Download the Full Version of the Ebook with Added Features ebookname.

com

Mastering Technical Communication Skills A Student

s Handbook 1st Edition Edition Peter Wide

https://ebookname.com/product/mastering-technical-
communication-skills-a-student-s-handbook-1st-edition-
edition-peter-wide/

OR CLICK HERE

DOWLOAD NOW

Download more ebook instantly today at https://ebookname.com

Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) available
Download now and explore formats that suit you...

Technical Writing Presentational Skills and Online

Communication Professional Tools and Insights 1st Edition
Raymond Greenlaw
https://ebookname.com/product/technical-writing-presentational-skills-
and-online-communication-professional-tools-and-insights-1st-edition-
raymond-greenlaw/
ebookname.com

The Handbook of Communication Skills 3rd Edition Owen

Hargie

https://ebookname.com/product/the-handbook-of-communication-
skills-3rd-edition-owen-hargie/

ebookname.com

The handbook of communication skills 3rd ed Edition Owen

Hargie

https://ebookname.com/product/the-handbook-of-communication-
skills-3rd-ed-edition-owen-hargie/

ebookname.com

Value Stocks beat Growth Stocks An empirical Analysis for

the German Stock Market An empirical Analysis for the
German Stock Market 1st Edition Christian Schießl
https://ebookname.com/product/value-stocks-beat-growth-stocks-an-
empirical-analysis-for-the-german-stock-market-an-empirical-analysis-
for-the-german-stock-market-1st-edition-christian-schiesl/
ebookname.com
RNA Turnover in Bacteria Archaea and Organelles 1st
Edition Lynne E. Maquat

https://ebookname.com/product/rna-turnover-in-bacteria-archaea-and-
organelles-1st-edition-lynne-e-maquat/

ebookname.com

Complete Idiot s Guide Drawing Manga Shoujo Illustrated

1st Edition Matt Forbeck

https://ebookname.com/product/complete-idiot-s-guide-drawing-manga-
shoujo-illustrated-1st-edition-matt-forbeck/

ebookname.com

Mind the Gap Global Learning at Home and Abroad 1st

Edition Nina Namaste

https://ebookname.com/product/mind-the-gap-global-learning-at-home-
and-abroad-1st-edition-nina-namaste/

ebookname.com

Chronic pain and addiction 1st Edition Treisman

https://ebookname.com/product/chronic-pain-and-addiction-1st-edition-
treisman/

ebookname.com

Symbols and Abbreviations Used on Admiralty Paper Charts

NP5011 6e 2016 6e Edition Uk Admiralty

https://ebookname.com/product/symbols-and-abbreviations-used-on-
admiralty-paper-charts-np5011-6e-2016-6e-edition-uk-admiralty/

ebookname.com
The Palgrave Handbook of Experiential Learning in
International Business 1st Edition Vas Taras

https://ebookname.com/product/the-palgrave-handbook-of-experiential-
learning-in-international-business-1st-edition-vas-taras/

ebookname.com
Other documents randomly have
different content
spoke without any of the affectations customary with her.
“There must be peace between us, Mr. Bergwyn.”
“What have you come for?”
“Gatrina is in danger and you must help to save her.”
“What is your news?”
“A revolution is imminent, and if Gatrina is in the city when it breaks
out, she will be involved. The King has been told he must abdicate,
and a conflict between him and the army is now certain. She must
be got to a place of safety.”
“Why do you come to me?”
“Because you can prevail with her.”
“On the contrary, you have made that impossible. You know how—
by the false tale you told before the Queen.”
“It can be contradicted. I will contradict it if you agree.”
“Agree to what?”
“To unite with us in saving her to take the Throne.”
“You mean to marry the Duke Barinski?”
“I mean, first, to save her life. This is no time to think of any
personal ends. She is necessary to the country.”
“She has no chance of succeeding to the Throne. I know that. I
know what is to be done.”
“You can help us if you will. Get her to trust herself to us instead of
to the Court, and we will be responsible for her safety.”
“How? Another case of Maglai?”
“You need not sneer. I did not mean that. She would be safe under
the protection of the Russian flag.”
“With you as her chief adviser and friend. I should not deem that
safety; nor would she.”
“You abandon her then to her fate?”
“I will not counsel her to play the part of cat’s paw for Russia.”
“Even to save her life?”
“Will you undo the mischief you have caused and let her know the
truth? Then I will act with you to this extent. If I can, I will prevail
with her to leave the country for a time and from a position of
freedom, decide whether to make this marriage or not.”
“She must not leave the country. She must be here when the
moment of crisis arrives, and the future occupant of the Throne has
to be chosen. Her absence then might be fatal to everything.”
“Go to her and tell her that all you said was untrue and why you said
it, and leave the decision to her.”
“You are still dreaming of the impossible. I have shewn her most of
your old letters to me.”
“Then you had better tell your Russian employers how you have
succeeded in wrecking their schemes.”
She paused in considerable embarrassment.
“You must have some other aim, however,” I continued. “You have
contradicted yourself. You said at first that I still had influence with
her: now that you have kept your word and broken her trust in me;
and yet that you need my help. You will not be surprised that I find
it difficult to believe you at all—except as a power for mischief and
wrong.”
“You do not seem to realise her peril.”
“And you do not explain your inconsistency.”
“I will make it all plain to her.”
“So that I may go to counsel her to marry another man. I will not.”
“Not even to save her life?”
“You said that before. I will find means to save her life, if it should
be really in danger.”
“What I have proposed is the only way.”
“You may think so. I will find another. I do not trust either you or
your employers. You can help me by undoing what you have done
and telling her the truth—by that means you can aid in saving her
life. But with your help or without, I will find the means.”
“You are very bitter against me.”
“I speak the truth and the truth may well have a bitter sound.”
“If you refuse me, the responsibility for what may occur will be
yours.”
“Will you go to her and admit the falsehood?”
“If you agree to my terms. Not otherwise.”
“That was the answer I expected,” I said as I rose.
She made a gesture of impatient dissent. “You make things so
difficult. We both desire the same end: the Princess’s safety; and yet
you will not act with me to reach it.”
“You come to me, or you are sent to me, because it is thought I can
now be of some use as a decoy. I have no fancy for the part. I do
not trust you or those behind you.”
“You entirely misjudge my motives.”
“Very possibly, if they are genuine. You have taught me not to
expect that; and I have learnt the lesson. That’s all there is to it. And
now, I have no wish to say to you any more of the angry things I
feel. Shall we end this?”
“Will you consider what I have said and let me come to-morrow for
an answer?”
“No. You have my answer; and I have no wish to see you again.”
“How bitter you can be!” she cried, rising.
My only reply was to open the door for her to leave.
“Do you mean to render me desperate? You underestimate my
power to revenge myself. You will drive me to take a course which
even I might afterwards regret. I am not yet Gatrina’s enemy; but
...” a very angry glance finished the sentence.
“We shall do better to end this,” I answered, curtly, meeting her look
as I held the door for her.
“You will be well advised for your own and her sake if I find you in a
different mood to-morrow;” and with this threat she went.
For her threats I cared little enough; and the only part of the
interview which made any impression was the confirmation she had
brought of the coming trouble.
I was thinking this round when Nikolitch returned.
“Well?” I asked eagerly.
He shook his head. “I have done no good,” he said.
My heart fell at the words. The last chance had failed, and I knew by
my pang of disappointment how much I had built upon my friend’s
mission.
 CHAPTER XXIII.
A PLAN OF DEFENCE.

