up. - -“We do not allow prisoners to have the use of our telegraphs, -monsieur,” he said nastily. - -“The Embassy can send it in cypher. Same thing,” I replied unconcerned. -“The worse you make things for me, the bigger the fuss when it does get -out.” - -He turned from me to Helga. - -“You will go back to your cell, and you and M. Denver will not meet -again, mademoiselle,” he declared, like the bully he was. - -“I am quite ready,” she answered, not flinching a hair’s breadth; “now -that I have heard what is to happen;” and she rose and met his look -steadily. - -And we stood thus a space in silence. Both sides recognized that -the situation was just bluff. I had shown him the rottenness of his -position; and he knew that, despite my easy words, I was anxious to get -the thing arranged without any of the trouble I had outlined. And yet -neither was willing to take the first step down. - -Then I offered him a bridge. - -“Is this worth while, Prince?” I asked very quietly. - -“What do you mean?” - -“I have shown you my hand, and you can see it’s a strong one. Why not -take the card you’ve been keeping up your sleeve. You have one, you -know.” - -“Do you mean you are willing to submit to me?” - -“No, indeed, I don’t. I’ve shown you I can set you at defiance and face -the worst you can do, with absolute confidence that I shall win. But -I’m willing to listen to what you came to say. You haven’t given us -the proof that Helga’s charge against you in regard to her father is -mistaken. What’s the proof?” - -“I can prove it by the man most concerned.” - -Helga went white to the lips. - -“Name,” I asked curtly. - -“By her own father--Prince Lavalski. He is still living--in Siberia.” - -“My God, my poor father!” cried Helga, falling into a chair and -covering her face with her hands. I crossed and laid my hand on her -shoulder. - -“Courage, Helga, courage. This may be good news, dearest.” - -“It is not good news, monsieur, but the worst for his daughter,” -continued the Prince, relentlessly. “You have forced me to tell you. -His life was spared against his wish when his offences were proved; and -it is by his own desire that he has remained in Siberia, dead to all -who knew him.” - -“It is a lie, a base lie, a lie of lies,” cried Helga, with sudden -passion. “He is dead, and you--you, Prince Kalkov, are his murderer.” - -“You are ungenerous, even for an enemy, mademoiselle,” replied the -Prince, with a bow that was not without courtesy and dignity. “Had you -come to me openly years ago, I would have told you the truth.” - -“It is false, and you know it. You tried to wreak your malevolence on -me. You know I speak the truth, just as you know you were afraid I -should tear the mask from your life and ruin you in the eyes of your -Emperor. How can you be so base?” - -“The full truth of your father’s offences was and is known to but two -men in the Empire, mademoiselle. The Emperor himself is one, and I -am the other. I had and have nothing to fear from any disclosure or -inquiry.” - -“God, that such villainy should prosper!” she cried again, with -passionate vehemence. - -“What I have told you is the truth, and I offer you the means to prove -my words.” - -“What means?” I asked. - -“I will not dishonour my father by even listening further,” exclaimed -Helga. - -“Mademoiselle Helga can communicate with her father, or you, monsieur, -can go to him,” said Kalkov, disregarding her protest, and turning to -me. - -“Yes,” she said scornfully. “And you would get one of your pliant tools -to answer my letters or personate my dead father. I know you and your -methods too well, monsieur.” - -“I understand your anger, mademoiselle, and pass over your taunts. I -have offered you the proof I promised. I have now said my last word, -monsieur,” he added, turning to me. - -“Can I bring the Prince back with me?” I asked. - -“Certainly, if he will come. But he will not.” - -“No, for then I should see the deception,” said Helga, with scorn; and -then with a change to eagerness, “Can I go to him?” - -“No; that is impossible.” - -“Why?” I asked. - -“There are limits to my powers. I cannot send armed escorts to Siberia -and back to satisfy the doubts of all our prisoners.” - -“I can go alone,” declared Helga. - -“And return--here?” with a significant lift of the eyebrows. - -“Do you think I would break my pledged word?” asked Helga indignantly. - -“I have no doubt you would endeavour to keep it. But it is a risk I -should not feel entitled to take. I repeat I cannot provide an escort -for any prisoner for such a distance.” - -“I would escort her,” I broke in quickly. - -He turned and looked at me coldly and steadily, as he replied -deliberately: - -“You are not her husband yet, monsieur. And if you were,” he added, -after pausing, “what greater security should I have for her return?” - -“You want no more than these papers, I suppose, if she did not return?” - -“If she can persuade her father to return, that will be better still. -We are ready to bury the past.” - -“Your objection then is not to mademoiselle’s going to find him, but -only lest, having found him, she should still use these documents?” - -“You have stated it precisely. We must be absolutely secured on that -point.” - -“Leave me to find the way then. Give me an hour and either return here -or I will see you at the palace.” - -“I will return,” he said drily; “for if you do not decide I shall take -the other course.” With that threat he went away. - -It was a curious situation that he left behind him. Helga had not said -a word since his pointed sentence in reply to my offer to take her to -her father, and I could not of course guess what she thought. But I -knew my own mind very clearly; and that is always a circumstance in a -two-sided discussion. At the same time I was not a little embarrassed. - -Helga was the first to speak. - -“Can it be true, do you think? Or is it only another of his schemes?” - -“It differs a good deal from any others--at least in one point.” - -“I don’t believe it. I won’t. I am sure it is false. My father was the -soul of honour and loyalty.” - -“You would at any rate see him!” - -“Ah, my God, what would I not do to see him,” she cried. - -But I wished to get her away from this strenuous mood, so I said with a -smile: - -“Even comply with his suggested condition?” - -“I was not thinking of that. How can you?” - -“It would be a long honeymoon trip.” - -She shook her head as if my tone jarred. - -“Can’t you see all it means to me?” - -“I know what it means to me.” - -“Don’t!” she exclaimed, impatiently. “Be serious.” - -“I think we’ve been serious long enough. Believe me, I know all that -this portentous news must be to you. Pray God it is true that your -father is alive. But there are some anxieties we can face better with -a bright face. So smile to me, and say you’ll go with me to find and -bring him back.” - -I held out my hands. - -She hung back a moment with head averted and then turned and put her -hands in mine, her face smiling and her eyes dashed with tears. - -“It is all so strange,” she said. - -“We Americans are never sticklers for forms. We’ll go with a laugh, -dear, whatever we are destined to find there.” - -“You are so good and so strong,” she whispered. - -“No, I am just discovering how much better and stronger I shall be -with--with my wife, Helga,” I whispered back. - -She came to me then, with a sigh and a laugh and lots of blushes which -she hid on my shoulder from my eyes as well as from the musty dingy old -prison walls. Musty and dingy? Well, no. They will never be that in my -memory. For the sake of that minute they will always have a halo in my -thoughts; for after all it was the prison which did so much to hasten -our happiness. - -And so it was settled, and for the time we just lost ourselves and -babbled and laughed and sighed and held hands and kissed and laughed -again; for love will have his way even in a prison with all sorts of -vague troubles gibbering and pranking from the other side of the bars. - -And when I glanced at my watch I found we had used up the whole hour -save some ten minutes. - -The problem which the Prince had left us was a big one to solve in -ten minutes; but we only smiled at it, for Helga had come round to my -view--to meet everything with a laugh. And in that spirit we faced the -prospect of the long journey to Siberia. - -When the Prince came back I had no formal answer ready for him, of -course. Helga was to be my wife; and I could not get any further than -that. I was certainly in no fit mood to cope with him. - -I suppose he saw the chaotic state of my mind; he must have been very -blind if he did not; for the thought of Helga as my wife got in my -way and tripped me up every moment, so that my answers to his first -questions were given almost at random. - -“You have my word of honour that the moment we find matters are as you -say in regard to Prince Lavalski in Siberia, the whole of these papers -will be returned to you. I suppose that will satisfy you.” - -“A personal guarantee is at best unsubstantial,” he returned rudely. - -“Does it seem so to a Russian? It is not to an American.” - -“I have no choice, it seems. When will you start?” he asked. - -“As soon as we are married.” - -“That can be at once--to-night or to-morrow.” - -“To-morrow!” exclaimed Helga, in dismay at the suddenness. - -“I suppose we must wait till then if we can’t manage it to-night,” I -said; and she laughed to me. - -“It will not be an elaborate ceremony,” said the Prince drily. “A -prison does not lend itself to scenic effect.” - -“A prison,” said I, surprised in my turn. - -“Mademoiselle can only leave here as your wife, monsieur.” - -“Then I think we’ll try and manage it to-night.” - -“No, no, to-morrow,” declared Helga, quickly. - -“Better to-night; we can spend to-morrow in the preparations for the -long journey,” I answered. “One can’t go to Siberia without clothes; -even on a honeymoon, you see. We could start on the following day.” - -“But----” her face was wrinkled in dismay. - -“No ‘buts,’ only smiles, Helga.” - -“I will give the necessary instructions,” said the Prince, perceiving -like the shrewd old man he was that I should carry the point. - -“We must have witnesses. Mr. Siegel will be one of them,” I said. - -“You have the order for his release,” replied the Prince. “I will wait -for you, monsieur,” he added, and very considerately took himself off. - -He had to wait, for Helga still had scruples which I had to combat. -And before I had overcome them his patience was exhausted, and he sent -a messenger in quest of me. - -“Thank God you’ll be out of here in an hour or two, dearest.” - -“But----” - -I stopped the protest on her lips. Any lover knows how that has to be -done. She laughed at my eagerness. - -“Good, sweetheart. We’ll meet it all with a laugh as we agreed;” and -not keeping the Prince waiting more than another quarter of an hour, I -left her happy, blushing, loving--and resigned. - -“I have appointed ten o’clock,” he said as I joined him. - -“Very well.” I should have said “very well” if he had named midnight or -four in the morning. - -“I wish you to understand that I shall do all I can to help you--now,” -he said pointedly. - -“That’s all right.” My head was still in the clouds. In an hour or so -Helga would be my wife. - -“I shall wish to know where you will be.” - -“God bless my soul, I hadn’t thought about that,” I exclaimed. “We -shall stay at the Imperial. Oh, and I’ve no clothes. They are at the -Palace. You see it’s a little sudden.” - -“My man, Pierre, is at your service, monsieur.” - -“I wish you’d let him get them to the Imperial; or shall I----” - -“I will see to it. There is one thing, of course, M. Denver. You will -make no attempt to see his Majesty.” - -“I’ve only got an hour and a half.” - -“I mean to-morrow, of course,” he exclaimed, testily. - -“No, I’d better not, I suppose.” - -“To-morrow, I shall have your route carefully prepared, with full -instructions to all on the way to help you forward with all speed.” - -“Yes, I suppose you’re as anxious as I am to get the thing ended and -done with.” - -“You will find I can be as firm a friend as I can be a resolute enemy. -I wish to be your friend, monsieur, for my august master’s sake.” - -“You’ve done pretty well as an enemy, Prince; let’s hope the future -will show us the other side.” - -“Then for the present, good-night.” - -“For the present?” - -“I shall of course be at the ceremony.” - -I didn’t want him there; but as I would rather be married to Helga in -his presence than not married to her at all, I said nothing. Besides, I -was not in a critical mood. - -I was sufficiently practical to remember to go to the hotel and engage -rooms, and on the way I stopped at a jeweller’s store and bought a -ring. And having done that I hunted up Harold Marvyn and induced him to -consent to be at the wedding. - -Then I drove to the prison where Frank Siegel was confined. I produced -the order for his release, arranged all the preliminaries, and then -told them to show me straight to the prisoner, as I wished to take the -news to him myself. - -“Hello, what in thunder brings you here?” he exclaimed, as I entered. - -“I’ve brought the order for your release, old man.” - -His face fell, and he looked the reverse of pleased. - -“I hope you’re just monkeying. I don’t want any release,” he said in a -tone of such irritation that I laughed. - -“Sorry, but you’ve got to come. I’m going to be married in about half -an hour, and I want you to be best man.” - -He took it so coolly that I could have kicked him. - -“Of course that makes a difference. But it strikes me you’re using me -some, Harper. Who’s the----” - -“You know. Met her in the train.” - -“Oh, the Nihilist. Sounds all right. Where?” - -“In the prison.” - -“Gee; that’ll make good copy.” - -And that seemed its best recommendation in his eyes. - -“You take it very lightly,” I said, with a smile. - -“Well, you see, it’s your marriage, not mine.” - -And with that we left the cell. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX--A LAST PRECAUTION - - -It was a quaint ceremony, our marriage. - -The clock was close on the stroke of ten when Siegel and I reached -the prison where Marvyn was already waiting for us in the room in -which Helga and I had seen each other. He shook hands with Siegel and -congratulated him. - -“On getting in or getting out?” - -“Both,” replied Marvyn, and they laughed. - -“This is a queer show,” said Siegel. - -“Denver was never conventional,” returned Marvyn with a shrug of the -shoulders. - -“How do they tie them up over here? Greek Church?” queried Siegel. - -“Yes,” nodded Marvyn. “Depends on the religion.” - -“Through soon?” and Siegel glanced at his watch. “I want a bath.” - -“A few minutes. By the way, Denver, to make the thing regular--I -thought I’d better ask Hoskyns, the Embassy chaplain, to come along.” - -“Thank you, I hadn’t thought of that,” I said. - -“Will you come to the chapel, monsieur?” asked a warder entering at -that moment. - -He led us through the corridors to the dimly-lighted gloomy chapel -where Helga in charge of a female warder was waiting near the chaplain. - -“Odd looking Joshua,” murmured Siegel, glancing at the priest’s quaint -robes. - -Marvyn, who did things with official decorum, took no notice and when -we reached the altar rails Siegel and Helga shook hands and he said -something which made her smile. Then I introduced Marvyn who was -obviously struck by her beauty. - -“She’s very lovely,” he whispered to me as we took our places. - -“Yes, she’ll make ’em hustle around in New York,” added Siegel who -overheard him. - -The ceremony was in Russian and very brief. The priest spoke in a kind -of droning chant and his deep voice rolled around the empty building -and came back from the dark recesses behind the heavy pillars with a -hollow echo more striking than cheerful. - -I knew enough of the ritual to do the right thing at the right moment -and when it all came to a rather abrupt and unexpected end, I heard -Siegel, whose modernity was quite unaffected by the weird strangeness -of the scene, exclaim in a quite audible tone, “First Half,” as if it -had been a football match. - -Marvyn saw to the completion of the legal formalities and then Helga -slipped her hand in my arm and I led her away down the cold gaunt aisle. - -I was too happy and proud to think of anything except my dear beautiful -wife until on passing one of the plain sturdy pillars I felt her start, -and glancing round saw Prince Kalkov step from its shadow. He did not -speak to us, but joined the two men. - -“He said he would be present; I had forgotten,” I whispered to Helga. -“It doesn’t matter.” - -“I wonder why he has hurried us so,” she said. “We shall soon know.” - -When we reached the little room we found Mr. Hoskyns, the American -chaplain, waiting for us, and Marvyn who came in alone introduced him. - -“Where’s Siegel?” I asked. - -“Trying to interview Prince Kalkov,” he replied with a dry smile. - -Siegel came in time for the second ceremony which was even shorter than -that in the chapel, and when the signing was finished and the others -had congratulated us, Helga got ready to leave. - -“That should be a good double knot,” said Siegel. “Do you suppose I can -go back to my cell?” - -“I’ve engaged a room for you at the Imperial,” I told him. “You’ll all -come round with us?” - -But the chaplain excused himself and Marvyn pleaded a pressing -engagement. - -“I should like to come, Denver,” he said, drawing me aside. “I want a -word with you very particularly. Come and see me first thing in the -morning at the Embassy, will you? It’s about those things.” - -“What about them?” - -“I want you to take them away. And as you’re all right now, I suppose -it won’t matter.” - -“Anything to do with Kalkov?” I whispered. - -He nodded. - -“Indirectly, I’ll tell you in the morning. You needn’t worry,” he -added, noticing my look. - -I promised to see him in the morning, and then Siegel, declaring he -must have a word or two with Marvyn, persisted in going away with him. - -I led Helga to the carriage and Prince Kalkov met us by the door of the -prison. - -“I shall see you to-morrow, monsieur?” - -“Yes, assuredly. We shall be at the Imperial.” - -“I will come to you there in the afternoon at three o’clock. May I wish -your wife and you all happiness?” - -Helga said nothing; she would not even look at him, and I felt the -pressure of her hand on my arm tighten. - -“We ought to have it, Prince. We have had to fight hard to get even -thus far,” I said. “Good-night.” - -“Good-night.” - -He bared his head and bowed to Helga, and with a smile drew aside for -us to pass. - -Helga shivered slightly and whispered-- - -“I am very foolish; but I am still afraid of him.” - -“It’s something to know he fears us also,” I answered. “We have forced -him to open these gates for you and you are now the wife of an American -citizen. So we have the laugh on him.” - -“For a time,” she said thoughtfully. - -“No, for _all_ our time. The Stars and Stripes will see to that. -Besides, you agreed to meet even our marriage with a laugh;” and then -we began to keep the agreement and to put the Prince and all his wiles -out of our thoughts. - -At breakfast on the following morning Helga was in excellent spirits as -we discussed the prospects of our long journey and planned the day’s -work of preparation for it. There were a hundred things to do and -innumerable purchases to make, and Helga with paper and pencil laughed -gaily as the list she made grew until its length was formidable. - -“There is one nut we have still to crack,” I said. “What to do with -the papers,” and I told her what Marvyn had said to me on the previous -night. I had not told her before not wishing to kindle her inflammable -anxiety. - -“The Prince’s hand is in it, of course, and not for any good,” was her -comment. - -“That’s the best of dealing with such a man--you can always gamble on -it that he means some kind of trouble.” - -“I think we may tear this up,” she said, and held up the list we had -made so carefully. - -“Tear it up? But you--oh, you think we shan’t be allowed to go, after -all?” - -“I don’t know what I think, but I am sure there is treachery somewhere.” - -I was not in a suspicious mood, however. The world had become very -bright to me and I thought Helga was too much under the influence of -her former feelings. One can’t shake oneself free in a dozen hours from -the trammels of such a life of danger and vigilance as she had lived -for years. She seemed to read my thought. - -“You think I am fanciful, Harper,” she said with a smile. “I hope so; -but the Prince does nothing without an object and his real object is so -rarely that which he lets you see.” - -“I am more confident than ever,” I said. - -“Probably he is reckoning on that, dear--to recover the papers, hoping -we shall make some false step.” - -“I believe you’re right, but----” - -I paused, for it had not dawned upon me until then all that the -abandonment of the journey might mean to Helga. - -“I have been very thoughtless, my dear, but I see now what you mean.” - -She smiled gently and sadly. - -“I almost hope he is not alive. He was incapable of any such crimes as -the Prince hinted, and if he has had to endure the life in the mines -for all these years, it would be worse than death to him. Better death -than a broken heart such as his would be. You would say so if you had -known him.” - -“Were it my own father’s case I would rather he were dead, Helga. -I know the pain of such a thought to you. The cruelty of Kalkov in -raising a false hope is just dastardly, and to do it for some fresh -crafty purpose makes it diabolical.” - -“What we have to do is to thwart the purpose; for, depend on it, we are -in as great danger from him as ever. I think I begin to see it now.” - -“Show me.” - -“He knows that the papers will be in either your hands or mine and -accordingly has hurried our marriage.” - -“I don’t think we’ll blame him for that,” I interposed, and drew a -glance of love from her. - -“Then he put out the bait for this long journey for us together----” - -“But he first opposed your going and wanted me to go alone.” - -“Yes, knowing it would be useless for you to go by yourself. He was -merely working round to his end. He can of course deal more easily with -us together. Then, see his next step. He waits until we are married and -pledged to go to Siberia, and then contrives that the papers are to be -suddenly forced back into our possession. Mr. Marvyn is to give them to -you this morning, we are to start to-night or to-morrow; and he reckons -he can watch us so closely after you get them and until we start that -he will learn what you do with them.” - -“I meant to take them with us.” - -Helga thought a moment and shook her head. - -“Very likely he has meant that too, but I doubt if he would take such -a risk. If I read him aright, he will look for his opportunity at the -first convenient moment after you leave the Embassy this morning. You -will have the papers with you and an arrest and a search would give him -all he wants. You see it now?” - -“And see also that if it had not been for your sharp woman’s wit I -should have tumbled into his trap again. You are wonderful, Helga.” - -“There is nothing wonderful in such a guess. I know him. The question -is what to do with the papers?” - -“They shall go to New York,” I said promptly. - -“But how?” - -As if to suggest an answer to her question Frank Siegel came hurrying -into the room saying as he shook hands-- - -“Can give you just five minutes; been cabled for, and am off for home -in an hour. Going to join our people in New York.” - -Helga and I exchanged looks. - -“Leaving ’Frisco?” - -“Yes,” he nodded. “Same people, same papers, different place, that’s -all, except that it’s better.” - -“I’m glad. Hope we shall follow you soon.” - -“Siberia off then?” he asked, in a matter of fact tone. - -“Don’t know yet. By the way, could you take something to my father for -me?” - -“Those papers?” - -“You’re very quick, M. Siegel,” laughed Helga. - -“My dear Mrs. Denver, I’d do anything in the world to oblige you; but -this is a large order. Can’t risk another arrest just now. What’s up, -Harper?” - -“I want those papers got safely to New York.” - -“I can do better than take ’em; tell you how to get ’em over safely. -They wouldn’t be safe with me.” - -“How do you mean?” - -“Why, get Marvyn to send ’em as Embassy business.” - -“Great Scott, I never thought of it,” I exclaimed. - -“Good-bye, Mrs. Denver. You’ll like New York, and we shall have times -together. Better than Siberia. Good-bye, Harper. Thanks for that -chance in the prison. Glad now I got out so soon. This cable’s urgent. -Good-bye and good luck,” and he was gone. - -“American methods are a little breathless, Harper,” said Helga, with a -laugh. “Do you all cut knots as easily?” - -“He’s cut this one anyway,” and then we discussed how I should proceed. -We decided to act just as though we were really going away, and to make -a show of preparing for the journey. And at Helga’s suggestion we put -up a little scheme of our own to frustrate any plan which the Prince -might have formed. - -Helga was to go to see after her own matters and we decided not to meet -until an hour before the time Prince Kalkov had appointed to call. Then -we were to lunch in our own rooms and not leave them until he arrived. - -The reason for this was of course that his spies might be able to trace -our movements very easily, and lead the Prince to believe that what he -sought would be found with us in the hotel. - -I was to call first at the Foreign Embassy to arrange matters there; -then to see Marvyn, and on leaving him to drive round to various stores -to purchase what I needed for the journey, and to do everything as -though I had not a suspicion of treachery. - -I was on the point of starting when it occurred to me that Marvyn -might prove very reluctant to adopt Siegel’s suggestion. In his -official capacity he might be placed in a very awkward and embarrassing -position, and would very probably shrink from having any more official -dealings with documents about which these representations had been made. - -I had no desire to get him into trouble and I therefore resolved to -mislead him. Accordingly I made up a dummy set of papers closely -resembling those I had left with him, and I took them with me in -readiness. - -It turned out to be a very fortunate precaution. - -Before anything was said on the subject I opened my fire. - -“This jaunt to Siberia is a pretty big thing, Marvyn, and as one never -knows what is going to happen I think I ought to send some papers I -have with me home to my father: my will and some other things. They are -very important--some of them, and as my relations with the authorities -here have been peculiar, and letters have a knack of getting opened, I -want you to send them over under official cover. I suppose there’ll be -no difficulty.” - -“You don’t mean the--those I have.” - -“I mean these,” I said, and took them out of my pocket. - -“Oh, that will be all right,” he answered in a tone of relief, and held -out his hand for them. “They can go at once if you like. It happens -we’re sending off a special despatch to Washington about the China -crisis. We’ve had a messenger out with important despatches from the -President, and he’s going back with our reply to-day. Give them to me -and I’ll see to it.” - -“I have a line or two to add to my father first. And now about the -important papers. I want you to keep them till I get back from this -journey.” - -“Don’t ask me, Denver. As I told you, I’d do anything in my power for -you, but this is really impossible. Exactly what has happened I don’t -know and was told not to ask, but I have to give my word that I’ve -returned the things to you.” - -I assumed a little indignation of course and argued the point, urging -my father’s position and the extreme inconvenience to me in having to -take such documents to Siberia, and then very reluctantly gave way and -took the packets from him. - -He left me then to finish the supposed letter to my father and all I -had to do was to change the envelopes and I slipped the dummies into -envelopes I had brought with me, endorsed precisely like the genuine -ones, and I put the genuine ones into an envelope addressed to my -father. - -“I wish you could have sent these as well,” I said, in a rueful tone to -Marvyn when he brought me an official wrapping; and I pointed to the -two carefully addressed dummies. - -“I wish I could, but you’ll understand how it is.” - -“It’s very awkward,” I replied, and put them in my pocket. “By the way, -things being as they are, it’s not worth while to speak of this.” - -“My dear Denver, silence is the very A.B.C. of our work,” he answered. - -There was nothing more to do, and after a word or two about our -journey I pleaded the many preparations I had to make, thanked him for -all he had done and bade him good-bye. - -As I left the building I looked round for the Prince’s agents, -speculating when the arrest which Helga had prophesied would be made. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX--THE PRINCE OUTWITTED - - -If Helga was right, I might expect to be stopped very soon, and I was -rather surprised that I was allowed even to reach the carriage without -interruption. - -Had Prince Kalkov taken that prompt step, he might or might not have -been able to intercept the papers after finding they were not on me, -but certainly things would have gone very differently. - -If the Prince did not discover the trick of the dummies until the -Embassy messenger had left Petersburg, the chances in my favour would -be vastly increased. - -To my surprise no attempt at all was made to interfere with me. I -presume I was closely watched, but it was done so cleverly that I saw -no signs of it. It was not my cue to show any anxiety about it, and I -drove from store to store making a few purchases and many inquiries, -until the time came for me to return to the hotel to Helga. She was -surprised to see me. Over lunch I told her my news, and we discussed -the position. - -“He feels so sure, Harper, that he has put it off. But it will come -before the day is out.” - -“The papers are well away by this time,” I laughed, “so he can do his -worst.” - -“He means to. I have seen M. Boreski. He had heard of my arrest and -release, and he came to my house when I was there.” - -“I thought he was out of Russia.” - -“The Duchess Stephanie has patched everything up with her family. So he -told me. He is to get back his Polish title, with a pardon for his old -conspiracy, and compensation for his lost estates.” - -“They must be glad that she is married.” - -“I think it is they are rather afraid of what she might do next. It was -a strange meeting;” and she smiled. “He is not really a strong man: I -mean he likes some one to lean on. He seemed afraid lest the fact of -his coming to me should be known, and yet felt bound to come to warn -me. He is very conscious of his new dignity.” - -“To warn you?” - -“Yes, about this journey to Siberia. The Duchess had heard of it and -told him--she must be in close consultation with Kalkov after all; -probably working hand and glove with him to recover the papers. The -intention is that I shall be kept there as a prisoner--if we ever reach -there, that is. M. Boreski warned me strongly against going.” - -“Did he know anything about your father?” - -“No; on that point the Prince appears to have kept absolute secrecy.” - -“It all seems to fit in. It will be interesting to see what he does -next.” - -“I have seen some one else who is most anxious to see you,” said Helga -with a bright smile. “A most earnest admirer.” - -“To see me?” - -“Will be another American citizen, I think, but first wishes to go to -Siberia with us.” - -“That’s easy to guess, Helga. He is a good fellow. You mean Ivan?” - -“Yes,” she nodded. “He used to be devoted to me alone.” - -“Did you tell him?” - -“About what?” This with an air of supreme innocence. - -“That you’re no longer alone, and that his devotion has now to be -divided?” - -“Yes; and actually he wasn’t surprised; but, oh, so ridiculously -pleased.” - -“Ridiculously?” - -She answered with a glance and a smile, and then said-- - -“I think he is the most faithful servant that ever lived.” - -“You’ll find his equal in America.” - -“What a wonderful country your America is!” she said. - -“You’ll say that in earnest when you’ve been there a while;” and with -this mixture of banter and gravity we covered our real anxieties while -we waited for Prince Kalkov to come. - -He was punctual. The clock was on the stroke of three when he was -announced. - -“You are to the moment, Prince,” I said. - -“I said three o’clock, monsieur.” - -“You are not looking well.” - -In truth, he was looking very ill. His face was drawn and careworn -and absolutely colourless, his eyes tired, and his whole expression -suggestive of a strained effort to rally an already overtaxed strength. -The events of the previous day had shaken him severely; and I -remembered his illness. - -“I am an old man, monsieur, and not well. My heart is treacherous,” he -said as he sank into a chair. - -It was not exactly a happy phrase, and I caught Helga’s fleeting glance -of surprise. - -“A treacherous heart is an ugly life companion,” I answered gravely. -“May I suggest a glass of cognac? You have been overtaxing your -strength, Prince,” I said as I handed it to him. - -It seemed to give him some energy, and as he put down the glass, he -said in a less weary tone-- - -“You are packing?” - -“There is a lot to do, of course. You have brought the papers and so on -for our journey?” - -“No.” - -The monosyllable was more like his old sharp abrupt manner. - -“No? Oh well, we can wait a day longer if you prefer it,” I answered -with a sort of indulgent indifference. “When one is ill, of course, the -preparation of such things is troublesome. When may we expect them?” - -“I have had news that alters the matter.” - -“Indeed. Not bad news for us, I trust.” This with quick anxiety. - -“I have heard that Prince Lavalski is dead, monsieur.” - -“Dead!” cried Helga, and turned away. - -“When did he die?” I asked. - -“I do not know.” It was a very lame story, and I think he felt it, -although he did his best to make it impressive. “It has greatly -disturbed me. I ought to have been informed of it at the time, but it -has been left to reach me after long delay through official reports.” - -“It is very serious.” - -After this from me we were all silent for a time, and Helga went -through to the adjoining room. - -“It is tragic that you did not know this yesterday, Prince,” I added -at length. “To have roused my wife’s hope only to kill it to-day is to -inflict a very cruel blow.” - -“What will you do now, monsieur?” - -“I find it impossible to answer off hand. Of course this proposed -journey will now be useless.” - -“Quite,” he declared bluntly. “That is why I brought nothing with me.” - -I threw up my hands as if the situation baffled me. - -“Poor Helga!” I sighed. - -“Will you go to your own country, monsieur?” he asked. - -“If I can induce my wife to go, yes. But----” I paused. - -“You will do most wisely to go.” - -“No doubt. But----” and I pulled up again as if in the most desperate -perplexity. - -“You have paused twice on that word, monsieur,” he exclaimed irritably. - -“You see this news puts us back to where we were before, and my wife is -still resolved to clear her father’s memory. And so am I.” - -“You will do most wisely if you go, I repeat.” - -“I do not think she will go until that is done. I should not, and I -should not counsel her to do so, either.” - -“I am not accustomed to speak without full meaning, monsieur, and again -I advise you to leave Russia.” - -“And if we do not take the advice?” - -His answer was a gesture from which I might deduce what I pleased. It -was all very subtly and cleverly acted; as cleverly as if the situation -had arisen quite unexpectedly. - -He had so manœuvred that the papers were, as he believed, now within -his reach. He felt that he could compel us to give them up or have them -taken from us, and then deal with us as he pleased. He was probably -calculating that I must be discussing the new situation embarrassed by -a knowledge of this power of his; and I therefore began to manifest -some slight uneasiness. - -“I wish to be your friend,” he said at length. - -“I am sure of that. You have given me a striking proof--I mean in my -marriage. We were scarcely friendly before that,” I added with a forced -and somewhat nervous laugh. “But I feel rather embarrassed.” - -“It is a wife’s duty to obey her husband.” - -“Naturally; but this marriage of ours was for a special purpose, you -see; and we were agreed upon it.” - -“If you care for your wife’s safety, to say nothing of your own, you -will take my advice, monsieur, and leave the country with her.” - -“It is all so unexpected.” I spoke in the manner of one taken unawares. -“I will take a day to consider what to do.” - -“No, you must decide now,” he replied firmly; thinking no doubt, as I -intended he should, that I wished to use the interval to get rid of the -papers. - -“In a matter of such importance one must have time,” I protested -with a spice of indignation. “It is only reasonable.” I was growing -manifestly more and more uneasy, and he perceived it. “It means so -much.” - -“It means--everything to you both, so far as your future is concerned.” - -“I must have time,” I repeated, and began to pace the room. - -“I can grant none.” - -“But it does not rest with you to either grant or refuse it,” I -retorted, as if now attempting to put a bolder face on things. - -“As to that, we shall see.” - -He was very confident; his voice and manner showed that; and I am sure -that he enjoyed my apparent embarrassment. His sharp eyes followed me -as I strode up and down the room. - -“Come back this evening, and you shall have our decision.” - -“I must know at once.” - -“It is unreasonable, unjust, impossible,” I cried with growing anger. -“I will not stand your dictation in such a matter. I can’t decide now, -and I won’t!” - -“I shall not leave the room without your decision.” - -“Then I will;” and I walked to the door. - -“You cannot leave, monsieur.” - -I turned on him in time to catch a look of extreme exultation in his -eyes. He guessed I had the papers on me and wished to get away with -them. I promptly rubbed it in by saying very angrily-- - -“You shall not insult me, monsieur. If you wish to make my wife a -prisoner, you can do so; she will remain; but you have no right to -detain me. It is monstrous.” - -“You cannot leave the room, M. Denver; my men are outside.” - -I was now in great fear; the start I gave showed him this. - -“Do you dare to make me, an American citizen, a prisoner in my own -rooms? You shall answer for this, monsieur,” I exclaimed with great -heat, and flung the door open. - -He had spoken truly. A half-dozen men were stationed at the doors of -our rooms. I shut the door again angrily. - -“I shall appeal to my Ambassador.” - -“Have you not carried this far enough?” he asked menacingly. I had come -to the same conclusion--although our reasons differed no doubt. “You -have no alternative now but to accept my conditions,” he added. - -I affected to think, and then called Helga. - -“Helga, Prince Kalkov orders us to leave Russia, and because I will not -consent immediately, and will not advise you to take no further steps -to clear your father’s memory, he threatens to have us arrested.” - -“It is like his Highness,” she said contemptuously. - -“What answer shall we give him?” - -“Let him do as he will.” - -“M. Denver has not quite explained my position. It is that you are free -to leave Russia and go to the United States, if you hand to me the -papers of which you obtained possession.” - -“I do not make conditions with you, Prince Kalkov,” answered Helga with -splendid scorn. - -“You are right, madame. It is I who make them, you who obey them,” he -cried, rising, his voice trembling with anger under the lash of her -words and look. “I will have no more of this; my patience is exhausted. -Will you give them up, monsieur, and go?” - -He was not pretty in his anger, but I ventured on one more little tonic -for it. I burst into a laugh. - -“Oh, the papers you want? Why didn’t you say so? I haven’t them; so I -can’t give them to you.” - -“It is false, monsieur, it is false. You are lying!” he exclaimed in -a flame of passion, his eyes blazing. Then his rage seemed to burst -out like a long smouldering volcano, which, breaking at length through -the thin restraining crust, pours out its flood of white hot lava. “I -know the truth. I have heard from your Embassy. They were given to you -to-day. I know where you have been since. I have watched you here, -and I know they are upon your person now.” I started back and, as if -involuntarily, put my hand to my breast pocket. He smiled cunningly. -“Yes, I understand that gesture. Come, monsieur, I have outplayed you; -give them me, and even now you can go.” - -“With your treacherous heart, Prince, you should guard against such -passion as this.” - -“Silence, monsieur,” he said, half beside himself with anger. “Give -them to me, give them to me!” and he came toward me, his hand -outstretched and trembling violently. He looked the very incarnation of -triumphant and unbridled fury. - -“I have told your Highness I have not them,” I said, drawing back. - -I might as well have spoken to a whirlwind. - -He answered me with a wild storm of invective, cursing me for a liar -and a villain and a hundred other things, and ending with threats as -unrestrained as his anathemas. - -“Give them up and go. Go where you will, and take your wife with you. -We have no room even in our gaols for either American scum like you or -Nihilist devils like her! Give them to me, I say. I have waited and -schemed for this triumph; and do you think I will let you rob me of it? -Give them me, give them me.” - -His manner was so threatening that I half thought he would throw -himself on me and attempt to drag the papers from me. - -“You are not yourself. You had better call your men,” I said. - -Helga, pale and shrinking before his outbreak, drew behind me. - -“By God! You dare to lie to me still!” he exclaimed, and hurrying to -the door, brought in a couple of men. “Now, I give you a last chance. -Will you give them me?” - -“I have told you I have nothing to give you.” - -The apparent obstinacy added fuel to his ungovernable rage. - -“Search the dog,” he said savagely between his set teeth; “and if he -resists, use force.” - -He watched me as the men approached, his eyes scintillating with anger -and his hands clenching and unclenching with spasmodic tension. - -“I shall not resist; I only protest, monsieur,” I said. - -“Search the dog!” he exclaimed again, his voice choked with passion. - -I made no resistance, of course; I had nothing to gain by doing so; and -when the men took from my breast pocket the large envelope the Prince’s -face lighted with triumph, and rushing at the man who held it, he -tore it from his grasp, and then fell back with it into a chair as if -exhausted with the effort. - -He gave one glance at the writing on the envelope and looked up at me. - -“Liar! I knew it.” The growl of a beast gloating over its prey secured -after infinite labour--but secured. - -While he was enjoying this moment of supposed triumph over us, the men -who had searched me stood hesitating and waiting for further orders. - -It was some moments before he could rally his reserved strength and -master his rage sufficiently to speak to us again. - -“Even now I can be merciful. Will you go to America?” He looked at us -both and tapped one of the packets. - -“No,” I answered firmly. - -“Choose, you”--and he pointed a trembling hand at Helga--“between the -mines and abandoning this.” - -“I will go to the mines--if you can send me there,” she answered -without a shade of hesitation. Her quickness seemed to rekindle his -rage. - -“This man and woman are under arrest,” he said to the men by me. -“Remain outside the door.” As they went out, he sat glaring at us and -fingering the packets. - -“What next?” I asked. - -“You shall answer for your crime, and may thank your God I do not send -you with your wife to the mines at once.” - -“I don’t thank God; I thank my wife’s and my precautions.” - -“You dared to pit yourself against me; and can see the result. -Failure!” He all but hissed the word at us as he shook the packet in -triumph. - -“What you hold there is the proof of _your_ failure, not mine. You had -better open it.” - -He had been so certain that for the moment he only laughed; but on -meeting my look, doubt and anxiety began to steal over his face. - -“The papers you seek are across the frontier; you have nothing there -but blank sheets.” - -“It is a lie, another damnable lie! I was at the Embassy to-day.” - -“You forget; I was there and saw Mr. Marvyn--last night.” - -“My God!” - -His whole soul seemed to speak in that one cry of dismay; and for a -moment he looked at the packet like a dazed man, afraid to open it and -learn the truth. Then with shaking frenzied fingers he tore at the -seals. - -Helga clung to my arm. - -The paper was tough and resisted his efforts for a time, thus -accentuating his excitement and suspense. - -At last he opened it and stared at the blank sheets. - -Then he turned on me such a look of baffled rage as I had never seen on -a man’s face before. - -He strove to speak, and failed; and the sheets fluttered down to the -ground from his nerveless fingers. - -Then he sprang up and staggered toward me, stopped suddenly, uttered a -loud inarticulate cry, and pressing his hand to his heart, fell prone -almost at my feet. - -“He is ill,” said Helga, speaking for the first time, and bending over -him. - -“Probably dying,” I murmured; and seeing the crisis, I went to the door -and called his men. - -“The Prince is very ill; you had better let some one go for a doctor.