WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 ARTHUR W. MARCHMQNT
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR
 
 IT IS NOT CUSTOMARY FOR ME TO EXPLAIN* MY POSITION 
 TWICE,' I SAID WITH A LOFTY AIR." Page JO.
 
 Cttbcn I -* <* * 
 <* * Cttae Czar 
 
 A ROMANCE 
 
 By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT 
 
 Author of "By Wit of Woman," "In The Name of a 
 
 Woman," "By Right of Sword," "For 
 
 Love or Crown," etc. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers 
 ft ft # * NEW YORK # # 1* fi
 
 Copyright, 1903, 
 BY ARTHUR W. MAHCHBHWT 
 
 All rights reserved 
 Published in October, 1903
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 I. A LETTER HOME i 
 
 II. PRINCE KALKOV'S PROPOSITION .... 4 
 
 III. THE EMPEROR STARTS 14 
 
 IV. WHEN I WAS CZAR . . 24 
 
 V. A CZAR DEFIED 35 
 
 VI. His MAJESTY A PRISONER 45 
 
 VII. "I AM NOT THE CZAR " 56 
 
 VIII. DEEPER IN 67 
 
 IX. HELGA SPEAKS 77 
 
 X. VASTIC 88 
 
 XI. CONVICTION AT LAST 97 
 
 XII. HELGA'S ANGER 108 
 
 XIII. THE ATTACK 119 
 
 XIV. CONCERNING THE VALUE OF HOSTAGES . . 130 
 XV. THE DANGERS THICKEN 139 
 
 XVI. HELGA'S DEFEAT 149 
 
 XVII. AT THE GATES OF THE PALACE .... 160 
 
 XVIII. PRINCE KALKOV'S WELCOME 170 
 
 XIX. TURNING THE SCREW 181 
 
 XX. A DEATH TRAP 192
 
 vi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 XXI. AT THE SQUARE OF SAN SOPHIA . . . 203 
 
 XXII. FLIGHT 212 
 
 XXIII. AT THE FRONTIER 223 
 
 XXIV. THE FRESH CAMPAIGN .234 
 
 XXV. THE LUCK WAVERS 245 
 
 XXVI. I WIN 256 
 
 XXVII. A LAST MOVE 268 
 
 XXVIII. LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAV 278 
 
 XXIX. A LAST PRECAUTION 289 
 
 XXX. THE PRINCE OUTWITTED ....... 298 
 
 XXXI. AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR 309 
 
 XXXII. THE END 321
 
 Hubert I wa$ Czar 
 
 CHAPTER I A LETTER HOME 
 
 THE PALACE, ST. PETERSBURG. 
 
 MY DEAR MILLER, 
 Your letter, which was as short as old Can- 
 field's temper, reached me in Berlin as I was starting- 
 for here. I 'm off to Khiva, this wise. 
 
 You '11 remember my old yarn about the Czar having- 
 saved my life years ago in a pig-sticking do in Ger- 
 many he shoved or kicked me into a bush just in 
 the nick of time when the brute made his rush and 
 how we then discovered the strong resemblance be- 
 tween us ? Well, it 's still true, and things have been 
 happening in consequence. 
 
 I ran across Burnaby's book about Khiva a while 
 back and resolved to go there. He says that three 
 Tartars can eat a whole sheep at a single meal, and 
 I want to see if it 's true. Any old tag 's good enough 
 excuse for a globe-trotter, so I wrote to the Czar, 
 reminded him of the pig incident, and asked permis- 
 sion to go East. As a result, I 'm here as his guest ; 
 we 've had a chat over the old time, and I 'm to go 
 where, when and how I like all over his dominions. 
 He 's an awfully decent sort, and I 'm in for a real 
 good time. But it 's been a queer show. 
 
 There 's a woman in it of course and a glorious 
 woman too. A tall, queenly creature, as handsome 
 as a Greek, with the free carriage of one of our own 
 American girls. I saw her on the train, or rather she 
 saw me and seemed particularly interested in me, and 
 it was suiting me very nicely when out came the reason. 
 We stopped at a station some miles from the capital. 
 1 1
 
 2 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 and as the girl and I were separated from the rest of 
 the people, she said in an undertone 
 
 " Your Majesty does not count the risks of travel- 
 ling incognito, alone ? " 
 
 " There are pleasures to counterbalance any risks, 
 mademoiselle," I answered. " Your solicitude is one 
 of them." And I smiled, partly at her amazing mis- 
 take and partly because she was so pretty. Then to 
 put myself right, I added : " But you mistake, I am 
 no Majesty. I am an American, Harper C. Denver is 
 my name." She lifted her eyebrows and smiled again, 
 in obvious disbelief, and replied in French 
 
 " An American who understands Russian, speaks 
 French, and resembles His Majesty the Czar." 
 
 " An American who would gladly welcome an op- 
 portunity of seeing you again, mademoiselle." 
 
 " An American who does not desire it more fervently 
 than I. Meanwhile, accept my warning, sire." She 
 spoke with intense earnestness, and then left the train. 
 
 How 's that for an adventure, eh ? But that was 
 only scene one. I sat thinking it over until the train 
 ran into the station at Petersburg, and then came scene 
 two. 
 
 The moment I stepped from the cars I saw that con- 
 siderable preparations had been made to receive some 
 one of importance, and while I stood looking about for 
 him an old man, tightly bound in a somewhat rich 
 uniform, with two or three companion volumes in at- 
 tendance and a shelf of soldiers behind, came up to me. 
 He waved everybody else out of earshot, and then with 
 an almost reverential salute, said, in a low voice 
 
 " Mr. Denver, I am sure." 
 
 " Yes, that 's my name." 
 
 " Allow me to welcome you to the capital in my 
 august master's name. I am Prince Kalkov, and His 
 Majesty has instructed me to conduct you to the Palace. 
 Will you accompany me ? " 
 
 By this time the people on the platform had begun 
 to show considerable interest in the proceedings, to
 
 A LETTER HOME 3 
 
 my intense amusement, and came crowding around a 
 bit. 
 
 " I shall be delighted," I replied ; and accordingly 
 the Prince gave a word of command to those in attend- 
 ance, a guard of soldiers was formed, and I was in 
 this way escorted to the first of a string of carriages 
 in waiting. 
 
 " To the Palace at full gallop," cried the Prince in 
 a tone loud enough to reach the by-standers. Some 
 one raised a shout of " God save the Emperor," and in 
 another minute we were off to the accompaniment of 
 loud cries and ringing cheers from the crowd, which 
 was by that time a pretty big one. 
 
 That was my sensational entrance into the capital. 
 Here I am at the Czar's Palace, and from what I can 
 judge there 's a great deal more of the same kind to 
 follow. 
 
 " Which is why I remark, 
 And my language is plain, 
 That for ways that are dark 
 And for tricks that are vain, 
 The Russian at Home is peculiar. 
 And the same I shall hope to 
 explain " another time. 
 
 Comic opera with a dash of mysticism seems about 
 a fair description of things up to now. More, when 
 I 've time to write. 
 
 By the way, could n't you manage to leave Wall 
 Street and the dollar raking process for a while and 
 meet me on my return? I mean to go on from 
 Khiva through India to China. Come and lunch with 
 me, say in Pekin, and have a time among the pigtails. 
 Wire me at our Legation and our people will forward 
 to me. Seriously, you might do many things worse. 
 Your old friend, 
 
 HARPER C. DENVER. 
 
 N.B. I 'm not monkeying about the Pekin busi- 
 ness. Come and meet me like the good fellow you 
 are, and hang Wall Street. 
 
 H. C. D.
 
 CHAPTER II PRINCE KALKOV^S 
 PROPOSITION 
 
 " ~\7 OU mean seriously that I am to impersonate 
 I His Majesty?" 
 
 " For this purpose, M. Denver, that is my serious 
 meaning." 
 
 " Well, it 's a most extraordinary proposition." 
 ' The occasion itself is quite an extraordinary one, 
 of course. But I repeat, you will be doing His 
 Majesty and his Ministers a service of extreme im- 
 portance. I have asked you, of course, as I said 
 before, only because I understand you deem yourself 
 under a deep obligation to my master." 
 
 " You heard us speaking to-night of the incident. 
 I owe him probably my life, and certainly an escape 
 from serious injuries. We Americans don't go back 
 on a call, and I admit it 's up to him to call now. 
 But this is such an odd thing." 
 
 " Think it over. It is a national characteristic of 
 your countrymen to be prompt. Shall I return, say, 
 in an hour ? " 
 
 " Wait a minute, Prince," I said as he rose, and 
 pushing my chair back I took a few turns up and 
 down the room. 
 
 We were in the apartments which had been assigned 
 to me in the Palace, and the Prince had interrupted 
 me as I was planning out my projected journey to 
 Khiva. It was nearly midnight, and my maps and 
 papers lay open on the table. 
 
 " I am quite at your disposal, M. Denver," he 
 replied courteously as he resumed his chair and 
 watched me.
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S PROPOSITION 5 
 
 " Let me see that I 've got the hang of the thing 
 right," I said after a while. " You say this man, 
 Boreski, is really dangerous ; but I thought you had 
 a quick method of dealing with dangerous men in 
 Russia." 
 
 " It is not a case for ordinary methods, M. Den- 
 ver, or I should not have come to you. I wish to 
 deal with you with complete frankness, and have 
 spoken unreservedly as to a personal friend of my 
 master." 
 
 " We shan't pull very far together if you don't." 
 
 " To be candid, I am not sure what the man's 
 secret object is presuming, that is, he has one. We 
 know little of him beyond the fact that he is an ad- 
 venturer and a musician of exceptional brilliance, 
 and that the Duchess Stephanie has conceived a 
 great I suppose, I should say fondness for him. 
 She declares she will marry him in defiance of the 
 Emperor's prohibition : a marriage of the kind being 
 outside the pale of possibility, of course, owing to 
 her relationship to the Imperial Family." 
 
 "You think he's after her money?" 
 
 " What other conclusion can one draw ? The 
 Duchess is twenty years older than he; she is the 
 reverse of prepossessing in appearance; and he is 
 young, handsome and certainly clever. Apart from 
 other reasons the marriage would be a tragedy." 
 
 " And then there are these papers ? " 
 
 " And then there are these papers, as you say. 
 She is entirely dominated by him, and there is no 
 doubt she acted at his instigation and well, pur- 
 loined them and carried them to him." 
 
 " He is certainly a daring fellow." 
 
 " A daring scoundrel, unquestionably," assented the 
 Prince, accenting the " scoundrel." 
 
 "But knowing this, why not have arrested him?" 
 
 " I thought I had made that clear. I tried it, but 
 he met me too cleverly. Indeed, I believe he actually 
 angled for the arrest."
 
 6 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Angled for it. How do you mean ? " 
 
 " That he might get face to face with me and let 
 me realize how far he could go, and would if pressed. 
 It was then he told me of these papers, and that he 
 had placed them in reliable hands to be given, if he 
 were detained, to those who must of course never 
 see them. Never, at any cost." 
 
 I smiled at the frank avowal. 
 
 "They are very awkward, then?" 
 
 ' They might mean even war with the Powers 
 chiefly concerned. They are extremely confidential 
 documents. You understand, of course, M. Denver, 
 that in diplomacy, any more than in poker, we cannot 
 always lay the cards on the table." 
 
 " It was a fine bluff." 
 
 " Too dangerous for me to see him," returned the 
 Prince with a smile, falling readily into the language 
 of the pool room. " And the worst of it was he knew 
 it and claimed the jack pot." 
 
 " He 's a smart man. And his terms are? " 
 
 " Preposterous, absolutely ; monstrous. The Im- 
 perial consent to his marriage ; a special dowry of 
 a million roubles ; a patent of nobility ; and a private 
 interview with His Majesty. It was then I thought 
 of you, His Majesty having told me you were coming 
 here, and that you bore so striking a resemblance to 
 him. I arranged the scene at the station this evening 
 to test that." 
 
 " And you wish me to go to this interview, fool the 
 man, and get the papers ? " 
 
 " Precisely. Counting upon your obligation to the 
 Emperor, I have indeed fixed the interview for to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " The deuce you have. Is n't that rather sharp 
 work?" 
 
 " The matter does not admit of delay ; but it is 
 of course open to you to decline." 
 
 " In which case?" 
 
 " I have not yet considered any alternative."
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S PROPOSITION 7 
 
 His coolness staggered me. But he was keen 
 enough to see that I rather enjoyed the prospect of 
 the adventure. 
 
 " Now as to the risks ? " I asked after a pause. 
 
 " I cannot even pretend to gauge them, M. Denver. 
 I don't think they should be considerable ; but there 
 is naturally the chance that the deception would be 
 discovered. I don't think it is probable. Those who 
 are constantly with His Majesty would know you in 
 a moment of course ; but these people only see my 
 master on public occasions, and, as you have had evi- 
 dence, are quite ready to be deceived." 
 
 " But the risk is there." 
 
 " Unquestionably," he assented. " The incident with 
 the lady in the train which you described is, however, 
 very promising. Still, as you say, the risk is there, and 
 it is enough to make any ordinary man unwilling to 
 run it." 
 
 " You flatter me, Prince." 
 
 " No, I try to judge you. An ordinary man would 
 not be eager to rush off to Khiva. Besides, you are 
 an American." 
 
 The appeal to my vanity was put astutely. 
 
 " If I were discovered I should have to get out the 
 best way I could ? " 
 
 " There might be some little trouble, but I don't 
 think it would be really serious to a man of re- 
 source, that is. You would be quite authorized to 
 put the blame on me." 
 
 "And if the deception were not discovered?" 
 
 " It would be a short interview, and you would 
 at the worst have to postpone your departure for one 
 day." 
 
 "You don't anticipate any treachery? No assassi- 
 nation business, for instance? " 
 
 " Boreski has too much at stake. He would lose 
 everything including his worthless life, of course. 
 About the strongest guarantee for your safety that 
 vou could have."
 
 8 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 He put the amazing proposal bluntly and argued 
 the case with as much coolness as if it had been little 
 more than a simple conventional matter of almost 
 everyday routine. 
 
 " You would naturally like to think it over," he 
 said, after I had paced the room a while in thought. 
 
 " You have told me everything ? " 
 
 " Yes, I think so, except, perhaps, that, of course, 
 I don't for a moment believe Boreski made the prop- 
 osition seriously." 
 
 " Yet it 's an odd sort of joke, is n't it ? " 
 
 " I don't mean that. I mean that no man in his 
 senses would believe the Emperor would consent to 
 his conditions for the interview that my master 
 should go to it absolutely unattended, that the place 
 should be determined by Boreski and known to him 
 alone, and that my master should meet a lady at the 
 railway station, get into a strange carriage with her 
 and be taken wherever they pleased to take him. 
 Even in democratic countries monarchs don't act like 
 that." 
 
 " Then what do you mean ? " I asked, puzzled. 
 
 " That he intended to have his terms rejected in 
 order that he might use the rejection to raise them. 
 When I agreed I only did so with you in my 
 thoughts I saw that his surprise amounted almost 
 to embarrassment." 
 
 " There 's this woman in it then/ beside the Duchess 
 Stephanie ? Who is she ? " 
 
 " I have n't an idea some accomplice no doubt." 
 
 " Since the conditions are, as you say, so ridiculous, 
 may he not be suspicious when we agree to them?" 
 
 " It is very possible. But on the other hand he 
 knows that my master is as anxious as I am about 
 those papers." 
 
 " And he may think the Emperor would take the 
 risk. I see. Well, I guess I '11 do it, Prince, but I 
 should like to think it over." 
 
 Prince Kalkov rose at once.
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S PROPOSITION 9 
 
 " Naturally. I need only say, monsieur, that you 
 will be doing His Majesty and Russia a service which 
 we shall not forget. Shall I have your decision in 
 the morning? " 
 
 " To-night, if you '11 come back, say, in a couple of 
 hours. You won't find me asleep after all you 've 
 said." 
 
 He smiled pleasantly, and as he went to the door, 
 said 
 
 " You are just the man I would have chosen for 
 such a task, M. Denver." 
 
 " That remains to be seen," I replied ; " but there 's 
 just one more question, by the by. Which are the 
 countries concerned in those papers ? " 
 
 He paused and gave me a sharp swift look, which 
 broke to a smile. 
 
 " Not the United States, monsieur, but European 
 Powers." 
 
 " That 's the assurance I wished," said I, and then 
 he went. 
 
 I had virtually made up my mind before the Prince 
 left the room, and save for one consideration I should 
 have consented right away. But I could not quite size 
 up the Prince himself. 
 
 I was almost British in my distrust of certain classes 
 of Russian officials. I had lived in Petersburg for 
 some years as a boy, and my father, who was at the 
 Embassy, had inculcated this prejudice. 
 
 I could never resist the feeling that they had some 
 subtle undercurrent motive which made for duplicity ; 
 and I could not now shake myself free from the belief 
 in regard to Prince Kalkov. 
 
 I had no tangible reason for it. He stood high in 
 the confidence of the Czar; he had gone out of his 
 way to make himself agreeable to me ; he had treated 
 me apparently with signal frankness ; and had ad- 
 mitted the possible risks and complications of the 
 very tangled business. 
 
 I had another slight qualm. My sympathies were
 
 10 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 rather with than against the man Boreski. I was not 
 a Russian aristocrat ; and from my American point 
 of view I was disposed to admire the pluck of a man 
 who was fighting single-handed against the powerful 
 Russian Court, and giving that autocratic body a real 
 bad time. His methods were not nice, but his adroit 
 use of them was so smart that I could not help enjoy- 
 ing them. Whereas, if it came to a mere question of 
 ethics, I could n't see that, taking into account the 
 shady episode of the secret papers, either side had much 
 pull over the other. 
 
 What really decided me was my old obligation to 
 the Czar. My inclinations were all on the side of 
 going in for the thing; and probably I gave more 
 weight to that consideration than it deserved. But 
 anyway I convinced myself that I could wipe out the 
 old debt by doing what was asked of me, and when 
 the Prince came back, I met him with the statement 
 that if the details of the thing could be fixed, I was 
 his man. 
 
 He was manifestly delighted. 
 
 " I cannot tell you what pleasure your decision 
 gives me. We shall now circumvent him completely. 
 This is Boreski," and he handed me a photograph. 
 
 The man was certainly handsome and distinguished- 
 looking. Dark as a raven, with large, deep-set, 
 thoughtful eyes under straight brows, a broad ample 
 forehead, straight nose, very shapely mouth with 
 curved mobile lips, and a narrowing chin. 
 
 " A handsome fellow, and that 's the truth," I said. 
 
 " So the Duchess thinks," he returned drily, hand- 
 ing me her portrait. 
 
 " You said she was twenty years his senior. This 
 is a young woman." 
 
 " It was taken last year : a Court photograph," and 
 he smiled. " She 's all but fifty." 
 
 " Love at fifty may be a very serious passion, Prince. 
 Have you no scruples about blighting it? She might 
 take it badly and pine away."
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S PROPOSITION 11 
 
 " She might do much worse, monsieur, and marry 
 that rascal." 
 
 "Her fortune is her own, I presume?" 
 
 " She would forfeit much of it if she married with- 
 out the Emperor's consent. Boreski knows that well 
 enough, and trades on it. I do not think we shall find 
 him a really strong man. He has the whip hand of 
 us for the moment through those stolen documents ; 
 but when we once get those, we shall be able to frighten 
 him, I am convinced." 
 
 " Ought I not to know the nature of the docu- 
 ments ? " 
 
 " I have been expecting that question. Do you 
 press it ? " 
 
 " Not if it embarrasses you to answer. But how 
 shall I know them when they are given up to me ? " 
 
 " They are very confidential," he said, his face 
 wrinkling in perplexed thought. He paused, and 
 then with a sigh added, very slowly, the words seem- 
 ing to be wrung from him almost : " I suppose there 
 is no other way. They affect Germany and Austria. 
 They include a secret treaty with Austria and a num- 
 ber of plans of fortresses, and the army mobilization 
 schemes, etc., of our neighbours." 
 
 " I can understand your anxiety, Prince," I said 
 drily. 
 
 " They must be recovered, M. Denver, at any cost 
 or sacrifice," he answered with intense earnestness. 
 
 " I will do my best," I replied, and then we turned 
 to discuss the details of the project. He told me his 
 arrangements, the chief of which was his scheme to 
 secure my safety. 
 
 " I shall take exactly the same precautions as if 
 you were His Majesty himself," he said. " The car- 
 riage in which you travel will be followed; its de- 
 scription will be telephoned everywhere, so that it may 
 be instantly recognized by our agents who to-morrow 
 night will be stationed at the corner of every street 
 of the capital. Within a minute of your entering the-
 
 12 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 house, wherever it is, a large force will commence to 
 converge upon it; and if there is any delay or 
 treachery the place will be carried by force." 
 
 " Is n't that a breach of faith with Boreski ? " 
 
 " Of course I gave him an official pledge the car- 
 riage should not be followed." 
 
 " Official ? Rather a nice distinction, is n't it ? " 
 
 He laughed. " One has to do these things officially." 
 
 " You mean you have to give a pledge and 
 break it." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. " We are dealing with 
 a scoundrel." 
 
 " Does that justify unclean methods ? " 
 
 " Unclean ? " He caught at the word angrily. 
 
 " I said unclean. Please understand me. I am 
 neither a courtier nor a diplomat, but just a plain 
 American citizen ; and when we Americans pledge 
 our word we keep it, whether it be given to an honest 
 man or a rogue. This pledge of yours must be kept, 
 Prince Kalkov." 
 
 He grew excited for the first time, and gesticulated 
 vehemently as he answered. 
 
 " It is impossible, impossible ! " he cried. " You 
 cannot appreciate the importance of those papers, M. 
 Denver. Hitherto we have been unable to learn their 
 whereabouts, but we know that to-morrow night they 
 will be in the house to which Boreski will drive you ; 
 that is why this appointment is to be kept. And 
 when we once know where they are, not this Boreski 
 nor ten thousand Boreskis shall prevent my recover- 
 ing them." 
 
 This cast a somewhat fresh light on the thing, and 
 annoyed me. 
 
 ''' Then you must get some one else to keep the 
 appointment, Prince Kalkov," I answered. 
 
 " But your promise," he cried, angry and em- 
 barrassed. 
 
 " My promise was to play the part of the Emperor 
 in the matter, and I '11 either be obeyed as Emperor
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S PROPOSITION 13 
 
 or we '11 call it off, and I '11 remain plain Harper C. 
 Denver. You can choose, right now." 
 
 He sat gnawing his moustache in perplexity, and 
 wanted to expostulate and argue the point. 
 
 " But 
 
 " There are no buts in this. You can call it off or 
 on but on my terms. You can choose." 
 
 This was just what he did not wish to do, however. 
 
 " Your own safety " he began again. 
 
 " You can leave that to me," I cut in. " Is it to 
 be on or off ? " And I looked him fair and square 
 in the eyes. 
 
 He gave a deep-drawn sigh, twisted his moustache 
 ends, made as if to expostulate, but stopped on meet- 
 ing my looks, and then with a shrug of the shoulders 
 gave way. 
 
 " It 's an enormous responsibility, but if you insist 
 I must yield." 
 
 " Good ; then we '11 be off to bed and leave the 
 rest until to-morrow." 
 
 He rose and gave me his hand. 
 
 " Good-night, M. Denver. You are a strong man," 
 he said. 
 
 " Good-night, Prince. We '11 talk about strength 
 when the job 's finished. I '11 do my best, as I said." 
 
 He paused by the door and turned. 
 
 " After all the whole thing is only tricking Boreski. 
 I wish you 'd let me do it my way." 
 
 " It 's only a trick, of course ; but the cards are on 
 the table so far as the personation is concerned. I 
 can't give in to the rest." 
 
 " As your Majesty pleases," he returned with a 
 slow smile as he left the room.
 
 CHAPTER III THE EMPEROR STARTS 
 
 I DID not leave my rooms on the following day, 
 and passed the chief part of it preparing for 
 the part I was to play in the evening, and discussing 
 the details. 
 
 The Prince and I had several interviews, and his 
 confidential attendant, a Frenchman named Pierre, 
 waited on me. From him I had a number of hints 
 as to little characteristics of the Emperor, gestures, 
 movements, habits and so on, calculated to help out 
 my rendering of the part. 
 
 We arranged that I should go in ordinary morn- 
 ing dress, and over this I was to wear a semi-military 
 cloak borrowed from the Imperial wardrobe. 
 
 The papers I required were all prepared with scru- 
 pulous care. These were a patent of nobility making 
 Boreski a Count and I was instructed how to per- 
 form the little ceremony of investing him with it ; 
 a written consent to his marriage with the Duchess 
 Stephanie; and a draft upon the Imperial Treasury 
 for the sum of a million roubles. 
 
 " The draft is post dated, as you see," said the 
 Prince, " as the money is intended for the Duchess's 
 dowry, and is not payable until the marriage. You 
 can explain this." 
 
 " He '11 probably look for the money down," I ob- 
 jected at once. 
 
 " He is dealing with an Emperor who would not 
 break faith with him," returned the Prince with a 
 grim smile reminiscent of our previous night's dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 " If these papers are so valuable, why not give the 
 money at once and let me take it in bank notes ? " 
 
 14
 
 THE EMPEROR STARTS 15 
 
 " When we have the papers we can deal with him 
 for a tenth part of the sum. A million, indeed ! " 
 
 " If your economic instincts lead to trouble, don't 
 blame me," I returned a little sharply. " I repeat 
 I think you should send notes." 
 
 " Your Majesty can promise him anything. If he 
 raises any difficulty he can come to me," he added. 
 
 " There is nothing else I have to take? " 
 
 " Nothing except this ring of the Emperor's. You 
 had better wear it, as it is well known ; and perhaps 
 had better take a revolver, although I don't think you 
 will have any trouble calling for one." 
 
 " One never knows," said I, and decided to take his 
 advice. 
 
 " You will, of course, be cautious not to attempt a 
 word of Russian. Your accent would betray you in 
 a moment. You can use French with absolute safety, 
 as His Majesty's unfortunate preference for that lan- 
 guage is well known. That is most important." 
 
 " I 'm not likely to forget. I can understand every- 
 thing in Russian, but I know my limitations." 
 
 ' Then I will go and get ready to accompany you 
 on the first part of the journey to the rendezvous at 
 the Square of St. Peter." 
 
 Now that the time was so close I was a good deal 
 excited and impatient for the curtain to go up. 
 
 " You have His Majesty's figure and walk remark- 
 ably, m'sieur," said the Prince's man watching me 
 closely. " From behind I myself should be deceived' 
 even at so short a distance and in so good a light as 
 this. It is wonderful." 
 
 " Unfortunately I can't keep my back turned ta 
 people all the time." 
 
 " That is true, m'sieur ; but then it is always safer 
 to turn the face to dangers, is it not ? " He put 
 so much emphasis on the word that I turned and looked 
 at him. 
 
 " You think a good deal of the dangers, then,. 
 Pierre?"
 
 16 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " There is always danger in this Russia ; " and he 
 grimaced to show his French dislike of it. 
 
 " Yet you stay here." 
 
 " I am only a valet, m'sieur, they pass over my 
 head. But I have been fifteen years in the country 
 and have seen many strange things." 
 
 " If the Emperor were really going on this business, 
 you think he would run big risks ? " 
 
 " It may be different with you, m'sieur ; you may 
 be discovered in time. But if it were the Emperor, 
 I should rub my hands with pleasure to see him return." 
 
 " You take a cheerful view of things, Pierre. I 
 expect you have a liver that troubles you." 
 
 He threw up his hands and shoulders. 
 
 " Americans and English are the same and like 
 mad risks. But I would not do this no, not for the 
 crown of Russia. I know what I know." 
 
 " And I do it for the love of the thing, and I sup- 
 pose that 's about the difference between us." 
 
 " Monsieur is monsieur," he replied with a comical, 
 lachrymose air. " But you will need to be very cau- 
 tious. You have friends in Petersburg, probably?" 
 
 " No, indeed. No one knows of my presence here." 
 
 " That is strange but perhaps convenient. 
 You would not be missed." 
 
 " No, not by a soul except here in the Palace." 
 
 He smiled mysteriously. 
 
 " If you are discovered, m'sieur, I should not let 
 that fact be known. I should speak of many. A 
 friendless man may be a helpless one." 
 
 " You have a pleasant imagination, Pierre." 
 
 " Russia is not France, m'sieur, nor America," he 
 replied, cryptically, with so lugubrious an air that I 
 smiled. 
 
 It was not a cheerful send-off, and in the carriage 
 I told old Kalkov what his man had said. 
 
 " Pierre is a good valet but a fool," he answered 
 with a grunt. " He had his nerves twisted once in
 
 THE EMPEROR STARTS 17 
 
 a Nihilist row, and ever since has seen a Nihilist con- 
 spiracy in every trouble.'' 
 
 "You don't take these conspiracies seriously?" 
 
 " As a rule, no ; occasionally they are dangerous 
 of course; but generally little more than froth and 
 wind mere political dyspepsia from the soured 
 stomach of sectional discontent." 
 
 "Is this Boreski a Nihilist?" 
 
 " Possibly. It is always possible. But I think not. 
 We shall know much more when you return." 
 
 " If I do return, that is." 
 
 " Naturally ; " and he smiled, not pleasantly. 
 
 I began to think how the cat must have felt when 
 she had burnt her foot in drawing the chestnuts out 
 of the fire and saw the monkey enjoying them. But 
 it was too late to retreat now, even if I had been so 
 minded. The Prince felt something of this, I fancy,, 
 for he gave me the opportunity. 
 
 " If you have any fear, M. Denver, and wish to 
 draw back, we can return to the Palace." 
 
 " Not on any account." 
 
 " I want you to feel, whatever happens, that you 
 have gone into the thing quite voluntarily. I wish 
 to feel that too." 
 
 " I shall see it through, Prince." 
 
 " Spoken like an American," he replied promptly, 
 and a minute afterwards the carriage stopped. " We 
 have arrived." 
 
 We got out on the north side of a large square 
 and looked about for the other carriage. None was 
 in sight, but a hooded automobile stood in the shadow 
 on the opposite side. 
 
 " Can that be it ? " I asked the Prince. 
 
 " It would be very easily traced," he said. 
 
 " But not so easily followed. There is no other 
 and we are already a few minutes behind time." 
 
 " We can cross and see." 
 
 His face was full of doubt. 
 
 " I had better go alone," I replied, detaining him.
 
 18 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " As you will. God send you may be successful 
 for the sake of Russia." 
 
 His tone was intensely earnest, and with the words 
 ringing in my ears I swung off into the road in the 
 direction of the autocar, and when I turned once 
 I saw him watching me intently and eagerly. 
 
 Now that the moment for action had really come, 
 I was as cool as I could have wished. I took a mental 
 note of everything and I was careful to assume so 
 far as possible the swinging stride of the man I was 
 personating. 
 
 As I neared the car a man stepped from inside it 
 and touched his cap. 
 
 "Who is your master?" I asked, putting all the 
 authority I could into my manner, and staring hard 
 at the man. He was dressed like a chauffeur, and 
 save for his black beard and moustache his face was 
 almost hidden by the peak of his cap and a pair of 
 hideous driving goggles. 
 
 " M. Boreski, m'sieur." His French was that of 
 an educated man, I thought. 
 
 " What are your instructions ? " 
 
 " We are waiting for some one from the Palace, 
 m'sieur." The " we " struck me as peculiar. I stopped 
 by the car and looked harder at him. 
 
 " You speak French with a good accent, my man," 
 I said, with some suspicion in my tone, and then the 
 unexpected happened. 
 
 A girl, closely veiled, put her head out from the 
 hood which covered the back seat, and with a dash 
 of contempt said 
 
 " The American will scarcely be afraid to trust him- 
 self with a woman." 
 
 I gave a start of genuine pleasure. It was the girl 
 who had spoken to me on the train. 
 
 " With you, mademoiselle, I would trust myself 
 anywhere ; " and without hesitation I took the seat 
 by her side. 
 
 The chauffeur got into his place and we were off at 
 a smart pace into the darkness.
 
 19 
 
 I looked back at old Kalkov and waved my hand 
 to him, and as we whirled round the corner out of the 
 square he drew himself up and gave me a military 
 salute. 
 
 If I had any doubts before, they vanished the 
 moment I was by the side of the girl. The adventure 
 had taken just the turn I could have wished; and 
 come what might, I was resolved to have a good 
 time. 
 
 " That was Prince Kalkov, your Majesty ? " she 
 asked, speaking in Russian. I answered in French. 
 
 " Yes, my very faithful old friend and counsellor 
 to whose planning I owe this this excursion, shall 
 we call it ? " 
 
 " Your Majesty is " 
 
 " Wait, please. This is a very unusual matter. I 
 make one condition at the outset. My incognito must 
 be strictly maintained by every one by every one, 
 if you please. I am not the Emperor, but as I told 
 you yesterday, an American. My name is Harper C. 
 Denver. I do not even speak the Russian language, 
 although I can understand it, and I am travelling in 
 Russia for pleasure." 
 
 She was undeniably as smart as she was pretty. 
 She listened to me intently, and she asked in English. 
 
 " You speak and understand English then perfectly." 
 
 It was a pretty trap, but I was not to be drawn, so 
 I replied in French 
 
 " An American must necessarily speak his own 
 language, mademoiselle ; " and at that she laughed 
 softly. 
 
 " You are doubtless staying at the Hotel Imperial, 
 the favourite hotel with Americans ? " 
 
 " No, I am staying at the Palace with my friend 
 the Emperor ; " a truth which sounded so ridiculous 
 that she laughed again. 
 
 " We will be careful that a friend of our Emperor 
 has his wishes regarded so far as possible." 
 
 We rode some distance after that without speaking 
 until I broke the silence.
 
 20 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " There are three questions I should like to a^k, 
 mademoiselle. Have I your permission ? " 
 
 " I cannot pledge myself to answer them, m'sieur." 
 
 "Where are we going?" 
 
 " That will depend upon whether you have kept 
 faith with M. Boreski." 
 
 " In what way ? " 
 
 " Are we being followed ? " 
 
 " I gave express orders to the contrary." 
 
 " An American citizen can give orders to the police 
 in Russia then, m'sieur," she put in. 
 
 " Under certain circumstances an American citizen 
 can be master of the situation," I replied equivocally 
 and with more truth than she could have any idea 
 of. " Will you answer my question ? " 
 
 " About ten miles, if all goes well if your orders 
 have been obeyed, that is. We shall soon know." 
 
 " You shall have any proof I can give you of my 
 good faith in this respect. How shall we know ? " 
 
 She appeared to think for a few moments, then 
 turned and looked at me through her veil. 
 
 " If you mean that, there will be no difficulty." 
 
 " I give you my word of honour. Let me put 
 my second question. Do you pledge yourself, you 
 mademoiselle, personally, for my safety ? " 
 
 " Unconditionally, and so will M. Boreski." 
 
 " I don't care about him. It is to you I trust." 
 
 I felt her start and her voice was unsteady as she 
 replied 
 
 " On my honour, your Majesty shall not regret 
 that confidence." 
 
 " Then I will do anything and everything you ask. 
 I put myself absolutely in your hands." 
 
 She rose then and spoke to the chauffeur. 
 
 " M. Boreski says your spies are dogging us and 
 that the streets are alive with them." 
 
 "That is M. Boreski?" I asked indicating the 
 chauffeur. 
 
 " Yes, that is M. Boreski. We anticipated there
 
 THE EMPEROR STARTS 21 
 
 would be treachery of the kind." There was again 
 a spice of contempt in her tone. 
 
 " So far as I am concerned your suspicions are 
 unwarranted, mademoiselle. I have been badly served, 
 and some one shall suffer for it. But what do you 
 propose ? " 
 
 " Will you change from this carriage into another 
 with me, leaving this to be followed by your police ? " 
 
 There was the same touch of scorn in her manner. 
 
 " Certainly I will not if you continue to doubt my 
 personal good faith. I will return to the Palace and 
 leave the thing to be arranged in some other way. 
 Otherwise, I am, as I said, absolutely in your hands." 
 
 " I am convinced and ashamed of my doubts. 
 Please forgive me." She spoke quickly and eagerly. 
 
 " Then let us make the change as soon as you 
 will." 
 
 She spoke again to Boreski, and the machine gave 
 a spurt forward as he increased the speed until we 
 were flying along at a rate that made conversation 
 almost impossible. 
 
 After some time we swung round a corner and 
 stopped with a sudden jerk. 
 
 " Now," cried Boreski eagerly, and in a moment 
 we two were on the ground and he had started again, 
 while the girl drew me inside the gates of a house. 
 
 " You will see now how you have been obeyed," she 
 said, and the words were scarcely out of her lips 
 before a vehicle, driven at full gallop with a couple 
 of mounted men close behind it, went dashing and 
 clattering past us on the track of the automobile. 
 " They are your police, monsieur, and have now a 
 long ride before them." 
 
 She referred to them with a shrug of utter con- 
 tempt. 
 
 " We have a short distance to go in the opposite 
 direction, and shall then find a carriage." 
 
 Her coolness was admirable, and when we started 
 to walk she could not have been more unconcerned
 
 if I had been merely seeing her home from a pink 
 tea in New York. 
 
 We passed through two or three streets, meeting 
 only a few loungers, and as we crossed a more im- 
 portant thoroughfare at the corner of which a man 
 and a woman stood talking, my companion stopped 
 and asked the woman where we could get a drosky. 
 She spoke in broken Russian and added 
 
 " We are Americans and have lost our way." 
 
 " You will find none about here," the man answered, 
 and spoke in English. 
 
 " We are in a fix, it seems." 
 
 " Which is the way to St. Mark's Square ? " I 
 asked. " I know my way from there." 
 
 He gave us minute directions and we walked on. 
 
 " Those are police spies," said my companion 
 quietly, " and if we had not spoken to them, they 
 would probably have followed us. But no one 
 suspects Americans." 
 
 " How well you speak English," I said, off my 
 guard for a moment. 
 
 " No better than you, monsieur," she replied simply. 
 " Your question in English was a great stroke ! " 
 
 "You have been in England?" 
 
 " Yes, two or three times. I was educated there 
 and in France. What a country of freedom is Eng- 
 land. We shall get our carriage here," she said a 
 little later, and presently it came rumbling along 
 slowly and stopped at a signal from her. 
 
 " We shall not be more than a few minutes now," 
 she said as we got in. 
 
 " You have not told me your name, mademoiselle? " 
 
 " I am Helga ; and take the same surname as 
 my cousin, M. Boreski until my mission is accom- 
 plished." 
 
 "Your mission? What is that?" 
 
 " I will tell you some day if you will grant me 
 a hearing ? " 
 
 " You may always depend on that, mademoiselle,"
 
 THE EMPEROR STARTS 23 
 
 I answered as earnestly as I felt, so earnestly indeed 
 that she turned and looked at me in surprise. 
 " Pray God your Majesty means that." 
 And I was still pondering her reply when the car- 
 riage stopped and she told me we had reached our 
 destination.
 
 CHAPTER IV WHEN i WAS CZAR 
 
 AS I sat in the sumptuously furnished drawing- 
 room, waiting for Helga Boreski to join me, 
 I felt both embarrassed and puzzled. 
 
 Who was she? What was the mysterious mission 
 of which she had spoken? What was her connexion 
 with this Boreski affair? What part was she playing 
 in the serio-comic drama in which I had thus suddenly 
 been involved? 
 
 I could see no answer to the questions. I had 
 made as keen an observation of the house as a few 
 rapid glances in the darkness would permit; but 
 could see little more than that it was a large ram- 
 bling building standing well secluded in extensive 
 grounds. Inside, the place contained all the evidences 
 of considerable wealth, and it was clear somebody 
 connected with it must have money. 
 
 Boreski had been described to me, however, as an 
 adventurer, who was angling for his duchess in order 
 to secure her private fortune. He was also unques- 
 tionably blackmailing the Government in the matter 
 of the million roubles. 
 
 Yet the room I was in might have been the par- 
 lour of an American millionaire, so costly and precious 
 were many of the pictures and ornaments. 
 
 Coffee was served to me by footmen who might 
 have stepped straight from an English peer's house- 
 hold; and altogether, as I say, I was completely 
 mystified. 
 
 My embarrassment came from a quite different 
 cause. It was one thing to meet an adventurer like 
 this Boreski with his own weapons and fool him into 
 an appreciation of his own short-sightedness; but it 
 
 24
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 25 
 
 was something very different to treat Helga in the 
 same way. Rightly or wrongly I had come to the 
 fixed conviction that, although I had met her in this 
 very questionable association with Boreski's sordid 
 scheme, she herself was as good as she was beautiful. 
 And the idea of cheating her, of palming myself off 
 for the Emperor, was more repugnant than I can say. 
 
 I was brooding over the problem with my coffee 
 untasted when she came in, looking positively radiant. 
 Her eyes were shining with excitement, her face was 
 coloured with the glow of the ride ; and she had 
 gowned herself simply, but with exquisite taste, in 
 subdued tones that set off her magnificent beauty of 
 face and form to perfection. 
 
 Every action and gesture were full of grace, and 
 as she moved across the room I followed her with 
 a glance that she must have felt expressed my intense 
 admiration. I was hopelessly bewitched by her rav- 
 ishing beauty; and that is the truth. 
 
 " Are you still the American as to ceremonial ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " Oh, please ; " and I motioned to a lounge, feel- 
 ing abominably mean. She sank into it with a smile. 
 
 " Fresh coffee for M. Denver," she said to the 
 servant, pausing on the threshold of the name, and 
 glancing at me she pointed to my untouched cup. 
 " And cigarettes." 
 
 She lighted a cigarette and I did the same. 
 
 " You wished it all to be informal," she said when 
 the servant had left the room. " It is also very 
 extraordinary." 
 
 " And very delightful," I could not help saying. 
 
 " You have no longer any hesitation as to your own 
 safety ? " 
 
 " I have trusted you and am content." 
 
 " Would God it may always be so," she said ear- 
 nestly under her breath. 
 
 " I should never doubt you," I returned with an 
 emphasis. " But frankly I am completely mystified."
 
 26 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 She laughed, and it was like the sound of sweet 
 sleigh bells. 
 
 " This is my house ; I live here with an old relative, 
 Madame Korvata. She is what the Spaniards would 
 call my duenna, and the English, Mrs. Grundy. But 
 I am like the Americans you Americans," she re- 
 peated with a glance ; " in my love of personal free- 
 dom. I do as I like." 
 
 "That I can believe. And M. Boreski?" 
 
 " Is M. Boreski that is all to me. He is my 
 cousin, very distantly my cousin, and he has his plans." 
 
 She managed to suggest that these schemes were 
 indifferent to her, and after a short pause added 
 meaningly 
 
 " We all have plans, have n't we ? Little moves 
 of the pawns on the chess board, leading to some 
 great combination perhaps, that is." 
 
 " M. Boreski is coming here?" I asked. 
 
 " You are already impatient to go." 
 
 The retort came quickly with just an accent of 
 reproach and disappointment. 
 
 " On the contrary I am more than content to stay." 
 
 She gave me a sharp half-quizzical glance, with a 
 smile in it, quickly suppressed save in her eyes. 
 
 " I wonder can that be true ? What kind of test 
 it would stand ? " 
 
 " Any test you could choose." 
 
 " We shall see. I may remind you of that ; " half 
 challenge half banter this was. " But my concerns 
 are nothing to you." 
 
 " Then let us make them something." Our eyes 
 met as I said this with an earnestness that was personal 
 if not Imperial, and she met my gaze openly and 
 steadily. Hers were dangerous eyes for any man to 
 look into, and especially for one who thought of her 
 as I did. 
 
 " I wonder what you mean by that ? What I ought 
 to read behind your look and eager offer ? " 
 
 " Nothing but goodwill to you. Believe that."
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 27 
 
 " You tempt me, monsieur American/' and she 
 fell back in her chair with a half sigh and sat thinking 
 intently. Presently she shook her head. " No, not 
 yet, not yet. You know nothing of me." 
 
 " An ignorance you can easily correct. But no, 
 you are right, it must not be yet," I exclaimed hastily. 
 
 I had no right to invite confidence from her until 
 she knew who I really was. But my exclamation 
 surprised her. 
 
 " Why not yet from your side ? " 
 
 " I cannot tell you. How long will M. Boreski 
 be?" 
 
 She wrinkled her brow at the question. 
 
 " Yon mean you would first know what my con- 
 nexion with his scheme is? A somewhat shallow 
 trust yours, after all." 
 
 " It may seem so, but I did not mean that." 
 
 " Then what did you mean ? " 
 
 Her eyes again sought mine as if to read my 
 thoughts. I threw up a blockading smile. 
 
 "How long will he be?" 
 
 " You play with me," she exclaimed petulantly. 
 "I do not make a pleasant plaything. M. Boreski 
 will be here soon now. He will find some one to 
 take his place and play hare to your police dogs 
 the dogs that were not to have been set upon us." 
 
 " ' Us ' ? " I repeated with a lift of the eyebrows. 
 " You do identify yourself with him then ? " 
 
 She laughed. 
 
 " That is a man's retort. Suspicion for suspicion ; 
 and it serves me right. Now that the time has come, 
 I am not myself. 1 am too anxious. I do not under- 
 stand Americans. You make me feel as no other 
 man as ever yet made me feel." 
 
 Was this for the Emperor or for myself? I did 
 not relish the problem and made no reply. 
 
 She sighed, and rising touched the bell, and re- 
 mained standing while the servants came and removed 
 the coffee-cups.
 
 28 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 I was glad of the interval. It gave me time to 
 remember my part and remember, too, how unstable 
 was the ground I stood on. 
 
 When the servants had gone again she remained 
 standing with one elbow resting upon an ebony column 
 under a branch of electric lights, the soft shaded 
 colours from which fell upon her, enhancing her 
 beauty. 
 
 " In the train yesterday you said you wished to 
 see me again," she said slowly in a low seductive 
 voice. " You have had your wish, you see. It is 
 good to be an American. Will you have the same 
 wish after to-night, I wonder. I wonder," she added 
 musingly. 
 
 " It is a graver question whether you would grant 
 the wish if I expressed it." 
 
 "Do you doubt it? You need not." And then 
 quickly as if to get on to safer ground, " The wishes 
 of such an American must be commands to to 
 Russian subjects." 
 
 I winced and my face clouded, and I wished my 
 Imperial character at the bottom of the Black Sea. 
 She was quick to notice the change. 
 
 " I have offended you. How ? " There was eager- 
 ness in her eyes. 
 
 " No. I have offended myself, that 's all," I re- 
 turned with a little sigh of vexation. 
 
 " You are hard to understand," she murmured 
 softly. 
 
 "Without the key to the riddle, yes;" and once 
 more we lapsed into silence. During the pause she 
 resumed her seat. 
 
 " M. Boreski should be here now, monsieur," she 
 said at length, a notable difference in her tone. " You 
 are going to grant his request? " 
 
 " I have come to obtain the papers he holds." 
 
 " I fear you will find him difficult to deal with 
 after the police incident to-night. Police spies are 
 to him an abomination. You had none yesterday.
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 29 
 
 Why do you run such risks as to travel quite un- 
 attended ? " 
 
 " I ran no risk. No one knew me," I answered, 
 rather embarrassed. 
 
 " I knew you." 
 
 " Against what were you warning me ? " 
 
 She read suspicion in the question. 
 
 " I am not a Nihilist ; but Russia is Russia." 
 
 " You know something of these Nihilists ? " 
 
 " I know many of them to be reckless desperate 
 men." 
 
 " One has to take chances." 
 
 "Do you think this what you term a chance?" 
 
 " God forbid. But I am glad of your repudiation."" 
 
 " Did you need it ? " she asked, her eyes on mine 
 again. 
 
 " I have told you I trust you, and I think have 
 shown it. But you are an enigma." 
 
 She smiled and leaned forward until her face was 
 near to mine. 
 
 "Do you think me worth the trouble of solving?" 
 and she was still waiting for my answer and gazing 
 at me when, to my chagrin, the door opened and 
 Boreski entered. 
 
 I recognized him instantly from his photograph ; 
 an aristocrat to his finger-tips he appeared to me, 
 with a perfect manner; as striking a personality in 
 his way as Helga herself. 
 
 " M. Boreski," said Helga, rising, and he made a 
 courtier-like bow. 
 
 " I am more honoured than I can say by the con- 
 descension of this interview, your Majesty," he said. 
 " Pray pardon my lateness, but it is due to circum- 
 stances beyond my control." 
 
 As I knew he had been leading the police on a wild 
 goose chase I had to restrain an inclination to smile. 
 
 " Mademoiselle here has already anticipated your 
 explanation, monsieur," I said ; and the two exchanged 
 quick glances. " It was contrary to my express orders 
 that you were followed."
 
 30 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " A very direct and precise pledge was given me, 
 your Majesty, by His Highness Prince Kalkov." 
 
 His manner more than his words made me under- 
 stand that he held he had been badly treated and 
 resented strongly the breach of faith. This was the 
 crossing of the weapons in the game of fence be- 
 tween us. 
 
 " It is not customary for me to explain my position 
 twice, M. Boreski," I said with a lofty air. " Let 
 us get to the business of the interview if you please. 
 You will be seated," and I waved my hand to a chair. 
 
 " I thank your Majesty," he replied with a defer- 
 ential bow as he sat down. 
 
 " We understand, of course, the peculiar nature of 
 circumstances leading to the interview and the im- 
 portance attached to the papers which you have. 
 Where are they, if you please ? " 
 
 " Ready to be produced the moment your Majesty 
 has settled the preliminaries." 
 
 " You have named very high terms, monsieur." 
 
 " His Highness, in your Majesty's name, has already 
 agreed to them," he returned quietly. 
 
 " But we are now face to face, monsieur, and we 
 can re-open the whole matter. I propose to do that, 
 and I invite you to tell me now precisely your ulti- 
 mate object and your inner motives." 
 
 The question surprised him, and he pursed his lips 
 and frowned in thought and looked across at Helga. 
 
 " I do not understand your Majesty." 
 
 " Come, come, monsieur, you must do that. You 
 are young, you have a great career before you as a 
 maestro, they tell me, a career which means ample 
 rewards in money in these days so that you cannot 
 be seeking money only. What, then, is it ? " 
 
 " Your Majesty is good enough " 
 
 " Stay," I put in then. " I have explained to 
 Mademoiselle Helga that I am strictly incognito. Re- 
 gard me as no other than the American, Mr. Denver, 
 and let us talk this out as man to man. Forget that
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 31 
 
 there is any one present but a private individual who- 
 has influence with an absent Emperor. Now tell me 
 frankly what is the real object you are seeking?" 
 
 " You are very gracious, but my object has already 
 been explained I desire to marry the Duchess 
 Stephanie." 
 
 " As a means to what end ? " 
 
 " Marriage is an end in itself," said Helga, speak- 
 ing for the first time, and coming to his rescue. 
 
 " That would make M. Boreski a mere fortune- 
 hunter, mademoiselle, an extremely distasteful and 
 invidious part to play." 
 
 They were both surprised at the turn of things 
 and were silent for some moments. 
 
 " I thought this part of the matter had been defi- 
 nitely settled," said Helga ; and then for the first time 
 a suspicion crossed my mind that the man was taking 
 his cue from her. 
 
 He said quickly 
 
 " So it has been." 
 
 " Are you tired of your art, monsieur ? If you 
 were to marry the Duchess Stephanie your career 
 must of course end. What, then, do you expect to 
 gain in its place? Money? What is a million roubles " 
 I only just avoided saying a hundred thousand dol- 
 lars f ' to a man with your gifts ? Do you seek place, 
 power, influence ? Let me remind you, you are forcing 
 your way into a circle which will never receive you 
 as an equal. Political influence will be impossible for 
 you the Emperor himself would be inflexible on 
 that point. If I read you aright, you are a man with 
 ambition and individuality; and neither ambition nor 
 individuality is content to be a mere adjunct to a wife." 
 
 " In America is not affection regarded as a possible 
 basis of marriage, M. Denver?" asked Helga; and I 
 turned with a smile to her. 
 
 "My kinswoman" I made the slip intentionally 
 and then corrected it " the Duchess Stephanie is 
 no longer so fascinating as in her youth, mademoiselle. 
 I am only dealing with facts."
 
 32 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " M. Denver has no wish to insult me or the Duchess, 
 I am sure," said Boreski, a suggestion of anger in 
 his tone. 
 
 " Do I understand then that you are in love with 
 the Duchess?" 
 
 " That is a point which, with all deference, I will 
 not discuss," he returned firmly; but despite his firm 
 tone I thought I could discern evidence that I had 
 struck home. 
 
 " M. Boreski is irrevocably pledged to the Duchess," 
 said Helga, " and in honour he could not draw back." 
 
 " The Emperor would find means to meet that diffi- 
 culty," said I. " But be it so. I have come with the 
 written consent to the marriage ; " and I took out the 
 papers which Prince Kalkov had given me, glanced 
 at them and laid them on the table. 
 
 Boreski's face brightened. Then I added casually 
 
 " I should have thought, indeed, that we might 
 have torn up the consent to the marriage and made 
 the draft here for two millions instead of one. A 
 fortune and individual freedom would have seemed 
 to me preferable especially if coupled with it was 
 a complete condonation of all other matters and 
 intrigues." 
 
 I paused before the word and watched him. The 
 mention of the higher sum had brought a light of 
 avarice into his eyes, which gave way abruptly to 
 surprise and suspicion as I finished. 
 
 " Intrigues? " 
 
 It was Helga who put the question, and Boreski 
 looked across at her so doubtfully as to suggest fear. 
 Then he took out his handkerchief and wiped his lips. 
 
 " Intrigues, mademoiselle," I replied quietly. " M. 
 Boreski knows my meaning." This forced him to 
 speak, and his voice was nervous. 
 
 " I am at a loss to understand you, monsieur." 
 
 I paused and looked at him steadily until his eyes 
 fell. 
 
 " Your sources of secret information are so many,
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 33 
 
 monsieur, that I am sure you can ascertain that. 
 Shall we say twice the amount and tear up this 
 consent ? " 
 
 He fidgetted with his handkerchief, and then making 
 a great effort for self-possession he put it away and 
 answered, with a spice of doggedness. 
 
 " I have named my terms and they have been agreed 
 to." 
 
 " As you will. But of course you understand that 
 without that condonation or pardon even one so 
 highly placed as the husband of the Duchess Stephanie 
 may be called upon to answer for his acts." 
 
 1 waited to give him a last chance, and during the 
 silence he was obviously embarrassed. 
 
 " You make grave accusations very lightly, M. 
 Denver," said Helga, coming to the rescue again. 
 
 " Do you think we cannot prove them, mademoi- 
 selle ? " I asked looking her straight in the face. The 
 man's manner made me very sure. But she could act 
 much better than he: women can as a rule. Her 
 steady look changed to a winning smile. 
 
 " What do men do in America, monsieur, when 
 they are so fortunate as to discover a mare's nest ? " 
 
 " They console themselves if they find in it a woman's 
 smile, mademoiselle," I replied lightly, " or take her 
 assurance that it is nothing more serious." 
 
 " What can be more serious than a woman's smile, 
 M. American ? " 
 
 " A man's nihilism, mademoiselle, for one thing. 
 But come, here are the papers, M. Boreski. I shall 
 have the pleasure of addressing you as Count, I shall 
 hand to you the consent to your unmercenary marriage, 
 and shall give you the draft for a million roubles as 
 the dowry conferred by a grateful Emperor. Where 
 are the papers for me?" 
 
 He put his hand to his pocket. 
 
 "I - ' he paused suddenly and then said hesi- 
 tatingly, "I I will get them. I have your permission 
 to withdraw ? "
 
 34 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 He had himself in hand again. 
 
 " And to return with the papers. Will you also 
 see that a carriage is ready ? " 
 
 As he rose I intercepted a very meaning glance 
 between the two, and then once more Helga and I 
 were alone. 
 
 All had gone smoothly so far ; but there was clearly 
 much that I did not yet understand, and I turned to 
 Helga to question her.
 
 CHAPTER V A CZAR DEFIED 
 
 HELGA met my eyes readily with something like 
 a challenge in her own, and as the first question 
 was on my lips, a thought struck me. It was odd that 
 coming to such an interview he had not brought the 
 papers with him. I said so to her. 
 
 For answer she just looked at me and smiled. If 
 she did not know the disarming power of her smile 
 I felt it. 
 
 " You like to mystify me," I said. 
 
 " Why were you so hard on poor M. Boreski, and 
 why " she paused as if to calculate the effect 
 of her words " why do you suspect us of being 
 Nihilists?" 
 
 " You ? I did not say anything about you. It was 
 M. Boreski." 
 
 " Is that quite candid, M. American ? " It was 
 an audacious stroke, considering whom she believed 
 me to be. 
 
 " Your assurance would suffice tq convince me." 
 
 " You put your sharp questions in flattering covers, 
 monsieur. But your compliments have barbed points." 
 
 " Is it a barbed point that I would trust your word 
 implicitly? " 
 
 " If I thought that, oh, if I could think it," she 
 exclaimed with great earnestness, clasping her hands 
 strenuously. 
 
 " Why should you doubt it ? " 
 
 She turned full upon me. 
 
 " Because you do not know me ; because " she 
 
 broke off and then said steadily, almost defiantly: 
 " I am no Nihilist, nor is M. Boreski." 
 
 35
 
 36 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " And he has had no dealings with them ? " I felt 
 convinced that he had. " I mean to your knowledge? " 
 
 " You cross-examine like a lawyer." A flash of 
 scorn was in her eyes as she looked at me angrily. 
 '' If we have had what you term dealings with them, 
 it was because it was necessary, and no other way 
 was left to me." 
 
 " You are not afraid to handle edged tools, and 
 I am sorry to hear what you say." 
 
 " I am not afraid of anything that can help my 
 purpose." 
 
 " I never heard of Nihilism helping anything or 
 anybody." 
 
 " I choose my own means, and go my own way," 
 she said defiantly. 
 
 " I can believe that ; but I am not accusing you, 
 nor need you defend yourself to me. I believe that 
 whatever you have done, you have been driven to 
 do, and have believed yourself justified in doing 
 for this great purpose you speak of. But others may 
 think very differently." 
 
 " You do not ask what it is. You do not care, I 
 suppose. Yet There was pain now in her 
 
 voice, and a sigh finished the broken sentence. 
 
 " It is better that I should not ask," I said after 
 a pause. She had made me forget for the moment, 
 in my solicitude for her, that I must not have her 
 confidence. " When will M. Boreski return ? " 
 
 " My purpose is revenge," she cried with sudden 
 vehemence, her face suddenly set and stern and her 
 eyes bright. " Revenge for a cruel, cowardly crime, 
 and wrongs as deep and bitter as ever weighed a 
 woman to the earth and filled her heart with burn- 
 ing rage." 
 
 " I beg you, mademoiselle, to say no more," I 
 protested. 
 
 " But I wish to tell you. I must, I must. It con- 
 cerns the pampered villain who holds your confidence, 
 Prince Kalkov, and " she paused and looked at me,
 
 ACZARDEFIED 37 
 
 her face fevered with excitement and her eyes full of 
 dread doubt, and then added in a low strenuous tone 
 " Prince Boris Lavalski." 
 
 I had never heard the name, of course, and could 
 not understand her intense agitation. She searched 
 my face as if hungry for some sign of recognition, 
 and seeing none, her own clouded and then paled. 
 
 " Prince Boris Lavalski," I echoed. 
 
 " Oh, my God, my God, that it has come to this ! " 
 she cried in a passion of despair ; and she hid her face 
 in her hands, giving way to such uncontrollable emotion 
 that my heart was wrung for her. 
 
 She remained some minutes in the stress of her 
 whirlwind grief; most embarrassing minutes to me, 
 for I knew not what to do or say, gladly as I would 
 have said or done anything to soften her distress. 
 
 Suddenly she mastered her emotion, rose and faced 
 me, her face worn, strained, and white to the very 
 lips, which quivered. 
 
 " So be it, monsieur. You are still his enemy and 
 mine," she said in low measured tones. " Still the 
 defender of that cruel monstrous infamy. We are 
 then to fight on." 
 
 " I am utterly at a loss to understand you, made- 
 moiselle. God knows I am no enemy of yours, and 
 would only too gladly be your friend if " 
 
 " That is impossible, monsieur," she interposed 
 angrily, with the air of an empress. " Shall M. 
 Boreski return ? " 
 
 " I have been waiting for him," said I, still mystified. 
 
 " I sent him away that I might speak to you of 
 this." She touched the bell as she spoke, and I 
 noticed that she pushed it twice. 
 
 " I did not know that you were his principal," I 
 said. 
 
 " There are many things you do not know yet : 
 as many indeed as you seem quite unwilling to re- 
 member, or anxious to forget." She was very bitter. 
 
 " I assure you "
 
 38 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Is it necessary, monsieur ? " she asked contemp- 
 tuously, making one feel about as mean as a man 
 could feel. 
 
 Until M. Boreski came in we said no more, and 
 as he entered he shot a swift questioning glance at 
 Helga. 
 
 " His Majesty is anxious to conclude the interview, 
 M. Boreski." 
 
 He seemed to take his cue from her words and 
 hostile manner. 
 
 It was clear that a considerable change was at 
 hand, and I awaited the unfolding of it with interest. 
 
 Boreski treated me with the same deference as be- 
 fore, and having asked my permission, resumed his 
 seat and produced the papers. 
 
 " The papers for the Emperor are here," he said. 
 
 " Give them me ; " and I held out my hand for them. 
 
 But this he would not. 
 
 " With extreme deference I submit that I be allowed 
 first to examine those which you bring, monsieur. If 
 the request should appear strange, I beg you to re- 
 member that Prince Kalkov has already once broken 
 faith with me this evening." 
 
 " You are cautious, Count Boreski." He started and 
 flushed with pleasure as I thus addressed him by his 
 new title. " But why should I trust them to you ? 
 If it comes to faith-breaking, are not those documents 
 stolen? Surely there is a breach of more than faith 
 behind your possession of them. Why then should 
 I trust you ? " 
 
 " I fear then we have reached an impasse," he 
 said, with a courteous bow as he spread out his hands. 
 
 " Not a bit of it. Hand yours to Mademoiselle 
 Helga." I turned to her. " You will hold them, 
 mademoiselle, and give them to me when this cautious 
 gentleman has satisfied himself that these are in 
 order ? " 
 
 " With your permission, the matter is no concern 
 of mine," she replied coldly.
 
 A CZAR DEFIED 39 
 
 " It seems to me that you are both anxious to raise 
 difficulties." 
 
 Helga shrugged her shoulders, and Boreski spread 
 out his hands deprecatingly. 
 
 " With all deference, I submit I am not asking too 
 much to be allowed to examine documents of such 
 vital importance to me." 
 
 I thought for a moment. If I parted with the 
 papers and did not get the others in exchange I 
 should be pretty considerably euchred ; but on the 
 other hand his request was not unreasonable. Then 
 I saw the way out. I remembered that I was armed. 
 
 " Very well. You can see them," and I pushed 
 them across to him, and rising, stood between him 
 and the door. 
 
 " Your confidence in our honour is very striking, 
 monsieur," said Helga scornfully. 
 
 " Is that fair? I offered to trust them to you, and 
 you replied it was no concern of yours. I am now 
 dealing with the holder of stolen documents." 
 
 " And you judge M. Boreski by the standard of the 
 persons who surround and advise you continually. No 
 doubt you are right according to your experience," 
 was her bitterly spoken retort. 
 
 " Your anger and injustice are too manifest to need 
 a further reply from me, mademoiselle," I returned. 
 
 Boreski scrutinized the papers carefully, and pres- 
 ently I saw him start and lay one aside. I wondered 
 if he could have discovered any forgery among them. 
 
 " There is one grave point here, and one of less im- 
 portance," he said at length ; and putting the papers 
 together he handed them back to me, with the draft 
 for the money on the top. " This draft is dated three 
 days hence." 
 
 I took them and went back to my seat. 
 
 " The reason is obvious. This is in the nature of a 
 dowry, and as such will be paid on your marriage, and 
 not before it." 
 
 " \Yith all submission, I cannot so regard it, and
 
 40 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 I cannot accept the draft as complying with the 
 agreement." 
 
 It was just the hitch I had foreseen and pointed out 
 to old Kalkov ; but how to get over it I did not see. 
 
 " And the point of minor importance ; what is 
 that?" 
 
 " The consent to the marriage is dated, and if a date 
 is to remain, it should be that of a week or a month 
 ago." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 At the quick question he looked across at Helga, 
 who shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " I do not see why you should not say. It concerns 
 both the objections and accounts for them," she said. 
 
 " The Duchess Stephanie is already my wife, mon- 
 sieur," said Boreski. 
 
 " The devil she is," I exclaimed in genuine astonish- 
 ment. " That puts the whole thing on a totally dif- 
 ferent footing." 
 
 " It entails the consent being dated back, and makes 
 the dowry payable at once, monsieur." 
 
 " It means also that you have put your head in a 
 noose, and have forfeited the Duchess's fortune, since 
 her marriage has taken place without my without 
 the Emperor's consent ; " and I folded up the papers 
 and put them back in my pocket. 
 
 " It certainly produces a quite interesting complica- 
 tion," said Helga, smiling. 
 
 " It does not affect the gravity of the papers I hold 
 here," and Boreski tapped them slowly with his long 
 white fingers. 
 
 For the life of me I could n't see a way out of the 
 maze. Had I been really the Emperor, I might have 
 done it by sending instructions to old Kalkov to pay 
 the million roubles ; then by writing a fresh consent 
 to the marriage I could have secured the papers, and 
 so have made an end of the thing. 
 
 But I felt that Kalkov would only laugh at such a 
 request from me, while of course I could not write a
 
 A CZAR DEFIED 41 
 
 single word without the discrepancy of the handwrit- 
 ing being at once apparent. 
 
 I was loth to go back and admit my failure; but 
 this I saw at length was the only resource. Every 
 moment that I hesitated made the affair worse, so I 
 put as bold a front on matters as I could and got up. 
 
 " This new admission of yours, M. Boreski," I said 
 with an assumption of dignity, " is so serious as to 
 require consideration. Be good enough to have a 
 carriage brought for me at once. The interview is 
 at an end." 
 
 He had risen with me and stood in indecision, when 
 Helga interposed and took the lead in her own hands. 
 
 " You do not quite understand the position, I fear, 
 monsieur," she said slowly. 
 