It was some time before I could even bring myself to ask Nikolitch
for details of his visit to Gatrina.
“You saw the Princess?” I asked at length.
“I would not come away without. She had been at the Palace, I
think. She received me graciously at first—she does all things prettily
—and listened while I warned her that grave troubles were coming.
Then something I said suggested to her that I had come from you;
and her manner changed suddenly.”
“It would, I suppose,” I interjected, bitterly.
“She put the question point blank, and I admitted it, of course. Then
she refused to hear any more. I said that you were very anxious to
see her; and she got up and was for dismissing me on the spot. But
I hung on and managed to get out the contradiction of the
engagement, as she was hurrying away. At the door she turned, her
face very pale, her manner and tone cold as ice. ‘Under the
circumstances, Captain Nikolitch, your presence is an insult,’ she
said. And never in my life have I felt the lash of a woman’s tongue
more keenly. I suppose she was mad you had told me anything of
how matters stood with you. I felt like a whipped cur as I stumbled
out of the room.”
“Well, it’s just a devil of a mess, that’s all, and we’ll have to find
some way of helping her against her will.”
I told him of the result of my visit to Petrosch and of the
confirmation of the news from Elma. His view of the outlook was
even darker than my own; and when I let drop a hint of the
suggestion which Elma had made, he was disposed to freeze to it as
the best and readiest solution of the difficulty.
But I shook my head. “The Princess would never trust herself to
them,” I said. “I know her too well to think that for a moment.”
“She would be safe. Other things would settle themselves
afterwards. The hours of peril will be few, whatever happens; and
when they are once passed, the itch for violence will be appeased.”
“No,” I said again. “I say no, emphatically no. If she believed the
danger were really so acute, she would go to the Queen and stand
or fall with her. She would regard it as cowardly to think of herself at
such a time; and nothing would induce her to set foot inside the
Russian Minister’s house merely to save herself. It would but drive
her into greater peril that if she remained in her own. It is there she
must be protected. Would God I could but learn when the devilment
is to be done?”
“I think I could learn that. Not here, of course, where if I were
recognised I should be clapped straight away under arrest; but at
Jagodina. They will know there.”
“Then for Heaven’s sake get back to Jagodina at once and send me
word. I will do the rest. I begin to see a way at last—if she will but
stay in her own house.”
“What is it?” he asked eagerly.
“No, no. Don’t stay another minute in the city. Get to your regiment
and send me the news I want. Just the time; that’s all; that’s all. It
may not be safe to send more;” and seizing a time table I found
there was a train he could catch at once, and I hurried him off.
“My uniform,” he said. “I’m in mufti.”
“Leave it. It may be useful.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, anxiously.
“If I don’t tell you, you can’t be compromised. Do as I ask; that’s all.
And for Heaven’s sake be off at once.”
I infected him with a degree of my own energy and bundled him off
to the depot, and sent Buller with him with instructions to get him a
special train if he missed the regular one.
Then I gave word that the instant Karasch arrived he was to be
shewn to me; it was close to the hour at which he was accustomed
to come for instructions; and having done that I set to work to think
out my plan as I ate a hasty dinner.
The plan was a very simple one—to raise immediately a band of men
numerous enough to protect Gatrina’s house in case of emergency,
and to find some place close to it where they could remain in
readiness under Karasch’s leadership.
The idea took a more daring form at one time, and I was much
tempted to adopt it. It was to have the men in the uniform of one of
the regiments and to act the part of guarding the house, as if at the
army’s command; but the risk which the men would run if the thing
were discovered was too great. I might not be able to protect them
even with Petrosch’s influence; and I had, therefore, to abandon the
notion. But from it came another idea which I saw at once was
practicable.
“There is work for you at last, Karasch,” I said to him as soon as he
arrived; “difficult, and perhaps dangerous; and I am going to trust to
you.”
“I will do my best, Excellency, whatever it be,” he answered, with his
customary directness.
“Ugly things are going to occur in the city; a revolution accompanied
probably with violence is on the eve of taking place; and no one can
say for certain what will or will not happen. But it is very probable
that the Princess—Mademoiselle, you know—will be exposed to
great danger, and I wish you to help me in protecting her. You will
do this?”
“With my life, Excellency. Of course you have a plan.”
“Yes. I mean you to get together a strong band of resolute men to
be instantly available to form a guard round her house. They must
be men on whom we can depend; and we will pay them liberally.
How many can you get?”
“I could get a thousand to take your money and promise; and I
might find fifty or less who might keep their promises; and, perhaps,
five or six who would be absolutely reliable. It would depend.”
“On what?”
“On whom Mademoiselle had to be defended against. If against the
mob it would be easy, but not against soldiers, Excellency.”
“It will probably be against the soldiery.”
He shook his head doubtingly. “It would be very difficult,” he said.
“It has to be done, Karasch,” I declared firmly. “The Princess’s life
may depend upon it.”