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI--AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR - - -It was instantly clear that we had to face a situation fraught with -many awkward complications. - -We were under arrest by Prince Kalkov’s orders, and his men left us in -no doubt that both Helga and I were suspected of having caused in some -way the sudden collapse. - -Two of them stood by the doors to prevent our leaving, and the others -lifted the Prince and laid him on a couch; and one of these three--he -who had searched me and appeared to be the chief of them--said very -curtly: - -“I have sent for doctors and my chief; you will, of course, remain -here.” - -“You mean we are under arrest?” I asked. - -“Those were the Prince’s orders--before this occurred.” - -“You will find he is suffering from heart trouble, I expect; and -pending the doctor’s arrival you had better loose the clothes about -his neck, open the window to give him air, and let him take a glass of -brandy.” - -“Perhaps he has had some of that already,” he returned, his eye -falling on the empty glass. He spoke with the knowing air of a man who -suspects, and he seized the glass and put it beyond my reach. - -“Do not forget I told you how to revive him, even if you are such a -fool as your words suggest,” I answered contemptuously. “It was from -that decanter there the brandy was poured; you had better seize that as -well.” - -The doctors were first to arrive, followed quickly by a police -official, and shortly after by Pierre, the Prince’s confidential man. - -The official spoke a few words to the doctors, and then turned to me. - -Fortunately for us he was a very different stamp of man from his -subordinate, and addressed me courteously. - -“This is a very embarrassing position, monsieur. I understand that the -Prince gave instructions for your arrest and detention.” - -“We are of course at your disposal. I would first assure you that -Prince Kalkov’s seizure is the result of illness merely, for which we -are in no way responsible.” - -“You wish to make a statement?” - -“Not yet. I am an American citizen, my name is Harper C. Denver, and -this lady is my wife. I wish to go at once to the American Embassy--on -vitally urgent business.” - -“I fear I cannot permit that.” - -“I have also the honour to enjoy the friendship of His Majesty the -Emperor, as the Prince’s man there, Pierre, can tell you. I was His -Majesty’s guest at the Palace recently.” - -He was impressed by this; but after a moment’s thought shook his head -and repeated he could not grant my request. - -“My purpose in going there touches all this very closely, and every -moment of delay is important. May I suggest that you put a question to -the man Pierre, to confirm what I told you?” - -He drew Pierre aside, and they spoke together a moment. - -“We must get the real papers back by hook or crook,” I whispered to -Helga. - -The official returned, looking very grave. - -“He tells me you were a Palace guest, monsieur, but adds that for some -days you and the Prince have been on extremely hostile terms.” - -“My wife will remain here, and I am quite content that you and any -number of your men should accompany me. I assure you that my visit is -of extreme interest to his Majesty.” - -He thought this over, and at length assented. - -“We must accompany you, as you are----” - -“Come, then. That is all I ask,” I broke in. “I shall make no attempt -to shirk any responsibility in all this.” - -We drove to the Embassy; he and one of his men with me inside -the carriage; and we were shown at once to Marvyn, who looked in -astonishment at my companions, recognizing the chief. - -“I am under arrest, Marvyn, that’s all. I am not going to Siberia after -all, and want you to stop those papers. Wire to your man, wherever he -is, and----” - -“He hasn’t gone yet. Something turned up to delay him.” - -“Then get back the packet and bring it along with you to the Imperial, -and just see to things. Prince Kalkov was with us, and has had a -seizure of some sort, and my wife and I are under arrest.” - -He went away and returned soon, carrying the packet. - -“If those are M. Denver’s papers, I must ask that they be given to me,” -said the official immediately. - -I hadn’t thought of this. - -“You can see for yourself that they bear the Embassy’s seals, M. -Drougoff, and are in my possession,” replied Marvyn, with a readiness -for which I blessed him. “I am acting, of course, officially.” - -We drove back to the hotel, and on the way I told Marvyn pretty well -how the case stood, withholding for the moment, however, the fact that -I had deceived him in the morning. - -The Prince had been removed from the room, and Helga was alone there -under guard. She was not in the least disconcerted by the fresh -development, and had had tea served in anticipation of my return. - -“What is the charge against M. Denver, M. Drougoff?” asked Marvyn. - -“At the present I am not informed. Prince Kalkov had ordered it; and -there is now of course, the fact of his Highness’s--seizure.” He -hesitated for the word. - -“You will allow us to consult in private?” - -“Certainly, M. Marvyn. I am indeed rather at a loss what to do except -that M. Denver must remain under arrest.” - -We sat down then to Helga’s tea-table. - -“I must explain one thing,” I began at once. “I misled you this morning -about those papers. Those are the real things--what I brought away with -me were shams.” - -“Do you mean to say--” he began, but I interposed. - -“Listen to me a moment, and be angry afterwards if you like. The -liberty, and probably life, of us both were at stake. Kalkov had -planned to force the things into my hands; and as soon as he thought -you had given them to me, he dogged every movement of mine after -leaving you this morning, and came here to get them by force. All this -pretence for a journey to Siberia was just a lie; and we got wind of it -in time.” - -“Why didn’t you tell me?” - -“I had no proofs, my dear fellow. I wished you to be able to pass -your word that you had given them back to me--you did hand them me, -remember, and I gave them back under the different cover. I deceived -you intentionally, I know--but more than my life was at stake,” and I -glanced across to Helga. - -“It might have been a gravely compromising matter for me, Denver,” he -said, seriously. - -“I should have taken the consequences of my act, of course, and my -father would have exhausted every resource to put things right. But you -see now what would have happened if I had had the papers here. The -dummies were taken from me by force, and I was put under arrest; and my -wife also.” - -“I am sure Mr. Marvyn will see it as we do,” said Helga. - -“I wish to,” he replied. “And was it the discovery of the--that he’d -been tricked--caused this collapse?” I nodded, and he whistled: “Phew, -that’s a circumstance. What are you going to do?” - -“There’s only one thing. I must see the Czar, and you must hold on to -those papers like grim death till I can take them to him.” - -“But with this indefinite charge hanging over you----” - -“My dear fellow, it’s got to be done; and done at once, before the -Prince gets up enough strength to interfere. The Emperor will see me, I -know; and your people must arrange it. It’s absolutely essential. I’m -done, if I don’t get to him.” - -“But you see----” - -“There’s a most plausible reason for the audience, Mr. Marvyn,” -interposed Helga quickly. “His Majesty will be most anxious to know at -first hand the facts about Prince Kalkov’s illness; and we alone can -tell him.” - -“Splendid, Helga, splendid,” I said; and Marvyn agreed. “Get my name to -him somehow; any old way’ll do; and I’ll answer for the rest.” - -“I’ll go and see about it at once,” he declared. “Meanwhile, what’s to -happen to you?” - -“Short of cutting our heads off, I don’t care,” I replied, as we rose. -“Don’t worry about that;” and I hurried him away. - -“Now, M. Drougoff, we are at your disposal,” I said to the police agent -as soon as Marvyn had gone. “What are you going to do with us? I may -tell you the American Embassy people are working energetically in the -affair, and I am sure to receive very soon a summons to wait upon his -Majesty.” - -“My people tell me that a very serious charge is hanging over you -both--I mean apart altogether from this.” - -“They tell you wrong, then. My wife was charged in some Nihilist -practices and imprisoned by order of Prince Kalkov; but the Prince -himself ordered her release from the prison last night, and was present -when she came away with me.” - -“But yourself?” - -“I have never been charged, and, as I say, was with Prince Kalkov -yesterday when my wife was released.” - -“It is a very extraordinary complication. What is behind it?” - -“There is a good deal behind, of course; but the Prince himself can -best explain it, when he is well enough. At present I am only concerned -to know whether you wish to put us under lock and key. We are quite -ready.” - -He was manifestly perplexed what to do. - -“I cannot release you, monsieur; you will see that?” - -“It’s only for an hour or two at the worst,” and I went back to the -tea-table. - -“I will send and inquire how the Prince is.” - -“It’s a question whether he recovers in time to stop the interview with -the Czar,” said Helga to me. - -“No, he can’t stop it now.” - -After a few minutes the messenger returned, and M. Drougoff crossed to -us. - -“His Highness is much better, monsieur; he is rallying fast, and the -doctors say that in an hour probably, or at most two, I may be able -to see him and take instructions. In the meantime it will be most -convenient for matters to remain as they are. I do not wish to trouble -your charming wife and you unnecessarily.” - -“Very well, I am much obliged to you,” I answered. “We can do nothing -but wait,” I said to Helga, when he had gone back to his seat. “Wait, -that is, and hope he won’t get well too soon.” - -“I thought he was worse,” she replied. - -“I wish with all my heart he was,” I agreed. - -Wishing was of no use, however; and there we sat waiting for a time -that seemed interminable, each trying to prevent the other from seeing -how real and harassing was the anxiety of the suspense and each -conscious of, and smiling, at the other’s efforts. - -Helga was very brave, very calm, and very cheerful; and only in little -signs and gestures--a start, a glance, a movement of the features or -hands--could I see how the strain tried her. - -Much less than an hour of this exhausted my patience, however. - -“I wish whatever’s going to happen first would happen and be done with -it,” I exclaimed. “I feel like a man staked on a volcano top, uncertain -whether it’s going to explode and blow me up, or give way and let me -through into the lava.” - -“You’d make a bad conspirator, Harper,” said Helga, smiling. “They have -to endure this kind of thing for days, weeks and months.” - -“We should manage it quicker in the States.” - -“Those wonderful States again. Tell me a lot about them. My new -country,” she added sweetly. - -“There are no Kalkovs in them, for one thing, and--what’s this, I -wonder,” I broke off, as a man came in and spoke to M. Drougoff. - -It was nothing, or apparently nothing, for the man went out again, and -his superior sank again into the condition of watchful inactivity, the -result I concluded of many years’ training in spy work. - -“I wish to Heaven Marvyn would send us word what’s doing. He might know -one would be anxious.” - -“He can scarcely have done anything yet. He has been gone barely an -hour,” said Helga gently. - -“I told him he’d have to hustle.” - -“But he does not know the Prince is getting better.” - -“If he doesn’t hurry up as if he did know it, he’s--well, he’s an ass, -and my father ought never to have got him into the diplomatic service. -Yes, laugh away, I know I’m an idiot; but it helps a heap to blame the -other fellow;” and I laughed, too. - -And so the minutes dragged until something did happen. - -Another message was brought to Drougoff, and this time he got up and -approached us. - -“The Prince is well enough to receive me, monsieur.” - -“Thank God for that,” I exclaimed, almost as heartily as if he had told -me we were both free. Anything was better than suspense. - -He went away, leaving the man to take his place. - -“How is the Prince?” I asked him. - -“Nearly recovered, monsieur. Weak, but that is all.” - -“He’s won the race, I’m afraid, Helga. We may as well get ready. Where -will he send us, I wonder. We must manage somehow to leave word for -Marvyn.” - -“They won’t let us do that. We must stop here to the last possible -moment. Think of everything you can to use up time.” - -“Bully for you. You always have some good notion.” - -M. Drougoff was not absent long, and looked very troubled when he -entered. - -“My instructions are, I deeply regret to say, monsieur, to remove you -at once.” - -“Where?” - -He named two different prisons. - -“The charges?” I asked next. - -“I am not instructed to mention them, monsieur.” - -“Then I am not going,” I said firmly. - -“Pray consider, monsieur. Resistance will be quite useless.” - -“I have considered, I assure you; and I shall resist. If your -instructions are to kill me or maim me, you may obey them, if you wish. -But I do