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Maps, plataa, charts, etc., may be filmed et different reduction retlos. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, aa many framae as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Lea cartes, pienches. tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmie i des taux de rMuction difftrents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour fttre reproduit en un seul ciichA, 11 est fiimA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche i droite, et de heut en bes. en prenant ie nombre d'imagea n4cesselre. Les diagrammes sulvants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 L.♦^ • 6 THE RED CHANCELLOR Av You may be my friend in this place where 1 have no friends." (Chapter XVITI.) The Red Chancellor] {Fronlispiece I THE RED CHANCELLOR By SIR WILLIAM MAGNAY, Bart. Author of " The Man of the Hour," •* Rogues in Arcady,' "The PitfaU," etc \^ V nds." nece WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED LONDON, MELBOURNE AND TORONTO CONTENTS CHAP. I Duke Johann's Chapel. • • • PAGE 5 II The Face in the Light • • • II III The Jaguar . • • • 15 IV The King and the Chancellor . 19 V The Deserted Ball-room • . • 23 VI The Capsized Boat • a • 31 VII Supper at the Baroness's • • • 40 VIII The Beating of Death's Wings . 46 IX The Duel 55 X An Asylum . 62 XI A Court Physician 66 XII A Mysterious Occurrence!: 72 XIII The Stone Sarcophagus 77 XIV The Professor is Maimed 86 XV A Lesson in Geology > 91 XVI A Blow is Struck • 97 XVII The Jaguar's Den 104 XVIII A Word of Warning , . 112 XIX The Fan . 118 XX The Living Dead . . 125 XXI A Wastrel . . 131 XXII The Light in the Wood . 138 XXIII What we saw at Carlzig • 145 XXIV The Midnight Burial . . 150 XXV Von Lindheim's Departure • 154 4 CONTENTS CHAP. XXVI PAGE I Shoot with the Count , , , i6o XXVII The Dish of Sweetmeats , i66 XXVIII The Prior's Room . 174 XXIX The Count's Hospitality . 179 XXX A Discovery , 186 XXXI The Dark Way . , 191 XXXII AsTA AT Last 194 XXXIII An Ominous Visit , 201 XXXIV We Outstrip our Fortune . 209 XXXV The Attack .... , 220 XXXVI Restoration .... . 230 XXXVII The Last Meeting . 238 THE RED CHANCELLOR CHAPTER I DUKE JOHANN S CHAPEL " Von Orsova is playing a dangerous game." " He takes the risk." " Of what ? " It was I who asked the question, curious to hear what penalty attached to the hand- some Rittmeister's temerity. The three men gave glances at each other, as though inquiring which of them could answer. My friend Von Lindheim broke the pause, replying with a shrug — " He is a Captain of Cavalry, Master of the Horse ; a gentleman, noble, no doubt, by birth, but a simple, if magnificent, Rittmeister. The lady " — he glanced round towards the dark shadows of the trees, gave another shrug of caution and lowered his voice, — " is what we all know. To couple their names is high treason ; and, a fortiori, it is treason in a higher degree for the Bursche to aspire." " We have not forgotten," another said, '* the case of poor Steiner." I saw they were not inclined to run risks by dis- cussing State secrets under the very walls of the palace, so postponed the gratification of my curiosity until I should get Von Lindheim alone in my rooms or his house. We four had slipped out into the 6 THE RED CHANCELLOR gardens, to snatch ten minutes for a cigarette from the rather dreary formahty of a State ball at the palace of Buyda. My three companions were guests in their official capacities, being attached to the bureau of the world- known Chancellor Rallenstein ; I, Jasper Tyrrell, a mere traveller, through the friendly offices of Von Lindheim, to whom I had an intro- duction. I had gone abroad in a restless, roving frame of mind, ready for any adventure, and heartily sick of the monotony of inaction, forced inaction, very slightly relieved by the problematical fun of entertaining big shooting parties at my place in Norfolk. That seemed all I had to look forward to in the year, and the more I thought of my autumn programme the more restless and discontented had I grown. Even the temporary diversion of marriage, strenuously commended to me by certain not alto- gether disinterested friends, had failed to take hold on my fancy ; amusements of that sort can be arranged at any time and at comparatively short notice. So one night at dinner, during which several friends and relations were good enough to map out a very pretty six months' programme for me — and themselves — my resolution was taken, and before I had got into bed that night my kit for an extended solitary ramble was packed. Next day I made a bolt of it, leaving to an astute aunt full authority, by letter, to carry on Shamston in my absence, and after a month's desultory progress found myself at Buyda. A generation ago there were, as every student of European diplomacy knows, some very curious political intngues (we know more about them now) in several of the Courts of Europe. More or less secret acts of aggressive statesmanship were per- petrated which, had they not been diplomatically covered up or explained away, would have seemed to set the forces of civilization to right-about-face. te from e palace lests in bureau ".; I. nendly intro- roving eartily iction, fun of ice in 'rward itumn had I riage, alto- hold n be short veral )ut a -and ►re I ided bolt by Liter /da. t of ous ow) less >er- Jly led ce. DUKE JOHANN'S CHAPEL 7 But the press, like speech, often serves, in some coun- tries at any rate, to withhold rather than to give out information, while special correspondents are mostly acclimatized and often merely human. Still, there was somewhere, in east central Europe for choice, a chance of seeing something of life a little more adventurous than the cricket field or the covert at home had to offer, and with young blood in one's veins, a perfect digestion, a muscular system second to none at Angelo's, the idea of a possible running into adventures is not displeasing. The dull smooth- ness and security of a well-policed community is monotonous to a man of spirit. Such were the vague anticipations with which I set forth, but my imagination certainly never sug- gested such a series of adventures as that which I was to pass through before I got back. I had purposely left my destination uncertain, even to my own mind. In the true spirit of adventure I would be bound by no fixed route, but let my fancy and the circumstances of the moment carry me whither they would. Only one indication of any sort of purpose did I take with me. That was a letter of introduction from an F. O. friend to an old school- fellow of his, Gustav von Lindheim, a rich young fellow who had been educated in England, and who now held a post in the Chancellory of his native State. It was in that comer of Europe that something of an adventure seemed most likely to be had, and it was there, to pass over my earlier wanderings, that I eventually found myself. Through the half-open windows of the great ball- room came " Amorettentanze," thundered out with military swing and insistence by the resplendent Court band. In company with my three acquaint- ances Thad strolled away from the illuminated por- tion of the gardens, and we were now pacing a dark 8 THE RED CHANCELLOR and comparatively secluded walk. Encouraged per- haps by the lessened probability of eavesdropping (for methods under Rallenstein, the dread Chan- cellor's rule, were mediaeval, more or less), one of my companions remarked : " Our Princess looks bewitchingly pretty to-night. The bold Rittmeister has indeed an excuse." " And she also," Von Lindheim rephed. " The fellow is the most splendid clothes-peg and wig-block combined that I know. He is magnificent, the sort of m.agnificence that does not live to see its grand- children." " He is a fool," one of the others said, " to snap his fingers so close to the Jaguar's snout." " Orsova is a fool, my dear Szalaj^" Von Lindheim assented, " as I have just hinted." " And the Jaguar is couched and ready to spring at the right moment." " Our dear chief does not make a mistake or let another man make it against his policy." " Or woman." " Ah ! He has a plan, and the Herr Rittmeister von Orsova forms no part of it." " No use for him. Prince Theodor " I began incautiously, when I was stopped by a subdued chorus of " Hush 1 " " Secrets of State, my dear fellow," Von Lindheim said, laughing, but with a warning gesture. ** You will get us into trouble. You Englishmen, with your ex- cess of freedom, can't realize how circumspect we have to be. You have no Jaguar ever ready for the spring. You don't know our famous Red Chan- cellor — even by reputation." Strolling and talking thus, we had passed through the gardens and struck into a path, skirting a little wood beyond the pleasaunce of the royal grounds. My companions stopped and turned. DUKE JOHANNES CHAPEL 4 " rU just finish my cigar and follow you," I said. The Emperadore was too good to throw away for the sake of hurrying back to an entertainment of which, to tell the truth, the petty splendour rather bored me. Nevertheless, we all turned back together. Sud- denly Szalay halted, and pointed into the wood. " What is that ? " We all looked. A light was glimmering from the depth of the blackness ; a light suggested rather than seen. " That is Duke Johann's old chapel there, now used as a summer-house,'* Von Lindheim said. " Yes ; but what can any one be doing there at this time of night." " We ought to investigate," the third man, D'Urban, said with official zeal. ** Come, then. We can get round this way again to the terrace, and perhaps " They had plunged into the wood, making for the light. I followed them a step or two, then stopped and regained the path, not seeing how the question of the irregular illumination could interest me. En- joying my cigar I strolled on. The night was pleasant enough. A slight warm breeze drove the clouds slowly across a gibbous moon, giving a pretty play of light and shade. So I sauntered on in a frame of mind attuned to my present surroundings. I had become so far acclimatized as to take an interest in the Court intrigues which flourished in the air of that Chancellor-ruled kingdom. I had an idea of seeking a temporary commission in the State cavalry, that dazzling regiment with its picture-book cattle and its theatrical accoutrements. I was only awaiting to see whether there was any grit inside all that fur and brass and steel and buUion, not caring to ear-mark myself with a regiment of costumiers' dummies. This doubt made me take a peculiar interest in that 10 THE RED CHANCELLOR magnificent spectacular warrior, the Rittmeister von Orsova. Granted he was a fool, he might be a plucky fool. That the pretty Princess Casilde (and she was lovely) was in love with him, or something near it, was common gossip in the inner circle of Court official- dom. But the despotic Chancellor held other views and plans. Having made himself the foremost man in the State (for the King, with all his parade of authority, was notoriously under his thumb), he now nursed the one idea of the State's aggrandizement as the only way left of increasing his own power. And it was evident that that aggrandizement could best be attained by allying his master's house with the richer and more important state of which Prince Theodor was heir-apparcLt. Hence the projected marriage between that Prince and the Princess Casilde. Such was the state of affairs when I found myself in Buyda. er von plucky he was ear it, official- views t man ide of e now ent as Vndit 5st be richer eodor 'riage Such iVda. \ ;^ CHAPTER II THE FACE IN THE LIGHT After a while I turned in my walk. It was tmie to get back to the ball-room if I would not appear to slight the honour shown me in the invitation. I had rather lost my bearings in the wooded walk, and in returning had the choice of three paths without know- ing which one to take. I chose that which seemed to lead directly towards the distant music, and walked on quickly. It soon appeared that it was not the path I had come by. It led me much deeper into the wood than I had been before ; still, the music seemed to grow nearer, and I flattered myself it might be a short cut. Hurrying on, I suddenly came upon a clearing in the wood. In the middle of this stood a small building — ^Duke Johann's chapel, of which my companions had spoken. A quaint little edifice built, so far as the fitful light showed me, in a highly ornate style of Moorish architecture. It was still lighted up dimly ; a ray fell across the path at some little distance in front of me, evidently from one of the side windows. Neither the place, although it was romantic enough, nor the light particularly interested me. But as I went round towards the opposite side of the clearing, I was arrested by a curious sight. The stream of light which I have spoken of became suddenly interrupted, then diffused and broken up, then it swept from side to side. I stopped and watched 12 THE RED CHANCELLOR it for a few seconds, then my eye followed the move- ment to its cause. Just outside the window, half blocking the light and dispersing it, was a man's head. The body I could not see, as it was naturally in the deep shadow. But the face 1 It was peering into the chapel eagerly, its expression, illuminated into strong relief by the light which streamed upon it from the little window, was one I can hardly describe, but shall never forget. Perhaps I can best give an idea of^it by Hkening it to the look of hungry ferocious expectation in the eyes of a tiger which has got to within striking distance of its quarry. The sight was so extraordinary that I must have stood for several seconds hardly drawing my breath, and looking at it half fascinated. Then something told me it would be better to walk on, taking no further notice. After all, I had a perfect right as a guest to be in the wood, and . In the dark shadow of a buttress near the window there was a quick movement, but quite independent of the peering man. Next instant a form crossed the band of light ; another man had come out of the darkness and accosted me. His first words were rough and brusque. " What are you doing here ? " Then, noticing his mistake, and concluding probably by my appearance that I was a gentleman, and one of the royal guests, he abruptly changed his tone and manner. " Pardon I You are waiting here for some one, mein Herr, or wish to return to the palace ? " '* I was taking the liberty of smoking a cigar," I answered, as politely as I felt inclined. " Here ? In the wood ? " The question was put sharply, with a certain stern incredulity and insis- tence strangely at variance with the man's look. I scarcely knew whether to resent or laugh at it. " Not till this minute," I repHed, deeming it easiest be^ THE FACE IN THE LIGHT 13 to be straightforward in that land of ceremonies and red tape. " I have been smoking outside the wood, and took this path back to the palace. Whv ? Is it forbidden ? " The man gave a shrug, but never relaxed his fixed gaze on my face. " Under certain circumstances. You have not been to this spot till this moment, you say ? '* " No." " You were not here just now ; three, four minutes ago ? " " I am not used to have my word doubted, sir/' I returned, getting a little out of patience. " Pardon." He changed his tone again, reverting to its first bluff ness. " You are Enghsh. I may ask your name ? " I told him, adding, " I presume you have a right to ask it ? " " Pardon," he said again, but his manner was still offensive. " You have been here alone ? " " No. I have been smoking with three friends who hold official positions here. They have gone in." " Pardon, sir," — he spoke in English now — " we are obliged to be circumspect here ; you in England may not comprehend our necessity. Excuse me if I ask a few questions, in no spirit of idle curiosity, I assure you." I nodded and waited. " Those gentlemen, your friends they left you here in the wood ? " " On the path outside it." " You have not been in this wood before now to- night ? " •' No." " You have seen your friends since you parted from them down there ? " " No." 14 THE RED CHANCELLOR '* No ? Why did you walk this way ? " " Really, sir," I answered, getting somewhat exas- perated, " I don't know why I should submit to this cross-examination . ' ' He laughed, showing a set of cruel teeth. " Because you are an Englishman it is incomprehensible. May one inquire without offence your object in walking this way when the path to the palace is outside the wood ? " " If you must know, I took this path by mistake. I trust I have not transgressed any rule of your Court etiquette- « Oh, no, no, no," he broke in. " You say you did not speak with your friends again ? " " No. Is there any offence in that ? " I put the question in a bantering tone, and was rather surprised that he took it seriously. " That I cannot tell. All depends on the subject of conversation. Let me see, Herren Szalay, Von Lindheim, and D'Urban ; not so ? " " Yes. Is there anything more you wish to know ? " " At present, nothing. I thank you. Let me offer you my apologies and a piece of advice." " Yes ? " " Be careful of your words. You are not in Eng- land here. Our master, the Herr Chancellor, has no — patience with chatterers. Good-night. That is your way." CHAPTER III did THE JAGUAR In all an Englishman's wonder and impatience at so intolerable a system of surveillance, I made my way back to the palace. The dance was in full swing again. In the crowd I could not for the moment see any one of my three friends. The King was on a dais chatting in animated fashion to a group standing round him. His daughter, the Princess Casilde, presently came out of the throng of dancers, and sat beside him, joining laugh- ingly in the conversation. I saw the great cavalry swell, the Master of the Horse, Von Orsova, waltzing with a plain-looking girl, and was just wondering what sort of a soldier's heart beat beneath that glorious tunic, when Von Lindheim came up. " Lindheim," I said, " a queer thing happened after you fellows left me just now." " What do you mean ? " he asked, looking grave, though he tried to smile. " I was passing through the wood by the chapel when a fellow accosted me, and " He stopped me. " Hush, for Heaven's sake. Here I Come in here and tell me. How do you like the new decoration ? " he went on in a louder tone, with a wave of the hand towards the ceiHng and walls ; " this is only the second time the Saal has been used since the scaffolding came down. It was closed all the spring." i6 THE RED CHANCELLOR His extraordinary change of tone and subject led me for a moment to wonder whether he had not been paying too assiduous court to the Royal champagne : then I concluded that it was a blind. Talking on commonplace subjects, we sauntered across the ad- joining music-saal, thence to a deserted room, one of the great suite of state apartments. " Now," he said, lowering his voice and speaking anxiously, "tell me what happened." I told him. His face grew graver and whiter every moment. " What does it mean ? ** I said. "Is it officialism gone mad ? " " Worse than that," he repHed. " I cannot tell you. Only for your life, for the lives of all of us, don't breathe a word of it — not even to yourself." I looked at him inquisitively, and indeed my curiosity was greater than my concern. " Is there any danger," I asked, " in my inquiring the name of the fellow who honoured me with the cross- examination ? " " Do for Heaven's sake dismiss the whole affair," Von Lindheim answered impatiently. ** Don't think we have done anything wrong," he added quickly ; " it is less and yet worse than that. Our only chance is that we were not recognized." They had been, of course, and it was on the tip of my tongue to say so, but I checlcedm3rself, thinking I would not add to his uneasiness, unreasonable as it seemed. There I made a great mistake, as the story will show. " We had better get back to the ball-room," my friend said nervously. " Do you know there are said to be twenty thousand separate pieces in that great chandelier ? It