“Where twenty men would face the sticks and stones of a mob,
scarce one of them would stand before the bayonets or bullets of
the troops, Excellency. Should we be inside the house?”
“No, outside.”
“Ah,” he exclaimed with another very grave shake of the head.
“You would do it?”
“I am different; but I would not do it for money. I have been in
similar troubles before; and for those who resist the soldiers at such
times, there are many roads to death and all short and pretty
certain. Men know this, Excellency. Belgrade is not like the hills in
the Gravenje district. I might count on five or six, as I say; but what
are they against the troops in the city?”
I thought a moment. “Could you trust them absolutely?” I asked.
“Yes; as you may trust me. But, I beg your Excellency’s pardon, why
cannot the Princess remove to a place of safety?”
“She will not, for reasons I cannot explain to you. For one thing she
does not know of her danger, and will not believe in it.”
“Mademoiselle has a strong will, we know,” he said, with a shrug of
his broad shoulders.
“She has, therefore, to be saved despite herself. Stay, I have it,” I
exclaimed as a thought struck me. “You say these five or six men
are to be relied upon. Could you procure half a dozen uniforms for
them to wear?”
“I could get half a hundred, but——”
“This is my plan then. Get the other men, fifty or a hundred of them
—as many as you can—to be available if the only trouble comes
from the mob. The six we will make up as soldiers, and at the worst
we will force our way with them into the house and bring off the
Princess as though she were our prisoner.”
He chewed the notion for a moment and then his grim face relaxed
into one of his rare smiles. “It is good,” he said; and we set to work
and threshed out the plan in as much detail as practicable at that
stage.
I decided that the half dozen men who with Karasch and myself
were to take the risk of making the pretended arrest of Gatrina,
should wear the uniform of soldiers and over that loose civilian’s
clothes which could be easily slipped off in case of need. The men
would in this way be available for both parts of the work before us;
as civilians to resist the mob, or as soldiers to mislead the regular
troops.
I based my plans on the calculation that in making any attempt on
Gatrina’s house the troops were not likely to be in any considerable
force. The movement would be more in the nature of an arrest; and
if we could manage to get into the house before the soldiers sent to
make the arrest, they would be likely to conclude, if they saw
Gatrina in our hands, that in the confusion some mistake had been
made in doubling the parties told off for the purpose.
I should be in command and should wear the uniform which
Nikolitch had left behind him; and in the event of any complication
arising, I should have to trust to my wits to explain it away.
My intention was to march with Gatrina straight to the house of the
United States representative, where, of course, she would be safe. I
knew him already for a man on whom I could rely implicitly.
Karasch went off to find the men and was to return at midnight to
report progress; and I was to go out into the neighbourhood of
Gatrina’s house to look for a place in which they could be placed. I
was getting ready when my eye fell upon Nikolitch’s uniform and I
tried it on. It was anything but comfortable after the freedom of
civilian’s dress; and as I was much the broader man of the two, it
was an uncommonly bad fit.
But I had to get used to it; so I resolved on a dress rehearsal of the
part, and throwing on a long overcoat, I put a revolver in my pocket
and set out on my quest, with Chris in close attendance at my heels.
The night was fine but moonless; and as the streets of Belgrade
were very badly lighted, there was not much chance of my being
recognised. The restaurants and supper houses were busy enough,
and the flare of their lights streamed across the streets here and
there; but they were easy to avoid; and there were none of them in
the neighbourhood of Gatrina’s house.
As it was of course necessary that I should make myself as familiar
with the entrances to the house as possible, I had a good look at it,
being careful to keep well in shadow.
A massive stone house, it stood by itself at a corner and was almost
surrounded by a high wall. The main door let out on to a broad
thoroughfare; a strong massive door with a deep portico. In the wall
at the side there was a smaller doorway—the servants’ entrance, I
concluded; and this, also, was very heavily and strongly fashioned.
All the lower windows were heavily barred, a custom I had observed
to be general in the large houses in the city.
It was altogether a house capable of offering stout resistance to any
attack; and I saw in a moment that if I could once get inside, with a
few resolute men, it would be possible to hold it for a long time
against either mob or troops; and I concluded that, in common with
many others in the city, it had been strengthened in view of the
turbulent outbreaks which had been frequent enough in Belgrade.
The strength of the house reassured me somewhat until I found a
weak spot. Some fifty yards along the smaller street were the
stables; and I remembered that when I had been in the house on
the previous day waiting in my vain attempt to see Gatrina, I had
noticed a newly made door at the end of the garden, just at the
point where, as I could now see, it would lead to the stables; while
from the room where I had been placed, a French window quite
unprotected led down a flight of steps to the garden path.
That was a weak spot indeed. But if it would render the house open
to attack, it would also provide the means by which I could gain
access if the need arose.
I was weighing all this in my mind most earnestly as I stood
