"It was found, excellency, inside the southern gate, and it is meant for you," said Selim. Chase gingerly slashed open the envelope with his fruit knife. He laughed ruefully as he read the simple but laborious message from Jacob von Blitz.
"_Where are your warships all this time? They are not coming to you ever. Good-bye. You got to die yet, too. Your friend, Jacob von Blitz.
And my wives, too._"
Chase stuffed the blurred, sticky letter into his pocket and arose to stretch himself.
"There"s something coming to you, Jacob," he said, much to the wonder of Selim. "Selim, unless I miss my guess pretty badly, we"ll be having a message--not from Garcia--but from Rasula before long. You"ve never heard of Garcia? Well, come along. I"ll tell you something about him as we take our morning stroll. How are my cigarettes holding out?"
"They run low, sahib. Neenah has given all of hers to me for you, excellency, and I have demanded those of the wives of Von Blitz."
"Selim, you must not forget that you are a gentleman. That was most ungallant. But I suppose you got them?"
"No, sahib. They refused to give them up. They are saving them for Mr.
Britt," said Selim dejectedly.
"Ah, the ficklety of women!" he sighed. "There"s a new word for you, Selim--ficklety. I like it better than fickleness, don"t you? Sounds like frailty, too. Was there any shooting after I went to bed?" His manner changed suddenly from the frivolous to the serious.
"No, sahib."
"I don"t understand their game," he mused, a perplexed frown on his brow. "They"ve quit popping away at us."
It was far past midday when he heard from Rasula. The disagreeable weather may have been more or less responsible for the ruffling of Chase"s temper during those long, dreary hours of waiting. Be that as it may, he was sorely tried by the feeling of loneliness that attached itself to him. He had seen the Princess but once, and then she was walking briskly, wrapped in a rain coat, followed by her shivering dogs, and her two Rapp-Thorberg soldiers! Somehow she failed to see Chase as he sauntered hungrily, almost imploringly across the upper terrace, in plain view. Perhaps, after all, it was not the weather.
Rasula"s messenger came to the gates and announced that he had a letter for Mr. Chase. He was admitted to the grounds and conducted to the sick chamber of "the commandant." Hollingsworth Chase read the carefully worded, diplomatic letter from the native lawyer, his listeners paying the strictest attention. After the most courteous introductory, Rasula had this to say:
"We have reason to suspect that you were right in your suspicions. The golden plate has been found this day in the cave below the chateau, just as you have said. This much of what you have charged against Jacob von Blitz seems to be borne out by the evidence secured. Last night there was an attempt to rob the vaults in the company"s bank. Again I followed your advice and laid a trap for the men engaged. They were slain in the struggle which followed. This fact is much to be deplored. Your command that these men be given a fair trial cannot be obeyed. They died fighting after we had driven them to the wall. I have to inform you, sir, that your charge against Jacob von Blitz does not hold good in the case of the bank robbery. Therefore, I am impelled to believe that you may have unjustly accused him of being implicated in the robbery of the treasure chests. He was not among the bank thieves. There were but three of them--the Boer foremen. Jacob von Blitz came up himself and joined us in the fight against the traitors. He was merciless in his anger against them. You have said that you will testify against him. Sir, I have taken it upon myself to place him under restraint, notwithstanding his actions against the Boers. He shall have a fair trial. If it is proved that he is guilty, he shall pay the penalty. We are just people.
"Sir, we, the people of j.a.pat, will take you at your word. We ask you to appear against the prisoner and give evidence in support of your charge.
He shall be placed on trial to-morrow morning at ten o"clock. On my honour as a man and a Believer, I a.s.sure safety to you while you are among us on that occasion. You shall find that we are honourable--more honourable than the people you now serve so dearly. I, Rasula, will meet you at the gates and will conduct you back to them in safety. If you are a true man, you will not evade the call. I beg to a.s.sure you that your testimony against Jacob von Blitz shall be weighed carefully and without prejudice by those who are to act as his judges. My messenger will carry your reply to us. RASULA."
"Well, it looks as though Von Blitz has spiked your guns," said Deppingham. "The dog turns against his confederates and saves his own skin by killing them."
"In any event," said Browne, "you spoiled his little game. He loses the treasure and he didn"t get into the vaults. Rasula should take those points into consideration."
"He won"t forget them, rest a.s.sured. That"s why I"m sure that he"ll take my word at the trial as against that of Von Blitz," said Chase.
"You--you don"t mean to say, Mr. Chase, that you are going into the town?" cried Lady Agnes, wide-eyed.
"Certainly, Lady Deppingham. They are expecting me."
"Don"t be foolhardy, Chase. They will kill you like a rat," exclaimed Deppingham.
