The professor looked momentarily surprised and disconcerted by this intelligence; but, quickly recovering himself, and excusing himself to Lady Olivia, he hurried away to the library, to see who this unexpected visitor might be.
Entering the apartment, von Schalckenberg at once found himself confronted with a singularly handsome young woman, closely veiled, and quietly but richly attired, who, throwing back her veil and stretching forth both hands in eager, joyous greeting, exclaimed in Russian--
"At last, Professor, at last I have found you, thank G.o.d!"
"What?" stammered the professor, as he gazed in astonishment at his lovely visitor, holding both her hands in his meanwhile. "Can it be possible that this is my dear little friend Feodorovna Sziszkinski?
Ach! yes, it must be; there can be no mistaking that charming face!"
And he forthwith kissed his fair visitor on both cheeks, in true continental fashion. "Welcome, my dear child, welcome a thousand times to England," continued the professor, beaming benignantly at his visitor through his spectacles. "And how is your father and my dear friend, the colonel?"
"Ah, Professor, would that I knew!" answered the girl, as tears sprang to her eyes. "I fear the worst for him. I am in bitter trouble about him; and it is on that account that I have sought you. My father had a foreboding that trouble was in store for us, and only a few weeks ago he said to me, "Child, if anything should happen to me, and you are plunged into trouble or difficulty, seek out our dear friend, von Schalckenberg.
He will help you, if any man can.""
"Of course, of course," answered the professor, beaming more benevolently still, if that were possible, upon his visitor. "Your father and I are old, staunch, and tried friends; and he does me no more than justice in feeling that he, or his daughter, may absolutely rely upon me to do gladly the utmost in my power for either of them. Now, sit down, little Feodorovna, and tell me all about it."
The girl, with a sigh of relief and renewed hope, sank into the chair that the professor placed for her, and began by asking--
"Did you ever, while in Saint Petersburg or elsewhere, meet a certain Count Vasilovich, Professor?"
"Often, my dear; much more often, indeed, than I at all desired,"
answered the professor.
"He is a bad man, Feodorovna; a thorough-going scoundrel, without a single redeeming trait. Has he anything to do with your trouble?"
"Alas, yes! he has everything to do with it, dear friend," answered Feodorovna. "It was my misfortune to meet him last winter at a ball at the Imperial Palace, and from that moment he began persistently to press his odious attentions upon me. My dear father saw, with the utmost alarm, the unfortunate turn that affairs had taken, and warned me against the count. Not that any warning was necessary, for I seemed so clearly to divine the nature and character of the man at a glance, that nothing would have induced me to afford him the slightest encouragement.
"For a time the count contented himself with following me everywhere, and making violent love to me upon every possible occasion; but at length, about two months ago, finding that his attentions were so clearly distasteful to me that there was no prospect whatever of his suit being successful, he began to threaten--vague, covert threats at first, but afterwards so outspoken that I felt I must fly from Saint Petersburg, and seek safety in concealment. I spoke to my dear father about it, and he--distressed as he was at the prospect of being compelled to part with me--agreed that my only hope of safety lay in flight; and twenty-four hours later I was, as I hoped, safe in the house of a friend at Boroviezi. But on the day following my arrival at this refuge, one of my father"s servants, named Petrovich, appeared with the information that on the night of my flight from Saint Petersburg, a domiciliary visit had been paid by the police to our house, and my father had been dragged off to the fortress prison of Peter and Paul, and that search was everywhere being made for me.
"I had not the least doubt that this was the work of Count Vasilovich; but, feeling myself to be quite safe where I was, and knowing the count"s power and influence at the palace, my whole anxiety was on my father"s account, for Vasilovich is not only unscrupulous, he is mercilessly vindictive, and I feared that, finding himself baulked in his desire to get me into his power, he would wreak his vengeance on my father. And, oh, Professor, my fears proved to be but too well founded; for, five days later, Petrovich appeared again with the information that my father had been convicted of high treason, and was even then being hurried away south to Odessa, at which port he was to be placed, with a large number of other unfortunates, on board a convict-ship for transportation to Sakhalien.