not move from here alive, and as I am a citizen of the United -States, my death may be a circumstance.” - -“Let me persuade you, monsieur.” - -“You can try if you like;” and try he did for over a quarter of an hour -of invaluable time, at the end of which he was in despair, and I was -as obdurate as ever. - -“When Mr. Marvyn returns and advises me to go, I’ll go; but until -then I refuse point blank. You are too courteous a man to make a good -butcher, I am sure, and I can put up an excellent fight at need.” - -“I must obey my orders, monsieur,” he replied tersely. - -“And as an American citizen, I refuse to budge without knowing the -charge against me, and until my Embassy’s people are here.” - -“I am deeply sorry, but I have no alternative;” and he rose. - -Then Helga came to the rescue with a suggestion. - -“Had you not better return to the Prince with our decision? My husband -is a foreigner, and a friend of His Majesty; and the situation is -altogether unusual.” - -“It is useless,” he persisted. - -“Very well, then,” I said; “we’ll clear the decks. I was getting -ready for a long journey, monsieur, and have arms here. If there is -blood-shed, the responsibility will not be mine. I am innocent of any -offence, and you may rely on it I will not be taken alive.” - -This was very unexpected, I could see, and he hesitated. - -“I will acquaint his Highness,” he said after a pause, and left us -again. - -“Do you mean to fight, Harper,” asked Helga, anxiously. - -“Not I. We’ve nothing to fight with,” I said, smiling; “but we’ve -gained twenty minutes and more. I wish Marvyn would come.” - -“You took me in. I thought you were in earnest,” she replied, in a tone -of intense relief. - -M. Drougoff was away longer than even I had hoped; and when he returned -he had a surprise for us. - -“His Highness himself is coming, monsieur,” he announced, shortly. - -“I don’t see that he can do any good, but that’s his matter,” I said; -and then we all stood in silence. - -The shuffling of many feet was heard, the door was thrown wide open, -and the indomitable old man was carried in lying on an improvised -litter, with two doctors at his side. - -They set him down in the middle of the room, and the bearers drew away. - -“I have come to see my orders obeyed,” he said, with a glance at -Drougoff, and then at Helga and myself. His voice was weak, but his -manner implacably stern. - -“Then you have come to see an ugly fight,” said I, as firmly as though -I meant resisting to the last. - -“Arrest them both, Drougoff. You have my authority for using any force -necessary.” - -“What is the charge against us?” I demanded. - -“Do your duty, you, Drougoff,” he said, viciously. - -M. Drougoff signed to his men. - -“Go forward, Helga. You can waste a little time yet,” I whispered. - -She did splendidly again. She clung to me for a moment as if overcome, -and then with passionate distress bade me good-bye. - -The men held aloof during this; and when she went to them she contrived -very cleverly to get rid of a little more time. - -But the way was clear at length, and Drougoff stepped towards me. - -I drew back and put my hand in my pocket. - -“You will come no further, monsieur, or your life will be the forfeit.” - -He stopped abruptly. - -“Let your men fire if he resists,” said the relentless old man. - -Drougoff gave the necessary orders, and for a tense moment I looked -along the barrels of three levelled revolvers. - -“Come, monsieur,” said Drougoff. - -I burst into a laugh. - -“Yes, I will. I have no firearms;” and I pulled my empty hand from my -pocket. - -Then at last came the proof that I had not blustered in vain. - -Harold Marvyn came hurrying in, accompanied by a man I recognized as -the officer whom I had seen the previous day in the ante-room of the -Emperor. - -“I am glad to see your Highness is so far recovered,” said Marvyn; “but -what does this mean?” - -“That two dangerous Nihilists are on their way to prison, monsieur,” -came the reply, sharp and stern. - -Marvyn’s indignation at the tone showed in his face. - -“The Emperor has commanded Mr. Denver’s immediate presence at the -Palace, your Highness. This is an outrage upon an American citizen.” - -“Outrage or no outrage, they are going to prison, monsieur.” - -“Colonel Vilda,” said Marvyn, turning to him. - -“I have the Emperor’s commands, your Highness. They are peremptory, and -I must obey them.” - -“And the woman?” The old bully’s tone was worthy of him. - -“Madame Denver is to accompany her husband to the Palace, to be in -readiness should his Majesty require to see her.” - -“She is a dangerous Nihilist, Colonel.” - -“They are his Majesty’s commands, your Highness.” - -“I am at your service, Colonel,” I said. - -“We have a carriage waiting, M. Denver.” - -He offered his arm to Helga, and I followed with Marvyn, and went out -without even casting a glance at Kalkov; but I saw the two doctors bend -over him anxiously. - -“You had to hustle, Marvyn.” - -“Some,” he nodded. - -“It was a near thing.” - -“So it looked.” - -And with that and a laugh of relief we got into the carriage. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII--THE END - - -Helga was waiting for me with a look of eager anxiety when I came out -to her from my interview with the Emperor. - -“Well?” she asked, as she came to me. - -“Yes, it is all well,” I answered smiling. “All well, all the best it -could be--for us. Not for the Prince,” I added drily. - -“And my father?” - -“Justice will be done to his memory, my dear, full justice. You were -right in the kernel of your plans--to get to the Czar.” - -“I was certain of that,” she said. - -“If you could have got to him all this would never have happened. I -never saw a man more moved. I left all the papers with him and he’s -going to study them himself, and then see you. Never a breath of the -truth has ever been allowed to reach him.” - -“My dear father,” she murmured. “At last,” and she sighed. - -“Old Kalkov has had things his own way and has had a fine past; but I -don’t envy him his future.” - -Marvyn entered the ante-room then. - -“How have things gone, Denver?” - -“Couldn’t have gone better, thanks to you.” - -“By gorm, I’m glad,” he exclaimed with a sigh of relief. “The ice was -so thin I was afraid we should be through.” - -“It will bear every one except Kalkov, and it’ll put his light out. You -may gamble on that.” - -“It was a big risk to carry,” he said, thinking of himself. - -I smiled. - -“You should have had half an hour of ours,” I suggested. - -“Yes, I know,” he answered with a quaint smile. “But one’s official -responsibilities make such a difference, Denver.” - -“True, but even unofficially one can have a sort of sneaking regard for -one’s life and liberty.” - -“I shall never forget your help, Mr. Marvyn,” said Helga, sweetly, as -she gave him her hand. - -“I would take the risk again for such a smile, Mrs. Denver.” - -“Now you’re talking,” said I. “It’s very pretty of you, but I hope we -shan’t have to ask for it; although we may still need the Embassy’s -protection, if the Emperor carries out his threats.” - -“How’s that?” - -“He seems to contemplate putting an end to Mrs. Denver.” - -“Harper?” cried Helga. - -“It’s true--as true as it is staggering.” - -“No spoke in the wheels I hope?” - -This from Marvyn. - -“He threatens,” I said, looking very grave. - -“Then why are your eyes laughing, Harper?” cried Helga. - -“It’ll be no laughing matter if we find our marriage annulled.” - -“That’s only putting the riddle a different way;” and Helga slipped -her arm into mine and clasped her hands on it. - -“What is it?” asked Marvyn, seriously. - -I had before observed his keen scent for trouble from afar. The serious -side of things always appealed first to him. - -“He threatens,” I repeated. - -“Haven’t we had enough problems lately?” and Helga wrinkled her brows -in half comical perplexity. “But I can wait quite calmly.” - -“He wants to make out that as the daughter of a prince and his friend, -you ought to be considered a kind of Imperial ward to whose marriage -his consent was necessary; so that----” - -Helga interrupted me with a laugh. - -“I knew it was nonsense.” - -“I don’t see that under the circumstances such a claim could be -maintained,” declared Marvyn gravely. - -“And further that Helga cannot be Mrs. Denver.” - -“Who am I then?” - -“He talks about making reparation of everything and giving you your -father’s title.” - -“But I can’t be a Prince, surely!” - -“You would of course be Princess,” said Marvyn, in the same dry -official manner. - -“Mr. Denver’s Princess! What an odd mixture!” - -“I think it would be rather the Princess’s Mr. Denver,” said I. - -“And what did you say, Harper?” - -“Oh, that as to the material compensation we could talk, but that about -the title we’d go back to the hotel and discuss it. Will you come with -us, Marvyn?” - -He excused himself on the plea of business and left us, and Helga and -I were just going when Colonel Vilda came to summon her to an audience -with the Emperor. She was to go alone. - -“I congratulate you, Mr. Denver,” he said to me when he returned from -ushering her into the presence. - -“I’ve been doing that to myself very heartily, Colonel, I can assure -you.” - -“The Princess will make a brilliant figure in the Court.” - -“Which Princess, Colonel, and which Court?” - -“The Princess Lavalski,” he answered, smiling. - -“We have no Court in the States, Colonel.” - -“But you will not take her from us in the very moment of our finding -her again!” - -“You’ve managed to get along pretty well without her so far, I fancy.” - -“But, my dear monsieur! She’s so charming, so beautiful, so -wealthy--the world will be at her feet.” - -“It’ll have to be the western hemisphere of it then, I think.” - -“Ah, but it would be a crime to take her away.” - -“I shan’t take her away, Colonel--but somehow I have an idea she won’t -much care to stop.” - -“But it is too bad;” and he laughed and spread his hands. - -There came a little commotion at the door then, and when it was opened, -Prince Kalkov was carried in seated in a chair. - -“Let His Majesty know that I crave an immediate audience with him, -Colonel Vilda, on urgent matters of State,” he said. - -“His Majesty is engaged, your Highness.” - -“I am accustomed to be obeyed, Colonel Vilda,” returned Kalkov -austerely. - -The Colonel drew himself up at the tone, paused and then bowed. - -“I will take your Highness’ message,” he said, and left us. - -“You have seen the Emperor, monsieur?” said the Prince to me. - -“Yes.” - -“What passed between you?” he demanded, with much of his customary -arrogant insistence. - -“It was a confidential interview, monsieur.” - -“If it concerned me I have a right to know.” - -“I must ask you to excuse my saying anything. You and I began as -friends, then we had a pretty sharp burst as antagonists; now if you -please we must be neutrals--I have nothing further to say to you.” - -“I have yet to see his Majesty, monsieur.” Even now he was ready to -threaten me in his indomitable doggedness. - -I took no notice, and presently Colonel Vilda returned. - -“His Majesty is unable to see your Highness,” he announced. - -“I will not take that answer,” declared the Prince vehemently. “The -matters are too urgent and vitally affect his Majesty himself, for me -to take it. I have been his loyal adviser and faithful minister for -many years. I am not to be thrown aside on the bare word of hirelings -and traitors.” He was fast losing self-control in his passion when he -checked himself and said: “Give my humble greetings to his Majesty, -tell him I am ill and perhaps dying, and solicit most earnestly that he -will see me. Say it may be the last time on earth I may ever speak to -him.” - -“His Majesty was very decided,” said the Colonel. - -“His Majesty does not know either how ill I am or how urgent my -business. Should I be here like this, if it were not?” - -Colonel Vilda went in again and this time the interval before his -return passed in silence. - -When he returned, Helga was with him. I saw she had been weeping and -that the tears were still in her eyes. - -“They are tears of joy and gratitude, Harper,” she whispered, taking my -arm and then started as she saw Prince Kalkov. - -“His Majesty deeply regrets to hear of your Highness’s illness,” said -the Colonel, “and he counsels your immediate return to your house, -where he will communicate with you.” - -The old man listened with frowning brows and unmoved firmness. - -“It is not true,” he declared doggedly. - -“It is as I say, your Highness; and his Majesty further bids me say -that as your health has broken down, he will immediately relieve you of -all your official duties.” - -“He cannot mean this--and without ever seeing me,” he cried. - -“His Majesty is too overcome by news which has reached him to-day, to -be able to endure the strain of an interview with your Highness, and -has retired to his private apartments.” - -“My God! after all my years of service.” - -“Come, Harper,” whispered Helga; and we hurried out glad to escape the -sight of our enemy’s overthrow. - -On the way to the hotel she told me all the Emperor had said to her; -the regrets he had expressed; the sorrow he felt; the promises he made; -and the hopes he had expressed for her future happiness. - -“As a Princess?” I asked; “or as----” - -She glanced and smiled and ran on into the hotel, leaving me unanswered. - -At the hotel Ivan was waiting, anxious concerning our journey to -Siberia, and overjoyed at seeing us together again. - -“Has your Highness any commands?” I asked Helga. - -“Harper!” - -“Well, has Mrs. Denver any wishes?” - -“We are not going to Siberia, Ivan,” she said to him. “Everything has -come right.” - -The great burly fellow laughed with the delight of a child. - -“I could cry with pleasure, mademoiselle,” he said. - -“Hullo, that’s still a third title for you--mademoiselle,” I laughed. - -She would not hear me. - -“But we are going on a long journey, Ivan, all the same,” she said, in -a very matter of fact unconcerned tone. - -[Illustration: “WE HURRIED OUT GLAD TO ESCAPE THE SIGHT OF OUR ENEMY’S -OVERTHROW.”