*CHAPTER V*
We had been in Karena for two weeks, and what puzzled me most was thatwe had neither seen nor heard of Mr. Smith, for I felt sure my peoplewould have let him know that we were in the city. It seemed so strangethat one of my oldest friends should take no notice. I knew of coursethat "Smith" was an assumed name, but I had no idea of his real one, soeven had I wished to ignore my parents' wishes, and make inquiries, Ishould have been at a loss how to do so.
It was this kind of thing which galled me, more especially now, when Iwished to include him in my dreams, when working out schemes forRudarlia's welfare. I never mentioned him to Mr. Neville, as I thoughtit would be placing him in an awkward position, he who knew.
If I had but known it, circumstances, even then, were drawing ustogether; the wheels of chance were turning slowly, and we were destinedto meet in a manner which opened my eyes to the extraordinary laws ofcoincidence.
Carruthers and I had been out one evening on one of our nocturnalwanderings in search of information, and were returning to our hotel,when my companion suggested a stroll to the top of the road overlookingYuhban.
I acquiesced, as this suggestion suited me perfectly. I was glad of anexcuse to breathe a little fresh air, after the hot and rather smellycafe, in which we had spent the best part of the evening.
The route by which we were going would only take us about half a mileout of our way. We did not speak much. Carruthers, for him, wastaciturn, and I, as usual, was trying to find a suitable successor toKing Ivan.
It was a perfect night with a fine moon, so, having reached the place wewanted, we stood for a few moments looking over the valley below. Itwas a night for an artist or a poet, and little did we think, as westood there in peaceful silence, that a few minutes would bring horridstrife.
A motor was approaching from Yuhban. We could see her headlights as shetwisted and turned with the winding road; a big silent car, and amagnificent hill-climber too, for she came up the steep bit at the topwithout changing gear. When only about ten yards from where we werestanding, she stopped suddenly. We saw the chauffeur jump out, while atthe same time three men ran from the shadow of a wall, where they hadbeen hidden; they came up behind the car. Just as the chauffeur hadsucceeded in opening one door, a man descended on the other side of thecar.
He gave one quick glance round, and started running at top speed towardsus; and I saw the moonlight flash on a weapon he carried in his hand.Hard after him came the three men and the chauffeur.
"Come on, Splosh!" cried Carruthers.
We sprang forward. I saw him send one man flying and jump at another,but at that moment the pursued man stumbled, and his weapon flew out ofhis hand, right at my feet.
I stooped and picked it up; it was a sword-stick. The next moment, Ifound myself parrying fierce and rapid sword-thrusts, almost withoutknowledge. My astonishment gradually left me and I grew cool; it waswell I did, for I needed all my wits about me, my opponent being aconsummate swordsman. At first it was as much as I could do to keepclear of his point; but, as I grew more collected, the better I fenced.I had no idea what was happening to the others, but I had seen oneknocked out by Carruthers, and hoped that he and the pursued couldaccount for the other two. I recollected that my chum had his revolverwith him, and called out to remind him of the fact; he answeredsomething, and then a shot rang out just behind me. It startled me forthe moment, in spite of my being half-prepared for it, and my adversarymanaged to touch my arm with his point, a mere prick. And then I lostall knowledge except of the man I was fighting; only once did I rememberthat there were others by me, and that was when Carruthers said:
"You, Mr----?"
After that there was silence again, only broken by the sound of our feetand the grating of our sword-blades, as my opponent and I sprangbackwards and forwards.
I had tried various attacks, and also foiled them; now I would try aspecial favourite of my stepfather's. It was risky, I knew, as it leftrather an opening for a thrust through the arm; but I had to dosomething, as this prolonged bout was beginning to make itself felt.
Thank God, it had succeeded, and I heaved a sigh of relief, as my bladepassed through my adversary's shoulder. He gave a gasp and fell.
I must say that the complete and sudden success of my attack staggeredme for a moment, so much so that I remained staring at the prostrateman; then I turned--and stood with my mouth open, for there was Mr.Smith with both arms outstretched.
"You--was it you then?"
