CHAPTER XVI
Neither Tocktamish nor his victim knew that Lucilla had slipped thebolt after them, for Omobono was too terrified to hear anything butthe Tartar's voice, and the latter was just in that state ofintoxication in which a man perceives nothing that is not closelyconnected with the idea that possesses him for the time being; it is astate of mind familiar to those whose business it is to catch men, orto cheat them.
The strong box stood against the wall at the farther end of the room,and close to the high desk at which Omobono usually worked. When hecame to it the secretary stood still, and Tocktamish bent down andbegan to fumble with the keys.
The box had three locks, each having a hasp that closed with a strongspring when the lid was shut down, and each requiring a separate key.It was a large chest, completely covered with sheet-iron and heavilybound with iron straps, the whole being kept bright by dailypolishing.
Tocktamish could not make the keys fit, and desisted with an oath.
'Open it!' he commanded, seizing the trembling secretary by the collarand forcing him to his knees before the chest.
It would have been death to disobey, in the Tartar's present mood.Omobono put each key into the lock to which it belonged, turned eachthree times, and the middle one a fourth time, which had the effect ofdrawing back all the springs at once; at the same time he raised theheavy lid a little with one hand, and then opened it with both.
Tocktamish began to throw the contents out on the floor with eagerhaste, seizing upon the money-bags first; but these were not many, norwere they very heavy, for the young merchant's capital was invested inmany enterprises and was rarely lying idle, and as for spare cash hehad taken out a goodly sum within the past two days to be given awayto the guards at the palace. The Tartar soon saw that there were not athousand gold ducats in the chest, and there was but a little silver.The rest of the contents consisted of accounts, papers, andparchments, many of which represented wealth, but could not be turnedinto gold by a thief. Tocktamish had an ignorant barbarian's primitiveidea of riches, and being profoundly disappointed he at once becamefuriously angry.
'Where is the treasure?' he roared, and his face grew purple.
He shook Omobono like a rat, as he repeated his question again andagain. The wretched secretary felt that his hour was indeed come, andthough he tried to speak and protest he really made no sound. ThenTocktamish remembered his own words.
'I said I would drown you in the box!' he cried. 'And by the sun andmoon, full and new, I will! I will, by the vine, the wine, and thedrinkers, you rat, you miserable Italian flea, you skinny little bagof bones!'
Thereupon he hove up Omobono sideways by one arm and one leg anddropped him, fainting, into the empty money-chest, of which heinstantly shut the lid. It closed with a loud snap as the threesprings simultaneously fell into the slots in the three hasps. At thesame moment Omobono lost consciousness; his last impression had beenthat he was killed and was to wake up in purgatory, and he had madeone wild attempt to say a prayer when Tocktamish whirled him off hisfeet, but he could only remember the last words--
'... strength to resist curiosity.'
Then everything was dark, the big locks snapped above his head and heknew nothing more. Having successfully accomplished this brave feat,the tipsy giant gravely sat down on the chest to think, for he hadalready forgotten that he had meant to throw it into the Golden Horn,and besides, even in his condition, he knew very well that four mencould hardly have moved such a weight. As he sat he stooped down anddrew the scattered contents of the chest towards him, and picked thesmall bags from the heaps of documents. Then it occurred to him thatit would be more convenient to put all the coin into one sack which hecould fasten to his belt. It would not be a very heavy weight, and itwas not possible to cram all the bags into his wallet. A thousand goldducats only weighed about twenty pounds, by goldsmiths' weight.
When he had put all together in a soft leathern sack which he foundempty, he got upon his feet, with the idea of going back to rifle thehouse since he had not found what he expected in the safe. It wasfamiliar work to him, for after he had left Greece he had been arobber before he had turned respectable by taking service with theEmperor. He kicked the strong box before he went away.
'Good-bye, little man!' he laughed.
But there was no answer, and at the idea that Omobono was such afragile creature as to have died of fright, he laughed louder andslapped his huge thigh with his hand. It seemed quite inexpressiblyfunny to him that any one should actually die of fear, of alldisorders in the world.
He had fastened the leathern sack securely to his belt, and he went tothe door to let himself out. When he found it fastened he looked at itcuriously, and scratched his big head, trying to remember whether hehad locked it after him or not, for he recollected that he had shut itlest any one should come upon him suddenly. But there was no key inthe lock on the inside. He might have dropped it, or slipped it intohis wallet, and he began to look for it, going round and round theroom and kicking the papers and account-books hither and thither. Itwas not to be seen, and the windows were heavily grated; but he didnot doubt his strength to break the door down. That was a mere trifleafter all.