--_Page 326._] - -“Where?” I asked. - -“To New York, of course; where else should Mrs. Denver go, indeed?” - -“Bully for you,” I cried and then--but Ivan was in the room; so I -turned him out first and told him to go and pack, as we should start as -soon as possible. - -And we did. - - - - -Popular Copyright Books - -At Moderate Prices - -Any of the following titles can be bought of your Bookseller at the -price you paid for this volume - - =THE PRODIGAL SON= Hall Caine - - =ADVENTURES OF GERARD= A. Conan Doyle - - =A CAPTAIN IN THE RANKS= George Cary Eggleston - - =THE DELIVERANCE= Ellen Glasgow - - =THE BATTLE GROUND= Ellen Glasgow - - =THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE= Ellen Glasgow - - =THE MILLIONAIRE BABY= Anna Katharine Green - - =THE BRETHREN= H. Rider Haggard - - =THE BOSS= Alfred Henry Lewis - - =THE PRESIDENT= Alfred Henry Lewis - - =BOB, SON OF BATTLE= Alfred Ollivant - - =NONE BUT THE BRAVE= Hamblen Sears - - =THE DARROW ENIGMA= Melvin Severy - - =THE TWO VANREVELS= Booth Tarkington - - =THE CIRCLE= Catharine Cecil Thurston - Author of “THE MASQUERADERS,” “THE GAMBLER.” - - =HURRICANE ISLAND= H. B. Marriott-Watson - - =THE LONG NIGHT= Stanley J. Weyman - - =INFELICE= Augusta Evans Wilson - - =ARMS AND THE WOMAN= Harold MacGrath - - =THE LANE THAT HAD NO TURNING= Gilbert Parker - - =THE HEART’S HIGHWAY= Mary E. Wilkins - - =TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES= A. Conan Doyle - - =ROSE OF THE WORLD= Agnes and Egerton Castle - - =THAT PRINTER OF UDELL’S= Harold Bell Wright - - =IN THE NAME OF A WOMAN= Arthur W. Marchmont - - =THE QUEEN’S ADVOCATE= Arthur W. Marchmont - - =BY SNARE OF LOVE= Arthur W. Marchmont - - =WHEN I WAS CZAR= Arthur W. Marchmont - -A. L. BURT CO., Publishers, 52-58 Duane St., New York - - - - -Good Fiction Worth Reading. - -A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the -field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and -diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest. - - -=GUY FAWKES.= A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harrison -Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. -Price, $1.00. - - The “Gunpowder Plot” was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, the - King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King of England, - was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient scheme of - extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the Catholics. - In their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful of bold - spirits concluded to overthrow the government. Finally the plotters - were arrested, and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other - prisoners with royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through - the entire romance. - - -=THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER.= A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio -Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth. 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00. - - A book rather out of the ordinary is this “Spirit of the Border.” - The main thread of the story has to do with the work of the Moravian - missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader is given - details of the frontier life of those hardy pioneers who broke the - wilderness for the planting of this great nation. Chief among these, - as a matter of course, is Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and - at the same time the most admirable of all the brave men who spent - their lives battling with the savage foe, that others might dwell in - comparative security. - - Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian “Village - of Peace” are given at some length, and with minute description. - The efforts to Christianize the Indians are described as they never - have been before, and the author has depicted the characters of the - leaders of the several Indian tribes with great care, which of itself - will be of interest to the student. - - By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid - word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense paintings - of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken forests. - - It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by - it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, willingly - braved every privation and danger that the westward progress of the - star of empire might be the more certain and rapid. A love story, - simple and tender, runs through the book. - - -=RICHELIEU.= A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. By G. -P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. -Price, $1.00. - - In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, “Richelieu,” and was - recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft. - - In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great - cardinal’s life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while - it was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic - outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost - wave of prosperity. One of the most striking portions of the story - is that of Cinq Mar’s conspiracy; the method of conducting criminal - cases, and the political trickery resorted to by royal favorites, - affording a better insight into the state-craft of that day than - can be had even by an exhaustive study of history. It is a powerful - romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling and - absorbing interest has never been excelled. - - -=WINDSOR CASTLE.= A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII., -Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, -12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00. - - “Windsor Castle” is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and Anne - Boleyn. “Bluff King Hal,” although a well-loved monarch, was none too - good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and unwarrantable - acts, none was more discreditable than his divorce from Catharine, - and his marriage to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. The King’s love was as - brief as it was vehement. Jane Seymour, waiting maid on the Queen, - attracted him, and Anne Boleyn was forced to the block to make room - for her successor. This romance is one of extreme interest to all - readers. - - -=HORSESHOE ROBINSON.= A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Carolina -in 1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as historical - fiction, there are none which appeal to a larger number of Americans - than Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it is the only story - which depicts with fidelity to the facts the heroic efforts of the - colonists in South Carolina to defend their homes against the brutal - oppression of the British under such leaders as Cornwallis and - Tarleton. - - The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the thread - of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail concerning - those times. The picture of the manifold sufferings of the people, - is never overdrawn, but painted faithfully and honestly by one who - spared neither time nor labor in his efforts to present in this - charming love story all that price in blood and tears which the - Carolinians paid as their share in the winning of the republic. - - Take it all in all, “Horseshoe Robinson” is a work which should be - found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most entertaining - story, but because of the wealth of valuable information concerning - the colonists which it contains. That it has been brought out once - more, well illustrated, is something which will give pleasure to - thousands who have long desired an opportunity to read the story - again, and to the many who have tried vainly in these latter days to - procure a copy that they might read it for the first time. - - -=THE PEARL OF ORR’S ISLAND.= A story of the Coast of Maine. By Harriet -Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00. - - Written prior to 1862, the “Pearl of Orr’s Island” is ever new; a - book filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array themselves - anew each time one reads them. One sees the “sea like an unbroken - mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr’s Island,” and - straightway comes “the heavy, hollow moan of the surf on the beach, - like the wild angry howl of some savage animal.” - - Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, which - came into this world under the very shadow of the Death angel’s - wings, without having an intense desire to know how the premature bud - blossomed? Again and again one lingers over the descriptions of the - character of that baby boy Moses, who came through the tempest, amid - the angry billows, pillowed on his dead mother’s breast. - - There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that - which Mrs. Stowe gives in “The Pearl of Orr’s Island.” - - -=A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE.= A story of American Colonial Times. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of Revolutionary - scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. It causes the - true American to flush with excitement, to devour chapter after - chapter, until the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes with patriotism. - The love story is a singularly charming idyl. - - -=THE TOWER OF LONDON.= A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady Jane -Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four -illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00. - - This romance of the “Tower of London” depicts the Tower as palace, - prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is - the middle of the sixteenth century. - - The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane Grey, - and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other notable - characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the interest - of the reader in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, extending - considerably over a half a century. - - -=IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING.= A Romance of the American Revolution. By -Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery, - and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the spirit - of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves - taking a part in the exciting scenes described. His whole story is so - absorbing that you will sit up far into the night to finish it. As a - love romance it is charming. - - -=GARTHOWEN.= A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, 12mo. -with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - “This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare - before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some - strong points of Welsh character--the pride, the hasty temper, the - quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a well-written story, - interesting alike through its romance and its glimpses into another - life than ours. A delightful and clever picture of Welsh village - life. The result is excellent.”--Detroit Free Press. - - -=MIFANWY.= The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, 12mo. -with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - “This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care to - read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the characters, - it is apparent at once, are as true to life as though the author - had known them all personally. Simple in all its situations, - the story is worked up in that touching and quaint strain which - never grows wearisome, no matter how often the lights and shadows - of love are introduced. It rings true, and does not tax the - imagination.”--Boston Herald. - - -=DARNLEY.= A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. -By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00. - - In point of publication, “Darnley” is that work by Mr. James which - follows “Richelieu,” and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing - to the advice and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we - are indebted primarily for the story, the young author questioning - whether he could properly paint the difference in the characters of - the two great cardinals. And it is not surprising that James should - have hesitated; he had been eminently successful in giving to the - world the portrait of Richelieu as a man, and by attempting a similar - task with Wolsey as the theme, was much like tempting fortune. Irving - insisted that “Darnley” came naturally in sequence, and this opinion - being supported by Sir Walter Scott, the author set about the work. - - As a historical romance “Darnley” is a book that can be taken up - pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle charm - which those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. James have - claimed was only to be imparted by Dumas. - - If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial - attention, the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic - “field of the cloth of gold” would entitle the story to the most - favorable consideration of every reader. - - There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the - author has taken care to imagine love passages only between those - whom history has credited with having entertained the tender passion - one for another, and he succeeds in making such lovers as all the - world must love. - - -=CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE.= By Lieut. Henry A. Wise, U. -S. N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson -Davis. Price, $1.00. - - The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea - yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as can - come through the medium of a printed page, for never has a story of - the sea and those “who go down in ships” been written by one more - familiar with the scenes depicted. - - The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, and - which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is “Captain - Brand,” who, as the author states on his title page, was a “pirate - of eminence in the West Indies.” As a sea story pure and simple, - “Captain Brand” has never been excelled, and as a story of piratical - life, told without the usual embellishments of blood and thunder, it - has no equal. - - -=NICK OF THE WOODS.