opposite the entrance to the stable, when Chris moved and growled.
I silenced him, laying my hand on his head, and drew back with him
into the deep shadow of a tree which stood in front of the portico of
a house, and listened.
He never warned me without cause; and soon I caught the sound of
approaching footsteps. I had no wish to be seen, so I slipped into
the portico and pressed close against the wall, while I kept watch on
the newcomer. He came along at a quick pace until he reached the
stable, when he paused.
My first idea was that he was a servant who had overstayed his
hours of leave and was puzzling how to get into the house without
attracting notice.
But I was wrong. Presently he came out into the roadway and stared
at the upper windows of the house. Then he went round to the front
and again he paused and stared up at the windows there; and
apparently not seeing what he sought—for the whole house was
now in darkness—he scratched his head as if in perplexity, and came
sauntering back toward the stables.
He was very slow in his movements, and his slowness irritated me.
Presently a light shewed for an instant in one of the top windows at
the back, and was almost instantly extinguished. This was repeated
twice, at short intervals; and I heard the window raised very
cautiously.
It was evidently the signal for which the man in the street had been
waiting, for he whistled, just two notes softly, shewed himself in the
roadway and then stepped back in the shadow of the stables and
waited.
A vulgar assignation, I thought then, not without disgust; and I
wished that he and his sweetheart would be quick over their love-
making. It was well past eleven. At midnight I had to be back to
receive Karasch’s report; and yet could not venture to be seen.
But it was no sweethearting. After some minutes, a small door in the
large stable gate was opened and a man looked out. I could see all
that passed by the light of a lamp over the gates. The two
whispered together a moment; and then the man from the house
came out, turned the key in the lock, and put it in his pocket.
They both crossed the road toward where I stood, and I pressed yet
closer against the wall and kept my hand on Chris’s head lest by a
sound he should betray our presence. They did not enter the portico,
but stood in the shadow of the tree where I had first concealed
myself.
“This will do,” I heard one of them say; and then strain my ears as I
would I could not catch any other than isolated words. But they
were enough to set me on fire. “Army,” “Arrest,” “Three hours,” “Yes,
two o’clock—” this was louder and in an impatient tone. After that
there was a chink of money passing; and then silence. It lasted so
long that, unable to contain myself, I peered out cautiously and
looked at them.
The man who had come from the house was counting a quantity of
paper money, and trying to read the value of each bill by the flicker
of the lamp across the road. It was a tedious business; and his
companion whispered something to him and they both walked away
along the street.
My first inclination was to follow them at once and force an
explanation; but I checked the impulse. I resolved to wait for the
return of the servant. He was sure to come back, if I read the thing
aright. I could deal with him alone much more satisfactorily.
I took Chris across to the stable gates and making him understand
that he was on guard and must let no one pass in, I returned to my
hiding-place.
The minutes were leaden as I stood waiting. The man was so long
away that I began to fear I had blundered and to regret I had not
acted on the impulse to follow the two.
But he came at length hurrying from the opposite direction; and he
glanced up at the house windows as he passed, with a gesture of
uneasiness. When he reached the stable gates, Chris received him
with a low growl, and he started back in some dismay at the most
unexpected interruption.
He was trying to pacify the dog with a little coaxing when I crossed
to him and, assuming a tone of authority, asked, at a venture; “You
have seen the sergeant? Why have you been so long?”
He was obviously in much perplexity and some fear, and glanced
from Chris to me. The good dog looked formidable enough to have
frightened a braver man.
“Who are you?” he asked.
I threw back my long coat and shewed my uniform.
“The plan is changed. You are to come with me. We can’t trust you
out of sight again.”
He glanced round as if meditating flight.
“The dog will pull you down if you move,” I said, sternly.
“I must get in,” he murmured. “I shall keep my word.”
“Did you hear what I ordered you?” I rapped back with an oath.
“Come,” and I linked my arm in his to drag him away. He resisted at
first; but at a word from me Chris shewed his fangs and snarled so
angrily that no resistance was left in him. I let go his arm then. “A
false step or a single word, and the dog’s fangs will close on your
throat,” I muttered fiercely.
He came then, keeping pace anxiously with my quick stride and
glancing ever and again over his shoulder at Chris who stalked
behind him like a black shadow.
I got him to my house without trouble; for the streets were now all
but deserted, and I chose a way which avoided the main roads.
I led him into my study, taking Chris with me, and then turned a
lamp full on his face. Then I drew my revolver and held it in his full
view as I considered how best to question him, so as to get the truth
out of him.
It was a vital matter, and they were anxious moments; for upon his
answers Gatrina’s life might depend.
He found them anxious, too. I could see that by his pallor, the
nervous twitchings of hands and features, the sweat that stood on
his swarthy forehead, and the wild look on his fear-filled eyes.
 CHAPTER XXIV.
THE NIGHT OF TERROR.

