The Red Symbol

by John Ironside

  CHAPTER XXXIX

  THE FLIGHT FROM ZOSTROV

  At dinner I heard that the Grand Duke was indisposed, and was diningalone, instead, as usual, with the Count Stravensky, Commandant of theCastle--by courtesy the chief member of his suite, but in reality hiscustodian--and two or three other officers of high birth, who, withtheir wives, formed as it were, the inner circle of this small Court inthe wilderness. There were a good many ladies in residence,--the greatcastle was like a world in little,--but I scarcely saw any of them, as Ipreferred to keep to the safe seclusion of the officers' mess, when Iwas not in my own room; and there was, of course, no lack of bachelorsmuch more attractive than myself. I gathered from Grodwitz and othersthat they managed to enliven their exile with plenty offlirtations,--and squabbles.

  On this evening the Countess Stravensky was holding a reception in herapartments, with dancing and music; and all my usual after-dinnercompanions were attending it.

  "Better come, _mon ami_," urged Grodwitz. "You are not invited?Nonsense; I tell you it is an informal affair, and it is quite timeyou were presented to the Countess."

  "I'd feel like a fish out of water," I protested. "I'm not used to smartsociety."

  "Smart! _Ma foi_, there is not much smartness about us in this deadlyhole! But have it your own way. You are as austere as our Grand Dukehimself; though you have not his excuse!" he retorted, laughing.

  "What excuse?"

  "You have not heard?" he asked quizzically; and rattled out a version ofthe gossip that was rife concerning Anne and Loris.

  "The charitable declare that there is a morganatic marriage," heasserted. "They are probably right; for, I give you my word, he is asentimental fool, our good Loris. _Voila_, a bit of treason for the earsof your friend Mishka, _hein_?"

  "I don't quite understand you, Colonel Grodwitz," I said quietly,looking at him very straight. "If you think I'm in the habit ofgossiping with Mishka Pavloff or any other servant here, you're verymuch mistaken."

  "A thousand pardons, my dear fellow; I was merely joking," he assuredme; but I guessed he had made one more attempt to "draw" me,--the last.

  As I went up to my room I heard the haunting strains of a Hungariandance from the Stravensky suite, situated on the first floor in the leftwing leading from the great hall, while the Duke's apartments were inthe right wing.

  Mishka entered immediately after I had locked the door.

  "Get your money and anything else you value and can carry on you," hegrunted. "You will not return here. And get into this."

  "This" was the uniform of a cavalry officer; and I must say I lookedsmart in it.

  Mishka gathered up my discarded clothes, and stowed them in thewardrobe.

  "Unlock the door; Nicolai will come presently and will think you arestill below," he said. "And follow me; have a care, pull the doorto--so."

  I closed the secret opening and went down the narrow stairway, steepalmost as a ladder, By the dim light of the small lantern Mishkacarried, I saw the door leading to the Duke's rooms. We did not enterthere, as I expected, but kept on till I guessed we must about have gotdown to the bowels of the earth. Then came a tremendously long andnarrow passage, damp and musty smelling; at the end of it a flight ofsteep steps leading up to what looked like a solid stone wall. Mishkamotioned me to wait, extinguished the lantern, and I heard him feelingabout in the pitch darkness for a few seconds. Then, with scarcely asound, the masonry swung back, and I saw a patch of dark sky jewelledwith stars, and felt the keen night wind on my face. I passed out,waited in silence while he closed the exit again, and kept beside him ashe walked rapidly away. I glanced back once, and saw beyond the greatwall, the castle itself, and the lights gleaming from many windows,while from the further wing came still the sound of the music.

  We appeared to be making for the road that led to Pavloff's house, whereI guessed we might be going, but I asked no questions. Mishka wouldspeak when necessary,--not otherwise. We passed through a belt of pinetrees on to the rough road; and there, more heard than seen in thedarkness, we came on two horsemen, each with a led horse.

