''THE JMASTER OF IMTSTERY" 
 
 WILLIAM LE QtJEUX'S NOVELS 
 
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 us panting for more — a brilliant feat." — Daily Graphic. 
 
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 of his that one will be amused." — Birmingham Post. 
 
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 " Mr. Le Queux's books are always exciting and ab- 
 sorbing. His mysteries are enthralling and his skill is 
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 by Mr. Le Queux, the popular weaver of tales of crime, 
 
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 cleverW 'worked out." — Bf^pksellfT. 
 
 The reader who 
 
 Le Queux's is away 
 
 lows what to expect. 
 
 picks lu) au.v o* his l.ijest noveri 
 — Bookman. 
 
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 a new novel is to them one of the mos^ felicitous events 
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 " Mr. Le Queux is the master of the al^t of mystery- 
 creating." — Liverpool Daily Post.
 
 AJadame Quero ^vas startled.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM LE QUEUX 
 
 Author of "The Doctor of Pimlico," etc. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 THE MACAULAY COMPANY
 
 Copyright, 1921 
 By the MACAULAY COMPANY 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 PRINTED IN THE T7. S. A.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 2137181 '
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The scene was Dean Street, Soho, and this story 
 opens on a snowy winter night in the January of 
 1888. The modern improvements o£ Shaftesbury 
 Avenue were as yet unmade, and the foreign district 
 of London had still to be opened up. 
 
 A cold north wind was blowing on the few pedes- 
 trians whom necessity, or some urgent obligation, 
 had compelled to tramp the pavements laden with 
 snow. A few cabs and carriages crawled along the 
 difficult roadway to the Eoyalty Theatre, deposited 
 their occupants and crawled back again. 
 
 iN'ello Corsini, a slim, handsome young Italian, 
 poorly clad, carrying a violin-case in one hand, wan- 
 dered down the narrow street, leading with his other 
 a slender girl of about eighteen, his sister, Anita. 
 She was dressed as shabbily as he was. 
 
 The snow was lying thickly on the streets and 
 roads, but it had ceased to fall a couple of hours ago. 
 The two itinerant musicians had crept out at once, 
 as soon as the weather showed signs of mending, from 
 their poor lodging. 
 
 They had only a few pence left. The bitter 
 weather of the last few days had affected their miser- 
 able trade very adversely. It was necessary they 
 should take advantage of to-night, for the purpose of 
 scratching together something for the evening meal. 
 
 7
 
 8 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 There were lights in several windows. It was, o£ 
 course, far from being a wealthy quarter; but there 
 could be none behind those warm-looking lights, 
 safely sheltered from the cold and wind, so wretched 
 as these two poor children of fortune who would have 
 to go supperless to bed if they could not charm a few 
 pence out of the passers-by. 
 
 Nello withdrew his violin from its case with his 
 cold fingers. Just as he was about to draw the bow 
 across the strings, a carriage passed down the street 
 on its way to the Royalty Theatre. Inside was a 
 handsome man verging upon thirty-five. Beside him 
 sat a very beautiful girl. Nello glanced at them 
 swiftly as they came by. They were evidently not 
 English, but he could not for the moment guess at 
 their nationality. 
 
 They certainly did not belong to any one of the 
 Latin races, that was evident. It was not till later 
 that he discovered their identity. The tall, imperi- 
 ous-looking man was Prince Zouroff, the Russian 
 Ambassador to the Court of St. James's. The girl, 
 about twenty, was his young sister, the Princess 
 Nada. 
 
 The young Princess was as kind and sweet-na- 
 tured as she was beautiful. She caught sight of the 
 two mendicants, for as such she regarded them, 
 standing there in the snow, and a gleam of compas- 
 sion came into her lovely eyes. Impetuously, she 
 pulled at the check-string, with the intention of stop- 
 ping the carriage and giving them money. 
 
 Her brother laid his hand on hers roughly. 
 
 " What foolish thing were you going to do now.
 
 THE INTRIGUEKS 9 
 
 IsTada? Your sentimentality is an absolute curse to 
 you. If you had your own way, you would give to 
 every whining beggar in the street." 
 
 She shrank back as if he had struck her a blow. 
 There was no love lost between the two. He despised 
 her for her kind, charitable instincts; she disliked 
 him for his hard, domineering nature, unsoftened by 
 any lovable or generous qualities. She put back the 
 purse which she had drawn hastily from her pocket. 
 Her mouth curled in a mutinous and contemptuous 
 smile, but she returned no answer to the brutal words. 
 
 ISTello played on in the cold and biting wind. 
 When he had finished, his sister had been the recip- 
 ient of two smalt donations from the few passers-by. 
 The girl's heart already felt lighter. They could not 
 €xpect very much on such an unpropitious night as 
 this. 
 
 And then, as the young violinist paused, from the 
 first floor of one of the houses close to them, there 
 floated faintly into the air the strains of a sweet and 
 melancholy air, played with exquisite taste and feel- 
 ing. 
 
 Xello listened eagerly, while his heart contracted 
 with a spasm of pain. The man who had played that 
 beautiful little melancholy romance was as capable 
 a violinist as himself. Alas, how diff'erent their lots ! 
 
 When the sounds had died away, the young man 
 resumed his instrument. He played over twice that 
 beautiful theme which had impressed him so strongly, 
 and then, as if inspired, wove into it a series of bril- 
 liant variations. 
 
 He felt he was playing as he had only played onco
 
 10 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 or twice before in his life. Soon, a small crowd was 
 gathered on the pavement, in spite of the icy temper- 
 ature. And when Anita went round shamefacedly 
 with her little bag, she met with a liberal response. 
 Nello need play no more that night, they had enough 
 for their humble needs; they would get home as 
 quickly as possible. He had contracted a heavy cold 
 from which he was still suffering. To-morrow he 
 could stop indoors and she would nurse him, as she 
 had so often done before. 
 
 She whispered the good news into her brother's ear, 
 and joyfully he placed the violin back into its case. 
 The small crowd, noting the action, melted away. 
 The friendless young souls linked their arms together, 
 stepped on to the pavement and turned in the direc- 
 tion of their humble lodging. 
 
 Bvit they had not taken half a dozen steps when 
 the door of a house was opened very quietly, and an 
 extraordinary figure stepped out and beckoned to 
 them. 
 
 " My poor children, it is a wretched night for you 
 to be out." This peculiar-looking old man was speak- 
 ing in a very kind and gentle voice. They noticed 
 his face was withered and furrowed with the deep 
 lines of age. He wore a bristling white moustache, 
 which gave him rather a military air in spite of his 
 stooping figure. He had on a tiny skull cap to de- 
 fend himself against the keen night air, but under- 
 neath it his snow-white locks were abundant. 
 
 He turned to young Corsini, peering at him 
 through his tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses. " You have 
 the gift, my young friend; you played those varia-
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 11 
 
 tions divinely. Our neighbour over the way is a de- 
 cent performer, he plays in a very good orchestra, but 
 he has not your fire, your brilliancy." 
 
 He fumbled in his pocket and produced a shilling, 
 which he pressed upon Anita, who shrank back a lit- 
 tle. She had not always been accustomed to this 
 sort of half-charity. 
 
 The old man saw her embarrassment and smiled. 
 " Ah, it is as I thought, my child. But there is no 
 cause to blush. If your brother were a famous vio- 
 linist and I paid half-a-guinea for a stall to hear him, 
 you would not think he had lowered himself by taking 
 my money for the pleasure he gave me. Well, I had 
 my stall up here on the third floor ! there is a conven- 
 ient little hole in the blind through which I could 
 peep and see the whole proceedings." 
 
 They both thanked him warmly, and were about 
 to move on, when the strange old man arrested them. 
 
 " Stop a second, my poor children. You must be 
 numbed with standing so long in that frosty air. I 
 have a good fire upstairs. Come and warm your- 
 selves for a few moments." 
 
 His voice and manner were compelling. Wonder- 
 ingly they obeyed, although at the moment, they were 
 thinking very intently of their supper. Still, the 
 night was young yet. They could wait a little longer 
 to make their purchases. Plenty of shops would be 
 open. And a few minutes spent at a bright fire 
 would be comfortable. 
 
 He opened the door wide as they entered it and 
 closed it behind him. Then he skipped, wonderfully 
 nimbly for a man of his age, in front of them.
 
 12 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 "' Follow Papa Peron, that is what they call me 
 in these parts, where I have lived for Heaven knows 
 how many years. It is a big climb and I don't do 
 it as easily as I used. But to children like you, it 
 is a hop and a skip. Follow me." 
 
 They followed him up the old-fashioned stair-case 
 into a small room, where a roaring fire was blazing. 
 He drew forth two easy-chairs and motioned to them 
 to seat themselves. He lighted another gas-jet in 
 their honour. He looked intently at their white 
 faces, and what he read there impelled him to a swift 
 course of action. 
 
 He dived into a small sideboard. In a moment, 
 as it seemed to the fascinated watchers, he had laid 
 a cloth upon the small and rather rickety table, ar- 
 ranged knives and forks. Then he produced half a 
 fowl, two sorts of sausages, half a ripe Camembert 
 cheese, and a dish of tinned fruit. When all his 
 preparations were complete, he beckoned them im- 
 periously to the table. He spoke in short, sharp ac- 
 cents, with the air of a man who is accustomed to be 
 obeyed. 
 
 " At once, please ! You are famished with that 
 dreary standing in this arctic street, and it will be 
 some time before you can get food. Please fall in at 
 once." 
 
 The sharp pangs of hunger were already gnawing 
 the vitals of both brother and sister, the tasty viands 
 were inviting enough ; but they had observed the 
 poorly furnished room. Monsieur Peron, in his 
 small fastidious way, seemed to have an air of dis- 
 tinction, but his clothes were well-worn, Nobody
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 13 
 
 could be as poor as themselves, but they felt sure 
 this kind-hearted old Frenchman was far from being 
 well-off. 
 
 Corsini raised a protesting hand. " Sir, you have 
 been kindness itself already. You have warmed us, 
 and we are very grateful, but we cannot eat you out 
 of house and home." 
 
 They guessed pretty accurately that these viands 
 which he had produced with such abandon, were 
 meant to last some little time. The average French- 
 man is a small eater, and a very thrifty person. 
 
 Papa Peron beat the table impetuously. '' Mon 
 Dieu, do you refuse my little whim ? I am not rich, 
 I admit. One does not lodge on the third floor if one 
 is a millionaire. That is understood. But I can 
 show hospitality when I choose. To table at once, 
 my children, or I shall be seriously displeased." 
 
 The old gentleman, in spite of his frail appearance, 
 was very masterful ; it was impossible to resist him. 
 Obediently they sat down, but their native politeness 
 forbade them to eat very much. They just stayed 
 their appetites, and left enough to satisfy their host 
 for a couple of days at least. In vain he exhorted 
 them to persevere. Brother and sister exchanged a 
 meaning glance, and assured their host that they had 
 already done too well. 
 
 When thev had finished and were back in the two 
 easy-chairs, basking in the warmth of the glowing 
 fire, the old Frenchman went to a little cupboard af- 
 fixed to the wall. On his face was a sly smile. 
 
 From this receptacle he produced a bottle, dusty 
 with age. He performed some strenuous work with
 
 14 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 a somewhat refractory corkscrew whose point had be- 
 come blunt with the years. In a trice, he produced 
 three glasses and placed them on a small table which 
 he drew close to the fire. 
 
 " This is fine Chambertin," he explained to his as- 
 tonished guests. " A dozen bottles were sent to me 
 by an old friend, since dead, three years ago. In 
 those three years I have drunk six — I am very ab- 
 stemious, my children. To-night, in your honour, I 
 open the first of the six that remain. We will ca- 
 rouse and make merry. It is a long time since I 
 have felt so inclined to merriment." 
 
 To this sally they could make no retort ; they were 
 still in state of bewilderment. To a certain extent 
 they felt themselves in a kind of shabby fairyland. 
 Was this strange old Frenchman as poor as appear- 
 ances suggested — or a miser with occasional freak- 
 ish impulses of generosity? 
 
 Papa Peron shot at them a shrewd glance. Per- 
 haps he divined their thoughts. Long experience 
 had made him very wise, possibly a little bit cunning. 
 
 " You think I am just a trifle mad, eh ? " he quer- 
 ied. 
 
 With one voice, or rather two voices raised in a 
 swift unison, they disclaimed the insinuation. They 
 only recognised several facts : that he was very kind, 
 very generous, very hospitable. 
 
 Papa Peron sipped the excellent Chambertin and 
 fell into a meditative mood. 
 
 " I lead a very lonely life, and youth, especially 
 struggling youth, has a great attraction for me. I 
 watched you two poor children to-night through the
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 15 
 
 i 
 little peep-hole in my blind. Mon Dieu! I guessed 
 the position at once. You had come out in the snow 
 and bitter wind, to try and make a living. You are 
 two honest people, I am sure. N'est-ce pas? " They 
 had be^n speaking in English up to the present mo- 
 ment, but momentary excitement, the stimulus of the 
 Burgimdy, had made him indulge in his native 
 tongue. 
 
 Thev assured him that thev were. 
 
 Papa Peron smiled a little sardonically. " Of 
 course you are. If you were inclined in other direc- 
 tions, you with your talents, your sister with her good 
 looks, would have taken up more paying trades than 
 this. What have you earned to-night?" he con- 
 cluded sharply. 
 
 Anita answered in a faltering voice. " Over three 
 shillings, Monsieur." 
 
 The sardonic smile vanished. A look of infinite 
 compassion spread over the lined face. 
 
 " My poor children. Virtue is indeed its own re- 
 ward." He turned to Xello, and his eyes flashed fire. 
 " And that charlatan, Bauquel, gets a hundred 
 guineas for a single performance. And he is not 
 in the same street with you." 
 
 '' But Bauquel is a genius, surely, Monsieur ? " ven- 
 tured Corsini deferentially. " I have never heard 
 him play, certainly, but his reputation! Surely he 
 did not get that for nothing? " 
 
 He spoke very cautiously, for although he had 
 not known Papa Peron for very long, he had recog- 
 nised that under that kindly and polite demeanour was 
 a very peppery temperament. If he were crossed in
 
 16 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 argument, the old Erenchman might prove a very 
 cantankerous person. 
 
 Peron snapped his fingers. " Banquel, bah ! A 
 man of the Schools, a machine-made executant. He 
 never half understands what he attempts to render." 
 Again he snapped his contemptuous fingers. " Bau- 
 quel, bah ! A charlatan ? It amazes me that the 
 public runs after him. He has a powerful press, and 
 he employs a big claque. Voilal On the business^ 
 side, I admit he is great; on the artistic side, not 
 worth a moment's consideration." 
 
 " You understand music. Monsieur, you are a 
 critic ? " suggested the young man timidly. Papa 
 Peron was evidently a very explosive person ; it 
 would not be polite or grateful to risk his anger. 
 
 Eor a little time the old man did not answer. 
 When he spoke, it was in a dreamy tone. 
 
 " Once I was famous as Bauquel is to-day — with 
 this difference: that I was an artist and he is a pre- 
 tender, with not an ounce of artistry in him." 
 
 " Was your instrument the violin. Monsieur? " 
 
 " Alas, no," was the old man's answer. " Chance 
 led me to the piano. I think I did well. But I 
 have always regretted that I did not take up the 
 violin. It is the one instrument that can sing. The 
 human voice alone rivals it." 
 
 After a moment's pause, he added abruptly, " Are 
 you very tired ? " 
 
 IS^o, Corsini was not in the least tired. The 
 warmth, the meal of which he had eaten sparingly 
 from motives of delicacy, the Burgundy, had warmed 
 his blood. He was no longer the weak, pallid crea-
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 17 
 
 ture who had set out from his lodging to earn a 
 night's sustenance. 
 
 " Why do you ask, Monsieur 'i " 
 
 " If you are not really tired, I would love to hear 
 that exquisite romance again, with one or two bril- 
 liant variations. See, in that corner, stands a piano 
 of fairly good tone. I will accompany you, or rather 
 follow you." 
 
 Corsini, his blood aglow with the generous stimu- 
 lant, the strange circumstances, rose up, took his 
 violin from its case, and drew the bow lovingly acrosa 
 the strings. The Frenchman went across to the 
 piano, opened the lid, and struck a few chords with 
 a touch that revealed the hand of the master. 
 
 For the next ten minutes the room resounded with 
 the divinest melody. The deep notes of the piano 
 mingled with the soaring strains of the violin. 
 
 Corsini, strangely inspired, played as one pos- 
 sessed. And Papa Peron caught every inflection, 
 every subtle change of key. Never, during the brief 
 performance, was there a single discord. All the 
 time the Frenchman, old in years, had followed every 
 mood of the younger musician. 
 
 Papa Peron dropped his slender, artistic hands on 
 the last chord. " My young friend, you are great," 
 he said quietly. " Success to you is only a matter of 
 time. Another glass of Chambcrtin ? " 
 
 Nello drained it; he felt strangely elated. "Ah, 
 Monsieur, but your accompaniment was half the bat- 
 tle. When I faltered, you stimulated me. You 
 must have been a magnificent pianist." 
 
 Anita broke in in her gentle voice. The daughter
 
 18 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 of an English mother, she spoke the tongue of her 
 adopted country very fluently. 
 
 " You put great heart into us, Monsieur. But 
 when you speak of success, I remember that we have 
 earned just about three shillings to-night." 
 
 Peron, the optimist, waved his hand airily. 
 " Look up to the stars, my child, and hope. I have 
 a little influence left yet. Perhaps I can put you on 
 the right track ; take you at least out of these miser- 
 able streets. Sit down for another ten minutes; 
 make a second supper if you like." He guessed that 
 they had not fully satisfied their hunger. 
 
 But this they resolutely declined. He waved them 
 to their chairs. 
 
 " Five minutes, then. Tell me a little something 
 of your history. I am sure it has been a tragic one." 
 
 And Corsini, departing from his usual mood of 
 reticence, imparted to the old Frenchman the details 
 of his career. 
 
 His father, the elder Corsini, had been first violin 
 at the Politeama Theatre in Florence, while compar- 
 atively a young man. He had quarrelled violently 
 with the manager and been dismissed. Confident in 
 his ability, he had come over to England to seek his 
 fortune afresh. Here he had met and fallen vio- 
 lently in love with, a young English girl, some few 
 years his junior. She was a pianist by profession, in 
 a small way. She attended at dances, played accom- 
 paniments at City dinners. Her income was a very 
 meagre one. She was the product of one of the nu- 
 merous schools that turn out such performers by the 
 dozen.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 19 
 
 Thev married, and Corsini soon discovered tiiat 
 he was not the great man he imagined himself to be. 
 Also, he was of a frail and weaklv constitution. Ten 
 years after his marriage he died of rapid consump- 
 tion. ]VIadame Corsini was left with two children on 
 her hands. 
 
 She was a devoted mother. Xello dwelt on this 
 episode of their sad life with tears in his eyes. She 
 worked hard for a miserable pittance ; and then she 
 was worn out with the strain. Xello and his sister, 
 Anita, were left orphans. Xello had been taught the 
 rudiments of the violin by his father ; all the rest he 
 had picked up himself. 
 
 After his mother's death the rest was a nightmare. 
 He had done his best for himself and his sister. 
 That best had landed them in this snow-laden street 
 to-night. 
 
 Papa Peron listened quietly to this young violin- 
 ist's recital, but he made little comment. Here was 
 one of the numerous tragedies that were occurring 
 every day in every populous city. 
 
 He rose and shook hands with the two. " You have 
 a lodging to go to, my poor children ? " he asked anx- 
 iously. 
 
 With a deep blush, Corsini assured him that they 
 had a lodging to go to ; he did not dare to give him the 
 address. Dean Street was a comparatively aristo- 
 cratic abode. Papa Peron's humbly furnished room 
 seemed a Paradise. And the piano was good — that 
 must have been saved from the prosperous days — 
 and was his own. No Soho landlady w'ould provide 
 such a piano as that.
 
 20 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Peron shook them warmly by the hand. " You 
 must come and see me to-morrow. I shall be in all 
 the morning. I shall think things over between now 
 and then. I am a poor man myself, but I may be 
 able to help you with introductions. I must get you 
 out of these miserable streets." 
 
 They walked home, wondering about Papa Peron. 
 Who could he be ? Anita inclined to the belief that 
 he was a miser. ITello had his doubts. 
 
 Still very hungry, they bought some sausages on 
 their way home and devoured them before they went 
 to bed. They still had a substantial balance on hand, 
 according te the thriftv Anita. 
 
 And the next morning, iN^ello was round at Dean 
 Street to learn what Papa Peron had thought of in 
 the meanwhile.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The old Frencliman had heard Corsini's knock at 
 the door. He stood at the entrance to his shabby 
 sitting-room, the only article of furniture being the 
 piano, his kind old lined face illumined with smiles. 
 
 " Courage, my young friend. I did not sleep very 
 well after the excitement of your visit. Inspiration 
 came to me in the middle of the night. You see that 
 letter ? " He pointed to a small desk standing 
 against the wall. " Go and see to whom it is ad- 
 dressed." 
 
 Nello obeyed him. His eyes sparkled as he read 
 the name on the envelope. " Mr. Gay, the leader of 
 the orchestra at the Parthenon." 
 
 Papa Peron nodded his leonine head, bristling with 
 its snow-white locks. " A friend of mine. He is a 
 composer as well as chef d'orchestre. I have cor- 
 rected many of his proof sheets for a firm I work 
 for." 
 
 Corsini pricked up his ears at this statement. He 
 and his sister had been curious as to the old man's 
 profession. The mystery was solved. He was no 
 miser, no millionaire, just a music publisher's hack. 
 And once, according to his own statement, he had 
 been a famous pianist, with a renown equal to that of 
 Ban quel. 
 
 " I have ajaked him to give you the first vacancy in 
 
 21
 
 22 THE INTKIGUERS 
 
 his orchestra. He will do it to oblige me, for I have 
 helped him a little — given him some ideas. It is 
 one of the best theatre orchestras in London. The 
 pay, alas ! will not be good, but it will take you out of 
 those miserable streets. Go to his private address 
 this morning ; I am sure he will see you at once." 
 
 " How can I thank you ? " began the young man ; 
 but Peron stopped him with an imperious wave of 
 his long, thin hand. 
 
 " Tut, tut, my child ! I want no thanks. I have 
 taken a fancy to you and that dear little sister of 
 yours. ISTow, listen; I have another scheme on 
 hand." 
 
 Rapidly the genial old man unfolded his plans. 
 
 " In my room there are two beds. The landlady 
 has a little attic to let, by no means a grand apart- 
 ment, but it will serve for your sister. You can 
 share my room. Three people can live almost as 
 cheaply as two." There was a knowing smile on the 
 wrinkled face, as the genial Papa enunciated this 
 profound economic truth. " Come and live here. 
 You can practise on the violin while I play your ac- 
 companiments." 
 
 " But Monsieur, at the moment, we have no 
 money, " stammered the embarrassed violinist. 
 " Mr. Gay may not have a vacancy for some little 
 time." 
 
 Papa Peron frowned ever so little. He did not 
 easilv brook contradiction. " You are makino; dif- 
 Acuities where none exist. You must lodge some- 
 where. My landlady only asks five shillings a week 
 for the attic. You share my bedroom and sitting-
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 23 
 
 room. As for the food, you will be my guests till you 
 earn something. Do not say me nay," he ended 
 fiercely. *' I am resolved that you shall play no more 
 in those miserable gutters. It is finished. You 
 come here to-night." 
 
 There was no resisting this imperious old man with 
 the frail figure and the snow-white abundant hair. 
 ISTello promised that he and his sister would move into 
 Dean Street that afternoon. In the meantime, he 
 would take the letter of introduction to Mr. Gay, who 
 had lodgings in Gower Street, no great distance. 
 
 Mr. Gay was a fat, rubicund man with a somewhat 
 faded and slatternly wife. He read Peron's note and 
 a genial smile lit up his massive face. 
 
 " Good ! " he cried heartily. " My old friend 
 vouches for you, and you have come in the very nick 
 of time. One of my men is leaving in a couple of 
 days — got a better berth. You can take his place. 
 But before we settle, you may as well give me a taste 
 of your quality. We go in for rather high-class 
 music at the Parthenon. Play me Gounod's ' Ave 
 Maria,' I always test a man with that." 
 
 He called to the slatternly woman who was crouch- 
 ing over the fire. " Ada, please go to the piano and 
 play the accompaniment for this young man." 
 
 Mrs. Gay complied with the request. Nello 
 played the beautiful piece with all his soul. Gay 
 listened, attentively. When it was finished, he ap- 
 plauded loudly. 
 
 " By Jove, you are great ! Peron was right. He 
 has not exaggerated. You have had no chance, eh ? " 
 
 Xello stammered that he had had no chances. He
 
 24 THE INTRIGUEKS 
 
 did not dare confess to this prosperous person, com- 
 poser as well as conductor of an orchestra, that, 
 lately, he had been playing in the streets for a living 
 to pay for his miserable lodging and scanty food. 
 
 They arranged tenns with many apologies on the 
 part of Mr. Gay. 
 
 " It is an insnlt to a man of your talent to offer 
 such a miserable pittance. But my hands are tied, 
 and tied very strictly, I can tell you. Turn up at 
 the Parthenon on Friday night; you will soon get 
 something better. You can read music quickly ? " 
 
 Nello assured him on that point. He could read 
 music aB easily as his newspaper. The terms which 
 Mr. Gay offered him were riches compared to the few 
 coppers he had earned in the streets. 
 
 That same afternoon he and the joyful Anita pr^ 
 8ented themselves in Dean Street, with their few be- 
 longings. Papa Peron furnished a royal supper and 
 broached another bottle of the very excellent Cham- 
 be rtin. 
 
 There was, however, still the question of clothes. 
 Nello had nothing but what he stood up in, and the 
 Parthenon was a very swagger theatre. Peron was 
 equal to the emergency. He took the young man 
 round to a neighbouring costumier's, and secured a 
 dress-suit on the hire-purchase system, at a very small 
 outlay of ready money which he advanced. For, al- 
 though the good Papa was not rich, he was very 
 thrifty, and usually had a shot in the locker. 
 
 It was a very happy menage ; the old Frenchman 
 was kindness and geniality itself. He seemed to
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 25 
 
 grow younger in the society of his youthful friends. 
 
 And in time the mystery that had seemed to sur- 
 round him vanished, his means of livelihood became 
 revealed. He was on the staff of a couple of big 
 music publishers- He corrected their proof sheets, 
 he occasionally advised on compositions of budding 
 composers ; but needless to say, at this hack work his 
 remuneration was very modest. 
 
 But he always appeared cheerful and resigned. 
 He would drop fragmentary hints of a brilliant past, 
 when money flowed like water, when he had mixed 
 with illustrious personages. But he could never be 
 induced to dwell very long on this period, would en- 
 ter into no convincing details. 
 
 " It is gone, it is a feverish dream," he would say 
 with a somewhat theatrical wave of the hand. It 
 was evidently a weakness of his to enshroud himself 
 in an air of romance and mystery. " What does it 
 matter who and what I was? To-day I am Papa 
 Peron, music publisher's hack, earning a few shillings 
 a week at a most uncongenial occupation- But, at 
 my age, I want little." 
 
 Nello and his sister were happy too. The salary 
 at the Parthenon was not magnificent, but it was a 
 certainty, and they were frugal young people. ISTo 
 more playing in the sleet-driven streets, no more ter- 
 rible uncertainty as to the night's lodging and the 
 next day's meal. 
 
 For a month they pursued this humble, but not un- 
 comfortable life. And Nello, who had no oppor- 
 tunity of displaying his talent in this big orchestra,
 
 26 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 where he was one of many, played two or three hours 
 a day to the brilliant accompaniment of the old 
 Frenchman. 
 
 And then the clouds began to gather. Papa Peron 
 was taken with a severe attack of bronchitis. Racked 
 in spasms of severe coughing, he was unable to pur- 
 sue his humble and not too remunerative occupation. 
 He could no longer correct the proof sheets. The 
 doctor's visits, the necessity of extra and expensive 
 nourishment, began to eat up his slender store. The 
 few sovereigns he had hoarded for a rainy day began 
 to melt rapidly. 
 
 This did not matter much for a while. The regu- 
 lar salary at the Parthenon sufficed, with Anita's skil- 
 ful management, for the three ; but there was no 
 longer any question of putting by. Anita knew now 
 that she had been very mistaken in thinking the poor 
 old Papa was a miser. With tears in his poor old 
 eyes, he had been forced to confess that he had come 
 to his last sovereign. 
 
 And Anita had cried too. " What does it mat- 
 ter, dear Papa ? " she said. She had grown very 
 fond of the kind old man. " You took us in when 
 we were poor and friendless, l^ello will work for 
 you now, and I shall be very careful. You will see 
 how well I can manage on a little." 
 
 And so good old Papa Peron had his beef-tea, his 
 little drops of brandy, his expensive chicken. Who- 
 ever went without, he must not experience want. 
 And the doctor Avas paid punctually. 
 
 But misfortunes never come single. One very 
 frosty night, on coming out of the Parthenon, Nello
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 27 
 
 fell on the slippery pavement and seriously hurt his 
 left hand, lie went to the doctor on his way home, 
 and his worst fears were confii-med. 
 
 " A longish job, I fear, Signor Corsini. The fin- 
 gers are very much injured, and so is the arm. You 
 are a musician, are you not ? " 
 
 " A violinist, sir. If it had been the right arm 
 instead of the left, I might have managed with the 
 bow. But I cannot play a note." 
 
 Mr. Gay was informed of the accident, in a letter 
 from Anita. He was genuinely sorry, but the thea- 
 tre had to be served. He had to procure another vio- 
 linist at once. For four miserable weeks iSTello ate 
 his heart out, and Papa Peron seemed to grow weaker 
 every day. 
 
 When life and motion returned to the poor dam- 
 aged fingers, there were only a few shillings left in 
 the house. Peron had announced that if help did 
 not come soon they must sell the piano, the one bit of 
 property he owned in the world. So, at least, he 
 averred. 
 
 Nello could play now. He went round at once to 
 Gay's lodging in Gowcr Street. Could he be taken 
 on again ? The kindly conductor hemmed and 
 hawed ; he was obviously very much embarrassed. 
 
 " We had to fill up your place, my dear chap, and 
 the new man has proved quite satisfactory. It is, of 
 course, awfully hard on you. But, you see, I can't 
 sack him to put you in his place." 
 
 " Of course not," answered IN'ello quietly. Misery 
 was gnawing at his heart, but he was just. The man 
 who was taken on had possibly been in the same state
 
 28 THE INTKIGUEKS 
 
 of wretchedness as himself. He would hardly have 
 cared to turn him out, if Gay had been willing. 
 
 " And how is the dear old Papa ? " asked Gay, 
 trying to relieve an awkward situation with the in- 
 quiry. 
 
 " He is very ill ; not far from death, I fear," was 
 Kello's answer. And then the truth, which he could 
 no longer conceal, flashed out. " And very soon he 
 will be close to starvation." 
 
 Gay looked shocked. He had experienced his ups 
 and downs, but he had never been in such a tight cor- 
 ner as this. He fumbled in his waistcoat pocket and 
 produced a sovereign, which he thrust into the other 
 man's hand. 
 
 " Terrible, terrible! I ami sorry I cannot do 
 more ; but I am a poor man, too." 
 
 Nello took it, but his face burned, it was such obvi- 
 ous charity. 
 
 " I accept it, Monsieur, with gratitude, and I thank 
 you for the kind thought. But can you help me to 
 find work ? I want to earn money, not to beg it." 
 
 " Sit down a moment while I think," The kind- 
 hearted conductor was very distressed himself at the 
 piteous state of affairs. 
 
 " I have it," he exclaimed after a few moments of 
 reflection. " You have heard of Paul Degraux ? " 
 
 " One of the directors of the Covent Garden 
 Opera ? " 
 
 " Right," said Gay. " Well, Degraux is a big 
 man now, but twenty-five years ago we were playing 
 in the same orchestra for a few shillings a week. He 
 is there, I am here. We have never quite lost sight
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 29 
 
 of each other, and I think he would always do me a 
 good turn if it was in his power. I will give you a 
 note to him. Take it round to him this morning. 
 You will find him at the theatre." 
 
 Ten minutes later, Corsini was on his way to the 
 great man. Gay had written a most glowing and 
 eulogistic introduction. 
 
 " The bearer of this note, Signer ISTello Corsini, is 
 a most accomplished violinist. I have had him in 
 my orchestra, but he is too good for that. Give him a 
 chance at one of your concerts and he will make good. 
 You know my judgment is generally pretty accurate. 
 Give him a helping hand and you will not regret it."
 
 CHAPTEK III 
 
 The name of Gay seemed one to conjure with. 
 Five minutes after the letter had been taken in, I^ello 
 was shown in to Monsieur Degraux's private room. 
 
 He was a tall, handsome man, this musical director 
 of the opera who, twenty-five years ago, had played 
 in a small orchestra for a few shillings a week. His 
 countenance was florid, he had a very striking per- 
 sonality. Emphatically he was the type of man who 
 gets on, who shoulders his way in the world, pushing 
 aside with his strong, resolute elbows his weaker and 
 more timorous fellow creatures. 
 
 He was always urbane, even when he had to say 
 No. At the present moment he had not decided as 
 to whether he would say Yes or 'No to his old friend's 
 request. He was very much taken with the appear- 
 ance of the slim, handsome young Italian. His 
 clothes were certainly shabby: Degraux's experienced 
 eyes took in that fact at once ; but there was a certain 
 resolution in hello's bearing, a brightness and ani- 
 mation in his face, that showed he was no ordinary 
 seeker for favours. 
 
 " Sit down, sit down," he said genially, " although 
 
 I cannot give you very long. I am a very busy man ; 
 
 all the day and half the night I have to cut myself 
 
 into pieces, as it were. And always, I am frightfully 
 
 worried. To-day I have been more worried than 
 
 usual." 
 
 30
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 31 
 
 " I am sorry to hear it, Monsieur," said the Italian, 
 sympathetically. If he wanted to get anything out 
 of Monsieur Degraux, he must fall in with his moods. 
 Privately he thought the director's worries, whatever 
 their magnitude, were as nothing compared to his 
 own. 
 
 This plump, prosperous-looking person was not 
 very close to star\'-ation. 
 
 " You know, of course, the name of Bauquel ? " 
 inquired Degraux abruptly. 
 
 " A great genius, Monsieur." In spite of Papa 
 Peron's hostile verdict, the younger musician had a 
 great reverence for the celebrated violinist, who was 
 a popular favourite in every European capital. 
 
 The director snapped his fingers, and indulged in 
 an angry exclamation. " ISTot the genius that he 
 thinks himself, not the genius his friends pretend he 
 is. He is very astute on the business side, has worked 
 his Press well, and always maintains a vigilant 
 claque. I and people like myself have helped him 
 very considerably also by taking him at his face valu- 
 ation. Genius, certainly not ; at any rate, not a great 
 genius." 
 
 Monsieur Degraux snapped his fingers more con- 
 temptuously, and reeled off the names of a few rivals. 
 " Those are geniuses if you like, artists who disclaim 
 his clap-trap methods." 
 
 Nello felt uncomfortable and apprehensive. The 
 irate director was evidently so occupied with the sub- 
 ject of the offending Bauquel that Mr. Gay's letter 
 stood in danger of being forgotten. And the great 
 man had especially said that his time was short.
 
 32 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 " Monsieur Bauquel has had the misfortune to 
 incur your displeasure, sir ? " he hazarded. ' 
 
 " I should think he had," cried Degraux furi- 
 ously. " He was to appear at my great concert next 
 week ; Royalty and the elite of London will be there. 
 Two days ago we had a little tiff, in which I admit I 
 told him some home truths. What happens ? This 
 morning I receive a letter, dated from Brighton, in 
 which he throws me over. Pretends he is ill and that 
 his doctor has ordered a complete rest." 
 
 " And you do not believe this to be true. Mon- 
 sieur? " 
 
 " True ! " thundered Degraux. " An absolute lie. 
 A friend of mine writes me at the same time from 
 the Grand Hotel. He tells me that the so-called in- 
 valid is staying there with a rowdy party and looking 
 the picture of health. The scoundrel has done it to 
 put me in a comer. And what is to become of my 
 concert ? I cannot put my hand on a violinist of the 
 first rank in the few days left me." 
 
 Nello stood up, his face glowing, his limbs trem- 
 bling with excitement. He pointed to Gay's letter, 
 which lay on the director's desk. 
 
 " Monsieur, I beseech you, if it is not too great 
 presumption, to let me take his place. I may not 
 make a sensation, but certainly I shall not be a fail- 
 ure. And you will have so many stars of the first 
 magnitude, that a smaller one may dare to give a 
 little light. You have read what Mr. Gay says of 
 me. I fancy he is no mean judge of music and 
 musicians." 
 
 Degraux was suddenly brought down from his
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 33 
 
 heights of indignation by this direct appeal. He 
 looked keenly at the young man, but in his eyes there 
 appeared a humorous twinkle, as if he admired his 
 audacity. 
 
 " You don't miss a chance, I see, my young friend. 
 But it is a big risk to run you in the place of Bauquel, 
 and as soon as he gets wind of it, he will send his 
 claque to hiss you." 
 
 Monsieur Degraux thought for several seconds, and 
 the young man went hot and cold. His hopes, his 
 fate, hung upon the conductor's caprice. 
 
 Degraux touched a bell on the desk with the air 
 of a man who had made up his mind. An attendant 
 answered the summons. 
 
 " Please send in Mr. Lemoin." He turned to 
 Nello. " This gentleman will accompany you, and 
 you shall show what you can do. Remember, you 
 will appear before one of the most appreciative, but 
 also one of the most critical, audiences in the world." 
 
 Monsieur Lemoin appeared, a fat chubby person. 
 Ho accompanied very well ; not perhaps with the as- 
 sured artistic instinct of old Papa Peron, who was a 
 part of the piano he played so skilfully. 
 
 Degraux listened intently. He had told Nello to 
 play the pieces which, in his own opinion, he could 
 render best. The young man finished with that sad 
 little romance which he had heard in Dean Street on 
 that well-remembered night, and into which he wove 
 some brilliant variations. 
 
 The director rose and spoke, for him, rather en- 
 thusiastically. " Yes, my young friend, Gay is right. 
 You are a true artist. Play that little romance at
 
 34 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 the end ; you are at your best in that. Play it as you 
 have done here and we need not fear Bauquel's claque. 
 I engage you for that concert. I will also boom you, 
 but not extravagantly — just judiciously — in the 
 short time that is left me. Now about terms ? " 
 
 He named a fee that seemed to Corsini to repre- 
 sent absolute wealth. If he could only obtain a cou- 
 ple of sovereigns on account, to ease the hard condi- 
 tions in Dean Street. Degraux did not seem a hard 
 man ; it was possible the request would be granted as 
 soon as asked. 
 
 But pnidence forbade. It would be the reverse of 
 politic to plead absolute poverty on so brief an ac- 
 quaintance. Till next week, they must draw their 
 belts a little tighter. Well, experience had taught 
 them to do that. 
 
 He hurried back to Dean Street with the joyful 
 news. He was to appear before a most fashionable 
 audience in place of the great Bauquel, squandering 
 his money down at Brighton in order to revenge him- 
 self upon the too plain-speaking Degraux. 
 
 Papa Peron was sitting up in bed, Anita by his 
 side. The poor old man had had one of his good 
 days, the cough was less troublesome. The doctor 
 had whispered as he went out that if the severe 
 weather mended a little, they might pull him through. 
 He smiled happily as his young protege recounted 
 what had happened. 
 
 " I have met Degraux once or twice in the years 
 gone by, and I have been told that prosperity has not 
 spoiled him. But, my dear boy, there is one little 
 difficulty about that concert next week."
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 35 
 
 " And that ? " asked young Corsini. He was so 
 overjoyed in his new-found fortune, that he could 
 think of nothing else. 
 
 The old Frenchman chuckled quietly. " You will 
 want an evening suit, my young friend. One does 
 not appear before Royalty in ordinary clothes, and 
 those not of the newest, does one ? " 
 
 Nello groaned. The dress-clothes which Papa 
 Peron had purchased for the engagement at the Par- 
 thenon had found their way to the pawn-brokers a 
 few da^'^s ago, to provide food. Wliat a fool he had 
 been not to make a clean breast of it to Degraux and 
 ask for a few pounds in advance ! 
 
 " It crossed my mind to ask for a loan, and I was 
 afraid I might offend him," explained the young man. 
 
 " Quite right, my dear son, quite right. Those 
 wealthy men are peculiar. We will not trouble this 
 rich gentleman. There are other ways." 
 
 He pointed his thin hand to a little cupboard 
 standing against the wall. " Go and open the door. 
 Within I have a small private box where I keep my 
 papers. Bring it to me, please." 
 
 Nello obeyed, and carried to him a beautiful little 
 antique casket of ebony, inlaid with tortoise-shell 
 and silver, with some cipher letters on the lid. The 
 old man opened it with a key which he wore attached 
 to a ribbon round his neck. 
 
 From the small box he carefully produced an an- 
 tique ring with a tiny miniature portrait, exquisitely 
 painted and set with diamonds. This he pressed 
 reverently to his lips, and then handed it to the 
 young man, saying :
 
 36 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 " This is the likeness of mj. honoured Master, my 
 Emperor ^Napoleon the Third — given to me with 
 his own hand." 
 
 He took out a jewelled star, all tarnished. " This 
 is the Order of the Chevalier of St. Louis, bestowed 
 upon me for my services to " He could not fin- 
 ish his sentence ; the tears were rolling down his thin, 
 wasted cheeks. 
 
 Brother and sister exchanged a swift glance across 
 the bed. Evidently, Monsieur Peron had, at one 
 time, been a personage of some importance. Sover- 
 eigns did not bestow such gifts upon undistinguished 
 people. 
 
 " Take that ring and the Order," commanded the 
 old man in his feeble, husky voice. " Go and pawn 
 them. If you cannot get enough by pawning, sell 
 them outright. And buy a dress-suit with the money 
 to-day." 
 
 Both Nello and his sister protested. These two ob- 
 jects and the piano were all that the old man had pre- 
 served out of his brilliant past. 
 
 Corsini spoke. " Listen, dear Papa ! You would 
 not part with these when we had not enough to eat. 
 I can understand what they represent to you. Do not 
 worry about me. I will go to Degraux in a couple of 
 days and explain the situation. Even if he is an- 
 noyed, he will have gone too far to recede." 
 
 But Peron was persistent. A flash of his old im- 
 periousness came back to him. 
 
 " Go and do as I tell you. My days are num- 
 bered. My one hope is that I may live to see you 
 successful. Go and dress yourself properly. Let me
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 37 
 
 hear of your success before I die ; that is all I wish." 
 
 The strain of the interview had been too much for 
 him. Taken with a violent fit of coughing, he sank 
 back exhausted on his pillow. Anita pointed to the 
 door. 
 
 " You cannot disobey his wishes. Come back and 
 tell him you have done what he asked you. It may 
 give him a few days more of life." 
 
 The young man, fearing the old man's death, 
 rushed round to the nearest pawnbroker in Wardour 
 Street. Upon the ring alone he raised sufficient to 
 hire a dress-suit at a neighbouring costumier's. On 
 his return he was overjoyed to find that the poor Papa 
 had rallied from his exhaustion. 
 
 On the night of the concert Nello came into the 
 old man's room to bid him good-night. Peron drew 
 him towards him and kissed him on both cheeks. 
 
 " Courage, my son, courage ! " Alas ! every day 
 the voice was getting feebler. " You play at the end 
 that little romance with your own variations. Au 
 revoir. I shall be awake when you return to hear the 
 news. Anita and I will not have a wink of sleep 
 till you come back." 
 
 " Au revoir, hon Papa ! " was Nello's parting 
 greeting. 
 
 Papa Peron raised himself in his bed, shook his 
 hand at the air and almost shouted after him : " And 
 if you do not outplay that charlatan, Bauquel, I will 
 never forgive you."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 I^ELLO stood facing the big and fashionable audi- 
 ence. A celebrated accompanist was already seated 
 at the piano. There was perfect silence in the vast 
 assembly. In a few seconds the pianist would strike 
 the opening chords, and Nello Corsini, the unknown 
 violinist, must justify the faith that had been placed 
 in him by Paul Degraux. 
 
 He felt sick and a little faint. As he looked dimly 
 into that vast sea of expectant faces, he realised the 
 ordeal to which he was exposed. In the little room 
 in Dean Street, with Papa Peron and his worship- 
 ping sister for an audience, it was not difficult to feel 
 at ease, to pour out his artistic soul. Even to Gay 
 and Degraux, in the privacy of their apartments, he 
 had given of his best. 
 
 But to-night he was before a vast audience, critical 
 and fastidious. Had they not already sampled many 
 executants, many equal to himself, not a few supe^ 
 rior ? 
 
 The salient episodes of his later life floated before 
 him. His meeting with Papa Peron, his introduc- 
 tion to Gay, the placid evenings when he had played 
 at the Parthenon for a small wage, his accident and 
 the miserable days that had supervened, his desperate 
 visit to the powerful Degraux, the marvellous success 
 
 of that interview. And behind the recollection of all 
 
 38
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 39 
 
 this, the memory of that dreadful time when ho had 
 played in the streets for a few wretched coppers to 
 keep himself and his sister from want. 
 
 But to-night he was playing for fame and fortune, 
 through the lucky chance of the great Bauquel's ab- 
 sence. If he made good to-night, if he could secure 
 the plaudits of this fashionable crowd, coppers would 
 no longer be his portion, but sovereigns and Bank of 
 England notes. 
 
 It was a brilliant assembly. In the Royal box sat 
 the Queen of England, with the Prince and Princess 
 of Wales. Peers and Peeresses were there by the 
 dozen. Every other person was more or less distin- 
 guished. This was no audience gathered from the 
 corners of mean streets. 
 
 As the pianist struck the opening chords, the mist 
 cleared from the young man's brain. Those up- 
 turned faces which met his fascinated gaze were no 
 longer charged with cold hostility, but full of friendli- 
 ness, of welcome to a new and untried artist. He 
 drew his bow caressingly across the strings, and began. 
 
 The last plaintive notes died away — he had chosen 
 to open with an exquisite romance of Greig's. The 
 applause was sincere, but it was not fervent. De- 
 graux, standing anxiously in the wings, had to admit 
 that it was not fervent. And then, suddenly, Bau- 
 quel's noisy claque burst forth in a storm of hisses. , 
 They were paid by the popular favourite to howl down 
 any likely rival. 
 
 The young man's face went white as death. Was 
 the chance going to be snatched from him? Would 
 he leave the theatre a failure, to the disgust of the
 
 40 THE Il^TRIGUERS 
 
 man who had befriended him and put faith in him ? 
 
 The storm of hisses, hired disapprobation, died 
 slowly down, countered, as it was, with a little de- 
 corous and well-mannered applause. The charming 
 romance of Greig, though exquisitely played, had 
 failed to really touch the audience. If the great 
 Bauquel, with his well-established reputation, had 
 rendered it, the house would have been in a furore. 
 
 Corsini's next item was a piece by Chopin. Amid 
 the din of the contending hisses and applause, the 
 pianist beckoned to the young man and they ex- 
 changed whispers. 
 
 " Take my advice ; leave the Chopin piece. They 
 are not in the melancholy mood to-night: they want 
 something brilliant, an imdemote of pathos with a 
 cascade of fireworks to relieve the sadness. Play that 
 romance of yours, with the variations. Cut the 
 theme as short as possible; use it as just an introduc- 
 tion. Get to work on the variations, those will fetch 
 them." 
 
 ISTello set his teeth firmly; opposition, the sus- 
 picion of failure, had goaded him to fresh effort, to a 
 fuller belief in his own powers. He remembered the 
 good old Papa's injunction : " If you do not out- 
 play that charlatan, Bauquel, I will never forgive 
 you." 
 
 And he played as one inspired. The violin, a 
 legacy from his father, sang and sobbed and thrilled 
 as it had never done before. When he had finished 
 the applause was hearty and vehement. The hisses 
 of the Bauquel claque could no longer be heard.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 41 
 
 The unknown joung violinist had made good and won 
 the plaudits of one of the most critical audiences in 
 Europe. 
 
 Degraux met him in the wings and shook him 
 warmly by the hand. " A thousand thanks. I see 
 now I was right in engaging you, in speculating on a 
 chance. Now, come to my room. You told me 
 something yesterday about certain things in Dean 
 Street. Cheques are no good to you. You want 
 ready money." 
 
 Nello admitted that it was so. Toget"her they has- 
 tened into the director's private room. Degraux 
 went to a small safe, unlocked it and drew forth a 
 roll of notes. 
 
 " See here, my young friend, you have saved the 
 position. For the moment, that rascal Bauquel is 
 temporarily eclipsed. Here is your fee, double what 
 I promised." 
 
 Nello protested faintly. " But, Monsieur, this is 
 too much. And remember, please, I was very nearly 
 a failure. Bauquel's claque was almost too much 
 for me." 
 
 Degraux laughed light-heartedly. " Very nearly, 
 but not quite. You say your good old Papa Peron 
 calls him a charlatan. The expression is perhaps a 
 little strong. He is not that, but he is perhaps not 
 the genius he thinks himself, or his friends think 
 him." 
 
 " I should be more than delighted to possess his 
 reputation, IMonsieur," interrupted the young Italian. 
 
 Degraux laid his hand lightly on Nello's shoulder.
 
 42 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 " I see, Corsini, you have a liead upon your shoul- 
 ders. Will you permit me to give you a few words 
 of sound advice ? '* 
 
 " A thousand if you are so disposed, Monsieur." 
 
 " You have scored a triumph of sorts to-night, but 
 don't let it give you a swollen head." 
 
 " It will not, Monsieur, I can assure you," was 
 the answer. 
 
 " That is well ; preserve the business head as well 
 as the artistic instinct. This profession is full of 
 ups and downs. Look at Bauquel ! In spite of his 
 considerable earnings, he is always in debt, always in 
 the hands of money-lenders. He earns easily^ he 
 spends more easily. In five years he will be ousted 
 from his position by younger and more talented rivals, 
 and he will be penniless. He will probably come to 
 me to borrow a sovereign." 
 
 " And you will let him have it, I am sure, Mon- 
 sieur," said Nello warmly. " You have a very kind 
 heart." 
 
 " Of course T shall let him have it. But, at the 
 same time, I shall take advantage of the opportunity 
 to say, ' here it is, friend Bauquel. But why did you 
 not save in the fat years, instead of spending your 
 money on a miserable claque, in order to spoil my 
 show? And you know, moreover, you were abso- 
 lutely in the wrong.' " 
 
 l^ello could not refrain from smiling, Paul De- 
 graux was very human. He could not forgive Bau- 
 quel for his cavalier treatment. 
 
 " I am a frugal Italian, Monsieur. I shall never 
 waste my money."
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 43 
 
 Paul Degraux swelled out his broad chest. " You 
 will get on, my young friend. Look at me ! Twenty 
 or twenty-five years ago I was playing in a small or- 
 chestra with Gay at a few shillings a week — I have 
 no doubt Gay has told you of that little episode. I 
 know he is a very garrulous person — a dear good 
 chap, but garrulous. Well, Gay is tl ere and I am 
 here. Why ? " 
 
 He thundered out the question, expanding still 
 further his broad chest. 
 
 Xello temporised. The great director was evi- 
 dently in a confidential mood. It was as well to fall 
 in with his humour. 
 
 " Ah, why, Monsieur ? I should like to know. I 
 am sure I should learn a good deal." 
 
 Degraux, in his present mood, was pleased to have a 
 listener. The concert was going on splendidly with 
 experienced stars. It no longer required his atten- 
 tion. 
 
 " Listen, my young friend ! I devoted myself to 
 the business side of art. I saw more money was to 
 be made out of exploiting other people than being 
 exploited by others. Do you understand ? " 
 
 " I think I do," said the young Italian, who was 
 fairly shrewd for his years. " In fact, I am sure 
 I do." 
 
 " Good ! Gay followed the artistic side." De- 
 graux snapped his fingers contemptuously. " The 
 result: poor Gay, at his age, conducting a small or- 
 chestra at the Parthenon — a good one, I admit ; but 
 what is the remuneration ? I, Paul Degraux," again 
 he tapped his broad chest significantly, " am here in
 
 44 THE INTKIGUERS 
 
 a great position. I have followed tlie business side 
 of art; poor old Gay has followed the artistic side. 
 Bah ! " 
 
 " You advise me, Monsieur, to cultivate the busi- 
 ness side ? " queried the young man. 
 
 " Of course. I am giving you good advice ; sound 
 advice. You have made a little stir here, certain 
 things may follow from it. But still, you have not 
 the reputation of Bauquel, second-rater that he is. 
 Bauquel will be on his knees to me next week, and 
 of course I shall take him back. It may be, when you 
 come to me again, I can only give you a second place 
 in the programme. The way will be hard from the 
 artistic point of view." 
 
 I^ello listened with deep attention. Degraux was 
 a man of business to his finger-tips. Certainly he 
 was giving him good advice. 
 
 " And what are they, these artists, except the very 
 few who are in the front rank — creatures of an 
 hour, of the public's caprice ? Joachim, Sarasate, 
 those are names to conjure with ; they are permanent. 
 But the others come and go. I, one of the directors 
 of the Italian Opera, remain while they disappear. 
 The exploiters are permanent, the exploited are transi- 
 tory." 
 
 " What do you advise. Monsieur ? " asked !N"ello 
 timidly. This whirlwind of a man half fascinated, 
 half repelled him. 
 
