The door opened, and the face of a lad appeared.
"Vlacho the innkeeper bids you descend," said he; and then, catching sight perhaps of our revolvers, he turned and ran downstairs again at his best speed. Following him we came to the door of the inn. It was ringed round with men, and directly opposite to us stood Vlacho. When he saw me he commanded silence with a gesture of his hand, and addressed me in the following surprising style.
"The Lady Euphrosyne, of her grace, bids you depart in peace. Go, then, to your boat and depart, thanking G.o.d for His mercy."
"Wait a bit, my man" said I; "where is the lord of the island?"
"Did you not know that he died a week ago?" asked Vlacho, with apparent surprise.
"Died!" we exclaimed one and all.
"Yes, sir. The Lady Euphrosyne, Lady of Neopalia, bids you go."
"What did he die of?"
"Of a fever," said Vlacho gravely; and several of the men round him nodded their heads and murmured in no less grave a.s.sent, "Yes, of a fever."
"I am very sorry for it," said I. "But as he sold the island to me before he died, I don"t see what the lady, with all respect to her, has got to do with it. Nor do I know what this rabble is doing about the door. Bid them disperse."
This attempt at _hauteur_ was most decidedly thrown away. Vlacho seemed not to hear what I said. He pointed with his finger towards the harbour.
"There lies your boat. Demetri and Spiro cannot go with you, but you will be able to manage her yourselves. Listen now! Till six in the morning you are free to go. If you are found in Neopalia one minute after, you will never go. Think and be wise." And he and all the rest, as though one spring moved the whole body, wheeled round and marched off up the hill again, breaking out into the old chant when they had gone about a hundred yards. We were left alone in the doorway of the inn, looking, I must admit, rather blank.
Upstairs again we went, and I sat down by the window and gazed out on the night. It was very dark, and seemed darker now that the gleaming torches were gone. Not a soul was to be seen. The islanders, having put matters on a satisfactory footing, were off to bed. I sat thinking. Presently Denny came to me, and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Going to cave in, Charley?" he asked.
"My dear Denny," said I, "I wish you were at home with your mother."
He smiled and repeated, "Going to cave in, old chap?"
"No, by Jove, I"m not!" cried I, leaping up. "They"ve had my money, and I"m going to have my island."
"Take the yacht, my lord," counselled Hogvardt, "and come back with enough force from Rhodes."
Well, here was sense; my impulse was nonsense. We four could not conquer the island. I swallowed my pride.
"So be it," said I. "But look here, it"s only just twelve. We might have a look round before we go. I want to see the place, you know."
For I was very sorely vexed at being turned out of my island.
Hogvardt grumbled a little at my proposal, but here I overruled him.
We took our revolvers again, left the inn, and struck straight up the road. We met n.o.body. For nearly a mile we mounted, the way becoming steeper with every step. Then there was a sharp turn off the main road.
"That will lead to the house," said Hogvardt, who had studied the map of Neopalia very carefully.
"Then we"ll have a look at the house. Show us a light, Hogvardt. It"s precious dark."
Hogvardt opened his lantern and cast its light on the way. But suddenly he extinguished it again, and drew us close into the rocks that edged the road. We saw coming towards us, in the darkness, two figures. They rode small horses. Their faces could not be seen; but as they pa.s.sed our silent motionless forms, one said in a clear, sweet, girlish voice:
"Surely they will go?"
"Ay, they"ll go or pay the penalty," said the other voice. At the sound of it I started. For it was the voice of my neighbour in the restaurant, Constantine Stefanopoulos.
"I shall be near at hand, sleeping in the town," said the girl"s voice, "and the people will listen to me."
"The people will kill them if they don"t go," we heard Constantine answer, in tones that witnessed no great horror at the idea. Then the couple disappeared in the darkness.
"On to the house!" I cried in sudden excitement. For I was angry now, angry at the utter humbling scorn with which they treated me.
Another ten minutes" groping brought us in front of the old grey house which we had seen from the sea. We walked boldly up to it. The door stood open. We went in and found ourselves in a large hall. The wooden floor was carpeted here and there with mats and skins. A long table ran down the middle; the walls were decorated with mediaeval armour and weapons. The windows were but narrow slits, the walls ma.s.sive and deep. The door was a ponderous iron-bound affair; it shamed even the stout doors of our inn. I called loudly, "Is anyone here?" n.o.body answered. The servants must have been drawn off to the town by the excitement of the procession and the singing; or, perhaps, there were no servants. I could not tell. I sat down in a large armchair by the table. I enjoyed the sense of proprietorship; I was in my own house.
Denny sat on the table by me, dangling his legs. For a long while none of us spoke. Then I exclaimed suddenly:
"By Heaven, why shouldn"t we see it through?" I rose, put my hands against the ma.s.sive door, and closed and bolted it, saying, "Let them open that at six o"clock in the morning."
"Hurrah!" cried Denny, leaping down from his table, on fire with excitement in a moment.
I faced Hogvardt. He shook his head, but he smiled. Watkins stood by with his usual imperturbability. He wanted to know what his lordship decided--that was all; and when I said nothing more, he asked,
"Then your lordship will sleep here to-night?"
"I"ll stay here to-night, anyhow, Watkins," said I. "I"m not going to be driven out of my own island by anybody."
As I spoke, I brought my fist down on the table with a crash. And then to our amazement we heard, from somewhere in the dark recesses of the hall where the faint light of Hogvardt"s lantern did not reach, a low but distinct groan, as of someone in pain. Watkins shuddered, Hogvardt looked rather uncomfortable; Denny and I listened eagerly. Again the groan came. I seized the lantern from Hogvardt"s hand, and rushed in the direction of the sound. There, in the corner of the hall, on a couch covered with a rug, lay an old man in an uneasy att.i.tude, groaning now and then and turning restlessly. By his side sat an old serving-woman in weary heavy slumber. In a moment I guessed the truth--part of the truth.
"He"s not dead of that fever yet," said I.
CHAPTER III
THE FEVER OF NEOPALIA
I looked for a moment on the old man"s pale, clean-cut, aristocratic face; then I shook his attendant by the arm vigorously. She awoke with a start.
"What does this mean?" I demanded. "Who is he?"
"Heaven help us! Who are you?" she cried, leaping up in alarm. Indeed we four, with our eager fierce faces, must have looked disquieting enough.
"I am Lord Wheatley; these are my friends," I answered in brisk sharp tones.
"What, it is you, then--?" A wondering gaze ended her question.
"Yes, yes, it is I. I have bought the island. We came out for a walk and--"
"But he will kill you if he finds you here."
"He? Who?"