 " Do you mean I am not free to go after your 
 promise to me ? " 
 
 " Oh no, no," she cried, with one of her smiles. 
 " I myself will order your carriage." She rang the 
 bell, and when the servant came she told him to order 
 a carriage at once. 
 
 " I was sure of you, mademoiselle, and regret my 
 hasty suspicion. You will pardon it ? " 
 
 "It was a natural inference for one accustomed 
 to treachery," she replied, with soft sarcasm. " But 
 we really are not traitors here. The way is open for 
 you to leave if you dare, monsieur ? " And the 
 challenge was in eyes, face, voice and manner alike. 
 
 "Dare? That is a strong word, mademoiselle." 
 
 " Intentionally strong," she retorted, with cutting 
 deliberation. " Intentionally strong. I have been pa- 
 tient under injury, and have endured injustice, hop- 
 ing, praying, and waiting for redress; living for the 
 interview which I have had to-night and had in 
 vain. And now my patience is exhausted, and you 
 have drained it to the dregs. Had there been a spark 
 of just feeling left in your heart, a faint wan glimmer 
 of desire to right the wrong done to mine and to me, 
 and to wipe out the cruel stain of unmerited infamy,
 
 42 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 the name I mentioned to you to-night would have 
 kindled the desire until, fanned by the remembrance 
 of old and tried and dear friendship, it would have 
 burned steadily with a bright avenging flame." She 
 spoke without passion in slow level accents. 
 
 I had not the faintest suspicion of her meaning. 
 
 "What name was that?" I asked, having even 
 forgotten it. 
 
 The question drew a smile of contempt from her. 
 
 " I will not insult myself by repeating it." 
 
 " The carriage is at the door, mademoiselle," an- 
 nounced the servant. 
 
 " You can go, monsieur," she said, when the man 
 had left. 
 
 But she had startled as well as interested me, and 
 I hesitated. 
 
 " I think you should speak more plainly. I am 
 honest when I say I do not understand you." 
 
 Boreski had now passed out of consideration, and 
 he stood back watching us two, as if acknowledging 
 her leadership. 
 
 " You wish for plain speaking. You shall have it, 
 monsieur from the enemy you have made to-night. 
 This is my work," she said proudly, pointing to the 
 papers in Boreski's hands. " My work, only. I 
 sought at first by all fair means to reach your the 
 Emperor's ear, believing, like the fool I was, that he 
 would do me justice. But his minister was too power- 
 ful, too vigilant, too alarmed to let my complaint reach 
 his ear. I knew why. God, how well I knew it! 
 Then, and not until then, when I had failed by open 
 means, I had recourse to these. I joined hands with 
 another of Russia's victims, M. Boreski here, and 
 with him, through the Duchess Stephanie, I found 
 the means I sought. God knows Russian duplicity 
 gives many chances, and one of them came my way, 
 putting me in a position to gain by force the justice 
 which was denied to mere pleading." 
 
 She paused again, but I did not speak.
 
 A CZAR DEFIED 43 
 
 " Those papers but you know their purport well 
 enough mean the exposure of Russian craft in every 
 Court in Europe, with probably a war with the Powers 
 that have been tricked and fooled. They know already 
 that we have secret information, and we have been in 
 negotiation with them. But I am a Russian, too, and 
 planned this interview, hoping that when face to face 
 with you I could touch the heart so long dead to the 
 cries of friendship. I have failed; I see that. You 
 will not remember; you cannot forget; even for you 
 that would be impossible. You have denied me jus- 
 tice, but I thank my God you cannot take from me all 
 my revenge." 
 
 Her passion was rising fast now under the stimulus 
 of her remembered wrongs, and she went to the door 
 and threw it open. 
 
 " Go, monsieur, go," she cried, with a magnificent 
 gesture of defiance. " Cross the threshold in the mood 
 you are, and as I live, those papers, proofs as they are 
 of your ministers' infamous treachery, shall be in the 
 hands already stretched out eagerly to receive them 
 the hands of Russia's enemies. That is what I 
 mean. Go, monsieur, go if you dare." She held 
 the door open and stared at me in indignant defiance 
 and challenge. 
 
 Was ever a man caught in a closer meshed net than 
 that which held me at that moment? 
 
 I stood fumbling with the situation in sheer and 
 desperate perplexity. I remembered old Kalkov's 
 words that the papers might plunge the country into 
 war, and that at any cost they must not be allowed 
 to get into the hands of the Powers concerned. Yet 
 if I left the house it was straight to those Powers 
 they would go. 
 
 If, on the other hand, I remained, what could I do? 
 
 If I admitted to Helga that I was no Emperor, but 
 a fraud, her anger would probably be increased, and 
 she would carry out her purpose just the same. While 
 if I went on playing at being Emperor, and listened
 
 44 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 to her story, I could do no good. It was out of my 
 power to grant her the justice which she deemed 
 had been denied. I should only be cheating her and 
 emphasizing the lie which my presence as Emperor 
 constituted. 
 
 To fall back on old Kalkov and curse him for hav- 
 ing got me into the mess was comforting but unprac- 
 tical; and I stood like a fool, probably looking the 
 fool I felt, as I gnawed my moustache and twisted my 
 beard in imbecile indecision.
 
 CHAPTER VI HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER 
 
 HOW long I stood there, hesitating- and embar- 
 rassed, while Helga was holding the door open 
 for me in that queenly pose of splendid indignation, 
 I do not know, but realizing at last that I could not 
 go and leave her to execute her threat, I turned back 
 rather sheepishly and sat down again. 
 
 " You have put the thing on such a different and 
 so unexpected a footing that we had better wait at 
 least until you are calmer," I said. 
 
 But she was in the mood to push her triumph to 
 the utmost. 
 
 " I shall never be calm on this subject. It is for 
 you to say at once, monsieur, whether you decide 
 to go." 
 
 " I don't see any such necessity," I answered curtly. 
 
 It is difficult to describe my condition of mind. The 
 thing was really nothing to me. Whether Russia went 
 to war with twenty other countries would not have 
 troubled me. I had no concern whether her diplo- 
 matists had made fools of themselves, and that Helga 
 should have them by the throat rather pleased than 
 angered me. And yet I was as irritable as a million- 
 aire when his digestion goes wrong. I suppose I was 
 in a temper at having been beaten. No one cares to 
 look small in the eyes of a woman he admires as I 
 admired her. And small I certainly felt and must 
 have looked. 
 
 Although I avoided her eyes, she stood holding the 
 door still open, and looking at me as if to read my 
 thoughts. 
 
 45
 
 46 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Are you going, monsieur ? " she asked, after a 
 long pause. 
 
 " No, I 'm not yet." I spoke bluntly, almost 
 rudely; and with a shrug and a lift of the eyebrows, 
 she left the door and crossed the room to her former 
 place. 
 
 " M. Boreski, will you see that the carriage is sent 
 back to the stable, and is kept in readiness for M. 
 Denver?" 
 
 Boreski understood her, and going out shut the door 
 carefully behind him. 
 
 I made no attempt to speak, but sat staring moodily 
 down on the ground and trying to think; and Helga 
 on her side was resolutely silent. Several minutes 
 passed in this dead silence until it got on my nerves. 
 She forced me to break it. 
 
 " Well, what is it you want ? " I asked, most 
 ungraciously. 
 
 The way she met me was characteristic. She 
 laughed softly and sweetly, and looked across at me. 
 
 " My mood has passed, monsieur," she said, quot- 
 ing my words. " Shall we wait for yours to pass 
 also ? Permit me ? " and she rose and offered me a 
 cigarette from a dainty gold case. 
 
 " I would rather smoke something stronger, with 
 your leave." I took out a cigar, and she lighted a 
 cigarette ; and another long silence fell between us. 
 She broke it this time. 
 
 " You have made me your enemy, and I have beaten 
 you so far ; but you will not find me ungenerous." 
 
 " Generous or ungenerous, I don't see any way out 
 of the tangle. I won't listen to any more of your 
 story; and you can't use those papers. I don't know 
 what it is you want, and if I did, it would be no 
 use, for I could not grant it. And there 's the dead- 
 lock." 
 
 " Is it, after all, necessary that we should be 
 enemies ? " 
 
 " Apparently it is. There are certain things which
 
 HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER 47 
 
 I cannot tell you from my side, and certain others I 
 will not hear from you. It is your own fault." This 
 was very un-Imperial talk, but I was sick of the 
 whole Emperor business, and still suffering from 
 mortification. 
 
 The change in my manner appeared to strike her, 
 for she looked at me sharply and replied as if with 
 surprise 
 
 " Have I ventured to ask you for your confidence 
 about yourself, monsieur ? " 
 
 " I did not mean to imply that you had. There is 
 one thing," I added, as an idea occurred to me. " Shall 
 I send for Prince Kalkov?" 
 
 " Under no circumstances shall he cross my door," 
 she answered with prompt and unmistakable reso- 
 lution. 
 
 " Will you postpone dealing with those papers then 
 until I have had an opportunity of consulting him? 
 That may prove a solution." 
 
 " I know Prince Kalkov too well. Within five 
 minutes of your leaving my house those papers will 
 be on their way to the destination I have indicated." 
 
 11 Then in Heaven's name what are we to do ? " 
 
 " If you will listen to my story you will see that 
 Prince Kalkov is the man I accuse." 
 
 " But there are insuperable reasons why I cannot 
 and will not listen." 
 
 '' Then it is for you to find the solution." 
 
 " I can probably do that if I can communicate with 
 him." 
 
 " Shall I order the carriage again ? " 
 
 Checkmate again, and I tossed up my hands in 
 hopeless perplexity. 
 
 She was obviously resolved that I should hear all 
 she had to say, and I was equally determined, know- 
 ing the worse than futility of the thing, not to listen 
 to her; and there we sat, in a contest of wills and 
 wits, until the absurd side of the position began to- 
 appeal to me.
 
 48 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " It seems to me you are resolved to make me a 
 prisoner." 
 
 " On the contrary, monsieur, the door is open, and 
 a carriage ready at your instant command. If you 
 remain, it is by your own desire, and of your own 
 free will." 
 
 " Free will, when you place an impossible barrier 
 in the way of my going? So long as I remain here 
 you will not part with those papers ? " 
 
 " So long as the hope remains that you will hear 
 me and do me justice." 
 
 " The thing is so preposterous." 
 
 " The alternative is for you to choose." 
 
 It was then that I began to contemplate seriously 
 the course of remaining in the house for the night. 
 I should at least gain time; and time might bring a 
 solution. 
 
 " It is a dainty prison, but still a prison, although 
 the bars are invisible, and the gaoler yourself. You 
 realize the responsibility of what you are doing?" 
 
 " I am prepared to face any responsibility, and you 
 would be my most honoured guest." 
 
 She spoke very seriously, but there was a light in 
 her eyes that told not only of triumph, but of laughter 
 scarcely restrained. For all the seriousness behind the 
 position, she saw the humour of it and enjoyed it. 
 And so in truth did I ; for nothing on earth would 
 have pleased me better than to be in her company for 
 any number of days, if I could only have divested 
 myself of my confounded Imperial character. If she 
 could have read my thoughts, what would her own 
 have been! 
 
 I had to keep up the farce of assumed disinclina- 
 tion, however, and was meditating the best line to 
 take when an interruption came. 
 
 The door was opened, and a servant announced 
 " M. Paul Drexel." 
 
 A flush of extreme annoyance mounted to Helga's 
 face at the entrance of the newcomer, who was the
 
 HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER 49 
 
 reverse of a pleasant-looking man. He was about 
 forty years of age; short, broad-shouldered, inclined 
 to corpulence, awkward and ungainly in figure. His 
 features were coarse and Jewish in character; he had 
 beady, twinkling, stealthy eyes, and his manner sug- 
 gested a mixture of truculence and cunning. 
 
 Altogether he looked entirely out of place in Helga's 
 drawing-room, and I wondered what on earth could 
 have brought him there, a wonderment which became 
 genuine astonishment when he advanced with as much 
 confidence as if he were the master of the house, and 
 said in Russian 
 
 " Good-evening, Helga. You see I have come after 
 all. Is this the company you said would engage you ? " 
 He turned to me with a questioning, half suspicious, 
 and rather insolent glance. 
 
 " If I had wished you to come I should have asked 
 you," she replied, repressing her ill-humour. " Your 
 visit is ill-timed." 
 
 I watched her very closely and detected something 
 very much akin to repugnance in her glance. 
 
 " Possibly ; " he laughed shortly. " But as I am 
 here, introduce me." 
 
 There was a moment's indecision before she an- 
 swered. 
 
 " This gentleman is an American, and does not 
 speak Russian." 
 
 " American, is he ? Well, I suppose I have a right 
 to know the friends of my " 
 
 This time she broke in quickly and interrupted him. 
 
 " I have already told you your visit is unwelcome." 
 
 " I heard you," he returned so rudely that I could 
 have kicked him. " What language does he speak ? " 
 
 "He understands Russian and -speaks French." 
 
 " Why did n't you tell me ? I speak French easily 
 enough ; " the second part of the sentence was in 
 French. " Good-evening, monsieur," he said to me,. 
 " I am glad to meet you. Any friends of my " 
 
 " M. Denver, this is M. Paul Drexel." 
 4
 
 50 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 He started at this second interruption, and looked 
 at her half angrily. 
 
 " Is that all you wish to say ? Why ? " Their eyes 
 met for a moment, and he seemed to have the best of 
 it, for Helga added 
 
 " I am engaged to marry M. Drexel, monsieur." 
 He smiled and rubbed his fat hands over his little 
 triumph, and was so pleased with himself that my 
 start of amazement escaped him. 
 
 " And I am of course pleased to know Helga's 
 friends." He threw himself into a chair and con- 
 tinued to rub his podgy hands. If I had thought 
 him a cad before, he was now positively hateful, and 
 his vulgar assurance sickened me. 
 
 He took out a cigar, and as he turned away to light 
 it I saw Helga wince, bite her lip, and clench her 
 hands tightly. I could see that she was suffering; 
 but this only added to my perplexity. 
 
 " So you are an American, M. Denver. A fine 
 country yours; I was never there, but shall go some 
 day." 
 
 " I am sure America will appreciate the honour," 
 I said blandly. It was no concern of mine to con- 
 ciliate the little cad ; but he only chuckled. 
 
 " Good, very good. I suppose it did sound as if 
 I thought I should be honouring the place. But I 
 am content with Russia ; " and he settled himself in 
 his luxurious seat as if he were indeed very content. 
 " I shall enjoy a talk with you about your American 
 Government some day, M. Denver." 
 
 I made no response to this approach ; but it made 
 no difference to him ; no inroad upon the stockade of 
 his self-complacency. He babbled on with remarks 
 of the kind, and then let fall a question which seemed 
 to have something behind it. 
 
 " I suppose you have lived much in America? " and 
 his beady black eyes shot a swift sly glance at me. 
 
 " Even Americans are at home sometimes," I replied. 
 
 " Good again, good again," he laughed. " You are
 
 HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER 51 
 
 great travellers, globe-trotters, eh? And you yourself 
 speak French so well ; quite as well as most Russians 
 indeed; and you understand Russian too, Helga tells 
 me. Do many of your countrymen understand Rus- 
 sian?" and again the little sharp eyes came at me. 
 
 " My father was in the diplomatic service, M. 
 Drexel, and as a child I was educated in Russia, 
 Germany and France, and thus learnt all three 
 languages." 
 
 Helga gave me a look of thanks which the man 
 intercepted; and he stared at her, a cunning smile 
 on his flabby face. 
 
 " Quite a linguist, you see, Helga," he said, and 
 then assuming a casual tone " By the way, the 
 friend you were expecting did not come after all ? " 
 The tone did not deceive me. I saw that he knew 
 who I was supposed to be, and that all this had 
 merely been intentional monkeying. 
 
 Helga saw it as well, and answered calmly 
 
 *' M. Denver is the only friend I was expecting 
 to-night." 
 
 " Then why try to fool me ? Did you think I 
 should not recognize M. Denver ? Have n't I a 
 right " 
 
 " No ; " anger and resolution in the sharp mono- 
 syllable. 
 
 " Don't you consider me interested in your plans ? " 
 
 " You will be glad to finish your cigar with M. 
 Boreski, M. Drexel." 
 
 " No, thank you ; I came to see you. I have 
 nothing to say to Boreski to-night unless, of 
 course " He left the sentence unfinished ex- 
 cept for a look. 
 
 "Unless what, M. Drexel?" The anger she had 
 carefully suppressed until now was getting the upper 
 hand of her, and he saw it. 
 
 " Unless you drive me to it, I mean ; " this doggedly. 
 
 " You are at liberty to say what you please to 
 M. Boreski or to any one else."
 
 52 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " You are providing me with an excellent oppor- 
 tunity," he retorted, beginning to get angry in his 
 turn, and glancing at me. 
 
 " Use it. You may never have a better." The 
 answer was crisp and supercilious almost con- 
 temptuous. 
 
 A quarrel between an engaged couple must always 
 be embarrassing for a third party, so I cut in 
 
 " Pardon me, mademoiselle, may I withdraw ? " 
 
 " Where ? " she asked, with a bright, quick, chal- 
 lenging smile. 
 
 " I am in your hands," I said, smiling back. 
 
 " We will have M. Boreski in," and she rang the 
 bell. 
 
 The little man fidgetted uncomfortably in his chair 
 while we waited for the servant and then for Boreski. 
 When he came Helga murmured an excuse and left 
 the room. 
 
 For an instant the thought that some sinister move 
 was intended flashed upon my mind, bred, no doubt, 
 by my distrust of this unctuous little cad ; but my 
 trust in Helga dispelled it. I felt sure of her. 
 
 The two men eyed one another a moment, and it 
 was easy to see that there was little love lost between 
 them. 
 
 " Mademoiselle Helga is on stilts again to-night," 
 said Drexel. 
 
 " You should not have come unasked." 
 
 " Why am I kept out of this ? " The question 
 asked angrily. 
 
 " Because you have no part in it and are not 
 wanted," returned Boreski deliberately. 
 
 " Nonsense. I shall do as I like. When you are 
 tired of me you only have to say so. You know 
 the alternative." 
 
 " I beg to tender you an unqualified apology, M. 
 Denver, for M. Drexel's presence," said Boreski to 
 me with his courtier-like air. " He has forced himself 
 here."
 
 HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER 53 
 
 " You should have told me then who your mys- 
 terious visitor was, instead of leaving me to fish it 
 out for myself." 
 
 " I accept your apology, M. Boreski," I said, in 
 my grand manner. 
 
 The little man flushed angrily and got up. 
 
 " Some of us may live to be sorry for this night's 
 work," he said, with an unmistakable threat. It was 
 clear that he held his position in the house by virtue 
 of what he could threaten. 
 
 " I am sorry for it already," declared Boreski 
 quietly. He had certainly the knack of putting a 
 lot of sting into words which in themselves were 
 innocent enough. " You should not have come, I 
 repeat." 
 
 " I shall do as I like. I am not to be bullied or 
 sneered at." 
 
 " You will drive me to do one day as / like, M. 
 Drexel," said Boreski in his even suave tone ; " and 
 make me realize that there are less unpleasant things 
 than your your alternatives. As you ought not to 
 have come, you had better go." 
 
 At this moment, to my relief, a servant entered and 
 said to me 
 
 " Your apartments are prepared, monsieur." 
 
 Both men started at this, and both displayed aston- 
 ishment, Drexel giving vent to a laugh. 
 
 " I bid you good-evening, M. Boreski," I said ; and 
 then to Drexel : " Should I meet you or hear of you 
 again, monsieur, this evening's experience will be in 
 my memory ; " and turning on my heel, I left the 
 room. 
 
 As the door closed I heard Drexel's voice: 
 
 " By God ! you play for high stakes, Boreski." 
 
 Helga was outside, and also caught the words. 
 
 " How I hate him ! " she exclaimed vehemently, 
 her eyes flashing, and her face set and strained. 
 
 "Then you have other enemies beside me?" I 
 said, with a smile.
 
 54 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 The hard look passed away as she let her eyes rest 
 on mine. 
 
 " You will not always be my enemy, I hope, M. 
 American." 
 
 " I could never be anything but your friend even 
 prisoner as I am." 
 
 " Shall I order your carriage, monsieur ? " with 
 smiling audacious banter. " My guest has but to 
 express his wishes here; my whole household is at 
 his command." 
 
 " You know why I cannot go. I am afraid of 
 the other Helga." I paused before her name, and 
 she flushed when I used it. 
 
 " All Helga could be such a friend, if you would 
 let her." 
 
 " Well, she has a very willing captive how will- 
 ing, you do not seem to realize." 
 
 She lowered her eyes and stood with bent head 
 for a moment in silence. Then she lifted it and 
 looked frankly into my face. 
 
 " I should not have thought, now that I have seen 
 you, that you could be so hard." 
 
 " Should I not rather say that to you ? It is I 
 who am the conquered, you the conqueror. And you 
 laid claim to generosity." 
 
 " Am I not generous ? " 
 
 " No ; you take all all." 
 
 " I don't understand you," she said, shrinking a 
 little from my look. 
 
 " When the time comes you will." 
 
 " And when will it come ? " The question was 
 eager. 
 
 " I am almost afraid to think," I answered softly, 
 out of my inmost thoughts. 
 
 " The sooner the better. The sooner the better," 
 she cried. " You mystify me." 
 
 " And am I not mystified ? " I glanced at the room 
 where M. Drexel sat. 
 
 " Why can we not both speak plainly then ? "
 
 HIS MAJESTY A PRISONER 55 
 
 " We will see what to-morrow brings," I said, and 
 held out my hand. 
 
 She made as if to carry it to her lips. 
 
 " I am really loyal," she murmured. 
 
 " It is I who am the subject to-night. I am only 
 an American." And as I spoke I captured her hand 
 and pressed my lips to it. " It is you, I say, who are 
 conqueror." 
 
 I went up the broad stairway, leaving her looking 
 after me, smiling, and I thought triumphant ; and I 
 hoped, pleased.
 
 CHAPTER VII i AM NOT THE CZAR* 
 
 THE apartments to which I was shown were as 
 luxurious in their way as the room in which 
 I had been received, and as everything had obviously 
 been ready in advance, I had a shrewd suspicion that 
 Helga and Boreski had quite counted upon my re- 
 maining in the house. 
 
 It was a queer position in all truth ; and dismissing 
 the man who had been told to attend upon me, I 
 lit a cigar and sat down to think it out. 
 
 One thing was quite plain. Old Kalkov had been 
 fooled as to the objective of all the business. The 
 marriage of Boreski with the Duchess Stephanie was 
 a mere cover for the other scheme, and a very clever 
 cover too, seeing that it had looked so amazingly like 
 the sole end in view. 
 
 That was Helga's wit : and to a point it had suc- 
 ceeded. But where her plan had fallen to pieces was 
 in believing that the Emperor would be so mad as 
 to come and see her in his own august person. The 
 thing was so monstrously absurd that I was surprised 
 such sharp wits as hers had believed it possible and 
 had not suspected some imposture. 
 
 That I had not been instantly detected for a fraud 
 was indeed not the least curious feature ; and I could 
 only conclude that having once persuaded themselves 
 to believe the thing possible, they were just in the 
 frame of mind which helped the self-deception. 
 
 Probably my idea of playing at being myself had 
 helped the deception, because it was naturally a part 
 I could keep up consistently. I had been myself with 
 occasional lapses into the Imperial imposture. And 
 
 56
 
 "I AM NOT THE CZAR" 57 
 
 that was all there was to it. What would happen when 
 the deception was discovered I could not even attempt 
 to anticipate. 
 
 The evening had effected a great change in myself. 
 The axis of everything had shifted. Helga's person- 
 ality and plans had taken Boreski's place ; and whereas 
 I had been anxious to wipe out my old obligation to 
 the Emperor and had had a languid, very languid, 
 willingness to checkmate Boreski, my feelings now 
 were keenly enlisted in Helga's behalf. Provided I 
 could arrange the affair of the compromising papers, 
 I was ready to throw myself heart and soul into her 
 cause. 
 
 I had already thrown my heart, indeed. She was 
 the most glorious woman I had ever met; and as 
 I sat back dreaming under the spell of her grace and 
 beauty and courage, I felt I would have given all 
 I had in the world to gain her confidence and help 
 her to win her end, whatever that might be. 
 
 Then I fell to wondering what could be the strange 
 secret that had led to her betrothal to that fat, squalid, 
 unctuous cad, Paul Drexel? What hold could he 
 have over her and over Boreski? What could pos- 
 sibly have linked them together in that incongruous 
 partnership ? 
 
 " How I hate that man ! " 
 
 Her words rang in my ears as the sight of her 
 gloriously contemptuous indignation haunted my eyes. 
 What could make a woman of Helga's courage and 
 man of Boreski's daring for daring he certainly 
 had so afraid of a paltry common scoundrel as to 
 drive them to play at this betrothal? 
 
 Thank Heaven it was only playing. She would 
 never stoop to become the wife of a brute whom she 
 admitted she hated. Her heart was free if I could but 
 touch it ; she was to be won if only I and there 
 I sighed, recognizing the tremendous difficulties, and, 
 like a wise man, tossed the end of my cigar away and 
 got into bed, hoping that the night's rest would enable
 
 58 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 me to pick out the master thread of the strangely 
 tangled skein. 
 
 I was up betimes and found my head clear on one 
 point. 
 
 There must be no more Emperor business, let the 
 result be what it would. I would tell Helga the 
 truth, even if the heavens fell ; and I went down with 
 this purpose strong in me. 
 
 Then I would tell her of my friendship with the 
 Czar and offer my services as a direct intermediary 
 to bring about an interview between them. 
 
 She was in the garden among her flowers, and in 
 her simple morning costume, with the fresh colour 
 in her cheeks, she looked even lovelier than on the 
 previous night. 
 
 She welcomed me with a smile and held out some 
 flowers. 
 
 " I am an early riser, you see. I love my garden. 
 I have been out here more than an hour. You have 
 slept ? " she added, glancing at my face which was 
 no doubt serious enough, for I rather dreaded what 
 I had to say. 
 
 " Never better in my life," I answered. " But I 
 wish to speak to you." 
 
 " And does that prospect make you so serious ? I 
 ought to apologize for exhaling such terrors." She 
 laughed gaily and bent over a flower bush, and then 
 glanced up half-coquettishly. " Let us wait awhile. 
 Be merciful, and do not spoil my morning." 
 
 " What I have to say cannot wait, mademoiselle." 
 
 " I make a very bad listener when I am bending 
 from flower to flower, M. American. Unless it is 
 that you are going." 
 
 " That will depend on how you take my news." 
 
 " Then you are not going at once," she said quickly. 
 " Are not these lovely ? " and she held up a bunch of 
 flowers for me to admire, and looked laughingly at 
 me over them. 
 
 " They are as lovely as " I paused, looking 
 
 into her eyes.
 
 "I AM NOT THE CZAR" 59 
 
 " Well ? " she challenged. 
 
 " The hue of those blossoms rivals even that of 
 your eyes." 
 
 "Is that an an American form of compliment? 
 I do not care for compliments." 
 
 " My compliment was for the flower, mademoiselle." 
 
 " Very pretty but too Western to be Russian,, 
 monsieur. But come, we will go in. I am always 
 hungry in the mornings. Will you mind breakfasting- 
 with me alone? M. Boreski is coming afterwards." 
 
 " I shall be delighted." 
 
 " What, to see him ? " This with a gay little laugh. 
 
 " No, to breakfast with you alone." 
 
 " Well, it will be practically alone. Madame Kor- 
 vata, excellent guardian and good soul that she is, 
 has reached the age which thinks more of what is 
 on the table than of those who are at it." 
 
 " But I wish to speak to you alone." 
 
 " And keep me without my breakfast, monsieur f 
 And is that American, too? I am far far too 
 hungry to talk seriously or even to listen. Come ; " 
 and she led the way into the house, laughing as she 
 went. 
 
 Thus at breakfast nothing could be said. Madame 
 Korvata, a small woman well into the fifties, with 
 large eyes and ample appetite, looked at me sharply 
 when I was presented to her, said that she had met 
 some pleasant Americans in her day and some very 
 unpleasant ones, and then seemed to forget all about 
 me in the more absorbing and profitable study of 
 breakfast. 
 
 Helga appeared desirous of impressing even on 
 the servants that I was an American, for she talked 
 chiefly of my country, and seemed to take a delight 
 in putting intricate and searching questions. That 
 I answered them so easily caused her constant aston- 
 ishment and some amusement. 
 
 " How well you know your country, monsieur," 
 she said with a glance and a lift of the brows.
 
 60 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " It should not be surprising," said I. 
 
 " And yet it is very. You appear to know it as 
 well as as Europe or even Russia." 
 
 " I explained last night that my father was a diplo- 
 matist, and I had advantages as a boy." 
 
 " And how deftly you turn things. You might have 
 been trained in a Court and picked up the facility 
 there." 
 
 The shooting of these little shafts amused her in- 
 tensely, and the meal was punctuated with her laughter 
 and sallies. 
 
 When it was over she led me to the garden, and 
 then excused herself. 
 
 " I manage all my matters myself. I shall not be 
 long, and then shall be at your service." 
 
 " I must see you as soon as possible," I said as 
 she went off and Madame Korvata came out of the 
 house smoking her cigarette. I lit a cigar, and the 
 old lady waited and then said abruptly: 
 
 " I like your face, monsieur. You are like our 
 Emperor. But how did you come to know Helga?" 
 
 The question was very simple, but yet embarrassing ; 
 .and when I hesitated how to reply, she saw it and 
 smiled. 
 
 " Don't answer unless you like. I hate bothersome 
 questions myself, and never press them. I always 
 pretend never to hear them, indeed. A deaf ear saves 
 a lot of trouble. You think Helga pretty ? " 
 
 " Mademoiselle is far more than pretty ; she is 
 beautiful." 
 
 The old lady smiled at my enthusiasm, and took 
 a couple of puffs at her cigarette while she looked 
 at me. 
 
 "" Ah, they all say that, monsieur." 
 
 "All, madame?" 
 
 " And good, too," she continued, pretending not to 
 "hear my question. " Good, too. A big kind heart 
 and such a brain. Ah, she would be a great woman 
 If she had her .rights. She would make a noble wife,
 
 "I AM NOT THE CZAIl" 61 
 
 monsieur, a noble- wife ; but she will never marry 
 that is until she has them." 
 
 " You are very fond of her ? " 
 
 " Everybody is. She is more than a daughter to- 
 me. Without her I should be do you know the 
 fate of destitute old women in Russia? God help 
 them, for the Government don't. Helga does God's 
 part for me." 
 
 " And you think she will never marry, madame ? " 
 
 She glanced up with another of her slow, shrewd 
 smiles. 
 
 " Get her her rights, and then " She paused. 
 
 " She is affianced, but I know what I think." She 
 shook her head gravely. " But no one can do it. 
 So they come and go and always go at last, not 
 to return." 
 
 I could not encourage her to talk about Helga's 
 matters, and I smoked in silence, thinking over what 
 had dropped from her; and when Helga returned, 
 Madame Korvata went into the house. 
 
 " She has the sweetest nature," said Helga ; " but 
 I suppose she has been warning you. She always 
 does." 
 
 " Warning me? " 
 
 " She has one regret that I do not marry. She 
 thinks that marriage is the only proper climax for 
 a woman's life, and that whenever any one comes 
 here, they come with that idea ; and she always warns 
 them that I shall never marry." 
 
 " She suggested you might be influenced by ma- 
 terial reasons." 
 
 " I ? How do yu mean ? " 
 
 " That if any man succeeded in getting you your 
 rights, you would look upon him with very different 
 eyes." 
 
 Her face changed on the instant from amused 
 astonishment to thoughtful and intense earnestness. 
 
 " You speak of what you do not know, monsieur, 
 and will not hear. There is nothing that could be
 
 62 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 demanded of me, no sacrifice however complete or 
 ruinous, no danger however deadly, I would not face 
 for that. That is my real life all else is a mere 
 .setting and pretence." 
 
 " Can I speak to you now without interruption? " 
 
 " Would you prefer to be here or in the house? " 
 
 "" It is all one to me if you will listen seriously." 
 
 "Then let us speak here; it is my favourite walk." 
 And we turned into the broad path circling a fountain 
 rand surrounded by flower beds abundantly filled and 
 carefully tended. " Now, monsieur." 
 
 "In the night I thought over all the strange 
 situation, and this morning came to. a decision." 
 
 " There must be of course a decision one way or 
 the other," she put in when I paused. 
 
 " You will understand that before I came here I had 
 no idea I was to meet you. I expected to have to 
 <leal only with M. Boreski." 
 
 " That was part of my intention. In that I misled 
 you, I know." 
 
 " It is nothing compared to the deception I have 
 practised upon you; and I can only plead the excuse 
 that I should not have done it under any inducements 
 Jiad I known of you. Please believe that." 
 
 " Deception ? How do you mean ? " 
 
 " I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle ; I am only 
 what I have asked you to regard me a plain Ameri- 
 can citizen, Harper C. Denver." 
 
 If she was astonished at my confession or angry 
 at it, she gave no sign of either feeling. 
 
 " That is a very serious confession," she said, speak- 
 ing very slowly. " Very serious. When did you decide 
 to make it ? " 
 
 "This morning, realizing the present impasse." 
 
 " It is very ingenious, at any rate." Her tone was 
 sarcastic now. " It did not occur to you to speak of 
 such a such a trifle last night." 
 
 There was still no anger in the glance she gave me. 
 
 " Frankly, I was too overwhelmed for the time by
 
 I AM NOT THE CZAR" 63 
 
 the possible consequences. But this morning I saw 
 that the truth was at once the simplest and best way 
 out." 
 
 " The necessity for the truth was a little late in 
 emphasizing itself, don't you think?" 
 
 " It seems so to you, no doubt ; but I was on the 
 horns of a very awkward dilemma." 
 
 "And Prince Kalkov?" 
 
 " Of course he knows it. I came at his instigation." 
 
 " And so you are really an American, and were 
 in Russia as a boy, with your father a diplomatist; 
 and you have been in Germany and France, and speak, 
 the languages without any of that horrible English 
 accent ; and you understand Russian ; and you came 
 here from the Palace ; and were driven to the Palace 
 the other evening, having been received with a guard 
 of honour; and you are the living image of our 
 Emperor. Do you know the Emperor, M. American? " 
 
 She said it all with such unmistakably good-hu- 
 moured disbelief that when she had recourse to the 
 term she had freely used the previous night, I could 
 not refrain from smiling. 
 
 " The Emperor has done me the honour to make 
 me his friend." 
 
 " You are very fortunate, M. let me see, what 
 is the name M. Harper C. Denver," she replied 
 with a gay laugh. " You are also an excellent actor, 
 having picked up many little gestures of the Emperor 
 himself. It is really a most wonderful coincidence." 
 
 " The reception at the railway station was planned 
 by Prince Kalkov, who knew of my coming and had 
 heard from His Majesty of the strange resemblance 
 between us." 
 
 " Really, Prince Kalkov is more subtle than I thought 
 him. Well then, M. American, what do you propose 
 to do?" 
 
 She stopped and looked me full in the face with a 
 smiling challenge. It was plain as the Statue of Lib- 
 erty that she did n't believe a word of my explanation.
 
 6* WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I wish to discuss the situation with you frankly. 
 I wish you to believe that what I now say is absolutely 
 true ; and further, if you will accept them, to place my 
 services for what they are worth entirely at your dis- 
 posal. I would do anything to serve you and to atone 
 in some way for this deception of mine." 
 
 " You ask me what is impossible," she answered 
 readily. 
 
 " You decline my assistance ? " 
 
 " No ; I cannot believe your explanation your 
 confession, as you termed it. I cannot; oh, I can- 
 not ; " and she laughed and shook her head. 
 
 " I can only repeat it is the truth," I said seriously. 
 
 " I will be very frank with you and show you how 
 It strikes me. You act it now quite as cleverly as you 
 acted the Emperor last night. You will recall your 
 little slips into the Imperial character ; your manner 
 In dealing with M. Boreski, and again with M. Drexel. 
 Well, you find that to go away from here would com- 
 pel me to deal with the compromising papers and 
 in that I was and am entirely in earnest ; nothing can 
 move me and then you think by admitting this de- 
 ception you can gain indirectly what you naturally 
 want and cannot get directly that is, time. I speak 
 very bluntly, I fear, but this is so much to me that I 
 tnust do so. And I tell you this second move has 
 failed as signally as your first last night. I ask you 
 to retract your confession, monsieur." 
 
 " We seem to be getting deeper into the maze. 
 What I have told you this morning is the truth, 
 mademoiselle." 
 
 " I will put a test to you. Will you hear my 
 story?" 
 
 " Yes, if you will pass me your word that you be- 
 lieve what I have said this morning. I could not hear 
 you last night, because I could not accept your confi- 
 dence in my false character of Emperor." 
 
 " You agree and then put an impossible condition. 
 You have an intimate knowledge of the ways of the
 
 I AM NOT THE CZAR" 65 
 
 Russian Court and diplomacy. I ask again then, what 
 do you propose to do ? " 
 
 " My intention was to go to the Emperor and gain 
 for you the audience you wish. I think I could do- 
 that." 
 
 " And meanwhile the papers ? " 
 
 " I hoped you would hold your hand at least until 
 I had tried." 
 
 " If the Emperor would not hear me in this 
 house, what chance would there be of his doing so 
 elsewhere ? " 
 
 " But I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle." 
 
 " To me you are, monsieur, and will continue to be j 
 so that if you leave here, I shall assuredly do what I 
 said." 
 
 " Here we are at the impasse again, then." 
 
 " It is you who cause it," she retorted. 
 
 " I can see no other way out of it than that I have 
 suggested ; " and as she made no reply, we walked 
 round and round the fountain in silence. 
 
 The silence was broken by the sound of a gallop- 
 ing horse, and presently a man, top-booted and travel- 
 stained, hurried from the house towards us. 
 
 " From M. Boreski, mademoiselle," he said in Rus- 
 sian, handing her a letter. 
 
 She tore it open, and a newspaper cutting dropped' 
 from it, which I picked up and held out to her. 
 
 She read the letter quickly, started, paled slightly, 
 and then glanced at me, her expression a mixture of 
 excitement and amusement. 
 
 " Will you read what you have there ? It is from a 
 paper just issued." 
 
 I read it, and could not refrain from a smile on my 
 part. It was very short and ran as follows : 
 
 " Slight indisposition of the Emperor. We regret 
 
 to learn at the moment of going to press that His 
 
 Majesty is suffering from a slight chill, and, acting 
 
 under medical advice, will remain in his room to-day.. 
 
 &
 
 66 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 We have the highest authority for saying that the 
 indisposition is very slight indeed, and at most will 
 keep him indoors for a couple of days. This an- 
 nouncement is necessary to allay any anxiety on the 
 part of the public owing to his inability to review the 
 troops in person to-day, as had been arranged. There 
 is no doubt, however, that he will entirely have re- 
 covered by the time of the Crown Prince of Sweden's 
 visit three days hence." 
 
 Helga was waiting for my eyes as I finished, and 
 when she saw my smile, answered with a lift of the 
 brows. 
 . " A singular coincidence, M. American ? " 
 
 " More probably cause and effect. Prince Kalkov 
 has told His Majesty, and this is for your further 
 mystification, and to prevent the deception being dis- 
 covered through the Emperor's presence at the review 
 to-day." 
 
 " Yes, I think with you there is cause and effect," 
 she answered. " Do you still keep to your con- 
 fession ? " 
 
 " It is the truth, mademoiselle." 
 
 " I am afraid that you will find it as difficult to 
 persuade others as to persuade me. And in that lies 
 the danger." 
 
 Her face clouded, and she tapped the letter. 
 
 "Danger?" 
 
 " This is from M. Boreski, and concerns you 
 closely. You must read it for yourself. It is a 
 further complication." 
 
 A further complication it was in all seriousness, as 
 .a glance at the letter showed me. 
 
 It threatened indeed just a devil of a mess.
 
 B 
 
 CHAPTER VIII DEEPER IN 
 
 ORESKFS letter ran thus: 
 
 " I have just heard very disturbing news, and hasten 
 to send it you, while I go to make inquiries. Drexel 
 and I had a somewhat serious quarrel after leaving 
 your house last night ; very hot words passed between 
 us on the subject of M. Denver's visit, and we parted 
 after some vague threats on his side, to which I paid 
 no very great heed. But this morning I learn from 
 Vattel whose information is, as you know, gener- 
 ally reliable that Drexel saw Vastic and some of 
 those with him, and has told them who M. Denver 
 really is. You will understand what is likely to hap- 
 pen at any moment, therefore, if your visitor is not 
 protected. I trust in God that all is well up to now. 
 All sorts of consequences are possible, and you should 
 act at once. It would be absolutely fatal to all con- 
 cerned if anything were to happen at your house; 
 and my advice to you is either to let M. Denver re- 
 turn home the instant you receive this or to leave the 
 villa with him and go secretly to Brabinsk. Precau- 
 tions can be much more easily taken there, and, more 
 over, no one will then know where to look for you. 
 But for God's sake act promptly. 
 
 " The enclosed is from the just issued Journal, and 
 shows how the Court people are covering M. Denver's 
 absence. 
 
 " I shall seek you as soon as I have definite news ; 
 but unfortunately there is little room to doubt the 
 gravity of things. 
 
 " L. B." 
 67
 
 68 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " This means ? " I asked when I had read it. 
 
 " The Nihilists, monsieur." Helga's tone was firm 
 and deliberate. " Vastic is the name of one of the 
 leaders of the extremists." 
 
 " You mean of the assassins ? " 
 
 " Among the most reckless of them." 
 
 "What will you do?" 
 
 " My present scheme has failed," she replied, still 
 calmly. " I must begin again ; but I shall have proved 
 my strength and I shall be revenged. M. Boreski is 
 right. You had better leave at once. I would not have 
 anything happen here for all the wealth of Russia." 
 
 " But I am not the Emperor," I protested. 
 
 " Need we play that sorry farce any longer ? You 
 had better go and without an instant's delay, mon- 
 sieur. Come, let us order the carriage ; " and she 
 started towards the house. 
 
 " And the papers ? " I "asked, following her. 
 
 " My hand is forced by this. I shall use them." 
 
 " My God, what a mess ! " I cried involuntarily. 
 
 She paid no heed, but hurried me into the house, 
 and gave orders for a carriage to be brought round 
 at once. 
 
 " You are ready of course, monsieur," she said 
 quickly. 
 
 But I had made up my mind. Her fear of " some- 
 thing happening " had given me a cue. 
 
 " I am not going, mademoiselle, without the papers." 
 
 " You will go, monsieur," she replied, her face set- 
 ting. 
 
 " Then I take the papers with me, mademoiselle." 
 
 " On the contrary, monsieur, you will go without 
 them." 
 
 " We shall see ; " and I sat down with an intentional 
 deliberation. 
 
 " I have pledged myself for your personal safety. 
 You must go." 
 
 The purpose in her voice strengthened with every 
 sentence.
 
 DEEPER IN 69 
 
 " I will trust to my own right arm, mademoiselle. 
 Without those papers, I do not leave the house, come 
 what may." 
 
 " You are dealing with a desperate woman, mon- 
 sieur. You must go." 
 
 " Then give me the papers to take with me." 
 
 She came and stood opposite me, her eyes aflame, 
 and her hands clenched. 
 
 " You shall go if we have to use force to take you 
 away ; " and she moved away and laid her finger on 
 the bell. 
 
 " You will not do that, mademoiselle." 
 
 "Why not?" she cried, turning round. 
 
 " Because the man who seeks to lay hands on me 
 will touch nothing else in this life." 
 
 For a minute she stood silent in distracted hesi- 
 tation. 
 
 The silence was broken by the sound of the carriage 
 wheels. 
 
 " We will see," she cried, and pressed the bell. 
 
 " As you please ; " and I rose and stepped back 
 against the wall and drew my revolver. 
 
 At the sight of it she closed her eyes and threw up 
 her hands with a cry of fear and anguish, and then 
 clasped her hands to her head. 
 
 The servant came in then. 
 
 " Is the carriage there, Peter?" 
 
 " Yes, mademoiselle." 
 
 " Very well." 
 
 He went and closed the door. 
 
 " Your Majesty, I beg you for the love of God to 
 go and save your life. Ah, do, do ! " she cried 
 distractedly. 
 
 " I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle ; and with- 
 out the papers I cannot and will not go." 
 
 She came nearer to me. 
 
 " I beg and entreat of you. If you are caught here, 
 think what will happen to me." 
 
 " I have no discretion to think in such a case," I
 
 70 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 answered firmly, although the sight of her suffering 
 wrung my heart. 
 
 Almost before the words were out of my mouth 
 she sprang forward in a wild attempt to seize my 
 revolver. But I had been in too many tight corners 
 in my life to be taken unawares, totally unexpected 
 though the manoeuvre was, and I wrenched my hand 
 away and held her harmless with the other. 
 
 " This is worse than madness, mademoiselle ! " I 
 cried. 
 
 She gave up the contest then, and drawing away, 
 fell into a lounge in an attitude of despair. 
 
 I had won the victory, but the fruits were too bitter. 
 I put the revolver away in my pocket and crossed to 
 her. 
 
 " Will you give me the papers ? " I asked. 
 
 " No, I will die first, and so shall you ! Oh God, 
 how hard you are! I wish I had never seen you." 
 
 " Then I will go with you to Brabinsk, and we can 
 settle things there." 
 
 She rose at once and shook off her emotion. 
 
 " Do you mean that ? " 
 
 " Where I go is of no consequence to any one. I 
 have to convince you of your mistake. I will go to 
 Brabinsk. I have to save you." 
 
 " You have no secret purpose in this? " 
 
 " Is that fair? If you need it, I give you my word of 
 honour to act exactly as you wish except in regard 
 to those papers. I am resolved they shall not be 
 used." 
 
 " But you will be missed. You cannot stay away. 
 You oh, this is madness, too, surely ! " 
 
 " You are wasting time." 
 
 She thought quickly ; then smiled bitterly and shook 
 her head. 
 
 " No, monsieur, thank you. I do not walk open- 
 eyed into a trap, however cleverly laid. You know I 
 must take the papers with me, and reckon to get them 
 by the way."
 
 DEEPER IN 71 
 
 " That is a suspicion worthy perhaps of M. 
 Drexel. I do not thank you for it. I am not such 
 a mean cad. But that you may feel safe, you can 
 travel alone in the carriage and I will ride with, say, 
 M. Boreski's messenger or any one you can trust to 
 guide me." 
 
 "I_am sorry for what I said. I do not think it; 
 indeed I do not, monsieur." 
 
 " We have not much time for explanations, made- 
 moiselle. We must act." 
 
 " It might not be safe for you to be with me." 
 
 " We will put it that way if you like," I said with 
 a smile. 
 
 " How dare you make such a hateful insinuation 
 when I repent and retract my words ? " 
 
 " We seem fated to misunderstand each other. But 
 shall we do as I say ? Order saddle horses, and I will 
 take steps to prevent any one believing they can rec- 
 ognize me." 
 
 " Ivan could guide you." 
 
 " Then send Peter at once to my room. I will be 
 ready in a few minutes ; " and without waiting for 
 more I hurried away. 
 
 In less than ten minutes Peter had shaved off my 
 beard and moustache, and had found me from some- 
 where a riding jacket. I ran down, and was fastening 
 my cloak across the saddle of the horse that was to 
 carry me, when Helga came out, dressed ready for 
 the drive. 
 
 She started on seeing the change in me, and at first 
 scarcely seemed to recognize me. 
 
 " I should not have thought so simple a thing would 
 make such a difference in your looks," she said. 
 
 " I am ready to start, mademoiselle," was my an- 
 swer; and I swung myself into the saddle. 
 
 ''' You have been very quick." 
 
 "It is for you I am anxious. Au revoir. Now 
 Ivan ; " and without waiting for more, I clapped the 
 heels into my horse and cantered off. I looked back
 
 72 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 as I rounded a bend in the avenue, and saw that 
 Madame Korvata had joined Helga, and that they 
 were getting into the carriage. 
 
 Ivan rode up to me as we came out upon the road. 
 
 " To the right, if you please, your honour." 
 
 He looked along the road in the opposite direction 
 somewhat anxiously, but his face cleared. 
 
 " Do you wish to travel fast? " 
 
 " I am in your hands." 
 
 " I think it would be best for a few miles, your 
 honour," he said, and accordingly we whipped along 
 at a smart pace until the suburbs of the city were left 
 well behind. Then he struck through a number of 
 by-roads, until I was utterly at sea as to our where- 
 .abouts, except that by the sun I could tell we were 
 travelling north ; and we fell into a walking pace on 
 reaching a very steep zig-zag hill. 
 
 Ivan was a fine sturdy fellow, with a strong, very 
 intelligent face, and he sat his horse with consummate 
 skill. I liked his looks. 
 
 " You have been in the army ? " I said, letting him 
 come to my side as we mounted the hill. 
 
 " In a Cossack regiment, your honour." 
 
 " And prefer private service, no doubt ? " 
 
 " I have a good mistress, your honour." 
 
 " Oh, I thought you were M. Boreski's servant." 
 
 " These are Mademoiselle Helga's animals, your 
 honour." 
 
 I had noticed before that all about her spoke of her 
 either as mademoiselle or Mademoiselle Helga, and 
 never used any surname. 
 
 " They are two good horses and in magnificent 
 condition." 
 
 " I am responsible for the stables, your honour," 
 he said with a pleased smile at the remark. 
 
 " How far is Brabinsk ? " I asked him next. 
 
 " Twenty versts by the road the carriage will take 
 about twenty-six by this road, your honour; but 
 the horses could do twice the distance easily."
 
 DEEPER IN 73 
 
 " So far is it ? I did not know." 
 
 We rode on in silence, and I noticed him directing 
 curious sidelong glances at me now and then, until 
 at last he said 
 
 " Your honour's pardon, but your honour is not 
 Russian ? " 
 
 I had been speaking Russian, and this had be- 
 trayed me. 
 
 " No, I am an American," I answered with a 
 laugh. 
 
 " Then your honour has crossed the sea. I have 
 never seen the sea. I have heard of America. And 
 so you have political troubles there, too ? " 
 
 " Yes. We call them Tammany there." 
 
 The word puzzled him greatly, and he repeated it 
 several times gravely, shaking his head over the 
 pronunciation. 
 
 " Is it the same as Nihilism ? " he asked. 
 
 " No, indeed," I replied, and attempted a brief de- 
 scription of Tammany Hall and its methods. Either 
 my description was vague or his understanding of 
 it imperfect, for his face took on an expression of 
 disgust. 
 
 " What an awful country, your honour ; what 
 tyranny! I am glad I am not an American. Yet 
 after all one's own country is best, I suppose, and it 
 must be sad to be an exile." 
 
 His tone and glance were quite pitying now. He 
 regarded me apparently as an exile. 
 
 I began to be amused at him, and drew out some 
 of his views on Russia. The result surprised me. 
 He was an intense and indeed a passionate patriot, 
 but he hated the Russian Government. The Czar, as 
 the God-appointed head of Russia, was a quite sacred 
 person, a sort of Fetish in his eyes; but the ministers 
 round him were as the incarnation of evil. For the 
 Little Father it was the heaven-ordained duty of every 
 good Russian to lay down his life willingly and in- 
 stantly; while he seemed to suggest that it would be
 
 74 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 almost equally meritorious to take the lives of those 
 who did evil and ground the people in his name. 
 
 I looked for the key to this queer mixture of political 
 faiths in the man's association with Helga, and knowl- 
 edge of her wrongs. 
 
 " You are very devoted to Mademoiselle Helga ? " 
 I asked presently. 
 
 " My life is hers if ever she should need it, your 
 honour," he answered readily, simply and very ear- 
 nestly. 
 
 " You are a good fellow, Ivan," I said ; and soon 
 after that we rattled on again at the canter. As we 
 rode, he evidently thought over what had passed be- 
 tween us, for when we drew rein again he came up 
 and said 
 
 " I crave your honour's pardon, but was it your 
 honour who came last night to mademoiselle's villa ? " 
 
 " Yes. Why do you ask ? " 
 
 " I am mystified, your honour. It was you then 
 whom M. Boreski bound me by all I hold sacred to 
 guard with my life. And yet you are an American 
 a stranger an exile. He told me " 
 
 He stopped and shook his head in perplexity. 
 
 "What did he tell you?" 
 
 " That I was to serve your honour as if you were 
 the Little Father himself ; God keep him ; that there 
 was danger from the desperado Vastic ; that I should 
 probably have to guide you by by-ways to the Palace 
 from the villa. And yet you are an American. I am 
 filled with wonder." 
 
 " Don't I look like an American, Ivan ? " I asked, 
 smiling. 
 
 " Your honour has shaved since I first saw you. 
 
 Then I thought you were the I trembled at 
 
 your look, my lord." 
 
 " Had I been what you thought, you looked for 
 danger then ? " 
 
 " God would have given me strength to protect 
 His Majesty. I am mystified; but it is not for me to 
 ask questions."
 
 DEEPER IN 75 
 
 " You know this Vastic, then ? " I asked next. 
 
 " He is a good man, absolutely sincere, your your 
 honour," he fumbled now over the way he should ad- 
 dress me, and his manner had changed from frank- 
 ness to nervous excitement. " Quite sincere ; but a 
 madman on one point; and his madness makes him 
 dangerous and reckless.'' 
 
 ''A fanatic you mean against the Government?" 
 
 " Against the Emperor. We have fought once for 
 that, and he nearly killed me. But we shall fight 
 again, and then I shall win." 
 
 "How do you know that?" 
 
 "It is fate, your honour; and, besides, I have 
 practised." 
 
 The combination of fatalism and deliberate prepara- 
 tion tickled me, and I smiled. 
 
 " And you were afraid for my life then ? " 
 
 " Not yours only, your honour, not yours only ; but 
 mademoiselle and M. Boreski's also." 
 
 "Mademoiselle's?" I cried with a start. "How 
 and why ? " 
 
 " I crave your your honour's pardon, but I may 
 not speak of my mistress's affairs." 
 
 " I am her friend as staunchly as you can be, Ivan ; 
 and if you can tell me anything without speaking of 
 her private affairs, do so." 
 
 He thought for a while. 
 
 " It is only what I myself fear." 
 
 " Then you can surely tell me," I said eagerly. 
 
 "If your your honour had been what I thought, 
 and not an American only, Vastic's anger and that 
 of those with him would have fallen on mademoiselle 
 herself." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " It is so plain, your honour. He would have held 
 it such treachery for for such a one to have been 
 at the villa and to have left it unharmed." ' 
 
 " My God ! " I cried as the light burst upon me. 
 " You mean they would condemn the mademoiselle
 
 76 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 and M. Boreski for not having taken my life when 
 apparently they had the chance ? " 
 
 " Your honour can surely see that clearly." 
 
 As the full danger and possible horror of the thing 
 rushed upon me, I dashed my heels into my horse. 
 
 " Come, then, for God's sake ! Let us get to her 
 and see that she is safe," I cried, and we covered 
 the remaining miles as fast as the gallant beasts under 
 us could travel. And gallantly they carried us; up 
 hill and down, without let or stop we rattled along, 
 Ivan to the full as eager and urgent as I, until we 
 reached Brabinsk and drew up before the door of a 
 secluded house lying away from any road. I dis- 
 mounted from my sweating, panting horse, and asked 
 for Helga. 
 
 She had not arrived, and we were quite unexpected ; 
 but at a few words from Ivan I was admitted, and 
 he led the horses away to the stables. 
 
 I was too anxious to remain in the house, and as 
 soon as I had washed and removed the traces of the 
 reckless ride from my clothes, I went out to the gate 
 and waited with a feverish impatience for signs of 
 her coming, 
 
 The thought of the danger into which she had 
 plunged maddened me; and I breathed a fervent 
 thanksgiving when at length I caught sight of the 
 carriage.
 
 CHAPTER IX HELGA SPEAKS 
 
 '"HT^HANK God, you are safe," I cried as I 
 J. assisted Helga from the carriage, my pent-up 
 anxiety making my tone intensely earnest. 
 
 " Safe? I ? " and she looked at me in astonishment. 
 " Why, has anything happened ? " 
 
 " I am excited. Ivan has told me of your danger." 
 " Then Ivan must be taught how to hold his tongue." 
 " I drew it from him, mademoiselle. I made him 
 tell me." 
 
 " Could you not have asked me about my own 
 affairs ? " 
 
 " I did not question him about your affairs, of 
 course." 
 
 " Then my supposed danger is not my affair ? " 
 " Why play with words ? You must explain every- 
 thing to me. I must know all." 
 
 " Must ? " with a lift of the brows. " Your ride 
 seems to have made you strangely impatient. Can 
 you restrain it while I take off my hat, monsieur? 
 I am hungry, too, after my ride. Are not you ? " 
 " I am in a fever to know all, and that 's the truth." 
 " I must lecture Ivan for exciting you." 
 " I beg you to say nothing to that good fellow." 
 " You know that you look much more American 
 now that you are clean shaven, and seem to act up 
 better to the part ! But you must not take my breath 
 away ; " and with a laugh she left me. 
 
 If there was really the danger of which Ivan had 
 spoken, Helga certainly took it very calmly. But 
 I could not be calm, and I paced up and down the 
 room fuming and imagining many evil possibilities 
 
 77
 
 78 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 for half an hour, until a servant came to usher me 
 to another room, where a meal was laid and Helga 
 with Madame Korvata were awaiting me. 
 
 " Even if we are all going to die in ten minutes, 
 we may as well have something to eat first," said 
 Helga. 
 
 " Considering the surprise and no notice, they 
 have n't done badly, Helga," declared Madame 
 Korvata critically, looking at the well-spread table. 
 " What a blessing it is that when one reaches the 
 age which appreciates the importance of food, one 
 has good food to eat." 
 
 I sighed, and Helga smiled at my impatience. 
 
 " As you invited yourself to Brabinsk, monsieur, 
 I will not apologize for so impromptu a meal," she 
 said. 
 
 " A crust of bread and a glass of water would be 
 more than enough for me in my present mood," I 
 answered restlessly. 
 
 "Is your digestion bad, monsieur?" inquired 
 Madame Korvata sympathetically. " At your age 
 you ought to be able to eat anything. You look 
 well and strong too ; I should never have thought it." 
 
 " Thank you, I enjoy excellent health, madame." 
 
 " That 's made a great change in your looks, mon- 
 sieur. You are not so much like the Emperor now." 
 
 " Have you ever seen the Emperor without his 
 beard, Aunt Korvata ? " asked Helga, with a glance 
 at me. 
 
 " No, my dear. I 've only seen him once. I was 
 judging, like most people, by his portraits. You have 
 never seen him very close, have you ? " 
 
 " I have often wished to," returned Helga, with 
 another glance. But my restlessness was so insistent 
 that this lightness jarred upon me, and I remained 
 almost moodily silent until the end of a meal that 
 seemed unendurably wearisome. I was consumed with 
 my anxiety to question Helga about Vastic her 
 Nihilistic associates and her connexion with them.
 
 HELGA SPEAKS 79 
 
 " Can I speak to you alone, at once, mademoiselle? "" 
 I said as we rose from the table. 
 
 " Yes." The answer came after a pause which 
 made me think she was going to put me off. We 
 went into the room where I had first been shown. 
 " I have not been at Brabinsk for some time and 
 wish to see to certain things." 
 
 "I am sorry to detain you, but I cannot wait. 
 I wish you to tell me the nature of your and M. 
 Boreski's relations with this man Vastic and his 
 associates." 
 
 " So, then, you are interested in part of my story 
 that part which you think might bring me under 
 suspicion ? " 
 
 " For God's sake don't let us fence with words. 
 I am too anxious. You know that you are doing 
 me a gross injustice in saying such a thing, and that 
 my sole motive is concern for you you yourself, 
 and the danger which may threaten you." 
 
 The earnestness of my manner made her earnest too. 
 
 " How should I know that ? " 
 
 " Because I swear it ; because you can read it 
 in my acts. You must feel it; I am sure you do." 
 
 She met my eyes, and seemed to understand some 
 of the passion that I felt was glowing in them. 
 
 " You are incomprehensible, monsieur," and her 
 eyes fell. 
 
 " You must see how I feel. Is it true that because 
 you harboured last night a man whom you believed 
 to be the Emperor, you are likely to be in danger from 
 these reckless fanatics ? That question has been burn- 
 ing in my brain ever since the suggestion was prompted 
 by Ivan's words. Is that to be the terrible consequence 
 of this hapless, ill-conceived visit ? " 
 
 " It was I who planned the visit, monsieur. Do- 
 you think I should not foresee any possible conse- 
 quences ? " 
 
 " My God, it 's true then ! " I exclaimed. " How 
 could you be so mad, so blind, so reckless ? "
 
 80 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Blind I was not ; reckless you have made me." 
 
 " I ? " 
 
 " Well, Prince Kalkov and your advisers, monsieur, 
 if you prefer that." 
 
 " But I am not the Emperor, mademoiselle," I cried 
 angrily. '' That is what I mean. You have incurred 
 this fearful risk for nothing." 
 
 " You have said so already, many times, monsieur." 
 
 I tossed up my hands in despair and began to stride 
 up and down the room. 
 
 " There must be an end to this," I cried sharply. 
 " I must find some means of making you believe 
 the truth." 
 
 She rose and came to me. 
 
 " If I were in such danger as you think, would 
 you help me?" 
 
 " Show me how and test me." She looked long 
 and anxiously in my face. 
 
 " Those are sweet words to hear," she said, with 
 a smile and a note of triumph. 
 
 I took her hands, and she left them in mine. 
 
 " Tell me all about these men, and let us together 
 see what is best to do. The thought of your danger 
 maddens me, Helga." 
 
 " You will listen to me now hear all I have to 
 say: and then help me in the one purpose of my 
 life?" 
 
 " I will help you, God knows, loyally in everything 
 in everything ; but I cannot give you the kind of 
 help you seek, because I am not the man you believe. 
 You must not give me your confidence while you hold 
 to that mistaken belief." 
 
 She was going to protest again I read it in her 
 eyes but, instead, she paused, and then asked 
 
 " If I care not what you are, will you listen ? " 
 
 " Readily, readily." 
 
 " I will tell you then," she said in a low tone, as 
 she withdrew her hands from mine gently. " I am 
 Helga Lavalski." She looked for some token of
 
 HELGA SPEAKS 81 
 
 recognition of the name from me, as she had on the 
 previous night, and when she saw none her face 
 clouded, and she passed her hand across her eyes 
 as if in pain. 
 
 " If I do not recognize the name, it is for the 
 reason I have given you. Until you spoke it last 
 night, I had never heard of it." 
 
 " It is not possible," she said in low accents of 
 pain. Then, after a pause, she lifted her eyes and 
 continued : " If it must be so, we will pretend that ; 
 but the time was when Boris Lavalski was the chosen 
 friend of of His Majesty, and when the name was 
 oftenest on his lips. They were almost as brothers." 
 
 " You had better tell me all in your own way,"' 
 I said. 
 
 " It is barely seven years ago that the change came 
 which parted them a change due to the man I will 
 name presently. My father stood in that man's path : 
 the one was honest, the other a villain : and by 
 villainous, underhand, infamous methods a charge of 
 treason was laid and proved by perjured liars suborned 
 by the arch-conspirator. You will remember the 
 Nihilist plot at the time?" 
 
 I did not, but it was no use interrupting her to- 
 repeat my ignorance of the whole affair. 
 
 " Well ? "' 
 
 " A truer and more loyal servant the Emperor 
 never had, but his ears were poisoned ; the apparent 
 proofs of an assassination plot were laid before him ; 
 a trap had been set for my father, and by it he 
 was ruined. He was kidnapped and held a secret 
 prisoner; the tale being spread that he had fled the 
 country; and in his absence the decree of banish- 
 ment was signed. As foul a crime as was ever 
 committed." 
 
 " You have the proofs of this ? " 
 
 " That is not the worst. By an even fouler stroke 
 an order for his execution as a Nihilist was obtained. 
 Many men were put to death at that fearful time,. 
 '
 
 82 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 and one of the orders with a name written in pencil 
 was signed by the Emperor. This name was after- 
 wards erased and my father's substituted; and then 
 another lying tale was carried to the Emperor that a 
 mistake had been made and my father had been put 
 to death." 
 
 " By Heaven, what consummate infamy ! " I ex- 
 claimed. " But the proofs of this ! What and where 
 are they ? " 
 
 " I was scarcely more than a child at the time, 
 barely eighteen, but I was included in the scheme. 
 I should have been arrested had not my friends hid- 
 den me and then hurried me from the country. Other- 
 wise, I should have gone to Siberia. As it was, I 
 was proscribed and banished, and all our possessions 
 ^vvere seized in the name of the Emperor. Do you 
 wonder if I live but for revenge?" 
 
 She paused, but I made no comment. 
 
 " I took up the task eagerly. Two years afterwards 
 I returned to Russia in another name, and, girl as 
 I was, I set myself patiently to hunt down the power- 
 ful minister who had planned this crime and risen 
 upon it to higher honours. Bit by bit, a fraction here, 
 a fraction there, I collected the proofs, working always 
 secretly, until a stroke of fortune came my way, and 
 a witness, who had been first a tool and then a victim 
 of the same powerful villain, laid the whole truth 
 bare to me. Meanwhile, by the death of a relative, 
 I had become once more rich, and could pay well 
 all who helped me and promise them protection. It 
 was a terrible life for a young girl, monsieur, and in 
 those few years I lived a lifetime. But I had gained 
 what I sought, the proofs and witnesses to support 
 me." 
 
 Triumph as well as anger was in the look she gave 
 me. 
 
 " I set myself then to gain your to gain the 
 Emperor's ear and to get my father's case re-opened. 
 But there I was baffled bv the man who stood between
 
 HELGA SPEAKS 83 
 
 me and him. I had to fly the country, or my fate 
 would have been as my father's had been; and those 
 \\lio worked for me were no match for this man's 
 power and vigilance and cunning. I would not accept 
 failure, and I returned to Russia secretly to seek some 
 other avenue, and at that crisis I met M. Boreski." 
 
 "Had you better tell me his affairs?" I asked 
 warningly, but she waved the warning aside. 
 