"Yes, I, Victor, alive, thanks to you two; but come quickly, I willexplain as soon as we are out of this. We will send help for thesemurderers, we can do nothing ourselves."
"But I should like to do something for him," I said, pointing to myopponent's body.
"Leave it to me, my boy, I will see that he is taken care of. Quick!quick! or we shall be in trouble."
Together we ran to the car, passing three bodies, one shot, one stunned,and one bound.
"Jump in, I will drive," said Mr. Smith.
He did drive, and the pace we went would have scared anyone; but he hadwonderful command over the car, and we had no accident. Somewhere onthe other side of the town he pulled up, outside a fine mansion standingin a small park. As we stopped, the door of the house opened, and a manhastened down the steps.
"Thank God, Count! We were afraid something had happened to you."
"So it did, Baron."
"Where's Peter?"
"In heaven, I hope; in hell, I am afraid."
"As bad as that, was it?"
"Worse: Goltz was in it."
"Goltz!" He gave a little whistle. "Come in at once; but who arethese?" He indicated us with a wave of his hand.
"Ah," said Mr. Smith, "who are they? Let me present to you MessieursStevens and Carruthers; Baron von Sluben. Now let us go in for oneminute. By the way, Baron, will you 'phone to Ducrot, to look aftersome bodies near his house? He will be pleased to find Goltz amongthem--oh no, not dead. Tell him to treat them with the greatestkindness and attention, as a mark of his affection to the man they didnot kill."
We moved into the house, Baron Sluben leading the way. He threw open adoor, and we entered a very large room, which was packed with men and afew ladies, all in evening dress.
I touched Mr. Smith's arm.
"We shall be awfully out of it, in these clothes," I said.
"I don't think you need worry, Victor, you will always be conspicuous,whether you like it or not."
He knew my weakness.
Most of the occupants looked up as we entered, and a general hum ofwelcome arose.
"May I present to you Monsieur Stevens, who has just bested Goltz in theprettiest way imaginable; and Monsieur Carruthers, who accounted for twoof our enemies," said Mr. Smith.
The hum of welcome changed to a cry of astonishment.
"Goltz? is he dead? how did it happen?" And a score of other questionswere hurled at him.
"My friends," he said, "listen. This evening I was returning from youknow where; I had just reached Monsieur Ducrot's house, when mychauffeur stopped the car and came to the door.
"'Hullo,' I said, 'what is wrong, what do you want?'
"'You!' he replied.
"I had my sword-stick in the car with me, and opening the other door Ijumped out. There were three more assailants; so, not wishing to losecertain papers which I carried, I ran away with all four of themfollowing. I should certainly have been killed, if these two gentlemenhad not helped me; I slipped, dropping my sword, Monsieur Stevens pickedit up. Monsieur Carruthers stunned one man and engaged with another.When I regained my wits and my feet, he was kneeling on the fellow, andPeter, my trusted chauffeur, was trying to get at him with a knife. Atthat moment, Monsieur Stevens yelled out to his friend to remember hisrevolver. It reminded me that I also carried one. Peter died. Then webound the other fellow, and turned to the fencers; to my horror, I sawthat it was Goltz who was opposing my friend in need, but a m
oment laterI saw who that friend was, recognising him as some one I had known sincehis birth, and had myself assisted to teach the use of a sword.
"I was so confident of his skill, that I induced Monsieur Carruthers notto interfere, and we stood by and watched. In a few moments, Goltz wason the ground, with a very pretty hole in him. Not dead, oh dear no,but it will be some time before he is upon his feet. That is the story.Now look at Monsieur Stevens well; remember the face of the man whooverthrew the best swordsman in Rudarlia. You shall see him again, Ipromise you, but now I take him with me."
Before I could say anything, this astonishing man had ushered us bothout of the room, closing and locking the door behind him.
Baron Sluben was outside too; but he was as puzzled as ourselves, untilMr. Smith whispered something in his ear which caused him to glance atus keenly.
Mr. Smith turned to us.
