Lord of the World
Page 47
II
It would be about three o'clock in the morning that the priest awoke inhis little mud-walled room next to that of the Holy Father's, and hearda footstep coming up the stairs. Last evening he had left his master asusual beginning to open the pile of letters arrived from CardinalCorkran, and himself had gone straight to his bed and slept. He lay nowa moment or two, still drowsy, listening to the pad of feet, and aninstant later sat up abruptly, for a deliberate tap had sounded on thedoor. Again it came; he sprang out of bed in his long night-tunic, drewit up hastily in his girdle, went to the door and opened it.
The Pope was standing there, with a little lamp in one hand, for thedawn had scarcely yet begun, and a paper in the other.
"I beg your pardon, Father; but there is a message I must have sent atonce to his Eminence."
Together they went out through the Pope's room, the priest, stillhalf-blind with sleep, passed up the stairs, and emerged into the clearcold air of the upper roof. The Pope blew out His lamp, and set it onthe parapet.
"You will be cold, Father; fetch your cloak."
"And you, Holiness?"
The other made a little gesture of denial, and went across to the tinytemporary shed where the wireless telegraphic instrument stood.
"Fetch your cloak, Father," He said again over His shoulder. "I willring up meanwhile."
When the priest came back three minutes later, in his slippers andcloak, carrying another cloak also for his master, the Pope was stillseated at the table. He did not even move His head as the other came up,but once more pressed on the lever that, communicating with thetwelve-foot pole that rose through the pent-house overhead, shot out thequivering energy through the eighty miles of glimmering air that laybetween Nazareth and Damascus.
This simple priest had scarcely even by now become accustomed to thisextraordinary device invented a century ago and perfected through allthose years to this precise exactness--that device by which with thehelp of a stick, a bundle of wires, and a box of wheels, something, atlast established to be at the root of all matter, if not at the veryroot of physical life, spoke across the spaces of the world to a tinyreceiver tuned by a hair's breadth to the vibration with which it wasset in relations.
The air was surprisingly cold, considering the heat that had precededand would follow it, and the priest shivered a little as he stood clearof the roof, and stared, now at the motionless figure in the chairbefore him, now at the vast vault of the sky passing, even as he looked,from a cold colourless luminosity to a tender tint of yellow, as faraway beyond Thabor and Moab the dawn began to deepen. From the villagehalf-a-mile away arose the crowing of a cock, thin and brazen as atrumpet; a dog barked once and was silent again; and then, on a sudden,a single stroke upon a bell hung in the roof recalled him in an instant,and told him that his work was to begin.
The Pope pressed the lever again at the sound, twice, and then, after apause, once more--waited a moment for an answer, and then when it came,rose and signed to the priest to take his place.
The Syrian sat down, handing the extra cloak to his master, and waiteduntil the other had settled Himself in a chair set in such a position atthe side of the table that the face of each was visible to the other.Then he waited, with his brown fingers poised above the row of keys,looking at the other's face as He arranged himself to speak. That face,he thought, looking out from the hood, seemed paler than ever in thiscold light of dawn; the black arched eyebrows accentuated this, and eventhe steady lips, preparing to speak, seemed white and bloodless. He hadHis paper in His hand, and His eyes were fixed upon this.
"Make sure it is the Cardinal," he said abruptly.
The priest tapped off an enquiry, and, with moving lips, raid off theprinted message, as like magic it precipitated itself on to the tallwhite sheet of paper that faced him.
"It is his Eminence, Holiness," he said softly. "He is alone at theinstrument."
"Very well. Now then; begin."
"We have received your Eminence's letter, and have noted the news.... Itshould have been forwarded by telegraphy--why was that not done?"
The voice paused, and the priest who had snapped off the message, morequickly than a man could write it, read aloud the answer.
"'I did not understand that it was urgent. I thought it was but onemore assault. I had intended to communicate more so soon as I heardmore."'
"Of course it was urgent," came the voice again in the deliberateintonation that was used between these two in the case of messages fortransmission. "Remember that all news of this kind is always urgent."
"'I will remember,' read the priest. 'I regret my mistake.'"
"You tell us," went on the Pope, His eyes still downcast on the paper,"that this measure is decided upon; you name only three authorities.Give me, now, all the authorities you have, if you have more."
There was a moment's pause. Then the priest began to read off the names.