 " I am telling you everything. He is an exiled Pole 
 Count Primus Noveschkoff and for his part in 
 a Polish plot he was exiled and beggared. He is a 
 great violinist, and I saw my way when I learnt that 
 the Duchess Stephanie had become enamoured of him 
 and he of her, strange as that may seem to you, who 
 know her age and lack of personal charms. I helped 
 him to secure her for his wife for I knew the Court 
 would eventually pardon and ennoble him, and that 
 through her I could eventually gain the Emperor's 
 ear. The obstacles to such a match were of course 
 countless, but I was not daunted, and you know the 
 scheme that I laid to gain the papers we have ob- 
 tained and how it has fared." 
 
 " And M. Paul Drexel?" Her face clouded at the 
 question, and she paused. 
 
 " I have told you once before I would do anything 
 to gain my end." 
 
 " But how comes such a man to be on the scene 
 at all?" 
 
 " You are interested then in the story I have had 
 to force upon you ? " she asked with one of her search- 
 ing, half-triumphant, half-defiant glances. 
 
 " I am intensely interested in this part of your 
 story," I answered earnestly. " What is he really to 
 you? How comes he here? Do you mean that you 
 would marry such a man, despising him as you do, 
 to gain your purpose?" 
 
 My string of questions, and the vehemence with 
 which I asked them, seemed to please her, for she 
 smiled.
 
 84 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I would do even that if it were necessary. He 
 has forced himself upon us, and his silence on certain 
 things why should I not tell you, I have told you 
 all," she broke off. " I have trusted you." 
 
 " I know that." 
 
 " He knew M. Boreski's real character and past, 
 and it was in his power to checkmate everything by 
 denouncing him to the Government. He had to be 
 silenced, and his price was the promise of my hand. 
 I paid it, only thankful he made it so light and did 
 not insist on an immediate marriage. I should have 
 married him then ; " she dropped her voice at the 
 last word and paused before it. 
 
 " And now ? " I asked, my own voice a fraction 
 unsteady. 
 
 She waited before replying, and then looking up 
 frankly said, after an interval, in her usual calm 
 tone 
 
 " It will not now be necessary. You know my 
 story." 
 
 The silence that followed was very embarrassing 
 to me. It was clear she still insisted upon believing 
 I was the Czar. It was in that belief she had spoken, 
 and it was because of that same belief that she and 
 Boreski had been led to break with the man on the 
 previous night. She was so confident the mere re- 
 cital of her wrongs to me as the Emperor would 
 secure the justice, to obtain which was the passionate 
 desire of her life, that I knew how bitter the truth 
 would be when it was forced upon her. It was just 
 an awful mess, and I sighed involuntarily. She looked 
 up in quick questioning perplexity. 
 
 " I am looking for some sign from you," she said 
 anxiously. 
 
 " You have not told me of this man Vastic and 
 his friends." 
 
 " I am no Nihilist, monsieur, but I have not hesi- 
 tated to ally myself with them and to use them. They 
 could obtain certain kinds of information which I was
 
 HELGA SPEAKS 85 
 
 helpless to gain without them, and I was glad to have 
 their help. Indeed, I was compelled to have it." 
 
 "Good God! and didn't you see the danger?" 
 
 " Has my life been so even that I need fear an 
 added risk or two? I have helped them in my turn 
 with money thousands and thousands of roubles I 
 have given them." Then, with a quick change to 
 fierceness : " Why did the Government make me an 
 enemy? Why deny me my justice? Why destroy 
 my father and seek to destroy me? Why refuse to 
 hear me? If it was to be war between us, was I to 
 be tender-handed in the weapons I used? Place your- 
 self in my position, monsieur, and say what you would 
 have done." 
 
 " I would not have turned Nihilist," I answered 
 firmly. 
 
 " Nor did I. I am as loyal to the Throne as any 
 woman in Russia. If I were a Nihilist, would you 
 be alive now? " 
 
 " I am not accusing you. I am thinking of your 
 present danger." 
 
 " Danger ! " she cried contemptuously. " I should 
 despise myself if I sat down to count every shadow 
 of danger that crossed my path. Live a life such 
 as mine and you will come to laugh at dangers as 
 I do. Nothing, no not even the instant prospect 
 of death itself, should stand, or ever has stood, be- 
 tween me and my purpose. Could I have done what 
 I have had I been one ' of your timid mouse-scared 
 women ? " 
 
 She looked glorious in her proud repudiation. 
 
 " Still, we may as well sound the depths of it," I 
 said practically. "Does Vastic know who you are?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Has this Drexel any suspicion ? " 
 
 " He may have ; " the reply was given with a con- 
 temptuous <*hrug. 
 
 " To repeat my former question, if Vastic believes 
 you had the Emperor in your house and allowed him
 
 86 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 to leave, would he be likely to regard that as an 
 offence against the brotherhood ? " 
 
 " Probably." 
 
 " And punishable how ? " 
 
 ; ' They might decree my death." 
 
 " My God, and you speak of danger so calmly," 
 I cried. 
 
 " Danger can always be faced, and generally met 
 and overcome, monsieur." 
 
 Her courage was dauntless. 
 
 " Does Drexel know of this place Brabinsk? " 
 
 " I think not. But he is a spy by nature, and may 
 have found it out." 
 
 " He would surely tell Vastic and the rest ? " 
 
 " Surely, no ; probably, or possibly, yes. There 
 are limits even to the courage of his baseness." She 
 paused, and then added, " If he thought you were 
 here, he might do anything." 
 
 I sat thinking intently, distressed and baffled by 
 the knowledge of the dangers among which she moved. 
 She waited for me to speak, and gradually an ex- 
 pression of dismay and pain clouded her features. She 
 was looking for some sign from me, as Emperor, 
 that I would help her to the object always foremost 
 in her thoughts. And receiving none, the belief that 
 she had got her story to me and had yet failed to gain 
 the Imperial protection, chilled and hardened her. And 
 well it might, forsooth. 
 
 I was too stunned by the enormous difficulties on 
 all sides to see what to do or say. 
 
 Suddenly she rose, her manner half-anxious appeal 
 and half-veiled threat as she said 
 
 " The man who ruined my father was your con- 
 fidential adviser and his former friend. Prince Kalkov. 
 If you feel that he is too valuable to you, you will 
 probably do nothing and leave me to deal with those 
 papers as I will. But I beg your I beg you, mon- 
 sieur, to think, if not of my father and my wrongs, 
 at least to consider what it may mean to Russia. In
 
 HELGA SPEAKS 87 
 
 an hour doubtless you will be able to decide and leave 
 Brabinsk. And remember, oh remember, how I have 
 trusted you and how much I have built upon this 
 interview." 
 
 And without waiting to hear the protest that sprang 
 to my lips she left the room.
 
 CHAPTER X VASTIC 
 
 IT was dusk when our interview ended, and light- 
 ing a cigar I stepped out through the window 
 into the gardens to think. 
 
 The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which 
 Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sym- 
 pathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed 
 I would in some way. But she herself made that 
 help extremely difficult to plan. If I left the place 
 without giving her some pledge in my false char- 
 acter as Emperor, she would instantly make use of 
 those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the 
 chance of his doing anything. 
 
 There was the possibility that if I were to give her 
 some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get 
 her the interview with the real Emperor that she 
 desired. But so much further deceit and lying would 
 be involved that I ruled out the idea at once. 
 
 There was also one other feeble way to get some 
 communication to the Emperor, telling him the whole 
 thing, and leaving him to act. But while such a plan 
 might possibly do good, it was much more likely to 
 do harm. Prince Kalkov would be immediately con- 
 sulted and then the deluge. It was more than 
 probable, indeed, that any message or communication 
 from me would be intercepted by him. So that notion 
 had to go after the other. 
 
 Helga's stubborn refusal to believe that I was no 
 more than just a private individual was of course 
 the bed rock of the mess, and nothing that I had said 
 or done had shaken her belief in the least. Nothing 
 seemed likdy to do it, moreover, short of getting the 
 
 88
 
 VASTIC 89 
 
 Emperor to stand shoulder to shoulder with me so 
 that she might see us together. 
 
 There was, further, the to me unendurable risk 
 of leaving her alone at Brabinsk to face the danger 
 from these wretched Nihilist fanatics. Had the other 
 parts of the problem been capable of solution, that 
 alone would have kept me by her side. 
 
 Of all the tests to which a man's nerve may be 
 subjected, few can be more terrible than the fear of 
 secret assassination. But there is one, and I ran up 
 against it there. To know that there are a number 
 of human wild beasts planning to put a bullet in your 
 head or a knife in your heart is bad enough, but it 
 is infinitely worse when you feel, as I did, that if they 
 failed to do that for me they would probably endeavour 
 to do it for the woman I loved. 
 
 And thus I paced the lawn in a mood of intense 
 embarrassment, complicated with a double fear for 
 my own life and for Helga's. 
 
 With that thought in my mind I had a good look 
 round the house. It was, as Boreski had said in his 
 letter, a good place for taking precautions. A square 
 solid stone building, with all the lower windows pro- 
 tected by bars or heavy shutters, and it would be as 
 difficult to break into it as to get out of it. 
 
 In my mood then I had a keen appreciation of its 
 strength, and I came back to the front again feeling 
 very thankful to the man who had planned and 
 built it. 
 
 It was a dead still evening. The twilight had faded 
 very quickly, and when I had been smoking and 
 worrying myself for about an hour, without getting 
 an inch nearer to any solution of the problem Helga 
 had set me, my ears, which are very keen, caught a 
 sound in the distance. 
 
 It was very faint, but before it ceased I recognized 
 the beat of a horse's hoofs. 
 
 I was in a nervously high strung condition, and as 
 I knew that there was no house near enough for me
 
 90 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 to be able to hear any one who might be driving or 
 riding up to it, I tossed my cigar away and drew 
 back into some bushes to wait for what might be to 
 come. 
 
 It might be jus't a messenger from Boreski, or even 
 Boreski himself; or, on the other hand, I persuaded 
 myself very easily, it might spell danger. In either 
 case I could do no harm by keeping a watch. 
 
 Clearly it was not Boreski, or any one from him, 
 as in that case he would have ridden right up to the 
 house. My ears might have deceived me, of course; 
 but I was conscious of what some people term a creepy 
 sensation as I accepted the other conclusion that the 
 matter did bode danger of some kind. 
 
 I was right too. I stood as still as a statue on my 
 sentry go, and after some minutes I heard a light 
 crunch of gravel under stealthily treading feet and 
 saw a man creeping warily toward the house. 
 
 At the same moment I caught a glimpse of Helga. 
 I could see from my place through the open window 
 of the room where we had sat. I saw her enter the 
 room, glance about her in surprise at not finding me 
 there, and then cross to the window and peer into the 
 dark garden. 
 
 The man at the gate saw her too, and drew back 
 quickly. A very significant indication. 
 
 Helga stood a moment at the window, and then 
 stepped out on to the verandah that ran along the 
 house and looked about her as if seeking me. But 
 I gave no sign of my presence, of course; and after 
 a while she went back through the window, leaving 
 it open, crossed the room with a quick step, and passed 
 out of my line of sight. 
 
 Soon afterwards the man crept very cautiously and 
 almost silently a short distance up the gravel walk, 
 pausing at every step and looking about him as if to 
 make certain he was unobserved. 
 
 When he was quite close to me he stopped, and I 
 recognized him. It was Paul Drexel. For a moment
 
 VASTIC 91 
 
 a hundred possibilities connected with his visit at such 
 a time and in such fashion rushed into my mind, and 
 I was on the point of darting from jny hiding-place 
 and seizing him, when he turned and made a signal. 
 
 Following his gaze, I saw that two other men had 
 entered the grounds and stood mute and motionless 
 until he waved to them, when they crept up to his side. 
 Then-all three got on to the grass, well in the shadow 
 of the trees, and held a whispered consultation. 
 
 I could not, of course, catch a word they said, but 
 I saw them point to the open window ; and when the 
 consultation ended two of them stole like shadows 
 round the skirt of the lawn under cover of the trees 
 to the window, in front of which both lay flat on the 
 ground. 
 
 Then Drexel crept back a short distance, paused, 
 turned and walked up the gravel, with intentionally 
 noisy and heavy steps, to the house door. 
 
 It did not require the instincts of a Vidocq to know 
 that some very ugly business was on foot; and while 
 Drexel was getting admitted to the house, I was try- 
 ing to consider what the thing boded and what I had 
 best do. 
 
 In point of fact I did nothing about the wisest 
 course, as it turned out. To have moved from my 
 hiding-place would only have scared away the two 
 men lying prone by the verandah, and so long as I 
 knew of their presence and they were ignorant of 
 mine, I had the best end of the stick. 
 
 I made a pretty cute guess at the meaning of the 
 visit. Drexel had no doubt gone to the villa with the 
 men in the hope of rinding me still there, and had 
 learnt by some means of my coming to Brabinsk. 
 
 The stroke was aimed at me I felt, and there was 
 less alarm for me in that thought than if it had been 
 directed against Helga. For the time, at any rate, 
 there would be no danger to her, and as I was thus 
 forewarned I could take my own measures. 
 
 It is a somewhat skeary thing to have to think out
 
 92 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 plans to circumvent men who mean to assassinate you, 
 and to realize, as I did, very clearly, how much must 
 hang upon your not making a false step. 
 
 As I stood like a statue in the shadows of the trees, 
 I had time to think things out a bit. I had my re- 
 volver in my pocket, and I came to the conclusion 
 quite deliberately that if there was any shooting to 
 be done I would let no one get the drop on me, and 
 I would certainly shoot to kill. I had twice in my life 
 had very narrow escapes from death through hesitat- 
 ing in the face of a crisis, and this was not going to be 
 a third time. Some minutes ten perhaps lapsed 
 after Drexel was admitted to the house before any- 
 thing happened, and all the while the men by the 
 house lay as still as death. Although I knew just 
 about where they were, I could not see their dark 
 forms on the ground. 
 
 Then Helga entered the room into which I could 
 see, and Drexel followed her. The instant he was 
 inside he shut the door and put his back against it. 
 
 Helga seemed perfectly calm and self-possessed, 
 and when he spoke with much gesture, as if excus- 
 ing himself, she replied with contemptuous indiffer- 
 ence, mingled with little shafts of indignation. 
 
 The conversation lasted some time, until one of the 
 two men outside lifted his head, so that it came be- 
 tween me and the light from the window, and listened. 
 Then he and his companion, still lying prone, drew 
 themselves cautiously up on to the verandah and lay 
 close to the open window. 
 
 Themselves unseen, they were watching intently 
 what passed within the room, and listening to every 
 syllable that was spoken by Helga and Drexel. 
 
 So absorbed were the two spies, and so utterly un- 
 suspicious of my presence, that I might have risked 
 closing in upon them, had it not been that the broad 
 drive lay between me and them and the slightest sound 
 of the gravel under my footsteps would have spoilt 
 everything.
 
 VASTIC 93 
 
 I chafed at the enforced inaction, but the issues 
 were those of life and death, and I dared not take 
 such a risk. Helga's life, as well as mine, was in the 
 balance. 
 
 At last the minutes of inaction were at an end. 
 
 Both men, as if at some signal from Drexel, sprang 
 to their feet and stepped into the room, and I saw the 
 flashing look of anger from Helga at their entrance. 
 
 The noise they made in entering gave me the chance 
 I wanted. Two or three light springing tiptoe leaps 
 put me across the drive, and I hurried over the smooth 
 lawn with eager feet, drawing out my revolver as I 
 ran, until, imitating their tactics, I lay full length on 
 the ground in full sight and within earshot of all that 
 went on in the room. 
 
 I soon had evidence then of the deadly business on 
 which the men had come. 
 
 " I tell you he is not in the house." 
 
 It was Helga's voice, of course, and she was facing 
 the three men with dauntless courage in voice, look, 
 and manner. 
 
 " It is useless to say that, mademoiselle. We know 
 he is here, and call upon you in the name of the 
 brotherhood to give him up to us. It is more than 
 your life is worth to refuse." 
 
 The speaker was seemingly the leader, and his deep 
 vibrating bass voice rolled through the room in tones 
 of intense earnestness. 
 
 " Have you ever known me tell you a lie, M. 
 Vastic ? " This, then, was the reckless Nihilist him- 
 self. 
 
 " Do you deny he has been here? " 
 
 " An American, M. Denver, has been here ; but left 
 this house more than an hour since." 
 
 "To go where?" The question came like a sharp 
 stern command. 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 " He is the man we seek. You know that. Do you 
 dare to trifle with us?"
 
 94 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I allow no one to address me in that tone," said 
 Helga proudly. " I have told you the truth." 
 
 The man turned to Drexel, who I saw was very 
 pale. 
 
 " You are sure this man who calls himself Denver 
 is the Emperor. If you have lied, you will answer 
 to me." 
 
 " Ask mademoiselle," said the cowardly cur. 
 
 " Mademoiselle, what say you ? " 
 
 " That the man this this carrion spy speaks of " 
 and she turned such a look on Drexel that he 
 winced " is Mr. Denver, an American. And if 
 he were the Emperor, M. Vastic, and I knew where 
 he was at this moment, you are the last man on earth 
 I would tell." 
 
 " I need no other evidence," was the threatening 
 reply. " I give you two minutes in which to tell me 
 where to find him. If you refuse, you will suffer the 
 consequences. You know the penalty of shielding one 
 whom the brotherhood has sentenced. Say when the 
 time is passed," he ordered his comrade, and to en- 
 force his threat he drew a revolver. 
 
 Helga gave no sign of flinching, but met his stern 
 gaze with one to the full, as steady and resolute. 
 
 " You can murder me if you will. I do not know," 
 she said firmly. Not a change of colour, no quiver 
 of the lip, nor tremor of a finger showed her courage 
 to be shaken, or her purpose weakened by the ordeal. 
 
 But it was different with me and I made ready to 
 take up my part in the scene. I calculated precisely 
 what to do. The second man was near enough to the 
 window for me to strike him down as I entered, and 
 I drew myself to my feet in readiness. 
 
 But at that moment he moved to speak to Vastic. 
 He spoke in a whisper and seemed to expostulate. 
 But the leader remained unmoved by what he said, 
 and the second man with a shrug of the shoulders 
 stepped back to his former place. 
 
 Helga watched the short whispered conference
 
 VASTIC 95 
 
 closely, but gave no sign of any feeling, momentous 
 as the import was to her. 
 
 Drexel was, however, growing deeply agitated. His 
 face was as white as salt, great beads of perspiration 
 were on his forehead, his lips were quivering, and he 
 clenched and unclenched his hands with quick nervous 
 movements. 
 
 The turn of affairs had appalled him. 
 " M. Vastic," he began in low hoarse trembling 
 voice. 
 
 " Silence, M. Drexel," thundered the leader. " This 
 is now my affair. It is your part to obey. Now, 
 mademoiselle, the time is run out. I give you a last 
 
 chance to be " 
 
 The sentence was never finished, for as he spoke 
 Helga gave a great cry, and I dashed through the 
 window, dealt the man near me a blow on the head 
 with my revolver which felled him, and the next mo- 
 ment I had Vastic covered. 
 
 " Hands up, you. I 've heard what you said," I 
 cried. 
 
 " M. Denver," exclaimed Drexel. 
 Vastic turned on me instantly, full of fight, and with 
 the quickness of light raised his revolver to take aim. 
 
 It was his life or mine, and without a second's hesi- 
 tation I fired and shot him. 
 
 The fraction of a second decided it. His pistol 
 went off almost simultaneously. But the bullet went 
 wide, for mine was in his brain, and he was already 
 staggering. 
 
 There was a scuffle behind me, and another shot was 
 fired by the man I had knocked down. I turned on 
 him, but he was too quick for me and with a cry sprang 
 out into the darkness. 
 
 Drexel meanwhile had opened the room door to fly. 
 " Come back, you, Drexel, or I '11 fire," I cried, 
 covering him. He came back trembling like the cur 
 he was. " Close the window, Helga, and have some 
 help here."
 
 96 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 She was shutting the window when the servants, 
 with Ivan at their head, came in, having heard the 
 pistol shots. 
 
 " Have that man held, Ivan," I said, pointing to 
 Drexel, who indeed was in a state bordering on col- 
 lapse, " and go instantly in search of a man who has 
 just fled. Quick, as you care for your mistress's life." 
 
 I bent over Vastic and laid my hand on his heart. 
 
 When I looked up Helga was standing by me. 
 
 " He is dead," I said in reply to her glance. 
 
 " My God ! " The cry forced itself between her 
 pressed lips. 
 
 " Have the body taken somewhere for the present," 
 I ordered one of the servants, " and then see that every 
 door and window in the house is safely bolted. I will 
 speak to you presently," I added to Helga, who was 
 now trembling. " I must question this man," and lay- 
 ing a heavy hand on Drexel's shoulder, I led him in to 
 another room.
 
 CHAPTER XI CONVICTION AT LAST 
 
 EVENTS had so crowded the few minutes that I 
 had not had time to think, except in those flashes 
 of decision necessary in a crisis. My instinct in such 
 times is to act first and think afterwards. Do some- 
 thing, whether right or wrong ; but do it. And I have 
 often found that the wrong thing done quickly may 
 be less dangerous than the right thing done after a too 
 careful deliberation. 
 
 The moment the man Vastic lay dead before my 
 eyes, I regretted having shot him : a regret due not 
 only to a naturally intense repugnance to take a fellow- 
 creature's life, but also to reasons of policy. So far as 
 ethical considerations were concerned, I felt I was jus- 
 tified. He was going to kill me ; and you cannot argue 
 with a six shooter. It would have been just too soft 
 to have asked him to put his gun down while we dis- 
 cussed the question of my identity. The positions 
 would have been reversed. I should have been dead 
 when he realized his mistake, instead of his being dead 
 when I realized mine ; and of the two, I preferred 
 vastly the present sequence. 
 
 What I felt I ought to have done was to have 
 winged and disabled him. He would have been just 
 as effectually incapable of mischief, and we should all 
 have been spared the embarrassment of having to deal 
 with his dead body. 
 
 I did not anticipate any serious trouble with the 
 authorities, for I had no doubt that old Kalkov would 
 be able to arrange the matter. Vastic was in all prob- 
 ability known to the police ; he had been killed in an 
 attempt upon the life of the man he believed to be the 
 
 97
 
 98 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 Emperor; and his death was not unlikely to be wel- 
 come enough to the Government. 
 
 But there were his comrades to consider; and that 
 they would set about avenging him there was no room 
 to doubt. There had been an eye-witness who, unless 
 Ivan caught him, would carry the news straight to 
 them; and their anger was as certain to fall upon 
 Helga as to be directed against me. 
 
 This prompted a number of disquieting and perplex- 
 ing considerations. 
 
 My first thought was for Helga's safety; and ob- 
 viously the only thing to do was to get her away to 
 some hiding-place where these men would be unable 
 to find her. To induce her to leave would, however, 
 be so difficult, that I could think of but one means of 
 influencing her and that was to encourage her mis- 
 taken belief that I was the Emperor. It meant deceit 
 on my part; but in such a case the end must justify 
 the means. She must be saved ; and if no other way 
 was open, I must be content with that. 
 
 There was another consideration, moreover. My 
 own safety depended to a great extent upon these 
 members of the Nihilist brotherhood continuing to 
 regard me as the Emperor. It was true I should 
 probably be the object of attack so long as they be- 
 lieved I was virtually at their mercy at Brabinsk, and 
 divorced from the usual safeguards and precautions 
 which fenced off the Emperor in the Palace. But that 
 danger was temporary, and would cease the moment 
 I got back to the Palace, and resumed my own 
 character. 
 
 With the temporary danger I could trust myself to 
 deal, now that I was forewarned. But if they once 
 got an inkling of the truth, I should be the object of 
 their vengeance every minute I remained in Russia, 
 and very possibly afterwards. And I had the greatest 
 possible repugnance against playing the part of quarry 
 for Nihilist bloodhounds to hunt all over Europe. 
 
 These considerations and many others wove them-
 
 CONVICTION AT LAST 99 
 
 selves rapidly into the web of my anxious perplexity 
 as I paced up and down the room, followed by the 
 staring, fright-filled eyes of the despicable Drexel, 
 whose cowardly treachery had caused all the trouble. 
 He was so frightened indeed, that every time I chanced 
 to look at him he would shrink and cower and hang 
 his head in fear. 
 
 " You may well be frightened," I said at length, 
 turning on him ; " for I 'm thinking whether the safest 
 thing to do is not to put a bullet in your head. Dead 
 men carry no tales." I spoke with intentional brutality. 
 
 " For the love of God don't do that, your Majesty. 
 It 's not my fault ; indeed, indeed it is n't. Oh, God 
 have mercy on me ; " and he shuddered in a veritable 
 paroxysm of terror. 
 
 " Are you armed ? Turn your pockets out. Quick ! " 
 I cried. 
 
 The haste with which he complied was almost ludi- 
 crous. 
 
 " I only carried this for self-protection, your Majesty. 
 You know I have made no attempt to use it," he said, 
 as he brought a revolver out of an inner pocket. 
 
 " Not even to try and protect the woman you were 
 to have married. I know that because I was watching 
 you." 
 
 " Then your Majesty knows I had no chance. I 
 should only have been killed on the spot." 
 
 " Well, and if you had been ? Is that a worse death 
 than at the hands of the executioner?" 
 
 " Oh God, oh God, have mercy on me," he moaned, 
 covering his craven face with trembling fingers. It 
 has always disgusted me to see how readily this type 
 of mangy cur turns his thoughts to the Deity when 
 some specially infamous act has been followed by 
 discovery. 
 
 " Do you think your God likes your kind of work ? 
 Get together what little of a man there is in you, and 
 face the thing. Don't slobber and whine like that. You 
 make me sick with disgust."
 
 100 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 He seemed to make such effort as was possible, and 
 after a few moments ventured to look at me. 
 
 "Will your Majesty graciously hear me? I am 
 really innocent. I am indeed." 
 
 " Prove it. Tell me all you 've done since last 
 night." 
 
 " I can give your Majesty valuable information." 
 
 " Informer now as well as spy, eh ? Answer my 
 question." 
 
 Whether he thought he could read some hope in 
 these words I don't know, but he began to show less 
 abject terror. 
 
 " I know the secrets of all the people here M. 
 Boreski and Mademoiselle Helga. Will your Majesty 
 spare my life if I tell you? " 
 
 " Do you think I would make a compact with a 
 thing like you?" I cried in disgust. "You can tell 
 me nothing I do not already know, except how you 
 brought Vastic and the other on my track. Tell me 
 that?" 
 
 " M. Boreski is a Polish conspirator, and made- 
 moiselle " 
 
 " Stop ! " I interposed sternly. " Speak of yourself 
 and your part." 
 
 " It is information your Majesty should have," he 
 said. 
 
 " Damn you, keep to your own part," I cried furi- 
 ously, " or to the police you go under guard at once." 
 
 He shrank back from my fierce words, and his flabby 
 face turned grey with renewed terror. 
 
 " As your Majesty wishes," he said, when he had 
 recovered sufficiently to speak. " They have cheated 
 me and lied to me ; they made me promises to buy my 
 silence, and last night quarrelled with me and set me 
 at defiance. They told me I was free to go and do as 
 I liked. No man can bear to be cheated. I was mad 
 in my anger, and I went to Vastic and told him." 
 
 ''' Told him what?" I demanded, when he paused. 
 
 " I was sorry the moment I had spoken, and repented 
 my anger."
 
 CONVICTION AT LAST 101 
 
 " To the devil with your feelings. What did you do 
 and say ? " 
 
 " I said that Boreski was false to his oath to the 
 brotherhood." 
 
 The cunning with which he thus got out his charge 
 against Boreski of being a sworn Nihilist and at the 
 same time coloured the description of his own act, did 
 not escape me. 
 
 " How ? " I asked ; and he fumbled with the ques- 
 tion in dire doubt. 
 
 " By failing to report a matter of grave importance 
 to the brotherhood, your Majesty," he answered at 
 length. 
 
 "What matter?" 
 
 " Particulars of your Majesty's movements." 
 
 " In other words, you told them I was at made- 
 moiselle's villa, and that M. Boreski knew it." 
 
 " Not that you were, your Majesty I am no traitor 
 but that you had been." He made the distinction 
 eagerly. " I intended to punish Boreski for his insult 
 to me, not, as God is my judge, to bring any danger 
 upon your Majesty." 
 
 " You are a bad liar. You brought the men here." 
 
 "No, no, no! your Majesty. On my soul, not in 
 search of you. Besides, I was in imminent fear of my 
 life. I saw then the mistake I had made in ever saying 
 a word. They made me accompany them to the villa, 
 and when we heard Boreski was not there, nor Made- 
 moiselle Helga, they forced me at the pistol point to 
 seek them here." 
 
 " You knew I had come here?" and I searched his 
 face with angry eyes. 
 
 "I I did not know. How could I know? " 
 
 " I do know it," I said, putting up a bluff. It told. 
 The despair in his eyes showed me this. 
 
 " Vastic would have killed me," he murmured. 
 
 " And you preferred he should kill me. I see." 
 
 " Oh, don't say that ; don't think it, your Majesty. 
 I am innocent. Indeed, indeed, I am. Oh, my God,
 
 102 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 that this should be thought of me ; " and he set up his 
 whining again. 
 
 " One more question, and I 've done with you. How 
 many men came with this Vastic ? " 
 
 He showed such unnecessary agitation at the ques- 
 tion that I saw he had still some hidden motive or 
 hope, and I had threatened it. 
 
 " Only one, your Majesty ; only the man you saw, 
 as I am a living man." 
 
 He was lying, of course ; and equally, of course, I 
 must have out of him the truth on a point of such vital 
 import to us all at Brabinsk. I thought round his pos- 
 sible motive, and then hit on it. 
 
 He was trusting that Vastic's associates would re- 
 turn to accomplish the task in which he had failed, 
 and in that case they would of course rescue the spy 
 who had served them so well. 
 
 " You are quite sure that there was only one ? " I 
 asked, in an ordinary tone, as if merely needing a 
 repetition of his statement. 
 
 " I could not be mistaken. I swear it. I would 
 not lie to your Majesty in such a matter," he asserted 
 eagerly. 
 
 " Very well," I said, and rang the bell. " I have yet 
 to decide what to do with you for the present." 
 
 When the servant came, I told him to wait and 
 guard Drexel until my return ; and going out, I asked 
 for Ivan, and inquired whether he had caught the man 
 he had gone after. Unfortunately he had not. Not a 
 trace of him had he seen, but he had heard the sound 
 of wheels, and concluded that the man had dashed for 
 the vehicle in which the three had come, and had gal- 
 loped off. 
 
 This seemed to lend colour to Drexel's statement; 
 but I had been so sure of his lying that I went back, 
 resolved to put him to a pretty severe ordeal. 
 
 I sent the servant out of the room, and then looked 
 sternly at the prisoner, who was staring eagerly at me 
 as if to read his fate in my face.
 
 CONVICTION AT LAST 103 
 
 " I have made up my mind in regard to you. If 
 you had told me the truth in answer to my last ques- 
 tion, I might have spared you. But you lied and 
 that lie will cost you your life." 
 
 I drew my revolver again, and made pretence to 
 examine the cartridge. 
 
 " You led these men here in search of me. I know 
 that. I saw you when you first entered the grounds 
 here, and watched you. For aiding an attempt on my 
 life the penalty is death, and rightly so. I intend to 
 inflict the penalty myself. Stand up ; " and I levelled 
 the pistol at his face. 
 
 Stand up he could not; he lacked the actual physi- 
 cal strength. He sat grasping the arms of the chair, 
 staring at me, his eyes wide open and mouth agape, 
 his lips quivering and his colour dull grey. 
 
 " I cannot die ; I cannot die. For the love of Al- 
 mighty God, spare my life, your Majesty. Oh God, 
 oh God ! " 
 
 " Stand up," I thundered ; and he winced and shrank 
 and quivered at my voice. An abject, terror-struck 
 craven, he was at once pitiable and hateful even to look 
 at. His very voice refused to obey him as he gasped 
 and gurgled in his effort to speak; but at length he 
 stammered 
 
 " I have lied to you ; but spare my life, and I will 
 tell the truth now. I will, I will, as God is my judge." 
 
 " Quick then, for my finger itches with impatience." 
 
 " We three came alone, as I said, your Majesty; but 
 a number of the others were to follow us as soon as 
 possible, in case of the scheme failing and help being 
 needed." 
 
 " How many ? " 
 
 "I I don't know. Eight or ten, or twelve per- 
 haps." 
 
 I laid the pistol down. 
 
 " You have saved your life for the while," I said. 
 " As for the rest, it will depend upon what occurs 
 here."
 
 104 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 The rush of relief at my words was too great for 
 his overstrung nerves, and he fainted. I called the 
 servants and ordered them to restore him, and then 
 bind him and put him in a place of safety. 
 
 This done, I hurried in search of Helga, to consult 
 with her upon the new developments. 
 
 I found that she had had Vastic's body removed to 
 one of the cellars of the house, and she had entirely 
 recovered her self-composure. 
 
 " Your nerve is splendid," I said admiringly. 
 
 " Such a life as mine trains one to face emergencies. 
 What does your Majesty wish to do?" 
 
 " There is a good deal to settle," I answered, ac- 
 cepting without protest her method of address. She 
 intended me to understand that her conviction was 
 firmer than ever; and as I believed I could influence 
 her with much less difficulty if she held to it, I ap- 
 peared to acquiesce. 
 
 " You have formed some plan, monsieur ? " 
 
 " Yes. In my view, the sooner we are all away from 
 this place, the better ; " and I told her briefly what I 
 had forced from Drexel. 
 
 " They could do no harm to us here, even if there 
 were a dozen of them," she said. 
 
 " True, but we should have much more chance of 
 escaping their notice if we were to travel to the city 
 by night rather than by day. 
 
 She was perplexed by this, and questioned me with 
 her eyes. 
 
 " You yourself are now in imminent personal danger, 
 and must lose no time in getting to a place of safety." 
 
 " Where can we go ? " 
 
 " To the Palace," I answered, speaking on the spur 
 of necessity to give some definite answer ; and in truth 
 that seemed the- best thing to do. 
 
 She started and caught her breath. 
 
 " You mean " She was all anxious eagerness 
 
 now. 
 
 I paused a second, and then took the plunge and 
 answered with deliberate significance
 
 CONVICTION AT LAST 105 
 
 " After what has passed here, your safety is now 
 my concern and your desires are mine."' 
 
 She read my words in the way I intended. She 
 turned slightly pale, and in her agitation caught at 
 the back of the chair by which she stood. 
 
 " Thank God," I heard her whisper under her breath. 
 
 I felt pretty mean at the trick I was playing, when 
 I saw how she took it ; but I had persuaded myself 
 there was no other way, and held firm. 
 
 " I have not trusted you in vain," she said, after the 
 pause. " Your Majesty has but to speak your wishes ; 
 it is for me to obey ; " and she gave me one of her 
 sweet, frank smiles. 
 
 I felt meaner than ever; but I was in up to the 
 neck, and deliberately plunged deeper. Under an im- 
 pulse I could not control, for her smile and words of 
 trust carried me away, I took her hand. 
 
 " Is it the Emperor you trust, Helga, or the man? " 
 I asked, in a voice low with passion. 
 
 " It is you, monsieur ; " and again she lifted her 
 glorious eyes to my face, and then withdrew them on 
 meeting my look. 
 
 " May God deal with me as I merit, if I desert 
 you." 
 
 We stood thus for a moment, when, at the sound 
 of some one approaching the room, she drew away 
 from me, with a glance and a sigh. 
 
 It was Ivan with news. 
 
 " We have heard the sound of some one driving 
 furiously toward the house, my lord. What shall 
 we do?" 
 
 " I will come," I answered, and he hurried away. 
 
 " You will run no risks, monsieur ? " cried Helga 
 swiftly and anxiously. 
 
 " I have too much at stake now," I answered, out 
 of the earnestness of my heart. " God send we may 
 all get out of this safely. I will arrange with Ivan for 
 our leaving. Will you get ready?" 
 
 " I will do everything you wish."
 
 106 WH&N I WAS CZAR 
 
 The words were in my ears as I hurried out and 
 up the staircase to the room where Ivan was keeping 
 watch. I had my plan, si would take Helga with 
 me back to the Palace at all risks, get an audience 
 with the Emperor, and lay the whole affair, her story 
 and all, before him, and ask his protection. In truth, 
 I was mad enough just then to venture anything. 
 
 These things rushed through my head as I ran up 
 to Ivan. 
 
 "All is well, my lord," he said, coming to meet 
 me. " It is M. Boreski." 
 
 " Good," I exclaimed. " Now we shall know more 
 of the truth." A remark far more disastrously true 
 than I could have anticipated. 
 
 When I went downstairs again, Boreski had already 
 been admitted, and was with Helga. All impatience 
 for his news I entered the room; and opening the 
 door, started. 
 
 A third person was there: a tall woman in black, 
 heavily veiled. 
 
 " Good evening, M. Boreski ; you are welcome. 
 What news do you bring?" 
 
 " Good evening, monsieur," he replied, and I 
 noticed restraint in his tone and manner. 
 
 Helga too was looking at me curiously. I smiled 
 to her, but, instead of replying, she looked to the 
 woman in black. 
 
 " Well ? " she asked. I began to scent mischief. 
 
 The woman threw up her veil, and I saw she was 
 well on in years, pale and plain, but had an air of 
 distinction. 
 
 " Do you know me, monsieur ? " 
 
 " No, madame. To the best of my knowledge, 
 I have never had the pleasure of seeing you in my 
 life." 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders and Boreski threw up 
 his hands. 
 
 A pale shadow crept over Helga's face. 
 
 " Are you quite sure, monsieur ? "
 
 
 CONVICTION .AT LAST 107 
 
 " I am positive, mademoiselle." , 
 
 " And so am I," said the new-comer, with a touch 
 of scorn. ; ' That is no more the Emperor than I am." 
 
 I saw things then. There was a moment's critical 
 silence. Then Helga broke it, speaking in a chill, 
 cutting tone. 
 
 " This is the Duchess Stephanie M. Boreski's 
 wife.'.: 
 
 " Exactly," I answered ; and for the life of me, 
 acute as the situation had suddenly become, I could 
 not for the time get out another word to redeem it. 
 
 The cold, hard look in Helga's eyes as she faced 
 me was for the time unendurable, and I turned my 
 head away in sheer tongue-tied embarrassment.
 
 CHAPTER XII HELGA^S ANGER 
 
 IT was certainly one of the most untimely kicks 
 which Fate could have dealt me; and it took 
 all my reserved strength to brace myself and shake 
 off my first feeling of dismay in order to put any 
 sort of face on the thing. But I have a good deal 
 of india-rubber in me. 
 
 So I pulled myself together, and surprised them 
 all by turning on Boreski and saying, in a very sharp 
 tone 
 
 " Why did n't you get here a quarter of an hour 
 sooner, and have saved half this embarrassment ? " 
 It is generally a safe tactic when something goes 
 wrong to attack the other fellow. Boreski started, 
 and I followed up the attack. " If you loiter and 
 fool away the time at such a crisis, what is it but 
 just opening the door and inviting trouble to walk in? " 
 
 " I have not wasted a single minute, monsieur," 
 he replied. " Besides, I cannot see what that has to 
 do with it." 
 
 " Mademoiselle can tell you," and I looked at Helga. 
 I think she saw the drift, but she said nothing. Poor 
 girl, she was too overwhelmed by the fiasco of her 
 plans. 
 
 " The question is not whether I came soon or late, 
 monsieur," said Boreski with slow precision, " but who 
 and what you are." 
 
 " That 's exactly what I mean. The very pith of it." 
 
 " I do not understand you, monsieur." 
 
 " That does not trouble me very much ; but made- 
 moiselle does." I was resolved to force her to speak. 
 
 108
 
 HELGA'S ANGER 109 
 
 Besides, my temper was beginning to be tried by 
 Boreski's manner. 
 
 " This is a matter for us as men to settle without 
 bringing Mademoiselle Helga, or any other woman, 
 into it." 
 
 " Rubbish and nonsense," I said irritably. 
 
 " Monsieur ! " he exclaimed angrily, " I do not per- 
 mit any one to address such words to me. You will 
 not explain your imposture by insulting me." 
 
 " Keep your temper with me, if you please, mon- 
 sieur, or you will only render a bad situation worse." 
 
 " This is monstrous," said the Duchess Stephanie. 
 " He is Prince Kalkov's spy, of course, and seeks 
 to cover the infamy of his imposture with this amaz- 
 ing insolence." 
 
 This gave me an excellent cue, for I saw Helga 
 wince : and I hoped she resented alike the charge, 
 and the way it was made. What the other two 
 thought of me I cared not a five cent piece ; and 
 with Helga herself I had only to explain away my 
 last act of implied confirmation of her mistake as 
 to my identity. It would not be easy, of course, 
 because the disappointment to her must inevitably 
 cause her to exaggerate its meanness. 
 
 " I am neither a criminal nor a spy, madame," I said. 
 
 " I will have an explanation," cried Boreski in- 
 sistently. 
 
 " I have no explanation to give, except that if 
 you had arrived a quarter of an hour earlier all 
 this this excitement would have been unnecessary. 
 For what occurred in that quarter of an hour I am 
 profoundly sorry ; " and I looked again at Helga. 
 
 " You are right, Stephanie ; this is a monstrous 
 thing," cried Boreski. He rose and came toward 
 me, and said, with a sort of fierce contemptuousness : 
 " You do not explain because you have no explanation. 
 You are a spy ; some new and zealous member of the 
 secret police, no doubt. You will be kept here until 
 I find means to make you speak."
 
 110 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Good," exclaimed the Duchess, " very good. The 
 only way, of course." 
 
 I contented myself with a shrug of the shoul- 
 ders, and met his angry look with one of complete 
 indifference. 
 
 " I have seen that kind of mood before with other 
 impostors and spies of the same type." 
 
 " Your opinion of me, M. Boreski, is a matter of 
 absolute indifference." I said this calmly and delib- 
 erately, and added : " And I repeat, you are only 
 making a bad situation much worse." 
 
 " Such effrontery ! " exclaimed the Duchess, with 
 another of her angry comments. 
 
 " I give you a last chance to tell the whole truth 
 about yourself, before I send for the men and hand 
 you over to them." 
 
 " It 's very good of you, monsieur," I answered 
 flippantly ; and then turning to Helga : " It occurs 
 to me, mademoiselle, that while we are quarrelling 
 here, we are wasting invaluable time." 
 
 " Why don't you speak ? " she replied, breaking her 
 long silence. 
 
 The Duchess Stephanie, not understanding what 
 lay beneath the words, shrugged her shoulders and 
 gave an audible sniff of contempt. 
 
 Boreski, on the other hand, crossed to the bell. 
 
 " We will have no more of this. I will have the 
 men in." 
 
 " Stay." This from Helga, in an unmistakable tone 
 of command. 
 
 The other two stared at her for an explanation. 
 
 " We cannot detain M. Denver. You are at lib- 
 erty to leave the house, monsieur," she said, turning 
 to me. 
 
 "But that is just what I will not do at any 
 rate, yet. When I know you are safe, I will do 
 whatever you wish." 
 
 " I do not need your further assistance, monsieur." 
 This very proudly.
 
 HELGA'S ANGER 111 
 
 "Can't you see that you are just a little unjust?" 
 
 " You have deceived me grossly, monsieur." 
 
 " Only because you would not let me undeceive you ; 
 and I saw, or thought, the only way left was to let 
 you believe what I saw you persisted in believing." 
 
 " You saw it, then, and acted intentionally ? " she 
 said, very bitterly. 
 
 " Yes ; I don't deny that with regard to what passed 
 between us last. But I thought I hoped you felt 
 you could trust me." 
 
 She lowered her eyes and avoided the earnest look 
 I directed on her ; and there was a pause of some 
 length. Then, without looking at me, she said 
 
 " I can only say now, you are free to go, monsieur." 
 
 " While you are threatened by the dangers I have 
 all unintentionally brought upon you, I will not go." 
 
 " It is impossible for you to remain, monsieur." 
 
 " I have said my last word on that point, made- 
 moiselle." 
 
 Boreski had fidgetted uneasily as we spoke, and 
 now intervened. 
 
 " You have heard, monsieur, what " 
 
 " Silence, if you please, M. Boreski," I cried with 
 heat. " You do not understand. If I cannot comply 
 with mademoiselle's wishes, do you think I shall heed 
 what you say? It is you, with your hot-headed quar- 
 rel with Drexel last night, who have brought about 
 all this mess. And Heaven knows it is bad enough 
 to satisfy any ordinary blunderer." 
 
 Boreski fell back before my hot words and looks, 
 but his wife was quick to take offence. She got up 
 pale and angry. 
 
 " Either that spy is driven from the house, Helga, 
 or I do not stay in it. I will not hear my husband 
 insulted." 
 
 It was like a woman of her type, of course, to put 
 her oar in with such a silly splash and make things 
 much worse. But it had the effect I wished. It 
 forced Helga to defend me.
 
 112 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " You do not understand, Duchess. M. Denver is 
 no spy. He came to us yesterday under equivocal 
 circumstances, but this morning took the first moment 
 to tell me he was not the was no other than M. 
 Denver, an American; and I in my blindness could 
 not and did not believe it. It is I who am responsible. 
 It is all a terrible tangle, but I will answer for him." 
 
 " I thank you for that, mademoiselle. I was sure 
 you would do me justice." I was so happy at her 
 words that I could easily afford to ignore the sneer 
 with which the Duchess resumed her seat. 
 
 " It is all very extraordinary," she said hastily. 
 " But you are right in one thing, Helga, I do not 
 in the least understand it." 
 
 Helga did not appear at all anxious to explain, so 
 I took the opportunity to make my own position 
 clearer, not for the Duchess's benefit, but for Helga's. 
 
 " It is as simple as disastrous, madame," I said. 
 " M. Boreski, having quarrelled last night with this 
 Drexel, the latter went to M. Vastic, one of the leaders 
 of the Nihilist Brotherhood, and told him he would 
 find the Emperor at mademoiselle's villa. He went 
 there, and finding we had come on here, he and others 
 followed us, and he attempted my life. I shot him, 
 and I have since dragged from Drexel the admission 
 that many of his associates are coming here, and it 
 is extremely probable they will make some attack 
 upon us to avenge him. Their vengeance would of 
 course include both M. Boreski and Mademoiselle 
 Helga, as well as myself. That is why I cannot leave 
 until she is safe." 
 
 " Drexel is here, then ? " said Boreski quickly. 
 
 "If you wish him to confirm what I have said, 
 monsieur, you can question him. But I think we 
 ought to be seeing to things." 
 
 " It is horrible," exclaimed the Duchess, intensely 
 frightened. " If I am discovered here everything will 
 be ruined. Loris, you must take me back to the city 
 at once." One excuses a woman for thinking first of
 
 HELGA'S ANGER 113 
 
 herself, of course, and I quite appreciated the awk- 
 wardness of her position. But Helga was not so 
 tolerant. She looked at the Duchess coldly and a 
 little scornfully. 
 
 " M. Boreski had better take you away at once, 
 Duchess," she said. 
 
 " I had better go," said Boreski. " What must 
 be done is to explain to Vastic's friends the manner 
 in which we have all been duped." 
 
 It was my cue, of course, and I saw my way 
 instantly. But it struck Helga from quite a different 
 point of view. 
 
 " That would be only to turn this into a private 
 feud against M. Denver for the death of Vastic. 
 That is as impossible as it would be dishonourable." 
 
 "Cannot this gentleman defend himself? He came 
 of his own will surely, and should not shirk the con- 
 sequences," said the Duchess. 
 
 " M. Boreski is right," I put in, " and I think I 
 see a way." I got up as I spoke. 
 
 "What are you going to do, monsieur?" asked 
 Helga quickly, in some concern. 
 
 " I am going to obey your wishes, mademoiselle, 
 and leave the house," I answered with a smile. 
 
 " I should not let him go. If these men come here 
 it will be in search of him ; and if you give him up 
 to them, it will show them they have nothing against 
 Loris and you, Helga." 
 
 But Helga was thinking closely, and seemed not to 
 hear this admirable advice. Boreski looked from one 
 to the other in doubt what to do. For a few moments 
 there was silence. 
 
 Then an ominous interruption came from outside. 
 A sound of a pistol shot, followed by running foot- 
 steps along the verandah, and the violent slamming of 
 a door somewhere. 
 
 The Duchess jumped to her feet in fear and great 
 agitation. 
 
 " What can that be ? " she cried. 
 
 8
 
 114 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I fear it means you must delay your flight, 
 Duchess," said Helga with scarcely veiled disdain. 
 
 " Have I your permission to go and see what 
 has occurred, mademoiselle ? " I asked ; and with- 
 out waiting for it, I turned to the door. 
 
 As I opened it, Ivan reached it. 
 
 " Can I speak to you a moment, my lord ? " he 
 asked, looking very set and determined, and breath- 
 ing quickly. 
 
 " I will come with you," said Helga. We went 
 out and left Boreski and his excited, panic-stricken 
 wife alone. "What has happened, Ivan?" asked 
 Helga. " That shot ; is any one hurt ? " 
 
 " No, mademoiselle. I was outside looking round, 
 thinking it best to keep a watch, and two men who 
 had concealed themselves in the shrubbery rushed 
 upon me. I fired the shot more to give the alarm than 
 thinking to harm them, and then ran back indoors." 
 
 "What do you think it means, Ivan?" I asked. 
 
 " I think there is only one explanation, my lord. 
 There must have been some of M. Vastic's friends 
 in the district, and they have come because of his 
 death." 
 
 " Do you know how many ? " 
 
 " I cannot say for certain, my lord. I saw several 
 as I ran to the house door." 
 
 " You have done very well to find this out and 
 give us warning. But we must devise means to avoid 
 a conflict of any kind. They may be merely watch- 
 ing the house ; I should think that 's most probable, 
 indeed. They would scarcely attempt to force an 
 entrance." 
 
 " They attacked me, your honour," said Ivan. 
 
 " Merely to get from you who was inside, I expect. 
 So keep as vigilant a watch as you can, while I think 
 what to do. Of course they must be kept out at 
 any rate, for a time." 
 
 I had my purpose fixed already, and when Ivan 
 had gone I turned to Helga, and found her eyes
 
 HELGA'S ANGER 115 
 
 fixed upon my face steadily. I did not wish her to 
 read my thoughts, and forced up a smile. 
 
 " I think Ivan has unnecessarily alarmed us, made- 
 moiselle." 
 
 " I am trying to guess what is in your thoughts, 
 monsieur." 
 
 " I shall be very happy to tell you. I think these 
 men "have come to watch the house, as their habit is," 
 I replied briefly. 
 
 " What an actor you are ! " 
 
 " A man who has knocked about the world as I 
 have picks up the knack, more or less, I suppose. I 
 seem to have played the part with you a bit too well, 
 I am afraid. I should like you to know that I 'm hor- 
 ribly sorry and horribly ashamed." 
 
 " To-night when you spoke of my leaving here with 
 you, you allowed me to deceive myself. You allowed 
 it intentionally." 
 
 ''Yes; I did more. I encouraged the deception. 
 I suppose you can't think a man would do a mean 
 
 thing for any but a mean motive, yet I " I 
 
 broke off, and threw up my hands. " It 's no use 
 trying to explain all I felt. I can't do it." We were 
 standing in the large square hall, and I walked to one 
 end and stood by the great stove. " When I look at 
 you and think of it, I feel like what they said of me 
 in there a spy. I was one when I came to you." 
 
 " You spoke of taking me to the Palace ? " 
 
 " I meant to do it, too. I would have got you to 
 the Emperor. I should have had some claim on him 
 for this business, and I 'd have got you a hearing. 
 But I suppose it looks to you like treachery." 
 
 "And you made me think that, as the Emperor, 
 you were taking me there to do me justice. I should 
 never trust you again." 
 
 " Don't rub it in. I feel quite mean enough already. 
 You might be sorry, too. I 'm not going to ask you 
 to trust me again." 
 
 " And you could listen as you did to all my story !
 
 116 
 
 To think I should have put myself in the power of 
 such a man." 
 
 I winced under this punishment as a dog under the 
 lash. 
 
 " Do you think I should betray you ? " 
 
 " How can I tell, after what has happened ? " 
 
 " True. There is that, of course.'' I paused with 
 a frown of pain. " Is it any good for me to say I 
 should not ? I wish you could say you don't think it." 
 
 " What are your wishes to me ? " she cried, flash- 
 ing her eyes at me. 
 
 " Nothing, of course ; or less than nothing just 
 spurs to your contempt, it seems. Well, I don't sup- 
 pose there 's anything else to be said." 
 
 " If I have made you feel how dishonourably you 
 have acted, and how cruelly your conduct has crushed 
 and ruined everything I hold dear, it may perhaps 
 make you pause when you find your next victim." 
 
 " I 'm not likely to forget even without these lashes 
 of yours to remind me." I could endure no more of 
 this merciless injustice. " I will go and see what Ivan 
 is doing," I added, recrossing the hall. 
 
 " Stop, if you please. I have faithful servants who 
 will protect me if I am in any danger. I will not be 
 beholden for my safety to you, M. Denver." 
 
 I turned and looked at her scornful, angry face. I 
 had rather she had struck me. 
 
 " My God ! " I cried, " Even that ; " and I sat on 
 a lounge and put my hand to my head. There was a 
 rustle of skirts, and when I looked up she had gone, 
 and left me to my belated remorse and my new 
 purpose. 
 
 I would have given anything for a single word of 
 forgiveness, or even for a glance of some feeling less 
 bitter than her contempt and anger. Well, it would 
 have to come afterwards, when I had saved her, de- 
 spite her repudiation of my help ; and I rose to carry 
 out my plan. 
 
 I went to Ivan and asked him what he had seen.
 
 HELGA'S ANGER 117 
 
 He told me a number of men were round the house. 
 He noticed that I was pale for the interview with 
 Helga had shaken me badly and asked if I was ill. 
 
 " No, I am not ill, Ivan, but strange things have 
 happened. Listen to me and help me. 1 am not what 
 you have thought, but what I told you during the ride 
 M. Denver, an American. All unwillingly I have 
 brought your mistress into great danger, and I am 
 going to get her out of it. I am going to those men 
 outside to convince them I am only what I have told 
 you." 
 
 " But " he began excitedly. 
 
 " Don't interrupt me and don't look like a madman. 
 This must be done, otherwise they will never believe 
 that mademoiselle has not been guilty of treachery to 
 them, and her life will always be in danger at their 
 hands. Now, don't be a fool and make a fuss. I 
 caused the trouble, and I must find the way out of it. 
 And the only way is this." 
 
 " Great Lord of the Earth, they will kill you before 
 you can get time for a word. It is madness, monsieur, 
 stark, staring madness." 
 
 " Don't waste time in this way. I know the risk 
 you speak of as well as you, and I am content to 
 face it. If that happens, what you have to do is to 
 make them know the truth after they 've done it. It 
 will be easier then ; but, easy or difficult, you must 
 make them understand it somehow ; for only so can 
 we save your mistress's life. She told Vastic in the 
 other man's hearing that I was not the Emperor; re- 
 member that, and rub it into them well ; and make 
 them understand that Vastic's death was my act and 
 mine only. Of course, if they don't pot me off-hand, 
 I may be able to open their eyes myself." 
 
 " I must tell the mademoiselle, monsieur," he pro- 
 tested. 
 
 " You '11 do nothing of the sort. If you do, I '11 
 I '11 thrash you. Just lead me to a door I can get out 
 by quietly, and leave the rest to me."
 
 118 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 He looked at me so long and earnestly that I 
 thought he was going to protest again. But he did 
 not. Instead, he seized my hand and pressed it to 
 his forehead. 
 
 " Let me go with you, monsieur," he cried, almost 
 hoarsely. 
 
 " Don't be a fool," I said roughly, although his 
 devotion touched me very nearly. " Show me the 
 way out. You 'd be no use to me out there, and your 
 mistress can't spare us both at such a time." 
 
 " Come then, monsieur," and he led the way down 
 a long corridor. " Wait, monsieur, while I see if they 
 are near the door," he muttered, and then left me. 
 He was gone so long that I grew irritable, and when 
 he came back I spoke very sharply. 
 
 " This will be the best way, monsieur," and taking 
 me to the front door of the house, he left me again. 
 
 " Come here, and be ready to shut and bolt it after 
 me, Ivan," I said angrily, as I drew back two of the 
 heavy bolts. 
 
 As I did so, I felt a light touch on my arm, and 
 turned quickly to find Helga, white and agitated, by 
 my side. 
 
 Then I knew why Ivan had run away. If he had 
 not, I would have made my threat good.
 
 CHAPTER XIII THE ATTACK 
 
 " TT7HAT are you doing, M. Denver?" asked 
 
 W Helga. 
 
 Her inopportune arrival took me so completely by 
 surprise that for the moment I could think of no 
 plausible answer. 
 
 "I I was seeing to the security of the door," I 
 said very lamely. 
 
 " Making it secure by drawing back the bolts, do 
 you mean ? " 
 
 Her voice had still the hard steely tone that had so 
 hurt me before, and her glance was coldly penetrating. 
 
 " One must first draw back a bolt before shooting 
 it again to see that it is in order." 
 
 " You had already drawn back two and were on 
 the third when I stopped you. You were going to 
 open the door." 
 
 " You know so well what I was doing that I sup- 
 pose you know also I was going to open the door to 
 let the men in. I am a spy and was acting like you 
 no doubt think a spy would. Why should I try to 
 hide things any longer? You know me so well." I 
 spoke as if now reckless. 
 
 " Ivan has told me everything you said to him, 
 monsieur." 
 
 " Then Ivan 's a fool and ought to have his head 
 punched. You told me before that means must be 
 found to stop his chattering tongue. Of course he 
 only knows what I chose to tell him." 
 
 " You were going out to these men in a forlorn 
 hope of making them see you are not the Emperor." 
 
 I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. 
 119 '
 
 120 
 
 " That 's what I told him. But you know me better 
 than to think me such a fool. You know I was going 
 out as one spy to other spies." 
 
 " Then you were really going out to them ? " 
 
 " My capacity to harm you in here being check- 
 mated, it was natural enough I should look for some 
 other means. Surely you can see this." And after a 
 short pause I added with another laugh, " You have 
 made me your enemy, you see, and must take the 
 consequences." 
 
 For a moment or two she said nothing, keeping her 
 eyes fixed intently on my face, with an expression that 
 baffled me. 
 
 " How were you going to do what vou said to 
 Ivan?" 
 
 " Is n't that just a ridiculous question ? I had to 
 make up some sort of yarn for him. But you know 
 how good I am at acting. I said what came first, of 
 course; but I tell you I was going out to give these 
 men the chance of getting at you easily to set them 
 on you, that is." 
 
 Her eyes clouded and she frowned. 
 
 " Can you never tell me the truth, never be candid 
 with me? " 
 
 " Surely you are unreasonable. How could I make 
 a more perfectly candid declaration of war? " 
 
 " Do you wish me to think you utterly vile, that 
 you paint yourself in these colours ? " The cold steel 
 tone gave place to a note of passion. 
 
 " I know, what you think of me. You told me to- 
 night; and I don't see that anything could make it 
 much worse." 
 
 " Yet you have forgotten." Her voice Avas cold 
 steel again. 
 
 " Perhaps. Of course a spy must have unpleasant 
 things said to him, and have to learn to forget quickly. 
 It 's a happy gift at times I assure you." I spoke as 
 indifferently as I could. 
 
 " There is not a true note in your voice. You do
 
 THE ATTACK 121 
 
 remember that I said I would not owe my safety to 
 you. I repeat it, I will not." 
 
 " Is that any reason you should object to my going 
 out to betray you ? " 
 
 " Do you wish to insult as well as humiliate me, 
 monsieur? " 
 
 The pendulum of her mood was swinging over to 
 passion again. 
 
 " Have you spared me ? " I asked sharply. " When 
 the lash of your contemptuous words is burning and 
 scorching like fire strokes now ? Had you not deemed 
 me utterly base and mean, would you have said what 
 you did? If you thought it then, you must think it 
 now; and you may as well think I am foul and 
 cowardly enough to go out and betray you? It would 
 be no great effort of imagination for you. I beg your 
 pardon," I said, thrusting my momentary anger away. 
 " I did not mean to lose my temper. I have been 
 sorely tried, but I will not do that. No, I do not 
 wish to humiliate or insult you. I thought perhaps 
 I could help you a bit out of this mess I have got you 
 into." 
 
 " I should regard your help as a humiliation, mon- 
 sieur." 
 
 " Knowing that, I did not mean you to hear of it. 
 That 's Ivan's fault." 
 
 " You shall not go out to them, monsieur." 
 
 " Very well, mademoiselle." 
 
 I bowed, and she stamped her foot angrily at the 
 gesture. 
 
 " You know your life would not be worth a mo- 
 ment's purchase." 
 
 " You have done me the honour to show how worth- 
 less it is." 
 
 " You twist everything I say to you," she cried im- 
 patiently. " You will give me your word of honour 
 that you will not go out." 
 
 " You are very inconsistent. At one moment you 
 all but order me out of your house ; at the next you 
 prevent my going. It is absurd."
 
 122 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " When I told you you could leave, we did not 
 know of the danger." 
 
 " What is my life to you ? " I took a leaf out of 
 her book and asked the question in a tone as cold and 
 hard as she had used, while I looked at her very 
 steadily. She met my look but did not answer my 
 question. " You think me a spy, what then 
 
 " I do not think you a spy, monsieur. You know 
 that. You heard me tell M. Boreski that I would 
 answer for you. You can be bitterly unjust." 
 
 So there was some feeling after all under her cold 
 manner. 
 
 " We will not speak of injustice, mademoiselle," I 
 said, in the same tone. " But I had forgotten Boreski. 
 I owe this to him even more than to you perhaps ; so 
 that I cannot pass my word not to go out. He would 
 not object nor his Duchess either." 
 
 " You will drive me mad, monsieur," she cried 
 impetuously. 
 
 " Because I use the tone you have taught me ? " 
 
 " I say you shall not do this insane thing." 
 
 Her passion mounted fast enough now, and I was 
 not unwilling to feed the fire. Anything rather than 
 her contempt. 
 
 " Very well. Then shall we go in and play a hand 
 at cards while these gentlemen outside complete their 
 plans? Allow me," and I made a mocking pretence 
 to offer my arm. 
 
 She drew back and trembled with anger. 
 
 " How dare you ! " she cried. 
 
 I flung up my hands. 
 
 " You are difficult to please, mademoiselle," I said, 
 smiling airily. 
 
 " Will you give me your word?" 
 
 " Can you suggest any other way out of the thing ? 
 That is much more to the point." 
 
 " You shall not risk your life in this mad way." 
 
 " Hush ! " I held up my hand. My ear had caught 
 the sound of grating steps on the stone outside the
 
 THE ATTACK 123 
 
 door. We stood and listened, and the sound came 
 again, followed by a gentle knock at the door. 
 
 I led her a few paces away. 
 
 " I 'm going to answer that knock myself. Trust 
 me. I will not betray you. Go into the room to 
 Boreski." 
 
 " Not for a thousand worlds," she answered vehe- 
 mently. 
 
 " Let this misunderstanding cease. I will run no 
 unnecessary risks." 
 
 There are moments when many things are made 
 plain ; and that was one of them for Helga and me. 
 
 " I cannot trust you to run no risks, I mean. I 
 cannot." 
 
 " In other things? " She was silent. " Helga? " 
 
 She started as I used her name, and drew a deep 
 breath which escaped in a tremulous sigh. 
 
 " You know," she whispered. 
 
 My heart gave a great leap. 
 
 " Thank God ! " 
 
 The knock at the door was repeated. 
 
 " Do as I ask and leave me to deal with this. I 
 shall run no risks now." 
 
 " I I cannot." 
 
 Ivan had heard the second knock and now came to 
 us asking for instructions. 
 
 " Can you ascertain how many there are at the door 
 here, Ivan? Try and make out from some upper 
 window." 
 
 "You will not venture out?" said Helga as soon 
 as he had gone. 
 
 " Everything is altered now. I go back to my 
 former plan. We can stay here until it is safe to 
 leave since we know these men are dogging us, 
 daylight will probably be the safest; and we will get 
 to the Emperor when you are safely concealed in the 
 city." 
 
 I had too much to live for now to care about put- 
 ting my life to the hazard in the way I had purposed
 
 124 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 in my mood of desperation. It was once more my 
 desire now to make the men believe that I was indeed 
 the Emperor, so that the pursuit of me should cease 
 the instant I could get back to the Palace. 
 
 But my plans were still fated to be thwarted. 
 
 " I can only make out two men, monsieur ; but 
 there may be many others hidden close by," said Ivan, 
 returning. 
 
 " We can at any rate speak to them. Call a couple 
 of the men. to be ready at hand in case of need," I 
 told him ; and in that way like a fool played into 
 their hands. 
 
 Ivan at my bidding went to the door and called 
 through it 
 
 "Who is there?" 
 
 " We are police. Open." 
 
 This was either a very ugly new development or 
 a lie. I chose to regard it as the latter. 
 
 " What do you want ? " was Ivan's next question. 
 
 " We seek M. Vastic. Open at once." 
 
 " There is nobody here of that name. We open 
 the door to no one at this time of night." 
 
 " We shall break it in," said the voice. " Open, in 
 the name of the Emperor." 
 
 " Tell them to break it in if they can," said I, and 
 Ivan gave the reply; whereupon they commenced to 
 hammer and bang at the door with such a clatter that 
 the mere noise itself ought to have roused my suspi- 
 cions. But my wits were as dull as a dunce's to their 
 ruse; and I had not a thought of their trick until a 
 loud noise with a great smashing of glass at the back 
 of the house told us their object had been merely to 
 distract our attention downstairs while the real attack 
 was delivered on an upper floor. 
 
 " Go to Boreski, mademoiselle," I cried as I dashed 
 up the broad stairway, followed by Ivan and the men. 
 The others had rushed up by a back staircase and met 
 us on the landing. 
 
 " Where have they got in ? " I asked.
 
 THE ATTACK 125 
 
 " That room," said one of them, pointing to a door. 
 A glance at it showed me the key was outside, and in 
 a moment I had turned it upon those within. Not a 
 second too soon. As the lock shot home the handle 
 was rattled by some one inside. 
 
 Ivan had seen me and immediately rushed through 
 into an adjoining room where I heard him lock and 
 bolt the door. 
 