The fear which my prisoner displayed led me to prolong the interval

before I questioned him. It was essential for my purpose that he
should be thoroughly frightened; and the suspense was enough to
try much stouter nerves than his. I let him have some two or three
minutes, therefore, so that his fears should have full scope; and just
as my first question was on my lips, a happy thought occurred to
me. I saw that I could make valuable use of the Russian reputation
for doing ugly things.
He was more likely to fear the Russians than any other party
concerned; and if I could make him believe he had now fallen into
their hands, he would be far more likely to answer my questions
than if I played the more difficult part of an army officer, believing
him false to the army.
“Stand over there,” I cried, sternly and suddenly in Russian, pointing
to the wall; and the start he gave at hearing the unwelcome
language, proved to me that I was right. He moved to where I
pointed, his eyes on me all the time. “Attempt to move and the dog
will be on you,” I added, as brutally and coarsely as I could.
Then I rang the bell, and when Buller came I said in Russian; “Tell
General Minzkoff I have the prisoner and am questioning him.” But
Buller didn’t understand Russian and stood staring at me in
hesitation what to do; so to give the thing colour, I jumped up,
swore vigorously, and, as if in a paroxysm of rage, thrust him
violently out of the room, pretending to kick him, as I shouted: “Do
as I say at once.”
I flung myself back in my seat only to jump up again and, as though
I had forgotten something rushed out of the room after Buller. I
explained matters, and told him to find a servant who could speak
Russian and send him to me to say that “I was to see General
Minzkoff with my report as soon as possible.”
This particular Russian officer had just the reputation for violence
that was certain to impress the spy; and the more bullying and
brutal I could make my manner, the more characteristic would it be
of the general’s agents.
“You speak my language?” I jerked out in Russian.
“I understand it a little,” he answered with difficulty.
“Then we’ll use your own cursed tongue,” I said in Serb. “I have no
time to waste over you, so if you don’t answer plainly I’ll find means
to make you. How much money did that soldier give you just now?”
He started at finding I knew this and looked about for a lie. “Money?
I don’t understand your Excellency.”
“It’s in that pocket.” I pointed to where I had seen him place it.
“Take it out, you lying dog. Quick,” I thundered, as he still hesitated.
“I know everything.”
Slowly, for it cost him a pang to part with it, he drew out the bundle
of bills. “It is my own,” he faltered.
“The gold, too. Quick.”
Again he trembled, but dared not refuse. I had now impressed upon
him that I knew his secrets.
“Put it there,” I said, pointing to a chair. “Now. I’ll test your power of
speaking the truth. What was that money paid for?”
He stared at me in a sweat of fear, trying to moisten his parched lips
with a tongue as dry as leather, wishing to lie but yet afraid; and in
his fright unable to coin a plausible tale.
“It was money—owing to me,” he stammered.
I paused a moment to let him hope the lie had imposed upon me;
and then pointed to the bell. “If that bell is rung it will bring my men
here with the means you may have heard we use to make prisoners
speak the truth. Go and ring it now—or tell me the truth of your own
accord.”
It was a touch of refined cruelty eloquent of Russian methods to
make him summon his own torturers; and it did much to carry
conviction now.
“I don’t wish to deceive your Excellency,” he murmured.
“Is that why you want me to believe that when a man owes you
money he comes in the dead of night to pay it after waiting for your
signals from the house—the light three times flashed. You lying cur.
Ring that bell—I have no more time to waste.”
“You won’t torture me?” he cried, in anguish.
“Ring that bell,” I thundered. “It pleases me for you yourself to call
your torturers;” and I laughed, as if the grim joke were really to my
taste.
Down he went on his knees. “Not the torture, Excellency. Not the
torture. For God’s sake, not that.”
“You’ve had a taste of it before, eh?” I said, with another grin,
feeling an awful beast as I did it. “You can choose—the torture or
the truth of your own will.”
“My God!” he exclaimed, covering his white face and writhing; and
then the truth came slowly and with labour, as he thought how little
he dared to tell and yet save his skin. “It was for my mistress’s sake
—the Princess. We were all afraid in the house because we are so
weak. I had arranged to let some soldiers in to protect us all.”
“You must do better than that, dog. Try again,” I sneered, coarsely.
“Men don’t pay you to come and protect you. You’ll have to lie better
than that to convince me.” Then I changed the sneer to a tone of
anger. “I’ll have no more of this; the truth, or—” and I laid my hand
on the bell.
At that moment the man Buller had sent with the message in
Russian came in and delivered it.
“Very good,” I said to him; and added; “Tell black Ivan and Loris to
come the instant I ring. I find I shall need them. They know what to
bring with them.”
The bluff worked. I saw that the instant the servant left the room.
“I’ll give you one minute; no more,” I declared.
“I’ll tell your Excellency all I know,” he stammered at once. “I was
paid to let the soldiers into the house at two o’clock in the morning.”
“For what purpose?”
“I don’t know that.”
“For what purpose?” I repeated sternly.
“They wouldn’t tell me.”
At that I appeared to fly into a passion. I seized the revolver and
going up to him clapped it to his head.
“Answer me, or I’ll scatter your brains here on the floor.”
He shrank and groaned as he felt the cold steel on his forehead.
“To arrest the Princess, Excellency. Oh, my God, my God,” he cried
and burst into tears.
I went back to my seat. “You are a faithful servant to your mistress.