= A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By -Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. -Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. - - This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier life in - Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel, long - out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its realistic - presentation of Indian and frontier life in the early days of - settlement in the South, narrated in the tale with all the art of - a practiced writer. A very charming love romance runs through the - story. This new and tasteful edition of “Nick of the Woods” will be - certain to make many new admirers for this enchanting story from Dr. - Bird’s clever and versatile pen. - - -For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by -the publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York. - - - - -_POPULAR LITERATURE FOR THE MASSES, COMPRISING CHOICE SELECTIONS FROM -THE TREASURES OF THE WORLD’S KNOWLEDGE, ISSUED IN A SUBSTANTIAL AND -ATTRACTIVE CLOTH BINDING, AT A POPULAR PRICE_ - - -BURT’S HOME LIBRARY is a series which includes the standard works of -the world’s best literature, bound in uniform cloth binding, gilt tops, -embracing chiefly selections from writers of the most notable English, -American and Foreign Fiction, together with many important works in -the domains of History, Biography, Philosophy, Travel, Poetry and the -Essays. - -[Illustration] - -A glance at the following annexed list of titles and authors will -endorse the claim that the publishers make for it--that it is the most -comprehensive, choice, interesting, and by far the most carefully -selected series of standard authors for world-wide reading that has -been produced by any publishing house in any country, and that at -prices so cheap, and in a style so substantial and pleasing, as to win -for it millions of readers and the approval and commendation, not only -of the book trade throughout the American continent, but of hundreds -of thousands of librarians, clergymen, educators and men of letters -interested in the dissemination of instructive, entertaining and -thoroughly wholesome reading matter for the masses. - - [SEE FOLLOWING PAGES] - - -BURT’S HOME LIBRARY. Cloth. Gilt Tops. Price, $1.00 - - =Abbe Constantin.= BY LUDOVIC HALEVY. - - =Abbott.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Adam Bede.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Addison’s Essays.= EDITED BY JOHN RICHARD GREEN. - - =Aeneid of Virgil.= TRANSLATED BY JOHN CONNINGTON. - - =Aesop’s Fables.= - - =Alexander, the Great, Life of.= BY JOHN WILLIAMS. - - =Alfred, the Great, Life of.= BY THOMAS HUGHES. - - =Alhambra.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass.= BY LEWIS - CARROLL. - - =Alice Lorraine.= BY R. D. BLACKMORE. - - =All Sorts and Conditions of Men.= BY WALTER BESANT. - - =Alton Locke.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Amiel’s Journal.= TRANSLATED BY MRS. HUMPHREY WARD. - - =Andersen’s Fairy Tales.= - - =Anne of Geirstein.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Antiquary.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.= - - =Ardath.= BY MARIE CORELLI. - - =Arnold, Benedict, Life of.= BY GEORGE CANNING HILL. - - =Arnold’s Poems.= BY MATTHEW ARNOLD. - - =Around the World in the Yacht Sunbeam.= BY MRS. BRASSEY. - - =Arundel Motto.= BY MARY CECIL HAY. - - =At the Back of the North Wind.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =Attic Philosopher.= BY EMILE SOUVESTRE. - - =Auld Licht Idylls.= BY JAMES M. BARRIE. - - =Aunt Diana.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.= - - =Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.= BY O. W. HOLMES. - - =Averil.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Bacon’s Essays.= BY FRANCIS BACON. - - =Barbara Heathcote’s Trial.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Barnaby Rudge.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Barrack Room Ballads.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Betrothed.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Beulah.= BY AUGUSTA J. EVANS. - - =Black Beauty.= BY ANNA SEWALL. - - =Black Dwarf.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Black Rock.= BY RALPH CONNOR. - - =Black Tulip.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Bleak House.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Blithedale Romance.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Bondman.= BY HALL CAINE. - - =Book of Golden Deeds.= BY CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. - - =Boone, Daniel, Life of.= BY CECIL B. HARTLEY. - - =Bride of Lammermoor.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Bride of the Nile.= BY GEORGE EBERS. - - =Browning’s Poems.= BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING. - - =Browning’s Poems.= (SELECTIONS.) BY ROBERT BROWNING. - - =Bryant’s Poems.= (EARLY.) BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. - - =Burgomaster’s Wife.= BY GEORGE EBERS. - - =Burns’ Poems.= BY ROBERT BURNS. - - =By Order of the King.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Byron’s Poems.= BY LORD BYRON. - - =Caesar, Julius, Life of.= BY JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE. - - =Carson, Kit, Life of.= BY CHARLES BURDETT. - - =Cary’s Poems.= BY ALICE AND PHOEBE CARY. - - =Cast Up by the Sea.= BY SIR SAMUEL BAKER. - - =Charlemagne (Charles the Great), Life of.= BY THOMAS - HODGKIN. D. C. L. - - =Charles Auchester.= BY E. BERGER. - - =Character.= BY SAMUEL SMILES. - - =Charles O’Malley.= BY CHARLES LEVER. - - =Chesterfield’s Letters.= BY LORD CHESTERFIELD. - - =Chevalier de Maison Rouge.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Chicot the Jester.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Children of the Abbey.= BY REGINA MARIA ROCHE. - - =Child’s History of England.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Christmas Stories.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Cloister and the Hearth.= By Charles Reade. - - =Coleridge’s Poems.= BY SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE. - - =Columbus, Christopher, Life of.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Companions of Jehu.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Complete Angler.= BY WALTON AND COTTON. - - =Conduct of Life.= BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON. - - =Confessions of an Opium Eater.= BY THOMAS DE QUINCEY. - - =Conquest of Granada.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Conscript.= BY ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN - - =Conspiracy of Pontiac.= BY FRANCIS PARKMAN, JR. - - =Conspirators.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Consuelo.= BY GEORGE SAND. - - =Cook’s Voyages.= BY CAPTAIN JAMES COOK. - - =Corinne.= BY MADAME DE STAEL. - - =Countess de Charney.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Countess Gisela.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Countess of Rudolstadt.= BY GEORGE SAND. - - =Count Robert of Paris.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Country Doctor.= BY HONORE DE BALZAC. - - =Courtship of Miles Standish.= BY H. W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Cousin Maude.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Cranford.= BY MRS. GASKELL. - - =Crockett, David, Life of.= AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. - - =Cromwell, Oliver, Life of.= BY EDWIN PAXTON HOOD. - - =Crown of Wild Olive.= BY JOHN RUSKIN. - - =Crusades.= BY GEO. W. COX, M. A. - - =Daniel Deronda.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Darkness and Daylight.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Data of Ethics.= BY HERBERT SPENCER. - - =Daughter of an Empress, The.= BY LOUISA MUHLBACH. - - =David Copperfield.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Days of Bruce.= BY GRACE AGUILAR. - - =Deemster, The.= BY HALL CAINE. - - =Deerslayer, The.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Descent of Man.= BY CHARLES DARWIN. - - =Discourses of Epictetus.= TRANSLATED BY GEORGE LONG. - - =Divine Comedy.= (DANTE.) TRANSLATED BY REV. H. F. CAREY. - - =Dombey & Son.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Donal Grant.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =Donovan.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =Dora Deane.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Dove in the Eagle’s Nest.= BY CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. - - =Dream Life.= BY IK MARVEL. - - =Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.= BY R. L. STEVENSON. - - =Duty.= BY SAMUEL SMILES. - - =Early Days of Christianity.= BY F. W. FARRAR. - - =East Lynne.= BY MRS. HENRY WOOD. - - =Edith Lyle’s Secret.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Education.= BY HERBERT SPENCER. - - =Egoist.= BY GEORGE MEREDITH. - - =Egyptian Princess.= BY GEORGE EBERS. - - =Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Eliot’s Poems.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Elizabeth and her German Garden.= - - =Elizabeth (Queen of England), Life of.= BY EDWARD SPENCER - BEESLY, M. A. - - =Elsie Venner.= BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. - - =Emerson’s Essays.= (COMPLETE.) BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON. - - =Emerson’s Poems.= BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON. - - =English Orphans.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =English Traits.= BY R. W. EMERSON. - - =Essays in Criticism.= (FIRST AND SECOND SERIES.) BY MATTHEW ARNOLD. - - =Essays of Elia.= BY CHARLES LAMB. - - =Esther.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Ethelyn’s Mistake.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Evangeline.= (WITH NOTES.) BY H. W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Evelina.= BY FRANCES BURNEY. - - =Fair Maid of Perth.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Fairy Land of Science.= BY ARABELLA B. BUCKLEY. - - =Faust.= (GOETHE.) TRANSLATED BY ANNA SWANWICK. - - =Felix Holt.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World.= BY E. S. CREASY. - - =File No. 113.= BY EMILE GABORIAU. - - =Firm of Girdlestone.= BY A. CONAN DOYLE. - - =First Principles.= BY HERBERT SPENCER. - - =First Violin.= BY JESSIE FOTHERGILL. - - =For Lilias.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Fortunes of Nigel.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Forty-Five Guardsmen.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Foul Play.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Fragments of Science.= BY JOHN TYNDALL. - - =Frederick, the Great, Life of.= BY FRANCIS KUGLER. - - =Frederick the Great and His Court.= BY LOUISA MUHLBACH. - - =French Revolution.= BY THOMAS CARLYLE. - - =From the Earth to the Moon.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Garibaldi, General, Life of.= BY THEODORE DWIGHT. - - =Gil Blas, Adventures of.= BY A. R. LE SAGE. - - =Gold Bug and Other Tales.= BY EDGAR A. POE. - - =Gold Elsie.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Golden Treasury.= BY FRANCIS T. PALGRAVE. - - =Goldsmith’s Poems.= BY OLIVER GOLDSMITH. - - =Grandfather’s Chair.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Grant, Ulysses S., Life of.= BY J. T. HEADLEY. - - =Gray’s Poems.= BY THOMAS GRAY. - - =Great Expectations.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Greek Heroes. Fairy Tales for My Children.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Green Mountain Boys, The.= BY D. P. THOMPSON. - - =Grimm’s Household Tales.= BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM. - - =Grimm’s Popular Tales.= BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM. - - =Gulliver’s Travels.= BY DEAN SWIFT. - - =Guy Mannering.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Hale, Nathan, the Martyr Spy.= BY CHARLOTTE MOLYNEUX HOLLOWAY. - - =Handy Andy.= BY SAMUEL LOVER. - - =Hans of Iceland.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Hannibal, the Carthaginian, Life of.= BY THOMAS ARNOLD, M. A. - - =Hardy Norseman, A.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =Harold.= BY BULWER-LYTTON. - - =Harry Lorrequer.= BY CHARLES LEVER. - - =Heart of Midlothian.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Heir of Redclyffe.= By CHARLETTE M. YONGE. - - =Hemans’ Poems.= BY MRS. FELICIA HEMANS. - - =Henry Esmond.= BY WM. M. THACKERAY. - - =Henry, Patrick, Life of.= BY WILLIAM WIRT. - - =Her Dearest Foe.= BY MRS. ALEXANDER. - - =Hereward.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Heriot’s Choice.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Heroes and Hero-Worship.= BY THOMAS CARLYLE. - - =Hiawatha.= (WITH NOTES.) BY H. W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Hidden Hand, The.= (COMPLETE.) BY MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH. - - =History of a Crime.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =History of Civilization in Europe.= BY M. GUIZOT. - - =Holmes’ Poems.= (EARLY) BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. - - =Holy Roman Empire.= BY JAMES BRYCE. - - =Homestead on the Hillside.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Hood’s Poems.= BY THOMAS HOOD. - - =House of the Seven Gables.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Hunchback of Notre Dame.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Hypatia.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Hyperion.= BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. - - =Iceland Fisherman.= BY PIERRE LOTI. - - =Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.= BY JEROME K. JEROME. - - =Iliad.= POPE’S TRANSLATION. - - =Inez.= BY AUGUSTA J. EVANS. - - =Ingelow’s Poems.= BY JEAN INGELOW. - - =Initials.= BY THE BARONESS TAUTPHOEUS. - - =Intellectual Life.= BY PHILIP G. HAMERTON. - - =In the Counsellor’s House.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =In the Golden Days.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =In the Heart of the Storm.= BY MAXWELL GRAY. - - =In the Schillingscourt.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Ishmael.= (COMPLETE.) BY MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH. - - =It Is Never Too Late to Mend.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Ivanhoe.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Jane Eyre.= BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE. - - =Jefferson, Thomas, Life of.= BY SAMUEL M. SCHMUCKER, LL.D. - - =Joan of Arc, Life of.= BY JULES MICHELET. - - =John Halifax, Gentleman.= BY MISS MULOCK. - - =Jones, John Paul, Life of.= BY JAMES OTIS. - - =Joseph Balsamo.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Josephine, Empress of France, Life of.= BY FREDERICK A. OBER. - - =Keats’ Poems.= BY JOHN KEATS. - - =Kenilworth.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Kidnapped.= BY R. L. STEVENSON. - - =King Arthur and His Noble Knights.= BY MARY MACLEOD. - - =Knickerbocker’s History of New York.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Knight Errant.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =Koran.= TRANSLATED BY GEORGE SALE. - - =Lady of the Lake.= (WITH NOTES.) BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Lady with the Rubies.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Lafayette, Marquis de, Life of.= BY P. C. HEADLEY. - - =Lalla Rookh.= (WITH NOTES.) BY THOMAS MOORE. - - =Lamplighter.= BY MARIA S. CUMMINS. - - =Last Days of Pompeii.= BY BULWER-LYTTON. - - =Last of the Barons.= BY BULWER-LYTTON. - - =Last of the Mohicans.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Lay of the Last Minstrel.= (WITH NOTES.) BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Lee, General Robert E., Life of.= BY G. MERCER ADAM. - - =Lena Rivers.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Life of Christ.= BY FREDERICK W. FARRAR. - - =Life of Jesus.