 " The room leads into this dressing-room, mon- 
 sieur," he said as he came out. " But the door is 
 only a slight one and will not keep them back." 
 
 I went in and examined it, and, coming to the same 
 conclusion, promptly abandoned it as a point of de- 
 fence. I then sent Ivan to fetch Boreski, and while 
 he was away thought out an impromptu scheme for 
 defending the landing place. 
 
 It lent itself well enough to such a purpose. It 
 formed a square, on one side of which were the 
 stairs; and it was thus possible to place men so that 
 they could command the doors by which the men 
 must come out; and my simple plan was to form a 
 sort of barricade with some heavy pieces of furni- 
 ture from behind which we could operate. 
 
 With Boreski came Helga full of pluck, resource 
 and ideas. I explained my plan to them and sent 
 two men downstairs to keep watch against a further 
 surprise. 
 
 " We can keep the watch, the Duchess and I," said 
 Helga instantly ; " and thus leave you much stronger." 
 But the Duchess as promptly declared she had no 
 nerve for work of the kind and further tried to in- 
 duce Boreski to stay with her. 
 
 He was no coward, however, and when Helga 
 vetoed the suggestion with great indignation and I 
 joined with her, he sided with us and she had to give 
 way, doing so with great reluctance. 
 
 Helga then went downstairs and our preparations 
 were soon complete. 
 
 Meanwhile the men in the room were suspiciously
 
 126 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 quiet. Probably they realized, as we did, that they 
 had gained very little by getting into the house by 
 the way they had chosen and were really caught in 
 a kind of trap, from which further progress into the 
 house would be attended with more danger than they 
 cared to face. 
 
 A glance at my watch showed me, to my surprise, 
 it was nearly eleven o'clock. The hours had flown 
 very quickly. 
 
 "At what hour is it daylight?" I asked Boreski. 
 
 " About half-past three," he said. 
 
 " Then we shall have four or five hours of this. 
 They '11 clear off when the light comes." 
 
 " Had n't we better speak to them ? " 
 
 " By all means if you can do any good. You know 
 them, I don't." 
 
 He climbed over the barricade and rapped at the 
 door. 
 
 " Who is there? " he asked. " I am Boreski." No 
 reply was made, and he knocked and called again. 
 " I don't believe anyone is in there," he said to me in 
 a whisper. " I can't hear a sound." 
 
 " Let 's hope they 've gone then, but I doubt it," 
 I replied, and then as a suspicion flashed on me, I 
 turned to Ivan. " What about the upper storey. Are 
 there any ladders about the place long enough to 
 reach it?" 
 
 " Yes, monsieur, at the stables." 
 
 " That explains the silence then. Come with me 
 quickly ; " and climbing the barricade I rushed up, 
 followed closely by Ivan. We were in the nick of 
 time. 
 
 They had already planted a long ladder reaching 
 to the window of one of the front rooms and three 
 of them were more than half-way up. I threw the 
 window open. 
 
 " Come, gentlemen, quicker please. You keep us 
 waiting," I called. 
 
 The result was almost comical. The man at the
 
 THE ATTACK 127 
 
 top muttered something to those below him, and in 
 an instant all three went sliding helter-skelter to the 
 ground, and picking themselves up scurried off in the 
 darkness to cover. 
 
 " They won't be in a hurry to try that again," I 
 said as I closed the window ; " but we must watch 
 them. Let one of the men come up here and keep 
 a lookout ; " and I went down again to Boreski. 
 
 Another long wait followed during which we heard 
 plenty of movement in the room close at hand. 
 
 " Something 's doing," I said. " I wish to Heaven 
 we knew what." 
 
 " I '11 try to speak to them again," he replied, and 
 made a second attempt with no better result. 
 
 Later, Helga sent for me. I found she had got 
 the women servants well in hand and all were en- 
 gaged in keeping a vigilant watch. 
 
 " We can see them going up and down that lad- 
 der, and each man seems to carry something up and 
 come down empty handed. See," and she led me to 
 a small barred window from which I could see the 
 ladder. 
 
 What I saw made me catch my breath. A couple 
 of men went up with an armful of straw and a third 
 followed with a bundle of small wood. They were 
 going to set fire to the house. I did not speak this 
 thought to Helga. 
 
 " What does it mean ? " she asked. 
 
 " I '11 try to find out." 
 
 " You think I 'm afraid, I suppose ? You know 
 that they mean to set the house on fire, and you won't 
 say it." 
 
 " I mean that I '11 find the way to stop that. Call 
 to me the moment those three men come down again." 
 
 I returned to Boreski and told him. 
 
 " We must enter that room and stop it." 
 
 " Ts, I 'm with you." 
 
 " You go in by the dressing-room door and take 
 .ivan. 1 11 take this man. When I call to you, get
 
 128 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 in as fast as you can. Turn out all the lights here or 
 they '11 see us enter." 
 
 Out they went promptly and we stood in the dark- 
 ness waiting for Helga's voice. 
 
 " They 've come down, monsieur," she called a few 
 minutes later, and in a trice I had turned the key and 
 burst into the room. 
 
 The luck was ours. The room was empty. Never 
 dreaming that we should venture in, they had left it 
 unguarded. All round the sides were piled heaps of 
 straw and dry wood, ready to be fired, and the evi- 
 dence of their dastardly trick lay plain to our eyes. 
 
 Had it not been for Helga's quickness the infernal 
 plan would have been successful. 
 
 " We have them now," I said eagerly to Boreski. 
 " We '11 trap them here. They '11 be back in a mo- 
 ment. We '11 wait and give them an unexpected 
 welcome." 
 
 We hid in the darkness, the four of us, and pres- 
 ently heard the sound of heavy feet mounting the 
 ladder. 
 
 " No shooting," I whispered. " Just seize them. 
 We may catch more by-and-by in the same trap. And 
 wait until all are in the room. Silence like death, till 
 I move." 
 
 Not a sound escaped us, and for my part I held 
 my breath when the head and shoulders of the first 
 man appeared at the open window, and he stepped 
 all unsuspecting into the room; and a second and 
 then a third followed, each with his bundle of straw 
 or wood as fuel. 
 
 One of the men came so near me to deposit the 
 burden that he almost touched me, and as he stooped 
 to put it down, I gave the signal. 
 
 " Now," I cried in a loud voice and sprang upon my 
 man. A scene of wild tumult followed as the series 
 of tough struggles commenced. The men fought hard, 
 and we stumbled and tumbled and wrestled in the 
 darkness, blundering hither and thither, taking and
 
 THE ATTACK 129 
 
 giving fierce blows, often knocking up against one 
 another, mingled at times in dire confusion, all strain- 
 ing with desperate effort, breathing hard and speak- 
 ing scarce a word save when some sharp ejaculation 
 of anger or pain, or a violent oath leapt from between 
 tight-clenched teeth. 
 
 Ivan was the first to beat his man, and soon after- 
 wards, as my hand chanced to knock against a heavy 
 billet of wood, I seized it and dealt my antagonist a 
 blow on the head which laid him out. 
 
 I was considering how to use the victory when 
 some one came to the foot of the ladder, ran up a 
 few rungs, and called 
 
 " Start the fire." 
 
 At the same instant a tremendous crash was heard 
 in the lower part of the house, followed by loud 
 screams from the women and the gruff tones of men. 
 Then Helga's voice came loud and piercing, calling 
 to me for help.
 
 CHAPTER XIV CONCERNING THE 
 
 VALUE OF HOSTAGES 
 
 THE noise in the house below ceased with omi- 
 nous suddenness as I started to rush down in 
 response to Helga's cry for help. 
 
 What to do with our prisoners embarrassed me for 
 a moment. Every one of us might be needed below, 
 and my first idea was to leave the men as they were. 
 But happily I did not do that. 
 
 " Ivan, you must come with me. M. Boreski, will 
 you and the servant watch the men here and try to 
 find some means of securing them ? " 
 
 " There is plenty of rope in one of the rooms above/' 
 said Ivan to the servant as we two hurried out. 
 
 The landing and stairs were dark, and we found 
 the men we had left on the landing had clambered 
 over to our side of the improvised barricade, where 
 they were waiting, revolver in hand, in expectation 
 of an attack from below. 
 
 " It is not safe to go down, my lord," said one of 
 them. " They are waiting for us below there." 
 
 " Are n't the women in danger, you cowards ? " I 
 cried angrily, my thoughts on Helga. " Follow me," 
 and I sprang over it and ran down. 
 
 " Mademoiselle, mademoiselle," I called as I ran, 
 but no answer came. Ivan kept by my side, and as 
 we reached the bottom some men sprang right at us. 
 There were six or seven of them at least, and for a 
 few moments we were in the thick of a pretty stiff 
 fight. All four of us were struck several times, and 
 
 130
 
 THE VALUE OF HOSTAGES 131 
 
 finding it impossible to beat them, desperately as we 
 fought, we had to retreat, losing one of the two ser- 
 vants who was made a prisoner. 
 
 Ivan fought like a fiend incarnate, kicking, lunging 
 and using the butt end of his heavy revolver with 
 tremendous effect, and but for him I should have 
 been made a prisoner. I was surrounded and held 
 by three of the men when he dashed in, and scatter- 
 ing them with his tremendous strength, rescued me 
 and dragged me up the stairway. 
 
 " To the landing, monsieur," he said ; " our only 
 chance ; " and back we had to go, scrambling head- 
 long up the stairs as best we could ; while our assail- 
 ants, exasperated at our escape, fired shot after shot 
 after us. 
 
 That we were not hit seemed a miracle. The dark- 
 ness alone can have saved us, aided no doubt by the 
 excitement which prevented the men below firing 
 steadily. 
 
 We had saved our skins but had failed in what to 
 me was vastly of more importance the rescue of 
 Helga and the others ; and the failure so maddened 
 me that for the time I was incapable of consecutive 
 thought. I was conscious chiefly of a fierce animal 
 desire to wreak my vengeance upon the cowards who 
 had captured her, and hugged the thought to my 
 heart that I could certainly kill some of them. In 
 other words I was for the moment almost out of my 
 mind with baffled rage. 
 
 " We must save the mademoiselle, monsieur," said 
 Ivan at length, perplexed by my silent inactivity. 
 
 " Or avenge her. My God, if anything has hap- 
 pened to her, they shall pay dearly," I returned. 
 
 " What shall we do next, monsieur ? " 
 
 That question was soqn settled for us, however; 
 for suddenly lights appeared below and relieved the 
 dead gloom of the landing. 
 
 " They are going to attack us," whispered Ivan. 
 
 " We " shoot this time and shoot to kill, Ivan," I
 
 132 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 said, speaking out fierce wrath and with a sort of 
 devilish pleasure at the prospect. 
 
 But the attack tarried, and while we waited Boreski 
 came out. 
 
 " We have secured those three," he said. 
 
 " Bring them out and shoot them," I answered. 
 " The others have taken mademoiselle and the 
 Duchess." 
 
 " It will be no good to do that." 
 
 " Bring them out," I rejoined fiercely ; and when 
 he hesitated I added, " Then I will ; " and I went 
 into the room. 
 
 " For God's sake, don't do murder," he said, and 
 Ivan followed in. 
 
 I paid no heed to the words, and seizing the first 
 man I dragged him out, bound as he was, and dashed 
 him down on the ground. The mere recourse to this 
 brutality seemed to give relief to my rage, and I went 
 in again and brought out another, treating him just 
 as brutally. I was for the while both bully and coward 
 in my frenzy. 
 
 When I got out I found Boreski speaking to some 
 one below. I leaned forward and tried to see the 
 speaker, and had I been able, I believe I should have 
 shot him on the spot. 
 
 " You know whom we seek," the man said. " Give 
 him up to us and we will go." 
 
 " Who are you ? " asked Boreski. 
 
 " No matter. I speak for those who are with me." 
 
 " Not for all of them," said I, interposing with an 
 unholy laugh. " We have three here who would like 
 to speak for themselves. Come up and ask them why 
 your scheme to fire the house has failed." 
 
 My reply seemed to produce far more effect than 
 the sneer itself warranted, for we heard the men draw 
 together and speak in low but excited tones. Sud- 
 denly the reason for this flashed upon me. I had 
 spoken in Russian, and my accent had betrayed me 
 for a foreigner.
 
 THE SUDDENNESS OF THE ACTION TOLD, AND PEUHAPS THE 
 RECKLESSNESS OP IT HELPED ME." Page I JJ.
 
 THE VALUE OF HOSTAGES 133 
 
 At last I began to see the way out of it all, and my 
 strange frenzy rapidly subsided. 
 
 " Are you coming, gentlemen ? " I cried again. 
 " We can promise you a merry welcome which will 
 save some of you at least the trouble of returning. 
 Or do you find it easier to gag women than to face 
 men ? " and I continued to pour in a broadside of 
 sneers and taunts, speaking all the time in Russian. 
 
 " Who is that speaking, Boreski ? " came at last in 
 the same gruff deep voice that had spoken before. 
 
 " The man you have been fools enough to mistake 
 for the Emperor," I answered with a laugh. 
 
 " Boreski, why do you not answer?" 
 
 " Tell him the truth, M. Boreski," said I in a tone 
 loud enough to reach those below. 
 
 " If I tell them, it will turn their vengeance upon 
 you for Vastic's death," he said in a low tone. 
 
 " Better upon me than upon mademoiselle," I re- 
 plied quickly, in the same loud tone. " I am not afraid 
 of the truth. Tell them I fooled you as well." 
 
 " It is not whom you think," he said. 
 
 " Holy Grace of God ! " exclaimed the man below. 
 
 Realizing the effect which the discovery had pro- 
 duced, and believing firmly in the eloquence of acts, 
 I obeyed my next impulse, and jumping over the bar- 
 ricade ran half-way down the stairs and stood where 
 the light from below shone upon me. 
 
 " I will show you for yourselves," I said. 
 
 The suddenness of the action told, and perhaps the 
 recklessness of it helped me. The men stared up at 
 me as if astounded, and for a moment not one of them 
 moved. Then two revolvers were raised and levelled. 
 
 " Stay," I cried in a loud voice of command. " If 
 you fire at me it will be the sentence of death on your 
 three comrades up there," and I pointed up the stair- 
 way. " You understand, Ivan ? " 
 
 " By the living God, I do," he answered, and his 
 voice, tremulous with earnestness, heightened the 
 effect of the situation.
 
 134 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 It was just one of those positions which a little 
 impudence and bluff will carry when everything else 
 may fail. 
 
 The leader of the men growled out a word, and the 
 two revolvers were lowered. Then he turned to me. 
 
 " Who are you ? " 
 
 " To the devil with your who are you ? You can 
 see who I am not, and that should be enough for 
 you." 
 
 " It is Vastic's murderer," said one of the men 
 then, and murmurs of rage followed. I recognized 
 the speaker as Vastic's companion. 
 
 " You were with him, say what you saw," I said. 
 
 " I saw you shoot him like a dog," said the fellow. 
 
 " You lie, and you know it," I cried sternly. " I 
 did not shoot him until he was in the act of shooting 
 me. He mistook me, as you all have, for the Em- 
 peror; and it was his life or mine." 
 
 There was more angry murmuring at this, and I 
 thought the men would break away from the leader's 
 control. I have never been nearer death than at that 
 moment. 
 
 " Come down that we may see you better," said the 
 leader next. 
 
 " You can see me quite well enough here ; but as 
 you will. Ivan, remember, three lives for mine," I 
 called, and I went down deliberately and stood face 
 to face with them at very close range; and a very 
 ugly-looking lot they were. 
 
 " He is not the Emperor, God curse him," cried one 
 of the gang. 
 
 " I am not even a Russian," I said. 
 
 " Your name ? " demanded the leader sternly. 
 
 " Is my own concern." 
 
 " I will know it," he insisted threateningly. 
 
 " While you threaten me, I '11 see you damned be- 
 fore I '11 tell you." This was only another bluff. It 
 would be useless to deny my name. Helga had spoken 
 it before Vastic's companion. But I dared not yield
 
 THE VALUE OF HOSTAGES 135 
 
 to the man's threats. A single symptom of weakness 
 and the whole bluff would be exposed. 
 
 " You carry things daringly," he said. 
 
 " There are three reasons for it up there," I re- 
 torted grimly. " You can take my life if you will and 
 if you dare. You are all known well enough, and 
 foreigners of my position are not murdered in cold 
 blood -without full penalties being exacted. Shoot, if 
 you 've a mind to face the public executioner. If you 
 have n't, let 's put an end to this." 
 
 " You killed our comrade." 
 
 " Yes, and three more will die if you kill me." 
 
 This was the trump card, I could see that. He 
 had sneered when I had spoken of the executioner; 
 but there was no sneer for this. He presented in- 
 deed the very type of concentrated furious perplexity. 
 Like the rest, he was willing enough to kill me; but 
 he believed my threat would be carried out; and fear 
 for his comrades alone saved his hand. 
 
 "Do you still refuse your name?" he asked; and 
 I believe he was utterly at a loss what to do or say. 
 
 " Not through fear of your knowing, but I allow 
 no man to threaten me." 
 
 " Will you tell it me then ? " 
 
 " Yes, when you speak in that tone. My name is 
 Denver ; I am an American." 
 
 " How came you to be here ? " 
 
 " Under circumstances which led to my being re- 
 garded as the Emperor. Among those who fell into 
 the mistake was the spy, Drexel, whose report to you 
 has caused all the havoc." 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 " At present, alive. How long he lives depends on 
 you." He liked this answer no better than my former 
 threat. 
 
 " There has been a fearful mistake," he said. 
 
 " Which you have done your worst to add to." 
 
 " You admit you killed M. Vastic ? " 
 
 " I have n't attempted to hide it."
 
 136 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " For. that you and all concerned will have to an- 
 swer." 
 
 " I am alone responsible. You know that. The 
 man who was there knows it well." 
 
 " You are suspiciously anxious to shield others." 
 
 " I tell the truth, that 's all. But come," and I re- 
 sumed my former tone of authority ; " we have talked 
 enough. Are we to resume this fight, or will you leave 
 the house and take your men away with you ? " 
 
 "Are you dictating to me?" he asked, with a start 
 of anger. 
 
 " Yes ; for I hold the whip hand," I flung at him. 
 
 " You forget your life hangs by a thread." 
 
 " There are four threads and four lives," I retorted ; 
 and again he winced and bit his lip, and was silenced. 
 
 "If we go you must go with us," he said after a 
 pause. 
 
 " Not alive, nor alone ; " and I pointed this with a 
 look he could read. 
 
 " You will release our comrades ? " 
 
 I could have laughed aloud as I heard this. It was 
 the proof that I had beaten him. But I answered as 
 sternly as I could speak. 
 
 " It is not for you to dictate to me. Put mademoi- 
 selle and the rest back in the house here; then take 
 your men away with you. When I am satisfied no 
 treachery is intended, the three prisoners shall be 
 released." 
 
 " By the living God of Heaven you shall answer 
 for all this," he cried in a frenzy of rage. But im- 
 potent anger of this sort was nothing to me. I had 
 him on the hip, and he knew it ; and if he chose to 
 vent some of his wrath in words, let him. 
 
 He stood many moments in desperate doubt, seek- 
 ing for some other way out of the maze ; but he found 
 none, and he turned at length to consult his fellows. 
 The conference was angry and excited, but no talk or 
 excitement could alter the fact that to harm me meant 
 the death of their three comrades.
 
 THE VALUE OF HOSTAGES 137 
 
 Muttered oaths were as thick as corn on the cob; 
 fierce threats were levelled at me, accompanied by 
 glances of bitter hate. Once the counsel of violence 
 seemed likely to prevail, and the looks and gestures 
 grew so menacing that I intervened. 
 
 "You are listening, and ready, Ivan?" I called. 
 
 " Yes, monsieur, quite ready." 
 
 It was enough. The gesticulations ceased, and those 
 who were against violence had once more the upper 
 hand. 
 
 After that the end came soon. 
 
 Two of the men went out and returned with Helga, 
 the Duchess Stephanie, and the women-servants. 
 
 Helga's face lighted when she caught sight of me 
 as the knot of men fell back and made way for them 
 all to pass. 
 
 " No one has been hurt ? " I asked her. 
 
 " No, not hurt ; badly scared, some of us," she re- 
 plied. " But what has happened ? " 
 
 " We have been arguing on the subject of hostages, 
 and these gentlemen have taken my view of the sub- 
 ject. There will be no more fighting. Will you all 
 go upstairs for a few minutes ? " 
 
 As the men were leaving the house, I called one of 
 the grooms down and told him to saddle a couple of 
 horses. 
 
 " I shall ride a few miles with you," I told the 
 leader. 
 
 " You do not trust me ? " he said angrily. 
 
 " In my country we see to things for ourselves ; 
 that's all. Ivan," I called, "if I do not return in 
 an hour, you will understand there is trouble. You 
 will know what to do." 
 
 " Yes, monsieur." 
 
 " You try my temper," said the leader. 
 
 " Merely' a business precaution," I replied lightly, 
 and went out with him to the stables. 
 
 " I do not like your business precautions," he said. 
 "You carry them too far."
 
 138 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " The fact is I wish to speak to you, and what I 
 have to say cannot be said in the hearing of others. 
 I can say it as we ride together." 
 
 I had some very pertinent questions to put to him, 
 indeed, and when he had found his horse and the 
 groom and I had mounted, I told the latter to fall 
 back. 
 
 " Now," I said, as we all started, " I want to know 
 what is to be the result of this night's work, so far 
 as I am concerned."
 
 CHAPTER XV THE DANGERS THICKEN 
 
 MY companion was in no hurry to answer the 
 question and we rode some distance before he 
 spoke. 
 
 " Why could n't you speak of this before the others 
 I mean those in the house at Brabinsk ? " 
 
 " Why don't you all discuss your plans at public 
 meetings? I suppose because you want to keep them 
 secret. So do I now." 
 
 " Why do you lay such stress on secrecy ? " 
 
 " Because my own safety is my own concern, and 
 no one else's." 
 
 " Are you a secret police spy ? " 
 
 " No ; had I been, do you think I should have been 
 in command of things at Brabinsk ? " 
 
 " What are you then ? " 
 
 " I have told you. I am an American ; I have got 
 mixed up in this thing and want to get out of it." 
 
 "You killed M. Vastic?" 
 
 " Do you think I was such a fool as to want to kill 
 him ? I had no feud with him, nor have I with you. 
 It was a question whether he shot me thinking I 
 was the Emperor or whether I got in first. And I 
 had the drop on him." 
 
 " Our comrades do not die unavenged," he said 
 with a grim significance anything but pleasant to no- 
 tice. I chewed the reply a while in uneasy silence. 
 
 " I may take that as a declaration of war between us. 
 You mean you will try to have my life for his. Not 
 a pleasant lookout for either of us." The pause 
 and the last words touched him on the raw. 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " 
 139
 
 140 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " We Americans make ugly enemies when we 're 
 put to it. I know every man of you by sight, and 
 have a rare memory for a face when I want to 
 remember it." 
 
 " God of the dead and living, have a care, mon- 
 sieur," he cried. 
 
 " Ivan knows them too, and is a staunch friend of 
 mine," I returned very quietly and meaningly; and 
 when he made no reply, I added : " You 've had a 
 sample of American methods to-night, and if it comes 
 to any of this vendetta business, I '11 put up a good 
 hand. You may gamble on that." 
 
 " How came you to be there as the Emperor? " he 
 asked after a pause. 
 
 " For reasons that don't in the least concern you 
 or your comrades ; so you need n't ask for them." 
 
 Another pause followed. 
 
 " I happen to have a good deal of influence with 
 very high authorities. It would be a mistake to drive 
 me to use it." 
 
 Angered by this, he thrust his hand to the pocket 
 where I had seen him stow his revolver. 
 
 " You 'd better not," I said coolly. ' The same 
 authorities who will help me living would avenge me 
 dead. You are all known. Besides, there are the 
 three men at Brabinsk ; and Ivan will keep his word." 
 
 He growled out something, an oath, I think, but he 
 drew his hand back and rode on, presently asking 
 abruptly 
 
 " What is it you want ? " 
 
 " A truce to the whole thing for all concerned 
 on both sides. Let it end right here. The thing, as 
 you said, has been a terrible mistake. Let it stop at 
 that." 
 
 " That is not in my power to say." He appeared 
 to speak with some regret, and after thinking a while 
 added : " No, it is impossible. If M. Vastic had not 
 been shot, it might have been." 
 
 I had not expected to make much headway, so I
 
 THE DANGERS THICKEN 141 
 
 was not very disappointed, and went on to try and get 
 at what was the real object of my questions. 
 
 " I believe you yourself regret the thing," I said. 
 " You mean, I suppose, that if it rested with you, your 
 decision would be for a truce." 
 
 "Yes, I think it would. But the death of M. 
 Vastic is too heavy a blow for the brotherhood. You 
 will be all held to account for it." 
 
 " All. It was my act alone. You mean I shall be 
 accountable." 
 
 Something in my voice must have betrayed me, for 
 he started, and turning in his saddle looked at me. 
 
 " What are the , others to you ? The mademoiselle, 
 for instance?" 
 
 " They are nothing to me," I answered as if indif- 
 ferently ; " except that I have brought this thing on 
 them and shall see them through it." 
 
 " You give yourself a troublesome commission, 
 monsieur." 
 
 " You 're a lot of damned cowards," I cried. It 
 was a feeble thing to say, but it relieved my feelings, 
 and soon afterwards I reined up my horse. 
 
 " I 'm going back," I said curtly. 
 
 " Good-night, monsieur. As a man I am sorry for 
 what has happened and for what may have to come. 
 I hope we may not meet again." 
 
 " Wait till we do. Your sorrow may be wanted 
 for your own side ; " and without waiting for more, 
 I wheeled my horse round and set off back at a gallop 
 followed by the groom. And I took back with me a 
 very anxious heart and a whole crowd of perplexing 
 doubts and harassing fears. 
 
 Turn which way I would, dangers of some kind 
 blocked the path dangers for Helga or myself sep- 
 arately when they did not threaten us both in common. 
 
 I had had a fairly adventurous life, and in my time 
 had run up against some ugly risks; but these had 
 been of the nature of sudden emergencies to be met 
 promptly and overcome. But never before had I been
 
 142 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 called upon to face such a danger as this threatened to 
 be enduring, shadowy, secret and all encompassing. 
 And I am not ashamed to admit I was considerably 
 shaken. 
 
 It is one thing to take your life in your hands, at 
 a crisis, face the music and fight for all you are worth 
 while the bother lasts ; and quite another to pit your- 
 self against a secret society, to find the music a per- 
 petual dirge, threatening constantly to develop into 
 your own funeral march, and to breakfast, dine and 
 sup, walk, sit and sleep, talk, laugh and be merry with 
 the cold circle of a revolver barrel pressed to your 
 forehead. 
 
 But it had to be done, it seemed, so long as I re- 
 mained in Russia, and how long that would be must 
 depend upon an extremely explosive contingency 
 Helga's intentions. 
 
 My hope was to get her to give up her country and 
 adopt mine ; but it was impossible to be sanguine. 
 They say a woman can bear pain far better than a 
 man, and it seemed to me that, given the requisite 
 courage and a sufficient motive, she could also bear the 
 strain of ever-present danger with greater fortitude. 
 
 So far as I could judge, Helga had been for years 
 risking the kind of danger which now loomed upon 
 me as so formidable ; and I saw very little reason to 
 believe she would regard the new development as any- 
 thing worse than just a fresh complication which had 
 to be faced, and from which she would steadily refuse 
 to run away. 
 
 When I got back to the house I very soon had 
 reason to see that this was her frame of mind, and 
 that there was more in this visit of the Duchess 
 Stephanie than I had yet had time to learn. 
 
 The night's experiences, coupled with his wife's 
 arguments and entreaties, had made an end of Boreski 
 as a conspirator. He had persuaded himself, or she 
 had persuaded him, which came to the same thing, 
 that he had now nothing to hope for from the elabo-
 
 THE DANGERS THICKEN 143 
 
 rate scheme by which he had designed to force the 
 Imperial consent to his marriage and everything to 
 gain by abandoning it. I found the two of them im- 
 portuning Helga to take a similar view ; and some 
 high words seemed to have passed. 
 
 " We shall leave Russia for a time," the Duchess 
 was say.ing as I entered. 
 
 " I think you are right to go under the circum- 
 stances," agreed Helga. " But what has occurred 
 to-night has not weakened my position by a thread. 
 The key of everything is the possession of these 
 papers which the Government dare not allow to fall 
 into other hands than their own. I still possess them." 
 
 " But even if you persist, you cannot use them, 
 Helga," cried the Duchess Stephanie. "These wretches 
 alone would not let you live to do that. I declare I 
 tremble all over when I think of that fearful time 
 when we were in their power." 
 
 " Why? They did us no harm. They just stopped 
 us from crying out, took us over to the stable and 
 locked us in with a guard until the mistake was dis- 
 covered. As soon as that was plain, they released us 
 and left the place. Surely it is no very awful thing 
 to be locked up in a stable for an hour. It is not like 
 a prison or a Siberian hell." 
 
 " You forget what I told you, mademoiselle," said 
 Boreski ; " that the men left us and released you only 
 because we had caught three of their number and M. 
 Denver threatened to have them shot. They would 
 never leave you in peace nor us, indeed, if we were 
 to remain." 
 
 " If you think that, by all means leave the country." 
 
 There was a spice of contemptuousness in Helga's 
 reply, although spoken with apparent earnestness. 
 
 " What do you think, M. Denver ? " asked Boreski. 
 
 " I think as you do, that that is the only safe 
 course." 
 
 " It will at any rate please M. Denver's friends 
 among the authorities," said Helga, with a flash at 
 me.
 
 144 WHEN i WAS CZAR 
 
 " We owe our liberty to M. Denver and probably 
 our lives as well, and I don't think you should say 
 such things." 
 
 This from the Duchess Stephanie surprised me 
 vastly. 
 
 " We also owe it to him that the dangers ever arose 
 at all," retorted Helga quickly. " But I congratulate 
 him upon having won you over so completely to his 
 side that you forget that. My memory is longer. But 
 by all means take his advice." 
 
 " I shall help you best by taking no part in this 
 discussion. There is still something to be done," I 
 said, and left the room, in the middle of a protest by 
 the Duchess Stephanie against what she termed Helga's 
 rank ungenerosity. 
 
 It was the truth of Helga's bitter words that hurt 
 me. I had caused the trouble and brought the danger 
 upon them, and I knew only too well that the danger 
 was but averted for a time. 
 
 I went in search of Ivan, and with him released our 
 prisoners and Drexel and saw them well away on 
 their return to the city. As we went back to the house 
 Ivan said 
 
 " You will not let the mademoiselle remain here, 
 monsieur?" 
 
 "Why not, Ivan?" 
 
 " The brotherhood, monsieur. They will hunt her 
 down, and you and M. Boreski." 
 
 "Do you think them really dangerous?" 
 
 " Great God of my fathers, can any one doubt it ? " 
 
 "What of yourself, then?" 
 
 " What is to be will be," he answered with a shrug. 
 
 " You mean you don't care ? " 
 
 " When the storm rages over the forest, monsieur, 
 it is the big trees which feel it and fall, the little trees 
 are passed over. I am only a little one." 
 
 " Would you like to have money to fly ? " 
 
 " Lord of all Powers, if I had not seen you to- 
 night, I should think you a coward to give such
 
 THE DANGERS THICKEN 145 
 
 counsel. I am not a cur, monsieur, but a watch- 
 dog." 
 
 " I said it merely to test you, and I ask your pardon. 
 I was certain of your answer, though. We shall work 
 together to save the mademoiselle. But if we are to 
 succeed, you must not do again what you did to-night." 
 
 " Your pardon, monsieur ? " he asked, not under- 
 standing. 
 
 " You told her my plan and brought her to me." 
 
 " When you would have thrown away your life, 
 and would not let me go with you, monsieur. What 
 else could I do ? " and he shrugged his great shoul- 
 ders. " But I will follow you now anywhere and 
 obey you implicitly." 
 
 " At present I do not know what to do. I see no 
 way, Ivan." 
 
 " You will think of something or Mademoiselle 
 Ilelga will. But she should not stay here. There 
 are places where she can hide safely, monsieur. We 
 have done it before." 
 
 " Well, we shall see," I answered a little hopelessly 
 as we entered the house. 
 
 Helga was waiting for us in the hall, and seemed 
 angry and excited. 
 
 " Ivan, get M. Boreski's carriage, and, if he wishes 
 it, go with him to the city. He starts as soon as pos- 
 sible. M. Denver will probably go with him." 
 
 Ivan looked the picture of perplexity. 
 
 " And yourself, mademoiselle ? " he asked. 
 
 " Do as I say, Ivan, and at once." 
 
 He went away without a word but he glanced 
 at me. 
 
 " To tell the truth, mademoiselle," I said, " I 'm 
 afraid I am rather too tired for so long a drive just 
 at present." 
 
 Boreski and the Duchess came out as I finished and 
 caught the last few words. 
 
 " It is not very long, M. Denver, only some three 
 hours at most/' he said, "and the Duchess will be 
 10
 
 14G WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 very glad of your company. It will be an added 
 protection." 
 
 " I hope you will come, monsieur. It is really the 
 safest thing in fact, the only safe thing." 
 
 " I think you had better go," declared Helga firmly. 
 
 " Of course you wish to get out of the country as 
 soon as possible," said the Duchess. 
 
 " As soon as practicable, naturally," I agreed. " But 
 I have one or two things to arrange first." 
 
 " If you are wise you will lose no time about it," 
 said Boreski, who was manifestly eager for me to ac- 
 company him. 
 
 " You have completely forgiven me then for the 
 deception I practised upon you in coming here?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Many things have happened since," he replied. 
 " I have abandoned that part of my plan, and my wife 
 has found a way of escape from the difficulties which 
 troubled us. Our marriage need no longer be kept 
 secret. Indeed, the Emperor already knows of it." 
 
 " The real Emperor," put in Helga quietly. 
 
 " Besides, we owe you much for to-night ; I feel 
 that," he continued, and went on to thank me in his 
 courteous and dignified manner. I was so entirely 
 surprised by this most queer and unexpected turn of 
 things that I could find nothing to say. 
 
 Then the Duchess turned to Helga. 
 
 " Let me make a last appeal to you, Helga." 
 
 " It is useless, madame." The reply was curt, de- 
 cisive and angry. 
 
 " You have no right to keep them. It was I who 
 brought them to you, and they are mine. Why not 
 do as I say, throw yourself upon the Emperor's mercy 
 and seek his forgiveness ? " 
 
 I stared from one to the other in amazement. 
 
 " The Duchess saw the Emperor this morning," 
 said Boreski to me in an aside. 
 
 " You have had my decision, madame," said Helga 
 coldly.
 
 THE DANGERS THICKEN 147 
 
 " I think you 're a very wicked woman. You want 
 to ruin me just when I have succeeded in everything." 
 
 " You make my position very invidious, mademoi- 
 selle," said Boreski, looking profoundly uneasy. 
 
 " M. Denver, you have some influence with Made- 
 moiselle Helga," said the Duchess to me. " Use it 
 now,- I beg of you, to urge her to give back these 
 papers to me." 
 
 " M. Denver has no influence with me," declared 
 Helga. " The papers were obtained at my sugges- 
 tion and for my own purpose, and no power in 
 Russia shall drag them from me until that purpose is 
 accomplished." 
 
 " But I have pledged my word," cried the Duchess 
 with tears in her eyes. 
 
 " And have done your best to keep it. But the 
 papers must remain with me. Nothing can change 
 my resolve." 
 
 We heard the carriage at the door then. 
 
 " I think that in honour you should give them up," 
 said Boreski. 
 
 Helga looked at him very angrily. 
 
 " I bid you good-night, M. Boreski," she said stiffly. 
 
 But the Duchess, having tried ineffectually en- 
 treaties and tears, had a last shaft in the quiver. She 
 laughed angrily. 
 
 " They will do you no good. You have to account 
 for how you obtained them, and I will swear, if neces- 
 sary, that I forged them myself. You shall not ruin 
 me. We have been your dupes too long." 
 
 " Your carriage is waiting, madame. Good-night, 
 messieurs," and with a bow which included me as 
 well as Boreski, she turned her back upon us and 
 went into an adjoining room. 
 
 " We had better go," said Boreski. 
 
 " She is a dangerous, deceitful, treacherous woman," 
 exclaimed the Duchess passionately. " Come, M. 
 Denver." 
 
 " Excuse me, madame, I am remaining," I said.
 
 148 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " You will repent it, monsieur," she exclaimed 
 angrily as she swept past me. 
 
 " Possibly, madame ; but at present I see nothing 
 but congratulation in being able to number myself 
 among Mademoiselle Helga's friends." 
 
 " The Emperor will hear of it from me." 
 
 Boreski lingered a moment as if wishful to sneak 
 to me, but his wife called him sharply, and he con- 
 tented himself with a glance which may have jveant 
 many things to him but nothing to me, and they 
 drove off. 
 
 I looked after the carriage thoughtfully and went 
 back into the house. Ivan was in the hall. 
 
 " You did not go with the carriage, then ? " I said 
 in some surprise. 
 
 " No, monsieur, mademoiselle said, if M. Boreski 
 wished it, and he did not say so." 
 
 " I am glad, Ivan." 
 
 " Thank you, monsieur. I thought you would wish 
 it. What are we to do next ? " 
 
 " I don't know. I will see Mademoiselle Helga," 
 and I went to the room where she was.
 
 CHAPTER XVI HELGA'S DEFEAT 
 
 WITH my hand on the door of the room where 
 Helga was, I paused. The thought crossed 
 my mind that I had not been alone with her since 
 the critical moment in which the cloud between us 
 had been swept away, and we had seemed to under- 
 stand intuitively each the other's heart feelings. 
 
 The thought embarrassed me, and I turned back 
 to try and think my way to some definite practical 
 course of action. 
 
 The scene with the Duchess Stephanie had shown 
 me one thing clearly. The failure of Helga's plans 
 was no longer to be set down solely to me. The 
 Duchess had herself seen the Emperor and patched 
 up peace with him, the chief condition of which had 
 been the restoration of the secret papers. 
 
 It appeared, therefore, that the Emperor and old 
 Kalkov had been working for the same end at the 
 same time by different methods. And if this were 
 so, it was equally clear that the wily old Prince had 
 misled me as to the Emperor's cognizance of my part 
 in the affair. A course on his side which was quite 
 in keeping with Helga's opinion and description of 
 his methods. 
 
 For my part I cared little; he might throw me 
 over if he pleased, and he had doubtless calculated 
 upon that as a probable contingency. But it affected 
 Helga very seriously now, because it had led the 
 Emperor to take a line with the Duchess which he 
 would never have taken, had Kalkov told him what 
 I was doing; and it had thus closed the gates against 
 Helga's chances of getting to the Emperor himself. 
 
 149
 
 150 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 Up to the present Helga's position had been veiled, 
 and if I could have secured her an interview, her story 
 might have been listened to with an impartial ear. But 
 now the Duchess was going in hot haste to prejudice 
 Helga in the Emperor's eyes by pointing to her as the 
 real source of danger in regard to the papers. 
 
 In other words Helga's scheme for the benefit of 
 Boreski by securing the Imperial consent to the mar- 
 riage had succeeded, while it had failed so far as it 
 concerned Helga herself. And the very success of it 
 made the failure for her all the more disastrous. 
 
 It seemed indeed that the further one went in the 
 whole affair the more hopeless and complicated and 
 dangerous it became. 
 
 The moment Helga's real part in the matter was 
 told to the Emperor he would pass on the knowledge 
 to Kalkov, and the whole machinery of the Govern- 
 ment's secret police and spies would be set in motion 
 for her detection and arrest. 
 
 And as if that were not enough, the ominous tangle 
 with the brotherhood had arisen at the same moment. 
 
 Between us we had made just a horrible mess of 
 everything; and as the more I pondered the thing 
 alone the more hopeless it looked, I went in at length 
 to Helga to see if I could get any ray of light from 
 her. 
 
 The way of a woman is ever a paradox surely, and 
 Helga was very much of a woman in that respect. 
 
 When I entered I found her stretched at full length 
 on a sofa in what appeared to me to be an attitude of 
 almost despairing dejection, and so preoccupied that 
 she did not hear me until I closed the door behind me. 
 Then she sat up quickly and looked at me. She had 
 great mastery over her features, and she evinced 
 neither pleasure nor surprise at sight of me. 
 
 " Have you forgotten something and returned for 
 it ? " she asked with a sort of conventional politeness. 
 
 "Returned?" 
 
 " I thought you were going with Boreski."
 
 HELGA'S DEFEAT 151 
 
 " Did you ? " My glance said more than my words. 
 
 " The Duchess will have been disappointed." 
 
 " Her disappointment is nothing to me." 
 
 " No? " with a lift of the brows, as if in surprise. 
 
 " No," I repeated. " I have been thinking." 
 
 " You would have been better employed in getting 
 back to the city. You would have covered a third of 
 the distance by now." 
 
 " I am not going. I want to talk to you." 
 
 " Is n't it rather late ? " She pointed this with a 
 glance at the clock. 
 
 I could not restrain a smile. 
 
 " Is this some new game we are playing? " I asked. 
 
 She sat drumming her fingers on the sofa arm. 
 
 " Is that what you want to talk about ? " 
 
 " No. I wish to ask you what you propose to do." 
 
 " And I do not propose to tell you." 
 
 She said this very quietly and calmly, and then 
 suddenly flashed out 
 
 " What I do can be no possible concern of yours, 
 M. Denver." 
 
 " On the contrary it is everything to me," I re- 
 turned firmly. " You know that as well as I." 
 
 " I will not know it ; I will not have it so." 
 
 " We shall see. What are you proposing to do ? " 
 
 She looked as if about to make some sharp reply, 
 but with one of her swift changes, she smiled. 
 
 " Do you really wish to render me a service, mon- 
 sieur? " 
 
 " I hope to render you many." 
 
 " Then go back to the Palace to those who sent 
 you to me and tell them you have failed in your 
 honourable and secret mission. Tell them of me." 
 
 " Thank you, but that is not the kind of service I 
 was expecting you to ask, and I shall not do it." 
 
 " There is no other that I care to ask, then." 
 
 " \Vhy do you wish me to go? " 
 
 " Ought I not to be concerned for the safety of so 
 welcome a guest ? "
 
 152 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " What extraordinary creatures you women are 
 and you especially. Now if you were a man " 
 
 " Would God that I were ! " she interposed vehe- 
 mently. 
 
 " You and I would just sit down and talk over the 
 whole mess, as two friends should, and try to hit on 
 the easiest and best way out of it." 
 
 " Friends ! " she cried ; but I took no notice of the 
 interruption. 
 
 " And when we had hit on the solution we should 
 try to work together to carry it out. But instead of 
 that, here you are flying into a passion just because 
 I ask you what you mean to do; and then you insult 
 me for no reason that I can see or understand, except 
 that I have n't run away like a coward, unless it is 
 that there 's nobody else around whom you can treat 
 in the same way with impunity." 
 
 " Am I to throw myself on my knees in gratitude 
 to every one who chooses to force the offer of his help 
 upon me ? " 
 
 " If it does you any good to say this kind of thing 
 to me by all means go on. Only try to concentrate 
 them into a few pithy and bitter sentences and get 
 them over. I can only say they don't hurt me in the 
 least except that I know you '11 be horribly sorry for 
 them after." 
 
 " I am serious when I say I wish you to leave here." 
 
 " I wish you 'd try a cigarette," and I lit a cigar. 
 
 " You are intolerable," she cried. 
 
 " Let 's have an agreement. This cigar will last 
 about twenty minutes or half an hour; suppose you 
 get through with all your nasticisms in that time, 
 and then discuss things soberly." 
 
 " Will you leave the house, M. Denver ? " 
 
 " Of course I will not if it means leaving you 
 here. Nothing will shake my resolution to see you 
 through this." 
 
 " But if I tell you that your presence interferes 
 with my plans."
 
 HELGA'S DEFEAT 153 
 
 " Good. Go on." 
 
 " I will not have your help, I say." 
 
 " Very well ; go on." 
 
 " I may surely choose whom I will to help me." 
 
 " Of course you may." 
 
 " And I don't choose you, monsieur." 
 
 " All right, but you have a tendency to repeat your- 
 self. "_ 
 
 " Do you wish to provoke me?" 
 
 " A bit superfluous, surely. But if you would get 
 into a towering rage and be done with it, it might 
 help us." 
 
 " You dare to insult me only because you think I 
 am defenceless." 
 
 " If you really think I wish to insult you, you are 
 the most extraordinary woman in Russia. You know 
 so much better than that." 
 
 " I wish you to leave the house, monsieur." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " And if you will not go I will call my servants." 
 
 " Ivan will have no hand in such madness." 
 
 " So you would even try to turn my servants 
 against me." 
 
 " My cigar is half through," I said, very calmly. 
 
 " Ah, you have no answer to that." 
 
 " No, none. Ivan or you yourself can find one 
 easily." 
 
 " You are insufferable," she cried, her eyes flash- 
 ing, as she sprang to her feet. " I will not stay in the 
 room with you," and she crossed to the door. 
 
 I went on smoking and would not even turn my 
 head to watch her. At the door she paused. 
 
 " Will you leave my house, M. Denver ? " 
 
 " I have given you my answer already, Mademoi- 
 selle Helga." 
 
 " I did not think you could be so grossly dis- 
 courteous." 
 
 " There 's a good deal about me you seem to persist 
 in misunderstanding:. But one thing you shall know
 
 154 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 clearly that my will power is every whit as strong 
 as yours." 
 
 : ' Then I shall leave." 
 
 : ' That 's precisely what I wish you to do, and Ivan 
 and I will go with you." 
 
 She opened the door and I rose and flung my cigar 
 away. 
 
 " I 've thrown the rest of it away. Now let us be 
 sensible and face things, and stop this wrangling. 
 Come and sit down again." 
 
 " I will not. I will not be insulted." 
 
 I looked her very steadily in the eyes as I crossed 
 the room to her, and she may have divined something 
 of my thoughts, for it seemed to cost her an effort to 
 meet my gaze. And when I was close to her, she 
 shrank slightly and her ringers left the door handle. 
 I closed the door then, and she bit her lip and frowned 
 in the struggle to appear firm. After an intentionally 
 long pause, I said, slowly and deliberately 
 
 " You have been horribly unjust to me. In your 
 anger you have said things that I would suffer from 
 no one else. You know that, and - I paused 
 and lowered my tone " and you know why. We 
 both know why, Helga. We learnt it to-night." 
 
 She shook her head quickly. 
 
 " I don't see why you should shake your head. 
 It has changed all my life for me " 
 
 " Don't," she interposed. 
 
 " Why not ? It is true do or say what you 
 please. You are first in the world to me." 
 
 " I will not hear you. I will not." 
 
 " Then I won't say it again. But it will always 
 be so. I just want you to feel that and to know it 's 
 in that spirit I wish to talk over things with you. 
 That 's all." 
 
 That she was deeply moved she could not hide 
 from me. She stood with lowered head, her bosom 
 heaving, her lips trembling as she bit them, and her 
 fingers interlocked, until with a deep sigh she ap-
 
 HELGA'S DEFEAT 155 
 
 peared to come to a decision, when she lifted her 
 face and answered steadily 
 
 " I do not pretend not to understand you ; but I 
 cannot and will not accept your help. You must go 
 away." 
 
 " I will not take that answer, and I will not leave 
 you." 
 
 I spoke as I felt, quite resolved on that point. 
 
 The answer pleased her, and the hardness of her 
 face relaxed. 
 
 " You are very obstinate," she said, and her eyes 
 were almost smiling; certainly the light in them was 
 soft. 
 
 " It does n't matter what we call it. It is the 
 thing that matters. Tell me frankly why you try 
 to refuse my help." 
 
 She did not answer directly, and her eyes were 
 troubled. 
 
 " Yes, I will tell you. You have a right to know," 
 and she recrossed the room to her former place. I 
 followed to mine. 
 
 " How far would you go with your help ? " she 
 asked, leaning her chin on her hand and gazing at me 
 earnestly. 
 
 " I should like to know what that look has behind 
 it, but I can answer the question only in one way. I 
 wish you to be my wife, Helga, and let me help you 
 at every turn in life. I love you." 
 
 " And know nothing of me." 
 
 " I know that you are the one woman the world 
 holds for me. That is enough for me to know." 
 
 " You saw me yesterday for the first time." 
 
 " It will be the same when yesterday is ten or 
 twenty years old. It is no question of mere time." 
 
 " Yet I am not as other women." 
 
 " I don't love the other women." 
 
 " I do not mean that. You know. I mean I am 
 not a good woman as women are counted good." 
 
 " I am accustomed to form my own judgments 
 and to trust them."
 
 156 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I should only ruin you. It is impossible." 
 
 " Wait until I am ruined and then see. But you 
 would not ruin me, on the contrary I should save you 
 from ruin." 
 
 " You are very self-confident." 
 
 " Because I love you." 
 
 The directness of the reply seemed to please her, 
 for she smiled. 
 
 " You are very concise, monsieur." 
 
 " This is no time to waste words. We have a 
 crisis to face." 
 
 She paused, and her face hardened a little as if in 
 defiance. 
 
 " I have been wooed before do you realize that ? " 
 
 " You have not been won." 
 
 " I mean I have led men on to woo me and have 
 jilted them." 
 
 " You did not love them." 
 
 " You mean " she began with a flash of her 
 
 eyes which changed to a smile as she stopped abruptly. 
 It died away when I said nothing, and the air of 
 defiance returned. " It is that you will not understand 
 me. I did it to use them for the purpose of my life 
 and when they were of use no longer I flung them 
 away." 
 
 " Then why not use me ? " 
 
 " I meant to at first," and she threw up her head. 
 
 "Why not at last then?" 
 
 " Ah, you drive me to speak so plainly. I tell 
 you I am bad bad to the core, heartless, heedless, 
 sexless if you will, where my revenge is concerned. 
 Now will you go ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Well, then, if you will have the full truth, you 
 shall. So long as I thought you were the Emperor 
 I set myself with all my woman's wit and cunning 
 to make you love me. I planned it, schemed for it, 
 and knowing all that it might mean, I yearned for it. 
 I told you I would have made any sacrifice to have
 
 HELGA'S DEFEAT 157 
 
 won your power to my side. Now, perhaps, you see 
 how base a thing I am." 
 
 " Well, you have succeeded, and have made me 
 love you though Heaven knows I needed no making. 
 What then?" 
 
 " My God, will nothing open your eyes and drive 
 you from me ? " 
 
 " One thing ; but you have not said it yet." 
 
 She looked at me, and emotion seemed to master 
 her till she said passionately 
 
 " You are no use to me. Had you been in truth the 
 Emperor, as God is my judge, I would have been 
 your mistress. But being what you are, I will not 
 be your wife." 
 
 " You are very anxious to blacken yourself in my 
 eyes," I said after a pause. 
 
 " You at any rate shall know the truth see me 
 for what I am." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I wish you to know it." 
 
 " I will tell you why, Helga. There are limits 
 even to the recklessness of your self-slander. I have 
 done you more wrong than I deemed. You had caught 
 yourself in your own toils and come to to love 
 the Emperor." 
 
 I spoke slowly and deliberately, and as the words 
 left my lips she started as if to make some indignant 
 retort; but checked herself and leant back in her seat, 
 pale and set, her brows wrinkled in intensely earnest 
 thought. I watched her closely, and presently a flush 
 began to spread over her cheeks, and she said slowly, 
 without looking at me 
 
 " Why should I deny it? You wish the truth and 
 shall have it." 
 
 Then she sat up again and bent forward toward me. 
 
 " Yes, I love you if it be love to long to do what 
 you ask, and yet be strong enough to put all thought 
 of doing it out of my heart. I do love you, I believe, 
 and yet I am resolved never to look on your face
 
 158 
 
 again. I hate you for the deceit you practised, which 
 has ruined everything for me at the very moment 
 when all seemed to be won. And yet " her voice 
 and eyes softened and she sighed " and yet I I 
 am glad you came." 
 
 " I ask no more than that at present. Except 
 leave to ask for more when I have undone the mis- 
 chief I have caused. You will grant that ? " 
 
 " No no, a hundred times no." 
 
 " You may make it a million. It will not alter 
 my resolve." 
 
 She laughed with delicious softness. 
 
 " Now, you know why I will not have your help." 
 
 " Now, I do not care. I mean to force it on you ; 
 I will make it necessary to you. You have shown 
 me the road in what you 've said. You will marry 
 me when I have helped you to revenge upon old 
 Kalkov. Very well." 
 
 " No, no, I said I would never marry you." 
 
 " I know you did, but that was because you de- 
 clared I was no use to you. I will make myself 
 of use. I accept your own terms, and from now on 
 I take hold of the thing and handle it in my way." 
 
 " You are very masterful," she cried. 
 
 " No, only American. I 've a large interest in it 
 now, and on our side we believe in good management. 
 You 've bungled things awfully, you see, made a holy 
 mess of them all round and wasted no end of oppor- 
 tunities. For all I know you may have spoilt every 
 chance. But there 's still one way, and I shall try 
 that." 
 
 " I can manage my own affairs," she protested. 
 
 " You can mismanage them, you mean ; I 'm too 
 deep in now to trust your methods any longer. We 
 go my way from now." 
 
 " Indeed, and what is your way ? " 
 
 I believe all women at heart like to be forced to 
 submit, and Helga's manner now was a curious mix- 
 ture of the resentment which her pride dictated and
 
 HELGA'S DEFEAT 159 
 
 pleasure at meeting a will just a bit stronger than 
 her own. 
 
 " I am going to get you to the Emperor before 
 the Duchess can prejudice him." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " Never mind how, I 'm going to do it. What you 
 have to do is to go and get some sleep. You can 
 have three hours, and then you must be ready to start, 
 and Madame Korvata must be ready too." 
 
 "But I " 
 
 " I 'm not going to let you talk any more," and I 
 got up and opened the door. 
 
 She rose and laughed with a shrug of the shoulders. 
 
 " It 's a new sensation to be ordered in this way." 
 
 " In three hours we shall start," was my reply. 
 
 " My nerves are tingling with desire to rebel," she 
 said, as she came across the room slowly, and when 
 she reached the door she stood and looked at me, 
 smiling. " Do all you Americans make make love in 
 this way ? " 
 
 " I 'm the business man at present ; the lover will 
 come afterwards. You won't mistake him when his 
 turn comes." 
 
 " Good-night, Monsieur I'Empereur," she cried, 
 her look a challenge and her whole expression radiant. 
 
 " You will make the lover rush things, Helga, if 
 you look at the business man like that. You ought 
 to be asleep already. Good-night." 
 
 " Asleep ? After to-night ! " and with a toss of 
 the head she was gone.
 
 CHAPTER XVII AT THE GATES OF 
 
 THE PALACE 
 
 AS soon as Helga was gone I sent for Ivan, and 
 told him to have everything in readiness for 
 the start in three hours' time; and that of course he 
 would go with us. 
 
 " Where are we going, monsieur ? " he asked. 
 
 " I don't know. You spoke of some places where 
 mademoiselle could safely lie hid for a while. Which 
 is the safest and nearest to Petersburg ? " 
 
 " There is a house in the city itself, in the Square 
 of San Sophia, monsieur; quite safe, if the made- 
 moiselle will adopt her old disguise." 
 
 "What disguise is that?" 
 
 "A Sister of Charity, monsieur." 
 
 "Is it safe from both the police and the brother- 
 hood?" 
 
 " Quite, monsieur." 
 
 "Then we could go there. Is it ready for her?" 
 
 " I can send on a carriage with a couple of the 
 women." 
 
 " Good ; then see to it at once." 
 
 " But if we leave here, there is one thing, monsieur. 
 Have you forgotten the body of Vastic?" 
 
 "Yes, indeed, I had forgotten. Go and see to 
 the other things, and I '11 think what to do." 
 
 It was a prickly problem in truth. To leave it 
 at Brabinsk appeared out of the question ; to bury it 
 and try to hush the thing up equally impossible ; and 
 to take it with us to the city more hazardous than 
 either. He threatened to be as much trouble to us 
 dead as alive, and I smoked a cigar and tried to think 
 the thing out. 
 
 160
 
 AT THE GATES OF THE PALACE 161 
 
 My intention was to make a clean breast of the 
 matter to Kalkov, leaving him and his police to do 
 what they liked ; and I did not doubt they would find 
 little difficulty in arranging matters. 
 
 But where should I tell them to look for the body? 
 To bring them after it to Brabinsk would only put 
 them on the scent after Helga, a result full of dan- 
 gerous possibilities. 
 
 Yet how to get it away? It occurred to me that 
 Ivan and I might carry it off some miles from the 
 house and hide it in a wood or pond or somewhere; 
 but the personal risks attending such a venture were 
 too considerable, and in a way unnecessary. 
 
 Thus in the end I was driven back upon the decision 
 to leave it at Brabinsk ; and Ivan and I had to under- 
 take the exceedingly gruesome and revolting task of 
 burying it under the floor of a distant out-house. 
 
 I shall not readily forget that experience. Ivan 
 was cool enough ; but for my part I felt nearly as 
 bad as any murderer could have felt when seeking to 
 hide the body of his victim ; and when I got back 
 to the house, a stiff glass of brandy was necessary 
 to enable me to shake off the feeling of chilly horror. 
 
 Then I had to plan my further movements. 
 Roughly, my intention was to get back to the 
 Palace and obtain an audience of the Emperor at 
 the earliest possible moment, and beg him to see 
 Helga. 
 
 Prince Kalkov I did not wish to see until after that. 
 I took Helga's view of matters, and believed that 
 if she could get the story of her father's ruin straight 
 to the Emperor, before the Duchess Stephanie could 
 influence him, she would succeed in working upon 
 his old friendship for her father sufficiently at least 
 to cause some kind of investigation into the affair. 
 
 But in that we should have to reckon with Prince 
 
 Kalkov, of course; and he would be an ugly enemy. 
 
 Fight he would, naturally, to the last gasp; and 
 
 his influence, position, and parts would ensure that 
 
 II
 
 162 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 such a struggle would be a desperate one. It was 
 like challenging the whole force of the Government; 
 and however good our case might be, there were a 
 hundred things likely to arise to defeat us. 
 
 When I am trying to think out a course coolly, I 
 have an unfortunate knack of seeing all the dangers 
 and obstacles through a kind of mental magnifying 
 glass ; and I saw so many now, and they all appeared 
 so great that I could only regard our chances as little 
 short of hopeless. 
 
 Then added to everything was this infernal Nihilist 
 complication. Not only would it afford Kalkov a 
 lever of tremendous power against Helga, but it 
 threatened to dog our every movement with perilous 
 personal risk. 
 
 It was in this respect that Vastic's death was so 
 threatening. The instant I told Kalkov of it he would 
 be in possession of the fact that Helga was implicated 
 with the brotherhood. He would recognize in a mo- 
 ment the importance to him of denouncing his accuser 
 as a Nihilist of the Nihilists, and would find or invent 
 a thousand proofs in support of the charge; and her 
 whole case would be instantly tainted and ruined. 
 
 The one thin slender chance of averting this catas- 
 trophe was to hide the fact that Helga Boreski the 
 Nihilist and Helga the daughter of Prince Lavalski, 
 the Emperor's former friend, were identical ; but even 
 this forlorn hope would be cut off when the Duchess 
 Stephanie got to the Emperor and told her story. 
 Boreski himself knew all about it, and in all prob- 
 ability had told his wife. 
 
 Still, whatever we might attempt, there were big 
 risks, and we must be content to take them and deal 
 with them as they threatened us. The first consid- 
 eration was to get at the Emperor before the Duchess 
 and strike the first blow. 
 
 A glance at Helga's face when she came down told 
 me she had not slept. She was very pale. I told her 
 where we were going, and added
 
 AT THE GATES Ol' THE PALACE 163 
 
 " You have not taken my advice and got some 
 sleep." 
 
 " I wish to speak to you earnestly a moment. I 
 have been thinking. You must not do this thing 
 for me." 
 
 " I will give it up on one condition only one." 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 " That you give it up also, and, instead of going back 
 to Petersburg, you cross the frontier with me ! " 
 
 ''' That you know is impossible ; " and her face 
 clouded. 
 
 " Come, then ; and don't keep the carriage waiting." 
 
 " But if you are to run this risk, it will be so much 
 harder for me. I cannot bear it." 
 
 " So long as you remain on this side of the frontier 
 I remain too ; so that you '11 have to bear it, I 'm 
 afraid ; " and I took her out to the carriage in which 
 Madame Korvata was already shivering in the nip- 
 ping morning air. That good lady was not in a pleas- 
 ant temper, moreover, at having been dragged from 
 her bed at such an early hour ; and as she did not 
 know all that had occurred, and was not fully in our 
 confidence, Helga and I could not speak much during 
 the long drive. 
 
 Helga lay back in her seat most of the time wrapped 
 in thought, and I on my side was equally absorbed; 
 but once, when Madame Korvata had fallen asleep, 
 we exchanged a few words. 
 
 " I am going straight to the Palace," I told her ; 
 " and shall do my utmost to get to the Emperor at 
 once. If I am successful I shall send immediately 
 for you." 
 
 " You will not succeed. Prince Kalkov will not 
 let you," she replied. 
 
 " I hope to evade him altogether." 
 
 " He is a vigilant watchdog, and all those about the 
 Palace are at his beck and in his service." 
 
 " Then I shall try to hoodwink him. I know I can 
 get to His Majesty. What you have to do is to be
 
 164 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 prepared with all the proof of Kalkov's infamy all 
 particulars, so as to hit right home at once, and as 
 hard as possible." 
 
 " Do not be afraid that I shall fail at such a mo- 
 ment if it ever comes." 
 
 " It will come. It shall," I said firmly. " But there 
 is another thing. If we get our chance and yet fail 
 what then ? " 
 
 She looked at me and paused before replying. 
 
 " If I could answer your question as you wish, I 
 would. But I shall never give in. Nothing will ever 
 satisfy me but victory." 
 
 " All the greater reason, then, for me to do my 
 utmost now," I answered; but she saw I was dis- 
 appointed at her reply. 
 
 " No. It is the greater reason for you to abandon 
 the attempt and leave me to fight on in my own 
 way." 
 
 " That is not how we Americans fight." 
 
 " But in America you know nothing of the condi- 
 tions of such a trouble as this. You do not yet know 
 the risks you run. If we attack Prince Kalkov and 
 fail, do you think he will not know how to wreak his 
 revenge upon us upon all concerned ? Ah, mon- 
 sieur, what can a Republican know of the ways of 
 Russia?" 
 
 " I 'm beginning to get an insight, at least," I said 
 lightly. 
 
 " You fight with your votes over there, and risk 
 perhaps some of your money; but here the stakes 
 are human life and liberty. God help us." 
 
 She spoke so vehemently that Madame Korvata 
 awoke, and our conversation ended. 
 
 When we neared the city I told Helga I should not 
 drive with her to her destination, and asked her to tell 
 me exactly the location of the house. 
 
 " Every one knows the Square of San Sophia 
 close to the cathedral. The house is called the Re- 
 treat, and was formerly a mission house. A small 
 red-brick building in the north-east corner."
 
 AT THE GATES OF THE PALACE 165 
 
 I took out a scrap of paper and scribbled the words 
 " Retreat, Square of San Sophia, N.E. corner." 
 
 " You are not writing it down. It is dangerous to 
 write addresses, my friend," said Helga cautiously as 
 I put it in my pocket. 
 
 It was a very small thing, but it startled me. I 
 seemed to feel, as it were, the first chill of the atmos- 
 phere of intrigue which the simple caution suggested. 
 
 " It is in English, and no eyes but my own will ever 
 see it," I said. 
 
 " Yet it is dangerous," she repeated. " You are not 
 in America." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right. I '11 tear it up ; " and I 
 took out what I thought was the paper, tore it up, and 
 was flinging the pieces out of the carriage when Helga 
 again stopped me, and smiled. 
 
 " Not all in one place. You have not been reared 
 in this school, my friend. It is safer to burn papers 
 which tell tales." " 
 
 " The pieces with the writing on are gone already," 
 I said, glancing at those still in my fingers. " See, 
 these are blanks." 
 
 " It may not matter, but caution can never be 
 exaggerated." 
 
 I tossed the remaining fragments away, and tried 
 to regard the incident as neither important in itself 
 nor significant of anything serious. But Helga's evi- 
 dently sincere earnestness affected me ; and the bother- 
 some trifle was in my thoughts when I left the carriage 
 soon afterwards, and she renewed her injunctions to 
 me to be cautious. 
 
 " Do not deceive yourself," she said very earnestly 
 as we parted. " I know you will do your best for 
 me; I believe it with all my heart. But you do not 
 understand these things and we may never meet 
 again." 
 
 " If I get into a mess I will contrive to let you hear 
 of it." 
 
 " Not in Russia, M. Denver. I shall wait, how
 
 166 
 
 anxiously I cannot tell you, for news of you. And 
 if I get none, I shall not misunderstand. I repeat 
 we may never meet again." 
 
 " If you do not hear from me to-day, or at latest 
 to-morrow, you will know there is a check some- 
 where, and you must fly." 
 
 " I shall be quite safe in the Retreat." 
 
 " You can safely communicate with me at the 
 American Embassy. Remember that." 
 
 " I shall not forget, and need not write it down," 
 she answered with one of her smiles. " And do you 
 yourself remember caution, such as you have never 
 had to use. Good-bye. May God prosper us and our 
 cause." 
 
 " And our love, Helga," I added in the lowest of 
 whispers. A pressure of her fingers and a .glance from 
 her eyes answered me. 
 
 The carriage drove off rapidly, and left me to set 
 about a task, which in its way was perhaps as difficult 
 as any that ever plagued the wits of a sorely perplexed 
 man. 
 
 It was still early in the morning, and I had to walk 
 some distance before I could secure a drosky. The 
 driver, when I told him to take me to the Palace, ap- 
 peared to think I was either some overnight reveller 
 who had not shaken off the effects of the drink, or 
 else a lunatic; for he laughed and swore good-lm- 
 mouredly, and then flatly refused to do as I bade him. 
 
 While we were wrangling, I saw some police ap- 
 proaching, and, having no mind to be interviewed by 
 them. I ended the dispute by giving him a double fare 
 and telling him to drive to a point near the Palace. 
 