"Oh, my friend, I cannot describe to you the depth of my despair at this intelligence, which I soon learned was only too true. In my desperation I would have returned to Saint Petersburg, sought out the count, and consented to marry him upon condition of his saving my dear father. But my friends denounced such a scheme as utter madness, and would not hear of it; they a.s.serted that the count, having gone to such extremes, would not now be at all likely to undo his own work--even if that were possible--and that if I were so imprudent as to enter into negotiations with him, he would soon find the means to get me into his power and at his mercy; while, my father having been convicted of high treason, the whole of his property would certainly be confiscated, and what I had always regarded as the count"s chief reason for desiring to marry me-- namely, the command of the wealth which I should inherit from my father--would no longer exist.
"These arguments prevailed with me, and I abandoned the mad idea of appealing to Vasilovich; but I was in despair for my dear father, until in a happy moment I remembered the words that he had spoken to me about you only a short time before this dreadful misfortune befell us; then I felt that, if I could but find you, something might yet be done. I spoke to my friends about it, and they approved of my proposal to seek you. But when I mentioned that it would be necessary for me to come to England in search of you, another difficulty arose. Count Vasilovich had no doubt already antic.i.p.ated and provided against the possibility that I might endeavour to leave Russia; and to make the attempt openly would but too surely result in my falling into his power. But my friends were very, very kind to me; they were determined that I should escape, and at length they were fortunate enough to find a lady who was about to travel from Saint Petersburg to London, and who consented to bring me with her as her maid. In this way all difficulties were overcome; and yesterday I arrived safely in London, and at once went to the address that my father had given me when he spoke of the possibility of your being able to help me, should trouble come upon us. I had some difficulty in finding the place--being a stranger in London--and when I did so it was only to learn that you had last been heard of as being here; so I determined to follow you at once, taking the midnight train from London, and staying in the village only long enough to get some lunch--of which I stood sadly in need--before driving over here. And, thank G.o.d, I have been fortunate enough to find you!"
"Ah, thank G.o.d, indeed, my dear child," echoed the professor, "for I a.s.sure you it is only by a combination of the most trifling circ.u.mstances that I did not leave here yesterday; in which case further pursuit of me would have been equally useless and impossible. But never mind that, now; "all is well that ends well," as they say here in England; you have found me, and that is enough for the present. Now, tell me, are you absolutely certain of the accuracy of Petrovich"s information as to your father being _en route_ for Sakhalien?"
"Oh yes," answered Feodorovna; "there is, unfortunately, no room for doubt as to that. The son of one of the under-gaolers at Peter and Paul happen to be affianced to Petrovich"s sister, and it was through this man that Petrovich obtained the information."
"Just so," a.s.sented the professor. "And in any case," he added, "I suppose Vasilovich would be certain to possess full and perfectly accurate information as to the whereabouts and ultimate destination of your father?"
"Oh yes," answered Feodorovna, "he would be sure to know everything.
But I do not see how that fact is to help us; because, you see, dear friend, we have no power to compel him to reveal what he knows."
"Have we not?" retorted the professor, good-humouredly. "Ah, well, we shall see; we shall see! Meanwhile, patience and courage, little one; I think I can already see my way to the bringing of this business to a satisfactory conclusion. And now, come with me, and let me introduce you to a very dear and gentle lady friend of mine; and, later, to three men friends--who will not only listen to your story with the most sympathetic interest, but will also--unless I am vastly mistaken--a.s.sist me to right effectually the wrong that has been done to your father and my friend, Colonel Sziszkinski."
So saying, the professor conducted his young Russian friend to Lady Elphinstone"s boudoir, where, having craved permission to enter, he forthwith introduced his _protegee_ to his hostess, and briefly recapitulated the story of wrong to which he had so recently listened.
Lady Olivia listened with deep sympathy to the story, and at its conclusion, said--
"Of course, my dear Professor, there can be no question as to what you ought to do; if you really have the power to help your friend, this poor girl"s father, in his present terrible situation, you must go to his a.s.sistance, regardless of everything else, and we must manage as best we can without you. We shall heartily wish you the most complete success in your arduous undertaking, but we shall miss you dreadfully; and your absence will be a terrible disappointment to us all."
"Ah, dear lady, you will completely spoil me if you talk like that,"
protested the professor. "But," he continued, "as to my leaving you, I do not contemplate any such step; indeed, it is only by remaining with you, and by virtue of the a.s.sistance of your good husband and the others, that I hope to be of any real a.s.sistance to my friend. My idea is this. If you all consent, we will, in the first place, go to Saint Petersburg in the _Flying Fish_, seize Count Vasilovich--I know his chateau well, and I already have a plan whereby we can obtain possession of his person without any one being the wiser--and compel him to disclose everything that he knows respecting the colonel. Then, armed with this information, we can easily follow and overtake the convict-ship, rescue my friend from his gaolers, give them Vasilovich in his place, and--_voila tout_!"