Do you know what’s going to happen to-night—the night you’ve
chosen for this infamy?”
“N—no. Yes,” he changed his words almost eagerly as he caught my
eye.
“Give it words then.”
“They told me it was for her safety, Excellency. They did, they did, I
swear they did, on my soul. When the King and Queen and the
others are taken from the Palace, the Princess would be in danger in
her house, and they mean to put her in a place of safety.”
This was news, indeed; and in my consternation at hearing it, this
coward and his treachery became of little importance. I did not
doubt he was speaking the truth about that, whatever his own
motives may have been for his act. And then a plan occurred to me.
“How many men were to carry out the arrest?”
“I don’t know—only a few; four or five at most, we have no means
of resisting them in the house.”
“You are to let them in by the stable door?”
“Yes, Excellency, at two o’clock. They could force their way in even
without my help.”
I paid no heed to his attempt at exculpation. “What is your name?
The name they know you by?”
“Michel.”
“How many men servants are in the house?”
“Two besides myself. Two are away, Excellency.”
“Anyone sleeping in the stables?”
“No one, Excellency.”
“Any of the others know of your plan?”
“No, Excellency.”
“You have the key of that stable door. Give it to me.”
He handed it over with a deep sigh.
“You have saved your skin,” I said curtly; “but you must remain here.
You will be safe, if you make no effort to resist. If you do that, I
shall leave orders that you are to be shot.” I said this much as
though it were my daily custom to catch men and murder them; and
the very tone I used added to his fears.
I left him a minute in the care of Chris; and as Karasch had arrived I
told him to have the man bound and locked up in one of the many
vaults in the basement of the house.
I was glad to be relieved of his presence, and then set to work to
carry out the scheme which his story had suggested. When Karasch
came back I told him what I had learnt and asked him how he had
fared.
“Except the handful of men on whom I knew I could trust, I have
done little,” he said.
“They may be enough for my altered plans. Can you get them to-
night, and above all can you get uniforms for them?”
“I fear not, Excellency. It is past midnight.”
“Get the men then. I’ll find uniforms for them.”
“My plan is to go to the Princess’s house at once; to wait for the
men who are coming to arrest her; make them prisoners and then
play their part. They will be able to provide us with the costumes,” I
added, smiling grimly.
“It is very dangerous,” was his comment.
“You mean for them? Yes, it will be.”
“I mean for you, and all of us.”
“If anyone is afraid, let him stay away. I can go alone. It is no work
for children, of course,” I exclaimed, impetuously.
“Have I deserved that from your Excellency?”
“No, Karasch; I know you haven’t. I am excited.”
“Tell me what has to be done; and I will do it,” he said, simply; and
then we discussed very hurriedly the plan and completed the
preparations which had to be made.
I told him to meet me near the Princess’s house with as many of the
men as he could get together, and to bring with him a few lengths of
stout cord for binding the soldiers we hoped to capture. That made
clear I packed him off to hunt up his men.
It was a desperate step I had resolved to take, and the penalty of
failure would probably be serious. I realised that to the full; but on
the other hand, I could see no other means of gaining my end.
If Gatrina would have listened to me, the course would have been
simple enough. I could have given her warning of her danger and
have removed her to a place of safety. But she would not let me
approach her nor admit there was anything perilous to her in the
situation. Thus, if I was to save her it must be done against her
knowledge and almost against her will.
I left my house about half an hour after midnight, having appointed
with Karasch to be at the Princess’s by half past one, or as near to
that hour as he could reach there. In no event was he to be later
than a quarter to two, even if he had to come alone.
Having ample time, I resolved to make a detour and see if any
movements were going on in the neighbourhood of the Palace. With
Chris close at my heels I walked at a rapid pace, choosing the most
unfrequented ways I could find.
The whole city appeared sunk in the slumber of unsuspecting
security. Scarcely a light glimmered in any one of the houses. The
streets were deserted, and the only sounds to disturb the quietude
were those of my own footsteps. If the army were really going to
move that night, they must have kept their intentions entirely secret
from all who were not concerned in their work.
One o’clock was chimed as I came in view of the Palace; and save
for the sentries pacing their rounds with mechanical steps, not a soul
was to be seen. The Palace itself was wrapped in comparative
darkness, the inmates secure in their belief in the fidelity and
watchfulness of their guards.
There was absolutely nothing to suggest that a violent outbreak was
on the very eve of consummation; and that a deed of horror was in
the making, the shame of which would before morning spread to the
uttermost confines of the civilised world, to set men seeking its
parallel in the darkest epochs of history.
I turned from the Palace, indeed, hoping and more than half
convinced that the spy had been misled, and that if the army really
nurtured thoughts of force, their plans were not yet matured. I was
intensely relieved by this apparent dissipation of my gloomy fears
and at the same time profoundly perplexed as to my own course.
If I forced my way in the dead of night into Gatrina’s house and
nothing occurred to justify my act, discovery would overwhelm me
with both confusion and shame. In her eyes I should not only look
like a rash, intermeddling fool, but my conduct would be open to a
thousand misinterpretations, all ominous and all ruinous to my
hopes.
But I was not long to be a prey to these distracting doubts. On
