"Our first families came from England, Lady Deppingham," said Drusilla, biting her lips.
"Indeed? From what part of England?" Of course, that query killed every chance for a sensible discussion.
One morning during the first week in February, the steamer from Aden brought stacks of mail--the customary newspapers, magazines, novels, telegrams and letters. It was noticed that her ladyship had several hundred letters, many bearing crests or coats-of-arms.
At last, she came to a letter of many pages, covered with a scrawl that looked preposterously fashionable.
"Nouveau riche," thought Drusilla Browne, looking up from her own letters. Lady Agnes gave a sudden shriek, and, leaping to her feet, performed a dance that set her husband and Bobby Browne to gasping.
"She"s coming!" she cried ecstatically, repeating herself a dozen times.
"Who"s coming, Aggie?" roared her husband for the sixth time.
"She!"
"She may be a steamship for all I know, if--"
"The Princess! Deppy, I"m going to squeeze you! I must squeeze somebody!
Isn"t it glorious? Now--now! Now life will be worth living in this beastly place."
Her dearest friend, the Princess, had written to say that she was coming to spend a month with her. Her dear schoolmate of the old days in Paris--her chum of the dear Sacred Heart Convent when it flourished in the Boulevard des Invalides--her roommate up to the day when that inst.i.tution was forced to leave Paris for less unfriendly fields!
"In her uncle"s yacht, Deppy--the big one that came to Cowes last year, don"t you know? Of course, you do. Don"t look so dazed. He"s cruising for a couple of months and is to set her down here until the yacht returns from Borneo and the Philippines. She says she hopes it will be quiet here! Quiet! She _hopes_ it will be _quiet_! Where are the cigarettes, Deppy? Quick! I must do something devilish. Yes, I know I swore off last week, but--please let me take "em." The four of them smoked in wondrous silence for two or three minutes. Then Browne spoke up, as if coming from a dream:
"I say, Deppingham, you can take her out walking and pick up a crownful of fresh rubies every day or so."
"Hang it all, Browne, I"m afraid to pluck a violet these days. Every time I stoop over I feel that somebody"s going to take a shot at me. I wonder why the beggars select me to shoot at. They"re not always popping away at you, Browne. Why is it? I"m not looking for rubies every time I stoop over. They shot at me the other day when I got down to pick up my crop."
"It"s all right so long as they don"t kill you," was Browne"s consoling remark.
"By Jove!" said Deppingham, starting up with a look of horror in his eyes, sudden comprehension rushing down upon him. "I wonder if they think I am _you_, Browne! Horrible!"
CHAPTER XII
WOMEN AND WOMEN
The Enemy"s office hours were from three to five in the afternoon. It was of no especial consequence to his clients that he frequently transferred the placard from the front of the company"s bank to the more alluring doorway of the "American bar;" all was just and fair so long as he was to be found where the placard listed. Twice a week, Miss Pelham came down from the chateau in a gaily bedecked jinriksha to sit opposite to him in his stuffy corner of the banking house, his desk between them, her notebook trembling with propinquity. Mr. Britt generously loaned the pert lady to the Enemy in exchange for what he catalogued as "happy days."
Miss Pelham made it a point to look as fascinating as possible on the occasion of these interesting trips into the Enemy"s territory.
The Enemy, doing his duty by his clients with a determination that seemed incontestable, suffered in the end because of his very zealousness. He took no time to a.n.a.lyse the personal side of his work; he dealt with the situation from the aspect of a man who serves but one interest, forgetting that it involved the weal of a thousand units. For that reason, he was the last to realise that an intrigue was shaping itself to combat his endeavours. Von Blitz, openly his friend and ally, despite their sad encounter, was the thorn which p.r.i.c.ked the natives into a state of uneasiness and doubt as to their agent"s sincerity.
Von Blitz, cunning and methodical, sowed the seed of distrust; it sprouted at will in the minds of the uncouth, suspicious islanders. They began to believe that no good could come out of the daily meetings of the three lawyers. A thousand little things cropped out to prove that the intimacy between their man and the shrewd lawyers for the opposition was inimical to their best interests.
It was Von Blitz who told the leading men of the island that their wives--the Persians, the Circa.s.sians, the Egyptians and the Turkish houris--were in love with the tall stranger. It was he who advised them to observe the actions, to study the moods of their women.
If he spoke to one of the women, beautiful or plain, the whole male population knew of it, and smiled derisively upon the husband. Von Blitz had turned an adder loose among these men; it stung swiftly and returned to sting again.
The German knew the condition of affairs in his own household. His overthrow at the hands of the American had cost him more than physical ignominy; his wives openly expressed an admiration for their champion.
He knew too well the voluptuous nature of these creamy, unloved women, who had come down to the island of j.a.pat in exchange for the baubles that found their way into the crowns of Persian potentates. He knew too well that they despised the men who called them wives, even though fear held them constantly in bond. Rebuffed, unnoticed, scorned, the women themselves began to suspect and hate each other. If he spoke kindly to one of them, be she fair and young or old and plain, the eyes of all the others blazed with jealousy. Every eye in j.a.pat was upon him; every hand was turning against him.
It was Miss Pelham who finally took it upon herself to warn the lonely American. The look of surprise and disgust that came into his face brought her up sharply. She had been "taking" reports at his dictation; it was during an intermission of idleness on his part that she broached the subject.
"Miss Pelham," he said coldly, "will you be kind enough to carry my condolences to the ladies at court, and say that I recommend reading as an antidote for the poison which idleness produces. I"ve no doubt that they, with all the perspicacity of lonely and honest women, imagine that I maintain a harem as well as a bar-room. Kindly set them right about it. Neither my home nor my bar-room is open to ladies. If you don"t mind we"ll go on with this report."