"Besides the three Cardinals whose names I sent, the Archbishops ofThibet, Cairo, Calcutta and Sydney have all asked if the news was true,and for directions if it is true; besides others whose names I cancommunicate if I may leave the table for a moment.'"
"Do so," said the Pope.
Again there was a pause. Then once more the names began.
"'The Bishops of Bukarest, the Marquesas Islands and Newfoundland. TheFranciscans in Japan, the Crutched Friars in Morocco, the Archbishops ofManitoba and Portland, and the Cardinal-Archbisbop of Pekin. I havedespatched two members of Christ Crucified to England.'"
"Tell us when the news first arrived, and how."
"'I was called up to the instrument yesterday evening at about twentyo'clock. The Archbishop of Sydney was asking, through our station atBombay, whether the news was true. I replied I had heard nothing of it.Within ten minutes four more inquiries had come to the same effect; andthree minutes later Cardinal Ruspoli sent the positive news from Turin.This was accompanied by a similar message from Father Petrovski inMoscow. Then--- '"
"Stop. Why did not Cardinal Dolgorovski communicate it?"
"'He did communicate it three hours later.'"
"Why not at once?"
"'His Eminence had not heard it.'"
"Find out at what hour the news reached Moscow--not now, but within theday."
"'I will.'"
"Go on, then."
"'Cardinal Malpas communicated it within five minutes of CardinalRuspoli, and the rest of the inquiries arrived before midnight. Chinareported it at twenty-three.'"
"Then when do you suppose the news was made public?"
"'It was decided first at the secret London conference, yesterday, atabout sixteen o'clock by our time. The Plenipotentiaries appear to havesigned it at that hour. After that it was communicated to the world. Itwas published here half an hour past midnight.'"
"Then Felsenburgh was in London?"
"'I am not yet sure. Cardinal Malpas tells me that Felsenburgh gave hisprovisional consent on the previous day.'"
"Very good. That is all you know, then?"
"'I was called up an hour ago by Cardinal Ruspoli again. He tells methat he fears a riot in Florence; it will be the first of manyrevolutions, he says.'"
"Does he ask for anything?"
"'Only for directions.'"
"Tell him that we send him the Apostolic Benediction, and will forwarddirections within the course of two hours. Select twelve members of theOrder for immediate service."
"'I will.'"
"Communicate that message also, as soon as we have finished, to all theSacred College, and bid them communicate it with all discretion to allmetropolitans and bishops, that priests and people may know that We bearthem in our heart."
"'I will, Holiness.'"
"Tell them, finally, that We had foreseen this long ago; that We commendthem to the Eternal Father without Whose Providence no sparrow falls tothe ground. Bid them be quiet and confident; to do nothing, save confesstheir faith when they are questioned. All other directions shall beissued to their pastors im
mediately!"
"'I will, Holiness.'"
* * * * *
There was again a pause.
The Pope had been speaking with the utmost tranquillity as one in adream. His eyes were downcast upon the paper, His whole body asmotionless as an image. Yet to the priest who listened, despatching theLatin messages, and reading aloud the replies, it seemed, although solittle intelligible news had reached him, as if something very strangeand great was impending. There was the sense of a peculiar strain in theair, and although he drew no deductions from the fact that apparentlythe whole Catholic world was in frantic communication with Damascus, yethe remembered his meditations of the evening before as he had waited forthe messenger. It seemed as if the powers of this world werecontemplating one more step--with its nature he was not greatlyconcerned.
The Pope spoke again in His natural voice.
"Father," he said, "what I am about to say now is as if I told it inconfession. You understand?--Very well. Now begin."
Then again the intonation began.
"Eminence. We shall say mass of the Holy Ghost in one hour from now. Atthe end of that time, you will cause that all the Sacred College shallbe in touch with yourself, and waiting for our commands. This newdecision is unlike any that have preceded it. Surely you understandthat now. Two or three plans are in our mind, yet We are not sure yetwhich it is that our Lord intends. After mass We shall communicate toyou that which He shall show Us to be according to His Will. We beg ofyou to say mass also, immediately, for Our intention. Whatever must bedone must be done quickly. The matter of Cardinal Dolgorovski you mayleave until later. But we wish to hear the result of your inquiries,especially in London, before mid-day. _Benedicat te Omnipotens Deus,Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus._"
"'Amen!'" murmured the priest, reading it from the sheet.