 As we rumbled along innumerable difficulties sug- 
 gested themselves as obstacles to my gaining admis- 
 sion to the Palace at all at such an hour ; and the all 
 but hopelessness of doing so without Prince Kalkov 
 getting to hear of it was too patent to be denied. 
 
 The attempt had to be made, however; and as im- 
 pudence and a show of authority go for much in
 
 AT THE GATES OF THE PALACE 167 
 
 Russia as elsewhere, I put as bold a face on things 
 as possible. When I left the carriage I wrapped my 
 military cloak about me, and strutting with as much 
 of an officer's swagger as I could assume, I marched 
 past the first sentry without a question. 
 
 I returned his salute in an off-hand way and walked 
 on to the great building. Just as I thought my bluff 
 would succeed, however, I was stopped by an official. 
 
 " Your pardon, monsieur," he said, " but no one is 
 permitted to enter." 
 
 " I suppose I may go to my own rooms," I replied 
 in French, with a smile. 
 
 " Of course, but this is the Palace, monsieur." 
 
 " And my rooms are in it. I am a guest of His 
 Majesty." 
 
 " A thousand pardons for this interruption, but we 
 have very strict orders, and have had no notification 
 of your visit. Will you be so good as to come to my 
 bureau ? " 
 
 " I 'd rather go to my rooms ; but if this is the way 
 that His Majesty's guests are usually treated, by all 
 means lead the way." 
 
 He bowed very ceremoniously and took me to his 
 office. Here he repeated his apologies and asked me 
 my name. 
 
 " There will doubtless be some directions here," he 
 added, taking a book from his desk. 
 
 I did n't want to give my name if it could be helped ; 
 and I hesitated. 
 
 He noticed the hesitation and frowned. 
 
 " My name is Harper C. Denver. I am an Ameri- 
 can. I arrived here three days ago. You will prob- 
 ably recognize this ring of His Majesty's as a 
 guarantee of my position." 
 
 But there are always two views as to the posses- 
 sion of a Royal jewel; and this blockhead took the 
 wrong one. I might have known he would; and I 
 could almost read in his eyes that he suspected me of 
 having obtained it by some wrongful means.
 
 168 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 He pretended to search in his book for some men- 
 tion of my name, while all the time he was asking him- 
 self how I could have got hold of one of His Imperial 
 Master's rings. 
 
 " I regret exceedingly that I find no reference here 
 to you," he said, his manner still excessively polite. 
 " It is very awkward and very unfortunate. But I am 
 afraid I cannot permit you to enter the Palace with- 
 out further instructions, that is. No doubt, however, 
 you can suggest some one to whom I can send ? " 
 
 He said this with the air of a man who feels he has 
 got you. 
 
 " You can send to His Majesty," said I quietly. 
 " That will be the simplest way." 
 
 He looked at me steadily, and his manner changed. 
 
 " You wish to see His Majesty, then, at once? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " What I wish is to go to my rooms first, and see 
 His Majesty afterwards. Nothing unreasonable in 
 that, is there ? " 
 
 " Unreasonable, no, monsieur, and yet, perhaps, un- 
 usual. But I will see what I can do. I will send and 
 make inquiries." 
 
 He had returned to his former polite deferential 
 air. 
 
 " So long as you are quick, I don't care what you 
 do," said I. 
 
 " This is very trying to me. I am deeply sorry. 
 But perhaps you are used to these needs for caution 
 in other countries ; " and he went on in this style until 
 a servant entered. 
 
 " Send Gravok to me," he said, and accompanied 
 the order with a significant nod. 
 
 I wondered what was coming; but was not long 
 left in doubt, for half a minute later a sergeant and 
 three soldiers entered, two of whom placed themselves 
 instantly one on each side of me. 
 
 " This is a mere formality, of course ; but you will 
 understand."
 
 AT THE GATES OF THE PALACE 169 
 
 I laughed then. 
 
 " You mean I am under arrest, I suppose." 
 
 " Yes, of course ; what else ? " he answered in curt 
 quick tones. " Are you armed ? " 
 
 " I have a revolver ; here it is," and I put my hand 
 to take it out. 
 
 " Stop him," said the official sharply ; and a soldier 
 caught my arm, while the sergeant plunged his hand 
 into the pocket I had indicated and drew out the 
 pistol. 
 
 The official smiled with dry significance as he ex- 
 amined it and said 
 
 " Ah, and loaded, I see. I expected it. Take him 
 to the guard-house."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII PRINCE KALKOVS 
 WELCOME 
 
 MY first inclination was to burst out laughing 
 at the egregious absurdity of the blunder, but 
 I restrained myself. Had I had no one but myself to 
 think for, I would have had my laugh, if the next 
 minute had seen me in the deepest dungeon in Peters- 
 burg. But I was carrying too many responsibilities. 
 
 There are certain classes of officials at whom it is 
 extremely dangerous to laugh. You meet them in 
 all countries ; but on the continent of Europe, they are 
 able to resent your merriment practically by clapping 
 you into gaol and perhaps keeping you there. It is 
 safer consequently to laugh at unofficial people. 
 
 There was one quick way for me out of the bother, 
 to refer the thing to Prince Kalkov and although I 
 was loth to take it, I saw immediately that I must 
 adopt that course or be marched off by the soldiers 
 who were only too ready to obey the command. 
 
 " You must not permit yourself to commit this mis- 
 take, monsieur," I said, quietly, " or you will incur 
 the serious displeasure of Prince Kalkov, as well as 
 of His Majesty. I do not wish to bring trouble upon 
 so courteous an official, and consequently urge you in 
 your own interest to communicate with the Prince 
 without delay." 
 
 Nowhere in the world does a big name properly 
 used carry more terror than in Russia's capital ; and 
 I put all the authority I could into my tone and 
 manner. 
 
 " What have you to do with His Highness ? " asked 
 the man, hesitating and yet suspicious, and motioning 
 to the soldiers to wait. 
 
 170
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S WELCOME 171 
 
 " It happens to be the case that I have told you the 
 truth about myself and you have disbelieved me. You 
 have sent for these gentlemen and ordered my arrest. 
 I will overlook that insult if you send a letter which 
 I will write to the Prince. And if you will not, I warn 
 you in all seriousness that I can and will obtain from 
 His Majesty your dismissal and disgrace." 
 
 "~I have done no more than my duty," he returned 
 sullenly. He was obviously unwilling to give way 
 before his inferiors, and yet secretly afraid to persist. 
 
 " On the contrary, monsieur, you are exceeding 
 your powers now. I have shown you how to obtain 
 instant confirmation of what I have told you from 
 the highest authority, and in the simplest manner. 
 Refuse, and take the consequences. I am like your- 
 self in one respect my patience has its limits." 
 
 " You had this upon you," he said in the same tone, 
 as he fingered my revolver. " And, as I said, it is 
 loaded." 
 
 I turned to the soldiers. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I am at your disposal. Take me to 
 the guard-house and send to me the officer of the 
 watch ; " and I moved toward the door. 
 
 The sergeant himself had no liking for the job now, 
 however, and hesitated ; and the official in a surly 
 tone gave in. 
 
 " You can write," he said, and laid paper and pen on 
 the desk. 
 
 " I will not write now," I said curtly, for I began 
 to see another ending to the affair. " I gave you the 
 opportunity and you declined it. I will go to the 
 guard-house. His Majesty and Prince Kalkov shall 
 find me there, and you can explain. Come, gentlemen, 
 if you please; or shall I go alone?" 
 
 That any one should exhibit a preference to be 
 arrested was so novel an experience for Russian offi- 
 cialism that they were all staggered. The official took 
 refuge in anger. 
 
 " Are you attempting a joke with me? " he cried.
 
 172 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I do not joke with persons in your position," I 
 retorted sternly. 
 
 " I have my duty," he replied, shrugging his 
 shoulders. 
 
 " If you deem it your duty to degrade Prince Kal- 
 kov's friend by imprisoning him, do it, monsieur 
 if you dare." 
 
 " It is an impossible position." 
 
 " You have created it, and must find the way out. 
 But every minute I am detained here will count against 
 you with the Emperor ; " and I pulled out my watch 
 as if to mark them off. He was sorely perplexed. 
 
 " I will consider the matter. Withdraw your men, 
 sergeant ; " and they filed out again, the sergeant mani- 
 festly relieved. " I will send to His Highness." 
 
 " You will do nothing of the sort, monsieur, now," 
 I said. I saw that he was now practically convinced 
 of my good faith, and I meant to gain my end in my 
 own way. 
 
 " You can enter the Palace, monsieur, but I must 
 retain this," and he held up my revolver. 
 
 " We Americans do not consent to be robbed even 
 in an Emperor's Palace," I retorted, bent on winning 
 with the honours of war. 
 
 " It will be returned to you, monsieur ; but I can- 
 not consent to allow you to pass with a weapon in 
 your possession. I dare not take the responsibility." 
 
 " There 's reason in that, perhaps," I agreed after a 
 pause. " You can keep it until I come to reclaim it." 
 
 He opened the door for me then, and murmured an 
 apology. 
 
 " I am sorry for what has occurred, but you will 
 understand the difficulty in which I found myself." 
 
 " If you do not mention it, monsieur, I shall not ; 
 but if you do I shall make the worst of it. In your 
 private ear I may tell you I have been away on urgent 
 business of the Prince's, and he wishes neither my 
 departure nor my return to attract notice. I need say 
 no more to so zealous a servant of His Highness ; "
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S WELCOME 173 
 
 and I gave him a look which I hoped would secure 
 his silence. 
 
 I was passing out when a thought occurred to me. 
 
 " It will perhaps complete your satisfaction if you 
 accompany me to my suite of rooms." 
 
 He was more than pleased; and so was I, for by 
 this means I secured myself from all further inter- 
 ruption at the hands of the numerous members of the 
 household whom we met on the way. 
 
 I had some difficulty in finding my rooms, but suc- 
 ceeded at length, and taking my companion in with 
 me, was soon able to convince him thoroughly of his 
 mistake. He overwhelmed me with profuse apolo- 
 gies, returned my revolver, begged me to overlook 
 his action, and what was much more important, 
 assured me I could depend upon his silence as to my 
 return. 
 
 It is always an intense satisfaction to turn a check 
 into an advantage, and I was disposed to plume my- 
 self upon my adroitness and to regard the incident 
 as of good omen for the start of things. 
 
 I dressed myself in my own clothes once more, and 
 then had to consider how best to reach the Emperor. 
 I was, moreover, desperately hungry, and how to get a 
 breakfast puzzled me. 
 
 It is so often the little fiddling trivialities which 
 cause so much embarrassment. The servant who had 
 waited upon me before had been Kalkov's confidential 
 man, Pierre, and I was naturally unwilling that he 
 should know of my return, as he would instantly in- 
 form his master. 
 
 Some breakfast I must have, however, and to get 
 it I must of course ring the bell and take my chance. 
 The luck was with me this time. The man who came 
 was a stranger. 
 
 " I will have my breakfast served in my room this 
 morning," I said in an off-hand tone, as if I had lived 
 in the Palace half my life. He was too well trained 
 to express any surprise even if he felt any; and in a
 
 174 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 few minutes he returned with a breakfast and stayed 
 to wait upon me. 
 
 I ate the meal in silence, and then lighting a cigar 
 I said in a casual way 
 
 " You have not waited upon me before, I think. I 
 don't recall your face." 
 
 " I have been absent from the Palace, monsieur." 
 
 " Ah, that explains it." 
 
 " I returned the day before yesterday, monsieur," 
 he said with a quick glance and in a significant tone 
 which showed his thoughts. 
 
 " I see, that was while I was away. Is His Majesty 
 recovered from his indisposition ? " 
 
 " By the blessing of Providence, completely, mon- 
 sieur," he replied earnestly. " But it was not serious, 
 happily." 
 
 " That is good news," I said ; but it struck me as 
 singular that his recovery should be complete before 
 my return. It seemed to lend some kind of confirma- 
 tion to my former suspicion that Kalkov had played 
 me false in regard to the Emperor. 
 
 " By the way, you will be waiting upon me for the 
 future, I suppose ? " I said after a pause. 
 
 " Yes, monsieur." 
 
 " I am glad of that," and I gave him a couple of 
 gold pieces as a material proof of my pleasure. " I 
 wish to have an audience of His Majesty this morn- 
 ing. Can you get my request to him? I will write 
 it. It is important." 
 
 " There will be no difficulty, monsieur." 
 
 I wrote a note urging His Majesty to grant me an 
 immediate interview and handed it to the man. 
 
 " You know who I am, of course," I said, with a 
 smile. 
 
 " His Highness Prince Kalkov's man, Pierre, told 
 me that the suite was reserved for M. Denver, an 
 American gentleman. But he described you differ- 
 ently, monsieur." 
 
 " Oh, you mean my beard. Yes, I had to shave it
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S WELCOME 175 
 
 off. Well, get my letter to His Majesty as soon as 
 you can." 
 
 All was going so easily that when he had taken 
 away the letter I indulged in a little pardonable jubi- 
 lation, as I ran hastily over the heads of what I had 
 to say to the Emperor. 
 
 It- had not been so difficult, after all, to break 
 through the cordon with which the Prince surrounded 
 the Emperor; and my direct American methods had 
 done well. 
 
 If I could only succeed half as well with His 
 Majesty, Helga and I and then my thoughts 
 branched off to her, and all other considerations 
 slipped out of my mind. 
 
 She was worth winning indeed, let the fight be as 
 stiff as it might. Victory now meant a life full of 
 radiant happiness with her a veritable queen among 
 women. Let the price be what it might, it was worth 
 paying to see the light of loving gratitude which would 
 spring to her lovely face when I should claim her for 
 my own and take her in my arms and tell her that my 
 ways had conquered when hers had failed, and 
 
 I had reached somewhere about that point when 
 my rhapsodical reverie was interrupted by a knock 
 and the servant entered. I sprang to my feet eagerly. 
 
 " His Highness Prince Kalkov to see you, mon- 
 sieur," he said, and in came the Prince, hands ex- 
 tended and face beaming, as if in genuine hearty 
 welcome. 
 
 " My dear M. Denver, I cannot say how glad I am 
 to see you back again," and he seized my hands and 
 shook them warmly. " I have been really anxious, 
 painfully anxious, about you." 
 
 For the life of me I could not for the moment shake 
 myself free from the chagrin and disappointment 
 caused by his arrival and play up to the part of ap- 
 pearing glad to see him. 
 
 " I am very glad to get back, Prince, I can assure 
 you," I said, with a sort of tongue-tying hesitation,
 
 176 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 as his sharp eyes were playing about my face like the 
 blade of a skilful fencer round a novice. 
 
 " I thank my God you are alive and well, and have 
 suffered no more hurt than the loss of your beard. 
 How it has changed you ! " and as he looked at me 
 his grim wily old features relaxed into a smile. 
 
 " Yes, I had to shave," I said. 
 
 " You are the Emperor no longer, monsieur. No 
 one will make that mistake again." 
 
 " Thank God for that. I don't care for the part 
 at all." 
 
 " That means you have had an exciting time," he 
 answered. " There are two emotions which I make 
 a rule to deny myself rigidly, monsieur, and you 
 have made me break the rule. They are enthusiasm 
 and impatience. Now I am enthusiastic when I think 
 of your act ; and impatient to hear your account 
 of it." 
 
 But I was very far from impatient to give it him, 
 and was indeed cudgelling my wits how to colour it. 
 
 " In the first place I have a pretty heavy item against 
 you, Prince," I said. 
 
 " For having let you embark in the thing, you 
 mean. My dear M. Denver, I give you my solemn 
 assurance I had no idea there would be anything like 
 this result." 
 
 " I don't mean that. I mean the breach of the 
 agreement between us that Boreski's carriage should 
 not be followed." 
 
 " Ah, that ! " and he threw up his hands. *' Yes, 
 that was bad. It failed ; but those responsible for 
 the failure have paid the penalty. They should have 
 known that Boreski might bring one of those cursed 
 motor-cars and thus be able to distance pursuit. I 
 was served by short-sighted fools and fools of that 
 kind I do not keep in my employment. When I heard 
 of it I was maddened." 
 
 I let him run on in this way in the effort to draw 
 me on to a side issue, for my object now was to gain
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S WELCOME 177 
 
 time in the hope that the summons to the Emperor 
 would come to interrupt the interview. 
 
 " I don't refer to the failure, I mean the attempt. 
 You promised that no attempt should be made." 
 
 " My dear M. Denver, I give you my word that the 
 thing was necessary. I should have done precisely 
 the same had you been in truth the Emperor himself. 
 Of course, you know, monsieur, that there are times 
 when the commands even of kings have to be secretly 
 disregarded." 
 
 He gave the last sentence with a kind of semi- 
 confidential air. 
 
 " I don't know anything of the etiquette which 
 surrounds kings, but I do know, Prince, had I not 
 trusted your word I should not have gone," I replied 
 with the severe manner of a man with a genuine 
 grievance. 
 
 " I am deeply sorry, monsieur, profoundly sorry ; 
 but, as I say, I only treated you as I should my 
 august master. And what effect, then, had it? It 
 must have been serious, of course. I can tell that by 
 the stress you lay upon it." 
 
 " It was a breach of faith with Boreski." 
 
 He waved his hand carelessly and smiled to show 
 his indifference to that. 
 
 " He was clever enough to elude the pursuit, and 
 had evidently come prepared for the trial of wits." 
 
 " It made him suspicious, of course ; and jaundiced 
 his view of the documents I had to lay before him." 
 
 " I am afraid you have failed with him, then. You 
 did not get the papers ? " 
 
 " No, I did not." I spoke reluctantly, angry at the 
 adroit manner in which he had got at the pith of the 
 thing so quickly. 
 
 " That is very disappointing," he said. " Yes, very 
 disappointing. But I am sure it is no fault of yours." 
 
 He appeared to be quite earnest in expressing his 
 disappointment at the failure; but his manner of re- 
 ferring to the papers was in such contrast to his former
 
 178 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 reference to them that I could not fail to be struck by 
 it. I jumped to the conclusion consequently that he 
 knew of the interview between the Emperor and the 
 Duchess Stephanie and thought they were still to be 
 recovered through her. 
 
 " No ; it was no fault of mine," I replied. 
 
 " I am under a deep obligation to you, M. Denver, 
 for having made the attempt an obligation which 
 will find expression in a way that I think you will 
 appreciate. I mean in regard to your projected jour- 
 ney. Everything that the Government can do to help 
 that shall be done. I give you my word." 
 
 " That is very good of you." 
 
 He looked at me very shrewdly as I spoke. 
 
 " You have not abandoned the idea, have you ? I 
 know that many of your countrymen act on impulse," 
 he said with a smile. 
 
 " Abandoned it ? Oh no. Why should I ? " 
 
 " Well, I did not know whether anything in your 
 present experiences might incline you to think our coun- 
 try not as as safe for travellers as some others." 
 
 That there was something underneath his words 
 and his calm smiling suavity was as clear as an ant 
 in amber. 
 
 " One has to take risks, of course," I replied 
 indifferently. 
 
 " What I mean is that if you would rather turn 
 back, you would of course have our protection to the 
 frontier. If, for instance, you thought you would 
 rather approach our Asiatic dependencies from the 
 other end?" 
 
 " I have seen nothing of the capital itself yet, 
 Prince." 
 
 " True, comparatively nothing ; but this is a bad 
 season of the year for Petersburg." 
 
 " You have some meaning behind that," I said 
 pointedly. 
 
 "How could I, M. Denver? You have told me 
 nothing yet of your experiences."
 
 PRINCE KALKOV'S WELCOME 179 
 
 He was blandness itself, with just the necessary 
 shred of reproachful reminder of my omission. 
 
 " I am waiting to see the Emperor. I have asked 
 him for an audience this morning; and as my story 
 to you will take rather long in the telling, it would 
 be better to postpone it." 
 
 " His Majesty will be charmed, I am sure. Did you 
 hear of the ruse de guerre about his indisposition ? " 
 and he smiled again. 
 
 I was getting to be rather afraid of these smiles 
 of his. 
 
 " Yes, a paper was shown me." 
 
 " I hoped it would be. I hoped it would be. It 
 was a rather ingenious bit of colour. But His Majesty 
 had to recover yesterday." 
 
 " Before I returned," I put in drily. 
 
 " He had to go to Moscow to meet the Crown 
 Prince, you see." 
 
 " Do you mean His Majesty is in Moscow ? " I 
 cried. 
 
 " Did you not know it ? The servant should have 
 told you this morning. These men are really addle- 
 pated fools," he cried with an excellent indignation, 
 as his sharp glittering eyes fixed on me. He was 
 enjoying my momentary confusion, I am sure. 
 
 " No, I did not know it," I answered, with difficulty 
 smothering an oath. 
 
 " He was overwhelmed with regret that you had 
 not returned before he went the more so as he 
 knew you would have left Petersburg before his re- 
 turn." He continued to enjoy my discomfiture, for 
 a moment, and then added lightly : " But at any rate 
 there is one compensation for me. It will give ample 
 time for me to hear your story, for which, as I told 
 you, I am really impatient. Will you tell it here, or 
 would you like to come to my apartments ? " 
 
 " It does n't matter, one place is as good as another," 
 I answered, in any but an amiable tone. 
 
 I was no match for him at this game of fence
 
 180 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 Already he had contrived to fill me with a kind of 
 fearsome speculation as to how much he had managed 
 to hear of my doings and concerning Helga. There 
 was suggestiveness in every word he uttered, and every 
 look and gesture he made. 
 
 " Why did the Emperor think I should not be in 
 Petersburg on his return ? " I asked after a pause. 
 " You are perplexing me, Prince." 
 
 " I told him so, my dear M. Denver," he replied, 
 as if frankly. 
 
 "Why?"" 
 
 He spread out his hands and smiled. 
 
 " May we not find a reason in your interesting 
 narration? I have really never known myself to feel 
 so much impatience for anything of the kind before. 
 I entreat of you not to keep me in suspense." 
 
 And he threw himself back in his chair and folded 
 his hands in the attitude of an interested listener and 
 looked to me to begin.
 
 CHAPTER XIX TURNING THE SCREW 
 
 BEFORE I complied with Prince Kalkov's request 
 I took out a fresh cigar and spent some time 
 over lighting it. 
 
 " You have quite a stage instinct, monsieur, in 
 pausing thus at the critical moment. If I did not 
 know you, I might be tempted to think you were 
 arranging the duly dramatic unfolding of the tale, 
 or perhaps," he added lightly, " considering what part 
 of it you need not tell." 
 
 " It is after all only the story of a failure, Prince, 
 and naturally one does not care to dwell too long 
 upon it. I went to Boreski, as you know, led him 
 to believe that I was the Emperor, laid before him 
 the papers as we arranged, and he took the objection 
 I had anticipated that he must have the money in 
 cash instead of a draft." 
 
 " You told him the reason that the money was 
 a dowry ? " 
 
 " Of course, and he immediately checkmated me by 
 saying he was already married to the Duchess and 
 that the consent to the marriage must be dated back." 
 
 " He is a daring fellow. It was a tight corner. 
 What did you say?" 
 
 " I could n't alter the date, of course, for the reason 
 that I could not write in the same hand, so I put up 
 what we Americans term a bluff," and I described 
 to him what had passed, withholding, of course, all 
 mention of Helga and her part in it. 
 
 " It was very clever, M. Denver. And why did 
 you not come away ? " 
 
 181
 
 182 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " If I had come the papers would have been placed 
 in the hands of the Powers' representatives at once. 
 I stayed, therefore, in the hope of finding the means 
 to avert such a catastrophe." 
 
 " That was almost reckless, but under the circum- 
 stances no more than I should have expected." He 
 was a fiend at the game of implied suggestion, and 
 again I was convinced he had secret information of 
 some kind. " But in the end you found you could 
 do nothing ? " he continued. " They made you a 
 prisoner." 
 
 Why did he use that plural? What "they" had 
 he in his mind? 
 
 " A prisoner in effect, because, if I left, Boreski 
 meant to use the papers at once. But I could have 
 left at any moment." 
 
 He smiled and nodded. 
 
 " Ingenious, highly ingenious. And then ? " 
 
 " Then there was nearly the devil to pay. By some 
 means or other the Nihilist brotherhood got wind 
 of the fact that I was at Boreski's 
 
 " At Boreski's?" he shot in, as if in surprise. 
 
 " Presumably it was Boreski's house, and a hurried 
 flight followed with the object of saving me from 
 them, but it was ineffectual. They found me, and 
 an attempt was made upon my life by a man named 
 Vastic, and I only averted it by shooting him." 
 
 " What infernal villainy ! It shows, of course, that 
 Boreski is in league with this brotherhood. And 
 where was this ? " 
 
 " I can find my way to the place, I think." 
 
 " It would be at Brabinsk, of course." 
 
 How the devil did he know that? 
 
 " It was a very close shave, I assure you," I said, 
 trying to conceal my surprise. " It was Brabinsk ; 
 I remember to have heard the name. How did you 
 know it?" 
 
 " Through my agents. As a matter of fact, an 
 anonymous communication has been laid in the matter
 
 TURNING THE SCREW 183 
 
 to the effect that murder was done there last night 
 the murder of this man, Vastic." 
 
 I felt my nerves chill at this, with sudden dread 
 for Helga. He noticed the change instantly. Nothing 
 seemed to escape those piercing eyes of his. 
 
 " The facts are as I have told you. His revolver 
 was at my head when I got the drop on him and 
 fired, it was his life or mine." 
 
 " Exactly. I don't think you need bother your 
 head about the matter. My men are out there by 
 this time, and we know how to deal with such cases. 
 Vastic was one of the few really dangerous men in 
 this brotherhood, and by killing him you have added 
 to our obligation. We shall try to avoid any fuss. 
 By the way, were there any witnesses ? " 
 
 He was the devil with these quietly-put, probing, 
 torturing questions. 
 
 " What was the account they gave of it ? A second 
 man was joined in the attempt and witnessed it." 
 
 He saw the obvious parry. 
 
 " Naturally nothing was said of that," he answered 
 with a laugh. " I mean, was Boreski present ? You 
 see, it would be most valuable to be able to connect 
 him with it, and his presence would be enough." 
 
 " No, Boreski was not in the house," I answered, 
 cursing him in my thoughts for torture he inflicted. 
 
 " Then why did you stay there ? " 
 
 " I have told you because of the threat to use 
 the papers." 
 
 " Oh, yes, of course. It is a pity. I should like 
 to have had that link in the chain against him." He 
 frowned as if genuinely concerned, and added after 
 a pause, " Of course, you will see the desirability 
 the necessity, in fact of telling everything, every- 
 thing in the fullest sense, I mean, in such a case?" 
 
 " Do you think I have not ? " I retorted sharply. 
 
 "Where are the papers now?" he asked, putting 
 my implied repudiation on one side. 
 
 " I should think we had better ask M. Boreski," I
 
 184 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 answered, attempting a light tone and forcing a smile. 
 But it was an effort. I recognized that, and recognized 
 too that I was afraid of him. Not for myself, he could 
 not harm me; but terribly afraid for Helga. 
 
 " I should have thought that, too," he answered, 
 copying my light tone. " But it 's just there I am 
 puzzled. You see, Boreski says he does n't know 
 either." He spoke for all the world as though we 
 were just talking over the thing in full mutual 
 confidence. 
 
 " It 's scarcely likely, is it, that he would tell 
 everything? " 
 
 " No, no, of course not. But he declares, or at 
 least the Duchess Stephanie does, and it 's the same 
 thing, that he hasn't them." Then he started as if 
 an idea had occurred to him. " By the way, you 
 have n't said anything about this mysterious lady, 
 Mademoiselle Helga Boreski ? Did n't you think it 
 worth while, or did n't you see her ? " 
 
 His eyes were on my face, and he saw the wince I 
 gave at the sudden thrust. He had known about 
 her all the time. 
 
 " I did n't wish to bring her name into the affair." 
 
 " Ah, monsieur, that was a mistake. May I ask 
 the motive ? " 
 
 " Certainly. She is the lady whom I hope to make 
 my wife." It was my turn to surprise him now, 
 and a long pause followed, while he sat smoking and 
 thinking over the new turn. 
 
 " Well, M. Denver, I am genuinely sorry for you ; 
 sorry that I ever sent you on this business. You 
 cannot save this lady, and it would of course be idle 
 for me to pretend that I do not see how your feeling 
 for her has actuated you. She is a Nihilist ; she 
 has had chief part in this plot ; she holds these papers ; 
 she was present when the attempt was made on your 
 life and probably instigated it " 
 
 " No, she did not," I interposed angrily. " At that 
 time she knew quite well I was not the Emperor."
 
 TURNING THE SCREW 185 
 
 " So you told them that ? " he returned in his quiet 
 suggestive manner. 
 
 " I did my utmost to obtain the papers," I protested. 
 
 " We are getting at cross purposes, monsieur," he 
 answered with dryness. " I will not question you about 
 her. Probably you know who she is and what her 
 motive is in the strange course she is taking. I do 
 not yet ; I am speaking frankly more frankly than 
 you dealt with me but I have now certain informa- 
 tion, and shall soon have more. But already I know 
 enough to warrant me in ordering her arrest." 
 
 " You have seen the Duchess Stephanie this 
 morning? " 
 
 " Yes, and shall see her again and others. You 
 must face the facts, monsieur; and the facts are that 
 this Mademoiselle Helga will not be long at liberty, 
 and that any thought of marriage between you is 
 absolutely out of the question. She will go to the 
 mines." 
 
 " On the contrary, your Highness, she will be my 
 wife," I said firmly. Now that the mischief was out, 
 and I was no longer clogged by the need to hide 
 things, my embarrassment was at an end, and I re- 
 covered my self-possession. There was a prospect of 
 a fight too, and my spirits rose to it. 
 
 " We shall see, monsieur. I am, as I say, deeply 
 sorry for you ; but, believe me, you will not improve 
 your case if you attempt to espouse this reckless young 
 woman's cause and fight our Government for her 
 sake." 
 
 "Fight you, you mean, Prince?" 
 
 " As a member of that Government, yes : in a 
 way it is fighting me." 
 
 " You forget the Emperor is my friend." 
 
 " But not the friend of desperate young women 
 Nihilists, monsieur," he answered with calculated 
 deliberateness. " You must give her up." 
 
 11 That I will never do." 
 
 " Then the consequences will be disastrous. But
 
 186 
 
 now," and he waved his hand as if putting that matter 
 aside, " there is another matter. Your killing of this 
 man, Vastic, has made you many enemies. Your 
 name is known to them as well as your appearance, 
 and your life may be in danger at their hands. You 
 were mentioned by name in the charge which reached 
 us. We shall of course protect you." 
 
 " I can protect myself, thank you," I interposed. 
 
 " We can run no risks of any trouble with the Amer- 
 ican Embassy on your account, and we must there- 
 fore charge ourselves with the task of protecting you. 
 What I propose to you, therefore, is, as I said at first, 
 that you either return to the frontier, or that you start 
 on your journey to Khiva under strong escort, and 
 that you adopt one of those courses forthwith." 
 
 " I thank your Highness, but I shall not go. I 
 shall not leave Petersburg, at any rate until I have 
 seen the Emperor." 
 
 He rose then and tossed away his cigar. 
 
 " I hold you for a man of decision, monsieur, but 
 in this case I will give you an opportunity of re- 
 considering this one. I will see you again in an 
 hour." 
 
 " You will not find me here. I shall go to an hotel." 
 
 " For that hour at least it will not be convenient 
 to us for you to take such a step." 
 
 " Does your Highness make me a prisoner ? " I 
 demanded indignantly. 
 
 " I will see you again in an hour, monsieur," he 
 replied, and with that left the room, without heeding 
 my angry retort. 
 
 As soon as he had gone the servant entered and 
 asked my permission to attend to the rooms. I gave 
 it to him, and throwing such things as lay to hand 
 into a grip I went to the door. 
 
 " I shall not be back," I said to him, and he turned 
 and looked at me curiously. 
 
 " Very well, monsieur," he answered. " But I be- 
 lieve His Highness wishes to see you here."
 
 TURNING THE SCREW 187 
 
 I flung the door open, for my temper was up, and 
 then found I was indeed a prisoner. Three men were 
 posted there on guard. 
 
 Affecting to believe their presence had nothing to 
 do with me, I made as if to brush by them. 
 
 " Your pardon, monsieur," said the man in com- 
 mand, " but my orders are to desire you to be so 
 good as to await His Highness's return." 
 
 " I have told the Prince 1 will see him another time,' r 
 I returned. 
 
 " Deepest regrets, monsieur ; but my orders were 
 very precise ; " and as it was quite evident that he 
 was prepared to prevent my departure by force if 
 necessary, I gave in, went back into the room and 
 slammed the door. Just one of those childish acts 
 a man commits in a rage. 
 
 But the situation was far too grave for my vexa- 
 tion over the mere personal indignity to last long. 
 The thing had to be considered as an indication of 
 the length to which the Prince was ready to go 
 in the absence of the Emperor. He would stick at 
 nothing; and the treachery which had destroyed 
 Helga's father years ago was still a practical policy 
 with him. 
 
 The question was what he could do to me and 
 whether he would attempt to keep me from seeing 
 the Emperor. It was clear that his suspicions had" 
 fastened upon Helga. He had had his own reasons 
 for asking so pointedly about her real motives. 
 
 " You probably know who she is ; I do not yet," 
 he had said ; but he had a connecting link almost 
 in his hands in the person of Boreski. Moreover he 
 had accepted my news as meaning that I should 
 associate myself with her. If then he guessed that 
 she was so dangerous to him as the daughter of the 
 dead Lavalski would be, I could not doubt he would 
 strain every nerve, not only to secure her and put 
 her away as a Nihilist, but also to keep me as her 
 champion from getting to the Emperor's ear.
 
 188 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 But what should I do? That was the question. 
 Drive me out of Russia he should not; that I was 
 resolved ; but shut up in my room in the Palace I 
 was as powerless as if I had been in New York. He 
 could set his dogs to hunt down Helga and have her 
 half way to Siberia before I might get a chance to 
 escape; and the thought was almost maddening in 
 my then state of mind. 
 
 Presently it occurred to me to try and meet craft 
 with craft, to pretend to accept his offer of a safe 
 conduct to the frontier and then return. To get out 
 of the Palace by way of the frontier was a long route, 
 but it was better than remaining where I was, and 
 things being as they were it appeared the only course 
 for me to adopt. 
 
 It was nearly three hours, instead of only one, 
 before he returned, and when he came I saw that 
 he had fresh news. I could read him sufficiently 
 well by this time to see that. 
 
 " I regret the delay, M. Denver, but it has been 
 unavoidable," he said in suave apology. " Have you 
 considered your decision ? " 
 
 " I protest in the strongest manner, Prince Kalkov, 
 against my forcible detention here. I demand, as 
 a citizen of the United States, to have an opportunity 
 of communicating with our Embassy here." 
 
 " That course is open to you naturally, and if you 
 press it I cannot and shall not oppose it. You may 
 indeed find it necessary in your own defence." 
 
 " Then I am free to go to them ? " 
 
 " Not exactly that, but you will have the usual 
 opportunities," he answered with one of his infernal 
 implied threats. 
 
 " What do you mean by usual opportunities ? " 
 
 " Our legal procedure in regard to foreigners is 
 not perhaps very swift, but it is very just ; and if 
 you prefer an open investigation into this man Vastic's 
 death to the course I indicated before, I cannot of 
 course object. And as an American accused of murder
 
 TURNING THE SCREW 189 
 
 you would be fully entitled to all the help of the 
 American embassy." 
 
 " But you know the truth as to that," I cried. 
 
 " And personally have not a doubt that your act 
 was committed in self-defence. Still it was committed, 
 
 and ' He finished with a shrug of the shoulders 
 
 and a lifting of the hands. 
 
 " Do you mean that you accuse me of murder ? " 
 
 "I? God forbid I should do you such an injustice," 
 he said, as if in indignant repudiation of the idea. 
 " It is others who do it." 
 
 " You are the devil, Prince Kalkov," I cried 
 furiously. " This is just another of your infernal 
 schemes." 
 
 " Is that quite just to me, when I have offered you 
 a safe conduct across the frontier, or to anywhere 
 you please? It is you who place me in this awkward 
 situation." 
 
 " To hell with your hypocrisy," I exclaimed, losing 
 my head in my rage. " Speak out bluntly, and say 
 what you do mean that if I won't consent to leave 
 the country you will take this devil's way of getting 
 me into one of your cursed prisons while you carry 
 out your other plans." 
 
 " Really, M. Denver, this language to me is beyond 
 bounds even for a free-speaking citizen of the 
 United States. It is true we might not be able to 
 get the proceedings finished for some weeks ; I have 
 known it take months, indeed. There was the case 
 of " 
 
 " The devil take your cases. Do your worst, and 
 we '11 fight it out on those lines ; " and I turned away 
 and flung myself into a chair. 
 
 But he was my match at that tactic also. He sat 
 down, drew a small table to his side, took out some 
 papers and studied them with slow methodical de- 
 liberation. He calculated that my temper would not 
 last, and that I should then see the utter futility of 
 resisting him. And of course it proved so.
 
 190 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I '11 accept your terms and leave Russia," I said, 
 when the silence had lasted many minutes. 
 
 " Pardon me," he said, as if he was buried in some 
 other matters. " Just one minute," and he went on 
 with his papers, and then folded them up neatly. 
 " Now I am at your service again. Let us talk it 
 over. Why do you treat me as an enemy ? " 
 
 " I would rather not discuss anything except my 
 departure." 
 
 " As you please, but the matter is not quite where 
 it was when we last spoke of it. I know a great deal 
 more than I did, and I am compelled to regard you 
 .as more dangerous than before. You are at liberty 
 to leave, but I shall have to ask you for a written 
 declaration on your word of honour as an American 
 gentleman that you will go straight to America, and 
 that you will make no effort to communicate, directly 
 or indirectly, with my August Master. Further, I 
 shall place at your disposal a courier, who will ac- 
 company you to the port you select I would suggest 
 Hamburg and attend on you until you reach New 
 York. This I do partly for your personal safety." 
 
 " And chiefly as a spy to see that I do go, you mean." 
 
 " He will of course report to me." 
 
 " And if I refuse ? " I asked, when I could force 
 myself to speak without anger. 
 
 " I hope you will not refuse, because if you are 
 still in Russia when the man Vastic's death is in- 
 vestigated and time in that matter presses, of course 
 it will be very difficult, I fear, to avoid your being 
 implicated." The perfect command he had over his 
 expression and tone aggravated me almost as much 
 as what he said. 
 
 " I will make a condition on my side that 
 Mademoiselle Helga Boreski be allowed to leave the 
 country at the same time." 
 ' " Mademoiselle Helga Lavalski, you mean ? " 
 
 I nearly broke my teeth as I clenched them at this. 
 
 ** I have said whom I mean."
 
 TURNING THE SCREW 191 
 
 " Well, there are two objections. You know her 
 story of course, and so do I noiv. She is, as you 
 are aware, unwilling to leave until she has ruined me 
 for some fancied wrong; and she is a dangerous 
 Nihilist, with whom the authorities can have no deal- 
 ings except in the usual legal way. She will go to 
 the mines, as I told you, if we deal with her." 
 
 " And if you have found her, perhaps," I cried with 
 a sneer. 
 
 " True ; and true also that we may not have to 
 deal with her at all. She has, as you know, incurred 
 the vengeance of this brotherhood, and it may be 
 less troublesome to leave her to them." 
 
 " Thank God, she is as safe from them as from 
 you." 
 
 " Yes, but not more so. You left a paper in your 
 coat which the servant found and handed to me. 
 You had scribbled on it two or three words which 
 I thought might have reference to her about a small 
 red-brick house in the north-east corner of the Square 
 of San Sophia. I followed up that clue, and by this 
 time the information we gained is in the hands of the 
 brotherhood. They will know how " 
 
 " Stop, for God's sake, stop," I said hoarsely, 
 jumping to my feet in horror. " I can bear no more. 
 If you say another word, I swear to God I shall find 
 it in me to kill you where you sit."
 
 CHAPTER XX A DEATH TRAP 
 
 THE Prince had nerves of steel, and met my 
 threatening look with a calm and steady gaze, 
 absolutely unmoved by my passionate outbreak. 
 
 " You had better calm yourself, M. Denver. It will 
 not help the case of an accused murderer to attempt 
 my life, and such an attempt must fail, as a single cry 
 from me will bring in the men at the door." 
 
 " Get out of the room then," I cried bluntly, " lest 
 the passion to choke the life out of you passes control." 
 
 I flung myself back in my chair. 
 
 " I wish you could realize that I am indeed grieved 
 for you. Your violence now shows " 
 
 " To hell with your sympathy," I said brutally. " It 
 is all a lie, like the rest of you. Do what you please 
 with me." 
 
 He took the insult, as he did everything from me, 
 unmoved, save for a shrug of the shoulders, and for 
 a minute was silent. 
 
 " You cannot save this woman. Will you leave 
 Russia?" 
 
 " Will you spare her if I do? " 
 
 He pretended to think for a space. 
 
 " No, I will not," he said implacably. " She has 
 sown the seed and must reap the crop. That is the 
 law of intrigue such as hers. Moreover," he added as 
 he glanced at his watch, " it is probably already too 
 late for me or you either to save her." 
 
 " Have you no jot of humanity in you ? Are you 
 utterly cold, calculating and brutal? You could send 
 her warning." 
 
 192
 
 A DEATH TRAP 193 
 
 " It is possible nothing may be done until to-night. 
 But it is no part of my duty to warn a Nihilist who 
 betrays her comrades." 
 
 " Russian chivalry is a noble thing," I sneered. 
 " But, by God, remember this," I added fiercely, lean- 
 ing forward, " if harm comes to her, you shall pay 
 for it with your life, if I come from the other side of 
 the earth to take it." 
 
 " I have been threatened many times, M; Denver, 
 by men as desperate as yourself and still live. But 
 now," he asked as he rose, " will you leave Russia, or 
 do you compel me to order your arrest on this murder 
 charge? You are young, with a bright future." 
 
 " Never mind my future," I put in. " Do what you 
 will." 
 
 " Your violence to me will be added to the charge 
 now, and our influence with our judges is great." 
 
 " Go, before there 's another death to be added also." 
 
 He went to the door and turned. 
 
 " I am still very reluctant, for you tried to serve 
 us. Take another day to think, and give me your 
 word of honour to make no attempt to escape. You 
 can then stay here." 
 
 " Go," I cried, turning my back on him, and I did 
 not look round until he had left the room. 
 
 Desperate as my own plight was, my thoughts were 
 not for myself, but for Helga. I cursed myself a thou- 
 sand times for my insensate blundering stupidity which 
 had brought all this danger upon her, the very blunder 
 against which she herself had warned me. 
 
 I remembered scribbling the words in the carriage,, 
 and saw now that instead of tearing up the paper on 
 which I had written I must have torn up the blank 
 sheet. I recalled that when she had warned me not 
 to throw even the fragments in one place, I had found 
 none but blanks in my fingers, and I could have torn 
 my hair out to think I had been such a reckless idiot 
 as not to search my pocket again to make sure. 
 
 I had destroyed her. I who would have given my 
 13
 
 194 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 life to save her ; and that bitter hour of miserable un- 
 availing remorse held horrors for me no description 
 can convey. It will never pass from memory, and I 
 marvel that in my agony I did not go insane. 
 
 I was far past caring what happened to me, and 
 when the door opened and I looked up expecting to 
 see the police with the warrant for me, I was ready 
 to welcome this arrest as a distraction from my 
 thoughts. Anything, anything to get away from the 
 maddening oppressiveness of my gloom. 
 
 It was not the police, however, but the servant who 
 brought me food. 
 
 " Don't bring that here," I cried, when the man set 
 it down. 
 
 He looked at me in surprise. 
 
 " You are in great trouble, monsieur," he said, not 
 unkindly. " But one must eat, even in trouble." 
 
 " I wish to God I was dead," I exclaimed desper- 
 ately ; " and you talk of eating. Take it away, man, 
 take it away, or I shall do you a mischief," and I 
 turned to the window and leaned my fevered head 
 against the sash. 
 
 Helga was being pursued by these sleuth hounds 
 and would be killed killed for having tried to save 
 my life and it was I I who had laid them upon 
 her trail and brought destruction upon her. Already 
 they might have struck the blow. And I could barely 
 keep myself from moaning aloud in my impotent 
 anguish. 
 
 Then suddenly I started. I had made a discovery. 
 
 A man came into sight in the ground below. It 
 -was one of the gardeners, and he crossed from the 
 right until an abutment of the Palace hid him from 
 ; my view on the left. 
 
 I was only two storeys from the ground, and the 
 roof of the out-building behind which the man had 
 been lost to sight could probably be reached from my 
 bedroom window. Then by a curious memory freak 
 ,an old joke dashed into my thoughts, and I smiled.
 
 A DEATH TRAP 195 
 
 It was the story of the man who languished in gaol 
 for twenty years racking his brains with elaborate 
 plans for escape, and then opened the door and 
 walked out. 
 
 My God, the way of escape lay right here. I might 
 still get to Helga. I had to steady myself against the 
 window frame now in the rush of this new excitement. 
 
 I turned back to the servant. He was still there. 
 
 " Why don't you take those things away when I 
 tell you," I said, trying to speak in my former tone. 
 
 " I hope you will try to eat, monsieur. You have 
 fasted long." 
 
 I was conscious suddenly of hunger. I might have 
 work to do for Helga, and must keep up my strength. 
 My new thoughts had changed me. 
 
 " How long is it since I breakfasted ? " 
 
 " Many hours, monsieur. It is now nearly five 
 o'clock." 
 
 Five o'clock. How the time had flown ! My in- 
 terviews with Kalkov, and the intervals, had eaten up 
 the day. Five o'clock! I groaned. The dusk would 
 soon fall, and if Helga were not already in the hands 
 of her enemies, the time in which a warning could 
 reach her might almost be counted by minutes. 
 
 I must get rid of the servant, and perhaps if I ate 
 the food he had brought it would save time. 
 
 " I will take your advice." I sat down to the table 
 and ate with the speed which only Americans have 
 cultivated as a fine art. In a few minutes I had swal- 
 lowed almost everything he had brought. 
 
 " I am glad, monsieur. You were then hungry after 
 all," he said with a deferential air of satisfaction. 
 
 " I have finished. You can take it away," I replied. 
 
 I lit a cigar and watched him as he piled the things 
 on the trays. He was very slow and methodical, and 
 I fretted and fumed over the time he took, until I felt 
 I could have kicked him out of the room and thrown 
 the trays after him. Then he showed an inclination to 
 talk.
 
 196 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " You are an American, I think, monsieur," he said, 
 playing at rearranging the things. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " It is a fine country, I believe, monsieur." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I have a brother there. He is doing well. He is 
 in Chicago." 
 
 " Oh." 
 
 " They seem to earn very large sums of money 
 there, monsieur. He is married and has a business 
 of his own. He sells birds and animals." 
 
 " Ah." Would he never stop his gabbling and get 
 away? 
 
 " Yes. He wishes me to go to him. I think I shall 
 some day. But there is the sea to cross, and I have 
 never seen it. You have crossed the sea, monsieur ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " But I should not like his trade, monsieur. I am 
 fond of birds and animals but not in cages ; oh no, 
 not in cages. It is like imprisonment, is it not, mon- 
 sieur? And here in Russia one does not speak lightly 
 of prisons." 
 
 " No." I gave him nothing but monosyllables, but 
 his chatter seemed to thrive on it. 
 
 " No, I should not like his trade," and he shook his 
 head dolefully. " I have a heart, monsieur, and if I 
 went there I think I should ruin him. I should want 
 to let the birds out of their cages, monsieur." 
 
 A new interest in him and his chatter sprang to life 
 in my thoughts. I looked up sharply, and caught his 
 eyes fixed on me with an inscrutable expression in 
 them. Did he mean anything by the words ? 
 
 " A kind heart is a good thing," I said. 
 
 " Yes, monsieur, but " he sighed " it is some- 
 times liable to get one into trouble." He had finished 
 now with even his pretence of packing the things to- 
 gether, and he paused and said, " You are a prisoner., 
 monsieur ? " 
 
 " It looks like it."
 
 A DEATH TRAP 197 
 
 " It is very sad, monsieur. Well, I will have these 
 things taken away." 
 
 " You can take them away yourself," I said. 
 
 " I am very sorry, monsieur, but my orders are not 
 to leave the room again. I am to stay with you." 
 
 And my heart sank as he touched the bell, and we 
 waited, in silence until the trays had been fetched. 
 Then he stood close to the doorway between the two 
 rooms. 
 
 It began to look as if there would be a tussle of 
 strength before I got away, and I measured him in 
 my eye with this thought present to me. He was 
 a slightly built wiry little man, no sort of a match for 
 me if it came to a trial of strength ; but I preferred 
 another way if it could be managed. 
 
 " Where shall I remain, monsieur ? " he asked after 
 a time. 
 
 " Was it you who ransacked my pockets this morn- 
 ing?" I asked, recalling Kalkov's words. 
 
 " By the Prince's orders, monsieur. We all fear 
 him but we all hate him. We dare not disobey 
 him." 
 
 Whether he meant me to understand anything by 
 this or not I could not tell, but the time was pressing 
 so fast that my anxiety drove me to bring matters 
 to a crisis, and soon I had a plan. Any moment might 
 now find me in the hands of the police. 
 
 I got up and passed into the bedroom, my purpose 
 being to catch him suddenly at a disadvantage, fling 
 him on to the bed, and smother his cries with the pil- 
 lows while I tied him up and gagged him. 
 
 He seemed suspicious of my intentions, for he hung 
 back, but one is always tempted to suppose that others 
 may divine such thoughts. So I fooled around with 
 some of my clothes, and then called him to help me 
 move a bag. I got him near enough to the bedstead, 
 and then with a significant look I said 
 
 " You have a good heart, I can see that. Now, as- 
 suming I am like one of your brother's caged birds, 
 will you help me out ? "
 
 198 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Monsieur, I dare not, I dare not." 
 
 But he neither called out nor attempted to get away. 
 Instead, he fixed his eyes on mine, and there was no 
 fear in them. 
 
 " I will make it worth your while," I said firmly. 
 " Come." 
 
 " Oh, monsieur, if it were found out. I am sorry 
 for you ; but if it were found out." 
 
 " It won't be. We '11 fix that all right," I answered. 
 " Listen. I intend to escape by the window there, 
 drop on the roof below, and from there to the ground." 
 
 " Oh, monsieur, monsieur, I dare not," he cried. 
 
 " I shall give you five hundred roubles to help 
 me." 
 
 His eyes gleamed avariciously. 
 
 " I will help you," he said ; " but you must make 
 it seem that you have forced me. You must bind me 
 and stop my mouth, so that when they come and find 
 me they shall see you have forced me." 
 
 It was a very thin device, but if it satisfied him I 
 had no reason to care, especially as I had contemplated 
 doing it in earnest. 
 
 " Very well." 
 
 " And you must not go yet, monsieur, not until dark. 
 You would be seen ; the grounds are alive with guards 
 and soldiers. You must wait till seven o'clock." 
 
 " Why till seven o'clock ? " 
 
 " It will not be dark enough before ; and besides, a 
 number of men go away at that hour the gardeners 
 and I can tell you how to get out so that no one 
 will see you if you wait till then." 
 
 " That 's all very well, but I may be arrested first," 
 I said suspiciously. 
 
 " No no, monsieur. You are to stay here all night. 
 I heard his highness say so, and I was told to remain 
 here until ten o'clock, when I am to be relieved." 
 
 There was Helga to think of, however, and to re- 
 main there an hour and a half longer while she was in 
 momentary peril seemed intolerable. At the same
 
 A DEATH TRAP 199 
 
 time, there was wisdom in what the man said. To 
 get out of the grounds in daylight, while the gardeners 
 and others were about, was just a forlorn hope, and 
 bitterly as I chafed at the delay, I resolved to wait 
 until dusk came. 
 
 That hour and a half was the longest in my life. 
 The man did his best to occupy my thoughts, telling 
 me over and over again exactly the way I had to go. 
 so as to avoid meeting any one, pointing out part of it 
 from the window, and giving me a hundred hints and 
 suggestions. 
 
 As the time approached I gave him the sum I had 
 promised, stowed the rest of the money about me, and 
 then fastened him up. He himself suggested an in- 
 genious method. I wrapped a sheet round him, and 
 then wound certain cords about him, until he looked 
 like a mummy in clean clothes, and could move neither 
 hand nor foot; and then I fastened a pillow over his 
 head. 
 
 Bearing all he had said in mind, I opened the 
 window, got down on to the roof below, crept along 
 it, and finding the coast clear, dropped to the ground. 
 I fell on to a flower bed, and darted at full speed 
 across the lawn to the point he had told me. 
 
 He had earned his money well, for I was able to 
 follow his instructions to the letter with the greatest 
 ease. He had told me to make for that part of the 
 gardens where the greenhouses stood, and past them 
 to take a path to the left until I came to a spot where 
 an outhouse with a low sloping roof stood against the 
 high outside wall. By means of this I was to climr. 
 to the top of the wall, and then drop into a dark un 
 frequented road. I was to go along this to the right 
 for about half a mile, when I should find myself at a 
 point from which I could easily reach any part of the 
 city. 
 
 I remember being struck by the fact that a part 
 of the Palace grounds so near to the building should 
 be so deserted, but I had not a thought or suspicion 
 of treachery of any kind.
 
 200 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 I reached the road within a very short time of 
 leaving the room, and turning, as he had told me, to 
 the right, I ran along it at a sharp speed. It was 
 overhung with heavy trees and very dark, but on this 
 fact I congratulated myself as I ran. 
 
 I had covered half the distance when the path nar- 
 rowed between the high wall of the Palace grounds 
 on one side and an equally high hedge on the other, 
 and it was so dark that I could not see the ground 
 beneath me. I was so keen to get to Helga that I 
 pressed on at headlong speed, until my foot slipped 
 on something wet and greasy and down I went all 
 a-sprawl in the dirt. 
 
 My hat flew off and my head struck the ground, 
 and my face slid along in the mud, but beyond graz- 
 ing my skin and griming myself considerably, I 
 suffered no hurt. I fell on the soft mud and thus 
 made scarcely any noise, a fact to which I believe I 
 owed my life. 
 
 I sat up, and was groping about for my hat when 
 I heard a sound some way ahead of me. Thinking 
 some one was coming I rolled under the shadow of 
 the great hedge and waited. 
 
 I have said before that my sense of hearing is very 
 acute, but though I strained it now to the utmost I 
 heard nothing for some time. In the meanwhile I 
 found that in the dark I had blundered into a kind 
 of broad ditch which crossed the path, the bottom 
 being of soft wet mire. 
 
 I pulled myself cautiously up on to the dry ground, 
 and putting my ear to the earth lay as still as death 
 and listened. 
 
 Presently I heard the sound of the shuffling of feet, 
 and as it was repeated after a few moments' interval, 
 I could tell some one was waiting at a distance ahead 
 of me. 
 
 I must find out what it meant, and that at once, 
 for minutes were precious. I sat up, therefore, and 
 took off my boots, and as I was rising my hand struck 
 against my hat.
 
 A DEATH TRAP 201 
 
 I crept forward now as cautiously as before I had 
 ran heedlessly, stopping every few yards to listen. 
 
 That any one could be waiting for me did not even 
 then cross my mind; but I was carrying too great a 
 responsibility to run risks and although the slow 
 progress I made chafed and worried me, I dared not 
 quicken it. And well it was indeed that I exercised 
 this restraint. 
 
 There was very little wind moving, but what there 
 was came from the direction I was going, and in one 
 of the pauses I made to listen, I caught the sound of 
 a voice, and then heard the tread of heavy feet. In 
 a moment I rolled myself under the hedge. 
 
 The steps came nearer, and I could tell there were 
 two men. They were speaking in low guttural tones, 
 but I could not at first catch the words, until one 
 of them said in a louder voice, with a touch of 
 impatience 
 
 " Yes, seven o'clock, of course." 
 
 In a flash my eyes were open. It was the hour the 
 servant had insisted upon for my escape. The whole 
 thing had been planned by Kalkov himself. And these 
 men were who ? 
 
 I was not long in doubt on that point either. 
 
 The two came on, drew level, and passed ; and as 
 I held my breath I heard a muttered reference to the 
 brotherhood and Vastic's murder, which told me all 
 I needed to know. 
 
 The Prince had adopted the same policy toward 
 me as toward Helga, and having planned the means 
 of my escape through that treacherous scoundrel of 
 a servant, had managed to convey to the brotherhood 
 an intimation of where and when I could be found. 
 
 But for that fall of mine into the mud the plan 
 would have succeeded, and there would have been 
 an end of any interference from me in his plans. 
 
 I had no time to waste in cursing him, however; 
 and as soon as the men were well past I rolled out 
 from the hedge and crept on as quickly as I could.
 
 202 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 I was afraid there would be a third man to be dealt 
 with at the mouth of the place, but to my infinite re- 
 lief the coast was clear, and putting on my boots again 
 I turned into the road and walked briskly in the direc- 
 tion of the city. 
 
 I was in a deplorable mess from my tumble, and 
 tried with very little effect to get rid of some of the 
 mud from my clothes and face. 
 
 It was while I was doing this, and puzzling how 
 I should get admission to Helga's house that the need 
 for some disguise occurred to me. I should probably 
 have to pass some of the brotherhood spies near the 
 house, and if I were recognized the consequences 
 might be vitally serious. 
 
 The means for the disguise were in fact supplied 
 by the mud into which I had fallen. I knocked in the 
 crown of my hat, took off my coat, tore my shirt sleeves 
 half way to the elbows, daubed them and my arms and 
 hands with mud, and in a minute was changed into a 
 dirty disreputable loafer, whom any one would have 
 the greatest difficulty in recognizing as Harper C. 
 Denver, the smartly groomed New Yorker. 
 
 And in this guise I hurried as fast as I dared with- 
 out exciting suspicion from the police in the direction 
 of the square of San Sophia.
 
 CHAPTER XXI AT THE SQUARE OF 
 SAN SOPHIA 
 
 FROM Czar to street smouch was a big change of 
 parts, and had I had time to think and oppor- 
 tunity to choose, I would have selected a different 
 character. 
 
 But I had little conscious thought beyond a burning 
 impatience to get to Helga in the shortest possible 
 time. I was jostled and pushed as I hurried on ; now 
 hustled off the side walk, now grazing the house fronts, 
 and at times dodging through the traffic: but all the 
 while pressing on with feverish haste through the 
 people, followed constantly by curses and angry threats 
 from those who shrank from my dirty presence or 
 shouldered me roughly to one side. 
 
 There is no lack of disreputable-looking beggars 
 in the streets of Russia's capital at any time, and at 
 night one drunken man more or less attracts little at- 
 tention, provided he keeps quiet. I was taken for a 
 drunkard ; and my dirt-begrimed face and clothes, 
 my coat slung over my shoulder, my half-bared arms 
 and muddied shirt-sleeves lent colour to the part, as I 
 scrambled and scurried along with a wary eye for the 
 police, whom I avoided with scrupulous care. . 
 
 I had not much difficulty in finding the square of 
 San Sophia, which had once been a fashionable quarter. 
 It was a dismal-looking cul de sac, with a winding 
 entrance at the southern end, in shape like nothing so 
 much as a tennis racket with a bent handle. 
 
 At the entrance stood a woman, who came toward 
 me, half paused, stared sharply at me, and passed 
 
 203
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 on. I guessed she was a spy of some kind, posted 
 there to mark all who entered and left the square. 
 
 I lurched past her, keeping up my part of a drunken 
 man, and reeled on into the square a small open 
 space, unrailed and unprotected, with two or three 
 forlorn-looking stunted trees in a clump in the centre. 
 
 From the shelter of these I was able to make out 
 Helga's house standing well back in the shadow 
 a wider, shorter building than the rest, with a deep 
 porch. Not a light showed in any of the windows, 
 a fact that gave me a momentary qualm. 
 
 Having assured myself that no one was watching 
 me, I stole out from the trees and made for the porch, 
 knocked gently at the door, and waited. No one came, 
 and fearing to give any noisy summons, I was feeling 
 .and peering about for a bell for inside the porch 
 was very dark when I heard footsteps in the square. 
 By the flickering lamplight at the entrance I saw the 
 woman who had met me returning in company with a 
 man, and, to my dismay, they came with rapid steps 
 toward the spot where I stood. 
 
 I lay down and squeezed myself as close to the side 
 of the porch as possible, trusting that the gloom of 
 the place would prevent them seeing me. 
 
 The footsteps came right to the house and then 
 stopped. 
 
 In a fever of impatience I dragged myself cautiously 
 to the entrance and peering out, watched them. 
 
 They stood a moment talking together in whispers 
 at the other end of the house. The woman seemed to 
 be giving the man some information and instructions, 
 for I saw her point several times toward that end of 
 the building. 
 
 After perhaps a couple of minutes she left, and 
 the man shrank back into the deep shadows, until the 
 sound of her footsteps had ceased. Then I heard the 
 scrape of his feet against brickwork, and could just 
 make out that he had climbed on to a low wall which 
 ran by the side of the house.
 
 AT THE SQUARE OF SAN SOPHIA 206 
 
 At the risk of discovery I felt that I must know 
 where he had gone, so I drew off my boots and stole 
 after him. By the side of the house ran a very nar- 
 row passage guarded by a heavy iron gate, and crawl- 
 ing on to the wall I followed the man with as much 
 haste as the need for extreme caution permitted. 
 
 The house was as still as a charnel vault ; but I 
 was no longer dismayed by this. It was evident that 
 such a visitor must have very strong motives for this 
 kind of secrecy ; and as I judged that the woman had 
 pointed out the means by which an entrance to the 
 house could be gained, it was easy to understand that 
 this was all connected with the threatened attack upon 
 Helga. This meant therefore that she was still safe, 
 and that I had arrived in time to take a hand in 
 matters. 
 
 When I had gone far enough along the wall to get 
 a view of the rear of the house, I lay down and looked 
 about for the man, and soon discovered his plan. There 
 were no underground rooms to the house, but there 
 were cellars, and the way to these was protected by a 
 heavy grating. He had removed this, and when I 
 caught sight of him he was standing below in the act 
 of replacing this grating above his head. 
 
 As soon as it was in its place, I slipped off the wall 
 and listened. He entered the cellar, and when once 
 inside struck a match, the feeble flickering light from 
 which enabled me to watch him. 
 
 He looked round for a moment as if in doubt, and 
 then went to a door in the far right-hand corner and 
 knocked : three double knocks, repeated at short in- 
 tervals. After a while I heard the door open; the 
 sound of muffled gruff voices came to me; the door 
 was closed, and then all was silent as the grave once 
 more. 
 
 For a moment I hesitated whether to follow him 
 or to go back to the front and try again to get into 
 the house that way. But my former failure to attract 
 attention there decided me against that course.
 
 206 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 It was just possible that Helga had arranged these 
 precautions in the critical need to conceal her presence 
 in the house, and in that case, if I once gained admit- 
 tance, I could easily explain my presence. But it 
 seemed far more probable that a very ugly purpose 
 lay under it all, and this I resolved to ascertain, even 
 at the risk of finding myself face to face with one or 
 two members of the brotherhood. 
 
 I slipped on my boots and coat, therefore, and fol- 
 lowing the man's example, I got through the grating, 
 and finding the inner door, gave the signal I had 
 heard. It was an anxious moment as I huddled up 
 against the door awaiting the result. It was a long 
 wait, until I heard a stealthy movement; the door 
 was opened slowly and cautiously, and a man, hold- 
 ing a light, looked out. 
 
 Not caring for any scrutiny of my face, I put my 
 foot in the crack and my shoulder to the door, and 
 shoved my way in. 
 
 "Why keep me waiting?" I asked in a whisper. 
 " I am followed." 
 
 " Who are you ? " asked the voice. 
 
 " One who should be here," I answered at random, 
 as I closed the door and shot home the bolt. " Lead 
 the way," I said, in a tone of authority. 
 
 He was for thrusting the light in my face, but I 
 brushed his hand away and growled out an oath. 
 
 " Who is here ? " I asked then, under my breath. 
 
 He made no reply, and seemed quite undecided 
 what to do; so I decided for him, and pushed him 
 very unceremoniously before me into the darkness 
 beyond. 
 
 He led me into an inner cellar, unlighted, save for 
 the candle he carried. I followed, prepared for almost 
 anything except that which I saw ; and seeing it, I 
 could scarce restrain from laughter, so complete was 
 the relief from the tension of the previous few 
 minutes. 
 
 There was only one man there obviously the
 
 AT THE SQUARE OF SAN SOPHIA 207 
 
 same I had followed and he was staring hard at 
 us with an expression of mingled fear and expecta- 
 tion. It was Paul Drexel. He was shaved, and dis- 
 guised in the shabby clothes of a beggar ; but I knew 
 his flabby coward's face in a moment, although he did 
 not recognize me. And I took care that he should see 
 my face as little as possible. For an instant the ques- 
 tion flashed upon me: What Drexel was doing in the 
 affair? But I had to act, not think, because if my 
 supposition was correct, we should soon have more 
 of the men upon us. 
 
 There was no longer any reason for fear. With 
 no one but a fat coward like Drexel and the man 
 with the light to oppose me, I should soon find a way 
 out of things. 
 
 " Who are you ? " asked Drexel, as I entered. 
 
 " I am here to take command," I replied, muffling 
 my voice. I turned to the other man and asked : 
 " What part of the house are we in ? How do we 
 get where we have to go ? " 
 
 " These are the cellars. They did n't think of them,"' 
 he replied, with a grin of cunning. 
 
 " Show me," and I made him light the way for me. 
 
 My examination of the place revealed nothing but 
 bare cellars. 
 
 My guide pointed out a flight of stairs, and ex- 
 plained that there was only a door at the top, which 
 would not be difficult to force. 
 
 My first step was to get rid of him ; and as he was 
 now quite unsuspicious of me, this was easy. 
 
 I found that one of the cellars had a door with bolts 
 on the outside, and as we stood in it, I made an ex- 
 cuse to take the light from him, and catching him 
 unawares, I gave him a blow on the side of the head 
 which sent him staggering over the floor, and before 
 he could recover himself I had shut the door and 
 bolted it upon him. 
 
 He began a clatter at the door, and I called to 
 Drexel sharply
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Come and help here, quickly." 
 
 He came hurrying out, but before he could ask a 
 question I caught him by the throat and shook out 
 of him all his little courage and most of his breath. 
 