He shook it violently, struck it, kicked it, and shook it again, butto his stupefaction it would not budge an inch. The servants hadpushed a heavy marble table against it, and had piled up half a ton offurniture; he might as well have tried to break through the wall. Thenit occurred to him that Omobono might have taken the key. He wouldopen the box, though it was a pity to disturb a dead man in such anexcellent coffin.
But the box could not be opened any more than the door, for thesprings had snapped, and he did not understand the complicated locks.He tried again and again, but failed each time. Perhaps the secretarywas not dead after all. Tocktamish would speak to him, and ask him howto open the safe.
'Little man,' he said, 'I will let you out if you will tell me how touse the keys.' But the little man did not answer. If he was alive andheard, he had no desire to be let out while his tormentor was in thehouse. At the thought that he could perhaps hear, but would not speak,Tocktamish went into a paroxysm of fury.
He seized the high stool that stood beside the desk and swung it withterrific force, bringing it down on the strong box, so that it flewinto splinters with an appalling din. He raged, he foamed at themouth, he bawled and yelled, and he smashed one piece of furnitureafter another on the heavy iron without producing the smallestimpression on it, and without getting the least answer from Omobono,who was still half-unconscious, happily for his nerves, and wasdreaming that he had taken refuge in a baker's oven during a terriblethunderstorm.
The stool was reduced to kindling wood, two large chairs had followedit, and Tocktamish was in the act of heaving up the desk itself,sending inkstand, pens, and papers flying to the four corners of theroom, and determined to crack the strong box with one tremendous blow,when a musical voice spoke gently through the window nearest to him.Zoe and her maids were there, and the whole household of men-servantsand slaves were behind them. The three girls were standing on thebroad stone seat that ran round the outside of the house in theItalian way, and they could easily look through the bars. In her hasteZoe had not veiled herself, and when the Tartar caught sight of herbeautiful face at the window, the effect on his susceptible sentimentswas instantaneous. The vision was a hundred times more lovely than thehandsome Giustina who had escaped him. He had never seen any one likeZoe as she stood outside in the quiet afternoon sunshine. For a momentor two he was almost sober; the desk fell from his hands upon the ironchest, and was not even broken, and Tocktamish's hands hung down byhis sides while he stared in stupid wonder.
Zoe was glad that there were iron bars between him and her, for shehad never seen a human being more like a raging wild beast. She hadlooked anxiously for Omobono, but as there was no trace of him nor ofany blood, she at once decided that he had been able to get out bysome secret way, after Lucilla had barred the door.
'Where i
s Messer Carlo?' were the words which arrested Tocktamish inthe act of smashing the desk.
He stood gazing at Zoe stupidly, and as he did not answer she repeatedher question, watching him quietly so that he should understand thathe was completely in her power. When he heard her voice again he madea sort of instinctive attempt to smooth himself, as the peacockspreads his tail before the female; he pulled out his immensemoustaches, drew his shaggy beard through his two hands, settled hisfur papakh on his head, and smiled complacently as he approached thewindow, prepared, in his own estimation, to win the heart of any womanin Constantinople. The exercise of breaking up the furniture hadprobably done him good, for he walked quite steadily, with his eyeswide open and his big head a little on one side.
'Messer Carlo is quite safe and very well,' he answered when he wasnear the grating. 'He has sent me to get him a little money, which hegreatly needs.'
'You have a singular way of executing his commission,' observed Zoe,looking at the splinters of the smashed furniture.
Tocktamish felt that the havoc round him must be explained.
'I have been killing the rats,' he said. 'It is extraordinary how manyrats and mice get into counting-houses!'
'Where is Messer Carlo?' Zoe asked a third time.
'Sweet woolly ewe-lamb of heaven,' said Tocktamish, leaning on thewindow-sill and bringing his face close to the bars, 'if you will onlygive me one little kiss, I will tell you where Carlo is!'
Zoe stepped to one side along the stone seat on which she stood, forshe saw that he was going to slip one of his hands through the gratingto catch her; and even with the bars between them he looked as if hecould twist one of her arms off if she resisted him. Indeed, she washardly out of his reach in time. He laughed rather vacantly as hegrasped the air. The grating projected several inches beyond thewindow, like the end of a cage, as the gratings generally do in oldItalian houses; and though Zoe was on one side, Tocktamish could stilllook at her.
'If you will come inside, I will tell you what you wish to know, mylittle dove,' he said with an engaging leer, for he did not reallybelieve that any woman could resist him.
'Thank you,' Zoe answered. 'I will not come in, but I will warn you.If you will not tell me where Messer Carlo is, I shall have you shotwith the master's crossbow, like a mad dog.'
'Shall I get the bow?' asked the voice of Carlo's man, the Venetiangondolier, who was an excellent shot, and had won a prize at the Lido.