= BY ERNEST RENAN. - - =Light of Asia.= BY SIR EDWIN ARNOLD. - - =Light That Failed.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Lincoln, Abraham, Life of.= BY HENRY KETCHAM. - - =Lincoln’s Speeches.= SELECTED AND EDITED BY G. MERCER ADAM. - - =Literature and Dogma.= BY MATTHEW ARNOLD. - - =Little Dorrit.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Little Minister.= BY JAMES M. BARRIE. - - =Livingstone, David, Life of.= BY THOMAS HUGHES. - - =Longfellow’s Poems.= (EARLY.) BY HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Lorna Doone.= BY R. D. BLACKMORE. - - =Louise de la Valliere.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Love Me Little, Love Me Long.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Lowell’s Poems.= (EARLY.) BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. - - =Lucile.= BY OWEN MEREDITH. - - =Macaria.= BY AUGUSTA J. EVANS. - - =Macaulay’s Literary Essays.= BY T. B. MACAULAY. - - =Macaulay’s Poems.= BY THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY. - - =Madame Therese.= BY ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN. - - =Maggie Miller.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Magic Skin.= BY HONORE DE BALZAC. - - =Mahomet, Life of.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Makers of Florence.= BY MRS. OLIPHANT. - - =Makers of Venice.= BY MRS. OLIPHANT. - - =Man and Wife.= BY WILKIE COLLINS. - - =Man in the Iron Mask.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Marble Faun.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Marguerite de la Valois.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Marian Grey.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Marius, The Epicurian.= BY WALTER PATER. - - =Marmion.= (WITH NOTES.) BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Marquis of Lossie.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =Martin Chuzzlewit.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Mary, Queen of Scots, Life of.= BY P. C. HEADLEY. - - =Mary St. John.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Master of Ballantrae, The.= BY. R. L. STEVENSON. - - =Masterman Ready.= BY CAPTAIN MARRYATT. - - =Meadow Brook.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.= TRANSLATED BY GEORGE LONG. - - =Memoirs of a Physician.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Merle’s Crusade.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Micah Clarke.= BY A. CONAN DOYLE. - - =Michael Strogoff.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Middlemarch.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Midshipman Easy.= BY CAPTAIN MARRYATT. - - =Mildred.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Millbank.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Mill on the Floss.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Milton’s Poems.= BY JOHN MILTON. - - =Mine Own People.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Minister’s Wooing, The.= BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. - - =Monastery.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Moonstone.= BY WILKIE COLLINS. - - =Moore’s Poems.= BY THOMAS MOORE. - - =Mosses from an Old Manse.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Murders in the Rue Morgue.= BY EDGAR ALLEN POE. - - =Mysterious Island.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Napoleon Bonaparte, Life of.= BY P. C. HEADLEY. - - =Napoleon and His Marshals.= BY J. T. HEADLEY. - - =Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.= BY EDGAR ALLAN POE. - - =Natural Law in the Spiritual World.= BY HENRY DRUMMOND. - - =Nature, Addresses and Lectures.= BY R. W. EMERSON. - - =Nellie’s Memories.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Nelson, Admiral Horatio, Life of.= BY ROBERT SOUTHEY. - - =Newcomes.= BY WILLIAM M. THACKERAY. - - =Nicholas Nickleby.= BY CHAS. DICKENS. - - =Ninety-Three.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Not Like Other Girls.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Odyssey.= POPE’S TRANSLATION. - - =Old Curiosity Shop.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Old Mam’selle’s Secret.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Old Mortality.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Old Myddleton’s Money.= BY MARY CECIL HAY. - - =Oliver Twist.= BY CHAS. DICKENS. - - =Only the Governess.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =On the Heights.= BY BERTHOLD AUERBACH. - - =Oregon Trail.= BY FRANCIS PARKMAN. - - =Origin of Species.= BY CHARLES DARWIN. - - =Other Worlds than Ours.= BY RICHARD PROCTOR. - - =Our Bessie.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Our Mutual Friend.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Outre-Mer.= BY H. W. LONGFELLOW. - - =Owl’s Nest.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Page of the Duke of Savoy.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Pair of Blue Eyes.= BY THOMAS HARDY. - - =Pan Michael.= BY HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ. - - =Past and Present.= BY THOS. CARLYLE. - - =Pathfinder.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Paul and Virginia.= BY B. DE ST. PIERRE. - - =Pendennis, History of.= BY WM. M. THACKERAY. - - =Penn, William, Life of.= BY W. HEPWORTH DIXON. - - =Pere Goriot.= BY HONORE DE BALZAC. - - =Peter, the Great, Life of.= BY JOHN BARROW. - - =Peveril of the Peak.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Phantom Rickshaw, The.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Philip II. of Spain, Life of.= BY MARTIN A. S. HUME. - - =Picciola.= BY X. B. SAINTINE. - - =Pickwick Papers.= BY CHARLES DICKENS. - - =Pilgrim’s Progress.= BY JOHN BUNYAN. - - =Pillar of Fire.= BY REV. J. H. INGRAHAM. - - =Pilot.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Pioneers.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Pirate.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Plain Tales from the Hills.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Plato’s Dialogues.= TRANSLATED BY J. WRIGHT, M. A. - - =Pleasures of Life.= BY SIR JOHN LUBBOCK. - - =Poe’s Poems.= BY EDGAR A. POE. - - =Pope’s Poems.= BY ALEXANDER POPE. - - =Prairie.= BY JAMES F. COOPER. - - =Pride and Prejudice.= BY JANE AUSTEN. - - =Prince of the House of David.= BY REV. J. H. INGRAHAM. - - =Princess of the Moor.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Princess of Thule.= BY WILLIAM BLACK. - - =Procter’s Poems.= BY ADELAIDE PROCTOR. - - =Professor at the Breakfast Table.= BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. - - =Professor.= BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE. - - =Prue and I.= BY GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. - - =Put Yourself in His Place.= BY CHAS. READE. - - =Putnam, General Israel, Life of.= BY GEORGE CANNING HILL. - - =Queen Hortense.= BY LOUISA MUHLBACH. - - =Queenie’s Whim.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Queen’s Necklace.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Quentin Durward.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Rasselas, History of.= BY SAMUEL JOHNSON. - - =Redgauntlet.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Red Rover.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Regent’s Daughter.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Reign of Law.= BY DUKE OF ARGYLE. - - =Representative Men.= BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON. - - =Republic of Plato.= TRANSLATED BY DAVIES AND VAUGHAN. - - =Return of the Native.= BY THOMAS HARDY. - - =Reveries of a Bachelor.= BY IK MARVEL. - - =Reynard the Fox.= EDITED BY JOSEPH JACOBS. - - =Rienzi.= BY BULWER-LYTTON. - - =Richelieu, Cardinal, Life of.= BY RICHARD LODGE. - - =Robinson Crusoe.= BY DANIEL DEFOE. - - =Rob Roy.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Romance of Natural History.= BY P. H. GOSSE. - - =Romance of Two Worlds.= BY MARIE CORELLI. - - =Romola.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Rory O’More.= BY SAMUEL LOVER. - - =Rose Mather.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Rossetti’s Poems.= By GABRIEL DANTE ROSSETTI. - - =Royal Edinburgh.= BY MRS. OLIPHANT. - - =Rutledge.= BY MIRIAN COLES HARRIS. - - =Saint Michael.= BY E. WERNER. - - =Samantha at Saratoga.= BY JOSIAH ALLER’S WIFE. (MARIETTA HOLLEY.) - - =Sartor Resartus.= BY THOMAS CARLYLE. - - =Scarlet Letter.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Schonberg-Cotta Family.= BY MRS. ANDREW CHARLES. - - =Schopenhauer’s Essays.= TRANSLATED BY T. B. SAUNDERS. - - =Scottish Chiefs.= BY JANE PORTER. - - =Scott’s Poems.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Search for Basil Lyndhurst.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Second Wife.= BY E. MARLITT. - - =Seekers After God.= BY F. W. FARRAR. - - =Self-Help.= BY SAMUEL SMILES. - - =Self-Raised.= (COMPLETE.) BY MRS. E. D. E. N. SOUTHWORTH. - - =Seneca’s Morals.= - - =Sense and Sensibility.= BY JANE AUSTEN. - - =Sentimental Journey.= BY LAWRENCE STERNE. - - =Sesame and Lilies.= BY JOHN RUSKIN. - - =Shakespeare’s Heroines.= BY ANNA JAMESON. - - =Shelley’s Poems.= By PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY. - - =Shirley.= BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE. - - =Sign of the Four.= BY A. CONAN DOYLE. - - =Silas Marner.= BY GEORGE ELIOT. - - =Silence of Dean Maitland.= BY MAXWELL GRAY. - - =Sir Gibbie.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =Sketch Book.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Smith, Captain John, Life of.= BY W. GILMORE SIMMS. - - =Socrates, Trial and Death of.= TRANSLATED BY F. J. CHURCH, M. A. - - =Soldiers Three.= BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - =Springhaven.= BY R. D. BLACKMORE. - - =Spy.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Stanley, Henry M., African Explorer, Life of.= BY A. MONTEFIORE. - - =Story of an African Farm.= BY OLIVE SCHREINER. - - =Story of John G. Paton.= TOLD FOR YOUNG FOLKS. BY REV. JAS. PATON. - - =St. Ronan’s Well.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Study in Scarlet.= BY A. CONAN DOYLE. - - =Surgeon’s Daughter.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Swinburne’s Poems.= BY A. C. SWINBURNE. - - =Swiss Family Robinson.= BY JEAN RUDOLPH WYSS. - - =Taking the Bastile.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Tale of Two Cities.= BY CHAS. DICKENS. - - =Tales from Shakespeare.= BY CHAS. AND MARY LAMB. - - =Tales of a Traveller.= BY WASHINGTON IRVING. - - =Talisman.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Tanglewood Tales.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Tempest and Sunshine.= BY MARY J. HOLMES. - - =Ten Nights in a Bar Room.= BY T. S. ARTHUR. - - =Tennyson’s Poems.= BY ALFRED TENNYSON. - - =Ten Years Later.= BY ALEXANDER DUMAS. - - =Terrible Temptation.= BY CHARLES READE. - - =Thaddeus of Warsaw.= BY JANE PORTER. - - =Thelma.= BY MARIE CORELLI. - - =Thirty Years’ War.= BY FREDERICK SCHILLER. - - =Thousand Miles Up the Nile.= BY AMELIA B. EDWARDS. - - =Three Guardsmen.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Three Men in a Boat.= BY JEROME K. JEROME. - - =Thrift.= BY SAMUEL SMILES. - - =Throne of David.= BY REV. J. H. INGRAHAM. - - =Toilers of the Sea.= BY VICTOR HUGO. - - =Tom Brown at Oxford.= BY THOMAS HUGHES. - - =Tom Brown’s School Days.= BY THOS. HUGHES. - - =Tom Burke of “Ours.”= BY CHARLES LEVER. - - =Tour of the World in Eighty Days.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Treasure Island.= BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. - - =Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.= BY JULES VERNE. - - =Twenty Years After.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Twice Told Tales.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Two Admirals.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Two Dianas.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Two Years Before the Mast.= BY R. H. DANA, JR. - - =Uarda.= BY GEORGE EBERS. - - =Uncle Max.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Uncle Tom’s Cabin.= BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. - - =Under Two Flags.= BY “OUIDA.” - - =Utopia.= BY SIR THOMAS MORE. - - =Vanity Fair.= BY WM. M. THACKERAY. - - =Vendetta.= BY MARIE CORELLI. - - =Vespucius, Americus, Life and Voyages.= BY C. EDWARDS LESTER. - - =Vicar of Wakefield.= BY OLIVER GOLDSMITH. - - =Vicomte de Bragelonne.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Views A-Foot.= BY BAYARD TAYLOR. - - =Villette.= BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE. - - =Virginians.= BY WM. M. THACKERAY. - - =Walden.= BY HENRY D. THOREAU. - - =Washington, George, Life of.= BY JARED SPARKS. - - =Washington and His Generals.= BY J. T. HEADLEY. - - =Water Babies.= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =Water Witch.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Waverly.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Webster, Daniel, Life of.= BY SAMUEL M. SCHMUCKER, LL.D. - - =Webster’s Speeches.= (SELECTED.) BY DANIEL WEBSTER. - - =Wee Wifie.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Westward Ho!= BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. - - =We Two.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =What’s Mine’s Mine.= BY GEORGE MACDONALD. - - =When a Man’s Single.= BY J. M. BARRIE. - - =White Company.= BY A. CONAN DOYLE. - - =Whites and the Blues.= BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS. - - =Whittier’s Poems.= (EARLY.) BY JOHN G. WHITTIER. - - =Wide, Wide World.= BY SUSAN WARNER. - - =William, the Conqueror, Life of.= BY EDWARD A. FREEMAN, LL.D. - - =William, the Silent, Life of.= BY FREDERICK HARRISON. - - =Willy Reilly.= BY WILLIAM CARLETON. - - =Window in Thrums.= BY J. M. BARRIE. - - =Wing and Wing.= BY JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. - - =Wolsey, Cardinal, Life of.= BY MANDELL CREIGHTON. - - =Woman in White.= BY WILKIE COLLINS. - - =Won by Waiting.= BY EDNA LYALL. - - =Wonder Book. For Boys and Girls.= BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. - - =Woodstock.= BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. - - =Wooed and Married.= BY ROSA N. CAREY. - - =Wooing O’t.= BY MRS. ALEXANDER. - - =Wordsworth’s Poems.= BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. - - =Wormwood.= By MARIE CORELLI. - - =Wreck of the Grosvenor.= BY W. CLARK RUSSELL. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Underlined or italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of When I Was Czar, by Arthur W. Marchmont - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN I WAS CZAR *** - -***** This file should be named 63320-0.txt or 63320-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/3/2/63320/ - -Produced by D A Alexander, David E. 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