"Victor, and you too, Rupert, you know you have my thanks, you canunderstand what I have in my heart. Some day, perhaps, I shall be ableto thank you properly for more than you think, as I had papers of vastimportance with me; and few of these people you have just seen wouldhave been comfortable, had I lost them. However, you must leave Karenaat once. My car is there; pick up Mr. Neville and your belongings, thenwithout wasting a minute get out upon the Poiska road, from there toOrvlov, and then on to Soctia. Wait there at the Ivanoff Hotel untilyou hear from me, and speak to no one about this night. You can trustme to give you good advice. Sluben agrees with me."
"Personally, I should advise getting the other side of the frontier; hisMajesty will be furious now Goltz is out of it for a time," said BaronSluben.
"No, I have a reason for keeping them in the country; besides, no harmwill come to them in Soctia. Thank God we still have one place ofrefuge. There is a British Consul there, and British ships in theharbour."
"But look here," said Carruthers, "I for one don't care about tearingoff as if in a funk, you know."
"I hope it won't be for long; and, when I tell you that your going willmake matters easier for me, I'm sure you won't object," said Mr. Smithsoothingly.
"Oh, of course not."
"Thank you; will you remember that it is for the best, and make as muchspeed as possible getting out of Karena? And now au revoir, my dearlads; thank you for my life, and the lives of others."
Without saying anything more, we shook hands; Carruthers and I jumpedinto the car, and we were off.
I knew the town fairly well by this time, and had no difficulty infinding my way to the hotel. Carruthers went to see Mr. Neville andexplain matters to him, while I interviewed the manager and settled ouraccount. The gratuities I gave were large enough to make the recipientsshow their gratitude by doing all within their power to expedite ourdeparture; to explain which, I informed the manager that sickness hadrecalled us to Paris, and that we should go through Bornia, by way ofAgrade, as we had to pick up a friend. There was no malice in theseuntruths; but I thought it justifiable to mislead, under thecircumstances.
An hour after reaching the hotel, we drove off; Mr. Neville inside,Carruthers with me.
Remembering Mr. Smith's advice, we did not waste time, so that soonafter day-break we ran through Poiska; where Mr. Neville took my place,and we dozed off for a spell inside.
We had breakfast at a small inn, just off the high road; and did notstop again until we reached Orvlov, where we lunched, and procured asupply of petrol for the motor.
From there, it was a pleasant run to the coast, through beautifulcountry; we did not hurry, the better to appreciate.
For a week or more, we stayed near the Hotel Ivanoff, merely killingtime with bathing and boating; when, however, no message came fromKarena we commenced to go farther afield, and explored the country andcoast.
One day I found my conscience pricking me: there were letters whichshould have been answered. So I was left behind, while the othersstarted for a day's excursion. Now, letter-writing never possessed anygreat attraction for me; and, after scribbling two or three, I thoughtthe day was too fine to be wasted, so I took a book, an ample supply ofsmokables, also a luncheon basket, and, walking to a little place a mileor two from the town, hired a boat.
I worked off a good deal of superfluous energy; and then paddled gentlyup a small tributary of the Garude, which watered a beautiful part ofGarace, that fair province which had been Rudarlian until some fiftyyears before, when the conquering Bornians had taken it.
I tied up the boat, jumped ashore, and made myself comfortable, withevery prospect of enjoying a quiet afternoon. Having finished my lunch,and lighted my pipe, I stretched myself luxuriously on the soft grass,and began to read. The first chapter of the book held my attention, butthe second and third bored me; so I closed the volume, pitched it intothe boat, and settled myself down to think.
Acting on the advice of Mr. Neville, Carruthers and I had not discussedour experiences with Mr. Smith; we had agreed to wait until we heardfrom him, but I had thought a great deal of the incident. I knew nowwith certainty that he was a nobleman, that he was working against thepresent monarch, and the members of the party we had seen in the housewere in the plot with him. I went over every detail of the evening, andcame to the conclusion that he had had some ulterior motive in wishingme to get the better of Goltz. What it could be I could not guess,unless it was that he hoped some day to make me of use in his schemes;this struck me as the most probable solution to his having taken thetrouble to introduce us to his fellow-conspirators. But why did he wishus to remain on Rudarlian soil? In Bornia we could have been nearer tohim, if he had wanted us. Perhaps the time was close for him to strike,and perhaps the rebellion, if he intended to rebel, would start inSoctia.