But Tocktamish laughed scornfully.
'Your crossbow cannot shoot through the shutters,' he said, for theywere very heavy ones, at least three inches thick. 'Besides,' headded, 'I can sit on the floor under the window, and you will not evensee me.'
'If we cannot shoot you, we can starve you,' retorted Zoe.
'Little ewe-lamb,' said the Tartar, 'the heart of Tocktamish isfluttering for you like a moth in a lamp. For one kiss you shall haveanything you ask!'
'Do you understand that I mean to starve you?' Zoe asked sternly.
'Oh no, my beautiful pink-and-white rabbit! You will not be sohard-hearted! And besides, if you will not let me out and give me akiss, my men will come presently and burn Carlo's house down, and Ishall carry you away! Ha ha! You had not thought of it! But Tocktamishis not caught in the trap like a cub. He is an old wolf, and knows theforest. My men know I am here, and if I do not go back to them withinthis hour they will come to get me. That was agreed, and I can wait aslong as that. Then sixty of them will come, and before night we shalltake Carlo to the Emperor and give him up, and tell all we know; andto-morrow morning he will be on a stake in the middle of theHippodrome, and it will be the third day before he is quite dead! Haha! I remember how we watched that old scoundrel Michael Rhangabe! Iand my men were on duty at that execution!'
Zoe's cheeks turned ghastly white, and her eyes gleamed dangerously.If there had been a weapon in her hand at that moment she could haveaimed well through the grating, and Tocktamish's days would have endedabruptly. But on the other side of the bars the drunken Tartar waslaughing at his own skill in frightening her, for he thought sheturned pale from fear.
'Can no one silence this brute?' she cried in a tone that trembledwith anger.
'It is easily done,' said a voice she knew.
She turned and looked down from the little elevation of the stoneseat, and she saw the impassive face of Gorlias Pietrogliant lookingup to her.
'Come into the house, Kokona,' he said, holding up a hand to help herdown. 'We will send him a pitcher of Messer Carlo's oldest wine tohelp him pass an hour before his men come to burn the house down!'
Zoe understood the wisdom of the advice; Tocktamish would drinkhimself into a stupor in a short time.
'The astrologer is right,' she said to the servants. 'Come in with me,all of you.' She led the way, but Gorlias lingered a moment, steppedupon the stone seat, and spoke to the prisoner in a low voice.
'They will be here in half an hour,' he said. 'Meanwhile I will sendyou wine to drink. Are you hungry?'
'Hungry?' Tocktamish laughed at the recollection of the peacock. 'Inever dined better! But send me some wine, and when we divide, I willhave that white-faced girl for my share. The men may have the moneyhere. Tell them so.'
He slapped the well-filled leathern sack at his girdle as he spoke.
'As you please,' Gorlias answered indifferently.
He stepped to the ground again and reached the door in time to enterwith the last of the train that followed Zoe. In the dining-hallthings had been left as they were when Tocktamish and Omobono wentout. The table was in confusion, and flooded with wine that had rundown to the floor, and two or three chairs were upset. Gorlias filleda silver pitcher with Chian; but when he turned towards the window Zoewas the only one who saw him empty into the wine the contents of asmall vial which he seemed to have had ready in the palm of his hand.He called Carlo's man.
'Take it to him,' he said. 'You can easily pass it through the bars.'
'It is not much wine,' observed the man doubtfully. 'He will drinkthat at a draught.'
'If he asks for more, fill the pitcher again,' answered Gorlias. 'Ifhe falls asleep, let me know.'
The man went off.
'Clear away all that,' said Zoe to the men-servants who stood lookingon. 'The master must not find this confusion when he comes home.'
Her tone and her manner imposed obedience, and besides, they knew thatTocktamish was safe for a while. They began to clear the table atonce, and Zoe left the room followed by Gorlias and her two maids, whohad been silent witnesses of what had passed.
Upstairs, they left her alone with the astrologer, and disappeared todiscuss in whispers the wonderful things that were happening in thehouse.
'Where is he?' asked Zoe, as soon as the maids were gone.
'He is in a dry cistern near the north wall of the city.'
'Hiding?'
'No--a prisoner. In escaping last night he ran among the soldiers whowere to have helped us, and they held him for a ransom. The Tartarcame to extort the money. You know all.'
'At least, he is safe for the present,' Zoe said, but very doubtfully,for she did not half believe what she said.
'No,' Gorlias answered; 'he is not safe for long, and we must get himout. They demand a ransom, but they know well enough that even if theyget it they will not dare to let him go free, since he could hang themall by a word.'
'What will they do?'
