"Have him fixed up first."
"And then?"
"Then take him before the judges."
"That is to say, to the gallows?"
"Certainly."
"Monsieur Koupriane, I offer it to you again. Life for life. Give me the life of that poor devil and I promise you General Treba.s.sof"s."
"Explain yourself."
"Not at all. Do you promise me that you will maintain silence about the case of that man and that you will not touch a hair of his head?"
Koupriane looked at Rouletabille as he had looked at him during the altercation they had on the edge of the Gulf. He decided the same way this time.
"Very well," said he. "You have my word. The poor devil!"
"You are a brave man, Monsieur Koupriane, but a little quick with the whip..."
"What would you expect? One"s work teaches that."
"Good morning. No, don"t trouble to show me out. I am compromised enough already," said Rouletabille, laughing.
"Au revoir, and good luck! Get to work interviewing the President of the Duma," added Koupriane knowingly, with a great laugh.
But Rouletabille was already gone.
"That lad," said the Chief of Police aloud to himself, "hasn"t told me a bit of what he knows."
IX. ANNOUCHKA
"And now it"s between us two, Natacha," murmured Rouletabille as soon as he was outside. He hailed the first carriage that pa.s.sed and gave the address of the datcha des Iles. When he got in he held his head between his hands; his face burned, his jaws were set. But by a prodigious effort of his will he resumed almost instantly his calm, his self-control. As he went back across the Neva, across the bridge where he had felt so elated a little while before, and saw the isles again he sighed heavily. "I thought I had got it all over with, so far as I was concerned, and now I don"t know where it will stop." His eyes grew dark for a moment with somber thoughts and the vision of the Lady in Black rose before him; then he shook his head, filled his pipe, lighted it, dried a tear that had been caused doubtless by a little smoke in his eye, and stopped sentimentalizing. A quarter of an hour later he gave a true Russian n.o.bleman"s fist-blow in the back to the coachman as an intimation that they had reached the Treba.s.sof villa. A charming picture was before him. They were all lunching gayly in the garden, around the table in the summer-house. He was astonished, however, at not seeing Natacha with them. Boris Mourazoff and Michael Korsakoff were there. Rouletabille did not wish to be seen. He made a sign to Ermolai, who was pa.s.sing through the garden and who hurried to meet him at the gate.
"The Barinia," said the reporter, in a low voice and with his finger to his lips to warn the faithful attendant to caution.
In two minutes Matrena Petrovna joined Rouletabille in the lodge.
"Well, where is Natacha?" he demanded hurriedly as she kissed his hands quite as though she had made an idol of him.
"She has gone away. Yes, out. Oh, I did not keep her. I did not try to hold her back. Her expression frightened me, you can understand, my little angel. My, you are impatient! What is it about? How do we stand? What have you decided? I am your slave. Command me. Command me. The keys of the villa?"
"Yes, give me a key to the veranda; you must have several. I must be able to get into the house to-night if it becomes necessary."
She drew a key from her gown, gave it to the young man and said a few words in Russian to Ermolai, to enforce upon him that he must obey the little domovoi-doukh in anything, day or night.
"Now tell me where Natacha has gone."
"Boris"s parents came to see us a little while ago, to inquire after the general. They have taken Natacha away with them, as they often have done. Natacha went with them readily enough. Little domovoi, listen to me, listen to Matrena Petrovna-Anyone would have said she was expecting it!"
"Then she has gone to lunch at their house?"
"Doubtless, unless they have gone to a cafe. I don"t know. Boris"s father likes to have the family lunch at the Barque when it is fine. Calm yourself, little domovoi. What ails you? Bad news, eh? Any bad news?"
"No, no; everything is all right. Quick, the address of Boris"s family."
"The house at the corner of La Place St. Isaac and la rue de la Poste."
"Good. Thank you. Adieu."
He started for the Place St. Isaac, and picked up an interpreter at the Grand Morskaia Hotel on the way. It might be useful to have him. At the Place St. Isaac he learned the Morazoffs and Natacha Treba.s.sof had gone by train for luncheon at Bergalowe, one of the nearby stations in Finland.
"That is all," said he, and added apart to himself, "And perhaps that is not true."
He paid the coachman and the interpreter, and lunched at the Bra.s.serie de Vienne nearby. He left there a half-hour later, much calmer. He took his way to the Grand Morskaia Hotel, went inside and asked the schwitzar:
"Can you give me the address of Mademoiselle Annouchka?"
"The singer of the Krestowsky?"
"That is who I mean."
"She had luncheon here. She has just gone away with the prince."
Without any curiosity as to which prince, Rouletabille cursed his luck and again asked for her address.
"Why, she lives in an apartment just across the way."
Rouletabille, feeling better, crossed the street, followed by the interpreter that he had engaged. Across the way he learned on the landing of the first floor that Mademoiselle Annouchka was away for the day. He descended, still followed by his interpreter, and recalling how someone had told him that in Russia it was always profitable to be generous, he gave five roubles to the interpreter and asked him for some information about Mademoiselle Annouchka"s life in St. Petersburg. The interpreter whispered:
"She arrived a week ago, but has not spent a single night in her apartment over there."
He pointed to the house they had just left, and added:
"Merely her address for the police."
"Yes, yes," said Rouletabille, "I understand. She sings this evening, doesn"t she?"
"Monsieur, it will be a wonderful debut."
"Yes, yes, I know. Thanks."
All these frustrations in the things he had undertaken that day instead of disheartening him plunged him deep into hard thinking. He returned, his hands in his pockets, whistling softly, to the Place St. Isaac, walked around the church, keeping an eye on the house at the corner, investigated the monument, went inside, examined all its details, came out marveling, and finally went once again to the residence of the Mourazoffs, was told that they had not yet returned from the Finland town, then went and shut himself in his room at the hotel, where he smoked a dozen pipes of tobacco. He emerged from his cloud of smoke at dinner-time.