 Monsieur Degraux held out his hand with his 
 frank, engaging smile. 
 
 " Be exploited as long as it suits your book. Then 
 save money and exploit other people. I cannot stay
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 45 
 
 any longer. I have given you a few hints. You 
 must work them out for yourself." 
 
 A new world was opening to Nello Corsini, the 
 talented young violinist who, only a few weeks ago, 
 had played in the street on the chance of the coppers 
 flung by passers-by. But it was absurd ! How 
 could he ever be a Paul Degraux? And yet, De- 
 graux had played twenty-five years ago in a small 
 orchestra for a pittance. What was his income now ? 
 Something princely. 
 
 He longed to hasten back to Dean Street with that 
 precious sheaf of notes. How the dear old Papa's 
 eyes would lighten up at the news of his success, 
 when he told him the tale of how Bauquel's claqtbe 
 had been silenced. And the dear little Anita too! 
 Tears of joy would run down her cheeks. 
 
 Degraux, or Bauquel, after such a night of tri- 
 umph, would have taken a cab. But such an idea 
 was alien to Nello's frugal temperament. It was 
 only a few moments' walk. He took his violin case 
 in his hand and stepped along bravely. 
 
 As he emerged from the theatre a footman in hand- 
 some livery laid his hand upon his arm. 
 
 " Pardon mo, Signor Corsini. The Princess Zou- 
 roff wishes to speak to you. Will you follow me, 
 please ? T will lead you to her carriage." 
 
 He followed the tall footman. The Princess, a 
 grey-haired woman of tall and commanding presence, 
 leaned through the carriage window. 
 
 " Ah, Signor Corsini, I have been enchanted with 
 your playing to-night. I am giving a reception at 
 the Russian Embassy, in Chesham Place, to-morrow
 
 46 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 evening. I shall be so pleased if you will come and 
 play for us — at your own fee, of course." 
 
 IsTello shot a swift glance into the carriage. On the 
 back seat, facing the horses, were the grey-haired 
 woman and a beautiful young girl. On the front seat 
 was a dark, handsome man of about thirty-five. 
 
 He recognised them at once, the man and the young 
 girl. They were the two who had driven down the 
 street to the Royalty Theatre on that dark winter 
 night when he had been playing in the streets. 
 
 " Enchanted, Madame. I will present myself to 
 you to-morrow evening. Will you forgive me if I 
 render you only very brief thanks at the moment? 
 I have a very dear friend, I fear at the point of 
 death, to whom I must hasten." 
 
 The grey-haired Princess inclined her head gra- 
 ciously. " Pray do not wait a moment. I am sorry 
 such trouble is awaiting you on the night of so great 
 
 a success." 
 
 Nello raised his hat and was moving away, when 
 the charming girl leaned forward and spoke impetu- 
 ously. 
 
 " One second. Signer ; we might be of assistance to 
 you. Will you please give me the name of your 
 friend, and his address ? " She had recognised him 
 the moment he appeared on the platform as the 
 wandering musician she had passed on her way to the 
 Royalty Theatre. 
 
 She turned eagerly to the Princess, her mother. 
 " We might send our own doctor. Sir Charles Eowler, 
 he is so very clever. Perhaps this gentleman's 
 friend has not had the best medical advice."
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 47 
 
 The Princess assented graciously. She was a very 
 kind-hearted woman, if not quite so enthusiastic in 
 works of charity as her more impulsive daughter. 
 
 Nello, with burning cheeks, gave the name of poor 
 old Papa Peron and the number of the small house 
 in Dean Street. His cheeks flamed, because he was 
 wondering if she had recognised him as he had re- 
 membered her. It was evident she thought he was 
 poor by that remark about the best medical advice. 
 
 He thanked both the ladies in a low tone, and for 
 the second time turned away. The man. Prince 
 Zouroff, who had been fidgeting impatiently during 
 the short interview, leaned out of the window of the 
 carriage, and in a sharp, angry voice commanded the 
 coachman to drive on. 
 
 Ho sank back in his seat and darted a glance of 
 contempt, first at his sister, then at his mother. 
 
 " Your foolish sentimentality makes me sick, Nada. 
 And I am surprised at you for abetting her in it," 
 he added for the benefit of the Princess. 
 
 The Princess answered him in calm, sarcastic 
 tones. " Would it not be better, Boris, if you left 
 off interfering with every word and act of poor little 
 Nada ? If she has too much compassion, you re- 
 dress the balance by having none." 
 
 Nello hastened with quick strides in the direction 
 of Dean Street. His one fear was that Peron might 
 have already passed away. It would be heart-rend- 
 ing if he were not alive to hear the splendid news. 
 
 But the vital flame, although very low, was still 
 burning. The old man had had a long sleep, the 
 sleep of exhaustion. By some strange effort of will,
 
 48 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 lie had allayed the impending dissolution, had awoke 
 about the expected time of Nello's return, and was 
 sitting up in bed, propped up against the pillows, 
 awaiting the arrival of the young man whom he had 
 grown to regard as a son. 
 
 " It is well, I can see," he said in the low, husky 
 voice that was so soon to be hushed for ever. " It is 
 well. Triumph is written all over your face. You 
 have scored an even greater success than you antici- 
 pated, eh ? " 
 
 Nello sank on his knees beside the bed, at which 
 his sister had devotedly seated herself, to watch the 
 least movement of the dying man. He possessed him- 
 self of one of the long, wasted hands — those hands 
 which had once made such eloquent music — and 
 kissed it reverently. 
 
 " All thanks to you, my more than father. There 
 was a trying moment. My first piece did not touch 
 them much, and the Bauquel claque, as Degraux 
 warned me would be the case, did their best to hiss 
 me down. Then I set my teeth and vowed that I 
 would not be a failure and return home disgraced. 
 I played that little romance, with my variations. I 
 finished in a storm of applause." 
 
 " Ah ! " sighed Peron amongst his pillows, a wan 
 smile lighting his livid face. " That is your master- 
 piece. That would always stir the dullest audience." 
 
 " And listen, dear good Papa. Degraux was so 
 pleased with my success that he has paid me double 
 the fee he promised. No more short commons for 
 any of us. Little Anita here shall keep the purse 
 and maintain us in royal state." He threw his head
 
 THE ITs^TRIGUEKS 49 
 
 back and laughed almost hysterically. '' Oh, it must 
 be a dream, a wild, mad dream. I cannot be the 
 same Nello Corsini who, a few weeks ago, used to 
 play in the streets for coppers." 
 
 Then he recovered from his overwrought mood. 
 There was more yet to be told to this kind old man. 
 
 " Then, dear Papa, I had an adventure — it was 
 the first-fruits of success. As I came out, a tall foot- 
 man in livery accosted me; he was to lead me to the 
 carriage of the Princess ZourofF." 
 
 Peron's voice grew a little stronger. " The 
 mother of the Russian Ambassador, Boris ZourofF. 
 In the long ago I used to know her. Her husband 
 was a brute. She has two children, Boris and a girl 
 much younger than he. I have heard that Boris ia 
 a brute like his father. Go on, Nello. Einish your 
 adventure ; but I can guess what is coming." 
 
 " The Princess is giving a reception to-morrow 
 evening at the Embassy in Chesham Place. She has 
 asked me to play, at my own price." 
 
 Tears welled up into the old man's eyes. " You 
 are made, my son, but we must not be too jubilant. 
 Artists are creatures of the hour. To-day Bauquel, 
 to-morrow Xello Corsini. Take advantage of the 
 present, but it will be wise to look out for something 
 more permanent than the caprice of public favour, 
 which dethrones its idols almost as quickly as it has 
 crowned them." 
 
 Nello started. There was in Peron's mind the 
 same thought that Degraux had expressed a short 
 time ago. 
 
 The poor old man rallied himself for a last effort.
 
 60 THE INTRIGUEKS 
 
 " In that little cupboard yonder there is a packet 
 containing a few private papers. You will destroy 
 all except a letter addressed to yourself; in it you 
 will find my last instructions. But you will not open 
 that cupboard till I am dead. You both know as well 
 as I do that it is only a question of a few hours. 
 Well, my son, I do not regret; I have lived long 
 enough to know of your success. And you have both 
 been a great comfort to me. My heart was starved 
 till I met you. You have taken the place of the chil- 
 dren I never had." 
 
 As he finished, there was a thundering knock at 
 the door. ISTello jumped up, remembering. Had not 
 the Princess Nada promised to send their own phy- 
 sician ? 
 
 " I forgot to tell you, ton Papa. I told them I was 
 in a hurry to get back to you because you were so ill. 
 The young Princess, a most beautiful girl, inquired 
 your name and address. I gave them. She wished 
 you to have the best medical advice. She is sending 
 vou their doctor, Sir Charles Fowler. I am sure 
 that is he. I will go down and see." 
 
 In good health, Papa Peron, in spite of his kind 
 heart and still kinder actions, had a little spice of 
 malice in him. He was not quite exhausted, as his 
 next words showed. 
 
 " I know him well by reputation." This remark- 
 able old man knew of everybody, so it seemed. 
 " Rather pompous and very suave, a good bedside 
 manner, rather despised by his fellow practitioners. 
 But he has a large and very aristocratic connection : 
 he panders to their whims. But it was very sweet
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 51 
 
 of the young Princess. Evidently she does not take 
 after her father, she inherits the sweetness of her 
 mother. Twenty Sir Charles Fowlers cannot keep 
 me alive. But show him up, out of deference to the 
 Princess. He is as much a charlatan in his profes- 
 sion as Bauquel is in his." 
 
 'NeU.o went downstairs into the shabby sitting-room, 
 where the slatternly maid had just shown in the popu- 
 lar physician. 
 
 Sir Charles addressed the young musician in his 
 most bland and courteous accents. He must privately 
 have been very annoyed to be sent at this time of night 
 to such an obscure patient, but he did not betray his 
 annoyance. The Princess Zouroff and her daughter 
 were demi-goddesses to him. Their whims were 
 equivalent to a Royal command. 
 
 " Signor Corsini, I presume ? The Princess has 
 told me over the 'phone of your great success to-night ; 
 I congratulate you. She has sent me to see a friend 
 of yours, who I understand is seriously ill. Of 
 course it is not very strict professional eitquette that 
 I should intrude myself without a request from his 
 local doctor. But the Princess is a little autocratic, 
 and will be obeyed." He waved his plump hands 
 depreeatingly, in well-bred apology for the unaccount- 
 able vagaries of the aristocracy. " Will you take me 
 to him, please? " 
 
 Corsini led him up the shabby, narrow staircase 
 into the small apartment containing the two beds, in 
 one of which the now successful violinist was used to 
 sleep. 
 
 Anita was hanging over the bed, with a white face,
 
 52 THE INTRIGUEKS ' 
 
 the tears raining down her cheeks. In those few sec- 
 onds of the conversation between her brother and the 
 doctor, the poor old man's soul had taken flight to 
 happier realms. 
 
 Sir Charles stepped to the other side, and his 
 trained eye took in the situation at once. 
 
 " Alas, my dear sir, too late ! He has passed away, 
 absolutely without pain, I assure you. But I could 
 have done nothing for him. He is very old : a clear 
 case of senile decay, aggravated by the malady from 
 which he has been suffering. Your local doctor will 
 give you a certificate." 
 
 He looked intently at the white countenance. Sir 
 Charles might not be a very clever physician, as his 
 less opulent colleagues were always very fond of af- 
 firming, but he had special gifts of his own. 
 
 " A fine, intellectual head, a distinguished face. 
 I should not be surprised if he had once been a man 
 of some distinction. Do you know anything of his 
 antecedents ? " 
 
 Nello shook his head. " Next to nothing. Our 
 acquaintance has been too recent for much confidence, 
 but he has been very kind to myself and sister. I 
 gather that he was at one time a very celebrated 
 pianist." 
 
 " His name, the Princess told me over the 'phone, 
 was Peron. With the recollection of all the great 
 artists for, say, fifty years, I cannot recall that name. 
 We have here, my dear sir, a mystery, and probably 
 a tragedy also. I will keep you no longer. A thou- 
 sand regrets that my visit has been so useless." 
 
 Nello saw the plump, urbane man to the door, and
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 53 
 
 then returned to the little bedroom where poor old 
 Papa Peron, of the kind heart and the caustic tongue, 
 lay in the last sleep of aU.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 His heart liea\'7 with grief at the loss of his kind 
 old friend, who had been to him and his sister a sec- 
 ond father, ISTello Corsini faced again a fastidious and 
 critical audience in the saloons of the Russian Em- 
 bassy. 
 
 Last night he had played to the elite of the fashion- 
 able world, made up of its many elements. Royalty, 
 as represented by the sovereign and her children, the 
 flower of the aristocracy, subordinate members of the 
 financial and commercial world, distinguished per- 
 sons of every profession. 
 
 To-night he was to appear before the smaller world 
 of diplomacy and politics. But he was very confident 
 of himself. If he had not failed on that vast stage, 
 he would not disgrace himself on a smaller one. 
 
 The Princess Zouroff was devoted to music, as was 
 her daughter. The somewhat brutal Prince, her son, 
 could not distinguish one note from another — like 
 his father, whose death had been regretted by nobody, 
 excepting his son. 
 
 The difference between father and son was very 
 
 easy to define. The late Prince Zouroff was both 
 
 brutal and brainless. The present holder of the title 
 
 was of quite as brutal nature as his father, but he 
 
 possessed mentality. In short, he inherited the brains 
 
 of his mother, the gentle, grey-haired lady, whom he 
 
 despised for her womanly qualities. 
 
 54
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 55 
 
 Two prime donne and a celebrated contralto had 
 already sung. The two prime donne had united in a 
 duet which resembled the warbles of two nightingales ; 
 the contralto had enchanted the audience wath her 
 deep and resonant notes ; an accomplished quartette 
 had disbursed exquisite music. 
 
 It w^as time for the turn of the violinist. Nello 
 Corsini, his slim figure habited in the garments whicH 
 he had hired from a costumier in the neighbourhood 
 of Wardour Street, followed these famous personages. 
 
 He was so adaptive that, in this short space, he had 
 learned to accustom himself to his environment. A 
 few weeks ago he had been playing in the streets for 
 coppers. To-night he was playing for higher stakes. 
 
 He darted his bright, keen eyes over the illustrious 
 assembly, and his spirits rose, as they always did when 
 something was to be striven for. 
 
 In a far corner he saw three men standing together 
 and whispering confidentially. One was the Prime 
 Minister, Lord Salisbury, wearing the ribbon of the 
 Garter; another was that brilliant genius, too early 
 eclipsed, Lord Randolph Churchill ; the third was a 
 slim, tall young man, who had taken on the danger- 
 ous post of Secretary for Ireland, still now with us, 
 beloved and revered by all parties, Arthur James 
 Balfour, who later succeeded his great uncle as Prime 
 Minister. 
 
 In these far-off days the old melodies were the 
 sweetest. ISTcllo played first the " Ave Maria " of 
 Gounod. He followed on with Chopin. And then, 
 as a finale, he played that exquisite little romance 
 which had floated on a wintry night out of the win-
 
 56 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 dow of a house in Dean Street, with, his own vari- 
 ations. 
 
 There was a subdued thrill amongst the audience. 
 There was not the full-throated applause that had 
 greeted him at Covent Garden ; but he made allowance 
 for that. The pit and the gallery had had something 
 to say last evening: they were always ready to recog- 
 nise a new genius. This assembly was too blase, it 
 was no longer capable of great emotion, even in the 
 case of an artist of the first rank. But, in a way, 
 they were subtly appreciative. At least, he had 
 pleased them. 
 
 'Nello Corsini, with his keen Latin mind, grasped 
 the situation. Princess Zouroff had set the fashion. 
 There were many more fashionable concerts at which 
 he would be invited to play, at remunerative fees. 
 But he also remembered that both Papa Peron and 
 Degraux had pointed out to him the uncertain tenure 
 of public favour. 
 
 Unobtrusively, he made his way out, but not before 
 Princess Zouroff had thanked him warmly for the 
 pleasure he had given them, and introduced him to a 
 few notable persons, some of them hostesses as popu- 
 lar as herself, who had spoken gracious words. 
 
 And while he was talking to one of these exalted 
 ladies, there had floated to him a vision of youthful 
 beauty, the lovely young Princess IN'ada, attired in an 
 exquisite dress of white satin, a single diamond star 
 in her dark-brown hair, round her slim neck a row 
 of pearls. These were her only ornaments. She 
 reached out her slender hand. 
 
 " Thank you so much, Signer. That exquisite lit-
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 57 
 
 tie romance brought the tears to my eyes. We shall 
 meet many times again, I trust, and I shall often ask 
 you, as a special request, to play that to me." 
 
 " Enchanted, Mademoiselle," answered Corsini, 
 bowing low, and blushing a little. He was rather 
 overwhelmed with these compliments from great 
 ladies. The person to whom he was talking when 
 Nada intervened was a popular Countess, the 
 chatelaine of an historic house in Piccadilly. She 
 had spoken of a concert in a few days' time which 
 she had invited the young violinist to attend. 
 
 " A great artist and a very handsome young man 
 also," murmured the great lady to Nada, as soon as 
 Nello was out of earshot.. " He will very soon be the 
 rage. Bauquel will want to commit suicide." 
 
 The Prince, who was talking to the Prime Minister, 
 and always saw everything that was going on, had ob- 
 served the brief conversation between his sister and 
 the violinist. A scowl settled on his handsome face. 
 
 As soon as he was disengaged, he overtook the 
 young Princess as she was on her way to speak to 
 some guests. 
 
 " Indulging in a little bout of sentiment again with 
 this young fiddler, Nada ? " he inquired in sneering 
 tones. " Telling him how delighted you were with 
 his playing, eh ? What need is there to thank these 
 hired artists? They are well paid, generally over- 
 paid, for what they do." 
 
 Usually the Princess endured the insults and coarse 
 remarks of her truculent brother with disdainful in- 
 difference. To-night she was a little unstrung. Like 
 her mother, she was a passionate lover of music —
 
 58 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 what the French describe as un amateur. The lovely 
 voices of the two prime donne, the exquisite strains of 
 the violin, had raised her to an exalted mood, in which 
 she only wanted to think of things pure and beautiful. 
 
 The Prince's coarse words and sneering accents 
 jarred upon her sensibilities, and aroused in her a 
 spirit of antagonism. She darted at him an angry 
 and contemptuous glance. 
 
 " You are more than usually offensive to-night, 
 Boris. I suppose you have been indulging in your 
 favourite habit of drinking too much champagne." 
 
 The shaft went home. It was well known in his 
 family and amongst his friends that the Prince, in 
 spite of the obligations of his high position, was far 
 from abstemious, and had caused some scandal as a 
 consequence of his unfortunate proclivities. 
 
 A dull flush spread over his hard, handsome face. 
 " You little spitfire ! " he growled savagely. " I 
 wonder when you will be tamed. ISTever, so long as 
 our mother refrains from keeping a tighter rein over 
 you." 
 
 For answer, the young Princess swept scornfully 
 away from him, in her pearls and shimmering white 
 satin, a dream of loveliness to everybody except her 
 churlish brother. 
 
 Nello hastened home to his frugal supper in Dean 
 Street, prepared for him by the capable hands of his 
 little sister. A roll of notes had been handed to him 
 on his departure by a slim young man, the secretary 
 of the Princess. In spite of his natural grief at the 
 death of the poor old Papa, he was jubilant over his 
 good luck. In two evenings he had made a small for-
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 59 
 
 tune. He handed over the precious roll of notes to 
 Anita, 
 
 " They are safe in your keeping, my dear one. 
 But you must buy yourself some good clothes. 
 Heaven knows we have starved and gone shabby long 
 enough. But I cannot believe in it yet. It is still 
 a dream." 
 
 Poor Papa Peron was lying upstairs. Nello to- 
 night would sleep in an improvised bed made up on 
 the shabby sofa in the sitting-room. Anita, with her 
 usual spirit of self-sacrifice, had offered him her own 
 attic, while she made shift, but, of course, he would 
 not hear of that. 
 
 He had spent the morning in making arrangements 
 for the funeral; they would bury the kind old Papa 
 in two days from now. Happily, there was no lack 
 of money at the moment. A week sooner, and a pau- 
 per's grave might have awaited him. 
 
 Nello was very excited with his evening, and in 
 consequence, wakeful. He smoked a cigarette, and 
 Anita thought he would suggest retiring to his im- 
 provised bed after he had finished. But, to her sur- 
 prise, he did not seem at all desirous of repose. 
 
 " Are you very sleepy, little one ? " he asked. 
 
 As a matter of fact the girl could hardly keep her 
 eyes open. The long watch by old Peron's bedside 
 had tried her slender vitality sorely. But she was 
 always ready to sacrifice herself to the slightest whim 
 of those she loved. 
 
 " ISTot in the least. What is in your mind, ISTello ? " 
 
 " I thought we might look through the dear old 
 Papa's papers. He said we were to open that cup-
 
 60 THE INTRIGUEKS 
 
 board after his death. I wonder if we shall learn 
 who and what he was ? " 
 
 Kello went to the little cupboard and drew from it 
 the ebony casket. The first thing that met his eye 
 was the glittering order of Saint Louis, attached to a 
 faded ribbon, which had been returned on the night 
 when he had raised sufficient money on the miniature. 
 
 There was a very small bundle of papers, carefully 
 tied up, for good old Papa Peron was nothing if not 
 methodical and neat. There was nothing in the pa- 
 pers to reveal his identity. With two exceptions they 
 were absolutely unimportant documents. These, ac- 
 cording to Peron's dying injunctions, Nello commit- 
 ted to the fire. It was the dead man's wish. 
 
 The first exception was a letter addressed to Anita, 
 dated a few weeks back, no doubt when he had 
 prescience that the end was near. In it he told her 
 that he had left everything in the world he possessed 
 to her: the ring set with diamonds, which had not 
 then been pawned, the order of St. Louis, and the 
 piano. These would give her and her brother a little 
 capital with which to carry on. 
 
 It was a very informal sort of will, although he had 
 taken the precaution to have his signature witnessed 
 by his landlady. But there was no next of kin to 
 dispute the document, and Anita was the sole heiress 
 of his poor possessions — poor from the point of view 
 of money value. 
 
 Two other letters were tied up together, the one 
 addressed to I^ello himself, the other marked " Pri- 
 vate " and directed to the Baron Andreas Salmoros, 
 510 Old Broad Street, E.G.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 61 
 
 The note to ISTello, dated a few days after the more 
 or less informal will, was short but to the point. 
 
 Peron informed his protege, at the time of writing, 
 that his artistic career still hung in the balance. 
 That even if he achieved a certain success, his career 
 was an uncertain one. It behoved him therefore to 
 set his ambitions in other directions which might 
 yield more permanent results. The letter concluded 
 as follows : 
 
 " There yet remains one person in the world who 
 will still take an interest in me. For the remem- 
 brance of those days long ago, he may prove of service 
 to you when I am gone. After all is over with me, 
 carry this letter to him yourself. Trust it to no 
 other hands. Of course you have guessed that Peron 
 is an assumed name. If the Baron likes to reveal to 
 you my identity, he will do so. It will matter no 
 longer to me." 
 
 Nello gasped, as he laid do^^m the letter. "But 
 dear old Papa Peron must have been a distinguished 
 man at one time. He speaks of Salmoros as an old, I 
 should say a great, friend of the long ago. Of course 
 you do not know who he is." 
 
 Anita shook her head. She had never heard of the 
 Baron Andreas Salmoros. How should she ? Ab- 
 sorbed in her domestic cares, she never read the news- 
 papers. 
 
 " But he is one of the greatest financiers in the 
 world," cried Nello eagerly. " He is only second to 
 the Pothschilds themselves." 
 
 And then it suddenly struck him that Salmoros was 
 a very busy man, that approach to him was difficult.
 
 62 THE INTKIGUEES 
 
 Peron had expressly said that he was to take the letter 
 to him himself. If Peron had only written a private 
 note introducing him, a note that could be posted! 
 But the poor Papa had not thought of that, of course. 
 
 Then there recurred to him the altered circum- 
 stances which had taken place since that letter was 
 written. 
 
 Then he was just Signor N'ello Corsini, unknown 
 and poor. To-day all the newspapers, London and 
 provincial, had blazoned forth his name as a brilliant 
 and successful artist. Even the great financier would 
 welcome a great musician. 
 
 And even if he did not, the Princess Zouroff, at 
 whose house he had played to-night, the Countess, 
 at whose house he was playing shortly, would secure 
 him a personal introduction. It was a certainty that 
 the Baron's vast wealth enabled him to mix in their 
 world.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 A MONTH had elapsed since the funeral of the good 
 old Papa, and the note addressed to the Baron Sal- 
 moros was still in Corsini's keeping. lie knew from 
 a postscript in Peron's letter that no date except that 
 of the year had heen affixed to it, for obvious reasons. 
 
 The young man was considering his position. 
 There was no doubt that the Baron had been asked 
 to find him a post that would give a more assured 
 future, remove him from the difficulties, the uncer- 
 tainties of an artistic career. He was not yet quite 
 sure in his own mind that he wanted to avail himself 
 of this opportunity, if Salmoros offered it to him. 
 
 His month's experience had been very satisfactory. 
 An enterprising gentleman, keenly on the alert for 
 new clients, had introduced himself to him and estab- 
 lished himself as his agent, unfolding a rosy future 
 if he trusted himself to his skilled guidance. Nello 
 had agreed. This plausible person, obviously of the 
 Hebraic persuasion, knew the ropes, Nello did not. 
 Besides, he had come with a recommendation from 
 Degraux, who had spoken highly of his abilities in 
 exploiting young artists, who had set their first step 
 on the ladder of fame. 
 
 Yes, the month had been very satisfactory, if it had 
 not reaped quite such a golden harvest as i^ello and 
 his sister had anticipated. The agent booked him
 
 64 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 for private concerts as hard as Le could, but there was 
 a great variance iii the fees. Some were considerable, 
 some very moderate. Mr. Mosenstein — such was 
 the agent's name — made light of the discrepancy. 
 These were the anomalies incidental to the profession. 
 
 " The great thing is to get known, my dear boy, to 
 be seen everywhere, in South Kensington as well as 
 Belgravia," the plausible agent had explained. " If 
 South Kensington pays you less than Belgravia and 
 Mayfair, never mind. Better take a small fee than 
 stop at home, earning nothing." 
 
 All of which went to prove to the shrewd young 
 man that, if he had set his feet upon the first steps of 
 the ladder, he had not, so far, mounted very high up. 
 If the great Bauquel, who had now made it up with 
 Degraux, condescended to play in South Kensington 
 at all, he would demand a higher fee than he obtained 
 in Mayfair, penalising the less fashionable quarter for 
 the honour of his services. 
 
 Brother and sister, for Anita was no less shrewd 
 than her brother, and had a fund of common sense, 
 argued the matter out many times, now inclining one 
 way, now another. 
 
 The present was distinctly satisfactory: it meant 
 absolute wealth compared with the penury of the old 
 days. The question was, would it last? Was he 
 just, in a secondary sort of way, the fashion of the 
 moment in certain circumscribed circles, to be shortly 
 superseded by somebody who had scored in a night, 
 by some fortunate accident, the same kind of sudden 
 success ? In short, should he take that letter to the 
 Baron Salmoros or not ? That was the vital question.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 65 
 
 In his undecided mood, lie sought Degraux, who re- 
 ceived him with great cordiality, but who had now 
 made it up so effectually with the still powerful Bau- 
 quel that he had no opening for another violinist. 
 
 " Privately, my friend, I agree with your old Papa 
 Peron that as an artist pure and simple you are the 
 superior of Bauquel. But what can one do? Bau- 
 quel has got the name, he has ten years' reputation 
 behind him. At any moment he may be relegated to 
 a back seat, but at present he fills, he draws. He is 
 an asset to an impresario. In a word, he represents 
 gate money. His name on an announcement fills the 
 house. Five years hence, I predict it will be very 
 different." 
 
 Nello pondered these wise and sensible sayings. 
 " Do you think it possible. Monsieur, that I could 
 gain the standing of Bauquel? You have seen and 
 known so much, I can believe in your opinion." 
 
 The great director shrugged his shoulders. " You 
 ask me a little too much, my friend. I cannot see 
 into the future. You have made a very considerable 
 success, you created quite a respectable furore on that 
 night — but " he paused significantly. 
 
 " But ! " repeated ISTello quietly. " Please be quite 
 frank with me. I want to hear the truth." 
 
 " I cannot say that you have progressed much since 
 that night. You ask me to speak frankly, and I 
 should say, on the contrary, that you have gone back 
 a bit. No doubt you are doing quite well at these 
 private concerts — that is Mosenstein's specialty. 
 But, supposing I could ask you to play for me at my 
 next big concert, which I can't because Bauquel will
 
 66 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 be there, I doubt if you would repeat tbe success." 
 
 '* In a word, I am far from being in the first, even 
 in the second rank ? " queried Nello. His life had 
 been so full of disappointments, that he had become 
 hardened in the process. He did not seem as dis- 
 turbed as Degraux had expected he would be by this 
 uncomfortable cold douche of plain speaking. 
 
 " Fairly well on in the second rank. Mark you, I 
 am not speaking of your standing as an artist, but 
 just from the box-office point of view. You see, one 
 can never tell what goes to the making of a first-clast 
 success. An inferior person often achieves it, a 
 genius as often as not misses it." 
 
 He did not mention names, but !N^ello guessed, while 
 he was speaking, Degraux had the great Bauquel in 
 mind, who, he admitted, was the inferior artist. 
 
 The young man looked a little downcast, in spite of 
 his stoicism. Degraux clapped him on the shoulder. 
 
 " !N^ow, my young friend, cheer up. After all, you 
 are not doing so badly. Live as frugally as you can, 
 put by every penny you can save. If things go well, 
 still sava If they go badly, you will have something 
 put by. You remember our last conversation here, 
 eh? I told you to join, as quickly as possible, the 
 ranks of the exploiters instead of remaining in the 
 vast army of the exploited." 
 
 Nello remembered that conversation well. De- 
 graux's advice had made a great impression on him 
 at the time, 
 
 " That is precisely what I am here for, Monsieur — 
 to ask you to give me a little more of your valuable 
 advice on a very important matter. I am not at all
 
 THE I:N"TEIGUEKS 67 
 
 sure about the rewards of the simply artistic career." 
 
 " Tell me what is in your mind," answered De- 
 graux kindly. It was not the first time in his long 
 and brilliant career that he had been called upon to 
 act as the arbiter of a young man's destiny. 
 
 Nello told him of the note addressed to himself, of 
 the letter directed to the Baron Salmoros, whom 
 Peron apparently claimed as an old and attached 
 friend. 
 
 Degraux elevated his eyebrows at the mention of 
 that world-known name. 
 
 " Salmoros ! One of the greatest of European fin- 
 anciers. He knows the secrets of pretty well every 
 Cabinet," he remarked, when the young man had fin- 
 ished his narrative. " Your old Papa Peron must, 
 at some time, have been a person of more than ordi- 
 nary distinction. You have no knowledge of the con- 
 tents of that sealed letter ? " 
 
 " None, Monsieur. I can only guess that I have 
 been recommended to the Baron's protection." 
 
 " Of course," said Degraux. " It is a pity this 
 very kind old man was not a little bit more commu- 
 nicative before his death, or in his last letter to 
 you." 
 
 " I think he was a little fond of mystery, Mon- 
 sieur." 
 
 " Evidently," said Degraux drily, " Possibly, 
 when you knew him — you told me the acquaintance 
 was very brief — he had begun to go a little off his 
 head. Well, let us see how the matter stands. On 
 the one side, satisfaction with your present lot, with 
 all the possibilities opening out to you. On the other
 
 68 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 hand, the presentation of this letter, with the chance 
 of the Baron's patronage. If we could only have a 
 peep into that letter we should know better where we 
 were." 
 
 " But that is impossible, Monsieur. We can only 
 guess that the kind old Papa has recommended me in 
 the warmest terms." 
 
 " Yes, we may assume that. Then, I think, my 
 young friend, there is only one obvious course. You 
 take that letter to the Baron. When he has read it, 
 he will either put you off with smooth promises, or 
 propose a certain line of action out of deference to his 
 old friend's request. If he should put before you any 
 proposition that does not recommend itself to you, 
 you can easily decline and stick to your present ca- 
 
 reer." 
 
 The advice was sound and sensible. By presenting 
 the letter to the eminent financier there was nothing 
 to lose. On the other hand, there might be something 
 to gain. 
 
 " Unfortunately, Monsieur, I do not know the 
 Baron personally. I understand he is a very busy 
 man, and access to him a very difficult matter." 
 
 " That is so," admitted Degraux. " I know him 
 just a little. I dare say you have heard that he is a 
 great lover of music, and we have exchanged a few 
 words now and then. But I fear my acquaintance 
 with him would hardly excuse a formal note of intro- 
 duction. But stay, you know the Princess Zouroff 
 and Lady Glendover, at whose house you played 
 latelv. He is a friend of both. Either of these will 
 give you what you want. If not, come and see me
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 69 
 
 again and I will think of somebody I know fairly 
 well, who will do it as a favour to me." 
 
 " Both these ladies occurred to me," said Nello. 
 " The Princess is kindness itself ; I am sure she 
 would do it at once. But, in case of failure, I will 
 fall back upon you." 
 
 With many thanks for his good advice, ISTello took 
 leave of the warm-hearted director. Yes, Degraux 
 was quite right. He would present that letter as soon 
 as possible. He would write to the Princess Zouroff 
 to-morrow. 
 
 But fate willed it that the Princess's good offices 
 were not required. He was playing that night at the 
 house of a certain Mrs. Raby, who lived in Kensington 
 Gore. 
 
 Mrs. Eaby was a widow of about fifty years of 
 age, of good family and considerable fortune of her 
 own. When a romantic girl of twenty-two she had 
 eloped with a man some twenty years her senior, who 
 happened to be one of the greatest, if not absolutely 
 the greatest, pianists of his day. For a long time her 
 parents and friends held aloof from her. Artists 
 were all very well in their way, but Constance Paby, 
 with her money and good looks — she was an heiress 
 through her godmother — ought to have made a bril- 
 liant match. 
 
 But Mrs. Rabv loved her long-haired musician, the 
 more perhaps for the fact that he was an Englishman, 
 and never repented her choice. And in time, parents 
 and friends condescended to bury the hatchet and 
 came to her house, exchanging frigid courtesies with 
 the artistic husband.
 
 70 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 To their drawing-rooms flocked the elite of the 
 musical world — great sopranos, great contraltos, 
 nearly every artist of eminence. And in that charm- 
 ing house in Kensington Gore they gave for nothing 
 what they demanded high fees for elsewhere, for was 
 not the host one of their own world, and had they not 
 adopted his charming wife as one of themselves ? 
 
 Mr. Raby had died some ten years ago, but his 
 widow still maintained the fame of those musical eve- 
 nings. And to those who had still their way to make, 
 an appearance in Mrs. Raby's drawing-rooms con- 
 ferred a cachet. 
 
 Mosenstein had secured an invitation for his young 
 client. There was no fee. When Nello had de- 
 murred to this, not quite understanding the situation, 
 the astute agent had silenced his objections at once, 
 
 " You do not understand, my young friend. Eng- 
 land is a very funny place. A lot is done here for 
 love. Mrs. Raby occupies a unique position. Sup- 
 posing you were unknown, to play at one of her eve- 
 nings would secure you a twenty-guinea engagement 
 in South Kensington. Patti, Lucca, Nielsen have 
 sung there for friendship. Sarasate has played there 
 for friendship. My friend, if you are wise, you will 
 be glad that I have procured you an invitation." 
 
 Nello made no further objection. Mosenstein 
 knew the ropes as well as anybody. If he urged him 
 to go to the house in Kensington Gore and play for 
 nothing he had a wise motive. Mrs. Raby was evi- 
 dently a power in the musical world. 
 
 The drawing-rooms were crowded, mostly with 
 musical people. But there were a few others from
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 71 
 
 another world; and amongst these, Nello presently 
 discovered his patroness, Lady Glendover, who came 
 here out of sheer love of music. The Countess had 
 to pay five hundred or more for what Mrs. Raby got 
 for nothing. 
 
 She greeted IsTello kindly and invited him to sit 
 beside her. 
 
 " Do you know many people here ? " she asked, as 
 she made way for him on the sofa. 
 
 " So far as I can see, nobody but yourself, 
 Madame." 
 
 " Oh, then, we will take compassion on each other 
 and keep each other company — at least till you have 
 to play. I suppose you are on the programme." 
 
 " I believe so. My agent, Mosenstein, is arrang- 
 ing matters, and he will tell me when I am wanted." 
 " Very well ; until that moment arrives we can sit 
 still and chat. I don't know very many people either : 
 just a few artists who have appeared at my house. 
 The Princess Zouroff sometimes comes, but she is not 
 here to-night. Some evenings, of course very late, it 
 is as good as one of Paul Degraux's concerts, when 
 all the great stars have come on. About one o'clock 
 in the morning they begin to warble and outplay each 
 other. Of course you know Mrs. Raby married the 
 greatest pianist of his day. They perform for her 
 out of camaraderie." 
 
 They talked for a little time, when the Countess 
 
 suddenly exclaimed : " Ah, there is somebody from 
 
 my own world, the Baron Salmoros. There is such 
 
 a crush, he does not see me. Do you know him ? " 
 
 Nello's breath came quickly. '^ No, Madame, but
 
 72 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 at the moment he is the one man in the world that I 
 particularly want to know." 
 
 Lady Glendover looked at him sharply, but she was 
 too polite to inquire the cause of his sudden agitation. 
 
 " I will introduce you to him with pleasure ; but it 
 is no use running after him in this crowd, we shall 
 never catch him. I know his methods, he comes here 
 very often, he is a great amateur. He will exchange 
 greetings with the many artists he knows, making a 
 tour of the rooms, and then he will see me and come 
 to a halt in front of us." 
 
 Lady Glendover's prognostication of the Baron's 
 movements was a correct one. After what seemed 
 to Nello, watching his slow progress round the room, 
 an interminable period, Salmoros stopped before them 
 and bowed over the Countess's outstretched hand. 
 
 " Delighted to see you, dear lady. I have just met 
 Mosenstein, who always arranges the programme. 
 There are not so many stars as usual to-night, but he 
 promises us some very good music." 
 
 While he was speaking the young Italian took stock 
 of the great financier. A massive head, sunnounted 
 with a mass of snow-white hair, a patriarchal beard 
 of the same hue, a tall, sturdy figure. ISTello guessed 
 his age at seventy, but the brightness of his glance, 
 the upright form, gave little sign of age. He went 
 by the evidence of the snow-white hair and beard. 
 
 After a brief conversation the Countess turned to 
 young Corsini. 
 
 " This gentleman wishes to make your acquaint- 
 ance. Baron. Signer !N"ello Corsini. You will no
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 73 
 
 doubt remember him at the last Covent Garden Con- 
 cert." 
 
 The Baron held out his hand and his smile was 
 very kindly. " I recollect you well, Signor. You 
 played very beautifully; you took the place of Bau- 
 quel, who played our good friend Degraux a rather 
 scurvy trick." 
 
 Xello bowed. He felt very embarrassed- The 
 Countess had discreetly turned her head, so as not 
 to appear to listen to their conversation. The young 
 violinist had, no doubt, something of a private nature 
 to impart. 
 
 " I have taken advantage of the Countess's kindness 
 to make your acquaintance, Baron. The fact is, I 
 have in my possession a letter addressed to you, a few 
 days before his death, by a friend of mine, a Mon- 
 sieur Peron. Did you know anybody of that name ? " 
 
 " Peron, Peron ! " repeated the Baron, then he 
 shook his snow-white head. " No ; that name recalls 
 nobody to me." 
 
 " I have reason to believe it was an assumed one 
 and that he was a great friend of yours some years 
 ago. I am charged to deliver it personally into your 
 hands." 
 
 The bright eyes took on an alert expression. 
 " You have not got it with you, I suppose ? " 
 
 " No, sir, I would not risk carrying it about with 
 me. Would it be possible for me to see you at your 
 office, or anywhere else, for a few moments ? " 
 
 The Baron thought a second. " Certainly. Come 
 to Old Broad Street to-morrow morning, say at eleven
 
 74: THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 o'clock. Please be punctual, as my day is pretty well 
 cut up with appointments." 
 
 " At eleven to the minute, sir," was Corsini's an- 
 swer. After a few minutes' chat with the Countess, 
 in which he tactfully included the young violinist, 
 the Baron pursued his tour of the drawing-rooms, ex- 
 changing numerous greetings, for he knew every artist 
 in London.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 The next morning Corsini presented himself at the 
 palatial premises in Old Broad Street where the 
 Baron evolved his vast financial schemes. After he 
 had waited in an anteroom for a couple of minutes, a 
 slim young man, who looked like a confidential secre- 
 tary, appeared from an inner apartment, and led him 
 down a long corridor to Salmoros's private sanctum. 
 
 It was a handsome apartment, beautifully fur- 
 nished. Your feet sank in the thick Turkey carpet; 
 the easy-chairs were models of artistic design and com- 
 fort. There were only a few pictures on the walls, 
 but each one was a gem. The Baron was a lover of 
 art in every shape and form, and one of the best- 
 known collectors in Europe. In his business, as well 
 as his leisure hours, he loved to surround himself with 
 beautiful things. 
 
 Few, save a few old friends, knew anything of his 
 family or antecedents. The name suggested a Greek 
 origin, although of course most of his enemies would 
 have it that he was a pure Jew. Tlis fine, clear-cut 
 features, however, had no affinity to those of that 
 celebrated race. 
 
 He smiled kindly at the young man, and shook 
 
 hands cordially with him: he had the greatest respect 
 
 for all persons connected directly with the arts. 
 
 After a few commonplace remarks, he asked for the 
 
 letter. 
 
 75
 
 76 THE INTIIIGUERS 
 
 Nello handed it to him, and at the same time 
 showed him the glittering Order of St. Louis. 
 
 " This is one of the few things my poor old friend 
 had in his possession when he died in that poor house 
 in Dean Street, Baron. I have no doubt, in my own 
 mind, that he was once a man of position and dis- 
 tinction." 
 
 The Baron glanced at the Order, and nodded his 
 head. It was evident common persons did not come 
 into possession of such valuable things. Then he 
 opened the letter, and read. 
 
 When he had perused it and laid it down on the 
 desk in front of him, a strangely soft expression 
 had come over his fine, intellectual face. 
 
 " My poor old friend Jean ! " he murmured in a 
 low voice. "How very strange! I believed him 
 dead long ago. There was a rumour that he had 
 been shot in those terrible days of the Commune. 
 Poor Jean ! My once dear friend Jean ! " 
 
 " I am right in saying that the name of Peron 
 was assumed ? " asked Nello timidly. 
 
 The Baron bent his keen glance on him. "You 
 know absolutely nothing of his real histor)^ ? " 
 
 " For the purposes of identification, nothing, sir. 
 The only thing that he ever let drop was that long 
 ago he had been a pianist of eminence. That I 
 could well believe, for even at the age at which I 
 knew him, his touch was that of a master." 
 
 " Ah, that is all you could gather. Well, my poor 
 old friend was always a little fond of mystery. His 
 real name was Jean Villefort, and he was one of the 
 finest and most successful artists of his generation.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 77 
 
 You are a musician yourself; you must have heard 
 of him, although, of course, he was long hefore your 
 time." 
 
 Yes, ISTello had heard of him as one of the great 
 masters of the past. " Then he must have amassed 
 a great fortune, Baron. How came it that he died 
 so poor and friendless ? " 
 
 The Baron spoke slowly, in a musing tone, as if 
 following the thread of his recollections. " Yes, he 
 made plenty of money in his time; he had a tre- 
 mendous vogue on the Continent and was a special 
 favourite of iN'apoleon the Third; I do not think he 
 ever achieved much success in England or America. 
 I know he was greatly dissatisfied with both his 
 tours in those countries." 
 
 The Baron paused, much to N^ello's disappoint- 
 ment. He was eager to know all the details of the 
 past life of this Strang? old man who had passed 
 away under such tragic circumstances. Especially 
 curious was he to learn what had become of all his 
 •wealth. 
 
 Salmoros looked up and caught the gleam of in- 
 terrogation in the young man's eyes. 
 
 " Naturally you are curious. Well, no doubt my 
 poor old friend made plenty in his time; but he was 
 very lavish, charitable, and open-handed. Still, his 
 fortune could have endured the strain placed upon 
 it by the possession of such amiable qualities. Alas! 
 he was a confirmed gambler; the racecourse and the 
 card-table swallowed up any surplus he ever pos- 
 sessed." 
 
 " T understand," said Nello. " And when was it,
 
 78 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 may I ask, Baron, that you lost sight of him ? *' 
 
 " He disappeared from Paris — you may say, 
 from the world — about twenty-five years ago, or 
 thereabouts. I was one of his most intimate friends, 
 although he was about seven years my senior. From 
 that day to this, to the moment that you have brought 
 me this letter, I have never heard a word from him. 
 His sudden disappearance was a nine days' wonder, 
 but the world rolled on and the great artist, Jean 
 Villefort, was forgotten. 
 
 " That sudden disappearance, the abandonment of 
 such a brilliant career in a moment of despair, was, 
 I need hardly say, the outcome of a tragedy. Also 
 needless to add that, as usual in such cases, a woman 
 was at the bottom of it. The few details that filtered 
 out enabled us to piece together certain things." 
 
 " And the certain things ? " queried Nello eagerly. 
 
 Salmoros spoke in his low, deliberate voice — the 
 voice of the man who, with his vast experience of 
 the world, had known and seen everything, and was 
 surprised at nothing. 
 
 " Let me put it to you as shortly as possible. An 
 elderly husband, married to a charming and beauti- 
 ful young woman some fifteen, perhaps twenty, years 
 his junior. The husband, a member of the old 
 French nobility, a little dull, not gifted with any 
 mentality. The wife, ardent, romantic, a lover of 
 music and all the arts, not a single bond of union be- 
 tween her and her unappreciative husband. You 
 follow me? You are an artist yourself. You will 
 soon see the beginning of the romance that ended in
 
 THE INTRIGUERS T9 
 
 tragedy. In a very inspired mood, you could ex- 
 press it on your violin." 
 
 Nello nodded. His life had been so hard up to 
 the present moment, that he had enjoyed scant leisure 
 to indulge in the softer emotions of life. But, in a 
 vague sort of way, he could appreciate something of 
 the tragedy of Papa Peron's past. 
 
 " Tell me something more, if you please. I am 
 very interested." 
 
 Salmoros continued in his slow, deliberate tones. 
 " The femme incomprtse^ a more or less bovine hus- 
 band, a man almost as old as her husband, but ardent 
 and impetuous, ten years younger in spirit than his 
 real age. What happens ? The woman falls in love 
 with him for his genius. He bewitches her with his 
 beautiful art. With his deft and skilled fingers, 
 and by Heaven he was almost the finest pianist I 
 have ever heard, he drew out from her her very soul." 
 
 " Ah ! I can understand he must have been very 
 wonderful," interjected Nello. " Even at his age, 
 there were times when he thrilled me." 
 
 Salmoros nodded. " You can understand the 
 spell he would cast over a comparatively yoimg 
 woman. Well, let us get to the end of this. My 
 poor old friend Jean sleeps in peace, why wake up 
 those old faint memories? " 
 
 " But they are very interesting. Baron," urged 
 Corsini. 
 
 " I know, my young friend. Even I have a melan- 
 choly interest in them, because they take me back to 
 the days of comparative youth. Well, to be brief —
 
 80 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 a romance in a nutshell. A violent altercation be- 
 tween husband and lover, a duel, the husband is 
 wounded, not mortally, carried to his house. The 
 charming young wife, innocent, or perhaps guilty, 
 cause of all this dire misfortune, commits suicide. 
 Jean Villefort, apprised of her tragic end, disap- 
 pears. He might have thrown himself into the 
 Seine. Eor days his friends searched for him in the 
 morgue to no purpose. And, through you, I have 
 at last unearthed the mystery. Jean Villefort did 
 not avail himself of the coward's resource." 
 
 " Ah, Baron, dear Monsieur Peron — I prefer to 
 call him by that name — was no coward," interjected 
 Nello eagerly. 
 
 " I quite agree. He left a world which held no 
 further joys or triumphs for him. Mon Dieu, what 
 a strange temperament ! Why don't these fellows 
 make art and sentiment a part of their life only, and 
 put in some common sense on the other side ? " 
 
 " You speak from the great financier's point of 
 view. Baron ? " suggested Nello shrewdly. 
 
 Salmoros smiled his slow, appreciative smile. " I 
 see, young man, you have got a head on your shoul- 
 ders. Well now, let us come to this letter." 
 
 Nello was only too anxious that he should. 
 
 " I am waiting for that. Baron. Of course I can 
 only guess at the contents that he has recommended 
 me to you." 
 
 " That he does in the warmest terms, and for the 
 sake of our old friendship I am prepared to comply 
 with his request. In this letter, which is not dated 
 — he explains that by the fact that he does not know
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 81 
 
 how soon his death will take place — he states that 
 you are hoping to establish yourself as an artist, that 
 he has already secured you a small, but fairly re- 
 munerative, engagement at the Parthenon." 
 
 " That is quite true, sir." 
 
 " Then, I take it, this letter was antecedent to 
 your considerable success at the Covent Garden Con- 
 cert. In that comparatively short space of time, 
 your remuneration has gone up by leaps and 
 bounds ? " 
 
 Nello assented for the second time. " Perfectly 
 correct, sir." 
 
 " Then how do we stand ? Of course, if you were 
 quite a poor man, I would find you a post at once for 
 the sake of my old friendship with Jean Villefort. 
 But, candidly, do you want my assistance? I am 
 not dissatisfied with my lot, Signor Corsini, I can 
 assure you " 
 
 And ISTello murmured, half under his breath : " I 
 should think you were not, Baron, you a financier of 
 European renown." 
 
 A whimsical smile overspread the other man's fea- 
 tures. "And yet I will tell you a little secret. 
 Music is a passion with me. I am a financier by 
 profession, but art, art alono absorbs my soul. I 
 have tried, oh how hard ! to be an executant on more 
 than one instrument. Signor Corsini, I would pay 
 you a hundred thousand pounds to-morrow, if you 
 could teach me to play that exquisite little romance 
 as you played it last night. I feel every note in my 
 soul, but when my feeble fingers touch the strings^ 
 they are powerless."
 
 82 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Nello looked at him compassionately. There was 
 in his composition the hard Latin fibre; but here was 
 a new experience for him. Here was a man who had 
 achieved eminence in one of the most difficult pro- 
 fessions, a man who could write a cheque for one or 
 two millions. And here he was, lamenting his in- 
 capacity to succeed in an art for which nature had 
 given him no equipment. 
 
 " It is very sad, Baron," breathed the young Italian 
 softly. " But in your case, the gods have given so 
 generously. Why should you complain that they 
 have withheld this one small gift, the gift of the 
 executant ? " 
 
 " You call it a small gift, do you ? " replied Sal- 
 moros in his deep, sonorous tones. " I call it the 
 greatest gift of all." He paused, reflected a second, 
 and then became again the man of affairs. 
 
 " Now, Signer Corsini, to your immediate busi- 
 ness. How can I help you for my good old Jean's 
 sake and your own ? What are your own views as to 
 the present situation ? Are you satisfied, or not ? " 
 
 Corsini was quite frank. " In a way, yes ; in a 
 way, no. Degraux and dear Papa Peron both gave 
 me very good advice " 
 
 "The sum of which was ?" interjected the 
 
 white-haired Salmoros. 
 
 " That unless you make a very great success, the 
 artistic career is of all the most uncertain." 
 
 Salmoros nodded his massive head. " I quite 
 agree. Poor dear old Jean was shrewder than I 
 thought. And yet, how simple in some things. 
 Why did he not apply to me instead of drawing his
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 83 
 
 last breath in that miserable house ? I would have 
 given him an annuity for life." 
 
 " I am sure you would, sir, but the dear old Papa 
 was too proud to accept charity. Surely it was to 
 his credit that he did not sponge on his old friends ? " 
 
 " Just like him, just like him, a dear, kindly, im- 
 practicable creature. Well, now to your affairs. 
 Do you want to stick to the artistic line, or not ? " 
 
 " Not if there is anything better in prospect, 
 Baron," answered the shrewd Nello. 
 
 The Baron swept him with his keen glance. 
 
 " I am rather a judge of men. You seem just the 
 sort of man who would make good. Let me think a 
 little. There is something running in my mind. 
 You might serve my immediate purposes, and at the 
 same time, I might help you in your artistic career. 
 You might have two strings to your bow. What do 
 you think ? " 
 
 " I am quite in your hands, Baron," was Nello's 
 answer. 
 
 The mind of the great financier worked swiftly. 
 He took up two letters, one in French, the other in 
 Italian. 
 
 " Take these over to the table by the window, and 
 translate the French into Italian and the Italian into 
 French. Take your time, but do them well." 
 
 Nello complied with his patron's request. Sal- 
 moros was evidently a man who thought swiftly. 
 
 While Nello was engaged on his task, the Baron's 
 private secretary entered. 
 
 " The Prince Zouroff wishes to see you, sir." 
 
 The Baron frowned. There were certain persons
 
 84 THE ll^TKiGUEllS 
 
 in the great world who were in his good books. The 
 Russian Ambassador was certainly not. He knew a 
 little too much about him. 
 
 He held up a warning finger to his secretary and 
 crossed over to Nello. 
 