'If they can get the money they will let him starve to death in thecistern. If they do not, they will give him up to Andronicus for thereward. The Emperor has proclaimed that he will give ten pounds ofgold to any one who will bring him Carlo Zeno, dead or alive. That isnot enough.'
'The Emperor knows it was he?' asked Zoe with increasing anxiety.
'Yes.'
'How?'
'I do not know. Some one has betrayed us.'
'Us all?'
'I fear so.'
'But you yourself? Do you dare go about?'
'I have many disguises, and
they who know the fisherman do not knowthe astrologer.'
'But if you should be taken?'
'A man cannot change his destiny. But look here. I have something fromJohannes already. He has changed his mind; he regrets not having letus take him out last night, and he sends me this by the captain'swife.'
Gorlias produced a parchment document.
'What is it?'
'The gift of Tenedos to Venice.'
'Ah! If Messer Carlo were only free!'
'Yes--if!' Gorlias shook his head thoughtfully. 'It will not be easyto send an answer to this,' he went on. 'The woman brought it to me atthe risk of her life, and said it would be impossible for her to comeagain. The guard is doubled, and a very different watch will be keptin future. I do not believe that we can bring Johannes out, as wemight have done in spite of those fellows last night. Yet I am surethat if Messer Carlo were at liberty he would try. He would at leastsend word, in answer to this. But the days are over when we used tosend letters up and down by a thread--the tower is watched from theriver now.'
'Can you not get in by a disguise?'
'No. There is not the least chance of gaining admittance at present.'
'I could,' said Zoe confidently. 'I am sure I could! If I went incarrying a basket of linen on my head and dressed like a slave-girl inblue cotton with yellow leathern shoes, I am sure they would let me goto the captain's wife.'
'What if your basket were searched and the letter found?'
'I would put it into my shoe. They would not look for it there.'
'You would run a fearful risk.'
'For him, if it were of any use,' Zoe answered. 'But it will not helphim at all, and if anything happened to me he would be sorry. Besides,why should we send a message that pretends to come from Messer Carlowhen he himself is a prisoner?'
'This is the case,' Gorlias answered. 'The soldiers will never let himout till they feel safe themselves; and the only way to make them surethat there is no danger is really and truly to bring Johannes out andset him on the throne again. So long as Andronicus reigns and may takevengeance on them, they will keep Messer Carlo a prisoner to give upat any moment, or to starve him to death for their own safety--unlessthey murder him outright. But I do not believe that any ten of themwould dare to set upon him, for they know him well.'
Zoe smiled, for she was proud to love a man whom ten men would notdare to kill.
'Then the only way to save him is to free Johannes?' she said. 'Yes,'she went on, not waiting for an answer, 'I think you are right. Evenif we got them their ten thousand ducats they would not let him out aslong as Andronicus is at Blachernae.'
'That is the truth of it,' Gorlias answered. 'Neither more nor less.Messer Carlo's life depends upon it.'
'Then it must be done, come what may. Thank God, I have a life to riskfor him!'
'You have two,' said Gorlias quietly. 'You have mine also.'
'You are very loyal to Johannes, even to risking death. Is that whatyou mean?'
'More than that.'
'For Messer Carlo, then?' Zoe asked. 'You owe him some great debt ofgratitude?'
'I never saw him until quite lately,' Gorlias answered. 'You need notknow why I am ready to die in this attempt, Kokona Arethusa.'
Some one knocked at the outer door; Zoe clapped her hands for hermaids, and one of them went to the entrance. The voice of Zeno's manspoke from outside.
'The Tartar is fast asleep already,' he said, 'and I can hear thesecretary moaning as if he were in great pain; but I cannot see himthrough the window. He must be somewhere in the room, for it is hisvoice.'
Zoe made a movement to go towards the door, but Gorlias raised hishand.
'I will see to it,' he said, 'I will have the fellow taken back to hisquarters.'
Zoe bit her lip for she knew that it would be cruel and cowardly tohurt even such a ruffian as Tocktamish, while he was helpless underthe drug Gorlias had given him. But the words he had spoken rankleddeep, and it was not likely that she should forget them.
'Do as you will,' she said.
Half an hour later poor little Omobono was in his bed, and Zeno's manwas giving him a warm infusion of marsh-mallows and camomile for hisshaken nerves. The money-bags and the papers had been restored to thestrong box in the counting-house, and Tocktamish the Tartar, sunk ina beatific slumber, was being carried to his quarters in a hiredpalanquin by four stalwart bearers.
That was the end of the memorable feast in Carlo Zeno's house.
But Zoe sat by the open window, and her heart beat sometimes very fastand sometimes very slow; for she understood that the plight of the manshe loved was desperate indeed.
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