is one of the most elaborate specimens of glass work in the world." My inspection of this interesting piece of work was cut short by Von Lindheim's directing my attention. THE JAGUAR 17 »f in an equally abrupt manner, to a specimen of Nature's handicraft far more engaging. " Here/' he said, " let me introduce you to Fraulein Asta von Winterstein. She is one of the Maids of Honour, and the most charming girl in Buy da." The Fraulein's looks decidedly confirmed his words ; a merry-looking girl, with a lovely face, and that air of youth and spirits which is so eloquent of the joie de vivre. " You are fortunate in getting a dance with Fraulein von Winterstein," Lindheim said. " I am only just off duty," she laughed, " and my card is a blank." I was beginning a complimentary remark when my friend said, " Excuse my depriving you of five seconds of the Fraulein's society, my dear Tyrrell, but I have a message to give her." They drew aside and I waited. Happening to glance at them I noticed that a cloud had come over the girl's face ; both looked grave as thej'^ spoke in an undertone, then the girl's natural animation returned, and with a few laughing words to Von Lindheim, she left him and came to me. A swinging waltz was being played and we took several turns. When we stopped I remarked : " Our friend. Von Lindheim, seems worried about something. I'm afraid he takes officialism too seri- ously." " An Englishman cannot understand the peculi- arities of our life here." I was rather tired of being told that, albeit rather glad of my ignorance. Still, I did not mind the adage from this girl ; she was breezy and sensible, and determined not to be too insular with respect to Buy da officialism. " Don't you admire the Princess ? " my partner asked. x8 THE RED CHANCELLOR " She is very pretty." " Every one thinks her lovely." " She is not the only belle in the room." " Hush ! — ^Luckily ; for she is out of reach." " Naturally. Herr Rittmeister von Orsova is a fine specimen of a man." " You axe the genius of indiscretion. A splendid fellow." " I hope he is all through alike, and that the grit and pluck correspond to the spectacular part of the show." " Why should you doubt it ? " " I don't for a moment. Only Nature does some- times send out inferior goods in smart cases." " He is as brave as he is handsome." "Good I Oh, by 1" " What is the matter ? " I had stopped in the waltz, with the result that the next couple cannoned against us severely. The reason of my sudden pull-up was something which in the whirl had passed my eye. Bending over the dais in close conversation with the King was a man whom I had not observed there before. And that man's was the face I had seen peer- ing into the chapel window. The expression was altered now, but the face was the same, one never to be mistaken or forgotten, a face curiously striking in its suggestion of immense power and indomitable will, yet ugly almost to repulsiveness. " Who is that ? " I asked eagerly. *' That man talking to the King ? " The girl looked at me curiously. ** Surely you know him, at least by sight. No ? Why, that is our great Chancellor, Graf von Rallenstein." CHAPTER IV THE KING AND THE CHANCELLOR I BEGAN to understand Von Lindheim's disquietude ; all the same, although the Chancellor's system of espionage was pretty notorious, I did not quite see what my friend had to be so afraid of. True, I was an Englishman, and we know the aphorism ; then he, too, was half English and a Rugby boy. Still, I suppose he counted as a native under the heel of the man known throughout Europe as the Red Chancellor, the man who never stood any nonsense. " That Von Rallenstein ? " " And you really never saw him before ? " '* Never before to-night ; not even his photo- graph." " That is not extraordinary," she replied in a low voice. " He has never allowed himself to be photo- graphed." I began to speculate how this great statesman came to be in that undignified position outside the chapel wmdow, and to marvel at the customs of the land in which I found myself. Then I recollected that my partner expected me to dance, not muse, and we whirled on. The waltz came to an end. As we stopped I felt myself touched on the shoulder. A man, evidently one of the officers of the household, was at my side. He addressed me by name. " His Majesty desires to make your better acquaintance when the honoured Fraulein can spare you, sir." It was of course a command, so I took my partner 19 20 THE RED CHANCELLOR to a seat and made for the dais. The King and the Chancellor were still chatting confidentially as I approached. The former received me very graciously, and presented me to Von Rallenstein, who shook hands in a manner which was almost British. The conversation at once glided into a perfectly easy groove ; the King was very affable, and courteously interested himself in my movements, asked me how I liked the country and city, how long I thought of stay- ing, what part of England I lived in, was pleased to hear I had come over for sport ; asked me several questions on horse-breeding, and said, as the subject was one in which he took peculiar interest, he should esteem it a great advantage to have the benefit of my advice and experience, and would go more fully into it at an early opportunity. All this was very pleasant ; Von Rallenstein chimed in now and again with a pertinent remark or leading suggestion ; he seemed agreeable enough, and I began to think Von Lind- heim's bugbear was principally of his own making. Of course any one could see that the Chancellor was a strong man and a masterful, but, after all, he had a peculiar country to govern, and those were the qualities necessary to that end. Had I never seen that cruel, almost fiendish face at the window, I should have thought its owner a very good fellow — for his place. In this world of weaklings one does not admire a man less for his grit and power. Presently the talk halted ; and I understood from the King's manner that the interview was to close. He dismissed me very graciously, hoping I should enjoy myself both that evening and during the whole of my stay in his country. Von Rallenstein added a word or two, and I bowed myself off. " How did you find the King, and, more par- ticularly, the Chancellor - " Fraulein von Winterstein inquired when I rejoined her. THE KING AND THE CHANCELLOR 21 I n *' Not very alarming. But then I am — an — * outsider/ " A gorgeous ^>eing came up whose twinkling eyes were in ludicrous contrast to his fiercely brushed-up moustache. ** All, here is Herr Oberkammer^r Eilhardt," ex- claimed the girl, introducing us. " Herr Oberkam- merer, our friend Mr. Tyrrell wishes to be acquainted with Herr Rittmeister von Orsova, whom I know to be a great friend of yours. Mr. Tyrrell is interested in the First Kedment of Cuirassiers." The Herr Obeikammerer bowed with an energy begotten of Court life. " It v/ould charm me to be the medium of bringing our much-honoured guest into friendship with the Herr Rittmeister. My friend Von Orsova of a certainty comes to my rooms here to conclude the evening and drink a glass of wine. If Herr Tyrrell would honour me likewise ? " I thanked him and accepted. *' That will be capital,*' my partner said. " You can discuss arms and horses, and enflame your martial spirits over some of the Royal Steinberger Cabinet." '* I can answer for the quality of the wine," Eil- hardt returned. " The dance is nearly at an end ; we keep early hours in Buyda. I cannot leave until his Majesty retires. But if you will meet me here ten minutes after the King's departure, I shall do myself the honour to conduct you to my apartment." I agreed, and with a flourish he left us, swaggering off towards the royal party. ** ii. is just as well to have a quiet chat with Von Orsova," Fraulein von Winterstein observed. " He is too fond of the dance to say many words to one here." " To a man." " Bien eniendu. He is a perfect waltzer." 22 THE RED CHANCELLOR ft " Happy partners ! " Take care." ** Why ? " her manner made me ask. Then I followed her eyes and saw the reason of her whispered caution. The tall Rittmeister was waltzing with the Princess. They passed quite close to us. He was talking to her with an earnestness far beyond the usual ball-room trifling, or even flirtation. " A serious affair." " Mr. T5nTell, you are hopelessly indiscreet. Ah ! " Suddenly the band stopped. The King had risen abruptly and was evidently about to retire. The musicians stood up and played the National Hymn. The Princess Casilde went quickly to her father, a procession was formed, and having interchanged bows with the company the royal party retired There was to be a dance or two more ; and, as though relieved by the departure of royalty, every one seemed to become more animated, smiles were now laughter, and the excessive, almost oppressive decorum of the dance vanished. My partner had hurried away with a bewitching *' Auf Wiedersehen / " to join the royal party. Left alone, I betook myself to the corner of the ball-room where Herr Eilhardt was to find me. CHAPTER V THE DESERTED BALL-ROOM V \ If this State ball did not degenerate exactly into a romp, it grew more free and easy as I sat watching it and waiting for the Oberkammerer. Von Orsova seemed to have had enough of dancing — he was evidently a good deal run after — and was now parad- ing about with a dashing, middle-aged woman, corresponding to the skittish colonels' wives we see in our garrison towns. They passed me, she chatter- ing and laughing, he rather bored, as it struck me, and strolled off towards the music-room. Then I noticed the two men, Szalay and D'Urban, who had been with Von Lindheim and me in the gardens. They were talking earnestly together. I wondered if they, too, took the same serious view of the situation as my friend Herr Eilhardt presently appeared and hurried to me with profuse apologies for having kept me waiting. The King was particularly exigeant that night, he had most unwarrantably taken it into his head to discuss certain arrangements, as though any one could be expected to enter into such subjects at midnight after a dance. This he confided to me confidentially, and then proceeded to look round for his other guest. Von Orsova was not to be seen in the thinning crowd. With renewed and quite unnecessary apolo- gies the Oberkammerer sailed olt m search of him. Only to return alone. 24 THE RED CHANCELLOR " The Rittmeister is nowhere to be seen. He has doubtless already gone to my apartment, not knowing I should return here. Shall we ascend ? " We ascended. Herr Eilhardt occupied a com- fortable suite of rooms, shut off, like a flat, in a distant block of the great rambling palace. He was evidently a man of taste, from the quaint old furni- ture, the pictures and curiosities, with which his bachelor quarters were crammed. " The Herr Rittmeister is already here, yes ? " he inquired of his servant. " No, Oberkammerer," the man answered, ** the Herr Rittmeister has not yet arrived." My host led the way into one of the most delightful dens I ever puffed smoke in. " Shall we make ourselves comfortable ? Von Orsova must be here directly. He said he should come. Adolph ! The wine." " You have a good time here," I remarked with a glance at my surroundings, almost too gorgeous for a bachelor official. He laughed. He seemed to have thrown off his official manner, to have become more human and less of a marionette. " We are in a groove," he replied ; " and it is necessary to make that groove as comfortable as possible." " Not only that," he proceeded with a frankness which rather surprised me : "in the artificial life of a Court it is good to keep up the illusion. One must take one's duties seriously ; etiquette, forms and ceremonies are often in themselves ridiculous. If one allowed oneself to feel their absurdity one could never perform them properly. One's sur- roundings must be in keeping with one's life ; it would be fatal to regard them from an outsider's point of view." THE DESERTED BALL-ROOM 25 " You are rather a philosopher, mein Herr." "I am a countryman of Heine. A philosopher I hope first, and an official afterwards." " Certainly. I congratulate you. How few of us can say we accept our lot in the same spirit ! " There was a knock at the door. A servant in quaint livery entered and made two prodigious bows before delivering his message, which was to the effect that the King desired the Oberkammerer's presence. " I attend His Majesty immediately." The man bowed twice again almost to the ground and departed. In a moment my host had resumed his professional manner of a mediaeval master of the ceremonies. His apologies were unbounded. It was most unfortunate ; the King did not require his attendance at this hour once in six months. That it should have happened on this of all nights was deplorable. " It is a matter of duty," I said, holding out my hand, " no apology can be needed. I shall hope to have the pleasure of paying you another visit and of resuming our interesting conversation." " I know not for how long his Majesty may require my attendance," he said regretfxilly. " His Majesty has lately been given to step outside his prescribed circle," which was one way of hinting at eccentricity. " And the Rittmeister von Orsova does not seem likely to honour me to-night. It is altogether un- fortunate, but you will give me the pleasure of dining here, and I wiU ask Von Orsova to meet you. You will not stay now ? I am horrified at the idea of turning you out." I assured him that such violent emotion was un- necessary, and we left his rooms together, retracing our steps through the labyrinthine corridors and stairways of the old palace, my companion keeping up a string of explanations and apologies, which, of 26 THE RED CHANCELLOR course, I politely deprecated. I was disappointed at missing Von Orsova, but he evidently was not bound for the Oberkammerer's quarters that night. Before a pair of emblazoned doors, guarded by a sentry, my host stopped and bade me good-night. " I must leave you here," he said, " as my time, you understand, is not my own. If you wait for a few moments I will send a man to show you the way out of the palace." "It is quite unnecessary," I protested. ** Please do not trouble. I have the bump of locality." " The grand entrance will be closed, or your way would be simply down these stairs. As it is, your nearest way will be to go to the end here, then along the picture corridor on the right, pass through the last door, thence you will easily find your way down to the private entrance. The sentries will direct you. Good-night." With a flourish he passed through the grand doors into the royal apartments, and I went on through the suite of anterooms. Beyond the last I found myself in a long corridor, panelled with portraits from that bygone world to which my late companion was so tenaciously cHnging. " Go through the last door," he had said. But there were two, exactly facing each other, and as fate would have it I pushed through the left-hand one instead of the right. I saw at once that I had made a mistake. I was in a curious room, something like a private box at the theatre, but on a very large scale. What light there was came through a half-closed window at the farther end. It was all so peculiar that my curiosity made me step forward and look through the window. A glance explained it. The little apartment overlooked the great ball-room where we had danced that evening, now in darkness save for the rays of a brilliant moon which streamed in full radiance through the row of THE DESERTED BALL-ROOM 27 windows on the opposite side, and for one other Hght. A pair of candles in a massive silver holder were placed on a console table, and showed me an extraordinary scene. Two men standing in a recess by a window facing one another, and one pointing a pistol at his companion's breast. The light falling on the polished barrel showed it clearly and made me certain of that. But what astounded me most was my re- cognition of the two ; the man with the pistol was the one who had accosted and questioned me in the wood that evening ; I knew him in an instant ; and the other was even less unmistakable — Von Orsova. " What on earth are they doing ? " I said to myself. " What fresh piece of tomfoolery is this ? " i'or it looked childish enough ; the two were so ([uiet and matter-of-fact that it might have been a rehearsal of a stage scene. After the Oberkam- nicrer and his playing at mediaevalism I was pre- pared for anything. The men were talking, but in so low a tone that from the distance I could not catch their words. But the man still continued to cover Von Orsova's heart with his pistol ; they were not two paces apart. I wondered how long they were going to keep up the attitude, which was not particularly heroic or effective from my point of view. At last the murmur of their voices ceased ; there was a movement, and one which sent a thrill through me. Not so much the action as the agonized look on Von Orsova's face as he threw up his hands with a gesture of despair, and, turning almost with a stagger to the wall, leaned against it with his head on his arm. The other never let the pistol drop — it was still piti- lessly pointed at the Rittmeister. Then I realized that something serious was in progress. My idea was that the smaller man was trying to extort some- 28 THE RED CHANCELLOR thing from Von Orsova, having got him at a dis- advantage. But I was wrong, at least in that my speculation did not go far enough. After a few seconds Von Orsova turned again, facing the man and throwing out his hand in des- peration. " Is there " he spoke louder, and by pushing the window a little way open I could hear him plainly say now — " is there no other way ? " The reply came coldly and uncompromisingly. " None." "It is devilish, it is sheer murder," Von Orsova exclaimed bitterly ; " and you. Count, you lend your- self to it." " Most regretfully. But the State is before every- thing." " The Chancellor, you mean." " Pardon me, the State. Time is short, Herr Ritt- meister. It would be a pity if I should be forced to pull the trigger." " Ah I " Von Orsova gave a great sigh. " Let me take the alternative." He turned to the console table and took up from it a small object which I could not distinguish. As he did so the other moved with him the corresponding distance, keeping the same space between them, and ever covering him with the pistol. Then they re- turned to their former positions. Von Orsova seemed to be manipulating the thing he held in his hand. " My offence does not merit this punishment," he said, almost coolly, so coolly that I began to wonder what the punishment was. " The Chancellor judges otherwise," the Count re- turned. " You played a dangerous game, Herr Rittmeister, and must have known the risk you ran. But my orders are not to talk but to act ; you under- stand ? " THE DESERTED BALL-ROOM 29 me >> Von Orsova raised the hand which held the small object. " This works quickly ? " " Instantaneously." The soldier seemed to fumble with it, then he burst out, " This is horrible ! I cannot — I am young and unready to die. Furello, my friend, let me escape ; no one need ever know. I have rich relations and friends ; I will buy my life with a fortune beyond —ah ! " The cry was one of despair, as the Count extended his arm to fire, and so cut short the other's pleading. It was appalling. As I realized what was going for- ward I broke out into a cold perspiration. My nerves are pretty firm, but I found myself trembling and almost paralysed, at least quite unable to decide on any line of action. The Count's reply fell on my ear, but my brain was only half conscious of it. " I give you ten seconds. I am not a madman ; and, if I were, escape would be impossible. Shall I fire ? " Von Orsova raised his hand. " I will spare you the trouble," he said, and then turned to the wall. I heard the murmuring sound of his voice, perhaps in prayer ; then he raised his right hand to his head. Next moment he staggered from the wall and fell heavily backwards with an