 " The Prince Zouroff is asking for an interview. 
 You have played at the Russian Embassy; do you 
 want to meet him ? " 
 
 "Ko," said Nello shortly; "I don't think I do. 
 I have heard that he is a bit of a brute." 
 
 " Quite right, but, on account of his position, we 
 have to cotton to him in a way. With your head 
 over your desk you won't see each other." 
 
 The private secretary ushered in Prince ZouroflF, 
 the Russian Ambassador. 
 
 The Prince was a very overbearing and truculent 
 personage ; but he knew full well that even ambassa- 
 dors have to preserve a modest demeanour, even as 
 their sovereigns, in the presence of all-powerful fin- 
 anciers. 
 
 " Greetings to you, my dear Salmoros ! " The 
 Prince was always flamboyant. " The Czar has re- 
 called me to St. Petersburg." 
 
 Salmoros affected surprise. But he was not sur- 
 prised in the least. He had received intimation of 
 the news two days ago from the Russian Foreign 
 Office itself. 
 
 " Ah, I have heard the rumour," he said in his 
 slow, suave accents. " You are to be Governor of 
 Kieff, a post you have long been coveting, eh ? I con- 
 gratulate you, my dear Prince, although your friends 
 in London will be very sorry to lose you."
 
 THE ITs^TRIGUERS 85 
 
 " You are mistaken," replied the Ambassador 
 shortly. " Though I have tried several times to ob- 
 tain the governorship of Kieff my Imperial Master 
 will not give it to me. It is my right by inheritance, 
 because my estates are in that province. I hear that 
 I may be appointed Governor of Archangel ; in the 
 meantime, I am to present myself at the Court of 
 St. Petersburg," 
 
 Salmoros did not betray by a flicker of the eyelid 
 that the information was priceless to him. 
 
 Zouroff, after a brief sojourn at the Court of St, 
 Petersburg, was to be advanced to the governorship 
 of Archangel. 
 
 Salmoros knew what this meant. The Czar was 
 as well aware of the fact as he was. ZourofF was a 
 great nobleman, but also a traitor. The Government 
 was going to proceed by easy steps. Prom Arch- 
 angel to Siberia and life-long imprisonment would 
 be a facile progression and create no great scandal, 
 excite very little comment. Prince Zouroff would 
 simply disappear, under this most autocratic of all 
 autocratic governments. 
 
 After a short conversation the Baron held out hia 
 hand. In his heart he had a little sympathy for this 
 truculent Ambassador, brute as he was, who was go - 
 ing to his doom, the victim of an iron and despotic 
 Government. P)Ut perhaps his sympathy was wasted. 
 Zouroff was a traitor, a man who would bite the hand 
 that fed him. 
 
 When he had dismissed the Ambassador, he crossed 
 over to the desk where Ncllo had just finished his 
 translations.
 
 86 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 " They are here, Baron. Will you read them ? " 
 The Baron read them. " Very good, very good, 
 indeed," ho said. " Now, Signor Corsini, I think 
 you and I will have a little serious talk."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 The Baron led Nello from the desk where he had 
 been writing and planted him in one of the numerous 
 comfortable chairs scattered about the handsomely 
 furnished room. 
 
 " Sit you down there, mv young friend, while I 
 talk to you. Now, these translations are very good, 
 and they have started an idea in my mind which 
 might result in something useful. But, in the first 
 place, I should like to know something of your own 
 views. Would you have any objection to leave Eng- 
 land for a space, assuming that I could push your 
 musical interests in another country ? " 
 
 It did not take the young man long to consider. 
 A musician is, or should be, cosmopolitan ; to-day in 
 London, next week in Paris, the week after in 
 Vienna or Berlin. 
 
 " One country is as good to me as another, Baron, 
 so long as my chance of a career is equal." 
 
 " Good 1 " The financier looked at his watch. 
 " It is now half-past eleven, and I have a deal to do 
 between now and one o'clock. Can you see me again 
 at one ? " 
 
 " My time is at your disposal, sir. I will return 
 at one." 
 
 " By that time my ideas will have developed, and 
 I may be able to put before you a definite proposi- 
 tion," said Salmoros. " I have an unpretentious 
 
 87
 
 88 THE IIS'TEIGUERS 
 
 little lunch served here every day when I have no 
 outside engagements. You will honour me by par- 
 taking of it. I cannot speak very highly of the 
 cuisine; it is quite simple, but I shall be able to give 
 you a very decent bottle of wine." 
 
 " A thousand thanks, Baron." Nello smiled in- 
 wardly at his host's apologies for the simplicity of the 
 meal. This rich man did not know, and perhaps it 
 was better he should not know, the depths of the pov- 
 erty to which his guest had descended, how often he 
 had gone to bed half famished. 
 
 At thj appointed hour he returned. The same 
 young man who had previously received him showed 
 him into a small room, no less well furnished than 
 the other. 
 
 A round dining-table was laid for two. As he 
 liad expected, it was to be a tete-a tele meal. He had 
 just time to notice the beautiful appointments of the 
 table, the snowy napery, the rare old silver, the ex- 
 quisite glass, when Salmoros entered. A moment 
 later the meal was served, simple in its elements, but 
 perfectly cooked. 
 
 The wine served during the few courses was cham- 
 pagne. The Baron had a couple of glasses at both 
 lunch and dinner; he believed in its stimulating 
 properties. 
 
 Then a bottle of claret of the finest vintage was 
 put on the table, and the financier produced some 
 perfect cigars. There was no doubt that Baron An- 
 dreas Salmoros had a great respect for his creature 
 comforts. A man of tlie profoundest intellect, he 
 was also an artist and an epicure.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 89 
 
 " Now, my young friend," he said as he puffed 
 at his excellent cigar with every appearance of enjoy- 
 ing to the full its flavour and perfume. " We vs^ill 
 talk. Help yourself to that claret ; I can recommend 
 it." 
 
 'NeUo did as he was requested. His head was 
 swimming a little from the unaccustomed champagne, 
 but he had no desire to forfeit the Baron's good 
 graces by proclaiming himself a weakling. If this 
 was how people in the great world lived, he must 
 pretend to be used to it. 
 
 He waited respectfully for the great man to un- 
 fold the plan that would perhaps change his whole 
 life and open out to him a new world. Of course 
 he was shrewd enough to guess that whatever was 
 proposed would be as much in the Baron's interests as 
 his own. 
 
 But he did not feel resentful over this. Phil- 
 anthropists pure and simple are not generally found 
 amid such palatial surroundings. Poor old Papa 
 Peron had been one without doubt, and he had flung 
 his money about right and left; wrecked his life for 
 a sentimental attachment and drawn his last breath 
 in a mean lodging. Emphatically Baron Salmoros 
 was not of the same breed. He seemed kindly, and 
 there was often a benevolent gleam in those clear, 
 shrewd eyes. But for every ounce of help he gave, 
 be would stipulate for a handsome return. 
 
 " I think, Corsini, we can help each other very con- 
 siderably. I believe it is in my power to advance 
 you in two ways; in the more permanent direction 
 that my dear old friend, Jean Villefort, suggests,
 
 90 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 and also in the artistic way. I take it, the latter is 
 really nearer to your heart. Even if your success 
 has not been stupendous, you have set your first foot- 
 step on the ladder of fame." 
 
 " I should be very sorry if I found it an absolute 
 necessity to give up my musical career altogether. 
 Baron." 
 
 Salmoros nodded his massive snow-white head. 
 " In that you have my fullest sympathy. I told you 
 a short time ago what I would give to possess your 
 executive talent. Well, I have been thinking con- 
 siderably since you left, and I believe I can solve the 
 difficultv." 
 
 Nello followed him with the closest attention. To 
 a certain extent he had found a fairy godfather in 
 Papa Peron, for from the chance meeting on that 
 snowy winter's night had flowed his present success, 
 his introduction to Gay, through Gay his meeting 
 with Paul Degraux. Was he about to find a more 
 powerful and influential one in this world-renowned 
 financier ? 
 
 " Suppose I sent you on a partly diplomatic mis- 
 sion to Russia, and at the same time insured you cer- 
 tain introductions which would help you greatly in 
 your musical career — What would you say to that? 
 Does the suggestion impress you ? " 
 
 The young man could hardly believe his ears. 
 Again his thoughts went back to the days when he 
 had played in the streets for a few miserable coppers. 
 And to-day he was sitting, an honoured guest, at the 
 table of one of the greatest financiers in the world. 
 He had to assure himself that he was not dreaming.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 91 
 
 "I cannot think of anything more delightful," 
 was the fervent answer. 
 
 The Baron proceeded. " I want a very private 
 and confidential letter — it will, of course, be writ- 
 ten in cipher — carried to Lord Ickfold, the British 
 Ambassador at Saint Petersburg," 
 
 Nello bowed. This would surely not be a very 
 difficult task. 
 
 "You may wonder why I should employ you on 
 this mission. I could get it through a Foreign Office 
 Messenger, as a matter of course, but he would be 
 suspected, and my letter might be abstracted. They 
 have some very clever people on the other side. You 
 follow me ? " 
 
 Nello assured him that he did. He was not at all 
 sure that he did follow the windings of this subtle 
 intelligence. But it would never do to let the Baron 
 suspect that. 
 
 " Now, nobody will suspect you. It is well known 
 that I am a rather generous patron of the arts, that 
 I have befriended many a struggling genius; helped 
 him upwards in his career. Poor old Jean Villefort 
 has sent you to me, soliciting my influence. I have 
 numerous friends in Russia. You consult me. I 
 come to the conclusion that a short absence from Eng- 
 land will whet the appreciation of those who have 
 already recognised you as an artist of considerable 
 ability." 
 
 Nello nodded his handsome head. Salmoros was 
 now getting on ground where he could easily follow 
 him. 
 
 " I suggest that, with my introduction, you can
 
 92 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 make a greater and quicker success than here — you 
 can afterwards come back with a foreign cachet. At 
 the same time you carry my letter, and put yourself 
 at the disposition of Lord Ickfold and any friends 
 he may introduce you to, on the diplomatic side." 
 
 Yes, Corsini understood perfectly now. He said 
 as much. 
 
 " I take it that, up to the present, you have not 
 made a vast number of acquaintances. Anyway, the 
 diplomatic part must be kept a strict secret between 
 us, until I give you leave to speak of it. Perhaps I 
 may never give you leave; anyway, to those few 
 friends you have, give it out that you have seen me, 
 that I have interested myself in your career and have 
 advised you to go to Russia, where I believe my in- 
 troductions will insure you an immediate success." 
 
 " I understand perfectly. Baron. When do you 
 wish me to start ? " 
 
 " As soon as possible ; the matter is urgent. But 
 before we settle that, let me recommend you to pay a 
 casual visit to Paul Degraux and tell him what I have 
 told you to say. You need mention nothing about 
 poor old Jean; he would not be interested in it, if 
 you told him the story. Just mention that you were 
 presented, which is the truth, by Lady Glendover; 
 that you achieved the rest yourself." 
 
 " I will pay a casual visit to Degraux to-morrow." 
 
 " Eight," said the Baron, pleased to find his latest 
 pupil was so quick. " Degraux is in with all the 
 musical people, and what you tell him to-day will be 
 whispered to a hundred persons in the course of the 
 next few days. And having assisted at your debut,
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 93 
 
 he will be prepared to claim a considerable amount 
 of interest in your success, l^ow, when can you go ? 
 I have told you the matter is urgent. What engage- 
 ments have you got on ? " 
 
 " Only two, Baron. One to-night, at Leicester 
 House, the other three nights hence." 
 
 " We can say, then, that you will be ready to leave 
 England on the Monday of next week ? " queried 
 Salmoros. 
 
 " I shall be ready," answered jSTello quickly. 
 Then he waited. The financier would surely say 
 something about ways and means. He had saved a 
 certain sum of money in the short time that he had 
 been successful, but that modest store would not sup- 
 port the expenses of a Russian campaign. 
 
 But of course Salmoros was not a man likely to 
 overlook such an important point as this. 
 
 " One does not travel for nothing. And I may 
 tell you that in this enterprise, on which you are em- 
 barking at my instigation, there will be no lack of the 
 sinews of war. I shall give you a considerable 
 amount of money to start with. When you arrive 
 in Russia, you will be well provided with funds. I 
 can assure you that you will not regret having tem- 
 porarily relinquished your artistic career here. 
 Lunch with me again here on Friday of this week. 
 I will have everything ready cut-and-dried for you." 
 The great man looked at his watch. " Fortunately, 
 not a very busy day. I am glad we have had plenty 
 of time to talk. But I will give you more time on 
 Friday." 
 
 Nello perceived that he was dismissed. This man
 
 94 THE INTKIGUERS 
 
 had many irons in the fire; he could not stay too 
 long in warming one. Still, there was something he 
 must say before he left; something very important 
 
 " Pardon me, Baron, if I intrude upon a few more 
 seconds of your valuable time. You know nothing of 
 my domestic circumstances. I have neither wife nor 
 sweetheart, but I have a young sister, to whom I am 
 very tenderly attached. I may take her with me on 
 this journey ? " 
 
 Over Salmoros's usually kind face there crept a 
 slight frown. He had not thought of this, and yet 
 a young man was bound to have an entanglement of 
 some sort. Eortunate that it was not a wife, still more 
 fortunate that it was not a sweetheart. He knew 
 the artistic temperaments well. One smile of a 
 woman would outweigh much gold. 
 
 Then the frown died away and the benevolent 
 smile came back. He must reason with this young 
 man calmly. 
 
 " I take it you are very devoted to each other ? " 
 
 Nello answered fervently. " We think with one 
 brain, we feel with one heart, sir. It will cut her 
 to the quick for me to leave her behind." 
 
 The Baron spoke musingly. Years ago he had had 
 his love affairs like other men ; but women had never 
 entered into his scheme of things as they had in the 
 case of his old friend Jean. They were meant for 
 man's leisure, for his playtime ; they could not be 
 woven into the serious business of life. 
 
 " That is all very well, Corsini, but hearts are not 
 so easily broken by a little absence. One day you 
 will leave her for a wife, one day she will leave you
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 05 
 
 for a husband. I trust she will be sensible. You 
 cannot go on this expedition hampered by a woman, 
 whatever her relationship. You will come back to 
 her soon." 
 
 " How soon do you think, sir ? " questioned Nello 
 eagerly. 
 
 " Say, in two or three months." The Baron's tone 
 was a little hesitating. He knew in his own mind 
 that there was a darker side to the picture, that there 
 might be an altogether different ending to the jour- 
 ney. But he was not going to frighten the young 
 man with that, or he might cry off at the last minute. 
 
 Nello persisted; his love for his self-sacrificing 
 little sister was very real, very deep. 
 
 " She is young, in many things younger than her 
 years, and utterly ignorant of the world. I cannot 
 leave her alone, Baron, in the charge of a careless 
 landlady. I would rather give up the whole thing 
 and risk my chances here in London." 
 
 The Baron thought to himself that here was a more 
 difficult person to deal with than he expected. But 
 it was not very long before his fertile brain solved 
 the difficulty. 
 
 " I understand. I am the last man in the world 
 to suggest such an inhuman thing. I can make the 
 way easy for you. Two dear friends of mine, old 
 maids I suppose we must call them, have a big house 
 in Kensington. They are very lonely, without any 
 young relatives. At a word from me they would be 
 delighted to take charge of her during your brief 
 absence. Keep what money you have saved for your- 
 self. I will charge myself with her maintenance,
 
 9G THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 and she shall have plenty of pocket-money, I can 
 assure you." 
 
 Nello grasped the old man's hand warmly. 
 " You have relieved me of the last ounce of hesita- 
 tion. A thousand, nay, ten thousand thanks." 
 
 The Baron returned the pressure; he was de- 
 lighted he had got his own way. " That is under- 
 stood. On Friday I will have that cut-and-dried 
 also. Now keep up your little sister's spirits — 
 what is her name ? Eh, Anita. Tell her that you 
 are going to make fame and fortune, that you will 
 soon be back, and that she will be very happy with 
 these two dear old ladies, who will cosset her like a 
 baby." 
 
 When he left the Baron he could not quite decide 
 what his feelings were. In a sense he was jubilant at 
 the brilliant prospects before him, but his heart was 
 heavy for Anita. They had lived together all their 
 lives ; they had been through terrible and heart-break- 
 ing times. 
 
 To-night he was playing at Leicester House^ the 
 abode of a musical duchess. lie wanted to play his 
 best ; he would not dare to tell the unsuspecting Anita 
 of his speedy departure. Her tears, her grief, would 
 unman him. 
 
 The first persons he met in the specious saloons 
 overlooking the Green Park were the Princess Zouroff 
 and her daughter. 
 
 The girl held out her hand. " Ah, Signer, I am so 
 pleased to see you. You must play that lovely little 
 romance to-night. Shall I tell you the reason ? " 
 
 " I require no reason, Princess. Jt is enough for
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 97 
 
 me that you request me to play it. It shall be 
 played." He blushed a little as he spoke. He was 
 not accustomed to indulge in persiflage with great 
 ladies. 
 
 A little colour came into ber face also. Perhaps 
 the young musician's tone had been more fervent than 
 he intended. 
 
 " But I will tell you the reason, nevertheless. We 
 have been recalled to St. Petersburg; we leave Lon- 
 don next week. That is the reason my brother Boris 
 is not here; he is winding up affairs for his suc- 
 cessor." 
 
 A deeper flush spread over T^ello's face. " But 
 that is very strange. I am going there myself. I 
 start next Mondav." 
 
 The young Princess looked pleased. She turned 
 to her mother. " Signer Corsini must call upon us, 
 mother." She looked at him with a little smile. 
 " To-night will not then be the last time I shall hear 
 that lovely romance." 
 
 The elder woman seconded the invitation warmly. 
 " You shall come and play for us, Signor. I think 
 you will find the Slav temperament a little more fer- 
 vent than the Anglo-Saxon one." 
 
 Xello thought this a good time for explanations. 
 Degraux would spread the news about in his world, 
 the Zouroffs would spread it about in theirs. 
 
 " You know, of course, the Baron Salmoros ? " 
 
 The Princess replied that they had a slight ac- 
 quaintance with that distinguished financier. 
 
 " Lady Glcndover introduced mo to him. lie is 
 a very considerable amateur, he has been kind enou^'h
 
 98 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 to take a very warm interest in me. He is going to 
 push my fortunes in Russia." 
 
 " His name is one to conjure with in Russia," said 
 the grey-haired Princess. " He stands very high in 
 the favour of his Imperial Majesty." 
 
 Princess Isada. nodded him farewell. " It is not 
 good-bye, then, only au revoir. I suppose artists and 
 ambassadors are the greatest cosmopolitans on earth. 
 We shall meet next in St. Petersburg." 
 ' And, on the Monday of the following week, Cor- 
 sini set out on his expedition. 
 
 He had seen Degraux, who had congratulated him 
 heartily. " Salmoros pulls so many strings ; he can 
 do more for you in a week than I could do for you 
 in twelve months," he had told him. " He has run 
 several theatres for people he believed in. He will 
 do anything in the world for you when he once takes 
 a fancy." 
 
 And little Anita had been very brave; she wept a 
 good deal when she was alone, but in her brother's 
 presence she kept her tears back. Was she to oppose 
 the feelings of her loving and undisciplined heart to 
 the fiat of this new benefactor who had come so un- 
 expectedly into their lives? 
 
 So she went meekly to the big house in Kensing- 
 ton, tenanted by the two dear old maids who were 
 prepared to mother her, as much for her own sweet 
 ways as from their ardent admiration for the com- 
 pelling Salmoros, who had been a bosom friend of 
 their father. 
 
 " Two or three months and I shall be back again ! "
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 99 
 
 sighed Corsini as he settled himself in the train. 
 Little could he guess what the future would unfold 
 as he made this confident prediction.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 Weary and worn with his long journey, ISTello dis- 
 mounted at the little wayside station about thirty 
 miles from St. Petersburg. All passengers were per- 
 emptorily ordered to alight. Presently he learned 
 that there had been a slight railway accident in front, 
 and that he might have to wait two or three hours 
 before he could get on to the capital. 
 
 He walked in the direction of the little village. 
 There was evidently a great stir taking place in this 
 ordinarily quiet neighbourhood. Mounted soldiers 
 ■were drawn up before the old posting-inn. 
 
 N'ello happened to get hold of a man who could 
 speak a little French, in a halting, but intelligent 
 way. 
 
 " Quite a commotion for such a tranquil spot. 
 What is it that is on the tapis ? " inquired Corsini. 
 
 The man explained in his slow French. " Some- 
 thing out of the usual, Monsieur. Have you ever 
 heard of a terrible fellow, one Ivan, nicknamed ' The 
 Cuckoo ' ? " 
 
 ISTo, ISTello had never heard of him. " Is he a 
 very formidable personage this ' Ivan the Cuckoo,' 
 then ? " 
 
 The man explained elaborately that Ivan was a 
 
 much-feared outlaw, that he was in the vicinity with 
 
 a gang of desperadoes and assassins. He was a 
 
 100
 
 THE INTEIGUEES 101 
 
 convict who had escaped from the mines of Siberia, 
 and had gathered round him a band of miscreants as 
 desperate as himself, and as careless of consequences. 
 They had lived by preying on the peasants and stx*ay 
 travellers. 
 
 " The police are endeavouring to block the roads, 
 so that, in desperation, he and his associates may be 
 driven into the village and captured," concluded the 
 man who had volunteered the explanation in his 
 halting French. 
 
 Corsini thanked him, and strolled along down the 
 straggling village street. What was he to do till the 
 railway service was restored ? The village inn was 
 open, where, if he pleased, he could go and saturate 
 himself with vodka or some other potent spirit ; but 
 the young man had the abstemiousness of the Latin 
 races. He did not want to amuse himself in this 
 fashion. 
 
 He would take a little stroll. Occupied with his 
 own thoughts of the life and reception awaiting him 
 in St. Petersburg, with those powerful introductions 
 from the influential Salmoros, he did not think of the 
 risk he was running in wandering away from the 
 protected precincts of the quiet village, guarded as 
 it was by those stout mounted soldiers. Ivan and 
 his band were lurking about somewhere, ready to 
 pounce on the unwary traveller. 
 
 After a few minutes' slow walk, he came to a road- 
 side ikon. Mechanically he stopped and crossed him- 
 self. He was a man of deeply religious feeling, and 
 he fancied he had been blessed with a good omen 
 on his entrance into this strange country. A few
 
 102 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 prayers to the Blessed Virgin and he would be 
 sheltered from all harm. 
 
 Hardly had his lips ceased moving in reverent 
 supplication, w^hen he was aware of a strange pres- 
 ence. A tall, bearded man emerged from the semi- 
 gloom and held out his hands with an imploring ges- 
 ture. 
 
 " Save me for the sake of her whom we both rev- 
 erence," he cried. He spoke, like the last man who 
 had addressed Nello, in lame and halting French. 
 He had evidently appreciated the fact that Corsini 
 was not a fellow-countryman. 
 
 Corsini started back and his hand stole to his hip 
 pocket, from which he produced a very serviceable 
 revolver, which he levelled straight at the intruder. 
 
 " Who and what are you ? " he cried loudly, with 
 a resolution he was far from feeling. This rough, 
 unkempt man looked as if he was possessed of giant 
 strength. If it had come to a hand-to-hand tussle, he 
 could have broken the slim young Italian in two. 
 But Nello would not let it come to that. He kept 
 his pistol well levelled at the stranger's head. The 
 least movement and he would fire. 
 
 " Save me for her sake, for the sake of the Virgin," 
 pleaded the man in despairing accents. " You are 
 not an outlaw like me; you have not been through 
 what I have. I trust you, for a man who says his 
 prayers with the devotion you do — I watched you 
 behind the trees — would never betray his hunted 
 fellow-creatures." 
 
 And then a light came suddenly to Corsini, stand- 
 ing there, armed with that eloquent pistol.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 103 
 
 " You speak of yourself as an outlaw. I have just 
 come from the little village yonder, which is in a 
 state of commotion with mounted soldiers. They are 
 looking for an outlaw, a convict escaped from the 
 mines of Siberia. I am right in saying that you are 
 ' Ivan the Cuckoo.' Where is your band of assassins 
 and robbers who prey upon the travellers and peas- 
 ants ? " 
 
 The miserable man fell at his feet. Nello, in the 
 dim light, saw that his face had gone livid. 
 
 " You have guessed, Monsieur. It is true. I am 
 Ivan the outlaw. You cannot appreciate the misery 
 that drove me to this." 
 
 In a dim sort of way ISTello understood. This man 
 was an outlaw. Was it not just a chance that he was 
 not one himself? Many a night, as he had played 
 in the cold streets for a few miserable pence, he had 
 passed the flaring restaurants, the well-lighted shops, 
 their windows full of precious things to be coveted 
 by the poor and hungry. He could not deny that 
 many a time he had railed at the world's injustice, 
 that criminal thoughts had surged through his half- 
 maddened brain. 
 
 He thought of the saying of the old Quaker, 
 whenever he heard of a criminal on the road to death. 
 " There, but for the grace of God, goes myself." 
 
 Yes, but for the sudden intervention in the shape 
 of good old Papa Peron, he might have drifted into 
 evil courses like the wretched creature grovelling at 
 his feet It was not for him to judge. 
 
 He looked at him steadily, still keeping the pistol 
 levelled at the vital part, and repeated his question.
 
 104 THE INTKIGUERS 
 
 (I 
 
 What has become of your band of robbers and 
 assassins ? " he asked sternly. 
 
 " Dispersed, Monsieur — dispersed, I give you my 
 word. Yesterday we learned that the soldiers and 
 police were on our track, were preparing to draw a 
 cordon round us. It was a case of sauve qui peut, 
 devil take the hindmost. We agreed to separate. 
 There were not more than half a dozen of us, but our 
 numbers have been exaggerated. We all scattered in 
 different directions. Somehow, I stumbled up here, 
 and you tell me the little village is astir." 
 
 " What is it you want of me ? " 
 
 " Just a little money, Monsieur; just a little money 
 to help me on my way to St. Petersburg, where I 
 shall find friends," 
 
 !N^ello looked at him suspiciously. " But why do 
 you want money? It was only yesterday that you 
 heard the police were closing round you. You have 
 been robbing as you go. When you agreed to sep- 
 arate, no doubt you divided the ready money." 
 
 " That is true, Monsieur ; you are very clever," 
 replied the grovelling man in a fawning voice. 
 " You will hardly believe me when I tell you, but I 
 swear it is true. Last night I slept in a little inn a 
 few miles from here. I had drunk heavily, I admit ; 
 I slept very soundly. When I awoke in the morn- 
 ing every coin I possessed had been stolen from my 
 pockets. I, an old hand, blush to tell you. Monsieur ; 
 but I, who have robbed so many, was robbed myself." 
 
 " Do you suspect anybody ? " was Nello's next 
 question. 
 
 The man uttered a fierce imprecation. " Yes, I
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 105 
 
 do; I suspect one of my so-called pals. As captain 
 I took the biggest share when we agreed to separate. 
 I caught his eye fixed upon me with a very sinister 
 look. My theory is that he followed me at a safe 
 distance and saw where I was lodged. He was well 
 aware of my habits ; he knew I should be pretty fast 
 asleep. He climbed up through the window, Mon- 
 sieur, and took every copper. I was too drunk to 
 hear him. If I had been in my sober senses, I would 
 have strangled him, and added one more crime to the 
 many committed by Ivan the outlaw." He ended 
 with a defiant grin, that showed a row of strong 
 white wolfish teeth. 
 
 Nello mused for a little space. The man might 
 be speaking truth ; he was half disposed to think so. 
 On the other hand, he might be telling him a tissue of 
 lies. 
 
 " Why are you not armed ? " he asked suddenly, 
 
 " I have a pistol, Monsieur, but it is empty. I 
 could find no place in which to buy cartridges. See 
 for yourself." 
 
 He fumbled in his pocket and threw down the 
 weapon on the ground. Nello picked it up cau- 
 tiously; it was, as its owner had truly declared, harm- 
 less. 
 
 A grim smile crossed the young man's countenance, 
 but he did not for a second relax his vigilance. This 
 ruffian of the highway was, no doubt, as cunning as 
 he was plausible. 
 
 " If your pistol had been loaded, I expect you 
 would have extorted money from me instead of beg- 
 ging it."
 
 106 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Ivan the outlaw shook his big head. " Under or- 
 dinary circumstances, yes, Monsieur. Adversity has 
 taught me not to stand upon ceremony. But when I 
 saw your lips moving in prayer before the ikon, I 
 would not have harmed a hair of your head. You 
 would have been sacred." 
 
 Truly a strange being, imbued with the ever-pres- 
 ent superstition of the Russian peasant, thought Nello 
 to himself. 
 
 " And you want money from me. Of course you 
 know what my duty is, as a peaceable man who has 
 no sympathy with robbers and assassins ? " 
 
 " Certainly, Monsieur. If you don't choose to 
 shoot me in a vital spot and so insure my death, you 
 ought to maim me to prevent me from moving, leave 
 me here and go and fetch the police from the village 
 to take me into custody." The man had spoken so 
 far in a low, imperturbable voice ; then at the end he 
 lashed himself into sudden fury and shrieked out. 
 
 " It's a toss of a copper to me what you do. But if 
 you won't give me any money, kill me outright. I 
 have not made such a success of life that I am anx- 
 ious to enjoy much more of it. Kill me, Monsieur, 
 and finish it once for all. The police will thank you 
 for having got rid of ' Ivan the Cuckoo.' They won't 
 ask too many questions." 
 
 Nello thought for some little time. His thoughts 
 went back to a very miserable night, some six months 
 ago. He had been playing in the streets and had 
 returned home with nothing. He owed the rent for 
 the miserable hovel in which they sheltered ; they had 
 no food.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 107 
 
 He had looked his sister squarely in the face and 
 had whispered the question — " Is life worth living, 
 Anita, under such conditions ? " She had returned 
 his gaze with a face as white as his own, but she had 
 not faltered, as she replied, " Nello, I leave it in 
 your hands." And, thank Heaven, he had conquered 
 that terrible fit of despair, to find, later on, a new 
 world opening to him. 
 
 He handed the wretched man a sum of money and 
 spoke in very gentle tones. 
 
 "God be good to you, my poor friend, and soften 
 your heart. I know not if the world has been too 
 harsh to you, or you have too grievously offended the 
 world. Go in peace. I am not your judge, and I 
 will not be your executioner." 
 
 With a brief blessing, the outlaw took the money 
 and slunk away in the gathering darkness. 
 
 " I shall remember vour face for ever," he whis- 
 pered in farewell. " It is not likely we shall ever 
 meet again. But if we do and I can repay my debt, 
 I will, and with interest." 
 
 A few hours later Nello was in St. Petersburg. 
 He put up at one of the best hotels in the city, acting 
 upon the instructions of Salmoros. That gentleman 
 had urged upon him the necessity of keeping up a 
 good appearance, and spending money lavishly, at 
 any rate for the present. 
 
 That night he had confused dreams of his gentle 
 little sister Anita, the beautiful Princess Nada, and 
 the rough outlaw whom he had saved from justice. 
 
 Next morning he made his way to the British Em- 
 bassy and inquired for Lord Ickfold, mentioning that
 
 108 THE INTEIGUEKS 
 
 he bad come on a special mission from the Baron 
 Salmoros. In a few moments he was shown into His 
 Excellency's presence. 
 
 Lord Ickfold was a handsome, presentable man of 
 about sixty years of age. Contrary to the fashion of 
 the day, he was clean-shaven. Being a widower, an 
 unmarried daughter presided over the establishment. 
 This morning he was at a somewhat late dejeuner, 
 alone. 
 
 He rose and shook the young man cordially by 
 the hand. " Anybody who comes from my good old 
 friend Salmoros is especially welcome," he said with 
 true diplomatic urbanity. " By the way, have you 
 breakfasted ? I am very late ; I had to send impor- 
 tant dispatches last night. I did not get to bed till 
 four this morning." 
 
 ISTello answered with equal courtesy that he had 
 already made his meal, and handed him the bulgy 
 packet with which the Baron had entrusted him. 
 
 The Ambassador perused the contents of the 
 packet slowly as he consumed his breakfast. But 
 the last letter he read seemed to agitate him to an un- 
 wonted degree. He jumped up hastily, rang the 
 bell, and commanded the footman to order his carriage 
 immediately. Eor a moment he almost seemed 
 oblivious of the young man's presence. 
 
 " Pardon me, Signor Corsini. I must drive to 
 the Winter Palace at once ; the news in the last letter 
 is of extreme urgency. We will go down together 
 when the carriage comes. Can I drop you any- 
 where ? " 
 
 But lN"ello preferred to walk and take his bearings
 
 THE INTEIGUEES 109 
 
 of the wonderful city. Lord Ickfold shook him 
 waiinly by the hand at parting. 
 
 " I have your address. It will not be long before 
 I shall want to see you again. If you are writing to 
 the Baron to-day, please give him my warmest re- 
 gards and a thousand thanks. It may be a little 
 time, for certain reasons, before I communicate with 
 him directly. In fact, I would rather send a letter 
 to you to be forwarded." 
 
 ISTello walked the gay streets for some time. Be- 
 ing a very shrewd young man, in spite of his compar- 
 ative youth, it seemed to him that Lord Ickfold and 
 the Baron were playing some subtle game, in which 
 he was to be used as a pawn. 
 
 But what did that matter, so long as his career was 
 advanced between the pair ? 
 
 And then his thoughts reverted to the charming 
 young Princess Nada. When would he meet her 
 again? She would be in St. Petersburg this week, 
 so she had told him.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 In the private room of Count Golitzine, the Czar's 
 private secretary, sat two men — the Count himself 
 and Lord Ickfold, the British Ambassador. The 
 apartment was in a secluded wing of the Winter 
 Palace. 
 
 The Ambassador was reading aloud from the 
 Baron's covering letter, which he held in his hands. 
 
 " Remember, the young man, Corsini, whom I am 
 sending you is everything for your purpose. Only 
 you must keep him in entire ignorance of the part he 
 is to play — at any rate for the present — as he is 
 still very young and might be open to the influence of 
 women. This is a most vital point. He is very in- 
 telligent without being suspicious ; honourable, trust- 
 worthy, and innocent, without being a fool. I think 
 I have taken his measure pretty accurately. He is 
 devoted to his art — he is really a most accomplished 
 musician, as the notices I enclose will prove — and 
 you must get him pushed forward to the premier 
 place, through the good offices of your friends. The 
 Zouroffs are returning for a short space to the Court 
 and he will have the entree to their house. I fancy, 
 from what I have heard, that the Princess Nada is 
 just a little attracted by him. The important thing, 
 however, is to get him an introduction to La Belle 
 
 Quero. She is hand in glove with Prince Zouroff, 
 
 110
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 111 
 
 and from that fact alone to be suspected. They have 
 been in correspondence with each other all the short 
 time he has been in England ; but although 1 have 
 tried my best, I have never been able to get hold of 
 any of their letters." 
 
 Lord Ickfold paused a moment and looked at the 
 Count, who nodded his head. 
 
 ■* Yes, I agree. Corsini may be very useful, es- 
 pecially if he manages to captivate La Belle Quero. 
 That is, no doubt, what Salmoros has in his mind, 
 amongst several other things." 
 
 The Ambassador resumed his reading. " I regret 
 that I have but a slight clue to what I conceive to 
 be a very bold and desperate conspiracy, in which 
 ZourofF is one of the leading figures. The man has 
 a certain amount of brains and a considerable 
 amount of daring, which makes him the more to be 
 feared. But the information which I send your Ex- 
 cellency in other letters is absolutely reliable. For 
 the present, until we can learn more, use all your in- 
 fluence through Golitzine and others to make sure 
 that the Emperor does not appear in public more 
 often than is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, I fear 
 disaster." 
 
 The two men discussed the situation for some time. 
 There were other documents besides the covering let- 
 ter which they read very carefully. 
 
 Golitzine summed up, as it were. " Our hopes 
 lie in the direction of La Belle Quero through this 
 young Italian, who, you tell me, is handsome and also 
 a talented artist." 
 
 " You have read in one of those other letters what
 
 112 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Salmoros has said of him — that he has created a 
 considerable success in Loudon, and only just wants 
 a little influence to push him into the front rank." 
 
 The Count smiled. " That is easy, my dear 
 friend. The Director of the Imperial Opera is get- 
 ting a trifle old. We will pension him, and put 
 Corsini in his place." 
 
 " A bold stroke," said Lord Ickfold admiringly. 
 " There is something to be said for an autocratic 
 government after all. We dare not do anything of 
 the kind in our country ; all the Press would be up in 
 arms. With you, a stroke of the pen settles every- 
 thing." 
 
 The Count's smile deepened. " And after all, my 
 lord, in the long run, it works as well as in your 
 democratic country. In the end, substantial justice 
 is done, rather more swiftly, by our methods." 
 
 " It seems to me that La Belle Quero is the crux," 
 commented the Ambassador. " Suppose she refuses 
 to fall in love with this Corsini, what then ? " 
 
 " She will not refuse," replied the Count, speaking 
 with his assured man-of-the-world air. " The rela- 
 tions between her and the Prince have been of long 
 standing, I admit, and she is also a woman who 
 might be attracted by a certain amount of brutality 
 which our excellent friend Boris has in perfect abun- 
 dance. But this young man is a Latin like herself, 
 an artist like herself. Bah ! In twenty-four hours 
 Zouroff will be forgotten. Besides, he is verging on 
 middle age, and this Corsini is a youth. Besides, 
 further, he will be the Director of the Imperial Opera. 
 She will be dependent upon him for small kind-
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 113 
 
 nesses, little favours, which I shall instruct him to be 
 lavish of. You uuderstaud ? " 
 
 The morniug after the interview between these 
 two exalted personages, the Ambassador's smart car- 
 riage stopped at Nello's hotel. The slim secretary 
 alighted and sought the young musician, with a mes- 
 sage from his chief that he desired to see him immed- 
 iately at the Embassy. 
 
 " You see I have not forgotten you, Signer Cor- 
 sini," was Lord Ickfold's cordial greeting as Nello 
 entered the room. " Salmoros has asked me to use 
 all my influence to advance you in your profession, 
 and I intend to do so. It will give me the greatest 
 pleasure." 
 
 He wrote a brief note and handed it to the young 
 man. " This is a letter to Count Golitzine, the Em- 
 peror's secretary, who wields more influence than any- 
 body in St. Petersburg. You will find him at the 
 Winter Palace. My carriage is waiting to drive 
 you there." 
 
 Events were happening very rapidly, T^ello thought. 
 When Salmoros took a thing up, the wheels of action 
 appeared to move very easily. Also, he was begin- 
 ning to get a firm foothold in the great world of di- 
 plomacy and politics. Yesterday he had made the 
 acquaiutance of the British Ambassador; this morn- 
 ing he was to interview the Emperor's private secre- 
 tary, the most powerful man in St'. Petersburg, and 
 conpcquently in Russia. 
 
 The Count received him with more than ordinary 
 graciousness, and questioned him kindly about his 
 London oxporiences. Lounging by the mantelpiece
 
 114 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 of the room in which the two men were seated, was a 
 tall, quietly-dressed middle-aged man in civilian 
 clothes. Nello took him to be either an oiEcial of the 
 Court or a private friend of the secretary. 
 
 At a pause in the conversation, this person, who- 
 ever he was, suddenly turned to the young man and 
 carelessly asked in French, " Do you know any one 
 of position in St. Petersburg, Signor Corsini ? " 
 
 Nello frankly answered that with the exception of 
 Lord Ickfold and the Count, he knew nobody except 
 the Princess Zouroff and her daughter. He ex- 
 plained how he had met them, how he had played at 
 their house in London, and been invited to visit them 
 here. 
 
 Nello fancied that a slight frown come over the 
 unknown's face at mention of the name Zouroff. But 
 his comment was quite simple. " Ah, the Ambassa- 
 dor and the Count between them will soon extend 
 your circle of acquaintance. I understand you come 
 with strong letters of introduction from that splen- 
 did old fellow, Salmoros." 
 
 Nello bowed. Evidently this personage, to whom 
 he had not been introduced, knew what was going on. 
 He must certainly be an official of some importance, 
 and appeared to be quite at his ease in Golitzine's 
 presence. 
 
 The Count resumed his conversation with Nello, 
 and the other man quitted his lounging position by 
 the fire-place, and walked down the long room to the 
 deep bay window, from which he pretended to look 
 out. But all the while he was listening intently lO 
 the other two.
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 115 
 
 " And now, Signer Corsini, I have a little surprise 
 for you, and one which I hope will be welcome," were 
 the Count's parting words. " The present Director 
 of the Imperial Opera has for some time contem- 
 plated retirement. He is growing a little deaf, and 
 finds that the infirmity militates against the proper 
 performance of his duties. He will relinquish his 
 post next week, and I have much pleasure in confer- 
 ring the appointment upon you. I do so with the 
 sanction of my Imperial Master, to whom I have 
 shown the Baron's strong letters of recommendation." 
 
 Nello felt the room going round. Could he be- 
 lieve his ears ? Only a few hours in St. Petersburg, 
 and promoted to one of the most coveted posts in the 
 musical world ! Why, he was as great as Degraux. 
 Truly, the white-haired Salmoros was a wizard, 
 masquerading under the guise of a benevolent 
 financier. 
 
 With a great effort he pulled himself together and 
 stammered his thanks. " I cannot suflBcientlv ex- 
 press my gratitude, your Excellency. I shall do my 
 best to justify your kindness. But I feel it will be 
 no easy task to follow in the footsteps of such an il- 
 lustrious predecessor." 
 
 As soon as Nello had retired, the man who was 
 lounging in the bay window turned round to Golit- 
 zine and shot at him the abrupt question, " Well, 
 what do you think of him, eh ? Is that shrewd 
 old fellow Salmoros right? Will he bo useful to 
 us?" 
 
 The Count replied in respectful tones. " It is 
 rather early to form a judgment, your Majesty, but
 
 116 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 I must own I am very favourably impressed with the 
 young man. I think he would be as true as steel to 
 those who had befriended him." 
 
 'Nello had little suspected that the tall middle-aged 
 person, dressed in civilian attire, whom he had taken 
 for an official of the Court or a personal friend of the 
 Count's, was the Emperor Alexander himself, the au- 
 tocrat of all the Russias, supposed to be the strongest 
 man in Europe, who could bend a horse-shoe between 
 his fingers. 
 
 " The one thing to do now is to bring this young 
 Italian and La Belle Quero together." The Emperor 
 spoke in a musing tone. " That is what the Baron 
 intends. And we know besides that she is suspected 
 by our secret police. Half the men who go to her 
 little parties are in their black books ; about ZourofF, 
 we have already pretty convincing evidence. My 
 own belief is that she is one of the prime movers in 
 the affair." 
 
 " So far, of course, nothing has been brought home 
 to her. She entertains these men, I know, but she 
 is a foreigner, a Spaniard, and cannot be well ac- 
 quainted with our domestic politics," interjected the 
 Count, who was rather favourably impressed with the 
 beautiful contralto. " Still, in this direction, Cor- 
 sini may be very useful. He may be able to worm 
 something out of her." 
 
 " Well, Golitzine, we will bring matters to a head 
 as soon as possible, so far as these two people are con- 
 cerned," commanded his Majesty. "Let your wife 
 give a concert before the week is out and engage La 
 Belle Quero and this young Corsini for it."
 
 THE INTKIGUEES 117 
 
 The Count bowed. " I will execute your orders, 
 Sire. I agree it would be politic to introduce them 
 under social auspices, rather than strictly business 
 ones. Next week he will be installed at the Opera, 
 and must at once come into touch with her in pursu- 
 ance of his professional duties." 
 
 " Precisely. That is just what I wish to antici- 
 pate. You have, as always, most accurately taken 
 my meaning." 
 
 A gleam of anxiety came into Golitzine's eyes as 
 he ventured to give a word of warning. 
 
 " I trust that your Majesty does not propose to do 
 me the honor of attending this function ? " 
 
 " Why not ? I had rather thought of coming, in 
 order to learn from you how the first act of the com- 
 edy was going. What are your objections ? " 
 
 " You will remember. Sire, the solemn warning 
 Salmoros has given me: that you should show your- 
 self in public as little as possible. I would beseech 
 your Majesty to pay heed to that warning. I can- 
 not bar the suspects from my house. Zouroff, for ex- 
 ample, who arrives to-morrow, must receive an invi- 
 tation." 
 
 The Emperor indulged in an angry gesture. " It 
 has come to something when I have to slink away and 
 hide myself from a traitor like that! But you are 
 right. Count; Salmoros is right. We must bide our 
 time until we can catch them red-handed. Then, 
 Heaven help them ! ISTo, I will not attend your 
 wife's concert, from motives of prudence. But you 
 will let me know early next morning if the scheme is 
 progressing ? "
 
 118 * THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Count Golitzine accompanied his Royal Master 
 to the door; then he returned to his seat to meditate 
 profoundly over what was happening.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 It wanted two days to Nello Corsini's assumption 
 of his post as director of the Imperial Opera, and 
 to-night was the night of Countess Golitzine's con- 
 cert. 
 
 ISTello was to play to-night in his private capacity 
 of violinist, his fame having already spread abroad 
 through the good offices of the Count. As soon as he 
 took up his office as director he would not be able to 
 take on many private engagements. To use the 
 language of Degrairx, he would be one of the ex- 
 ploiters rather than one of the exploited. 
 
 The saloons of the Countess were very crowded. 
 A rumour had gone around that the Emperor himself 
 would grace the function with his august presence. 
 This rumour, as the previous chapter has revealed, 
 was a false one ; but its circulation had provided the 
 hostess with many guests who otherwise would not 
 have put in an appearance. 
 
 Nello Corsini, at present unrecognised by the fash- 
 ionable crowd which had only heard of him by name, 
 made his way amongst the beautifully attired men 
 and women. There was no familiar face amongst 
 this vast throng. For a moment he felt just a little 
 home-sick ; he thought of his little sister Anita. Oh, 
 why could he not have brought her? 
 
 And then, suddenly, his glance brightened. Stand- 
 
 119
 
 120 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 ing a foot in front of him were the grey-haired Prin- 
 cess Zouroff and her radiant, charming daughter. 
 
 Nada stretched out a welcoming hand. ^* We must 
 have raced each other across Europe. I see you have 
 your violin-case with you. You are going to play." 
 
 " Yes, and I shall certainly play your favourite. I 
 arrived just a day or two in front of you, and of 
 course, you have not heard of my good fortune. 
 Through the offices of Count Golitzine, I have been 
 appointed to the post of Director of the Imperial 
 Opera." 
 
 The young girl opened her eyes wide ; and turned 
 to her mother. " What do you think of that, dear- 
 est ? Signor Corsini is appointed to the directorship 
 of the Imperial Opera." 
 
 The elder woman smiled, and replied in her calm, 
 quiet accents, directing her gaze at the young Ital- 
 ian, 
 
 " I told you, Signor, that the name of Salmoros 
 was one to conjure with in Russia." 
 
 Nello was about to reply, when the young Princess 
 put her finger to her lips. A sudden hush had spread 
 over the assembly. A beautiful young Spanish wo- 
 man had just ascended the small platform — a young 
 woman known by the affectionate nickname of La 
 Belle Quero. 
 
 She sang the well-known song from Lucrezia, 
 Borgia, " II Segreto per esse felice," in her deep, 
 resonant, contralto tones. She sang it with a vigour 
 and abandon which placed beyond question the fact 
 that she was a superb artist, as well as a beautiful 
 woman.
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 121 
 
 When she had finished, there was tremendous ap- 
 plause. An encore was insisted on and granted by 
 the obliging prima donna. The Count Golitzine 
 himself led the great singer from the platform to a 
 seat. His keen eye had already observed Corsini in 
 attendance on the Zouroffs. He beckoned to the 
 young man, who made a hasty apology to the Prin- 
 cess and her daughter. 
 
 " I have the pleasure of presenting one great artist 
 to another," said the Count in his suavest tones. 
 " Signer Corsini, who will presently enchant us on 
 the violin, to Madame Quero, who has already capti- 
 vated us with her liquid notes. You have no doubt 
 already heard, Madame, that next week Signer Cor- 
 sini takes over the post of Director of the Imperial 
 Opera." 
 
 Madame Quero — she had a husband knocking 
 about somewhere in Spain, who never came into her 
 calculations or scheme of existence — flashed at the 
 handsome young Italian a very charming and pro- 
 vocative smile. 
 
 " We shall have to work together very soon, shall 
 we not, Signer ? I am afraid you will find me a 
 somewhat difficult person. It is just as well we 
 should meet first on neutral ground. Perhaps when 
 we do quarrel, we may be disposed to forgive each 
 other the more readily for that fact." 
 
 Nello was becoming quite a man of the world in 
 this rarefied atmosphere into which he had been so 
 suddenly projected. He replied to the raillery of the 
 beautiful singer in becoming language. She swept 
 an approving glance over him.
 
 122 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 " I think we shall soon be very good friends," she 
 said in a gracious voice. " Our present Director is 
 a bit of a bully, and I believe hates women." She 
 shrugged her shapely shoulders. " Well, he is an- 
 cient and cantankerous. You are young; I am sure 
 you do not hate women, just because they are the in- 
 ferior sex." 
 
 The smile that accompanied the words became 
 more seductive. Corsini was a little put to it to pre- 
 serve his equilibrium. He had been welcomed cor- 
 dially by a Princess and her charming daughter. 
 Here was a celebrated prima donna of great beauty, 
 openly declaring that she was ready to flirt with him 
 — ready to be made love to, if he were disposed that 
 way. 
 
 He paid her some gallant compliments, of the kind 
 that come readily to the lips of members of the Latin 
 races ; but, as he did so, his glance stole unconsciously 
 to the lovely young Princess, and involuntarily there 
 came into his eyes a light that was noted by the ob- 
 servant Spanish woman. 
 
 " You admire the Princess ISTada Zouroff im- 
 mensely. Is it not so? You have a good excuse; 
 she is certainly very beautiful. An exquisite bud 
 rather than a full-grown rose, eh, my friend ? " 
 
 " Perhaps, Madame," replied the diplomatic Ital- 
 ian. "But all flowers are beautiful, whether in bud 
 or full blossom." 
 
 " For myself, were I a man, I should not be very 
 greatly attracted by immaturity. We are using flow- 
 ers in the form of an allegory. Of course we are 
 really speaking of women." She threw at him one of
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 123 
 
 her most dazzling smiles. There was nothing imma- 
 ture, nothing of the ripening bud about the opulent 
 beauty of La Belle Quero. 
 
 Corsini, seeing what was expected of him, returned 
 that alluring smile with a glance of respectful admira- 
 tion. He had already gathered that she was a pop- 
 ular idol, and wielded great influence in the musical 
 world. 
 
 Personally, he preferred the simpler and more 
 modest loveliness of the charming young Princess. 
 But it was politic to win the good opinion of such an 
 influential personage, and she was evidently not the 
 sort of woman to tolerate rivalry. 
 
 For the next five minutes he made himself as agree- 
 able as possible, and the handsome singer was ob- 
 viously impressed. Their conversation was inter- 
 rupted by the arrival of the conductor of the concert, 
 who intimated to Corsini that his would be the next 
 turn. 
 
 Madame Quero rose. " I must not keep you. 
 Well, I hope we shall be very great friends. I shall 
 stay to hear your solo and then I shall leave. I feel 
 just a little fatigued to-night; not quit^ in the mood 
 for this sort of scene, gay and brilliant as it is." 
 
 With a gracious inclination of her handsome head, 
 she walked with her graceful, swimming gait to the 
 entrance of the big saloon. Arrived at the doors she 
 waited till Corsini was on the platform and listened 
 attentively to his performance. There was great ap- 
 plause when he had finished, and she clapped her 
 hands enthusiastically. The artist in her responded 
 to the artist in him. It would not be true to say that
 
 124 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 she had not heard greater masters, but there was a 
 subtle quality in his playing that revealed true genius. 
 He always excelled in the appealing and sentimental 
 passages. 
 
 But while she was listening, to all appearances with 
 the closest attention, her glance was ever roaming 
 through the open doors, down the grand staircase. 
 It was evident that she was looking for somebody, and 
 restless and disappointed because of his non-arrival. 
 
 And then, just as she was preparing to leave, a sud- 
 den light came into her beautiful eyes. The tall sol- 
 dierly figure of Zouroff was ascending the stairs. 
 
 Her smile was just a little cold, her tones reproach- 
 ful. 
 
 " I was just going ; you promised to be here in time 
 to hear me sing. Why are you so late ? " 
 
 The Prince drew her a little out of earshot. He 
 spoke with his usual ease and assurance. He ad- 
 mired the beautiful singer more than any woman of 
 his acquaintance, but he never spoiled any member of 
 the gentler sex with too great a display of politeness 
 or solicitude. 
 
 " Is it so very difficult to guess ? There are cer- 
 tain things that must always come first in a man's 
 life." 
 
 " Spare me that ancient platitude. You have in- 
 dulged in it so often." Her voice was restrained and 
 low, but there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes. 
 Zouroff appealed in many ways to her passionate but 
 rather hard nature, but there were times when his 
 indifference, his brutal frankness, cut her to the 
 quick.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 125 
 
 But the Prince was not a man to pay more than 
 passing heed to the symptoms of a woman's gathering 
 displeasure. By nature he was a savage. To a cer- 
 tain extent he was susceptible to female beauty and 
 fascination, but deep down in his heart he had a pro- 
 found contempt for women, for their uncontrolled 
 feelings, their little tricks of sentiment, their abject 
 subservience to their emotions. 
 