What a grand day it was, and how beautiful all this country! Itreminded me somewhat of the river at home: there was the same feeling ofpeace, the same silence, only broken by the ripple of the water, or thebuzzing of insects. I closed my eyes for a second.
How many seconds passed before I opened them again, I have no idea, butI must have slept very soundly; and I awakened slowly from a dream, inwhich Carruthers had fallen and hurt himself--he was groaning. So vividhad the illusion been, that I looked round for him as I awoke; there wasno sign of him, of course, but the daintiest vision, in white, wassitting where I had thought to see him. The daintiest vision was nursingher ankle, with many little "ohs!" and "ahs!" For a second I did notmove, the picture was too fascinating. Then I raised my length from thegrass, and took off my hat. It had been very much over my eyes; so incourtesy I raised it, and put it back at a more becoming angle.
"Can I be of any assistance, mademoiselle?"
"Oh, thank you so much. I've hurt my ankle; if you would be so kind asto dip my handkerchief in the water----"
She looked up at me with a pair of eyes which she ought to have keptveiled, and held out a small wisp of white material. It was entirelyinadequate for any purpose whatever, so I dipped my handkerchiefinstead.
"Perhaps you will permit me to bind it for you, it is so difficult to doit oneself."
"Thank you very much."
She removed her shoe and stocking, and a sweet slim foot was placedhesitatingly out; there was a very nasty scratch which must have beenquite painful. I bound it up with great care, making my handkerchiefnice and tidy, with hers placed over it.
"There, I think you will find that comfortable."
"Indeed, yes; I am extremely grateful to you. Are you a surgeon?"
"No, nothing so useful, I am afraid, merely a passer-by."
"Yes. Are you generally so successful?"
She laughed merrily; and I remembered the pose in which she must havefirst caught sight of me.
"I was passing time," I said gravely.
She was an extremely beautiful girl--extremely beautiful. I haverepeated that statement, in order the better to explain why I forgotabout everything, save the fact that she was sitting on the grass nearme. It is so; all thoughts of action to be, all thoughts of thingspas
t, were as nothing compared to the witchery of this youngwood-nymph's company.
It seemed almost as if we had been acquainted for years; there was noshyness, we simply talked and argued like two friends.
As the afternoon sped on, I began to feel that I had expected to meether here, as if my whole being had existed for nothing else.Unquestionably she filled a space which before had been empty. Therewas no reason on my part; I couldn't have argued about my feelings atall, I had to accept them.
I flatter myself that the wounded ankle had been forgotten as completelyas I had failed to remember that I had to get back to Soctia; until thelengthening of the shadows drew our attention to the flight of time.Then, in haste, my companion must be off; she would under nocircumstances hear of my accompanying her, as she lived but a fewhundred yards away.
"And would it be possible for me to find you here to-morrow?" I asked asI bent over her hand in saying good-bye.
"Why, yes."
"Then expect me, mademoiselle."
We said good-bye. She gave me her hand for a second, and then turnedand hurried up the grassy bank and disappeared; while with a light heartI untied my boat, and taking a last look in the direction the girl hadgone, pushed off, and sculled towards Soctia.
I was quite happy; my thoughts were in a whirl certainly, but whytrouble, what did anything matter, had I not met this divine creature?
I would be in the same place to-morrow, I should see her again, andlearn her name. Not that I cared who she was; at that moment I wouldhave proposed marriage to her, had she been a serving maid. I knew shewas not that, of course; only a lady could have carried herself soperfectly, and her voice was exquisite in its soft melody.
In my youthfulness, I presumed that she on her side would be as ready asmyself to meet again, and learn to know me better. I don't think thatthis was conceit on my part; but it had all come about so quickly andnaturally that anything else would have seemed inconceivable to me.
I do not know what coin it was that I gave the man who took the boatfrom me; but it must have been of considerable value, to judge by thethanks he poured upon me.
Little did I dream, as I walked up to the hotel, of the awful news thatawaited me.
Mr. Neville met me as I raced up to the hotel; and the look on his facechecked any exuberance in my greeting.