awful thud, his head al- most striking the Count, who jumped back that it might clear him. So he stood for a few seconds watching the supine body, his pistol still pointing as though fearing a trick. Then he moved round, always keeping his face towards the body, took up the candles in his disengaged hand, and held the light so that it fell on Von Orsova's face. From the distance at which I was placed I could plainly see the features, livid and distorted. I realized then that th^ startling tragedy was over. By a curious reaction my nerves suddenly regained their normal 30 THE RED CHANCELLOR tension, and I could view the scene with as little excitement as though it were occurring on the stage, could look in mere curiosity to see what the Count would do next. It was dramatic enough. The great room was dark now (for the moon was obscured), save at one comer, where the candles flickered on the ghastly face of the dead Hussar, made more horrible by contrast with his gorgeous uniform ; then the relentless black figure stooping over him. Satisfied apparently with his inspection, *'ie Count set the candelabrum on the floor, and kneeling down beside the body, proceeded to unfasten the tunic, and inserting his hand, kept it for a while upon the heart. He withdrew it, fastened the gilt button again, raised the dead hand and let it fall with a thud on the floor. Then he rose and took up the light, seemed to notice some small object lying near, which he pushed with his foot towards the body, held the lights above his head, and looked round the room. Then he set down the candelabrum upon the table again, and went softly to the door. I groped my way back into the corridor, pushed open the right door this time, and found my way without difficulty down to the private entrance of the paJace. A soldier on guard there challenged me, but saluted and made way respectfully on my explaining that I had come from the Oberkammerer's apart- ments. ■ CHAPTER VI THE CAPSIZED BOAT Next morning I could ha. ily persuade myself that what I had seen the night before had not been all a dream. In the bright sunshine and in the active work-a-day life of the city, the ghastly business seemed impossible. But the effect of my experience lay heavy on my mind. I felt I could do nothing. As a State affair it was no business of mine to inter- fere ; I could not decide even whether I should tell Von Lindheim what I knew. I was to see him late that afternoon, and had the greater part of the day at my disposal. Thinking that exercise would be the best means of shaking off my depression, I determined to revert to an old sport of mine, rowing. Accordingly, after a late breakfast, I hired the lightest sculling boat I could find, and went for a pull up the river. A picturesque stream, the Narvo, when once you get clear of the wharves, mills, warehouses, and like un- romantic accessories ; but the worst piece of water for a steady pull that I had ever dipped oar into, and I had tried a good many, from the Wensum to the Danube. No sooner did I get into my swing and the craft began to sHp along, than I had to hold her up for an eyot, or a patch of aggressive water lilies, varied by what answers in those parts for a weir, or a [superfluous, if picturesque waterfall. But the clearing of the obstacles was all in the [day's work. I was not bound against time for the source of the river, so pushed, hauled, and punted 31 32 THE RED CHANCELLOR energetically, thinking the change of working muscles no bad thing. As a reward for my perseverance I presently got away from all signs of the town ; the banks grew higher and, with their overhanging bushes, something like our Wye, shut out the hideous chimneys and other unromantic evidences of Buyda's commer- cial prosperity. As I pulled leisurely up a com- paratively clear reach, my train of thought was snapped by the bow of my boat striking against some light object. I looked round and saw I had run against a floating scull. I took it into my boat, thinking some one might have let it sUp and been unable to recover it, an awkward mishap not un- common with duffers ; then I rowed on, thinking to come across the owner before long. The sound of rushing water warned me that I was approaching an- other of the weirs, of which just then I was getting rather tired, since they meant haulage. Beyond a sharpish bend the river widened considerably, the current became stronger, and, looking ahead, I could see an obstacle, half weir, half natural waterfall, with the usual rotten posts and dilapidated rails. I pulled on, undecided whether to take the trouble of carrying my craft round or to return, when a stroke took me beyond, and so in sight of an object lying caught in the sedge outside the current. A capsized boat. I did not like the look of it. '* That accounts for the scull," I said, and pulled round to examine her. No one was to be seen on the banks, which were flat and open here. I ran my boat alongside the over- turned craft. With some difficulty I righted her. A row-boat, similar to mine, she was of course empty, except that, jammed under the thwarts was a walking- stick, an ordinary bamboo with a hook handle and the usual silver band. This I threw into my boat, and then got ashore. Not a soul was in sight. I THE CAPSIZED BOAT 33 muscles grance I vn ; the ; bushes, himneys commer- a com- ght was against w I had ny boat, ind been not un- nking to sound of :hing an- s getting ^eyond a bly, the I could all, with I pulled carrying took me ht in the walked up a good way past the fall, giving an occa- sional shout, but there was no sign of any human being, dead or alive, and the one seemed now as much to be looked for as the other. So I returned to my boat without having got nearer to the mystery, and now detennined to pull home- wards, for the river up higher did not promise much reward for my exertions. As I went back, however, I looked sharply about for any further evidences of a boating accident, but found none. It looked to me very much as though the boat had gone over the fall, and the walking-stick decidedly pointed to some- one having been in her. But I came to the conclusion that even then if the fellow could swim and had kept his head he would probably have got off, with an extremely unpleasant ducking, as the fall was not great, and the water below clear of obstacles and fairly deep. At the landing-stage I told my story, but the cap- sized boat did not belong to the owner of mine, and the subject consequently lacked interest for him. There had been accidents over the falls, he told me ; but it was people's own fault and stupidity. One of his men, however, thought he had seen a gentleman rowing up earlier in the day, but did not recognize him, or know where the boat had been hired. That was all ; so not seeing what more I could be expected to do, I went back to the hotel, calling, however, at the police ofhce on my way to give information of what I had found. The officer in charge phlegmatically assured me that the matter should be looked into, andbovved me out. Having changed my clothes, I went on to Von Lindheim's. He had not returned home, although it was past his usual hour, but shortly after my arrival he made his appearance. He seemed in better [spirits, and I was glad to notice that the cloud of the B 34 THE RED CHANCELLOR previous evening had passed away. He had been de- tained at the Chancellerie, he said, by extra work ; D'Urban was away, whether on leave or through ill- ness he had not been able to find out. " It was rather hard on me," Von Lindheim said, " but I had to stay over a stupid protocol, although I told Krause, our chief, that I was taking an EngHsh friend to the theatre. However, we have just time for a short dinner, and the coffee we can get between the acts." We were going together en gargon to see Harff in Shylock, and accordingly sit dovvU to a hurried meal. It had been in progress scarcely ten minutes when word came in that Von Lindheim's friend and col- league, Szalay, was waiting to see him on most lu-gent business. " I told the Herr you were engaged, sir," said the servant, " but he said he must see you without delay." My friend looked grave, and jumping up with a word of apology to me, hurried from the room. I concluded that the visit had to do with the discovery of Von Orsova's death, and began to turn over in my mind whether I ought to say what I knew. But after all, I argued, it has nothing to do with these men ; I had better perhaps ignore a matter of which I have no right to be cognizant. In a few minutes Von Lindheim returned, followed by his visitor. " You are a man of the world, my dear Tyrrell, and we have come to put a case before you." I nodded assent. " Szalay here has called to see me on a very serious matter indeed. He has been challenged to fight a duel." 1 -whistled. " Who's your man ? " " A ridiculous little ass in the Royal Guard here ; a fellow who Is always swaggering about full of his THE CAPSIZED BOAT 35 been de- ra work ; -ough ill- eim said, [though I I English just time t between : Harff in ried meal, ates when i and col- 3st urgent sir," said II without ip with a room. 1 discovery ver in my lew. But hese men ; ch I have utes Von rell, and ^ry senous to fight a lard here ; ill of his own importance, a certain Captain Rassler de Hayn, or Hahn, as he is nicknamed." " And the cause of the quarrel ? " Szalay broke in eagerly : " None that I can tell of. He sends a friend to me to say that I have spoken disrespectfully of him, and so insulted his uniform, his corps, the army, and the King. He will hear of no apology." " Fire-eating little fool ! " Von Lindheim ejaculated. " But perhaps you have insulted him, and all the rest of it ? " " Not particularly. Everybody laughs at the little spit-fire, you understand ; I have laughed with the rest. But not to his face ; I have manners." " De Ha}^! is a dead shot and a clever swordsman," Von Lindheim observed grimly. " These fools are not wanting in pluck." " But why has he challenged me of all men ? " Szalay cried, with a gesture of bewilderment. Lindheim gave a shrug. " Who can account for the action of a conceited fathead ? Szalay has come to ask me to act for him. Of course, the whole affair is ridiculous, still it may end seriously if we treat it as lightly as it deserves. I must go and see this Lieu- tenant Paulssen without delay. What line would you take ? " '* You come to the worst man in the world when you put such a case to an Englishman," I answered, " for " " I know. You have no duels, and hold them su- premely absurd. But as a man of the world " " Don't call me that, even in a complimentary sense," I returned. ** But so far as my advice goes, it would be to see this Lieutenant Paulssen, assure him that your principal has no recollection of having spoken disrespectfully of his, far less of any intention to do so ; that his man has been misinformed, and 36 THE RED CHANCELLOR generally to apologize for any careless word by which he may have unwittingly reflected upon that con- structive list of institutions he is so jealous of. That's one way." " And the other ? " '* Well, are you good with the sword or pistol ? [ presume you, as the challenged, will have choice of weapons." " My dear Tyrrell, fighting is out of the question. One man is a professional cut-throat ; Szalay is a diplomat." " I have not handled a sword since I left the uni- versity," his friend added. " Naturally you don't want to fight, no sane man does, especially over such imbecility. Though, of course, if you could hit this little bouncer it would be doing society a good service." " Well, I'll go and see Paulssen at his quarters with- in the next hour," Von Lindheim said, '* and you shall know the result." So Szalay went off, in no very easy frame of mind. " The worst of this business is," my host remarked when we were alone, " that this Paulssen is himself a hot-headed young fool. He probably will not want this affair stopped, if he calculates on an opportunity for showing off. I must tell him he is only likely to make an exhibition of himself. Now, I'm sorry to hurry you. We may as well start together, and I will join you after the first act." On our way I found that the news I had been all day expecting had burst upon the city. Newsvendors were crying the " terrible suicide of Herr Rittmeister von Orsova." The sudden announcement came as a shock to Von Lindheim, yet it did not seem to strike him as in any way unaccountable. I could see that he, like myself, knew more of the affair than he cared to tell. We bought a paper, and read it eagerly THE CAPSIZED BOAT 37 Y which lat con- lous of. pistol ? choice of luesticn. lay is a the uni- ane man oiigh, of would be ers with- and you of mind, emarked limself a lot want )ortunity likely to sorry to r, and I been all svendors ttmeister ame as a to strike see that than he t eagerly in the street. Von Orsova had been found by a servant early that morning lying dead in a corner of the great ball-room of the palace. By his side was an empty phial containing hydrocyanic acid ; the un- fortunate Rittmeister had evidently taken his own life, but the reason for the act was, up to that time, enveloped in mystery. My companion looked very grave as he folded up the paper. " I am not surprised," he remarked simply, add- ing in a lower tone, ** the game he was playing could scarcely end otherwise. Well, I must leave you here, and see this fellow. I will be at the theatre as soon as possible." About the middle of the second act he dropped quietly into the seat beside me. " What success ? " I whispered. He shook his head. " None. I fear Szalay must fight, and if he does " He gave an expressive shrug. When the act was over we strolled out for coffee and a cigarette. " De Hayn means to fight," Von Lindheim said in answer to my inquiry. " Paulssen was instructed not to entertain any suggestion of an apology or ex- planation. Szalay is a dead man." " Can't we have the affair stopped ? " I suggested. " Surely it is not countenanced by the law." "No J but winked at, and, in the army, permitted under certain circumstances. There is only one chance that I see. The Chancellor is against duelling ; he thinks it retrograde, and he is all for progress. If I could contrive that he had wind of it " A smart young fellow had come up to us and clapped him on the shoulder. " My dear Von Lindheim, the Baroness Fornbach has sent me to tell you that she has been trying for the 38 THE RED CHANCELLOR last half-hour to catch your eye. But you are full of secrets this evening. You are t<^ come to her box without fail, and disclose them to her. Ko ; seriously, she wants to see you. Of course bring your friend." Von Lindheim introduced us, and we three went off to the Baroness's box. " I hope you don't mind, old fellow ; but 1 can't throw a chance away to-night. The Baroness is good style and great fun." When we entered the box we found it occupied by two people. A man was in animated conversation with the Baroness. He had his back turned to me, and seemed to be finishing a good story, for they were both laughing as the man rose and made way for us. Von Lindheim presented me to the Baroness, a good-looking widow, still young, and evidently a woman of fashion. We shook hands, and she said a few graceful words to me, then, with a slight gesture, introduced me casually to her companion. " Count, you know Herr von Lindheim ? Mr. Tyrrell, Count Furello." Turning to bow, I found myself face to face with the man who had accosted me by Duke Johann's chapel the night before, the man who had forced Von Orsova to his death. I knew him at once, despite the fact that both my former views of him had been imperfect ; the feline eyes that glittered from the dark recess of the box were unmistakable. And a curious-looking man he was ; a man whom at first sight and without my previous knowledge of him, one would hardly have known whether to set down as attractive or detestable, but certainly interesting. He had a mass of straight chestnut hair brushed back from a high narrow forehead and falling in a thick even wall over the back of his head. His eyes were dark and alert, set a trifle too close together, his nose was long and thin, and his mouth drawn back by THE CAPSIZED BOAT 39 I full of ler box riously, !nd." i^ent off I can't is good pied by jrsation to me, or they de way ironess, lently a c said a gesture, Mr. ce with ohann's forced despite id been om the And a at first im, one own as sting, crushed ng in a lis eyes her, his 5ack by what seemed an habitual muscular contraction into a set grin, making a straight slit across his face in no way hidden by the small reddish moustache which was turned upwards well away from it. No doubt he, too, recognized me ; however, he gave no sign of it, only made me a courtly bow with a few murmured words of compliment. I turned again as the Baroness spoke. " Is it out of compliment to Mr. Tyrrell's nationality that you have been too much absorbed in Shakespeare to notice your friends in the house, Herr von Lind- heim ? " He made a — to me — obvious effort to throw off his worry, as he replied : " No, indeed ; I cannot clahn such ultra politeness. Harff is at his very best to-night." " You are giving yourself a poor character as a cUplomatist, Herr von Lindheim," said Count Furello, " in confessing that even the excitement of superb acting can blind you to the realities of life around you." He said this very genially, almost banteringly, but the man's good-humoured tone and laugh were ob- viously a mask ; behind his easy manner and glib talk there was the suggestion of a sinister purpose ; it was a personality which in any case would have kept me on my guard. II f n CHAPTER VII SUPPER AT THE BARONESS'S The Baroness asked us to supper at her house after the play, and would take no refusal. " I did not stand out," Von Lindheim said after- wards, "as it will be a good opportunity of giving the Count a hint about this wretched duel. He is a sort of confidential aide of the Chancellor's." " Not quite as easy-going as he looks," I suggested. " No ; Furello is not exactly a man to trifle with. He would be the last man for Rallenstein's purpose if he were. But I have always got on very well with him." Some other men came into the box and we left ; the Baroness making us renew our promise to sup with her. " I shall slip out after the Trial Scene," Von I indheim said, as we returned to our stalls, " and report progress to Szalay. Poor fellow ! I expect he is having an uncomfortable time. But I have hope yet of stopping this aboard affair. If I cannot get back here by the end of the play, we will meet at the Baroness's, Wiener Platz, No. i, the large house at the corner." We met there later on, for he did not return to the theatre. There were about a dozen of us at supper, a merry party enough when the champagne had gone round once or twice. 40 SUPPER AT THE BARONESS'S 41 e after . after- giving ie is a gested. 