 " Up these steps, quick," I said, dragging him up, 
 .and reaching the top I hammered and kicked at the 
 door until some one came. 
 
 " In the devil's name what 's this ? " cried a voice 
 threateningly, as the door was opened. 
 
 " Thank God it 's you, Ivan," I said, more glad 
 than I can tell to see him. " The mademoiselle ; is 
 she safe ? " 
 
 " M. Denver ! " he exclaimed, in profound aston- 
 ishment. 
 
 " Mademoiselle Helga, man, tell me, is all well ? " 
 
 " Yes, monsieur, but what " 
 
 " Thank God for that," I interrupted, the sense of 
 relief filling me with indescribable delight. 
 
 "How do you come here, monsieur?" he asked. 
 
 " And who " he paused to peer into Drexel's 
 
 white face. " M. Drexel, Great Lord of the Skies, 
 what has happened ? " 
 
 Helga was safe, and for me at that moment the 
 whole world held no other matter of concern. But 
 there was much to do, for which even the ecstasy of 
 that knowledge could not wait. 
 
 " Take this treacherous snake, and have him kept 
 safe somewhere until we can question him. And 
 now " 
 
 " What has happened, Ivan ? " It was Helga's 
 voice from above stairs, and hearing it, I smiled and 
 caught my breath. 
 
 " M. Denver is here, mademoiselle," said Ivan. 
 
 " M. Denver ? " in a tone of intense surprise. 
 " Where ? " The voice was nearer. She was com- 
 ing to me. 
 
 " Yes, I am here, mademoiselle ; " and I went to 
 meet her. 
 
 On catching sight of me she stopped as if aghast.
 
 I CAUGHT HIM BY THE THROAT AND SHOOK OUT OF HIM ALL HIS 
 LITTLE COURAGE AND MOST OF HIS BREATH." Page 2O8.
 
 AT THE SQUARE OF SAN SOPHIA 209 
 
 " I don't look pretty, I 'm afraid," I said, with a 
 laugh. " But it 's about the best show I can make for 
 the moment." 
 
 Her eyes were now full of sweet concern. 
 
 " You have been in great trouble ? " she said. 
 
 " Nothing 's the matter that a bath and a clothes 
 brush won't cure. But it 's been a near thing." 
 
 " Tell me." 
 
 " I will, everything ; but not now. Let me see you 
 presently; there is some work to be done first. You 
 will have to leave here; go and get ready." 
 '" Leave here? I cannot. I must not." 
 
 " The place is known to Kalkov's police and to 
 Vastic's friends. There has been hell's work ; but 
 you will be safe now." 
 
 I drew Ivan aside then and told him what I knew 
 and surmised, and how I proposed to act. My idea, 
 was that he should take some of the servants down 
 into the cellars with him ; let the men who were ex- 
 pected enter one by one, seize them and make them 
 prisoners. 
 
 Ivan was the man of all men I would have chosen 
 for such a task. He possessed enormous strength and 
 a courage equal to any demands that could be made 
 upon it ; I knew I could leave the affair safely in his 
 hands. 
 
 When I had explained my wishes and seen him 
 start, I went to question Drexel. He was in a con- 
 dition of abject terror, and was to me such a repul- 
 sive creature that I hurried my examination of him. 
 
 "If you know how to speak the truth, I advise you 
 to do it now. I know much about you and your doings, 
 and if I find you lying to me I shall denounce you as a 
 traitor to the men you were to have met here. And 
 you know what to expect at their hands." I gave him 
 a second to chew this, and then asked : " Now, whose 
 spy are you, police or these men ? " 
 
 " Neither. I have not come to help in this thing; 
 I have not on my soul : I know nothing of them." 
 14
 
 210 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Why are you here ? " 
 
 " I came to get the papers from Mademoiselle Helga 
 for Prince Kalkov." 
 
 " Oh, you are his agent, eh ? How did you get in ? " 
 
 " I was told to meet a woman in the square who 
 would tell me what to do to get in." This might be 
 true, for I had seen the two together. " I expected to 
 find the house deserted." 
 
 " Who gave you your instructions?" 
 
 " Prince Kalkov himself. If I refused, he threat- 
 ened me with the mines, monsieur." 
 
 "For what?" 
 
 " As a Nihilist." 
 
 " How did you get to the Prince?" 
 
 No answer. 
 
 I repeated the question. 
 
 " I went to clear myself," he said slowly and with 
 hesitation. 
 
 " To offer yourself as a spy, you mean ? " I replied 
 sternly. 
 
 " I was a suspect, and I wanted to clear myself." 
 
 " And he told you you could clear yourself by get- 
 ting these papers. I think I understand you. He told 
 you also that mademoiselle would be assassinated, and 
 that you could do your present work safely." 
 
 " On my soul, no. I had no thought of that. I had 
 not. I was told she would be arrested." 
 
 " Who gave the information to these men?" 
 
 " I don't know, monsieur ; indeed, I don't. I don't 
 know who they are. I was told only police would be 
 here. You can kill me if you will, but that is true." 
 
 I was disposed to believe him, and to regard him 
 as a mere tool of Kalkov, sent to the house as being 
 likely to know where to look for the papers ; and 
 in this case he knew too little to be of much help 
 to me. 
 
 It was quite consistent with Kalkov's methods that 
 he should use Drexel for the purpose he had described ; 
 and although there were discrepancies in the statement.
 
 AT THE SQUARE OF SAN SOPHIA 211 
 
 I did not think it worth while to waste valuable time 
 in interrogating him any further. 
 
 What we had now to think about was the vital 
 question of Helga's escape, and I left the miserable 
 wretch, glad to be out of his presence, and went to 
 urge upon Helga the necessity of immediate flight
 
 CHAPTER XXII FLIGHT 
 
 AS I hurried out from Drexel, intending to try and 
 find means to render myself more presentable 
 by getting rid of some of my grime, I found Helga 
 waiting for me. 
 
 " I am all mud," I said apologetically. 
 
 " I am all impatience, and that is worse," she 
 returned. 
 
 " Let me get rid of some of this ; " and I spread 
 out my hands and glanced down at my clothes, and 
 looked up to find her smiling. " You can't tell how 
 glad I am to see that," I added. 
 
 " You will see no smiles if you keep me waiting. 
 I will forgive the dirt if you will only tell me." 
 
 " I could tell you more comfortably if we were 
 en route for the frontier." 
 
 " Perhaps we shall be soon. Come," and she led 
 me into a room, all dirty as I was. 
 
 " Disaster is easy to tell. Prince Kalkov knows 
 everything about your plans, your name, your real 
 part in Boreski's business, your fight against him 
 everything ; " and as shortly as I could I told her 
 all I knew and had learnt from the Prince. 
 
 She listened with scarcely an interruption, and when 
 I finished sat thinking with pursed lips and gathered 
 brows. 
 
 " It was very clever and very devilish," she said. 
 " And for the time it means failure. You are right. 
 I must fly, and that to-night." 
 
 " I am glad you see that." 
 
 " I have had to do it before for a time. But I 
 shall, of course, come back. I am not beaten. Flight 
 
 212
 
 FLIGHT 213 
 
 is only one of the tactics in the fight 1 am waging. 
 I shall never cease to fight until I win or they kill 
 me. But he has beaten me for the time, and now that 
 he knows my motive, he will be harder to fight than 
 ever." 
 
 " It is I who have ruined you by betraying this 
 place through my stupid blundering." 
 
 " Ah, I had not thought of that," she said, turning 
 and smiling to me. " You will have suffered. It was 
 a mistake, but it would have made no difference in 
 the end. With the new clues which the Duchess 
 Stephanie and this Drexel could give him, the Prince 
 would have found me here. I should not have waited 
 for him indeed, so that by warning me now you have 
 more than made good the mistake." 
 
 " Do you think Boreski has told him anything?" 
 
 '' No, not Boreski ; I am sure of him. It is Drexel. 
 A man when he is afraid for his life is a contemptible 
 creature. But it is his nature," she said scornfully. 
 " I knew it and knew him. I used him as a tool, and 
 when a tool breaks in your hand, you are fortunate 
 if you are not hurt." 
 
 " The sooner we start the better." But she was 
 thinking and appeared not to hear me. 
 
 " I shall have to begin again," she said, with quiet 
 resolution. " It is no new experience. I have had 
 to do it two or three times before. My next attempt 
 shall be better planned. Each time I do better 
 learning from my failures. Next time I shall win." 
 
 " When shall we start ? " I asked, as she paused. 
 
 "We? If you are wise and take my advice, you 
 will go to your Ambassador, tell him frankly all that 
 has occurred, and get his help." 
 
 "And if I am not wise?" I sought her eyes and 
 we both smiled, and she sighed. 
 
 " No, no, you must not." 
 
 " You know that I shall, Helga. Let us be frank." 
 
 "You wish me to be frank?" and she looked up 
 calmly.
 
 214 WHEN I WAS CZAB 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " Then I would rather you did not attempt to ac- 
 company me." 
 
 " Do you mean to leave me in the lurch ? " 
 
 " Don't," she cried, with a little wince of pain. 
 
 " I did n't mean that but you know what I do 
 mean." 
 
 " You know nothing can come of it." 
 
 " Call it nothing or something, it is just all in all 
 to me." 
 
 " Please ! " she said, almost pleadingly. 
 
 " I will have no mercy when you speak of parting." 
 
 " But I mean it. You must not come with me. 
 I am stronger alone." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " You can be very stupid when you wish," she 
 cried, with another smile. 
 
 " Why ? " I repeated. " Why stronger alone ? " 
 
 " Because ah, you know." 
 
 " May I not wish to hear you say it ? " 
 
 She looked up steadily, and said in a quiet, firm 
 tone 
 
 " Because when you are with me I weaken in my 
 purpose." 
 
 " That is just my object. I hope to win you from 
 it altogether." 
 
 " It is impossible. You must not go with me." 
 
 " You wish never to see me again ? " 
 
 " How cruel you can be ! " Then defiantly, " Yes, 
 I do wish it." 
 
 " Very well," I cried decidedly, as I rose. " Then 
 I will go." I paused, and she started and gave me 
 a glance in which surprise and pain were blended. 
 I went to the door, and turning, saw she had paled 
 slightly. I waited for her to speak. 
 
 " I I am glad." The tone was very low, and her 
 lips faltered. 
 
 " Yes, I have put up with it long enough. I can 
 bear it no longer."
 
 FLIGHT 215 
 
 A quick questioning, half-indignant light was in 
 her eyes as she rose. 
 
 " You can bear it no longer. I am sorry " 
 
 A laugh from me checked the words on her lips. 
 
 " I have never been so dirty in my life. I must 
 wash." 
 
 She turned away with a toss of the head. 
 
 " You treat it as a jest at such a time." 
 
 " When I am earnest you won't take me seriously 
 you won't take me at all! indeed, it seems. But 
 in any case you can't travel with a man who looks like 
 a tramp. I am going, as I was saying, to try and get 
 clean again." 
 
 She turned then, and there was neither pain nor 
 surprise on her face, only relief and intense gladness. 
 
 " I thought you were in earnest." It was only a 
 smiling reproach. 
 
 " I am always in earnest where you are concerned." 
 I took a step or two towards her. " And you are 
 glad?" 
 
 " I am ashamed of my weakness." 
 
 " A weakness of which such a smile as that is a 
 fitting confession." 
 
 " I hate myself for being weak at all," she cried 
 in protest. 
 
 " It would be worse if you hated the cause of it. 
 But now it is my turn to be weak, and to lean on 
 you. I have no clothes to travel in." 
 
 " We can help you there. We have many disguises 
 here." 
 
 " A travelling coat is all I need, and an idea of 
 how we are to leave." 
 
 " I have always found the simplest is the best. If 
 you are right about the Prince, he will have given 
 no orders for either you or myself to be watched, 
 and the railway will be open. The mail leaves at 
 ten o'clock; open to tourists of all nations." 
 
 "And the frontier difficulties?" 
 
 She laughed.
 
 216 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " The Russian officials are the stupidest on earth. 
 We shall, of course, have passports, and our papers 
 being in order, all will be simple. A passport can 
 be a very valuable friend, and those who need them 
 always take care they are in order." 
 
 " I brought mine with me." 
 
 " Then you reckoned on my going ? " she asked, 
 smiling. " You count upon your influence with me, 
 it seems." 
 
 " But Kalkov may communicate with the frontier 
 folk?" 
 
 " How should he know and why ? He has, no 
 doubt, spies who are able to convey information to 
 the brotherhood ; but do you think they would return 
 the favour? He will think they may be trusted to 
 do as he wished to us, and when he hears of the 
 failure we shall be beyond his reach." 
 
 It was an ingenious thought and probably correct. 
 
 " Good," I said. " You see how you help me. 
 We are stronger together. We will get ready." 
 
 I went first in search of Ivan, and heard from 
 him that our plan had succeeded entirely, and that 
 the men who had come in quest of Helga had all 
 been secured. 
 
 With his assistance I soon got rid of the traces 
 of the evening's work, and when I saw Helga again 
 she was ready for the start. 
 
 " About Madame Korvata ? " I asked, suddenly 
 remembering her. 
 
 " She has gone to the station for our tickets. She 
 went long ago, before you spoke to me and while 
 you were with Drexel." 
 
 I looked at her and smiled. 
 
 " Then you had made up your mind before 
 before what you said to me? " 
 
 She flushed slightly and her eyes brightened. 
 
 "I I foresaw what I should probably have to do," 
 she answered, and laughed softly. " You see, I knew 
 I must go."
 
 FLIGHT 217 
 
 " And that I should not let you go alone. I did 
 not see, but I do now." 
 
 " It is time to start, I think ; " and she turned away. 
 
 Helga had indeed concluded all the arrangements, 
 thinking of every detail with all a woman's eye for 
 small things. Madame Korvata was not to travel 
 with us, but to follow later. Ivan was to remain and 
 see to the difficulties in regard to the presence of the 
 men in the house, and then go into hiding until he 
 heard from Helga. 
 
 The whole affair was just cut and dried, as though 
 a flight from the police were an ordinary incident 
 of life. 
 
 I felt abominably nervous, I admit; disposed to 
 look for spies and police at every turn. But Helga 
 was as cool as if we had been in the States, and were 
 running up from New York to Saratoga for a few 
 days' change of air. 
 
 " There is only one point of possible danger yet 
 the police may have a spy somewhere near at hand. 
 I doubt it, because the Prince will rely upon Drexel, 
 and knows that if his spy were seen, the plot against 
 us would fail. But I have taken care. There is a 
 house in the square here where the people are constant 
 travellers. Our carriage is there, and we shall leave 
 here unobserved, and pretend to come out of that 
 house." 
 
 " Is such a thing likely to trick them ? " 
 
 " You smile ; but it is just these little simple acted 
 lies which make all the difference. Spies are trained 
 to believe what they see ; no more." 
 
 We did as Helga had said, and whether or not we 
 were seen I cannot say; but I saw no one, and we 
 Sound not the least difficulty with the railway officials, 
 who were indeed exceedingly courteous to the young 
 handsome French widow, Madame de Courvaix, the 
 name conspicuously written upon Helga's luggage. 
 
 The cars were well filled, and we were not alone 
 in our compartment, so that I thought we had better
 
 218 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 speak very little. But that was not Helga's intention. 
 She gave me a very meaning look, with a glance 
 toward our fellow-passengers, and began to chatter 
 at once, with all the vivacity of a Parisian. 
 
 " I am glad they did not come to see us off," she 
 said, as soon as the train started. " Train good- 
 byes are so inane." 
 
 " Sometimes they are." 
 
 " Yet I think the General should have come, and 
 young Lablache from the Embassy. He promised me. 
 A ball-room promise, of course ; " and she laughed 
 merrily and threw her hands up. 
 
 "Lablache? Do I know him?" 
 
 " Know him ? Not by name. He is that dark 
 handsome man who was so nice about the flowers, 
 and at whom somebody I know, a stupid, jealous 
 somebody, looked daggers ; " and she made a pretty 
 grimace at me. 
 
 " Oh, that fellow ! " I growled. 
 
 " He is coming to Paris next month, and has 
 promised to call ; " and then we plunged into a con- 
 versation about a wholly imaginary set of people, in 
 the course of which Helga managed most adroitly 
 to include a purely fictional history of herself, with 
 side-lights upon our relationship as an engaged couple. 
 
 Having done that, she settled herself in her corner, 
 said she was going to sleep, and advised me to do 
 the same; and as I was putting the rugs about her, 
 she managed to whisper a sentence which gave me 
 food for thought all through the night. 
 
 " The woman 's a spy. Be careful." 
 
 As she said it she laughed gaily, and in a few 
 minutes closed her eyes and appeared to sleep soundly. 
 
 But there was no sleep for me. I forced myself 
 to keep my eyes closed, a continuous effort that was 
 infinitely taxing; and during the long, weary hours, 
 I think I must have pretty well exhausted in thought 
 all the possible dangers that might result from the 
 presence of so dangerous a fellow-traveller.
 
 FLIGHT 219 
 
 Helga was more than equal to the emergency, how- 
 ever. In the early hours of dawn she woke, or pre- 
 tended to awake, cross and fretful, and roused me. 
 
 " How soundly you sleep," she said crossly. " How 
 can you in this abominable stuffy atmosphere? Let 
 the window down, please." 
 
 " I _think it 's very chilly," I said, not understanding 
 her. 
 
 " Am I nobody ? " she cried, with a stamp of the 
 foot and a shrug of the shoulders. " Shall I do it 
 myself?" 
 
 I put it down a little way. 
 
 " Wide open, I mean," she said angrily. 
 
 " It 's very cold," I protested ; and indeed the 
 cold, keen air came rushing in and made me put 
 my collar up. 
 
 " Nonsense, I 'm stifled. Wide open, I said. That 's 
 better," as I put it right down. 
 
 Our fellow-travellers stirred, as well they might 
 indeed, for the temperature ran down swiftly several 
 degrees. The man having heard Helga's request was 
 too polite to interfere, and suffered in silence, drawing 
 his wraps closer round him. 
 
 But the woman had no such scruples, and after 
 a while asked me pretty sharply to close the window. 
 
 " It is open by my request, madame," declared Helga 
 in a very angry tone. The woman grumbled to the 
 man, and at her instigation he appealed to me. 
 
 This was Helga's opportunity, and she and the 
 woman began an altercation, which lasted for several 
 miles, and was waged with such bitterness that had 
 they been men they would have come to blows. Helga's 
 fluency was too much for her opponent; besides, we 
 were masters of the situation ; so that the window re- 
 mained open, and we shivered in victory. 
 
 At the first place where we stopped the quarrel 
 began again, and the woman appealed to the officials. 
 
 They were sorry, but could do nothing. 
 
 The conductor offered a solution, however. There
 
 220 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 was an empty coupe on the train ; would Helga re- 
 move to it? Certainly she would not. In her beloved 
 France people could have a window up or down as 
 they pleased, and she was not going to yield her 
 privileges for all the cantankerous old women in 
 Russia put together. 
 
 This settled it, and with many a parting shot at 
 France and Frenchwomen in general, and Helga in 
 particular, the two got out and followed the conductor 
 to the other carriage. 
 
 As soon ,as we were out of the station Helga, who 
 had kept up her show of vociferous and gesticulating 
 anger, laughed. 
 
 " Do put the window up, please. I 'm nearly frozen 
 to death. I hope I have n't given you a cold." 
 
 I closed the window and laughed. 
 
 " I thought you were in earnest at first," I said. 
 
 " Thank you ; but I am not quite such a crochetty, 
 ill-tempered individual, even after a sleepless night 
 of doubt in a railway carriage." 
 
 "Sleepless?" 
 
 " I was planning that little coup all the time, of 
 course. She suspects nothing, or she would have 
 frozen to death before she had left the carriage. She 
 is new to her work, so I could take a risk." 
 
 " You are a wonderful actress." 
 
 " I have had a long training, and life and liberty 
 are bigger incentives than any salary," she answered 
 thoughtfully. " Now we can sleep safely for two 
 hours, and then we stop for breakfast." 
 
 When we reached the station she said she would 
 not leave the carriage, so I fetched her some, and 
 after I had had mine, I strolled up and down, smoking. 
 
 Presently she called me. 
 
 " Something has happened, and whatever it is, the 
 officials are uneasy and excited. Go and hear what 
 those two are talking about ; " and she pointed to 
 a couple of men, one of whom held a despatch in 
 his hand, which both were discussing eagerly.
 
 FLIGHT 221 
 
 I strolled over to them and caught my breath 
 quickly as I heard one of them say something about 
 Nihilists and supposed flight. 
 
 I went up to them and put a casual question about 
 our train being late, intending to follow it up with 
 others, when some one exclaimed in English : 
 
 " Just like my infernal luck ! " Recognizing the 
 voice, I turned, and the speaker clapped me on the 
 shoulder and then seized my hand. 
 
 " What, Harper, old fellow ! What on earth brings 
 you here ? " It was an old Harvard chum, Frank 
 Siegel. 
 
 The two officials glanced at us, and moved off as 
 we shook hands. 
 
 "Rather; what are you doing?" 
 
 " I ? Oh, I 'm out for the Frisco Eagle the 
 Screecher. I 've been round the world for them. 
 Trotting home, and, like my infernal luck, I Ve just 
 missed a scoop in Petersburg." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "What is it? By gee, it's just what I'd have 
 given my ears to get. A big Nihilist raid. No end 
 of arrests; but the biggest birds are flown. May be 
 on this very train." 
 
 " I heard nothing of it, and I came from Peters- 
 burg." 
 
 " Are we on the same train ? My, that 's bully. 
 Say, I '11 get my traps and join you." 
 
 " I 'm not alone, Frank." 
 
 " Don't you worry about that ; I shan't mind your 
 friends. I 'm used to all sorts of mixed company ; " 
 and with a grin at this gibe he ran off. 
 
 I went back to Helga and told her what I had 
 heard. 
 
 " Can you trust your friend ? " she asked, after 
 a short pause. 
 
 " Oh yes, as myself." 
 
 " Then let him come." 
 
 "And you?"
 
 222 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I have already had to explain our relationship 
 once ! " she answered, with a glance. 
 
 " But if I tell him we 're engaged " I paused. 
 
 " Well ? " with a challenging smile. 
 
 " It will have to be in earnest." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " Then the sooner he comes the better," I said. 
 
 " We must know the news, even if we make con- 
 cessions to learn it." 
 
 " I guess my news will surprise him as much as 
 his will us." 
 
 And we were both laughing happily, despite the 
 ominous turn in things, when Siegel came running 
 up and bundled his wraps into the carriage, as I 
 introduced him to Helga.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII AT THE FRONTIER 
 
 FRANK SIEGEL was one of those enthusiastic 
 journalists to whose zeal the press of America 
 owes its distinctive position. Enterprise, unhampered 
 by too much discretion, was the gospel which had 
 been hammered into him. Be first, down the other 
 fellow, make the scoop, get the facts, discreetly if 
 possible, but get them, serve hot for the public taste, 
 and let all else go hang. The editor and the public 
 will forgive anything except a beat for the opposition 
 show. 
 
 Siegel lived up to this. All the world and every- 
 thing in it was to him so much copy ; and he looked 
 at everything with an eye, and that a very sharp one, 
 for its newspaper possibilities. 
 
 When off duty his eye could also appreciate a 
 beautiful face, and he was charmed by Helga, who 
 did her utmost to win her way into his favour. 
 
 In particular, she was sympathetic in regard to his 
 present disappointment at having left Petersburg at 
 the moment of a Nihilist trouble. 
 
 " I 'd give a sackful of dollars to get at the bottom 
 of a Nihilist show," he exclaimed. " Either side, 
 Government or the other. What a country this would 
 be for a pressman, if they were n't so tight lipped ! 
 I 've sent some stuff across, but of course I 've had 
 to pad it a lot." 
 
 "What have you heard about this, M. Siegel?" 
 asked Helga. 
 
 " The conductor gave it away to me. There was 
 a telegram telling him to look out for a woman on 
 the train and a man, too, he thought ; but he was n't 
 
 223
 
 "224 
 
 clear. It seems a swoop was made on a haunt last 
 night, and a lot of arrests there and elsewhere followed. 
 But they wanted the woman most, and she 'd gone." 
 
 " Oh ! " I murmured, and Helga and I exchanged 
 glances. 
 
 " Lord, what asses those Russian police must be. 
 Imagine what a mess we should have if we muddled 
 our press inquiries as they do their business. They 
 should apprentice a few of their fellows to the 
 Screecher, and let 'em learn the art of making beats." 
 
 " Beats, M. Siegel ? " asked Helga, puzzled. 
 
 He explained the enormous virtues of exclusive 
 news, and gave her a telling illustration. 
 
 " If this were the States, which thank God it is n't 
 I can say that safely as none of us are Russians 
 what would happen ? Probably we should have known 
 all about this raid before it was ordered ; but assume 
 we had n't, and it caught us by surprise. Well, we 
 should have had someone on the spot right there, and 
 the moment we heard the birds had flown we should 
 have wired our men to watch every train this one 
 for instance, most likely with a recognizable descrip- 
 tion of the fugitives. Say, Harper, would n't it be 
 bully to do the trick with no machinery and spot 
 them on the train. What a scoop ! " and he laughed 
 pleasantly. 
 
 " The fugitives might not relish such a press," said 
 I, with more meaning than he divined. 
 
 " I 'm going to have a try," he replied. " Do you 
 remember Marvyn, Harold Marvyn, at Harvard ; that 
 thin dark chap we used to call the spectre ? He 's at 
 the Embassy here, and I 've wired him to wire me a 
 description of them if he can get it. I 'm going to 
 look for 'em at the frontier, and if I don't find 'em there, 
 I 'm off back to the capital to look up things. I wish 
 I 'd never come away ; worse luck." 
 
 " You would like to hand them over to the police, 
 M. Siegel?" asked Helga. 
 
 " Gee wiss, no, madame. If we were in the States,
 
 AT THE FRONTIER 225 
 
 yes ; but here, what are the police to me ? I 'm think- 
 ing of the Screecher and the interview I could get." 
 Helga laughed and said : 
 
 " And being in Russia, monsieur, if you interfered 
 you would probably be clapped into one of their gaols 
 as an accomplice." 
 
 " Say, Harper," he cried, turning to me, " would n't 
 that be just lovely! Gee, think of the headlines. 
 Russia's prisons from the inside. I could make half 
 a column of them. Ah, I wish it could be worked," 
 and he sighed. 
 
 " You have some queer ambitions, Siegel," I said. 
 " You might find it easier to get in than to get out 
 again. There 's Siberia, you know not exactly a 
 pleasure resort, either." 
 
 " I came through there. Looks all right from the 
 outside; what they let you see of it, you know; but 
 I 'd like to scratch the surface off." 
 
 " You might not have far to look for the fugitive 
 Nihilists, M. Siegel," said Helga steadily. 
 
 " Don't excite his zeal," I put in hastily. 
 
 " Can you help me, really ? " he cried. 
 
 " I am one and M. Denver is the other," she replied 
 calmly. 
 
 He stared at her and then at me in amazement, and 
 laughed. 
 
 " You 're pulling my leg," he said. 
 
 " I don't know what that means, but what I say is 
 true," replied Helga. 
 
 He turned serious then, being convinced. 
 
 " Just light the gas for me, Harper," he said. 
 
 " It is true. We are both Nihilist suspects and are 
 making a bolt for the frontier ; " and I went on to 
 tell him something of what had got us into the mess. 
 
 " Can I use it ? " he asked, his first thought natu- 
 rally, for the Screecher. 
 
 " No, not our part ; but if you care to take a hand 
 you can use your own experience." 
 
 " It 's the chance of a lifetime. Of course I will," 
 15
 
 226 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 he declared at once, adding characteristically : " I may 
 do you a turn at the same time." 
 
 Then Helga told her plan and we discussed it to- 
 gether. Siegel's enthusiasm rose and fell as the risk 
 of his being arrested in mistake appeared greater or 
 less. Indeed he was just as anxious to be caught as 
 I was to escape; and in the end we came to an 
 arrangement. 
 
 Siegel was to take my place as Harper C. Denver 
 and to carry my passport, and I was to take his. 
 Helga was to remain Madame de Courvaix and to 
 act independently of us both ; and we were all to 
 travel in separate carriages and endeavour to pass the 
 barriers at the frontier alone. 
 
 " I am candid with you, M. Siegel," said Helga ; 
 " I think you will be stopped. M. Denver's name is 
 known and we ought to have had another passport. 
 I think I shall get through, and I 'm sure he will. 
 And that is my principal concern." 
 
 " I '11 try and act up to the part," said Siegel 
 gleefuly. 
 
 "If you are stopped, I shall not attempt to get 
 through," I said to Helga. 
 
 " But that is just what you must do. You must 
 go first. Think, if we are both stopped, how disas- 
 trous it may be. You will take these with you ; " and 
 she handed me the papers which had played so great 
 a part in the past few days. " With these, and your 
 freedom and your Embassy at your back, you will 
 gain the Emperor's presence, and then his friendship 
 for you should do the rest. It is our one sound 
 chance." 
 
 " But it looks like deserting you," I protested. " You 
 ask too much. It 's cowardly." 
 
 " What could you do if we were both detained ? 
 You must do this. You must. And you must be the 
 first to pass the barrier." 
 
 " Say, Harper, you can give the thing the necessary 
 colour by asking for that wire from Marvyn for me."
 
 AT THE FRONTIER 227 
 
 I gave in, reluctantly; and at Dunaberg, the next 
 stop, feeling something like a coward I left the car- 
 riage to find a seat elsewhere. 
 
 " Courage, my friend," said Helga, giving me her 
 hand with a smile. " Courage, and we shall make 
 the rest of the journey to Berlin safely and together." 
 
 " Pray God it will be so," I answered. 
 
 " This is just bully," cried Siegel in the highest 
 spirits. " See me do the conspirator when you two 
 are through. I hope to glory they won't let me pass." 
 
 During the remaining run to the frontier I was 
 profoundly anxious and miserable. I knew Helga 
 would not have taken such a step as to bring Siegel 
 into the matter if she had not felt there was real 
 danger for us both ; and that she gave into my care 
 the papers which were of such vital import, snowed 
 that she regarded her own chances as very doubtful. 
 
 I had unbounded confidence in her wit and ready 
 resource. She would get through if any one could; 
 but the gate was a very narrow one. If the new de- 
 velopment came from Kalkov, as I could not doubt, 
 she was so well known that a personal description of 
 her would be sent in full. 
 
 And then I perceived the shrewdness of her present 
 manoeuvre. Siegel and I were sufficiently alike for a 
 written description of one to pass for that of the other. 
 We were both clean shaven, somewhere about the same 
 build and height and colour; and when I read his 
 description in his identity paper drawn up for the 
 purpose of his long journey through Russian territory 
 - 1 saw it was quite possible to apply it to me. 
 
 When we reached Vilna the official preparations 
 began. A number of men were at the depot and 
 made a careful scrutiny of the passengers, and event- 
 ually all of them boarded the train. One got into the 
 compartment where I sat with Siegel's writing case 
 open on my knee. 
 
 He watched me write for a time and then asked 
 me for a light.
 
 228 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 I handed him Siegel's matchbox a curio he had 
 picked up in China and made a commonplace 
 remark in execrable Russian. I had heard Siegel's 
 Russian. 
 
 " Monsieur speaks French ? " he asked me politely, 
 returning the box. 
 
 " Un poo, pas bocoo." He recognized the accent 
 immediately and smiled. " Je suis Americain ; San 
 Francisco, voo savvy." 
 
 " German, perhaps ? " he ventured. 
 
 " Ya wohl, etwas ; aber Englisch am besten ; " and 
 I laughed. 
 
 " I speak English," he answered, " and have been 
 in England." 
 
 " Been in America? " 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Ah ! " and I smiled indulgently as if he had 
 missed Heaven. 
 
 " You are a writer ? " he asked next with pleasant 
 inquisitiveness. 
 
 " Yes. I 'm Siegel of the Screecher ; which means 
 that," I added in reply to his look of bewilderment, 
 and gave him one of Siegel's cards. " Screecher is 
 American for Eagle," I explained. " And what are 
 you?" 
 
 But he was not communicative. He smiled and ges- 
 tured deprecatingly, as if he were of no importance. 
 
 " Just a private individual." 
 
 " Travelled much ? " 
 
 " No, not far. To England and in France and in 
 Germany." 
 
 " Ah, I 've just been round the world ; " and I 
 rattled away with a general description of many 
 things I did not know and many places I had not 
 seen ; but I took care to say nothing about any part 
 of European Russia. 
 
 What did I think of Petersburg? I had only stayed 
 there long enough to see my friend Harold Marvyn at 
 the Embassy. If I 'd known I 'd have stayed longer ;
 
 AT THE FRONTIER 229 
 
 and I skated on to the thin ice of the Nihilist raid, 
 playing Siegel's part as he had performed for us. I 
 ended by saying I was expecting a telegram from the 
 Embassy at Kovna could he tell me how to get it 
 quickly ? 
 
 He could and did and offered to help me. On this 
 I became professionally confidential. I told him my 
 wish to know more of the Nihilist business, and asked 
 him whether it would probably be worth my while to 
 return to Petersburg ; and so managed that he was led 
 to ask all about me and my newspaper. Then I showed 
 him enough to convince him of my good faith. 
 
 I watched him gradually lose interest in me and my 
 concerns ; and I knew from this that any suspicions 
 or hopes about me, with which he had entered the 
 carriage were dissipated. I was not a Nihilist ; no 
 credit was to be gained from detecting and arresting 
 me; and he wished to bother himself no more about 
 me. 
 
 We were in this stage of the proceedings, and I was 
 wondering whether Siegel had also been interviewed 
 and if so with what results, when my companion said 
 we were close to Kovna and that I had better put my 
 things together. He was kind enough to assist me 
 and I noticed that he was at great pains to see as 
 many of my papers as he could and to read them. I 
 gave him ample opportunity; and an easy-going fool 
 lie no doubt thought me in consequence. 
 
 At Kovna his confidence in my good faith com- 
 municated itself to the other officials and my path 
 was made easy in consequence. He walked with me 
 to the barrier ; a significant glance or two passed be- 
 tween him and the officials; a very cursory look was 
 taken at my passport and I was through. 
 
 I had not risked looking for either Helga or Siegel ; 
 but when I had passed through I hung about and soon 
 made a discovery which filled me with concern. 
 
 A great distinction was made between the men and 
 the women. Scarcely any difficulty was made in re-
 
 230 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 gard to the men ; some sharp glances and a few ques- 
 tions at the most. But all the women between twenty 
 and fifty years of age were taken away for separate 
 examination. 
 
 I saw Helga come up, hand over her passport, and 
 submit to the close and searching scrutiny with a kind 
 of impatient frankness that was admirable acting. But 
 she was led away like the rest for further examination 
 of her papers. 
 
 I was waiting with an anxiety which can be im- 
 agined for her to appear again, when I was witness 
 of the little comedy in which Siegel played the chief 
 part. 
 
 He had put up his coat collar and drawn down his 
 cap so that as little of his face as possible was to be 
 seen, and he came striding along casting quick suspi- 
 cious glances on all sides, much after the manner of 
 the conventional conspirator of burlesque. 
 
 In this way he tried to thrust his way past the 
 officials. Any one with the faintest sense of humour 
 would have seen he was fooling; but humour is not 
 the strong point of Russian officialism. The men by 
 the barrier whispered together as he approached and 
 then clustered close like wasps round an over ripe 
 peach. 
 
 " Your passport, monsieur, if you please," said one, 
 stopping him. 
 
 "Passport, what do you mean?" he asked in a 
 truly cosmopolitan language. 
 
 " Your passport ; you know what that is," said the 
 man trying French. 
 
 " Have n't one," he answered. He told me after- 
 wards he had intentionally torn up mine, thinking he 
 had better leave the officials to connect him with me. 
 " Americans don't want passports." 
 
 " Your name, monsieur." 
 
 " Shan't tell you. I 'm an American, that 's enough. 
 Don't you interfere with me," he said threateningly; 
 and made as if to go on.
 
 AT THE FRONTIER 231 
 
 Half a dozen hands were thrust out instantly to 
 stop him. One man tried to see more of his face and 
 was glancing at a paper. He whispered something to 
 his colleague, who asked 
 
 " Will you raise your hat, monsieur?" 
 
 " No, I won't." 
 
 " You cannot pass, monsieur." 
 
 " We '11 see about that ; " and he drew his hands 
 from his pockets and clenched his fists. I really feared 
 he was going to show fight. 
 
 " Will you step this way, if you please, monsieur ? " 
 said an elderly man coming forward. Apparently a 
 man in higher authority. 
 
 " What for?" asked Siegel brusquely. 
 
 " There has probably been some mistake which I 
 can put right for you," was the suavely spoken reply. 
 " You can then resume your journey." 
 
 "All right," said Siegel, after a moment's pause; 
 and the two went off followed by several of the other 
 men. 
 
 " Do you think it is? " asked one of the officials at 
 the barrier of his colleague. 
 
 " I 'm sure it is," was the reply. " He '11 resume his 
 journey all right, but " he jerked his thumb back- 
 wards and winked. And the incident was closed so far 
 as the public were concerned. 
 
 The women passengers were now beginning to come 
 out from a separate door ; but I saw nothing of Helga 
 and my hopes for her safety ebbed as the number of 
 the women increased. 
 
 Some of them were speaking of their examination, 
 and I heard to my dismay that in more than one case 
 there had been a most rigorous personal search. They 
 were loud in protest at the indignity. 
 
 " She actually made me take down my hair to see 
 if I had anything concealed in it," said a German 
 woman to a friend, as the two passed me. " You 
 never saw such a disgraceful scene," 
 
 Still there was no sign of Helga ; and keen though
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 I was for news of her, when we were told the train 
 would soon start, I dared not linger lest I should draw 
 attention and suspicion upon myself. 
 
 I was in a fever of anxiety during the last few 
 minutes as I stood by the door of the car straining 
 my hungry eyes in vain for a sight of her. 
 
 Then the detective who had been on the train with 
 me came along, his face wearing a satisfied expression. 
 He caught sight of me, smiled and nodded as he passed, 
 then stopped, turned and came up and spoke. 
 
 " Bon voyage, monsieur. Then you are not going 
 back?" 
 
 " I 'm still in two minds. But I suppose it 's nothing 
 serious." 
 
 I spoke as indifferently as I could. 
 
 " Oh no not for your country. I don't know, 
 though. I could give you some news." 
 
 " I 'm always ready for that," I replied with an eager 
 smile. 
 
 " I 'm a police agent," he said, as if the admis- 
 sion would astound me. I was therefore promptly 
 astounded. 
 
 " You ! " I cried. " Impossible. Why, I thought 
 " and left the thought to his imagination. 
 
 " What did you think ? " He chuckled. 
 
 " I put you down for a merchant or a landowner. 
 But a police agent! " and I waved my hand in amaze- 
 ment. " I 've always heard you are the smartest men 
 in Europe. Now I know it. A police agent ! " I was 
 lost in wonderment. 
 
 " Do you know what I thought you were?" 
 
 " You did n't take me for another, I suppose ? " It 
 was a joke and he enjoyed it and laughed. 
 
 " No, I thought you were a Nihilist ! " 
 
 " A Nihilist ! Well, that 's worse than ever. An 
 American a Nihilist ? " 
 
 The thing was incredulous as my tone showed. 
 
 " They come from all countries, monsieur. I was 
 looking for a countryman of yours, a Mr. Damper 
 no, Denver."
 
 AT THE FRONTIER 
 
 " Great Scott. You don't mean it ! " 
 
 "We caught him, too. He was in the train ; and a 
 woman too one of the most dangerous Nihilists in 
 the Empire." 
 
 " A woman ! Oh, you police agents are wonderful ! 
 But do you mean that women are in this ? " 
 
 " They are often the worst. She is a pretty 
 woman, too, this one. You 'd better get in, mon- 
 sieur, there 's the signal unless you think of going 
 back to Petersburg." 
 
 " When is the next train ? " 
 
 " Starts in an hour from now. But you can catch 
 the return mail at Insterburg." 
 
 " Perhaps that '11 be better. I can get my baggage. 
 If I do come back I shall look out for you," I said, as 
 I got into the carriage. 
 
 " I am going back at once to Vilna. Bon voyage, 
 monsieur." 
 
 " Good-bye. A pretty woman you say ? Will it go 
 hard with her, do you suppose?" I asked in a com- 
 passionate tone as the train moved. 
 
 He shook his head and smiled significantly. 
 
 " She '11 go to the mines, if what they say is true." 
 
 That was what that infernal old Kalkov had said; 
 and he was making his words good. 
 
 And it was from that I had to save her. 
 
 Thank God she had been shrewder than I ; and 
 that I was free to make my effort. 
 
 If I had been in Siegel's place and then despite 
 the tragedy I thought of the comedy and smiled. 
 
 But the smile was very fleeting.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV THE FRESH 
 CAMPAIGN 
 
 IT was fortunate for my peace of mind in the hours 
 which followed Helga's arrest that I did not know 
 a number of grim facts that afterwards came to my 
 knowledge about Russian methods in dealing with 
 certain classes of offenders. 
 
 Her case was bad enough at the best. Prince 
 Kalkov was one of the most dangerous men in the 
 Empire to have for an enemy; and that he was 
 Helga's bitter enemy he had shown already. Her 
 secret attack had threatened his influence and posi- 
 tion and had thus roused him to vigorous measures 
 of self-defence. 
 
 As I recalled my last interview with him, I saw 
 now that he had deliberately goaded me to passion 
 and then let drop the hint of possible escape in order 
 to drive me to make the attempt which he had planned 
 to end fatally for me. And in thus goading me he 
 had shown his hand against her so openly, because he 
 believed I should not live to speak of it. 
 
 I thought I could see something more, too. He had 
 not scrupled first to use the brotherhood for his own 
 purposes against Helga, and then had swooped down 
 upon them at the moment they were serving his end 
 and had made the raid upon them. In this way he had 
 probably calculated not only to demonstrate the vigi- 
 lance of his agents but also to secure the silence of 
 the men he had used, should anything compromising 
 to him transpire. 
 
 As the result of that raid he had found that Helga 
 234
 
 THE FRESH CAMPAIGN 235 
 
 had slipped through his net and had taken the papers 
 with her; and had learnt from Drexel no doubt, that 
 I had been with her at the house. 
 
 The hue and cry had followed which had led to 
 the arrest of Helga and, as he had no doubt been in- 
 formed, of myself as well. 
 
 The net had been cast wide and, as both the birds 
 had seemingly been caught in its meshes, he would 
 probably feel easy enough in mind. 
 
 There was only one point in which he had failed. 
 He had not secured the precious papers ; and I had 
 to consider what he was likely to do in consequence. 
 
 I came to the conclusion that under the circum- 
 stances although he might possibly see Helga to ques- 
 tion her, he was not likely to see Siegel. In my last 
 interview he had threatened to have me charged with 
 Vastic's murder, and I had left him to do it ; and this 
 was no doubt the charge which Siegel would find him- 
 self called upon to face. He would have no difficulty 
 whatever in meeting it, of course, the moment he chose 
 to open his lips ; but as he wished to learn at first 
 hand the secrets of the Russian prison, he would not 
 speak for a while. 
 
 I should thus have time to operate, and my course 
 was fairly clear. I had to get to the Emperor himself 
 with my story before Kalkov had any suspicion that 
 I was not safely under lock and key. If he knew I was 
 still at liberty he would put insuperable difficulties in 
 my way, as he had before. 
 
 I left the cars at Insterburg accordingly and caught 
 the limited back to the capital. The journey was with- 
 out incident. I was recognized at Kovna; but no 
 questions save those prompted by curiosity were asked 
 me. 
 
 My friend the police agent had spoken about me to 
 one or two of the officials, and what he had said had 
 apparently been very much in my favour. The elderly 
 man whom I had seen lead Siegel away at the moment 
 when he seemed about to show fight, was particularly
 
 236 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 gracious to me; and after a general query or so, he 
 asked 
 
 " Was the American whom we arrested here a friend 
 of yours, monsieur ? " 
 
 " Of course, in a sense all Americans are friends," 
 I replied evasively. 
 
 " Do you know his name ? " 
 
 " There are some sixty millions of us Americans ; " 
 and I laughed. " Are you sure he was an American ? " 
 I preferred to do the questioning. 
 
 " He would say nothing, not even his name." 
 
 " Could I see him ? I might by chance know him. 
 A newspaper man gets to know a lot of faces." 
 
 " He has been sent back to the capital. If I can 
 
 venture to warn you " he paused and looked 
 
 at me. 
 
 " I shall be only too glad of a hint." 
 
 " I should not seek him out then, if I were you. 
 We know little about him, but in our instructions the 
 charge is an ugly one." 
 
 I laughed. 
 
 " Well, when we Americans take a thing up we 
 generally do it in earnest, whatever it is. But I don't 
 believe any American would ever turn Nihilist." 
 
 " Yet you have had Anarchists in your country. 
 Some of your Presidents have been assassinated, mon- 
 sieur; is it not so?" 
 
 " By madmen or wild European scum ; not by 
 honest Americans." 
 
 He raised his eyebrows, smiled, and shook his head. 
 
 " The disease is the same in all countries. This 
 man is a murderer, monsieur," he answered slowly 
 and emphatically. " He was escaping." 
 
 Poor Siegel ! I could have laughed again ; but did 
 not. I was appropriately shocked, almost horror- 
 struck, at the news. 
 
 " It is terrible," I said, gravely. " One cannot wish 
 to help such a criminal as a murderer, even if he be 
 one's own countryman ; " and with that we parted.
 
 THE FRESH CAMPAIGN 237 
 
 The one item of fact I had gathered was that the 
 prisoners had been sent back to Petersburg; and in 
 the hours of my journey I had ample time to con- 
 sider my plans, and had them pretty well cut and 
 dried when I reached the capital. 
 
 I chose a quiet hotel for the night, registered myself 
 as Frank Siegel of San Francisco, and after a supper 
 served in my own rooms, I went straight to bed. 
 
 I took all the precautions I could to avoid obser- 
 vation, of course, as I had to face the double risk of 
 recognition by the Nihilists and by any of Prince 
 Kalkov's agents. 
 
 In the morning I commenced my work. I drove to 
 the American Embassy and sent up Siegel's card to 
 Harold Marvvn. 
 
 I was shown up to his room and as I entered he 
 jumped up from his table and came toward me, with 
 hand extended. Then he stopped suddenly and with 
 a very sharp look said 
 
 : ' They brought me Mr. Siegel's card." 
 
 " Do you recognize me? " I asked. 
 
 " Good heavens, you are Harper C. Denver." 
 
 " Yes." And we shook hands. He was obviously 
 perplexed and stood fingering Siegel's card. 
 
 " I 'm afraid I 've puzzled you ; but for the moment 
 Siegel and I have changed personalities. It 's a queer 
 show. But he 's in prison and I 'm here to tell you all 
 about it." 
 
 Marvvn was never a very demonstrative man and 
 his diplomatic training had increased his capacity for 
 self-restraint. But my quiet statement was too much 
 for him. He went back to his seat, and as I drew a 
 chair close to his table, he stared at me, his thin sallow 
 face all lines of surprise, and letting out a long breath 
 in a sort of mixed sigh and whistle he exclaimed 
 
 " Well, I 'm gormed." 
 
 I remembered his expression at Harvard. 
 
 " I have n't heard that since you left Harvard," I 
 said, with a smile.
 
 238 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " But what does it all mean ? What are you doing 
 here? How is that here, show me." 
 
 " It means a most infernal mess, which can all soon 
 be put right, however, if I can keep my head and you 
 can keep my secret." 
 
 " My dear Denver, I '11 do anything in the world 
 for you. It was your father got me into this, you 
 know. But is it official ? " 
 
 " It 's a bit of everything, I think. But you give me 
 your word not to repeat anything I tell you ? " 
 
 " Of course I will." 
 
 " For one thing I want your people here to get me 
 a personal audience with the Czar." 
 
 " The Czar ! Well, that 's a pretty tall proposition 
 as a start. But I daresay it can be done. We 're on 
 excellent terms with Prince Kalkov who arranges such 
 things." 
 
 I laughed. 
 
 " But old Kalkov 's just the man who must know 
 nothing about it. He 's the man I 'm fighting ; so 
 I '11 drop that part of the business." 
 
 " Fighting ? How 's that ? Give me some facts." 
 
 " I think I '11 begin backwards," and I told him 
 about Siegel's arrest; and then little by little most 
 of the story. 
 
 " Don't tell me anything about the contents of those 
 papers," he said. " It might be very inconvenient 
 knowledge." 
 
 " I can't ; I don't know them myself ; but it 's m 
 regard to them I want your assistance. Of course I 
 don't mean to compromise you in any way officially." 
 
 " I 'm afraid you 're trying to weave cloth of spider's 
 webs with a hornet's sting for the shuttle, Denver. 
 My advice to you in regard to those papers is burn 
 'em." 
 
 " And if I were in your place here, I daresay I 
 should; but you understand that officially you know 
 nothing about them. All that I wish you to do is to 
 receive for safe custody the property of an American 
 citizen to be dealt with as that citizen desires."
 
 THE FRESH CAMPAIGN 239 
 
 " That 's all very well, but if any fuss came and 
 enquiries were made about them, think what a stink 
 there might be," he objected nervously. 
 
 " I tell you for all I know to the contrary they may 
 be mere sheets of blank paper. I hand you two packets 
 of valuable securities, that 's all ; and I ask you to 
 accept -instructions as to their disposition. You can 
 surely do that? If an American can't get a trifle like 
 that done for him in his own country's Embassy, it 's 
 a pretty pass." 
 
 "And what are your instructions?" he asked sus- 
 piciously. 
 
 " I shall either call here every day before twelve 
 o'clock or send you a letter before that time, request- 
 ing you to hold them for a further twenty-four hours. 
 If you do not see or hear from me, you are to hand 
 them over to the person who produces a letter from 
 me dated to-day, requesting you to deliver them to the 
 bearer, and signed by me in this fashion : ' Harper 
 Clarence Denver, sophomore, citizen of the United 
 States.' ' : 
 
 " Who will present that letter ? " 
 
 " What has that to do with the Embassy ? It will 
 be signed in that way to prevent any forgery." 
 
 " I think I can do that," he agreed after a pause. 
 
 " I know you can ; and there is only one thing fur- 
 ther. The day you part with them ask your friend, 
 Prince Kalkov, in what prison he has ventured to 
 lock me up, and use all the powers of the Embassy to 
 find me. You may gamble on it that I shall need all 
 the help you can afford." 
 
 "I don't like it, Denver, and that's the truth, 
 wish you 'd let us take the thing up in the usual 
 way." 
 
 " My dear fellow, that 's just a sheer impossibility. 
 I know where I 'm walking in this thing. I mean to 
 win right along. This is no mere bluff I 'm putting 
 up: I hold a straight flush." 
 
 I pressed the matter very insistently and in the end
 
 240 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 gained my point, although I should not have done so, 
 had not Marvyn felt under a considerable obligation 
 to me as the son of the man who had helped him, >nd 
 whose influence could be depended upon to see him 
 through any bother. He yielded with great reluctance. 
 Still, he yielded, and that was all I needed. 
 
 " And what about Siegel ? " he asked, when my 
 point was settled and I had written the necessary 
 letters and given into his charge the papers. 
 
 "' You may safely wait until you hear from him or 
 me. When the mistake is discovered they will be as 
 anxious to get rid of him as he was that they should 
 make it." 
 
 " He 's a queer fellow." 
 
 " He 's getting the ' copy ' he wants." 
 
 " There may be a row about it," said Marvyn, who 
 appeared to have a far scent for trouble. 
 
 " Only for newspaper purposes," I answered as I 
 left. 
 
 I was in high spirits at my first success. I had 
 planted the compromising papers where even Kalkov's 
 iron hand would be powerless to reach them, and I had 
 now only to complete the machinery by which they 
 were to fall into the right hands if trouble came my 
 way. 
 
 I drove to the Embassy of the Power chiefly con- 
 cerned and asked for the man there whom Helga had 
 mentioned to me. I sent up no name at first and con- 
 sequently met with a courteous refusal and a request 
 to put my business in writing. 
 
 Give my own name I could not just yet, so I sent 
 up one of Siegel's cards, marking it on urgent private 
 business. After some little farther trouble this had 
 the requisite effect, and I was shown into the presence 
 of a man some fifty years of age, thin and tall, with a 
 military carriage, clean shaven, with one of those 
 straight almost lipless mouths you see in men of se- 
 cretive mind. 
 
 " Mr. Siegel ? " he asked in English. 
 
 " Are we quite alone ? "
 
 THE FRESH CAMPAIGN 241 
 
 His eyes asked me what I meant. 
 
 " You can see, sir," was what his lips said. 
 
 " Will you answer my question, please ? " I per- 
 sisted. I had my reasons ; for there was a big screen 
 in the room and I had heard things. 
 
 " You can rely upon everything being confidential." 
 
 I pointed to the screen and looked at him. He 
 started. 
 
 " A screen always suggests draughts to me. Permit 
 me to " 
 
 " There is no need," he interposed quickly, as I was 
 moving toward it. " It is usual to have a memoran- 
 dum of matters that pass here." 
 
 " I am much obliged for the thoughtfulness, but I 
 can trust my memory," I answered drily ; and then he 
 sent some one out of the room and himself folded the 
 screen together. 
 
 " Now, Mr. er Siegel," he said referring to the 
 card. 
 
 " I am not Mr. Siegel and have no connection with 
 the press of any country. I wished to see you on 
 something of extreme importance and of a vitally 
 confidential nature. I used that name to gain this 
 interview." 
 
 " And your own name ? " 
 
 " Is for the moment of no concern. You would not 
 know it, but will of course learn it if this interview 
 ends as I wish." 
 
 " Will you be seated ? " and he motioned to a chair. 
 
 I drew my chair close to his and waited. 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " I can speak more easily to you here ; " and I 
 pointed to the seat at his desk. 
 
 " You are mysterious, sir." 
 
 " No ; only cautious. I don't intend to be over- 
 heard," I replied quietly. He took his seat then and 
 turned to me a listening but impassive face. 
 
 " You had some negotiations recently in regard to 
 certain papers ? " 
 16
 
 242 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Ah ! " Recognition and interest now took the 
 place of impassiveness. 
 
 " They have come into my possession." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " That is of no consequence. I have them. And " 
 I paused and met his intent gaze " they may find 
 their way to you." 
 
 He thought rapidly. 
 
 " The price, sir ? " 
 
 " You mean money ? I am not for sale. I say they 
 may find their way to you." 
 
 " I do not understand you." 
 
 " Yet my words speak my meaning." 
 
 " From whom do you come ? " 
 
 " On my own initiative." 
 
 " Where are the papers ? " and his eyes shot at me 
 as if to pierce to my pockets. 
 
 " They are in perfectly safe keeping." 
 
 " What is it you wish ? " 
 
 " I am in some personal danger possibly great 
 danger and if anything should befall me, I intend 
 those papers to come to you." 
 
 He saw my meaning in a flash. 
 
 " You intend to use that as a means to restrain those 
 who threaten you ? " 
 
 " Exactly." There was no change in his expression 
 but I read his silence, and added : " You can get them 
 in no other way." 
 
 He made up his mind then promptly. 
 
 " Your terms ? " 
 
 " I ask little except absolute secrecy about myself. 
 If you consent, I shall leave with you a letter to those 
 who will upon receipt of it hand you documents which 
 will tell you precisely where and how to get the papers 
 you wish, and will be a full authority to secure their 
 being handed to you. There are two sets of docu- 
 ments. One is for your use : the other you must give 
 me a pledge to have placed in the hands of the Czar 
 himself."
 
 THE FRESH CAMPAIGN 243 
 
 I did not tell him he would get the papers them- 
 selves from Marvyn, nor that they were actually at 
 the American Embassy. 
 
 " If that is all why not give them me at once? " 
 
 " You will only present the letter I shall give you 
 under certain conditions." 
 
 "Those are?" 
 
 " That on any day you fail either to see me or hear 
 from me by noon." 
 
 " You ask nothing from us ? " 
 
 " Nothing more than I have said." 
 
 " No assistance, should you get into this danger 
 you anticipate." 
 
 " You could render none." 
 
 " It is very extraordinary." 
 
 " Your answer ? " 
 
 " I accept your conditions, of course. But I wish 
 you would give them me at once. We would find 
 means to protect you." 
 
 " Thank you. That is impossible." 
 
 I wrote the letter in the terms I had agreed with 
 Marvyn and handed it to him. 
 
 " My name you will see is Denver," I said. 
 
 " Mr. Marvyn, of your Embassy. I know him." 
 
 " Your pledge of secrecy must be kept, or the whole 
 thing falls through. I have arranged that. The slight- 
 est breath, and the papers are lost to you." 
 
 " Does Mr. Marvyn know ? " 
 
 " Mr. Marvyn knows no more about them than the 
 secretary you sent out of the room. I have left with 
 him the particulars which will enable you to get the 
 papers." 
 
 " On your side, Mr. Denver, you will observe 
 confidence ? " 
 
 I smiled as I answered. 
 
 "If they are to fall into your hands, I shall be in 
 a place where my silence will be very effectively 
 secured." 
 
 " I do not ask about that," he said as I rose. " But
 
 244 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 you will render us a service we should never forget, 
 Mr. Denver." 
 
 I smiled. 
 
 " You mean, I may do so. There 's an 'if in the 
 matter, and I hope it will be the strongest word in the 
 whole conversation." 
 
 I left him then to set about the still more difficult 
 task of getting my audience with his Majesty.
 
 CHAPTER XXV THE LUCK WAVERS 
 
 I WAS very preoccupied with my plans as I left 
 the Foreign Embassy, and, crossing the side 
 path quickly, ran against a man, who turned, stared, 
 started, and muttering some words I did not catch, 
 passed on. 
 
 Something about him struck me as familiar, and I 
 glanced after him with half a mind to follow and speak 
 to him. But time was pressing. It was already mid- 
 day, and I had yet to devise a means of getting at the 
 Emperor; so I entered my carriage and drove back 
 to the hotel. 
 
 The incident had served to revive my caution, how- 
 ever, and when I alighted I had a good look about me. 
 There were but few people about, and none to take 
 any notice of me; but while I still stood in the lobby, 
 a drosky drove rapidly past, and in it was the man 
 whom I had jostled some minutes before. 
 
 Obviously I had been followed ; and having ordered 
 my lunch to be sent to my rooms, I went up feeling 
 vaguely uneasy and worried. 
 
 The man's face would obtrude itself into my 
 thoughts, and my vain efforts to place him in my 
 memory troubled me. In the last few crowded days 
 I had seen such a number of different faces that my 
 recollection of this one was lost in the crowd. 
 
 That any one should have recognized me at such 
 a moment was annoying ; and whoever the man might 
 be, and whatever his object in following me, I foresaw 
 the possibility of embarrassing complications, and even 
 of dangerous ones. 
 
 Without interference from any one, the difficulties 
 245
 
 246 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 in the path of getting to the Czar's presence were of 
 themselves likely to tax my ingenuity to the utmost. 
 Even when I had been his guest in the Palace they had 
 proved insuperable, and now they threatened to be no 
 less troublesome. A hundred different suggestions oc- 
 curred to me, only to be put on one side. 
 
 You cannot walk up to an Emperor's door, send in 
 your card, and see him without any fuss; and if I 
 was to succeed now, it would only be as a result of 
 some ruse. 
 
 For this there was only one thing which might tell 
 in my favour. I knew my way about the Palace, and 
 on the night of my arrival I had been seen by, and my 
 name was known to, one or two of the gentlemen-in- 
 waiting. If I could get inside the building, therefore, 
 I might by the use of a little impudence and ingenuity 
 gain my end. 
 
 In this connection I had a stroke of luck. I learned 
 from the papers that the Czar had returned late on the 
 previous evening with his guest, the Crown Prince of 
 Denmark; and I saw how to make use of this visit 
 for my purpose. 
 
 The Crown Prince and his staff were staying in the 
 Palace, and the fact of there being so many new faces 
 to puzzle the officials would help me. I resolved to go 
 to the Palace quite openly, ask for one of the Prince's 
 staff, and while he was being sought, I proposed to 
 lose myself somewhere in the building, and trust to 
 my wits for the rest. 
 
 To ask openly for an audience of the Emperor 
 would, of course, be useless, because, as Marvyn him- 
 self had admitted, all such requests were referred 
 straight to Prince Kalkov. 
 
 I found a list of the members of the staff in a 
 morning paper and picked out a name at random : 
 that of a Colonel von Kramen : and over my lunch 
 arranged the details of my venture. If I came actu- 
 ally face to face with him, I could easily use Siegel's 
 connection with the Screecher to carry me through.
 
 THE LUCK WAVERS 247 
 
 I fixed the time for my visit for about five in the 
 afternoon. I knew the Czar's habit was to devote 
 himself to matters of business for an hour or two 
 from five o'clock; and if I could get my name be- 
 fore him then with a pressing request for an audience, 
 I reckoned all the rest would be plain sailing. 
 
 I ordered a carriage to be ready by half-past four, 
 and sat down to wait for the time to pass with such 
 patience as I could command; and I was just finish- 
 ing my cigar when the waiter interrupted me with an 
 announcement that brought me to my feet in a moment. 
 
 " Your brother to see you, monsieur." 
 
 "My brother!" I exclaimed, and got no farther 
 before the man who had followed me to the hotel 
 rushed in with both hands extended and face beaming 
 with smiles. 
 
 " Ah, Frank, my brother, my brother," he cried in 
 broken English, and with a very effusive foreign 
 manner. 
 
 I drew back and stared at him. 
 
 " I don't know you," I said. 
 
 The waiter stood staring at us in amused astonish- 
 ment. The ways of these Americans were always 
 droll, of course, to him. 
 
 " Oh, Frank, brother, why receive me thus coldly ? 
 Why this cruel estrangement ? This freezing stare ? " 
 exclaimed my visitor as the waiter, after lounging a 
 moment, went out and closed the door. Then the 
 newcomer's manner changed. " Or am I mistaken, 
 and is it the Emperor ? " the last sentence in a low, 
 sly tone with a look of intense cunning. 
 
 " I don't know who the devil you are, but you 've 
 no business here anyway, so get out, right now," I 
 said angrily. 
 
 He took no notice and stood staring at me with the 
 same smile of cunning. Then shaking his head as if 
 in reproach, he sat down. 
 
 " This is my room. Get out of it," I cried. 
 
 He did not move, so I crossed to the bell.
 
 248 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Shall I call someone to pitch you out ? " 
 
 fHe spread his hands and wagged his head. 
 
 " They will not do that." 
 
 " We '11 see ; " and I touched it. 
 
 " They will not do that," he declared, unmoved. 
 " You will not tell them to. I should only say I am 
 looking for an American gentleman I had the good 
 fortune to meet at Brabinsk, and think I have found 
 him." 
 
 He smiled with the same serene cunning. 
 
 " What do you want ? " I asked angrily. 
 
 The waiter opened the door then. 
 
 " Ah, that is more like my brother. I will have 
 cognac and cigars and coffee. The sight of your dear 
 face, brother, is a delight." 
 
 " Bring cigars, coffee, and brandy," I told the waiter. 
 
 " Was I not right ? You no longer order me out. 
 On the contrary, we drink together, and smoke and 
 and talk." 
 
 I waited until the drinks came. 
 
 " Help yourself," I told him ; and he did, gener- 
 ously. Russians can all drink like fish, and this one 
 took half a tumbler of brandy and very nearly forgot 
 all about the water. Then leisurely he lit a cigar, and 
 having got rid of the waiter's curious eyes, rose and 
 locked the door, and tossed the key on the table. 
 
 " You may have another brother, monsieur, and 
 he would not be so welcome ; " and with a fresh smile 
 he sat down again and puffed away in silence. 
 
 " A good cigar," he said appreciatively. 
 
 His coolness was amazing. 
 
 " You said you were going to talk well, talk, and 
 say what you want." 
 
 " I want to do you a good service, monsieur ; I am 
 your friend." 
 
 " Never mind that, what do you want ? " 
 
 He took up his glass and looked at the liquor in it 
 deliberately. 
 
 " A toast, monsieur. To the memory of M.
 
 THE LUCK WAVERS 249 
 
 Vastic," and he tossed off half the liquor at a gulp. 
 "You do not drink?" 
 
 " No ; I 'm waiting for you to speak." 
 
 " He was a great man Vastic. But you were too 
 quick for him." 
 
 " Were you ? " I began. 
 
 He nodded his head quickly. 
 
 " I missed you. It is not often I miss. I am counted 
 a dead shot ; " and with a glance the mingled threat 
 and cunning of which no words of mine can convey, 
 he took out a revolver and laid it on the table in his 
 hand. 
 
 The interest of the situation heightened considerably. 
 
 " Have you come for a second shot ? " 
 
 " I hope not ; I hope it will not come to that. I 
 should not miss a second time. Perhaps you have 
 arms here ? " 
 
 " Perhaps I have," I answered coolly, meeting his 
 eyes. 
 
 " It would help to give them me." 
 
 We stared steadily at one another, and then I no- 
 ticed that the door key was within my reach. I leaned 
 forward slightly, as if to be nearer him, and then 
 picked up the key with my left hand, and thrust back 
 my chair so that my right hand rested on the bell 
 push. As I moved, he watched me like a cat, and 
 partly raised the revolver. 
 
 " This will do for me," I answered, slipping the key 
 into an inner pocket and putting my finger on the bell. 
 " You can shoot me if you wish, but at the slightest 
 movement from you I shall ring this bell, and you will 
 find it difficult to get out of the room before the people 
 come and equally difficult to explain your presence. 
 Now we can talk." 
 
 A dead tense silence followed my words. I sat 
 staring at him, with my finger on the push. His 
 fingers left the revolver and he smiled. 
 
 " You are clever, monsieur. But it would not have 
 saved you. You are right, however. We will talk."
 
 250 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Say what you have to say," I answered, keeping 
 my hand on the bell. 
 
 " If I spare you, you can save me. And we shall be 
 quits." 
 
 " Go on." 
 
 He took his hand from his revolver and used it 
 to lift the glass which he drained and immediately 
 replenished. 
 
 " You remember me then, monsieur ? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes, perfectly, now. You were with M. Vastic 
 at Brabinsk." 
 