"My boy," he said as we entered my room, "I have very bad news for you:your stepfather is, I am afraid, very ill."
He handed me the telegram which had brought the bad news, and I read:
"Your stepfather is dying come."
As if in a dream, I said good-bye to Carruthers, who was to await Mr.Smith's message; got into the car with Mr. Neville, and we were off.
Of the journey that followed, I have the vaguest remembrance; I was toomiserable. My stepfather had become so much to me; I loved him as wellas though he had been my own father. I think that I have known few menwho could, with so much right, say: "I have lived as a gentlemanshould."
Oh, the interminable waits, the stupidity of porters and booking clerks,the slowness of that short journey from Calais to Dover. I felt asthough we had to travel round the world, and yet we accomplished anawkward journey in remarkable time.
At our little station, I found Bauen waiting; but he could give us noreassuring news, the best being that he was still alive.
My mother was in the bedroom when I arrived; and, after kissing her, westood together, hand in hand, gazing down upon what had been such amagnificent specimen of manhood, but which was now the mere husk of whathad been.
He lay without movement, it seemed as though even then he might be dead.As we stood silently, with all our nerves taut and overstrung, I prayedthat he might open his eyes once more, and speak to me. I think myprayer was heard, for, just as Mr. Neville came in and stood by us, thedying man's eyes opened, and, perfectly conscious, he tried to smile atMr. Neville. Then to my mother he murmured two words, full of love andpride, "My wife." When they rested on me, as I stood swallowing down mytears, he said, "Why, Victor, my boy." His eyes closed for a moment,then opened again. "God save your Majesty!" he cried; the next momenthe was gone.
Stunned by the suddenness of his departure, I turned to my mother, whowas standing quite still, with the tears streaming down her cheeks. Iput my arms round her, but she broke away and flung herself down withher arms around the dead man's neck, and cried as though her heart werebroken.
Her grief, or rather the greatness of it, surprised me, for in all mylife until then I had never seen my mother give way. I had had no ideathat her feelings for my stepfather had been so strong; she had alwaysappeared so calm and cold that I had never given her credit for any deepfeelings, much as I loved her. Her grief for some time was sooverpowering that I could do nothing; but presently, as her sobs grewless racking I took her in my arms and did my poor best to console her.Then little by little she seemed to regain control over herself, and Ipersuaded her to go to her own room.
I returned to the bed-side, and all alone stood there, indulging mysorrow. I registered a vow, as I gazed down at the now peaceful face,that I would do all that I could to live a life as free from stain ashis had been, and to try and act in a way which would have given himpride in me.
I think the three most miserable days of my life were those thatfollowed my stepfather's death. He was buried on the third day. Howunhappy I was then, both on account of the loss we had suffered andother things which followed.
Mr. Smith attended the funeral. I felt no surprise at his appearingjust before we left the house; it had seemed part of the mystery of mylife that he should be there. I did not think of our last meeting, norof how he could have come so quickly on our tracks, nor did I wonder atthe first words I heard him speak to my mother: "It is time."
Usually I should have pondered deeply on such things, but now I was toounhappy.
I was alone in my study, that room which had been my nursery; and I satby the window wondering, for I had heard as though in a dream that mystepfather had been an enormously wealthy man, and had bequeathed meall. How much it was the solicitor could not tell me, but in Englandalone he had invested something over ten millions of pounds, and Iunderstood that there was more than that sum invested about the world.It was stupendous, and though I did not realise it, although I did notunderstand what my power in the world would be, I groaned at thought ofthe endless labour such a vast inheritance would involve.
Heart-sick and weary, I looked out over the sunlit river and recalledthe events of the last few days, sorrowing at the thought that I couldnever discuss with my stepfather those things of which I had been full:our meeting with Quarovitch, the incident of the brigands, my fight withGoltz, and finally my little friend of the riverside, the girl whosename even I did not know.
My stepfather's last words came to my mind: "God save your Majesty!"What could they mean? I supposed that it was some memory of the past,for I knew he had been in the diplomatic service.
There was a tap at the door, and Mr. Neville entered. My stepfather'sdeath had affected him very much, for a great friendship existed betweenthe two. He came to me and placed his hand upon my shoulder.