"That seems simple enough, so far as my limited understanding of such matters will permit me to judge, and I have not the least doubt that, when you have laid the facts before Sir Reginald and the other members of the party, they will one and all help you to the utmost extent of their ability," answered Lady Olivia. "Meanwhile, my dear child," she continued, turning to Feodorovna, "since we seem to be about to attempt the rescue of your unhappy father, you must do us the favour to become our guest on board the _Flying Fish_ during the progress of the adventure. You will naturally be anxious to know what is happening, and you can only possess that knowledge by becoming one of our party. Did you bring any baggage with you from London?"
"I brought a small portmanteau, so that I might be prepared for any emergency; but I left it at the village inn," answered Feodorovna, hesitatingly.
"Very well," said Lady Olivia, "then you had better send for it at once.
The fly that brought you over is still waiting, I see; so you can give the driver a note to Collins, the landlord, informing him that you are staying here, and asking him to send over your baggage forthwith."
Gratefully accepting Lady Elphinstone"s invitation, the young Russian lost no time in penning the suggested note to the landlord; and then, as the first dinner bell had already rung, the trio separated to dress, a maid conducting the new guest to a room, and a.s.sisting her to prepare herself, as far as was possible, for the impending function.
When, about twenty minutes later, the party re-united in the drawing-room, Feodorovna--introduced to Sir Reginald, Colonel Lethbridge, and Captain Mildmay by Lady Elphinstone, who had made a point of being down early to receive her--created quite a little sensation by her refined and delicate loveliness, and her perfect yet unaffected manner; and when they were given to understand by Lady Elphinstone that the unexpected guest had a tale to unfold that would enlist their deepest sympathy, they were all impatience to get through the ordeal of dinner, so that they might be free to listen undisturbed to the story. Sir Reginald, of course, took the young stranger in to dinner, and soon contrived, by the polished courtesy and gentle kindliness of his manner, to win her entire confidence. The gentlemen that night sat over their wine only long enough to enable them to smoke a single cigarette each, and then hastened to the drawing-room, where they listened with breathless interest to the story, as told by von Schalckenberg, of Colonel Sziszkinski"s wrongs; and when the history had come to an end, they were unanimous in their conviction that there was but one thing to be done--namely, to carry out the professor"s scheme without a moment"s unnecessary delay, especially as von Schalckenberg, in reply to a delicately veiled question by Lethbridge, declared himself ready to stake his life upon Colonel Sziszkinski"s absolute loyalty and fidelity to the Tsar.
"But, of course," continued the professor, "loyalty and fidelity are not allowed to count in Russia; while Justice finds but few worshippers, at least among the n.o.bility. There exists an unwritten law among the Russian n.o.bles that they, as a cla.s.s, are to stand by each other through thick and thin, under all circ.u.mstances and conditions, quite irrespective of any considerations as to what may be right or just; hence the stubborn tenacity with which Nihilism maintains its grip upon the middle and lower cla.s.ses. If the "Little Father" wishes to stamp out that terrible scourge of secret and deadly conspiracy which is the bane and menace of his existence, he must purge the Russian n.o.bles of their present l.u.s.t of cruelty and oppression, and must render it possible for every one of his subjects, from the highest to the lowest, to obtain absolute justice. When he has accomplished _this_ herculean task, he may go where he will, unarmed, unguarded, and unhurt; but not until then."
"Meanwhile," remarked Sir Reginald, "until the consummation of that much-to-be-desired reform, wrong must either remain unrighted, or be righted by the only process which appears to be possible in "Holy Russia"--namely, a resort to physical force. And so, my dear young lady," he continued laughingly, addressing himself to Feodorovna, "we three respectable and responsible Englishmen--to say nothing of our amiable friend, the professor, there--are about to become abductors and pirates, on behalf of your father--since there seems to be no help for it. But do not let that very trivial circ.u.mstance distress you in the least; we mean to deliver your father; and when we make up our minds to do a thing, we generally do it. And now, Professor, as to details. If I understand your scheme aright, our first step must be to kidnap your very estimable friend, Count Vasilovich?"