Miss Pelham flushed and looked very uncomfortable. She had more to say, and yet hesitated about bearding the lion. He noticed the pain and uncertainty in her erstwhile coquettish eyes, and was sorry.
"I beg your pardon," he said gently.
"You"re wrong about Lady Deppingham and Mrs. Browne," she began hurriedly. "They"ve never said anything mean about you. It was just my miserable way of putting it. The talk comes from the islanders. Mr.
Bowles has told Mr. Britt and Mr. Saunders. He thinks Von Blitz is working against you, and he is sure that all of the men are furiously jealous."
"My dear Miss Pelham, you are very good to warn me," said he easily. "I have nothing to fear. The men are quite friendly and--" He stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowing in thought. A moment later he arose and walked to the little window overlooking the square. When he turned to her again his face wore a more serious expression. "Perhaps there is something in what you say. I"m grateful to you for preparing me." It had suddenly come to mind that the night before he had seen a man skulking in the vicinity of the bungalow. His body servant, Selim, had told him that very morning that this same man, a native, had stood for hours among the trees, apparently watching the house.
"I just thought I"d tell you," murmured Miss Pelham nervously, "I--we don"t want to see you get into trouble--none of us."
"Thank you," After a long pause, he went on, lowering his voice: "Miss Pelham, I have had a hard time here, in more ways than I care to speak of. It may interest you to know that I had decided to resign next month and go home. I"m a living man, and a living man objects to a living death. It"s worse than I had thought, I came out here in the hope that there would be excitement, life, interest. The only excitement I get is when the ships call twice a month. I"ve even prayed that our beastly old volcano might erupt and do all sorts of horrible things. It might, at least, toss old Mr. Skaggs back into our midst; that would be a relief, even if he came up as a chunk of lava. But nothing happens--nothing!
These Persian fairies you talk about--bah! I said I"d decided to resign, to get out of the infernal place. But I"ve changed my mind. I"ll stick my time out. I"ve got three months longer to stay and I"ll stay. If Von Blitz thinks he can drive me out, he"s mistaken. I"ll be here after you and your friends up there have sailed away, Miss Pelham--G.o.d bless you, you"re all white!--and I"ll be here when Von Blitz and his wives are dancing to the tunes I play. Now let"s get back to work."
"All right; but please be careful," she urged. "Don"t let them catch you unprepared. If you need help, I know the men at the chateau will come at your call."
One of those bright, enveloping smiles swept over his face--the smile that always carried the little stenographer away with it. A merry chuckle escaped his lips. "Thanks, but you forget that I can call out the American and British navies."
She looked doubtful. "I know," she said, "but I"m afraid Von Blitz is scuttling your ships."
"If poor little Bowles can conquer them with a red jacket that"s too small for him, to say nothing of the fit it would give to the British army, I think I can sc.r.a.pe up a garment or two that will startle them in another way. Please don"t worry about me. I shall call my clients together and have it out with them. If Von Blitz is working in the dark, I"ll compel him to show his hand. And, Miss Pelham," he concluded very slowly, "I"ll promise to use a club, if necessary, to drive the Persian ladies away. So please rest easy on my account."
Poor little Miss Pelham left him soon afterward, her head and heart ringing with the consciousness that she had at last driven him out of his customary reserve. Mr. Saunders was pacing the street in the neighbourhood of the bank. He had been waiting an hour or more, and he was green with jealousy. She nodded sweetly to him and called him to the side of her conveyance. "Don"t you want to walk beside me?" she asked.
And he trotted beside her like a faithful dog, all the way to the distant chateau.
The next morning the town bustled with a new excitement. A trim, beautiful yacht, flying strange colours, steamed into the little harbour of Aratat.
She came to anchor much closer in than ships usually ventured, and an officer put off in the small boat, heading for the pier, which was already crowded with the native women and children. Every one knew that the yacht brought the Princess who was to visit her ladyship; nothing else had been talked of among the women since the word first came down from the chateau that she was expected.
The Enemy came down from his bungalow, attracted by the unusual and inspiring spectacle of a ship at anchor. A line of anxiety marked his brow. Two figures had watched his windows all night long, sinister shadows that always met his eye when it penetrated the gloom of the moonlit forest.
Lord and Lady Deppingham were on the pier before him. Excitement and joy illumined her face; her eyes were sparkling with antic.i.p.ation; he could almost see that she trembled in her eagerness. He came quite close to them before they saw him. Exhilaration no doubt was responsible for the very agreeable smile of recognition that she bestowed upon him. Or, perhaps it was inspired by womanly pity for the man whose loneliness was even greater and graver than her own. The Enemy could do no less than go to them with his pleasantest acknowledgment. His rugged face relaxed into a most charming, winsome smile, half-diffident, half-a.s.sured.
He pa.s.sed among the wives of his clients without so much as a sign of recognition, coolly indifferent to the admiring glances that sought his face. The dark, langourous eyes that flashed eager admiration a moment before now turned sullen with disappointment. He had ignored their owners; he had avoided them as if they were dust heaps in the path; he had spurned them as if they were dogs by the roadside. And yet he smiled upon the Englishwoman, he spoke with her, he admired her! The sharp intake of breath that swept through the crowd told plainer than words the story of the angry eyes that followed him to the end of the pier, where the officer"s boat was landing.
"I have heard that you expect a visitor," said the Enemy in his most agreeable manner. Lady Deppingham had just told him that she had a friend aboard the yacht.
"Won"t you go aboard with us," asked Deppingham, at a loss for anything better to say. The Enemy shook his head and smiled.