 " When you shot him," he added significantly. 
 
 " At the moment he was attempting to shoot me. 
 Yes, go on." 
 
 " For that you were condemned by the brotherhood, 
 and I was one of those chosen to to find you." 
 
 " And murder me, you mean after having been 
 a witness that I acted only in self-defence. Go on." 
 
 " We know what occurred," he answered with a 
 wave of the hand, as if putting my words aside. 
 Then his look sharpened. " I am now the only one 
 at large of all who were at Brabinsk that night." 
 
 " Which means what ? " 
 
 " That I am your only source of danger from us, 
 monsieur. It is fortunate that I chanced to see you 
 to-day." 
 
 " There may be two opinions about that," I said 
 drily. " I have mine." 
 
 " It is fortunate for both." 
 
 " That gun of yours is scarcely a promising circum- 
 stance, is it ? " 
 
 " You can make me your friend, if you will." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " I am in danger, almost at my last turn. I am 
 being hunted down and you can save me. Every 
 refuge is closed by these dogs of police." 
 
 " Do you think I can call them off ? I 'm no longer 
 even playing at being Emperor." 
 
 " I have no money, monsieur and dare not go 
 where I could get it."
 
 THE LUCK WAVERS 251 
 
 So the cat was belled at last. To my profound re- 
 lief, the desperate Nihilist and picked assassin was 
 just a common beggar, and his six shooter and threats 
 mere picturesque bits of stage colour, and no more. 
 An almost ludicrous bathos, but yet unutterably wel- 
 come to me. 
 
 A moment's reflection convinced me that he was 
 in earnest. I knew of the raid on the Nihilists and 
 that there had been a great number of arrests. Panic 
 had no doubt seized the bulk of them, as it will do at 
 such moments, and this man had caught the infec- 
 tion : oaths, pledges, revenge, the brotherhood, friends, 
 everything had been blown to the winds by the pas- 
 sion of the panic and fear for his skin. 
 
 I took my hand from the bell and rose. 
 
 " Come," I said quietly, in a tone of reassurance. 
 " Put that gun away and don't monkey with it any 
 longer. I '11 help you if only to show I 've no cause 
 of enmity with you. You shall get out of the country 
 if you wish. How much do you want ? " and without 
 more ado I pulled out a roll of notes. 
 
 This readiness completed his conquest. He tried 
 to maintain some show of stolid indifference, but the 
 sight of the money and the knowledge of all it meant 
 was too much for him ; and for the moment he could 
 not speak. 
 
 " How much ? " I asked again. " Five hundred 
 roubles ? " and I laid notes for that amount on the 
 table. 
 
 " I don't need so much as that," he said. 
 
 " If you '11 comply with one condition, I '11 double 
 the amount." 
 
 His quick glance asked my meaning. 
 
 " You are the one man whose evidence can prove 
 what took place when Vastic was killed. Leave Russia 
 and go to any place you please, but let me know where 
 to find you ; you can write to Mr. Harold Marvyn, of 
 the American Embassy here. And if I need your evi- 
 dence, be ready to swear to what* occurred at Brabinsk.
 
 252 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 Do this, and I '11 see that you have a fair start in a new 
 country. You 're not of the stuff that makes good 
 conspirators. Come ; your gun, right now, as a pledge 
 you trust me and will do what I say." And I held out 
 my hand for it. 
 
 He hesitated, looking at me nervously. 
 
 " I 'm a prisoner, monsieur," he murmured. 
 
 "'Rubbish! Here," and I tossed the key of the 
 room over to him. 
 
 " By God, you 're a man ! " he cried. " You make 
 me feel like a vile wretch of a coward ; " and he 
 pushed the revolver toward me. " I was drawn into 
 this thing, like so many others, and the net was too 
 strong to break. But I could get away now, and if 
 you '11 give me a chance 
 
 " All right. Here 's the money. I '11 have your 
 story when we meet outside your infernal country. 
 Now go, I 'm busy. By the way, what 's your 
 name ? " 
 
 He picked up the notes almost like a man in a 
 dream and as if he could not believe in his good for- 
 tune, and put them away. 
 
 " I am Antpn Presvitch. What can I say to you, 
 monsieur ? I - 
 
 " Say au revoir or any other old tag you please, and 
 keep clear of this sort of business for the future. I 
 wish you good luck in getting away ; " and I opened 
 the door, gave him back his revolver and bundled him 
 out. 
 
 The time was now close at hand for me to start, 
 and I hurried my final preparations. 
 
 My chief concern as I drove to the Palace was lest 
 any of the men who had stopped me on the previous 
 morning should be on duty and recognize me; but 
 the luck continued to be on my side. 
 
 No difficulty was raised about taking Siegel's card 
 to Colonel von Kramen, and I was shown into an 
 ante-room to wait. But I was not left alone, and could 
 not therefore find means to get further into the Palace.
 
 THE LUCK WAVERS 253 
 
 But I was in luck again. Instead of the colonel, a 
 young officer came to me, who said he was his secre- 
 tary, and politely asked my business. 
 
 I invented a reply to the effect that the paper I 
 represented wished me to get the career of so dis- 
 tinguished an officer as the colonel, and that I was 
 very anxious to have a personal interview. I would 
 not detain him more than a few minutes. 
 
 " I 'm afraid it 's out of the question just now. The 
 colonel is with his Royal Highness, and can scarcely 
 be interrupted," he said, as if with regret. " Cannot 
 I tell you what you wish to know ? " 
 
 " I 'm also going to ask the colonel to endeavouV to 
 get me a word with his Royal Highness," I answered 
 glibly. 
 
 "Really!" He smiled. "I have heard of the 
 enterprise of American newspapers, but I scarcely 
 expected this." 
 
 " It 's a usual thing," I replied, as if it were. " In 
 fact I am known to the Czar himself, and have had 
 the honour of a long conversation with him." 
 
 This impressed him, as I intended it should. 
 
 " I '11 go and see what I can do," he answered. 
 
 He was a very pleasant young fellow, so I ventured 
 a step further. 
 
 " Is there not some place where we could be more 
 private than here? In a confidential matter of this 
 sort " 
 
 I left the rest to his imagination. 
 
 " Will you come to my apartments ? I shall be 
 delighted." 
 
 Of course I agreed, but felt rather like a shame- 
 faced impostor at having to trick so frank and good- 
 natured a fellow. There was too much at stake, 
 however, for me to hesitate, and we went away to- 
 gether, talking gaily, up the stairs and along the 
 corridors to his room. 
 
 I was going to win after all, in spite of old Kalkov 
 and his Argus eyes, and my spirits rose as success 
 came nearer and nearer within my grasp.
 
 254 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 We sat chatting for a few minutes, the young officer 
 exhibiting a strong curiosity on the subject of Ameri- 
 can newspapers, what information I wished to obtain, 
 the use I should make of it, and so on ; and I did my 
 best to satisfy him. 
 
 He was satisfied at length apparently, for he went 
 off on his search for the colonel and left me alone. 
 
 I gave him just time to get well away, and then 
 hurried off in the direction of the rooms where I 
 knew the Czar would be at that hour. 
 
 What happened when the young secretary returned 
 to find I had hoaxed him, I do not know, and never 
 had an opportunity of ascertaining. He went out of 
 my thoughts there and then, and the occurrences of 
 the next few hours were too vital for me to think 
 of him again. 
 
 I had to get to the Czar, and assuming an air of 
 as much importance as I could, and feeling, it must 
 be confessed, not a little nervous, I strode into the 
 ante-room, my pulse beating with the fear that Prince 
 Kalkov might be there, and said to one of the aides- 
 de-camp, as I handed him my card my own card 
 this time 
 
 " Kindly let his Majesty know that I have obeyed 
 his summons and am here." 
 
 The aide looked up and frowned. 
 
 " I have no note of your name, monsieur. What 
 is your business, if you please ? " 
 
 " 1 am here by his Majesty's request. I was stay- 
 ing in the Palace as his Majesty's guest until the last 
 two days. I am going to Khiva, and his Majesty 
 wished to see me first." 
 
 " Oh yes, I heard of that. Pray pardon me ; you 
 are the American, M. Denver, yes. His Majesty is 
 engaged at present, but the audience will be over 
 directly, and if he sent for you, of course he will see 
 you." 
 
 " I was to see him before I left. But my name will 
 be enough."
 
 THE LUCK WAVERS 255 
 
 " Will you wait, monsieur ? " And he waved me 
 to an adjoining room. 
 
 Good old bluff! The finest of all tactics, I thought 
 as I sat, very anxious and impatient I admit, but very 
 confident now. Once get the Czar's ear, and then 
 
 The door was pushed partly open, and there came 
 a dramatic pause. I got up, eager and expectant ; and 
 the luck turned with a rush. 
 
 It was Prince Kalkov, pale, urbane, cool and 
 dangerous. 
 
 "I am afraid, M. Denver, his Majesty is too much 
 engaged to grant you an audience to-day." 
 
 This in the suavest of tones, for those outside to 
 hear. Then he closed the door and smiled.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI i WIN 
 
 MY feelings as Prince Kalkov and I stood thus 
 face to face for some half minute or so with- 
 out speaking were not wholly those of disappointment 
 and chagrin. Disappointed I was, of course, and cha- 
 grined; but I had throughout had the secret expec- 
 tation that he would succeed in blocking my way to 
 the Czar ; and it was in view of this that I had taken 
 the elaborate precautions in regard to the compromis- 
 ing papers. 
 
 My surprise passed very quickly therefore, and I 
 was conscious of a feeling of amusement mingled 
 with conjecture as to the course which the interview 
 would take. I had no fear of him whatever, for I was 
 absolutely confident. 
 
 He might do what he pleased, but I had the stock 
 of the whip in my hand, and there were two long 
 biting thongs on it. 
 
 I sat down on the edge of an office table, and 
 swinging my leg carelessly, smiled and opened the 
 business. 
 
 " I am not so entirely surprised to see you as you 
 may think nor so sorry. I would rather see his 
 Majesty, but that will come presently." 
 
 " You play very adroitly and very confidently, M. 
 Denver. Who is in your place yonder your cell ? " 
 
 I affected not to understand him. 
 
 " My cell ? " 
 
 " Need we pretend ? What American has per- 
 sonated you ? " 
 
 " No one, Prince ; I am not an Emperor." Then 
 in an indifferent tone I added : " Have you got an 
 
 256
 
 I WIN 257 
 
 American? I heard as I came back through Kovna 
 that your people had blundered and had made an 
 arrest. I think something was said about a murder, 
 but, of course, we know that 's all mere wishwash and 
 wind baggery." 
 
 " You will find it serious enough, monsieur. Who 
 is he ? " he asked sharply. 
 
 I pretended to think a moment, then slapped my 
 knee and laughed. 
 
 " By Jove, I believe I can guess it. Splendid. There 
 was an American, a newspaper man, on the train, 
 represents the most sensational papers in the States; 
 he was dying to get the secrets of your prisons at 
 first hand, and it 's just like him to have played for 
 this arrest. You '11 have a flaring description of the 
 one he 's in sent across the Atlantic. Lovely ! " and I 
 laughed with unnecessary heartiness. " You 'd better 
 get him out as soon as you can." 
 
 His eye kindled with anger. 
 
 " If there has been a conspiracy, monsieur, it will 
 not help you now, and he will pay the penalty. We 
 are not to be fooled with." 
 
 " That 's just the point. The worse you treat him, 
 the better he '11 like it, and the more his papers will 
 make of it," I replied, taking out my cigar case. 
 
 "Where are his papers, monsieur?" he retorted 
 pointedly. 
 
 I grew serious and looked up at him out of the 
 corner of my eyes. 
 
 " Are we to talk about papers yet, Prince ? " 
 
 His momentary discomfiture was a thing of joy 
 to me. 
 
 " You do not realize the fix you have got him into." 
 
 " No indeed, for I don't believe he 's in any fix 
 at all. By the way, shall I have time to smoke a 
 cigar before I see his Majesty?" 
 
 " Yes, many," he rapped out drily. 
 
 " Well, here goes for one, then," and I lit mine 
 deliberately. " Now I suppose we are going to have 
 17
 
 258 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 a little chat together. I think you '11 be interested in 
 an account of my adventures since yes, since the 
 night before last at seven o'clock. You know them 
 up to then." 
 
 " It is unusual for me to grant an interview to a 
 man charged with murder." 
 
 " Then I 'd better go straight to his Majesty." 
 
 " You will not see his Majesty." 
 
 " I think I can persuade you that I shall, Prince. 
 As you said just now, I am very confident." 
 
 "If you desire to lay any mitigating facts before 
 me, I will listen to you in my apartments. I am wish- 
 ful to deal with you leniently." 
 
 " Mitigating facts, that 's a pretty phrase. I like 
 it. I am also ready to go anywhere you please gaol 
 if you like; and I can understand that you would 
 prefer me to be a little farther removed from the 
 Czar than we are at the present moment." 
 
 " I shall send you there under guard, monsieur." 
 
 " No, decidedly no," I said firmly. " If you send 
 me anywhere under guard, it will be to a prison, and 
 then well, things will happen, and you '11 be sorry. 
 I am enjoying this interview, and am quite willing to 
 continue it where and when you please ; but you are 
 vastly mistaken if you think that I am only bluffing 
 you now. I am really dangerous, Prince. You know 
 the jargon of poker well, it's up to you to see me 
 if you think it safe." 
 
 Apparently he did not, for after a second's pause 
 he said 
 
 " We '11 go together, monsieur." 
 
 And together we went accordingly. 
 
 I was well satisfied with the progress of things so 
 far. I had told him nothing yet ; had merely hinted 
 at the power I held ; and the hint had forced him to 
 yield. Nothing more was said until we reached his 
 apartment, and once there, he sat down to his desk, 
 while I threw myself into an easy lounge chair. It 
 was my cue to appear absolutely unconcerned, and I 
 played up to it.
 
 I WIN 259 
 
 " Now, monsieur, for the reasons why I am not 
 to hand you over to the police at once." 
 
 He spoke sternly and curtly. 
 
 " The main reason is the blunder of your men at 
 Kovna. They first let me through with things that 
 were of great importance, and then let me back again 
 to take ample measures for the safety of myself and 
 others. I owe them an infinite obligation." 
 
 " You will find it better to drop this jesting tone 
 and speak plainly." 
 
 " Why should I adapt my tone to suit your con- 
 venience? You are presuming to address me as if I 
 were a prisoner." 
 
 " You are a prisoner." 
 
 " Why persist in this ridiculous delusion? I am 
 not anything like so near a gaol as well, say as you 
 are." 
 
 " This is insolence, monsieur," he cried angrily. 
 
 " Yes, calculated insolence, your Highness. I re- 
 sent your attitude. You have behaved infamously to 
 me infamously. ' And you would carry your infamy 
 to the last extreme now, and send me to rot in one 
 of your gaols, were you not restrained by your fear 
 of the consequences." 
 
 " You shall not speak thus to me," he cried passion- 
 ately, striking the desk with his fist. 
 
 " I shall speak as I please to the man who laid a 
 treacherous trap to lure me to my death." 
 
 " This is not the way to obtain my leniency." 
 
 " Damn your leniency ! Do what you dare right 
 now. I am as safe from your threats as I am in- 
 different to your anger. I am a free-speaking Ameri- 
 can citizen, monsieur, not a Russian serf; and I can 
 prove my innocence as clearly as I can prove your 
 guilt." 
 
 " You tempt me to end the interview by your arrest. 
 Had you not been a friend of his Majesty " 
 
 A laugh from me cut him short. 
 
 " Exactly. I understand. You mean it 's safer to
 
 260 
 
 hear me out, no matter what tone I adopt. And so 
 it is." 
 
 He knew well enough I was dangerous to him ; 
 and filling up a pause by drawing some large sheets 
 of official paper before him and selecting a pen, he 
 said 
 
 " Your statement, monsieur." 
 
 " You won't find it advisable to put it all down 
 there ; but you can please yourself. First, we '11 clear 
 up the mystery of your prisoner. His name is but 
 wait, here are some of his papers, including his pass- 
 port. I used that with his consent to pass your men 
 at Kovna ; " and I handed over such of Siegel's cards 
 and papers as I had with me. 
 
 " You admit this ? " he asked. 
 
 My action surprised him. 
 
 " Oh yes. Fortunately I met him on the train, and 
 we arranged that I should use his passport." 
 
 " You conspired together ? " 
 
 " Put it how you like. It does n't matter five cents. 
 If I did n't know that, I should n't have told you. 
 Shall I wait while you write that down ? " I asked, 
 for his paper was as blank as my hand. 
 
 " I can trust my memory for his crime," he replied 
 when I waited for an answer. 
 
 " Then you can have my first condition. M. Siegel 
 must be liberated the moment he expresses the wish 
 to leave. I don't want him to lose material for his 
 article. He was so useful to me, you see." 
 
 The Prince bit his lips savagely and sneered. 
 
 " It is good of you to name your conditions." 
 
 " If I did n't, how could you comply with them ? " 
 
 " Perhaps you have some others ? " 
 
 " Certainly I have. The next is the immediate 
 release of Mademoiselle Helga Boreski or Lavalski, 
 whichever name you prefer. When that trap of yours 
 for me failed and only an accident caused the failure, 
 for it took me in completely ; you may like to know 
 that I went to the Mademoiselle and told her your
 
 261 
 
 intentions in regard to her, warned her and assisted 
 her in attempting to fly. Your quick swoop on the 
 place afterwards a fact we had not counted on 
 broke up our plans, and she was arrested. I tell you 
 of the mistakes we made in regard to you, so that you 
 may feel perfectly sure I have not made any mis- 
 calculations now." 
 
 " By your own admission, you aided the escape 
 of this Nihilist leader. You are frank, monsieur." 
 
 " Except that she is not a Nihilist leader, but your 
 personal enemy, you are quite right. I admit I helped 
 her to get away. I went with her, of course, as you 
 now know." 
 
 My frankness was having precisely the effect upon 
 him which I calculated. He felt I should not make 
 a number of hazardous admissions if I had not some 
 strong cause. 
 
 " You must, of course, be held answerable for this ; 
 even my desire to save you would be useless in the 
 face of this," he said, for all the world as though he 
 were my best friend and protector. 
 
 " I am ready right here and now. But about 
 Mademoiselle's release ? " I asked when he paused. 
 
 " It is preposterous monstrous out of the ques- 
 tion." 
 
 " Still, it 's got to be done ; how, I leave to you ; " 
 and I leant back and smoked placidly. 
 
 He sat thinking, and then shot the question at me 
 for which I had been waiting, and with it a sharp 
 lightning glance. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I have those papers." 
 
 I enjoyed the start and frown which the words 
 fetched, and his evident discomfiture and perplexity. 
 
 " Your men were very good to me ; I should like 
 to recommend one of them in particular for pro- 
 motion." I couldn't resist the chance for this little 
 gird at him. " I had them on me when I passed the 
 barrier and again when I came back. And now they 're 
 in good safe keeping."
 
 262 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 He bore the gibe without retort, without a sign of 
 any kind, although I knew how deep I had thrust 
 the blade in. 
 
 " A queer turn of the wheels, is n't it ? The very 
 papers you sent me out to recover, when I do recover 
 them, become my weapon against you. And, by the 
 way, they are not the only ones I have." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " There 's the full case with dates, details, names 
 of witnesses, proofs, everything in the charge 
 against you in that Lavalski matter." 
 
 I saw his hand tighten on the arm of his chair, 
 and a muttered oath slipped out from the pressed lips 
 in a whisper. Save for that one truant whisper, his 
 face was as pale and immobile as death itself. 
 
 The sight of his tense emotion satisfied even my 
 bitterness against him, and I held my tongue, specu- 
 lating what he would do. 
 
 He found the problem beyond even his ingenuity 
 for a time at least, and sat thinking, trying to see 
 a course that was not fraught with real danger. He 
 had guarded this secret jealously; fought for it with 
 desperate vigilance; flourished on it prosperously for 
 years until he had reached so high ; and now exposure 
 menaced him with all its consequences of overthrow, 
 ruin and disgrace. 
 
 I knew he would fight on doggedly, if only he could 
 find the means of fighting. But where he would look 
 for them I could not see. 
 
 The silence lasted for minutes, and then he moved. 
 He had apparently thought the thing out and made 
 his choice. At length he spoke. 
 
 " This Lavalski charge is false, monsieur," he said. 
 
 " Intentionally false, no," I answered. " Made- 
 moiselle Helga is incapable of deliberate falsehood. 
 Mistaken, possibly. The inquiry which his Majesty 
 will order on hearing the charge will no doubt settle 
 its truth or mistake. That is all that is needed." 
 
 " His Majesty will order no inquiry, monsieur."
 
 I WIN 263 
 
 " We shall see." 
 
 " The Duchess Stephanie has seen his Majesty." 
 
 "When?" 
 
 " This morning, in a long and painful interview. 
 I was present. What passed has convinced his Majesty 
 of the character of this mademoiselle." 
 
 This was the one thing I had feared. 
 
 " I do not believe that of the Emperor," I said 
 firmly. Our eyes met and I tried in vain to read the 
 expression in his. 
 
 " From that quarter the mademoiselle can look for 
 no countenance now," he returned, with slow in- 
 cisive significance. 
 
 I began to understand. 
 
 " I have yet to see him and tell my story," I answered. 
 
 " I repeat, there can be no inquiry, monsieur." 
 
 " It will arise out of any trial of the mademoiselle," 
 I said significantly. 
 
 " There need be no trial." He accompanied the 
 ambiguous sentence with a look which further en- 
 lightened me. Helga must look to him and not to 
 the Czar for help. 
 
 " What does that mean ? " I asked. 
 
 " It rests with you," he answered, slowly, as if 
 the words were wrung from him by torture. As indeed 
 they had been. 
 
 I drew a long breath of relief. I had won, and the 
 intense significance of my victory rushed upon me, 
 filling me with a gladness that deprived me for the 
 moment of the power to speak. 
 
 I got up and walked two or three times across the 
 room. Helga was free, and I had freed her. The 
 luck was indeed with us. Looking at the Prince I 
 found his eyes riveted upon me. 
 
 "You are satisfied, M. Denver?" 
 
 " Yes. What remains to be done can be arranged 
 easily. When can Mademoiselle Helga be set at 
 liberty?" 
 
 " As soon as she agrees to abandon this ridiculous
 
 264 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 charge against me, and arranges for the surrender of 
 the papers." 
 
 My face clouded. I had not thought of that. Helga 
 had to abandon everything the very purpose of her 
 life. Would she? 
 
 " They cannot be surrendered until she is beyond 
 your reach." 
 
 " You do not credit me with much good faith," he 
 said bitterly. 
 
 " If you held my life in your hands would you put 
 the weapon into mine and expect me to kill myself ? " 
 
 " Yet you expect me to credit you." 
 
 " You cannot help yourself. Besides, I have gone 
 straight. I am not a Russian diplomatist." 
 
 " Will you tell me where those papers are ? " 
 
 " Will I put my head in a noose and hand you the 
 loose end ? " 
 
 " How do I know that you have them ? " 
 
 " I tell you so. My word is eno'ugh ; but you know 
 pretty well I should n't have ventured here if I had 
 not had them ? " 
 
 " You came expecting to see the Emperor ? " 
 
 " And should have forced my way to him just now 
 if I had n't known that, having them, it was safe 
 to trust myself with you." 
 
 " Who else knows where they are ? " 
 
 I started and looked at him. I began to see his 
 drift, and led him on. 
 
 " No one," I answered, and I saw by the way his 
 eyes fell that my new suspicions were correct. 
 
 " Will you give me a pledge on your honour that 
 if I do what you ask you will hand them to me ? " 
 
 Again he would not trust me to see his eyes. 
 
 " Yes. Any pledge you like, written or verbal," 
 I answered, helping him out. " But write me first 
 that you grant my conditions." 
 
 " Yes. I agree to that. It is fair." And he began 
 to use for the first time the paper with which at the 
 start he had made so much show. " Will that suffice ? " 
 he asked, handing me the writing.
 
 I WIN 265 
 
 I appeared to read it carefully, but I was watching, 
 and noticed that iron-nerved as he was, his hands 
 were trembling-. 
 
 " Yes, that will do," I said, and put it away in my 
 pocket. 
 
 " Now write, then," and we exchanged places, he 
 standing up by me, I sitting at his desk. 
 
 "Let me see, how shall I word it?" 
 
 " I will tell you," he said, his voice trembling. 
 " Write where those papers are, or by God it will be 
 your last moment alive." 
 
 I was turning to look at him when I felt the cold 
 circle or pistol barrel pressed to my head. 
 
 Move, I dared not, for I knew that at the least 
 sign of resistance from me he would fire. I saw how 
 he had reasoned. He believed that I alone knew 
 where the papers were, and that if he shot me the 
 secret would die with me. If I refused to write what 
 he demanded, he would kill me and take the risk of 
 their never being found ; while if I did tell him, he 
 would kill me just the same and get the papers after- 
 wards. 
 
 But my precautions spelt checkmate to his ingenious 
 scheme. Bitterly as he hated me, I knew he would not 
 indulge his hatred at the expense of his own inevitable 
 ruin. 
 
 " I will write something you had better read," I 
 said steadily, and wrote : " I have placed the papers 
 where, if anything happens to me, the one set will 
 pass at once into the hands of the Embassy " 
 named the Power concerned " and the other set 
 straight to the Czar." 
 
 I ceased writing and felt the pressure of the barrel 
 increase as he bent forward to read the words. He 
 gave such a start that I wondered his fingers did not 
 pull the trigger. 
 
 " I was only testing you," he said, then, and he 
 tossed the revolver back in the drawer from which 
 he had secretly taken it.
 
 266 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Testing my folly, you mean, Prince Kalkov," I 
 said as I rose. " Seeing whether I was fool enough 
 to put my finger in the cobra's mouth without making 
 sure that the fangs were drawn." 
 
 " I am sorry. I was not myself," he said, his voice 
 strangely weak; and he fell into the lounge chair 
 where I had been sitting, and lay there ashen white 
 and trembling, so that I thought he would faint. 
 
 I could guess from that what he had undergone. 
 
 He was so long in this condition that I began to 
 think he was seriously ill, and would collapse al- 
 together. 
 
 " Shall I summon assistance for you, monsieur ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " No," he murmured faintly, with a feeble wave 
 of his white hand. 
 
 It was several minutes before he could rally suffi- 
 ciently to resume. 
 
 Then he got up and changed to his own chair by 
 the desk. He was like a man more than half dead, 
 and when he tried to write, his hand shook so violently 
 that he could not form the letters. 
 
 I waited in silence and watched him. Unscrupulous, 
 treacherous, subtle, and vile as I believed him, he was 
 so broken and beaten that I could almost have found 
 it in me to pity him. 
 
 He succeeded after a strenuous effort in mastering 
 his feebleness sufficiently to be able to write. 
 
 " I shall trust your honour, M. Denver. Here is an 
 order to admit you to Mademoiselle Boreski, and to 
 see her in private. Go to her at once. Bring me 
 word that she abandons this wrongful charge against 
 me, and you can both leave the country to-night. You 
 can then surrender the documents. You will under- 
 stand my wish for haste." 
 
 " I must see M. Siegel also," I said; " and have an 
 order for his release." 
 
 With another effort he wrote me the necessary 
 authority.
 
 I WIN 267 
 
 " Now, excuse me, I am not well ; " he sighed 
 
 heavily, and his head fell forward on his hands. 
 " Please ring that bell for me," he murmured. 
 
 I touched it and went out, leaving him still in that 
 pose of abject broken weakness.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII A LAST MOVE 
 
 MY interview had been so successful and the 
 Prince's submission so complete that it never 
 occurred to me to look for still further treachery from 
 him. 
 
 I had carried everything before me so triumphantly ; 
 had secured Helga's freedom, and was on my way to 
 take her the good news ; she and I would leave the 
 country; Siegel would be cleared from all trouble; 
 and on every point I had forced from the Prince just 
 those conditions which I chose to impose. 
 
 So overcome was my opponent, so prostrated, that 
 only with a great effort had he been able to keep up 
 to the end. And if I was inclined to be conceited 
 over my victory it must be remembered that I had 
 been pitted against a man of wide influence, drastic 
 power, and very high position. 
 
 It did occur to me, indeed, as I was driving to 
 the prison, that the Prince had not given me the order 
 for Helga's release, and that he had worded his phrase 
 peculiarly. 
 
 " Bring me her consent," he had said ; but this 
 appeared no more than the ordinary caution he would 
 employ, seeing that he was not likely to set her at 
 liberty without some such pledge. What he had really 
 had in mind, however, I was to learn later. 
 
 At the prison no hesitation was shown about com- 
 plying with his order. I was shown into a bare room 
 with a small table and a couple of chairs a place 
 just one remove from an ordinary cell ; and after I 
 had waited some few minutes Helga was brought 
 to me. 
 
 268
 
 A LAST MOVE 269 
 
 She was very pale, but a flush of surprise, and I 
 think delight, swept over her face at seeing me. She 
 just put her hands into mine as I stretched them out 
 to her and left them there while I gazed into her eyes. 
 
 " You are very pale, dearest," I said at length. It 
 was the first time I had ever used such a term of 
 endearment, and her eyes and a smile noticed it. 
 
 " I am so glad," she answered, with sweet incon- 
 sequence. " But I don't in the least know how you 
 have done it. It must be some new American method." 
 
 " This is the American method," I whispered, and 
 drew her to me till her face was close to mine, and 
 then I held her in a passionate embrace while I pressed 
 my lips to hers. 
 
 " I have been so anxious for you," she murmured, 
 putting her arms about my neck. " I did not care 
 for myself. I am so glad." And then of her own 
 volition she kissed me again, and let her head fall 
 on my shoulder with a sigh. 
 
 For a while I had no need for words, and just 
 stood lost in the delight of her new tenderness and 
 witching mood of love. 
 
 " You caught me so weak," she said at length, 
 " in the joy of seeing you safe. Now satisfy my 
 curiosity. I am only a woman, you see." 
 
 " I have come from Prince Kalkov to tell you you 
 are free, sweetheart." 
 
 At the mention of the name, she started and would 
 have drawn away from me had I let her. 
 
 " From him? But you have been a prisoner?" 
 
 " No, never in any real danger of being one." 
 
 " You are free now ? " she cried, looking at me 
 curiously. 
 
 " Yes, of course." 
 
 She laughed then, and backed out of my arms. 
 
 " Then my sympathy was wasted ; and my 
 remorse " 
 
 " It was a very sweet remorse, Helga," I said, 
 as she left the sentence unfinished.
 
 270 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " I thought you had been arrested, and charged 
 with Vastic's murder; that I had brought you to 
 ruin and shame. Oh, it was unendurable." 
 
 " And if you had known ? " I asked, with a glance 
 she read. " Was it only remorse? " 
 
 " One does strange things on on impulse. I have 
 suffered so, and it was such a relief." 
 
 " The gates of relief are still open," and I spread 
 out my arms. 
 
 " I mean to see you," she cried, with a flash of the 
 eyes and a blush. 
 
 " And I mean to feel 
 
 " Come, let us be sensible and talk." 
 
 " I think we have been very sensible without 
 talking." 
 
 " They will not let us be long together," she con- 
 tinued, ignoring my words and looks and sitting down. 
 
 " That will depend on you, Helga." 
 
 "On me? How?" 
 
 " You have but to say one word, and we shall be 
 always together." 
 
 " Another American method ? They are very elas- 
 tic," she laughed. 
 
 " They are very thorough." 
 
 " How did you escape ? Please tell me everything." 
 
 " Yes. I have come to do that. All is well now. 
 Siegel was caught at Kovna instead of me. I got 
 through with the papers, returned, put them in safe 
 keeping in the capital, tried to see the Emperor, and 
 saw Kalkov instead ; and when he realized what had 
 happened, he agreed to release you, in order that you 
 and I might leave Russia together." 
 
 " You bewilder me," she said. 
 
 " I will give you the details ; " and I told her at 
 some length all that had passed since we had parted in 
 the train. 
 
 The story did not produce the effect upon her I 
 wished. My note was one of jubilant congratulation; 
 but I saw a look of thoughtful doubt settle gradually
 
 A LAST MOVE 271 
 
 upon her face, and it hardened when I spoke of Kal- 
 kov's condition that she should abandon her war against 
 him. 
 
 " Did he tell you he had seen me ? You have not 
 mentioned it," she said. 
 
 " No ; not a word." 
 
 " He came here here to this prison to this very 
 room." 
 
 "For what?" 
 
 " To threaten me first, and then to offer me your 
 and my liberty. He swore to me that you had been 
 arrested, and that all the papers had been found upon 
 you ; that you were charged with Vastic's murder, and 
 that he could secure your conviction and then he 
 offered me liberty." 
 
 " On what condition? " 
 
 " Practically the same as you have mentioned. You 
 have done well for me, my friend, but the Prince is 
 too tortuous for straight-minded men to deal with 
 him." 
 
 I began to feel about as cheap as a five-cent piece. 
 He had failed with Helga, and then made a show of 
 submission to me in order to use me to influence her. 
 It was not a pleasant reflection. 
 
 " What did you say to him? " 
 
 " That so long as a breath remained in my body and 
 a pulse in my heart I would spend that breath and ex- 
 haust the pulse to vindicate my father's memory and 
 revenge him." 
 
 I had no answer to make ; and sat chewing the cud 
 of this new reverse. Helga saw how hard I was hit, 
 how keen my disappointment, and tried gently to soften 
 the blow. 
 
 " No honest man can deal with the Prince," she said ; 
 and added with a smile : " You have secured the papers 
 by a magnificent stroke and we shall win now. It was 
 for you I was troubled." 
 
 " It 's good of you to soften the fall, but it hurts a 
 bit all the same." My smile was a very rueful one.
 
 272 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " If it was mere revenge I should urge you to give it 
 up ; but it 's your father's memory, and I can't." 
 
 " He strove hard. He seemed to know he could 
 make me feel more keenly striking at you than at me; 
 and when he said the papers were in his hands I was 
 very near despair." 
 
 " I can understand. Well, we '11 see it through to 
 the end." 
 
 " Not you," she cried eagerly. " You must take no 
 part. I- 
 
 She stopped, meeting my look. 
 
 " You forget," I said lightly. " It is I who have 
 the papers now." 
 
 " I cannot speak nor think lightly of it where you 
 are concerned," was her earnest reply. " You must 
 see the danger is real." 
 
 " I need no more evidence than your presence here. 
 Yet yon do not give in. If you are troubled for me, 
 do you think I am indifferent about you ? Helga ! " 
 " No, no, I don't think that. Oh, you know," and 
 she stretched out her hand to me. " But this purpose 
 is my life. It is greater than all else. Yes," she cried 
 in answer to my look, " greater even than that." 
 
 "Then I am jealous of it, Helga; so jealous that 
 I will destroy it or it shall destroy me. There is 
 nothing to me greater than my love." 
 
 " It can never be," she said slowly, shaking her 
 head sadly. " It would be cruel for me to give you 
 hope, much as I would wish ah, God ! how much ! " 
 
 " I will find a way," I declared firmly. 
 
 " There is one by which you can help." She spoke 
 suddenly after a pause. 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 " You are free ; use your freedom to get the papers 
 out of the country to a place of safety. Then from 
 that vantage ground you can help me." 
 
 " It is ingenious," I said with a smile. " You mean 
 I should be safe." 
 
 " If I know you are safe I shall be happier. I told
 
 A LAST MOVE 273 
 
 you once I was stronger when you were away. I 
 should be stronger now." 
 
 " But I am not going. I will not leave you here. 
 The papers are absolutely safe in Marvyn's hands." 
 
 " You do not yet know the Prince. While the papers 
 are in Russia he will leave no stone unturned to find 
 them." 
 
 " But they are not in Russia. Where the Stars and 
 Stripes fly over the Embassy it is American territory ; 
 even he is powerless." 
 
 " He will find a way. Even now I believe he has 
 some scheme. He may have sent you here in order to 
 search your room. He will have your movements 
 to-day traced, and find out where you have been." 
 
 " So much the better. He will not get much satis- 
 faction at either Embassy. He can but prove the truth 
 of what I told him and feel the iron pressure all the 
 closer." 
 
 " But what can you do if you remain in Peters- 
 burg?" 
 
 " I shall be with you." 
 
 She answered with a gesture that the place was a 
 prison. 
 
 " Near you, then. I cannot go away unless we 
 go together." 
 
 " A kindness that is almost cruel," she sighed, and 
 then a silence fell between us. 
 
 It was an impasse. The Prince was not likely to 
 let her get out of his grasp unless she promised to 
 forego her purpose ; that was certain. Equally cer- 
 tain it was in that she would not yield. I could not 
 ask her to abandon the work of clearing her father's 
 memory. She had lived all her life for that one ob- 
 ject ; and knowing her so well as I now did, I felt she 
 would cling to it to the end in the very face of death 
 itself. 
 
 " It is an almost hopeless outlook for you," she 
 said, breaking the long silence and speaking my own 
 thought. 
 18
 
 274 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " But we have to find the way, and we shall ; " and 
 then, as if in answer to my wish, a view of the matter 
 which had not struck me flashed upon me. 
 
 " You have thought of something," she said, read- 
 ing my face. 
 
 " It may not please you. It is a compromise." 
 
 "A compromise? How? I see none." 
 
 " Well, I will put it. You have a double motive in 
 this fight with the Prince to clear your father's 
 memory, and to punish Kalkov. Let me see him and 
 tell him if he will right your father's name you will 
 leave him alone." 
 
 " Let him continue to prosper on his infamy ? You 
 ask this ? " 
 
 " If you cannot tear down the stones of this place, 
 will you help yourself by dashing your head against 
 the walls? As we stand, we are helpless." 
 
 " I can punish him, and all Russia." 
 
 " Will that help in the really greater object ? " 
 
 " You are tempting me to be untrue to my whole 
 life." 
 
 " I am showing you how possibly you may gain 
 your end." 
 
 " But the proofs of his baseness will get to the 
 Emperor." 
 
 " So we hope. But even if they do, are you sure 
 of the Emperor? He told me that the Duchess Ste- 
 phanie had seen the Emperor and poisoned his ear 
 with the tale that you are a Nihilist. Do you think 
 Kalkov is not cunning enough to meet a charge from 
 such a source ? It is not those papers the Prince fears, 
 it is the complication with the Powers. If you were 
 free to press your claim for justice, it might be other- 
 wise ; but as we are, we are desperately weak." 
 
 " It is like treachery to my father," she said vehe- 
 mently. 
 
 " If it were so in reality I should not press it, Helga. 
 But I do ; " and I went on to urge it, using every con- 
 sideration that occurred to me. Indeed the more I
 
 A LAST MOVE 275 
 
 thought of it, the more was I convinced that it offered 
 the only solution to an impossible position. 
 
 That she should be anxious to punish the man who 
 had dealt so cruel a blow at her father, and was now 
 pursuing her so relentlessly was natural enough ; in 
 truth I would have been glad to take a strong hand in 
 the work. But he was old and a year or two more of 
 unmerited honours for him weighed but little against 
 the disastrous consequences to both of us. 
 
 The one consideration that began to tell at last with 
 Helga, however, was the fact that her father's reputa- 
 tion might be righted if she gave in to me, and would 
 probably not be if she were to remain in prison or be 
 sent to Siberia. 
 
 " But he cannot do it," she urged, when my insist- 
 ence upon this point began to influence her. " To right 
 my father is to prove the Prince's wrong-doing. He 
 cannot do it." 
 
 " Well, there, let me try it. If he cannot we shall 
 be only where we stand now. I have sufficient faith 
 in his craftiness ; but we shall still have our weapons 
 left to us. We may gain ; we cannot lose." 
 
 Her brows drawn in deep thought and her face set, 
 she was considering her answer when the door was 
 opened, and we had a genuine surprise. 
 
 Prince Kalkov entered. 
 
 I stood up and stared at him. 
 
 " This interview was to be private," I said quickly. 
 
 " I have come to take part in it, monsieur. I have 
 something to say that will interest you both, and prob- 
 ably affect your decision." 
 
 " I do not welcome the intrusion," I declared. 
 
 "And I have nothing to say to my gaoler," said 
 Helga. 
 
 I thrust one of the two chairs over to him, and 
 pulling the small table towards me, sat down on it 
 between him and Helga. 
 
 " You omitted to tell me to-day that you had 
 already seen mademoiselle, and that she had refused 
 your offer."
 
 276 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " It was not necessary then. Now, however, it 
 is different. I will be frank with you. I sent you 
 here that I might have your rooms at the hotel 
 searched, and your movements to-day ascertained." 
 
 " Mademoiselle, knowing you, had already told me 
 that was probably your object. I assured her that 
 you would gain nothing, unless you called at a certain 
 Embassy." 
 
 " And you were right, monsieur," he answered, 
 quite unmoved. " I admit your caution and admire 
 it. It has confirmed my opinion of your strength in 
 this." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " What I said to you before, I repeat now those 
 papers must be returned to my hands, at any cost." 
 
 " There are two sets of papers," I reminded him. 
 
 " Those affecting me you can retain. I can protect 
 myself from any charges and slanders founded upon 
 mistake." 
 
 " Mistake ! " exclaimed Helga bitterly. 
 
 " I said mistake, mademoiselle ; and I am going to 
 prove to you before I leave that what I say is true. 
 But first, you are here together, and I invite you to 
 say on what terms the other papers shall be placed in 
 my hands." 
 
 " You had my answer to-day," said Helga. 
 
 " I do not accept that answer, mademoiselle." 
 
 " I have no other." 
 
 " I am here in no spirit of hostility, neither to make 
 or to hear recriminations. I wish the important papers 
 to be recovered with the least disturbance and trouble 
 to all concerned." 
 
 " That is a threat," I put in. 
 
 " It is not so intended, M. Denver. You have acted 
 cleverly, but you have not exhausted the resources at 
 my command. If no terms are made now, it will leave 
 me no option but to have you arrested, charged with 
 treason and conspiracy in regard to these papers, and 
 then I can use my influence with your Ambassador to
 
 A LAST MOVE 277 
 
 secure that the papers lodged with Mr. Marvyn shall 
 be held inviolate and then returned eventually to me. 
 It is for you to make your choice, whether to stand by 
 mademoiselle's answer or to make better terms with 
 me." 
 
 Here_was a fresh turn indeed, and when I glanced 
 at Helga I saw she had turned pale, and that, like 
 myself, she was at loss how to parry it.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII LOVE WILL HAVE 
 ITS WAY 
 
 PRINCE KALKOV was an opponent with whom 
 it was dangerous to hesitate and fatal to appear 
 disconcerted, so I shook myself up as quickly as I 
 could, and answered with a smile. . 
 
 " That 's a very plausible story, your Highness, but 
 if you can do all this, why are you here ? It 's not for 
 your health, is it; or from any newly-born affection 
 or solicitude for us ? " 
 
 " No, I have made no such pretence," he said drily. 
 
 "Then why?" 
 
 " Because it will be less troublesome to recover the 
 papers directly through you than indirectly from Mr. 
 Marvyn. I merely wish you to see that they will be 
 recovered, one way or the other." 
 
 " Then I think you 'd better go to work indirectly, 
 Prince," I said in a very deliberate tone. " If I don't 
 accept implicitly the explanation you Ve just given 
 me, don't blame me. You must set it down against 
 that knack of yours to say one thing and mean another. 
 Yes, I think on the whole it had better be indirectly. 
 I see a little flaw in your plan." 
 
 " Had we not better avoid personalities and insults, 
 M. Denver?" 
 
 " You mean about your little knacks. Is that an 
 insult? I thought it was a canon of European diplo- 
 macy according to Talleyrand that language is 
 given us to conceal our thoughts. I meant it as an 
 explanation, not an insult." 
 
 " You prefer to meet these charges ? " 
 278
 
 LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAY 279 
 
 "Oh, yes. I don't see any difficulty in them. As 
 for the murder charge, I happen to have at command 
 the evidence of the man who was with Vastic at the 
 time, and he can prove I acted in self-defence." 
 
 " The testimony of a fugitive Nihilist," he rapped 
 out. 
 
 " True, but still testimony ; and as I 'm an Ameri- 
 can, it will have to be a fair and open trial. There 
 is also Mademoiselle Helga's evidence. Yes, on the 
 whole, I 'm disposed to take that risk. As to the 
 treason business, do you really think you 'd better 
 prove that? It was your idea that I should play the 
 part of Emperor, and you furnished me with forged 
 documents and other lies to get those papers back ; 
 and as you 're making it an international matter, it 
 would make rather an awkward story. Still, do as 
 you like. But you have n't frightened me. I don't 
 think there 's a bullet in the cartridge. Go right ahead 
 anyway, pull the trigger, and we '11 see." 
 
 " I can do what I have said, nevertheless, monsieur." 
 
 " Possibly you think so possibly, I say. But I 
 don't agree with you. You see, my father is not only 
 a rich man, but has a heap of influence at the White 
 House. If I remember, too, he has a bit of a griev- 
 ance against Russia ; and he 'd make things hum a lot 
 if you monkey with me. I had n't thought of bring- 
 ing him into it, but I believe it would be the best thing. 
 Helga and I were trying to think of the best way out 
 when you came, and I 'm hanged if I don't think 
 you Ve given me just the cue I wanted." 
 
 " You think, perhaps, he could save the made- 
 moiselle ? " 
 
 " One thing at a time, and for the moment we 're 
 talking about my case. Yes I spoke with in- 
 tentional slowness, as if thinking it out "yes, I 
 shall cable him to hurry over. I wonder I never 
 thought of it. If I can't' get to the Emperor, he can, 
 right away; and if he don't make it an international 
 affair inside two shakes, then I don't know my own
 
 280 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 father. That treason charge was just a lovely thought 
 of yours, Prince." 
 
 The Prince rose. I had turned the tables on him 
 at his own bluff, but like a good player he kept his 
 end up. 
 
 " We do not allow prisoners to have the use of our 
 telegraphs, monsieur," he said nastily. 
 
 " The Embassy can send it in cypher. Same thing," 
 I replied unconcerned. " The worse you make things 
 for me, the bigger the fuss when it does get out." 
 
 He turned from me to Helga. 
 
 " You will go back to your cell, and you and M. 
 Denver will not meet again, mademoiselle," he de- 
 clared, like the bully he was. 
 
 " I am quite ready," she answered, not flinching a 
 hair's breadth ; " now that I have heard what is to 
 happen ; " and she rose and met his look steadily. 
 
 And we stood thus a space in silence. Both sides 
 recognized that the situation was just bluff. I had 
 shown him the rottenness of his position ; and he knew 
 that, despite my easy words, I was anxious to get the 
 thing arranged without any of the trouble I had out- 
 lined. And yet neither was willing to take the first 
 step down. 
 
 Then I offered him a bridge. 
 
 " Is this worth while, Prince ? " I asked very quietly. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " I have shown you my hand, and you can see it 's 
 a strong one. Why not take the card you 've been 
 keeping up your sleeve. You have one, you know." 
 
 " Do you mean you are willing to submit to me ? " 
 
 " No, indeed, I don't. I 've shown you I can set 
 you at defiance and face the worst you can do, with 
 absolute confidence that I shall win. But I 'm willing 
 to listen to what you came to say. You have n't given 
 us the proof that Helga's charge against you in regard 
 to her father is mistaken. What 's the proof ? " 
 
 " I can prove it by the man most concerned." 
 
 Helga went white to the lips.
 
 LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAY 281 
 
 " Name," I asked curtly. 
 
 " By her own father Prince Lavalski. He is still 
 living in Siberia." 
 
 " My God, my poor father ! " cried Helga, falling 
 into a chair and covering her face with her hands. I 
 crossed and laid my hand on her shoulder. 
 
 " Courage, Helga, courage. This may be good 
 news, dearest." 
 
 " It is not good news, monsieur, but the worst for 
 his daughter," continued the Prince, relentlessly. "You 
 have forced me to tell you. His life was spared against 
 his wish when his offences were proved ; and it is by 
 his own desire that he has remained in Siberia, dead to 
 all who knew him." 
 
 " It is a lie, a base lie, a lie of lies," cried Helga, 
 with sudden passion. " He is dead, and you you, 
 Prince Kalkov, are his murderer." 
 
 " You are ungenerous, even for an enemy, made- 
 moiselle," replied the Prince, with a bow that was not 
 without courtesy and dignity. " Had you come to me 
 openly years ago, I would have told you the truth." 
 
 " It is false, and you know it. You tried to wreak 
 your malevolence on me. You know I speak the truth, 
 just as you know you were afraid I should tear the 
 mask from your life and ruin you in the eyes of your 
 Emperor. How can you be so base ? " 
 
 " The full truth of your father's offences was and is 
 known to but two men in the Empire, mademoiselle. 
 The Emperor himself is one, and I am the other. I 
 had and have nothing to fear from any disclosure or 
 inquiry." 
 
 " God, that such villainy should prosper ! " she cried 
 again, with passionate vehemence. 
 
 " What I have told you is the truth, and I offer you 
 the means to prove my words." 
 
 " What means? " I asked. 
 
 " I will not dishonour my father by even listening 
 further," exclaimed Helga. 
 
 " Mademoiselle Helga can communicate with her
 
 282 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 father, or you, monsieur, can go to him," said Kalkov, 
 disregarding her protest, and turning to me. 
 
 " Yes," she said scornfully. " And you would get 
 one of your pliant tools to answer my letters or per- 
 sonate my dead father. I know you and your methods 
 too well, monsieur." 
 
 " I understand your anger, mademoiselle, and pass 
 over your taunts. I have offered you the proof I 
 promised. I have now said my last word, monsieur," 
 he added, turning to me. 
 
 " Can I bring the Prince back with me?" I asked. 
 
 " Certainly, if he will come. But he will not." 
 
 " No, for then I should see the deception," said 
 Helga, with scorn ; and then with a change to eager- 
 ness, " Can I go to him ? " 
 
 " No ; that is impossible." 
 
 "Why?" I asked. 
 
 " There are limits to my powers. I cannot send 
 armed escorts to Siberia and back to satisfy the doubts 
 of all our prisoners." 
 
 " I can go alone," declared Helga. 
 
 " And return here ? " with a significant lift of the 
 eyebrows. 
 
 " Do you think I would break my pledged word ? " 
 asked Helga indignantly. 
 
 " I have no doubt you would endeavour to keep it. 
 But it is a risk I should not feel entitled to take. I 
 repeat I cannot provide an escort for any prisoner for 
 such a distance." 
 
 " I would escort her," I broke in quickly. 
 
 He turned and looked at me coldly and steadily, as 
 he replied deliberately: 
 
 " You are not her husband yet, monsieur. And if 
 you were," he added, after pausing, " what greater 
 security should I have for her return ? " 
 
 "You want no more than these papers, I suppose, 
 if she did not return?" 
 
 " If she can persuade her father to return, that will 
 be better still. We are ready to bury the past."
 
 LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAY 283 
 
 " Your objection then is not to mademoiselle's going 
 to find him, but only lest, having found him, she should 
 still use these documents ? " 
 
 " You have stated it precisely. We must be abso- 
 lutely secured on that point." 
 
 " Leave me to find the way then. Give me an 
 hour and either return here or I will see you at the 
 palace." 
 
 " I will return," he said drily; " for if you do not 
 decide I shall take the other course." With that threat 
 he went away. 
 
 It was a curious situation that he left behind him. 
 Helga had not said a word since his pointed sentence 
 in reply to my offer to take her to her father, and I 
 could not of course guess what she thought. But I 
 knew my own mind very clearly; and that is always 
 a circumstance in a two-sided discussion. At the same 
 time I was not a little embarrassed. 
 
 Helga was the first to speak. 
 
 " Can it be true, do you think ? Or is it only an- 
 other of his schemes ? " 
 
 " It differs a good deal from any others at least 
 in one point." 
 
 " I don't believe it. I won't. I am sure it is false. 
 My father was the soul of honour and loyalty." 
 
 " You would at any rate see him ! " 
 
 "Ah, my God, what would I not do to see him," 
 she cried. 
 
 But I wished to get her away from this strenuous 
 mood, so I said with a smile: 
 
 " Even comply with his suggested condition ? ' 
 
 " I was not thinking of that. How can you ? " 
 
 " It would be a long honeymoon trip." 
 
 She shook her head as if my tone jarred. 
 
 " Can't you see all it means to me? " 
 
 " I know what it means to me." 
 
 " Don't ! " she exclaimed, impatiently. " Be serious." 
 
 " I think we 've been serious long enough. Believe 
 me, I know all that this portentous news must be to
 
 284 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 you. Pray God it is true that your father is alive. 
 But there are some anxieties we can face better with a 
 bright face. So smile to me, and say you '11 go with 
 me to find and bring him back." 
 
 I held out my hands. 
 
 She hung back a moment with head averted and 
 then turned and put her hands in mine, her face smil- 
 ing and her eyes dashed with tears. 
 
 " It is all so strange," she said. 
 
 " We Americans are never sticklers for forms. 
 We '11 go with a laugh, dear, whatever we are des- 
 tined to find there." 
 
 " You are so good and so strong," she whispered. 
 
 " No, I am just discovering how much better and 
 stronger I shall be with with my wife, Helga," I 
 whispered back. 
 
 She came to me then, with a sigh and a laugh and 
 lots of blushes which she hid on my shoulder from 
 my eyes as well as from the musty dingy old prison 
 walls. Musty and dingy? Well, no. They will never 
 be that in my memory. For the sake of that minute 
 they will always have a halo in my thoughts ; for after 
 all it was the prison which did so much to hasten our 
 happiness. 
 
 And so it was settled, and for the time we just lost 
 ourselves and babbled and laughed and signed and 
 held hands and kissed and laughed again ; for love 
 will have his way even in a prison with all sorts of 
 vague troubles gibbering and pranking from the other 
 side of the bars. 
 
 And when I glanced at my watch I found we had 
 used up the whole hour save some ten minutes. 
 
 The problem which the Prince had left us was a 
 big one to solve in ten minutes ; but we only smiled 
 at it, for Helga had come round to my view to meet 
 everything with a laugh. And in that spirit we faced 
 the prospect of the long journey to Siberia. 
 
 When the Prince came back I had no formal answer 
 ready for him, of course. Helga was to be my wife;
 
 LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAY 285 
 
 and I could not get any further than that. I was cer- 
 tainly in no fit mood to cope with him. 
 
 I suppose he saw the chaotic state of my mind; he 
 must have been very blind if he did not; for the 
 thought of Helga as my wife got in my way and 
 tripped me up every moment, so that my answers to 
 his first questions were given almost at random. 
 
 " You have my word of honour that the moment 
 we find matters are as you say in regard to Prince 
 Lavalski in Siberia, the whole of these papers will be 
 returned to you. I suppose that will satisfy you." 
 
 " A personal guarantee is at best unsubstantial," he 
 returned rudely. 
 
 " Does it seem so to a Russian ? It is not to an 
 American." 
 
 " I have no choice, it seems. When will you start? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " As soon as we are married." 
 
 " That can be at once to-night or to-morrow." 
 
 " To-morrow ! " exclaimed Helga, in dismay at the 
 suddenness. 
 
 " I suppose we must wait till then if we can't man- 
 age it to-night," I said ; and she laughed to me. 
 
 " It will not be an elaborate ceremony," said the 
 Prince drily. " A prison does not lend itself to scenic 
 effect." 
 
 " A prison," said I, surprised in my turn. 
 
 " Mademoiselle can only leave here as your wife, 
 monsieur." 
 
 " Then I think we '11 try and manage it to-night." 
 
 " No, no, to-morrow," declared Helga, quickly. 
 
 " Better to-night ; we can spend to-morrow in 
 the preparations for the long journey," I answered. 
 " One can't go to Siberia without clothes ; even on 
 a honeymoon, you see. We could start on the follow- 
 ing day." 
 
 " But - " her face was wrinkled in dismay. 
 
 " No ' buts,' only smiles, Helga." 
 
 " I will give the necessary instructions," said the
 
 286 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 Prince, perceiving like the shrewd old man he was that 
 I should carry the point. 
 
 " We must have witnesses. Mr. Siegel will be one 
 of them," I said. 
 
 " You have the order for his release," replied the 
 Prince. " I will wait for you, monsieur," he added, 
 and very considerately took himself off. 
 
 He had to wait, for Helga still had scruples which 
 I had to combat. And before I had overcome them 
 his patience was exhausted, and he sent a messenger 
 in quest of me. 
 
 " Thank God you '11 be out of here in an hour or 
 two, dearest." 
 
 "But " 
 
 I stopped the protest on her lips. Any lover knows 
 how that has to be done. She laughed at my 
 eagerness. 
 
 " Good, sweetheart. We '11 meet it all with a laugh 
 as we agreed ; " and not keeping the Prince waiting 
 more than another quarter of an hour, I left her happy, 
 blushing, loving and resigned. 
 
 " I have appointed ten o'clock," he said as I joined 
 him. 
 
 " Very well." I should have said " very well " if 
 he had named midnight or four in the morning. 
 
 " I wish you to understand that I shall do all I can 
 to help you now," he said pointedly. 
 
 " That 's all right." My head was still in the clouds. 
 In an hour or so Helga would be my wife. 
 
 " I shall wish to know where you will be." 
 
 " God bless my soul, I had n't thought about that," 
 I exclaimed. " We shall stay at the Imperial. Oh, 
 and I 've no clothes. They are at the Palace. You 
 see it 's a little sudden." 
 
 " My man, Pierre, is at your service, monsieur." 
 
 " I wish you 'd let him get them to the Imperial ; or 
 shall I 1 " 
 
 " I will see to it. There is one thing, of course, 
 M. Denver. You will make no attempt to see his 
 Majesty."
 
 LOVE WILL HAVE ITS WAY 287 
 
 " I 've only got an hour and a half." 
 
 " I mean to-morrow, of course," he exclaimed, 
 testily. 
 
 " No, I 'd better not, I suppose." 
 
 " To-morrow, I shall have your route carefully pre- 
 pared, with full instructions to all on the way to help 
 you forward with all speed." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose you 're as anxious as I am to get 
 the thing ended and done with." 
 
 " You will find I can be as firm a friend as I can 
 be a resolute enemy. I wish to be your friend, mon- 
 sieur, for my august master's sake." 
 
 " You 've done pretty well as an enemy, Prince ; 
 let 's hope the future will show us the other side." 
 
 :< Then for the present, good-night." 
 
 " For the present ? " 
 
 " I shall of course be at the ceremony." 
 
 I did n't want him there ; but as I would rather be 
 married to Helga in his presence than not married to 
 her at all, I said nothing. Besides, I was not in a 
 critical mood. 
 
 I was sufficiently practical to remember to go to 
 the hotel and engage rooms, and on the way I stopped 
 at a jeweller's store and bought a ring. And having 
 done that I hunted up Harold Marvyn and induced 
 him to consent to be at the wedding. 
 
 Then I drove to the prison where Frank Siegel was 
 confined. I produced the order for his release, ar- 
 ranged all the preliminaries, and then told them to 
 show me straight to the prisoner, as I wished to take 
 the news to him myself. 
 
 " Hello, what in thunder brings you here? " he ex- 
 claimed, as I entered. 
 
 " I 've brought the order for your release, old man." 
 
 His face fell, and he looked the reverse of pleased. 
 
 " I hope you 're just monkeying. I don't want any 
 release," he said in a tone of such irritation that I 
 laughed. 
 
 " Sorry, but you 've got to come. I 'm going to be
 
 288 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 married in about half an hour, and I want you to be 
 best man." 
 
 He took it so coolly that I could have kicked him. 
 
 " Of course that makes a difference. But it strikes 
 me you 're using me some, Harper. Who 's the 
 
 " You know. Met her in the train." 
 
 " Oh, the Nihilist. Sounds all right. Where?" 
 
 " In the prison." 
 
 " Gee ; that '11 make good copy." 
 
 And that seemed its best recommendation in his 
 eyes. 
 
 " You take it very lightly," I said, with a smile. 
 
 " Well, you see, it 's your marriage, not mine." 
 
 And with that we left the cell.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX A LAST PRECAUTION 
 
 IT was a quaint ceremony, our marriage. 
 The clock was close on the stroke of ten when 
 Siegel and I reached the prison where Marvyn was 
 already waiting for us in the room in which Helga 
 and I had seen each other. He shook hands with 
 Siegel and congratulated him. 
 
 " On getting in or getting out?" 
 
 " Both," replied Marvyn, and they laughed. 
 
 " This is a queer^how," said Siegel. 
 
 " Denver was never conventional," returned Marvyn 
 with a shrug of the shoulders. 
 
 " How do they tie them up over here ? Greek 
 Church ? " queried Siegel. 
 
 " Yes," nodded Marvyn. " Depends on the reli- 
 gion." 
 
 " Through soon? " and Siegel glanced at his watch. 
 " I want a bath." 
 
 " A few minutes. By the way, Denver, to make 
 the thing regular I thought I 'd better ask Hoskyns, 
 the Embassy chaplain, to come along." 
 
 " Thank you, I had n't thought of that," I said. 
 
 " Will you come to the chapel, monsieur ? " asked a 
 warder entering at that moment. 
 
 He led us through the corridors to the dimly-lighted 
 gloomy chapel where Helga in charge of a female 
 warder was waiting near the chaplain. 
 
 " Odd looking Joshua," murmured Siegel, glancing 
 at the priest's quaint robes. 
 
 Marvyn, who did things with official decorum, took 
 no notice and when we reached the altar rails Siegel 
 and Helga shook hands and he said something which 
 19 289
 
 290 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 made her smile. Then I introduced Marvyn who was 
 obviously struck by her beauty. 
 
 " She 's very lovely," he whispered to me as we took 
 our places. 
 
 " Yes, she '11 make 'em hustle around in New York," 
 added Siegel who overheard him. 
 
 The ceremony was in Russian and very brief. The 
 priest spoke in a kind of droning chant and his deep 
 voice rolled around the empty building and came back 
 from the dark recesses behind the heavy pillars with a 
 hollow echo more striking than cheerful. 
 
 I knew enough of the ritual to do the right thing 
 at the right moment and when it all came to a rather 
 abrupt and unexpected end, I heard Siegel, whose 
 modernity was quite unaffected by the weird strange- 
 ness of the scene, exclaim in a quite audible tone, 
 " First Half," as if it had been a football match. 
 
 Marvyn saw to the completion of the legal formali- 
 ties and then Helga slipped her hand in my arm and 
 I led her away down the cold gaunt aisle. 
 
 I was too happy and proud to think of anything 
 except my dear beautiful wife until on passing one of 
 the plain sturdy pillars I felt her start, and glancing 
 round saw Prince Kalkov step from its shadow. He 
 did not speak to us, but joined the two men. 
 
 " He said he would be present ; I had forgotten," I 
 whispered to Helga. " It does n't matter." 
 
 " I wonder why he has hurried us so," she said. 
 " We shall soon know." 
 
 When we reached the little room we found Mr. 
 Hoskyns, the American chaplain, waiting for us, and 
 Marvyn who came in alone introduced him. 
 
 " Where 's Siegel? " I asked. 
 
 " Trying to interview Prince Kalkov," he replied 
 with a dry smile. 
 
 Siegel came in time for the second ceremony which 
 was even shorter than that in the chapel, and when 
 the signing was finished and the others had con- 
 gratulated us, Helga got ready to leave.
 
 A LAST PRECAUTION 291 
 
 " That should be a good double knot," said Siegel. 
 " Do you suppose I can go back to my cell ? " 
 
 " I 've engaged a room for you at the Imperial," I 
 told him. " You '11 all come round with us ? " 
 
 But the chaplain excused himself and Marvyn 
 pleaded a pressing engagement. 
 
 "T should like to come, Denver," he said, drawing 
 me aside. " I want a word with you very particu- 
 larly. Come and see me first thing in the morning 
 at the Embassy, will you? It's about those things." 
 
 "What about them?" 
 
 " I want you to take them away. And as you 're 
 all right now, I suppose it won't matter." 
 
 " Anything to do with Kalkov ? " I whispered. 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 " Indirectly, I '11 tell you in the morning. You 
 need n't worry," he added, noticing rny look. 
 
 I promised to see him in the morning, and then 
 Siegel, declaring he must have a word or two with 
 Marvyn, persisted in going away with him. 
 
 I led Helga to the carriage and Prince Kalkov met 
 us by the door of the prison. 
 
 " I shall see you to-morrow, monsieur?" 
 
 " Yes, assuredly. We shall be at the ' Imperial.' " 
 
 " I will come to you there in the afternoon at 
 three o'clock. May I wish your wife and you all 
 happiness ? " 
 
 Helga said nothing; she would not even look at 
 him, and I felt the pressure of her hand on my arm 
 tighten. 
 
 "We ought to have it, Prince. We have had to 
 fight hard to get even thus far," I said. " Good- 
 night." 
 
 " Good-night." 
 
 He bared his head and bowed to Helga, and with a 
 smile drew aside for us to pass. 
 
 Helga shivered slightly and whispered 
 
 * I am very foolish ; but I am still afraid of him." 
 
 " It 's something to know he fears us also," I an-
 
 292 
 
 swered. " We have forced him to open these gates 
 for you and you are now the wife of an American 
 citizen. So we have the laugh on him." 
 
 " For a time," she said thoughtfully. 
 
 " No, for all our time. The Stars and Stripes will 
 see to that. Besides, you agreed to meet even our 
 marriage with a laugh ; " and then we began to keep 
 the agreement and to put the Prince and all his wiles 
 out of our thoughts. 
 
 At breakfast on the following morning Helga was 
 in excellent spirits as we discussed the prospects of 
 our long journey and planned the day's work of prep- 
 aration for it. There were a hundred things to do and 
 innumerable purchases to make, and Helga with paper 
 and pencil laughed gaily as the list she made grew until 
 its length was formidable. 
 
 " There is one nut we have still to crack," I said. 
 " What to do with the papers," and I told her what 
 Marvyn had said to me on the previous night. I had 
 not told her before not wishing to kindle her inflam- 
 mable anxiety. 
 
 " The Prince's hand is in it, of course, and not for 
 any good," was her comment. 
 
 " That 's the best of dealing with such a man you 
 can always gamble on it that he means some kind of 
 trouble."" 
 
 " I think we may tear this up," she said, and held 
 up the list we had made so carefully. 
 
 " Tear it up ? But you oh, you think we shan't 
 be allowed to go, after all ? " 
 
 " I don't know what I think, but I am sure there is 
 treachery somewhere." 
 