"Oh, no, they won"t," said the other confidently. "They"ve given their promise through Rasula. Whatever else they may be, they hold a promise sacred. They know I"ll come. If I don"t, they"ll know that I am a coward. You wouldn"t have them think I _am_ a coward, would you, Lady Deppingham?" he said, turning to look into her distressed face with his most winning smile.
The next morning he coolly set forth for the gates, scarcely thinking enough of the adventure to warrant the matter-of-fact "good-byes" that he bestowed upon those who were congregated to see him off. His heart was sore as he strode rapidly down the drive. Genevra had not come down to say farewell.
"By heaven," he muttered, strangely vexed with her, "I fancy she means it. She"s bent on showing me my place. But she might have come down and wished me good luck. That was little enough for her to do. Ah, well," he sighed, putting it away from him.
As he turned into the tree-lined avenue near the gate, a slender young woman in a green and white gown arose from a seat in the shade and stepped a pace forward, opening her parasol quite leisurely as he quickened his steps. His eyes gleamed with the sudden rush of joy that filled his whole being. She stood there, waiting for him, under the trees. There was an expression in her face that he had never seen there before. She was smiling, it is true, but there was something like defiance--yes, it was the set, strained smile of resolution that greeted his eager exclamation. Her eyes gleamed brightly and she was breathing as one who has run swiftly.
"You are determined to go down there among those men?" she demanded, the smile suddenly giving way to a look of disapproval. She ignored his hand.
"Certainly," he said, after the moment of bewilderment. "Why not? I--I thought you had made up your mind to let me go without a--a word for good luck." She found great difficulty in meeting the wistful look in his eyes. "You are good to come down here to say good-bye--and howdy do, for that matter. We"re almost strangers again."
"I did not come down to say good-bye," she said, her lips trembling ever so slightly.
"I don"t understand," he said.
"I am going with you into the town--as a witness," she said, and her face went pale at the thought of it. He drew back in amazement, staring at her as though he had not heard aright.
"Genevra," he cried, "you--you would do _that_?"
"Why not, Mr. Chase?" She tried to speak calmly, but she was trembling.
After all, she was a slender, helpless girl--not an Amazon! "I saw and heard everything. They won"t believe you unsupported. They won"t harm me. They will treat me as they treat you. I have as much right to be heard against him as you. If I swear to them that what you say is true they----"
Her hand was on his arm now, trembling, eager, yet charged with fear at the prospect ahead of her. He clasped the little hand in his and quickly lifted it to his lips.
"I"m happy again," he cried. "It"s all right with me now." She withdrew her hand on the instant.
"No, no! It isn"t that," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Don"t misinterpret my coming here to say that I will go. It isn"t because--no, it isn"t that!"
He hesitated an instant, looking deep into the bewildered eyes that met his with all the honesty that dwelt in her soul. He saw that she trusted him to be fair with her.
"I was unhappy because you had forsaken me," he said gently. "You are brave--you are wonderful! But I can"t take you down there. I know what will happen if they find him guilty. Good-bye, dear one. I"ll come back--surely I"ll come back. Thank you for sending me away happy."
"Won"t you let me go with you?" she asked, after a long, penetrating look into his eyes.
"I would not take you among them for all the world. You forget. Neither of us would come back."
"Neither of us?" she said slowly.
"I wouldn"t come back without you," he said quietly, earnestly. She understood. "Good-bye! Don"t worry about me. I am in no danger."
"Good-bye," she said, the princess once more. "I shall pray for you--with all my soul." She gave him her hand. It was cold and lifeless.
He pressed it warmly and went quickly away, leaving her standing there in the still shade of the satinwoods, looking after him with eyes that grew wider and wider with the tears that welled up from behind.
Hours went by--slow, tortuous hours in which the souls of those who watched and waited for his return were tried to the utmost. A restless, uncanny feeling prevailed: as if they were prisoners waiting in dead silence for the sickening news that the trap on the scaffold had been dropped with all that was living of a fellow-cellmate, whom they had known and pitied for weeks.
Once there came to the ears of the watchers on the mountainside the sound of distant shouts, later, the brief rattle of firearms. The blood of every one turned cold with, apprehension; every voice was stilled, every eye wide with dread. Neenah screamed as she fled across the terrace toward the drawbridge, where Selim stood as motionless as a statue.
Luncheon-time pa.s.sed, and again, as if drawn by a magnet, the entire household made its way to the front of the chateau.
At last Selim uttered a shout of joy. He forgot the deference due his betters and unceremoniously dashed off toward the gates, followed by Neenah, who seemed possessed of wings.
Chase was returning!
They saw him coming up the drive, his hat in his hand, his white umbrella raised above his head. He drew nearer, sauntering as carelessly as if nothing unusual lay behind him in the morning hours. The eager, joyous watchers saw him greet Selim and his fluttering wife; they saw Selim fall upon his knees, and they felt the tears rushing to their own eyes.