"Ach! do not call him my friend; he is no friend of mine!" exclaimed the professor, with such indignant energy as to provoke the whole party to hearty laughter, at which the worthy man first stared at them in amazement, and then, perceiving that he had allowed himself to be "drawn," joined heartily in the laugh against himself. "Yes," he continued, suddenly becoming grave again, "we must kidnap the count, for two reasons; first, because it is necessary that we should obtain the fullest and most complete information as to Colonel Sziszkinski"s whereabouts and movements; and, secondly, because it would not satisfy me merely to release my friend. He has been beggared, rendered an outlaw in his own country--to which it will be impossible for him ever to return--and his career destroyed by this unscrupulous scoundrel, Vasilovich; and justice cries aloud for the punishment of such wickedness; therefore Vasilovich must be punished. Moreover, the mysterious fate which I have in store for him may possibly exercise a salutary influence upon such of his fellow scoundrels as happen to be aware of the wrong that he has wrought upon poor Sziszkinski; for I will make it a part of my business to leave behind me a statement to the effect that Count Vasilovich has been "removed" as a punishment for his conduct to Colonel Sziszkinski."
"That is all right; such a statement _may_ do good, while I cannot see that it is likely to do any harm, so we will prepare a conspicuous placard, worded to that effect, and will place it where it is certain that it will be found," remarked Sir Reginald, cheerfully. "There is one point, however, upon which I should like a little enlightenment, Professor; and that is as to the course you propose to pursue in order to obtain possession of Vasilovich"s person in this awe-inspiringly secret fashion."
"I do not antic.i.p.ate much difficulty as to that," answered the professor. "When I was in Saint Petersburg a year ago, Vasilovich held a post of responsibility at the War Office, and it was his habit to ride into Saint Petersburg from his chateau at Pargolovo in the morning, and out again at night, arriving home about seven o"clock, in time for dinner at eight. And I imagine we shall find that he does so still.
The chateau stands in a park of considerable extent, and is approached by a drive nearly a mile and a half long, up which Vasilovich usually rides at a foot-pace. Now, at this time of the year, it will be quite dark in the park at seven o"clock, and n.o.body will then be likely to be out about the demesne. I know the place well, and happen to be aware of a spot, about midway between the chateau and the lodge gates, where the _Flying Fish_ can be effectually concealed for the moment, close to the road, and near which it will be easy for us to secure our man and convey him on board the flying ship, where we will simply put him in irons and lock him up in the tank room; he will be perfectly safe there, without the power to do the slightest harm."
"And, having got him, how do you purpose to make him speak, Professor?"
demanded Mildmay.
"I shall simply tell him what information it is that I require of him; and if he evinces any disinclination to speak, I shall add that he will be kept without food or drink until he communicates it," placidly answered the professor.
"And supposing that he should tell you a pack of lies?" suggested Lethbridge.
"Oh, he will not do that, I think," replied von Schalckenberg. "He is a cruel, unscrupulous, and absolutely selfish man, but, if I have read his character aright, we shall also find that he is far too much of a coward to attempt to deceive us."
"But what if he should?" persisted the colonel.
"In that case, as soon as I make the discovery that he has deceived me, I shall tell him that he will be kept without food or drink until Colonel Sziszkinski has been found and is actually in our hands,"
answered the professor, triumphantly.
"It appears to me," remarked Mildmay, reflectively, "that unless Count Vasilovich keeps his weather eye lifting, there is rather a rough time ahead of him."
"There is, in any case," observed von Schalckenberg, "but it will be no part of my plan to tell him so until I have obtained from him all the information that I require."
"Well," said Sir Reginald, "having secured our man, and compelled him to divulge all the information we require of him, what will be our next step?"
"We shall proceed forthwith to Odessa, and ascertain, first of all, whether the convict-ship has sailed," answered the professor. "If she has not, I shall make it my business to see her, and to take such particular notice of her name and appearance that I may be able to identify her again at sight; but if, as I antic.i.p.ate, she has sailed, I shall find out, if possible, the date of her sailing, her name, rig, tonnage, and any other particulars that will help us to recognise her when we see her. If she has not sailed, it will be necessary for us to lie in wait for her either in the Black Sea or wherever else may be deemed a suitable spot at which to effect her capture; while, if she has sailed, we shall simply go in pursuit of her."