leaving the Palace I hurried toward one of the barracks; and then, all
suddenly, on turning the corner of one of the main streets, I heard
the measured tramp of many feet; and had just time to conceal
myself in the gateway of a house, when a large body of troops
passed me, marching in dead silence.
They numbered some hundreds, marching straight on the Palace;
and I knew then, indeed, that trouble was abroad and that my worst
forebodings were to be realised.
The night of terror for Belgrade had come; and when I saw the
strength of the force and thought of Gatrina, my heart sank within
me at the paltry effort I was about to make to secure her safety. My
plan seemed so puny, so less than weak, so hopeless in the face of
this overawing display of force, that I could have gnashed my teeth
in despair.
I gazed after the troops, when they had passed, like a fool bereft of
his wits by fear, until a sound broke and roused me from my
lethargy.
The sound was that of gunshots in the direction of the Palace. I
guessed that the stern band had met with some opposition from the
guard, and that the deadly work on which they were bent had
already commenced. They had staked their lives on the issue; and
even thus early, some had paid the forfeit.
It was just the spur my sluggish wits needed and I slipped from my
hiding-place and ran at utmost speed in the direction of Gatrina’s
house. It was nearly a quarter to two when I reached it, to find with
intense satisfaction that all was still quiet there and that Karasch had
arrived and was awaiting me with four companions.
Taking the utmost precaution to make sure we were unobserved, I
unlocked the little door in the stable gates and we entered. Locking
it behind me, and leaving the men at the end near the stable under
the shadow of some trees, Karasch and I stole up the garden to the
house, and found the unlocked door by which the spy had left.
The time was so short before we were to look for the coming of the
soldiers that not a moment was to be lost in finding a place where
we could carry out the plan of capture. Karasch, most thoughtfully,
had brought a lantern with him, and stealing noiselessly through the
passages, we explored the whole of the underpart of the house; and
I decided upon two large cellars and explained to him hurriedly how
to act.
We would let the men in two at a time, Karasch guiding one, I the
other; and lead them each to a different cellar, where we would
overpower and bind them. All would be in darkness on the plea that
suspicion had been aroused in the house and any light would be
dangerous; and as each man entered the cellar he would be seized.
He fetched the men and by the light of the lantern I had a good look
at each. They were a sturdy, resolute lot; and when we explained
the work to be done, they seemed to enter into it with willingness
and determination.
The traps were in readiness before the hour struck, and Karasch and
I went out again to the stable gate to wait for the soldiers.
We stood in deep shadow and I then told him what I had seen in the
streets and of the firing I had heard at the Palace.
“The city will soon wake,” he muttered. “And if the people side with
the troops, as I believe they will, we shall soon have the mob here.”
“It will at least convince the Princess of the need to fly.” I sought
hard to persuade myself of this; for my chief fear was that Gatrina
herself would yet prove the greatest difficulty.
We stood in silence for many minutes and now and again the sound
of hurrying footsteps without told us that the news of the doings at
the Palace was spreading and that the people were scurrying to
learn what was going forward.
“They are late,” muttered Karasch, impatiently, more than once; and
then: “They are coming,” he declared, as his quick ear caught the
sound of slower footsteps before I heard anything.
I soon heard them, however. They halted outside the gates; and
someone knocked. I opened the little door a couple of inches and
peered through.
There were six of them only.
“Is that you, Michel?” came a whisper.
“Hsh. Yes. How many are there of you?”
“Six.”
“There is danger. I am suspected. You must enter two at a time. I
daren’t let you all pass together through the garden. Cautiously, my
friend, cautiously,” I said, as someone tried to force the door.
A consultation was held and the man who had spoken to me
explained to the rest what I had said. Some difficulty was raised by
one of the soldiers; but I got my way.
Two men slipped through the door as I held it; and the instant the
second was through, I locked it behind him.
“Follow us,” I said, not giving either of them time to see my face;
and we led them to the house. “Give me your hand,” I told the man
with me. “We daren’t have a light, and the place is pitch dark.”
He suspected nothing and I led him into the cellar, clapping my hand
on his mouth as he entered, while the two men in waiting seized him
and in less than a minute he lay bound and gagged. The other had
been dealt with in the same way.
Karasch and I went back to the stables; but the time occupied,
swiftly as we had acted, had roused some kind of suspicion; and
when I opened the little door, one of the men thrust the butt of his
musket in the way and despite my strenuous efforts, before I could
close it all four had forced themselves through.
“We’ll go in together, my man,” said one of them, linking his arm in
mine and holding me firmly. Another man did the same to Karasch.
It spelt crisis; and for a moment or two I breathed hard. My fingers
closed round my revolver, and his life hung by a much thinner thread
than he dreamt.
I stood fighting with the impulse and thus the chance passed.
“See if he’s armed,” cried the soldier, and his companion plunged a
hand into my pocket and wrenched my weapon roughly from me.
Karasch was served in the same way; and from the confidence of
success we were thus suddenly brought face to face with the threat
of disastrous failure.
 CHAPTER XXV.
IN GATRINA’S HOUSE.