  "That you, Wynn?" said a low voice--the Duke's. "You are in good time.This is your horse; mount and let us get on."

  We started at a steady pace, not by the road, but across country, andfor three versts or more we rode in absolute silence, the Duke and I inadvance, Mishka and his father close behind.

  "Well, I told you I could get away when I wished to," said Loris atlast. "And this time I shall not return. You are a good disciplinarian,my friend! You have come without one question! For the present we arebound for Zizcsky, where she probably awaits us. There may be troublethere; we have word that a _pogrom_ is planned; and we may be in time tosave some. The Jews are so helpless. They have lived in fear, and undersufferance for so long, that it is difficult to rouse them even todefend themselves,--out here, anyhow. In Warsaw and Minsk, and thelarger towns within the pale, it is different, and, when the time comes,some among them at least will make a good fight of it!"

  "We may find that the alarm was false, and things are quiet. Ifso,--good; we ride on to Count Vassilitzi's house some versts further.He is Anna's cousin and she will be there to-morrow if she is not inZizcsky; and there we shall decide on our movements.

  "I said that the game begins,--and this is it. Perhaps to-morrow,--ormaybe a week or a month hence, for the train is laid and a chance sparkmight fire it prematurely,--a great strike will commence. All has beencarefully planned. When the moment comes, the revolutionists will issuea manifesto demanding a Constitution, and that will be the signal forall workers, in every city and town of importance, to go on strike;including the post and telegraph operatives, and the railway men. Itwill, in effect, be a declaration of civil war; and God alone knows whatthe upshot will be! There will be much fighting, much violence; that isinevitable. The people are sanguine of success, for many of the soldiersand sailors are with them; but they do not realize--none of the lowerclasses can realize--how strong a weapon the iron hand of thebureaucracy wields, in the army and, yes, even in the remnant of thenavy. Supposing one-tenth of the forces mutiny, and fight on the side ofthe people, or even stand neutral,--and I do not think we can count on atenth,--there will still be nine-tenths to reckon with. Our part willbe, in a way, that of guerillas. We go to Warsaw, the headquarters ofour branch of the League. We shall act partly as Anna's guards. She doesnot know that; she herself is utterly reckless of danger, but I havedetermined to protect her as far as possible, as you also aredetermined, eh, _mon ami_? Also we shall give aid where we can, endeavorto prevent unnecessary violence, and save those who are unable to defendthemselves. That, in outline, is the program; we must fill in thedetails from one moment to the next, as occasion serves. I gather mylittle band as I go," he continued, speaking, like a true son of thesaddle, in an even, deliberate voice that sounded distinct over themonotonous thud of the horses' hoofs. "Yossof has carried word, and thefirst recruits await us outside the village yonder. They are all pickedmen, members of the League; some have served in the army, and--"

  From far in our rear came a dull, sinister roar, followed by a kind ofvibration of the ground under our feet, like a slight shock ofearthquake.

  "_My God, how they hate me!" I heard Loris say softly._Page 259]

  We pulled up, all four of us, and, turning in our saddles, looked back.We were nearing the verge of the great undulating plain, and the villagefrom whence in daylight the first view of the castle, some eight verstsdistant, was obtained. Even now the long range of lights from the leftwing could be seen distinctly, like a galaxy of stars near the horizon,but from the right wing, where the Duke's apartments were, shone a faintreddish glow, which, as we looked, increased rapidly, revealing cloudsof black smoke.

  "An explosion," grunted Mishka. "Some one has wrecked the stateapartments, and they are afire. There will be a big blaze. If you hadbeen there,--well, we are all well out of it!"

  He rode on with his father; but Loris and I remained as if spellboundfor a min
ute or more, staring at the grim light that waxed brighterevery instant, till we could actually see the flames darting through thewindow spaces and up the outer walls. The place was already a ragingfurnace.

  "My God, how they hate me!" I heard Loris say softly. "Yet, I haveescaped them once again; and it is well; it could not be better. I amfree at last!"