"Secretly withdraw the doc.u.ments and the treasure from the convent."
"With soldiers patrolling the precincts?" said Dorislas. "Lipski, subtle knave that he is, has artfully turned our own bayonets against us. Every one pa.s.sing out of the convent is carefully searched."
"Bribe the soldiers."
"Lipski is alive to that manoeuvre. Day and night his creatures are watching that monastery."
"Let the monks, then, bury the arms and the treasure within their own walls."
"Lipski, who is certain to be appointed one of the Commissioners, will dig up every foot of ground and pull down every brick in his endeavors to discover something of disadvantage to the ministry,"
returned Dorislas.
Paul made no more suggestions; how, indeed, could he, when it pa.s.sed the wit of the premier himself to devise a plan adequate for defeating the manoeuvres of Lipski?
"If the bill should pa.s.s," continued Dorislas, "I see but one way out of our difficulty. The monks must contrive to steal out some dark night, leaving a slow match burning in the powder-magazine."
"And we must lose the fruit of years?" said the princess, mournfully.
"Why, your Highness, consider what would happen otherwise. Here, close to the Russian frontier, and commanding the highroad to Warsaw, is an edifice, presumably a monastery, but in reality a fortress and an a.r.s.enal. True, Abbot Faustus can destroy the treasonable doc.u.ments; yet, nevertheless, here will be found, because impossible to be annihilated or concealed, a vast store of gold, rifles for one hundred thousand men, and other war _materiel_. Vain would it be for the Czernovese ministry to put an innocent interpretation upon their attempts to keep the interior workings of this convent from public view. The Czar would be wanting in common sense if he should not see in all this a menace to his own dominions. His ministers, in fact, already have their suspicions, and hence they are more eager than Lipski himself for the pa.s.sing of the Appropriation Bill."
"I note that the marshal has not yet spoken," smiled Barbara; "sure proof that he is developing some plan. Now, Zabern, your enemies call you "the Asp of Czernova"; you must maintain your character for serpentine wisdom by extricating us from our dilemma."
"Fear not, your Highness. Lipski shall not triumph. On the third reading I, without resorting to bribery, threats, or violence, will persuade the Diet to reject his bill."
"How?" asked Radzivil, who, desirous as he was of seeing the measure defeated, yet nevertheless felt aggrieved that Zabern should propose to do what he himself, the premier, despaired of doing; "how? what is your plan?"
"To reveal it beforehand would ensure its defeat. My plan is one which requires absolute concealment."
"Even from the princess?" said Barbara.
"From the princess most of all," replied Zabern with a peculiar smile.
This statement was naturally productive of great surprise on the part of Barbara.
"We will accept your saying, marshal, though a hard one, and put a check upon our curiosity. You have never yet failed to keep word with me--"
"And shall not fail now, your Highness."
"Then," said Barbara, rising, as there came floating on the air from the ball-room the slow, dreamy music of a Hungarian waltz, "then if Zabern be on the watch, the princess may dance. Captain Woodville, your arm. You were promised a dance. Let me redeem my word. But first, marshal, guard these papers for me. It would be dangerous to let them fall upon the ball-room floor."
And Barbara, having handed to Zabern the doc.u.ments which she had received from the Polish envoy, moved off towards the ball-room leaning upon the arm of Paul.
This bestowal of favor upon her secretary caused Radzivil and Dorislas to stare suspiciously at each other; but ere they could interchange thought on the matter, their attention was diverted by the sound of many voices coming from the direction contrary to that taken by the princess.
Looking up, the three ministers beheld moving along the terrace towards them a company of masqueraders, ladies and gentlemen, fancifully costumed. All were laughing and talking gayly, being evidently in the best of spirits.
"Whom have we here?" muttered Radzivil, eying the throng.
"He who would supplant the princess in the sovereignty," replied Zabern, recognizing the central figure, who was garbed as Peter the Great. "A barbarian aping a barbarian."
"The Duke of Bora?"
"The same, surrounded by his favorites and satellites, all jubilant with the thought that Lipski"s bill will triumph, and that the fall of the princess is at hand. Let them laugh. Their gayety will turn to mortification after next week"s vote shall have been taken. Let us uncover and tempt the traitor to address us. I am curious to learn what he will say."
As the duke and his friends drew near the trio unmasked. Bora, catching sight of them, stopped in his walk, and then came slowly forward attended by his followers, all intent on enjoying the presumable mortification of the ministers.
"A sad blow this, dear marshal, to the feelings of the princess,"
began the duke blandly, and lighting a cigar as he spoke. "It"s quite certain that the Appropriation Bill will pa.s.s."
"Pa.s.s? Oh! dear no. Nothing of the sort," replied Zabern in his most cheerful manner.
"We have just been informed that the second reading has been carried by a majority of "eleven.""
"The third reading has yet to come."
"Now, Saint Nicholas give you wisdom!" cried Bora, amid the scarcely repressed laughter of his creatures. "Are you clinging to the hope that the men who voted one thing to-night will vote the contrary seven days hence?"
"I _know_ that they will," returned Zabern, coolly.
"There is certain to be a full House next week--one hundred and twenty members, should Ravenna have returned from Rome in time to take part in the division. Out of that number I venture to prophesy that seventy will be found to reject the bill."
"Giving the ministry a majority of twenty?"
"Giving the ministry a majority of twenty," repeated Zabern.
Bora could only attribute this utterance to mere bravado.
"Marshal, I should like to know with what amount you will back your opinion," he sneered.
"With whatever sum your grace is prepared to back yours."
"I will stake five thousand roubles--" began the duke.
"Oh! your grace, make it more than that," said Zabern affably.
"I will double the amount. I will wager ten thousand roubles that the votes given against the bill will fall short of seventy."
"Let me have that wager in your handwriting, dear duke," said Zabern blandly. "The like sum from me if ministers have not seventy votes on their side, or a clear majority of twenty."
When the written pledges had been interchanged Radzivil spoke, addressing the duke in somewhat indignant tones.
"And do you bet, then, on the success of a measure known to be hateful to the princess?"
Bora shrugged his shoulders.
"This is a bill on which the best of friends may differ, as is shown by the schism among your own Polish adherents. Remember," he added, "there must be no underhand work to secure the pa.s.sing of this bill, or my wager becomes null and void. There must be no bribery on the part of the ministry."
"We leave bribery to Lipski and his princ.i.p.al, Orloff; or shall I put the word in the plural, your grace, and say princ.i.p.als," said Zabern with a meaning smile.