 " Things go well," he said, in his hard, level tones. 
 " I trust we shall not have to wait very long now. 
 We held a very important meeting to-night; it was 
 prolonged beyond the hour I expected. That is why 
 I am late and could not get here in time to hear you 
 sing. 
 
 The beautiful singer seemed but half appeased by 
 this rather curt apology. It confirmed what he had 
 told her so often before, that overwhelming ambition, 
 the advancement of his political schemes, were all 
 powerful influences in his life; that a woman's de- 
 voted affection weighed but as a feather in the scale 
 against these. 
 
 " Let us talk of other things," she said, speaking in 
 a tone of assumed lightness. 
 
 " But I thought you took a great interest in these 
 matters. At any rate you have pretended to." Ilis 
 voice was hard and rasping, and there was a sneer in 
 it, an angry gleam in his eyes. He could not bear 
 to be crossed. 
 
 " At the proper time and place. But I don't 
 choose to talk of just one subject every moment we 
 spend together. I am pleased, my friend, that the 
 prospects are so good. And now, for a few seconds^
 
 126 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 shall we talk of those other things which are not quit« 
 so unimportant to the world in general as they appear 
 to you." 
 
 " And those other things ? " inquired Zouroff in 
 his surliest and most repellant manner. 
 
 " Well, for example, we have just heen listening 
 to our new Director of the Opera, Signer Corsini. 
 He has played some very beautiful things ; he is a 
 fine artist. Have you met him yet ? " 
 
 Zouroff frowned heavily. " Yes, I have. The 
 fellow played once at the Embassy in London, and 
 my mother and sister raved about him. You know 
 I am no judge of instrumental music — rather dis- 
 like it than otherwise. And this young man seemed 
 to me particularly objectionable." 
 
 " I wonder why ? " inquired the prima donna with 
 a most innocent expression. " Just because your 
 mother and sister admired his genius ? What a very 
 insufficient reason." 
 
 Zouroff vouchsafed no reply to this delicate rail- 
 lery, and Madame Quero continued in the same de- 
 tached, indifferent tones. " The Count introduced 
 him to me ; we had a long chat together. I think he 
 is a most charming young man, quite unaffected, with 
 delightful manners and very handsome. I predict 
 he will be excessively popular." 
 
 " I wonder if you realise how much you are annoy- 
 ing me when you talk in this manner ? " asked the 
 Prince roughly. 
 
 La Belle Quero held out her hand. " My friend, 
 it seems to me you are in rather a savage mood to- 
 night, and I am not in the best of tempers myself.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 127 
 
 If we talk much longer we maj have a serious quarrel. 
 I will saj good-night." 
 
 " Good-night," said the Prince in a low and harsh 
 voice. " Perhaps it is as well we should separate. 
 There are a lot of people here I must speak to." 
 
 Madame Quero turned towards the staircase. He 
 strode after her and laid his big, strong hand none too 
 gently on her arm. 
 
 " And please listen once and for all to me. If it 
 pleases you to amuse yourself with this young Cor- 
 sini, or for the matter of that with any other effem- 
 inate foreigner, you need fear no interference from 
 me. Understand that." 
 
 Tears of rage came into the beautiful eyes. 
 " Take your hand away, you savage, you are hurting 
 me. As for what you have just said in your usual 
 brutal manner, I perfectly grasp your meaning. And 
 please also to understand this from me. If I choose 
 to turn my fancy in that or any other direction, I 
 shall not trouble to consult you, much less beg for 
 your permission." 
 
 With a muttered curse Zouroff released her arm, 
 whose delicate flesh he had bruised, turned on hia 
 heel and re-entered the concert saloon. 
 
 And next morning, Golitzine, whose sharp eyes had 
 noted the pleasant talk between Corsini and the 
 beautiful singer, also the way in which Zouroff had 
 flung away from her as she descended the grand stair- 
 case, was able to report to his Imperial Master that 
 the first act in the little comedy had opened well.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 The relations between the handsome singer and 
 the new Director, so pleasantly established on the 
 night of the Countess Golitzine's concert, progressed 
 very smoothly. La Belle Quero was unwontedly 
 gentle and submissive in her acceptance of any pro- 
 fessional suggestions from the handsome young Ital- 
 ian. 
 
 It was the general gossip that she was a good deal 
 in love with Corsini, and wavering in her allegiance 
 to the masterful and tyrannical Prince. Nello him- 
 self took the situation very calmly. In the first place, 
 Madame Quero was a married woman; to fall in 
 love with her, were he so disposed, would be hope- 
 less, unless he resolved to risk a scandal that might ad- 
 versely affect their' respective careers. 
 
 And more important still, although he felt for her 
 a quite warm friendship, he was not the least in love. 
 Her full and opulent beauty possessed little attrac- 
 tion for him. 
 
 Although at present he did not fully realise the 
 
 fact, the serene loveliness of the young Princess ISTada, 
 
 combined with her girlish esprit, her air of rank and 
 
 position, had cast a spell over him that he could not 
 
 shake off. She would always be the lady of his 
 
 dreams, although by the exigencies of their different 
 
 stations, he would be compelled to worship her in 
 
 secret and from afar. 
 
 128
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 129 
 
 She was surrounded with the halo of birth and 
 great position. Madame Quero, although a woman 
 of genius and considerable brain power, had sprung 
 from the peasant class. Her husband, whom she had 
 married when little more than a child, had been a 
 poor fisherman. She made him a handsome allow- 
 ance, on the condition that he never intruded his 
 rights nor exposed her to the annoyance of his pres- 
 ence. 
 
 Her glorious voice had lifted her from grinding 
 poverty and obscurity, her quick mentality had en- 
 abled her to acquire much, to adapt herself, with more 
 than fair success, to her new environment. But cer- 
 tain traces of her humble origin showed themselves 
 very plainly at times, especially in moments of ex- 
 citement — vulgarity of gesture, some common terma 
 of speech, picked up from the gutter where she had 
 played with other bare-footed children like herself. 
 
 To a man of Corsini's naturally refined and ele- 
 vated temperament, these unconscious revelations 
 camo as a disturbing shock. And the more intimate 
 he became with her, the more frequently she revealed 
 herself, having no longer occasion to wear a protect- 
 ing mask. 
 
 In a palace or a fashionable drawing-room, with 
 that careful mask on. La Belle Quero was one person- 
 age, most careful as to speech and manner. In her 
 dressing-room, or in familiar intercourse with a fel- 
 low artist, not of the great world, only belonging to 
 the aristocracy of talent, she was quite another being, 
 with the solecisms, the occasional coarse flashes of 
 humor, of the Biscayan peasant.
 
 130 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 N'o ; although La Belle Qiiero was so much nearer 
 to him from the social point of view, for his origin 
 had not been so much more distinguished than her 
 own, he could not feel fascinated, in spite of her ob- 
 vious liking for him. 
 
 Golitzine, who had spies everywhere, in the dress- 
 ing-rooms of actresses, in the boudoirs of great ladies, 
 knew all there was to know about the friendship of 
 the conductor and the prima donna. Was Corsini 
 taking advantage of his opportunities to acquire the 
 woman's confidence, so that it might serve his em- 
 ployer's interest ? 
 
 But Corsini was only being used as a pawn in the 
 game. He did not even know that he was being used 
 even in this humble capacity. He must have guessed 
 that there were some subtle motives behind this sud- 
 den and unexpected preferment; but how could he 
 possibly guess what these motives were? 
 
 If the young Italian was going to be made really 
 useful, he would have to be enlightened. Salmoros, 
 in his letter, had made a point of his being kept in 
 the dark, fearful probably ot some scruples on his 
 part on being told that he was to play the role of a 
 
 spy- 
 
 He, Golitzine, was loath to go against the advice of 
 Salmoros, but astute and shrewd as the financier was, 
 he could not have thought out the situation with his 
 usual judgment. The time had certainly arrived 
 when Corsini must be told frankly the part he was 
 expected to play. 
 
 After all, there was nothing in the least dishonour- 
 able in what he would be asked to do. Salmoros and
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 131 
 
 the Count between them, with the sanction of the 
 Emperor, had set him on the high road to fame and 
 fortune. Their enemies were a band of traitors, 
 headed by Zouroif, assisted by Madame Quero. He 
 must and would, in honour bound, prove his alleg- 
 iance to his benefactors. 
 
 Having made up his mind, it was not long before 
 the energetic Count summoned the young Italian to 
 a private interview in the Winter Palace. As on the 
 previous occasion, the same tall stranger was present, 
 lounging about the room — the stranger in whom 
 Kello was later on to discover the Czar of all the 
 Russias. 
 
 Golitzine did not introduce them, but he made a 
 brief allusion. '' We are going to have a rather con- 
 fidential conversation, Signer, but you can speat 
 freely before this gentleman. He is perfectly in my 
 confidence." 
 
 Nello bowed, feeling a little embarrassed. He 
 would have been more at his ease if the tall stranger 
 had not been present. 
 
 The Count proceeded in his smooth, conciliatory 
 accents. " I hear very flattering accounts, so far, of 
 your directorship. You have excited less envy than I 
 expected, under the rather unusual circumstances. 
 And you have also won some golden opinions. I am 
 told that Madame Quero, in particular, has distin- 
 guished you with a somewhat marked friendship. 
 And she is reported to be a rather difficult woman to 
 get on with. I know our late Director found her so, 
 to his frequent annoyance." 
 I Nolle blushed deeply. He was very sensitive, and
 
 132 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 it vexed him to find that his friendship with the 
 handsome Spanish woman had been already com- 
 mented on. If these comments had reached Golit- 
 zine, they had probably also reached the Princess 
 Zoiiroff and her daughter. 
 
 " The relations between Madame Qiiero and my- 
 self are, I am pleased to say, most cordial. Being the 
 most distinguished member of the company, as she 
 certainly is, it insures smooth working all round," 
 answered the young Italian. 
 
 " Quite, quite," assented the suave Count. " Of 
 course you have many opportunities of meeting and 
 chatting. I hear that our friend, Prince Zouroff, 
 is much chagrined that the charming lady in question 
 is friendly with you. You have met the Prince, I 
 presume. I should like to know your real opinion 
 — of course in the strictest confidence." 
 
 The flush on Corsini's face deepened. He had met 
 the Prince now on several occasions at different 
 houses in the city, and that arrogant nobleman had al- 
 ways treated him with marked hauteur^ hardly taking 
 the trouble to acknowledge his polite salutation. 
 
 " I should say, your Excellency, that he is sadly 
 deficient in the common courtesies of life." 
 
 There was a subdued laugh from the man in civil- 
 ian clothes, standing in the bay window. He turned 
 round for a second and exchanged a meaning glance 
 with the Count. Golitzine knew what that glance 
 was intended to convey. " There was no love lost 
 between these two." 
 
 " I think, Signor Corsini, you have very pithily 
 defined our friend's deficiencies. If he could have
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 133 
 
 controlled his somewhat brutal impulses and acquired 
 a little more polish, he might have advanced farther 
 in his career than now seems possible." 
 
 There was a brief pause, which was broken by the 
 Count. 
 
 " In the course of these chats with Madame Quero, 
 I dare say you learn a good deal of her general habits. 
 Women are apt to get confidential with an agreeable 
 male friend. I expect she has told you of those se- 
 cret little parties to which only men are admitted, 
 which she has at her villa ? " 
 
 '' I swear to your Excellency that to me she has 
 never breathed a word of them." 
 
 " I quite believe you, Signor. There is good rea- 
 son why she should keep silence. Her last party was 
 on Saturday night. The next time you are chatting 
 with her, just mention it in a casual way, and ask 
 her why she does not include you, tho Director of 
 the Opera, in her intimate circle ? " 
 
 " I will certainly do so, Count," replied 'ReU.o just 
 a little piqued at the information he had received. 
 It was strange that Madame Quero had never invited 
 him to one of these, presumably, select parties. 
 
 " By the way," added the Count. " If she should 
 ask you where you got your information from I must 
 request you not to mention my name. Refuse to 
 satisfy her curiosity. I have special reasons for 
 this." 
 
 Nello promised that he would obey the Count's in- 
 junction, and rose to leave, under the impression that 
 the interview was ended. But Golitzino waved him 
 to his seat.
 
 134 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 " Just a few moments more, Signor Corsini. I 
 want to take you a little farther into my confidence. 
 We all agree that you are a very capable artist, but I 
 suppose you may sometimes have wondered why your 
 way in this country has been made so very easy ; why, 
 in short, your success has been so rapid." 
 
 " It has occurred to me many times, your Excel- 
 lency, but I did not like to ask directly for an explan- 
 ation," replied the young violinist quietly. " I 
 thought that would come at the proper time and 
 place. Am I correct in assuming that I am to be 
 given it now ? " 
 
 " It shall be given you now," answered the Count 
 in an equally equable voice. " And I am going to 
 speak very plainly, Signor Corsini. Salmoros ad- 
 mired your talent greatly; he told me that in a pri- 
 vate letter, and he wished to push you for reason of 
 that ; but he also perceived in you different qualities 
 that would ser\^e his own purposes — purposes which 
 are closelv associated with the welfare of the Russian 
 Empire." 
 
 The Count suddenly rose and waved his hand in 
 the direction of the silent man, lounging in the bay 
 window. 
 
 " I am going to make a somewhat dramatic intro- 
 duction. I present Signor Corsini, the protege of 
 Baron Salmoros, to the Emperor Alexander himself, 
 who has been a silent witness of our interview." 
 
 Corsini rose and bowed profoundly. Unused to 
 the atmosphere of courts, he was bewildered as to the 
 exact etiquette on such occasions. Ought he to kneel 
 and kiss the Emperor's hand? He had a hazy no-
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 135 
 
 tion he had read somewhere that this was the pre- 
 scribed ritual. 
 
 The Emperor put an end to his embarrassment by 
 advancing and holding out to him that strong hand 
 which could bend a horse-shoe between its fingers." 
 
 " I am delighted to welcome you, Signor. Sal- 
 moros has vouched for you. Our good friend, Golit- 
 zine, who is a keen judge of men, assures me that you 
 are loyal and true to those who befriend you, as we 
 have done." 
 
 " My services, for what they are worth, are entirely 
 at your Majesty's disposal," answered Corsini fer- 
 vently. It was but natural he should be a little over- 
 come by the gracious condescension of such a high 
 personage. He was not even petty enough to be cha- 
 grined by the discovery that his sudden advancement 
 was not due solely to his artistic genius. 
 
 The Emperor, having said just what was needful, 
 retired to the seclusion of his bay window. The as- 
 tute Count resumed the conversation. 
 
 " I trust, Signor Corsini, there are no resei*vations 
 in your expressions of loyalty to those who have ad- 
 vanced and befriended you ? " 
 
 " I am afraid I do not quite follow your Excel- 
 lency." 
 
 " Tut, tut, my good young friend. I am quite sure 
 we shall understand each other very quickly. La 
 Belle Quero, according to report, is very enamoured 
 of you — an artist like herself, a handsome and pre- 
 sentable young man ; vastly, in my opinion, superior 
 to the brutal ZourofF. Now, this important thing is 
 — what are your sentiments towards her ? "
 
 136 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Nello's answer was very frank. " I have grown 
 to look upon her simply as a kind and good friend." 
 
 Golitzine drew a breath of relief. Tt was as he had 
 hoped. The young musician had placed his fancy on 
 one far removed from him, by rank and position. 
 The comparatively coarse charm of the handsome 
 singer could not compete with the youthful beauty of 
 the Princess Nada. A benign expression stole over 
 his lined face. 
 
 " And if you knew that Madame Quero was taking 
 advantage of the hospitality of this country, of her 
 apparently neutral position, to conspire and plot with 
 his Majesty's sworn enemies, you would be hand and 
 glove with us to find out what you could in order to 
 frustrate her designs ? " 
 
 " Assuredly, your Excellency." Nello had started 
 from his seat and spoken with fervour. " My duty 
 and my allegiance is to the Emperor, yourself, and 
 the Baron Salmoros. Madame Quero, good friend 
 as I believed her to be, counts as nothing." 
 
 " That is precisely what I want to be assured of," 
 said the Count. " Now, Signer, put that question I 
 suggested to ]\Iadame Quero. It may be she will tell 
 you a deliberate lie. It may be she will seek to en- 
 tangle you in this plot, and make you one of the con- 
 spirators as the price of her favour. I should pre- 
 fer that, but I think she is too clever to do it. Any- 
 way, report to me how things go, which way they go. 
 And I rely upon it, that you are a faithful servant of 
 the House of Romanoff." 
 
 Nello assured him that he was, and returned to his 
 hotel full of thought.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 137 
 
 So this was what the apparently benevolent Sal- 
 moros had secured him for, to be a spy of the Russian 
 Government. At first he felt a little indignant. La 
 Belle Quero might be a traitress, a conspirator, but 
 was it his mission to unmask her? 
 
 Then his shrewd Latin sense came to his aid. 
 Whatever their ulterior motives, his powerful friends 
 had incidentally helped him, and his boimden duty 
 was to them. If the handsome Spanish woman, who 
 should have no part or lot in the political concerns of 
 Russia, had chosen to mix herself up with a lot of 
 base intriguers, that was her business. It was, after 
 all, diamond cut diamond. 
 
 Perhaps he was the more impelled to the cause 
 which the wily Golitzine had urged him to take, by 
 the rumour in the circles where he chiefly mixed that 
 the names of Prince Zouroff and La Belle Quero were 
 generally coupled together. It was currently re- 
 ported that as soon as the beautiful singer could get 
 a divorce from her complacent fisherman, she would 
 marry the Prince. But in Roman Catholic countries 
 divorce is not easily to be obtained, and the fascinat- 
 ing Madame Quero was still united to the lover of 
 her youth. And according to further rumour, Zour- 
 off was not inclined to hurry matters on. As a mat- 
 ter of fact, he was much more interested in other 
 things. Perhaps, also, the lady was not quite so 
 keen as formerly. 
 
 So Xello resolved to play his part, the part that it 
 was his boundcn duty to play. If the Spanish wo- 
 man and her confederates were playing a low-down 
 game, he was playing a straight one by outwittino;
 
 138 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 them, in the interests of the Imperial House which 
 had shown him such remarkable favour. 
 
 That night the two met, as Madame Quero was 
 going to her dressing-room. She had sung better 
 than ever that evening, never had she aroused greater 
 enthusiasm. Her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks 
 were glowing with trumph. She met Corsini's cold 
 glance, and her smile faded away. 
 
 " You do not seem very amiable to-night, Sign or. 
 Have I had the misfortune to offend you in any 
 way ? " 
 
 The appealing look she darted at him was cer- 
 tanly that of a woman more or less in love. For a 
 moment, ]^ello felt a little ashamed of the part he had 
 to play; it seemed cowardly to hurt a woman. But 
 after all, his duty was to his benefactors, and if she 
 was the traitress they alleged she deserved no mercy. 
 
 !Nello bowed, but made no immediate response. 
 He was on the point of moving away, when she laid 
 a detaining hand upon his arm. 
 
 " Stay, I beseech you ! Why are you so cold ? I 
 have sung better than ever to-night, and yet you offer 
 me no word of congratulation. Many a time, when I 
 have sung badly, you have been profuse of your 
 praises, and I thought we were such good friends ! " 
 
 'NeWo saw his opportunity at once. " I used to 
 think, Madame, that we were very good friends." 
 
 " And has anything happened to alter your pre- 
 vious opinion ? " inquired Madame Quero in a falter- 
 ing voice. 
 
 Again the young Italian made a movement to pass 
 on, and again the impetuous woman detained him.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 139 
 
 " If you please, we will not leave it where it is, 
 with studied coldness on your part. Please tell me 
 how I have offended you." 
 
 Nello spoke with exaggerated courtesy. " Ma- 
 dame, I am too humble to have the right to be of- 
 fended. I, the mere Director of an Opera, you, one 
 of the idols of Europe." 
 
 The prima donna stamped an impatient foot. 
 " Signor Corsini, you are trying my patience unduly. 
 It is easy to see that you have some fancied griev- 
 ance. Will you be good enough to explain what it 
 is, or at any rate the nature of it ? " 
 
 Corsini looked at her steadily. " Madame, you 
 have been good enough to call me your friend. If 
 that is the case, why have I not been invited to those 
 little private suppers at your villa ? So many go, 
 that one more would not have made a serious addi- 
 tion." 
 
 Her face went as white as death. " Who has told 
 you such a falsehood ? " she stammered. 
 
 ISTello never took his eyes off her. The white 
 face, the stammering tongue, proved that Golitzine 
 was right. She had secret parties at her villa, and 
 she was dismayed to find that anybody had heard of 
 them. 
 
 " A friend of mine, whose name I must not reveal, 
 Madame." 
 
 Without another word Madame Quero went to her 
 dressing-room. From there she despatched a hasty 
 note to Prince Zouroff.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 La Belle Quero and the Prince Zouroff were sit- 
 ting together in the boudoir of the small villa on the 
 outskirts of St. Petersburg. 
 
 They were both smoking cigarettes. Madame 
 Quero looked anxious and perturbed, Zouroff surly 
 and annoyed. 
 
 " Inez, you are very unreasonable. Why have 
 you dragged me here at this time of night ? If your 
 note had not said ' very urgent,' I should not have 
 taken myself away from more important matters." 
 
 La Belle Quero flicked the ash of her cigarette on 
 the carpet. " Once, my friend, you would have 
 come on the slightest request from me. I should 
 not have been compelled to mark my note urgent, 
 eh?" 
 
 The Prince answered a little awkwardly. " Don't 
 let us be too sentimental, dear child. We have been 
 good friends, we have got to a closer degree of com- 
 radeship. Is it not an ideal relationship ? Well, 
 what have you to tell me ? You have not summoned 
 me here for nothing, I am sure ? " 
 
 " Not even for the pleasure of your society, my 
 most charming and exquisite Boris?" inquired the 
 prima donna , in a tone of raillery. 
 
 The Prince frovsmed. At the moment, the light 
 
 caprices of women did not appeal to him. 
 
 140
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 141 
 
 " You are talking nonsense, my dear Inez. Let 
 us come to the point." 
 
 The Spanish woman came to the point at once, 
 with an angry glitter in her eyes. What a pity that 
 Zouroff was not a little more gentle in his dealings 
 with women ! 
 
 " Our little secret evening parties have been dis- 
 covered, that is all. It may give you and me food 
 for reflection." 
 
 The Prince drew a deep breath. " Discovered ! 
 It is impossible. Who dares to suspect us ? " 
 
 " It does not matter who suspects us. It is 
 enough that we are suspected. I suppose the Secret 
 Police have been at work." 
 
 Zouroff thought a few moments, and then a sud- 
 den light came to him. He crossed over and 
 grasped the beautiful young woman by the arm. 
 
 " Tell me the truth and don't palter with me," he 
 thundered in his harsh, raucous tones. " Where 
 have you this information ? But I can answer the 
 question myself. It is from that white-livered Ital- 
 ian, Corsini, He is a spy in the pay of Golitzine." 
 
 Madame Quero endeavoured to utter a faltering 
 negative, but Zouroff, always fond of brutal methods, 
 tightened his grasp on the delicate flesh. 
 
 Under the hypnotic influence of this brutal and 
 commanding man, she stammered foiih the truth. 
 
 " You have guessed right. It was Corsini who 
 told me, in a very brief interview. He had heard 
 the rumour from a friend." 
 
 Zouroff smiled. It was a very sinister smile at 
 the best. The lips curled up, the strong, white, even
 
 142 THE INTKIGIJERS 
 
 teeth showed themselves, suggesting the fangs of a 
 wolf. 
 
 " So this degenerate Italian is daring to thrust 
 himself across our path, is he? Well, then! the 
 Italian mountebank must disappear.^' 
 
 Madame Quero rose to her full height and braved 
 the brutal and truculent Prince. 
 
 " I think I have got a word to say in this : If he 
 does disappear, I shall go to the Emperor and tell 
 him the whole truth." 
 
 " You have fallen in love with this young man, 
 eh ? " inquired the Prince in a jeering voice. 
 
 " ISTo, I will not say that. And besides, he is in 
 love with somebody else. But understand me, if 
 you please " — she spoke with her old imperiousness 
 — " I will not have a hair of this young man's head 
 ^ harmed. He is young, he is innocent ; he shall not 
 fall a victim to your dastardly schemes." 
 
 Boris regarded her with his cold, hard glance. 
 " Suppose I said that, in that case, even La Belle 
 Quero herself must disappear. What then ? " 
 
 Tears came into the beautiful woman's eyes. 
 She looked at him, more compassionate than angry. 
 
 " Oh, Boris, have you sunk so low, have you let 
 your ambitions overcome all the softer impulses of 
 your nature ? Would you really murder me for fear 
 I should tell, and frustrate your schemes ? " 
 
 She looked very beautiful as she appealed to him. 
 For a moment the old love for her, the old infatu- 
 ation surged up in his heart. He clasped her to his 
 breast, and murmured softly the words : " Why are 
 you not heart and soul with me, as you used to be ? "
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 143 
 
 She disengaged herself gently from his embrace; 
 it no longer thrilled her. " You are no longer the 
 same to me, Boris," she whispered, with the usual 
 subterfuge of the woman. " You have had other 
 loves besides La Belle Quero." 
 
 " I do not admit that, Inez," he answered, in his 
 rough, hard tones, a little shaken by his emotion. 
 " But remember, we are bound together by solemn 
 ties, by solemn oaths, to the same cause. Mark my 
 words," he added, with a sudden access of savagery. 
 " If you play me false in that respect, expect no 
 mercy." 
 
 " If I play you false, Boris, I expect no mercy ; 
 I shall get none. I know the manner of man you 
 are." 
 
 " Yes, you know the sort of man I am, Inez. Pur- 
 sue your little flirtations, if you will. I shall not 
 complain. But once play me false in other matters, 
 and your doom is sealed." 
 
 He strode out of the room, and the face of Ma- 
 dame Quero went white as she remembered the 
 threat. The Prince loved her in his rough, brutal 
 way, but if she interfered with his plans, he would 
 brush her out of his path with as little compunction 
 as he would kill a fly that annoyed him with its im- 
 pertinent buzzing. 
 
 And then, in a few moments, her thoughts went 
 back to the handsome young Italian, Corsini. She 
 had, in an unguarded moment, given him away. 
 Zouroff's slow, but unrelenting, vengeance would 
 pursue him. The Prince had said that Corsini must 
 disappear. In this autocratic country people dis-
 
 144 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 appeared every day, and nobody seemed to wonder. 
 It was such a common occurrence. 
 
 !N^ext day Madame Qiiero, very disturbed, sought 
 Corsini at his private office at the Imperial Opera. 
 Her object was to gain a little time before Zouroff 
 could put his evil designs into execution. 
 
 She approached him with her most winning smile. 
 
 " Signor, you reproached me for not having asked 
 
 you to my villa. Will you allow me to repair the 
 
 omission ? Will you sup with me, tete-a-tete, on 
 
 Thursday night ? '' 
 
 She had meant, in this intimate meeting, to give 
 him a few hints as to his personal safety without too 
 closely inculpating Zouroff and his associates, whom 
 she still greatly feared. 
 
 l^ello expressed a thousand regrets. After his 
 duties at the Opera were over, Prince Zouroff had 
 requested his attendance at his Palace, as Princess 
 JSTada had wished to again hear his rendering of the 
 romance which had now become celebrated. 
 
 The voice of the prima donna grew agitated. She 
 was very distrustful of Boris and his ways. 
 
 " But, Signor Corsini, why go there when you 
 know so well that the Prince is quite indifferent to 
 music? He does not care for any sort, yours or 
 mine." 
 
 Nello darted at her a shrewd glance. " I do not 
 think myself, ^^ladame, that the Prince is a great 
 connoisseur; but he is generally in his box when you 
 
 sms;." 
 
 The beautiful Spanish woman blushed ever so 
 slightly. " Ah, Signor, he comes because I am the
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 145 
 
 fashion. But all the same, I wish you would not 
 go." 
 
 Her manner was very insistent. Nello could see 
 that she was greatly agitated. 
 
 " Tell me, Madame. You have some reason for 
 not wishing me to go ? " 
 
 Madame Quero hesitated. She dared not tell the 
 truth, that she feared there was some sinister design 
 on the part of the Prince. Had he not said that 
 Corsini must disappear? Her blood ran cold at 
 the thought. 
 
 She relied on her woman's wiles. " Suppose," 
 she whispered softly, " that I told you I was very 
 jealous of the Princess Nada. Would that keep you 
 away ? " 
 
 Nello looked at her steadily. A few days ago her 
 request might have had some influence on him, but 
 now he knew her for a traitress. She was only seek- 
 ing to trap him for her own ends. He was proof 
 against her. Golitzine had warned him. 
 
 "The Princess jSTada is an old friend of mine, 
 Madame. I have promised to play that little ro- 
 mance for her whenever she wishes to hear it. I 
 cannot break my promise." 
 
 The blood of the Biscayan peasant surged wildly 
 in her veins. " You are a fool, Signor Corsini ; 
 you do not know your real friends, I assure you." 
 
 Corsini assumed his most diplomatic manner. 
 He bowed profoundly. " I have made many friends 
 in St. Petersburg, Madame, but I shall always 
 remember that you were one of the first and 
 best."
 
 146 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 " Always excepting Princess ISTada," remarked the 
 prima donna spitefully. 
 
 " All, Madame, I met her first in London ; I can- 
 not tell you under what tragic circumstances. Yes, 
 to be quite frank, the Princess has a little niche in 
 my memory that nobody else can occupy. You will 
 forgive me ? " 
 
 Madame Quero turned away from him scornfully, 
 her warm Spanish blood all aflame at the mention of 
 her rival. 
 
 " Go then to your beautiful Princess, with her 
 bloom of the lilies and roses on her cheeks, and your 
 fate be on your own head." 
 
 Corsini, in spite of his equable temperament, was 
 a little disturbed by the interview. Madame Quero 
 had been very insistent that he should not go to the 
 Zouroff Palace. What was there behind this insist- 
 ence? 
 
 He had pressed her closely as to her reasons, and 
 she had led him to understand she entertained an 
 undefined jealousy of the Princess ISTada. In all 
 probability that was the true explanation. Any- 
 way, she would give him none other. 
 
 He was very busy during the next day or two with 
 the cares of management — the directorship of the 
 Imperial Opera was no light task. He met the 
 singer several times, but she still appeared to nour- 
 ish resentment. 
 
 Well, he could not help it. Wild horses would not 
 have kept him away from the Zouroff Palace, from 
 the few minutes' glimpse of the beautiful young Prin- 
 cess. The Thursday drew near, and his pulses beat
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 147 
 
 with pleasurable anticipation. If Madame Quero 
 withdrew her friendship from him, it would not 
 break his heart; and if she was the traitress that 
 Golitzine assumed, her friendship was not worth 
 having. 
 
 As for the woman herself, she was torn with con- 
 flicting emotions. At one moment she hated him, at 
 another she wept to think that he should fall a vic- 
 time to the machinations of the unscrupulous and 
 unrelenting Prince. And on the Wednesday, the 
 day before the reception at the Zouroff Palace, her 
 softer feelings conquered. 
 
 She had seen the Prince the night before, and he 
 had told her that he was going into the country and 
 would not return to St. Petersburg till the midday 
 of the Thursday, 
 
 She drove to the Zouroff Palace in the afternoon 
 and sent up her card to the Princess j^ada. On it 
 she had pencilled — " To see you on an urgent mat- 
 ter." 
 
 The young Princess's maid, Katerina, who was 
 devoted to her mistress, brought in the card. 
 
 ISTada read it, and she frowned. She was not at 
 all conventional for a girl of her rank and station, 
 and she numbered many artists amongst her friends. 
 But she had heard of the reputation of La Belle 
 Quero. Puraours had reached her of the peculiar 
 relations between the singer and her brother, the 
 Prince. Obviously, she was not the sort of woman 
 she could receive in a private capacity. 
 
 " Go down yourself, Katerina, to this person, and 
 be perfectly civil," she enjoined her maid. " Ex-
 
 148 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 plain to her as politely as possible that I am not able 
 to see any visitors to-day." 
 
 The young woman conveyed the cold, decisive mes- 
 sage to the waiting Madame Quero. A dull, red 
 jflush spread over the singer's face as she recognised 
 the reasons for. the refusal to accord her an inter- 
 view. 
 
 But she had not come unprepared for such a re- 
 buff. " One moment, if you please," she said, draw- 
 ing forth a letter and handing it to the maid. " Take 
 this to your young mistress. I will wait till you re- 
 turn. I fancy next time you will bring me a dif- 
 ferent answer." 
 
 The maid bowed and went back to the Princess. 
 ]!^ada tore the letter open angrily. The woman was 
 a trifle too insolent and persistent. Then her angry- 
 mood passed as she mastered the brief contents. 
 
 " I regret very much to intrude upon you ; I can 
 quite guess that my presence is not welcome. A 
 great danger is threatening a certain gentleman, 
 Signor Corsini, for whom I believe you have some 
 friendship. You are the only person I can think of 
 at the moment who can avert that danger, especially 
 as it is threatened by a member of your own family. 
 If you still persist in refusing to see me, please seal 
 up this letter and return it by your maid." 
 
 There was no longer any fear of refusal. Corsini 
 threatened with danger, and by a member of her own 
 family, who could be none other than Boris ! 
 
 " Bring the lady to me at once, Katerina," she 
 commanded the wondering maid. 
 
 A moment later the two faced each other, the Prin-
 
 THE INTEIGUEKS 149 
 
 ces3 standing in the middle of the room, courteous 
 but distantly polite, to receive her unwelcome guest. 
 
 They looked at each other steadily, with dislike in 
 their hearts, the aristocrat of pure and ancient lin- 
 eage, the woman who had played barefoot in the 
 gutter as a child, and won her way with her exquisite 
 talent to fame and fortune. 
 
 There was between them, at the start, the antago- 
 nism of class. But there was also between them a still 
 more subtle antagonism, recognised by each: they 
 had a mutual tenderness for the same man.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 It was exceedingly difficult for a person of Nada's 
 frank and open temperament to resort to the arts of 
 the dissembler, to feign a cordiality she did not feel. 
 Still, she managed to pull herself together and, to 
 a creditable extent, conceal her dislike of her unwel- 
 come visitor. With a grave courtesy she invited the 
 Spanish woman to seat herself. 
 
 " Your note has distressed me, Madame, for more 
 than one reason. In the first place I am very sorry 
 to hear that Signer Corsini is menaced by a great 
 danger. I met him in London ; ours was the first 
 private house he played at after his great success at 
 the Covent Garden concert. I have a great esteem 
 for him as an artist, and I am shocked to think that, 
 after so short a stay in my own country, he should be 
 the victim of some sinister designs. Secondly, I am 
 the more disturbed because your letter tells me very 
 plainly in what quarter these designs are being en- 
 tertained." 
 
 Madame Quero spoke very quietly. The Princess 
 disliked her, of that she was assured, and she re- 
 turned the dislike with compound interest. Still 
 ]^ada was doing her best to be civil and polite. It 
 should not be her fault if the interview was not con- 
 ducted with perfect discretion on both sides. 
 
 " If the danger had not been very great and also 
 
 150
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 151 
 
 very imminent, Princess, I should not have taken the 
 liberty of intruding myself upon you. We move in 
 different worlds, it is true, but I am some sort of a 
 personage in my own sphere and not fond of exposing 
 myself to rebuffs at the hand of a waiting-maid." 
 
 !N^ada blushed at the shrewd, quick thrust, al- 
 though the words were spoken without the least heat. 
 
 " I am very sorry you should have felt offended," 
 she faltered. " But of course, I could not deliver 
 the message myself." 
 
 Madame Quero dismissed the subject with a grace- 
 ful wave of the hand. If Nada had the composure 
 of the aristocrat, she had the self-possession of the 
 woman of the world. She could skate over thin ice 
 as delicately as anybody. 
 
 " I have every reason to know that your brother, 
 Prince Boris, has taken a violent enmity to this 
 young musician." 
 
 " My brother, I regret to say, takes violent dis- 
 likes to many people, for reasons that I have never 
 been able to fathom. But I cannot guess any motive 
 for enmity against Signor Corsini. In what possi- 
 ble way can their paths cross ? " 
 
 " You will, of course, understand. Princess, that 
 I cannot, in every instance, speak as plainly as I 
 could wish. You may have heard, it is hardly pos- 
 sible you should not, that for some few years past 
 Prince Zouroff has been one of my most intimate 
 friends." 
 
 Nada bowed her graceful head, while a faint flush 
 rose to the fair cheek. Of course it was common 
 rumour in St. Petersburg that he was greatly at-
 
 152 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 tracted by the handsome singer and was prepared to 
 marry her, if her husband could be got out of the 
 way. Such an alliance would not, naturally, rec- 
 ommend itself to the other members of the proud 
 and ancient house of ZouroflF. 
 
 " It would certainly seem a strange thing that 
 their paths should cross in any way," was Madame 
 Quero's answer. " And here, I am afraid, I dare 
 not be as explicit as I wish. You must forgive me. 
 Princess, if I content myself with hints instead of 
 full explanations. I can only just tell you this : Sig- 
 ner Corsini has discovered a jealously guarded secret 
 of your brother's. Your brother, therefore, regards 
 him as a dangerous man, to be got out of his way." 
 
 ISTada's face went pale as she listened to these 
 rather vague utterances. Although so young, with 
 a disposition naturally frank and trusting, she had 
 a very quick intelligence. She thought she could 
 read between the lines. It was some time before she 
 spoke. 
 
 " My brother has a jealously guarded secret which 
 Signer Corsini has discovered," she repeated slowly. 
 " If he revealed that secret, it would mean danger 
 to Boris ? " 
 
 Madame Quero bowed. " At present his knowl- 
 edge is not very great, but if he learnt more, it 
 would mean the greatest possible danger to your 
 l)rother." 
 
 There was no mistaking the sinister meaning be- 
 hind these words. The young girl reflected a few 
 moments. ]^ot once, but many times, some un-
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 153 
 
 guarded phrase of the Prince, dropped in one of his 
 frequent rages, had set her thinking. 
 
 " Boris is not, then, exactly what he seems, Ma- 
 dame ? " 
 
 " Far from it, Princess," replied the singer, speak- 
 ing with a frankness that a second later she re- 
 gretted. 
 
 " And perhaps, too. Signer Corsini is not exactly 
 what he seems ? " queried Nada. Intuition was 
 leading her very near the truth. 
 
 " Of that I cannot speak with any certainty. 
 Your brother has certain suspicions of him, but I 
 hafe no means of knowing whether they are well- or 
 ill-founded. One thing is certain. Prince Boris goes 
 in fear of him and meditates harm to him." 
 
 " You are sure of his intentions ? " asked Nada. 
 
 Madame Quero shrugged her shapely shoulders. 
 "Should I be here, if I were not?" 
 
 The Princess questioned her a little more closely. 
 " You will not tell me more than you wish, I know, 
 but I think I am entitled to put this question. How 
 did you learn his intentions, from himself or a third 
 party ? " 
 
 And the singer answered truthfully. " From his 
 own lips." 
 
 Nada was silent for some seconds. She was work- 
 ing it out in her ovm mind, on the somewhat scanty 
 data that had been furnished her. 
 
 " You mean that the Prince intends to get Sig- 
 nor Corsini out of the way by some treacherous 
 means ? "
 
 154 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 " That is the idea that is formiug in his mind, 
 Princess." 
 
 " When will he put that idea into action, do you 
 think ? " was Nada's next question. 
 
 " Corsini plays here at the Prince's request to- 
 morrow evening — is that not so ? " 
 
 Yes, it was true. She had written the invitation 
 herself at Zouroff's request. 
 
 " Well, the Prince is a man who acts very rapidly 
 when he has once made up his mind. It is my be- 
 lief that whatever project he has formed will be put 
 into execution to-morrow night." 
 
 IsTada put her hand to her brow. " It is horrible, 
 Madame, unthinkable, that a brother of mine should 
 stoop so low. Why should he have a secret so guilty, 
 that he cannot afford to have it dragged forth into the 
 light?" 
 
 Madame Quero did not answer the question di- 
 rectly. " I fear, Princess, your brother is not a 
 man easily to be read even by those who have lived 
 in the same house with him." 
 
 " What is it you suggest that I should do ? " asked 
 the Princess after a long pause. " Shall I meet him 
 at the entrance and entreat him to go away at once, 
 on some pretext or another? And what might fol- 
 low if I took such a strange step ? I cannot bring 
 myself to confess to him that I suspect my own 
 brother of base designs against him." 
 
 It was a puzzling question, which Madame Quero 
 could not answer at once. For some moments the 
 two women, their mutual hostility suspended for the
 
 THE INTEIGUEES 155 
 
 time being, put their wits together. Suddenly an 
 idea occurred to the singer. 
 
 " That maid of yours, who interviewed me on your 
 behalf. Can you trust her ? " 
 
 " She is devoted to me," was the Princess's an- 
 swer. 
 
 " Your brother, I happen to know, has one or two 
 confidential servants in his employ." 
 
 " Yes," said Nada, looking at her visitor steadily. 
 It was evident that if the Prince concealed some 
 things from j\Iadame Quero, there were many things 
 that he told her. The girl had a very shrewd suspi- 
 cion that the guilty secret which Corsini had discov- 
 ered was also known to the beautiful singer herself. 
 
 " It is just possible that if your maid instituted 
 a few discreet inquiries in certain quarters, she might 
 learn something." 
 
 " Can you suggest any particular quarter in which 
 she could put them ? " asked the Princess. It was 
 evident that the Spanish woman knew a great deal 
 about the Zouroff household — a great deal more 
 than she did herself. 
 
 " Peter, his valet, is, I know, absolutely in his 
 master's confidence." 
 
 " That is fortunate," remarked Nada ; " because 
 I happen to know that Katerina and he are very 
 great friends; in fact, I believe lovers." 
 
 She rose, touched the bell and commanded the 
 attendance of her maid. For a long time the two 
 women, mistress and servant, talked together in Pus- 
 sian. Madame Quero, who only knew two languages,
 
 156 THE IjS^TRIGUEES 
 
 her own and French, could not, of course, follow 
 them. 
 
 The Princess explained the result of the interview. 
 " I have enlisted Katerina's sympathies, she is go- 
 ing to find out if Peter knows anything." 
 
 Madame Quero rose. " Whatever it is, I am sure 
 he will have a hand in it, although I don't expect he 
 will take an active part. Well, Princess, I must 
 leave it to you to take what steps may occur to you." 
 
 Nada put to her the shrewd question. " Is it 
 impossible for you to take any steps yourself, Ma- 
 dame ? " 
 
 A shamed expression came into the singer's 
 beautiful eyes. " Alas, Princess, I fear I must 
 admit it is. If the Prince could trace anything to 
 me directly, his vengeance would follow me very 
 swiftly." 
 
 Nada shuddered. She had long ago ceased to en- 
 tertain any illusions as to her brother. She knew he 
 was hard, tyrannical, brutal, and pitiless. But this 
 conversation with the foreign woman had thrown a 
 new and sinister light upon his character. There 
 was in him, in addition to these disagreeable quali- 
 ties, a strong criminal taint. 
 
 He did not intend to spare Corsini, and from what 
 she had just heard, he would not, if necessity arose, 
 spare the woman to whom he professed attachment, 
 but would punish her ruthlessly for daring to thwart 
 his plans. And the poor young Princess shuddered 
 again as the thought crossed her that he would not 
 be likely to spare his own sister, if she offended him 
 in the same way.
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 157 
 
 It was not till the middle of the next day that Kat- 
 erina had charmed out of Peter certain information 
 which confirmed her worst fears. 
 
 Briefly, the information amounted to this. The 
 Prince had sent one of his trusted servants into the 
 country to order relays of horses. A travelling car- 
 riage was to be waiting at midnight close to the 
 Zouroff Palace. But Peter either did not know, or 
 would not tell, who was to be the occupant or the 
 persons in attendance on the carriage. 
 
 One little important detail he had dropped. The 
 carriage was to make its first halt at Pavlovsk, the 
 first stage of the journey, on the Moscow road. 
 
 There was no longer any doubt in ISTada's mind 
 as to the Prince's intentions. Corsini was to be en- 
 trapped on leaving the Palace and thrust into the 
 carriage ; in all probability, drugged and bound. Of 
 his ultimate fate she shuddered to think. 
 
 She knew the Chief of Police, General Beilski, 
 well. He was an old friend of the family, also one 
 of the Emperor's most trusted adherents. While 
 devoted to her mother and herself, he had never 
 shown himself much attached to the Prince. 
 
 l^othing easier than for her to pay a private visit 
 to the General at his oflSce, or invite him to the 
 Palace, and request his assistance in thwarting her 
 brother's foul designs. It was the course which 
 Madame Quero could have taken had she so wished, 
 in the first instance. 
 
 The same reason held back both women. Such a 
 step must have brought about the immediate ruin 
 of Zouroff, with its consequent degradation for his
 
 158 THE mXEIGUERS 
 
 relatives. The General was a man who would put 
 duty and patriotism before every other consideration. 
 He would not consent to any paltering with justice, 
 he would drive no bargain. He would not save Cor- 
 sini at the cost of letting the Prince go free and un- 
 punished. 
 
 It was a terrible situation for so young a girl, 
 thrown upon her own resources. True, she could 
 have taken counsel with her mother, but she shrank 
 from exposing her brother's villainy to such a close 
 relation. She would keep the shameful secret 
 locked in her own breast so long as it was possible. 
 
 And then came a ray of light. She wrote a let- 
 ter in a feigned hand to the General, which ran thus : 
 
 " A travelling carriage will set out to-night from 
 St. Petersburg at any time after midnight, and will 
 halt at Pavlovsk, on the road to Moscow. Let the 
 carriage be examined, as the writer of this letter has 
 reason to believe there is a plot afoot to deport a cer- 
 tain person well-known in artistic circles." 
 
 This she handed to Katerina, whom the General 
 had never seen, wuth instructions to take it to his 
 office and hand it for delivery to some responsible 
 person. She was to disguise herself as well as she 
 could, and not linger a moment after she had deliv- 
 ered the letter. It was next to impossible that 
 Beilski should ever discover where that letter came 
 from, but she was certain he would act upon it at once. 
 
 What would follow from her action she could not 
 foresee; but she had done the best, according to her 
 lights, to save the young man who had had the mis- 
 fortune to cross her brother's path.
 
 THE mTHIGUEES 159 
 
 Zouroff, just returned from his journey into the 
 country, entered her charming little boudoir half an 
 hour after she had despatched Katerina with the 
 warning note. 
 
 He seemed in a good mood to-day. With bitter- 
 ness at her heart, she guessed the reason. He had 
 laid his plans so well for this evening that he did 
 not anticipate any likelihood of their being dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 He greeted her with a sort of rough geniality. 
 " Well, little I^ada, you seem very thoughtful. 
 Wondering what particularly charming costume you 
 will wear to-night ? " 
 
 With difficulty she forced herself to meet his gaze, 
 to banish from her own the loathing that was in her 
 heart. She tried to speak lightly, so that he should 
 suspect nothing from her voice or manner. 
 
 " JSTot quite accurate, Boris. 'Ko, I have decided 
 on the costume. I was really wondering what jewels 
 I should select." 
 
 The Prince seemed to accept her explanation read- 
 ily. " Well, I am certain you will enjoy yourself. 
 Your great favourite, Corsini, is sure to play that 
 little romance which has so captivated you. I really 
 asked him here to give you pleasure." 
 
 Was it fancy, or did she really catch the ghost of 
 a sneering smile on the hard, handsome face, as he 
 turned to leave the room ? 
 
 " Base, treacherous hypocrite ! " she murmured 
 when she was alone. " Why have I been cursed with 
 such a brother, my poor mother with such a son ? "
 
 CHAPTEE XY 
 
 More than one of her admirers noted that La 
 Belle Quero was not in her best form to-night. Her 
 acting lacked its usual spontaneity, and several times 
 she sang flat. 
 
 Those who thought themselves in the know, put 
 down the inequality of her performance to some re- 
 cent tiff with Prince Zouroff. But this was only a 
 surmise, not a fact. Zouroff, of course, was in her 
 thoughts, but only in connection with Corsini. 
 
 It was the danger threatening the handsome young 
 Italian that caused her to sing flat and provoke those 
 unflattering comments amongst her usually loyal au- 
 dience. 
 
 Again in the early part of the evening she had 
 sought him in his private room, and for the second 
 time endeavoured to dissuade him from going to the 
 Zouroff Palace. He was convinced in his own mind 
 that it was unworthy jealousy of the Princess Nada 
 which had prompted her action. 
 
 Perhaps, a short time ago, he would have felt a 
 certain amount of pity for an affection that was so 
 thoroughly misplaced. But Golitzine's plain hints 
 had destroved his former feelings of friendship. He 
 could only regard her interference now with resent- 
 ment. 
 
 He looked at her very steadily. " Give me some 
 
 160
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 161 
 
 intelligent reason for breaking my promise, Madame, 
 and I will go so far as to say I will consider it." 
 
 She turned pale and bit her lip in manifest agita- 
 tion. What he asked her was precisely what she 
 could not do. After that none too veiled threat of 
 Zouroff's, that if she failed him he would show her 
 no mercy, she dare not betray him by telling the 
 truth. 
 
 But she was a woman of considerable resource and 
 she thought she might get round him by appealing to 
 his pride. 
 
 " I do not know that I can advance any very suf- 
 ficient reason, except that we have been good friends, 
 and it annoys me to find you refusing to place a 
 proper value on yourself." 
 
 " How am T making myself cheap by playing at 
 the Zouroff Palace, Madame? Like yourself, I am 
 an artist and follow my art ; certainly because I love 
 it, but also because it procures me a substantial re- 
 ward. If I play for the Countess Golitzine and 
 others, I can play without loss of dignity for the 
 Princess ZouroflF." 
 
 She saw her opportunity, and took advantage of it 
 swiftly. " I am not speaking of women, my good 
 friend. It is the Prince himself who is in my mind. 
 You have told me half a dozen times that this man 
 treats you with the greatest hauteur, hardly deigns 
 to return vour salutation. He is, after all, the mas- 
 ter of the house. It seems to me that if you re- 
 spected yourself, as I should wish you to do. you 
 would refuse to give him the chance of insulting 
 von."
 
 162 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Corsini could easily have retorted that La Belle 
 Qiiero, in her professional capacity, attended many 
 houses where the women showed her as scant cour- 
 tesy as the autocratic Prince displayed towards him; 
 but he was of too chivalrous a nature to hurt the 
 pride of a woman. 
 
 Anyway, she did not give him the real reason, 
 w'hich he still believed to be that unworthy jealousy 
 of the charming young Princess. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders in real, or assumed, in- 
 difference. " I must not sav too much about this 
 Zouroff, because we all know he is a great friend of 
 yours. He certainly might take a lesson in man- 
 ners, but I don't know that his want of them affects 
 me very greatly." 
 
 " Still, his discourtesy hurts you, or you would 
 not have dwelt upon it so often as you have done," 
 retorted Madame, woman-like following out her 
 point. 
 
 Corsini rose ; he was rather tired of the argument. 
 
 " If it is so, Madame, I shall not pay him the com- 
 pliment of staying away. I would not give him the 
 triumph of thinking that he was capable of hurting 
 me." 
 
 She saw it was useless. " It must be as you wish, 
 Signer ; " there was a note of sadness in her voice as 
 she turned away. She left the room, murmuring to 
 herself, " I have tried my best. It is the sister who 
 draws him, and she must wish as fervently as I do 
 that he would stay away." 
 
 It was early in the evening when she had sought 
 this interview, and as the hours sped on, bringing
 
 THE INTRIGUERS J^3 
 
 Corsini nearer to the time of his appointment, her 
 agitation increased. If she could only know if the 
 Princess had thought of anything, if she had taken 
 any steps to prevent the tragedy which she felt sure 
 was impending. 
 
 With a woman of her nervous and excitable tem- 
 perament, to express a wish was to carry it swiftly 
 into execution. The Opera finished early that night. 
 She drove home at once to her villa, summoned her 
 maid, and bade her change her costume. 
 
 A few moments later she came back to the waiting 
 carriage, attired in clothes befitting a woman of the 
 poorer classes, and drove to within a short distance 
 of the Zouroff Palace. She walked on foot to the 
 servants' entrance and demanded to see the Princess's 
 maid, Katerina, on very urgent business. 
 
 The girl came to the door, wondering who her vis- 
 itor could be, what was the cause of this imperative 
 summons. 
 
 The prima donna laid her finger on her lips to 
 impress caution and secrecy. 
 
 " We must speak very low, if you please. I am 
 Madame Quero, the person you showed yesterday into 
 your young mistress's room. Can you convey a mes- 
 sage from me to her now ? " 
 
 Katerina looked at the strange visitor who had dis- 
 guised herself so successfully. Had she met her in 
 the street, she would have passed her by without 
 knowing her. But now that Madame Qucro had 
 recalled herself to her recollection, she at once recog- 
 nised the popular singer, in spite of her humble at- 
 tire.
 
 164 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 " If you don't mind waiting a few moments, 
 Madame, I think I can manage it. But I am afraid 
 I shall have to ask you to wait outside. Am 1 to take 
 a letter ? " 
 
 " I will wait outside, certainly. Ko, no letter, 
 it might excite suspicion. Just take this message to 
 your mistress: Has she been able to take any steps 
 with regard to the matter we spoke of yesterday? 
 A few words, yes or no, will do for an answer." 
 