5 with, pose if 11 with e left ; to sup )cene," ,"and expect have cannot leet at house to the merry round " What an awful thing this is about poor Von Orsova," some one remarked- '* Ah, poor man ! " the hostess said, ** I dare not think of it. It is too horrible ; to think that I was waltzing with him an hour before. To be dancing with an already half dead man," — she gave a little affected shudder. " He was to have been one of your guests to-night, was he not ? " Furello asked. *' Oh, yes, indeed. Who could have suspected when he accepted my invitation that he knew he would be dead long before." " Does any one know the reason he had for sui- cide ? " a lady next him asked Furello. The Count gave a shrug. " Nothing has yet transpired. But the motives for such an act are often impossible to ascertain. There is nothing so irresponsible and eccentric as the mind of a man who has a tendency to self-murder. A sudden impulse is enough to bring about the catastrophe. Who knows ? I for one should be very sorry to insist on an adequate motive." I looked at the man and wondered at his coolness. He spoke easily, without a trace of effort to suppress the truth. It was hard to recognize, the grim exe- cutioner in the glib, urbane society man. " Oh, for Heaven's sake, let us change the subject ! " the Baroness cried. " Life is quite miserable enough without dwelling on these horrors. The poor man is dead ; what does it matter now ? It is all shock- ingty sad ; but what can we do ? After all, life is for the living. Do all of you fill your glasses, and banish mela^holy for an hour at least." " r|iope, Baroness," 1 said, for, as a foreigner, I occwplfcd the place of honour, " you do not expect so soG#i return ? " " Of wretchedness ? My dear Mr. Tyrrell, it is a 42 THE RED CHANCELLOR trite saying, but if we could only see inside each other's hearts what a revelation some of them would be." When supper was over, the ladies rose, and we were invited to smoke in an adjoining room. Now an infamous thing happened, which, by the greatest good luck, I chanced to see. When the ladies were gone. Von Lindheim went over and began to talk to Count Furello, with the object, as I was sure, of giving him a hint about poor Szalay's duel. I, of course, kept aloof, and was happy in finding myself next to a talkative young fellow, who had seen some- thing of English life, and was very interested in our ideas of sport. We chatted away on this congenial topic, and I took no f :rther notice of my friend. My young neighbour and I got on so well, that presently he insisted that we should drink a bumper of cham- pagne together to our better acquaintance. Accord- ingly we rose and went towards a sideboard at one end of the smoking-room, where the wine and glasses stood in array. Von Lindheim and Count Furello were standing by talking quietly. In order not to interrupt them, we kept a certain distance away as we poured out our wine. We clinked glasses with true German fervour, drank with no less, and filled again. A morsel of foil from the neck of the bottle was floating in my wine. I turned to the light and fished it out with a spoon. In so doing, I faced a mirror, which, set at an angle, and combined with another at my back, enabled me not only to see over my shoulder, but showed me what was going on in front of the man whose back was turned to me. And this is what I saw. A peculiar, furtive action on the part of the Count caught my eye. He was leaning his left arm on the sideboard, presumable, to screen from Von Lindheim what he did with hi? right. This hand moved quickly to an empty glasa close by, and, resting over it. SUPPER AT THE BARONESS'S 43 over on in i I tilted, as though pouring something into it. What the hand held I could not see. Had not my mind been full of murder and sudden death, or had the act been done less stealthily I should perhaps have thought Httle of it ; many a man doctors his drink against gout or some other chronic ailment. Even here a doubt was in my mind ; although I could not help an almost sickening feeling of something very like horror, and I determined to keep a strict watch. Taking a sip of my wine, I turned again to the sideboard, still talking and laughing with my new acquaintance, but keeping my eye carelessly on the Count. He took up a bottle, the cork was not drawn, and with a show of polite alacrity I handed him ours, which was but half empty. He placed another glass in a line with the first and filled them. As I expected and feared, he then pushed them forward in such a manner that the doctored g^'^.ss came naturally nearest to Von Lindheim. My previous night's experience was enough to tell me of the fearful danger in which my friend stood. I was determmed that he should not touch that glass, yet what was I to do on the spur of the moment ? A happy thought struck me. " Let us all drink together," I cried, feigning a slightly elevated manner, at the same time slapping my young friend on the shoulder, then going quickly round to the other side of Von Lindheim. ** We will drink together all four," I laughed. Von Lindheim's glance indicated his opinion that I had taken as much champagne as was good for me ; the Count showed his teeth in a tolerant smile. I leaned forward to the young fellow who was now separated from me by the other two men. " Prosit ! " I cried. ^ Exactly what I had calculated vipon happened. The Count was obliged to turn slightly in order to touch the other's glass with his own. At that in- 44 THE RED CHANCELLOR stant I struck Von Lindheim a sharp blow. He turned to me half startled. " Poison I " I dared only form the word with my lips, throwing all the horror I could into my expression as I nodded towards his glass. " Pon't drink for your hfe 1 " The words were not even wliispered ; happily Von Lindheim was sharp enough to comprehend the situation. He faced round to me, so that his back was turned upon the Count, and next moment our glasses had been changed. I leaned forward and touched with the other two men ; Von Lindheim did the same, and at a nod from me he drank some of his wine at which he at first hesitated. I raised the glass to my lips and pretended to drink, then I contrived unseen to spill a portion of its con- tents over my pocket handkerchief, so that I could return to my former place, a little unsteadily, with my glass half empty. All the time my brain was raging as I realized the hideousness of the business. The intense pity I felt for my friend comes back to me as the sensation uppermost in my mind then. But ill that desperate situation action was imperative, sentiment useless. I kept up my talk with the young sportsman, watching all the while for an opportunity of saying a word to Von Lindheim. Presently he left the Count and came to me. My companion turned at the moment to relight his cigar, which in his chattering he had allowed to go out. " You had better smoke a cigarette," I said to Von Lindheim under my voice, " and then make an excuse to go. Say you feel unwell." Then I laughed and brought the other man into the conversation. He and Von Lindheim began to chat, as the Count, throwing himself into a chair near i?s, opened a conversation with me. We exchanged some commonplaces, the usual small talk between a visitor and a native. I could SUPPER AT THE BARONESS'S 45 '. He d only horror :ds his jre not sharp faced on the anged. omen; I me he itated. drink, ts con- [ could ith my raging The • me as But xative, young tunity tly he panion lich in to Von excuse tell he was a man of great tact, natural and acquired. He invariably said the right thing, passing from topic to topic with a pleasant, well-rounded comment upon each, such cut and dried talk as .woiJs all pitfalls of argument or contradiction. He gave an occasional glance at Von Lindheim, but quite naturally, his manner never showing the least preoccupation. To all appearances he was a genial, sociable man of the world, a state official merely by accident. In his careless way, however, he put a good many leading questions to me, principally as to my friendship with Von Lindheim, which I, afecting the part of a simple-minded sportsman, answered with a great show of frankness. Presently my friend laid his hand on my shoulder. " Don't let me hurry you," he said, " but I think of going homewards." " Already ? It is not so late for you, Herr von Lindheim," Furello remarked almost chaffingly. "I'm tired and feel out of sorts," he replied as naturally as one could wish. " Good-night, Herr Count. Many thanks for the good offices you have promised me." " I'm a bird that goes to perch early. I'll come too," I said, bowing to the Count, who, to my disgust, held out his hand — the hand — which I was f^in to take. So we made our adieux and next minute were in the street. n into gan to ir near usual ; could f CHAPTER VIII THE BEATING OF DEATH'S WINGS We had walked a hundred yards or more, and turned the comer of the street before either of us spoke. Then I said, " A narrow escape, my friend." " Are you sure ? " he asked, scarcely above liis breath, and, as he turned towards me, his face looked ghastly under the lamp. I told him exactly what I had seen. " I'm a marked man," was all his comment as I finished my story, and he spoke the words in a tone of despairing conviction. " A marked man, Tyrrell, my good friend," he continued; " how can I thank you for having saved my life ? Your presence of mind was wonderful, though I fear your services can only prolong my agony. I'm doomed, lost." " Nonsense, Liiidheim ! For Heaven's sake don't let your nerves go now when you want them most." He shook his head. " Nerves are of no avail against the powers here. You don't know — be thank- ful you don't. Furello is merely an instrument: one of many." *' Anyhow," I said cheerily, " I am going to stand by you and get you out of this business if it is as bad as you say. An Englishman doesn't let cowardly murder go on before his eyes if he can help it." " It is splendidly kind of you, iyrrell ; but you had better leave me to my fate. If you interfere you will only share it." 46 i THE BEATING OF DEATH'S WINGS 47 I laughed. " Not I." " You don't know Rallenstein." " Don't I ? " He gave an apprehensive glance behind. "It is hardly worth while," he said, ^\dth an attempt at a laugh, " but we may as well be careful, as we are probably being watched." " Of course, you are supposed to be ill ; the poison is taking its effect," I returned. " You had better stagger and lean on me for the rest of the way." It did not need much of an effort to make him look pretty ill. He went through some appropriate pantomime, dismal enough when one comes to think of it, and I pretended to help him along till we came to his house. As we turned in I certainly seemed to see the indistinct figure of a man some distance behind on the other side of the deserted street. Von Lind- heim begged me to stay, and, indeed, I was unwilling to leave him, having seen enough on both that and the previous nights to realize that he might stand in considerable danger, although, had it not been for the evidence of my own eyes, I should probably have set down his own fears as rather childish. In the house we found Szalay waiting, pacing the room in a periurbed state of mind. " Well ? " he inquired anxiously. Von Lindheim flung down his hat. " We had better both mak*. our wills, Szalay," he cried in desperation. Szalay 's face turned greenish grey. " You can't settle it, then ? " he asked nervously. " I have nearly settled myself in trying to," the other returned grimly. ** I went to the Baroness's to give Furelk) a hint, with the result that, but for our friend here, I should have been carried home on four shoulders." " Heaven ! what do you mean ? " Szalay's eyes .*»*- 'II 48 THE RED CHANCELLOR were almost starting from his head as he gasped out the question. Von Lindheim related the story of his escape. " My own idea is," he said in conclusion, ** that the whole business, your challenge, and my invita- tion, are simply methods to get rid of us both." Then there was silence, the silence of almost hope- less fear. " What are we to do ? " Szalay asked unsteadily. Von Lindheim gave a shrug. Then, to relieve the tension, I spoke. ** Is it asking too much, as I mean to stand by you fellows, that you should tell me the reason of all this ; what you saw last night ? " " Better not ask, my dear Tyrrell ; the know- ledge is fatal — too fatal, already. D'Urban is missing too," he went on, in a fresh access of despair. " Poor D'Urban, dead by now, probably. And Orsova, you know." ** I saw his death," I remarked. " In the papers to-night, yes." " No," I returned quietly ; " I was present at his death last night. * " You ? " they both gasped out. " Assuredly. In the palace." " Suicide ? No ? " " Well, it was and it wasn't. Tell me what you saw, and you shall hear all about it." Von Lindheim walked to the mantel and leaned against it. " We are doomed, Szalay. We are both dead men." His colleague had turned away to hide, perhaps, the fear that was in his face. " What did you fellows see ? " I repeated. '* Enough," Von Lindheim answered, with a short laugh of desperation, " to make our hves forfeit. The devil must have led us to investigate that Ught." THE BEATING OF DEATH'S WINGS 49 lout that vita- lope- dily. 5 the you :his ; lOW- ssing Poor you this you ined are aps. " What did you see ? " " A sight for which we have now to pay," Szalay broke in bitterly. " The little chapel was just dimly lighted by a pair of candles," Von Lindheim proceeded. " Through a light-coloured pane in the low window we could see a priest in vestments standing before what had once been the altar. It was curious. He seemed the only person in the chapel. Soon he looked up, as though at the entrance of some one, and opened the book in his hand. Three people, a man and two ladies, came quickly up the chapel and placed themselves before him at the altar. You may guess who two of them were. Von Orsova and the Princess Casilde. They had come to be married." " Married ! That accounts for everything." " More than accounts for it," my friend continued grimly. " Well, when we realized what the scene meant, the spirit of caution took possession of us; we were chance spectators of what was practically an act of high treason." " Accessories in effect," Szalay put in. " There were two courses open to us," Von Lind- heim went on. ** To interrupt the ceremony, or to steal away and keep our own counsel. Our evil genius prompted us all three to choose the latter." " The former was too dangerous," Szalay said. " We knew too much ; even in that case we should have been marked men." *• Anyhow," the other proceeded, " we crept away from the window and hurried back through the wood to the palace." " It was a mistake," Szalay said. ** We should have run the other way." " A fatal mistake. For we came plump upon two men hastening towards the chapel. One ran on, the other halted and scrutinized us, then followed Wftp"^" 50 THE RED CHANCELLOR his companion. The Jaguar, and his striking paw, Furello." " The two I saw,'* was my remark. " Yes. Now you see the man, the fiend, and his methods," Von Lindheim said. " lie did not strike at once, but watched the marriage to an end, that he might strike more surely and quietly. Now we have the whole story." *' So far. It is not ended," Szalay said gloomily. " I fear it is I who have unwittingly betrayed you," I said. " Furello could but have guessed before he cross-questioned me." " A guess is enough for Rallenstein. He makes sure." " Anyhow, I feel guilty," I said, " and am deter- mined to stand by you both if you will let me." " Better start for England to-night," Von Lind- heim replied gloomily, " before you share our fate." I laughed. " Even your Chancellor will think twice before he murders a British subject." " Murders ? No. My dear Tyrrell, your death would be of the most deplorably accidental de- scription. Rallenstein is above all things an artist." " Well, I'm not going to desert you fellows, so please don't suggest it. Now you shall know what I saw last night." Then I told them of the chance which had made me a witness of Von Orsova's death. Needless to say the recital did not tend to allay their fears. *' The Rittmeister has paid ! " Szalay exclaimed, with a lugubrious jerk of the head. " But you," I said, " what crime can there be in what you saw in that glance through the window ? If that is motive enough for getting rid of you " " Motive enough," Von Lindheim returned. " If you knew what we could tell you, you would not be surprised. In this country a whisper, a shrug, a THE BEATING OF DEATH'S WINGS 51 paw, laugh are, any one of them, enough to bring a man to his death. And the innocent have often to suffer for the guilty — to make sure." "It is clear enough," Szalay added, pacing the room. " This affaire Orsova is Ukely to upset the Chancellor's plans. If it were to become a scandal, the alliance he has set his heart and the King's upon would never come to anything." Some one was heard below, and Von Lindheim ran to the door. ** It is only Pabst," he said, coming back with a relieved face. " I had forgotten he was out." There was a knock at the door and Pabst came in. He was Von Lindheim's housekeeper and factotum, a respectable elderly man. He looked perturbed. " Pardon, meine Herren," he said. " I did not know Herr Szalay was here. He has doubtless brought you the bad news." The two colleagues looked at each other in renewed fear. " What bad news ? " Von Lindheim asked. " You mean the death of the Herr Rittmeister von Orsova," I suggested. *' Pardon, mein Herr," Pabst answered, with a grave shake of the head, " it is nearer than that. Herr D'Urban " " Ah I " The terror in both men made them cry out simultaneously. But the good Pabst probably read nothing in their faces beyond ignorance, and concern for the fate of a colleague. " He is most imhappily drowned," he said. " Drowned ? " " They found his body in the river this evening near the Powder Mills. They say his mother, poor lady, is " ' " But D'Urban was a swimmer," Szalay cried. " He could swim well," Von Lindheim said gloomily. " But of what avail was that " 52 THE RED CHANCELLOR " True, mein Herr," Pabst chimed in. '* He has an ugly blow on his nead. They say he must have been carried over the ToUert Fall, struck against a rock or pile, and so been stunned." " His turn has come first," Von Lindheim observed grimly when the old servant had left the room. He seemed to be growing reckleso now from the very hopelessness of his situation. " What are we to do ? " he laughed. " One thing is settled," I said. " You and Herr Szalay are going to face this danger, if it exists, and will not give up your lives without a struggle. Surely, Lindheim, there is some law, some authority to which you can appeal for protection." He shook his head. " None." " But in these days of civilization men are not butchered in cold blood without an appeal to law and justice." " Civilization," he answered, " is a very pretty word for occasions. We are proud of it, in theory, but it is never allowed to stand in the way of political expediency. The head of all law and authority in this country is the Chancellor ; the King himself is but his creature, and Rallenstein's methods are, when necessary, quite mediaeval." " But men in your position " " Bah ! He would have the King poisoned to- morrow if it suited his purpose. We have no party government here, worse luck I " " Then there is nothing to do but to find a way of escape." " Escape ? Outwit the Jaguar 1 " He laughed at the idea. " We'll try, anyhow. Let us view the situation calmly. You are supposed to have drunk that dose of Furello's, and are dying. We have the start of them there." THE BEATING OF DEATH'S WINGS 53 He made an impatient gesture. " It comes to the same in +he end ; the agony is only prolonged. Better gii it over." " Nonsense. You have a chance, and a good one. I tell you both you must not be so mad and wicked as to throw it away." Thuf? appealed to, and perhaps catching hope from my confident manner, they made an effort to look more cheerfully at the business. " There may be half a chance," Von Lindheim said. " There will be none," I said, " if you give up. We have three heads here, and we know our danger. You mean to fight for your life, eh, Herr Szalay ? " Szalay tried to smile, but could only achieve a ghastly grimace. " I am not yet tired of my life, and am ready to make an effort." " Good ! " I returned. " Now for our plans. We must hoodwi.