"Victor, my dear boy, I hate to disturb you, but your mother has askedme to fetch you; it appears that the time has come when you are to betold all those things which have so puzzled you. It seems hard that itshould have come just now, but who knows? It may be for the best. Yourfuture may offer many hard and hateful features; but when it is a caseof duty, you, I know, can be depended on. Always remember that you willhave people who love you to help and direct you, and over them all isour Maker."
We descended together; but, when we came to the door of the room wheremy mother and Mr. Smith were sitting, he turned and would not haveentered, had not my mother insisted upon his being present. I bent tokiss her as I passed, and her arms went round my neck, as she returnedthe caress, murmuring:
"My boy, my dear boy."
I sat down on a low settee by her side, and wai
ted for her to speak.
Inwardly, I was a mass of nerves. I had waited so long to hear all Iwas now to be told; I felt strangely nervous, as though evil was coming.How would the revelations affect my life?
"I think you had better speak, Count," said my mother.
"One minute," I said. "Tell me your name first, please, Mr. Smith."
"Count von Zeula."
"Thank you." I nodded, well satisfied, for the name was well known tome. Many things had been done for Rudarlia, by men bearing that name,during some hundreds of years.
"I shall want all your attention, Victor, as what I have to tell you maycome as a shock, and first I must relate a little story, a story whichat the time of its happening was in everybody's mouth. It is a story ofmisery.
"Twenty years or so ago, a good King sat upon the throne of Rudarlia; hewas loved by the greater part of his subjects, and in return hededicated his life to their welfare, whole-heartedly and devotedly.
"Unfortunately, there were men, nobles, who found that his rule wasinjurious to their interests, these interests being the right to filltheir exchequers from the pockets of the lower classes.
"They conspired with the next heir to the throne, who was more to theirliking.
"Then the King married, and his wife gave birth to a son, amid thejoyful acclamations of the nation.
"The conspirators redoubled their activity. They bought over a fewofficers, and some hundreds of the private soldiers. They waited afavourable opportunity, working secretly all the while; then raised ascare of war. The loyal officers in immediate attendance on theirMajesties were sent away. The King reviewed a regiment, an assassinshot him dead."
Mr. Smith brushed a hand across his eyes, was silent for a moment, andthen continued:
"That night a cry was raised that justice had been done, for they sworethe dead King had meant to betray them to their fancied enemies.
"The next step was to incite the lowest class of the people, urging themto attack the King's Palace where the Queen and her child lay. Sweepinginto the Royal apartments, they shot them both, presumably; then,frightened at their own atrocity, they ran away. The next day, Ivan wasproclaimed King; he had been waiting just over the border.
"A rumour got abroad that some miscreant had set fire to the bedchamberof the Queen, when she had been murdered. This was not so--it was I whoset the bed on fire to burn the bodies on it."
"My God!" I said.
"They, however, were not the remains of the Queen and her child, theKing, but those of a groom's wife and offspring, whose lives wereunfortunately sacrificed to save the Royal Mother and the baby King. Noone looked too closely into the matter, a few of the royal jewels werethere, and the Queen's clothing, also the charred bodies; but the Queenherself and her child were in safety."
"Is the child alive?" I cried breathlessly.
"He is," said Mr. Smith gravely.
"And you are working for him. Oh, thank God, I can see the way clearlynow; let me do something to help."
"Eh?"
"Ever since I first went to Rudarlia, I have been trying to find someway out, and could discover no plan to work on, for Ivan's heir, theysay, is as bad as he is--but now--a King of Merlin's blood. Oh, thankGod! Tell me the groom's name, is he alive?" In my excitement I hadrisen and was bending over him.
I looked into his eyes as his face was raised to mine; they were full oftears.
"His name, Victor, is Bauen."
"Bauen--Bauen!--our Bauen?"
"Your Bauen."
"Then why is he here, what does it mean?" I looked at my mother, herface was buried in her hands.
"It means," said Mr. Smith, rising from his chair, "that you are theKing of Rudarlia; and I, your very humble servant."
He seized my hand and kissed it.
Victor Victorious Page 5