 The door was closed, and La Belle Quero, one of 
 the idols of St. Petersburg, waited in the darkness for 
 a message to be delivered by a lady's maid. For a 
 moment, as she stood there, she laughed a little hys- 
 terically at the situation. 
 
 The Zuroff Palace had never opened its doors to 
 her, even in a professional capacity, for the Princess 
 was a grande dame, and very rigid in her social views. 
 But there were other great houses, presided over by 
 hostesses with a more elastic code for people of gen- 
 ius who had entertained her as a guest. 
 
 It was, to say the least of it, a little bizarre that 
 she should be waiting outside the servants' quarters, 
 dressed in working-woman's attire, because she did 
 not want one lover to injure another man who might 
 have been a lover had he chosen. 
 
 The minutes sped by ; it seemed an eternity to the 
 anxious woman waiting there. Then at last the 
 door was opened cautiously, and Katerina spoke in a 
 low voice. 
 
 " A thousand pardons for keeping you waiting so 
 long, Madame, but it was very difficult to get hold of
 
 THE INTRIGUERS ^65 
 
 tho young Princess. There is a big reception on 
 to-night." 
 
 " I know, I know," interrupted the singer eagerly. 
 This obliging girl, like most of her class, was apt to 
 be garrulous. " Has she sent an answer ? " 
 
 Katerina looked a little offended. Her good- 
 humoured young mistress never interrupted her, even 
 in her most prolix moments. She spoke stiffly. 
 
 " Yes, Madame, I was coming to that in a second. 
 She has taken certain steps which she devoutly hopes 
 will insure the result you both desire, but of course 
 she cannot be certain." Suddenly the maid's tone 
 changed, and she dropped a very profound curtsey. 
 " It is very kind of you, Madame, but it was really 
 not necessary. I am only too pleased to have been 
 of use." 
 
 The change in tone was due to the fact that 
 Madame Quero had slipped into her hand a substan- 
 tial simi of money, immediately afterwards disap- 
 pearing into the darkness. 
 
 Although not happy nor assured, she felt relieved 
 to know that something had been done to thwart the 
 Prince's sinister designs. 
 
 She walked swiftly to her carriage, and on her 
 way passed Corsini, who was going in the direction 
 of the Palace with his beloved violin-case in his hand. 
 It was a peculiarity of the Italian that he never drove 
 where he could walk. She shuddered as she won- 
 dered if he was going to his doom, or if the Princess's 
 fervent hopes would be realised. 
 
 For a moment a wild impulse urged her to turn
 
 166 THE I^^TRIGUERS 
 
 back and run after him, to blurt out the truth and 
 implore his silence. But the instinct of self-preser- 
 vation prevailed and the impulse was combated. 
 
 Zouroff's dark threat rang in her ears. And if 
 the Prince's suspicions were correct, Corsini was in 
 the pay of Golitzine. If that were true, she would 
 entreat his silence in vain. Even gratitude for his 
 escape would not blind him to his obvious duty. 
 
 Corsini ascended the staircase, and the first person 
 he met on entering the handsome gilded music-salon 
 was the master of the house. To the Italian's in- 
 tense surprise the Prince held out his hand and 
 greeted him with an apparent show of cordiality. 
 
 " Ah, good-evening, Signer. You are a little late 
 — is it not so ? Many of your admirers have been 
 asking after you and fearing that you were not able 
 to come. 
 
 Nello, a man of a most frank and trusting dispo- 
 sition, was almost overcome by this condescension. 
 Had he misjudged the man after all ? A great Rus- 
 sian nobleman of ancient lineage might be disposed 
 to look down upon meaner persons who could boast 
 of neither wealth nor origin. At any rate, he w^as 
 behaving well in his own house, was not reminding 
 him of the difference between their stations. 
 
 " I am afraid I am a little late, Prince. Put I 
 will make amends. If they desire an extra encore 
 they shall have it." Thus Nello, a little elated by 
 Zouroff's subtle suggestion that he was a person of 
 great importance in the world of art, and his audi- 
 ence was waiting impatiently for his arrival. 
 
 He played very beautifully that night. The en-
 
 TEE INTRIGUERS 167 
 
 thusiasm of his listeners was so great that he had to 
 grant not one, but three encores. At last he left the 
 platform. 
 
 The Princess iNTada met him as he descended the 
 few marble steps. 
 
 " You have surpassed yourself to-night, Signor. 
 There are many waiting to pay you compliments. 
 But will you first come and have a brief chat with 
 me?" 
 
 Was there anything he could more ardently desire ? 
 To gaze for a few moments into those beautiful eyes, 
 to listen to those soft, kind tones — were not a few 
 moments spent like this worth much more than all 
 the applause he had received ? 
 
 She led him to a small divan in the spacious salon, 
 that was fortunately not occupied. She sat at one 
 end, he at the other; but they were not very distant. 
 
 He was very agitated. His close proximity to this 
 beautiful young woman, the product of centuries of 
 high breeding, the delight of her presence, the per- 
 fume that stole to him from her abundant hair, the 
 hundred and one subtle allurements that a daughter 
 of the classes possessed for a son of the people, in- 
 toxicated him. She was indeed the woman of his 
 dreams, a star set so high in the firmament that he 
 could only gaze respectfully at its light. 
 
 She brought him to earth with the simple ques- 
 tion : " You must be very tired after your fatigues 
 of the day and night; it is some time past twelve 
 now. How do you propose to return to your hotel ? 
 I suppose you have your carriage waiting to take 
 vou back ? "
 
 168 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 She had put the question in her subtle, woman's 
 way. She knew it was a fad of Corsini's that he 
 would never ride or drive where he could walk. 
 When he was rallied upon it by his few intimate 
 friends, he always gave the same explanation that he 
 proffered now. 
 
 " It is an eccentricity of mine, Princess, that I 
 always walk wherever I can. Shall I tell you why ? " 
 
 Nada looked at him kindly. " Yes, tell me why. 
 I cannot tell you whether it is an eccentricity until 
 I know the reason. Personally, I am a very lazy 
 person, and never walk when I can ride." 
 
 Corsini leaned towards her. He could inhale the 
 fragrance of her hair, the stronger perfume that came 
 from the roses she wore in her corsage. 
 
 " Princess, may I reveal to you some of my inmost 
 cherished aspirations ? " His eyes were glowing, he 
 spoke with unusual vehemence. 
 
 " I should be honoured to receive your confi- 
 dences," replied the Princess softly. 
 
 " Ah, then, since you are so indulgent, I will tell 
 you. My career up to a few months ago was an 
 obscure one. Music is in my blood, as it is in yours. 
 Am I not right ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied the Princess, in an even softer 
 voice than before. " Music is in mv blood, toD. 
 Everything fades into insignificance beside those 
 lovely rapturous sounds, such as you and a few other 
 great artists can evoke and render in your various 
 media : through the voice, the violin, the piano — 
 perhaps the weakest, the least convincing of all." 
 
 She was very lovely, very alluring, thought Corsini.
 
 THE INTKIGUEES 169 
 
 She had considerable mentality, even great spiritual- 
 ity. Alone with his violin and her, he could so 
 charm her that perchance she might cast off her high 
 estate, the estate of the Princess, and venture forth 
 with him into the world of exquisite music and un- 
 known dreams. But the time had not come for that. 
 She had only extended a kind and gentle friendship. 
 He could not, at the moment, ask for more. It 
 would be presumption on his part. 
 
 " I trui^t I shall not weary you," he said, with a 
 smile of apology. " As a violinist, I have met with 
 some success ; as the Director of the Imperial Opera, 
 I am not quite a failure. But these successes, for 
 what they are worth, do not put limits on my ambi- 
 tion. I want to be something greater than either — 
 the successful composer." 
 
 The Princess sighed. " Ah, that is my ambition, 
 too. I have tried every instrument, and failed. I 
 have composed heaps of things, but there is no orig- 
 inality in them. I play Chopin and try to imitate 
 him, Wagner with the same result. I have an artis- 
 tic instinct, Signor Corsini, but no creative ability. 
 I must be a listener all my life, envying the people 
 who render what I would give all my fortune to ex- 
 press." 
 
 Corsini thought of his interview with Salmoros, 
 when that sedate and experienced financier had ex- 
 pressed the inmost desires of his soul, that he would 
 give a hundred thousand pounds out of his princely 
 fortune to acquire half of the Italian's executive art. 
 
 Corsini looked at her, his artist soul beaming in 
 his expressive eyes.
 
 170 THE lis^TKIGUEIiS 
 
 " It is one of the tragedies of life, Princess. You, 
 like my good friend Salmoros, desire to be an execu- 
 tant, and your fingers refuse to obey the impulses of 
 your soul. You want to be a composer, and you 
 cannot express your ideas. You do not create, you 
 only imitate." 
 
 " Alas, yes," answered the Princess mournfully. 
 
 Corsini half rose from his seat in his agitation. 
 " With me. Princess, it is different. The executive 
 part comes easily to me; I do not worry about that; 
 it is, of course, a gift. But, as I told you, I long to 
 be a composer. That is the reason why I always walk 
 whenever the distance is not too long." 
 
 " Ah, yes, we have wandered far from the original 
 subject," answered the Princess, realising that Cor- 
 sini had got upon the great theme of self, and was no 
 longer keen to listen to the recital of her small 
 aspirations. 
 
 " Playing in these gilded saloons, shut up in my 
 office at the Opera, my imaginative past is dull and 
 dead. When I walk through the silent streets watch- 
 ing the tide of life as it flows by, the nobleman rolling 
 by in his carriage, the beggar cringing for alms, great 
 thoughts come to me. Overhead at night, the stars, 
 full of mystery and wonder, this petty world beneath I 
 Then, Princess, my imagination awakes. I feel in 
 me some of that divine fire which must have in- 
 formed the great Beethoven when he composed ' The 
 Moonlight Sonata,' some of that inspiration which 
 moved Chopin, Wagner, and the other great masters." 
 
 He waved his arms with a dramatic gesture. 
 " That is why I walk rather than ride. Speaking as
 
 THE INTEIGUEES 171 
 
 a composer, when I am confined in a close space, I 
 am dead artistically. When I walk and look round 
 on life, I find inspiration." 
 
 He was very glowing, very impassioned. Nada 
 felt her pulses thrill as she listened to him. But 
 perhaps, because she was not the full and complete 
 artist that Corsini was, she always leaned to the prac- 
 tical side. 
 
 " Oh, please do not think I am not capable of un- 
 derstanding you," she said. " If I were the artist 
 you are, I should break away from the narrow con- 
 fines of this Palace and seek inspiration, like you, 
 from the moon and stars, even in the silent streets." 
 She paused a moment, and then added, with her 
 full knowledge of what was lying in wait for him, 
 " But all the same, Signor, in spite of the inspiration 
 you may derive, I wish you would not walk home to- 
 night. Give the moon, the stars, the silent streets 
 the go-by for once. Wait for your inspiration till 
 to-morrow." 
 
 He was flattered by that direct appeal to him from 
 such a beautiful girl, but of course, he had no idea 
 of the reason that had prompted it. 
 
 " But, Princess, why put an embargo on this ex- 
 quisite night ? As I walk along, great ideas will 
 come to me. I may be able to think of something 
 worthy of Chopin, Schumann, even of the great Wag- 
 ner himself." 
 
 She leaned forward to him a little from her side 
 of the divan, and her flower-like face was very close 
 to his. He could catch the subtle perfume of her 
 hair, the scent of the roses at her breast.
 
 172 THE INTKIGUEES 
 
 " It is just a little whim of mine, Signer Corsini. 
 You work verj bard, you are devoured by your artis- 
 tic ambitions wbicb nourish the soul, but consume the 
 body to ashes. Do not incur unnecessary fatigue. 
 You have your carriage waiting ? " 
 
 " ]^o, Princess, I have never any carriage waiting. 
 I nearly always walk to my hotel — the longer the 
 distance, the better, because I have a longer time for 
 inspiration." 
 
 " I know, I know," answered ISTada quietly. " I 
 fully appreciate all this, but one may sometimes 
 overdo it. I do not think you are looking very well 
 to-night, Signer. You have put too great a strain 
 upon yourself lately. You say you have no carriage 
 waiting. Permit me to supply you with one. The 
 courtyard is choked up with vehicles. You have only 
 to say the word and my maid will bring you one to 
 the side door of the Palace. You can get in there 
 and be driven home at once, without any tedious 
 delay." 
 
 A delightful thought crossed his brain. Was it 
 possible that the Princess had appreciated bis respect- 
 ful homage, his silent devotion ? Or was this solici- 
 tude for his welfare merely the expression of a 
 womanly compassion for the man outside her world, 
 but claiming the common kinship of art ? 
 
 His voice broke as he declined her offer. " Ten 
 thousand thanks, but I would not put you to such 
 trouble. You have so many guests to see to. I have 
 already taken up too much of your time. I will 
 wtilk home as usual and seek my inspiration under the 
 stars."
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 173 
 
 Her troubled gaze sought his. If he would only 
 prove amenable, she could still save him — at any 
 rate for a time — from her ruthless brother, with the 
 aid of her faithful maid, Katerina, out of the reach 
 of those scoundrels who were waiting to convey him 
 — she hoped into the arms of General Beilski's police. 
 
 But Corsini was not to be saved to-night, although 
 two women had done their best for him. He took the 
 hand that the Princess offered him. 
 
 " You have been so very kind. I shall always 
 cherish you in a warm corner of my heart, for were 
 you not one of my earliest friends? At that time, 
 I had not many friends, Heaven knows." 
 
 " I shall always be your friend, Signor Corsini. 
 I only wish you would allow me to order the carriage 
 to take you home." The concluding words almost 
 sounded like an entreaty. 
 
 But Corsini would pay no attention. He was re- 
 solved on walking home to seek inspiration from the 
 clear skies and the silent streets. 
 
 At the top of the great staircase the Prince was 
 standing, to all appearances cordiality itself. But, 
 from a far corner of the music-salon, he had been 
 watching with angry eyes the conversation between 
 his sister and Corsini. 
 
 But he could afford to be indifferent; he could af- 
 ford to greet the young Italian with a smile. He had 
 laid his plans cunningly. 
 
 Zouroff accompanied him to the door, guarded by 
 a big hall-porter. In a corner of the hall lounged a 
 small dapper man, Peter, his valet, the lover of 
 Katcrina.
 
 17i THE INTRlGUEliS 
 
 " Good-night, Signor. Have you no carriage wait- 
 ing ? Ah, no, I understand it is a habit of yours to 
 walk. Good! Exercise is a fine tonic. My secre- 
 tary will send you a cheque to-morrow for your serv- 
 ices. Again, good-night ! " 
 
 The door closed on the retreating Corsini. Zouroff 
 turned swiftly to the small, dapper man, and whis- 
 pered in his ear. 
 
 " After him, Peter. Come back and tell me that 
 they have done their work." 
 
 The hall-porter opened the door at a sign from his 
 imperious master, and the valet went out with a slow, 
 stealthy tread. 
 
 He followed in the wake of Corsini, who marched 
 along gaily, his violin-case swinging from his hand, 
 his thoughts full of the Princess jSTada, who had been 
 so sweet to him, so gracious. 
 
 He hummed one of the gayest of the many gay airs 
 from " II Barbiere " as he walked along. It was one 
 of his favourite operas, one in which La Belle Quero 
 was inimitable. 
 
 He was in a very happy frame of mind to-night as 
 he walked through the silent streets. He even 
 thought tenderly of La Belle Quero, and went to the 
 length of forgiving her for what he had once con- 
 sidered her groundless jealousy of the Princess. 
 
 In the midst of these happy thoughts, four black 
 shadows loomed up against him, four men surrounded 
 him. 
 
 What a fool he had been not to take the Princess's 
 advice and drive home ! St. Petersburg, like every 
 other populous city, was full of thieves.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 175 
 
 Blindly he struck out with his disengaged hand. 
 Shrilly he called out for help. 
 
 One of the burly men who had surrounded him 
 threw a handkerchief over his face. In a few sec- 
 onds his stniggles had ceased. 
 
 His almost inanimate form was conveyed to the 
 waiting carriage, standing in a side street not far 
 from the Zouroff Palace. It was bundled inside, two 
 of the men mounted the box, the others sat inside, and 
 the horses set off at a fast trot in the direction of the 
 Moscow road. 
 
 The valet, Peter, strolled back home. His master 
 was lounging about in the vestibule to await the news. 
 Peter whispered them in his ear. 
 
 Zouroff smiled a slow smile of gratified malice. 
 
 " The bird is trapped," he exulted as he ascended 
 the staircase, to mingle once more with his guests.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Aftee having delivered lier letter in the way re- 
 corded in a previous chapter, Katerina had sped away 
 with the swiftness of the proverbial arrow. She was 
 well on her way home before it reached the hands of 
 General Beilski, who was closeted with an official of 
 high importance and could not be disturbed till the 
 interview was finished. 
 
 The Chief of Police was, above all things, a man of 
 action. There was nothing in the letter itself to give 
 the least clue as to the writer, but it was evidently 
 genuine. He came to the conclusion that the woman 
 who had sent it was imwillingly mixed up in some 
 plot against which her conscience revolted. 
 
 He immediately called in one of his subordinates 
 to make arrangements for the immediate despatch of 
 a body of mounted police to Pavlovsk, where they 
 would lie in wait for the arriving carriage. 
 
 The man who had taken the letter from the some- 
 what frightened maid was called in and questioned, 
 but his evidence was of no value. His recollections 
 of the appearance of the young woman were very 
 hazy. She was young, slim, and rather good-looking, 
 but he had taken so little notice of her that he ad- 
 mitted that he would not be sure of recognising her 
 if he met her again. There were other callers at the 
 
 time and his attention had been distracted. 
 
 176
 
 THE li^TRIGUERS 177 
 
 The man was dismissed, and the General and his 
 lieutenant closely scrutinised the letter for the second 
 time. All that they could do was to agree upon two 
 points. The handwriting was evidently a feigned 
 one, and also that of a person of education. 
 
 " There is one peculiar thing about it ; our inform- 
 ant wishes to save the person threatened," remarked 
 the Chief ; " but she evidently wishes to involve as 
 little as possible the perpetrators. Otherwise she 
 would have told us where the carriage was going to 
 start from for Pavlovsk, so as to save us the trouble 
 of going all that way. Still, when we stop the car- 
 riage, we shall be able to get something out of the 
 scoundrels who are in charge of it." 
 
 " Unless they are too staunch or too well paid to 
 give away their employer," observed the subordinate, 
 with a shrug of his shoulders. " Many of these crimi- 
 nals, and none but criminals would engage in such a 
 job, are very loyal." 
 
 " In the good old days we would soon have made 
 them find their tongues," said the General with a 
 grim smile. 
 
 That night Boilski dined alone with Golitzine and 
 his wife. After dinner was over, the two men ad- 
 journed to the Count's study and sat late into the 
 night, discussing various important matters. 
 
 When they were about to separate, the General 
 drew from his pocket the anonymous letter, and 
 handed it to his host. 
 
 " Read that, Count, although I don't suppose you 
 will be able to make more out of it than I. It was 
 left to-day by a mysterious young woman who bolted
 
 178 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 as soon as she had given it into the hands of the por- 
 ter. He took very little notice of her and doubts if 
 he would recognise her again." 
 
 The Count read the letter slowly, and meditated 
 for a few seconds. " Strange, very strange," he said 
 at length. " A person of some importance in the 
 artistic world ! " 
 
 " Does that give you any clue ? " inquired Beilski. 
 " Of course you know a good many things that I 
 don't, and you also mix in more worlds than I do. 
 Is there anybody you can think of, or are acquainted 
 with, whose removal might be useful to some person 
 or persons ? " 
 
 It was some time before a sudden flash of inspira- 
 tion came to Golitzine. When it did, he spoke 
 slowly. 
 
 " At present, mind, it is only a conjecture. But I 
 can think of a man who would answer to the descrip- 
 tion — Corsini, the Director of the Imperial Opera." 
 
 The General elevated his eyebrows. " From all I 
 have heard of him — I have never met him — a most 
 quiet, unassuming fellow. How could he give of- 
 fence to anybody ? " 
 
 " I must let you into one of my secrets, Beilski. 
 This young man is acting for me in a certain matter. 
 I have given him some information which, according 
 to my instructions, he has divulged to somebody else, 
 a woman." 
 
 " Is there any objection to telling me the name of 
 the woman ? " 
 
 " As I have gone so far, I may as well go a little 
 bit farther," was the Count's answer. " But, at the
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 179 
 
 moment, you must remember it is only a conjecture. 
 The woman whom I suspect of having sent that note 
 is La Belle Quero." 
 
 " The woman who gives supper parties to men 
 whom we strongly suspect, but regarding whom we 
 have, up to the present, no actual proof," commented 
 Beilski. 
 
 " Precisely." Tho Count looked at his watch. 
 " That carriage has started with its freight some time 
 ago. I thinlc we can soon solve the problem of 
 whether Corsini is the occupant or not." 
 
 " Your theory is, then, either that this Madame 
 Quero has more conscience than her associates, or is 
 in love with the young man and has made up her 
 mind to save him ? " 
 
 Golitzine nodded his head. " If my suspicions are 
 wrong, Corsini is at one of two places, either at his 
 hotel or at tho Zouroff concert. He told me yester- 
 day he was going there tonight to play. We will 
 send round a guarded note to each, only to be deliv- 
 ered into his own hands." 
 
 This was done, and the two men waited for the 
 result. The man despatched to the Palace returned 
 first. He had inquired for Signer Corsini and was 
 told that he had left a long time ago. 
 
 The other messenger arrived a few seconds later. 
 He had seen the manager of the hotel. Corsini had 
 not come back, a most unusual thing, since for a man 
 in his profession he kept early hours. 
 
 " The inference seems pretty clear," observed the 
 General. " If he had intended to stay at the house 
 of some friends he would have told the manager.
 
 180 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 Still, he may have gone on to some other party, al- 
 though I doubt it. Well, if Corsini is in that car- 
 riage, and it seems most probable, we shall soon have 
 him back in St. Petersburg." 
 
 " And when we get him back we must have him 
 closely guarded," said Golitzine; "at any rate until 
 we have discovered the perpetrators of this outrage." 
 
 " That may prove an easy matter, or one of great 
 difficulty," was Beilski's comment. " Madame Quero 
 herself is, of course, no use to us. She would never 
 admit that she wrote that letter. Do you happen to 
 know her handwriting ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I have had half a dozen letters from her on 
 professional matters. The handwriting bears not 
 the slightest resemblance to this. But, of course, she 
 would be too shrewd to write it herself, even in a 
 feigned hand. She dictated it to some female ac- 
 complice." 
 
 " By the way," added the Count as they separated 
 for the night, " they will bring back the occupant of 
 the carriage, who I think we may safely presume to 
 be Corsini, to your own quarters, of course ? " 
 
 " Of course," assented the General. 
 
 ** Well, bring him on to me while his impresFions 
 are red-hot, you understand? We want to bring it 
 home to the real instigators." 
 
 While these two high functionaries were discussing 
 matters, the travelling carriage, with the senseless 
 young man inside, was proceeding on the Moscow road 
 at a fast pace. 
 
 One of the two ruffians produced a stout piece of
 
 THE INTKIGUEES 181 
 
 cord and proceeded to twist it round the arms and legs 
 of the helpless man. 
 
 " He doesn't seem capable of showing much fight," 
 he said to his companion with an evil grin, " but one 
 never knows. A liver-hearted chicken would fight for 
 life and liberty. Best to make sure." 
 
 He bound him securely. The other man handled 
 the violin-case which had dropped from Corsini's 
 hand when so suddenly assailed. His eyes betrayed 
 a covetous gleam. 
 
 " This is worth something, I expect, but we dare 
 not handle it." 
 
 " More than our lives are worth," replied the other 
 ruffian, in an equally regretful tone. " There will 
 be a hue and cry in St. Petersburg tomorrow when it 
 is known that the Director of the Imperial Opera has 
 disappeared. We must all lie low. Any attempt to 
 realise on that violin would give us away at once. 
 Besides, we are being very handsomely paid." 
 
 " That is true," grunted his companion in villainy, 
 as he sank back on his seat beside the unconscious 
 man. " We don't ask too many questions, but we 
 can pretty shrewdly guess who is working this job. 
 Peter is a wary bird and doesn't let out much, but we 
 know who is his master." 
 
 The carriage sped on through the gathering night 
 till it reached Pavlovsk. Here there had been or- 
 dered a relay of horses, which was awaiting them at 
 a small posting-house. 
 
 Corsini was still wrapt in a profoimd slumber. 
 Once he had sho^vn signs of consciousness, and one 
 of the two miscreants had given him another dose of
 
 182 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 the powerful narcotic. It saved trouble, to keep him 
 in that condition till they reached their destination. 
 
 It had been a cold drive. The two inen who had 
 guarded the prisoner stepped outside and stamped 
 their feet. The other two, who were more chilled, 
 dismounted from the box. 
 
 The leader of the party peered at the unconscious 
 figure. " He is still in the land of dreams, my dear 
 friends," he said. " Well, while he is sleeping and 
 we are changing horses, we will get a warm drink." 
 
 The four men tramped into the bar of the small 
 inn, where they comforted themselves with the re- 
 freshment they desired. They had no wish to delay 
 their departure, but it would take a few minutes to 
 change the tired horses, they might as well enjoy 
 themselves in the interval. They were members of 
 the criminal class whom Peter, the valet, had em- 
 ployed in his master's interests, but they were very 
 game fellows. They would never round on their old 
 friend Peter. 
 
 Suddenly in the midst of their revels, for the one 
 original drink had extended itself to three or four, a 
 decrepit old ostler shambled in with a white and 
 scared face. He was an aged man, toothless, and 
 with a voice tliat scarcely rose above a hoarse whisper. 
 
 " Every man who wants to save himself had better 
 mn as fast as he can," he croaked, with a meaning 
 glance at the four men assembled in the small par- 
 lour. " The place is full of police. They have sur- 
 rounded the carriage. They will be inside in a mo- 
 ment." 
 
 The two younger men of the party took the hint
 
 THE IXTRIGUERS 183 
 
 at once, escaped through a side door and bolted some- 
 where away in the darkness of the night. The other 
 two, staggered by the unexpected com-se of events, 
 had not wit or agility enough to save themselves. In 
 a second they were seized and handcuffed by the 
 agents of the law. 
 
 Corsini's inanimate form was carried in. General 
 Beilski had taken the precaution to send a doctor 
 along with the police. He had accurately giiessed 
 that those who wanted to " deport a certain person," 
 would take the precaution of drugging him first and 
 keeping him under narcotics during the journey. 
 
 So heavily had the unfortunate young man been 
 drugged, that it was some time before the doctor 
 could bring him to a waking state. At last he opened 
 his dazed eyes and gazed wonderingly round at the 
 narrow little room in which he had been laid. 
 
 " Where am I ? " he ejaculated slowly. His senses 
 were not yet well ordered. He had hazy recollections 
 of the Zouroff Palace, of a conversation with the 
 Princess ISTada, a confession to her of his ambition to 
 be a great composer as well as a great executant, of a 
 walk through the silent streets, the sudden appearance 
 of some men. Then a blank. 
 
 The doctor bent over him and spoke in a soothing 
 voice. In spite of the ashen and livid face, he recog- 
 nised him at once. The doctor came from St. Peters- 
 burg in the company of the police, and he had seen the 
 portrait of the new Director of the Imperial Opera in 
 several newspapers. Here was some subtle mystery 
 to which he had not the key. 
 
 " You are amongst friends. Signer Corsini, I am
 
 184 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 going to give you another injection, and after that you 
 will have a little light food before we take you back 
 to St. Petersburg." 
 
 Corsini's tired eves wandered round the room. He 
 saw the kind, compassionate face of the doctor bend- 
 ing over the sofa on which he had been laid. He saw 
 also three men in police uniform and a tall, bearded 
 man who was evidently the leader of the party. Then 
 his eyes closed again and he relapsed into insensi- 
 bility. 
 
 The doctor swore under his breath and turned to 
 the tall, bearded man. 
 
 " They have nearly done for him with their in- 
 fernal doping, but in an hour from now I shall have 
 him in trim to take back to the General. Have you 
 got all those scoundrels ? " 
 
 The tall, bearded man shook his head with a melan- 
 choly air. " Alas ! only two of them, doctor. The 
 other two escaped, warned, no doubt, by some ruflfian 
 in this inn. Still, I have got two and I will do my 
 best to make them speak before I have done with 
 them."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 CoKsmi, pale and exhausted from his terrible ex- 
 periences, sat in Golitzine's study. General Beilski 
 was there also. 
 
 " Now, Signor, we want to get at the bottom of 
 this." It was the Count who was speaking. Beilski 
 was a devoted adherent of the Czar, and had been 
 promoted to his high post through the Imperial fa- 
 vour, but he was not a man of very considerable men- 
 tality, and the astute secretary had, privately, a very 
 poor opinion of him. 
 
 Corsini struggled to collect his wandering thoughts. 
 
 " It seems all like a verv bad and confused dream, 
 your Excellency. I remember playing at the Zouroff 
 Palace. I had a short conversation with the Princess 
 Nada. I left early; the Prince accompanied me to 
 the door. I remember distinctly the hall-porter and 
 an obscure sort of person lounging in the doorway. 
 I left and walked along in the direction of my hotel. 
 Suddenly I was surrounded by four men — footpads, 
 as I surmised. They seized me and drugged me., 
 The rest is a blank. I woke up in a little bedroom in 
 an obscure inn, with a kind doctor bending over me. 
 Then, there are sleeping and waking intervals, and I 
 jSnd myself here in your Excellency's house." 
 
 " Can vou carrv vour mind a little farther back, 
 
 Signor Corsini ? You recognise that you were kid- 
 
 185
 
 186 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 napped bj some persons wlio desired your disappear- 
 
 ance." 
 
 " I understand that perfectly, Count. Let me go 
 back a little. There are certain suspicious circum- 
 stances that recur to me." 
 
 Beilski and the Count exchanged significant 
 glances. Golitzine motioned the young man to pro- 
 ceed. 
 
 " I was engaged to play at the Zouroff Palace last 
 night. I had already acquainted your Excellency 
 with that fact." 
 
 The Count nodded a little impatiently. He was 
 anxious to get at the facts. 
 
 " A very singular thought has occurred to me, gen- 
 tlemen. Madame Quero was very insistent that I 
 should not play at the Zouroff Palace. On two occa- 
 sions she endeavoured strongly to dissuade me, to 
 make me break my appointment." 
 
 The other two men exchanged an even more sig- 
 nificant glance. They were getting close to the truth. 
 
 ISTello had paused. He seemed desirous to say 
 more, but something kept him back. Golitzine no- 
 ticed his hesitation. 
 
 " Come, Sig-nor Corsini, out with it. You have not 
 yet told us all you surmise or suspect. We know 
 about La Belle Quero. There is something else you 
 can tell us if you choose." 
 
 Corsini was never a very good dissembler. He was 
 as wax in the hands of these experienced men of the 
 world. 
 
 " A singular thing, gentlemen, after thinking over 
 all those things, is this. Perhaps you know that it is
 
 THE INTRIGUEKS 187 
 
 a peculiarity of mine to always walk to and from my 
 engagements." 
 
 " It is a peculiarity of yours that has been already 
 commented on," said Golitzine, who knew everything 
 about everybody. " Proceed, Sig-nor." 
 
 " It is just a thing that has struck me as a little 
 peculiar, taken in conjunction with the whole cir- 
 cumstances. Madame Quero, whom I know you sus- 
 pect, was very insistent that I should not go to the 
 Zouroff Palace, without assigning any definite or 
 plausible reason." 
 
 " We have already understood that," interrupted 
 Beilski, rubbing his hands. " Perhaps we may now 
 come to something that throws more light on the 
 affair." 
 
 Corsini proceeded. " I had a brief conversation 
 with the Princess JSTada." He blushed slightly as he 
 continued. " She was pleased to express some solici- 
 tude for my welfare, my health. She thought I was 
 not looking well, that I had been working too hard. 
 She asked if I had a carriage waiting for me. I 
 answered in the negative, telling her that I always 
 preferred to walk home. She offered to procure a 
 conveyance for me, and added that it could be drawn 
 up at a private entrance to the Palace, as there was a 
 great crush in the main entrance. Gentlemen, I have 
 told you all the facts, it is for you to draw your infer- 
 ences. It is pretty evident that both Madame Quero 
 and the Princess had an inkling, perhaps actual 
 knowledge, of the danger that was threatening me, 
 and dared not say more than they did." 
 
 Golitzine rose and drew the General into a comer.
 
 188 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 " The thing is clear enough. The two women have 
 been in league to save this young man. La Quero 
 has split upon Zouroff, because she is in love with Cor- 
 sini, and has enlisted the sympathies of the Princess, 
 probably in love with Corsini herself. You see it, 
 General ? " 
 
 Beilski had not the agile intelligence of the Count, 
 but when it was so clearly put before him, he saw it. 
 
 " The young woman who brought the note is the 
 maid of one of them," he said tersely. " Well, my 
 men shall bring both the maids before me to-morrow 
 and I will wring the truth out of one of them. In the 
 meantime, how shall we proceed with Corsini ? " 
 
 " Take him back to his hotel. Eudge any story 
 you like to the manager — been taken ill in my house, 
 or yours, it does not matter which. Let him go about 
 his usual duties and let him be safely guarded till we 
 bring this home to the proper quarters. How about 
 those men accompanying the carriage ? " 
 
 " Alas ! I have only bagged a couple," answered 
 the General regretfully. " The others escaped 
 through the want of vigilance on the part of my 
 
 men." 
 
 " And what have the two you captured got to say 
 for themselves ? " 
 
 " Just nothing. Their lips are sealed. They will 
 take their own punishment, but they will not give 
 away their employer. If we had lived in the old 
 days we could have made them speak." 
 
 Golitzine crossed over to the young Italian. 
 
 " Signor Corsini, I cannot say how deeply I am 
 grieved that you should have been subjected to this
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 189 
 
 outrage. Rest assured it shall be tracked home to 
 the proper quarters, and you shall be amply avenged. 
 I have asked General Beilski to put a secure guard 
 around you whenever you venture abroad. You need 
 fear no repetition. Salmoros would never forgive me 
 if you came to harm." 
 
 Corsini was taken back to his hotel, wondering over 
 all the things that had happened to him. A tale 
 was fudged up to the manager that he had been at- 
 tacked with sudden indisposition at the house of 
 Count Golitzine, and compelled to remain there. 
 Beilski took good care that he was unobtrusively 
 guarded by members of the secret police. 
 
 The next thing was to get hold of the two maids. 
 The General's satellites secured the one in the service 
 of Madame Quero, and brought her along. 
 
 Beilski interrogated her himself, but the cross-ex- 
 amination of five minutes convinced him that she was 
 not the woman who had brought the note. And the 
 porter was equally certain on this point. She was a 
 person of different build. 
 
 He dismissed her with a caution, as he handed her 
 some coins. 
 
 " I would prefer that you kept your mouth shut 
 about this visit. Still, it is very probable you will 
 blab about it to your mistress." 
 
 " Not after your generosity, your Excellency," an- 
 swered the maid gratefully, with a smirk. 
 
 The General grunted. " That is as it may be. I 
 don't know that I trust you farther than that door. 
 But if you should feel disposed to take your mistress 
 into your confidence, you can tell her this — that we
 
 190 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 have our eje upon her and know more than she 
 thinks." 
 
 Half an hour later the terrified Katerina was 
 brought into his presence. She had been taken in- 
 charge a few yards outside the ZourofF Palace, whence 
 she was proceeding on a shopping errand for her 
 young mistress. 
 
 The General, with his experienced eye, read at once 
 in her demeanour the signs of great perturbation. 
 She was no hardened criminal, only a weak, trembling 
 girl. He had rough and ready methods for such as 
 these. 
 
 " Speak the truth, girl, and fear not ; the strong 
 arm of the law shall protect you," he thundered in 
 his loud, vigorous accents. " You are the young 
 woman who brought me a note the other day from the 
 Princess jSTada. My hall-porter has recognised you." 
 
 This, of course, was a flight of the gallant General's 
 imagination. The hall-porter had distinctly said that 
 he would not be certain of recognising her ; but it was 
 enough to scare the shrinking Katerina. 
 
 She sank upon her knees, trembling in every limb. 
 " It is true, your Excellency. Are you going to kill 
 me, or send me to Siberia ? " 
 
 The General smiled grimly. " N'either, my excel- 
 lent young woman, as you have confessed without any 
 unnecessary trouble. Give my compliments to your 
 young mistress, and tell her I will give myself the 
 pleasure of waiting upon her this afternoon on a little 
 private matter. You can tell her that I have interro- 
 gated you, and you have confessed. You can also 
 mention that the police, presided over by General
 
 THE IXTRIGUEES 191 
 
 Beilski, lias a long arm, and a very wide espionage ; 
 also that we find out things pretty quickly, however 
 carefully they are concealed." 
 
 Poor Katerina hurried away, her brain in a whirl. 
 As she scurried home, she reproached herself that, 
 under the awe-inspiring presence of the formidable 
 General, she had given her young mistress away. 
 But, after all, she was not to blame. The Princess 
 ought not to have sent her on such an errand. 
 
 JN^ada had been wondering at her absence. The 
 shopping errand on which she had been despatched 
 should not have occupied her very long. 
 
 Poor Katerina had to confess to her interview with 
 the General. jSTada spoke no word of blame ; it was 
 her own fault that she had chosen so weak an instru- 
 ment. And she further admitted to herself that if 
 Beilski's emissaries had seized her instead of her maid 
 and conveyed her to his headquarters, she would have 
 lost her head as her maid had done. 
 
 And the General was coming to-day to worm out of 
 her all he could. Of course, she knew she would be 
 as wax in his hands. But even above her own imme- 
 diate troubles rose the one anxious thought — was 
 Corsini safe ? had he escaped the vengeance of her 
 ruthless brother ? 
 
 She could not make use of the already too terrified 
 Katerina any more. She sent around a brief note to 
 Corsini at his hotel, in which she asked him to pro- 
 cure for her a certain piece of music of which he had 
 spoken to her in a brief conversation a little time ago. 
 
 The messenger came back with the information 
 that Signer Corsini was engaged in his duties at the
 
 192 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Opera, and that the note would be given him on his 
 return. 
 
 This relieved her very much. Corsini, at any rate, 
 was safe. Her strategies had succeeded. She braced 
 her nerves for the forthcoming interview with the 
 General. She knew it would be a strenuous one. 
 How, in the name of all that was marvellous, had he 
 discovered that she was the sender of that letter ? 
 
 Beilski had chosen a most fortunate day from her 
 point of view. Her mother was in bed with a fever- 
 ish cold. She would have to receive the General 
 alone. He would go to the point at once. If she 
 had her mother's protecting presence, decency, re- 
 spect for his old friend of many years, would have 
 tied his tongue to some extent. He might hint his 
 suspicions of Zouroff to a sister; he would conceal 
 them from a mother, ruffian as he knew the son to be. 
 But though her heart was fluttering, she received 
 him very prettily and graciously. Had she not 
 known him from a child ? 
 
 " An unexpected pleasure, my dear General. It is 
 not often that you come to the Zouroff Palace." 
 
 " Not so often as I would wish, my dear child, but 
 my time is very fully occupied. As you can guess, 
 these are troublous times. How is your dear 
 mother ? " 
 
 Nada explained that the Princess was in bed with 
 the first symptoms of a feverish cold. 
 
 The General took a few sips of the cup of tea that 
 the charming young Princess offered him. His bushy 
 eyebrows worked from time to time. He was a per- 
 fect gentleman at heart ; he was also very chivalrous
 
 THE lisTEIGUERS 193 
 
 to women. He did not at all relish the mission he 
 was engaged on. It was the breaking of a butterfly 
 upon a wheel, and the butterfly was the little girl to 
 whom he used to bring chocolates and bon-bons a few 
 years ago. 
 
 " Sorry to hear it, my dear child. Keep her warm 
 and she will soon be all right." Of course he was 
 not really sorry at all that the Princess Zouroff was 
 well out of the way ; it was now all plain sailing. 
 
 After a long pause, he spoke in gruff accents. 
 " There is no need to fence, ^Nada. You got the 
 message from your maid. You know why I have 
 come and what I have come for." 
 
 " Yes, I know," answered the young Princess in a 
 faltering voice. 
 
 The General drew his chair closer. " !N'ow, out 
 with it all. From whom did you get the information 
 that prompted you to write that letter ? "
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII 
 
 ZoTJROT-F had exulted very greatly on that night 
 when he had said good-bye to Corsini at the doors of 
 the Palace. The carriage was waiting a short dis- 
 tance away. In a few hours the young musician 
 would cease to be a menace to him. 
 
 He was doomed to grievous disappointment. One 
 of the escaping band had managed to despatch a tele- 
 gram in cipher acquainting him with the fact that his 
 plans had miscarried, that Corsini had been rescued 
 by the police at Pavlovsk. 
 
 Upon receipt of that telegram, he went into one of 
 his violent rages, but of course nobody witnessed his 
 distress. After he had recovered himself, he sought 
 out his valet and imparted to him the news. 
 
 Later, in obedience to his master's instructions, the 
 valet learned that Corsini was back at the Opera ; fur- 
 ther, that General Beilski had surrounded him with 
 a strong bodyguard, which was to protect him, in an 
 unobtrusive fashion, day and night. 
 
 His suspicions fell at once on La Belle Quero. If 
 he had obeyed the promptings of his wild and savage 
 nature, he would at once have gone to her dressing- 
 room at the Opera, taxed her with her treachery, and 
 strangled her with his own hands. !Reedless to say, 
 he had no idea of the part played by his sister in the 
 
 rescue of the hated musician. 
 
 194
 
 THE INTKIGUEES 195 
 
 But he was wilj as well as savage. lie would take 
 his owu measures with this treacherous Spanish 
 womau in due course. She certainly would not es- 
 cape his vengeance ; but he would do nothing rash, 
 nothing calculated to bring his own neck into jeop- 
 ardy. He would meet her as if nothing had hap- 
 pened. He would be more lover-like than ever. 
 
 And things, as he thought, were now hastening so 
 rapidly towards the goal that his revenge need not be 
 long delayed. 
 
 Corsini had resumed his duties at the Opera, and 
 his brief disappearance had been plausibly explained. 
 The story of a short indisposition had satisfied all 
 curiosity. 
 
 His feelings at this particular period were, per- 
 haps, a little uncertain. He was not quite sure that 
 the excellent Salmoros, whom he had once looked upon 
 as a pure and benevolent philanthropist, ever ready to 
 extend a helping hand to a struggling genius, had 
 done him such a good turn, after all. 
 
 True, he had made certain strides in his calling: 
 he might be said now to have gained a European repu- 
 tation in place of a purely local one. On the other 
 hand, he was mixed up in the political schemes of 
 Golitzine. He had been kidnapped, and but for the 
 tenderness of a woman, perhaps two women, might 
 have been done to death by now. 
 
 On the whole, England seemed a safer place than 
 Russia. In Russia there was only one bright spot. 
 And that was the presence of the Princess jSTada. 
 
 And this constant, ubiquitous bodyguard annoyed 
 him. Of course he was quite sensible enough to
 
 196 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 know that it was necessary. Wlaoever his enemy 
 might be, Zoiiroff or another, he would try and kidnap 
 him again, undeterred by the failure of the first at- 
 tempt, Golitzine and the Chief of Police were quite 
 right to put a cordon round him. 
 
 It irked him very much, this body of four patient 
 men who guarded him day and night, not in any way 
 obtrusively, but always within reach — lurking in the 
 corridor of his hotel, in the passages and lobbies of 
 the Opera House, always ready to rush to his assist- 
 ance if he were suddenly surprised. 
 
 In London he could walk east, west, south, or north 
 without fear — to the breezy heights of Hampstead, 
 the sylvan glades of Richmond. For, if he were to 
 seek inspiration, he must fly from closed rooms, from 
 shut doors, and hold communion with the stars. 
 
 On the second night of his return, the four patient 
 men accompanied him on one of his walks, scattering 
 discreetly, but ever on the alert. 
 
 Inspiration had come to him. The fugitive notes, 
 with difficulty recaptured, were shaping themselves 
 into music in his brain. Suddenly a tall figure 
 loomed out of the darkness and stood in front of him. 
 The four silent watching men formed up and drew 
 closer. 
 
 " Do not fear," whispered the man ; " I am a 
 friend. I see there are men looking after you. They 
 are members of the police, I am Sure. Tell them not 
 to be afraid for your safety ; but I would like them to 
 withdraw out of earshot." 
 
 " I seem to remember your voice, I have a faint 
 recollection of your face," answered Corsini, " but at
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 197. 
 
 the moment I cannot recall when and where we met." 
 
 The big man laughed softly. " Throw back your 
 memory a little while. A lonely road leading out of 
 a still more lonely village filled with troops and 
 mounted police. Your train had broken down, you 
 had taken a quiet walk. You were saying your 
 prayers before a village ikon. There suddenly ap- 
 peared a tall, bearded man who implored your char- 
 ity." 
 
 Then Corsini recognised him. " Ivan the Cuckoo, 
 Ivan the outlaw ! What are you doing here ? " 
 
 " Get your friends a little out of earshot and then 
 we can talk quietly," was the outlaw's answer. 
 
 Corsini went up to the leader of the four men, who 
 had drawn very close. 
 
 " This is a man whom I met on my first entrance 
 into this country under very strange circumstances. 
 I have good reason to believe he is well disposed to- 
 wards me; but he wishes to speak to me in private. 
 Will you withdraw a little so that you cannot hear 
 what he says ? " 
 
 The chief of the party looked somewhat doubtfully 
 on the big figure of the outlaw. " He seems a bit of 
 a ruffian, Signer, but it is as you wish. We will go 
 out of earshot, as you request, but we will keep our 
 pistols well levelled at him, in case of accident. Yon 
 are sure you can trust him ? " 
 
 " I think so," replied Corsini. " I am afraid he 
 is not a very estimable character and his appearance 
 is not in his favour, but I helped him once when he 
 was in great straits, and he swore to return the obli- 
 gation. I am inclined to trust him myself."
 
 198 THE INTKIGUERS 
 
 The four men withdrew. The big man chuckled 
 quietly. " So you have persuaded them to get out of 
 the way. They were urging you not to trust me, 
 eh ? " 
 
 " Something of the sort. Well, Ivan, what have 
 you got to say ? " 
 
 " Simply this. On that day you saved me, when 
 the police were waiting within a few yards to trap 
 me like a rabbit, I swore I would pay back the debt, 
 did I not?" 
 
 " You did, Ivan. I remember that promise well. 
 But you don't mean to say you are going to pay it 
 back to-night." 
 
 "If not to-night, very shortly, Signor Corsini. 
 You see, I know something about you. Well, I will 
 tell you something you may, or may not, know ; you 
 have a very bitter enemy, who is resolved to hunt you 
 to death." 
 
 " That is true, Ivan. I can guess his name, but 
 you know it. Is that not so ? " 
 
 " It is quite true," replied the outlaw in low tones. 
 " Your enemy is mine, too, the dastard and scoundrel 
 who enjoys the style and title of Prince Zouroff." 
 
 " Your enemy also? " queried Corsini in wonder- 
 ing tones. " But how can you have crossed his 
 path ? " 
 
 " I have a heavy account against the man and his 
 family," answered the outlaw in his low, fierce voice. 
 " In the old bad days of serfdom, his father, who was 
 even a bigger ruffian, if it is possible, than his son, 
 had my father flogged to death for a trivial offence. 
 That was burnt into my brain."
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 199 
 
 He tore open his clothes and showed his naked 
 chest, on which was a long scar. 
 
 " You see that. Boris insulted mj sister, a pure 
 and innocent girl, born on his estate as I was. She 
 told me the story. I borrowed a sword. I lay in 
 wait for him in the woods one night. I challenged 
 him to fight. I wounded him, thank Heaven, but 
 he got his sword in too and left me with that scar. 
 You can guess that I have got a big account against 
 this Prince who swaggers about St. Petersburg and 
 boasts amongst his intimates that he will dethrone the 
 Czar." 
 
 For a few seconds the outlaw paused, struggling to 
 regain his composure, which the recital of his wrongs 
 had so disturbed. 
 
 " After that incident, you will guess there was no 
 safety for me, Signor. It was no longer possible for 
 me to remain on this villain's estate," he resumed. 
 " I wandered forth to embrace a life of crime — to 
 become a thief, a bandit, a marauder. But, as 
 Heaven is my judge, my guilt lies at his door." 
 
 " You spoke of repaying a debt, Ivan," interjected 
 Corsini, with a view of recalling the unhappy man 
 from these troublous and disturbing memories. 
 " And if not to-night, very shortly. I don't know 
 that I very much desire repayment. What I did was 
 out of feelings of humanity. Some people might say 
 misplaced humanity. But what I did that night I 
 should do again to-morrow if we were both in the 
 same position." 
 
 The big, bearded man regained his calmness, and 
 spoke in slow, measured tones. " I have seen your
 
 200 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 portrait in the newspapers, Signer, and so was able 
 to give a name to my preserver. It is in my power 
 to put you in possession of an important secret that 
 will bring great distinction to you, when you impart 
 it to the proper quarters. In return you will secure 
 for me a full pardon. I am not asking too exorbitant 
 a price ; I am sure you will admit that." 
 
 " It is a secret, I can guess, concerning the man 
 whom you describe as our common enemy, Prince 
 Boris Zouroff." 
 
 Ivan nodded his big head. " Listen ! I have 
 many friends in St. Petersburg, most of them cer- 
 tainly not of a reputable class. But I have one 
 friend, quite a decent and honest fellow, bom like 
 myself on the Prince's estates. His name is Stepan, 
 and he is in the service of the well-known opera- 
 singer, popularly known as La Belle Quero." 
 
 Corsini started. At first he had felt inclined to 
 pay little heed to the outlaw's rather wild talk. How 
 could a man in his position be of any serious use, a 
 man who had to skulk in obscure corners, lest he drew 
 upon himself the too vigilant attention of the police ? 
 
 " Stepan and I were boys together and great com- 
 rades. The poor fellow is heavily handicapped in 
 the fact that he is very deaf. At times he can hear 
 a little, but his hearing is never to be depended on. 
 He was rather a favourite of Zouroff's, who, I sup- 
 'pose, found him useful in certain ways, perhaps be- 
 cause of his infirmity: what he could not hear he 
 could not communicate to others." 
 
 " I quite understand," interposed the young 
 Italian.
 
 THE mXKlGUERS 201 
 
 " Some considerable time ago, Zouroff brought him 
 up from the country and installed him in the service 
 of Madame Quero. Of course he had a motive in 
 this, which you will presently comprehend. I must 
 explain to you that owing to his deafness being so 
 acute, all those who want to speak to him have to use 
 signs. All the same, he is a very intelligent fellow, 
 and can see through a brick wall as clearly as any- 
 body. His speech is affected, too." 
 
 " For what purpose did his master hand him over 
 to Madame Quero ? " queried Corsini. 
 
 " I will explain. Signer. The singer has con- 
 stantly at her house parties of men ; no other woman 
 but herself appears at them ; and these parties consist 
 of Zouroff and his friends. I have made it my busi- 
 ness to find out all their names. You can have that 
 list when you want it ; it will be useful to certain per- 
 sons in high quarters." 
 
 Decidedly, Ivan was growing very interesting. 
 The young Italian listened with the closest atten- 
 tion. 
 
 " In the side wall of Madame Quero's villa there 
 is a secret door, my friend Stepan is janitor. On the 
 night when these parties assemble he is on duty. A 
 small bell is pulled, which he cannot hear, but he sees 
 the wire of it vibrating. Stepan ushers them into an 
 inner chamber across which, screening it from the 
 small vestibule, hang heavy black velvet curtains. 
 These men. Signer, are conspirators, one and all. 
 Stepan is too deaf to overhear what they are conspir- 
 ing about, but he has his suspicions." 
 
 " One moment, Ivan," interrupted Corsini. " You
 
 202 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 said that Prince Zouroff has showed this man favours. 
 Is he not loyal to his master ? " 
 
 " IS"© more loyal than I am, Signor, although, like 
 him, I was bom on the villain's estates. Shall I tell 
 you why ? When Stepan was a youngster, before thia 
 terrible deafness came upon him, he was in love with 
 my sister. You can now understand that he hates 
 ZourofF with only a few degrees less hatred than my- 
 self." 
 
 " It is quite intelligible, Ivan. Please go on." 
 
 " Now I am getting to the point where you come 
 in," explained the outlaw. The four patient men 
 were still watching the prolonged interview, with their 
 pistols ready to be discharged at a moment's notice, 
 should this burly stranger show any suspicious move- 
 ment. 
 
 " These men conduct their conversation in French ; 
 that much Stepan knows. On the nights of these as- 
 semblies, both the vestibule and inner chamber are 
 rery dimly illuminated. Stepan could manage to 
 hide me there to overhear. But, as you know, Signor, 
 I speak French very imperfectly myself and it would 
 be impossible for me to follow them. I often have to 
 ask you to repeat your words slowly, to catch the 
 sense." 
 
 Corsini admitted that it was so. 
 
 " !Now, Signor, here comes the strange thing, a co- 
 incidence that must have been fashioned by Provi- 
 dence to direct our ends. In a dim light, you and 
 Stepan are as alike as two peas; it was this resem- 
 blance that put the idea into my head. I will not
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 203 
 
 say that in the hroad daylight the difference between 
 you might not be discernible." 
 