- < lis autocratic butcher. Send for a doctor ; the : :. .ot stupid in the place, for choice. Who answers to that description ? " Von Lindheim thought a moment. " Doctor Rothmer, I should think, eh, Szalay ? The man who killed the Reichsrath Lorenz by treating him for indigestion when he had peritonitis." " A pompous idiot, eh ? Just the man. Send for him at once, and turn into bed. Recollect you are poisoned ; but don't tell the doctor that. All you know is that you have been supping abroad and are horribly ill." I rang, and told Pabst to send for the doctor. " And I ? What am I to do ? " Szalay inquired v^dth almost ludicrous concern. " I am not poisoned." " No. You have simply got to keep quiet and not be seen. Your second is taken suddenly ill and cannot act for you. I may be able to avert the meeting ; at any rate to delay it. Anyhow, we must 54 THE RED CHANCELLOR work to throw our enemies off their guard. That's the vague plan I have at present." Szalay brightened. My taking things so coolly seemed to give him confidence. The whole business was an eye-opener certainly ; and after what I had seen there was no room for doubt that the Chancellor and his people meant busin . However, funk and flurry would do no good. being somewhat involved in the affair, was preparea to see it through, and take my chance of trying any of the pleasant little ways the authorities seemed to have for disposing of awkward onlookers. Whether I had let these men in for the trouble or not I was resolved to get them out, and 1 thought I could do it. ii! m CHAPTER IX THE DUEL He was a self-important, incompetent fellow ; I could see that, and so just the man for our purpose. I had impressed upon Von Lindheim that his life depended on his plajdng his part well, and I must say there was no fault to be found with his performance. He appeared to be in great agony, while Szalay and I , with a great show of excitement and distress, told the doctor a plausible tale of the sudden seizure. Finally, I laid stress upon the suddenness of the attack in perfect health, and suggested ptomaine poisoning. " Assuredly," the fellow returned, well pleased at finding himself taken for rather more than even \w pretended to be. " The symptoms certainly point to the presence of poisonous matter in the system, and we must, at all events, take measures to counter- act it." Accordingly he did take measures, which the patient in turn took good care to neutralize. The doctor was so fussy and stupid that we found no difficulty in contriving that he should not make an examination which might have betrayed, even to him, the real state of the case. Presently he bustled off to prepare a draught. 1 offered to accompany him to his house, and hurry back with the potion, so that it might be given with- out delay. As I opened the door to go out a young fellow came up, an officer by his uniform, and asked 55 56 THE RED CHANCELLOR for Von Lindheim. I g^iessed at once that he was the second of the fire-eating Captam de Hayn, and rejoiced that he had arrived at that moment. I saluted him punctiliously. " Herr von Lindheim has, I regiet to say, been taken ill, dangerously ill. It is impossible for you to see him." As I expected, the young fellow gave an incredulous smile. "Really, sir? My ' I cut him short. " H ' is the doctor, who will confirm what I tell you. You know Dr. Rothmer ? " He did not know Dr. Rothmer, but happily that good man's profession was unmistakable. " It is indeed the case," he said pompously. " Herr von Lindheim is seriously ill. I cannot allow you to see him." " If you will step in for a moment," I said, *' I will tell Herr von Lindheim that you are here, and will follow you, doctor, directly." The professional was bustled off, and I took Lieutenant P<.ulssen into the dining-room. *' I presume you have called to see Von Lindheim about the affair in which he is acting for Herr Szalay. Von Lindheim has only just asked me to inform Herr Szalay of his illness, and to request him to find another second. But I hope, Lieutenant, your visit may be to say that it is unnecessary ; that this de- plorable, this absurd affair is at an end." The young fellow seemed to bristle with resentful importance. " Pardon ! " he returned uncompromisingly ; " that is by no means my mission. And I must request you, sir, to refrain from referring to an insult to our army as absurd." I changed my tone to one of easy familiarity. '* Of course, Lieutenant, my expression absurd was very far from being applied to the honour of your THE DUEL 57 our if corps, which I am sure you, as a gallant soldier, hold above everything in the world. What I meant was the idea of poor Szalay measuring swords with so re- nowned a fighter as your principal." He shrugged his epauletted shoulders. "It is unfortunate," he responded stiffly. " But Herr Szalay should have remembered that before uttering words of disrespect concerning C»iptain de Hayn." " I imderstan i he has no recollection of having done so ; he is ready " " Pardon, mein Herr," he interrupted with a formality, brusque in its uncertain touch, "if I decline to discuss the matter with you." I bowed. " You have every right to do so.' " We will stand no shuffling," he cried. " I swear I will not eat my breakfast till the affair has come off. If Herr von Lindheim is ill, then Herr Szalay must find another friend, or take the consequences." " No doubt," I replied, " if Von Lindheim's illness continues, Herr Szalay will find another friend. But you can hardly expect him to do so by breakfast time." He twirled hh silly little moustache, and put on ore of the most stupidly offensive looks it has ever been my fortune to see on a human countenance. " You, sir," he said blusteringly, ** you seem to be at pains to champion Herr Szalay ; what is there to prevent your acting as his friend ? " " Only the fact that he has not honoured me by asking me to do so." " It is absurd, this attempt to play fast and loose," he spluttered. " We shall not permit it, that I swear. I am surprised that any one should counsel delay. Delay in an affair of this sort, sir, we hold as a coward's word. And if you have any regard for your friend's honour you will see that this business is settled at once. I shall not go to bed to-night, but 58 THE RED CHANCELLOR shall expect to receive Herr Szalay's friend. That is my last word ; I have a duty to perform. I have the honour, sir. Good evening " He made me a bow which was meant, no doubt, to be the quintessence of military dignity, and clattered from the room. I let him go, seeing that an appeal to common sense was worse than hopeless. Then I went up, and gave the two men an account of my interview. " Clearly," Lindheim said, " even L' there had ever been a doubt about it, this r.diculous duel is simply a trick of the Jaguar's to get rid of our friend." " I fear that is certain," I assented. Szalay had sat in a glooni}^ silence, and, appreciating his feelings, I had taken little notice of him. He now rather astonished me bj' starting up and exclaiming, " I will fight ! I will fight this duel ! " " Better not," I observed laconically. ** Ves, I will ! " he repeated, pacing the room in a state of nervous excitement. " Don't think me mad ; it is by far the most sensible course to take. I have got to die ; my life is forfeit ; the Jaguar never turns off from the prey he has marked do\vn. Better a thousand times fall by a soldier's bullet in open day, when the chances are nominally equal, than be done to death in secret by one of RaUenstein's butchers. Yes, my friends, I am resolved ; do not try to turn me." For we had simultaneously began to exclaim against his decision. ** Herr TyrreU, if you will honour me by standing my friend, it would be a great favour, the la^t I shall probably ask of any man ; if you will see this Paulssen and arrange the meeting for as soon after daybreak as possible. I have the courage now and am in the mood ; who knows how long it may last ? " " It is sheer suicide," I remonstrated ; " if this De Hayn is a dead shot, and you " THE DUEL 59 He laughed. " I am to die assuredly within tli*- next forty-eight hours." " Not necessarily ! " I objected. " You are a tower of strength, Herr Tyrrell," he replied wistfully. " But even you cannot stand against our King Jaguar, and in any event you will have enough to do to save our friend here. Now will you go to Paulssen at once ? I ask you as a friend." He was not to be dissuaded, and perhaps both Von Lindheim and I had a secret feeling that, on his chances, the course he urged had something to com- mend it. So, after waiting for a comedy scene with the doctor, who paid us another fussy visit, during which ' he nearly succeeded in making his patient actually swallow a manifestly loathsome draught, I went off to Lieutenant Paulssen's lodgings and arranged preliminaries for the meeting which was to take place at daybreak. My pugnacious friend was sullenly gratified, receiving my communication vith a significant, " It is well." Having a pretty shrewd idea of the fellow's sense and capabilities, I wasted no time, but simply and curtly settled the necessary details of the meeting, and returned to Von Lindheim's. The rest of the night I spent in coaching my poor principal in the use of his weapon. I had on his behalf naturally chosen pistols for the encounter, as giving a rather better chance ; with swords he would have been as a sheep before a butcher. The poor fellow attended to my instructions in a mechanical, half-dazed fashion ; he was utterly without hope, indeed, clearly in the apathy of despair. But we did our best to cheer him, and I took pains to impress upon him one or two wrinkles which might possibly give a slender chance in his favour. In the dull grey of a chilly dawn we set out for the place of meeting, and certainly it was the most dis- 1 f 60 THE RED CHANCELLOR agreeable errand on which I ever started. On the way my companion tried to talk on different subjects, even to jest on his situation and its almost certain issue ; but it was all so hideously forced as a cover to his despair, that it would have been far less painful to me had he kept silence. The rendezvous was a short distance outside the city, the less frequented side of a common bordered by a plantation. Being before our time we were first on the ground, and I utilized the interval of waiting in reiterating the instructions I already had given Szalay ; but he was in such a piteous state of nervous- ness that to me, as the affair had to be gone through with, it was a relief when the other party appeared. They were three : De Hayn, Paulssen, and a pro- fessional-looking person, evidently the surgeon whom Paulssen had arranged to bring. It seemed as though the sight of the trio and the approach of the critical moment had the effect of steadying Szalay's nerves somewhat. " So they have brought the doctor," he laughed ; "it is just as well to do everything in order, even a murder." " The chances are if he hits you it won't be in a vital part," I said to comfort him. " Now, mind ; take steady aim on the first sight and get your fire in before his, it's your best chance." The account given of the fire-eating Captain de Ha}^! had not been over-coloured. It seemed im- possible that five feet four inches of humanity could hold a greater quantity of truculent conceit than was manifestly compressed into his personality. A greater contrast between this business-like little butcher, with his bronzed — and brazen — countenance, and poor Szalay, trying to control his shaking nerves and keep a manly look on his grey face, could not be imagined. Principals and seconds saluted punctiliously, and ,L. • THE DUEL 6i On the jbjects, certain over to inful to ide the ordered ere first waiting 1 given ervous- hrough peared. a pro- i whom md the Efect of ughed ; even a )e in a mind ; r fire in ain de ed im- ' could m was greater r, with poor i keep gined. , and the doctor gave Szalay and me a bow, his expression being nicely differentiated as between the humane reserve towards a dying patient, and the grave an- nouncement of a hopeless case to his friends. Paulssen and I measured the ground, while the doctor, with professional glib deliberation, set out his case of instruments. All was ready; we placed our men. " Bring down your pistol with decision, and fire first," I again enjoined in a whisper. If ever a man was sick at the irony and unfairness of life I was then, as I drew back from that poor fellow, already, as it seemed, half-dead. Indeed, I remember wondering how he contrived to keep so steady. I glanced at his dapper little opponent, standing in professional duellist's style, not the easiest of marks for a good shot ; to my man practically invisible. Paulssen was to give the word ; the usual One ! Two ! Three ! Perhaps he had antici- pated my instructions to Szalay as to firing if possible before his adversary : the usual advice given to a novice at the game. Anyhow, he made a deliberate pause between One ! and Two ! but none between Two ! and Three ! The reports appeared to be simultaneous ; next I heard Paulssen utter an oath as he rushed forward to his man, followed by the doctor. As fate would have it, the unexpected had happened. Szalay was untouched, while De Hayn, the victor in a dozen encounte.,., lay prone on the turf with a bullet through his heart. !ij ."■ tili' CHAPTER X AN ASYLUM As may be imagined, we returned to Von Lindheim's in a very different state of mind from that in which we had set out. Our friend's surprise at seeing Szalay, wliom he had already looked upon as a dead man, was only equalled by his delight. But we realized that Szalay's providential escape had only increased the danger of the situation. No time was to be lost now in forming a plan of escape. We agreed that it must be effected that morning, before Rallenstein might have time ,to set his emissaries of death on our track. Both the result of the duel and the pretence of illness would give colour to a precipitate move from Buyda. As a dying man. Von Lindheim w^as to be conveyed to a country house he had at Schonval, some twenty miles from the capital. And indeed, if he was really to die, he would prefer that the blow should fall there ; and in that stronghold we felt we might turn at bay and at least gain time, if flight out of the country, too dangerous now, should subse- quently seem feasible. Then came the question — what was to become of poor Szalay ? He stood in equal danger. We could not, for humanity's sake, leave him to his fate. If we did he would most assuredly be a dead man within twenty-four hours. But how to get him away under the l5mx eyes of Rallenstein and his creatures ? After many plans we decided upon doing the best we could to disguise »2 AN ASYLUM him as a servant, and so taking him down to Schonval with us. He was a fair-faced man with reddish hair and beard. We made him shave, blackened his hair and eyebrows, found some paint and gave his com- plexion a ruddy tinge ; then we dressed him in an extra suit of Pabst's, and flattered ourselves the dis- guise would pass even under Count Furello's eye. Anyhow, when he finally saw himself in the glass he hardly recognized his own identity, and behind his effective mask began to take courage. But it was an anxious time for all of us. I was too concerned for the awful peril in which my friends sto? 4 to appreciate fully the adventurous side of the business. Fighting against these underhand methods of assassi- nation was not quite to my taste. Still, the danger was real enough, and that had to be met. Having come to a decision, we sent hastily for Dr. Rothmer. After our anxious vigil Von Lindheim looked pale and drawn enough to support his pre- tended symptoms. When we mentioned his desire to be taken to his country home, the doctor, as we fore- saw , strongly ob j ect ed to any such move. He was not going to lose fees if he could help it. We appeared rather to fall in with his views, in- tending all the same to make a start when he had gone, and simply mentioning the matter for the sake of plausibility. Von Lindheim lay groaning with a stimulated quick respiration and signs of cc-Japse in which we had coached him. The doctor looked grave, shook his head at the difficulty of combatinsf ptomaine poisoning, and finally, having impressed upon us the patient's extremely critical state, went ofi, promising to send another draught, which might relieve the sjmaptoms. No sooner had he left us than we began to prepare for our flight We had settled that the first part of ! > 64 THE RED CHANCELLOR the journey should be made by road, for the reason that by railway we should be more open to observation. So we proposed driving to a country station about eight miles distant, and then catching a train to our destination. The move was carried out successfully ; at least without hindrance. Half an hour sufficed to make our preparations and have a roomy carriage at the door ; our pseudo-invalid was borne out and laid in it, Szalay, in his new guise, helping in the work. So we started, leaving the faithful Pabst to answer in- quiries ; our departure and manner of travelling being plausible enough. So far as we could tell, our move had been quite unobserved. The street was comparatively deserted, as it would be at that early hour, and as we drove off and got clear of the city, we congratulated ourselves that, so far, we had given the slip to the Jaguar, and at least had a good start of any pursuit. It was a bright morning, and as we rolled along over the coun- try roads lined with dew-sparkling hedges, the gloom of the situation seemed to have lifted with that of the night. The brilliancy of the day seemed to give the two despairing men a new zest for life, and with that came courage. Even poor Szalay could discuss his position calmly and more hopefully ; we could have laughed at the absurd alteration in his appearance but for the thought that he had taken a man's life that day. We present)y slackened our pace, that we might arrive at the wayside station just when the train was due. This we hit off very successfully, and carried our invalid tenderly, with anxious faces, into an empty compartment. No other passengers were at the station, with the exception of a couple of old market women, and we felt sure they were genuine. An attentive guard foimd us a carriage and assisted us, rather officiously, it seemed ; but then first-class AN ASYLUM 65 ;wer m- passengers were rare at those little stations. At each stoppage he came to look after us, and at the end of the short but tedious journey, he helped us out and bustled about us with rather more assiduity than was agreeable. However, before we were able to leave the station for Schonval we had seen him whistle the train off and depart with it. " I didn't quite like that guard," Von Lindheim said as we drove away. I reasoned with him against his uneasiness. " Ah, you forget," he answered, " our railways are state property. The man may very well be in the Chancellor's employ." " Anyhow," I said, " he is miles away by this." " And here we are at home," he exclaimed with a sigh of relief. *' Safe so far." ii i i! CHAPTER XI A COURT PHYSICIAN ScHONVALHOF was an old grey stone house, standing not far from the foot of pine-covered hills. A sub- stantial dwelling, its interior more comfortable and homelike than my first view of its somewhat rugged exterior led me to expect. It was, they told me, built on a part of the site of an old Baronial castle, some ruins of which still stood adjacent to the modern house. A couple of old family servants made us comfortable at the short notice, and we had decided that, for a time at least, Lindheim should continue his role of the sick man ; Szalay that of his personal attendant. We felt it would be madness for either of them to venture out of doors just then, so the pretence of illness could be kept up without much depriva- tion. For we were certain that we should be followed, and that attempts would be made to get quietly rid of the witnesses of that fatal marriage. How the next blow would be aimed, from what quarter it would come, we could not even conjecture. But that it was to be looked for we all were certain. If there was one quality which in Chancellor Rallenstein was distinguished above another, it was tenacity of purpose. To him a temporary baffling was but a provocative ; the slightest hint of opposition at once banished all hesitation. So we had every reason to feel sure that he would draw the net round us. Still, 66 ^1 A COURT PHYSrCIAN 67 standing A sub- ible and t rugged me, built :le, some rn house, ifortable or a time of the tendant. them to ;tence of depriva- foUowed, tly rid of the next it would t that it If there tein was lacity of ras but a 