 I was not in a suspicious mood, however. The world 
 had become very bright to me and I thought Helga 
 was too much under the influence of her former feel- 
 ings. One can't shake oneself free in a dozen hours 
 from the trammels of such a life of danger and vigi- 
 lance as she had lived for years. She seemed to read 
 my thought.
 
 293 
 
 "You think I am fanciful, Harper," she said with 
 a smile. " I hope so ; but the Prince does nothing 
 without an object and his real object is so rarely that 
 which he lets you see." 
 
 " I am more confident than ever," I said. 
 
 " Probably he is reckoning on that, dear to re- 
 cover" the papers, hoping we shall make some false 
 step." 
 
 " I believe you 're right, but " 
 
 I paused, for it had not dawned upon me until then 
 all that the abandonment of the journey might mean to 
 Helga. 
 
 " I have been very thoughtless, my dear, but I see 
 now what you mean." 
 
 She smiled gently and sadly. 
 
 " I almost hope he is not alive. He was incapable of 
 any such crimes as the Prince hinted, and if he has 
 had to endure the life in the mines for all these years, 
 it would be worse than death to him. Better death 
 than a broken heart such as his would be. You would 
 say so if you had known him." 
 
 " Were it my own father's case I would rather he 
 were dead, Helga. I know the pain of such a thought 
 to you. The cruelty of Kalkov in raising a false hope 
 is just dastardly, and to do it for some fresh crafty 
 purpose makes it diabolical." 
 
 " What we have to do is to thwart the purpose ; for, 
 depend on it, we are in as great danger from him as 
 ever. I think I begin to see it now." 
 
 " Show me." 
 
 " He knows that the papers will be in either your 
 hands or mine and accordingly has hurried our 
 marriage." 
 
 " I don't think we '11 blame him for that," I inter- 
 posed, and drew a glance of love from her. 
 
 " Then he put out the bait for this long journey for 
 us together 
 
 " But he first opposed your going and wanted me 
 to go alone."
 
 294 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Yes, knowing it would be useless for you to go by 
 yourself. He was merely working round to his end. 
 He can of course deal more easily with us together. 
 Then, see his next step. He waits until we are mar- 
 ried and pledged to go to Siberia, and then contrives 
 that the papers are to be suddenly forced back into 
 our possession. Mr. Marvyn is to give them to you 
 this morning, we are to start to-night or to-morrow ; 
 and he reckons he can watch us so closely after you 
 get them and until we start that he will learn what 
 you do with them." 
 
 " I meant to take them with us." 
 
 Helga thought a moment and shook her head. 
 
 " Very likely he has meant that too, but I doubt if 
 he would take such a risk. If I read him aright, he 
 will look for his opportunity at the first convenient 
 moment after you leave the Embassy this morning. 
 You will have the papers with you and an arrest and 
 a search would give him all he wants. You see it 
 now?" 
 
 " And see also that if it had not been for your 
 sharp woman's wit I should have tumbled into his 
 trap again. You are wonderful, Helga." 
 
 " There is nothing wonderful in such a guess. I 
 know him. The question is what to do with the 
 papers ? " 
 
 " They shall go to New York," I said promptly. 
 
 "But how?" 
 
 As if to suggest an answer to her question Frank 
 Siegel came hurrying into the room saying as he shook 
 hands 
 
 " Can give you just five minutes ; been cabled for, 
 and am off for home in an hour. Going to join our 
 people in New York." 
 
 Helga and I exchanged looks. 
 
 " Leaving 'Frisco? " 
 
 " Yes," he nodded. " Same people, same papers, 
 different place, that 's all, except that it 's better." 
 
 " I 'm glad. Hope we shall follow you soon."
 
 A LAST PRECAUTION 295 
 
 " Siberia off then ? " he asked, in a matter of fact 
 tone. 
 
 " Don't know yet. By the way, could you take 
 something to my father for me ? " 
 
 " Those papers ? " 
 
 ''' You 're very quick, M. Siegel," laughed Helga. 
 
 " My dear Mrs. Denver, I 'd do anything in the 
 world to oblige you ; but this is a large order. Can't 
 risk another arrest just now. What 's up, Harper?" 
 
 " I want those papers got safely to New York." 
 
 " I can do better than take 'em ; tell you how to get 
 'em over safely. They would n't be safe with me." 
 
 " How do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why, get Marvyn to send 'em as Embassy busi- 
 ness." 
 
 " Great Scott, I never thought of it," I exclaimed. 
 
 " Good-bye, Mrs. Denver. You '11 like New York, 
 and we shall have times together. Better than Siberia. 
 Good-bye, Harper. Thanks for that chance in the 
 prison. Glad now I got out so soon. This cable 's 
 urgent. Good-bye and good luck," and he was gone. 
 
 " American methods are a little breathless, Harper," 
 said Helga, with a laugh. " Do you all cut knots as 
 easily ? " 
 
 " He 's cut this one anyway," and then we discussed 
 how I should proceed. We decided to act just as 
 though we were really going away, and to make a 
 show of preparing for the journey. And at Helga's 
 suggestion we put up a little scheme of our own to 
 frustrate any plan which the Prince might have 
 formed. 
 
 Helga was to go to see after her own matters and 
 we decided not to meet until an hour before the time 
 Prince Kalkov had appointed to call. Then we were 
 to lunch in our own rooms and not leave them until 
 he arrived. 
 
 The reason for this was of course that his spies 
 might be able to trace our movements very easily, and 
 lead the Prince to believe that what he sought would 
 be found with us in the hotel.
 
 296 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 I was to call first at the Foreign Embassy to arrange 
 matters there; then to see Marvyn, and on leaving 
 him to drive round to various stores to purchase what 
 I needed for the journey, and to do everything as 
 though I had not a suspicion of treachery. 
 
 I was on the point of starting when it occurred to 
 me that Marvyn might prove very reluctant to adopt 
 Siegel's suggestion. In his official capacity he might 
 be placed in a very awkward and embarrassing posi- 
 tion, and would very probably shrink from having any 
 more official dealings with documents about which these 
 representations had been made. 
 
 I had no desire to get him into trouble and I there- 
 fore resolved to mislead him. Accordingly I made up 
 a dummy set of papers closely resembling those I had 
 left with him, and I took them with me in readiness. 
 
 It turned out to be a very fortunate precaution. 
 
 Before anything was said on the subject I opened 
 my fire. 
 
 " This jaunt to Siberia is a pretty big thing, Marvyn, 
 and as one never knows what is going to happen I 
 think I ought to send some papers I have with me 
 home to my father: my will and some other things. 
 They are very important some of them, and as my 
 relations with the authorities here have been peculiar, 
 and letters have a knack of getting opened, I want you 
 to send them over under official cover. I suppose 
 there '11 be no difficulty." 
 
 " You don't mean the those I have." 
 
 " I mean these," I said, and took them out of my 
 pocket. 
 
 " Oh, that will be all right," he answered in a tone 
 of relief, and held out his hand for them. " They 
 can go at once if you like. It happens we 're sending 
 off a special despatch to Washington about the China 
 crisis. We 've had a messenger out with important 
 despatches from the President, and he 's going back 
 with our reply to-day. Give them to me and I '11 see 
 to it."
 
 A LAST PRECAUTION 297 
 
 "I have a line or two to add to my father first. 
 And now about the important papers. I want you 
 to keep them till I get back from this journey." 
 
 " Don't ask me, Denver. As I told you, I 'd do 
 anything in my power for you, but this is really im- 
 possible. Exactly what has happened I don't know 
 and was told not to ask, but I have to give my word 
 that I 've returned the things to you." 
 
 I assumed a little indignation of course and argued 
 the point, urging my father's position and the ex- 
 treme inconvenience to me in having to take such 
 documents to Siberia, and then very reluctantly gave 
 way and took the packets from him. 
 
 He left me then to finish the supposed letter to my 
 father and all I had to do was to change the envelopes 
 and I slipped the dummies into envelopes I had brought 
 with me, endorsed precisely like the genuine ones, and 
 I put the genuine ones into an envelope addressed to 
 my father. 
 
 " I wish you could have sent these as well," I said, 
 in a rueful tone to Marvyn when he brought me an 
 official wrapping; and I pointed to the two carefully 
 addressed dummies. 
 
 " I wish I could, but you '11 understand how it is." 
 
 " It 's very awkward," I replied, and put them in 
 my pocket. " By the way, things being as they are, 
 it 's not worth while to speak of this." 
 
 " My dear Denver, silence is the very A.B.C. of 
 our work," he answered. 
 
 There was nothing more to do, and after a word or 
 two about our journey I pleaded the many prepara- 
 tions I had to make, thanked him for all he had done 
 and bade him good-bye. 
 
 As I left the building I looked round for the Prince's 
 agents, speculating when the arrest which Helga had 
 prophesied would be made.
 
 CHAPTER XXX THE PRINCE 
 OUTWITTED 
 
 IF Helga was right, I might expect to be stopped 
 very soon, and I was rather surprised that I 
 was allowed even to reach the carriage without 
 interruption. 
 
 Had Prince Kalkov taken that prompt step, he 
 might or might not have been able to intercept the 
 papers after finding they were not on me, but cer- 
 tainly things would have gone very differently. 
 
 If the Prince did not discover the trick of the dum- 
 mies until the Embassy messenger had left Peters- 
 burg, the chances in my favour would be vastly 
 increased. 
 
 To my surprise no attempt at all was made to in- 
 terfere with me. I presume I was closely watched, 
 but it was done so cleverly that I saw no signs of it. 
 It was not my cue to show any anxiety about it, and 
 I drove from store to store making a few purchases 
 and many inquiries, until the time came for me to 
 return to the hotel to Helga. She was surprised to 
 see me. Over lunch I told her my news, and we 
 discussed the position. 
 
 " He feels so sure, Harper, that he has put it off. 
 But it will come before the day is out." 
 
 " The papers are well away by this time," I laughed, 
 " so he can do his worst." 
 
 " He means to. I have seen M. Boreski. He had 
 heard of my arrest and release, and he came to my 
 house when I was there." 
 
 " I thought he was out of Russia." 
 298
 
 THE PRINCE OUTWITTED 299 
 
 " The Duchess Stephanie has patched everything up 
 with her family. So he told me. He is to get back 
 his Polish title, with a pardon for his old conspiracy, 
 and compensation for his lost estates." 
 
 " They must be glad that she is married." 
 
 " I think it is they are rather afraid of what she 
 might-do next. It was a strange meeting ; " and she 
 smiled. " He is not really a strong man : I mean he 
 likes some one to lean on. He seemed afraid lest the 
 fact of his coming to me should be known, and yet 
 felt bound to come to warn me. He is very conscious 
 of his new dignity." 
 
 " To warn you ? " 
 
 " Yes, about this journey to Siberia. The Duchess 
 had heard of it and told him she must be in close 
 consultation with Kalkov after all ; probably working 
 hand and glove with him to recover the papers. The 
 intention is that I shall be kept there as a prisoner 
 if we ever reach there, that is. M. Boreski warned me 
 strongly against going." 
 
 " Did he know anything about your father ? " 
 
 " No ; on that point the Prince appears to have kept 
 absolute secrecy." 
 
 " It all seems to fit in. It will be interesting to see 
 what he does next." 
 
 " I have seen some one else who is most anxious 
 to see you," said Helga with a bright smile. " A 
 most earnest admirer." 
 
 "To see me?" 
 
 " Will be another American citizen, I think, but first 
 wishes to go to Siberia with us." 
 
 " That 's easy to guess, Helga. He is a good fellow. 
 You mean Ivan ? " 
 
 "Yes," she nodded. "He used to be devoted to 
 me alone." 
 
 "Did you tell him?" 
 
 "About what?" This with an air of supreme 
 innocence. 
 
 " That you 're no longer alone, and that his devotion 
 has now to be divided ? "
 
 300 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " Yes ; and actually he was n't surprised ; but, oh, 
 so ridiculously pleased." 
 
 "Ridiculously?" 
 
 She answered with a glance and a smile, and then 
 said 
 
 " I think he is the most faithful servant that ever 
 lived." 
 
 " You '11 find his equal in America." 
 
 " What a wonderful country your America is ! " she 
 said. 
 
 " You '11 say that in earnest when you 've been there 
 a while ; " and with this mixture of banter and gravity 
 we covered our real anxieties while we waited for 
 Prince Kalkov to come. 
 
 He was punctual. The clock was on the stroke of 
 three when he was announced. 
 
 " You are to the moment, Prince," I said. 
 
 " I said three o'clock, monsieur." 
 
 " You are not looking well." 
 
 In truth, he was looking very ill. His face was 
 drawn and careworn and absolutely colourless, his 
 eyes tired, and his whole expression suggestive of a 
 strained effort to rally an already overtaxed strength. 
 The events of the previous day had shaken him se- 
 verely; and I remembered his illness. 
 
 " I am an old man, monsieur, and not well. My 
 heart is treacherous," he said as he sank into a chair. 
 
 It was not exactly a happy phrase, and I caught 
 Helga's fleeting glance of surprise. 
 
 " A treacherous heart is an ugly life companion," 
 I answered gravely. " May I suggest a glass of 
 cognac? You have been overtaxing your strength, 
 Prince," I said as I handed it to him. 
 
 It seemed to give him some energy, and as he put 
 down the glass, he said in a less weary tone 
 
 "You are packing?" 
 
 " There is a lot to do, of course. You have brought 
 the papers and so on for our journey? " 
 
 " No."
 
 The monosyllable was more like his old sharp abrupt 
 manner. 
 
 " No ? Oh well, we can wait a day longer if you 
 prefer it," I answered with a sort of indulgent indif- 
 ference. " When one is ill, of course, the preparation 
 of such things is troublesome. When may we expect 
 them ? " 
 
 " I have had news that alters the matter." 
 
 " Indeed. Not bad news for us, I trust." This with 
 quick anxiety. 
 
 " I have heard that Prince Lavalski is dead, mon- 
 sieur." 
 
 " Dead ! " cried Helga, and turned away. 
 
 "When did he die?" I asked. 
 
 " I do not know." It was a very lame story, and 
 I think he felt it, although he did his best to make it 
 impressive. " It has greatly disturbed me. I ought 
 to have been informed of it at the time, but it has 
 been left to reach me after long delay through official 
 reports." 
 
 " It is very serious." 
 
 After this from me we were all silent for a time, 
 and Helga went through to the adjoining room. 
 
 " It is tragic that you did not know this yesterday, 
 Prince," I added at length. "To have roused my wife's 
 hope only to kill it to-day is to inflict a very cruel 
 blow." 
 
 " What will you do now, monsieur? " 
 
 " I find it impossible to answer off hand. Of course 
 this proposed journey will now be useless." 
 
 " Quite," he declared bluntly. " That is why I 
 brought nothing with me." 
 
 I threw up my hands as if the situation baffled me. 
 
 " Poor Helga ! " I sighed. 
 
 " Will you go to your own country, monsieur? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " If I can induce my wife to go, yes. But " 
 
 I paused. 
 
 " You will do most wisely to go."
 
 302 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " No doubt. But " and I pulled up again as 
 
 if in the most desperate perplexity. 
 
 " You have paused twice on that word, monsieur," 
 he exclaimed irritably. 
 
 " You see this news puts us back to where we were 
 before, and my wife is still resolved to clear her father's 
 memory. And so am I." 
 
 " You will do most wisely if you go, I repeat." 
 
 " I do not think she will go until that is done. I 
 should not, and I should not counsel her to do so, 
 either." 
 
 " I am not accustomed to speak without full mean- 
 ing, monsieur, and again I advise you to leave Russia." 
 
 " And if we do not take the advice ? " 
 
 His answer was a gesture from which I might 
 deduce what I pleased. It was all very subtly and 
 cleverly acted ; as cleverly as if the situation had 
 arisen quite unexpectedly. 
 
 He had so manoeuvred that the papers were, as he 
 believed, now within his reach. He felt that he could 
 compel us to give them up or have them taken from 
 us, and then deal with us as he pleased. He was prob- 
 ably calculating that I must be discussing the new 
 situation embarrassed by a knowledge of this power 
 of his ; and I therefore began to manifest some slight 
 uneasiness. 
 
 " I wish to be your friend," he said at length. 
 
 " I am sure of that. You have given me a striking 
 proof I mean in my marriage. We were scarcely 
 friendly before that," I added with a forced and some- 
 what nervous laugh. " But I feel rather embarrassed." 
 
 " It is a wife's duty to obey her husband." 
 
 " Naturally ; but this marriage of ours was for 
 a special purpose, you see; and we were agreed 
 upon it." 
 
 " If you care for your wife's safety, to say nothing 
 of your own, you will take my advice, monsieur, and 
 leave the country with her.". 
 
 "It is all so unexpected." I spoke in the manner
 
 THE PRINCE OUTWITTED 
 
 of one taken unawares. " I will take a day to consider 
 what to do." 
 
 " No, you must decide now," he replied firmly ; 
 thinking no doubt, as I intended he should, that I 
 wished to use the interval to get rid of the papers. 
 
 " In a matter of such importance one must have 
 time/'" I protested with a spice of indignation. " It 
 is only reasonable." I was growing manifestly more 
 and more uneasy, and he perceived it. " It means 
 so much." 
 
 " It means everything to you both, so far as your 
 future is concerned." 
 
 " I must have time," I repeated, and began to pace 
 the room. 
 
 " I can grant none." 
 
 " But it does not rest with you to either grant or 
 refuse it," I retorted, as if now attempting to put a 
 bolder face on things. 
 
 " As to that, we shall see." 
 
 He was very confident; his voice and manner 
 showed that; and I am sure that he enjoyed my 
 apparent embarrassment. His sharp eyes followed 
 me as I strode up and down the room. 
 
 " Come back this evening, and you shall have our 
 decision." 
 
 " I must know at once." 
 
 " It is unreasonable, unjust, impossible," I cried 
 with growing anger. " I will not stand your dictation 
 in such a matter. I can't decide now, and I won't ! " 
 
 " I shall not leave the room without your, decision." 
 
 " Then I will ; " and I walked to the door. 
 
 " You cannot leave, monsieur." 
 
 I turned on him in time to catch a look of extreme 
 exultation in his eyes. He guessed I had the papers 
 on me and wished to get away with them. I promptly 
 rubbed it in by saying very angrily 
 
 " You shall' not insult me, monsieur. If you wish 
 to make my wife a prisoner, you can do so; she will 
 remain; but you have no right to detain me. It is 
 monstrous."
 
 304 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " You cannot leave the room, M. Denver ; my men 
 are outside." 
 
 I was now in great fear; the start I gave showed 
 him this. 
 
 " Do you dare to make me, an American citizen, 
 a prisoner in my own rooms? You shall answer for 
 this, monsieur," I exclaimed with great heat, and flung 
 the door open. 
 
 He had spoken truly. A half-dozen men were 
 stationed at the doors of our rooms. I shut the door 
 again angrily. 
 
 " I shall appeal to my Ambassador." 
 
 " Have you not carried this far enough ? " he asked 
 menacingly. I had come to the same conclusion 
 although our reasons differed no doubt. " You have 
 no alternative now but to accept my conditions," he 
 added. 
 
 I affected to think, and then called Helga. 
 
 " Helga, Prince Kalkov orders us to leave Russia, 
 and because I will not consent immediately, and will 
 not advise you to take no further steps to clear your 
 father's memory, he threatens to have us arrested." 
 
 " It is like his Highness," she said contemptuously. 
 
 " What answer shall we give him ? " 
 
 " Let him do as he will." 
 
 " M. Denver has not quite explained my position. 
 It is that you are free to leave Russia and go to the 
 United States, if you hand to me the papers of which 
 you obtained possession." 
 
 " I do not make conditions with you, Prince Kalkov," 
 answered Helga with splendid scorn. 
 
 " You are right, madame. It is I who make them, 
 you who obey them," he cried, rising, his voice trem- 
 bling with anger under the lash of her words and 
 look. " I will have no more of this ; my patience is 
 exhausted. Will you give them up, monsieur, and 
 go?" 
 
 He was not pretty in his anger, but I ventured on 
 one more little tonic for it. I burst into a laugh.
 
 THE PRINCE OUTWITTED 305 
 
 " Oh, the papers you want ? Why did n't you say 
 so? I have n't them; so I can't give them to you." 
 
 " It is false, monsieur, it is false. You are lying ! " 
 he exclaimed in a flame of passion, his eyes blazing. 
 Then his rage seemed to burst out like a long smoul- 
 dering volcano, which, breaking at length through the 
 thin restraining crust, pours out its flood of white hot 
 lava. " I know the truth. I have heard from your 
 Embassy. They were given to you to-day. I know 
 where you have been since. I have watched you here, 
 and I know they are upon your person now." I started 
 back and, as if involuntarily, put my hand to my 
 breast pocket. He smiled cunningly. " Yes, I under- 
 stand that gesture. Come, monsieur, I have outplayed 
 you ; give them me, and even now you can go." 
 
 " With your treacherous heart, Prince, you should 
 guard against such passion as this." 
 
 " Silence, monsieur," he said, half beside himself 
 with anger. " Give them to me, give them to me ! " 
 and he came toward me, his hand outstretched and 
 trembling violently. He looked the very incarnation of 
 triumphant and unbridled fury. 
 
 " I have told your Highness I have not them," I 
 said, drawing back. 
 
 I might as well have spoken to a whirlwind. 
 
 He answered me with a wild storm of invective, 
 cursing me for a liar and a villain and a hundred 
 other things, and ending With threats as unrestrained 
 as his anathemas. 
 
 " Give them up and go. Go where you will, and 
 take your wife with you. We have no room even in 
 our gaols for either American scum like you or Nihilist 
 devils like her ! Give them to me, I say. I have waited 
 and schemed for this triumph; and do you think I 
 will let you rob me of it? Give them me, give them 
 me." 
 
 His manner was so threatening that I half thought 
 he would throw himself on me and attempt to drag 
 the papers from me. 
 20
 
 306 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " You are not yourself. You had better call your 
 men," I said. 
 
 Helga, pale and shrinking before his outbreak, drew 
 behind me. 
 
 " By God ! You dare to lie to me still ! " he ex- 
 claimed, and hurrying to the door, brought in a couple 
 of men. " Now, I give you a last chance. Will you 
 give them me ? " 
 
 " I have told you I have nothing to give you.'' 
 
 The apparent obstinacy added fuel to his ungovern- 
 able rage. 
 
 " Search the dog," he said savagely between his set 
 teeth ; " and if he resists, use force." 
 
 He watched me as the men approached, his eyes 
 scintillating with anger and his hands clenching and 
 unclenching with spasmodic tension. 
 
 " I shall not resist ; I only protest, monsieur," I 
 said. 
 
 " Search the dog ! " he exclaimed again, his voice 
 choked with passion. 
 
 I made- no resistance, of course ; I had nothing to 
 gain by doing so ; and when the men took from my 
 breast pocket the large envelope the Prince's face 
 lighted with triumph, and rushing at the man who 
 held it, he tore it from his grasp, and then fell back 
 with it into a chair as if exhausted with the effort. 
 
 He gave one glance at the writing on the envelope 
 and looked up at me. 
 
 " Liar ! I knew it." The growl of a beast gloating 
 over its prey secured after infinite labour but se- 
 cured. 
 
 While he was enjoying this moment of supposed 
 triumph over us, the men who had searched me stood 
 hesitating and waiting for further orders. 
 
 It was some moments before he could rally his 
 reserved strength and master his rage sufficiently to 
 speak to us again. 
 
 " Even now I can be merciful. Will you go to 
 America ? " He looked at us both and tapped one 
 of the packets.
 
 THE TRINCE OUTWITTED 307 
 
 " No," I answered firmly. 
 
 " Choose, you " and he pointed a trembling hand 
 at Helga " between the mines and abandoning this." 
 
 " I will go to the mines if you can send me 
 there," she answered without a shade of hesitation. 
 Her quickness seemed to rekindle his rage. 
 
 " Tin's man and woman are under arrest," he said 
 to the men by me. " Remain outside the door." As 
 they went out, he sat glaring at us and fingering the 
 packets. 
 
 "What next?" I asked. 
 
 " You shall answer for your crime, and may thank 
 your God I do not send you with your wife to the 
 mines at once." 
 
 " I don't thank God ; I thank my wife's and my 
 precautions." 
 
 " You dared to pit yourself against me ; and can 
 see the result. Failure ! " He all but hissed the word 
 at us as he shook the packet in triumph. 
 
 " What you hold there is the proof of your failure, 
 not mine. You had better open it." 
 
 He had been so certain that for the moment he 
 only laughed ; but on meeting my look, doubt and 
 anxiety began to steal over his face. 
 
 " The papers you seek are across the frontier ; you 
 have nothing there but blank sheets." 
 
 " It is a lie, another damnable lie ! I was at the 
 Embassy to-day." 
 
 " You forget ; I was there and saw Mr. Marvyn 
 last night." 
 
 "My God!" 
 
 His whole soul seemed to speak in that one cry 
 of dismay ; and for a moment he looked at the packet 
 like a dazed man, afraid to open it and learn the truth. 
 Then with shaking frenzied fingers he tore at the seals. 
 
 Helga clung to my arm. 
 
 The paper was tough and resisted his efforts for 
 a time, thus accentuating his excitement and suspense. 
 
 At last he opened it and stared at the blank sheets.
 
 308 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 Then he turned on me such a look of baffled rage 
 as I had never seen on a man's face before. 
 
 He strove to speak, and failed ; and the sheets 
 fluttered down to the ground from his nerveless 
 fingers. 
 
 Then he sprang up and staggered toward me, stopped 
 suddenly, uttered a loud inarticulate cry, and press- 
 ing his hand to his heart, fell prone almost at my 
 feet. 
 
 " He is ill," said Helga, speaking for the first time, 
 and bending over him. 
 
 " Probably dying," I murmured ; and seeing the 
 crisis, I went to the door and called his men. 
 
 " The Prince is very ill ; you had better let some 
 one go for a doctor."
 
 CHAPTER XXXI AT THE ELEVENTH 
 HOUR 
 
 IT was instantly clear that we had to face a situation 
 fraught with many awkward complications. 
 
 We were under arrest by Prince Kalkov's orders, 
 and his men left us in no doubt that both Helga 
 and I were suspected of having caused in some way 
 the sudden collapse. 
 
 Two of them stood by the doors to prevent our 
 leaving, and the others lifted the Prince and laid him 
 on a couch ; and one of these three he who had 
 searched me and appeared to be the chief of them 
 said very curtly: 
 
 " I have sent for doctors and my chief ; you will, 
 of course, remain here." 
 
 " You mean we are under arrest? " I asked. 
 
 " Those were the Prince's orders before this 
 occurred." 
 
 " You will find he is suffering from heart trouble, 
 I expect; and pending the doctor's arrival you had 
 better loose the clothes about his neck, open the win- 
 dow to give him air, and let him take a glass of 
 brandy." 
 
 " Perhaps he has had some of that already," he 
 returned, his eye falling on the empty glass. He 
 spoke with the knowing air of a man who suspects, 
 and he seized the glass and put it beyond my reach. 
 
 " Do not forget I told you how to revive him, even 
 if you are such a fool as your words suggest," I 
 answered contemptuously. " It was from that de- 
 
 309
 
 310 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 canter there the brandy was poured; you had better 
 seize that as well." 
 
 The doctors were first to arrive, followed quickly 
 by a police official, and shortly after by Pierre, the 
 Prince's confidential man. 
 
 The official spoke a few words to the doctors, and 
 then turned to me. 
 
 Fortunately for us he was a very different stamp 
 of man from his subordinate, and addressed me 
 courteously. 
 
 " This is a very embarrassing position, monsieur. 
 I understand that the Prince gave instructions for your 
 arrest and detention." 
 
 " We are of course at your disposal. I would 
 first assure you that Prince Kalkov's seizure is the 
 result of illness merely, for which we are in no way 
 responsible." 
 
 " You wish to make a statement ? " 
 
 " Not yet. I am an American citizen, my name 
 is Harper C. Denver, and this lady is my wife. I 
 wish to go at once to the American Embassy on 
 vitally urgent business." 
 
 " I fear I cannot permit that." 
 
 " I have also the honour to enjoy the friendship 
 of His Majesty the Emperor, as the Prince's man 
 there, Pierre, can tell you. I was His Majesty's guest 
 at the Palace recently." 
 
 He was impressed by this; but after a moment's 
 thought shook his head and repeated he could not 
 grant my request. 
 
 " My purpose in going there touches all this very 
 closely, and every moment of delay is important. May 
 I suggest that you put a question to the man Pierre, 
 to confirm what I told you ? " 
 
 He drew Pierre aside, and they spoke together a 
 moment. 
 
 " We must get the real papers back by hook or 
 crook," I whispered to Helga. 
 
 The official returned, looking very grave.
 
 AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR 311 
 
 " He tells me you were a Palace guest, monsieur, 
 but adds that for some days you and the Prince have 
 been on extremely hostile terms." 
 
 " My wife will remain here, and I am quite content 
 that you and any number of your men should accom- 
 pany me. I assure you that my visit is of extreme 
 interest to his Majesty." 
 
 He thought this over, and at length assented. 
 
 " We must accompany you, as you are 
 
 " Come, then. That is all I ask," I broke in. " I 
 shall make no attempt to shirk any responsibility in 
 all this." 
 
 We drove to the Embassy ; he and one of his men 
 with me inside the carriage ; and we were shown at 
 once to Marvyn, who looked in astonishment at my 
 companions, recognizing the chief. 
 
 " I am under arrest, Marvyn, that 's all. I am not 
 going to Siberia after all, and want you to stop those 
 papers. Wire to your man, wherever he is, and " 
 
 " He has n't gone yet. Something turned up to 
 delay him." 
 
 " Then get back the packet and bring it along with 
 you to the Imperial, and just see to things. Prince 
 Kalkov was with us, and has had a seizure of some 
 sort, and my wife and I are under arrest." 
 
 He went away and returned soon, carrying the 
 packet. 
 
 " If those are M. Denver's papers, I must ask that 
 they be given to me," said the official immediately. 
 
 I had n't thought of this. 
 
 " You can see for yourself that they bear the Em- 
 
 We drove back to the hotel, and on the way I told 
 Marvyn pretty well how the case stood, withholding 
 for the moment, however, the fact that I had deceived 
 him in the morning. 
 
 The Prince had been removed from the room, and
 
 312 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 Helga was alone there under guard. She was not 
 in the least disconcerted by the fresh development, 
 and had had tea served in anticipation of my return. 
 
 " What is the charge against M. Denver, M. 
 Drougoff ? " asked Marvyn. 
 
 " At the present I am not informed. Prince Kalkov 
 had ordered it; and there is now of course, the fact 
 of his Highness's seizure." He hesitated for the 
 word. 
 
 " You will allow us to consult in private ? " 
 
 " Certainly, M. Marvyn. I am indeed rather at a 
 loss what to do except that M. Denver must remain 
 under arrest." 
 
 We sat down then to Helga's tea-table. 
 
 " I must explain one thing," I began at once. " I 
 misled you this morning about those papers. Those 
 are the real things what I brought away with me 
 were shams." 
 
 " Do you mean to say " he began, but I interposed. 
 
 " Listen to me a moment, and be angry afterwards 
 if you like. The liberty, and probably life, of us both 
 were at stake. Kalkov had planned to force the things 
 into my hands ; and as soon as he thought you had 
 given them to me, he dogged every movement of mine 
 after leaving you this morning, and came here to get 
 them by force. All this pretence for a journey to 
 Siberia was just a lie; and we got wind of it in 
 time." 
 
 "Why didn't you tell me?" 
 
 " I had no proofs, my dear fellow. I wished you 
 to be able to pass your word that you had given them 
 back to me you did hand them me, remember, and 
 I gave them back under the different cover. I de- 
 ceived you intentionally, I know but more than my 
 life was at stake," and I glanced across to Helga. 
 
 " It might have been a gravely compromising matter 
 for me, Denver," he said, seriously. 
 
 " I should have taken the consequences of my act, 
 of course, and my father would have exhausted every
 
 AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR 313 
 
 resource to put things right. But you see now what 
 would have happened if I had had the papers here. 
 The dummies were taken from me by force, and I 
 was put under arrest ; and my wife also." 
 
 " I am sure Mr. Marvyn will see it as we do," said 
 Helga. 
 
 " I wish to," he replied. " And was it the discovery 
 of the that he 'd been tricked caused this col- 
 lapse?" I nodded, and he whistled: "Phew, that's 
 a circumstance. What are you going to do ? " 
 
 " There 's only one thing. I must see the Czar, 
 and you must hold on to those papers like grim death 
 till I can take them to him." 
 
 " But with this indefinite charge hanging over 
 you " 
 
 " My dear fellow, it 's got to be done ; and done 
 at once, before the Prince gets up enough strength 
 to interfere. The Emperor will see me, I know ; and 
 your people must arrange it. It 's absolutely essential. 
 I 'm done, if I don't get to him." 
 
 " But you see " 
 
 " There 's a most plausible reason for the audience, 
 Mr. Marvyn," interposed Helga quickly. " His 
 Majesty will be most anxious to know at first hand 
 the facts about Prince Kalkov's illness ; and we alone 
 can tell him." 
 
 " Splendid, Helga, splendid," I said ; and Marvyn 
 agreed. " Get my name to him somehow ; any old 
 way '11 do ; and I '11 answer for the rest." 
 
 " I '11 go and see about it at once," he declared. 
 " Meanwhile, what 's to happen to you ? " 
 
 " Short of cutting our heads off, I don't care," I 
 replied, as we rose. " Don't worry about that ; " and 
 I hurried him away. 
 
 " Now, M. Drougoff, we are at your disposal." I 
 said to the police agent as soon as Marvyn had gone. 
 " What are you going to do with us ? I may tell 
 you the American Embassy people are working ener- 
 getically in the affair, and I am sure to receive very 
 soon a summons to wait upon his Majesty."
 
 314 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " My people tell me that a very serious charge 
 is hanging over you both I mean apart altogether 
 from this." 
 
 " They tell you wrong, then. My wife was charged 
 in some Nihilist practices and imprisoned by order 
 of Prince Kalko t v ; but the Prince himself ordered her 
 release from the prison last night, and was present 
 when she came away with me." 
 
 "But yourself?" 
 
 " I have never been charged, and, as I say, was 
 with Prince Kalkov yesterday when my wife was 
 released." 
 
 " It is a very extraordinarv complication. What 
 is behind it?" 
 
 " There is a good deal behind, of course ; but the 
 Prince himself can best explain it, when he is well 
 enough. At present I am only concerned to know 
 whether you wish to put us under lock and key. We 
 are quite ready." 
 
 He was manifestly perplexed what to do. 
 
 " I cannot release you, monsieur ; vou will see 
 that?" 
 
 " It 's only for an hour or two at the worst," and 
 I went back to the tea table. 
 
 " I will send and inquire how the Prince is." 
 
 " It 's a question whether he recovers in time to 
 stop the interview with the Czar," said Helga to me. 
 
 " No, he can't stop it now." 
 
 After a few minutes the messenger returned, and 
 M. Drougoff crossed to us. 
 
 " His Highness is much better, monsieur ; he is 
 rallying fast, and the doctors say that in an hour 
 probably, or at most two, I may be able to see him 
 and take instructions. In the meantime it will be most 
 convenient for matters to remain as they are. I do 
 not wish to trouble your charming wife and you 
 unnecessarily." 
 
 " Very well, I am much obliged to you," I answered. 
 " We can do nothing but wait," I said to Helga, when
 
 AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR 3U 
 
 he had gone back to his seat. " Wait, that is, and 
 hope he won't get well too soon." 
 
 "" I thought he was worse," she replied. 
 
 " I wish with all my heart he was," I agreed. 
 
 Wishing was of no use, however; and there we 
 sat waiting for a time that seemed interminable, each 
 trying to prevent the other from seeing how real and 
 harassing was the anxiety of the suspense and each 
 conscious of, and smiling, at the other's efforts. 
 
 Helga was very brave, very calm, and very cheer- 
 ful ; and only in little signs and gestures a start, 
 a glance, a movement of the features or hands - 
 could I see how the strain tried her. 
 
 Much less than an hour of this exhausted my pa- 
 tience, however. 
 
 " I wish whatever 's going to happen first would 
 happen and be done with it," I exclaimed. " I feel 
 like a man staked on a volcano top, uncertain whether 
 it 's going to explode and blow me up, or give way 
 and let me through into the lava." 
 
 " You 'd make a bad conspirator, Harper," said 
 Helga, smiling. " They have to endure this kind of 
 thing for days, weeks and months." 
 
 " We should manage it quicker in the States." 
 
 " Those wonderful States again. Tell me a lot about 
 them. My new country," she added sweetly. 
 
 " There are no Kalkovs in them, for one thing, and 
 what 's this, I wonder," I broke off, as a man came 
 in and spoke to M. Drougoff. 
 
 It was nothing, or apparently nothing, for the man 
 went out again, and his superior sank again into the 
 condition of watchful inactivity, the result I concluded 
 of many years' training in spy work. 
 
 " I wish to Heaven Marvyn would send us word 
 what 's doing. He might know one would be 
 anxious." 
 
 " He can scarcely have done anything yet. He has 
 been gone barely an hour," said Helga gently. 
 
 " I told him lie 'd have to hustle."
 
 316 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " But he does not know the Prince is getting better." 
 
 " If he does n't hurry up as if he did know it, he 's 
 well, he 's an ass, and my father ought never to 
 have got him into the diplomatic service. Yes, laugh 
 away, I know I 'm an idiot ; but it helps a heap to 
 blame the other fellow ; " and I laughed, too. 
 
 And so the minutes dragged until something did 
 happen. 
 
 Another message was brought to Drougoff, and this 
 time he got up and approached us. 
 
 " The Prince is well enough to receive me, mon- 
 sieur." 
 
 " Thank God for that," I exclaimed, almost as 
 heartily as if he had told me we were both free. 
 Anything was better than suspense. 
 
 He went away, leaving the man to take his place. 
 
 " How is the Prince ? " I asked him. 
 
 " Nearly recovered, monsieur. Weak, but that is 
 all." 
 
 " He 's won the race, I 'm afraid, Helga. We may 
 as well get ready. Where will he send us, I wonder. 
 We must manage somehow to leave word for Marvyn." 
 
 " They won't let us do that. We must stop here to 
 the last possible moment. Think of everything you 
 can to use up time." 
 
 " Bully for you. You always have some good 
 notion." 
 
 M. Drougoff was not absent long, and looked very 
 troubled when he entered. 
 
 " My instructions are, I deeply regret to say, mon- 
 sieur, to remove you at once." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 He named two different prisons. 
 
 " The charges ? " I asked next. 
 
 " I am not instructed to mention them, monsieur." 
 
 " Then I am not going," I said firmly. 
 
 " Pray consider, monsieur. Resistance will be quite 
 useless." 
 
 " I have considered, I assure you ; and I shall re-
 
 AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR 317 
 
 sist. If your instructions are to kill me or maim me, 
 you may obey them, if you wish. But I do not move 
 from here alive, and as I am a citizen of the United 
 States, my death may be a circumstance." 
 
 " Let me persuade you, monsieur." 
 
 " You can try if you like ; " and try he did for over 
 a quarter of an hour of invaluable time, at the end of 
 which he was in despair, and I was as obdurate as 
 ever. 
 
 " When Mr. Marvyn returns and advises me to go, 
 I '11 go ; but until then I refuse point blank. You are 
 too courteous a man to make a good butcher, I am 
 sure, and I can put up an excellent fight at need." 
 
 " I must obey my orders, monsieur," he replied 
 tersely. 
 
 " And as an American citizen, I refuse to budge 
 without knowing the charge against me, and until 
 my Embassy's people are here." 
 
 " I am deeply sorry, but I have no alternative ; " 
 and he rose. 
 
 Then Helga came to the rescue with a suggestion. 
 
 " Had you not better return to the Prince with our 
 decision? My husband is a foreigner, and a friend of 
 His Majesty ; and the situation is altogether unusual." 
 
 " It is useless," he persisted. 
 
 " Very well, then," I said ; " we '11 clear the decks. 
 I was getting ready for a long journey, monsieur, and 
 have arms here. If there is blood-shed, the respon- 
 sibility will not be mine. I am innocent of any offence, 
 and you may rely on it I will not be taken alive." 
 
 This was very unexpected, I could see, and he 
 hesitated. 
 
 " I will acquaint his Highness," he said after a 
 pause, and left us again. 
 
 "Do you mean to fight, Harper," asked Helga, 
 anxiously. 
 
 "Not I. We've nothing to fight with," I said, 
 smiling ; " but we 've gained twenty minutes and more. 
 I wish Marvyn would come."
 
 318 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " You took me in. I thought you were in earnest," 
 she replied, in a tone of intense relief. 
 
 M. Drougoff was away longer than even I had 
 hoped; and when he returned he had a surprise 
 for us. 
 
 " His Highness himself is coming, monsieur," he 
 announced, shortly. 
 
 " I don't see that he can do any good, but that 's his 
 matter," I said ; and then we all stood in silence. 
 
 The shuffling of many feet was heard, the door was 
 thrown wide open, and the indomitable old man was 
 carried in lying on an improvised litter, with two 
 doctors at his side. 
 
 They set him down in the middle of the room, and 
 the bearers drew away. 
 
 " I have come to see my orders obeyed," he said, 
 with a glance at Drougoff, and then at Helga and 
 myself. His voice was weak, but his manner impla- 
 cably stern. 
 
 " Then you have come to see an ugly fight," said I, 
 as firmly as though I meant resisting to the last. 
 
 " Arrest them both, Drougoff. You have my author- 
 ity for using any force necessary." 
 
 " What is the charge against us ? " I demanded. 
 
 " Do your duty, you, Drougoff," he said, viciously. 
 
 M. Drougoff signed to his men. 
 
 " Go forward, Helga. You can waste a little time 
 yet/' I whispered. 
 
 She did splendidly again. She clung to me for a 
 moment as if overcome, and then with passionate dis- 
 tress bade me good-bye. 
 
 The men held aloof during this ; and when she went 
 to them she contrived very cleverly to get rid of a little 
 more time. 
 
 But the way was clear at length, and Drougoff 
 stepped towards me. 
 
 I drew back and put my hand in my pocket. 
 
 " You will come no further, monsieur, or your life 
 will be the forfeit."
 
 AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR 319 
 
 He stopped abruptly. 
 
 " Let your men fire if he resists," said the relentless 
 old man. 
 
 Drougoff gave the necessary orders, and for a tense 
 moment I looked along the barrels of three levelled 
 revolvers. 
 
 " Come, monsieur," said Drougoff. 
 
 I burst into a laugh. 
 
 " Yes, I will. I have no firearms ; " and I pulled 
 my empty hand from my pocket. 
 
 Then at last came the proof that I had not blustered 
 in vain. 
 
 Harold Marvyn came hurrying in, accompanied by 
 a man I recognized as the officer whom I had seen the 
 previous day in the ante-room of the Emperor. 
 
 " I am glad to see your Highness is so far recov- 
 ered," said Marvyn; "but what does this mean?" 
 
 " That two dangerous Nihilists are on their way to 
 prison, monsieur," came the reply, sharp and stern. 
 
 Marvyn's indignation at the tone showed in his face. 
 
 " The Emperor has commanded Mr. Denver's im- 
 mediate presence at the Palace, your Highness. This 
 is an outrage upon an American citizen." 
 
 " Outrage or no outrage, they are going to prison, 
 monsieur." 
 
 " Colonel Vilda," said Marvyn, turning to him. 
 
 " I have the Emperor's commands, your Highness. 
 They are peremptory, and I must obey them." 
 
 " And the woman ? " The old bully's tone was 
 worthy of him. 
 
 " Madame Denver is to accompany her husband to 
 the Palace, to be in readiness should his Majesty re- 
 quire to see her." 
 
 " She is a dangerous Nihilist, Colonel." 
 
 " They are his Majesty's commands, your Highness." 
 
 " I am at your service, Colonel," I said. 
 
 " We have a carriage waiting, M. Denver." 
 
 He offered his arm to Helga, and I followed with 
 Marvyn, and went out without even casting a glance
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 at Kalkov; but I saw the two doctors bend over him 
 anxiously. 
 
 " You had to hustle, Marvyn." 
 
 " Some," he nodded. 
 
 " It was a near thing." 
 
 " So it looked." 
 
 And with that and a laugh of relief we got into the 
 carriage.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII THE END 
 
 HELGA was waiting for me with a look of eager 
 anxiety when I came out to her from my in- 
 terview with the Emperor. 
 
 '* Well? " she asked, as she came to me. 
 
 " Yes, it is all well," I answered smiling. " All 
 well, all the best it could be for us. Not for the 
 Prince," I added drily. 
 
 "And my father?" 
 
 " Justice will be done to his memory, my dear, full 
 justice. You were right in the kernel of your plans 
 to get to the Czar." 
 
 " I was certain of that," she said. 
 
 " If you could have got to him all this would never 
 have happened. I never saw a man more moved. I 
 left all the papers with him and he 's going to study 
 them himself, and then see you. Never a breath of 
 the truth has ever been allowed to reach him." 
 
 " My dear father," she murmured. " At last," and 
 she sighed. 
 
 " Old Kalkov has had things his own way and has 
 had a fine past ; but I don't envy him his future." 
 
 Marvyn entered the ante-room then. 
 
 " How have things gone, Denver? " 
 
 " Could n't have gone better, thanks to you." 
 
 " By gorm, I 'm glad," he exclaimed with a sigh 
 of relief. "The ice was so thin I was afraid we 
 should be through." 
 
 " It will bear every one except Kalkov, and it '11 put 
 his light out. You may gamble on that." 
 21 321
 
 322 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " It was a big risk to carry," he said, thinking of 
 himself. 
 
 I smiled. 
 
 " You should have had half an hour of ours," I 
 suggested. 
 
 " Yes, I know," he answered with a quaint smile. 
 " But one's official responsibilities make such a differ- 
 ence, Denver." 
 
 " True, but even unofficially one can have a sort of 
 sneaking regard for one's life and liberty." 
 
 " I shall never forget your help, Mr. Marvyn," said 
 Helga, sweetly, as she gave him her hand. 
 
 " I would take the risk again for such a smile, Mrs. 
 Denver." 
 
 " Now you 're talking," said I. " It 's very pretty 
 of you, but I hope we shan't have to ask for it ; al- 
 though we may still need the Embassy's protection, if 
 the Emperor carries out his threats." 
 
 "How's that?" 
 
 " He seems to contemplate putting an end to Mrs. 
 Denver." 
 
 "Harper?" cried Helga. 
 
 " It 's true as true as it is staggering." 
 
 " No spoke in the wheels I hope ? " 
 
 This from Marvyn. 
 
 " He threatens," I said, looking very grave. 
 
 "Then why are your eyes laughing, Harper?" 
 cried Helga. 
 
 " It '11 be no laughing matter if we find our marriage 
 annulled." 
 
 " That 's only putting the riddle a different way ; " 
 and Helga slipped her arm into mine and clasped her 
 hands on it. 
 
 " What is it? " asked Marvyn, seriously. 
 
 I had before observed his keen scent for trouble 
 from afar. The serious side of things always appealed 
 first to him. 
 
 " He threatens," I repeated.
 
 THE END 323 
 
 "Haven't we had enough problems lately?" and 
 Helga wrinkled her brows in half comical perplexity. 
 " But I can wait quite calmly." 
 
 " He wants to make out that as the daughter of a 
 prince and his friend, you ought to be considered a 
 kind of Imperial ward to whose marriage his consent 
 was necessary ; so that " 
 
 Helga interrupted me with a laugh. 
 
 " I knew it was nonsense." 
 
 " I don't see that under the circumstances such a 
 claim could be maintained," declared Marvyn gravely. 
 
 " And further that Helga cannot be Mrs. Denver." 
 
 "Who am I then?" 
 
 " He talks about making reparation of everything 
 and giving you your father's title." 
 
 " But I can't be a Prince, surely! " 
 
 " You would of course be Princess," said Marvyn, 
 in the same dry official manner. 
 
 " Mr. Denver's Princess ! What an odd mixture ! " 
 
 " I think it would be rather the Princess's Mr. 
 Denver," said I. 
 
 " And what did you say, Harper? " 
 
 " Oh, that as to the material compensation we could 
 talk, but that about the title we 'd go back to the hotel 
 and discuss it. Will you come with us, Marvyn ? " 
 
 He excused himself on the plea of business and left 
 us, and Helga and I were just going when Colonel 
 Vilda came to summon her to an audience with the 
 Emperor. She was to go alone. 
 
 " I congratulate you, Mr. Denver," he said to 
 me when he returned from ushering her into the 
 presence. 
 
 " I 've been doing that to myself very heartily, 
 Colonel, I can assure you." 
 
 "The Princess will make a brilliant figure in the 
 Court." 
 
 "Which Princess, Colonel, and which Court?" 
 
 " The Princess Lavalski," he answered, smiling.
 
 324 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " We have no Court in the States, Colonel." 
 
 " But you will not take her from us in the very 
 moment of our finding her again ! " 
 
 " You 've managed to get along pretty well without 
 her so far, I fancy." 
 
 " But, my dear monsieur ! She 's so charming, 
 so beautiful, so wealthy the world will be at her 
 feet." 
 
 " It '11 have to be the western hemisphere of it then, 
 I think." 
 
 " Ah, but it would be a crime to take her away." 
 
 " I shan't take her away, Colonel but somehow I 
 have an idea she won't much care to stop." 
 
 " But it is too bad ; " and he laughed and spread 
 his hands. 
 
 There came a little commotion at the door then, and 
 when it was opened, Prince Kalkov was carried in 
 seated in a chair. 
 
 " Let His Majesty know that I crave an immediate 
 audience with him, Colonel Vilda, on urgent matters 
 of State," he said. 
 
 " His Majesty is engaged, your Highness." 
 
 " I am accustomed to be obeyed, Colonel Vilda," 
 returned Kalkov austerely. 
 
 The Colonel drew himself up at the tone, paused 
 and then bowed. 
 
 " I will take your Highness' message," he said, and 
 left us. 
 
 "You have seen the Emperor, monsieur?" said 
 the Prince to me. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "What passed between you?" he demanded, with 
 much of his customary arrogant insistence. 
 
 " It was a confidential interview, monsieur." 
 
 " If it concerned me I have a right to know." 
 
 " I must ask you to excuse my saying anything. 
 You and I began as friends, then we had a pretty 
 sharp burst as antagonists; now if you please we
 
 THE END 325 
 
 must be neutrals I have nothing further to say to 
 you." 
 
 " I have yet to see his Majesty, monsieur." Even 
 now he was ready to threaten me in his indomitable 
 doggedness. 
 
 I took no notice, and presently Colonel Vilda re- 
 turned. 
 
 " His Majesty is unable to see your Highness," he 
 announced. 
 
 " I will not take that answer," declared the Prince 
 vehemently. " The matters are too urgent and vitally 
 affect his Majesty himself, for me to take it. I have 
 been his loyal adviser and faithful minister for many 
 years. I am not to be thrown aside on the bare word 
 of hirelings and traitors." He was fast losing self- 
 control in his passion when he checked himself and 
 said : " Give my humble greetings to his Majesty, tell 
 him I am ill and perhaps dying, and solicit most ear- 
 nestly that he will see me. Say it may be the last time 
 on earth I may ever speak to him." 
 
 " His Majesty was very decided," said the Colonel. 
 
 " His Majesty does not know either how ill I am 
 or how urgent my business. Should I be here like 
 this, if it were not ? " 
 
 Colonel Vilda went in again and this time the in- 
 terval before his return passed in silence. 
 
 When he returned, Helga was with him. I saw she 
 had been weeping and that the tears were still in her 
 eyes. 
 
 " They are tears of joy and gratitude, Harper," she 
 whispered, taking my arm and then started as she saw 
 Prince Kalkov. 
 
 " His Majesty deeply regrets to hear of your High- 
 ness's illness," said the Colonel, " and he counsels your 
 immediate return to your house, where he will com- 
 municate with you." 
 
 The old man listened with frowning brows and un- 
 moved firmness. 
 
 " It is not true," he declared doggedly.
 
 326 WHEN I WAS CZAR 
 
 " It is as I say, your Highness ; and his Majesty 
 further bids me say that as your health has broken 
 down, he will immediately relieve you of all your offi- 
 cial duties." 
 
 " He cannot mean this and without ever seeing 
 me," he cried. 
 
 " His Majesty is too overcome by news which has 
 reached him to-day, to be able to endure the strain of 
 an interview with your Highness, and has retired to 
 his private apartments." 
 
 " My God ! after all my years of service." 
 
 " Come, Harper," whispered Helga ; and we hur- 
 ried out glad to escape the sight of our enemy's 
 overthrow. 
 
 On the way to the hotel she told me all the Emperor 
 had said to her ; the regrets he had expressed ; the 
 sorrow he felt ; the promises he made ; and the hopes 
 he had expressed for her future happiness. 
 
 " As a Princess ? " I asked ; " or as " 
 
 She glanced and smiled and ran on into the hotel, 
 leaving me unanswered. 
 
 At the hotel Ivan was waiting, anxious concerning 
 our journey to Siberia, and overjoyed at seeing us 
 together again. 
 
 " Has your Highness any commands ? " I asked 
 Helga. 
 
 "Harper!" 
 
 " Well, has Mrs. Denver any wishes ? " 
 
 " We are not going to Siberia, Ivan," she said to 
 him. " Everything has come right." 
 
 The great burly fellow laughed with the delight of 
 a child. 
 
 " I could cry with pleasure, mademoiselle," he said. 
 
 " Hullo, that 's still a third title for you made- 
 moiselle," I laughed. 
 
 She would not hear me. 
 
 " But we are going on a long journey, Ivan, all the 
 same," she said, in a very matter of fact unconcerned 
 tone.
 
 C WE HURRIED OUT GLAD TO ESCAPE THE SIGHT OF OUR 
 
 ENEMY'S OVERTHROW." Page 326.
 
 T.HE END 327 
 
 "Where?" I asked. 
 
 " To New York, of course ; where else should Mrs. 
 Denver go, indeed ? " 
 
 " Bully for you," I cried and then but Ivan was 
 in the room ; so I turned him out first and told him 
 to go and pack, as we should start as soon as possible. 
 
 And we did.
 
 Popular Copyright Books 
 
 At Moderate Prices 
 
 Any of the following titles can be bought of your Bookseller 
 at the price you paid for this volume 
 
 THE PRODIGAL SON Hall Caine 
 
 ADVENTURES OF GERARD ... A. Conan Doyle 
 A CAPTAIN IN THE RANKS . George Gary Eggleston 
 
 THE DELIVERANCE Ellen Glasgow 
 
 THE BATTLE GROUND .... Ellen Glasgow 
 THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE . . . Ellen Glasgow 
 THE MILLIONAIRE BABY . . Anna Katharine Green 
 
 THE BRETHREN H. Rider Haggard 
 
 THE BOSS Alfred Henry Lewis 
 
 THE PRESIDENT Alfred Henry Lewis 
 
 BOB, SON OF BATTLE Alfred Ollivant 
 
 NONE BUT THE BRAVE .... Hamblen Sears 
 THE DARROW ENIGMA .... Melvin Severy 
 THE TWO VANREVELS .... Booth Tarkington 
 THE CIRCLE Catharine Cecil Thurston 
 
 Author of "THE MASQUERADERS," "THE GAMBI.ER." 
 
 HURRICANE ISLAND . . . H. B. Marriott- Watson 
 
 THE LONG NIGHT .... Stanley J. Weyman 
 
 INFELICE Augusta Evans Wilson 
 
 ARMS AND THE WOMAN . . . Harold MacGrath 
 
 THE LANE THAT HAD NO TURNING Gilbert Parker 
 
 THE HEART'S HIGHWAY . . . Mary E. Wilkins 
 
 TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES . . A. Conan Doyle 
 ROSE OF THE WORLD . . Agnes and Egerton Castle 
 
 THAT PRINTER OF UDELL'S . Harold Bell Wright 
 
 IN THE NAME OF A WOMAN . Arthur W- Marchmont 
 
 THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE . . Arthur W. Marchmont 
 
 BY SNARE OF LOVE . . . Arthur W. Marchmont 
 
 WHEN I WAS CZAR . . Arthur W. Marchmont 
 
 A. L. BURT CO., Publishers, 52-58 Duane St., New York
 
 Good Fiction Worth Reading. 
 
 A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the field 
 of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and diplomacy 
 that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest. 
 
 GUY FAWKES. A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harri 
 son Ainsworth. Cloth, lamo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. 
 Price, $1.00. 
 
 The "Gunpowder Plot" was a modest attempt -to blow up Parliament, 
 the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King- of England, 
 was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient scheme of 
 extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the Catholics. In 
 their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful of bold spirits con- 
 cluded to overthrow the government. Finally the plotters were arrested. 
 and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners with. 
 royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through the entire romance. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER. A Romance of the Early Settlers in the 
 Ohio Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth. I2tno. with four illustrations by J. Watson 
 Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 A book rather out of the ordinary la this "Spirit of the Border." The 
 main thread of the story has to do with the work of the Moravian mis- 
 sionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader is given details of the 
 frontier life of those hardy pioneers who broke the wilderness for the plant- 
 Ing of this great nation. Chief among these, as a matter of course, is 
 Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and at the same time the most 
 admirable of all the brave men who spent their lives battling with the 
 savage foe, that others might dwell in comparative security. 
 
 Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian "Village 
 of Peace" are given at some length, and with minute description. The 
 efforts to Christianize the Indians are described as they never have been 
 before, and the author has depicted the characters of the leaders of the 
 several Indian tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to 
 the student. 
 
 By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivfd word- 
 pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense paintings of the beau- 
 ties of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken forests. 
 
 It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by it. 
 perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, willingly braved 
 every privation and danger that the westward progress of the star of em- 
 pire might be the more certain and rapid. A love story, simple and tender, 
 runs through the book. 
 
 RICHELIEU. A tale of France in the reijjn cf King I,ouis XHI. By G. P. 
 R. James. Cloth, 121110. with four illustrations L / J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, "Richelieu," and was 
 recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft. 
 
 In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great car- 
 dinal's life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while it waa 
 yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic outbursts which 
 overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost wave of prosperity. 
 One of the most striking portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar's conspir- 
 acy: the method of conducting criminal cases, and the political trickery 
 resorted to by royal favorites, affording a better insight into the state- 
 craft of that day than can be had even by an exhaustive study of history. 
 It is a powerful romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling 
 and absorbing interest has never been excelled. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the pub- 
 lishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 53-58 Duanc St., New York.
 
 Good Fiction Worth Reading. 
 
 A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the field 
 of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and diplomacy 
 that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest. 
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII. 
 Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth. 
 i2mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00. 
 
 "Windsor Castle" Is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and Ann* 
 Boleyn. "Bluff King Hal," although a well-loved monarch, was none too 
 good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and unwarrantable acts, 
 none was more discreditable than his divorce from Catharine, and his mar- 
 riage to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. The King's love was as brief as It 
 was vehement. Jane Seymour, waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, 
 and Anne Boleyn was forced to the block to make room for her successor. 
 This romance is one of extreme Interest to all readers. 
 
 HORSESHOE ROBINSON. A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Caro- 
 lina in 1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, I2mo. with four illustrations by J. 
 Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 Among the old favorites In the field of what Is known as historical fic- 
 tion, there are none which appeal to a larger number of Americans than 
 Horseshoe Robinson, and this because It Is the only story which depict* 
 with fidelity to the facts the heroic efforts of the colonists In South Caro- 
 lina to defend their homes against the tirutal oppression of the British 
 under such leaders as Cornwallls and Tarleton. 
 
 The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the thread 
 of the tale, and then Impressed with the wealth of detail concerning those 
 times. The picture of the manifold sufferings of the people, Is never over- 
 drawn, but patnted faithfully and honestly by one who spared nelthtr 
 time nor labor In his efforts to present in this charming love story all that 
 price In blood and tears which the Carolinians paid as their share In th 
 winning of the republic. 
 
 Take It all in all, "Horseshoe Robinson" Is a work which should be 
 found on every book-shelf, not only because It Is a most entertaining 
 story, but because of the wealth of valuable information concerning tha 
 colonists which it contains. That It has been brought out once more, well 
 Illustrated, is something which will give pleasure to thousands who have 
 long desired an opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who 
 have tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they might 
 read It for the first time. 
 
 THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND. A story of the Coast of Maine. By 
 Harriet Beecher Stowe. Cloth, i2mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00. 
 
 Written prior to 1862, the "Pearl of Orr's Island" la ever new; a book 
 filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array themselves anew each 
 time one reads them. One sees the "sea like an unbroken mirn 
 around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr's Island." and stratKhtw; 
 comes "the heavy, hollow moan of the surf on the beach, like t 
 angry howl of some savage animal." 
 
 Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, which 
 came into this world under the very shadow of the Death angel s wings, 
 without having an intense desire to know how the premature bx 
 somed? Again and again one lingers over the descriptions < 
 acter of that baby boy Moses, who came through the tempest, a 
 angry billows, pillowed on his dead mother's breast 
 
 There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that 
 Which Mrs. Stowe gives in "The Pearl of Orr's Island. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the pub- 
 lishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.
 
 Good Fiction Worth Reading. 
 
 A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the field 
 of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and diplomacy 
 that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest. 
 
 A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE. A story of American Colonial Times. By 
 Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, I2mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson 
 Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of Revolutionary 
 scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. It causes the true 
 American to flush with excitement, to devour chapter after chapter, until 
 the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes with patriotism. The love story is a 
 singularly charming idyl. 
 
 THE TOWER OF LONDON. A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady 
 Jane Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, i2tno. with 
 four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00. 
 
 This romance of the "Tower of London" depicts the Tower as palace, 
 prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is the 
 middle of the sixteenth century. 
 
 The story is divided Into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane Grey, 
 and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other notable char- 
 acters of the era. Throughout the story holds the interest of the reader 
 in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, extending considerably over a 
 half a century. 
 
 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. A Romance of the American Revolution. 
 By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, I2mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson 
 Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery, 
 and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the spirit of the 
 Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves taking a 
 part in the exciting scenes described. Hie whole story is so absorbing 
 that you will sit up far into the night to finish It. As a love romance 
 it is charming. 
 
 GARTHOWEN. A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, 
 I2tno. with four illustrations by J. Watson. Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 "This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare before 
 us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some strong points of 
 Welsh character the pride, the hasty temper, the quick dying out of wrath. 
 . . . We call this a well-written story, interesting alike through its 
 romance and its glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and 
 clever picture of Welsh village life. The result is excellent." Detroit Free 
 PresB. 
 
 MIFANWY. The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, 
 I2mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 "This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care to 
 read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the characters, H is ap- 
 parent at once, are as true to life as though the author had known them 
 all personally. Simple in all its situations, the story is worked up in that 
 touching and quaint strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how 
 often the lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and 
 does not tax the imagination." Boston Herald. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the pub- 
 lishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 P.uane St., New York.
 
 Good Fiction Worth Reading. 
 
 A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the field 
 Of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love and diplomacy 
 that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest. 
 
 DARNLEY. A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. 
 By G. P. R. James. Cloth, I2mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. 
 Price, Ji.oo. 
 
 In point of publication, "Darnley" is that work by Mr. James which 
 Klchelleu," and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing to the ad- 
 vice and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we are indebted 
 primarily for the story, the young author questioning whether he could 
 properly paint the difference in the characters of the two great cardinals. 
 And it is not surprising that James should have hesitated; he had been 
 eminently successful in giving to the world the portrait of Richelieu as a 
 man, and by attempting a similar task with Wolsey as the theme, was 
 much like tempting fortune. Irving Insisted that "Darnley" came natur- 
 ally in sequence, and this opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, 
 the author set about the work. 
 
 As a historical romance "Darnley" is a book that can be taken up 
 pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle charm which 
 those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. James have claimed wa 
 only to be imparted by Dumas. 
 
 If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial attention, 
 the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic "field of the cloth of 
 Sold" would entitle the story to the most favorable consideration of every 
 reader. 
 
 There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the author ha 
 taken care to imagine love passages only between those whom history ha* 
 credited with having entertained the tender passion one for another, and 
 toe succeeds in making such lovers as all the world must love. 
 
 CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE. By I,ieut. 
 Henry A. Wise, U. S. N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, izmo. with four illustra- 
 tions by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00. 
 
 The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea yam 
 who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as can come through 
 the medium of a printed page, for never has a story of the sea and those 
 "who go down in ships" been written by one more familiar with the scenes 
 depicted. 
 
 The one book of this gifted author which Is best remembered, and which 
 will be read with pleasure for many years to come, Is "Captain Brand." 
 who, as the author states on his title page, was a "pirate of eminence in 
 the West Indies." As a sea story pure and simple, "Captain Brand" has 
 never been excelled,, and as a story of piratical life, told without the usual 
 embellishments of blood and thunder, it has no equal. 
 
 NICK OF THE WOODS. A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By 
 Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, izmo. with four illustrations by J. Watson 
 Davis. Price, Ji.oo. 
 
 This most popular novef and thrilling story of early frontier life In 
 Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel, long out of 
 print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its realistic presentation 
 Indian and frontier life in the early days of settlement in the South, nar- 
 rated in the tale with all the art of a practiced writer. A very charmlri* 
 love romance runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition ol 
 "Nick of the Woods" will be certain to make many new admirers for 
 this enchanting story from Dr. Bird's clever and versatile pen. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the pub- 
 lishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.
 
 POPULAR LITERATURE FOR THE MASSES, 
 COMPRISING CHOICE SELECTIONS FROM THE 
 TREASURES OF THE WORLD'S KNOWLEDGE, 
 ISSUED IN A SUBSTANTIAL AND ATTRACTIVE 
 CLOTH BINDING, AT A POPULAR PRICE 
 
 HURT'S HOME LIBRARY is a series which 
 includes the standard works of the world's best literature, 
 bound in uniform cloth binding, gilt tops, embracing 
 chiefly selections from writers of the most notable 
 English, American and Foreign Fiction, together with 
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 of History, Biography, Philosophy, 
 Travel, Poetry and the Essays. 
 
 A glance at the following annexed 
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 [SEE FOLLOWING PAGES]
 
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 Abbe Constantin. BY LUDOVIC 
 
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 RICHARD GREEN. 
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 Eight Hundred Leagues on the Ama- 
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