 Corsini drew a deep breath. He was beginning to 
 have an idea of the scheme which had worked in 
 Ivan's cunning brain. " You want to dress me up as 
 Stepan, put me in his place, and overhear what they 
 are plotting, so that I can communicate it to the 
 police? " 
 
 " Precisely, Signor. Is it not a great idea ? " 
 
 " It sounds pretty well, my friend, but there are 
 one or two little things that might confound your 
 scheme. Has it occurred to you that, since the 
 Prince might communicate with me by signs, I might 
 not be able to understand the alphabet." 
 
 " I have arranged for all that, Signor," replied the 
 big man, who was pretty full of resource. " There 
 13 a fair-sized cupboard in the vestibule in which 
 Stepan can hide himself while you are listening. 
 You pull open the cupboard and he can change places 
 with you when you please. You can do this as often 
 as you like in the twinkling of an eye." 
 
 Corsini smiled. " Admirably thought out, Ivan, 
 but there will be no need. I know the alphabet per- 
 fectly ; I learned it when a boy, and since my short 
 sojourn here I have picked up a fair amount of Rus- 
 sian. Of course Zouroff speaks Russian to Stepan." 
 
 The outlaw smiled gleefully. " No, Signor ; every- 
 thing, I see, is working most smoothly for our plans. 
 Zouroff had the boy very well educated ; he can speak 
 French as well as you can, and the Prince always ex- 
 presses himself to him in that language."
 
 (I 
 
 204 • THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 " Then all should go very smoothly, Ivan. When 
 do you want me to take up my role; in other words, 
 when does the next meeting at the villa take place ? " 
 
 " To-morrow night or the night after, I cannot he 
 sure. But I shall hear from Stepan to-morrow, who 
 will be informed by Madame Quero. I will send you 
 round a note to your hotel," answered the outlaw. 
 And at what hour do they assemble ? " 
 Shortly after midnight, Signor. Here, by the 
 way, is a list of the names which you might like to 
 show. I take it, after our conversation, you will go 
 at once to General Beilski and tell him what you have 
 learned." 
 
 Corsini nodded. It was not, however, his idea to 
 repair to that somewhat pompous functionary. He 
 proposed to seek the astute secretary, Golitzine, at his 
 own house ; failing that, at the Winter Palace. 
 
 " And you will not forget the free pardon, Signor, 
 for the poor outlaw who was driven to a life of crime 
 through the wrongs perpetrated upon him and his by 
 the Zouroffs, father and son." 
 
 " i^o, Ivan, I will not forget that. I shall also 
 press for a substantial reward, if things come off as 
 we hope. ISTow, supposing I want to communicate 
 with you? Will you let me have your address, or 
 not?" 
 
 Ivan pointed his hand in the direction of the four 
 waiting men. 
 
 " I am rather fearful of this sort of gentry, Signor, 
 as you can well imagine. But I trust you ; I proved 
 your metal that night when I found you in front of 
 the ikon. I know you will not betra;^ me. Still, do
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 205 
 
 not write to me unless absolutely necessary, and be 
 very careful of your messenger. Anyway, address 
 me under an assumed name." 
 
 He drew a dirty piece of paper out of his pocket 
 and scribbled upon it the address of his mean lodging, 
 in one of the commonest quarters of the town ; also 
 the assumed name by which he was to be addressed. 
 
 Corsini held out his hand. " Well, Ivan, if this 
 all turns out well, you will have more than repaid 
 your obligation. Good-night; I will get that free 
 pardon for you, rely upon it. I shall hear from you 
 to-morrow or next day at the latest." 
 
 He watched the big figure of the outlaw well out of 
 sight. Then he beckoned to the leader of the four 
 men. 
 
 " A most fortunate meeting," he said, in a cheerful 
 voice. " I am now going straight on to Count Go 
 litzine. I will try his house first"
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 But Golitzine was not at his house. Corsini ex- 
 changed a few words with the Countess, who informed 
 him that her husband was at the Winter Palace, 
 closeted wath the Emperor on important matters. 
 She did not expect him to return till very late. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances, Xello would have 
 refrained from intruding himself on the Secretary 
 when engaged with his Imperial Master, but the in- 
 formation which Ivan had given him was genuine: of 
 that he felt assured. 
 
 Delay might be dangerous. The failure of Zou- 
 roff's scheme to entrap the young director, the knowl- 
 edge that there must have been treachery amongst 
 his associates, would render the Prince a verv des- 
 perate man. Whatever coup he meditated would be 
 brought off swiftly, before the other side had time to 
 strike. 
 
 He sent up a short note to Golitzine, stating that he 
 had come into the receipt of most important informa- 
 tion, obtained from a most unexpected quarter. 
 
 The Count showed the note to the Emperor, who 
 read it, and said immediately: 
 
 " Have him up at once and let us know what it is. 
 
 I have always had a notion that this young fellow 
 
 would be useful to us. I believe he is born to be 
 
 lucky himself and to bring luck to those with whom 
 
 he is associated." 
 
 206
 
 THE INTRIGUEKS 207 
 
 So Corsini was shown at once into the august 
 presence. 
 
 The autocrat welcomed him most graciously. Any 
 protege of his staunch old friend and supporter, Sal- 
 moros, would have been sure of his good graces in any 
 case ; but he liked the young man personally, for his 
 modest, but assured bearing. And, moreover, Cor- 
 sini was free from the cringing arts of the profes- 
 sional courtier. In his demeanour there was proper 
 respect, but no servility. 
 
 " Welcome back to St. Petersburg, Signor. I hear 
 you have had a trying time. I have had a full report 
 of the occurrence from the Count and General Beilski. 
 I hope it will not be long before we give you your re- 
 venge." 
 
 " I am in hopes that very shortly I may take a 
 hand in that revenge myself, your Majesty," answered 
 the young Italian with a low bow. " Something very- 
 extraordinary has happened to-night. I was taking 
 one of my evening strolls, shadowed by men whom the 
 General has kindly instructed to look after my safety, 
 when I was accosted by a man whom I met under 
 strange circumstances, on my first entrance into this 
 country." 
 
 " His name ? but perhaps we don't know him," in- 
 terrupted tlie Count. 
 
 Corsini looked a little troubled. He remembered 
 his promise to the outlaw. He must secure that free 
 pardon in advance. 
 
 " May I first be permitted to retail to your Majesty 
 and your Excellency the information he gave me ? " 
 
 "We are in your hands, Signor Corsini," answered
 
 208 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 the Emperor graciously, and the Count nodded his 
 head in assent. 
 
 Briefly the young man told them what Ivan had 
 communicated to him — the secret meetings of cer- 
 tain well-known nobles, whose names he imparted, at 
 the villa of Madame Quero ; the attendance in the ves- 
 tibule of the deaf servant, Stepan, whom he almost 
 exactly resembled ; the suggestion that he should take 
 Stepan's place and listen to the conversation of the 
 conspirators, whose chief was Prince ZourofF. He 
 added that the next meeting would be to-morrow 
 night, or, at latest, the night after. 
 
 " It will be to-morrow night, of that we may be 
 certain," said the Emperor in a decided tone, when 
 the young man had finished. " Zouroff cannot be 
 very happy at the present moment, after the failure 
 of his attempt to put the Signer out of the way. He 
 is also pretty certain to know that General Beilski has 
 visited his sister; that fact will give him some food 
 for thought. Besides, although these two scoundrels, 
 whom we have secured, have not confessed yet, at any 
 moment they may open their mouths to denounce him. 
 If Zouroff has got his plans pretty well matured, he 
 will strike with as little delay as possible. Do you 
 agree, Count ? " 
 
 The Count agreed, and then addressed Corsini. 
 
 " And now. Signer, I think it is time you gave us 
 the name of this mysterious informant. I do not 
 know whether his action is dictated by loyalty, or the 
 hope of reward. But anyway, he must be rewarded, 
 and handsomely too." 
 
 The Emperor concurred warmly. "Whoever
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 209 
 
 serves us will not find us niggardly or ungrateful," 
 lie said. 
 
 " Alas ! I have great hesitation in mentioning it to 
 your Excellency, for my strange friend is by no means 
 an estimable person. Speaking plainly, he is a male- 
 factor, and has escaped from the mines of Siberia." 
 
 " In other words, the price of this very important 
 information is a handsome reward and a free pardon. 
 Well," the Count looked towards the Emperor, " I 
 suppose I have your Majesty's permission to promise 
 both." 
 
 " We do not go back on our word," was the auto- 
 crat's grave answer. " A deed like this, performed 
 from whatever motive, purges his offences, whatever 
 they may be." 
 
 And then, reassured, Corsini gave the name. " A 
 big, bearded man, bom on the Prince's estates, known 
 as Ivan the outlaw, nicknamed Ivan the Cuckoo." 
 
 " I know of him by reputation — a desperate fel- 
 low, according to his record," remarked the Count. 
 " And how did you first become acquainted with him. 
 Signer Corsini ? But if you prefer to keep it a se- 
 cret, I will not press the question." 
 
 Corsini took advantage of Golitzine's generosity. 
 He did not want to confess that he had helped a no- 
 torious criminal to escape from justice. " I think I 
 would prefer to guard it as a secret, your Excellency, 
 since you give me permission to do so." 
 
 " Yet, if I may venture to relate a little history to 
 you," he added a moment later, " I think I might 
 be able to convince you that this wretched man, brutal 
 and degraded as he became, was more sinned against
 
 210 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 than sinning." In a few words he told him of the 
 offences of the Zouroffs, father and son, against the 
 outlaw's family. 
 
 The Count made no comment. After a few mo- 
 ments he rose, to intimate that the interview was at 
 an end. 
 
 " With your assistance, Signor — I am, of course, 
 assuming that the scheme will go through as this un- 
 fortunate man has planned — I think and hope we 
 shall soon get the evidence we want. I fear I cannot 
 give you any more time now, as his Majesty has still 
 some very important matters to discuss with me. By 
 the way, I know that General Beilski is sending for 
 you early to-morrow morning, as he has something of 
 importance to communicate to you. I shall have an 
 interview with him also, but in case you see him first, 
 tell him everything you have told us. He may be 
 able to assist your plans. You will, of course, re- 
 port to us as soon as you have discovered anything.' 
 
 Corsini promised that he would. He had a strong 
 presentiment that his changing places with the deaf 
 Stepan would be productive of stupendous events. 
 
 On arriving back at his hotel, he found a sealed 
 note from the General, summoning him to his office at 
 an early hour the following morning. 
 
 " I have not been idle since we last met, Signor," 
 was Beilski's greeting. " I have no doubt I have got 
 to the bottom of your affair. I will give you just an 
 outline of how I propose to act." 
 
 But here Nello broke in. " Excuse me a moment, 
 your Excellency, but before you enter into this mat-
 
 THE lIsTKIGUERS 211 
 
 ter, may I put a question to you ? Have you seen or 
 heard from Count Golitzine between now and last 
 night?" 
 
 The General answered in the negative. " It is now 
 only nine o'clock; there has not been much time. 
 Why do you ask ? " 
 
 The young man explained. " Late last night I 
 went to see the Count, whom I found closeted with 
 his Majesty. My reasons for disturbing him at such 
 a moment were of the greatest urgency. As I left he 
 told me you would be sending for me, and that if I 
 saw you first I was to tell you everything that I had 
 told to him and the Emperor." 
 
 Eor the second time he related in full the details of 
 that momentous interview with Ivan the outlaw. 
 
 The General smiled triumphantly when the narra- 
 tive was concluded. " So this fellow has been lying 
 hid in St. Petersburg all this time, has he ? Well, I 
 think my spies ought to have hunted him out. Still, 
 as it turns out, it is better they didn't. Desperado 
 and robber as he has been, I frankly admit he has 
 fully earned the free pardon which you were shrewd 
 enough to get for him." 
 
 He mused a few moments before he proceeded. 
 " The information you have given me may materially 
 alter our plans. I cannot decide positively till I have 
 talked with his Excellency. But I doubt if we shall 
 move till we get some positive information from you. 
 In the meantime, I will tell you to what extent I have 
 unravelled the plot against yourself." 
 
 Needless to say that Nello was all attention. ' He
 
 212 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 had his own suspicions, which were very close to the 
 truth, but Beilski was prohablj on the track of the 
 truth itself. 
 
 " On the afternoon of the day that you were kid- 
 napped, I received a letter couched in cautious and 
 guarded language to the effect that a carriage, starting 
 from St. Petersburg somewhere about midnight or 
 later, would halt at Pavlovsk. There was a plot on 
 hand to deport a certain person well known in artistic 
 circles. That person would be found in the carriage 
 when it stopped at the first stage on the road to 
 Moscow." 
 
 Kello shuddered. How well he recalled the inci- 
 dents of that memorable evening — the Prince's ap- 
 parent cordiality, the Princess's almost officious offer 
 of a carriage to convey him home, the short walk 
 through the silent streets, the sudden appearance out 
 of the dark of the four sinister figures, the waking in 
 a room of the little country inn. 
 
 " There was a certain significance in the fact that 
 the writer of that anonymous letter, evidently a 
 woman, had not told us where the carriage was to start 
 from. It was evident that while she wished to pro- 
 tect the victim, she also wanted to shield, so far as she 
 could, the perpetrators of the outrage." 
 
 " It was Madame Quero who wrote that letter? " 
 suggested Nello quickly. 
 
 " 'No, my friend, it was not, although it would be 
 quite correct to say that she was the cause of that let- 
 ter being written. Of course, I had no clue ; the note 
 was left by a young woman whom the porter took 
 verv little notice of: he was not at all sure that he
 
 THE INTKlGUEliS 213 
 
 would remember her. That night I was dining with 
 the Count — of course, treating the note as a genuine 
 one, I had already acted upon it and despatched the 
 police to Pavlovsk. Just as I was about to leave, a 
 sudden idea occurred to me to show it to Golitzine 
 and ask him if he could help me. His Excellency is 
 a very wonderful man. Above all men that I have 
 met, he possesses, in the highest degree, the qualities 
 of genius and intuition." 
 
 Beilski was not a man who underrated himself, but 
 he was not mean or petty. In this particular matter 
 he was disposed to give to the Count all the credit 
 that was his due, even although it compelled him to 
 play second fiddle. 
 
 " With the rapidity of lightning, he jumped at the 
 conclusion that you were the person threatened. We 
 made sure that you were neither at the Zouroff Palace, 
 where you had told him you were going to play, nor at 
 your hotel. Surmise, under such circumstances, be- 
 came certainty. The rest you can guess almost your- 
 self." 
 
 " All the same, I would like you to tell me, Gen- 
 eral," said Corsini. 
 
 " The letter served its purpose admirably," pursued 
 General Beilski. " You were rescued and brought 
 back to St. Petersburg, One significant fact you re- 
 vealed to us was that La Belle Qucro had strongly 
 dissuaded you from playing at the Palace. Another 
 one, equally significant in our eyes, was that the Prin- 
 cess Nada had urged you not to walk home that night. 
 We put two and two together." 
 
 " The letter, then, might have been sent by either
 
 214 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 of the two women ? That, I take it, is your Excel- 
 lency's meaning? " commented IsTello. 
 
 " Precisely. I had the two maids brought before 
 me. The singer's I soon dismissed. She did not 
 correspond in the slightest degree to my porter's 
 rather hazy recollections of the young woman who 
 had brought the note. The second shot was more 
 successful." 
 
 " The maid of the Princess l^ada, of course ? " 
 
 " Yes, a slim young thing — I forgot to say the 
 other was short and plump — frightened out of her 
 wits by the sudden turn of events. Terrified by my- 
 self, the forbidding aspect of her surroundings, the 
 unknown terrors of the law, she made no pretence of 
 a fight. She fell upon her knees, imploring my 
 clemency." 
 
 " So it was the Princess Nada who sent that note 
 with the object of saving me ? " asked Nello. There 
 was a very tender look in his eyes as he spoke her 
 name. 
 
 " I have known the Princess N^ada from her child- 
 hood," said Beilski, speaking with some emotion. 
 " Her mother, father, and I were of the same genera- 
 tion. The Princess ZourofF is a sweet woman — 
 generous, kind-hearted, charitable; the daughter is 
 the same. The old Prince was a rufiian in every sense 
 of the word — drunken, dissolute, vicious. The son 
 is a rufiian also, but he has missed a few of the pater- 
 nal vices. He is not a confirmed drunkard, although 
 he takes more than is good for him, as is well known to 
 his family and his intimates. And he is only mod-
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 215 
 
 erately dissolute. He has one superiority over his 
 father : he has got brains and ambition." 
 
 "' How did such a fair flower spring from such a 
 contaminated soil ? " asked Corsini wonderingly, 
 
 Beilski shrugged his shoulders. " Who can tell ? 
 A freak of nature, I suppose. But remember the 
 mother is pure, and comes from a family without a 
 taint Well, to resume. When the maid had stam- 
 mered forth her confession, for an instant a horrible 
 suspicion assailed my mind. We know ZourofF to be 
 a traitor whom we have not yet succeeded in unmask- 
 ing. Was his innocent-looking sister involved in his 
 schemes ? " 
 
 Xello leaned forward in a state of agitation. For 
 an instant, on hearing that it was the Princess and 
 not La Belle Quero who had sent that letter, a siTnilar 
 doubt had occurred to him. 
 
 " I took the bull by the horns. I sent a message 
 by the maid that I would call upon her mistress that 
 same day, that she was to inform her of what she had 
 confessed." 
 
 " And you went and interviewed the Princess ? " 
 asked Corsini. 
 
 " Yes ; fortunately I found her alone ; her mother 
 was in bed with a feverish cold. She was nervous 
 and agitated, as was to be expected, but one moment's 
 glance at her face convinced me that she was no guilty 
 woman, enmeshed with her own consent in her broth- 
 er's vile schemes." 
 
 The young man drew a deep breath of relief. He 
 had always held the highest opinion of her character.
 
 216 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 There would be some satisfactory explanation forth- 
 coming of her actions. 
 
 A little note of pomposity and self-congratulation 
 crept into Beilski's voice. " I need hardly tell you 
 that an innocent and inexperienced girl like this was 
 as wax in my hands. With a woman of Madame 
 Quero's experience, my task might have been more 
 difficult." 
 
 " I can quite believe it," murmured Corsini. 
 
 " In five minutes I had the whole truth out of her. 
 Well, perhaps, not quite the whole truth," admitted 
 the General reluctantly, " for, woman-like, although 
 she has no love for her brother, she did not want to 
 give him away, to render certain the punishment 
 which he richly deserves." 
 
 " And her story, your Excellency ? " asked the 
 young man eagerly. 
 
 " Briefly it was this. Madame Quero called upon 
 her to report that there was a plot to decoy you and 
 convey you to an unknown destination — she did not 
 know, or pretended she did not know, your ultimate 
 fate, neither did she know where the carriage was to 
 start from; she was only sure that the first stoppage 
 was to be at Pavlovsk. This of course was Nada's 
 version. It at once occurred to me that these ladies, 
 if they knew so much, would know a little more. 
 They were not both of them ignorant, but, of course, 
 one might be. Which was the ignorant one ? " 
 
 " The Princess, of course," said Corsini at once. 
 ^' La Belle Quero knew where the carriage started 
 from, but did not want to implicate Zouroff, as it was
 
 THE INTEIGUEKS 217 
 
 drawn up so close to his residence. She pretended 
 ignorance." 
 
 The General leaned back in his chair and laughed 
 genially. He was very pleased with himself, for what 
 he was about to relate was really his own master- 
 stroke. It owed nothing to the more inventive genius 
 of Golitzine. 
 
 " That is, of course, what would occur to you, what 
 would occur to, I dare say, ninety-nine persons out of 
 a hundred. I am the hundredth, and I have had 
 great experience." The General spoke with an air of 
 profound wisdom. " La Belle Quero had only cer- 
 tain suspicions, fostered by some random remark 
 dropped by Zouroff in a moment of intense rage and 
 irritation. As a matter of fact, she knew no details. 
 She did not know of a carriage at all, and conse- 
 quently she was ignorant of where it started from or 
 where it was going to." 
 
 " The Princess, then ! " interrupted ISTello, in 
 
 a voice of the most intense surprise. 
 
 " The Princess, then ! " repeated Beilski. 
 
 " I saw that poor little Nada's story was lame and 
 halting; of course I guessed the reason why. I 
 pressed her with the question why, if La Belle Quero, 
 from whom she got her information, knew where the 
 carriage was going to, she did not know where it 
 started from. Both her answer and demeanour were 
 too evasive to deceive me. I could not break her any 
 more on the wheel ; I saw she had had about as much 
 as she could stand. I selected another victim." 
 
 " Madame Quero, of course," cried Corsini.
 
 218 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 " Wrong again, my friend : you hare not yet quite 
 got the analytical faculty tlaat makes a great detective. 
 I had the maid before me again, this time more terri- 
 fied than before. If I had stretched her on the rack, 
 she could not have poured it forth more fully." 
 
 " And the outcome ? " was Corsini's eager question. 
 
 " What I had made up my mind v^as the fact. 
 ZourofP is not the man to impart the details of his 
 plans to any but his immediate instruments. He im- 
 parted them neither to Quero nor his sister." 
 
 He related to Corsini what the reader already 
 knows. The visit of the singer to the Princess, of 
 her suspicion that a plot wns on foot against the 
 Italian, of her suggestion that TsTada should institute 
 some inquiries in the Zouroff household, of the valet, 
 Peter's, confidence to Katerina, the Princess's swift 
 deductions from these revelations. 
 
 " I have gone farther," concluded the General. 
 " I have interrogated that scoundrel, Peter, as to 
 what he knows about his master's general projects, 
 and more especially your abduction. But I have not 
 given poor little Katerina away, or the young Prin- 
 cess. I have led him to infer that I was acting on 
 the confession of the two scoundrels we have got in 
 custody." 
 
 " And what attitude did he take? " 
 
 " At first, one of stupidity, complicated with sullen 
 defiance. But towards the end of the interview, I 
 could see that his heart was being softened. I told 
 him to consider it carefully, full confession and a 
 full pardon, or — the utmost rigour of the law." 
 
 " And he will at once tell Zouroff," suggested Cor-
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 219 
 
 sini. " That is, if he is really loyal to the Prince." 
 
 Beilski shrugged his shoulders. " He may and he 
 may not. I expect he will be thinking chiefly of his 
 own skin. On the other hand, ruffians like the 
 Prince have a remarkable knack of attracting loyalty. 
 At any rate, it does not matter. In a couple of days 
 I should have laid my hands on him for this matter 
 alone — I have no doubt they would have taken you 
 to some lonely place and finished you off — but I 
 shall wait, if necessary, a little longer for the report 
 of your visit to the villa. If that is what we expect 
 it to be, we will have done with this gentleman, once 
 and for all." 
 
 " Amen ! " cried Corsini fervently. In spite of 
 his English upbringing, he had in him the true spirit 
 of Italian revenge. He loved the Princess Nada, but 
 for her brother, who would have taken his life, he 
 had no mercy. 
 
 He walked home to his hotel, followed at an un- 
 obtrusive distance by his guards. His heart was 
 singing happily within him, as a result of his inter- 
 view with the bluff, but genial General. 
 
 He was grateful to La Belle Quero for her un- 
 selfish interference on his behalf: she had braved 
 detection, Zouroff's vengeance, on his account. 
 When his lips were unsealed he would express to the 
 singer his thanks. 
 
 But it was the Princess who had more fully 
 schemed and plotted, sot to work her woman's wit, 
 and ultimately triumphed on his behalf. Was it duo 
 to a kind pure woman's compassion only, or — de- 
 licious thought — was she attracted to him as he was
 
 220 THE INTEIGUEKS 
 
 to her? Was it love that had stimulated her brain, 
 urged her to that desperate measure of the anony- 
 mous note to the Chief of Police ? 
 
 A letter was handed to him by the hall-porter as 
 he entered the hotel. He was told that it had been 
 delivered by a shabbily-dressed man, who would not 
 wait for his return. 
 
 It was from Ivan, no longer an outlaw, and ran as 
 follows : 
 
 " Come to my lodging with your guards at twelve- 
 thirty to-night. The meeting is an hour later. I 
 will give you full instructions. Your Friend."
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Petee the valet was a man of criminal instincts, 
 cunning, avaricious, and unscrupulous. Perhaps his 
 sole remaining qualities were his devotion to his mas- 
 ter, Zouroff, and his ardent love for the Princess's 
 maid, Katerina. 
 
 His interview with the formidable and awe-inspir- 
 ing Beilski had shaken him considerably. His faith 
 in Zouroff was great, but in that brief conversation 
 he had begun to realise the sinister power of the po- 
 lice, at which body, the Prince, in his arrogance, was 
 wont to snap his fingers. 
 
 He returned home full of thought and much per- 
 turbed. He had already determined in his own mind 
 the cause of the failure to remove Corsini. In an 
 unguarded moment, he had revealed to Katerina cer- 
 tain facts about a travelling carriage whose first 
 stoppage was to be at Pavlovsk. Katerina had 
 blabbed all this to somebody. 
 
 But, until his interview with Beilski, he had been 
 content to let matters stand where they were. It did 
 not greatly concern him that Corsini had been res- 
 cued and was back again in St. Petersburg. His 
 master would never suspect him: he would rather 
 suspect one of the four other men of having given it 
 away, for the sake of the reward that he would claim. 
 
 So reasoned Peter in his narrow, but cunning brain. 
 
 221
 
 222 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Therefore, for many reasons, he did not tax Katerina 
 at once with the betrayal of his misplaced confidence. 
 Beilski's threat set his thoughts working vigor- 
 ously in the direction of self-preservation. He was 
 devoted to the Prince, but he was still more devoted 
 to himself. If he could have saved Zouroff, he 
 would, but that seemed impossible, the Police knew 
 too much. But he could save himself by telling what 
 he knew. It was necessary therefore to earn that 
 free pardon. It was only a matter of hours before he 
 would go to the General and make a full confession. 
 It hurt him very much that he should crown so 
 many years of fidelity with such a black act, but it 
 seemed a question of sauve qui peut. Loyal as he 
 had been to his master, he knew enough of his charac- 
 ter to be sure that the Prince, in a similar emergency, 
 would have thrown him, and a dozen like him, to the 
 wolves in order to purchase a moment's respite. 
 Why should he pursue a different policy ? 
 
 Beilski had promised a free pardon, and also not 
 to implicate him in the transaction. Still Zouroff 
 was a man of extraordinary shrewdness, and when 
 he began to work it out in his mind, might quickly 
 focus his suspicions in the right direction. 
 
 How to avert Zouroff's suspicions from himself! 
 That was the question. His narrow, but cunning 
 brain bent itself upon this for some time. At the 
 end of his cogitations, he sought Katerina, and 
 bluntly taxed her with the betrayal of his confidence. 
 At first, Katerina, with the natural adroitness of 
 her class and sex, protested indignant denial ; she 
 vowed that she had forgotten the incident altogether.
 
 THE INTIUGUERS 223 
 
 " You are lying," said her lover sternly. " If you 
 do not confess this instant, I will take you to the 
 Prince himself, and he will wring the truth out of 
 you." 
 
 Katerina's face went white. She had been very 
 frightened at Beilski, but her terror of Zouroff was 
 greater even than her fear of the Head of the Police. 
 If she saw him in one of the corridors, she would 
 scuttle away like an alarmed rabbit. If he came into 
 her young mistress's room, she was agitated till he 
 was gone. 
 
 In a few moments, what with her fear of Zouroff 
 and her genuine love for Peter, the" artful valet had 
 her reduced to a state of tears. It was not long be- 
 fore he forced out of her everything he wanted to 
 know. How she had conveyed the information to the 
 Princess, how she had taken her mistress's note to 
 Beilski, how, later on, she had been summoned to 
 the presence of that formidable person and confessed 
 much as she was doing now. 
 
 Peter uttered no word of reproach ; the time of 
 reproaches was past; but he saw clearly that the 
 game was up, so far as the abduction of Corsini was 
 concerned. The sooner he made a clean breast of it 
 to Beilski, the better. At the same time, he wanted 
 to throw suspicion upon somebody else. 
 
 He loved Katerina genuinely, too well to harm a 
 hair of her head, even to save himself. In this re- 
 spect he was several degrees better than his master, 
 who would have sacrificed the whole world for such 
 a laudable purpose. 
 
 And to the charming young Princess, -with her
 
 224 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 gracious ways, her sweet friendliness to all, lie was 
 also strongly attached. He would not harm a hair 
 of her head, if he could help it. But still, his first 
 instinct was for self. 
 
 Besides, if he gave them away, he would be giving 
 himself away, also. What these two women knew, 
 mistress and maid, they must have learned from some 
 member of the Zouroif household. 
 
 Was there any member of that household, except 
 himself, who had foreknowledge of the Prince's 
 plans ? He was inclined to doubt it. Confidants he 
 must have, when engaged in so many dark schemes, 
 but Zouroff chose as few as possible. Yet, and yet 
 — if only he could throw suspicion in a likely quar- 
 ter, on somebody else ! 
 
 Katerina, embarked on the full tide of confession 
 and genuinely alarmed for her lover's safety, babbled 
 on artlessly. Peter had drawn a gloomy picture of 
 the vengeance he might expect at the hands of his 
 master for that innocent gossip of a few moments, 
 when discovery came home to him, as it was sure to 
 do. In her revelations she let fall the fact that the 
 celebrated Madame Quero had paid a visit to the 
 Princess, during her brother's temporary absence. 
 
 Peter pricked up his ears at the information. He 
 knew full well the relations between the Prince and 
 the handsome singer. Here was a fact that might 
 be turned to his advantage. Madame Quero, he felt 
 assured, participated in all her lover's secrets. 
 
 " Have you any proof of that ? " he asked eagerly. 
 
 Katerina opened wide her tear-dimmed eyes. 
 " Proof ? Do you doubt my word ? Why, she gave
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 225 
 
 me her card, and the Princess handed it me back and 
 told me to return it to her, with her excuses for not 
 receiving her. I did not like to be so rude, and I 
 put it in my pocket." 
 
 " Have you still got that card, Katerina ? " ques- 
 tioned the valet anxiously. 
 
 " Of course I have. I kept it as a souvenir. I 
 regard her as a very distinguished person, and I hear 
 she came from our own class. The Princess, of 
 course, looks upon her as the dirt under her feet, but 
 in her position there is no blame, perhaps, for her 
 doing that." Thus poor Katerina, divided between 
 loyalty to her young mistress and admiration for the 
 beautiful woman who had overcome such formidable 
 obstacles. 
 
 The artful valet put his arm round her waist and 
 imprinted a fond kiss on her pretty cheek. 
 
 " Katerina, my little sweetheart, I think you will 
 admit you owe me some amends for your foolish in- 
 discretion. Give me that card, and we will cry quits. 
 But not a word to the Princess. But I forgot. You 
 cannot tell her ; you ought to have returned it to 
 Madame Quero." 
 
 Katerina was glad to be reconciled to her lover on 
 such cheap terms. Eive minutes later, the card of 
 La Belle Quero was in Peter's hands. 
 
 And then Peter thought long and cunningly. He 
 had made up his mind to betray his master — it was 
 a matter of necessity — but he was very particular 
 that his master should not know by whom he was be- 
 trayed. There was Fritz, the German, one of the 
 four men implicated in the abduction of Corsini.
 
 ^226 THE INTRIGUEKS 
 
 Fritz was always a shifty person, ready to sell himself 
 to the highest bidder. Peter felt assured that Zour- 
 ofFs suspicions were already centred on Fritz. He 
 was one of the two men who had escaped, no doubt 
 with the connivance of the police; anyway, that would 
 be Zouroff'g view. 
 
 The possession of Madame Quero's card had sug- 
 gested new lines of thought. Of course, Peter did 
 not know to what extent the beautiful singer was in 
 the Prince's confidence. Here, naturally, he was 
 groping wildly in the dark. But the more he diverted 
 Zouroff's attention from himself on to other people, 
 the better. 
 
 In divulging what he proposed to do to the Prince, 
 it was more than probable that he would implicate the 
 young Princess JSTada. And Peter had a very soft 
 spot in his heart for her. Still, it was simply a ques- 
 tion of saving himself. If Zouroff saw red and laid 
 all about him, as it were, !N'ada must protect herself. 
 Even a ruffian like Zouroff would exercise some com- 
 punction when his sister was in question. With re- 
 gard to La Belle Quero, who had, at times, treated 
 him a little disdainfully, with the slight arrogance of 
 a person who had emerged from his own class into a 
 superior one, Peter felt no qualms. The Prince and 
 she could adjust their own differences at the proper 
 time and hour. 
 
 Later on, he approached Zouroff with his fawning 
 and cringing aspect, and handed him Madame Quero's 
 card. 
 
 " You know that my eyes and ears are always open
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 227 
 
 in your Excellency's service," he whined. " That is 
 what I have found." 
 
 Zouroff's face grew as hlack as thunder as he read 
 it. " She has been here, then. To see whom ? " 
 
 Peter shrugged his shoulders. He wanted to be as 
 nou-committal as possible. " That I cannot tell. 
 Your Excellency may guess better than I." 
 
 The Prince looked at him long and intently. 
 Peter was a very cunning rogue ; that he knew full 
 well ; but he was the last man he was inclined to sus- 
 pect. 
 
 " How did you come into possession of this ? " he 
 thundered. 
 
 But Peter was determined not to implicate his 
 sweetheart, Katerina. In this respect he was a 
 slightly better man than his master. 
 
 " Your Excellency will excuse me ; my lips are 
 sealed. One must be faithful to one's comrades. 
 There are wheels within wheels, as you well know." 
 
 The Prince nodded. He knew Peter well. In 
 many ways he was docile and obedient, but it was 
 always politic not to push him too far ; on such occa- 
 sions the valet was apt to take on a spirit of sturdy 
 independence which his master was compelled to 
 respect. Wild horses would not draw from him how, 
 or through whom, he had discovered that card. 
 
 " Leave me, Peter, if you please," commanded 
 Zouroff. " I must be alone to think this thing over, 
 since you say your lips are sealed." 
 
 He shook his fist angrily in the direction of the 
 retreating valet. " Ali, for my good old father's
 
 228 THE INTEIGUEKS 
 
 days," he murmured regretfully. " I would have 
 had it out of you with the knout then, my excellent 
 friend." 
 
 Left alone, Zouroff pondered out all these things 
 in his subtle brain. The treacherous Madame Quero 
 had come to the Palace, to seek whom, and to what 
 purpose ? 
 
 Rumour, gathered at the sage door, and in the more 
 intimate circles of the profession, averred that the 
 handsome singer was in love with Corsini. ' He had 
 also his impressions of his sister in connection with 
 the handsome young Italian. He had watched them 
 together in that prolonged conversation on the night 
 of the concert at the Zouroff Palace, on quitting which, 
 Corsini had been abducted. 
 
 Eapidly in his own mind, he reconstructed the se- 
 quence of events. Madame Quero was in love with 
 Corsini. He gnashed his teeth as he remembered he 
 had been fool enough to suggest to the Spanish woman 
 that Corsini must disappear. She had acted on that 
 hint and come straight to the Palace to invoke his 
 sister's assistance in rescuing Corsini. 
 
 His sister was in love with Corsini herself. The 
 two rivals had united to save their common lover, 
 and their measures had been well taken. The police 
 had met the carriage at Pavlovsk, rescued the drugged 
 and inanimate Director of the Imperial Opera, and 
 brought him safely back to St. Petersburg. And, in 
 the capital, so Zouroff was assured by his spies, he 
 was being safely guarded by Beilski's men. The 
 Government and the police were proving themselves
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 229 
 
 very cunning, almost as cunning as Zouroff himself. 
 
 So far he had reasoned things out very logically. 
 Now came the one thing for which he could not ac- 
 count. To La Quero he had given no details, and as 
 he had not given them to her, she could not communi- 
 cate them to his sister. Here was a final stop. 
 
 And yet, the carriage containing Corsini, drugged 
 and bound, had been surrounded at Pavlovsk by the 
 police. Somebody, then, had given information. 
 Who was that somebody ? 
 
 His suspicion fell at once on Fritz, the German, 
 chiefly, perhaps, because Fritz had been found guilty 
 of minor acts of disloyalty in previous transactions. 
 For a man of his acute intelligence, it was, perhaps, 
 a little surprising that he did not, at first hand, sus- 
 pect Peter. 
 
 But Peter had just disarmed his suspicions by 
 handing to him Madame Quero's card. Yes, Peter 
 was loyal, if every other person was tainted with 
 treacherv. 
 
 There emerged from his strenuous efforts to get 
 at the trutU some clear and certain facts, accord- 
 ing to his own deductions, which were, of course^ 
 erroneous. 
 
 Madame Quero had been informed by Fritz of the 
 actual facts: that Corsini was to be kidnapped just 
 outside the precincts of the Palace, that the carriage 
 was to stop on its first stage on the Moscow road at 
 Pavlovsk. 
 
 He had to admit that there were flaws in his rea- 
 soning. If Madame Quero had got this information 
 from Fritz, and she was resolved to save Corsini, she
 
 230 THE 1^'TEIGUERS 
 
 could have informed the police herself. Why had 
 she come to the Palace, to invoke the assistance of 
 Nada? 
 
 Pending his cogitations, he had recourse to stimu- 
 lants, as was his wont on such occasions. Amid the 
 fumes of alcohol he solved the problem, as he thought. 
 Quero, not wishing to appear herself, had made his 
 sister her instrument. He ground his teeth, and 
 vowed implacable revenge upon hie once sweetheart, 
 La Belle Quero. 
 
 But his anger against his sister was hardly less 
 burning. To think that this innocent young girl, 
 only just out of the schoolroom, should dare to thwart 
 his plans. 
 
 He burst into her sitting-room, his face red and 
 inflamed from his secret drinking. She recognised 
 the symptoms at once. He had one of his wild fits 
 of brutal and unreasoning rage. 
 
 He attacked her at once, in uimieasured language. 
 
 " You are a disgrace to your sex," he shouted 
 wildly, " a disgrace to the noble house of Zouroff, to 
 the name you bear." 
 
 The young Princess looked at him calmly and 
 steadfastly, with her clear gaze. He was a wild beast 
 at the moment — she saw that ; also gathered that he 
 had been drinking heavily. Wild beasts are some- 
 times tamed by the eye. She never took her glance 
 off him. 
 
 " Of what do you accuse me ? " she asked in cold 
 and cutting accents. " In what way have I, of all 
 the members of our family, disgraced the house of 
 Zouroff?"
 
 THE INTKIGUEES 231 
 
 The Prince spluttered forth his accusations. 
 " You hare disgraced yourself by falling in love with 
 a strolling player, that mountebank, Corsini." 
 
 Of course he was still master enough of himself not 
 to reveal all he knew, or thought he knew. 
 
 The Princess drew herself up haughtily. It was 
 not the first time she had encountered her brother in 
 this mood. 
 
 " I don't think you know what you are talking 
 about, Boris ; I can see your condition very plainly. 
 Signer Corsini is not a strolling player — that de- 
 scription applies to the destitute members of the thea- 
 trical profession. Corsini is a musician, an artist, 
 and the Director of the Imperial Opera. Think of 
 some other expression that will vent your rage and 
 spite, but don't call him ' a strolling player.' " 
 
 " But whatever he is, you love him," thundered the 
 Prince, now fairly consumed with rage. 
 
 The young Princess kept her temper, h^ tone waa 
 as cutting as before. 
 
 " You insult me with these questions," she said 
 calmly. " Return to me when you are sober and I 
 may perhaps be able to talk with you, reason with 
 you." She was thinking of a few hints dropped by 
 General Beilski f-u his brief visit to her. 
 
 " And if I do not choose to leave at your bidding," 
 retorted the Prince, in a jeering tone. " Suppose 
 I insist upon remaining and finishing our conversa- 
 tion!" 
 
 " In that case I shall leave the Palace for good." 
 And suddenly her woman's strength gave way, op- 
 posed to that of this resolute ruffian and bully. " If
 
 232 THE IISTTEIGUEES 
 
 our dear mother were here, you would not dare to stay 
 in this room a moment longer. You take advantage 
 of my weakness," she cried tearfully. 
 
 " Our dear mother," mimicked Zouroff, in mocking 
 accents. " You and your mother have always held 
 together against me ; you always held against my dear 
 father in the old days." 
 
 " Of whom you are a worthy son," flashed the 
 Princess, with an angry gesture. She had poignant 
 memories of those old days, when her mother had 
 suffered untold indignities at the hands of Prince 
 Zouroff the elder, indignities which had bitten into 
 the souls of both wife and daughter. Boris was the 
 only member of the family who reverenced the name 
 of his father, for the very simple reason that he par- 
 took of his worst qualities. 
 
 And then a softer mood came to her. After all, 
 he was her brother, son of the same kind, gentle 
 mother. She went across to him and placed a hand 
 upon his shoulder. 
 
 " Be reasonable, Boris, and prudent. I can guess 
 more than you think. I am sure you are playing a 
 very dangerous game. Be certain on your side that 
 your opponents are not stronger than you." 
 
 But Zouroff was in no mood to listen to the tender 
 expostulations of a woman, especially a woman whom 
 he despised as much as his sister, this frail girl who 
 took after her gentle mother, who had in her none of 
 the iron qualities of his brutal father. 
 
 He flung her aside, and spoke in a grating voice. 
 
 " You will leave the Palace, will you ? Yes, you 
 shall, but when and how I choose. There is your own
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 233 
 
 little comfortable Castle of Tcbernoif. Perhaps if I 
 sent you there, it might cool your hot blood." 
 
 The Princess flamed up. " You dare not think of 
 such a thing. Brute as you are, you would not dare 
 to do it." 
 
 "We shall see. Remember I am still your legal 
 guardian/' cried the Prince, with a mocking laugh, 
 as he left the room. 
 
 The interview had sobered him. All that was now 
 working in his mind was, first, a scheme of revenge 
 upon- La Belle Quero ; second, a milder scheme of re- 
 venge against his sister. 
 
 An hour later Peter, the valet, reported himself to 
 General Beilski and obtained his free pardon by a full 
 confession. And the General, waiting for further 
 developments, stayed his hand for the moment.
 
 CHAPTEK XXI 
 
 Needless to say that Nada was very miicli alarmed 
 by the threat which her brother had flung at her when 
 she spoke of leaving the Palace. She tried to reason 
 herself into the belief that her fears were groundless. 
 In their not infrequent quarrels he had more than 
 once threatened to lock her up in that gloomy castle in 
 order to bring her to her senses. 
 
 But nothing had ever come of it. He was hot- 
 headed and overbearing, but she did not believe him 
 to be vindictive. Of course, in forming this lenient 
 estimate of a character not to be very easily fathomed, 
 she was grievously mistaken. 
 
 To-day he was in one of his blind rages, and he 
 had, moreover, been drinking. At such times he was 
 not always responsible for either his words or actions. 
 In a few hours he would be his normal self, and his 
 senseless anger would have died down. 
 
 Still, she wished that she could take counsel with 
 somebody. She could not go to her mother. The 
 Princess's cold had been the precursor of an acute at- 
 tack of diphtheria of such an infections nature that 
 her chamber was barred to everybody except the nurse 
 and doctor. 
 
 Relatives, of course, ISTada had in abundance, but 
 
 she shrank from exposing her brother to these. He 
 
 was unpopular enough with his family as it was. 
 
 234
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 235 
 
 She could, of course, send round a note to Beilski, 
 informing him of her brother's threat and claiming 
 his protection; but, from the few hints the General 
 had dropped, she could see that he was already suf- 
 ficiently inflamed against Zouroff. She did not wish 
 to increase that resentment, unless it were absolutely 
 necessary. 
 
 But still she felt imperatively the desire to confide, 
 in somebody to hare disinterested counsel as to the 
 course she should pursue. 
 
 And suddenly the idea of Corsini occurred to her 
 mind. She knew, with the intuitive instinct of a 
 woman, that the young musician had fallen deeply in 
 love with her, that if for certain reasons he would 
 never go so far as to confess his love, she would ever 
 find in him a true and devoted friend. 
 
 When she had sent that letter to his hotel to make 
 sure that he had been safely brought back from Pav- 
 lovsk, he had forwarded her the piece of music she 
 had asked for, as an excuse for writing to him. 
 
 After the first few formal lines of his answering 
 note, he had vrritten some strange words — words 
 which evidently conveyed a deeper meaning than ap- 
 peared on the surface. She remembered them per- 
 fectly. 
 
 " I cannot express to you in grateful enough lan- 
 guage my thanks for all you have done for me. Later 
 on, perhaps, I may have the opportunity of rendering 
 them pei-sonally." 
 
 Grateful thanks for all she had done for him! 
 There was only one service she had rendered him 
 which could call for such warm expressions. But had
 
 23G THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 he been able to connect her with that ? Had he been 
 able to reason it out in his own mind that Zouroff 
 was the man who dcFired his removal? Or had he 
 learned it all from Beilski ? 
 
 She could not be sure. She had fenced as well as 
 she could with Beilski, but the fact that that carriage 
 had been drawn up within a few yards of the Palace 
 certainly supported the idea that the Prince was the 
 perpetrator of the outrage. Of course, she knew 
 nothing of the General's second interview with Kat- 
 erina ; the maid had thought it wiser to keep that to 
 herself. Neither did she know of the other interview 
 with Peter the valet. 
 
 Zouroff had gone out, leaving word that he would 
 not be home till late at night, very shortly after that 
 stormy scene between the pair. The coast was clear. 
 She would send round a note to Corsini asking him to 
 come and see her for a few moments. Her maid 
 would be waiting for him and would at once conduct 
 him to her boudoir. 
 
 She would then endeavour to find out how much 
 he knew; and if he had discovered the absolute truth, 
 then she would seek his counsel and advice. 
 
 Corsini went to the Palace at once, much as he dis- 
 liked entering the house of which the hateful and 
 treacherous Prince was master. 
 
 He could see that the young Princess was very agi- 
 tated as she greeted him. 
 
 " It is very kind of you to come so quickly, Signer. 
 What I really wanted to see you about was this. In 
 that letter you wrote me when you sent me that piece 
 of music I asked for, you made use of certain expres-
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 237 
 
 sions which I could not quite understand. You spoke 
 of mj having done you some service for which you 
 wished to express your thanks." 
 
 The Italian looked at her steadily and intently, but 
 in that deep gaze there was a very tender expression. 
 
 " Can you yourself recall no service that you have 
 rendered me, Princess ? " 
 
 So he knew. Of course, if he had not guessed of 
 his ovm volition, Beilski would have told him that she 
 had sent that letter of warning. 
 
 "Ah, I see you have found out," she faltered. 
 " Well, on the spur of the moment I did my best, and 
 I am glad that the result was so successful." 
 
 " I shall ever remember it with the deepest feelings 
 of gratitude," said the young musician fervently. 
 " It could have been no light matter for vou to act as 
 you did, to run the risk of being detected." 
 
 There was now no further need of fencing 
 on either side. " Signor, since there is now such a 
 frank understanding between us, I want to ask your 
 advice on a matter that is troubling me very much." 
 
 In tones of unmistakable sincerity he assured her 
 that his services were whole-heartedly at her disposal. 
 
 " My mother, alas ! cannot help me. She is so 
 seriously ill with diphtheria that we are forbidden 
 to go to her room ; only the doctor and the nurse are 
 allowed there." 
 
 Corsini expressed his deep regret at the Princess's 
 severe indisposition, l^ada resumed, in her soft, 
 musical voice : 
 
 " This morning my brother and T had a serious 
 quarrel." A vivid blush spread over her charming
 
 238 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 face as she recalled how the quarrel had begun with 
 his taunting her with her preference for the man 
 whom he called " a strolling player." 
 
 " We have had many quarrels in our time," she 
 explained. " He is violent and overbearing, and 
 breaks in the most ungovernable rages. At such 
 times, I think, he goes actually mad for the moment. 
 This particular quarrel, however, has left a deeper 
 impression than most. He has threatened to lock me 
 up in a gloomy old Castle in the Caucasus, as a pun- 
 ishment for my venturing to incur his displeasure." 
 
 " And is there any valid, or sufficiently appar- 
 ent, reason for his displeasure ? " asked Corsini. 
 " Or perhaps I am indiscreet in putting that ques- 
 tion." 
 
 " Oh, none at all," replied the Princess, with a re- 
 turn of that vivid blush ; " mere trifles that a less vio- 
 lent man would smile at. He has used this threat 
 once or twice before, but to-day he spoke as if he 
 meant it." 
 
 Corsini thought deeply before he answered. Had 
 Zouroff actually discovered the part she had played 
 in his rescue, and was this his revenge ? 
 
 " My advice. Princess, is to leave the Palace, and 
 either seek shelter with some relatives or claim the 
 protection of Golitzine and Beilski ; if necessary of 
 the Emperor himself. The Prince, you know doubt- 
 less, is not a favourite at Court." 
 
 "I know," said Nada quickly. "But think of 
 the awful scandal when all this is blazoned forth. 
 For my poor mother's sake I want to avoid that." 
 
 The Italian spoke very gravely. " The scandal will.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 239 
 
 of course, be regrettable. But compared with your 
 own safety, I should not give it a moment's consider- 
 ation." 
 
 He stood up, and his calm left him as he thought of 
 the danger she ran with this brutal brother, who 
 seemed capable of any villainy. 
 
 " You asked for my advice, Princess. I have given 
 it and repeat it. Leave this house at once and ac- 
 quaint Beilski with all you have told me." 
 
 " You mean leave it now — to-day ? " she faltered. 
 " And my poor mother lying so ill upstairs." 
 
 " That, of course, from what I know and can guess 
 of the Prince would provide him with an excellent 
 reason for carrying out his plans as quickly as possi- 
 ble," observed Corsini bitterly. 
 
 The poor young Princess seemed overwhelmed by 
 the position. She felt Corsini's advice was sound, 
 and yet she shrank from taking such a decided step. 
 The Prince had used a similar threat before, and 
 nothing had come of it. 
 
 " I think I will wait till I see him again to- 
 morrow," she said presently. " I shall know by his 
 mood if he has forgotten the incident. Nothing will 
 occur to-day. He has gone out, and left word that 
 he will not be home till late to-night." 
 
 Yes, he would be late home to-night ; Corsini knew 
 that for certain. He still persisted, however, in his 
 point." 
 
 " Delays axe dangerous, Princess. I will help 
 you any way you like. And it will be wise to take 
 advantage of his long absence to make your escape. 
 Tell me your destination, and I vnW myself bring
 
 240 THE mXRIGUEES 
 
 round a carriage to some quiet entrance where you 
 can slip out unobserved. I have not told you that I 
 go about with a bodyguard with which the General 
 furnished me. The carriage shall be told to go at a 
 walking pace. I and my attendants will keep it in 
 sight till you are safely at your destination." 
 
 She thanked him warmly, but still persisted that 
 she would prefer to wait till to-morrow. If she 
 changed her mind before the day was out, she would 
 slip out with her maid and take a passing conveyance. 
 
 Corsini took her hand and held it for a little time 
 in his, while he gazed earnestly into her troubled eyes, 
 from which she could with difficulty keep back the 
 tears. 
 
 " My heart bleeds for you, dear lady. I wish I 
 could convince you, and I hate to leave you here. 
 Will you let me know to-morrow to what course of 
 action you have made up your mind ? " 
 
 She promised that she would, and the young man 
 left her with feelings of dire foreboding. Please 
 Heaven, this night's work would turn out so well that 
 very shortly Zouroff would be rendered harmless and 
 impotent. To let him loose on the world was like 
 letting a wild and savage beast out of its cage. 
 
 The Prince did return to the Palace about the, 
 middle of the afternoon. Was his message, that he 
 would not be home till late at night, simply a blind to 
 lull his sister into a false sense of security ? He did 
 not go near her ; he went up to his own apartments by 
 a private staircase, only used by himself. 
 
 He summoned his valet, Peter, and gave him some 
 very minute instructions. Peter, knowing what was
 
 THE INTPJGUERS 241 
 
 in store for his truculent master, would have liked to 
 offer a little sensible advice, to dissuade him from the 
 course he was bent on pursuing. 
 
 But the habits of long obedience, the fear that if 
 he opposed him in the smallest detail he might draw 
 suspicion upon himself, weighed heavily on him. 
 Reluctantly he agreed to obey Zouroff's orders. 
 Later on, when Zouroff was caged himself, he might 
 be able to undo the mischief he had promised to abet. 
 
 The Prince stole out of the Palace as silently as he 
 had entered it. Nobody but Peter and another serv- 
 ant, as much in his confidence as the valet himself, 
 knew that he had been there. 
 
 It was a very busy day with him. A few more 
 hours should see the end of all this plotting and 
 scheming, should see his well-laid plans mature. The 
 thought of vengeance, and a sense of coming triumph, 
 induced in him a certain exultation which expressed 
 itself in his resolute glance, his assured bearing. He 
 made his way on foot to the villa of Madame Quero. 
 He had made up his mind to have a little reckoning 
 with her, in order to wind up his final accounts. 
 
 The beautiful singer received him graciously. A 
 woman of capricious moods, she had, for a brief space, 
 admitted to herself that she had not treated him 
 quite fairly, had been found lacking in the spirit of 
 trae comradeship. After all, Zouroff had loved her 
 in his rough, masterful way, and he had always been 
 generous. 
 
 She had played him false in this respect, that she 
 had allowed herself to be attracted by the handsome 
 young Italian, to the extent of thwarting the Prince's
 
 242 THE INTKIGUERS 
 
 plans in regard to him. And it was to no purpose. 
 Corsini was in love with the Princess ISTada, no doubt 
 a hopeless passion on his part. But he would never 
 give a thought to her save in the way of friendship. 
 And that was the last thing that the passionate heart 
 of the Spanish woman desired. 
 