1 at once reason to IS. Still, -:| life was strong in the two marked victims, and the longer we could put off the stroke the more chance there might be of fate coming to our rescue. Nothing but that, they felt. Help from outside it was vain to look for. For in that small independent State the supreme power, that is, of the Chancellor, was a law unto itself. His authority was boundless and an- swerable to no one, and if the deaths of two or three of the King's subjects were necessary for motives of State policy, why, short of a revolution, Rallenstein had no reckoning to fear. My case, as a British subject, I felt was different ; not that I could consider myself by any means outside the danger line. I was in the ^alke, or — what was more to the point — in the secret, and had little doubt that a " regrettable accident " was being prepared for me. Our one satisfaction was in the thought that the Jaguar would have to crawl warily and strike silently, knowing that a bungle would probably mean the publishing of the secret he was taking so much trouble to keep. And this was where I, vaguely enough, saw a ray of hope. For two or three days we lived quietly without the smallest sign of molestation ; no stranger, nothing abnormal was noticed about the place — and I kept a sharp look-out — till we almost began to fancy that we were to be let alone. A formal letter had been sent informing the authorities of Von Lindheim's illness as an excuse for his absenting himself from his duties, and of this a mere acknowledgment had been received. That was all. Of Szalay we said nothing, and we hoped Rallenstein's spies had no scent of his whereabouts. Certainly, it would not have been so easy to give a valid excuse for his absence. So, as the days passed, we seemed to gain more confidence and hope from detecting no sign of danger ; i ) I 68 THE RED CHANCELLOR at least, we got to look at the bright side of the business, till suddenly a rude awakening came. But first of all, to take the history of those anxious days in order. Von Lindheim received one morning an official letter, inquiring as to his health, and saying, further, that the King had heard with concern of the serious and regretted illness of such an esteemed mem- ber of his royal service, and hn/' graciously commanded that the Herr Hof-Artzt Beckmeister should pay the patient a visit on bcliaif of his Majesty, who trusted to receive a more favourable report of Herr von Lindheim's condition. This letter filled my friends with dismay. But the move was so obvious and natural that the only wonder was it had not been foreseen. I asked what manner of man the Court Physician was. " He is a dandified old scoundrel ; a humbug as a doctor, but no fool. And he has skill enough, acting upon a hint, to diagnose that I have nothing the matter with me. Of course it is obvious what he is sent down for. He is a creature of Rallenstein's, who, however, does not employ him when he himself is ill." " We must do the best we can with him," I said, turning over in my mind various tricks to that end. " We can't keep him from seeing and examining you, and of course that means discovery that you are in more or less robust health." ** But they must think I drank the poison." " Yes ; that's in our favour. And that is the idea we must work. The dose was too small, and con- sequently only partly operative. The physical effects have now passed off, but they have left brain trouble, and your nerves are shattered. Herr Hof-Artzt Beckmeister is presumably no brain specialist nor an authority on the after-effects of certain, or rather un- certain, poisons. His stethoscope and thermometer A COURT PHYSICIAN 69 will tell him nothing to refute our story ; he may have suspicions, but that is ail." So we planned the conduct of the interview, and I, at any rate, awaited with a certain amused curiosity the arrival of Herr Beckmeister. He came next morning in a hired carriage from the station. A dressed-up, brushed-up villain, with diamond rings, studs and pin, a heavy gold watch chain, gold-rimmed eyeglasses, and gold-knobbed malacca stick. A crafty, sensual face, and a sharp eye that meant business. " Ah," thought I, " you've had your instructions, that's plain." But I received him with all the respect which would have been his due had he been the man he pretended, and possibly believed himself, to be. His Majesty had graciously honoured him with a command to visit my friend. Herr von Lindheim was better to-day, he ventured to hope. I thereupon described the illness, somewhat differ-, ently, perhaps, from the visitor's expectation. My friend and I had supped on such an evening at the house of a charming lady in Buyda — possibly well known to the Herr Hof-Artzt, the Baroness Fombach, The Herr Hof-^^rtzt conveyed by a bow and a smirk- that he was one of that lady's circle. " On the way home," I continued, " my friend was taken alarmingly ill. I got him with difficulty to his house ; he was, put to bed." I described his symptoms. " But he grew so much worse that we feared he would not live through the night, which was likewise the opinion of the doctor we called in." "Who was that?" " Doctor Rothmer." The Herr Hof-Artzt groaned and gave a shrug, " In the morning, however, my friend felt easier,, but in oppressive fear of death. His one idea was to reach his home and die here. The desire seenxed SO K'>: 70 THE RED CHANCELLOR strong t tiat I hastily procured a carriage and brought him hither in the hope that the change would restore him." ** And it has ? " he asked expectantly. ** In a great, great measure. The alarming bodih^ symptoms have subsided, but, Herr Doctor, ft seems as though a worse calamity had befallo]i us." ** Indeed ? " He looked at me curiously, but I think could make nothing of my anxious, innocent manner. " Yes. I fear his brain is affected. He is painfully nervous, and is under the impression that he lias been maliciously poisoned. He rambles about eneiiies who are seeking hh life, and all my reasoning cannot persuade him of h^-:^ failacy." Again Herr Beckmeister looked sharply at me, so sharply that I wondered how nmch of the business he knew. Then he rose, and, pulling out just the watch I should have imagined him to carry, a showy mon- strosity, with a gaudily enamelled device on each side of the case, suggested, as he wished to catch a certain train back, he should see the patient. As this was inevitable, I led the way with a great show of alacrity, even thankfulness, and showing him Von Lindheim's room, left them together. We had planned that Von Lindheim should very vaguely, yet with a mad insistence, take the Doctor into his confidence, and by a long recital of supposed danger keep him from a too searching examination. Whether it succeeded or not we never knew. When, after a twenty minutes' interview, Beckmeister came out of the room, he would give nothing away. " Your friend," he said to me, " seems in surpris- ingly good bodily health after what we have heard of his attack. You will understand, however, that a 1: # A COURT PHYSICIAN 71 my report is for His Majesty's ear, and that etiquette forbids me to forecast it even to you." So with another flourish of his abominable watch, and some vague expressions of sympathy, he bowed himself into the carriage and drove off. "r « tr m i ii !'| r 'f CHAPTER XII A MYSTERIOUS OCCURRENCE Nothing more happened for a day or two, except that Von Lindheim received a letter asking him to send word as soon as possible when he would be able to resume his duties, the Hof-Artzt having reported his opinion that the indisposition was only temporary. The letter concluded with a compliment to Von Lindheim's abihty, and an expression of regret that the bureau should be deprived of his valued services at a time when their loss was being particularly felt. " They want to entice me back," he said. '* So much for their fair words. That is a stroke of the Jaguar's soft paw with the claws ready to spring out. I know him." His impression was, that he had puzzled, if not quite deceived, Doctor Beckmeister. He flattered himself that he had played his part well. '* If they think I am really off my head they may treat me as a neglectable factor, and so give me a chance of escape. * Then there was the question of Szalay. We had no opportunity of learning how his disappearance had been taken. Of course his presence at Schonval was a distinct source of danger, inasmuch as it absolutely contradicted the part Von Lindheim was pla5dng, if only it were known. This, however, we hoped was not the case. We had elaborated his disguise, and even the Chancellor's suspicious eye could hardly have recog- nized in the dark, sleek-looking attendant on the n 'f A MYSTERIOUS OCCURRENCE 73 dno had ivasa tely ig, if snot ithe invalid the red-haired, bristUng, lively Szalay of our Buyda days. Our plan was to wait awhile, and then to take an opportunity of sending him out of the country to some friends who lived on the other side of the Alps. But as every day safely passed was making us more hopeful of ultimate escape from those vicious claws, our hopes were dashed by an extraordinary occurrence which revived our worst fears, and which I will relate in detail. It will be understood that I ignored all necessity for keeping myself a prisoner, as the others had to do. Personally, although at time? I conceived it quite possible that Rallenstein might not be sorry for a plausible opportunity of putting me out of the way, I felt no fear, and went about the place as I felt in- clined, merely taking the precaution of canning loaded in my pocket the small revolver with which I always travelled. I walked about the village, rode over the country round, but never saw anything suspicious, nothing in which could be discerned the Jaguar's watching eye, until the evening I am about to speak of. I hod strolled out after dinner, as was my wont, in compai^y with a favourite dog of Von Lindheim's, a fine wolf-hound, which I often took with me on my rides. My evening strolls were as much in the nature of a patrol as a constitutional, but, as I have said, I had never detected anything to warrant them. On this occasion I went across the garden, then through a belt of plantation, and so on to a long terraced walk, lined on either hand with conifers, and having on one side occasional gaps, giving on to an arable field sloping down to a road some quarter of a mile below. These openings had been made to afford passing gUmpses of what was a charming view, with a small river winding its course on the o^her side of the road. I ' k 9. til!. ' i and, beyond, the pine woods stretching away in broken masses as far as the eye could reach. The land between our terrace and the road was divided into small fields by hedges running longitudinally, useless divi- sions, except that they broke up the stretch of furrow, and so improved the landscape. The fields were now green with springing wheat, and dotted here and there over them were dummy scarecrows, a very necessary, if feeble defence, against the multitudes of birds that were harboured in the woods beyond. I mention all these details as being necessary to the comprehension of what follows. I strolled along the walk thinking of the situation, the dog running now behind now in front of me. We had been getting more hopeful ; our plan now being that we should wait a little longer, and then all three make our way out of the country. The two men would take up their abode in Paris, or possibly go to England with me, not to return to their home until Rallenstein's power was at an end, or at least until the turn of political events gave them assurance that they could breathe their native air in safety. I had taken a turn and a half along the terrace when a sharp, low bark of suspicion from the dog broke the silence round, and aroused my attention. " Hey, Fritz, old fellow ! What's the matter ? " I cried. The dog was running to and fro with his nose to earth, growling and whining excitedly. I went through the opening to the edge of the field and stood watching him. It was now dusk, and nothing could be clearly seen beyond a distance of, say, fifty yards. The dog was evidently on the scent of something ; on a strange scent, I thought ; one, to judge by his manner, that aroused his instinctive suspicion. He was evidently trying to find where the scent led away, but in this for a while he was in fault. Suddenly, it A MYSTERIOUS OCCURRENCE 75 dog on however, he gave louder tongii and darted off. 1 went through the opening, and ran along the crest of the hill in the direction Fritz had taken. He had got some distance ahead, and I could see nothing of him in the gathering darkness. After going some way, I stopped and whistled. There was no response to that, but a few seconds after, as I was about to call again, there came a loud, angry bark, with a deep cry (I could not swear, but it seemed to me human), and the snarling growl of a dog in the act of seizure, abruptly stopping, then silence. " By George, he has caught something ! " I cried, and ran towards the point whence the noise had come. Nothing unusual was to be seen. " Fritz ! " I called, then whistled. No answer. Dead silence. Fairly puzzled now, I ran on. Then thinking that I had gone too far, I wheeled round and went back towards the terrace, walking slowly, and looking well about me. Suddenly in the semi-dark- ness I sprang forward with a cry of anger. The mystery of the silence at least was solved. This is what I came upon. An overthrown scarecrow, and Fritz lying stretched on the ground beside it. I called him, although something told me it was useless, he would never move again. So it was. There was a great wound in his throat, and his head lay in a pool of blood. V/hat had happened ? I jumped up and looked round, pulling out my revolver. I listened intently. Not a sound. I ran down the field to the road, keeping as sharp a look-out as was possible. No one was to be seen. I broke through the hedge and searched the bank of the river, but with no greater result. Then returning to the sloping field, I beat the hedges that crossed it, but came across neither man nor beast. So at last there was nothing for it but to abandon ^' '■i mi ■ n I 76 THE RED CHANCELLOR the search, and take m the uncomfortable tidings to Von Lindheim, since there was no chance of hiding them from him, Fritz being his favourite companion. Both men were greatly perturbed. " Don't let us alarm ourselves unnecessarily," I said. " Poor Fritz may have fallen a victim to one of his natural enemies — a boar from the forest. At the same time it might be wise for us to accept it as a sign of danger." For I had little doubt in my own mind that the unfortunate dog's death-wound had been given by no boar's tusk, but by a human hand. ! I CHAPTER XIII THE STONE SARCOPHAGUS Fritz's death remained a mystery, at the solution of which we could only hazard various conjectures. But that it was a man's work I had little doubt. The death-wound in the throat was the clean stab of a knife or dagger. My idea was that the man, a spy, had been hiding in order to watch us, and being attacked by the dog had silenced him in the most effectual manner ; then before I could follow, making his escape under cover of the nearest hedge, which would hide his retreat right down to the road, whence, if he thought it necessary, he could cross the river, and get oS into the woods, when pursuit would be hopeless. But, whatever the explanation of the affair might be, it had happened so swiftly and so mysteriously as to cause a very uneasy feeling, a serious apprehension for my friends' lives, which I could not disguise from myself. Now I was indeed beginning to realize the malignant tenacity of Chancellor Rallenstein. All the same, this fresh evidence rather braced my determination to outwit him. I gave up my long rides in the country round, and confined myself to walking about the grounds and the village, keeping a sharper look-out than ever. A very uncomfortable feeling is that of being secretly watched. And that we were under a stealthy observation we all instinctively felt. 77 I •iif li U- ir 78 THE RED CHANCELLOR f It is annoying, putting aside the danger, and it plays the devil by the nerves. To wake up in the morning with the feeling that your actions that day will have mysterious eyes upon them, governed and directed with an inscrutable and determined will, ah ! it makes one pray for an open enemy. The tension was telling upon us ; on me probably least of all, since I had the nerves of a steeplechase rider, and fresh air and exercise kept me fit. But I felt things could not go on indefinitely as they were. As the days and weeks wore on, Rallenstein would scarcely be likely to rest content with merely keeping his marked- down quarry under observation. Our staying on at Schonval was simply waiting for the assassin's stroke that was being prepared. One side or other must force the situation. I therefore determined that we should risk it ; but, as it turn-^d out, the forcing came from the other side. I was walking near the village one afternoon, turning over certain plans in my mind, when I made a singular discovery. I ought to mention that the neighbour- hood was rich in geological treasures. There had been, years before, a landslip, by which many hidden things of past ages had been brought to light. I had several times climbed about this region, more to explore its picturesque ruggedness than for any geological curiosity I possessed. On this day some- thing prompted me to go through the landslip again. So I turned up the path behind the inn, which led along a wooded ascent to where the fissured rocks and tree-grown boulders lay in romantic confusion. At one point in the irregular acclivity there was placed at some twenty yards from the path an ancient stone sarcophagus, which had been unearthed at some time, and, its value being probably deemed less than the cost of removal, had been left there to form one of the attractions of the place, and, indirectly, of the inn ,i :ain. led and At iced one me, the the inn THE STONE SARCOPHAGUS 79 below. I had passed this before, but had never taken the trouble to turn off the path in order to examine it more closely. The present and future had been too absorbing to let one care about the past. But now I did so. I stepped aside and strolled slowly towards the object of my curiosity. As I approached, to my astonishment a head appeared above the edge of the stone coffer, and a girl's laughing face turned a sort of petulant inquiry towards me. Saturated as I was wiih mistrust, I hardly knew whether to be suspicious of this apparition or not. A village girl, perhaps, I thought, although she certainly did not look it. I resolved to find out. " I b3g your pardon," I said in German. " I am sorry to have disturbed you, but I was about to examine this old object, not thinking any one was inside it." Her smile deepened into a laugh. '* How should you ? " she replied. " It is the last place you would expect to find at least a living person in." I was German scholar enough to know that it was not her native tongue. She spoke it prettily, indeed, but ungrammatically, and with a foreign accent. " I won't disturb you," I said. " Another day " She had risen, stepped on to the ledge of the great coffin, and now jumped down on the ground beside me. " There 1 I won't disturb your scientific studies," she said. " You are English, are you not ? " she added, in our language. " I am. Like you." "Am I?" " I think so." " A good guess." " Hardly a guess. You could scarcely be anything else." " By my bad German, or something worse ? " " By your good English." 