The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror
Page 13
CHAPTER XII.
IN THE MASTER'S NAME.
The _Ariel_, in order to avoid being seen from the town, had made awide circuit to the northward at a considerable elevation, and assoon as a suitable spot had been sought out by means of thefield-glasses, she dropped suddenly and swiftly from the clouds intothe depths of the dense forest through which the Tobolsk road runsfrom Tiumen to the banks of the Tobol.
From Tiumen to the Tobol is about twenty-five miles by road. Therailway, which was then finished as far as Tomsk, ran to Tobolsk by amore northerly and direct route than the road, but convicts werestill marched on foot along the great post road after the gangs hadbeen divided at Tiumen according to their destinations.
The spot which had been selected for the resting-place of the _Ariel_was a little glade formed by the bend of a frozen stream about fivemiles east of the town, and at a safe distance from the road.
Painted a light whitish-grey all over, she would have been invisibleeven from a short distance as she lay amid the snow-laden trees, andArnold gave strict orders that all the window-slides were to be keptclosed, and no light shown on any account.
Every precaution possible was taken to obviate a discovery whichshould seriously endanger the success of the rescue, but,nevertheless, the fan-wheels were kept aloft, and everything was inreadiness to rise into the air at a moment's notice should anyemergency require them to do so.
It was a little after three o'clock on the Thursday afternoon whenthe _Ariel_ settled down in her resting-place, and half an hour laterColston and Ivan Petrovitch appeared on deck completely disguised,the former as a Russian fur trader, and the latter as his servant.
All the arrangements for the rescue had been once more gone over inevery detail, and just before he swung himself over the side Colstonshook hands for the last time with Arnold, saying as he did so--
"Well, good-bye again, old fellow! Ivan shall come back and bring youthe news, if necessary; but if he doesn't come, don't be uneasy, butpossess your soul in patience till you hear the whistle from the roadin the morning. I expect the train will get in sometime during thenight, and in that case we shall have everything ready to make theattempt soon after daybreak, if not before.
"If we can get as far as this without being pursued we shall comeright on board. If not we must trust to our horses and our pistols tokeep the Cossacks at a distance till you can help us. In any case,rest assured that once clear of Tiumen, we shall never be takenalive. Those are the Master's orders, and I will shoot Natasha myselfbefore she goes back to captivity."
"Yes, do so," replied Arnold. His lips quivered as he spoke, butthere was no tremor in the hand with which he gripped Colston's infarewell. "She will prefer death to slavery, and I shall prefer itfor her. But if you have to do it you will at least have theconsolation of knowing that within twelve hours of your death theTsar shall be lying buried beneath the ruins of the Peterhof Palace.I will have his life for hers if only I live to take it."
"I will tell her," said Colston simply, "and if die she must, shewill die content."
So saying, he descended the little rope-ladder, followed by Ivan, andin a few moments the two were lost in the deep shadow of the trees,while Arnold went down into the saloon to await with what patience hemight the moment that would decide the fate of the daughter of Natasand the man who had gone, as he would so gladly have done, to riskhis life to restore her to liberty.
Rather more than half an hour's tramp through the forest broughtColston and Ivan out on the road at a point a little less than fivemiles from Tiumen.
Colston was provided with passports and permits to travel for himselfand Ivan. These, of course, were forged on genuine forms which theTerrorists had no difficulty in obtaining through their agents inhigh places, who were as implicitly trusted as the Princess Ornovskihad been but a few months before.
So skilfully were they executed, however, that it would have been avery keen official eye that had discovered anything wrong with them.They described him as "Stepan Bakuinin, fur merchant of NizhniNovgorod, travelling in pursuit of his business, with his servant,Peter Petrovitch, also of Nizhni Novgorod."
Instead of going straight into the town by the main road they made aconsiderable detour and entered it by a lane that led them through acollection of miserable huts occupied by the poorest class ofSiberian mujiks, half peasants, half townsfolk, who cultivate theirpatches of ground during the brief spring and summer, and strugglethrough the long dreary winter as best they can on their scantysavings and what work they can get to do from the Government or theirricher neighbours.
Colston had never been in Tiumen before, but Ivan had, for ten yearsbefore he had voluntarily accompanied his father, who had beencondemned to five years' forced labour on the new railway works fromTiumen to Tobolsk, for giving a political fugitive shelter in hishouse. He had died of hard labour and hard usage, and that was onereason why Ivan was a member of the Outer Circle of the Terrorists.
He led his master through the squalid suburb to the business part ofthe town, which had considerably developed since the through line toTobolsk and Tomsk had been constructed, and at length they stoppedbefore a comfortable-looking house in the street that ends at therailway station.
They knocked, gave their names, and were at once admitted. Theservant who opened the door to them led them to a room in which theyfound a man of about fifty in the uniform of a sub-commissioner ofpolice. As Colston held out his hand to him he said--
"In the Master's name!"
The official took his hand, and, bending over it, replied in a lowtone--
"I am his servant. What is his will?"