 When, therefore, Zouroff entered her boudoir, in 
 apparently one of his best moods, she felt some of his 
 old attraction for her returning. She little knew 
 what deep anger against her was burning in his heart. 
 
 But he was a skilful diplomatist ; he showed noth- 
 ing of this. He kissed her fondly, with the warm 
 kiss of a man who hoped some day to make her his 
 wife. 
 
 " Ah, my dear sweetheart, how pleasant to see you 
 again ! " said the base hypocrite. " I have had a 
 busy day. Things are going well. It vnll not be 
 long before my utmost ambitions are realised." He 
 spoke confidently; he was ever an optimist, and he 
 believed in his own particular star. 
 
 La Belle Quero felt an inward qualm. Corsini 
 was nothing to her now. And, in that brief inter- 
 view with l^Tada, she had surmised, through all her 
 girlish dignity and reticence, that the Princess was 
 more than half in love with him. Otherwise, would 
 she have been so eager to save him ? 
 
 But if Zouroff triumphed, as he seemed to have 
 every hope of doing, the Italian's fate would be sealed. 
 And Le Belle Quero was sure she could not save him 
 a second time. The fates would not be propitious to 
 her again. 
 
 " Old friends are best, my dear," said the Prince
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 243 
 
 in his most agreeable tones, as he seated himself in 
 one of the luxurious easy-chairs and lighted a ciga- 
 rette. " Somehow a little cloud seems to have come 
 between us lately, I should like to remove it." 
 
 Madame Quero looked a little uneasy. She knew 
 full well to what he was alluding. Her obvious ten- 
 dresse for the young director had occasioned a good 
 deal of talk ; no doubt some of it had floated to Zour- 
 off's ears. 
 
 " Do not let us speak of clouds, Boris. We have 
 been long and good friends. Let us be good friends 
 again." 
 
 " With all my heart," responded the Prince, with 
 his most charming smile. " Well, I have come to 
 tell you I shall not be at the Opera to-night. I have 
 to see a great many people, make a great many ar- 
 rangements. I cannot tell you how sorry' I am ; I 
 know it is one of your great nights. But you under- 
 stand — business must always come before pleasure." 
 
 Madame assented good humoredly. " It has al- 
 ways been so with you, Boris, at any rate. You are 
 a great man in many ways, perhaps a little too opti- 
 mistic, a little too sure of yourself." 
 
 The Prince smiled his confident smile. " A pessi- 
 mist is not much good in this world, my dear. Be- 
 lieve in yourself and your star, and you will become 
 a leader of men." 
 
 " Perhaps," sighed Madame Quero. She was be- 
 ginning to bo very attracted to him again. He was 
 certainly in a most charmiug mood to-night ; she felt 
 herself carried back to the old days when she had 
 been infatuated with him, with his virility, his assur-
 
 244 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 ance, even the liint of that brutal strength which lay 
 at the back of his plausible exterior. 
 
 At length the Prince rose. " I wonder whether 
 you would do me a little kindness. It is a long 
 time since we had a meal together and I told them at 
 home I should not be back till late to-night, after 
 the meeting here. You have given instructions to 
 Stepan to be in readiness ? " 
 
 Yes, she had given instructions to Stepan. 
 
 " Then you will give me a little snack before you 
 start for the Opera ? No prolonged, heavy meal, we 
 have neither of us time for that, just something 
 light." 
 
 " But, of course, Boris. You are always welcome 
 to my hospitality, such as it is. You will be here an 
 hour before I have to start for the Opera ? " 
 
 The hypocrite bent low and kissed the hand she 
 extended to him. " I will be here on ihe tick of the 
 clock. Au revoir, my old sweetheart, who has come 
 back to me again." 
 
 He went out, intent on his dark schemes. He 
 plumed himself on the fact that he had played his 
 role quite well. And she, this treacherous woman 
 who had sold him on account of her sudden fancy for 
 Corsini, had also played her part perfectly. It was 
 diamond cut diamond, but he was sure he would cut 
 deeper of the two. 
 
 He was back to the minute. It was a light meal, 
 but Madame Quero, persuading herself that she was 
 happy in this sudden reconciliation, had provided him 
 some dainties that he was very fond of. Zouroff was 
 in the highest spirits; he praised everything, drank
 
 THE INTEIGUEES 245 
 
 her health several times in the excellent champagne 
 she had provided. The singer ate sparingly and 
 drank very little. It was a gala night at the Opera, 
 she had to be careful of her voice, of those liquid 
 notes which were presently to charm the house. 
 
 The moments lied swiftly, it was time for her to 
 start. Zouroff was going on foot to the house of a 
 fellow conspirator. 
 
 He bade her good-night, and carelessly drew a small 
 box from his pocket. " See, I did not forget you, 
 I have brought a box of your favourite chocolates." 
 He pointed with his finger to one. " See, here is 
 a fine fat fellow, I will take a smaller one." 
 
 La Quero could never resist chocolates. She took 
 the big one Zouroff pointed out to her and crunched 
 it in her even white teeth. The Prince laid the box 
 on the table. 
 
 " Good-night," he said. " There is no time to lose. 
 We are both a little late." He went out, with a 
 strange smile on his face. 
 
 Looking back to it in the happy after years, Cor- 
 sini always declared that of all days this had been 
 the most eventful day in his life. 
 
 At the hotel, on the previous evening, he had found 
 waiting for him the note from Ivan the Cuckoo, who 
 did not know at the time he despatched that missive 
 that he was a free man. Corsini, accompanied by his 
 faithful bodyguard, was to repair to Ivan's mean 
 lodging that night. 
 
 Nello was not without a spirit of adventure. He 
 was rather looking forward to what would happen at 
 midnight. He was to change places with Stepan,
 
 246 THE INTKIGUERS 
 
 lieavil}'- handicapped as to hearing and speech, and 
 listen to the conversation of the conspirators. 
 
 It was a gala night at the Opera. The Emperor 
 and his consort were to be there. On such ceremon- 
 ious occasions, Corsini was wont to conduct the or- 
 chestra himself, as a mark of respect to the autocrat. 
 The Opera given on this particular night was a fa- 
 mous masterpiece in those days, Rossini's " Semira- 
 mide." 
 
 It was a great house. The flower of Russia's nobil- 
 ity was gathered in the boxes and stalls of the vast 
 building, the men attired in immaculate costume, the 
 women radiant in their flashing jewels. In a far box, 
 Nello saw the charming young Princess with an eld- 
 erly friend, acting as her chaperon in place of her 
 mother. Evidently she had not taken his advice. 
 He cast a lightning glance around as he bowed to the 
 plaudits of the audience. He was looking for Zour- 
 off, but he could not see him. If the Prince was in 
 the crowded house, he had missed him. Certainly he 
 was not in the box where his sister sat. 
 
 He conducted the overture. In a few moments the 
 curtain would rise. Before he had got to the end of 
 the last few bars, there was heard a piercing scream, 
 the cry of a woman. It penetrated to every comer 
 of the building and created an uneasy feeling in the 
 audience. 
 
 Nello recognised the situation at once. He beat 
 with his baton on the desk and started the overture 
 again. Something had happened. He would know 
 in a few minutes.
 
 THE IXTRIGUEES 347 
 
 At last the curtain rose. The stage-manager, look- 
 ing very agitated, appeared. In a few brief sentences 
 he explained that Madame Quero had been attacked 
 with sudden indisposition ; that he must crave the 
 indulgence of the audience for her understudy, who 
 would take her place. 
 
 Corsini dared not leave his desk. On such a night 
 as this he could not affront his Emperor and this bril- 
 liant assemblage by deputing his task to a subordi- 
 nate. He went through the Opera with the conscien- 
 tious spirit of the artist. But all the time his 
 thoughts were dwelling on La Belle Quero, the woman 
 who had braved Zouroff's vengeance in order to save 
 him. 
 
 It was evidently a serious indisposition. K it had 
 been only a alight attack, the handsome singer would 
 have pulled herself together and appeared some time 
 in the course of the evening. With her jealous tem- 
 perament, she was not the woman to give an under- 
 study too big a chance. 
 
 At last the Opera was over, the brilliant crowd filed 
 out. Corsini went round to the wings to inquire after 
 La Belle Quero. One of his subordinates gave him 
 the information he sought. 
 
 " Madame Quero is very ill. Signer. The doctor 
 was called in. He did not seem quite able to diag- 
 nose her symptoms. Ho had her conveyed home and 
 consigned to the care of her own maid and her own 
 physician." 
 
 Corsini at once despatched a messenger to the villa, 
 with instructions to report to him at his hotel. The
 
 248 THE IIsTTRIGUERS 
 
 man came back with disquieting news. The singer 
 was still in a comatose state, and her life was de- 
 spaired of. 
 
 A swift thought swept through the Italian's mind. 
 Had Zouroff anything to do with this, apparently, 
 fatal illness? Had he discovered the part she had 
 played in his rescue ? 
 
 And a still more disturbing thought assailed him. 
 If the Prince had taken this swift vengeance on La 
 Belle Quero, it would not be long before he revenged 
 himself on Xada. If only he could have conveyed a 
 message to that box, to entreat her to fly before it was 
 too late! Zouroff was evidently a scoundrel of the 
 deepest dye who would stick at nothing. 
 
 But he could not act himself. Very shortly he 
 must go to the mean lodging of Ivan, and receive his 
 instructions as to taking the place of the deaf and 
 dumb Stepan. In a brief space he would be inside 
 that villa where the beautiful singer lay dying. 
 
 He did the best that presented itself to him. He 
 despatched a brief note to Beilski. 
 
 " Madame Quero attacked with sudden illness. It 
 is reported that she is dying. I have certain suspi- 
 cions of a person well known to us both. Please probe 
 the matter. I cannot go myself. You know where 
 I am due to-night." 
 
 A little later, Corsini, escorted by his vigilant 
 bodyguard, took his way to the mean quarter of the 
 town where Ivan was lodged.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 IvAisr met him in the doorway. " You are punc- 
 tual, Signor," he said, as he ushered him into the 
 shabby appartment. 
 
 " My friend, first of all, you are no longer an out- 
 law," cried Corsini cheerfully as he cast his glance 
 round the dingy room. " The Emperor himself has 
 graciously accorded a full and free pardon, and if this 
 night's work turns out well, there will be a very hand- 
 some reward in addition. So, you see, things are 
 marching." 
 
 The outlaw stretched his hands out, and for a mo- 
 ment it seemed as if he would dissolve in tears. 
 Then he recovered himself, and his voice rang out, 
 clear and firm. 
 
 " And, at last, Signor, I shall have revenge on 
 those who -^Tongcd me and my family." 
 
 " Say rather, Ivan, justice, not revenge," inter- 
 rupted the young Italian mildly. 
 
 " It is the same, Signor, is it not ? " cried Ivan. 
 He pointed with his finger to an inert figure in the 
 comer of the room, apparently inanimate. 
 
 " That is Stepan. I have given him a narcotic in 
 
 order to prevent accidents. He does not look at his 
 
 best at the moment. But just go and have a peep at 
 
 him and see the likeness to yourself." 
 
 Corsini crossed over the small room and looked at 
 
 249
 
 250 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 the prostrate form of the man, wrapped in a deep 
 slumber, and breathing heavily. Yes, Stepan might 
 have been his twin brother under normal conditions. 
 " The time is short," said the outlaw. " We must 
 make you look as like Stepan as possible, with regard 
 to the externals." 
 
 He went to the door and whistled softly. A small, 
 slouching man answered to the summons. 
 
 " Paul, my friend," said Ivan in an imperious tone, 
 " I have told you something of this affair. You have 
 got to convert this gentleman into the speaking like- 
 ness of our sleeping friend. Do your little tricks at 
 once." 
 
 The small, slouching man went to work immed- 
 iately. He stripped off the rough clothes from the 
 slumbering man in the corner, and signalled to Cor- 
 sini to divest himself of his own garments. In a 
 trice, Corsini was dressed in Stepan's habiliments. 
 He then proceeded to stain his face and hands. 
 
 When all this was finished, he drew back with a 
 sense of pardonable pride in his own deft handiwork. 
 " Mon Dieu! it is Stepan himself," he cried en- 
 thusiastically. 
 
 Corsini took a survey of himself in a small, cracked 
 mirror that hung in the shabby sitting-room. He 
 cast a further glance at the inert form lying in the 
 comer. Yes, in these rough clothes, with his face 
 and hands stained, he could well pass for Stepan him- 
 self in a dim and doubtful light. 
 
 " It is just about time," said Ivan, when these 
 preparations had been completed. " My friend Paul 
 will conduct you to the villa. There are seven win-
 
 THE liXTKIGUEES 251 
 
 dows on the ground floor, built very high. Under- 
 neath the fourth window the blank wall is of wood. 
 You can feel it. There is a small door with a key- 
 hole in the centre. Here is the key. Paul knows it 
 well ; he will lead you to it." 
 
 The small slouching man led Corsini to the villa 
 of Madame Quero. The four silent men followed in 
 their wake. Arrived at the villa, Corsini slipped 
 easily into the small vestibule to await the arrival of 
 the conspirators. 
 
 " You are well in time, Monsieur," whispered the 
 man, Paul, as he took his departure. " Do not an- 
 swer the bell too quickly ; watch its vibration before 
 you respond. You must remember that Stepan is 
 deaf. You will excuse me for giving you the hint." 
 
 Paul departed. The four guards scattered them- 
 selves in various directions, but always ready to asr 
 semble together if danger threatened the man they 
 were deputed to watch. 
 
 Corsini was alone in the little vestibule. He drew 
 aside the heavy velvet curtains and peered into the in- 
 ner room, a rather spacious chamber. This was very 
 dimly lighted, too. But evidently Madame Quero 
 had given her instructions. A cold supper was laid 
 out on the long table, wi^h several bottles of cham- 
 pagne. Upstairs, no doubt, she was lying between 
 life and death, no longer able to take part in these 
 festivities. 
 
 The bell vibrated. J^ello opened the door and 
 made a low obeisance. Two men came through the 
 narrow doorway. He recognised them at once : they 
 were two highly distinguished noblemen of the Eus-
 
 252 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 sian Empire. He had seen them several times at the 
 Opera. 
 
 The bell vibrated again and again. Eive more 
 men passed through, and last came the tall, command- 
 ing figure of Zouroff. 
 
 In the dim light the Prince made his signs, 
 " They are all here, Stepan ? " 
 
 And the supposed Stepan replied in answering 
 signs, " I think they are all here, Excellency." 
 
 Zouroff passed through the heavy curtains. Cor- 
 sini crouched behind and bent his ears to listen. 
 
 At first there was a confused babble of sounds. 
 Everybody seemed to be talking at once. But for- 
 tunately they were speaking in French and not in 
 Russian. It was easier for Corsini to catch what 
 they said. 
 
 A tall, bearded man was speaking. " This infer- 
 nal Corsini, for instance. No doubt he is in the pay 
 of Golitzine. We cannot remove him, it seems." 
 
 Zouroff took up the running. "I did my best, 
 you know, gentlemen; but he escaped me, and since 
 then Beilski has put a cordon round him that we 
 cannot break through." 
 
 " And yet Beilski is a fool," growled the bearded 
 
 man. 
 
 "I know," answered Zouroff. "Beilski is what 
 you say, but he has got Golitzine at his back, and Gol- 
 itzine has the intelligence of several monkeys. When 
 Beilski is in doubt, he goes to the secretary." 
 
 Another man spoke. " You know we have every 
 confidence in you. Prince ; but we all know of your 
 attachment to La Belle Quero — by the way, why is
 
 THE INTEIGUEliS 253 
 
 she not here to-night, to preside over our festivities ? " 
 
 Zourofi" spoke in a harsh, strained voice. " La 
 Belle Quero is ill, confined to her room. You have 
 probably not heard that she was attacked with sudden 
 indisposition at the Opera to-night, and that her un- 
 derstudy had to take her place." 
 
 None of the men had been at the Opera, they had 
 not heard. One or two indulged in expressions of 
 sympathy. 
 
 The bearded man, a powerful nobleman, only just 
 second to Zouroff himself in importance and length 
 of lineage, continued his remarks. 
 
 " I spoke just now of your well-known attachment 
 to La Belle Quero. Is it possible, Prince, that in 
 an unguarded moment, you may have dropped some 
 hints of your purpose to her ? I did not wish, for a 
 moment, to offend your amour pro pre, but rumour 
 has it that she is very much attracted by this hand- 
 some young Italian. It is strange that he should 
 have escaped you, who usually lay your plans so well." 
 
 Zouroff paused for a moment before he replied. 
 These men were as keen-witted as himself ; it was im- 
 possible to deceive them for long. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I will be quite frank with you. One 
 is always a fool where women are concerned. In a 
 moment of ungoverned temper, I did hint to Madame 
 Quero something that might have set her wits to 
 work, and she may have acted upon that." 
 
 " From her penchant for the Italian ? " suggested 
 the bearded man, who, privately, was not too fond of 
 the Prince, and always indulged in a pin-prick when 
 possible.
 
 254 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Zouroff flushed a deep red. It angered him deeply 
 that other persons should know Corsini had been pre- 
 ferred to him. 
 
 He looked round the assembly. He knew that the 
 bearded man was bidding for the leadership that had 
 been willingly accorded to himself. If his position 
 were menaced, he must recover it immediately, and 
 bv a bold stroke. 
 
 He surveyed the small knot of men, his bold bear- 
 ing and resolute demeanour at once challenging their 
 allegiance, and compelling it. 
 
 '' Gentlemen, I blench at nothing for the Cause to 
 which we are all devoted, to which we have dedicated 
 our lives and fortunes. On that occasion, I am con- 
 vinced that La Belle Qucro betrayed me. Well, she 
 will never betray us again. Madame La Quero's 
 hours are numbered. That is why she has not ap- 
 peared to-night." 
 
 The men whom he addressed were as hardened and 
 brutal as himself, with no respect for the sanctity of 
 human life ; but, as he spoke, a slight shudder went 
 through the assembly. La Belle Quero was so hand- 
 some, so popular; it seemed a thousand pities that 
 she should be done to death, even in the interests of 
 
 the Cause. 
 
 Zouroff spoke eagerly. At the moment he felt no 
 remorse for having compassed the death of his 
 former sweetheart with that poisoned chocolate. 
 Had she not insulted him by daring to look with fav- 
 ourable eyes on another man ? 
 
 " Gentlemen, it has ever been one of our fixed
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 255 
 
 rules that anybody who betrayed us, man or woman, 
 it matters not which, should pay the penalty of 
 death. If I betrayed you, I should not complain if 
 that law were put into execution against myself. La 
 Belle Quero betrayed us; she has paid the penalty." 
 
 Zouroff was logical. The sense of the assembly 
 was with him. The bearded man made a last effort 
 to wrest from him his supremacy, not on the score 
 of disloyalty, but for maladroitness in handling their 
 common affairs. 
 
 " I very much regret that Madame Quero should 
 have allowed her heart to govern her head. She was 
 a very charming woman," he said smoothly. " Do 
 you happen, by any chance, Prince, to have enemies 
 in your own household ? " 
 
 " Why do you ask me -that question ? " queried 
 Zouroff boldly. 
 
 " One of my spies told me that Beilski has paid 
 a recent visit to your sister, the Princess jSTada. 
 Beilski is not in the habit of paying afternoon calls. 
 Does the young Princess know anything ? " 
 
 Zouroff knew nothing of the visit of the General ; 
 it was news to him; but he grasped the situation 
 promptly. 
 
 " I have already provided against that, Count. 
 Her mother is in bed ; a feverish cold, as we thought 
 at first, has developed into diphtheria. I believe my 
 sister is quite innocent of any serious designs against 
 us, but it is always as well to be on the safe side." 
 
 The other men listened with the closest attention. 
 After all, Zouroff was the subtlest of them all. The
 
 256 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 bearded man maintained a sullen silence; he tad 
 given up all hope of rescuing the leadership of the 
 party from the resourceful Prince. 
 
 " My sister I shall send to the old Castle of Tcher- 
 noff and keep her there as long as it suits my purpose. 
 It is a veritable tomb, far away in the Caucasus. I 
 have arranged that she starts to-night. Our good 
 Stepan will later have his instructions. As he is 
 practically deaf and almost incapable of speech, he 
 can tell no tales. Besides, he is devoted to me." 
 
 Corsini, close up against the curtains, had listened 
 to all this with every nerve strained and his brain 
 working at high pressure. 
 
 He had learned two things of great importance. 
 ZourofF, in a roundabout way, had confessed to the 
 murder of La Belle Quero. Secondly, the Princess 
 was to be taken that night to this gloomy castle in 
 the Caucasus. And he, in his character of Stepan, 
 the man who could not hear and only speak with the 
 greatest difficulty, was to be an instrument in her 
 abduction. Here was food for thought. Oh, for 
 five minutes with that man of subtle brain and re- 
 source, Golitzine ! At such a moment, even the in- 
 ferior Beilski would have been welcome, even one of 
 the four men waiting outside! How could he save 
 the innocent young Princess from the vile schemes of 
 her remorseless brother ? A few minutes could alone 
 decide this momentous issue. Why had she not 
 taken his advice, proffered a few hours earlier ? 
 
 The conspirators talked presently in lower tones 
 of a great coup to be brought off to-morrow night at
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 257 
 
 a big reception at the Winter Palace. But although 
 they spoke almost in whispers, as if fearful of the 
 magnitude of the stupendous event, Corsini had 
 sharp ears and heard quite enough. This would be 
 great news for Golitzine, as soon as he could see him. 
 
 The conference was ended, the supper partaken of. 
 No servants ever assisted at these simple feasts. An 
 hour after the meal was finished. La Belle Quero, 
 the handsome singer, the idol of more than one cap- 
 ital, had passed away in the arms of her faithful 
 maid, done to death by the implacable vengeance of 
 Zouroff. 
 
 One by one the traitors filed out. The Prince 
 came last and made signs to the waiting janitor, sup- 
 posed to be Stepan. 
 
 " You will come with me to the Palace. You will 
 convey two women, my sister and her maid, to the 
 Castle of Tchernoff, in the Caucasus. When you 
 have deposited them safely there, return to the Pal- 
 ace, w^here I will find you further employment. It 
 is very likely that Madame Quero will have no fur- 
 ther need of your services." 
 
 Corsini replied in appropriate signs that he com- 
 prehended his Excellency's wishes. 
 
 Together they drove to the side door of the Palace, 
 in front of which a carriage was standing. Two 
 burly men, the Prince's chosen confederates, were 
 beside it. Zouroff motioned to Corsini to stay 
 where he was. 
 
 A few moments later the forms of two helpless 
 women, the Princess Nada and her maid, were car-
 
 258 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 ried out and placed in the carriage. The Prince was 
 well served in his household. Evidently both had 
 been drugged. 
 
 The two men stood waiting for the sign of depar- 
 ture from the Prince. 
 
 And, in that moment, a flash of inspiration came 
 to Corsini. 
 
 He spread out his arms and burst into a chuckling 
 sort of laugh, like one demented. He sprang on the 
 box, seized the reins, and whipped up the horses. 
 He was well out of sight before the Prince and his 
 two ruffians could recover from their consternation 
 at the unexpected turn of affairs. 
 
 Had Stepan suddenly gone out of his sense? was 
 the Prince's first thought.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 ZouEOFF shook his fist at the retreating carriage. 
 He looked, and felt, like a demon. Why had this 
 fool taken this particular moment to go off his head ? 
 He knew that Stepan had suffered from a weak intel- 
 lect for many years, but he was not prepared for this 
 sudden ebullition of insanity. 
 
 " We cannot catch him up, your Excellency, he 
 has driven like the wind," remarked one of the two 
 burly men who were in attendance on the Prince. 
 
 " Let him drive to the devil," snarled Zouroff, in 
 his most vicious tone. He was really trying to mask 
 his alarm under an assumption of indifference. 
 " What harm can the idiot do? He cannot hear, he 
 can only make guttural, and unintelligible sounds 
 when he attempts to speak." 
 
 " He can write, your Excellency. Do not forget 
 that. Say that at the moment he has gone crazy. 
 That carriage will halt somewhere in St. Petersburg, 
 or the environs, the police will be on the spot, inquir- 
 ies will be made. If he cannot speak, they will make 
 him write." 
 
 But Zouroff by now had recovered his incurable 
 
 optimism. " He will recover his senses shortly and 
 
 drive back to the Palace for instructions. We will 
 
 wait up for him." 
 
 The two men wero not quite so convinced, although 
 
 259
 
 260 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 they did not dare openly to dispute their employer's 
 opinion. They were not quite sure of Stepan's sud- 
 den attack of insanity. There was more in this than 
 met the eye. 
 
 Corsini, intensely agitated by the novelty of the 
 unexpected situation, drove recklessly for the first 
 few moments, anxious to put as much space as possi- 
 ble between Zourofi and himself, striving to collect 
 his thoughts. 
 
 As he had sat silent by the side of the Prince on 
 their progress from the villa to the Palace, he had 
 thought well over the only plan of campaign that 
 seemed opru to him. At the first stopping-place on 
 that long journey to the gloomy Castle of Tchernoff, 
 he would alight, go to the nearest police station and 
 divulge the facts of the Princess's abduction. 
 
 Well, fate had ruled it otherwise. The uncon- 
 scious girl and her maid were still in St. Petersburg 
 and under his charge. Whither should he convey 
 them? But he must be quick. Zouroff was a man 
 of resource. He might have hired a passing con- 
 veyance and, accompanied by his two burly satellites, 
 be rapidly on his track. 
 
 And then the thought came swiftly to him. He 
 would turn the carriage round and drive by devious 
 ways to the house of Golitzine. Once in the Count's 
 care, his precious charge would be safe. And, if he 
 took that devious route, there would be no chance 
 of encountering the formidable ZourofF on the way. 
 
 He halted at the door of the Count's house; but 
 here an unexpected difiiculty awaited him. He dare 
 not leave his horses, high-mettled and but slightly
 
 THE INTKIGUERS 261 
 
 blown by their short gallop. Ah, there was a con- 
 venient lamp-post, a couple of feet in front of him. 
 He would dismount and tie his reins round it while 
 he knocked at the door. 
 
 While he was engaged in this task, a carriage 
 drove up out of the dark, as it were, and halted be- 
 side the other one. A cold sweat broke out over the 
 young man as he observed its arrival. This devil 
 of a Zouroff had been too quick for him. 
 
 Then his countenance cleared as he recognised the 
 first man who stepped out. It was the leader of his 
 faithful bodyguard. He had, in the excitement of 
 passing events, forgotten them. 
 
 " You have lost sight of us, Signor, but, you see, 
 we have not lost sight of you," said the chief of the 
 party. " We followed you to that mean street where 
 your friend lodged, we saw you come out transformed 
 in appearance, we followed you to the villa of Ma- 
 dame Quero, we drove behind you and Prince Zour- 
 off to the Palace, we saw what happened there, and 
 we came after you at lightning speed, l^ow, how 
 can we help you ? There is some strange work going 
 on, that is easy to see. This is the house of Count 
 Golitzine, you want to see him. But I expect they 
 are all gone to bed." 
 
 " Yes, my friend, so much has happened in the 
 last hour or two that I had forgotten you," was Cor- 
 sini's answer. " Tell one of the men to knock at 
 the door till it is opened. If the Count has gone to 
 bed, he must get up. And you and the others guard 
 that carriage and look out for Prince Zouroff." 
 
 The house seemed wrapped in darkness, and in
 
 262 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 fact everybody had retired to rest except the ener- 
 getic Count himself. Five nights out of six he 
 worked into the morning hours. Tonight he had a 
 special reason for sitting up late. At any moment 
 he might expect a visit from the young Italian, to re- 
 port the results of the meeting at the Villa Quero. 
 
 He peered into the darkness and his astonished 
 gaze rested on more than he expected to see. He 
 was prepared to see Corsini, to observe the bodyguard 
 lurking in the background ; but the carriage and two 
 impatient horses champing at their bits was more 
 than he had bargained for. 
 
 "In Heaven's name, what is this, Corsini?'" 
 
 Nello advanced and whispered in his ear. " I 
 dare say these men suspect as much as I know, but 
 for the present we need not assume it. Inside that 
 carriage are two helpless women, drugged by that ruf- 
 fian Zouroff, the Princess ISTada and her maid. I 
 will tell you all the details of the adventure later. 
 Enou2:h to sav that I have been able to rescue them 
 from his clutches and drive them to your house. 
 You will not refuse them shelter ? " 
 
 " Of course not," replied the Count at once. 
 " Bring them in and I will at once arouse the Count- 
 ess. Drugged, you say! Send round one of the 
 fellows for the nearest doctor: he is the same man 
 who succoured you at Pavlovsk. Stay, I will give 
 the address myself." 
 
 The two helpless forms were carried in. The 
 Countess Golitzine was aroused. The doctor arrived. 
 It was some time before he could bring them round.
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 263 
 
 Zouroff and his satellites were evidently acquainted 
 with the secret of a very powerful narcotic. He 
 came doAvn at length to the Count in his study, 
 where he found Corsini. 
 
 " Good-evening, Signor. Well, Count, I have 
 brought them back to consciousness, have prescribed 
 a little light food. They were very heavily 
 drugged. " 
 
 He turned to the young Italian. " It carries me 
 back to that night at the little inn at Pavlovsk, but 
 you were a more difficult case. Then you had had 
 more than one dose. These young women have had 
 only one. I should say, by the symptoms, a similar 
 drug, administered by the same hand." 
 
 " Right, doctor ; I will tell you all in good time," 
 said Golitzine ; " but perhaps in a few days all St. 
 Petersburg may hear of it. You will see them in 
 the morning ? " 
 
 The doctor promised to call early the next day, 
 but he assured them that they need fear no anx- 
 iety; both young women had vigorous constitutions. 
 He was too discreet to mention that he had recog- 
 nised one of them as the Princess jSFada. He had 
 often seen her at the Opera and driving in the Nev- 
 ski Prospekt. 
 
 And Golitzine was a man to appreciate discretion ; 
 he could do much for this young doctor if he chose ; 
 therefore he would keep his mouth shut till it was 
 time for him to open it. Golitzine saw him to the 
 door and laid his finger impressively upon his lip. 
 
 " Silence for the present, doctor, as to all these
 
 264 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 strange events you have witnessed. I charge myself 
 with your future advancement." The doctor bowed 
 and went his way. 
 
 Upstairs, Xada was slowly regaining her senses. 
 She looked round the big, handsomely-furnished 
 chamber. On a sofa, a little away, was stretched 
 the form of Katerina, recovering more slowly than 
 her mistress. 
 
 " How did I come here ? Where am I ? " she 
 murmured. 
 
 The Countess Golitzine, a handsome woman, some 
 twenty years younger than her husband, was sitting 
 by the bedside, holding the Princess's hand. 
 
 She whispered in a kind voice : " Do not speak 
 much, my dear l^ada, you are too tired ; but be quite 
 sure you are amongst friends. Do you recognise 
 me?" 
 
 Memory came back in the wake of that long stupor. 
 " The Countess Golitzine, of course ; we met a few 
 days ago. But why am I in your house and not at 
 the Palace ? " 
 
 She put her disengaged hand to her head and tried 
 to collect her scattered thoughts. " Ah, I remember, 
 my brother said he would send me to Tchernoff, and 
 I did not believe he would dare to carry out his 
 threat" 
 
 She burst into bitter weeping as the subsequent 
 events forced themselves on her half-numbed brain, 
 her seizure by two burly men, a handkerchief pressed 
 tightly over her face. Then a blank till she woke up 
 here. 
 
 She was clearer now. " Yes, I can recall certain
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 265 
 
 things. But how did I come here? How was I 
 rescued on the road to Tchernoff ? " 
 
 " My dear, I do not know myself. I had gone to 
 bed early; my husband said he would be working 
 into the morning, as is often his custom. I was in 
 a deep sleep when he woke me suddenly. He told 
 me that you and your maid were being brought in, 
 that you were drugged, that he had sent for a doctor 
 to bring you round. I have been here with the doc- 
 tor till you came back to consciousness. Would you 
 like to see the Count ? " 
 
 " Indeed I would," cried !N"ada, whose faculties 
 were quickly coming back to her. " I cannot calm 
 myself until I know what happened between my leav- 
 ing the Palace and arriving here. And, as well as 
 thanking you, dear Countess, for all your kindness 
 to me, I would like to thank your husband also. It 
 is not a time of night to receive uninvited, or unex- 
 pected guests." 
 
 Madame Golitzine went down to her husband's 
 room and found him closeted with Corsini, who had 
 given him a full account of the proceedings at the 
 Villa Qucro, of his driving back with Zouroff to the 
 Palace, of his stratagem in jumping on the box and 
 driving off, to the surprise of the Prince and his two 
 burly ruffians. 
 
 The Count had chuckled at the end of the narra- 
 tive. Things were shaping well for him, to-morrow 
 he would hear his Emperor's hearty cry of — " Well 
 done, Golitzine. I knew you would beat them in 
 the end." 
 
 " Corsini, my dear fellow, you are wasted on music.
 
 266 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Give it up, and I will get you. a big post in the Secret 
 Police." 
 
 But the Italian shook his head. " Many thanks, 
 Excellency, but I do not really love this excitement. 
 Music was my first love, it will be my last." 
 
 The Countess came in. She knew Corsini well, 
 but did not recognise him in the rough clothes of 
 Stepan, with his face and hands stained. 
 
 '' jN^ada is quite conscious and her faculties are 
 coming back rapidly," she told her husband ; " but 
 she is terribly anxious to know all that has happened 
 since she was drugged. She wishes to see you. Of 
 course, I can tell her nothing, as I have not had time 
 to hear anything from you." 
 
 " She is not too excited ? " questioned the Count. 
 
 " Only from anxiety to know. She will grow 
 very excited if she is kept much longer in sus- 
 pense." 
 
 The Count beckoned to Corsini. " Let us go to 
 her. You can explain better than I." 
 
 But Corsini shrank back and a hot blush showed 
 through the dark stain that had been rubbed on his 
 face in the mean lodging of Ivan the outlaw. 
 
 " I cannot present myself in these miserable 
 clothes, disguised as I am, to the Princess," he stam- 
 mered. 
 
 The Count smiled his quiet rather cynical smile. 
 " I will wager she will penetrate with the first glance 
 through the disguise and the shabby clothes." 
 
 He turned to his wife. " My dear, permit me to 
 re-introduce to you Signor Corsini, the Director of 
 the Italian Opera. He doesn't cut quite such a
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 267 
 
 brilliant figure as usual, but his excuse is that he 
 has been doing some very good work for the Em- 
 peror." 
 
 The Countess, a woman of charming manners, ad- 
 vanced to him with outstretched hands. " A thou- 
 sand pardons. Please forgive my obtuseness, but 
 my thoughts were so occupied with our poor dear 
 T^ada." So adroitly did she redeem a somewhat 
 awkward situation. 
 
 The three went up to the chamber whither the 
 young Princess had been conveyed. The Count went 
 to the bed and shook her warmly by the hand. 
 
 " My wife tells me you are recovering from the 
 shock. The doctor assures me you will be yourself 
 again to-morrow. I am only too pleased that my 
 house should be your refuge. Amd you want to 
 know all that has happened since your rascally 
 brother had you drugged and thrust into that car- 
 riage." 
 
 He drew forward the shrinking man, hovering 
 shamefacedly in the background. 
 
 " Here is your preserver, ISTada." He always 
 called her by her Christian name ; he had known her 
 from a child. " You see, he is a common man, 
 dressed in rough clothes, his face and hands proclaim- 
 ing his calling. But he is your preserver, and you 
 will thank him." 
 
 He spoke with that half-humorous, half-cynical 
 smile which was almost characteristic. 
 
 Corsini nervously advanced to the bed on which 
 the Princess was lying and recovering her scattered 
 senses.
 
 268 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 "You are safe, dear' lady," he said, softly. 
 " Thank Heaven you are safe." 
 
 She recognised the voice. She penetrated through 
 the veil of the rough clothes, the stained face and 
 hands. She uttered a little joyful cry. 
 
 " Ala, Signor Corsini, it is you who are my pre- 
 server ? " 
 
 Corsini bent over her. " It has been my turn. 
 Princess. You saved me at Pavlovsk, I have paid 
 back my debt in St. Petersburg." 
 
 The Princess's wondering eyes grew bigger. 
 " But tell me all that has happened. I am dying 
 with curiosity." 
 
 Golitzine touched his wife on the shoulder. " We 
 are de trop, my dear, let us leave the young people 
 together." 
 
 The Countess was a very obedient wife. She ac- 
 companied her husband out of the room; but when 
 they were outside she whispered to him : " Alexis, 
 is it wise? Nada is a girl of high birth but of ro- 
 mantic notions. Corsini is, no doubt, very talented, 
 but is it prudent to leave them together ? " 
 
 " Listen to me ; I am going to impart to you a 
 little secret," said the Count in a low voice. " To- 
 morrow the house of Zouroff will be humbled in the 
 dust. Our pretty little Nada can then well choose 
 where her heart leads her to make her choice, even if 
 it is in the direction of our young friend, Nello Cor- 
 sm. 
 
 " I think I understand," said the Countess. 
 In the big chamber, Katerina, recovering more 
 slowly than her mistress, was reclining on the sofa.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 269 
 
 A tall, white-capped nurse stood in the corner. 
 
 Nada, of course, paid no heed to servants. They 
 were a part of her being, to be ignored at will. Eor 
 aU practical purposes she and Corsini were alone. 
 
 " And so it is you who were my preserver," she 
 said softly ; " you in this rough garb, with your face 
 and hands stained to a peasant's hue. There must 
 have been some motive behind such a dangerous ad- 
 venture." 
 
 Corsini bent over her, over the lily-white face, still 
 looking wan after her terrible experience. 
 
 " It was Providence that led me to your aid to- 
 night, Princess. You remember my urgent advice 
 to leave the Palace at once." 
 
 " I know I was blind and foolish," murmured the 
 Princess. " I could not believe my brother capable 
 of such cruelty." 
 
 " Your brother is capable of anything, of every- 
 thing," said Corsini. '* Listen ! I will tell you all 
 that has happened to-night. Please understand that 
 Count Golitzine has got him in the hollow of his 
 hand." 
 
 In a few brief words, he recounted all that he had 
 overheard at the villa of Madame Quero, ZourofTs 
 confession that for his own purposes he had removed 
 the beautiful singer. 
 
 " Tomorrow, or the day after, he will be on his 
 way to Siberia," concluded Corsini, with a pardon- 
 able exultation. " He doomed me to death because 
 be found me in his way; he has murdered his old 
 sweetheart from the sheer lust of revenge. You, out 
 of that same spirit of vengeance, he would have con-
 
 270 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 demned to a long exile. I trust, Ptincess, you will 
 not mourn over the well-deserved fate of such a 
 worthless brother." 
 
 " No," she said in a resolute voice, " I will not 
 mourn over him. His outrage on me quenches the 
 last spark of affection I ever entertained for him." 
 
 The conversation was concluded. Corsini rose, 
 and yet he still lingered. Something alluring in the 
 sweet face of the Princess still drew him. But could 
 he dare? There was a softness in her gaze, some- 
 thing inviting in her demeanour. 
 
 Youth was calling to youth. Suddenly he leaned 
 over and pressed his lips on hers. They were met 
 by an answering pressure. 
 
 " I love you, I love you, oh, I cannot tell you how 
 much," he murmured brokenly. " I have loved you 
 ever since the night when you passed me in Dean 
 Street and wanted to throw me coppers when I was 
 playing in the gutter, and your imperious brother 
 forbade you. I have loved you ever since that mo- 
 ment." 
 
 And ISTada murmured softly, " I love you, too. 
 I cannot date it back to that night. I think it was 
 when you came to play for us at the Embassy, in 
 London. But it does not matter, dear Nello. We 
 have both saved each other." 
 
 "Yes, we have saved each other," was Corsini's 
 answer. He left the white-capped nurse in the cor- 
 ner, the still tearful Katerina. What did he reck 
 of these? Had not his beautiful Princess avowed 
 her love with that warm kiss on his lips ? What did 
 anything else in the world matter?
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 271 
 
 Golitzine met him with his humorous smile. 
 " Well, I have no doubt you have made good use of 
 your time with the Princess. Now or never was 
 your opportunity. To-morrow morning, in the Em- 
 peror's cabinet, at the Winter Palace ! " 
 
 Corsini left the Count's house. He certainly 
 would not forget that appointment to-morrow morn- 
 ing at the Winter Palace. 
 
 But although he had many things to remember, 
 his most vital recollection was the answering kiss of 
 Nada.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 ZouKOFF^ at this particular moment, was not in a 
 very enviable frame of mind. Optimist as he was, 
 and a believer in his own star, he could not disgriiise 
 from himself the fact that his two efforts at kidnap- 
 ping had not been attended with any remarkable suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Corsini, through treachery on the part of his as- 
 sociates, had been rescued at Pavlovsk. And last 
 night, the deaf and inarticulate Stepan, suffering, no 
 doubt, from momentary aberration, had driven off in 
 the darkness with the young Princess and her maid 
 — whither, he knew not. 
 
 He sat up till the small hours of the morning, 
 awaiting the retura of that carriage. Stepan would 
 come back to his senses and drive back for further 
 instructions. But the carriage did not return. At 
 length Zouroff dismissed his two confederates. 
 
 " Let Stepan return when he will, or never return, 
 it does not matter," he said impatiently. What did 
 small things like this matter ? A carriage stranded, 
 two helpless and drugged women inside, recognised 
 later on. By the time this could be brought home 
 to him, he would be in such a position that he could 
 hush-up all inquiries. 
 
 He strolled round to the Villa Quero. The serv- 
 ant who opened the door knew him well, of course. 
 
 272
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 27a 
 
 " I am grieved to tell you, Excellency, that our 
 dear mistress died in the early hours of the morning." 
 
 " I am very grieved to hear it," said the hypo 
 critical Zouroff. " I heard that she was taken ill at 
 the Opera yesterday evening. It was sudden, was it 
 not?" 
 
 " Very sudden, your Excellency. The doctor 
 seems to think that she was poisoned." 
 
 " Poisoned ! Good Heavens ! " cried Zouroff. 
 " But who could want to poison such a charming 
 woman, so generally beloved ? " 
 
 The servant shrugged his shoulders. " Ah, who 
 can tell? Perhaps some envious rival. The post- 
 mortem may possibly tell us something." 
 
 The Prince walked away quite easy in his mind. 
 Yes, no doubt, the post-mortem would tell them some- 
 thing — that la Quero had been done to death by a 
 very subtle poison. But he had reasoned it all well 
 out. 
 
 It would be proved that he had shared a light re- 
 past with La Belle Quero that same evening. It 
 might be proved that he had brought her a box of 
 chocolates, out of which two were missing. 
 
 They could analyse that box of chocolates. They 
 would find no poison in them. There was only 
 poison in one, the one that he had picked out as a 
 fine fat fellow and which she had crunched greedily 
 between her strong white teeth. 
 
 That same morning Stepan woke up from his. 
 deep stupor in the mean lodging of Ivan the Cuckoo. 
 
 " Where am I ? " was his first question, as he 
 opened his heavy eyelids.
 
 274: THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Ivan bent over him, till his bearded face was close 
 to that of the dazed man. 
 
 " You are with your old friend and comrade. 
 Last night I took the liberty of playing a little trick 
 upon you. You will forgive me when I tell you the 
 object of that trick was to ensnare our old enemy, 
 Zouroff." 
 
 Stepan's rather expressionless countenance showed 
 considerable animation. He tried to speak, but the 
 sounds would not issue from the paralysed organs. 
 He had recourse to his usual signs, which read as 
 follows : 
 
 " What has happened at the Villa Quero ? I was 
 not there at the meeting last night. You drugged 
 me to keep me away. Who took my place ? " 
 
 " A friend of mine who resembles you very 
 closely," replied the late outlaw, who was not greatly 
 given to imparting confidences. " I expect he got 
 some important information, my good Stepan. He 
 can hear perfectly, and he understands both French 
 and Russian." 
 
 Stepan rubbed his hands gleefully before he re- 
 plied. " Ah, I would be glad to hear that Zouroff 
 was trapped; but I should be very grieved if they 
 caught poor Madame Quero, she was always so kind 
 and considerate. Many a night at those meetings I 
 was kept up very late. She would always come to 
 me the next morning with her bright smile, and give 
 me a handsome pour^hoire." 
 
 Ivan, who had spies all over the city, imparted 
 the latest news. "Madame Quero died last night, 
 or rather in the early hours of this morning. Zour-
 
 THE li^TRIGUERS 275 
 
 off was at the villa during the evening, a short time 
 before she left for the Opera. There are rumours 
 that she died of poison. You can put two and two 
 together, Stepan." 
 
 Yes, knowing Zouroff as well as he did, the deaf, 
 and almost dumb, man could guess what was sug- 
 gested by Ivan. He raised his hands to Heaven in 
 horror, and then made rapid signs. " This infam- 
 ous scoundrel will stop at nothing." 
 
 Presently he grew drowsy again, and in a few 
 moments relapsed into a second deep sleep which 
 lasted over a couple of hours. When he woke, the 
 outlaw, who was growing rather alarmed about the 
 prolonged effects of the narcotic, was bending over 
 him. 
 
 Stepan repeated the question he had asked on his 
 first waking, " Where am I ? " 
 
 Ivan explained to him again that in consequence 
 of the infirmities which so handicapped him, he was 
 of little use against Zouroff and his friends, that a 
 man who closely resembled him had taken his place 
 at the villa. 
 
 Stepan, who now seemed thoroughly awake, inti- 
 mated that he remembered. 
 
 Ivan proceeded, in his strong, resolute tones, " I 
 am not a man who takes any chances, as you well 
 know. However well you lay your plans, your ulti- 
 mate success depends, more or less, on the support of 
 your confederates. That is why I took the liberty of 
 giving you a little harmless sleeping draught that ef- 
 fectually kept you from interfering with my designs. 
 You are none the worse for it, and very shortly you
 
 276 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 shall have some vodka to pull yourself together/' 
 Stepan, half-foolish as he was, understood this sort 
 of language well. The mention of the word had an 
 almost instantaneous effect in completing his recov- 
 ery. 
 
 He ruhbed his hands together and smiled his silly 
 and vacant smile. " And how goes it with the ruf- 
 fian," Zour off, who so wronged you, my poor friend ? " 
 " Make your mind easy, my dear Stepan," was 
 Ivan's answer. " In a very few hours we shall both 
 be avenged. I had a note a short time ago from 
 the man who took your place at the Villa Quero." 
 Ivan was the soul of discretion and reticence. Even 
 to so intimate a comrade as Stepan he was not going 
 to reveal the name of Corsini. " He suggested that 
 this very night, Zouroff and his rascally band will 
 be taken into the toils. I, your old friend, am no 
 longer an outlaw, my pardon is secured. Eurther, I 
 shall have a handsome reward, and my old playmate, 
 Stepan, will receive his share. For us, comfort in 
 our old age ; for that double-dyed villain, Siberia and 
 the mines. It is good to think of, Stepan, is it not ? " 
 
 The half-witted creature emitted low, gurgling 
 sounds of satisfaction. Then he spoke rapidly on 
 his fingers. 
 
 " It is worth living for, this day, Ivan. Will he 
 ever know it was through us his doom was brought 
 about? That would be the greatest satisfaction of 
 all." 
 
 The pardoned outlaw smiled grimly. " Trust to 
 me for that. I have friends everywhere. I will get
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 277 
 
 that information conveyed to bim somehow by some- 
 body. Yes, that will make bim writhe." 
 
 After his visit to the Villa Quero, Zouroff went 
 back to the Palace. He was met by his valet, Peter, 
 whose looks expressed consternation. The news he 
 had to impart to his master was very grave. Also 
 be was uneasy with regard to his own skin. He had 
 obtained a free pardon for his share in the abduction 
 of Corsini ; could he rely upon a further dispensation 
 in the case of the young Princess ? 
 
 " Excellency, I have to report disaster. One of 
 our spies has ferreted out the following facts. 
 Stepan drove the carriage by a roundabout route to 
 the house of Golitzine. The Princess and her maid, 
 my sweetheart, Katerina, are now under the protec- 
 tion of the Count. I fear this will very much inter- 
 fere with your Excellency's plans." 
 
 Zouroff swore roundly. " Then this Stepan is 
 another traitor." 
 
 " It would appear so," replied Peter, with a look 
 of disgust well simulated. Fresh from his confession 
 to Beilski, it was necessary that he should reprobate 
 all fellow traitors. " You can never trust these half- 
 witted chaps," he added. 
 
 Zouroff thought rapidly. " Eun round to the 
 villa, Peter, and demand to see Stepan. You can 
 talk to him by signs. Learn what has become of the 
 carriage. Get what you can out of him. By 
 Heaven, when I have done with him he will wish 
 he had never been born." His expression was fe- 
 rocious as he uttered those last words.
 
 278 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Peter hastened to obey his commands. To- 
 morrow, the Prince might not be his master, but he 
 would obey him as long as he was in his service. He 
 returned with the news that Stepan was not at the 
 villa. They could draw their own conclusions from 
 his absence. 
 
 Zouroff ground his teeth savagely. '' Golitzine 
 and Beilski have got him safe between them. Well, 
 never mind, the tables will be turned to-morrow." 
 
 He was thinking of the great coup which was to 
 take place at the Winter Palace that night, the great 
 coup which had been so carefully rehearsed by him- 
 self and his fellow conspirators, the details of which 
 had been overheard by Corsini, in the character of 
 Stepan. 
 
 Safe in the custody of the kind and amiable 
 Countess, ISTada felt strangely happy. True, she was 
 very anxious about her mother, and some natural 
 compunction assailed her as to the fate of her 
 brother, in spite of his infamous conduct towards 
 herself. As to that fate, Corsini's words had left 
 her in no doubt. In a few hours the arch-plotter 
 and assassin would be on his way to Siberia. The 
 House of Zouroff, so far as its titular head was con- 
 cerned, would have ceased to exist. 
 
 But she was very happy in her knowledge of her 
 love for Corsini, of Corsini's love for her. The name 
 of Zouroff might be a tainted one, but the Italian 
 stood high in the estimation of the Emperor and 
 his powerful Secretary. Princess as she was, she 
 would not stoop so greatly in becoming the wife of this 
 favourite of fortune.
 
 THE INTRIGUEKS 279 
 
 Zouroff spent the greater part of his day in calling 
 at the houses of his various adherents. The knowl- 
 edge that Golitzine was now acquainted with the 
 dastardly part he had played against his innocent 
 sister, spurred him to extra effort. Optimist as he 
 was, he had an uneasy conviction that he was playing 
 a desperate game. Could he strike before Golitzine 
 would strike ? That was the question, and it was 
 one which would be determined in the coarse of a 
 few hours. 
 
 He brought all the resources of his mind to bear 
 upon this important problem. He employed all his 
 eloquence, he exercised all the influence of his strong 
 personality. He heartened the wavering amongst his 
 fellow-conspirators, he urged to more determined 
 resolution those who were staunch and confident. 
 
 But he felt it was touch and go. He kept away 
 from the Palace all that day, sending round a note 
 to Peter to bring his evening clothes to a secret meet- 
 ing-place. At any moment, Golitzine might deter- 
 mine to strike, and he might find Beilski's emissaries 
 waiting for him at his ancestral home. 
 
 He was so terribly in the dark as to what Stepan 
 had revealed or been forced to reveal. Of course, he 
 did not learn till much later that it was not Stepan. 
 who had driven away on the box, but his hated rival, 
 Corsini. 
 
 And why had Stepan feigned this sudden fit of 
 insanity, a man who had always appeared so devoted 
 to his person and his fortunes? Stepan, with his 
 incurable deafness, could have learned nothing at 
 these secret conclaves, he would have no information
 
 280 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 to sell that was wortli any price. And yet he had 
 driven straight to Golitzine's house. "What could 
 have been his motive? There was something here 
 he could not fathom. 
 
 Wandering in this maze of tangled speculation, 
 Zouroff believed he had hit upon the right solution 
 of these, apparently, inexplicable proceedings. 
 
 Stepan was devotedly attached to all the members 
 of his house — himself, his sister, and his mother. 
 When he had seen the two drugged and helpless 
 women carried out of the Palace, he had recognised the 
 young Princess and her maid as they were put into 
 the waiting carriage. 
 
 In his slow, feeble brain he had realised that some 
 danger was menacing them. His loyalty to his mas- 
 ter had experienced a sudden revulsion. Some chiv- 
 alrous instinct in him had urged him to espouse the 
 €ause of the weak and defenceless. A sudden in- 
 spiration had come to him by which he could secure 
 his object. Before they could stop him, he had 
 sprung on the box and whipped up his horses, with a 
 view of placing the two women under safe protection. 
 
 This seemed a reasonable explanation of that sud- 
 den and unexpected action. But there was always 
 the disturbing thought — how would Golitzine, hav- 
 ing once got Stepan into his clutches, deal with him ? 
 He would force him to write some account of the 
 events of that night, even if he could not make him 
 speak. 
 
 And then a comforting thought came to the 
 Prince. It was possible that Stepan had been loyal 
 to both, to his master and the young Princess. He
 
 THE INTRIGUEKS 281 
 
 had halted the carriage at the Secretary's door, rung 
 the bell, and run away before the door was opened, 
 leaving the astute Count to unravel for himself the 
 mystery of the two drugged women, one of whom he 
 would recognise at once. 
 