1 ; !! ;!. f .'' . !. i m\ in'' jM ill. iM 8o THE RED CHANCELLOR I 91 'i " And my bad style ? " " Not at all." I looked at her as she sat on the edge of the sar- cophagus, kicking her feet to and fro and keeping her eyes quizzically on me. She seemed about nineteen ; her manner rather older than that. It was sharp, and had a suggestion of a woman of the world. On the other hand, she was dressed quite girlishly ; her skirt was short, she had on a simple straw hat with little trimming, and wore no ornaments save a plain gold bar fastening her collar. " I hope you are not going to let me frighten you away," she said roguishly. " I can easily find a more comfortable seat, and science must be before every- thing, as I know to my cost." " I cannot plead guilty to the charge of being scientific." " That's a comfort. Why, then, do you want to examine this stupid old coffin ? Curiosity, eh ^ All tourists are so curious. They will go miles to see a thing abroad they would not cross the road to look at at home." " I cannot say that my curiosity has not been rewarded. Although not quite satisfied.*' '• How ? " " I should hke, if not asking too much, to know what made you choose that gruesome relic for a resting-place ? " She looked at me queerly and laughed. " Your curiosity shall be satisfied. In the first place, it is more comfortable than it looks." I wondered a little at that, but did not say so. " In the second place it is novel, in the third it is cool, and in the fourth it is a wholesome reminder, what I suppose you would call a memento mori." Her voice had changed so with the unexpected con- clusion that I looked up at her sharply. The roguery ii' )* > THE STONE SARCOPHAGUS 8i was now only flickering about her face, which was almost sad. " Memento mori I Why, what have yor to do with that ? " " No more, perhaps, than the rest of the world. I might not have thought of it but for this." She tapped the sarcophagus. " But life is uncertain enough for us all, and — perhaps it was a fancy as I lay there to imagine myself in the place of him or her who occupied it hundreds, or, as my father will tell me, thousands of years ago ; and then to think of a day that is coming." I had never before heard a girl talk like that, and no doubt my face showed jt. " Well," she continued, changing her tone, " that's enough of the doleful for one day. Now tell me ; are you staying here ? At the inn ? No ? " " No. With friends. Are you ? " " We, my father and I, are staying at Eisenhalm, about four miles off. We came over here to hammer at the landslip." " Oh ! " I confess I was fairly puzzled by this girl, and could not make up my mind whether to be sus- picious of her or not. I thought I would wait and see what the father was like. " Your father is scientific ; a geologist ? " " Rather. I have been brought up on fossils and pliocene fragments. You can hardly winder at my taking naturally to this stone coflin as a summer- house," she said wistfully. " Science is very inter- esting and absorbing to a man who takes to it, but it is a horrible bore for his family. I am very, very dull, and my feelings towards this landslip are not fit to be expressed. Of course you have heard of my father. Professor Seemarsh ? " I recognized the name as one I had often seen in the papers. '!ii \V 11 :i'f|'. I'' ((• ''■■■ 82 THE RED CHANCELLOR " Yes ; I kn.jw your father well by repute. He lectures at the Royal Institution, does he not ? " " Yes ; you have heard him ? " " I am ashamed to say no." " Don't be ashamed. You may be a very creditable member of society and yet take no interest in old bones and old stones. Father is an authority on the flint age. A boy once broke his study window with a stone, and he was delighted. It was a paleolithic remainder. Nothing modern interests him in the very least. A knife and fork of to-day are to him an impertinence. Don't you pity me ? " " Is the daughter of so celebrated a man to be pitied ? " " Ah, I suppose that's what every one thinks. And I do so want to move on from this stupid place, and there's no chance of it, because father has lighted on an interesting cleavage and suspects flint remains. Five o'clock ! He shall not grub any longer." She gave me an off-hand nod, and moved away towards the landsHp. " May I come with you ? " I asked. " I should like to see Professor Seemarsh at work." She made no objection, so we strolled on together, chatting on indifferent subjects. I fancy our talk was intermittent ; anyhow, I know I was preoccupied with turning over in my mind the possibilities of this strange meeting. It was, in a way, iiatural enough ; and yet something seemed to put me on my guard. That was due to the occurrences of the past fortnight and the danger we were hourly expecting to show itself. Had it not been for these circumstances, I told myself, the meeting with this extraordinary girl would have been simply one of the queer episodes with which travel abounds. We had not far to go. Fifty yards or Sij from the entrance to the landslip I heard the tapping of a THE STONE SARCOPHAGUS 83 •1 hammer, guided by which I looked up and saw a man on his knees busily at work, and my companion sang out, " Five o'clock, my flinty-hearted parent." Professor Seemarsh turned round, gave an answer- ing wave of the hand, proceeding to collect his speci- mens into a canvas satchel which he slung on his shoulder, and then clambered down from the ledge on the fissured rock. I had told Miss Seemarsh my name, ai*d she intro- duced us. Naturally, I took keen notice of the Pro- fessor. He was a learned-looking, untidy man of about fifty-five, with shaggy grey eyebrows and whitish hair, while his scrubby moustache and wisps of shaggy beard showed a lofty disregard for grooming. There was nothing remarkable in his face, except that behind his tinted spectacles the eyes seemed keen and restless. His dress was quite professional in its negligent absence of taste. A light tweed Norfolk jacket, a crumpled buff waistcoat, dark grey trousers, and a weather-beaten soft felt hat were all in accor- dance with the best traditions of science. He bowed and shook hands jerkily, after the manner of men whose pursuits absorb them from society. He had a quick, short manner of speech as one who wishes to say what is necessary as soon as possible and then get to his work. " You are staying here ? At the inn ? Wretched place, isn't it ? " I told him. " Ah, I know. House on the site of the old castle. Must have been an interesting place. Ruins still exist, I believe ? " " Yes ; very fragmentary." He laughed. " I am used to fragments. They tell me all I want to know ; though a mere sight-seer wants something more. You are scientific ? " " I am afraid not." ii A f! 84 THE RED CHANCELLOR IH! P''l v' I M He drew in his breath sharply in pitying disappoint- ment. " Uth ! Well, you don't know what you miss. Most fascinating this sort of thing. ' ' He waved his hand comprehensively towards the rocks. From behind him his daughter made a grimace at me. To save a smile, I hoped politely he had had a good day's work. " Very fair. But I am only on the outer crust as yet. The great fascination of my work is that one never knows when one may not come upon a unique find. These," he. took up a handful of fragments from his bag, " these are interesting, but they tell us nothing we did not know before. That," he tapped a piece with Ins finger nail, " is tertiary. That's curious, -iUr. indentation was certainly made ten thousand years ago. Yes. I hope to come upon something belt r in a day or two." He threw them back, and buckled the satchel. I had never heard any one talk so fast and jerkily. It seemed as though all the words of each short sentence nished out of his mouth at once. ' Well," he said, " we must say good-day. We have a long walk before us. My daughter has prob- ably told you she is not geological. Bu being all day in the fresh air has set her up wonderfully. Perhaps, if you are staying on here, we may meet again, and I may be privileged to try and bring you under the spell of science. By the way, are the ruins of the old castle shown to strangers ? " It was rather an awkward questic i for me to answer without appearing churlish. I could hardly treat this man as a stranger. " My host, Herr von Lindheim, is very ill just now," I said, " but I am sure he would be glad for you to see them. Perhaps in a few days when he is better. But there is really scarcely anything of interest to see." THE STONE SARCOPHAGUS 8n ■[) The Professor smiled. " Anyhow, my work will be here for some time to come. If I am disappointed in this, perhaps I may remind you of your kind words. The comparatively modem antique is so fast disap- pearing that one likes to see it while one can. Good- bye. Come, Gertrude." He shook hands and went off. The girl, who had not spoken a word for some time, came up and gave me her hand in a shy manner, which was rather con- tradicted by a laugh in her eyes. " Don't let father make you a geologist," she said archly. " There are quite enough of them in the world." Then, without waiting for a word from me, she turned and ran after the Professor, linked her arm in his, and so they went off down the winding path. 'I' ,t CHAPTER XIV THE PROFESSOR IS MAIMED I WENT back and told my friends of the afternoon's incident. " I must confess to feeling a little doubtful about them," I said. " I c a t make the girl out at all ; she is a most queer j^oung woman, but of course Pro- fessor Seemarsh is a well-known man in England." " You are sure you have heard of him ? " Szalay asked. " Oh, yes. I know the name well. After all, it is quite likely that he would bo grubbing about here for specimens. These scientific fellows know of every likely place in Europe for a find." A day or two passed, and I s^w no more of my new acquaintances, for the reason that I did not walk that way. Miss Seemarsh, it is true, rather provoked my curiosity by her strangeness, but not sufficiently to induce me to run after her. We had noticed nothing suspicious since the episode of poor Fritz, and the strain of apprehending the enemy's next move was rather trying. Ore afternoon I thought I would stroll dov/n to the landslip and see if the Professor and his daughter were there. Action of some sort seemed absolutely necessary to keep one's nerves in order ; although we had determined to make a dash within the next few days. I had gone but a very short way towards the village when I saw coming towards me the pair whom I was at THE PROFESSOR IS MAIMED 87 going to seek. " Hullo ! " said I, " this is suspicious. What are they doing up here ? " As they drew near I noticed that the Professor carried his arm in a sling. " I am so glad we have met you," Miss Seemarsh exclaimed as we greeted each other. " My father has met with an accident. Tumbled over one of his beloved rocks yesterday, cut his hand and sprained his wrist. So he cannot quarry in the landslip, poor dear. And as he absolutely refuses to lose a day and be idle, we were coming up to ask if we might see the ruins of the old castle." The request could hardly be refused, and we turned back together, in spite of a remonstrance on the Professor's part that he was spoiling my walk, and that he could see all he wished without dragging me back. But it need hardly be said, I was not likely to fall in with that suggestion. " My work," the Professor said, in his quick jerky way, " is not by any means the easy-going business most people think it. I am sometimes hanging in a cradle for hours over a chasm perhaps a thousand feet deep. The best places for finds are often the sides of a perpendicular wall, which can only be reached by a rope above. The worst bit of this slip is comparatively child's play, although not free from a degree of danger, as I have proved." We soon reached the house and had the Professor at work on the walls of the old castle. " Very interesting remains, very interesting," he commented. " Of course your friend has a history of the old place ? Yes ? I should like to see it." " These fragments do not tell you much ? " " Everything, up to a certain point. But scarcely the names and deeds of the early inhabitants." When the inspection was over, and there was not much to see, it seemed to me the height of inhospita- m I :l! I if -' i n I J 88 THE RED CHANCELLOR !J fi lity not to show some little civility to my own country folk. They had walked all the way from Eisenhalm, and were going to walk back. One could hardly omit to ask them to come in and rest ; as for the danger, my suspicions, vague enough, were fast evaporating. When I asked them to come indoors, the Professor rather demurred. " Your friend is ill, you say. We had better not disturb him. Some other day, perhaps." But I felt constrained to press the invitation, and the Professor yielded. The usual elaborate German tea was brought in, and I left the room to tell Von Lindheim of my visitors. He looked rather dis- quieted. " They are all right," I assured him. " He is a well-known English savant, as I told you. And after all, supposing he is not, what can these two do against us. Come in. It will amuse you." He came in. The Professor sympathetically in- quired as to his health, and we sat for a good while chatting over our tea. Some of the Schonvalhof archives were produced to gratif}/ our visitors' interest in the place. Miss Seemarsh asked all sorts of ques- tions ; how we liked being buried in the country, if we did not have many visitors to keep us in touch with the outer world, and how long we proposed to sla^ before returning to Buyda. All these very natural questions were interspersed with naive comments and comparisons between such a life and that of a London savant of many engagements and an un- quenchable thirst for investigation. Suddenly something appeared to have gone wrong with the Professor's injured hand. He made an expression of pain, saying his wound had been troubling him for some little time. His daughter was full of a somewhat rueful solicitude. " Oh, I do wish it would get well quickly," she «< my I IS.' THE PROFESSOR IS MAIMED 89 half irurmured to me. " It is a trial when father can't work. I would far rather it had been my own hand. Father, hadn't you better let me dress it for you again ? I have brought the ointment and the bandages in my pocket." She pulled out a Httle parcel. "If we might ask to have a little warm water taken into a dressing-room, Gertrude might make things more comfortable for me," her father said, holding the arm as though in pain. I jumped up and said I would see to it mys ' ^ So accustomed to suspicion was I that my ^' over my friends had become almost automaixc I led the way to a chamber, with a bak c m- manding a lovely view across the valley. I left them and waited in the hall till they should come down. After a while it struck me that it would, perhaps, be as well to warn Szalay that the strangers were near him. His room, where he spent most of his time, adjoined Von Lindheim's. We had done all we could to prevent his presence in the house being known to any one out ide it, and I thought it just as well that he should keep close and not be seen even by these English people, who might be questioned by Rallenstein's spies. So I ran quickly upstairs. When I reached the corridor leading to the principal bedrooms, I was rather surprised to see the door of the room in which I had left the Seemarshes standing half-open. I knocked. No answer, I looked in ; the room was empty. I went out to the head of the stairs ; they were not to be seen. As I hurried along the corridor in search of them they came quickly round a corner and met me. " Oh, there you are," cried the Professor. " You can guide us back. We mistook the turning to the stairs and lost our way. What a labyrinth this house is." IJ , 'teps from the Consul's house to my hotel, a most startling thing happened. It was now dark. The purely residential streets of the city were more or less deserted, and the houses i t THE FAN 123 closed for the night. I walked through a square and into a tree-lined street of old houses leading out of it in the direction of the Konigstrasse. I hardly know what made me stop, hesitate and cross the road at a particular point about midway up the street. My mind was busy with thoughts and plans, and my steps seem to have taken me across the road mechanically, without any definite design. But considering the consequences of that trivial act, I have always set it down to something stronger and more occult than mere chance. I remember casually noticing that the house towards which I crossed was lighted up, one of the first floor windows was open, and from it came the sound of a pianoforte. As I reached the kerb I was startled from my thoughts by an object which fell with a sharp click upon the pave- ment at my feet. A small white fan. I picked it up and looked round. No one was near. Then up at the house before which I was standing. There was nothing to be seen at the windows to indi- cate where the fan had dropped from ; no shadow on the blinds, no movement to be seen within. Stepping back to look up, I noticed that one of the top win- dows was half-open, but there seemed no light in the room, and no sign of any one there. Then I looked at the fan in my hand. A plain but good one of white silk with ivory ribs. Too good at least to admit the suggestion that it had been deliberately thrown away as worthless. It had evidently been accident- ally dropped out of the window, and I stood there momentarily expecting the door to open and a servant to come out and seek it. But no one came ; so, after waiting awhile, I went up to the door, and rang. Standing there ready to give in the fan with a word of explanation, I began to open and shut it 124 THE RED CHANCELLOR carelessly, as, when waiting, one will fidget with the thing nearest to one's hand. As in doing this, the light from above the door fell upon it, my casual glance was arrested by something I had not noticed before. There was pencilled writing across the fan. As I turned and held it up closer to read the words, footsteps sounded within, and I had scarcely made out the purport of the writing when the door opened. Simultaneously by a quick movement I closed the fan and dropped my hand, so that it was bidder be- hind me. " Does Herr Steinme :z live here ? *' I stammered, using the first name that came to my tongue. " No, mein Herr," the servant answered, a dark, disagreeable-looking fell<")w, I thought, holding the door but a little way open and regarding me with manifest suspicion. " You do not know which is the number ? No ? Thank you. I am sorry to have troubled you." Next moment the door was shut with a slam and I was walking away down the street. At the second lamp I stopped, then took out the fan to read the words more carefully. They were these, scribbled as though in haste ; '* I am in danger of my life. Help me. Asta von Winterstein." I CHAPTER XX THE LIVING DEAD ASTA VON WiNTERSTEIN ! I wondered for a moment whether I was not dream- ing. I read the words over twice again, searched the fan for others, and finding none, thrust it into my pocket. Then I went back to the house, crossing the road the better to survey it from the other side of the street. Asta von Winterstein ! But she was dead, killed in that premeditated accident on the Salenberg road. Or, perhaps, was this another trick of the Chancellor's, and was she alive after all ? Or had the attempt failed, and in place of the merciful swiftness of that rush into eternity had she escaped to endure the longer agony of the fear of a death sure, yet uncertain as to its time and manner ? I knew well enough from Szalay's and Lindheim's cases what that meant. I could believe anything of Rallenstein the Jaguar, anything. Nothing could surprise me, nothing seemed improbable. I walked quickly along the street till I came to the portico of a great house at the end. Here, sheltered from observation, I took out the fan and re-read the fateful sentence. It fascinated me. I could not keep my eyes from it. The poor girl's face and form came back to my mind, vividly, now, as I had seen her at the dance. I hardly dared to think of the un- speakable agony that house might enclose. What could I do ? I was worse than helpless ; a stranger, 125 i i 1 T26 THE RED CHANCELLOR I ! in a country where the government was a law unto itself. I went back to the house, looking eagerly for a sign that I might act upon. No one was to be seen at any of the windows, though