"That Anna Ornovski and Fedora Darrel, the English girl who was takenwith her, be released as soon as may be," replied Colston. "Is thetrain from Ekaterinburg in yet?"
"Not yet. The snow is still deep between here and the mountains. Thewinter has been very severe and long. We have almost starved inTiumen in spite of the railway. There has been a telegram fromEkaterinburg to say that the train descended the mountain safely, andone from Kannishlov to say that we expect it soon after tento-night."
"Good! That is sooner than we expected in London. We thought it wouldnot reach here till to-morrow morning."
"In London! What do you mean? You cannot have come from London, forthere has been no train for two days."
"Nevertheless I have come from London. I left England yesterdayevening."
"Yesterday evening! But, with all submission, that is impossible. Ifthere were a railway the whole distance it could not be done."
"To the Master there is nothing impossible. Look! I received that theevening I left London."
As he spoke, Colston held out an envelope. The Russian examined itclosely. It bore the Ludgate Hill post-mark, which was dated "March7."
Colston's host bent over it with almost superstitious reverence, andhanded it back, saying humbly--
"Forgive my doubts, Nobleness! It is a miracle! I ask no more. TheTsar himself could not have done it. The Master is all powerful, andI am proud to be his servant, even to the death."
Although the twentieth century had dawned, the Siberian Russians werestill inclined to look even upon the railway as a miracle. This man,although he occupied a post of very considerable responsibility andauthority under the Russian Government, was only a member of theOuter Circle of the Terrorists, as most of the officials were, andtherefore he knew nothing of the existence of the _Ariel_, andColston purposely mystified him with the apparent miracle of hispresence in Tiumen after so short an absence from London, in order tocommand his more complete obedience in the momentous work that was onhand.
He allowed the official a few moments to absorb the full wonder ofthe seeming marvel, and then he replied--
"Yes, we are all his servants _to the death_. At least I know of nonewho have even thought of treason to him and lived to put theirthoughts into action. But tell me, are all the arrangements completeas far as you can make them? Much depends upon how you carry themout, you k
now, to say nothing of the two thousand roubles that Ishall hand to you as soon as the two ladies are delivered into mycharge."
"All is arranged, Nobleness," replied the official, bowinginvoluntarily at the mention of the money. "Such of the prisoners,that is to say the politicals, who can afford to pay for theprivilege, may, by the new regulations, be lodged in the houses ofapproved persons during their sojourn in Tiumen, if it be only for anight, and so escape the common prison.
"We knew at the police bureau of the arrest of the Princess Ornovskisome days ago, and I have obtained permission from the chief ofpolice to lodge her Highness and her companion in misfortune--if theyare prepared to pay what I shall ask. It has come to be looked uponas a sort of perquisite of diligent officials, and as I have beenvery diligent here I had no difficulty in getting thepermission--which I shall have to pay for in due course."
"Just so! Nothing for nothing in Russian official circles. Very good.Now listen. If this escape is successfully accomplished you will bedegraded and probably punished into the bargain for letting theprisoners slip through your fingers. But that must not happen if itcan be prevented.
"Now this has been foreseen, as everything is with the Master; andhis orders are that you shall take this passport--which you will findin perfect order, save for the fact that the date has been slightlyaltered--from me as soon as I have got the ladies safely in thetroika out on the Tobolsk road, put off the livery of the Tsar,disguise yourself as effectually as may be, and take the first trainback to Perm and Nizhni Novgorod as Stepan Bakuinin, fur merchant.
"The servant you can leave behind on any excuse. From Novgorod youcan travel _via_ Moscow to Koenigsberg, and, if you will take myadvice, you will get out of Russia as soon as the Fates will letyou."
"It shall be done, Nobleness. But how will the disappearance ofDmitri Soudeikin, sub-commissioner of police, be accounted for?"
"That also has been provided for. Before you go you will pin thiswith a dagger to your sitting-room table."
The official took the little piece of paper which Colston held out tohim as he spoke. It read thus--
Dmitri Soudeikin, sub-commissioner of police at Tiumen, has been removed for over-zeal in the service of the Tsar.
NATAS.
Soudeikin bowed almost to the ground as the dreaded name of theMaster of the Terror met his eyes, and then he said, as he handed thepaper back--
"It is so! The Master sees all, and cares for the least of hisservants. My life shall be forfeited if the ladies are not releasedas I have said."
"It probably will be," returned Colston drily. "None of us expect toget out of this business alive if it does not succeed. Now that isall I have to say for the present. It is for you to bring the ladieshere as your prisoners, to see us out of the town before daybreak,and to have the troika in readiness for us on the Tobolsk road. Thensee to yourself and I will be responsible for the rest."
As it still wanted more than two hours to the expected arrival of thetrain, Soudeikin had the samovar, or tea-urn, brought in, and Colstonand Ivan made a hearty meal after their five-mile walk through thesnow. Then they and their host lit their pipes, and smoked andchatted until a distant whistle warned Soudeikin that the train wasat last approaching the station, and that it was time for him to beon duty to receive his convict-lodgers.