 Still there was not much comfort in that thought, 
 after all. Even if Stepan had not betrayed him, 
 was there any reasonable hope that Nada and Kat- 
 erina would keep silence for a moment, after they 
 had been brought back to consciousness ? 
 
 Ko, it was touch and go. He must strike swiftly, 
 before Golitzine could get in his blow. And the 
 puzzling thing was, why had Golitzine not already 
 struck ?
 
 CHAPTEK XXV 
 
 Five men were seated in the private cabinet of the 
 Czar — the Emperor himself, his diligent and faith- 
 ful Secretary, Golitzine, General Beilski, the Head 
 of the Police, General Burovkin, a man with a heavy 
 mustache and cast-iron countenance, one of the great 
 military chiefs of Russia, devoted like the others to 
 the services of the autocrat, and Nello Corsini. 
 
 Golitzine explained in his smooth, passionless ac- 
 cents. He was a man who was never excited, never 
 perturbed. Except that he was of lean build, he 
 might have suggested the idea of a relentless spider, 
 moving amongst a web of his own weaving to catch 
 the unsuspecting flies. 
 
 He had been the first to speak. " Our very cap- 
 able young friend, Corsini, has done great work. He 
 was hidden at the Villa Quero last night and gath- 
 ered information of the greatest importance." 
 
 The Emperor, who always liked to tell his subor- 
 dinates that he knew all that was going on, inter- 
 rupted his faithful and more astute Secretary. 
 
 " Ah, poor Madame Quero ! I hear that she died 
 in the early hours of the morning and that there 
 are certain suspicious circimistances connected with 
 her death — an idea that she has been poisoned, eh ? " 
 
 Golitzine nodded. " Your Majesty has been cor- 
 rectly informed." He might have added that he 
 
 282
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 283 
 
 had given this information himself, but he was too 
 experienced a courtier to venture on such an experi- 
 ment. Autocratic monarchs like to think they dis- 
 cover things for themselves. And perhaps the auto- 
 crat had not been quite awake when he received 
 Golitzine's letter long before breakfast. 
 
 Golitzine waved his hand towards Corsini. He 
 possessed a very generous nature, and he was quite 
 ready to give honour where it was due. 
 
 " This is the man to whom we are indebted for the 
 information which shall be fully detailed to your 
 Majesty. Salmoros never did us a better service 
 than when he sent Signer Corsini to us." 
 
 The Emperor inclined his head in his most gra- 
 cious manner. " Salmoros never makes a mistake, 
 and Corsini has more than justified his selection." 
 
 Golitzine leaned towards the young Italian. 
 " Tell his Imperial Majesty all that you told me last 
 night, the full details of what happened at the Villa 
 Quero. I have given him a brief resume , but you 
 can make it more convincing than I can. Speak out, 
 Corsini ; omit nothing ; you need not fear to trespass 
 on his Majesty's attention." 
 
 The Emperor inclined his head. He always 
 blindly followed the lead of his Secretary. He knew 
 that he could trust him, above all ; also some half a 
 dozen others, the two Generals amongst them. 
 
 Corsini, feeling very nervous, although by now he 
 was becoming accustomed to his new environment, 
 began his recital, giving full details of the strange 
 things that had happened in the course of a few 
 hours. Of course, he was intending to keep strict
 
 2.84 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 silence as to that little love scene between himself 
 and the beautiful Nada. One must keep back cer- 
 tain things even from an autocrat of Alexander's 
 type. 
 
 Being very nervous in the presence of the Emperor 
 and these high officials of the Russian Empire, he 
 told his story very haltingly. Several times Golit- 
 zine helped him through when he faltered. 
 
 And then, when he was not a quarter through his 
 narrative, there came a hesitating knock at the door. 
 It was that of a timid aide-de-camp, who had taken 
 upon himself to disturb his Emperor's privacy. 
 
 At the first sound of that timid knock, the Emperor 
 frowned. His orders had been precise: he was not 
 to be disturbed, except on a matter of greatest ur- 
 gency. Perhaps this was one. 
 
 " Come in," cried the autocrat, in a far from con- 
 ciliatory voice. 
 
 The young man, dressed in immaculate uniform, 
 advanced, bowing very low. He tendered a letter. 
 
 " A thousand pardons for disturbing your Majesty 
 after your particular instructions. The Baron Sal- 
 moros, whom I know well, has just arrived. I told 
 him you were engaged in important discussions with 
 the biggest personages in the Empire. He persisted 
 that I should bring his note to you. I disobeyed 
 your instructions, but, under the circumstances, I 
 trust you will think that I have not done wrong, that 
 I have exercised my discretion wisely. The Baron 
 said it was urgent, that, whoever you were engaged 
 with, you must be disturbed. I know how highly 
 the Baron stands in your Majesty's favour."
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 285 
 
 Alexander opened the letter with a frowning brow. 
 True autocrat, he was incensed that his slightest in- 
 structions should have been disobeyed. But, as he 
 read the letter of the Baron, his brow cleared. 
 
 He turned a mild look upon the disturbed young 
 officer. " You have acted very wisely indeed. I 
 shall hold you in my remembrance. Bring the Baron 
 to us at once." 
 
 He turned to the four other men. " Gentlemen, 
 our good friend, Salmoros, has taken a journey to us 
 because he has certain information to impart. I rec- 
 ognise very gratefully that I am well served, but I 
 think we may well admit the Baron's brains to our 
 important conclave." He looked towards Golitzine 
 as he spoke. 
 
 The adroit Secretary inclined his head. " I think 
 your Majesty can well admit the Baron to our coun- 
 sels. We can always learn something from him." 
 
 A few moments later the venerable figure of Sal- 
 moros appeared in the doorway of the private cabinet 
 of the Emperor, ushered in by the no longer fearful 
 young officer. 
 
 He advanced and kissed the Emperor's hand. 
 Alexander, as a mark of his esteem for the areat 
 financier, had risen to greet him. The Baron shook 
 hands with Golitzine and the two Generals. Then 
 he laid his hand lightly on Corsini's shoulder. 
 
 " Ah, my young friend and protege, I see you 
 have done well. If you had failed, you would not 
 be in the private cabinet of the Emperor to-day." 
 
 The autocrat interposed. " My dear Baron, your 
 young friend has been of the most inestimable service
 
 286 THE mXRIGUERS 
 
 to MS. You were always a great jvidge of men." 
 
 The next to speak was Golitzine. "My dear Sal- 
 moros, I know full well that it is your zeal for the 
 Emperor and the great Empire over which he rules 
 that has led you to take this long and tedious journey. 
 You have something of importance to communicate." 
 
 Salmoros spoke in his slow, grave accents. He 
 looked at the Emperor as he spoke, but he was really 
 addressing Golitzine. He knew that in that re- 
 markable man, apart from mere figureheads, lay the 
 destinies of the great Eussian Empire. 
 
 He was not oblivious to the fact that the two Gen- 
 erals were persons to be reckoned with ; as a matter of 
 fact, he was counting on their practical assistance ; but 
 Golitzine, the man of brains, the man of initiative, 
 the true statesman, was his sheet-anchor. 
 
 Alexander was, of course, the mere titular head 
 of the state, served by his subordinates, more or less 
 well. 
 
 If Golitzine went, and some inferior person took 
 on his office, then Alexander would be very badly 
 served. He was not a monarch who could reign by 
 himself. 
 
 The Baron bent his deep, penetrating gaze upon 
 the assembly of notable persons — the Emperor, 
 the two Generals, the Secretary, the modest and 
 rather shrinking young Italian, somewhat embar- 
 rassed by his recent projection into matters of high 
 statecraft. 
 
 Certain things at once struck his observant eyes. 
 All except the Emperor were dressed in immaculate 
 costume. The autocrat himself was attired in a
 
 THE rNTRIGUERS 287 
 
 loose dressing-gown. He had had no time to array 
 himself in conventional garments. 
 
 As a matter of fact, Golitzine's letter had reached 
 him shortly before dawn, requesting his presence at 
 the private counsel which was now taking place. 
 Alexander, no doubt relying on the efforts of his 
 faithful servants, had indulged in a little extra slum- 
 ber, confident that he would be well looked after. 
 
 Salmoros reflected, with a certain contempt, upon 
 the obvious inferences which were to be drawn from 
 these very apparent facts. 
 
 He looked at Golitzine, that astute Secretary, who 
 kept his master in order, spurred him when he was 
 too sluggish, restrained him when he was too impet- 
 uous. 
 
 Cynical thoughts shaped themselves in his active 
 brain, and if translated into speech, they might have 
 expressed themselves thus : " Why do we men of in- 
 telligence and initiative give our best, the keenest of 
 our brains, to these mere figureheads whom we flat- 
 ter, but at heart despise for their feebleness? It is 
 because we find the figurehead binds us more closely 
 together, makes our own position more secure, while 
 we are propping up his." 
 
 He answered Golitzine's question, with his slow, 
 grave smile. 
 
 " A man of my age, Count, would not travel so 
 many miles, at great personal inconvenience, without 
 some very strong motive. I warned you some time 
 ago of a slowly maturing conspiracy against the per- 
 son of his Majesty." He inclined his leonine head 
 in the direction of the autocrat, the figurehead, who
 
 288 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 smiled back graciously in intimation that he fully 
 appreciated the Baron's services. 
 
 " I have, as you know, considerable resources at my 
 command, but these people are very cunning. It is 
 only quite lately that I have secured definite infor- 
 mation as to day and date. As soon as I received 
 that information, I cast all other considerations to 
 the winds. I came to St. Petersburg as fast as 
 special trains would bring me. Of course, I had 
 no knowledge of what you were doing here, and one 
 cannot express oneself very fully in telegrams." 
 
 Golitzine gave him a glance which said as plainly 
 as the language of the eyes could speak, " We are 
 both men of the highest intelligence. Let us disre- 
 gard the figureheads and the instruments and address 
 ourselves to each other. The others can follow us 
 at their leisure." 
 
 Aloud he said, " Well, Baron, you have been well 
 served, but we, in St. Petersburg, have not been idle. 
 When do you say that Zouroff and his fellow conspir- 
 ators will strike ? " 
 
 " Within the next three days. That is my in- 
 formation, derived, of course, from a traitor, who 
 has received a substantial reward," was the answer 
 of Salmoros. He thought, rather regretfully, that 
 there were few secrets of this unhappy country, which 
 could not be purchased for a liberal pa^Tnent of gold. 
 He was not even sure to what extent the most trusted 
 adherents of the Emperor might not be bribed, al- 
 ways excepting Golitzine. 
 
 The Emperor broke in, in his rather awkward way, 
 to prove that he was always master in his own house.
 
 TnE INTRIGUERS 289 
 
 " You liave done more than well, Baron, and you 
 have now, as before and ever, our undying gratitude. 
 But — he pointed a finger towards the young Direc- 
 tor of the Imperial Opera — " this gentleman is just 
 a little bit in front of you. You say within three 
 days. Signor Corsini will tell you that the great 
 coup of Zouroff and his friends is planned for to-night 
 at the Winter Palace. Speak, Signer, and tell the 
 Baron something of what you have already told us." 
 
 Golitzine's heavy brows expressed displeasure. 
 After his long journey, doubly trying to a man of his 
 age, Saknoros need not have his own protege flung in 
 his face as it were. The situation could have been 
 dealt with in a more diplomatic manner. 
 
 But Salmoros, man of the world and philosopher 
 as he was, did not indicate by a flickering of the eye- 
 lid that he took the slightest notice of these small pin- 
 pricks, delivered by a maladroit, but not hostile hand. 
 
 He looked kindly at the young man. " Please re- 
 peat what you have already told to this illustrious, 
 assembly. If the pupil has beaten his master, it will 
 be proof to me that my judgment of men seldom 
 fails." 
 
 He paused and bowed profoundly to the Emperor, 
 who was just beginning to entertain an uneasy idea 
 that he might have employed more diplomatic lan- 
 guage. 
 
 " I am an old man, Sire, and perhaps my brain 
 does not work quite so rapidly as it used. But you 
 will kindly remember that I have several important 
 interests at stake, besides watching over the destinies 
 of Empires in a state of disturbance, such as seems
 
 290 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 afflicting your kingdom at the present moment For 
 many years, as you know, I have lived in free and 
 prosperous England. We don't have any of those 
 troubles in that well-governed and tranquil country." 
 The Emperor reddened under the mild rebuke, de- 
 livered in the most passionless tones. Golitzine has- 
 tened to pour oil on the troubled waters. The two 
 Generals, men of action, of no subtlety of thought, 
 had not noticed that the waters were troubled at all. 
 
 The Count addressed himself directly to Corsini. 
 
 " You were only embarking upon your narrative 
 which the fortunate advent of the Baron cut short 
 for a few moments. Will you kindly proceed ? Our 
 good friend will then realise how you have been aided 
 by a most fortunate conjunction of circimistances." 
 
 Nello proceeded with his narrative, but of course, 
 he had to repeat portions of it, to bring Salmoros into 
 line with the others. 
 
 He finished up with the pregnant words : " The 
 attempt is to be made to-night at the Winter Palace 
 at the big reception, the hal-rtiasque.''^ He turned to 
 the Emperor. " Your Majesty is to be assassinated 
 by one of the eight chief conspirators." 
 
 Corsini had now come to a part of his narrative 
 which he had not yet disclosed before the arrival of 
 Salmoros. 
 
 " His name ? " demanded the Emperor, with flash- 
 ing eyes. 
 
 " I grieve very much that T cannot give that in- 
 formation. It was not settled last night at the meet- 
 ing. I understood they would draw lots for it 
 to-dav."
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 291 
 
 The Emperor subsided. For the moment he could 
 not vent his vengeance on any particular person. 
 
 Corsiui proceeded. " At the hal-nuhsque , your 
 Majesty is to wear a pale-blue domino.*' 
 
 " Quite true," answered the autocrat. " That is 
 the costume I have chosen." 
 
 " These men are acquainted with every detail of 
 the reception, and they have a hundred spies and ad- 
 herents." 
 
 " I see," said the Emperor. " It is well known 
 we are giving a big reception to-night, to which even 
 this traitor Zouroff himself is invited. Truly, the 
 conspirators have chosen a very convenient occasion." 
 
 After these words the Czar of all the Russias leant 
 his head upon his hand, apparently engrossed in deep 
 thought. 
 
 Golitzine looked at Salmoros, the Baron flashed 
 back an answering glance. The same thought had 
 occurred to both. Had the Emperor's brain, never of 
 a very dominating quality, suddenly given way under 
 the tragic possibilities of to-night? 
 
 The two Generals, admirable machines, but who 
 were pretty well incapable of moving on their own 
 volition, kept imperturbable faces. 
 
 Golitzine at last ventured to touch the shoulder of 
 his Imperial Master. Even a favourite Secretary 
 paused before taking liberties with an autocrat, so 
 long as he was in hid right mind. But Gt)litzine was 
 beginning to doubt if he was, and Salmoros enter- 
 tained the same suspicion. 
 
 " There is no time to be lost, Sire. They are going 
 to strike to-night. We must be prepared to counter
 
 292 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 their blow. What does your Majesty suggest ? " 
 The Emperor smiled calmly. It was evident that 
 he had not gone out of his mind, as they had at first 
 feared. 
 
 He spoke in measured accents. " I have been 
 thinking very deeply, my good old friend Golitzine. 
 One of the band is going to assassinate me to-night. 
 Well, you leave that part of the problem to me." 
 
 Golitzine recoiled in consternation. " It is my 
 duty and that of my colleagues " — he pointed to the 
 two inarticulate Generals — " to guard the sacred per- 
 son of your Majesty. With all respect, Sire, I can- 
 not leave that task to yourself." 
 
 He turned to the Baron. " I think, Salmoros, yon 
 will agree with me ? " he asked. 
 
 Salmoros spoke in very decided tones. " In a 
 question of this importance, your Majesty must con- 
 sent to take the advice of your faithful friends and 
 legal supporters." He had no very great opinion of 
 the Emperor's ability or capacity to deal with difficult 
 circumstances. 
 
 The Emperor's smile was more pronounced than 
 before, as he tapped Golitzine on the shoulder and 
 extended a hand to the venerable Salmoros. 
 
 He drew them aside, and spoke in a confidential 
 whisper. 
 
 " My dear friends, I appreciate to the full your 
 anxiety about me, and I shall want your whole- 
 hearted assistance, which, I know, will be given un- 
 grudgingly to me. With regard to this little matter 
 of assassination, some ideas have come to me. Let 
 me work them out my own way, if you please."
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 293 
 
 Both men bowed in assent. There was no more to 
 be said. When an autocrat has delivered his fiat, 
 argument on the part of even his most trusted serv- 
 ants is useless. 
 
 " May your Majesty never live to regret your de- 
 cision," murmured the faithful Golitzine, in a low 
 whisper. 
 
 The Emperor again gave him a reassuring pres- 
 sure on the shoulder. 
 
 " My excellent Golitzine, and you, my good Sal- 
 moros, you can safely leave this part of it to me. I 
 have in my mind a little tragedy that shall later turn 
 into comedy. To-night, at the Winter Palace, you 
 will appreciate an Emperor's stratagem. You shall 
 also witness, later on, an Emperor's vengeance." 
 
 lie paused, then extended a hand to each and spoke 
 in the same whispering tones. " You, Golitzine and 
 Salmoros, will confer with the two Generals. They 
 have not the brains of either of you, but they are 
 good machines. You will take measures to have the 
 soldiery and police well posted in order to combat 
 the revolution engineered by that villain, Zouroff, and 
 his friends. Corsini, I daresay, has still a few more 
 details to impart which will be useful. Eor the pres- 
 ent, au revoir." 
 
 Golitzine, after his Imperial Master's departure, 
 spoke to Salmoros. 
 
 " What do you think of it all, Baron ? Is he sure 
 of himself? Has he got an idea, of which he is 
 so proud that he will not communicate it even to 
 us?" 
 
 Salmoros shook his white wise head slowly to and
 
 294 THE INTEIGUEES 
 
 fro while lie spoke with his gentle, slightly ironical 
 smile. 
 
 " My dear Golitzine, who can prophesy ? Wis- 
 dom, we know, sometimes proceeds out of the mouths 
 of babes and sucklings. Perhaps it may, in occa- 
 sional moments, emanate from the brains of Kings and 
 Emperors. In the meantime, you will take all nec- 
 essary precautions. It would not be wise to trust 
 too much to the Emperor's inspiration, whatever it 
 may be."
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 CoESiNi quitted the cabinet shortly after the de- 
 parture of the Emperor. Alexander, full of his 
 great idea, and it was proved later on that it was a 
 very excellent and ingenious one, felt that he could 
 leave all further details to the astute Golitzine, Sal- 
 moros, and the two Generals. 
 
 After the Czar had left, Golitzine had questioned 
 the Italian closely as to certain items of the informa- 
 tion which he had gathered at the villa the night be- 
 fore. Being satisfied as to these, he had intimated, 
 of course in the most polite and diplomatic manner, 
 that .Corsini's presence was no longer required. He 
 was now going into certain practical matters with the 
 two Generals, with regard to the disposition of the 
 soldiery and police, of a strictly technical nature 
 which would have no interest to a civilian. 
 
 Corsini took the hint at once. He had already 
 learned that high politics meant strict business. 
 These two great men would put up with your com- 
 pany, just so long as you were useful to them. As 
 soon as you had fulfilled your part, you were dis- 
 missed, in order that they might turn to somebody 
 else of equal importance. 
 
 But Golitzine, in spite of his lean and rather sat- 
 urnine aspect, was a kind-hearted old* fellow. He 
 shook the young man warmly by the hand and whim- 
 pered in his ear: 
 
 " Please do not accuse me of scant courtesy, if I 
 
 296
 
 296 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 seem to hurry you away, but the time is all too short 
 for what I have to plan and arrange. Be assured 
 that, so far as the Emperor is concerned, your for- 
 tune is made. I cannot take upon myself to predict 
 the precise nature of your reward, but it will be a 
 very substantial one. And of course your friend 
 Ivan and his associate will be remembered, too." 
 
 Corsini bowed gratefully. He already knew 
 enough of Courts to assume that Golitzine himself 
 would determine the nature and extent of those re- 
 wards. The Emperor would only speak with the 
 voice of his Secretary, although as a matter of eti- 
 quette, he must always be regarded as the fountain 
 of honour. 
 
 Golitzine went on in a still lower tone. " You 
 have more time on vour hands than we hard-working 
 servants of the State have. We shall not meet again 
 till to-night at the hal-masque. You might use a few 
 of your leisure moments in strolling round to my 
 house and cheering up the Princess Nada. I pre- 
 pared my wife for a possible visit. I am certain you 
 will not be denied admittance." 
 
 Corsini was very young, too young to have got over 
 the youthful habit of blushing. A deep red settled 
 on his countenance as he realised the nature and in- 
 tention of the kindly Count's suggestion. 
 
 Golitzine peered at him amiably through his spec- 
 tacles, He liked that ingenuous blush : it betokened 
 sincerity. Here was no callous young adventurer, 
 simply a youth of integrity and good principles, 
 quick-witted enough to take advantage of his oppor- 
 tunities.
 
 THE INTRIGUERS 29Y 
 
 " You are a favourite of fortune, my dear fellow, 
 but you have had the good sense to see when she 
 smiled on you. Strike while the iron is hot. Every 
 right-thinking young woman is grateful to her pre- 
 server, especially when he is so good to look at as 
 you are. You don't want me to give you any further 
 hint." 
 
 Corsini, more embarrassed than ever, murmured a 
 reply that was almost inarticulate, but one expressing 
 gratitude for his Excellency's suggestions. He made 
 his adieux hastily, anxious to be out of the chamber 
 where these experienced men seemed to read his very 
 soul. 
 
 Salmoros detained him a second. " N'ot quite so 
 quick, my young friend. You will dine with me to- 
 morrow night at my hotel ; here is the address." He 
 added with a humorous smile, " That is to say, if 
 this devil of a ZourofP leaves any of us alive." 
 
 Corsini left the Winter Palace. He saw the fig- 
 ures of his faithful bodyguard hovering in the dis- 
 tance, pledged to watch after his safety, to protect 
 him from the evil designs of his relentless enemy, that 
 traitor Prince whom he had outwitted. 
 
 He bent his steps in the direction of Golitzine's 
 house. He was anxious to see the Princess again, 
 but perhaps, had he not been spurred by tlie Count's 
 hints, he might not have dared to intrude upon her 
 so soon. 
 
 The kiss of last night, when their lips had met for 
 the first time! She had kissed him warmly then, 
 in the exaltation of grateful feelings for her rescue 
 from her ruffianly brother.
 
 298 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 That was last night Would the morning bring 
 reflection, prudence ? Would she remember the dif- 
 ference between their stations — recollect that she 
 was a Princess of the highest lineage, he an artist, a 
 genius, but a man of no birth or connections ? 
 
 As he walked slowly along, his thoughts travelled 
 back to the time when he had been in such despair 
 that he had come one night to the conclusion life was 
 no longer worth living. He remembered he had put 
 that question to his devoted little sister, Anita, and 
 she had answered bravely that she would leave the 
 decision to him. 
 
 And by one turn, as it seemed, of fortune's wheel, 
 all this was changed. He had in his pocket a letter 
 received from Anita that morning, written from the 
 house of the kind ladies in whose charge the Baron 
 Salmoros had placed her when he despatched her 
 brother on his mission to Russia. 
 
 A young Englishman had fallen in love with 
 Anita; she had fallen in love with him. He had 
 excellent prospect-s. One of the two benevolent ladies 
 had enclosed a brief note, speaking in the highest 
 terms of the young lover, who was also a protege of 
 the benevolent Salmoros. Anita had promised to 
 become his wife, subject to her brother's consent. 
 
 How far away it all seemed, that snowy night in 
 Dean Street, when he had played in the gutter to earn 
 a few coppers for food and lodging. Dear old Papa 
 Peron, with his big heart, the genial Degraux, the 
 powerful and astute Salmoros, who picked out intel- 
 ligent instruments for his deeply laid schemes ! All 
 these figures were present to him as he strolled along.
 
 THE II^JTRIGUERS 299 
 
 So Anita was in love and would shortly be a liappy 
 wife. Well, if she made half as good a wife as a 
 sister, her husband would be a fortunate man. He 
 would ask a few details of Salmoros when he dined 
 with him to-morrow night about this young suitor, 
 but he had no doubt he would write Anita a warm 
 letter of congratulation. 
 
 And for himself ! Last night, the beautiful ISTada, 
 whom he had regarded as a star set high up in the 
 firmament above him, had returned his kiss. Al- 
 ready he occupied an important post in the musical 
 world. This morning, Golitzine had hinted at sub- 
 stantial rewards for his secret and important ser- 
 vices. The Count had spoken of him as one of 
 fortune's favourties. The description did not seem to 
 be misplaced. 
 
 His heart beat more confidently as he approached 
 the Count's house. After all, he was not so unworthy 
 as he had once imagined himself to be. Nada was 
 one of a long line. He was going to be the first of 
 his — virile, ambitious, with the restless impulses of 
 new blood. Was the difference between them so 
 great after all ? 
 
 He met the Counteas in the hall. Full of the 
 prejudices of her caste, she did not perhaps wholly 
 approve of the visit ; but she was a very obedient wife, 
 and Golitzine, as it has been explained, had given her 
 a hint that if Corsini called he was to be admitted at 
 once to the presence of the young Princess. 
 
 Nada was reclining in an easy-chair, looking a 
 little wan. To her enraptured lover, her slight pal- 
 lor only added spirituality to her beauty.
 
 300 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 He felt lie must proceed very cautiously. She 
 might wish to ignore that episode of the previous 
 night, for which the strange circumstances could fur- 
 nish a reasonable excuse. 
 
 He bowed low over her hand and raised it respect- 
 fully to his lips. " I am so pleased, Princess," he 
 began in rather hesitating tones, " to see that you 
 are very little the worse for last night's adventure." 
 
 A faint colour suffused her cheeks; she withdrew 
 her hand with a little pettish gesture. It was evident 
 that she did not wish to ignore the incident of last 
 night. 
 
 " Why are you so formal ? I am not a Princess 
 to you, but simply Nada, an unhappy girl whom you. 
 rescued and brought here at night, and whom you 
 said you loved. Have you forgotten all this ? " 
 
 " ISTo, I have not forgotten," was the fervent an- 
 swer, " but I was not sure you might wish to remem- 
 ber. Last night, the circumstances were very un- 
 usual. Feelings of gratitude might have led you far- 
 ther — " 
 
 He paused, for the very good reason that li^ada had 
 placed her hand upon his lips. 
 
 " Do you know, you are talking very foolishly, 
 Nello. But no, it is not altogether foolish. I can 
 guess all that there is in your mind. You are such 
 a perfect gentleman, so chivalrous where a woman 
 is concerned. But you need doubt no longer. When 
 I allowed you to kiss me last night and kissed you 
 back, I gave you my heart once and for all time." 
 
 He bent over her and kissed this time, not her 
 hand, but her lips.
 
 THE IXTEIGUERS 301 
 
 " And you will marry me, you will be my wife ? " 
 he asked in a voice that still expressed hesitation. 
 
 " Of course," answered the Princess, with a pretty 
 assumption of indignation. " Do you think I would 
 suffer any man to kiss me unless I were sure he were 
 going to be my husband ? " 
 
 As he walked back to his hotel Corsini felt as if he 
 were treading on air. How thankful he was to the 
 kindly old Count for that hint, to strike while the 
 iron was hot. Left to himself, he might have lost 
 her for want of boldness. And now, N'ada had 
 promised to be his wife. Very shortly he and his 
 dear little sister would both be happily married. 
 
 Later in the day, when the Emperor's private cab- 
 inet had been cleared of his official counsellors, Alex- 
 ander held an important conversation with a man as 
 strong and stalwart as himself, closely resembling him 
 in height and build. This man was an illegitimate 
 son of one of the Romanoffs, and had ever devoted 
 himself to his Majesty's person and given a hundred 
 proofs of his loyalty. 
 
 " Listen, my faithful Sergius," said the autocrat, 
 as he motioned him to a seat. " I have something to 
 tell you that will startle you. You know that to-night 
 we hold a bal-masque at the Winter Palace. You 
 will be there." 
 
 The man Sergius nodded. On these more or less 
 ceremonious occasions he was never far from his 
 master's side. He had no subtlety of intellect, he had 
 little sense of diplomacy. It was impossible to ad- 
 vance him verv far, to make him into even the scm-
 
 302 THE INTEIGUERS 
 
 blance of a statesman, but he worshipped his Emperor 
 and relative with a canine fidelity. He was a mag- 
 nificent watch-dog and would lay down his life for 
 his master. 
 
 "' There is a plot on foot, engineered by Prince 
 Zouroff and others, to assassinate me to-night in the 
 ball-room of the Winter Palace." 
 
 Sergius recoiled in horror. " But where are your 
 guards, your police? What are Golitzine, Beilski, 
 and Burovkin doing ? " he cried in amazement. He 
 started from his chair, ever a man of action. " Let 
 me go round to the Zouroff Palace at once, get hold 
 of this ruffian and choke the life out of him. You 
 can then punish me for a brief space and then give 
 me a free pardon — extenuating circumstances, or 
 something of that sort." 
 
 Alexander smiled kindly. Sergius, the man of 
 proved loyalty, spoke, as usual, from his full heart. 
 But, as ever, he lacked discretion. 
 
 " A most excellent idea, my good old friend and 
 cousin, but in this century we cannot proceed on 
 strictlv mediaeval lines. Besides, we want to take 
 them, so to speak, red-handed. Golitzine is working 
 admirably. So are Burovkin and Beilski ; they will 
 see to the soldiers and the police. They wanted to 
 arrange my part in the affair — I know what they 
 would have proposed, that I should absent myself — 
 I determined to take the matter in hand personally. 
 If I am not there, and they already know how I pur- 
 pose to be dressed, they will not carry out their plot ; 
 they will postpone it, and we shall still be hanging 
 on the tenterhooks of susnense, wondering when the
 
 THE INTIUGUERS 303 
 
 blow will fall. Let it fall tonight, as they have 
 planned, and let them be taken red-handed. That is 
 mj policy." 
 
 Sergius stared at his master with a puzzled ex- 
 pression. His slow brain could not follow the Emper- 
 or's explanation. Certainly, it would be very easy 
 for him to go round to the Zouroff Palace and strangle 
 its master; half a dozen others, if necessary. This 
 was surely the most certain way to his soldier-like and 
 practical mind. 
 
 " Sergius, my good friend, this affair wants a little 
 diplomacy, which you and I will cany out between 
 us. I shall acquaint Golitzine and the others with 
 it, say, an hour before the reception begins. They 
 think they have the monopoly of brains, that their 
 Emperor must always think the thoughts they put 
 into his head, always speak tlie words they prepare 
 for him. Well, I am going to show them that some- 
 times I can act upon my own initiative. I have 
 prepared a little stratagem, in which I invite your 
 co-operation. I will explain it to you." 
 
 He unfolded his scheme to the puzzled and inter- 
 ested Sergius. The blunt soldier rose up when the 
 Emperor had finished, and smiled delightedly. 
 
 " Excellent, most excellent, Sire. You can rely 
 upon me; you may be sure I shall not fail to play 
 my part." 
 
 At midnight the vast saloons of the "Winter Palace 
 were thronged with a happy, joyous crowd. Zouroff 
 was there, in a disguise that he thought nobody could 
 penetrate. The other seven leaders were there also, 
 safe as they thought from recognition.
 
 304 THE INTRIGUEKS 
 
 Corsini was there, having come on from the Opera. 
 And the young Princess had come also, with the 
 Countess Golitzine. At first she had protested. She 
 wished to see the Emperor triumph, as she was as- 
 sured he would; but the Emperor's triumph would 
 mean the ruin of her brother. Basely as he had 
 treated her, she was reluctant to assist at the spectacle 
 of his degradation. 
 
 But curiosity prevailed, the natural curiosity of 
 being in at the finish of things. And besides, the 
 Countess had told her that she would give to Corsini 
 a description of her costume, and obtain from him 
 one of his, so that they could easily recognise each 
 other. In the end, she went. 
 
 The commanding figure of the Emperor, clothed 
 in his mask and blue domino, moved about amongst 
 his guests. There was no mistaking that Imperial 
 presence. One man, in particular, was watching in- 
 tently, following every motion. 
 
 Corsini had at last found out his sweetheart. They 
 were conversing together in low whispers, when sud- 
 denly there rose from a hundred throats the shout of 
 — " Treason ! Treason ! " 
 
 They turned their startled gaze towards the end of 
 the room, in time to see the Emperor's huge form 
 sink slowly to the floor. A small man darted from 
 his side, buried himself amid the crowd and made 
 hastily towards the nearest door, concealing in his 
 garments the dagger with which he had inflicted the 
 blow. 
 
 He found the door guarded by three stalwart men,
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 305 
 
 who seized him at once and forbade egress. They 
 were members of Beilski's police. 
 
 At the same instant the General himself tore off 
 his mask, and cried out in stentorian tones, " Unmask, 
 everybody. The doors are guarded. None can pass 
 through till we are satisfied of their innocence. We 
 know the names of all the traitors. At yonder door 
 my men have got the assassin." 
 
 Slowly they all unmasked, Zouroff amongst the 
 rest. He knew now that he had been foiled by some- 
 body, that his ambitions were quenched for ever. 
 Siberia and the mines for him, as the lightest penalty. 
 
 To do him justice, he took his fate stoically. He 
 folded his arms across his breast and cast a disdain- 
 ful glance in the direction of the panic-stricken crowd. 
 
 Beilski, who had been standing close to that tall, 
 commanding figure, went and touched him lightly on 
 the shoulder. 
 
 " Get up, Sergius," he whispered. " The first act 
 of the tragedy is over." 
 
 The apparently inanimate man rose slowly to his 
 feet, threw off his mask and domino, disclosing a suit 
 of chain mail beneath, which the dagger of the assas- 
 sin had been unable to penetrate. 
 
 And then a great shout of loyalty burst forth from 
 the assembly, as they recognised the situation. The 
 Emperor had never been at the reception at all. This 
 faithful left-handed relative of his, who so closely 
 resembled his Imperial ]\Iaster, had taken his place. 
 
 And then a side door opened and the Czar, in or- 
 dinary attire, came through and made his way to the
 
 306 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 top of the room. He was escorted by a strong body- 
 guard. It was just on the cards that one of these 
 desperate men might make a second attempt, out of 
 pure revenge. 
 
 But there was no fear of this. Beilski's men had 
 got all of the eight leading conspirators and several 
 accomplices safely in their clutches. 
 
 It must be said for the Emperor that, on occasions 
 like these, he could always assume the grand manner. 
 
 In a few well-chosen sentences he dismissed the 
 assembly, with many regrets that their pleasure had 
 been so abruptly terminated. There were matters 
 of great import to be attended to, matters which 
 would not brook delay. 
 
 ISTada broke awav from the Countess and rushed 
 over to her brother. In spite of his cruel treatment 
 of her, her heart at that moment bled for him. 
 
 " Oh, Boris, I know it is good-bye for ever. Why 
 did you not listen to me when I pleaded with you to 
 give up your dangerous schemes ? " 
 
 But Zouroff hardly listened to her. He was think- 
 ing of that snowy, never-ending road to Siberia, along 
 which he would trudge in chains, guarded by the mer- 
 ciless Cossacks. 
 
 " Don't worry me," he said in a dull voice. " All 
 is finished. What is the use of looking back ? " 
 
 After the assembly had dispersed the Emperor re- 
 tired to his private cabinet. He intimated that, for 
 the moment, he only wished to see Golitzine and Cor- 
 sini. The others he would interview later. 
 
 Immediately the door was closed he turned to the 
 young Italian.
 
 THE INTEIGUERS 307 
 
 " Signer Corsini, I have said before in your pres- 
 ence that the house of Komanotf is not ungrateful. 
 I have great pleasure in bestowing upon you the 
 title of Count ; there will also be paid to you a con- 
 siderable sum which you can invest at your discretion. 
 The directorship of the Imperial Opera, if you wish 
 to retain it, can be yours for life. With regard to 
 your friend, Ivan, our promises have been already 
 given. Golitzine will see to this." 
 
 Corsini expressed his thanks in becoming language, 
 and was about to withdraw, when the Count detained 
 him. 
 
 " One moment, Corsini ; I shall take upon myself 
 to disclose to his Majesty a little idyll that has lately 
 been going on in St. Petersburg — one which the 
 Countess has confided to me. The Princess ISTada 
 has promised to be our young friend's wife." 
 
 The Emperor smiled graciously and extended his 
 hand cordially. 
 
 " Congratulations, Signor. Nada will make a 
 good and faithful wife. She takes after her mother ; 
 the father and son were both ruffians."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 The night after these thrilling events, Corsini 
 went to dine with Salmoros at his hotel. 
 
 The great financier always travelled in royal state 
 on important occasions. He lodged himself in the 
 same fashion. At the present moment he was occu- 
 pying one of the most expensive suites in the hotel. 
 Two secretaries and a valet formed his retinue. He 
 had journeyed all the way by special trains. 
 
 Well, in a way he was a monarch himself — one 
 of the half-dozen undisputed kings of finance, who 
 are the power behind titular potentates and taken into 
 their counsels before they resolve upon decided action. 
 
 There was no other guest. Salmoros wished to 
 talk to this young man alone, l^othing appealed to 
 the Baron like success. He was prepared to admit 
 that luck was a frequent element in success, and Cor- 
 sini had undoubtedly been lucky. A chance meeting 
 with a discredited outlaw — so much he had gathered 
 from Golitzine in a brief conversation to-day — had 
 put the young Italian on the right track. All the 
 same, luck had a knack of presenting itself to people 
 born to achieve greatness. It presented itself to 
 everybody, but the stupid people were too blind to see 
 and take advantage of it. 
 
 He remembered a word of warning that his old 
 
 friend and patron, that far-seeing statesman Lord 
 
 Beaconsfield, had once addressed to him. "Never 
 
 308
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 309 
 
 associate yourself with unlucky people, my dear Sal- 
 moros." He had faithfully regarded that warning 
 during his strenuous years of commercial and busi- 
 ness intrigue. 
 
 The Baron had jestingly said yesterday that they 
 would meet to-night if that devil of a Zouroff left 
 anybody alive. Well, they were all alive, and the 
 traitor Prince would soon be eating his heart out in 
 Siberia. And yet it had been touch and go. It had 
 been a thrilling day, and an ordinary man might 
 have felt his nerves a little shaken when the strain, 
 was over. 
 
 But Salmoros was as calm as if the destinies of the 
 Russian Empire, in which he took so keen an interest, 
 had never hung for a moment in the balance. Per- 
 haps he had experienced and survived too many catas- 
 trophes to feel very great emotion at another triumph, 
 the last of a hundred or more. 
 
 Corsini, on his side, with the jangling nerves of 
 youth, was very palpably agitated. His smile was 
 forced, his face was twitching. He could not dis- 
 miss from his mind these great events that had so 
 suddenly crowded into his life. 
 
 Xada, that peerless divinity whom he had adored 
 from afar when there seemed no hope, who had sud- 
 denly descended, as it were, to earth and had prom- 
 ised to be his wife! Here was one intoxicating 
 thought. 
 
 And then, last night the Emperor had called him 
 into his private cabinet, invested him with the title 
 of Count of the Russian Empire and promised him 
 an even more substantial reward.
 
 310 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 And yet he was the same man who, a short time 
 ago, had been playing in the streets for coppers which 
 his half-starved sister collected. But for the provi- 
 dential interference of dear old Papa Peron he 
 might have been playing there still, or sought refuge 
 in an untimely grave. Simply a turn of fortune's 
 wheel. 
 
 Salmoros noted his agitation, and for a long time, 
 did not press him with any very direct conversation. 
 He talked of music, of which he was a great connois- 
 seur, and presently he found that this subject drew 
 the young man out of his perturbed thoughts. 
 
 By the time the meal was finished, Corsini was 
 almost his normal self. The animated discussions 
 over different composers, in which each disputant de- 
 fended his opinions warmly, had driven for a time 
 into the background the personal events of the last 
 few days. 
 
 "We shall never agree about Russia," remarked 
 the Baron at the end of this artistic conference. 
 " JSTow, we have had quite a long argument and the 
 subject is very absorbing to both of us. Let us talk 
 of something a little nearer home. The Signor Cor- 
 sini I sent out to Russia in the nature of a speculation 
 is now Count Corsini, a member of the nobility of 
 the Russian Empire. Have you reflected over these 
 facts and to what extent they are going to influence 
 your future ? " 
 
 Nello answered candidly. " For the last few days, 
 Baron, I seem to have been living in a world of 
 dreams. I never sought adventure, but through 
 you — no, I must not forget dear old Papa Peron,
 
 THE IXTRIGUEKS 311 
 
 he was the origin of all this — adventure has come 
 to me." 
 
 At the mention of Peron's name, Salmoros lifted 
 his glass and spoke in a voice of emotion. 
 
 " To the memory of my dear old friend and com- 
 rade, who had a heart of gold. Ah, why did he 
 choose to die in that miserable garret, when he knew 
 I was so near ? What misplaced pride ! " 
 
 " He had the artistic temperament, Baron, but he 
 was never a man of the world. He would give, but 
 he blushed to take," was Nello's answer, " Well, 
 you have asked me for my ideas as to the future. 
 Candidly, I have not yet formulated any, except as 
 regards in one direction. For one thing I would 
 prefer not to remain in Eussia." 
 
 The Baron smiled his quiet and comprehending 
 smile. " There I think I am with you. A charming 
 place for a brief visit, but for a prolonged residence, 
 certainly not." 
 
 Corsini went on. " I love England and its free 
 ways. Here there is too much intrigue. I propose, 
 when certain things are settled, to return to England. 
 The Emperor has kindly said that if I wish it the 
 directorship of the Imperial Opera is mine for life. 
 It is a fine post and I fully appreciate the compliment. 
 But " 
 
 Salmoros interrupted him, " I quite understand. 
 You would sooner play your violin at the Floral Hall 
 in London than conduct the Imperial Opera in this 
 city of St. Petersburg, honeycombed with spies, 
 traitors, and actual or potential assassins ? " 
 
 Nello nodded. It was very easy to explain to this
 
 312 THE INTRIGUEES 
 
 wonderful old man, who seemed to know what you 
 were going to say before the words were formed. 
 
 " Now confide in me," said the Baron in his most 
 confidential tones. " You dropped a rather signif- 
 icant phrase just now. You said you had not yet 
 formulated your ideas, except in one particular direc- 
 tion. Will you tell me, or can I guess it ? " 
 
 The young man blushed vividly. " I have been 
 fortunate far beyond my deserts, sir. The Princess 
 ISTada ZourofF, whom I first met in London at the 
 Russian Embassy, has been kind enough " 
 
 " Don't be so formal, Nello," said the Baron kindly, 
 using his Christian name to put him at his ease. 
 " You need not tell me any more. I had a long talk 
 with Golitzine this afternoon. Of course he told me 
 many things and amongst them was this item of news, 
 that ISTada is going to marry you." 
 
 This wonderful old Salmoros knew everything, but 
 how could he help it, when so many channels of in- 
 formation were open to him ? Corsini's answer was 
 a still deeper blush. 
 
 " She will make you a good wife. Golitzine knows 
 them well ; he speaks in the highest terms of her and 
 her mother. The father was a bully and a ruffian, 
 the brother we know was a traitor, and will get his 
 deserts." 
 
 He raised his glass, bowing to the young man with 
 an old-world courtesy. 
 
 " To the health of your fiancee, the future Countess 
 Corsini. When do you propose to marry ? " 
 
 " I cannot fix the exact date, Baron. Her mother, 
 you may have heard, is very ill. ISTada has only re-
 
 THE IISTTKIGUERS 313 
 
 turned to the Palace to-day. It would not have been 
 safe for her do do so while that scoundrel Boris was 
 at large." 
 
 Salmoros mused for a few moments before he spoke 
 again. " So jou will marry as soon as all the circum- 
 stances will permit. And I take it you will reside 
 in England. What does the young Princess say to 
 that?" 
 
 " ISTada loves England," was Corsini's answer, 
 and after the events of last night Russia will not 
 have very pleasant recollections for her or her 
 mother." 
 
 " True," agreed the Baron. " I shall very much 
 like you to spend part of your honeymoon with me 
 at my place in Sussex, if it falls in with your arrange- 
 ments." 
 
 " I am sure we shall be delighted, sir," cried iSTello. 
 He paused and added a little nervously : " But I hope 
 you won't want to send me on any more missions of 
 this sort. If so, you must let me know the nature of 
 the danger beforehand." 
 
 Salmoros laughed good-humourcdly. " ISTo, my 
 young friend, I will not play that sort of trick upon 
 you a second time. Besides, being a Count and the 
 husband of a very charming Princess, I doubt if I 
 should find you so useful for my purposes. I will 
 do my utmost to advance your artistic interests in 
 England, instead. But remember, it is a promise; 
 you will bring your wife to my house in Sussex, if 
 not upon your honeymoon, at some time convenient 
 to yourselves." 
 
 Nello assured the benevolent old Baron that they
 
 314 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 would certainly accept his hospitality, and bade him 
 good-night. 
 
 Outside he saw the four stalwart figures of his 
 bodyguard waiting for him. Beilski had not relaxed 
 his precautions. It was still possible that some fanat- 
 ical and devoted adherent of Zouroff might resolve 
 to avenge his defeated chief. 
 
 A burly, bearded man was walking up and down 
 outside the door of the hotel. Corsini recognised him 
 immediately — " Ivan the Cuckoo." 
 
 The four men drew nearer, as they perceived the 
 late outlaw was accosting him, but Corsini raised his 
 hand and waved them back. 
 
 " I waited for you, Sig-nor, to express my thanks 
 to you who have so nobly fulfilled your part of the 
 bargain," said Ivan, speaking in low tones. " I was 
 at the Count's house an hour ago ; he has promised me 
 a most substantial sum, part of which will go to my 
 good old comrade, Stepan. After all, Signor, if we 
 must be truthful, it was he who really saved the Em- 
 peror." 
 
 '^ I quite agree," answered Corsini. Yes, Stepan 
 had expressed his suspicions to Ivan, and Ivan's quick 
 wit had developed the plan of campaign, which 
 the Italian had skilfully conducted. The honours 
 seemed a little unequally distributed. Corsini was 
 a Count, with a handsome sum of money. Ivan was 
 to have also a substantial pecuniary reward, and 
 Stepan was to have some share of what Ivan received. 
 Still, it was no use pondering over these caprices of 
 fortune.
 
 THE INTEIGUEKS 315 
 
 " Signer," went on the late outlaw, " I am sick of 
 Russia. As soon as I get my money, and the Count 
 promises it inmiediately, I shall leave this country. 
 I am tired of it. I shall go to England — I hear it 
 is a land of the free — set up a business there, and 
 turn myself into an honest man." 
 
 Corsini shook him by the hand. " Bravo, Ivan. 
 Yes, by all means go to England. It is, as you say, a 
 land of the free. I shall go back there as soon as I 
 can. I am not over-fond of Russia." 
 
 Ivan's eyes sparkled. " Perhaps, Signor, we might 
 meet there some day, if it would not be presumption 
 on my part to intrude on you." 
 
 " Nonsense, my good Ivan. I shall always be 
 pleased to see you in memory of those few moments we 
 spent before the village ikon. Here is an address to 
 which you can always write me." 
 
 He felt very grateful to Ivan. If it had not been 
 for the good ser^nces of the " Cuckoo," he would never 
 have been a Count of the Russian Empire. He 
 handed him an envelope on which he scribbled his 
 full title and description, addressed to the care of 
 the Baron Salmoros. Any letter directed to that 
 quarter would be sure to reach him, and he knew the 
 Baron would be certain to pardon him for taking the 
 liberty. 
 
 A little later, in the leafy month of June, Corsini 
 and his charming young wife spent a week-end with 
 Salmoros at his beautiful place, Marwood Park, in 
 Sussex.
 
 316 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 Salmoros, with that spirit of unconscious ostenta- 
 tion which often marks the nouveau riche, had built 
 himself a very lordly pleasure house, designed by an 
 eminent architect. Although a childless man, and a 
 bachelor to boot, he had insisted upon a very spacious 
 dwelling. 
 
 The eminent architect, a man of some humour, had 
 remarked to him when he laid before him the plans, 
 " Most men, Baron, when they build houses, build 
 them too small ; afterwards they have to enlarge. I 
 have made ample provision here for another wing, 
 if it should be required. It will not destroy the gen- 
 eral scheme of the structure." 
 
 Of course, when the eminent architect made this 
 suggestions, Salmoros was comparatively a young 
 man. He might marry and want to put aside suites 
 of rooms for his sons and daughters. The eminent 
 architect had this in his eye when he suggested the 
 possibility of another wing. 
 
 Salmoros had agreed, but the other wing had never 
 been built. He had not married, and the house as it 
 stood was spacious enough for his wants. 
 
 Here he stored his valuable pictures, his rare china, 
 his costly antiques. His gardens were the best laid- 
 out in England, his rock walk was not to be equalled 
 in the kingdom, his hot-houses were the pride of the 
 county. 
 
 Everything that money could purchase was his, not 
 from a mere common love of display, but that he 
 would have everything of the best — cellars stocked 
 with the finest wines, cabinets filled with the most 
 choice cigars. A week-end with Salmoros was to the
 
 THE INTEIGUEES 317 
 
 bon viveur a period of ecstasy. Everything in that 
 well-appointed menage was perfect. 
 
 Even ISTada, accustomed to the splendours of the 
 Zouroff Palace, was a little overwhelmed by the 
 stately magnificence of the great financier, Corsini, 
 of humble extraction, was fairly dazzled by it. 
 
 " We seem to walk on velvet, darling, don't we ? " 
 he whispered to his wife as they went down the great 
 staircase. " If we could only have a little music, we 
 might think we were in Paradise." 
 
 But the Baron had provided for that. There were 
 no other guests during the week-end. With the whim 
 of an old man he had wanted to have them to him- 
 self. 
 
 During the perfect dinner, prepared by a clief to 
 whom he paid an enormous salary, a small orchestra 
 played some exquisite music, so softly rendered that 
 it did not interfere with conversation. Salmoros 
 thought out all these things with the true spirit of 
 the artist — the artist with perhaps, in his complex 
 spirit, a little of the Oriental. 
 
 Nada was enchanted. What seemed barbarous in 
 Russia was here touched with refinement, a different 
 thing altogether. What a wonderful old man he was ! 
 
 And Corsini was equally delighted, with his artis- 
 tic appreciation of all that was beautiful and refined. 
 The gaudy splendours of the Winter Palace w^ere vul- 
 gar compared to this perfect setting — and only for 
 a party of three — the exquisite glass and silver, the 
 snowy napery, the well-trained service, the full but 
 subdued light, and that orchestra in the gallery of the 
 vast dining-room rendering that beautiful, but not
 
 318 THE INTRIGUERS 
 
 obtrusive, music, every member of the small band an 
 artist. 
 
 The long meal was ended. Salmoros rose. 
 
 " Come into my favourite sitting-room," he said. 
 " We can smoke there in comfort, and Madame can 
 have a cigarette." 
 
 He led the way into a cosy chamber, furnished in 
 the most exquisite taste. Easy, comfortable chairs 
 abounded, Salmoros presented a cigarette to the 
 Princess and offered Corsini one of his choicest cigars. 
 There was a little period of silence, and then the 
 Baron turned to Corsini. 
 
 " Have you brought your violin with you, Nello ? " 
 
 " I never travel without it, sir," replied the young 
 man. 
 
 " Ah, then, when we have had our smoke, perhaps 
 you will humour an old man's whim. Will you play 
 for me that lovely little romance which was always 
 your encore? There is a piano in yonder corner. 
 Perhaps your wife, who is a musician, will accompany 
 you. If not, I will do my best." 
 
 Later on Nello played, his charming wife accom- 
 panying him. The Baron listened, enraptured. 
 
 " Ah, my dear l^ello, that is exquisite music, ex- 
 quisitely rendered," he said when Corsini had fin- 
 ished. " That fellow who leads my orchestra is 
 good — good enough for dinner anyway — but he 
 has not your perfect touch. Ah, you remember me 
 telling you once what I would give if you could teach 
 me to play like you. Well, that offer is still open." 
 
 Corsini smiled. " What would I not give to be 
 the Baron Salmoros ? "
 
 THE INTRIGUEES 319 
 
 The Baron raised himself from his artistic dreams. 
 " Ah, my young friend, everybody wants something 
 the other has got, and so it will be to the end of time." 
 
 He looked long and earnestly at the young couple 
 before he spoke again. 
 
 " Ah, how very strange is the world ! Why should 
 we grope our way in dark, tortuous, and devious paths 
 to destruction when sincerity, truth, courage, and 
 honesty of purpose will do it with less trouble and 
 more certainty. I sent you to St. Petersburg because 
 I knew the peril in which the Emperor, our good and 
 faithful friend, existed — a peril which, if the plot 
 succeeded, would be a grave disaster to our own di- 
 plomacy of Great Britain, and to all other countries, 
 save Germany. The plot was formed here, in Lon- 
 don, by that traitor. Prince Boris Zouroff, who pos- 
 sessed his Majesty's confidence. But all has ended, 
 my dear Count Corsini, as I had planned." 
 
 Then rising, the great financier, who was also a 
 statesman, added to iN'ada : " And I wish to heartily 
 congratulate your Highness upon your husband — a 
 man in whom your Emperor, the Queen of this coun- 
 try, and myself have the most perfect confidence." 
 
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