the piano still sounded. Ugh ! it set my teeth on edge. A waltz was being played softly ; '^ dance of death, indeed I I walked up and down the street, not knowing what to do ; realizing my utter helplessness, yet without being able to leave the spot. Since that night I have often thought how foolish it was of me thus to court suspicion, but at the time the horror I felt made me too reckless to care for that. Presently as I passed there was a movement to be seen within the lighted-up room. A shadow came be- tween the light and the window. Then the light was extinguished. I took my stand in the obscurity of a doorway and watched. The blind was drawn aside, then a figure appeared, a man, the fellow who had opened the door to me. He shut the window, with- drew, and all was darkness and silence, for the light in the hall was out. I waited a while in my new position with my eyes fixed on the top window, whence it seemed the fan had been thrown out ; but nothing rewarded my watch. It was getting late. In spite of the alarm my absence would cause Von Lindheim I determined to stay the night in Buyda. I could not bring myself to ride av/ay, disregarding that appeal, though it was manifest how little it was in my power to arrest the approaching tragedy. I quitted my corner and made my way with all speed to the hotel. " I have changed my mind, I stay here to-night," I said to the landlord. " It may be some time yet before I turn in, but have a room ready for me." Then I went round to the stables, and by the dim light of a lantern saw a fellow asleep on some sacks i! THE LIVING DEAD 127 in a comer. I was proceeding to rouse him when I saw that he was in hvery ; the coachman, possibly, of some other guest. A pair of great black carriage horses stood in the stalls beside my nag. The harness was on them ; they were evidently going out again that night. I don't know what roused my curiosity and induced me to look closer. On the harness was a device, a coronet, and, underneath, a cypher, G.F. I went out into the yard. A roomy carriage stood under a shelter. Striking a match I examined the panels. On them was emblazoned a coat of arms, with the same coronet above and the same cypher below. Footsteps sounded on the cobbles of the yard. It was the ostler. I told him I should not want my horse that night ; I was sorry to have kept him up. " Oh," he said, " mein Herr, there is no bed for me yet. A gentleman's carriage going out at mid- night." " Ah ! the horses I saw in the stable just now. They are splendid animals. Whom do they belong to?" " To the Count Furello, mein Herr," the man answered with the importance of his kind over a distinguished customer. Somehow I was prepared for the answer. " The Count travels late." " Yes, mein Herr." He moved off towards the stables and I let him go, judging there was not much information to be got out of him. But I resolved to try what under the cir- cumstances was a pardonable piece of eavesdropping ; so, after a feint of going into the hotel, I crept back and placed myself outside the stable window. The ostler had evidently roused the sleeping coach- man, and they were now rallying one another with rough pleasantry. Presently, " It's all the bed I shall get this night," the sleepy coachman exclaimed with \f 128 THE RED CHANCELLOR a yawn. " Five hours* hard driving to-day with scarce a minute for a schoppen of beer. Our Herr Bleisst can play the devil when he chooses, ani the Herr Graf too." " He drives at the devil's time, truly," the ostler laughed. " Midnight, through the woods. Poor Carl ! I shall remember you when I am snug in bed. Ah I You will be ready for breakfast when you reach the Geierthal to-morrow morning." They said nothing more to which I could attach any importance, but I had heard enDugh. It was only natural Ibat I should connect this mi'^night journey with the message on the fan. One thing struck me as being particularly significant. At the Baron- ess's house that afternoon. Count Furello had said that he was going to his home in the Geierthal ; but why was he traveUing at night and by road? According to his coachman, his carriage had posted up from the Geierthal that morning, with such haste as hardly to give the man time to get refreshment. That circumstance, coupled with what I knew of the Count, enabled me to conceive a likely idea of what was going on. I went into the hotel, had some supper, and at half-past eleven was back in the gloomy street, which I found was called the Neckarstrasse. The house was dark and silent as I left it. I lighted a cigar and walked up and down, waiting for midnight, when I felt sure something would happen. I was not wrong. It wanted but a few minutes to the hour, when, stopping to turn, I could hear at some distance the rumble of a vehicle approaching at a walking pace. At first I thought it could not be what I expected ; but as it turned into the street I saw that my sus- picion was correct. It was the carriage I had seen in the hotel yard ; it looked almost funereal, coming along at a toot's pace, with its pair of big black horses. The slow rate of progression had the effect of making THE LIVING DEAD 129 very little noise ; if the carriage had dashed up to the door, probably half the street would have been roused. As it passed me, the Hght from a lamp fell on the rather flamboyant device on the panel, but I needed not that to make sure. It drew up at the door of the house whence the fan had come ; I had followed close behind, and as the carriage stopped, I slipped unnoticed into the portico of the next house ; a risky position to take up, but I was resolved, come what might, to see who the occupants of the carriage were to be. The coachman made no attempt to give notice of his arrival, but sat on his box motionless as I, leaning back in the shadow. Presently, it may have been after ten minutes' waiting, the driver's head turned sharply towards the door, then I heard the click of the lock, and a man, the same who had opened the door to me, came out and looked up and down the street with an air of recon- noitring. Apparently satisfied, 1: spoke a few words in a low tone to the coachman and went quickly into the house again. In a short time he reappeared with what seemed a basket and a travelling bag. These he placed inside the carriage. Then he brought out a valise, which, with the help of the coachman, he stowed away under the box. i Te now stood by the carriage door, waiting. I could hear people moving and speaking in a low tone. Then the man held the door open. I came forward, standing behind the pillar and leaning over the railing to get as good a view as possible. Two men came down the steps, conducting between them a lady so wrapped up and veiled that I could not have seen her face even from a nearer point of view. They were followed by a young woman, whom I seemed to recognize as she who had called herself Miss Seemarsh, but of this the darkness prevented my being sure. The man farthest from me I at once recognized as E 130 THE RED CHANCELLOR Count Furello. His was not a face to forget. He got into the carriage first, next the veiled lady was handed in by the other man, after which the second lady entered, the man shut the door, and jumped up to the box beside the coachman, who turned the horses and drove slowly off in the direction he had come. The footman stood looking after them till they were out of the street, then went in, and I came out from my hiding-place. " They are taking that girl off to her death," I cried, walking quickly after them ; ** nothing can be done by me to save her. But, hopeless as it may be, I will not leave her to these fiends without an effort to rescii*^ her. Thank Heaven, I know their des- tination ; if you are to die, my poor Asta, at least a friend shall be near you." ,it i' V <^ vf CHAPTER XXI A WASTREL It was scarcely dawn when I rode out of Buyda on my way back to Schonvalhof. With a feehng of relief I struck the high road and entered the open country. Buyda, beautiful city though it undoubtedly was, had become hateful to me as a veritable net of sinister intrigue, with that great relentless spider sitting in the midst marking down his prey. I reached Schonvalhof without incident, and before many people were astir. The house was closed, and I was considerably reassured (for I had my fears), after ringing a loud peal at the bell, to see presently Lindheim's face at the window. He seemed more reheved than even I, and ran down to let me in. " A delightful night I have passed ! " he exclaimed. ** I made sure when midnight came and you had not returned, that you had paid the penalty of youi rashness. Well, what news ? " I related the events of my day in Buyda ; my inter- view with Rallenstein, my visit to the Baroness and meeting with Count Furello, and lastly, the episode of the fan. " You will not think me a broken reed, my dear Lindheim," I said in conclusion, " when you learn I have only called in here on my way to the Geierthal. That girl is in awful danger, is quite helpless in the hands of these villains, and I should be worse than a coward if, after having received that appeal, I should ignore it and make no attempt to save her." 131 i i'\ ':M 132 THE RED CHANCELLOR " I quite agree with you," he said, " but fear you can do nothing. There is no law to which you can appeal, which is not at once over-ruled by +he higher law of political expediency. Count Furello is, as we know, the Jaguar's paw. Although he holds a good position in his part of the country, they say Rallenstein knows enough against him to bring him to the scaffold to-morrow if he wished. No doubt he has been watching us here, superintending the work of his confederates, and has only left because he was wanted for this business, and his master sent for him. You will run a great risk, my friend." " That is nothing," I replied; " any present danger is better than a life-long self-reproach. My only regret is that it involves my deserting you." He laughed. " Not necessarily. For, if you are determined to go, I would ask you to let me come with you." " You ! " I thought a moment. " I am not sure that it would be a bad move for you. You cannot stay here much longer." '* Alone ? no. It is nervous work enough with a friend. I have not slept all night. Let me come with you and meet my danger in the open if it has to be met." " You don't value Rallensttin's assurance, then ? " '* I am quite sure my Ufe would not be worth twenty- four hours' purchase in Buy da." " Then come, and the sooner we start the better. I fear there is not much to be done, but we shall at least be company for each other. How far is the Geierthal from here ? " "Not much more than thirty r.iiles." ** Then I propose we make an early start, take a long rest by the way, and get to the place towards evening. We can best reconnoitre after dark." After a substantial breakfast, we hurriedly made A WASTREL 133 t» preparations for having some necessary baggage sent to us under an assumed name at Carlzig, the nearest town to the Geierthal, provided ourselves each with a serviceable revolver and a bag of cartridges, and set out. Guns and fishing-rods were to be sent after us, our ostensible reason for the excursion being sport, which abounded in those regions. On our way we turned aside to the house of the village priest, whom Lindheim requested to take in hand the arrangements for the funeral of poor Szala}^ The priest had been an old friend of Lindheim's father, so could be trusted with the true explanation of Szalay's sudden death, and the necessity of our departure. He promised to receive any of the family as Lindheim's representative, and to act in the whole matter as his discretion might dictate. This settled, we rode on ; but before leaving the village a suspicious curiosity impelled me to turn aside for a few minutes and to climb the rocks, the scene of my narrow escape two days before. With some difficulty I succeeded in mounting to the brow whence the gieatmass had been dislodged. For my idea now was that this fall had not been accidental, and it needed only a cursory glance to confirm that suspicion. The rock had evidently been bored, and the upper part cleft and hurled down by an explosive, a small charge having probably, from its over-haiiging position, sufficed to effect its dislodgment. So sure of impunity had my would-be murderers obviously considered themselves, that they had not troubled in any way to remove the evidences of their design. My feeling now was almost one of indifference, since this was only another proof of what we knew well — the cunning, relentless malignity with which we were being pursued. Thus satisfied, I qmcldy rejoined Von Lindheim, and we soon had left the village far behind us. After 134 THE RED CHANCELLOR that we slackened our speed, taking frequent rests, and, as we had planned, towards evening found our- selves in a little hamlet about a mile from the Mon- astery of the Geierthal. We were more lucky than we anticipated in finding a fairly comfortable road- side inn, where we took up our quarters and ordered dinner. While the meal was preparing I went out for a stroll along the valley to see if a glimpse was to be had of the Monastery. After walking for about twenty minutes I came to a point where the pine-covered hills on one side opened out, falling away and leaving a great circle of flat country of, perhaps, a mile in diameter, after which they closed up again and the valley resumed its course. It was here in this lower ground that I rightly guessed the old Monastery must be ; it was just such a spot as the monks were wont to choose for their dwelling-place, and the next turn in my path gave me a peep of a great house showing here and there betv^een the trees which grew down to the edge of a broad band of water which encircled it. Remember- ing the Baroness's description of the Monastery on an island I needed no further guide. A few steps on brought me to a gate in a fence which evidently ran round the property. The path I had taken was, then, one leading to the Monastery. " I won't trespass this side of dinner," I said ; ** but it is just as well to have got my bearings by daylight." So after a good look round I turned and retraced my steps to the inn. Von Lindheim met me v/ith a rather perturbed face. " More complications," he said ; " fate is dogging me still. The Jaguar's long paw has already reached to the Geierthal." " What do yca mean ? What has happened ? " WASTREL 135 " A stranger is at the inn already. An Englishman, or, at least, one who speaks English." " Another spurious Professor — of what ? " ** A sportsman this time." '* Speaking English ? " '* Singing it." " Oho ! Let us investigate. I may be able to tell the genuine article better than you." We went in. In the passage Lindheim touched me on the arm and I stopped. From the inner room came a man's voice, an EngUshman's evidently, singing in a more or less burlesque fashion : " The plighted ring he wore Was crushed and wet with gore. Yet ere he doied He bravely croicd I've kept the vow 1 swore-hoa-hore, I've ke-he-hept the vo-how-how I swore." '* An Englishman ? " I asked the landlord who came to tell us our dinner was ready. " Yes, an Englishman," he answered. " He shoots the birds and haies for miles." " He lives here ? " " No, mein Herr. He hves up in the hills, a good step from here. But he always comes to my house when he is near for a schoppen of laager-beer or a glass of schnaps." " Ah ! Then he has been here for some time ? " '* A month, two months, I think." I nodded to Lindheim. " I think it is all right. But we will go in and see." He was sitting at a table by the window and filling his pipe as we entered. An Englishman, certainly, I thought, and of a type not uncommon. A darkish, sunburnt complexion, fearless blue-grey eyes, a drooping moustaciie, and perhaps a trifle too much heaviness in the jaw ; the sort of man you see scores 13^ THE RED CHANCELLOR of in the West End during the summer months and very few m the winter, the type from which our best soldiers and sportsmen are drawn. He was dressed in a workmanlike if rather shabby shooting-suit, and his gun and cartridge-bag stood in the comer beside him. On our appearance he looked up casually, and as his eye rested on me a slight beam of recognition came into it, such as one Englishman gives another when they meet abroad. I bowed, and we both seemed inclined to laugh. " I think we are fellow-countrymen," I said. '* Englishmen are apt to meet in out-of-the-way places." " Ah, yes," he replied with a shght drawl. '* Last place I expected to run against one in. Nothing to see ; all nature and no art, and the nature not quite on the tourist scale." " We are not exactly tourists." " You know this part of the world ? " " No. We have come over to try and get sport of some kind.' " Good man ! I've been blazing away for the last six or eight weeks. I'm shooting for a game shop in Carlzig. So much a head, with board and lodging and a decent cottage thrown in. Like our dealers' moors in England, only they do you better at home ; prices, are higher. Will you join me, sport or profit ? As it is I am in danger of forgetting my mother tongue. Haven't heard the English language in all its native purity from any lips but my own for months. ' ' I said we should be glad to have a day with him. Charged as I was with suspicion of everyone I met, I could not bring myself to think this man was not genuine ; so far as his aationality went, he certainly was. " My name is Strode," he said, ** Hamilton Strode. A WASTREL 137 My people are Hampshire, but they've cut my painter and I'm adrift with one oar ; 'tother slipped over- board and I couldn't be bothered to pick it up. Still, I'm keeping on with a certain amount of vim. I was in the Scots Fusiliers till the Hebrews became too oppressive and I got a hint. Our Colonel, old Lampton, said he didn't mind a Jew or two as a general thing; in a crack regiment it was to be expected, but when a man couldn't go into his officers' quarters without tumbling over the whole twelve tribes of Israel it was coming it too strong. People were be- ginning to make unkind remarks about the S.F.G.'s adding Houndsditch to their territorial designations, and he'd be pole-axed if the thing should go on. So I was run out, like many a better chap." We expressed our sympathy. '* Now," he went on, " I dare say I am a queer member, a bad lot, and all that ; but if you'll give me your company I ca*' shov/ you some sport, the best in these parts, and I'll give my parole not to try to borrow money of you." " All right," I laughed, *' we'L come." And with that assurance he presently went off in great content. i> CHAPTER XXII THE LIGHT IN THE WOOD After dinner I left Von Lindheim, who was tired with his long ride after a sleepless night, and set out from the inn for a closer inspection of the Monastery. It was a good night for my purpose, being bright and obscure at intervals as great banks of drifting clouds passed over the moon. I soon arrived at the gate, which did not stop me this time. I went through and began to make my way more circumspectly on the private grounds through the thick belt of wood which encircled the moat. To the water's edge was but some two hundred paces, and coincident with my r'^aching it, the moon shone forth and gave me, like the wit Vi drawing of a veil, a perfect view of the house and its surroundings. They were romantic enough. Imagine a grey, rambling pile with all the charac- teristics of mediaeval fortified domestic architecture, toned by an ecclesiastical suggestion over all, standing insulated in the middle of a broad belt of water, surrounded again by wood growing down to its margin, and which, on two sides, after falling back for a short distance on almost level ground, rose abruptly to a considerable height, making a dark background opposite to where I stood. Such was my general view of the place ; I now proceeded to make a more detailed and practical observation. Keeping just within the obscurity of the trees I began to make my way round the moat, 138 t f