CHAPTER XX
THE TRIBUNAL
It was a small, ruinous chapel, the windows of which had been roughlyboarded up; and, so far as I could see by the dim light cast by two oillanterns hung on the walls, all those assembled inside were men,--aboutfifty in number I guessed, for the place was by no means crowded. Therewas a clear space at the further end, round the raised piece where thealtar had once stood, and where four men were seated on a bench of somesort. I could not distinguish their faces, for they all wore their hats,and the lamplight was so dim that it only served to make the darknessvisible. The atmosphere was steamy, too, for we were a drenched anddraggled lot.
There was no excitement at present; one of the four men on the dais wasspeaking in a level monotonous voice; but, as I cautiously edged my waytowards the front, I felt that this silent, sinister crowd was in deadlyearnest, as was the man who was addressing it. He was speaking inRussian, and I could not make out quite all he said.
I gathered that some resolution was about to be passed, for just as Igot sufficiently forward to peer round and convince myself that Anne wasnot there, each man present, except myself and two others, held up hisright hand. I followed suit instantly, judging that to be wisest, andone of the other two--he was standing close beside me--put his up, aftera momentary hesitation that I think was unnoticed save by myself. I tooka sidelong glance at him. He was an elderly, distinguished looking man,with a short gray beard cut to a point, and an upturned gray mustache.He was listening intently, but, though I couldn't see his facedistinctly, I got the impression that he also was a stranger, and thathe understood even less than I did what was going on.
The president spoke again.
"Are there any here who are against the election of Constantine"--Icould not catch the other name, which was a long Polish one, Ithink--"to the place on the council, vacant since the murder of ourcomrade, Vladimir Selinski?"
Selinski! Cassavetti! He little guessed as he spoke that the man whofound Cassavetti's body was now within five paces of him!
Not a hand was raised, and the man who had not voted stepped on to thedais, in obedience to a gesture from the president, and took his seat insilence.
A hoarse murmur of approval went round; but that was all. The grimquietude of these men was more fearful than any amount of noise couldhave been, and, as the president raised his hand slightly, a deadsilence fell.
"Remains now only that we do justice on the murderess of Selinski, thetraitress who has betrayed our secrets, has frustrated many of ourplans, has warned more than one of those whom we have justly doomed todeath--her lover among them--with the result that they have escaped, forthe present. We would not condemn her unheard, but so far she isobdurate; she defies us, endeavors once more to trick us. If she wereother than she is, or rather than she has been, she would have beenremoved long since, when suspicion first fell upon her; but there aremany of us who love her still, who would not believe her guilty withoutthe evidence of their own eyes and ears; and therefore we have broughther here that she may speak for herself, defend herself if that ispossible. It will rest with you to acquit or condemn her!"
He spoke quite quietly, but the cool, deliberate malignity of his tonewas horrible; and somehow I knew that the majority of those presentshared his animosity against the prisoner, although he had spoken of"many of us who love her."
The man beside me touched my arm, and spoke to me in French.
"Do you understand him?"
"Yes, do you?"
"No."
There was no time for more, for, at a signal from the president, a doorat the side near the dais was opened, and a woman was led in by two men,each holding her by an arm. They released her, and she stepped back apace, and stood against the wall, her hands pressed against it on eitherside, bracing herself like a royal creature at bay.
It was Anne herself, and for a moment I stood, unable to move, scarcelyable to breathe. There was something almost unearthly about her beautyand courage. The feeble lamplight seemed to strengthen, and toconcentrate itself on her face,--colorless save for the vivid redlips,--on her eyes, wide and brilliant with indignation, on the brighthair that shone like a queenly crown. Wrath, and scorn, and defiancewere expressed by the beautiful face, the tense figure; but never atrace of fear.
They were all looking at her, as I was, in silence,--a curious hush thatlasted but a few seconds, but in which I could hear the beating of myown heart; it sounded as loud as a sledge hammer.
The spell was broken by a cry from the man with the pointed beard nextme who sprang forward towards her, shouting in English: "Anne! Anne! Itis I, your father!"
I was only just less quick; we reached her almost together, and facedabout, shielding her with our bodies, and covering those nearest us withour revolvers.
"Father! Maurice!" I heard her sob. "Oh, I knew, I knew you would come!"
"What is this devilry?" shouted Anthony Pendennis in French. "How comesmy daughter here? She is a British subject, and you--you shall paydearly--"
He got no further. Our action had been so swift, so unexpected, that thewhole crowd stood still, as if paralyzed by sheer astonishment, for afew breathless seconds.
"Spies! Traitors! Kill them all!" shouted the president, springingforward, revolver in hand.
Those words were his last, for he threw up his arms and fell as my firstshot got him. The rest came at us all together, like a mob of furiouswild beasts. They were all armed, some with revolvers, others with thehorrible little bludgeons they call "killers,"--a short heavy bar oflead set on a strong copper spring, no bigger than an ordinary roundoffice ruler, but more deadly at close quarters than a revolver.
I flung up my left hand, tore down the lamp that hung just above us,and hurled it among them. It was extinguished as it fell, and that gaveus a small advantage, for the other lamp was at the far end, and itsfaint light did not reach us, but only served to dimly show us ourantagonists. I felt Anne sink down to the floor behind me, thoughwhether a shot had reached her or she had fainted I did not know.
When I had emptied my revolver I dropped it, grabbed a "killer" from thehand of a fellow I had shot pointblank, and laid about me with that. Isuppose Pendennis did the same. As Loris had warned me, when it came toshooting, there was no time for reloading; but the "killer" was allright. I wonder he hadn't given me one!
We were holding our own well, in spite of the tremendous odds, and aftera while--though whether it was five minutes or fifty I couldn'tsay--they gave back a bit. There was quite a heap of dead and woundedround about us; but I don't think Anne's father was hurt as yet, and Ifelt no pain, though my left arm hung limp and useless, numbed by a blowfrom a "killer" that had missed my head; and something warm was drippingdown my right wrist.
"What now?" I heard Pendennis say, in that brief lull in thepandemonium.
"God knows. We can't get to the door; we must fight it out here; they'recoming on again. On guard!"
We swung up our weapons, but before the rush could reach us, there was acrash close at hand; the door through which Anne and her guards hadentered the chapel was thrown open, and a big man dashed in,--Lorishimself, still in his disguise. So he had reached us at last!
He must have grasped the situation at a glance, for he shouted: "Back;back for your lives! By the other door. We are betrayed; the soldiersare here. They are coming this way. Save yourselves!"
The Red Symbol Page 22