In the moment of crisis Karasch took his cue from me and neither
resisted nor protested against the soldiers’ conduct. I knew,
however, that he would watch me closely and be prepared to help
the moment I had decided what to do.
“I don’t know why you’ve done this,” I said to the man who held me
and had given the orders. “I kept faith with you and you arrest me in
return for it.” I was on fire with anxiety, but I spoke coolly.
“We can do without you now; and mean to see you give no trouble,”
was the answer.
“Very well; but if you cross the garden in a body like this, there’ll be
no call for me to give it you; you’ll find it for yourself. You’ll be seen;
the alarm will be given, and you may look out for resistance.”
“Who is there to resist, fool-head? There are only three men in the
house, and we’ve got two of you here,” he growled with a chuckle at
his own cunning. “You come with us to the house; that’s all you’ve
got to do; and come quietly, or maybe you won’t reach it. This is the
army’s night, and we’re not in a mood to be soft to those who resist
us.”
With that we moved on along the garden and I was in a fever of
apprehension lest we should be seen by someone in the house. But
the inmates were apparently fast asleep, and we reached the
entrance without being observed.
This increased my captors’ suspicions.
“I thought your caution was overdone, friend spy,” he said.
“Then you’re a fool,” I answered, bluntly. “There’s a dog about and if
he scents you, he’ll soon let everyone know. You’d better let me
keep him quiet.” I had told Chris to stay, and knew he would remain
till I called him.
We had entered the house then and stood in the broad, stone-
flagged passage; and I spoke loud enough to warn our men in the
cellars beyond. I and the two men holding me were in advance and
Karasch and the others close behind.
“You hold your tongue. I’m in command here,” said the soldier in a
bullying tone.
“You’ve made prisoners of us; so you must do as you will. But I
won’t stand this treatment.”
“Where are my two men?”
“I left them close here. I suppose they’ve gone on into the house.”
“It’s as dark as hell,” growled the fellow. “Can you see anything,
Andreas?” he asked his companion.
“Nothing but the dark,” was the answer with an oath.
“You can get a light in the room first door to the right,” I said. This
was where I had left Chris, and if he went to it I knew the dog
would put him out of the reckoning. But he smelt a trick and would
not.
“No, thank you, Mr. Spy. Where we go, you come too. I can’t make
out where the devil the others are. What does it mean?” and he
called the men by name.
“Hadn’t you better ring the alarm bell, while you’re about it?” I
sneered. “You’ll rouse everyone more quickly.”
“Curse the dark. Lead to where I can get a light,” he muttered. “No
tricks, mind, or you’ll regret it.”
His grip tightened on my arm and we moved forward abreast. But
the door was too narrow to admit us all at once and he entered the
room first.
“Seize him, Chris,” I said in English; and out of the gloom the huge
black form sprang at him with a fierce growl. In his consternation
the soldier loosed his hold of me to battle with the dog, and in a
moment my hand was on his companion’s throat, while I called to
the men in the cellars to go to the help of Karasch who was now
fighting and struggling with his two guards.
We were six to three, for Chris kept the leader busy; and the
desperate struggle in the darkness was soon over. The soldiers
fought gamely enough; but they had no chance against such odds.
We overpowered them, but it was not until some hard blows had
been given and taken on both sides.
I was most afraid for the man whom Chris had attacked; but when I
went to him was relieved to find that no serious harm had been
done. He was terribly frightened; as well might be, for Chris was an
antagonist few men would care to fight. But having got him down
the good dog had not mauled him. The soldier lay flat on the
ground, with Chris standing guard over him and growling fiercely
whenever the man made the slightest movement.
“Call this brute off for God’s sake,” he said, in a frightened voice as I
approached, lantern in hand. I was glad to hear him speak.
“It serves you right for the trick you played me,” I answered. “Are
you hurt?” and I called Chris away.
“I thought he’d kill me.”
“Wouldn’t have been much loss if he had,” said I, as he sat up and
began to feel himself all over.
“I’d like to shoot the brute. What does this all mean?”
“That you’re my prisoner instead of my being yours. If you have any
weapons put ’em out—or I’ll let the dog find them.”
He glanced round fearsomely at Chris, who snarled.
“I have none.”
“Then we’ll tie you up like the rest of your men,” I answered; and
tied up he was. “I shall leave you here,” I told him. “The dog will be
on watch if you try any tricks; and you know whether you want
another round with him.”
Our victory was complete; and it remained to see how we should
use it. Karasch and the others set to work to take the soldiers’
uniforms and put them on, while I tried to think what step to take
next. I was in possession of the house; but it seemed as if the real
difficulties of the business were only at the beginning.
The noise made during the struggle was so great that I knew the
household must have been roused, and while the men were getting
into the soldiers’ uniforms, I listened with considerable anxiety for
someone to come down to us. No one came, however; and I
concluded that those who had been aroused had also been so
frightened that they preferred to stop where they were.
The difficulty of the position was increased by my reluctance to see
Gatrina or be seen by her, if that could be in any way prevented. My
plan was to play his burlesque of arresting her, and not to shew my
hand until she was housed safely in the care of the American
Minister. To do that I intended one of the four men whom Karasch
had brought to act the part of leader; and I trusted that in the
confusion and alarm of the arrest, both Karasch and I might manage
to pass unnoticed.
I was revolving all this in my thoughts when I heard a movement
above stairs, and presently a man’s voice called:
“Is that you, Michel? What’s the matter?”
“Come down,” I called in response; but my voice startled him.
“Who are you?”
“Michel wants you. There is trouble. Come down;” but he would not.
Instead of coming he went away; and I heard the low murmur of
voices as he spoke with someone else.
Lights shewed then, and I heard people moving about. But I did not
want the house to be lighted up, for fear of its attracting too much
notice outside; and I therefore called to my men to make haste with
their dressing.
When they came I led the way upstairs to find the servants huddled
together looking very scared; the two men in front of them armed.
At the sight of so many of us in uniform they uttered cries of
surprise and alarm.
“Put those guns down,” I said, in a tone of command. “We are too
strong for you to resist; and if you make any attempt, it will only
lead to trouble. Do as I say, and no harm will come to you.”
The two men hesitated. “What do you want?” asked one of them.
“Cover them,” I said, stepping to one side, and up went my men’s
guns to their shoulders.
One of the women screamed and they all huddled back, while the
men laid their weapons on the ground with discreet speed. At a sign
from me the muskets were lowered.
“Put out most of those lights,” I said next; and the order was obeyed
with a celerity that spoke volumes for the impression we had
created. “Where is your mistress, the Princess Gatrina?”
“In her rooms, sir,” said one of the women servants.
“Tell her to dress at once. She is to come with us. Impress upon her
that only her safety is being considered. Strange things are doing in
the city, and she cannot remain here. She must be ready to go with
us in five minutes.”
The girl sped away up the broad stairs and I turned to Karasch to
tell him my plan.
“The Princess will probably demand to see us; and as neither you
nor I can go to her without being recognised, two of these must go.
Pick them out.”
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebookname.com